Mangaluru, April 14 : Three crew members died after a Indian fishing boat collided with a foreign ship and capsized in the Arabian sea near Mangaluru off Karnataka's west coast, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said on Tuesday.

"Three crew members died after the Indian fishing boat 'Rabah' collided with a Singapore container ship (Apl Le Havre) and sunk 43 nautical miles west of Mangaluru in the Arabian sea in the wee hours of the day," said the ICG in a tweet later.

Of the 14 crew members of the fishing boat, 2 were rescued and search was on to trace the remaining 9 members on the high sea.

"Three vessels and a Dornier aircraft from Kochi in Kerala were rushed to the mishap spot for search and rescue operation," said the ICG.

The fishing boat with 14 crew members, including 7 each from Tamil Nadu and West Bengal ventured into the sea from Beypore in Kozhikode district in the neighbouring southern state on Sunday.

The rescued duo has been identified as Sunil Das (34) from West Bengal and Velmurukan (37) from Tamil Nadu.
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) announced today that it has expanded its partnership with Practifi, the business management platform powering high-performing financial advice firms around the world through solutions in automated workflows and unified data. Under the strengthened relationship, Practifi and Envestnet's unified advice platform are now fully integrated.

"This increased level of collaboration enables us to now make Practifi's innovative solutions and tools available to advisors throughout the entire Envestnet ecosystem, which includes Envestnet | MoneyGuide," said Blake Wood, Senior Vice President and Director of Product Strategy at Envestnet. "We first partnered with Practifi in 2019, originally rolling out an integration via the Envestnet | Tamarac platform. After seeing the many efficiencies and related opportunities for scale being offered to advisors on our Envestnet | Tamarac platform as a direct result of this partnership, we were eager to bring it one step forward. This full integration widens our net, offering even more advisors these new opportunities to help clients achieve financial wellness."

This next level of product integration between the industry leaders in wealthtech and unified advice will offer advisors:

Envestnet/Practifi Integration Benefits for Advisors:

Efficiency and Workflow Automation: Advisors can save time adding new Envestnet clients by accessing Practifi's most updated client and member details directly from within Envestnet's platform.

Advisors can save time adding new Envestnet clients by accessing Practifi's most updated client and member details directly from within Envestnet's platform. Growth Support: Advisors can also launch new Envestnet proposals from within Practifi and manage them as bespoke services for their firms. They can also view a list of all in-process Envestnet proposals, and open proposals in Envestnet, from within Practifi.

MoneyGuide/Practifi Integration Benefits for Advisors:

Simplicity: With a simple click of a button, advisors can, quickly and easily, create and update a client's key household data in MoneyGuide from Practifi. This can mitigate risk by bringing consistency through integrationand save time by reducing workflow steps.

With a simple click of a button, advisors can, quickly and easily, create and update a client's key household data in MoneyGuide from Practifi. This can mitigate risk by bringing consistency through integrationand save time by reducing workflow steps. Centralized Client Data: Advisors can also maintain a comprehensive client view between systems by linking to, and easily accessing, the MoneyGuide My Plans page showing financial plans directly from the Practifi client record.

"We share a common vision with Envestnet, as our team consistently develops innovations to meet the needs of today's advisors, family offices, wealth firms, and their clients," said Adrian Johnstone, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Practifi. "One of the many things we agree on is the idea that the future of financial advice relies on data-driven insights, which we are powering today. The intuitive user experiences that we offer were created to empower advisors to grow their practices and deepen their relationships with clients at the same time, making our relationship with Envestnet a perfect fit."

About Practifi

More than a CRM, Practifi is an enterprise-grade business management platform designed for high-performing financial advice firms. Practifi's innovative product suite helps advisory teams integrate systems and automate processes while maximizing revenue, boosting growth, and strengthening client relationships. With a focus on client success and product innovation, Practifi provides the foundation and support needed to build the financial advisory firm of the future. Practifi was founded in Sydney, Australia, and has U.S. headquarters in Chicago. To learn more, visit practifi.com.

About Envestnet

Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) is transforming the way financial advice and wellness are delivered. Our mission is to empower advisors and financial service providers with innovative technology, solutions, and intelligence to make financial wellness a reality for everyone. Over 106,000 advisors and more than 5,100 companies including: 17 of the 20 largest U.S. banks, 47 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms, over 500 of the largest RIAs and hundreds of FinTech companies, leverage Envestnet technology and services that help drive better outcomes for enterprises, advisors and their clients.

For more information, please visit www.envestnet.com, subscribe to our blog, and follow us on Twitter (@ENVintel) and LinkedIn.

Practifi and Envestnet are separate and unaffiliated firms, and are not responsible for each other's services or policies. This release should not be construed as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular product, service, or firm.

Media Contact

Dana Taormina

JConnelly for Envestnet

973.647.4626

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Marie Cunningham

Practifi

224.289.5100

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SOURCE Envestnet, Inc.; Practifi
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Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the cold shoulder to Joe Biden on Tuesday, playing coy on whether or not he would accept the proposal from the American president for a summit on the Ukraine.

Biden dramatically raised the stakes with Russia when he called Putin and asked him to de-escalate its military situation in the Crimea and requested a peace summit amid rising tensions between the two nations.

He made it 'clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia's actions,' the White House said in a readout of the call as Moscow demanded Washington stay out of the Crimea.

The president, in the call initiated by Washington D.C., proposed a summit meeting in a third country in coming months to discuss a range of issues between the two countries.

Moscow confirmed the summit proposal but did not say whether Putin had agreed to it.

The Russian buildup at the Ukrainian border has caused mounting alarm in the West, with the United States saying that troop levels are at their highest since 2014, when war first broke out with Moscow-backed separatists.

Biden 'emphasized the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity' in the call.

Putin, in his response to the conversation, said the two countries would 'continue dialogue' over ensuring global security, according to a statement from the Kremlin.

'Both sides expressed their readiness to continue dialogue on the most important areas of ensuring global security,' the Kremlin said.

The call comes amid a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-supported separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. The situation is presenting Biden with one of the first major foreign policy tests of his presidency with neither leader likely to back down.

The Kremlin said Putin, in the call with Biden, outlined a settlement to the conflict based on the 2015 Minsk accords, to which Russia agreed together with France, Germany and Ukraine, but which have failed to end the fighting.

Biden brought up a number of topics in the conversation, including cyber intrusions such as the SolarWinds hack, which Moscow denies; election interference, which Moscow denies; and Russia's growing military escalation.

He voiced 'concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions.'

The Kremlin said the two men also discussed the Iranian nuclear program, Afghanistan peace talks and global climate change.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration expected its relationship with Russia to be a 'challenge' but the goal was to have one that is 'predictable and stable.'

'Our approach to our relationship with Russia is one where we certainly expect the relationship to remain a challenge. We expect there will be continued difficult conversations. We are prepared to confront those, but our goal is to have a relationship with Russia that is predictable and stable,' she said at Tuesday's White House press briefing.

She said that involves being 'honest and candid where there areas where we disagree and have concerns, but also work together on areas where there's mutual interest, and that may relate to arms control.'

Tuesday's conversation was the second known call between the two leaders since Biden took office. In March, he invited Putin to attend his climate summit later this summer.

Psaki, meanwhile, had no details on when or where the Ukraine summit may take place but that it would likely be this summer.

Putin held a similar summit in Finland in 2018 with then-President Donald Trump, who caused a furor in the States by appearing to accept the Russian leader's denials of election meddling.

Russia warned the US to keep its warships away from Crimea 'for their own good' as it accused Washington and NATO of turning the region into a 'powder keg' amid soaring tensions on the Ukraine border.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called Washington's decision to deploy two ships to the Black Sea 'a provocation' designed 'to test our nerves' as he branded the US 'an adversary' of Russia, ramping up a war of words between the two nuclear-armed superpowers.

The USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, are thought to be on their way to the Black Sea from a naval base in Spain and due to arrive tomorrow and Thursday, according to Turkish sources which are responsible for policing the straits leading to the sea.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met Ukraine's foreign minister in Brussels today for talks, responded that America 'stands firmly behind' its eastern European ally while NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg gave the alliance's 'unwavering support' to Kiev.

Russia has warned the US to keep its ships out of the Black Sea 'for their own good' after Washington sent two destroyers to the region to counter a build-up of Kremlin troops on the Ukrainian border

Biden and Putin statements on their phone call President Joe Biden's office and Russian President Vladimir Putin's office released separate readouts of the two leaders phone call on Tuesday. THE WHITE HOUSE READOUT President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty. President Biden also made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia's actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. President Biden emphasized the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions. President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia. THE KREMLIN READOUT The current state of Russia-US relations and certain pressing items on the international agenda were discussed in detail. Joseph Biden confirmed the previously transmitted invitation to the President of Russia to take part in the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, which will be held on April 2223. Both presidents expressed their willingness to continue the dialogue on the critical areas of ensuring global security, which would meet the interests not only of Russia and the United States, but the entire international community. In addition, Joseph Biden expressed interest in normalising the state of affairs on the bilateral track and establishing stable and predictable interaction on pressing matters such as ensuring strategic stability and arms control, Irans nuclear programme, the situation in Afghanistan, and global climate change. In this context, the US President suggested considering the possibility of holding a personal summit meeting in the foreseeable future. When exchanging views on the internal Ukrainian crisis, Vladimir Putin outlined approaches to a political settlement based on the Minsk Package of Measures. It was agreed to instruct the relevant departments to work through the issues raised during the telephone conversation. Advertisement

The USS Roosevelt, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is thought to be one of two warships en route to the Black Sea as a deterrent to Russia (file image)

The USS Donald Cook is also thought to be on its way to the Black Sea, and is due to arrive either tomorrow or on Thursday amid a massive build-up of Russian troops

Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers are seen assembled near the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine where government forces have been fighting Russian-backed rebels since 2015

President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to ask his Russian counterpart to de-escalate its military situation and request a peace summit

President Putin has spent the last week building up forces along Ukraine's border - where there are now thought to be some 83,000 troops.

The two leaders have had a contentious relationship. In an interview with ABC News, Biden called Putin a 'killer' with no soul, a set of remarks that infuriated the Kremlin, causing Moscow to recall its U.S. ambassador.

Putin fired back that Biden's hostile and unpredictable policy towards Moscow required Russia to be ready for anything. Putin also wished Biden 'good health' and offered to host a zoom call with him.

Biden came into office vowing a tougher line on Russia, including over its alleged interference in US elections and harsh treatment of ailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

While Putin has given no official reason for the build-up in the Ukraine, observers believe the move may be in response to a tough line that Biden has taken with Moscow.

Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow who was in post when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, said this week that Putin appears to be sizing up his counterpart including how he responds to military threats.

Others theorise that Putin is responding to pressure on his leadership from within Russia itself as poll numbers slump and he fends off unprecedented leaks about his personal life as well as political dissent in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed opposition leader who inspired mass rallies earlier this year.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, said on Tuesday that NATO was planning to station 40,000 troops and 15,000 piece of military equipment in the region - a claim that NATO denies - and Russia is merely responding.

He also blamed NATO training exercises and combat readiness checks for increasing tensions.

'Over three weeks, two armies and three airborne units were successfully deployed to the western borders of the Russian Federation in areas for performing combat training exercises,' he said.

He added that the 'troops have shown full readiness and ability to carry out tasks to ensure the country's military security' and that the exercises would be completed 'within two weeks'.

In a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, NATO leader Stoltenberg said it was actually Russia which had built up arms in the region, calling its latest military movements 'unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.' 'NATO stands with Ukraine,' he added.

Stationed alongside the Russian troops are tanks, artillery, armoured personnel carriers, anti-aircraft missile systems, landing craft and artillery boats.

Ukrainian soldiers train using a heavy machine gun near the border with Russia amid increasing tensions between the two countries which has seen Moscow rapidly increase troop numbers

A Russian minister warned the US against deploying troops to Crimea and said staying away was 'for their own good'. Pictured: Ukrainian Armed Forces patrol the border in Donbass

Ukrainian servicemen hold a position on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near small city of Marinka, Donetsk

Ukrainian soldiers are seen near a region occupied by Russian-backed separatist groups where fighting has increased in recent weeks, with at least 28 of Kiev's men killed so far this year

In response, the Pentagon today confirmed that troop withdrawals from Germany approved under Trump will be cancelled and an additional 500 soldiers will be sent to the country.

The build-up has been matched by an uptick in violence between Ukrainian government forces fighting Russian-backed rebel groups in the country's east, with another Ukrainian soldier killed today.

Alexey Mamchiy, 40, was killed by shrapnel from an enemy grenade which was dropped on him by a drone, according to Ukrainian media. It brings the total number of Ukrainian troops killed in the region this year to 29.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov, speaking in Moscow today, warned the US to keep its distance from Russian forces in the Black Sea, saying the risk of unspecified 'incidents' is very high.

'There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action,' he said. 'Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they are testing our strength... They will not succeed.

'We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay far away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for their own good.'

He added: 'The United States is our adversary and does everything it can to undermine Russia's position on the world stage. We do not see any other elements in their approach. Those are our conclusions.'

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (right) meets with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba (left) in Brussels today as Washington threw its full backing behind its eastern European ally

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (pictured) said there was no need for American ships 'on our shores', claiming it was 'pure provocation'

'If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are,' Ryabkov added.

'But Kiev and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation.'

Meanwhile the US State Department confirmed that Blinken had met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela in Brussels, saying he 'affirmed the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression.'

'The Secretary expressed concern about Russia's deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing ceasefire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimes and near Ukraine's borders,' a statement added.

'Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Kuleba discussed the importance of advancing rule of law and economic reforms to strengthen Ukraine's institutions, support anti-corruption efforts, and further its Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.'

Ukraine says Russia has accumulated 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. The numbers are likely to grow as the troops keep arriving.

The Kremlin argues that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of 'provocative actions' along the line of control and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Kremlin officials charged that Kyiv's actions have threatened Russia's security, warning that Russia may intervene to protect Russian speakers in the east.

Underlying Tuesday's meeting is also Ukraine's wish to become a member of NATO over the vehement objections of Moscow.

Stoltenberg insisted it was up to the alliance's 30 members to decide who could join the group, 'and no one else has any right to try to meddle or to interfere in that process.

'It's a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership.

'This is an important principle, because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence where they try to decide what neighbors can do.

'And that is a world we are really trying to leave behind,' the NATO chief said.

'Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately,' Stoltenberg added.

Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe

Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up - which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) - is 'definitely' designed to test Joe Biden

Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border

The latest warnings come after Russian state TV new anchor Dmitry Kiselyov warned that Russia is 'one step away from war' in Ukraine during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday.

He branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state, saying that Russia may be forced to 'de-Nazify' it buy force - a process he said would bring about its 'economic and military collapse'.

A news report on Russia's Channel One also likened Zelensky - a former actor - to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV comedy.

The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of 'Napoleonic ambitions' by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said.

But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself 'sensibly'. Portraying Napoleon on screen 'is not the same as doing it,' the report added.

Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a 'commander-in-chief comic', a 'president of war' who was 'inciting' conflict.

Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths.

Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher

Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion

'Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,' claimed the report.

It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa.

These claims could not be immediately corroborated.

Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front - many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border.

Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response.

Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies.

Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: 'Very.'

A Russian 'peacekeeping' vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine's western flank

While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened 'consequences and costs' if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough.

He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order.

'Sanctions almost never change Putin's behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,' he said.

He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia's actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone.

Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to 'tough' things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office.

Back in March, Biden called Putin 'a killer' while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.

The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin's spokesman called it 'unprecedented' and said it is clear that Biden 'does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this'.

Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions.

The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January.

Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that 'it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative'.

Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is 'one step away from war' as anchors branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border.

Putin has not yet given a reason for the sudden troop buildup along Russia's border with Ukraine, but observers believe it may be designed as a test for President Biden after he took a tough stance against Moscow

Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a 'killer', with experts saying the troop movements are designed to 'test' the US president

Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces.

More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine's western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man's land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova.

Some carried 'peacekeeper' signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading.

Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere.

Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system.

And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend.

It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a 'second Srebrenica' against Russian speakers in Ukraine - referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the 'beginning of the end' for Ukraine.

Military action would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face', he added.

Director of National Intelligence says Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have all demonstrated they want to 'advance their intent at the expense of the US'

A new annual threat assessment the Director of Intelligence issued Tuesday warns that Russia and China continue to try to assert themselves at the expense of the U.S.  with lesser powers Iran and North Korea also joining the fray.

The 27-page report by DNI Avril Haines warns that China's great power ambitions, along with the coronavirus pandemic and even climate change, will converge to present the U.S. with security challenges.

'Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang have demonstrated the capability and intent to advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies, despite the pandemic,' according to the new 2021 Annual Threat Assessment.

The office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines released its 2021 annual threat assessment showing Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are intent to 'advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies'

The report dropped on a day the White House said President Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's military buildup along the Ukrainian border, and Iran said it would enrich Uranium at 60 percent following an attack at its Natanz facility.

'The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to strain governments and societies, fueling humanitarian and economic crises, political unrest, and geopolitical competition as countries, such as China and Russia, seek advantage through such avenues as vaccine diplomacy, the report cautioned.

It listed climate threats in its opening paragraphs, amid reports climate envoy John Kerry would be traveling to China.

'Ecological degradation and a changing climate will continue to fuel disease outbreaks, threaten food and water security, and exacerbate political instability and humanitarian crises,' it said.

Russia will 'remain a top cyber threat,' the DNI said, following intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind election hacking

In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian nuclear submarines Prince Vladimir, above, and Yekaterinburg stay berthside at a Russian naval base in Gazhiyevo, Kola Peninsula, Russia, Russia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021

The report mentions China's ambitions in space

epa09130165 Passengers wearing PPE and face masks walk at the Terminal 2 at the Roissy Airport, near Paris, 11 April 2021 (issued 12 April 2021). The pandemic will continue to pose security challenges

The report came as Russian troops were amassed on the Ukrainian border

The report also looks at Iran's nuclear ambitions. Pictured is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

'North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un 'may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilizing actions'

The report referenced China's long term intentions to 'undercut' Washington.

'The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will continue its whole-of-government efforts to spread Chinas influence, undercut that of the United States, drive wedges between Washington and its allies and partners, and foster new international norms that favor the authoritarian Chinese system,' according to the document.

Russia will remain a 'top cyber threat,' after election interference in 2016 and 2020, the assessment states.

Often those efforts seek to divide the U.S. from its allies, even as the U.S. seeks to rally pressure on Moscow on issues like the detention of opposition leader Alexi Navalny.

Russia 'will continue to employ a variety of tactics this year meant to undermine US influence, develop new international norms and partnerships, divide Western countries and weaken Western alliances, and demonstrate Russias ability to shape global events as a major player in a new multipolar international order,' according to the report.

China's efforts extend to space, where 'Beijing is working to match or exceed US capabilities in space to gain the military, economic, and prestige benefits that Washington has accrued from space leadership.'

The DNI expects a Chinese space station in low Earth orbit 'to be operational between 2022 and 2024.' It said China 'intends to establish a robotic research station on the Moon and later an intermittently crewed lunar base.'

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un 'may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilizing actions to reshape the regional security environment and drive wedges between the United States and its alliesup to and including the resumption of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing,' according to the report.

Two summit meetings by President Trump do not appear to have moved the DPRK off its conclusions about nuclear weapons.

'We assess that Kim views nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent against foreign intervention and believes that over time he will gain international acceptance and respect as a nuclear power,' according to the report.

'He probably does not view the current level of pressure on his regime as enough to require a fundamental change in its approach,' it says.

In Iran, who is back at the negotiating table over its nuclear deal, though without direct talks with Washington, crippling sanctions are having an impact, but could bring more confrontation.

'We expect that Iran will take risks that could escalate tensions and threaten US and allied interests in the coming year,' according to the assessment.
Pastor jailed in Laos for over 1 year released, convicted of 'disrupting unity'

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A Christian pastor imprisoned in the Southeast Asian country of Laos for refusing to halt worship has been freed after over one year in detention.

Sources told Radio Free Asia that 35-year-old Pastor Sithon Thippavong in Savannakets Xonnaboury district was released last Friday, three days after the Provincial Peoples Court convicted him on charges of disrupting unity and creating disorder.

He was sentenced to one year in jail and fined a total of 4 million kip [about $426], with 2 million kip paid for each charge, an official from the provincial prosecutors office was quoted as saying under the condition of anonymity.

"He has already served a little more than one year in jail, so he has been released.

Sithon, who has pastored in the Xonnaboury district since 2011, was arrested on March 15, 2020, for organizing religious services without permission from government authorities.

The pastors detention drew condemnation from international human rights organizations. An official from Human Rights Watch called his detention a serious human rights violation.

The United States-based International Christian Concern reports that even though Laos passed a law in 2019 to allow Christians to worship freely, many churches still face harassment and discrimination.

A Lao Christian who spoke to RFA on the condition of anonymity said that a thanksgiving ceremony celebrating the pastors release would be organized.

We prayed for Pastor Sithon for more than a year now, the Christian said. Were very excited that hes still alive and was finally saved by God.

He may have been sick and frail in prison, he added. But now hell be very happy to be able to serve God again.

Sithons detention and other human rights violations have been reported to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights by the German-based Alliance for Democracy in Laos. The groups president, Bounthone Chanthalavong-Weise, told RFA in March that the organization called on UNHCR to pressure Lao authorities for the pastors release.

Laos ranks as the 22nd-worst country in the world when it comes to the persecution of Christians, according to persecution watchdog agency Open Doors USA. Christians account for under 2% of Laos Buddhist-majority population.

In a dossier on religious freedom conditions in the country, Open Doors notes that the communist authorities heavily monitor Christian activities  even those of registered house churches.

In rural areas, house churches are forced to meet in secret since they are considered illegal gatherings.

Even 75% of all government-approved Lao Evangelical Church (LEC) congregations throughout the country do not have permanent church structures and consequently conduct worship services in homes, the Open Doors dossier states.

The organization reports that the government imposes strict limitations on Christian meetings that go beyond the internationally recognized and permitted limitations.

In February 2020, members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom traveled to Laos to meet with government officials and civil society leaders to discuss religious freedom conditions.

In a May 2020 report, USCIRF noted that it remains concerned about religious freedom in Laos even though the number of people arrested or detained for their religious practices decreased in 2019. USCIRF is alarmed that the government is slow to grant legal recognition and protection to unregistered religions.

Decree 315 still enshrines governmental overreach and codifies a legal structure inconsistent with international religious freedom standards, USCIRFs May 2020 factsheet reads.
[April 13, 2021] Tauriga Sciences Inc. to Launch Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Creation & Content Division, as Part of its Long-Term Branding, Marketing, and Monetization Strategies



The Companys Newly Formed Division Will be Called: NFTauriga Corp. NEW YORK, NY, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB: TAUG) (Tauriga or the Company), a revenue generating, diversified life sciences company, with a proprietary line of CBD & CBG infused Supplement chewing gums (Flavors: Pomegranate, Blood Orange, Peach-Lemon, Pear Bellini, Mint, Black Currant, Cherry Lime Rickey, Golden Raspberry), additional product offerings, as well as an ongoing Pharmaceutical Development initiative, today announced the establishment of a Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) content division, as part of the Companys long-term Tauri-Gum branding and marketing strategies. The Company will work closely with its existing partners and relationships, in creating unique, innovative, and valuable content. The Company will retain full ownership rights to any and all cryptographic assets that it creates, however may enter into revenue sharing agreements to both enhance its content and support important social causes. NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are a type of digital asset where ownership is recorded on a digital ledger blockchain. Each NFT is unique and can be viewed as a collectible that cannot be duplicated, making them singular and potentially valuable. NFTs can represent digital files, such as art, audio, videos, posters, album art and other forms of creative work. The Company believes that there is significant potential value in building an infrastructure to support these new forms of digital assets from a marketing, promotional, branding, and monetization perspective. The successful launch of NFTs can help the company with web traffic conversion, revenue streams, mission critical marketing, product promotions, and the support of important social causes. The Company will continually update its shareholders, as progress is realized  with respect to this NFT initiative. ABOUT TAURIGA SCIENCES INC. Tauriga Sciences, Inc. (TAUG) is a revenue generating, diversified life sciences company, engaged in several major business activities and initiatives. The company manufactures and distributes several proprietary retail products and product lines, mainly focused on the Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabigerol (CBG) Edibles market segment. The main product line, branded as Taur-Gum, consists of a proprietary supplement chewing gum that is Kosher certified, Halal certified, and Vegan Formulated (CBD Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Mint, Blood Orange, Pomegranate), (CBG Infused Tauri-Gum Flavors: Peach-Lemon, Black Currant), (Vitamin C + Zinc Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Pear Bellini), (Caffeine Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Cherry Lime Rickey), & (Vitamin D3 Infused Tauri-Gum Flavor: Golden Raspberry). The Companys commercialization strategy consists of a broad array of retail customers, distributors, and a fast-growing E-Commerce business segment (E-Commerce website: www.taurigum.com). Please visit our corporate website, for additional information, as well as inquiries, at http://www.tauriga.com



Complementary to the Companys retail business, is its ongoing Pharmaceutical Development initiative. This relates to the development of a proposed Pharmaceutical grade version of Tauri-Gum, for nausea regulation (specifically designed for the following indication: Patients Subjected to Ongoing Chemotherapy Treatment). On March 22, 2021, the Company announced that it had Converted its U.S. Provisional Patent Application (filed on March 17, 2020) into a U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application. The Patent, filed with the U.S.P.T.O. is Titled MEDICATED CBD COMPOSITIONS, METHODS OF MANUFACTURING, AND METHODS OF TREATMENT. On December 18, 2020 the Company disclosed that it had entered into a Master Services Agreement with CSTI to lead the Company's clinical development efforts. The Company is headquartered in Wappingers Falls, New York. In addition, the Company operates two full time E-Commerce fulfillment centers: one located in Montgomery, Texas and the other in Brooklyn, New York

DISCLAIMER -- Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 which represent managements beliefs and assumptions concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are often indicated by using words such as may, will, expects, anticipates, believes, hopes, believes, or plans, and may include statements regarding corporate objectives as well as the attainment of certain corporate goals and milestones. Forward-looking statements are based on present circumstances and on managements present beliefs with respect to events that have not occurred, that may not occur, or that may occur with different consequences or timing than those now assumed or anticipated. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in forward looking statements due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as are not guarantees of general economic and business conditions, the ability to successfully develop and market products, consumer and business consumption habits, the ability to consummate successful acquisition and licensing transactions, fluctuations in exchange rates, and other factors over which Tauriga has little or no control. Many of these risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in the Risk Factors section of Taurigas Form 10-K and other periodic filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this release, and Tauriga assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Contact: Tauriga Sciences, Inc. 4 Nancy Court, Suite 4 Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 Chief Executive Officer Mr. Seth M. Shaw Email: sshaw@tauriga.com cell # (917) 796 9926 Company Instagram: @taurigum Personal Instagram: @sethsms47 Twitter: @SethMShaw Corp. Website: www.tauriga.com E-Commerce Website: www.taurigum.com Attachment 04_13_2021 PR Image



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CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Webster Dental Care ("WDC"), an industry-leading dental service organization with eleven (11) locations, welcomes Dr. Peter Faith to its expert team. Dr. Faith received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Dentistry. He holds a post-doctoral degree as a Specialist in Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Webster CEO Michael Errin Rios noted that, "A professional with Dr. Faith's credentials and experience strengthens WDC North Suburban and further enriches the communities that we serve. We are confident that Dr. Faith will provide outstanding orthodontic care to his patients."

Dr. Peter Faith is a member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the Illinois Society of Orthodontists, and the Midwest Society of Orthodontists.

"I am fortunate to practice the art of orthodontics as my career and as a fulfilling interaction with wonderful people in all walks of life. One of the reasons that I became an orthodontist was to help a child become a confident and happy adult. It gives me joy and satisfaction to see my patients happy with their new smiles," said Dr. Faith.

WDC is actively seeking dental professionals who are interested in joining our outstanding team. More than fifty-six (56) dentists have found success and professional fulfillment with us. If you are a dental practice owner interested in merging or selling your practice, please contact our CEO at (312) 275-2000 or [email protected].

ABOUT WEBSTER DENTAL CARE, LTD

Webster Dental Care (WDC), founded in 1976, delivers exceptional dental services at its eleven Chicago area locations. WDC pioneered clinics that offer both general dentistry and specialists for your convenience and comfort. Our 88 dentists, specialists, and hygienists provide quality and affordable service that exceeds your needs. Our vision is to improve health and wellness by bringing our model of convenient, patient-focused dental service to a location near you.

Contact Information: Rachel Spears, Human Resources Officer, (847) 763-5890, [email protected]

SOURCE Webster Dental Care

Related Links

http://www.webdentalchicago.com


Japan's government has announced that more than 1 million tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant will be released into the sea, a move that is sure to enrage neighboring countries and local fishermen.

The official announcement of the initiative, which comes more than a decade after the nuclear tragedy, would be another setback for Fukushima's fishing industry, which has long protested the move.

A Practical Solution

The government had agreed that dumping the water into the Pacific Ocean was the "most practical" solution and "unavoidable to achieve Fukushima's recovery," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a meeting of ministers on Tuesday.

Tritium, a radioactive element that is not toxic in limited doses, cannot be eliminated from the water, according to the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], and government authorities, but other radionuclides can be lowered to quantities that are safe for release.

"After maintaining the water's quality conditions, the Japanese government has compiled specific policies for releasing the treated water into the ocean... "At the same time, the government is taking steps to protect its reputation," Suga told reporters.

Related Article: Manatee County, Florida Under State of Emergency for Possible Radioactive Flood After Phosphate Plant Leak



Action Plan

According to the government, work on releasing the diluted water will begin in about two years, with the whole project estimated to take decades.

"We choose oceanic release based on strict adherence to existing regulatory standards," it said in a statement.

Environmentalists were quick to oppose the decision.

Greenpeace Japan said the water release was "strongly opposed" because it "absolutely disregards the human rights and interests of the citizens of Fukushima, Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region."

Kazue Suzuki, the group's environment and energy activist, said, "The Japanese government has once again disappointed the citizens of Fukushima."

"The government's decision to intentionally contaminate the Pacific Ocean with hazardous waste is entirely unjustified. It has dismissed the dangers of radiation and ignored the compelling proof that ample disposal space exists in the nuclear facility and in the nearby areas.

"The cabinet's decision failed to protect the environment and ignored the widespread resistance and fears of Fukushima residents as well as civilians in Japan."

A total of 1.25 million tons of water was collected at the nuclear facility, crippled when a tsunami in 2011 caused it to break down.

Water used to cool the farm and rain and groundwater that seeps in regularly are also included. Until being released, the water will be purified again to eliminate radioactive isotopes and diluted to meet international requirements, according to the government.

The radioactive water, which increases at a rate of around 140 tons per day, is now being contained in over 1,000 tanks, with capacity at the site predicted to run out by next fall. Tepco has claimed that if it has to keep adding more storage tanks at the facility, it will fail to decommission the factory.

Scientifically Approved Method

The International Atomic Energy Agency backs the decision because radioactive materials would be eliminated from the water or lowered to acceptable levels before discharge. IAEA has already stated that nuclear power plants worldwide use a standard method to dispose of wastewater.

According to experts, tritium is toxic to humans in high doses, and processed water faces no biologically observable danger after dilution.

Before the decision, Michiaki Kai, a radiation risk management specialist at Japan's Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, told Agence France-Presse, "There is agreement among scientists that the effect on health is minuscule."

Possibly Harming a Market

Yes, the method is approved by science but, on the other hand, local fishing groups claim that releasing the water would reverse years of hard work to re-establish market trust in their catch.

Also Read: A Study on Plutonium Clarifies the Distinction Between Nuclear Pollution from a Global Fallout

For more environmental news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
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The Biden administration, in a fresh submission before a US court, has reiterated its support to India's request for the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is sought for his involvement in the 2008 terror attack.

US District Court Judge in Los Angeles Jacqueline Chooljian on Monday received the latest set of submissions from the US government attorney in the case.

The judge has scheduled an in-person extradition hearing of Rana to India for June 24.

In the submission, along with an attached memorandum, Assistant US Attorney John J Lulejian, made a declaration in support of the United States' Surrebuttal in Support of its Request for Certification of Extradition.

Lulejian reiterated that 59-year-old Rana's extradition to India is as per the India-US extradition treaty.

As per the India-US Extradition Treaty, the Indian government has requested the formal extradition of Rana, and the United States has initiated this extradition proceeding. The US Government has argued that Rana meets all the criteria warranting certification of his extradition to India.

These are: the court has both personal and subject matter jurisdiction, there is an extradition treaty between the United States and India that is in full force and effect, and the crimes for which Rana's extradition is sought are covered by the terms of the treaty.

The United States respectfully requests the certification of Rana's extradition to India for the Secretary of State's decision on his surrender, he said.

The extradition request contains sufficient evidence to establish probable cause, and Rana has not pointed to any evidence in the record that obliterates India's presentation of probable cause, he said.

Lulejian said that to the extent Rana relies on a statement made during (David Coleman) Headley's plea hearing, his reliance is improper because the plea agreement itself says that only the written agreement controls.

Moreover, the statement upon which Rana relies is ambiguous at best, he said.

In his submission, the US attorney noted that the premise of Rana's argument is incorrect because the Indian substantive charges are not considered lesser included offenses of their conspiracy charges.

Rana, a childhood friend of Headley, was re-arrested on June 10 in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed. He has been declared a fugitive by India.

Pakistani-American Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Headley was involved in plotting the 2008 terror attack. He was made an approver in the case, and is currently serving a 35-year prison term in the US for his role in the attack.

(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.)
Joey Krueger, an engineer by training, an avid downhill skier, road cyclist, and reader who grew up in Kansas, went to college at Oklahoma State University, and now resides in Salt Lake City, Utah after a foray into studying climatology led him west, has completed his new book Nor the Moon by Night: a quietly riveting work of contemporary fiction.

Lucas Behr lives a life of adventure, traveling to exotic locations for his photojournalism work and to satisfy his own restlessness. Unanchored by familial connections or friendships, it has allowed him tremendous freedom, but it has also left him adrift and searching for something more.

When a chance meeting with a young journalist, Maggie, develops into something more, it seems he has found what he was seekingsomeone with whom to share in the journey. Still, he is restless. Unable to shake the memories of the bridges he has burned he sets about rebuilding them in his own imperfect way. Some hurts prove deep and difficult to mend, though, while he must be cautious to avoid causing further hurt along the way.

Reconciliation and forgiveness can be hard to give but, sometimes, even harder to ask for. Lucas must first learn to get out of his own way in order to give more fully of himself to others.

Published by Page Publishing, Joey Kruegers engrossing book is an excellent choice for avid romantic fiction readers.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Nor the Moon by Night at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Central Ohio Urology Group is pleased to announced that Jason Thomas has joined the practice as President and Chief Operating Officer. A seasoned healthcare executive with more than two decades of experience, Thomas has led the growth and development of several hundred medical clinics during his career.

With a clinical network of 15 offices, Central Ohio Urology Group is the regions leading provider of comprehensive urological services, including general urology, mens health, womens health, cancer care, advanced cancer treatment and radiation oncology. Facilities in the Columbus area include an Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic and a state-of-the-art, urology-specific ambulatory surgery center which is one of the first in the country to offer robotic surgery. Central Ohio Urology Group is an affiliate of U.S. Urology Partners, one of the largest independent providers of urological and related specialty services in the nation, which is backed by NMS Capital.

Mark Cherney, CEO of Central Ohio Urology Group and U.S. Urology Partners, stated, "We are pleased to welcome Jason Thomas to Central Ohio Urology Group. Jasons background and career experiences, which include a strong foundation in both business operations and clinical services, have led him to be very successful in the healthcare industry. Jasons track record and wealth of expertise will be a great fit for our culture given our current and future growth plans."

Jason Thomas, President and COO, said "I am humbled and excited to join Central Ohio Urology Group, a practice that is already providing care and customer service at an elite level. I look forward to helping the practice continue to navigate change, such as the transition to value-based care and the ongoing investment in life-changing medical technologies. It is truly an honor to take care of our neighbors in the communities in which we live. Our goal is to continuously improve the level of care we provide, while always keeping patients at the forefront."

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Thomas added, "The Central Ohio Urology Group physicians and care team are highly professional and skilled in providing excellent outcomes for patients. Having said that, what impresses me the most is how much compassion they havenot only for patients, but also for the patients families. It can be stressful to receive care for urological issues, which can require treatments such as surgery and cancer therapy. Central Ohio Urology Groups goal is to provide the optimal experience possible for our patients and their families."

To learn more about Jason Thomas or to schedule an appointment with the Central Ohio Urology Group care team, please visit www.centralohiourology.com or call (614) 396-2684.

About Jason Thomas

Jason Thomas is a seasoned healthcare leader with more than two decades of experience in the industry and a unique background in both business management and as a clinician. He has led the growth and development of hundreds of medical practices during his career, including existing clinics, de novo locations, and acquisitions. Known for his visionary approach to business growth and solid grounding in operational details, Thomas has an unrelenting focus on always doing what is best for patients and their families.

For nearly a decade, Thomas led operations for Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE:FMS), the world leader in dialysis therapy and products with more than 4,000 clinics. He was most recently Regional Vice President in Western Ohio overseeing 50 locations and all clinical outcomes, financial outcomes and business development functions, including new center development, joint venture management, customer relationship development, contract negotiations and order fulfillment. In addition to managing the North Florida and South Georgia regions during his tenure with Fresenius, Thomas was tapped as the FMS Corporate Vice President of Quality, in which he developed a state-of the-art quality program highlighted across the enterprise. Thomas decades of experience also include serving in leadership roles for DaVita (NYSE:DVA), and previously with Renal Care Group.

Thomas received his BA in Business Administration from Ottawa University and MBA from Webster University. He is completing a Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. He began his healthcare career working as a registered nurse in intensive care and emergency medicine at the University of Louisville Hospital. Thomas is a US military veteran, having served in Desert Storm as a member of the 5010th US Army Field Hospital from Louisville, Kentucky.

About Central Ohio Urology Group

Central Ohio Urology Group is one of the nations leading providers of urological services with a network of 15 offices in the region. Headquartered just outside of Columbus in Gahanna, Ohio, Central Ohio Urology Group provides comprehensive services, including general urology, mens health, womens health, cancer care, advanced cancer treatment and radiation oncology. Facilities in the Columbus area include an Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic, as well as a state-of-the-art, urology-specific ambulatory surgery center that is one of the first in the country to offer robotic surgery. Central Ohio Urology Groups experienced care team provides more than 50 urological specialties and subspecialties. Central Ohio Urology Group is an affiliate of U.S. Urology Partners, one of the largest independent providers of urological and related specialty services in the nation, which is backed by NMS Capital. For more information, visit www.centralohiourology.com and www.us-uro.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005403/en/

Contacts

Mark Cherney

CEO, Central Ohio Urology Group

(614) 944-4834

mcherney@centralohiourology.com
Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday said it would delay the rollout of its vaccine in Europe amid concerns over rare blood clots found in recipients in the United States, just as several countries of the bloc were poised to start administering the vaccine later this week.

It was another blow to the continents ambition to ramp up inoculation campaigns that have lagged behind other countries in the West. The European Union had expected the vaccine to boost its efforts to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by September.

The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement when it announced its plans to delay the rollout of the vaccine, adding that it had been reviewing the cases of blood clots detected in the United States with European health authorities.

On Tuesday, United States health officials called for a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose coronavirus vaccine after rare blood clotting was reported in six recipients  women between the ages of 18 and 48 who developed symptoms within one to three weeks of vaccination. One woman died and a second woman has been hospitalized in critical condition. More than 40 states quickly paused or recommend that providers pause administration of the dose.
The key CSO appointment of Dr. Hogaboam will elevate the companys research and development of new therapeutic applications for the treatment of fibrotic diseases and conditions.

Lung Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for orphan, pulmonary diseases and conditions, today announced the appointment of Cory M. Hogaboam, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. As CSO, Dr. Hogaboam will be responsible for guiding Lung Therapeutics scientific research and will serve as a key member of the companys executive leadership team.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005530/en/

Cory M. Hogaboam, Ph.D, Chief Scientific Officer, Lung Therapeutics, Inc. (Photo: Business Wire)

Dr. Hogaboams distinguished career encompasses more than 20 years of scientific experience. He is a Professor of Medicine and Research Scientist in the Womens Guild Lung Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and an Adjunct Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Hogaboam is presently serving on the editorial board of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine and the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight. He has authored or co-authored 11 patents on therapeutic interventions for lung and liver. Dr. Hogaboam has received financial research support from the National Institutes of Health, American Lung Association, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and several Industry sponsors. He is frequently invited to speak at national and international lung disease meetings and academic centers.

Brian Windsor, President & CEO, Lung Therapeutics, Inc. said, "With his outstanding record of scientific accomplishment, we are excited to have Dr. Hogaboam as our new CSO. He is a well-known thought leader in pulmonary fibrosis, and there is no better investigator to lead our research efforts." Previously, Dr. Hogaboam served on Lung Therapeutics Medical Advisory Board. "Already familiar with our pioneering therapies, his scientific vision and experience will be invaluable as we advance our technology platform for addressing devastating fibrotic diseases and work to achieve our goal of bringing life-saving therapies to patients worldwide."

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"I am excited to join Lung Therapeutics and work with such a dedicated and progressive leadership team. I look forward to providing scientific strategy guidance in developing the full therapeutic potential of the companys groundbreaking technology," said Dr. Hogaboam. "Based on the research and early clinical trials conducted, LTI drug candidates have the potential to help patients with serious and debilitating fibrotic diseases and conditions who currently lack effective treatment options."

Lung Therapeutics is developing a proprietary pipeline of therapeutics with the potential to greatly improve outcomes over currently available treatments. The companys lead drug candidate, LTI-01, is in clinical development for Loculated Pleural Effusion (LPE) and has successfully completed a clinical trial in LPE patients. LTI-01 has received Orphan Drug Designation in the US and EU and Fast Track Designation in the US. The companys second drug candidate, LTI-03, is in clinical development for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).

About Lung Therapeutics Inc.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Lung Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company formed to leverage leading research in orphan, pulmonary indications for which there are unmet medical needs. The company is developing a proprietary pipeline of novel therapeutics with the potential to greatly improve outcomes over currently available treatments. The companys lead drug LTI-01 has received Orphan Drug Designation in the US and EU and Fast Track Designation in the US. LTI-01 is currently in a Phase 2, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, dose-ranging study evaluating LTI-01 in patients with infected, non-draining loculated pleural effusions. The companys second product candidate, LTI-03, is in development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. For more information, visit Lung Therapeutics, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005530/en/

Contacts

Media Contact:

Sandra Oak, Nsight Public Relations, 321-591-1508, soak@nsightpr.com

Company Contact:

Charles T. Garner, Chief Financial Officer, Lung Therapeutics, Inc., 737- 802-1979, cgarner@lungtx.com
Isi Leibler, a prominent leader of the Australian Jewish community, has died in Israel.

Mr Leibler was a key advocate for Soviet Jews, known as the refuseniks, to be allowed to emigrate to Israel after they were refused exit visas by the totalitarian regime. He died on Tuesday morning surrounded by family, aged 86.

Isi Leibler in 1993. Credit:

Beginning in the 1960s, Mr Leibler helped lead Australias involvement in an international push against the discrimination of Jewish people in the Soviet Union.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke, who took up the campaign, paid tribute to Mr Leiblers efforts in 1988, when 15 refuseniks were permitted to leave the country by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. (TSXV: CMI) (OTCQB: CYSNF), the world's leading designer and manufacturer of commercial grade, auto-acquire mobile satellite antenna systems, announced today that it has completed integration of the SpaceBridge U7400 Professional Modem Series for Mobility/Trunking VSAT Router with its iNetVu antenna controllers. The latest SpaceBridge VSAT networking platform, which encompasses several new modems, is now fully compatible with all C-COM Flyaway and Driveaway antenna systems.



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C-COM iNetVu Ka-98G with 7710 Controller & SpaceBridge U7400 Router

Using the SpaceBridge U7400 VSAT router and testing for satellite acquisition, C-COM's 98cm Ka-band driveaway antenna system configured with the iNetVu 7710 controller, was able to seamlessly acquire satellite in under 2 minutes.

C-COM's 'Best in Class' antenna controllers offer interoperability with 15 different modem manufacturers and with more than 37 different models.

"We are happy to add the SpaceBridge U7400 highly advanced networking platform to our list of integrated and supported VSAT modems," said Leslie Klein, President & CEO of C-COM Satellite Systems, Inc.

"C-COM is a valued partner that we enjoy collaborating with. The SpaceBridge U7400 Professional Modem Series with our unique WaveSwitch multiple waveform switching capabilities, provides the versatility needed to succeed in mobile communication transition between MFTDMA and SCPC over a single Modem," commented David Gelerman, President & CEO of SpaceBridge.

The interoperability of the SpaceBridge U7400 Professional Modem Series, with its OpenAMIP supported capabilities and its integration with C-COM's antenna systems, enables users to leverage high performing, efficient and reliable connectivity solutions for demanding mobility applications.

C-COM mobile antennas with iNetVu controllers, compatible with U7400 series VSAT L3 Switches, are available for immediate delivery.

About C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.





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C-COM Satellite Systems Inc. is a pioneer and leading designer, developer, and manufacturer of transportable and mobile satellite-based antenna systems for commercial markets. The Company has developed proprietary, auto-acquisition controller technology for rapid antenna pointing to a satellite with just the press of a button, enabling Broadband Internet via Satellite across a wide range of market applications worldwide, including regions unserved or underserved by terrestrial access technologies.

C-COM has sold more than 8,500 antenna systems, in over 100 countries, through a dedicated dealer network that provides service to a wide range of vertical markets such as Oil & Gas Exploration, Military Communications, Disaster Management, SNG, Emergency Communications, Cellular Backhaul, Telemedicine, Mobile Education, Government Services, Mobile Banking, and others. The Company's iNetVu brand is synonymous with high quality, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

C-COM is in late stage development of a potentially revolutionary Ka-band, electronically steerable, modular, conformal, flat panel phased array antenna. In cooperation with the University of Waterloo, C-COM is engaged in the design of this unique antenna with the intent of providing low-cost, high-throughput mobility applications over satellite for land, airborne and maritime verticals. For additional information please visit www.c-comsat.com

iNetVu is a registered trademark of C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

The Company is publicly traded on the Canadian Venture Exchange (TSXV: CMI) and on the US OTC Exchange (OTCQB: CYSNF).

About SpaceBridge:

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SpaceBridge is a global market leader in Satellite, VSAT Broadband and SCPC Platforms, Terminals and Network Solutions. Established in 1988, and headquartered in Montreal, Canada, SpaceBridge designs and manufactures satellite two-way networking communication for data and broadcast equipment and services for VHTS, GEO, MEO, and LEO satellite constellations. SpaceBridge also provides Cloud-Based autonomous managed services for our customers, helping them to reduce or entirely eliminate initial large CapEx investments and save on network management cost and time-to-market implementation. SpaceBridge is dedicated to providing the best customer experience and remains ready to exceed the demands of our customer's global markets.

Connect with us at spacebridge.com

Contact:

Investor Relations

C-COM Satellite Systems Inc.

Tel: (343) 803-5245

Fax: (613) 745-7144

investor@c-comsat.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.

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Although Acosta provided information about the criminal activities of others, he lied or failed to disclose benefits, including money, free services, meals and travel, that both he and Sandoval had received from Individual A, an uncharged businessman who was under investigation for bribing Sandoval in exchange for his official support.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday sued the Biden administration in an attempt to restore a policy put in place by former President Donald Trump that forced migrants seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.

Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt argue in the suit that the Biden administrations move to suspend the so-called remain in Mexico policy was an arbitrary and capricious decision. The attorneys general are asking the court to reinstate the enforcement of the program nationwide and to award Texas and Missouri the costs of this action and reasonable attorneys fees.

RELATED: Republicans seize on immigration as border crossings surge

The Trump administration first implemented the Migrant Protection Protocols program in January 2019 in what it described as an effort to allow more resources to be dedicated to individuals who legitimately qualify for asylum, according to then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. The policy required asylum seekers who passed through Mexico on their way to the U.S. to stay in Mexico while their claims were processed in U.S. courts. Previously, migrants could wait inside the U.S. for a court decision, which would often take months or years.

More than 70,000 migrants who were enrolled in the MPP program were sent back to Mexico. Many were forced to live in sometimes dangerous and unsanitary migrant camps.

Shortly after taking office, Bidens DHS announced in a memo that the department will cease adding individuals into the [Migrant Protection Protocols] program, though the agency at the time did not provide an immediate plan to allow migrants to enter the country. Department of Homeland Security officials also announced a 100-day moratorium on deportations, though a federal judge ultimately struck down that order after Paxton filed a separate lawsuit.

READ ALSO: Gov. Greg Abbott nominates new chair to Public Utility Commission after power crisis resignations

In February, the Biden administration began allowing asylum seekers enrolled in the program to cross into the country. Republicans have pointed to the end of the program as a reason for an influx of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks.

A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The suit is the latest in a string of legal challenges Paxton has brought against the Biden administration since January. In addition to the deportation moratorium, Paxton has also sued Biden over his agencys new procedures that cut back on deportations of undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of crimes, Bidens decision to rescind a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and new restrictions on oil drilling on federal lands.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
The UK economy clawed back ground in February with 0.4 per cent growth despite the brutal lockdown in force.

The official figures marked a recovery from the grim 2.2 per cent drop the previous month, with the construction sector driving the improvement.

However, the rebound was slightly below the expectations of some economists. And GDP is still around 8 per cent below the level it reached before coronavirus sent the world spiralling into chaos.

Meanwhile, separate trade figures suggested exports to the EU rose by nearly 50 per cent after their record fall in January, when the Brexit transition period ended.

An ONS spokesman said: 'The economy showed some improvement in February after the large falls seen at the start of the year but remains around 8 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.

The official figures marked a recovery from the grim 2.2 per cent drop the previous month, with the construction sector driving the improvement

Exports to EU rebound after post-Brexit dive Exports to the EU surged by almost 50 percent in February, after a record slump following the end of the Brexit transition period in January. The value of UK goods sent to the bloc jumped by 46.6 per cent or 3.7billion, the Office for National Statistics said. The figures had nosedived by a record 42 percent or 5.7billion in January. The value of goods imported from the EU rose more modestly by 7.3 per cent or 1.2 billion, after a record fall of 29.7 percent or 6.7billion in January. The ONS said: 'Exports to the EU recovered significantly from their January fall, though still remain below 2020 levels. 'However, imports from the EU are yet to significantly rebound, with a number of issues hampering trade.' Advertisement

'Wholesalers and retailers both saw sales pick up a little, while manufacturing improved with car producers experiencing a partial recovery from a poor January.

'Construction grew strongly after revised figures showed they had struggled in the last couple of months.

'Exports to the EU recovered significantly from their January fall, though still remain below 2020 levels. However, imports from the EU are yet to significantly rebound, with a number of issues hampering trade.'

The crucial service sector grew by 0.2 per cent in February, as wholesale and retail trade sales picked up slightly.

Manufacturing expanded by 1.3 per cent - but construction saw the biggest boost at 1.6 per cent.

The previous estimates of a 2.9 per cent fall in output in January were revised upwards, with the drop now thought to be 2.2 per cent.

Overall GDP in February was still 7.8 per cent below the level 12 months before.

Trade figures from the ONS showed exports of goods to the EU partially rebounded, increasing 3.7billion - or 46.6 per cent - after a record fall of 5.7billion in January.

Rory Macqueen, principal economist at the NIESR think-tank, said: 'Despite little change in restrictions, a return to growth in February and upward revisions to January GDP mean that the contraction in the first quarter will be much smaller than anticipated.

'Clearly much of the economy has adapted to cope with Covid-19 restrictions... 'If the vaccine programme and lifting of restrictions continue on schedule this provides a firm basis for continuing growth in the second quarter and 2021 overall.'
[April 13, 2021] Insurity Announces Propellint as Newest SI Partner

Insurity, a leading provider of cloud-based systems for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, today announced that system integration and consulting firm Propellint has joined Insurity's growing group of leading system integrators (SIs) specializing in claim system implementations. Propellint, headquartered in Connecticut and with consultants on both the east and west coasts, is expanding on the expertise they built in claims, deployments, consulting, and the Insurity platform specifically. In previous roles, the firm's principals worked extensively with the Insurity platform, and have managed and consulted on hundreds of Insurity implementations. Insurity's group of SI partners represents one of the industry's largest pools of consultants and professionals. Each partner that Insurity works with is carefully chosen through an extensive vetting process that considered the SI's expertise and its ability to manage complex projects, handle ultiple solutions across business lines and build lasting value for insurers.



"We are very happy to have Propellint join Insurity as a leading system integrator," said Insurity's Chief Customer Officer Roy Wood. "The Propellint team's domain expertise and knowledge of the Insurity platform make them an asset to our partner ecosystem, and we are confident that they will continue to deliver strong value to our customers." "The Propellint team brings decades of experience and deep familiarity of Insurity's platforms and offerings," added Jason McHugh, Propellint's co-founder and managing partner. "As a result, Propellint is uniquely positioned to deliver Insurity's market-leading products efficiently, effectively and successfully."

"An intimate understanding of the architecture underlying Insurity's claims offerings enables Propellint to bring significant value to the Insurity ecosystem," said Tom Jaspering, Propellint's co-founder and managing partner. To learn more, please reach out to Laura Krause at Laura.Krause[at]Insurity.com. About Insurity Insurity is a leading provider of cloud-based software and analytics for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs. Insurity is trusted by 15 of the top 25 property and casualty carriers in the US and has over 250 cloud-based deployments. Through its best-in-class digital platform and with unrivaled industry experience and thought leadership, Insurity is uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional value, empowering customers to focus on their core businesses, optimize their operations, and provide superior policyholder experiences. For more information, visit www.insurity.com. About Propellint Propellint is a full-service insurance technology solutions provider, offering a range of services to meet each customer's diverse business technology needs. Specializing in the implementation of Claims Administration software, Propellint performs new software implementations, supporting and enhancing existing systems, as well as ongoing strategic guidance allowing customers to meet their goals as their business grows. For more information, visit www.propellint.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005774/en/

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London: A Land Rover that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, helped design over 15 years ago will be at the centre of his pandemic-induced scaled-back ceremonial funeral procession at Windsor Castle in south-east England next Saturday, according to details released by Buckingham Palace.

The vehicle is believed to be a modified Defender 130 Gun Bus, which was commissioned for use by the Queen's late husband in 2005 - three years before the British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) were taken over by Tata Motors.

"At Jaguar Land Rover, we are deeply saddened by the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh," a JLR statement read.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family at this time. His Royal Highness devoted his life to public service and made a significant contribution to British manufacturing, engineering and design," it said.

The coffin of the senior royal will be loaded into the Land Rover for an eight-minute procession to the gates of St. George's Chapel, where the funeral is to begin with a national minute's silence at 1500 local time on April 17.

"His Royal Highness's coffin will be carried in a purpose-built Land Rover - which The Duke was involved in the design of - flanked by military Pall Bearers, in a small Ceremonial Procession from the State Entrance to St. George's Chapel, for the Funeral Service. Members of the Royal Family and The Duke of Edinburgh's Household will walk behind the coffin," a Buckingham Palace statement said.

"The plans for the funeral are in line with The Duke of Edinburgh's own personal wishes, and the occasion will recognise and celebrate The Duke''s life and his more than 70 years of service to The Queen, the UK and the Commonwealth," it said.

A senior royal aide told 'The Sunday Times' that Prince Philip would have been pleased with the relatively low-key sendoff.

"The Duke would have been delighted there won't be able to be as much fuss because of Covid. He's have thought: 'That's a coup''," the aide said.

The morning after the funeral will mark the conclusion of the UK's week-long national mourning, in keeping with which the Indian High Commission in London confirmed the postponement of a planned Baisakhi celebration on Tuesday.

"In view of the sad demise of Duke of Edinburgh, the proposed event to celebrate Baisakhi and other festivals on 13th April stands postponed," the High Commission said.

The royal funeral is to be broadcast live and the public has been cautioned that anyone gathering at Windsor Castle on the day would not be able to view anything. In keeping current COVID-19 lockdown guidelines, only 30 guests will be in attendance and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given up his space for a member of the royal family.

"The Prime Minister has throughout wanted to act in accordance with what is best for the royal household, and so to allow for as many family members as possible will not be attending the funeral on Saturday," a 10 Downing Street spokesperson said.

Under normal circumstances, around 800 guests would have gathered for the funeral, including heads of government and state from around the world. But now with a 30-member limit, only the Queen's closest family, including her four children and their spouses as well grandchildren will be in attendance.

It has been confirmed that grandson Prince Harry will fly down from the US to attend but heavily-pregnant wife Meghan Markle has been advised by her doctors to not make the journey.

Prince Charles, the eldest son and heir of the Queen, will be among the royals who will walk behind his father's funeral procession. He paid an emotional tribute to his "dear papa" in a speech from his home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, south-west England, on Saturday.

"My father for I suppose, the last 70 years, has given the most remarkable, devoted service to the Queen, to my family, and to the country and also to the whole of the Commonwealth," said Charles, the Prince of Wales.

He added: "And as you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously - he was a much-loved and appreciated figure, and apart from anything else, I can imagine he''d be so deeply touched by the number of other people here and elsewhere around the world in the Commonwealth who also, I think, share our loss and our sorrow.

"And my dear Papa was a very special person who I think, above all else, would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that are being said about him. And from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that - it will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time."

Prince Charles had begun accompanying the Queen on several royal engagements, including for the ceremonial state opening of Parliament, after his father officially retired from royal duties in 2017, a role set to be enhanced further.

Meanwhile, as parliamentarians prepare for a special tribute sitting of the House of Commons on Monday, there is growing cross-party support for a statue as a permanent memorial to the late Prince Philip on The Mall - the road leading up to Buckingham Palace from Trafalgar Square in London.

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Hero Motors Company is all set to inaugurate its new hi-end export-oriented manufacturing plant at the Hero E Cycle Valley at Dhanansu on the outskirts of Ludhiana, Punjab later today. The unit will offer backend support to Hero's ambitious international plans.

The upcoming E-Cycles Valley project is expected to add a capacity of 4 million bikes and e-bikes. It will mark the first phase of operationalisation of the Hero E Cycle Valley. The new manufacturing unit will increase the company's overall production capacity to 10 million units every year.

Pankaj M Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director at Hero Motor Company, said, "While Hero E Cycles factory augments our production capacity of premium bicycles and E Cycles for the global market, the Suppliers' Park at Hero E Cycle Valley will localise production of premium components to enable production of hi-end bikes in India."

Earlier, Munjal had said, "E-bike sales are expected to reach an estimated 30 million in Europe by 2030 growing at a CAGR of 26 per cent between 2024 and 2030. With Europe as our key market, HMC has set its sights on capturing a greater pie of this fast-growing e-bike segment with a goal of touching a revenue of Euro 300 million by 2025."

The new export-oriented plant is expected to manufacture more than 70 per cent of production for the global market. It spans about 100 acres, with 50 acres marked for the Hero E Cycles factory, and the other 50 acres for dedicated suppliers' park. The cost of building the unit has been more than 1,000 crore and took about two years.

Hero plans to spend about 350 crore to make the E Cycle Valley operational with the vendors pulling in another 400 crore. Additionally, Hero Motors Company plans to invest another 300 crore over the next couple of years.

Hero Cycles, which is a part of the Hero Motor Company Group, has a manufacturing capacity of 6 million bicycles per year. It has a network of at least three plants across India, located in Ludhiana in Punjab, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, and Bihta in Bihar. The company also has a state of the art manufacturing facility in Sri Lanka as well as a Design Centre in the UK. It also owns UK-based Avocet Sports, Germany-based HNF, and Firefox Bikes in India.
Moscow, April 13 : A massive blaze at a historic factory in the Russian city of St. Petersburg has killed one firefighter and injured two others, authorities have confirmed.

According to the state-run TASS News Agency, the fire erupted in the Nevskaya Manufaktura building, an iconic landmark in the city which dates back to 1841 when it was used to manufacture fabric, at around 12.35 p.m. on Monday.

An emergency service source told TASS said that "when putting out the fire, one firefighter died. Earlier, communication with him was lost".

The source said that a gas and smoke rescue service squad was inspecting the building.

"They were cut off by the fire, two of them are taken to hospital, the third one died," he said, adding that the wounded officers have sustained 40-50 per cent burn injuries.

A representative of the St. Petersburg office of the Russian Emergencies Ministry told TASS that 40 people were evacuated and the building's roofing and floor deck have collapsed.

"All four floors of the building are engulfed in flames, and the roof and floor deck have caved in." The fire, which has now spread to 10,000 square kilometres, is yet to be put out.

The St. Petersburg prosecutor's office has launched a probe into the incident, the cause of which remains unknown.

The building sits on the bank of the Neva River, which runs through St Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, the BBC reported.

It was run by the government during the Soviet period, then privatised in 1992.

In 2001 the factory was added to St Petersburg's list of historic and culturally valuable sites.
[April 13, 2021] ADVA showcases 400ZR DCI solution with Acacia and Inphi

ADVA (News - Alert) (FSE: ADV) today announced that it has successfully demonstrated interoperability between its next-generation FSP 3000 DCI open line system (OLS) and QSFP-DD 400ZR modules from Acacia Communications and Inphi Corporation. Conducted over a 120km amplified link, the tests show a clear path to commercial deployments of a complete solution with all the benefits of open, programmable networking. The trial featured 400Gbit/s WDM transport using low-power 400ZR pluggable QSFP-DD transceivers from Acacia and Inphi with ADVA's FSP 3000 DCI OLS. It was carried out under real-world conditions with 400Gbit/s channels placed next to the test channels as well as a fully loaded spectrum. To validate three-way line-side interoperability, 400ZR was transmitted from Acacia to Inphi and vice versa. Test results showed that this multi-vendor ecosystem exceeds all OIF (News - Alert) 400ZR Implementation Agreement performance metrics. Large-scale DCI network operators now have an easy and cost-effective route to a dynamic, future-proof and open environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005107/en/ ADVA's demo with Acacia and Inphi shows a clear route to open DCI networking with 400ZR technologies (Photo: Business Wire) "Today, we're showing a direct route to open DCI networking using 400ZR. By proving the next-level interoperability of our platform with Acacia and Inphi's optical interconnect technology, we're empowering network operators to effortlessly harness the benefits of both 400ZR and open infrastructure. This will be key to reducing cost and complexity in the new breed of high-bandwidth DCI networks," said Steve Penticost, VP, global business development, ADVA. "Others may talk about openness, but our track record with multi-vendor innovation speaks for itself. With thousands of our DCI OLS deployed, we're already giving huge nubers of networks across the planet the freedom to select any components and leverage different innovation cycles."



The ADVA FSP 3000 DCI OLS is the market's most comprehensive OLS platform. Its open and modular design removes all restrictions of traditional closed systems and puts DCI network operators in complete control. With ADVA's unrivalled experience of managing APIs in DCI architectures, the platform extends SDN to the transport layer. Designed to interoperate with all standards-based DWDM pluggable optics, the ADVA DCI OLS now features components specifically engineered to meet 400ZR DCI demands. The latest trials using a 120km single-mode fiber show that it exceeds 400ZR performance requirements under fully loaded conditions including 75GHz channel spacing, enabling an aggregate capacity of 26Tbit/s per fiber. ADVA's DCI OLS and Acacia and Inphi's QSFP-DD 400ZR modules offer operators a complete and validated solution built on best-of-breed components. "Acacia has a long, proven history of pluggable silicon photonics innovation and has continually driven down the level of power consumption, size and cost of coherent interconnects," said Tom Williams, VP, marketing, Acacia Communications. "400Gbit/s coherent pluggables enable network operators to support their growing bandwidth demands using power-efficient solutions that offer operational flexibility. By showcasing the interoperability of our high-performance coherent platform in a QSFP form factor with ADVA's new DCI OLS, we're giving DCI networks a clear path to a compact and cost-efficient optical layer assembled with best-in-class innovation."

"With the introduction of COLORZ 100G in 2016, Inphi's silicon photonics-based QSFP transceivers along with ADVA's line systems created a simpler and more cost-efficient way to connect data centers. Inphi's COLORZ II 400ZR QSFP-DD transceiver, with its low-power coherent DSP and silicon photonics engine, takes IP over DWDM to the next level. COLORZ II 400ZR enables large cloud operators to connect metro data centers at a fraction of the cost of traditional coherent transport systems and allows switch and router companies to offer the same density for both coherent DWDM and client optics in the same chassis. Interoperable 400ZR solutions allow customers to deploy a validated ecosystem with our innovative low-power, high-performing pluggable solutions and ADVA's next-generation DCI OLS," said Josef Berger, AVP, optical interconnect, Inphi. "400ZR empowers DCI operators to select best-in-class components that reduce the total cost of ownership of their cloud networks." More information on the demo is available in these slides: https://adva.li/acacia-inphi-demo-slides. Watch this video for further details on the new ADVA DCI OLS: https://youtu.be/8zI3E46oMBo. About ADVA ADVA is a company founded on innovation and focused on helping our customers succeed. Our technology forms the building blocks of a shared digital future and empowers networks across the globe. We're continually developing breakthrough hardware and software that leads the networking industry and creates new business opportunities. It's these open connectivity solutions that enable our customers to deliver the cloud and mobile services that are vital to today's society and for imagining new tomorrows. Together, we're building a truly connected and sustainable future. For more information on how we can help you, please visit us at www.adva.com. Published by:

ADVA Optical Networking (News - Alert) SE, Munich, Germany

www.adva.com All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005107/en/

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EBRD and GCF support Armenias transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy

Financing will help SMEs interested in investing in climate change mitigation and adaptation technology

Loan includes a technical advisory package under the EBRDs GEFF, co-financed by the GCF

Armenias private sector will benefit from new resources for green financing thanks to a US$ 6 million financial package put together by the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which is contributing up to US$ 1.5 million in concessional financing. The loan is expected to facilitate the countrys transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

The financing is being provided to Inecobank under the EBRDs Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) for lending to local enterprises for investment in climate-change mitigation and adaptation technologies and services. Eligible projects include investments in technologies such as thermal insulation, photovoltaic solar panels, geothermal heat pumps and water-efficient irrigation systems.

The GEFF includes a comprehensive technical advisory package, co-financed by the GCF, which helps to originate and verify green investment opportunities. Companies interested in securing a loan for green technologies can also avail of investment incentives funded by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). Businesses can identify green technologies commonly available in Armenia using the GEFF Technology Selector.

Dimitri Gvindadze, EBRD Head of Armenia, said: Improving access to green finance is one of our key priorities in Armenia. Inecobanks solid client base helps to better reach private-sector players both in Yerevan and the regions. We are committed to helping firms and residents reduce their energy consumption and thus become more competitive.

Inecobank is one of the leading banks in Armenia, offering a full range of banking services to individual customers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Today, the bank serves more than 500,000 customers and has more than 250,000 online users. Inecobank has developed and delivered industry-leading digital banking solutions with a view to introducing an entirely new culture of banking services to Armenia.

We are honoured to continue our fruitful collaboration with the EBRD and once again confirm our commitment to the promotion of green financing in Armenia, said Aren Naltakyan, CEO of Inecobank.

The GEFF programme is helping to build a green economy in Armenia by supporting the expansion of green finance in accordance with the EBRD Green Economy Transition (GET) approach.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Armenia. It has invested more than 1.5 billion in 187 projects in the country, supporting private-sector development and the transition to a sustainable, green economy.

Since 2006, the EBRD has committed more than 36 billion to projects in the regions in which it invests, furthering the transition to the green economy.
Mike Blanning, 72, of North Pole, pops a flex Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, after getting his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the Carlson Center, 2010 Second Ave., in Fairbanks, Alaska.
India has granted emergency use authorization for Russias Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, giving the nation of 1.3 billion people a third shot as it faces vaccine shortages and an intensifying second wave of the virus.

Pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Laboratories said on April 13 that it had received permission from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to import the vaccine, after an expert panel recommended its authorization.

RFE/RL's Coronavirus Coverage Features and analysis, videos, and infographics explore how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the countries in our region.

"India is the most populated country to register the Russian vaccine. Total population of 60 countries where Sputnik V is approved for use is 3 billion people or about 40 percent of the global population," the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, said in a statement.



India has so far given more than 100 million doses of two approved vaccines: the domestically developed Covaxin and Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured locally.



The Russian sovereign wealth fund said it had agreements with five Indian pharmaceutical companies to produce more than 850 million doses a year for the population in India and global distribution.



India is the worlds largest producer of vaccines, making the strategic partnership between RDIF and Indias pharmaceutical industry key to expanding availability of the Sputnik V shot.



Sputnik V, developed by Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, overcame international skepticism in February after peer-reviewed results published in the medical journal The Lancet showed it to be safe and 91.6 percent effective against COVID-19. Sputnik V is a vector vaccine based on the human adenovirus, which causes the common cold.



India is being hit by a record number of new COVID-19 infections and daily deaths, surpassing Brazil as the country with the second-most reported infections since the pandemic began.



It has added 168,912 cases and 904 deaths in the past 24 hours. Since the pandemic began, authorities have confirmed 13.5 million infections and 170,179 deaths linked to the virus, although real numbers are believed to be much higher.



Meanwhile, India's drive to vaccinate its population is running into supply issues, with just 94 million shots provided so far and stocks reportedly running low in some states, including Maharashtra state, home to financial capital Mumbai.



The CEO of the Serum Institute of India, the world's biggest vaccine maker by volume, has warned that production capacity is "very stressed."

Countries around the world are relying on Serum for supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But last month, India began limiting exports to prioritize domestic needs.

With reporting by The Times of India, Hindustan Times, and Reuters.
PSD (Social Democratic Party) leader Marcel Ciolacu on Monday evening criticized Prime Minister Florin Citu for not dismissing the Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu, after what happened at the Mobile Intensive Care Unit at the "Victor Babes" Hospital.

"Citu did it again. He should have dismissed Vlad Voiculescu. The only honourable gesture. But, again, He avoided responsibility. We will do it for him through the motion of censure," Marcel Ciolacu wrote on his Facebook page.

Three patients infected with COVID-19 died in the Mobile Intensive Care Unit at the "Victor Babes" Hospital, because of a failure of the oxygen installation, as the first data available seem to indicate.On Monday, the Social Democrats announced that they will submit a motion of censure against the Minister of Health, Vlad Voiculescu.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Several parties that failed to reach quorum denounce the rigging. The most impressive figure is the low turnout: 30.89% of those eligible. Out of a population of 5.3 million, only 200,000 officially declare themselves unemployed, but data would point to at least half a million out of work.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - A referendum on changes to the Constitution was held in Kyrgyzstan on 11 April, with a series of local elections. Citizens chose 796 deputies from 28 municipal Kenes (councils), and 7,560 deputies from neighborhood councils. The most striking fact is the low participation in the vote. The Kyrgyz section of Radio Svoboda reports a turnout of 1.25 million voters, equal to 30.89% of those eligible (24.2% in the capital Bishkek).

Partial data reveals that six parties will be represented at the municipal Kenes of Bishkek: Emek (14.1%), Ak-Bata (12.4%), NDPK (10.8%), Ata-Jurt Kyrgyzstan (9.7%) , Yntymak (8.4%) and Bizdin El (7.9%), out of 25 parties, confirming the great fragmentation of Kyrgyz public opinion. Participation in the referendum was 35.3%; the votes in favor were 80%; those against 13.6%; 7% of ballots were declared invalid.

The observers of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the SNG (Confederation of Independent States, post-Soviet structure) and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the ODKB (Organization for Collective Security, also post-Soviet, 1992), declared the elections valid.

Among the various parties that did not achieve quorum, the exponent of Bir Bol, Altynbek Suleimanov, protested the irregularity of the competition, accusing a "buying and selling of votes". Bir Bol took part in the elections in Os, and his protests were joined by representatives of Uluttar Birimdigi, Respublika, Butun Kyrgyzstan, Ishenim and Uluu Jurt, also participating in the "southern capital".

The new constitution confirms the presidential form of government, and introduces the Khurultai of the people, a kind of "assembly of the Khans" of the times of the Mongol Empire. Because of this, the new constitution is ironically referred to as Khanstitutsia. The number of parliamentarians has been reduced from 120 to 90, and the elected president of Kyrgyzstan will not be able to lead the country for more than two five-year terms (the current rule provided for a single term for six years, with which Sadyr was elected last January. Zaparov).

As polls reveal, the main concern of the Kyrgyz people remains unemployment. Out of a population of 5.3 million, only 200,000 officially declare themselves unemployed, but in reality the number is believed to be at least half a million people.

One of the main streets of Bishkek, Lev Tolstoy Street, is known as the "job exchange": here, on the side of the road, people waith every day for possible daily work, mostly illegal work in construction sites . On average, a working day guarantees the maintenance of five children and two elderly parents, with an income that can reach up to a thousand Tajik som (about 70 euros). Generally, at least 300 people a day stop on Tolstoy Street looking for work.

With the rise in the prices of basic necessities, moreover, even occasional earnings help little, and the pandemic is continually aggravating the situation. This is the reason for the general skepticism expressed in the low turnout in the elections.
SEATTLE, WA  Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. 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 Online Interior Design Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 90 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 27 making it to the final list for Online Interior Design Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-interior-design-degree-programs/

2021 Online Interior Design Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Academy of Art University

Abilene Christian University

American River College

Appalachian State University

Atlantic International University

Ball State University

Boston Architectural College

Brenau University

California State University, Long Beach

Century College

Chatham University

Clary Sage College

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Mesa Community College

New York Institute of Art and Design

New York School of Interior Design

Palm Beach State College

Penn Foster

Rhode Island School of Design

Savannah College of Art and Design

The New School

Tidewater Community College

Tulsa Community College

UCLA Extension

University of California, Berkeley

University of Idaho

University of Nebraska

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 new annual threat assessment the Director of Intelligence issued Tuesday warns that Russia and China continue to try to assert themselves at the expense of the U.S.  with lesser powers Iran and North Korea also joining the fray.

The 27-page report by DNI Avril Haines warns that China's great power ambitions, along with the coronavirus pandemic and even climate change, will converge to present the U.S. with security challenges.

'Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Pyongyang have demonstrated the capability and intent to advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies, despite the pandemic,' according to the new 2021 Annual Threat Assessment.

The office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines released its 2021 annual threat assessment showing Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are intent to 'advance their interests at the expense of the United States and its allies'

The report dropped on a day the White House said President Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's military buildup along the Ukrainian border, and Iran said it would enrich Uranium at 60 percent following an attack at its Natanz facility.

'The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to strain governments and societies, fueling humanitarian and economic crises, political unrest, and geopolitical competition as countries, such as China and Russia, seek advantage through such avenues as vaccine diplomacy, the report cautioned.

It listed climate threats in its opening paragraphs, amid reports climate envoy John Kerry would be traveling to China.

'Ecological degradation and a changing climate will continue to fuel disease outbreaks, threaten food and water security, and exacerbate political instability and humanitarian crises,' it said.

Russia will 'remain a top cyber threat,' the DNI said, following intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind election hacking

In this handout photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian nuclear submarines Prince Vladimir, above, and Yekaterinburg stay berthside at a Russian naval base in Gazhiyevo, Kola Peninsula, Russia, Russia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021

The report mentions China's ambitions in space

epa09130165 Passengers wearing PPE and face masks walk at the Terminal 2 at the Roissy Airport, near Paris, 11 April 2021 (issued 12 April 2021). The pandemic will continue to pose security challenges

The report came as Russian troops were amassed on the Ukrainian border

The report also looks at Iran's nuclear ambitions. Pictured is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

'North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un 'may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilizing actions'

The report referenced China's long term intentions to 'undercut' Washington.

'The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will continue its whole-of-government efforts to spread Chinas influence, undercut that of the United States, drive wedges between Washington and its allies and partners, and foster new international norms that favor the authoritarian Chinese system,' according to the document.

Russia will remain a 'top cyber threat,' after election interference in 2016 and 2020, the assessment states.

Often those efforts seek to divide the U.S. from its allies, even as the U.S. seeks to rally pressure on Moscow on issues like the detention of opposition leader Alexi Navalny.

Russia 'will continue to employ a variety of tactics this year meant to undermine US influence, develop new international norms and partnerships, divide Western countries and weaken Western alliances, and demonstrate Russias ability to shape global events as a major player in a new multipolar international order,' according to the report.

China's efforts extend to space, where 'Beijing is working to match or exceed US capabilities in space to gain the military, economic, and prestige benefits that Washington has accrued from space leadership.'

The DNI expects a Chinese space station in low Earth orbit 'to be operational between 2022 and 2024.' It said China 'intends to establish a robotic research station on the Moon and later an intermittently crewed lunar base.'

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un 'may take a number of aggressive and potentially destabilizing actions to reshape the regional security environment and drive wedges between the United States and its alliesup to and including the resumption of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing,' according to the report.

Two summit meetings by President Trump do not appear to have moved the DPRK off its conclusions about nuclear weapons.

'We assess that Kim views nuclear weapons as the ultimate deterrent against foreign intervention and believes that over time he will gain international acceptance and respect as a nuclear power,' according to the report.

'He probably does not view the current level of pressure on his regime as enough to require a fundamental change in its approach,' it says.

In Iran, who is back at the negotiating table over its nuclear deal, though without direct talks with Washington, crippling sanctions are having an impact, but could bring more confrontation.

'We expect that Iran will take risks that could escalate tensions and threaten US and allied interests in the coming year,' according to the assessment.
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:41 am

Local families are invited to watch a drive-in showing of the animated movie Inside Out on Friday, April 30 in Battle Ground. Gates will open at 7:30 p.m. with the film starting at 8:30 p.m. on the Lewisville Campus. Admission to the event is free, however, donations to the American Heart Association are encouraged.

The event is hosted by Prevent Together: Battle Ground Prevention Alliance, the Chief Umtuch DREAM Team and the Chief Umtuch Middle School Parent Teacher Organization. Before the movie begins, student-led programming will focus on vaping prevention, heart health and healthy ways to deal with emotions.

According to a news release, the movie Inside Out was selected as a way to continue the work that the DREAM Team has been doing this year to help students better understand their emotions. In the fall, the DREAM Team created emoji trading cards each representing a different emotion that students may have during the pandemic, including tips for how to handle them.

The event will be a fundraiser benefiting the work that the American Heart Association does in local communities in the state of Washington, according to the release. People can choose to donate to the cause, even if they dont plan on attending the movie night.

The drive-in theater experience will be set up in the Lewisville campus parking lot, 406 NW 5th Ave., Battle Ground.

With the pandemic, we knew we couldnt partner in the same way we did last year to do heart health education and fundraise for the American Heart Association, Jennifer Kirby, Prevent Togethers coalition coordinator for Battle Ground, said in the news release. Instead of an assembly focused on vaping and hands-on CPR training, we thought a drive-in movie would be a perfect way to safely engage our families and students while still honoring the schools commitment to the American Heart Association.

Participation in the drive-in movie night is limited to 100 cars, and a ticket is required for entrance. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged to benefit the American Heart Association. Concessions will also be available, and proceeds will go to the American Heart Association. Families can sign up for a ticket (one ticket is needed for each automobile) and/or make a donation online at insideout.bpt.me/.

For everyones health and safety, attendees will be asked to stay in their vehicles whenever possible and to follow all state guidance related to COVID-19, including physical distancing and wearing of masks. If the event is canceled due to weather, it will be rescheduled to May 7.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, a negotiator said Tuesday, pushing its program to higher levels than ever before though still remaining short of weapons-grade.

The announcement marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, suspected of having been carried out by Israel  and could inspire a further response from Israel amid a long-running shadow war between the nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon and his country has twice preemptively bombed Mideast nations to stop their atomic programs.

Already earlier in the day, Irans foreign minister had warned that the weekend assault at Natanz could hurt ongoing negotiations over its tattered atomic deal with world powers. Those talks are aimed at finding a way for the United States to re-enter the agreement, the goal of which is to limit Irans uranium enrichment in exchange for relief on sanctions.

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Nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi, in Vienna to begin informal talks Tuesday night, made a point to make his announcement in English.

We believe this round of negotiations is the time for the U.S. to present a list and I hope that I can go back to Tehran with the list of sanctions which should be lifted, Araghchi told Iranian state televisions English-language arm Press TV. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time.

He said authorities would add another 1,000 more-advanced centrifuges to Natanz as well.

Iran had been enriching up to 20%  even that was a short technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. takes seriously Irans provocative announcement, saying it calls into question Irans seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance with the deal.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported an Israeli-owned ship had been attacked by Iran in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near Fujairah. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an organization monitoring Mideast waterways run by the British navy, described it as a possible incident, without elaborating. U.S. military officials declined to comment and Emirati officials did not acknowledge any incident there.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program up until the end of 2003. However, the nuclear deal prevented it from having enough of a uranium stockpile to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon.

An annual U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday maintained the American assessment that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that we judge would be necessary to produce a nuclear device.

The talks in Vienna are aimed at reviving Americas role in that agreement, which former President Donald Trump abandoned, and lifting the sanctions he imposed.

The Vienna-based IAEA told The Associated Press that Iran had informed the agency it planned to begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity at its Natanz facility. IAEA inspectors have been closely monitoring Tehrans program since the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russias ambassador to the IAEA, said that those who undertook an act of sabotage against the nuclear facility in Natanz probably wanted to undermine the process of reviving the nuclear accord. Russia is a member of the nuclear deal.

The move to 60% had been hinted at in the past. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had threatened to go to that level in February if the country needed.

We are determined to develop our nuclear capabilities in line with the needs of the country, Khamenei said then. For this reason, Irans enrichment will not be limited to 20%, and we will take whatever action is necessary for the country.

Iran previously had said it could use uranium enriched up to 60% for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic currently has no such ships in its navy.

The weekend attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls  but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack.

Alireza Zakani, the hard-line head of the Iranian parliaments research center, referred to several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed in a state TV interview. However, no other official has offered that figure and no images of the aftermath have been released.

The U.S. has insisted it had nothing to do with Sundays sabotage. Israel is widely believed to have carried out the assault that damaged centrifuges, though it has not claimed it.

But earlier Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif still issued a warning to Washington.

Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage actions would provide them with an instrument for talks, Zarif said in Tehran alongside visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They should know that these actions would only make the situation difficult for them.

Zarif separately renewed his earlier warning to Israel over the sabotage, saying that if Iran determines its archenemy was behind it, then Israel will get its response and will see what a stupid thing it has done.

Kayhan, the hard-line Tehran newspaper, urged Iran to walk out of the Vienna talks, suspend all nuclear commitments, retaliate against Israel and identify and dismantle the domestic infiltration network behind the sabotage.

Irans withdrawal from the talks remains unlikely as the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, whose main diplomatic achievement was the 2015 accord, hopes to get the U.S. to rejoin it and provide desperately needed sanctions relief. But the announcement that it would enrich uranium further shows how pressure has been growing within Irans theocracy over how to respond to the attack.

Rouhani met later Tuesday with Lavrov and stressed the importance of all parties returning to the deal.

We are neither ready to accept less than that, nor are we after achieving more than that, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; David Rising in Berlin; Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report.
Medication abortion has been available in the United States since 2000, when the FDA approved the use of mifepristone. Taken with a hormone blocker called misoprostol, it constitutes the so-called abortion pill. About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication  rather than surgery  and that option has become more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Created in 2011, this photography-focused initiative has collected hundreds of stories and gained a large social media following. The project is the brainchild of Dijon Bowden, a multi-faceted creator who hopes to turn the SOULS imitative into a worldwide phenomenon.

SOULS of Society is a photography-focused initiative that sees its creator - Dijon Bowden - walks the San Francisco streets to capture thousands of stories. This project involves taking pictures and collecting stories about people on city streets, some of whom also become guests in Dijon's podcasts. These stories are then published for free on the project's official website.

Created in 2011, SOULS of Society aims to bring people closer through untold stories. It endeavors to increase empathy, compassion, and spiritual awareness. Since then, the project has struck a chord with the public. It brought together more than 160,000 people on social media to actively engage with this movement.

Dijon Bowden believes that art is powerful enough to heal and transform our society. Presently, this creator is working on several projects, with SOULS of Society at the forefront of his artistic efforts. He is now in the process of selecting more creators who can take photos to collect stories in other cities across the world, further helping bring people together.

"SOULS of San Francisco is the 1st chapter of the international SOULS of Society movement. The mission is to connect communities by telling stories that increase compassion, empathy, and spiritual awareness," explains Dijon.

Artists who are interested in participating in the project can do so through the SOULS of Society official website. Storytellers who wish to be part of the program need to send Dijon 5 stories of their city, alongside a video of them dancing and a text explaining why they want to be part of the project.

So far, the project is limited to the San Francisco area. But it has already been the subject of an independent documentary, titled "Ignition - SOULS of San Francisco". It's available for free on YouTube.

SOULS is just one of the many projects Dijon is involved in with the purpose of bringing people together. "The first thing to know about me is that I love people," he explains. The artist believes that creativity is a spiritual exercise. He mentions that when he creates art, his intention is to be expressed fully and be a pure channel for society's awakening and elevation. His goal is to explore themes of essentialism, spirituality, creativity, and love through different mediums.

Garry "Dijon" Bowden Jr. has collected the various projects he's involved in into one platform, called Dijon's Dimension. On top of SOULS of Society, he's also part of a band and runs a podcast. The podcast, called "Awakening Genius", is also where he interviews regular people who he meets through the SOULS project, giving listeners a chance to learn more about the people who posed for the pictures.

It all goes to Dijon's ultimate goal: to bring people together through understanding and compassion.

Contact:

Dijon Bowden

dijon@soulsofsociety.com

SOURCE: Dijon's Dimension

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640126/SOULS-of-Society-Initiative-Is-Helping-to-Bring-People-Closer-Together-Through-Art
Instagram has launched new features on the occasion of Ramadan. There are three new stickers on Instagram created for Ramadan that started on April 12, and will continue until May 11. The new Ramadan stickers can be used in Instagram Stories. The Facebook-owned company regularly launches stickers to celebrate festivals, and commemorate important events around the world.

The three stickers feature the moon, iftar food, and a mosque in colourful illustrations. Instagram has also placed the stickers under Featured so they appear on top in the sticker stray. The stickers will also be visible through a multi-author story on Instagram. So if you have people you follow use any of the Ramadan stickers, theyll appear together in a collated story in your feed.

How to use Ramadan stickers

Open the camera on your Instagram app.

Take a photo or video that you wish to put up as a story.

Tap on the sticker icon available on the top bar.

The Ramadan stickers will be visible on top under Featured.

Select any or all of the stickers and place them on your story.
Nidec Corporation would invest EUR1.5bn euro ($1.8bn) to build an automotive electric motor and inverter factory in Novi Sad, in northern Serbia, a media report said.

In the first phase alone, Nidec will employ 480 people and their income will be significantly higher than the average in Serbia, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting with Nidec officials in Belgrade on Friday, according to a statement quoted by SeeNews.com.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September with completion by mid-2022, the company said in a separate statement.

The factory will have a 59,760 sq m factory for the motors and a 36,000 sq m plant for inverters. They will initially employ 1,000 and 200 people, respectively, SeeNews said.

The factory will be one of the companys largest in Europe with an annual output of between 200,000 and 300,000 units by 2023, Nikkei reported in November.



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"While the company's multiple businesses will be operated at the same sites to seek synergies by sharing the same production infrastructure and back-office, the new business bases will engage in, among others, supplying products to the European market, while looking to design and develop products locally in Serbia, a country abundant in people in the fields of science and engineering who are fluent in English," Nidec reportedly said in a statement.

SeeNews noted Nidec opened an office in Novi Sad on 8 April and has agreed a strategic alliance with the University of Novi Sad for technology exchanges via industry-academia partnership.
Hermosa Vista School is the first of a trio of projects funded by Measure S. Hermosa Vista School is a reconstruction of the former North School, and houses the District's third and fourth graders. The bond also provided funds for renovations at the District's two other schools: Hermosa View School, which houses kindergarten to second graders; and Hermosa Valley School, for the District's fifth to eighth graders.

The new Hermosa Vista School consists of a two-story administration/classroom/library building and a multipurpose building. The facilities are designed to be Zero Net Energy, with highly efficient MEP systems and extensive photovoltaic solar arrays on both buildings that will generate all of the electricity needed for the school.

Robert Simons, AIA, President of SVA Architects, states, "Hermosa Vista School is an example of design meeting the future, highlighting remarkable achievements in facility sustainability. The students and teachers will enjoy a modern, enhanced learning environment, and the sustainable features will benefit the entire community, while representing shared values and vision."

About SVA Architects

Founded in 2003, SVA Architects has become one of the Country's most innovative and respected design and planning organizations. The award-winning firm specializes in urban planning, architecture, and interior design of public, private, and mixed-use projects. Among the firm's portfolio are civic, educational, residential, commercial and mixed-use developments. SVA Architects values institutional and public environments as the foundation of a community and the backdrop against which we live, learn, work, worship, and play. The company is headquartered in Santa Ana with offices in Oakland, San Diego, and Honolulu. For more information, visit www.sva-architects.com.

Media Contact: Beth Binger

BCI

Mobile: (619) 987-6658

[email protected]

SOURCE SVA Architects

Related Links

https://sva-architects.com/


The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has said that India has become the 60th country to approve the use of Sputnik V against and more than 850 million doses of the vaccine are going to be produced in the country annually.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has registered the vaccine under the emergency use authorisation procedure. This is based on results of clinical trials in as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

The vaccine has been approved for use in countries with a total population of 3 billion people or about 40 per cent of the global population, and India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement.

India is also the most populated country to register the vaccine and also the leading production hub for Sputnik V, it added.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said the approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as both countries have been developing an extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

"The Russian vaccine has efficacy of 91.6 per cent and provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the data published in one of the leading medical journals -- The Lancet," he added.

Noting that India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and a strategic partner for production of Sputnik V, he said RDIF has created partnerships with a number of India's leading pharmaceutical companies for production of Sputnik V which will provide for both vaccination of the population in India and global distribution of the vaccine.

"Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world," he said.

According to the release, RDIF has agreements with India's Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech aimed at production of more than 850 million doses per year.

Sputnik will be the third vaccine to be used in India against In January, DCGI had given the emergency use authorisation for two COVID-19 vaccines -- Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune.

As per RDIF, Sputnik V has a number of key advantages, including that there are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

The price of the vaccine is less than USD 10 per shot and it uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots, it added.

Other countries that have approved use of Sputnik V include Argentina, Bolivia, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Bahrain and Sri Lanka.

(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.)
Square Care Medical Group, a multi-specialty group with a focus on Womens Healthcare, is excited to announce its first ancillary service as it opens New Hyde Park Mammography. The new suite is located within the offices of Dr. Frank Dolisi and, in conjunction with Mt. Sinai Radiology, will deliver a high caliber breast imaging and mammography service to our patients. This will be Square Care Medical Groups first ancillary service addition and will allow for the ease of gynecological care along with mammography/breast ultrasound screenings, all within the same convenient medical office.

Square Care Medical Group affiliated with Unified Womens Healthcare, a national physician management company, in 2019, Through its Mammography Services division, Unified has placed more than 30 mammography suites in several of its affiliated practices across seven states.

Kelli Vasquez, Market Leader for Unified Womens Healthcare Operations, New York, notes, Since my time with Square Care, we have always talked about growth, about ancillaries, and about expanding our footprint in New York. Now, with the start of our New Hyde Park Mammography site, it is becoming a reality!

All patients of our Square Care Breast Imaging Program should expect to receive superb care, and known for:



Breast-Certified Radiologists and Qualified Technologists

Screening and Diagnostic Mammography Ultrasound

Timely Results and 3D Mammography

Here is the information for the Square Care Breast Imaging Program and Making Appointments:



191 Herricks Road., New Hyde Park, NY 11040

Phone: 516-742-2224

Fax: 833-629-0316

Affiliated Providers:

1. Frank Dolisi, MD

2. Jennifer Hanauer, MD

3. Daniela Barro, PA

4. Kerry Cummings, NP

5. Laura Cerlini, NP

6. Paul Byrne, MD

7. Lewis Rosenberg, MD

8. Iman Saleh, MD

9. Roseanna Miller, MD

10. Georgia Vnook-Early, NP

About Square Care Medical Group

Square Care Medical Group is a value driven, multi-specialty group with locations throughout Long Island and expanding throughout the New York metropolitan area. We are a physician-owned and lead Medical Group whose vision is to fundamentally change the way care is delivered and provide the highest quality, most efficient and effective care possible to enable positive health outcomes for our population.

Square Care Medical Group is a proud affiliated medical practice of Unified Womens Healthcare. For more information, visit squarecarehealth.com.

About Unified Womens Healthcare

Unified Womens Healthcare is the leading physician practice management company that provides indispensable business knowledge, innovation and support to physicians and their teams. With a single-specialty focus on womens healthcare, Unified offers a complete suite of practice management services as well as ancillary services and diversified business strategies to help drive practice growth.

Unified Mammography Services, a division of Unified Womens Healthcare, is a completely turnkey solution that provides project management, installation, inspections, state licensing and highly qualified staff. Working with imaging industry leaders and the latest in 3D mammography technology affords the best experience for our valued patients. For more information, visit unifiedwomenshealthcare.com.
China is a giant in the international tourism market where neither Spain nor Andalucia have achieved the desired level of business.

Breaking into this market is an issue that the Junta de Andalucia now plans to address, due to the volume of potential tourists and the high level of spending.

The Juntas tourism department has signed a collaboration agreement with the EU SME Center, a European Union initiative that offers practical support to small and medium-sized companies to do business in the Chinese market.

The objective is to address the knowledge gaps in the country in order to provide Andalusian companies in the tourism sector with tools that will better prepare them for entering this market.

Among the activities planned are seminars, individual consultation services and support in future trade missions.

The regional government explains that "the EU SME Center, funded by the European Union, has a team of experts who offer SMEs advice and support in four areas, such as business development, legislation, standards and compliance and human resources."

Before the start of the pandemic, more than a thousand tourists from China stayed each month in hotels in Malaga city according to the data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In 2019, in the city alone, there were 14,855 Chinese travellers who booked more than 18,600 hotel nights, from where they usually made trips to Ronda and Mijas.

These are travellers with a high purchasing power usually travel in groups and stop on the Costa del Sol as part of a holiday itinerary of the main Spanish cities. Hence, they are also frequent users of the AVE high-speed train that connects with Madrid.

However, Malaga airport was the main entry point for travellers from all over Asia to Andalucia as Turkish Airlines had up to two daily flights between the Costa del Sol and Istanbul, which acts as a 'hub' with numerous Chinese airports.
It's a new day, a new beginning. It's all about the starting life afresh. So as you begin a new journey, find out what the stars have in store for you today. There are twelve zodiac signs and each has its distinct feature. Be it, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces  each of the signs has something unique to tell.

Aries

Today you may help people around you - especially those in need. Creativity will strike well and new ideas will come to your mind at work. You might also want to indulge in a change of interiors in your house. Lovers will find themselves planning a trip close by.

Taurus

You will find yourself being busy with domestic issues - especially solving issues between two people you love. You will also find yourself spending on household items, try to control that spend. At work you will be too busy to take care of a new project handed over to you.

Gemini

Your way of thinking is going to be positive today. You will show true leadership skills at work and impress your bosses. You will want to spend on a lavish dinner with family and friends. Kids might want some help in the educational area with you.

Cancer

Something big at work will make you nervous today. Students, if exams are near then try studying by writing more and remembering things. Lovers might quarrel during the first half of the day. Singles should keep their heart shut today.

Leo

You will find excess positivity in your career today. If you want to ask for a promotion then today is a good day to do so. You will find gains in terms of previous investments. Friends and family will be willing to help you with your health today.

Virgo

Plan some investment for your future today. A career switch might be coming close. Singles will find love in an unexpected social setting. Lovers, focus on getting your communication better today.

Libra

You will be rewarded for hard work at the office. Your parents health is going to be very good. Your creativity is at its peak, so do something in the artistic world today. Kids will need your attention more than usual.

Scorpio

You will be satisfied with your job today. Religious places might be calling out to you. Your spiritual energy is high today. Focus on planning for the next few months - in terms of home and work both.

Sagittarius

You might feel dull at work. But at home things will be different. Family will be energised and keep you on your toes. Loved ones might plan a surprise for you. Some bad news regarding money will come towards you, so its best not to spend too much.

Capricorn

There will be harmony in your domestic setting today. Some influential person will inspire you, and might even offer you a job. A lot of people will be attracted to you, especially singles. Lovers - take up a new hobby to spend some time together.

Aquarius

You will be busy with work today. Your family might want more of your attention. If you have a business, you will find successful investors today. You might also want to plan for future education to help better your path.

Pisces

You will self-analyze yourself a lot today. Focus on building yourself for the better and dont critique. Superiors might want more of your attention than usual. Family wont be able to understand your work life, and this might create some friction. Investments will get gains today.

The astrological predictions are by Dr Sundeep Kochar.
South Carolinas health department said the state will not continue administering the Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine until it is cleared by the federal oversight agencies who on Tuesday hit pause on the companys vaccine.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration strongly recommended that disbursement of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine stop out of an abundance of caution after six women developed blood clots, the food and drug agency said.

The blood clots, the agencies said, were all documented among women ages 18 to 48, and the women developed symptoms six to 13 days after they each had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

These adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the agencies said. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.

Dr. Edward Simmer, South Carolinas health director, told reporters on Tuesday outside a federal COVID-19 vaccine site that he did not think a pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would have an impact on the states vaccine availability.

While some clinics had to cancel vaccine disbursement as a result of the news, Simmer told reporters that about 95% or more of the states vaccination sites are not giving out Johnson & Johnson vaccines and therefore there should be no significant impact.

This story will be updated.
There have been numerous portrayals of Prince Philip over the course of his long life, which ended Friday at the age of 99. Actors including Tobias Menzies, Matt Smith, James Cromwell and Christopher Lee all played the part.

However, according to one of Philips biographers, no one ever captured the mans essence onscreen. The reason, said Ingrid Seward, the author of Prince Philip Revealed, is that no one ever had the opportunity to study him closely. As a man accustomed to walking a few paces behind his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, in public, he remained partly out of view.

Seward, who has interviewed many members of the royal family, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana, began talking to the Duke of Edinburgh in the late 1970s. Some of their early meetings were disasters, she said. He was rude to me. But she eventually formed a clearer view of Philips complicated persona  his irascible character, his acerbic wit, his generosity of spirit.

Here, she helps assess the accuracy and relative merits of his film and television portrayals through the decades, which evolved along with the public perception of the monarchy.
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Anti-coup demonstrators across Myanmar turned the countrys traditional New Years celebration into a quiet protest against the military junta Tuesday, as the United Nations warned the situation could deteriorate into full-blown conflict.



The February 1 coup that removed de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government from power has prompted people in Myanmar to forgo the usual rituals of the five-day Thingyan festival, including raucous water fights in the streets. Protesters instead painted pro-democracy symbols and slogans on the traditional flower pots displayed during Thingyan, including the three-fingered salute that has come to symbolize Myanmars resistance movement.



The coup has sparked daily mass demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the return of Suu Kyi and her elected government to power.



The junta has responded with an increasingly violent and deadly crackdown against the protesters. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nongovernmental monitoring organization, estimates that more than 700 people have been killed since the coup, including more than 80 protesters killed Friday in the southern city of Bago, located more than 70 kilometers northeast of the countrys largest city, Yangon.



The violence prompted U.N. human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet to issue a statement Monday warning that the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict similar to the current bloody civil war in Syria.



Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough, Bachelet continued. States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity against the people.



Suu Kyi has been detained since the coup, and is facing six criminal charges, the most serious of them a charge of breaking the countrys colonial-era secrets law that could put her in prison for 14 years if convicted.



The military cited widespread fraud in last Novembers general election -- which Suu Kyis National League for Democracy won in a landslide -- as its reasons for overthrowing Suu Kyis government.
The great strides that we have created together by utilizing digital transformation in healthcare should be advanced by our government for the greater good of Americans coast to coast.  Marc Fischer

Telemedicine, wearables, and health data have helped immensely in humanitys fight against the coronavirus pandemic. But how will these emerging technological paradigms impact the future of the United States? The App Economy Conference (AppCon) is an annual event that aims to answer this question by bringing together Americas top mobile innovators and political leaders in Washington, D.C for a candid discussion.

Organized by ACT | The App Association, the first week of AppCon 21 took place from April 5th to the 9th. ACT is a Washington, D.C.-based public policy organization that represents more than 5,000 app and connected device companies leading the $1.7 trillion mobile economy. The association strives to drive smart innovation and regulation in the tech industry by connecting its top leaders with preeminent policymakers. Like last years event, this conference was completely virtual due to the pandemic. Unlike the previous iteration, AppCon 21 has been split into four weeks, with the first focused on healthcare and pandemic response.

Marc Fischer, CEO and Co-Founder of Dogtown Media, a Los Angeles-based mobile app development company, was among the cohort of tech business leaders who joined the first week of AppCon 2021. Fischer attended as a representative of California. Previous AppCons gave Fischer the chance to broach topics like 5Gs future in rural areas, chronic health condition costs, and accelerating U.S. AI innovation with a number of well-known names in politics such as FCC Commissioner Michael ORielly and Director Ajit Pai, Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, and Senator Amy Klobuchar. He hoped to have similar fruitful discussions at AppCon 21, and he was not disappointed.

During AppCon 21s first week, Fischer had the opportunity to delve into the essential roles of telehealth and wearables in the U.S.s COVID-19 response with Joe Hartz of the House Small Business Committee and Micky Tripathi, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Fischer also got to discuss future policies to make healthcare more accessible with Georgia Congressman Buddy Carter, Orriel Richardson of the House Ways & Means Committee, and Stuart Portman of the Senate Finance Committee.

One of the most important themes throughout all of Fischers meetings was the need for telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) waivers implemented by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during the COVID-19 pandemic to remain in place permanently. The adoption of these innovative digital services has proven to be effective in saving costs, improving convenience and quality of care, and lowering the administrative burden on medical facilities during this crisis. The great strides that we have created together by utilizing digital transformation in healthcare should be advanced by our government for the greater good of Americans coast to coast, said Fischer.

Although briefer than the duration of previous AppCon events, the first segment of AppCon 21 proved to be productive and insightful. Fischer and ACTs other members feel that progress is being made in the right direction. Opening this dialogue with U.S. Congressional Leaders is an important step in enacting positive change  one that has already paid off in dividends through previous policies. As far as the topics of this week at AppCon 21 go, Fischer is optimistic that the U.S. will see similar results from these meetings.

Fischer and other ACT members are also engaging with the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Digital Health Center of Excellence to craft guidelines for the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence in healthcare. Not only will these policies help ensure high quality of care, but they will also ensure data confidentiality and patient privacy.

Based in Venice Beach, Dogtown Media is a mobile technology studio that leverages disruptive design strategies and dynamic development to deliver industry-leading apps. To date, Dogtown Media has created over 250 mobile apps in industries including Healthcare app development, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence.
Forward-looking: Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) kicked off today in an all-digital format. CEO Jensen Huang took to the stage to give us all the annual tidbits of juicy GPU news... and more. This time around, that news came in the form of a roadmap, which lays out Nvidia's rough hardware plans for the next four years.

Between now and 2025, Nvidia aims to release six generations of hardware. Two of them will center around GPUs: Ampere Next and Ampere "Next Next." We assume these architecture names aren't final, but the cards are set for release in 2022 and 2024, respectively.

That'll give everyone about another year to enjoy -- or not, considering the widespread GPU shortages we've seen lately -- Nvidia's 30-series GPUs before the next hardware leap arrives. If Nvidia sticks to its current RTX naming conventions, Ampere Next will likely be branded RTX 4000-series, with Next Next taking on the 5000-series moniker.

It's too early to predict things like performance, energy efficiency, or cooling capabilities for these next-gen GPUs, but other products are coming up on Nvidia's roadmap, too -- namely, its newly-announced ARM-based CPUs (called Grace and Grace Next, for now). These CPUs are scheduled to launch in 2023 and 2025.

Finally, Nvidia's Data Processing Unit (DPU) Bluefield will also see two new iterations; Bluefield-3 in 2022 and Bluefield 4 in 2024. Nvidia hopes the new DPUs will offer exponential increases in raw processing power. Bluefield-3 is claimed to be 10 times faster than its predecessor, and Bluefield-4 could bring a 100x performance boost.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Department of Health is working with vaccine providers who were expecting to administer Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 shots on alternative plans -- including colleges, universities and mass vaccination sites, an agency spokeswoman said late Tuesday morning.

Currently at the Wolstein Center mass vaccination site in Cleveland, where around 6,000 people are getting shots a day, patients are completing their second dose of Pfizer shots this week.

For the final two weeks of the eight-week clinic, health care workers were to shift to offering the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Week 7 was supposed to begin April 27, and week 8 was to begin May 10, Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Alicia Shoults said.

Furthermore, the Department of Health issued guidance Tuesday for how providers should handle J&J vaccines.

Any provider who has received, or will be receiving, a shipment of Johnson & Johnson vaccines should properly store it per the manufacturers recommendations and contact any patients with appointments for Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Shoults said. If providers do not have vaccines available from another manufacturer, we are recommending that they work with the patients to cancel or reschedule those appointments for a future date.

Six women across the country developed rare blood clots within two weeks of receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot, which became available in the U.S. in early March. The federal government, as well as Gov. Mike DeWine, called for a pause on using the shot on Tuesday out of an abundance of caution.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is helping run and pay for the Cleveland mass vaccination clinic, said Tuesday morning it will suspend the use of the J&J shot at its sites.

In alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administrations recommendation to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, effective immediately FEMA will stop administering this vaccine at our pilot Community Vaccination Clinics, as well as via our Mobile Vaccine Units, said Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton in a statement.

Summit County Public Health, which had been administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, has decided to shift to the Pfizer vaccine for the upcoming clinic at the fairgrounds in Tallmadge on Sunday. The Pfizer vaccine requires two doses administered about three weeks apart.

Many Ohio college students, in their final weeks on campus before the semester ends, are receiving J&J vaccines. DeWine deployed the vaccines to campuses across the state, since the single dose is convenient for people who might not be around for a second dose.

Both Kent State University and the University of Akron said they are are pausing their on-campus clinics.

The Johnson & Johnson shots have also been sent to independent pharmacies across Ohio.

More coverage:

Ohio legislature to see bills critics say are anti-transgender

Ohio reports 1,934 more coronavirus cases: Monday update

What Ohio could have learned about the coronavirus  if the state had the data
Tokyo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :Japan's government on Tuesday approved a plan to release more than one million tonnes of treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, in a controversial decision that follows years of debate.

The release, which is not likely to begin for several years and could take decades to complete, has sparked concern in neighbouring countries and faces fierce opposition from local fishing communities and anti-nuclear activists.

Japan's government argues that the release will be safe because the water is processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted.

It has support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which says the release is similar to processes for disposing of waste water from nuclear plants elsewhere in the world.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a ministerial meeting that disposing of the water was an "inevitable task" in the decades-long process of decommissioning the nuclear plant.

He said the release would happen only "after ensuring the safety levels of the water" and alongside measures to "prevent reputational damage".

Around 1.25 million tonnes of water has accumulated in tanks at the nuclear plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011.

It includes water used to cool the plant, as well as rain and groundwater that seeps in daily.

An extensive pumping and filtration system known as "ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System)" extracts tonnes of newly contaminated water each day and filters out most radioactive elements.

But local fishing communities fear releasing the water will undermine years of work to restore confidence in seafood from the region.

"They told us that they wouldn't release the water into the sea without the support of fishermen," Kanji Tachiya, who heads a local fisheries cooperative in Fukushima, told NHK ahead of the announcement.

"We can't back this move to break that promise and release the water into the sea unilaterally." The decision also prompted regional opposition even before it was official, with South Korea's foreign minister on Monday expressing "serious regret".

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Japan to "act in a responsible manner".

"To safeguard international public interests and Chinese people's health and safety, China has expressed grave concern to the Japanese side through the diplomatic channel," Zhao said Monday.

- Greenpeace slams decision - Around 140 cubic metres (5,000 cubic feet) of radioactive water was generated by the site every day in 2020 and storage space will run out by summer 2022.

Debate over how to handle the water has dragged on for years, with the government saying it wanted to win support from local communities and secure backing from the IAEA.

A government panel earlier endorsed either diluting the treated water and releasing it into the ocean or releasing it as vapour, and the IAEA says either option is acceptable.

"Releasing into the ocean is done elsewhere. It's not something new. There is no scandal here," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said last year.

Either method would be "in line with well-established practices all around the world", he added.

Anti-nuclear activist group Greenpeace slammed Japan's government for having "once again failed the people of Fukushima".

"The cabinet's decision failed to protect the environment and neglected the large-scale opposition and concerns of the local Fukushima residents, as well as the neighbouring citizens around Japan," said climate and energy campaigner Kazue Suzuki in a statement.

The ALPS filtration process removes most radioactive elements from the water, but some remain, including tritium.

Experts say the element is only harmful to humans in large doses and with dilution the treated water poses no scientifically detectable risk.

"There is consensus among scientists that the impact on health is minuscule," Michiaki Kai, an expert on radiation risk assessment at Japan's Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, told AFP before the decision was announced.
New Delhi: Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra was on Monday appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner, the law ministry said.

According to a notification issued by the Legislative Department of the ministry, Chandra will assume charge on April 13.

Incumbent Sunil Arora demitted office on Monday.



"In pursuance of clause (2) of Article 324 of the Constitution, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Sushil Chandra as the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from the 13th April, 2021," the notification read.

Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

Under him, the Election Commission would hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year.

The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year.

New assemblies have to be constituted before their five year term ends.

Chandra was the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes before he joined the EC.

Followng the retirement of Arora, the three-member poll body as of now has a vacancy. While Chandra will be the new CEC from Tuesday, Rajiv Kumar is the other election commissioner.

Chandra, an IIT graduate, is a 1980-batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre).

Since Chandra has expertise in taxation and investigation, he has helped the poll panel in election expenditure by political parties and candidates, a senior EC official said.

Before Chandra, T S Krishnamurthy was the other IRS officer to be appointed as election commissioner. He went on to become the chief election commissioner in 2004.

Chandra completed his BTech from Roorkee University and LLB from Dehradun and joined IRS in 1980.

He has served in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai and has worked in the areas of international taxation and investigation at various places.

He was commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) International Taxation at Delhi.

Before being appointed chairman of CBDT, he was member (Investigation) in the Board.

Besides the last Lok Sabha polls, Chandra also was part of preparations in holding assembly elections in Delhi, Haryana and a few other states.

He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission tasked to redraw the assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has provision for a legislature. At present it is under central rule.
Greg Sukiennik has worked at all three Vermont News & Media newspapers and was their managing editor from 2017-19. He previously worked for ESPN.com, for the AP in Boston, and at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass.
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President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders paid tribute to Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans Tuesday in the Rotunda after he was killed when a vehicle rammed into Evans and another officer at a barricade just 100 yards from the Capitol Building.

Evans' son Logan, nine, and daughter Abigail, seven, held stuffed animals as they watched his coffin be carried up the Capitol steps and then sat with their mother Shannon in the Rotunda has Biden performed an emotional eulogy.

Logan was wearing his father's police hat as he sat down in the Rotunda. Biden picked up one of their dropped toys - a squishy Capitol Building - as he waited to speak. He gave Logan a challenge coin afterward.

Biden spoke directly to Evans' family members - his mother, sister, two children and their mother - about grief. 'I buried two of my children,' Biden told the officer's mother, pointing out that while he didn't know Billy, 'I knew Billys,' listing some of the characteristics of cops the president knew from back home in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Biden told the children 'your dad was a hero. And he's part of you. It's in your blood' and said he hoped for the day when 'the moment of the smile comes without the tear'.

The president told the family that it will get easier. 'But the truth is, the time is going to come, I promise you - not believable now - when a memory, a fragrance, a scene, a circumstance, the way his son tilts his head when he did at that age, it's going to bring back the memory,' Biden said.

'I promise you it's going to come,' the president continued. 'You're going to make it, by holding each other together, most importantly, by holding Logan and Abigail, as tightly as you can.'

'Because as long as you have them, you've got Billy,' Biden said. The president met privately with the family before departing the Capitol.

Evans, 41, was rammed by a car at the Capitol on April 2 and died from multiple blunt force injuries to the head. The Washington D.C. medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.

Logan (left) and Abigail (right), the children of Officer Billy Evans look around the Rotunda during a ceremony for their father attended by top Congressional leadership and the president of the United States

President Joe Biden is captured giving Billy Evans' son Logan a challenge coin after his speech

Billy Evans' son Logan wears a police hat during a ceremony Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda

President Joe Biden gives remarks at a ceremony in honor of Capitol Police Office Billy Evans

Billy Evans' daughter Abigail plays with her mom Shannon's mask during a ceremony for the officer Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda

President Joe Biden (left) handed Abigail back her toy Capitol Building during a ceremony for her father, the late Billy Evans

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) stands alongside President Joe Biden (right) in the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday as Officer Billy Evans lies in honor at the U.S. Capitol

On Tuesday, lines of National Guard troops guarding the Capitol since the January 6 MAGA riot saluted the procession as the black hearse carrying Evans' casket drove to the building.

Capitol Police officers intercepted it outside and stood and watched as it was carried inside the Capitol to the Rotunda, where Evans will be the second Capitol Police officer in 2021 to lie in honor.

The officer who was injured alongside Evans during the barricade attack, Ken Shaver, attended the ceremony and was wearing a boot.

At the ceremony, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke first.

Schumer noted how Capitol Police officers are 'approached by hundreds of lost tourists a day.'

'If you were one of the lucky ones, you'd bump into Officer Billy Evans,' Schumer said.

'"Excuse me," they'd say, "Can I ask you a question?" Billy would flash a wide smiles, eyes full of mirth and say, "But you already did,"' Schumer said. 'To know Billy Evans was to know, to borrow from Shakespeare, a fellow of infinite jest.'

President Joe Biden presents a challenge coin Tuesday to Logan Evans

Logan and Abigail, the children of the late U.S. Capitol Police officer William 'Billy' Evans, are comforted by their mother Shannon Terranova

Billy Evans' children Logan (left) and Abigail (right) look at the program with a photo of their father

Logan Evans walks by the casket of his father, Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans

President Joe Biden follows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi into the Rotunda on Tuesday

Schumer kidded that not all of Evans' jokes were winners, dubbing a number of them 'bad dad jokes' and others 'random.'

Pictured: The challenge coin Biden handed young Logan during the emotional ceremony for his dad's death

Getting back to the tourist anecdote, Schumer noted how Evans would reply, 'Now let me ask you a question, he'd say, how can I help.'

'Summing up his life's mission in those four simple words,' the New York Democrat said.

Schumer said Evans had an 'innate impulse' to run toward danger.

'A reflex as natural and automatic as breath to put his safety and happiness of others before his own,' Schumer said.

Schumer also spoke more broadly to the Capitol Police force.

'These last few months have been devastating. Just as the scars of January 6 have begun to heal, another wound has opened,' the Senate leader said. 'To our dear Capitol Police force who protect us, there is no shame in grief and sorry and shock. We grieve with you.'

Schumer encouraged those who knew Evans to keep talking about him, noting how in the Jewish faith they say to let his memory be a blessing.

'Tell his stories, tell his jokes, even the bad ones, especially the bad ones, to keep his memory alive,' he said.

Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, the hero officer who helped divert rioters away from lawmakers on January 6, pays his respects to his fallen colleague

READ JOE BIDEN'S SPEECH AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER BILLY EVANS Madam Speaker, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McCarthy, my friend, Minority - Minority Leader McConnell, members of Congress, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, Attorney General Garland, Mayor Bowser, all the Capitol Hill Police and all that are here to pay tribute to this Capitol policeman who fell in the line of duty, Acting Chief Pittman, and the men and women of the Capitol Police Force: I'm sorry - the second time in two months we have such a ceremony. And, you know, Mom, I didn't know Billy, but I knew Billy. I grew up with Billys in Claymont and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Billy was always the kid that you know if you got in a fight and you're outnumbered three to one, he'd still jump in, knowing you'd both get beaten. He was the one who always kept his word. If he said he'd be there, he'd be there. He was the one who, just like the folks I grew up with, wasn't capable of saying no when you needed him. You know, just like you, Officer Kenny Shaver was injured in the attack with Billy. And never has there been more strain - and I've been here a long time; I've been here since 1972 as U.S. senator - '73 - has so much strain and responsibility been placed on the shoulders --the shoulders of Capitol Police. And yet, you hear it, you see it, you watch them, and you watch them do their duty with pure courage and not complain. You know, Sergeant Kyle King, I'm sorry you had to make the call - that telephone call that every family dreads when they have a son or daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister in uniform. Because every morning - every morning they pin that badge on, go to work, they expect to come home. In the back of your minds, 'We'll never get that call.' You knew Billy since grade school. I think it was the fourth grade. I got to deal with all the guys that I grew up and knew in fourth grade. When one passes away, the other one has to give up because he has too much information about you, too much to leave behind. But, you know, I'm sure all those memories from North Adams and Clarksburg never changed who Billy was. He was defined by his dignity, his decency, his loyalty, and his courage. And, Mom, that's because of you and his Dad. That's how it happened - not by accident. Mrs. Evans, you have - I have some idea of what you're feeling like. I buried two of my children. And people have come up to you and are going to come up to you for some time and say, 'I know how you feel.' They're going to say that to sis. They're going to say that to the kids. They're going to say that to his former wife. And after a while -- you know everybody means well -- you feel like saying, 'You have no idea.' But the truth is that a time is going to come, I promise you - not believable now - when a memory, a fragrance, a scene, a circumstance, the way his son tilts his head the way he did when he was that age - it's going to bring back the memory. And for the longest time, it's going to feel like, at that moment, that memory - it's going to feel like you got the phone call just that moment ago. And there are going to be people celebrating Billy's life. And as much as you appreciate it - all of you - it also is hard, you relive everything again. You know, I - I got a phone call when I first got here and lost my family - part of my family - from a person I never knew, never met: the former governor of New Jersey, who was literally 40 - 45 years my senior. And he told me he knew how I felt. And I didn't say anything. He said, 'I know what you're thinking.' He said, 'But I did know.' He said, 'I used to come home - I was the Attorney General of New Jersey before I was Governor. And I'd come home for lunch because I lived just across the green from my office. And one day, a woman who helped out at our home came running across the green saying, 'She's gone. She's gone.' His wife had had an aneurysm. And he said, 'You know what I did?' He said, 'I kept - I kept a - I got graph paper, and four months out, I would put the month on it and then a horizontal line. I'd put the date and the month. In the vertical line, I put the numbers 1 to 10. Ten would be the happiest day of my life, and one would be like the moment I got the phone call.' And he said, 'And every night before I'd go to bed, I'd graph it. I'd put on a dot on that day where I was.' And he said, 'Don't look at it for three or four months. He said, 'And you'll look at it and you'll see.' He'd put it on a graph - graph. 'The downs are just as far down, but they get further and further and further apart.' That's how you're all going to know that you're going to make it - by holding each other together, and most importantly, by holding Logan and Abigail as tightly as you can. Because as long as you have them, you've got Billy. As long as you have them. You know, my prayer for all of you is that a day will come when you have that memory, and I've said, 'Just smile before you bring a tear to your eyes.' It's - I promise you it's going to come. It just takes a while. It takes a while. But when it comes, you'll know, because he's still with you. He's still in your heart. Losing a son, daughter, brother, sister, mom, dad - it's like losing a piece of your soul. But it's buried deep, but it comes back. There's a great quote by R.G. Ingersoll. It was read when my son, who was the chief law enforcement officer in the state of Delaware - the attorney general - came back from Iraq after a year and he - and he died. And they read this poem from R.G. Ingersoll, who said, 'When will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns compromise with death, this is heroism.' Your son, your husband, your brother, your dad was a hero. And he's part of you. It's in your blood. My prayer for you is that moment when a smile comes before the tear, quicker than longer. Thank you. Advertisement

Slain U.S. Capitol Police officer William 'Billy' Evans lies in honor during a ceremony at the Capitol in Washington

An overhead shot of the memorial service for Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans

A large group of Capitol Police officers surrounds the coffin of Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans

Abigail Evans, the daughter of Capitol Police Office Billy Evans, holds a stuffed German Shepherd as she watches her father's casket arrive at the Capitol Building Tuesday

Officer Billy Evans' two children, Logan and Abigail, held stuffed animals as they watched the coffin get carried into the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday

The hearse carrying the casket of Capitol Police officer Billy Evans arrives Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Evans will lie in honor

A hearse carrying the casket containing the remains of late U.S. Capitol Police officer William Evans, who was killed in the line of duty on April 2, arrives at the U.S. Capitol

Capitol police officers gather prior to a ceremony honoring fellow officer William Evans

A line of Capitol Police officers salute the hearse carrying Billy Evans casket to Capitol Hill Tuesday

A line of Capitol Police officers greet the hearse carrying the late Officer Billy Evans

Officer William Evans will lie in honor in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol after he was killed in the line of duty when a car drove into security barriers

The security booth near where US Capitol Police Officer William 'Billy' Evans was killed on April 2, 2021 is draped in black and adorned with photos and flowers prior to his casket arriving at the Capitol

A box of tissues sit on the base of a statue in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on April 13, 2021 where Billy Evans will lie in honor

US Capitol police officers gather prior to a ceremony honoring fellow officer William Evans

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted Tuesday morning, 'Today, we honor a martyr for our democracy, Officer William F. Evans, who will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda. May this tribute be a source of comfort & an expression of gratitude to the Capitol Police Force, which has awed our nation with their resilience during this time.'

She followed up that sentiment by speaking directly to Evans' children.

'I hope it is a comfort to them that their father, an American hero, is lying where Abraham Lincoln lay,' Pelosi said.

'Officer Evans, a Catholic, was killed on Good Friday  the saddest day of the year for many people of faith. His sacrifice recalls Scripture: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,"' the speaker continued.

The flag at the Capitol is lowered to half staff. And black bunting was placed around Evans' patrol area on the Senate side of the Capitol, where he was on duty when a car rushed the barricade.

A comfort dog, named Officer Clarence, was brought in. Officer Clarence is a Saint Bernard and is a member of the Greenfield Police Department in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony is open to invited guests only.

His family described Evans as a 'father, son, brother and friend' in a statement on Tuesday.

They noted he loved lightsaber duels and Harry Potter, who made friends with anyone he met. And they said the most important thing in life were his children Logan and Abigail.

'Billy was the best father, son, brother, and friend anyone could ever hope for. His death has left a gaping void in our lives that will never be filled,' the Evans family said in a statement released by the U.S. Capitol Police.

The family also released photos of Evans with his children. In one Logan and Abigail are in their Halloween costumes, and, in the second, Evans is laying in a hammock with them, wearing a shirt that reads USCP.

The family of slain U.S. Capitol Police Officer William 'Billy' Evans paid tribute to him as a father, noting his love for his children Abigail and Logan

The Evans family statement said Billy Evans enjoyed lightsaber duels and playing lego with his children

The Evans family noted 'Billy had the open, welcoming personality that led him to make friends with anyone he met'

Capitol Police Officer William 'Billy' Evans (right) 41, who was rammed by Noah Green's (left) car at the Capitol, died from multiple blunt force injuries to the head

'The absolute most important thing in his life was his two children, Logan and Abigail. His most cherished memories were those spent with them  building Lego, having lightsaber duels, playing board games, doing arts and crafts, and recently finishing the Harry Potter series,' the family said. 'Their dad was their hero long before the tragic events of last week.'

'While family was always first, Billy had the open, welcoming personality that led him to make friends with anyone he met. He relished bringing people together and making sure everyone felt included and had a good time.'

'The outpouring of support we have received from the law enforcement community from around the country and world both humbles us and serves as a testament to Billy's sacrifice and dedication to the mission of which he was charged.'

Their statement comes following the announcement Evans will lie in honor in the United States Capitol Rotunda next week after being killed in the line of duty.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced last week that Evans will lie in repose on April 13th.

'In giving his life to protect our Capitol and our Country, Officer Evans became a martyr for our democracy. On behalf of the entire Congress, we are profoundly grateful,' the two Democratic leaders said in a statement.

Evans was killed when a vehicle rammed into Evans and another officer at a barricade just 100 yards from the Capitol building.

'It is our hope that this tribute will be a comfort to the family of Officer Evans, particularly his children Logan and Abigail, as will the knowledge that so many Americans mourn with and pray for them at this sad time,' Schumer and Pelosi said.

Evans was an 18-year veteran of the force.

Evans is the sixth person and fourth Capitol Police officer to receive the distinction of lying in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, a designation for those who were not government or military officials.

Officer Billy Evans was killed in last Friday's attack on Capitol Hill when a vehicle rammed into Evans and another officer at a barricade just 100 yards from the Capitol building

Noah Green was shot and killed by Capitol Police following the attack

The American flag at the U.S. Capitol is lowered to half-staff in honor of Capitol Police officer William Evans

Friday night the flag was lowered from the Capitol and folded by USCP officers in the rotunda; it will be presented to Officer Evans' family

Officer Evans is the sixth person and fourth Capitol Police officer to lie in honor of the Rotunda; the cremated remains of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick lay in honor on February 2 after Sicknick died in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot

The driver, Noah Green, 25, came out of the car with a knife and was shot to death by police, officials said in the aftermath.

Investigators believe Green, who described himself as a 'Follower of Farrakhan' and said the federal government was targeting him with mind control on his now-removed Facebook page, had been delusional and increasingly having suicidal thoughts.

In the chaotic moments after the attack, law enforcement officials initially believed the suspect, who was seen on surveillance video lunging at the officers with a knife, may have stabbed Evans, but that was not the case, the AP reported. Rumors also had swirled around fears that Evans may have been struck by friendly fire when police started shooting at the suspect.

The U.S. Capitol Police Headquarters entrance in Washington, is draped in black

The death of Evans came nearly three months after the Jan. 6 MAGA riot at the Capitol that left five people dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Sicknick's remains also lay in honor in the rotunda.

Biden and first lady Jill Biden joined Sicknick's family members, lawmakers, and colleagues from the Capitol Police in paying tribute to the officer.

Sicknick was the fifth person to lie in honor. Famed evangelist Rev. Billy Graham received the honor in 2018.

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks lay in honor in 2005. Capitol Police Officer Jacob Chestnut and Detective John Gibson, who were shot and killed by a Capitol intruder, were given the honor in 1998.
Princes William and Harry paid tribute Monday to their grandfather, Prince Philip, remembering his wit, sense of duty and barbecue skills.

The brothers, who are at the center of a royal family rift, issued separate statements about Philip, who died last week at 99.

William, who is second in line to the throne, pledged "to get on with the job'' of serving Queen Elizabeth II as he and his brother became the latest family members to honor Philip's service to the nation and the monarch.

"My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation,'' William said in a statement. "Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support The Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job."

Prince Harry, who stepped away from royal duties last year and now lives in California, has arrived in the U.K. to attend Philip's funeral service Saturday at Windsor Castle. His wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is pregnant and was advised by her doctor not to make the long journey.

Harry's office also issued a statement Monday, describing Philip as a man who was "authentically himself." "He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke," Harry said. "But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end."

William and his wife released a picture of Philip sitting in a carriage with his great-grandson, Prince George, their oldest child. Philip has the reins.
iTrip Vacations expands into NH Seacoast region Ive been so delighted with how well iTrip's processes  paired with our digital marketing and local meticulous care  works in Bostons North Shore that expanding into New Hampshire was the obvious next step.

iTrip Vacations North Shore is excited to announce short-term rental property owners and guests in Hampton Beach, Portsmouth, Seabrook, North Hampton and Rye in New Hampshire now benefit from world-class property management and customer service. iTrip Vacations North Shore  owned and managed by Liann DiMare  has expanded her market.

The vacation property management company now serves rental owners and guests in Gloucester, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, Rockport, Salem and Salisbury in Massachusetts; as well as Hampton Beach, Portsmouth, Seabrook, North Hampton and Rye in New Hampshire. The full-service program increases net rental income and guest reviews, while providing marketing, free light maintenance, professional cleaning, and automatic-response systems.

We listed our vacation rental with iTrip, and the results were so astounding I decided to blend my passion for real estate and love of New England to help my neighbors and fellow investors, says Liann DiMare, iTrip Vacations North Shore-Seacoast owner. Ive been so delighted with how well iTrip's processes  paired with our digital marketing and local meticulous care  works in Bostons North Shore that expanding into New Hampshire was the obvious next step.

The New Hampshire expansion is part of a growing number of destinations managed by iTrip Vacations, the largest franchise brand serving the short-term rental property management industry in North America.

As a Vrbo Elite software partner, iTrip Vacations also continues to focus on innovation, automation and industry-leading technology, says Steve Presley, iTrip Vacations co-founder. This enables us to provide our franchisees with the highest quality tools and processes available to the short-term rental property management industry.

The New Hampshire Seacoast region is best known for stunning beaches. However the area also attracts foodies, anglers, families and outdoor lovers searching for adventure. From whale-watching and fishing to historical attractions and craft brews, travelers love exploring NH Seacoast attractions.

To learn more about the full-service property management program, contact iTrip North Shore.

About iTrip Vacations

iTrip Vacations is a national leader in short-term rental property management. iTrip provides full-service rental property management programs to more than 80 destinations in North America, while enhancing experiences through affordable luxury accommodations and custom programs.
Press Release

13 April 2021

Following the news that Thailand reported 967 new COVID-19 cases on 11 April 2021;

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Animesh Kumar, Director of Travel and Tourism Consulting at GlobalData, a leading research and consulting company, offers his view: "The news casts a shadow over Thailand's plans to reopen tourism and allow quarantine-free visit to the vaccinated international tourists from July 2021 under a pilot in Phuket. It is crucial for the authorities as well as citizens to ensure that the spread of the highly contagious variant is controlled as it threatens not only the health and safety but also the economic revival plans. Despite the threat looming on the tourism industry, Thailand is still keen on going ahead with its Phuket pilot project of reviving the tourism, although with proper safety measures."

"Thailand economy is heavily dependent on tourism as the industry contributes 17-18% to the gross domestic product (GDP) in Thailand. Last year, due to COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant impact on the tourism industry, the Thai economy witnessed its biggest slump in last two decades. 'Household debts' has been mounting and this is putting additional pressure on the government, which is already reeling from the pandemic, inactivity in tourism industry and the pro-democracy demonstrations."

"It may be argued that considering the current situation, it is probably not prudent for Thai authorities to go ahead with the plans to reopen tourism. While there is merit in the argument, there is still time for Thailand to control the spread of the virus. As part of the pilot in Phuket, the authorities are aiming to vaccinate at least 70% of the population in Phuket before July and it is critical that the plan does not get derailed. In case vast majority of the locals in the Phuket island are vaccinated and if sufficient measures are in place for smooth arrival and departure of vaccinated international tourists, Thailand can potentially go ahead with the pilot for reopening tourism regardless of whether the COVID-19 surge has been controlled or not. Thai economy is in a desperate situation and the revival of tourism activity is of paramount importance. A tourism friendly bio-bubble must be created in Phuket and other destinations across the globe, which are attempting to revive tourism."
Jahnvi Kapoor is a great actress and has won the hearts of the people with her work every time. Well, these days she is in the news with the new video of herself. You must be aware that she has recently returned from the Maldives. In fact, she went on with her sister and her friends on vacation. During the trip, Jahnvi shared several pictures of herself that left fans stunned.

She was spotted at the airport last Monday and was hesitant to pose for photographers. During this time, she was seen fixing his clothes again and again, and later she explained the reason. In fact, Janhvi wore torn jeans and a noted T-shirt at the airport. You can see her surrounded by photographers as soon as she got out of the car in the video. The photographers then kept speaking to her to pose but she seemed hesitant.

Then she said, 'It feels very strange at such an airport.' Talking about his work, Janhvi's 'Ruhi' was released recently. You must have seen that his dance numbers in the film received a lot of appreciation and Rajkumar Rao and Varun Sharma were seen along with her in the film. Talking about work, Janhvi will soon be seen in 'Dostana 2' and 'Good Luck Jerry.'

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A crowd gathers at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., April 12, for a No Justice No Peace rally following the police shooting death of Daunte Wright. AP



A suburban Minneapolis police officer apparently drew her gun by mistake, instead of her Taser, when she shot a young Black man to death during a traffic stop, a police chief said on Monday, hours before a second night of unrest sparked by the killing.



Family members of the slain motorist, Daunte Wright, 20, rejected the notion that a mere accident was to blame for Sunday's shooting in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, with Wright's grieving brother denouncing the police as "trigger happy."



The shooting roiled a region already on edge, as last year's killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died with his neck pinned to a Minneapolis street under a white policeman's knee, was being recounted in graphic detail in the trial of former officer Derek Chauvin, charged with his murder.



Wright was killed just 10 miles from where Floyd, 46, lost his life while under arrest for allegedly passing a bogus $20 bill, unleashing a months-long nationwide upheaval of protests against racial injustice in the U.S. law enforcement system.



Brooklyn Center's police chief, Tim Gannon, said during a news briefing on Monday that Wright was pulled over for an expired vehicle registration and that the shooting was apparently unintentional, judging from his initial review of police video footage of the incident.



"This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers' reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright," said Gannon.



The Hennepin County medical examiner on Monday ruled the death a homicide, confirming in an autopsy that Wright was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest.



Sunday's shooting immediately ignited a night of street skirmishes between police and protesters in Brooklyn Center, with local news media reporting looting and burglaries of about 20 businesses at a nearby shopping center.



Disturbances flared anew on Monday, as hundreds of protesters braving a steady downpour and defying a curfew ordered by Governor Tim Walz clashed with law enforcement as darkness fell outside police headquarters in Brooklyn Center.



A crowd surged against a fence erected to keep protesters at bay, some hurling bottles and other projectiles and lighting off fireworks as police responded by firing volleys of tear gas and what appeared to be non-lethal plastic rounds.



A nearby discount store was looted and vandalized, but most of the demonstrators drifted away by 10 p.m. local time. As calm was restored, police reported 40 arrests in Brooklyn Center for offenses ranging from curfew violations to rioting charges.



Three officers suffered minor injuries from debris thrown at them, authorities said at a late-night news conference.



Police in Minneapolis said several people were arrested there in connection with five retail burglaries. (Reuters)


Katie Wright (C), Daunte Wright's mother, and family members attend a press conference at the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 13, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Daunte Wrights Mother: Day Son Was Shot Worst Day of My Life

The mother of the Minnesota man who was fatally shot by a police officer on Sunday called the day the worst of her life in a press conference on Tuesday.

Katie Wright recounted being on the phone with Daunte Wright, 20, after he was pulled over for a traffic violation in Brooklyn Center near Minneapolis.

He told her that the police officers were asking about insurance. She asked to be put on the phone with an officer to convey the insurance information, but Wright was soon being handcuffed for an outstanding warrant and the phone was hung up.

Wright resisted arrest and tried fleeing the scene. He was shot by officer Kim Potter, who resigned on Tuesday along with Police Chief Tim Gannon, who had previously told reporters Potter thought she was firing her Taser.

They hung up the phone. Three or four seconds went by. I tried calling it back to back to back because I didnt know what was going on. And I never imagined this is what was going to happen. I just thought maybe he was being arrested. And then when I called back, the girl that he had in the car answered the phone, and it was on a FaceTime. And she said she was crying and screaming and she said that they shot him, Katie Wright said during the briefing.

She pointed the phone towards the drivers seat and my son was laying there unresponsive. That was the last time that I see my son. Thats the last time I heard from my son and I have had no explanation since then, she added, calling April 11 the worst day of my life.

China Whitaker, the mother of Wrights son, said her son will now grow up without a father.

And Im just so messed up about it because, I feel like they stole my sons dad from him, she said.

Protesters clash with police over the shooting death of Daunte Wright at a rally at the Brooklyn Center Police Department in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 20121. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

Naisha Wright said that Potter killed my nephew. The body camera footage shows the officer holding her gun out in front of her for a long time, she noted.

I watched that video like everybody else watched that video. That woman held a gun out in front of her for a long damn time, she said.

Potter, a 26-year veteran of Brooklyn Centers police force, submitted her letter of resignation on Tuesday, the citys mayor told reporters at a separate briefing.

Mike Elliott, the mayor, called on Minnesotas governor to turn prosecution of the case over to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading prosecutors in attempting to secure a conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.

Its not clear yet if Potter will be charged.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which represents law enforcement, said in a statement that people should wait to come to conclusions until the states Bureau of Criminal Apprehension finishes its investigation into the fatal shooting.

The tragic chain of events that resulted in the loss of life is weighing on all of us, the group said, calling on demonstrations to remain peaceful after two nights of rioting.
[April 13, 2021] Informatica Brings Intelligent Data Management Cloud for Large-Scale Analytics to Google Cloud

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at Informatica World 2021, the enterprise cloud data management leader announced the availability of Informatica's Cloud Data Integration Elastic (CDI-E) on Google Cloud. This opens a new paradigm for organizations, enabling them to reach higher levels of productivity and scale as they manage high volumes of enterprise data in the cloud. The company also announced new enhancements to Cloud Mass Ingestion, and API Management on Google Cloud as it unveils the new Intelligent Data Management Cloud at its annual conference. The Informatica and Google Cloud partnership has resulted in a 135% year-over-year growth (2019-2020) and has helped several customers successfully drive innovation by managing their data in the cloud. "Businesses are increasingly adopting data cloud strategies that empower employees across the enterprise with the right information at the right time, so they can make smarter decisions," said Debanjan Saha, VP and GM of Data Analytics, Google Cloud. "We're delighted to partner with leaders like Informatica to help businesses democratize data by bringing it into the cloud to maximize its value with analytics and data management capabilities." Informatica brings the following new capabilities to Google Cloud to further customers' acceleration to the cloud: Quickly Build and Deploy Data Integration Pipelines with Informatica Cloud Data Integration-Elastic (CDI-E) on Google Cloud: Customers can now process very large data engineering workloads elastically via Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud on Google Cloud (available in the Google Cloud marketplace), using Informatica's codeless, visual, data ingestion and transformation user experience. Simplify Large-Scale Data Ingestion from On-Premises to Google Cloud with Informatica Cloud Mass Ingestion (CMI) Service: Informatica CMI gives customers a simple and intuitive wizard-based approach to efficiently ingest and replicate large amounts of data into Google Cloud from on-premises sources such as Oracle, SQL/MySQL, Teradata, Netezza, and DB2 and others. CMI supports Google Pub/Sub Model as both a source and target while supporting schema drift and ingesting streaming and IoT data for real-ime analytics. Modernize Your Data, API, and Application Integration on Google Cloud with Informatica API Manager: As data flow and integration continue to evolve, Informatica's API Manager on Google Cloud makes it easy to manage all phases of your API process. Throughout the development, management, or even deprecation of API's, API Manager is designed to orchestrate complex hybrid multi-cloud systems automatically keeping track of changing capabilities and integrations with any external system.



Jitesh Ghai , chief product officer, Informatica. "Today's announcement marks yet another milestone in our partnership with Google Cloud and our commitment to enable our customers with the agility and flexibility of managing their data seamlessly across any platform and on any cloud." About Informatica

Informatica, the Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, accelerates data-driven digital transformation. Informatica enables companies to fuel innovation, become more agile, and realize new growth opportunities, resulting in intelligent market disruptions. Over the last 25 years, Informatica has helped more than 9,000 customers unleash the power of data. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com . Connect with Informatica on LinkedIn , Twitter , and Facebook . The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described today remain at the sole discretion of Informatica and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future. See https://www.informatica.com/trademarks.html for a list of Informatica trademarks. Contact: Informatica Public Relations, prteam@informatica.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/informatica-brings-intelligent-data-management-cloud-for-large-scale-analytics-to-google-cloud-301267940.html SOURCE Informatica

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U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday recommended pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine for at least a few days after six women under age 50 developed rare blood clots after receiving the shot, dealing a fresh setback to efforts to tackle the pandemic.

Johnson & Johnson said it would delay rollout of the vaccine to Europe, a week after regulators there said they were reviewing rare blood clots in four recipients of the shot in the United States. South Africa also suspended use of J&Js vaccine.

Acting U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the agency expected the pause to be a matter of days, and was aimed at providing information to healthcare providers on how to diagnose and treat the clots.

The moves come after European regulators said earlier this month they had found a possible link between AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine and a similar rare blood clotting problem that led to a small number of deaths.

FDA official Peter Marks said it was plainly obvious the J&J cases were very similar to the AstraZeneca ones. He said there had been no similar blood clot cases reported among recipients of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, which use a different technology and accounted for the vast majority of U.S. vaccinations so far.

But J&Js single-dose shot and AstraZenecas low-cost vaccine are seen as vital weapons in the fight against a pandemic that has claimed more than three million lives.

Immunology experts echoed U.S. officials in underscoring that the risk posed by the J&J vaccine appeared extremely low.

Even if causally linked to the vaccine: 6 cases with about 7 million doses  is not something to panic about, Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore, said in an email, noting that the risk appears lower than that of clots from oral contraceptives.

He expressed concern that the pause could increase hesitancy to get vaccinated.

The FDA said there had been one reported death from the rare blood clotting condition among recipients of the J&J vaccine, while another person was in a critical condition.

The White House said appointments to receive the J&J shot were being rescheduled across the country to the other two authorized vaccines, and that there was enough supply of Pfizer and Moderna shots to hit President Joe Bidens goal of administering 200 million shots during his first 100 days in office.

Theres enough vaccine  that is basically 100% unquestionable  for every single, solitary American, Biden told reporters.

Balance of Risks

J&Js vaccine rollout has been limited by production issues. As of April 13, 7.2 million doses of the J&J vaccine had been administered in the United States compared with 185 million of the other two.

An advisory committee to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will meet on Wednesday to review the clotting cases and vote on recommendations for future use of the shot. The FDA will then review the analysis.

All six cases involved women between the ages of 18 and 48, with symptoms occurring six to 13 days after vaccination. The FDA said patients should watch for up to three weeks for symptoms including severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.

In the cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets, or thrombocytopenia.

J&J, whose shares closed down 1.3%, said it was working closely with regulators and noted no clear causal relationship had been established between the clots and its vaccine.

To put this into perspective, its similar to the chance of being struck by lightning in any given year in the UK. On the other hand, the risks from COVID-19 are substantial, said Ian Douglas from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines both use an adenovirus  a harmless cold virus  as a vector to deliver instructions for human cells to produce a protein found on the surface of the coronavirus, spurring the immune system to recognize and attack the actual virus.

Chinese and Russian COVID-19 vaccine developers CanSino Biological and Gamaleya Institute also rely on this approach. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommends AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine, saying the benefits outweigh the risks. Several EU countries, however, have limited its use to certain age groups.

As of April 4, the EMA said 169 cases of CVST and 53 of splanchnic vein thrombosis had been reported after vaccination with the AstraZeneca shot. About 34 million people had been given the shot in Europe by then.

J&J only began delivering its COVID-19 vaccine to European Union countries this week.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru and Michael Erman in Maplewood, N.J., additional reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago, Andrea Shalal in Washington, D.C., Ludwig Burger in Frankfurt and Kate Kelland in London; Editing by Caroline Humer, Peter Henderson, Mark Potter and Bill Berkrot)

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Topics COVID-19 USA
Planet Technologies is pleased to name Renee P. Wynn to its advisory board. Wynn provided 30 years of service to the federal government and was most recently the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

While at NASA, Wynn oversaw a $2 billion information technology budget that served 65,000 employees and contractors. She also served on governing boards that provided oversight of missions, such as satellite launches and other exploratory programs. She retired from the space agency in April 2020.

Prior to joining NASA, Wynn served at the Environmental Protection Agency for 25 years, where she worked as acting assistant administrator for the Office of Environmental Information and later as CIO. She helped to develop and write policies on land reuse and environmental cleanup.

Renee brings a breadth of leadership qualities and experience gained from a successful career overseeing and managing federal programs at NASA and the EPA, said Scott Tucker, president of Planet Technologies. She is recognized across the government community for being an inspirational leader who delivers results. More importantly, Renee is a friend who brings strong values that align with our culture at Planet. We are honored to have Renee on our advisory board.

About Planet Technologies

Founded in 1998, Planet Technologies is the leading provider of Microsoft consulting services to the public sector. Planet supports all areas of the federal government, state and local agencies across the country, and educational institutions. We are in the business of trust and most of our clients are repeat customers - our greatest achievement. Planet has been awarded Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year, Azure Security Partner of the Year, Federal Partner of the Year, State and Local Government Partner of the Year, and Windows Partner of the Year.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina is buying 235 propane-fueled school buses with $23.6 million remaining from a huge settlement with Volkswagen, bringing what was long the nation's oldest bus fleet to an average age of just 5 years old.

The award, announced April 13, will replace some of the fleet's worst diesel polluters and reduce emissions by up to 96 percent, according to the state Department of Education.

The purchase will bring the total number of buses replaced since 2015 to 3,025, or nearly 60 percent of the buses that regularly shuttle children to and from school.

"It's a miracle they kept those buses running every day," said state Superintendent Molly Spearman, who made it a priority after winning office in 2014 to permanently park the state's dangerous, dirty buses that were prone to breaking down and catching fire.

"This is a huge victory and a huge success story to go from where we were in 2015," she said at the Statehouse announcement.

Beyond being cleaner and more reliable, all buses bought and leased since then come with air conditioning and safety features, such as backup cameras, that weren't available decades ago.

While the state's bus fleet is in the best shape it's ever been in, keeping it that way will require a yearly commitment from the Legislature, Spearman said.

"I continue to ask for that," she said. "This is not a one-year thing."

In 2007, the Legislature passed a law calling for the state's entire fleet to be replaced every 15 years, which would cost more than $30 million annually. But legislators promptly ignored that law once the Great Recession hit a year later.

That's why, even after several years of the state buying or leasing enough buses to comply, the fleet still includes 498 buses more than 15 years old, with the oldest a 1988 model, though the bulk of those are spares.

"Some of us may have ridden on them," Spearman said jokingly. "They've been around a long time."

The latest purchase removes buses dating to 2001 from the state's roadways. The money comes from South Carolina's $34 million share of Volkswagen's 2016 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for installing devices in vehicles to cheat on emissions tests.

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Not only will the award "help ensure the over 300,000 annual school bus riders get to and from school safely and on time, it will save South Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars over the lifespan of these propane vehicles," Spearman said.

The buses will go to 11 school districts, with Greenville County  the state's largest  getting 48; Charleston County receiving 40; Horry County, 40; and Richland One in Columbia, 22. Charleston County is the lone district of the 11 not already equipped with propane fueling stations.

Spearman's agency is adding a fueling station at a Charleston bus shop and a second one in Greenville County.

The state-owned and -maintained fleet for K-12 public schools already includes 213 propane-powered buses. The additions will make the state Department of Education the nation's largest single owner of propane buses.

The agency received $7.9 million in the state's first round of Volkswagen-settlement awards, announced in July 2019, which bought 78 propane-powered buses.

In all, the education agency received nearly 93 percent of the state's share.

Of the 10 other applicants for round-two grants, the remaining money will help buy three electric transit buses: $608,000 toward buying one bus for the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority; and $295,500 for two Pee Dee Regional Transportation Authority buses. Local and federal funds will cover the remainder for those three.

It will be CARTA's fourth bus bought with help from Volkswagen funds, following a $2.25 million first-round award.

The fourth will replace a 1996-model bus that's logged more than 1 million miles, said Ron Mitchum, director of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments.

"We've gotten our money's worth, but we desperately needed your help," he told Gov. Henry McMaster and Insurance Director Ray Farmer at the news conference.

Asked why it took nearly two years for second-round winners to be chosen, Farmer said, "Obviously, we've been deliberative.

"We've been thorough. The governor said early on, 'Look at the state's needs, not our wants,' so obviously we took our time," said Farmer, whose agency was tasked with allocating the settlement money. "These were the best choices."
[April 13, 2021] $97.7K Subsidy to Fund Home Improvements for 10 Natchez Homeowners

Home Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) have awarded a $97,700 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) subsidy to the city of Natchez to rehabilitate 10 homes for very low- to low-income residents. Natchez is a historic city and one of the oldest settlements along the Mississippi River. It is known for its welcoming atmosphere and affordable living opportunities. "The city of Natchez was fortunate to receive two AHP subsidies, one of them from Home Bank," said James Johnston with the Department of Planning and Community Development at the city of Natchez. "These subsidies will help us double our impact in the community providing an additional 10 homes with much-needed repairs." Brandon Kelly, Home Bank's vice president and Community Development director, said he is thankful to assist Natchez with its project. "We are grateful to be able to work with Mississippi organizations like the city of Natchez to help improve the quality of housing for low-income residents," Mr. Kelly said. AHP funds are intended to assist FHLB Dallas members in financing the purchase, construction and/or rehabilitation of owner-occupied, rental or transitional housing and housing for homeless individuals. AHP funds must be used to benefit households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for the area. In 2020, FHLB Dallas awarded $19.4 million in subsidies to 38 affordable housing projects. The subsidies will help create 2,749 new or rehabilitated housing units. Included in that total is almost $2.3 million in subsidies for 231 units of housing in Mississippi. Since the AHP's inception i 1990, FHLB Dallas has awarded more than $323 million in AHP and Homeownership Set-Aside Programs and has assisted more than 57,000 households.



"Home Bank's commitment to helping the Natchez's older and special-needs residents repair their homes is phenomenal," said Greg Hettrick, first vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "AHP is a great community investment tool that provides individuals and families with the opportunity to improve their living conditions." For more information about the AHP, visit fhlb.com/ahp.

About Home Bank, N.A. Home Bank, N.A., founded in 1908 as Home Building & Loan, is the oldest financial institution founded in Lafayette Parish. Through the years, we've expanded to serve markets in South Louisiana and Mississippi: Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, St. Martin and Jeff Davis Parishes, as well as Natchez and Vicksburg. With 40 locations across South Louisiana and Western Mississippi, Home Bank is committed to serving the needs of our communities. Personal banking has always been Home Bank's trademark and that tradition continues as we grow, invest and serve our clients and community. We live our values each day, focusing on integrity, innovation and a commitment to serving others. For more information about Home Bank, visit home24bank.com. About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $64.9 billion as of December 31, 2020, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to approximately 800 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit our website at fhlb.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413006023/en/

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Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday alleged that the Election Commission's decision to bar West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours was taken at the behest of the BJP.

This was a "direct attack on democracy" and sovereignty of independent institutions of the country, Raut claimed in a tweet.

Sanjay Raut

The Sena's chief spokesperson expressed solidarity with Banerjee, while terming as the "Bengal Tigress".

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours over her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

Reacting to it, Raut in a tweet said, "ECI has imposed a ban on Mamta didi for 24 hours. This is clearly done at the behest of BJP, ruling party in India."

ECI has imposed a ban on Mamta didi for 24 hours. This is clearly done at the behest of BJP, ruling party in India. It is a direct attack on democracy and sovereignty of independent institutions of India. solidarity with Bengal Tigress, @MamataOfficial

@derekobrienmp pic.twitter.com/oGxPJZdrSL  Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) April 13, 2021

"It is a direct attack on democracy and sovereignty of independent institutions of India. solidarity with Bengal Tigress, @MamataOfficial @derekobrienmp," the Rajya Sabha member added.

Banerjee on Monday said she would stage a dharna in Kolkata on Tuesday to protest against the poll panel's "unconstitutional decision".
Samsung SDI's booth at the International Electric Vehicle Expo, held on Jeju Island in 2016 / Courtesy of Samsung SDI



By Kim Bo-eun



Hyundai Motor is seeking to build a partnership with Samsung, at this time when the carmaker is pushing forward with its shift to eco-friendly future vehicles. The partnership is focused on developing each company's strategic interests: Hyundai Motor is in need of EV batteries and automotive components, while Samsung is able to provide them.



Samsung's battery-making unit is developing a cylindrical battery to be used in Hyundai's new hybrid vehicle models. Samsung SDI has not yet supplied EV batteries to Hyundai Motor. SK Innovation, LG Energy Solution and China's CATL have supplied the batteries for Hyundai's E-GMP EV platform.



Samsung SDI has so far focused on prismatic batteries, while Hyundai sought to use pouch-type batteries which are mainly produced by SK and LG's battery affiliates. But Hyundai is seen to be seeking cylindrical batteries for its hybrid vehicle, due to their stability and lower production costs.



Cylindrical batteries are known to be more stable and cost less to produce, as they have been used for longer than the pouch-type and prismatic types. Cylindrical batteries, conventionally of small size, were previously used for electronic devices, but are now being employed in EVs as well, after Tesla's adoption of the type for its vehicles.



The battery to be developed is known to be of a larger size than conventional cylindrical batteries, to boost energy capacity.



Samsung's battery affiliate already produces cylindrical batteries for power tools. Industry views are that given its existing production of cylindrical batteries, it will not be difficult for Samsung SDI to develop cylindrical batteries for EVs.



A Hyundai Motor official said that he could not confirm Samsung SDI's planned supply of cylindrical batteries, given the "the battery is currently under development." He said, "Regarding eco-friendly vehicles, we are working with many battery makers."



Samsung SDI said that it could not comment on client-related matters. An industry official said, "It appears possible that Hyundai is seeking to diversify its vendors further, as a means to secure supply."



Such developments came after the chiefs of the two conglomerates met over several occasions last year. Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Eui-sun met with Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong at Samsung SDI's plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in May and at Hyundai Motor's research lab in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in July. The meetings sparked speculation that the conglomerates would join hands not only for EV batteries, but also for display panels and other components.



"Based on the premise that Samsung SDI is now supplying EV batteries to Hyundai Motor, according to their collaboration, there are expectations for further expansion of their partnership related to batteries," KB Securities analyst Lee Chang-min stated, Tuesday.



"It is predicted that, if the partnership leads to Samsung SDI supplying its prismatic batteries, which are the company's main product, the battery maker will see greater benefits."



Samsung SDI's share price closed at 690,000 won, Tuesday, a 5.34 percent rise from the previous day's close.



The rise is also attributed to news of the battery maker's supply to U.S. EV startup Rivian, which was unveiled Monday. The company, backed by investments from Amazon and Ford, is considered Tesla's rival. Samsung SDI's batteries are set to be loaded into Rivian's EVs, such as pickup trucks and SUVs to be launched later this year.


You may have been taught in middle school that a fundamental tenet of democracy is that every citizen has the right to vote. That right is the foundation of every Westernized democratic state.

You may have learned that the Founding Fathers didnt believe in universal suffrage but that the United States has slowly expanded its democratic ideals to include women, people of color, the poor, the marginalized. You may even believe that Americas expanding democratic ideals are the reason that we can claim to be a model for the rest of the world  that shining city on a hill.

Would you be surprised to learn that a vocal minority of conservative intellectuals dont believe any of that? Would you be surprised that they dont actually believe in democracy?

They dont, and it is a bracing bit of progress to have them state their beliefs clearly and publicly. Instead of gaslighting the rest of us  pretending that voter suppression is intended to ensure election integrity  some conservatives are stating it explicitly: They dont believe that every citizen should vote.

The latest to put his views into plain terms is the National Reviews Kevin D. Williamson, who wrote: One argument for encouraging bigger turnout is that if more eligible voters go to the polls then the outcome will more closely reflect what the average American voter wants. That sounds like a wonderful thing ... if you havent met the average American voter.

After a litany of policies and practices he believes have set the republic on the wrong course, Williamson concludes, The fact is that voters got us into this mess. Maybe the answer isnt more voters.

Im delighted that Williamson, among others, has set his reactionary, antidemocratic views out for all to digest. He is merely affirming the long antidemocratic history of National Review, whose racist founder, William F. Buckley, opposed voting rights for Black Southerners. As Buckley saw it, the claims of civilization supersede those of universal suffrage.

Reasonable limitations upon the vote are not exclusively the recommendations of tyrants or oligarchists. ... The problem in the South is not how to get the vote for the Negro, but how to equip the Negro  and a great many whites  to cast an enlightened and responsible vote, he wrote.

Other conservatives have blurted out their objections to universal suffrage, though they are less self-assured and supercilious than Williamson. Defending his states new voter-suppression tactics, Arizona State Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican, told CNN:

Not everybody wants to vote, and if somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that theyre totally uninformed on the issues. Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes as well.

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, also a Republican, admitted that efforts to make voting more convenient would make it more difficult for his partisans to get elected.

Think about all these woke college and university students now who are automatically registered to vote, whether they wanted to or not. ... Youve got an uninformed citizen who may not be prepared and ready to vote automatically forced on them, Hey, go make a choice, and our countrys going to pay for those choices, he said.

It is no accident that a rash of ballot-blocking measures have cropped up in Republican-led states all over the country. Those measures are in response to Democratic victories  which, remember, Republican state officials courageously declared were free of fraud.

But the fact that GOP election officials were persons of principle just pushed the Georgia Legislature further into authoritarianism. In addition to measures that will deter individual voters, the new voter-suppression law strips local and state election officials of power, handing it over to the Legislature. In the future, the Georgia General Assembly would have more authority to intervene in elections if its members dont like the results.

Again, that has nothing to do with preventing fraud, which did not occur in the last election. But I dont have to make that argument since so many conservatives have given up trying to cover their authoritarian motives.

Williamson is wrong about the principles that have made America great. Among those is its progress over generations toward ensuring that every citizen has the unfettered right to vote  even citizens as dumb as Donald Trump.

Cynthia Tucker won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2007. She can be reached at cynthia@cynthiatucker.com.
Mehwish Aejaz decided to go all out for Ramadan this year - especially now that the usual ways of celebrating are off the table.

She put up lights and decorations around her home in Sugar Land, including illuminating the entrance of her dedicated prayer room. Aejaz is even creating a DIY date tree, using foam rollers and toothpicks. She is donning special posters on the walls and purchased candles and balloons for the holiday.

It feels like theres something exciting happening, Aejaz said.

This was her first time to decorate for the month-long holiday.

Ramadan started the evening of April 12 this year, following the Lunar calendar. Its a sacred time dedicated to spiritual reflection, worship, reading the Quran and connecting with God.

Normally the social component is also a big part of the holiday. Its a time when the Muslim community reconnects with family and friends, joining each day with others to break the fast, or iftar.

Last year, COVID-19 put a damper on that. Mosques closed, and gatherings were limited to immediate families.

The usual iftar parties, the late nights at restaurants with friends, the programs at the mosque were canceled.

None of that happened, said Sugar Land resident Adnan Lakhani.

He and his wife are physicians with two young children. They also live with his mother, who runs a Montessori school.

It was chaotic for everyone, Lakhani said.

Because there were no communal activities or events at the mosque last year, he decided to take the holiday into his own hands - and decorate the house for the first time.

We were all about our children and trying to create an environment at home, he said. We tried to make the best of it.

On HoustonChronicle.com: A church and hospital race to grant COVID patient's dying wish: Baptism and 'eternity' with his wife

Now, Lakhani plans to make hanging lights at his home a tradition.

You want to create that holiday spirit for the kids, so they know its something special.

Getting in the holiday spirit

Sugar Land resident Sadia Jalali started a new tradition of decorating her home for Ramadan last year.

At the time, she said online shopping was the easiest way to find Ramadan decor.

This year, however, Party City had a whole area dedicated to Ramadan.

Last year, it was just a little section, Jalali said. This year, theres a lot of stuff, multiple aisles. For them to have it all so prominently  and so many options  is really neat. It made my kids eyes light up.

And it makes it easier for her family to get in the holiday spirit, Jalali explained, which might have been difficult otherwise in the midst of the pandemic.

We need the festiveness, she said. We need a little joy.

Spring Branch resident Tara Turk-Zaafran decorates her home for Ramadan each year. She hangs lights and decorates a palm tree.

The kids look forward to it, she said. Its a tradition we started a long time ago. I wanted to do something for my children. It gives them something fun to look forward to.

This past Ramadan, decorating felt even more significant, Turk-Zaafran said.

Having lights and festivities was necessary, because of all the sorrow and pain last year, she said.

Pearland resident Mannal Hussain said her children always look forward to Ramadan.

But last year, there were no gatherings, no going to the mosque, no spiritual classes during the day, she said.

Hussain is predicting a return of some sense of normalcy this year.

Hopefully, this Ramadan is more spiritual for everyone, she said.

Ramadan - finally!

Hussain believes creating balance is key to celebrating this year - incorporating a few more traditions, while still staying safe and limiting the size of gatherings.

For instance, this year, she plans to invite family and a few close friends to her home to celebrate outdoors. Jalali also plans to invite her parents and in-laws to her home to break the fast.

Im looking forward to having iftar together, she said. Last year, we didnt do anything. It was bizarre.

Instead of going to the mosque, Jalali said her family will pray together at home.

She is also looking for ways for her children to be more connected to the meaning of the holiday.

Im going to get them to focus on How will this month bring you closer to God? she said. Well come up with goals.

Jalali considers Ramadan to be a reset button, one that helps her pause and reprioritize.

The rest of life gets put into perspective, she said. Its time to recenter, and Im definitely looking forward to that.

This Ramadan, Turk-Zaafran plans to see more family as well, but she will refrain from attending the mosque for prayers.

As Muslims, we dont have to congregate at the mosque, she explained. You can pray in solitude or with family. I dont see the point in putting others at risk. Why not pray at home?

Turk-Zaafran said that Ramadan is an opportunity to reflect on the past year - and to refocus on positivity.

Lets count the blessings we have, she said. Thats the spirit of Ramadan.

A new beginning

Even in a pandemic, looking for the good in life is essential, Turk-Zaafran added. Ramadan is a reminder of that.

Its not going to be the same, but its definitely better than last year, she said. Last year was extremely somber. God really wanted us to reflect on ourselves and our lives.

This year will still carry that essence, with smaller gatherings and more prayer at home.

Still, that does not mean that Turk-Zaafran is putting her celebration on hold.

Every Ramadan is considered special, she said. Every Ramadan is considered a once in a lifetime event. What last year truly taught us was that we dont know if well be here tomorrow. Cherish each moment and every day.

Lakhani agreed. His mosque has opened, and he plans to go for prayer during Ramadan. He also will spend time reading the Quran, listening to scholarly interpretations of the text and meditating on ways to become more intentional.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'God is always with you.' Local Sikhs celebrate two holidays this month, in muted pandemic fashion

Ramadan is a time to step out of the matrix as much as possible and look around and reflect on the meaning of life, he said. Ramadan helps reorient yourself with your divine compass.

Last year, Ramadan occurred not too long after the outbreak of COVID-19. At the time, Richmond resident Fatimah Ali was taking a break after graduating from college, staying with her family and looking for jobs.

Then the pandemic came around, she said. The idea of social distancing in general was so different. It was a totally new territory.

Ali was thinking, How are Muslims going to observe Ramadan? How are folks going to celebrate holidays?

The Christian and Jewish communities were asking the same questions, she said. We were all trying to figure it out together as a faith community. And that was comforting to me.

Ali decided to treat this past Ramadan like a spiritual retreat. She spent the month in prayer and reading the Quran.

It was totally different, but I knew it would be a unique experience and I wanted to find the most spiritual growth in it I could, she said.

For evening prayers, Ali joined her siblings upstairs. Together as a family, they had iftars.

That practice will continue this year. Her family is still deciding if they will attend socially distanced prayers at mosques.

If we can go, that will be amazing, but if not, its nice to know that its something we can do as a family, she said.

The sense of community that usually accompanies Ramadan is something Ali missed last year. This time around, she started an online community group for young women to foster a sense of connection.

With COVID, weve been presented with so many new situations, she said. But theres something energizing about finding ways to tackle the experience, theres something energizing about finding ways to still connect with the community we care about.

And with the experience gained last year - and the promise of vaccines and more normalcy on the horizon - Ali feels optimistic.

This year, it still feels like the cusp of something, she said. Im hoping were on the cusp of a lift, an upturn to something better. This Ramadan feels like a charging period before jumping out there. Theres so much on the horizon.

Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-based freelance writer.
Washington, April 13 : G7 member countries have said they were deeply concerned about the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and the annexed Crimea region.

Recent reports of Russian military activity in and around Ukraine as well as ceasefire violations have sparked international concern that the seven-year conflict between the two nations could escalate again,reports dpa news agency.

The latest ceasefire was announced on July 27, 2020.

"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilising activities," the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK said in a joint statement on Monday.

"We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations." The Ministers reaffirmed their "unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders" in the statement.

Russia was booted out of what was at the time the G8 after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula after a controversial referendum in 2014.

The international community still considers Crimea to be part of Ukrainian territory.

The ongoing conflict in Donbas, which comprises the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and began in April 2014, has claimed some 14,000 lives and left as many as 40,000 wounded.

This year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 26 Ukrainian servicemen and injured 57 others so far.

Insurgents have controlled parts of Donbas along the Russian border for almost seven years.
We are excited to partner with Healthwise and HITRUST on this opportunity to apply innovation and thought leadership to the future of the HITRUST Assurance Program.

Frazier & Deeter (FD), one of the nation's Top 50 accounting and advisory firms, and Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, technology and services, announced today their joint selection and participation in a pilot program with HITRUST. The pilot program will provide actionable feedback as HITRUST aims to improve transparency, increase efficiency and enhance communications during the HITRUST assessment process.

"We are delighted to have FD and Healthwise join our efforts to drive innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness in connection with the HITRUST Assurance Program," said Bimal Sheth, Vice President of Assurance Services at HITRUST.

"This pilot will include testing of new MyCSF features, which are designed to improve the assessor and customer experience. Features to be evaluated include new MyCSF workflows, status dashboards, quality assurance communications and direct-input web forms," said Andrew Hicks, Frazier & Deeter's Vice President of Risk Assurance and National HITRUST Practice Lead. "We are excited to partner with Healthwise and HITRUST on this opportunity to apply innovation and thought leadership to the future of the HITRUST Assurance Program."

"As a leading evidence-based health education provider that's been repeatedly certified by HITRUST, Healthwise is committed to industry-best data security practices," said Matt Berther, Healthwise's Senior Director of IT Operations and Security Officer. "We are honored to have been selected to partner with FD on this important initiative, and we are excited about the enhancements HITRUST will introduce to the marketplace after the pilot program."

About Frazier & Deeter

Frazier & Deeter is an award-winning accounting and advisory firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The firm provides a wide range of tax, audit, accounting and advisory services to serve the emerging needs of clients as they evolve. Frazier & Deeter and its FD family of brands have nine offices across the United States and one in the United Kingdom. The firm has been recognized repeatedly as a Best of the Best Accounting firm, a Best Firm to Work for in the U.S. and a Best Firm for Women in Leadership. Frazier & Deeter's brand promise is Investing in Relationships to Make a Difference.

About Healthwise

Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to live their healthiest lives. More than 2 billion times, people have turned to Healthwise information to help navigate their unique health journeys with confidence. Leading hospitals, EMR providers, health plans, care management companies, health websites, and technology innovators partner with Healthwise to provide the worlds best health informationand achieve better outcomes for patients and businesses. Learn more at healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.
Three years ago, UMass Medical School received funding from the National Institutes on Health to help develop a point of care technology that could be utilized at home.

Dr. Nate Hafer, of the Worcester medical school described the idea behind the research as allowing patients with heart, lung, blood or sleep disorders to monitor their symptoms or disorder from home.

Two years into the five-year contract, COVID-19 emerged.

NIH looked at us and said, you guys are perfectly positioned to help develop rapid tests for the virus, Hafer said. Go for it.

More funding arrived at UMass to initiate the updated game plan. It launched a COVID test version of Shark Tank. As part of the process under RADx Technology, UMass Medical School received about 700 applications related to rapid COVID testing. About 140 applications advanced to deeper examination and about 50 received funding.

So far, 16 tests have received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the program increased COVID-19 testing capacity in the U.S. by more than 180 million.

Were not out of the woods with COVID, obviously, but I think people are really starting to think about how these different technology platforms can be used for potentially other infectious diseases, Hafer said.

Just as the initial funding from the NIH didnt set out to produce rapid testing for a pandemic, Hafer said ideas evolved once the NIH asked UMass to help in develop rapid tests.

Initially, many of the ideas focused on rapid-testing hubs located in airports, schools or stadiums.

While testing has popped up in some of those areas, none of those locations have emerged as the focal points for testing.

Instead, research has moved to at-home testing.

Rapid testing, point-of-care testing, its been out there for a number of years, but it was never really mainstream, Hafer said. It was always kind of seen as this niche thing. People were resistant to really adopting it and making it mainstream. But I think the pandemic has definitely changed a lot of peoples perspectives.

A research project in a pair of Southern regions began last week called Say Yes! COVID Test. From research developed at UMass Medical School, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NIH and other universities pushed it even further by pairing at-home testing.

It opened in Pitt County, North Carolina and eventually will debut in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

About 160,000 at-home rapid COVID tests were provided in the two areas. The research plans to examine if people have the tests, will they use them and adjust their behavior based on results.

We would think [the app] would alter behavior, Hafer said. But we dont know that for sure.

Even with vaccine rollouts surging, Hafer believes the research and emergence of at-home testing remain important.

He said not everyone will get the vaccine either by choice or due to medical reasons. The way the virus behaves, it often spreads from one individual to another before the infected person even becomes sick.

At-home testing would allow for immediate results and the hope is people would quarantine much sooner.

Theres still a lot of disease floating around in the public and in communities, Hafer said. Were not completely over the hump just yet. Testing is going to be a key part of our strategy to get this under control.

The testing and apps will also likely transform healthcare in the future. The pandemic shined a spotlight on the inequities of healthcare in the United States but also around the world.

App-home testing or care that could emerge from these apps could revolutionize healthcare in regions of the country or around the world where residents live hours from a hospital or cant immediately access care.

In many ways, the care developed as a result of the pandemic is just the beginning.

It will definitely play out in the next five or 10 years for all the work thats being done now as we apply these great lessons and technology to either the next pandemic or other diseases or problems that are out there in society, Hafer said.

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A student opened fire on officers responding to a report of a possible gunman at a Tennessee high school Monday and police shot back and killed him, authorities said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said at a news conference Monday that police found the student in a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, a city about 180 miles east of Nashville. They ordered him out, but he wouldnt comply, and thats when he reportedly opened fire, Rausch said. Police fired back.

The student died at the school, and an officer was wounded and taken into surgery, authorities said. No one else was hurt.

Its a sad day for Knoxville, and its tough for Austin-East, Rausch said.

The shooting comes as the community reels from off-campus gun violence that has left three Austin-East students dead this year and as more classrooms are reopening to students after months of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic, which cut down the number of mass killings in the U.S. The nation has seen series of mass shootings in recent weeks, including eight people killed at three Atlanta-area massage businesses on March 16 and 10 people killed at Colorado supermarket on March 22.

Knox County Schools restarted in-person learning in January, but Austin-East Magnet High School went back to virtual instruction briefly in February after the spate of shooting deaths of students. The school will be closed again Tuesday and Wednesday.

Speaking outside a hospital, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told WATE-TV that she spoke with the wounded officer and he was conscious and in good spirits.

Kincannon, a former Knox County Schools board president, spoke at a February press conference about the gun violence that took the lives of three Austin-East students less than three weeks apart this year. Two of the victims were 15, and the other was 16.

I know that school is a safe place, Kincannon said at that time, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Its a place where people are learning. The issues with violence are happening in the community, and its affecting kids when theyre outside of the school. Thats why we are focusing our efforts to protect the innocent, protect the school, protect the children and students and staff.

The newspaper reported that the school was adding three school resource officers and stepping up patrols around dismissal time.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, who represents the district and went to the school, said in a statement, I am at a loss to describe my sadness as yet another horrific act of gun violence has happened in my community, urging people to reclaim the sanctity of our beloved neighborhood.

This is the fourth unnecessary shooting involving the Austin East community this year and we must make sure we take every step and make every effort to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur, McKenzies statement said.

Gov. Bill Lee mentioned the shooting at a Monday news conference but said he had little information.

I just wanted to make reference to that and ask, for those who are watching, online or otherwise, to pray for that situation and for the families and the victims that might be affected by that in our state, he said.

Last week, the Republican governor signed legislation that will make Tennessee the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns  openly or concealed  without first clearing a background check and training. Lee backed the legislation over objections from law enforcement groups, who argued that the states existing permit system provided an important safeguard for knowing who should or shouldnt be carrying a gun.

When asked earlier this year whether recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado and others gave him any concern about timing, Lee said the increased penalties mean that we in fact will be strengthening laws that would help prevent gun crimes in the future.

Travis Loller and Adrian Sainz of The Associated Press wrote this story.
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RJ Young Announces Grand Opening of New Cartersville, GA Location RJ Young has grown to be more than a copying and printing company over the past ten years, said Timothy Podskoc, manager of business development. Cartersville is a perfect fit for us to ensure we can advance our vision and expand our business technology resources and services.

RJ Young, an industry-leading business technology solutions provider in the Southeast, recently opened a new office in Cartersville, Georgia to accommodate growth in the area.

RJ Young made the move from Rome to Cartersville, GA after outgrowing the previous location. Cartersville was the ideal location for the company to locate to due to the local community and access to Interstate 75 to support clients in Atlanta.

It is an exciting time for RJ Young and making the move to Cartersville will help us achieve our future goals for the company, said Keith Burrell, regional vice president. We are eager to see what the team accomplishes at our new Cartersville location and looking forward to serving the Georgia business community with their technology needs.

RJ Young has grown to be more than a copying and printing company over the past ten years, said Timothy Podskoc, manager of business development. Cartersville is a perfect fit for us to ensure we can advance our vision and expand our business technology resources and services.

To celebrate the companys new location in Cartersville, RJ Young will be hosting a virtual ribbon cutting with the Cartersville Chamber on Tuesday, April 13th. The event will take place via Facebook Live and participants will be entered to win an interactive whiteboard for their business from the company. Tune in to the Facebook Live on Tuesday at 11:30 am on Cartersville Chambers page here.

ABOUT RJ YOUNG

RJ Young is an industry leader providing technology solutions that power businesses in the Southeast. RJ Young helps small to enterprise-level organizations transition into modern workplaces and increase productivity with comprehensive managed IT solutions, office equipment and technology, business process outsourcing and digital communications. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, RJ Young has been partnering with businesses since 1955 and has more than 600 team members in more than 30 sales and service locations across nine states. To learn more about how RJ Young can help power your organization with technology solutions, visit RJYoung.com or reach out to info@rjyoung.com.
Professor Matthew Snape said alternating jabs could trigger added protection against coronavirus

Coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Novavax will be added to a 'mix and match' trial, scientists said today.

Britain's medical regulator currently requires everyone to have two doses of the same jab  either AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna.

But Oxford University experts are testing whether alternating second doses could provoke a stronger immune response.

Their trial  which could revolutionise Britain's roll-out  was already assessing the effects of combining doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Another 1,000 volunteers will now be recruited to the study to test combinations including vaccines made by Moderna and Novavax.

Experts say mixing jabs is unlikely to pose any safety concerns and predict it could lead to shots being even more effective at preventing an infection with the virus.

In the wake of AstraZeneca's blood clot fears, France approved giving recipients an alternative second dose. Germany made the same move for under-60s.

But until evidence is gathered they can't say for certain whether it works or whether it is safe.

Britain has only recommended under-30s are offered an alternative and that anyone who has already had their first dose should come forward for their second, unless they suffered the extremely rare complication.

Oxford's mix-and-match trial was first launched in February, to investigate whether alternating doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines boosted efficacy.

Volunteers need to be 50 or over and to have received one dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. Some will be offered the Moderna or Novavax jabs as a second dose, but others will still be given the same dose the second time round

The study will be the first to show whether it is possible to mix doses of the Covid vaccine

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED? Oxford scientists are looking to recruit 1,050 Britons for their trial investigating whether doses of the vaccines can be alternated. Participants will need to be 50 years old and over, and to have only received one dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine. In the trial they may be offered the Moderna or Novavax vaccines for their second dose. But some will still receive the same shot as they did the first time to allow scientists to compare whether alternating doses impacted immunity. Experts said there were unlikely to be any safety concerns over 'mixing' doses. They added that such a move could actually lead to the jabs sparking stronger immunity against the virus. Volunteers will be jabbed at centres based across the country including in London, Bristol and the Midlands. They will begin recruiting on Monday. You can sign up here: Com-COV trials. Advertisement

The Com-COV trials, or Comparing Covid Vaccine Schedule Combinations, are the first in the world to look at mixing coronavirus jabs.

It already involves 800 participants, who were alternating between AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

But the new trial will recruit another 175 volunteers in each of the six arms, taking the total number of volunteers to almost 2,000.

Participants will be randomly allocated a Moderna or Novavax jab  which is set to be rubber-stamped by regulators in the coming weeks  as a second dose, eight weeks after being given AstraZeneca or Pfizer's vaccine.

Some participants will receive the same jab as they did the first time round to act as a 'control' for the study, to indicate whether alternating doses did make jabs more potent.

Results will also be compared against the efficacy figures for each jab from large-scale clinical trials.

Experts are set to start recruiting volunteers from Monday, but the final results are not expected until late next month at the earliest, and possibly not until July.

Their findings will be submitted to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which will decide whether to permit alternative doses.

The group of top scientists was also responsible for designing the jabs priority list, and the decision to expand the gap between jabs to 12 weeks to protect as many people as fast as possible.

The study will not include the Johnson and Johnson jab expected to be approved in days because it requires just one dose.

Professor Matthew Snape, who is leading the study, said it could offer ministers an alternative should any jab suffer supply constrains or concerns over blood clots.

'The reason we are doing this study is that we don't know the effect of mixing,' he told a press briefing.

'The risk with mixing is you're going to see suboptimal immune responses, or a response that is not as good as in the original vaccine course.

'I personally would be surprised if that was the case, we just don't know what the outcome will be yet.'

He said mixing jabs could lead to more participants being immune to infections from the virus compared to the current jabs because it may prime the body to attack the whole virus rather than just the spike protein  which it uses to invade cells.

Studies have suggested the South African and Brazilian variants can partially evade jab-triggered immunity because they have deformed spikes which antibodies struggle to bind to.

But if the immune system attacked the whole virus these alterations would not help the virus slip in undetected and spark an infection.

Experts believe the current crop of jabs protects against the virus because antibodies are not the only part of the immune system.

AstraZeneca's vaccine was 76 per cent effective at blocking symptomatic Covid infections in clinical trials, compared to 92 per cent for Moderna's and 95 per cent for Pfizer's.

But experts point out these results are 'very good' for any vaccine, adding the World Health Organization only set the bar at 50 per cent and annual flu jabs are often only around 40 per cent effective.

AstraZeneca's and Novavax's vaccine uses a cold-modified virus containing Covid spike proteins to teach the immune system how to fight off the disease.

While Pfizer and Moderna's jab uses mRNA  instructions for building proteins  to trigger production of the spike particle.

It comes after more than 800 people were enrolled into trials of to find out whether it was possible to 'mix and match' between the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs.

All participants are aged over 50, and were given the jabs at eight sites across England including London, Birmingham and Liverpool.

The study will run for 13 months, with patients recruited in February.
London: China won the first half of the COVID Cold War decisively. It executed lockdowns with immaculate precision, cuffing dissenters to balcony railings and sealing citizens in their homes. Having near-enough eliminated COVID within its own borders, it fired up its industrial engines to meet roaring demand for Chinese goods.

A diplomatic coup over the United States followed, as the World Health Organisation ruled out the Wuhan lab leak theory. Most powerful of all was Chinas psychological victory; as Beijing exulted in the liberating discipline of the Chinese Way, the locked down West brooded over the selfish inadequacies of freedom.

But are the shots effective? Getting the jab in Wuhan this month. Credit:Getty

Now, though, a lousy vaccine strategy and a counterfeit economic recovery are coming back to haunt the Chinese Communist Party. A Western world that has spent a year luxuriating in existential crisis might dare to wonder: is the brute force of the authoritarian, centralised state no match after all for the innovative agility of a free capitalist society?

In an astonishing admission of weakness, Chinas top disease control official has confirmed that the efficacy of the countrys COVID vaccines is low. With trials abroad suggesting that protection rates could be as poor as 50 per cent, the countrys regulator is now considering whether to mix jabs to boost their effectiveness.
[April 12, 2021] Kyoto Semiconductor Signs Supply and Reseller Agreement With CEL

Kyoto Semiconductor Co., Ltd., a leading optical device solution manufacturer with world-class technologies and Japanese quality, has announced that it has entered into an agreement with California Eastern Laboratories (CEL) to be a multinational reseller of Kyoto Semiconductor's optical device solutions. The partnership extends Kyoto Semiconductor's sales and support network not only to North America but to countries such as India and Israel while it enhances CEL's product offering with Kyoto Semiconductor's high-quality photodiodes for optical communication and sensing equipment "Kyoto Semiconductor is pleased to collaborate with CEL, one of the best suppliers of compound and silicon semiconductors, known for its superior customer support and technological expertise. With this partnership, we extend our customer reach worldwide, ranging from North America to India or Israel", said Tsuneo Takahashi, CEO at Kyoto Semiconductor. "Our products are critical for the 5G and beyond-5G wireless network and the IoT market. The collaboration ith CEL will enable us to provide our valued customers in these markets with high-quality products and best-in-class support."



Established in 1959, California Eastern Laboratories has been a leading provider of wireless connectivity solutions and optical devices with its extensive technical support for customers. Paul Minton, President & CEO at California Eastern Laboratories, said, "We are pleased to announce that we have entered into an agreement with Kyoto Semiconductor. The company is recognized for high performance and outstanding quality in its photodiodes, so it is exciting that we expand our solutions offerings with such products." About Kyoto Semiconductor

Kyoto Semiconductor was established in 1980 in Kyoto as a dedicated manufacturer of optical semiconductors. The semiconductors manufactured offer superlative performance and precision, suited for use in optical transmission. They are manufactured end-to-end, including pre- and post-processing, and together with Kyoto Semiconductor's unique packaging technology, at our location in Japan and made available to customers around the world. Kyoto Semiconductor leads the industry with world-standard technologies for optical device solutions based on Japanese quality and attention to production detail.

Company Website: https://www.kyosemi.co.jp/ View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005006/en/

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In the last one decade, technology has changed the world and the world of PR is no exception. High Internet penetration, growing use of mobile phones and the power of social media are just few instances as to how technology has impacted how people communicate and how messages are transmitted and consumed. Today, there are countless tools that let one do more and are specifically designed and created for the challenges that PR professionals are facing in a digitally transformed world.

Keeping in mind the emerging trends in technology and digital transforming the PR world, we had an interesting fireside chat as part of DIGIXX 2021 on Technology in the Newsroom  How Ready Are We?. Moderated by Smitha Verma, an independent journalist, the speakers included Arpan Basu, Director - Communications, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, and Binesh Kutty, Senior Director - Live Newsroom, Genesis BCW.

At the outset, Verma asked the speakers about how the use of content and technology has changed, especially in the last one year of the pandemic. Responding to that, Binesh Kutty explained, At Genesis BCW, I have been spotting these changes since the last 10 years, at least from this industrys point of view. So, when you talk about content creation and the explosion of content creators itself, the change that we have had to adapt to has been in identifying these content creators and the platforms that they exist on.

Speaking about some of the technologies that have emerged over the past one year, Kutty mentioned about predictive analytics that has come alive in the past one year through which PR professionals are able to scout through the Internet as to what content users are consuming in order to create relevant news pegs for the clients. This helps in meeting the clients messaging requirements as well as is topical enough for the journalists. Another thing that we have seen emerge in the past one year is identifying influencers right and also the target audience of the influencers, he added.

Kutty also spoke about the tools used that will not only let one identify the TG on the basis of gender, but also cater to the requirement of diversity and inclusion, where we will have to target the non-binary target group. So, technologies are in place for that as well.

Speaking from a brands perspective on how in the new set-up of media things have moved, Arpan Basu asked, First things first, can we be ready for the ever-changing world? I have my serious doubts. The external environment and consumption trends are changing so rapidly that to stay ahead of the curve is a challenge in itself.

At the same time, Basu said that some people do manage to at least be with the curve rather than stay ahead of the curve. In the last couple of months, or lets say a year, everything is now coming down to life before COVID-19 and life after COVID-19. Also, if you notice the consumption trends of consumers, they were already sort of bubbling. With the pandemic, what has happened is that all of these changes have become more rapid and more visible and it has got accentuated. So, if you were talking about digital media, was it not there before COVID-19? Yes, it was, but the consumption trends have evolved and changed from beginning of the pandemic to the current times, he added.

Speaking about his personal experience, Basu said that while earlier he used to watch TV, now he was looking at a personal screen more. Thats a remarkable change and that gives you a lot of leeway as to how communicators can sort of play out content. Having said that, the lines between communication and marketing are also blurring. How does one differentiate between marketing and communication on a platform like social media? Can you really differentiate or will both work together to come to a common sort of solution? he asked.

Catch the complete conversation below:
Two Auburn families whose lives have been touched by Make-A-Wish Central New York are helping the foundation with a fundraising campaign this month.

Through World Wish Day on April 29, the foundation will attempt to raise $50,000 to grant local wishes for local, critically ill children through the Wish Heroes campaign. The campaign replaces the annual Sugarman Law Firm Wish Ball, which had to be canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the 20 fundraisers working with Make-A-Wish to raise the $50,000 are Katie and Mark Green and Ryan and Jaime Schmitt.

The Greens' daughter Alayah was being treated for leukemia when her wish to be a princess at Disney World was granted in 2017. Katie Green said in a news release that the experience was so inspiring that she started volunteering with the foundation, helping other families. She is coordinating a carousel fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23-25 at Destiny USA in Syracuse.

Until you experience Make-A-Wish, its hard to really understand just how much the wish means, she said in the news release.

During her wish, Alayah was just a child  not a child with cancer. There was a life in her, a spark that had been missing.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  A second dose of the Janssen vaccine could give more protection than just one, a vaccine expert said Tuesday.

Dr. Nina Gloriani, chief of the country's vaccine experts panel, said one dose is effective enough but getting two shots would be better if there is sufficient supply.

"'Pag tiningnan ang neutralizing antibody, mas mataas talaga sa second dose. If I were to be asked, sasabihin ko we need two doses, not one. Pero kung talagang kulang ang supply, maybe we can adapt that pero as an immunologist, I would vet for 2 doses...may data na mas mataas pag nabigyan ka ng second dose," Gloriani said during an online briefing on Tuesday.

[Translation: When we look at the neutrlizing antibody, it's higher with a second dose.If I were to be asked, I would say we need two doses, not one. But if the supply is not enough, maybe we can adapt that, but as an immunologist, I would vet for 2 doses... there is data that says it is higher if you get a second dose.]

Gloriani said given the pandemic, vaccines must be deployed as widely as possible, but data would show that a second dose would be better.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant Janssen emergency use authorization in the coming days.

American drugmaker Johnson & Johnson applied for emergency use for its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine with the Philippine FDA on March 31.

The US Food and Drug Administration in February approved emergency use of the single-dose vaccine for peope aged 18 and older.

Once authorized, J&J will be the fifth vaccine manufacturer to get regulatory approval in the country, following Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Gamaleya-Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, experts will do a local study on how long each vaccine brand can provide protection.

Gloriani said this will be the basis of their recommendation on who gets a booster shot and when they can get it.

"Magkakaroon tayo ng decision on whether we need a booster or not as needed," she said.

[Translation: We will come to a decision on whether we need a booster or not as needed.]

She added they are working with the Department of Health to see how this can be done.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:06:26|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey welcomed on Tuesday the Muslim holy month of Ramadan amid the increasing daily number of COVID-19 cases.

Most of the COVID-19-related restrictions are still in place in the country following a spike in infections, although a normalization process was launched on March 1.

Despite a mass inoculation drive launched in mid-January, the daily cases of over 55,000 have made the record since the start of the outbreak over a year ago.

Some health professionals said the reopening in March was premature and called for a full lockdown during Ramadan.

"We may face a scenario where there could be few beds in intensive care units. We must all be very careful," Pinar Saip, the Istanbul head of Turkey's Medical Association (TTB), told the local press.

Saip urged the authorities to accelerate the vaccination program, which has so far administrated nearly 19 million shots in total, according to official data.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that the plan was to vaccinate every citizen over the age of 40 by the end of June and those over 20 by the end of July.

However, misconceptions toward vaccinations appear to prevail in the country. Some 25 percent of people who are eligible for inoculation have not received their jabs yet, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, almost 40 percent of all cases were reported in Istanbul, Turkey's busiest city with a population of over 16 million.

The minister said that Ramadan offers an opportunity for reducing cases, signaling new stricter measures.

"There is frustration as it is the second time we have to celebrate this month under strict measures, but there is nothing else can be done," Cevdet Albay, aged 65, told Xinhua, as he was buying groceries in Istanbul's historic Eminonu neighborhood.

It is custom to gather in houses with friends or close relatives for the fast-breaking suppers in the evening. However, the authorities have urged the population to refrain from such a behavior to curb the spread of the virus.

The government earlier announced a set of restrictions for Ramadan, including weekend lockdowns for all 81 provinces and weeknight curfews.

Restaurants and cafes will also be shut down except for meal and food delivery to customers by their own staff, instead of takeaways.

The authorities also banned mass dinners during Ramadan, a tradition that sometimes brings hundreds together.

"We aim to decrease the case numbers in Ramadan. Otherwise, we may suffer in the summer, especially in tourism season," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press conference last week.

Tourism workers have begun to be vaccinated ahead of the summer season while first groups of foreign travelers are gradually welcomed in the Mediterranean and Aegean coastal provinces. Enditem
The outspoken lawmaker, Naira Zohrabian, was replaced as head of the committee on human rights in late December for what the parliaments pro-government majority described as offensive comments posted by her on Facebook.

In an apparent attack on hardcore supporters of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Zohrabian lambasted the scum which she said has taken over Armenia and is responsible for its recent misfortunes. She said it must be disenfranchised and even forcibly educated for the good of the country.

Deputies from Pashinians My Step bloc condemned Zohrabian, saying that she not only insulted hundreds of thousands of Armenians but also called for them to be stripped of their civil rights.

Zohrabian denied insulting anyone and claimed that My Steps decision to strip her of her parliamentary position is political persecution ordered Pashinian. She went on to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The court ruled on Tuesday that her removal did not breach any constitutional provisions guaranteeing political pluralism and freedom of expression. A spokeswoman for the court, Yeva Tovmasian, said the ruling will be made public later this week.

Zohrabians BHK has the second largest group in the current parliament. The party led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian is part of an opposition alliance that has blamed Pashinian for Armenias defeat in the recent war in Karabakh and demanded his resignation.
Two men operating a Birmingham area business have been arrested for practicing medicine without a license.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners said William Timothy Rogers, 53, of Bremen, and Steven Douglas Elliott, 40, of Hoover, were booked into the Jefferson County Jail this weekend on charges following a search warrant at their business, WaveTech Therapy, 2100 Southbridge Pwy., in Birmingham.

The arrests came after a joint investigation by the board, the U.S. Secret Service Birmingham Cyber Fraud Task Force and the Homewood Police Department.

According to its website, WaveTech Therapy offers treatment for erectile dysfunction, chronic pain and neuropathy. The board, which is the states regulatory and law enforcement agency overseeing medical practices, says more charges are possible.

The Alabama Board of Medical Examiners will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect patients from the unlawful and fraudulent practice of medicine in this state, Board Executive Director William Perkins said.

The U.S. Secret Service Birmingham Cyber Fraud Task Force is made up of investigators from the U.S. Secret Service, police from Homewood, Mountain Brook, Hoover, Alabaster and Hueytown, Walmart Global Investigations and the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office.
A massive fire which gutted a business center in St. Petersburg, which is Russias second-largest city, on Monday, April 12, is still burning. The blaze soon spread all across the four floors which makes up to an area of 10,000 square meters, said emergency officials. According to the reports by the Associated Press, the authorities said that around 300 people have been caught up in the fire. An investigation has been launched as the cause of fire is not yet clear.

(People look at smoke and flame rising from the Nevskaya Manufaktura textile factory founded by English merchant J. Thornton in 1841, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, April 12, 2021. Image Credits: AP)

(Smoke and flame rise from the Nevskaya Manufaktura textile factory, founded by English merchant J. Thornton in 1841, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Monday, April 12, 2021. Image Credits: AP)

(Russian Emergency Situations Ministry helicopter dumps water on a large-scale fire at the Nevskaya Manufaktura textile factory founded by English merchant J. Thornton in 1841, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Image Credits: AP)

Fire in St. Petersburg

As per the reports by BBC, the building dates back to 1841 and was initially used for manufacturing fabric. The Russian emergencies ministry said that 40 people have been evacuated and most of the roof and floor deck has collapsed. Termed as Nevskaya Manufaktura, in the year 2001 the factory was added to St Petersburg's list of historic and culturally valuable sites. Currently, parts of the building were used for manufacturing clothes, however, others were rented out as office space and some areas had been abandoned.

Sad news coming out of St. Petersburg tonight as a firefighter is killed and two others injured. Our thoughts are with their families and colleagues   https://t.co/XsPmUnLfno pic.twitter.com/THZBTWco1B  Dublin Fire Brigade #StayHomeSaveLives (@DubFireBrigade) April 12, 2021

Fire ravages historic factory in St Petersburg https://t.co/xnSl8NBYVV pic.twitter.com/YHgisq6gM1  Marcio M. Silva (@marciojmsilva) April 12, 2021

Fire at a three-storey house in Bangkok

In another significant development worth mentioning, a three-storey house in Bangkok recently collapsed following a fire, leaving four voluntary rescue workers, the owner of the house dead and an unknown number of people still trapped under the rubble. According to the Associated Press, local police Cpl. Kamolpoo Khaokaew informed that a few other people including rescue workers were still trapped under the building after it collapsed. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said the rescue workers from the Poh Teck Tung Foundation entered the three-story building after they had extinguished the fire.

While speaking to local news broadcaster Thai PBS, a volunteer rescue workers said that he was spraying water onto the buildings balcony when he sensed something was wrong. Somchai Bowornlarp added that officials from the disaster prevention department soon ordered everyone to leave the house, however, some of the volunteers, who were still inside, couldnt leave as they were waiting for the water to be turned off first. Bowornlarp said, Some left but others who were inside holding the hose couldnt leave because they had to wait for the water to be turned off first. At that moment, the building collapsed in front of me. I was lucky I did not get hurt.

(Image Credits: AP)
Blueacorn was the natural selection for a lending partner, as the firms shared both those same visions of innovation along with each's Arizona roots. The firms collaborated last year in the PPP first round in a two-way referral relationship, sharing only modest success that was illustrated with a couple of hundred loans done together to show for it. This year however, elev8 operationalized blueacorn into a powerhouse. Taking the blueacorn's proprietary software solutions and fraud tools and combining it with powerful partners in the digital marketing sectors, their combined efforts have driven hundreds of thousands of small business owners to elev8's easy-to-use interactive web portal elev8withus.com/ppp-loans.

"We recognized that we had to develop an easy tool for American businesses to be able to obtain the necessary PPP funding, but keep it simple and efficient," said Slominski.

Blueacorn, with the assist of elev8 and their ability to quickly scale and structure, both with operational and financial support, has become the 6th largest PPP lender in America behind industry stalwarts such as JP Morgan and Bank of America. Spencer says that the focus they made early on to shift their focus of the program this time on the 1099, Daily Wage, and Sole Proprietor population of U.S. small businesses wasn't simply just a lucky guess that created such success. "We knew we wanted our target audience as CDFI's and very small community bank types on the institutional side, and the underbanked and unserved markets on the prospective clients side. That's been validated with 64% of our clients' loans having gone to minority business owners who are in disadvantaged or other negatively impacted economic areas," says Spencer.

elev8 Advisors was selected by Blue Acorn CEO Noah Spirakus because of "elev8's ability to understand the complexities of the lending ecosystem while also being able to succinctly focus marketing efforts to really optimize and target their idea of the 'average American business owner.' We jointly share the visions of one small business to another, that empowering other small businesses, represents the mission of the SBA and the American Dream. Together we wanted to open that up to all business owners, and do it in a big, big way."

About elev8: elev8 Advisors Group allows its clients to learn about and thrive in, today's hyper-aggressive payments landscape. The company takes the confusion and lack of clarity around compliance, technology, and platform access, and provides an omni-present solution that firmly places its clients in a position that they can continually offer win/win situations with excellent outcomes for both parties involved.

About Blue Acorn: Blueacorn is a software driven platform provider offering a service that bridges operational gaps between businesses and banks/lenders by using its proprietary lending and fraud tools focused on both grant and lending programs.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE elev8 Advisors Group

Related Links

https://www.elev8withus.com/ppp-loans


Sheskey and two other Kenosha officers were trying to arrest Blake on an outstanding warrant when a pocketknife fell from his pants during a scuffle. Blake said he picked it up before heading to a vehicle to drive away with two of his children in the back seat. He said he was prepared to surrender once he put the knife in the vehicle.
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The Queen is being forced to decide which rank of military uniform the Duke of York can wear to his father's funeral after he demanded to go as an Admiral.

Prince Andrew  who stepped back from public duties over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein 18 months ago  was made an honorary Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015.

He was due to be promoted to Admiral on his 60th birthday last year, but offered to defer it until he cleared his name and returned to public duties.

Now the 61-year-old prince has sparked ructions at Buckingham Palace after he told his mother and senior officials that he wished to attend the funeral as an Admiral. The widowed Queen will have to make a decision in the next 24 hours.

Royal officials are also wrestling with the dilemma of Prince Harry possibly being the only senior male royal not in uniform at the funeral.

Andrew, who joined the Royal Navy in 1979 as a Seaman Officer and finished his active naval career in 2001, is currently a Vice-Admiral after being awarded the rank on his 55th birthday.

An Admiral ceremonial day coat has three rows of lace on the sleeve, but a Vice-Admiral's two rows. The Admiral's shoulder rank board has a crossed baton and sword with four stars, but for a Vice-Admiral there are three stars.

It comes as:

Preparations are well under way for Philip's funeral, which will feature servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF - alongside top military brass - this Saturday at Windsor Castle;

The Queen returned to royal duties just four days after Philip's death, hosting an in-person event to mark the retirement of her household's most senior official, former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel;

Thames Valley Police are carrying out specialist searches around Windsor town, with officers examining street furniture including phone boxes, post boxes, drains and bins as part of the operation;

The Queen and her family will wear face masks and socially distance as they gather to say their final farewell - and the Queen may have to sit alone during the service due to social distancing rules;

Philip's funeral could attract one of the largest television audiences of the year, with the record to beat being 25.1million people who watched Prime Minister Boris Johnson's televised lockdown address on January 4.

While it is not known exactly what uniforms the senior royals will wear on Saturday, at the Queen Mother's funeral in 2002, Prince Charles wore a Rear Admiral dress uniform, Prince Andrew wore a Royal Naval Commander uniform, and Princess Anne wore honorary Rear Admiral dress.

All three had, and still have, honorary military titles - along with Prince William - so will all once again be allowed to wear military uniform this weekend. William wore a Blues and Royals uniform to Harry's wedding in May 2018.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex stands with Prince Edward and Prince Andrew as the brothers wear ceremonial dress at a service of commemoration to mark the end of combat operations in Afghanistan, at St Paul's Cathedral in London in March 2015

Prince Harry (left) has a Blues and Royals military uniform which he wore when he married Meghan at Windsor Castle in May 2018. The choice of attire was significant because it was a major's uniform as opposed to that of a general - despite him being Captain General of the Marines. His brother Prince William also wore a Blues and Royals frockcoat uniform for the event

Prince Charles and Prince William wear ceremonial uniform next to the Queen on the balcony at Buckingham Palace in 2015

Prince Andrew in ceremonial dress at a service to mark the centenary of the RAF in London on July 10, 2018 (left); and Prince Harry in a normal suit at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020 (right)

Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence in military dress at a Jutland commemoration in South Queensferry on May 28, 2016

Princess Anne arrives at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on the Isle of Wight today

Sophie, Countess of Wessex arrives at Windsor Castle today after Prince Philip died at the age of 99 last Friday

Soldiers from the Welsh Guards rehearsing for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on the Drill Square at the Army Training Centre Pirbright in Woking, Surrey, today

Soldier from the Royal Regiment of Scotland 4 Scots (the Highlanders) rehearsing for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on the Drill Square at the Army Training Centre Pirbright in Woking, Surrey, today

A soldier from the The Life Guards rehearsing for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on the Drill Square at the Army Training Centre Pirbright in Woking, Surrey, today

It comes as it was reported last night that William had spoken on the phone to Harry.

The estranged brothers have barely spoken for a year and any attempts to break the ice after Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview have not been productive.

Kensington Palace declined to comment but royal sources said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wished the focus of the week to be on honouring the Duke of Edinburgh's memory.

Harry lost his military titles after quitting royal duties. As a former Captain with the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals), Harry is only permitted to wear a morning suit with medals, unless officials can find a way round the issue.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night, saying only: 'Funeral arrangements are being finalised and we will announce them accordingly.'

A source said any final decision on what uniforms are worn would rest with the Queen.

Andrew stepped down from public duties in November 2019 'for the foreseeable future' over his friendship with Epstein in the wake of the disastrous Newsnight interview he had hoped would clear his name.

The Queen joined by members of the Royal Family after Trooping the Colour at Buckingham Palace in June 2019, including the Prince William and Kate with their children, Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Camilla, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Peter and Autumn Phillips and their children Savannah and Isla

Prince Andrew leaving Windsor Castle yesterday, hours before it was reported that the Queen is being forced to decide which rank of military uniform the Duke of York can wear to his father's funeral after he demanded to go as an Admiral

The Duke and Duchess of York leave the Windsor Castle estate yesterday, ahead of Prince Philip's funeral this Saturday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lay a wreath at Los Angeles National Cemetery on Remembrance Sunday last November

The Duke of Sussex displayed various decorations on his military uniform at the Royal Albert Hall last March. He wore a scarlet Mess Jacket featuring silver-embroidered rank badges of a star above a crossed sword and baton on each shoulder strap

Armed police on patrol outside Windsor Castle today following the death of the Duke of Edinburgh aged 99 last Friday

Preparations being made for TV and radio broadcasters outside Windsor Castle today to cover Philip's funeral this Saturday

The prince joined the Royal Navy in 1979 as a Seaman Officer and finished his active naval career in 2001.

What military titles do Charles, William, Edward, Andrew and Anne hold? Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Edward, Prince Andrew and Princess Anne will all be in military dress because they hold honorary roles. These are as follows: PRINCE CHARLES Colonel - Welsh Guards

Colonel-in-Chief - Parachute Regiment; Royal Dragoon Guards; Army Air Corps; Royal Gurkha Rifles; The Queen's Dragoon Guards; and Mercian Regiment

Royal Honorary Colonel - Queen's Own Yeomanry

Royal Colonel - The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland; and 51st Highland, 7th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland

Honorary Air Commodore - Royal Air Force Valley

Honorary Commodore - Her Majesty's Coastguard

Commodore-in-Chief - Aircraft Carriers; and Plymouth, Royal Naval Command PRINCE ANDREW Vice-Admiral - Personal Aide-de-Camp to the Queen

Colonel - Grenadier Guards

Colonel-in-Chief - 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's); Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment); Small Arms School Corps; and Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)

Royal Colonel - Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland

Honorary Air Commodore - Royal Air Force Lossiemouth

Commodore-in-Chief - Fleet Air Arm PRINCE EDWARD Royal Honorary Colonel - Royal Wessex Yeomanry; and London Regiment

Commodore-in-Chief - Royal Fleet Auxiliary

Royal Colonel - 2nd Battalion, The Rifles

Honorary Air Commodore - Royal Air Force Waddington PRINCESS ANNE Colonel-in-Chief - King's Royal Hussars; Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29/45 Foot); Royal Corps of Signals; Royal Logistic Corps; and the Royal Army Veterinary Corps

Colonel - Blues and Royals

Royal Colonel - Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland; 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland

Royal Honorary Colonel - University of London OTC

Commandant-in-Chief - First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps)

Honorary Air Commodore - RAF Brize Norton; and the University of London Air Squadron

Commodore-in-Chief - HMNB Portsmouth

Chief Commandant - Women in the Royal Navy PRINCE WILLIAM Commodore-in-Chief - Royal Navy Submarine Service; and Scotland

Honorary Air Commandant - RAF Coningsby

Colonel - Irish Guards Advertisement

The Navy established a policy in 2009 that means the prince is promoted in line with his still-serving peers to mark his continued contribution to the service.

He became a Rear Admiral on his 50th birthday, a Vice-Admiral on his 55th, and had been due to become an Admiral on his 60th last year before forgoing the promotion.

Andrew's stance is likely to add to what must be an extremely distressing and stressful week for the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family.

'People have opinions and there are ongoing discussions about the right course of action,' a source said.

The rank of Admiral is the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, although members of the Royal Family can be made Admiral of the Fleet.

Significantly, while many of Andrew's charitable patronages have deserted him, he has not been stripped of his military positions and titles yet.

He has been accused by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Guiffre, of having sex with her twice when she was just 17. Andrew has strongly denied all accusations.

He has kept a generally low profile since being forced out of public life, but in recent days talked of the 'huge void' his father's passing had left in the Queen's life.

There have been reports he hopes to rehabilitate his image and make a return to public life.

As for William and Harry, broadcaster Andrew Neil told ITV's This Morning today: 'They've spoken on the phone, of course they can't meet face to face because Harry is in quarantine having come in from Los Angeles.

'I don't know whether it will lead to anything or not. I mean, frankly I think it's a sideshow. What Harry and William do is up to them - if they want to speak, fine, if they don't that's fine too - I don't really care, one way or the other.

'What I don't want to happen is it to overshadow the Duke's funeral and to overshadow the Queen. All thoughts this week should not be with Harry or William, all thoughts should be with the Queen. That's the beginning and the end of it. She's the one that matters, not these two.'

Meanwhile the Queen has returned to royal duties just four days after the death of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

On Tuesday, the 94-year-old monarch hosted her first in-person event since Philip's passing on Friday to mark the retirement of her household's most senior official, former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel.

Her return to work comes as preparations are under way for Philip's funeral, which will feature servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF - alongside top military brass - this Saturday at Windsor Castle.

It was announced at the weekend the monarchy and their households would observe two weeks of royal mourning, with members of the family 'continuing to undertake engagements appropriate to the circumstances,' a royal official said.

The Earl Peel had overseen arrangements for the duke's funeral - known as Operation Forth Bridge - before handing responsibility to his successor, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker, just over a week before Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle.

In overall charge is Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, who took up his new role on April 1, following the Earl Peel's retirement after more than 14 years in the post.

The Lord Chamberlain oversees all senior appointments in the household, is the channel of communication between the sovereign and the House of Lords and ensures co-ordination between Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

During a ceremony held at Windsor Castle, the Queen accepted her former royal aide's wand and insignia of office.

Senior members of the Royal Family follow the coffin of the Queen Mother on its way to her funeral in Westminster Abbey in London in April 2002. From left: The Duke of York, Prince of Wales, Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Royal, and Earl of Wessex

Members of the Royal Family attend the funeral of Earl Mountbatten in September 1979, including the Queen, Queen Mother, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward

How Britain will have first royal ceremonial funeral for nearly 20 years The last royal ceremonial funeral held in the UK was the late Queen Mother's in April 2002 at Westminster Abbey. Her three eldest grandchildren - Charles, Andrew and Anne, as well as the Duke of Edinburgh - all wore uniform in line with their respective honorary military positions. Prince Edward, along with the young Princes William and Harry, was in a morning suit as he had, until shortly before his grandmother's death, been running his own film production business and did not receive any honorary military appointments until several years later. This was in contrast to the funeral of Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister, that same year at St George's Chapel, as it was classed as a private event and all of the family wore morning suits. Saturday's funeral will see all of the Queen's children - now accompanied by Prince William - in military uniform, apart from Prince Harry, it is believed. Andrew has not been stripped of his military titles like his nephew. When he was promoted to the position of vice-admiral, his appointment was announced in the London Gazette. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it had been 'approved by the Queen in line with long-standing convention covering military promotions' for royals. Advertisement

The official engagement was recorded in the Court Circular - a daily list of the events attended by the Queen and her family.

It said: 'The Earl Peel had an audience of The Queen today, delivered up his Wand and Insignia of Office as Lord Chamberlain and the Badge of Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order and took leave upon relinquishing his appointment as Lord Chamberlain, when Her Majesty invested him with the Royal Victorian Chain.'

The Queen recently conferred a prestigious honour on the Earl Peel, making him a Permanent Lord in Waiting.

Meanwhile, as part of security preparations, Thames Valley Police are carrying out specialist searches around Windsor town, with officers examining street furniture including phone boxes, post boxes, drains and bins as part of the operation.

The force said it has put a range of visible and covert security measures in place for Saturday, when the duke is to be honoured with a ceremonial royal funeral at St George's Chapel.

It will be a royal funeral like no other, with the Queen and her family wearing face masks and socially distancing as they gather to say their final farewell.

The Queen may have to sit alone during the service due to social distancing rules, the Telegraph has reported. She is staying at Windsor with a reduced number of around 22 staff, in what has been dubbed HMS Bubble.

The duke's long-standing close aide, his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, will be one of the few, and possibly only, non-royals invited to attend the historic occasion inside St George's Chapel.

As a member of HMS Bubble, he may be the only person eligible to sit with the Queen. It is thought Philip's funeral could attract one of the largest television audiences of the year.

The biggest TV audience so far saw 25.1 million people watch Prime Minister Boris Johnson's televised address on January 4 announcing a new national lockdown, while 13.9 million viewers tuned in for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with US broadcaster Oprah Winfrey last month.

Broadcasters have yet to confirm their plans for Philip's funeral, but the BBC and ITV are likely to devote several hours to the event, including the ceremony at 3pm.

Harry and William 'will be reunited for the first time on the morning of Philip's funeral': Kate is 'set to act as peacemaker' after the brothers 'spoke on the phone while the Duke of Sussex isolates at Frogmore Cottage'

The brothers are believed to have already spoken on the phone since Harry landed at Heathrow last weekend

Harry believed to be self-isolating at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, so he can be close to the Queen and funeral

The Queen returned to work as she hosted retirement ceremony for former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel

It comes after death of husband of 73-years Prince Philip at the age of 99 on Friday, at home at Windsor Castle

As tributes flooded in from across the country, the family announced a two-week period of royal mourning

But in a move that typifies the Queen's deep sense of duty, the monarch, 94, returned to work on Tuesday

By Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter For MailOnline

Prince William and Prince Harry will not meet in person until their grandfather Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday with Kate Middleton helping them put on a 'unified' front for the Queen, it was revealed today.

The brothers are believed to have already spoken on the phone since Harry landed at Heathrow ahead of seeing each other face-to-face for the first time in a year at Windsor Castle this weekend.

The Duchess of Cambridge is said to be willing to act as 'peacemaker' between the brothers, who have vowed to set aside their rift and try to reset their strained relationship to honour the memory of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Harry described Kate as the 'big sister I never had' when she became engaged to William 11 years ago - but the siblings' relationship became fractured following his decision to emigrate to the US and be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey with his wife Meghan Markle.

The Sussexes accused the Royal Family of racism, with Harry claiming William is 'trapped' and saying Prince Charles cut him off financially. Kate was also accused by Meghan of making her cry in a row over bridesmaids dresses in the bombshell TV interview last month, but Kate is said to be pushing for the brothers to make up.

Saturday's funeral will certainly remind the brothers of their shared grief at another royal funeral more than two decades ago - when, as young boys, both walked behind their mother Princess Diana's coffin in 1997.

Harry is now in quarantine, but can attend the funeral in line with government rules that make exceptions for such occasions. Meghan, who is pregnant with their second child, was advised by her doctor not to make the long trip.

A royal source told the Daily Telegraph: 'They know it is not about them on Saturday  it is about honouring their grandfather's memory and supporting their grandmother. I would be extremely surprised if that wasn't front and centre of both their minds. They will be keen to spend time together as a family, in the same time zone for once.' Another insider said: 'The entire focus is on the Queen. No exceptions. A family unified.'

The brothers will meet face-to-face for the first time in more than a year on Saturday. The brothers also plan to unveil a sculpture in memory of Diana in the gardens at Kensington Palace, together this summer.

In two statements with very different tones released 30 minutes apart on Monday, Prince William praised his grandfather's lifetime of service to 'Queen, country and Commonwealth' before Harry declared: 'He was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end'.

William's words focused on duty, continuing Philip's work and the need to support the Queen, with some royal watchers pondering if this was, in part, a criticism of his brother who quit as a frontline royal and emigrated to the United States with his wife.

Harry is understood to have chosen to self-isolate at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle where the Queen is based, rather than at Kensington Palace where his brother lives with his wife and three children.

Prince William and Prince Harry are expected to see eachother for the first time in a year just hours before Saturday's funeral - with the Duchess of Cambridge helping them be 'united' (pictured together in 2016)

Harry and William have fallen out in the past year but have spoken this week and plan to spend time together this weekend to repair their relationship, with Kate Middleton said to be acting as peacemaker ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip (pictured together at the Trooping The Colour parade in 2014

It came as the Queen stoically returned to royal duties yesterday, four days after the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, and within the official period of eight days of mourning.

The monarch, 94, hosted a retirement ceremony for the former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel on Tuesday.

It comes after her husband of 73-years, Prince Philip, passed away aged 99 on Friday at Windsor Castle.

As touching tributes flooded in from across the nation for the duke, including flowers left at residences such as Windsor and Buckingham Palace, the family announced a two-week period of royal mourning.

But, in a move that typifies the Queen's deep sense of duty, she returned early to bid farewell to Earl Peel - a key royal aide who is retiring after 14 years of service.

Earl Peel was the Lord Chamberlain, which is the most senior officer role in the royal household. He had been overseeing arrangements for the duke's funeral - known as Operation Forth Bridge.

The Queen (pictured left in March) stoically returned to royal duties yesterday, four days after the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh. The Monarch hosted a retirement ceremony for former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel (pictured with the Queen in 2013) on Tuesday

It comes after her husband Prince Philip (pictured with the Queen in June last year) passed away, aged 99, on Friday, at Windsor Castle

As touching tributes flooded in from across the nation for the Duke, including flowers left at residences such as Windsor and Buckingham Palace (pictured), the family announced a two-week period of royal mourning

While floral tributes stacked-up at the gates of Buckingham Palace, Britons also attended the gates of Sandringham House in Norfolk to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh

William Peel, great-great-grandson of founder of the modern Tory party William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel, is a great-great-grandson of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, one of the founders of the modern Conservative party. The businessman served as a hereditary Tory peer from 1973 to 2006 when, on appointment to Lord Chamberlain, he became a crossbench member of the Lords. He attended Ampleforth College in Yorkshire before the University of Tours in France and the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. He was a member of the Prince's Council, which advises the Duchy of Cornwall, from 1993 to 2006. Lord Peel was also a member of the Nature Conservancy Council, a since dissolved Government conservation agency, from 1991 to 1996. He married Veronica Thompson in 1973 and they had two children together before they divorced in 1987. Two years later, Lord Peel married Charlotte Soames, daughter of Lord Soames and his wife, Mary Churchill, daughter of Sir Winston Churchill. They have one child, Lady Antonia Peel, born in 1991. Advertisement

Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, recently said his mother is bearing up stoically and the family have been rallying round to support her.

And Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has pledged to uphold his grandfather's wishes and continue to support the Queen and 'get on with the job'.

It was announced at the weekend the monarchy and their households would observe two weeks of royal mourning, with members of the family 'continuing to undertake engagements appropriate to the circumstances,' a royal official said.

The Princess Royal, Prince Anne, took part in her first official event since the death of her father.

She joined, via video-link, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's Spring Conference in her role as the organisation's patron.

The Earl Peel, who has now left his role as the royal family's top aide, had overseen arrangements for the duke's funeral before handing responsibility to his successor, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker, just over a week before Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle.

The Lord Chamberlain's Office, led by the Queen's Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day.

But in overall charge is Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, who took up his new role on April 1, following the Earl Peel's retirement after more than 14 years in the post.

The Lord Chamberlain oversees all senior appointments in the household and is the channel of communication between the sovereign and the House of Lords.

The position also ensures co-ordination between Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

During a ceremony held at Windsor Castle, the Queen accepted her former royal aide's wand and insignia of office.

The official engagement was recorded in the Court Circular - a daily list of the events attended by the Queen and her family.

The Lord Chamberlain's Office, led by the Queen's Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day. But in overall charge is Andrew Parker (pictured), Baron Parker of Minsmere, who took up his new role on April 1, following the Earl Peel's (pictured left) retirement after more than 14 years in the post

It said: 'The Earl Peel had an audience of The Queen today, delivered up his Wand and Insignia of Office as Lord Chamberlain and the Badge of Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order and took leave upon relinquishing his appointment as Lord Chamberlain, when Her Majesty invested him with the Royal Victorian Chain.'

The Queen recently conferred a prestigious honour on the Earl Peel, making him a Permanent Lord in Waiting.

The Armed Forces are stepping up preparations for the duke's funeral which will feature servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF - alongside top military brass.

The Queen 'understands' why pregnant Meghan Markle hasn't flown from US for Prince Philip's funeral The Queen reportedly told pregnant Meghan Markle she 'understands' why the duchess has not flown from the US with Prince Harry to Britain to attend Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday. Meghan, who lives in an 11million mansion in California, allegedly 'wanted' to attend the service for the Duke of Edinburgh but had been advised against making the 10-hour flight by her physician. Her husband Harry is staying at Frogmore Cottage, the couple's former home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, to quarantine for five days before attending the funeral at St George's Chapel. Amid claims in the US that the duchess skipped it to avoid being 'centre of attention', a source in California has insisted that the 94-year-old monarch told Meghan she 'understands' why she did not come. Revealing she and Harry were 'in contact with the Queen' after Philip's death on Friday, the source also told People magazine that it was 'always a given that Harry would return to England for his grandfather's passing' and that Meghan had 'expressed condolences' when speaking with the grieving monarch. Harry landed at London Heathrow Airport via a BA flight from LA at the weekend, making this journey his first back to Britain since his and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan, who accused the royal family of racism in the explosive TV interview, is pregnant with Harry's second child - a daughter. She is remaining in the US with their one-year-old son Archie. Advertisement

Soldiers from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are reportedly working to prepare the special Land Rover - that the duke helped design - which will carry his coffin on Saturday.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, who served with REME, said about the duke, his unit's former colonel-in-chief: 'He was engaged with us and used to visit us probably once or twice every single year since 1969.

'And he had an enormous passion for all things engineering. In his own words 'If it wasn't invented by God, it was invented by an engineer'.

It comes amid reports that the Queen may have to sit apart from family members at her husband's funeral - due to strict Covid rules.

Current guidelines mean anyone attending a funeral must stay at least two metres apart from those outside their household, except when in a support bubble.

However the Queen is not eligible to be in a support bubble, because she technically does not live on her own - and is supported by a team of royal aides dubbed 'HMS Bubble'.

As other members of the Royal Family are living in other royal residences, it means the Queen will likely have to sit at least two metres away from relatives at the funeral, according to the Telegraph.

Royal sources confirmed to the paper that the Queen would be alone at the funeral service, unless a member of the Windsor bubble joins her.

Meanwhile, the Queen will likely have to wear a mask at the funeral, while royals could be banned from singing hymns due to Covid restrictions, reports the Sun.

Updated national guidance, issued by the Government, said communal singing should not go ahead at funerals to prevent the spread of Covid.

Choirs are still allowed, but members must be kept to as few as possible and should remain socially distanced.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said tonight: 'We have made it very clear that the service will be Covid compliant.'

More details of the funeral, set to take place at George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, are to be announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, reports in the Daily Express today suggest that the Queen will spend more time at Windsor following the death of Prince Philip.

The Queen has reportedly told royal sources that she now feels 'most comfortable' living within the walls of the Berkshire fortress - known to be her favourite royal residence.

Even prior to Prince Philip's death the Queen had been spending more and more time at Windsor - and has been sheltering there for much of the pandemic.

It is believed Buckingham Palace will be used in more of an office role going forward, the Express adds.

Ahead of Saturday's funeral, Prince Harry flew into London's Heathrow Airport without his heavily-pregnant wife Meghan Markle ahead of Prince Philip's funeral on his first visit to Britain since quitting royal duties and the couple's bombshell Oprah interview.

Prince Harry and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attend the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 31, 2015 in London. Harry is back in London ahead of his grandfather's funeral this Saturday

Queen carries on: Grieving monarch 'will still conduct state opening of Parliament on May 11' The Queen will not delay returning to work after her husband's funeral and plans to attend the state opening of Parliament next month, MailOnline can reveal today. Her Majesty will attend the ceremonial event in the House of Lords without her husband Prince Philip and will be supported by her son Prince Charles at Westminster on May 11 instead. She has entered an eight-day period of mourning following the death of her husband at the age of 99 - and thereafter a further official period of 30 days for the Royal Family, after which the Queen will make a full return to public life and duties. The monarch has overseen every one of the constitutional set pieces since taking the throne in 1952, apart from in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively. While the Duke of Edinburgh only missed the event once, 12 months before he retired in 2018, when he was hospitalised. Today a well-placed Westminster source has said the Queen is still planning to conduct the state opening of Parliament on May 11. There had been speculation that she might not attend in person amid the pandemic and after the loss of Prince Philip. But one source said: 'She is still coming, with Charles.' It came as the Royal Family released more tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh, from officers at Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where the Queen's husband was awarded the King's Dirk for the best all-round cadet of the term, as well as a prize for the best cadet in college. Advertisement

The Duke of Sussex was reportedly seen leaving his 11million California mansion on Saturday night in a black Cadillac Escalade to board an early-hours flight from LA, and disembarking a BA plane in chinos, a jacket and black face mask at the west London airport around 10 hours later at 1.15pm GMT on Sunday.

Harry was met by security off the plane and put into a black Range Rover, before he was reportedly driven to Kensington Palace.

The Sun has claimed he is quarantining at the Christopher Wren-designed Nottingham Cottage, where Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in 2017. It is just a few yards from the apartment where his brother William lives with his family.

The Sunday Times has claimed that he will stay at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, so he can be close to his grandmother.

After Megxit, Frogmore was handed to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, who had their first child in February, but they are understood to split their time between the cottage and Kensington Palace.

Harry can leave quarantine after five days rather than 10 if he provides a negative test under the Government's Test to Release scheme.

However, he will be allowed to attend Philip's funeral regardless, as official guidelines state those coming in from abroad can leave isolation 'on compassionate grounds'.

It comes as family members paid touching tributes to the duke.

The Royal Family's Twitter page shared a picture with the Queen and Prince Philip along with a moving quote from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997.

In the speech, looking back at their then 50 year marriage, she said: 'He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.'

Grandchildren, Prince Harry and Prince William also paid tribute in statements released thirty minutes apart.

Prince William praised his grandfather's lifetime of service to 'Queen, country and Commonwealth' before Harry declared: 'He was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end'.

If you were William, could you forgive Harry? In the circumstances of their grandfather's funeral, it's the noble thing to do... but AMANDA PLATELL fears the brothers' rift is beyond repair

If we could turn back time  by even a year  the sight of Princes William and Harry walking side by side behind their beloved Grandpa's coffin at his funeral on Saturday would have been both heart-rending and heart-warming.

A nation would remember the day nearly a quarter of a century ago that these once inseparable boys followed in the wake of their mother Diana's coffin  united forever, we thought, in grief and loss and love. An unbreakable bond.

Yet break that bond has. It has been shattered by Harry's swift and unexpected departure from his royal duties to live in the US, and by the incendiary interview he and his wife gave to Oprah Winfrey in California as 'Grandpa' lay gravely ill in hospital.

There is hope now of reconciliation between William and Harry, with many believing that the duke's death will grant them the common ground to rebuild their once rock-solid relationship; that this funeral will bring Diana's once inseparable sons together again, just as she would have wished.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey last month

That as the elder, William should be the bigger man, extend the olive branch and excuse Harry and Meghan for all the pain they have caused the Royal Family by publicly branding at least one of them as racist in the interview with Oprah.

There are those who feel William should even find it in himself to forgive Harry, to move on, to forget all the wild, unfounded accusations levelled at him, his wife and the rest of the Royal Family.

As a Christian who believes in the sanctity of forgiveness as the cornerstone of our faith, I would dearly love that to happen.

Yet if I were William  who, let's not forget will one day become the Supreme Governor of the Church of England  I would have to ask myself: Can I really find it in myself to forgive Harry's betrayal? Are some wounds just too deep?

Harry knew exactly what he was doing when he and Meghan secretly plotted to leave the UK just months after their wedding, demanding a new deal from the Queen to reduce their royal duties yet keep the privileges and titles and personal protection.

All while pursuing a multi-millionaire celebrity lifestyle in California and living in the pocket of Netflix.

Yes, the same company which produced the hit TV series The Crown  a fantastic and often cruel representation of the royals, portraying the Queen as cold and out-of-touch and Prince Philip as a blundering buffoon.

Harry knew he would be badly letting down his brother William  also father to a young family  increasing not just his burden of duty but also the sheer amount of public engagements he would have to carry out in Harry's absence.

He knew he was breaking that bond with his brother, yet he did it anyway. For, as Harry said in that interview, it was his new family  not the Royal Family  that now came first.

Yet, like his grandfather and grandmother, William never complained, never explained.

Only once has he publicly defended his family from Meghan's accusations, in an uncharacteristic and clearly furious response to a journalist who asked if her claims were true.

Prince William and Prince Harry attending the European premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the Royal Albert Hall in 2017

Through gritted teeth he replied: The Royal Family is 'very much not racist'.

Harry must have known that what his wife was to tell the world in that interview would make the Royal Family look cold, remote and unwelcoming.

As we saw, Harry was utterly complicit in his walk-on role  especially when it came to the as yet unspecified claims of racism.

Perhaps even more unforgivable is that Harry allowed his wife to traduce his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, on more than one occasion.

Those of us who have come to love and admire our future queen were furious. Imagine how betrayed her husband must have felt! Harry had committed an unpardonable sin allowing Kate to be attacked.

For, make no mistake, there is seldom any forgiveness between brothers when the sisters-in-law fall out.

Naturally, both men are utterly protective of their wives.

One can only imagine how upset Kate would have been when Meghan claimed in front of around 50million viewers worldwide that she had not made her cry at a fitting for her bridesmaid dress in 2018  that it was Kate who had made her cry.

Meghan also claimed that she was suicidal when she was five months pregnant with son Archie and that the royals refused to make Archie a prince.

She claimed to have repeatedly asked the palace for advice, only to be ignored.

Prince Philip, Prince William, Charles Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles, walk during the funeral service for Princess Diana

The Queen was characteriscally chilly in her response, stating famously that 'some recollections may vary'.

But the House of Windsor has been left reeling and there is no doubt that the interview created deep anger and anxiety at a time when the family were preparing to say their final goodbyes to Prince Philip.

What sorrow Harry and Meghan's words must have brought the Queen as her lifelong partner, her rock, was seriously ill in hospital.

And what brother could forgive another who justified his actions by saying that if Grandpa died they would postpone the interview? Not cancel. Simply delay! As it happened, the Duke did return home from hospital for a few weeks to die beside his beloved Lilibet.

Had Diana lived, perhaps she would have knocked some sense into Harry's head, befriended Meghan, smoothed the path of conciliation between her two once inseparable sons.

Would she have seen the early warning signs, as women often do, and brokered peace before this modern day War of the Waleses had even began?

I feel great sadness for William and Kate now as they plan for Prince Philip's funeral. To them he was a man they revered and loved, and they have pledged their life to serve in his honourable footsteps.

On top of all that, they will have to greet and smile at the brother who, with his wife, turned his back on that path and caused them so much pain.

Funerals are supposed to bring families together but, as many of us know, they can often rip them apart. Such sadness exacerbates pains inflicted, imagined or real.

Emotions are heightened; we cling to those we know we can trust. And for William and Kate, they are most unlikely to trust the man who allowed the contents of one of their recent conversations to be shared with America via TV anchor Gayle King.

Yet, still, I feel sorry for Harry, walking alone on that final march, knowing what damage he has inflicted  not just on his brother, but on the Queen and grandfather he adored and grieves for.

The boys may walk side by side on Saturday  just as they did with the Duke of Edinburgh, their father and uncle, all those years ago at their mother's funeral. But I fear now that their hearts might as well be a million miles apart.

Meghan's friends revealed this week that she and her husband were 'ready to forgive' the Royal Family for their treatment of her.

Sadly, I fear it will be many, many years  if ever  before William or Kate can forgive them.
Janssen's long-awaited single-dose vaccine will not arrive in Europe this Wednesday as was orginally planned. Johnson & Johnson has reported that it will delay the launch of its coronavirus vaccine in Europe following the recommendation of US regulators to suspend the administration of the vaccine after having recorded six cases of a "rare and serious" type of blood clot in North America among individuals vaccinated with the formula.

The decision to halt deliveries in Europe could jeopardise Spain's vaccination plan since the Ministry of Health is relying on 17,598,400 single-dose vials from the multinational between the second and third quarters. This is to fulfil a good part of its promise to achieve herd immunity at the end of August with 70 per cent of the population fully immunised  some 33 million people.

The alert in the United States was raised after the six cases of thrombi, all in women between 18 and 48 years old. One of them died and a second, in the state of Nebraska, is in hospital in critical condition, according to North American health sources.

So far, nearly seven million people in the United States have received the Janssen vaccine and approximately nine million more doses have been distributed there, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the agency charged with managing the pandemic.

As Janssen acknowledged in the statement in which it announced the suspension of deliveries in Europe, the problem is "an extremely rare disorder that generates blood clots in combination with low platelets".

The pharmaceutical company claimed to have reviewed these cases with the European health authorities before "proactively delaying the launch of [its] vaccine in Europe".

It specified that the symptoms in the cases are "severe headache, abdominal pain, pain in the legs or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination.
The Un-Rooseveltian Joe Biden

Commentary

There has been a good deal of focus lately on the alleged emulation of Franklin D. Roosevelt by current president Joe Biden.

It is not hard to believe that Bidens family were Roosevelt supporters. They lived in the coal and steel city of Scranton, Pennsylvania which was hard-hit in the early days of the depression and well served by President Roosevelts economic recovery programs and his extension of Social Security and unemployment benefits to American workers.

Roosevelts war leadership was respected by practically everyone and the results were practically an unbroken string of American and allied victories from the Battle of the Coral Sea five months after the attack on Pearl Harbor all the way to the dropping of the atomic bombs, four months after FDRs death.

It would be gratuitous to dwell upon the cavernous differences between their levels of worldliness, eloquence, taste and style, and accomplishment.

Roosevelts was an eminent family, and he was multilingual, an alumnus of Harvard and Columbia, a valiant fighter against polio for which his foundation ultimately produced the funding from which the Salk preventive vaccine emerged.

He largely directed the United States Navy in World War I and was a distinguished governor of what was then the nations largest state prior to winning four consecutive terms as president.

That Joe Biden does not measure up to such a career is no fault of his; very few people have. And he must not be faulted for either his admiration of Roosevelt or his desire to emulate him.

Foibles

But such self-association with the cult of Roosevelt does invite some reflections on Mr. Bidens thoroughly un-Rooseveltian foibles.

The high respect and admiration that Roosevelt earned and retained from tens of millions of Americans throughout his career as a national politician would have been impossible had he cribbed a foreign politicians stump election speech or routinely stated how tempted he would have been as a young person to take a political opponent out back in high school and beat him uphe was referring to Donald Trump, who has always looked considerably more vigorous than the current president.

The frequent liberties Joe Biden has taken with the truth in referring to episodes in his own career finds no precedent in the record of FDR. Nor do Bidens long-term flounderings in opinion polls and Democratic Party primaries in the presidential selection process, including last year when he came fifth in the New Hampshire primary with only eleven percent of the vote.

In his two campaigns for the presidential nomination prior to becoming VP, he never reached as high as 2 percent support of his fellow Democrats. None of this bears any resemblance to Roosevelts career: he lost an ambitious run for the U.S. Senate at about the same age when Biden won such a campaign in the much smaller state of Delaware.

Apart from that, except when he ran as vice president in 1920 and the country went to Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge by a heavy majority, Roosevelt was completely undefeated in four state legislative races, two runs as governor of New York, and four presidential campaigns, and in all of which he carried his party and not the other way around, as we saw last year with Biden.

Light Rapier Strokes

Nor did Roosevelt ever conduct such a monstrous and inexcusable smear job as Joe Biden joined in with Teddy Kennedy in inflicting upon the late Robert Bork, former solicitor general and Supreme Court nominee.

In the Great Depression, Roosevelt focused public anger on groups of people that did not exist: economic Royalists, war profiteers, monopolists, malefactors of great wealth; none of these groups actually existed and if FDR had ever named individual families such as Ford, Rockefeller, Morgan, and said that they would pay for the collapsed economic condition of the country, mobs would have burned their houses down.

Even in election campaigns he pierced his opponents with light rapier strokes and left it to subordinates to wield the sledgehammers. In 1944, he unearthed an allegation by a Republican congressional candidate that the president had left his dog behind on an Aleutian island and had sent a destroyer back to find him at a cost to the taxpayer of two or three or eight or $20 million, Roosevelt related. His dog, Fala, is a Scotty  And his Scots soul was furious.

His opponent, Thomas Dewey, was left effectively running against the presidents dog. Joe Biden won six straight senatorial elections in the pocket borough of Delaware, but he never had much fun with them or got much notice outside Delaware for any witticisms or innovations.

Pretense

There is also something slightly annoying about Joe Bidens pretense to knowing a lot about Roosevelt. The average television viewer the last couple of weeks has seen several times at least Bidens supposedly knowledgeable historic treatment of Roosevelts famous court packing bill of 1937, calling it a bonehead move. It wasnt a bonehead move, it worked.

The Supreme Court did declare the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional, but it had pretty will run its course anyway. Roosevelts concern was that they would attack the Tennessee Valley Authority and other major New Deal measures that he considered extremely important.

Even when his Senate leader, Joseph Robinson of Arkansas, told him he could add two justices but no more, he didnt move. He wasnt really interested in packing the courthe was interested in frightening it. The court never bothered him again and in the next four years he named seven of its justices anyway.

Political cartoon with the caption Do We Want A Ventriloquist Act In The Supreme Court? The cartoon, a criticism of FDRs New Deal, depicts President Franklin D. Roosevelt with six new judges likely to be FDR puppets. USA, Feb. 14, 1937. (Fotosearch/Getty Images)

The presidents meeting ten days ago with the group of historians also seems to be a bit hokey. Michael Beschloss is a journeyman who has never regained the originality of his first book on the relationship between FDR and Joseph P. Kennedy.

John Meacham is even more shopworn: he devised the most unpromising editorial policy in weekly magazine history for Newsweekcolumns only but mainly from people no one wished to read and the magazine failed. He wrote a book about Churchill and Roosevelt that never seriously raised the question of why Churchill did not attend Roosevelts funeral, which is the chief mystery remaining in that relationship. Meacham wrote his way in as Bush family historian, prior to executing a 180 turn and becoming a Biden speechwriter commenting flatteringly on a Biden speech on a television network that was unaware that he had written it.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is more formidable but her principal effort in the Roosevelt era, was devoted to the complete myth that Eleanor was virtually a co-president.

The meeting all seemed dedicated to the improbable idea that Joe Biden actually knows something about modern presidential history prior to what he has observed himself. Nothing fundamentally wrong with that, but it does nothing to alleviate the geriatric, otiose, and gimcrack aspects of this administration.

Franklin D. Roosevelt saved the economic system; he sincerely believed what he said to Justice Felix Frankfurter: I am the greatest friend American capitalism has ever had. Joe Biden was equally sincere when he said he was the most progressive Democratic candidate ever.

But America needed salvation from Roosevelt; it does not need what Biden clearly thinks is a progressive improvement of Americans now. Roosevelts presidency was a long series of triumphs. That does not look remotely likely to be replicated by his current admirer in the White House.

Conrad Black has been one of Canadas most prominent financiers for 40 years, and was one of the leading newspaper publishers in the world. Hes the author of authoritative biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and, most recently, Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other, which has been republished in updated form.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
In 1926, which was three years before The Great Depression and 95 years before Chatttanooga will elect a new Mayor today, a strange but powerful self- improvement book appeared in Chicago entitled, It Works. It quickly sold a million copies with just the initials RHJ as its author and critics called the little red book an astonishing classic of spiritual psychology: this brief manifesto reveals the Three Simple Steps to attaining your goals and desires. So simple you wont believe it -- until you try it ...

I happened across It Works some time ago and, on the day when Chattanoogas citizenry will select a new Mayor and two members of the City Council in a special runoff, I know six persons who should read this book immediately: obviously the three winners but the first runners-up as well. Here are six we need to encourage as shakers in local politics.

Mitch Horowitz of Time magazine called It Works a book that is gloriously succinct...the author  whose initials stood for Roy Herbert Jarrett, a Chicago salesman and ad man  distills the positive-thinking enterprise into a (deceptively) simple exercise of itemizing your desires in a list.

If approached with maturity, Jarretts exercise amounts to a personal inventory-taking and a meaningful assessment of ones true aims." --Mitch Horowitz, Time.com.

What follows will hopefully offer a concise, definite, resultful plan with rules, explanations, and suggestions for bettering your condition in life. As we hope and pray that Chattanooga will be best served today, here is an idea that each of us may want to consider:

* * *

WHAT IS THE REAL SECRET OF OBTAINING YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS?

This story was written in 1926 by Roy Herbert Jarrett 95 years ago with ideals that still hold fast today:

- - -

Are some people born under a lucky star or other charm which enables them to have all that which seems so desirable, and if not, what is the cause of the difference in conditions under which men live?

Many years ago, feeling that there must be a logical answer to this question, I decided to find out, if possible, what it was. I found the answer to my own satisfaction, and for years, have given the information to others who have used it successfully.

From a scientific, psychological, or theological viewpoint, some of the following statements may be interpreted as incorrect, but nevertheless, the plan has brought the results desired to those who have followed the simple instructions, and it is my sincere belief that I am now presenting it in a way which will bring happiness and possessions to many more.

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride," is the attitude taken by the average man and woman in regard to possessions. They are not aware of a power so near that it is overlooked; so simple in operation that it is difficult to conceive; and so sure in results that it is not made use of consciously or recognized as the cause of failure or success.

"Gee, I wish that were mine," is the outburst of Jimmy, the office boy, as a new red roadster goes by; and Florence, the telephone operator, expresses the same thought regarding a ring in the jewelers window; while poor old Jones, the bookkeeper, during the Sunday stroll, replies to his wife, "Yes, dear, it would be nice to have a home like that, but it is out of the question. We will have to continue to rent." Landem, the salesman, protests that he does all the work, gets the short end of the money, and will someday quit his job and find a real one, and President Bondum, in his private sanctorum, voices a bitter tirade against the annual attack of hay-fever.

At home it is much the same. Last evening, father declared that daughter Mabel was headed straight for disaster, and today, mothers allowance problem and other trying affairs fade into insignificance as she exclaims, "This is the last straw. Roberts schoolteacher wants to see me this afternoon. His reports are terrible, I know, but Im late for Bridge now. Shell have to wait until tomorrow." So goes the endless stream of expressions like these from millions of people in all classes who give no thought to what they really want, and who are getting all they are entitled to or expect.

If you are one of these millions of thoughtless talkers or wishers and would like a decided change from your present condition, you can have it, but first of all you must know what you want, and this is no easy task. When you can train your objective mind (the mind you use every day) to decide definitely upon the things or conditions you desire, you will have taken your first big step in accomplishing or securing what you know you want.

To get what you want is no more mysterious or uncertain than the radio waves all around you. Tune in correctly and you get a perfect result, but to do this, it is, of course, necessary to know something of your equipment and have a plan of operation.

You have within you a mighty power, anxious and willing to serve you, a power capable of giving you that which you earnestly desire. This power is described by Thomson Jay Hudson, Ph.D., LL.D., author of "The Law of Psychic Phenomena," as your subjective mind. Other learned writers use different names and terms, but all agree that it is omnipotent. Therefore, I call this Power "Emmanuel" (God in us).

Regardless of the name of this Great Power, or the conscious admission of a God, the Power is capable and willing to carry to a complete and perfect conclusion every earnest desire of your objective mind, but you must be really in earnest about what you want.

Occasional wishing or half-hearted wanting does not form a perfect connection or communication with your omnipotent power. You must be in earnest, sincerely and truthfully desiring certain conditions or things -- mental, physical, or spiritual. Our objective mind and will are so vacillating that you usually only WISH for things and the wonderful, capable power within you does not function.

Most wishes are simply vocal expressions. Jimmy, the office boy, gave no thought of possessing the red roadster. Landem, the salesman, was not thinking of any other job or even thinking at all. President Bondum knew he had hay fever and was expecting it. Fathers business was quite likely successful, and mother no doubt brought home first prize from the Bridge party that day, but they had no fixed idea of what they really wanted their children to accomplish and were actually helping to bring about the unhappy conditions which existed.

If you are in earnest about changing your present condition, here is a concise, definite, resultful plan, with rules, explanations, and suggestions.

* * *

HERES THE PLAN

Write down on paper in order of their importance the things and conditions you really want. Do not be afraid of wanting too much. Go the limit in writing down your wants. Change the list daily, adding to or taking from it, until you have it about right. Do not be discouraged on account of changes, as this is natural. There will always be changes and additions with accomplishments and increasing desires.

* * *

THREE POSSIBLE RULES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT

* -- 1. Read the list of what you want three times each day: morning, noon, and night.

* -- 2. Think of what you want as often as possible.

* -- 3. Do not talk to anyone about your plan except to the Great Power within you which will unfold to your Objective Mind the method of accomplishment. It is obvious that you cannot acquire faith at the start.

Some of your desires, from all practical reasoning, may seem positively unattainable, but, nevertheless, write them down on your list in their proper place of importance to you.

There is no need to analyze how this Power within you is going to accomplish your desires. Such a procedure is as unnecessary as trying to figure out why a grain of corn placed in fertile soil shoots up a green stalk, blossoms and produces an ear of corn containing hundreds of grains, each capable of doing what the one grain did. If you will follow this definite plan and carry out the three simple rules, the method of accomplishment will unfold quite as mysteriously as the ear of corn appears on the stalk, and in most cases much sooner than you expect.

When new desires, deserving position at or about the top of your list, come to you, then you may rest assured you are progressing correctly.

Removing from your list items which at first you thought you wanted, is another sure indication of progress.

It is natural to be skeptical and have doubts, distrust, and questionings, but when these thoughts arise, get out your list. Read it over; or if you have it memorized, talk to your inner self about your desires until the doubts that interfere with your progress are gone. Remember, nothing can prevent your having that which you earnestly desire. Others have these things. Why not you?

The Omnipotent Power within YOU does not enter into any controversial argument. It is waiting and willing to serve when you are ready, but your objective mind is so susceptible to suggestion that it is almost impossible to make any satisfactory progress when surrounded by skeptics. Therefore, choose your friends carefully and associate with people who now have some of the things you really want, but do not discuss your method of accomplishment with them.

Put down on your list of wants such material things as money, home, automobile, or whatever it may be, but do not stop there. Be more definite. If you want an automobile, decide what kind, style, price, color, and all the other details, including when you want it. If you want a home, plan the structure, grounds, and furnishings.

Decide on location and cost. If you want money, write down the amount. If you want to break a record in your business, put it down. It may be a sales record. If so, write out the total, the date required, then the number of items you must sell to make it, also list your prospects, and put after each name the sum expected. This may seem very foolish at first, but you can never realize your desires if you do not know positively and in detail what you want and when you want it. If you cannot decide this, you are not in earnest, You must be definite, and when you are, results will be surprising and almost unbelievable.

A natural and ancient enemy will no doubt appear when you get your first taste of accomplishment. This enemy is Discredit, in form of such thoughts as: "It cant be possible; it just happened to be. What a remarkable coincidence!"

When such thoughts occur, give thanks, and assert credit to your Omnipotent Power for the accomplishment. By doing this, you gain assurance and more accomplishment, and in time, prove to yourself that there is a law, which actually works -- at all times -- when you are in tune with it.

Sincere and earnest thanks cannot be given without gratitude and it is impossible to be thankful and grateful without being happy. Therefore, when you are thanking your greatest and best friend, your Omnipotent Power for the gifts received, do so with all your soul, and let it be reflected in your face. The Power and what it does is beyond understanding. Do not try to understand it, but accept the accomplishment with thankfulness, happiness, and strengthened faith.

Caution! It is possible to want and obtain that which will make you miserable; that which will wreck the happiness of others; that which will cause sickness and death; that which will rob you of eternal life. You can have what you want, but you must take all that goes with it: so, in planning your wants, plan that which you are sure will give to you and your fellow man the greatest good here on earth; thus paving the way to that future hope beyond the pale of human understanding.

This method of securing what you want applies to everything you are capable of desiring and the scope being so great it is suggested that your first list consist only of those things with which you are quite familiar, such as an amount of money or accomplishment, or the possession of material things. Such desires as these are more easily and quickly obtained than the discontinuance of fixed habits, the welfare of others, and the healing of mental or bodily ills.

Accomplish the lesser things first. Then take the next step, and when that is accomplished, you will seek the higher and really important objectives in life, but long before you reach this stage of your progress, many worthwhile desires will find their place on your list. One will be to help others as you have been helped. Great is the reward to those who help and give without thought of self, as it is impossible to be unselfish without gain.

IN CONCLUSION 

A short while ago, Dr. Emil Coue came to this country and showed thousands of people how to help themselves. Thousands of others spoofed at the idea, refused his assistance and are today where they were before his visit.

So, with the statements and plan presented to you now, you can reject or accept. You can remain as you are or have anything you want. The choice is yours, but God grant that you may find in this short volume the inspiration to choose aright, follow the plan and thereby obtain, as so many others have, all things, whatever they may be, that you desire.

* * *

Selah.

royexum@aol.com
WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw the remaining US troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, 20 years to the day after al Qaeda`s attacks triggered America`s longest war, US officials said on Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to brief the decision to NATO allies in Brussels on Wednesday. Biden may also publicly announce his decision, several sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"After a rigorous policy review, President Biden has decided to draw down the remaining troops in Afghanistan and finally end the US war there after 20 years," a senior administration official told reporters.

Biden`s decision would miss a May 1 deadline for withdrawal agreed with Taliban insurgents by his predecessor Donald Trump`s administration.

In a statement last month, the Taliban threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they did not meet the May 1 deadline.

But Biden would still be setting a near-term date for withdrawal, potentially allaying Taliban concerns that the United States could drag out the process.

The senior Biden administration official stressed that the pullout would not be subject to further conditions.

"The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe in staying in Afghanistan forever," the official said.

The May 1 deadline had already started to appear less and less likely in recent weeks, given the lack of preparations on the ground to ensure it could be done in a safe and responsible way. US officials have also blamed the Taliban for failing to live up to commitments to reduce violence and some have warned about persistent Taliban links to al Qaeda.

It was those ties that triggered US military intervention in 2001 following al Qaeda`s Sept. 11 attacks, when al Qaeda hijackers slammed airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, killing almost 3,000 people.

Still, the Biden administration said al Qaeda does not pose a threat to the US homeland now.

There are only about 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan currently, down from a peak of more than 100,000 in 2011. About 2,400 US service members have been killed in the course of the Afghan conflict and many thousands more wounded.

It remains unclear how Biden`s move would impact upcoming talks in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4 meant to jump-start an Afghan peace process and sketch out a possible political settlement concerning the Central Asian nation. The planned 10-day summit will include the United Nations and Qatar.

US troops have long provided the United States with leverage in peace efforts.

But the senior Biden administration official said the United States would no longer stick to that strategy.

"There is no military solution to the problems plaguing Afghanistan, and we will focus our efforts on supporting the ongoing peace process," the official said.

The presence of American forces eased concerns in Afghanistan that the United States might turn its back on the government in Kabul.

"We will have to survive the impact of it and it should not be considered as Taliban`s victory or takeover," said a senior Afghan government source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Till then, we hope there is a clarity," the source added.

Then-President George W. Bush sent American forces into Afghanistan to topple its Taliban leaders just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. US forces tracked down and killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011 during the presidency of Bush`s successor Barack Obama.

With a US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 ordered by Bush, the American military began a period lasting years of fighting two large wars simultaneously, stretching its capabilities. US troops left Iraq in 2011 under Obama, though some were later deployed under President Donald Trump in response to the threat posed by Islamic State militants.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Canada cancelled export permits for military goods and technology to Turkey as the investigation found credible evidence that Canadian technology exported to Turkey was used during the recent war (September 27-November 10, 2020) unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh, Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, said in a statement issued on April 12.

Last fall Canada suspended export permits for military goods and technology to Turkey pending the results of an investigation into allegations that Canadian technology was being used by Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh.

Global Affairs Canada, in consultation with the Department of National Defense, has since conducted a thorough review of all suspended and valid export permits for all military goods and technology destined to Turkey. Following this review, which found credible evidence that Canadian technology exported to Turkey was used in Nagorno Karabakh, today I am announcing the cancellation of permits that were suspended in the fall of 2020. This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey, the Foreign Minister said.

Mr. Garneau also informed that he had spoken with Turkeys Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to reiterate Canadas concern.

Editing by Aneta Harutyunyan
Audio Attachment: Listen to Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu on 'kokrokoo'

The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has broken his silence after severe backlash over his 'non-Akan' flagbearer comment.



Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has been severely lambasted by members of his own party; the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Ghanaians at large for suggesting that it will be wrong for the party to choose an akan flagbearer in 2024.



A group calling itself Concerned Northern Grassroot of the NPP has even called for his resignation.



What Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu reportedly said



The Member of Parliament(MP) for Suame constituency is quoted to have said that it will be unwise for the NPP to choose an Akan flagbearer again.



"Inwardly, I know I have the competence to lead the party but is it wise that after two Akans  former President Kufuor and current President Akufo-Addo  to present a flagbearer candidate with different ethnicity . . . I think it is not good for a party which has been accused by some as being overly Akanistic in nature. But not everybody would agree with me and that is the beauty of democracy, he reportedly intimated.



Rebuttal



However, speaking in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', the Minister, who is also the Majority leader explained that the comments he passed were in reference to himself and denied claims that it will be unwise for any Akan to be chosen again.



According to him, his comments were in relation to a question asked during the interview following reports that he was one of the likely candidates to lead the party.



"I was asked a question on me being a flagbearer candidate and I said after former leaders like Adu Boahen, Kufuor, Akufo-Addo, is it wise for me to follow after three Akans have led the party? And I said it will be better for a different person to be flagbearer," adding that "person can be an Akan or any other person who wants to contest".



"...even though I believe I have the competence to contest, during serious introspection I believe the time is not right for me to say I can succeed a third succession Akan . . . I've not said anywhere that an Akan can not lead the party," he said.



He further urged critics to go and listen to the interview he granted Joy FM.





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
Police Chiefs Throw Support Behind Bidens Civil Rights Pick

Dozens of police chiefs who ran some of Americas largest police forces are lending their support to Kristen Clarke, who has been nominated to run the Justice Departments civil rights division.

In a letter to congressional leaders Friday, the law enforcement leaders from more than three dozen cities say Clarke has demonstrated an uncanny ability to work closely with federal and state and local law enforcement officials through years as a prosecutor and civil rights advocate.

The signers include Bill Bratton, who was commissioner of the New York Police Department and Los Angeles police chief; Charles Ramsey, who ran the police forces in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.; former Boston police commissioner Ed Davis and dozens of others.

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Some of the largest law enforcement groups in the U.S. have also thrown their support behind Clarke. They include the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and others.

Clarke, who was president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an advocacy group, is expected to play a pivotal role as the Justice Department focuses more on civil rights issues, criminal justice and policing policies in the wake of nationwide protests over the death of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement. Attorney General Merrick Garland has also emphasized his commitment to combating racial discrimination in policing, saying at his confirmation hearing that America doesnt yet have equal justice.

The endorsements from both the chiefs and some of Americas biggest law enforcement organizations signal broad support for Clarkes nomination within the law enforcement community as a fierce and fair advocate committed to combating civil rights offenses.

The past several years have shed light on just how important it is for law enforcement officers to develop trust within communities, reads the letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The police chiefs said Clarke had built a national reputation as someone who is trustworthy and who fiercely defends and protects the most vulnerable crime victims in our communities.

As a result, she is someone who will bring an enormous amount of credibility among community leaders to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, read the letter. This credibility will be of paramount importance as she does some of the important work of building relationships with law enforcement leaders and seeking accountability where needed.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled Clarkes confirmation hearing for Wednesday.
NFP, an insurance broker and consultant that provides property/casualty, corporate benefits, retirement and individual solutions, has acquired Schuster Driscoll LLC, d/b/a The Schuster Group, and its nonprofit membership platform, TANGO Administrative and Management Services LLC (together, TSG). The transaction closed on December 31, 2020.

TSG, located in Farmington, Connecticut, with ancillary sales offices in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, is a multidisciplinary insurance broker and consultant focused on employee benefits. The firm also offers capabilities in retirement advisory services.

NFPs acquisition of TSG brings expertise in the nonprofit space that will be integrated into NFPs existing benefits offerings and resources to enhance insurance solutions to nonprofit clients. Firm Principal Rollin Schuster will join NFP as a managing director and report to Kate Henry, a regional managing director in NFPs Northeast region.

Source: NFP

Topics Mergers
ROCHESTER, Minn. - As Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter tendered her resignation from the department following the shooting death of a young black man on Sunday the Rochester Diversity Council is responding to another unjust black death.

Executive director Dee Sabol says the incident is causing more fear, frustration and anger across Minnesota especially after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police less than a year ago.

A demonstrator holds up a Black Lives Matter flag outside the Hennepin County Government Center, right, Monday, March 8, 2021, in Minneapolis where the trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began with jury selection. Chauvin is charged A demonstrator holds up a Black Lives Matter flag outside the Hennepin County Government Center, right, Monday, March 8, 2021, in Minneapolis where the trial for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin began with jury selection. Chauvin is charged

Sabol says the organization is working with law enforcement and lawmakers to redefine the relationships between minority communities and those in leadership roles.

She says while it may not feel like progress is being made - change is happening.

"The awareness that this issue is getting is already progress because until we reach this point of public will to make change, to address change, we're not going to be able to do that but we have been working to get there," said Sabol.

The Diversity Council says for community members looking for local support the NAACP is a positive resource for social justice.
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:29 am

After the 2020 Earth Fest celebration was canceled due to the pandemic, Clark Public Utilities and its StreamTeam are excited to bring back Earth-friendly events in a digital fashion this year.

In 2019, the utility had over 1,000 volunteers from around the county plant trees, pull weeds and more. The event is organized by the Clark Public Utilities StreamTeam, which works in the community to restore streams and promote environmental consciousness.

According to StreamTeam Program Coordinator Maddy Loy, the motivation to create Earth Day Fest early on was to build an event to welcome the community to enjoy their environment.

In a normal year, the utility kicks off Earth Day celebrations on the Saturday following April 22. Volunteer events begin in the morning as people from around the county work together to plant trees, pick up litter and more. As the celebration moves into the afternoon, the StreamTeam has an Eco Fair where volunteers eat a catered lunch and more community members come to celebrate.

The fair is a lot of fun, Loy said. A lot of times well have (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) out with their traveling science fair.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March of 2020, Loy and other StreamTeam members didnt have enough time to plan a digital event before Earth Day and were forced to cancel. However, this year, Loy said she and the StreamTeam have planned out a digital Earth Day celebration and are inviting the community to join in on events that bring people out to get involved.

According to Loy, the utility will be hosting a series of live streamed events on Saturday, April 24, which will give community members opportunities to learn and socialize. Events will include story time focused on the environment, a chef-led cooking class, an upcycled crafts clinic and a birdhouse building workshop.

Were also going to have some self-led activities like tree planting, picking up trash and starting a compost bin, Loy said, adding that the live events are going to be a ton of fun.

While the self-led events are a little less formal, Loy said the utility is encouraging residents who participate to post pictures on social media with the hashtag #EarthDayFest2021 or email pictures to streamteam@clark

pud.com.

Loy said the utility will host a raffle for prizes, like books from local bookstores and a new bird feeder. The utility will use submissions as tickets for the raffle.

Loy said planning the event felt like a moving target since the utility had been talking about planning the 2021 celebration since the cancellation of last years event. Loy said she is most excited for the live-streamed demonstrations, some of which will be led by community members.

As for why Earth Day is important, Loy said it gives the community a chance to look into ways to be better environmental stewards and ways to conserve resources, not just on Earth Day, but everyday.

Its really gimmicky, but Earth Day is everyday, she said.
Rotunda Rumblings

Road to passage? As part of its push to pass a $2 trillion infrastructure package President Joe Biden unveiled last month through Congress, the White House on Monday released state-by-state fact sheets to document the dismal state of the nations bridges, roads, water pipes, power grid and other infrastructure and how the plan might fix it, Sabrina Eaton writes. The White House gave Ohios infrastructure a C- grade describing 1,377 bridges in the state and more than 4,925 miles of its highways as being in poor condition. It estimated each Ohio driver pays $506 in yearly costs from driving on poor roads.

Prisoners dilemma: Ohio prison officials have wrongfully garnished thousands of inmates coronavirus stimulus payments to cover court-ordered costs, according to a new lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. As Jeremy Pelzer reports, the suit claims the prison policy violates the Ohio Constitutions equal protection clause and guidance from Attorney General Dave Yost that the government cant garnish any money from stimulus checks.

Budget bill update: The Ohio House could introduce its version of a state budget bill today. The House Finance Committee is meeting at 9:30 a.m., and the committees meeting agenda says a substitute budget bill is possible. The committee also is scheduled to hold hearings on the state budget bill, House Bill 110, on Wednesday and Thursday in what would be the bills 10th and 11th public hearings.

Break-in news: The Ohio State Highway Patrol was investigating a vandalism incident at the Ohio Statehouse on Monday, Andrew Tobias reports. Troopers said a man, whom they did not identify, broke three windows and discharged a fire extinguisher inside the building while also calling 911 and asking for medical assistance for a reaction related to his use of illegal narcotics. Charges are possible, troopers said.

Evidence for vaccines: Coronavirus hospitalizations have dropped sharply among older Ohioans, the age group with the highest vaccination rates. Admissions for those at least 70 years old declined 70% over the last 45 days to 858 versus 2,898 during the previous 45 days. In comparison, admissions for the age groups to receive the fewest vaccines so far are down, but to much smaller degrees  14% for those in their 20s, 16% for those in their 30s and 36% for those in their 40s, Rich Exner reports.

Latest coronavirus trends: Counties in the Greater Cleveland area have among the highest coronavirus vaccination rates in the state. They account for 7 of the 14 counties statewide where at least 45% of the age 16-up population has received shots, Exner reports as part of his weekly data dive into the latest coronavirus trends.

Daily update: Monday saw 1,934 new coronavirus cases in Ohio, Laura Hancock reports, and 73 more people hospitalized with the virus.

Bad news from the north: Health experts are warning that the current surge of coronavirus cases in Michigan may become commonplace in the country within a matter of weeks, CNNs Christina Maxouris reports. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been warning of the potential danger the surge in Michigan, fueled by the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, could wreak on Ohio as the state readies to shift where it is sending vaccines to better combat the virus.

Special delivery: House Bill 674 took effect Monday, which allows for the home delivery of liquor in the state as well as making it legal to drink alcohol in more areas of airports, the Cincinnati Enquirers Jessie Balmert reports. Still, it might take several months for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control to create rules, so dont expect vodka on your porch this week.

Call time: A Toledo telecommunication executive who is facing a record $63.4 million FCC fine is hosting a May 20 fundraiser for GOP Senate hopeful Josh Mandel, The Blades Liz Skalka reports. American Broadband and Telecommunications CEO Jeff Ansted is accused by the feds of using a federal program to help low-income individuals get telephone and internet service to fund a lavish lifestyle. Ansted declined to comment on the case while Mandels campaign did not respond to The Blades request for comment.

Dressed for success: Even with reopenings seemingly on the horizon, some in the wedding industry arent expecting a full rebound in their businesses for quite some time, the Associated Press Joyce Rosenberg reports. Such is the case for Tanya Rutner Hartmans shop Gilded Social in Columbus. Even with weddings looking like theyre back on for the summer, Hartman said theres been a slowdown in dress sales as couples catch up on last years expected nuptials, as well as a shift in style to smaller, more personal weddings.

Day in court: Erica Starkey, a 38-year-old mother of three from Ohio, is the focus of an editorial from the Washington Post calling for impoverished litigants in certain civil cases to have a right to an attorney. The editorial lays out Starkeys experience trying to regain custody of her twin boys while being denied an attorney and having to navigate the complex legal landscape as a layman. Starkey appealed her case to the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled in December that impoverished parents had a right to court-appointed attorneys, something the Post said should be adopted en masse.

Shes running: Peggy Lehner, a Republican who left the Ohio Senate in November due to term limits, is running to be mayor of Kettering, she announced on Monday. She previously served on Kettering City Council from 1998 to 2008.

No cap: A bill proposed by state Sen. Hearcel Craig, a Columbus Democrat, would cap property tax increases on low-income homeowners at 5% per year, the Columbus Dispatchs Mark Ferenchik reports. People making up to 100% of the area median income would be eligible should the bill become law.

Lobbying Lineup

Five things we learned from the Feb. 14, 2020 financial disclosure form of state Rep. Dick Stein, a Norwalk Republican.

1. Aside from his legislative salary of $70,703.84, Stein reported earning up to $999 on interest from bank accounts, a dividend from Cedar Fair and from photography and printing at Stein Photography, and $1,000 to $9,999 in rental income.

2. Stein reported investments in a retirement fund through the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, mutual funds through Edward Jones, a Roth IRA through Merrill Lynch, long-term treasury bonds with Mainstay Mackay Short and stock in Cedar Fair, Facebook, Textron, NVIDIA, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Alphabet Class C shares, Amazon, Disney, Target and Bank of America.

3. At some point in 2019, Stein owed more than $1,000 to Key Bank, Lowes, Home Depot, Sams Club, Bank of America, a Citi Mastercard, a Chase Amazon card and a Comenity Bank Lexus Visa card.

4. The Ohio House of Representatives reimbursed Stein $3,893.76 for travel. Stein also reported receiving travel expenses worth $2,953.03 for trips to Chicago, Nashville and Carlsbad, N.M., from the National Conference of State Legislatures and $283 from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

5. The House Republican Campaign Committee and the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee both gave Stein meals, food and beverages worth more than $100.

On the Move

Jonathan Meyer, a graduate of Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, was pegged by Democratic President Joe Biden to be the next general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, the Cincinnati Enquirers Scott Wartman reports. Meyer, a 1982 graduate, previously worked for Biden as his chief counsel when Biden was still in the Senate.

Straight From The Source

Im doing alright. My employer made a political statement. I do what I do. I practice medicine. I take care of people with COVID-19 and other conditions. Im planning my 15th trip to Central America to help people of color. Ive spent 18 months overseas treating people of color and the underserved. I will continue to do that.

-State Sen. Steve Huffman, a Tipp City Republican, quoted in The Blade on what his day-to-day life is like in the medical field. Huffman was fired from his emergency room position with TeamHealth after using racist language during a committee meeting to ask whether people of color were more susceptible to the coronavirus because of a lack of hygiene.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Shakema Buckmon knelt in the mud next to tea light candles that spelled out Dior as she shouted.

I tried to save you, Dior, Buckmon said again and again. I tried to save you, baby.

Later, Desiree Seymore held a picture of Dior Harris, her 11-month-old daughter. She rocked back and forth in her chair before standing up, jumping with the picture in her hands and screaming.

Family members and friends surrounded her, hugged her and tried to restrain her.

We got you, shouted several people in the crowd of about 50 people at Diors vigil Monday night.

The group gathered in front of 157 Lincoln Ave. to mourn Dior, who was shot and killed shortly before 7 p.m. in the 300 Block of Grant Avenue on Sunday. The vigil was held in the same place Buckmon had driven Dior, two of her own children and Seymore after their car was shot up at on Grant Avenue. Milteshia Seymore, Desiree Seymores sister, lives at the address.

Buckmons own 3- and 8- year old kids, who were also shot, are expected to survive, though one has to have surgery tomorrow, according to Milteshia Seymore.

Desiree Seymore and Buckmon, who are cousins, had been in the car when Dior was shot and Buckmon recalled at the vigil looking into the back seat and seeing the child.

While the vigil gave friends and family a space to remember Dior, many also contemplated and wondered how a baby could have been murdered.

The village is sick, said Pastor Alex Bernard.

A baby? A baby? said Lepa Jones, the president of Mothers Against Gun Violence. Somebodys baby?

There aint no street code when it comes to murdering a child, said Diors great uncle James Bolds.

Mondays vigil started when Buckmon arrived in front of 157 Lincoln Ave. from Syracuse polices Criminal Investigations Division. She announced to those who had gathered for the vigil that an arrest had been made in Diors shooting.

Thats when Buckmon dropped to the ground near a display that had been set up in Diors memory. The display included framed photos of Dior, stuffed animals, candles and balloons. Buckmon and Desiree Seymore cried as their family tried to console them.

They listened to community members and family spoke. Many called for those who know more to reach out to police.

Others, like OG Against VIolence Clifford Ryans and Diors great uncle, encouraged those in attendance to let the violence go.

We have to hold each other accountable, said Hasahn Bloodworth, who helped organized the vigil and is related to Diors father.

Diors father, who didnt identify himself by his name, was among the last people to speak. He stood with his son as he spoke to the crowd.

You shot my baby, he said. You didnt even know what you were shooting at.

When he passed the microphone to the next speaker, he slipped into the crowd with tears running down his cheeks.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
HAMDEN  Activists came out to Memorial Town Hall Monday to demand a councilwoman resign over her recent interaction with a colleague, an exchange that caused a social media storm and led to a pause in budget deliberations.

The incident occurred when Councilwoman Valerie Horsley interrupted Councilman Justin Farmer, indicating he should address her as doctor. Critics of Horsley say the incident was an example of Horsley, who is white, using her status to shut down Farmer, a Black man, and causing further harm by complaining about the interaction on social media.

Others have defended Horsley, emphasizing that she apologized for the interaction.

The interaction occurred during the public comment portion of a Legislative Council Finance Committee meeting on April 5, which was held virtually and can be viewed online.

During the meeting, Farmer raised questions about the ice rink, which faces a deficit. When Finance Director Scott Jackson began to respond, Horsley called a point of order, asking if it was appropriate for a member of the administration to answer questions during public comment.

That is well taken councilmanah, councilwomanHorsley, so Farmer said.

Dr. Horsley, please, Horsley cut in. Thank you.

Uh, Councilwoman Horsley, so I will ask my questions and have director Jackson get back to me, Farmer responded.

Horsley subsequently posted about the interaction on Facebook, a

post that has since been removed.

As further social media posts ensued about the interaction, Council President Michael McGarry halted budget deliberations pending the scheduling of a professional training seminar, according to an email announcing the change.

I am deeply concerned about the recent escalation of language on social media emanating from our Finance Committee meeting on Monday evening, he wrote. I feel a responsibility as President to provide to my colleagues an orderly, professional, and safe environment to work in, that will allow differing viewpoints to be shared and respected. When our members disagree, we should be able to do so in a manner that is respectful.

McGarry said later the decision stemmed from disturbing emails being sent to the council as well as harsh online treatment of council members from people on all sides of the issue.

He said he was trying to bring down the temperature and some of the rhetoric.

Horsley said she does not intend to resign.

I will not be resigning and I will continue to serve the residents of Hamden's 4th district. My goal is to advocate for my constituents-- be it for fiscal responsibility, education, communicating about town services and/or collaborating with the goal of improving Hamden for all of us, she wrote in an email to the New Haven Register Monday.

On Friday, Horsley issued a statement indicating she had apologized to Farmer during a private meeting.

In conversations with many individuals this week and after much reflection, I would like to take the first steps to repair harm for direct and indirect interactions that I had with Councilman Farmer this week, the statement said. I recognize that I was disrespectful toward Councilman Farmer both during the meeting and on social media afterwards. I am committed to continue to learn from this experience and ensure that I can work for a better Hamden and community.

Brad Macdowall, a fellow member of the Legislative Council who is seeking the Democratic endorsement to run for mayor, issued a strong condemnation of her statement at the meeting and said she should resign.

The slate of Democratic Town Committee members from the fourth district, which Horsley represents, issued a similar demand.

While we agree that everyone should be referred to by the title of their choice in certain contexts, it was oppressive for you to demand that Councilman Farmer refer to you as Dr. Horsley at a Legislative Council meeting last week, when he was already referring to you using the honorific appropriate to the context (Councilwoman), the letter, which was addressed to Horsley, said. In addition, as a white woman, your subsequent public shaming of Councilman Farmer, a young Black man, on social media created further harm to both Councilman Farmer and the wider community, especially other people of color.

The letter said Horsley had lost the trust of constituents of color, asking her to step down so that the council can continue to focus on its important work for the town of Hamden.

At Mondays event, organizer Rhonda Caldwell of Hamden Action Now said Horsleys comments during last weeks meeting were disrespectful, and described her subsequent social media post as an attempt to assassinate (Farmers) character.

DJuan Eastman, president of Citizens Opposed to Police States, who said he knew Farmer through activism, also spoke at the event.

That was a class divide thing  stay in your place, he said. They are equals. He does not need to show deference.

Also speaking in support of Farmer were New Haven Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr. and Michael Oretade, president of Black Lives Matter 860.

Meanwhile, James Pascarella, a member of the Democratic Town Committee and former council president, defended Horsley, saying, Valerie apologized. Thats it. This should have been a nothing. Its been turned into something completely out of hand.

Mayor Curt Balzano Leng issued his own statement, beginning by indicating he was still actively listening and learning how to best treat people in every circumstance and could not claim to understand how either councilperson felt.

He emphasized that Horsley issued an apology, suggesting she deserved a second chance.

Dr. Horsley apologized in writing and in person. She reflected, talked and listened to many people and acknowledged a need and made a commitment to continue to learn from this experience and to work together for the betterment of Hamden, he said.

McGarry, the council president, also said in a written statement he did not believe Horsley should resign, noting her apology.

McGarry said the council will meet Thursday with the National Council for Community Justice, which hosts anti-racism workshops.

He expects to resume budget deliberations Monday.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com
Daunte Wright choked a woman and threatened to shoot her if she did not hand over $820 she had stuffed in her bra, court papers obtained by DailyMail.com allege.

Wright was shot and killed by police officer Kimberly Potter in Minnesota on Sunday, leading to days of unrest.

Court records also show that a warrant was out for Wright's arrest after he missed a court appearance on separate firearms charges at the time he was killed.

And online speculation that he did not know there was a warrant out for his arrest is false, DailyMail.com has learned. A letter returned to the court for having a wrong address was giving notice of a court date in August and had nothing to do with the warrant.

Wright, 20, was shot dead in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Sunday by Potter, 48, a 26-year veteran in the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

She says she mistakenly grabbed her gun instead of her taser. After the gun fired, she is heard on body camera saying: 'Holy s**t I shot him.' Potter and Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon both resigned on Tuesday.

DailyMail.com can reveal that Daunte Wright (pictured in his booking photo) 20, had been arrested on attempted aggravated robbery charges after allegedly holding a woman at gunpoint for $820 in December 2019

Wright was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter (pictured) on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags

Wright was allegedly pulled over for having expired license plate tags, although he called his mother and told her it was for having an air freshener hanging on his rear-view mirror.

While checking his details, Potter and other officers learned of the firearms warrant.

When they tried to handcuff him, Wright got back into his car and at that point Potter shot him in the chest after warning fellow officers to get out of the way by shouting, 'Taser, taser, taser.'

Wright was due to face trial on a charge of attempted aggravated robbery - with a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Charging papers say he and a second man, Emajay Driver went to a home shared by two women in Osseo, Minnesota 'to party' in December 2019. At the time, Wright was 19 and Driver was 18.

The women asked them to leave around 2.30 am on December 1, but they said they didn't have a ride and the women - who are not identified in the court documents - allowed them to sleep on the floor.

In the morning, one of the women went to the bank to get her $820 rent money which she gave to the other woman and then left for work. As Wright, Driver and the second woman were leaving, Wright allegedly tried to hold up the woman.

'The three of them were walking to the door to exit the apartment and defendant Wright turned around and blocked the door preventing victim from leaving,' says the report, written by Osseo Police Officer Shane Mikkelson.

DailyMail.com has learned that online speculation that Wright did not know there was a warrant out for his arrest is false. A letter (pictured) returned to the court for having a wrong address was giving notice of a court date in August and had nothing to do with the warrant

Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright's car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop

Potter could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, she can be heard saying: 'I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath

Officer Potter and other officers learned of a warrant after pulling Wright (pictured with his son) over for 'expired license plate tags' on Sunday

'Defendant Wright then pulled a black handgun with silver trim out from either his right waistband or his right coat pocket and pointed it at victim and demanded the rent money,' continued Mikkelson.

'Victim said "Are you serious?" Defendant Wright replied: "Give me the f**king money, I know you have it."

When the woman again asked him if he was serious, Wright is said to have replied: 'I'm not playing around.'

Mikkelson's report said: 'The $820 cash was tucked in the victim's bra and defendant Wright placed his hand around victim's neck and choked her while trying to pull the cash from under her bra.

'Victim was able to get loose from defendant Wright and started to kneel down and scream.'

After more yelling, Wright allegedly told the woman that he was going to shoot her unless he got the money.

'Give me the money and we will leave,' he allegedly said. 'Give me the money and we will go.'

Mikkelson added: 'Defendant Wright then tried to choke victim a second time and tried to take her money. Defendant Driver was telling her to give defendant Wright the money.

Daunte Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake after police revealed Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser

'Defendant Driver then said: "Let's go," and the two defendants left and got into a white Cadillac and left the scene,' wrote Mikkelson.

'Afterwards, victim found that the cash was still in her bra.'

Mikkelson said the woman identified both Wright and Driver through photo line-ups.

Wright's bail was originally set at $100,000 with orders that he should not contact the victim or any witnesses, refrain from drugs and alcohol and not have any weapons. A bond bailsman paid $40,000 for his release.

But he was arrested in Minneapolis in July last year on charges that he was in possession of a firearm without a permit.

He was also in violation of his bail conditions for the attempted robbery arrest, which prohibited him from possessing a firearm, and he had not kept in touch with his probation officer, court papers show. He was released on bond in September 2020.

But on April 2 - just days before he was shot dead - he missed his first court appearance related to the firearms arrest and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

This was the warrant that appeared on records when he was confronted by officers before he was shot dead.

In recent days several people have claimed on the Internet that Wright may not even have known about the warrant because it was sent to the wrong address and returned to the court by the US Postal Service.

But that letter, sent out on February 2 and returned to the court three days later was just to advise Wright of a change of date for another court hearing related to the aggravated robbery arrest.

Katie Wright (left), the mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was shot and killed yesterday by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop

Riot police stand in the middle of a crowd of protesters demonstrating after the death of Wright, outside the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

It was sent to an address in Minneapolis and marked 'Return to Sender. No such number. Unable to forward' by the USPS.

Wright's killing, just 10 miles from the scene of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis last May, has led to unrest in Minnesota and nationwide.

Overnight protests broke out in New York, Washington, D.C., Portland, Seattle and elsewhere.

Police officer Potter's five-bedroom home was surrounded by cops unloading barricades on Tuesday after her address was leaked online.

A police source told DailyMail.com that they anticipate protests later and said they are taking precautions to prevent the home being wrecked.

'We learned from [Derek] Chauvin. His house got totally smashed up in the protests,' the source said.

Potter left the property late last night with her 54-year-old husband Jeff and their sons Sam and Nick.

Cop who 'accidentally' shot dead Daunte Wright is a 25-year veteran who trained rookies Kimberly Potter, 48, has worked with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 25 years. She was training a new officer on Sunday when the fatal shooting occurred. Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune. She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home. Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed. Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association. Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported. She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018. Advertisement

Jeff Potter, retired from cop work with the Police Department in Fridley, Minnesota, in 2017 after 26 years. He now works as a corporate investigator at Allina Health. A relative was also spotted at the home on Tuesday morning, taking a series of cardboard boxes out of the property and loading it into their car.

Police sources told DailyMail.com that Potter and her family have left the area entirely.

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake.

'I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he's never coming back. I can't accept a mistake, that doesn't even sound right,' Aubrey said.

'This officer has been on the force for 26 years.'

Wright's mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for 'everything she's taken from us'.

His aunt, Naisha Wright, had earlier called for Potter to be jailed for 'not knowing the difference between a fully loaded pistol and a taser'.

'Accident? An accident? No, come on now! I own a 20,000 volt taser. They don't feel nothing like a gun,' she told CNN. 'My family's blood is on their hands.'

Naisha has denied that her nephew's license plate tag was expired, as police have said. She also said a misdemeanor warrant that was out for her nephew was 'just for some weed'.

Wright's shooting death has sparked violent protests and unrest in the city that is already on edge because of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd's death.

Police Chief Tim Gannon released footage of the incident from Potter's bodycam that showed her and two other officers approaching Wright's car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop.

The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.

A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.

Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'.

Potter and Tim Gannon both resigned on Tuesday amid mounting pressure for Potter to step down.

In her resignation letter, Potter - who has worked for the department for 26 years - did not address the deadly shooting that has sparked two days of violent protests and unrest across the city.

'I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,' Potter said.

Potter, a married mother-of-two, had been on administrative leave since the shooting.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot also announced the resignation of Potter's police chief boss.

Gannon was the one who revealed during a tense press conference a day earlier that Wright's death was the result of 'accidental discharge' after Potter mistook her taser for a gun.

The resignations came as pressure mounted for Potter to be fired, including from Mayor Elliot.

Police have said a struggle broke out as they tried to arrest Wright after running his name and realizing he had an outstanding warrant.

Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the warrant but court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on misdemeanor charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police.

His aunt has said the warrant was for marijuana possession.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright's death.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped the family of George Floyd win a $27million legal settlement against the city of Minneapolis, is also representing the Wrights.

In a tweet, Crump said he believed that Potter 'knew exactly what she was doing' in a previous case which he said she told officers how to 'obscure accountability'.

Tension was high as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear faced off with protesters gathered outside of the police station

Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday

He wrote about the previous incident involving Dimock-Heisler and Potter, saying she 'taught officers who fatally shot Kobe Dimock-Heisler how to protect themselves & obscure accountability'.

Crump, quoting a Hennepin County Attorney's Office report, wrote that Potter had previously instructed two police officers in the previous case to 'exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn camera, and to not talk to ech other.

'Of course Kim Potter knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to obscure the truth. In that instance, her actions were clearly intentional,' he wrote.

Wright's mother Katie Wright has previously described her son calling her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror.

It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror.

She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him.

Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information.

'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.''

'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon.

'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat.

Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright's mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son.

'All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,' she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center.

'We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.'
Suez Canal incident keeps Vietnamese exporters busy, photo AFP

Furniture exporter Viet Products Corporation last week said that even though the backlog has been cleared up at the Suez, it has still borne the growing costs for shipping. The expense per container has increased to $5,000, from $3,000 last year, said Nguyen Van Sang, managing director of Furnist, a brand under Viet Products. Sang said that due to operating under the free-on-board form, its partners have been afraid to book new orders, resulting in interruption in its performance.

It takes us several attempts to ship a container. For example, with a 10-container booking, we can only ship about three or four containers, and the remaining ones will have to wait. That has hampered us from delivering on schedule, Sang said.

The seafood industry has also been put in the same corner. Truong Dinh Hoe, secretary-general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that the sector is facing accumulating costs for hiring frozen containers to export to the European Union and the United States. The problem stemmed from the effect of the Suez Canal and also serious shortages of containers which has been an issue in recent years.

Kelly Dung, sales manager at international transport firm T&M Forwarding, said that lasting impacts of the recent Suez incident will continue to force growing expenses for shipping. Shipping companies will have to cut some vessels because of that as well as the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, Dung told VIR.

With the logistics industry being paralysed due to the pandemic for over a year, now congestion at EU ports may send vessels back to Asia, adding complexity to the situation.

The current expense is on average about $4,000 per container travelling to the US and about $7,500 per container to the EU, Dung added. The price may even double in late April and early May.

According to Thetech Co., Ltd, a small electronic component importer and exporter, the sums are too heavy for its operation. For over a year, the company has been angling for solutions to solve its transport cost issue and has resorted to accelerating shipping through air routes. However, the expense has still ballooned by 10 per cent compared to last year.

Hoe from VASEP said that local seafood exporters are still looking for solutions.

Meanwhile, local rice exporters have been lowering prices for their products in an attempt to enhance the items competitiveness against Thai and Indian components. Moreover, they have been attempting to negotiate with overseas partners to extend the shipping timeline, according to the Vietnam Food Association.
Francesca Paris is The Eagle's data and public records reporter. She was previously the North Adams reporter. A California native and Williams College alumna, she has worked at NPR in Washington, D.C. and WBUR in Boston. Find her on Twitter at @fparises.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- The global market for industrial controls system has been covered under the scope of this report. An industrial control network is a system of interconnected equipment used to monitor and control physical equipment in industrial environments. Industrial controls improve product quality, plant efficiency, as well as facilitate uniform production in industries. These are the main reasons for increasing investments in the industrial controls system market. Increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and increasing need for process automation among diverse industry verticals are the major factors responsible for the growth of the global industrial controls system market globally. Moreover, growing application of software in industrial control devices is set to increase scalability of SCADA, DCS and PLC systems in industrial environments.



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The global industrial controls system market is segmented by region in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (RoW). North America led the global Industrial Controls System Market in 2014 and is also expected to maintain its dominance in 2021 as well in this market. The growth in North America is primarily attributed due to an increase in demand for safer and reliable process automation in different sectors, such as power plants, oil & gas and water & wastewater among others. Asia Pacific held the second largest share of the global industrial controls system market in 2014 followed by Europe and RoW respectively. The growth of the industrial controls system market in Europe can be attributed to the increase in demand for modernization of oil & gas, water & wastewater, and power infrastructures among others. Power and oil & gas industries were major contributors in RoW, in 2014.



The industrial controls system market is segmented on the basis of types into supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control system (DCS) and programmable logic controller (PLC). Distributed control system (DCS) is holding the maximum market revenue share in 2014 and is expected to remain so during the forecast period from 2015 to 2021. The increasing industrial infrastructure investment and expansion of power and oil & gas project activities globally is spurring the demand for this segment. In addition, increasing need of software in industrial automation, rise in infrastructure investments in emerging markets and growth in demand for process automation among different industry verticals are the major factors that are driving the industrial controls system market globally. By components, the global SCADA market has been segmented into a programmable logic controller (PLC), human machine interface (HMI), remote terminal unit (RTU), SCADA communication system, and others.



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The industrial controls system market is further segmented by application into power, water & wastewater, oil & gas, manufacturing, chemicals, automotive, food & beverages, pharmaceuticals and others (including aerospace, defense, mining and material, etc.). The global industrial controls system market is dominated by power sector segment. High gap in demand and supply of industrial control devices in developing countries such as India and China among others is expected to drive the demand of PLC, DCS and SCADA products in power sector. Chemicals segment was the second largest application sector in the industrial controls system market globally. Rising demand for bulk production of chemical materials is boosting the application of industrial control systems in the chemical industry.



Some of the leading players in the global Industrial Controls System Market covered in the report are Siemens AG (Germany), ABB Ltd (Switzerland), Omron Corp (Japan), Emerson Electric Co (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Honeywell International, Inc (U.S.), Alstom SA (France), Omron Corp (Japan), General Electric Co (U.S.), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan) and Schneider Electric SE (France) among others.



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Press Release

April 13, 2021 SPEECH OF SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS

FOCAP Forum on the West Philippine Sea I am deeply indebted to the Foreign Correspondents of the Philippines for providing this panel with a forum to tell the world of the dangers posed by increasingly aggressive Chinese territorial expansion in the West Philippine Sea at the expense, unfortunately, of my country, the Philippines and its people. This territorial dispute in a regional flashpoint, threatens to draw the whole world into a wider conflict. I am also outraged and indignant at the deliberate, reckless, and unlawful campaign of the Chinese government to use its military and economic might to deprive the Filipino people of the full use of the waters comprising the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf. The recent conduct of the Chinese Coast Guard as well as the People's Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN, make it clear that our freedom of navigation within our own waters has been severely impaired. China has not only excluded Filipino fisher-folk from their traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea, but also impeded the peaceful transit of a Philippine vessel in the country's own EEZ. 2021 was supposed to be a year of recovery; an opportunity to rebuild after the personal and economic traumas caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the country confronts a Chinese government seemingly intent on undermining Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea at every turn. Earlier this year, China passed a law authorizing its Coast Guard to use deadly force on foreign vessels within the so-called 9-dash line, a territorial claim that the International Court of Arbitration has already held to be without legal or historical basis. Last March, over 200 vessels of China's maritime militia gathered at Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea, an area clearly within the Philippines' EEZ. The Chinese claimed their maritime militia was there to take shelter from inclement weather. But Philippine authorities said there was no storm. Now, China claims Julian Felipe Reef is Chinese territory. When will the lies, deception, and hypocrisy stop? Their "gray zone strategy" in the WPS is premised on pursuing military and strategic objectives through using ostensibly civilian assets and enforcement methods. The Chinese government thinks it is being subtle and clever, but the only thing it is doing is showing the world that China cannot be trusted. Having snuck into our backyard like the proverbial thief in the night, China seeks to consolidate its occupation of Philippine waters by force. This April, a Chinese Coast Guard Vessel and a PLAN missile boat impeded a Philippine vessel from exercising the freedom of navigation guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - or UNCLOS - within our country's very own EEZ. This is a direct challenge to the international rules-based order that has maintained stability in the region for so long, and the use of a PLAN missile boat to shadow the Philippine vessel back to the Philippine coast signals a willingness to escalate the conflict with naval assets. The Chinese like to tell others to refrain from irresponsible behavior - but their recent behavior has been far from honest or responsible. The Chinese like to tell others to avoid actions that threaten bilateral relations as well as the peace and stability of the region - but it is Chinese greed for territory, power, and hegemony that threatens to suck the world into a regional conflict. To convince us of its good intentions, China has given us its vaccines - possibly for free, or perhaps - as many people fear - in exchange for our waters. As I've said in previous statements, we must not allow China to shake our hands on vaccines and procurement, but stab us in the back on the West Philippine Sea. But Malacanang has tolerated China's duplicitous strategy. Malacanang, even after the most recent incident in Ayungin Shoal, likes to call China our "friend," likes to talk about our "special friendship" with China. But this isn't how a "friend" treats you. This isn't even the act of a "good neighbor." This is how imperialists have treated their vassals and client states since time immemorial. By talking about this so-called "special friendship", the Palace is telegraphing its incapacity - or unwillingness - to defy Beijing, further emboldening the latter's imperial ambitions. Moreover, by letting Beijing demean and abuse our country, the President is only signaling that we are weak; that we will not stand up for ourselves and our interests. China is the bully pretending to be your best friend - and bullies feed off weakness and insecurity. It's time to say enough is enough. There is another way. Indonesia has been able to acquire COVID-19 vaccines and Chinese investments, while resisting Chinese encroachments into its territory. So we know there are limits to Chinese recklessness and adventurism. Our government must re-think its current alliances - and perhaps its allegiances. We must be consistent and firm in standing up for our national interests. We should hold China accountable for the damage she has done to fragile marine ecosystems within our EEZ. We should ensure that our environmental laws, and not China's, are the laws being implemented and enforced in the WPS. At the Senate, I filed senate resolutions to address China's construction of artificial islands and to demand compensation from China for the ecological damage caused by her artificial islands. I intend to make these resolutions a priority once the Senate resumes its sessions in May. As our DND and DFA pursue diplomatic initiatives, immediate action is also necessary. The Navy and Coast Guard should escort our fisher-folk to ensure that they have access to their primary - and perhaps only - means of subsistence. We cannot allow ourselves to be kicked out of our own backyard. The West Philippine Sea is part of the patrimony of the Filipino people. Above and beyond considerations of access to resources, diplomacy, and geopolitics, our national dignity is at stake. We, Filipinos, must not bend the knee to yet another imperial master. We must not cower in fear and submission. We must uphold the strength and courage of our nation.
Chandigarh: Putting to rest all baseless media speculation in this regard, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ruled out any role of Prashant Kishor in finalisation of Congress tickets in the 2022 Assembly elections.

There is no question of it. Kishor has no say in the matter, said the Chief Minister, amid reports of resentment brewing in the Punjab Congress over his newly appointed principal advisor Prashant Kishor deciding on the tickets.

Captain Amarinder SinghThere are set norms and patterns for ticket allocation in the Congress, which are followed in all elections in all states, said Captain Amarinder, adding that Punjab was no exception. There is a state election committee set up by the high command ahead of any Assembly poll, which considers all the names and decides on the final candidates, he pointed out, adding that the shortlisted names are then sent for scrutiny to the Screening Committee, comprising top party leadership, including the Congress president. The final decision is taken by the Central Election Committee, with no individual having any role to play, he added.

In the process of ticket finalisation, inputs are always taken by this committee from various internal and external parties, including independent agencies as well the state party unit, he said, adding that this is the process that was followed in 2017 and will be adopted again this time. So where does Kishor come into the picture, he asked.

Captain Amarinder further said that this system had worked well last time, when the Congress won 80 seats in Punjab. Why should the party want to change it and disturb the political balance that we have managed to strike so beautifully in the past four years, he quipped.

Captain Amarinder SinghIn fact, he pointed out, the Congress in Punjab has been on a strong wicket in every election in the last four years, including in the recent urban local bodies polls, which the party swept. This shows that there is no anti-incumbency at play in the state, as is being speculated by the media, which has been indulging in sheer conjectures ever since Kishors appointment, he said.

If the party sees any instances of local anti-incumbency it will handle it the way it usually does  by looking at alternatives, and finding the best fit to ensure victory, Captain Amarinder said, making it clear that this was an issue for the Congress, and not for Kishor, to consider and decide.

His (Kishors) role as my principal advisor is limited. It is only advisory in nature, with no decision-making authority vested in him, added the Chief Minister.
Two sisters have teamed up to share their story after stopping a Tinder conman in his tracks when he tried to steal $300,000 from one of them.

Emma Ferris, from New Zealand, launched the podcast 'Conning the Con' with her sister Sarah Ferris in an effort to warn other women using the platform.

In the process of sharing her experience Ms Ferris uncovered a trail of other women that the man she had dated, Andrew Tonks, from Tasmania had left behind.

Andrew Tonks (pictured) plead guilty to conning Ms Ferris after they met on Tinder

Emma Ferris (pictured left) and her sister Sarah (pictured right) have launched a podcast to share their experience and as a warning to other women

'We found a pattern of similar incidents that he had left in his wake. Leaving behind disruption and distress that hasn't been dealt with,' Emma said.

When Tonks was still unaware that Emma had finally caught onto his scam, he wrote her a letter trying to explain his strange behaviour.

'He wrote me this fantastical story trying to convince me he is actually a spy and was working in counter terrorism which is why he was being so secretive,' Emma told Daily Mail Australia.

Emma (pictured), who is a breathing coach, said she want to empower other women to find the tools to recover if they have been through similar experiences

The sisters' podcast has consistently reached number one in New Zealand

By doing the podcast, the sisters discovered a number of restaurants and a former employer who also had levelled claims against Mr Tonks along with the woman he had duped.

In 2007 he had been charged with stealing after he sold a company car he was using while working for wind turbine company Hazel Bros and used the money to buy a motorbike.

He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service for the theft.

After then moving to New Zealand he met Emma on Tinder and the pair dated for six months.

She said even early on there were several red flags she noticed which she convinced herself could be explained.

'The good girl in us is thinking ... 'let's trust them' but it didn't seem right. [I should have] just listened to my gut and said 'this is not good enough',' Emma said.

On their first date he told her he was not searchable on Google because he had previously been the victim of identity fraud.

He also showed her financial documents he had cooked up to show he was a successful entrepreneur and told her he was a former AFL player and elite wakeboarder.

Towards the end of their relationship he convinced her they should invest in property together - to which she committed $50,000.

The deception continued with Tonks asking for more money - leading her friends, who could perhaps see things clearer, to look deeper into his background.

Andrew Tonks had changed his name to Andrew Thomson - explaining why he was not searchable on Google.

'They found this little piece of paper with his other name while searching through his company documents and found out he had previously been jailed for fraud.'

Her friends uncovered his dual identity just as Emma had handed over a further $250,000.

Emma, acting quickly, outconned the conman by not letting on that she was onto him and claimed her brother needed the money.

She asked him to transfer the cash back temporarily - most of which he did - and then went to police and assisted their investigation to catch Tonks out.

Emma's (pictured) podcast is co-hosted and produced by her sister Sarah who is based in London

Ms Ferris (pictured) said the podcast had helped her feel like she had regained her power after being conned

Tonks was subsequently arrested and plead guilty to theft in a special relationship and fraud charges linked to forged documents and a company he ran.

He served 18 months of a 28 month sentence before being released on parole and negotiated his repayments to Emma down to a fraction of the debt remaining.

Emma and her sister Sarah, along with psychologist Dr Sophie Muir, delve into the experience on their show - which has reached number one on the New Zealand Apple Podcasts chart.

The show has also convinced others to speak up sharing their experiences of being conned.

Emma, who is a breathing and stress coach, added she felt the podcast was helping her gain her power back and warned other woman to listen to their intuition and talk to their friends.

'The podcast is about educating people and knowing what behaviours to look for and to teach people how to recover and be a stronger person.'

'I want to empower women that they are not alone. When you are isolated and scared is the time you need to reach out. The scammers hope you never speak about it because of shame but that's how they keep doing it.'
New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to real estate firm Amrapali builders on plea of flat buyers for staying of insolvency proceedings against the company. The notice is returnable within four weeks.

The SC has also sent notices to Centre, Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.

A total of 55 flat buyers in Amrapalis Greater Noida project had filed petition in Supreme Court against the company.

Last month, Noida police had registered cases against 13 project directors for allegedly cheating buyers.

The PRO of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Prabhat Dikshit on Saturday said that nine cases have been registered against Amrapali Builders, one against Amrapali Builders and three against others.

Dikshit said, Flat buyers had put their grievances at a function attended by some ministers on Thursday. They had alleged that they had been cheated by the builders.

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People gather before curfew holding pictures of Daunte Wright along with Black Lives Matter signs to protest his death by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 12, 2021. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty

Daunte Wright was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop on Sunday.

The police chief said the officer accidentally shot Wright, confusing her handgun for a Taser.

Wright's aunt didn't buy it, telling CNN: "You know the difference from a fully-loaded pistol versus a stun gun."

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The aunt of the 20-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday said she doesn't believe officer confused her gun with her Taser.

Daunte Wright's death at the hands of police officer Kimberly Potter set off protests in an area still grappling with the fallout from the killing of George Floyd, another Black man, in nearby Minneapolis last May.

Monday night, Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, spoke to CNN's Don Lemon about how the family is grappling with her nephew's death.

When asked what she thought of the police chief's explanation for the shooting - that the officer mistakenly reached for her gun instead of her Taser - Wright said she didn't believe it.

"You know the difference from a fully-loaded pistol versus a gun. You know the difference and if you're a police officer, you should know that," Wright said. "I saw she held that gun out in front of her for a little while. You mean to tell me she didn't see it?"

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"I've owned an over 20,000 volt Taser. They don't feel nothing like a gun," she added.

Bodycam footage from Sunday showed police officer struggling with Wright, while one officer yells "Taser! Taser! Taser!" in the moment before Wright was shot. Immediately following the shooting, an officer is heard saying: "Holy s---. I just shot him."

Wright's voice started to crack as she implored listeners to imagine what it would feel like to learn that they had lost a loved one this way.

"How would y'all feel if y'all got the call? If that was your nephew? If that was your son? If that was your brother?"

Story continues

"He didn't deserve to die. My nephew was a damn good kid. He loved his family and we loved him."

She questioned why her nephew had been pulled over in the first place, and questioned whether he was the victim of racial profiling.

Daunte Wright's mother, Katie, previously told reporters that her son called her and said he was pulled over for hanging an air freshener from his rearview mirror, a violation of a Minnesota law that has been criticized for disproportionately targeting Black drivers.

Daunte Wright's mother, Katie Wright, cries during a candlelit vigil at the site where her son was stopped at a traffic stop. Nick Pfosi/Reuters

After pulling Wright over, officers realized he had a warrant out for his arrest for skipping a court date on two misdemeanor charges, according to The New York Times. When officers tried arrest him, Wright freed himself and attempted to get back into his car, prompting the officer to shoot him, authorities said.

Officials have tried to counter the narrative that Wright was pulled over for an air freshener by saying their original reason for the traffic stop was expired tags.

Wright's aunt said she's not buying that line either.

"My mother shouldn't be burying her grandchild; my brother, my sister, they shouldn't have to be burying their son. Not over air freshener," she said.

"They stopped him over air freshener. Let's get that correct. His pass wasn't expired. My sister had just bought him that car. People want to try and look for something bad to go ahead and justify this."

Read the original article on Insider
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:54:56|Editor: huaxia

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-- The water has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system to remove most contaminants. However, things like tritium -- a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors -- are hard to filter out.



-- Japan had considered evaporating or storing underground the tritium-laced water from the plant as an alternative. However, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea because it was more technically feasible and would save on costs

-- "The situation will continue to deteriorate further" as the nuclear wastewater, dumped from Fukushima prefecture, will circle around the entire Pacific Ocean in the long run, the environmentalist noted.





by Xinhua writers Ye Shan, Zhang Jing

TOKYO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that his government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea amid domestic and international opposition.

Suga made the announcement after convening a meeting of relevant ministers to formalize plans to release the radioactive water accumulated at the plant into the Pacific Ocean.





DECADE-LONG PROBLEM

Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the No. 1-3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns.

The plant has been generating massive amount of radiation-tainted water since the accident happened as it needs water to cool the reactors. The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said it will take around two years for the release to start.

File photo taken on Nov. 12, 2011 shows the exterior of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (Xinhua)

The water has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system to remove most contaminants. However, things like tritium -- a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors -- are hard to filter out.

According to some marine experts, traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater also raise concerns.

The plant has struggled to store the contaminated water in tanks at the plant where more than 1.25 million tons of contaminated water are currently stored, with the plant expected to reach capacity next year.

The operator claimed that the whole decommissioning process will be hampered if it needs to keep building storage tanks within the plant's premises.

Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, said the government should build more tanks to hold the water outside the plant instead of choosing the cheaper option of ocean release.

Japan had considered evaporating or storing underground the tritium-laced water from the plant as an alternative. However, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea because it was more technically feasible and would save on costs.

Tritium is light and could reach as far afield as the U.S. west coast within two years, according to Ken Buesseler at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

A more serious matter lies in potentially more dangerous radionuclide in the water, including strontium-90 and iodine-129. While filtering has reduced their concentrations, around 70 percent of the water has yet to go through a secondary filtering process. "There are major questions as to whether it will work as planned," said Shaun Burnie at Greenpeace.

"Japan already contaminated and did damage to the ocean with the Fukushima power plant accident," Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, a green advocacy group in Seoul, told Xinhua over phone.

Citing government data from Japan, Ahn said a far higher level of radioactive isotope has been detected at the fishery products coming from Fukushima Prefecture than other areas in Japan.

"The situation will continue to deteriorate further" as the nuclear wastewater, dumped from Fukushima prefecture, will circle around the entire Pacific Ocean in the long run, the environmentalist noted.





Ahn urged Japan to disclose relevant information to neighboring countries, including China and South Korea, given that Tokyo's opacity fueled uncertainty and anxiety over the contamination.

Calling the irradiated sewage discharge "irresponsible," he warned that once the contaminated water flows into the ocean and the marine ecosystem is destroyed, it can never be restored.





LINGERING EROSION ON ECONOMIC RECOVERY

For a decade, the specter of nuclear contamination has emerged as an invisible obstacle to economic reconstruction in the disaster-stricken areas.

At first, people feared that agricultural products, aquatic products including vegetables and seafood, and even industrial products from the disaster areas were contaminated, which kept consumers away, leading to a further blow to the local economy.

Because of the cleanup efforts of residents in the disaster areas, the indicators of the vast majority of products have been restored to the normal range, yet there are still many people in Japan who are suspicious and distrust the products.

According to a survey conducted by the Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries at the begining of the year, only 49 percent of aquatic products processing enterprises in Fukushima and its surrounding five prefectures saw their sales recover to more than 80 percent. Fukushima prefecture remains the slowest among the six affected prefectures to recover, with only 21 percent of sales and 41 percent of production capacity back to their original levels.

At a previous government hearing on the release of nuclear contaminated water into the sea, some representatives said the government's move could undermine efforts to revive the disaster areas.

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

The release of radioactive water into the sea will not only impact fishermen production and the price of aquatic products, it may also hit the tourism industry of the surrounding areas, the representatives said, adding that the government should introduce specific and clear compensation measures.

Hiroshi Kishi, head of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, said he once again expressed his "absolute opposition to the discharge of nuclear sewage into the sea" in a recent meeting with Suga and asked the government to take clear measures to solve any subsequent "reputation damage."





STRONG CRITICISM

The decision has faced strong opposition from the Japanese fish industry and the public, with fishery industry representatives saying it would undo years of work to restore their reputation.

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

"We are dead against a release of contaminated water to the ocean as it could have a catastrophic impact on the future of Japan's fishing industry," Kishi told a meeting with government officials last October.

According to Kishi, the release of radioactive water could trigger other countries to tighten restrictions on imports of Japanese fishery products, reversing a recent trend toward policy loosening.

Currently, a number of countries and regions continue to impose restrictions on Japanese agricultural and fishery products as a result of the Fukushima crisis amid continued concerns about produce safety.

"It is inevitable that there would be reputational damage regardless of how the water will be disposed of, whether into the sea or into the air," Kishi said. "I want the government to clarify how it intends to respond to such reputational damage."

Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said that while addressing the concerns of the fisheries industry, the government hopes to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency and other global organizations while maintaining transparency over the matter.

A poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun newspaper in January showed that 55 percent of respondents are against the government's plan to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater from Fukushima into the sea, while 32 percent said they support it.

Yukio Edano, the leader of the country's main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, strongly condemned the plan on Saturday, saying the government's decision is unacceptable and a complete disregard for the voices of the people of Fukushima.

Some environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Japan and The Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy said on Monday they have collected more than 64,000 signatures from 88 countries and regions in a petition to the government.

People rally to protest against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

The environmental groups called the government's decision a "crude way of deciding" without adequate discussion and called for it to be withdrawn.

The plan also raised concerns from neighboring countries about a possible impact on human health and fishery businesses.

China has expressed serious concerns about Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear station, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying that China urged the Japanese side to take a responsible attitude and treat the issue of nuclear waste disposal with caution.

Zhao stressed that proper disposal of nuclear waste is related to international public interests and the vital interests of neighboring countries. It should be handled carefully and properly to avoid further damaging the marine environment, food safety and human health.

Meanwhile, South Korea has also voiced its "grave concerns," with Foreign Ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam saying "it will be difficult to accept if the Japanese side decides to release the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant without sufficient consultations."

"Our government expresses grave concerns as the decision can have a direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and the surrounding environment," he added.

(Yoo Seungki in Seoul also contributed to the story.)

(Video reporters: Du Baiyu, Tian Ming, Xia Peng, Liu Kai, Hua Yi, Deng Min, Guo Wei; video editors: Xie Binbin, Xu Haijing, Kan Jingwen)
A quick Sunday search using a single popular name finds 8 pairs of matching masked HKIDs in the Companies Registry. There must be hundreds or thousands of other such pairs on other names - yet the Government claimed on Friday that it could only find 8 in the entire database. (Updated 13-Apr).

Government misled LegCo over HKIDs



In 2013, facing opposition from investors (led by Webb-site), professionals, businesses and the media, the Government withdrew a proposal to redact Hong Kong Identity (HKID) card numbers from the Companies Registry.

Now it's back, and the Government hopes to ram it through a neutered Legislative Council (LegCo), first submitting a discussion paper to the Financial Affairs Panel (FAP) for its meeting last Friday, 9-Apr-2021. At the meeting, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching Yu (Mr Hui) told the FAP (at 13:13:55 in the English-dubbed video):

"In April we conducted a study. We found that there were 588,000 entries on the register and only 8 of them have the same name and the same 4 digits on the ID card, so the probability is very low." (English translation)

Oh, really? This contradicts the position in a consultation paper published on 17-Dec-2009 by the Government-appointed Standing Committee on Company Law Reform, which said (para 7.15(a)):

"in view of the fact that different persons having the same name are quite common in Hong Kong, restricting access to identification numbers may deprive the public of a means of uniquely identifying individuals, and might make it easier for the dishonest to escape creditors or otherwise engage in fraudulent activity. The option of masking 3 or 4 digits of an identification number would not serve the purpose of identifying a person as there are cases of persons with the same name having similar identity card numbers;"

Also, in a defensive press release on 31-Mar-2021, the Government claimed that the partial HKID (the prefix letter(s) and 3 digits of the HKID) "should be sufficient to enable searchers to ascertain the identity of the director concerned".

Really? So, how big a risk is mistaken identity? Is Mr Hui correct that out of more than half a million people in the register, only 8 (pairs) have the same name and the same 4 digits on their HKID? Of course not, and we'll prove it. A brief reminder: HKIDs have a 1-letter or sometimes 2-letter prefix followed by 6 numerals. So if 3 numerals are masked (any 3 of 6), there are 1,000 possible HKID numbers behind the mask. There is also a check-digit (in brackets) on the card, which can be calculated using our handy generator here. Conversely, if one numeral is redacted in the HKID, it can be calculated if the check-digit is known.

We didn't have to look far to find matches. We picked just one common name, "Chan, Chi Keung". That is, we entered family name "Chan" and given name "Chi Keung", into the Companies Registry ICRIS search system. It's the most fun you can have for HK$22 on a Sunday afternoon, although it really should be free (article here), like grown-up registries in other countries/places.

The result was 245 records, of which 243 showed a redacted HKID, none used a passport (the alternative to HKID) and 2 had neither an HKID nor a passport. One of the records, currently the 180th in the sequence, had a malformed HKID of "E30031***)" in the passport field. It should actually read "E30***4" in the HKID field.

It did not take us long to find a match:

We verified that these are different people - one is D301704 and the other is D307144. In each example, we won't tell you which order they are in, even though the information is publicly available and you can find it yourself (it's in the source code of the results page) - so we're not identifying anyone. The point here is just to prove that there are different people behind the masks, by allowing fellow journalists and others to enter the HKIDs and retrieve the name "Chan, Chi Keung".

Here's another pair:

They are in fact E741628 and E745318. And another:

They are in fact E810705 and E812355. And another pair (the first and third entries, ignore the middle entry):

These are in fact G448179 and G448639. Notice that the 4th character is the same, "8", so they only differ by 2 digits. Even if the Registry were to display 5 characters and redact only two, as in "G448**9", they would still appear the same. And here's another:

These are in fact G635260 and G638460 - again, they only differ by 2 digits, so would be the same if masked as "G63**60". Are you counting? Here's our 6th match:

These are in fact G644167 and G645047. There are 2 more pairs of names sharing the same masked ID. They appear at different points in the sequence, because in each pair, one has a Chinese-character name and the other does not.

The 7th pair, currently 5th and 212th in the sequence, show the HKID as "A94***5". They are different people, A94 0 6 5 5 and A94 6 6 8 5 (again, only 2-digits apart).

6 5 and A94 6 5 (again, only 2-digits apart). The 8th pair, currently 38th and 215th in the sequence, show the HKID as "D15***3". They are different people, D159443 and D150573.

So just by searching for a single name, we found 8 pairs of people with the same name and same masked ID, showing how real the risk of mistaken identity is. And you will recall that Mr Hui claimed they could only find 8 matches in the entire database, not just with one name like we did. Given that there are many other popular names in HK, there are probably hundreds or thousands of other pairs.

Incidentally, in these 245 records, there were also 21 double entries: that is, a person had used the same ID with 2 variations of his/her Chinese-character name (blank, or slightly different characters), 2 triple-entries and 1 quad-entry (take a bow, E30***4). So in fact, there were 215 unique IDs and 2 records with no form of ID, all with the English name "Chan, Chi Keung".

We hope that LegCo takes note of this and sends Mr Hui back to his database to tell us the true number of 4-character matches in his 588,000-people database, which is surely more than the 8 we found. What a confusing place Hong Kong is becoming. How ironic that the Government passed a law in 2019 prohibiting face masks in public assemblies so that people could be identifiable, arguably deterring them from committing crimes, but now wants to mask the identities of people trading with the privilege of limited liability, incentivising fraud and corruption. Masks may protect people from infections but sunshine is the best disinfectant in the Companies Registry. Keep the masks off the HKIDs, and drop the paywall while you are at it.

If you have a view on this, please drop an email to the LegCo Financial Affairs Panel at panel_fa@legco.gov.hk.

Late last night at 23:20, the Government published a response (Response) to this article without directly citing it. The Response claimed that our search used "any three out of the six numbers instead of the first three". That claim is false because, as shown above, we didn't pick which numerals to redact: the Companies Registry does that - these are direct screenshots from the registry search. We did not selectively choose different numerals to redact. Currently, they are redacting the 3rd to 5th numerals; in future they plan to redact the 4th to 6th numerals.

If the registry shifts the 3-digit mask, it will make no difference to the probability of a match, because there will still be 1000 possible HKIDs that look the same when masked. The only circumstance in which the probability would change is if the numbers are not fully utilised or unevenly distributed - for example, if they stopped issuing sequential numbers at 499999, then blanking the first 3 digits would only have 500 possible matches, while blanking the last 3 digits (as proposed by Government) would have 1000 possible matches and a higher risk of mistaken identity. However, we know from Webb-site Who's Who that the number space in many letters was exhausted long ago - and a few years from now they will have to start using ambiguous letters like O or Q (which can look like zero when written) or more likely move to a regular double-letter system.

Apart from immigrants, numbers are generally issued on birth certificates and become HKIDs when the holder reaches 11. By the time they are old enough to be directors at age 18, the numbers in their alpha-numeric sequence will likely be exhausted. More info here and here.

Second, in the Response, the Government admitted that its search only involved current directors of current companies, not former directors of current companies or former directors of dissolved companies. There are currently about 3 million companies in the register, of which 1.4 million are active. To anyone performing due diligence or investigative journalism, the past and present directorships are all relevant, so the Government's search was artificially constrained. Searchers need to know whether the director has left a trail of corporate bankruptcies behind her, or has been associated with other individuals via former directorships of the same company - so the proper test is the whole database, not a smaller subset.

Third, in the Response, the Government claimed that it could only find 8 pairs with "identical Chinese and/or English full names". The problem there is that directors use variations of their names when filing, sometimes with or without a Chinese name, sometimes omitting an English given name. So the same person may file as "Peter Chan", "Peter Chan Chi Keung" or "Chan Chi Keung", with a chinese name given as "" or "" (look closely, the third character is different). A person born in the mainland may use "Zhang" rather than "Cheung", "Wang" or "Huang" rather than "Wong" and so on. So if the HKIDs are masked, then a simple search by English or Chinese name won't capture all of his past and present directorships, while a full HKID would do so.

Fourth, given the poor state of the registry's web site, we have no confidence in the I.T. department that even their narrow search of current company directors was executed correctly - for example, did they treat 2 people with the same English name, same masked HKID, but one of whom did not state a Chinese-character name, as different? What about the same English name but slightly different Chinese characters? Searchers should be able to use English, still an official language in Hong Kong and the language of international finance, if Hong Kong is to maintain its role as an international financial centre.

Finally, the whole point of an identity number is to uniquely identify someone, a more precise version of a person's name. Any masking of results will frustrate that objective. The HKID is not a secret and should not be abused by commercial entities as a password for services instead of setting up a secure password or other authentication method only for that service. Without a full HKID, searchers will not be able to match results across other public registries such as the Land Registry and obtain public information about the unique individual.

This goes further than directorships and property ownership - look for example at the list of appointees to public bodies such as District Fight Crime Committees (soon to elect seats in the rejigged Chief Executive Election Committee) and you will often find common names with no indication of who they are. Which "Wong Chi Chung", for example, sits on the Eastern District committee? We have no idea. The Government should disclose full HKIDs when appointing people to any public body, or including them in any public licence register, so that the public can know to whom they are referring and the media can investigate any conflicts of interest they may have.

For more on this subject, listen to our discussion on RTHK Radio 3 "Backchat" this morning, podcast here.

 Webb-site.com, 2021

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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.
[April 13, 2021] D-Wave Government Names The Honorable Governor Bill Richardson and Former Chair Mike Rogers to New Independent Board

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- D-Wave Government Inc. , a subsidiary providing D-Wave System Inc.s (D-Wave) quantum computing systems, software, services and expertise to the U.S. government, today announced it is establishing an independent board to provide strategic advice as the company continues to engage policymakers and government agencies on practical quantum computing. Joining the board are Bill Richardson, former governor of New Mexico and former Secretary of Energy, and Mike Rogers, former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and former U.S. Representative for Michigan's 8th congressional district. Joining them on the board will be Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. Jennifer S. Houston, Senior Vice President Global Marketing and Public Affairs at D-Wave, will become the Secretary.

Bill Richardson joins as the newly appointed chair of the board of D-Wave Government Inc. As the former Governor of New Mexico and former Secretary of Energy, Governor Richardson has been a strong proponent of governments engaging with the private sector on innovative and emerging technologies. His strong connection to national labs and research and innovation communities have helped him promote programs across diverse industries including clean energy, education, transportation, healthcare, immigration, space exploration, and environmental protection. As the former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and through his philanthropic work, Governor Richardson has continually focused on how public-private partnerships can tackle critical global issues. Mike Rogers, former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and former Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, will serve as a new board member of D-Wave Government Inc. He has overseen government adoption of powerful, emerging technologies to improve both the public and private sectors. Mr. Rogers also serves as the vice chair of MITRE Corporation  a non-profit which manages federally funded research and development centers supporting several U.S. government agencies  and as a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute. He has built a legacy as an effective leader on counterterrorism and national security policy, as well as being active on healthcare, telecommunications, and automotive issues. Both Governor Richardson and Mr. Rogers bring the background of advising organizations on how to leverage and position emerging technologies within the U.S. government and how to engage with U.S. policymakers. Dr. Alan Baratz, who is President of D-Wave Government Inc., became the CEO of D-Wave Systems Inc. in 2020 where he oversaw the development and general availability of the Advantage quantum system with 500+ qubits and the inclusion of new hybrid solver services in the Leap quantum cloud service. Previously, he was responsible for the development, delivery, and support of all of D-Waves products, technologies, and applications. He has over 25 years of experience in product development and bringing new products to market at leading technology companies and software startups. As the first president of JavaSoft at Sun Microsystems, Dr. Baratz supervised the growth and adoption of the Java platform from its infancy to a robust platform supporting mission-critical applications in nearly 80 percent of Fortune 1000 companies. He has also held executive positions at Symphony, Avaya, Cisco, and IBM.



Jennifer Houston serves as Secretary and is currently Senior Vice President Global Marketing and Public Affairs at D-Wave Systems Inc. She brings 20 years of marketing and communications experience in the technology and software industries. Previously, Houston was Vice President of Marketing at Apptio and a vital member of the senior leadership team who led the company to its IPO in 2016. She previously helped establish Pluck Disrupt, a marketing and communications consulting firm, and built the first digital marketing business at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, an integrated communications and public relations agency known for its work with industry leaders like Microsoft. Adding such distinguished leadership to the board of D-Wave Government Inc. speaks to quantum computings continued maturation and the growing importance of quantum in the public affairs landscape, said Dr. Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. Quantum computing is a technology that is already tackling complex problems in everything from pharmaceutical development to public safety planning. I look forward to working closely with Governor Richardson and former Congressman Rogers as we expand our public-private partnerships and showcase the power of practical quantum computing for governments and businesses.

D-Wave Government Inc.s mission is to provide strategic counsel as the U.S. Government looks to benefit from current and near-term use cases for quantum and hybrid applications today. Quantum policy priorities include: Quantum Computing Technology Inclusivity: As the technology advances, the United States government and businesses should engage with the quantum computing industry as a whole to harness the benefits of the technology.

Breaking Down Barriers via Cloud Access: From start-ups to large enterprises to governments, quantum computing can now be accessed via secure cloud platforms, ensuring a wider availability of the technology to both public and private entities.

Near-Term Application Development: Through public-private partnerships and near-term application development, industries will be able to benefit from the power of quantum and hybrid solvers today.

Im continually amazed at the diversity of emerging technologies with global impact potential, and that includes quantum computing, said Governor Richardson. I look forward to working with the D-Wave Government board to help further the awareness of quantum technologies in both the public and private sector. Practical quantum computing has the capacity to solve some of the most difficult problems our world faces today. In the few short years Ive watched quantum computing evolve, the breadth of applications and practical potential have advanced in profound ways, said Mr. Rogers. Its important that in addition to boosting research and development, we also provide strategic guidance to the governments, enterprises, and academic institutions looking to utilize the power of quantum computing. Were honored to name such experienced and accomplished members to the D-Wave Government board. We know how critically important public policy is to the future of quantum computings impact; the expertise these distinguished new board members bring to the table is unmatched, said Ms. Houston. Practical quantum computing is capable of delivering value and tackling complex problems today. Governor Richardson and Congressman Rogers experience in both public and private sectors will help advise on crucial legislation and help us better showcase how hybrid quantum applications can have real-world impact on global issues. About D-Wave Government Inc.

D-Wave is the leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services, and the worlds first commercial supplier of quantum computers. D-Wave Government Inc., a U.S. subsidiary, was formed in 2013 to provide D-Waves quantum computing systems to the U.S. government. D-Waves quantum computers have been used by some of the worlds most advanced organizations, including Lockheed Martin, Google, NASA Ames, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. D-Wave has had more than 200 US patents granted and has published over 100 scientific papers, many of which have appeared in leading science journals including Nature, Science and Nature Communications.



Contact

D-Wave Systems Inc.

dwave@launchsquad.com



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SEWARD, Neb.  Reed City's Calvin Rohde, a sophomore at Concordia University in Nebraska, performed with other music students in the 2021 Spring Honors Recital on March 30.

The semiannual honor recital at Concordia showcases the vocal and instrumental talents of student musicians. Musicians are chosen to perform based on auditions judged by music department faculty. The recital is held twice a year, once each semester. This years spring recital was livestreamed on the music department's Facebook page.

"It's always a great experience for me and all of the music professors to see the product of our students' hard work," said Dr. Kurt von Kampen, music department chair. "Many people assume that music students are only gifted, but they don't see the hours and hours of hard work they put in preparing their pieces. They don't see the time spent in preparation by the private instructors as they give guidance to their students. It is a collaborative effort, but it takes a high level of dedication on the part of the student to rise to the level we see in the honor recital."

Rohde played "Capriccio in G minor, Op. 166, no. 3" by Johannes Brahms. Other student selected included:

 Shanda Fujan, senior, Oakland, Nebraska, singing soprano on "Once More I Can See, from Wonderland" by Frank Wildhorn.

 Avery Kesar, senior, Omaha, Nebraska, singing baritone on "Villanelle" by Hector Berlioz.

 Olivia Leising, junior, Arapahoe, Nebraska, playing "Va! laisse couler mes larmes" from Werther by Jules Massenet.

 Jacee Pfeifer, senior, Holdrege, Nebraska, singing mezzo soprano on "Le Colibri, Op. 2, no. 7" by Ernest Chausson.

 Renata Peperkorn, junior, Rocklin, California, playing "Allegro con brio" from Sonata No. 4, Op. 65 by Felix Mendelssohn on the organ.

 Thomas Schulteis, freshman, Parker, Colorado, playing "Finale" from Symphony No. 4 by Charles Marie Widor on the organ.

 Bethany Zeckzer, junior, New Haven, Indiana, singing mezzo soprano on "Voi lo sapete, o Mamma," from Cavalleria Rusticana by Pietro Mascagni.

 Hannah Cmeyla, junior, Bay City, Michigan, singing soprano on "En Priere" by Gabriel Faure.

 Nathan Johnson, junior, Vicksburg, Michigan, playing "Polonaise in C minor, Op. 40, no. 2" by Frederic Chopin.

 Makenna Clovis, senior, Albuquerque, New Mexico, playing "Grave" from Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35 by Frederic Chopin on the piano.

During the recital's program, four students were inducted into the Iota Nu Chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, the national honor society for higher education music students. 2021 inductees include Aaron Jackson, a senior from Palestine, Texas, who will earn a Bachelor of Music in church music; and Charlotte Lines, a senior from Marshall, Missouri, who will earn a Bachelor of Music in music education.

Two 2020 graduates  Jacob Roggow, who earned a Bachelor of Music in music education and church music; and Danae Welling, who earned a Bachelor of Music in music education  also were inducted into the honor society.

Music faculty may induct up to 20% of the senior class each year to the honor society. Students who are inducted must demonstrate the highest standards in both academic scholarship and musicianship throughout their academic careers.
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The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, has paid tributes to Yinka Odumakin, the late Afenifere spokesperson, who died at the age of 54 on April 2 because of COVID-19 complications.

Mr Igini, in a message sent to PREMIUM TIMES, Monday, described Mr Odumakin as a patriot who was committed to the success of the Nigerian project.

He said Mr Odumakins death was a loss to Nigeria and to him personally.

Odumakin is an embodiment of commitment to the success of the Nigerian project and demonstrated it with integrity during epochal events such as the Save Nigeria Project and the call for electoral reforms, where he exhibited how human agency can make or mar the destiny of a nation.

We cannot question God but the death of Yinka Odumakin is a painful reality. No words can sufficiently console us of his loss and the pains of his passing, he said.

My family joins his beloved wife Comrade (Dr.) Joe Okei-Odumakin, his family and the entire nation in grief over the loss of a Patriot.

He never betrayed the values and principles of the common good but rather demonstrated the courage of conviction to remain true to them.

He did his best, he gave his all to have a society where there will be opportunity for all and responsibility from all. By his commitment to the enthronement of equity, fairness and justice to all, he engrafted enduring values of love and equity in the hearts of all.

Yinka Odumakin will live in our hearts for all times. Rest in peace until we meet again, said the INEC commissioner, who like many Nigerians, expressed shock over the incident.

Meanwhile, the remains of Mr Odumakin would be buried on April 24 in his country home, in Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State, according to the wife, Joe Okei-Odumakin.
The American Council of Learned Societies Names 60 New ACLS Fellows for 2021 With more than forty per cent of the 2021 ACLS Fellows identifying as scholars of color and a third as first-generation college students, we are excited to continue our work in forging paths of opportunity and models of inclusive excellence in humanistic scholarship.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 ACLS Fellowships.

The longest running program in the organizations portfolio, the ACLS Fellowship program supports outstanding scholarship in the humanities and humanistic social sciences with the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge within and across fields. Fellowships totaling nearly $3.6 million have been awarded to 60 scholars selected from nearly 1,300 applicants through a multi-stage peer review process.

For this competition year, in the wake of the widespread disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing economic impact, ACLS has focused its resources exclusively on early-career, non-tenured scholars, many of whom are facing extraordinary obstacles to advancing their research in these times. For the first time in the history of the program, half of the 2021 awardees do not hold tenure track positions.

ACLS is deeply proud to support emerging scholars of special promise and to advance important research representing perspectives on the human experience that have traditionally been marginalized, said ACLS President Joy Connolly. With more than forty per cent of the 2021 ACLS Fellows identifying as scholars of color and a third as first-generation college students, we are excited to continue our work in forging paths of opportunity and models of inclusive excellence in humanistic scholarship.

ACLS Fellowship awards provide $30,000 to $60,000 to support scholars during six to 12 months of research leave. Awardees who do not hold tenure-track faculty appointments during the fellowship year also receive a $5,000 stipend for research and other costs incurred during that period.

The supported research projects represent an exciting diversity of fields of study including a history of gender-variant individuals who have made a lasting impact on the creation of the internet from the 1960s to 1990s; a study of the contributions of Black women in 21st century Brazilian urban cultural production; and an exploration of collaboratively-written Hopi autobiographies during the Indian assimilation era from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Learn more about the 2021 ACLS Fellows and their projects here.

The ACLS Fellowship program is funded primarily by ACLSs endowment, which has benefited from the generous support of esteemed institutions and individuals including The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Arcadia Charitable Trust, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the ACLS Research University Consortium and college and university Associates, past fellows, and friends of ACLS.

Formed in 1919, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations. As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its $140 million endowment and $35 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for the centrality of the humanities in the modern world.
Shen Yueyue (2nd, L), President of the All-China Women's Federation, makes an inspection tour to North China's Hebei Province from March 16 to 18. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

Shen Yueyue, President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), conducted an inspection tour to Pingshan and Fuping counties and Shijiazhuang City in North China's Hebei Province from March 16 to 18 to investigate the study and implementation of the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping during this year's "two sessions" and the education related to Party history. She also promoted the spirit of the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping in rural families, schools, enterprises and women's homes, studied Party history at former revolutionary sites, and asked for opinions and advice from local women, elderly Party members and elderly women cadres.

Shen urged fulfillment of the tasks of high-quality education related to Party history with high standards, full mobilization of the enthusiasm, initiative and creativity of women, and sought to unite and guide women to follow the Party's lead in working hard to fully build a modern socialist country and to welcome the Party's centenary with outstanding achievements.

At the former base of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) at Xibaipo in Pingshan County, and at the Xibaipo Memorial Hall and the former site of the Central Committee of Women's Movement, Shen took in the historical exhibits and photos, listened to the guides carefully, and reviewed the glorious history of the CPC in leading Chinese people in their striving for liberation and a better life.

Shen Yueyue (2nd, L), President of the All-China Women's Federation, visits an edible mushroom industrial zone during her inspection tour to North China's Hebei Province. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

In Luotuowan Village, Fuping County, Shen chatted with an elderly woman, Tang Zongxiu, about the changes in her life. Shen said that the changes of the lives of local villagers showed the great victory in the fight against poverty.

During her inspection tour of a poverty relief workshop in a village, Shen learned about the details of how rural women can find nearby jobs, care for elderly people and educate children and receive free screening of breast and cervical cancers.

Shen also inspected an edible mushroom industrial zone, a pigeon raising industrial zone, a pharmacy research institute and a local company where there are many women employees. Shen studied the important speeches delivered by General Secretary Xi with some women employees, and discussed their ideals, career pursuits and difficulties in life with them.

Shen encouraged the women employees to be the builders of a great cause, the advocates of civilized social conduct and the pursuers of dreams in a bid to promote high-quality development and to make more contributions to achieving the Chinese Dream.

Shen Yueyue, President of the All-China Women's Federation, holds a symposium during her inspection tour to North China's Hebei Province. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

During her inspection, Shen hosted a symposium with staff members of the Hebei Women's Federation and women representatives from the fields of science and technology, culture, education, health care, politics and law, housekeeping service, and grassroots-level Party organizations and women's federations.

Shen Yueyue, President of the All-China Women's Federation, delivers a speech at the symposium during her inspection tour to North China's Hebei Province. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

Shen fully affirmed local women and women's federations at all levels in Hebei for their efforts in clinching the victories in epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development and in building a dynamic and beautiful Hebei in an all-round way.

Shen called for efforts to carry out publicity and education activities related to the history of the CPC, the country, reform and opening-up, and socialist development at the grassroots level, and to implement the publicity and education activities of the women's federations in villages, schools, communities and women's homes.

The women's federations were urged to promote women's development through holding activities, building platforms, improving policies and mechanisms and publicizing women role models, to encourage women from all walks of life to make contributions at their posts, to support women scientific and technical workers to put their talent to good use, and to mobilize women to play a role in comprehensively pushing forward rural revitalization.

Efforts should also be made to promote family civilization, strengthen family education guidance service, help families solve their problems related to care for children and elderly people, and give full play to the key role of family, family education and family tradition in social governance at the primary level.

Wu Haiying, Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, also participated in the inspection tour.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
Egypt seized a giant container vessel that blocked the Suez Canal last month as it sought compensation of more than $900 million.

A court in the city of Ismailia granted a seizure request regarding the Ever Given vessel at the behest of the Suez Canal Authority, state-run Ahram Gate reported on its website.

Egypts move underscores the legal complications following the container vessels grounding on March 23, which closed the canal for almost a week and roiled shipping markets. Logjams are expected to continue in the coming weeks at major ports such as Singapore and Rotterdam because of disruptions to schedules, according to supply-chain data provider project44.

Read more: Lengthy Legal Battles Expected from Suez Canals Longest Closure in Almost 50 Years

The ships insurer for third-party losses, the U.K. P&I Club, said in a statement on Tuesday that the Ever Givens owner  Japan-based Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.  received a claim for $916 million.

Despite the magnitude of the claim which was largely unsupported, the owners and their insurers have been negotiating in good faith with the SCA, the statement said. On 12 April, a carefully considered and generous offer was made to the SCA to settle their claim. We are disappointed by the SCAs subsequent decision to arrest the vessel today.

The UK P&I Club also said it was disappointed at comments by the SCA that the ship will be held in Egypt until compensation is paid, and that her crew will be unable to leave the vessel during this time.

Loss of Fees

The SCA has said compensation is needed to cover losses of transit fees, damage to the waterway during the dredging and salvage efforts, and the cost of equipment and labor. It has calculated that it missed out on about $15 million of transit fees each day.

Read more: Suez Canal Authority Still in Talks About Compensation for Grounding of Container Ship

The UK P&I Club said the claim included a $300 million salvage bonus and another $300 million for loss of reputation.

The claim presented by the SCA also does not include the professional salvors claim for their salvage services which owners and their hull underwriters expect to receive separately, the UK P&I Club said. The grounding resulted in no pollution and no reported injuries. The vessel was re-floated after six days and the Suez Canal promptly resumed their commercial operations.

Negotiations will continue, it said. Calls to the SCA werent answered.

A spokesman for Shoei Kisen Kaisha declined to comment on compensation while discussions with the SCA are underway. The company said the crew is still on board the ship, which is now in the Great Bitter Lake, about halfway along the canal.

The charterer, Taiwans Evergreen Marine Corp., said in an email it hadnt received any information from the ships owner about a court order.

With assistance from Masumi Suga, Dana Khraiche, Salma El Wardany, Mirette Magdy and Cindy Wang.

Top photograph: In this photo released by Suez Canal Authority, the Ever Given, a Panama-flagged cargo ship, is pulled by one of the Suez Canal tugboats, in the Suez Canal, Egypt, on Monday, March 29, 2021. Photo credit: Suez Canal Authority via AP.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

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Palghar, April 13 : In a shocking tragedy on Gudi Padva, at least 10 Covid-19 patients have died in two private hospital in the Vasai town due to alleged shortage of medical oxygen, here on Tuesday.

While confirming the fatalities that occurred at the Vinayak Hospital and Riddhi Vinayak Hospital, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) refuted allegations about the shortage of medical oxygen supply in the civic body jurisdiction.

A Medical Health Department statement said that the Vinayak Hospital, where seven comorbid patients died on Monday, had procured 139 jumbo cylinders each with 7,000-litres oxygen, and one Dura cylinder or equivalent to 28 jumbo cylinders, the previous day (April 11).

Similarly, the Riddhi Vinayak Hospital, where three patients lost their lives, had procured a total of 110 jumbo cylinders over Sunday-Monday, and accordingly, both hospitals had sufficient stocks of medical oxygen for all their patients.

Additionally, the VVMC had also procured 10 tonnes of medical oxygen to cater to all the eight private Covid hospitals in its jurisdiction and so there was no question of any patient dying due to lack of oxygen, the VVMC maintained.

Earlier this morning, crying relatives of the deceased and some local politicians alleged that the 10 patients may have succumbed to the alleged scarcity of oxygen.

There are over 7,000 'active cases' in Vasai, of which at least 3,000-odd need regular oxygen facilities.

This morning the leading tertiary health care centre, Vinayaka Hospital, Nala Sopara, rejected the contentions and said that all patients who died were serious comorbids but there were sufficient stocks of oxygen available in the hospital.

Nala Sopara MLA Kshitij Thakur drew the attention of PM Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to the development and appealed for help in the matter.

"There is an acute shortage of oxygen in the Vasai taluka. Notably, the supply can run for only three hours. Unfortunately, three lives have already been lost due to no oxygen supply in our area. I request to look into this serious matter and provide ample oxygen supply to the tehsil. This will prevent any more loss of lives," Thakur urged.

He also appealed to CM Thackeray, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Health Minister Rajesh Tope to intervene in the matter.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Leader of Opposition Pravin Darekar and ex-MP Kirit Somaiya slammed the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for the deaths.

"The government must take serious note...It seems to focus only on lockdown... But we also need oxygen beds, ICU beds, ventilators, Remdesivir, etc," Darekar said, adding this was not an auspicious development on Gudi Padwa.

Since the past few days, the ruling Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Party-Congress have been demanding sufficient stocks of Covid essentials like Vaccines, oxygen, Remdevisir, PPE kits, N95 masks, ventilators in tune with the highest number of Corona patients and deaths.

On Monday, the state notched a milestone of administered 10,19,2353 jabs of the Covid vaccine to people, the highest in the country.

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
I asked Matt to tell us more about what he learned while reporting in San Clemente.

Heres our conversation:

There have been dozens of arrests and investigations after the Capitol riot. What drew you to the story of Ms. Hostetter in particular?

I was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. A few days later, I was talking to my college roommate, who lives in San Clemente, and he and his wife told me about Ms. Hostetter. At that point, she had just been suspended, and the fight over whether she should be fired was beginning. But even then, it appeared she had not attacked the Capitol.

So it was not an open-and-shut case, and it raised a fascinating question: What do you do about a teacher who has bought into some fairly extreme ideas, but by all accounts has kept it out of the classroom? Do we really want to live in a country where teachers  or anyone, for that matter  are getting fired for their political beliefs?

Ordinarily, that is probably an immediate no from Americans. But these are not ordinary times, and what drew me to Ms. Hostetters story was its complexity. Her beliefs were personal but hardly private  and had just spurred an attack on Congress. Yet she was apparently great at her job.

I ended up getting pulled into other stories, and did not get out to California until March (I live on the East Coast). By then, the issue of racism and white supremacy had become part of her story, too. Was Ms. Hostetter a racist? The fight had exposed a real divide between those who bought into the expansive definition of racism adopted by the progressive left, and those who saw it as a question of whether she herself had displayed any overt racism  using slurs or treating Black students differently.
Wallingford has identified a building and property to purchase for a new police headquarters and has negotiated a purchase price of $1,760,700 for 100 Barnes Road, the former 3M location.

The Town Council is scheduled to vote this evening on approving the purchase. A public hearing is slated for the same meeting on appropriating $3.3 million in bonds for the purchase. The additional money in the appropriation is needed for an architectural and engineering design study and other incidental costs.

It may not seem ideal to move a towns police station from a key site downtown to a less prominent location, but other towns have done so without notable problems. Southingtons police HQ moved from near the Town Green to Jude Lane. Berlin voters decided a few years ago not to build a new police station on the main road through town.

Generally speaking, such decisions hinge in large part on cost, and Wallingford, too, has considered building a new police station on the present North Main Street site, but the projected cost of construction  roughly $24 million  and the impact of the 2008 recession ended that plan.

Built in 1978, the one-story office building at 100 Barnes Road has 41,129 square feet of indoor space on a little over 9 acres and is in the Industrial Expansion (IX) District.

Under town zoning regulations, government facilities are a permitted use, subject to site plan approval.

The town contracted with an architectural firm to determine what additional work would need to be done to turn the Barnes Road office building into a suitable law enforcement facility, Police Chief William Wright said. That work would naturally come at a substantial cost.

The Police Department moved into its present location, the former state armory, in 1986. Two decades later a study convinced the town that improvements to that location would provide neither the floor space nor the parking space needed, so that idea was dropped.

The status of the building, (and) in many locations within the building, is either the same as it was in 2007 or worse, Wright said.

Among the issues with the current facility are parking congestion, inadequacy of the sally port, the need to bring the cell blocks up to building code, the need for more locker room space, more evidence storage and bigger offices.

This building has served us well, but weve ... outgrown it, Wright said.

If 100 Barnes Road can supply the departments needs, into the future, at a reasonable cost, this may well be the way  and the time  to move forward.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS) - A student opened fire on officers responding to a report of a possible gunman at a Tennessee high school Monday, and police shot back and killed him, authorities said. The shooting wounded an officer and comes as the community reels from off-campus gun violence that has left three other students dead this year.

Police found the student in a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, a city about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Nashville, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said at a news conference. They ordered the student to come out, but he wouldn't comply, and that's when he reportedly opened fire, Rausch said. Police fired back.

The student died at the school, and the officer was taken into surgery after being shot at least once in the upper leg, authorities said. The officer was expected to recover, and no one else was hurt. It wasn't yet clear why the student brought a gun to school or why he fired at officers.

Its a sad day for Knoxville, and its tough for Austin-East, Rausch said.

Asked about the overwhelming police response to a call that came in just before afternoon dismissal, Knoxville Police Chief Eve Thomas said, We have a student, a school incident. Its our worst fear, an active shooter in a school.

The shooting comes as more classrooms are reopening to students after months of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic, which cut down the number of mass killings in the U.S. The nation has seen series of mass shootings in recent weeks, including eight people killed at three Atlanta-area massage businesses on March 16 and 10 people killed at Colorado supermarket on March 22.

Knox County Schools restarted in-person learning in August, but Austin-East Magnet High School went back to virtual instruction briefly in February after the spate of shooting deaths of students. The school will be closed again Tuesday and Wednesday.

Speaking outside a hospital, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told news station WATE-TV that she spoke with the wounded officer and he was conscious and in good spirits.

Kincannon, a former Knox County Schools board president, spoke at a February press conference about the gun violence that took the lives of three Austin-East students less than three weeks apart this year. Two of the victims were 15, and the other was 16.

I know that school is a safe place, Kincannon said at that time, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Its a place where people are learning. ... The issues with violence are happening in the community, and its affecting kids when theyre outside of the school. Thats why we are focusing our efforts to protect the innocent, protect the school, protect the children and students and staff.

The newspaper reported that the school was adding three school resource officers and stepping up patrols around dismissal time.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, who represents the district and went to the school, said in a statement: I am at a loss to describe my sadness as yet another horrific act of gun violence has happened in my community," urging people to reclaim the sanctity of our beloved neighborhood."

This is the fourth unnecessary shooting involving the Austin East community this year and we must make sure we take every step and make every effort to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur, McKenzie's statement said.

Gov. Bill Lee mentioned the shooting at a Monday news conference but said he had little information.

I just wanted to make reference to that and ask, for those who are watching, online or otherwise, to pray for that situation and for the families and the victims that might be affected by that in our state," he said.

Last week, the Republican governor signed legislation that will make Tennessee the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns  openly or concealed  without first clearing a background check and training. Lee backed the legislation over objections from law enforcement groups, who argued that the states existing permit system provided an important safeguard for knowing who should or shouldnt be carrying a gun.

When asked earlier this year whether recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado and others gave him any concern about timing, Lee said the increased penalties mean that we in fact will be strengthening laws that would help prevent gun crimes in the future.
Photos, candles, flowers and balloons are placed as a memorial for three children who were killed at the Royal Villa apartments complex in the Reseda section of Los Angeles, on April 12, 2021. (Richard Vogel/AP Photo)

Coroner Identifies 3 Young Children Killed in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELESAuthorities have identified the three young children who were killed in a gruesome slaying in Los Angeles over the weekend. Their mother is the suspect in their deaths and in custody Monday.

The autopsies of 3-year-old Joanna Denton Carrillo, her 2-year-old brother, Terry, and 6-month-old sister, Sierra, were pending on Monday, coroners records said. Their mother, Liliana Carrillo, was held in Kern County on Monday afternoon on carjacking-related charges as Los Angeles authorities planned to seek her extradition.

A memorial of photographs, candles, flowers and balloons grew outside the apartment complex Monday, days after the childrens grandmother returned home from work Saturday morning and found their bodies in their apartment in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Reseda.

A GoFundMe fundraiser for the father had garnered more than $30,000 in donations by Monday afternoon.

Photos, candles, flowers and balloons are placed as a memorial for three children who were killed at the Royal Villa apartments complex in the Reseda section of Los Angeles, on April 12, 2021. (Richard Vogel/AP Photo)

Police have not disclosed a motive or how the children were killed. The Los Angeles Times reported that the childrens father, Erik Denton, said hed been in a custody battle with Carrillo after she began acting mentally unstable. He had sought custody on March 1 and petitioned the court for a mental health evaluation of Carrillo. Another hearing in the case was scheduled for Wednesday.

Denton said he tried to get local authorities to intervene, but in L.A. they wouldnt help. The LAPD would not get involved, he told the newspaper.

He said Carrillo was supposed to turn over the kids to him on Sunday.

Attorneys who represent Denton and Carrillo in the family court case did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

Liliana Carrillo. (LAPD)

Carrillo was arrested Saturday in the Ponderosa area of Tulare County, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles, according to the LAPD. She had been held in Tulare County jail on $60,000 bail before being transferred to the custody of Kern County officials on Monday.

Authorities said police initially received reports that Carrillo was driving her car and heading north on Interstate 5 when she got in an altercation in the Bakersfield area in Kern County. She abandoned her car and carjacked another vehicle, police said.

By Stefanie Dazio
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  Leaders of the Philippine and Russian governments have reaffirmed their commitment to enhance cooperation in various matters, especially on responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Russias chief executive Vladimir Putin had a 30-minute phone conversation Tuesday evening, a Malacanang statement said.

The two leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to further enhance cooperation as the Philippines and Russia commemorate the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year and vowed to cooperate in the fight against COVID-19.

On the lingering health crisis, they discussed the global and regional vaccine landscapes, while also noting that Russias Sputnik V vaccine must reach as many countries as possible by ramping up production and supply. They emphasized the need for continuing and stronger cooperation to defeat the global health crisis.

The Philippines expects to receive 20,000 doses of Sputnik V from Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute this week. This is part of the 20 million vials that the country has ordered from the vaccine manufacturer.

Both presidents also noted the steady progress in defense and security cooperation between the two countries, further committing to sustain the momentum gained in the past years.

Putin also underscored opportunities for greater cooperation in the fields of trade and investments, agriculture and energy development, aside from further enhancing political-security cooperation, Malacanang said.

In December, Duterte invited the Russian president to visit the Philippines, noting 2021 would be a good time to reaffirm ties between Manila and Moscow.

Duterte, who already visited Russia twice, previously referred to Putin as his favorite hero.
Brooklyn Centre: A white Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb and the citys chief of police have resigned, moves that the mayor said he hoped would help heal the community and lead to reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest.

Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned on Tuesday, local time, two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Centre. Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sundays shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death.

A demonstrator faces off with police during a protest against the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. Credit:AP

Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser!

Brooklyn Centre Mayor Mike Elliott said he was appreciative that Potter submitted her resignation but that he had not asked for it. Elliott said he was not sure if it was because she had heard that she would soon be fired. He said he hoped her resignation would bring some calm to the community, but that he would keep working towards full accountability under the law.
The white Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a Black man, during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb resigned on Tuesday along with the citys police chief.

Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned two days after the death of Wright in Brooklyn Center.

Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sundays shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area was already focused on the trial of four police officers in the death of George Floyd.

According to the Associated Press, Brooklyn Center Mayor Brooklyn Center Mike Elliott said he hoped Potters resignation would bring some calm to the community. Elliott said the resignation wouldnt alter his pursuit of accountability under the law.

Elliot also said he had not asked for Potters resignation.

Body camera footage released after the shooting shows three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. One officer attempted to handcuff Wright, while a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle began and Potter shot Wright.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office.

Gannon said he believed Potter mistakenly <a href="https://www.masslive.com/news/2021/04/daunte-wright-shooting-more-clashes-in-minnesota-after-police-shoot-kill-black-man.html" target=_blank>grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser</a>. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser!

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car sped away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

Elliot said the new police leadership is committed to working with community leaders and protesters.

The letter of resignation for Potter included one paragraph.

I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately, Potter wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Former 'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart added a little star power to an effort on Capitol Hill to help veterans who were exposed to burn pits get government benefits more easily.

On Tuesday, Stewart gathered alongside lawmakers and activists to push for the passage of legislation that eases the burden on veterans to provide proof that there's a direct connection between their time in service and a disease they've suffered from since.

'But damn, for those that have fought and defended and served this country. For them to come home and have to fight against the very government that they volunteered to defend is immoral, it's unconscionable and it's easily remedied,' Stewart said.

Former 'Daily Show' host Jon Stewart returned to Capitol Hill Tuesday and urged lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it easier for veterans exposed to burn pits to get benefits

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is a sponsor of the legislation, which has bicameral and bipartisan support

The U.S. military used open air burn pits to dispose of waste in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'They don't need another study to determine whether or not it might not be that healthy to burn everything in sight, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, next to where you're sleeping,' the comedia continued. 'We know it because you're not allowed to do it in the United States of America.'

The bill has bipartisan and bicameral support.

In the Senate it's being championed by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. In the House the chief sponsors are Reps. Raul Ruiz, a California Republican and Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican.

Gillibrand and Rubio rolled out the Senate bill in late March, though the White House has yet to say if President Joe Biden supports it.

'I haven't looked more deeply into the specifics of the bill,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing when asked about the Senate legislation.

She noted, as the reporter had pointed out, that Biden had spoken about the issue in the past.

Biden actually tied his son Beau Biden's 2015 cancer death to chemical exposure while serving in Iraq.

In a 2019 speech Biden said with Beau's 'exposure to burn pits, in my view, I can't prove it yet, he came back with stage 4 glioblastoma.'

Under current law a veteran who suffers from an illness or disability must document a direct connection between his or her service and the illness in order to be eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits.

'For veterans exposed to burn pits, this means they would need to provide medical evidence of a current disease or disability, provide personal or other evidence of in-service physical presence near a specific burn pit or exposure to specific toxins or substance and provide evidence of a link between the disability or illness and exposure,' according to a release about the legislation from Gillibrand's office.

Stewart has been involved in similar legislative battles - and won.

Stewart was active in getting Congress and former President Donald Trump to reauthorize the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund in 2019.

Droves of 9/11 first responders and New York residents were sickened by toxins related to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and got cancer. The funds ensured their families were taken care of.

Stewart famously cussed out Congress during a June 2019 hearing when only five subcommittee members showed up to hear testimony from Luis Alvarez, a former New York City detective who was so sick from 9/11-related cancer he died weeks later.

'As I sit here today, I can't help but think what an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to,' Stewart said. 'Behind me a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front of me a nearly empty Congress.'

'Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak to no one,' he continued. 'Shameful.'

'It's an embarrassment to the country and a stain on this institution and you should be ashamed of yourselves, for those who aren't here, but you won't be because accountability doesn't appear to be something that occurs in this chamber,' Stewart said.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Two new studies, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Public Health, found no evidence that people with the B.1.1.7. variant experience worse symptoms or a heightened risk of developing long COVID compared with those infected with a different COVID-19 strain. However, viral load and R number were higher for B.1.1.7., adding to growing evidence that it is more transmissible than the first strain detected in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.

The emergence of variants has raised concerns that they could spread more easily and be more deadly, and that vaccines developed based on the original strain might be less effective against them. Preliminary data on B.1.1.7. indicates that it is more transmissible, with some evidence suggesting it could also be associated with increased hospitalisations and deaths. However, because the variant was identified only recently, these studies were limited by the amount of data available.

Findings from the new studies, which spanned the period between September and December 2020, when B.1.1.7. emerged and began to spread across parts of England, provide important insights into its characteristics that will help inform public health, clinical, and research responses to this and other COVID-19 variants.

Increased viral load but no association with increased severity and death

The Article in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal is a whole-genome sequencing and cohort study involving COVID-19 patients admitted to University College London Hospital and North Middlesex University Hospital, UK, between November 9 and December 20, 2020. This was a critical time point when both the original and B.1.1.7. variants were circulating in London, the vaccination program was just starting, and before a significant surge in cases in early 2021 caused a strain on the NHS.

The authors compared illness severity in people with and without B.1.1.7 and calculated viral load. Among 341 patients who had their COVID-19 test swabs sequenced, 58% (198/341) had B.1.1.7 and 42% (143/341) had a non-B.1.1.7. infection (two patients' data were excluded from further analysis). No evidence of an association between the variant and increased disease severity was detected, with 36% (72/198) of B.1.1.7. patients becoming severely ill or dying, compared with 38% (53/141) of those with a non-B.1.1.7 strain.

Patients with the variant tended to be younger, with 55% (109/198) of infections in people under 60 compared with 40% (57/141) for those who did not have B.1.1.7. Infections with B.1.1.7. occurred more frequently in ethnic minority groups, accounting for 50% (86/172) of cases that included ethnicity data, compared with 29% (35/120) for non-B.1.1.7 strains.

In a regression analysis that included 289 patients, those with B.1.1.7 were no more likely to experience severe disease after accounting for hospital, sex, age, ethnicity, and underlying conditions.

Those with B.1.1.7. were no more likely to die than patients with a different strain, with 16% (31/198) of B.1.1.7. patients dying within 28 days compared with 17% (24/141) for those with a non-B.1.1.7. infection.

More patients with B.1.1.7 were given oxygen by mask or nasal cannula than those with a non-B.1.1.7. strain (44%, 88/198 vs 30%, 42/141, respectively). However, the authors say this is not a clear measure of disease severity, as patients may have received nasal prong oxygen for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, or as a consequence of underlying conditions.

To gain insights into the transmissibility of B.1.1.7., the authors used data generated by PCR testing of patient swabs to predict their viral loadthe amount of virus in a person's nose and throat. The data analyzedknown as PCR Ct values and genomic read depthindicated that B.1.1.7. samples tended to contain greater quantities of virus than non-B.1.1.7. swabs.

Dr. Eleni Nastouli, from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UK, said: "One of the real strengths of our study is that it ran at the same time that B.1.1.7. was emerging and spreading throughout London and the south of England. Analyzing the variant before the peak of hospital admissions and any associated strains on the health service gave us a crucial window of time to gain vital insights into how B.1.1.7. differs in severity or death in hospitalized patients from the strain of the first wave. Our study is the first in the UK to utilize whole-genome sequencing data generated in real-time and embedded in an NHS clinical service and integrated granular clinical data.

"We hope that this study provides an example of how such studies can be done for the benefit of patients throughout the NHS. As more variants continue to emerge, using this approach could help us better understand their key characteristics and any additional challenges that they may pose to public health."

The authors acknowledge some limitations to their study. Disease severity was captured within 14 days of a positive COVID-19 test, so patients who may have deteriorated after 14 days may have been missed in the analysis, though the authors sought to mitigate this by capturing deaths at 28 days. The analyses also did not take account of any other treatments that patients were receivingsuch as steroids, antiviral medications, or convalescent plasmaor the possibility that some patients may have received ventilation for reasons other than COVID-19.

Writing in a linked comment, Sean Wei Xiang Ong, Barnaby Edward Young, and David Chien Lye, from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore, who were not involved in the study, said, "[The authors'] observation that B.1.1.7 infections were associated with increased viral loads corroborates findings from two other studies and provides a mechanistic hypothesis that increased transmissibility is via increased respiratory shedding. Yet, disease severity and clinical outcomes between patients with B.1.1.7 and non-B.1.1.7 infections were similar after adjusting for differences in age, sex, ethnicity, and comorbidities. Importantly, this study was done from Nov 9 to Dec 20, 2020, before the late- December peak in UK COVID-19 infections, avoiding any confounding effect of the availability of health-care resources on mortality. This finding is in contrast with three studies that reported increased mortality associated with lineage B.1.1.7."

They continue, "Thus, although limited by a much smaller dataset, the study by Frampton and colleagues has important advantages over the three community studies. These advantages include the use of whole-genome sequencing, recruitment of hospitalized patients, and a population reflective of the spectrum of severity in whom increased virulence will have the greatest effect on outcomes. The finding that lineage B.1.1.7 infection did not confer increased risk of severe disease and mortality in this high-risk cohort is reassuring but requires further confirmation in larger studies."

Effective Control Measures

The Article in The Lancet Public Health journal is an ecological study that analyzed self-reported data from 36,920 UK users of the COVID Symptom Study app who tested positive for COVID-19 between 28 September and 27 December 2020.

Test results and symptom reports submitted through the app were combined with surveillance data from the COVID-19 UK Genetics Consortium and Public Health England to examine associations between the regional proportion of B.1.1.7. infections and symptoms, disease duration, reinfection rates, and transmissibility.

The analysis covered 13 full weeks over the period when the proportion of B.1.1.7. grew most notably in London, South East and East of England. Users were included in a week if they had reported a positive test during the 14 days before or after that week. For each week in every region in the analysis (Scotland, Wales, and the seven NHS England regions), authors calculated the proportion of users reporting any of 14 COVID-19 symptoms.

Dr. Claire Steves, Reader and Honorary Consultant Physician, King's College London, UK, who co-led the study, said "We could only do this by aggregating two large sources of data: the extensive genetic sequencing of viral strains performed in the UK, and symptom and testing logs from millions of users on the COVID-symptom Study App. Thanks to them, we confirmed the increased transmissibility but also showed that B.1.1.7. clearly responded to lockdown measures and doesn't appear to escape immunity gained by exposure to the original virus. If further new variants emerge, we will be scanning for changes in symptom reporting and reinfection rates, and sharing this information with health policymakers."

For each region and symptom, a linear regression was done to examine the association between the proportion of B.1.1.7. in that region and the proportion of users reporting the symptom during the study period. The analysis adjusted for age, sex, and seasonal factors (regional temperature and humidity) that could affect reporting of some symptoms.

The analysis revealed no statistically significant associations between the proportion of B.1.1.7. within regions and the type of symptoms people experienced. There was also no evidence of any change in the total number of symptoms experienced by people with B.1.1.7: in the South East region, which experienced the earliest rise in B.1.1.7, the correlation coefficient was -0.021. The proportion of people who experienced long COVID (here defined as symptoms persisting for more than 28 days without a break of more than 7 days) was also not altered by B.1.1.7., with a correlation coefficient of -0.003.

The reinfection rate was low, with 0.7% (249/36,509) of those who reported a positive test before October 1, 2020, testing positive again more than 90 days later. The analysis found no evidence that reinfection rate was altered by B.1.1.7: for all regions except Scotland (where less data was available due to fewer users of the app), reinfections were more positively correlated with the overall regional rise in cases than the regional rise in the proportion of B.1.1.7. infections. No difference in reinfection rates was reported across study regions.

However, the authors found that B.1.1.7. increased the overall reproduction number, or R number, by 1.35 times compared with the original strain. This estimate is similar to those from other studies investigating the variant's transmissibility. Despite this increase, the analysis indicates that the R number was below 1indicating falling transmissionduring local and national lockdowns, even in the three regions (London, South East, and East of England) with the highest proportions of B.1.1.7., which accounted for 80% of infections.

Dr. Mark Graham, from King's College London, UK, said: "The wealth of data captured by the COVID Symptom Study app provided a unique opportunity to look for potential changes in symptoms and length of illness associated with the B.1.1.7. variant. Reassuringly, our findings suggest that, despite being more easily spread, the variant does not alter the type or duration of symptoms experienced and we believe current vaccines and public health measures are likely to remain effective against it."

The authors acknowledge some limitations to their study. It was not possible to assess causal effects of B.1.1.7. due to the lack of information on the disease strain of individual positive cases reported through the app. Users may also have made errors when inputting their information through the app. People who sign up to the app are likely to be more interested in health and COVID-19 than the wider population and may exhibit different behavior to other members of the population.

Writing in a linked comment, Dr. Britta Jewell, from Imperial College London, UK, who was not involved in the study, said: "This study adds to the consensus that B.1.1.7 has increased transmissibility, which has contributed in large part to the sharp rise in cases in the UK over the study period and beyond, as well as ongoing third waves in European countries with growing burdens of B.1.1.7 cases. However, Graham and colleagues reach somewhat different conclusions about differences in symptoms than those of the UK Office for National Statistics, which reported that a higher proportion of individuals who tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant had at least one symptom compared with those without the variant...Graham and colleagues acknowledge the limitations of using self-reported digital data for this type of analysis, including the inherent selection bias of app-based data, which could cause confounding that might explain some of the differences in findings.

However, Jewell continues: "The data suggest that, despite important changes in transmissibility and mortality, B.1.1.7 is similar enough to non-VOC lineages for current testing infrastructure and symptom profiles to identify new cases. Additionally, existing non-pharmaceutical interventions can reduce the Rt of B.1.1.7 to below 1, given adequate governmental planning. Fortunately, B.1.1.7 also appears to be quite effectively combatted by existing vaccines."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Dan Frampton et al. Genomic characteristics and clinical effect of the emergent SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage in London, UK: a whole-genome sequencing and hospital-based cohort study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases April 12, 2021 DOI: Dan Frampton et al. Genomic characteristics and clinical effect of the emergent SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 lineage in London, UK: a whole-genome sequencing and hospital-based cohort study.April 12, 2021 DOI: doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00170-5 Mark S Graham et al. Changes in symptomatology, reinfection, and transmissibility associated with the SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7: an ecological study. The Lancet Public Health April 12, 2021 DOI:doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(21)00055-4 Journal information: Lancet Infectious Diseases , The Lancet Public Health
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Cross-border railway hopes remain stuck on the tracks. Photo: freepik.com

The blockage of the Suez Canal last month, the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, has once again urged Vietnamese agencies to rethink the pros and cons in development of the railway network to gain bigger future benefits.

Vietnam Railways (VNR) has been awaiting development of the new Lao Cai-Hanoi-Haiphong railway route connecting to Lach Huyen International Gateway Seaport, which helps enhance connection in the East-West Corridor and between Vietnam and China.

VNR deputy director Phan Quoc Anh told VIR, The project has remained on paper for months. We expect that the study will be fast-tracked so that we can tap into global growing trade. Many regional countries have developed their railway networks, while Vietnams remains in standstill.

Anh and other VNR leaders feel anxious about the current situation, especially when import-export companies in Vietnam and other countries are seeking to diversify their means of transport. Railways are receiving renewed focus following the six-day blockage of the Suez Canal last month by a container ship.

The VNR leader noted, We are ready to welcome more goods on the Asia-Europe railway route. VNR now accommodates 800,000 tonnes on international connecting trains annually, while our capacity is 2.5 million tonnes.

However, whether the giant can tap into the advantage remains uncertain as it needs a policy evolution to enable VNR to call for private investment.

Vietnamese railways are still less attractive to importers and exporters, although railway transport times between Vietnam and the EU are quicker and more stable than transport by sea  for instance, the time from Vietnam to Germany is about 29-30 days. Railway transport costs are generally higher than sea transport, driven by unfavourable infrastructure which somewhat partly increases its logistics costs.

The countrys railway network was built over 100 years ago. Dang Dinh Thao, former head of the Institute for Economics and Development Studies, said that the countrys railways have always used diesel technology, while others use electrification or even high-speed electromagnetic trains.

Railways in China and European countries have designed tracks of around 1.43m in width, while that of Vietnam are only one metre. Consequently, importers and exporters have to suffer extra costs of loading and unloading for transit in China. And therefore, few choose railways.

Moreover, a lack of links to seaports, industrial and economic zones is also another problem, preventing the railway sector from attracting customers. The sector now only has one route connecting Hoang Dieu Berth of Haiphong city and the other to Cai Lan Port in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

VNR has been attempting in vain for years to deal with infrastructure weaknesses by calling for private investors to join its upgrading plan and developing warehouses and inland container depots (ICDs). However, legal barriers are as ever impeding the next steps.

As ruled, VNR cannot make any investments or call for funding in the network because of the state asset status. To solve the problem, the giant proposed in a draft master plan in line with Decree No.46/2018/ND-CP issued in 2018 governing the management and use of railway infrastructure assets, for the state to hand over station squares, warehouses, ICDs, and others to it to own, use, and develop with assets to be recorded as state capital contribution to the operator.

The draft, expected to be released in 2019, has yet to be completed. While waiting for this, VNR has been suffering as all investment plans and cooperation with domestic and international private partners have been suspended.

We earlier signed an agreement with Saigon Newport Corporation to develop ICDs and warehouses at Song Than, Dieu Tri, Yen Vien, Dong Anh, and Dong Dang stations. Some Russian and Kazakhstani companies also sought opportunities in warehouse development in Dong Dang and Lao Cai. All are on paper, Anh admitted.

Now VNR is facing further disappointment because of the slow pace of drafting the master plan. Vietnam and several countries have consistently planned to develop the Asia-Europe railway route connecting Vietnam, China, Kazakhstan, and Central Asia to Russia and the EU. Years have passed, but true connections have yet to be kicked off and the track size issue among other things have yet to be addressed.

Elsewhere, Laos is tapping into the opportunity of growing trade flows between Asia and Europe by developing the Kunming-Vientiane railway route to connect with the EU.

Currently, all imports and exports from Vietnam to European countries by rail have to transit in China via Lao Cai and Dong Dang railway stations. According to VNR statistics, Vietnams railway transport of goods from Vietnam to China and other countries reached nearly 900,000 tonnes in 2020, up about 10 per cent on-year.

In 2021, VNR plans to strengthen transport of cold containers by rail to China and third countries.
CFOs QR-code conceit sounds straightforward. However, as many presenters have learned on the fly, where video work is involved, its anything but. All save one of the works had to be recorded in two different sessions: one for audio (recorded at Lincoln Park Presbyterian, with the composers present or dialing in via Zoom) and one for video (filmed in the respective neighborhood, with performers miming along). To minimize expenditures and in-person exposure, the CFO creative team has donned multiple hats throughout A City of Works: Cederquist is filming the music videos  all in a single shot, citing aesthetic and practical reasons  while music director Catherine OShaughnessy is moonlighting as audio engineer.
President plans to withdraw the remaining 2,500 US troops from by Sept. 11, 2021, 20 years to the day after the al Qaeda attacks that triggered America's longest war, US officials said on Tuesday.



The disclosure of the plan came on the same day that the US intelligence community released a gloomy outlook for Afghanistan, forecasting "low" chances of a peace deal this year and warning that its government would struggle to hold the insurgency at bay if the US-led coalition withdraws support.



Biden's decision would miss a May 1 deadline for withdrawal agreed to with the by his predecessor Donald Trump. The insurgents had threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops if that deadline was missed. But Biden would still be setting a near-term withdrawal date, potentially allaying concerns.



The Democratic president will publicly announce his decision on Wednesday, the White House said. A senior Biden administration official said the pullout would begin before May 1 and could be complete well before the Sept. 11 deadline.



Significantly, it will not would be subject to further conditions, including security or human rights.



"The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe in staying in forever," the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said in a briefing with reporters.



US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to discuss the decision with allies in Brussels on Wednesday, sources said.



Biden's decision suggests he has concluded that the US military presence will no longer be decisive in achieving a lasting peace in Afghanistan, a core Pentagon assumption that has long underpinned American troop deployments there.

"There is no military solution to the problems plaguing Afghanistan, and we will focus our efforts on supporting the ongoing peace process," the senior administration official said.



The US intelligence report, which was sent to Congress, stated: "Kabul continues to face setbacks on the battlefield, and the Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory." The Taliban declined comment, saying the group has not been notified of the US decision.



The May 1 deadline had already started to appear less and less likely in recent weeks, given the lack of preparations on the ground to ensure it could be done safely and responsibly.



US officials have also blamed the Taliban for failing to live up to commitments to reduce violence and some have warned about persistent Taliban links to al Qaeda.



It was those ties that triggered US military intervention in 2001 following al Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks, when hijackers slammed airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, killing almost 3,000 people. The Biden administration has said al Qaeda does not pose a threat to the US homeland now.



'ABANDON THE FIGHT'



Senate Republican Leader accused Biden of planning to "turn tail and abandon the fight in " It was Trump, a Republican, who had agreed to the May 1 withdrawal.



"Precipitously withdrawing US forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake," McConnell said, adding that effective counter-terrorism operations require presence and partners on the ground.



There currently are about 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan, down from a peak of more than 100,000 in 2011. About 2,400 US

service members have been killed in the course of the Afghan conflict and many thousands more wounded.



It remains unclear how Biden's move would impact a planned 10-day summit starting April 24 about Afghanistan in Istanbul that is due to include the United Nations and Qatar. Taliban representatives have not yet committed to attend.



Officials in Afghanistan are bracing for the withdrawal.



"We will have to survive the impact of it and it should not be considered as Taliban's victory or takeover," said a senior Afghan government source, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Although successive US presidents sought to extricate themselves from Afghanistan, those hopes were confounded by concerns about Afghan security forces, endemic corruption in Afghanistan and the resiliency of a Taliban insurgency that enjoyed safe haven across the border in



Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the could cut off financial assistance to Afghanistan "if there is backsliding on civil society, the rights that women have achieved." Under previous Taliban rule, the rights of women and girls were curtailed.



Democratic Senator Jack Reed, chairman of Senate Armed Services, called it a very difficult decision for Biden.



"There is no easy answer," Reed said.


Publicly, the Biden administration has tried to dampen expectations that other countries will make major announcements at the U.S. event. Behind the scenes, though, State Department diplomats have been hustling to prod allies into doing just that.

Mr. Kerry, in a statement, declined to specifically address the likelihood of other countries joining the United States in big announcements, saying the summit will be a chance for major economies and other countries to work together at the highest possible levels to address the climate crisis.

U.S. progress toward new agreements with some industrialized countries in less than three months is a testament to the climate diplomacy that Mr. Kerry has conducted. He has traveled to six countries and held what aides described as dozens of video conferences and calls each week since January.

Yoshihide Suga, the prime minister of Japan, is expected to announce a new emissions target in the range of 50 percent below 2013 levels by 2030, ahead of a meeting with Mr. Biden in Washington on Friday, according to one U.S. official familiar with the discussions. The United States and Japan also have been discussing new restrictions on coal financing, though an announcement on that remains unclear.

A major South Korean news outlet, the Maeil Business Newspaper, reported this week that South Korean leaders were poised to announce an overseas coal financing moratorium. And Canada, which already has signed a strong bilateral agreement with the United States on climate change, has said it will announce stronger targets at the summit.
Somalias lower house of parliament on April 12 voted to extend the mandate of the president. The leaders of the lower house voted to extend the federal government by two years in an attempt to end a political crisis after national elections were delayed in early February. However, the leaders of the Senate have opposed the decision and have called it "dangerous".

The leaders from across the world had pressurised the Somalia leaders to end the "stalemate". The vote to hold a direct election in two years, that would require the federal government and president to stay in office, came amid international pressure. The United Nations had warned that Somalia, was rebuilding after three decades of conflict but the extremist attacks were still affecting the stability of the country.

The international community has also warned against a mandate extension. Somalias government for months had tried to conduct the elections but the leaders did not reach a consensus about how to carry out the process. The regional states of Puntland and Jubbaland objected to certain issues while the international community warned against holding a partial election. The crisis in the country led to violence against demonstrators who opposed an election delay.

The leaders in the lower house of parliament on April 12 unanimously voted for extending the president's mandate except for three leaders who opposed the decision while one abstained. The Senate deputy speaker, Abshir Axmad took to his Twitter handle to criticize the process. He said that the decision was a threat to democracy. He further added the lower house of parliament cannot make this decision without the approval of the Senate.

The vote followed a brief drama in which the police commissioner for Mogadishu and its surroundings, Sadaq Omar Hassan, ordered police to stop the parliament meeting in order to avoid instability. He was fired shortly afterward. The lower house of parliament cant undertake such a consequential decision without the approval of the Senate.

Even while still legitimately in place, HoP can't undertake such a consequential decision w/o the approval of the Senate. Its incumbent upon the PM, as the only legally caretaker institution to take full charge & oversee a transition of power. Read belowthe position of Senate. pic.twitter.com/xEI1pdzb1d  Sen. Abshir Axmad (@SenatorAbshir) April 12, 2021

"President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has urged the citizens to seize the historic chance to choose their destiny as the House of the People voted to return the elections mandate to the people, the presidency said in a Twitter post. Meanwhile, the U. Security Council urged Somalias government on March 9 to organize elections without delay. They emphasized the pressing threat to the countrys security from al-Shabab and armed opposition groups.



(Inputs and Image from AP)
K.K. Mahender Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, said the TRS was trying to gather more than 50,000 people, which would be a violation of the EC guidelines vis-a-vis the Covid situation.  DC file photo

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday effectively allowed the holding of a public meeting by the TRS in Anumal village in Nalgonda on April 14 for Nagarjunasagar Assembly byelection.

The court adjourned the hearing of two petitions against the meeting to April 15, after the judge said she was not convinced of the need to thwart the meeting.

Justice G. Sri Devi heard two writ petitions filed by two different petitioners seeking a direction to the TRS to restrain from holding the public meeting in Nalgonda. They argued that the meeting would be a violation of the Covid protocols and Election Commission guidelines on such meets.

One petition was filed by Ch. Saidaiah, a resident of Halia, Anumula mandal, who is contesting as an independent. K.K. Mahender Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, said the TRS was trying to gather more than 50,000 people, which would be a violation of the EC guidelines vis-a-vis the Covid situation. The state government had also issued an order on March 27, imposing restrictions on public gatherings and congregations, counsel noted.

Justice Sri Devi said she was not convinced by the contentions raised by counsel. The judge also took into consideration the contentions put forth by Advocate-General B.S. Prasad that all political parties are holding public meetings everywhere.

Another writ petition filed by Goli Saidi Reddy and Goli Srinivas Reddy, both agriculturists from Anumula, challenged the decision of the TRS in holding such a huge gathering on their 1.16-acre land. When the court was told that the approval for the meeting had been given by the returning officer, it asked the petitioners to submit their contentions before that authority first.

The court adjourned the cases to April 15, which meant the TRS can hold the meeting a day before, as planned.
Close

SpaceX enthusiasts are desperate for good news after the failure of the first Starship prototypes. Elon Musk's company is preparing for the Starship SN15's first flight, with two test dates set for the beginning of the week!

After its predecessors' failures, Starship SN15 is the next concept spacecraft to fly from the company's Boca Chica facility in South Texas. SpaceX has launched the SN8, SN9, SN10, and SN11 spacecraft so far.

None of them have made it through their test flights. On March 3 of this year, the Starship SN10 came the closest to succeeding when it seemed to have landed in one piece, only to explode eight minutes later.

SpaceX SN15: What Is This New Starship?

SN15 is a major improvement over its predecessors, according to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, 49, and expectations are strong.

The improvements were significant enough for the company to abandon the Starship SN12, SN13, and SN14 in favor of the SN15.

Mr. Musk teased "major improvements" for this concept rocket in November of last year, revealing it would have "more mature" engines and more durable wiring.

Then, shortly after the SN11's crash, he announced that the SN20 will be the next major step forward.

Musk tweeted: "Next major technology rev is at SN20. Those ships will be orbit-capable with heat shield and stage separation system. Ascent success probability is high.

"However, SN20+ vehicles will probably need many flight attempts to survive Mach 25 entry heating and land intact."

Next major technology rev is at SN20. Those ships will be orbit-capable with heat shield & stage separation system. Ascent success probability is high.



However, SN20+ vehicles will probably need many flight attempts to survive Mach 25 entry heating & land intact.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 30, 2021

SpaceX is expected to announce the next launch date at Boca Chica soon.

ALSO READ: Why Does Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship Keep on Exploding?





Will it Launch This Weekend?

The rocket is unlikely to fly this weekend for various reasons. However, the SN15's launch date is approaching.

SpaceX could be planning to launch the SN15 on April 20, Express.co.uk said.

According to documents obtained by the media outlet, SpaceX wants to try a Starlink terminal aboard the spacecraft.

Starlink, of course, is the company's space-based broadband service, which is delivered to Earth by a growing constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites (LEO).

SpaceX has sought approval to run a single terminal "on an experimental basis at altitudes not to exceed 12.5km" within 5 kilometers of Boca Chica.

Test flights of the Starship have so far reached altitudes of 12.5 and 10 kilometers.

"The authority requested herein will be sharply limited in duration: SpaceX requests to operate under this STA for a period of only 60 days, beginning on April 20, 2020, or the date on which the STA requested herein is granted, whichever is later," the request reads.

"These operations will only occur on the ground or during test flights of durations not to exceed eight minutes," the request added.

"This user terminal will be electrically identical to Earth stations already authorized under SpaceX's blanket Earth station authorizations as well as its pending application for experimental authorization to operate a limited number of user terminals aboard aircraft."

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and local authorities in Texas have yet to approve SpaceX's launches.

Since the company's facility is close to State Highway 4, Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr plans road closures ahead of the launch and testing to protect public health and safety.

The highway and Boca Chica Beach are highly congested on weekends, making weekend launches extremely impossible.

RELATED ARTICLE: SpaceX to Reuse Dragon Spacecraft Fleet After Rocket Booster from NASA Crew-1 'Leaned'

Check out more news and information on SpaceX on Science Times.
School officials and community leaders across Nederland gathered Monday morning to break ground on a new high school.

(It is a) truly great day to be a bulldog, said Superintendent Stuart Kieschnick, a lifelong resident of Nederland. Theres not another place Id want to live.

Nederland Mayor Don Albanese, city police, council members and students were among those who gathered to kick off the schools construction, which is funded by the 2019 voter-approved bond.

Ive always had so much pride in my schools and in my town, Sulivan Spell, Nederland High School student body president, said in a speech to the crowd. When this bond passed, I was so proud that they care so much about our futures and our childrens futures, because I want to raise my children here.

The $151.1 million bond issue passed in 2019 with about 65% voter approval after several years of failed bond attempts.

It was one of two passed in that election, with the first proposal funding various campus upgrades and the new high school. Funding is earmarked for upgrades to Central Middle School and C.O. Wilson Middle School; an expansion and associated upgrades to Helena Park, Highland Park, Hillcrest and Langham elementary schools; as well as safety and security enhancements across the district.

Bids for the elementary school projects will go out in the next several months, district officials told The Enterprise.

A technology roll out aimed at matching each student with their own device also was funded by that bond. That process was accelerated to meet demand due to the coronavirus.

The second bond issue approved in 2019 allocated $4.5 million to pay for upgrades to Bulldog Stadium, including additional and upgraded restrooms, a new press box and field turf.

In his address, Kieschnick alluded to local Pastor Jason Burdens recent blessing which said, in part, without vision, the people perish.

Mondays event, and the new school, Kieschnick said, is about the vision for the future of Nederlands students.

Also present was Nederland High School Principal Natalie Gomez, who lauded the community involvement in the project from the beginning.

"I'm so thankful the community recognized our need to move forward in our learning environment, she said.

Kieschnick said the new building is about more than replacing aged infrastructure. The district is building with the potential for growth in the coming years.

The campus will be 278,000 square feet  almost 6,000-square-feet larger than the originally-planned campus Kieschnick told The Enterprise.

During Mondays event, the Superintendent said the new high school is built for 1,700 students as compared to about 1,450 students at the current facility.

We have room for growth, he said.

Despite some setbacks due to the coronavirus pandemic, the project is on schedule and on budget, Kieschnick told The Enterprise, and has a planned completion date of July 2023.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
ALAMEDA, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Penumbra, Inc. (NYSE: PEN) today announced that it will host a conference call to discuss financial results for the first quarter 2021 after market close on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time. A press release with first quarter 2021 financial results will be issued after market close that day.

Webcast & Conference Call Information

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing (833) 350-1434 for domestic and international callers (conference id: 6645719), or the webcast can be accessed on the "Events" section under the "Investors" tab of the Company's website at: www.penumbrainc.com . The webcast will be available on the Company's website for at least two weeks following the completion of the call.

About Penumbra

Penumbra, Inc., headquartered in Alameda, California, is a global healthcare company focused on innovative therapies. Penumbra designs, develops, manufactures and markets novel products and has a broad portfolio that addresses challenging medical conditions in markets with significant unmet need. Penumbra sells its products to hospitals and healthcare providers primarily through its direct sales organization in the United States, most of Europe, Canada and Australia, and through distributors in select international markets. The Penumbra logo is a trademark of Penumbra, Inc. For more information, visit www.penumbrainc.com .

Investor Relations

Penumbra, Inc.

510-995-2461

[email protected]



Source: Penumbra, Inc.



SOURCE Penumbra, Inc.

Related Links

www.penumbrainc.com


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.
SPRINGFIELD  The risk of a rare but potentially fatal blood clot should be of no concern to anyone more than three weeks out from receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, Baystate Medical Centers infectious diseases chief said Tuesday.

And for those who received the vaccine more recently, there are symptoms to watch for.

Any patient within three weeks of Johnson and Johnson vaccination complaining of severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath should contact his or her health care provider, Dr. Armando Paez after state and federal officials recommended a temporary suspension in administering the one-shot vaccine.

He added, However, if after three weeks from vaccination no such symptoms have occurred there is really no concern at that point.

People within the three-week window who are not experiencing symptoms should just monitor for any such symptoms that have been reported that may be related to this rare blood clot disorder, he said.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommended all vaccine providers in the state temporarily stop administering the J&J vaccine in the wake of the federal governments recommendation to pause administration of the shot.

The vaccine is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within two weeks of vaccination. Officials said they expect the review to last a matter of days.

All six were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died, and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.

Paez said Baystate has been administering the J&J vaccine for several weeks, and that he was unaware of any reports of adverse effects among patients. Still, the hospital system suspended the vaccines use Tuesday after the DPH directive.

Paez called the temporary suspension of the J&J vaccine in the U.S. an important move by federal and state authorities.

It is most important to prevent these things from happening to people who get vaccinated but also to assure the public that the health authorities are looking at this closely in order to protect the public, he said.

Paez said Baystate will continue to offer doses of the two other coronavirus vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States that were developed with RNA technology, and not the DNA technology used in the J&J vaccine.

He called the possible blood clot link to the J&J vaccine an evolving story, but concerning. The condition has also been linked to the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine that, like J&J, uses DNA technology to help the body build immunization against the novel coronavirus behind the pandemic.

The two-dose AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the U.S. but has been approved in about 115 other countries. Some European countries are now limiting its use to certain age groups or stopping it altogether after cases, sometimes fatal, of the cerebral blood clots were reported among those immunized with it.

The AstraZeneca vaccine uses a quite similar vaccine platform to J&J with the use of a modified adenovirus to help produce the immunity, Paez said. The blood clot link to that is still being investigated, but the similarity is very concerning  though one that is still very rare, given the number of vaccines used for both vaccines.

Paez added the two vaccines are not completely the same in their use of a non-replicating adenovirus to help the bodys cells develop immunity. He said to his knowledge, the blood clot issues have not been associated with the vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

We dont know the details yet of whether the platform used by J&J and AstraZeneca is related or not to the blood clots, but we have not seen this yet from what I can gather from the RNA Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, Paez said.

Paez said reports on the blood clots possible link to the AstraZeneca vaccine appear to indicate that antibodies being produced after vaccination by the body against the platelets are activating the platelets and causing blood clots.

The antibodies are being detected against the platelets with the AstraZeneca, which causes a similar syndrome which is being reported with J&J, Paez said. But it may be a different process in the J&J and not related. More information will need to be obtained. There are only six conditions reported in the U.S.

He said certain medical conditions can put an individual at risk for such blood clots and this raises the question of whether those individuals who developed any after being immunized with the J&J vaccine had a pre-existing risk.

Do they have pre-existing conditions that predisposed them to have these blood clots, Paez said. We do not have those details yet and those details are very important before making any further conclusions.

He added, With this precedent of a similar condition in another vaccine it deserves further scrutiny.

He noted the condition in the U.S. is so far seen only in women under 50.

It is a very specific population, Paez said. The CDC and FDA may limit the use of the vaccine to a certain population  or not, depending on what they find, including in determining cause of death.

Nearly seven million people in the United States have received J&J shots so far, and roughly nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states, according to the CDC.

Baystate is advising on its website that its J&J shots for April 18 and 19 are canceled. Anyone seeking a vaccine appointment for the Pfizer and Moderna shots can check daily for appointments and register if eligible on the state site, mass.gov/covid-19-vaccine, as supplies are limited.

Related content:
Nick Clegg today admitted the EU has 'let millions of people down' with its dire coronavirus vaccine rollout.

The former deputy PM, usually a staunch supporter of the bloc, said 'something has gone very badly wrong' in the pandemic response.

He said it was 'understandable' that commission president Ursula von der Leyen is facing 'a lot of anger', with the rate of vaccination lagging far behind the UK and US.

The damning assessment came as Sir Nick - who now works for Facebook and lives in America - was interviewed on LBC radio.

The contrasting fortunes in the UK and EU have been underlined this week as non-essential shops and pubs reopened in England, while protests have been taking place on the continent over renewed lockdowns.

Britons aged under-50s are now being routinely offered jabs, with ministers insisting they can cover the whole adult population by the summer.

Nick Clegg today admitted the EU has 'let millions of people down' with its dire coronavirus vaccine rollout

Sir Nick said it was 'understandable' commission president Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) is facing 'a lot of anger', with the rate of vaccination lagging far behind the UK and US

There have been starkly contrasting fortunes in the vaccine rollouts of the UK and EU

All over-50s in the UK have now been offered a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine

Sir Nick said: 'I think the EU has let itself down, more importantly has let millions of Europeans down by not providing people with vaccines on the scale and with the speed that has been possible in the UK and elsewhere, and that's elicited, quite understandably, a lot of anger.

'Never mind what people say to opinion pollsters in the UK, across the EU people are waiting for their vaccines impatiently.'

Sir Nick said EU citizens could see that that in the US, UK and other countries such as Israel 'vaccines are being rolled out much more rapidly'.

He insisted: 'I hope they catch up... Covid anywhere is Covid everywhere...

'Clearly something has gone very badly wrong indeed in recent months in the EU.'

Sir Nick Clegg suggested the problem was partly that EU governments had not placed 'very big bets' on vaccines before they were proved effective.

But he also said there were serious issues between the European Commission in Brussels and member states.

'Clearly something got lost in translation,' Sir Nick said.
Research Triangle Park, NC, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Get Spiffy, Inc. (Spiffy), an on-demand car care, technology, and services company, today announced the launch of its first franchise location in Wilmington, Delaware. The new market will provide mobile maintenance services to customers throughout the Upper Chesapeake area.

Since 2014, Spiffy has expanded from mobile car wash and detail to a variety of preventative maintenance services for car owners and national fleet clients alike. Their zero-friction customer experience brings the service directly to each customer in a recognizable blue van, complete with the water, power, and supplies needed to complete every appointment. Each service uses less than half the water of a traditional car wash with 100% eco-conscious supplies. All water, soap, and chemicals are then reclaimed and recycled for future use.

Its thrilling to officially open the doors with a franchisee and bring our convenient mobile car care to people throughout the Upper Chesapeake area, said Spiffy CEO Scot Wingo. Rick is a skilled business leader whos passionate about our company values, especially given his veteran background. He brings a fresh excitement to our entire operation.

Spiffys first franchise is owned by Rick Crook, who brings more than 15 years of experience in aviation, both as an aircraft mechanic and, more recently, a First Officer for Air Transport International. After searching for the right local business opportunity, his past experience as an owner-operator for Signal 88 Security brought him back into franchising. What made Spiffy stand out was the use of proprietary technology, eco-conscious business standards, and a convenience-oriented service model. But, most importantly, the comfort to sign-on came from the companys history of sustained growth.

With Spiffy, I saw a company that wants to create an eco-focused service that benefits people by taking the hassle and wasted time out of car care, said Rick Crook, franchise owner. Its easy for me to be confident as a franchise owner because they aren't just a franchisor; they also own and operate 23 other locations. Theyve learned years of lessons, last year in particular, and arent leaving their franchisees in the dark about how to run the business successfully.

Customers looking to bring Spiffys mobile maintenance to their home or office can visit https://www.getspiffy.com/join-the-list-delaware to book their first service.

About Spiffy

Spiffy (www.getspiffy.com) is an on-demand technology and services company with the mission to disrupt the car care experience everywhere. Spiffy offers a variety of zero-contact hand car washing, advanced detailing, and disinfection services for vehicles and facilities, in addition to oil change, tires, and other maintenance service options. Customers can schedule in less than two minutes with the Spiffy app. Every service is conveniently performed on-site at fleets, office parks, and residences using the Spiffy Green system that is the eco-friendliest way to service a vehicle.

Spiffy is available in cities and metro areas including Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Dover, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Orlando, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle-Tacoma, St. Louis, Tampa, Tucson, Washington DC, and Wilmington, DE.

Individuals interested in franchising opportunities can visit https://www.getspiffy.com/franchise to learn more.

Attachments
Two men have been charged after a car was allegedly driven into police during a dramatic arrest that involved gunshots in a Woolworths carpark in Sydney.

The incident unfolded as police conducted a drug operation in Neutral Bay, on the Lower North Shore, at about 4.20pm on Monday.

Officers attempted to arrest a 24-year-old man in the supermarket carpark but their efforts were thwarted by another man, 25, who allegedly drove his car at police.

The car allegedly slammed into a detective as he moved in to make his arrest.

Pictured: A man is taken into police custody following a dramatic arrest at a Woolworths in Neutral Bay

He was hit before he discharged his gun and a number of bullets hit the car, forcing terrified shoppers to flee to safety.

After the gunshots were fired, the car crashed into a bollard and stopped.

Both men were taken to Chatswood Police Station.

The driver of the car was charged with use offensive weapon to prevent lawful detention, and drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous.

The 24-year-old was charged with possess commercial quantity of unlawful import: border controlled drug, and deal with identity information to commit indictable offence.

They were both refused bail and are expected to appear in Manly Local Court on Tuesday.

Pictured: A man is arrested by police at Woolworths in Neutral Bay on Monday afternoon

Pictured: The moment an undercover cop jumped out of a vehicle and yelled 'police, police'

The detective suffered minor injuries to his legs, elbows and wrists from the ordeal but he did not need medical treatment.

Madison Sullivan, who was only 10 metres away from the gunshots, told Daily Mail Australia her 'heart was racing'.

Footage captured by the 27-year-old showed the moment an undercover cop jumped out of a vehicle and screamed 'police, police!' while flashing his badge.

'It was quite scary. I heard a big loud bang which sounded like a car exploded and I turned around and saw a man shoot another two times at the moving car,' she said.

'It was only myself and a couple of others. I think everyone was in shock, they just stayed still and watched what was occurring.'
Hundreds of night clubs owners and event organisers protested in Belgrade in front of the Serbian government building on Monday.

Night clubs have been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic started in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Protesters blame the government for a lack of financial assistance to the events industry.

Last week, the government eased some lockdown restrictions, allowing bars and restaurants to serve customers outdoors at a reduced capacity.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa (AP)  The funeral will be held Friday morning for Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Jim Smith, who was killed while trying to arrest a man barricaded in his Grundy Center home.

The patrol and Smiths family announced a visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Reiff Family Center-Funeral Home and Crematory in Independence. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Independence Community High School. The public is welcome to attend and masks are required.

Smith, a 27-year-veteran of the patrol, was shot and killed April 9 during a standoff with 41-year-old Michael Thomas Lang. Authorities have charged Lang with first-degree murder. He remains hospitalized.
(Natural News) Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), expects all classes to be fully in person by fall. She says that parents and teachers should anticipate this regardless of whether children are vaccinated or not.

We should anticipate, come September 2021, that schools should be full-fledged in person and all of our children back in the classroom, the health chief told ABC News during an Instagram Live interview on April 7.

The CDC revised its guidance on school reopenings in preparation for this shift. Last updated on March 19, the revised guidance emphasized the importance of ventilation and modified the social distancing protocol from six to three feet. It also removed the recommendation for physical barriers.

This comes as more schools across the United States reopen, reducing the number of students learning in remote or hybrid settings. School reopening trackers predict that this decrease will be followed by an even sharper decline  a potential sign of a gradual return to traditional, in-person learning.

Schools return to in-person learning

Burbio, an organization that monitors 1,200 school districts including the 200 largest districts in the country, found that the percentage of K-12 students who attended a virtual school late last month went down by 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of those learning through a hybrid set-up plummeted by 30.7 percent. Students enrolled in a traditional, in-person school five days a week increased by 51.2 percent.

The shift was driven mainly by elementary and middle school students, who showed a larger decrease than the older student populations in both virtual and hybrid learning and larger increases in in-person learning.

With schools now able to tap into the tens of billions of dollars in federal relief to pay for reopening costs, Burbio forecast a continued decrease in the number of students learning remotely or through a hybrid model  perhaps an even sharper decline.

Even late last month, there was already a marked movement in some states. Massachusetts, for instance, anticipated that 90 percent of its students in kindergarten through fifth grade would receive traditional in-person instruction by April  a shift that Burbio was already recording. A similar shift was also expected in New Mexico and Oregon, where officials announced plans to prioritize returning elementary and middle school children to in-person learning.

But some roadblocks remain in communities of color, which had been hamstrung by dated school facilities with poor ventilation and the lack of indoor and outdoor space to facilitate social distancing. Higher rates of COVID-19 transmission and the disproportionate impact that the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic had on the families they serve were also key factors for the slow progress in these communities.

But overall, signs point to a gradual return to classroom-based schooling. Philadelphia schools started to conduct in-person classes early last month for students in pre-kindergarten through second grade. High school students in New York City also returned to classrooms last month while high schoolers in Chicago could return as early as April 19.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles is expected to bring back in-person classes in the middle of this month. (Related: Biden administration causes confusion over reopening schools, flip-flops on whether to vaccinate teachers.)

Students struggled with remote learning

The governments bungled response to the pandemic took a huge toll on the academic performance of students struggling to adjust to remote learning. In Houston, one of the biggest school districts in the country, 42 percent of students received one or more Fs in the first grading period last year, which was completely virtual. Meanwhile, only 26 percent fell in that category in the year before.

On top of this, cases of mental health problems among students rose amid the shift to virtual classes. Data from the CDC showed that mental health-related emergency room visits between March and October last year jumped by nearly 28 percent for children ages five to 17, compared to the same period in 2019.

EducationSystem.news has more on education in the time of the pandemic.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

CDC.gov

USNews.com

CBSNews.com
WASHINGTON  President Biden will withdraw American combat troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, declaring an end to the nations longest war and overruling warnings from his military advisers that the departure could prompt a resurgence of the same terrorist threats that sent hundreds of thousands of troops into combat over the past 20 years.

In rejecting the Pentagons push to remain until Afghan security forces can assert themselves against the Taliban, Mr. Biden forcibly stamped his views on a policy he has long debated but never controlled. Now, after years of arguing against an extended American military presence in Afghanistan, the president is doing things his way, with the deadline set for the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

A senior Biden administration official said the president had come to believe that a conditions-based approach would mean that American troops would never leave the country. The announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Mr. Bidens decision would pull all American troops out of Afghanistan 20 years after President George W. Bush ordered an invasion after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, with the goal to punish Osama bin Laden and his Qaeda followers, who were sheltered in Afghanistan by their Taliban hosts.
Drukqs received a mixed critical response, but it did have devotees. Not long after its release, the members of Alarm Will Sound, an adventurous group of classical musicians based in New York, decided to arrange Aphex Twin songs for their chamber orchestras 2005 album Acoustica. It felt like a statement to say this is really serious music, said Alan Pierson, the groups artistic director. Aphex Twin is a genius for color and timbre, and so much of Acoustica is about that, but with Avril 14th its really just the notes, Pierson added. The notes are really gorgeous.

Around the same time, the composer and music supervisor Brian Reitzell began work on Sofia Coppolas 2006 film Marie Antoinette. Before shooting began, he compiled two CDs of contemporary music that captured the tone the director wanted, even though it was a period piece. Reitzell felt Avril 14th almost served as a bridge between the two eras.

While James passed on Reitzells invitation to contribute new compositions for the films score (Some artists are just not comfortable making their art fit into someone elses art, Reitzell said), Avril 14th does appear in a sequence where Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst, languorously walks through a field and up a palace staircase. Reitzell said that after an early screening for friends, the director Wes Anderson complimented him for including the song, and said he had considered using it for one of his own films, but now was bummed because he felt like it was off limits. It later appeared in the trailer for Her, the maudlin A.I. romance from Coppolas ex-husband, Spike Jonze.

The songs life in pop culture spiked again just a year later thanks to a longtime fan, Jorma Taccone of the comedy trio the Lonely Island, a group that became famous from its musical digital shorts on Saturday Night Live. Im the perfect demo for liking that song in terms of I like a lot of electronic music and Im also a totally emotional, romantic dude, Taccone said in an interview.
on Tuesday reported the highest-ever single-day spike of 18,021 cases while 85 fatalities took the death toll in the state to 9,309, a senior official said here.

The total number of cases in the state stands at 7,23,582 and the active caseload is 95,980.

"In the past 24 hours, 18,021 fresh cases were reported while 3,474 people were discharged in this period. There are 95,980 active cases while 6,18,293 were treated and discharged. The state reported a total of 9,309 deaths till now since the start of the pandemic," Additional Chief Secretary of Health Amit Mohan Prasad told reporters here.

The state recorded 85 deaths in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day toll this month, according to official figures.

On April 11, the state recorded a daily spike of 15,353 cases.

Over 80 lakh persons have been administered COVID-19 vaccine in the state.

On Monday, 2.18 lakh samples were tested and the total number of samples tested so far rose to over 3.71 crore.

Prasad said that 12 new RT-PCR laboratories are being opened in the state to augment testing capacity.

(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.)
Michigan temporarily pausing use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on FDA and CDC guidance

FDA and CDC are reviewing six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot

Michigan temporarily pausing use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on FDA and CDC guidance

FDA and CDC are reviewing six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 13, 2021

Contact: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112

LANSING, Mich. - Based on recommendations from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is asking that all Michigan providers temporarily pause the administration of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine in Michigan.

This temporary recommendation is based on the identification of six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). These adverse reactions appear to be extremely rare, as more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States as of April 12, with nearly 200,000 of those doses administered in Michigan.

Vaccine providers across the state have been instructed not to administer this vaccine at this time, while the CDC and FDA review further data and assure that clinicians are identifying and reporting any potential adverse reaction. Clinics that are scheduled to administer Johnson & Johnson vaccine will either reschedule or use a different vaccine.

"More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S., and these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. However, out of an abundance of caution, we are following recommendations from FDA and CDC and pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Michigan," said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. "As we learn more about this from our federal partners, we will update vaccine providers and Michiganders across the state. We encourage everyone to continue making appointments to be vaccinated with the safe and effective Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at this time. These vaccines are the way we are going to end this pandemic as quickly as possible and move toward a sense of normalcy."

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.

Until that process is complete, CDC and FDA are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events, and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.

Safety is the first priority in vaccine authorization or approval. The FDA has authorized the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines after determining the vaccines meet FDA requirements. All of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines were found to be safe and effective in reducing the risk of severe illness, hospitalizations and death as caused by the virus. A robust process is in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine authorized or approved for use. More information about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine is available at the CDC Vaccine Benefits website and the CDC Vaccine Safety website.

To find a vaccination location and schedule an appointment, visit the Michigan.gov/Coronavirus website or the CDC COVID Vaccine Finder.

Michigan residents seeking more information about the COVID-19 vaccine can visit Michigan.gov/COVIDvaccine. Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

# # #
Yves here. My tax maven friend has mentioned off and on that OECD countries have been working on how to stop or at least reduce multinational tax avoidance via artful transfer pricing and other scheme, via their Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative, or BEPS. The wee problem is it was launched in 2013 and its now 2021. Will the US showing more support make a difference?

By Anis Chowdhury, Adjunct Professor at Western Sydney University and University of New South Wales (Australia), who held senior United Nations positions in New York and Bangkok and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor, who was United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, and received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. Originally published at Inter Press Service

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged all governments to support a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 21%. The US is working with other G20 nations to get other countries to end the thirty-year race to the bottom on corporate tax rates.



Corporate Tax Vital

For Yellen, governments [should] have stable tax systems that raise sufficient revenue to invest in essential public goods and respond to crises, and that all citizens fairly share the burden of financing government.

The Biden administration has unveiled a plan to reverse Trumps tax cuts and raise US corporate tax rates from 21% to 28%. Crucially, it wants to increase tax rates on US firms overseas profits  global intangible low-tax income (GILTI)  from 10.5% to at least 21%. This should be calculated on a country-by-country basis including all tax havens, i.e., low- or no-tax locations, to minimise evasion.

The US Treasury is also keen to reach international agreement over a digital tax for online giants such as Amazon and Facebook. This sharply contrasts with Trumps threat of retaliation against countries attempting to tax US-based tech giants.

The Economist estimates that in the past decade, the big five  Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Google  paid only 16% of their profits in tax.

Race to the Bottom

The Bretton Woods institutions (BWIs)  the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank  promoted Reaganite supply side economics from the 1980s, claiming excessive tax rates discourage labour supply and entrepreneurship.

However, contrary to proponents claims, most tax cuts have resulted in net revenue losses, with Trumps cuts resulting in a shortfall of US$275 billion, or 7.6% of previously expected revenue.

As countries raced to the bottom, offering increasingly generous tax incentives to attract investments by transnational corporations (TNCs), the average worldwide statutory corporate tax rate fell from 40% in 1980 to 24% in 2020.

Countries also lose revenue as TNCs use legal loopholes to minimise tax payments, e.g., by abusing differences between national tax rules and bilateral double taxation agreements. They strive for double non-taxation to avoid paying tax in all jurisdictions.

Thus, US$500600bn, or around 1015% of annual global corporate tax revenue, is lost yearly to TNCs shifting profits to tax havens, using base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) book-keeping.

Harming Developing Countries

Corporate income taxation is much more important for developing countries, e.g., comprising 18.6% of tax revenue in Africa, 15.5% in Latin America and Caribbean, and 9.3% in OECD countries in 2017. Clearly, tax competition and TNC tax avoidance hurt developing countries more. As share of GDP, SubSaharan Africa has lost most, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia.

Tax reforms

Developing country governments undertook reforms reducing often progressive direct income tax systems in favour of supposedly neutral, but actually regressive indirect taxation on consumption.

Senior IMF Fiscal Affairs Department staff recommended taxing labour instead of capital, considered too mobile to tax. An IMF paper even endorsed complete abolition of corporate income tax!

Encouraged by the World Banks now discredited Doing Business Report, developing countries competed to cut corporate tax rates, falling by a fifth from 1980. Consequently, low and middle-income countries have lost US$167200bn annually, around 11.5% of GDP.

The Economist observed weak links between tax rates and investment as well as growth rates. OECD research showed that tax incentives hardly attracted foreign direct investment, while IMF research found beggar-thy-neighbour tax competition cost unnecessary revenue losses to many developing countries.

A G20 report found the fiscal cost of tax incentives in low-income countries can be high, reducing opportunities for much-needed public spending , or requiring higher taxes on other activities.

Tax avoidance

Estimated annual revenue losses to rich OECD countries due to tax havens range from 0.15% to 0.7% of GDP. Low-income countries (LICs) and even lower middle-income countries lose relatively more corporate tax revenue than high-income countries (HICs).

LICs account for some US$200bn of such lost revenue, typically a higher GDP share than for HICs. This is much more than the US$150bn or so that LICs receive annually in official development assistance.

Digitisation

Digitisation and changing business models are making it more difficult to determine the actual location of economic activities. Thus, digitisation enables BEPS, reducing revenue due to under-reported taxable income.

Consequently, in 2017, developing countries lost US$10bn in revenue from e-commerce compared to HICs US$289 million loss. Least developed countries lost US$1.5bn while sub-Saharan African countries lost US$2.6bn.

UNCTADs Trade and Development Report 2019 noted, Foregone fiscal revenues from digitisation are particularly high for developing countries because they are less likely to host digital businesses but tend to be net importers of digital goods and services.

Developing Countries Voice

Supported by the G20, the OECD has been working on BEPS since 2013. The OECD BEPS initiative seeks to check tax base erosion by setting a global minimum corporate income tax rate and taxing TNCs selling cross-border digital services. OECD and G20 countries now aim to reach consensus on both by mid-2021.

However, despite being hurt more, developing countries have long been shut out from discussions of international tax norms, policy and regulatory design. The OECD BEPS Inclusive Framework (IF) now includes developing countries which agree to enforce it despite being excluded from its design.

Thus, while IF developing country associates supposedly participate on an equal footing, they have no decision-making role, reminiscent of their earlier colonial status! Apparently, equal footing only refers to BEPS 4 Minimum Standards enforcement.

Unsurprisingly, although raised during IF consultations, developing country concerns  such as allocating tax rights between source and residence states, taxing the informal economy and taking account of their different needs and circumstances  remain largely unaddressed and unresolved.

With such failures implying legitimacy deficits, BEPS measures are unlikely to benefit developing countries very much. It is increasingly clear that the BEPS project and IF were never intended to help developing countries.

UN Must Act Now

So far, the European Commission (EC) and other powerful countries have responded positively to Yellen. Her proposal has also been endorsed by the IMF and the UN High-Level Panel for International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (FACTI).

Corporate tax rules currently favour rich countries where most TNCs are based, regardless of domicile for tax purposes. Countries must work together to accelerate more inclusive, equitable and progressive multilateral tax coordination.

The OECDs tenuous monopoly on international tax cooperation discussions has so far failed the world. Creating fairer international tax arrangements requires inclusive multilateral consultations well beyond current processes. These should be led by the UN, the only forum where all countries are represented fairly.

A UN Tax Convention, with universal participation and IMF technical support, can help countries come together to find lasting comprehensive solutions. This must happen soon to pre-empt the OECD from further abusing its exclusive approach, inadvertently jeopardising lasting progress.
Then-State University of New York Chancellor Kristina Johnson speaks during a news conference with Democrats from the House and Senate, 'Dreamers', and fellow university presidents and chancellors to call for passage of the Dream Act at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 25, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Ohio State is Violating Federal Laws By Hiring Underrepresented Groups: Professor

Ohio State Universitys (OSU) plans to employ 100 people from underrepresented groups as part of a social and racial justice initiative violates both its own policy of non-discrimination and federal civil rights laws, an economics professor says.

The RAISE initiative, which stands for race, inclusion, and social equity, was announced by OSU President Kristina Johnson in her first State of the University address in February. In the speech, Johnson said the public universitys current mission is to hire a minimum of 350 new tenure-track faculty150 of whom will come from the new social justice-focused initiative.

The initiative will include the goal of 100 underrepresented and BIPOC (black, Indigenous, and people of color) hires in all fields of scholarship, Johnson said of the universitys hiring plans.

The remaining hires will be scientists, artists, and scholars whose work addresses social equity and racial disparities in fields such as health care, education, justice and public safety, resources and the environment, the arts and creative expression, economic opportunity, and leadership, she said.

While OSU dubs the initiative as helping to ensure equity in terms of pay, promotions, and career advancement for women and underrepresented minorities, Mark Perry, finance and business economics professor at the University of Michigan, told The Epoch Times that it violates two federal civil rights laws.

If OSU hires 100 underrepresented and black, Indigenous, and people of color by discriminating in favor of those groups, and by discriminating against faculty candidates who dont meet those criteria, it would be violating both its own policy of non-discrimination and federal civil rights laws, specifically Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Perry said.

Title IX prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, while Title VI prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

Its my opinion that OSU would be in violation of federal civil rights laws if they make hiring decisions for the RAISE initiative by giving preferences to faculty candidates on the basis of sex, color, race, ethnicity, etc., Perry, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told The Epoch Times.

Perry said that OSU is already under federal investigation by the Office for Civil Rights for its discriminatory practices, over nine single-sex, female-only programs that followed after he filed a complaint in July 2019, and subsequently in October last year.

He said he also believes, based on calculations he made from publicly available salary data, that if 150 faculty members were hired under RAISE, it could cost about $23.6 million a year.

OSUs Office of Diversity and Inclusion didnt respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

James Moore, chief diversity officer and vice provost for diversity and inclusion, has praised the move as an opportunity for the university to produce a groundswell in terms of diversifying the faculty.

Diverse faculty attracts diverse students, Moore said. People gravitate to people who share similar experiences. And sometimes, those experiences are deeply connected to race, gender, geography, religiona whole number of things.

OSU has a long history of violating federal civil rights laws by operating at least 20 programs that discriminate on the basis of sex, color, and race in violation of Titles VI and IX, said Perry.

Either OSU is unaware of federal civil rights laws or it thinks its above the law; either way, its a sad indictment of OSUs practices of brazenly violating the civil rights of thousands of its students, staff, and faculty, the professor added. So the fact that OSUs RAISE initiative will continue its longstanding tradition of violating Title VI and Title IX shouldnt be too surprising.
ROME, APR 13 - President Sergio Mattarella issued a statement on Tuesday to celebrate the 160th anniversary of formal relations between Italy and the United States. "In the year that the Italian Republic celebrates the 160th anniversary of the country's unification, we also mark 160 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States of America, which commenced on April 13, 1861," Matttarella said. "Since then, we have traveled a long road together. our deep friendship has grown progressively over the past seventy-five years, taking root in our shared commitment to the values of freedom, peace and democracy. the constant and productive social and cultural exchanges between our peoples nourish it, as does the contribution made by the large and active community of Italian origin in the United States of America, and by U.S. citizens living in our country. "A bond that sees us committed, in a firmly transatlantic perspective, to supporting and promoting civil liberties and democratic principles, within a framework of international security and stability aimed at promoting economic development and social progress. "Unprecedented global challenges spur us, once again, to join our wills and energies at the national and international levels, as well as in multilateral fora that have proven effectiveness of action over the decades. "It is my sincere hope that Washington and Rome, together also in their response to present challenges, will continue to strengthen their closeness, and further develop their collaboration in support of shared values. "In this spirit, I am pleased to extend my warmest wishes for the future of relations between our two peoples, and my deepest appreciation to all those who, through their efforts, contribute to promoting the ties between Italy and the United States of America". (ANSA).
Two prison officers have been rushed to hospital after an alleged brutal attack by inmates in an incident a union has said 'could have been avoided.'

One officer was struck in the head when a prisoner kicked open his cell door at the high-security Brisbane Correctional Centre on Monday.

Two other corrections officers were hurt while restraining the two prisoners who were in the lock-up.

Two prison officers have been rushed to hospital after an alleged brutal attack at Brisbane Correctional Centre (pictured)

One officer was struck in the head when a prisoner kicked open his cell door (Stock)

The officer who was struck in the head and one of the others were kept overnight in hospital after the alleged attack.

The inmates were moved to the Detention Unit - a confinement room - and the matter will be referred to the Corrective Services Investigation Unit.

The union for police officers in Queensland said the alleged assault was avoidable.

'This assault could have been avoided if the department had installed the meal hatches we've been asking for over the past two years,' they said.

Two other corrections officers were hurt while restraining the two prisoners who were in the lock-up. Pictured: An inmate at Borallon Correctional Centre in Brisbane

Queensland Corrective Services said they were investigating the incident.

'Officer safety is an absolute priority for Queensland Corrective Services, and we are committed to making our prisons as safe as possible for our officers,' they said.

'There will be comprehensive review of the circumstances of the incident and management will continue to provide support to the injured staff.'
Digital Transformation Delivering Unambiguous Value in Financial Services, Finds New Survey from Fujitsu

News facts: In an industry with more exposure to digital transformation than most, financial services organizations say they have benefited from unambiguous gains across a range of vital KPIs

The most significant transformation challenge going forward is the complexity of implementation, faced with new demands created by hyper-competition, cyber security and workplace transformation

In the face of heightened complexity, successful transformation will increasingly depend on partners ability to deal with technical and cultural intricacy and to work harmoniously within expanded ecosystems, says Fujitsu

Munich, April 13, 2021

Digital transformation (DX) is not just a buzzword in the finance industry  it is delivering significant revenue increases, improvements in cyber security and customer relationships, and delivery of purpose-driven sustainable business initiatives. These are among the main findings in new research published today by Fujitsu.

Based on a global survey of executives in the banking and insurance industry1, Fujitsu found unambiguous evidence of the value provided by DX in the sector. 85% said DX initiatives had positively increased revenues, and 84% took the same view on improving risk and security. A large majority also reported DX contributing to strengthened customer relationships (83%), building trust (83%), enablement of new ecosystems (82%), and driving a purpose-driven sustainable business approach (82%).

High levels of support for DX shown by the survey are even more impressive in the light that financial services organizations have more experience of change programs than most other sectors. Banks and insurance companies have transformed themselves over the past decade, ushering in new digital solutions, omnichannel excellence, and radically upgraded customer and employee experiences  all supported by business transformation and enabling technologies. The survey shows that most have mature IT strategies and implementations in key areas. Over 80% of respondents reported mature implementations in place in cyber security (86%), digital transformation initiatives overall (84%), private cloud (83%), and workplace innovation (83%).

Complexity is the biggest challenge

Despite this apparent maturity, the industry now faces new challenges brought about not just by the pandemic but by hyper-competition driven by new technologies, new niche digital-native entrants, and technologically advanced traditional competitors. At the same time, growing security threats and ever-changing regulatory compliance requirements add to the complexity and challenge. Indeed, the complexity of implementation is the biggest challenge to DX overall, says the survey, with more than three quarters (76%) rating it as moderately to extremely challenging.

Wilhelm Petersmann, Head of Financial Services Central Europe and Managing Director of Switzerland and Austria, at Fujitsu, comments: These findings come at a crucial time for banking and insurance companies. They are reviewing their needs and priorities for the next wave of transformation  primarily driven by hyper-competition and the workplace transformation needed to respond to that competition. The executives in the survey understand that complexity of implementation is their principal challenge, making partner choice critical going forward. Now, more than ever, proven ability to deal with technical complexity and the cultural attributes to drive change in expanded ecosystems are the essential characteristics for success.

Notes to editors

1Independent research and advisory firm DataDriven, surveyed almost 550 ICT executives - 158 from the financial Services, Banking and Insurance (FSBI) industry - across the globe on their attitudes, plans, intentions, challenges and risks around digital transformation and IT in general.

Online resources

Download the report: https://marketing.global.fujitsu.com/reimagine-financial-services-inb

Read about Fujitsu Financial Services: https://www.fujitsu.com/global/solutions/industry/financial-services/

Read the backgrounder: https://www.fujitsu.com/emeia/imagesgig5/20201215_Backgrounder_Financial_Services_final.pdf

Read the Fujitsu blog: https://blog.global.fujitsu.com/

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For regular news updates, bookmark the Fujitsu newsroom: https://www.fujitsu.com/emeia/about/resources/news/newsroom.html

About Fujitsu Fujitsu 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 Fujitsu 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

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All other company or product names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information provided in this press release is accurate at time of publication and is subject to change without advance notice.





Date: April 13, 2021

City: Munich
(Newser)  Authorities in California have taken two men into custody in the 1996 disappearance of a college studentone of whom has been the prime suspect in the case the whole time. Paul Flores, then a fellow student, was the last person to see Kristin Smart alive, police said, after she walked home from a fraternity party at Cal Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo. She never made it to her dorm room. Flores and his father, Ruben, 80, were arrested Tuesday, KSBY reports. Ruben Flores is accused of being an accessory after the fact. Sheriff's deputies searched his property Tuesday, as they have repeatedly, including last month. The body of Smart, who was a freshman when she vanished, was never found, and she was declared dead in 2002. Lawyers for Paul and Ruben Flores had no comment on the arrests.

story continues below

When the victim's family was told of the arrests by law enforcement officials, there were "a lot of prayers, astonishment, excitement, happiness, and of course sadness," a spokesman said, per CNN. "Sadness, because this has gone on for 25 years. The Smart family had not been able to bury their daughter. There was no closure." The efforts to find Smart's remains included digging up part of the campus in 2016. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office documented its efforts in the case from 2011 to last year: 18 searches conducted at nine places; 37 pieces of evidence submitted for DNA testing; 140 new items of evidence recovered; and 91 interviews conducted. (Read more Kristin Smart stories.)
Why Read the Classics? Abdelfattah Kilito, Baffler (Anthony L)

Japan to Dump Treated Radioactive Fukushima Water Into Ocean Bloomberg (David L). Not news per se, more a status update.

Despite Pandemic Shutdowns, CO2 Now at Levels Unseen in 3.6 Million Years Defend Democracy

Airborne plastic pollution spiralling around the globe, study finds Guardian (Kevin W)

Injectable gel found to help reinforce and resurface joint cartilage New Atlas (Kevin W). A way away from prime time. Only mice studies.

Brain Wifi Aeon

Heres Why Stress Could Make Your Hair Fall Out, According to New Mouse Study Science Alert (Chuck L)

On a limb: Despite resistance, a group of researchers is investigating the possibility of a new mental health disorder STAT. Gah. An excuse for more medding of kids.

Can drinking cocoa protect your heart when youre stressed? ScienceDaily (PlutoniumKun)

Last Men and Women Commonweal (Anthony L). Are some virtues casualties of progress?

#COVID-19

How Bill Gates Impeded Global Access to Covid Vaccines New Republic

Pentagon scientists reveal a microchip that senses COVID-19 in your body BEFORE you show symptoms and a filter that extracts the virus from blood Daily Mail (Li). Even more reason to push for sniffer dogs!

St Vincent volcano: Evacuation cruise ships only open to Covid vaccinated https://t.co/uFI6xPQ5eN  The Independent (@Independent) April 13, 2021

Science/Medicine

UK/Europe

Third Covid wave pushes Polands health system to limits Financial Times

Finance/Economy

China?

India

Did Delhi just yield the Indian Ocean to the US? Asia Times (Kevin W)

Brexit

Dans ce sondage @IfopOpinion dans le JDD de demain, seul un candidat de droite pourrait battre Lepen en 2022 Bon weekend! pic.twitter.com/AHPw1w8guZ  Shahin Vallee (@Shahinvallee) April 10, 2021

Much good discussion via e-mail of this tweet by Clive, Colonel Smithers, vlade, and David. Key easily hoistable points. David:

All previous tactics for 2022 have been based on the assumption that (1) Le Pen will get into the second round and (2) she will then lose to whoever is the other candidate..But over the last year or so, weve begun to see indications that Le Pen might not, in fact, be unelectable after all. This is partly because recent events have moved the debate in her direction, over such questions as national sovereignty, Europe, industrial policy, political Islam, immigration etc. It should be stressed that these are not right-wing issues historically: they were issues addressed across the political spectrum until fairly recently, but which have since been abandoned by all the mainstream parties. Now (industrial sovereignty is a good example) everyone is talking of them again. But its partly also because of the mess that the rest of the French political system is in. As usual, its the Left (broadly defined) which is in the worst state. Unable to amass more than 25% of the vote, its still split into bitterly feuding factions, and the chances of it fielding a single candidate in 2022 are remote.

And vlade:

TBH, the reason why I think left/right labels are now wrong is actually simple. The left, as its now, cares more about believing its right than power.

The right, as it is now, care more about getting and retaining power than any right or wrong. Wed call it now power-crazies faction and a smug faction. The actual class policies are now irrelevant, and the power-crazies will happily do things for workers that communists would not blush about (as long as it gets and keeps them power), while the smuggies happily sending more people to powerty.

Brazil building new giant Christ statue, taller than Rios France 24. Resilc: When vaccines dont work, you gotta go big Jesus.

New Cold War

Facing the Facts of War with Russia American Conservative (Chuck L)

Syraqistan

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Appeals Court Hearing: Pelosi/Schiff Argue Congress Can Secretly Subpoena Phone Records of Citizens Judicial Watch. Judicial Watch is on the sane end of the right.

Imperial Collapse Watch

OMG, the arrogance and cluelessness of this perspective. So US thinks it can solve a real world physical problem that the chip makers themselves are highly motivated to straighten out faster because political pressure will help? And that the US give orders to chip makers who are overwhelmingly not in the US, nor in military protectorates that we can push around? And thats before getting to the fact that even those countries know that screwing European corporate customers to favor US ones is not a good. The Japanese are masters of faux cooperation, of agreeing and then doing the least important 40% of what was requested slowly. I am confident that South Korea and Taiwan have their own gambits. President Biden faces an inconvenient reality as he tackles the political and economic headaches caused by a global semiconductor shortage. https://t.co/pbKkbgzIY1  POLITICO (@politico) April 13, 2021

Biden

Katie Porter (D-CA) Wields Her Iconic Whiteboard Like a Viking Sword and Merits Being Honored With the BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award BuzzFlash

Top American CEOs vow to block Texas attack on voting rights in unprecedented Zoom summit Independent (Kevin W)

Democrats en deshabille

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Kill it With Fire

Nah they really got these robot police dogs in NYC. This is wild pic.twitter.com/iG7CTPFevH  THEE DON (@1800SPOILED) April 12, 2021 The city apparently got this costly toy in February, meaning when the city was Covid-budget stressed. What sexual favors were exchanged for that to happen?

Our Famously Free Press

Facebooks Algorithm Practices Gender Discrimination Intercept (furzy) Orders in Pending Cases Supreme Court. Li: Social media might be natural monopolies. Scroll down to p 9 for Thomas view

How Bill Hwang of Archegos Capital Lost $20 Billion in Two Days Bloomberg (Chuck L)

[Untitled Poem], Box 40, Folder 5, Item 7 St. Louis Fed (Scott). Marriner Eccles tries his hand at verse.

Guillotine Watch

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Tam: Ive just discovered that in Lombardy, Italy they have an annual ritual of donkey nannies that carry lambs down from the mountains! http://blog.presentandcorrect.com/donkey-nannies

And a bonus (furzy):

And another bonus (guurst):

Trail camera pictures confirm that 2 kittens of a snow leopard brought to Siberia from Tajikistan survived their first winter in the Western Sayan mountains. Their parents had to be transported from miles away due to rapid decline of the rare predators in Syano-Shushensky reserve pic.twitter.com/hqGFCzHzNQ  The Siberian Times (@siberian_times) April 9, 2021

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Striped bass season blasts off on Thursday, April 15, a harbinger of spring and boon to bait and tackle shops like Scags of New Brighton.

Where are some reliable cast-off points for shore fisher folk?

Right now I would say your best bet is from Fort Wadsworth down through Great Kills and Tottenville, said Pat Scaglione. The shopkeeper added, The striped bass come in earlier, they chase the bunker. The bunker are in the Raritan Bay.

Pat Scaglione of E-Z Catch Bait & Tackle in New Brighton (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

Scaglione explained the stripers spring patterns, nodding to the Kill van Kull. He said, Down this river around the St. George area youll start getting fish down here with bloodworms, sandworms and clams if youre fishing Richmond Terrace here to Bono Beach. When the bass move into the Raritan they chase other bunker. Once the water temperature warms they wont hit the worms anymore.

The striped bass season rolls through Dec. 15. In New York City, one fish is the limit with a size range of 28 to 35 inches. Currently blackfish are running. The start of their brief season is from April 1 to April 30 with a two-fish cap at a length of 16 inches. The time to harvest summer flounder (fluke) is May.

The shoreline along Richmond Terrace is a prime location for pulling in blackfish and stripers. (Staten Island Advance/Pamela Silvestri)

A bass should be scaled and rinsed before dressing. The first cut should be down the spine toward the tail. A vertical cut then should be made behind the gill plate and another by the tail. The fillet can then be feathered back and lifted up from the skeleton with a sharp boning knife. The fillet can be parsed into 5- to 8-ounce portions and cooked fresh or stored frozen for up to three months.

Striped bass is a regular offering after mid-April at Brunos NYC in Dongan Hills and West Brighton. It is offered occasionally with seared octopus or shellfish. It is typically served with its edible skin.

We either do it in a light tomato broth as Al Acqua Pazza or simply pan seared over a bed of escarole and turnip puree with oven-roasted potatoes, said owner Biagio Settepani.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
Stefano Domenicali insists that 'sprint qualifying' will never take place on each and every grand prix weekend in the future.

The new format will almost certainly be trialled over three races in 2021, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warning that it is a risk for Formula 1.

"We are in a world driven by data," he told Corriere dello Sport. "We simulate every aspect of this world and yet now we are talking about competing immediately with a format never tried before and that has certainly not been simulated properly.

"We will not block anything, because the experiment is worth it," added Wolff. "But we must be very careful with the format we have in mind given the responsibility we have for Formula 1."

Wolff said one of the biggest risks is that an extra race on Saturday will detract from the interest of Sunday's traditional main event.

However, F1 CEO Domenicali says the promoters involved in the 2021 trial report that they are taking "many more ticket enquiries".

Even so, the Italian said Formula 1 will not go overboard with the new format.

"We don't want to do this at every grand prix in the future. This should be a Grand Slam for selected events," said Domenicali.

"We have to discuss the number in the next step, but it won't be too many. Let's just see if it works first."

(GMM)
In case you haven't noticed, April 2020 has got nothing on April 2021. We thought we would be reminiscing about last year in 2021 and talk about a time when we couldn't step out of our homes to curb the rise in COVID-19 cases.

Now, we CAN step out of our homes and the cases are through the roof. So, what does that mean? It means, STAY AT HOME FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!

Oh, also, several people seem to have forgotten that there is a pandemic going on and completely refuse to wear masks. Most of them are wearing face masks like teenage boys wear their pants - way below the spot it is supposed to be at.

Also read: Maharashtra Factory Busted For Putting Used Masks Instead Of Cotton In Mattresses

AFP/representational image





For very obvious and much-needed reasons, people are taking to Twitter to appeal to everyone to continue wearing their face masks (properly) so that the ever-rising cases come down and we can all go back to living a normal life one day.

But if people refuse to follow safety protocol, the numbers will continue to rise and one day, we will have no option but to remain under lockdown forever. Do you want that? I am assuming not. So, please, pay attention to what people are requesting you to do and wear a God damn mask.

Here are some of the tweets.

Also read: MP Minister Performs Puja At Indore Airport Without Mask 'To Get Rid Of COVID'

Action: No masks needed,there is no Covid in Assam as per state Health Min

Reaction: Assam records a 4 fold increase in weekly Covid cases as per data

Hence, please do not spread misinformation but rather encourage Covid appropriate behaviour.

Please be safe, MASK UP.  Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) April 13, 2021

We can flatten the #SecondWave by co-operating with the authorities & following the COVID guidelines set out by the govt. #MaskUpOdisha #MaskUpIndia pic.twitter.com/VgyDNMhj6b  Anubhav Mohanty (@AnubhavMohanty_) April 12, 2021

How is the second wave of #Covid19 in India different from previous one?



Its worse



We are more irresponsible



We had it coming but no one prepared for it



No one cares



More people are suffering



Its worse#MaskUpIndia #CoronavirusIndia  Zeba Warsi (@Zebaism) April 12, 2021

It is the vaccine for all!



Please please #MaskUpIndia pic.twitter.com/WA0qY7cFBO  Sumanta Barick (@SUMANTAinAAP) April 8, 2021

WORST CONDITION IN MUMBAI LILAVATI HOSPITAL LIFT LOBBY AREA.......HOSPITAL IS FULL WITH NO BEDS, CONDITION IS GETTING WORST IN WHOLE INDIA INCLUDING DELHI....ABB TOH #MaskupIndia, DO SOCIAL DISTANCING & #VACCINATE YOURSELF, MUST NOW. @CMOMaharashtra @drharshvardhan @MoHFW_INDIA pic.twitter.com/ByNBsqwTeX  Dr Amarinder Singh Malhi MBBS/MD/DM,AIIMS,NEWDELHI (@drasmalhi) April 11, 2021

The socio-political scenario has aggravated India's worst COVID surge. As the norms are being flouted at the aegis of the gatekeepers themselves, are they still concerned about the covid warriors or has their morality lost in those gatherings like wray in multitude? #MaskUpIndia pic.twitter.com/xQ08gV9Br5  Satyavrat (@Satyavrat_Hind) April 12, 2021

Please, please wear masks. I dont know about other people but Im physically and mentally exhausted with crazy shifts and calling more deaths than I did in all my years of service combined. If you still dont care, please go inside COVID units as my proxy. Thanks.  Doctor (@DipshikhaGhosh) April 12, 2021

13,500 #Covid cases in the last 24 hours in #Delhi. Read that number again. Mask up, stay safe.  Somya Lakhani (@somyalakhani) April 13, 2021

Wear your mask!
HAMBURG  It was the oddest reminder I ever set on my phone: Spirit portrait session, 2:30.

On the second day of the Inner Peace Holistic Expo at the Hamburg Field House on Sunday, I was due to meet the Rev. Matthew Thomas, a spirit portrait artist. Thomas claims to be able to use his third eye to see the spirits that are watching over people, then draw them. These spirits are usually a dead relative of the person. Thomas claims that 80% of the time, the drawing resembles someone the client knew in life. Over the weekend at the expo, it was 50/50. He does not know where this power comes from. It just turned on one day, he said, 20 years ago.

When Thomas was celebrating the full moon with a spiritual guide, he fell unconscious for 15 minutes. When he woke up, he says, he started to see spirits.

Day 2 of the Expo marked more tie dye, more psychedelic rock merch and more mystical secrets to uncover. The Expo attracted a diverse clientele, from hippies who let their white hair grow long to a new generation of young people hoping to explore crystals, tarot and the spiritual practices that, according to the expo vendors, can change your life  although there is little hard evidence that that is the case.

Theres a ton of crystals to choose from; theres a good variety, said Olivia Walker, who came from Lancaster with her sister Scarlet.

I think its just more about learning about your inner self and finding your inner balance and peace, Scarlet said.

Brianna Roland of Bernville bought a wand made of various crystals.

Ive been wanting to come for a while, Roland said, her wand in a plastic thank you bag, to connect to my spiritual side.

I tried to explore how and why the attendees and vendors at the expo came to believe in all things spiritual. Beyond descriptions that sounded like the lyrics to Age of Aquarius, most found it very hard to explain. Most of them came to the expo to learn. Others just wanted to get out of the house after months of being stuck indoors. Sue Greiser used the expo to help socialize her dog, Shianna.

I have intuition and Im learning the clairvoyancy, said Greiser, from Quakertown. She just got a tarot card reading from Bethlehem-based psychic Andrea Brock, who Greiser said was spot-on.

Brock, whose business card states that she is skilled in Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique and Access Bars and is available for corporate consulting, was raised in a religion where energy healing and tarot were considered tools of the devil. Her cards have angels, fairies and unicorns on them.

Ive always had the gift, Brock said, but I did have a teacher who helped to draw out the gifts. The teacher, who goes by the name White Star, now lives in Arizona.

Brelynn Heart, a tarot reader from Douglassville, sees tarot cards as a necessary form of socialization. COVID-19, which she calls a trauma that everyone is currently going through, only made her more confident in that.

I find it that way because when we start doing a reading like this, she said, it starts to bring up certain issues people are having in their lives.

Heart aims to combine science and spirituality. Most of her peers at the expo talk about auras, but she calls them electromagnetic fields.

This isnt woo woo stuff, she said. Its just science.

Neither Brock or Heart promise to see the future  only where a person is headed if they do not change their attitude.

Amberly Livengood of Collegeville takes a different approach. She is the co-owner of Hearing Natures Voice, which offers animal communication. She claims that she can speak to the spirits of animals, living or dead, to understand how they feel about where their humans are now. Whether its their dog, their cat, their horse or their parakeet, Livengood, whose mother took her to see animal communicators when she was 12, claims that she can tune in.

The animals want to talk about your heart, she said, and the animals want to talk about your feelings. I actually like working with skeptics because they walk away figuring out how many things I know about the animal because the animal told it to me.

Megan Hoffman wiped away tears during her session, where Livengood talked to Hoffmans dog Poppy.

She was just very spot-on, said Hoffman, from Pottstown. I went to Amberly last year to also discuss my cat Milo, and she just gave information to me that tugged at my heartstrings and was very accurate.

When talking about his spirit portraits, Thomas said that they let people know that they are never alone. And that is the reason why so many came to the expo on Sunday  they wanted to not be alone.
Boeing Co. was able to squeeze in two deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner jet before the end of March timeline it set to restart handoffs of the aircraft.

Last month was also the second in a row that the planemaker recorded a net positive order total, according to new figures.

Boeing logged 40 net orders in March after cancellations and customer revisions, a sign the company could be gaining some momentum after a year when orders and deliveries were depressed by a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 737 Max grounding and, later in the year, issues with the 787 that paused its deliveries.

February was the first month in more than a year that Boeing recorded net positive orders, and March brought a higher net order count despite a large number of Max cancellations from carriers such as Turkish Airlines.

After a 20-month global grounding, the Max was approved for commercial flights again by some nations, including the United States, starting late last year, giving Boeing a much-needed boost.

All but 11 of the 196 total airplane orders Boeing logged in March were for the Max, including the previously disclosed deal with Southwest Airlines for 100 of the jets. The Max also accounted for all 156 cancellations and revisions, such as delivery deferrals.

The North Charleston-based Dreamliner program recorded no new sales last month, but March did mark a major step on the delivery side for the 787. Production issues uncovered last year had sparked widespread inspections of the jets and halted deliveries for nearly five months.

Boeing predicted early this year that it would be able to restart 787 deliveries in the first quarter.

The company narrowly made its own deadline when it delivered a 787-9 jet made at its North Charleston plant to United Airlines on March 26.

A second Dreamliner of the same model was delivered, also to United, before the end of the month.

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Dozens of 787 jets are still waiting in inventory, both in South Carolina and on the West Coast in Everett, Wash., at the Boeing widebody factory which, until late February, was splitting 787 production with the Lowcountry.

Now that the previously announced consolidation of the 787 program in South Carolina is official, Everett is no longer making new jets but will manage the deliveries of all the remaining 787s that were made in the Seattle area.

If Boeing delivers on its prediction that it can offload its 787 inventory by the end of the year, all Dreamliners should be cleared from Everett in the next nine months.

Overall, Boeing handed over 77 commercial jets to customers in the first quarter, compared to 50 last year when the 737 Max was still grounded. Max aircraft accounted for more than 80 percent of total deliveries through March 2021.

Last week, the Max's return ran into a substantial snag. More than 60 of the jets were temporarily grounded by airlines after Boeing flagged an electrical issue in a specific group of jets. The company said the issue is not related to the safety system that caused the two deadly crashes which grounded the Max worldwide.

Recent commitments from airlines like Southwest and Alaska to buy Max jets boosted Boeing's gross orders for the first quarter well above those from a year ago: 282 compared compared to 49 in the first three months of 2020.

Orders for the South Carolina-made 787 are still lagging, though. In February, Boeing took orders for four 787-10s  the largest model  for unidentified customers. The most recent 787 order prior to that one was from last March, for a dozen Dreamliners for the Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways.

Boeing was able to add 16 orders for widebodies back to its backlog, according to its accounting rules. That included one 787 and 15 of its 777X planes, which are made in Washington state.

Boeing's backlog grew slightly from 4,041 to 4,054 from February to March.
By Sesto E Vecchi - Partner, Russin & Vecchi

There are three telecoms companies (Viettel, VNPT, and MobiFone); two in renewable energy (Vietnam Electricity and PetroVietnam); one involved in seaports and logistics (Saigon Newport), and one in banking (Vietcombank). Investment in these companies is expected to have a positive spillover effect into the economy. We do not know the rationale behind the choice of these particular sectors, and it has not yet been explained how the companies will create innovation chains.

The reason to give special benefits to a handful of SOEs is the belief that they will lead the country to growth and greater economic expansion. The government established some basic criteria when selecting companies: a certain minimum capital, a minimum market share, adherence to competition rules, and the like.

The idea gives some pause. Firstly, the sums are not small. The companies are all state-owned in one or another sense, although several have some private ownership, which raises another issue  should private investors benefit from government grants?

At the state-owned level, the pressure on managers is more likely to be directed to safe outcomes than innovative ones. Is this the right mindset in a bold, new programme?

Details are not publicly available. Indeed, details may not yet have been fully developed. But it remains to be seen if seeking to fund seven companies all at one time, and in very different and diverse industries, is a sound idea. Each company and each industry, it seems, provides a different path, from banking to telecoms, to energy and more. How are innovation chains with beneficial spillover intended to work? Are SOEs intended to link to the private sector, and how? Is it a loan with a clear repayment plan? Is it capital? Is there a time schedule or are there milestones or is the process open-ended? There are many queries yet to be answered.

There are other questions: on measuring payments tied to a specific programme; on how infusion is expected to help and what each company is expected to do; how technology growth is enhanced; if there will be budgets, oversight, accountability, and public disclosure; how success, failure, and usage of funds be measured; and if assessment of the plans success be carried out independently.

Also, is it preferable to start with seven SOEs, each providing a different path, when as yet there is no apparent experience on such a large scale  or would it be better to have an experimental beginning and see if the plan achieves its objective, then tweak as required before moving to a higher level and to other opportunities?

Such a plan is a clear opportunity for the government to demonstrate transparency  which is needed as it is an important element to build confidence and also creates important opportunities  and to build on the reputation it has created by its almost flawless management of the pandemic, achieved with limited resources and overcoming huge challenges.

It is laudable that the plan has been publicly announced. The plan has lofty, if still vague, goals, but the outcomes may well be mixed. I would urge caution  with transparency and full details at the outset and public information and accountability provided along the way. Until there is a measure of success and confidence that the idea is working, the initial plan should be smaller, focused, and with clear and measurable goals.
President Joe Biden will withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan this year, according to new reports.

People familiar with the plans told The Washington Post on Tuesday that Biden aims to complete the exit from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that drew America into the nations longest war. CNN and Reuters both confirmed the report.

Biden is expected to announce the decision Tuesday, according to CNN.

The U.S. previously set a deadline of May 1 to pull forces out of Afghanistan in an agreement with the Taliban negotiated under former President Donald Trump. The Taliban has vowed to renew attacks on the U.S. and NATO if foreign troops are not out by the deadline.

Sources told CNN that Biden had been weighing the decision for months and indicated he did not want to keep troops in Afghanistan much longer past May 1.

We are not staying for a long time. We will leave, Biden said last month. The question is when we leave.

The Post reports there are currently about 3,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and an additional 7,000 foreign forces in the coalition there, largely from NATO. Trump previously sought to have all troops withdrawn by the end of 2020, but instead ordered a reduction in troops in November amid opposition from military and diplomatic advisers.
But Kant was writing in 1781, when atheism was dangerous enough to cost you your lecturing job. We now live in secular times (even if not everyone feels in step with them). And so I wanted a secular solution to the problem, leaving aside the matter of personal religious belief. Ultimately, I found it in one of the last places one might expect: in two quotes from Franz Kafka, a writer more often allergic to hope.

The first is from a fragment of conversation, as reported by Kafkas friend and literary executor Max Brod, the man whom Kafka tasked with destroying all his work after his death, but who ended up publishing it instead.

I remember a conversation with Kafka which began with present-day Europe and the decline of the human race. We are nihilistic thoughts, suicidal thoughts, that come into Gods head, Kafka said. This reminded me at first of the Gnostic view of life: God as the evil demiurge, the world as his Fall. Oh no, said Kafka, our world is only a bad mood of God, a bad day of his. Then there is hope outside this manifestation of the world that we know. He smiled. Oh, plenty of hope, an infinite amount of hope  but not for us.

The second is from a diary entry dated March 1922, during the period when Kafka was working on perhaps his most characteristic masterpiece, The Castle  a despondently comic parable of precarity and the longing for salvation. Here, Kafka describes a certain profound sensation of hope:

This pure feeling I have and my certainty of what has caused it: the sight of the children  the rousing music, the marching feet. A feeling of one in distress who sees help coming but does not rejoice at his rescue  nor is he rescued  but rejoices, rather, at the arrival of fresh young people imbued with confidence and ready to take up the fight; ignorant, indeed, of what awaits them, but an ignorance that inspires not hopelessness but admiration and joy in the onlooker and brings tears to his eyes.

Taken together, these two quotes allow us to trace the outlines of a theory: What if hope exists not for any individual human being now living  but rather for the members of future generations, who though powerless to redeem us, might nevertheless be able to overturn the injustices we have been subject to and carve out a better existence for themselves? In this view, hope is not for us but it is nevertheless related to us, by means of our connection to other, future human beings. I might not be able to hope for anything. But we certainly can meaningfully hope for a better world  through the actions we might take, through the world and across generations, together.

This, at any rate, is how I would answer the anti-natalist position. It makes no sense to think of children as tokens of their parents carbon consumption, inheriting a taste for steak and air travel. And it makes no sense to think that whole generations might simply be blindly condemned to a certain fate, before they have even been conceived. The reason for this is that human action is not determined in any hard sense: human beings exist transformatively in relation to their world. Another philosopher, Hannah Arendt, referred to this fact with the concept of natality  the new beginning inherent in birth.

The world might well be a terrible place, but by having a child, you are introducing something new into it. Of course, this is a sort of gamble with reality: You dont yet know who your child might be. But if we dare to do it, to bring something new into the world, we might hit upon the right path  and then things really could, conceivably, get better.

*

To be clear, I do not mean to suggest that if you really dont want kids, or if you cant have them  for whatever reason, financial or biological  then youre somehow less morally good than the people that do. I admit theres a danger that this might all come across as mere reproductive futurism, the future endlessly deferred to some hypothetical child, who it is incumbent on couples (heterosexual couples, for the most part) to produce. Or else it might seem as if Im preaching a sort of idle waiting, every generation sitting around hoping for the kids to come along and tell everyone what to do. But these failings are not inherent to the theory. They can be overcome.

In the wake of the pandemic, we must work to reverse the ways in which  both as a result of it, but also in the decades leading up to it  we have become increasingly isolated from one another, reduced to atomized cocoons of individuals and their families. And kids, if nothing else, can be a huge part of that resistance. Children, in truth, require many people, not just their parents, to help them flourish: Raising children need not mean (ought not to mean!) forming a private home to keep them safely contained in, away from the world. They must be raised to participate in it  through the care and guidance of grandparents, godparents, teachers, friends, community. And so actually having kids is far from the only way to help bring about the future we must hope can be made not only for or through future generations, but with them, too.
President Joe Biden spoke with two of his predecessors ahead of his Wednesday announcement that he will withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, drawing an end to America's longest war.

The separate phone conversations between the President and former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush as Biden prepared to make the announcement underscore the longevity of the conflict, which has spanned four presidential administrations and nearly 20 years.

'He values their opinions and wanted them both to hear directly from him about his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday of Biden's calls with Obama and Bush.

While Bush -- who announced the start of the war on October 7, 2001 -- declined to comment on his call with Biden, his spokesman Freddy Ford told CNN that the former President and first lady Laura Bush 'remain committed to honoring and supporting our post-9/11 veterans and empowering women in Afghanistan through their work at the Bush Institute.'

In a nod to Bush's role in starting the nearly 20-year war, Biden delivered his remarks on the withdrawal plan from precisely the same spot in the White House Treaty Room that the 43rd President announced the start of the war on October 7, 2001.

The conversation between the nation's 43rd and 46th Presidents was brief, according to two officials familiar with the call, who also described it as warm and cordial.

Obama, meanwhile, praised Biden's 'bold leadership' for his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, saying that 'it is time to recognize that we have accomplished all that we can militarily' in the country.

'President Biden has made the right decision in completing the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan,' Obama said in a statement moments after Biden made his first public remarks on the decision.

Though he did not reference his call with Biden in the statement, Obama said, 'I support President Biden's bold leadership in building our nation at home and restoring our standing around the world.'

That support carries symbolic weight, as Biden, then serving as Obama's vice president, had argued ardently to Obama that troops should be drawn down in 2009.

At one point that year, he hand-wrote a memo to Obama arguing for a withdrawal and faxed it to the White House from his Thanksgiving vacation on Nantucket. He made various attempts to argue his case to Obama, who chose instead to surge troops before eventually pulling many of them out.

Biden said Wednesday that the withdrawal will begin on May 1, in line with an agreement President Donald Trump's administration made with the Taliban. He said the complete withdrawal will be done by September 11. Some US troops will remain to protect American diplomats, though officials declined to provide a precise number.

After formally announcing the decision, the President visited the section of Arlington National Cemetery where many of America's war dead from Afghanistan are buried, where he saluted a wreath that was placed there.

This story has been updated with additional details Wednesday.
The delivery of Sputnik V vaccines has already been discussed "several times" between senior Russian and Luxembourg officials. It all depends on the green light from the European Medicines Agency but the Russian ambassador assures that his country has the capacity to deliver.

Luxembourg stepped up its vaccination campaign on Monday. The fifth phase opening vaccination to residents over the age of 55 has started, a fifth vaccination centre has opened its doors on the premises of Luxembourg Airport, and the first doses of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine have arrived on Monday.

While the controversy linked to the risk of thrombosis following the injection of AstraZeneca's vaccine has not diminished Luxembourg's vaccine supplies, the Grand Duchy does currently lack the vaccines to immunise more residents more quickly. In this context, it becomes increasingly likely that the government wants to go ahead with the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine as soon as possible.

It's up to you to tell us how much you need and it's up to us to deliver it. But we are ready.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel recently had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of acquiring the Russian vaccine. The ambassador of the Russian Federation to Luxembourg, Dmitri Lobanov, confirmed that officials from both states, including Bettel and Putin, have spoken "several times" about the possibility of delivering Russian vaccines to Luxembourg. "But unfortunately", Lobanov added, negotiations are currently blocked at the level of "this famous European agency, the EMA".

Speaking to RTL, Lobanov assured that as soon as the EMA gives the green light, negotiations will continue. The Russian ambassador is highly confident in a favourable outcome, stating that it is "very feasible" from the Russian side.

Already used by 50 countries

The distribution of the Sputnik V vaccine in Luxembourg has even been the subject of a public petition (n1827) open for signature since 2 April (120 signatures collected so far). Referring to a scientific study published in The Lancet, its author explains that "the Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective and already used in more than 50 countries worldwide".

On Tuesday, India authorised the use of the Russian vaccine, as an outbreak of infection rages in the country of 1.3 billion people. Since last Thursday, Germany has been discussing possible orders for Sputnik V, without waiting for the green light from the European Union and despite the reservations that the Russian Covid-19 vaccine continues to arouse in Europe. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which financed the development of the product, has announced that it has begun negotiations with Berlin "for an advance purchase contract".

The French state secretary for European Affairs, Clement Beaune, warned earlier this month that it will not be possible for the EU to authorise the use of the Russian vaccine "before the end of June".
Biomedical scientists are increasingly using deconvolution methods, those used to computationally analyze the composition of complex mixtures of cells. One of their challenges is to select one method that is appropriate for their experimental conditions among nearly 50 available.

To help with method selection, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital have extensively evaluated 11 deconvolution methods that are based on RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data analysis, determining each method's individual strengths and weaknesses in a variety of scenarios. From these analyses, the researchers derived guidelines that scientists can use to determine the deconvolution method that optimally fits their needs. The study appears in the journal Genome Biology.

"A great deal of work in biomedical research involves analyzing heterogeneous biological tissues to gain insight into the contribution of individual cells in, for instance, cancer growth or brain development," said corresponding author Dr. Zhandong Liu, associate professor of pediatrics-neurology at Baylor and director of the Bioinformatics Core of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute.

Analyzing complex cellular mixtures is a difficult task. Researchers can conduct such analyses with laboratory techniques that physically separate and/or identify cellular components, but this method is time consuming and expensive.

Alternatively, researchers can use deconvolution methods that computationally extract information about individual cells in a mixture by analyzing large datasets derived from the bulk, such as RNA sequencing data.

For example, some researchers studying stem cells, a rare type of cell, might be interested in the percentage of these cells in the total blood cell population. They could conduct RNA-seq analysis of the bulk of cells and then apply a deconvolution method to determine the percentage of stem cells in the mixture. But, what method should they use?

In another example, if a scientist were interested only in the relative proportions of different cell types in a mixture, then one method would be best for deconvolution. But if the scientist wanted to find out the actual percentage of each cell type, then that deconvolution method would not be the best for that job, but another one that works better at providing that kind of answer. How can a scientist know which method works best in each situation?

"Our lab is one of many that developed deconvolution methods early on, contributing to the nearly 50 deconvolution methods currently out there to do this type of job," said first author Haijing Jin, a graduate student in Baylor's graduate program of quantitative and computational biosciences working in the Liu lab. "The methods are based on different mathematical models and/or different assumptions to try to solve deconvolution problems, which involve basically how to go from a bulk heterogeneous tissue to profiles of individual cells."

Because of this growing interest in deconvolution and the abundance of methods available, Liu and Jin felt that it was time to establish a guideline or benchmark to understand the strengths and the weaknesses of each method. Running thousands of scenarios

The team studied 11 methods. They selected them according to the quality of the programing, the number of citations in the scientific literature and their popularity in the field.

"One of the challenges we faced was how to best test the strengths and weaknesses of each method in many possible scenarios," Jin said.

The researchers decided to use a computational or in silico approach that enabled them to simulate the thousands of scenarios necessary to test all the methods.

"All these scenarios represented real-life experimental situations in cell research, cancer research or developmental biology. We simulated each one of them so we could identify the best deconvolution method for each scenario for people who are interested in applying these methods to their experiments," Jin said.

"That's the value of this work," Liu said. "We are providing a benchmark study on various deconvolution methods and guidance for people working on different topics in biology to facilitate the analysis of their experimental results."

###

This work was supported by National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant R01-GM120033, Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas grant RP170387, Houston Endowment, Chao Family Foundation and Huffington Foundation.
Firefighters have donated litres of blood to help save the life of a young girl badly injured in a horrific dune buggy accident.

Cianna Brenia was riding with a friend on a rural property in Takura, on Queensland's Fraser Coast, when the dune buggy ran over a large stick that pierced through her thigh and abdomen and severed one of her veins.

The 11-year-old was airlifted to the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane on March 6 after she lost a huge amount of blood and her organs shut down.

She had to be resuscitated three times, with grave concerns she would not survive the flight given her critical condition.

Cianna needed blood supplies to help keep her alive and an urgent call was made to locals to roll up their sleeves and donate, which they responded to in droves.

Cianna was airlifted to the Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane, with a high probability that she was not going to survive the flight given she had lost a significant amount of blood

Cianna Brenia was rushed to hospital after a large stick she ran over in a dune buggy pierced through her thigh and abdomen and severed a main vein

Firefighters from the Craignish auxiliary fire station were among those who donated blood, including Cianna's stepfather Brian Westlake, along with several other members of the local community.

'As Cianna's stepdad, I have been wanting to donate since the accident, but wanted to make it even more special with my fire family,' Mr Westlake wrote on Facebook.

'The crew from Craignish Fire Station finally got the chance to donateforcianna with blood and plasma donations. Thank you to my crew and to the staff from Lifeblood for allowing this to happen.'

Cianna, described as 'stubborn, strong and a fighter', had several surgeries and with the help of surgeons, nurses and other health care workers in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit, her condition vastly improved.

She spent almost two weeks in intensive care before being moved to a surgical ward to focus on her rehabilitation.

'Cianna is still in her hospital and has made great progress, though she did experience another scary moment when she started to vomit blood,' Cianna's mother Maureen Murphy told Daily Mail Australia.

Cianna has undergone multiple surgeries as she continues her recovery in hospital more than a month on from the horrific accident

Cianna's mother said while her daughter is still in her hospital she 'has made great progress'

Firefighters from the Craignish auxiliary fire station (pictured) were among those who donated blood as an urgent call was made to boost the region's blood supplies

'This was a result of a ulcer that had ruptured which resulted in her going back to PICU and receiving more blood. She is now doing a lot better.'

A GoFundMe has been set-up to help raise funds to support the family as Cianna continues her remarkable recovery.

'Cianna's warrior family are by her side for every step of the way, often with large absences from loved ones and their children and as a result it's taking a financial burden,' organiser Verity Thomas wrote on the fundraising page.

'Recovery could take weeks, potentially months, and I am putting a force out to our beautiful community to ask for just a little bit of help to take that financial burden and pressure away so they can concentrate on their strong, courageous, beautiful young girl we all love dearly.'

The family are also asking individuals who are eligible to consider donating blood on a regular basis.
New Delhi, April 13 : Chandigarh-based IDS Infotech Ltd paid a commission of 7,40,128 euros to Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd, which is now known as Interstellar Technologies, on receipt of payments from French defence major Dassault Aviation for a project between May 2003 to November 2006, the CBI has claimed in its charge sheet in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP AgustaWestland case.

Dassault Aviation had later signed a contract with India for the supply of 36 Rafale fighter jets.

The 12,421 page Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) supplementary charge sheet filed in September last year has been viewed by IANS.

The CBI said that Dheeraj Aggarwal, who worked as Chief Financial Officer of IDS Infotech Ltd, in his statement to the agency on March 18, 2019 claimed that "he knew businessman Sushen Mohan Gupta as he was relative of Manish Bagrodia, son of late Satish Bagrodia, who was the Chairman of IDS Infotech and overall in-charge of the company".

"IDS Infotech Ltd signed an agreement with Interstellar Technologies, which was then known as Interstellar Holding Pvt Ltd," he said, adding IDS Infotech received an agreement sent by lawyer Gautam Khaitan, which was already signed on behalf of Interstellar Holdings Ltd.

Khaitan was arrested twice by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) each. He is currently out on bail.

Aggarwal, however, said that only Khaitan can explain that who had signed the agreement on behalf of Interstellar Holdings Ltd.

In his statement to the CBI, he said: "As per the agreement, 40 per cent of the commission of the total contract value with Dassault Aviation was to be paid to the agent in the account of Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd." He further stated that Khaitan structured the agreement for commission as he was the attorney of IDS Infotech Ltd, Chandigarh.

Aggarwal also said that Khaitan had asked him and Pratap Krishan Aggarwal, Managing Director of IDS Infotech Ltd, to send the payment through banking channels to Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd.

He said that IDS Infotech Ltd had remitted payments through banking channels to the accounts of Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd, Mauritius as per instructions of Khaitan after obtaining approval from the Reserve Bank of India.

"As per the agreement, the payment was required to be sent through foreign outward remittances from bank accounts to the account of Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd, Mauritius, after receipt of payment from Dassault Aviation for the works related to software done by IDS Infotech Ltd," Aggarwal told the CBI.

IDS Infotech Ltd paid a commission of Euro 7,40,128 to Interstellar Holdings Pvt Ltd on receipt of payments from Dassault Aviation for the project between May 2003 to November 2006.

According to the receipt of the payments, Dassault Aviation made payments for the Mapieao Conversion project.

The AgustaWestland case pertains to the purchase of 12 AW-101 helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo) at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore for ferrying VVIPs.

The CBI, in its supplementary charge sheet, has named Sandeep Tyagi, Praveen Bakshi, Pratap Krishan Aggarwal, Narendra Kumar Jain, Rajesh Kumar Jain of Kolkata, Sunil Kothari, then Managing Director of OM Metals Infotech Private Ltd, and Kunhikrishnan, a close associate of British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel.

The agency has also named alleged middleman Rajiv Saxena, then Director of Interstellar Technologies Ltd, Giacomino Saponaro, then Managing Director of AgustaWestland International Ltd, Deepak Goyal, an official of Khaitan, IDS Infotech Ltd, Aeromatrix Info Solutions Private Ltd, Neel Madhav Consultants Private Ltd, Mainak Agency Private Ltd, and Interstellar Technologies Ltd in the case.

In the deal, cleared in 2010 by the then UPA government, bribes were allegedly paid to middlemen and others.

On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland due to alleged breach of contractual obligations and payment of kickbacks amounting to Rs 423 crore.

The CBI had filed a charge sheet in this case on September 1, 2017 against former Indian Air Force chief, S.P. Tyagi and 11 other accused.

In its first charge sheet, the CBI had established a "money trail" of 62 million euros (around Rs 415 crore) out of the suspected 67 million euros (Rs 452 crore) total bribe paid to Indians through middlemen.

The second charge sheet, however, does not name any politician or senior bureaucrat.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)
[April 13, 2021] Claravine Introduces The Data Standards Cloud to Address Enterprise Data Integrity Challenges

LEHI, Utah, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Claravine, a leader in Data Integrity, today announces The Data Standards Cloud allowing data owners and data engineers to finally be able to deliver on enterprise data standards. No longer do teams need to rely solely on their data pipelines to be responsible for making sense of data. Now, organizations can leverage Claravine to manage their data standards and create data integrity globally, providing consistent and quality information to optimize business outcomes. According to Forbes, data engineers continue to spend nearly 80% of their time doing activities that are manual, extensive and least enjoyable; cleaning, preparing and organizing data  causing critical delays in time to insight and results. Enterprises must enable data collaboration, but a lack of data standards makes this impossible to do across teams, geographies and partners. The pandemic has only increased the demand for data collaboration. In fact, according to a Winterberry Group report titled: " Collaborative Data Solutions: Data and Identity in the Era of Permission ," 81% of brandmarketers in the US are either currently sharing data or intend to share data. Despite the growing demand for data collaboration, there has not been an end-to-end solution in the market to fix data quality before it becomes a problem.



After launching a partnership with Adobe and an integration into Adobe Experience Manager to control content data standards, Claravine now partners with the industry-leading mobile measurement and deep linking platform, Branch , to bring data standardization to mobile and enable the enterprise to create, deliver and optimize mobile experiences at scale. "Content and mobile have been major focuses for customer experiences, and Branch's leadership in mobile experiences makes them the ideal partner to help define these standards," said Chris Comstock, chief product officer of Claravine.

The Claravine and Branch integration helps mobile marketers and data teams align on the data requirements for cross-screen experiences. Marketers can now quickly create the right links and ensure all data is defined and connected so customer experiences work the first time with data automation occurring from day one. "Our customers need to optimize for cross-channel, but the complexity of launching multi-screen experiences slows down marketers. Claravine solves this by helping marketers and data teams achieve automation and optimize their business decisions," added Eric Stein, EVP & GM of Branch. Too many teams rely on spreadsheets and ETL in an attempt to achieve data quality, which means there is no global data standard. This means data teams are left wondering if they are receiving the data or spending a majority of their time trying to make sense of it. "So much of the investment going into data systems and data teams is reactive. At Claravine, we believe in a proactive approach that supports a true enterprise data strategy. We support our customers' efforts to create data integrity by helping them own their data standards through our technology and collaboration. More ETL isn't the answer. ETL is a time-consuming and soul-crushing process that occupies far too much of data engineers' and data scientists' time, and it keeps them from focusing on data analysis and optimizing business outcomes. The only way to eliminate ETL is by empowering data owners to standardize, connect, and control their data standards in a platform like Claravine," said Verl Allen, chief executive officer of Claravine. Data-driven market leaders are reinventing their data strategies at a time when a single data lake is no longer possible with the changes Google, Amazon, and Facebook are requiring marketers to access performance data as well as the ongoing challenge of customer and product use data being generated throughout the enterprise, often in legacy systems. The marketing tactics that once worked in mobile are changing with the Apple IDFA changes. As these transformations occur, Claravine's Data Standards Cloud provides a way for data strategies to move into the cloud for a dynamic view of data. About Claravine

Claravine is redefining data integrity for the global enterprise. The Data Standards Cloud makes it easy for teams to standardize, connect, and control data collaboratively, across the organization. Leading brands use Claravine to take greater ownership and control of their data from the start, for better decisions, stickier consumer experiences, and increased ROI. www.claravine.com Media Contact

Emylee Eyler

emylee@blastmedia.com

317-806-1900 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/claravine-introduces-the-data-standards-cloud-to-address-enterprise-data-integrity-challenges-301267185.html SOURCE Claravine

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A fire burns in front of the police on the Springfield Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 8, 2021. (Jason Cairnduff/Reuters)

Youth Role in Northern Ireland Riots Deeply Concerning: UK Minister

Young peoples involvement in the riots in Northern Ireland has been tragic and deeply concerning, a British minister has said while appealing for dialogue among communities in the province.

It is tragic and deeply concerning that young people have been engaged in and encouraged into this violence and as a result will now end up with criminal records, said Brandon Lewis, the UK secretary of state in charge of Northern Ireland affairs, in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

Brandon Lewis, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, arrives for a cabinet meeting in Downing Street in London, on Sept. 1, 2020. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The British province saw the worst violence in years last week, with hundreds of youths attacking police with stones and petrol bombs in the provincial capital Belfast.

According to the latest update from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), 88 officers have been injured during the violence.

Lewis suggested that the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic and the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were partly to blame for the riots.

People are frustrated after a year in which coronavirus has challenged all of us and I do recognise how frustrating it has been, especially for young people in Northern Ireland facing the uncertainty around lifting lockdown restrictions without having the clear roadmap in Northern Ireland, he said.

Rioters throw burning bottles at the police on the Springfield Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 8, 2021. (Jason Cairnduff/Reuters)

He also acknowledged the frustration in the pro-British loyalist communities in regard to the post-Brexit trade arrangements, which effectively erected a customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

We all know there are strongly held political views within and between the communities that can be in tension with each other and I recognize that there are concerns about the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol, concerns which overlap with wider questions about the national identity and political allegiance and that comes at the time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

But he stressed that the violence last week was totally unacceptable and attacks on police officers were utterly reprehensible.

We must all work together to resolve the tensions that are currently being faced. I know from my ongoing engagement with stakeholders, including the Irish government, that this is a shared view. The only way to resolve differences is through dialogue, he said.

Also on Tuesday, the Church Leaders Group (Ireland) published an open letter to political leaders in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and the European Union, asking them to work together to solve the crisis.

The letter, signed by leaders of the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the Methodist Church on the island, urged politicians to come together in a unified response to the heart-breaking scenes witnessed on our streets last week and renew their commitment to peace, reconciliation and the protection of the most vulnerable.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Enoch Adeboye, has said he was in Kaduna State to see the members of his church kidnapped last month.

He said he used the opportunity of the visit to pay a courtesy call on Governor Nasir El-Rufai who invited him to pray for Kaduna State.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported the meeting of the cleric and Mr El-Rufai on Tuesday.

Mr Adeboye said the meeting was as a result of the governors plea for him to pray for the state.

Earlier today, I decided to go out of my schedule to see my children who God delivered from the den of the kidnappers while they were on their way to the venue of the Lets Go Fishing Exercise. To the Glory of God, they are Hale and Hearty. Before leaving.

The Governor appealed to me to visit the State house in Kaduna to pray for the state, its people and its leadership for peace and protection after laying hands on my Children who were sick. It is my prayer that the peace of and kingdom of God will be established in Kaduna State and our nation Nigeria and all locations where the children of God are across the world in JESUS name (AMEN), he wrote on Twitter.

Recently, eight RCCG members, travelling on the church bus for an Easter programme, were kidnapped along Kachia-Kafanchan highway.

They were later released on April 8 after spending over a week in captivity.

Kidnapping for ransom and banditry have become rampant in Nigeria despite President Muhammadu Buhari tasking the service chiefs to end the menace.
KERBY, Ore.  Oregon State Police says that a Kerby man died on Monday evening after his vehicle was hit by a dump truck on Redwood Highway.

OSP troopers and emergency crews responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash just north of Kerby shortly before 7 p.m. According to the results of an initial investigation, 60-year-old Billy Thornhill was pulling onto the highway from a driveway  into the path of an oncoming dump truck.

51-year-old Mark Tripp was driving a Freightliner dump truck, towing a 33-foot flatbed trailer. OSP said that he was unable to stop in time, colliding with Thornhill's Dodge Durango.

Thornhill was pronounced dead at the scene. OSP said that Tripp was not injured in the crash.

Troopers were assisted by deputies from the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Illinois Valley Fire District crews, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
There's a simple reason that Jason Calacanis is the best-known angel investor in the United States: He's committed to speaking the plain truth, whether he's talking to a neophyte entrepreneur or an investor who's been part of hundreds of deals.

With his reputation for plain-speaking, Calacanis's warning a few weeks ago--a tweet telling company founders that they should avoid launching companies in California--got plenty of attention.

"It's far too hard to run business in California," Calacanis tweeted. "Founders, don't come here unless you have to. This place is really broken."

The stark warning reflects a reality that's too often forgotten: For many startups, the selection of a location for the business will, at some point, represent a life-or-death decision. Every young business will face a time of crisis, a time in which every dollar and every day will be exceptionally important. When that time inevitably arrives, startups that are located in low-cost and efficient environments typically stand a greater chance of survival and success. Young companies paddling upstream against high costs, hassles, and regulatory delays will find survival much more difficult.

Where startups are flocking

None of this is news, of course, to thousands of founders who have made mindful decisions to launch businesses in locations that improve their odds of success.

Researchers at Roofstock, the tech-focused real estate outfit, decided recently to examine which states have the most startup activity.

Their finding: Nevada, my home state, ranks first in startup activity. Using a measure that takes the number of new firms in a given year and divides it by the total number of firms, Nevada has a startup formation rate of 10.39 percent.

That's significantly higher than the national average of 8.13 percent.

In fact, new startups in Nevada account for 17.15 percent of the new jobs created annually in the state, the Roofstock researchers found.

Not surprisingly, the Las Vegas metropolitan area ranked tops among America's big cities, with a startup formation rate of 11.44 percent. That translates into nearly 3,500 new companies annually, and more than 21,000 new jobs--nearly 18 percent of all the region's new employment.

In the Reno area of northern Nevada, an easy morning's drive from San Francisco and Silicon Valley, growth of the technology industry and its many startups is cited by the Milken Institute as one of the driving forces behind the region's strong economic performance. There's general agreement among investors and analysts about the location-related factors that create a good environment to nurture startups. And there's equal agreement about the environments that may prove toxic to a young company that encounters a challenge.

Problematic California

In his straight-talking tweet, Calacanis cited six specific reasons that founders should stay away from California because of the state's:

 Cost of living

 Tax burden

 Regulatory thicket

 Crime and public safety issues

 Rigid unemployment laws

 Strongly pro-union labor climate

With the exception of crime and safety, all of these translate into higher costs, either for the business or for the founders and their talented employees.

The Roofstock analysis also found that cost-related issues appear to be critical to encourage startup activity.

The analysis concluded that startup-friendly states such as Nevada typically offer low tax rates for individuals as well as corporations, provide businesses with relatively low operating costs, and maintain business-friendly regulatory environments. Side-by-side comparisons of potential locations for new ventures paint a clear picture.

California's state taxes are such a headache that the nonprofit Tax Foundation ranks it 49th--only New Jersey is worse--in overall tax burden. From income taxes to sales taxes to unemployment taxes, founders in California face stiff tax-related headwinds from the moment they launch a new venture.

The corporate income tax rate in California runs 8.84 percent, not to mention the additional $900 to $11,790 per year in franchise tax that's collected from each business for the mere privilege of doing business in California.

Nevada, on the other hand, levies no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, and no franchise tax. Its modest overall tax burden earns it the seventh spot in the Tax Foundation listing of business- and founder-friendly states.

Low taxes help recruitment

The tax savings alone from a founder's decision to locate in a low-tax state are likely to provide a welcome financial cushion during challenging times.

Personal income tax rates, meanwhile, are a key element in attraction and retention of top talent for new and growing companies. A bright software engineer in California--one making, say, $120,000 a year--faces a 9.3 percent marginal income tax rate from the state government. When that talented employee moves to a location with minimal, or no, state income tax, the relocation provides an immediate big increase in take-home pay.

The good news for employees is supercharged by lower costs of living in many startup-friendly locations. And this isn't just about California's stratospheric housing costs.

Groceries in the Reno area of Northern Nevada, for instance, cost 21 percent less than they do in Palo Alto. The overall cost of living in Las Cruces, New Mexico--another university town popular with migrating startups--runs 50 percent less than Southern California, as everything from health care to transportation is less expensive.

The best startups are built with the best talent, and environments that allow talented employees to keep more of their paychecks clearly help recruit top staff.

Finally, while direct comparisons between locations are difficult, the regulatory burden is a key factor in the success of a startup. Founders need to pay attention to customers, finances, product development, and sales. Every hour that's spent instead on paperwork demanded by state, county, and local government is a distraction from success. In challenging times for a business, the distractions of regulation may threaten the very existence of a startup.
Visitors hold their mobile phones in front of exhibits showing People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, during an exhibition on China's achievements marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) at the Beijing Exhibition Center, in Beijing, Chinam on Sept. 24, 2019. (Jason Lee/File Photo/Reuters)

China Closes Military Related Self-Media Accounts to Prevent Security Leaks

Chinese authorities recently shut down a number of social media accounts belonging to self-media enthusiasts who focus on the military. Analysts believe Beijing is trying to prevent national security leaks amid escalating tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

Chinas popular military forum Super Base Camp announced it will permanently close four sections discussing military equipment on March 23, including those related to the navy, air force, ground forces, and new concept weapons. Subsequently, WeChat public accounts such as Sina Military, Crazy Warfare Show, and Tencent Military Lecture Hall were all closed. On March 30, a well-known political and current affairs forum Cat Eye Observer was also shut down.

A user on Chinas Twitter-like platform Weibo lamented, My favorite self-media hosts have all disappeared from social media. I guess everyone is feeling scared. We should only chat about romance from now on, and avoid all political topics.

Beijing-based DW News ran an article on April 8, that analyzed why the authorities decided to shut down the military enthusiasts accounts. Numerous signs imply that the recent removals of military-related self-media are likely an order from Chinas top levels, the reporter wrote.

Self-Media Can Indeed Leak Top Secrets

A Weibo account affiliated with the PLA Daily, Jun Zhengping Studio, posted an article on March 15 to warn military enthusiasts against becoming unwitting tools of foreign intelligence agencies.

Military enthusiasts must maintain a sense of confidentiality when posting information, as foreign intelligence agencies are very interested in Chinas military developments, the article said.

Whether it is intentional or unintentional, those who leak classified information on the Internet will do harm to national security and even have consequences as serious as prison terms.

Several incidents in recent years indicate that the military-related self-media are indeed not careful when they seek to gain more web traffic. Reports on Chinas Type 003 aircraft carrier is a case in point.

According to Chinese state media, many military fans posted photos on the Internet of the manufacturer of Type 003 taken at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard. The photos made it easy for outsiders to figure out the construction timeline of the aircraft carrier.

A similar incident occurred in 2015. A public security technical reconnaissance agent disclosed that a military enthusiast took photos of military aircraft at the Chengdu Military Airport with his mobile phone and posted them to the Internet. As a result, Chinas highly confidential research project on the J-20 stealth fighter, under testing at the time, was leaked out.

CCP Preparing for 100th Anniversary

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP.

Zhuang Rongwen, deputy minister of Chinas Propaganda Department and director of the Cyberspace Administration, stressed at a video conference that staff members working on regulating the Internet must ensure that all content adheres to correct political direction, guiding the public opinion and value orientation in the correct direction.

Zhuang noted that self-media and new media should be the main targets of disciplinary actions. The hosts that violate laws and regulations must be severely punished, he said. We must achieve full coverage and zero omission in our disciplinary work.

In addition, according to Chinas News Portal NetEase, many self-media hosts received warning messages in January and February this year from their respective social media platforms. They were advised against publishing news articles or commentaries related to major political, economic, military, or diplomatic affairs, so as to avoid violating relevant laws and the rules of the platform.

China-Taiwan Tensions Simmer

The Chinese military has been sending its planes into Taiwans air defence identification zone (ADIZ) on a near-daily basis since September last year. On April 12, Taiwan reported the largest daily incursion by Chinas air force, when 25 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers, entered its ADIZ.

The 25 planes included 14 J-16 fighter jets, four J-10 fighter jets, four H-6K bombers, two anti-submarine warfare planes, and an airborne early warning and control plane according to Taiwans Defense Ministry.

The Chinese Navy has also been busy flexing muscle in the South China Sea. It announced on April 4 that it was conducting drills near Taiwan, and that such exercises will occur regularly. The U.S. Navys Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group entered the South China Sea to conduct routine operations on the same day, sending a clear message to China about its intimidating gestures.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 11 said Washington was standing by its commitment to defend Taiwan.

In an interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Blinken explained that the Taiwan Relations Act is a bipartisan commitment that has existed for many years to ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and that the United States has an obligation to sustain peace and security in the Western Pacific.

We stand behind those commitments. And all I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force, he declared.
Defence giant Babcock International has announced it will cut around 1,000 jobs as part of a huge overhaul of the business.

It comes as the group  which is the Ministry of Defence's second largest contractor  also revealed a write-down of 1.7 billion in the value of its assets.

The company has said about 850 of the job cuts would be made across its UK operations, with the remainder overseas.

A turnaround plan would see it simplify the business and raise at least 400 million from the sale of assets over the next year.

Around 1,000 jobs are being axed at Babcock International after the defence giant revealed write-downs of 1.7bn and plans to sell off a raft of its businesses. Pictured: HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, which Babcock helped deliver

In an update on the group-wide review launched in January, Babcock laid bare its balance sheet woes as it booked 1.7 billion in impairments and charges.

At the time of the review's announcement, shares in Babcock plunged by almost one fifth.

It added that group profits are also likely to be around 30 million lower each year, though it said this is smaller than first feared.

In its statement to the Stock Exchange the company said that its aims for a 'simpler, flatter structure that will simplify how we operate, improve line of sight, shorten communication lines and therefore increase business flexibility and our responsiveness to market conditions'.

It said this will reinforce a 'one company culture and remove the duplication and lower quality delivery that a siloed approach delivered'.

Babcock also sustains the entirety of the UKs submarine fleet, including through-life support and life extension of Vanguard, Trafalgar and Astute Classes. It also operates two of Britain's three naval bases. Pictured: Plymouth Naval base

But said: 'This, unfortunately, will result in headcount reductions.

'Some of the savings will be recognised across long term projects, for example where they form part of existing contract efficiency assumptions and some savings will benefit our customers via the contract structure.'

Babcock International: Britain's second largest defence contractor Though it can trace its history back to the early 1800s in America, Babcock International was founded in 1891 as a manufacturer working in heavy industry. Its 34,220 employees deliver services, largely for public bodies, across four sectors: Marine, Nuclear, Land and Aviation. Some of biggest projects to date include supplying the Royal Navy with the UK's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

Babcock also sustains the entirety of the UKs submarine fleet, including through-life support and life extension of Vanguard, Trafalgar and Astute Classes. It also operates two of Britain's three naval bases. They provide support for Army equipment, including for 30,000 military vehicles and 250,000 weapons. The company has operations on five continents, with contracts maintaining naval dockyards in Oman, operating emergency medical helicopters in Australia and support for tackling wildfires in Canada. Advertisement

Chief executive David Lockwood, who took the helm last year, said he hopes that for workers affected by the review, the group will be able to find a 'place where people can flourish' through the sale of assets to new owners.

He added: 'People will see this as a watershed moment when the new company starts to emerge.'

Babcock employs around 30,000 staff worldwide.

It said it was too early to give further details of jobs cuts, which businesses are set to be put on the sale block or timings, but would provide further details alongside its upcoming full-year results.

However, its annual figures are expected to be delayed due to the pandemic and business review.

The group also warned it remains cautious over profits progress over the year ahead amid a 'year of transition'.

But it stressed it would not need to turn to investors to shore up its finances through an equity cash call.

Mr Lockwood said: 'Through self-help actions, we aim to return Babcock to strength without the need for an equity issue.

'We are creating a more effective and efficient company through our new operating model and, in line with our new strategic direction, will rationalise the group's portfolio to help strengthen our balance sheet.

'Through our new operating model, the future Babcock will be a better place to work, a better partner to our customers and will be well placed to capture the many opportunities ahead of us.'

Babcock said it wants to focus on being an international aerospace, defence and security company, alongside its naval business, with operations across the UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
Gigi Hadid had a busy morning with baby Khai on Tuesday.

The new mom, 25, started the day by fetching coffee with supermodel Helena Christensen, 52, before going on an adventure to the New York Aquarium with partner Zayn Malik in the afternoon.

Gigi looked chic as she bundled up in a long ash-hued wool coat worn with soft pants, a black blouse and fancy Birkenstock sandals.

Monochrome mama: Gigi Hadid was chic in black and grey while walking baby girl Khai around NYC on Tuesday

Water world: After getting coffee in the morning, Gigi, Khai and dad Zayn Malik went to the New York Aquarium

Dressing things up, the older sister of fellow models Bella and Anwar Hadid layered on a few necklaces while popping on little oval sunglasses in a silver shade and a fabric face mask.

Gigi added some more polish by slicking her golden brown locks into a smooth bun.

The stunner pushed her baby girl around in an upscale Bugaboo stroller, a celeb-beloved brand with models priced as high as $1,500, while holding a cup from Australian coffee shop Bluestone Lane in one hand.

New dad Zayn looked stylish when they met up later on, rocking a yellow, black and tan plain jacket with dark trousers as he took over stroller duty.

It was clear Gigi and Zayn were raising their little girl to be a true New Yorker, sharing video from a family trip to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art with Gigi's dad Mohamed Hadid on Tuesday.

Cozy: She bundled up in a long ash-hued wool coat worn with soft pants, a black blouse and fancy Birkenstock sandals while out getting coffee and shopping with pal Helena Christensen

Fancy: The partner of the former One Direction hunk pushed her baby girl around in an upscale Bugaboo stroller, a celeb-beloved brand with models priced as high as $1500

Fishy: New dad Zayn looked stylish when they met up later on, rocking a yellow, black and tan plain jacket with dark trousers

They walked by ancient statues before popping into the galleries to look at 1800s-era masterpieces like paintings of The Great Pyramid, Giza by Adrien Dauzats and Ponte San Rocco and Waterfalls, Tivoli by artist Francois-Marius Granet.

Another heart-melting photo showed grandpa Mohamed holding baby Khai's hand, showing a sweet name bracelet and evil eye charm around her wrist.

Gigi gave birth to Khai back in September 2020, reportedly at her mother Yolanda Hadid's farm in rural Pennsylvania, where she stayed with her sister Bella throughout much of 2020.

Partner Zayn seems to be loving life as a father, and he gushed about how 'amazing' parenthood has been for him on the iHeartRadio show Valentine in the Morning.

Culture: It was clear Gigi was raising her little girl to be a true New Yorker, sharing video from a family trip to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art with dad Mohamed Hadid

Classics: Mohamed was fascinated by the artwork

Art: The family also popped into galleries to look at 1800s-era masterpieces like paintings of The Great Pyramid, Giza by Adrien Dauzats and Ponte San Rocco and Waterfalls, Tivoli by artist Francois-Marius Granet

Grandpa: Another heart-melting photo showed grandpa Mohamed holding baby Khai's hand, showing a sweet name bracelet and evil eye charm around her wrist

'Honestly, it's amazing,' he said. 'A lot of people that I was speaking to, obviously, before she was born and stuff were like, "It's a big adjustment, and it's going to be a massive change and stuff."

'But honestly, she's an amazing baby. It's been really easy for me and Gig to kind of just ease into it. She kind of made it easy for us, she sleeps really well, she loves her milk. It's just feeding and changing diapers at the moment. It's wicked. I'm enjoying it, for sure.'

Gigi and Zayn have been dating since 2015, though they were rumored to have broken up briefly in late 2016, and they officially broke up in March 2018.

Yet the two were seen together only a month later and resuscitated the relationship later in 2018.

Loving it: She's been over the moon about motherhood since welcoming her girl last September

So sweet: The model reportedly welcomed her baby at her mother Yolanda Hadid's farm in rural Pennsylvania, where she stayed with her sister Bella throughout much of 2020

The two reportedly broke up again in January 2019, but after hints of a reunion (including a cooking post in which Gigi made a recipe from Zayn's mother) the two confirmed their romance was in good health again in January 2020.

The lovebirds announced just two months later that they were expecting their first child together.

Although Gigi has been careful to preserve her infant daughter's privacy, she has shared several sweet photos of herself caring for little girl since giving birth.

Earlier in March, the daughter of Yolanda Hadid made her return to the runway when she appeared with her sister at the Versace show for Milan Fashion Week.
A New York couples trip to a Walgreens in Fort Lauderdale late last month turned toxic  and its now all over the Internet.

In a April 6 Facebook post, Nahla Ebaid told her followers that a maskless woman at the Southeast 17th Street store verbally attacked her with racial slurs.

The confrontation began, as many do in the pandemic era, over a mask. The shopper being recorded wasnt wearing one.

I wanted to upload this video to tell every Arab, Muslim or any person who meets someone with this sick mentality, dont be afraid to call the police and take your right, wrote the Egyptian American bystander in Arabic. Hashtags included #StopIslamophobia.

News page Middle East Eye retweeted the clip and it was shared by multiple social media users, including Star Trek star George Takei.

Ebaid told her friends the shopper was instructed to put on a mask by an employee but kept on walking.

I thought she didnt hear the cashier so, I said, Maam, shes talking to you!!! said the post.

After the customer realized she was being recorded, Ebaid said the irate woman told her: I wish I was from your country so I dont have to wear a mask.

According to a police report from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, cops responded to the store on March 31 at around 11:30 p.m. in reference to a disturbance.

Upon arrival, an officer made contact with Ebaids husband, Tamir Elhadad, who relayed what had transpired. He said that a clerk had told the suspect, Lubyca Bozanich, to put on a mask and things spiraled from there.

He confirmed Bozanich said she wished she was from a Muslim country so she wouldnt have to wear a mask, a remark to which he replied, Im from New York, according to the report. Then Elhadad said the 70-year-old customer began hurling insults about their nationality and his wifes outfit, then intentionally spit on Elhadads arm.

Why do you have clothes like that? Bozanich says angrily in the video. Youre ugly! No wonder people hate you! Israelis rule because you guys are ugly.

Although neither victim is seen in the video, in Ebaids Facebook profile picture she is wearing a hijab, or traditional head scarf.

A clerk told police she witnessed the shopper spitting on the victim and the Fort Lauderdale resident was placed under arrest for battery.

In another video shared on Ebaids FB, the agitated woman, who says she is originally from Ukraine, is seen outside the store in handcuffs standing by a Fort Lauderdale police car.

I have friends who are Muslim, says Bozanich, who, according to her LinkedIn page, is a social worker.

Elhadad says off camera, I accept your apology.

Per the police report, the victim changed his mind and decided not to prosecute; Bozanich was released from custody and issued a trespass warning.

I dont like what I saw, but Im human, Bozanich told Local 10 of her outburst. When this guy said what he said to me I said what I said to him and I got angry. I felt very angry, and I told him off.

On Monday, the Miami Herald reached out to Walgreens regarding the incident but did not immediately hear back.

In July 2020, the Illinois-based chain required all customers to wear face coverings while in their stores across all locations, consistent with CDC guidelines. But there are some exceptions.

[Customers] are required to wear face covers before entering the store except where doing so would inhibit the individuals health or where the individual is under 2 years of age, reads the websites mask policy. We have signage on doors and make announcements over the stores public address system to remind customers that face covers are required.

Walgreens goes on to say that management may gently remind maskless customers about the requirement, but out of concern for our employees safety, we do not stop these customers from shopping.

___

(c)2021 Miami Herald

Visit Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Currently, Position 5 is held by Martina Lemond Dixon who is running for re-election. Andrea Glazebrook is the only other candidate running for this position.

Position 5 is one of four spots on the Humble ISD school board up for grabs, including positions one, three and four.

LOCAL: Huberty highlights Lake Houston Dredging Maintenance District

Humble ISD elections will be held on May 1 this year with four open positions. Early voting kicks off on April 19.

Each candidate was asked the same questions by The Observer to show why they are running for the school board and what qualifies them for this position.

Martina Lemond Dixon

Profession/Title: Educator

Q: Why are you running for school board?

A: Quality education is a cornerstone to the success of a community. As a mother of four, educator, and longtime community member, I want Humble ISD to continue to thrive and for it, ultimately, to be the best public school district in the state.

Q: What professional experience do you have to prepare you for this role?

A: Prior to school board service, I was extremely involved in Humble ISD and in the community. I served on the Humble ISD Education Foundation Board as the Finance Chair and Treasurer, PTA Boards as Legislative Delegate and PTA President, the PTA Council Executive Board, PTA Scholarship Chair, the Portrait of a Graduate Dream Team, a Leadership Lake Houston graduate, and more.

From 2008-10, I was elected to serve on the school board at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi, which is affiliated with the US State Department. Since I began school board service, my passion for education, the community, and Humble ISD is stronger than ever.

I currently serve on the Harris County Appraisal District Board of Directors as Assistant Secretary, and in this role, I represent the 24 school districts in Harris County, not Houston ISD, and the four community college systems, and I was recently appointed as a Board Trustee to the Lone Star Investment Pool, which is affiliated with Texas Association of School Boards. I hold Master Trustee designation as a graduate of Leadership TASB, I am the TASB Delegate for Humble ISD, a member of NSBA (National School Boards Association), have attended NSBAs Advocacy Institute in Washington DC to advocate for the needs of the district.

As a school board member, I serve on the Building and Planning Committee, Finance Committee, and as the Chair of the Board and Superintendent Evaluation Committee.

Q: What are your top three priorities and what do you believe are the most important issues in Humble ISD?

A: Humble ISD is a fast growth district, so the most important issue is how we manage the growth. The three priorities to manage the growth are: to consider the facilities regarding student capacity and building quality; factoring in our approach to virtual learning, expanding dual language and Spanish immersion programs; add 504 facilitators to the elementary counseling departments and prioritizing the budget to meet these needs.

Andrea Glazebrook

Q: Why are you running for school board?

A: I want to pay back my community. I have been wanting to serve on the board for some time now, and finally everything lined up for me to run. As both a teacher and parent, I feel I have the working knowledge to accentuate the positives and realize any negatives to help promote the well-being of the district.

Q: What professional experience do you have to prepare you for this role?

A: I have attended Humble ISD since 1976. I have been a parent for 26 years, and both my sons attended or are attending Humble ISD. Here, I served as a volunteer, room mother, and committee representative for the Head Start Program. Now, I've added the 17 years of professional experience working as a substitute teacher and then a teacher's aide/para-educator, in order to financially self-support my goal to become a Special Education Instructor. Being a teacher and parent myself, I feel that I could be a tremendous source of information during school board meetings to encourage the best decisions for all.

Q: What are your top three priorities and what do you believe are the most important issues in Humble ISD?

A: I would like to make sure we are spending our money wisely and efficiently, in order to make the most of our budget to help as many people as we can in our district. I would like to see more of a budget going toward trade schools and internships for the high school students and possibly see the introduction starting in middle schools.

Of course, the most important thing is the well-being of the students.

However, as a teacher myself, the largest stress my colleagues mention is that the STAAR test has taken over the curriculum. Besides the 20 (yes 20) days of testing you see on your Approved School Calendar, numerous days EVERY semester are spent on mock-testing. The preparation for these tests and mock tests sadly consumes the rest of the school year. Although I do not have an easy answer for this dilemma, I would like to advocate for and find solutions to ease the stress for teachers, students, and even administrators.

Something else that many do not realize is that STAAR testing even adds burden to the cafeteria employees, who must create sack lunches for the grade levels that are testing, on top of the hot lunches for the students who are not.

Food cost is one area in which I see so much waste. I would like to look into that and see how we can improve in this area. I watch so much food be wasted. Students are FORCED to take ALL food offered on the line, even if they have no intention of eating it. I have seen so many intact cartons of milk, juice boxes, and perfect pieces of whole fruit sadly thrown into a trash can. Yes, I realize the federal government reimburses the district for much of this waste, but knowing how many suffer from starvation in this world, seeing this happen just makes me very sad. We need to look into solutions to this problem, such as working with local food banks without jeopardizing our government assistance.
Mumbai, April 13 : Rajasthan Royals' (RR) Riyan Parag raised eyebrows when he used an unusually low-armed release in the 10th over during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings.

Parag bowled just one over in the explosive Punjab Kings innings and had his arm almost perpendicular to his body when he bowled the third ball of the over to Chris Gayle.

Ravichandran Ashwin had used a similar action earlier this season while Kedar Jadhav is known to use a slinging release quite frequently.

The IPL's Twitter handle asked fans what names they can think for the action while itself calling it a "right-arm perpendicular".

"That is right-arm perpendicular. What name can you think of for this unique action?" said the tournament's tweet.

The commentators were taken by surprise. "How low is a legal sidearm delivery? Underarm deliveries are not allowed any more, as the Australians know well," joked Harsha Bhogle, referring to the infamous underarm delivery bowled by Trevor Chappell in an ODI against New Zealand in 1981 on the instruction of his captain and elder brother Greg Chappell.

Michael Slater said that Parag may have got away with it and the umpire was seen having a word with the bowler afterwards.

Gayle took a single off that ball and got back on strike after the next ball. Parag ended up dismissing the former West Indies captain with a more conventional delivery off that ball.

Punjab Kings scored a mammoth 221/6 with captain KL Rahul scoring 91 off 50 balls. However, RR almost pulled off the epic chase with their captain Sanju Samson scoring an extraordinary 119 runs off just 63 deliveries. However, they fell just four runs short with Samson being dismissed off the last ball of the match and RR's innings ended on 217/7.

Latest updates on IPL 2021

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Directors of state mines to present business plans for 10 years to make decision on their merger with Centrenergo  SPF

An interdepartmental commission created by the government for auditing state coal mining enterprises will start hearing the business plans of their leaders for 10 years from today, after which it will make a decision on the expediency of joining them to Centrenergo to create a vertically integrated company.

"Today the last stage begins. The directors of state coal enterprises will begin to report to the interdepartmental commission and submit business plans for the next 10 years: how much money needs to be invested, how much coal will be mined and what its cost will be," the deputy head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPF) and the head of the supervisory board of Centrenergo, Denys Kudin, said during a conference on problems of state mines organized by members of the energy committee of the Verkhovna Rada.

At the same time, he stressed that Centrenergo is ready to connect promising mines, "which will show that they can give a normal prime cost." In his opinion, the merger with the mines will correct the economy of the generating company so that the production of 1 kW is not unprofitable.

Kudin predicts that in April the order on the creation of a vertically integrated company will be submitted to the government, after the adoption of which the company can be established within six months.

At the same time, the deputy head of the SPF explained that before the issue is submitted to the government, certain consultations will be held "so that everyone understands the methodology and final decisions."

"As a result, by the end of this year or the beginning of the next year, we will go to an auction to sell the company," Kudin made a forecast.

He expressed the opinion that privatization is the only mechanism to ensure the efficient operation of both the generating company and coal enterprises.

"There is no other way out but to attract an investor who would be engaged in both coal and generation," he said, stressing that the performance of state mines differs unfavorably from those of private mines.
Teen Starts Online Store of Handmade Pet Accesories With Inspiration From Rescue Pup

An eighth-grader from Gurnee, Illinois, has launched her own handmade pet-accessory line after being inspired by her rescue pup. The thoughtful teen has also made it her personal mission to help save the lives of animals in need by donating 20 percent of her sales proceeds each month to different rescue organizations.

At just 14 years old, Caroline Schuler, who attends East Lake Academy, runs her own businessPaws and Clawson Etsy and Instagram, selling stylish tie-on pet bandanas, over-the-collar pet bow ties, and even matching scrunchies for pet owners.

Schulers pet, Scruffy, has been an inspiration for Paws and Claws in many ways.

Scruffy was a rescue dog, so helping animals in need holds a special place in my heart, Schuler told The Epoch Times via email.

The circumstances of Scruffys adoption made a lasting impression on Schuler.

After losing their family pet, Teddy, in 2013, Schulers family wanted to adopt a dog. They then found Scruffy, a Shih Tzu mix, on a local rescue website called Fur Angels Animal Sanctuary, filled out an adoption application, and completed a home visit with the dog.

However, owing to his past, Scruffywho had been picked up from the streets of Hammond, Indiana, by animal controlwas in rough shape when he was adopted.

[His] fur was very overgrown and heavily matted, Schuler said. By looking at his teeth, the vet believed Scruffy was 1 year old. The vet took several X-rays and found that his pelvis was broken in 3 spots. It had healed on its own, but not correctly.

Additionally, Scruffy had a fear of being around men and teenage boys in particular, which Schuler believes might be due to abuse he may have dealt with when he was a stray. Scruffy would be very protective of my mom and me around my brother and dad, she said.

Though Scruffy has improved significantly over the past seven years with the family, he still bears signs of the trauma he endured all those years ago.

He picks up his hind right leg when going down stairs, Schuler said.

Witnessing Scruffys struggles firsthand, Schuler felt the need to do something. The teen, who had learned how to sew in 2014 at a week-long camp, decided to put her skills to use after starting Scruffys Instagram account and seeing the love people had for pet products.

I decided to try to make a bandana and bow-tie for Scruffy, she said. After lots of trial and error, I finally came up with a finished product, that was my own unique design.

After a lot of convincing, Schulers mom decided to give in and allow her to start selling them on Etsy in June 2020.

My first product launch included bandanas, bow-ties, and scrunchies in 13 prints, Schuler said. Inspired to do more, she also went on to create an Instagram account for her pet-accessory line and began to receive amazing responses to her products from pet owners.

The community welcomed me and was so supportive. This just affirmed that making pet accessories for others was how I wanted to spend my free time.

Schulers unique designs are inspired by Scruffys bubbly and bright personality.

I try to make my products in the same bubbly patterns, and have a fun, welcoming shop, she said. Each package reflects Schulers labor of love. Apart from the handmade accessory, she includes personalized handwritten thank you notes and a few Milk-Bone biscuits for the pup.

Clients praise the products, calling the prints super fun and referring to Paws and Claws as their favorite pet brand. They also have compliments for Schulers customer experience and service.

Schuler told The Epoch Times that she is humbled by the response she has received and is grateful to be able to donate 20 percent of every purchase to animal shelters, and animals in need. In addition, she has made bandana donations to Fur Angels; and bandana, scrunchie, and bow tie donations to Lodi Animal Services in Lodi, California, for adoption photos.

For other young entrepreneurs with big dreams, Schuler has some advice to offer.

Do not give up, she says. There is so, so much that will knock you down, and there are so many challenges and trials to overcome. But if you have a dream, do not stop until you make it your reality.

All the work you put in will pay off, and it will be completely worth it.

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
Samsung headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times file



Samsung Electronics Co. maintained the status as the world's second-largest semiconductor vendor by revenue last year, industry data showed Tuesday, amid rising demand of memory products on the back of the pandemic-induced stay-at-home economy.



Samsung's chip business logged US$57.7 billion in revenue last year, up 10.2 percent from a year earlier, to capture 12.4 percent of the global semiconductor market, according to data from U.S.-based research firm Gartner.



Intel Corp. defended its top position with a 15.6 percent market share after collecting $72.7 billion in revenue in 2020, up 7.4 percent from a year earlier.



Samsung was relegated to the No. 2 spot in the global semiconductor market in 2019, which was the first time since 2016 that the world's largest memory producer gave up the top position.






The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia has issued the following statement on the opening of a "park" in Baku dedicated to the war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh):

"On April 12, with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan a park dedicated to Artsakh war was opened in Baku, where along with the Amenian military equipment the mannequins of the servicemen of the Armenian armed forces, personal belongings of the soldiers of Armenia and Artsakh and the helmets of killed Armenian servicemen were displayed. The opening ceremony of the park and the remarks of the President of Azerbaijan demonstrate that the above-mentioned action is aimed at publicly degrading the memory of the victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war, violating the rights and dignity of their families.

At a time when the consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh havent been fully addressed, when numerous Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijani captivity, with the organization of such an "exhibition" wrapped in the elements of marauding, Azerbaijan is finally consolidating its position as a global center of intolerance and xenophobia. Such anti-human behavior of the Azerbaijani high-ranking leadership is more vocal than any statement or PR-campaign on peace, tolerance and multiculturalism.

On one hand, the Azerbaijani leadership is making observations about possible revanchisme on the part of Armenia, and on the other hand, with such exhibition, attempts to perpetuate the revanchisme, inhumanity and interethnic hatred. Such steps manifest how far the Azerbaijani leadership stands from its own declarative statements on the post-conflict situation, regional peace and reconciliation."
The door and outside sitting area of the Family Justice Center, Monday, April 12, 2021, at the Village Main Campus.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating potentially faulty air bags made by Joyson Safety Systems, the successor to defunct manufacturer Takata Corp. that is at the center of one of the biggest recalls in history.

The agency, according to documents posted on its website, has started an Open Equipment Query that covers 256,181 passenger-side replacement air bag cushions manufactured by Joyson. Regulators said the cushions might have been folded incorrectly, which they said could prevent proper deployment.

Related: U.S. Tells Auto Makers They Dont Have to Recall 56 Million Takata Air Bag Inflators

Joyson acquired Takata in 2018. The air bags were used in cars made by automakers including Mercedes-Benz AG, Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Co., and Nissan Motor Corp. The carmakers that were affected have all initiated recalls of vehicles with the parts.

NHTSA, part of the U.S. Transportation Department, said the purpose of its query is to write to Joyson and other companies that might have purchased this equipment from Joyson, notify them of this defect in any vehicles they manufactured, and to ensure thorough safety recalls are conducted where appropriate.

Bryan Johnson, director of global communications for Joyson Safety Systems, did not respond to requests for comment. The Transportation Department also did not respond.

Read more: Safety Agency Orders Ford to Recall 3 Million Vehicles Over Takata Air Bags

The recall of Takata air bags has spread to nearly 13% of the total number of registered vehicles in the U.S. Exploding Takata air bag inflators have been linked to at least 18 deaths and more than 250 injuries in the country, according to NHTSA. The agency said that more than 40 million of the defective inflators had been repaired as of March 12.

Takata, the former Japanese air bag manufacturer, was required to plead guilty to wire fraud and pay nearly $1 billion in criminal penalties stemming from the companys conduct related to sales of defective air bag inflators. Takata was sold in 2018 to a Chinese-owned company known as Key Safety Systems that is now known as Joyson Safety Systems.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics USA
Government ready to meet all parties interested in Namakhvani HPP project as the protests hit 168th day

By Veronika Malinboym

Minister of Economy of Georgia Ekaterine Turnava stated earlier today that she is ready to meet all interested in Namakvhvani hydroelectric plant project. Today, the long-standing protest against the construction of the Namakvani HPP by Turkish company ENKA has reached the 168th consequent day.Minister Turnava stated that a large-scale meeting will soon be held with the representatives of NGOs, scientists, and all the parties interested in the building of Namakhvani HPP. Meanwhile, the tensions in Rioni Valley, where the protests are held were high today, as the police dismantled the protestors tents yesterday, amidst the fears of the possible flooding, after one man drowned. Earlier today, the protesters urged the residents of Rioni to join them in a protest action at the central square of Kutaisi and beep the horns to draw attention to the protest. The police have already been mobilized on the spot where the protestors are expected to arrive. Some clashes between the police and the protesters have been reported today, as the former did not permit people from Gumati to enter Namakhvani, which led to a confrontation between the gathered crowd and the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated earlier today, that it will not permit the violent scenario to unfold, and, thus, will treat all violations of law with all seriousness:We urge the citizens of the Rioni Valley not to go beyond the means of freedom of expression permitted by the countrys law and obey the orders of the law enforcement officers, Georgias Ministry of Internal Affairs said in its statement.Georgias Prosecutor General, Nino Lomjaria, has also issued her statement regarding the situation in Rioni Valley and urged the government to deescalate the situation via the direct dialogue with the protesters:Four days ago, I met protesters in the Rioni Valley, who had very specific and legitimate questions to the government, who are seeking dialogue and advocating for peaceful protests only . The government should be responding to the ongoing protests not via police action, but with dialogue and direct communication, Lomjaria added.Georgias Public Defender also called for the government authorities to schedule a meeting with the protestors as soon as possible, hold a series of transparent and result-oriented discussions with the interested parties until all questions and uncertainties are addressed successfully, have the police immediately ensure the peoples right to freedom of movement and freedom of assembly, and ensure the readiness of all interested partied to participate in media discission and debates to keep the general public informed on the matter.
Karriem Allah goes deeper into statements made by the Honorable Louis Farrakhan during their 2014 meeting at the Nation of Islams annual Saviours Day Convention in Detroit, Michigan.

Karriem Allah opens this Message by explaining how the prophetic account of Benjamin in the Quranic and Biblical narratives of Joseph is equally as important in its fulfillment as is the prophetic account about John the Baptist in the prophetic narrative of the Biblical Gospels. Karriem Allah, later, demonstrates how both prophetic accounts are being realized through his relationship with the Honorable Louis Farrakhan  in that, while he fulfills the roles of Benjamin and John the Baptist, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan fulfills the functions of Joseph and the Messiah.

Karriem Allah further delineates how the role of John the Baptist, in its fulfillment, involves explaining the Presence of the Messiah, as well as the Messiahs transition into the function of the Christ. He explains how the beginning of several Gospels is describing events associated with Jesus transition from the Messiah to the Christ, and not the beginning of Jesus mission as the Messiah.

Karriem Allah reveals key aspects of his personal interaction with the Honorable Louis Farrakhan during meetings held in 2013 and 2014; and how those meetings initiated the process of the Honorable Louis Farrakhans transition into the function of the imminent Christ in fulfillment of the Messianic Prophecies. Karriem Allah explains how statements made by the Honorable Louis Farrakhan during those meetings offered direction in his journey in the self-discovery of his mission as the Defender of the Domestic Life and the Advocate of the Christ.

Karriem Allah also addressed both the positive and negative reactions to his declarations of the Honorable Louis Farrakhans divine function as the Messiah, imminent function as the Christ, and the divinity of the Messiahs Domestic Life.

Karriem Allah described how gross misrepresentations, originating in the Delaware Valley Region of the Nation of Islam, were and remain, likely attempts to undermine his mission to explain the Honorable Louis Farrakhans Domestic Life. Karriem Allah reiterated how the Domestic Life is intrinsically tied to the Honorable Louis Farrakhans function as the Messiah and to His imminent return to the Great Mother Plane to meet with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Karriem Allah goes deeper into statements made by the Honorable Louis Farrakhan during their 2014 meeting at the Nation of Islams annual Saviours Day Convention in Detroit, Michigan. Karriem Allah explained how these statements, alone, clarify the misunderstandings that many Registered Members of the Nation of Islam have had regarding his relationship to the Honorable Louis Farrakhan. Karriem Allah also encouraged persons garnering such misconceptions to commit to the study of the Messianic Prophecies so that errors and mistakes borne of perceptions outside of the fulfillment of the Messianic Prophecies can be diminished.

Karriem Allah explains how slander is the primary means used to discredit noble causes; and that such slander, ideally, arises when the person able to best defend against it is no longer alive or among the people.

This lecture, Slanderous Efforts to Uproot the Defense of the Domestic Life of the Messiah, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan is part of the Series on the Domestic Life of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, the Messiah and is available on Karriem Allahs Youtube channel and through his website.
Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Voraje filmed a heartbreaking moment between her and her terminally ill daughter Azaylia on Monday night.

The eight-month-old - who has leukemia - was seen on her mother's lap, as Safiyya sang to her.

Playing Whitney Houston track When You Believe, Safiyya, 34, attempted to soothe Azaylia, who appeared to have lost movement in her face amid her deteriorating condition.

Hard to watch: Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Voraje filmed a heartbreaking moment between her and her terminally ill daughter Azaylia on Monday night

Safiyya doted on her daughter, captioning the video with the words: 'This pain is torture. I'll always believe in you baby. Life can be cruel but I'm so happy for today.'

The little girl seemed a little dazed in the clip as she looked at her mother and back at the phone again.

She was rushed to hospital on Sunday evening after she began bleeding profusely.

Doting mother: The eight-month-old - who has leukemia - was seen on her mother's lap, as Safiyya sang to her

Soothing her baby: Playing Whitney Houston track When You Believe, Safiyya, 34, attempted to soothe Azaylia, who appeared to have lost movement in her face amid her deteriorating condition

Ex On The Beach star Ashlety, 30, took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding.

He said: 'That's no way for her to go. She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing'.

Ashley, who has Azalyia with girlfriend , 34, has been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed at just two months and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson.

Pained: Ashley rushed his leukemia-stricken daughter Azaylia to hospital on Sunday evening after she began bleeding profusely

Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion.

He said: 'On our way back from hospital now, we rushed Azaylia in tonight. On oxygen because she'd been bleeding from the nose because she has tumours on her brain as well as her body...

'Because of her blood cancer it eats away at the parts that clot the blood so the lack of platelets means she can bleed from the inside and that's why her nose is bleeding and that's no way for her to go...

'She's been so happy today so we knew we needed a platelet transfusion and that will preserve us for another day or two days and three days and every day is a blessing. Let's go champ.'

Heartache: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, took to Instagram to reveal he was forced to take Azaylia, eight months, for an emergency platelet transfusion as her illness has 'eaten away parts that clot the blood' and would cause internal bleeding

Saddening: Ashley filmed the video in the back of a car, as he detailed what had happened over night and revealed he forced the doctors to do the transfusion

Sweetheart: Azaylia is seen wearing a bright pink hat and little lion baby-grow as she made her way home from the hospital on Friday

Ashley then reached out to parents in similar situations, urging them to educate themselves on what their children are going through.

He went on: 'For all parents in this situation just make sure you know your stuff when they've been discharged the doctor will not perform any more procedures so we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion we weren't asking for bloods to be taken because they wont do bloods...

'So we knew that she needed the platelet transfusion and rang up and demanded as we knew she needed the transfusion to help clot her blood and stop her bleeding out...

'By taking charge of your child's care and not leaving it to anyone else you know certain things that preserve your child's life and give them another day or two days because every moment is precious and i want every parent going through this to know that'.

'She's so beautiful': Ashley also marked Azaylia turning eight months old by having moulds made of her feet made on Saturday

Pained: Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding'

Safiyya also detailed the night spent in hospital, as she shared a picture of the tot and penned: 'Last night we took Azaylia to the hospital for an emergency platelet transfusion as the leukaemia caused profused bleeding.

'Azaylia had a 30min transfusion, but this didnt stop the bleeding over night, I put her on her observation machine so I could keep an eye on her oxygen & heart rate levels for reassurance.

'I have the privilege to wake up this morning and watch her open her eyes and play this is precious. Tomorrow isnt promised to anyone, waking up today is the blessing itself'.

Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on

Tucking in: She was eating in the video much to her parents' joy

The mother-of-one also admitted watching her little one's battle 'feels like torture', sharing in a video on Monday: 'I just wake up in the morning and look at her and feel so blessed.

'Every single morning I'm waking up with her and having her there to hold and to smile and to sing all our Jungle Book theme all day long.

'The amount of times we sing this to her is just mindblowing and I feel so happy that I can just spend today with her and play and just love her as much as I can and tell her how much I love her. It's absolutely heartbreaking, this feels like torture.

'It's so difficult and so hard and the support you guys are all giving us is amazing, it's incredible. This stuff is so hard and so difficult but Im going to make every day as happy, as fun as playful as possible for her.'

'It's so difficult and so hard': The mother-of-one also admitted watching her little one's battle 'feels like torture'

Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on.

Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body.

The media personality and his partner Safiyya recently raised more than 1.5 million to fund a trip to Singapore for potentially life-saving transplant, but she was being treated in the UK during the interim.

He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'.

Fighter: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared a series of images on Saturday showing his 'fearless little lion' wrapped in a pink blanket while travelling in an ambulance

Ashley penned a detailed account of Azaylia's health battle on his GoFundMe page and said that any extra funds the couple receive will be donated to other families in a similar situation to them.

According to the NHS, it is a 'highly complex and potentially risky treatment' but has been shown in trials to cure some patients when other treatments have failed.

Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer.

Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia.

No way to go: Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia

Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body.

And as he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to the brave youngster as he admitted: 'I don't know what I will do without you.'

In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward.

Sad: As he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to Azaylia as he admitted, 'I don't know what I will do without you'

Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylias last bath in hospital, before we take her home where she belongs. 

'9 days ago consultants told us my daughter had 1-2 days to live, but thought she may pass that evening. Even with a barbaric disease consuming her blood, tumours in her brain and organs and amounts of pain I cannot imagine...

'She is still battling through 9 days later, with parts of the day with nothing but smiles despite her discomfort.

'This is a testament of this little girls strength and the fight she has possessed all of the way through. She has fought a battle that not many, if any, of us could have endured and shes earned the love and respect of many on the way.

'The truth is though, I hope and pray that I have earned hers! Even through the hardest and saddest time of my life, she has found a way to make it better.

'She has shined light on the darkest of days and she has opened my heart to amounts of love I couldnt believe possible! 

'The truth is, I dont know what I will do without you. But for now, I find strength in giving you the best of me, and the only me that you deserve! 

'You are in my arms, my thoughts, my prayers and my heart everyday my princess. YOURE MY HERO!  DADDY LOVES YOU! '
Ottawa, April 13 : Ontario, Canada's most populous province, announced that all schools will stay closed indefinitely to in-person learning as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the province.

Ontario, with a population of 14 million, is currently operating under a provincewide stay-at-home order to stem the spread of Covid-19 and its variants, Xinhua news agency reported.

The month-long order, which came into effect last Thursday, sees the closure of all non-essential businesses, and requires residents to remain at home unless leaving for an essential purpose.

"We will keep a constant eye on the data, on case numbers, hospital capacity, and ICU admissions to determine when we get kids back in the classrooms," Ontario Premier Doug Ford told a press conference Monday afternoon.

The announcement came after the province posted a record-breaking number of Covid-19 and intensive care admissions.

For the second day in a row, Ontario reported more than 4,400 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday as the number of patients in intensive care with the disease continued to climb.

Right now, there are 1,646 patients in hospital with Covid-19 and at least 619 of them are being treated in intensive care units.

"I want nothing more than to be able to open the schools up again as soon as possible. But we all need to work together right now to get the community spread under control," Ford added.

Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams said the province's surge of Covid-19 cases is being impacted by gatherings on the Easter weekend.

"We are not expecting the numbers to improve that well over the next few days as we're seeing the impact of Easter weekend and we want to understand that before we make any further decisions," Williams said. "Prolonged closure at this time is not only but prudent and necessary." Up to date, Ontario has reported a total of 391,009 cases of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. That number includes 348,684 recoveries and 7,567 deaths.

Transmission of Covid-19 in younger, more mobile and socially-connected adults is an ongoing risk for spread into high-risk populations and settings, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Monday.

As of April 11, a total of 33,133 variant-of-concern cases have been reported across Canada, including 31,567 B.1.1.7 variants, 1,212 P.1 variants and 354 B.1.351 variants. B.1.1.7, which has been confirmed in all provinces and two territories, continues to account for the majority of variants of concern in Canada and has likely replaced the original virus in some areas, according to the agency.

As of Monday afternoon, Canada reported a cumulative total of 1,066,591 COvid-19 cases, including 23,333 deaths and 967,394 recoveries, according to CTV.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Windsor residents hoping to recall Mayor Dominic Foppoli over allegations of sexual assault face a potential yearlong battle to remove him from office.

The recall process entails months of signature gathering and verification, likely pushing any election into early next year, not long before Foppoli would go before voters anyway were he to seek re-election to another two-year term.

The hurdles are high to make the ballot at all, and recall drives fail more often than they succeed. Only three local officials in Sonoma County have faced recall elections over the past two decades, according to the county Registrar of Voters Office, while at least nine other attempts during that time did not qualify  though all three officials who ended up on the ballot were recalled.

But the highly emotional nature of the allegations against Foppoli are far different from the charges of corruption or quality-of-life issues that typically propel a recall, said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University. In an era already unsettled by years of protest, he said, the scandal could ignite outrage that engulfs the entire local political landscape.

This tragedy is unlike any of those past events and has the potential to sweep up everyone and everything in the town of Windsor, McCuan said. Its going to make people look at anyone who was on a campaign mailer for Dom Foppoli differently.

No petition to begin the recall process has yet been filed, according to Windsor Town Clerk Maria De La O. A group first floated the idea on Sunday, days after The Chronicle reported accusations that Foppoli had sexually assaulted five women between 2002 and 2019.

Foppoli has rejected widespread calls that he resign  including from all three of his Town Council colleagues, the North Bays two congressional representatives, all eight of the other Sonoma County mayors and his own brother.

In a statement Saturday, he called the allegations against him unfounded and asserted there were clear political and social machinations that are outwardly and obviously driving the effort to put my head on a spike.

The Windsor Town Council has scheduled an emergency Zoom meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday to consider demanding that Mayor Foppoli resign. Council Member Esther Lemus said the panel would discuss how to support residents through the recall effort, as well as whether the town can legally try to remove Foppoli.

On Monday, the state Attorney Generals Office agreed to take over a criminal investigation of the sexual assault allegations after Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch concluded that her office had a conflict of interest. The conflict is that Lemus, who is a prosecutor in addition to being a Windsor Town Council member, and Foppoli traded allegations about each other over the weekend, which were reported by other media. The Chronicle continues to investigate those statements.

Recall organizers are finalizing their campaign team, fundraising operation and endorsements, said interim campaign manager Mark Malouf, and will decide by the end of the week when to file a notice of intent to recall Foppoli.

Obviously, we hope that Mayor Foppoli decides to resign, Malouf said. But if he chooses not to, well be ready to go.

Once a petition is filed, Foppoli will have seven days to respond and then organizers must design a petition and get it approved to circulate. Even if they submit their paperwork by next week, recall backers probably could not begin collecting signatures until next month at the earliest.

Organizers would need to collect valid signatures from at least 20% of Windsors 16,879 registered voters  or about 3,376  to force a recall election. That is a higher threshold than for recalling statewide officeholders such as Gov. Gavin Newsom or state legislators. Such recalls require signatures equal to 12% or 20% of the number of votes cast in the previous election, respectively.

Organizers in Windsor would have 120 days to submit their signatures for review. Then the county would have 30 business days to verify whether enough were valid. If they were, Windsor officials would have two weeks to set a special election, somewhere between 88 and 125 days in the future.

With that timeline, Windsor residents are unlikely to know before this fall whether Foppoli will face a recall. If it qualifies, the election would probably not occur until spring 2022. The mayorship is up for election that November.

Frustrated constituents and powerful interests have long wielded the threat of recall as a tool against local politicians throughout California, McCuan said, but such efforts tend not to succeed in making the ballot or removing someone from office without an accompanying scandal.

Since 1963, Sonoma County has had 14 recall elections, mostly in the 1970s and 80s, ranging from a tiny water district with fewer than two dozen registered voters to school boards, city councils and the county Board of Supervisors. In those elections, 14 officials survived and 23 were recalled.

The most recent recall election in the county came in 2014, when a local firefighters union targeted Kevin OShea and Linda Payne, the president and a director of the Russian River Fire Protection District, respectively, for dismissing the fire chief. Both were overwhelmingly recalled.

County officials are currently verifying signatures for a recall attempt against Ravitch, led by the developer Bill Gallaher, who founded a senior care home that the district attorney sued for allegedly abandoning elderly and infirm residents during the 2017 Tubbs Fire. Also, parents and alumni launched a recall campaign last month against three trustees of a local school district who supported consolidating two high schools.

McCuan said the allegations of sexual predation against Foppoli were much more toxic than the typical political fights. That could drive the support, including donations, that the campaign needs to sustain itself over the next year, he said, and even ripple out into other races in the region.

It lays bare the ugliness of politics, he said. It has the potential to become the poster child against politics as usual.

Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
LYNCHBURG, Tenn., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A little sunshine will soon be in your next glass of whiskey as Jack Daniel's partners with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, and Nashville-based solar power producer Silicon Ranch to provide the iconic Tennessee whiskey maker's Lynchburg distillery with 20 megawatts of solar energy.

TVA signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Silicon Ranch to build, own, and operate the solar facility just a few miles from the world-famous distillery in Moore County, Tennessee, pending environmental reviews.

This Middle-Tennessee solar project is another win for TVA's nationally-recognized Green Invest program, which has already secured solar farms to help meet the renewable energy goals of auto manufacturers, data centers, local power companies, cities, and universities.

"Our commitment to making great whiskey is only matched by our commitment to preserving the world we call home through sustainable practices," said Jack Daniel's Vice President and Assistant General Manager Melvin Keebler. "We're excited to be the first distillery to sign a Green Invest deal that will provide nearly three-quarters of our electricity needs. Now the world's most iconic whiskey is even greener."

Jack Daniel's runs its distillery with a zero-waste to landfill policy and has programs to protect the water and wood used to make its whiskey.

"This announcement demonstrates the environmental leadership of Jack Daniel's and Duck River, fueled by our shared long-term commitment to renewable energy and community engagement," said Chris Hansen, TVA vice president, Origination and Renewables. "TVA's Green Invest program is the nexus for any organization interested in making renewable energy a part of their business."

Since 2018, Green Invest has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured over 2,100 megawatts of solar on behalf of its customers  maintaining TVA's green energy leadership as the energy provider with the greatest amount of renewable generation in the Southeast.

"TVA, Jack Daniel's and Duck River are excellent neighbors who are valuable assets to our community," said Mayor Bonnie Lewis, Metro Lynchburg, Moore County, Tennessee. "Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world tour the distillery, and this solar farm from our newest corporate citizen Silicon Ranch will be another attraction as they provide additional construction jobs and tax revenue to Moore County."

Silicon Ranch collaborated with local landowners Cumberland Springs Land Company, the leadership at Motlow State Community College, and officials in Moore County to develop the solar project.

"The Tennessee Valley is our home, and Silicon Ranch is honored to be part of this compelling story that demonstrates what's possible when partners work together with a shared commitment to our local communities," said Reagan Farr, Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and CEO. "Thanks to the leadership of our friends at TVA, local power companies such as DREMC, and visionary companies such as Jack Daniel's, Silicon Ranch is on pace to invest more than $1 billion across the Valley, and we are proud to expand this legacy to Moore County."

TVA sees a bright future for solar fueling the region's economy and has increased its contracted solar capacity by 60% since October 2020.

"Duck River is honored to serve as Jack Daniel's trusted energy provider," said Scott Spence, DREMC president and CEO. "We have witnessed great things happen over the years through Jack Daniel's investment in the Metro Lynchburg, Moore County community, and this is no exception. Duck River is thrilled to be a part of this project."

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system, and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

Editor's Note: Click here for high-resolution image.

Cut Line: Jack Daniel's Visitor Center: Every year about 300,000 people tour the distillery and visit the small town of Lynchburg, Tenn.

Media Contact: Scott Fiedler, Chattanooga, 901-414-6964

TVA Public Relations, Knoxville, 865-632-6000

www.tva.com/newsroom

Follow TVA news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram





Svend Jansen

Global Public Relations Director

Jack Daniels

502-774-7825

[email protected]





Elisabeth Thompson

Communications Manager

DREMC

931-680-5884

[email protected]





Matt Beasley

Silicon Ranch

[email protected]

SOURCE Tennessee Valley Authority

Related Links

www.tva.gov


Taco Bell is opening a new 'digital only' location in Times Square, in a sign the iconic chain sees a rebound in foot traffic at the tourist hotspot.

The new location will open to the public on Wednesday on the ground floor of the historic Paramount Building on the corner of 7th Avenue and W 43rd Street in the heart of Times Square.

Falling under the chain's 'Cantina' brand, the new Times Square spot will offer beer and specialty cocktails in addition to the familiar items from Taco Bell's food menu.

The new spot will only have digital ordering, with customers either ordering ahead, or using in-store kiosks and picking up their order at the counter.

Taco Bell is opening a new 'digital only' location in Times Square, in a sign the iconic chain sees a rebound in foot traffic at the tourist hotspot

Customers will be able to order using digital kiosks, and the company aims to have a 'digital-only' experience in the new location at the 'crossroads of the world'

The new Times Square location is expected to rival Taco Bell's flagship restaurant on the Las Vegas strip, which is currently the chain's highest-volume location

Many Taco Bell locations already have digital kiosks as an option when ordering, and the new location's 'digital-only' move is believed to be a bid to prevent staff from becoming overwhelmed by large crowds.

The new location will also offer an exclusive menu item only available in Times Square, the Bell Apple Freeze, a Green Apple Freeze swirled with a sweet cherry apple flavor.

Souvenirs will also be available for order at the same kiosks used to order food.

The Taco Bell merchandise will include sauce packet keychains, pin sets and pens.

Photos from inside the new location show a modern open-floor plan, with ten digital kiosks for ordering in the store.

The Times Square location falls under the 'Cantina' brand, with alcohol available. Photos show beers on tap including Bud Light, Dos Equis, and Long Island brand Blue Point

A bank of 15 glowing cubbies rests against one wall, where customers who order ahead can pick up their meals directly

A bank of 15 glowing cubbies rests against one wall, where customers who order ahead can pick up their meals directly.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the trend toward 'low contact' transactions such as digital ordering.

Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands says its digital business jumped 45 percent in 2020 to a record $17 billion.

The new Times Square location is expected to rival Taco Bell's flagship restaurant on the Las Vegas strip, which is currently the chain's highest-volume location.

The new location will open to the public on Wednesday in the ground floor of the historic Paramount Building (above) on the corner of 7th Avenue and W 43rd Street

The new location will also offer an exclusive menu item only available in Times Square, the Bell Apple Freeze, a Green Apple Freeze swirled with a sweet cherry apple flavor

Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands says its digital business jumped 45 percent in 2020 to a record $17 billion

Taco Bell operates some 6,800 locations across the country, 475 of which are directly owned by the company.

The company runs nearly 60 locations in New York City, an area that is key to Taco Bell's expansion plans.

The brand plans to build 25 new restaurants in the greater New York region this year, which accounts for roughly 10 percent of Taco Bells overall development mix, the company said.
New Delhi, April 13: The Vietnam government has launched a high-speed patrol boat built with India assistance, and one more of similar class is in the pipeline. The Vietnamese coast guard had inducted the first India-made patrol vessel in December 2020.

Vietnamese media reported that the patrol boat has been built with Indian support.

The launch stands out "as an icon of India-Vietnam defense partnership" and reflects India's commitment towards building the capacity of the Vietnamese military, says Pranay Verma, India's ambassador to Vietnam. He added that the comprehensive strategic partnership and defence relations between the countries would contribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indian embassy added that despite disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic, the joint project has progressed at a rapid pace.

Vietnam is making full use of the $100-million line of credit (LoC) extended by India in October 2014 during the State visit of the then Vietnamese Prime Minister to India. The two nations extended their relations to that of "comprehensive strategic partnership" and have been cementing military ties since then. The patrol boat, to be used by the Coast Guard will help Vietnam strengthen regional security, detect illegal activities, curb smuggling and assist in search and rescue operations.

Under the strategic partnership, India is supporting Vietnam, that lies in the critical and highly disputed South China Sea region, to build 12 high-speed patrol vessels for the Vietnamese Coast Guard. Of these, five are being built in Chennai at the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shipyard while seven will be constructed in Hai Phong, Vietnam, with the company's assistance.

Keeping China in the cross-hairs, the two nations have consistently maintained a high level of interaction at the diplomatic and military levels.

On 21 December 2000, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a virtual summit with the then Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan, who is now the President of the country as well as the head of the party. The two leaders discussed regional and global issues along with ideas to boost the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

Before that Vietnam had invited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus in December 2000, which discussed regional and maritime security along with cyber-crime.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar in his meetings with Vietnam in November 2020 had stressed upon the growing interest in the Indo-Pacific as an integrated and organic maritime space, with ASEAN at its centre.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative/
The United States denied involvement in an alleged act of "sabotage" targeting Iran's underground Natanz nuclear site that reportedly hobbled some of the facility's centrifuges.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington "was not involved in any manner," later adding that the Biden administration remains focused on nuclear talks that are set to resume on Wednesday with Iran and the other parties of the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Psaki said the U.S. has not received "any indication that attendance at the discussions" has changed following last weekend's apparent attack, in a likely reference to Iran, Anadolu Agency reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed Israel for this weekends attack on Natanz, vowing to take revenge for what Iranian officials are claiming was an act of sabotage.

Last week's indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran concluded with a senior State Department official telling reporters this week's negotiations would be focused on "clarifying what steps both sides need to take to come back into compliance."

"Our hope is that well see from Iran a greater indication of what theyre prepared to do and greater indication that they will take a constructive attitude in getting there," the official said.
A New Jersey man is facing a larceny charge after scamming a Connecticut woman out of $7,000 by saying he was her nephew and had had been arrested, authorities said.

Walter DeAlmeida, of Newark, was being sought by police in Fairfield, Connecticut and turned himself in on April 1, officials said Friday.

DeAlmeida called the woman in November, claiming they were related and that he needed $90,000 for bail after being charged in a drunken driving crash. The victim wired the money to a bank account but then realized she had been tricked and called police.

DeAlmeida is due in court on Thursday.

MORE: Man sentenced to 5 years for stealing more than $142K in grandparent scam

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

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BURLINGTON, Mass. and ALISO VIEJO, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CIMCON Lighting Inc., (CIMCON) the leading global provider of smart city technologies, today announced a strategic partnership with UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, to build and accelerate the time to market of CIMCON's best-in-class smart lighting controls and smart city platforms, in an effort to help cities and utilities more rapidly realize the benefits of smart city applications. Under the multi-year agreement, UST's Semiconductor business vertical and UST BlueConch Technologies, its product engineering services arm, will provide high-tech services across software development, manufacturing, R&D, supply chain, firmware, cloud platforms, and mobility to CIMCON Lighting.

In this engagement, UST will partner with CIMCON, offering end-to-end engineering services to manufacture CIMCON's proprietary products. Working with CIMCON, UST's skilled hardware, firmware, and software engineers will help enhance and scale highly reliable product lines. UST will also work with CIMCON to optimize its supply chain and procurement, incorporating localization wherever feasible. Focused on intelligent lighting systems, this multi-year partnership involves all aspects of the business from system design to operations and will be operated out of UST's multiple Centers of Excellence (CoE)s across the globe.

Swapnil Shah, Chief Executive Officer, CIMCON, said, "I'm excited for CIMCON to deepen our relationship with UST. I have enjoyed a long history of productive partnerships with UST throughout my career and have high confidence in their ability to support CIMCON's global delivery growth across North America, Latin America, Australia, and the rest of the world. I look forward to a long and profitable relationship."

Speaking on this occasion, S Ramprasad, President, UST BlueConch Technologies, said, "UST will leverage its vast product engineering expertise to further support CIMCON in the building of its world-class products and operate from our global centers, including the new center of excellence we recently set up in Ahmedabad, India. This engagement will further strengthen our presence in the Industry 4.0 and IoT-based solution offerings."

"Our partnership with CIMCON is built on UST's strong and seamless synergy and expertise in IT, hardware, and product engineering, which enables us to provide end-to-end solutions to industrial and automotive customers across the globe. As a strategic partner to CIMCON Lighting, we also look forward to providing their smart city solutions to our customers in over 26 countries where UST operates," said Gilroy Mathew, VP, and Head of Semiconductor, UST.

UST's semiconductor vertical has over 5,000 specialists spread across more than 15 countries. This versatile talent base supports eight of the top ten worldwide semiconductor companies. UST's strong semiconductor capabilities, coupled with BlueConch's deep experience in product engineering services, will uniquely position CIMCON Lighting to meet its growing global market demand.

About CIMCON Lighting Inc.

CIMCON Lighting is recognized by Gartner and Northeast Group as a global leader of smart city technologies. Our smart lighting controls and smart city applications help cities, towns, municipalities and utilities future proof their investments and become smarter, safer, and more sustainable. The company was recognized as an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company and has received the Edison Institute "Gold Award", LFI Innovation Award, and Frost & Sullivan's "New Product Innovation Award" for smart streetlighting.

CIMCON's smart lighting solutions provide an easy way to control, manage and maintain streetlights across all terrains and city densities. The NearSky smart city platform transforms an existing streetlight infrastructure into a foundation for smart city applications, ensuring a faster, more effective digital transformation. The platform's multi-service, hybrid networking capabilities put data to work for the people and departments that interact with a city's infrastructure and assets. For more information, please visit www.cimconlighting.com

Media Contacts, CIMCON Lighting:

Heidi Sporel

Director, Marketing

CIMCON

[email protected]

Tel: +1-781-565-8259

Cell: +1-978-846-2659

About UST

For more than 20 years, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a real impact through transformation. Powered by technology, inspired by people and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients' organizationsdelivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 26,000 employees in 25 countries, we build for boundless impacttouching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at ust.com

Media Contacts, UST:

Tinu Cherian Abraham

+1-(949) 415-9857

Neha Misri

+91-9972631264

[email protected]

Media Contacts, US:

Suzanne Dawson, S&C PR

+1-646.941.9140

[email protected]

Cecile Fradkin, S&C PR

+1-646.941.9139

[email protected]

SOURCE CIMCON Lighting, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cimconlighting.com


Apr. 12KALKASKA  Authorities said an Indiana woman on Monday led police on a chase through part of Kalkaska County before driving into a muddy field, getting stuck and threatening police that there was a bomb in the truck; eventually she was arrested and a bomb squad cleared the scene.

Kalkaska County Sheriff Pat Whiteford said deputies responded to a suspicious red pickup around 10 a.m. in the Lodi area in Kalkaska Township. That's when the motorist fled in the vehicle on M-66 North and then onto M-72 East for about two more miles before leaving the roadway and going into an open field, he said.

The truck continued south for a quarter-mile, went over an embankment and got stuck in a mud pit. The driver then threatened there was a bomb in the truck, so deputies took up a perimeter behind the embankment, Whiteford said.

Authorities said the woman seemed to fall in and out of consciousness as the vehicle began to fill with smoke. She eventually put her hands out the window and deputies pulled her from the truck and arrested her, the sheriff said.

The woman, a 31-year-old and sole truck occupant, was treated by emergency medical responders before authorities took her to Kalkaska County Jail to be booked on charges of fleeing and eluding police, and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Michigan State Police bomb squad ensured there were no explosive devices in the vehicle, before authorities towed it out of the field and confiscated it for evidence.

Whiteford said the truck was reported stolen out of Wayland in Allegan County.

An arraignment date has not yet been set with Kalkaska County's 87th District Court, officials said.
A student opened fire on officers responding to a report of a possible gunman at a Tennessee high school Monday, and police shot back and killed him, authorities said. The shooting wounded an officer and comes as the community reels from off-campus gun violence that has left three other students dead this year.

Police found the student in a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, a city about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east of Nashville, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch said at a news conference. They ordered the student to come out, but he wouldnt comply, and thats when he reportedly opened fire, Rausch said. Police fired back.

The student died at the school, and the officer was taken into surgery after being shot at least once in the upper leg, authorities said. The officer was expected to recover, and no one else was hurt. It wasnt yet clear why the student brought a gun to school or why he fired at officers.

Its a sad day for Knoxville, and its tough for Austin-East, Rausch said.

Asked about the overwhelming police response to a call that came in just before afternoon dismissal, Knoxville Police Chief Eve Thomas said, We have a student, a school incident. Its our worst fear, an active shooter in a school.

The shooting comes as more classrooms are reopening to students after months of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic, which cut down the number of mass killings in the U.S. The nation has seen series of mass shootings in recent weeks, including eight people killed at three Atlanta-area massage businesses on March 16 and 10 people killed at Colorado supermarket on March 22.

Knox County Schools restarted in-person learning in January, but Austin-East Magnet High School went back to virtual instruction briefly in February after the spate of shooting deaths of students. The school will be closed again Tuesday and Wednesday.

Speaking outside a hospital, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told news station WATE-TV that she spoke with the wounded officer and he was conscious and in good spirits.

Kincannon, a former Knox County Schools board president, spoke at a February press conference about the gun violence that took the lives of three Austin-East students less than three weeks apart this year. Two of the victims were 15, and the other was 16.

I know that school is a safe place, Kincannon said at that time, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. Its a place where people are learning. ... The issues with violence are happening in the community, and its affecting kids when theyre outside of the school. Thats why we are focusing our efforts to protect the innocent, protect the school, protect the children and students and staff.

The newspaper reported that the school was adding three school resource officers and stepping up patrols around dismissal time.

State Rep. Sam McKenzie, who represents the district and went to the school, said in a statement: I am at a loss to describe my sadness as yet another horrific act of gun violence has happened in my community, urging people to reclaim the sanctity of our beloved neighborhood.

This is the fourth unnecessary shooting involving the Austin East community this year and we must make sure we take every step and make every effort to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur, McKenzies statement said.

Gov. Bill Lee mentioned the shooting at a Monday news conference but said he had little information.

I just wanted to make reference to that and ask, for those who are watching, online or otherwise, to pray for that situation and for the families and the victims that might be affected by that in our state, he said.

Last week, the Republican governor signed legislation that will make Tennessee the latest state to allow most adults 21 and older to carry handguns  openly or concealed  without first clearing a background check and training. Lee backed the legislation over objections from law enforcement groups, who argued that the states existing permit system provided an important safeguard for knowing who should or shouldnt be carrying a gun.

When asked earlier this year whether recent mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado and others gave him any concern about timing, Lee said the increased penalties mean that we in fact will be strengthening laws that would help prevent gun crimes in the future.
[April 13, 2021] Diabetes Action Canada partners with Canadian startup, Bitnobi, Inc., to enable secure and trusted, data sharing

TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Diabetes Action Canada, a national research network focused on transforming the health outcomes for people with diabetes, continues to demonstrate leadership in health data analytics. This has been shown through the launch of the National Diabetes Repository (NDR), and the successful testing of the Bitnobi solution to facilitate data sharing based on privacy and trust that enables the analysis of healthcare data. In partnership with Bitnobi, Inc., a Canadian startup that has designed and developed a secure data sharing platform, Diabetes Action Canada was able to execute data sharing and linkage activities within the NDR and benchmark against a pre-validated gold standard. A secondary test was also executed that allowed end users in Ontario to interact with primary care data at the Centre for Health Informatics and Analytics (CHIA) at Memorial University. The secondary test demonstrated the ability to share and analyze data without physically transferring data across provincial borders. The Bitnobi solution allows healthcare data end users an opportunity to access vital health and social data to implement data analysis that will aid in providing timely diabetes care to patients deemed high risk. The use of this software solution offers several benefits for both clinicians and patients, all of which contribute to an improved experience within the healthcare system while adhering to privacy legislation. These benefits include: Eliminating the need to move copies of raw, health data from data owner to end user

Providing only the data elements needed to answer the researchquestion

Eliminating the end users' contractual obligations for data destruction

Enforcing a data owner's data governance rules on data that can be shared with end users

Leveraging a 100% web-enabled interface for healthcare researchers to interact with previews of data to construct data queries

Securing segments of data so that downstream data analysis activities can be executed in a timely manner instead of waiting for long periods of time to secure raw data



Conrad Pow , Senior Project Manager at Diabetes Action Canada. Since the beginning of COVID-19, Bitnobi, Inc. saw the need for fast, secure data sharing and Diabetes Action Canada provided the perfect opportunity to initiate the first pilot of this solution. Hassan Jaferi, CEO of Bitnobi, Inc. stated: "The Bitnobi solution can enable de-centralized data sharing across all health sectors by enabling data owners to fully control this technology based on their data governance policies. With Diabetes Action Canada, the speed at which they deployed and tested gave us a clear-cut use case to demonstrate how this solution can speed up trusted access to health data not just within Ontario but across Canada and soon, internationally."

Ongoing Bitnobi activities with Diabetes Action Canada will include usage of the system by approved researchers, implementing distributed, data analytics and the creation of a de-centralized, data sharing network for their researchers. About Diabetes Action Canada Diabetes Action Canada is a Strategic Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Network in Diabetes and its Related Complications, part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) SPOR Program in Chronic Disease. Diabetes Action Canada's mission is to transform the health outcomes of people with diabetes and its related complications. It facilitates important and meaningful connections between patients, their primary healthcare providers, and specialists to improve health care and significant cost savings within the health system. About Bitnobi Bitnobi, Inc. is a technology startup focused on the need to safely and securely share data. The patented privacy-protected, data sharing platform does this by keeping the raw data at the source and only sending the aggregate data to the end-user. Instead of creating copies of data, Bitnobi eliminates that need by placing the onus for launching data jobs on the end-user. This is done by ensuring that the end-user meets the data provider's "rules of engagement". Bitnobi was designed and developed by experts in big data, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. The concept was spun out of research from Dr. Marin Litoiu's laboratory at York University with full support from Toronto Innovation Acceleration Partners and Innovation York. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Bitnobi has also received assistance from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ontario Centres of Excellence, Seneca College, National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Canadian Personalized Health Innovation Network, MaRS Discovery District and the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst. SOURCE Bitnobi, Inc.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 12:10:22|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's total goods imports and exports surged 29.2 percent year on year to 8.47 trillion yuan (about 1.29 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2021, official data showed Tuesday.

Exports jumped 38.7 percent from a year earlier while imports climbed 19.3 percent in yuan terms, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said.

GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen attributed the surge in foreign trade to China's continuous progress in epidemic prevention and control, as well as economic and social development.

The country's trade surplus expanded 690.6 percent to reach 759.29 billion yuan.

Private enterprises have become more vibrant and have become the main driving force for China's foreign trade growth. Their foreign trade expanded by 42.7 percent to 3.95 trillion yuan in the first quarter.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest trading partner during the period, followed by the European Union and the United States, the GAC data showed.

In the first quarter, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 21.4 percent year on year to reach 2.5 trillion yuan. The country's imports and exports to Vietnam, Indonesia and Poland achieved relatively rapid growth.

The country's trade with the other 14 members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership amounted to 2.67 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 22.9 percent year on year and accounting for 31.5 percent of its total imports and exports during the period. Enditem
(Photo : Youtube/ Mr Best) Starlink SN15 Starship rocket

After SpaceX's unsuccessful launch of SN11, the company is determined to move forward and continue with its mission. SpaceX has announced that it is working on the latest rocket prototype, the Starlink SN15.

Starship SN15 launch

Elon Musk's company rolled out the newest Starship test vehicle called Serial No. 15 or SN15. The rollout was done in its South Texas launch pad on Apr. 8, just over a week after its predecessor exploded during a high-altitude flight, according to the Independent UK.

The previous Starship vehicle, SN11, performed really well during most of its 6.2-mile-high flight on March 30. However, SN11 suffered a serious problem while it was gearing up for landing. Since then, SpaceX decided to skip the SN12, SN13, and SN14 iterations, going directly from SN11 to SN15.

Also Read: SpaceX's Starlink to Launch Satellite Internet Service in the Philippines, a Country With One of the World's Worst Internet Connections

That has been the pattern for all of the four Starship prototypes that have attempted this leap in the past four months, Teslarati reported.

All flew well until the very end when it is time to land. SN10 did land in one piece in early March, but unfortunately exploded a few minutes later.

Now SpaceX is gearing up SN15 for a similar flight in the near future.

There is a reason to be optimistic about a different outcome this time, and not just because SpaceX tends to learn fast from issues that crop up during testing, it is because SN15 is a much-improved Starship prototype, featuring hundreds of design improvements across structures, avionics, software and engine, Musk confirm via Twitter.

SpaceX is developing Starship to take people to the moon, to Mars and to other faraway locations. The deep-space transportation system consists of two elements, both of which are designed to be fully reusable: a 165-foot-high spacecraft called Starship and a giant first-stage rocket known as Super Heavy.

Both Starship and Super Heavy will be powered by the next-generation Raptor engines of SpaceX. There will be six Raptor engines for the spacecraft and 30 for the first-stage booster. Just like the four other vehicles that tried the 6-mile leap, the SN15 prototype will have three Raptors.

When will the SN15 take place?

According to the documents that SpaceX filed with the US Federal Communications Commission or FCC, SpaceX may be looking to fly the SN15 on Apr. 20.

The documents reveal SpaceX is looking to test a Starlink terminal onboard the spacecraft. Starlink is the SpaceX's space-based broadband that is beamed to Earth by a growing constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit, as per Republic World.

SpaceX has requested permission to operate a single terminal within 5km of Boca Chica on an experimental basis at altitudes not to exceed 12.5km. Starship's test flights have been up to altitudes of 12.5 and 10km.

The request states that the authority requested will be limited in duration. SpaceX requested to operate for a period of 60 days only starting Apr. 20. These operations will only occur on the ground or during test flights of durations that must not exceed 8 minutes.

The terminal will be electrically identical to Earth stations that are already authorized under SpaceX's blanket Earth station authorizations as well as its pending application for experimental authorization to operate a limited number of user terminals aboard aircraft.

Related Article: Elon Musk: SpaceX Aims for 'Full Reusability' of Rocket Boosters, Have No 'Max Limit' to Re-Fly in Missions

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(The Center Square)  President Joe Bidens proposed tax increases would result in the loss of 1 million jobs in the U.S., Rice University economists estimate in a new report.

The study, Dynamic Estimates of the Macroeconomic Effects of Tax Rate Increases and Other Tax Policy Changes, published by Rice University economists John W. Diamond and George R. Zodrow, is based on several tax proposals suggested by the Biden administration.

Biden has proposed increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, reinstating the corporate alternative minimum tax, increasing the top individual tax rate, and amending several other aspects of the tax code.

Their findings conclude quantitatively what manufacturers from coast to coast will tell you qualitatively: increasing the tax burden on companies in America means fewer American jobs. One million jobs would be lost in the first two years, to be exact, National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement. The National Association of Manufacturers sought the study.

The economists utilized the DiamondZodrow general equilibrium model to examine the short- and long-run impacts of possible tax changes on the macroeconomy. Based on their calculations, if Bidens proposals were implemented, total employment, measured by hours worked, would initially fall by 0.7%, or 1 million full-time jobs in 2023. These lost jobs would still be gone in 2026 before stabilizing, they write. The average annual reduction in employment would be equivalent to a loss of 600,000 jobs every year over 10 years.

By 2023, the U.S. GDP would decline by $117 billion; by 2026 it would decline by $190 billion, they project. Ordinary capital, or investments in equipment and structures, would be $80 billion less in 2023, $83 billion less in 2026 and $66 billion less 2031, the economists project.

Investments in intangibles, or firm-specific capital, which are highly mobile and more sensitive to marginal tax rate changes, would fall 2.7% within two years, they project. Within five years, they would decline by 3.8%.

After decades of advocating for a tax system that provided competitive rates and modern international tax provisions, manufacturers in America kept our promises following the enactment of the 2017 tax reforms: we raised wages and benefits, we hired more American workers, and we invested in our communities, Timmons said. If we undo those reforms, all of that will be put at significant risk. Manufacturing workers will lose out on jobs, growth and raises. We should be building on that progress, not rolling it back. But the conclusion of this study is inescapable  follow through with tax hikes that give other countries a clear advantage and well see far fewer jobs created in America.

After the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, manufacturing growth exploded. In 2018, manufacturers added 263,000 new jobs, the biggest increase in manufacturing job creation in 21 years.

In 2018, manufacturing wages also increased, initially by 3%, by 2.8% in 2019 and by 3% in 2020.

Manufacturing capital spending also grew by 4.5% and 5.7% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. And manufacturing production grew 2.7% in 2018, with December 2018 being the best month for manufacturing output in a decade.

The manufacturing industry employs more than 12.3 million people in the U.S. and contributes $2.32 trillion to the U.S. economy annually. The industry has the largest economic multiplier of any major sector and accounts for 63% of private-sector research and development, NAM notes.

Raising the federal corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% is a critical piece of Bidens $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, a bill that has been criticized for the majority of funding being allocated to projects and initiatives entirely unrelated to infrastructure.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the 2017 tax reform act creates an incentive for U.S. companies to offshore their workers and investments  and to shift their profits to tax havens.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and architect of the 2017 tax reform bill, said Yellens op-ed is misguided and inaccurate.

In an interview with Fox Business, Brady said, In my view, their tax proposals coupled with what weve seen out of the Senate will trigger a second wave of U.S. companies moving their jobs and research overseas. Bidens tax policy actually makes it better for a foreign company to operate in America, than an American company to operate here at home, Brady said.

This policy is very dangerous to blue-collar workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 05:49:19|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) on Monday strongly rejected any attempts to derail diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal currently under way in Vienna, the capital of Austria.

EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano told an online press conference that the reported incident in Natanz "could have been an act of sabotage," but insisted that there had been no official attribution over who was responsible.

The Natanz uranium enrichment site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday as negotiators in Vienna were seeking to readmit the United States to the 2015 pact aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, after former U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.

"There has been no official attribution and there are several accusations that we are aware of, but it has to be clarified what happened and who is behind it. We still need to clarify the facts in detail as quickly as possible," he said.

Stano said that any attempt to derail the diplomatic negotiations underway in Vienna to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) must be completely rejected.

"We reject any attempts to undermine, derail or weaken diplomatic efforts on the nuclear agreement. ... All issues concerning the nuclear program have to be resolved by diplomatic means because there is no other sustainable alternative," he stressed.

Two meetings of the JCPOA Joint Commission were held last week in Vienna, chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the EU External Service Action Service, and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and Iran.

Washington sent a delegation led by U.S. Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley to Vienna. They did not meet their Iranian counterparts face-to-face, but a shuttle diplomacy approach was adopted with the intensified help of the coordinators. Enditem
A Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is administered in this tile photo taken in New York City on April 8, 2021. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Man Hospitalized in Critical Condition With COVID-19 Despite Vaccination

A New Jersey man has been hospitalized with COVID-19 and is in critical condition after receiving the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine last month, according to his wife.

Francisco Cosme, 52, received the jab at the Javits Center in New York City on March 6, and started to feel unwell on April 1, his wife Laura Eugene said, reported ABC 7.

He started to feel like he had a sore throat, stuffy, his coughing and then he started to run a fever, started to feel fatigue. He just gets it every dayjust kept on getting a symptom, she said, noting that he tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus on April 1.

Eugene said her husband is now fighting for his life in hospital, and is also undergoing treatment for pneumonia. Doctors arent sure whether his condition will improve with time, she said.

I want to see from now whether he progresses or if he deterioratesor they just dont know which way, because they cant tell, she said.

Eugene, who also received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said her whole family have tested positive for COVID-19 since.

Me, my son, my husband, my grandkids came to visitwe didnt know we had COVID. They were tested positive as well. So everybodys in quarantine until next Sunday, she added.

Cosmes daughter, Michelle Torres, said that he continued to practice social distancing after receiving the shot, but he became very confused and began doing things that were not normal.

The 52-year-old rang 911 after experiencing difficulty breathing last week, and was taken to John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Union City, New Jersey.

Im trying to hold it together, every day you dont know what is happening, said Torres. The doctor said they did all they can do and its up to him to fight and up to God.

We survived the whole year without it [the vaccine], doing all the things we are supposed to so dosocial distancing, washing hands, and masking up, Torres added. Its crazy and we need answers.

It isnt clear whether Cosme has underlying health conditions.

Johnson & Johnson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment by The Epoch Times.

Doses of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine are seen in a refrigerator in an April 8, 2021, file photograph. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

To date, four COVID-19 vaccination sites in the United States have temporarily paused giving shots after reporting a batch of adverse reactions.

Most recently, on April 9, Georgias department of health said that injections were halted at the the Cumming Fairgrounds in Forsyth County after eight people experienced adverse reactions post-vaccination, out of 425 people who received vaccines that day.

A mass vaccination site in Colorado was shut down last week, as was a site in North Carolina, after a spate of post-vaccination adverse reactions.

We are confident in saying that there is no reason for concern, Colorados top medical officer later said after a review of each patients symptoms and an analysis of other vaccinations from the same lot.

A site in Iowa also experienced post-vaccination adverse reactions, Georgia officials said April 9.

A spokesperson for Iowas Department of Health told The Epoch Times via email that people receiving vaccines at a mass vaccination site in the state were experiencing dizziness, light headedness, feeling faint (vasovagal), rapid breathing, and sweating (anxiety-related) symptoms.

These types of responses are common and expected following vaccinations in general, she added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with state and local health officials to review the vaccine batches used in all four states, which were all from Johnson & Johnson. The agency conducted assessments, including reviewing reports submitted to the passive reporting system called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

Johnson & Johnson says anyone who experiences the following symptoms after getting a vaccine should immediately seek medical care: shortness of breath, chest pain, swelling in the leg, persistent abdominal pain, neurological symptoms, tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the site of injection, and excessive or easy bruising.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
BRIDGEPORT  In a move the police department union called unfounded and inappropriate, Acting Chief Rebeca Garcia has sidelined the Tactical Narcotics Unit as state authorities probe a civilian death that occurred during the teams search of an apartment.

When the drug enforcement unit will return to work  and what happens to its cases in the meantime  remains unclear.

The Bridgeport Police Department cannot comment any further as this is an active investigation, but looks forward to a swift conclusion, Terron Jones, a spokesman for Garcia, said in a statement Tuesday in response to a Hearst Connecticut Media request for comment.

We are confident the investigation will show that these officers did nothing wrong, Sgt. Brad Seely, the police unions president, told Hearst Connecticut. Administrative leave for the whole team is unfounded and inappropriate.

The union was expected to file a labor grievance this week.

Last Thursday Garcia issued an internal memorandum placing the narcotics units seven members on administrative status with pay following an incident the prior day.

Around 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday the unit served a search warrant in the 100 block of Chestnut Street.

According to State Police, Bridgeport police entered the apartment and were inside for a short period of time with a female occupant before an officer looked out an open window and discovered a male lying on the ground, having apparently jumped out of the window from an elevated height.

That individual  identified as 49-year-old Wilfredo Alvarado  was transported to the hospital and died.

Bridgeport made no announcement about Alvarados death. The state police issued its press release on its website last Friday, titled: Western District Major Crime Squad Detectives Investigate Suspicious Death.

According to that release, Thursday morning just before 3 a.m. Bridgeport States Attorney Joseph Corradino requested the state police investigate the circumstance surrounding Alvarados untimely death.

John DeCarlo, a former Branford police chief who runs the University of New Havens masters program in criminal justice, said placing an entire team within a department on administrative status is highly unusual.

DeCarlo said it is likely Garcia would temporarily assign some of the narcotics units ongoing work to other officers: They (Bridgeport) have a pretty sizable detective division.

That was City Councilwoman Jeanette Herrons biggest concern.

Is the work getting done? said Herron, a member of the councils public safety committee. She said the forces various special units are doing a tremendous job in our city and are a much-needed part of this department.

But Herron did not challenge Garcias decision sidelining the narcotics officers. I think during an investigation it might be a good move, she said.

Council President Aidee Nieves agreed, saying the acting chief followed standard operating procedure whenever there is a fatality involving police.

Id rather them (the narcotics unit) be away from the department to allow objectivity to happen and a clear, investigatory process, Nieves said. I respect her (Garcias) decision.

Garcia was promoted from assistant to acting top cop last September following the arrest of then-Chief Armando Perez on federal charges he cheated to obtain his position. Perez was sentenced to a year and one day in prison Monday.

Meanwhile tensions have mounted between Garcia and some of her officers, resulting in the union voting no confidence in Garcia last month.
A department store at Novis Twelve Oaks Mall and a high school in the Upper Peninsula are among 12 workplaces cited for not following COVID-19 precautions in Michigan.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the latest batch of citations on Friday. Fines ranged from $0 to $7,400, although some fines also included non-pandemic violations.

More than 200 businesses have been cited so far, with most of them receiving fines.

Violations include not having employees do a daily self-screening, not enforcing the mask mandate and not having a written COVID-19 response plan.

Workplaces are one of the most common places COVID-19 is spreading in Michigan. In the past week, K-12 schools had 48 new coronavirus outbreaks, manufacturing/construction settings had 39 outbreaks, retailers had 29 new outbreaks, bars/restaurants had 23 new outbreaks and offices also had 23 new outbreaks.

If cited businesses fix the problems and agree not to appeal, they only have to pay 50% of the fine. They have 15 working days to appeal the MIOSHA citations.

Employers and employees with questions about COVID-19 workplace policies can call the MIOSHA hotline at 855-723-3219. To file a complaint against a workplace, go to Michigan.gov/MIOSHAcomplaint.

Heres the list of the latest citations handed down by MIOSHA. To read the full citation, click the workplace name, if available.

Location: Painesdale

Fine: $1,500

Reasons: Not implementing a daily entry self-screening protocol and not completely training on workplace infection-control procedures such as conducting a daily entry self-screening to help prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2. This inspection was in response to an employee complaint.

Location: Manton

Fine: None

Reasons: Not having a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and for not documenting their daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Macys

Location: Novi

Fine: $3,500

Reasons: Not enforcing face coverings to be worn, or worn correctly over the nose and mouth, by customers who did not indicate they were medically unable to tolerate a face covering while shopping in the store. The inspection was initiated by an employee complaint.

Miranda Roofing

Location: Wyoming

Fine: $1,200

Reasons: Not having a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and for not documenting their COVID-19 training and daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Marquette

Fine: $5,200, but none from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not having their written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan onsite and for not documenting their daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Traverse City

Fine: None

Reasons: Not having a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan and not documenting their daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Traverse City

Fine: $2,000, but none from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not documenting their daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Saginaw

Fine: $6,300

Reasons: Not implementing a daily entry self-screening protocol and not requiring face coverings to be worn when employees cannot consistently maintain 6 feet of separation from other individuals in the workplace and not maintaining a record of COVID training or employee screening protocols for each employee or visitor entering the workplace. This inspection was in response to an employee complaint.

Location: Manton

Fine: $7,400, but only $2,000 from COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not having a COVID-19 supervisor and a written COVID-19 preparedness and response plan on-site and not documenting daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Saginaw

Fine: $1,500

Reasons: Not conducting a common screening protocol for all patients, including a temperature check. The inspection was initiated in response to an employee complaint.

Location: Dutton

Fine: $2,500, but only $2,000 for COVID-19 violations

Reasons: Not enforcing the requirement for face coverings in shared spaces. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

Location: Clare

Fine: $400

Reasons: Not having a COVID-19 supervisor on-site and not documenting daily health screenings. The inspection was initiated as a planned-programmed inspection.

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On March 25, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a joint hearing titled Misinformation Nation: Social Medias Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation. It addressed a wide range of issues relating to social media and misinformation and looked at how regulation could potentially help.The major focus of the hearing was whether to strengthen Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to create new oversight of social media companies. Representatives on both sides of the aisle stated support for a revision, though for different reasons. Democrats believe Section 230 limits platforms ability to moderate content while Republicans believe it gives the platforms too much power to moderate content.Other experts in the digital space have concerns about whether making changes might have unintended negative consequences.India McKinney, director of federal affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), raised concerns in a conversation withfollowing the hearing. McKinney said, EFF does not believe that Section 230 needs to be changed and could ultimately benefit Facebook because its size and ability to litigate. This could end up having an adverse effect on smaller competitors.She also fears that too many restrictions could also lead to corporate censorship, especially if the laws are vague. McKinney stated her belief that the law is balanced as it currently exists.It actually does a pretty good job of allowing platforms to moderate their own content without fear of nuisance lawsuits, and also still gives the individual users the right to hold other users accountable for the speech that they say online, McKinney said.McKinney proposed an alternative solution that would not have First Amendment implications: privacy legislation.Much of what was discussed int the hearing centered on privacy and the management of personal data. She argues that a private right of action could hold companies accountable by giving power back to the users  she cites Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act as one strong example.Still, misinformation is a major concern with big tech platforms. New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, chairman of the House Committee of Energy and Commerce, addressed the danger of this misinformation and the need to hold social media companies accountable in his opening statement. He cited a Pew survey that claimed 30 percent of Americans are still hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine and quoted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who identified domestic violent extremism as the greatest threat to the United States.The time for self-regulation is over, Pallone said.McKinney, however, emphasized the importance of considering free speech with any legislation that might regulate misinformation. She also noted the ambiguity of a term like misinformation, emphasizing the importance of defining it in a legal context to keep it separate from hyperbole, satire, parody, political commentary and opinion.Illinois Rep. Janice Schakowsky, chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, also addressed the misinformation occurring on these platforms, emphasizing its impact to democracy. She acknowledged that platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google have fundamentally and permanently transformed our very culture. Despite her belief that much of this transformation has been positive, she said that American democracy has also been harmed by the divisiveness of misinformation and extremism.The regulation we seek should not attempt to limit constitutionally protected free speech, but it must hold platforms accountable when they are used to incite violence and hatred  or as in the case of the COVID pandemic  spread misinformation that costs thousands of lives, said Schakowsky.Part of the issue, as addressed in the hearing, is the fact that these platforms were created for private users, making increased engagement and profit driving factors.Rather than limit the spread of disinformation, Facebook, Google and Twitter have created business models that exploit the human brains preference for divisive content to get Americans hooked on their platform, at the expense of public interest, stated Pallone.McKinney echoed this sentiment in her case for the private right of action, stating that it is something that large platforms do not want because it could hurt their bottom line. While she understands the congressional concerns, it is EFF's position that legislation needs to happen in different areas.McKinney believes there is a lot to be done in terms of honest competition on antitrust and privacy and said that stricter regulations on privacy and more transparency requirements would give outside groups greater ability to audit, among other things.That really changes the landscape of what [platforms] can get away with doing and that would really shift the dynamic of a lot of the decisions that they make, and I think that could be really interesting, McKinney said.Government TechnologyGoverning
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Scott Elder is slated to run Albuquerque Public Schools for at least three years, and he will continue to make $225,000 annually for now with a host of benefits.

His employment contract was approved by the Board of Education on Monday, which outlined his term from July 1 to June 30, 2024, with potential extensions and opportunities for raises.

That (term is) usually the minimum for a large, urban district and Scotts salary is actually a little less than whats normally recommended, Board President David Peercy said during a meeting Monday morning.

The school board voted 5-1 to sign off on the contract. Peggy Muller-Aragon, who voted no, raised issues about parts of the agreement, including a provision that commits the board to pay the superintendents legal fees under some circumstances. Yolanda Montoya-Cordova wasnt present for the vote.

Contract Highlights

Annual leave of 22 paid days a year

$500 a month for community organization expenses

A district car to use

$250,000 life insurance policy

Employer-paid contributions to a supplemental retirement plan of $50,000 at the end of the 2021-2022 contract year, $55,000 at the end of the 2022-2023 contract year and $60,000 at the end of the 2023-2024 contract year

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



................................................................

The board picked Elder to be the districts superintendent in March following a lengthy search and after he had been serving as interim superintendent.

While his salary is the same as when he was interim superintendent, it can increase each year.

This salary shall be increased in each school year during the term of this contract to reflect the Board of Educations yearly evaluation review, meeting agreed-(upon) goals and available state revenue, the document states.

There is also the potential for a salary adjustment based on decisions that come down from the Roundhouse.

The board shall further have the authority, for any school year governed by the terms of this contract and for which a salary increase is mandated if the district meets conditions as specified by the legislature of New Mexico, to implement salary adjustments during the school year in accordance with a salary schedule adopted by the board in accordance with the legislative guidelines for that year, the contract states.

Elder succeeds Raquel Reedy who was in charge of the district for five years.

Employment Contract between Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education and Scott Elder 2021 by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd

This is a draft of the employment contract. Board members made the following changes at a public meeting: altered the term from a two-year period to a three-year period; the annual salary was changed to read $225,000 instead of $225.000; and language was altered on page five to say that the board and superintendent may meet in executive session rather than shall.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has presented assorted intensive care equipment valued at GH2,132,000 to Ghana.

The donation is the latest by the United Nations to the country through WHO towards the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.



The gesture coincided with the commemoration of World Health Day on April 7, 2021, and was to help the country sustain the progress currently experienced in the fight against COVID-19.



The 9,580 items included 220 adult pulse oximeters and accessories; 160 paediatric pulse oximeters and accessories, eight ventilators; eight air compressors and accessories; 30 portable handheld pulse oximeters and accessories, and 275 adult venturi masks.



Others were 257 paediatric venturi masks; 1,100 nasal oxygen cannula with prongs for adults and the same number of the product for paediatric use; 55 oxygen concentrator kits with spare parts; 1,950 coveralls; 270 pairs of gum boots; 330 shoe covers, and 3,780 pieces of 200ml bottles of hand sanitisers.



WHOs commitment



Presenting the items through the Ministry of Health in Accra last Friday, the WHO Country Representative, Dr Francis Kaslo, expressed the hope that the equipment would help in containing COVID-19 in the country.



As WHO, we remain committed to ensuring that all people in Africa and globally can realise the right to good health. We also hope that these ICU equipment would go a long way to support governments efforts to contain the pandemic.



Dr Kaslo said the COVID-19 pandemic had shone a light on inequalities between countries amid shortages of essential supplies, pushing African countries to the back of the queue in accessing COVID-19 test kits, personal protective equipment and now vaccines.



He said the pandemic had shone more light on discrimination in the health sector based on gender, place of residence, income, educational level, age, ethnicity and disability, among other vulnerable populations.



To improve this situation, we need to act on social and economic determinants of health by working across sectors to improve the living and working conditions, he said.



He called for more investments in health to accelerate progress towards attaining universal health coverage to protect individuals from financial hardships to improve access to services and coverage.



Gratitude



The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, expressed gratitude to WHO for the gesture and the technical and financial support to the countrys health sector over the years.



He said Ghana was, particularly, grateful to the global health body because despite the tremendous strides made with regard to managing the COVID-19 situation, it had not held back its support to help the country overcome the pandemic.



He said the countrys efforts had seen a reduction of the national burden from over 8,000 with 200 cases a day to less than 2,000 cases with less than 50 daily cases on the average.



Vaccines



The minister said government was committed to its promise of ensuring that all who qualified to be vaccinated received their jabs before the close of the year.



He, however, said vaccine equity and nationality had become rare.



What we are going through with vaccines now is that even if you have money, you cannot get the vaccines to procure anywhere.



Our President has started very high-level diplomatic engagements, but we are yet to see fruits coming out of that window.



So the world would have to begin to think differently to see how what it gave a try to, to ensure vaccine equity, works better. This is because with what we see now, the COVAX facility that was to ensure equitable distribution globally is much challenged.



The AU is also facing challenges with suppliers, and, therefore, Africa would face problems with access to the vaccines. But regardless, we would not lose hope, we will continue to fight on until some of these challenges are resolved, he stressed.



He expressed the hope that WHO would support in resolving the hurdles to ensure Africa got its fair share of the vaccines.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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DELTA, Colo., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Farming Inc, established in 2018, is a vertically integrated industrial hemp company with operations in CO and KY. From seed to sale, the company handled it all. The company has 300L CO2 CBD extraction/ distillation equipment in 8600 Sq. ft. industrial building in Delta, Colorado; Alcohol Extraction/ distillation equipment along with Indoor Hemp Clones in 14,000 Sq. ft facility in Louisville, Kentucky. Besides growing Smokable flowers at Louisville facility, Green Hemp Farms had been cultivating Hemp on 80 acres (out of 300 Acres) in Gravel Switch, Kentucky for 2 seasons. The company planned Indoor Hemp and Greenhouse facility along with packaging of own branded CBD Products (CBDboost) at 62,000 sq. ft La Junta, CO facility. Some of the equipment purchased in 2020 is still in Boxes at Delta Facility.

Green Hemp Farms has CBD oil infused Products under the brand name of "CBDboost" Smokable Hemp Flower at Louisville Indoor Facility

Green Hemp Farms had been looking for an established manufacturer and distributor based in the United States last year that would mutually benefit from incorporating high-quality CBD isolate / distillate into their product line. It was not successful. Then over and above, due to oversupply of Hemp and COVID, the price of Hemp and CBD slumped. Green Farming Inc. closed their Delta, CO facility in June 2020 and planned not to cultivate Hemp in 2021; only growing smokable Hemp Flower with skeletal crew.

This year, the company was looking to sell all the four facilities along with equipment as Turnkey Business at 50% discount for $16 mil. Recently, Broker checked that buyer can get $10 mil loan on real estate and equipment. Green Hemp Farms has dropped the price to $10 million dollars plus $3 mil for Inventory in the form of CBD oil, Dry Hemp, CBD infused Products and Smokable flower for immediate cash out. Anybody can take over the whole enterprise by borrowing the money for real estate and equipment while recovering for the inventory by selling partial at a premium.

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* UK-EU trade volumes suffer since Dec. 31 Brexit transition end

* Paperwork, transport delays cited among new hurdles

* Survey suggests some German firms changing supply chains

By Giulia Segreti and Simon Johnson

ROME/STOCKHOLM, April 13 (Reuters) - Post-Brexit trade rules mean prosecco supplier Serena Wines 1881 must store bottles destined for Britain on costlier, fumigated pallets in their own corner of its warehouse in the northeast Italian town of Conegliano.

The new shipment requirement is one example of the extra cost and complexity that firms across continental Europe face serving British customers since Jan. 1, adding to disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to drive UK-EU trade volumes lower.

"These first months have been hectic, hellish for everyone," said export manager Nicola Piovesana. "Delivery times are now longer, now it takes 2 weeks to get to the (UK) client, while before it took one week at the most."

The Dec. 24 deal reached between Britain and the EU after years of wrangling over post-Brexit trade terms at least meant goods trade - roughly half the total $900 billion of annual EU-UK commerce - was spared from tariffs and quotas.

But January trade volumes crashed as difficulties with the new rules combined with a hit from pandemic restrictions and substantial stockpiling by firms on both sides of the English channel in late-2020 in anticipation of trouble.

UK data released on Tuesday showed only a partial recovery in February, with British goods exports to the EU 12.5% below year-ago levels and imports 11.5% down. Data from Italy, France and Germany - Britain's biggest EU trading partner - have all shown falls in the volume of UK trade in February.

With Britain its second largest export market after Germany, Serena Wines has bent over backwards to secure business with UK hotels, restaurants and caterers by revamping internal customs processes and dedicating one staff member to Britain alone.

Story continues

But the pallet issue is typical of the type of knock-on impacts that companies are now having to deal with: in this case, trade with any non-EU country means international rules on anti-pest treatment of wood packaging apply.

Piovesana says the fumigated pallets cost about 9.50 euros (8.23 sterling) each, almost 20% more than the regular ones. UK guidance is for firms to consider switching from wooden to plastic pallets.

"EASIER TO SHIP TO ASIA"

High Quality Foods, a Rome-based food supplier to high-end outlets from artisanal bakers to West End eateries, struggles most with documentation on speciality meat products like beef from Black Angus cattle crossed with an Italian breed.

"There seems to be a trap in every corner," lamented managing director Simone Cozzi, adding the company's hygiene officer - a trained veterinarian  now needed to spend extra time with them when filling in the necessary paperwork.

Cozzi said delays at customs points had also added to transport costs because drivers want more money to compensate for wasted time, while air shipments can be held in a UK airport for 24-plus hours compared to only 30-45 minutes in Hong Kong.

"At the moment it is actually easier to ship things to Asia," he said.

Italian farmers association Coldiretti cites such hurdles as endangering 3.4 billion euros of Italian agri-food exports, pointing to a 38% drop in exports of foodstuffs to the UK in January and almost 14% in February.

Some firms have found work-arounds - albeit at a cost.

Swedish wood products supplier Vida Wood, riding the wave of lockdown-induced booms in DIY home improvement activity, had an existing UK subsidiary which now takes care of all the customs hassle and bills the British end-customer from there.

"So there is more administration for us," said CEO Karl-Johan Lowenadler, acknowledging that solution would not be available to smaller companies with no UK presence like its 11-person operation in Billericay, 25 miles (40 km) east of London.

MORE CHECKS TO COME

While stories of major disruption are common among goods exporters across different sectors in Europe, the unanswered question remains what the long-term impact on trade will be.

A UK government spokesperson said the February data showed "welcome growth" in the value of trade with the EU from January, suggesting most traders and hauliers were now adapting.

"It's premature to make any firm judgments on the long-term impacts of our new trading relationship with the EU, especially with the pandemic still ongoing," the spokesperson added.

The Bank of England expects UK-EU trade in goods and services to fall by more than 10% in the long term due to post-Brexit restrictions, and for British output to be around 3% lower than if the government had agreed to the EU rules needed for a frictionless trade deal.

Moreover, exporters to Britain face added complications in the coming months, with extra paperwork for UK food imports such as meat, fish and cheese needed from October and a further raft of checks to take effect from January 2022.

A group of lawmakers and heads of business will hold a first "evidence session" on Brexit's trade impact on Thursday with a view to making recommendations on possible improvements.

Yet even before Brexit, the EU's share of Britain's trade had already been declining for years, with figures quoted in a UK parliament report last year showing UK exports to the EU made up 43% of all its exports in 2019, down from 54% in 2006.

Some major European exporters are resigned to the idea that, while the early disruption will eventually settle down, the logic of a Brexit deal that spurned closer ties will inevitably lead to a further drift southwards of UK-EU trade volumes.

It could already be happening: A December 2020 survey of members of Germany's BGA trade association showed one out of five companies were reorganizing supply chains to swap out British suppliers in favour of those in the EU single market. (1 euro = 0.87 sterling)

(Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer, Michael Nienaber, Jan Strupczewski, Richard Lough, David Milliken, Liz Piper; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Toby Chopra and Jon Boyle)
Cruise lines are already betting big on a rebound, even though the CDC has yet to give the go-ahead for ships to sail to and from US ports.

Here's what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

(You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)

1. Coronavirus

The United States is still seeing an increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, especially among younger people who haven't gotten a vaccine. However, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky did point out death rates are going down. That's cold comfort considering more than 562,000 people in the US have now died of the virus. China is in a tight spot after the country's top health official admitted efficacy rates for Chinese Covid-19 vaccines are "not high." He suggested either increasing doses or mixing with other vaccines to improve performance. India just crossed the threshold of 100 million vaccinations, but the country is still contending with record case numbers. Canadians in Montreal are protesting a new curfew put into effect to curb Covid-19 numbers, while in the UK, officials are lauding the slow rollback of restrictions as vaccinations increase.

2. Congress

Congress will return to Washington this week with a jam-packed agenda, facing big questions about infrastructure, immigration and gun control. President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure and tax plan will be front and center, but it could take months to advance as Democrats remain divided over details of the policy and how, exactly, to pass it. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says Biden hopes for real progress on the plan by Memorial Day. Meanwhile, there are discussions about a possible bipartisan approach to expand background checks and other gun legislation following a spate of mass shootings, but it's not clear whether a deal can be made that will pass through both chambers.

3. Police violence

The Minnesota National Guard was deployed to Brooklyn Center last night after hundreds of people gathered to protest the death of a man in an officer-involved shooting and car crash. Police said they were trying to take a man into custody after they determined he had outstanding warrants during a traffic stop. He got back into his vehicle and an officer shot him, police said. He then drove several blocks before striking another vehicle, police said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz identified the man as Daunte Wright. Wright's mother said her 20-year-old son called her as he was being pulled over, saying it was because he had air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror.

4. Iran

The head of Iran's atomic energy agency has labeled an incident at the country's Natanz nuclear site as a "terrorist action," and now Israel's army chief has appeared to hint at possible Israeli involvement. Natanz is an underground facility where uranium enrichment takes place. Iranian officials were especially suspicious because the incident, characterized by a member of Iran's parliament as a "blackout," happened on the weekend of Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day. Israel's Prime Minister's office offered no comment on the reports.

5. United Arab Emirates

The United Nations is "very concerned" about the welfare of Princess Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, the missing daughter of Dubai's ruler in the United Arab Emirates. In secret recordings obtained by the BBC and shared with CNN in February, Princess Latifa claimed she was being held hostage in a "villa converted into a jail," with no access to medical help. She also sent a letter to UK police that month, asking them to investigate the alleged kidnapping of her sister in Britain in 2000. At the time of the recordings, Dubai's royal family said Latifa was being cared for at home. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the family for "proof of life" late last week, but has not received it.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Hideki Matsuyama wins the 2021 Masters

He's the first Japanese man to don the green jacket.

Here's who won at the BAFTA Awards

Quick -- what does a BAFTA trophy look like? The answer is at the end of this section*.

The job of binge-watching true crime for a day is back -- and could earn you $2,400

And to think we've been doing it all this time for free!

Why ending pandemic lockdowns created new shortages of ketchup and everything else

Three words: Supply chain issues.

The time has come to start training the pets for your return to work

Who will go through the worse separation anxiety, us or them?

*It's a mask!

HAPPENING LATER

The Chauvin trial resumes

The third week of the murder trail of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin begins today. Minnesota prosecutors are nearing the end of their case, so the defense may begin to call witnesses week. Here's a preview of what their three main arguments will be in an effort to gain an acquittal.

TODAY'S NUMBER

$85

That's how much Myanmar's military is charging families to retrieve the bodies of relatives killed by security forces in a bloody crackdown on Friday. At least 82 people were killed in the city of Bago after it was "raided" by the military's security forces, according to an advocacy group.

TODAY'S QUOTE

"The Queen as you would expect is an incredibly stoic person. And she described his passing as a miracle. And she's contemplating ... She described it as having left a huge void in her life."

Britian's Prince Andrew, describing how his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, is faring following the death of her husband Prince Philip last week.

TODAY'S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY

It all comes together

These fascinating sculptures look like nothing in particular until you look from a certain angle and BOOM -- magic. (Click here to view)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Maybe congestion pricing isnt the perfect solution to our climate troubles after all.

Maybe congestion pricing is exactly what it looks like on the surface: A money grab by greedy lawmakers who can hardly manage the budget dollars theyre already entrusted with.

London has had a congestion pricing plan in place since 2003. As with the coming congestion plan for New York, the goal has been to reduce traffic in a very congested part of town as well as help the environment by cutting down on vehicle emissions.

It turns out that the program has been a mixed environmental bag for London, according to a recent study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

The study found that while levels of carbon monoxide and particulate matter in the air had declined by 20 percent, levels of dangerous nitrogen dioxide had actually increased since the implementation of congestion pricing.

The reason? More Londoners decided to travel to the congestion zone via bus or for-hire cars, which are exempt from the congestion fee. Bus and car trips into the congestion zone had increased by 20 percent, the study found.

An unintended consequence, but one that in hindsight was easy to foresee. Because thats another supposed goal of congestion pricing programs: To get people out of their cars and onto mass transit or some other travel alternative.

Londoners did just that. The end result was fewer drivers choosing to pay the congestion fee, but vehicles belching out increasing amounts of a dangerous pollutant in the London congestion zone.

Its actually fitting because congestion pricing is a paradox any way you look at it.

If you achieve the goal of discouraging enough motorists from traveling into crowded parts of a city, you cant make any congestion pricing revenue off of them. Itll help solve your pollution problem, but would leave you with less money in the till.

And now we have evidence that suggests that congestion pricing isnt always an unqualified boon to the environment either.

Elected officials should just be honest with us: Its the money that theyd rather have.

Because youre not going to eliminate vehicle traffic from the streets of Manhattan. Not with all those elected officials and public employees rolling around out there with parking placards. You think some local lawmaker is going to suddenly start taking the subway?

Never mind all the commercial vehicles and delivery trucks that have no choice but to keep traveling into the heart of Manhattan. Theyll just pass the cost of the congestion fee along to their customers. Itll become part of the price of doing business.

What congestion pricing will do more is make Manhattan a battleground between the haves and the have-nots.

If youre from an outer borough, youll have to pay for the privilege of entering sacred Manhattan. But if you already live in the big town, youll potentially be able to tool around on emptier streets.

You might even have better luck finding street parking, for as long as were allowed to use public streets for vehicle storage, that is.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a monkey wrench into it all. Because businesses have realized that they dont need to spend through the nose for office space in Manhattan. Their employees are just as efficient if not more so working from home.

And some workers remain so fearful of the virus that they dont plan on returning to the office any time soon. Others just enjoy the convenience of working from home and not being under the all-seeing eyes of their supervisors. Theyll happily spend the rest of their days working remotely.

In other words, the pool of potential congestion-pricing payees has likely shrunk permanently.

Lawmakers are going to have to make up that money somewhere. Because congestion pricing might not cut it after all.
Share, the lifestyle rewards programme by Majid Al Futtaim, has launched a new initiative this month encouraging customers to share by giving back.

Members can help by donating their Share points to support non-profit organisations like Al Jalila Foundation. To donate points, customers simply have to log into the Share app and click on Share your Points on the homepage.

Giving back will also happen with every meal purchased using Share. When a customer spends more than AED 50 dining in Majid Al Futtaim malls or hotel restaurants or orders a Share this Ramadan VOX Cinemas Combo, Share will donate on their behalf. Donated meals will be done via Carrefour and in partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent.

Kashmira Motiwalla, Head of Loyalty at Majid Al Futtaim - Holding said: "Across our business, we have enormous potential to create an incredible impact in communities in which we operate. There is no better time to give back to our communities than Ramadan, as charitable giving is an important tradition during this holy month. This year Share is proud to be supporting our loyal members in giving back with a few simple clicks on the Share app. We are rallying customers across the UAE to join Share and help us give back in the form of points or care packages to those in need.

Outside of Share, Majid Al Futtaim is proud to be supporting non-profit organisations through key initiatives at Crate & Barrel, LEGO and Ski Dubai. More details on each initiative can be found at www.sharerewards.com/giveback

Al Jalila Foundation is dedicated to transforming lives through medical research, education and treatment in the UAE. Donations will support Farah, Al Jalila Foundations paediatric program which provides life-saving treatment, funds cutting edge research and offers hope to countless children and their families. Emirates Red Crescent is a volunteer humanitarian organisation that supports official authorities in times of peace and war. Majid Al Futtaim chose to help each organisation because of the significant public benefit, relief and important assistance they provide.

The Share rewards programme is Majid Al Futtaims lifestyle rewards programme. Share members can earn points for all their purchases made across Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls and brands in the UAE. Points can then be used to pay for purchases and experiences, of they can be shared with family and friends. Share members also have access to an array of exclusive benefits and experiences to enjoy and share with others. -- Tradearabia News Service
More than a year after the coronavirus first swept through New York, the streets of Sunset Park in southern Brooklyn reflect the pandemics deep and unhealed wounds intertwined with signs of a neighborhood trying to edge back to life.

The sidewalks are filling with shoppers and vendors. More businesses are welcoming customers. But owners still struggle to pay rent and keep their enterprises afloat, while many workers laid off after the city locked down last year remain without jobs.

And while the rate of vaccination in New York has increased significantly, the coronavirus still percolates through this densely packed neighborhood. The ZIP code that includes Sunset Park had the highest rate of positive cases in Brooklyn in early April, nearly double the citywide rate. Some residents have expressed skepticism about the vaccines, spooked by false information circulated over TikTok and other social media.

Adding to the stress is a spate of hate crimes and violence against people of Asian descent in New York and around the country, fed in some cases by racist claims that Asian-Americans are responsible for spreading the virus.
Regional

Arrested separatist leader sent to judicial custody

Correspondent IMPHAL, APR 12 | Publish Date: 4/12/2021 12:41:51 PM IST

Special NIA court in Imphal on Monday sent arrested separatist leader Narengbam Samarjit to judicial custody for 15 days.

The self-styled external-defence minister of the Manipur government exile in Landon was produced in the court of the special NIA court amid tight security measures today. Special NIA judge W Tonen sent him to judicial custody for 15 days (till April 26) while fixing the hearing for bail the separatist leader pleaded to the court on April 17.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) was investigating a case registered against declaration of Manipurs independence from Indian Union and formation of Manipur State Council (MSC) based in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2019.

Interestingly, the arrest of separatist leader came up barely two days after the NIA submitted a charge-sheet against him (Samarjit) and four others including self-styled chief minister of the de jure government Yambem Biren in the special NIA court in Imphal. The NIA charged them under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13 and 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Samarjit was arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi on March 25 last while the charge-sheet was submitted on March 23. The separatist leader was in London along with his associate self-proclaimed chief minister of the de-jure government Yambem Biren since they declared Manipurs independence from Indian Union.

In the charge-sheet, NIA alleged that Samarjit was the chairman and managing director of Salai Group of Companies and SMART Society and he and his associates, Elangbam Brojendro Singh and Akoijam Deepa Anand, were allegedly collecting huge amounts of money and cheating the public by taking deposits from by offering 36 per cent annual returns without any legal authority.
A Kerry priest has questioned whether Catholics should continue to pay their TV licence fee after a disturbing, inaccurate and disrespectful storyline on RTE's Fair City.

And according to Fr Kevin McNamara, parish priest of the north Kerry parish of Moyvane, it is not the first time the long-running soap has inaccurately reflected Confession.

It really downgraded the sacrament at a very sensitive time, Fr McNamara said of the episode.

Confession wrongly portrayed

Fr McNamara said the Confession breached all kinds of protocols. It was made to seem it would take place in front of an altar, there was drink involved, and the priest donned a stole, to name some of the issues.

In the offending scenes, Ger Lynch (played by Tina Kellegher) had asked Fr Liam Plunkett (Phelim Drew) to hear her Confession, but went on to remind him of a night they had shared when in their teens many years previously, and made the shock revelation that he is the father of Ger's daughter, Hayley.

Broadcast date 'added to hurt'

To add to "the hurt", the episode was broadcast on Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast which focuses on the sacrament of Confession, Fr McNamara said.

In a previous storyline some years ago, the same soap gave "a false and disturbing storyline" about a priest breaking the seal of Confession, he also said:

This showed that the scriptwriters had very little research done on what Confession really is. Have they learned anything?

Newsletter broadside

The weekends newsletter in Moyvane will carry a piece headlined Fair City  Not Fair on Confession, the priest said. In it, he will ask Catholics to reflect on the TV licence fee.

Why should Catholics continue to pay their TV Licence to a station who continually and deliberately shows a lack of knowledge and respect for the Catholic faith and for sacred doctrine? Fr McNamara asked.

RTE: 'No intention to cause offence'

Last night, RTE said that it had made contact with Fr Kevin to say it is sorry he was disappointed in the story, and that there was no intention to cause offence. It also pointed out that the Confession stopped short of going ahead.
ezra klein

Im Ezra Klein, and this is The Ezra Klein Show. [MUSIC PLAYING] So when I do these introductions, I try to have a particular thread Im following, something to set up the main argument or the main question of the show, but thats not possible today. It wouldnt do this justice. Theres too much in this show for me to wrap it into one idea. It is, as my guest might say, really thick, and it is great. Tressie McMillan Cottom is a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shes the author of the book Lower Ed and then the wonderful essay collection, Thick, which was a National Book Award finalist in 2019. She won a MacArthur Genius grant. Shes co-host of the podcast Hear to Slay, and shes just one of those people who you can ask her any question, any question at all, and you just get a sparklingly interesting answer. Prepping for this was intimidating because her work is just vast, from academic research on how for-profit colleges generate inequality, to sprawling essays on Dolly Parton, to these analysis of how beauty functions in contemporary America, to ideas about the roles hustle plays in the American economy, everything, everything, everything in between. But in part, I just wanted to understand how does she take on so many different topics constructively. Like, what is her process for being able to say something useful as she moves into these different areas. Its a lot to find something intelligent to say about, but as youll hear, theres also one idea that thrums the core of a lot of this, and that is the way status structures reinforces the hierarchies of American life of who gets listened to and who gets seen and why, but this is honestly one of those conversations that could have gone for four more hours. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. As always, my email is ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Heres Tressie McMillan Cottom. [MUSIC PLAYING] So something I always admire about your work is the range of topics youre able to write in and the range of topics you write about and this crazy group of registers you do from Twitter, to Substack, to academic work. So I wanted to start here. How did you train yourself to write in so many different ways?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Oh, man. I wish I could say that I did train myself to write in so many ways. I think what happens instead is that  first of all, Im a very curious person. Im in these spaces anyway. I am an internet person for better or for worse, right? I came of age as a public person and like live journal, right? Like, I have followed the development of these spaces just like any other person, I think, of my generation, though. Thats just kind of where. Thats where we were hanging out. And when Im in a space, this predates being a sociologist or an academic. When Im in a space, Im very much a one step, in one step removed kind of person. Im watching the thing Im participating in, cant turn that off. Its just what I am and who I am. And so it makes sense for me that if Im on Twitter, Im also thinking about Twitter, right? Im thinking about, why are all these people here? Whats the audience looking? Whats that about? And so that comes out in the things that Im interested in. So thats one thing. I think training myself to write to that audience  understanding it is one thing, to be fair. Understanding everything as a genre is another thing, and there was a moment when I realized this is just like learning how to write the five paragraph essay, right, as opposed to a long form piece of creative nonfiction. Every medium has a genre, and some of that, cracking some of it really is just fun for me. Its like, OK. Let me see if I can do this. I cant do them all, to be fair. There are definitely some genres, especially ones that lean more visual, because Im a textual kind of girl. And I just dont get like visual and editing, but some of it is just fun for me to see if I can remix the genre. First of all, can I capture it? And then can I remix it a little? Can I make an essay you have like the free-wheeling feeling of Twitter? Can I surprise an audience that thought they were showing up for like a first person essay with a little bit of empirical thinking? Can I just sort of surprise people? Thats part of the fun for me.

ezra klein

How do the genres change the way you think? When you sit down and you begin writing in the academic register versus the personal essay register, does it change the kinds of thoughts you have?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes. What will often happen is I sit down, and theres something I want to write about or Im obligated to write about. That happens sometimes, too. Like, I just got to write about it. And one of the first questions I kind of ask myself is, what is the right speed for this argument? So I actually think that one of the things that happens in writing in different registers is that you become much more reflexive about, should this have just been a tweet, which is totally fair, right? And I think its a fair thing to say. Sometimes Ill start on an argument, and Ill go, this is not substantive enough for like this genre. And Ill even push back sometimes now, like editors or people Im collaborating with and go, yall, I think we just mean to write a quick write up and move on. One of the things the academics are taken a task for is bloviating and over-complicating simple things, and I really do think we could be set free a little bit if we would just admit that sometimes the thing we turned into like an academic piece probably just should have been either a first person essay or a tweet or somewhere in between, but status drives us sometimes more than the question were asking. But I sit down and I go, OK, what is the right speed for this? Whats the right genre? When will I know that this argument is done? I like a complete argument. I like to walk away from something and say I left it all on the court, and sometimes thats 240 characters. Sometimes its 20,000 words, and just being like attuned to that, that those are options. Those are choices. I ask myself that a lot when I sit down and I start with an argument. Whats the right size?

ezra klein

I feel like I used to be able to ask that question of myself. I came up as a blogger, and Im an internet person.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah.

ezra klein

And I would write little posts and long ones. And I swear to you, I cannot, no matter how hard I try now, write something that is in between 280 characters and 1,800 words.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Its one or the other?

ezra klein

I completely lost the register, like all the way in between. Its like a book. Its like a long essay, or its a tweet.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yup.

ezra klein

And God forbid you have 400 words worth of something to say. I just cant seem to stop then.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Because then you just feel like you talk  it feels like a stub, right?

ezra klein

Yeah.

tressie mcmillan cottom

I call those stubs. Ive got so many of those. Its something like 350 words or something, and Im not sure where that would go. I think what youre asking is for us to bring back Blogger. I think thats what youre suggesting we do.

ezra klein

Well, Im always asking for us to bring back blogging. [LAUGHING] There is a nostalgia, oftentimes, among people who came up in it, for the internet of the aughts.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. The old internet.

ezra klein

Do you think thats nostalgia, or do you think something was lost?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Hmm. OK. So I now work with a lot of internet people. Im in an Information School at a University. And so a lot of my very good friends are those people, so I want to tip-top carefully. I do think that there was a clubbiness and a camaraderie, even among people who politically disagreed. There was a class of thinkers, a class of writers who came up in that web 2.0 that does feel like, yeah, we lost something there. There was a humanity there for good or for bad. Humanity is messy, but there was a sense that those ideas were attached to people, and there were things driving those people, theres a reason they had chosen to be in that space before it all became about chasing an audience in a platform and turning that into influencer and translating that into that  before all that happened, the professionalization of it all. And thats what I think were missing when we become nostalgic for that web 2.0. I think its the people in the machine. Having said that, I am very resistant to nostalgia as a thing because usually what we are nostalgic for is a time that just was not that great for a lot of people. And so what we were usually a really nostalgic for is a time when we didnt have to think so much about who was missing in the room, who wasnt at the table. So when I talk to friends, and especially younger people coming up behind us either in the internet or in writing spaces, were like, that time was horrible for young queer people. They talk about looking for little safe pockets of space in web 2.0 world where it was still very OK to be homophobic, for example, in those spaces and our casual language and how we structured that kind of thing. And they love being able to leave that part behind in this new world of whatever the web is now, both a consolidated and a disaggregated new web. Thats why Im like resistant to nostalgia. At the same time, Im like, yeah. I also laugh and go, I really miss having a blog. In some ways, coming back to the newsletter, and Substack was kind part of that. Its me being nostalgic for having a place where I could put thoughts that didnt fit into any other discourse or genre, and I wanted a space where I could talk to people who were actually interacting like real people. They werent acting like bots, or trolls, or whatever your internet persona is. So, I mean, I say Im resistant to nostalgia. I just try not to reproduce, but even I get a little  Ill always have a soft spot for Blogger, which is coincidentally my first where I state space on Blogger.

ezra klein

Yup. Me too.

tressie mcmillan cottom

[LAUGHS] Ill always be a little romantic about it.

ezra klein

But I think youre right about that criticism of it, too. Something that, for all that I can tip into nostalgia, something that I think is often missed in todays conversation is the conversation has never been wider.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes.

ezra klein

People talk all about things they cant say, but it has never been wider.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yup.

ezra klein

Theres never been a larger allowable space of things you could say.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Thats right.

ezra klein

And people have also never been more pissed about how it feels to participate in it. I dont want to say never, but broadly, there is an intensity to that conversation that is distinct, and I dont think those things are unrelated, right? I think it is the wideness of the conversation and the fact that there are so many people you might hear from that make you feel cautious and insecure and unsafe, and the good of it is the bad of it.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Exactly. One of the things I like to say to people is that we think that broadening access in any realm  we do this with everything, by the way. Its such an American way to approach the world. We think that broadening access will broaden access on the terms of the people who have benefited from it being narrowed, which is just so counter-intuitive. Broadening access doesnt mean that everybody has the experience that I, privileged person, had in the discourse. Broadening it means that we are all equally uncomfortable, right? Thats actually what pluralism and plurality is. It isnt that everybody is going to come in and have the same comforts that privilege and exclusion had extended to a small group of people. Its that now everybody sits at the table, and nobody knows the exact right thing to say about the other people. Well, thats fair. That means we all now have to be thoughtful. We all have to consider, oh, wait a minute. Is that what we say in this room? We all have to reconsider what the norms are, and that was the promise of like expanding the discourse, and thats exactly what weve gotten. And if that means that Im not sure about letting it rip on a joke, thats probably a pretty good thing.

ezra klein

Yeah. Jennifer Richardson, the psychologist at Yale, once called this a democratization of discomfort to me.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes.

ezra klein

And I think its such a good line. And something it always makes me think about is that there are a lot of us who came up in an earlier iteration, not just of the internet, but of journalism or cultural criticism or whatever it might be, and there were certain things it selected for. You know what I mean? There was like the 80s New Republic people who were really selected for slashing counter-intuitive, provocative, and somewhat offensive essay-writing, and just  this era requires different virtues, and thats the conversation I almost never hear people have.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah.

ezra klein

That maybe just the new internet or this moment, to be in one of these highly public and very privileged positions, youre going to need to develop a different set of virtues and competencies and how to conduct a conversation and how to speak to people that are just hard. Its just going to be really hard.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. Yeah. And human nature is resistant to learning. I mean, nobody knows that more than people who teach for a living. But for all we valorize learning and education, human nature really trends towards inertia, and every layer of privilege you layer on top of somebody makes that more true. And so what were fundamentally, I think, saying to people is  who achieved something where part of the promise of the achievement was that Ill never have to learn anything new again, right? This was the promise, right? Im now the editor. Im the gatekeeper or whatever, and the whole promise of that was Ill never have to worry about learning anything new again. And then we come to them and we go, no. You got to re-litigate. You got to reconsider what your role is, and now there actually are people who can hold you accountable for that in a way that wasnt always true. And I found it to be true in every space Ive ever been in, every organization. It is true of myself. Nobody likes being reminded that they are not done yet, that theres still more work for them to do. And thats, I think, what were fundamentally saying to people, and they resist that because thats human nature. Its just that some people get to resist it in a way more aggressive fashion than other people.

ezra klein

Yeah. Yuval Levin, whos this conservative thinker, I once heard him say that almost all change is generational. Almost all real change that happens is when a new generation comes, and they are able to change. And I hadnt thought about it quite that way before. But now when I look at, say, Congress, and I see the way, particularly, the Democratic Party is changing, or I look at whats happening in online discourse, some of it just feels to me  Im of a different generation, even than some of the young writers now  and you feel a little left behind. There is more change generation to generation than there is within generations, and maybe its for exactly that reason.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. Nothing is funny to me than when I realize, we wrote all of this stuff. We did all this stuff. We threw out all these theories of change, and then people believed us. Thats literally what happened. Youve got young people who said, wait a minute. Gender is a spectrum? OK. Im a live it like a spectrum. And were like, no, but we didnt mean that. Really, what fundamentally happened is we hypothesized and imagined all of this stuff, wrote it into the ether, and then were surprised that people actually took it up and lived it. That does happen faster, as you point out. We do owe that to the internet. The generations are now like four and a half years long, but it happens faster, and so we feel older faster, and we feel outdated faster. But I get so inspired by the people who, within a generation, have resisted becoming that old person. And Im just like, OK. Im just going to double down, right? I think weve got a choice. You can become like the Angela Davis of the world, or youre like, OK, I hear you. Each new generation comes along, and I hear you. I got to get with it, and Ive seen Angela do that in real time. Like a young person will stand up in the audience and go, and we say sibs now. And shes like, Im with you. Gotcha. Like, you just take it, and youre supposed to go. And I think weve got a choice. You can become that person within your generation who lives in that uncomfortable space, or you can become the person  I wont name a name  but you can become the person who doesnt and resists it. I just dont want them writing about me like that later. So Im really shooting for the Angela Davis model.

ezra klein

Let me ask you about your own generational change. You have this line I love where you say that all of your essays begin with a question of why me and not my grandmother. Tell me about your grandmother.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Oh, thank you. Id love to tell you about my grandmother. Ive been thinking about her so much lately, in part because Ive moved back home to North Carolina, and thats where my family is, and so getting nostalgic, and because weve been trapped in the house. What else is there to do? But my grandmother was a part of this sweeping  talk about a generational change  sweeping generational change in the United States of America, really, I think in the Western world when we think about how central the United States is to that definition. Shes the tail-end of the Great Migration generation, Black people who left point South for points North and West with millions of other people, spans about a generation and a half of people if we use the big definition of generations, but I think something really just coheres that generation of African-Americans in particular. Theyre the ones who made really foundational decisions about whether to stay or to leave. And my grandmother was one of the people who left, and she was probably the least likely of her family members to have been predicted to leave. I mean, this was not a brave woman. I love her dearly. Shes sweet as she could be, but this was the woman who had 19 locks on the door. She wasnt exactly a pioneer and that pioneering spirit. What she was pragmatic, however. And if jobs were in the North and thats where you went  but I think about how much she probably had to fight her nature to do what she needed to do. She was creative. I get so much of, I think, my creative energies from her, a big reader, which all of us are in the family. But even in a family of readers, my grandmother was the reader, really wide reading. She read anything, and I think I got that from her, too. Very agnostic on genre, and I dont care. Ill read anything. I got that from her. And so when Im thinking about why me and not her, of all of those instincts that I inherited from her and all those things she socialized me into, shes just, for me, the concrete example of how you can be everything that a culture values and not be in the right body for the culture to value it, and that is going to shape the limit of your life. It is my understanding of this is what inequality and stratification looks like in a very real way. My grandmother should have had my life, basically.

ezra klein

And what life did she have?

tressie mcmillan cottom

She had a hard life. She moved from rural Eastern North Carolina where hard life meant partially sharecropping, leasing yourself out in the summers to pick tobacco that was left over after the machines that come through. She went into labor with my mother in the middle of a field and almost did not survive childbirth. So she leaves that to go to Harlem, which would have been an exciting time by all accounts, but another hard transition, small, crowded living conditions, very different from what shed come from. For many, many years, she went back and forth between working for Jewish families as a domestic worker to, again, working in the garment district and just always trying to eke out something that was just a little bit better than the position before, and then eventually came back home to North Carolina, as many Black folks did in the reverse migration, and by that time was done with raising people and taking care of people and being a caretaker, and she really spent the last few years of her life reading, and I think it was the most peaceful shed been her whole life Living right there at the edge of social change, as much as we like to write about it and romanticize it, living it is tough. So she had a tough life.

ezra klein

And so tell me about the question why you and not her. What is that question?

tressie mcmillan cottom

I think that question is about the limits of how we internalize the American dream. I think a lot about nobody believes in mobility more than Black people. Nobody believes in the promise of this country more than Black people, and nobody has less reason to believe it than we do, and I think holding those two ideas at the same time is probably why our health outcomes are as poor as they are. I think living in that liminal space between its supposed to be better but it isnt and trying to just constantly trying to butt up against that, just trying to find a crack, trying to get in there. And I think what Im asking about when I think why me and not her, one, I hope Im keeping myself grounded in how contingent this all is. I never want to wed my sense of self and my identity to something I dont control. And part of being Black and being a woman in this country is that, even when youre very successful, you just dont control the terms of your success. My success is always limited by how well other people can imagine the possibility of me. When people could not imagine my grandmother, she just wasnt possible, you know? Here is this big reader who did well in school, and shes a domestic worker. They just couldnt imagine anything else for her, and so Im always really aware of and never want to forget that, that no matter how hard I work  and yeah, youre supposed to maybe work hard or whatever, and then you invest in yourself, and you develop your skills. I always want to be really clear that I can do all of that. I can do all of the right things, and it still wont work out, and I think thats just the basis of my work of trying to explain that to other people. Many people who, for the first time in their lives, are reckoning with the fact that I did everything right, and it didnt work out. Maybe this is just not supposed to happen. And whats basically just becoming more true for more people is that more people feel like my grandmother than they ever imagined would be possible for them.

ezra klein

Sometimes I hear a line when Im doing the show that I just know Im not going to get away from for a long time, and how well I did is how well people can imagine me is one of those. Thats a remarkable way of putting that. You say something in Thick where you write and, quoting, smart is only a construct of correspondence between ones abilities, ones environment, and ones moment in history. Im smart in the right way in the right time on the right end of globalization. Tell me about that because I think we frame smart culturally as something that cuts through time, space, society. Tell me about seeing smart as contingent.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. I think we love that idea because I think its an idea about ourselves, that there some one true thing about human nature that will be as fixed as a mathematical relationship. Its a very post-enlightenment sort of way to think about it, but yeah. Theres supposed to be one smart, that you would recognize genius no matter where you were on the timeline, right? Im not into this show, but I have a young person in my life whos very into the Doctor Who show. One of the things I do find interesting about Doctor Who is its that premise. Its that conceit that no matter where you drop in the time-space continuum, youre going to recognize that person as the doctor, the scientist, the one who knows, right? And its just so not true. What a culture needs from its smart people at any given point in time changes. We can have a very different value system about what constitutes smart. What I want to keep in mind, and one of the things I hope that people take away when I say something about the correspondence of how smart you are is just really about your place in the world is because I want people to feel obligated to think about what world theyre creating for somebody else, but first we got to recognize how vulnerable our own identity is. If you build your whole identity on how smart you are, I think it can make you very small and selfish in thinking about the world for everybody else. And so thats why I try to pinpoint, like, if you think that Im good enough, if you think, wow. Tressies really sharp, right? Tressies really brilliant. What I want you to imagine is how easy it would be for you to not think that and for me to just not exist, right? Id still be me. Id still have my talents and abilities, and that we do that to people every day. We build a world thats just not allowable or acceptable, and then I also really want to push the idea that we have so embodied the idea of smart as being something that a person is that it makes us really easy to disinvest from the things that make smart actually possible because smart is like a social problem. We make smart. We make smart with schools. We make smart with our political decisions and choices, right? And if you think nature is just going to take care of it and its just going to give you a once in a lifetime genius every go round, then you dont invest in the things that produce smartness. And a fixed idea of intelligence invites us to disinvest from the social contract of making more smart people. Just make more by expanding your understanding of it.

ezra klein

One of the things I was thinking about with that is Ive been thinking about the idea of disability studies, that disability is about a relationship between you and the built world.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yup, yup.

ezra klein

And we were talking before we began recording about our eyesight, that you got LASIK, and I had negative eight vision since I was five, basically. And in another context, Im just completely useless. The things that make you smart, like Im a good reader and I can write a lot, I cant do that without my glasses, not that long ago in human history that it wouldnt have been possible for me. And even that, you can have everything exactly the same but just one lapse in the accommodation society or technology is able to make for you, and youre gone. And meanwhile, I have no sense of direction whatsoever.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Same!

ezra klein

My mechanical and physical intelligence is really weak.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yup.

ezra klein

I think all the time about how low the esteem I would be held in at other points in history.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Mm-hm. You take away things like libraries and the written word and the printing press, and I my social value declines significantly. Ive learned so much from the disability studies people, by the way. And its actually something that was in back of my mind the whole time I was answering your question. One of the things that just sort of flipped a switch in my brain, I was in graduate school at Emory University, so we had a really strong contingent of scholars who were doing disability studies, and I learned a lot from them. But we were having coffee one day with some of those folks, and friend Adam turns to me. And hes like, the thing is, its not about who is disabled. Its about when are you going to become disabled. We will all be disabled at some point in our life course, and so much middle class consumption, by the way, and our obsession with health and wellness is about that. We are fundamentally  because we know how horrible we are to other disabled people, so we are terrified of becoming in any way disabled or differently-able, right? So take your bee pollen, and get your magnesium, and  well, youre going to age. If nothing else, your eyesight is going to go. Youre going to lose some of your mobility, speaking about smart as a fixed idea. Just the way your brain works is going to change. Were just so vulnerable to nature and time and biology, and were so terrified of it, I think, because we know that a lot of what we have built our ideas of who we are on are really far more vulnerable than we think they are

ezra klein

I think about this all the time when I cover health care policy because people will, during these fights, theyll talk about, well, I dont know. As a healthy person, do I need to be subsidizing the sick so much? Or theyll start talking about the old and the young, and Im always screaming during these debates. These are not fixed categories. We go in and out, you know? Youre young now, but youre going to be old someday, hopefully. And youre healthy now, but youre going to be sick someday, and its funny. Its a place where I think our enthusiasm for categorizing people  its one of many that really leads us astray. As soon as you begin talking in categories, it tricks the mind into fixing the boundaries, but a lot of categories are very porous.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes. Categories are really useful for like analytical thinking. Like, yeah, it helps me get my arms around something thats really messy, and it helps me figure out like  because you cant just consider every eventuality. Thats just a limit of human nature, of how the human mind works. So categories, they become useful as long as you keep in mind that thats all they were, right? You got to constantly, I think, re-litigate. Wait a minute, what was the category I had at play here? We were talking about the old internet and the world people miss. I think one of the things that people are so uncomfortable with right now, why theres just so many  there seems to be moral panic after moral panic after moral  weve got a lot of moral panics happening right now, hard to even like separate them out, and I think that its because its all one big moral panic about I dont think we feel equipped for doing that. It is a moment, I think, in time when we are being asked and really pushed to rethink almost every meaningful category that weve kind of taken for granted.

ezra klein

I love that description of the moral panic. You talk in your book about thick descriptions and thin descriptions, and one of the things that feels to me like part of the moral conflict or the reason it feels so panic-inducing is we are having the thickest conversation possible in the thinnest mediums possible.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Bingo. I totally agree. So thick description is ultimately about asking as many questions of yourself as youre asking of other people. So a thin way of engaging with the world is to assume that everybody has already made the decisions that youve made prior to the discussion, and all of your questions are going to be reserved for the object that youre talking about, right, the people youre talking about, the idea youre talking about. I think thats one way to think about it. We also think about thick description as being really evocative, and thats true, too. Using language to really try to capture peoples experience of things, thats also true. Whereas thin description usually tries to flatten differences between experiences because it wants to tell you about sort of a universal experience, right, that I can make you understand your connection to something by pointing out whats universal in it. We think that were going to lose people when we start talking about the differences, by the way. And Im not sure thats true, and I try to show in my work that thats not true, that you can absolutely seduce people into having a thick, nuanced conversation. Its just going to take work on your part, right? I think you have to be dead on with craft. I think you have to be brutal about your empirics being accurate. I think you have to consecrate your own belief in yourself as being the universal storyteller. But I think if you do all of that, people will follow you into a thick, uncomfortable conversation that they did not know they needed to have, but the mediums you talk about, whos going to do that, right? The economics of that are horrible, and I know that. I get it, but I think what were seeing is an unspoken desire for exactly that kind of work, but a media ecosystem and an attention economy that just cannot allow that to happen. That takes a lot of human beings, a lot of human power, takes a lot of willingness to embrace risk because youre going to mess it up. Youre going to fail, and youre going to piss somebody  right? This is just going to happen. Theres a lot of risk involved. And initially, its not profitable, but that is one of our struggles, I think, in the public discourse where we are trying to have that kind of conversation that I think people absolutely are attracted to even if that attraction feels like theyre angry about it, but thats still desire for the conversation. I think theyre attracted to it, but weve only figured out the economics for very thin genre.

ezra klein

I dont want to pick on Twitter and cable news here, which are two mediums that I operate in sometimes, but I will see conversations happening there, and Ill just think, that is such an important conversation, and there is no way Im engaging it in this medium.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Thats right.

ezra klein

Im not going to come within 1,000 feet of it in this space.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Same, never going to happen.

ezra klein

Whereas, in a podcast, there are things you talk about in a podcast that are a lot trickier because it has this quality of hesitancy. I got a reader email yesterday, actually. I guess it was a listener email, but they were emailing me to say that they listen to a show, and they just thought there shouldnt be podcasts anymore. They thought podcasts were part of a ruining America because it was such a loose and messy form. People just talk. I mean, they prefer columns, which is fair, and I write columns. But as I was reading it, I was thinking its the exact thing I like about the medium, that messiness allows things to be thick. To take on these topics, you have to let things breathe a little bit. And so many mediums over time, particularly when they get professionalized, they trend towards this type optimization. You ask as little of the audience as you possibly can before letting go of them. And that works for scale, but I think its bad for understanding and very bad for your relationship with the audience.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. I dont think we have the luxury right now of scale and efficiency. We dont have a culture right now for scale and efficiency that can be productive. Thats for a culture that mostly agrees on who and what it is is mostly functioning the way most people need it to function for a good life. We dont have that culture. And so I tell people, maximizing efficiency is for very different political body and public discourse than the one we have. The one we have is trying to grapple with potentially massive social change and social transformation. That is a culture that needs messier, more nuanced places for public discourse. Trying to skip over that to get to the scale and efficiency part is how you become antagonistic to the audience. Even as yall are sort of in a dance together, I think that thin stuff that is narrowed, asking the least from the audience, is actually fundamentally antagonistic to the idea of having an audience.

ezra klein

What are those spaces for you?

tressie mcmillan cottom

I mean, I think Im in part trying to build that with increasingly thinking about micro media, of which podcasting is one of those. I tend to think of audio storytelling, which is a little bit broader to me. Thinking just about podcasting because Im thinking about the different cultural traditions for telling oral stories, and that there has to be more than one way for us to capture those and share them and reproduce them. So audio storytelling just broadly excites me a lot as a potential avenue, and I think its all right if that never scales. I think thats actually probably preferable. I think what we are in a moment for is a lot of micro media attempts to capture the parts of the discourse where people are willing to be called in to complicated conversations that, again, scale just might not be the goal. It might not even be preferable to desire scale in that arena. Im still working out whether or not I think something like  Ive been on Substack. Ive been on Medium. Ive done my own sorting, and thats just way too hard. I dont like running all the back-end, but basically trying to recreate the comment section of web 2.0, becoming a destination conversation place for people around an idea, and I think thats what some people are doing with the newsletter model, and et cetera. So Im interested in that. Im not sure yet what I think that space does, but I like the experiment.

ezra klein

I think a lot now about the way were all taught to want scale and the way that thats often a false or counterproductive desire. I am somebody who is taught to want scale, and I got it, and I cant tell you Im happier for having it. It definitely affords me opportunities and all kinds of things, but I cant tell you Im happier for having it, and I know a lot of people who got it, and I cant tell you theyre happier for having it. And its a funny thing, the desire people are given for a certain kind of success as measured by scale where scale takes away a lot of what makes these conversations and work joyous. And yet, its the way we are taught to measure, whether we are succeeding in these conversations and work. And so then you see now, I think, Substack and podcasts, you see a lot of people whove achieved scale actually fleeing to things that are smaller scale.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Theyre to actually pare it down. I was about to say. So what you have is you got somebody with like a million followers on Twitter who has realized its actually horrible, and now they want to talk to 20,000 people more regularly in depth, and we dont have a way to either capture the value of that  thats actually, I think, part of what a lot of the more contentious debates are about. We dont know how to value that. I mean, we dont know whether we can say thats worth a half a million or not, but I dont think thats about our inability to  we have the tools to capture how many eyes you have on it, how long people spend. So its not that. I think its what youre saying. I think we are just resistant to the idea of valuating anything other than scale, right? I think its perfectly reasonable to imagine like a mid-term future where having 20,000 regular people who meet and talk about an idea is valued roughly equal to a periodical that has a mailing readership of 350,000 people. We dont like thinking about it that way, but I think its entirely possible. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

I got to read a lot of your work all at the same time to prepare for this, which is great, but something that leapt out at me was that a lot of your work revolves around this idea of status, how its developed and what its composed of. So how do you define what status is and how we construct it?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Its a great question, and I think I would agree. A challenge for me, professionally, is that I write so broadly, and certainly the way other people experience it is broad. But in my mind, Im always writing about one thing, and Im always stunned that other people dont see it. Its just status. Its just status. The thing is, status looks the same everywhere you go, but it wears a different outfit. So its always at play. Its always happening. And so when I show up and I see status, its not that Im the person who does race and gender or whatever. Its just that I entered a room, and I looked around, and I went, oh, heres whats happening here. Heres the status thats at play. And sometimes thats a little bit more gender than it is race. Sometimes its a little bit more class than it is race, right? But its always there. And the way I explain it to students and my audiences is status is the thing that is external to you that defines you as much as your identity does. So we love to talk about identity, right? Weve got a whole language about identity, about self and our political identities and our racial identities and sexual identities. We dont have as rich a conversation to talk about status, which, coincidentally, is some of the most powerful work that status does. It becomes so taken for granted that we never even label it, right? Well walk into a room, and everybody agrees whos supposed to sit at the chair at the front of the room. Thats status, right? And that it operates a little differently everywhere you are standing. But if you learn how to identify it wherever you are standing, in many ways, you become one of the most powerful people in the room because you see whats driving and shaping the decisions. But as a cultural critic, as a social investigator, you also become super important to the people who will never be invited to that room, right? So when I leave a room, I want to be able to tell people not just what happened, but I want to be able to give an informed opinion about why it happened, why it happened, and thats what understanding status does. It means that when I leave the room, I can bring some of the people who will never be invited to that room with me by being able to translate the dynamics that happen in that room, and its a hard thing to do with American audiences. I travel, before times, I was doing quite a bit more international travel, and its so interesting. I can go to the UK where everybody gets this. Their language about social class is so refined that they get it. They may not have our same understanding of race and gender, but their language about class has really given them a public language of talking about status. In America, we only talk about status as race, and so our language is very, very atrophied, you know?

ezra klein

Yeah we want to ignore the idea that class is status.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Thats right. Class is natural. Class is biology. Class is destiny. Class is family. We talk about it embedded in those things, family politics. We talk about it about values, ideals, having the right behaviors, but we dont have any language to talk about it in this country. And since it is one of our biggest status differentials in this country, it means we miss a lot of whats happening.

ezra klein

I think a lot about places where we have language that hides what were doing, hides, particularly, the way we actually treat people. We have language that venerates them as a way of not making good on what that language would say. So middle class, working class, essential workers, the military and veterans are huge in this. There are certain groups where we have an agreed upon political language. And if you were an alien who came to this planet and this country and listened to us talk, youd be like, ah, those people theyre talking about, they have the most status, and theyre going to be treated the best. And then you look at how policy plays out, and its the exact opposite. And the language, we are pretending we have a different social hierarchy than we actually do.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Which is super important to our ruling ideology, which is merit. How else do you get people to buy into the idea of merit when their own lived experiences say to them every day that merit is not real, or certainly not as concrete as everybody says it is? Well, you get them to buy into it by saying you just need to get into the right category. And if you get into the right category  military veterans is one. Its a big one in my world, like in education policy. We make horrible education policy for veterans. They have some of the highest rates of student loan defaults. The money that theyre given to go to college really translates into them going into high quality institutions, but you try to talk to somebody about making the GI Bill more robust, and they will have a public meeting in the middle of Capitol Hill. Everybody shows up. Theres the equivalent of bible thumping, and then they will all close the doors  and both sides of the aisle, by the way, will close the door and will agree to not do anything to protect veteran students, but the veterans believe that theyre protected, you see? Thats what matters. They believe. How else do you get somebody to sign up for something like military service when theyre poor and working class and from places with poor economic outcomes? You do it by saying, yeah, you wont be rich, but everybody will value you, will give you status instead of money. This is one of the allures of becoming a police officer where status can far outstrip the economic rewards of being a police officer to take on the risk of doing the job. So really tightly closed status that does not have the economic power to go with it can actually become violent, frankly, but we dont have a language yet to talk about any of that. All we know how to do is say this group of people deserves our deference and our respect, but we dont have a commensurate policy conversation to talk about how we attach actual meaningful resources to it.

ezra klein

Yeah. Theres almost nothing more destabilizing in politics than a group that the way they are talked about and the way they talk about themselves in terms of merit and status is not recognized by society because it creates a deep sense of unfairness, of shame, of resentment for individuals for whom it happens to. I think it collapses a persons psyche, oftentimes. But for groups, particularly when its a group that is told or actually has power, but then society isnt treating it like it does or stops treating it like it does, that becomes, as youre saying, it becomes very violent. This whole discussion has always been to me like the molten core of Trumpism. Its this class of voters and Donald Trump himself who, on some level, have so much status and have had so much power. But then what begins to happen is not just a losing of power, but a losing of status, a feeling that the culture is turning on them, that theyre being disrespected. What motivates Trump is disrespect, the feeling that hes not a winner, right? And the same for what motivates many of his supporters, and I do think this is why the fights over speech and cancel culture and all of this are so intense because they are, at some fundamental level, about who has the status to decide how they are spoken about, and then who has the status to not fear what it is theyre saying? And you cant solve that with policy. Its actually a question of social hierarchy.

tressie mcmillan cottom

A lot of people woke up to find that the merit culture that they have been operating in has been, for a very long time, an honor culture. See, we were supposed to be too sophisticated for our honor culture of ritual and honor, exchanges of prestige and status and privilege, right? We were supposed to be too sophisticated for that. And so you work hard and that the status will follow, economic achievement. And when that economic promise starts to collapse but the ritual of status remains, you really just have an honor-based culture where people will defend honor, will determine their honor in relation to other people. Theyll build hierarchies of honor within their own little corner of the world that might be at odds with another corner. Thats when we talk about the siloing effect of culture. Its not that people dont know that people disagree with them. Its that theyve built their own little honor culture over here. And if there are no economic incentives to leave it, why would you? If you can be the king whats the guy with the thing on his head, the horns on January 6th?

ezra klein

Oh, the QAnon Shaman.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Thank you. But if youre going to walk around with horns on your head, I get to mock. So thats an honor culture he brought of a subculture that had a set of rules where that actually wasnt absurd, but if you divorce then some of the economic incentives for people to participate in that, all youre left with is the guy with the horns on his head.

ezra klein

You did this research project about white deaths of despair that feels relevant to this conversation.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Very much so.

ezra klein

Do you want to talk about it a bit?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes. So our argument  my colleagues Arjumand Siddiqi, Sandy Darity, and I did  so we were responding to the documented demographic data points about change in white Americans mortality. One of the arguments had been that was due to several things, the opioid crisis, growing economic insecurity, job polarization, and access to health care. Well, one of the things that we actually find and argue in the data is that you see those deaths even in places where those indicators do not exist, where they have not experienced job losses, where they do enjoy access to health care and a certain amount of economic security. And our argument is that white peoples deaths of despair, as it has been called, is not as much about real losses in their status. Its about perceived loss in their status, right? The perception of loss was enough to undermine positive health outcomes and health-seeking behaviors. That point you were making that people feel like they have lost status, whether theyve lost it or not. Well, thats not about actual loss. That is about perceived loss, and that we so under-appreciate how much perception matters to how much well even accept facts, right? Most people will just accept the facts that match what they already believe, you know? Confirmation bias and et cetera. Weve seen this in vaccine roll-outs, right, where peoples political identity shapes what information they will accept about scientific evidence. Well, that happens in every facet of life. And so perception is just as important as any universal belief system and whats true and whats untrue, and that that perceived loss is enough for people to not seek out health care or to engage in dangerous health behaviors. How else do you explain people arrested on January 6th who perceived loss of status? And they engaged in  if you think about self-selecting into a conflict with armed police as a dangerous health behavior, thats one way to think about it. You can quite literally get hurt, right? They elected to go into this risky behavior that could end in loss of life, and for several people did. Thats a risky health behavior, and thats about perceived status, and that we havent thought concretely enough about how dangerous privileged people will become if they just perceive that they have less privilege, not actual loss of privilege, but they perceive they have less privilege.

ezra klein

I wonder if one way of thinking, too, about this actual versus perceived is to think about base rates versus rates of change.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah.

ezra klein

You get this in economics all the time where people, particularly their politics, are much more driven by how their economic situation is changing than what it actually is. The fact that youre richer than you were 10 years ago doesnt matter in terms of a recession. If things are getting worse right now, you get really upset, and I think theres something in this for white voters, for more conservative Christian voters, for more traditionalist Christian voters, where, still on top, no doubt about it, but in terms of groups raising and lowering their power in society, in terms of rates of change in status, the rate of change is bad. White people feel that they are not as protected as they were, not as powerful. Christian folks feel they dont have the hammerlock on politics they did, particularly white Christians, once upon a time, and that people are very sensitive not just to rates of economic change, which we in the literature forever, but theyre very sensitive, much more so than we give them credit for, to rates of status change.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes, actually. I think thats a great way to think about it, and its actually like  when we talk about socioeconomic status, the addition of the socio to the economic status is something that was being said in I think my old sociological literature, the 60s and 70s where we had something called like  wed do these massive class structure and stratification tables. They said that peoples understanding of their economic position was conditioned on their social position, basically. We got away from that understanding when we thought that there was more equal opportunity access to economic positioning. Well, yeah. That makes sense when you got a lock on something like male privilege in the workplace, but once women entered the workplace, we expected those things to level off. So it isnt that those things stop being true. We did, however, stop studying them that way. There became a real preference for saying that your economic position was so wedded to your social position because we were more egalitarian. And macro economists, especially more critical ones, will now say that what youre really seeing is, with the polarization and the pulling apart of the economic structure, a re-emergence of the importance of how social position conditions your understanding of your economic position. But if you look at women, however, women workers, for example, non-white workers, thats always been true. Its always been the case that we understand the fine-grained differences in our relative economic status based on who we are and our lack of social status. It is just more true now, however, for white workers, especially white males.

ezra klein

I always think that the political conversation here is driven basically mad by something thats all over your work, which is that status is not stable.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah.

ezra klein

And theres no agreement as to who is where, and thats partially because who is where changes, but theres a real different status hierarchy in elected politics and how power records there to where it is in culture to where it is and religion to where it is in a bunch of other parts of our society. One of the things I noticed in your work is that you are incredibly sensitive to using the way status changes for you moving in and out of different rooms as an example to showing it for others. You really do use yourself as like, look what happened to me here, and look where I was here, and look where I was here. Could you talk a bit about that? Because we keep using status as a singular, but its not. Its a shifting plural.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yes, it is. Its highly contextual, which is why we dont like trying to measure it, frankly. And it is experienced subjectively but has objective consequences and measurable effects. Thats why its a really messy thing to try to understand. But as we start our conversation with the mess is where the good, important stuff is happening, and then we also are living in a time where  this is the technology piece. Almost all of the dominant technological changes that have reshaped our world over the last 30 years have only made status more contextual. So its added a layer of how important context is to status. Audiences can be collapsed and expanded so quickly, and they can shift so rapidly, and there new forms of status emerging all the time driven by digital platforms and digital technologies and just digital ideas, the idea of technology. And so at the very time that status has become more destabilized and contextual and transient, there are also ever new and emerging forms of status, right? One of the examples I like to give is you can be a celebrity, what we call a micro celebrity in some digital space, and that translates to absolutely no form of capital anywhere else. I love these stories. They do them every few years where they go, oh, what happened to somebody who was in that massive meme, you know? And theyll go find them, and theyre working in fast food, or they were doing what they were doing before, usually worse off because the celebrity impacted their ability to work and get a regular job. And so status has become decoupled in so many micro ways from economic relations. And I use myself as an example because people are so resistant to thinking about themselves as being vulnerable. If I invite the reader to think about how much status they lose when they go from one room to another, very few people are ambitious enough and courageous enough to do that. Its a level of vulnerability to ask from the reader to go, you know how you feel like such a girl boss when you go do x, right? But you know what happens when you leave that room and you go to this other room, right? And it doesnt feel good to people, but if they can project it onto me and experience it through the way Ive learned to see myself as sort of like a meta-narrative as I move through the world, I think it shows them a model for, when theyre ready, a model for how to think about it in their own lives. I think of some of my work, especially in Thick and some of the essay work as just trying to model for people that you can understand that this thing is happening to you and it not change who you are, right? Im still who I am. I still have what I have, but I know there are rooms that enter where my status evaporates the second I walk in. You can almost feel it sometimes. You can become so attuned to it. I can feel when a room changes, and we know that feeling. If youve ever been someplace, when a celebrity walks in the room and the air gets that crickle crackle feeling in it, right, we know it. We just dont think of it as being something that happens with us and to us. And so I use myself as an example to try to give people a way to develop a model of thinking about the world, that you dont have to be afraid of acknowledging that because status exists and it makes you vulnerable, acknowledging it doesnt change your vulnerability. Youre vulnerable whether you develop a language to think about it or not. And that thing you talked about earlier, that psychological fissure that can happen when the world doesnt recognize your status the way you think they should, developing a language is the most powerful thing we can do to protect ourselves from that kind of psychological trauma, that I may not be able to control how the world will see a really smart Black girl as she walks around in the world, but I can have a language for describing it, and I can know, at the end of the day, that if I can label it, if I can talk about it, it hasnt completely broken me, and that more of us need that language. More is needed. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

Weve talked about some of the tributaries of status here, money, education, race, gender, politics. One of the really challenging essays from Thick, one that I still think about having read it now, I guess, a couple of years ago, is In the Name of Beauty, and attractiveness is a huge generator of life outcomes, of status. And you write in that that beauty isnt actually what you look like. Beauty is the preferences that reproduce the existing social order. People talk about lookism. Is attractiveness a generator of status, or is it the reflection of it?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Both. I just did a really fun project  fun for me project  about Dolly Parton, and I read a book, She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh. And what Sarah is doing is shes talking about her. She comes from a white working class rural family, woman-dominated family, a very matriarchal family, and I could relate. I come from a very patriarchal family, and she talks about the women in her life, in her familys lives about how important it was for them to be attractive as working class white women. And she said it wasnt attractive the way attractive matters to my now upper middle class white peers. Her life has changed. Being attractive meant a level of security and very marginal economic mobility for white working class women. She was like, for us, staying thin or staying attractive or staying pretty was about just being able to get some favor at a really brutal job. If Im a waitress, then it means I get a slightly better shift because the manager thinks Im cute, basically. Or it opens up an avenue to marry and get the hell out of the Blue Ridge Mountains, right? That marginal amounts of very conditioned and complicated status, that beauty and attractiveness was generating then in that space status. But it also  the idea of what is beautiful, about what is attractive is a reflection of our collective political values and is about reproducing the underlying economic relations embedded in them. And the way you know that its true is because if beauty were some objective idea, the same thing would have been beautiful in 1880 that was beautiful in 1980 that will be beautiful in 2080. And in fact, what you see when you study ideas, popular ideas about what constitutes attractiveness and desire and beauty, is that they have changed to match whatever is the economically valued group of people in the world. And so yeah, theres some underlying  sometimes evolutionary psychologists like to point to work about how theres a universal equation for beauty, like theres a ratio. The beauty, I think, ratio is what they call it, that we all value eyes that are set to something, some weird math. And I go, or there was a global system of capital by the 1500s countries that developed an idea the world over that was predicated on an equation of beauty that was exported. And when I do that, they always get very eh with me, but I also complicate the evolutionary psychology people because I think they are wild. Thats just a wild group of people, but looking for stable ideas across thousands of years is wild to me. But yet, we dont think about  wed like to think that beauty is just like the merit myth, so that wed like to think of beauty as being objective at the same time that we want it to be achievable, right? So this is the tension. And in every idea about merit that is both supposed to be inherited and achievable, and things cannot be both. If you inherit beauty but you can also achieve beauty, then inherited beauty wont matter as much, right? And thats the tension that we have and the ideas about what well say is beautiful becomes a tool for consolidating status and opportunity and privilege for people who have inherited a social position. One of my favorite ways to get people really upset is to talk about how much we valorize blondness in our culture, right? So here you have a biological blip, a set of recessive traits that has been elevated to almost a political ideology that we never, ever, ever critique as political or economic-based, but turn on the evening news tonight. Turn on Fox News, right? And you tell me what the visual comportment of power looks like.

ezra klein

I think all the time, just all the time, about how Hitler ran this genocidal campaign in service of an aesthetic ideal that he didnt represent.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Didnt embody, yeah.

ezra klein

It is  the mind crumbles. [LAUGHS]

tressie mcmillan cottom

Mm-hm.

ezra klein

And not that its funny, obviously.

tressie mcmillan cottom

I know what you mean.

ezra klein

But its just one of these things. Sometimes I sit there with that, and it is the strangest thing. I understand on some level going nuts in service of something that obviously accrues to your own power, but the whole thing he was fighting for, he would have been on the outs  it just  It drives people mad.

tressie mcmillan cottom

It really, really does. It does.

ezra klein

I dont know if you across this. I come across it a lot. Theres a what-aboutism around beauty and attractiveness that will come from people who say, oh, well, you care about discrimination or inequality or inequity that comes from race or gender or education or something else, but look at the research on unattractiveness, and you dont seem to care about that. And its always from people dont care about any of them who are saying this.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Anything else. Uh-huh. Yeah.

ezra klein

But it actually is, but I do think that its a critique worth taking seriously in the sense that there is something real to it, that we really do treat people differently in society based on height, based on looks, and we dont have a very good critical discourse around that, in part because I think it implicates us too much, right? Its very hard to talk about something that youre part of that you cant change or dont want to change what youre attracted to, or dont want to think too hard about where it came from. It feels like a pretty expansive vista for complication. Not that, obviously, a lot of scholars havent been doing this for a long time, just that, in the public conversation, its a little thinner.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. And its the one that goes at the heart of  listen, you dont own a lot in a leasing society, right? So heres a society where we running out of stuff. We dont get much, OK? Many of us are going to be renters forever. So the idea of the things that are naturally occurring that emerge from our true selves, I think we have always put value in that, but I think we especially put value in that now. So this is the part where people will feel implicated, I think, in critiquing beauty privilege or whatever, attractiveness privilege, is what they think were saying is who you are attracted to is a social construction and a political problem. And well, heres the truth. That is exactly what Im saying. I am saying that that is not nearly as natural as you think it is, and that one of the most basic ways that we are all implicated in the status hierarchy is in naturalizing those differences and saying that they are naturally occurring. And then that gets really, really, really fuzzy when I think it pushes people on thinking about something like gender and desire. I think that there is a lot of resistance coming from that side, but I also just think theres just sort of a routine uncritical resistance to the idea that youre going to try to police what I find attractive, and youre going to tell me that even that is a political problem. And yeah, it kind of is.

ezra klein

I think its hard in a lot of these conversations to hold the idea that what we believe, think, do, intuitive reactions we have do reflect political problems, but they are not sins.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Oh, yeah. The morality. Yeah. Yeah.

ezra klein

Yeah. People have a lot of difficulty. Even I have a lot of difficulty with the idea that there can be things about me that dont fit my politics. That can be an interesting fact and worth interrogating without it being something that I have to like loathe myself for.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. One thing I didnt get from my family was  we are what I call culturally Baptists. We show up on Easter and Christmas, and we do some of the things, but we were not like devout churchgoers, which actually made us quite different in the places that we were from where the church is the center of the social and economic life of Black communities, right? We kind of participated, but we didnt bring a lot of that home. And I think because of that, I never had some of the moral baggage. I mean, I have some that just comes from, I think, living in a secularly religious society, but I never internalized that because I am a part of a thing thats bad, I am bad. And I actually will forget sometimes that other people arent like me in that regard. And yeah, theyll start spinning out. And Ill go, whats wrong with you? And somebody will say, Tressie, you basically just went at the core of their entire belief system. But I was like, well, all I said was you like blondes, and thats a little eugenicist. I mean, I dont know why youre now crying. And apparently, because I dont have that impulse, I forget to be empathetic with others. So thank you for reminding me. Yes, it does, I think, make people feel really bad.

ezra klein

But also, just, I dont know. I dont want to get prescriptive here coming to the end of this, but when we were talking earlier about mediums for thicker conversations and how do you have them, and how do you have this, like, what you described as a unified moral panic about our categorization systems without it feeling like a panic and without it feeling like a war of all against all. I feel like theres something here thats really important in the way you approach it that makes a lot of sense for why youre good at talking about these things because, somehow, it has to be OK that we are going to fall on the wrong side of even our categories. And I dont know that we can do that in these spaces that are so tuned for shame that are tuning us for shame. You somehow have to  it has to be safer than it is to have some conversation because, if it isnt safe, you cant you cant admit any of it.

tressie mcmillan cottom

I actually have a really counter-intuitive position on shame which is that it can serve a social function when it is divorced from some of the other social functions. So one of the problems right now is that social shame, which I think in and of itself is enough, usually, to discipline most people, is now tied to economic and political and cultural capital in sort of a way, and people feel that in a really gut level, and I think theyre right to feel it. Shame is important to kind of like get people to adhere, especially to new norms, and we got to have. And so Im always like, you dont want to take shame off the table. What we probably do need to have happen is we need to divorce it from our micro celebrity driven culture.

ezra klein

That is such a good point.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Where your systems are the people, right? People become avatars for a whole system of thought, and Im just like, well, thats almost never going to work, the celebritization of some of these things that are always supposed to be really contentious sort of trade-offs, right? Well celebrity is not set up for trade-offs. Most of what we do for work is not set up for trade-offs, but our status is set up for that. And so thats probably where we confine those conversations to. I think is perfectly fine to say, when somebody is on the wrong side of one of our political values, to say I dont mess with them when theyre talking about minimum wage, right? Theyve been wrong on it. When they get started on minimum wage, I tune out. And for that to be the take away, tune out on so on so when they do minimum wage because they dont know what theyre talking about, and theyre on the wrong side of history on this one, but to say but that person tends to be in the pocket on X, and well listen to him on X. That would be to me contextual and status-based. Like, OK, lets not give them status on this idea, but give them some status on it that idea. But micro celebrity and the microeconomics of writing into public life right now really privilege everybody being a generalist and a universalist who performs being an ideologue, and you just cant do all of that. You cant do it all.

ezra klein

Ooh, let me try to make this comparison. So this feels technological, at least in part. We were talking earlier about your work on how status doesnt follow you room to room, how you change room to room, but one of the problems online to what you were just saying about how many things shame attaches to is our, at least our group identity, our name online is cohesive. And the things that attach to it, which are not everything. Its a very flattened identity. Only a certain number of things attach to it, but the things that are attached to it follow it into every room, follow it into every Google search, follow it into what anybody would know about that online identity, and its very then hard to change it. You cant get out of the room, and we dont really know what to do with that well. And its funny because were talking earlier. I think it almost maybe sounded negative that the things in our lives are contextual. But in many ways, I think the problem with our online identities, which now, as youre saying, are our economic identities, our cultural identities, et cetera, is they are non-contextual. They are decontextualized.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Yeah. That efficiency and maximization piece again, the thing is, technologies can only maximize and increase efficiencies in a system of unequal distribution. Its just going to make unequal distribution more efficient, and its just going to maximize it. And in the case of our very identities, thats what it does most effectively. It flattens differences and distinctions and elevates the place where you have cobbled together the most consensus, even if that consensus is itself negative and decontextualized, but it will drive efficiencies of driving up consensus, even if the consensus is negative, and that there might be some value in there being contextual spaces where, in this space, I am an expert. In this space, Im just a member of the audience, right? And in this space, Im a membership of a group who has a group position, and were trying to move forward a group agenda, and that we cannot do that when we attach our work to our identity. So what we may have here is just a fundamental critique of, should we be our work? And I always tell people, if you judge me by Twitter, thats on you because I write all the time. And I have made as much of it free as I possibly can. So Im like, you can judge me on what I write, but Ive never told you to pay attention to me in these other contexts, and that is one of my ways of trying to navigate that. If I write and I articulate a reasoned, more thoughtful position on something and I make it freely available, then I always feel like Ive got plausible deniability on the fallibility of being a digital person, an internet person, right? Thats me trying to build a buffer. Its harder to do when you dont control where you write, and you cant control the circulation of your ideas, but yeah. Thats what I think Im trying to get around. The technology is never going to give us that affordance. Were going to have to come up with social norms about it. The technology just cant differentiate. The economics arent there. The political structure regulation isnt there to make it differentiate. So what we really would be asking for is something like where we own all of our data and we could change access to different parts of the data we produce in different ways. We just dont have that environment. So that means social norms are going to have to do it. My challenge is this. I want those social norms to bubble up from the actual vulnerable people and not to be imposed top down from the people who only perceive that they are vulnerable.

ezra klein

I think thats the good challenge right there. You want to do some book recommendations?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Oh, yes. Yes.

ezra klein

All right. Whats a work of cultural criticism youd recommend?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Oh, yeah. And this is not only one of the more recent things Ive read, but it is one of the better things Ive read, and so I got lucky in that regard, and that is Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong. I think everybody who says that they are an essayist and a popular culture critic right now needs to be chasing this book.

ezra klein

Whats the best book by a contemporary sociologist who isnt you?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Im actually going to recommend something that, in my dream scenario, these things would come together in a pack when you went to the store. Like, if you bought one, you get the other, and that is Sabrina Strings, whos a sociologist, and she has a book called Fearing the Black Body, Fearing the Black Body, that actually gets it some of what we were talking about, the construction of beauty, how we have defined beauty to be antithetical to whatever our racialized assumptions were of difference at any point in time in history, and that if thats the line you take, then beauty has been stable. The construction of beauty has been whatever was not the racialized moral panic of the time. And so its a really great book.

ezra klein

We managed to have so many interesting conversations, so I didnt expect that I never got to all of my education questions for you, but because youve done so much education work, whats the book you recommend on thinking about education?

tressie mcmillan cottom

Well, when I think about education, I am most often thinking about higher ed. So this is going to be the higher ed book. I think its just the GOAT. I think you got to do the GOAT book, and this was one of those when we talked about the difference between census reading and reading around. This is a census book. So thats why I say these things still matter to do. Its just I want people to do both, but you got to read Jerome Karabels The Chosen, which is the history of selective admissions in elite higher education. I, as a person, do not care about Ivy League institutions. I tell people this all the time, and I think they think Im doing that to angle for a job at one, and I promise you Im not, but we are always, always in a long historical conversation in higher ed circles in this country with the foundations of how selective admissions were designed. And until we fully understand that, you cant grapple with something like student loan debt or why people keep showing up for paying $100,000 for a masters degree that has a symbol on it, right? We got to get that, again, status.

ezra klein

Then finally, always our last one, whats your favorite childrens book?

tressie mcmillan cottom

My sentimental favorite will always be Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor. I often call this book  it was babys first novel. It was a longer book, right? I wasnt a childrens reader, so I felt very grown up when I read this book. Didnt have any pictures in it. I was so impressed with myself, and it is the kind of story  I mean, I saw myself in that story in a way that was really new for me at that age and at that time, and the book holds up. I reread it again within the last year and a half or so, and it really holds up.

ezra klein

Did it really? I remember reading that as a kid. And actually, it was almost too adult for me.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Well, thats why I liked it, to be fair, and probably why I now think it holds up because now Im the adult, right? I thought it nailed the emotions of a certain point in history without being too heavy-handed, but it was adult in a way that all kids dont get to be kids. Thats kind of the moral of that story. So when were talking about a moment when the adultification of young men of color and young women of color, making them more vulnerable to police violence and et cetera, one of the my adult takeaways from the book is that not all kids get to be kids in the same way, and thats probably why I liked it as a kid.

ezra klein

Tressie McMillan Cottom, thank you so much. What a pleasure.

tressie mcmillan cottom

It really was a really good time. For a thing that did not involve cocktails or dinner, this was a lot of fun. Thanks, Ezra.

ezra klein

Well, next time we can do it with cocktails.

tressie mcmillan cottom

Im holding you to it. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  Vice President Leni Robredo dedicated on Monday her "People of the Year" award to her staff, donors, and volunteers who work alongside her in fulfilling her office's advocacy projects.

Robredo and the Office of the Vice President were recognized by magazine PeopleAsia for reaching out to communities and forging ties with the private sectors for their COVID-19 response.

"Karangalan kong tanggapin ang award na ito, pero ang totoo, hindi talaga ito para sa akin, kundi para sa lahat ng tao na nagtiwala, at patuloy na nagtitiwala sa trabahong ginagawa at mga adbokasiyang isinusulong namin sa Office of the Vice President," Robredo said during the virtual awarding ceremony.

[Translation: It is an honor to receive this award, but the truth is this is really not for me, but for the people who trusted and continue to trust the work and the advocacy being pushed by the Office of the President.]

"From donors to our volunteers, to our hardworking staff na talagang above and beyond ang serbisyo  napapatunayan natin na walang naglalakbay o nagtatagumpay nang mag-isa," she added.

[Translation: From donors to our volunteers, to our hardworking staff who really went above and beyond in service  we can prove that nobody travels or succeeds in this journey alone.]

Since the pandemic started, Robredo and the OVP launched different projects to help different sectors  from transporting healthcare workers, to creating an online platform for displaced workers and a learning hub for students, deploying the mobile 'Swab Cab" for free coronavirus testing, and holding a free teleconsulting platform for COVID-19 patients.

"Rest assured that I and the rest of my team at the OVP will continue to work hard alongside you in pursuit of a better normal for all," Robredo said.

Other People of the Year awardees were Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla and 1-PACMAN Rep. Mikee Romero. Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto was voted as the "People's Choice Awardee" for his COVID-19 response.

PeopleAsia's People of the Year award recognizes "extraordinary people in extraordinary times."
Washington, April 13 : The White House said that the United States was not involved in a recent attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

"We, of course, have seen the reports of the incident at the Natanz enrichment facility. The US was not involved in any manner. We have nothing to add on speculation about the causes or the impacts," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Psaki said that the United States is focused on discussions scheduled this Wednesday in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"We expect them to be difficult and long," she said. "We have not been given any indication about a change in participation for these discussions." US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on the same day told reporters travelling with him to Israel that he was very supportive of US efforts to engage Iran in diplomacy over the JCPOA, saying these efforts will continue.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said Sunday that an accident took place in a part of the electricity distribution network of the Natanz nuclear facility in the morning. The AEOI head Ali Akbar Saleh described the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism." Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday blamed Israel for the incident in Natanz and vowed revenge on Israel, official news agency IRNA reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday said in a press conference alongside Austin that Israel would never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Austin did not mention Iran in his statement but said that the United States and Israel would "maintain close cooperation."
OTTAWA - It's been over 40 years since Chief Wilton Littlechild of Alberta began fighting for recognition of Indigenous rights in Canada, but he says he's waiting to see these rights passed into federal law before he can finally rest.

Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde speaksduring an announcement about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in Ottawa, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - It's been over 40 years since Chief Wilton Littlechild of Alberta began fighting for recognition of Indigenous rights in Canada, but he says he's waiting to see these rights passed into federal law before he can finally rest.

Littlechild was part of a team of human rights and legal experts who took part in a 1977 Indigenous delegation to the United Nations, and later also worked on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the body in 2007.

Speaking to a House of Commons committee Tuesday, Littlechild expressed cautious optimism about the Liberal government's Bill C-15, which would harmonize Canada's laws with the declaration, also known as UNDRIP.

But he said he won't be able to fully exhale until the bill finally passes.

"I have to withhold my emotion and my horse races inside me until I hear the words 'royal assent,' " Littlechild said.

"I feel positive that we are going in the right direction. After all, we didn't go to the United Nations or to the Organization of American States to cause anyone any trouble. We went there because our treaties were being violated on a daily basis and it was our elders and our leaders who instructed me to bring this ... to the global arena."

Littlechild was one of several Indigenous leaders and legal experts who appeared Tuesday before the committee studying Canada's bill. They urged federal lawmakers to ensure the bill doesn't end up once again on the cutting room floor.

This will mark the third attempt to see a bill passed in Canada's Parliament recognizing the UN declaration.

Retired New Democrat MP Romeo Saganash introduced two private member's bills to implement UNDRIP. The first in 2014 was defeated at second reading, and the second, known as Bill C-262, came close to passing, but died after stalling in the Senate just before the 2019 election.

Perry Bellegarde, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations said he fears this newest bill could get tangled in legislative limbo before Parliament rises for the summer or is dissolved for a possible early federal election.

This would be a step backward on the road to reconciliation, Bellegarde said.

"Canada has made commitments to the Indigenous Peoples of the world that it would implement the declaration," he told the committee.

"What we still lack, however, is the legislation that implements the declaration and sets us on a course of recognition of rights and provides the framework for reconciliation.

"It is important for First Nations, and I believe it is important for all Canadians, to seize this opportunity now. We need to hear the words 'royal assent' before the end of June."

The UN declaration, which Canada endorsed in 2010, affirms the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and to their language, culture and traditional lands.

It also spells out the need for free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous Peoples on anything that infringes on their lands or rights, but C-15 does not include a definition of such consent.

The Liberal government introduced its UNDRIP legislation in December after a 2019 campaign promise to do so. It is now being put through the legal and political paces of Parliament.

The AFN is proposing some tweaks, including speeding up a proposed action plan to implement the bill from three years to two and adding clear references to "racism" long endured by Canada's Indigenous Peoples.

The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents Canada's 65,000 Inuit, are also proposing amendments to the legislation, including one that would establish an Indigenous Human Rights Commission.

But Conservatives have been raising concerns over language in the legislation they believe could give First Nations a "veto" over controversial resource development projects.

Several Tory MPs put these concerns to witnesses Tuesday, including the party's Crown-Indigenous relations critic, Jamie Schmale.

"It's not that we, as Conservatives, believe that UNDRIP or C-15 will mean that bill is against development. What we're asking is, because there is no clear definition, when a First Nation says no to a project  does that mean it's dead?"

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a former judge who helped draft British Columbia's successful UNDRIP 2019 legislation, called the notion of a blanket veto on development projects "fearmongering."

The bill will simply put into operation policies and processes to ensure First Nations are involved at the outset when it comes to decisions regarding their existing land, title and human rights, she explained.

Many legal experts believe this could lead to fewer conflicts and less litigation, especially on issues of resource development, she added.

"This is not removing any (government) authority and powers, but what it is doing and saying is: we want to end the process of this very colonial approach to taking Indigenous people's lands, supporting projects and developments on those lands without their consent, engagement and involvement and to operationalize a different set of practices," Turpel-Lafond said.

"The powers of government are well-known. The issue is how they get exercised and hopefully this bill will help us shift into a more positive direction."

The bill is expected to be brought to the House of Commons for first debate later this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.
Convenience stores are no longer just quick spots for gas.

They have evolved with drive-thrus, app ordering, menus of cheesesteaks and burgers, beer and wine sales, and video gaming terminals. Theyre securing prime real estate, mostly on busy corners and well-traveled roadways.

Central Pennsylvanias convenience store market is among the most competitive in the nation, next to Des Moines, Iowa, said Jeffrey Lenard, spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

More people visit a convenience store each day than any other brick-and-mortar retail location, with about half of the U.S. population buying something at a convenience store every day, according to the NACS.

Heres a breakdown of the top chains in central Pennsylvania:

7-Eleven

The chain, founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas, is now headquartered in Texas.

Number of stores: It operates franchise and licensed stores with a total of more than 71,100 stores in 17 countries.

Expansion plans: In the Harrisburg region, 7-Eleven has proposed new stores in West Hanover Township in Dauphin County and Carlisle in Cumberland County.

What to eat: Slurpees are a given. Otherwise, menus vary by location with hot dogs, taquitos, stuffed waffles and chicken sandwiches.

What to know: The chain is experimenting with new Evolution stores in partnership with Laredo Taco and recently opened its first taco drive-thru in Dallas. In 2018, it acquired 1,030 Sunoco gas stations/convenience stores and is in the process of acquiring Speedway stores.

Royal Farms store in Lime Spring Square in East Hempfield Township, Lancaster County. The Baltimore, Maryland convenience store chain is known for its fried chicken. File photo by Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Royal Farms

Based in Baltimore, the chain dates back to 1959 when its owners expanded their Baltimore area dairy operation into a milk store.

Number of stores: It operates 240 stores across several states, including 19 stores in Pennsylvania.

What to eat: World famous fried chicken, chicken and waffles and bacon egg croissant sandwiches.

What to know: The chicken is so revered, Food & Wine magazine named it the best gas station food in America in 2017.

Gas pumps at the Rutter's located at 368 Lewisberry Rd., in Fairview Township, York County. Rutter's is a convenience store chain headquartered in York County, Pa. March 16, 2021. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Rutters

The chain dates to 1921 with the start of the familys dairy but the first stores didnt open until the 1960s.

Number of stores: Rutters operates 78 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.

What to eat: Route 30 burgers made between grilled cheese sandwiches, Philly cheesesteaks, fried shrimp baskets, whoopie pies and spiked slushies.

Expansion plans: Recently opened a new store in Gap, Lancaster County and this year will invest more than $100 million on new stores and expansions, including new builds in Kutztown, West Virginia and Maryland. It also plans to remodel about 10 stores.

What to know: International Convenience Retailer of the Year in 2014 and Food Service Retailer of the Year. One of the only true convenience stores in the state with video gaming terminals.

Sheetz

Robert Bob Sheetz founded the chain in 1952 when he purchased one of his fathers dairy stores in Altoona. By 1983, Sheetz had grown to 100 stores.

Number of stores: It operates 600 store locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina.

What to order: The famed MTO - made-to-order subs - in hundreds of combinations, always best with signature Boom Boom Sauce, app samplers, pizza, coffee and cookies.

Expansion plans: A rapid expansion is underway in Columbus, Ohio where Sheetz plans to open a dozen stores this year. In Pennsylvania it plans to open new stores in Pittsburgh and Scranton.

What to know: Sheetz was a leader in the push for Pennsylvania to allow beer sales at convenience and grocery stores.

Turkey Hill Minit Markets

Started in Lancaster County by Charles and Emerson Frey and now owned by EG America, one of the fastest growing convenience store retailers in the United States, which also operates Cumberland Farms, Kwik Shop and Loaf N Jug, among others.

Number of stores: There are more than 270 Turkey Hill stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.

What to order: Iced tea, Slushys, ice cream novelties, sandwiches such as tuna and chicken salad and hot dogs.

What to know: Turkey Hill Dairy in Conestoga, Lancaster County, maker of Turkey Hill branded ice cream and ice tea, operates independently.

Wawa hoagie and coffee on Broad Street in Philadelphia. File photo by Julia Hatmaker |PennLive

Wawa

Wawa, Inc., a privately held company based in Delaware County, opened its first store in Folsom, Pa. in 1964.

Number of stores: It operates 850 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.

What to order: Made-to-order hoagies, coffee, Sizzli breakfast sandwiches and new burgers and fries.

Expansion plans: It has opened a handful of new stores this year including one in Emmaus in the Lehigh Valley as well as stores in Morrisville and Doylestown in Bucks County.

What to know: The chain is named for the Native American word for the Canada Goose. Following in its dairy heritage, Wawa makes and sells its own brand of ice cream.
The president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, has accused Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez of "not yet understanding that tourism is one of the largest industries we have."

He said, "We have to care for and protect the entire service sector which generates many jobs," in Andalucia and the whole of Spain.

In an interview on Telecinco's AR programme, the Juntas head stressed that the possible "loss" of this summer, "the second summer after having already lost Easter, the spring festivities and the fairs, would be a catastrophe in economic and social terms."

For this reason, Juanma Moreno has two clear objectives: "to do everything humanly possible to reach this summer with as much immunity as possible" and "to reach agreements with the United Kingdom, which already has an important proportion of the population vaccinated, so that there are safe corridors that guarantee the arrival of visitors from that country to Spain."

Moreno said, "I see the tourism sector as being forgotten by the Government in terms of care, protection and security, and asked central government, When will you sign the agreement with the regions so that financial help can arrive to protect medium and small-sized companies in the tourism sector. In June or in July when they have already suffocated?

"When someone has drowned, they no longer need to have a lifebuoy thrown at them," he added.
Co-founders of BlueAvo, Indira Tsengiwe and Isaac Tshiteta.

Source: RAEng/RodgerBosch

Can you tell us a bit about BlueAvo?

It connects brands, agencies and startups to content creators across the African continent for film, graphic design, UI/UX, advertising, etc and any marketing needs.

When, how and why did you get started?

What is the core function of BlueAvo?

What are some of the obstacles you've had to overcome since starting out?

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

What has been your proudest achievement thus far?

What does the future of entrepreneurship look like to you?

What do you think is the importance of startup accelerator/incubator programmes?

What would you like to see changed in the African startup landscape?

What do you believe are the traits an entrepreneur needs in order to succeed?

Tell us about your biggest struggles as an entrepreneur, as well as some major highlights.

Why would you encourage someone to become an entrepreneur?

Where would you like to see BlueAvo in the next five years?

I chat with entrepreneurs Indira Tsengiwe and Isaac Tshiteta who built the solution in response to the need for innovation in the African media industry.BlueAvo was founded in 2019 as a response to the need to innovate the media industry on the African continent. Together, we (Indira Aliyana Tsengiwe and Isaac Tshiteta) spent the first year of operation working offline to test the business model. We then found a need for brands, agencies and startups to be able to create localised content at scale across the African continent - this, combined with the opportunity to provide equal and open access to briefs for creatives, fuelled their passion.One important objective of BlueAvo is to address the concern of creative exploitation on the continent. BlueAvo ensures same-day payment of the creative on each successful delivery to the client, in the brief currency - it also manages the legal contracts to allow for IP transfer/protection for the creative and client.BlueAvo is a web based solution which converts the African creative economy into an internet-based marketplace.Currently, the platform has onboarded creatives in at least seven African countries - with the number growing each day.Its exciting to see a pan-African solution come to life. Weve witnessed international companies looking to reach African markets utilize the space, co-creating with locals to develop their media products.Creative contracts have been developed by Bowmans, and payments are managed in at least 50 currencies across the continent.: As a young, female of colour being in the media industry for over eight years - it became apparent that opportunities kept going to the same people, over and over again. In South Africa there was a huge issue of legacy where little transformation was seen - and the constant notion of lack of knowledge of/access to premium creatives was presented as the cause.After additional research, Isaac and I discovered that this was not a singular story - that African talent was off the bat considered to be sub par. So we decided to do something about it - and provide brands, agencies and startups access to a vetted and diverse supply chain of creatives - from South Africa to Egypt - for equal opportunity and access to creative briefs.: When we democratise opportunity - we truly empower economic participation, and have a real chance of building our world. The creative industry is one of the largest on the continent. We asked ourselves, what would happen, if we used technology to even the playing field? This is how BlueAvo was started.BlueAvo is a web based solution which converts the African creative economy into an internet based marketplace. It connects brands, agencies and startups to content creators across the African continent for film, graphic design, UI/UX, advertising, etc. and any marketing needs.The road to transformation is always a difficult one. Teaching people to try and use a digital solution for an industry that has primarily operated on physical interaction is the steepest learning curve that we have had to encounter. But we are excited about the challenge. Its fun advocating for the value of the service and showcasing the potential that exists through BlueAvo, not just for the platform but the client and creative as well.: Network like your business is dependent on itbecause it is. Never be afraid of rejection. The worst that anyone can say to you is no, and the truth - someone else will say yes.Our solution was recently nominated for the Royal Academy of Engineering for the Africa Prize of Engineering Innovation. It was a nod that truly confirmed the need for the solution on the continent.The barrier to entry in entrepreneurship has been lowered to a laptop and an internet connection. Today anyone can access a global market for sales and suppliers - companies are increasingly reshaping themselves to compete in an innovative economy. It is clear that the opportunities for entrepreneurs are exponential for we have entered the age of the entrepreneur.The importance of such programs is found in the soft skills: mentorship, support and networking.Africas entrepreneurship rate is the highest in the world. With a significant segment of the working age population starting their own businesses - we would like to see this growth matched with an increase in trust for those businesses. We hope to see more and more consumers become early adopters of such innovations in effort to give our businesses a real chance. And where theres lack of customer satisfaction - to communicate so to the entrepreneurs.Tenacious grip on the vision, and the ability to sell it to whoever, and whenever.Some of our major highlights include receiving support from some major brands, agencies and startups with offline briefs as we tested and fixed the kinks of our solution. We have onboarded creatives in over seven African countries, and we have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the continents local payment gateway solutions that ensure that as we grow our brand, we are supporting another.At the core, an entrepreneur is someone who identifies a problem in society and chooses to address it. We believe that the world could use more problem solvers - now, more than ever.In five years, BlueAvo will be the go-to solution for brands, agencies and startups to connect with the best creatives across the African continent for localised content in the relevant market.We want to achieve a business standard that will cause creatives across the African continent to proudly say, "I am available exclusively on BlueAvo," this is due to the legal protection and payment structure that the platform provides.To find out more, go to https://www.blueavo.com/
The Biden administration said the pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout after a small number of women developed blood clots will not impact their vaccine goals.

'I made sure we have 600 million doses of the - not have either Johnson and Johnson and/or AstraZeneca,' Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. 'So there is enough vaccine so that is basically 100% unquestionable for every single, solitary American.'

Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, downplayed the pause in the vaccine distribution, saying it was being done 'out of an abundance of caution.'

He also argued the Johnson & Johnson does not make up enough of the U.S. supply to affect the administration's goals of getting a shot in the arm of 200 million Americans by President Joe Biden's 100th day in office on April 30th and to have enough shots for every adult American by the end of May.

'This announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan: Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date,' he said in a statement released by the White House.

He noted the U.S. has enough supply of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to meet their goal. Those vaccines require two shots unlike Johnson & Johnson's single dose.

'The United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans. Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines. This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the Presidents goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office - and continue on to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated,' he said.

The reassurance from the White House came after the FDA and CDC recommended a pause in the US roll-out of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine after six women developed rare blood clots and one died after receiving the shot.

Zients added that the administration is working to reschedule appointments for those slated to get the Johnson & Johnson shot.

'We are working now with our state and federal partners to get anyone scheduled for a J&J vaccine quickly rescheduled for a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine,' he said.

Zients and Dr. Anthony Fauci joined the White House press briefing to discuss the 'pause' in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which Fauci described as a 'rare event' and an 'unusual occurrence.'

'We are totally aware that this is a very rare event,' Fauci said. 'We want to get this worked out as quickly as we possibly can. And that's why you see the word pause, in other words you want to hold off for a bit, and very well may go back to that maybe with some conditions or maybe not, but we want to leave that up to the FDA and the CDC to investigate this carefully.

Fauci, the top government expert in infectious diseases, also said 'there have been no red flags signals' for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Zients said the FDA has been the 'gold standard' for approving vaccines and the 'pause' showed their commitment to people's safely.

'The FDA is the gold standard for ensuring the safety and the effectiveness of the vaccines and today's action I think is clear evidence that they're taking every step necessary to ensure the American people have clear and transparent information about the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines,' he said.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden received the Pfizer vaccine while Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff received the Moderna version.

President Joe Biden's administration said the pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout will not impact their vaccine goals

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks alongside White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients during a press briefing at the White House; both stressed the safety of the other two COVID vaccines

Seven million people in the US have had the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The percentage of people who have developed blood clots from it is 0.00008. In the US, 0.27 percent of the population suffer from Deep Vein Thrombosis - a more severe form of blood clot - every year. The women who developed blood clots are all aged between 18 and 48.

According to anonymous health officials cited by The New York Times, one of them - who has not been identified - died and another, who is in Nebraska, is in a critical condition. The two authorities are not revoking emergency authorization of it, but say they are recommending a pause in the administering of it until more data is collected.

The FDA and CDC on Tuesday morning announced it was recommending a pause in the J&J vaccine over concerns over blood clots

Doctors are also urging people not to panic; the rate of blood clots in people who have had the vaccine is one in a million.

In the state of New York, people with a vaccine appointment for J&J will instead receive the first dose of Pfizer. All J&J appointments in Washington DC have been canceled between April 13 and 17. Rhode Island has halted giving out new J&J appointments. It's unclear if people with existing appointments can still get it. Indiana is canceling all J&J appointments, as is the District of Columbia.

Nashville's Metro Health department has announced that people with J&J appointments at a drive-thru site at K-Mart will instead receive a first-dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

A North Carolina medical group - Cape Fear Valley Health - has also cancelled all of its J&J appointments at clinics on Wednesday and Friday. Doctors have been told they can offer people with J&J appointments the Pfizer vaccine instead, but only if they have enough of it. Ohio Gov. Mark DeWine is also telling all vaccine sites to stop giving out the vaccine.

A medical professional from UofL Health administers a vaccine to a patient in their vehicle at University of Louisville Cardinal Stadium in Kentucky on Tuesday

Kent State University student Marz Anderson gets his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination - more than 6.8 million of the J&J vaccine have been distributed

J&J said it was aware of the blood clots but that there was 'no clear relationship' between its vaccine and the people who had developed them.

In their joint statement, the CDC and FDA said: 'As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine.

'In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

'Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.'

They added the events appear to be 'extremely rare' but 'we take all reports of health problems very seriously'.

'People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.'

Cities and states are slowly announcing if appointments for J&J are canceled. Some, like New York, are giving out Pfizer first doses to people who had J&J appointments

An HHS official told CBS News on Tuesday morning that the government was waiting to hear more from the FDA and CDC.

'We're going to let the FDA review the cases in question here over the next few days.

'They're going to make a determination, and we'll go from there.

'[FDA is] going to look at these cases & determine whether any changes need to be made to the recommendations for use...do they need to update labeling to note the adverse reaction? Who should receive it, who shouldn't? If there are any concerns like that.'

J&J said it was aware of the roll-out pause and the blood clots but they said there is no clear link between their shot and the problems

In October, the company paused its vaccine trial after a male participant developed a blood clot.

Experts are urging caution, telling people not to 'freak out' but to pay attention to any unexplained pain they may be feeling.

'The first take away is that it's a very rare event. You're talking about one per million. You will see events like this that you couldn't see in the clinical trial just because you have millions of people involved.

'It probably is related. It's rare. But I want to congratulate the CDC and FDA for very quickly jumping on it - halting the vaccination until we know more. This is exactly the right move until we know more.

'You're likely going to be OK. You think about a 1 in a million event...You cross the street every day, you have a much higher chance of getting run over by a car.

'I think, what people need to be is, don't freak out. I would be going on with my life, but I'd be in tune with my body.

'If I develop shortness of breath, if I develop leg pain, a headache within two to three weeks of having had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, I would immediately notify my healthcare provider,' Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean at Emory University School of Medicine, told CNN on Tuesday morning.

J&J shares dropped by almost 3 percent in pre-market trading after the announcement from the two federal agencies

The company's shares decreased by 3 percent in early trading on Tuesday after the announcement from the CDC and FDA.

The vaccine was approved in the US on February 27 and it was given the greenlight by the World Health Organization in March, but it has not yet been approved by individual European countries like the UK.

In Europe, the roll-out of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has also been paused in some countries over similar concerns over blood clots.

Moderna rushed to assure people who'd had its vaccine that it was safe and did not lead to blood clots

Thirty people out of the 5million who received it developed the blood clots - a higher percentage of 0.0006.

Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, the Netherlands and Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus, Sweden all paused the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency however said the rewards of the vaccine far outweighed the risk.

The vaccine has not been paused in the UK.

The shot has still not yet received FDA approval but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious diseases expert, said it seems safe, and that it has not yet been rolled out in the US because there are so many other shots available.

'I think that the AstraZeneca vaccine from a standpoint of efficacy is a good vaccine, and if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union... the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good,' he told BBC radio on Tuesday.

This is how the vaccine effort in the US is ramping up. Around 20 percent of the population has now been vaccinated

'Whether or not we ever use AZ is unclear but it looks right now at this point in time that we will not need it.

'Its not a negative indictment of AZ, it is just possible that given the supply that we have from other companies that we may not need to use an AZ vaccine,' he said.

There is no information about the woman who died after receiving the J&J vaccine who developed blood clots.

Another woman died after receiving the vaccine but from a stroke, according to her daughter.

Virginia Ellington, 63, died within days of receiving the vaccine. While there is no official link yet between her death and the vaccine, her daughter insists she was otherwise healthy.

No government body has linked any of the vaccines to any deaths yet, but relatives have anecdotally.

A Miami doctor's wife died of a stroke after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

A Utah mother also died within days of receiving the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Their families insist that it was the vaccine that killed them.
The White House on Tuesday issued its first-ever presidential proclamation marking Black Maternal Health Week as part of the administrations broader efforts to draw attention to and address the vast racial gaps in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths and complications in the United States.

Black women in our country are facing a maternal health crisis, said Vice President Kamala Harris, who hosted a round table on the issue alongside Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council.

We know the primary reasons why: systemic racial inequities and implicit bias, Ms. Harris added.

The U.S. continues to have the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, driven in large part by the high mortality rates among Black mothers. Approximately 700 women die each year as a result of pregnancy or its complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women.

Maternal health discrepancies are intertwined with infant mortality: Black infants are more than twice as likely to die than white infants  10.8 per 1,000 Black babies, compared with 4.6 per 1,000 white babies.
The maneuvering by both parties has turned Michigan into a test case of how states with divided government will deal with voting laws, and how Republicans in state legislatures are willing to use any administrative tool at their disposal to advance Mr. Trumps false claims of fraud and pursue measures that could disenfranchise many voters. The proposal puts new restrictions on how election officials can distribute absentee ballots and how voters can cast them, limiting the use of drop boxes, for example.

These bills contain some of the most outlandish voter suppression ideas that Michigan has ever seen, said State Senator Paul Wojno, the lone Democrat on the Michigan Senates elections committee. Well find out if what was adopted in Georgia may have backfired, causing legislation like this to be put under a bigger microscope.

The chief executives of 30 of Michigans largest companies, including Ford, General Motors and Quicken Loans, announced their opposition on Tuesday to changes in the states election laws that would make voting harder  an apparent effort to get ahead of the issue, rather than come under pressure after laws are passed, as happened to two big Georgia-based companies, Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines.

In a joint statement, the companies leaders warned against passing laws that reduce voting by historically disenfranchised communities, persons with disabilities, older adults, racial minorities and low-income voters.

And in what appeared to be a shot across the bow of G.O.P. lawmakers planning to cut out the Democratic governor, the executives said election laws must be developed in a bipartisan fashion to preserve public confidence.
Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- Accessibility in the built environment is a topic that can stimulate a wide range of discussions. We are all different and accommodating the various requirements of people with pushchairs, walking sticks, wheelchairs, dogs or mobility requirements, for example, can pose a real challenge. Creating a more inclusive creative workplace is a key element in construction and as a civil engineering recruiter it's clear to see that there is a real trend towards inclusive design that is also more playful, tactile and engaging. Perhaps after a year of frequent lockdowns across the world there is now a big appetite for spaces that give something back.



Infrastructure is at the heart of progress and professionals within this sector have the potential to have a life changing impact on entire populations. Since 2012, LVI Associates has been a civil engineering recruiter committed to facilitating the growth and development of businesses within this critical industry, enabling connections and collaboration between talented people and thriving organisations - becoming a leading specialist recruitment agency as a result. Consultants at the firm receive in-depth training and have expertise across a broad spectrum of specialist areas, including fast growing renewable energy, as well as construction and forensics, building services, transportation and water and environmental. There are opportunities across many of these subsectors, working for a multitude of different types of organisations, from agile, enterprising start-ups to some of the biggest and most recognisable names in the industry. LVI Associates consultants provide a range of permanent, contract and multi-hire solutions that take into account the specific challenges faced by organisations and individuals in the infrastructure sector, as well as the unique needs that have been created by pandemic conditions over the past 12 months. As an experienced civil engineering recruiter, the firm is able to provide expert reassurance that the hiring process is in safe hands, securing business-critical talent from its bases in Singapore, Japan, Australia as well as other global hubs all over the world.



With almost a decade of expertise in infrastructure recruitment across Singapore, Japan and Australia, the LVI Associates team delivers a level of insight that makes them a leading civil engineering recruiter for this sector throughout Asia Pacific. Combined with their industry leading expertise, LVI Associates are also the preferred recruitment partner for 70+ world-leading organisations as part of the Phaidon International Group. Consultants at LVI Associates work with best-in-class technology and strategies to continuously deliver vision-led, specialist support to organisations and individuals in infrastructure throughout Singapore and the wider Asia Pacific region. The team understands that infrastructure has the potential to make a real difference to many people's lives and works hard to make the process of recruitment simple and effective. As a well-established civil engineering recruiter in Singapore, the firm has worked with clients and candidates across Asia Pacific and there is currently a broad selection of roles available as a result. For those seeking to make career-defining moves in infrastructure these are just some of the opportunities that can be accessed via LVI Associates in Singapore: Area Sales Manager [SEA], Regional Membrane Sales Manager, Data Centre Design Engineers [Mechanical/Electrical], Valve Sales Manager, Project Manager [Water Industry], Senior Process Engineer [Water] and Senior Chemist [Water Analysis].



"While last year certainly created many new challenges for businesses all over the recruitment sector, there is a lot to be proud of, in particular the way that our talented team has adapted to the need to provide more virtual support in securing and retaining key talent," commented Luis Rolim, Global Marketing Director at LVI Associates. He went on to say, "our sense of commitment and duty to our clients remain unwavering and we look forward to a year in which we can continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved with resourcefulness and resilience - and to meet the challenge of securing business-critical talent on a global scale."



To find out more information about civil engineering recruiter in Singapore visit https://www.lviassociates.sg/



For any media enquiries please contact Gary Elliott at Iconic Digital  020 7100 0726.



For all other enquiries please contact LVI Associates Singapore: +65 3165 1400.



For more information about LVI Associates Singapore services, please go to https://www.lviassociates.sg



About LVI Associates Singapore

LVI Associates Singapore is the leading specialist recruitment agency for the infrastructure sector. Reimagining recruitment for this fast moving and innovative industry has enabled the firm to bring together the brightest talent and key enterprises to help continue to drive the sector forward.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden will announce Wednesday that the United States will fully withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, a symbolic deadline marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, senior administration officials said Tuesday.

The troop drawdown will begin before May 1, the deadline for complete withdrawal as outlined in a deal the Trump administration reached with the Taliban, a senior administration official said. The U.S. says there are roughly 2,500 troops serving in Afghanistan.

In his afternoon remarks, Biden will make the case that there is no military solution to the problems plaguing the country, where the threats have changed and al Qaeda is not what it once was, a White House official told NBC News.

The president will also say he is committed to withdrawing U.S. troops in coordination with allies and partners and is committed to diplomacy in the region.

Bidens decision comes after a three-month Afghanistan policy review. The senior administration official said the review determined that any national security threat from Afghanistan is at a "level that we can address it without a persistent military footprint in the country and without being at war with the Taliban.

That withdrawal may be completed well in advance of Sept. 11, the official said. Any remaining U.S. troops in Afghanistan would be a number the administration, in consultation with allies, determines is required to protect American diplomats in the country, the official said.

The official said they shared the presidents decision with NATO allies this week. The official said the administration is committed to helping maintain the rights that women have achieved since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, but its unclear how the U.S. will ensure that.

The decision was first reported by The Washington Post.

Reaction to the presidents decision from Capitol Hill was mixed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the strategy a disaster in the making.

Story continues

A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous, Graham said in a statement. President Biden will have, in essence, cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah expressed support for the withdrawal.

I'm glad to see us moving out, Lee told reporters Tuesday. I want to see us get out of there, and a timely withdrawal seems like a good thing.

The U.S. will maintain military assets in the region to counter terrorism threats and hold the Taliban to its commitments, including that it would sever ties with al Qaeda. The senior administration official, briefing reporters on Bidens decision, said any attack by the Taliban on U.S. or allied forces as the drawdown is in progress will be met with a forceful response.

Under the deal with the Taliban that was signed last year, the U.S. promised to pull all troops out by May 1 in return for the group's agreement to enter into peace talks with its adversaries in the Afghan government, and a commitment to ensure that Afghanistan is not used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks on the U.S. or its allies. The Taliban has said if the U.S. fails to abide by that agreement, the group is under no obligation to uphold its end of the deal.

Since taking office Biden has opposed keeping troops in Afghanistan indefinitely, senior administration officials have said, and military officials had convinced him to consider an extension of up to six months.

After receiving several options from the Pentagon, Biden mulled the decision for weeks, frustrating some in the military, NBC News has reported. The presidents final decision to withdraw by Sept. 11 underscores his desire to mark the symbolic anniversary of the attacks by ending a war he has long believed should wind down.

We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on Sept. 11, and to disrupt terrorists seeking to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack the United States, the official said. We believe we achieved that objective some years ago.

The president deeply believes that in contending with the threats and challenges of 2021, as opposed to those of 2001, we need to be focusing our energy, our resources, our personnel, the time of our foreign policy and national security leadership on those threats and challenges that are most acute for the United States, the official said, citing China, a global pandemic and terrorism. And that doing that requires us to close the book on a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.

The official said other troops serving in Afghanistan from allied countries will also withdraw.

President Biden will give our military commanders, the time and space, they need to conduct a safe and orderly withdrawal, not just U.S. forces but of allied forces as well on the principle of in together, out together, the official said. And so, we will take the time we need to execute that and no more time than that.
A man was stabbed to death by his mother-in-law in self defence after he flew into a rage when he discovered his wife had cheated on him with her taekwondo instructor, a court has heard.

Adam Coble, 40, was fatally stabbed in the chest by his mother-in-law Kay Leonard in his North Richmond home in north-west Sydney in January 2019.

Mr Coble had inflicted an 11-year reign of domestic violence that came to a head when he discovered his wife Robyn Coble had been having an affair.

He confronted his wife that day after discovering sexually explicit texts she had sent to the instructor, an inquest at Lidcombe Corners Court heard on Monday.

Adam Coble pictured left with his wife Robyn. He was fatally stabbed by his mother-in-law Kay Leonard in his North Richmond home in north-west Sydney in January 2019

A month earlier, an apprehended violence order was taken out against Mr Coble - who was also charged with malicious damage.

Mrs Coble called her mother to the home, who urged the 40-year-old to move out.

'Look, youse can't keep fighting - Adam, you can move out if you want to, you can go and stay at your mums,' Mrs Leonard said according to The Daily Telegraph.

Senior Sergeant Sasha Harding said Mr Coble then turned his anger towards his mother-in-law in a wild stabbing frenzy in the lounge room.

Mrs Leonard was left with eight separate wounds but didn't lose consciousness and fought back with both hands, the court heard.

Robyn Coble is pictured hugging her teenage daughter after Adam Coble was fatally stabbed in 2019. Mrs Leonard subjected his mother-in-law to a wild stabbing frenzy - leaving her with eight separate wounds - before she stabbed him in self defence

'He took a knife from a kitchen drawer and approached Kay from behind. Adam took Kay's hair and smashed her into the floor, he stabbed Kay in the neck,' Snr Sgt Harding said.

The officer said Robyn Coble then jumped from her seat and placed her husband in a chokehold while her mother took control of the knife.

'Kay took the knife from Adam and drove it into his chest once. Robyn continued to maintain her hold while screaming for help,' Mrs Leonard said.

The couple's teenage daughter called police, who arrived at the home to find the mother-in-law with critical injuries and Mr Coble lifeless in his wife's chokehold.

The family (Adam and Robyn Coble pictured) were known to police for domestic violence-related matters since 2008

'I took the knife out of his hand so he couldn't do any more and I stabbed him, mate,' Mrs Leonard told police, 7News reported.

Mrs Leonard - who police said acted in self defence - survived her injuries despite spending 10 days in a coma.

The married couple had been known to police for domestic violence-related matters since 2008.

Mr Coble's wife Robyn pictured after the stabbing in 2019. The couple's teenage daughter had called police, who arrived to find Mr Coble lifeless in his wife's chokehold

Mr Coble's mother Anne Skeed, who had called for the formal review into her son's death, said there was more information police had not given to the inquest.

'He was a great horseman, he was a great upholsterer, he wrote beautiful poetry,' she said.

'Just sad that it's turned out the way it has. It's extremely sad.'

The coroner will deliver his findings on Wednesday.
[April 13, 2021] Paperless Parts Expands Platform with New Capability for Metal Finishing Companies to Provide Fast, Secure Quotes

Paperless Parts, the leading cloud-based sales and quoting platform for custom part manufacturers, today announced the expansion of its product to support metal finishing companies. Paperless Parts now enables finishing companies to quote jobs faster. This new functionality provides a more automated way for finishers to price jobs. The platform supports quoting for plating, painting, powder coating, heat treating and other finishing processes. It also provides secure (NIST/CMMC) storage of sensitive customer data and intellectual property. Traditional quoting is a manual process. Slow quoting from metal finishing vendors is a pain point for machine shops and sheet metal fabricators. This prevents them from responding to their customers quickly. Buyer expectations for fast quotes have changed, driving manufacturers to adopt new technology. Job shops and contract manufacturers are adopting Paperless Parts to meet these expectations. Finishing shops remain the long pole in the tent using Excel and pen and paper. Paperless Parts developed automated quoting for finishing companies in response to this need. "Software companies ignore the end of the supply chain. This causes significant inefficiencies that hurt American manufacturing. We developed automated quoting functionality for finishing companies to help address this challenge," said Jason Ray, co-founder & CEO of Paperless Parts. "I'm excited to see our platform expand to support more of the manufacturing supply chain." Paperless Parts is a powerful solution that identifies the variables requiredto consistently and quickly price finishing processes. These variables are automatically extracted from technical data provided in RFQs. Key aspects like the surface area, volume, dimensions, and rackability drive the automation.



"One of our biggest issues in the quoting process has always been the finishing quote phase. Sharing and receiving the right information in a timely manner was a challenging and slow piece of that process," said Grady Cope, president and CEO of Reata Engineering. "Paperless Parts' metal finishing quoting tool is a gamechanger for us and our finishing partners. We are able to communicate effectively and price jobs accurately and quickly, leading us to win more business." "Paperless Parts' software streamlines our communication with job shops. This new capability for finishing processes will make quoting much simpler," said Tamea Franco, president and CEO of Global Metal Finishing. "Using this platform, we are able to ask questions to the job shop issuing the RFQ, view 3D models that can improve the finishing process, and run suggestions by job shops for approval. This creates process efficiencies and cost savings that may have been overlooked otherwise. We can turn accurate quotes around in minutes rather than hours."

Paperless Parts is the most powerful quoting solution for metal finishing companies. The company continually innovates to bring smart manufacturing solutions to the industry. Now all manufacturers can embrace Industry 4.0 and grow their businesses. For more information and to schedule a demo, visit www.paperlessparts.com/request-demo. About Paperless Parts Paperless Parts is on a mission to help job shops, contract manufacturers and finishing companies improve business and grow by providing them with the most advanced, secure, cloud-based sales and quoting system available. The software streamlines manufacturers' existing workflows by combining modern business process automation tools with a configurable geometric pricing engine that drives speed and consistency in the quoting process. The platform integrates with CRM and ERP systems to supercharge front office operations and sales teams, and enables more efficient responses to RFQs for a variety of manufacturing processes. Manufacturers across the U.S. have uploaded over 1 million job files using the platform and are processing over $500,000 worth of orders a day. Privately funded by manufacturing industry experts, Paperless Parts was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Boston. Additional information available at paperlessparts.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005252/en/

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HONOLULU - A pilot's aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined.

FILE - In this Friday, June 21, 2019 file photo, part of the wreckage of a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air plane lies on the ground after a fatal crash near the chain link fence surrounding Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia, Hawaii, just off Farrington Highway. A pilot's aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the stall caused a loss of control at an altitude that was too low for the pilot to recover. (Bruce Asato/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP, File)

HONOLULU - A pilot's aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the stall caused a loss of control at an altitude that was too low for the pilot to recover. The crash in Mokuleia, Hawaii, was one of the most deadly in U.S. civil aviation in recent memory.

The board also found that the Beech King Air 65-A-90 that crashed went into a stall and spin in 2016 while in California, twisting the left wing. The wing wasn't repaired, leaving the plane in an unairworthy condition.

The NTSB found that the damage reduced the margin for an aerodynamic stall and could cause the plane to roll left under certain conditions.

An aerodynamic stall happens when a plane loses lift under its wings due to a high angle of the nose and air speed that's too low.

The agency issued a report on the probable cause of the crash on Tuesday.

The NTSB said Tuesday that while the Federal Aviation Administration inspected the Oahu Parachute Center's planes, the inspections failed to identify the damaged left wing of the plane that crashed.

The company did not have the proper permits to take people skydiving at the time of the crash, according to documents released by the state.

The companys owner, George Rivera, was granted a permit in 2010 for a company under a different name  Hawaii Parachute Center  that allowed parachute repairs and rigging, but not skydiving operations. An attempt to reach Rivera was unsuccessful Tuesday.

The plane was operated by the Hawaii parachute company but owned by N80896 LLC, a California company.

The president of that company, William Garcia, confirmed to The Associated Press that he was the registered owner of the aircraft. His company also owned the airplane when it was in the previous skydiving accident in California in 2016.

Garcia said Tuesday he would review the NTSBs findings and had no further comment.

During an NTSB hearing last month, senior accident investigator David Lawrence said the FAA doesnt give tour operators and skydiving flights any more oversight than owners of other private planes even though they carry paying passengers. Typically, he said, the FAA just conducts periodic on-airport checks of the planes and the pilots license. Findings from the Hawaii crash found that the FAAs oversight and monitoring of such operations do not ensure that the operators are properly maintaining their aircraft and safely conducting their operations, Lawrence said.

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said passengers on tour planes expect and deserve a safe ride. When theyre parachuting they are accepting a risk associated with jumping out of the airplane, but they are not expecting the airplane to crash due to poor maintenance.

In a statement emailed Tuesday, an FAA spokesman said the agency will develop a database tracking system to automatically alert field safety inspectors about certificated flight instructors (CFI) who have a substandard pass rate for their applicants.

The FAA will also establish guidance for inspectors on how to increase oversight of instructors, the statement said.

The crash was the most deadly civil aviation accident in the United States since a 2011 Reno Air Show wreck killed a pilot and 10 spectators in Nevada.

The victims included a young couple from Colorado celebrating their first wedding anniversary, several skydiving instructors, a Navy sailor and the pilot, Jerome Renck.

Renck  a French national  had a history of pushing the limits of his skills to give passengers an exciting ride, witnesses told investigators.

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Associated Press writers Tom Krisher and David Koenig contributed to this report.
Prosecutor asks to dismiss migrant ship case against Salvini Ex-minister's lawyer says political choice shared by cabinet

(ANSAmed) - ROME, APR 13 - Prosecutors in Catania have said that former interior minister Matteo Salvini should not be tried on abduction charges over the delay in allowing 131 migrants to disembark from the Gregoretti vessel in July 2019 in Augusta, Sicily.



Catania prosecutor Andrea Bonomo on April 10 asked Preliminary Hearings Judge (GUP) Nuncio Sarpietro to dismiss a case against former interior minister Matteo Salvini over illegally detaining migrants. The leader of the right-wing League party faces abduction charges for refusing a landing berth to the 131 migrants aboard the Gregoretti ship in July 2019. Authorization to land at Augusta, near Siracusa, came from a judge.



Prosecutor Bonomo said at the hearing on April 10 that Salvini "did not violate any national and international convention" and that his choice to refuse a landing berth was "shared by the government". The State attorney asked the preliminary hearings judge to dismiss the case on the grounds that it did not "meet the criteria of the crime of abduction" because the "the case is nonexistent". The judge is scheduled to rule on May 14.



Motivation of the prosecution The Catania prosecutor said that "the three-day-long wait cannot be considered as an illegitimate deprivation of freedom" of the migrants and "there is no obligation for the State to disembark immediately". Moreover, he added, "political directives had changed" at the time and the interior ministry had expressed the intention of assigning the POS (place of safety) "quickly", justifying the "administrative timing" to carry out the operation to disembark migrants "with minister Salvini's intention to obtain a redistribution in Europe". Bonomo added that "there is no judgement on the opportunity of that act" because in court "judgement is not political".



However, the plaintiffs demanding a trial for Salvini - including the associations AccogliRete, Legambiente, Arci and a family of migrants who were onboard the Gregoretti - opposed the prosecutor's request. The attorney representing Legambiente, Daniela Ciancimino, said the former minister "illegitimately held" 131 people aboard the ship. The lawyer said Salvini should be tried on abduction charges also for the "suffering endured by migrants crammed on the Gregoretti ship".



Salvini's attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, denied the claim. "The political choices of the government can be appreciated or not, but they are unquestionable based on the principle of the separation of powers. Decisions adopted in the national interest are impenetrable and can't be opposed judicially", Bongiorno said. "The criminal suit against Salvini shouldn't even have started because he carried out an unquestionable political act".



According to the former minister's defense lawyer, her client's position was shared by the entire cabinet, led at the time by Giuseppe Conte, "to shake up Europe". "There was a new political orientation to allow the POS where redistribution in Europe was possible - everybody knew it", she concluded.



Hearing commented by Salvini, center-right After the hearing, Salvini once reiterated he would do it all over again: "I am serenely going back to my children and I hope that things will be over on May 14. When I was a minister, contrary to others who don't remember, I wasn't afraid, I knew that there were duties and honors".



Infrastructure Minister Alessandro Morelli, a member of Salvini's League party, said he was "proud like millions of Italians" of Salvini and "happy for the request of Catania's State attorney's office".



Center-right Forza Italia Senator Maurizio Gasparri, president of the Senate's committee on elections and immunity, said it is "evident that this hypothesis of trial appears devoid of any foundation".



(League leader and former Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini arrives at the bunker hall room of the Bicocca prison for a preliminary hearing on the Gregoretti case, in Catania, Italy, 10 April 2021. Photo: ANSA/ ORIETTA SCARDINO) (ANSAmed).




The Joint Standing Committee on UNESCO of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate begins a series of events dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Romania's membership in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, with a roundtable conference scheduled for today to discuss challenges and solutions for UNESCO world heritage in Romania.

The event, which will take place at Parliament Palace, will be attended by Chair of the Senate Anca Dragu and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Ludovic Orban.

Delivering speeches will be Simona-Mirela Miculescu - Permanent Delegate of Romania to UNESCO; presidential adviser Sergiu Nistor; invited to the event are officials of the Romanian Academy, the Christian Orthodox Patriarchate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of European Investment and Projects, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Administration, the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Heritage, the National Commission of Romania - CNR UNESCO, the National Library of Romania, the Romanian Cultural Institute, county councils of areas hosting UNESCO heritage sites, as well as non-governmental organisations.Romania joined UNESCO in 1956.
A television monitor shows Coupang's stock price on March 15. Korea Times file



Analysts advise e-commerce giant to address labor issues for more investments



By Kim Jae-heun, Kim Yoo-chul



Despite several labor-oriented issues, it seems like business as usual for Coupang because no major investment banks are offering "sell" views on its stocks now being traded on the NYSE.



But it is notable that its share price was remaining at the $40 per share level after peaking briefly at $69 on the first trading day a month ago.



Some big institutional investors are still maintaining their bullish views on the company given its still-large opportunity to increase its market share in Korea, but they have some concerns on its valuation.



According to an analysis by The Korea Times over comments on Coupang by leading global investment banks  Mizuho, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs  only Goldman Sachs maintained a "buy" rating on Coupang and $62 as its target. The remaining four banks offered "neutral" ratings and their target prices ranged between $46 and $50, just slightly above the current level.



"Coupang's strengths lie in its competitive position in Korea's e-commerce sector thanks to its investments in terms of enhancing user experience and upgrading logistics infrastructure. While it is looking good overall, one of the key questions is how Coupang will effectively handle its labor-oriented issues," a senior fund manager at a U.S.-based investment bank in Seoul said by telephone, Tuesday.



Coupang's core business model is simple. It has become popular in Korea because of its signature Rocket Delivery service, letting customers receive products at their doorstep within just a few hours or the very next day with no delivery costs.



"But also that means increased possibilities for Coupang to be grappling with human resources-oriented challenges. Some investors were saying that Coupang may be overvalued, although I personally think if Coupang improves the current delivery model from a labor standpoint, then more Wall Street investors will be coming in," said another fund manager who invested a "few million dollars" in Coupang.



The labor issues surrounding Coupang have gained attention after the deaths of some couriers. While the exact reasons are unknown, local civic groups claimed the deaths were caused by "overwork."



Coupang expressed its "deepest condolences and sympathy" recently to the deceased and the bereaved families. It also pledged to actively cooperate in the processes of determining the causes of their deaths, and will spare no efforts in providing support to relieve the pain of the bereaved families.



All of Coupang's delivery workers are under its direct management and it limits drivers' working hours to five days a week under 52 hours, which complies with the government's guidelines. Coupang said it promises employees 15 days of vacation a year and break time during their work. When they get into an accident, the company provides insurance to cover costs.



Local civic groups are planning to hold a press conference for foreign media in Seoul sometime later this month seeking to shed light on Coupang's labor-related controversies. No specific agenda has been announced.



According to sources, the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights issues may attend the press conference.



Interestingly, JP Morgan touched on Coupang's labor issues recently by saying that the company is at the center of the "kwarosa" or "death by overwork" issue. JP Morgan also pointed that out Coupang may have to spend more money to improve employee safety and enhance welfare programs. "Kwarosa," a Korean term referring to sudden death often due to heart failure or a stroke as a result of arduous work, is actually not a new concept in Korea.



Coupang founder Kim Bom-seok said earlier the company will invest 5 trillion won in building 100 more logistics centers in 30 cities in the country to make Rocket Delivery's service available everywhere.



"Our mission is to create a world where customers wonder, 'How did I ever live without Coupang?," Kim said.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 12)  President Rodrigo Duterte said he was willing to give up his slot to receive a COVID-19 vaccine to someone else.

At his weekly address on Monday, he said his age was one of the reasons why he didn't think the vaccine would do much for him.

"Ako, ok na ako... Ako, magwe-waive ako, magwe-waive ako because 70 above... ano pang makuha mo magsige ka, dream? Dream of what? Living until kingdom come? Ako mag-waive ako, kung sino 'yung may gusto sa slot ko, ibigay ko," he said.

[Translation: I'm okay...I will waive it because at 70 above, what else can you do, dream? Dream of what? Living until kingdom come? I will waive my slot and whoever wants it can take it.]

The President turned 76 on March 28.

He added he has always been fatalistic and can accept it when his time is up.

"Whether it's COVID or a bala, or whatever, disgrasya. Wala ako masyadong ano diyan sa illusions about life and death. If anyone wants to have it, they can have it. We are not in the priority anyway," he added.

[Translation: Whether it's COVID or a bullet, or whatever, an accident. I have no illusions about life and death. If anyone wants to have it, they can have it. We are not in the priority anyway.]

Duterte said those who must be prioritized are those who still have a long life ahead of them.

READ: Gov't lists down essential workers eligible for vaccine priority

Most senior citizens are retired, he said, and are no longer as productive. However, he said the exception are those elected into office.

"Ako, after this...nothing to look forward to. Maybe spend a little time with the family and then, time to go," Duterte said.

READ: FDA approves use of Sinovac vaccine on senior citizens
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  Two men facing 24 criminal charges over a series of burglaries in Floyd County are pleading not guilty.

Curtis Alan Anderson, 21 of Waterloo, and Nicholas Gaige McLeland, 29 of Clear Lake, are accused of multiple burglaries and thefts between March 3 and March 5, including stealing a minivan and two cars. The crimes happened at different locations in Floyd and Rudd. Investigators say Anderson and McLeland did not commit all of these crimes together and another man, Riley Brekke of Mason City, participated in one of them.

Anderson is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, three counts of first-degree theft, second-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary, possession of burglar tools, eluding, OWI, possession of methamphetamine-2nd offense, and possession of contraband in a correctional facility. His trial is scheduled to start on June 8.

McLeland is charged with three counts of first-degree theft, commission of unspecified unlawful activity, second-degree burglary, two counts of third-degree burglary, possession of burglar tools, possession of marijuana-3rd or subsequent offense, and driving without a license. His trial is set to begin on July 7.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov emphasizes that Ukraine seeks to resolve the conflict in the east primarily by political and diplomatic means.

Danilov made a corresponding statement during the meeting with heads of diplomatic missions of EU member states accredited in Ukraine on their initiative, the press service of the NSDC informs.

The parties discussed the current security situation in the region, in particular, in the context of Russias escalating hybrid aggression in the East of Ukraine, the statement reads.

Danilov emphasized that Ukraine seeks to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine primarily by political and diplomatic means.

Ukraine currently has no plan to liberate the temporarily occupied territories by military means, our task is to resolve the conflict exclusively by political and diplomatic means. Everything else is purely an information war of the Russian Federation, which they are waging not only on our territory but also all over Europe, he said.

In this context, according to him, the recently established Center for Countering Disinformation under the NSDC of Ukraine is aimed to combat hostile disinformation and propaganda.

Danilov also informed the ambassadors of the EU member states about the working visit of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to the frontline positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

We will not give up our land, Danilov said stressing that Ukrainian service members on the front lines are ready for any aggravation of the situation, and Ukraine continues to be an outpost for the whole Europe.

Danilov thanked the European diplomats for the support provided to Ukraine, emphasizing that it will be difficult for us to counter the aggressor without the help of our true partners, but Ukraine is ready to give a decent response to the threats that arise near its border.

As reported, Russia has lately been building up troops near Ukraine's state border in the north, east and south, as well as in the temporarily occupied Crimea. In addition, the number of ceasefire violations committed by the Russian armed formations in eastern Ukraine has increased. Ukrainian troops suffer casualties. At the same time, Russia carries out a propaganda campaign to justify aggression against Ukraine.

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1. COVID Beating RT-PCR Tests

PTI

The novel coronavirus variant that is causing the current wave of Covid-19 is not just highly infectious but also stealthy, as per TNN

2. IAF To Focus On China

Reuters

Top IAF commanders will get together this week to discuss operational capabilities, strategies and challenges, even as India maintains military preparedness while keeping a hawk-eye on Chinese deployments, missile batteries and airbases amidst the continuing troop confrontation in eastern Ladakh, as per TNN.

3. Delhi Records 11,491 COVID Cases, Highest Single-Day Spike; 72 Deaths

ANI

Delhi recorded 11,491 Covid-19 cases on Monday, the highest single-day surge in the national capital till date, while 72 more people died due to the disease, according to data shared by the health department, as per PTI.

4. Jordan Royal Feud Stirs Unease In Saudi Arabia

AFP

Saudi Arabia fervently denies involvement in Jordan's royal feud, but the arrest of an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stirred unease in Riyadh, which sources say is pushing for his release, as per AFP.
The special rules Yountville has passed to allow alfresco dining and other measures to keep up business amid the business slowdowns triggered by COVID-19 will stay in effect for at least 14 more months.

Yountvilles Economic Recovery Program received an extension to June 30, 2022 with the approval last week of the Town Council. The decision allows restaurateurs and merchants in the town  arguably Napa Countys most dependent on tourism revenue  to continue serving patrons on patios, walkways, lawns and other public spaces even after curbs on indoor capacity are lifted.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

The countys rise to Californias orange tier for coronavirus spread has allowed greater indoor capacity to businesses, and state officials have announced a goal of fully reopening the economy by June 15. But in extending Yountvilles emergency rules for local merchants, Mayor John Dunbar said this is a necessity to make up for more than a year of losses.
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (April 13, 2021) appealed to the Centre to cancel the upcoming CBSE 2021 board exams due to a spurt in the COVID-19 cases.

"6 lakh children in Delhi are going to write CBSE exams. Nearly 1 lakh teachers will be a part of it. These can become major hotspots leading to the large-scale spreading of Corona. Children's lives & health is very important to us. I request Centre to cancel CBSE exams." Kejriwal said.

The Delhi CM added, "Some alternative methods could be thought of. Children can be promoted this time on the basis of either an online method or internal assessment. But CBSE exams should be cancelled."

              | Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/DU5XMgL5yJ  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 13, 2021

Earlier on April 11, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also appealed to the central government to reconsider conducting the CBSE board exams in view of the ongoing second wave of COVID-19 across India.

He took to his official Twitter account to point out that all stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions and said "In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions."

In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting #CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions. On how many counts does GOI intend to play with the future of Indias youth?  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 11, 2021

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had also written a formal letter to the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' asking him to reconsider allowing the CBSE to conduct exams amid the current surge in COVID-19 cases.

              CBSE  2021         My letter to the Minister of Education @DrRPNishank asking him to reconsider allowing the CBSE to conduct board exams under the prevailing COVID wave. pic.twitter.com/Ai4Zl796il  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) April 11, 2021

The CBSE Class 10 exams are scheduled to be conducted between May 4 and June 7, and between May 4 and June 15 for Class 12 students. However, due to the prevailing coronavirus wave, there have also been demands from students and parents to postpone the CBSE board exams.
Pivoting to other available COVID vaccines, Connecticut officials said Tuesday the states rollout remains on track and people should feel safe after federal agencies have called to suspend the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called for an immediate pause on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine amid reports of six cases of individuals developing rare but severe blood clots out of 6.8 million people who have received it.

The sudden news Tuesday morning prompted the state Department of Public Health to issue a similar recommendation to providers to stop using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until the FDA and CDC conduct a review. It appears all of the providers heeded the call and spent much of Tuesday shifting appointments to use available supplies of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines.

DPH will work with providers to minimize the disruptions from this announcement in the near-term to the extent possible, but we anticipate that some cancellations will occur, the department said in a statement.

Federal officials said the six cases, all involving women who had received a dose 6 to 13 days earlier, were out of 6.8 million people nationwide who have received the vaccine. DPH said none of these cases were in Connecticut.

Roughly 100,000 Connecticut residents have received the J&J vaccine with no reported serious adverse events, DPH said.

Following the announcement, state officials said there are still appointments available in Connecticut and disruptions should be minor.

We are still full steam ahead in getting everyone vaccinated, said Josh Geballe, chief operating officer for Gov. Ned Lamont.

On Tuesday, Connecticut reported a positivity rate of 3.77 percent for new COVID-19 tests. Hospitalizations were up a net of 21 patients for a total of 545 statewide. State officials said another 17 people died with the disease.

While it was unclear how many appointments were affected, it appears the pause had the greatest impact on mobile clinics, which have increasingly relied on the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

DPH said the FEMA mobile clinic is modifying its schedule to offer a different vaccine and the Griffin Hospital mobile vans, which rely on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, canceled clinics on Tuesday.

Lamont said DPHs 35 mobile vans were taking a pause Tuesday, but would soon be equipped with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Following a call with the White House COVID Task Force, Lamont said the hope is the pause will just be a matter of days.

The CDC plans to gather its immunization advisory committee on Wednesday to review the situation and weigh the significance of the small number of blood clot cases.

Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot, the FDA said in a statement.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said suspending the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also allows the health care system to prepare to recognize and treat patients properly and to report severe events they may be seeing in people who have received this vaccine.

The latest Connecticut figures show that nearly 97,000 people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine  accounting for about 10 percent of state residents who are fully vaccinated.

Providers shift appointments

Shelving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, state officials said many providers have successfully replaced existing appointments with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

At Hartford HealthCare, which runs a number of mass vaccination sites and smaller clinics across Connecticut, the plan was to halt administering Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the impact was expected to be minimal since the allocation of those vaccines was expected to decline.

All of our vaccine sites will still be open ... right now we can fully operationalize what we are doing with our current allocation of the mRNA vaccines, said Dr. James Cardon, HHCs chief clinical integration officer.

Cardon said the hospital had to adjust a mobile clinic that was going to use Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but it will instead use Moderna or Pfizer.

Right now, it does not significantly interrupt a significant number of the appointments we have laid out simply because we had scaled back the J&J administration at our sites preemptively, Cardon said, referencing the decrease in allocation.

Some pharmacies have similarly stopped plans to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Walgreens, which administers the vaccines in Connecticut, said it was contacting those with appointments and working to reschedule with the other vaccines as supply allows.

At Nuvance Health system  which includes Danbury, Norwalk, New Milford and Sharon hospitals  the pause was not impacting scheduled appointments.

Nuvance Health is not currently administering J&J vaccines at hospital-based or medical practice clinics for community members due to limited supply so there should be no impact for individuals with scheduled COVID-19 vaccine appointments, said Dr. Jeff Nicastro, chief medical officer for the system.

Dr. Zane Saul, chief of infectious disease at Bridgeport Hospital, called the blood clot incidents "heart-breaking."

However, he pointed out the clots seem to be rare, and he was optimistic the pause in the Johnson & Johnson use wouldn't affect availability of COVID vaccines overall.

The good news is that Pfizer and Moderna both seem to be ramping up production of their vaccines, so we should be in good shape, Saul said.

Providers are contacting people to adjust appointments and have been doing broad outreach to inform Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients about the news, urging people to contact their doctor if they experience severe side effects.

Connecticut saw a recent surge in the number of Johnson & Johnson vaccines allocated to the state. State officials said last week was a high water mark for doses. But the allocation dropped sharply this week following a supply issue at a Maryland manufacturing facility, which had to discard 15 million doses.

Lamont said Monday that Connecticut received about 21,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Last week, figures show the state received about 100,000.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been used widely in local clinics, mobile vaccination efforts and at mass vaccination sites across Connecticut.

While Johnson & Johnson doses appeared to be mostly in use by mobile clinics this week, officials said they are working to deploy Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and determine how to provide second doses to the recipients.

We know that people will need a second dose, and they'll get their card and the date that they need their second dose," Acting DPH Comissioner Deidre Gifford said Tuesday. "Today, we may not be able to schedule that second appointment every time. The goal will be to get the second appointment scheduled at the time of the first. But today and possibly tomorrow, we're going to have to work through some of those glitches."

Connecticut continues to receive a stable supply of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.

Good news is we are going to get extra doses next week of Pfizer and Moderna, so hopefully we are not going to miss a beat, Lamont said. And I dont want to miss a beat because some of you say, Heres one more reason not to get vaccinated.

Lamont: Other vaccines still safe

While a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson was unexpected news, officials spent Tuesday reassuring everyone that the other vaccines remain safe and people should continue to get inoculated.

Im here to reinforce how important it is that you continue to get vaccinated, Lamont said. CDC is being cautious when it comes to the J&J.

Gifford said its important to note that this is a rare event and people should not be overly concerned.

We were informed this morning by the FDA and CDC that they have not seen this combination of this blood clot with low platelets with any of the mRNA vaccines, Gifford said, referencing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. ... As weve been saying all along, all these vaccines continue to be very safe.

Despite the concerns about Johnson & Johnson, Saul still advises getting a COVID shot.

Hopefully, this is not going to sway people from getting the vaccine, because millions of lives are being saved, he said.

While the CDC reviews the matter, federal officials have not said when the pause may be lifted. The FDA said, vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.

Johnson & Johnsons vaccine received emergency authorization from the FDA in late February after a trial showed it was safe and effective at preventing serious symptoms and death.

We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with COVID-19 vaccines, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.

Clarification: Connecticut is in the process of delaying or canceling outstanding Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments after six reports of blood clots nationally

Staff writer Amanda Cuda and the Associated Press contributed to this story.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Onondaga County will stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for Covid-19 in the wake of concerns about a possible link to blood clots, County Executive Ryan McMahon said this morning.

Anyone scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine from the county will be switched to receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, he said. County officials also plan to use Pfizer and Moderna shots at a planned vaccine clinic later this week at Syracuse University, McMahon said.

Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots after getting the shots. Nearly 7 million U.S. residents have received the J&J vaccine.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control jointly called for an immediate pause in the use of the vaccine.

Out of an abundance of caution we will pause the use of J&J until we hear from the CDC and the FDA,' McMahon said.

Onondaga County used the J&J vaccine extensively last week at its Oncenter vaccination site. The county also administered the vaccine to homebound senior citizens and gave doses to local colleges for students. Health officials have not been alerted to any issues with blood clots among local recipients of the vaccine, McMahon said.

Anyone who has scheduled an appointment to receive the J&J vaccine from the county should keep the same appointment. They will be given either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, McMahon said.

Dr. Indu Gupta, the county health commissioner, noted that adverse health impacts from the J&J vaccine appear to be extremely rare, according to federal officials. Gupta advised anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to contact their health care provider if they develop a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination.

Do you have a news tip or a story idea? Contact reporter Tim Knauss of syracuse.com/The Post-Standard: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023.
Jennifer Flanagan on Tuesday announced she is stepping down from her seat on the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission this month, ending a 25-year career of public service in the state.

I really believe that working alongside the inaugural commissioners, former commissioners [Britte] McBride, [Kay] Doyle, [Shaleen] Title, and commissioner [Steven] Hoffman, was something interesting, Flanagan said in a phone interview. We literally walked in to day one with nothing but a chair and maybe a pencil. So having created what we did, from the ground up, was I think one of the greatest challenges that we had but also one of the bigger accomplishments that we had.

When the inaugural commissioners started their work, they had a small office in Boston. Now, the CCC operates out of the historic Union Station in Worcester and has more than 70 employees.

To know that we built that, I think, really, is something to be proud of, Flanagan said.

Flanagans last day on the commission is April 30. Shes leaving to become the director of regulatory policy at Vicente Sederberg, a Boston law firm. The firm has clients in all of the states that have medical and adult-use cannabis programs, Flanagan said, so part of her new role will be an effort to implement thoughtful laws and regulations with states and municipalities across the country.

Ive been in public service since I was a junior in college, Flanagan said. Its really bittersweet. I think Ive been fortunate in my career in state service. I started off literally as a paid intern at the State House, worked my way up as an aide, then a chief of staff and a lawmaker in both branches, and then was asked to serve on the commission.

Serving the people of Massachusetts has really been a passion for me and its bittersweet to have it end but I really think that the position Im going to will allow me to serve constituents nationally, which is really exciting at the same time, Flanagan continued.

In 2017, Gov. Charlie Baker appointed Flanagan to serve a four-year term on the regulatory commission. That term was slated to expire in September. Before that, Flanagan served as the state senator for the Worcester and Middlesex District, co-authoring 2014 and 2016 laws addressing substance use disorder.

Commissioner Flanagan has been a strong advocate for public health throughout her long career of service for the people of Massachusetts and brought this expertise to her role on the Cannabis Control Commission, said Gov. Baker. Lt. Governor Polito and I thank Jennifer for her willingness to serve on the Commission, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Flanagan said she wanted to thank Baker for the opportunity to put public health at the forefront.

My motivation for accepting his appointment, and my primary goal throughout my term, has been to ensure the public health of Massachusetts residents remained a priority as the Commonwealth regulated legal cannabis, Flanagan said. I believe my contributions have kept that focus front and center as the Commission has drafted and updated its regulations over the past three and a half years.

The governors office is in the process of reviewing candidates to fill Flanagans seat and expects to make an announcement soon, officials said. Flanagan said shed like to see someone who truly cares about public health in the position.

I really think that the person who comes in to fill this seat is someone that needs to understand that while public health doesnt get a lot of media attention, its really important in the legalization of this industry, she said.

Flanagan said the commission continues to be a work in progress and that she thinks its time to let the various regulatory changes settle before moving on. In January, new regulations were promulgated.

While there are important topics still ahead of the commission, like recreational marijuana delivery and social consumption, Flanagan said she doesnt think theres a long laundry list of changes that constantly need to be made.

Im hoping that when the commission moves forward theyll take a look at the hardship programs for patients, Flanagan said. I really believe that for patients who are using this substance as a medicine, its important to look at what their needs are and to really address them.

Flanagan has been a strong voice for the health and wellness of Massachusetts residents, advocating for patients and working to build out the commissions public awareness campaign, among other accomplishments, the agency said.

I really think that bringing the public health issues to the forefront has been really important, certainly being able to create the More About Marijuana public awareness campaign with the team is something that Im proud of, Flanagan said.

More About Marijuana highlights the risks of underage consumption, responsible adult use and the dangers of home cultivation and manufacturing, and was honored with a Telly award in the campaign (local TV) category and a MarCom award in their website category.

The Commonwealths patients, consumers, parents, and youth have greatly benefited from Commissioner Flanagans leadership over the past three and a half years, said Hoffman. Her vocal advocacy for public health will continue to safeguard Massachusetts residents long after she concludes her service to the Commission, and her attention on Positive Impact Plans and Diversity Plans has helped us further our mandate to support and include disproportionately impacted communities in the legal industry.

Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said Massachusetts is a healthier, safer, and more empathetic place because of Flanagans public service.

First as an effective legislative aide and lawmaker, and most recently as a regulator, Commissioner Flanagan worked tirelessly on behalf of her constituents and the people most in need of protection and advocacy, Collins said. She has succeeded in ensuring that public health has and maintains a seat at the table when it comes to policymaking and regulating cannabis in Massachusetts.

The commission in recent months has welcomed three new faces. Ava Callender Concepcion, Nurys Z. Camargo and Bruce Stebbins were appointed to the commission after the departures in 2020 of McBride, Title and Doyle.

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Leading global design firm Stantec has signed an agreement with Bahrains National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga) to provide consultancy services to establish guidelines and procedures for the sustainable use of treated sewage effluent (TSE).

Funded by the Green Climate Fund, the project will support Bahrain government in responding to the challenges of climate change related to water supply reliability.

Operating as Stantec Khonji, the firms joint venture for projects in Bahrain, the team will develop and deliver its TSE guidelines within a rapid two-month timeframe, said the statement from Stantec.

The project is part of a programme led by Noga that aims to conserve water resources and find ways to maximise the nations utilisation and rationalise its exploitation.

The projects main objective is aimed at improving public perception and acceptance of wastewater reuse kingdom wide.

Stantec will also conduct a series of workshops to train Noga officials and other stakeholders on TSE water quality, health risk assessments, and the use of the proposed guidelines and procedures.

The pact with Noga also includes directives from Minister of Oil Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa to strengthen cooperation with various leading international companies and institutions in everything that serves the preservation of water resources.

This directive aligns with Bahrains National Water Strategy 2030 and the goals of the nations Water Resources Management Unity, which was established to enhance climate resilience for the water sector throughout the kingdom.

Noga CEO Nasser Sultan Al Suwaidi said Stantec was a key regional player in the wastewater segment and was had been providing services and support in wet infrastructure and environmental projects.

It has a long history of providing wastewater design and consulting services in Bahrain, including the design of the award winning Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Plant, which is capable of treating 40 million liters per day (MLD), with the scope to treat an additional 20 MLD.

Stantec had also successfully supported the creation of the UAE Federal Policies, Regulation, and Standards for Treated Wastewater, which included environmental and operational standards for the collection, treatment, production, storage, transport, distribution, and use of wastewater and recycled water from municipal and industrial sources.

He highlighted Stantecs long experience, competencies, and high capabilities, which will help enhance Nogas role in preserving water resources and the development of water-related policies to define the responses and shape the solutions to a growing list of global environmental challenges.

Korkud Egrican, project manager at Stantec, said: "It is an honour to support Bahrain in its efforts in establishing TSE procedures to improve water resilience and their move to a more circular economy."

"By taking these steps now, the nation is effectively working to address the present threat of climate change and its effects on a more secure water future for both water quality and access. We look forward to supporting the kingdom and the Noga in these efforts," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
America's Got Talent is back for a 16th season with its usual star studded panel of judges.

And show veteran Heidi Klum made an entrance as she arrived at production for the hit NBC show wearing a show stopping all white outfit in Los Angeles on Monday.

She was joined by the always stunning Sofia Vergara and longtime judge Howie Mandel who led with a sense of humor, as he arrived dressed as a bumble bee.

Making an entrance: America's Got Talent judge Heidi Klum turned heads in all white outfit as she arrives at production for the hit NBC show alongside fellow panelists Sofia Vergara and Howie Mandel

Turning heads: The stunning Modern Family actress was seen making her way to set in a floral blouse as she returns as a judge for her second season

Though the glorified talent show does not air until June 1 production has been underway for few weeks now.

Klum, 47, turned heads as she arrived in a elevated white jumpsuit with a pair of white heeled boots.

She leaned into the monochromatic look as she carried a large white purse and topped the look off with retro white sunglasses.

The German-born supermodel added some mod-style jewelry as she flashed black and white bakelite rings on her finger.

Back at it! The veteran judge leaned into a monochromatic look as she flashed a big grin while walking to set

Details: Heidi's look featured mod-style bakelite rings and a humorous banana attached to her white tote bag

And longtime judge Mandel, 65, led with humor as he arrived on set for his twelfth season of the show.

The TV personality rocked a bumble bee headdress and a statement T-shirt that read: 'I came I saw I made it awkward,' as he flexed his comedic prowess.

'It's so exciting to be back, honestly it's so exciting to be anywhere. It's so exciting just to be out of the house,' he told People ahead of taping.

Mandel has been the show's longest standing judge besides Executive Producer Simon Cowell  who will also be returning as judge after tapping out mid-season last summer on account of an electric bike accident.

Humorous look: The TV personality rocked a bumble bee headdress and flashed a statement T-shirt that read 'I came I saw I made it awkward,' as he flexed his comedic prowess

Va va voom! The Colombian model-actress showed off her incredible figure in tight black jeans and elevated her statuesque frame with a pair of platform heels

The British mogul was hospitalized and underwent surgery to repair his broken back with guest judges Kelly Clarkson and Kenan Thompson taking his place in the interim.

Vergara, 48, was also seen arriving on set ahead of her second season on the panel as she continues to make her mark on America as the show's first Latina judge.

The Modern Family actress looked a vision of spring in a floral blouse and paired the wrap top with black jeans and black platform heels.

Additionally Terry Crews will be back for his third season as host. The show was one of the first to resume production after Season 15 was halted on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jerusalem, April 13 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

He made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference here on Monday with visiting US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

Addressing Austin, Netanyahu said: "We both know the horrors of war. We both understand the importance of preventing war and we both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons.

"My policy as Prime Minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel.

"Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran's aggression and terrorism." Iran has repeatedly denied its attempts to obtain nuclear weapons and says its nuclear facilities are meant for civil purposes only.

Netanyahu then went on to say that "Israel has no greater ally and certainly no greater 'mishpucha' (family in Hebrew) than the US".

"And I can say equally that the US has no greater ally and no greater 'mishpucha' than Israel." Thanking the Prime Minister for the "discussion on a range of regional security challenges, including Iran's destabilising activities", Austin said that Washington's "commitment to the US-Israel strategic partnership is ironclad".

"The US supports normalization between Israel and the Arab and Muslim world," he added.

Austin's two-day visit marks the first by a US official since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January.

On Sunday, Austin met Defence Minister Benny Gantz during he said that he was committed to boosting the Jewish state's security and "continuing our close consultations on threats posed by Iran".

This meeting came on the same day after Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz was attacked.

Iran has blamed Israel for the accident took place in a part of the electricity distribution network of the facility.

Austin's visit also comes as the White House has been holding indirect talks over possible renewing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, the Defence Secretary is not expected to visit the Palestinian Territories, although US President Joe Biden has signalled that he wants to rebuild ties with the Palestinians.

The previous administration of Donald Trump made several major diplomatic moves which were welcomed by Israel but denigrated by the Palestinians, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and weakening support for a two-state solution.

Austin is expected in Germany on Tuesday, and in Brussels after that.
New K-9 officers are hitting the ground running with the Cayuga and Onondaga county sheriff's offices.

Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck said in a Facebook post this week that members of his office traveled to Sharpsville, Pennsylvania March 25 to pick up Pitt, a new K-9 officer who is joining the county.

Pitt has been adopted and assigned to Deputy Jacob Slobe for a K-9 patrol.

"We are looking forward to formally introducing our newest member to the public in the future and we wish K-9 Pitt and Deputy Slobe the best of luck as they begin their initial basic training," Schenck said in a statement.

The sheriff said that the Sean Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation provided a grant for the purchase of the dog and that donations from Access to Home Care Services of Auburn and Jason Curtis of NUCOR helped make the new addition to the sheriffs office possible.

And Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway announced Tuesday that the latest addition to his departments K-9 unit has been named in honor of a fallen member of the sheriff's office.
Ukraine is committed to diplomatic and political means of resolving the conflict in the east but seeks to avoid the mistakes of 2014 and will not allow Russia to catch it by surprise.

"We have gathered today to prevent the mistakes that were made in 2014, when Russia acted very quickly and reached its military goals in Donbas and Crimea, while the Western partners were thinking how to react. Russia will not be able to catch us by surprise again this time. Ukraine and our partners remain strong. We will not waste time. And if Moscow starts a new spiral of violence or acts recklessly, this will cost it dearly," Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine did not want a war and did not plan any offensive or escalation.

"Ukraine is committed to diplomatic and political means of resolving this conflict," the foreign minister assured.

He said that during a meeting with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, he discussed how NATO and its allies could support Ukraine in the current circumstances.

"I will also raise this issue at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission Ukraine and its allies can do much to prevent Moscow from escalating tensions and to protect Ukraine's borders," the minister said.

Kuleba believes that now there are all the tools to stop the advance of Russian aggression and to make Russia liberate the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.

"So when you ask me how far Russia can go, my answer to you, I cannot exclude anything, but I still believe that we have all tools available, not only to prevent Russia from making a single step forward, but also to make it withdraw from the occupied territories of Ukraine," Kuleba added.

He reminded that it had been unimaginable back in 2014 that Russia would go as far as occupying Crimea and the eastern part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The initial plan of Russian strategies, was to cut Ukraine in half, and create a political entity called New Russia, Novorossiya. This plan failed, due to the effective countermeasures taken by the Ukrainian state, and the sacrifice of our soldiers and officers, Kuleba added.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stressed that partners, including NATO allies, played an important role in helping Ukraine to stop Russia where it stands now.

Earlier, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ruslan Khomchak said that 28 Russian battalion tactical groups were stationed along the state border of Ukraine, as well as in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and Crimea, posing a direct threat to Ukraines national security.

On April 4, it became known that the Russian Federation was redeploying the 76th Guards Air Assault Division from Pskov, whose fighters had taken part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine in 2014, to the temporarily occupied Crimea. This was reported by an independent group of Russian investigators Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT).

Defense Ministry Spokesperson Maria Salnik informed, citing the data of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, that the command of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was filling the ranks of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation by redeploying troops from the Western, Central and Eastern military districts.

On April 8, the press service of the Southern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation reported that the landing and artillery boats of the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Federation had begun an inter-fleet move into the Black Sea as part of the so-called exercises.

On April 10, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran said that the real goals of Russia's military presence near Ukraine's borders could be to increase pressure on Ukraine to coerce it into making concessions in the negotiation process and to demonstrate readiness to use force.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready for Russian invasion that could happen every day.

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Thiruvananthapuram, April 13 : A war of words broke out between the opposition UDF and the ruling LDF dispensation in the aftermath of higher education minister K T Jaleels stepping down as minister following an adverse ruling against him by the lokayukta.

While Jaleel tried to pass off his resignation as a decision motivated by his morality, the opposition UDF was having none of it.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala rejected suggestions that the minister stepped down owing to moral reasons, saying that Jaleel tendered his resignation only because he had no other go.

Questions about why he had not stepped down arose from all quarters and hence he resigned. There was no point in the ministers blaming the opposition and the media for it.

Chennithala was referring to the facebook post Jaleel put up soon after his resignation. In the post, Jaleel had accused the opposition and the media of having carried out an unforgivable witch-hunt against him.

Congress legislator V T Balram also mocked at Jaleels claim of having upheld morality by stepping down.

What morality is Jaleel and the CPI(M) harping on about, asked Balram, wondering how Jaleel could pretend to take the moral high ground when he tried to cling on to the ministers chair and only stepped down after every trick he tried to save himself came a cropper.

CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan defended Jaleels decision to step down, saying the left independent MLA set a good example by tendering his resignation in the wake of the lokayukta order.

Jaleels resignation had set a good precedent. His decision should be seen in a positive light. Jaleel had the right to move legally to clear his name, Jayarajan added.

The lokayukta had the other day found Jaleel guilty of nepotism and abuse of power for appointing his kin as general manager of Kerala minorities development finance corporation in violation of norms. The lokayukta had also suggested that Jaleels continuation as minister had become untenable.

The verdict kicked off a political storm with the opposition demanding his resignation. Jaleel however chose to brazen out the controversy and approached the high court with a writ petition seeking a stay on the lokayukta verdict. But the high court on Tuesday deferred his plea following which Jaleel stepped down as minister.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The so-called "park" dedicated to the Artsakh war in Baku is a proof of Azerbaijani genocidal policy and state supported Armenophobia, Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan said in a statement.

A so-called "exhibition-park" related to the September-November 2020 war was opened in Baku today, on April 12, 2021.

In the "park", along with the Armenian military equipment, mannequins of the Armenian military servicemen have been displayed, all of which presented in a degrading manner, in a manner violating human dignity. This is done to ensure the widest possible publicity.

It is obvious from the published videos and photos of the "Park" that the exhibition was designed to increase and encourage hatred and animosity towards the population of Armenia and Artsakh, the citizens of Armenia. Exhibitions are with cynicism to publicly humiliate the memory of the victims of the war, the rights of missing persons and captives, to violate the rights and dignity of their families.

Personal belongings of the soldiers of Armenia and Artsakh are displayed with the same cynicism, and the helmets of the killed soldiers are displayed knowing that it will cause additional suffering to their families, to the Armenian and Artsakh society, and will generate new hatred in the Azerbaijani society.

The Azerbaijani authorities also showed scenes of Armenian prisoners in the opened "park". This step is especially reprehensible against the background that in Azerbaijan, prisoners of war and civilians continue to be held illegally, in gross violation of international human rights requirements.

It is obvious to the Azerbaijani authorities that this sensitive issue would cause mental pain and suffering to the families of the missing persons and captives, as well as to the Armenian society in general.

Numerous complaints and alarms with this content have been addressed to the RA Human Rights Defender, as well as alarming posts on social networks were registered.

The monitoring of the Armenias Human Rights Defenders Staff revealed posts on Azerbaijani social networks about the exhibition (we will publish the evidence separately), which only welcomed and encouraged the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan, and the comments testified to the obvious hatred and hostility towards Armenians.

The opening of such a "park" clearly confirms the fact of institutional hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijan and existence of a state policy of propaganda of animosity. This policy has been consistently implemented for years, confirmed by concrete evidence.

The consequences of this policy are the atrocities and torture, killings of Armenian military servicemen and civilians by Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the 2020 September-November war; the 2016 April war or other Azerbaijani armed attacks on the.

State-sponsored hostility was the reason why the Azerbaijani military brutally tortured and killed Armenian servicemen and civilians, being with open faces and with exceptional cynicism, without even thinking about responsibility, and being confident that they would only be praised for that.

Therefore, the demonstrations in the "park" dedicated to the September-November 2020 war clearly reaffirm existence of the Azerbaijani genocidal policy towards the entire population of Armenia and Artsakh.

This absolutely vicious phenomenon proves once again that we must not allow ourselves to be intoxicated with false Azerbaijani peace building initiatives; they are just veils for the international community.

This statement of Armenias Human Rights Defender will be sent to international bodies, with a special note that these steps of Azerbaijani authorities are horrible phenomena leading to torture, cruelty, absolutely disturb peace and solidarity in the region, the statement says.
BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Idaho lawmakers appeared intrigued but skeptical when pitched a plan to lop off about three-fourths of Oregon and add it to Idaho to create what would be the nations third-largest state geographically.

Representatives of a group called Move Oregons Border For a Greater Idaho outlined their plan to Idaho lawmakers on Monday. The Idaho Legislature would have to approve the plan that would expand Idaho's southwestern border to the Pacific Ocean.

Supporters say rural Oregon voters are dominated by liberal urban areas such as Portland, and would rather join conservative Idaho. The Oregon Legislature and the U.S. Congress would also have to sign off.

In some eastern Oregon counties, the group's petitions gained enough signatures last year for the matter to appear on upcoming May ballots  namely in Baker, Grant, Lake, Malheur, and Sherman counties. Supporters have been stumping in these and other rural Oregon counties to promote the initiative.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Roscan Gold Corporation ("Roscan" or the "Company") (TSX-V:ROS)(FSE:2OJ)(OTC PINK:RCGCF) is pleased to announce the following senior management appointments, effective immediately.

Bruce C. Ramsden to Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Pascal Van Osta to Vice President Exploration

Commenting on the announcement, Nana Sangmuah, President & CEO said: "I would like to welcome Mr. Ramsden and Mr. Van Osta to the Roscan team. They both bring a wealth of experience and accomplishments in their respective fields over decades working in the mining industry. They come onboard at a very exciting time as we continue to build strong foundations toward the next stage of the Company's development. I would also like to take the opportunity to extend our gratitude to Mark McMurdie and John Learn for their immense contributions to the Company and wish them the best in their next endeavors".

Bruce C. Ramsden to Chief Finance Officer

Mr. Ramsden is a seasoned senior financial executive and board member of publicly traded companies, with over 38 years of finance experience, the last 23 of which dedicated to the mining sector. He has played key role on the arranging and execution of U$525M of senior debt and subordinated debt financing through various debt financial institutions and other sources.

Prior roles include VP Finance and CFO of the following publicly traded mining companies: Kennady Diamonds Inc., Mountain Province Diamonds, Andean American Gold Corp. and Sinchao Metals Previously and Vaaldiam Mining Inc. He has also held the positions of Director and CFO with Freegold Ventures Ltd., Sierra Minerals Inc. and Heritage Explorations Ltd.

Mr. Ramsden holds a B. Comm. from the University of South Africa and the Chartered Institute of Secretaries (C.I.S) through the UK. He was a member of the Institute of Commercial and Financial Accountants of Southern Africa and is an Associate Member of The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Canada and Financial Executives International.

Appointment of Pascal Van Osta to Vice President Exploration

Mr. Pascal Van Osta has more than 30 years of extensive mineral exploration experience throughout West Africa and the Guiana Shield with junior companies exploring for a variety of commodities primarily gold and base metals.

Prior roles include Exploration Manager for Sandspring Resources in Guyana and Etruscan Resources/Endeavour Mining, where we worked on many West Africa gold projects located in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. He has been involved in the Morila gold deposit discovery in Mali and development of several projects from exploration through to mine construction stage including Samira Hill in Niger, Agbaou in Ivory Coast and Toroparu-Sona Hill in Guyana. Mr. Van Osta also served as Exploration Manager to Komet Mali from May 2018 to June 2019 and has an intimate knowledge of the company's advanced Kabaya deposit.

Mr. Pascal Van Osta is a Qualified Person and Euro Geo professional affiliated with a Honors Master's Degree, Geological & Mineralogical Sciences from the Free University of Brussels.

Stock Options

The Company's board of directors has approved the granting of a total of 1,800,000 incentive stock options pursuant to the Company's stock option plan to both the new appointees. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.59 per share for a period of two (2) years from issuance.

About Roscan

Roscan Gold Corporation is a well-financed Canadian gold exploration company focused on the exploration and acquisition of gold properties in West Africa. The Company has assembled a significant land position of 100%-owned permits in an area of producing gold mines (including B2 Gold's Fekola Mine which lies in a contiguous property to the west of Kandiole), and major gold deposits, located both north and south of its Kandiole Project in West Mali.

For further information, please contact:

Andrew J. Ramcharan, P.Eng

Executive Vice President - Corporate Development and Investor Relations

Tel: (902) 832-5555

Email: aramcharan@Roscan.ca

Greg Isenor, P.Geo

Executive Vice-Chairman

Tel: (902) 832-5555

Email: gpisenor@Roscan.ca

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information is 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 information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis as filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

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.

SOURCE: Roscan Gold Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640128/Roscan-Gold-Announces-Senior-Management-Changes
ORLANDO, Fla., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Strada was not a typical teenager. He began developing his expertise in construction, electrical and HVAC contracting with an entry-level job a well-known Florida company when he was just 14 years old. Through apprenticeships and on-the-job training, he eventually earned certifications in Electric, HVAC, Plumbing, Residential Building, and General Contracting.

By the age of 19, Joe formed his own company.

The new training lab was created to give students hands-on training in duct-work installation.

"I never went to a day of college, but I was willing to work hard in order to be good at what I do. And that's really the key to success," he said. "I'm really big on training people on the job because that's how I learned."

During his early years of experience, Joe noticed the growing need for a dependable electrical contractors in Florida who embodied the same dedication to customer service that he believed in. In 2003, Joe co-founded the company known today as Strada Services.

Through a decade of hard work and dedication to customer service, Joe and his team have successfully transformed Strada into a major provider of commercial and residential electrical, HVAC and security services. The company now has more than 23 locations throughout Florida and is poised for sustained growth.

Along with Strada's growth and success has come a challenge for the company: finding qualified candidates to hire.

"It has been hard to keep hiring on pace with our level of growth. We provide on the job training, but not everyone comes to us with the same level of skills," Joe said. "Right now I have 1,000 employees and could possibly double over the next few years, so we were looking for ways to better identify skilled candidates who are motivated to enter the HVAC field, and are able to demonstrate a passionate commitment to customer service."

Manny Forty, Orlando Engagement Manager for the Building Talent Foundation (BTF), thought he might have a way to help Strada.

BTF's purpose is to "address the severe and persistent labor shortage across skilled trades by improving talent supply, training and retention," according to the non-profit's website. "Founded by the 20 leading residential construction companies in the U.S. in 2019, BTF brings together employers, educators, and all other market players, in regional skills collaborations, to catalyze, accelerate and synchronize joint projects for building the sector's workforce of the future."

"At BTF our mission is to advance the education, training, and career progression of young people, and people from underrepresented groups, so they can advance in the skilled trades. One of the ways we do this is by serving as a line of communication between companies and training providers," Manny said. "So when I heard about Joe's needs at Strada, I thought Florida Career College might be a good fit."

As part of his role with BTF, Manny works closely with a variety of training providers in the Orlando area and had an established relationship with Florida Career College (FCC). He knew FCC provided great training because he had recently helped another company host a job fair at the FCC campus in Orlando. That day, 11 HVAC students were hired on-the-spot.

"The people at FCC are really great to work with. The instructors are experienced HVAC pros who are dedicated to providing the best possible training to help their students succeed in the field," Manny said. "So, we connected Strada with FCC and the idea developed to create specialized training to meet their needs."

"We've hired several FCC graduates over the years and I've been happy with how well they are prepared. I was absolutely willing to work with them on a special new training program," Joe said. "Given the opportunity to work with a school to help train qualified candidates who are being taught the core skills that we need is a tremendous opportunity for us."

Manny, Joe and other leaders from Strada met with instructors at FCC to discuss their training needs.

While the HVAC training program at FCC provided a solid foundation for students to succeed at Strada, the company suggested an additional training module focused on HVAC installation  one of their core services.

"At FCC we've always taken pride in the fact that our curriculum is designed to be 'real world', reflecting the industry's current needs. Our program and curriculum are periodically reviewed by a special Professional Advisory Council made up of HVAC company operators and experts," said Juan Villegas, HVAC Program Chair at FCC Orlando. "But because Strada specializes in HVAC installation, there needed to be additional training in 'rough in' skills."

The HVAC "rough in" period refers to when the HVAC ductwork has been installed, yet no plumbing or electrical, have been put into place. This makes it easier for building inspectors to evaluate every aspect of the ductwork, making sure that it is not contaminated and is fit for use.

Juan went to work developing a special training module and the FCC campus built a special new simulation lab for students to get hands-on ductwork installation experience. All of this was done in less than a month and under the guidance leaders at Strada.

"It was quite impressive that FCC responded and delivered everything in a month," Manny said. "It demonstrates their commitment to responding to the needs of the profession."

"The new installation training module is four weeks long. Once students complete it, they are eligible to enter into Strada's paid apprenticeship program," said Edward Tordesillas, Director of Career Services at FCC Orlando. "This is a true win/win situation  especially for students. This is a great opportunity for our HVAC students to get hired with a leading company."

The new lab finished construction in March and shortly after, the inaugural cohort of 20 HVAC students began taking the new training module.

"This is exciting. Now, with this program at FCC, we will be able to raise the starting level of our entry-level training, and their learning curve is much shorter. On day one they'll be out on a job site," Joe said.

"We are proud of this new partnership and the opportunities it provides for our students. Our entire campus team worked hard to make this happen and I am proud of everyone involved; thank you for your continued dedication to serving students and meeting the needs of employers," said Deborah Ferrari, Executive Director of FCC Orlando.

About Florida Career College

Florida Career College (FCC) is an accredited, employee-owned post-secondary career education system with campuses locations in Florida and Texas. FCC offers programs in high-demand fields such as health care, business and skilled trades. Each program is designed to provide every student with the skills, knowledge, and training they need to be successful in their future careers. Students can train for entry-level careers and start building their future in as few as 10 months. For more information visit www.floridacareercollege.edu

Media Contact:

Joseph Cockrell

(949) 812-7749

[email protected]

SOURCE Florida Career College
Two robbers who allegedly trained monkeys to intimidate victims into handing over cash have been arrested in India.

The men taught the primates, who are known to attack people for items, to scare members of the public in New Delhi into handing over their valuable possessions.

One alleged victim, a lawyer, claimed three men jumped inside a rickshaw he was travelling in and invited two monkeys to sit on the front and back seat before demanding he hand over 6,000 rupees (close to 60).

A gang of robbers are alleged to have trained monkeys into intimidated people in New Dehli to hand over their valuable possessions. Picture: Stock

A spokesperson for the police in New Dehli said: 'They took the money the lawyer had in his wallet and fled with the monkeys.'

Police suspected the gang were behind other similar thefts and officers set up a dedicated team to track down the culprits, who were arrested Thursday at a bus stop along with their animal accomplices.

The pair's gang of monkeys were sent to an animal rescue following an investigation into the 'strange case involving monkeys' was launched. .

The third thief is still at large while the monkeys have been sent to an animal rescue centre.

A lawyer in the city, who claims to be a victim of the gang, said they got back in his rickshaw along with the monkeys and demanded he hand over 6,000 rupees (around 60). Picture: Stock

Authorities across India have been grappling with the menace posed by monkeys in Delhi and other populated cities, where they often enter homes in search of food.

But it is illegal for Indians to capture them under a 1972 law.

Monkeys are often trained as street performers in India and incidences of the hairy simians attacking residents are not uncommon.

Last year a troop of monkeys attacked a medical official and snatched blood samples of patients who had tested positive for coronavirus in Meerut city in northern India.
[April 13, 2021] Puget Appoints Chief Technologies Officer and Elects Chemical Engineer to Board of Advisors

BOCA RATON, Fla., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Puget Technologies, Inc. (Puget; Pink Open Market symbol PUGE), a Nevada corporation subject to reporting pursuant to Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is pleased to announce that it has retained Victor German Quintero Toro as chief technologies officer (CTO). His duties will include responsibility for the design, development and maintenance of Pugets internet presence including its website, its social media presence, information concerning Puget on the Internet, Pugets internet security, etc.; evaluation of all potential acquisitions and monitoring all acquisitions and operating subsidiaries with respect to all matters involving technology; coordination and monitoring of all research and development activities involving technology; development of personal proprietary information conceived by him with respect to software applications for use on computers and other intelligent devices in the areas of coordination of medical services and transportation systems; and, performance of such other duties as are assigned to him by Pugets president and boards of directors, subject to compliance with all applicable laws and fiduciary obligations.

Intellectual property developed by Mr. Quintero will belong to Puget subject to a ten percent royalty interest in his favor. Mr. Quintero is currently developing a proprietary transport control and programming system based on big data (a field that treats ways to analyze, systematically extract information from, or otherwise deal with data sets that are too large or complex to be dealt with by traditional data-processing application software) and artificial intelligence; and, a proprietary platform for improved doctor patient scheduling and treatment interaction. Such projects are expected to be developed and marketed by Puget and test marketed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where Puget anticipates conducting a substantial portion of its activities in order to avail itself of benefits provided under the Puerto Rico Incentives Code Act ( Act 60-2019 ). Excluded from the agreement is a proprietary hydroponic, hermetic, automated and controlled cultivation system using artificial intelligence (Colombian patent number NC2020 / 0000681) which Mr. Quintero will develop and market independently. Mr. Quintero will primarily work from the city of Manizales in the Republic of Colombia where he resides, availing Puget of the abundant academic and professional talent there as a result of the citys status as a major academic center (with ten university campuses in a city of approximately 450,000 people), a city which is striving to emulate the information and technological accomplishments of major cities in the Republic of India, and, as required, from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Mr. Quintero, age 40, obtained a bachelor of science degree in electronic engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 2002 and a bachelor of science degree with honors in computer and systems engineering in 2007 from the Universidad Tecnologica de Pereira, both in the Republic of Colombia. From 2007 to 2009 he was employed as a software architect at Accenture, PLC and from 2009 to 2012 he was employed as a consultant and software architect at Oracle Corporation, in the telecommunications area. In 2012, he was retained as a project manager at Walmart, Inc. charged with design of software apps involving automation of logistics, transportation, project distribution, inventory and digital marketing for diverse regional headquarters and distributions centers throughout the world. From 2013 through 2017, Mr. Quintero was employed at Cablevision Argentina as project manager, where he led the 4G implementation project and was involved with the integration of fixed networks with the mobile networks and design of the Quad Play service. In 2018 he was employed by Banco Santander, a major European bank with worldwide branches as a software architect o the digital platform integrating different online services as well as management and handling documentation. During that same year he was involved with Motorola, Inc., as a finalist in an applications development program, his entry involving an app for noninvasive measurement of blood glucose for diabetes patients and others. During 2019 Mr. Quintero was retained by a large pharmaceutical chain in the Republic of Colombia, Evedisa, to develop, improve, standardize and maintain its databases and while there, completed a postgraduate program in management at the Colegiatura del Cafe. Since 2020 Mr. Quintero has served as a project manager at Get In Marketing where he has integrated diverse services and projects in the areas of digital marketing, administration, communication and innovation.



Mr. Quintero is currently a researcher at the Universidad de Caldas in areas including information and communication technologies, pedagogy and integration of technology into education working with two centers of excellence and four A rated research groups. He is an international speaker in the fields of science, technology and education and has participated in the Congreso Iberoamericano held in Buenos Aires during November of 2014, the Congreso Internacional de Nuevas Tecnologias Educativas held in Mexico City in 2006, the II Congreso Internacional de Educacion RUDECOLOMBIA held in Paipa, Boyaca, Colombia during 2007 and the Congreso Internacional de Tecnologia held in 2009 at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. Puget has also added a new member to its Board of Advisors, Ms. Natalia Trujillo Orozco. In addition to her advisory duties, she will also act as the secretary of the Board of Advisors and of every committee thereof, responsible for coordinating all meetings and preparing required records for submission to Pugets corporate secretary. Ms. Trujillo has a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. During her studies she was member of the Development of New Products and Functional Foods research group where she worked on a project entitled Evaluation of Osmotic Dehydration as a Pretreatment for Vacuum Impregnation of Chayote (Sechium edule) presented by her at national events such as 8th and 10th regional meetings of the Red Regional de Semilleros de Investigacion. Some of the written projects she coauthored include: (2018), Biofuels Conversion by MixAlcoTM Process Using Municipal Solid Waste as Substrate: simulation and economic, environmental and social analysis; (2018), Produccion de carbon activado a partir de cascaras de naranja (Production of Activated Carbon from Orange Peels); (2019), Produccion de 1, 3- Butadieno a partir de residuos agroindustriales (Production of 1,3- Butadiene from Agro-Industrial Waste); (2019), Estudio de factibilidad para el montaje y puesta en marcha de planta de produccion carbon activado (Feasibility Study for Assembly and Start-Up of an Activated Carbon Production Plant); (2019), Aprovechamiento del borojo (Borojoa patinoi) para la elaboracion de productos comestibles de alto valor commercial (Use of Borojo [Borojoa patinoi] for the Production of High Commercial Value Edible Products). During 2019 she also worked with the Corporacion Colombiana del Saber Cientifico SCIO (Colombian corporation of scientific knowledge) in Bogota as a content analyst for publications in food research journals.

In addition to the foregoing, since 2017 she has served as a wellness counselor or advisor with respect to functional alimentation for individual clients in Colombia, Canada, El Salvador, Chile, Spain and in the United States. In addition to her university studies, she has completed the following courses: Introduction to psychology, Yale University; Herbal Medicine, University of Minnesota; Seguridad Agroalimentaria, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Use of WordPress to Create a Blog for your Business, Coursera Proyect Network; Aromatherapy: Clinical Use of Essential Oils, University of Minnesota; Positive Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Sydney; Weight Management: Beyond Balancing Calories, Emory University; Chemicals and Health, Johns Hopkins University; Nutricion y obesidad: control de sobrepeso, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico; Introduction to Integrative Therapies and Healing Practices, University of Minnesota; Mindfulness in Integrative Healthcare, University of Minnesota; and, The Science of Well-Being, Yale University. In addition to their academic and professional qualifications, Mr. Quintero and Ms. Trujillo add diversity to Puget, both being Hispanic, which is important with respect to Pugets anticipated activities in Puerto Rico. Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Pugets beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, forecast, goal, intend, may, objective, plan, potential, predict, projection, should, will or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. Puget bases these forward-looking statements or projections on its current expectations, plans and assumptions that it has made in light of its experience in the industry, as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances and at such time. As you read and consider this press release, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. The forward-looking statements and projections are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or projections. Although Puget believes that these forward-looking statements and projections are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, you should be aware that many factors could affect Pugets actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements and projections. Puget undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. If Puget does update one or more forward-looking statements, there should be no inference that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. For additional information, please contact Puget at 1 305 721 3128, by email at info@pugettechnologies.com or visit its website for continuing updates at https://pugettechnologies.com .



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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's president said on Tuesday a draft decree expanding its maritime claims in a dispute with Israel must be approved by the caretaker government, rejecting a request to grant it swift presidential approval.

The dispute with Israel over the maritime boundary has held up hydrocarbon exploration in a potentially gas-rich area of the eastern Mediterranean.

The decree, approved by Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, defence minister and minister of public work on Monday, would add around 1,400 square km (540 square miles) to an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean claimed by Lebanon.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab's office said the decree should be approved by President Michel Aoun so that the new maritime coordinates setting out Lebanon's claim could be submitted to the United Nations.

But the presidency said it should be approved by Diab's full cabinet, even though the government resigned eight months ago following a devastating explosion in Beirut, because of the gravity of the issue.

The draft decree "needs a collective decision from the council of ministers..., even under a caretaker government, due to its importance and the consequences," a statement from Aoun's office said.

Aoun's decision could significantly delay the process. Since the government resigned in August it has referred all issues for exceptional approval by the president, leaving them to get formal endorsement when a new government is finally agreed.

Negotiations were launched in October to try to resolve the dispute with Israel yet the talks, a culmination of three years of diplomacy by the United States, have since stalled.

Israel already pumps gas from offshore fields but Lebanon has yet to find commercial gas reserves in its own waters.

Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Monday Lebanon's expanded claim would derail the talks rather than help work towards a common solution, warning that Israel would implement "parallel measures".

Lebanon, in the throes of a deep financial meltdown that is threatening its stability, is desperate for cash as it faces the worst economic crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. But political leaders have failed to bridge their differences and form a new government.

(Reporting by Dominic Evans and Maha El Dahan; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
SPRINGFIELD  Harrowing memories of friends dying, hungry Korean children begging for food and brutal physical combat still haunt Victor M. Rosario 70 years after his service in the Korean War.

I remember a tall man coming to me and saying stop feeding the enemy, we cant help the enemy, but it was a child and he kept saying he was hungry, recalled the now 97-year-old Rosario.

While he has moments in which he fades off and repeats the same phrases over and over, Rosario still vividly remembers his wartime service as a member of the Armys renowned 65th Infantry Regiment knowns as Los Borinqueneers.

Like the Tuskegee Airmen and the Navajo Code Talkers, the Borinqueneers were members of a segregated infantry regiment, established in 1899, with members serving in World Wars I and II as well as in Korea. The regiment was disbanded in 1959. After many years of effort by Puerto Rican veterans, former President Barack Obama signed legislation in 2014 granting the regiment the Congressional Gold Medal.

On Tuesday Rosario and fellow Borinqueneer and World War II veteran Antonio Morales were honored by the city for their service. Congress passed legislation on Jan. 3 that designated April 13 as National Borinqueneers Day.

Rosario and Morales are believed to be the only living Borinqueneers in Western Massachusetts and two of only several hundred still living around the world.

I accept this honor on behalf of all of the men who didnt come home, said Morales, who at 97 clearly remembers his World War II service from 1940 to 1945.

For his service as a private first class, Morales received the American Defense Medal with Metal Clasp, the American Theater Service Medal, the European, African, Middle Eastern Theater Service Medal with 3 Bronze Stars, the Good Conduct Medal, 7 overseas Service Bars and the World War II Victory Medal.

I went all over Europe. I remember being in Ajaccio, France where Napoleon Bonaparte was born and Italy. I was always thinking of my family and wanting to come home, he said in Spanish. I am just thankful to still be here today and appreciative of this recognition.

His daughter Lourdes Morales attended the event with her father. She said her family is proud of him and his service. He and his wife had seven children, and he is now grandfather to 17 with 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

We are grateful that they are honoring his service so many years later. We have always been so proud of him, she said.

Rosario was drafted into the Army when he was 22. He was member of the group of Borinqueneers who are credited with the final battalion-sized bayonet assault in Army history. In early 1951 while fighting in Korea, two battalions of the 65th, armed with fixed bayonets, charged straight up a hill toward the enemy, overrunning them and overtaking the enemys strategic position. Gen. Douglas MacArthur had high praise for the unit. Rosario was part of that mission, and, for his service, was awarded the Korean Service Medal and the Bronze Star.

This was hand-to-hand combat that this man was involved with right here, said Gumersindo Gomez, executive director of the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center of Massachusetts, a Vietnam veteran and Ward 1 city councilor.

Gomez worked for decades trying to get the Borinqueneers recognized at the local, state and national levels. He called both the surviving Borinqueneers his personal heroes and thanked them for their service.

He went on to present each of them a citation, joined by Cesar Ruiz Jr., president of Golden Years Home Care, who helped organize the event. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno also issued citations to both veterans.

Rosario was joined by his wife of 67 years, Lydia M. Rosario, and several of their five children - Victor Rosario Jr., Hector Rosario, Margarita Canuel, Maria Acuna and Anna Santana.

It has certainly been hard for him over the years. Some days are very good, other days the memories come back to him and it can be difficult, Acuna said. She credits her mother and sister Anna for working with Rosario when he has difficult days.

We are proud of him and thankful that the regiment is being recognized, but those experiences they carry them with them for the rest of their lives, Santana said.

After receiving their recognitions the song La Despedida (The Farewell) played over the speaker, and both men stood up with hands to their hearts, cried and sang along with the lyrics which in part read: I said goodbye to my love and asked God that she many never cry, that she will always remember my love for her, for I will never forget her. It only breaks my soul and condemns me, that I had to leave my mother so alone.

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Photo: The Canadian Press

President Joe Biden will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America that were co-ordinated from that country, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The decision defies a May 1 deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year. But Biden has been hinting for weeks that he was going to let the deadline lapse, and as the days went by it became clear that an orderly withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 troops would be difficult and was unlikely. A senior administration official said the drawdown would begin May 1.

Biden's choice of the 9-11 date underscores the reason that American troops were in Afghanistan to begin with  to prevent extremist groups like al-Qaida from establishing a foothold again that could be used to launch attacks against the U.S.

The president decided that the deadline for withdrawal of U.S. forces had to be absolute, rather than provisional on conditions inside Afghanistan as the deadline neared, the senior administration official said. Were committing today to going to zero U.S. forces by Sept. 11, and possibly well before, the official said, adding that Biden concluded that a conditioned withdrawal would be a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever.

U.S. officials provided details on Bidens decision on condition of anonymity, speaking ahead of the announcement. It was first reported by The Washington Post.

According to the administration official, the only U.S. forces remaining in Afghanistan will be those deemed necessary to protect diplomats in the country. An exact number had yet to be decided.

The extended timeline will allow a safe and orderly withdrawal of American troops in co-ordination with NATO allies, the administration official added.

Biden's decision risks retaliation by the Taliban on U.S. and Afghan forces, possibly escalating the 20-year war. And it will reignite political division over Americas involvement in what many have called the endless war.

An intelligence community report issued Tuesday about global challenges for the next year said prospects for a peace deal in Afghanistan are low and warned that the Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield. If the coalition withdraws support, the report says, the Afghan government will struggle to control the Taliban.

In a February 2020 agreement with the administration of President Donald Trump, the Taliban agreed to halt attacks and hold peace talks with the Afghan government, in exchange for a U.S. commitment to a complete withdrawal by May 2021.

Over the past year, U.S. military commanders and defence officials have said that attacks on U.S. troops have largely paused, but they say the Taliban have increased attacks on the Afghans. Commanders have argued that the Taliban have failed to meet the conditions of the peace agreement by continuing attacks on the Afghans and failing to totally cut ties with al-Qaida and other extremist groups.

When Biden entered the White House in January, he was keenly aware of the looming deadline and had time to meet it if he had chosen to do so. He began a review of the February 2020 agreement shortly after taking office, and has been consulting at length with his defence and military advisers as well as allies.

In recent weeks, it became increasingly clear that he was leaning toward defying the deadline.

Its going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline, Biden said in late March. Just in terms of tactical reasons, its hard to get those troops out. Tellingly, he added, And if we leave, were going to do so in a safe and orderly way.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- Surface mount technology equipment facilitates widespread solution for different end use industry which include automotive, aerospace and defense, consumer electronics, healthcare and industrial among others one of the major factor encouraging the demand and high speed installation of surface mount technology equipment market is its operational effectiveness owing to cost effective processing. Growing usage of flex circuit in wearable electronics across various sector especially in smart phone and smart card industry is the primary factor predicted to foster the demand and innovation of surface mount technology market during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.



By equipment type, the surface mount technology equipment market is segmented into placement equipment, inspection equipment, soldering equipment and cleaning equipment among others. Placement equipment held the largest market share in terms of revenue, followed by soldering equipment. The growing demand for printed circuit board in smartphones in order to fulfill the demand of smartphones is having a positive impact on the market for surface mount technology equipment market. Changes or modification made in the design of printed circuit board files will results in increasing in development cost and would lead to delay in production time. Hence, to address these issues, manufacturers are focusing on reducing these costs during the production process. This in turn has increased the installation of PCB SMT equipment. In addition, inspection equipment is bifurcated into AOI, AXI, and SPI. AXI device type, is expected to grow during the forecast period owing to increasing requirement to inspect double-sided solder joints and non-visible solder joints with exact traceability.



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The growth of the global surface mount technology equipment market is reliant on advancements in industrial manufacturing and analysis. The accuracy of electrical and electronic manufacturing has necessitated the use of the most meticulous technologies for viewing and analysis. Therefore, surface mount technology equipment is extensively used across the manufacturing sector. Despite increasing automation and intelligence in the manufacturing sector, manual intervention continues to be a critical part of the manufacturing cycle. Henceforth, use of surface mount technology equipment for ensuring closer analysis and viewing of electrical components has increased in recent years. For this reason, the global surface mount technology equipment market is projected to expand at a stellar rate.



The defense sector has become a stellar consumer of electronic equipment and technologies. The use of automated defense systems and surveillance devices for military operations has put pressure on the electronics industry to elevate its bar of quality within manufacturing. Therefore, surface mount technology equipment has become a necessity across the industrial sector. There is also growing apprehension amongst electronic researchers about mismatch of electrical components laid on a circuit. This factor has further prompted the electronics industry to use surface mount technology equipment.



The domain of industrial manufacturing is characterised by accuracy, meticulousness, and resilience. Research scientists and manufacturing staff acknowledge the impacts of errors in electronic manufacturing. Therefore, the industrial manufacturing sector is constantly deploying new technologies to evolve into a finished domain. This has also led to an increase in the adoption of surface mount technology equipment across leading industries.



Application of these mounts in the automotive and automobile industries has created room for growth across the market. Development of dedicated electronic manufacturing units for large companies and industries is a precursor to the growth and expansion of the global surface mount technology equipment market.



global surface mount technology equipment market



By end use industry, the global surface mount technology equipment market is segmented into automotive, aerospace and defense, consumer electronics, healthcare and industrial among others. Consumer electronics held the largest market share in terms of revenue in 2017, followed by industrial segment and is expected to remain the leading end use industry during the forecast period. Placement and soldering equipment technology is used in different consumer electronics manufacturing industry which in turn has increased application scope of the surface mount technology equipment market. Moreover, surface mount technology embedded cleaning equipment can be operated semi- automatically and manually. In addition, with the introduction of industrial devices and smart electronic devices, the market for SMT cleaning equipment is expected to increase due to growing adoption of cleaning equipment in their production line.



Healthcare is the foremost sector in triggering the growth prospect of surface mount technology equipment market globally. Penetration of electronics and automated products in healthcare industry drive the opportunity for surface mount technology equipment market in this segment. Additionally, minimum operating and maintenance cost and ease of operation are the primary factors behind this segment's huge demand. On the flip side, increase in high investment cost of machinery is expected to negatively influence the growth of global SMT equipment market.



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By geography, the surface mount technology market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East & Africa (MEA) and Latin America. In 2017, Asia Pacific dominated the market share in terms of revenue in 2017 and is anticipated to maintain its leading position during the forecast period from 2018  2026, followed by North America. With the increasing technological advancement, the application of printed circuit board in consumer electronics sector such as smart phones, tablet, and computer, Liquid Cristal Display (LCD) and -Light Emitting Diode (LED) among others is rapidly increasing across different industry verticals in Asia Pacific. China, Japan and South Korea is leading the market for printed electronics circuit board, followed by Thailand, Indonesia and India across Asia Pacific.



Some of the major players operating in the surface mount technology equipment market are Mycronic AB, Nordson Corporation, Viscom AG, Fuji Machine Mfg. Co., Ltd., ASML Holding, N.V., KLA-Tencor Corporation, Juki Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., Orbotech Ltd, JUTZE Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd., Koh Young Technology, Mirtech, Omron Corporation, PARMI Corp., Test Research, Inc., and Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. among others.



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STRATEGIC MOBILISATION Ghana Ltd (SML), Ghanas-first digital project to monitor petroleum products across 16 depots, recorded one billion cedis in revenue.



This helped Government to realize more money while reducing leakages in the fuel-value chain.



The Managing Director, Christian Sottie, speaking to the media in Accra, said in March 2021, when SML started monitoring and auditing, the volumes increased drastically even though We were in a COVID-19 era where many factories were not operating at full capacity, borders were closed, and people were home.



Mr Sottie revealed that SMLs data readings for June to December 2020 matched with those of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) adding These attest to the fact that SMLs readings are reliable and could be depended on for the revenue assurance process.



He added that the deployed non-intrusive system of fixing clamp-on meter on the pipes recorded the volume of fuel passing through the pipes via ultra-sonic waves, and transmitted the information to SML data centre.



We do an end-to-end audit of volumes recorded at our data center. When someone touches our clamp-on at any depot nationwide, we get an alarm at the data centre and send our engineers to check immediately, he added.



The Situation Before



Prior to the introduction of SML, leakages were as a result of the diversion of petroleum products for re-export back to the domestic market and also the under-declaration of the volumes lifted for the domestic market.



An analysis of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and data from SML on petrol, LPG and diesel supplies showed a year-on-year disparity in the volumes accounted for.



Disparity In Figures



At the launch of SML in June 2020, Ghanas Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta said the NPA, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the depots independent reconciliation of reported sales of gasoil and gasoline for 2016 to 2018 showed differing figures.



NPA reported sales of 12.17 billion litres, the GRA record showed 10.65 billion, while the record at the depots was 10.53 billion litres, the Minister underlined.



He said it was for such reason that Africas first sectorial multi site integrated monitoring end-to-end Electronic Metering Management System (EMMS) solution deployed and managed by SML, was engaged to give real-time visibility and transparency to major stakeholders such as GRA and Customs.





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First of all, first of all, he told the crowd, if Im not over here wilin out, if Im not over here blowing up stuff, if Im not over here messing up my community  then what are yall doing? Nothing, because thats not going to bring my brother back at all.  So lets do this another way. Lets stop thinking that our voice dont matter and vote  because its a lot of us and we still going to do this peacefully.
Russias Ombudsman seeks permit to visit detainees for her staff

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

00:18 13/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 12 (RAPSI)  The Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has proposed that her staff was granted the right to visit people held in pre-trial detention centers and colonies.

According to Moskalkova, currently as per the federal Constitutional law on the Ombudsman only she alone has been given an extensive list of rights such as to meet with convicts, to get acquainted with the materials of criminal cases, to study the materials of discontinued cases or refusals to initiate a criminal case, to file administrative claims in court.

However, the Commissioner is not the Batman and cannot cover the whole country, so it is needed that the law envisaged the right of the Ombudsman to instruct the staff of her office to visit convicts, she said when presenting her annual report to the State Duma legislators from the LDPR political party.

The meeting was attended by the chairman of the LDPR party Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the party's higher council.

Zhirinovsky asked the Ombudsman to pay attention to a number of problems: for example, he considers it necessary to adopt a law prohibiting the dissemination of facts of private life, to solve the problem with the admission of lawyers to the detainees, to protect the rights of citizens who worked without an employment contract, and so on.

He also asked the Commissioner to support the introduction of COVID passports for vaccinated citizens.

Zhirinovsky also touched upon the topic of the ex-governor of the Khabarovsk Krai, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Sergey Furgal, who is now in jail. According to the LDPR Chair, the deputies wanted to visit a fellow party member in detention but were not allowed to. Moskalkova stressed that she had visited Furgal in the Lefortovo detention center.

In this regard, Moskalkova explained that deputies and senators were empowered by law to visit penitentiary institutions, but not to communicate with accused persons, suspects, or convicts, so the law needed to be changed accordingly.

Moskalkova considers it necessary to create a group of people who, on behalf of the Ombudsman, could visit persons in custody, as is envisaged by the national prevention mechanism developed in certain foreign states.
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.
New Delhi, April 13 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said that it has carried out searches at seven locations in Tripura related to hawala operators and seized cash to the tune of Rs 80 lakh as well as 30 lakh Bangladeshi Taka.

An ED official here said that the financial probe agency, in a joint operation with Tripura Police, carried out searches at seven locations in west Agartala and Sonamura area.

He said that the agency's searches were carried under sections of the FEMA based on the intelligence inputs of foreign hawala transactions provided by Tripura Police.

"During search operation, cash amounting to Rs 80 lakh and 30 lakh Bangladeshi Taka found to be involved in hawala transactions have been seized under the FEMA," he said, adding that other incriminating documents relating to hawala transactions were also seized for scrutiny and examination.


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WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th April, 2021) A Black shoplifting suspect who was wrongly arrested based on computerized facial recognition using a grainy photo from a store security camera sued police in the US city of Detroit, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said on Tuesday.

"Michigan resident Robert Williams... is suing the Detroit Police Department for wrongfully arresting and jailing him based on faulty facial recognition technology," the ACLU said in a statement.

The lawsuit, which argues that Williams' Fourth Amendment rights were violated, seeks damages and policy changes to stop the abuse of facial recognition technology, the release added.

"I came home from work and was arrested in my driveway in front of my wife and daughters, who watched in tears, because a computer made an error," defendant Robert Williams said as quoted in the release.

Williams added that he wanted "to make sure this painful experience never happens to anyone else.

"

Police fed a blurry image from a store surveillance camera into a facial recognition program, which wrongly identified Williams as a shoplifter, the release said.

Police held Williams for 30 hours in a filthy Detroit detention center where he was forced to sleep on a raised cement slab due to overcrowding, the release added.

The lawsuit cites studies showing that facial recognition technology is poor at accurately identifying Black people, especially in cases like Williams' when the photo is grainy, the lighting is poor, and the suspect is not looking directly at the camera, the release said.

The University of Michigan Law school joined the ACLU in filing the Federal lawsuit on behalf of Williams.

Several US cities have banned police from using the technology as not only inaccurate, but racially biased as well, according to the release.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has proposed removing a tentative regulation in a draft decree that says foreign investors can hold up to 35 percent of shares of petroleum trading companies.

MOIT has submitted a statement to the Government about amending some articles of the decree 83/2014 on petroleum trading management. The document was submitted on March 29, just days before the new Government tenure began.

Foreign-ownership ratio

According to MOIT, when the Government Office collected opinions from Government members on the draft that amends and supplements Decree 83 on petroleum trading, 24 out of 25 members agreed with the draft regulations.

Only one member, who asked for an adjustment, disagreed with the plan to allow businesses trading petroleum products to transfer up to 35 percent of shares to foreign investors.

Three members agreed with the draft document, but also offered suggestions on several issues.

In the document, MOIT gave further explanations about the tentative plan to allow Vietnamese petroleum trading companies that have production activities to transfer shares to foreign investors.

This remains a controversial issue. The ministries of Public Security, Planning and Investment, and Finance say this raises concerns about energy security, legality, and the benefits of opening the market to foreign investors.

MOIT said the regulation was recently legalized, but, in fact, it has already been implemented. Petrolimex, for example, has sold 20 percent of its shares to a foreign investor, PVOil 35 percent, and BSR 49 percent through equitization. The sales were approved by the Prime Minister before they were implemented.

These enterprises have been operating as usual.

MOIT explained that adding the regulation to the draft decree aims to implement the Government decision in March 2016 on issuing shares to Petrolimexs strategic shareholders to increase its capital.

The ministry said the presence of foreign investors in Vietnamese petroleum companies improves corporate governance and makes financial reports more transparent, thus improving the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises. It also helps increase the value of enterprises through higher share value.

The presence of foreign investors in Vietnamese petroleum companies improves corporate governance and makes financial reports more transparent, thus improving the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises. It also helps increase the value of enterprises through higher share value.

MOIT commented that foreign investors are very knowledgeable about Vietnamese laws and strictly observe the laws. However, since there is no official regulation on the exact ownership ratio that foreign investors can hold, Vietnamese enterprises and state management agencies are unclear when negotiating with foreign investors on business issues.

What will happen?

According to MOIT, there are thousands of other petroleum traders, including listed joint-stock companies operating in many business fields which also want to attract foreign investment.

Foreign investors are also interested in these companies, but they face difficulties when planning investment projects because the regulations are not clear enough. Therefore, MOIT believes that the regulation on the foreign-ownership ratio ceiling will suit the practices and development demand of the petroleum industry.

The limitation on share transfer at 35 percent will help attract investment capital while restricting the intervention of foreign investors into production and business activities of Vietnamese enterprises, MOIT stated.

The country needs to assess the benefits it can expect if it doesnt open the market to foreign investors, and the benefits of opening the market, which can help attract capital and technologies.

MOIT affirmed that the proposal on opening the petroleum market was based on the demand of Vietnamese enterprises, not demand from foreign enterprises. It said that most countries in the world and the region have opened their markets, including China, Singapore, Thailand and Japan.

It said that petroleum companies, once they do business in Vietnam, must comply with the requirements and regulations stipulated in the decree and other relevant legal documents. Therefore, there is no need to worry about energy security.

In principle, this is a kind of indirect investment, as foreign investors are not allowed to directly distribute petroleum products in Vietnam. The distribution will be implemented only when foreign companies set up branches in Vietnam.

However, while trying to protect its view to allow foreign investment in petroleum companies, the ministry believes that it would be better to remove the tentative regulation on the foreign-ownership ratio from the draft Decree for now, if the Prime Minister thinks that the issue needs further consideration.

The draft decree has not been approved yet and will be considered by the new Government.

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has proposed creating a regulation on controlling the number of petroleum distribution businesses in order to prevent over-development.

In reply, MOIT said the increase in number of businesses is suited to real conditions. Prior to 2015, Vietnam had 23 petrol businesses, and the figure now is 40, which is believed not to be a big increase, if compared with 500 in China and over 500 in Singapore.

MOIT has promised to work with MOF and relevant agencies to strengthen post-licensing inspections in an effort to strictly control the quality and quantity of businesses in the petroleum market.

Luong Bang

Will foreigners dominate Vietnams petroleum distribution system? Some experts have raised concerns that foreign investors with powerful financial capability may swallow up the domestic petroleum distribution system. If this happened, Vietnams energy security would be in danger, they say.
Chefs and importers in Singapore have had the chance to sample British beef as part of a series of virtual events run to target the all-important market.

Last week, 15 key influencers were invited to a virtual event organised by the AHDB, where they sampled premium British beef products.

The event aimed to add value to farm businesses and continue boosting red meat exports to the country.

In Singapore, the British exporting businesses currently have market access for beef, lamb and pork.

The microstate is a hugely important high-end market for the UKs red meat exports, with both volumes and value of beef exports increasing in 2020.

Last year, exports of fresh and frozen beef, lamb and pork, including offal, were worth 2.6 million to the UK, with 1,558 tonnes shipped over the 12 months.

The cook-along was organised by the levy board's export manager Susan Stewart in partnership with the British Chamber of Commerce.

Ms Stewart said the Southeast Asian country was a 'key target market' for British red meat exports.

"While the volumes of meat shipped is relatively low, the value of cuts provides a fantastic boost for the UKs red meat sector," she said.

This virtual cook-along was organised to ensure that we continue flying the flag for our red meat in this important market and do all we can during these challenging times to reach key contacts and continue boosting our exports.

The event saw boxes of ribeye beef shipped to the selected influencers who had the chance to cook with Paul Hallett, the executive chef at Singapores exclusive restaurant Skai, and experience the taste of British beef.

The positive response to the event has led to a second virtual cook-along being organised this month which will see two chefs cook the famous Sunday roast, featuring prime cuts of British beef.

The events coincide with FHA Match in Singapore, which takes place this week, providing a platform for UK agri-food exporters to unlock new business opportunities.
Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

A few showers in the morning with thunderstorms developing for the afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms early, overcast overnight with occasional rain likely. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The Biden administration plans to nominate Christine Wormuth, a former top Defense Department official, as the first female Army secretary, according to a White House news release.

Wormuth, 51, who is currently director of the Rand International Security and Defense Policy Center, would be the Biden administration's first service secretary nomination, leaving the Navy and Air Force top civilian jobs still open.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would replace Acting Secretary of the Army John Whitley, who took over the post after Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy left in January.

Read Next: Lawmakers Are Worried COVID-19 Did Long-Term Damage to Military Training

Wormuth served as under secretary of defense for policy during the Obama administration from 2014 to 2016, which made her the third most senior civilian in the Pentagon.

In that role, Wormuth advised Defense Secretaries Chuck Hagel and Ash Carter on a range of regional and functional national security issues. She also frequently represented the Pentagon at the White House and spent considerable time on the counter-ISIS campaign, the rebalance to Asia, counterterrorism operations, and U.S. defense relations with countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, according to the White House release.

Politico first reported on the story.

From 2012 to 2014, Wormuth was deputy under secretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces, and led the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review. She also served as special assistant to the president and senior director for defense at the National Security Council from December 2010 until August 2012.

"Christine Wormuth has the experience and knowledge necessary to lead the United States Army through the complex and multifaceted challenges we face today, both internationally and at home," Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a 30-year Army veteran, said in a statement on the pending nomination. "She has in her time in the Pentagon and in public policy repeatedly demonstrated a deep understanding of force structure, military strategy, and the foreign and domestic relationships that are critical in protecting our national security, allies and interests around the globe."

In January, Wormuth led the Biden-Harris Defense Agency Review Team, and she has twice received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, according to the White House release.

After growing up in College Station, Texas, Wormuth graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts and has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Maryland.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy to Leave Post on Inauguration Day
The man arrested in connection with the shooting reported at Sugar Rush Party-land that left one dead and five injured will appear in court for the first time this week.

Anthony Tays Jr., 18, was served with arrest warrants on April 6 charging him with one count of murder and five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He is scheduled for a writ of habeas corpus hearing on Thursday in the 406th District Court with 341st District Court Judge Beckie Palomo presiding.

On April 5, Laredo Police officers responded to a shooting at about 5 a.m. on 4502 McPherson Road where they encountered five injured men ages 23, 25, 26, 29 and 31. All were taken to various hospitals for treatment.

A sixth man identified as Jaime Leal Rodriguez, 22, was taken to Laredo Medical Center via private vehicle. After arriving at LMC, he died due to his injuries. His death was recorded as the citys third homicide this year.

Investigators were able to determine that Tays was the assailant who injured the (five) victims and critically injured Mr. Rodriguez. Preliminary findings indicate that the victims were stabbed during a knife attack committed by Tays, LPD said in a statement. The investigation also revealed that Herrera discharged a firearm several times inside the reception hall. The preliminary findings do not indicate that the victims were injured as a result of gunfire.

Investigators presented their findings in the case to the Webb County District Attorneys Office. Authorities gathered enough evidence to secure the warrants for Tays and Herrera. Police pointed out that this incident was not a random act of violence, rather an altercation that escalated to violence amongst known acquaintances.

Tays remains behind bars at the Webb County Jail.

Three other murder cases

In addition to Tays, three murder cases are on the docket for Wednesday.

In the 341st District Court, Kevin Costilla, 20, is scheduled for a final pretrial hearing. He is accused of fatally shooting Victoria Vicky Mireles, 16, in the back of the head, claiming self-defense after she allegedly set him up to rob him of his cellphone.

The case unraveled at about at about 9:38 p.m. March 30, 2020 as police officers responded to a report of one female shot in the 4000 block of Totem Pole Lane. First officers on the scene discovered Mireles lying face down with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, records state.

Witnesses identified the shooter as Kevin Castillo or Kevin Castro.

In the 49th District Court, Moises David Robles is scheduled for a status hearing. According to online court records, Robles is charged with one count of murder and one count of escape while arrested.

In April 2018, Robles was charged with the murder of Juan Ricardo Munoz, 19, in the 500 block of North Stone Avenue in a small apartment unit across the street from the railroad tracks.

LPD officers responded to the shooting on Stone at about 1:30 a.m.

In an apartment, they found Munoz on the floor with a single gunshot wound to his chest, according to the Laredo Fire Department.

LPDs crimes against persons detectives took over the investigation and developed information that identified Robles as the suspect, Laredo Police said.

The suspect and the victim were known to each other, LPD said.

Its unclear why Robles allegedly shot Munoz.

In the 111th District Court, Robert Thomas de Leon is scheduled for an arraignment hearing after being accused of fatally shooting David Arnulfo Morales, 33, because Morales had gone to de Leons property looking for a woman who Morales claimed owed him sex, states the arrest affidavit. De Leon allegedly shot Morales twice after Morales was refusing to leave de Leons property.

Court documents state that Morales was unarmed and de Leon had a license to carry a handgun.

De Leon was arrested and charged with murder on Oct. 4. The next day, he was released without bond by Associate Judge David Garcia on no probable cause, according to county jail records.

At about 1:18 a.m. on Oct. 4, a woman called police to report a subject disturbing at a home in the 3900 block of San Agustin Avenue. She stated that a man had arrived at her residence and was refusing the leave. Police said the call-taker then heard two gunshots in the background.

Moments later, de Leon spoke to the call-taker and requested an ambulance as he stated that he had shot the man who was disturbing. De Leon identified himself as the homeowner and further added that this was the second time that day that the man had gone to his house to disturb, states the affidavit.

De Leon was instructed to secure the gun properly for his safety, according to court documents. First officers on the scene arrived to find an injured man, later identified as Morales, outside the front of the residence. Police then approached de Leon, who had secured his firearm on top of his dining room table.
From the former battleground of the Vietnam War, Chuc has been salvaging bomb and ammunition husks to remind future generations of the horrors of war and the value of peace.

Tran Cong Chuc stands next to the bomb husks, remnants of the Vietnam War, he collected in Quang Tri Province. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao.

In Tran Cong Chuc's childhood memories, planes whirred above the sky and bombs crashed down onto the earth in front of his house beside the Ben Hai River. From 1954 to 1972, the Hien Luong River in his central Quang Tri Province hometown was the temporary dividing line separating Vietnam into North and South.

Quang Tri, the stage of some of the most major battles during the Vietnam War, including the Tet Offensive in 1968 and the Easter Offensive in 1972, has seen its fair share of bombings. Along the Ben Hai River, over a million tons of bombs and ammunition rained down across the area. In Quang Tri's namesake capital town, enough bombs were thrown in the summer of 1972 that their destructive power equated to seven nuclear bombs. After the dust settled, over 83 percent of the province had been littered with the deadly legacies of war.

Having grown up with the sight of bombs and ammunition being salvaged by the military and having their husks thrown away, in 2006, Chuc thought about collecting them as a personal reminder. At first it was easy; bomb husks were practically everywhere for the taking. But by 1999-2000, many others in Quang Tri had taken up the hobby and turned it into a job, which involves reselling the scrap metal and explosives, so the hunt for the remnants of war became more difficult.

Chuc, 52, traveled across the province to collect them, and so far possesses around 1,000 war relics, including bomb and ammunition husks, military and medical tools. Most of them include ammunition, with hundreds of them ranging from bullets to grenades, magnetic bombs to mortars. They may well weigh up to half a ton, he said.

Part of Tran Cong Chuc's collection of ammunition husks in Quang Tri Province. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao.

Six years prior, Chuc was walking in the woods when he stumbled upon the husk of a MK84 bomb that weighed half a ton, the missing piece of his prized collection. It was buried under the forest floor, so he had to hire people to open up three kilometers worth of road in three days and use excavators to bring it home, about 20 kilometers from the scene. Another time, he bought a similar piece for VND16 million ($693.73).

Once, a group of veterans passed by his home and was surprised to see so many bombs in the gallery. They asked Chuc why he did not take them to the museum. Even his grandson from Hanoi asked him why he was keeping so many "metal pipes." But for Chuc, they are an irreplaceable part of his memories that are not so easily left buried.

He said he planned to open a private museum on war/small military restaurant. He had already prepared a plot of land next to Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery, and said the museum should be operating before summer 2022.

"These relics have all been thrown into furnaces, so they are becoming rarer over time. I decided to collect them so future generations would know of the destruction of war and learn to appreciate peace," Chuc said.

Since the day he set his mind to open a museum, Chuc has spent more time to grow his collection. Many supported him, gifting him war relics they themselves had found; some offered him at a price. Chuc said his collection has cost him around VND500 million.

Le Van Hanh (L) poses with neighborhood children next to the bomb husks he collected. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao.

Chuc is far from the only one in Quang Tri with such ambitions.

In Phong Binh Commune of Gio Linh District, Le Van Hanh, 36, has been collecting bomb husks for the past seven years. In a trip to the Vinh Moc tunnels in Vinh Linh District, he saw not only the bombs displayed there, but also their unexpected beauty. So he bought them home.

"The first bomb husk I had was a MK81 that weighed 60 kilograms. I bought it from a scrap collector, and brought it home on a motorbike," Hanh said.

His collection then grew with husks from several other types of ammunition. He would use sand paper to release their shine, paint them green and put them in front of his home.

"There was a time when the people of Quang Tri collected scraps for a living, so bomb husks have become increasingly rare, meaning their prices have increased over time," he said.

Despite his collection not being big enough to open a museum, Hanh is considering to open a "bomb cafe" to remind tourists of the lands past and how it rose from the ashes of war.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. A stable operational situation with no incidents has been maintained along the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact of the Armenian state border overnight April 12-13, the Defense Ministry of Armenia told ARMENPRESS.

According to the information provided by the Armenian National Security Service, no border incidents were registered 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 confidently control the border situation along the entire borderline.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 09:24:20|Editor: huaxia

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LAGOS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from attacks in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna has risen to five, a local official said late Monday.

The attacks took place on Monday when unidentified gunmen attacked the Zango Kataf and Giwa areas of the state, said Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in Kaduna, in a statement.

The commissioner said that a father and his seven-year-old son were killed in a village attack in the state, where two additional bodies were found by security forces later.

In another attack, he said, a group of gunmen stormed a sugarcane farm in the state and shot dead a resident.

The northern part of Nigeria has been hit by a series of gunmen attacks, which caused civilian deaths and property damages. Enditem
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Report 2020 by Key Players, Types, Applications, Countries, Market Size, Forecast to 2026 (Based on 2020 COVID-19 Worldwide Spread)" is designed covering micro level of analysis by manufacturers and key business segments. The Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market survey analysis offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Mayor CPA Group, Greene Dycus & Co., Kline & Company, PCS, W&D, Jenkins Management Consulting, Dynamic Consulting and Accounting?LLC, Cundiff & Associates, Ross Buehler Falk, Werdann DeVito LLC & HBP.



What's keeping Mayor CPA Group, Greene Dycus & Co., Kline & Company, PCS, W&D, Jenkins Management Consulting, Dynamic Consulting and Accounting?LLC, Cundiff & Associates, Ross Buehler Falk, Werdann DeVito LLC & HBP Ahead in the Market? Benchmark yourself with the strategic moves and findings recently released by HTF MI



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Market Overview of Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services

If you are involved in the Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [Individuals, Businesses, Financial Institutions, Nonprofit Organizations & Government Agencies], Product Types [, Management Information, Cost Systems and Controls, Financial Analysis, Systems Design and Implementation & Others] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market along with impact of economic slowdown.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2015-2020

Base year  2020

Forecast period**  2021 to 2026 [** unless otherwise stated]



**Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



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The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:

The Study Explore the Product Types of Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market: , Management Information, Cost Systems and Controls, Financial Analysis, Systems Design and Implementation & Others



Key Applications/end-users of Global Accounting & Management Consulting ServicesMarket: Individuals, Businesses, Financial Institutions, Nonprofit Organizations & Government Agencies



Top Players in the Market are: Mayor CPA Group, Greene Dycus & Co., Kline & Company, PCS, W&D, Jenkins Management Consulting, Dynamic Consulting and Accounting?LLC, Cundiff & Associates, Ross Buehler Falk, Werdann DeVito LLC & HBP



Region Included are: North America (Covered in Chapter 6 and 13), United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe (Covered in Chapter 7 and 13), Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Others, Asia-Pacific (Covered in Chapter 8 and 13), China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Southeast Asia, Others, Middle East and Africa (Covered in Chapter 9 and 13), Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Others, South America (Covered in Chapter 10 and 13), Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile & Others



Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:

 Detailed overview of Accounting & Management Consulting Services market

 Changing market dynamics of the industry

 In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc

 Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

 Recent industry trends and developments

 Competitive landscape of Accounting & Management Consulting Services market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

 A neutral perspective towards Accounting & Management Consulting Services market performance

 Market players information to sustain and enhance their footprint



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/2976798-global-accounting-management-consulting-services-market-report-2020-by-key-players-types-applications-countries-market-size-forecast-to-2026



Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Industry Overview

1.1 Accounting & Management Consulting Services Industry

1.1.1 Overview

1.1.2 Products of Major Companies

1.2 Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Segment

1.2.1 Industry Chain

1.2.2 Consumer Distribution

1.3 Price & Cost Overview



Chapter Two: Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Demand

2.1 Segment Overview

2.1.1 APPLICATION 1

2.1.2 APPLICATION 2

2.1.3 Other

2.2 Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Size by Demand

2.3 Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Forecast by Demand



Chapter Three: Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market by Type

3.1 By Type

3.1.1 TYPE 1

3.1.2 TYPE 2

3.2 Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Size by Type

3.3 Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Forecast by Type



Chapter Four: Major Region of Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market

4.1 Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Sales

4.2 Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Revenue & market share



Chapter Five: Major Companies List



Chapter Six: Conclusion



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Key questions answered

- How Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services Market Growth & Size is Changing with Years to Come?

- Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services market?

- What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services market?

- What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Global Accounting & Management Consulting Services market?

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?



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The United States is concerned by recent escalating Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine, and by credible reports of Russian troop buildup and movements on Ukraines borders and occupied Crimea.

At a press briefing, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price pointed out that the disturbing movements by the Russian military were preceded by violations of the July 2020 ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. That led to the deaths in March of four Ukrainian soldiers and the wounding of two other Ukrainian personnel. Eight more Ukrainians have died in April.

We have asked Russia for an explanation of these provocations, but most importantly what we have signaled directly with our Ukrainian partners is a message of reassurance.

The present conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2014 with Russias seizure, occupation, and attempted annexation of Crimea, and has continued with fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-led forces that has led to the deaths of more than 13,000 people, according to the United Nations.

Spokesperson Price said in the face of Russias recent ceasefire violations and the amassing of troops on Ukraines borders and in occupied Crimea, officials from across the United States government have engaged with their Ukrainian counterparts to emphasize United States support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. Their message is that the United States would be concerned by any effort on the part of Moscow, whether it is within Russian territory, or within sovereign Ukraine  to intimidate our partner Ukraine.

We stand by Kyiv, declared Mr. Price, in the face of this intimidation and aggression.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  Authorities arrested nine people in separate operations in Angeles City on Monday for cyber crimes related to phishing and hacking.

According to police, the five Koreans and four Filipinos who were apprehended victimized US citizens and Korean nationals.

The warrants of arrest were for violation of the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 issued by Judge Benigno Abila of Regional Trial Court Branch 117, Third Judicial Region, Angeles City.

Lee Sungbo, a Korean national also known as Seven, was arrested in Barangay Amsic.

Koreans Yoensu Yoon, Junguk Lee, and Filipinos Alyssa Payabyab Lee, Maiko De Luna Natividad, John Patrick Sotto Gonzales and Bong Baja Garcia were arrested in another operation in Barangay Malabanias.

A third operation resulted in the arrest of Koreans Lee Jaehun and Song Gil Sung also in Barangay Amsic.

Seized during the operations were various SIM cards, computers and laptops, mobile phones, flash drives, bank cards and other items. Service firearms from their security personnel were also seized.

"The arrested persons are engaged in fraudulent activities through hacking and phishing, victimizing mostly Korean nationals and US citizens who are widely known as online banking/transaction users. These schemes which constitute economic sabotage are one of the national security concerns of the PNP CIDG. These suspects have allegedly amassed multi million pesos from illicit activities exploiting technology advances," said Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Debold Sinas.

Those arrested have been brought to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Angeles central field office for documentation and custody before charges are filed in court.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, NxGen MDx announced a partnership with Concentric by Ginkgo to provide COVID-19 testing to congregate settings such as schools operating in-person or hybrid learning environments using a scalable and simple testing modality - pooled testing.

As more and more schools begin to support in-person learning environments, communities across the country have turned to routine COVID-19 testing to monitor the spread of the virus. Even as teachers and guardians become eligible for vaccines, clinical vaccine trials for individuals under 16 are just beginning, and efforts to track and mitigate viral spread remain critical.

Concentric by Ginkgo's goal is to provide easy, affordable pooled testing to every school in America. Pooled classroom testing, which combines swabs from all consenting individuals in a classroom and runs them as a single test, can significantly increase testing capacity and lower the cost of testing programs. In partnership with labs like NxGen MDx, Concentric by Ginkgo currently operates testing for hundreds of schools across America.

"It's our mission to ensure that cost and lack of access are never a factor when it comes to COVID-19 testing," said Alan Mack, CEO of NxGen MDx. "That's why it made perfect sense to partner with Ginkgo."

"As communities consider the many COVID-19 testing models available, pooled testing stands out as an affordable option to identify pockets of prevalence as schools look to reopen," said Jason Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Ginkgo Bioworks. "We started Concentric because everyone's health is connected, and giving schools the capacity to test every student, every week provides the critical information and confidence communities need."

To learn more about Concentric by Ginkgo or to get your school district involved, head over to concentricbyginkgo.com.

About NxGen MDxNxGen MDx LLC is a leading women's health company delivering highly accurate and precise genetic testing. NxGen MDx's history of whole-gene sequencing combined with advanced technology allows us to provide accessible, high-quality testing options to families as they plan for the future. NxGen MDx employs state-of-the-art technology, including rapid molecular diagnostics for infectious disease and genetic screening technology that examines the entire gene rather than parts of the gene, giving women and families a comprehensive assessment of their health. NxGen MDx is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. To learn more, visit the company's website at www.nxgenmdx.com.

Connect with us on:

About Ginkgo BioworksConcentric by Ginkgo is Ginkgo Bioworks' public health and biosecurity effort. Headquartered in Boston, Ginkgo uses the most advanced technology on the planetbiologyto grow better products. The company's cell programming platform is enabling the growth of biotechnology across diverse markets, from food to fragrance to pharmaceuticals. Ginkgo is also actively supporting a number of COVID-19 response efforts, including community testing, epidemiological tracing, vaccine development, and therapeutics discovery. For more information, visit www.ginkgobioworks.com. http://www.ginkgobioworks.com

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nxgen-mdx-announces-partnership-with-ginkgo-bioworks-to-scale-covid-response-through-pooled-testing-in-k-12-schools-301267095.html

SOURCE NxGen MDx
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 06:18:19|Editor: huaxia

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Body camera footage from web stream shows a police officer pointing a gun at African American Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, the United States, April 11, 2021.

Protesters defied a curfew and took to the streets for a second night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Monday following Black man Daunte Wright's death. Police fired tear gas and stun guns to disperse protesters.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Kim Potter, a veteran female police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, U.S. state Minnesota, resigned on Tuesday, along with the city's police chief.

"I am tendering my resignation from the Brooklyn Center Police Department effective immediately," Potter, 48, said in a letter obtained by local media outlets.

"I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and to my fellow officers if I resign immediately," Potter said.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon has also resigned, Mayor Mike Elliott said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

However, the mayor said he has not accepted Potter's resignation yet, adding his office is still reviewing the letter. Potter has been put on administrative leave after the shooting.

Gannon told reporters on Monday that Potter mistakenly used her gun instead of her taser at the time and based on his experience and training, the Sunday shooting leading to the death of Wright seemed to be an "accidental discharge."

"No conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete," the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said in a statement released earlier on Tuesday, calling for protests to be peaceful.

Wright's family is not "prepared to say that that was an accident," their attorney Jeffrey Storms told CNN on Tuesday.

Another attorney for Wright's family, Ben Crump, on Tuesday called the shooting "entirely preventable" and "inhumane."

Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, attends the House Judiciary Committee's hearing titled "Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability" in Washington D.C., the United States, June 10, 2020. (Erin Schaff/Pool via Xinhua)

Protesters defied a curfew and took to the streets for a second night on Monday following Wright's death. Police fired tear gas and stun guns to disperse protesters while some of the latter threw "bottles, fireworks, bricks and other projectiles at public safety officials," according to a tweet from Operation Safety Net.

Brooklyn Center, a city of about 31,000, is just a few miles away from Minneapolis, where the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin over black man George Floyd's death in May 2020 is underway.

"We will fight for justice for this family, just like we're fighting for our brother," Philonise Floyd said on Tuesday, extending his family's condolences to the family of Wright. 
New Delhi, April 13 : Paying tributes to martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that their sacrifice and heroism give strength to every Indian.

"Tributes to those martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Their courage, heroism and sacrifice give strength to every Indian," said the Prime Minister in a tweet.

Modi's remarks came as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which several hundreds of people were killed on this day in 1919 as a result of indiscriminate firing by the colonial forces, completed 102 years on Tuesday.

The Britishers had banned gatherings at the time and to punish civilians for their 'disobedience', Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered the army to fire into a crowd of thousands of unarmed Indians who had come together to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi, unaware of the order.

The colonial troops entered Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar and blocked the main entrance behind them to ensure nobody could flee before opening fire on the crowd for about 10 minutes. Many jumped into a well in a desperate attempt to save themselves as the soldiers showered bullets at them.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
James Queally and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Harvey Weinstein has been indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles County and could be extradited here to answer those charges after a hearing in Upstate New York on Monday, according to four people with direct knowledge of the situation.

Weinstein, 67, was facing four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery and one count of sexual penetration by force connected to the alleged assaults of five women from 2004 to 2013, according to prosecutors.

The indictment returned by a grand jury upholds those charges without adding any new counts or any new victims, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the indictment is currently under seal.

All five victims testified during the grand jury hearings, as is required under California law, according to three of the sources.

Several sources described the indictment as a procedural move, meant to skip a preliminary hearing and hopefully preempt potential speedy trial issues in Weinsteins case. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a severe backlog of trials in Los Angeles, and the countys courts continue to enforce strict social distancing protocols and limit the number of people who can enter courthouses.

Few trials have taken place in L.A. since last March, and jury selection for a case like Weinsteins under the courts current rules could prove to be an arduous task.

Weinstein has been held at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., since last March, when he was sentenced to 23 years in state prison after his conviction on rape charges in Manhattan. The Miramax cofounder has denied all wrongdoing and is appealing that conviction, but the California case is expected to proceed first.

An extradition hearing that could kickstart the process of sending Weinstein to Los Angeles is scheduled for late Monday morning in Erie County, N.Y. The hearing has been continued several times, but prosecutors have said they plan to go forward on Monday.

The Los Angeles County district attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Weinsteins defense attorney, Mark Werksman, dismissed the indictment as stemming from stale, unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, uncredible allegations that arose during the hysteria of the #MeToo movement.

Were confident that Mr. Weinstein will be acquitted because theres no credible evidence against him, he said.

The charges against Weinstein in Los Angeles stem from accusations levied by five women who say the disgraced Hollywood mogul attacked them in West L.A. and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.

One victim, Lauren Young, was called as a prior bad acts witness against Weinstein during his New York trial. The Pennsylvania woman alleged Weinstein lured her into his room after a meeting at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills in 2013, where the mogul allegedly grabbed her breast and masturbated before she fled.

A second accuser in the Los Angeles case is an Italian model who previously told The Times Weinstein attacked her inside Mr. Cs hotel in Beverly Hills in 2013. The woman, whose identity has not been made public, reported the assault to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017, sparking an investigation that led to the filing of charges early last year.

In total, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual abuse.
A Budapest hospital that was refurbished in 2012 to care for homeless people is facing eviction after the Hungarian authorities decided to evict it from its premises. But the city's mayor says the hospital, with a capacity of 164 beds, will not move out of its premises unless the government provides it with an alternative location.
[April 13, 2021] Cult Wines Expands Its Global Footprint With the Launch of Canadian Office Ahead of Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur

Cult Wines, the global leader in fine wine investment, announced today the launch of its first Canadian office which continues the company's global expansion efforts into North America after successfully opening several offices across Asia. The move will allow Canadian investors greater access to the world of fine wine investing ahead of Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur. The Canadian team will be led by the CEO of Cult Wines Canada Atul Tiwari. Tiwari previously served as CEO of Vanguard Canada where he, along with his team, led the business in growth from $3 billion in assets to over $30 billion. He is joined by Vanguard's former Head of Marketing Carrie Tuck, who will serve as CMO of Cult Wines Canada, and brings a wealth of global experience in marketing, digital and PR, as well as in investments and products to the team. "Opening our first Canadian office marks a major milestone for Cult Wines in growing its already impressive track record of performance and leadership in the asset class," noted Tiwari. "Cult Wines is the perfect solution to diversify portfolios and provides transparency, liquidity, safety and access to a remarkable asset." Tuck added: "At Cult Wines we are translating our passion for wine into a simple and secure investment worth talking about. We want to make investing in wine as enjoyable and effortless as drinking it." The timing aligns with the commencement of the Bordeaux En Primeur 2020 campaign, which will allow oenophiles, those with a serious intrest in wine investment, and novice investors alike the opportunity to invest in new vintages before they are bottled. One of the largest buyers of Bordeaux En Primeur globally, Cult Wines has access to an impressive allocation of some of the world's most sought-after wines. Investment in fine wine will also enable investors to diversify their portfolios with an alternative asset class that has historically performed well, even during volatile markets.



"We are thrilled to be expanding into North America and establishing our first Canadian office in Toronto. We believe there is a huge appetite for fine wine investment in Canada," said Tom Gearing, CEO & Co-Founder of Cult Wines. "The timing of our launch coincides with the Bordeaux 2020 En Primeur, which has traditionally been more of a focus for European investors, but as we establish our Canadian presence, we expect to gain new investors and provide them with this unique opportunity to enter the fine wine investment market." With its Canadian launch, Cult Wines expects to aggressively increase its North American clientele and play an integral role in the continued growth of the company's $270m CAD assets under total management. The Canadian office, together with the newly opened US office, will be the fifth and sixth in the company's global locations, joining offices in UK, Hong Kong, Singapore and China.

ABOUT CULT WINES

Cult Wines, the world's leading wine investment company, is setting a new standard for fine wine investment. The award-winning company, with assets managed amounting to CAD $270m, makes investing in fine wine as effortless as drinking it. Combining a love of fine wine and market-leading industry knowledge with the latest technology, Cult Wines analyses and unlocks the market for investors around the world. Long-term wine collectors and novice investors alike choose Cult Wines not only for the extensive financial expertise, but for the shared passion for fine wine, and access to likeminded wine lovers, enthusiastic experts and engaging trips. Headquartered in the UK, Cult Wines was founded in 2007 and has offices in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the US supporting clients in more than 70 countries. For more information, please visit www.wineinvestment.ca. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005639/en/

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The Queen stoically returned to royal duties yesterday, four days after the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

The monarch, 94, hosted a retirement ceremony for the former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel on Tuesday.

It comes after her husband of 73-years, Prince Philip, passed away aged 99 on Friday at Windsor Castle.

As touching tributes flooded in from across the nation for the duke, including flowers left at residences such as Windsor and Buckingham Palace, the family announced a two-week period of royal mourning.

But, in a move that typifies the Queen's deep sense of duty, she returned early to bid farewell to Earl Peel - a key royal aide who is retiring after 14 years of service.

Earl Peel was the Lord Chamberlain, which is the most senior officer role in the royal household. He had been overseeing arrangements for the duke's funeral - known as Operation Forth Bridge.

It came as a former aide to Her Majesty said she would never abdicate, because 'her sense of duty and honour and public service is so deep in her'. The insider told People Magazine: 'Her family will step up and be by her side, but she will carry on. She understands that she has a job to do, and [Philip] would have wanted her to crack on. She did do so when he retired from public life.'

It has also been claimed that the Queen's inner strength and stoicism means she may sit alone during her husband's funeral this weekend.

Royal expert Angela Levin told TalkRadio: 'I can't believe the Queen, who has the stiffest of upper lips, would want anyone sitting next to her.

'There are members of the family who have been very close to her during the pandemic - one of them would've been invited along. I think Sophie, who is married to Edward, is very very close to the Queen. She's been there so often I can't see she wouldn't be allowed [to sit next to her] if the Queen would so want it.

'She's already back at work yesterday. She doesn't like to look as if she's falling apart. I bet she's discussed this with Prince Philip and I bet he'd go along with that. Sometimes it's easier to be by yourself then with someone close to you who loves you and then you let all the emotion out'.

The news of the Queen's return to work came as:

It was revealed that the Queen may have to wear a mask at Prince Philip's funeral due to the current Covid restrictions;

The Queen may also have to sit on her own at the funeral due to rules which mean those attending services must remain seperated from other households;

Prince Philip's private secretary, Brigadier Archie Miller-Bakewell, who is part of HMS Bubble, may accompany her, according to reports;

The Queen also faced the issue of how Prince Andrew should dress at the funeral after he demanded to be allowed to go as an Admiral;

As tributes mounted up outside royal residences, the Queen's Twitter account paid a touching tribute to Prince Philip which celebrated his interactions with people 'from all walks of life';

Reports also suggest that the Queen is now likely to spend much of her time in Windsor following the Duke's death and will instead use Buckingham Palace as 'more of an office'

The Queen (pictured left in March) stoically returned to royal duties yesterday, four days after the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh. The Monarch hosted a retirement ceremony for former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel (pictured with the Queen in 2013) on Tuesday

It comes after her husband Prince Philip (pictured with the Queen in June last year) passed away, aged 99, on Friday, at Windsor Castle

As touching tributes flooded in from across the nation for the Duke, including flowers left at residences such as Windsor and Buckingham Palace (pictured), the family announced a two-week period of royal mourning

While floral tributes stacked-up at the gates of Buckingham Palace, Britons also attended the gates of Sandringham House in Norfolk to pay tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh

William Peel, great-great-grandson of founder of the modern Tory party William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel, is a great-great-grandson of Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, one of the founders of the modern Conservative party. The businessman served as a hereditary Tory peer from 1973 to 2006 when, on appointment to Lord Chamberlain, he became a crossbench member of the Lords. He attended Ampleforth College in Yorkshire before the University of Tours in France and the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. He was a member of the Prince's Council, which advises the Duchy of Cornwall, from 1993 to 2006. Lord Peel was also a member of the Nature Conservancy Council, a since dissolved Government conservation agency, from 1991 to 1996. He married Veronica Thompson in 1973 and they had two children together before they divorced in 1987. Two years later, Lord Peel married Charlotte Soames, daughter of Lord Soames and his wife, Mary Churchill, daughter of Sir Winston Churchill. They have one child, Lady Antonia Peel, born in 1991. Advertisement

Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, recently said his mother is bearing up stoically and the family have been rallying round to support her.

And Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has pledged to uphold his grandfather's wishes and continue to support the Queen and 'get on with the job'.

It was announced at the weekend the monarchy and their households would observe two weeks of royal mourning, with members of the family 'continuing to undertake engagements appropriate to the circumstances,' a royal official said.

The Princess Royal, Prince Anne, took part in her first official event since the death of her father.

She joined, via video-link, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's Spring Conference in her role as the organisation's patron.

The Earl Peel, who has now left his role as the royal family's top aide, had overseen arrangements for the duke's funeral before handing responsibility to his successor, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker, just over a week before Philip died peacefully at Windsor Castle.

The Lord Chamberlain's Office, led by the Queen's Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day.

But in overall charge is Andrew Parker, Baron Parker of Minsmere, who took up his new role on April 1, following the Earl Peel's retirement after more than 14 years in the post.

The Lord Chamberlain oversees all senior appointments in the household and is the channel of communication between the sovereign and the House of Lords.

The position also ensures co-ordination between Buckingham Palace and Clarence House.

During a ceremony held at Windsor Castle, the Queen accepted her former royal aide's wand and insignia of office.

The official engagement was recorded in the Court Circular - a daily list of the events attended by the Queen and her family.

The Lord Chamberlain's Office, led by the Queen's Comptroller Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vernon, is tasked with the practical side of the day. But in overall charge is Andrew Parker (pictured), Baron Parker of Minsmere, who took up his new role on April 1, following the Earl Peel's (pictured left) retirement after more than 14 years in the post

It said: 'The Earl Peel had an audience of The Queen today, delivered up his Wand and Insignia of Office as Lord Chamberlain and the Badge of Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order and took leave upon relinquishing his appointment as Lord Chamberlain, when Her Majesty invested him with the Royal Victorian Chain.'

The Queen recently conferred a prestigious honour on the Earl Peel, making him a Permanent Lord in Waiting.

The Armed Forces are stepping up preparations for the duke's funeral which will feature servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF - alongside top military brass.

The Queen 'understands' why pregnant Meghan Markle hasn't flown from US for Prince Philip's funeral The Queen reportedly told pregnant Meghan Markle she 'understands' why the duchess has not flown from the US with Prince Harry to Britain to attend Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday. Meghan, who lives in an 11million mansion in California, allegedly 'wanted' to attend the service for the Duke of Edinburgh but had been advised against making the 10-hour flight by her physician. Her husband Harry is staying at Frogmore Cottage, the couple's former home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, to quarantine for five days before attending the funeral at St George's Chapel. Amid claims in the US that the duchess skipped it to avoid being 'centre of attention', a source in California has insisted that the 94-year-old monarch told Meghan she 'understands' why she did not come. Revealing she and Harry were 'in contact with the Queen' after Philip's death on Friday, the source also told People magazine that it was 'always a given that Harry would return to England for his grandfather's passing' and that Meghan had 'expressed condolences' when speaking with the grieving monarch. Harry landed at London Heathrow Airport via a BA flight from LA at the weekend, making this journey his first back to Britain since his and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan, who accused the royal family of racism in the explosive TV interview, is pregnant with Harry's second child - a daughter. She is remaining in the US with their one-year-old son Archie. Advertisement

Soldiers from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are reportedly working to prepare the special Land Rover - that the duke helped design - which will carry his coffin on Saturday.

Lieutenant General Paul Jaques, who served with REME, said about the duke, his unit's former colonel-in-chief: 'He was engaged with us and used to visit us probably once or twice every single year since 1969.

'And he had an enormous passion for all things engineering. In his own words 'If it wasn't invented by God, it was invented by an engineer'.

It comes amid reports that the Queen may have to sit apart from family members at her husband's funeral - due to strict Covid rules.

Current guidelines mean anyone attending a funeral must stay at least two meters apart from those outside their household, except when in a support bubble.

However the Queen is not eligible to be in a support bubble, because she technically does not live on her own - and is supported by a team of royal aides dubbed 'HMS Bubble'.

As other members of the Royal Family are living in other royal residences, it means the Queen will likely have to sit at least two metres away from relatives at the funeral, according to the Telegraph.

Royal sources confirmed to the paper that the Queen would be alone at the funeral service, unless a member of the Windsor bubble joins her.

Meanwhile, the Queen will likely have to wear a mask at the funeral, while royals could be banned from singing hymns due to Covid restrictions, reports the Sun.

Updated national guidance, issued by the Government, said communal singing should not go ahead at funerals to prevent the spread of Covid.

Choirs are still allowed, but members must be kept to as few as possible and should remain socially distanced.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said tonight: 'We have made it very clear that the service will be Covid compliant.'

More details of the funeral, set to take place at George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on Saturday, are to be announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, reports in the Daily Express today suggest that the Queen will spend more time at Windsor following the death of Prince Philip.

The Queen has reportedly told royal sources that she now feels 'most comfortable' living within the walls of the Berkshire fortress - known to be her favourite royal residence.

Even prior to Prince Philip's death the Queen had been spending more and more time at Windsor - and has been sheltering there for much of the pandemic.

It is believed Buckingham Palace will be used in more of an office role going forward, the Express adds.

Ahead of Saturday's funeral, Prince Harry flew into London's Heathrow Airport without his heavily-pregnant wife Meghan Markle ahead of Prince Philip's funeral on his first visit to Britain since quitting royal duties and the couple's bombshell Oprah interview.

Prince Harry and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attend the 2015 Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and Australia at Twickenham Stadium on October 31, 2015 in London. Harry is back in London ahead of his grandfather's funeral this Saturday

Queen carries on: Grieving monarch 'will still conduct state opening of Parliament on May 11' The Queen will not delay returning to work after her husband's funeral and plans to attend the state opening of Parliament next month, MailOnline can reveal today. Her Majesty will attend the ceremonial event in the House of Lords without her husband Prince Philip and will be supported by her son Prince Charles at Westminster on May 11 instead. She has entered an eight-day period of mourning following the death of her husband at the age of 99 - and there a further official period of 30 days for the Royal Family, after which the Queen will make a full return to public life and duties. The monarch has overseen every one of the constitutional set pieces since taking the throne in 1952, apart from in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively. While the Duke of Edinburgh only missed the event once, 12 months before he retired in 2018, when he was hospitalised. Today a well-placed Westminster source has said the Queen is still planning to conduct the state opening of Parliament on May 11. There had been speculation that she might not attend in person amid the pandemic and after the loss of Prince Philip. But one source said: 'She is still coming, with Charles.' It came as the Royal Family released more tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh, from officers at Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, where the Queen's husband was awarded the King's Dirk for the best all-round cadet of the term, as well as a prize for the best cadet in college. Advertisement

The Duke of Sussex was reportedly seen leaving his 11million California mansion on Saturday night in a black Cadillac Escalade to board an early-hours flight from LA, and disembarking a BA plane in chinos, a jacket and black face mask at the west London airport around 10 hours later at 1.15pm GMT on Sunday.

Harry was met by security off the plane and put into a black Range Rover, before he was reportedly driven to Kensington Palace.

The Sun has claimed he is quarantining at the Christopher Wren-designed Nottingham Cottage, where Harry proposed to Meghan Markle in 2017. It is just a few yards from the apartment where his brother William lives with his family.

The Sunday Times has claimed that he will stay at Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, so he can be close to his grandmother.

After Megxit, Frogmore was handed to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, who had their first child in February, but they are understood to split their time between the cottage and Kensington Palace.

Harry can leave quarantine after five days rather than 10 if he provides a negative test under the Government's Test to Release scheme.

However, he will be allowed to attend Philip's funeral regardless, as official guidelines state those coming in from abroad can leave isolation 'on compassionate grounds'.

It comes as family members paid touching tributes to the duke.

The Royal Family's Twitter page shared a picture with the Queen and Prince Philip along with a moving quote from the monarch about her husband from a speech she made celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997.

In the speech, looking back at their then 50 year marriage, she said: 'He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know.'

Grandchildren, Prince Harry and Prince William also paid tribute in statements released thirty minutes apart.

Prince William praised his grandfather's lifetime of service to 'Queen, country and Commonwealth' before Harry declared: 'He was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end'.

Let me dress as Admiral: Prince Andrew wants to wear full military attire for Prince Philip's funeral... and Prince Harry could be the only senior male royal NOT wearing uniform

By Rebecca English for the Daily Mail

The Queen is being forced to decide which rank of military uniform the Duke of York can wear to his father's funeral after he demanded to go as an Admiral.

Prince Andrew  who stepped back from public duties over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein 18 months ago  was made an honorary Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015.

He was due to be promoted to Admiral on his 60th birthday last year, but offered to defer it until he cleared his name and returned to public duties.

Now the 61-year-old prince has sparked ructions at Buckingham Palace after he told his mother and senior officials that he wished to attend the funeral as an Admiral. The widowed Queen will have to make a decision in the next 24 hours.

Sophie Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew Service of Commemoration to Mark the End of Combat Operations in Afghanistan, St Paul's Cathedral, London, March 2015

It comes as it was reported last night that William had spoken on the phone to Harry.

The estranged brothers have barely spoken for a year and any attempts to break the ice after Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview have not been productive. Kensington Palace declined to comment but royal sources said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wished the focus of the week to be on honouring the Duke of Edinburgh's memory.

Royal officials are also wrestling with the dilemma of Prince Harry possibly being the only senior male royal not in uniform at the funeral.

The Prince of Wales, Duke of Cambridge and Earl of Wessex, as well as Princess Anne, will be in military dress as each hold honorary roles.

The Duke and Duchess of York leave the Windsor Castle estate today

But Harry lost his military titles after quitting royal duties. As a former Captain with the Household Cavalry (Blues and Royals), Harry is only permitted to wear a morning suit with medals, unless officials can find a way round the issue.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night, saying only: 'Funeral arrangements are being finalised and we will announce them accordingly.'

A source said any final decision on what uniforms are worn would rest with the Queen. Andrew stepped down from public duties in November 2019 'for the foreseeable future' over his friendship with Epstein in the wake of the disastrous Newsnight interview he had hoped would clear his name.

The prince joined the Royal Navy in 1979 as a Seaman Officer and finished his active naval career in 2001. The Navy established a policy in 2009 that means the prince is promoted in line with his still-serving peers to mark his continued contribution to the service. He became a Rear Admiral on his 50th birthday, a Vice-Admiral on his 55th, and had been due to become an Admiral on his 60th last year before forgoing the promotion.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex lay a wreath at Los Angeles National Cemetery on Remembrance Sunday on November 8, 2020 in Los Angeles, California

An Admiral's ceremonial day coat has three rows of lace on the sleeve, but a Vice-Admiral's two rows. The Admiral's shoulder rank board features a crossed baton and sword with four stars, but for a Vice-Admiral there are just three stars.

Andrew's stance is likely to add to what must be an extremely distressing and stressful week for the Queen and the rest of the Royal Family.

'People have opinions and there are ongoing discussions about the right course of action,' a source said.

The rank of Admiral is the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, although members of the Royal Family can be made Admiral of the Fleet.

Significantly, while many of Andrew's charitable patronages have deserted him, he has not been stripped of his military positions and titles yet.

He has been accused by one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Guiffre, of having sex with her twice when she was just 17. Andrew has strongly denied all accusations. He has kept a generally low profile since being forced out of public life, but in recent days talked of the 'huge void' his father's passing had left in the Queen's life.

There have been reports he hopes to rehabilitate his image and make a return to public life.

Am I being very brave - or very foolish? That's the question Prince Philip asked a confidante on the day of his wedding as the enormity of his new role sank in. But, as GYLES BRANDRETH's sublime series reveals, rarely has nagging doubt been so misplaced

Was Prince Philip in love when he proposed to Elizabeth? At the time, he was a relatively penniless prince, with a rackety family and no home to call his own.

Indeed, many were not at all convinced that he was marrying for the right reasons. His close friends from the post-war era, however, had a totally different recollection.

'He may have had his doubts about what he was getting himself into  the whole business of marrying the King of England's daughter,' his first cousin Patricia Mountbatten told me. 'I think that did concern him.

'But he had no doubts at all about Lilibet as a future wife. He adored her. He loved her deeply  you could tell. It was definitely a love match.'

Mike Parker, Philip's closest male friend at the time, said to me: 'He loved her  absolutely. And he fancied her, too. No question about that.'

They weren't the only ones to assure me that he'd married for love. But, having known Philip for many years myself, I think there was also another element at play: part of the attraction was the chance to belong to a family.

After all, though he never ceased to remind me that he had 'a perfectly good family' of his own, he'd seen very little of them from adolescence onwards. His father had been part of the Greek royal family but fled to France after the king was deposed in 1921.

In 1929, when Philip was eight, he was packed off to boarding school in England. After that, his mother  who was almost certainly a manic depressive  virtually disappeared from his life for the rest of his childhood, failing to send so much as a birthday card.

His father, meanwhile, moved to the French Riviera, where he kept a mistress and drank a little more than was good for him. Which meant that when Philip wasn't at school, he was constantly travelling between the homes of various grand British relatives.

It's generally accepted that he met Princess Elizabeth for the first time when she was 13 and he was an 18-year-old Navy cadet at Dartmouth.

N ot so, he told me. 'It's one of those myths that's just too good to let go. We'd certainly met before  we were cousins, after all.'

Indeed, the royal couple shared the same great-great-grandparents  Queen Victoria and Prince Albert  not to mention many other relatives. And Philip actually recalled having met Lilibet (as he called her) when she was just eight, at the wedding of his cousin, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, to Elizabeth's uncle George, Duke of Kent.

At Dartmouth Naval College in 1939 (from left) Prince Philip of Greece, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth, King George VI and Princess Elizabeth, then aged 13

Yet when he grew up to marry Elizabeth, Philip's undoubtedly royal pedigree (as the grandson and nephew of kings) counted for surprisingly little.

Privately, the Queen (later the Queen Mother) had reservations  fuelled by her younger brother, David Bowes Lyon, some of her closest aristocratic friends and various senior courtiers. Was Philip good enough for Lilibet, she fretted? Was he, in truth, a suitable consort for a future Queen?

Several people have told me that Queen Elizabeth made slighting comments about Philip within their hearing, and referred to him  not entirely humorously  as 'the Hun'. Certainly, to the senior courtiers in her immediate circle, Philip did not feel like 'one of us'.

He spoke perfect English and had impeccable manners, but he was by no stretch of the imagination a classic English gentleman (though he never considered himself Greek).

Good gracious, he was neither an Etonian, nor a Guards officer, nor a huntsman. And what little was known of his parents was not encouraging.

Patricia Mountbatten's husband, John Brabourne, recalled that the royal establishment was: 'Absolutely bloody to him. They didn't like him, they didn't trust him, and it showed. Not at all nice . . . They patronised him. They treated him as an outsider.

Andrew... a happy surprise When Andrew was conceived, 'the Queen and Prince Philip had been trying for another baby for quite a while'. This titbit came from the Queen's private secretary of that period, Martin Charteris. 'How on earth do you know?' I asked him. He chuckled. 'Because Her Majesty told me so. She wanted me to pass it on to President Nkrumah, you see.' I didn't see, so Lord Charteris, beaming broadly, obligingly explained. 'In late 1959, the Queen was due to visit Ghana. It was going to be a big thing. In May, she discovered she was pregnant and realised that the Ghana trip would have to be put off. 'She knew that Dr Nkrumah was a sensitive chap and might take offence unless he knew the whole story, so I was dispatched to Accra to put him in the picture  which I did. At first, he was appalled, then he decided that if the Queen couldn't come to him, he'd go to her  at Balmoral  which he did. 'I have to say, she has a way with these Commonwealth leaders.' Advertisement

'I'm not sure that Princess Elizabeth noticed it. In a way, marriage hardly changed her life at all. His life changed completely.' His initial reception certainly rankled with Philip  and continued to do so, even into old age. Once, when he'd visited Windsor Castle after getting engaged, he told me, a courtier had patronisingly begun to tell him the history of the place.

Philip interrupted, saying: 'Yes, I know. My mother was born here.'

Little wonder, perhaps, that on the morning of his wedding, just after breakfast, Philip asked Patricia Mountbatten: 'Am I being very brave or very foolish?'

I asked Lady Mountbatten once what she thought he meant by that. 'He was apprehensive,' she said. 'He was uncertain  not about marrying Princess Elizabeth, but about what the marriage would mean for him. He was giving up a great deal.'

For a start, that very morning Philip had stopped smoking cigarettes. The King was a heavy smoker  it was a family habit: Queen Mary was a smoker, too. And having seen the effect cigarettes had on her father, Princess Elizabeth had asked Philip to give up.

He was happy enough to oblige his bride-to-be  and disciplined enough to be able to do so overnight. Then, at 11am, fortified by a gin and tonic, and dressed in naval uniform, he set off for Westminster Abbey, never to look back.

Philip and Elizabeth certainly enjoyed young married life. And when the Princess was often a little shy, Philip always encouraged her to have fun.

In May 1948, six months after their wedding, Chips Channon observed the Edinburghs dancing the night away at a fancy-dress party  until 5am. According to Channon, Philip was the success of the ball, 'wildly gay with his policeman's hat and handcuffs.

'He leapt about and jumped into the air as he greeted everybody. His charm is colossal, and he and Princess Elizabeth seemed supremely happy.'

Not everything was blissful, however. Philip was used to fending for himself, while Lilibet had been brought up as a princess, and was wholly accustomed to being fed, bathed, dressed and watched over by others.

One bone of contention was the constant presence of her old nanny Margaret MacDonald, known as Bobo. As Mike Parker said: 'Let's face it, [Philip] had a hell of a time with her. Miss MacDonald was always there. And in charge. Princess Elizabeth was Bobo's baby, and that was that.'

Typically, Bobo would prepare Lilibet's bath and then potter in and out while she was having it, effectively keeping Philip at bay.

'He couldn't share the bathroom with his wife,' said Patricia Mountbatten, 'because Bobo saw it as her territory  and I don't think Princess Elizabeth had the heart to say: 'Bobo, please go away.' '

Everlasting love: The couple in 1950 and at their Platinum Wedding Anniversary celebrations in 2017

In many ways, Prince Philip was remarkably good-humoured and long-suffering. He endured Bobo, and put up with thousands of hours of royal flummery and mind-numbing small talk with strangers and civic dignitaries.

But he was, as he admitted himself, 'a shade querulous'  even at the start of his marriage. This took the form of grumbles, flashes of impatience and a tendency to be contradictory.

The Queen's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, told me that he was even like that with his wife. 'He'd say, 'Why the bloody hell? What the bloody hell?' I think she did sometimes find it very disconcerting.'

But according to Mike Parker, it meant nothing: 'Philip is an outspoken kind of a guy. He might use colourful language talking privately with the Queen  but he is devoted to Her Majesty, absolutely devoted.'

Patricia Mountbatten said that, in her experience, the Queen never responded to her husband's intemperate outbursts in kind. However, she clearly enjoyed it when others did.

'I remember a big party at Balmoral,' said Countess Mountbatten, 'a shooting party, when, at dinner, Philip and I had a right old ding-dong about South Africa. It was a terrific argument and the Queen kept encouraging me.

'That's right, Patricia,' she said, 'You go at him  nobody ever goes at him.' '

The Queen's childhood friend Sonia Berry observed of her: 'She's always calm. She might get annoyed about something but, as a rule, she stays on an even keel. I've never seen her lose her temper.'

Separate rooms? It was nonsense Among the upper classes, especially three or four generations ago, men and women had separate bedrooms. That's just the way it was. When Elizabeth and Philip moved into Clarence House in 1949, they had separate but communicating bedrooms. It was what they  and their staff  would have expected. The Duke's valet, John Dean, described the arrangement as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Of an evening, he'd be assisting Philip in his bedroom, while [former nursemaid] Bobo would be tending to Elizabeth in hers, and the royal couple 'would joke happily through the left-open door'. In July 1982, an intruder  a 31-year-old schizophrenic named Michael Fagan  found his way into Buckingham Palace and disturbed the Queen, alone, asleep in bed. The 'revelation' that the Queen and her husband did not appear to share a bedroom caused more comment in certain quarters than the fact that a lunatic could wander off the street into the sovereign's bedroom. In fact, when sleeping under the same roof, the Queen and Prince Philip usually did share the same bed. It just happened that on the morning of Fagan's intrusion Philip had a crack-of-dawn start for an out-of-town official engagement and so spent the night in his own quarters. The Queen handled Fagan with commendable calm, but was nevertheless shaken. He'd wandered in with a broken ashtray in his hand, drawn the curtains and sat down on her bed. Eventually, when he asked for a cigarette, she managed to manoeuvre him out of the bedroom and the alarm was raised. Philip's long-standing friend Gina Kennard told me: 'At Balmoral that year  after that man got into her bedroom  the Queen began snapping at Philip. She was really quite snappy with him. Which was unusual for her. 'Not for him, of course. He's always been a bit snappy. But the man getting into her room was horrid.' Advertisement

O thers recalled that, in the early days, Elizabeth would do her best to tease Philip out of his ill-humour by taking his pulse and quietly counting: 'Tick, tick, tick, one, two, three.'

Not that she was afraid to give her husband the occasional set-down. When the Duke was berating her for paying more attention to the dogs than himself, or complaining about her spending so much time on the telephone, she was quite capable of saying: 'Oh, do shut up, Philip.'

Her private secretary Martin Charteris recalled an unhappy half-hour on the royal yacht Britannia. 'I'm not going to come out of my cabin until he's in a better temper,' said the Queen. 'I'm going to sit here on my bed until he's better.'

Indeed, she's known to have complained of Philip's 'pigheadedness' to friends  while Philip himself once described her to me as 'immensely tolerant'. According to family and friends, the Queen became bolder with him over the years  while he grew gentler with her. But not with everyone.

His friend Gina Kennard told me: 'Let's face it  he can be really bad-tempered.' I even witnessed this for myself once, after a footman had moved a folder of papers from their usual place on the Duke's desk.

P hilip gave him short shrift, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The poor footman, of course, couldn't answer back.

Why, then, was Prince Philip so cantankerous? Patricia Mountbatten explained: 'He's a dynamo. He wants action  he wants to get things done. He likes getting his own way and it's frustrating for him when he doesn't.'

Most frustrating of all, of course, was the fact that he had to give up his promising naval career four years after marrying. He'd just spent a year in command of his own ship when the King fell ill and Philip was required to join the family business.

'It was bloody for him,' Mike Parker said to me, 'absolutely bloody.' Philip played down the loss of his career. 'In 1947, I thought I was going to have a career in the Navy, but it became obvious there was no hope,' he explained.

'The Royal Family then was just the King and the Queen and the two princesses. The only other male member was the Duke of Gloucester. There was no choice.

'It's what happened  that's all. It happened sooner than might have been expected, but it was inevitable. I accepted it. That's life.'

Otherwise, the 1950s were a golden time. Gina Kennard told me: 'I remember lots of laughter, lots of old-fashioned gaiety. Country weekends. Shooting  we used to pot at rabbits. Shoot suppers. Hunt balls. Proper house parties, with tennis and croquet and dancing.

'They are both wonderful dancers. You should have seen Philip's samba! And games. Sardines. Hunt the Thimble. So much fun.'

And more fancy dress parties, too. At the American ambassador's ball, for instance, Philip went as a waiter and Elizabeth as a maid.

One of the witnesses to their early married life was John Gibson, a 'nursery footman' who regarded them as a 'quite normal' couple.

'When they were on their own, it was a very simple life,' he told me. 'They were waited on hand and foot obviously, but they sat at the table and they had a natter about what was going on in the day.' Much of the domestic conversation related to home-making, as they were then still living at Buckingham Palace with the King and Queen during the week.

'They couldn't wait to get into their new home at Clarence House  they talked about it all the time. 'I think Grandma is giving me a nice sideboard. I'm sure she is.' Grandma was Queen Mary, of course.'

When they were up at Birkhall in Scotland, the couple would drive over to Balmoral with the staff piled into the back of the shooting-brake. 'He'd drive like mad over the country roads,' according to John Gibson. ' 'Philip, Philip, slow down for God's sake, slow down, you're killing all the rabbits,' she said. 'What's the matter with you?' '

As the King's condition worsened in 1951, Elizabeth and Philip began undertaking more public duties, including a tour of Canada. It wasn't all plain sailing.

Philip, hoping to be humorous, produced the first in a long line of so-called gaffes by referring to Canada as 'a good investment'. Worse still, perhaps, there were rumours that, at breakfast one morning on the Governor-General's train, the Duke had called the Princess 'a bloody fool'.

I asked Martin Charteris if this was true. 'He might have done,' said Charteris, smiling, 'He had a naval turn of phrase.

'He was impatient. He was frustrated. You must remember he'd just turned 30 and he was obliged to give up a promising career in the Navy to do  what?

'He hadn't yet defined his role, found his feet as consort. He was certainly very impatient with the old-style courtiers and sometimes, I think, felt that the Princess paid more attention to them than to him.

'He didn't like that. If he called her 'a bloody fool' now and again, it was just his way. I think others would have found it more shocking than she did.

'Although she was very young, she had a wise head on her shoulders. She has always understood him  and his ways. I think the Queen [appreciated] his sense of humour, and [valued] it.'

Indeed, on that long train ride across Canada, Philip did his best to entertain his wife with a range of practical jokes.

These included surprising her with a booby-trapped can of nuts and chasing her down the corridor, wearing a set of joke false teeth.

T hen, at some time in the early hours of Wednesday, February 6, 1952, King George died in his sleep of a coronary thrombosis, and the fun and games stopped.

I asked Philip if he'd known what to expect.

'No,' he said, laughing a little bleakly. 'There were plenty of people telling me what not to do. 'You mustn't interfere with this.' 'Keep out.'

'I had to try to support the Queen as best I could without getting in the way. The difficulty was to find things that might be useful. I had to avoid getting at cross-purposes, usurping others' authority.'

He did his best, and the Queen felt properly supported. But in one particularly sensitive matter, she ignored his wishes and instead took the advice of her private secretary and the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

Henceforward, she decided, her children would bear her family name (Windsor) rather than Philip's (Mountbatten). He was incandescent. 'I am nothing but a bloody amoeba,' he protested. 'I am the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his own children.'

Patricia Mountbatten told me: 'It hurt him, it really hurt him. He'd given up everything  and now this  the final insult. It was a terrible blow.

'It upset him very deeply and left him feeling unsettled and unhappy for a long while.'

Mike Parker agreed: 'Philip was spitting,' he said.

On top of that Philip was deeply unhappy at having to move from Clarence House to Buckingham Palace  where he was treated as something of an extraneous nuisance by the Court.

It's hard not to feel sympathy for him. After all, in most households in Britain in the early 1950s, the husband and father was the head of the household, the breadwinner who ruled the roost.

'It was bloody difficult for him,' said Mike Parker. 'In the Navy, he was in command of his own ship  literally. At Clarence House, it was very much his show. When we got to Buckingham Palace, all that changed.'

Parker told me that Philip 'understood, sort of' that Elizabeth was required to exclude her husband from affairs of state; in return, he was left 'in charge of the home-front'. Elizabeth wore the crown, but Philip wore the trousers.

The Queen, it seems, was anxious to allow her husband the man's traditional authority in their domestic and private life. This meant bowing to his wishes when it came to choosing schools for their children, and positively encouraging him to take on the management of the royal estates.

'She was head of state,' said Mike Parker, 'but he was head honcho.'

Even in private, though, Philip never complained about being excluded from much of the Queen's work  such as meeting the Prime Minister once a week.

'When the Queen became Queen, I tried to find useful things to do,' he told me. 'I did my best. I introduced a Footman Training Programme.

'The old boys here [at Buckingham Palace] hadn't had anything quite like it before. They expected the footmen just to keep on coming. I tried to make improvements, without unhinging things . . . I did my own thing.'

But when I suggested that Philip was an instinctive moderniser, he interrupted me: 'No, no, not for the sake of modernising, not for the sake of buggering about with things in some sort of Blairite way. Far from it.'

Doing his own thing, it turned out, included writing books, fund-raising, giving speeches and launching many new organisations, including the massively successful Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme  which has now spread to more than 100 other countries.

Inevitably, since the accession, Elizabeth and Philip had  to an extent  led separate, parallel lives. Frequently, they overlapped: often, they did not.

In the end, their marriage turned out not to be a fairy-tale, but an outstanding partnership.

True, they had different attributes and different interests. Philip was more adventurous, more assertive, and more intellectual than his wife. She was more placid, more cautious, more conventional, less changeable in mood.

Yet they understood one another  and they got on so well. They were good companions: the chattering never stopped  listening to one another, laughing repeatedly  and nor did the love. Both Lord Buxton and Lord Brabourne had stories to tell of Philip holding his wife's hand or gently stroking her hair.

He'd often join the Queen at the end of a day and say: 'Lovely to see you.' Then he'd watch her face light up with happiness.

PHILIP: THE FINAL PORTRAIT by Gyles Brandreth will be published by Coronet at 25 on April 27.

 2021 Gyles Brandreth. To order a copy for 22 go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3308 9193. Delivery charges may apply. Free UK delivery on orders over 20. Promotional price valid until 24/04/2021.

Prince Philip's commitment to the Commonwealth: Queen shares heartwarming pictures as she celebrates Duke's connection with people 'from every walk of life' as he travelled to 70% of the world's countries

By Mark Duell for MailOnline

The Royal Family today paid tribute to Prince Philip's work abroad, releasing a series of photographs showcasing his work around the Commonwealth as they revealed he had visited 70 per cent of the world's countries.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last Friday at Windsor Castle aged 99, made 229 visits to 67 Commonwealth countries on solo visits without The Queen over a 67-year period between 1949 and 2016.

Philip, who completed a total of 22,219 solo engagements and thousands more at the side of his wife, became the Queen's consort when she acceded to the throne in 1952 and completed his last public event in August 2017.

Today, the @RoyalFamily Twitter account released 12 photos of Philip showcasing his work, with the first post saying: 'The Duke of Edinburgh was committed to the Commonwealth, meeting people from every walk of life.

'Since 1949, HRH visited 70 per cent of the world's countries; visited 50 Commonwealth countries; made 229 solo visits, often to the most remote parts of the Commonwealth.'

February 1977: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, both wearing Maori Kahu-Kiwi (Kiwi feather cloaks) at Rugby Park in Gisborne, on the North Island of New Zealand when they attended the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival

December 2003: The Duke of Edinburgh tours the Commonwealth People's Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, on the opening day of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting

October 1997: The Duke of Edinburgh tries his hand at teaching English to Chitrali children at the Aga Khan School in Bilphok, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan

Undated: Prince Philip was a keen supporter of young people and is pictured here meeting Scouts in an unknown country

This post was accompanied by a photo from February 1977 of Philip with the Queen both wearing Kiwi feather cloaks at Rugby Park in Gisborne, when they attended the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival.

Another image showed the Duke of Edinburgh smiling as he toured the Commonwealth People's Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2003; while a third showed him meeting Scouts in an undisclosed country.

The fourth image, taken in October 1997, showed the Duke trying his hand at teaching English to Chitrali children at the Aga Khan School at Bilphok in Pakistan in what was then known as the North West Frontier Province.

A second post on the @RoyalFamily account stated: 'The Duke had a number of Commonwealth appointments over the course of his life, including with @thecgf (Commonwealth Sport), @THE_RASC (The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth) and the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.

'HRH also had military affiliations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago.'

This was accompanied by a further four photographs, including one of the Queen with Philip at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Baton relay launch ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October 2013.

Another showed Prince Philip meeting medal-winning athletes at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in September 1982, while a third showed him at the International Fleet Review in Halifax, Canada, in 2010.

The final Twitter post today from @RoyalFamily stated: 'In 1956, HRH founded The Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conferences, bringing together emerging Commonwealth leaders.

October 2013: Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attend the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Baton relay launch ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London

September 1982: Prince Philip meets medal-winning athletes at what is thought to be the Brisbane Commonwealth Games

Undated: The Queen and Prince Philip meet servicemen at an unknown event also highlighted in the series of pictures

June 2010: Prince Philip in front of HMCS St John's after the International Fleet Review in Halifax, Canada

'The @CommonPurpose conferences have continued to this day, and over 10,000 people having participated in The Duke of Edinburgh's leadership programs.'

Three pictures accompanying this post showed him at Australian National University in Canberra in May 1968, in Canada in May 1980 and at a Buckingham Palace reception for Commonwealth leaders in April 2014.

A fourth Twitter post added: 'The Duke of Edinburgh held Patronage appointments in 12 different Commonwealth countries, including: @BNTBahamas, @Ngr_Brit_Asso, @SLSAustralia and @OutwardBoundCan.'

A similar Instagram post was also published by @theroyalfamily account today, which featured all the pictures on Twitter plus two more - including one of Philip during a walkabout in Melbourne in October 2011.

It comes as hundreds of politicians and peers shared personal tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh as his grandsons hailed him as an 'extraordinary man' and a 'legend of banter'.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex recalled their grandfather as an individual 'authentically himself' filled with warmth and wit and devoted to the monarch, as they joined the nation in honouring his memory.

May 1968: Prince Philip at Australian National University in Canberra opening the Sixth Commonwealth Study Conference

May 1980: The Duke of Edinburgh stands with Commonwealth Study Conference participants in Canada

April 2014: The CSCLeaders conference, a programme for Commonwealth leaders, has a reception at Buckingham Palace

On a day of eulogies for Philip yesterday, hours of tributes were also heard in the Parliaments of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff - including by more than 100 MPs in the House of Commons.

William and Harry released separate statements to pay tribute to Philip, with the older brother pledging to uphold his grandfather's wishes and continue, along with wife Kate, to support the Queen and 'get on with the job'.

Reflecting on how his grandfather's 'century of life was defined by service', William added: 'I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life - both through good times and the hardest days.'

He added: 'My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation. Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.'

Harry, who is quarantining ahead of Saturday's funeral at his former home of Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, released a more informal statement, describing the duke as 'my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right till the end'.

He said: 'My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm - and also because you never knew what he might say next.'

October 2011: The Duke of Edinburgh is given flowers for Queen Elizabeth II during a walkabout in Melbourne, Australia

A second further image released on Instagram showcasing how Prince Philip was 'committed' to the Commonwealth

Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the tributes in the Commons, saying Philip 'touched the lives of millions'.

'It is fitting that on Saturday his Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will be conveyed to his final resting place in a Land Rover which Prince Philip designed himself, with a long wheel base and capacious rear cabin,' he said.

'Because that vehicle's unique and idiosyncratic silhouette reminds the world that he was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional - whether a machine or, indeed, a great national institution - and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th and 21st century.'

Other politicians described Philip as a 'role model', and said his 'greatest memorial' was his 73-year marriage to the Queen.

Over the weekend, Philip's four children spoke movingly about the loss of their father and how the Queen was being very 'stoic' after losing her husband of 73 years who died peacefully on Friday.
Hundreds of politicians and peers shared personal tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh as his grandsons hailed him as an extraordinary man and a legend of banter.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex recalled their grandfather as an individual authentically himself filled with warmth and wit and devoted to the monarch, as they joined the nation in honouring his memory.

On a day of eulogies for Philip, hours of tributes were also heard in the Parliaments of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff  including by more than 100 MPs in the House of Commons.

William and Harry released separate statements to pay tribute to Philip, with the older brother pledging to uphold his grandfathers wishes and continue, along with wife Kate, to support the Queen and get on with the job.

Reflecting on how his grandfathers century of life was defined by service, William added: I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life  both through good times and the hardest days.

He added: My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation. Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.

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Harry, who is quarantining ahead of Saturdays funeral at his former home of Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, released a more informal statement, describing the duke as my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right till the end.

He said: My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm  and also because you never knew what he might say next.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the tributes in the Commons, saying Philip touched the lives of millions.

It is fitting that on Saturday his Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will be conveyed to his final resting place in a Land Rover which Prince Philip designed himself, with a long wheel base and capacious rear cabin, he said.

Because that vehicles unique and idiosyncratic silhouette reminds the world that he was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional  whether a machine or, indeed, a great national institution  and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th and 21st century.

(PA Graphics)

Other politicians described Philip as a role model, and said his greatest memorial was his 73-year marriage to the Queen.

Conservative former Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers reflected on the part the duke and the Queen played in reconciliation in Northern Ireland, adding: I believe they played a personal role in helping take Northern Ireland forward from its divided past to a better future and for that we should all express our sincere gratitude to the man whose loss we are sadly mourning today.

Senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, speaking after Green MP Caroline Lucas, told the Commons: Weve just heard yet another remarkable tribute to His Royal Highness, dare I say the woke paying tribute to the unwoke.

It underlines how His Royal Highness was the most amazing unifying figure, and perhaps those of us in this House and outside should take a lesson from this occasion about what can bring us together.

Floral tributes at the gates of Sandringham House in Norfolk (Joe Giddens/PA)

In the Lords, former childrens television presenter Baroness Benjamin said: It is beyond doubt that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has taken his place in the ranks of great and outstanding individuals who have made a great and gigantic contribution to Britain and the Commonwealth.

His dedication to duty has and always will be inspirational to millions across the world.

Over the weekend, Philips four children spoke movingly about the loss of their father and how the Queen was being very stoic after losing her husband of 73 years who died peacefully on Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 17:12:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to speed up the development of the modern vocational education system and cultivate more high-quality technical professionals.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction on improving the country's vocational education.

Vocational education has a promising future and great potential as China journeys toward socialist modernization, Xi said.

Xi stressed the need to reform training and schooling modes as well as management and support mechanisms related to vocational education.

He called for promoting bachelor-level vocational education and bringing about a number of quality vocational education institutions and programs.

Party committees and government departments at various levels are urged to further innovate relevant institutions and enhance policy support and investment to see that fine workmanship is promoted and that the social status of technical professionals improves.

In doing so, strong talent and skill support can be provided for the building of a modern socialist China and the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

The building of the high-level technical professional training system should focus on the country's modernization drive and high-quality development, Premier Li Keqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in another instruction on vocational education.

Aiming at the forefront of technological change and industrial upgrading, more efforts are needed to promote integration between industry and education and cooperation between schools and enterprises, and attract more young people to receive vocational education, Li said.

A national conference on vocational education was held in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday, during which the instructions of Xi and Li were delivered.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference. She called for an integrated vocational education system covering different levels, better treatment and promotion opportunities for skilled professionals. Enditem
As the nations population ages, the need for more care workers and safer, more affordable care options is urgent.

To address the growing demand, President Biden has earmarked $400 billion of his $2 trillion jobs plan to expand access to quality, affordable home or community-based care for aging and disabled Americans.

Even before COVID-19, our country was in the midst of a care-giving crisis, notes a Biden administration fact sheet on the plan. These investments will help hundreds of thousands of Americans finally obtain the long-term services and support they need, while creating new jobs and offering care-giving workers a long-overdue raise, stronger benefits, and an opportunity to organize or join a union and collectively bargain.

Specifically, President Bidens plan would expand access to long-term, home-based care services under Medicaid, in addition to providing a $5,000 tax credit for family caregivers.

This will allow millions of people who need care to stay in their homes and avoid unnecessary placements in nursing homes  over 70% of which are for-profit and owned by private investors.

New analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that between 2004 and 2016, private equity ownership of nursing homes increased the mortality rate of residents by 10% compared to those living in homes with other ownership structures, suggesting that more than 20,000 people died as a consequence of living in nursing homes run by private equity firms during this period.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the risks of the for-profit model for vulnerable nursing home residents and employees.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that throughout the pandemic, for-profit nursing homes had lower supplies of personal protective equipment for their workers when compared to other types of nursing homes.

In New Jersey, the state with the highest nursing home death rates during the pandemic, for-profit nursing homes had infection rates 24.5% higher than the statewide nursing home average and death rates more than 10.2% higher.

The Biden plan will also improve care options by improving the working conditions for home care workers, who earn on average just under $17,000 a year. One in six live below the poverty line. Among all U.S. home care workers, over 90% are women, more than half are women of color, and 31% are immigrants.

The Biden administrations infrastructure plan would finally cement long overdue protections for this essential workforce, including awarding care workers the ability to raise wages and gain stronger benefits through collective bargaining.

When working conditions improve for the nations caregivers, we all benefit. A UMass Boston study found that increasing wages for direct care workers will greatly enhance workers financial security, improve productivity, and increase the quality of care. A similar study found that increased pay for care workers prevented deaths, reduced the number of health violations, and lowered the cost of preventative care.

These necessary measures are a step forward in undoing unjust racial and gender discrimination in the workforce, while also solidifying a strong care economy for the future.

This will have a great impact in our lives and for the next generation of caregivers to come, said a California-based Filipina home care worker who identified herself as Teresita in a Twitter video. It allows us to support our families and give us the dignity and respect that will inspire us to work hard to deliver quality care.

Rebekah Entralgo is the managing editor of Inequality.org at the Institute for Policy Studies. This commentary was produced by Inequality.org and distributed by OtherWords.org.
Two of four finalists for superintendent of Pittsfield Public Schools  Portia Bonner, bottom left, and Joseph Curtis, not shown  fielded questions from the School Committee on Monday evening, in the first of two live sessions before leaders decide in whose hands to place the districts reins.
MIAMI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ibanera, a licensed global fintech service provider, today announced a partnership with CipherTrace, a leading cryptocurrency intelligence company, to enhance Ibanera's cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Transaction (KYT) compliance solution.

Ibanera's global platform gives customers secure next-generation Digital Asset banking technology that provides for virtual currency and stablecoin transactions including USD Coin (USDC). This new collaboration with CipherTrace strengthens the security and integrity of Ibanera's comprehensive suite of cryptocurrency KYT tools and services.

The automated CipherTrace Cryptocurrency AML platform gives a broad, high-resolution view of the cryptocurrency transaction landscape, and uses this to provide actionable intelligence for AML investigation and compliance. It integrates both open- and closed-source intelligence, and leverages proprietary clustering algorithms to rapidly aggregate and correlate a variety of indicators, and then provides users with actionable attribution.

"We are pleased to support Ibanera with the tools they need to effectively measure, monitor and manage crypto-related risks," said David Jevans, Chief Executive Officer of CipherTrace. "Our solution helps digital payment platforms and financial institutions achieve compliance so we can make the growing cryptocurrency industry safer for everyone."

"Ibanera is dedicated to providing the necessary tools and protections to support our customers navigating today's fast-evolving regulatory environment," said Nizam Ismail, Global Head of Legal and Compliance of Ibanera. "The addition of CipherTrace's risk threat detection tools to Ibanera's AML program further supports our commitment to digital asset AML compliance."

About Ibanera

Ibanera is a global fintech firm regulated in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Singapore. As an innovative financial services platform, Ibanera provides organizations, businesses, and individuals a seamless, secure, and user-friendly banking experience in the modern digital and global environment. For more information, visit ibanera.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About CipherTrace

CipherTrace, the leading cryptocurrency intelligence company, bridges virtual currencies and financial services together with fraud protection, anti-money laundering, and financial crime prevention. CipherTrace derives superior cryptocurrency intelligence from analyzing massive amounts of validated blockchain transaction attribution. CipherTrace founders are dedicated to protecting consumer privacy and growing the blockchain economy while defending against illicit finance. Deep expertise in cybersecurity, eCrime, payments, banking, encryption, and virtual currencies form the foundation for CipherTrace's commercial offerings. For more information, visit CipherTrace.com, subscribe to the CipherTrace Newsletters, and follow us on Twitter @CipherTrace.

SOURCE Ibanera
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- College Promise, a nonpartisan initiative to promote accessible, affordable, and attainable quality post-secondary education in the U.S., is galvanizing a diverse coalition of national organizations committed to bolstering college and career outcomes for youth and adults.

Since September 2015, the College Promise movement has expanded to over 360 local and statewide Promise programs across the country, all delivering tuition-free college opportunities and increasing wraparound services for our nation's students. "College Promise is committed to build on this progress, led by America's community colleges, to expand the movement, engaging thousands more college, business, and nonprofit partners working together. We want to realize this shared vision of the talent pipeline that will drive our nation's future," said Martha Kanter, CEO of College Promise.

Today, College Promise released a joint commitment statement in support of making college more universal and accessible for all in order to strengthen the American economy by unleashing a talent pipeline for the 21st century that is far better skilled and inclusive than ever before:

"We believe the best way to increase our nation's college access and attainment goals and, at the same time, eliminate inequities and achievement gaps across America is to galvanize a nationwide movement in support of making college as universal, accessible, and affordable as high school has been in the U.S. for more than a century...If America is to remain competitive in the global marketplace, pathways to economic and social mobility are critical to a fulsome national recovery. America must take bold steps to bolster its position in the world. The pace of change in the knowledge economy affecting the American workforce makes a high school education no longer enough to build the knowledge and skills required for long-term career success now or in the future. One hundred years ago, we made high school education universally accessible. Today, we must position our country to meet the demands of a new era by making a College Promise for All."

Signatories of the commitment statement include:

National League of Cities (NLC), State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), Jobs for the Future (JFF), Achieving the Dream (ATD), Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), ECMC Foundation, Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholars (APIA), American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Excelencia in Education, The League for Innovation in the Community College, Complete College America, Avalos Foundation, The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, NAF, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), Educational Testing Service (ETS), Lumina Foundation, EdX, National Association of System Heads (NASH), America's Promise Alliance, Scholarship America, Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities, tnAchieves, Washington Student Achievement Council, Civic Nation, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP), Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management Education (ISKME), Columbia University Teachers College Community College Research Center, MENTOR, Code of Support, Ascendium and California Community Colleges.

"The vast majority of new job openings require postsecondary credentials, yet earning a college degree is simply unattainable for far too many Americans. Over the last 30 years, college costs have doubled in the U.S. and student debt has tripled," said Rosye Blancas Cloud of College Promise. "This disproportionately impacts low-income students, who make up only 12% of those earning a degree by the age of 25."

The joint statement represents the signatories' commitment to work together in taking transformational steps forward to increase College Promise opportunities for every American, thereby reducing - or eliminating altogether - the inequities and declines in college and career access and success that have long impeded our nation's economic and social prosperity.

Read the full statement and sign up your organization by clicking HERE.

About College Promise

College Promise is a national, nonpartisan initiative to build broad public support for accessible, affordable, quality College Promise programs across the United States. Through partnerships with community colleges, universities, and leaders from across the nation's education, business, government, nonprofit, labor, and philanthropy sectors, College Promise supports communities and states to enact proven solutions that enable hardworking students to complete their college degrees or certificates, aligning no-cost tuition strategies with meaningful student supports. www.collegepromise.org

Media Contact: Alexis Masino (267) 505-9610 | [email protected]

SOURCE College Promise

Related Links

http://www.collegepromise.org


The Bui Power Authority (BPA) has switched 22.25 megawatts (MW) of solar power onto the national grid.



Engineers at the BPA, after getting the green light from the power transmitter, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), successfully turned on the switches at exactly 1.45 p.m. last Friday for its 127 inverters, which store power harvested from the sun through solar photovoltaic panels, to feed the national grid.



So far, the only renewable power on the national grid is from hydro (water). This is the first time we are harnessing power from the sun and putting it onto the energy grid to be used everywhere, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BPA) Mr Fred Oware, told the Daily Graphic.



The switch was done under GRIDCos guidance, which examined the facilities and gave the green light for the switching to be done.



The generator and the power transmitter would use the first phase to study the output and make adjustments before the rest of the 50MW would be added to the national grid, Mr Oware explained.



The BPA, with its generation assets in the middle belt, last month completed the construction of a 50MW solar system, Ghanas largest solar farm and first phase of a 250MW project expected to be completed by the end of next year.



The solar project is being constructed in phases of 50MW.



Strategic



Although the use of solar energy in the country picked up some time in the 2000s when the German government supported the Energy Commission to promote the household use of solar power installed on rooftops, this is the first time solar is entering the grid for national use, a feat which is also the first in West Africa and about the third in Africa.



The achievement by the BPA is also significant in many ways.



First, between February and July, water levels in the countrys hydroelectric reservoirs  Akosombo, Kpong and Bui  are generally low, but there is plenty of sunshine.



When water levels go down in the midst of plenty sunshine, it makes a lot of sense to harvest the sun. So this very significant step will compensate for less energy from hydro sources and help stabilise the national grid, Mr Oware pointed out.



Again, apart from the BPA, almost all the countrys non-hydro power generation assets are centred in the south, between the coast of Tema and Takoradi, and transmitting power over a long distance to the northern part of the country results in some system losses.



Mr Oware said the construction of solar systems to increase generation at the Bui enclave in the Banda District in the Bono Region was in the interest of the entire national grid, as it would have access to more power generated in the middle belt for distribution around and to the northern part of the country.



Future



Aside from the 250MW project centred at Bui alone, which started in 2017 under a Bui Hydro-Solar Hybrid (HSH) scheme, the CEO of the BPA said there were plans to develop other solar plants in the northern part of the country, with six sites already identified.



They included Bawku, Yendi, Zebila and Tumu, he said, adding that plans were far advanced to start the Yendi project.



The BPA, which set out to implement the turnkey hydro dam project, the Bui Hydro Power, in May 2007, was given the mandate to develop solar energy as part of the generation mix.



The hydro-solar project is to augment the target to have 10 per cent renewable energy, which translates to about 5,000MW, in the national grid by 2030.



This will include new projects, besides the traditional hydro power sources the country already has.



Mr Oware was of the belief that the move by the BPA for solar energy from now onwards would contribute significantly to achieve the 10 per cent target.



Background



The countrys first large-scale solar farm was the 2.5MW Navrongo Solar Power Plant in the Upper East Region.



There is also a 20MW solar farm by BMC near Winneba.



Additionally, there is the 17MW solar plant in the Nadowli Kaleo District in the Upper West Region.



It is made up of the 13MW Kaleo solar power plant and the 4MW Lawra solar plant.



Although the power will be evacuated by GRIDCo onto the national grid, it will be localised for parts of the Upper East Region.

Source: graphiconline.com









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Guillermo Lasso, presidential candidate of Creating Opportunities party, CREO, speaks to supporters after a presidential runoff election at his campaign headquarters in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 11, 2021. (Angel Dejesus/AP Photo)

Ecuador Picks Conservative for President; Peru Sets Runoff

QUITO, EcuadorEcuador will be led for the next four years by a conservative businessman after voters rebuffed a left-leaning movement started by former President Rafael Correa more than a decade ago. That election certainty, however, did not extend to neighboring Peru, where the presidential contest is headed to a runoff after none of the 18 candidates obtained more than 50 percent of the votes.

The South American nations held elections Sunday under strict public health measures amid a surging coronavirus pandemic that has brought on new lockdowns and exacerbated a general sense of fatigue. Peru, which also elected a new Congress, reported its highest single-day COVID-19 death count just as voters headed to the polls.

The victory of former banker Guillermo Lasso in Ecuador came after less than half of a percentage point put him ahead of another candidate and allowed him to claim a spot in Sundays runoff. The result breaks off the countrys years under the so-called Correismo, a movement labeled after Correa who governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017, grew increasingly authoritarian in the latter years of his presidency and was sentenced to prison last year in a corruption scandal.

Correas protege, Andres Arauz, easily advanced to the contest to replace President Lenin Moreno, who chose not to seek re-election. Moreno was also an ally of Correa but turned against him while in office. In the runoff, Lasso benefited from the discontent toward Correa and his allies, but he will have to face a strong Correista bloc in congress.

The first action will be to put the economy in order, promote investment and generate employment so that all Ecuadorians do not emigrate, stay in Ecuador and achieve the dreams they want for their families here, Lasso said at a press conference Monday.

He said his immigration policy is twofold, defending Ecuadorians abroad but at the same time, also acting humanely with Venezuelans who have arrived in Ecuador.  We cannot be so inconsistent in asking for a good treatment for Ecuadorians living abroad and mistreating foreigners living in Ecuador; we have to be coherent and will seek to work with the United Nations.

Guillermo Lasso, presidential candidate of Creating Opportunities party, CREO, celebrates after a presidential runoff election at his campaign headquarters in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 11, 2021. (Angel Dejesus/AP Photo)

Ecuador is among the countries that have seen an influx of Venezuelan migrants who have left their troubled nation in search of better opportunities.

Asked about his future international policy, Lasso said he will promote the broadest multilateralism as a democrat with a project that seeks the well-being of the Ecuadorian people.

That definition of the left and right is a reductionism in disuse at the present time, he said.

Elections officials have not officially declared a winner, but Arauz conceded the election Sunday and at least one head of state has congratulated Lasso on the outcome.

Andres Arauz, presidential candidate of the Alianza Union por la Esperanza, UNES, party speaks to supporters gathered at his campaign headquarters in Quito, Ecuador, after the closing of the polls for a runoff presidential election, on April 11, 2021. (Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)

The pandemic paralyzed 70 percent of businesses in Ecuador last year and brought the countrys unemployment rate to almost 68 percent. The country already had been in an economic slowdown that began in 2015, largely driven by the drop in oil prices.

Similarly, in Peru, the worlds second largest copper producer, the economy spiraled downward when a lockdown of more than 100 days early in the pandemic left about 7 million people unemployed. But unlike in Ecuador, Sundays elections did not bring any clarity about the countrys future.

None of the eighteen presidential hopefuls obtained the more than 50 percent of support needed to avoid a June 6 runoff.

Elections officials on Monday said leftist Pedro Castillo had 18.9 percent of support, with 90 percent of ballots processed. He was followed by opposition leader Keiko Fujimori at 13.2 percent, right-wing economist Hernando de Soto with 11.86 percent and conservative businessman Rafael Lopez Aliaga at 11.83 percent.

The crowded presidential contest came months after the countrys political chaos reached a new level in November, when three men were president in a single week after one was impeached by Congress over corruption allegations and protests forced his successor to resign in favor of the third.

All former Peruvian presidents who governed since 1985 have been ensnared in corruption allegation, some imprisoned or arrested in their mansions. One died by suicide before police could arrest him.

Castillo, a rural teacher, has proposed rewriting Perus constitution and deporting all migrants living in the country illegally, a moved aimed at the wave of Venezuelans who have sought refuge from their home countrys crisis. He also wants to nationalize the mining, oil and energy fields.

Fujimori is the daughter of the polarizing former President Alberto Fujimori. He is serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and the killings of 25 people. She has promised to free her father should she win.

Claudia Navas, a political, social and security risk analyst with the global firm Control Risks, said Peruvians overall do not trust politicians, with corruption being a key driver of the disillusionment toward the political system. She said the new congress will likely continue to exercise its impeachment authority to reinforce its own influence and block any initiative that threatens its own power.

Regardless of who wins, we believe that the president is somewhat unlikely to complete his or her term in office because of the of the populist-type of stance of the Congress and the risk of political instability is likely to persist through the administration, Navas said.

By Regina Garcia Cano and Gonzalo Solano
Social media giant, Twitter Inc. on April 12 announced that it will open its first African office in Ghana as the company seeks to dive into some of the worlds fastest-developing markets. Kayvon Beykpour, Twitters head of product in a statement on Monday announced the companys future plans and expansion of business in Africa and called the effort an exciting part of the tech giants growth strategy. He also said the move is to make people feel more comfortable across the globe participate in public conversation.

The statement said, Today, in line with our growth strategy, were excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.

The company is also planning to hire its first product and engineering team in Africa and Beykpour invited aspirants to work with the social media giant. He said, We are looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Twitter cited Ghanas support for free speech and online freedom to support its selection as the companys first office in the continent.

Apart from that, the Twitter product lead also said, Ghanas recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.

 Twitter is now present on the continent.



Thank you Ghana and @NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana https://t.co/tt7KR3kvDg  jack (@jack) April 12, 2021

 Im delighted to announce that Twitter is starting to build a product development team in Ghana   https://t.co/lUV4HJdfu2  Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) April 12, 2021

Ghanian President calls it excellent news

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday hailed Twitters new venture as excellent news. In a statement on Twitter, the Ghanian President said that the people and the government welcomes the social media giant and noted, These are exciting times to be in, and to do business in Ghana.

The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country, Nana Akufo-Addo wrote on Twitter.

As I indicated to @Jack in our virtual meeting of 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the devt of Ghanas hugely important tech sector. 2/3#TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana  Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021

Image credits: Unsplash
(Newser)  The 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is this September, and President Biden has decided US troops will be out of Afghanistan by then. Biden plans to make the announcement Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. President George W. Bush launched the invasion after the 9/11 attacks, and President Trump signed a deal with the Taliban last year calling for the US to be out by this May 1. About 3,500 American troops remain in Afghanistan, some of whom are on brief deployments, and the latest plan calls for all to be gradually pulled out between now and September. Other countries have about 7,000 coalition troops there, mostly NATO forces. The administration has been reviewing the nation's Afghanistan policy for the past three months, per NBC, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went to Kabul last month for talks about the withdrawal.

story continues below

"This is the immediate, practical reality that our policy review discovered," a US official said. "If we break the May 1 deadline negotiated by the previous administration with no clear plan to exit, we will be back at war with the Taliban." In addition, Afghanistan has slipped on the list of priorities as other nations have become more aggressive toward the US. While stressing that the administration remains committed to helping its government, the official said, "Afghanistan just does not rise to the level of those other threats at this point." One official said the national security threat involving Afghanistan can be handled "without a persistent military footprint" and "without being at war with the Taliban." Humanitarian aid will continue, as will aid to Afghanistan's security forces. A US military presence will remain, to deal with terrorism threats and ensure the Taliban keeps its agreements. (Read more Afghanistan exit strategy stories.)
CARLINVILLE  Blackburn Colleges five-year-old Bee Program is expanding the number of active hives to 20, caring for a little under a million pollinators.

Led by Biology Department Chair Dr. James Bray and local bee expert Arvin Pierce, the Blackburn Bee Program began in 2016 when the college was forced to remove a natural beehive from a tree near Lumpkin Student Success Center. The Illinois Native Plant Society connected Blackburn with Pierce to safely transfer the hive into a bee box instead of exterminating it.

As of today, the program has 13 active hives on campus and maintains two more at Solomon Creek Farm, a private nature preserve in Illinois.

Hives are not the only thing the college seeks to expand within the Bee Program though. Since the beginning of the program, there have been two student beekeeping positions mentored by Pierce. However, they plan to have more students involved with the Bee Program through Blackburns unique student-led work program.

Caleb Rieger, a senior environmental biology major, and Dade Bradley, a sophomore environmental biology major, have been involved in the program since their respective freshman years at Blackburn. Both student workers have been active beekeepers for hives on campus and at Solomon Creek, responsible for cleaning and maintenance. They have also worked on capturing swarms, splitting hives, practicing queen rearing, data collection and analysis, and harvesting honey.

In the fall, they prepare the hives for winter by relocating bees and insulating the hives. Beekeeping has become more than an on-campus job to them - both Rieger and Bradley are now certified beekeepers and have their own personal hives.

Preventing harm to the bees is a top priority for the Bee Program, so the hives are relatively treatment-free. No chemicals are used in the hives because this could negatively impact the bees and larvaes lives, which overall, weakens the hive. In addition to being treatment-free, the collection of honey from hives is done with the bees survival as the main goal.

The hives are estimated to produce over 400 pounds of honey each year, however, only 200 pounds were collected this past year to ensure that the bees had enough food to survive winter.

Both Bradley and Rieger explained that selling honey is not their main objective. Being a financially sustainable program has its benefits, but they are more focused on the educational side of beekeeping. Blackburn wants to be regionally known as the beekeeping resource point.

Their first step is educating people on campus about the bee program. Plans are being made to set up an observation hive in a glass case in the Olin Science Building where visitors, students, and potentially new workers could see how a hive works without having to be near an active one.

For more information on beekeeping, visit Pierces website at https://www.acbees.org/ or on YouTube at Arvin Pierce.

Attached: Photo 1: Blackburn College Bee Program Pollinator Project Sign

Photo 2: Blackburn College Students with Care for Bees - Caleb Rieger (left), Dade Bradley (right)

Photo 3: Blackburn College Students with Repair Hives - Dade Bradley (left), Caleb Rieger (right)

2 - Blackburn College Bee Program - Dade Bradley (right) and Caleb Rieger (left)
Sanjay Kaul, Chairman, Impact Group of Companies, has launched a new startup - Last Mile Channel Enhancement (LMCE) - a tech-enabled b-2-b aggregator for brands keen to foray into the rural market.

Last Mile Channel Enhancement (LMCE), as the name suggests, solves the last mile challenges for the brands. The company has been built on three core fundamentals - Where to Play, How to Play and Digital Disruption across the value chain.

The other LMCE founding members include: Sankalp Potbhare - Principal Advisor & Board Member; Sanjay Panigrahi, Key Advisor Strategy & Growth; Pradeep Kaul, Director, and Nikhil Kaul  COO.

LMCE has also developed an in-house mobile application, Xpand, to serve its clients better. The self-learning app analyses, predicts & recommends to brands, distributors and local kirana stores based on the data collected from 2.5 lakh rural stores. It will help key stakeholders in the rural ecosystem plan their annual sales, marketing and distribution strategy. The user interface has been purposefully designed keeping the rural audiences in mind.

Sanjay Kaul has been instrumental in driving growth for brands across rural India for last 25 years & envisions LMCE to be a major disruptor in this space thereby creating Indias largest platform for sales, distribution and market development.

Sankalp Potbhare was associated with The Kraft Heinz Co South as Chief Commercial Officer Asia South Asia and formerly as MD The Kraft Heinz Co South - Asia. With over 16 years of rich industry experience across brands such as  Pepsico & RB Potbhare has a strong understanding of markets such as India, China and South East Asia.

Sanjay Panigrahi has over three decades of experience in creating & building brands such as Pidilite, Amul, Srei- Sahaj, in the rural segment

Pradeep Kaul has over 25 years of rich experience in sales & distribution strategy development across multiple brands such as Perfetti Van Melle, Ferrero, Dabur & Cargill India.

Nikhil Kaul has been at Impact Communications for over last five years and has been driving its last mile vertical. He developed a strong GTM strategy for brands such as - Reckitt, Apollo Tyres, Tata Tiscon, Signify, and DS Group and will be driving the operations at LMCE. Nikhil has over 20 years of experience.

Together the team brings a cumulative experience of 100+ years in this domain.

Sanjay Kaul, Founder & CEO, LMCE, & Chairman, Impact Group, says, We have a huge opportunity at hand and tech, data, and prioritization remains the core offerings of LMCE. We are also glad that some of our key clients have shown their trust in our new venture and have been a part of the LMCE since the beginning. Our offerings will not be limited to sales & distribution but will also drive value and volume growth for our clients.

Sankalp Potbhare, says, Most companies recognize that the next big unlock of India's potential comes from Tier -3 towns and villages. They have been trying for years to take their brands to the deepest parts of India but the cost to serve and infrastructure has held them back. I am really proud and happy to share that now LMCE has created a highway on which brands can drive down to the town & village of their choice! This highway is powered by digital but also reinforced by physical presence. .

Sanjay Panigrahi says, Rural market is up for a new game. Basically three things - Rising incomes of consumers with aspirations, Continued increase in government spends year-after-year, and Vast improvement in infra be it digital, road conditions, or electrification. Having said that it is the scientific and intelligent marketing, business development and channel solutions backed by technology as the driver, with rigorous data mining, sharper planning and the most important, excellence in execution, this may be the Last Mile solution Brands might be looking for them to reach that ubiquitous Rural potential!

Pradeep Kaul says, Rural market has changed and evolved faster than most of marketers ever imagined. Increased media exposure, rising incomes, continuous government spending on infrastructure has fueled the aspirations of the rural populace. So, companies need to take a plunge now. At LMCE, we all are collaborating to curate a richer rural journey.

Nikhil Kaul says, Rural has bigger potential than anyones imagination in the boardroom. While it has been an engine driver for the countrys economic growth for years, I still believe that together we have only been able to scratch the tip of the iceberg. There is a huge untapped potential in the region, which is exponentially growing every year. With LMCE we endeavour to take companies to 1 million stores in the rural landscape by the end of 2022. We are in this to win rural not to flirt with it."
Tucker Carlson on Monday night touched the third rail by highlighting the Anti-Defamation League's hypocritical support for "replacement theory" when it comes to Israel.





After the ADL called on Fox News to fire Tucker Carlson after his segment last week on demographic change and political power in America, Tucker points out that the ADL made the same argument that he did when it came to Arabs in Israel. pic.twitter.com/vprhqLxm8H  Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 13, 2021



Watch the full historic segment:







Tucker Carlson is an absolute legend.



As I reported over the weekend, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt demanded that "Tucker must go" for discussing "replacement theory" in America.





.@TuckerCarlson: replacement theory is a white supremacist tenet that the white race is in danger by a rising tide of non-whites.



It is antisemitic, racist and toxic. It has informed the ideology of mass shooters in El Paso, Christchurch and Pittsburgh.



Tucker must go. https://t.co/FSvgNfR1KO  Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 9, 2021



Fox News remarkably rejected Greenblatt's demands.





Yesterday, @FoxNews' Lachlan Murdoch responded to my letter on @TuckerCarlson's embrace of white supremacist theories. Unfortunately, it missed the mark.

The message is simple: its a moral failure to not take action against this hate.

My letter explains: https://t.co/aoWiChS0i5 https://t.co/AF2qSxryfA  Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 12, 2021



Carlson fearlessly highlighted the ADL's guide for pro-Israel activists on their website where they tell followers to say that the idea of "bi-nationalism" in Israel "is unworkable given current realities and historic animosities" and amounts to "nothing less than an indirect attempt to bring about an end to the State of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people."



"With historically high birth rates among the Palestinians, and a possible influx of Palestinian refugees and their descendants now living around the world, Jews would quickly be a minority within a bi-national state, thus likely ending any semblance of equal representation and protections," the ADL says. "In this situation, the Jewish population would be increasingly politically  and potentially physically  vulnerable."



"It is unrealistic and unacceptable to expect the State of Israel to voluntarily subvert its own sovereign existence and nationalist identity and become a vulnerable minority within what was once its own territory."







Greenblatt made clear over the weekend that he's planning to go after all of Fox News' advertisers and even their upstream cable providers to demand they get Tucker Carlson off the air.





Thank you @BrianStelter and @CNN for inviting me on to discuss the white supremacist "replacement theory" and @TuckerCarlson's dangerous use of it. @FoxNews must take action. pic.twitter.com/0gl3eknbQW  Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) April 11, 2021



Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, Minds, Parler and Telegram.
In 2018, an oil spill in a South Glastonbury, CT home rendered the house unlivable. Attorney Peterson argued that the two subcontracted environmental testing companies were liable and had caused the mitigation to be done improperly due to incorrect methods and procedures. His years of experience in insurance adjusting told him this was not right. Attorney Peterson remarked

"The homeowners had no place to turn. They couldn't live in their house due to the horrific smell from the spill. It permeated nearly the entire house. And no one wanted to take responsibility for the improper testing that was done. The family has been living a horror show since 2018 and had to leave their home with nearly nothing."

Superior Court Judge Cesar Noble stated, "...FSS knew or should have known that improper testing would lead to the harm of the general nature of that suffered, the premature pouring of the concrete floor over a contaminated substrata."

This ruling has opened the door for strong litigation in this case going forward. It also sets a precedent for other homeowners and commercial property insurance cases involving disasters such as this one where insurers hire third-party subcontractors. Attorney Peterson expects a trial in 2022 unless the defendants "want to come to the table and make it right" before then.

About Peterson Zamat, LLC

Licensed in both Connecticut and New York, Peterson Zamat, LLC is a law firm with offices in North Haven and Fairfield, CT and New York, NY. Their practice areas focus in litigation for commercial and residential insurance as well as real estate, commercial and family law. More information can be found at PetersonZamat.com.

SOURCE Peterson Zamat, LLC

Related Links

https://www.petersonzamat.com


PARLAMENTUL REPUBLICII MOLDOVA

 2010

The Moldovan Parliaments website design was supported by the Democracy Support Programme in Moldova"  an initiative financed by the European Union and implemented by the Council of Europe
The police in Lagos have arrested one Anthony Ikpeama for allegedly beating his pregnant wife to coma, and proceeding to the hospital where she was being resuscitated to remove her oxygen mask

The incident happened at Ajah, Lagos, on Saturday, and Adaeze Ikpeama, the suspects wife, was rushed to Doyen Hospital, where her oxygen mask was allegedly removed by her husband.

In a statement by Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, the suspect was arrested on Monday after receiving reports of domestic violence and alleged murder of his wife.

Mrs Ikpeama was said to have been constantly subjected to beating by her husband, the last incident leading to her demise.

Mrs Ikpeama, 28, was six months pregnant at the time of the incident. She was a mother of two, lawyer and member of the Nigerian Bar Association.

The woman died on 10th April, 2021, after she was admitted for pregnancy related complications and the husband, suspect, removed the oxygen mask on her, before she finally gave up the ghost.

The suspect, Anthony Ikpeama, m, who has been alleged of constant assault on the deceased, has been arrested, the police spokesperson said.

Domestic Violence

Narrating the incident on his Facebook page on Monday, Duke Godpower said Mrs Ikpeama was the only daughter of her father, Caro John.

Mr Godpower said the deceased died from cardiac arrest after her husband removed the oxygen mask placed on her to revive her at the hospital.

PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately verify Mr Godpowers claims as it was still unclear the relationship between him and the Ikpeamas.

He shared pictures and videos of the glamorous wedding between the couple.

Immediately the marriage was sealed, the man Adaeze got married to immediately turned into a beast by turning the Etche trained lawyer into a punching bag.

Even when relatives from both sides intervened several times by pleading with Anthony to stop beating his wife, if not for anything, she is the mother of his kids and his partner, man was obtuse as he continued to beat the poor girl any time he was not in a good mood.

Three days ago, another round of beating started and this time around, it was very intense which eventually ended up taking her life. That Adaeze was 6 months pregnant was not enough to stop him in his track rather it intensified the beating of the poor girl.

His focus was the tummy as he was punching her 6 months pregnant tummy with righteous anger and all the energy he could muster. He did not stop till she gave up and went into a coma but that is not the full story.

When Adaeze went to a coma and was rushed to the hospital by her good neighbours who came to her aid, Anthony followed them to the hospital and immediately she was admitted and oxygen was placed on her to resuscitate her, the husband went to her bedside and then removed the oxygen mask, he narrated.

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Mr Godpower alleged that the Lagos police released the suspect shortly after he was arrested.

Police React

The police denied releasing the suspect.

The suspect, Anthony Ikpeama, m, who was alleged of killing his wife on admission bed at Doyen Hospital Ajah, Lagos State has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba for proper investigation.

The suspect has not been released contrary to the rumour and falsehood making waves on the social media. Its a capital offense and the police will not grant him any administrative bail for whatever reason, Mr Adejobi said.

The spokesperson said the matter has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for prosecution.
Haymarket Books has come under scrutiny in the last week over a recently announced anthology that critics say badly misjudges the wants and needs of the disability community.

The project, titled Against Ableism: An Anthology, was conceived early last year, and scheduled to be edited by poets Shira Erlichman, Ilya Kaminsky, and Morgan Parker. A call for submissions was announced on April 7 in a since-deleted tweet by Erlichman. On April 8, an open letter was released by four main signatories: CUNY doctoral candidate and published poet Jesse Rice-Evans, and three others who chose to remain anonymous because of their status as multiply-marginalized poets and anticipating the risk of what Rice-Evans described as blowback. The letter has since been signed by 339 people.

The letter, which names both Haymarket Books and the poetry community at-large, takes issue with the perceived level of involvement the editors have with disability justicea framework established by disabled queer women of color activists, including Patty Berne, that stresses examining issues of disability and ableism through an intersectional lens, deliberately expanding upon and challenging the whiteness of the disability rights movement and its lack of intersectional analysis and action. The letter also takes umbrage over exclusionary practices that already exist within the poetry community, the wording of a call for submissions that does not focus on identity-first language (i.e., disabled person versus person with a disability), and that the initial call did not include accessibility features like alt-text.

The open letter also calls for Haymarket to disclose how the editors were selected, asks whether any of the editors are autistic or otherwise neurodivergent, questioned a lack of non-cis editors, and asked whether the editors and press have the community and political savvy to engage the vast umbrella of Disability?

On Twitter, further critiques were advanced, largely by Black people working within the disability justice movement, including over the lack of pay for contributors. "Anyone who has worked in disability arts knows that we work hard to pay each other, very often under the table so as not to compromise peoples benefits. That this opportunity was unpaid says that there was no one in the room from disability arts spaces," poet Cyree Jarelle Johnson said. His Twitter thread summed up the main issues that activists and artists have with the project.

The group, in a collectively crafted follow-up to Publishers Weekly, said that the issue with the editors involved wasnt that they didnt have a relationship to disability, but that the word ableismdiscrimination based on ability or perceived abilityin the title sets a certain bar within the disability poetry community. ...we expected for an anti-ableist anthology to be coordinated by folks who have been doing anti-ableist organizing in literary spaces. The letter included a long list of suggested poets and editors, and also pointed to what Rice-Evans called, in a follow up email, the erasure of disabled people in literary spaces that was most visible through a lack of access features on the original call.

Access is not optional for many disabled writers, Rice-Evans told PW. We see evidence of this is in the number of redacted signatories [of the open letter]people who have been fighting for access in literary spaces that force us to perform in hyper-abled professionalized spaces that are inaccessible for so, so many of us. And the erasure is so profound that even disabled writers do not build community with one another because were pitted against each other to be the chosen, 'acceptable' token sick person.

By April 10, both Erlichman and Parker had gone public with apologies. Rice-Evans, whose response to Publishers Weekly was collectively created with the signatories of the letter, said that Kaminsky has resigned from the project and reached out directly to the group to thank them and offer a donation toward future writer stipends for the anthology. Parkers letter, which Rice-Evans called beautiful, expressly offered up her resignation if it is determined by the community that she should not be involved in the project, while also highlighting her initial insecurity about taking on the project and her own relationship to disability through her mental health, a realm of disability that is already intensely stigmatized.

When I was invited to help put together an anthology of disabled poets and artists, the first thing I thought was: Twitter, Parker wrote. No way Twitter would let that fly. Who do I think I am? What right do I have to claim 'disability' when everyone knows mental illness isnt really a disability, right?

She added: I come to you vulnerably, without ego, in service and respect. If it is not my place to help edit this project, I will resign immediately. If my involvement is in any way a barrier to inclusion or a distraction from the books mission, if my presence is a violence or disturbance, I will step down graciously and enthusiastically.

Haymarket published a response thread on April 9 to those who submitted the open letter. In it, they announced a pausing on submissions and a period of time to reimagine what the anthology will look like, and expressed their thanks to those who brought the issue to their attention. The tweets have been combined below for clarity.

On Wednesday, we announced a call for submissions for Against Ableism: An Anthology. In the time since, we have received thoughtful and necessary criticisms of the project. Today we are pausing the submissions window to reimagine the project. We are committed to including more voices from disability justice organizers in the project, and to paying disabled artists and creators for their work. Were pausing the submission window while doing the necessary work to make this book its best. We are sorry for the harm we caused, and thankful for those who have called us in.

Following up with PW, Haymarket confirmed its commitment to the editorial team behind the book, calling them disabled writers who are exceptional in their craft, adding: We are confident that with the help of the wider community they can bring together a body of work that will offer a worthy forum for disabled writers and artists.

Still, Haymarket continued, it will support the editors in taking their time to regroup and frame what this project looks like. They are conscientiously making room for gracious corrections from trusted organizers, writers and activists, and those conversations have already started. The result will be an inclusive and accessible call produced in collaboration with those organizers and activists.

In addition, Haymarket confirmed that it will pay contributors to the anthology.

Rice-Evans said that the group is currently writing a set of follow-up demands for Haymarket, but that their response hasnt been instant in part due to their relationship with disability and disability culture.

Disability justice works slowly by design, Rice-Evans said. We have had to ensure that were taking breaks to rest, get offline, eat, take meds, hydrate, do our paid work, go to therapy and support groups. So while were excited to move forward and have an open dialogue with Haymarket and the editors, we are also intentionally taking our time.

The group behind the open letter also said: We are grateful that so much response has focused on our two big asks: better access protocolscentering access as a central feature of planning and developing the anthologyand finding a way to financially support disabled writers.

This article has been updated with further information.
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.

Submit
WASHINGTON  The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating clots in six women that occurred in the days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts  making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially dangerous. All cases were in women between the ages of 18 to 48.

The FDA said it expects the pause to be short.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the agencys acting commissioner, says, We expect it to be a matter of days for this pause.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow. The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, are not affected by the pause.

CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts.

Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution, Dr. Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research said in a joint statement.

They are recommending that people who were given the J&J vaccine who are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the shot contact their health care provider.

Officials say they also want to educate vaccine providers and health professionals about the unique treatment required for this type of clot.

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

+3 Louisiana COVID numbers: 100,000+ more vaccine doses administered; nearly 1 million fully vaccinated In Louisiana, 103,298 more doses of COVID vaccines have been administered, according to a noon update from the Louisiana Department of Health.

The J&J vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late February with great fanfare, with hopes that its single-dose and relatively simple storage requirements would speed vaccinations across the country. Yet the shot only makes up a small fraction of the doses administered in the U.S. as J&J has been plagued by production delays and manufacturing errors at the Baltimore plant of a contractor.

Last week the drugmaker took over the facility to scale up production in hopes of meeting its commitment to the U.S. government of providing about 100 million doses by the end of May.

Until now concern about the unusual blood clots has centered on the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which has not yet received authorization in the U.S. Last week, European regulators said they found a possible link between the shots and a very rare type of blood clot that occurs together with low blood platelets, one that seems to occur more in younger people.

+5 In Louisiana, young people can get a COVID vaccine. But does everyone want it? In early January, once vaccines hit pharmacy shelves, seniors in Louisiana were calling up pharmacies to get on waitlists, driving across stat

The European Medicines Agency stressed that the benefits of receiving the vaccine outweigh the risks for most people. But several countries have imposed limits on who can receive the vaccine; Britain recommended that people under 30 be offered alternatives.

But the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines are made with the same technology. Leading COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the spike protein that coats the outer surface of the coronavirus. But the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the spike gene into the body. J&J uses a human adenovirus to create its vaccine while AstraZeneca uses a chimpanzee version.

The announcement hit U.S. stock markets immediately, with Dow futures falling almost 200 points just over two hours before the opening bell. Shares of Johnson & Johnson dropped almost 3%.

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press.
[April 13, 2021]

The Financial Times Names VRTCAL One of Americas' Fastest Growing Companies

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VRTCAL , a leading mobile SSP focused on Demand-Path Optimization (DPO) for mobile app developers, today announced it ranked No. 176 on The Financial Times (FT) The Americas Fastest Growing Companies 2021, an inaugural ranking of the regions businesses by revenue growth rate. VRTCAL grew 376.8% between 2016 and 2019 and continues on an upward trend.



VRTCALs platform boasts a more efficient ecosystem for mobile app advertising as new privacy regulations make waves throughout the digital industry. Since its inception, VRTCAL has provided technology and services maximizing mobile publishers efforts through monetization. The companys efforts have not gone unnoticed as it ranked the 290th company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list and 179th on Inc. Magazines List of Californias Fastest Growing Private Companies , true testimonies to VRTCALs dedication and impressive growth.







Todd Wooten, Founder and President of VRTCAL stated: We are humbled by this recognition and optimistic about our clients future. We are devoted to helping brands and publishers maximize and take control of their revenue and success.

The FT list of The Americas Fastest Growing Companies is comprised of the enterprises that contribute most heavily to economic growth.

To view the 500 companies featured on the list, please visit: https://www.ft.com/content/ac773779-98ba-442d-a1f2-a14f1a67ddfe .

About VRTCAL Markets, Inc. (VRTCAL)

VRTCAL is the only open SSP and SaaS company focused on Demand-Path Optimization, reducing the vertical distance between mobile publishers and advertisers, and developing technologies that make a difference. The VRTCAL platform is a proprietary architecture that offers SDKs, oRTB, multiple mediation types, innovative technologies to increase publisher inventory value, and a MarketPlace with premium brands and advertisers.

Media Contact

Kristen Frizzelle

Blast PR for VRTCAL

kristen@blastpr.com
[April 13, 2021] Mark Walser Promoted to President of Incenter Appraisal Management (IAM)

Incenter Appraisal Management (IAM), a leading national appraisal management company (AMC), announces the promotion of Mark Walser to President. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005900/en/ Mark Walser The promotion comes less than a year after he joined IAM as Executive Vice President to advance two goals-building the nation's top appraiser network, and setting new standards in valuation performance. As a result of his leadership, IAM has already launched 24-Hour Fast Pay, bucking the national trend of compensating appraisers 15-45 days after they deliver valuation reports. Mr. Walser is also spearheading improvements to IAM's scalable technologies that empowerthese appraisers to shine.



"Mark's rapid elevation to Incenter's top leadership team is well deserved," said Bruno Pasceri, President of Incenter. "He brings a terrific combination of creativity, technology expertise, and a strong sense of urgency to his role." "I am so proud of IAM's holistic value proposition, and look forward to building on it," said Mr. Walser. "It is a privilege to differentiate our lender customers by delivering quality valuations fast. That is a direct result of IAM's support for our amazing appraiser network, with systems and resources that are second to none."

Before joining Incenter, Mr. Walser was a key contributor to the growth of several other AMCs from regional to national organizations, drawing on his background in sales, technology and operations. He holds a B.S. in management and accounting from San Diego State University-California State University. About Incenter Appraisal Management Incenter Appraisal Management's goal is to harness its knowledge, skills, experience and profound sense of integrity to consistently exceed client expectations. The company is a national provider of best-in-class valuations, inspections and data products for lenders throughout the country. For more information, please visit incenteram.com. About Incenter LLC Incenter ideates and deploys innovative solutions for optimizing business performance in the mortgage and specialty finance industries. The company is based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania and employs over 1,600 professionals across its sub-brands. For more information, please visit www.incenterms.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005900/en/

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Major Ontario Multi-Family Portfolio Owner Makes Follow-on Order for 10 SmartGATE Platforms - 100% SmartGATE Insights Conversion

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Legend Power Systems (TSXV:LPS) and (OTCQB:LPSIF), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, today announced a 10-unit SmartGATE Platform sale to a major multifamily residential property owner. The 10-platform purchase is the largest dollar value transaction in Legend Power Systems' history and was achieved within 60 days of completing an Insights engagement for 10 buildings. These follow-on units will bring the total number of SmartGATE Platforms installed in this customer's multi-family buildings to 14. The customer is a privately owned business developing, constructing, and managing apartment buildings for 60 years and its portfolio of 9,600 units includes the some of the most upscale properties in Ontario,

"This follow-on investment in additional SmartGATE Platforms shows commitment to sustainability leadership, tenant safety and satisfaction," said Randy Buchamer, President and CEO of Legend Power Systems. "We have worked with this customer for a number of years, producing tangible results for us both from an energy savings standpoint and by making their buildings better. We were not surprised with the volatility of the incoming power supply to these buildings or our customer being unaware of the previously unmeasured impact to their financial results which were both highlighted by the Insights assessments. We are pleased to provide a key part in making our customer's buildings better for tenants and the environment."

The SmartGATE Insights assessments highlighted energy waste and building system risk which could potentially impact tenants based on the electrical grid power entering buildings. Key indicators of Legends' growth trajectory are evident in this transaction; i) days between delivery of Power Impact Report to customer and resulting customer purchase of SmartGATE Platform; and ii) conversion rate of the number of building electrical feeds assessed with SmartGATE Insights which result in a SmartGATE Platform sale. Both metrics were positive in this sale with the results being 60 days and 100% respectively which exceed Legend's forecast of 365-days and 50% respectively.

Legend's SmartGATE Insights and Power Impact Report is a valuable tool that provides building owners a better understanding of the financial impact the power grid is having on their buildings and how SmartGATE solutions can solve these challenges for them. The Power Impact Report delivers non-technical explanations of the negative financial effects being suffered in single buildings and entire portfolios combined with actionable solutions customized for our customers.

About SmartGATE

SmartGATE is an industry-leading, turnkey solution which identifies and fixes underperformance and waste in the electrical system of a commercial building. These performance issues often impact key areas of commercial real estate metrics including occupant safety and satisfaction as well as financial performance. This waste can also lead to higher operating costs, lower net operating income and other potential financial risks to the building owner, including adverse tenant experiences.

About Legend Power Systems Inc.

Legend Power Systems Inc. (www.legendpower.com) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment.

For further information, please contact:

Steve Vanry, CFO

+ 1 604 671 9522

svanry@legendpower.com

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

+ 1 647 503 1054

sean@sophiccapital.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press 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 and operating performance 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 or performance 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. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Legend Power Systems Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640088/Legend-Power-SystemsTM-Surpasses-Recent-Record-with-Largest-Sale-in-Company-History
TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (19,201.28, down 26.75 points.)

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD). Financials. Up 72 cents, or 0.87 per cent, to $83.60 on 13.3 million shares.

Royal Bank of Canada. (TSX:BNS). Financials. Up 48 cents, or 0.41 per cent, to $117.59 on 10.3 million shares.

Supreme Cannabis Co. Inc. (TSX:FIRE). Health care. Down two cents, or five per cent, to 38 cents on 9.4 million shares.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down five cents, or 0.19 per cent, to $26.08 on 8.4 million shares.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ). Energy. Down 13 cents, or 0.34 per cent, to $38.44 on 7.9 million shares.

Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Industrials. Down three cents, or 3.13 per cent, to 93 cents on 7.35 million shares.

Companies in the news:

Aphria Inc. (TSX:APHA). Down $2.89, or 14.19 per cent, to $17.47. Lockdowns enacted by Canadian provinces to quell the spread of COVID-19 hampered Aphria's third quarter, the Leamington, Ont.-based cannabis company said Monday. It reported strict measures applied because of spiking virus cases contributed to a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago. Ontario, added chief financial officer Carl Merton, was in lockdown virtually every day during the quarter, while Alberta and British Columbia experienced long shutdowns, too. In Germany, where Aphria has a cultivation facility in Neumunster, lockdowns were also rife and in southwestern portions of the U.S. there were no shutdowns but significantly less on-premise business, Merton said. The lockdowns were coupled with a reduction in demand for cannabis products as provincial boards lowered their inventory levels. They had previously forecast cannabis market growth. As a result, Aphria received about $5 million in product returns. Aphria reported a $361-million loss in the period ended Feb. 28 compared with a profit of $5.7 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The result included an unrealized loss of $264.8 million related to convertible debentures compared with a gain of $23.1 million a year ago. On an adjusted basis, Aphria said it lost $47.9 million or 15 cents per share for the quarter compared with an adjusted loss of $9.8 million or four cents per share in the same quarter last year. Net revenue in what was the company's third quarter totalled $153.6 million, up from $144.4 million.

Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. (TSX:TVE). Up 11 cents, or 4.87 per cent, to $2.37. In another sign of ongoing Canadian oilpatch consolidation, Tamarack Valley Energy said Monday it has agreed to buy private Anegada Oil Corp. for a net $494 million. The Calgary-based oil and gas producer says it will pay $248 million in cash and assumed debt (after deducting proceeds from a royalty sale) and issue about $246 million in shares at a deemed price of $2.34 each for Anegada, which produces about 11,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Charlie Lake area of northwestern Alberta. Tamarack Valley also said it has sold a two per cent royalty on its Charlie Lake assets for $32 million to Topaz Energy Corp., a company created by Tourmaline Oil Corp. to hold petroleum processing and handling assets and taken public in a $250-million initial public offering in October. Last month, Tamarack Valley announced the close of two other acquisitions for about $135 million, including the purchase of private Woodcote Petroleum Inc. for cash and shares. The deals were backed by the sale of two four-per-cent royalties to Topaz. At the same time, Tamarack Valley issued 30.3 million shares for gross proceeds of about $68 million. Tamarack Valley said Monday its 2021 capital budget has been raised from about $127 million to $170 million and it expects to have average production this year of 33,000 boe/d, up from 26,000 boe/d.

Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO). Up 83 cents, or 0.72 per cent, to $115.72. BMO Financial Group has signed a deal to sell its asset management business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to Ameriprise Financial Inc. for $1.09 billion. The companies also announced a new strategic relationship between BMO and Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Ameriprise's global asset management business. In a separate deal in the U.S., some BMO asset management clients will have the chance to move to Columbia Threadneedle Investments, if they agree. The terms of the U.S. agreement were not disclosed. BMO's North American Wealth Management clients will also be offered the opportunity to access a range of Columbia Threadneedle investment management solutions. BMO expanded into Europe, Asia and the Middle East with its purchase of U.K.-based F&C Asset Management in 2014. BMOs European fund range comprises publicly traded investment trusts, including Foreign and Colonial (F&C) Investment Trust. Columbia Threadneedle said BMO's global asset management includes specialist ESG products, locations in the Netherlands and U.K., and direct real estate capability based in Germany and France. Joanna Rotenberg, group head of BMO Wealth Management, said the company will focus on its North American Wealth businesses, including its asset management business in Canada. BMO expects to take a $745-million writedown of goodwill after tax related to deal in the second quarter of its financial year, it said. The all-cash transaction will add $124 billion of AUM in Europe, said Ameriprise. The transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021.
Apr. 13Back in the day, when brand-new Unity College students arrived on campus, it was hard for them to feel like they didn't belong.

That's because the school had a secret weapon: Dot Quimby, who served as Unity College's first librarian  and unofficial on-campus mom  from 1965 until her retirement in 2001. Even after her retirement, she kept in touch with the alumni who described her as having made a huge impact on their lives.

"The minute you met her, you loved her, and she loved you," Nicole Lazure, an alumna who later spent a decade working at the college, said Monday. "She just exuded an unconditional love. She took everyone under her wing. Meeting Dot was like coming home."

Quimby, 91, who died last week, is still bringing college alumni together. In recent days, they have been sharing funny stories, heartwarming anecdotes and more about the retired librarian who meant so much to so many. And at a moment when the liberal arts college is changing gears and moving from a traditional campus model to hybrid virtual and in-person education, honoring Quimby's unifying memory seems all the more important, they said.

"I think for a lot of alumni, Dot provided that glue that was really important," Jeff McCabe, who graduated from Unity College in 2000, said. "Over the years, the school has evolved to be very different from the Unity I went to. Change is hard. Some of those changes are positive ... Dot provided a sense of place, and losing people like Dot makes it harder to feel that connection."

Steph Barrett, who graduated in 1995, remembered her first year as a rough time when she had trouble forming relationships and trusting people. But certain members of the faculty and staff snuck in under her defenses, she said, showing her care and compassion and encouraging her to try new things.

"One of those special folks was librarian Dot Quimby," Barrett wrote last week in her personal blog. "I was not a library hound and spent as little time there as possible, but the first day I walked in, Dot already knew who I was and addressed me by name. She met me like an old friend. She was, it turned out, a mom to all the students."

Story continues

Quimby, who had been with the school since it began, also served as its unofficial institutional memory. Chip Curry, who worked at Unity College in a variety of roles from 1994 to 2001, described a particularly memorable occasion when she shared stories from the past. It was 1994, and he was in charge of new student orientation. One night, the evening entertainment fell through and he needed someone to fill in. Quimby stepped up.

"For the better part of an hour, Dot captivated these brand-new students with every scandalous story in the college's history: drugs, faculty-student sex scandals, financial troubles, cows, presidents run out of town," he said. "The students loved it."

He, on the other hand, was panicked about the warts-and-all expose happening on his watch.

"I so clearly remember that moment. I'm sweating. There was this scandal, there was that scandal," he said. "But that was just her. So much was the relationships with faculty and students. Deep, rich relationships. That was just how she engaged. Those were the big, exciting stories. She wanted to share them with the new students and bring them in."

Her methods, though unconventional at times, really worked.

Joe Freire, who graduated in 1985, kept in touch with her in the decades that followed. The bond that started when he was a new student never frayed, he said. The last time he saw her, they went to lunch at a Unity eatery. By then, Quimby needed to use a walker. But even that didn't slow her down.

"No sooner did her hands touch the walker but she was off and running," he said. "We went into the restaurant, and of course, she was like the mayor of Unity. It was like one big, happy family. I would sit there in awe, because she knew so many people ... It just amazes me that a person can touch so many lives like that and make such a difference."
It said that the "commission also imposes a ban of 24 hours on Ms Mamata Banerjee from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm of April 12 till 8 pm of April 13".Assembly elections in West Bengal began on March 27 and four of the eight phases of the polls have been completed.The poll panel's order cited two separate notices to Banerjee on April 7 and April 8, and her subsequent replies.On her speech which had alleged religious overtones, the Election Commissionsaid that Banerjee has "selectively chosen" parts of her speech in her reply dated April 9 and "did not mention anything on the context of key parts of her speech".In her reply to the notice, the Trinamool Congress leader had said that "I did not seek to influence the voters to cast their vote for her on religious segmentary lines; rather I categorically spoke in favour of religious harmony in line with the spirit of Model Code of Conduct and the Constitution of India"."By using words 'I also will tell my Hindu brothers and sisters not to make division amongst yourselves as Hindu and Muslim' it is evident that my speech was not to incite religious sentiments but to maintain peace and harmony," the chief minister had said.The EC order reproduced the "key part" of her reported speech.The text of Banerjee's speech quoted in the commission's order read: "I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands don't divide the minority votes after listening to the devil (shaitaan) person who had taken money from the BJP. He passes many communal statements and initiates clashes between the Hindu and the Muslims...""The comrades of CPM and BJP is roaming around with the money given by BJP to divide the minority votes. Please don't allow them to do so. Keep in mind that if the BJP comes to the government then you will be in severe danger", read text of her speech quoted in the EC order.On her reported remarks against central armed police forces, Banerjee told the poll panel that she had only called upon the voters, specifically voters who are women, to protest democratically by "gherao" if and when somebody, including the forces, created any obstruction in their right to vote."Gherao is one of the democratic ways of registering public protest and accepted, and there is no reason why gherao should be considered as illegal. Be it noted that the multi-dimensional word 'gherao' has been a legitimate entry in the in the political lexicon of West Bengal since the late 1960s, and in recent years, more frequently than not, the word has been used to connote peaceful satyagraha against authorities by silent victims of a situation," she said.The order said in her reply, on remarks against central forces, Banerjee has "yet again conveniently left out key parts of her speech, perhaps due to selective amnesia".The order reproduced portion of her speech to drive home the point that she had violated the model code, provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the Indian Penal Code."l know under whose instruction they beat up and how they beat up. It is your duty to save the family of the people. If any of our mothers and sisters suffers a single stroke with the stick attack them with ladle, spuds and knife. I am telling you. It is the right of women. And if anyone of our mothers and sisters is denied entry in the voting compartment all of you come out and revolt," the order said reproducing portions of her speech.
A pedestrian walks past the entrance of the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCCHK) in Hong Kong on Aug. 8, 2018. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

Journalist Groups Condemn Attack on Epoch Times Press in Hong Kong, Call for Criminals to Be Brought Justice

Four journalist groups issued statements on April 13 condemning the armed attack on The Epoch Times printing presses in Hong Kong and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators and the planners of the attack to justice.

Four masked men wielding sledgehammers broke into the newspapers printing shop around 4 a.m. on April 12, smashed the central control panel of the printing press, and emptied a bag of construction debris on the equipment. The violent breach forced the newspaper to suspend printing days before local pro-democracy activists are due to appear in court.

The violent attack on The Epoch Times printing plant in Hong Kong is another worrying example of violence faced by media outlets operating in the city, Carlos Martinez de la Serna, the program director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement. Hong Kong authorities must take action and bring those responsible for the attack on The Epoch Times, including its planners, to justice.

Committee to Protect Journalists had previously documented an arson attack on The Epoch Times printing press in Hong Kong in 2019. The committee has tracked attacks on journalists around the world for four decades. It lists China among the top 10 most censored countries in the world. In a statement addressing the attack, The Epoch Times said it believes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is behind the incident due to the newspapers stalwart coverage of the CCPs abuses.

The Hong Kong branch of the Foreign Correspondents Club also condemned the attack and called for both the perpetrators and the planners to be brought to justice.

The Foreign Correspondents Club, Hong Kong strongly condemns the attack on the Epoch Times printing presses and calls for the perpetrators to be brought swiftly to justice, the group said in a statement. The FCC insists that media should be able operate freely without fear of violence in Hong Kong regardless of their political stance.

The FCC is one of the most prominent press clubs in the world, having operated for nearly eight decades. The club serves as a major media hub and its members have reported on the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests. The club had likewise condemned the 2019 attack on the printing press.

The Hong Kong Internet Journalist Association condemned the attack in a statement issued on April 12.

The association strongly condemns acts of violence to maliciously target and intimidate the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times and all other journalists, it wrote in a statement on Facebook.

Hong Kongs press freedom has been on a steady decline since 2013, according to Hong Kong Journalists Association. The citys press freedom index hit a record low of 41.9 points for the year 2019, a drop from 49.4 in 2013, according to the association.

Since the attack on the press on April 12, a number of prominent groups, lawmakers, and prominent figures have condemned the attacks and joined the call to arrest and prosecute those responsible. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the attack appalling, but not unexpected and called on the United States to send a message to the CCP that such attacks would not be tolerated. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), and Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) have also condemned the attack.

Eva Fu and Frank Fang contributed to this report.
Every rural household in will get tap water connection by November 1, 2022 while will achieve the same by 2024, according to the (JJM) annual action plan presented by the two states to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Both Haryan and Odissa presented their JJM annual action plan detailing their plan of action for the financial year 2021-22 as well as the saturation plan for the states to ensure that every rural household gets household tap water connection.

In a statement, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said, "During the presentation, the state of reiterated its commitment to achieve the JJM target by November 1, 2022 ( Day), much ahead of the national deadline. plans for 100 per cent saturation by 2024."

According to the ministry, the month-long exercise of taking up the annual action plan of states and Union Territories (UTs) under JJM is carried out by a committee to do a rigorous scrutiny of the proposed plan prepared by the states and UTs before finalising the same.

"Thereafter, funds are released throughout the year and regular field visits and review meetings are held to ensure the implementation of these annual action plans to achieve the goal of JJM," the ministry said.

It further stated that the review committee advised the states to identify the sources of convergence and invest in sensor-based IoT technology for real-time monitoring and measurement of water supply.

Further, the committee emphasised on well-placed Information, Education & Communication (IEC) strategies to instill behavioural change among the public.

Haryana has 31.03 lakh rural households, out of which 26.93 lakh (86.8 per cent) households were provided with tap connection as on March 31 this year. In FY 2021-22, the state plans to provide 4.09 lakh tap connections.

The committee has advised the state to work on the sustainability water sources and increase tap water connections at the household level.

has 85.66 lakh rural households, out of which 23.25 lakh households (27.15 per cent) have tap water connection.

"When JJM was started on August 15, 2019, only 3.63 per cent of the people in Odisha had access to tap water. In the past one-and-a-half years, JJM has ensured that 20.15 lakh rural homes get safe drinking water through taps," the ministry added.

The committee suggested Odissa to focus on testing and treating contaminated water. Odisha plans NABL accreditation of 19 laboratories during the current year.

--IANS

ssb/arm

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In March 2021, around 1.796 million locally-produced PVs (referring to cars, MPVs, SUVs and minibuses) were handed over to consumers in China, representing a year-on-year surge of 66.4%, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

For the first quarter of 2021 (Q1), PV retail sales in China amounted to 5.178 million units, soaring 68.7% year on year, the highest-ever growth rate for the corresponding period since the CPCA did relevant statistical works in 2005.



The association said the robust hike in Q1 PV deliveries was mainly due to the year-ago low sales, which plunged 40.8% as the result of the coronavirus-induced impact. In addition, the growing new energy vehicle sales also partly contributed to the quarterly increase.



The retail sales of luxury cars in March reached nearly 270,000 units, surging 86% year on year and leaping 60% month on month. Compared to March 2019, the volume also showed a hike of 51%. The strong rising movement reflected the robust demands of replacing old cars with premium ones.

Last month, the retail sales of Chinese indigenous brands shot up 66% over a year ago to around 650,000 units, while slid 12% compared to March 2019. According to the CPCA, local brands accounted for 37.1% of the domestic PV retail sales in March, 0.3 percentage points lower than that of the prior-year period.

Leading Chinese local brands have made evident headways in products, marketing, services and other areas, thus such brands as Changan, Hongqi, Great Wall Motor, Chery and NIO boasted high growth rate in recent monthly sales, said the CPCA.



FAW-VW was the champion by Mar. PV retail sales, for the third month in a row taking this honor. Compared to Feb., SAIC-GM and SGMW moved up three and one spot respectively to the runner-up and second runner-up places. Honda's two joint ventures in China were ranked ninth and tenth by March deliveries, occupying the places that belonged to GAC Toyota and FAW-Toyota in February.

As to wholesale performance, automakers in China sold 1.87 million PVs in March, which zoomed up 82.6% from a year earlier, while leapt 62.4% from the previous month. The year-to-date PV wholesales totaled 5.065 million units, up by 76.6% year on year.

Among the top 10 automakers by March PV wholesales, there were three China's indigenous brands, namely Changan Auto, Geely Auto and Great Wall Motor. The first place was still taken by FAW-VW. Compared to the previous month, SAIC VW, SGMW and Dongfeng Honda climbed three, four and two spots respectively to the fourth, fifth and eighth places.
Amid a continued rise in the number of fresh Covid-19 cases in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged the Centre to cancel the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations.

"There would be around six lakh students and around one lakh teachers who will come to the exam centres and in turn, these centres may turn into new Covid-19 hotspots. This fourth wave of the pandemic in Delhi is very critical and it is also affecting the youth and children. I would request the Centre to cancel the CBSE exams," he said while addressing a press conference.

"We have seen that in past few days several countries have cancelled exams. Even in India many states have called board exams.

"We can find some other alternatives for assessment of students' performances to declare their results," he added.

Kejriwal also said that the present Covid-19 situation in the capital city is critical as there were over 10,000 single-day cases being registered for the last few days, and therefore more dedicated beds would be required in the coming days.

"The Delhi government would convert schools into Covid care centres to increase the number of beds," he added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also said that due to surge in Covid-19 cases in the city, Delhi government hospitals have been directed to conduct emergency surgeries only and to cancel planned surgeries for the next two to three months.
Islamabad, April 13 : Pakistan's remittances remained over $2 billion in March for the 10th month in a row, the country's central bank said.

The remittances rose to $2.7 billion in March 2021, which was 20 per cent higher than those of February and 43 per cent higher than those of March 2020, Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) issued on Monday as saying.

"Cumulatively during July-March of FY21 (from July 2020 to June 2021), remittances have risen to $21.5 billion, up by 26 per cent over the same period of FY20," the statement said.

The central bank termed proactive policy measures by the government and the SBP to encourage more inflows through formal banking channels, limited cross-border travel in the face of Covid-19, medical expenses and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amidst the pandemic as the main reasons for the increasing remittances.

"Orderly foreign exchange market conditions are also continuing to contribute to this sustained rise in workers' remittances," said the statement.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday hailed the increase in the remittances and expressed gratitude to overseas Pakistanis for their support.
The United Nations' health agency on Tuesday urged countries to suspend the sale of live animals captured from the wild in food markets as an emergency measure, saying wild animals are a leading source of emerging infectious diseases like the

The World Health Organisation, backed by key partners, issued new guidance saying that animals particularly wild animals are the source of more than 70 percent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses.

The coronavirus' origins more than a year ago have been the source of intense speculation, much of it centred around the likelihood that it was carried by bats and passed to humans through an intermediary species sold as food or medicine in traditional Chinese wet markets. The pandemic first appeared in the city of Wuhan, China.

WHO highlighted the risk of direct transmission of emerging infectious diseases to humans who come in contact with bodily fluids of an infected animal, and cited the additional risk of picking it up in places where such animals are housed or locations that could have been contaminated with such viruses.

Globally, traditional markets can play a central role in providing food and livelihoods for large populations, WHO said in a statement. However, Banning the sale of the animals can protect people's health both those working there and those shopping there.

WHO joined with the World Organisation for Animal Health and the UN environment programme in its analysis leading to the new recommendations.

(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.)
Meanwhile, county officials said another 3,000 people who already had signed up to get Johnson & Johnson shots this week at a county-run site will have the option of keeping their appointments and instead getting one of the other vaccines that are available, or canceling and trying to get Johnson & Johnson at a later date.
WASHINGTON - North American trade is facing a "critical moment" in the ongoing aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, say Canadian business leaders as they embark on a concerted campaign to fortify ties with the United States.

Transport trucks approach the Canada/USA border crossing in Windsor, Ont. on Saturday, March 21, 2020. North American trade is facing a "critical moment" in the ongoing aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, say Canadian business leaders as they embark on a concerted campaign to fortify ties with the United States. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Rob Gurdebeke

WASHINGTON - North American trade is facing a "critical moment" in the ongoing aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, say Canadian business leaders as they embark on a concerted campaign to fortify ties with the United States.

The new Canada-U.S. "road map" partnership is the ideal platform to start reinforcing existing relationships and confronting some long-standing irritants  but time is of the essence, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce argues in a new lobbying effort launching Tuesday.

"Simply put, there is no path to our trade recovery without a meaningful renewal of the Canadian-U.S. trade relationship," said chamber president and CEO Perrin Beatty.

"Thats why the Canadian Chamber of Commerce plans on laying the groundwork for that renewal now, so our members can fully exploit the rebound and recovery opportunities when the time comes."

The campaign focuses on five key areas:

 Lobbying the federal government to establish a plan to reopen the Canada-U.S. border "that is underpinned by clear metrics and dates."

 Ensuring protectionist "Buy American" rules do not deny Canadian exporters and suppliers access to trillions of dollars in proposed U.S. infrastructure and stimulus spending.

 Preserving "tightly integrated" continental defence and security supply chains.

 Establishing a common bilateral approach to both shared environmental challenges and energy infrastructure, as well as supply chains for critical mineral development.

 Redoubling efforts on regulatory co-operation in order to streamline bilateral mechanisms and reduce red tape for companies.

Despite familiar rhetoric from both Ottawa and the White House about the importance of the relationship, it will fall to Canada to ensure its best interests are represented, said Mark Agnew, the chamber's vice-president, policy and international.

"Few Americans wake up in the morning in Washington thinking about how to do Canadian businesses a favour," Agnew said.

"Remember, we're not the only ones that are trying to appeal to American self-interest  the Brits are there, the Aussies are there, the Japanese are there, you name it  plus the U.S. has its own fairly substantial domestic issues. We need to be able to cut through that."

There's also no shortage of disagreement on a variety of issues, some long-standing and others more recent.

President Joe Biden sent a clear signal on his first day in the White House when he cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline expansion, which would have ferried an additional 800,000 barrels of diluted oilsands bitumen from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer followed Biden's lead, abruptly revoking a 67-year-old easement that allowed Enbridge Inc.'s Line 5 pipeline to pump oil and natural gas across the Great Lakes.

Biden's strident language on ensuring American workers, suppliers and contractors are the primary benefactors of his $2-trillion infrastructure plan has been little comfort to their Canadian counterparts.

And U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has shown no indication she intends to lower the temperature on two other familiar sources of friction: softwood lumber and American access to Canada's dairy market.

Agnew also singled out the Biden administration's ongoing review of U.S. supply chains for a number of key products, including computer chips, electric vehicle batteries, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals.

"What we're afraid of is that coming out the other end of that, you'll have a process where the narrative becomes all about reshoring back into the United States," he said.

It was in late February when Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met to finalize the details of their bilateral road map, which in the name of high-level diplomacy focused on areas of "shared vision" and "mutual concern."

Priorities included battling the pandemic, rebuilding the Canadian and U.S. economies and syncronizing efforts on both sides of the border to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

It also mentioned social diversity and inclusion, expanded co-operation on continental defence and modernizing Norad, and renewed faith in global institutions like NATO and the World Trade Organization.

"It would gloss over the important role that Canadian businesses play in U.S. supply chains, and continental supply chains writ large."

"You can't go in relying on the goodness of people's hearts. What you need to be articulating is, 'Canada wants you to do this, and it is in the American self interest to do X or Y, how does it align together?' " Agnew said.

"What do we bring to the table proactively, rather than just always being on the back foot, asking for things?"

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.
Police believed they were dealing with a real-life Harry Potter when they rescued a woman who claimed to be held captive as a slave for eight years, a court has heard.

Her husband-and-wife captors, who cannot be named due to a court imposed gag order, are accused of torturing the elderly woman in their Melbourne home as they worked her up to 23-hours a day.

As the Supreme Court of Victoria trial nears its conclusion, the alleged female slaver's barrister has warned the alleged victim is 'not a witness of truth'.

The husband and wife, whose home she was found at, are accused of intentionally possessing the woman as a slave between July 2007 and July 2015

The trial, which has been going for more than a month, is expected to draw to its conclusion within the coming days.

On Monday, barrister Dr Gideon Boas - for the female accused - was let off the leash and proceeded to pick apart the alleged slave's story.

The jury had endured hours of the Tamil woman's testimony, which needed to be meticulously translated and transcribed into English.

The couple has been accused of committing 'crimes against humanity' by keeping the woman captive and working her near to death.

The jury has heard allegations their slave had 'hot curries' poured over her head as punishment and lived off just an hour a sleep for years at a time.

The elderly woman was found by paramedics in 2015 in a pool of her own urine and weighing just 40kg.

The husband and wife have pleaded not guilty to intentionally keeping the woman as a slave between July 2007 and July 2015.

The woman was discovered after she collapsed inside the couple's home and they called her an ambulance.

Traumatised and with serious medical conditions, she spent more than two months in hospital recovering - and for much of that time nobody knew her real identity.

Police believed the alleged slaver (pictured) had held her captive like 'Harry Potter'

A woman accused of being a slave driver would slash her servant with a knife if she was not satisfied with her work, a jury has heard

A man accused of being a slaver enters the Supreme Court of Victoria. He has been accused of sitting back and allowing his wife to torment their elderly slave

'I do suggest to you that it is only in an alternate universe that the evidence that she gave that she was being woken up by (the accused) every night by having lights switched on, oil poured on her head every night at 4am,' Dr Boas told the jury on Monday.

Speaking to a federal agent, the alleged victim outlined the allegations in six recorded interviews.

'Shell be drinking hot coffee and then she will just, you know, pour it on my face ... and then she will be grab the gravy and pour it on my head,' the woman said.

'She will say 'curries not nice' and then she will just throw it on me.'

Dr Boas told the jury the federal agents who interviewed his client had believed the alleged victim had been held like the fictional wizard, whom was famously imprisoned under the stairs of his captors in the J.K. Rowling hit books and movies.

'So, no doubt the police had in their minds at this stage they were dealing with somebody like Harry Potter being, you know, held under the stairs or something, right?' he told the jury.

Dr Boas dismissed the woman's claims the alleged slave had been kept confined within the family home for years and insisted she had instead been treated like a beloved member of the family.

'You recall this was a Tamil tradition of feeding somebody cake and she acknowledged that was an expression of love and affection,' he told the jury.

'Well, 16 there's a photo on p.34, depicts (his client) doing that for (the woman on her) birthday. Love and 18 affection, Tamil tradition. Well, the narrative that she came to give about (his client), as we know, is very different. That was then, this is now.'

The woman twice came to Melbourne from her home in Tamil Nadu, in southern India, to care for the couple's three children (pictured), then disappeared for eight years, the court heard

The female slaver has been accused of throwing things when unhappy with her alleged slave

Dr Boas, who was only cut short when a juror fell ill while listening to his closing address, continued to discredit the alleged slave's testimony on Monday.

The jury had heard the woman say under cross examination by Dr Boas that her female captor had bashed her so hard that she had broken her skull.

'(She) kicked, broke my skull'. That was the first time she said that,' Dr Boas said.

'Of course, there's no evidence whatsoever that (she) had a broken skull.'

When the trial opened in February, Dr Boas made it clear the alleged slave had cooked-up the story to avoid being deported back to India after overstaying her temporary visa.

Dr Boas told the jury his client actually considered the woman as family and referred to her affectionately as 'grandmother'.

He claimed the only crime his client had committed was harbouring the woman after her one-month travel visa had expired.

It was fear of prosecution over the visa violation that not only caused the woman to lie to authorities, but the alleged victim to lie about her captivity, the court heard.

Dr Boas said the alleged victim had 'crucial motivation' to make up the story after being questioned by police and Australian Border Force officers.

'There is very much another side to the story,' Dr Boas said.

The trial continues.

An alleged slaver leaves court in 2017. She faces years behind bars if convicted of the 'crime against humanity'
Researchers from the group of Hans Clevers (Hubrecht Institute) developed the first patient-derived organoid model for cervical cancer. They also modelled the healthy human cervix using organoids. In close collaboration with the UMC Utrecht, Princess Maxima Center for pediatric oncology and the Netherlands Cancer Institute, the researchers used the organoid-based platform to study sexually transmitted infections for a herpes virus. The model can potentially also be used to study the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is one of the main causes of cervical cancer. The results were published in Cell Stem Cell on the 13th of April.

Cervical cancer is a common gynecological malignancy, often caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). However, good models to study human cervical tissues were lacking. Reason enough for the group of Hans Clevers to develop an organoid-based model for the healthy cervix and associated malignancies including cervical cancer. The project was conducted in close collaboration with researchers from the UMC Utrecht, the Princess Maxima Center for pediatric oncology and the Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Mini organs

The researchers obtained human cervical tissue from either healthy patients or patients with different types of cervical cancer. From these tissues they grew organoids; tiny 3D structures of about half a millimeter in size that closely mimic organ function. The organoids derived from healthy tissue closely resemble the tissue architecture and gene expression profiles of the actual human cervix. Therefore, the organoids hold great promise for studying what happens when a virus infects the human cervix. Kadi Lohmussaar, first author on the paper, explains: "For our study, we used a herpes virus - herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) - to demonstrate the potential of the model for research into sexually transmitted infections."

Prospectively, the model could also be applied to study the human papillomavirus (HPV) and how that virus causes cancer. "Cervical cancer is often caused by HPV-infection, but research into this virus was complicated as the virus is difficult to culture in the lab. Our new model might be able to overcome this obstacle," says Lohmussaar.

Tumoroids

The organoids grown from cancerous tissue - also called tumoroids - closely resemble actual tumors. They show mutation- and gene expression profiles that are typical for cancer and they carry similar morphological abnormalities. The researchers also found that the tumoroids respond differently to common chemotherapeutics, paving way to the era of precision medicine. "Hopefully in the future, we can predict which chemotherapy will work best for specific patients based on results obtained in the tumoroids."

Biobanks

The organoids can be derived via patients' Pap-brush material. The study shows that the tiny bit of tissue obtained from this procedure is sufficient for starting an organoid culture. This opens up the possibility to not only look at fixed cells under the microscope, but also do in-depth analyses of the living cells that might be on their way to become cancerous. Additionally, given that the Pap-brush is non-invasive for patients, the new organoid model provides the research community with a relatively easy access to the tissue of interest and a new model system. Lohmussaar: "This will hopefully facilitate a rapid generation of additional organoid-based cervical cancer biobanks worldwide. That would offer new means for advancing research into cervical biology and associated diseases."

###

Publication

'Patient-derived organoids as a pioneering platform to study cervical cancer'. Kadi Lohmussaar, Rurika Oka, Jose Espejo Valle-Inclan, Milou H. H. Smits, Hila Wardak, Jeroen Korving, Harry Begthel, Natalie Proost, Marieke van de Ven, Onno W. Kranenburg, Trudy G. N. Jonges, Ronald P. Zweemer, Sebastiaan Veersema, Ruben van Boxtel, Hans Clevers. Cell Stem Cell (2021).

Hans Clevers is group leader at the Hubrecht Institute and the Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, professor of Molecular Genetics at Utrecht University, and Oncode Investigator.

About the Hubrecht Institute
Pennsylvania officials hope making all adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday will reverse a recent decline in demand for vaccination appointments.

Were incredibly concerned, acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said this week. Were reaching a tipping point. While we still need more [vaccine] at this stage, its going to require us to be more convincing of folks.

An abundance of available appointments among vaccine providers all over the state is a major reason Pennsylvania announced on Monday that, beginning April 13, everyone 16 and older is eligible for vaccine, according to Beam. The expansion was moved up nearly a week.

As of last week, vaccine providers had begun to worry they would no longer be able to meet the state health departments requirement of using at least 80% of their supply within seven days of receiving it, Beam said.

Beam and other state officials have long expressed worry about reaching a point where providers will have more doses of vaccine than people who want them.

This week she cited a need for educational efforts to overcome vaccine hesitancy and convince people of the benefits and safety of COVID-19 vaccine.

Several Harrisburg-area vaccine providers on Tuesday morning said they had seen a drop off in demand, but demand rebounded after Mondays announcement making everyone 16 and older eligible.

Beam said the state has a goal of 80% of adults getting vaccinated. Scientists say that if about 80% of Americans get vaccinated the country will reach a level of herd immunity where COVID-19 will no longer be a serious threat.

In Pennsylvania, new cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations were falling until around the middle of March, when both began rising.

Beam attributed the rising counts to variant strains of COVID-19, which are more contagious, and people traveling more.

She described the situation as vaccination versus variants and said vaccinating a high percentage of residents is an offense against those variants as they creep into Pennsylvania.

Beam also said on Monday the state will soon shift more of the supply to smaller providers such as family doctors. For a while, the bulk of the supply has gone to large providers such as hospital systems and mass vaccination sites capable of high volume vaccination. However, some people prefer getting vaccinated by their regular doctor, and local doctors are well-positioned to discuss and overcome fears and misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccine.

As of early Monday, 2,474 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Pennsylvania, up from 2,451 as of late last week, and up by more than 1,000 from mid-March.

Of those, 534 were in intensive care, up from 517 late last week.

Beam said Monday that vaccination, along with preventive steps such as face masks and social distancing, are the keys to avoiding a return to tougher restrictions on businesses such as bars and restaurants.

The state in its daily update on Monday said Pennsylvania vaccine providers have given out 6.4 million doses, with 2.4 million people considered fully protected. Pennsylvania has 12.8 million residents.

The state has been averaging about 87,000 vaccinations per day.
OSSIAN, Iowa  Four people are arrested after an investigation that started with a drunken disturbance leads to the discovery of a large amount of narcotics.

The Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office says it was called Monday about a disturbance near Main Street and N Lydia Street in Ossian. Deputies say they found Michael Foland and Joshua Koller intoxicated and in possession of a loaded firearm. A search warrant was then executed for an apartment and vehicle located in the 100 block of N Lydia Street. Investigators say they found a large amount of marijuana and prescription pills along with scales and packaging materials.

Foland, 19 of Calmar, was arrested and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possession with intent to deliver amphetamines, possession with intent to deliver Xanax, three counts of failure to use a drug tax stamp, and public intoxication.

Koller, 20 of Calmar, is charged with possession with intent to deliver Xanax and failure to use a drug tax stamp.

Sydney Winter, 20 of Ossian, was arrested for possession with intent to deliver marijuana and failure to use a drug tax stamp.

Carson Larson, 20 of Fayette, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana-2nd offense.

The Winneshiek County Sheriffs Office says it was assisted in this case by the Winneshiek County Attorneys Office, Calmar Police Department and Iowa State Patrol. The investigation is ongoing with additional arrests and charges pending.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee turned to painting, her favourite hobby, while sitting at a dharna at Kolkata's Gandhi Murti to protest against the 24-hour campaigning ban imposed on her by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Sitting alone at the protest venue, without any TMC supporters or leaders, Banerjee took out her paintbrushes, colours and an empty canvas. She poured colours on the palette, made some brushstrokes and produced a painting.





#WATCH | West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee paints & shows paintings as she sits on dharna at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata, to protest against a 24-hour ban imposed by ECI on her from campaigning from 8 pm of April 12 till 8 pm of April 13 pic.twitter.com/CvKHxTB53d  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2021

Ahead of the fifth phase of polls in West Bengal, ECI barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours as she made "highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with the serious potential of the breakdown of law and order and thereby affecting the election process".

The TMC supremo has received support from leaders of different parties, including Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and DMK's MK Stalin. While Stalin said there needs to be a level playing field for everyone, Raut said the ban on Banerjee was imposed "at the behest of the BJP".

The faith in our democracy rests on free and fair elections.



The Election Commission of India must ensure a level playing field for all parties and candidates and ensure that impartiality and neutrality is maintained.#MamataBanerjee  M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) April 13, 2021

ECI has imposed a ban on Mamta didi for 24 hours. This is clearly done at the behest of BJP, ruling party in India. It is a direct attack on democracy and sovereignty of independent institutions of India. solidarity with Bengal Tigress, @MamataOfficial

@derekobrienmppic.twitter.com/oGxPJZdrSL  Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) April 13, 2021

Apart from Banerjee, the election watchdog has also issued warnings to leaders like Suvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh and Rahul Sinha of BJP over incendiary remarks.

Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with agency inputs

Also read: West Bengal election: ECI bans Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours

Also read: West Bengal elections 2021: PM Modi, Mamata Banerjee spar over death of 5 people in Cooch Behar
The two activists took part in an unauthorised demonstration in 2019. Wong is already in prison on other charges and is set to be tried on more. For his part, a defiant Koo told the court, I will violate the national security law next time, and called for an End the one-party dictatorship.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews)  The Eastern Magistrates Court sentenced pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Koo Sze-yiu to four months and five months in prison respectively for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration on 5 October 2019.

The two joined a protest against an extradition law (which was later withdrawn) and the ban on wearing masks during a public demonstration, approved a day earlier.

Wong was given a reduced sentence for pleading guilty. He is already serving a 14-month sentence for taking part in the siege of a police station in 2019.

Together with 46 other pro-democracy advocates, the young leader is set to appear before a court for organising and taking part in primary elections in July meant to select pro-democracy candidates for the September 2020 parliamentary elections (later postponed).

According to the authorities, running in elections to win a majority in Hong Kongs Legislative Council (LegCo) is a violation of the National Security Act, if pro-democracy forces do it.

Koo, 75 and a veteran of the pro-democracy camp, has stage four cancer. He was released from prison last week after being convicted of desecrating the national flag at a demonstration last July.

In his latest brush with law, he showed up in court today without a lawyer, telling the judge that this will not be his last conviction, the Apple Daily newspaper reported.

I will violate the national security law next time, Koo is quoted as saying. Dont pity me, dont sympathise with me, dont be merciful to me. [. . .] Human rights are bigger than the regime, people are higher than the country.

In wrapping up his defence plea, Koo added: End the one-party dictatorship, down with the Communist Party.

(Photo Rthk)
(Newser)  A pilot's aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined. The National Transportation Safety Board said the stall caused a loss of control at an altitude that was too low for the pilot to recover, the AP reports. The crash in Mokuleia was one of the most deadly in US civil aviation in recent memory. The board also found that the Beech King Air 65-A-90 had gone into a stall and spin in 2016 while in California, twisting the left wing. The wing wasn't repaired, leaving the plane in an "unairworthy condition." An aerodynamic stall happens when a plane loses lift under its wings due to a high angle of the nose and air speed that's too low; per the NTSB, the damage reduced the margin for an aerodynamic stall.

story continues below

The NTSB said Tuesday that while the Federal Aviation Administration inspected the Oahu Parachute Center's planes, the inspections failed to identify the damaged left wing. During an NTSB hearing last month, senior accident investigator David Lawrence said the FAA doesn't give tour operators and skydiving flights any more oversight than owners of other private planes, even though they carry paying passengers. Typically, he said, the FAA just conducts periodic airport checks of the planes and the pilots license. Findings from the Hawaii crash included that the FAA's oversight and monitoring of such operations "do not ensure that the operators are properly maintaining their aircraft and safely conducting their operations," Lawrence said. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said passengers on tour planes expect and deserve a safe ride. "When theyre parachuting they are accepting a risk associated with jumping out of the airplane," he said, "but they are not expecting the airplane to crash due to poor maintenance."

(Read more plane crash stories.)
LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ScholarRx today announced a new partnership with AMWA, the American Medical Women's Association , which for over a century has been committed to the advancement of women in medicine.

As a part of this partnership, AMWA becomes a charter member of ScholarRx's Medical Student Alliance for Global Education, or MeSAGE . MeSAGE empowers student organizations with the tools and expertise to build medical educational content that is often missing from the standard curriculum.

This partnership will focus on developing curriculum on platforms that are critical to AMWA, including but not limited to:

Gender equity

Diversity/inclusion

Health equity

Global health

Along with helping to drive and develop this curriculum, AMWA members will be granted access to these materials through the Rx Bricks digital learning system developed by ScholarRx.

AMWA's president, Nicole Sandhu, MD, PhD, states, "We are very excited to partner with ScholarRx and to become a charter member of MeSAGE, a wonderful initiative providing much-needed tools and expertise to build education content in areas of critical importance. This will help support our medical students' education, and is in alignment with AMWA's mission, vision, and values. We are delighted to see this well-aligned partnership come to fruition and so proud of our students."

Dr. Tao Le, founder and CEO of ScholarRx, comments, "Through MeSAGE, we are excited to partner with AMWA to address deep education needs at a global level and to help medical students define, build, and learn the key content that may be missing from the standard curriculum."

About ScholarRx: ScholarRx is a mission-driven organization currently serving over 150,000 medical students and physician learners annually. ScholarRx has developed a revolutionary componentized, multi-competency curricular platform that empowers medical schools and medical student organizations to rapidly develop high-quality education experiences, even in resource-constrained environments.

About AMWA: The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) is an organization of women physicians, medical students, and other persons dedicated to serving as the unique voice for women's health and the advancement of women in medicine. The organization was founded by Dr. Bertha Van Hoosen in 1915 in Chicago, at a time when women physicians were an under-represented minority. As women in medicine increase in numbers, new problems and issues arise that were not anticipated. AMWA has been addressing these issues for 105 years. Learn more at https://www.amwa-doc.org/

SOURCE ScholarRx
Chinas leading online microcredit company is forced to comply with the same rules as traditional banks. Like its majority shareholder Alibaba, it must obey the governments directives. The authorities want the personal data of Ant's 730 million users. The Chinese Communist Party battles web giants.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  China's central bank, the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC), is forcing the Ant Group to restructure itself under its supervision, PBOC Deputy Governor Pan Gongsheng said yesterday.

The Ant Group is a leading provider of online payment and microcredit services. Alipay, its web application, has more than 730 million users.

The Ant Group attaches great importance to the seriousness of the rectification, the company said in a statement, and it is ready to develop within the national strategic context.

In doing so, it can contribute to the dual circulation strategy promoted by President Xi Jinping, which combines greater self-sufficiency (especially in the technological field), higher domestic consumption, and more foreign capital.

Ant has not resisted government directives, aimed at drastically containing the power of Chinas web giants.

Alibaba, the champion of e-commerce founded by billionaire Jack Ma, the Ant Groups majority shareholder, also fell into line recently after it was fined 18.2 billion yuan (US$ 2.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position.

Ant will become a financial holding company under the same regulatory regime as traditional lenders. So far, it has had a competitive advantage over the big banks, such as no obligation to maintain a minimum level of capital.

According to experts, to restructure, Ant will need at least 200 billion yuan (US$ 30.5 billion) in registered capital, a transformation that will most likely reduce its profits and value.

The central bank also wants Ant to share with the authorities its greatest asset, namely the personal data of its users.

The business founded by Jack Ma has long been in the crosshairs of Chinese authorities. In November, the government blocked Ant's stock market entry.

The listing, the highest in history (US$ 39.7 billion), was stopped because its activities were not in line with new government rules on micro-financing via web platforms.

China wants to adopt a clearer legal framework to put an end to monopolistic practices in the technological field, and it is not alone.

In December 2020, the European Union presented a draft law listing what digital companies can and cannot do, on pain of hefty fines or seeing their activities suspended within its territory.

In an open system such as that of the EU, web giants can negotiate; in China, they have to obey the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As Jiang Jinquan, director of the CPCs Central Policy Research Office, noted in October, at the end of the Partys 5th Plenum, the first objective of the 14th five-year plan (2021-2025) is to increase the concentration of power in the hands of the CPC (i.e. Secretary General Xi Jinping).

For Alibaba, Tencent and China's other big tech groups, the writing is on the wall: follow the party line or else.
Two months after peppering Twitter with up-to-the-minute posts touting his pillow venture, Parkland student activist David Hogg has abandoned the fight.

Hogg, 20, took to his favorite platform on Saturday, April 10, to say hes stepping down from his partnership with Los Angeles software developer and entrepreneur William LeGate. The pair announced in February that they were starting a pillow company to compete against MyPillow, the company led by conservative businessman Mike Lindell.

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

Hogg and LeGates company gained a name, Good Pillow, but now LeGates going it alone, apparently.

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A couple weeks ago, a very spontaneous interaction over Twitter between me and William LeGate led to us trying to start a progressive pillow company, Hogg wrote on Twitter Saturday. We were met with immediate and overwhelming support. But I soon realized that given my activism, schoolwork, and family commitments, I could not give 100% to being a full time co-founder at Good Pillow.

Hogg, who entered Harvard University in September 2019, thanked his supporters. He said hes allowing LeGate to continue without him.

I have resigned and released all shares, any ownership and any control of Good Pillow LLC. I want to thank Will for his partnership and wish him absolutely nothing but success with the future of Good Pillow.

For his part, LeGate seems ready to continue with his efforts to bring Good Pillow to fruition. Good Pillow is not going away, he said Sunday on Twitter.

Hes focusing on school, LeGate said in another tweet. Starting a company is a full time job & I told him he shouldnt feel bad taking a step back. He can always come back when hes ready.

LeGate said he hoped to have Good Pillow ready for orders by July.

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After learning of the pairs plans, Lindell told Axios in February Good for them ... nothing wrong with competition that does not infringe on someones patent.

Story continues

On Saturday, Insider reported that Lindells My Pillow had vanished from Costcos website but had not said whether it had severed ties with the businessman.

Lindell also told Insider that 22 retailers  including Kohls and Bed, Bath & Beyond  had pulled his product, which, he said, could cost him $65 million in lost revenue. He told Insider he hoped his infomercials and radio ads could offset the losses.

Hogg was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland when a gunman killed 17 students and staff members on Feb. 14, 2018.
Healthcare facilities are currently a favorite target of criminals who use ransomware (aka malicious software) to launch attacks.

These disruptive attacks  which lock up systems and demand the victim pay a ransom in cryptocurrency in exchange for regaining access  can disable endpoints and encrypt critical files that include essential information for patient care.

Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations also tie up hundreds of IT staff hours responding and recovering, impact multiple branches and clinics, and damage hard-earned business reputations.

Numerous healthcare facilities were attacked in the last year, including one incident in Germany that lead to a death when ransomware locked systems and a patient needing critical care was turned away. Amid a global pandemic, the stakes are even higher. Once the pandemic outbreak began, attacks on healthcare organizations grew, says Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist at Sophos.

At the height of the pandemic, federal agencies issued a warning about the potential for an attack to US hospitals and healthcare providers. The joint cybersecurity advisory from the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) warned against an increased and imminent cybercrime threat.

Since COVID, a lot of attackers are trying to take advantage, says Wisniewski. If you send out 100 malicious emails, you are more likely to get hospitals or schools to take the bait because these institutions have been underdefended.

Whats more, funding for cybersecurity in healthcare has typically been woefully low due simply to prioritization, he notes.

The argument is Why are we spending on security when we have people dying of heart attacks? When a hospital spends on security, someone will ask why. There is always a better place to spend money than on computer security. That is why we see them overrepresented in the ransomware victim list, he notes.

Many emergency COVID-19 facilities set up without planned security of IT infrastructure only added to the concern. Factor in remote healthcare support workers who needed overnight accommodations and the security gaps are gapingly large.

How Healthcare Providers Can Prepare

While the concern is high, and budgets are often tight, there are a number of considerations healthcare IT and security leaders should keep in mind around ransomware mitigation.

Lock down endpoint protection. Ransomware attacks start at the endpoint when a user falls prey to a malicious link or attachment that then executes and downloads the software that locks up systems. The first place to start protecting your healthcare facility is at the endpoint. Look to tools and strategies that can stop both local and remote unauthorized file encryption. Endpoint protection technology should stop the delivery and installation of ransomware, block ransomware before it can run, and prevent the malicious encryption of files.

Employ human-led threat hunters. Even the best defenses dont always work, because ransomware techniques are becoming increasingly human-driven. Attackers often work alongside specialized associates with expert tools and techniques that evade detection. Commonly used solutions are also abused to disguise an active attack. While most organizations know to defend against malicious code, they should monitor for malicious behaviors using human-led threat hunting and managed threat response. In other words, you need human defenders to stop human-driven cyber attacks.

If hit, find experts to respond immediately. If your organization is under attack, dont wait. You need immediate incident response assistance. Seek out assistance from experienced incident responders to both identify and neutralize active threats as quickly as possible to minimize damages.

Sophos can assist you with your ransomware mitigation efforts. Learn more at Sophos.com.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said Daunte Wright, the 20-year-old black man who was fatally shot by Minnesota police during a traffic stop, should be alive today and said people will keep dying if the country does not address racial injustice.

To his family and loved ones: you must know that the president and I grieve with you as the nation grieves his loss and we stand with you, Harris said. Our nation needs justice and healing and law enforcement must be held to the highest standards of accountability.

She continued: At the same time, we know that folks will keep dying if we dont fully address racial injustice and inequities in our country from implicit bias to broken systems.

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Officers pulled Wright over for a traffic violation on Sunday and tried to detain him after learning he had an outstanding warrant. He then reentered his car and an officer shot him.

Police Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department described the shooting as an accidental discharge. Gannon said the officer, later identified as Kimberly Potter, a 26 year-veteran of the city force, had intended to discharge a Taser and instead fired a single shot at the man.

The car rolled for several blocks until it hit another vehicle. Wright was pronounced dead at the scene. Potter can be heard on body camera footage yelling Taser before firing the single shot that killed Wright. She can then be heard saying Oh sh**, I just shot him.

Potter resigned on Tuesday, a decision she should was in the best interest of the force.

Harris comments come one day after President Biden said the death was tragic but we have to wait and see what the investigation shows.

The question is was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined, he said. Im calling for peace and calm and we should listen to Dauntes mom, who is calling for peace and calm.

The fact is that, you know, we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in the black community in that environment is real, Biden said. Its serious and its consequential. But it will not justify violence and/or looting.

More from National Review
New Delhi/Moscow, April 13 : More than 50 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine will be produced in India in a month over the summer in partnership with five Indian companies, Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said on Tuesday.

Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually, which will be sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world.

India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. RDIF has reached agreements with the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country, including Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech, aimed at producing more than 850 million doses per year.

Dmitriev said in a media briefing that a big milestone has been reached with India giving approval for the Sputnik V vaccine on April 12. India is the most populated country to register the Russian vaccine. Total population of 60 countries where Sputnik V is approved for use is three billion people or about 40 per cent of the global population.

The vaccine has been registered in India under the emergency use authorisation procedure based on the results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.

Dmitriev said the approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as Russia and India have been developing extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

The Russian vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6 per cent and provides full protection against severe cases of Covid-19, as demonstrated by the data published in The Lancet, one of the leading medical journals.

Dmitriev said India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and Russia's strategic partner for production of Sputnik V. RDIF has created partnerships with a number of India's leading pharmaceutical companies for the production of Sputnik V, which will provide for both vaccination of the population in India and global distribution of the Russian vaccine.

He added that the clinical trials showed very high immune response in India and confirmed the very high efficacy of Sputnik V.

Dmitriev said that five producers have been announced in India and a couple more will be announced in the next two weeks, including for fill and finish capability.

RDIF is not buying equity stake in these companies, but will provide working capital so that they can ramp up quickly.

He said some companies are already producing Sputnik V, but the real ramp up of production will take two to three months over the summer.
This is your overview of news from Slovakia on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. This is a free-of-charge service for our readers. If you want to support us, become a subscriber and gain access to more detailed news and interesting feature stories from Slovakia.

No condition concerning labs specified in the Hungarian contract on Sputnik V

The Sme daily looked into the contract between Hungary and Russia on the purchase of the Sputnik V vaccines, as the agreement signed by Slovakia is not available to the public.

The Hungarian contract does not contain any condition that the vaccine should only be evaluated in a laboratory from the network of certified laboratories in the EU. On the contrary, it stipulates that a relevant authority should evaluate the vaccines.

Still, there is technically no obstacle for using Sputnik V in Slovakia. Shortly after the country received the batch of 200,000 doses in early March, then health minister Marek Krajci (OLaNO) approved the therapeutic usage of the vaccine in Slovakia.

However, incumbent Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky (OLaNO nominee) said on April 13 that the approval issued by Krajci does not apply to the vaccine Slovakia had actually received. He did not want to provide more details. The State Institute for Drug Control wrote in its statement from late March that the vaccines in Slovakia and those evaluated in the Lancet magazine only share the name.

Sputnik V could have been rolling out in Slovakia for weeks Read more

Shops, hotels, churches and more open from Monday

Several measures will be lifted from next Monday, April 19, as the country will switch to the dark red tier, as the representatives of the government have confirmed.

Non-essential shops and services will reopen, and so will churches, museums, swimming pools and hotels (but without restaurants). Travelling out to nature outside one's district will be permitted, too.

There will be several conditions and people will need a negative Covid test result no older than 7 days in most cases. The condition to wear FFP2 or KN95 respirators inside buildings and covering one's face outside, as well as curfew rules after 20:00, remain valid.

At the same time, the map of districts will be in the red shades from next Monday as there will be no district in the black tier.

Find everything about the measures here:

Find everything about the measures here: Measures will be lifted from April 19. What will open? Read more

Coronavirus and vaccination news

870 out of 8,275 PCR tests carried out on April 12 were positive, which represents 10.51 percent. Out of 193,746 antigen tests, 805 (or 0.42 percent) were positive.

carried out on April 12 were positive, which represents 10.51 percent. Out of 193,746 antigen tests, (or 0.42 percent) were positive. People older than 40 years may now register for vaccination. They will be administered the AstraZeneca vaccine.

may now register for vaccination. They will be administered the AstraZeneca vaccine. Germany donated 31 lung ventilators worth about 150,000 to Slovakia. They will be used in the Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok.

worth about 150,000 to Slovakia. They will be used in the Central Military Hospital in Ruzomberok. President Zuzana Caputova has received an undisclosed contract on the supplies of the Sputnik V vaccines to Slovakia at the meeting with Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky.

at the meeting with Health Minister Vladimir Lengvarsky. Hungary will test Sputnik V vaccines for Slovakia only after receiving an official request, said Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto in an interview with the ATV broadcaster. Another question is whether the official request will be delivered, he added.

Picture of the day

Zimmermann's pasqueflower is a very rare and endangered flower that grows in the south of Vychodoslovenska Nizina lowland. Environmentalists monitor the flowers every year.

(Source: TASR)

Feature story for today

Their conditions often vary; most would not be called appealing. Shelters are different from mountain chalets: they are often humbly equipped, overnight stays free and there is no option to book a spot. Regardless of the construction's condition, shelters offer a necessary overnight stay or a haven when bad weather strikes unexpectedly. A group of youngsters has decided to change that, planning a project focusing on a new generation of shelters for hikers, wanting to make them architectonically interesting.

Efforts to build new generation of tourist shelters spark enormous interest Read more

In other news

The second pandemic wave had a significant impact on the number of deaths in Slovakia in February 2021, when a total of 7,555 people died . It is 58.6 percent more than the average for this month in the past five years.

. It is 58.6 percent more than the average for this month in the past five years. The Administration of State Material Reserves has breached the law on public procurement when procuring tanks in 2019 , the Public Procurement Office found out. The tender, which resulted in signing a framework agreement worth 3.4 million excluding VAT, was assigned in a discriminatory way.

has breached the law on public procurement when , the Public Procurement Office found out. The tender, which resulted in signing a framework agreement worth 3.4 million excluding VAT, was assigned in a discriminatory way. Labour inspectors have revealed 1,641 illegally employed people in 2020, who worked for 567 employers. The Covid-19 pandemic limited business activities in some sectors and also limited activities of control bodies, which led to the number of revealed cases of illegal employment being the lowest in the past four years .

in 2020, who worked for 567 employers. The Covid-19 pandemic limited business activities in some sectors and also limited activities of control bodies, which led to the number of revealed cases of illegal employment being the . President Zuzana Caputova handed out credentials to two new Slovak ambassadors. Oksana Tomova will lead Slovakia's Permanent Representation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and Karla Wursterova will serve as Slovakia's ambassador to Italy, Malta and San Marino, headquartered in Rome.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte shows no signs of balancing the country's interests or altering his pivot to China with just a year left before his term ends, an opposition lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Duterte's position on the much-disputed West Philippine Sea does not count as "foolish," but should rather be described as "deliberately weak" amid Chinese maritime incursions.

"Malacanang has behaved largely like a doormat to China on this issue," Hontiveros told the online forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philipines (FOCAP).

"It has failed to stand up to China and lead our people in standing up to China," she said. "I don't see any indications from the President at this point in time that he has any intention of balancing, softening or altering his pivot towards Beijing."

"It's very unwise, but it's not foolish because it's deliberate," Hontiveros added. "That's even worse, speaking as a Filipino citizen. It is not foolish but it's deliberately taking a weaker position than we should."

The opposition lawmaker also condemned what she called a "duplicitous strategy" from China by providing vaccines, potentially in exchange for the Philippines' maritime resources.

China's Sinovac Biotech is currently the top vaccine provider for Filipinos, as the Philippine government scrambles to secure shipments from other Western brands. Delivery of the second batch of AstraZeneca vaccines was scheduled last month but was marred by delays due to global supply shortage.

READ: Lawmakers raise concerns about China's vaccine donations amid new tensions in West Philippine Sea

According to Hontiveros, the maritime issue must shape Filipinos' electoral behavior come 2022 and must call for a new administration that would address the need to have a "more self-respecting and more proactive" foreign relations with China.

Collin Koh, a research fellow at the Singapore-based Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, also noted the "disconnect" between Filipinos' sentiments toward China and their approval of Duterte.

"On one hand, there has been a consistently poor public perception towards China, but on the other hand, there has been a consistently high approval of President Duterte," he said, noting that the President must instead use his popularity to pursue causes that would uphold the Philippines' interest.

"After all, he is the chief architect of foreign policy, as repeatedly mentioned by his spokesperson," he added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said it has summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian over the lingering presence of Chinese vessels at the Julian Felipe Reef, also known as the Whitsun Reef. It also reiterated its demand for the immediate departure of other Chinese vessels in other maritime zones of the Philippines.

READ: PH summons Chinese envoy over illegal lingering of vessels in WPS

Over the last half decade, Duterte has maintained his soft stance on China. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said that Duterte and Huang tackled the issue in a "scheduled social call" last month, but he did not expound on the details of the conversation.

READ: Duterte raises PH arbitral win in dialogue with Chinese envoy

A landmark ruling of the arbitral tribunal in The Hague recognized in 2016 the Philippines' sovereign rights in areas within its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone and continental shelf that are being claimed by China.

Beijing continues to reject this ruling, which also invalidated its sweeping claims to the South China Sea, where other claimants include Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
A 25-year-old man who authorities say stole $100, a credit card and a Lexus from a Lookout Mountain woman has been brought back to Hamilton County.

Daniel Joseph Tackett, who gave his address as Southside Flats on Williams Street, has been held at Maryville, Tn., after police engaged him in a pursuit while he was driving the Lexus. That was March 17 - the same date as the theft.

That day Lookout Mountain, Tn., Police were dispatched at 7 a.m. to a house on Sumach Street. A woman there said sometime between the previous afternoon and that morning that someone had entered her unlocked back door. She said the intruder had taken her wallet out of her purse that was on the kitchen counter.

Also taken was the set of keys to her silver 2017 Lexus.

She found that her credit card had been used at multiple locations, including Evensville, Tn., Decatur, Tn., Knoxville and Maryville.

The police chase began around 4 p.m. Tackett was taken into custody after the pursuit and a foot chase. Tackett had the credit card and the key fob to the Lexus in his pocket.

He is charged with aggravated burglary, theft over $20,000, fraudulent use of a credit card, and identity theft.

Tackett had been arrested nine days earlier on a burglary at Mountain View Chevrolet on 20th Street. Employees arriving at the business found that the keys were missing to a 2021 Chevrolet Corvette and a Chevy Cruze.

There was a break-in at the dealership office, and deposits of $1,262 and $200-$300 were missing from the safe.

Later that date police in East Ridge found Tackett clutching a light pole and appearing to be confused. He was shaking and seemed to be high on drugs. Tackett said he used heroin earlier in the day. He said he did not know what day or month it was or where he was located at the time.

He also had a large amount of cash on him and Mountain View Chevrolet checks.

Tackett was charged with theft over $60,000, aggravated burglary, burglary, and theft of property over $10,000 in that case.

He was out on bond at the time of the Lookout Mountain heist.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Margherita, the beloved Italian wine brand that pioneered the first white Pinot Grigio and helped put Prosecco on the map, is thrilled to unveil the launch of its newest innovation, Santa Margherita Rose, this summer.

Santa Margherita Rose is lively and vibrant with fresh acidity and balance. Its pale pink hue was inspired by the beautiful shades of pink reflecting off the Venetian Lagoon during a perfect summer sunset. Its light floral taste, derived from a meticulous vinification process, makes it the perfect accompaniment to almost any meal, pairing well with salads, appetizers, grilled meats, and a selection of cheeses. Crafted with grapes from some of the most revered vineyards in the heart of the historic and prolific Tre Venezie region, this new wine is sure to delight new and devoted Santa Margherita fans alike.

"Santa Margherita has been sharing extraordinary wines that represent an authentic taste of Italy for over eight decades, and we're proud to announce a new release worthy of our esteemed portfolio," said Santa Margherita USA President & CEO Vincent Chiaramonte. "This rose embodies the brand's roots in the northeastern region and continues the legacy of our founder, Count Gaetano Marzotto, a pioneer and entrepreneur, who was committed to bringing the best local flavor to each bottle. We are excited to introduce consumers to Santa Margherita Rose."

Since its founding in 1935, Santa Margherita has been a leader in wine innovation. The brand popularized Prosecco with its release of Prosecco Superiore in 1952, during a time when only locals knew of the now world-famous Italian bubbly. In the 1960s, the Marzotto family was the first to blaze the trail for white Pinot Grigio, which is created utilizing a unique fermentation process that removes the grape skin. At its launch, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio took the USA by storm and remains the luxury leader in Pinot Grigio to this day.

Santa Margherita Rose will join the brand's highly regarded portfolio of wines including both Prosecco Superiore Di Valdobbiadene DOCG and Pinot Grigio, as well as its Sparkling Rose, Rive di Refrontolo, and Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG. The Rose will launch in select retailers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and California for $24.99 per bottle.

For more information, please visit santamargheritawines.com.

About Santa Margherita USA

Santa Margherita USA is a fine wine import company representing premium and ultra-premium wine estates. Santa Margherita USA represents over ten world-renowned wineries throughout the United States including Santa Margherita, Ca' del Bosco, Kettmeir, Lamole di Lamole, Sassoregale, Torresella, Feudo Zirtari, Fattoria Sardi, Ca Maiol, Masi and Cantina Mesa. The wine portfolio is a dynamic and diverse mosaic of Italy's finest wine regions including the Veneto, Alto Adige, Franciacorta, Lugana, Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily.

SOURCE Santa Margherita

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https://santamargheritawines.com/


Ryan Justin was outraged by a note by Markham Pell (pictured) saying 'coloured guys' at Pure Gym's fitness centre in Derby

Older white people sometimes use the word 'coloured' to describe black people because they are 'anxious' to be polite, a tribunal has found, after a black cleaner accused a 'naive' middle-aged white gym colleague of racism and quit.

Those of a 'certain age' who have not had 'multi-cultural acquaintances' often use the 'outdated' language when trying not to offend, an employment judge said.

Black cleaner Ryan Justin was outraged by a note his white colleague Markham Pell wrote about three South Asian men who he believed were misbehaving at the Pure Gym in Derby.

The tribunal, which was held remotely, heard the message left at the office said: 'Steve was training last night (this morning) and informed me that 3 coloured guys were messing around (i.e. play fighting and not really training) (in basement).'

The 'Steve' referred was Steve Hayes, an off duty colleague using the gym facilities, who had relayed a concern to Mr Pell and suggested it was put in the comments book.

Mr Justin had not seen the incident but wrote it down in his own words based on Mr Hayes' description, the tribunal heard.

Mr Justin stormed out of the gym after seeing the note and later sent an email to his boss on February 8, 2020, that he resigned because he would 'rather walk out than get into any conflict'.

But ruling against him, Judge Robert Clark said people only think the word 'coloured' is acceptable because of 'less polite alternatives' that existed in the past and it does not mean they are not 'inclusive'.

The tribunal, held remotely, heard Mr Justin was enraged after seeing a comment left by another cleaner stating 'three coloured guys were messing around (i.e. play fighting and not really training)'. Pictured: General view of the gym

Why is the term 'coloured' considered so offensive? FA boss Greg Clarke resigned after using the term 'coloured' during a session with MPs on racism A judge has ruled that middle-aged white people may be prone to using the word 'coloured' when describing black or Asian people - but don't mean to offend. But the word coloured is considered offensive because it harks back to times of segregation, especially in the Unites States and South Africa. Campaigners have also said that the term is based on the assumtion white is 'normal or default' and any other ethinicity is not. In the past it was used on public transport, toilets, restaurants, drinking fountains and many other places and referred to as 'coloured-only'. Explaining why it is upsetting charity Show Racism the Red Card say: '[It] was used to describe anybody who was not white, which may imply that to be white is 'normal' or default. 'If we consider it, every human has a skin colour, so technically we are all coloured.' Greg Clarke resigned as chairman of the Football Association having used the term 'coloured footballers' as he spoke to MPs about diversity and racism. Despite most people now using the term 'black', some older people still use it despite it being outdated. The judge in the tribunal said that this 'outdated language was once used descriptively by people who genuinely felt it to be a polite term, is only so because of the less polite alternatives that existed in that past era'. In 2015 Benedict Cumberbatch apologised after using the term 'coloured' to describe black actors. He used the word while on a US talk show discussing how he believes there are more opportunities for black actors in Hollywood than in Britain. After he was criticised, he said in a statement: 'I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive.' Advertisement

Mr Justin lost his harassment claim in March after Mr Pell told the tribunal he had immediately apologised and said he did not mean it to be 'nasty or upsetting' and he genuinely had not meant to be racist.

He claimed he had been worried about using the word 'black' to describe the men as he thought it was offensive and so decided to use the word 'coloured' instead.

The judge sided with Mr Pell, agreeing he was concerned not to offend, and ruled Mr Justin's approach to Mr Pell was 'confrontational' and Mr Pell had genuinely been trying to apologise for doing what he thought was the right thing to do.

Judge Robert Clark said: 'We agree entirely with that sentiment. Nothing we have concluded should suggest otherwise.

'The fact that this outdated language was once used descriptively by people who genuinely felt it to be a polite term, is only so because of the less polite alternatives that existed in that past era.

'We accept white people of a certain age who perhaps have not had much opportunity to benefit from multi-cultural acquaintances in their day to day lives may draw on this outdated language in the mistaken belief it is polite and genuinely descriptive.

'The same may be said of younger people who have grown up in such households. That seems to apply to Mr Pell who, we accept, appears otherwise to try to conduct himself in life in an inclusive manner.'

Mr Pell had left the message after an incident a couple of days earlier in which three men had been misbehaving in the gym.

But Mr Justin saw it and 'took exception' to the use of the word and added his own comment saying: 'Not coloured'.

Three nights later, he confronted Mr Pell - who both cleaned through a firm called Atlas Facilities Management Limited - to explain why black people would be offended by the word.

He said the men had actually been of South Asian ethnicity and he had been unsure how to describe them in his note.

Employment Judge Robert Clark said the 'older' Mr Pell was 'a particularly naive and timid' individual who described himself as 'being raised in an old fashioned household'.

He said: '[We found] Ironically, that he had chosen this word in the misplaced belief it was more appropriate, albeit he subsequently realised and accepts it could cause offence...

'We accept he will go some way to avoid confrontation if he can. His own life experiences are such that he is aware of the need to be culturally sensitive and is conscious of not inadvertently offending others, not least because that could itself be the source of the conflict he otherwise tries to avoid.'

He added: 'Wrongly, [Mr Pell] now understands, he had been anxious about describing anyone as 'black' as he perceived that could be offensive generally.

'His restricted vocabulary was compounded further when trying to describe individuals from an Asian background as black.'

Mr Pell had left the message after an incident a couple of days earlier in which three men had been misbehaving in the gym

Mr Pell (left and right) immediately apologised and said he did not mean it to be 'nasty or upsetting' and he genuinely had not meant to be racist

In his witness statement to the tribunal, Mr Justin said: 'Black people have had to put up with offensive name tags or described with offensive racist slurs for many years, however times have changed and this should not be accepted or considered OK in this current time.

'The guilty parties should be made to learn what effect this has had on individuals and communities.'

The tribunal ruled Mr Justin's claims of harassment both failed and were therefore dismissed.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - 72286 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States on Monday, taking the national total to 31268132. This is higher than the 7-day average of 69030.



476 new deaths were reported in the country on the same day, which is less than half of the weekly average of 985. With this, the COVID death toll in the U.S. increased to 562533, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.



Coronavirus infections are surging disproportionately in Michigan, placing it among the worst of the nation's hot zones. More than 10000 cases were reported in the state on Monday alone, prompting CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to call on the authorities to 'shut things down' rather than try to lean more heavily on vaccines.



She said CDC's most recent data show that the seven-day average for new cases has increased about 3 percent over the prior seven-day period.



Hospital admissions also continued to increase. The most recent seven-day average - a little over 5,300 admissions per day - is a 6.6 percent increase from the prior seven-day period. And deaths decreased 5.2 percent to a seven-day average of 684 per day.



Vaccinations continue to increase, with more than 3 million vaccines delivered across the country daily. A record high of 4.6 million doses were administered on Saturday.



'We are now 82 days into the 100-day mark and have administered more than 166 million vaccinations towards the President's goal of 200 million vaccinations in the first 100 days,' the CDC chief said while giving an update on the Biden administrations fight against the pandemic.



White House Senior Advisor for COVID Response Andy Slavitt said at a White House briefing that more than 72 million Americans have been fully vaccinated against the virus. Twenty-eight percent of adults are now fully vaccinated across the U.S.



Significant progress has been made in vaccinating Americans above the age of 65. Seventy-eight percent have now had at least their first shot. Slavitt announced that on Monday, a new federally run mass vaccination site was opened in Central Point, Oregon.



'By next week, we will have opened a total of 36 mass vaccination sites, with a combined capability of administering 124,000 shots per day'.



'And in states like Michigan, where we are seeing troubling metrics, we are taking action by deploying resources in four critical areas: shots in arms, personnel, testing, and therapeutics,' Slavitt told reporters.



Dr Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said that herd immunity is an 'elusive concept' and there is no definitive percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated to achieve it. A return to normalcy is 'not going to be like a light switch going on and off,' he told BBC Radio 4 Today.



Meanwhile, a new study says that though the UK variant of the coronavirus spreads more easily than older strains, it doesn't cause more severe disease among hospitalized patients. The new variant, clinically known as B.1.1.7, is lately dominating in some countries, including the United States and the U.K.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The Fukushima plant holds more than 1.25 million tons of wastewater in more than 1,000 tanks. The process of cooling the three reactors damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami generates more than 150 additional tons a day.

Under the plan, powerful filters will be used to remove all of the radioactive material from the water except for tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that experts say is not harmful to human health in small doses. Radiation levels in the resulting product, the government says, are lower than those found in drinking water. Japan intends to start releasing the water in 2023, in a process that is expected to take decades.

In an effort to ease minds at home, the authorities have placed dosimeters around the prefecture to monitor radiation levels and conduct routine screenings of seafood from the region. The government has held public hearings on the plan in Fukushima and in Tokyo.

The authorities say that they have also discussed the issue extensively with other countries and at international forums. In a news briefing on Tuesday, a Japanese official said that the country had held 108 group briefings for diplomats in Japan and had met with representatives from China and South Korea on the day of the announcement to explain the decision.

The United States came out in support of the plan. The International Atomic Energy Agency also endorsed it, saying in a statement that it was in line with practice globally, even though the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant makes it a unique and complex case.

The gap between such reassurances and the strident reactions closer to home was striking.

The outrage in the region is quite understandable, said Nanako Shimizu, an associate professor of international relations at Utsunomiya University in Japan who is opposed to the plan.


Pre-Feasibility Study for Initial Underground Projects

Sydney, April 13, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Theta Gold Mines Limited ( ASX:TGM ) ( OTCMKTS:TGMGF ) is pleased to announce its Maiden Underground Prefeasibility Study (PFS) for the Beta, Frankfort, and CDM mines, all of which form part of the Central Northern area and now collectively referred to as TGME Underground (UG) Project.HIGHLIGHTS: TGME Phase 1 Underground Project, which excludes the open pits. All numbers in USD and financials based on forecast gold price of average USD$1,570/oz and ZAR/USD exchange rate of 15.9.- Pay-back period from first gold 13 months- Pay-back period from start of mining 22 months- 419,000 oz Au delivered to plant over initial Life of Mine (LoM)- By the third year, production over 60,000 oz Au/year (recovered)- LoM is 7.67 years- US$241.2 million EBITDA over LoM- Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 82%- US$91.2 million Net Present Value (NPV)- US$905/oz Au all-in sustaining cost (AISC) over LoM, bottom quartile for South Africa producers- Total LoM Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) US$79 million includes -o Peak CAPEX first 3 years US$37M - Oxide and Backfill Plant and Beta Mine developmento Year 4 US$27M Sulphide Circuit and Frankfort and CDM Mine developmento US$15M of remaining capital to develop and sustain operationsThe company continues to honor its commitment to improving the project economics and expansion of the production profile. The team has delivered a Maiden Underground Prefeasibility Study based on only 16% of the 4.5m oz Au underground gold resource, and incorporates only three mines out of a total 43 historical mines across the project area. As well, it considered only measured and indicated resources for initial inclusion in production and reserve conversion. The inferred resources of these phase 1 mines, together with more than 40 historical mine sites under management, will be systematically studied and incorporated into future production modelling.This is a very positive early step to developing the goldfield.The initial study focused on the easy access of 684,000 oz Au in the Measured and Indicated categories of the TGME Underground Resource for the Beta, Frankfort and CDM areas. (Appendix B). The team achieved a conversion factor of 63% from resource to mining reserve in those areas.A further 3.5m oz Au of inferred resources is available to be upgraded to the Measured and Indicated resource category and potentially a portion could be converted into mining reserves.Theta Gold has demonstrated, through the first phase underground PFS, excellent project economics for what it believes to be only a small portion of the underground resource and will continue to build up its Mining Reserves during the year by progressing Rietfontein and other mines through to PFS level, while concluding detailed designs for the Phase 1 UG Project.Previously the company announced a five-year plan, which targets four (4) mine developments, Theta open-pit Starter Project (MR83 only), Theta open pit extension (MR341) and the Rietfontein and Beta underground mines. This 4-mine strategy provided the company with a clear growth plan with a combined open pit and underground resource of over 2.75 Moz. The recent detailed work that was done on Frankfort, Beta and CDM UG mines, together with Theta Phase 1 OP, has further enhanced this strategy. The Company will expand further regarding this wider scope during Q2 2021.The TGME Underground PFS shows that the narrow high-grade reefs system can be mined with modern mechanized mining techniques (safer, increased productivity and minimum dilution), and that the gold can be recovered by utilizing modern metallurgical technologies (Ultrafine grinding and Intense CIL). This proof of concept is part of de-risking the underground projects. The "New CEO's Development Strategy" later in April will review how the underground and open pit mines will be combined to organically grow the production profile.Chairman Mr Bill Guy stated, "The TGME Underground Prefeasibility Study clearly demonstrates that the extensive flat high-grade narrow reef systems of East Transvaal Goldfield can be mined economically, and modern mechanized mining and metallurgy can deliver strong project economics.Now that the company has generated a PFS for the TGME Underground Project, we can optimize our development strategy based on confident numbers. At a 63% conversion ratio, Theta Gold still has 3.5 million oz Au of underground resources to develop in order to extend LoM and increase production into the future.Due to the shallow, high grade and on-reef development characteristics of the ore, our AISC of US$905 per ounce of gold sits in the bottom quartile of costs for South Africa. At a forecasted average US$1,570 gold price, EBITA is US$241m from revenue of US$545m and the NPV is US$91m; all based on a very small proportion of the overall project area. The CAPEX is modest and staged and production peaks at 70,000 oz Au per annum. This PFS clearly demonstrates very strong project economics for the underground mines. In real terms, we have only completed the study on 16% of the total of 4.5m ounces of gold in the underground mineral resource. The team will complete the Rietfontein PFS in Q3 of this year. The Mining Reserve from Rietfontein can then be brought into the updated PFS to further increase the production profile.At Theta Gold, the resource pipeline into the future is strong, and the scale of the potential resources and the geology in South Africa should not be underestimated. The Company will soon be a key player in the South African mining industry, a sector that has produced more tons of gold than any other country when measuring gold bullion tonnage. Over 40% of the world's gold has come from the small corner of South Africa that we call home."Financial SummaryFinancial modelling was completed over a range of gold price environments, using all of forecast prices and constant prices of US$1,500/oz, US$1,600/oz, US$1,700/oz, US$1,800/oz and US$2,000/oz. The forecast prices are considered the Base Case as per the completed PFS.To view tables and figures, please visit:About Theta Gold Mines Limited

Theta Gold Mines Limited (ASX:TGM) (OTCMKTS:TGMGF) is a gold development company that holds a range of prospective gold assets in a world-renowned South African gold mining region. These assets include several surface and near-surface high-grade gold projects which provide cost advantages relative to other gold producers in the region.

Theta Gold Mines core project is located next to the historical gold mining town of Pilgrim's Rest, in Mpumalanga Province, some 370km northeast of Johannesburg by road or 95km north of Nelspruit (Capital City of Mpumalanga Province). Following small scale production from 2011-2015, the Company is currently focussing on the construction of a new gold processing plant within its approved footprint at the TGME plant, and for the processing of the Theta Open Pit oxide gold ore. Nearby surface and underground mines and prospects are expected to be further evaluated in the future.

The Company aims to build a solid production platform to over 100Kozpa based primarily around shallow, open-cut or adit-entry hard rock mining sources. Theta Gold Mines has access to over 43 historical mines and prospect areas that can be accessed and explored, with over 6.7Moz of historical production recorded.
Hong Kong, April 13 : After cargo pallets containing Vivo Y20 smartphones caught fire at Hong Kong airport this week, a major cargo airline has reportedly announced a ban on Vivo phones.

According to Android Authority, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has confirmed that it is investigating the cause of the fire.

"We noticed that a shipment of goods, some of which were Vivo products, got burned on the parking apron of Hong Kong International Airport on April 11," Android Authority quoted the company as saying.

"We have paid high attention and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause," it added, saying it would keep the media and public informed of any development.

The report, citing The Standard, said that the cargo fire occurred on the airport's apron just before the pallets containing Vivo Y20 phones and associated accessories were due to be loaded into a Hong Kong Air Cargo plane bound for Thailand.

Several industry outlets have since reported that Hong Kong Air Cargo has banned Vivo devices and two air freight companies until further notice, the report said.

The cause of the fire is not known yet, but lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones can cause fires if they are defective or damaged, it added.
At the first sign of engine problems, the pilot of the World War-era B-17 bomber radioed to the Bradley International Airport control tower to say he was circling back for an emergency landing. But some 600 feet above the ground and more than 2.7 miles away from runway 6, the pilot made a fateful decision to lower the landing gear.

According to the final report of the National Transportation Safety Board, this caused the plane to slow down and left little room to maneuver. The plane clipped the approach lights some 1,000 feet before the runway, crashed 500 feet before the runway, and skidded into a deicing tank where it burst into flames.

This combination of engine problems and pilot error with the vintage aircraft contributed to the Oct. 2, 2019 crash that killed seven people, including the pilot and co-pilot and five of 10 passengers. The plane, owned by the Collings Foundation, was part of a living history experience, where passengers would pay for the experience of flying in an authentic WWII era bomber.

The probable cause of the crash was a combination of the pilot failing to manage the planes configuration and speed, and inadequate maintenance that caused the planes number 3 and 4 engines to lose power.

An NTSB graphic showing the final flight of the vintage B-17 bomber that crashed in October 2019 at Bradley International Airport.

The report on the 18-month investigation was released to the press on Tuesday. It cited several issues for the future of such flights, including a new regulatory framework for such flights including over maintenance, management policies and procedures, increased Federal Aviation Administration oversight of the operations and safety management of history.

According to the report, the flight, the first scheduled for the day, had just taken off. The pilot had just raised the landing gear, and the flight engineer told the 10 passengers they were allowed to unfasten their seatbelts and were free to walk around the plane.

Seconds later, the cockpit reported to the tower that it needed to make an emergency landing because of a rough magneto in one of the engines.

With the plane at 600 feet and no longer climbing, the passengers were told to return to their seats and buckle up.

The pilot shut down engine 4, which was running rough and experiencing loss of power, and increased power to engine 3.

An examination of engine 3 afterward showed the sparkplugs were worn, which reduced the amount of thrust available. The pilot likely did not recognize, or recognized too late, the extent of the loss of engine power on the planes right side, the report notes.

On the return to the airport, the plane was travelling at an estimated 100 mph, below the recommended 120 mph needed to control descent. Lowering the landing gear contributed to the plane being too slow.

When it made its final approach, it was 150 feet off the ground and had 4/10s of a mile to go to the runway. About 1,000 feet from the runway, it clipped the runways 6 approach lights and then crashed. The plane skidded into a de-icing tank and burst into flames.

An NTSB airplane performance study showed the B-17 could likely have flown over the approach lights and landed on the runway if the landing gear had not been lowered and the plane was able to maintain a speed of 120 mph.

Killed were the pilot: Ernest McCauley, 75, of Long Beach, California and copilot Michael Foster, 71, of Jacksonville, Florida, and passengers James Roberts, 48, of Ludlow; David Broderick, 56, of West Springfield; Gary Mazzone, 66, of Broad Brook, Connecticut; Robert Riddell, 59, of East Granby, Connecticut and Robert Rubner, 64, of Tolland, Connecticut.

McCauley had logged 14,500 hours in the air as a pilot, with roughly half that as a B-17 pilot. Foster had 22,000 hours in the air but only 23 hours on a B-17.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, issued a statement calling for more FAA oversight into the vintage flights business. The report revealed a series of failures on the part of the Collings staff, he said.

As highlighted by this report, present FAA regulations defer to the airplanes owner on safety compliance, failing to provide even the most basic oversight of how closely the airplane owner is complying with FAA regulations, he said.

The FAA must immediately begin implementing the NTSB recommendations for the safety sake of all who fly in these living flight history experience airplanes.

He said he will call for the implementation of the reports recommendations, and will work with the senates Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to see that the changes are implemented.

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Surya from Bangalore, India, hopes that post-pandemic, we will all strive to be more connected: with our loved ones, with our communities, with our colleagues.

We need to do away with the capital I in I and bring back the capital E of Empathy, he said. I hope we can reconnect with our empathetic side.

Cathleen from Miami, Florida, hopes that we heed our scientists and visionaries and prepare effectively for the next crisis.

Mark from New York City wants our society to rebuild health care so that it serves all our people.

These are some of the voices of a transmedia, or multiple media, storytelling project called Sharing Our Dreams that aims to capture the wishes of people from around the world for a post-pandemic future. Sponsored by the nonprofit multimedia organization Media for Change, the forum was conceived by Sanjeev Chatterjee, a professor in the University of Miami School of Communication. The multimedia project acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic was something that disrupted the world in unprecedented ways, but states that it will end one day. So, it is the perfect time to ask: What kind of world do we want to build? Chatterjee declared.

More than 35 video entries in several languages have been submitted to the website. The goal was to ask people how they visualize the world and what the future will be like, he said.

Media for Change is committed to building a community of media makers from all over the world with the belief that individual stories can eventually assemble a concerned audience and bring about change, according to Chatterjee.

Karin Wilkins, dean of the School of Communication, sits on the advisory board of the organization.

Media for Change brings together a talented and enthusiastic collection of creative professionals and dedicated scholars committed to understanding how we can best use media for constructive social change, said Wilkins. The projects pursued represent some of the most significant concerns in our contemporary lives. They are challenging but nevertheless necessary to address.

Among the teachers and storytellers also working on projects under the Sharing Our Dreams umbrella is Jeffrey Harlan, a Philadelphia schoolteacher who believes that dreams can empower people. Working with thousands of students in 43 states of the United States and in 38 countries, Harlan has begun dreamline, a classroom project, with other colleagues from around the worldwhere he encourages students to write their dreams on cloth banners. He has collected almost 3,000 banners.

As part of the Sharing our Dreams project, Chatterjee has also launched a podcast called Where Dreams Come From, which will feature several people who have followed their dreams and built a successful career.

The first podcast episode was an interview with Isaac Prilleltensky, vice provost for institutional culture at the University. Prilleltensky shared pieces of his life story, including the tragic loss of his parents when he was only 8 years old. He then was adopted by loving relatives in Argentina but had to face anti-Semitism and political strife.

Growing up under difficult circumstances made me pursue my dreams, he said. Those dreams included fairness for everybody and wellness for all. Prilleltensky devoted his life to that goal when he became a community psychologist and eventually implemented many of his teachings and beliefs in his work.

Others who will be interviewed for the podcast include Maggie Steber, an award-winning documentary photographer who has followed her passion, and Shahidul Alam, a photographer from Bangladesh whose work seeks to give a voice to the voiceless.

A parallel podcast in German, titled Wo Traume Herkokken, will be launched in the next few weeks, said Chatterjee.

Continuing the theme of dreams, Chatterjee has begun work on a documentary about the life of University of Miami alumnus Tvrtko Vujity, a Hungarian journalist who became a war correspondent and a well-known journalist in his country and in other Slavic language countries. His work led him to cover the genocide in Rwanda and report on the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl.

Chatterjee and Vujity met at the School of Communication when Vujity studied there. I was eager to meet Tvrtko [again] after all these years because he was making a big change in his lifes trajectory, said Chatterjee. Vujity had moved with his family to Hawaii and he told Chatterjee, after telling the stories of hell on earth, now I want to discover paradise.

For Chatterjee, Vujitys journey could be attractive to many who hope to change their lives.

This is potentially a story about reinvention, an evolution in the story of Tvrtkos dream of becoming a journalist, he said. I think it could be a great story.


Earn your Associate of Applied Business in Business IT (BIT) degree online from the University of Cincinnati. This program can be completed fully online, with curriculum customized to fit your schedule, interests and how quickly you want to complete your degree. Application deadline July 1, 2021. Learn More 

Jonathan Cran, founder and CEO of Intrigue, a cybersecurity startup based in Austin, Texas, used his company's network security tools to compile a list of Fortune 500 companies still exposed to last month's Microsoft Exchange breach. Potentially, many of those companies may not know their networks are compromised.

Intrigue's tools discovered the extensive infiltration from a successful breach by a Chinese cyber-espionage unit last month. Intrigue compiled a list of Fortune 500 companies still exposed to the Microsoft Exchange breach, however Cran declined to release the names on that list due to legal concerns.

The Microsoft Exchange breach focused on stealing email from some 30,000 organizations by exploiting four newly-discovered flaws in Microsoft Exchange Server email software. That attack seeded hundreds of thousands of victim organizations worldwide with tools that give the attackers total remote control over affected systems, according to published reports.

Fortune 500 Breach Victims

Intrigue's network monitoring discovered 120 exposures among the Fortune 500 companies. A total of 62 individual organizations were affected, and 23 organizations had multiple independent systems exposed. One professional services firm was found to have upwards of 25 independent systems exposed, noted Cran.

In terms of breadth of this exposure, Intrigue found Fortune 500 organizations were affected within a wide range of verticals. The exposure was not limited to specific segments of the industry but was widespread across all enterprise types, he said.

"These are known exposures discovered through a primarily passive methodology. We find that when our customers engage directly with us to map their attack surface, the number of known assets easily doubles or triples based on them providing more information and seeds, so this list of exposures is not comprehensive," Cran told TechNewsWorld.

He encourages all companies running Microsoft Exchange to log in to Intrigue and verify the findings and work with the security company to mitigate risk ongoing. Most of the Fortune 500 companies have addressed the vulnerability in their primary mail infrastructure for their primary domains but not all, he warned.

"Subsidiaries are a big problem and will continue to be as visibility into these systems can be more limited, and responsibility for ensuring security for these organizations can be more dispersed," said Cran.

Verticals Victimized in Breach

Although Intrigue's founder declined to identify specific companies caught in the Microsoft Exchange breach, Cran issued this extensive list of effected vertical industries to TechNewsWorld:

Advertising and Marketing

Apparel

Automotive Retailing, Services

Chemicals

Commercial Banks

Computer Software

Consumer Credit Card and Related Services

Delivery

Diversified Financials

Diversified Outsourcing Services

Electronics

Energy

Engineering, Construction

Financial Data Services

Food Consumer Products

Food Production

General Merchandisers

Home Equipment, Furnishings

Homebuilders

Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

Insurance: Life and Health

Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Logistics

Medical Products and Equipment

Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Motor Vehicle Parts

Packaging, Containers

Petroleum Refining

Pharmaceuticals

Pipelines

Retail

Securities

Soaps and Cosmetics

Telecommunications

Utilities: Gas and Electric

Wholesalers: Diversified

Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

Wholesalers: Health Care

Significance of the Breach List

Intrigue views the significance of the March Microsoft Exchange breach from two main vectors.

One is the breadth and severity of the exposure, as the vulnerability exists in software that is used extensively by almost every major organization worldwide and enables access to the most sensitive of employee and customer data and communications. The second is the continued lack of speed with which major organizations can assess their own exposure and mitigate risk.

"As we saw with other recent vulnerabilities (CVE-2020-0688), Exchange is a particularly appealing target. The challenge of patching quickly is real. Taking email infrastructure down is an exercise in faith. You just hope it comes back up. This means most organizations patch off hours and during a maintenance window. This, in turn, offers more of an opportunity to attackers," explained Cran.

The speed with which a nation-state developed Hafnium APT attack capability and spread to financial and other actors was striking, observed Cran. It will not slow down going forward, he warned.

"Why would attackers innovate if they can lie in wait and action a capability that the major governments of the world funded and created for them?" he observed.

While many of the Fortune 500 firms have secured their primary domains from the Exchange risk, often subsidiaries or legacy domains are left exposed. In an era of increasing integration and reliance on distributed IT and third-party solutions, no easy way is available for an organization to identify, measure, and resolve this extended, inherited exposure, which can cause just as much loss as a full-frontal breach, according to Cran.

Many Security Nonbelievers Exist

Cran worries about the resistance among some companies to taking protective action. Having worked in information security for a long time on many different problems with organizations of all types and sizes, he still sees some of the most well-funded and most seemingly capable organizations on the planet in a scenario where they still are blind to simple exposures in their organization.

"It is not because of a lack of trying, a lack of people, or a lack of allocated budget," he said.

Intrigue set out to find out why these organizations still find themselves discovering breaches through external means. His company developed a solution that could actually solve this problem now while being flexible enough to adapt as organizations and technology evolve, he offered.

Plans to Notify Victims

Cran told TechNewsWorld that his company will attempt whatever means possible to make its findings available to any organization found to be compromised. Intrigue will work through various CERTs and ISACs to share information during events such as this, as well as organizations like the CTI League and other information-sharing groups.

"In addition to this, to scale our outbound communication, we found it was necessary to allow security teams to self-sign into our portal to gain additional information and share our findings upon account creation," he added.

Intrigue has made access to its breach information simple. Users need to enter their company email address to get known information about their organization and share information about current vulnerabilities.

"Our ability to leverage passive and active techniques, along with our integration to over 250 external data sources and security tools, provides Intrigue with unique insight into not only what assets exist within an organization's network, but also what those assets are running and how they're configured. We then map that asset information against our knowledge base of threats to identify and assess threats," explained Cran.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.


The Canadian spy agency CSIS on April 12 said that the foreign spying and interference in Canada last year hit levels not seen since the Cold War. According to CSIS 2020 report, the agency singled out Russia and China as particular cases for concern and said that the key national security threats such as violent extremism, foreign interference, espionage and malicious cyber activity grew in 2020 and became much more serious for Canadians. The CSIS linked the jump in foreign spying to the increasing number of people working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the report, Canadian Security Intelligence Service Director David Vigneault, said, We observed how online platforms were used by violent extremists to continue the spread of harmful beliefs, including xenophobic, anti-authority narratives as well as conspiracy theories about the pandemic, in an attempt to rationalize and justify violence.

He added, In 2020, CSIS observed espionage and foreign interference activity at levels not seen since the Cold War.

The latest report follows a year of warnings from the Canadian spy agency and other security agencies about national security vulnerabilities in Canadas biopharmaceutical sciences sectors. The agency said that those reports were exposed to outside interference as large numbers of Canadians transitioned working for home. CSIS said that contacted 225 entities across Canada and briefed at least 2,000 Canadian stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic last year and continues to do so in 2021.

Foreign actors collecting data through nontraditional collectors

Further, CSIS informed that one of the ways foreign actors collected political, economic and military information in Canada last year was through "nontraditional collectors," like researchers and private entities. The agency said that one of those tools, Chinas Thousand Talents Program and academic exchanges, were used to exploit Canadian expertise. They also noted that China posed a serious strategic threat, while the signals intelligence agency last November identified state-sponsored programs in China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as cybercrime threats for the first time.

The CSIS said, China, Russia, and other foreign states continued to covertly gather political, economic, and military information in Canada through targeted threat activities in support of their own state development goals..

(Image: AP)
Individuals with appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered Moderna or Pfizer doses. If neither vaccine is available, the appointment will be canceled.

The CDC and FDA made their recommendation after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed a rare type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis six to 13 days after receiving the vaccination. The concern about the blood clot is that it requires different treatment than other types of blood clots, which would be treated with heparin. But that treatment could be dangerous for people with this specific clot.

Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and experiences certain symptoms  a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath  within a three-week period should contact their health care provider.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to review the cases. The FDA is also investigating.

More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered. The CDC and FDA said they recommended the pause "out of an abundance of caution."
Robinson met Crawford on the street on Thanksgiving night of 1997, according to court records. Crawford said he had drugs for her, but pulled a knife out instead. He led her to an abandoned building, where he raped her and struck her repeatedly with a two-by-four, she said. She played dead and managed to find help after Crawford left the building. Kurcz said she interviewed Robinson for the Americas Most Wanted episode, but did not reveal her identity on the show.
ICU nurse Michelle Spiteri and anaesthetist and intensive care physician Dr Forbes McGain attend to a Covid-19 patient under the Covid Hood developed by McGain and Melbourne University on July 17, 2020/ (Penny Stephens / Western Health)

Australian Made Ventilation Hoods Sent to Torres Strait for Extra Medical Protection

Healthcare workers in the remote Torres Strait Islands will soon receive Australian-made ventilation hoods to help protect staff from COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, amid a nearby outbreak in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The first of three ventilation Medihoods are being sent to a remote hospital in the Torres Strait after vaccinations were paused in the region.

The hospital is a referral point for 17 Primary Health Care Centres in the Torres Strait Islands.

The islands in the Torres Strait are home to many indigenous Australians who are classed as being among the most vulnerable to the viruss health impacts.

Rural Doctors Association of Australia President John Hall said the additional layer of protection was needed in light of the recent clusters traced back to health staff at Princess Alexandra hospital in southeast Queensland.

Hall said the Medihoods would protect not just the health professionals treating COVID patients, but also the broader community.

Vaccinations in the northern region had been a priority given the number of vulnerable communities and proximity to PNG. But the rollout was paused last week in response to changing advice for the AstraZeneca jab.

The recommendation that Pfizer vaccine is administered to under 50s in preference to AstraZeneca for people who have not yet had their first dose has implications for regions such as ours where the majority of our population base is aged under 50, Torres and Cape Executive Director of Medical Services Tony Brown said on April 9.

We will keep our communities informed as we firm up plans for the continuing rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination program across our region and the delivery of second doses to communities such as Saibai, Boigu, and Dauan, which have already had their first doses.

The transparent plastic cover of the Medihoods fit above the head and torso of suspected COVID patients, acting as a physical barrier between them and health workers. A pump then sucks air from within the hood to a hospital-grade air filter.

Given the potential for coronavirus to spread to Thursday Island from PNG, the McMonty Medihoods will be a critical tool in helping protect health professionals and other patients at Thursday Island Hospital, Royal Doctors Association Queensland Foundation Chairperson, Dr Dan Halliday, said.

The Australian-made Medihoods were funded by the RDAQ Foundation and Rural Doctors Association of Australia.

The hoods were designed and developed by a University of Melbourne engineering team led by Professor Jason Monty (Head of Mechanical Engineering) in collaboration with Intensive Care specialist Associate Professor Forbes McGain from Western Health (Melbourne).

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia said that clinical trials of the hoods in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at Western Healths Footscray and Sunshine Hospitals (hospitals where more than 60 COVID ICU patients have been treated) had been promising.

The hoods are made in Australia by the Evan Evans manufacturing group spin-off company, Medihood, helping ensure the security of supply should COVID-19 impact international supply lines in the future.

At Medihood we believe that its vitally important to insure the Australian public against shortfalls of healthcare supplies by manufacturing locally, Daniel Retman, Medihoods director of sales, told The Epoch Times.

The benefits of this extend well beyond accessibility and have a positive impact on local jobs, the economy and our international reputation as a world-leader in healthcare.

As a local brand, were proud to make a global impact by being able to export a product that is truly making a difference and saving livesespecially in developing nations, he said.

The announcement of the ventilation medihoods comes as Queensland recorded its first COVID-related death this year. An 80-year-old man who travelled from the Philippines to Australia via PNG died in a Brisbane hospital.

His is the seventh COVID-related death in Queensland, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said.
It feels almost criminal to me, said Sarah Anthony, a state representative from Lansing. As an African American woman who has worked for years now to expand the right to vote, to mobilize and educate people about why its so important to vote, and to lower barriers to people, and now be in the Legislature and see these crafty ways that folks are trying to strip us of the right to vote, words cant describe it.
Gong Yoo / Courtesy of Management SOOP



By Kwak Yeon-soo



Actor Gong Yoo said he came to think a lot about life and death while filming "Seobok," a sci-fi film about the relationship between a terminally-ill man and a human clone.



"Through this film, I was able to look back at my own life and pose questions about what kind of human I want to be. I think how you live is more important than living a long life," he said during an interview with The Korea Times via Zoom, Tuesday.



Directed by Lee Yong-joo, "Seobok" tells the story of a Ki-heon (Gong), a former intelligence agent who is suffering from a terminal illness and is given a final mission to secretly transport the world's first human clone, Seobok (Park Bo-gum), to a safe haven. However, they find themselves in a number of life-threatening situations as other forces seek to take possession of Seobok.



The 41-year-old actor revealed that he initially turned down the role. "I read the script and at first, I rejected the offer because I couldn't give a clear-cut answer to the film's big question," he said without giving away too much of the plot.



But he said he changed his mind because he liked the fact that the movie made him think.



Gong explained that he has been drawn to the sci-fi genre over the years. "I had never been that attracted to sci-fi. However, I recently experienced a surge in interest in the near future. 'Seobok' is set in the near future, but it is essentially about life and one's choices," he said.



The actor elaborated that he is drawn to stories that pose fundamental questions about life. "I'm not interested in films with flat characters or weak narratives. As I get older, I prefer thought-provoking films," he said.





Gong Yoo, left, in a scene from "Seobok" / Courtesy of CJ ENM
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended and delivered at the event. "Today's press conference is the largest promotion attended by the largest number of foreign envoys and representatives. That fully demonstrates wide recognition of the achievements of Hubei and Wuhan in fighting the epidemic," Wang said at the event.

Wuhan is a heroic, dynamic and hopeful city and a major transport hub in China. Wuhan is also an important industrial base and one of the country's three intelligence-intensive areas, said Wang Zhonglin, top official in Wuhan.

Wuhan: a safe city and contributor to global fight against the COVID-19

Olivier Guyonvarch, consul general of France in Wuhan, said Wuhan is a very safe city, especially after a city-wide nucleic acid testing was conducted in May 2020.

"Wuhan is one of the safest places on earth now," said Jeff Laing, president of the Maple Leaf International School-Wuhan.

As the first city to be hit by the epidemic, Wuhan has not seen any new local cases for nearly 11 consecutive months. In May 2020, it took Wuhan 10 days to complete nucleic acid tests covering tens of millions of people, making Wuhan the "safest city. In March 2021, the first batch of "Made in Wuhan" inactivated COVID-19 vaccine was rolled off the production line with an annual output of 100 million doses, contributing to the world's fight against the epidemic.

Wuhan: a magnet for global investors

Over the past year or so, more than 300 Fortune 500 companies have come to Wuhan for business talks. The reinvigorated Wuhan has become a hub for world-renowned companies such as Mitsubishi of Japan and Honeywell of the United States to visit and invest.

By the end of 2020, the total number of foreign-invested enterprises in Wuhan has exceeded 7,200, and the number of the top 500 enterprises has exceeded 300, ranking first in central China. Wuhan has set up more than 360 enterprises overseas, covering more than 50 countries and regions. The China-Europe freight train service from Wuhan covers 34 countries and 76 cities in the Eurasian continent, and its heavy container rate is the highest in China.

Besides, Wuhan is seeing a growing network of global friends. Since 1979, when Wuhan and Japan's Oita became the first pair of international sister cities, Wuhan has successively established international sister cities or friendly-exchange cities with 113 cities from 58 countries. France, the United States, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom have set up consulates general in China. Russia has decided to set up a new China consulate general in Wuhan. Meanwhile, Wuhan is home to representative offices of more than 20 foreign institutions in China.

A series of open talent policies have also given foreign friends a sense of belonging to Wuhan. At present, there are nearly 10,000 foreign permanent residents in Wuhan, and it is estimated that the number will reach 20,000 by 2025. Seeking to build an inland highland open to the world, Wuhan is making great strides forward to an international communication center.

"Welcome to Wuhan to enjoy the beautiful scenery throughout the year, taste the popular hot dry noodles, visit the Yellow Crane Tower, share the city's growth opportunities and create a better future," Wang said, adding that Wuhan is a safe, healthy, dynamic international city open to global visitors.

Image Attachments Links:

Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=388897

Caption: Cherry blossoms in Wuhan

SOURCE The Publicity Department of Wuhan Municipality
Ecuadors beaten-down petroleum industry has been struggling to recover from a savage 2020 where pipeline failures, the COVID-19 pandemic, corruption scandals, and heightened political uncertainty sharply impacted operations. There were fears that the presidential elections would see poll favorite socialist economist Andres Arauz, the protege of former President Rafael Correa, emerge victorious from the runoff held on Sunday. Polls, only last week, indicated that Arauz was the leading candidate going into the presidential runoff against conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso. Correas protege made it clear he was opposed to outgoing President Lenin Morenos oil industry reforms and would block the privatization of the Esmeraldas refinery, Ecuadors largest. Before the presidential runoff, Arauz had even filed a lawsuit claiming that the privatization of operations at the facility was unconstitutional. During his campaign, Arauz stated that if he emerged victorious, he would revoke the contract putting private operators in place at the Esmeraldas refinery if that was completed before he assumed office. Those events triggered substantial concern that Arauz would roll back Morenos reforms and saddle Ecuadors oil industry with further policies centered around oil nationalism and heavy-handed state regulation. In a surprise outcome, Lasso won Sundays presidential runoff, garnering over 52.5% of the vote and declaring victory with around 93% of the total vote counted. His opponent gracefully admitted defeat. This is a positive development for Ecuadors energy sector, boding well for further reforms and dialing down much of the political uncertainty which has surrounded the petroleum industry since Arauz topped polls and won the first round in February 2021.

Related: Could A Comeback In Venezuelan Oil Crash The Markets?

A key plank in Morenos energy sector reforms was privatizing the operation of the 110,000 barrel per day Esmeraldas refinery, which is Ecuadors largest and has been afflicted by operational failings for over a decade. The situation is so precarious that the facility cannot produce IMO 2020 compliant low sulfur content maritime fuel nor refine sufficient oil to meet domestic fuel demand. Despite Ecuador having over eight billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves, being Latin Americas fifth-largest petroleum producer and a population of under 18 million, domestic refineries are incapable of producing sufficient gasoline and diesel to meet local consumption. This has forced a fiscally challenged national government in Quito to rely on fuel imports, which are then sold at a heavily subsidized price placing greater pressure on its strained fiscal position.

Even a $2.3 billion 2015 refit of the Esmeraldas refinery, which was dogged by significant corruption, did little to alleviate the myriad problems impacting its operations. In February 2021, Petroecuador, the state-controlled operator, was forced to conduct maintenance of the refining train which saw the refinery operation at 50% capacity, or 55,000 barrels per day, between 13 February and 2 April 2021. Those incidents indicate that significant work needs to be carried out on the Esmeraldas refinery if it is to be fully functional, consistently operate at full capacity, and produce high-quality compliant fuels. Outages at the refinery have a marked impact on Ecuadors balance of trade, government finances, and gross domestic product, because of a dependence on the export of crude oil and derivative products to drive the economy.

Lassos victory is a positive portent for the privatization of the Esmeraldas refinery continuing and for Ecuadors poorly performing petroleum industry, which is in urgent need of further reforms if it is to realize its true potential. The millionaire former banker, who takes office on 24 May 2021, will adopt an orthodox business-friendly free-market economic approach and keep working with the IMF on rebuilding Ecuadors nearly broken economy. In a move that was reassuring for financial markets and investors, Lasso stated he will uphold a $6.5 billion IMF loan agreement and maintain payments on Ecuadors bonds. As a result, the Andean countrys bonds soared, to see them rising by around 25% as markets digested news of the surprise victory. The president-elect will likely focus on improving ties with Washington after the relationship was strained during Correas tenure, as well as the U.S.-aligned regional nations Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

Related: Chinas Oil Imports Surge Ahead Of Refinery Maintenance Season



Those measures will benefit Ecuadors oil industry which is struggling to attract the investment required to overhaul existing infrastructure and develop oilfields. Petroleum is a key driver of Ecuadors economy, with it accounting for around a third of government earnings, 40% of exports, and around 7% of GDP. By March 2021, the Andean country only pumped an average of 501,680 barrels per day, which while marginally higher than a month earlier was 7% lower than the same month in 2020. Those numbers along with only five operational drilling rigs in Ecuador, one less than a year earlier, indicate there is some way to go before production returns to pre-pandemic levels.

Lasso on assuming office will be under pressure to initiate growth after Ecuadors economy suffered one of the worst declines ever during 2020 with GDP shrinking by 7.5%. While the outlook for 2021 is optimistic, with the economy is projected to grow by 2.5%, headwinds abound. Oil prices remain volatile and the OPEC Plus consortium has flagged that it intends to gradually unwind production cuts which could force prices lower, especially if U.S. sanctions against Iran are eased. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to sharply impact Ecuadors economy and that is not being helped by a sluggish vaccine rollout. That further underscores why Quito needs to focus on bolstering petroleum investment to improve infrastructure, ramp up exploration activity, and development of oilfields.

There are also considerable environmental concerns weighing on the energy sector. There are claims that the April 2020 oil spill in the Coca River, considered the largest in over a decade, has yet to be fully cleaned up. The Sucumbios Provincial Court in Sucumbios province, which is in the Amazon Basin on Ecuadors northern border with Colombia, ruled in January 2021 that natural gas flaring in the region was to cease. This was made on environmental grounds including findings that demonstrated flaring was polluting rainwater, groundwater, and the soil leading to higher rates of cancer. The ruling does not impact oil drilling activities, only how companies manage the natural gas produced as a by-product of their operations. Corruption is also an endemic problem for Ecuadors petroleum industry, with the country caught up in last years Vitol bribery scandal.

Clearly, because of Ecuadors economic dependence on the energy sector, Lasso will need to drive further reforms and investment to achieve his economic goals. The president-elect has promised to lift the minimum wage by $100 to $500 per month, introduce programs aimed at alleviating poverty and phase out regulations penalizing foreign investment, including a tax on withdrawing money from Ecuador. Those developments highlight the difficult path Lasso must navigate when formulating policy aimed at attracting investment and boosting petroleum industry activity while minimizing environmental fallout to minimize the damage to its social license.

By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A joint investigation by Nine Medias 60 Minutes program and its Sydney Morning Herald and Age newspapers this week accused Ben Roberts-Smith, Australias most decorated Afghan War veteran, of trying to bury evidence of war crimes.

Roberts-Smith has responded by describing the reports as baseless. The former soldier is currently engaged in a defamation action against Nine Media over separate stories last year alleging that he participated in war crimes, including by kicking an Afghan villager off a cliff in 2012 before the civilian was shot to death by another special forces operative.

Ben Roberts-Smith at Victoria Cross award ceremony, 23 January 2011(Photo source: CG.Gov.au)

The latest accusations against Roberts-Smith centre on claims that he obstructed the Brereton Inquiry, commissioned by the military and the Liberal-National Coalition government in 2016. It conducted a secretive investigation into alleged violations of international law by Australian special forces soldiers in Afghanistan. This concluded with the release of a heavily-redacted report last November that referred to credible evidence of war crimes, including at least 39 murders, between 2009 and 2013, but provided no details to identify the participants.

The Nine Media investigation claims that Robert-Smith conducted a multi-pronged campaign to block the investigations progress. It alleges that he:

Buried a lunch box containing USBs in his backyard. On one of them was reportedly the photo of a dead Afghan killed by Roberts-Smiths patrol during a raid in the village of Tizak in 2012. Commemorative special forces coins had been placed over the dead mans eyes before he was photographed. Legal experts have stated that this may constitute evidence of war crimes, such as disrespecting corpses on the battlefield. Nine Media said the photo was not obtained by the Brereton investigation and was only discovered when state agencies secretly retrieved the lunch box from Roberts-Smiths backyard sometime last year.





Had images on one of the USBs that apparently show multiple soldiers drinking alcohol out of the prosthetic leg of an Afghan who was allegedly unlawfully killed by Roberts-Smith in 2009. Other photos reportedly show a dress-up party at a special forces base in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith is visible in an image that appears to show one of his colleagues in a Ku Klux Klan outfit burning a small cross.





Sent anonymous letters and emails to soldiers seeking to intimidate them so they would not testify truthfully before the Brereton Inquiry.





Purchased at least five burner phones between 2018 and 2019, as the investigation was underway.





Was captured on an audio recording stating that he would do everything I can to destroy those who had published allegations against him.

The media coverage of the revelations has largely focused on the extraordinary character of Roberts-Smiths alleged behaviour. Virtually no attempt has been made to place the accusations against him in a broader context. Nobody in the official media has asked the obvious question: How is it that Australias most decorated soldier of recent decades, who was universally lionised by the political and media establishment, now stands accused of such conduct?

Roberts-Smith came to national prominence in 2011 when he was awarded the Victoria Cross, Australias highest military honour, for his conduct during a 2010 raid on Tizak, the same village where the photo of the dead Afghan with coins over his eyes would be reportedly taken two years later.

A hagiographic account of the 2010 raid published in the Sydney Morning Herald noted that Roberts-Smiths patrol had been dispatched to Tizak to capture or kill an alleged Taliban commander. They quickly came under fire from Afghan resistance fighters.

The article cited the official commendation, which hailed Roberts-Smith for storm[ing[ the enemy position, killing the two remaining machine gunners. According to the Herald, Roberts-Smith went on to attack other positions and he and another patrol member killed more insurgents as his troop, no longer pinned down, cleared the village of Taliban.

For this conduct, Roberts-Smith was told by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard: You went to Afghanistan a soldier, you came back a hero.

In 20102011, when the raid occurred, as well as most of the war crimes listed in the Brereton report, Gillards Labor government presided over a dramatic increase in Australias involvement in kill and capture operations, as part of a surge order by the Obama administration. Basing themselves on kill lists drawn up by American intelligence, Australian special forces were dispatched to Afghan villages with instructions to wipe out alleged Taliban leaders, amid mounting popular opposition to the US-led military occupation.

The military command was evidently aware that these operations involved mass killings. In April 2013, then Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley issued a secret directive to soldiers, warning that they could be exposed to criminal and disciplinary liability, including potentially the war crime of murder if they could not prove that those they killed were participating in hostilities. The directive is inexplicable if senior command had no knowledge of the war crimes at the time, as the Brereton report asserted.

Nine Media has drawn attention to the fact that Roberts-Smiths legal actions are being financially supported by Kerry Stokes, the billionaire chairman of Seven West Media. It has alleged that Stokes lent some $1.87 million in company funds to Roberts-Smith, who is a senior executive at Seven West. The dogged backing of Roberts-Smith by Stokes, who is also the chairman of the Australian War Memorial, reflects the determination of sections of the ruling elite to support the special forces soldiers, regardless of any accusations against them.

But the focus on Stokes ignores the broader point. Roberts-Smith was elevated into a senior position at Seven West after he had been glorified by the entire political and media establishment as an Australian hero. Roberts-Smith was front and centre at successive events commemorating Anzac Day, Australias militarist national holiday, and was heavily-promoted during the massive government-funded celebration of the centenary of World War I.

As recently as 2016, Roberts-Smith was head of the Australia Day National Council, which bestowed that years top civilian award on former army chief David Morrison. This was the same year that the Brereton Inquiry began. By that point, allegations of war crimes by special forces soldiers in Afghanistan were well known.

In its feature on the latest accusations against Roberts-Smith, 60 Minutes said nothing about the likely knowledge of the military command about the war crimes. Instead it provided former military officials with an opportunity to express their shock at the alleged conduct. This included Chris Barrie, who as then Chief of the Defence Force, presided over Australias involvement in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.

The failure of the Nine Media investigation to raise any broader questions dovetails with the official attempts to pin the war crimes on a handful of special forces soldiers and squadron commanders and to amnesty the senior military commanders and governments that have overseen the war. Above all, it serves to obscure the fact that the atrocities flowed from a neo-colonial offensive that inevitably involved attempts to terrorise a hostile population into submission.

Like the earlier elevation of Roberts-Smith, the current attempts to limit the fallout from the Brereton Inquiry are aimed at ensuring that the military is able to play an aggressive role in the new wars that are being prepared, including in the US-led plans for a catastrophic conflict with China.
Wilmington police are investigating a triple shooting that left one person dead. Two officers were also hurt after crashing while responding to the shooting scene.

Video Transcript

- Breaking right now, Wilmington police are investigating a triple shooting. Gunfire rang out shortly after 2:00 this afternoon near 10th and Pine Streets. You can see a large crime scene is taped off and there are many evidence markers out there on the ground. The three victims were all rushed to the hospital.
Conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso, 65, won the presidential election in South American oil producer Ecuador, and said he would propose new oil deals to private oil companies.

Lasso won the run-off against Andres Arauz, 36, who was running on a socialist platform for more social spending. Arauz, a socialist economist and protege of former left-wing president Rafael Correa, conceded defeat on Monday with more than 95 percent of the votes counted.

Pro-business and free-market proponent Lasso won the presidency in his third time running for president, promising to bring more foreign investment in Ecuador to create more jobs.

Lasso, who is set to take office on May 24 from incumbent president Lenin Moreno, said on Monday he would look to boost Ecuadors crude oil production by offering new risk-sharing contracts to private oil firms. The new president will respect all current contracts with foreign firms in Ecuador, Lasso said, as carried by Reuters. The markets cheered the news of pro-business Lasso winning Ecuadors presidency.

Ecuador was a member of OPEC until 2020, when it left the organization because it needed government revenues to cope with fiscal deficits, while the cartel was going on with its oil production cuts to prop up oil prices and balance the market. At the time when Ecuador left OPEC, it was pumping just over 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil.

Last year, Ecuadors average crude oil production stood at around 479,000 bpd. Earlier in 2021, Ecuadors Energy Minister Rene Ortiz set a 2021 production target of 500,000 bpd for this year, which would be 4 percent higher than the 2020 output that was affected by the pandemic and the decline in global oil demand, as well as pipeline ruptures. Poorly maintained and aging energy infrastructure, especially pipelines, could undermine Ecuadors ambitions to boost its oil production, analysts say.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Japan should not dump Fukushima water into sea



Japan said Tuesday that it has decided to release more than 1 million tons of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. The release seems inevitable on the part of Japan; but is drawing a furious reaction from neighboring countries such as South Korea and China due to safety concerns.



The Japanese government and plant operator TEPCO argue that the release is safe as the contaminated water has been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted. They also said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has endorsed the planned water discharge. The U.S. is also supporting the release, saying the Japanese government "appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards."



However, South Korea immediately expressed regret over Japan's decision. Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said that Seoul will take every necessary measure to keep the Korean people safe from the water to be released from the crippled Fukushima plant. He urged Japan to ensure transparent disclosure and verification of information related to the overall treatment process of the Fukushima water.



China has also lashed out at Japan for making an "irresponsible" decision that could seriously damage international public health and safety. Its foreign ministry pointed out that the decision had been taken "without regard for domestic and foreign doubts and opposition."



Japan should pay more heed to growing voices against its plan to dump the water polluted with radioactive materials. It must take comprehensive measures to ensure the safety of the people in neighboring countries and prevent damage to the marine environment. It is regrettable to see Japan trying to ignore concerns about the water release that could pose a grave threat to people as well as nature. Even its own people, particularly fishermen, are opposing the discharge of the water into the sea.



Japan said there is no safety problem because the polluted water will be treated through an extensive pumping and filtration system known as the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). But it must realize that some radioactive materials cannot be removed. One such material is tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is harmful to human health. That's why international environmental groups such as Greenpeace are strongly against the dumping of the water into the ocean.



Now, the Japanese government needs to reconsider its ill-conceived decision. It should make efforts to find an alternative method for water disposal. Once the water is released, Japan cannot prevent unexpected consequences from taking place. Thus, it must work together with the international community more closely to look for viable options to deal with the contaminated water. We hope that Tokyo will not repeat the same mistake it made with the Fukushima reactor meltdown which was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.


WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent study published in Pediatrics found that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a surge in firearm injuries in young children and inflicted by young children.

The findings, led by Children's National Hospital experts, show that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a surge in fatal and nonfatal firearm injuries both in young children and inflicted by young children.

The results showed that there was an increased risk of firearm injuries in young children and injuries inflicted by young children during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to the pre-COVID study period. These increased incidents correlate with an increase in new firearm ownership.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, firearms are a leading cause of injury and death among youth," said Monika K. Goyal, M.D., M.S.C.E., senior author of this study and associate chief of Emergency Medicine and Trauma Services at Children's National. "The pandemic has led to an increase in these preventable tragedies and it is incumbent upon us as a society to put appropriate measures in place to keep children safe."

"Increased firearm purchases are one reason we have seen an increase in firearm injuries during the pandemic," said Joanna S. Cohen, M.D., associate professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine. "Increased purchases are likely related to the political unrest we recently witnessed and increased firearm injuries may be related to children being at home more. Whereas children were in school before, they might be home unsupervised while parents and caretakers are working."

In addition, there has been an increase in domestic violence over the course of the pandemic which, according to Dr. Cohen, could be a reflection of the stress emerging from financial insecurity, joblessness, illness and other stressors deriving from the pandemic.

After seeing the surge of firearm injuries in young children and inflicted by young children during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study's experts are saying there is an urgent and critical need for enactment of interventions aimed at preventing firearm injuries and deaths involving children.

"There is an urgent need for strategies to prevent further injuries," Dr. Goyal said. "This includes counseling families on firearm safety at home, having more sensible gun laws and educating the public accordingly."

In the past, if you were a new gun owner, you would have access to training on how to handle a gun and find safe storage. With all the sheltering in place due to the pandemic, those educational opportunities have fallen by the wayside. "Now you have more people who have become new gun owners but haven't had the opportunity to get education on safe gun ownership, coinciding with more children staying at home because of the pandemic," Dr. Goyal said.

The increase in domestic violence could also be a contributing factor. Children are often witnesses to violence at home, Dr. Cohen explained. In many cases, she said, if children see a parent being threatened with a gun, they might model that behavior without fully understanding the implications of holding a gun and the injury it can cause.

About Children's National Hospital

Children's National Hospital, based in Washington, D.C., celebrates 150 years of pediatric care, research and commitment to community. Volunteers opened the hospital in 1870 with 12 beds for children displaced after the Civil War. Today, 150 years stronger, it is among the nation's top 10 children's hospitals. It is ranked No. 1 for newborn care for the fourth straight year and ranked in all specialties evaluated by U.S. News & World Report. Children's National is transforming pediatric medicine for all children. In 2020, construction will be complete on the Children's National Research & Innovation Campus, the first in the nation dedicated to pediatric research. Children's National has been designated twice as a Magnet hospital, demonstrating the highest standards of nursing and patient care delivery. This pediatric academic health system offers expert care through a convenient, community-based primary care network and specialty outpatient centers in the D.C., metropolitan area, including the Maryland and Northern Virginia suburbs. Children's National is home to the Children's National Research Institute and Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation and is the nation's seventh-highest NIH-funded children's hospital. It is recognized for its expertise and innovation in pediatric care and as a strong voice for children through advocacy at the local, regional and national levels.

For more information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

SOURCE Childrens National Hospital

Related Links

https://childrensnational.org


Enterprises are supported at the Lighthouse project

"The Lighthouse project will strive to bring over 10 exporters of agricultural products from Vietnam to Poland within a year if nothing changes," said Piotr Harasimowicz, chief representative at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency.

Some Polish distributors are also working with Vietnamese enterprises to bring agricultural products to Poland through this programme. However, according to Piotr, Vietnamese enterprises need more trade promotion activities so that the Polish market can learn more about Vietnamese products.

Poland also has a number of requirements for product packaging, marketing specifications, and regulations on food hygiene that Vietnamese enterprises need to learn about. In Poland, Vietnamese products also have to compete with others from Asia such as Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, all of which have free trade agreements with the country.

At the same time, Polish exporters also have to thoroughly understand the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and export procedures before exporting to the Vietnamese market. The products they wish to introduce to the market are agricultural products, smart city solutions, and IT services.

The Lighthouse project is one of FNF's activities to help Vietnamese enterprises navigate the European market through the EVFTA.

The representative of Tan Vuong Food Co., Ltd. (right) talking with European partners in the Lighthouse programme

At the event, FNF country director Andreas Stoffers said that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not had many opportunities to access the EVFTA and that they need support to take advantage of this opportunity.

Chosen enterprises have been exporting goods but have yet to enter Europe. Many of these enterprises do not fully understand the regulations and the procedures/documentation involved. At the same time, they do not understand the European market yet.

The Lighthouse project has cooperated with the European Business Association in Vietnam to train enterprises in marketing, management, and finding reputable partners in Europe.

Through the programme, FNF cooperated with the German Business Association, the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, the Italian IMI Corporate and Investment Bank, as well as the European Business Association to research the weaknesses of SMEs to help them improve. These organisations are also introducing four enterprises in their country programme.

The enterprises in the programme said that they have been provided with knowledge about the market, improving the quality of products and services to meet European standards.

In addition, they also received many new business opportunities and knowledge about how to analyse and understand the market and their role in the supply and value chain.
EU Sanctions Elite Iran Commander, 7 Others Over 2019 Protests

BRUSSELSThe European Union has imposed sanctions on eight Iranian commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019, the bloc said in its Official Journal on April 12.

The travel bans and asset freezes are the first EU sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses since 2013, as the bloc had shied away from angering Tehran in the hope of safeguarding a nuclear accord Tehran signed with world powers in 2015.

Their preparation was first reported by Reuters in March.

The bloc, which also hit three Iranian prisons with asset freezes, blacklisted Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the most powerful and heavily armed security force in the Islamic Republic.

Hossein Salami took part in the sessions that resulted in the orders to use lethal force to suppress the November 2019 protests. Hossein Salami, therefore, bears responsibility for serious human rights violations in Iran, the EU said.

The three prisons sanctioned included two in the Tehran area where the EU said those detained after the 2019 protests were deliberately wounded with boiling water and denied medical treatment.

About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15, 2019, according to a toll provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials at the time. The United Nations said the total was at least 304.

Iran has called the toll given by sources fake news.

Iran, which has repeatedly rejected accusations by the West of human rights abuses, dismissed the EUs sanctions as invalid.

In response, Iran suspends comprehensive talks with the EU, including human rights talks and all cooperation resulting from these talks, especially in the areas of terrorism, drugs, and refugees, Iranian media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying.

On March 9, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, presented a report saying Tehran used lethal force during the protests and chided it for failing to conduct a proper investigation or hold anyone accountable.

Other individuals targeted with EU sanctions, which take effect on April 12, include members of Irans hardline Basij militia, who are under the command of the Revolutionary Guards, and its head, Gholamreza Soleimani.

The eight Iranians were added to an EU sanctions list for human rights abuses in Iran that was first launched in 2011 and which now includes 89 people and four entities. It also includes a ban on exports of equipment that could be used for repression.

Diplomats said the sanctions were not linked to efforts to revive the nuclear deal, which the United States pulled out of but now seeks to rejoin. That deal made it harder for Iran to amass the fissile material needed for a nuclear bomba goal it has long deniedin return for sanctions relief.

By Robin Emmott
VANCOUVER, BC, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - TechX Technologies Inc. ("TechX'' or "the Company'') (CSE: TECX) (OTC: TECXF) (FRA: C0B1), a company focused in emerging technologies across growth sectors including: crypto, blockchain, AI and cloud technologies, is pleased to announce it has closed a fully-subscribed non-brokered private placement financing for total gross proceeds of $10,000,000 (the "Private Placement").

The Company has allotted and issued 20,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.50 per Unit. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one-half of one transferable warrant. Each whole warrant (a "Warrant") will entitle the holder to purchase one additional common share for a period of sixty (60) months at a price of $1.00 per share, subject to accelerated expiry.

If, at any time after the date that is four (4) months and one (1) day from the date of closing, the volume-weighted average closing price of the Company's common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange is $1.65 or more for ten (10) consecutive trading days, the Company will have the right to accelerate the expiry of the Warrants by giving notice, via news release issued within five (5) business days of the last day of such ten (10) consecutive trading day calculation period, of its exercise of such right and thereafter the Warrants will, without further notice or act by the Company, automatically expire and be of no further force and effect on the date that is thirty (30) days after the date of said news release.

In relation to the Private Placement, the Company has paid finder's fees of $175,500 and issued 351,000 finder's warrants (each, a "Finder's Warrant") to an arm's-length parties. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable into a common share for a period of sixty (60) months at a price of $1.00 per share, subject to the same accelerated expiry as above.

The Company will use the proceeds from the Private Placement to fund operational expenditures of its subsidiaries, to evaluate further strategic acquisitions, and for general working capital purposes. All securities issued are subject to a four-month-and-one-day hold period expiring on August 14, 2021.

The Company also announces that it has engaged Market IQ Media Group ("MIQ") for a 6-month digital advertising campaign in connection with the Company's ongoing effort to increase awareness. This comprehensive advertising program is designed to build brand familiarity, general recognition, and awareness within online investor content platforms. MIQ will employ state of the art digital advertising, paid distribution, media buying and content creation to execute this important initiative. Under the terms of this agreement, MIQ will provide a combination of strategic digital media services, marketing co-ordination, content production, and data analytics services for a total payment value of $200,000 (CAD) amortized over the 6-month duration of the agreement.

About TechX Technologies Inc.

TechX Technologies Inc. (CSE:TECX) (OTC:TECXF) (FRA:C0B1) is a company focused on emerging technologies across growth sectors including: crypto, blockchain, AI and cloud technologies. Led by senior leaders and industry experts, TechX invests in and provides subject matter experts within portfolio companies to accelerate success and maximize value for shareholders.

On Behalf of the Board,

TECHX TECHNOLOGIES INC.

"Peter Green"

Peter Green, CEO

[email protected]

(604) 314-5675

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily 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 risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause 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. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

SOURCE TechX Technologies Inc.

Related Links

https://tech-x.io/


Washington: US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (April 13) said that he has planned to have all American troops out of war-torn Afghanistan by September 11 this year, the 20th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on the twin-towers in New York.

The President is deeply grateful for the honour, courage and determination of the US' men and women who served in Afghanistan for almost two decades, as well as the sacrifices made not just by those troops, but also by their families, a senior Biden administration official told reporters during a conference call.

"After a rigorous policy review, President Biden has decided to drawdown the remaining US troops from Afghanistan and finally end the US war there after 20 years. We will begin an orderly drawdown of the remaining forces before May 1 and plan to have all US troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11," the official said.

"We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on September 11 and to disrupt terrorists seeking to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack. We believe we achieved that objective some years ago.

"We judged the threat against the homeland now emanating from Afghanistan to be at a level that we can address it, without a persistent military footprint in the country and without remaining at war with the Taliban," the official said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said that the president made the determination and is announcing Wednesday that the best path forward to advance American interests is to end the war in Afghanistan after 20 years, so that they can address the global threat picture as it exists today, not as it was two decades ago.

"We have long known that military force would not solve Afghanistan's internal political challenges; would not end Afghanistan, internal conflict. And so, we are ending our military operations while we focus our efforts on supporting diplomatically," the official said. The decision comes after a review of the Afghan policy.

"What emerged was a clear-eyed assessment of the best path forward. We have said that there is no military solution to the problems plaguing Afghanistan and we will focus our efforts on supporting the ongoing peace process. And that means putting the full weight of our government behind diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government, but what we will not do is use our troops as bargaining chips in that process," the official said.

The US, the official said, will coordinate with NATO allies and partners about a drawdown of their forces in the same timeframe beginning before May one ending before the 20th anniversary of September 11.

"We have told the Taliban in no uncertain terms that any attacks on US troops as we undergo in safe and orderly control will be met with a forceful response. At this point we have discussed the drawdown with our NATO allies and operational partners. We will remain in lockstep with them as we undergo this operation," said the official.

According to the official, Biden was adamant that a hasty, ill-coordinated withdrawal that puts at risk US forces and those of its allies and operational partners is not a viable option.

"The United States is going to remain deeply engaged with the Government of Afghanistan committed to the Afghan people who have made extraordinary sacrifices during this conflict. It will stand behind the diplomatic process, and we will use our full toolkit to ensure the future that the Afghan people are seeking has the best chance of coming about.

"We will also look to work with other countries using diplomatic, economic and humanitarian tools to protect the gains made by Afghan women. We will encourage any future government in Afghanistan to expand the sources for refugees and internally displaced peoples,? the official added.
Indian Association of on Tuesday said it has urged the government to take steps to help to tide over the pandemic impact and remain in the business.

We request the government to draw a timetable for the opening of visas, including e-visas, and to announce dates for resumption of international flights, IATO - representing inbound of the country - said in a statement.

The association also seeks abolishment of tax collection at source (TCS) on the foreign tourists as they are not liable to pay income tax in India and therefore cannot claim a refund as they don't have a PAN number, it added.

"We have made multiple representations to the government, bringing to their notice that the objective of the TCS levy was to bring Indian's in the tax net and it was not meant for taxing international tourists and as a result, we are losing business to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and other countries where no such levy is charged," IATO PresidentRajiv Mehra said.

The industry body said it has also requested the government to urgently announce Service Export Incentive Scheme (SEIS).
As daily case numbers remained over 100 for the sixth straight day, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin warned during his Monday COVID-19 briefing that tighter restrictions could be put in place later this week.

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As daily case numbers remained over 100 for the sixth straight day, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin warned during his Monday COVID-19 briefing that tighter restrictions could be put in place later this week.

Last Friday, vaccine team medical lead Dr. Joss Reimer had warned that Manitoba is in the beginning stages of a third wave of the pandemic.

"Our contract tracing investigations show that people are holding larger gatherings in their private residences," said Roussin. "Were seeing house parties, were seeing playdates, were seeing sleepovers. Were seeing cases with many more contacts than we saw in the recent past and were seeing this contribute to the transmission of the virus."

He said this behaviour has been observed on previous occasions where restrictions were loosened. Another problem behaviour that public health has observed is people not isolating as required after travelling.

"We have those orders in place so we could get back to some of the things we need and want, but it just cant be seen as a return to normal or else well be right back into the position where we need to start implementing further restrictions and we may not be far from that right now given what weve seen in other jurisdictions," he said.

Possible new restrictions floated by Roussin included tightening rules surrounding private gatherings, an outdoor mask mandate and a stricter indoor mask mandate.

Another problem voiced by Roussin was that people arent getting tested for the virus when exhibiting symptoms.

He encouraged people with even mild symptoms to get tested, especially as results can currently be obtained in less than 24 hours in many cases.

"Were seeing a lot of people with simply loss of taste or smell, were seeing people with symptoms such as diarrhea and no other symptoms," said Roussin.

Asked why he wasnt putting restrictions in place immediately to stop whats happening in other provinces from happening here, Roussin said more of Manitobas approach would be announced later this week.

"We have restrictions in place right now that can truly work and in most of the clusters we see, most of the outbreaks we see, most of the cases that have a lot of contacts, we see just havent followed the restrictions that are in place," he said.

Discussing the third waves hitting other provinces in Canada more heavily, Roussin said those provinces are seeing a greater proportion of people admitted to hospital needing treatment in intensive care units, longer stays in ICUs and younger people needing to be treated in ICUs.

At this point, Roussin is recommending that people wear masks even when gathering outdoors.

"Right now, its a strong recommendation," said Roussin. "But as in the past, were always reviewing our public health restrictions as needed."

The doctor did not have any further information regarding the ongoing outbreaks at Boissevain School, Boissevain Health Centre and Evergreen Place Personal Care Home.

However, Roussin said the situation was indicative of any place where the virus is spreading.

As of Monday, the provinces COVID-19 dashboard showed an additional case at the school, bringing the total number to 14  two cases in staff and 12 cases in students. All students are currently learning remotely until April 23.

There were no new cases at the outbreak at the Boissevain Health Centre and Evergreen Place on Monday, leaving the total at two cases in staff members.

 cslark@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ColinSlark
Ann Arbor, Michigan--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Monster Elixir Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TransGlobal Assets Inc. (OTC Pink: TMSH), is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 41% equity stake in Vintage Scripts Pharmacy LLC sourced from both the founders and The Now Corporation (OTC Pink: NWPN).

Vintage Scripts is a Chicago based dispensary that provides both prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicine including CBD's. With the acquisition, Monster Elixir will be able to expand into the Midwest region. This will also allow Monster Elixir to manufacture and distribute the best and most unique CBD products on the market. Monster Elixir plans to purchase the newly built, stand-alone building designed by Vintage Scripts (pictures below).





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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A founder of Vintage Scripts, Robin Brown, is a licensed Pharmacist, certified in veterinary medicine and immunization. With these unique skills, Robin has created all natural CBD Products to help with herpes, shingles, pain, stomach issues like Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, sciatica and plantar fasciitis, eczema, allergies and hair growth. Alan Alston is the other founder of Vintage Scripts and, with an extensive US military background, he will guide Vintage Scripts into a lucrative future.

Curtis Philpot, CEO of both Monster Elixir Inc. and TransGlobal Assets Inc. states, "due to the marijuana licenses that we have applied for in Michigan and the ones that we will apply for in Illinois, this was a synergistic opportunity that I could not pass up. All three companies will benefit directly."

Ken Williams, CEO of The Now Corporation (OTC Pink: NWPN), states, "We sold 15% of our stake in Vintage Scripts to TransGlobal due to their cannabis licensing that they have applied for. Curtis has proven that he can build shareholder value and we are satisfied to continue to hold a 10% stake."

Updates will be forthcoming

For further inquiries please contact:

Curtis Philpot, Chief Executive Officer

TransGlobal Assets (OTC Pink: TMSH)

Email: CPhilpot360@TransGlobalAssets.net

About TransGlobal Assest:

TransGlobal Assets Inc. is a publicly traded Hemp/CBD holdings company. Our business model is a self-sustaining Hemp Ranch. Each hemp ranch will be vertically integrated from acres allocated, to outdoor cultivation and indoor greenhouses, to warehouses for processing farm grown hemp into textiles, hempcrete & plastics. The Hemp Ranch will provide raw products for processing the all-natural products line to be sold through Monster Elixir, a wholly owned subsidiary of TransGlobal Assets Inc. Monster Elixir products includes but not limited to, Green Essence Beverages; an all-natural CBD infused lemonade, and Crown Care; an all-natural Hemp infused hair care line.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and jut uncertainties. That includes the possibility that the business outlined in this press release cannot be concluded for some reason. That could be as a result of technical, installation, permitting or other problems that were not anticipated. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of TransGlobal Assets, Inc. to be materially different from the statements made herein. Except for any obligation under the U.S. federal securities laws, TransGlobal Assets, Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80257
RALEIGH, N.C., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Secmation has announced their support of the North Carolina State University Department of Computer Science (CSC) and Secure Computing Institute, as one of the original ePartner sponsors of their Cybersecurity Initiative.

As one of the fastest growing cybersecurity R&D companies in the Research Triangle Park area, Secmation depends on increasing cybersecurity in education to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity minded professionals. By partnering with NCSU on this initiative, Secmation can develop leading edge solutions alongside some of the brightest minds entering the industry while actively giving back to the NC cyber community.

The CSC Cybersecurity Initiative is a comprehensive strategy designed to meet the growing need for cybersecurity professionals across industry and government. Secmation's support of this initiative will provide unrestricted support to Dr. Thierry Wandji Ketchiozo's, CSC Director of Cybersecurity Education, efforts to create and launch related outreach, industry engagement, seminars, workshops, and other developmental programs for students in this space.

"As a company that has been tapped to provide advanced security solutions for military industrial control systems, satellite systems, and autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity education, including advanced Research and Development, is a key element of our long-term strategy to support national security." said Dr. Hal Aldridge, CEO of Secmation. "Our support for NC State is an important part of Secmation's business strategy. Fostering growth of University cybersecurity talent will enable our long-term success."

The Secure Computing Institute (SCI) at NC State University is a focal point for cybersecurity research and education at the university and the broader Research Triangle Park (RTP) area. Founded in in 2019 and co-led by Drs. Laurie Williams and Will Enck, SCI is a key component of the department's overall cybersecurity strategy enhancing the security and privacy of computing systems through basic and applied research and advancing and delivering cybersecurity education.

"We created SCI in order to execute a vision for cybersecurity research and education that builds on and directs our existing strengths," says Dr. Will Enck. "Partnerships with companies like Secmation are critical in making this vision a success."

Secmation joins other cybersecurity industry leaders such as Cisco, Bank of America, NetApp, PRA Health Sciences, and Truist in efforts to expand cybersecurity education at NC State.

Find out more about Secmation at our website: www.Secmation.com

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Secmation

Hal Aldridge, CEO

(919) 887-2560

[email protected]

SOURCE Secmation

Related Links

https://www.secmation.com


The Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black male, claimed that she mistook her firearm for her taser during a traffic stop on Sunday. Mayor Mike Elliott joined Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police at a press conference where the arresting officer's body camera video of who fired the deadly shot was released.

Chief says the officer who shot Daunte Wright mistook her firearm

As shown in the video, three officers responded to the traffic stop and asked Wright to exit the vehicle. One of the officers started handcuffing him as soon as he does. When a third officer confronted Wright and the other officer, a fight ensued. The third responding officer took out her gun after Wright wrestled himself back into his vehicle, repeatedly saying, "taze him."

According to Gannon, the shot was fired accidentally, resulting in Wright's "tragic death." The officer is now on administrative leave as the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) looks into the case, The Hill reported.

The vehicle was initially stopped for expired plates, but the police then noticed the air fresheners dangling from the mirror, which violated a city ordinance. Officers then ran Wright's name and discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest.

Gannon mentioned that while the case is still underway, he has very little knowledge about it. He urged locals to demonstrate peacefully and not to damage local businesses on purpose. "Right now, our hearts are aching. We're in a lot of pain. And we understand that this couldn't have occurred at a bad time," Elliott added, referring to Derek Chauvin's concurrent prosecution after George Floyd's death in May 2020.

After Chauvin knelt on his neck during a failed detention, Floyd's death was one of the catalyzing incidents of the Black Lives Matter riots in the summer of 2020. Floyd's death exposed the structural injustice present in U.S. police, as per The Hill.

Several law enforcement units, including the Minnesota National Guard, have been mobilized to Minneapolis for possible crowd control. Following Sunday evening's protests, some of those workers will be deployed to Brooklyn Center. As a result, law enforcement officers used tear gas and flashbangs. Elliott also imposed a 10 P.M. curfew, which ended at 6 A.M. Monday.

Police Clash with Protesters in Brooklyn Center Over Officer-Involved Shooting

Minnesota officer meant to draw Taser, not a handgun

@YouTube

According to Sky News, it's hard to believe it happened in Minneapolis amid such a stressful period for the city. It was painful to watch the police bodycam video released shortly after Wright's murder.

The 20-year-old can be seen trying to get back inside his car when he was shot by an officer who seemed to yell in shock.

Yet another unfortunate death results from a routine traffic halt. Few may have predicted that yet another senseless death would stoke the violence at law enforcement hands before the Chauvin verdict.

Protests and violence exploded in Brooklyn Center, a suburb north of Minneapolis, in scenes all too familiar for this Minnesota city. Protesters were dispersed by tear gas, and the National Guard was called on to help.

A curfew remained in effect throughout the night, but more broken-up stores, emptied racks, and looters unfolded when dawn broke. The courtroom, which is just 10 miles away, is now guarded by tight guards for Chauvin's trial, in which he is charged with Floyd's murder and manslaughter.

BLM Co-Founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors Receives Backlash for Buying Million Dollar House in LA

Biden says there is no justification for looting in Minneapolis

Meanwhile, after black man Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer who mistook her gun for a taser, President Joe Biden said Monday that there was no reason for Minneapolis's violence. In the wake of Wright's death on Sunday, Biden told reporters in the Oval Office that there was "absolutely no justification for violence."

"It's understandable to protest peacefully. And the truth is that we do know that the black community's rage, suffering, and trauma in that atmosphere is real, extreme, and consequential," Biden said. However, brutality is not justified.

Biden's words echoed what he said during the campaign. The president has admitted to watching the 'fairly graphic' body camera video of Wright's shooting, as per Daily Mail.

South Carolina Shooting: Police Puzzle Why Ex-NFL Pro Philip Adams Killed Dr. Robert Lesslie and Family

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SEATTLE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Nile, the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry, announced the appointment of several senior leaders further positioning the company for growth. Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sean Kell, Blue Nile's new leadership team will empower the company's next phase of growth by bringing together physical and digital operations to elevate the brand by providing consumers with one seamless experience.

"It is a very exciting time for Blue Nile as we build on the company's two decades of industry leadership while rapidly innovating to meet the needs of the modern consumer." said Sean Kell, Chief Executive Officer of Blue Nile. "The additions to our leadership team, combined with our e-tailing business strategy creates new opportunities for Blue Nile and extends our market position as a best-in-class diamond and fine jewelry retailer."

Below please find biographical information of the recently appointed Blue Nile executive leaders. The following changes are effective as of March 2021.

Jason Moss , Chief Operating Officer: Moss brings a decade of leadership in a variety of high-tech businesses to his role at Blue Nile, a new position to the company, including late stage start-up, global e-commerce, and global cloud computing. Previously a Director at Amazon Web Services, Moss will set the vision and strategy for marketing, e-commerce, and technology for Blue Nile.



Moss brings a decade of leadership in a variety of high-tech businesses to his role at Blue Nile, a new position to the company, including late stage start-up, global e-commerce, and global cloud computing. Previously a Director at Amazon Web Services, Moss will set the vision and strategy for marketing, e-commerce, and technology for Blue Nile. Ben Abitbol , Senior Vice President of Supply Chain: Abitbol is responsible for Global Supply Chain operations, a role new to the brand, geared to scale its footprint for growth. Abitbol, who previously led supply chain at Timex, is a customer centric supply chain professional with experience in the automotive, high tech and fashion industries. Abitbol will drive the company's end-to-end integration, increasing speed through digitalization, lean manufacturing, and product customization to adapt quickly to evolving fashion trends.

Blue Nile's executive team expansion comes in addition to hires that strengthened leadership in 2020:

Dominique Bourgault , Chief Financial Officer : Bourgault brings two decades of finance leadership in high-growth, complex, and global e-commerce businesses to his role at Blue Nile. Before joining Blue Nile, Bourgault served as CFO of the retail business units at Expedia Group and has a portfolio of experience in driving financial direction and agile performance-analysis and decision-making processes in a dynamic environment.



: Bourgault brings two decades of finance leadership in high-growth, complex, and global e-commerce businesses to his role at Blue Nile. Before joining Blue Nile, Bourgault served as CFO of the retail business units at Expedia Group and has a portfolio of experience in driving financial direction and agile performance-analysis and decision-making processes in a dynamic environment. Anita Natarajan , Senior Vice President of International : Natarajan joined Blue Nile to run the International Business of 40+ countries. Natarajan has successfully created and led growth verticals at fast growing e-commerce companies and will now drive the expansion strategy, marketing and operations for Blue Nile International, with a particular focus on China . Natarajan has built her career in tech and e-commerce, starting off as an engineer and more recently leading the global airports business at Uber.



: Natarajan joined Blue Nile to run the International Business of 40+ countries. Natarajan has successfully created and led growth verticals at fast growing e-commerce companies and will now drive the expansion strategy, marketing and operations for Blue Nile International, with a particular focus on . Natarajan has built her career in tech and e-commerce, starting off as an engineer and more recently leading the global airports business at Uber. Camille Cleveland , Senior Vice President and General Counsel: Cleveland joined Blue Nile as the Company's General Counsel and a member of the Executive Team. Cleveland brings a breadth of transactional and operational experience in a variety of US and international companies, including IAC and Papyrus. With a background rooted in retail and e-commerce, Cleveland integrates legal risks with business opportunities, driving successful commercial strategies and practical solutions.

In parallel to the expanded leadership changes, Blue Nile is investing in its technology, website experience and new customer services, including the ability to book virtual appointments. The company is also embarking on a physical store expansion. A Bay Area showroom at Westfield Valley Fair is now open, and a Los Angeles showroom at Westfield Century City will open this Friday, April 9th 2021. The organizational additions and retail showroom openings are a continuation of the e-tailer model that Blue Nile has embraced, bringing together physical and digital operations and leadership.

About Blue Nile, Inc.

Blue Nile, Inc. is the largest online retailer of certified diamonds and fine jewelry. The company offers a superior experience for purchasing engagement rings, wedding rings, and fine jewelry by providing expert guidance, in-depth educational materials, and unique online tools that place consumers in control of the jewelry shopping process. Blue Nile has some of the highest quality standards in the industry and offers thousands of independently-certified diamonds and fine jewelry at prices significantly below traditional retail. Blue Nile can be found online at www.bluenile.com and at physical showrooms located throughout the United States.

Contact:

Austin Blythe, Blue Nile

Phone: 503-333-4117

[email protected]

SOURCE Blue Nile, Inc.
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This morning, the first UAE Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja, visited Start-Up Nation Central Headquarters in Tel Aviv to launch an official partnership to further advance the collaboration focused on innovation and entrepreneurship between the two nations. The plan is to create a joint task-force aimed at bringing people together, share ideas and generate economic value for both countries.

New UAE Ambassador to Israel and Start-Up Nation Central launch a joint task-force to advance technological innovation between the two nations.

The Ambassador and Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, discussed areas of collaboration, including joint events, conferences, as well as ongoing meetings and programs to help both sides learn about each other's tech ecosystems. The teams from the embassy and Start-Up Nation Central also discussed ways of connecting Emirati and Israeli companies and entrepreneurs, especially in the fields of fintech, agri-food tech, education, cyber, education, digital health, energy, petrochimicals, cleantech and sustainability.

The parties agreed to leverage the UAE-IL Tech Zone community as a part of the new relationship. Launched in December 2020, the UAE-IL Tech Zone is an innovation community designed to enable practical collaboration between the two ecosystems. With already over 1,000 members, the UAE-IL Tech Zone invites entrepreneurs, senior business executives, government officials and technology companies to join this community and cultivate the talent and resources shared by the UAE and Israel.

His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja noted: "In terms of tech cooperation there is an avenue of opportunities between the UAE and Israel just waiting to be harnessed. We are here to identify what sectors can prosper in the field of technological innovation and bridge together key partnerships that will thrive in the world market with contagious success.

"Israel's tech innovation ecosystem coupled with the future forward drive of the UAE government, are essential elements to accelerating the success of incubators through the formation of international partnerships".

Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central noted, "We had the pleasure and honor to host His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja and his team at our offices. We are proud to partner with the Ambassador and the UAE government to help advance the collaboration between our two countries. Start-Up Nation Central is an objective gateway to Israeli innovation tech ecosystem, and we are excited to play a major role in taking advantage of the historic opportunity presented by the Abraham Accords to connect UAE and Israel around technological innovation and create an immense value."

Established in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that helps tackle global challenges by connecting Israeli technological solutions with multinational corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs from around the world.

Start-Up Nation Central's flagship tool is the Finder  a free online platform for identifying and engaging Israeli tech organizations based on customers' specific interests. This Innovation Discovery Platform is a comprehensive knowledge hub on Israeli startups, investors, acceleration hubs, multinational corporations, and technology- based innovation associated with academic research. The open-source platform provides up-to-date information and insights into thousands of active Israeli tech companies.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485612/Start_Up_Nation_Central.jpg

SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC)
Members of the South Carolina General Assembly, under the guise of reform, are taking criminal justice in the wrong direction, and one-sided reporting on proposed legislation is making real reform less of a possibility.

A recent story published in The State and The Herald (Rock Hill) titled, Is SC punishing people as drug dealers who arent? New bill wants to ensure state doesnt tells a story of Kerrie Wilson, an Upstate woman serving a 7 year sentence for drug trafficking. The article portrays Wilson as a victim of circumstance being unjustly punished.

In May 2018, police found Wilson with 50 grams of methamphetamine and digital scales inside her purse. Two months later, while out on bond, Wilson was again arrested for drugs found in her home in Laurens County.

Wilson pleaded guilty to her drug charges in Laurens and Greenville County and received a seven-year sentence. She could have received 25 years.

Nowhere in the story is there any input from prosecutors or law enforcement. Instead the reporter elicited comments from legislators, public defenders, and Wilsons grandmother. While the story indicated that the drugs belonged to Wilsons boyfriend, a meth dealer with a long criminal history whom she met while he was in prison, Wilson never did.

Yet, Wilsons case is being hailed as Exhibit A in describing what is wrong with our criminal justice system. The problem, it claims, is not with the criminal choices being made by people like Wilson, but with the actions of law enforcement and prosecutors.

This distorted vision of police officers and prosecutors is openly embraced by leaders from both political parties in a new sentencing reduction bill (H.3623) that is being fast-tracked through the General Assembly.

Two of my colleagues recently testified in opposition, along with the Sheriffs Association, during a House subcommittee on H.3623. This legislation reduces all drug sentences, makes all drug offenses eligible for probation and eliminates the requirement that inmates serve 85% of their sentence for serious drug offenses. In addition, the proposed legislation makes these changes retroactive. In other words, this legislation would open the gates to our prisons and return many of these offenders back to our streets well before they have served their sentence.

Story continues

If it passes, this legislation will lead to more crime and more victims. The bill treats dealers the same as users by reducing sentences on traffickers, and it will hamper law enforcements ability to dismantle drug trafficking operations that are bringing death and misery to our communities.

We must shift our efforts in the criminal justice reform debate to common sense reforms.

We should properly fund drug courts and veterans courts. These courts along with other diversion programs, developed and run by solicitors, have been working successfully, allowing addicts, non-violent, and other first-time offenders another chance at becoming productive citizens in lieu of a prison sentence.

Our General Assembly should also address gang activity. Unlike North Carolina and Georgia, South Carolina does not have a meaningful gang statute that allows law enforcement and prosecutors to dismantle violent gangs, many of which drive the drug trade in our state.

Third, we should have truth in sentencing. When a judge sentences a dangerous offender to prison the defendant should have to serve the sentence. Unfortunately, state mandated early release mechanisms mean offenders typically serve a fraction of their sentence. This puts dangerous people back on to our streets and undermines the integrity of our criminal justice system.

South Carolinas prosecutors welcome the opportunity to work with the General Assembly on these important issues for real criminal justice reform that result in long-term savings of resources while making South Carolina a safer place to live.

Rick Hubbard is Solicitor of the 11 th Judicial Circuit, one of sixteen elected state prosecutors in South Carolina, and is the current President of the South Carolina Solicitors Association.
A convicted rapist found guilty of killing teenager Hayley Dodd two decades ago has been told he will spend 18 years in jail for her manslaughter - one of the longest sentences for the offence Australia has ever seen.

The West Australian Supreme Court last month acquitted Francis John Wark, 65, of the 17-year-old's murder but found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter after a six-week retrial.

The Mandurah teenager - whose body has never been found - was last seen alive in July 1999, walking along a road near rural Badgingarra, about 200km north of Perth.

Justice Stephen Hall said Wark had stopped at the side of the road and attacked Hayley in a 'violent struggle' with a sexual motive when she tried to resist him.

The March ruling overturned the verdict from a judge-alone trial in 2018 which had found Wark not guilty of wilful murder but guilty of murder.

Justice Hall on Tuesday said the killing was one of the 'worst cases of manslaughter' ever.

He said the 18-year jail sentence handed down was the strongest ever in WA legal history, with the next highest being 12 years in prison.

Hayley Dodd was last seen alive in 1999, walking along a road near rural Badgingarra, about 200 kilometres north of Perth

Wark's (pictured) killing of the teenager was one of the 'worst cases of manslaughter' ever, a judge said on Tuesday

'Her vulnerability was obvious,' Justice Hall said according to The Australian.

'Your motivation was to achieve your own sexual gratification.'

Wark was charged in 2015 following a cold case review and had been serving a 12-year prison term at the time for raping a woman he picked up in a remote part of Queensland in 2007.

The convicted rapist, who owned a property in Badgingarra near where Hayley was last seen, denied involvement in the teenager's disappearance.

During the recent re-trial, Director of Public Prosecutions Amanda Forrester SC argued Wark had sexual intentions when he lured Hayley into a borrowed Holden ute.

'(The opportunity) was brief and it was unexpected but it was there and he took it. He took Hayley Dodd and he killed her,' she said.

The jury was told Wark then dumped her body, which has never been found.

Wark claimed to have an alibi for the last time Hayley was seen alive - maintaining he was a 40-minute drive away running errands in Moora.

Wark's lawyer argued his client was physically incapable of committing the crime due to the timeframe.

Wark claimed to have an alibi for the last time Hayley was seen alive - maintaining he was a 40-minute drive away running errands in Moora

In 2018, Wark was found guilty of murdering the hitchhiker after luring her into a ute near rural Badgingarra on July 29, 1999. This decision was then overturned on appeal to manslaughter. On Tuesday, he was told he would spend 18 years in prison

Hayley's mother Margaret appeared in court, accompanied by family, friends and detectives.

The slain teen's loved ones gasped and broke down as the verdict was read out, while her sister ran out of the courtroom in tears.

Outside court, Hayley's mother Margaret Dodd - who has fought for justice for her daughter for two decades - urged Wark to reveal the location of Hayley's body.

'Ideally we would have wanted murder but we got manslaughter, so at least he's not going to get out for a good while,' she told reporters.

West Australia police searching a site in Badgingarra, north of Perth, on November 27, 2013

'I just hope now he tells us where Hayley is.'

Ms Dodd said going through two trials had taken a heavy toll on the family.

'It's been agonising, quite honestly, for the whole family,' she said.

'It's not just me, it's my children, it's my grandchildren, it's my great-grandchildren. We're suffering generations down.

'They all know who Hayley is. She'll never be forgotten.'
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The April 2021 issue of JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network publishes new research from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Gustave Roussy Institute, which suggests that baseline brain imaging should be considered in most patients with metastatic kidney cancer. The researchers studied 1,689 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who had been considered for clinical trial participation at either of the two institutions between 2001 and 2019 and had undergone brain imaging in this context, without clinical suspicion for brain involvement. The researchers discovered 4% had asymptomatic brain metastases in this setting. This group was found to have a low median 1-year overall survival rate (48%), and median overall survival (10.3 months).

"With 4% overall incidence in this cohort, one might conclude that baseline brain imaging should be considered in all patients with metastatic kidney cancer, particularly those with multiorgan involvement and/or pulmonary metastases," said lead MSK researcher Ritesh R. Kotecha, MD, who also worked with investigators from Gustave Roussy, a leading academic cancer center located just outside Paris, France.

"Brain imaging is routinely obtained for kidney cancer patients with symptoms that suggest central nervous system (CNS) metastases, but none of the patients with brain metastases included here were symptomatic," added senior researcher Martin H. Voss, MD, also with MSK. "In current practice chest, abdomen, and pelvis are routinely imaged from the time that metastatic disease is first detected yet many oncologists do not image the brain."

The researchers found 86% of the patients with asymptomatic brain metastases harbored metastatic disease in 2 or more additional organ systems, most-commonly the lung, followed by liver and bone.

"The retrospective study by Kotecha, et. al. demonstrates that incidental brain metastases occur in a clinically significant percentage of patients with newly diagnosed metastatic renal cell carcinoma," commented Eric Jonasch, MD, Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who was not involved in this research.

Dr. Jonasch, who is Vice-Chair of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) Panel for Kidney Cancer, continued: "The findings in this study are important for two reasons. First, they show that the overall prognosis of patients with brain metastases is consistently worse than the broader population of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. We need to develop a deeper scientific understanding of why this patient population has a worse outcome, and we need to include them in future clinical trials. Second, they underscore the utility for MRI imaging of all patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma both at initial diagnosis, and at regular intervals, to detect occult brain metastases, since specific treatment strategies are required for this patient population."

The researchers acknowledged that their data cannot provide input as to how frequently brain surveillance should be repeated, and called for additional study.

To read the entire article, visit JNCCN.org. Complimentary access to "Prognosis of Incidental Brain Metastases in Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma" is available until July 10, 2021.

About JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

More than 25,000 oncologists and other cancer care professionals across the United States read JNCCNJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. This peer-reviewed, indexed medical journal provides the latest information about innovation in translational medicine, and scientific studies related to oncology health services research, including quality care and value, bioethics, comparative and cost effectiveness, public policy, and interventional research on supportive care and survivorship. JNCCN features updates on the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines), review articles elaborating on guidelines recommendations, health services research, and case reports highlighting molecular insights in patient care. JNCCN is published by Harborside. Visit JNCCN.org. To inquire if you are eligible for a FREE subscription to JNCCN, visit http://www.nccn.org/jnccn/subscribe.aspx. Follow JNCCN on Twitter @JNCCN.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) provide transparent, evidence-based, expert consensus recommendations for cancer treatment, prevention, and supportive services; they are the recognized standard for clinical direction and policy in cancer management and the most thorough and frequently-updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine. The NCCN Guidelines for Patients provide expert cancer treatment information to inform and empower patients and caregivers, through support from the NCCN Foundation. NCCN also advances continuing education, global initiatives, policy, and research collaboration and publication in oncology. Visit NCCN.org for more information and follow NCCN on Facebook @NCCNorg, Instagram @NCCNorg, and Twitter @NCCN.

Media Contact:

Rachel Darwin

267-622-6624

[email protected]

SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Related Links

www.nccn.org


Paxton, IL (60957)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 87F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low near 65F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.


Amid a sudden surge of Covid cases in the national capital, the Delhi BJP on Tuesday urged the Arvind Kejriwal government to call an all party meeting to discuss the alarming situation. Addressing a press conference, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta alleged that the Kejriwal government is so busy with patting its own back that it does not have time to even improve the Covid related arrangements despite a sudden surge of cases in the recent time. "The Covid management system has totally collapsed and now the city government seems to be dependant on private hospitals to tackle the situation," Gupta said. Gupta pointed out that Delhi is witnessing the fourth wave of Covid since the past ten days but the Kejriwal government has not declared any of its bigger hospitals including LNJP as a dedicated facility for the treatment of virus infection. "Yesterday, all of a sudden the Kejriwal government declared 14 private hospitals as dedicated facilities to treat Covid patients. It clearly shows the Delhi government hospitals are simply not equipped to deal with the current situation. Treatment in these hospitals is very costly and beyond the reach of lower or middle class people," Gupta said. Gupta demanded that an all-party meeting should be convened soon by the chief minister and the government come up with a clear blue print to deal with the crisis. He further demanded that at the same time, the Delhi government should augment the medical consultancy and test centres besides quarantine facilities at the earliest and also implement Ayushman Bharat Yojna at once. The Delhi BJP chief also suggested the state government schools and colleges can be used as temporary quarantine centres or hospitals. "It was highly regrettable that now when the patients needed more ventilators and oxygen beds, the Kejriwal government and AAP were busy tarnishing the vaccination drive being run by the central government," he added.




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A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy directed the state government to file an affidavit along with surveys it had relied upon for deciding to reduce the reservation for OBCs.  By arrangement

HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Monday pulled up the state government for not filling any counter since 2019 over a batch of petitions challenging action of said government curtailing percentage of reservations for other backward classes (OBCs) in local body elections to 22 per cent from the earlier 34 per cent.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy directed the state government to file an affidavit along with surveys it had relied upon for deciding to reduce the reservation for OBCs.

The bench listed the matter for further hearing on April 19.

Counsel for petitioners pointed out that one of the prayers in the batch of petitions finds mention in the latest judgment passed on March 4, 2021, by a full bench of Supreme Court in the Vikas Kishanrao Gawali case, which is to proportionately increase percentage of reservations for OBCs in local body elections.

The petitioners said that the state government had considered the socio-economic survey conducted by the Telangana Backward Classes Cooperative Finance Corporation Limited to decide upon reservation percentages in local body elections. They argued that such survey must instead have been carried out by an appropriate commission like Telangana State Commission for Backward Classes. How can the state allow the said corporation to conduct such rigorous survey to ascertain reservation percentages for OBCs about ensuring adequate political representation in local bodies, the petitioners asked.

Speaking on behalf of the government, the Additional Advocate General maintained that the corporation is an appropriate body, which was set up to implement welfare schemes. He submitted that the state has been relying on surveys conducted by appropriate commissions before elections. Responding to the government counsels submission, the bench asked him to submit the relevant survey reports.

As per petitioners contention, the apex court has mandated that reservation percentages for OBCs in local body elections must pass the triple test, which is (1) To set up a dedicated commission to conduct contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of backwardness qua local bodies within the state; (2) To specify the proportion of reservation to be provisioned local body-wise in light of recommendations of the commission so as not to fall foul of over breadth; and (3) In any case, such reservation shall not exceed the aggregate of 50 percent of total seats reserved in favor of SCs / STs / OBCs taken together.

Petitioners maintained that in contravention of this triple test, the state government had issued the 2018 and 2019 notifications listing OBCs reservation percentages on basis of 2011 Census data of the central government.
Paris, April 13 : The Paris prosecutor's office has launched a murder investigation over a shooting incident outside a hospital hospital, which is also a Covid vaccination centre, in the French capital, suggesting the case did not appear to be terror-related.

An investigation has been opened for "assassination and attempted assassination" in this case, Xinhua news agency quoted a spokesman of the prosecutor's office as saying to the media on Monday.

Earlier in the day, an attacker fired several shots in front of the Henry Dunant hospital in the 16th district of Paris.

A man in his 30s died from his wounds and the other victim, who works as a security guard at the hospital, was seriously injured.

The shooter, who fled on a motorcycle, is still on the run, according to reports.

Addressing the media, the district Mayor, Francis Szpiner, said that the hospital did not seem to be the target.
Microsoft is launching a host of productivity accessories geared for remote work.

Microsofts Modern Webcam ($70) is just one of several peripherals introduced Tuesday alongside the Surface Laptop 4, including the Microsoft Modern USB Headset ($50), the Microsoft Modern Wireless Headset ($100); the Microsoft Modern USB-C Speaker ($100), and the Surface Headphones 2+ for Business ($300).

In light of how the pandemic has made remote work the norm for many, Microsofts new peripherals make sense. Both of the new Modern headsets are Teams certifiedand, in a twistinclude a dedicated Microsoft Teams button. Webcams have become essential equipment for videoconferencing, while Microsofts noise-cancelling Surface Headphones were designed with noisy offices (or homes!) in mind.

Microsoft Modern Webcam

Microsoft already has vibrant, 1080p webcams in Surface and Surface Book devices. The affordable Surface Laptop's integrated webcam is just 720p, however, so Microsofts Modern Webcam provides an upgrade opportunity. It offers a 1080p resolution, an integrated privacy shutter, and an optional mount for either your laptop or a tripod. HDR and auto-exposure are other highlights. Interestingly, however, the Modern Webcam does not support Windows Hello.

Microsoft Microsoft's Modern Webcam is its first since its Lifecam webcam series.

The challenge Microsofts Modern Webcam faces is that there are already dozens of inexpensive 1080p webcams on the market, lacking Microsofts name recognition but piling on similar features, at least on paper. (Microsoft has an older Lifecam lineupRemove non-product link, but none of those webcams offer greater than 720p video.) The Modern Webcam does boast some Microsoft-specific touches, including a new True Look facial retouch feature and Teams certification.

Surface Headphones 2+ for Business

Historically, Microsofts peripherals business has been oriented around mice and keyboards. Beginning with the original Surface Headphones, and now with three new headsets, Microsoft has moved assertively into the audio business.

A year ago, Microsoft introduced the Surface Headphones 2, an upgrade to the original Surface Headphones. The purpose behind the Surface Headphones line was always focus: By tuning out the outside world, you should be able to get more done. Microsofts original Surface Headphones offered sixteen levels of noise cancellation. The new wireless Surface Headphones 2+ offers thirteen levels, the same as the Surface Headphones 2. The headphone are optimized for voice, and have been integrated with Microsoft 365 apps like PowerPoint to provide automatic translation. They include a dedicated Microsoft Teams button as well.

Microsoft Microsoft's Surface Headphones 2+.

The Surface Headphones 2+ appear to weigh about the same as their predecessors, at 290 grams or 0.64 pounds, and use the same 40mm driver. They also appear to support the same dial controls for active noise cancellation and volume, as well as tap to mute. Passive noise cancellation ranges up to 30dB, while active noise cancellation goes up to 40dB. Microsoft says youll be able to charge the Surface Headphones 2+ fully in less than 2 hours, providing up to 15 hours of Teams calls and 18.5 hours of music listening. Active noise cancellation will lower that number, but Microsoft isnt saying by how much.

Microsoft Modern USB Headset and Modern Wireless Headset

Microsofts $50 Modern USB Headset and $100 Modern Wireless Headset are cousins, though they differ in slight ways beyond their connectivity. Both headsets are Microsoft Teams-certified and include a dedicated button to launch a Teams call. However, both differ in how you can mute calls: While the Modern USB Headset includes a dedicated mute button, users mute the Wireless Headset by raising the boom mic. Both include status LEDs to indicate whether the mic is muted.

The Modern USB Headset uses a USB tether, measuring about 39 inches in length, with a USB-A connector at the end. The headset provides up to 91dB of sound output via a 28mm speaker driver.

Microsoft Microsoft's Wireless Headset, shown here, is one of a recent flood of Microsoft headsets, which also includes the Xbox Wireless Headset for the Xbox and Windows.

The Modern Wireless Headset connects via Bluetooth, with the same speakers as the USB Headset. The improvements here include a noise-cancelling mic, as well as the freedom from cables. The Wireless Headset can be charged fully in 2.5 hours, with up to 30 hours of talk time on a Teams call, or 50 hours of wireless music listening.

Modern USB-C Speaker

Roughly a year after Microsoft decided to remove the Cortana functions from the Harman/Kardon Invoke, Microsoft has introduced a Cortana-less USB-C speaker for both Teams meetings and music playback. The small (5.43 x 2.8 x 1.1 inches) speaker includes a pair of omnidirectional mics for Teams calls, and a 50mm speaker for music playback. It, too, has a Teams button. Its not wireless, howeveryes, that means no Bluetoothand connects via a 26-inch USB-C cord directly to a PC.

Microsoft Microsoft's Modern USB-C Speaker.

Updated at 9:16 AM with additional details.
A Good Morning Britain reporter was forced to run for cover in Minnesota after his segment was interrupted by gunshots.

Noel Phillips was reporting from Minneapolis, where violent protests have broken out over the fatal shooting of a black man by police.

Daunte Wright was killed on Sunday during a traffic stop in the suburb of Brooklyn Center.

A police officer has claimed she accidentally shot him after mistaking her gun for her taser.

In his broadcast, Phillips describes a 'growing crisis' and 'a very tense standoff between protesters and police' before gunshots can be heard in the background.

A Good Morning Britain reporter was forced to run for cover in Minnesota after his segment was interrupted by gunshots

The reporter looks around nervously before shouting begins and a man can be heard saying 'Get out now!' then the crew starts running.

'We heard 20 to 30 gunshots fired from a group of men towards the police,' Phillips said.

Later in the programme, the journalist revealed he was wearing 'body armour' during filming as he believed the situation could become dangerous.

'We saw gunshots being fired, and as a precaution while doing this job we tend to wear body armour to protect ourselves,' he said, revealing a bulletproof vest underneath his jacket.

Noel Phillips was reporting from Minneapolis, where violent protests have broken out over the fatal shooting of a black man by police, when he heard gunshots

The crew was forced to run for cover after hearing what Phillips said were '20 to 30 gunshots'

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Brooklyn Center for a second night on Monday, defying a curfew imposed by the mayor, and gathered outside the police headquarters.

Police shot tear gas and stun grenades at protesters in an attempt to disperse the crowds.

On Sunday, about 20 businesses were ransacked by looters and the National Guard was deployed.

Vigils and protests also were held on Monday in Washington, New York, Portland and California.

Tensions were already high in the Twin Cities as the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd continues in Minneapolis.

The shooting of 20-year-old Wright on Sunday happened just 10 miles away from where Floyd was killed in May 2020.

Protests erupted after Daunte Wright was killed on Sunday during a traffic stop in the suburb of Brooklyn Center

Police and National Guard were on standby to enforce a curfew imposed by Brooklyn Center's mayor
Brussels, April 13 : The European Union (EU) has strongly rejected any attempts to derail diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal currently underway in Vienna.

EU Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano told an online press conference on Monday that the reported incident in Natanz "could have been an act of sabotage", but insisted that there had been no official attribution over who was responsible, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Natanz uranium enrichment site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday as negotiators in Vienna were seeking to re-admit the US to the 2015 pact, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions, after former President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.

"There has been no official attribution and there are several accusations that we are aware of, but it has to be clarified what happened and who is behind it. We still need to clarify the facts in detail as quickly as possible," he said.

Stano said that any attempt to derail the diplomatic negotiations underway in Vienna to salvage the JCPOA must be completely rejected.

"We reject any attempts to undermine, derail or weaken diplomatic efforts on the nuclear agreement... All issues concerning the nuclear program have to be resolved by diplomatic means because there is no other sustainable alternative," he stressed.

Two meetings of the JCPOA Joint Commission were held last week in Vienna, chaired by Enrique Mora, the deputy secretary general and political director of the EU External Service Action Service, and attended by representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and Iran.

Washington sent a delegation led by US Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley.

They did not meet their Iranian counterparts face-to-face, but a shuttle diplomacy approach was adopted with the intensified help of the coordinators.
U.S. President Joe Biden has tapped two known Trump critics to lead two major key positions under his administration, according to a White House official.

The said positions were in border and immigration agencies, with Chris Magnus to lead U.S. Customs and Border Protection, while Ur Jaddou as the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to a Reuters report.

Magnus is the chief of police in Tucson, Arizona, and set to be responsible for the handling of security and facilitating legal trade and travel in his CBP stint.

Jaddou will handle the immigration paperwork and processing once confirmed as the USCIS director.

Biden's nomination on Magnus and Jaddou must be approved by the Senate. The chamber is divided between Democrats and Republicans, with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaker.

READ MORE: Biden Admin May Have To Restart Border Wall Construction To Fill Holes

Magnus and Jaddou Profile

Magnus has been one of the most vocal Trump critics, particularly when he criticized the former president's executive order withholding money to sanctuary cities, according to a Floridian Press report.

The said EO was done as an effort to sway local officials to cooperate with federal efforts to deport undocumented immigrants arrested or convicted of serious crime.

Magnus dubbed the move as a "chilling effect on police-community relations."

Meanwhile, Jaddou previously led the Department of Homeland Security review team for Biden's transition. He has also served as a USCIS head counsel from 2014 to 2017 under the Obama administration.

Jaddou has also led DHS watch, which is a project within American's Voice during the Trump administration.

America's Voice is a progressive immigration advocacy firm.

Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas lauded Biden for the nomination of Magnus and Jaddou.

Mayorkas said that the two are highly-regarded and accomplish professionals with related experience to the field.

"Together they will help advance the Department of Homeland Security's mission to ensure the safety and security of the American people," Mayorkas was quoted in a report.

Border Response

Biden has earlier tapped his vice president to address the current border situation. However, Harris has yet to visit the U.S.-Mexico border.

Harris recently faced a backlash after making a trip to a bakery in Chicago, while there is an ongoing crisis at the border for which she was tasked to address.

Harris has been tasked to address the root causes of the surge and will be involved with leaders in countries with the highest number of migrants trying to enter the U.S.

Border Patrol officials have faced 172,000 people trying to enter the U.S. illegally in March, which is a 71 percent increase over February, according to a New York Post report.

Overall, the CBP has already had more than 569,800 encounters this year, marking a 24 percent spike from the total encounters in the fiscal year 2020.

Unaccompanied children from Central America have ballooned to 18,890, which is double the number in February, with 9,297 minors.

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has invited Harris on a tour of the border, telling the Democrat vice president that she needs to see it personally to really understand them.

"It will provide firsthand insight into what Arizonans, law enforcement officials, and migrants are experiencing," Brnovich was quoted in a Daily Mail report.

READ NEXT: Defense Department Halts Border Wall Building as It Reviews Biden's Order

WATCH: Biden administration faces pressure on immigration amid influx - from Al Jazeera English






Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, speaks at a National Prayer Rally on the National Mall in Washington on Dec. 12, 2020. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Mike Lindell: Costco Has Stopped Selling MyPillow Products

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said that Costco has stopped selling his products, becoming the latest in a string of retailers to do so.

Lindell told the New York Post that Costco has not provided him a reason for the move. According to a search of Costcos website, MyPillow products are not listed.

Costco basically did a slow cancellation, slower than the other stores, Lindell said, adding that Costcos decision will cost MyPillow between $4 million and $10 million annually.

Whats more, he said, about 40 sales staff will be affected by the decision.

Lindell, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, said he believes Costco is engaging in cancel culture and following the influence of other companies that wont sell his products anymore.

Costco said they were going to discontinue us but they were going to honor their contract, which Im not sure what that means, Lindell said, according to the NY Post.

The Epoch Times has contacted Costco for comment.

Previously, the Kirkland, Washington-based retailer told Newsweek that it has contractual commitments to MyPillow that we intend to honor, as we seek to do with all of our suppliers.

In February, Lindell told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that two-dozen retailers have pulled his products from their shelves.

Sams Club, Kohls, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kroger, and JCPenney have also reportedly stopped selling MyPillow products.

Last week, Lindell told the NY Post that a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to urge major retailers to cut ties with the company is the work of bots and trolls and added hes hired a private investigator.

Time to tell our major retailers to stop selling his products, the petition says.

This petition was put up by companies that are full of bots and trolls, Lindell said on April 7. All theyve done is attack retailers. These are hired groups to attack retailers.

Ive hired investigators out of my own pocket, huge companies to investigate whos behind these because somebody ordered these attacks, the added. Change.org, theyre probably another attack group. Were gonna find out whos doing this to our country.

But Change.org said that the signatures are authentic and were started by a real person.

If we are made aware of any fraudulent signatures, we remove them immediately  and in this case, we can confirm that the signatures on this petition are not fraudulent, a spokesperson for the website told news outlets last week.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Long waits for surgery and medical treatment cost Canadians almost $2.8 billion in lost wages and productivity last year, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.



Preliminary data suggest that an estimated 1.2 million patients waited for medically necessary treatment last year, and each lost an estimated $2,254 (on average) due to lost wages and reduced productivity during working hours.

Health-care workers across Canada should be commended for the superb job theyre doing to get us through this global pandemic. However, while we are constantly reminded of the consequences of COVID-19, less discussed are the consequences of unreasonable waits for surgery which can range from physical pain and psychological distress for some, to permanent disability and death for others, said Bacchus Barua, associate director of health policy studies at the Fraser Institute and co-author of The Private Cost of Public Queues for Medically Necessary Care, 2021.

Across Canada, the costs of waiting for medical care were about $2.8 billion.

The study draws upon data from the Fraser Institutes Waiting Your Turn study, an annual survey of Canadian physicians who, in 2020, reported the national median waiting time from specialist appointment to treatment was 12.1 weeks.

Crucially, the $2.8 billion in lost wages is likely a conservative estimate because it doesnt account for the additional 10.5-week wait to see a specialist after receiving a referral from a general practitioner.

Taken together (10.5 weeks and 12.1 weeks), the total median wait time in Canada for medical treatment was 22.6 weeks in 2020 - the longest in the surveys 30-year history.

While some of this backlog is the direct result of COVID-19 related closures, results from the same survey suggest that almost as many (1.1 million) patients were waiting for treatment in 2019  before the pandemic started, said Mackenzie Moir, Fraser Institute Policy Analyst and study co-author.

Because wait times and incomes vary by province, so does the cost of waiting for health care. While the highest cost of waiting per capita is estimated to be borne by patients in Prince Edward Island ($4,130), maritime provinces reported large increases in the per capita cost of waiting suggesting their results should be interpreted with caution. Outside the maritime provinces, residents of Alberta faced the highest per-patient cost of waiting ($2,830), followed by Saskatchewan ($2,505), and Manitoba ($2,371).

Long health-care wait times mean lost wages and a reduced quality of life for patients. While combatting COVID-19 certainly requires our immediate attention, we may need to consider policy options that can benefit all patients and alleviate strain on our public health-care system. Barua said.

Average value of time lost during the work week in 2020 for patients waiting for medically necessary treatment (by province):

British Columbia



$2,330

Alberta



$2,830

Saskatchewan



$2,505

Manitoba



$2,371

Ontario



$1,547

Quebec



$1,632

New Brunswick



$2,311

Nova Scotia



$4,122

Prince Edward Island



$4,130

Newfoundland and Labrador



$3,287











































MEDIA CONTACT:

Bacchus Barua, Associate Director, Health Policy Studies

Fraser Institute

Mackenzie Moir, Policy Analyst, Health Policy Studies

Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Drue MacPherson, Fraser Institute

Tel: (604) 688-0221 Ext. 721

E-mail: drue.macpherson@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter and Facebook
has offered all over-50s a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and launched the Moderna shot in England, the government said on Tuesday, putting it on track to give a shot to all adults by the end of July.



has seen one of the world's quickest vaccine rollouts, behind only Israel in the proportion of its population receiving at least one dose of a COVID-19 shot.



The government said it had now offered at least one shot to priority cohorts 1 to 9, which include all adults over 50, the clinically vulnerable, and health and social care workers, ahead of a target to do so by Thursday.



"We will now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.



has slowed down the pace of first doses, to ensure people in high-priority groups receive a second dose despite lower vaccine supplies in April than March.



In a boost to vaccine supplies for first doses, the rollout of Moderna's shot in England begins on Tuesday, after first doses were given in Wales last week.



Already used in the United States and other parts of Europe, it becomes the third vaccine to be used in Britain after AstraZeneca and one from Pfizer-BioNTech.



Moderna uses the same mRNA technology as Pfizer's shots but can be stored at normal fridge temperatures unlike its rival U.S. vaccine, which must be kept and shipped at ultra-low temperatures.



Johnson's office said that the government remained on track to offer all adults a shot by July 31. On Tuesday, the National Health Service said that people aged 45 or over could now book appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.



The success of the vaccine programme has underpinned Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown, which on Monday saw all shops and outdoor hospitality settings in England reopen, with some celebrating on the street into the evening.



Adding a note of caution to the optimism, the government announced an expansion of so-called surge testing in the south London boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth to detect cases of the variant first found in South Africa.



There have been 74 confirmed and probable cases of the variant, known as B.1.351, in the boroughs, and there is concern that vaccines are less effective against it.



"The important thing will be to watch: If the South African variant has really taken off, and we'll probably know in about two to three weeks, then we may need to pause re-opening a little bit," James Naismith, professor of structural biology at the University of Oxford and director of Rosalind Franklin Institute, told BBC Radio.



With more than 127,000 fatalities, the United Kingdom has the fifth-highest death toll in the world from COVID-19.
Over 7 Million in East Africa on brink of starvation amid pandemic, violence and infestation

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Over 7 million people across six East African countries are at the cusp of starvation as communities have faced existential threats from violence, flooding, the pandemic and locust infestation, the evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision has warned.

According to the charity, which operates in nearly 100 countries, thousands of children could face death or long-term health consequences if the international community does not respond quickly to East Africa's worsening crisis.

Debebe Dawit, program manager for World Visions humanitarian emergency affairs team, recently visited Ethiopia and saw firsthand the effects of poverty in the East African country. He said the situation is severe.

The situation is very severe in East Africa, and particularly Ethiopia. Over 2 million people are in need of food assistance, Dawit told The Christian Post in a Thursday interview. Among conflict, COVID-19, flooding, locust infestation, all these are adding [an] additional burden to the community.

Before the pandemic began, several countries in East Africa faced a widespread desert locust infestation that impacted hundreds of thousands of hectares and damaged croplands and pastures.

Later in 2020, large-scale floods destroyed crops that were ready to harvest, which impacted the food supply for 4 million people in the region, World Vision reports.

Matters have also been complicated by military conflicts  most recently the Tigray conflict  and the rise of Islamic extremism.

To address the starvation and poverty crisis in East Africa, World Vision launched a multi-country emergency response for Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda. The goal is to reach 2.4 million people, which includes 490,000 children.

Lack of funding is the key element that prevents a faster response.

At the end of the day, it will come [down] to resources, Dawit acknowledged.

World Visions intervention is primarily focused on the immediate needs of the children, he said.

The long-term effect of malnutrition especially hinders a childs development and ability to reach their God-given potential, World Vision CEO and President Edgar Sandoval Sr. said in a statement.

Its heart-breaking that the lives of millions of children in East Africa are at risk due to a perfect storm of conflict, changing or unpredictable weather patterns, and the aftershocks of COVID-19.

Dawit said the situation in East Africa, riddled with conflict, drought, flooding and natural disasters, is ever-changing.

Its like a pendulum. , he explained. Because of the droughts or flooding or COVID-19, these people are going deeper into poverty. Its a very complex situation in East Africa.

The program manager said many have already succumbed to starvation or poverty. He believes the approach to the crisis must be proactive rather than reactive.

One of the critical elements in this one is when famine or drought is happening, we always act after the fact.  Usually, we respond after people have died, Dawit shared. We need to be proactive in responding and providing funding to avoid the [deterioration] of the situation. The key thing here is people are dying before the famine of the drought is declared. So that needs to be looked at, and we need to act immediately and prevent further suffering.

The pandemic has made the situation more difficult for East Africans because of the blow to their already weakened economies.

The pandemic just brought additional burden, Dawit continued. The condition is getting worse  People are living [on less than a dollar a day]. So the country has been locked up. The economy has been affected. So many people are in hunger because they couldnt go out and make that dollar a day to survive. So the [economic] impact of COVID is [devastating] across Africa and particularly in East Africa.

An estimated 108,000 people in East Africa live under catastrophic famine conditions, and the number is expected to increase with excessive rainy seasons and conflict plaguing the region.

World Vision estimates that another 26 million are a step away from famine if urgent action cannot prevent them from sliding into the same situation.

Women and girls face the greatest risk due to gender-based violence, abuse and sexual exploitation.

In the face of unprecedented global demands for humanitarian funding, crises in East Africa are receiving limited international attention, despite urgent and life-threatening needs, Joseph Kamara, World Visions regional humanitarian and emergency affairs director for East Africa, said in a statement. We appeal to national governments, regional institutions, humanitarian actors and donors to urgently address the hunger crisis in East Africa and more forcefully communicate its breadth and severity.

The organization is seeking $60 million to extend and mobilize this response to the East African hunger crisis. Dawit encourages the donor community to donate to help meet this urgent need.

In an interview with The Christian Post last year, World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley warned that 2021 might see famines of biblical proportions since economic struggles could hamper global responses to food shortages.

The former South Carolina governor said that the pandemic's fiscal realities could lead to a decrease in funding when as many as 270 million people globally could be pushed to the brink of starvation.


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If the United States wants to out-compete China in key technology markets, Congress and the Biden Administration must act now, maintained a Washington, D.C. think tank in a report released Monday.

"With the rise of China, the U.S. economic and technology environment has fundamentally and inexorably changed," explained the report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

"America needs an advanced technology industrial policy to compete effectively," it continued, "but that will require modernizing hidebound economic thinking that has long considered 'industry policy' to be anathema."

The report called on government to take an active role in promoting industrial competitiveness and to formulate an advanced industry and technology strategy, which should include a set of policies and programs explicitly designed to support specific industries and technologies.

It recommended industries targeted by the policy meet four criteria:

They must be one that without proactive government policy support would underperform, either in general or because of foreign competition.

The United States must have some potential for success in the industry or technology because of existing assets and strengths.

Success in the industry or technology must be important to achieving key national goals, such as national defense and security, energy security and climate, a better trade balance, or faster productivity growth.

The firms in the industry should want support and be willing to invest at least some of their own resources in the efforts.

Conceptualization of industrial strategy tools. Source: ITIF

One Chip Fits All

ITIF President Robert D. Atkinson, who authored the report, explained that governments engaging in industrial policy has been given a bad rap by economists.

"Economists believe the market does everything right," he told TechNewsWorld. "What they focus on is allocation efficiency," he continued. "So industrial policy is inherently bad because you are helping one industry over another. Potato chips or computer chips, every industry is equally important to them."

"The notion that the government can't do this is not born out by historical evidence in the U.S.," he asserted. "The Internet alone would make up for any loses for the next 50 years."

He explained that with industrial policy, the government is trying to invest in a sweet spot between areas the private sector won't invest in because the risk is too high and areas so poor no one can make any money in them. "Government shouldn't be substituting for the private sector, but it should be focusing on areas where the risk is a little higher and the payoff is higher," he said.

"Government investments should yield big social benefits," he continued. "We don't expect the private sector to be thinking about social benefits. We don't expect it to be thinking about U.S. competitiveness vis a vis China. It's not their job. But it is the government's job."

Riddled with Failure

Doug Barry, senior director of communications and publications for the US-China Business Council, an organization of more than 200 American companies that do business with China, told TechNewsWorld that one argument against national industrial policies is that they're less efficient than markets and lead to wasteful spending.

However, he added, "That argument does not give proper credit for massive government funding during the Sputnik era which contributed to many important commercial applications such as the Internet, GPS, and the smart phone."

One reason the United States has shied away from industrial policy is because of innovation in the private sector, observed Richard Stiennon, founder and chief research analyst at IT-Harvest, a cybersecurity industry analyst firm in Birmingham, Mich.

"There's also another good reason not to have an industrial policy," he told TechNewsWorld. "Governments are the least able to identify future growth areas. In 2007, for example, an industrial policy wouldn't have predicted we were going to dominate the market in high-end cell phones."

Industrial policy -- where the government targets certain industries for non-market support in order to achieve commercial outcomes within national borders that could not be achieved without that support -- has been riddled with failure throughout U.S. history, contended Scott Lincicome, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a public policy think tank in the Washington, D.C.

"It doesn't work in the United States due to a combination of the U.S. economic system having relatively liquid capital markets, which means the market is pretty good at picking winners and punishing losers, and our political system, which is characterized by high turnover and intense lobbying," he told TechNewsWorld.

"Those two factors make industrial policy a pretty shoddy way to compete, regardless of what China is doing."

R&D Credit

The industrial policy outlined in the ITIF report includes a doubling of the R&D tax credit. "We have a very low R&D tax credit compared to our competitors," Atkinson said.

Lincicome noted, however, that private and public investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP just broke three percent for the first time and is growing.

"In terms of total dollars spent, we're still the biggest spender on R&D in the world," he said.

He also questioned the effectiveness of the R&D tax credit as a means of stimulating innovation.

"There's pretty good evidence at this point that the R&D tax credit hasn't really induced a real increase in R&D spending," he observed. "Instead, companies have simply recharacterized spending as R&D to get the subsidy."

"Any time you dangle a tax credit in front of a corporation," he continued, "they're going to hire some accountants to figure out how to be eligible for it."

"The better move is to lower the corporate tax rate overall," he added. "There's a lot of good research that shows lower corporate tax rates tend to induce more R&D spending, patenting and hiring of researchers."

Strategy Needed

Even without an industrial policy, there are measures the United States can take to keep a leg up on China.

"In the short run, we can reform our immigration policies to enable more foreign students to work here after finishing their studies," Barry recommended.

"Similarly," he continued, "we can make it easier to attract the best STEM minds from other countries. And we can improve STEM education in our primary and secondary schools."

"To make innovation more geographically dispersed, we can create technology innovation centers in different parts of the county," he added.

"We know where to focus: AI, quantum computing, robotics, bio tech, environmental technologies," he said. "Whether or not it's called industrial policy, the U.S. government needs to be more strategic in its thinking and action if we're to avoid losing our competitive edge. Once lost, it will be very hard to regain it."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


WASHINGTON - The U.S. on Tuesday recommended a pause in use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, setting off a chain reaction worldwide and dealing a setback to the global vaccination campaign.

Restaurant workers and restaurant delivery workers wait in line to sign up for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccine site, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, in the Sunset Park neighborhood of New York. The mobile vaccination effort includes two buses equipped with four to six vaccinators each, delivering the COVID-19 vaccine directly to communities most in need. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

WASHINGTON - The U.S. on Tuesday recommended a pause in use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots, setting off a chain reaction worldwide and dealing a setback to the global vaccination campaign.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced that they were looking into unusual clots in six women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died.

The acting FDA commissioner expected the pause to last only a matter of days. But the decision triggered swift action in Europe and elsewhere as the drugmaker, regulators and providers moved to halt the use of the J&J vaccine, at least for now.

J&J said in a statement that it was aware of the reports of blood clots, but that no link to its vaccine had been established. However, the company said late Tuesday it would delay the rollout of its vaccine in Europe and pause new vaccinations in its trials that are still underway until it can update its guidance on how to proceed.

FILE  In this March 31, 2021 file photo, a nurse fills a syringe with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaxmobile, at the Uniondale Hempstead Senior Center, in Uniondale, N.Y. The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Hundreds of thousands of doses were due to arrive in European countries, where vaccinations have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over blood clots in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet cleared for use in the U.S.

Any slowdown in the dissemination of the shots could have broad implications for the global vaccination effort. The J&J vaccine held immense promise because its single-dose regimen and relatively simple storage requirements would make it easier to use, especially in less affluent countries.

The clots, which happened six to 13 days after vaccination in veins that drain blood from the brain, occurred together with low platelets, the fragments in blood that normally form clots.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

We know there are plenty of critics who say, 'Why? Its just a couple of cases. Why dont we just move along?' said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs vaccine centre. He noted past episodes when health problems surfaced in people who got new vaccines, such as the debut of the polio vaccine in 1955 and a vaccination campaign against a new form of flu in 1976.

This screen image shows the audio only media call with the Food and Drug Administration after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday, April 13, 2021, it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. On the call are Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, acting Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock and deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Anne Schucha. (FDA via AP)

When medical countermeasures injure people in the United States, we dont have a lot of tolerance for that, and that tends to undermine vaccine confidence, Marks said. "So we simply have to do whatever we can to minimize or eliminate issues that might be considered friendly fire.

The decision immediately upended some vaccine programs around the U.S.: In Atlanta, a mass vaccination event for public school teachers that was to have used the J&J vaccine was scrapped. St. Louis health officials said they would reach out to 1,800 people who got the shots to warn them of potential health issues. And in Montana, two colleges that had hoped to vaccinate students with J&J doses before they head home for the summer cancelled clinics.

Authorities stressed they have found no sign of clot problems with the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S.  from Moderna and Pfizer.

Seth Shockley of Indianapolis received the J&J vaccine Sunday and was initially worried when he heard about the potential side effects Tuesday. His concerns faded when he learned there were only six confirmed cases of blood clots.

I would much rather take the risk with the vaccine  a much smaller risk  than to risk it with COVID, he said. Now he's more worried that the reports could result in more people refusing to get vaccinated.

Volunteer Veronica Noland explains the reason for closing of the COVID-19 mass vaccination site that was administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at Elgin's Eastside Recreation Center on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 in Elgin, Ill. The U.S. is recommending a pause in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots The site plans to reopen tomorrow using the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. (Rick West/Daily Herald via AP)

The FDA said the cases under investigation appear similar to the clots that are possibly linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine. European regulators have stressed that the AstraZeneca risk appears to be far lower than the possibility of developing clots from birth control pills, which typically cause clots in about 4 of every 10,000 women who use them for a year.

Speaking at the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, said the pause would allow the FDA and the CDC to investigate the clotting cases and to make physicians more aware of this.

A CDC committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases, and the FDA has launched an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts.

FDA officials emphasized that Tuesdays action was not a mandate. Doctors and patients could still use J&Js vaccine if they decide its benefits outweigh its risks for individual cases, Marks said.

The agencies recommend that people who were given the J&J vaccine should contact their doctor if they experience severe headache, abdominal or leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks.

U.S. health authorities cautioned doctors against using a typical clot treatment, the blood-thinner heparin. European authorities investigating the AstraZeneca cases have concluded that the clots appear to be similar to a very rare abnormal immune response that sometimes strikes people treated with heparin, leading to a temporary clotting disorder.

While it's not clear yet if the reports among J&J recipients are related, doctors would treat these kinds of unusual clots like they treat people who have the heparin reaction  with different kinds of blood thinners and sometimes an antibody infusion, said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a clot expert at the University of Michigan.

Even without J&Js vaccine, White House officials said they remain on track to have enough supplies to vaccinate most American adults by the summer.

We believe theres enough vaccine in the system  Moderna and Pfizer  for all Americans who want to get vaccinated by May 31 to do so, said Jeff Zients, the White Houses COVID-19 response co-ordinator.

The J&J vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late February with great fanfare. Yet the shot only makes up a small fraction of the doses administered in the U.S. J&J has been plagued by production delays and manufacturing errors at the Baltimore plant of a contractor.

Last week, the drugmaker took over the facility to scale up production in hopes of meeting its commitment to the U.S. government of providing about 100 million doses by the end of May.

At the Green Wave Pharmacy in rural Clintwood, Virginia, many customers have specifically requested the J&J vaccine. Pharmacist Sheryl Pientka said the pharmacy in the Appalachian Mountains serves low-income and elderly people who prefer to get one shot instead of two.

Although the pharmacy has Moderna vaccines in stock, some elderly and homebound customers may wait for the J&J shot to get cleared for use again, Pientka said.

Its a very small town where everyone knows everyone else, so people say, I know so-and-so got the vaccine. If she doesnt have a problem, then Ill go get it, she said.

Associated Press writers Mike Stobbe, Emily Wagster Pettus, Karen Matthews, Jill Bleed, Linda A. Johnson, Sophia Eppolito and Denise Lavoie also contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden announced his nomination for Tucson, Arizona's Police Chief, Chris Magnus, to be the border chief or commissioner of Customs and Border Protection. The announcement of Magnus' nomination was made by the president himself on Monday.

Magnus' nomination is one of the top posts from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to a report from AZ Central. But apart from being the Police Chief of Tucson, Arizona, Magnus was also known to advocate Black Lives Matter, alongside pushing for police reforms.

READ NEXT: Biden Admin May Have To Restart Border Wall Construction To Fill Holes

Chris Magnus on Black Lives Matter and Other Advocacy

The law enforcement figure made the headlines in 2014 when he was seen in a protest for the Black Lives Matter in Richmond, California, according to The Washington Examiner report. The nominated border chief stood alongside demonstrators in the area while holding a sign that reads #BlackLivesMatter.

Magnus' photo was taken while wearing his uniform on the protest, according to Mail Online. Because of his presence in the demonstration, his photo went viral. During that time, the people were protesting the death of two Black men who died in an officer-involved shooting.

"I am of course very honored to be nominated by the President to lead Customs and Border Protection," said Magnus in a statement. Magnus furthered that he is looking forward to working with the senators and lending an ear to what they think and what concerns them.

Chris Magnus released a video in June last year featuring a Latino man who lost his life in custody. Ashamed of the terrible treatment by his department, Magnus offered his resignation and called for a full-scale internal investigation, urging his officers to do better.

Magnus is also known to have implemented evidence-based practices, along with his promotion of reform. Magnus is also known to insist on police accountability.

Chis Magnus as Border Chief

If the nomination will be confirmed by the Senate, Chris Magnus will lead the nation's largest law enforcement agency that is housing about 60,000 officers and agents. 20,00 among them are from the Border Patrol, and the remaining functions with the Office of Field Operations, composed of people on land, air, and seaports of entry.

Magnus emphasized in his statement that he will still function and stay committed as Tucson's Chief of Police while the Senate is in the process of his deliberation. Magnus highlighted that the confirmation process is never a certainty.

The announcement of Chris Magnus as being nominated for the border chief role follows Roberta Jacobson's resignation from the National Security Council. Jacobson was the former border coordinator and special assistant of the president. She is set to step down from her role by the end of April.

The White House also acknowledged Magnus' closeness in the border to be the extensive experience that will help him in addressing the immigration issues.

Apart from Chris Magnus as the border chief, the Biden administration is reportedly eyeing other individuals for the Department of Homeland Security. The Washington Examiner noted that some of them will take the role in cybersecurity, and at least two of the eyed individuals formerly served the Obama Administration.

READ MORE: Sen. John Barrasso Says He Was Told to Delete Photos From Border Facilities

WATCH: Biden nominates Chief Chris Magnus to lead Customs and Border Protection - from News 4 Tucson KVOA-TV
Isaias* was a fisherman in a small town in central El Salvador. On a good day, he made enough money to put food on the table for his wife, Isabel, and their two children, aged three and nine  other days they would go hungry.

When members of a criminal gang demanded that he pay them thousands of US dollars, and gave him 24 hours to get it, it was an impossible task.

They asked us for money we did not have, explains Isabel. If they didnt get the money they said they would kill him, me, and our two little ones, she adds.

The gang members gave Isaias until 6:30 p.m. the following day to raise the funds. They called him and he told them he didnt have it. They shot him dead in the street, Isabel recalls.

On the day of Isaias wake, four men she did not know showed up, their faces covered with black ski masks. They pinned a note on the coffin that read after him, well go after the children. They warned Isabel that if she reported the crime it would be worse for them all.

If they didnt get the money they said they would kill him ... They shot him dead in the street.

I decided to leave my country to save my childrens lives, she says. Her neighbours put together a little money and helped her to apply for passports for herself and her daughter, Paty. I got our passports in a week and we left, she says. The couples son remains with his grandmother in El Salvador.

She crossed Guatemala by bus to reach southern Mexico. With Gods help, Im here, says the 33-year-old, moments after making an asylum claim with Mexican authorities. She then registered with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, who provide assistance and orientation at an adapted warehouse in a city a few kilometres from Mexicos southern border.

Their plight is shared by a growing number of women, children and even entire families who are fleeing Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador where gang violence  exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters  has driven them from their homes.

After a dip in the rate of arrivals in 2020 as COVID-19 spread across the region, the number of people fleeing the North of Central America is rising again. In the first quarter of 2021, Mexicos Commission for Refugee Assistance, COMAR, registered 22,606 new asylum applications, nearly a third higher than the same period last year. March 2021 marked an all-time high for monthly asylum claims, as they reached 9,076.

Among those running for their lives is taxi driver Roberto, who abandoned Honduras in February with his wife, Norma, and four sons aged eight to 15 after receiving death threats from a criminal gang or mara.

The gang demanded a weekly extortion payment, and this time I couldnt pay. They wanted it from one day to the next, the 38-year-old explains, gently cradling his eldest boy, Antonio, who has cerebral palsy, in his lap. They told me that if I didnt pay, they would kill me.

We had to choose between buying food, milk, nappies and vitamins for the kids, or paying the extortion.

It was no idle threat. Two of Robertos coworkers had been shot to death for failing to make payments, he says. Keeping up with the weekly demand was becoming impossible, Norma, 36, explains.

We had to choose between buying food, milk, nappies and vitamins for the kids, or paying the extortion, she says.

They packed a bag that night and left the next day at 6 a.m. on a two-day bus ride north to Mexico. Everything we had, we left behind, Norma says.

See also: UNHCR ramps up support for Mexico amid mounting asylum applications

Half of new arrivals are from Honduras. Central Americans, including claimants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, together with those from Honduras, account for two thirds of the people who have sought protection this year in Mexico, with smaller numbers from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela. As the numbers climb, UNHCRs head of office in Tapachula, Kristin Riis Halvorsen, says a greater number of families are seeking asylum in Mexico itself.

In previous years, most people would pass through Mexico headed to the US to seek asylum. Now many, especially families, see Mexico as an option, she says.

When you see that there are family groups of up to three generations, its an indication that the situation that people experience back home has left them really no hope of being able to remain. Even with the hardship of moving and even with the dangers, it is the best shot they have at saving their own life.

Even with the hardship of moving ... it is the best shot they have at saving their own life."

At the current rate, Mexico is on track to match or surpass the record number of asylum claims in 2019. To respond to rising asylum numbers, UNHCR has helped boost COMARs registration and case processing capacity. It has also scaled up its own programmes to help asylum seekers while their claims are being evaluated, and to help recognized refugees integrate into their host communities.

After her first contact with UNHCR staff, Isabel received a follow up assessment to explain her rights in international law, and determine the support she and Paty need, from shelter, to medical attention, counseling, education, financial aid and help with integration.

After claiming asylum, Roberto, Norma and their young family have a room in a secure, 300-bed shelter newly built by UNHCR in southern Mexico, where Antonio has received medical attention, and his brothers can join classes at the centres Escuela Sin Fronteras, or School Without Borders. Roberto, meanwhile, has temporary work packing fruit, which he says is a good start.

Where the families will make their future is not yet clear. But Isabel, Roberto and Norma are adamant that returning home is not an option for them.

They killed my husband and they threatened me, says Isabel, sitting on the sweltering patio of the registration centre. If Id stayed, theyd have killed me too.

If we go back, Roberto tells Norma, Youd be a widow, without the father of your children.

*Names and other details changed for protection reasons.
The exiled former president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, is to be tried for the murder of the man he ousted in a 1987 coup, Thomas Sankara, lawyers told AFP on Tuesday

Ouagadougou, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :The exiled former president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, is to be tried for the murder of the man he ousted in a 1987 coup, Thomas Sankara, lawyers told AFP on Tuesday.

The case was sent to the military tribunal in the capital Ouagadougou after the charges against Compaore and the other main alleged perpetrators were confirmed, 34 years after the death of the cult figure, often called the African Che Guevara.

Compaore and 13 others were being charged with harming state security, complicity in murder and complicity in the concealment of corpses, lawyer Guy Herve Kam told AFP.

"The time for justice has finally come. A trial can begin. It will be up to the military prosecutor to determine a date for the hearing," he said.

Among the accused is General Gilbert Diendere, Compaore's former right-hand man and a former head of the elite unit, the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), at the time of the coup.

Diendere is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Burkina Faso for masterminding a plot in 2015 against the west African country's transitional government.

Even more people had been accused, but "many of them have died since," Kam said.

Diendere's lawyer, Mathieu Some, said that while a trial date had not yet been set, it "could happen soon".

Sankara took power in a coup in 1983, but was killed on October 15, 1987, when he was 37, in a putsch led by Compaore, who was himself ousted in 2014 by a popular uprising after 27 years in power.

An arrest warrant was issued against Compaore in March 2016. He currently lives in Ivory Coast, where he fled after being toppled and where he has since taken nationality.
Participants will explore, among other topics, the impact of COVID-19 on the housing market and specifically on Latinos, who have continued to lead other groups in homeownership growth for the last 6 years.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) will host industry CEOs, federal housing officials and senior policy experts for their upcoming National Convention & Housing Policy Summit on April 1315 and April 20-22, powered by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. The two-part live broadcasted event will culminate in the release of the 2020 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report, NAHREPs flagship report, which examines progress made in the last year towards the organizations mission of increasing sustainable Hispanic homeownership.

Participants will explore, among other topics, the impact of COVID-19 on the housing market and specifically on Latinos, who have continued to lead other groups in homeownership growth for the last 6 years.

April 13-15  National Convention: NAHREP members, partners and other industry leaders discuss challenges, trends and prospects, franchise building, mortgage lending trends and more.

April 20-22  Housing Policy Summit: Federal housing and senior policy officials discuss present housing issues including immigration reform, overcoming COVID as a small business, the housing inventory crisis, redefining qualified mortgages, down payment assistance and more.

Some of the nations most prominent housing leaders will participate in NAHREPs National Convention and Housing Policy Summit, including:



U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, California

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, New Jersey

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge

U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair, CA-36 Congressional District

U.S. Congressman Tony Cardenas, CA-29 Congressional District

National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti

White House Deputy Director for Public Engagement Adrian Saenz

Program highlights include:



Keynote Address with Marcia Fudge, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Conversation with Jose Andres, Chef, Restaurateur, Humanitarian

FIRESIDE CHAT WITH THE CHAIR OF THE CONGRESSIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS: PUTTING LATINOS AT THE CENTER OF THE ECONOMIC POLICY DISCOURSE - A fireside chat with U.S. Congressman Raul Ruiz the new Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to discuss the role Latinos will play in the future of the U.S. economy. From immigration to homeownership, the nation's economic future is intricately tied to the fate of the U.S. Latino population.

Release of the 2020 State of Hispanic Homeownership Report: Experts from the White House, the National Economic Council, and the Urban Institute will join NAHREP leaders to discuss the role of Hispanics in the U.S. housing market and the outlook for growth in 2021 and beyond.

About NAHREP:

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), a nonprofit 501(c)6 trade association, is dedicated to advancing sustainable homeownership for the Hispanic community in America. NAHREP has a network of over 40,000 real estate professionals and 100 local chapters nationwide.
On April 8, two plainclothes police officers were dispatched by Capitol Police to the home of Ryan Wentz, an anti-war activist and producer for Soapbox, an online media company, over a tweet involving Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Ryan Wentz's Twitter post explaining the incident

The police officers showed up outside Wentzs home in Los Angeles on Friday. Wentz recounted the experience to the World Socialist Web Site: I have a fence in front of my house. I saw these two heads bobbing up and down, and they were calling my name. I was waiting for food delivery and thought thats what it was about. After Wentz saw their badges and refused the officers request to have a discussion inside his home, they began questioning him about the alleged tweet.

They said that they were here [at my house] on behalf of the Capitol Police because I had threatened to kill a sitting member of Congress in a tweet. They said that I had tagged the sitting member of Congress in the tweet. Wentz says he never has and never would threaten anyone.

Only after two minutes or so into the discussion did they say it was AOC. Wentz then recalled that he had tweeted about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez the day before.

Ocasio-Cortezs office has denied that the congresswoman or anyone in her office reported Wentzs post.

Wentz reports that the police proceeded to ask him a series of personal questions about his mental health, his family, and if he was a political person among other questions. He refused to answer most of the questions without a lawyer present.

The tweet that apparently prompted the police visit was a video clip of Ocasio-Cortez in which she provided a tortuously convoluted response to a question on the Israel-Palestine conflict, which bordered on incomprehensible. Wentz described her answer to the question as incredibly underwhelming and, as is commonplace on Twitter, tagged the congresswoman.

Ryan Wentz's original Tweet criticizing Ocasio-Cortez's comments

Wentzs post prompted a firestorm of responses, including many followers and former supporters of Ocasio-Cortez who were infuriated at her answer.

One user tweeted, I know less having just listened to that. Another wrote, Wtf is she talking about? Im actually embarrassed for her. Just craven gibberish of the highest order. Man, shes getting worse by the week. Another user wrote: Im incredibly impressed with @AOCs Obama-like ability to fill large amounts of time with words while saying absolutely nothing. I challenge anyone to tell me what she just said.

The post has been retweeted and liked thousands of times.

The police officers from California Highway Patrol showed up at Wentzs home 24 hours later. The fact that they were acting at the behest of the Capitol Police in Washington D.C. was confirmed in statements from the Capitol Police to Fox News:

USCP investigates all threats that are reported by Congressional offices. The Department also monitors open and classified sources to identify and investigate threats.  This is standard operating procedure for the Department. As it pertains to this incident, the Congresswomen did not request that USCP initiate an investigation.

However, the story reported by Fox News from the police regarding the tweet had changed considerably since speaking to Wentz. According to the statement from Capitol Police to Fox News, one officer indicated that the podcaster was targeted not for any tweet that he had directly authored. Rather, he came under their radar for a tweet authored by another user that was deemed threatening. The content of the alleged tweet has not been made known.

In response to the revised version of the story, Wentz told the WSWS that he was unsure of what was really going on. Maybe once the story blew up, they realized it was going to cause them problems. Or maybe they had really targeted me because of someone elses tweet. But either way, it is quite alarming. Wentz also pointed out that pro-Palestine speech is one of the most policed forms of speech in the US.

Wentz tweeted shortly after the police visit to his home: I felt scared, intimidated, and violated. [The police] knew my name and where I live. It was done on behalf of a congresswoman who advocates against police state tactics.

The fact that either a tweet criticizing Ocasio-Cortez or a tweet in which Wentz was tagged but did not author could lead to police harassment at Wentzs home has serious implications for the entire working class.

I want her to publicly condemn this. If she is progressive, which I dont think she really is, then there is no reason she would not condemn this police intimidation. I want her to condemn this as an egregious overreach. Wentz continued, But more than that. I want her to respond to the political content of the criticisms made. The issue of Palestine deserves more than a word salad of a response from someone branding themselves as a socialist.

These developments come in the context of a series of political exposures by the World Socialist Web Site of Ocasio-Cortezs defense of the Biden administration.

The WSWS article on Ocasio-Cortezs interview with Democratic Left denouncing socialist opponents of Biden was read by more than 100,000 workers and young people. It created a political crisis within the Democratic Party as it exposed the fraudulent pretenses of the main representative of the left wing of the Democrats.
President Joe Biden met virtually Monday with leading CEOs for a summit on the semiconductor shortage as he works to build support for his infrastructure bill.

Biden, in brief remarks to a group that included the leaders of General Motors, Alphabet/Google, and US semiconductor powerhouse Intel, said the United States must build up its own infrastructure to prevent future supply crises.

"We led the world in the middle of the 20th century," Biden said. "We led the world toward the end of the century, we're going to lead the world again."

"I've been saying for some time now, China and the rest of the world is not waiting. And there's no reason why Americans should wait," the president said.

"We're investing aggressively in areas like semiconductors and batteries, that's what they're doing and others, so must we."

The gathering, which is being led by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, comes as a shortage of semiconductors wreaks havoc on supply chains in several sectors.

The crunch has badly dented US auto manufacturing, with General Motors, Ford and other carmakers temporarily shuttering some factories or reducing production.

The shortage has also raised worries throughout the personal electronics universe, generating potentially higher prices for popular gadgets like game consoles and computer tablets.

In all, 19 company bosses are listed as attending, also including Mark Liu, executive chairman of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), one of the lynchpins in the world's supply for the vital electronic components.

The White House said in a readout of the meeting that participants had "discussed the importance of encouraging additional semiconductor manufacturing capacity in the United States to make sure we never again face shortages."

The event came on the heels of Biden's February 24 executive order calling for a 100-day review across federal agencies on semiconductors and three other key items: pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and large capacity batteries.

Policymakers are focused on building additional semiconductor capacity in the United States, but experts say there are limited remedies in the near-term.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki described the event as more of a listening session "and not a meeting where we expect a decision or an announcement."

Biden also pointed to the semiconductor shortage as he seeks to build a case for a $2 trillion infrastructure package.

A White House handout last week on the infrastructure plan endorsed $50 billion for a new Commerce Department office to support production of critical goods and backed congressional legislation to invest another $50 billion in semiconductor manufacturing and research.

Addressing the CEOs, Biden said he was "ready to work with all of you, with the Congress, both parties to pass the American Job plan, and to make a once in a generation investment in America's future.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Belarussian authorities have banned pan-European news media Euronews from broadcasting in the country, alleging it violated legislation by running advertisements in English. The International and European Federation of Journalists (IFJ and EFJ) join the Belarussian Association of Journalists (BAJ) in condemning this new attack on freedom of information and act of censorship by the Belarussian government.

The Belarussian media regulator said in a statement that it had removed Euronews from the list of international media which can operate in the country and announced it would be replaced by Russian programming.

The authorities said they did not renew Euronews' license, which expired today, because they did not comply with the law and ran advertisements in English, instead of Russian or Belarusian.

Euronews is a pan-European news channel broadcasting in thirteen languages.

We deeply regret the decision which has been taken to suspend, as of 12th April, the broadcasting of Euronews in Belarus. We have not been notified of this decision nor of the reasons for it, and learned of it this morning through the press. Euronews is proud to be recognised, around the world, as an independent media outlet providing scrupulously factual and impartial news in Russian as well as in all its other language editions. For almost three decades, our mission has been to empower people to form their own opinions by offering a diversity of viewpoints. Euronews values freedom of the press and will do its utmost to ensure that its audiences in Belarus can very soon again have access, on television, to Euronews' hallmark impartial and quality journalism", Euronews told the IFJ and EFJ.

The decision comes amid increasing pressure from the authorities on media operating in Belarus, where dozens of journalists and media workers have been arrested while covering anti-government demonstrations.

In March 2021, leaders of 50 journalists unions and associations in 34 European countries called on their governments to intensify pressure and take action in the face of constant violations of human rights and press freedom in Belarus.

The IFJ and EFJ condemned the decision to ban Euronews from broadcasting in Belarus as a new attempt by the Belarussian government to curb press freedom and restrict the right of its citizens to freedom of information.
With the state planning to ramp up vaccinations to two lakh doses a day, the total stocks  including the deliveries scheduled for Monday night  are expected to see Telangana meeting its requirements for five to seven days.  Representational image/DC

Hyderabad: Telanganas efforts to mass- vaccinate people against Covid-19 received a booster dose on Monday as the Centre has promised delivery of 3.62 lakh doses of C-vaccines here late at night.

The state had on Saturday pleaded with the Centre for an urgent supply of 30 lakh doses of the vaccines.

As on Sunday evening, the state had a stock of 4.64 lakh doses for first and second dose takers. On Sunday, the state administered 95,169 first dose shots along with another 2,273 second dose jabs. So far, 18,56,822 people have received their first dose, while 3,02,015 of them also got their second dose too, completing their vaccination schedules.

A large portion of those vaccinated on Sunday in the state were from the 45-plus age group. The state has been asking the Centre and the Indian Medical Association to provide vaccination to all age-groups to help fight the rapid rise in the virus spread.

With the state planning to ramp up vaccinations to two lakh doses a day, the total stocks  including the deliveries scheduled for Monday night  are expected to see Telangana meeting its requirements for five to seven days.
Thobile Tshabalala, head of Brand at Old Mutual is responsible for implementing the overall brand strategies and marketing-related plans to build and grow the Old Mutual brand, ultimately leading to increased awareness and relevance for Old Mutual Limited.

Thobile Tshabalala

Thobile, as head of Brand at Old Mutual, tell us more about your role and what it entails exactly?

Growing up, what did you want to be?

Tell us about your career: what you studied and why, and how you ended up where you are today?

What do you enjoy most about marketing and working in the insurance space specifically?

Tell us more about your experience and specifically with regard to brands.

Any career highlights youd like to share.

If you were mentoring a future you, what career advice would you give to aspiring young marketing and branding professionals?

How has the pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns affected your work and Old Mutual specifically?

As a responsible business, you want to ensure that you support community-level initiatives that show dedication and commitment to fighting the spread of Covid-19. So Old Mutual will also consider some of these initiatives for long-term support. Why did you decide to take this a step further, and how so?

The insurer is also supporting government efforts to drive education on Covid-19 safety protocols and vaccine messages across mass media channels. Tell us more about this aspect.

Old Mutual recently launched a new campaign called #Sisonke, to help changemakers make a greater difference in their community. The campaign seeks to create awareness and inspire collective action to mitigate, minimise and manage Covid-19 and its effects. The insurer is also supporting governments efforts to drive education on Covid-19 safety protocols and vaccine messages across mass media channels.Covid-19 has caused significant devastation across the world, and according to experts the virus could be with us for some time. If we do not remain active, educated, and motivated to beat the virus, complacency could set in. This could lead to an unnecessary spike in infections, sickness and deaths, leaving the virus to remain a real threat to people across the continent. As a responsible business, we want to ensure that we support community-level initiatives that show dedication and commitment to fighting the spread of this virus, says Tshabalala.Here, she tells us about her career and work with financial services brands and more about how the insurer is lending a helping hand as a corporate business to make sure that there is some level of sustainability for such initiativesMy role is to implement the overall brand strategies and marketing-related plans to build and grow the Old Mutual brand, ultimately leading to increased awareness and relevance for Old Mutual Limited. The role also includes promoting the Old Mutual brand through strategic key messages and using relevant media for various target audiences.I initially wanted to be the Reserve Bank Governor  Tito Mboweni was such an inspiration to me, but there was a different plan for my life.I majored in economics and industrial psychology, with the plan to become an economist and ultimately Reserve Bank Governor. Given the loss of my car, I could not progress with my honours studies in economics. And at that time, there was an opportunity in pursuing marketing, of which I took advantage. Over the years, I have worked on various brands in the financial services sector and that ultimately lead me to where I am today in my career.I love the fast pace, variety and role that marketing plays in an organisation. My first job was with a bank and, from there, I grew in the financial services sector. I particularly enjoy marketing insurance - the impact that our products provide, how they drive customer future goals and ultimately drive the economic value.I have worked on many Financial Services brands, in various capacities to sell a product like credit cards, to positioning a brand as a responsible corporate citizen. I have also rebranded the Mutual & Federal brand to Old Mutual Insure, an opportunity that happens very rarely for marketers.I have so many career highlights, and it is very difficult for me to single out one as they all have made such a big impact on my career.I would emphasise the importance of understanding the real engine of the business, how it makes money, key drivers and customer profile. There is increasing pressure on marketers to demonstrate real value to the business  linking the marketing strategy to real business outcomes.When the pandemic and national lockdowns hit, it was evident that we (as Old Mutual) needed to go back to the drawing board with the way we were going to continue operating. We have certainly felt the impact of Covid-19 on many fronts as a business, on employees, our customers, and our operations. From a marketing perspective, we have had to be very mindful of the prevailing tone and adjust our initiatives accordingly. We have re-imagined some of our sponsorships, to be relevant in the Covid environment and demonstrate our support to our customers through various relief programmes, including the R4bn cover we provided to frontline workers.We understand that we cannot be a thriving business if our society is not thriving. Therefore, our efforts are about mutual value. Our efforts to consider supporting some of these initiatives are long-term. The financial impact that Covid-19 had on businesses and I can only imagine its effects on small businesses. This is our way of lending a helping hand where we can as a corporate business to make sure that there is some level of sustainability for these initiatives.Our involvement is in line with our purpose of championing mutually positive futures, for all stakeholders  everyday. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its rapid spread across Africa and the world cannot be ignored because it poses a major threat to communities and their livelihoods. The scale and impact of this pandemic could not go unanswered, especially because Old Mutual has an extensive footprint across the continent. Its our duty to get involved and, through co-operating with the public and private sectors, do our best to help reduce the threat we are all facing. The education drive on Covid-19 safety protocols and vaccine messages across mass media channels help make sure that these acts of safety are always instilled in the minds of the society making it easier to stay safe.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus M.Barysevich receives the Ambassador of Syria

On April 2nd, 2021 Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Republic of Belarus Mohammad Aloumrani.

During the meeting the entire range of bilateral relations was discussed. The implementation of the agreements of the seventh meeting of the Joint Belarusian-Syrian Commission on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation was particularly emphasised.

The parties confirmed their interest in enhancing trade and economic interaction, as well as the invariability of mutual political support in the international arena.

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Standing Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Tran Luu Quang (L) and Lao Consul General Phimpha Keomixay

On behalf of the Party Committee, Goverment and people of HCMC, Mr. Tran Luu Quang sent healthy wishes to Lao Consul General Phimpha Keomixay, the staff at the Consulate General of Laos in the city and all Lao people.



He affirmed that Vietnam-Laos traditional special relation has always been maintained and developed.

The citys leader also highlighted the comprehensive relationship of the two countries in general, between HCMC and Laos localities in particular has been developed and deepened.

Lao Consul General Phimpha Keomixay expressed her belief that the countries leaders will continue to make every attempt to reach great achievements in the relationship between the two countries.

In the evening of the same day, a meeting between HCMCs leaders and students of Laos and Cambodia was held with the participation of Deputy Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai, Head of HCMC Commission of Mass Mobilization Nguyen Huu Hiep, Cambodian Consul General to HCMC Sok Dareth and representatives of the Consulate General of Laos in HCMC on the occasion of the Chol Chnam Thmay festival which is the New Year's day of the Cambodia.

Deputy Secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai extended his New Year wishes to Laotian and Cambodian students who are studying in the city. He hoped that they will make outstanding contribution to the special solidarity relationship of the three countries, building a Southeast Asian region of peace, cooperation and development.





By Thuy Vu, Thai Phuong  Translated by Kim Khanh
Downtown Development District officials are waiting for an opinion from the East Baton Rouge Parish Attorneys office before selecting an interim executive director and beginning a search for someone to permanently lead the office.

Davis Rhorer, who was the only executive director in the DDDs 34-year history, died in March from complications related to COVID-19.

+2 Mayor-President wants plaza renamed after Davis Rhorer, 'godfather of downtown' Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome is asking the Metro Council to rename City Hall Plaza in honor of Davis Rhorer, who died last month at th

Melanie Montanaro, chairwoman of the DDD Board of Commissioners, said Tuesday she should have more information about how to proceed with naming an executive director in time for the organizations May 11 meeting.

In the meantime, Gabe Vicknair, the DDDs assistant executive director, is handling the day-to-day operations of leading the office.

Hes steadfastly working so downtown can remain on track, Montanaro said. His work is much appreciated.

Tuesdays DDD meeting was the first since Rhorers death on March 9. The meeting started off with a tribute video.

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It all really seems unreal, Vicknair said. But he is finding comfort in all of Rhorers achievements in improving downtown, such as bringing new businesses and residents to the area.

In other business, Karron Alford, director of marketing and technology for Visit Baton Rouge, said tourists are beginning to slowly return to downtown, now that COVID vaccines are becoming more available. While the data for March isnt completely in yet, it looks like the occupancy rates for downtown hotels was about 65%. That compares to a 30% occupancy rate in February.

+2 Mississippi River cruises coming back to Baton Rouge; see more details here After an absence of more than a year, Mississippi River cruises are returning and will begin docking again in Baton Rouge this week.

More and more events are coming back to downtown. Mississippi River cruises returned to the area in March after an absence of more than a year. American Cruise Lines and American Steamboat Co., the two companies that make stops in Baton Rouge, are slated to have about 100 dockings by the end of 2021. Thats down from the 145 dockings that were cancelled for 2020, but up slightly from the 98 dockings that happened in 2019.

We expected a slow and steady start, Alford said. Travel is expected to peak in July.

Along with tourists coming back, the free Live After Five concert series is set to return after being absent for 2020. The first concert will be held August 20 and the event will go on every Friday until November 5. The entire lineup hasnt been announced yet, but Lauren Lambert-Tompkins, managing director of the Downtown Business Association said some of the performers will include Cowboy Mouth, Wayne Toups, Rebirth Brass Band and Chris Leblanc Big Band.

The DDD also got an update on new businesses that are moving into the neighborhood. Loadstar, a plant logistics company, now has an office at 803 Main St. And Social Coffee, which had been operating a pop-up shop in Chow Yum Phat, will open up a brick and mortar location at 278 North St. in the summer.
Its early Sunday morning at one of Los Angeles mass COVID-19 vaccination sites, and theres already a problem. The list of volunteers was just distributed, but the job assignments failed to populate. Nobody knows who theyre supposed to be for the day. A flustered coordinator yells out, Licensed professionals to the left! Unlicensed volunteers come to the right! Doctors, over here to the front! I shuffle my way over to the bare spot of asphalt where the doctors are supposed to stand, and find myself in a group that includes a woman carrying a backpack designed to double as a chair and multiple people wearing hats with neck protection. There is an abundance of moisture-wicking material.

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Lets go around and introduce ourselves and our specialties, one of the doctors says. I panic. I feel like a fraud calling myself a physician, so I turn away and pretend like Im not part of their circle.

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There I was, chock full of years of education, degree in hand, unable to do anything of use except stay home and wash my hands.

Technically, Im a doctor. I graduated from medical school and have over $350,000 in student loan debt. But I quit my OB-GYN residency in late 2019, less than halfway in, meaning Ill virtually never be employable practicing medicine. I chose this new, ambiguous identity for myself because practicing medicine had turned me into a version of myself that I hated: I snapped back at patients, I resented everyone around me, I once watched a dying woman sob and clocked it as an inconvenience. By the time I left, my actions felt like survival reflexes instead of conscious choices. Quite simply, I was burnt out, a casualty of a medical system that overtaxed its providers even before the pandemic. Whats more, I knew that if I ever recovered, there were endless opportunities for further moral injury and marrow-deep exhaustion around every turn. To keep pursuing life as a doctor was to try to build a life on a foundation of toothpicks, capable of being felled with a heavy sigh. As I left the hospital for the last time, just months before the first cases of an unexplainable pneumonia were detected in Wuhan, China, I was completely unaware of just how big a seismic wave I was escaping.

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I spent the pandemic in the strange role of an outsider: a nonessential worker, a lay person, a civilian. I listened to my friends from medical school and residency vent about what it was like to watch hospitals already strained to the brink pushed into crisis mode. I read the headlines about inadequate protection for hospital staff, the relentless heartbreak of the job that led at least one physician to die by suicide, health care workers having to decide between taking care of their patients or taking care of themselvesall the problems that had existed in medicine long before strands of RNA in crown-shaped capsules made their way around the globe, but now much, much worse. I felt guilty. There I was, chock full of years of education, degree in hand, unable to do anything of use except stay home and wash my hands. I tried to sign up to volunteer at testing sites, but they wanted full-time, weekslong commitments. Part of me felt like I should upend my life and enlist. But I had already found a full-time job working in medical education. Most of all, I had found a quiet contentment in my new post-doctor life, and I didnt want to lose it.

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Many months later, when mass vaccination becomes a reality, a doctor friend tells me they need licensed volunteers at the administration sites. Once I find the site to sign up, I open up the calendar and see an ocean of white, waiting for names of providers like me. I type my name in.

As the day of my volunteer shift approaches, a familiar feeling creeps back into my body: dread. It is how I felt daily before the majority of my shifts as an OB-GYN resident (and especially if I was slated to work a 24-hour shift that often stretched out to almost 30, or before a string of night shifts when I lived like a vampire). I find myself engaging in old habits: The day before, I strictly monitor my activity, declaring to my fiance that I cannot take a long walk because I need to preserve my energy. I meter out my hours before bed, counting back from when I have to wake up. I set out everything I will need in the morning: scrubs, compression socks, a jacket with my name embroidered on the breast with M.D. attached to the end, so that I can put them all on as fast as possible. Completing this ritual feels like being in the presence of an old enemy.

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The morning of, I drive west on the freeway on a route I know well. It is early enough that I follow the moon all the way to the distribution site, watching it behind a pelt of clouds dyed pink. I park my car and watch two large tourist buses pull up behind me and lines of travel nurses spill out onto the asphalt. Theyve been contracted to work at these sites for a few months and are staying at a nearby hotel. Im told via email before I show up that physicians can be assigned to the vaccine mixing, administration, or observation jobs. I secretly hope I get to do the mixing or administeringwhich involves actually giving people their shotsbut after the whole assignment debacle, Im assigned to observation. Later, I find out this is because a volunteer tried to steal some vials of vaccine, so now all volunteer physicians are automatically observers.

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There are 18 lanes of cars being directed at the over 200 volunteers. Someone tells me there are 2,400 appointments scheduled for that day. The first stop is an entire parking lot away from where Im standing, and I dont see or know how patients are getting registered or vetted. The first thing I can see are metal storage containers that punctuate the spaces between lanes and people in full PPE running in and out of them wielding syringes. Once the vaccine is injected in each patients deltoid, they barrel their cars over to us doctors to be observed.

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Our job is to signal to the drivers when to move their cars forward, ask them to turn off their engines, chat with them about how theyre feeling and whether or not they have any worrisome symptoms as they wait for the requisite 15 minutes after the vaccine is given. If we think that theyre having a severe adverse reaction, like their throat closing up, then we can inject some epinephrine and call an ambulance. If theres nothing concerning, when each patients observation time is up, we are to clear them for departure by removing a piece of blue painters tape that was slapped onto their windshield.

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The most dangerous thing out here is the driving, our group leader barks out. Every day so far, there have been close calls, so dont get hit by a car if you can help it. I am a glorified parking attendant, complete with an orange vinyl reflective vest. But as I look around, the dread I have been feeling over the last 24 hours dissipates; in its place is excitement bundled up with warmth and gratitude. I cant believe Im finally here and that I get to help.

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Each drivers side window I approach has a beaming face on the other side of it. Ive been waiting for this day for ages! one man says. This is the first vaccine Ive ever gotten, quips another, and the most important, he adds, nodding to himself. My favorite car is one with four nonagenarians, all beaming at me beneath masks and clear face shields, the thin, sunspotted skin around their eyes crinkling into an accordion that betrays the breadth of their smiles underneath. I congratulate each one as if they have just graduated from college. Even a mishap is amusing: One woman and I are doing a little celebratory dance when our supervisors words come back to haunt me. While were waving our arms up in the air, we both realize that her car is gliding forward. In all of her excitement, she has forgotten to put her car in park.

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Oops! We both exclaim to each other, laughing.

In that first hour of the day, each car holds another opportunity to see how medicine can bring joy and relief. The expanse of the parking lot Im standing in, with its endless lines of snaking cars and hundreds of volunteers, is the closest Ive come to holding the enormity of the pandemic in my mind at once. And, as has happened to me so many times before, Im humbled by the role medicine plays in it all. Medicine seeks to heal our most basic needs, problems that begin as the cells of one body fight against the cells of another, devoid of intention, obedient only to the laws of physics and concentration gradients.

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This was before I was so exhausted that I just barged in and dribbled out a small apology while silently thinking, Just let me do my job.

Im reminded of those early morning hours as a brand-new doctor in my first year of residency when I would pre-round, which means checking on all of the patients before the rest of the team. Id knock on patients doors and apologize profusely for waking them before the sun came up. I indulged in the beautiful idiosyncrasies of how patients behaved at dawn: the woman with her hair propped up in a scrunchie who wanted to gossip about the hospital ghosts; the brand-new mother with a baby whose room was awash with fluorescent light as if it were the middle of the afternoon; the family keeping a close vigil at a bedside, watching the erratic rise and fall of their loved ones chest with each waning breath. Those moments once felt sacred, like matins, the quiet prelude to a day of work. This was before I was so exhausted that I just barged in and dribbled out a small apology while silently thinking, Just let me do my job.

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At the vaccine distribution site, the day wears on, and when I think its time for lunch, it is only 10 a.m. As I walk back-and-forth between cars on the hot asphalt, I feel the pinch of skin above my mask begin to burn under the hot sun. I flex my calf muscles to stave off the dull ache that comes with standing for long stretches of time. I would do the same when I was in the operating room for hours at a time, skipping breakfast and lunch, leaning over open bodies, trying to tease out their cancer. Being at the vaccine site is nothing like residency, but it reminds me what bone-deep exhaustion used to feel like.

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Then, theres an encounter that reawakens a special brand of anger I havent felt since my time as a resident. It rears its head when I ask a man to turn off his car while he waits.

Honey, this is a Tesla. Do you know what that is? he says to me with one arm flopped out of the drivers side window. Teslas dont turn off.

I want to snap back, Yes, I know what a motherfucking Tesla is, but the professional in me takes over: Im so sorry to cause an inconvenience, I say instead, but its the sites policy to have all cars off while they wait in observation.

I dont know what you want me to do, he drawls back to me, while lolling his head up to stare at his tinted solar roof. I cant turn it off, dear.

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Thats when I feel the anger full-bore and, in its wake, all the resentments I collected over the years of my medical training. The years of swallowing condescension: by patients, attendings, co-residents. The cardiologist on the phone who asked me in a voice thick with annoyance, Did you even go to medical school? The patient who told me she was waiting for the real surgeon to show up because, as she clarified, surgeons are men. The humiliation of a patient mocking me with fake Chinese because Im Asian, or of being verbally berated in front of a room full of peers by a senior attending. I tell myself I dont have to deal with this kind of behavior anymore.

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My impulse is to pull aside my orange parking attendant vest to reveal the M.D. after my name, embroidered on my jacket. I want to say, Dont you know Im a doctor!

Instead, I roll my eyes behind my sunglasses. I dont care, I say over my shoulder, as I walk away. Just turn your car off.

I hate the feeling of being annoyed at a patient, however briefly or superficially they are in my care, not just because it is unpleasant, but because it triggers a side of myself I wish didnt exist. I pursued becoming a physician for many reasons, but I did it in large part because I thought becoming a doctor would help make me into the person I wanted to be: someone capable, caring, and smart. But instead, it made me into someone who was short-tempered and contemptuous. And now that self was back.

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After my encounter with the Tesla, my tolerance for anything that slows down the observation line is threadbare. A friend from medical school is also volunteering that day, and over lunch, we do what we did as students and swap stories from the trenches. She tells me about a patient who wanted to be observed by us for an extended period of time because she claimed to have had an anaphylactic reaction to burgers, but only the ones from McDonalds. She told my friend that she was sure it was just McDonalds because she had gone back two more times to confirm.

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People can be so dumb, we say, and laugh and laugh.

Then, I suddenly feel horrible for calling this woman dumb. She was just worried. She just wanted help, and we were the people around to give it. And if I really thought about it, her hamburger story was the kind of detail I loved getting to hear about. Part of the privilege of being a doctor was getting to peek into the nooks and crannies of lives I would never otherwise get to know. But as a resident, I had no time for stories; I only wanted the relevant facts. The peculiars of any patients narrative became secondary to whether or not the information they were giving me felt relevant to the next steps in management.

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I felt like if I lived with this kind of burnout for too long, those ugly impulses that were my minds coping mechanisms would ossify into personality traits. I worried if I kept calling patients dumb and stifling eye rolls as I talked them through a treatment plan, one day I would just assume every patient was dumb, and be permanently annoyed. But, to fix this accumulation of resentment and exhaustion, I was somehow supposed to make room in an already packed schedule to schedule more things like taking time for myself, meditating, and healthy eating habits. Whats more, even though we were all worked to capacity and there is a doctor shortage, resident numbers remain stagnant, further complicating asking for time off. For months, every time I met with the mental health counselor my supervisor urged me to see, I had to have an overworked colleague take over my shift during that hour. This haphazard attempt to keep myself together didnt work. It simply wasnt something I was able to accomplish by myself; it would require a complete, systemic overhaul.

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On one of my last shifts as an OB-GYN resident, the departing doctor told me to keep an eye on a young patient with metastatic cervical cancer, who had recently been put on comfort care only. I think shes going to die tonight, she said, slapping a pager into my palm. I wrote WATCH next to her name on my list of patients. The shift turned out to be a busy one. Between all the deliveries and standard labor checks, there was a steady trickle of patients who came into our triage area. I finally was sitting down to catch up on my notes when my pager went off for the millionth time. The page was from the cancer patients nurse.

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Please come. The words flashed on the bright green background. As I was reading the message, I also noted the time stamp that blinked next to it. I only had an hour and change left before my shift was over. When I arrived at her room, I found her kneeling on the floor clutching an oxygen mask to her face, struggling to breathe as her back glistened with sweat. Two little tubes that drained urine straight from her kidneys emerged from her back, like the stumps of broken angel wings.

Id worked almost 100 hours that week, and all I felt was anger.

Please dont die on my shift, I pleaded internally. I just want to go home.

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I wasnt thinking of her as a person; I was thinking of her as an inconvenience. In that moment, I hated myself so much. Crawling into bed that morning where my fiance was still asleep, I buried my face in the pillow and blindly reached for his hand. I dont think I can be a doctor anymore, I whispered.

When I come home from the day of volunteering at the vaccine site, I feel like I did after a 24-hour shift. I sprawl on the couch and insist that we order delivery for dinner. I down half a bottle of wine. I shove cake in my mouth to drown out the exhaustion with the pleasure of my blood sugar spiking. I am over a year out from that moment in front of a dying patient, from deciding Id be better off with my stethoscope as a mantel ornament rather than slung around my neck. All it took was one day in the field for the exhaustion and resentment to resurface. I cannot imagine how its possible that any of the doctors working through the pandemic arent exhausted and maybe resentful, too.

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I cant tell you what being a health care provider in the last year has been like. That is not my story. But I can tell you what it was like before, when the strains of the system were just as large, but perhaps easier to ignore. I can tell you that even before hospitals were turning emergency departments into ICUs and calling up medical students to work the wards, being a health care provider came with hazards. The medical system as it stood even before the pandemic had no room for redundancy due to a massive physician shortage, strapped its providers with an almost insurmountable amount of debt, and, as the pandemic proved, didnt have the infrastructure in place to care for those who provided the care. When I became a doctor again for just a day, I wasnt prepared for all the reasons I left to return with such intensity; I thought their edges would have been dulled by time, not sharpened.

I can tell you that even as we read the news that life is returning to normal, it may be a long time before the doctors who were pushed past the brink are OK. Which raises the question: If a system cant take care of its providers, can it really take care of any of us at all?
A Salvadoran mother talks to a UNHCR staff member at a registration centre in southern Mexico.  UNHCR/Pierre-Marc Rene

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is supporting Mexico to strengthen and expand its asylum procedures, amid a sharp increase in the number of people seeking asylum in the country.

In the first quarter of 2021, Mexicos Commission for Refugee Assistance, COMAR, registered 22,606 new asylum applications. This was 31 per cent more than in the first quarter of 2020 and a 77 per cent increase from the same period in 2019. March 2021 marked an all-time high for monthly asylum claims, as they reached 9,076.

It continues a pre-pandemic upward trend that started in 2014, as the country expanded its capacity to process asylum claims and integrate refugees. Between 2014 and 2019, the number of asylum claims registered in Mexico jumped from 2,137 to 70,302  an increase by over 3,000 per cent.

Last year marked a break in the rising trend, when COVID-19-related movement restrictions and border closures led to a significant drop in asylum applications. As countries eased restrictions, asylum claims in Mexico resumed their pre-pandemic upward trajectory.

The majority of asylum applications are related to violence affecting hundreds of thousands of people in parts of Central America, including threats, forced recruitment, extortion, sexual violence and murder. It is also an indication of the significant efforts Mexico is making to offer protection to those fleeing for their lives.

In anticipation of rising asylum numbers, since 2018 UNHCR has helped boost COMARs registration and case processing capacity, including through secondment of contractors and support to open a new processing center in the southern Mexican city of Tapachula in Chiapas.

We have also scaled up our own programmes to assist asylum seekers while their claims are being considered, and to help recognized refugees integrate into their host communities. Among others, we launched an innovative programme under which refugees are relocated and able to take advantage of job and educational opportunities in cities in central and northern Mexico.

Moreover, we are offering additional support to increase the capacity of more than 30 civil society shelters. In late 2020, UNHCR completed the construction of a new 300-bed shelter for asylum seekers and refugees in Tapachula. In 2021, UNHCR will complete the construction of a new shelter in the northern city of Monterrey for 80 persons, and another in San Cristobal de las Casas in southern Mexico for 100. More than 70 per cent of asylum claims in Mexico are made in the south, especially in Chiapas state.

Looking ahead in 2021, the needs are expected to remain high and we plan to continue supporting with shelter, access to asylum and relocation assistance, amongst other forms of aid. While Mexico was once considered a transit country for many of those fleeing from Central America, the recent rise in asylum claims confirms it has also become a place where many refugees can find protection and restart their lives.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
The City of Winnipeg may explore a green space corridor to protect Little Mountain Park against development.

The City of Winnipeg may explore a green space corridor to protect Little Mountain Park against development.

Coun. Brian Mayes is calling for a study on how such an effort could preserve the park, a corridor that could also include a farm field to the parks south, if that private land were to become available.

Mayes (St. Vital) said the so-called "orphan park" is city-owned but doesnt fall in a specific councillors ward since it is actually located outside city limits in the Rural Municipality of Rosser.

He said park is especially valuable because the "exploding population" in northwest Winnipeg doesnt have close access to much alternative green space.

"This is meant to try and preserve some sort of (space), prohibit development along a corridor  Were growing massively up here and we need some of the green space protected," said Mayes.

Lloyd Johnson, founder of Little Mountain Park Pet Owners Association, said hes been pushing for the change for years.

"We have so many people using our park right now, especially with COVID, as a recreational space. Were trying to provide for everybody," said Johnson. "Its a wonderful treasure to have. Id love to see it protected."

The park space includes a large section of aspen forest, hiking trails and an off-leash dog area, the citys website notes.

Johnson said creating the green space corridor would make it clear new development isnt an option. He and other residents have feared the park could be replaced or reduced for years. In 2013, for example, a proposal suggested a Chief Peguis Trail extension could cut through the parks northwest corner.

While those plans changed, Johnson said theres still concern the park could be sold for a new use.

"Our north area here is developing very quickly and theres not an awful lot of available green space to be had," he said.

Johnson said he hopes a corridor could allow space to reintroduce Indigenous plants and add picnic areas.

Mayes motion calls for the city to consult the RM of Rosser and CentrePort Canada on the idea, in hopes of ensuring development wont occur.

"Its one of the biggest off-leash dog parks we have. (The residents) are always worried that theres a threat," said Mayes.

Diane Gray, president of CentrePort Canada, said the park itself is deemed a green space in long-term development plans for the area.

"If they want to continue to designate that as green space, I think its fabulous," said Gray.

Frances Smee, the reeve of the RM of Rosser, said her community also agrees the park itself should remain.

"The RM of Rosser has always been supportive of keeping that area as a natural green space," said Smee.

Both Gray and Smee noted the land south of the park is privately owned, however, so the city would need permission from its owner to pursue a larger corridor.

Councils protection, community services and parks committee will vote on Mayes motion on April 15.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga
Federal and state leaders will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to fix the failures in the vaccine rollout amid growing alarm at the threat to health and the economy from delays to millions of vaccinations.

The national cabinet meeting will canvass urgent changes to the rollout  including federal support for mass vaccination centres  as Prime Minister Scott Morrison admits to problems in the program and the need for a new approach.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will chair national cabinet twice a week in order to get on top of the troubled vaccine rollout. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

In a sudden shift from the monthly meetings of the peak leadership group, Mr Morrison has asked premiers and chief ministers to put national cabinet on an operational footing with meetings twice a week until the emergency passes.

The federal move aims to end weeks of conflict between federal and state governments over missed targets to protect Australians from COVID-19, with a promise from Mr Morrison to unite the nation even though some of his own ministers fuelled the blame game.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:05:10|Editor: huaxia

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HAIKOU, April 13 (Xinhua) -- South China's Hainan Province Tuesday witnessed the inking of 104 key projects to inject new impetus into the construction of its free trade port (FTP).

The projects, 22 of which are foreign-funded, involve 65.72 billion yuan in total investments (10 billion U.S. dollars) and cover tourism, modern services and high-tech industries.

The deals, signed in Haikou, the provincial capital of Hainan, also reflect the increasing appeal of the island province at the forefront of China's opening up to investors.

Previously, the FTP had seen the signing of 741 projects with an investment of 519.6 billion yuan in multiple areas including intelligent manufacturing, international shipping, education, medical care and aerospace.

China proposed setting up a free trade zone in Hainan in 2018 and began construction of the Hainan FTP last year. Over the past three years, a number of foreign companies have settled in Hainan, including Harrow School from Britain, U.S. electric carmaker Tesla and tourism company TUI Group.

Cambodia Angkor Air Co. Ltd. Tuesday inked a deal to operate 10 planes in Haikou and establish a base there.

David Zhan, board director of the company, said they hoped to benefit from the Seventh Freedom of the Air and fly from Haikou to major cities in Northeast Asia, Russia and the ASEAN members.

The Hainan FTP last year began to trial the Seventh Freedom of the Air, which allows foreign carriers to operate flights between two foreign countries without the need to touch down in the airline's home country.

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Defying the economic headwinds brought by the raging pandemic, the Hainan FTP has forged ahead with a steady inpour of investments.

Authorities said that last year Hainan launched 538 projects with an investment of 172.5 billion yuan.

"The construction of these projects are of great significance to develop Hainan's modern industries, narrow the gap in infrastructure and public service and boost confidence in FTP construction," said Qi Hongchao, an official with the Hainan provincial development and reform commission.

Meanwhile, the province unveiled 11 key industrial parks in June last year, where favorable FTP policies are implemented to lure in investment projects. Statistics show over 20,000 new enterprises have been registered in these industrial parks last year.

The Hainan FTP has become a strong magnet to foreign investment as Hainan accelerates opening up against the backdrop of global economic slowdown and shrinking foreign direct investments due to the pandemic, said Peng Wei, deputy director of Hainan's department of commerce.

In 2020, a total of 1,005 overseas-funded enterprises were established in Hainan, up 197.3 percent from the previous year, according to the department.

The booming duty-free shopping sector is the FTP's another attraction for global brands wishing to explore China's huge market.

The first China International Consumer Products Expo, scheduled in Haikou in May, has attracted more than 1,100 international brands, including L'Oreal, Shiseido and Tesla.

After 2025, the entire island of Hainan could become duty-free and rise as a paradise for the duty-free and tourism retail industry, said Han Shengjian, director of the Hainan bureau of international economic development, adding that "these international brands are preparing for their future opportunities in the Hainan FTP."

Starting July 1, 2020, Hainan increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person. The categories of duty-free goods have been expanded from 38 to 45, with electronic products such as mobile phones and laptops added to the duty-free list.

Five more shops opened in Sanya and Haikou last December and this January, bringing the total number of duty-free shops in Hainan to nine.

"With the expo, Hainan will become the largest luxury consumption center in China and even the world," said Chi Fulin, head of the Hainan-based China Institute for Reform and Development.

China last Thursday issued a guideline to support easing market access in Hainan in its latest effort to speed up the Hainan FTP construction.

The guideline detailed measures to innovate market access in the pharmaceutical and health sectors, optimize financial market entries and development environment and promote wider entries in the fields of culture and education.

Hainan has great potential in the development of the modern service industry, especially in finance, medical and health care, education and luxury consumption, said Chi, noting the Hainan FTP will play a more important role in China's reform and opening up and become a joint of both international and domestic circulation. Enditem
They are diligently stoking thousands of bonfires on the ground close to their crops, but the French winemakers are fighting a losing battle. An above-average warm spell at the end of March has been followed by days of extreme frost, destroying the vines with losses amounting to 90 percent above average. The image of the struggle may well be the most depressingly beautiful illustration of the complexities and unpredictability of global climate warming. It is also an agricultural disaster from Bordeaux to Champagne.

It is the loss of the Arctic sea-ice due to climate warming that has, somewhat paradoxically, been implicated with severe cold and snowy mid-latitude winters.

"Climate change doesn't always manifest in the most obvious ways. It's easy to extrapolate models to show that winters are getting warmer and to forecast a virtually snow-free future in Europe, but our most recent study shows that is too simplistic. We should beware of making broad sweeping statements about the impacts of climate change." Says professor Alun Hubbard from CAGE Center for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate at UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Melting Arctic sea ice supplied 88% of the fresh snow

Hubbard is the co-author of a study in Nature Geoscience examining this counter-intuitive climatic paradox: A 50% reduction in Arctic sea-ice cover has increased open-water and winter evaporation to fuel more extreme snowfall further south across Europe.

The study, led by Dr. Hanna Bailey at the University of Oulu, Finland, has more specifically found that the long-term decline of Arctic sea-ice since the late 1970s had a direct connection to one specific weather event: "Beast from the East" - the February snowfall that brought large parts of the European continent to a halt in 2018, causing 1bn a day in losses.

Researchers discovered that atmospheric vapour traveling south from the Arctic carried a unique geochemical fingerprint, revealing that its source was the warm, open-water surface of the Barents Sea, part of the Arctic Ocean between Norway, Russia, and Svalbard. They found that during the "Beast from the East", open-water conditions in the Barents Sea supplied up to 88% of the corresponding fresh snow that fell over Europe.

Climate warming is lifting the lid off the Arctic Ocean

"What we're finding is that sea-ice is effectively a lid on the ocean. And with its long-term reduction across the Arctic, we're seeing increasing amounts of moisture enter the atmosphere during winter, which directly impacts our weather further south, causing extreme heavy snowfalls. It might seem counter-intuitive, but nature is complex and what happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic." says Bailey.

When analyzing the long-term trends from 1979 onwards, researchers found that for every square meter of winter sea-ice lost from the Barents Sea, there was a corresponding 70 kg increase in the evaporation, moisture, and snow falling over Europe.

Their findings indicate that within the next 60 years, a predicted ice-free Barents Sea will likely become a significant source of increased winter precipitation - be it rain or snow - for Europe.

"This study illustrates that the abrupt changes being witnessed across the Arctic now, really are affecting the entire planet." says professor Hubbard.

###
Major depressive disorder is highly prevalent, with one in five people experiencing an episode at some point in their life, and is almost twice as common in women than in men. Antidepressants are usually given as a first-line treatment, including during pregnancy, either to prevent the recurrence of depression, or as acute treatment in newly depressed patients. Antidepressant use during pregnancy is widespread and since antidepressants cross the placenta and the blood-brain barrier, concern exists about potential long-term effects of intrauterine antidepressant exposure in the unborn child.

Using the Danish National Registers to follow more than 42,000 singleton babies born during 1998-2011 for up to 18 years, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai investigated whether exposure to antidepressants in the womb would increase the risk of developing affective disorder like depression and anxiety in the child. In a study published April 5 in Neuropsychopharmacology, the scientists found that children whose mothers continued antidepressants during pregnancy had a higher risk of affective disorders than children whose mothers stopped taking antidepressants before pregnancy.

However, to understand whether the underlying disorder for which the antidepressant was given or the medication itself was linked to the child's risk of developing an affective disorder, they also studied the effect of paternal antidepressant use during pregnancy and similarly, found that children of fathers who took antidepressants throughout pregnancy had a higher risk for affective disorders. Thus, the research team speculates that rather than being an intrauterine effect, the observed link is most likely due to the parental mental illness underlying the antidepressant use.

Approximately half of women who use antidepressants before pregnancy decide to discontinue use either before or during pregnancy due to concerns about the negative consequences for their child. Our study does not provide evidence for a causal relationship between in-utero exposure to antidepressants and affective disorders in the child. So, while other long-term effects of intrauterine exposure to antidepressants remain to be investigated, our work supports antidepressant continuation for women with severe symptoms or a high risk of relapse because untreated psychiatric illness during pregnancy can have negative consequences on the health and development of the child. Women and their health care providers should carefully weigh all of the treatment options and jointly decide on the best course of action." Anna-Sophie Romel, PhD, Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, Icahn Mount Sinai and first author of the paper
In this podcast, we discuss why Coffee Day Enterprises is in news again? What are the chances of banks recovering their money? And what can we expect next? Listen in





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The may be headed for bankruptcy after defaulting on loan payments in March quarter. The lenders to Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) are considering sending the company to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for debt resolution.
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Malibu, CA, April 13, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In this segment of The Ellis Martin Report, Ellis speaks with Jonathan Wiesblatt, CEO of Rockridge Resources ( CVE:ROCK )( OTCMKTS:RRRLF ) as the company stakes additional ground at the Knife Lake Copper Project, Saskatchewan increasing their holdings by 70% from 32,663 hectares (80,712 acres).To view the interview, please visit:About Rockridge Resources Ltd

Rockridge Resources (CVE:ROCK) 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 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. The Company's Knife Lake Project is in Saskatchewan, which is ranked as the #3 mining jurisdiction 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. Rockridge's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.
Ashley Cain's daughter Azaylia has been rushed back to hospital after she began crying blood and in urgent need of a transfusion.

Taking to Instagram, her mum Safiyya shared a video from within the hospital during which Ashley, 30, cradled the eight-month-old while she slept.

Proving herself to be incredibly strong, Safiyya said to the camera: 'We've just gone back into hospital to get Azaylia another platelet transfusion because last night the tears started having blood in them, so we needed more platelets'.

She also shared an image of Azaylia's leg with a deep purple bruise as a result of the disruption of the body's platelet production, which causes bleeding under the skin.

Heartache: Ashley Cain's daughter Azaylia has been rushed back to hospital after she began crying blood and in urgent need of a transfusion

People with leukaemia are more likely to bruise due to the fact their bodies don't create enough platelets to plug bleeding blood vessels.

Leukaemia bruises look like any other kind of bruise, but there are usually more of them than normal. Additionally, they may show up on unusual areas of the body.

Ashley cradled Azaylia in the heartbreaking clip, while they stood in the brightly-coloured hospital room and Safiyya held the camera and spoke.

The reality star also revealed a clap has been organised for Azaylia on Tuesday at 7PM, with fans set to show their support for the little tot in the same way the public have done for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis.

Bleeding: She also shared an image of Azaylia's leg with a deep purple bruise as a result of the disruption of the body's platelet production, which causes bleeding under the skin

Reaching out: Proving herself to be incredibly strong, Safiyya said to the camera: 'We've just gone back into hospital to get Azaylia another platelet transfusion because last night the tears started having blood in them, so we needed more platelets'

Pain: Ashley cradled Azaylia in the heartbreaking clip, while they stood in the brightly-coloured hospital room and Safiyya held the camera and spoke

It comes after Safiyya revealed she has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukaemia.

Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the tot.

After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot.

Ashley later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'.

The couple have been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed with leukaemia at just two months and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson.

Hold on: The group stood together in the heartbreaking scenes

Support: The reality star also revealed a clap has been organised for Azaylia on Tuesday at 7PM, with fans set to show their support for the tot in the same way the public did for the NHS

Heartbreak: It comes after Safiyya revealed she has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukaemia

In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe.

On her tattoo, she said: 'We did more castings yesterday to get some necklaces and some hand prints and foot prints...

'I started stressing in case I dropped it but the lady was so good and gave me a print that I can get as a tattoo so she'll always be with me and so close. So I decided to get the prints done and a tattoo of her hands and feet.'

On their trip to hospital and her transfusion the previous day, she said: 'Azaylia was experiencing loads of nosebleeds due to the platelets in the body not being able to clot the blood so we went to hospital...

Heartbreak: Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the eight-month-old

Let's go: Ashley later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'

'She's so beautiful': After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot

'Unfortunately over the night she's still experiencing the bleeding. Just spoken to the community nurse and they're coming to check. Anything you're experiencing with your child, you know your child best. We thought it was right to get the transfusion...

'The NHS and the service they provide is amazing. Every morning I wake up is a blessing and I just feel so lucky to hold her there and for her to smile and to sing to and all our Jungle Book themed tunes...

'The amount of times we sing you wouldn't even know. You don't know how much I love her and it's absolutely heartbreaking and this feels like torture it's so hard and the support you've given us is amazing...

Pained: In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe

'It's so hard and painful but I'm gonna make every day as special and fun as possible for her. Make the most of everyday because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.'

She then shared a video of Ashley's sister Alissia dancing with Azaylia and another showing them snapping selfies together.

Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body.

The couple recently raised more than 1.5m to fund a trip to Singapore for life-saving transplant, but she was being treated in the UK during the interim.

Heartache: Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body

He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'.

Ashley penned a detailed account of Azaylia's health battle on his GoFundMe page and said that any extra funds the couple receive will be donated to other families in a similar situation to them.

According to the NHS, it is a 'highly complex and potentially risky treatment' but has been shown in trials to cure some patients when other treatments have failed.

Sweetheart: Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer

Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer.

Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia.

Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body.

And as he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to the brave youngster as he admitted: 'I don't know what I will do without you.'

Pained: Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body

In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward.

Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylia's last bath in hospital, before we take her home where she belongs. 

'9 days ago consultants told us my daughter had 1-2 days to live, but thought she may pass that evening. Even with a barbaric disease consuming her blood, tumours in her brain and organs and amounts of pain I cannot imagine...

'She is still battling through 9 days later, with parts of the day with nothing but smiles despite her discomfort.

'This is a testament of this little girls strength and the fight she has possessed all of the way through. She has fought a battle that not many, if any, of us could have endured and she's earned the love and respect of many on the way...

Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on

'The truth is though, I hope and pray that I have earned hers! Even through the hardest and saddest time of my life, she has found a way to make it better...

'She has shined light on the darkest of days and she has opened my heart to amounts of love I couldn't believe possible!...

'The truth is, I don't know what I will do without you. But for now, I find strength in giving you the best of me, and the only me that you deserve!...

'You are in my arms, my thoughts, my prayers and my heart everyday my princess. YOU'RE MY HERO!  DADDY LOVES YOU!'
An inmate at the Bomet GK Prison pulled off a daring escape on Friday, April 9 while sitting for Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.

Vincent Kirui, 20, had reportedly completed his KCSE biology practical exam at St Michael Secondary School when he vanished.

A prison warden tasked with watching the prisoner said Kirui asked to use the pit latrine; a request that was granted.

As the prison warden waited outside, Kirui found a way out of the toilet and scaled the schools perimeter wall without raising suspicion.

The prison officer said the convict took unusually long in the toilet prompting him to break into the empty toilet.

Confirming the escape, Bomet Central Police Commander, Musa Imamai Omar said a contingent of security forces launched a manhunt in Bomet town and its environs.

After about four hours, officers acting on a tip-off from members of the public caught Kirui inside a house in a nearby Chebirir village.

He had been transferred to the school to sit for the examination practical because what was required for use in the particular paper was not possible to be carried to the prison. He escaped but officers managed to arrest him and took him back, Omar said.

You know escaping from lawful custody or a prison is an offence but he is at the prison and we want him to complete the examination because that is his right.

The convict is serving seven years behind bars for causing grievous harm to his girlfriend in January 2021.
Taste of Thai will reopen this week after relocating from the former spot at the gas station off exit 3 to Black Mountain Square. The food truck is hoping to be open to the public on Thursday.
The supply agreements with CannTx Life Sciences Inc, Rilaxe Canna Inc, and Safari Flower Co will expand CannMarts product offerings to its recreational consumers and medical cannabis customers across Canada

Namaste said its new products will be available by the end of May as it looks to grow future revenues

( ) ( ) (FRA:M5BQ) announced that its wholly-owned CannMart Inc subsidiary has entered into supply agreements with craft cannabis companies CannTx Life Sciences Inc, Rilaxe Canna Inc, and Safari Flower Co to expand product offerings to CannMarts recreational consumers and medical cannabis customers across Canada.

We are excited to have these products available by the end of May of this year, as we look to grow our future revenues, Namaste Technologies CEO Meni Morim said in a statement.

Morim added: These products will be available for our medical patients across Canada online at CannMart.com, and through our business-to-business distribution channels throughout our provincial customers.

The team continues to work very hard at successfully bringing in new partners as we look to be the worlds foremost marketplace in wellness.

Namaste noted the supply agreement with CannTx Life Sciences involves the distribution of Royal City Cannabis Company-branded premium artisanal hash products, in which sales will begin in Ontarios adult-use market and online, through the medical platform via CannMart.com.

CannMarts Canada-wide exclusive production and distribution agreement with Rilaxe Canna, meanwhile, will bring to market a new format of edibles that are made from dried fruit with the intention to serve the wellness community, medical patients and adult-use customers. The products will be sold starting in British Columbias adult-use market and online through the medical platform via CannMart.com.

And, its supply deal with Safari Flower will involve the sale of various flower and Cannabis 2.0 products that will be distributed by CannMart through its provincial body supply agreements and online through the medical platform via CannMart.com.

Namaste Technologies is a cannabis-focused, e-commerce technology company with the goal of becoming the one-stop-shop for everything a cannabis user needs.

The Toronto-based company, which has been described as the Amazon of cannabis, operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with over 30 websites in more than 20 countries under a variety of brands.

In addition to its product offerings of vaporizers, glassware, accessories, and CBD products, the company's CannMart Inc, is a key part of its operations that sells online medical and recreational cannabis.

Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com
A public school in Mississippi forbid a third grader from wearing a mask that has the words "Jesus Loves Me" written on it.

According to a report from a Thursday Todd Starnes' interview with Alliance Defending Freedom's legal counsel Tyson Langhofer, the principal of Simpson Central School pulled aside Lydia Booth on October 13 and told her that she could no longer wear her "Jesus Loves Me" facemask. The mask was reportedly worn by Lydia several times in school. Disheartened, the young girl could only tell her parents about the incident.

Jennifer Booth, the mother, said that the school responded that the wordings on her daughter's mask was a violation of the school's policy, but Booth said that it was not in the list of policies. The school's superintendent then told her that the mask is a violation to their policy banning masks with "political, religious, or inappropriate symbols."

The report added that the school had just ostensibly used the policy change as excuse to justify the ban and to not accommodate Lydia's concern.

Pro- religious freedom Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) took the case and is currently fighting for the young girl's right to wear her "Jesus Loves Me" mask at her school. They filed a federal lawsuit against the Simpson County School District.

"We were forced to file a lawsuit in order to just allow this third-grader to just express this positive message to the students around her that Jesus loves me," said Langhofer, ADF senior counsel.

Langhofer told Starnes that the act of banning a girl's mask with a printed Christian message while allowing other students to wear masks with BLM prints is a "viewpoint discrimination."

"Apparently they believe religious messages in class or in schools are inappropriate, but they allowed other masks with all kinds of other messages on it," the ADF lawyer continued. "If you allow others to express messages on their masks, you have to allow people to express religious messages."

Langhofer also noted that they have seen an increase in cases like Lydia's where officials used COVID-19 orders to "disproportionately" attack religious people's freedom of expression. He added that these attacks had been happening throughout the country and that the First Amendment protects everyone's freedom.

On Lydia's parents, Langhofer comments that their determination to proceed with the suit is a fight not just for their daughter but for the future generation of young believers.

"They're doing this for their daughter and for the future generations, because they don't want their future generations to lose the freedom that we currently have," he said.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Booth, they said that they are proud of their daughter.

"She wanted to express her faith. We felt like we had to stand up for her when she was told she couldn't express her faith like she was somehow a second-class citizen simply because she wanted to express a religious message and others a secular message," they said through ADF.

Starnes had also asked his supporters to support ADF in representing Lydia Booth's case.

"All she wants to do is wear a facemask that says 'Jesus loves me.' What's wrong with that?" he said. "But she's having to sue to engage in her constitutional rights, and we're going to help this family out!"

Those who want to help Lydia Booth and the ADF fight for religious freedom in schools are urged to pray for them to win the case, send a message of support to the third-grader, and/or donate to the cause.

Watch ADF's video below for a quick explainer on the kind of discrimination Christians, in school or not, are facing:
The USS Bonhomme Richard amphibious assault ship manoeuvres into port in front of the Sydney Opera House in Australia, June 29, 2017 after a ceremony on board the ship marking the start of Talisman Saber 2017, a biennial joint military exercise between the United States and Australia. REUTERS/David Gray

Beijings Naval Strategy May Target Australias Largest Ports

A leading Australian policy think tank has warned the federal government that the Chinese military may seek to control ports in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney via state-owned enterprises (SOE) as part of a broader ambition to project the communist regimes power globally.

In a report by Charlie Lyons Jones titled Leaping Across the Ocean (pdf), the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) identified the three Australian ports as a potential part of this strategy.

Jones warned the federal government that Beijing views these locations as strategic strong points where China can use civilian control to establish economic gain and military dominance in the Indo-Pacific region.

A 2019 academic report on Chinese maritime investment supports Jones argument, noting that Chinese maritime terminal operators saw Australia as a strategic pathway to Chinas expansion in the Oceania region. The 2019 academic report focussed in particular on the Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney ports.

Beijings greater willingness to flex its muscles, both politically and militarily, is supported by its overseas investments in critical infrastructure, which provides the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) with the logistical enablers needed to project military power beyond the first island chain in the Western Pacific, Jones wrote.

Critical to the expansion of Chinese maritime influence is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Jones says enables Beijing, through SOEslike COSCO and China Merchantsto extend the presence of the PLA to a network of ports and hubsknown as the string of pearls.

Containers of Chinese companies China Shipping and COSCO (China Ocean Shipping Company) are loaded on a container as it is leaving the port in Hamburg, Germany, on March 11, 2020. (Fabian Bimmer/File Photo/Reuters)

Ostensibly regarded as commercial operations, SOEs are commercial companies run by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), each with a CCP committee and numerous subordinate Party branches tasked with ensuring the companys commercial strategies align with the directives of the CCPs governing body, the Politburo. This overarching control of the companies can go even further, with companies often having an in-house paramilitary arm.

However, more concerning than the ideological control over these commercial ventures is the civil-military fusion all SOEs are required to engage in with the Chinese regime.

In February 2020 Isaac Kardon, a China military expert, told the U.S. Congress U.S.China Economic and Security Review Commission (pdf) that the military-civilian fusion program reflects and advances a clear leadership preference for leveraging growing overseas Peoples Republic of China (PRC) commercial capacity.

Under multiple pieces of legislation, including the 2010 National Defence Mobilisation Act and the 2017 National Defence Transportation Law, all Chinese-made civilian infrastructure projects, including BRI projects, are currently required to conform to military specifications, including the ability to provide the PLA with authority to seize civilian assets and resources.

Chinese-Leased Australian Ports

Currently, Australia has two ports that are controlled or jointly held by Chinese enterprises.

The Port of Newcastle was jointly leased for 98 years by SOE China Merchants and Hastings Fund Management, while the Port of Darwin was leased for 99 years by a Chinese enterprise, Landbridge, which has close ties to the CCP.

The Port of Darwin was the most controversial of these acquisitions, being strategically important for Australia and the United States. This is because Darwin hosts a rotation of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) for interoperability training with Australian Defence Forces for six months of the year.

A report by the Australian Senate even flagged concerns that Chinas operational control of the port could facilitate cyberattacks and intelligence collection on the U.S. and Australian military forces stationed nearby.

Jones asserts that given the increasing investment the federal government wishes to make into the countrys naval platforms as part of the Strategic Force Update, it also needs to review Australias port infrastructure to determine what it needs to build or expand.

Australia needs to ensure that its approach to bids for port infrastructure is both coordinated by the federal government and consistent with national security priorities, Jones wrote.
Chandigarh, April 13 : In a veiled attack apparently aimed at the Congress government in Punjab, former Cabinet minister and party leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Tuesday demanded to make the report of the SIT of Punjab Police probing the sacrilege incidents of 2015 and the subsequent police firing public.

Two persons were killed and many others were injured after the police under the previous SAD-BJP government resorted to unprovoked firing on hundreds of people protesting the alleged desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib in Bargari village in Faridkot district in 2015.

Blaming the government for 'weak' investigation into the cases, Sidhu, who visited the Burj Jawahar Singh gurdwara, the epicentre of the sacrilege incidents in Bargari, on the occasion of Baisakhi on Tuesday, said that just like the tabling of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report in the Assembly, the report prepared by the head of the Special Investigation Team, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, should also be made public.

After paying obeisance at the gurdwara, Sidhu said that people had high hopes that the guilty of the Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan firing cases would be brought to book.

Without mincing words, he said: "More law, less justice... Justice delayed is justice denied." The Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, in its report, had said that it was only a fact-finding report and further investigations were required.

Subsequently, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had picked the SIT team led by Inspector General Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh for the probe.

Last week, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had quashed the SIT probe into the Kotkapur firing case and directed the state to constitute a new SIT without Vijay Pratap Singh.

The directions were passed by the bench of Justice Rajbir Sherawat, which was hearing a plea filed by Gurdeep Singh, former police officer at Kotkapura, and another official who had approached the court seeking directions to remove the IPS officer from the investigation team.

In a related development, after the high court order, the Chief Minister had refused to accept the resignation letter of Vijay Pratap Singh seeking premature retirement from service.

Declining the voluntary retirement plea of Vijay Pratap Singh, who is currently heading the SITs probing the Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan firing cases, the Chief Minister said that he was a highly competent and efficient officer whose services were needed in the border state, especially at a time when Punjab is faced with various internal and external security threats.

The state needs the expertise and experience of the officer, who has contributed exceptional service to Punjab Police in various important positions, the Chief Minister said, describing Vijay Pratap Singh as a skilled, capable and courageous officer with an exemplary track record.

Referring to media reports on the high court's order in the Kotakpura case probe, the Chief Minister pointed out that he had already made it clear that any decision of the court that seeks to remove Vijay Pratap Singh as the SIT chief or to quash the investigations in the case would be challenged by his government in the Supreme Court.

The officer and his team have done an excellent job of expeditiously investigating the Kotakpura case, which the Akalis had tried hard to stall for the past four years, Amarinder Singh said, adding that the probe will be taken to its logical conclusion under the guidance and supervision of the able officer himself.

The SIT has so far chargesheeted six persons in connection with the case, including then Kotkapura Akali MLA Mantar Singh Brar.
The park of trophies inaugurated by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday features not only military hardware but also helmets of Armenian soldiers killed in action and degrading wax mannequins of Armenian military personnel. The public demonstration of these and other items is meant to underscore Azerbaijans victory in the six-week war which Russia helped to stop on November 10.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry accused Baku of dishonoring the memory of victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war and violating the rights and dignity of their families.

Azerbaijan is completely solidifying its position as a global center of intolerance and xenophobia, a ministry statement said, adding that the park makes mockery of Aliyevs calls for regional peace and stability.

Armenias human rights defender, Arman Tatoyan, decried the clear manifestation of fascism. This once again shows that we must not allow ourselves to be numbed by Azerbaijans false pacifist programs, he said.

The development also prompted uproar from senior members of the Armenian parliament representing the ruling My Step bloc.

We are dealing with a terrorist state, one of them, Vladimir Karapetian, declared on the parliament floor.

Opposition lawmakers seized upon the public display in Baku to again denounce Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians recent calls for a post-war normalization, including through commercial projects, of Armenias relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Taron Simonian of the Bright Armenia Party said Yerevan should forget about seeking economic or other friendly relations with such a criminal regime.

I think we can end the discourse about whether Azerbaijan and Turkey are our enemies. Yes, they are enemies, old enemies. Yes, they are barbarian states, said Arman Abovian, a deputy affiliated with another opposition party, Prosperous Armenia.
DENVER, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Academy Mortgage Corporation  a top mortgage company in Utah and nationwide, today announced a partnership with Homebot, Inc. , provider of the award-winning client-for-life portal that empowers consumers to build wealth through homeownership. This partnership enables Academy Mortgage Loan Officers to automate their client retention strategy, engage their clients and prospects, and build relationships with Real Estate Agents.

"We believe that the American Dream is built upon sustainable homeownership, and we're passionate about making it a reality for as many people as possible," said Jason Klaskin, Senior Vice President of Sales Support at Academy Mortgage. "Homebot empowers our clients to connect with Academy's Loan Officers about their home financing needs so they can make smart, well-timed decisions about their options."

Academy Mortgage's partnership with Homebot helps its Loan Officers engage their database with timely, personalized home finance information. After one top producer locked more than 20 loans in their first 60 days with Homebot, and another picked up nine refinances, plus two purchases, Academy's sales team knew it was time to pursue a company-wide agreement. In addition to empowering clients and generating revenue, Academy's Loan Officers are also using Homebot to partner with Real Estate Agents  building new relationships and strengthening their existing ones.

About Academy Mortgage Corporation

Academy Mortgage is ranked as one of the top 25 lenders in the country by leading industry publications. It is the company's mission to be 1st CHOICE in delivering the dream of sustainable homeownership by inspiring hope, delivering dreams, and building prosperity in the families and communities it serves. The company is headquartered in Draper, Utah; has more than 250 branches and 2,000 employees across the country; and is licensed to originate loans in 49 states and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.academymortgage.com . #1-rated in Zillow

About Homebot

Founded in 2015, Homebot is a client-for-life portal that maximizes repeat and referral business for lenders by empowering consumers to build wealth through homeownership. The award-winning portal delivers personalized, actionable intelligence throughout the entire homeownership lifecycle to every client and prospect. With an average 50% monthly engagement rate, Homebot ensures lenders and agents remain the trusted advisors that consumers rely on to make informed decisions about the largest asset they may ever own, their home. Homebot is based in Denver, Colorado.

HOMEBOT MEDIA CONTACT:

Michael Lynch

303-960-8770

[email protected]

SOURCE Homebot, Inc.

Related Links

https://homebot.ai


The B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first discovered in Britain spreads more easily that older strains, sending more people to the hospital, but it doesn't lead to more severe cases or higher rates of death once patients are hospitalized, a study published Monday in the journal The Lance Infectious Disease found.

"If you need hospitalization, you're not worse with this variant compared to the previous virus strain," said Eleni Nastouli, senior author of the paper and a clinical virologist and pediatrician at University College London. "Of course, if you're requiring hospital admission for COVID, that is a worry," she conceded. "But it's not more than the previous strain."

It has been clear for months that the B.1.1.7 variant is more contagious than earlier ones, and other researchers have found that it is deadlier overall. One of those researchers, Nicholas Davies at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The Wall Street Journal the new study doesn't contradict the other ones. The current evidence points to the U.K. strain being "more likely to land you in the hospital," he said, but no likelier to have a bad outcome once you are hospitalized.

The study was conducted last fall, before a B.1.1.7-fueled surge overwhelmed British hospitals.

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Protests continued for a second day Monday over the police murder of Daunte Wright in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, suburb of Brooklyn Center. Demonstrations began not long after word spread of the killing Sunday, with protesters demanding an end to police brutality confronted by officers in full riot gear who fired tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets into the crowd.

Minnesotas Democratic Governor Tim Walz responded to the protests by deploying the National Guard and declaring a state of emergency. Approximately 2.4 million people in the four Minnesota counties encompassing the MinneapolisSt. Paul region were placed under curfew from 7 p.m. Monday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.

A National Guard soldier maintain watch and directs traffic at a shopping center in Brooklyn Center, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, Monday, April 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

On Sunday afternoon, shortly after 1:30 p.m., long-time Brooklyn Center Police Department officer Kimberly Potter, 48, shot and killed the 20-year-old father during a traffic stop. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that Potter is also the president of the Brooklyn Center Police Union. Potter is white and Wright was black.

In a contentious Monday morning press conference, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon stated that Wright had been pulled over because of an expired registration tag. During the traffic stop, Gannon alleges officers discovered a warrant for Wright and attempted to arrest him.

In the just over one-minute body cam video released by the police at the press conference, Wrights vehicle is observed along with two other male cops, one on the drivers side, the other the passengers. Wright is told to exit the vehicle, which he does. As Wright has his back turned to the police, with one cop attempting to put him in handcuffs, Potter reaches for and grabs one of Wrights arms. Wright reacts by slipping out of the grip of the police and then sitting back down in the drivers seat of his car.

At this point Potter pulls out her pistol and points it at Wright for at least five seconds. As she is pointing her gun at Wright, she states, I will tase you, followed by the words, Taser! Taser! Taser! at which point she discharges her firearm, shooting Wright once.

Holy shit, I just shot him! Potter exclaimed. This statement coupled with the video footage led Gannon to characterize the shooting as an accidental discharge.

After Wright was shot, the vehicle lurched forward for a short distance before crashing into a parked car. Wrights girlfriend, who was in the car throughout the entire episode was injured during the accident.

Police and government officials had refused to name Potter for more than 24 hours after the killing. She was first identified Monday evening by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune based on two law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case. Potter has been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation into Wrights death.

During a Sunday evening protest, an estimated 500 protesters marched through the streets of Brooklyn Center to the police station to protest the killing and subsequent treatment of Wright, whose body witnesses and Wrights parents say was left in the street for five hours after he was slain.

Protesters were met by militarized police dressed head to toe in riot gear who proceeded to fire on protesters after an unlawful assembly was declared. Multiple protesters were bloodied by foam baton rounds requiring medical attention.

By Monday morning, more than 100 riot police and National Guard soldiers were stationed outside the Brooklyn Center police department. In an afternoon press conference, Walz said he expected to muster the largest police presence in the history of Minnesota to suppress protests.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Gannon was asked multiple times Monday morning why police were so heavy-handed in their response, noting that a majority of the protesters were peaceful. Reporters and community activists pointed out that police had fired dozens of canisters of cs-gas and flashbangs past the crowd and into nearby residential apartment complexes.

Gannon said police were simply returning fire and that he would not change anything about how the police interacted with protesters.

On Monday evening, a vigil organized in Wrights memory drew thousands of people. At the time of this writing, police had decreed that those at the vigil were violating the 7 p.m. curfew and subject to arrest.

Brooklyn Center is a northwest suburb bordering Minneapolis with over 30,000 residents. Wrights killing and the protests come as the third week of the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is under way just a few miles away. It is less than a year after Chauvin murdered George Floyd, sparking international protests against police violence.

The government center in downtown Minneapolis, where the trial is currently taking place, has been fortified with concreter barriers and razor wire, and the National Guard has been manning checkpoints, on stand-by to respond to protests.

Demonstrating that the Democratic Party, no less than the Republican, is dedicated to persevering and upholding the right of the police to kill with impunity, in brief comments made Monday at the White House, President Joe Biden unequivocally backed the police and warned protesters against looting and violence.

I havent called Daunte Wrights family, Biden said, before offering his prayers and noting that it was a really tragic thing that happened.

Biden cautioned that we have got to wait and see what the investigation shows. Then, pausing for effect, he attacked protesters, stating, I want to make it clear again: There is absolutely no justification, none, for looting, no justification for violence.

An analysis by Stephen Semler of Security Reform.org found that in the first quarter of 2021 the Biden administration, through the notorious 1033 Program, had transferred $33,506,765 worth of military equipment to police departments throughout the country.

Despite the fact that Minnesota politics is dominated by the Democratic Party, the epidemic of unaccountable police murder continues throughout the state. In the first week of the year, Minneapolis police killed Somali-American immigrant Dolal Idd and then subsequently terrorized his family in Eden Prairie.

The killing of Wright comes less than two weeks after Chicago police executed 13-year-old Adam Toledo. Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot is working with the police to smear the young child and his family while delaying the release of damning police bodycam footage. In fewer than 103 days, mappingpoliceviolence.org has recorded 268 killings by US police so far this year, or nearly three killings per day.
ITHACA, N.Y., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The application window for the 2021 Grow-NY million-dollar top prize business competition is now open for submissions. Grow-NY, a unique initiative which connects innovators and investors in the food, beverage and agriculture

The startup competition begins its third year with impressive momentum, having garnered more than 460 applications from businesses originating in 32 unique states and 37 other countries over the last two years. In all, 37 finalists have been selected to date, with 14 winners sharing in $6 million in start-up funding as well as the invaluable mentorship and networking benefits which Grow-NY delivers to finalists across its 22-county area spanning the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.

The program has already generated dozens of new jobs in the region, having attracted high-growth food and agriculture startups from around the world to compete for $3 million in total prize money each year. Winners have also engaged with supply chain partners to create many indirect opportunities in agriculture, distribution, food processing, manufacturing and beyond.

"The Grow-NY competition brings together the best entrepreneurial minds in the world to boost job growth and make our agricultural industry even stronger in New York State," said New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. "While we continue to build back better for a more sustainable post-pandemic future, round 3 of the Grow-NY competition will bring investment and opportunity to New York's farmers and rural communities."

Grow-NY is also attracting more diverse leaders to the region, as 29% of 2020's applicants included a female founder and 32% included a founder from an underrepresented minority group.

Empire State Development is once again funding this year's competition, with economic development support from the Upstate Revitalization Initiative's three regional entities: CNY Rising, Finger Lakes Forward and Southern Tier Soaring. Similarly, Cornell's Center for Regional Economic Advancement team will once again manage and administer the event.

"This third round of Grow-NY will build on the success of prior competition winners whose entrepreneurial spirit is fueling economic growth," said Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO Eric Gertler. "These innovative companies have attracted significant investment, including $11 million in follow-on funding from successful Series A rounds and National Science Foundation grants, that in turn is helping to lay a foundation for even more opportunities throughout the Grow-NY region and around the world."

Winners are required to contribute to a thriving Upstate economy in the Grow-NY region through innovation, job creation, and industry ecosystem development. One finalist will receive a top prize of $1 million; two others will be awarded $500,000 prizes, and four more will be given $250,000 prizes. Winners will also receive tax incentives and publicity support to announce their achievements across the Grow-NY region and in their home regions.

"As a premier institution of scientific learning and discovery, Cornell is a world leader in tackling complex challenges through our culture of interdisciplinary understanding and collaboration," said Benjamin Z. Houlton, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Grow-NY epitomizes that culture, connecting the world to Upstate New York and vice versa, and it's an honor to be part of the team that leads this truly transformative initiative."

Applications must be submitted by Thursday, July 15. In September, up to 20 finalists will be assigned mentors and enter the business development phase. All finalists will receive bespoke entrepreneurial support and valuable regional introductions, additional training to hone their live pitches, and barring travel restrictions, will join an expenses-paid, three-day business development trip to the region for up to two team members.

The finalists will then present their business plans during the Grow-NY Summit, Nov. 16-17, which this year will be a hybrid (in-person and virtual) event broadcast live from Syracuse, N.Y.

"We've generated international recognition for our region, with applications and media coverage from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and South America," said Grow-NY Program Director Jenn Smith. "Literally thousands of innovators, entrepreneurs and investors from all over the world have been made aware of our agriculture and food processing expertise in the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions, boosting our industry, academic, and R&D resources along the way."

Judges will base award decisions on the following five criteria:

Viability of Commercialization and Business Model  the potential for the entrant to generate revenue and maintain a cost structure that allows for a competitive and sustainable business, demonstrate technological readiness or innovate to fulfill its value proposition;

 the potential for the entrant to generate revenue and maintain a cost structure that allows for a competitive and sustainable business, demonstrate technological readiness or innovate to fulfill its value proposition; Team demonstration of a level of cohesion, completeness, and readiness within, and diversity and inclusion amongst the founders, employees, and advisors of the business that will allow the team to deliver on its potential;

Customer Value  the degree to which the entrant is providing something for which customers are willing to pay, and addressing a substantial market;

 the degree to which the entrant is providing something for which customers are willing to pay, and addressing a substantial market; Food and Agriculture Innovation  the extent to which the entrant is pushing what's considered state-of-the-art in the food and agriculture industries, and contributing to Upstate NY's status as a global leader in innovation in these markets;

 the extent to which the entrant is pushing what's considered state-of-the-art in the food and agriculture industries, and contributing to Upstate NY's status as a global leader in innovation in these markets; Regional Job Creation  the potential for creating high-quality jobs in the Grow-NY footprint and relevance to the existing food and ag ecosystem; and

The Grow-NY region, which hosts 43.7% of New York's 33,438 farms, includes an abundance of vibrant, fertile lands along with such major urban centers as Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Binghamton. It is a 22-county region comprised of the following three areas:

Finger Lakes  Genesee , Livingston , Monroe , Orleans, Ontario , Seneca , Wayne , Wyoming and Yates

, , , , , , and Yates Central New York  Cayuga , Cortland , Madison , Onondaga and Oswego

 , , , and Southern Tier  Broome , Chemung , Chenango , Delaware , Schuyler , Steuben , Tioga and Tompkins

"Our mission is to promote New York's high-quality and diverse food and agriculture industries, foster environmental stewardship, and safeguard the state's food supply, land and livestock to ensure the viability and growth of our industries," said Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball, with New York's Department of Agriculture and Markets. "Grow-NY helps us accomplish every one of those goals with fresh perspectives and innovations, all while telling the world about the unparalleled opportunities that exist in New York from multiple vantage points."

Prizes are distributed through a contract with provisions tied to operating in at least one of the 22 Grow-NY counties for at least 12 months. There is also a "pay-it-forward" provision in the form of an equity warrant, or simple agreement for future equity. Prizes will be paid in stages based on milestones reached such as jobs created, partnerships formed and localized operations achievements. To see the full agreement, timelines and eligibility criteria, visit www.grow-ny.com.

Of related interest, Cornell University released a first-of-its-kind report this week designed to guide inventors and investors towards urgent technology needs within New York's vast farming and food processing industries, as identified by dozens of farmers, manufacturers, retailers, researchers and other key stakeholders. The goal of the report is to foster regionalization and diversity in these industries by offering evidence-based recommendations and guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs looking for opportunities in the agriculture, processing and distribution spaces. The study and subsequent report are a collaboration between Cornell's Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture and the Grow-NY program at Cornell's Center for Regional Economic Advancement. The full report can be viewed here.

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development (ESD) promotes a vigorous and growing state economy, encourages business investment and job creation, and supports diverse, prosperous local economies across New York State through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing and other forms of assistance. To learn more about ESD, visit esd.ny.gov.

About the Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement

The Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) supports economic impact in Upstate New York through entrepreneurship and innovation. We help people advance ideas that will create jobs in all fields in our region, to enrich the area's economic diversity. To learn more, visit crea.cornell.edu.

Media Contact :

Mike Barone, Senior Consultant

The Martin Group

716-830-7139

[email protected]

SOURCE Center for Regional Economic Advancement, Cornell University

Related Links

https://esd.ny.gov/


A 90-year-old Winnipeg man is battling symptoms of COVID-19, but it could be worse: he is fighting the illness while fully vaccinated.

A 90-year-old Winnipeg man is battling symptoms of COVID-19, but it could be worse: he is fighting the illness while fully vaccinated.

Mike (who asked his last name not be used by the Free Press) said about a week ago he started getting symptoms, including sniffles, hoarse voice, runny nose, and a chest cough. They all mirror asthma issues Mike has had for years, but he and his wife both decided to get tested for the novel coronavirus just in case.

When the tests came back, Mike tested positive for COVID, while his wife, Lillian, tested negative.

"I'm glad we have the vaccines now," Lillian said Monday.

"I'm really happy we both had had the one dose for sure before he contracted this. At least we have the antibodies for this." Mike had his second dose of the vaccine around the time he unknowingly contracted the virus, while Lillian has yet to receive her second shot.

"I'm really happy we both had had the one dose for sure before he contracted this. At least we have the antibodies for this."  Lillian

Studies around the world have shown while a person can still be infected with COVID, even when fully vaccinated, the vaccines appear to be effective at reducing both symptoms and ability to be infected.

Jason Kindrachuk, a virologist at the University of Manitoba, said no vaccine is 100 per cent effective against prevention of either severe disease or infection.

"With the Pfizer vaccine, the high efficacy that we have heard about is in regards to prevention of disease," said Kindrachuk.

"While there is growing compelling data to suggest that the mRNA vaccines, including the Pfizer product, are effective at reducing our ability to become infected following vaccination, this is still preliminary and again is not 100 per cent."

As well, Kindrachuk said: "We have to remember that there are a very small percentage of cases where symptoms of disease may still occur, as well as the ability to be infected.

"However, these are very significantly reduced following vaccination and highlight how important the vaccination campaigns as a mechanism for us to end the pandemic."

"We have to remember that there are a very small percentage of cases where symptoms of disease may still occur, as well as the ability to be infected."  Jason Kindrachuk, a virologist at the University of Manitoba

Lillian said because the couple have been vigilantly isolating for months  even having groceries delivered  there are few places her husband could have contracted COVID-19.

"That's the irony. He hasn't gone anywhere except medical appointments," she said.

"He had two doctor's appointments and he received the Pfizer vaccine at the (downtown Winnipeg) convention centre. But we were at the convention centre for awhile, and there were hundreds there. We've heard other people here (seniors residence) have COVID in the building, so he could have got it in the hallway or riding down the elevator.

"We just don't know for sure."

While Mike's case of COVID is deemed mild, the couple are taking it very seriously because he is sick, has an underlying condition, it could still get worse, and they don't know if the case is a variant of concern.

"The public health nurse is checking every day," she said.

"It appears he contracted it probably before the second dose. It appears he had all of the benefits of the first dose and the antibodies to start working, but he must have contracted it before or at the time of the second shot.

"We're hoping he doesn't get any worse."

Lillian said she will be tested again this week. If she continues to be negative, she will be able to get out of isolation later this month.

Meanwhile, she urged others who test positive for COVID to register for the federal government's COVID alert app.

"Shortly after we put it into my husband's phone, the alert came up on my phone," said Lillian. "It works."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
[April 13, 2021] Shannon Walker to Become First Native Houstonian to Command International Space Station

HOUSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A native Houstonian is set to take command of the International Space Station for the first time in its 20-plus-year history. Shannon Walker, a veteran astronaut who was born, raised, and earned all three of her science degrees in Houston, will accept command of the space station on Thursday, April 15, in a ceremony that will be broadcast live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website beginning at 2:45 p.m. CDT. "Having the Johnson Space Center here in my backyard growing up, I was always aware of what NASA was doing in the space program," Walker said. "I'm so proud to represent my hometown on the International Space Station where we conduct scientific research that can benefit all of humankind." With operations led from the Mission Control Center at NASA'S Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is also home to the astronaut corps, the space station has continuously hosted international teams of astronauts since 2000. "We like to call Johnson Space Center the home of the astronauts, and all of them live here while they're training and supporting human spaceflight," said Johnson Drector Mark Geyer. "But in Shannon's case, she's a homegrown Houstonian, and we couldn't be prouder for our community to have her representing Space City as commander of the space station."



Walker is a member of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission that flew to the space station on the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft, the first commercial human spacecraft system. She and her fellow Crew-1 astronauts joined Expedition 64 upon their arrival and are nearing completion of a six-month science mission that included science and research investigations. Walker and the Expedition 64 crew worked on a number of experiments, including tissue chips that mimic the structure and function of human organs to understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases and translate those findings to improve human health on Earth. Astronauts also grew radishes in different types of light and soils as part of ongoing efforts to produce food in space, and tested a new system to remove heat from spacesuits. Walker attended Westbury High School (formerly Westbury Senior High), Meyerland Visual and Performing Arts Middle School (formerly Johnston Junior High and later Johnston Middle School), and Parker Elementary, all in Houston Independent School District. Walker said that she had engaging teachers whose high expectations fueled her space ambitions. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in physics from Rice University in 1987 and later returned to complete her master of science in 1992 and a PhD in space physics in 1993.

She joined NASA in 1987 as a Robotics Flight Controller for the Space Shuttle Program. She began work on the International Space Station Program in 1995, and was selected to become an astronaut in 2004. Walker completed her first spaceflight in 2010 for Expeditions 24 and 25 to the International Space Station. Command will officially transfer to her when the off-going commander, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, departs the station. Ryzhikov and fellow cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, along with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, will begin the journey back to Earth in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on April 16. Walker is scheduled to join Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Soichi Noguchi aboard Resilience on Wednesday, April 28, and depart the station for return to Earth. For more than 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration to the Moon and Mars. The orbiting laboratory has been a destination for 243 people from 19 countries and has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shannon-walker-to-become-first-native-houstonian-to-command-international-space-station-301268251.html SOURCE NASA

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The April 12 meeting served as one of Kovariks final meetings in her role as mayor, as Mayor-elect Tom Hood will be sworn in at the May 3 meeting. In a previous interview with the News-Sun, Kovarik said that she will be retiring to Florida, and after approving the purchase of the snowplow, she joked that she never wanted to see snow again.
AKRON, Ohio  A man is facing multiple charges after prosecutors say he left two dogs behind after moving from a home, with one dying and other found barely alive.

Deon Downer, 35, is charged with two fifth-degree felony counts of cruelty to animals and a misdemeanor count of abandoned animals, according to Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walshs office.

Prosecutors say the owner of a home on Lakeland Avenue in West Akron called police after he found a dead dog in the residence on March 8. The second dog was taken to Metro Animal Hospital for treatment when it was found clinging to life.

Downer had lived in the home and moved out just days before the dogs were discovered, prosecutors say. His arraignment is set for April 28 in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

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NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN), today announced that 22 abstracts, including three oral presentations, were accepted at the 2021 American Academy of Neurology (AAN) virtual annual meeting being held from April 17  22. The abstracts are available on the AAN website at https://index.mirasmart.com/AAN2021/.

Biohaven will be presenting new data analyses of the company's FDA-approved acute treatment for migraine in adults, Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) that show its efficacy and safety for both the acute and preventive treatment of migraine, as well as multiple pipeline assets including: intranasal zavegepant for the acute treatment of migraine, troriluzole for the treatment of spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), and verdiperstat for multiple system atrophy (MSA). Additional health economic and outcomes research analyses are also being presented that highlight the clinical utility of Nurtec ODT, the burden of migraine, and unmet needs of existing treatments.

Elyse Stock, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Biohaven commented, "The presentation of more than 20 abstracts across therapeutic areas at AAN 2021 demonstrates Biohaven's continued commitment to neuroscience research excellence across all of the company's clinical candidates. We are excited about these analyses reporting on the efficacy and safety of Nurtec ODT for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine, as well as advancements in pipeline assets including zavegepant, troriluzole, and verdiperstat. Nurtec ODT has the potential to provide a unified approach for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine and we look forward to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision for this dual indication later this quarter."

Notable highlights include:

Phase 2/3 data from the pivotal randomized, placebo-controlled trial assessing rimegepant for the preventive treatment of migraine evaluated 695 patients for efficacy. Rimegepant was superior to placebo on the primary endpoint of change from the observation period in mean monthly migraine days (MMDs) during weeks 9-12 (4.3 vs 3.5, p=0.0099) as well as on the secondary endpoint of 50% reduction in mean number of moderate or severe MMDs during weeks 9-12 (49% vs 41%, p=0.0438). A post-hoc analysis showed that rimegepant demonstrated rapid onset of preventive treatment efficacy with reductions in migraine days observed within the first week of every other day dosing.

Data from a Phase 2/3 dose-ranging study of intranasal zavegepant, a third-generation, high-affinity, selective and structurally unique, small molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist - the only intranasal CGRP receptor antagonist currently in late-stage clinical trials for the acute treatment of migraine. In the study, zavegepant 10 mg and 20 mg demonstrated statistical superiority to placebo on the co-primary endpoints of pain freedom [placebo: 15.5%; 5 mg: 19.6% (p=0.1214); 10 mg: 22.5% (p=0.0113); 20 mg: 23.1% (p=0.0055)] and most bothersome symptom (MBS) freedom [placebo: 33.7%; 5 mg: 39.0% (p=0.1162); 10 mg: 41.9% (p=0.0155); 20 mg: 42.5% (p=0.0094)]. Rapid onset of pain relief was also observed as early as 15 minutes.

Preliminary data from a 96-week, open-label extension phase of Phase 2b /3 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of troriluzole in adults with spinocerebellar ataxia suggested attenuation of disease progression in patients treated with troriluzole. After up to 96 weeks of open-label treatment with troriluzole, the mean change from baseline in total SARA score (mean change  SE) was 0.3  0.30. Patients who had a gap in troriluzole treatment (3 weeks to 12 months) showed a greater than 1 point worsening during the off-treatment period. This worsening increased with longer duration of time off troriluzole. Improvements in total SARA score were observed after re-initiation of troriluzole therapy.

The complete list of accepted abstract titles is below and full presentations will be available on the 2021 AAN virtual annual meeting website from April 17, 2021.

Oral Presentations:

Oral Rimegepant 75 mg is Safe and Well Tolerated in Adults with Migraine and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Results of a Multicenter, Long-Term, Open-Label Safety Study

Intranasal Zavegepant is Effective and Well Tolerated for the Acute Treatment of Migraine: A Phase 2/3 Dose-Ranging Clinical Trial

Analysis of 96 Week, Long-Term Open Label Extension Phase of Study BHV4157-201: A Phase IIb/III, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Troriluzole in Adult Subjects with Spinocerebellar Ataxia

Poster Presentations:

A Phase 2/3, Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Rimegepant for the Preventive Treatment of Migraine

Long-term Use of Rimegepant 75 mg for the Acute Treatment of Migraine Reduces Use of Analgesics and Antiemetics

Rimegepant for the Acute Treatment of Migraine in Patients with a History of Triptan Treatment Failure: Pooled Results From 3 Phase 3 Clinical Trials

Long-Term Safety of Rimegepant 75 mg for the Acute Treatment of Migraine in Adults With a History of Triptan Treatment Failure

Acute Treatment of Migraine with Rimegepant Improves Health Related Quality of Life in Adults with a History of Triptan Treatment Failure: Results from a Long-Term, Open-Label Safety Study

Preference for Rimegepant and Improved Clinical Global Impression of Change Among Adults with a History of Triptan Treatment Failure: Results from a Long-Term Open-Label Safety Study

Rimegepant 75 mg for the Acute Treatment of Migraine in Adults with Frequent Migraine: Long-Term Safety and Clinical Improvement Versus Baseline

Acute Treatment with Rimegepant 75 mg Confers Long Term Improvements in Median Time to 30% and 50% Reductions in Monthly Migraine Days  Post Hoc Results from an Open Label Safety Study (BHVN-3000-201)

Estimated Migraine Acute-therapy Savings from MMD Reduction Achieved with Preventive Treatment

Acute Treatment with Rimegepant 75 mg Confers Clinically Relevant Improvement in Lost Time (Days) Due to Migraine: Results From a 1-Year, Open-Label Safety Study (BHV3000-201)

Migraine Patients Exhibit Increased Risk Of Developing Chronic Migraine With Sustained Triptan Treatment - Results From A Large-Scale Real-World Claims Analysis

Low Rates of Rescue Medication Usage in Subjects Treated with a Single Dose of Rimegepant 75 mg for the Acute Treatment of Migraine: Results from 3 Phase 3 Clinical Trials

Rimegepant is Safe and Tolerable for the Acute Treatment of Migraine in Patients Using Preventive Migraine Medications: Results from a Long-Term Open-Label Safety Study

Migraine Patients Exhibit Increased Risk of Opioid Dependence with Sustained Triptan Treatment - Results from a Large-Scale Real-World Claims Analysis

Migraine Patients Exhibit Risk of Medication Overuse Headache with Sustained Triptan Treatment - Results from a Large-Scale Real-World Claims Analysis

MIDAS Disability Grades are Associated with Total Health Care and Pharmaceutical Costs  A US-Based Real World Longitudinal Analysis

Acute Migraine Medication and Medication Overuse Headache: A Systematic Literature Review

MSQ Utility Mapping of Rimegepant by Change in Monthly Migraine Days

M-STAR, an Ongoing Phase 3 Study in Participants with Multiple System AtrophyBaseline Characteristics

About NURTEC ODT

NURTEC ODT (rimegepant) is the first and only calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist available in a quick-dissolve ODT formulation that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. The activity of the neuropeptide CGRP is thought to play a causal role in migraine pathophysiology. NURTEC ODT is a CGRP receptor antagonist that works by reversibly blocking CGRP receptors, thereby inhibiting the biologic activity of the CGRP neuropeptide. The recommended dose of NURTEC ODT is 75 mg, taken as needed, up to once daily to treat up to 15 migraine attacks in a 30-day period. For more information about NURTEC ODT, visit www.nurtec.com. The most common adverse reaction was nausea (2% in patients who received NURTEC ODT compared to 0.4% in patients who received placebo). Avoid concomitant administration of NURTEC ODT with strong inhibitors of CYP3A4, strong or moderate inducers of CYP3A or inhibitors of P-gp or BCRP. Avoid another dose of NURTEC ODT within 48 hours when it is administered with moderate inhibitors of CYP3A4.

Indication

NURTEC ODT is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

Limitations of Use

NURTEC ODT is not indicated for the preventive treatment of migraine.

Important Safety Information

Contraindications: Hypersensitivity to NURTEC ODT or any of its components.

Warnings and Precautions: If a serious hypersensitivity reaction occurs, discontinue NURTEC ODT and initiate appropriate therapy. Serious hypersensitivity reactions have included dyspnea and rash, and can occur days after administration.

Adverse Reactions: The most common adverse reaction was nausea (2% in patients who received NURTEC ODT compared to 0.4% in patients who received placebo). Hypersensitivity, including dyspnea and rash, occurred in less than 1% of patients treated with NURTEC ODT.

Drug Interactions: Avoid concomitant administration of NURTEC ODT with strong inhibitors of CYP3A4, strong or moderate inducers of CYP3A or inhibitors of P-gp or BCRP. Avoid another dose of NURTEC ODT within 48 hours when it is administered with moderate inhibitors of CYP3A4.

Use in Specific Populations:

Pregnant/breast feeding: It is not known if NURTEC ODT can harm an unborn baby or if it passes into breast milk. Hepatic impairment: Avoid use of NURTEC ODT in persons with severe hepatic impairment. Renal impairment: Avoid use in patients with end-stage renal disease.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information.

You are encouraged to report side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088 or report side effects to Biohaven at 1-833-4NURTEC.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information and Patient Information .

About Zavegepant

Zavegepant is a third generation, high affinity, selective and structurally unique, small molecule CGRP receptor antagonist from Biohaven's NOJECTION Migraine Platform and the only CGRP receptor antagonist in clinical development with both intranasal and oral formulations. The efficacy and safety profile of intranasal zavegepant for the acute treatment of migraine, as compared to placebo, was shown in a randomized controlled Phase 2/3 dose-ranging trial with a total of over 1000 patients who received zavegepant. In this study, zavegepant showed statistical superiority to placebo on the coprimary endpoints of 2 hour freedom from pain and freedom from a patients' most bothersome symptom (either nausea, photophobia or phonophobia). Following successful end of Phase 2 interactions with FDA (clinical and nonclinical), zavegepant is advancing to Phase 3 for the acute treatment of migraine in adults. For more information, visit https://www.biohavenpharma.com/science-pipeline/cgrp/bhv-3500.

About Verdiperstat

Verdiperstat (BHV-3241) is an investigational first-in-class, potent, selective, brain-penetrant, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme inhibitor that Biohaven is developing for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Verdiperstat may help preserve neurons through inhibition of MPO-induced pathological oxidative stress and inflammation that contribute to cellular injury in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Biohaven licensed verdiperstat (BHV-3241) from AstraZeneca in September 2018, where it was known as AZD3241. For more information about the HEALEY ALS Platform Trial, visit at www.massgeneral.org/als and clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04436510. Information about verdiperstat is available at www.biohavenpharma.com/science-pipeline/mpo/verdiperstat.

About Troriluzole

Troriluzole is a third-generation prodrug and new chemical entity that modulates glutamate, the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the human body. The primary mode of action of troriluzole is normalization of synaptic levels of glutamate. Troriluzole increases glutamate uptake from the peri-synaptic space, by augmenting the expression and function of excitatory amino acid transporters (i.e., EAAT2 also called GLT-1) located on glial cells that play a key role in clearing glutamate from the synapse. For more information, visit https://www.biohavenpharma.com/science-pipeline/glutamate/troriluzole.

About Biohaven

Biohaven is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a portfolio of innovative, best-in-class therapies to improve the lives of patients with debilitating neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, including rare disorders. Biohaven's neuroinnovation portfolio includes FDA-approved NURTEC ODT (rimegepant) for the acute treatment of migraine and a broad pipeline of late-stage product candidates across three distinct mechanistic platforms: CGRP receptor antagonism for the acute and preventive treatment of migraine; glutamate modulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's disease, and spinocerebellar ataxia; and MPO inhibition for multiple system atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. More information about Biohaven is available at www.biohavenpharma.com.

Forward-looking Statement

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The use of certain words, including "believe", "may" and "will" and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including statements that are based on the current expectations and assumptions of Biohaven's management about NURTEC ODT as an acute treatment for patients with migraine. Forward-looking statements include those related to: Biohaven's ability to effectively commercialize NURTEC ODT, delays or problems in the supply or manufacture of NURTEC ODT, complying with applicable U.S. regulatory requirements, the expected timing, commencement and outcomes of Biohaven's planned and ongoing clinical trials, the timing of planned interactions and filings with the FDA, the timing and outcome of expected regulatory filings, the potential commercialization of Biohaven's product candidates, the potential for Biohaven's product candidates to be first in class or best in class therapies and the effectiveness and safety of Biohaven's product candidates. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Additional important factors to be considered in connection with forward-looking statements are described in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2021. The forward-looking statements are made as of this date and Biohaven does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NURTEC and NURTEC ODT are registered trademarks of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Ireland DAC.

Biohaven Contact

Dr. Vlad Coric

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

Media Contact

Mike Beyer

Sam Brown Inc.

[email protected]

312-961-2502

SOURCE Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.biohavenpharma.com


A sous-chef who worked for a Monmouth County restaurant has filed a lawsuit against the business, claiming he was forced to work with maskless employees and then fired when he came down with COVID-19.

Anthony Mazza, of Toms River, worked alongside the head chef and other kitchen employees at Salt Creek Grille in Rumson late last year, according to court papers.

Despite executive orders, none of the employees in the kitchen wore any PPE (and) no one in the kitchen wore masks, states the lawsuit, filed recently in Superior Court of Ocean County.

The owner of the restaurant denies the claim and said he plans to fight it in court.

The lawsuit states that on Nov. 17, 2020, Mazza worked approximately one-foot apart from the head chef for nearly the entire shift.

On Nov. 21, 2020, the head chef sent a text advising that he and his brother had tested positive for COVID-19, the suit states.

Mazza, who is asthmatic, told the head chef about his medical condition and expressed concern that he might have contracted the virus, according to the suit.

Further, Mazza told the head chef he didnt think the restaurant should be open since there had been a COVID-19 outbreak, the suit states.

The head chef became agitated and insisted (Mazza) report to work that day by 10 a.m., the lawsuit states.

Mazza did not report to work and received a COVID-19 test a few days later. On Nov. 27, 2020, Mazza was told he tested positive.

Mazza claims in the suit he tried to inform the restaurant owner of his positive test but the owner didnt reply.

(Mazza) was then advised he was fired as a result of (not) timely reporting his progress in seeking a COVID test, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit alleges the restaurant did not follow its own procedures for preventing the spread of coronavirus because of a rush to open the restaurant for Thanksgiving.

Mazzas lawsuit alleges he was fired in retaliation when he complained that the restaurant had violated executive orders.

He claims the restaurant violated New Jersey whistleblower laws and state laws against discrimination. The suit seeks punitive and compensatory damages, along with attorney fees and other costs.

Steve Bidgood, owner of Salt Creek Grille, told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday he plans to fight the suit in court.

First of all, its a joke. I would never fire anyone for that, Bidgood said. Second of all, I have no other 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.
The partnership between Peter Tosh and The Rolling Stones looked promising when it kicked off in 1978. After releasing two fine albums (including 1976s Legalize It) as a solo artist, Tosh hoped to continue expanding his audience outside of Jamaica.

The Rolling Stones could help on that front, and brought Tosh aboard its small record label. During sessions for the album, the Stones frontmen produced and contributed on three tracks. Later, the Stones had Tosh open shows for them on the Stones 78 tour through North America.

That gave Mick Jagger and Tosh an opportunity to perform their cover of (You Got to Walk and) Dont Look Back, the lead single on Bush Doctor, Toshs debut LP on Rolling Stones. But though Tosh recorded two more albums on the label, things didnt end nicely between the two parties.

Peter Tosh believed the Rolling Stones didnt promote him enough

Peter Tosh performs with Mick Jagger on June 19, 1978. | Richard E. Aaron/Redferns

RELATED: The Bob Marley Song That Became the Wailers Breakout Hit

Prior to signing on the Stones label, Toshs records hadnt registered much on pop charts in the U.S. and U.K. Legalize It barely even cracked the Billboard 200 (at No. 199), though it fared better in the U.K. (No. 54). As for Equal Rights (1977), that LP didnt chart on either side of the Atlantic.

Bush Doctor improved upon that, peaking at No. 104 in America. And You Got to Walk and) Dont Look Back broke through the Billboard pop charts, peaking at No. 84. In the U.K., Tosh and Jaggers performance made it all the way to No. 43. All in all, it was a good start, if not Bob Marley-esque.

Tosh began to grow bitter when his subsequent releases on Rolling Stones Records didnt improve a great deal on those numbers. In the Tosh biography Steppin Razor, John Masouri heard from several close associates whod heard the reggae titan lodge complaints about a lack of promotion.

On the Stones part, they were dealing with an artist who simply hadnt found his niche internationally. And Tosh wasnt the man to change course. Peter was an edgy guy and was frustrated a lot of the time, Jagger once told Rolling Stone. Bob Marley got so big, and that probably annoyed him.

Tosh and Keith Richards reportedly also had problems toward the end

Rolling Stone Mick Jagger and reggae musician Peter Tosh (1944-87) on stage at the Palladium Theatre in New York | Michael Putland/Getty Images

Looking back, Tosh had clearly tried to find a bigger audience with his Jagger duet and a later cover of Johnny B. Goode (also a minor hit). He spoke about trying to increase record sales with that release. But the cash registers hadnt begun ringing.

Meanwhile, Toshs personality didnt seem to be a good fit for Keith Richards. (See them interact in the Waiting on a Friend video at 1:35.) In Steppin Razor, reggae promoter Warren Smith told an anecdote about Tosh keeping an expensive vintage guitar hed borrowed from Richards. Richards didnt like that.

That wasnt the end. Many sources report the story of Tosh wearing out his welcome in Richards Jamaican home. In some accounts (including that in The Natural Mystics), Tosh threatened Richards when the latter returned to take possession of his house  and Richards heartily accepted the threat.

However, other accounts chalk that up to an incident that got blown out of proportion. In the end, Rolling Stones Records was a business, and Tosh hadnt paid off as an investment. The relationship concluded after 1981s Wanted Dread & Alive.
Overnight reports from Jacksonville police:

 Deputies were called to a location on Sandusky Road at 8:46 a.m. Monday after a passer-by noticed a backpack on the side of the road with a wire coming out of it. It was determined there was fiber optic cable inside.
Athens, GA (30605)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun with a slight chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. High 87F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 69F. Winds light and variable.
Several businesses in Decatur are no longer requiring customers to wear masks after the state and city mask mandates expired on Friday.

We spoke with several of those businesses to hear how they're doing without a mask mandate.

Whisk'D Cafe and The Sassy Owl Boutique are two local businesses in Decatur where you are not required to wear a mask.

"We put mask signs up. You can't make the people wear 'em, but our employees are wearing them and the patrons can wear them if they want," said Bonnie Parsons.

Parsons is the manager at Whisk'D Cafe. Even though the cafe is not requiring customers to wear masks, she says a lot of them still are.

"I'm glad they're concerned about us just as much as we're concerned about them," said Parsons.

Just down the street, another business, The Sassy Owl Boutique, is not making people mask up anymore.

"You know, it's their right, up to their decision if they want to wear it or not," said Carrington Kelly, owner of The Sassy Owl Boutique.

It's up to Sassy Owl Boutique employees whether they want to wear masks or not.

"Of course, if a customer was uncomfortable wearing a mask, they could put one on, but we're still sanitizing, you know, keeping our distance and doing everything that way as well," said Kelly.

Since the mask mandate ended, the boutique has seen more customers.

"We did pick up, it seems like, when they didn't have to wear the mask anymore, 'cause it was just uncomfortable, you know, shopping," said Kelly.

Whisk'D Cafe has also seen a lot of business recently.

"We've been very, very lucky. We moved to a new building. We're double our capacity and we're doubling our sales, so we're one of the lucky ones," said Parsons.

Within the past week, there's been less than 30 COVID-19 cases reported in Morgan County, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Just as Xiaomi announced their entry into the smart electric vehicle business, HUAWEI has revealed their plans to invest $1 billion into the research and development of EV and self-driving technologies. To achieve the goal of entering this market space, the company will be partnering with 3 automakers in China, who will release cars under the HUAWEI name as a sub-brand.

Over the last two years, HUAWEI has a faced of number of challenges in the smartphone market as the previous U.S. administration, led by Donald Trump, placed a lot of sanctions on the company. This has forced HUAWEI to pivot their business into other markets such as smart agriculture, health care and electric cars.

Multiple smartphone manufacturers have already made investments into the EV space, including major companies such as Apple and Xiaomi. An advantage that HUAWEI has is that they have already allowed their cars with their autonomous driving technology to cruise more than a 1000 kilometers without human intervention.

At the moment, the three companies that HUAWEI will be partnering with are Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., the BAIC Group and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.

Commenting on their investment, Chairman Eric Xu said:

The smart car business unit receives one of the heaviest investments from Huawei. We will invest more than $1 billion in car component development this year. China adds 30 million cars each year and the number is growing. Even if we dont tap the market outside of China, if we can earn an average 10,000 yuan from each car sold in China, thats already a very big business for Huawei.

Source
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will have an opportunity to hold a personal meeting with Foreign Minister of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels this week to discuss the situation regarding Russian aggression and other topical issues.

NATO will hold a NATO-Ukraine council meeting on Tuesday. The North Atlantic Council permanent representatives will host the foreign minister of Ukraine [Dmytro Kuleba], and they will be able to reiterate there that we need to see restraint and refraining from escalatory actions, European and Eurasian Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary of State Philip Reeker said at a briefing on April 12.

He noted that the United States commended Ukraine for its ongoing restraint in the face of Russias provocations. Reeker added that Russias actions destabilized the situation and had undermined the tenuous ceasefire agreement that was brokered by the OSCE back in July of 2020. At the same time, Russia has had a disinformation campaign blatantly designed to falsely blame Ukraine for what are the Kremlins own actions. So were monitoring the situation closely, coordinating with Ukrainian officials, with allies and partners, the European and Eurasian Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary said.

He stressed that the American side called on Moscow to stop the escalation immediately. In Brussels, further steps will be discussed with allies and partners.

We will continue to use this opportunity to discuss with allies what we see, Reeker noted.

At the same time, he stressed that the foreign minister [of Ukraine] will be at NATO himself, and the Secretary [Blinken] should have an opportunity to see him. In this context, the representative of the U.S. Department of State noted that bilateral talks could take place later, after the NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting in Brussels.

As reported, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for Brussels where he will take part in NATO consultations and hold bilateral and multilateral meetings. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also plans to visit NATO Headquarters this week.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa  Being the hub of an illegal drug ring is sending a Wright County man to federal prison.

Cory Schultz, 38 of Eagle Grove, has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa says Schultz was part of an organization that distributing more than 20 pounds of meth mixture between November 2018 and March 2020 in Wright and Webster County areas. Prosecutors say Schultz was caught of video giving meth to other co-conspirators and his home was used as a central point for his drug trafficking. Court documents state more than  of a pound of meth was found in Schultz garage and vehicle.

Schultz has been given 10 years behind bars, followed by six years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal justice system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Humboldt County Sheriffs Office, Wright County Sheriffs Office, Eagle Grove Police Department, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Laboratory.
I have thought of a wonderful solution for these leftover campaign funds in light of the new ordinance: lets donate them to the food bank. This would really level the playing field and illustrate the supervisors commitment to democracy.

I have spoken at great length with the food bank to understand their needs and whilst I know the county did give them some funds last year, they were restricted to food only and they had to fight very hard to use a chunk of them to cover the rent of their warehouse. Nothing was to be used for operational or personnel needs, so Id like to encourage the BOS to give their leftovers to the Food Bank with the stipulation that they are unrestricted or if they must be restricted, restrict them to operational and personnel costs.

I also understand they would have liked to have given their staff a bonus for their tireless efforts during the pandemic, as one of the few services who was called to rise, not stay at home during our quarantines. Wouldnt this be a wonderful surprise?

I have heard from one supervisor since launching this petition. Belia Ramos recently brought me a check, adding it was with pleasure that she gives this money to our food bank. She stated it feels like "the right thing to do," and it is my hope this is how the others will see it.
Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure on Tuesday unreeled the past year during a virtual 2021 State of the County Address.

At the core of the address hosted by the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., and carried via Facebook, were the countys responses to the challenges posed by the coronavirus.

While 2020 was not a good year, I think we can all agree it wont be forgotten anytime soon and, most importantly, despite all its difficulties, it didnt stop us from rising to the challenge and continuing to make progress, McClure said in his prepared speech.

Among the highlights were the countys handling of the COVID-19 pandemic at the Gracedale nursing home and Northampton County Prison, both of which are the types of congregate-living settings hit hard by the virus.

Gracedale, like most other long term care facilities, took the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, McClure stated. At one point in the United States, 40% of the COVID-deaths were in nursing homes.

With a $750 incentive offered to employees of the nursing home in Upper Nazareth Township to get vaccinated against COVID-19, 48% of staff members have gotten the shot, along with 87% of Gracedale residents, according to McClure. Both rates are running about 10 percentage points higher than the national average, he said.

At the prison, the county reported last week no active cases of COVID-19 among inmates. Since the beginning of the pandemic 13 months ago, 176 inmates have tested positive, and all have either finished their quarantine periods or are no longer incarcerated at the Easton facility. In addition, 61 corrections officers have tested positive, with 54 having finished quarantining and returned to work as of April 8; seven remained out on quarantine.

Throughout Tuesdays address, McClure offered thanks to the county employees who helped the county make it through the challenges of the past year, which were not limited to the coronavirus.

This last year has introduced a lot of challenges into everyones life starting with the worst pandemic the world has seen in 102 years, Tropical Storm Isaias, a jittery stock market, a record breaking snowstorm, some of the largest protests since the 1960s and an historic high-turnout election, McClure stated.

McClure, a Democrat, is running for re-election this year against Republican Steve Lynch. Neither faces a challenger in the May 18 primary ahead of the Nov. 2 election.

Click the Facebook link above to watch Tuesdays address, which is included below in its entirety as prepared:

2021 State of the County Address

Thank you to LVEDC for hosting and sponsors (Gross McGinley, Workforce Board, and ABE Airport)

Welcome to those in attendance.

Im glad to have the chance to speak with you today about the great things we are doing in Northampton County. In 2020, I was denied that opportunity. This last year has introduced a lot of challenges into everyones life starting with the worst pandemic the world has seen in 102 years, Tropical Storm Isaias, a jittery stock market, a record breaking snowstorm, some of the largest protests since the 1960s and an historic high-turnout election. Northampton County didnt have to contend with murder hornets, thankfully those confined themselves to the Pacific Northwest, but we continue to battle against the Spotted Lanternfly, one of the most damaging invasive species to hit Pennsylvania in decades.

While 2020 was not a good year, I think we can all agree it wont be forgotten anytime soon and, most importantly, despite all its difficulties, it didnt stop us from rising to the challenge and continuing to make progress.

I want to thank our medical professionals, front-line workers and first responders for all their efforts this past year to keep us safe. I also want to recognize our County employees who adapted quickly to CDC recommendations and worked tirelessly, continuing to serve the people of Northampton County while developing new programs and protocols to respond to a changing world. As someone once said, There are no hard times for good ideas, and, thanks to the dedicated workforce we have in Northampton County, Ive had a lot of good ideas to take advantage of.

First, I want to acknowledge our Department of Fiscal Affairs which, for the past three years, has put together a budget with no tax increases. Since 2019, weve decreased expenditures by 17% through investments in technology, increased efficiencies, reduced travel and by negotiating new contracts with vendors. But we havent cut funds to preserve open space, farmland or environmentally sensitive areas. Weve increased them. Over my three years in office weve put $12 million towards making sure our county retains its agricultural heritage so our grandchildren will have the opportunity to buy strawberries and pumpkins from local farmers, hunt in healthy forests and fish in clean waters. And preserving land is our best option to combat warehouse proliferation. Currently weve preserved 216 farms covering 17,669 acres and as long as Im County Executive, we will continue to expand this program.

Ive often said the future of Northampton County is green. One of the many lessons the pandemic taught us is the value of our recreational areas. During lockdowns, parks and trails were one of the few places residents and their families could go to relax and exercise. Northampton acquired two additional properties last year, one in Williams township and the other in Upper Mount Bethel, bringing our total number of parks to twenty. We also began the rehabilitation of the Nor-Bath Trail and re-opened Minsi Lake to the public following the completion of a new dam. Every year in the Lehigh Valley an estimated $351 million is spent on outdoor recreation which is why weve prioritized linking our vast network of trails and increasing out number of parks. Our green spaces arent just good for the environment, theyre a critical driver of our economy.

COVID-19 taught us that the virus didnt just affect our lives, it also threatened our livelihoods. Working with the Department of Community and Economic Development, Northampton County acted quickly to protect public health and mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our small businesses, especially those in the hospitality industry. Understanding that testing was the key to preventing transmission, we set up two COVID-19 drive-through testing centersfirst, at Easton Hospital and now at our current site at Coordinated Health in Bethlehem Township.

Theres nothing like a pandemic to show you the value of our small businesses. I know I miss eating out at my favorite restaurant and last spring, I started looking pretty shaggy when my barber had to close down. Local shops might be small but they are a critical driver of our economy. Thats why, out of the $26.7 million Northampton County received from the CARES Act, we put over $10 million dollars into small business assistance grants, giving gyms, florists, auto parts stores and others small businesses with up to $15,000 to help cover payroll, rent and other operating expenses. In 2020, we helped 767 small businesses with these grants. Many owners got in touch with me to describe 2020 as the worst year in their companys history. More than a few admitted that theyd been on the verge of having to close until the grant came through. Thats why, in 2021, Im planning on putting another $10 million from the American Rescue Plan into this program again. We need our small businesses to stay afloat until the pandemic ends and the economy begins to improve. I encourage everyone to support our small businesses by shopping local. The pandemic wont last forever, but its economic impacts will be extended if we have to rebuild our shops, stores and services from scratch, so please support them now so they can serve us later.

Im sure all parents of school-aged children are aware that, during lockdowns, academic success requires reliable access to the internet. Using $650,000 in funds from the CARES Act, DCED put together funding for broadband for K-12 students and veterans. Every school district in our county received grants so they could purchase hotspots for students who didnt have internet access at home as well as software for teachers to use with remote instruction.

And internet access hasnt just been crucial for veterans and K-12 students. Our older residents have also suffered this past year, isolated in their homes, cut off from their friends and families. Area Agency on Aging had to close our senior centers due to the severe risk COVID-19 posed to those sixty-five and up. To help their clients stay connected, AAA established a tablet lending program so seniors could attend exercise programs and wellness education in addition to socializing with each other. For those who arent comfortable with computers, AAA is now running a call center on Friday mornings to set up vaccine appointments. And, for those who dont drive, the County has worked out an agreement with LANTA for free trips to-and-from vaccine appointments through LANTAs Share Ride for Seniors Program.

Seniors are an essential part of our communities and I consider Gracedale Nursing Home to be one of the jewels of Northampton County and of pivotal importance for protecting our most vulnerable citizens. As long as I am County Executive, Gracedale will remain under county control.

Gracedale, like most other long term care facilities, took the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. At one point in the United States, 40% of the COVID-deaths were in nursing homes. I want to thank our Director of Human Services and the Administration at Gracedale for all they did to contain the virus. Gracedale was the first nursing home in Pennsylvania to close down to volunteers and visitors and the first to install a negative pressure ward to isolate those who were infected. I am incredibly grateful for the dedication and integrity of our staff who came to work, day-after-day, to care for those who were sick with a novel virus. Every life lost is a tragedy, but never forget that, if it werent for those front line workers willing to risk their own lives and health to protect the most vulnerable among us, things could have been much, much worse.

Thats why, when the vaccine became available, we offered a $750 incentive to employees to get the shot. As of now, 87% of our residents and 48% of our staff have received the vaccineten points higher for both groups than the national average. Gracedale also benefited from a program which we put in place before the start of the pandemic  the Mental Health and Aging Program. We believe this to be the first program of its kind. In 2019 the County contracted with Haven House to offer one-on-one counseling and support to address behavioral challenges for residents suffering from trauma, depression or anxiety. Weve found this approach has benefited not only the residents and their family members but also staff by decreasing crisis calls, in-patient hospitalizations and involuntary commitments. Having the counselors on site has been invaluable during a pandemic where everyones mental health is affected.

The work our Department of Human Services does is critical to the health and well-being of our most vulnerable. I am extremely impressed by all the initiatives DHS has put forth over the last year to protect and serve children, the disabled and the elderly. Director Susan Wandalowski, DHS has expanded our number of recovery centers and treatment options for those struggling with substance abuse, Children, Youth & Families is developing a Decision Aid Tool to improve screening of child abuse and neglect referrals and this year DHS will form a LOSS Team to assist friends and family members after theyve lost a loved one to suicide.

Another important public health advancement we made in 2020 was the opening of the countys first Forensic Center. Until now, our coroners office has been forced to beg space from hospitals and other facilities to do autopsies on homicide victims and struggle to find enough secure space to store evidence from crime scenes. Having our own Forensic Center ensures that the dead will be treated with dignity and our professionals will have the tools and the space they need to do their very important jobs.

Infrastructure is critical factor for success in any community. Im very pleased with everything our Public Works department has managed to get done during 2020. Not only did they complete the Forensic Center, but they increased the parking around the Government Center, made improvements to pedestrian safety and made progress on bridge repairs around the county.

Running a prison isnt easy in any year. Running a prison during a pandemic is a whole different challenge. I want to commend our Department of Corrections staff for all their work this past year. Like Gracedale, the Northampton County Prison closed early to volunteers and visitors and took steps to keep both the staff and their residents safe. I want to thank the District Attorneys Office and Public Defenders office for working with us to furlough non-violent offenders. Once were able to get a majority of people vaccinated, these folks will return to serve the remainder of their sentence but, for now, lowering the population helped keep cases of Coronavirus at the Jail low. While the facility had an increase in November and December, the administration was able to get it back under control quickly through testing, increased cleaning protocols and wearing masks. That is a lesson we should all take to heart. While we wait to get our COVID-19 vaccine, we should continue to take those actions which have been proven to prevent transmission of the virus: wear our masks, wash our hands frequently and stay six feet apart when out in public. The sooner we can return to socializing with each other safely, the better off well all be.

One of the biggest responsibilities of any county is running the elections. Interest was high in 2020 and so was participation. High participation is something to be celebrated but, due to Act 77 allowing for no-excuse mail-in voting and a pandemic, our Elections staff had to scramble to hold two elections at the same timemanning 154 polling stations and counting almost 74,000 mail-in ballots on the same day at the same time. In 2020, Northampton County once again affirmed its reputation as a bellwether. In the past century, the voters in Northampton County have only been out of step with the nations choice for president on three occasions. So the pressure was on and Im pleased to report that our staff, volunteers and Election Day workers did an exemplary job putting on a fair, legal and accurate election. In November we were the first county in the commonwealth to report our unofficial results which we published at 6AM on Wednesday morning.

Our democracy gets stronger the more citizens participate in it. I encourage everyone to vote in this years and every years elections and to feel secure in knowing that the Elections staff of Northampton County will protect your access to the ballot box and make sure all legally cast votes are counted.

This has been a hard year and it may not be over yet. However, I know that if we persevere we will overcome the ravages of COVID-19 and return to lives where we spend our weekends at an Iron Pigs game, or at Musikfest or at a farm show. You cannot truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun until youve spent some time crawling through the shadows. This last year had a lot of shadows, but it had a few bright spots as well. If we keep making progress, protecting our citizens and building a more equitable society, I believe there will be more sunny days ahead.

Thank you to host and attendees.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Lillian Khallouf is one of Sydney's most in-demand fashion designers.

And on Sunday, she proved to be her own best advertisement at her outrageously spectacular wedding to Moei Elayoubi, which was held at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania.

In exquisite photos captured by Shayben from Siempre Weddings, Lillian and Moei certainly spared no expense to ensure their big day was one to remember forever.

Wedding of the year: Take a look inside fashion designer Lillian Khallouf's spectacularly lavish wedding to Moei Elayoubi at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart on Sunday

The larger than life designer dazzled in a figure-hugging silk gown, with a sweetheart neckline and ribbon detailing at the back.

The unusual ensemble was truly one of a kind, showing off Lillian's svelte waist to perfection while adding a layer of elegance with a delicate silk train that floated behind her.

The socialite accessorised with black gloves and an elegant pearl necklace.

She wore her curly blonde hair up, and enhanced her striking features with a radiant foundation, matte eye-shadow and peach glossy lip colour.

Sophisticated: Lillian dazzled in a body-hugging silk gown which had a sweetheart neckline and ribbon detailing at the back. The ribbon formed an elegant train which sat behind the dress

Ensuring he looked just as sophisticated as his gorgeous wife, the handsome groom wore a black shirt and matching tailored pants, paired with a cropped white jacket.

Lillian's bridesmaids looked elegant in floor-length black gowns which they teamed with elbow-length white gloves.

The flower girls continued the monochrome theme by wearing collared dresses with red bows in their hair.

Like Lillian's taste in fashion, the iconic venue had it all; sophistication, excitement and one-of-a-kind beauty.

The newlyweds said 'I do' in one of MONA's epic rooms, with guests seated on transparent chairs as they watched the couple unite in front of an artistic wooden backdrop.

So fancy! The newlyweds said 'I do' in one of MONA's stunning rooms, with guests seated on transparent chairs as they watched the moment

Please, take a seat! Guests were later seated at a long table next to one of the museum's exposed mountain walls

Epic: The seemingly never-ending table enjoyed a picturesque centerpiece that trailed the entire length of the dining area

Happy occasion: Referencing the fact the wedding was taking place in a gallery, the couple welcomed their guests with a cheeky sign that read: 'F**k art, let's party'

All smiles: Lillian was all smiles as she raised a glass on the dance floor, showing of her incredible figure in the process

Guests were then taken to be seated at a seemingly never-ending long table, complete with a pretty centerpiece that trailed the entire length of the dining area.

The reception room was practically a work of art, with romantic red lighting allowing the museum's iconic exposed mountain walls to glow while guests enjoyed their meals.

After what appeared to be a vast selection of delicious middle-eastern foods, Lillian and her guests took to the dance floor while a DJ played club hits.

Referencing the fact the wedding was taking place in a gallery, the couple welcomed their guests with a cheeky sign that read: 'F**k art, let's party.'

Tender moment: The love of the couple was captured perfectly by Shayben from Siempre Weddings in Sydney

All style: The bride had a monochrome theme for the bridesmaids and flowergirls

Wowzers: The eye-catching bride wore her curly blonde hair up and opted for a matte makeup palette for the day which she paired with a glossy foundation

Delicious: Guests were treated to upmarket eats which looked to have a Middle Eastern flavour

Meanwhile, there were several celebrity guests in attendance, including Gogglebox Australia star Jad Nehmetallah.

Originally, the pair were supposed to marry at the end of a spectacular yellow runway that was placed outside of the venue, but Lillian revealed they had to forfeit the design 'due to the weather'.

MONA is the largest privately funded museum in the Southern Hemisphere and is located on the outskirts of Hobart.

Part of the museum is built underground and into the side of the cliffs around the Berriedale Peninsula.

Change: Originally, the pair were supposed to marry at the end of a spectacular yellow runway that was placed outside of the venue, but Lillian revealed they had to 'forfeit' the design 'due to the weather'

Amazing: The couple turned the museum into an incredible wedding venue making one of its underground rooms into a dance floor

Lillian is one of Australia's most popular bridalwear designers, and is known for her focus on elegance and craftmanship.

Her designs are incredibly popular amongst Australian socialites including Bec Judd, Pip Edwards and Sam Armytage.

Speaking to Bed Threads about her career in June last year, Lillian described herself as a 'natural creative' in the studio.

'I'm a natural creative, therefore my designs allow me to express my mood and thoughts,' she said.

'I consciously work around my values and ethics when it comes to the process, how [the garments are] perceived and connect to the wearer.

'The LK woman is intelligent and sophisticated so it pleases me to deliver her needs.'
VICTORIA, BC, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The new White House administration is still keeping Americans waiting for lower prescription drug costs. President Joe Biden's first solo press conference did not reveal any new plans to help rein in prices. Americans are still without answers. Until there is a plan that turns to action, Canada Pharmacy is able to fill the urgent gap. For more than a decade, it has provided safe and affordable medications to U.S. residents.

Where is the Biden Administration's Plan to Lower Prescription Drug Prices?



Canada Pharmacy

After more than 2 months in office, there is no groundwork yet to help roll back some drug costs and slow increasing prices. Efforts by the previous administration to make it easier and cheaper to acquire medications was not successful. No final agreements between the Federal and State governments and drug manufacturers are in place to help lower costs.

While some states like Florida are pursuing access to lower-cost medications for its residents, most Americans don't have government assistance for it. Data from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) shows the average annual costs for many popular prescriptions jumped in price over 200%. Between 2006 and 2016 the average annual price skyrocketed from $4,202 to $12,951. These costs are unaffordable costs for many.

Canada Pharmacy is a safe and low-cost alternative. It gives people access to licensed, government-regulated pharmacy products, both name brand and generic. Canada Pharmacy ensures the needs of many who don't have the surplus funds for premium-priced medications can be met.

Who Pays the Price for High Prescription Drug Costs



More than 100 million Americans suffer from a chronic ailment. With millions of Americans with financial pressures, fixed incomes, chronic conditions, only retirement savings, unemployed or uninsured - all of them need help keeping costs down. Their health can't and shouldn't wait.

The new Health and Human Services secretary, Xavier Becerra, has previously expressed support for helping Americans source low-cost medication. But so far no plan has been introduced. Efforts to source lower-cost medications from Canada by some states continue, but most Americans are on their own.

Issues with Covid-19 continue to hamper daily life. Finding ways to give people a safer alternative than going to the drug store, while still offering the savings solutions they need, is why Canada Pharmacy has remained a trusted brand for years.

About the Company



Canada pharmacy is a Canadian online pharmacy that is among the best choices for Americans who shop at a pharmacy in Canada to save money on medications. It is able to source medications in a way that allows for the best prices on Rx drugs from Canada. All orders require a prescription and are dispensed by a licensed pharmacist, in the same as any pharmacy in America. Pay less for medication ordered online from Canada.

Contact Canada Pharmacy:



https://www.canadapharmacy.com

1-800-891-0844



[email protected]

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SOURCE Canada Pharmacy
Facebook mistakenly took down the official page for a French town called Bitche, after its algorithms dubbed the name as offensive.

The official page for Bitche, a town in northeastern France near the border with Germany, was removed on March 19, but has only just been addressed by Facebook.

Facebook France said the mistake was made 'following an incorrect analysis on the part of our systems'.

It has since apologised for the embarrassing error and restored the page.

Earlier this year, Facebook apologised for banning users from mentioning National Trust beauty spot Devil's Dyke near Brighton after branding it hate speech'.

The French town of Bitche (pictured) has had frustrating problems getting past Facebook's automated detection technology

Bitche is a town in northeastern France near the border with Germany with a population of around 5,000

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A Facebook spokesperson told MailOnline that the Bitche page was removed in error and was restored on Tuesday morning.

The mistake  reported by local broadcaster Radio Melodie  forced Bitche municipal communications officer Valerie Degouy to create a new page under another name earlier this month.

Degouy said the new page was named after the town's post code, Mairie 57230, to get past Facebook's automated moderating system.

'I tried to reach out to Facebook in every possible way, through different forms, but there's nothing [I could] do,' Degouy said.

She added that she 'already had issues when [she] first created the page'.

The town's original page is once again active, and on Tuesday posted a statement regarding the debacle.

The statement, translated to English, reads: 'Facebook had censored our Bitche City page.

'We appealed and tried to contact Facebook through various means, including through contact forms and private messages on Facebook France's page.'

Laurent Solly, President General Manager of Facebook France, personally contacted Bitche Mayor Benoit Kieffer to inform him that the page has been published again and to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The Bitche is back: The town's official page is once again active, and on Tuesday posted a statement regarding the debacle

The charming French town of Bitche is known for its large citadel originating from a castle built at the beginning of the 13th century

Kieffer said: 'The name of our town seems to suffer from a bad interpretation  the most astonishing thing is that Facebook took so long to correct this.'

'What has happened to the town of Bitche demonstrates the insufficient and limited moderating tools that only the human gaze can appreciate,' he said.

Kieffer did add, however, that Bitche would welcome Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg 'to discover our pretty fortified city'.

As noticed by Politico, another town in the region, Rohrbach-les-Bitche, took preventive measures and renamed its page 'Ville de Rohrbach'.

The town said in a post of its own: 'We wanted to explain the name change of the page.

'Far from us the idea of denying the name of our beautiful village... but it is to see that Facebook seems to be hunting the term.

'We preferred to anticipate rather than risking a page closure.'
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who has been making various statements for the past two days, is threatening to shut down the road from Yerevan to Kapan.

There are no peacekeepers on the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan (in Tovuz, Kazakh and Aghstaf), and nothing is happening. Moreover, Azerbaijani border guards are standing at a distance of 5 meters from the Armenian villages of Zangelan, and nothing is going on. The Armenian army is destroyed and doesnt exist, Aliyev said at ADA University when asked how the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh will develop after Russian peacekeepers leave.

Aliyev stated that the Kapan-Yerevan road hasnt been shut down as a manifestation of good will and said Kafan is the Azerbaijani name of the Armenian city of Kapan. There is even a panel reading Welcome to Azerbaijan. I dont know why this frustrates the Armenians. We Azerbaijanis just want to welcome people in our territory since that is our territory. The Armenians even fired gunshots in that direction. We could have shut down the road, but we didnt, Aliyev said.

The territory that Aliyev is referring to became a territory under Azerbaijans control without demarcation, delimitation and similar processes. This was explained by the statement that there used to be a Soviet border there. Taking into consideration the fact that Azerbaijan isnt the legal successor of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, this was done illegally.
Philadelphia police have issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of fatally shooting his pregnant girlfriend, whose body was found about a mile away from his burning car.

Investigators are now searching for Justin Smith, 23, who is accused of killing 21-year-old Dianna Brice, of Lansdowne, NBC 10 is reporting.

Brices mother told police her daughter was last seen getting into Smiths car on March 30 at the K Laundry in Lansdowne, as the two were heading out to pick up some medication Brice needed, reports indicate. Brice later told her mother they were driving to Philadelphia, and thats the last she heard from her daughter, according to reports.

When Brices mother called Smith shortly afterwards, he told her they had gotten into an argument and Brice walked off, reports indicate.

Hours later, Smiths car was found engulfed in flames at 59th and Florence streets in Philadelphia, Action News 6 ABC is reporting. No one was inside the car.

Police continued to search for Brice, and on April 5, they found her body about a mile away in the woods on the 5800 block of Eastwick Avenue, reports indicate. She had been shot multiple times in the head and appears to have been shot in Smiths car, according to reports.

Police say the investigation also revealed that Smiths friend, 21-year-old Tylydiah Garnett, helped him, reports indicate. She was spotted on surveillance video buying gasoline before going to a garage that Smith either owned or rented, where they loaded Brices body into the trunk of the car, according to reports.

Garnett fled to Miami, but she was arrested on Saturday, reports indicate. She was released on $75,000 bail and is facing charges that include arson, criminal conspiracy and abuse of a corpse, according to reports.

Police continue to search for Smith.
[April 13, 2021] "Getting Serious About Diversity" Wins 62nd Annual HBR McKinsey Award

"Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case" has won the 2020 HBR McKinsey Award, which honors the best Harvard Business Review article of the year. The article, by Harvard Business School professor Robin Ely and Morehouse College president David A. Thomas, critiques the off-cited economic case for diversity and argues that contrary to conventional wisdom, there's no research support for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company's performance. To fully benefit from increased racial and gender diversity, organizations must adopt a learning orientation and be willing to change the corporate culture and power structure. "Getting Serious About Diversity" revisits an argument Ely and Thomas made in their 1996 HBR article "Making Differences Matter: A New Paradigm for Diversity," which outlined their research showing companies could reap the full benefits of a diverse workforce by tapping into identity-related knowledge and experiences as resources for learning how the organization could be more effective. <> "'Getting Serious About Diversity' builds on Robin Ely and David Thomas' pioneering arguments about workplace diversity and presents actions leaders must take to make real progress," said Adi Ignatius, Editor in Chief of Harvard Business Review. "At a time when many companies are addressing diversity with new urgency, this article is an essential read."



Robin Ely is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. David A. Thomas is the 12th President of Morehouse College and the H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor Emeritus at Harvard Business School. The annual HBR McKinsey Awards, judged by an independent panel of business and academic leaders with input from members of HBR's Advisory Board, commend outstanding articles published each year in Harvard Business Review. This year's announcement appears in the May-June issue of the magazine.

This year's HBR McKinsey Awards also recognizes two finalists: "Our Work-from-Anywhere Future" by Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, Harvard Business School

"How to Promote Racial Equity in the Workplace" by Robert Livingston, Harvard Kennedy School The 2020 HBR McKinsey judges were: Trevor Fetter, Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School; Claudio Fernandez-Araoz, Former Partner, Egon Zehnder; Francesca Gino, Professor, Harvard Business School; Herminia Ibarra, Professor, London Business School About the HBR McKinsey Awards Since 1959, the HBR McKinsey Awards have recognized practical and groundbreaking management thinking by determining the best articles published each year in Harvard Business Review. Past winners include Clayton M. Christensen, Peter Drucker, Daniel Goleman, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, John Kotter, Mark R. Kramer, Michael E. Porter, and George Stalk. About Harvard Business Review Harvard Business Review is the leading destination for smart management thinking. Through its flagship magazine, 10 international licensed editions, books from Harvard Business Review Press, and digital content and tools published on HBR.org, Harvard Business Review provides professionals around the world with rigorous insights and best practices to lead themselves and their organizations more effectively and to make a positive impact. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005842/en/

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SHENZHEN, China, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Huawei hosted a summit on the topic "New Value Together" as part of the Huawei Global Analyst Summit 2021. Together with more than 400 guests, including industry and financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives, Huawei shared its insights on industry trends and the applications of solutions in specific industry scenarios, helping customers from all kinds of industries to create new value together.

Bob Chen, Vice President of Huawei Enterprise BG, said that as we look forward to the post-pandemic era, industrial digital transformation is moving towards a middle- and high-level stage, characterized by the digitalization of both support and core production systems. Huawei continues to enable joint innovation, build open ecosystems, and achieve shared success with all types of partners, building innovative, scenario-specific solutions based on Intelligent Twins as technology architecture. Doing so, we support intelligent industrial upgrades and facilitate digital transformation for all industries.

At this summit, Huawei shared its digital transformation practices in energy, transportation, finance, education, and enterprise services, and further discussed how creating a digital ecosystem can continuously create value for customers and promote industry development and ecosystem construction to achieve a successful outcome for all.

In the energy sector, Robin Lu, Executive Vice President of Global Energy Business Unit, Huawei Enterprise BG, said that Energy transformation and digital transformation are clear trends and directions. The core purpose of digitalization is to unleash the power of data to boost productivity. In the future, the energy industry will achieve sustainable and high-quality development along the path of "one goal, two transformations, three facilitations, and four directions". That is, with the goal of net zero carbon emissions, it will help global enterprises to realize energy transformation and digital transformation, promote the energy industry and enterprises of various countries to achieve the "net zero" goal through "two transformations", build an ecological cooperation circle on a global scale, and promote cooperation, including green, low-carbon, technological innovation, efficiency and effectiveness, and international cooperation.

In the transportation sector, Andy Bien, Chief Digital Officer, Global Aviation, Global Transportation Business Unit, Huawei Enterprise BG, said that: "We have seen an accelerated interest in digital transformation in the aviation industry to cope with the devastating impact of the pandemic. Health and safety, financial and environmental sustainability, and heightened passenger expectations will drive this change. The use of wireless, cloud and machine intelligence, delivered via a secured and reliable digital infrastructure can address these new demands for sustainable aviation. An opportunity awaits as the industry readies for recovery in 2021."

In the financial sector, Liu Yuanxin, Chief Industry Expert, Global Financial Services Business Unit, Huawei Enterprise BG, stressed that with the changing demand of customers and the market, banks must realize that digitalization has become a necessity. Key movements towards this digital transformation include: building an edge-terminal-cloud collaboration system; capitalizing the value of data and algorithms; and establishing a new financial intelligence service model featuring cloud-based training and edge-terminal reasoning.

In the field of education, Edwin Diender, Chief Digital Transformation Officer of Global Government Business Unit, Huawei Enterprise BG, pointed out that ICT is swiftly transforming teaching and learning. Education is life-long and ever-more personalized. With new digital models emerging across the board - in classrooms, research labs, and administrative offices, there is access to knowledge anytime, anywhere. The future of intelligent and digital education has arrived."

In the service field, Hank Stokbroekx, Vice President, Enterprise Services, Huawei Enterprise BG, said in his speech that Digital Transformation means leveraging technology to optimize business outcomes and customer experience. This is an ongoing process that will play out over many years. And because the technology tends to be both complex and of critical importance, the operational processes need to be highly automated to facilitate services that can predict and preempt problems.

As of December 2020, more than 700 cities and 253 Fortune 500 companies selected Huawei as their digital transformation partner. In 2020, the global sales revenue was CNY891.4 billion. The sales revenue of the enterprise business reached CNY100.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 23.0%.

The first Huawei Global Analyst Summit was held in 2004. This year, 2021 marks the 18th consecutive year of the event. It is from April 12 to 14, during which there will be a number of breakout sessions for domestic and foreign industry experts to exchange and share their views. For more details, please visit https://www.huawei.com/en/events/has2021

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1486580/BG.jpg
A desperate search is underway for a man who went missing in the bush three days ago during near-freezing weather.

Christopher Fowler, 54, was last seen around a communal fire at a camping ground on Playground Road in Bendoc - a small Victorian town near the NSW border - about 11am on Saturday.

Victoria Police said Mr Fowler's personal belongings remain at his campsite.

Victoria Police have released this image of Christopher Fowler in the hope someone recognises him and can provide information on his whereabouts after he went missing from a campsite on Saturday

He has plaster on his right arm and was last seen wearing shorts, no shoes and possibly a wind-breaker.

'Police and family hold concerns for Christopher's welfare as he is not dressed for the extreme overnight weather conditions due to his personal belongings remaining at his campsite,' Victoria Police said.

An extensive search is being carried out by police in the vicinity of Playgrounds Road and Old Bendoc-Bonang Road in the hope of finding Mr Fowler.

Mr Fowler is described as being 175cm tall with a medium build and brown hair in dreadlocks.

Police urged anyone who comes across Mr Fowler to contact them.
Mitron TV aims to double its user base to 100 million over the next six months as the Indian short-video firm introduces new monetisation mechanisms for creators on the platform, a top company executive said.

The company, which has completed one year of operations, had seen strong jump in user base after the Indian government last year banned a number of apps with Chinese links, including Mitron TV's rival

"It's been a very exciting journey in the first year, we more than 50 million net installs (downloads) on the platform, organically. We started as a two-member team last year, now we have more than 55 members," Mitron TV co-founder and CEO Shivank Agarwal told PTI.

He added that the company aims to have more than 100 million users on the platform in the next six months.

About 22 per cent of the userbase are creators who have posted more than two videos on the platform.

In June last year, the Indian government had banned 59 apps with Chinese linkages, including

Since the ban, several homegrown apps like Roposo, Chingari and Josh (Dailyhunt) have seen significant growth in downloads and user signups on their short video platforms.

Facebook-owned Instagram had also joined the race with Reels, while YouTube pitched its India-first "Shorts" to fill the void created after the ban.

Many of these companies have also raised millions of dollars in funding to accelerate their growth plans.

Mitron TV has raised USD 5 million in funding from investors including Nexus Venture Partners, 3one4 Capital and angel investors like Deep Kalra (Make My Trip), Amrish Rau (Pine Labs), Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter Money) among others.

"In terms of technologies, we have made a lot of improvement, rolled out a recommendation engine, a full-fledged editor tool that is at par with any sophisticated tool available in the market. We are launching a lot of monetisation strategies for creators like Mitron Club and Mitron Academy," he said.

Mitron TV co-founder and CTO Anish Khandelwal said creators have been very loyal to the platform, creating engaging content.

"Vernacular will be important and giving regional content to viewers is an important goal for us...Monetisation for creators would also be very important and in line with our vision of creating micro-entrepreneurs," he said.

Khandelwal said Mitron Club will give creators an opportunity to create engaging content exclusively for users opting for the service.

The club members can directly connect with their favourite creators and request to create content that they would like to view, which in turn supports and encourages creators to create content and monetise their talent by reaching a larger audience.

Mitron Academy, on the other hand, will offer creators an opportunity to share educational videos to help users learn from the platform.

Additionally, with Mitron On-Demand, users will be able to place requests for on-demand content like - Astrology reading, song dedication, tips and hacks, birthday wishes among others.

Agarwal said the platform is witnessing engagement in Hindi as well as non-Hindi speaking belts.

"We have seen a good penetration from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Assam. We are also increasing our reach into the South Indian states as well," he added.

Khandelwal noted that the company is currently working on app translation and will have it available in this quarter, wherein users can choose their preferred languages to browse through the platform. "We want to show content that is relevant to states or geography," he added.

Asked about content moderation, Khandelwal said any video, even if it is live, goes through the moderation channels that include a manual queue and an automated queue.

He added that there are community guidelines in place to determine the kind of content that is allowed to stay and those that need to be removed from the platform.

(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.)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba the situation in Crimea and Russia's military activities along the border with Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement after the talks occurred in Brussels

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba the situation in Crimea and Russia's military activities along the border with Ukraine, State Department spokesperson Ned price said in a statement after the talks occurred in Brussels.

"The Secretary expressed concern about Russia's deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing ceasefire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimea and near Ukraine's borders," Price said.

Blinken and Kuleba discussed the importance of advancing rule of law and economic reforms to strengthen Ukraine's institutions, support anti-corruption efforts and further its Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations, Price added.

On Monday, the G7 foreign ministers and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell expressed concerns over the Russian armed forces' movement on the border with Ukraine and in Crimea, and called for de-escalation.

Russian officials have characterized the situation on the border with Ukraine as "frightening" and vowed to bolster security in response to an increased NATO presence. The United States and its allies have expressed concerns over the Russian troop movements.
"Never in the history of our country has the threat of adversarial intelligence collection across government and the private sector been as pronounced as it is today," said Stu Shea, Peraton's chairman, president, and CEO. "With more than three decades of service to our nation, Bill is an undisputed expert in counterintelligence, security, and risk mitigation and is a tremendous addition to Peraton's Advisory Board."

Evanina joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to lead the NCSC in 2014. He was later confirmed by the U.S. Senate, serving both Presidents Obama and Trump. At NCSC he had executive responsibility for the execution of many critical counterintelligence and security programs, including the National Insider Threat Task Force, Counterintelligence Cyber Operations, Supply Chain Threat Risk and Mitigation, and Critical Infrastructure Threat Awareness and Mitigation.

While at NCSC he also led the effort to successfully automate critical elements of the security clearance process and helped to establish the system by which clearance-holders could be continuously monitored.

Prior to joining the ODNI, Evanina served as Chief, Counterintelligence Division, Counterespionage Group, Central Intelligence Agency, where he led efforts to combat espionage activities in the U.S. and globally. Earlier, he spent more than 16 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, rising to Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, National Security Branch. While at the FBI he led all field office special programs as well as the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Evanina earned a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from Arcadia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration from Wilkes University.

Comprised of proven government and industry technology experts, Peraton's Advisory Board provides advice and counsel to the company on its strategic direction.

About Peraton

Peraton drives missions of consequence spanning the globe and extending to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. As the world's leading mission capability integrator, we are a trusted provider of highly differentiated national security solutions and technologies that keep people safe and secure. Peraton serves as a valued partner to essential government agencies, including the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and NASA. Every day, our 10,000 employees do the can't be done, solving the most daunting challenges facing our customers. Visit Peraton.com/News and follow @PeratonCorp on Twitter for news and updates.

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Rumors have it that Apple AR gadgets will have a new HomePod-style spatial audio feature that would bring a more realistic AR experience. This is a great innovation since it will increase the depth of sound of the tech giant's new augmented reality devices, including the new Apple AR headset.

What do you think is coming down the pipeline $OMI fam?

Apple (Glass/Headset {VR/AR}) Partnership, App Developer Partnership, Crypto Exchange listing or a Big Brand Licensed Deal? #VeVe #VeVeApp #OMI pic.twitter.com/ztmfImbXaO  Kyle Tiger Willson (@TigerWillson) March 26, 2021

If you are using one of the Apple HomePod products, you will notice that they have circular and cylindrical shapes, which send the sound waves to all parts of the room. The new HomePod-style audio works in a similar way.

According to Apple Insider's latest report, Apple has always been searching for ways to improve the sound features of its products. The tech giant manufacturer even conducted a study on how to make audio sound 3D.

"Audio system having audio and ranging components," explained Apple via its new Patent.

"In existing methods of reproducing a sound image to an observer in a virtual space," added the giant manufacturer.

Apple's new HomePod-style spatial audio

Apple explained that in order to achieve the new HomePod-spatial audio feature, various microphones are needed. These mics should be distributed around the actual space. They also need to be spaced apart from one another so that they rely on the detected sound for source localization.

Also Read: Apple TV Refresh Rate to Feature 120Hz of Power, As Revealed by the Soon Updating tvOS 14.5 Beta

However, the tech giant manufacturer added that this method doesn't allow for a single, compact microphone array to be used for sound source localization.



Aside from this, Apple added that the virtual space can map to an actual space.

This means that even if the real object is in another room, the HomePod-style spatial audio can still detect the sound they create and map them in the actual equivalent position.

HomePod-style spatial audio's other details

Apple AR's new audio feature also uses various camera sensors that can detect the same space from a different vantage point. Aside from this, the company's new patent also explains how the HomePod-style spatial audio can be played back by the user.

Apple explained that when a sound comes back within the field of view, there's a delay and gain of the audio signal that can be adjusted to render virtual sound. This leads to audio that sounds like retreating and moving forward. You can click here to see more details.

For more news updates about Apple and its upcoming innovations, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Fake AirPods 3 Suddenly Appears in the Market: Do These to Avoid Getting Fooled

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Giuliano de Leon

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
GlobalLogic announced the appointment of Ajit Mahale as Vice President  Engineering, for the Nagpur region. In his new role, Ajit will take charge of driving profitable growth from strategy to execution, and will oversee delivery, operations, and engineering. Overall, he will be responsible for the western markets  Nagpur, Pune, and Mumbai and will align to GlobalLogics investments for growth, consistency, and efficiency and support the companys leadership.

Congratulating Ajit on his new role, Sumit Sood, Senior Vice President & Head of APAC, GlobalLogic said, We are delighted to welcome Ajit to the GlobalLogic family and look forward to his immense experience adding and accelerating the digital transformation of businesses we work with across the globe. With a commitment to support innovation and create a robust digital ecosystem, Ajits appointment as Vice President  Engineering will play a pivotal role in expanding our footprint and strengthening our technology competencies in the western region.

Ajit has worked with large global IT organizations for over two decades where he has driven business transformation engagements encompassing consulting, development, delivery, and operations. He has handled complex programs that have leveraged new product development, fintech platforms, data analytics, open banking & API integration. Ajit has been involved on critical business and technology transformations, and innovation programs through adoption of new technology and product platforms, cloud migration, automation, machine learning (ML), agile adoption & DevOps implementation etc.

On his appointment Ajit Mahale, Vice President  Engineering, GlobalLogic said, GlobalLogic has been a pioneer in digital product engineering and holds the vision to transform businesses through advanced technologies. As the world continues to evolve at an unparalleled speed, it is an exciting time to be joining a connected, smart, and agile team. I am thrilled to be a part of GlobalLogic family and look forward to new frontiers.

Before joining GlobalLogic, Ajit was associated with Capgemini as the Chief Delivery Executive of their Banking & Capital Markets Business.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 06:52:39|Editor: huaxia

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BUENOS AIRES, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Argentina on Tuesday reported 27,001 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the highest number in a single day, for a total of 2,579,000.

The Argentine Ministry of Health also reported 217 more deaths, bringing the total figure to 58,174.

On Friday, the government established mobility restrictions between midnight and 6:00 a.m., as well as the closure of bars and restaurants between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. and limited use of public transport for essential personnel only.

Health Minister Carla Vizzotti warned that the South American country is seeing an accelerated increase in cases that are impacting the health system.

Meanwhile, Argentina's vaccination campaign against COVID-19 has already administered 5,696,664 doses, as the country remains under social distancing measures until April 30. Enditem
As many as 12 employees of Bandhan Bank here on Monday tested positive for coronavirus.

A health official at Patna civil surgeon office said that some Bandhan Bank employees of Ashiyana Digha branch have been complaining of mild fever for the last few days.

"We have conducted Covid tests on Sunday and 12 of them turned out to be positive. Later, we have sealed the branch and

also appealed to the bank manager to sanitise the premises in the presence of health employees," he said.

Earlier, 5 employees of Bank of Baroda's Kadam Kuan branch had tested positive for the virus.
Sushil Chandra, who assumed charge as the 24th on Tuesday, said he would like to ensure that the ongoing in West Bengal are held in a very peaceful and fair manner so that voters in even the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear.

Chandra was appointed as the CEC on Monday, the day Sunil Arora demitted office.

"I would like to ensure that the (in the remaining phases in West Bengal) should be held in a very peaceful and very, very free and fair manner so that voters even in the vulnerable areas can cast their votes without any fear," Chandra told PTI after assuming charge as CEC.

The high-octane assembly election campaign in West Bengal, where the BJP and the Trinamool Congress have unleashed a no-holds-barred attack against each other, has seen the EC clamping down on leaders of both parties for their objectionable utterances.

The first four phases of polls in the state have been marred by violence.

While the three-phased assembly polls in Assam and the single-phase in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry have concluded, West Bengal is going through eight phases of polls. The fifth phase is on April 17.

Chandra said that an "atmosphere has to be created" to ensure free and fair polls.

Asked how the poll panel will go about it, the CEC said the EC is monitoring and talking to all the officers on the ground as well as the observers and detailed meetings are taking place.

Chandra was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. He would demit office on May 14, 2022.

Under him, the will hold assembly polls in Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. The term of the assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand and Punjab ends on various dates in March next year.

The term of the Uttar Pradesh assembly ends on May 14 next year.

Chandra belongs to the 1980 batch of the Indian Revenue Service.

He is also an ex-officio member of the Delimitation Commission since February 18, 2020, looking after the process in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Having held several posts in the Income Tax Department for nearly 39 years, Chandra was appointed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman on November 1, 2016.

He spent considerable time as Director of Investigation and Director General of Investigation, Mumbai and Gujarat, respectively followed by his stint as Member (Investigation), CBDT and thereafter assuming the post of Chairman of this apex body.

"Transparency and purity of political finance are of vital importance for a free and fair electoral process and the creation of a level playing field.

"Continuing the crusade that he started as CBDT Chairman against the menace of black money, Chandra was proactive as the erstwhile Election Commissioner in curbing the use of money power that vitiates the electoral process," the Commission said on Tuesday.

He has constantly emphasised the concept of "inducement-free" elections and it has become an integral dimension of monitoring the electoral process in all ongoing and forthcoming elections, the EC 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.)
California public health officials on Monday lifted capacity limits on places of worship after the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state could not enforce its ban on indoor religious gatherings.

In response to recent judicial rulings, effective immediately, location and capacity limits on places of worship are not mandatory but are strongly recommended, according to the updated guidance posted on the states coronavirus website late Monday afternoon.

The guidance recommends that churches, mosques, temples and other religious communities located in orange tier counties like San Francisco and Alameda limit indoor services to 50% capacity with good ventilation and screening for all parishioners.

The move follows months of discord between public health officials and the Catholic church, which called the states policies discriminatory against those who celebrate communion. The archdioceses of San Francisco and San Jose have repeatedly criticized the state for applying stricter standards to places of worship than to stores and businesses.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco updated his guidance to churches on Monday to reflect the change, instructing the 90 churches within his jurisdiction that they may eschew caps on attendance so long as worshipers continue to observe a six foot distance between households, his spokeswoman Janice Potts told The Chronicle.

It is up to the pastor to decide how many people are in his church, because we have some very large churches, Potts said.

Despite the revised limits on indoor worship, an overwhelming number of houses of worship are reticent to open their doors and go back to life as it was, said Michael G. Pappas, executive director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, which represents about 800 religious organizations.

With the exception of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches that celebrate communion, most churches will likely exercise caution by continuing to operate through online worship and virtual ministry, Pappas said.

Many places of worship have seen boosts in attendance by holding virtual services during the pandemic, giving them little incentive to reopen their doors, he said.

Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com
The peaceful protesters gathered first at nearby Chesterton Park, then walked to the auditorium entrance to the middle school. The school board was scheduled to meet about a $168 million bond issue for districtwide building projects and initially, administrators said in a statement that would remain the only matter on the agenda, though they later relented and allowed the protesters into the meeting to present their concerns after the hearing on the building project.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, say goodbye to law and order Joe.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
California has removed the capacity limits on the state's churches and other places of worship on Monday. California has implemented a limited number of worshippers in the churches in response to the coronavirus pandemic to prevent further spread of the deadly disease.

The state made the new mandate in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the COVID-19 public health mandates, according to an Associated Press report.

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that California could not enforce the coronavirus-related limits on home-based religious worship, prayer meetings, and Bible studies.

California mandated the limits on indoor church services in February, which replaced an all-out ban on indoor services implemented in most states due to high coronavirus cases.

READ NEXT: California Churches Can Hold Indoor Services Despite Pandemic, Supreme Court Rules

Lifting the Limited Capacity of Worshippers in Churches

The Center for American Liberty applauded California's move to lift the limited capacity of worshippers in churches. The Center for American Liberty has filed a series of lawsuits against California Governor Gavin Newsom on behalf of the churches.

The Thomas More Society, which was also involved in some of the lawsuits that California churches filed to the Supreme Court, celebrated the new mandate, the Daily Wire reported.

"This is a huge win that God has provided for all people of Faith," said Paul Jonna, an attorney of Thomas More Society.

The new guidance noted that the location and capacity limits on worship places are not mandatory. However, it is strongly recommended.

Jenna Ellis, another attorney from Thomas More Society, told Daily Wire that no health crisis can ever justify suspending religious freedom or any of our most sacred rights in the country.

New Guidance on California Church Capacity

Although indoor gatherings were "strongly discouraged," the state's Department of Public Health guidelines still advised limiting the number of people inside a church or building.

Churches and cultural ceremonies in California followed the previous guidelines, which segment these places based on the state's color-coded tier system, according to a KRON4 report.

The tier system categorizes places as purple, red, orange, and yellow, which symbolizes the number of people entering such sites. When a community is placed under the purple tier, indoor activities are strongly discouraged but are limited to 25 percent capacity. The red tier allows 25 percent of the venue's capacity to enter, while orange and yellow allow 50 percent capacity.

Activities such as singing, chanting, and playing wind instruments also have different guidelines depending on the venue's color tier. For example, if a church is in a community with purple tier, people engaged in singing, chanting, and playing of wind instrument must always wear face masks.

Performers under the said tier must also maintain at least 12 feet of physical distance from other performers and 24 feet of distance from visitors. Only 10 performers are allowed to sing, chant, and play wind instruments.

The lifting of the limited capacity in churches follows the significant decrease of infection rate in California, alongside the surge of vaccination rates.

California announced that the changes would take effect on Thursday. It would also include changes in indoor concerts and theatre performances.

READ MORE: San Diego Judge Allows Strip Clubs to Open Causing Churches to Protest

WATCH: California Revises Indoor Church Guidelines After Ruling - From WATE 6 On Your Side
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Key Highlights Offered in the 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.

Request 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 PCI Compliance Solutions market. The report also aids buyers with relevant PCI Compliance Solutions 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.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers.

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 3.00%-5.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in PCI Compliance Solutions 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 PCI Compliance Solutions suppliers listed in this report:

This PCI Compliance Solutions procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Verizon Communications Inc.

AT&T Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

International Business Machines Corp.

Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.

Rapid7 Inc.

Coalfire Systems Inc.

SecurityMetrics Inc.

SecureWorks Inc.

Thales Group

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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[April 13, 2021] The Economist Intelligence Unit launches "EIU Viewpoint"

LONDON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a division of The Economist Group, announced the launch of "EIU Viewpoint", a new digital product that combines the EIU's expert political insights, policy analysis and economic outlook with forward-looking forecasts and proprietary data. "EIU Viewpoint" helps businesses, academics, governments and financial institutions stay ahead of the shifting global dynamics to operate more effectively today as well as plan for the future. "EIU Viewpoint" integrates the EIU's forecasts for the global economy, daily insights, extensive country economic and political analysis, medium-term forecasts for 200 markets, long-term economic projections, industry analysis and data, commodity forecasts, macroeconomic datasets and proprietary ratings and rankings. Led by EIU's worldwide network of expert analysts, "EIU Viewpoint" gives clients the reliable and trusted information and analyses they need to inform their future business planning, with the same editorial independence and rigour of The Economist, its sister brand. "EIU Viewpoint" combines in one product offering, a consistent global view of: Medium- and Long-term country forecasts: The political and economic landscape for ~200 countries

The political and economic landscape for ~200 countries Forecasts for the global economy: Global and regional outlook spanning politics, economics and market-moving topics

Global and regional outlook spanning politics, economics and market-moving topics Daily insights: Daily insights on the developments that impact the future outlook

Daily insights on the developments that impact the future outlook Political and economic analysis: Executive summaries of country forecasts with examinations of key trends in each country Industry analysis and data: The demand and supply outlook for 26 sectors in ~ 70 markets

The demand and supply outlook for 26 sectors in ~ 70 markets Commodity forecasts: The supply, demand and prices of 25 critical goods

The supply, demand and prices of 25 critical goods Macroeconomic indicators database: Economic data series with up to 320 variables per country on forecasts, as well as historic trends

Economic data series with up to 320 variables per country on forecasts, as well as historic trends Proprietary ratings: Measuring the attractiveness of the business environment

Measuring the attractiveness of the business environment Thematic analysis: The cross-cutting issues that our experts expect to shape the global outlook



Robin Bew , managing director, The Economist Intelligence Unit. "EIU Viewpoint allows clients to access EIU editorial team's thinking, whether that's about a market, an industry or a global theme. It allows clients to run comparative market analysis so they can understand and apply relative growth opportunities to propel their business forward," said Lyndsey Anderson, global head of research and insight, The Economist Intelligence Unit.

To learn more about "EIU Viewpoint" head to: eiu.com/viewpoint About The Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a division of The Economist Group, is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. It provides accurate and impartial intelligence for companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organisations around the globe, inspiring business leaders to act with confidence. The EIU products include its flagship EIU Viewpoint and a portfolio of subscription-based data and forecasting services. The company also undertakes bespoke research and analysis projects on individual markets and business sectors. More information is available at http://www.eiu.com . About The Economist Group

The Economist Group is dedicated to the pursuit of progress and built on high-quality, independent analysis, a foundation of its businesses. Based in London and serving a global customer base, the Group produces digital and print content, global events, and offers a range of subscription and other services.Its flagship businesses include The Economist and research and analysis division The Economist Intelligence Unit. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-economist-intelligence-unit-launches-eiu-viewpoint-301267948.html SOURCE The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

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A Birmingham woman charged with murder in a street racing crash that killed an innocent motorist was returned to Alabama from Georgia Tuesday morning.

Carmesia Flannigan, 22, had been sought by U.S. Marshals and Birmingham police for two weeks. She is charged with murder, leaving the scene of an accident with injury and unlawful possession of a controlled substance in the March 21 death of 52-year-old Brandy Ballard.

She arrived at the downtown lockup just before 10:30 a.m. She rushed from the vehicle with her back turned away from the cameras and did not say anything.

Brandy Ballard, 52, was killed Sunday, March 21, 2021, when police say she was struck by a Camaro that was street racing. (Contributed)

After being charged in Ballards death, Jefferson County prosecutors moved to revoke Flannigans bond on previous domestic violence and burglary charges. Assistant District Attorney Jason Wilson filed the bond revocation motions for her two previous cases. As a condition of bond in those cases, Flannigan was to refrain from further criminal activity.

In that motion, Wilson says Flannigan violated those conditions when she was racing her vehicle in excess of the speed limit on Arkadelphia Road when she crossed the center line and struck an oncoming vehicle head-on.

The defendant then fled the scene and falsely reported to law enforcement that her vehicle had been stolen and that she, the defendant, was in Atlanta. The defendant was apprehended by law enforcement and her blood was drawn to be submitted to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

After the two-week search, she was taken into custody about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, April 7, by U.S. Marshals in the Atlanta-area.

Warning: This video contains graphic language

Following her release from jail on the charges in Ballards, Flannigan posted two separate Facebook Live videos laced with expletives blaming Ballard for the crash. That old ass lady swerved in my lane,' Flannigan said on the video.

The videos were deleted from Facebook but were posted to YouTube and has had thousands of views. I was so mad I cried,' said Tabatha Moore, Ballards niece, after viewing the videos. Its very frustrating. Its humiliating.

Theres no remorse,' Moore said. Theres no heart involved. I want it stopped.

Brandy Ballard was killed when police say a woman street racing crashed into vehicle Sunday, March 21, 2021. (Contributed)

Ballard, a home health care worker and grandmother of five, was on her way to work just after 6 a.m. that Sunday when authorities say her 2007 Ford Focus was struck by a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro that crossed over the center line of traffic.

Police and coroners officials said investigators believe the Camaro was racing another vehicle at the time of the deadly crash. The crash happened at 6:10 a.m. and Ballard was pronounced dead four minutes later. She was just two blocks from her home.

A court appearance for Flannigan scheduled for this afternoon has been postponed.
Few novels left me as breathless and, as we might say on the shrinks couch, as conflicted as Philip Roths Portnoys Complaint. I first read it in my mid-to-late teens, the time when we suddenly become conscious of who we are. As the daughter of Holocaust survivors in suburban Caulfield, I was starting to ask myself if I felt Australian. The answer was ... eh, sort of.

Id been reading modern American Jewish writers  Chaim Potok, Leon Uris  out of some vague sense they were speaking to me directly. They wrote edifying and morally weighty books about the Jewish condition.

Philip Roth, the author of the much debated Portnoys Complaint.

I had assumed Roth, whose New Jersey parents were the children of Yiddish-speaking immigrants from eastern Europe, would offer more of the same.

But Portnoys Complaint turned out to be a wank. Literally. Framed as Alexander Portnoys monologue to his psychiatrist, the 1969 bestseller of the future literary giant man is a masturbatory novel. It is one of the works being discussed afresh as a new biography of Roth reignites debate about the legacy of morally flawed authors post #MeToo.
A Pennsylvania woman has been charged in connection with the killing of a pregnant mother whose body was discovered in the woods near Philadelphia last week - as police are hunting for the victim's boyfriend who is suspected of fatally shooting her.

On Monday, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office issued an arrest warrant for Justin Smith, 23, the missing boyfriend of 21-year-old Dianna Brice.

Two days earlier, police arrested 21-year-old Tylydiah Garnett, of North Philadelphia, on charges of arson, conspiracy and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

Tylydiah Garnett, 21 (left), has been charged with arson, conspiracy and two counts of abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of Dianna Brice, 21 (right)

A warrant was issued on Monday for the arrest of Brice's boyfriend, Justin Smith, 23, who is suspected of shooting and killing her

Officials said Garnett was seen on surveillance video helping dispose of Brice's body, reported Fox 29.

Brice was four month pregnant with her and Smith's child, a son, at the time of her death. She also has a four-year-old son.

Smith's car was found on fire at 59th and Florence streets in Southwest Philadelphia on the evening of Brice's disappearance on March 30.

Less than a week later, on April 5, police found Brice's lifeless body in a wooded lot in Southwest Philadelphia, less than a mile away from Smith's burnt-out 2018 Ford Fusion.

Brice was four months pregnant with her second child, a boy, when she vanished on March 30

Brice's body was found in this wooded area in south Philadelphia on Monday night, just under a week after she went missing

An autopsy performed last week found that Brice died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head, and her death was ruled a homicide.

'Its just tragic. It speaks to the senseless violence that occurs every day out there, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said. 'And heres a mother of a 4-year-old child and was expecting her second child, she was four months pregnant, and that child will never see his mother again and her family will never see her daughter again. Its tragic.'

Police said they believe Smith shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend inside his car after getting into an argument with her.

Brice's mother, Betty Cellini, said her daughter seemed upset before Smith picked her up from a laundromat on the day she had gone missing.

Cellini also told WPVI-TV that when she spoke to Smith, he told her that Brice was so mad at him that she would not talk to him.

Police say they believe Smith shot Brice several times in the head, killing her, then disposed of her body with Garnett's help and torched his car to destroy evidence

According to the police, after Smith shot Brice, he got in touch with Garnett, who was caught on video buying a container of gasoline and taking it to his garage.

Another camera near the garage was said to have captured Garnett and Smith loading a heavy object, believed to be Brice's body, into the trunk of Smith's car.

Garnett allegedly accompanied Smith to the 5800 block of Eastwich Avenue, where police say he dumped Brice's body in a pile of debris.

Smith then used the gasoline purchased for him by Garnett to set his car on fire nearby.

Garnett was apprehended in Florida and was later returned to Pennsylvania, where she remains jailed.

Smith is still at large and police say they have no information about his whereabouts.
's ( ) ( ) ( ) Ged Hall joins Proactive London's Katie Pilbeam about resuming exploration at the Mt Oxide Project now that the rainy season in northern Queensland is mostly over.

Hall talks through the latest announcement which also provides some insights on the Arya Prospect and the Sansa Prospect.
Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict similar to the situation in Syria as hundreds of people have been slaughtered by the military junta, UN Human Rights Chief said. Addressing a press briefing on April 13, Michelle Bachelet cautioned that while the global powers could not stop the bloody war in Syria and elsewhere to escalate, they should not let it be repeated. As a result, she urged states to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push military leadership into halting its campaign of repression and indiscriminate slaughter of its own people.

There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011. There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force. The State's brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time warned in 2011 that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond. The past ten years have shown just how horrific the consequences have been for millions of civilians, she said in a statement.

 #Myanmar: UN Human Rights Chief @mbachelet urges States to take immediate, decisive and impactful measures to push military leadership into halting its campaign of repression and slaughter of its people.



Read  https://t.co/Y57YtqePLx#StandUp4HumanRights pic.twitter.com/XEzG0C4Ekt  UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) April 13, 2021

Over 700 killed

The situation in Myanmar has deteriorated since the military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing snatched power from the countrys democratically elected government by staging a Coup detat on February 1. Since then, the military junta has killed over 710 people, detained more than 3080 people, according to a tally by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). Additionally, Tatmadaw has also been accused of other crimes such as shooting down residents in cold blood, burning skins of protesters with pro democrat tattoos amongst other callous acts.

DAILY UPDATE (12/04)



710, incl. 50 children, killed by this junta



3080 currently detained/sentenced incl. 32 hostages



697 issued arrest warrants



brief https://t.co/iuu0u0sTPw

detained https://t.co/ppYOrCxX1L

fatalities https://t.co/AKgt4qoLKg

released https://t.co/KMEHRXfHkL pic.twitter.com/6ee1N5RqSr  AAPP (Burma) (@aapp_burma) April 12, 2021

In its statement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also asserted that the military junta, over the weekend, also opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, fragmentation grenades and mortar fire in Bago in the south of the country. Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded, as well as charging relatives a "fine" of roughly USD 90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed, it said. Additionally, OHCHR also revealed that Tatmadaw has been using aerial strikes to quell protests in many regions of the country including Kachin, Shan and Kayin states.

Image Credits: Associated Press
New Delhi: With the aim to lure users with unlimited calling and high-speed data, BSNL has launched its mobile plan at just Rs 249. The government-owned telecom company is planning to give Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vi a run for their money, as the benefits provided in this plan are at par with rival firms.

Whats special in the 249 plan?

BSNL has recently launched the Rs 249 plan, according to Zeebiz.com. In this package, BSNL is offering daily 2 GB data along with an unlimited calling facility. Notably, this First Recharge Coupon (FRC) plan is only for first time prepaid users of BSNL. The company had launched this plan last month as a promotional offer.

Thats not all, as the company is providing daily 100 SMS free of cost with this plan that comes with 60-day validity. This means that users get freedom from recharging their numbers every month.

BSNLs ambitious 4G plans

There has been an increased demand for cheaper 4G data amid the pandemic, as many are staying indoors to protect themselves from catching Covid-19. To grab the opportunity, BSNL is planning to launch its 4G services across the country after the government gave its blessing to the company recently.

BSNL has reportedly started pulling up its sleeves to fulfil this ambitious plan that will help the company is standing tall against teleco majors such as Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vi. Hopefully, the recently launched plan will further fuel BSNLs ambitions.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. An injured 47-year-old man walked into Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton Monday afternoon shortly after multiple shots rang out just feet from Corporal Thompson Park.

The victim was shot twice on the left side of his torso by an unknown perpetrator, according to an NYPD spokesman, and he is considered to be in stable condition.

He was transported to the hospital by private means at around 4:18 p.m., police said.

NYPD officers could be seen placing cones near shell casings Monday afternoon. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)

The NYPD cordoned off a section of Broadway, between Wayne Street and Henderson Avenue, and placed multiple cones over shell casings strewn across the road and sidewalk.

The motive of the shooting was not immediately clear. No arrests have been made and the NYPD investigation is ongoing.

NYPD officers could be seen placing cones near shell casings Monday afternoon. (Staten Island Advance/Joseph Ostapiuk)
DENVER, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) will release its first quarter 2021 results on May 5, 2021. The company will broadcast a live conference call on its Investor Relations website at http://ir.lumen.com at 5 p.m. ET.

Additional information regarding the first quarter 2021 results, including the company's earnings release, investor presentation, and related materials will be available on Lumen's Investor Relations website. If you are unable to join the call via the web, the call can be accessed live at +1 877-283-5145 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 312-281-1201 (International).

The call will be archived and available as an audio replay on Lumen's Investor Relations website starting at 7 p.m. ET on May 5, until 6 p.m. ET on Aug. 3, 2021. The replay can be accessed by dialing +1 800-633-8284 (U.S. Domestic) or +1 402-977-9140 (International), reservation code 21989194.

About Lumen Technologies

Lumen is guided by our belief that humanity is at its best when technology advances the way we live and work. With approximately 450,000 route fiber miles and serving customers in more than 60 countries, we deliver the fastest, most secure platform for applications and data to help businesses, government and communities deliver amazing experiences.

Learn more about the Lumen network, edge cloud, security, communication and collaboration solutions and our purpose to further human progress through technology at news.lumen.com, LinkedIn: /lumentechnologies, Twitter: @lumentechco, Facebook: /lumentechnologies, Instagram: @lumentechnologies and YouTube: /lumentechnologies. Lumen and Lumen Technologies are registered trademarks of Lumen Technologies LLC in the United States. Lumen Technologies LLC is a wholly-owned affiliate of Lumen Technologies Inc.

SOURCE Lumen Technologies

Related Links

http://www.lumen.com


The Growth Gap

The Growth Gap is a Yakima Herald-Republic reporting series and newsletter on how Washington states declining child care sector is edging out young learners. Were zeroing in on how this issue impacts children, families, providers and our economy in Central Washington, with an emphasis on long-term outcomes for early learners.

To sign up for the newsletter, go to www.yakimaherald.com/users/admin/mailinglist.

COMING WEDNESDAY: A visit to the Early Childhood Learning Center at Central Washington University in Ellensburg.
The Pikes Peak regions multiagency drug and human trafficking task force will expand this year to include two more detectives who can tackle crime across the city and El Paso County, including illegal activity at massage parlors.

The detectives, one from the Colorado Springs Police Department and another from the El Paso County Sheriffs Office, will continue the units work toward tackling prostitution and human trafficking in massage parlors, Scott Whittington, commander of Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence, said during a city council work session Monday.

So far this year, the unit has issued three arrest warrants for prostitution tied to massage parlors and conducted two sting operations at massage parlors where authorities suspect illegal activity is occurring, Whittington said.

In 2020, authorities made two arrests for prostitution and pimping that were directly tied to massage parlors, he noted.

Councilman Tom Strand said he has received several calls from residents expressing concerns that the city isnt paying enough attention to the issue or expending adequate resources on it.

Police Chief Vince Niski said law enforcement has had challenges in their investigations because they have had to switch tactics as the prostitution business evolves in the city. While street prostitution used to be much more visible to law enforcement, it has since transitioned to escort services and now predominately exists in massage parlors.

At least 35 massage parlors in Colorado Springs could still be involved in illegal activity, he said.

But Niski cautioned against expanding the task force because of the police departments low staffing levels.

Our staffing numbers are significantly less this year than they have been in recent years, he said. A lot of units are vying for positions and we have to maintain a certain number of officers in patrol.

The Colorado Springs Police Department's goal is to have 803 uniformed officers by 2022.

Hopefully when we hit that number, then we will be able to ask the mayor for more officers to help our specialized units, Niski said.

Councilman Bill Murray said he was surprised there was not a more developed process  combining local, state and national resources  to tackle larger prostitution and human trafficking operations.

Theres a usually a bigger operation going and unless you focus on the bigger operation, youre playing the Whack-A-Mole' with the illicit individual parlors, Murray said.

Niski said law enforcement has not found evidence of larger operations in Colorado Springs.

Whittington said it has been difficult to prove human trafficking exists in Colorado Springs beyond reasonable doubt because massage parlor employees have not disclosed any information to authorities.

Council President Richard Skorman cited the importance of targeting the owners of illicit businesses and partnering with victim advocacy groups.

The women who are involved, we want to make sure that they are getting help if there is a situation where the business is shut down. ... I know some of them may have kids, they may be homeless, they may have no source of income, Skorman said.

Murray added the need for a "safe haven for victims of prostitution that gives them an opportunity to self-report and feel comfortable doing so.

Prior tactics

After a lengthy investigation last year, police arrested the owner of now-shuttered Rose Spa in northeast Colorado Springs on suspicion of pimping and money laundering. The owner of the strip mall voluntarily terminated the lease after being notified by authorities, Whittington said.

Detectives have not seen the business open elsewhere, he said, noting that they believe the owners second business, Energy Day Spa in eastern Colorado Springs, is a legitimate massage parlor.

Whittington said police have used different tactics intended to end prostitution and sex trafficking at massage parlors, including issuing summons for those that are not licensed and issuing a public nuisance order, which usually leads a landlord to voluntarily evict the tenants. While some masseuses have licenses, most do not, Whittington said.

Detectives also tried writing warning letters to registered agents of a business about suspected prostitution, but the effect was limited, he said.

Issuing arrest warrants for a felony is the most time-consuming tactic and typically takes about 300 hours for police to investigate, review evidence and conduct interviews, Whittington said.

Issuing a public nuisance order requires about 100 staffing hours, he said, and includes a sting operation, which consists of many hours of surveillance and an undercover police officer soliciting prostitution.

Going forward, the unit will weigh which tactic is most effective in stopping illicit activity at massage parlors, Whittington said.
A 15-year-old schoolboy assaulted six girls as they walked to school in south London.

The teenager stabbed a 15-year-old girl in the leg while she was walking in the morning in Croydon on November 4.

Then, just two days later, another 15-year-old girl was stabbed by a stranger - this time in the arm.

Both girls were taken to hospital and their conditions were deemed not life threatening, police confirmed.

Officers launched an investigation into the attacks on the girls, who went to separate schools and are not believed to have know each other.

The boy - who cannot be named because of his age - was then linked to four other attacks on girls from November 2019 to October 2020.

A 15-year-old schoolboy assaulted six girls as they walked to school in south London (a map showing two of the assaults, pictured)

All victims were approached as they were walking to school and sexually assaulted or assaulted.

The boy pleaded guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm at Croydon Crown Court.

He also pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault, one count of assault by penetration, and one charge of common assault. A charge of robbery was left to lie on file.

He was remanded in custody for sentencing on June 7.

Police were first called shortly before 9am on November 4 to reports of a girl stabbed in Croydon.

A 15-year-old was approached by a stranger and stabbed in the leg.

The victim was taken to hospital where her condition was confirmed as not life threatening.

Then, on November 6, police were called to a girl stabbed in the arm after being approached by a stranger.

London Ambulance Service also attended and she wa treated at the scene before being taken to hospital. Her condition was also deemed non-life threatening.

Officers from the South Area Command Unit launched an investigation.

All victims were approached as they were walking to school and sexually assaulted or assaulted (file image)

The offences were linked to four other incidents from November 2019 to October 2020 where teenage girls were approached as they were walking to school and sexually assaulted or assaulted.

The boy was arrested at his residential address in Thornton Heath in the early hours of Sunday, November 8.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Barrett who led the investigation said: 'These incidents caused considerable concern to the local community - all the victims were teenage girls, and apparently chosen at random.

'They were making their way to school when they were subjected to needless and completely unprovoked attacks.

'I am grateful to all of them for their assistance to our investigation.'
An Alaska woman has revealed how she recovered from Covid only to catch the virus again after being vaccinated with a Johnson & Johnson one-dose shot.

Kim Akers, a 50-year-old Palmer resident, first contracted the virus in December.

She recovered and received her one-shot dose of the vaccine on March 5 before spending a cabin weekend at Lake Louise with family and friends, The Anchorage Daily News reported.

Akers, who has an underlying health condition, thought she was protected having previously recovered from the virus and waited more than two weeks after getting her shot.

However, during her trip she began to feel unwell, experiencing fatigue, nausea and chest congestion - and later found she had caught the virus again.

The news came as the FDA and CDC recommended a pause in the US roll-out of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six women developed rare blood clots and one died after receiving the shot.

An Alaska woman has tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It is the second time Kim Akers, a Palmer resident, has contracted the virus after first catching it in December

'I still didn't believe anything was wrong,' Akers told the paper. 'I told my family I want to go home, 'Not to worry - it's not COVID.' I said that'.

In a Facebook post, Akers said it was only when she returned home and was struck with a splitting headache, similar to what she had experienced when she had Covid-19 last year, and lost her sense of taste and smell that she thought she should get tested as a precaution.

'I didn't believe at that moment that it was it until I got home and thought about my symptoms and realized this headache is what I remember,' she said. 'Then I lost my taste and my smell.'

Akers tested positive again and suffered a constant headache for three days. She says she has now recovered though her sense of taste and smell are yet to return.

'Just because you have had Covid or been fully vaccinated does not mean you cant TEST POSITIVE,' Akers wrote on Facebook.

The high school administrator told The Anchorage Daily News that she had decided to make her story public to show the importance of getting vaccinated.

'It would be great if it completely protected you,' she said, but that's not what vaccine is supposed to do.

'It's to keep you out of the hospital and prevent death and hopefully lessen your symptoms.'

Akers tested positive after receiving the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Breakthrough cases have also been identified in people who received other vaccines, including Moderna and Sputnik V [Stock photo]

She added that her experience has brought home the importance of wearing face masks and practicing social distancing.

Akers is among about at least 177 'breakthrough' patients identified in Alaska, health department spokesman Clinton Bennett told The Anchorage Daily News.

US agencies call for Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be paused The FDA and CDC are recommending a pause in the US roll-out of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six women developed rare blood clots and one died after receiving the shot. Seven million people in the US have had the one-shot vaccine. The percentage of people who have developed blood clots from it is 0.00008. The two authorities are not revoking emergency authorization of it, but say they are recommending a pause in the administering of it until more data is collected. It is now down to individual states to heed their advice and stop the roll-out, or carry on with it. It's unclear what the announcement means for people with appointments to receive the vaccine today. Advertisement

These are people that have reported testing positive for Covid-19 after getting fully vaccinated.

Vaccine trials showed that the three vaccines approved in the US prevent between 66 and 95 percent of symptomatic infections, but we still do not know how well the vaccines prevent people from catching or spreading coronavirus.

So it's little surprise that a relatively small number of people would test positive even after getting vaccinated.

Of the 177 Alaskan patients, one person has required hospitalization and no one has died, Bennett told The Anchorage Daily News. The majority of those individuals have been asymptomatic.

Cases of vaccine breakthrough are being reported throughout the US and elsewhere.

In late March, a New York woman revealed she had tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving the Moderna vaccine.

Last week, Washington state reported 100 breakthrough infections since February 1. Eight people required hospitalization and two people over 80 with underlying health conditions died.

It is not clear what vaccine they received.

In Michigan, 246 breakthrough patients were reported to have caught coronavirus between January and March. At least 11 were hospitalized and three died.

Three Hawaii residents also tested positive after receiving a vaccine, it was reported last month. It is not clear which vaccine they received.

Elsewhere, Argentine president Alberto Fernandez tested positive two months after receiving Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
I am extremely disappointed that such notable experienced former superintendents would write what essentially amounts to a hit piece of unsubstantiated allegations that were not and are not of record in the pending matter before the Police Board, Morask said. What disappoints is exacerbated by the fact they must have known this well-publicized matter was tried (by the Police Board) a few weeks ago and their letter could be seen as an attempt to get their opinions and unproven claims in front of the trier of fact.
The first woman to lead the United States Army could be a former senior Pentagon official as President Joe Biden plans to nominate Christine Wormuth in the position, the White House stated Monday.

Based on the latest update, if the Senate will confirm Wormuth as the Army Secretary, she would be one of the most powerful officials in a defense building long dominated by men.

Christine Wormuth would work with the Army's chief of staff, General James McConville, who is responsible together with the Army secretary, for training and equipping of the soldiers.

Biden has not yet nominated anyone that will serve as the secretary for the Air Force and Navy. Several positions inside the Pentagon with a requirement of Senate confirmation also have yet to be filled.

Currently, the most senior Defense Department nominee still awaiting Senate confirmation is Colin Kahl, who is picked to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. But his nomination emerged from the committee with a 13-13 vote, and it is not clear when the full Senate would decide.

'A True Patriot'

According to NBC News, despite his ongoing travel abroad, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin heard the announcement of Christine Wormuth's nomination, he praised Wormuth's track record.

Austin further noted that Christine Wormuth is a true patriot with a dedicated career in service to America and the nation's security.

In his prepared statement, Austin also called Christine Wormuth deeply experienced. He also mentioned that he had no doubt that if Wormuth would be confirmed, she will lead U.S. soldiers and represent their families with honor and integrity as the Army secretary.

READ NEXT: Fatal Shooting of Minneapolis Man Involving Police Sparks Unrest, Protesters Clash with Police

Biden's Pentagon Transition Team

Christine Wormuth led the Pentagon transition team of Biden from the November election to Inauguration Day.

Christine Wormuth is currently the International Security and Defense Policy Center director at the RAND Corp., a think tank funded by the federal government, the Los Angeles Times reported.

She also served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy during the administration of former President Barack Obama. She also became the senior director for defense policy on the National Security Council of Obama and held several other Defense Department positions.

The nomination of Wormuth will continue the trend of the Biden administration choosing women and people of color for top positions at the Defense Department.

Austin is the first Black secretary of defense, while Kathleen Hicks is the first woman to hold the job of deputy defense secretary, Defense News reported.

The Biden administration also announced Gil Cisneros' nomination to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. He is a former member of Congress and a Navy veteran.

Susanna Blume was also nominated as the director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation. It is a key office that provides independent analysis and evaluation of major defense programs and activities. Blume is the current interim director of that office and previously held senior staff positions in the Pentagon.

READ MORE: President Joe Biden Open for Negotiations on Infrastructure Plan Regarding Scope and Taxes

WATCH: Biden Picks First Woman to be Army Secretary - From News Leader
BATON ROUGE, La. A series of virtual information sessions on disaster recovery programs and services are planned for Apr. 14 through Apr. 24. The sessions will provide survivors with valuable resources needed to assist in their recovery efforts as they rebuild and repair their homes and lives after the recent Louisiana disasters. These virtual information sessions are an alternate response to continue current state disaster recovery efforts during the national pandemic situation.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), FEMA, USDA, SBA, and various offices from the State of Louisiana in partnership with other local, state, federal, nonprofit, and community partners will provide valuable information to survivors affected by the February Winter Storms, and/or Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta.

Sessions will be delivered via Zoom and Closed Captioning will be available.

Registration, session times, topics and more information on the virtual disaster recovery fairs can be found at: https://getagameplan.org/resources/disaster-recovery-assistance/zoom-webinars/

For the latest information on Hurricane Laura, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4559. For the latest information on Hurricane Delta, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4570. For the latest information for Hurricane Zeta, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4577. For the latest information on Februarys Winter Storms, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4590. Follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at www.twitter.com/FEMARegion6
Amplus Solar, a member of the group of Malaysia, has acquired 17 solar rooftop assets of Sterling & Wilson totaling 7.2 megawatt (MW).

Amplus Solar already has 800 MW+ projects in the distributed solar segment and this deal will increase their portfolio in several states including Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka.

The company did not disclose the deal size.

The 17 projects of Sterling & Wilson supply to 13 leading industrial, commercial, and institutional customers.

"The addition of these assets to our portfolio furthers our commitment to promote the growth of renewable energy in India and provide outstanding service to our ever increasing customer base. We remain open to acquisition of assets that meet our standards and add Amplus operational excellence to these assets, said Sanjeev Aggarwal, CEO & MD of Amplus Solar.

Sterling & Wilson has been offloading its assets to repay loans. Last month, it sold a 75 megawatt solar power project in Telangana to Adani Green Energy for Rs 446 crore.

Sterling & Wilson's promoter Khurshed Daruvala also recently sold close to 5 per cent stake in the company worth Rs 200 crore.
HONG KONG  The Hong Kong government on Tuesday introduced the final details of a push to drastically overhaul the citys election system, including a proposal that would make it illegal to encourage voters to cast blank ballots or boycott elections.

The electoral changes are the latest effort by the central Chinese government to stamp out political opposition in Hong Kong, after months of fierce antigovernment demonstrations in 2019. Last month, the National Peoples Congress Standing Committee, an arm of Chinas Communist Party-run legislature, unanimously approved a plan that would give national security bodies the authority to select candidates for political office.

That proposal, which followed the enactment last year of a harsh national security law, dictated that less than a quarter of Hong Kongs legislature would be directly elected, compared to half before. It also created a candidate vetting committee with the power to unilaterally bar anyone deemed insufficiently loyal to the government. And it reshuffled the membership of another election committee that selects Hong Kongs top leader, stacking it with more Beijing loyalists.

But some details of the new system, including exactly who would sit on the reconstituted election committee, remained unclear until Tuesday, when the Hong Kong government published a bill of more than 500 pages. The bill made clear that the election committee  already tilted in favor of the central government  would be filled with even more pro-establishment business and interest group leaders, as well as members of pro-Beijing political bodies.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported an Israeli-owned ship had been attacked in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near the port city of Fujairah. The broadcaster said Israeli security officials believed it was an Iranian attack, but did not elaborate. Iranian state media had been reporting a similar incident for hours. U.S. military officials declined to immediately comment and Emirati officials did not acknowledge any incident there.
Algiers, April 13, 2021 (SPS) - The Secretary General of the French Association of Friendship and Solidarity with African Peoples (AFASPA), Ms, Michele Decaster, denounced the decision of the party of French President Emmanuel Macron, The Republic in March (LREM), to open an office in the occupied city of Dakhla, Western Sahara, considering this step as "insignificant and useless because it contradicts international legality."

Speaking to the Algerian National Radio, Ms. Decaster urged the French president to "respect the principles and will of the countries of the African Union, which continue to consider Western Sahara as the last colony on the continent."SPS

125/090/TRA
To the Editor:

Re Breast Cancer Centers Urge Early, Annual Scans, Countering U.S. Guidelines (nytimes.com, April 6):

We take issue with an editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine that said frequent screening of younger women for breast cancer can do more harm than good. As physicians who diagnose and treat breast cancer at Weill Cornell Medicine, we seek to minimize the impact of this disease, which continues to kill about 44,000 American women a year.

We are especially concerned about the effect of such misinformation on the health of African-American women, who are more likely to receive a diagnosis of breast cancer at younger ages and are more likely to die from breast cancer at all ages.

Covid forced us to delay routine screening. The devastating impact of the pandemic on communities of color risks magnifying existing disparities in breast cancer outcomes.

We welcome research seeking to improve and personalize breast cancer risk assessment to inform screening. Screening mammography, while imperfect, is the best approach available for early detection and to reduce morbidity and mortality.
A Cambridge University graduate who allegedly described himself as a National Socialist and called for the extermination of all Jewish people was in possession of a banned bomb-making manual, a court was told today.

Anti-terror police raided Oliver Bel's home and found Nazi memorabilia - but were shocked when the 23-year-old boasted: 'I have got more extremist material than that, I have got the Anarchist Cookbook', a jury heard.

The book, which was first published in the US in 1971 amid protests against the Vietnam War, contains instructions for the manufacture of explosives as well as the home manufacture of illegal drugs including LSD.

Former maths student Bel, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, denies a charge under the Terrorism Act, claiming that his interest in the manual was purely 'academic'.

However, prosecutors at Manchester Crown Court alleged Bel 'harboured and possibly still does harbour extreme Right-wing views', the Oldham Times reported.

Anti-terror cops raiding Oliver Bel's home found SS memorabilia but were shocked when he allegedly boasted: 'I've got more extremist material than that, I've got the Anarchist Cookbook'

The 23-year-old, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, denies a charge under the Terrorism Act, claiming that he his interest in the manual was 'academic'

Joe Allman, prosecuting, told the court: 'This case concerns Mr Bel buying and keeping a manual of terrorism, the Anarchist Cookbook.

'That book contains information which was likely to be useful to someone committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.'

He said it contained information on how to make Gelignite and Nitroglycerin and said 'both of these substances are highly explosive.'

Counter-terror police were first made aware of Bel after he defended Hitler online, and was later visited by officers from the Prevent programme.

Jurors heard the Cambridge graduate, who studied maths at Pembroke College, had made contact with members of proscribed neo-Nazi group National Action in 2016 and expressed a belief in 'preserving racial superiority'.

However, prosecutors at Manchester Crown Court (pictured) alleged that Bel 'harboured and possibly still does harbour extreme Right-wing views'

Bel had declared himself a National Socialist and had held Jews responsible for 'the communist revolution and pretty much every other progressive movement since then', Mr Allman told Manchester Crown Court.

Bel had allegedly called for the 'extermination' of the Jewish people and had claimed 200,000 - not six million - Jews were slaughtered in the Holocaust.

He had also allegedly expressed a desire to go on a 'spree' and said he had 'lost a homosexual friend because of my views on his behaviour, good riddance'.

Representing Bel, defence counsel Abigail Bright today told the court that a person can have a reasonable excuse for possessing material under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act if it was for academic interest.

The trial, before Judge Alan Conrad QC, continues.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said it is tragic and deeply concerning that young people have been engaged in violence in Northern Ireland. In a statement, he told the Commons: The violence witnessed last week is totally unacceptable. Attacks on police officers are utterly reprehensible.

Video Transcript

BRANDON LEWIS: The violence witnessed last week is totally unacceptable. Attacks on police officers are utterly reprehensible. Those engaged in this destruction and disorder do not represent the people of Northern Ireland. It is tragic and deeply concerning that young people have been engaged in and encouraged into this violence and, as a result, will now end up with criminal records. It can be easy to look for a simplistic explanation for the recent disorder. However, it is clear that the factors behind it are, in fact, complex and multifaceted.

People are frustrated after a year in which coronavirus has challenged all of us. And I do recognize how frustrating it's been, especially for young people in Northern Ireland facing the uncertainty around lifting lockdown restrictions without having a clear roadmap in Northern Ireland. There is also a perception that the rules and restrictions have not been enforced equally in Northern Ireland. And we all know there are strongly-held political views within and between communities that can be in tension with each other.

And I recognize that there are concerns about the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol, concerns which overlap with wider questions about national identity and political allegiance. And that comes at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. It is incumbent on all of us engaged in political discourse to support Northern Ireland in leaving its divisive past behind and continuing, instead, to look ahead to all of the opportunities of the future.
The Dolj Bar is organizing, on Wednesday, April 14, a protest action in front of the southern Dolj courthouse, as a sign of dissatisfaction towards the court's decision of convicting attorney Robert Rosu 5 years in prison in the "Baneasa Farm" case, the lawyers considering that this conviction would be a dangerous precedent for the profession in general, as well as for the future of the rule of law in Romania.

"The National Union of Romanian Bars (UNBR), alongside other Romanian Bars, have analyzed the impact of the court decision in the "Baneasa Farm" case to the attorneys' independence, towards the liberty of practicing the profession and implicitly towards the citizen's right to defense. We appreciate that the approach, through qualifying as infractions the actions taken by lawyers in counseling and representing their clients establishes a dangerous precedent for both the profession in general, as well as for the future of the rule of law in Romania. The right to defence, which belongs to citizens, is deeply affected, so long as their attorneys are liable of being accused and convicted because they were representing clients with unclear chances of winning regarding the claimed rights, as well as almost the entirety of rights subjected to a dispute," says a press release sent by the Dolj Bar and signed by dean Lucian Sauleanu, agerpres.ro confirms.

He also says that another aspect which determined powerful reactions, not only from attorneys, but from professionals in law, in general, including magistrates, is the hearing of lawyers' witnesses in the case targeted against their clients.

"In this case there were dozens of lawyers heard as witnesses, who were asked to explain the legal reasoning, of why and how they are representing their clients. Even judges were called as witnesses against their own decisions, so that the authority of a judged matter is denied. As a result, the court's decision in the "Baneasa Farm" case is not targeting a certain lawyer, but rather it affects the profession itself, the citizen's defense, justice and rule of law. These matters can become systemic and can blow back against all citizens, who can be defenseless in the case of a claim of right (which if he asked, it would not reach a dispute) or of an accusation!" the press release says.

Robert Rosu, the attorney of Prince Paul of Romania, was irrevocably sentenced, in December 2020, by the High Court of Cassation and Justice to five years in prison in the case of the illegal restitution of the Baneasa Royal Farm.

In the same case, Paul of Romania received 3 years and 4 months in prison, and businessman Remus Truica 7 years, both being to serve time in prison.
An old book from the 1950s explains How to Lie with Statistics. Author Darrell Huff alerts readers to be on guard against those who misuse numberswittingly or unwittinglyas an implement of persuasion. A world of mischief lurks within statistical analysis. Numbers are neutral. How people use them may be subjective.

And often is.

It turns out the same goes for visual imagery. Even seemingly objective imagery such as cartography can convey political messages as well as facts. So mapmaking, like mathematics, can mislead. In fact, it almost has to. Its impossible to render a globe on a flat page with perfect fidelity. Some degree of distortion is baked into maps.

Think back to the caterwauling in 2012, when the Obama administration announced that the Pentagon would pivot to Asia, reapportioning naval and air forces in particular to favor the Pacific theater. Almost instantly Europhiles took to protesting that the pivot was a grave mistake because it meant that America was turning its back on Europe.

Uh, no. The standard U.S.-centric Mercator map of the world does convey that impression. But its a false impression. Thats because it splits the Eurasian supercontinent between the maps leftward and rightward margins. It appears Washington must either face Europe across the Atlantic Ocean or do a one-eighty and face Asia across the North American continent and the Pacific. But glance at a Mercator map not centered on North America, and it becomes obvious how wrongheaded such complaints were. Better yet, look down from the North Pole and behold how sea traffic sweeps around both sides of Eurasia to reach the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Yes, it is possible to look westward from Washington DC to Tokyo, Taipei, or Beijing. Its also possible to look eastward to Asia, South Asia in particular. And indeed expeditionary forces routinely make their way to the Indian Oceanand sometimes beyondfrom East Coast seaports such as Norfolk or Mayport. How do they get there? Across the Atlantic, through Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea, and thence through the Suez Canal (when its not plugged by a stranded container ship), the Red Sea, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the entryway to the western Indian Ocean. In other words, much Asia-bound shipping traverses Europes environs.

So even if Americans did reallocate policy energy and material resources to the Pacific, the pivot did not necessarily mean they were turning their backs on Europe. At worst it meant deflecting their attention a few degrees to the south and concentrating on waterways rather than European dry earth. Such is the power of maps to deform perceptions of the world and what human beings ought to do in it.

None of this would come as news to Fletcher School emeritus professor Alan K. Henrikson, who pioneered the concept of mental maps or cognitive maps back in the 1970s. For Henrikson a mental map is an ordered but continually adapting structure of the mind whereby a person acquires, codes, stores, recalls, reorganizes, and applies, in thought or action, information about his or her large-scale geographic environment. A mental map goes into action when someone has to make a spatial decision, namely a decision between alternative movements in geographic space.

A mental map, says Henrikson, is an idea about the world as much as an objective portrayal of physical space. And ideas are malleable. Time and speed mold mental maps. For instance, my conception of southern New England is distorted. It takes about an hour to make my way to the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, about twenty-three miles away. It also takes about an hour to journey to the seaside town of Mystic, Connecticut, which lies about fifty-seven miles away. Why? Simple. The route to Newport winds entirely through small-town Rhode Island, where speed limits are low and stoplights commonplace. The route to Mystic takes you along limited-access highways where the speed limit never drops below fifty mph and is often much higher. You flit to Mystic, plod to Newport.

Objectively speaking, its absurd to say Newport and Mystic are equidistant from the homestead; subjectively speaking, they are. Mental maps, in other words, need not be and oftentimes are not congruent with objective reality.

Henrikson hits on why mental maps fascinate, and why theyre integral to human affairs. Take this intriguing political map from the early Cold War, which purports to illustrate the Soviet worldview as the U.S. threat took shape in the late 1940s. (Its provenance is uncertain, but it must depict Moscows mental map sometime before 1949. It shows China as an American ally, which was true only until Mao Zedong and his Red Army triumphed in the Chinese Civil War that year.) First look at the scale of the contenders! Uncle Sam is a colossus coming over the horizon. Hes glowering at a tiny Russian teddy bear in the Eurasian heartland. Uncle Sam clutches at the Soviet Union. America exudes menace in this rendering.

The map also puts an ominous spin on U.S. strategy for the Cold War. By the late 1940s, U.S. political and military chieftains had more or less subscribed to the containment doctrine sketched by diplomat George F. Kennan in his famous Long Telegram and the abbreviated version published anonymously in Foreign Affairs. In brief, Kennan prophesied that if free nations could contain Soviet geographic expansion, they could siphon off the ideological fervor that fueled communism. Do that for long enough and the Soviet Union would mellow into something the free world could live with. Or Soviet communism would fall.

Kennan prescribed a strategy founded mainly on political and economic support, in hopes that Washington could help friendly nations facing communist subversion help themselves. By the late 1940s, nevertheless, Washington was busily constructing military alliances ringing the Soviet bloc, from NATO in Western Europe to SEATO in Southeast Asia to the U.S.-Japan alliance in Northeast Asia. The map depicts U.S. allies around the Eurasian perimeter, conveying a sense of encirclement. This is a reasonable interpretation of containment.

Intriguingly, though, the map also shows arrows thrusting inward from U.S. allies toward the Soviet heartland, as well as from North America across the Atlantic. Now, Americans did flirt with the notion of rolling back communism from time to time during the decades of cold war, but rollback never became official policy. Containment did take on a more martial tinge than Kennan wanted, but it remained almost entirely defensive in outlook. For example, the North Atlantic Treaty, NATOs founding charter, contemplates military action only if a foe first launches an armed attack against a NATO ally. Strategic offense plays no part in the North Atlantic Treaty or any other accord constituting a U.S.-led alliance.

If this political map accurately conveys the Soviet worldview at the outset of the Cold War, worst-case thinkingif not paranoiagripped Moscow. The United States had its Red Scare, the Soviet Union its American Scare.

Professor Henriksons mental-map concept, then, retains its power as an aid to knowing oneself and others forty-five years after he wrote it. During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt asked Americans to open their atlases and think about strategic geography. Yes. Look at your mapand look at it with a critical eye.

James Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College. The views voiced here are his alone.

This article appeared originally at 1945.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Group Ten Metals Inc. (TSX.V:PGE)(OTCQB:PGEZF)(FSE:5D32) (the "Company" or "Group Ten") is pleased to announce the appointment of Gordon Toll as an Independent Director.

Mr. Gordon Toll is a mining engineer with over 50 years of global mining industry experience as an entrepreneur and developer of large mining operations. His distinguished career in the mining industry has also involved acquisitions and new business development, startups, and public company leadership. Mr. Toll's senior leadership positions with major companies include commercial and technical executive positions with BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Atlantic Richfield and Texasgulf. He was also a founder of Ferrous Resources in Brazil, which is now a subsidiary of Vale, Deputy Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, and Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group.

Mr. Toll is recognized for his fund-raising abilities for mining projects around the world and has been directly involved with raising over US$5 billion during his recent career. Currently, he manages private investment companies which include Braemar Infrastructure Pty Ltd, which has received Major Development status from the South Australian Government and is proposing a multi-purpose infrastructure corridor for the Braemar Region.

A mining engineering graduate from the University of Queensland, Mr. Toll also holds a Master's degree in Business Science from Columbia University.

Gordon Toll, Director, commented, "I am greatly impressed by the work that has been done at Stillwater West by Group Ten Metals and am very pleased to be part of the team. Large magmatic systems with a history of successful production, such as the Stillwater Complex, are very scarce in nature. The rapidly developing potential for Stillwater West to provide bulk tonnage battery and platinum group metals, which have been identified as critical metals by the US government, has significant value implications".

President & CEO, Michael Rowley commented, "We are very pleased to announce Gordon Toll's appointment to Group Ten's Board of Directors as an Independent Director. Mr. Toll's extensive understanding of the industry, including direct experience in the Stillwater and Bushveld Complexes, will benefit us greatly during this important phase of the Company's growth. Our work to date has confirmed the potential for world-class deposits of battery metals and platinum group elements (PGEs) in the Stillwater Complex, a premier US mining district that is the largest source of PGEs outside South Africa and Russia. We look forward to announcing our exploration drill targets and objectives for 2021 in the very near term. The Company is also working on its first resource estimates for Stillwater West with release targeted for mid-2021".

The Company further announces it has granted 250,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") to certain Directors, Officers, employees and consultants of the Company. The Options are exercisable for up to five years, expiring on April 13, 2026, and each Option will allow the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.38 per share.

About Stillwater West

The Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu-Co + Au project positions Group Ten as the second-largest landholder in the Stillwater Complex, adjoining and adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater's Stillwater, East Boulder, and Blitz PGE mines in south-central Montana, USA1. The Stillwater Complex is recognized as one of the top regions in the world for PGE-Ni-Cu-Co mineralization, alongside the Bushveld Complex and Great Dyke in southern Africa, which are similar layered intrusions. The J-M Reef, and other PGE-enriched sulphide horizons in the Stillwater Complex, share many similarities with the highly prolific Merensky and UG2 Reefs in the Bushveld Complex. Group Ten's work in the lower Stillwater Complex has demonstrated the presence of large-scale disseminated and high-sulphide battery metals and PGE mineralization, similar to the Platreef in the Bushveld Complex3. Drill campaigns by the Company, complemented by a substantial drill database, are driving 3D models of Platreef-style mineralization in the five most advanced target areas, three of which are expected to become formal mineral resources by mid-2021. Multiple earlier-stage Platreef-style and reef-type targets are being advanced across the rest of the 31-kilometer length of the project based on strong correlations seen in soil and rock geochemistry, geophysical surveys, geologic mapping, and historic drilling.

About Group Ten Metals Inc.

Group Ten Metals Inc. is a TSX-V-listed Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the development of high-quality platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, cobalt, and gold exploration assets in top North American mining jurisdictions. The Company's core asset is the Stillwater West PGE-Ni-Cu-Co + Au project adjacent to Sibanye-Stillwater's high-grade PGE mines in Montana, USA. Group Ten also holds the high-grade Black Lake-Drayton Gold project adjacent to Treasury Metals' development-stage Goliath Gold Complex in northwest Ontario, and the Kluane PGE-Ni-Cu-Co project on trend with Nickel Creek Platinum's Wellgreen deposit in Canada's Yukon Territory.

About the Metallic Group of Companies

The Metallic Group is a collaboration of leading precious and base metals exploration companies, with a portfolio of large, brownfield assets in established mining districts adjacent to some of the industry's highest-grade producers of silver and gold, platinum and palladium, and copper. Member companies include Metallic Minerals in the Yukon's high-grade Keno Hill silver district and La Plata silver-gold-copper district of Colorado, Group Ten Metals in the Stillwater PGM-nickel-copper district of Montana, and Granite Creek Copper in the Yukon's Minto copper district. The founders and team members of the Metallic Group include highly successful explorationists formerly with some of the industry's leading explorers/developers and major producers. With this expertise, the companies are undertaking a systematic approach to exploration using new models and technologies to facilitate discoveries in these proven, but under-explored, mining districts. The Metallic Group is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and its member companies are listed on the Toronto Venture, US OTC, and Frankfurt stock exchanges.

Note 1: References to adjoining properties are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily indicative of the exploration potential, extent, or nature of mineralization or potential future results of the Company's projects.

Note 2: Based on Sibanye-Stillwater's 2018 Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Report.

Note 3: Magmatic Ore Deposits in Layered Intrusions-Descriptive Model for Reef-Type PGE and Contact-Type Cu-Ni-PGE Deposits, Michael Zientek, USGS Open-File Report 2012-1010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Michael Rowley, President, CEO & Director

Email: info@grouptenmetals.com Phone: (604) 357 4790

Web: http://grouptenmetals.com Toll Free: (888) 432 0075

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.

SOURCE: Group Ten Metals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640118/Group-Ten-Appoints-Gordon-Toll-to-its-Board-of-Directors
A Movement to Persuade Us We Are Not Fully Human

Commentary

Racism is a systemconsisting of structures, policies, practices, and normsthat assigns value and determines opportunity based on the way people look or the color of their skin.

So begins, with superb intellectual self-confidence, a page of the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It continues, This results in conditions that unfairly advantage some and disadvantage others throughout society.

Unacknowledged by the author of the page is the evident fact that, according to this definition, any positive discrimination in favor of some group that is identifiable by appearance or color of skin must be deemed racist: for such positive discrimination, according to the author, determines opportunity, both for those who benefit from it and those who suffer by it.

It would still be open to those in favor of positive discrimination to argue that its morally justified. The desire to compensate people for the historical wrongs done to their ancestors isnt an altogether dishonorable one (except that the desire is usually to be fulfilled at the expense of someone else).

But what those who are in favor of positive discrimination cant argue is that they arent racists according to the CDCs definition of racism. They are as racist as any segregationist; they would have to say that their racism was good racism. In that case, however, the term racist wouldnt automatically be one of disapprobation.

For the purposes of this article, I will overlook the bogus certainty with which the CDC asserts that racism determines opportunity, and hence outcome in life.

In fact, racism within limits doesnt determine opportunity, at least not fully, as is evidenced by the position of the Chinese in Malaya who have been discriminated against for decades and yet thrived, as did Jews in America despite the numerus clausus that operated in Ivy League universities until the 1950s.

Im not defending, much less advocating, such discrimination, of course, but we shouldnt let false statements or, at any rate, exaggerations guide our ideas and hence our policies.

The style of the CDCs thinking permeates medical journals. The Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, is now a deeply and uncompromisingly racist journal, at least according to the CDCs definition.

On April 9, it published on its open network a paper titled Effectiveness of a Culturally Tailored HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Prevention Intervention for Black Women in Community Supervised Programs. The cultural tailoring wasnt done on an individual but on a group basis: Culture was assumed to be determined by, or identical to, race. This is an idea to warm the cockles of the most ardent racists heart.

The very first words of the paperBlack justice-involved womensuggest that we are in for a festival of euphemism and evasion. By black justice-involved women, we know that the authors arent talking about Vice President Kamala Harris; they are speaking of black women who have been convicted of a crime.

Unless they have mostly been wrongly convicted, these women are involved with justice the same way that shoplifters are involved with the retail trade.

I will not enumerate the deficiencies of the paper as science, which are numerous. The culturally tailored intervention was in part ideological indoctrination, for example with Afrocentric themes of historical trauma and resiliency stemming from slavery to Jim Crow to the mass incarceration of Black individuals.

The doctrine that is indoctrinated doesnt have to be true to have real psychological effects, only to have emotional resonance. Every totalitarian, or would-be totalitarian, knows this.

But the deficiencies of the trial itself arent my main concern here.

There is a passage in the paper that reads as follows: Black women had 23.1 times the rate of new HIV infections in 2018. These disproportionately high rates among Black women are due to myriad factors rooted in structural racism. These factors include discrimination from health care and social service workers, racial inequities in access to HIV treatment, residential segregation, segregated social and sexual networks, racialized drug laws, and mass incarceration.

What is missing here? Even if we grant some force to the factors mentioned, some effect must surely be granted to the behavior of the women. This is completely omitted from the account.

After all, you dont get HIV walking down the street, just because someone dislikes you, calls you names, wont employ you, and so forth.

Furthermore, as is so often the case when a highly ideological point is being made, the passage mentions only the relative incidence of HIV infection, not the absolute one.

Even if all HIV infections in 2018 were among black women, which is impossible, less than 1 percent of the women most at risk of infection by age group (15 to 40) would have been infected. The real figure is probably less than 1 in 300. Structural racism evidently doesnt affect everyone equally.

In fact, there is something that I find deeply disturbing about this passage, namely that it denies the women all agency, until, that is, the intervention by their supposed saviors.

Until they were saved, according to their saviors, they were mere vectors of forces, like billiard balls being struck by other billiard balls.

Thus they were utterly dehumanized in the eyes of the authors, not sharing the fundamental human condition of agency that is the basis not only of justice but the reason for and precondition of freedom. Its true that agency can be lost, but what is marginal shouldnt be taken as typical.

There is a central contradiction in the paper: The empowerment supposed to be brought about by indoctrination couldnt work unless the women had agency.

This is similar to the central contradiction of Alcoholics Anonymous. I am happy if the latter works for some or many peoplethat alcoholics should refrain from drinking is more important than the intellectual coherence of the means by which they achieve their abstinence.

But I think its different in this case. What is being done is actually part of a cultural movement to persuade members of a large section of the population that theyre not really fully human, at least not until they accept salvation at the hands of philosopher-kings (and queens). And its based on racist premises.

Theodore Dalrymple is a retired doctor. He is contributing editor of the City Journal of New York and the author of 30 books, including Life at the Bottom. His latest book is Embargo and Other Stories.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Ochsner Health, Louisiana's largest private hospital system, and LCMC Health, which operates a mass vaccination site in New Orleans, will stop using Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine amid a new federal recommendation to "pause" the use of the single-shot vaccine.

"Were planning to use Pfizer and Moderna in place of J&J until more information is available," according to a statement Tuesday morning from Ochsner Health.

The change comes within hours of a joint statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration that said the agencies were investigating potentially dangerous blood clots in six people after they received the vaccine. Nearly 7 million doses of the shot have been given.

Johnson & Johnson is the only single-dose vaccine currently authorized for use in the United States; the other two vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, require two doses to be fully effective.

Ochsner planned to administer 1,000 Johnson & Johnson shots at Tableau restaurant in the French Quarter on Tuesday. Now, a spokesperson said the event will have the Pfizer vaccine.

The Tableau event at 616 St. Peter St. is from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Appointments are preferred but walk-ups will be vaccinated as supply allows. Make an appointment at myochsner.org or 844-888-2772.

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The CDC and the FDA on Tuesday said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that carry blood from the brain, preventing it from draining, which can lead to blood leaking into the brain. The clot occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48.

The reports appear similar to a rare, unusual type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID vaccine not yet cleared in the U.S. from AstraZeneca.

Officials say they also want to educate vaccine providers and health professionals about the unique treatment required for this type of clot.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., the vast majority with no or mild side effects.

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow. The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up the vast share of COVID shots administered in the U.S. and are not affected by the pause.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Attack on Irans Natanz plant muddies US-Iran nuclear talks View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  The attack on Irans Natanz nuclear facility is casting a major shadow over the resumption of indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran over resurrection of the international accord limiting Irans nuclear program.

Neither Iran nor the U.S. say the incident will crater the negotiations. But the attack and the destruction of a significant amount of Irans uranium enrichment capability add uncertainty to the discussions set for Tuesday in Vienna.

The attack gives both sides reason to harden their positions, yet each has incentives to keep the talks on track.

Iran wants Washington to lift sanctions that have contributed to damaging its economy, including measures not related to its nuclear program. It insists that the sanctions be lifted before it returns to compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement that then-President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of in 2018.

For the Biden administration, the talks are a high-stakes gamble that it can salvage what the Obama administration considered one of its prime foreign policy achievements and slow Irans programs, even as critics claim the accord had given Iran a pathway to a nuclear weapon instead of closing it off.

Iran has blamed Israel for the destruction at an important underground facility, and Israeli media has been filled with claims from unnamed officials claiming responsibility.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has taken a hands-off approach, neither praising nor condemning the attack. The White House said the U.S. had no involvement and had nothing to add to speculation about the causes.

The attack adds a fresh complication to discussions in Vienna and also to President Joe Bidens efforts to smooth ties with Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a close relationship with Trump, who abandoned the Iran agreement and began a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran by imposing harsh sanctions.

The U.S. has said it is prepared to lift or ease sanctions that are inconsistent with the nuclear deal along with sanctions that are inconsistent with the benefits that Iran expected to get from agreeing to the accord. The deal had removed nuclear sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its atomic program, although critics noted that many of those restrictions are time-limited and will expire before 2030.

Those same critics, including many in Congress, have expressed concerns that non-nuclear sanctions  such as those imposed for terrorism, ballistic missile activity and human rights abuses  may be on the table in the negotiations. The administration has not specifically commented on that but has said it will not offer Iran sweeteners unrelated to the agreement.

Israeli officials have raised concerns, too, about what they fear would be a precipitous U.S. return to the deal, and news of the attack broke as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was visiting Israel. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in Brussels later this week for talks with European and NATO allies likely to touch on Iran.

As Austin and Blinken prepared to meet their counterparts in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that the attack could affect the talks. All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this, Maas told reporters.

The destruction of advanced centrifuges at Natanz came at a critical time in the Vienna talks that are intended to resurrect the nuclear deal. Trumps withdrawal and his reintroduction of sanctions, along with Irans decisions to break its own commitments to the agreement, have left it in significant jeopardy.

The weekend attack on Natanz, one of Irans main nuclear facilities, came amid a break in the Vienna talks.

Key to the deal were restrictions on Irans uranium enrichment. Activities at the heavily fortified Natanz facility, which is built into a mountain, were among those most constrained.

Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehrans program.

Last July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the countrys military nuclear program decades ago.

Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. And Israel is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen.

By MATTHEW LEE

AP Diplomatic Writer
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Black feminist scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs was inspired to write to "The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped A Nation" so she could explore the civil rights movement by looking at it through "the woman before the man." We talked to her about the experience of writing the book and how she has changed since she became a mother.

About This Project We're highlighting the contributions of Black Angelenos  in activism, music and art, sports, literature and more. This coverage is part of The 8 Percent, an extension of LAist's Race In LA which explores the inextricable ties between L.A. and its Black residents.

These people are making meaningful contributions but not necessarily in the limelight. They may attract a level of celebrity in their communities and among their neighbors but they're not famous in a Hollywood sense. Nonetheless, we're taking time to amplify the notoriety of these changemakers. They're sharing the stories of what they've done and for whom  unfiltered and in their own words.

A Call To Advocacy

Q: When you think back to some of the people who have inspired how you see the world, who comes to mind?

My parents, in their very different ways, influenced my journey, including writing this book. My mom advocated for women's and children's rights everywhere that we went. She taught at different universities abroad. She is trained in international law, and she wanted to talk about those that had been forgotten, those that were being oppressed and those that we're fighting their own battles for freedom. She very specifically spoke about the importance of supporting women in order to support the community. She always said that if women are doing well in a community, then that community will do well, and if they are not, if they are being ignored, then that community will continue to struggle with whatever issue it is that they are facing.

(Screenshot)

Q: What does being an advocate mean to you?

Being an advocate means not only standing for somebody but standing and learning about experiences for yourself. It's saying, 'I'm gonna learn about this for myself, and I'm also going to consider what has already been done,' instead of just jumping in and thinking from the beginning you know what's best for that cause or that person simply because you have a degree. That was something that my mom always did very well, she would spend time just getting to know people before she proposed anything and she went to places that we're facing crisis -- she worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, in South Sudan -- because she wanted to know these places for herself and she wanted to meet the people [for herself].



Writing The 'Three Mothers'

Q: What inspired you to write "The Three Mothers"?

When I started my Ph.D, all I knew was that I wanted to join other scholars who were correcting the erasure of black women's stories. I was really inspired by Margot Lee Shetterly's 'Hidden Figures.' I was also inspired by Isabel Wilkerson's 'The Warmth of Other Suns.' Both books speak to the importance of understanding the Black American experience in order to understand the American experience, in not only our history but where we find ourselves as a country today.

Q: Why did you decide to explore the civil rights movement through the lens of these three mothers' lives?

One area where we often speak about men as being leaders and celebrate men as leaders is the civil rights movement. I got really excited about the notion of the woman before the man. Before the man is even thought of, even conceived -- [the concept of] motherhood just stuck with me. I looked into several different men of the civil rights movement and their mothers before I came to the women that I study in the book: Alberta King, Berdis Baldwin and Louise Little. I chose them for several reasons. Their lives were just incredibly interesting from even the little I could find at the beginning. They were all born within six years of each other and their famous sons were all born within five years of each other. They represent the diversity in the nuance of the Black experience.

(Clockwise from top left) Louise Little's passport photo; her son, who is most widely known as Malcolm X, pictured as a boy; and Malcolm X in 1963 with a pile of newspaper stories about himself. (Courtesy Ilyasah Shabazz via family archives; Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Fighting For Women

Q: You've been an outspoken advocate for gender justice. In your role as First Partner of Stockton, you pioneered the release of the original Report on the Status of Women in Stockton in 2018. You also hired the city's first Gender Justice Officer. Talk to me about your role in that process and its legacy in the city of Stockton.

Author Anna Malaika Tubbs with her husband, former mayor of Stockton Michael Tubbs, and their young son, Michael Malakai Tubbs, Jr., at their home. (Courtesy Anna Malaika Tubbs)

When my partner was the mayor of Stockton, and, even when he was running his campaign, I was by his side. We would go to all these debates and after each one we would talk about what went well and what could be improved. After each one, though, I was shocked that nobody was talking about gender, nobody was asking him or any of the other candidates what they were willing to do for women or what they were going to do to change the status of how women were doing in our community. I said to him, 'This is wrong. You are going to miss a huge piece of the puzzle if you don't have data, or if you don't focus on the issues that are specifically affecting women here.' To his credit, he said, 'You're right. You know more about this than I do. How do we start that?' And that's when I said let's start with getting numbers behind it.

Q: Why a report? Why tackle an issue many might say demands on-the-ground action by looking first to statistics?

So often women, especially women of color, who have been marginalized can say very clearly what issues they need help with, what they need support with, what policies need to change. But many [critics] will say, 'Oh you're exaggerating that.' There's this notion that you're being emotional. However, when and if there's a number behind it, if there's research behind it, we can say, 'Look at this data. Look how [women in Stockton] compare to women in the rest of the state, in the rest of the country, etc.' So we did this report to bring attention very specifically to the women in Stockton.

Q: What is one thing that resulted from that report you feel most proud of?

[We found that] one-third of households in Stockton with children under age 18 were helmed by single mothers. If we weren't coming up with policies that would help single mothers specifically -- maybe having some kind of child care pilot program or the universal basic income pilot program, that my husband has become well-known for -- we would not understand why there were gaps not being filled. So women, and specifically women of color, and single mothers started to become more of a focus of his work after the report.

RELATED:

Q: You mentioned earlier that you felt called to address the erasure of Black women's stories.

As a Black woman yourself, what was it like journeying through the lives of these women and working to put the pieces together about who they were as individuals?

Journeying through their lives was so powerful, and it's something that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I became frustrated that that people didn't already know these details about their lives. It's really shocking because of the very obvious and direct connections to their sons' works. Why didn't we already know this? Why were they being erased? Why were they being forgotten when they were clearly so important? That was really difficult for me, but I also felt honored that I was going to change that, and I was gonna share their names with the world as they should've already been.

(Left) Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. pictured with his mother, Alberta (left) and his wife, Coretta, during an interview; King waves to supporters on Aug. 28, 1963 on during the March on Washington. (Al Pucci/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images; AFP via Getty Images)

Personal Growth As A New Mother

Q: In exploring the lives of "The Three Mothers" what did you learn about yourself?

I became a mother while writing this book. I started the research beforehand, but my second year into the research I found myself expecting my son. [My pregnancy] gave me a new layer of connection to [the mothers] because as much as I was overjoyed and excited, the fact of the matter is that it's very dangerous as a Black woman to have a child in the U.S. We are more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth, whether or not we're educated, whether or not we have access to different resources and connections.

The American gynecological system is built on this notion that Black women are less than human, that they don't feel pain in the same way that other people do. It was literally built by experimenting on the bodies of enslaved women. We see remnants of that today when Black women say something is wrong, and they're not heard and many die as a result of that. I was terrified, but studying these women gave me hope and some feeling of power and agency. [I felt like] there were things I could do to be a part of changing the system and transforming it. I realize that Alberta, Berdis and Louise also knew tha, like themselves, their children were going to be seen as less than human. Instead of accepting that as something inevitable, they became part of the change. There is something very politicizing about Black motherhood because this is your most precious being, and you need to help the world see them in the same way that you do.

Q: What is the biggest lesson you have taken away from the process of writing "The Three Mothers"?

Writing this book taught me how powerful and influential and important my life is. And, I want more Black women to view themselves that way. It's not that we are allowing ourselves to be erased, because there's so many different factors that are playing a role in our erasure, but there is something that we can do about it. We need to share our stories. We need to be willing to take credit for our own contributions and kind of stand and say, 'I am here, and I deserve recognition.'

(Left) Berdis Baldwin holds her infant son; writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin poses at his home in southern France, 1979. (Baldwin family archive; Ralph Gatti/AFP via Getty Images)

Q: Who did you write this book for, and what do you hope people who read it will take away?

This book is for everyone; there's something that everyone can gain from it. I hope that if you are a Black woman you feel celebrated and if you're not that you learn about us and our experiences and celebrate that. This is a time where more people are realizing that they need to learn more about us and how we've made it through. They're understanding that they need to do everything they can to make life easier for Black women in the U.S. today. But when I think about the three audiences that I carried with me in my heart as I was writing this book, first, 100% it's for Black women. This is a love letter to my community to celebrate us and our many different ways of living, loving and believing. Secondly, this is a celebration of motherhood. In so many ways, mothers are under appreciated, forgotten. Our contributions are taken for granted, and I wanted to change that. I want us to see the role of motherhood as powerful, influential, strong. Thirdly, it's for activists. I thought about activists a lot while writing this and celebrating the communities that raised us to be the fighters and the activists we are.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

We Want To Hear From You
BRIDGEPORT  Hours before being sworn in as the citys permanent police chief in November 2018, Armando Perez in an interview asked critics of his promotion to that powerful position for a chance.

He also sought their understanding if and when he fell short: Im human and I make mistakes like everybody else.

On Monday Perez was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cheating to become top cop. And some community leaders felt it was too lenient of a sentence.

One year for someone who engaged in deceit? Someone who engaged in abuse of power? said retired Superior Court judge-turned-activist Carmen Lopez. We need to send a message to the leadership in the city that corruption is going to be taken seriously by the system. ... One year, one day? None of them are ever going to learn.

Cass Shaw, the outgoing head of the Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, opposed Mayor Joe Ganims decision in 2018 to select his close friend Perez from among three finalists to run the police department. Shaw and others argued Perez was unqualified and too politically connected to be a good manager and to pursue reforms to clean up the force.

Frankly, Im glad hes getting prison time, Shaw said. Ive always liked him. Hes a nice guy. ... But so much damage has been done to the police department itself. And theres been such an erosion of trust between the police and the community that, frankly, spending a year in jail  if it doesnt come with some deep reflection on his part  seems perfunctory.

What took him down was his own ego and power trip, said City Councilman Jorge Cruz. Yes, go ahead and serve that year in jail. Absolutely.

Rowena White, Ganims spokesperson, in an email said, The city has no comment  except to say that this has been a difficult time.

Former Mayor Bill Finch called it another sad chapter and corruption scandal for the city.

In 2015 Ganim, who had served as mayor from 1991 until he was sent to jail in 2003 for running a pay-to-play operation out of City Hall, ousted Finch during that years mayoral primary. Perez had been Ganims driver during his first tenure and campaigned for voters to grant him a second chance running Bridgeport.

Knowing of that relationship, Finch anticipated Ganim wanted Perez to be chief and on his way out of office  and against Ganims wishes  extended then-Police Chief Joseph Gaudetts contract for five years. Ganim ultimately undid that maneuver, made Perez acting chief in 2016, then permanent top cop with his own five-year contract in 2018 following a national search.

Finch on Monday hoped Perezs sentence would send a message to younger people: This is an example of dont cheat.

I think the court did what was necessary with the evidence that was given, City Councilwoman Jeanette Herron, a close friend of Perezs, said, adding she was also not surprised with the prison time because of Bridgeports reputation for corruption. I think with so much publicity with all the things that have happened in the past with this city, I saw it coming.

Lopez said as a Latino she was also upset because of what Perezs success as a Cuban immigrant had represented, only for him to abuse his position.

The Rev. Simon Castillo, a long-time community leader and former member of the police commission, thought that Perezs heart was in the right place when it came to trying to run and improve the police force.

But, at the same time, the basis to really do something good, you have to be qualified, Castillo said. If you dont qualify, youre going to have problems in the future. He said Perezs cheating was unfair to other candidates for chief.

Still, Castillo thought perhaps a year in prison might be too tough of a sentence and would have preferred Perez be forced to pay back the salary he earned while chief.

Perez will also serve 24 months of supervised release, pay a $7,500 fine, nearly $150,000 in restitution to the city to cover the related costs of the chief search and federal probe, and perform 100 hours of community service. In addition the Connecticut attorney general is trying to seize or reduce Perezs pension.

Several people interviewed Monday expressed sadness for Perezs wife, children, brothers and elderly mother.

Former Police Sgt. Chuck Paris, who until his retirement in spring 2020 was president of Bridgeports union, had wanted Ganim to put Perez in charge. Paris and Perez have known each other for four decades.

Im sad for him and his family, Paris said. Theyre a good family. Good people. Worked hard their entire life. Its just too bad. Its a sad situation.

Theres so much love in that family, Herron said. They'll take care of each other. Theyll get through this. Its going to be difficult, but theyre strong. Theyre united.

Cruz said the state should abandon targeting Perezs pension: You cant forget all the years he was of service to his community. And think about his family. Hes gonna live a life of shame and hes got to deal with that himself.
A delegation of the Swedish Armed Forces visited the 8th Chernihiv Training Center of the State Special Transport Service and discussed bilateral cooperation in mine action.

"Within the framework of interstate cooperation, Swedish experts discussed the provision of expert assistance in the establishment of the mine action center at the State Special Transport Service under the general coordination of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine informs.

During the meeting, the Swedish side got acquainted with the mine clearance activities of the State Special Transport Service, the planned structure of the mine action center, the implementation of legislation in this area, and the training facilities for sappers and sapper divers. Foreign colleagues proposed to involve representatives of the State Special Transport Service in the Swedish national mine action exercises SEE-21 and a joint Swedish-Ukrainian seminar.

The Ministry notes that bilateral cooperation in mine clearance between the Kingdom of Sweden and Ukraine has been going on since last year. Foreign experts provide significant assistance in mine action.

On April 12, Asya Bolotova, mine awareness coordinator and The HALO Trust Operations Assistant, said that the organization had identified 297 minefields in eastern Ukraine with a total area of more than 26 million square meters.

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Paul Rossi, a math teacher at Grace Church High School in New York City, accused the school of 'indoctrinating' students with 'harmful' antiracism ideology

A private Manhattan high school that charges $57,000 annual tuition has been blasted by one of its own teachers for indoctrinating students with 'anti-racism' ideology that 'induces shame' in white students for being 'oppressors'.

Paul Rossi, a math teacher at the school, says that he went public with his complaints against his employer, Grace Church High School in the East Village of New York City, even though he is aware it might cost him his job. Rossi published his blog on former New York Times Opinion writer Bari Weiss's Substack newsletter.

But a spokesperson for the school, whose famous graduates include X-Files actor David Duchovny and New York Times columnist David Brooks, told DailyMail.com that Rossi will not be fired or disciplined in any way for going public with his criticisms.

Weiss has accused the paper of bowing to criticism on Twitter, and has blasted 'cancel culture' where liberals and conservatives who speak out against the majority are attacked and threatened.

In his blog, Rossi wrote: 'As a teacher, my first obligation is to my students.

'But right now, my school is asking me to embrace 'antiracism' training and pedagogy that I believe is deeply harmful to them and to any person who seeks to nurture the virtues of curiosity, empathy and understanding.'

Rossi says that he and other teachers at the school are required to 'treat students differently on the basis of race.'

He also claims that faculty members at the school are 'directed to confine...doubts about this pedagogical framework to conversations with an in-house 'Office of Community Engagement' for whom every significant objection leads to a foregone conclusion.'

Topher Nichols, a spokesperson for Grace High School, shared with DailyMail.com a letter that was sent on Tuesday to faculty, staff, and parents in response to Rossi's claims.

In the letter, longtime head of school George P. Davison said that Grace has 'respect for the wide spectrum of political views that our faculty members hold.'

'However, it is our expectation that our faculty and staff find appropriate venues and times to raise concerns.'

'As you may be aware, a member of the faculty wrote and posted an article that is critical of Grace and of our efforts to build a school where everyone feels they belong,' the letter continues.

'The process of building a community is often challenging, and I am disappointed that this individual felt it necessary to air his differences in this way.

'We have always held the goal of fostering an environment that is safe and welcoming for all members of the community across a myriad of differences.

'This is a work in progress, and while we are not always as successful as we would hope, we know that it requires the constructive engagement of everyone in the community.'

Grace Church High School is a $57,000-a-year private school whose famous alumni include actor David Duchovny and New York Times columnist David Brooks

Rossi on Tuesday came forward with allegations in a blog post that he published on Substack

The letter continues: 'We have for many years sought to fulfill the school's mission that 'we nurture in our students a steady, affectionate trust in themselves and their world' so they may be 'made resilient by the interaction of different ethnic, religious, and socio-economic influences'.'

The letter states that Grace High School has developed a 'diversity mission statement' that 'serves as a north star for creating a clear sense of belonging for everyone in our community.'

The mission statement reads: 'Inclusion is not enough and equity is an impossibility if we cannot name, acknowledge, and oppose the forces of racism and all forms of bias, hate, and fear that exist in our society and that seek to diminish so many in our midst.'

Rossi writes that he came forward because he 'can't stay silent' while 'witnessing the harmful impact' that antiracism instruction has on children.

He claims that students at Grace High School 'are pressured to conform their opinions to those broadly associated with their race and gender and to minimize or dismiss individual experiences that don't match those assumptions.'

While white students are 'assigned' the 'morally compromised status of 'oppressor',' minority students are being 'cultivated' with the idea that they are 'oppressed' as well as 'resentful, morally superior, and dependent.'

'All of this is done in the name of 'equity,' but it is the opposite of fair,' according to Rossi.

'In reality, all of this reinforces the worst impulses we have as human beings: our tendency toward tribalism and sectarianism that a truly liberal education is meant to transcend.'

Rossi also alleges that the school has held 'whites-only' student and faculty meetings on Zoom and that 'such racially segregated sessions are now commonplace.'

He writes of the meeting: 'It was a bait-and-switch 'self-care' seminar that labelled 'objectivity,' 'individualism,' 'fear of open conflict,' and even 'a right to comfort' as characteristics of white supremacy.'

Rossi says that during the session he 'questioned whether one must define oneself in terms of racial identity at all.'

George P. Davison, the head of the school, sent a letter to parents, faculty, and staff criticizing Rossi for not choosing an 'appropriate venue' to air his claims

'It seemed like my questions broke the ice,' he writes.

'Students and even a few teachers offered a broad range of questions and observations.

'Many students said it was a more productive and substantive discussion than they expected.'

Rossi claims that after it was learned that he had challenged the prevailing orthodoxy, he was told by the head of the high school that he had 'caused harm' to students.

According to Rossi: 'I was reprimanded for 'acting like an independent agent of a set of principles or ideas or beliefs'.'

Rossi claims that the school's 'director of studies' said that his remarks 'could even constitute harassment.'

He says that days after the Zoom meeting, his boss told all high school advisers to 'read a public reprimand of my conduct out loud to every student in the school.'

According to Rossi, the statement read: 'Events from last week compel us to underscore some aspects of our mission and share some thoughts about our community.

'At independent schools, with their history of predominantly white populations, racism colludes with other forms of bias (sexism, classism, ableism and so much more) to undermine our stated ideals, and we must work hard to undo this history.'

Rossi says that he is now required to 'participate in restorative practices designed by the Office of Community Engagement' so as to 'heal my relationship with the students of color and other students in my class.'

Jay Nordlinger, an editor for the magazine National Review, praised Rossi and said the situation at his alma mater 'reeks of Maoism'

Matt Mullen wrote that Rossi's blog post describes a school that engages in 'totalitarian thought control'

Another commenter on Substack praised Rossi for 'speaking truth to power' and that as a New York City parent they have 'seen it first hand'

Another commenter compared the school to a 'Maoist/Jim Jonesian cult'

One commenter said that what Rossi describes is 'terrifying but true' and that it is 'insidious and disguised as love'

Another commenter pushed back against 'our culture's current fascination with race and gender'

One commenter said that 'it is a cancer' that was 'spreading rapidly'

He claims that students at the school are also required to commit to a 'Student Life Agreement' which states that they must acknowledge that 'the world as we understand it can be hard and extremely biased.'

GRACE CHURCH SCHOOL 'DIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT' The following is a 'mission statement' from Grace Church High School that spells out its commitment to 'antiracism, equity, and belonging.' Grace Church School seeks to provide its students with an outstanding education and with the desire to use it to make the world a better place. Every facet of our work is enhanced by the diversity and strength of our community. We believe that equity and inclusion are not only hallmarks of a just society, but also virtues essential to sound learning. And so, Grace seeks to recognize and honor the unique gifts of its students, families, faculty, and staff - and the cultures, beliefs, values, and experiences that have shaped them - striving always to cultivate mutual understanding, humility, respect, and kindness. But inclusion is not enough and equity is an impossibility if we cannot name, acknowledge, and oppose the forces of racism and all forms of bias, hate, and fear that exist in our society and that seek to diminish so many in our midst. Knowing this, we commit ourselves to the work of antiracism and to the cause of justice: that all students may find in Grace a home, may learn from Grace their precious worth, and may hear from Grace a call to serve the common good and the dignity of humanity. Advertisement

According to Rossi, students must 'recognize and acknowledge their biases when we come to school, and interrupt those biases' as well as and accept that they will be 'held accountable should they fall short of the agreement.'

Faculty members have even come out in support of 'officially flagging students' who are 'resistant' to the 'culture we are trying to establish,' according to Rossi.

He says that students will be 'flagged' if they 'persist with a colorblind ideology' or 'suggest that we treat everyone with respect.'

Rossi writes that students are also discouraged from 'a belief in meritocracy.'

He claims that last fall, as the nation was roiled by racial protests in the wake of the police-involved killing of George Floyd, his students 'expressed dismay with the 'Grace bubble' and sought to engage with a wider range of political viewpoints.'

Rossi says he wanted to assign his students a book by Brown University professor Glenn Loury, an African American academic who takes a 'nuanced, center-right position on racial issues in America.'

'Unfortunately, my administration put the kibosh on my proposal,' Rossi writes.

'The head of school responded to me that 'people like Loury's lived experienceand therefore his derived social philosophy' made him an exception to the rule that black thinkers acknowledge structural racism as the paramount impediment in society.'

According to Rossi, he was told that 'the moment we are in institutionally and culturally, does not lend itself to dispassionate discussion and debate' and that assigning Loury would 'only confuse and/or enflame students, both those in the class and others that hear about it outside of the class.'

Rossi writes: 'He preferred I assign 'mainstream white conservatives,' effectively denying black students the opportunity to hear from a black professor who holds views that diverge from the orthodoxy pushed on them.'

Reaction online to Rossi's blog post was largely critical of the school.

Jay Nordlinger, an editor for the magazine National Review, praised Rossi and said the situation at his alma mater 'reeks of Maoism.'

Matt Mullen wrote that Rossi's blog post describes a school that engages in 'totalitarian thought control.'

Another commenter on Substack praised Rossi for 'speaking truth to power' and that as a New York City parent they have 'seen it first hand.'

Another commenter pushed back against 'our culture's current fascination with race and gender.'

One commenter said that 'it is a cancer' that was 'spreading rapidly.'
Bahrain FinTech Bay said it has signed a partnership deal with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) to bolster Proptech within the kingdom and make it a pioneer in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The leading FinTech hub in the Middle East, Bahrain FinTech Bay is located conveniently in the Arcapita Building. It provides a physical hub to incubate insightful, scalable and impactful FinTech initiatives through innovation labs, acceleration programmes, curated activities, educational opportunities and collaborative platforms.

It partners with governmental bodies, financial institutions, corporates, consultancy firms, universities, associations, media agencies, venture capital and FinTech startups to bring the full spectrum of financial market participants and stakeholders together.

The joint efforts of the two entities, in line with Bahrains Vision 2030 and the National Real Estate Plan (2021-2024) will be accelerated to achieve a strong and sustainable real estate sector.

As per the deal, Bahrain FinTech Bay will play a major role in developing practical, scalable, and innovative solutions for the real estate sector with prime focus on the first key pillar Leadership in service innovation of the National Real Estate plan.

Furthermore, the giant FinTech hub will develop strategic initiatives in partnership with Rera including key joint projects, PropTech-focused acceleration programmes and more.

Rera CEO Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa said: "Leadership in service innovation is one of the main pillars in the National Real Estate Plan and Reras collaboration with Bahrain FinTech Bay will accelerate this mission to create an integrated investment-friendly ecosystem and bring in technology-focused regulatory reforms that will further position Bahrain as the premier destination for real estate investment both regionally and globally."

Rera, he stated, was taking measures to ensure the sustainability of the growth achieved in the performance of the real estate sector and maintain the important position and its positive contribution to the growth of GDP of Bahrain.

All of Rera's efforts is based on legal framework and effective procedures to achieve sustainability and competitiveness in this sector.

In the Middle East particularly, a large and far-reaching PropTech market has emerged. Bahrain FinTech Bay will support Rera in harnessing PropTech tools and solutions to better engage and enhance technology within the sector.

In the kingdom, various proptech solutions have been rolled out that allow comparative house hunting, or competitive asset management to be undertaken from home or the office, he added.

Bahrain FinTech Bay CEO Khalid Dannish said: "We are proud to be partnering with Rera to assist in the execution of the one of the pillars of the National Real Estate Plan, which is aligned to Bahrains Vision 2030."

"The real estate sector is ripe for disruptive innovation and PropTech solutions leveraging technologies such as blockchain and AI in equity and debt crowdfunding platforms, Mortgage Tech, and creating liquidity in the asset class will play a pivotal role in enabling the sectors growth by being more automated, efficient and optimized for investors, property managers, developers and consumers. FinTech in Real Estate is a large vertical of the next wave of PropTech solutions," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
An 18-year-old university student is accused of nearly stabbing her boyfriend to death in a dorm room knife attack over Easter weekend.

Elizabeth Grace Johnson is facing possible charges of aggravated battery, police said, after she allegedly stabbed Draven Upchurch at his Southeastern Louisiana University residence building in Hammond, LA earlier this month.

On April 3, campus authorities found Upchurch suffering from multiple stab wounds on the third floor of the universitys Louisiana Hall residence building, according to a campus police report obtained by Oxygen.com.

Upchurch was transported to North Oaks Medical Center in critical condition. Johnson, who campus police describe as, Upchurch's "dating partner" was arrested. At the time of her arrest, Johnson appeared worried, the police report stated.

I am ready to bring everyone out of the dark on Draven's incident. I refuse to use the word accident because what... Posted by Honey's Snoball Shack of Abita on Monday, April 5, 2021

On Monday, his family shared that Upchurch was improving, after his condition had temporarily declined over the weekend.

We had a few set backs the last [two] days, his mother Angie Fassulo said. But we got them steps back!! Please keep praying!!

Upchurch is originally from Covington, Louisiana, about 40 miles north of New Orleans. He graduated from Fontainebleau High School in 2018, acquaintances said. Upchurch competed in choreographed flag spinning, or color guard, according to those who knew him. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, university officials there confirmed.

He never deserved this ever, high school peer Lexie Rome told Oxygen.com.

Elizabeth Johnson

Elizabeth Grace Johnson Photo: Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office

Rome, 21, described Upchurch as an outgoing, goofy, and great kid who always had a smile on his face.

Rome co-organized a blood drive for Upchurch at her familys nutrition store in Covington on April 11. She said around a dozen people attended. Rome noted a number of other blood drives have also been held for Upchurch since the knife attack.

Story continues

Its a very small town everybody knows everybody, Rome added. This makes me feel like everybody has everybodys back around here. Everybodys supporting him and wants justice for him. I hope we get justice for Draven.

While a motive in the stabbing hasnt been released, Autin-Fasullos posts noted her son was well acquainted with Johnson. University officials described the stabbing as an isolated incident. Johnson has been suspended in the interim. Officials declined to comment further on the pending investigation.

This incident currently remains under investigation, and the student will go through the proper university disciplinary process as well as the criminal justice system process, Mike Rivault, a spokesperson for Southeastern Louisiana University told Oxygen.com in a statement on Monday. The university process may result in disciplinary measures up to and including expulsion, but that is not yet complete.

Johnson was booked into Tangipahoa Parish Jail on April 3, online jail records show. The 18-year-old was released on bond on April 5, according to officials. Its unclear if shes retained legal representation. Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Courts were unable to immediately provide an upcoming court date for Johnson, or confirm whether shes been formally charged.

Tangipahoa Parish District Attorneys Office didnt immediately respond to Oxygen.coms request for comment on the case on Monday.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation Monday legalizing recreational marijuana use within months and kicking off sales next year, making it the seventh state since November to put an end to pot prohibition.

The governor, a Democrat, has supported marijuana reform as a way to create jobs and shore up state revenue.

On Monday, she also touched on concerns about the harm inflicted on racial and ethnic minorities by drug criminalization and tough policing, noting that the new law could free about 100 from prison and expunge criminal records for thousands of residents.

It is good for workers. It is good for entrepreneurs. It is good for consumers, she said of legalization. And it brings about social justice in ways in which we have been talking about and advocating for, for decades.

The signed bill gives the governor a strong hand in oversight of recreational marijuana through her appointed superintendent of the Regulation and Licensing Department.

Agency Superintendent Linda Trujillo said people age 21 and over will be allowed start growing marijuana at home and possess up to 2 ounces (56 grams) of cannabis outside their homes starting on June 29.

Recreational cannabis sales start next year by April 1 at state-licensed dispensaries.

Lujan Grisham highlighted that licensed cannabis farmers can begin scaling up cultivation several months ahead of opening day in efforts to keep pace with demands when sales begin.

New Mexico voters ousted ardent opponents of legalization from the state Senate in the 2020 Democratic primary, opening the way for recreational marijuana.

The governor called a special legislative session to tackle the issue in late March after legalization efforts faltered.

Legislators rallied behind a legalization framework from state Rep. Javier Martinez of Albuquerque that provides automated procedures for expunging past pot convictions.

Martinez said he hopes that a spate of legalization efforts by states will spur the federal government to follow suit, linking tides of immigration from Central America to drug-cartel violence and related corruption.

I grew up along the border. Ive seen what the war on drugs has done, Martinez said. Im proud that New Mexico  little old New Mexico  has done its part to tell the federal government once and for all to legalize cannabis for the people.

Republican lawmakers were notably absent from the signing ceremony, though GOP state Sen. Cliff Pirtle was credited with influencing the outcome through a competing bill that emphasized free markets and public safety.

Regulators in early legalization states have been whipsawed by initial fluctuations in marijuana supplies and prices, amid concerns about child access and workplace and roadway safety.

In New Mexico, regulators will be able to put a cap on marijuana cultivation quantities for years to come and impose a per-plant state fee of up to $50 a year. The new law mandates child-proof packaging and defers to employers on whether workers can indulge in marijuana.

At the same time, home marijuana growers will be allowed to grow up to six plants per person, or 12 per household. The scent of marijuana will no longer be grounds for police searches.

Local governments cant prohibit marijuana businesses from setting up shop. They can have a say through zoning about the location and hours of operation.

Medical marijuana dispensaries already are staking out territory in small towns near the border with Texas  a major potential market for marijuana tourism. It remains illegal to transport marijuana across state lines.

Challenges await state regulators as they prepare to accept applications for a variety of marijuana business licenses as soon as September. The state will license product testing labs, industrial operations that grow, refine, package and sell cannabis products and craft marijuana microbusiness that grow only up to 200 plants.

Rules also are due by the start of 2022 on product safety, minimum qualifications for a marijuana business license and standards for vetting and training cannabis servers  who must hold a state permit and be 21 or older.

The state will levy an excise tax on recreational pot sales that starts at 12% and rises over time to 18%, on top of current taxes on sales.

All taxes will be waived on medical marijuana. Decisions are still pending about exactly how much marijuana the industry must set aside for qualified medical cannabis patients.

Enrollment in the states existing medical marijuana program climbed in March to more than 112,000 patients  about 5% of the states population of 2.1 million residents.

The approved legislation allows the state to forge agreements with Native American tribal governments that could open the marijuana industry to tribal enterprises.

By MORGAN LEE

Associated Press
Sudie, I might say with little or no compulsion that I miss you hellishly and Ive had enough of tramping around Europe.

This was how Elliott R. Corbett II began the last letter he wrote to his girlfriend, Ellen Sudie Zinsser. Sudie never heard from him again.

Elliott, a 22-year-old U.S Army bazooka man and scion of Portlands most-prominent political and commercial dynasty, disappeared in November 1944 during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.

It would be months before his family -- and Sudie -- knew whether he was dead or alive.

Elliott and Sudie met at Harvard University one day when she was visiting her brother, who, like Elliott, was a student at the school. That fall, she enrolled at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and during the next year she and Elliott frequently met in Manhattan for weekends -- Elliott sometimes hitchhiking from Boston.

We saw each other and enjoyed each other, says Sudie, now 96 and living in Minneapolis. I was just crazy about him. I think he was in love with me too.

Ellen "Sudie" Zinsser and Elliott R. Corbett II. "I was just crazy about him," she says. (Photo courtesy of Chris Leenaars)

During Elliotts time in the army, their commitment to one another only deepened. He wrote to her almost every day: moving, funny, engrossing letters, always making clear how much he missed her -- the girl I love with a passion unparalleled.

Elliott, known to family and friends as Yot, joked in his letters about how enjoyable Army life was (Then we ran the obstacle course and had such a nifty time we like to split our slats!!) and how he sure wouldnt mind some time to himself now and again (I have joined the paratroopers figuring I can be alone a little while at least, while gliding gently earthwards).

On Oct. 5, 1944, writing from England, he related that a fellow Harvard man in his unit was worried theyd be in Europe for years, and all the lonely girls all over the world will marry Yale j.g.s [Lieutenant, junior grade] who will also probably be republicans.

He added: Sudie dont marry a Republican Yale j.g. Please. Or anyone else for that matter.

Elliott Corbett II wrote to Ellen Zinsser throughout his time in the U.S. Army during World War II. (Courtesy of Chris Leenaars)

Elliott even wrote to Ellen while listening to the World Series on the radio, cutting into a description of how much he missed her with the parenthetical exclamation, A Homeric clout, a homer! -- Browns 2-0. I miss you, unattractive one. Love, Van J.

Before leaving Great Britain for the front lines, he dashed off a quick note: Id like to take the train to Poughkeepsie tonight, darling, but something intervenes.

A few weeks later, Elliott was wounded in Germany. He may have been a prisoner of war for a few hours -- the official accounts are confused and contradictory. Whats known for sure is that, in dire condition, he ended up at the Mariawald Abbey, which was being used as a field hospital.

***

The Dutch have never forgotten the young American men who gave their lives during World War II to liberate the Netherlands -- and the rest of Europe -- from the Nazis. At the Netherlands American Cemetery in the town of Margraten, the fallen soldiers graves are kept well-tended by volunteers. On Memorial Day, every Memorial Day, thousands of people turn out at the cemetery, filling the grounds with bouquets.

Every one of the more than 8,200 graves in the cemetery have been adopted by locals. Theres a waiting list for the program.

Chris Leenaars, a 60-year-old Dutch graphic designer, adopted Elliotts grave in 2010. He visits it regularly, attends to it with care.

But that wasnt enough for him. He adopted Elliott as well.

Leenaars has dedicated himself to learning everything he can about Elliott Ruggles Corbett II -- and to spreading that knowledge to the world beyond Netherlands American Cemetery.

He has created a website that rolls through Elliotts busy, charmed life in Portland and at school -- charmed, that is, until Elliott found himself in the middle of the longest battle, and one of the most brutal, the U.S. Army has ever fought.

Chris Leenaars and his wife Hildegard at Elliott R. Corbett II's grave in the Netherlands. (Courtesy of Chris Leenaars)

Leenaars can go into great detail about the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and what likely happened to Elliott there, but he prefers to focus on Elliott Corbett II the man, the young wannabe pacifist who hellishly missed his girl back home and envisioned becoming a journalist and author after finishing college.

Elliott had many gifts, Leenaars says. He loved to cook and to laugh, and he loved even more being out in the rugged nature.

Leenaars talks about Yot with such affection that he sounds like hes talking about a family member. And, indeed, more than 10 years into their relationship, he says he thinks of Elliott kind of as a cousin.

Now I can no longer imagine life without the presence of Elliott, he says. My special cousin!

And so he celebrates Elliotts short life -- and mourns the longer one the young Portlander didnt get to live.

The letters Elliott wrote while serving in the war tell me that he was deeply in love with Ellen, he says of the correspondence between Elliott and Sudie. He missed her enormously, that much is clear. Unfortunately, he was never allowed to see Ellen again. That is so sad.

***

Those surviving letters showcase Elliotts endearing personality -- and his love for Sudie -- but Leenaars efforts to get to know Elliott also have been frustrated.

The Corbett family has been well chronicled in Oregon: Elliotts great-grandfather was one of the states first U.S. senators, Elliotts father a powerful state senator, Elliotts uncle -- after whom he was named -- an influential banker, builder and philanthropist.

But Elliott II died so young, and so long ago. Few people who knew him are still around to tell us about him.

Elliott Corbett and Ellen Zinsser corresponded almost every day throughout their relationship. (Photo courtesy of Sarah C. Morgan)

One of the few, along with Sudie, is Yots British cousin William Macadam. When Great Britain took up the fight against Nazi Germany in 1939, Macadams parents sent him and his sister to stay in Oregon with the kids grandparents -- Elliotts aunt and uncle -- at the Corbett estate in Dunthorpe.

William was only a little tyke, Macadam, now 83, says of his time in Oregon, so he remembers Elliott but slightly when he was home from Harvard. He calls him a kind older cousin.

I am the only person in the extended Corbett family still alive who remembers Yot (or ERC II) at all, he writes in an email.

The rest of the family must make do with anecdotes passed down through the years.

Elliotts niece Sarah Corbett Morgan, daughter of Elliotts sister Rosina, says she never knew my uncle Yottie, as my mother always referred to him, but I gather he was a charmer.

Elliott certainly charmed Sudie Zinsser.

He was a wonderful young man -- very, very nice, very thoughtful, Sudie says. He wanted to be a writer. He was a very good writer.

She adds: We had a really nice relationship. I was waiting for him to come back.

But then, in November 1944, the letters from Elliott stopped.

Finally, after a month of silence, Sudie received a telegram, but it wasnt from her Yot. It was from his mother.

Just received telegram giving news Elliott missing in action as of November nineteenth. No further details. Best love = Gretchen H Corbett.

Elliott's mother notified Ellen Zinsser that Elliott was missing in action. (Courtesy of Chris Leenaars)

That was all she or anyone in the Corbett family knew for weeks. Then, suddenly -- miraculously -- good news arrived.

Elliott Corbett, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Corbett, 300 SW Tryon Hill Road, reported missing in action in Germany November 17, is alive and well, his parents learned Monday, stated The Oregonian on Jan. 16, 1945.

The Corbetts learned this from a letter Elliotts mother received from an Army chaplain. The chaplain said Yot had taken communion with him on Christmas Day and was well and in good spirits, although his mail had been held up when he was lost from his unit.

In Portland and Poughkeepsie, there was shuddering relief, jubilation. Yottie was OK.

No follow-up came, however. The missives to Sudie did not resume. Elliotts parents also did not receive any letters from their youngest son.

As the days dragged on with no word from Elliott, and then the days turned into weeks, his parents worst fears returned. They decided they had to do something.

I think they finally went to some general, some bigwig, and said, Find out what happened, Morgan says.

Three months later, they found out. Henry Ladd Corbett and Gretchen Corbett were told their son had died Nov. 19, of wounds suffered while fighting in Germany. The chaplains letter, The Oregonian reported, evidently was a mistake.

The family never discovered exactly what happened to Elliott -- only that he was gone.

All these years later, Chris Leenaars, guided by the work of two German academic researchers, believes he now knows where Elliott R. Corbett II fell that terrible November day in 1944. Hes raising funds so he can place a memorial stone there on Yots 100th birthday next year.

I have full confidence in this thorough research, he says, that this place is actually where Elliott was seriously injured.

***

After World War II came to a close, life went on for the remaining Corbett family.

Elliotts older brothers Henry Jr. and Alfred both survived their own wartime service. Henry became a Portland real-estate developer, Alfred a lawyer who would serve in the Oregon Legislature. Their sister Rosina and her husband Howard Morgan ran a sheep farm, and then a cattle ranch, in central Oregon. Elliotts sister Helen worked as a psychiatric social worker in New York City.

As for Ellen Sudie Zinsser: She graduated from Vassar in 1945, still mourning Elliott, and visited his parents in Oregon. In the years ahead, Sudie went to medical school, married a fellow doctor and raised a family while forging a distinguished career.

She would save Elliotts letters for more than 70 years.

Elliott Corbett II (Photo courtesy of Chris Leenaars)

In his last letter, Elliott, apparently somewhere in Belgium, wrote to Sudie that being naturally a peaceful character I look forward to a long life of security and freedom from the elements, which are beginning to pall.

Ellen put the letter on top of the stack and hid the cache away. Elliotts death changed a lot of things in my life, she says. It was a hard experience. I didnt plan to ever marry anybody after that.

They meant a lot to each other, says Sarah Morgan, who learned about Sudie only in recent years and connected with her. I got the sense she never really got over it.

Elliotts family never got over his death either, of course. Henry and Gretchen Corbett donated wilderness property near Bend in honor of their son. Its now the Elliott R. Corbett II Memorial State Park.

In 1947, Elliotts parents spent two months in Europe, traveling around the continent to see how it was recovering from the wars devastation. Arriving back in Portland, Henry waved off reporters questions about conditions there.

I detest people who spend a few weeks in Europe and then come home with all the answers, he said.

But he did have something to say about the daytrip he and his wife took to the American Cemetery in Margraten.

We came away, he said, completely satisfied with the loving care given the graves by the Dutch people and convinced that is the proper place for any American boy buried there to remain.

-- Douglas Perry

dperry@oregonian.com

@douglasmperry
U.S federal health officials Tuesday said out of an abundance of caution they are recommending an immediate pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six cases of blood clots were reported in the United States.



At a joint virtual news briefing, officials of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the pause would last a matter of days while the agencies investigate the cases of blood clotting, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), which occurred in women between 18 and 48 years old within six to 13 days after receiving the one-dose vaccine.



They note the six cases occurred out of more than 6.8 million doses of the vaccine administered.



CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat said people who received the vaccine more than two weeks ago have very little to fear. Those who received the vaccine within the last week or so who develop symptoms such as severe headache, abdominal or leg pain, or shortness of breath, should contact their health care provider.



The officials said they are working to reschedule those people who had appointments to receive the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. Schuchat said the decision is not a mandate, and people who, after discussions with their physicians, feel they can safely take it, will be allowed to do so.



In a statement Tuesday, White House COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator Jeff Zients said the decision to pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will not have a significant effect on the nations vaccine program, as it made up less than five percent of the vaccine administered to date. Zients says the U.S. has secured enough doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for 300 million people.



The New York Times is reporting that one woman has died and another woman in the state of Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.



The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the second one linked to potential blood clots. Several nations have issued new guidelines on the use of AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine after the European Unions medical regulator announced a link between the vaccine and rare, possibly fatal blood clots.



Meanwhile, a new single-day record of COVID-19 cases has pushed India into second place, behind the United States, as countries with the worlds largest number of confirmed coronavirus infections.



The South Asian nations 168,912 new COVID-19 cases posted on Monday gives India 13,527,717 total cases, compared to Brazils 13,517,808 total cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.



The new surge coincides with an acute shortage of vaccine in some Indian states, along with the annual Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival, on the Ganges River, where millions of Hindu devotees bathe to seek absolution, raising fears it could evolve into a superspreader event.
Popular comedian and actor, Debo Adebayo a.k.a Mr Macaroni has urged filmmakers in Nollywood to normalize paying upcoming talents for their ...

Popular comedian and actor, Debo Adebayo a.k.a Mr Macaroni has urged filmmakers in Nollywood to normalize paying upcoming talents for their services as opposed to deceiving them with the promise of exposure.

The skit maker shared his opinions via a recent Twitter thread where he also opened up about his experience with filmmakers when he started out in the industry.

Please let us normalize paying upcoming talents and also treating them with respect. Yes your platform will give them exposure, but people must be paid for work done. If we can ask the government to do better, we can also demand same from ourselves.

Im not asking anyone to be a rebel ooo.. lol. The industry is tough.. I know. But when I started acting, I had issues with quite a number of producers. Its one thing not to pay me. I tolerated that one. But disrespect me?? Never!! Ill give you my piece of mind and walk out.

It hurts when I go to some production sets and I see the way upcoming talents are treated! When I talk they will say Im troublesome. Some dont even get paid at all. Please dont say it is part of paying dues. We can do better!! Na talent dem wan showcase. Dem no kill person.




Top national security officials from the U.S. and Israel will convene virtually on Tuesday for a second round of strategic talks on Iran, three Israeli officials tell me.

Why it matters: The talks come two days after an explosion at an Iranian nuclear facility that experts consider a likely act of Israeli sabotage, and one day before the U.S. resumes indirect nuclear talks in Vienna over a return to the 2015 nuclear deal  a prospect that has raised anxiety levels in Jerusalem.

Detail: The strategic dialogue is led by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben Shabbat, with officials from various national security and intelligence agencies participating. It will be held via a secure video link.

The first round of talks last month focused on intelligence surrounding Iran's nuclear program.

This round is expected to focus on Iran's regional activities in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, the Israeli officials say.

The Vienna talks are also expected to be discussed, as well as recent attacks on Iranian and Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Between the lines: One of the main understandings that emerged from the first round of talks was a mutual "no surprises" policy.

It's unclear how much coordination the Israelis did with Washington before the strikes on Iranian ships and the apparent attack at the Natanz nuclear site.

The Biden administration has distanced itself both from that explosion and the attack last week on an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps ship in the Red Sea. That has created the impression the Biden administration is unhappy with the Israeli actions.

The other side: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been increasingly vocal about his concerns around the nuclear talks. He recently said that Israel would not be bound by any U.S.-Iran deal, hinting that the Vienna talks will not prevent Israel from continuing its operations against Iran.
COLUMBIA  A University of South Carolina law professor was among the final prosecution witnesses in the Derek Chauvin trial, testifying the former Minneapolis police officer overlooked cues nearly every step of the way during his arrest of George Floyd and escalating the situation into a deadly use of force that should never have happened.

Both the knee across Mr. Floyds neck and the prone restraint were unreasonable, excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices, Seth Stoughton, an expert in use-of-force and USC School of Law criminology professor, said from the stand April 12.

A former police officer in Tallahassee, Fla., Stoughton said he reviewed more than 100 hours of body camera footage ahead of his testimony, which lasted more than two hours.

Stoughton said Chauvin, who pinned Floyd to the ground with a knee on his neck for nine minutes on May 25, 2020, abused a powerful restraint tool that carries a dangerous potential that's common knowledge within the law enforcement community.

The neck is kind of like a suspension bridge, right, so it's generally accepted in policing that you do not put weight down on someone's neck in that position because of the potential that the neck won't be able to handle that weight, and you can end up damaging the structure of the neck, Stoughton said.

There are also foreseeable effects of keeping somebody in that position permanently, what's called positional asphyxia, someone who has trouble breathing, who can't take in over time the oxygen they need to sustain their life, and that's been very well known in policing for at least going on 30 years.

Chauvin faces charges of murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd, which sparked national outrage and street protests across the country, including in Charleston, Columbia and elsewhere throughout the state.

Special Assistant Attorney General Steve Schleicher walked Stoughton through a timeline of Floyds arrest as it was captured on body camera footage, including the moments leading up to Chauvins restraint move.

At no point, Stoughton said, did Floyd present a threat to officers, although he did plead with them not to put him in the back of a vehicle due to claustrophobia.

In other words, the point of contention does not appear to be (being) in police custody but instead objecting to being put in the back of the vehicle, Stoughton said. Its clear from the number of officers and Mr. Floyd's position, the fact that he's handcuffed and has been searched, he doesn't present a threat of harm. His actions don't indicate that he presents any threat of escape.

Chauvins defense attorney, Eric Nelson, asked Stoughton under which conditions he conducted a use-of-force analysis in the case.

You have the luxury of slow motion enhancements, looking at things from multiple perspectives, Nelson said, contrasting Stoughtons work with the real-time sequence Chauvin faced.

Yes, I can slow video down. I can freeze frame it as I am taking those facts and circumstances and identifying what a reasonable officer would have perceived in that situation. I'm of course aware that a reasonable officer on the scene does not have those capabilities, Stoughton replied.

Stoughton most recently co-authored Evaluating Police Uses of Force and is a contributor to The New York Times, The Atlantic and Time magazine.

Placing a person face down to gain an edge in restraining them is not an unusual police tactic, but Stoughton said its meant to be transitory.

As soon as somebody has been handcuffed, you take them out of that position, he said.

The longer Chauvin kept Floyd down, Stoughton said, the clearer it became he was in medical distress  indications that were evident on footage he reviewed.

If someone is describing that they are experiencing medical distress, then officers have to take that into account as they are evaluating the continued effects of keeping someone, in this case, in a prone restraint position, Stoughton said. Before he fell silent, Mr. Floyd said 'I can't breathe by my count at least 27 times.
Britain reopened large parts of its economy on Monday, allowing people in England back in shops, hair salons and outdoor areas of pubs and restaurants, a long-awaited milestone after three months of lockdown, and a day after the country recorded its lowest daily coronavirus death toll since September.

Under the second stage of the governments gradual reopening, libraries, community centers and some outdoor attractions like zoos will also return, though outdoor gatherings remain limited to six people or two households.

For many in England, the return was a hopeful  if not definitive  sign that the worst of the pandemic was behind them, after a new variant of the virus detected last year in the countrys southeast spun out of control around Christmas, overwhelming hospitals and causing tens of thousands of deaths.
NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Morgan Stanley (MS) announced an updated commitment to mobilize $750 billion to support low-carbon solutions by 2030, following its initial commitment of $250 billion announced in 2018. It represents a three-fold increase from the initial commitment. The bank commits to net-zero financed emissions by 2050 in line with the Paris Agreement. The enhanced commitment is part of a larger goal Morgan Stanley is announcing to mobilize a total of $1 trillion towards sustainability solutions in support of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
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He's busy filming Marvel blockbuster Thor: Love and Thunder in Sydney.

But Chris Hemsworth took time out of his shooting schedule on Tuesday to playfully spar with one of his seven-year-old twin sons on set at Fox Studios.

The muscular actor, 37, was light on his feet as his little boy took a series of jabs in a video shared on Instagram.

Cute! Actor Chris Hemsworth took a break from filming Thor: Love and Thunder on Tuesday to playfully spar with one of his seven-year-old twin sons on set at Sydney's Fox Studios

Chris' son seems to be following in his famous father's footsteps, as he was wearing a superhero cape not unlike Thor's.

He captioned the clip: 'Introducing the next heavyweight champion of the universe!'

The Avengers star's wife, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, also uploaded a cute photo on her Instagram account of her son on set.

The boy posed with his father, as well as Chris' personal trainer Luke Zocchi and stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton.

The four of them stared menacingly at the camera, and Elsa, 44, captioned the snap: 'My A Team.'

'Introducing the next heavyweight champion of the universe!' The muscular actor, 37, was light on his feet as his little boy took a series of jabs in a video shared on Instagram

Elsa and Chris have three children: twin sons Sasha and Tristan, seven, and daughter India Rose, eight.

The couple temporarily moved from Byron Bay to Sydney last month to make their work commitments more manageable.

But they have been flying back to Byron via private jet for occasional weekend trips.

Chris is busy shooting the new Thor movie, while Elsa is working on Netflix action film Interceptor.

'My A Team!' The Avengers star's wife, Spanish actress Elsa Pataky, also shared this cute photo on her Instagram account of her son on set with his dad. Pictured with Chris' personal trainer Luke Zocchi (left) and stunt double Bobby Holland Hanton (right)

The Hemsworths relocated to Byron from Los Angeles with their family back in 2014.

They live in the suburb of Broken Head, a 20-minute drive from central Byron, in a mega-mansion estimated to be worth $30million.

The property features a 50-metre infinity pool, a large Indigenous mural, two bars and a gym complex including steam, sauna and massage rooms.


By Nam Hyun-woo



The Tom Lantos Congressional Human Rights Commission that advocates for freedom of expression will hold a hearing Thursday (U.S. time) on Seoul's ban on sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border via balloons into North Korea. The hearing is anticipated to receive an angry response from the Kim Jong-un regime, especially as it will fall on the anniversary of North Korea founder Kim Il-sung's birth, a major holiday in the North.



According to the commission, it will hold a virtual hearing to discuss the role of South Korea's anti-leaflet law, which took effect March 30. Participants will include Gordon G. Chang, a lawyer and columnist, Lee In-ho, a former South Korean ambassador to Russia, and Suzanne Scholte, chair of the North Korea Freedom Coalition.



The commission has been at odds with South Korea's Moon Jae-in administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) over the anti-leaflet law.



The liberal ruling bloc continues to advocate for the law, claiming that the campaign may unnecessarily provoke Pyongyang, and that freedom of speech does not come before the safety of residents in border areas.



However, the commission and a number of civic groups here and abroad have denounced the law for violating the freedom of speech, as well as neutralizing one of the most effective psychological tools aimed at undermining Kim's authoritarian rule.



In December, when the law was passed in the DPK-dominated National Assembly, Scholte told Radio Free Asia that she found it "extremely disturbing that lawmakers in South Korea are taking directions from the sister of a dictator," referring to a statement from Kim Jong-un's powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, in June 2020, demanding that Seoul ban the balloon campaign.



Though the commission is a bipartisan group, its move appears to be consistent with the Biden administration's North Korea policy direction. In last month's 2020 human rights reports, the U.S. Department of State mentioned the criminalization of the "balloon campaign" as a major human rights issue in South Korea.






A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
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By MICHAELE NIEHAUS

The Hawk Eye

WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa  Nestled between shopping centers, row crops and car dealerships, an organic nonprofit farm is gearing up for its sixth growing season in an effort to combat hunger locally while teaching the community about food culture and sustainable farming practices.

As the weather warms and the threat of frost lessens, Mollie and Tobin Krell, who operate Homestead 1839 in West Burlington, will spend more and more time tending the roughly two acres of farmland, largely by hand.





. . .
MONTREAL, April 12 (Reuters) - Canada's manufacturers on Monday asked the federal government to curb a brewing labor dispute after dockworkers at the country's second largest port said they will work less this week.

Unionized dockworkers, who are in talks for a new contract since 2018, will hold a partial strike starting Tuesday, by refusing all overtime outside of their normal day shifts, along with weekend work, they said in a statement on Monday.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Quebec's 1,125 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal rejected a March offer from the Maritime Employers Association.

The uncertainty caused by the labour dispute has led to an 11% drop in March container volume at the Montreal port on an annual basis, even as other eastern ports in North America made gains, the Maritime Employers Association said.

The move will cause delays in a 24-hour industry, the association said.

"Some manufacturers have had to redirect their containers to the Port of Halifax, incurring millions in additional costs every week," said Dennis Darby, chief executive of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME). While the government strongly believes a negotiated agreement is the best option for all parties, "we are actively examining all options as the situation evolves," a spokesman for Federal Labor Minister Filomena Tassi said.

Last summer's stoppage of work cost wholesalers C$600 million ($478 million) in sales over a two-month period, Statistics Canada estimates. ($1 = 1.2563 Canadian dollars) (Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal. Additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa Editing by Marguerita Choy)
President Joe Biden on Monday nominated former New Jersey state Attorney General Anne Milgram as head of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Milgram, who served as the states chief law enforcement officer under Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine from 2007 to 2010, serves as a special counsel for the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler and teaches law at New York University School of Law.

Anne is a great choice for this extraordinarily important position, said another former New Jersey attorney general, Chris Porrino, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler. We look forward to her swift confirmation and continued success in this new role.

Prior to serving as attorney general in N.J., Milgram was a former assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorneys office who then moved to the U.S. Justice Department, where she focused on prosecuting human trafficking crimes. She also helped lead an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct at the Dallas Mavericks organization.

She left her post as state attorney general when Chris Christie was elected to succeed Corzine. Earlier, she had worked with Christie when he was U.S. attorney on overhauling the Camden police department.

New Jerseys two Democratic U.S. senators, who will vote on the nomination, praised her selection.

Her strong record on criminal justice reform and proven leadership skills make her an excellent choice to serve in this critical role, said U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez called Milgrams selection a great choice.

She will be an excellent DEA Administrator, who will work diligently to fight drug trafficking and keep dangerous substances like fentanyl off our streets, he said on Twitter.

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.

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Interior designer Nina Magons reimagining of a bedroom suite in pink, with sexy curves and European style was all for an imaginery countess the Houston entrepreneur conjured for inspiration.

Magon, who recently rebranded her Contour Interior Design into a more identifiable Nina Magon Studio, created the bedroom  Camera da letto della Contessa (the Countess Bedroom)  for the 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse Palm Beach.

Kips Bay has conducted showhouse fund raisers in New York for years, and four years ago branched out to Palm Beach, Fla. In October the group held its first fundraiser in Dallas. Magon was the sole Texan recruited to be part of the Palm Beach event, which runs through May 9.

The Palm Beach show house, a five-bedroom, six-bathroom Mediterranean villa, was reinvented inside and outside by 20 design teams.

Its a real honor to be asked to do Kips Bay. As a designer, its one of those things you always want to do, she said. We were asked to do it in January and in February we learned what space we would have. Its a pretty fast turn-around, and it definitely tested our limits.

2021 Kips Bay Designer Show House Palm Beach Where: 7417 S. Flagler, West Palm Beach When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. through May 9 Tickets: As with other show houses, Kips Bay organizers are asking visitors to wear masks and social distance. To manage capacity, they're selling tickets to specific 1.5-hour windows each day. $40; kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/palmbeach See More Collapse

Magon, a fan of Italian style, also tapped into the work of Vogue photographer Horst P. Horst, who for decades captured the forms of stylish women all over the world.

She imagined a fair haired Italian contessa in a Horst photo retreating to her bedroom in her Italianate Palm Beach villa, longing for her lost love.

Magon, whose firm designs everything from elegant homes to restaurant interiors (51Fifteen at Saks) jewelry store lounges (Zadok Jewelers) and hotel spas (The Houstonians Solaya Spa & Salon), jumped at the opportunity to be part of the prestigious Kips Bay event.

I saw the Kips Bay showhouse in 2020, and the rooms that I saw were more traditional, said Magon. I wanted to take a fresh, new approach to the design and also be true to myself  Im a modernist.

When she spotted a pink flamingo, she knew what her color palette would be: pink.

The bedroom was small and simple, but Magons touch extends to every surface. She added paneling and crown moulding, all painted Benjamin Moores Rosy Tan, and she wallpapered the ceiling with a pattern she designed for her collection with Wall and Deco, an Italian maker of wallcoverings.

In June, Magon will launch a lighting collection with Studio M Lighting, a division of Maxim Lighting, including the sculptural chandelier she created for the Kips Bay bedroom and a trio of pendants installed in its bathroom. (The lighting was made in pink just for this suite; it will be available in other colors in the new collection.)

And if all of that isnt glam enough, Magon designed the bed with a wall-to-wall headboard and a platform covered in Cosentinos Taga Dekton and with Fabricut upholstery.

A pink-and-white rug, designed by Magon and made by New Moon Rugs, brings a little whimsy in polka dots. The draperies by the Shade Store (with Fabricut fabric) are pure luxury.

A cozy corner has a Pacha Lounge Chair by Pierre Paulin for GUBI and a white leather side table by Stephane Parmentier for Giobagnara sitting under a pair of half-moon mirrors. An adjacent wall holds an iconic Horst photo, Jean Patchett, bathing suit by Brigance (1951).

Its defnitely fit for a contessa.

diane.cowen@chron.com
Turkey to host Afghan peace talks later this month View Photo

ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  The United Nations, Turkey and Qatar announced Tuesday that a high-level conference between Afghanistans warring sides will take place in Istanbul later this month. The meeting is aimed at accelerating peace negotiations and achieving a political settlement to decades of conflict.

Their joint statement said the conference will take place between April 24 and May 4. The three co-conveners said they are committed to supporting a sovereign, independent and unified Afghanistan.

The surprise announcement came a day after a Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group would not attend a peace conference that had been tentatively planned to take place in Turkey later this week, putting U.S. efforts for a peace plan in jeopardy.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, responding to questions about the Taliban announcement, said: My understanding is that there are still internal deliberations going on within the Taliban.

An invitation was extended to them, he said. We very much hope to see them participate.

The Taliban were ousted from power in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition for harboring Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. A peace deal that Washington brokered with the Taliban and signed in February last year led to talks in Qatar with the government that began last September.

In the agreement with the Taliban, the Trump administration committed to removing the last of its troops from Afghanistan by May 1, but the Afghan government blames the Taliban for rising violence and for not abiding by its provisions.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday the withdrawal will be delayed by more than four months. Biden has said he is committed to ending Americas longest war and set a new goal of Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, for the withdrawal.

The Taliban has balked at reports that American troops would remain after May 1 and has warned of consequences if Washington reneged on the deal and the withdrawal timeline.

Dujarric said there were widespread consultations at many levels involving many parties on the dates and timing of the conference, which follows a number of initiatives in the last months.

The U.N., Turkey and Qatar said the overriding objective of the high-level meeting is to accelerate and complement the ongoing intra-Afghan negotiations that have been taking place in Doha, Qatar and to achieve a just and durable political settlement.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the conference agenda was the subject of extensive consultations with the Afghan parties.

The conference will focus on helping the negotiating parties reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict, the ministry said.

According to a U.N. diplomat, high-level representatives from 21 countries have been invited to the conference along with European Union High Representative Josep Borrell, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and Organization for Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Youssef Al-Othaimeen.

The 21 invited countries are Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Norway, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the list has not yet been made public.

Dujarric said the conference is expected to be partly in person and partly virtual. Details are still being worked out, but U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to kick it off, he said.

Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort. And though they still face many challenges in the male-dominated society, Afghan women have increasingly stepped into powerful positions in numerous fields  and many fear the current negotiations could bargain away their gains.

The Taliban have promised women could attend school, work and participate in politics but stressed that would be allowed in keeping with Islamic principles  without saying what that might mean.

Dujarric stressed the U.N.s commitment to the Afghan people and their right to basic democratic principles and a government that reflects their wishes.

We are committed to ensuring that the gains that have been made are not lost, and that is especially true for women in Afghanistan, he said.
Michigan is temporarily halting its use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine while federal regulators investigate a handful of recent reports of severe adverse reactions to the single-dose vaccine.

The move was recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, April 13, after it learned of six cases of severe blood clotting in individuals who received vaccine.

The safety and health of Michiganders will always come first, reads a statement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office. We will follow the FDAs guidance to temporarily pause the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution, and adapt our vaccine strategy going forward until a further review of the data can be conducted.

The FDA announced the recommended pause Tuesday morning after it learned of the handful of U.S. cases in which an individual developed a severe type of blood clot after receiving the vaccine.

These adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the FDA said, as more than 6.8 million doses have been administered in the U.S. to date.

Related: Feds recommend pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine following reports of severe reaction

Its not yet clear what guidance health departments and other vaccine providers are getting regarding currently scheduled appointments slated to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Attempts by MLive to contact state health officials were not immediately successful.

The city of Detroit said it has a sufficient supply of Moderna and Pfizer vaccine to get shots to anyone who had an appointment scheduled this week for a Johnson & Johnson shot at the Northwest Activity Center or the neighborhood clinics.

If you were scheduled for a J&J shot and want to keep your same appointment, you will be given the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, reads a statement from Mayor Mike Duggans office. You will receive an appointment for your second dose 3-4 weeks later.

A Saginaw County drive-thru vaccination event will go on as planned Tuesday, switching from Johnson & Johnson vaccines to Pfizers shot.

Similarly, the Macomb County Health Department said it will pause the use of the vaccine, and noted it will leverage enough Pfizer and Moderna doses to fulfill every scheduled appointment.

Whitmer used the moment Tuesday to call for the federal government to implement a targeted strategy that allocates more Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to hotspots like Michigan to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Michigan leads the nation in new cases per capita, as well as the percentage of hospital beds being used by COVID-19 patients. The latest data shows more cases were reported in Michigan between Wednesday and Saturday, April 7-10, than the entire month of February.

On Friday, the White House said it would rush federal resources to support vaccinations and testing in Michigan, but not more vaccines despite the governors request.

During a White House press conference Monday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Michigans surge cant be fixed with vaccines alone.

Instead, mitigation strategies like closing schools, restaurants and large gathering spots would be more effective, Walensky said, explaining that the protection provided by vaccines takes two to six weeks and wouldnt immediately address Michigans needs.

Really, what we need to do in those situations is shut things down, Walensky said. I think if we tried to vaccinate our way out of what is happening in Michigan, we would be disappointed that it took so long for the vaccine to work, to actually have an impact.

As of Monday, Michigan had administered 199,075 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received emergency use authorization in late February. Its not yet clear if any adverse reactions to the shot were reported in Michigan.

Read more on MLive:

More than 3.3M Michiganders have had first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Among 1.7 million fully vaccinated Michiganders, state identifies small number of COVID-19 infections and deaths

Michigan reports 4,000+ coronavirus hospitalizations for first time since December

Active COVID-19 outbreaks jump another 16% in Michigans April 12 report
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 17:00:11|Editor: huaxia

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Sonam Yarphel has a cup of buttered tea at home in Mainling County of Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, March 30, 2021. Sonam Yarphel, an 84-year-old man in Mainling County, was once a serf in old Tibet. "We grazed cattle in the mountains all year round, but not a single one belonged to us. Climbing mountains starving was my deepest memory when I was a child." said Sonam Yarphel when recalling his life in the old time. In 1956, Sonam Yarphel decided to leave home and become a monk in Lhasa as his life was so difficult and being a monk could exempt him from taxes. However, inspired by a fellow countryman who was doing translation work for the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) at that time, Sonam Yarphel gave up the idea of entering a monastery and chose to go to school and became the first batch of students from Tibet to study in the inland areas. In 1959, Sonam Yarphel voluntarily signed up to return to Tibet to participate in the democratic reform work. Later, He became a district governor, leading the villagers in pursuit of a better life. Now, Sonam Yarphel has retired. He lives in a Tibetan-style villa and leads a happy life with his children and grandchildren. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo)
The report, commissioned by the board that oversees the Toronto police, also strongly criticized Mark Saunders, who stepped down as the citys chief of police last year, for publicly dismissing concerns that a serial killer was targeting Torontos gay community, finding that he corroded public confidence within that group.

At the top of the 151 recommendations in the four-volume report is a proposal that police turn over some missing persons investigations to public health and social services agencies and nonprofit community groups.

The report also proposes that within the police force, missing person cases be coordinated by civilians and be centralized rather than spread out through individual precincts. And it calls for Torontos police to support friends and family members of missing people.

Shakir Rahim, the former vice chairman of the Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention, said that the report vindicates the communitys concerns that there were systemic failures in the investigation.

But Mr. Rahim, whose group was among those that criticized the police for not treating the missing-persons cases as possible serial killings earlier, said that the report was just a starting point, and that it remained to be seen if the police were receptive to change.

I think that is an open question, Mr. Rahim said.

Judge Epstein said that she was confident that police force would change, and that she believed the appointment of permanent replacement for Mr. Saunders would help.

The interim chief, James Ramer, struck a tone of contrition on Tuesday.

The deficiencies were neither overt nor intentional, he said at a news conference. There were too many times that we did not live up to what is expected  and in some cases required  of us to keep you safe. And the consequences were grave.
The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Hassan Kukah, says though Nigerians profess two main religions with strong themes of love and togetherness, s...





The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Hassan Kukah, says though Nigerians profess two main religions with strong themes of love and togetherness, such themes are rarely ever practised.

The Bishop has now attributed the frequent rise against one another to the lack of practice of love.

He made the remark on Monday at a ceremony in Adamawa State where he was invited as a guest of honour.

In Nigeria, religion has become a liability to us. The fruits of Christianity and Islam are alien to us, otherwise, we will not be seeing the fights that go on almost daily around the country. We must begin to do what our religions demand of us, Kukah said.

The occasion was the commissioning of the 86 housing units which the Yola Catholic Diocese built for the Christians and Muslims who had been living as internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the head church of the Yola Catholic Diocese.

Bishop Kukah hailed the Yola Catholic Diocese for catering so equally to Christian and Muslim IDPs alike and especially for building a mosque rather than just a church at the estate.

He said the dream started seven years ago when his diocese was suddenly saddled with thousands of IDPs to house and to feed, and that the need for the estate grew stronger by the years when it became evident that some of the IDPs could not go back to their original homes because they had lost everything.

He announced that even after resettling the IDPs at the new estate, his diocese would keep providing their food and other necessities till later in the year when the IDPs, who are expected to utilize the large expanses of farmland surrounding the estate.
Company to launch Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System in select European markets in 2021, with wider distribution in Europe and the Americas in 2022 and future years

Product now available in Norway, Blood centers in Italy, Switzerland, and France expected to complete validations later this year

LEXINGTON, Mass., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hemanext Inc., a privately held medical technology company, today announced it has received a CE Certificate of Conformity for the CE Mark for its Hemanext ONE Red Blood Cell (RBC) Processing and Storage System, allowing the innovative medical device to be sold in European markets. Blood center validations required for the adoption of the Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System were completed in Norway in 2020. The company expects blood centers in Italy, Switzerland, and France to complete validations in 2021. Hemanext plans to secure additional validations and approvals in order to make the device available to healthcare professionals in other select European markets and in the Americas in future years.

The Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System is indicated for the processing and storage of CPD/PAGGSM Red Blood Cells, Leukocytes Reduced (LRRBC) that have been prepared and processed with the HEMANEXT ONE system within 24-hours of collection.1 It limits the O2 and CO2 levels in the storage environment.1 Blood centers can utilize the device to convert a unit of conventional, leukoreduced RBCs into a transfusion-ready unit of RBCs that based on pre-clinical data, offloads oxygen better than conventional blood2 and reduces progressive damage that occurs naturally during storage.3

CE marking will allow the initiation of clinical studies and real-world experience in Europe to evaluate the potential of the technology. Researchers anticipate that RBCs with limited oxygen and carbon dioxide may fill an unmet medical need by potentially reducing the number of transfusions,4 related complications,5 and adverse events,6 thereby improving the quality of life7 for patients while reducing costs.7,8,9

Due to their need for chronic transfusions, people with thalassaemia, sickle cell disease (SCD), and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are among the patient populations that could benefit from RBCs with limited oxygen and carbon dioxide,10 like Hemanext ONE. European physicians now can generate and publish real-world data about the potential impact of this innovative technology.

"CE Mark certification is an important milestone for this product. Based on the body of pre-clinical data published in many peer-reviewed journals, we are eager to start using Hemanext ONE with our patients," said Tor Hervig, MD, PhD; founding member of the Traumatic Hemostasis and Oxygenation Research (THOR) Network; Chief Medical Officer, Blood bank, Haugesund Hospital: Senior Consultant, Haukeland University Hospital in Norway.

"By obtaining CE Mark certification, Hemanext ONE promises to make available a red blood cell transfusion therapy to help patients who are in need of lifelong and regular blood transfusions. We, as TIF, are excited about another treatment option for our patients with thalassaemia and other hemoglobin disorders," said Dr. Androulla Eleftheriou, Executive Director, Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF), when asked about the impact of this announcement in Europe.

The company anticipates that physicians throughout Europe will seek to publish their findings in medical journals. It encourages investigators to consider potential studies with RBCs processed and stored by Hemanext ONE.

"For more than a decade, Hemanext has committed its resources to the continuing effort of the transfusion medicine community to save lives and improve patient outcomes. We are eager to offer physicians and their patients throughout Europe an innovation that intends to advance the quality and cost of transfusion therapy," said Hemanext President and CEO Martin Cannon. "We achieved this critical regulatory milestone which is an important step toward delivering on this promise. This is thanks to the dedication of expert researchers across Europe and around the world and our superb multidisciplinary Hemanext teams. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of our world class clinical advisors and our distinguished investors and Board of Directors. We are now in a position to introduce Hemanext technology to the European market beginning with France, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. We are preparing our application to submit to FDA for authorization in the US."

"For many years, transfusion medicine physicians have been reviewing published preclinical data that highlighted the potential benefits of hypoxically stored RBCs. We have eagerly awaited the ability to validate those findings through clinical studies. Now, with the availability of Hemanext ONE, my peers in Europe can examine and report their findings in patients across multiple therapeutic areas," said Paul M. Ness, MD, senior director, Division of Transfusion Medicine, Professor of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, former editor of Transfusion-the Journal of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and past president of AABB.

"Physicians in Italy can now use Hemanext ONE to capture real-world evidence in patients who will receive [RBCs processed with] this innovative product," said Giuliano Grazzini, MD, Transfusion Medicine Specialist and former director of the Italian National Blood Centre of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (ISS). "These outcomes can be shared with prescribing and transfusing physicians around the world for a rigorous review of the data."

ABOUT HEMANEXT ONE

The novel Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System, our initial product offering, is a prescription medical device designed to limit oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the storage environment. It is CE-marked for the processing and storage of CPD/PAGGSM Red Blood Cells, Leukocytes Reduced (LRRBC) that have been prepared and processed with the HEMANEXT ONE system within 24-hours of collection. The HEMANEXT ONE system limits the O2 and CO2 levels in the storage environment. Red Blood Cells Leukocytes Reduced, O2/CO2 Reduced may be stored for up to 42 days at 1-6C. HEMANEXT ONE is used for volumes no greater than 350 ml of LR. The European Instructions for Use, which include a visual depiction of the device, are available at HemanextONE.com.

Hemanext ONE remains an investigational device that has not been cleared or approved by the FDA. It is not available for sale in the United States.

ABOUT HEMANEXT

Hemanext is a privately held medical technology company dedicated to improving the quality, safety, efficacy, and cost of transfusion therapy. The company's research and development efforts center on the study and future commercialization of hypoxically-stored red blood cells (RBCs).

Since its founding in 2008, Hemanext has envisioned a world with fewer and better transfusions.

In its early years, multiple grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) enabled the company to demonstrate the feasibility of hypoxic RBC storage, develop its first protype system, and conduct in vivo research 11

research In 2017, NIH awarded another $3 million grant to further develop the Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System; the company also completed research that became the pivotal clinical study for obtaining CE Mark certification 11

In 2018, in preparation for its forthcoming FDA submission, Hemanext completed a clinical study for the Hemanext ONE RBC Processing and Storage System 11

In 2019, Hemanext and its research colleagues wrote the latest in a series of papers published in prestigious journals that added to the body of scientific evidence supporting the clinical potential of hypoxic RBC storage11

Visit Hemanext.com to learn more about the company.

1 HemanextONE, Instructions for Use (April 2021).

2 Whitley et al. ISBT 2018 [Meeting Abstract].

3 D'Alessandro et al. Transfusion 2020;9999:1-13., Yoshida et al. Blood Transfus 2019;17:27-52.

4 D'Alessandro et al. Transfusion 2020;60:786-798.

5 D'Alessandro et al. Transfusion 2020;60:786-798., Yoshida et al. Blood Transfus 2019; 17(1):27-52.

6 D'Alessandro et al. Transfusion 2020;60:786-798., Yoshida et al. Blood Transfus 2019; 17(1):27-52.

7 Stegenga KA, Ward-Smith P, Hinds PS, et al. Quality of life among children with sickle cell disease receiving chronic transfusion therapy. J Pediatr Oncol Nurs 2004; 21 (4): 207-13.

8 Platzbecker U, Hofbauer LC, Ehninger G, et al. The clinical, quality of life, and economic consequences of chronic anemia and transfusion support in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes. Leukemia Research 2012; 36(5): 525-36.

9 Jansen AJ, Essink-Bot ML, Beckers EA, et al. Quality of life measurement in patients with transfusion-dependent myelodysplastic syndromes. Br J Haematol 2003; 121 (2): 270-4.

10 Howard. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program. 2016; 2016(1):625-631., Galanello et al. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2010; 5:11., Bennett. Am J Hematol. 2008; 83(11):858-61.

11 Data on file, Hemanext, Inc.

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A US egg company has agreed a settlement with legal authorities after being accused of price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic.

New York's attorney general launched legal action against Hillandale Farms last year, accusing it of charging customers exponentially higher prices than it did before the pandemic.

Letitia James said Hillandale gouged the prices of eggs it sold to major grocery store chains, US military facilities and wholesale food distributors throughout the state.

She said that during March and April 2020 Hillandale made millions from unlawfully increasing egg prices, many of which were sold in stores located in low income communities.

Ms James has now announced that she has agreed a settlement with the company that will involve Hillandale donating 1.2 million eggs to New York food banks.

As New Yorkers scrambled to stock up on food, one of the nations largest egg producers raised prices to unprecedented levels and made it harder for New Yorkers to feed their families, she said.

Hillandale may have run afoul of our states price gouging laws and hatched a plan that targeted our states most vulnerable in its darkest hour, but today were delivering 1.2 million eggs to feed hungry New Yorkers and make things right."

Hillandale issued a statement confirming the settlement: Hillandale Farms, a family owned company, is pleased to announce that it will donate 100,000 dozen eggs to New York food banks as part of a negotiated agreement with the attorney general of New York.

Although it is important to note that the approach to pricing commodity eggs in New York using third party data provided by Urner Barry has remained consistent for decades, the resolution of this matter reflects Hillandale Farms deep concern about the communities we serve.

"We welcomed the opportunity to take steps to benefit New Yorks most vulnerable families and support ongoing hunger relief in the state.

As we have done for generations, we will continue to focus on producing quality eggs, operating with honesty and integrity, and maintaining the highest standards for our team, customers and animals.

In the lawsuit, the attorney general said that Hillandale began raising prices in March 2020, as the pandemic grew to emergency levels.

From January 2020 to early March 2020, Hillandale charged Western Beef Supermarket prices ranging from $0.59 to $1.10 for a dozen large white eggs. On 15 March 2020, Hillandale raised that price to $1.49.

As the pandemic progressed, the firm raised the prices it charged Western Beef repeatedly, eventually reaching $2.93 per dozen - almost five times the price it initially charged in January.

Similarly, the suit alleged that Hillandale raised its prices on eggs sold to Stop & Shop, BJs Wholesale Club, Associated Supermarkets, and at the commissary stores at the US Military Academy at West Point and at military bases at Fort Hamilton and Fort Drum.

In addition to ensuring Hillandale ends the gouging of egg prices, the company has committed to donating 1.2 million eggs to food banks across New York state, the attorney general said.
Continues regional expansion with a focus on employees

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- First paragraph, second sentence of release should read: Illumina was second in Health Care and Equipment Services and placed 27th on the overall list.

The updated release reads:

ILLUMINA NAMED ONE OF SINGAPORES BEST EMPLOYERS

Continues regional expansion with a focus on employees

Illumina, Inc., today announced, for the second consecutive year, Illumina is honored as one of Singapores Best Employers in a survey sponsored by The Straits Times and the marketing firm Statista. Illumina was second in Health Care and Equipment Services and placed 27th on the overall list. Conducted in late 2020, the survey queried around 9,000 people employed in all different industries, giving them the opportunity to express their support for 1,700 local companies with more than 200 employees.

It is heartwarming to be recognized once again as one of Singapores Best Employers, says Derric Lee, Vice President and General Manager of Illumina Singapore. This award means a great deal and gives recognition for our efforts to create a conducive, inclusive and rewarding environment for employees at any level.

The survey results are based on employee perceptions from companies in the region. Respondents were asked whether they would recommend their employer to a friend or family member, and if they would make the same recommendation for other companies.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Illuminas first Singapore facility opened in 2008 with ten employees and a 38,000 square foot facility. Today, Illumina Singapore has increased the number of employees to more than 1,300 and grown to three buildings, occupying ten times the original spacenow totaling 385,000 square feet. The momentum continues with an additional facility for research and development which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2022.

We plan to create a complete ecosystem for employees to develop, grow and thrive, says Lee. This ethos means focusing on every aspect of an employees time with the company from the first moment they walk in the door. We are always assessing the totality of the workplace experience, including onboarding, office ambience, maintaining an open and collaborative culture, training and development, and care and support. Our goal is to provide employees with the best possible end-to-end experience when they work for Illumina.

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit www.illumina.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412006017/en/

Grace Lai

glai1@illumina.com

Source: Illumina, Inc.
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Introducing "Here's to Learning" Video as a Tribute to All Educators

BREA, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solutions, introduces "Here's to Learning - A Thank You to Educators", a campaign to celebrate educators for their devotion and hard work during the COVID-19 lockdown. Once the pandemic abates, the hybrid educational model will be the new normal in education. Standing by the educators, ViewSonic is committed to delivering more innovative education solutions and sculpting the future of education.

The pandemic has affected people's lives in all aspects, a hybrid approach of combining in-person and distance learning is foreseen as the new trend in the future. However, teachers' workload and stress are getting heavier due to the rising demand for distance education since they have to redesign their lessons and adopt new technologies at the same time.

As a tribute to all the hard-working educators, ViewSonic launches "Here's to Learning - A Thank You to Educators", a 3-minute video filmed in the U.S., India, and Taiwan to celebrate the value they bring to the world. This video shows how educators overcome the challenges and barriers by incorporating technology into new teaching approaches to keep teaching-learning uninterrupted, no matter if they are in-person or remote classes.

Hybrid teaching is the future of education, it allows teachers to simultaneously teach on-site or remotely. ViewSonic understands teachers' pain points and provides the Hybrid Learning Solution with integrated software and hardware including ViewBoard interactive displays, myViewBoard visual learning platform as well as a robust product portfolio.

In 2020, the first ViewSonic Hybrid Teaching Classroom in Chung Yuan Christian University was established in Taiwan. Through the end-to-end solution, teachers can switch between physical and virtual classrooms seamlessly which lessens their burden when adapting the teaching approach. Moreover, it also breaks the barrier of space by incorporating physical and unlimited online students into one class. Hybrid teaching and learning keep education uninterrupted and ViewSonic's goal is to achieve a digital revolution and true equality in education that benefits both teachers and students in every corner of the world.

Find out more about ViewSonic Hybrid Learning Solution:

ViewSonic Education - Hybrid Learning Solutions (brochure)

Introducing ViewSonic Hybrid Learning Solution (video)

Hybrid Learning Classroom Set Up (video)

Here's to Learning Anywhere - ViewBoard for Learning Solutions (video)

Here's to Learning Anywhere - Monitors for Learning Solutions (video)

Here's to Learning Anywhere - Writing Devices for Learning Solutions (video)

About ViewSonic

Founded in California, ViewSonic is a leading global provider of visual solutions and conducts business in over 100 countries worldwide. As an innovator and visionary, ViewSonic is committed to providing comprehensive hardware and software solutions that include monitors, projectors, digital signage, ViewBoard interactive displays, and the myViewBoard software ecosystem. With over 30 years of expertise in visual displays, ViewSonic has established a strong position for delivering innovative and reliable solutions for education, enterprise, consumer, and professional markets and helping customers "See the Difference." To find out more about ViewSonic, please visit www.viewsonic.com.

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The company also has three power auger rigs operating at Kada and a 15,000-metre auger drill program designed to delineate mineralised zones outside the Newmont gold resource area is progressing well with 12,552 metres completed.

Infill drilling is expected to provide sufficient data for the preparation of a maiden mineral resource.

( ) has started a 2,500-metre diamond drilling program at its Kada Gold Project in Guinea focusing on the Newmont gold resource area.

The infill drilling program will comprise 2,500 metres of HQ diamond drilling, which is underway, and 4,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling which will begin shortly.

The company also has three power auger rigs operating at Kada and a planned 15,000-metre auger drilling program, designed to delineate mineralised zones outside the Newmont resource area, is progressing well with 1,128 holes for 12,552 metres completed.

Infill diamond drilling

Golden Rims managing director Craig Mackay said: Golden Rim has commenced infill diamond drilling at Kada, focusing on the area where Newmont previously calculated a non-JORC gold resource.

This infill drilling will allow us to deliver a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource for Kada during the second half of 2021.

Infill drilling along with the historical drilling will provide the company with an 80 x 80 metres drill pattern throughout the area where Newmont calculated a non-JORC gold resource in 2012 after completing nearly 34,000 metres of drilling.

Auger drilling program

The company is progressing well with a 15,000-metre power auger drilling program at Kada, aimed at finding gold mineralised saprolite outside the Newmont gold resource area and under the shallow laterite and soil cover, which lies across the bulk of the project area.

Golden Rim has three power auger rigs operating at Kada, with 1,128 holes for 12,552 metres completed to date.

Mackay said: Our auger drilling at Kada is progressing very well and we have completed more than two-thirds of the planned program.

Zones of intense quartz

Drilling continues to intersect zones of intense quartz-limonite mineralisation in saprolite beneath around 10 metres of laterite and soil cover, which is highly encouraging.

The results for the first batch of auger samples are expected shortly.

Mackay said: We continue to discover quartzlimonite mineralisation in bedrock outside the area previously drilled by Newmont, which is highly encouraging, and our first assays are expected shortly.
The family of US Capitol Police Officer William Evans looks on as his casket is carried into the U.S. Capitol to lie in honor in the rotunda on April 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. Shawn Thew/Getty Images

President Joe Biden and top lawmakers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday to honor Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans.

Biden addressed Evans' family, including his 9-year-old son Logan and 7-year-old daughter Abigail, in personal terms.

"Never ... has so much strain and responsibility been placed on the shoulders of Capitol police," Biden said.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

President Joe Biden and top lawmakers gathered in the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday to honor Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans, who was killed during a car attack while protecting the building on April 2.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Evans "a martyr for our democracy" and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer told Evans' two young children, 9-year-old Logan and 7-year-old Abigail, "we are forever indebted to your dad." Both children held stuffed animals and Logan wore his father's police hat.

Biden addressed Evans' family in personal terms, mentioning his own familial losses.

"You're gonna make it, by holding each other together. Most importantly, by holding Logan and Abigail as tightly as you can," Biden said. "Because as long as you have them, you have Billy."

President Joe Biden presents a challenge coin to Logan Evans, son of slain US Capitol Police officer William Billy Evans at a ceremony at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on April 13, 2021. DREW ANGERER/Getty Images

Evans, 41, is the second Capitol Police officer to die in the line of duty in less than three months. Lawmakers and officers gathered on February 3 to honor Officer Brian Sicknick, who died after being attacked by rioters while protecting the Capitol building on January 6.

"Never ... has so much strain and responsibility been placed on the shoulders of Capitol police," Biden said.

The president gave Logan a challenge coin after he spoke.

Evans and Sicknick are the fifth and sixth private citizens respectively to lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, following civil rights activist Rosa Parks, Rev. Billy Graham, and two Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty in 1998.

Story continues

Evans' assailant, 25-year-old Noah Green, was shot and killed by officers after he exited the car he used to ram a Capitol barricade. Green's motives remain unclear, but a relative reported he struggled with mental illness.

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Top Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also attended the ceremony.

Evans' family said in a statement that his death "has left a gaping void in our lives that will never be filled."

"Billy was the best father, son, brother, and friend anyone could ever hope for," they wrote.

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Nazareth Area middle and high schools should stick with 2-day-a-week in-school classes rather than go to five days a week, according to the superintendent.

Nazareth Area School District Superintendent Dennis Riker sent a letter Monday to parents of middle and high school students outlining his recommendation to the school board.

He said there isnt enough room in the middle and high schools to maintain six feet of social distancing for the full student body. Also, students in those schools switch classes and dont move from room to room as a full class like the children in the elementary and intermediate schools.

Our local health care officials caution that a full return may have a negative impact on the number of future cases in the building which would potentially shut down the buildings and postpone/cancel associated activities that our secondary students and families eagerly anticipated all year, Riker said in the letter.

Teachers and staff surveyed at the middle and high schools said they prefer sticking with the hybrid model.

Under the hybrid plan, half the students attend school on Tuesday and Thursday while the other half attend on Wednesday and Friday. The schools are deep cleaned on Mondays. Students learn the rest of the week online. Students in the Nazareth Area School District have the option of taking all their classes online.

Elementary and intermediate school students recently went back to school five days a week.

The transition back is going very well, Riker said in the letter.

We are optimistic that the conditions in our county will allow us to start school next year with 5 days a week of in-person instruction in all of our buildings, he added.

The Nazareth Area elementary schools have grades K-3. The intermediate school has grades 4, 5 and 6. The middle school has grades 7 and 8 and the high school has grades 9-12.

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
South Carolina reported more than 440 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 12 new deaths April 13.

Here's the latest on the pandemic in South Carolina.

2:45 p.m.  With only a few days left before the application deadline, Berkeley County still has more $4.6 million available to help residents who are unable to pay rent or utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

City of Charleston ends fines for not following mask rules as vaccine rollout continues South Carolina's health agency confirmed 447 new cases of coronavirus disease on April 13 as a plateau in the virus' spread throughout the state continues.

1:30 p.m.  South Carolinas health agency confirmed 447 new cases of coronavirus disease on April 13 as a plateau in the virus spread throughout the state continues. Read more.

SC health agency pauses J&J vaccine over clot reports at US officials' recommendation The U.S. is recommending a "pause" in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

8:58 a.m.  The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control halted the rollout of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina at the recommendation of federal health officials, who are investigating reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48. Read more.

ACLU asks judge to reconsider and block McMaster's return-to-work order The ACLU is asking a judge to reconsider and allow public state employees in South Carolina to continue working from home until its lawsuit against Gov. Henry McMaster plays out in court.

Monday, 4:30 p.m.  The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to reconsider his refusal to temporarily block Gov. Henry McMasters return-to-work order for state employees.

Circuit Judge Casey Manning should either reverse his denial and hold a hearing or allow public employees to continue working from home until the lawsuit plays out in court, the ACLU of South Carolina said in its motion filed April 12. Read more.
VERNIER (dpa-AFX) - Givaudan (GVDBF.PK), a Swiss manufacturer of fragrance and flavor products, reported Tuesday that its first-quarter sales were 1.67 billion Swiss francs, up 3.4 percent from last year's 1.62 billion francs. Sales grew 7.7 percent on a like-for-like basis. Fragrance & Beauty sales were 788 million francs, up 5.8 percent in Swiss francs and up 9.9 percent on a like-for-like basis. Taste & Wellbeing sales were 886 million francs, an increase of 1.3 percent in Swiss francs. Like-for-like sales increased 5.8 percent. The good growth was achieved across most product segments and geographies. High growth markets recorded sales growth of 14.5 percent on a like-for-like basis. CEO Gilles Andrier said, 'We have seen continued strong demand across the parts of our business which are less impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and improving conditions in the parts of our portfolio which have been more affected.' Looking ahead for fiscal 2025, the company said it aims to achieve organic sales growth of 4-5 percent on a like-for-like basis and free cash flow of at least 12 percent, both measured as an average over the five-year period strategy cycle. The companies ambitions include doubling its business through creations that contribute to happier, healthier lives by 2030, becoming climate positive before 2050, becoming a leading employer for inclusion before 2025 and sourcing all materials and services in a way that protects the environment and people by 2030. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The Biden administration on Monday announced it will rescind rules requiring people to obtain abortion drugs in-person amid the coronavirus pandemic, reversing a Trump administration policy that the Supreme Court reinstituted in January.

In a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on Monday, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the agency found that allowing patients to receive chemical abortion pills via telemedicine and in the mail would not increase risks and would help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

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The decision comes amid a months-long fight over FDA rules for obtaining mifepristone  one of two drugs used in chemical abortions, the most common method of abortion used in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. By 2017, abortion drugs accounted for 39 percent of abortions in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.

The in-person requirement was initially suspended by a federal judge in July in response to a lawsuit by ACOG.

However, the Trump administration appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court. Though the high court first declined to intervene in October, it voted 6-3 in January to reinstitute the restrictions.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration asked an appeals court for additional time to respond to ACOGs lawsuit. It suggested then that the FDA could decide to exercise its enforcement discretion.

The FDAs latest decision applies only to the pandemic and does not detail how the rules will be enforced after it has subsided.

ACOG, the American Medical Association, congressional Democrats and other groups have called on the agency to permanently lift the restrictions.

Jeanne Mancini, president of March for Life, rebuked the decision in a statement, saying the Biden administration has made it clear that it will prioritize abortion over womens safety.

She suggested allowing unsupervised chemical abortions via telemedicine without requiring timely access to medical women will put women in grave danger. However, while the FDA released data in 2018 showing thousands of women had experienced adverse events after taking abortion pills, including 768 hospitalizations and 24 deaths since 2000, the FDA says the events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to the drugs.

Story continues

ACOGs Chief Executive Officer Maureen G. Phipps said Monday that loosening the restrictions means those in need of an abortion or miscarriage management will be able to do so safety and effectively by acquiring mifepristone though the mail  just as they would any other medication with a similarly strong safety profile, according to Politico.

Pro-life lawmakers and advocacy groups had been preparing for the FDAs decision and have proactively worked to ban the pills or make them more difficult to obtain.

In Ohio, a new ban on telemedicine abortions was set to take effect on Monday but was blocked by a state court. Similar policies are advancing in Indiana, Arkansas, Iowa, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming and West Virginia.

More from National Review
The Biden administration has decided to allow women to receive abortion pills by mail for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, the latest development in an issue that has increasingly taken center stage in the American abortion debate.

In a letter sent Monday to two leading organizations representing reproductive health physicians, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration said that the agency would temporarily stop enforcing its requirement that the first of two drugs needed to terminate an early pregnancy be dispensed in a medical clinic.

The new policy counters a Supreme Court decision in January that sided with the Trump administration, which had appealed a federal judges decision last July to suspend the requirement. The judge had argued that the requirement put women at risk during the pandemic because they would need to visit clinics in person and often travel significant distances to do so.

Abortion through medication, first approved by the F.D.A. in 2000, is increasingly becoming womens preferred method for terminating a pregnancy. As of 2017, research estimated that about 60 percent of abortion patients early enough in pregnancy to be eligible  10 weeks pregnant or less  chose medication abortion over suction or surgery.
[April 13, 2021] Nokia's Nuage Networks to power China Mobile Cloud's massive public cloud expansion

Press Release Nokias Nuage Networks to power China Mobile Clouds massive public cloud expansion 13 April 2021 Espoo, Finland  Nokia today announced that China Mobile Cloud, the subsidiary of the leading mobile telecom provider China Mobile, will leverage the Nuage Networks end-to-end SDN solution for nationwide deployment of its public cloud service. Nokias Nuage Networks Virtualized Cloud Services (VCS) solution will provide advanced network automation across networks and clouds of all sizes  allowing customers to build fully isolated and secure virtual private clouds (VPCs) that connect to other VPCs, the internet and enterprise data centers. Nokia has worked closely with China Mobile Cloud since 2015  with both China Mobile Clouds public and private cloud services running on Nuages SDN solution  continuously developing features and improving system architecture for the growing demand of cloud service. Nokias Nuage Networks VCS can support a massive number of virtual machines (VM) and bare metal services (BM) in the same network with full policy control. The flexible architecture also allows direct connectivity between the end points without going through gateways, which can quickly become bottlenecks in a cloud environment. Markus Bochert, President of Nokia Greater China, said: As China Mobile Clouds strategic partner, were very honored to be part of China Mobile Clouds public cloud deployment. With Nokias Nuage SDN portfolio and our customized service, were confident to support China Mobile Cloud to pursue its goal in the cloud era. Sunil Khandekar, CEO of Nokias Nuage Networks, said: Contributing to this service for the region presents immense opportunity for Nokia with the rapid growth of China Mobile Cloud. We developed the network solution together with customers to ensure it was suitable for China Mobile Clouds expansion of its public cloud application. By deploying our SDN solution, China Mobile Clouds customers will have th ability to create highly secure and dynamic virtual networks.



Nokias Nuage Networks Virtualized Cloud Services (VCS) solution includes an SDN controller, software switch, SDN gateway, firewall, load balancer and VPN, and will provide: Inter-virtual private cloud (VPC) connectivity in different data centers for fault tolerance and to locate applications closer to the end users

Data Center Interconnection (DCI) that is fully automated by the Nuage platform

Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) to secure the critical cloud workloads

Bare Metal as a Service (BMaaS) for non-virtualized workloads and workloads needing access to physical hardware Resources

Webpage: Nokias Nuage Networks



Webpage: Nokias Nuage Networks VCS

About Nuage Networks from Nokia

Nuage Networks, a Nokia venture, provides SDN and SD-WAN solutions that enable managed service providers and cloud providers to deliver public cloud and networking services to enterprise customers spanning all markets. Our solution is a centrally-controlled, open, multi-cloud, virtual networking platform. It enables customers to efficiently and cost-effectively connect all locations, users and application workloads, with embedded security throughout the network, including the cloud. ACG Research ranked Nuage Networks #1 in SD-WAN delivered through service providers . For the latest information, please visit us online and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn . 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. Media Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com





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W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has been awarded a $399,600 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his research on the differences in brain development between males and females. This line of research is critical for the development of novel, targeted therapies for individuals with neuropsychiatric developmental disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, that are known to present with significant sex differences, Risher said.

This three-year NIH Research Enhancement Award (R15), designed to support small-scale research projects that strengthen the research environment of the institution, will identify sex-dependent interactions between developing brain cells, including neurons and astrocytes, in order to determine how synaptic networks are formed in male and female brains.

The research seeks to uncover novel roles of sex and sex hormones in the fundamental process of brain development. Risher and his team will use whole brains as well as isolated neurons and astrocytes from mice and rats of both sexes to identify differences in how these cells form the connections that serve as the basis for the ability to learn, remember and perform simple and complex movements.

Our innovative approach will determine how sex differences affect interactions between neurons and astrocytes and ultimately explain how these changes result in differential rates of synapse formation, maturation and function between sexes. This work should provide key insights into critical developmental processes underlying neurological dysfunction and thus inform future strategies for the identification, prevention and treatment of neurodevelopmental disease." W. Christopher Risher, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine

This R15 grant includes funding for several members of Risher's research group, which is primarily student led. School of Medicine faculty members Nalini Santanam, Ph.D., and Brandon Henderson, Ph.D., will serve as collaborators. The grant was issued by the National Institute of Mental Health, a division of the National Institutes of Health, under award number 1R15MH126345-01.

In 2020, Risher was selected for the Research Partner Program through the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation for his work on neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Tucson, AZ, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Applied Energetics, Inc. (OTCQB: AERG), today announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters to UA Tech Park, a research and technology park owned and operated by the University of Arizona. The new strategic location will support the Company's anticipated future growth and provide greater capacity for research, product development and production activities. The move, expected to take place over the next 60 days, will provide the Company with an ITAR and laser safety compliant facility totaling approximately 13,000 square feet, of which approximately 4,800 square feet is dedicated to a Class 1000 (ISO 6) Cleanroom. Applied Energetics is benefiting from millions of dollars of capital investment made by the previous occupant which was a global provider of lasers and laser-based technology for scientific, commercial and industrial customers.

Applied Energetics joins over 60 other technology companies and organizations that call UA Tech Park home. The UA Tech Park provides the infrastructure for business, community and the University of Arizona to connect and advance leading edge technology, a place where emerging businesses and tech giants work side by side. Located in one of Arizonas fast-growing suburban settings on Tucsons southeast side at Rita Road, the Parks spacious campus encompasses 1,282 acres and has 2 million square feet of space for high-tech offices, R&D, and laboratory facilities.

Gregory J. Quarles, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Applied Energetics, commented, Our new headquarters at UA Tech Park will enable Applied Energetics to grow to the next level, as we look to further our strategic plan of innovation, development and commercialization of our proprietary technologies in the field of ultra-short pulse lasers. This facility, with its research labs and state-of-the-art clean room, is perfectly suited and move-in ready to align with our defense industry and production roadmap. This move also eliminates the downtime of a buildout and nearly triples our floor space with a rent schedule that is aligned with our balance sheet but built for our long-term growth profile.

Quarles added, The Tucson region, and specifically UA Tech Park, is home to many companies in the technology and defense industry and offers a professional, well-educated workforce that will allow us to recruit top scientific, engineering, and commercial talent with laser and defense industry expertise. We are excited to bring our headquarters to this dynamic and collaborative tech park.

About UA Tech Park

The University of Arizona Science and Technology Park (UA Tech Park at Rita Road) is one of the nations premier university research parks. The UA Tech Park is directed by Tech Parks Arizona which creates the Interactive Ground, that connects the University, community, and industry in pursuit of technology innovation and commercialization. The Park links cutting-edge technology companies with the resources of the University of Arizona, creating an environment in which companies incubate, innovate, grow and succeed. For more information, visit www.techparks.arizona.edu

About Applied Energetics, Inc.

Applied Energetics, Inc., AE based in Tucson, Arizona, specializes in development and manufacture of advanced high-performance lasers, high voltage electronics, advanced optical systems, and integrated guided energy systems for defense, aerospace, industrial, and scientific customers worldwide. Applied Energetics pioneered and holds all crucial intellectual property rights to the development and use of Laser Guided Energy (LGETM) technology and related solutions for commercial, defense and security applications, and are protected by 26 patents and 11 additional Government Sensitive Patent Applications GSPA. The companys 11 GSPAs are held under secrecy orders of the US government and allow AE greatly extended protection rights. For more information, visit www.aergs.com

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to the historical or current facts and can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "believe", "will", "expect", "project", "anticipate", estimates", "plans", "strategy", "target", "prospects" or "continue", and words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of our management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect our current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition and may cause our actual results, performances or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking statements.
ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 13th Apr, 2021) Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has carried out UAE's first deep brain stimulation operations saving the lives of four Emirati nationals from Parkinsons disease.

The surgeries, which each lasted between four and eight hours, took place over just four days following comprehensive evaluations to ensure the patients were good candidates for the surgery.

The complex surgery can significantly reduce the symptoms patients experience, reducing their need for medication and improving their quality of life. The electrodes are controlled by a small device implanted under the patients skin.

"Deep brain stimulation is an intricate procedure that will transform both the lives of patients and the way Parkinsons disease is treated in the UAE. The level of expertise required to offer this surgery is phenomenal and I am extremely proud of the whole team for coming together to offer these patients a new level of care and a lifeless reliant on medication and with fewer symptoms," said Dr. Florian Roser, Chair of the Neurological Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

During the surgery, neurosurgeons implant electrodes into precise areas of the brain to block rogue signals that cause motor problems such as tremors. These areas are identified in advance using advanced imaging technologies that inform each patients unique surgical plan.

"Deep brain stimulation is a particularly complex endeavour that relies on detailed planning and submillimeter precision. Using some of the worlds most advanced imaging techniques, our team can determine the exact areas of the brain causing a patients symptoms.

Once identified, the challenge is to place the electrode at those precise points through the brain. Each case is unique and dramatically different to most surgeries," said Dr. Tanmoy Maiti, the neurosurgeon who performed the surgeries at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.

Reflecting the close level of collaboration between colleagues, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabis deep brain stimulation programme draws on Cleveland Clinic in Ohios more than twenty years of experience in the field, performing more than 150 deep brain stimulation surgeries per year. The surgical team received support in the UAEs first deep brain stimulation surgeries from Dr. Andre Machado who flew to Abu Dhabi from the US for the surgeries.

"Cleveland Clinic is a global, integrated organisation and all parts are mutually supportive. Our team trained the surgical team at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and also discussed each patients surgical candidacy. It was a great pleasure to be in Abu Dhabi to support the success of the first few surgeries and the Cleveland team will continue to support this very important programme," said Dr. Andre Machado, Institute Chair, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic.

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, an integral part of Mubadala Health, is the only hospital in the UAE equipped with the requisite technology and infrastructural expertise to offer deep brain stimulation to patients as a team.
A group of researchers led by Brazilians has used an innovative model to map gaps in the Amazon rainforest and identify factors that contribute to tree mortality. Water stress, soil fertility, and anthropic forest degradation have the most influence on gap dynamics in the world's largest and most biodiverse tropical rainforest, according to an article on the study published in Scientific Reports.

Forest gaps are most frequent in the areas with the highest levels of soil fertility, possibly because the abundance of organic material drives faster tree growth and shorter life cycles.

The main method of data collection used in the study was LiDAR (light detection and ranging), a remote sensing method that uses pulsed laser light. Coverage extended to remote parts of the Brazilian Amazon where fieldwork is very difficult and satellite images can be imprecise, owing mainly to heavy cloud.

An airborne LiDAR system emits thousands or hundreds of thousands of laser light pulses, which bounce off Earth's surface and return to the system at the speed of light, enabling the height of trees and other objects to be determined on the basis of the lag between emission and reception of the pulses. Resolution can be as high as 1 meter, so LiDAR is used to survey topography and the structure of vegetation, often in the form of a 3D scan.

"The western and southeastern parts of Amazonia had the most gaps, closest to the 'arc of deforestation' on the agricultural frontier. Forest dynamics are up to 35% faster there than in the center-east and north, with more gap creation and tree mortality," Ricardo Dal'Agnol, first author of the article, told Agencia FAPESP. Dal'Agnol is an environmental engineer working as a researcher in the Earth Observation & Geoinformatics Division of Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE).

In the study, which was supported by FAPESP, the scientists used a database resulting from more than 600 flights over the forest as part of INPE's Amazon Biomass Estimation Project (EBA), led by Jean Ometto, a senior researcher at INPE and a co-author of the article.

The purpose of the EBA was to quantify biomass and carbon in the Amazon and explore the dynamics of vegetation in the region. The maps produced by INPE as part of the project can be used to formulate public policy, facilitate the inventorying of emissions, and estimate carbon balances.

Carbon sequestration

Forests, above all tropical forests, are considered the largest biological reservoir of biomass and carbon on the planet. Trees need large amounts of CO 2 to develop and grow. Changes in forest functioning and tree mortality therefore significantly influence the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. They also directly affect the market for carbon credits currently being implemented in several countries following regulation by the Paris Agreement, a major global environmental policy milestone.

In 2019, greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil rose 9.6% compared with the previous year, largely owing to deforestation in the Amazon. In that year, Brazil pumped 2.17 billion gross tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO 2 e) into the atmosphere, up from 1.98 billion tCO 2 e in 2018, reversing the downtrend seen in previous years, according to a report by Brazil's Greenhouse Gas Emission and Removal Estimating System (SEEG).

"The uncertainties associated with tree mortality drivers and mechanisms, especially at smaller scales (Scientific Reports article.

Previous research had already pointed to the influence of climate change, especially rising temperatures and drier weather, on tree mortality in tropical forests. One recent study, also led by Brazilian researchers, was published in December 2020 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Future

According to Dal'Agnol, mapping trees that die standing to obtain more data on forest dynamics is the next big challenge. "Some trees die but don't fall, remaining upright as skeleton-like trunks," he said. "A next step could be to try to map these standing dead trees in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of tree mortality."

In the article, the scientists say "the spatial patterns of dynamic gaps" mapped using LiDAR data were "notably consistent with field mortality patterns" but were 60% lower, probably owing to "predominant detection of the broken/uprooted mode of death".

Dal'Agnol's postdoctoral research, on which he is now working with FAPESP's support, uses a novel approach to the analysis of airborne LiDAR data to quantify tree mortality and estimate biomass loss in tropical forests. The principal investigator for the project is Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragao, which subscribes the article as last author.

###

About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
Here's a selection of Business Standard pieces for the day

A fresh controversy over the Rafale fighter jet deal urgently demands a robust explanation from the government. But the unique reluctance to subject the deal to open scrutiny at a time when the same governments enforcement machinery is  rightly  subjecting and Maharashtras Maha Vikas Aghadi to investigation speaks of double standards, argues our lead editorial



Corporate India may not be too thrilled, but Sebis proposals on independent directors are good for Indias governance credentials, writes Akash Prakash



It will be sad if in the absence of clear political will, political violence remains a tragic fixture of West Bengal politics, notes our second editorial


MIAMI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eMed, a digital health company democratizing healthcare through its digital-point-of-care platform, announces a new milestone in its State of Colorado partnership: At-home COVID-19 rapid testing availability has now been expanded to all employees required to interact with the public at their jobs. Now, more Coloradans have access to free rapid antigen testing at home with validated results in just minutes.

eMed, the architect behind the first virtually guided, rapid at-home COVID-19 test technology and platform, partnered with the State of Colorado earlier this year to distribute and administer millions of rapid tests with verified results to teachers, staff and selected students. Following the success of getting tests into the hands of school districts, Coloradan restaurant and food services workers became eligible to receive rapid tests through the Binax At-Home program of the state.

"We commend Governor Polis for his vision early on and for expanding testing programs in the state to help get more readily available rapid tests into the hands of thousands of Coloradans," said Dr. Patrice Harris, eMed Co-Founder and CEO. "eMed provides a unique at-home testing solution that is not only convenient, but reliable with third-party verified results  a key component in the public health fight to combat this pandemic."

Complete an Individual Enrollment Form to participate in the Binax At-Home program and gain access to the eMed digital health platform for testing and results from a single device  desktop, laptop computer or mobile devices such as a smartphone or tablet.

eMed tests are virtually guided by an eMed Certified Guide, who monitors the test and provides third-party validation of the result. eMed automatically reports results to the at-home user and appropriate public health authorities, providing critical data for public health management.

Tests purchased by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) give the state the ability to test hundreds of thousands of individuals monthly.

About eMed

eMed (www.eMed.com) is a digital-point-of-care health company democratizing healthcare with a digital platform that provides fast, easy and affordable at-home healthcare testing, supervised and guided online by eMed Certified Guides. We embrace quantitative medicine to deliver prescribed tests and treatments directly to patients, driving better and more cost-effective health outcomes.

This product has not been FDA cleared or approved; but has been authorized by FDA under an EUA;

This product has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS- CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and,

This product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization is revoked sooner.

SOURCE eMed
(CNN) -- Bitcoin has rocketed to a new record above $62,700 as investors gear up for this week's eagerly awaited direct listing of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global.

Bitcoin has more than doubled in price this year, and it represents just over half of the overall cryptocurrency market's value of nearly $2.1 trillion. That's only slightly less than the stock market value of Apple.

On Tuesday, bitcoin prices surged as much as 4.7% to an all-time high above $62,700. The currency first topped $60,000 in early March amid signs that it would gain more mainstream acceptance as a store of value.

Even large corporations are embracing bitcoin. Elon Musk's Tesla has decided to invest some of its corporate cash in bitcoin, and accept it for some car purchases. Software firm MicroStrategy announced Monday that it will start to pay fees to directors of the company's board who are not employees in bitcoin instead of cash.

Shares of Silvergate Capital, a bank that specializes in crypto-backed loans and deposits, have more than doubled this year.

Coinbase's debut, set for Wednesday, could be a catalyst for the recent bitcoin and broader crypto surge. Coinbase is profitable and has reported strong revenue growth, and that could further help validate crypto buying and selling as a business.

Based on recent private stock trades for Coinbase, the company is valued at a stunning level of nearly $68 billion. To put that into context, it's a little bit more than the market value of New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange.

"The Coinbase direct listing is a major milestone for the crypto industry. It will allow investors to gain exposure to the business without having to own actual cryptocurrencies," said Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, a digital asset securities firm.

Bitcoin isn't the only digital currency that's surging: Ethereum has nearly tripled this year thanks in part to its role as the primary method of payment used for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. It's now worth about $250 billion.

"Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are like digital gold as more and more assets are becoming digitalized and tokenized," said Li Jun, founder of Ontology, a blockchain firm. "Cryptocurrencies are going to become even more important."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Bitcoin soars to new record above $62,700"
Iran has accused Israel of carrying out an attack on a nuclear center that damaged equipment and caused a power outage.

Iranian officials called Sundays incident at the Natanz nuclear center an act of nuclear terrorism. They said centrifuges were damaged at the plant. A centrifuge is a device used to increase the purity of uranium for nuclear purposes.

Media organizations reported the Israeli government was behind the action, which was described as a cyberattack. However, Israel did not claim responsibility for an attack or comment directly on the incident.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue efforts aimed at preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. He said such a device would give Iran the ability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel. He added that Israel will continue to defend itself against Irans aggression and terrorism.

A former chief of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, General Mohsen Rezaei, said in a message on Twitter that the attack had started a fire.

Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the countrys answer to the action should be to take revenge against Israel. He did not comment further, but added that Israel will receive its answer through its own path.

Khatibzadeh confirmed that centrifuges at the plant had been damaged. The incident took place one day after Iran announced it had launched new, advanced centrifuge machines at Natanz. Khatibzadeh said only the older centrifuges were damaged.

Irans improvements in centrifuge technology are designed to permit the country to process uranium faster.

Since January, Iran has begun enriching uranium to as high as 20 percent purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels.

The incident came after negotiations began last week in Vienna aiming to bring the United States back into a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. The deal -- which the U.S. left in 2018 under President Donald Trump -- restricts Irans nuclear program in exchange for easing U.S. and international sanctions.

The U.S. reestablished economic sanctions after withdrawing from the agreement. Iran answered by violating some of the terms of the deal.

In Vienna, officials from the U.S. and Iran were holding indirect talks. Also taking part were representatives from countries still in the nuclear deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived Monday in Israel for talks with Netanyahu and other officials. When asked by reporters whether the nuclear discussions might be affected by the incident at the plant Lloyd said, Those efforts will continue.

In a statement, the White House said it knew about the Natanz attack and that the U.S. was not involved in any manner.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

cyberattack  n. an attempt by attackers to damage or destroy a computer network or system

eliminate  v. remove or get rid of something

revenge  n. the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you

advanced  adj. having developed or progressed to a late stage

sanction  n. a restriction, usually limiting trade, that are meant to cause a country to obey international law

manner n. way or method that something is done
Jeremy Mercer I am filled with excitement as I begin my career with Future Home Loans and look forward to working collaboratively as a team to ensure we are the number one choice for any home loan needs!

Future Home Loans, this past month, announced their latest addition to their operations staff; Jeremy Mercer has joined Future Home Loans as their Director of Operations. Mercer brings 20 years of experience from the mortgage banking industry. As the Director of Operations, he will be working with the executive team to make decisions for operational activities and strategic goal setting, planning and monitoring the daily running of business, and overseeing their internal operations department.

Mercer has a wide range of experience developing training methods, implementing underwriting guidelines, handling complex customer service, and managing daily loan delivery while overseeing process escalations. In this role, he intends to draw from his extensive finance and mortgage banking background by expanding Future Home Loans in the way of customer service, production, finance, and employee management.

Mercer comes to Future Home Loans from UBS Financial. During his tenure, he functioned as a single point of contact for both clients and financial advisors throughout the loan process. This included coordinating all stages of the loan process with third parties such as vendors, realtors, developers, and accountants from loan origination through closing. Each milestone in my career held an opportunity to gain the knowledge and skill set required to successfully assist with every aspect of the home loan process necessary to achieve satisfactory results, said Mercer. I am filled with excitement as I begin my career with Future Home Loans and look forward to working collaboratively as a team to ensure we are the number one choice for any home loan needs!

Mercer describes himself as committed, a problem solver, and positive. Hes extremely dedicated to accomplishing results that meet the standards and high level of expectations. Mercer always welcomes a challenge and enjoys finding solutions for any challenge or obstacle. He is also a believer in a positive attitude will lead to a positive impact, especially to those around him.

Mercer is an advocate in the non-profit community for helping out infants and children who are diagnosed with rare diseases such as Hemophagocytic Lymph histiocytosis, a severe systemic inflammatory syndrome. Having personal ties to this disease, Mercer found himself not only eager to share information about it, but also divulge his personal time into his local community to raise money thus supporting local families affected by the many immune system diseases. In his free time, he volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities program, Pop Tabs.

Future Home Loans is confident that Mercer embodies many of the strategic and customer-centric values their team presents to our clients and partners on a daily basis. With Mercer's two decades of experience, strong commitment, dedication, and positive attitude, he is going to push Future Home Loans into new and exciting territory that will only help the company grow stronger.

Future Home Loans was founded in sunny Jacksonville Beach, Florida in 2017. Since then, they have expanded their horizons to the Space Coast, venturing into new waters via their Melbourne, Florida branch. Prior to starting Future Home Loans, their founders were top producers within the realm of corporate finance and found themselves eager to bring mortgages to a new level: a brokerage of fellow hard-working and customer-centric loan officers. They are locally veteran-owned and operated and continue to set their goals high in the way of expansion and growth. They believe everyone's future is bright.

Press Contact:

Mary Walker, Marketing Director, Future Home Loans

Email: marketing@future.loans

Tel: 904.449.0532

About Future Home Loans:

Whether you are planning to purchase your first home, refinance your current mortgage, buy an investment property or a second vacation home, Future Home Loans is here and eager to assist you reach your financial goals. By working with a team of experts with top industry knowledge, you can guarantee a seamless process handled by the industries very best. Our team prides itself on its top-bar service, dedication to a timely transaction, and holding our family-feel values above all else.

At Future Home Loans, you can guarantee that our team of mortgage professionals puts your future first and wants it to be the brightest possible. As a team, we have over 1,000 online 5-star reviews illustrating our founding principles of stellar customer service, low rates, and swift closing times. What sets us above the rest, is the ability to shop the best possible rates for you. We have access to hundreds of individual loan options, and will guarantee top-notch service and rates!

Some mortgage lenders promise good service, and others promise a good rate. At Future Home Loans, our commitment to you, is to provide you with the best of both. A fantastic loan rate, and world-class customer service! We implore you to contact our team today to ensure your financial future is the brightest it can be.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Monarca Minerals, Inc. (TSXV: MMN) ("Monarca" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the execution and ratification by a Mexican Notary Public of the surface rights agreement with Colonia on the San Jose Silver Project ("San Jose") located near the USA border in Chihuahua, Mexico.

As the Company informed on the press release dated March 4, 2021, surface lands for the San Jose project area are partially covered by "Ejido" lands and "Colonia" lands (community or communal lands), therefore the Company is required to sign a surface rights agreement with both the Ejido and Colonia authorities to advance its environmental permit to proceed with its planned 5,000 meters drilling program.

Eight of the ten targets for the drilling program are located on Colonia, and with the execution of this surface land agreement with Colonia the Company is ready to apply for the environmental permit that will allow to drill on Colonia section. Simultaneously, Monarca will continue negotiations to sign the surface rights agreement with Ejido.

As part of the planning for the drilling program, the Company has been working with Matrix Geotechnologies, Ltd., a Canadian geophysics company that did the geophysics program in San Jose on 2018, and now is advising Monarca's technical team to finalize the targets.

In the same line of preparation, we are please to inform that Monarca engaged Layne de Mexico, SA de CV, a Mexican subsidiary of Layne's Mineral Services Division as a contractor for the 5,000 meters drilling program.

Layne Mineral Services is one of the three largest providers of drilling services in the Americas, and its Mexican subsidiary has the equipment and technical team located in the neighbour state of Sonora, Mexico, offering a minimal impact on transportation of equipment and transfer of technical team to the site.

The Company expects to receive the environmental permit in a few weeks.

Qualified Person Statement

Michael R. Smith is the Qualified Person (QP) who has prepared and approved the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release. Mr. Smith is a Registered Member (#04167376 - Geology) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) and the Executive Vice President, Exploration for Monarca Minerals Inc.

About Monarca Minerals Inc.

Monarca is a Canadian mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: MMN) and focused on the exploration and development of silver projects along a highly productive mineralized belt in Mexico. The Company has a portfolio of silver projects including an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.8 million tonnes at 45.0 g/t Ag (28.7 million ounces of contained silver) at its Tejamen deposit in Durango, Mexico.

For further information, please contact:

Carlos Espinosa

President, CEO & Director

Monarca Minerals Inc.

E: cespinosa@slgmexico.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Forward-Looking Statements:

The above 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. Forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding future exploration programs, operation plans, geological interpretations, mineral tenure issues and mineral recovery processes. 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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service 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 DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80294
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A lawyer for of the two people arrested on charges of possessing a stolen Confederate monument that was taken from an Alabama cemetery said the pair had nothing to do with the theft of the artifact, calling it a misunderstanding.

The chair-shaped monument was recovered in New Orleans after it was r emoved from a cemetery in Selma, Alabama. Someone later sent an email signed White Lies Matter claiming responsibility, and then sent fake photos pretending the chair had been turned into a toilet.

New Orleans police said last week that Jason Warnick and Kathryn Diionno were arrested on charges of having stolen property in their possession. Authorities said they are also searching for another man in connection with the case.

This is just a big mistake. It really is, said attorney Michael Kennedy, who represents Warnick. They had no role in stealing the chair. They have no ties to White Lies Matter.

The strange saga began March 20 when a representative of the United Daughters of the Confederacy reported to police that the Jefferson Davis Memorial Chair had gone missing from the Alabama cemetery. The chair has no direct connection to Davis, the president of the Confederacy, but it is a monument to him that sits with other Confederate monuments in a private section of the cemetery.

Someone sent an email signed White Lies Matter to news outlets earlier claiming responsibility and saying the chair would be returned only if the United Daughters of the Confederacy agreed to display a banner at their Virginia headquarters bearing a quote from a Black Liberation Army activist. Jefferson Davis doesnt need it anymore. Hes long dead, the email read. The United Daughters of the Confederacy local representative told police for the initial theft report that the chair was worth $500,000 although it was not known how the value was determined.

A later email included photos of someone wearing Confederate garb posing on a chair, that looked like the missing one, with a hole cut out. And then finally an email said the chair was fake and the real chair was being returned unscathed.

The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reported that investigators received a tip that the monument was being held inside a storage room at a tattoo shop. Police obtained a search warrant and did not find it. But surveillance video showed a masked woman with a unique tattoo on her right forearm helping five people take the hulking monument out of the shop and load it into the back of a U-Haul van, cops said. Police said they determined Diionno has the same tattoo  of a candlestick  on her right forearm.

Michael Jackson, the district attorney in Selma, said he anticipates that Warnick and Diionno will face additional charges in the chairs theft. Kennedy said that would be a mistake because the two had nothing to do with the theft.

If that is the way they are going, they are very off base, Kennedy said.

A person responding from the White Lies Matter address last week said he, or she, couldnt disclose why the chair was taken to New Orleans but said police were told they could recover it at a certain intersection. The person wrote that those involved in the theft wanted to make a point about residual racism and used what the writer called a bit of comedy to garner attention.

The chair is back now. But the racial caste system is also alive and thriving, the person wrote.
RIDDLE&CODE FinTech Solutions, an innovative European company that empowers financial institutions to handle all aspects of digital asset management, announced today that LiteBit, the leading Dutch cryptocurrency exchange, has chosen its Token Management Platform (TMP) to scale infrastructure, respond to regulatory requirements and provide advanced capabilities to its growing customer base.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005034/en/

Over the last few years, the European Union has significantly tightened its regulations on crypto service providers, including the recently updated 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5). The newly implemented AMLD5 guidelines oblige service providers such as crypto exchanges and custodians to adhere to the same regulatory provisions as traditional financial institutions.

"The Dutch implementation of the regulations currently goes beyond EU guidelines and calls for extensive identification of customers and monitoring of transactions as well as extensive reporting and audit capabilities," said Berit Fuss, Director of FinTech Solutions at RIDDLE&CODE. "These requirements have turned out to be quite burdensome and have forced several crypto-related businesses to close or leave the Netherlands."

"Crypto exchanges across the industry are prioritising compliance with regulatory obligations. LiteBit is no exception," said Arthur Van Lier, LiteBit's COO. "The partnership with RIDDLE&CODE and the use of the cutting-edge TMP enables us to be compliant with both current and future regulations. But regulatory frameworks aren't the only ones evolving," he added. "At the moment, Decentralised Finance (DeFi) is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the crypto industry. However, due to the complexity of the applications and the efforts required to support several token protocols, many market players struggle to innovate and accommodate the integration of DeFi capabilities. With the TMP, we can benefit from these new business models and scale our operational capabilities."

The TMP provides the Dutch exchange with a robust and transparent foundation for:

Responding to the most pressing demands in an ever-changing regulatory environment, including AML/CFT requirements, customer due diligence, Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures and more.

Scaling its operations by creating unlimited segregated accounts for its customers and automating certain processes to reduce the burden on the operational teams.

Being flexible enough to offer DeFi services such as staking or voting on popular networks like Polkadot and Ethereum.

The Token Management Platform is the next generation of RIDDLE&CODE's institutional-grade digital asset management solution. The cloud-based platform manages all aspects of key generation, custody, AML, regulatory compliance and token management. Accepted by the Swiss financial market authorities, the TMP is fully auditable and compliant with financial regulations, allowing clients to fulfill all transparency requirements in line with financial regulations and internal compliance policies.

"We are thrilled to work with LiteBit, our first crypto exchange customer," said Alexander Koppel, CEO of RIDDLE&CODE. "This strategic partnership allows us to enter the Dutch market and help LiteBit in its journey to full regulatory compliance and expansion across Europe."

RIDDLE&CODE FinTech Solutions

RIDDLE&CODE FinTech solutions, a subsidiary firm of the leading European blockchain interface company RIDDLE&CODE, builds hardware and software stacks that empower funds, crypto exchanges and regulated financial institutions to manage all aspects of key generation, custody, AML, regulatory compliance and token management with unmatched versatility and security.

www.riddleandcode.com

LiteBit

LiteBit is a platform that makes trading in crypto safe, simple and personal. Its aim is to be the most customer-friendly and reliable platform in Europe. LiteBit supports investors in buying, selling and managing crypto, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and more than 50 other types of coins.

www.litebit.eu

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005034/en/

Contacts:

Media contact:

Aysenur Yukselal Aji

aysenur@riddleandcode.com
In the 18th Century, George Berkeley asked, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

In 2021, I ask, "What if widespread treason happened in Washington in 2020 and the media refused to report it and the swamp collaborated? Did treason really happen?"

Shakespeare used to invent words all the time. In this make-believe era of 2021, I hereby coin the term "2020 Doubter." I am a 2020 Doubter.

I cannot prove my suspicion that anti-Trump forces worldwide joined together before the 2020 election to deny Trump a second term.

I cannot prove they invited China to release a biological weapon that hurt all countries except China.

I cannot prove that former president Barack Obama was at the forefront of this conspiracy.

I cannot prove that Cabinet departments supposedly working for President Trump were actually undermining him every chance they got.

I cannot prove that the American government no longer serves the interests of the American people and, instead, now serves the interests of the Democratic Party and Uncle Xi Jinping.

I cannot prove that America, which once was a proud and independent democratic country, is now a servant of communist Chinese interests.

I cannot prove that these suspicions are true because the entities created to investigate these matters have been bought and paid for by Communist China. Even if I could prove these things, I fear that no one would care.

Then again, maybe I am wrong, and people do care. Maybe this is so fresh and unprecedented that millions are still in shock. I know I am. Maybe there are lots of people who want to save America from the perilous path Puppeteer Obama and his minions plan for us. Maybe we need time for the scales to fall from our eyes. For those who pray to God, maybe this is a time to pray harder.

As I consider where we are, I feel as if we are in London after the Blitz. Like Hitler and Goering, Obama and his boys bombed the hell out of us, and it is breathtaking. But Churchill and the U.K. did not surrender. They endured their darkest hour and showed Hitler and the world amazing grit as they rebuilt London into a modern and vibrant city.

The forces against us bombed us into next week, yet they want us to pretend a blitz did not happen. Now they want us to move on whistling into their future. They want us to fall in line and accept their twisted version of reality. They want us to accept their legitimacy.

Like Trump, I am not ready to concede. I am a 2020 Doubter.

Image: Doubt (cropped) by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Former PM Claims News Corp Is Australias Most Powerful Political Actor

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has told a Senate inquiry into media diversity on April 12 that News Corps role in politics is too powerful, and he wants the media giant to be held to account.

Turnbull alleged that the media giant was the most powerful political actor in the country.

The most powerful political actor in Australia is not the Liberal Party or the National Party or the Labor Party; it is News Corporation, Turnbull said. And it is utterly unaccountable. It is controlled by an American family, and their interests are no longer, if they ever were, coextensive with our own.

News Corp owns many Australian newspapers, including The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Courier Mail, The Advertiser, Sky News Australia, and online outlet news.com.au.

Turnbull attributed reporting by News Corp-owned media outlets and radio shock jocks for helping to fuel his losses in politics and for being dropped after only one week from his most recent appointment as the head of the New South Wales Net-Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board.

Being as candid as I have been today is something that you would do at your peril if you were prime minister or a minister or you wanted to keep staying in Parliament because the retribution would be very intense, he said.

Even if you were prepared to take the heat, your colleagues definitely wouldnt.

Turnbull also accused News Corp of being a danger to Australian democracy linking the media groups coverage of the 2020 American election to the storming of the United States Capitol building in early January this year.

He also said that the organisation promoted racial animosity while at the same time working to prevent action on climate change.

A former journalist, Turnbull, has joined with fellow former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudds efforts to decry News Corps power in the Australian media.

In October 2020, Rudd called for a royal commission into News Corp to investigate the abuse of media monopoly, particularly in relation to Murdochs interests.

The truth is Murdoch has become a cancer, an arrogant cancer, on our democracy, Rudd said in the video launching the petition.

The push for the Royal Commission closed unsuccessfully in January, but it then spurred the current Senate inquiry.

News Corp Australia Executive Chairman Michael Miller and Executive Campbell Reid both refuted the criticisms by the former prime ministers, with Miller declaring the criticism was a convenient diversion from their own failings.

Further, Reid gave evidence to the inquiry that the companys work in Australia was as a professional, accountable media and said that the company operated with an extraordinary degree of both government, and indeed regulatory, oversight and legal oversight if we get things wrong.

However, former Herald Sun editor and co-founder of The New Daily, Bruce Guthrie, said News Corp had a list of friends and enemies that the organisation would reference and act on.

Guthrie said it was important for the government to support the Australian Associated Press news wire service in order to encourage news startups and to see independent organisations succeed.

The survival of AAP as an independent news wire service is really important because what its doing is providing the bulk of the news copy for a lot of smaller publishers. Whether theyre broadcast or print or just online. Turnbull echoed.

Rudd also gave evidence in March that he was fearful of News Corp until he left Parliament in 2013.
The State Space Agency of Ukraine in early 2021 presented the strategy for the national targeted scientific and technical space program for 2021-2025. The document envisages full-scale cooperation with the private sector of the economy. According to Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine Volodymyr Taftay, the new program is much more practical and effective than all the previous ones. He is convinced that as part of its implementation it will be possible to expand international cooperation.

Taftay emphasized that the State Space Agency, like the whole of Ukraine, focuses on Europe in its activities. According to him, the state space sector has been provided with all the necessary resources to become a full member of the European Space Agency. Taftay said his goal was to make the Ukrainian space industry more practical.

Taftay spoke in an interview with Ukrinform about the current state of the Ukrainian space industry and prospects for its development in the future.

WE ARE MOVING AWAY FROM IDEOLOGY OF LONG-TERM CONSTRUCTION

Question: You have recently taken up the post of the head of the State Space Agency. What are your plans and what is a strategy for the development of the Ukrainian space industry?

Answer: My main motto is practicality. In my opinion, the latest space programs have not had a sufficiently practical approach to the use of budget funds and the implementation of measures in the space sector. So, first, my strategy is aimed at the rational and practical use of resources available to the state. Secondly, I plan to promote the development and introduction of new technologies.

In 2019, amendments were made to the law "On space activities" according to which private companies are allowed to operate in the space sphere. Before 2020, when the law came into force, private enterprises did not have such an opportunity. I believe that this is a very significant contribution to the development of the country's space sector, because the involvement of private companies provides an opportunity to increase competitiveness in the market and improve the result.

Question: What is the main difference between the new space program for 2021-2025 and the previous ones?

Answer: The main difference of the new space program for 2021-2025 is the lack of specific executors of the measures provided by the program. Let's remember the space program for 2013-2017. It envisaged financing for the creation of the spacecraft Sich-2M and there was a specific executor  Pivdenne (Yuzhnoye) Design Office.

The new program only sets out the essence of the issue, problem, or need. For example, you need to create a satellite with specific characteristics, and a certain amount of funds is envisaged for its creation. Various companies offer us projects to perform this task, deadlines and cost indicators.

In addition, we are very focused on projects that are part of this program. We are moving away from the ideology of so-called long-term construction, which is planned for 10-20 years. Only the tasks of the new program are being carried out. Then, based on the results of the activity, we can say what economic effect the program has brought to the country. Any activity that involves spending from the state budget must be clearly supported by results.

Question: Who will choose the best offer from private companies?

Answer: A council will be established with the participation of all departments interested in the development of Ukrainian space activities. In particular, they include the State Space Agency, the Ministry for Strategic Industries of Ukraine, defense agencies, and many others. This is done in order to have the most objective results of the competition.

SICH-2-30 WILL BE LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER 2021

Question: You mentioned the Sich spacecraft. At what stage of creation is it?

Answer: The spacecraft Sich-2-30 has been assembled and is undergoing trials. It will be ready for launch from the SpaceX launch pad in December 2021.

Question: Previously, the satellite was called "Sich-2-1." Why was it renamed "Sich-2-30"?

Answer: "Sich-2-1" was renamed "Sich-2-30" because this year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Since we plan to launch it this year, we have decided to rename it.

Question: Does the creation and launch of the Sich-2-30 satellite play any role in establishing international cooperation?

Answer: Of course, the creation and launch of the satellite play a significant role in establishing international cooperation because this is the first Ukrainian satellite to be launched in the last ten years. This is a great victory. In addition, it should be noted that for Ukraine's integration into the European Space Agency, it is necessary to develop joint projects and programs with European partners. The Sich-2-30 satellite will be part of one such program and a very important step towards accession to the ESA - Copernicus.

Question: Can you predict when Ukraine will become a full member of the European Space Agency?

Answer: The State Space Agency and the European Space Agency are currently working on a roadmap to address this issue. Thus, we will get a concrete action plan, and I think that in the near future - in two or three years - we will have an opportunity to join the European Space Agency.

TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS WITH RUSSIA ALLOWED UKRAINE TO ESTABLISH COOPERATION WITH OTHER FOREIGN PARTNERS

Question: Which foreign partners does the State Space Agency focus on the most?

Answer: We are open to cooperation with all foreign partners. We consider all our partners very important and open to cooperation. I would not like to choose higher priority or lower priority.

Ukraine's main priority is development towards the European Union. Accordingly, the State Space Agency of Ukraine focuses on integration into the European Space Agency. At the same time, we actively cooperate with the United States, the Middle East, Asia, and Canada. In particular, we are working with Canada to create a Cyclone-4M rocket.

Question: What is the current state of space activities in Ukraine?

Answer: Space activities in Ukraine are now in a difficult situation, because domestic space companies have lost many customers over the past five to seven years. The Russian Federation was also among large customers. Ukraine has lost a lot from the termination of contracts with Russia, but at the same time, it gives us an opportunity to establish cooperation with other foreign partners.

WE WILL SOON HEAR THE NAMES OF UKRAINIAN SPACE HEROES

Question: What do you make of Elon Musk's initiatives in space, in particular, his idea of colonizing Mars? Is Ukraine ready for such experiments? Maybe you thought about working with Musk?

Answer: I am convinced that we will soon hear the names of Ukrainian space heroes. They already are. For example, Maksym Polyakov can be called a Ukrainian Elon Musk. As for cooperation with Musk, I can say that yes - we are planning to offer him to work on the development of joint projects.

SPACE TOURISM WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE

Question: Do you plan to fly into space yourself?

Answer: Frankly, two or three years ago I felt fear, but it seems to me that it will soon be a completely safe process, so I would like to fly. Now human flight into space is not something unusual. In general, I believe that space tourism will be common in five to ten years.

Question: Were you present at the rocket launch?

Answer: I participated in the preparation of carrier rockets. In addition, I worked for five years on the Sea Launch project, where I went through all the stages of preparation of the carrier rocket for launch, and then I watched how it was launched.

THE UKRAINIAN SPACE INDUSTRY IS MOSTLY EXPORT-ORIENTED

Question: How did the pandemic affect the development of space activities in Ukraine?

Answer: The pandemic has negatively affected the performance of the Ukrainian space industry, because the industry is mostly export-oriented. This is one of the most export-oriented sectors of the domestic economy. Exports are about nine times higher than imports. In 2020, the borders were closed, and the business went online. The process of adaptation has dragged on and thus slowed the pace of international cooperation.

We do not stand still, but try to adapt to new realities. We transfer all processes to the online format so as to survive the process of COVID-19-related restrictions with the least loss.

UKRAINE HAS GREAT POTENTIAL IN DEVELOPMENT OF OUTER SPACE

Question: What are the prospects for the development of the Ukrainian space sector in the future?

Answer: Ukraine has great potential. We have leading specialists, technologies, a well-established system of space education of the government, the concerned ministry. In addition, President Volodymyr Zelensky is very interested in the development of the space industry. He actively takes care of this area and fully supports the activities of the agency. These are the achievements that we must use to develop space activities. Technologies are developing very dynamically and quickly, so in the context of prospects, we focus on private companies, because they are more "flexible" in the development of rapid projects.

In the near future, Ukraine will take part in NASA's Artemis program to explore the Moon. We have recently signed a memorandum of cooperation. In addition, we plan to participate in Mars exploration programs.

Anhelina Strashkulych, Kyiv

Photo credit: Yuliia Ovsiannikova
BARI, APR 13 - An Italian woman says her son, kidnapped on the Salento peninsula in Puglia in 1977 at the age of six, is now a fabulously wealthy Arab sheikh. Bianca Colaianni told Corriere della Sera she had recognised her son Mauro Romano as Sheikh Mohammed Al Habtoor, 52, son of the UAE magnate Khalaf Al Habtoor, by "a couple of scars on his body: one on his eyebrow, and the other on his right hand, which he got with an iron". "I hope it's him," Colaianni told ANSA Tuesday, "because it would mean that he's still alive and no one ever killed him". A DNA test would solve the riddle of his identity, Corriere said, but so far the emir has refused to take one. Mauro's relatives are now planning to go to the Dubai to force the sheikh to take the test with the help of the Italian consulate there. His parents have never stopped looking for Mauro since he went missing from Racale near Lecce on June 21, 1977. Thanks to their tenacity, investigations have continued and recently found that the alleged kidnapper was a 79-year-old former barber who abducted the boy and allegedly passed him on to two individuals who have not yet been identified. (ANSA).
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The chief of police for Brooklyn Center, Minn., where Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was fatally shot by a white officer on Sunday, said on Monday that the shooting was an accident. The officer, Kimberly A. Potter, a 26-year veteran of the force, had intended to deploy her Taser, the chief said at a news conference, but had shot her service pistol instead.

Tasers look and feel different from pistols in a number of ways, and most police forces  including Brooklyn Centers  have standard precautions and protocols in place to prevent the sort of mix-up that can be deadly.

Typical police service weapons The exact models of the pistol and Taser carried by the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright are not known. But the police commonly use the pistol and Taser shown here, weapons that differ not only in appearance, but size and grip. Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol Glock 17s typically have a trigger safety that must be depressed when the trigger is pulled. The standard-size grip is taller than the grips on many Tasers, and the weapon's overall weight can be several times greater. Taser X26P electroshock weapon Bright colors are often used to distinguish electrical shock weapons that fire projectiles. Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol Glock 17s typically have a trigger safety that must be depressed when the trigger is pulled. The standard-size grip is taller than the grips on many Tasers, and the weapon's overall weight can be several times greater. Taser X26P electroshock weapon Bright colors are often used to distinguish electrical shock weapons that fire projectiles. Glock 17 semiautomatic pistol The standard-size grip is taller than the grips on many Tasers, and the weapon's overall weight can be several times greater. Taser X26P electroshock weapon Bright colors are often used to distinguish electrical shock weapons that fire projectiles. Sources: Glock, Inc. (Glock 17 image); Self Defense Products Inc. (Taser image)  The New York Times

Tasers are often produced in bright colors, or with neon accents, to distinguish them from pistols. The Brooklyn Center Police Department manual cites the Glock 17, 19 and 26 as standard-issue for the department. All three pistol models weigh significantly more than a typical Taser. Glocks also have a trigger safety that can be felt when touching the trigger. Tasers do not. Grips on Tasers are typically different from those of firearms, as well, though they may feel similar because both are usually made of a similar type of polymer.

If you train enough, you should be able to tell, said Scott A. DeFoe, a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Mr. Wright was shot during a traffic stop less than 10 miles from the courtroom where the trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd last May, is being held. The police in suburban Brooklyn Center said Mr. Wright was initially stopped for driving a vehicle without current registration, and then detained after they determined that a warrant for his arrest had been issued, stemming from a missed hearing on a misdemeanor gun charge.

A clip of Officer Potters body camera video released by the Brooklyn Center Police Department shows the police trying to handcuff Mr. Wright before he lurches suddenly back into his car. The video then shows Officer Potters arm aiming a weapon as her voice shouts Taser! Taser! Taser! on the audio.

She fires one round, Mr. Wright groans in pain and Officer Potter can then be heard to cry, Holy shit, I just shot him.

Brooklyn Center Police Department protocol dictates that officers wear their guns on their dominant side and Tasers on the opposite side of their bodies, to reduce the risk that they will confuse the two weapons.

In most cases in which an officer grabs a pistol instead of a Taser, the confusion occurs under particular circumstances, said Ed Obayashi, an expert in the use of police force and a California deputy sheriff with a legal practice. It can happen when officers carry both weapons on the same side of their body, he said, or when they holster their stun guns on the opposite side of their body in such a way that it is easier for them to reach across their bodies with a dominant hand and cross-draw.

In both cases, he said, the officer can become accustomed to using the same hand to draw either weapon, a habit that can make it harder to tell one from the other in high-pressure situations when muscle memory and instinct kick in.

Body-camera footage from the scene of Mr. Wrights killing does not show how Officer Potter carried her weapons. But Deputy Obayashi said it does show her fellow officer with his gun on one side of his body and his Taser on the other side, holstered so that either weapon could easily be grabbed by his dominant hand.

Body-camera footage of the police shooting of Daunte Wright Mr. Wright, 20, was shot and killed by Officer Kimberly A. Potter during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday. Another officer on the scene carried his Taser in a holster on his left side, with the grip accessible to his right hand. Mr. Wright, shown with his left arm up in front of his face, was shot in the driver's seat. Officer Potter fired her pistol into the car with her right hand. Mr. Wright, shown with his left arm up in front of his face, was shot in the driver's seat. Another officer on the scene carried his Taser in a holster on his left side, with the grip accessible to his right hand. Officer Potter fired her pistol into the car with her right hand. Another officer on the scene carried his Taser in a holster on his left side, with the grip accessible to his right hand. Officer Potter fired her pistol into the car with her right hand. Source: Video still from KARE 11 TV  The New York Times

The Brooklyn Police Department policy manual states that all Taser devices shall be clearly and distinctly marked to differentiate them from the duty weapon and any other device. The manual also says that officers should not hold both a firearm and the Taser device at the same time.

It appears that several aspects of how Officer Potter handled her weapons may have violated the protocol laid out in the manual, even if she had drawn her Taser and not her firearm.

The manual advises that the device should not be used against people whose position or activity may result in collateral injury  including people who are operating vehicles. Mr. Wright was sitting in the drivers seat when Officer Potter fired, and his car traveled several blocks after he was shot.

The manual also says that reasonable efforts should be made to target lower center mass and avoid the head, neck, chest and groin if an officer is using a Taser. Mr. Wright died of a gunshot wound to his chest, according to the Hennepin County medical examiner.

There have been other instances of a police officer intending to deploy a Taser and discharging a firearm instead, though such errors are not common.

In 2018, a rookie Kansas police officer mistakenly shot a man who was fighting with a fellow officer. In 2019, a police officer in Pennsylvania shouted Taser! before shooting an unarmed man in the torso. And in 2015, a former Oklahoma reserve deputy killed an unarmed man when he mistook his handgun for a stun gun.

Greg Meyer, a retired captain in the Los Angeles Police Department and a use-of-force expert, documented nine similar instances from 2001 to 2009 in a 2012 article published in a monthly law journal produced by Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, a nonprofit.

In six of the nine cases cited in the article, the officers carried both weapons on the same, strong-hand side of their bodies. In the other three, however, the officers carried the weapons on opposite hips with the Taser positioned so that they could cross-draw it, the article said.

In most cases, there has been little or no jail time for officers disciplined or tried for wounding or killing someone in situations in which they said they had mistaken a gun for a Taser. In the Pennsylvania case, for example, the district attorney said the officer violated a policy requiring officers to wear their Tasers on the side opposite their firearms. Still, he said the officer did not possess the criminal mental state required to be guilty of a crime under state law.

One of the most widely known cases happened in 2009 in Oakland, Calif., when a white Bay Area transit officer shot and killed an unarmed Black man on New Years Day at the Fruitvale Station of the citys BART line. The man, Oscar Grant III, was lying face-down when the officer shot him.

The officer who killed Mr. Grant later contended that he had meant to pull his Taser but had pulled his firearm instead. He was found not guilty on charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He served 11 months in prison.

Daunte Wright is another Oscar Grant, an uncle of Mr. Grant, Cephus Johnson, tweeted on Monday. We seen this before and know exactly how it will play out.
Hillsong Church decided to "pause" its Dallas operations, citing the resignation of its pastor and the effect of pandemic.

Hillsong co-founders Brian and Bobbie Houston announced their decision of temporarily closing down its branch in Dallas. In an email to church members, they explained the reasons of the said closure, as well as the investigation over former pastor Reed Bogard and his wife, Jess, who were revealed to have used donations to fund their lavish lifestyles, The Daily Mail wrote.

The email reportedly stated of Reed's suspension from "his pastoral duties" while the church is reviewing complaints from its members, accusing him of failure "to uphold the standards of Hillsong leadership".

"Early in our process, the Bogards decided to resign from Hillsong Church. We accepted their resignations and acknowledged the time that the Bogards spent establishing our Dallas location," they stated in the email.

In a brief statement, captured by Religion News Service, Reed declared his resignation from the church on Jan. 3.

"The last 10 years of being in church planting mode has really taken a bit of a toll on Jess and I and our family. We just really feel like it's time to transition off of our staff and take some time. Remain healthy, get healthy, and really see what this next season holds for us," he said.

Further to The Mail's report, the Houstons continued by expressing disappointment over the Bogards.

"It was very disappointing to learn that, while some of you experienced the Bogards as dedicated pastors, many others have experienced leadership that failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church," they further said.

The couple apologized to the people who were disappointed with the Bogards' leadership failure, praying for "peace and healing." They also articulated their understanding on members who choose to attend local churches in Dallas instead of watching Hillsong broadcasts online.

Moreover, the Houstons mentioned that the coronavirus pandemic has also contributed to their decision to close the branch.

"As we were establishing Hillsong Church in Dallas, the pandemic swept across the globe and quickly changed the shape of our growing church in the city. Many factors, all amplified by the pandemic, have resulted in the difficult decision to pause all operations at Hillsong Dallas for now," they said.

Hillsong Church has been facing numerous scandals involving its staff and former pastors.

In its latest string of controversies, Pastor Ed Crenshaw accused Hillsong of having a "self-protection" policy, following the assault on his daughter, Anna, by one of its married worship leaders.

Pastor Crenshaw criticized Houston for reinstating Jason Mays as a church employee, after the report of the assault came to light. Houston defended Mays, claiming that "he deserved another chance." He also said that Mays is not "a sexual predator" but just someone who did "something stupid."

But Anna sided with his father, contending that Mays' reinstatement "shows people that you can get away with anything as long as you have the right connections within the higher level staff."

Hillsong Church was founded in 1983 in Sydney, Australia. Today, it has churches in 28 countries worldwide with an average global attendance of 150,000 weekly.
Chandigarh: In a major fillip to the Punjab Health infrastructure, Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu today handed over appointment letters to 50 Medical Officers (Specialist).Out of these 12 are Medicine Specialist, 21 Anesthesia specialist,13 Pediatricians, 4 chest and T.B. specialists.

Disclosing more about this recruitment drive, the Health Minister said that Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh had promised to provide jobs under Ghar Ghar Rozgar scheme. Every effort is being made to achieve the goal to provide jobs to the unemployed youth of Punjab.

Balbir Singh Sidhu

It may also be mentioned here that the Health Department Punjab has completed recruitment to more than 7000 posts of paramedical and other staff including medical officers from the year 2017 to 2019 while the process to fill another 3954 posts is underway. He said that all these appointments are being made by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in a transparent manner on the basis of merit.

On the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi, Balbir Singh Sidhu congratulated the new appointees in the Health Department and encouraged them to discharge their responsibilities honestly and diligently in various health institutions of the state. He said that during the pandemic of Corona virus, the staff of the health department is performing their duties responsibly and the employees who have shown excellent performance have also been honoured.

Balbir Singh Sidhu

Director Health Services Punjab Dr.G.B.Singh welcomed the newly appointed staff who got jobs in the health department. He motivated the newly appointed doctors to work efficiently in this pandemic era as a large number of Covid cases are coming to light every day. They have the opportunity to serve the nation by efficiently performing their duties in the Public health institutions of Punjab and contributing in ending this pandemic.

On this occasion, the Health Ministers OSD. Dr. Balwinder Singh, Superintendent Nirlep Kaur, Mass Media Officer Gurmeet Singh Rana, Artist Jagjit Singh and other officials were also present.
Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, 55, left, has admitted murdering his wife Marta Rodriguez, right, in 1989 while in prison for the murder of girlfriend Pamela Butler in 2009.

An 'abusive' husband serving time for the murder of his girlfriend has been sentenced to 40 years for killing his estranged wife more than three decades ago.

Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, 55, was sentenced for the 1989 murder of his wife Marta Rodriguez, on Monday.

He buried her on a highway median strip on Interstate-95 in Stafford County, Virginia, and told their son Hansel that she had left the country.

Marta had been due to testify against him on charges of assault and kidnapping when she vanished.

Her remains were found in 1991 but investigators only matched the identity in 2018 after a relative of Rodriguez-Cruz's had confounded police by assuming her identity.

Rodriguez-Cruz was already serving 12 years for the murder of his girlfriend Pamela Butler in 2009, which he admitted in 2017.

While searching for the spot where Butler's body had been buried, police recalled the unidentified remains of another woman were found a few miles away.

After seeing his father sentenced, Hansel Rodriguez welcomed the lengthy sentence.

'I'm glad that, despite him being my father, he's off the streets for good'.

Scroll down for video

Marta Rodriguez, above, was 28 years old when she disappeared in 1989. She had been due to testify against her husband on assault and kidnapping charges

Pamela Butler, a Federal employee, went missing in 2009. Rodriguez-Cruz admitted her murder in 2017

The Washington Post reported the 'tortuous' case had 'bedeviled investigators for years'.

Rodriguez-Cruz was dating Butler, a 47-year-old employee with the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2009 when she mysteriously vanished just before Valentine's Day.

Largely thanks to the dogged efforts of Butler's brother Derrick in raising awareness about the case, and Arlington County Detective Rosa Ortiz, he was eventually arrested in 2017, NBC Washington reported.

Though the police relied on circumstantial evidence, Rodriguez-Cruz admitted killing her.

Rodriguez-Cruz took police to the spot where he'd buried her body on Interstate 95, but construction workers had since dug on the site and her remains could not be located.

Police learned that the remains of a separate homicide victim - Marta Rodriguez - had been found buried just a few miles away, and a DNA test confirmed her identity.

Police search for the remains of Pamela Butler along the I-95 in Stafford County, Virginia

Jose Rodriguez-Cruz was a violent and abusive husband, police say, who was facing charges of assault and kidnapping when his wife disappeared

Pamela Butler, left, disappeared in 2009, but it was largely thanks to the efforts of her brother Derrick, right, that her killer Jose Rodriguez-Cruz was brought to justice in 2017

Prosecutors said Rodriguez-Cruz as an abusive husband, prone to acts of extreme violence when spurned by women.

In March 1989, a police officer in Arlington saw Rodriguez-Cruz dragging his estranged wife down the street.

After his arrest, police found duct tape and rope in his car and he told an officer, 'If I can't have her, no one else will'.

Authorities said the remains hadn't been identified sooner because the sister of Jose Rodriguez-Cruz's second wife had assumed her identity.

WTOP reported that the woman had used Marta Rodriguez's name to obtain a driver's license in 2000.

A missing person alert was triggered, and a police officer in Miami contacted the woman. Authorities then removed her name from the missing persons database.

After the sentencing at the Stafford County Circuit Court, Derrick told NBC Washington: 'Nobody should have to go through what I went through, what Hansel went through.'
The German government agreed Tuesday on controversial changes to a national infections control law, a government spokesman said, handing Berlin more power to impose tougher measures such as night-time curfews to halt the raging coronavirus pandemic

Berlin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :The German government agreed Tuesday on controversial changes to a national infections control law, a government spokesman said, handing Berlin more power to impose tougher measures such as night-time curfews to halt the raging coronavirus pandemic.

The adjusted law, which still needs to be approved by parliament, would allow Chancellor Angela Merkel's government to impose curfews from 9pm to 5am and close schools and businesses in areas with high infection rates.
Mumbai, April 13 : Kangana Ranaut on Tuesday suggested that one should worship their mother and seek her blessings on the occasion of Navratri. The actress shared the thought while wishing fans on the occasion of Gudi Padwa and Navratri.

Kangana shared a photograph of herself praying to a Goddess and wrote: "Wishing everyone happy #GudiPadwa #navratri #NewYear. This little devi picture that I am holding mother gave me when I left home, lost a lot but this stayed with me, I believe she looked after me, Navratris if you don't know what to do, worship your mother and take her blessings."

Wishing everyone happy #GudiPadwa #navratri #NewYear. This little devi picture that I am holding mother gave me when I left home, lost a lot but this stayed with me, I believe she looked after me,Navratris if you dont know what to do, worship your mother and take her blessings. pic.twitter.com/HfadDOOTSy  Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) April 13, 2021

On the work front, Kangana is preparing for her upcoming film " Tejas ", directed by debutant Sarvesh Mewara.

Meanwhile, the release of Kangana's upcoming film "Thalaivi" has been postponed amid the second wave of Covid in India. The film, which has the actress playing late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, was slated to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages on April 23. A new release date is yet to be announced.

-- Syndicated from IANS
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Worshippers carrying a human skull dance along the streets of Bardhaman, India, as part of a festival which appeases a Hindu deity.

Startling photographs show residents of the city taking to the streets dressed in bright colours and holding on to several skulls.

The Hindu devotees were also carrying a sword as part of the the Gajan Festival, which is commonly celebrated in West Bengal at this time of year.

Onlookers stood on their doorsteps, on the side of the street and outside shops, pulling out their phones to capture the incredible display.

A few selected men, wearing flowers around their necks and ornate head accessories, were chosen to carry the skulls and often held them high above the crowds.

The week-long Gajan Festival is mostly celebrated in West Bengal and is associated with Hindu deities such as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj.

According to photographer Avishek Das, on the last day of the Bengali Calendar, in the middle of April, devotees worship dead bodies to satisfy Lord Shiva for better rain and harvest, a 100-year-old traditional practice.

The central theme of the pre-harvest festival is satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice.

Elsewhere in the region, men from Krishnadevpur pierce themselves with iron rods and hooks in a bid to show their devotion to Shiva, hoping for a favourable harvest, the BBC reports.

Give a god a bone: A group of worshippers took to the streets in Bardhaman, India, today as part of the Gajan Festival, carrying human skulls along as part of the procession

Hindu devotees held up the human skulls and pointed them right in front of cameras for passersby who had stopped to take pictures and record the unusual ritual,

A few selected people, wearing flowers and elaborate head accessories, appeared to be the chosen ones to carry the skulls for the parade

While many of those involved in the procession seem unfazed by the human skulls, others, including this young boy, were still a little wary of them

The week-long Gajan Festival is mostly celebrated in West Bengal and is associated with Hindu deities such as Shiva, Neel and Dharmaraj. Pictured: People stand on doorsteps to take pictures of the festival

The 100-year-old tradition is said to take place on the last day of the Bengali Calendar, in the middle of April, where devotees worship dead bodies to satisfy Lord Shiva for better rain and harvest

Those selected to carry the human skulls held them in their hands high above the crowds as large groups of people and took pictures of the unusual sight

The central theme of the pre-harvest Gajan festival is satisfaction through non-sexual pain, devotion and sacrifice. Pictured: A man carries a human skull through the street as people stop to take pictures
Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a 44-year-old man at a self-described hoedown in Marysville, Perry County last month.

As of late Monday, the name of the man who died had still not been released by Pennsylvania State Police, who are leading the investigation. Trooper Trisha Campbell said an autopsy has been conducted on the man, but no final determinations can be made about the cause of death pending completion of toxicology reports.

Campbell was able to provide a few more details about the circumstances surrounding the death Monday.

The incident occurred at a hoedown at the Rockville ArtWorks Warehouse, a relatively new space billed on its Facebook page as a live music venue and that, in recent weeks, has also played host to drum circles, open mic nights, and even poker nights.

The March 25 / 26 event, Campbell said, had been advertised to run from that Friday night through mid-day Saturday.

Other attendees summoned help to the scene at about 4:30 a.m. that Saturday, after the man was found. Campbell said the death is classified as undetermined at this point, but there were no obvious signs of injury and there were some drugs confiscated in the immediate area.

The warehouse is located in a multi-use commercial building at 600 South State Road thats probably best known to local residents as the home to a Dollar General store, Susquehanna Beer and Soda and the Liquid Noise brew pub. The building is owned by Fred and Katrina Essis, of Mechanicsburg.

State police have previously said the hoedown was organized by two men, one from New York and the other from Marysville. Anyone with additional information on the incident is asked to call Trooper Campbell at 717-567-3110.
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Market Definition:

Thioglycolic Acid Market, as per the recently released study report by Market Research Future (MRFR), is expected to register a compound annual growth rate of 3.8% during the forecast period. The market is primarily driven by the rising demand for high purity grade TGA in leather processing chemicals, oilfield chemicals, and PVC heat stabilizer applications. Moreover, it is also reported that the market is gaining pressing demand from the personal care and cosmetics industry. This is most likely expected to support the growth of the market in the forthcoming years. The evolving consumer lifestyle and changing perspective towards their own personal health and wellbeing is projected to spike the demand graphs for thioglycolic acid. Lastly, the booming youth demographic and the high disposable income among these consumer group is also forecasted to be a key factor positively impacting the global thioglycolic acid market in the coming years.

Get a Free Sample of This Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6453

Market Overview and Growth Factors:

However, if exposed for long periods of time, certain thioglycolic acids can be fatal as they are carcinogenic in impact. The price of the product is inversely dependent upon the availability of raw materials. This is another key factor that can severely hamper the growth trajectory of the market during the forecast period.

Thioglycolic acid or TGA is an organic compound that is often referred to as mercaptoacetic acid. It is a colorless liquid with a highly unpleasant odor and comprises the functional groups of thiol and carboxylic acid.

Competitive Landscape:

The global COVID 19 Impact on Thioglycolic Acid Market is expanding with decent numbers. A major factor pushing the growth of the market is the presence of various prominent players. Some of the key players anticipated to boost the market positively are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Bruno Bock Chemische Fabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Arkema, Merck KGaA, Qingdao LNT Chemical Co. Ltd., Daicel Corporation, Tokyo Chemical Industry Co. Ltd., and others.

Market Segmentation:

The global Thioglycolic Acid Market segmentation is done on the basis of type and application.

By type, the market segments into low purity grade, high purity grade, and technical grade. The high purity grade segment holds the maximum potential and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 4.06% with a projected reach of USD 56,532.2 million by the end of the forecast period.

By application, the market includes PVC heat stabilizer, cosmetics, oilfield chemicals, leather processing chemicals, metals recovery, cleaning formulations, chain transfer agent, and others. The cosmetics segment is reported to garner a growth rate of 4.17% during the review period. Furthermore, the valuation of the market is expected to reach an approximate figure of USD 39,676 million by 2025.

Browse key industry insights spread across 144 pages with 166 market data tables & 19 figures & charts from the report, Thioglycolic Acid Market Research Report: Information by Type (High Purity Grade, Low Purity Grade and Technical Grade), Application (Cosmetics, PVC Heat-Stabilizer, Oilfield Chemicals, Cleaning Formulations, Leather Processing Chemicals, Chain Transfer Agent, Metals Recovery, Agrochemicals and others) and Region (Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa) - Forecast till 2025 in detail along with the table of contents @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/thioglycolic-acid-market-6453

Regional Analysis:

The regional segmentation of the global thioglycolic acid market covers the following regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.

The Asia Pacific region holds the dominant share in the global market and is growing with each passing year. The region holds 42.49% market share and is expected to grow with the fastest CAGR of 4.24% during the forecast period. The region is further anticipated to reach a market valuation of USD 50,289.4 million by the end of the forecast period; strikingly higher than the other covered regions. The regional market is spearheaded by China, which contributes significantly to the overall growth and revenue generation of the Asia Pacific region.

North America holds the second largest share in the global market and is expected to grow significantly in the forthcoming years of the forecast period. The valuation of the market is calculated to touch USD 25,646.8 million by the end of 2025. A monumental share of the overall North American regional market can be attributed to the US, which holds a massive potential and is anticipated to achieve USD 19,956 million by the end of the forecast period.

The European market stands third in the global regional standings. However, the region is expected to significantly contribute to the overall welfare of the global market. The European region is primarily spearheaded by countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and others. Among these pioneering nations, Germany hogs the spotlight with the largest market share and is forecasted to reach a valuation of USD 5,246.7 million by 2025.

Access Complete Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/thioglycolic-acid-market-6453
Ms. Smart, 19, was a student at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo when she vanished as she was walking back to her dorm room from an off-campus party on May 25, 1996.

Paul Flores, 44, who was a Cal Poly student at the time, has denied being involved in her disappearance, but after previously describing him as a person of interest in their investigation, the Sheriffs Office began to refer to him in recent months as a prime suspect in the case.

In March, the Sheriffs Office said it had obtained a warrant to search for evidence at Ruben Floress residence, and they used cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar to canvass the property.

Robert Sanger, a lawyer for Paul Flores, declined to comment on Tuesday. In a statement, the Smart family described a long wait for this bittersweet day.

It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family, the statement said. We pray it is the first step to bringing our daughter home.

The family added, We now put our faith in the justice system and move forward, comforted in the knowledge that Kristin has been held in the hearts of so many and that she has not been forgotten.

Jeffrey D. Armstrong, president of the university, said on Tuesday that the news of the arrests brings sadness but also a measure of relief and hope for resolution.
Agriculture provides employment to more than 60 per cent of the active labour force in Africa. Yet, aid to the sector has declined, as has Africas share in world agricultural exports. So, who is supporting Africas agricultural business?

Our second edition of Business for Development, due out in May 2008, provides some answers in an overview of the trends in aid, trade and the role of corporate players in the African agricultural sector. The report will also boast case studies on Mali, Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia.

The international launch of the publication will be on 26 May in Tokyo. The report will also be presented on in Yokohama in occasion of TICAD IV.

Want to know more about Business for Development 2008?

The first volume of Business for Development was launched in May 2007.

Aid to Agriculture

While two-thirds of African workers depend on agriculture for their livelihood, the total volume of aid to this sector has declined. Africa's share of total official aid to agriculture has fallen even more drastically. In 2003-05 Africa accounted for roughly a third of the world total of official aid commitments to agriculture.

The volume of aid to agriculture in Africa declined in real terms from $2.6 billion in 1991-93 to $2.0 billion in 2003-05.

Broad definition: Agriculture, Agro-industry and Rural Development

Trends in African Agriculture

The share of Africa in world agricultural imports has also declined. From 5.4% in 1985 it has decreased to 3.2% in 2006.

Did you know? Africa's agricultural exports are highly concentrated in a small number of countries. South Africa emerges as the largest supplier of agricultural products from the continent. Did you know? Africa's agricultural export composition has experienced a major shift. It has diversified from bulk commodities to horticultural products and, to a smaller extent, processed products.

Did you know? Bulk products continue to provide the largest share of agricultural export earnings for Africa. Did you know? South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana account for 56% of total exports from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Policy Attention on Agriculture

Despite economic growth in many parts of Africa, the continents efforts to alleviate poverty have been disappointing (AEO 2007). There is growing recognition that the underperformance of agriculture has been a major drag on economic and social development in the continent. African governments and the donor community have largely neglected the agricultural sector during the 1980s and 1990s. It is only quite recently that they have begun to refocus policy attention on the vital contribution agriculture can make to African development.

The NEPAD Initiative In July 2003 one of NEPAD's key inititiatives was endorsed by African Heads of State: The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). The CAADP was designed to focus on long-term investment in four priority areas: land and water management

rural infrastructure and trade-related capacities for improved market access

increasing food supply and reducing hunger

agricultural research, technology dissemination and adoption African governments are increasingly willing to revitalise agriculture. They are committed to promoting a private-sector led development approach of agriculture which should not only improve the availability of food but also become a major source of employment. They are paying attention not only to farm-based activities but also to off-farm operations, which account for a growing share of rural household income. African governments have committed to ensuring that 10 per cent of their national budgetary resources be disbursed to the agriculture sector.

>>Want to learn more? NEPAD - CAADP Initiative

Contact Us

For more information please contact Patrizia Labella or Kiichiro Fukasaku

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Jake Paul accused of sexual assault by TikTok star

YouTuber and celebrity boxer Jake Paul has been accused of sexual assault by TikTok star Justine Paradise. The New York Post reports Paradise, 24, said in a lengthy YouTube video that she met Paul, also 24, in 2019 and hung out with him at his California home. She says he started kissing her in an encounter that began as consensual  I did think he was cute  but Paul then pressured her to have sex and eventually forced her to perform oral sex on him despite telling him no several times. Sex is very special and very important to me, Paradise said. I thought it would be fine to kiss him, because I thought he would stop if I didnt want to do anything else. Paul, whos set to fight former MMA fighter Ben Askren in Atlanta on Saturday, has not responded to the allegations.

Army of the Dead trailer

Fresh off the release of his Justice League cut, Zack Snyder is back with the first trailer for Army of the Dead. Dave Bautista leads the cast of the zombie heist movie about a group of survivors hired by a Las Vegas casino boss to break into a vault and retrieve $200 million before the money is nuked by government. Army of the Dead hits select theaters May 14 and Netflix on May 21.

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Buzz is a daily roundup of entertainment news about movies, TV, music and celebrities.
"With our 17  inch section drilled to a milestone depth, and avoiding previous subsurface hazards from MJ01, we are positioned to achieve more flexibility on our lateral portion of the MJ02 well," expressed Zion Oil & Gas CEO, Robert Dunn. "With all key service providers on board, we continue to move forward with our ongoing 2021 operational plans."

ZION COMPLETES SECOND OF FOUR DRILLING SECTIONS

"We are happy to announce that we have reached our true vertical depth for the second stage of drilling," Zion's VP of Operations, Monty Kness, stated. "Reaching a depth far deeper than any previous well with such a large wellbore came with extreme difficulty as the crew fought the natural pressure of the earth to keep the wellbore trajectory on target."

Reaching the intermediate target zones with a borehole that can support the larger casing and production tubing to make a viable well is of vital importance to the overall objectives of Zion. At this stage, Zion will finish the logging, casing, and cementing of this section and then continue drilling toward the ultimate target zones.

Having reached the halfway point, Zion's operational team will begin to secure well-testing services and investigate the tendering and availability of completion services.

NEW LIMITED UNIT PROGRAM

Details:

Investors may participate starting Monday, April 12, 2021 .

. This Unit Program will continue until the earlier to occur of Wednesday, May 12, 2021 , or Zion raises $2.5million in Unit sales under this program and will not be extended.

, or Zion raises in Unit sales under this program and will not be extended. The cost of each Unit will be $250.00 for new and existing Direct Stock Purchase Plan investors.

for new and existing Direct Stock Purchase Plan investors. Each Unit purchase will provide the investor with $250 of ZNOG common stock (at the day's high-low average) and fifty (50) $0.25 Warrants.

of ZNOG common stock (at the day's high-low average) and fifty (50) Warrants. Warrants are exercisable on the 30 th day following the end of Unit Program and remain exercisable for two years ( June 11, 2021 , to June 12, 2023 ).

day following the end of Unit Program and remain exercisable for two years ( , to ). If investors sign up for Zion's automatic monthly investments (AMI) in addition to purchasing a Unit during this Unit program, then they will receive 10 $0.25 Warrants. Current subscribers are eligible for these additional warrants if they choose to participate in this unit purchase. (For more details on the automatic monthly investments (AMI), see Zion's Prospectus.)

Warrants. Current subscribers are eligible for these additional warrants if they choose to participate in this unit purchase. (For more details on the automatic monthly investments (AMI), see Zion's Prospectus.) This Unit Program is available through Zion's website. Investors may go to https://www.zionoil.com/dspp to purchase electronically online.

Zion Oil & Gas, a public company, traded on OTCQX Best Market, explores for oil and gas onshore in Israel on their 99,000-acre Megiddo-Jezreel license area.

"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Deuteronomy 31:8

"Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

Isaiah 12:5-6

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Zion's operations; Zion's ability to discover and produce oil in commercial quantities; Zion's ability to continue as a going concern; operational risks in ongoing exploration efforts; the timing and completion of the processing, interpretation of the results and plans contingent thereon off the 3-D seismic survey; regulatory approvals needed for the rig's operation; the effect, if any, of the coronavirus pandemic on the timing of the operation of the well, and liquidity for shareholders on OTCQX are forward-looking statements as defined in the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion's periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion's control. These risks could cause Zion's actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in Item 1A in Zion's Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, and other factors as may periodically be described in Zion's filings with the SEC. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements.

Contact Info:

Andrew Summey

VP, Marketing and Investor Relations

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (OTCQX: ZNOG)

12655 North Central Expressway, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75243

Telephone: 888-891-9466

Email: [email protected]

www.zionoil.com

SOURCE Zion Oil & Gas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.zionoil.com


The toddler sisters who were cruelly dumped over the southern U.S. border wall and abandoned by human smugglers have been released from Border Patrol custody.

Three-year-old Yareli and sister Yasmina, five, were released on Monday and placed in the care of the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Refugee Resettlement, a federal official told WATE-TV.

'A case worker from HHS will begin to work with them. Most of the time they reach out to family members for interviews and vetting to make sure there's a safe place for the child,' said a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.

'Most of the time they try to place them with a family member  a parent, an uncle or somebody else. And if that's not available, they try to place them in foster care,' the spokesman said.

Three-year-old Yareli and sister Yasmina, five, were released from CBP on Monday on Monday and placed with ORR. They are seen above with El Paso Sector Chief Gloria Chavez

The sisters hope to join their parents in New York. Their father Diego Vacacela Aguilar is seen alone left and right with their mother, Yolanda Macas Tene

Footage released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows a human smuggler (top) climbing over the Mexico-United States border wall in New Mexico after dropping two sisters from Ecuador, aged 3 and 5, over the steel barrier

The sisters could soon be reunited with their parents in New York City, an official with Consulate of Ecuador in Houston told DailyMail.com last week.

The case shocked the world after surveillance video footage released by Border Patrol showed the moment when a human smuggler dropped Yareli, three, and her five-year-old sister Yasmina over the 14-foot high border wall in New Mexico on March 30.

Another smuggler was waiting on the American side to catch the girls, who were then tossed to the ground. Both smugglers then fled, abandoning the children.

The surveillance camera operator immediately alerted Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station agents and directed them to the remote location.

The girls' mother, Yolanda Macas Tene, and father, Diego Vacacela Aguilar, had left their Ecuadorean home not long before, relatives said, and were awaiting their daughters in New York City.

Their paternal grandfather, Lauro Vacacela, told Telemundo from the family's hometown of Jaboncillo that the couple were desperate to be reunited with their children.

Lauro Vacacela, grandfather of the girls, spoke from the family home in Jaboncillo, Ecuador

Rosa Macas, aunt of the two toddlers is seen above. She had telephone contact with the mother in New York, who sent for the girls to be delivered to the US after recently entering

'Their parents really wanted to be with them, and the mother was suffering immensely, so they sent for them,' he said.

The family comes from a community of indigenous people in the south of Ecuador.

Neighbor Luz Macas told Telemundo affiliate Hoy Dia that people pay smugglers between $17,000 to $20,000 to get them across the U.S. border illegally.

The girls had lived with Vacacela, and their brightly-painted pink bedroom still had all their toys and clothes.

Vacacela did not know how the girls arrived at the border, or how much was paid to the people traffickers, known as 'coyotes'.

Asked if he was concerned, he replied: 'Yes, it can be rather risky, you could say.'

The family comes from a community of indigenous people in the south of Ecuador, where people pay smugglers between $17,000 to $20,000 to get them across the U.S. border

Parents Yolanda and Diego, with daughters Yareli and Yasmina, lived in this wooden home. The parents entered the US recently and then sent for the girls to follow

The girls' maternal aunt, Rosa Macas, said she was horrified when she saw what happened to the two.

'Maybe if they had been with me, they would never have left,' she said.

Manuel Macas, their maternal grandfather, begged Joe Biden to allow the family to be reunited in New York.

'Help us - let these two innocent girls be with their parents in New York, so they can be loved' he said.

Magdalena Nunez told DailyMail.com that Consulate of Ecuador officials had a chance to speak with the girls via a videoconference call last Monday.

'The girls are in excellent health,' she said in phone interview.

Data released Thursday shows the number of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border is vastly higher in 2021 compared to 2020, which saw a decrease in crossings. Crossing have reached an all-time high under Biden

The number of migrants crossing into the United States has skyrocketed to the highest levels in at least 15 years, it emerged this week, and record numbers of teenagers and children arriving without parents have overwhelmed the government's ability to care for them.

Vice President Kamala Harris was placed in charge of the situation three weeks ago, but has yet to visit the border.

U.S. agents took more than 171,000 migrants into custody last month, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures.

Last month, CBP took in more than 18,800 unaccompanied minors - a 99 per cent increase from February and a figure far above the previous one-month high of 11,861 in May 2019.

President Joe Biden's Department of Health and Human Services is spending $60 million a week to house the child migrants in 10 shelters across the country.
Close to 40 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have already been distributed through the COVAX Facility, half of them in Africa, but vaccine supplies are still stalled due to "tremendous demand" especially in India, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

COVAX, a WHO-led program to secure equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries, "has, as of today, distributed just over 38.7 million doses and we expect to get past 40 million doses later this week," Bruce Aylward, the WHO's senior advisor to the director general on organisational change, said at a press conference on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Over 40 countries on the African continent will have received doses by the end of this week, and they will receive nearly half of the doses from COVAX," he added.

However, the COVAX Facility has experienced major difficulties in accessing vaccines, especially since the Serum Institute of India, "one of the main producers that supply the COVAX Facility" according to Aylward, cut back on AstraZeneca vaccine deliveries due to the "tremendous demand" created by the "escalating outbreak in India."

One solution suggested by the to ensure proper immunization is to administer the second AstraZeneca dose after "12 weeks" or even a bit later, Aylward said.

At the same time, the urged populations to continue practicing the infection control measures as vaccines represent just one approach to dealing with Covid-19.

"There was a nine per cent increase in transmissions last week, the seventh consecutive week when we've seen an increase in transmission, and a five percent increase in the number of deaths," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19.

"We are at a critical point of the pandemic right now," she stressed.

--IANS

int/

(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.)
San Francisco, April 13 : After alcohol at your doorstep, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi now plans to deliver cannabis or marijuana when "the road is clear".

The Uber CEO told CNBC News that the ride-hailing company could start delivering weed once federal regulation allows the company to do so.

"When the road is clear for cannabis, when federal laws come into play, we're absolutely going to take a look at it," Khosrowshahi said during the 'Tech Check' show on Monday.

Marijuana still remains illegal under the US federal law, but some lawmakers have expressed a willingness to change the policy.

To date, 16 states, along with the District of Columbia, have legalised cannabis for recreational use, according to the report.

New York is the latest state to legalise recreational marijuana, allowing the delivery of marijuana products.

According to the report, cannabis delivery services are currently available with no restrictions in California, Nevada and Oregon for people who are 21 years of age or older.

The ride-hailing major in February acquired alcohol delivery service Drizly in a deal worth $1.1 billion.

Drizly's marketplace will eventually be integrated with the Uber Eats app.

Drizly is the leading on-demand alcohol marketplace in the US, available in more than 1,400 cities.

"By bringing Drizly into the Uber family, we can accelerate that trajectory by exposing Drizly to the Uber audience and expanding its geographic presence into our global footprint in the years ahead," said Khosrowshahi.
The two men with New Jersey roots charged with assaulting police officers with a chemical irritant during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol will file requests they be freed on bail while they await trial, their lawyers said in court Tuesday.

George Tanios and Julian Khater have been indicted on multiple crimes accusing them of assaulting three officers on Jan. 6  one of them U.S. Capitol Police Office Brian D. Sicknick, who is also a New Jersey native.

Sicknick died the day after the riot. The cause of his death has not been publicized.

Tanios, 39, and Khater, 32, friends who grew up in the New Brunswick area, are being tried together in federal court in Washington, D.C., and have been in federal custody since their arrests in mid-March.

Tanios was arraigned during the virtual appearance Tuesday before Judge Thomas F. Hogan, and pleaded not guilty.

For Khater, the hearing was a status update, although he did not appear, as he was being transported from a jail in Virginia to one in Washington.

Khaters lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, and Tanios attorney, Elizabeth Gross, both said they were prepared to file bail or bond applications soon.

We have a substantial, substantial, bail package, Tacopina said. It would address danger to the community, and risk if flight, he said.

Hogan scheduled a hearing at the end of April, and told the lawyers to include arguments that reference whats now known as the Munchel decision, a recent appeal in another Capitol case in which two suspects, Lisa Eisenhart and Eric Munchel, were freed pending trial.

Eisenhart and Munchel, a mother and son from Tennessee, appealed their pre-trial detention and won a decision in which a judge drew a line between Capitol suspects charged with committing physical violence, and those who cheered or streamed inside after the breach.

If the government wants to hold suspects not accused of violence, they have to demonstrate a specific reason why they remain a threat, the Munchel appeal says.

Munchel, known as the zip-tie guy after a photo of him climbing through the U.S. Senate went viral, and his mother are not accused of specific violence.

Khater and Tanios are accused of specific violence. Buttressed by videos from Jan. 6, federal authorities allege Khater retrieved a can of irritant  likely bear spray  from Tanios backpack and directly sprayed officers.

In the footage, Sicknick can be seen reacting and bend over while using water to try and clear his face.

At a prior federal court hearing West Virginia, where Tanios lives and runs a sandwich shop, a judge declined to release him after hearing a myriad of evidence from authorities  including a tip that if freed, Tanios would try to flee to Lebanon, where he has family.

Sicknick, Tanios and Khater grew up within 15 minutes of each other and left New Jersey as young men.

Sicknick grew up in South River and joined the Capitol police after serving in the New Jersey Air National Guard. He lived in northern Virginia with his longtime girlfriend. The 42-year-old was a Capitol officer for 12 years.

Tanios and Khater knew each other from the Lebanese community in the New Brunswick area. Tanios settled in Morgantown, West Virginia, and has a fiancee and three children.

Khater graduated from college in New Jersey and worked at several businesses before running Frutta Bowls franchises in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and State College, Pennsylvania  a location that closed last summer. He was back in New Jersey, in Somerset, when arrested.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 20:23:35|Editor: huaxia

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BELGRADE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- "I think that the Chinese vaccines are good for all people, and so we trust this vaccine. We support our country's cooperation with China in fighting COVID-19," said Jovanka Adamovic, a Serbian, after receiving her first dose of a Chinese vaccine in the village of Rudna Glava recently.

Back in mid-January, while most European countries were still waiting for the European Union's procurement process to commence and for European Medicines Agency (EMA) approvals, Serbia's regulatory body already authorized the use of China's Sinopharm vaccine.

Like Serbia, several European countries have embraced Chinese-developed vaccines to boost inoculation campaigns that have been impeded by a vaccine shortage, taking cautious steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions for a faster recovery.

TIMELY RAIN

As European countries struggle to procure enough doses to fulfill vaccination plans, Serbia, Hungary and a few others have opted to import vaccines from China.

Ukraine has completed laboratory studies of the CoronaVac vaccine (also known as the Sinovac vaccine) produced by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech and is starting to send the vaccine across the country, Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said on his official Facebook page on Monday.

Last week, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received an injection of coronavirus vaccine produced by Sinopharm in front of the media in the Rudna Glava village.

"I want to thank our wonderful medical workers for everything they are doing for our people in Serbia and to thank our Chinese brothers," Vucic posted on Instagram along with a photo of his vaccination.

Hungary has also decided to turn to China for help amid a vaccine shortage resulted from delayed shipments and the limited production capacity of the manufacturers that have the EMA's approvals.

Hungary has a leading vaccination rate among EU countries thanks to Chinese and Russian vaccines, said Zoltan Kovacs, international spokesman for the Hungarian government.

"Without the Chinese and Russian vaccines, it would not have been possible," said Kovacs.

The official said that like Hungarian President Janos Ader and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, he was also inoculated with a Chinese vaccine.

"Vaccines are not a political question. All vaccines that are reliable should be used as soon as possible to be able to fight the coronavirus," said Kovacs, adding that is why Hungary has decided to look to the East.

TRUST IN CHINESE VACCINES

The Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine became the first from China to receive a Good Manufacturing Practice certificate in an EU member country, after Hungary this week confirmed that it is of consistent high quality, appropriate for intended use and meets the requirements for authorization.

Hungary started using it for mass inoculation in late February. "We are the first country in the European Union that uses the Sinopharm vaccine," Tamas Menczer, state secretary from Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told Xinhua when the nation received the first shipment.

Miklos Rusvai, a professor and virologist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua that the Sinopharm vaccine "is unique among the vaccines authorized in Hungary, as this is the only inactivated vaccine that uses the whole virus with all the proteins of the coronavirus itself."

"It is a very good and very effective immunization method," he said, adding that the vaccine "will play a significant role in the fight against the pandemic."

In early April, more than 20 percent of Hungary's adult population received at least one vaccine dose, and Hungary had twice as many people vaccinated as the rest of the EU, according to media reports.

In Serbia, Dragan Fudulovic, director of the Rudna Glava village's health center, said that he was "satisfied with the turnout of people for the vaccination, and the Chinese vaccine is applied in most cases."

"Out of the 4,500 vaccinated people, 3,600 received the Chinese vaccine," Fudulovic said.

"I trust the Chinese vaccine," Hungarian Gabor Magyari told Xinhua a few moments after receiving the Sinopharm jab in Budapest.

"I don't care if the vaccine is Chinese or Russian or American. As long as it is good for my health, I am happy to get it," Magyari said.

BUILDING A GLOBAL ANTI-VIRUS WALL

According to official figures, China is providing vaccine aid to 80 countries and three international organizations, exporting vaccines to more than 40 countries, and cooperating with more than 10 nations in vaccine research, development and production.

On Monday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China will stick to solidarity and mutual assistance and join hands with other countries to eventually defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world needs to function as one in order to defeat the pandemic, especially when it comes to vaccination, Jelena Begovic, director of the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering of the University of Belgrade, told Xinhua.

Begovic said "the initiative from China to gather these countries and make a wall, a battlefield to beat this pandemic, I think it is a great idea, and I think it's the only way if we want to win this war."

Commenting on how the Chinese vaccines that are widely used in his country are unavailable in other parts of Europe, Serbian Member of Parliament Zarko Obradovic told Xinhua that "this depicts how the West is closed in its relations with China."

"The West cannot produce enough vaccines to start inoculating people, and it would be logical if they also attempted to acquire some quantities of vaccines from China," he said.

"I must say that, unfortunately, COVID transformed into a story about geopolitics and mutual relations. What once again separates China from many other countries is its intention to help everyone, without any other goals but to make a safe and healthy world for all the people," Obradovic said. Enditem
RALEIGH, N.C., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global3D printing industry will grow exponentially in the next six years on the back of the biggest 3D printing companies, charting a growth figure of 14 percent, says Beroe Inc.

The global 3D printing market size, which was at $11.58 billion in 2019, is now expected to see significant and consistent growth in the forecast period of 2020-27. The 3D printing industry - which comprises all 3D printing products - had 1.42 million units of 3D printers shipped in 2018. This is expected to quickly scale to 8.04 million units by 2027.

Among the key technologies that contributed to the 3D printing market growth is the Stereolithography segment, which made for 11 percent of the 3D systems market share in 2019. When it comes to materials, it is the polymer segment that accounted for the biggest market share in 2019, when compared to metal and ceramic segments. Among all, the metal segment is expected to hold the market and continue leading the table. It is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 19 percent per the 3D printing industry forecast.

Beroe, which is based in North Carolina, further stated that procurement experts can access this report on its recently launched market intelligence platform Beroe LiVE.Ai: https://www.beroeinc.com/beroe-live-ai/

In North America, the 3D printing market potential is primarily driven by demand from the automotive industry. This will grow very quickly because of the demand in the heavy vehicles sector. The continuous evolution and adoption of new technology have opened up the previously untapped area of the manufacturing sector. North America has the largest market share, over 35 percent in 2019, because of the explosion in the adoption of 3D printers for 3D designing, manufacturing, and modeling in different industries.

For Europe, the rise in the adoption rate of 3D printing technology in industrial products, education and research, healthcare, defense, aerospace, and the automotive sectors boosted the demand of the 3D printing market.Europe's highest demand comes from the small and medium industries that need reliable and speedy prototypes. The 3D printing market potential is huge and is helping in the creation of efficient processes in the aerospace sector with aircraft manufacturers investing an immense amount of capital in 3D technology for the production of jet engine combustion nozzles, turbine blades, and structural parts.

In the Asia-Pacific, governments are promoting high-end technologies in manufacturing. The rise in demand for customized products spurs the 3D printing industry. China's3D printing market strategy has ensured that it grows fast as an estimated 48 percent of the current 3D printing revenues in China come from 3D printers. This figure shows that there is a huge demand for 3D printing hardware in the country.

Because of the pandemic, the healthcare industry has suddenly placed massive demands on more clinical products and technologies in the market. 3D printing is a quick solution for faster production of clinical products at a high volume. Equipment spare parts can also be easily manufactured with this technology.

New manufacturers are coming into the market at a good rate and providing machines at a lower price. "Slow adapters, like China and India, are now investing in the same. These factors are translating into the materials usage trend, as more and more precious metals are used to print functional spare parts across the industries," says the report from Beroe Inc.

Key findings:

North America has emerged as the biggest 3D printing target market . It contributed the largest 3D printing market share of more than 35 percent in 2019.

has emerged as the biggest . It contributed the largest of more than 35 percent in 2019. More investment in advanced manufacturing technologies, the presence of major players, a growing automotive industry, and a stable economy are the factors that contribute to the growth in North America .

. The Europe 3D printing market, which was at $4.61 billion in 2019, is soon expected to touch $10.12 billion by 2025. This is at a CAGR of 14 percent.

3D printing market, which was at in 2019, is soon expected to touch by 2025. This is at a CAGR of 14 percent. The automotive, aerospace, healthcare, defense, education, and research are the key drivers in Europe .

. The Asia Pacific is expected to grow the fastest, at 18 percent. There is a strong demand for 3D printing in China , and the government's promotion of new-age technologies drives the growth in the region.

The report from Beroe includes:

Executive summary

Market analysis

Supplier analysis

COVID-19 impact

Innovation and sustainability

Market monitoring insights

Procurement best practices

About Beroe Inc.

Beroe is the world's leading provider of procurement intelligence and supplier compliance solutions. We provide critical market information and analysis that enables companies to make smart sourcing decisions-leading to lower costs, greater profits and reduced risk. Beroe has been providing these services for more than 15 years and currently works with more than 10,000 companies worldwide, including 400 of the Fortune 500 companies.

To learn more about Beroe Inc., please visit: https://www.beroeinc.com

Media Contact:

Debobrata Hembram

debobrata.hembram@beroe-inc.com

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/777512/Beroe_Logo.jpg
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man could face charges after he broke into the Ohio Statehouse early Monday while under the influence of drugs and discharged a fire extinguisher inside, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Staff Lt. Craig Cvetan said the man, whom he did not identify, called 911 after breaking into the Statehouse, later telling police he was attempting to get medical assistance for a reaction related to his use of illegal narcotics. He then left the building, and was found by police on the buildings west lawn.

The man broke three windows -- one while entering, another while leaving and a third while he was inside the building, according to Cvetan. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remained Monday morning. Troopers are investigating, and charges against the man are possible.

Workers were seen cleaning up the chemical powder on Monday morning inside the buildings historic Rotunda. The massive, 19th-century painting inside that commemorates the victory of U.S. forces during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812 was not visibly damaged, although a spokesman for the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board said the agency was investigating to confirm there was no major damage.

The vandalism incident is the first to occur at the Statehouse since a series of protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement last summer. There were two incidents -- one on May 29 in which multiple people briefly broke into the building and damaged it during unrest and another on June 18 when protesters painted red handprints and slogans on the marble buildings exterior and nearby statues -- that caused $158,000 in damage.

The Statehouse generally is open to the public, and heightened security associated with last summers Black Lives Matters protests, and another series of what turned out to be peaceful demonstrations following Congress certifying President Joe Biden as the winner of the November election, has been dialed back.
City of Malaga and Kapsch sign agreement

The cooperative agreement with Kapsch TrafficCom (Kapsch) will make Malaga the first city in Europe to test the latest dynamic signaling system and real-time traffic optimizer for the improvement of urban mobility. With a duration of two years and the possibility of two annual extensions, the pioneering projects will complement tests carried out in other European cities.

"It is very satisfying for Malaga to be the first city in Europe to realise a project of this magnitude. The technology will optimise the city's traffic for the benefit of our citizens' quality of life, resulting in less time in the car throughout their journey," said Jose Del Rio, Malaga's Councillor for Mobility. "This project also reinforces Malaga's position as an urban laboratory for testing technological initiatives."

The main objective of the demand management project is to provide vehicle users with alternative routes, thereby reducing traffic saturation during peak periods or in the case of unforeseen events. Through a dynamic signaling system with variable message signs (VMS) and a new "virtual VMS" mobile application (developed by Kapsch), the most appropriate route advice will be displayed and indicated via audio in real-time to the driver of the vehicle when he arrives near a decision point. The system uses the information from the traffic light system for calculation and decision making to dynamically select the most recommended route in every situation. The development of the capacity management allows for the use of a real-time traffic optimizer, which dynamically modifies the duration of green areas on the route depending on the traffic conditions detected by the installed sensor system.

"Public-private partnerships allow faster progress in the evaluation of innovative solutions for new mobility. The agreement we have signed enables the city of Malaga to be a showcase project for the use of demand and capacity management systems, which we will develop, implement and evaluate as part of a ground-breaking proof of concept in Europe", says Juan Marin, City Director Spain Portugal Kapsch TrafficCom.

For additional information: https://www.kapsch.net/kapsch/media/press/ktc/ktc_210413_pr?lang=en-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412006048/en/

Contacts:

Press:

Carolin Treichl

Executive Vice President Marketing Communications

Kapsch Aktiengesellschaft

Am Europlatz 2, 1120 Vienna, Austria

P +43 50 811 1710

carolin.treichl@kapsch.net

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn
Contributed /

WASHINGTON  Have you ever wondered what is edible in the woodlands of Connecticut?

The Spring Foraging Forum will take place on April 18 with Griffin Kalin, a museum educator and traditional skills expert, at the Institute for American Indian Studies at 38 Curtis Road. This program is recommended for families and will be held in three one-hour time slots starting at 1 p.m.
HUNT VALLEY, Md., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Option Group, a Certified Life Care Management company that serves families and their loved ones, recently acquired AgeWise Solutions, of Bear, Delaware. AgeWise Solutions is a highly respected care management provider specializing in elder care and has been providing guidance and support to older adults and their families since 2013.

Get to know Ellen Platt, MEd, CRC, CCM - President & Certified Aging Life Care Manager at The Option Group The Option Group, a Certified Life Care Management company that serves families and their loved ones, recently acquired AgeWise Solutions, of Bear, Delaware. Ellen S. Platt, MEd, CRC, CCM President & Certified Aging Life Care Manager, The Option Group

The Option Group supports families and older adults who are managing the effects of aging, a chronic illness or a disability, and provides services across three states  Maryland, Pennsylvania, and now Delaware. As part of The Option Group, the AgeWise team will continue to provide life care management and family caregiver support services to Wilmington and surrounding areas, including Greenville, Hockessin, Newark, Dover, and Kent and Sussex Counties.

"This partnership gives me confidence while I transition into retirement later this year. I know that the clients I have served over the past eight years will continue to receive uninterrupted access to excellent care," said Sharon Dickol, founder of AgeWise Solutions.

The Option Group celebrated its 10th anniversary earlier this year and includes a growing team of Certified Aging Life Care Managers, Nurse Care Managers, and Social Workers. Led by President

Ellen Platt, Med, CRC, CCM, The Option Group has been a trailblazer in the senior care industry.

"I have had the pleasure of knowing Sharon for many years and have always respected her approach to elder care," said Ms. Platt. "We have similar approaches to care management. Both subscribing to the philosophies set forth by the Aging Life Care Association (ALCA), I'm confident that Delaware families will experience a seamless transition to The Option Group."

The Option Group has worked tirelessly to provide high-quality services that help families navigate complex and emotional situations. Ms. Platt is dedicated to serving more clients with even more benefits to meet their needs. The Option Group has plans to roll out several innovative programs over the next two years to address its clients' needs. These will allow them to live the richest, most functional lives possible while keeping safety, comfort, and dignity in mind.

About The Option Group: Founded in 2010, The Option Group's compassionate team of experienced Certified Life Care Managers serves families, their loved ones, medical professionals, and professional family advisors in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The firm understands the challenges of caring for an individual who needs assistance due to aging, dementia, disability, or serious illness. Their skilled providers possess over 100 years of combined experience navigating the healthcare maze and accessing hundreds of quality resources. The Option Group helps families spend quality time with their loved ones, providing clear choices that lead to better care. For more information, visit www.theoptiongroup.net or call 410-667-0266 (MD) or 717-287-9900 / 610-885-8899 (PA) / or 302-362-9057 (DE).

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Defence giant Babcock International is slashing 1,000 jobs and writing off 1.7billion from the value of the business as part of a drastic overhaul.

The UK's second-largest defence company is expected to rack up a loss of more than 1billion on the back of the plan.

But the shares soared by 32 per cent, or 77.4p, to 319.4p on the restructuring announcement.

Choppy waters: The firm, which maintains the UK's nuclear submarines and is led by David Lockwood, is set to rack up a loss of more than 1billion

This is because chief executive David Lockwood said the shake-up would be so extensive that it would not need to raise money from shareholders, which the City had expected.

The majority of the job losses  850  will be in the UK and will mostly target middle management. The cuts will save 40million a year but also result in a one-off charge of the same amount.

Babcock has a workforce of 34,000 people worldwide. The FTSE 250-listed firm is a key contractor for the Ministry of Defence.

It maintains the UK's nuclear submarines, operates the Devonport dock at Plymouth and trains Royal Air Force pilots.

Babcock chief exec David Lockwood said the shake-up would be so extensive that it would not need to raise money from shareholders

The one-off charges of 1.7billion will come from writedowns after a review of how profitable contracts and acquisitions were. It warned annual profits are likely to be 30million lower than previously thought.

Babcock will also attempt to raise 400million by selling various parts of the business as it focuses on being a defence, aerospace and security company with a leading naval business in the UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa.

Lockwood said the move would create a 'more effective and efficient company'.

He added: 'Through self-help actions, we aim to return Babcock to strength without the need for an equity issue.' Lockwood joined last September, replacing boss Archie Bethel.

He was previously at Cobham and has brought his former finance director at that firm, David Mellors, over to Babcock.

He was praised for overhauling Cobham but criticised for presiding over its sale to US private equity giant Advent International in a 4billion deal last year.

The extensive restructuring will raise questions about accusations levied at Babcock by a mysterious short-seller that called itself Boatman Capital.

In 2018 and 2019 it published claims against the company, which included that Babcock was too complex and could face 'potentially massive exceptional costs'.

Although former management vigorously denied the claims, they wiped millions of pounds off the value of the company's stock.

Liberum analyst Joe Brent said the 1.7billion write-offs were 'larger than expected but management is right to clean up the balance sheet once and for all'.
Patna, April 13 : The Bihar Police have registered an FIR against three MLAs from the opposition parties for violating Covid norms in Rohtas district, an official said.

Shyam Sunder Rai, the circle officer of the Nasriganj in Rohtas district confirmed the development.

The FIR registered against Anita Chaudhary, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA from Nokha and a former minister; Arun Singh, the CPI-ML MLA from Karakat, Vijay Kumar Mandal, RJD MLA from Dinara in Rohtas district.

The three legislators went to the Baradih village under Nasriganj police station to participate in a political event on Monday evening. The event was organized by RJD veteran leader Ram Nath Yadav. Besides them, a number of local public representatives and leaders of Rohtas district also participated in the event.

"As a duty magistrate, I found that majority of leaders are not wearing face masks and not maintaining social distancing norms. As the second wave of corona is at its peak, there is a possibility of it spreading further. Hence, I have lodged a complaint with the concerned police station against them," Rai said.

"We have also learnt that the organizer had not taken permission from the district administration for the event," Rai said.
German man among seven new Covid-19 patients in Vietnam

A German man and six Vietnamese people who recently arrived in Vietnam from abroad have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,714, the Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday evening.















Illustrative photo







According to the ministry's report, the 61-year-old German man landed at Can Tho Airport from the Philippines on March 29. He was sent to a quarantine area in Ben Tre Province upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on April 12.

The patient is now being treated at the Ben Tre Provincial Lungs Hospital.





The six Vietnamese new patients include four men and two women aged between 20-37 who recently returned from Cambodia and Japan. They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on April 12.



The patients are now being treated at hospitals in Danang City and Kien Giang Province.



With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,714, including 910 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28.



As of 6 pm on April 13, a total of 2,445 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.



At present, over 36,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.
Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has described an incident in which a burning car was left on railway tracks in County Derry as deeply concerning.

One NI Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) appliance was sent from Limavady to deal with the incident around 9.00pm on Monday evening.

A NIFRS spokesperson said the fire was deliberate but was now under control, with damage sustained to the main Coleraine to Derry railway line.

Minister Mallon expressed her gratitude to the train driver, who brought the train to a halt before it reached the burning wreck.

I am deeply concerned and troubled by the incident near Bellarena this evening, she said.

The train travelling from Belfast to Derry was brought thankfully to a stop by the train driver who acted quickly before the train reached the burning car on the track.

I am so relieved to hear that passengers and crew are all safe. It is unimaginable to think what could have happened this evening had it not been for the prompt action of the driver and crew.

I want to express my gratitude to them and to the emergency services.

I would urge anyone with any information about this incident to contact the PSNI.

Translink have said a bus substitution service will be in place on the route until further notice.
By Esther Oluka

The Catholic Church has allowed members of the public to access the grave of the late Archbishop of Kampala, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga to continue paying their last respects.

Fr Pius Male Ssentumbwe, the chancellor of Kampala Archdiocese says last Thursday, just a few mourners were allowed at Rubaga Cathedral to attend the burial of the late Archbishop

This is considering the Cathedrals relatively smaller size and conformity to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

For such reasons, some mourners felt they did not get a proper chance to bid the late Archbishop farewell and even wondered whether the public would be allowed access to Lwangas gravesite.

George William Katende, a guide working at the Cathedral confirms that people have continued flocking the burial site.

The late Archbishop was buried inside the Cathedrals church section called Uganda Martyrs corner, on the right-hand side, more precisely, between the graves of Dr Joseph Kiwanuka and Bishop Edward Michaud.

Kiwanuka served as the Archbishop of Rubaga from 1961 until the time of his death in 1966 while Bishop Michaud served as the apostolic vicar in Tanzania before being transferred to Uganda in 1932.
JACKSON, Miss. (WTVA) - Mississippi and Alabama are halting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S.

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said, MSDH is instructing all physicians, clinics and hospitals to refrain from using Johnson and Johnson until additional guidance available from CDC/FD.

Dobbs said more than 38,000 doses of the J&J vaccine have been given in Mississippi.

He said those who have received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine should not be worried.

Read More: State Health Officer: If you received J&J vaccine, do not be worried

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said her state will temporarily pause the administering of the J&J vaccine in Alabama.

"COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for Alabama," she said Tuesday. "It is important to know that the adverse effects potentially stemming from the Johnson & Johnson shot have been extremely rare in the country, but out of an abundance of caution, Alabama is temporarily pausing these shots until we know more. I commend [state health officer] Dr. [Scott] Harris for taking this swift step in our state so that we can continue moving forward, getting shots in the arms and putting COVID-19 behind us once and for all."
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State Rep. Carolyn Partridge, D-Windham-3, welcomes emails at cpartridge@leg.state.vt.us. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of the Brattleboro Reformer.
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP)  A Black man died after being shot by police during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb, sparking violent protests that lasted into Monday as officers in riot gear clashed with demonstrators and the mans mother called for calm.

The man was identified by family as 20-year-old Daunte Wright, who died Sunday in a metropolitan area that was already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz tweeted that he was praying for Wrights family as our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement.

Speaking before the unrest, Wrights mother, Katie Wright, urged protesters to stay peaceful and focused on the loss of her son.

All the violence, if it keeps going, its only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason, she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center, a city of about 30,000 people on the northwest border of Minneapolis. We need to make sure its about him and not about smashing police cars, because thats not going to bring my son back.

Protesters who gathered near the scene waved flags and signs reading Black Lives Matter. Others walked peacefully with their hands held up. On one street, someone wrote in multi-colored chalk: Justice for Daunte Wright.

Officers stopped a motorist shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday for an unspecified traffic violation, police said in a statement. Authorities planned to provide an update later Monday.

Katie Wright said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.

All he did was have air fresheners in the car, and they told him to get out of the car, Wright said. During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot.

After determining the driver had an outstanding warrant, police said they tried to arrest him. Then the driver reentered the vehicle, and an officer fired, striking him, police said. The vehicle traveled several blocks before striking another vehicle.

Wrights family offered a different account, with Katie Wright saying her son was shot before getting back into the car.

A female passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries during the crash, authorities said. Katie Wright said that passenger was her sons girlfriend.

Court records show Wright was being sought on allegations that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June. In that case, a statement of probable cause said police got a call about a man waving a gun who was later identified as Wright.

Shortly after the shooting, demonstrators began to gather, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the Brooklyn Center Police Department, where rocks and other objects were thrown at officers, authorities said. The protesters had largely dispersed by 1:15 a.m. Monday.

About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said at a news conference.

The National Guard was activated, and Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced a curfew that expired shortly before daybreak.

Police said Brooklyn Center officers wear body cameras, which they believe were activated during the traffic stop. The department said it has asked the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate.

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds.

More National Guard members and state law enforcement personnel were to be deployed around the Twin Cities and in Brooklyn Center in addition to teams already in place for Chauvins trial at the Hennepin County courthouse in Minneapolis, Harrington said.

There was no visible increase in the already high security presence on Monday morning outside the courthouse, which was fortified ahead of Chauvins trial with tall fencing topped with barbed wire and coils of razor wire between the fences and concrete barriers. National Guard troops with military vehicles, sheriffs deputies and county security guards continued to stand watch.

Meanwhile, all Brooklyn Center students were to attend online classes Monday because school buildings were closed, Superintendent Carly Baker said.

About the photo: A worker cleans up debris outside a broken-into store on Monday, April 12, 2021, following a night of unrest in Brooklyn Center, Minn, a Minneapolis suburb, after the shooting death by police of a Black man after a traffic stop Sunday. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Seth Stoughton testifies in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, in the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Derek Chauvin Used Unreasonable Force on George Floyd, Expert Says

Then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin used an unreasonable amount of force on George Floyd, who was accused of using counterfeit money and then resisted arrest, an expert told jurors in Chauvins trial on April 12.

Both the knee across Mr. Floyds neck and the prone restraint were unreasonable, excessive, and contrary to generally accepted police practices, Seth Stoughton, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law who was paid to testify by the prosecution, said in Hennepin Countys courthouse.

No reasonable officer would have believed that that was an appropriate, acceptable, or reasonable use of force, added Stoughton, who worked for five years as a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida.

Chauvin and three other officers on May 25, 2020, encountered Floyd in Minneapolis following a 911 call regarding the use of money believed to be fake.

Floyd was handcuffed but resisted being placed into a patrol car and was ultimately restrained on the ground. Chauvin knelt on Floyds back and neck while two other officers grabbed his lower body.

Floyd complained he could not breathe before being on the ground and when restrained. He ultimately stopped breathing. Floyd was eventually declared dead and his death was ruled a homicide from law enforcement restraint, with the drugs in his system and a heart condition deemed contributing factors.

Stoughton told the court on Monday that officers not only acted unreasonably in their restraint but in their failure to render aid as his increasing medical distress became obvious.

Under cross-examination, Stoughton said he was in his assessment not looking at whether Chauvin was following his training, but was analyzing whether he was complying with the professional norms that we expect.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson (L) and defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (R), listen in the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Eric Nelson, Chauvins lawyer, noted that his client was aware when responding to the scene last year that officers had tried but failed to place Floyd into a police vehicle. He received an affirmation from Stoughton when asking if a reasonable officer would take such information into account when applying force.

Stoughton also said he felt officers never should have placed Floyd in a prone position, claiming Floyd, who had been thrashing and resisting, did not present a threat of escape.

The officers used some amount of force to put him into the car. And I have no issue with that. But putting him in the prone position, especially on the street side of the car was unreasonable and excessive and contrary to generally accepted police practices, he said.

Asked if reasonable minds could disagree on that point, Stoughton said, no.

Sgt. Jody Stiger, a Los Angeles Police Department use-of-force expert also paid by prosecutors, previously testified that it was reasonable for officers to place Floyd in the prone position.

Chauvin is facing charges including second-degree murder.

Stoughton was the prosecutions last witness in the case. Nelson will begin calling witnesses on Tuesday.
The 2021 designees are U.S. private companies that have demonstrated excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people and fostering a dynamic, resilient culture, as well as strong financials, all while facing the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite major challenges and immense pressure, they continued to lead with purpose and the vision to make significant contributions to their industries, communities, workforces and the economy.

"Beztak's inclusion in this year's list is a rewarding achievement and only validates our strategy of maintaining a consistent brand standard with a focus on being excellent, ethical, and effective," Chief Executive Officer Sam Beznos said. "Being recognized as a US Best Managed Company for the second year in a row is a true testament to the strength of our team. Especially in a year of such uncertainty and unprecedented changes, this recognition speaks volumes about our culture, reputation and the legacy we have built as a leading development, construction, and management company."

Applicants are evaluated and selected by a panel of external judges focused on assessing hallmarks of excellence in four key areas: strategy, ability to execute, corporate culture and financial performance. They join a global ecosystem of honorees from more than 30 countries recognized by the Best Managed Companies program.

About the Best Managed Companies Program

The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practices  strategy, execution, culture and financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

About Beztak

For more than six decades, Beztak has developed, built, managed and invested in commercial, industrial and residential real estate throughout the United States. Today, Beztak owns and manages a diverse portfolio of commercial, office, retail, senior living, and multi-family residential real estate, and continues to develop and construct new properties as well as renovate existing properties to add value or reposition them in the market. Beztak also offers comprehensive and customizable fee-based property management services for companies seeking to generate higher revenues from their assets while improving overall performance.

Headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, Beztak has offices in Boca Raton, Florida and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, with communities currently located in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington DC. For more information, visit www.beztak.com.

Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure.

SOURCE Beztak

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Former NRL star turned The Amazing Race host Beau Ryan is adding another show to his repertoire.

The 35-year-old told Daily Mail Australia last week that he's set to co-host Studio 10 alongside Sarah Harris in coming weeks.

Beau is due to fill in for Tristan MacManus when the hunky Irishman welcomes his third child with stunning wife, Tahyna Tozzi.

EXCLUSIVE: 'I'll be keeping Tristan's seat warm': Ex-NRL star Beau Ryan revealed to Daily Mail Australia last week that he'll be co-hosting Studio 10 soon - and revealed what it's REALLY like working alongside Sarah Harris

The former Footy Show star said he's looking forward to the opportunity and revealed what it's like working alongside Sarah, 39.

'As soon as he has the baby I'll be able to help out,' Beau said.

'The good thing about channel 10 is that it's like a big family and Tristan and Sarah have been very good to me.'

Adding to his brood: Beau is due to fill in for Tristan MacManus when the hunky Irishman welcomes his third child with stunning wife, Tahyna Tozzi

'Channel 10 are very supportive. The Project has me on a lot. When they asked if I could help out I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed hosting with Sarah, I've done it before,' Beau said

Beau went on to say that he 'jumped at the chance' to co-host the show.

'Same as Kyle and Jackie O. Channel 10 are very supportive. The Project has me on a lot. When they asked if I could help out I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed hosting with Sarah, I've done it before.'

Beau, who has previously filled in for Kyle on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, said that working with Sarah reminds him of working with Jackie as they both make him feel 'really comfortable' on air.

'Sarah Harris is amazing, she reminds me a lot of working with Jackie, she makes you feel really comfortable and I just feel at ease when she's there,' he explained.

Comfortable: Beau, who has previously filled in for Kyle on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, said that working with Sarah reminds him of working with Jackie as they both make him feel 'really comfortable' on air

'Sarah Harris is amazing, she reminds me a lot of working with Jackie, she makes you feel really comfortable and I just feel at ease when she's there,' he explained

'It's a good opportunity to show what skills I have. It'll only be a little bit but I'll keep the seat warm for him.'

Beau added that if ever asked to do a show like Studio 10 full-time he would do it, but for now he's content and incredibly busy hosting The Amazing Race.

It'll be a busy few months for Beau, who is launching an ambitious new chain of gyms to rival F45, called Sweat 1000, with his friend Keiran Turner.

The pair have a gym in Sydney's Coogee and are hoping to franchise it out in Australia and overseas.

Beau added that he feels 'very fortunate' to have had a successful career after footy.

'Footy opened a lot of doors for me,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's been a step out of the rugby league field. I'm really enjoying my role on 'The Amazing Race' and I've had a lot of success this year. I'm really proud of it,' he said.
A Prancing Horse hauling melons is perhaps the most unexpected and strangest sight possible, but this is no regular pony. It is an entirely homemade Ferrari 488 GTB , built on a $1,000 budget over several months, drawing power from a feisty little air-cooled engine sourced from a water pump thats allegedly able to take it to top speeds of 60 kph (37.2 mph). This claim is still unverified, but thats why the car sounds like a lawnmower, in case you were wondering.This Ferrari is famous both in its native country Vietnam and all over the world, thanks to the viral video that showed its debut. It is the creation of the team behind NHET TV from Vietnam, who got started by making cardboard replicas of motorcycles and cars. It then moved into supercar territory , with the Ferrari standing out for featuring a steel frame with lots of fiberglass and composite glue.As we noted in a February cover story , this Ferrari is far from a convincing replica, but it is impressive nonetheless. It is now even more so, considering its voluminous frunk can fit plenty of melons.The video is 30 minutes long and, while not packed with details, it still makes for a fascinating watch. The story is basic: the two dudes realize they have no chance of selling all their melons, so they come up with the idea of putting them inside the frunk and hauling them to a better location. Packaging is everything, as they say, and apparently, selling melons out the frunk of a fake Ferrari is the best packaging possible.The story is actually an excuse to show off the car, which has seen considerable improvement, both to the exterior and the cabin, since the last time it made headlines. The guys are still able to sell off the entire melon inventory, but thats a subplot. So, we get to see the loaded Ferrari traveling (downhill, God bless) on the narrow streets, bringing out large crowds and putting a smile on everyones face. Because the project is a valuable one, theres an entire team of people coordinating along the route, making sure theres no incoming traffic and relieving congestion behind the Ferrari.Its admirable how everyone works together to show off the car and help make this video. Perhaps more heart-warming, though, is peoples reactions to the supercar: this is a point of pride for the villagers, and theyre right in feeling this way. Even though this far from a convincing replica, the amount of skill involved is astounding, all things considered. It wouldnt be entirely surprising if they bought melons out of solidarity.
Police and prosecutors in Michigan were shocked when a judge granted an early release to an inmate who was convicted of killing his first wife and named a person of interest in the death of his second wife, after he successfully argued that the risk of catching COVID-19 in prison endangered his life, even though he has been vaccinated.

Federal prosecutors fought to keep Roger Sweet, 73, locked up for another seven years and were surprised by US District Judge Victoria Roberts' decision Friday.

Police in a Detroit suburb said Sweet is considered a 'person of interest' in the death of his second wife, whose remains were found in a swampy area in 2013, years after she disappeared.

Roger Sweet, 73 (left), was serving a 21-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of murdering his first wife when US District Judge Victoria Roberts (right) agreed to release him seven years early over COVID concerns

'All along we believed we were looking at the right person here. ... We're going to assign this to a new staff of detectives to get a fresh set of eyes on the case,' Brownstown Township Chief Jeff Watson said Tuesday, referring to the death of Lizzie Mae Collier-Sweet.

Roberts ordered Sweet's release even though he has received a COVID-19 vaccine dose and survived the virus infection last year.

She acknowledged that his crimes were 'abhorrent' but said chronic health conditions, especially kidney disease, make him vulnerable.

'Without a single disciplinary action in 14 years of incarceration, Sweets behavior demonstrates a respect for the law and indicates how he may perform on supervised release,' Roberts said.

Sweet is a person of interest in the death of his second wife, Lizzie Mae Collier-Sweet (pictured), whose skeletal remains were found in 2013 outside Detroit

In 2008, Sweet was convicted in two Detroit-area courts and federal court. Those crimes included second-degree murder in the 1990 death of his first wife, Marlene Sweet, who he claimed had died from a fall in the bathroom, reported The Detroit News.

Roger and Marlene's son, Michael Sweet, testified in 2007 that his father abused his mother for years, slammed her against the wall and aimed a gun at her prior to her killing, reported ClickOnDetroit.com at the time.

He was also found guilty of the sexual assault of a developmentally disabled 16-year-old girl and the sexual exploitation of children stemming from the discovery of some 500,000 images depicting child pornography on his electronic devices.

His federal prison sentence - 21 years - was the longest and still had seven years remaining, prosecutors said.

In 2007, Sweet's second wife disappeared after a fire at their Brownstown Township home, south of Detroit, a blaze that triggered the criminal investigations.

While Sweet was in prison, Collier-Sweet's skull and bones were found in 2013 in a secluded area less than a mile away from their former home. Her cause of death was listed as 'indeterminate,' but police believe it was a homicide, Watson said. No one has been charged.

Investigators said Collier-Sweet, 49, wrote in a diary that she feared her husband and slept on a couch with a hammer and shotgun, Assistant US Attorney Kevin Mulcahy said in a court filing, citing news reports.

Roberts ordered Sweet's release even though he has received a COVID-19 vaccine dose and survived the disease last year

'Nothing about Sweet's history and characteristics, which include rape, murder and the suspicious circumstances surrounding Lizzie Mae's death, support releasing him early,' Mulcahy said.

Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer, who helped put Sweet behind bars, did not mince words when asked to weigh in on the inmate's early release.

'That's crazy,' he said. 'The case involving the second wife is still open, thats a cold case, and those cases are the type [police] dont give up on.'

Sweet will be confined to his home on electronic tether for 12 months with exceptions for work, religious services, medical appointments and court-ordered obligations, the judge said.
Even as India's COVID-19 graph continues to peak, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and government officials are deliberating on the dates of the class 10 and class 12 board exams.

CBSE Controller of Exams Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj has highlighted that number of exam centres has been scaled up to maintain social distancing. He added students will be allowed to change their examination centres for theory and practical exams in view of the ongoing pandemic.

CBSE board exams are currently slated to begin from May 4 in offline mode. The Class 10 exams will be held between May 4- June 7 and those for class 12 will be held between May 4- June 15.

Also read: Class 10, 12 exams: Education ministry, CBSE ponder over board exams dates

There are no plans to cancel or hold exams online as of now, according to officials.

"We will not leave any stone unturned for the students. For students, focus on your studies, do not listen to any rumour and false pretence. You must work hard and take responsibility for performing well," CBSE Controller of Exams Dr. Sanyam Bhardwaj said while addressing the session "CBSE Board Examinations-- Demystified" organised by the SAI International Education Group.

Besides this, the central board had also assured students and parents that necessary precautions are being taken to contain COVID-19 transmission during the board exams.

While students support conducting the exams, they also think that a backup plan is imperative. Yana, a class 12 student said that she does not support postponing the exams. She said, "Well according to me obviously giving offline exams during the second wave of the pandemic with over 1.50 lakh cases coming daily is dangerous. But I am not in support of postponing board exams. Any decision that the central board will take should be a fixed decision either take the exams according to the schedule or cancel them."

Also read: #CancelBoardExams: Students continue to spar with CBSE

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have urged the Centre to cancel the exams in view of the current situation.

Around 6 lakh children in Delhi will appear in the CBSE exams and 1 lakh teachers will be part of it. Kejriwal said, "6 lakh children in Delhi are going to write CBSE exams. Nearly 1 lakh teachers will be a part of it. These can become major hotspots leading to large-scale spreading of Corona. Children's lives and health is very important to us. I request Centre to cancel CBSE exams."

He added that children can also be promoted on the basis of online method or internal assessments. Kejriwal noted, "Several countries have done it, some states in India are doing it too. Some alternative methods could be thought of. Children can be promoted this time on the basis of either an online method or internal assessment. But the exams should be cancelled."

Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia also tweeted in support of cancelling CBSE exams.





              CBSE     .                       ?

        -  .  Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) April 13, 2021

Rahul Gandhi urged the CBSE and the Central government to reconsider conducting CBSE exams and consult all stakeholders before arriving at a decision.

In the light of the devastating Corona second wave, conducting #CBSE exams must be reconsidered. All stakeholders must be consulted before making sweeping decisions.



On how many counts does GOI intend to play with the future of Indias youth?  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) April 11, 2021

Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed said in a tweet that the CBSE exams should be cancelled for now due to the rising COVID-19 tally.

CBSE students already have a tremendous pressure of studies. Should they have to fear for their lives too while appearing for exams! It is cruel to force students to appear for exams when we are seeing 1.7 lakh covid cases a day. #CBSE exams must be cancelled for now!  Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) April 12, 2021

Maharashtra Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad has said that she will write to CBSE, ICSE, IB and Cambridge boards to cancel the exams.

We'll also be writing to the CBSE, ICSE, IB, Cambridge boards, requesting them to reconsider their exams dates. (5/5)  Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) April 12, 2021

Edited by Mehak Agarwal

Also read: Kejriwal urges Centre to cancel CBSE class 10, 12 board exams as Covid-19 cases surge
The Drugs Controller General of India has granted approval to Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik-V for restricted use in India, the Russian Direct Investment Fund said on Tuesday. Developed by Russia's Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Sputnik V is the third COVID-19 vaccine approved by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) and the DCGI after Covishield and Covaxin vaccines. As per the Russian fund, the price of Sputnik V is less than $10 per shot but it is yet to come up with the final price specifically for India. Limited doses of the Russian vaccines could be available by month-end only.

The decision was taken after the SEC held a meeting on Monday to consider Sputnik V's application for emergency use authorisation (EUA) in India. With this approval, India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V vaccine. Hyderabad-based pharma giant Dr Reddy's Laboratories had last week sought the Centre's nod for the vaccine to be used in India. The RDIF joined hands with Dr Reddy's in September 2020 to carry out clinical trials of Sputnik V in India.

The Sputnik V vaccine is based on a proven platform of human adenoviral vectors, which cause the common cold and have been around for thousands of years. It uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots.

"We appreciate the decision of India's regulatory bodies to grant authorisation for Sputnik V. Approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as Russia and India have been developing an extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production," Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund has said.

Dmitriev said India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and RDIF's strategic partner for production of Sputnik V. "Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world," he said.

India is the leading production hub for Sputnik V. RDIF has signed pacts with Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Virchow Biotech to produce millions of vaccines per year. Sputnik V ranks second among coronavirus vaccines globally in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

The Russian jab has an efficacy rate of 91.6 per cent and is carrying out its phase-3 clinical trials in Belarus, UAE, India, and Venezuela, according to Sputnik-V's website. As more and more states flag shortages of coronavirus vaccine doses, the Centre has pressed the accelerator to expand vaccine production manifold. With a manufacturing capacity of 850 million doses in India, Sputnik V will prove to be a major shot in the arm in the fight against coronavirus, suggest experts.

Apart from India, Sputnik V has also been approved in Russia, Argentina, Venezuela, UAE, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Kenya, Morocco, Jordan, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Mauritius, Vietnam, among others.

Also Read: COVID-19: Panacea Biotec to produce 100 million doses of Sputnik V in India annually

Also Read: COVID-19 vaccine: Drug regulator seeks additional data from Dr Reddy's on Sputnik V
Feng Fei, governor of Hainan province, made the following remarks at the press conference.

The explosive growth in foreign investment over the past three years has become a highlight in the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port. Specifically, I'd like to explain this through exponential growths in three areas.

First, Hainan's actual use of foreign capital doubled annually for three years in a row, with the aggregate exceeding half of what the island province had accumulated over 30 years since it became a special economic zone in 1988.

Second, the number of foreign investment entities grew exponentially. The number of newly established foreign-invested companies in Hainan reached 1,005 last year, surpassing the 1,000 mark and nearly tripling that of 2019. Keep in mind that last year was severely impacted by the pandemic, so it was quite a hard-earned achievement.

Third, the number of sources of foreign investment grew exponentially. Over 80 countries and regions, including Russia, have invested here.

Why has Hainan become a favored place for global investment? I would use two "lowest" to sum up its favorable policies.

First, the lowest number of items on its foreign investment negative list. There are 33 items on the national list, 30 on the list of free trade zones, and 27 on the list of Hainan.

Second, the lowest taxes. What foreign-invested companies care most about is, for example, the corporate income tax. Companies in industries encouraged by Hainan enjoy a corporate income tax rate of 15%. High-end talents pay income tax no higher than 15% of their gross income. Those two policies are exclusive to Hainan.

Official: Hainan FTP sees explosive growth in foreign investment

http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2021-04/13/content_77402197.htm

SOURCE China SCIO

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MIAMI and BAYREUTH, Germany, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With numerous historic collaborations to his name, GRAMMY Award-winning multiplatinum artist, music industry visionary, innovative influencer, mogul, and mega-producer DJ Khaled breaks ground once again as a businessman. This time around, he joins forces with premium luxury juvenile gear brand CYBEX for an exclusive collaboration. He boldly goes where no boss of his caliber has gone before, taking over the juvenile industry. Together, they proudly present a custom collection emblazoned with the We The Best logo and a fly colorful design by Khaled, his wife Nicole Tuck, and young kings Asahd and Aalam. This notably marks the first time Khaled and Nicole have joined forces for a collaboration, making it even more special.

DJ Khaled & Family with Cybex Priam

Family is always first, and this new venture between CYBEX and DJ Khaled reflects just that. As a testament to Khaled's young kings, the "CYBEX x DJ Khaled" explodes with bold colors and exotic animals. Lions, zebras, and parrots stand tall on CYBEX's most iconic strollers, the PRIAM and MIOS, inviting you into a bright green jungle of adventure. The collection is rounded off to perfection by the infant car seats CLOUD Z/CLOUD Q, as well as a cool and unique changing bag, a cozy footmuff and a protective parasol. CYBEX achieves the best by focusing on the details  a key has been added to each zipper pull to symbolize Khaled's "Keys" to success. This collaboration represents the importance of family and love  playing a huge part in Khaled's  or anyone's  success. Therefore, perfectly incorporating CYBEX's vision of being a brand for modern parents with ever-changing and exciting designs  while always having the highest standards when it comes to safety and functionality.

As a fashion-forward brand moving with the pulse of the culture, CYBEX proved to be the perfect partner for Khaled's very first foray into this vertical. In the past, CYBEX orchestrated previous collaborations with Jeremy Scott, Karolina Kurkova, Scuderia Ferrari, and more. As such, CYBEX considers parents "icons", and delivers the ultimate accessory with the new Khaled collection embodying ideals of love, passion, family, lifestyle, joy, and fun

Regarding the collaboration with CYBEX initiated by Roc Nation , Khaled commented, "CYBEX raised the bar for baby accessories and then we raised it even higher together. From the first time I talked to Martin and the team, I felt this incredible energy  like we could do something next level.

And, we did. I promise you this is the best stroller experience your kids will ever have. We weren't going to settle for anything less. Our children are the best!"

CYBEX Founder Martin Pos added, "Collaborating with DJ Khaled was just a blast. We came together as a team really well and had amazing energy together. As a result, we created something spectacular and representative of Khaled's love for his family, realized through the highest quality products."

Right now, DJ Khaled also finishing up his twelfth album, Khaled Khaled  coming very soon.

DJ Khaled is ready to roll with CYBEX.

ABOUT CYBEX:

Established in 2005, the German company CYBEX is globally recognized for the iconic design, innovative technology, easy functionality, and superior safety features on all its products for stylish adults embarking on parenthood.

Making sure juvenile products fit the parent's lifestyle perfectly, CYBEX surprises with high-end fashion collections  inspired by newest runway trends and haute couture designs.

Being bold and modern, CYBEX chooses collaboration partners perfectly to fit the brand message and create something new and exciting. Previous collaborations with fashion designer Jeremy Scott, supermodel Karolina Kurkova and famous Scuderia Ferrari distinguish the company within the industry.

While always focusing on new trends and design, CYBEX has been awarded numerous times for the safety of the products.

In early 2014, CYBEX joined Goodbaby International Holding Limited. The group is one of the world's leading enterprises for the development and production of child and teen goods.

Find more information at www.cybex-online.com

ABOUT DJ KHALED:

For over two decades, the very mention of DJ Khaled has implied an elevated level of musical greatness, entrepreneurial excellence, and cultural impact. You've heard him across a GRAMMY Award-winning multiplatinum catalog, seen him in blockbusters such as Bad Boys For Life, caught him on the cover of Rolling Stone, watched him on numerous television programs, and felt his presence from the streets all the way up to the Barack Obama White House. He has achieved dozens of multiplatinum and gold certifications, including the sextuple-platinum Billboard Hot 100 #1 "I'm The One" [feat. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, & Lil Wayne], quadruple-platinum "Wild Thoughts" [feat. Rihanna & Bryson Tiller], and double-platinum "No Brainer" [feat. Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, & Quavo]. The latter propelled his 2019 album, Father of Asahd [We The Best Music Group/Epic Records], to the top of the charts. Not only did it garner a platinum certification, but it also became his third consecutive Top 2 debut on the Billboard Top 200 and emerged as the "#1 Most-Streamed Record" upon release. To date, he has moved 20 million singles and 6 million albums in addition to gathering 4 billion-plus streams.

Not to mention, he launched We The Best Music Groupa record label, management, publishing, and production company and in-demand studio. As a committed philanthropist, he founded his 501(c)3 organization The We The Best Foundation. It uplifts individuals throughout underserved communities across the United States and supports various non-profits. He has supported the fight against COVID-19, U2 frontman Bono recruited him as the first social media ambassador for Project Red, and he serves as the national spokesperson for Get Schooled. Now, the power of this legacy defines his thirteenth full-length album  whichbears his birth name  Khaled Khaled [We The Best Music Group/Epic Records], preceded by two chart-busting bangers alongside frequent collaborator Drake, namely "POPSTAR" and "GREECE."

SOURCE CYBEX

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 15:35:39|Editor: huaxia

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NANNING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and three others injured in a traffic accident in the city of Hechi, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, local authorities said Tuesday.

The accident happened at around 6:55 a.m. when a heavy truck suddenly lost control, ran off the road and crashed into a villager and a van carrying eight people.

The injured are receiving treatment in hospital. Drunk driving was ruled out after a preliminary investigation, and further investigation is underway. Enditem
Between April 8th and 12th, one of the several formation clinics which the North American Trainer Association (NATA) holds annually took place at Gainesville Regional Airport in Gainesville, Florida. The event saw roughly 65 pilots take part, flying some 40 training sorties with the thirty or so T-6s and three T-28s on hand. The D-Day veteran C-47 Skytrain Placid Lassie also took part as well.

For those who dont know, NATA is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to the preservation, restoration, safe operation and enjoyment of military aircraft designed and manufactured by North American Aviation (NAA). NATA provides members with acquisition, operational, maintenance, and safety information, formation training, advocacy, and flight training, and parts and repair referrals. Membership is open to all pilots, owners and enthusiasts of these aircraft worldwide, and includes a majority of U.S. owners of these aircraft, and owners, pilots, enthusiasts and historians from thirteen other countries.

NATA provides type club support for all variants of the P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell, T-28 Trojan, and T-6 Texan/SNJ/Harvard, NA-50, NA-64. Other NAA types welcomed include the P-64, Navion, T-2 Buckeye, F-86 Sabre, and F-100 Super Sabre.

A key mission for NATA is promoting, teaching, and maintaining a pilots skills for flying aircraft in formation. NATA is also a signatory of the Formation and Safety Team (FAST), a worldwide educational organization dedicated to teaching safe formation flying in restored, vintage military aircraft and civilian aircraft. The association is part of a larger group called the Formation and Safety Team, which focuses on educating individuals about flying in vintage military and civilian aircraft.

The idea behind the clinics is for new members to qualify in formation flying and for returning members to re-qualify. In order to do this, pilots must fly in a four-ship formation and have a leader observe and sign off that they possess sufficient proficiency and skills to fly in formations outside of the clinic. The clinic is highly structured to ensure safety when flying. The clinics are typically two days of flying, day before is arrivals and day after is departures. The clinics two days encompass training days, during which the pilots ensure they are comfortable with their aircraft and can fly safely. New members undergo a one-on-one evaluation flight to prove they can take off smoothly, stay to one side of the runway, and keep their visibility forward.







Due to the global pandemic, the association had to cancel many of its larger events in 2020, such as the Oshkosh clinic in Iowa and the Sun n Fun clinic in Brooksville. However, by September or so, the organization was able to start hosting clinics across the country again. For more information about NATA, please visit www.flynata.org/

Many thanks to Aaron Haase for the fabulous images pictured here. For more information about his work please click HERE.






Iran says it will enrich uranium to 60%, highest level ever

Iran says it will enrich uranium to 60%, highest level ever View Photo

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, a negotiator said Tuesday, pushing its program to higher levels than ever before though still remaining short of weapons-grade.

The announcement marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, suspected of having been carried out by Israel  and could inspire a further response from Israel amid a long-running shadow war between the nations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon and his country has twice preemptively bombed Mideast nations to stop their atomic programs.

Already earlier in the day, Irans foreign minister had warned that the weekend assault at Natanz could hurt ongoing negotiations over its tattered atomic deal with world powers. Those talks are aimed at finding a way for the United States to re-enter the agreement, the goal of which is to limit Irans uranium enrichment in exchange for relief on sanctions.

Nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi, in Vienna to begin informal talks Tuesday night, made a point to make his announcement in English.

We believe this round of negotiations is the time for the U.S. to present a list and I hope that I can go back to Tehran with the list of sanctions which should be lifted, Araghchi told Iranian state televisions English-language arm Press TV. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time.

He said authorities would add another 1,000 more-advanced centrifuges to Natanz as well.

Iran had been enriching up to 20%  even that was a short technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. takes seriously Irans provocative announcement, saying it calls into question Irans seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance with the deal.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported an Israeli-owned ship had been attacked by Iran in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near Fujairah. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an organization monitoring Mideast waterways run by the British navy, described it as a possible incident, without elaborating. U.S. military officials declined to comment and Emirati officials did not acknowledge any incident there.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program up until the end of 2003. However, the nuclear deal prevented it from having enough of a uranium stockpile to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon.

An annual U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday maintained the American assessment that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that we judge would be necessary to produce a nuclear device.

The talks in Vienna are aimed at reviving Americas role in that agreement, which former President Donald Trump abandoned, and lifting the sanctions he imposed.

The Vienna-based IAEA told The Associated Press that Iran had informed the agency it planned to begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity at its Natanz facility. IAEA inspectors have been closely monitoring Tehrans program since the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russias ambassador to the IAEA, said that those who undertook an act of sabotage against the nuclear facility in Natanz probably wanted to undermine the process of reviving the nuclear accord. Russia is a member of the nuclear deal.

The move to 60% had been hinted at in the past. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had threatened to go to that level in February if the country needed.

We are determined to develop our nuclear capabilities in line with the needs of the country, Khamenei said then. For this reason, Irans enrichment will not be limited to 20%, and we will take whatever action is necessary for the country.

Iran previously had said it could use uranium enriched up to 60% for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic currently has no such ships in its navy.

The weekend attack at Natanz was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls  but later Iranian officials began calling it an attack.

Alireza Zakani, the hard-line head of the Iranian parliaments research center, referred to several thousand centrifuges damaged and destroyed in a state TV interview. However, no other official has offered that figure and no images of the aftermath have been released.

The U.S. has insisted it had nothing to do with Sundays sabotage. Israel is widely believed to have carried out the assault that damaged centrifuges, though it has not claimed it.

But earlier Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif still issued a warning to Washington.

Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage actions would provide them with an instrument for talks, Zarif said in Tehran alongside visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They should know that these actions would only make the situation difficult for them.

Zarif separately renewed his earlier warning to Israel over the sabotage, saying that if Iran determines its archenemy was behind it, then Israel will get its response and will see what a stupid thing it has done.

Kayhan, the hard-line Tehran newspaper, urged Iran to walk out of the Vienna talks, suspend all nuclear commitments, retaliate against Israel and identify and dismantle the domestic infiltration network behind the sabotage.

Irans withdrawal from the talks remains unlikely as the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, whose main diplomatic achievement was the 2015 accord, hopes to get the U.S. to rejoin it and provide desperately needed sanctions relief. But the announcement that it would enrich uranium further shows how pressure has been growing within Irans theocracy over how to respond to the attack.

Rouhani met later Tuesday with Lavrov and stressed the importance of all parties returning to the deal.

We are neither ready to accept less than that, nor are we after achieving more than that, he said.

___

Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; David Rising in Berlin; Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Jonathan Lemire in Washington contributed to this report.

By JON GAMBRELL

Associated Press
PHOENIX, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack McColl, local entrepreneur, full-time traveler and skydiver, revealed the science behind funding multiple seven-figure businesses solely through lines of zero-percent-interest credit in a seven-week course that launched April 12, 2021.

McColl on a skydiving trip to Egypt, paid entirely through credit card points.

When the global pandemic hit in 2020, Jack immediately began to create a course in credit stacking to help current and soon-to-be entrepreneurs bounce back from economical hardships. Credit Stacking is the strategy of stacking multiple lines of credit in a specific order, allowing the borrower to access much larger lines of credit with additional benefits, like zero percent interest.

With over 20 credit cards to his name, McColl travels the world in luxury for a fraction of the price, due to the utilization of business cards and point-redemption strategies.

"Credit has completely changed the way I live. Being an entrepreneur most of my life, I wish I had known how high credit lines and access to zero percent credit would exponentially change the business game for me," said Jack McColl, founder of Credit Stacking.

"I created this course in hopes that I can assist fellow entrepreneurs to change the status quo when it comes to business and travel."

Having recently returned from a skydiving trip in Egypt, many others can create a similar lifestyle through the credit stacking strategy. Those seeking a more stable way to fund their next business venture are also invited to participate at creditstacking.com.

Arizona-based New Reach Education educates many self-starters and entrepreneurs through investment and financial educational courses, Credit Stacking being one of them. People around the world learn how to succeed in finance, real estate investing, credit and more. To learn more, click here.

About Jack

Jack McColl, founder of Credit Stacking, has been featured on MarketWatch, Disrupt Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and many other publications and podcasts for his knowledge and in-depth understanding of the credit stacking strategy. Jack has mentored thousands of entrepreneurs and has grown multiple seven-figure businesses.

For more information, please contact Luci Peterson, PR Manager, at (208) 670-5618 or [email protected].

Follow Jack's crazy adventures and find more tips about credit on his Facebook page and personal Instagram.

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McColl on a skydiving trip to Egypt, paid entirely through credit card points.

SOURCE New Reach Education
Philippine military exercise director Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo (center), and U.S. Marine Col. Aaron Brunk unfurl the 36th Balikatan exercise flag during the opening ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo in Metro Manila, April 12, 2021.

The Philippines and long-time defense ally the United States kicked off an annual joint military exercise on Monday amid a recent surge in tensions in the South China Sea triggered by Chinas refusal to leave waters within Manilas internationally recognized territory.

The military top brass opened this years two-week Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises attended by 225 American soldiers and their 736 Filipino counterparts in low-key ceremonies at the militarys headquarters. The numbers are down from previous exercises involving thousands of troops from both sides. The event was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the exchanges of ideas and expertise, we hope to maximize the benefit to both our armed forces, so that we could further develop effective strategies in dealing not only against insurgents or terrorist groups, but also in addressing non-traditional security challenges persisting in the region, military chief Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.

He noted that both countries are bound by a 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty, an alliance that binds them to come to each others aid to promote cooperation and regional security.

Sobejana said he was encouraged to see that the mutual commitment with the U.S. has grown stronger over time.

Moreso, that the country has been faced with various security challenges, the strong partnership with our allies and other like-minded countries truly enabled our respective military organizations to improve on capabilities for joint and combined operations, Sobejana said.

He did not mention the current diplomatic squabble triggered by Chinas deployment of dozens of ships near a boomerang-shaped territory in the South China Sea within the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ). China has said the ships were fishing boats  but Manila has been filing daily protests with the Chinese embassy since last week.

Balikatan will focus on territorial defense and counterterrorism, humanitarian and civic action and joint pandemic response operations, officials said.

Most field exercises have been replaced with activities that would not require face-to-face engagement, including a bilateral staff exercise, close air support training, subject matter exchanges, maritime security training and humanitarian and civic assistance activities.

A live fire exercise will be conducted on the ground, however.

Members of both militaries are building classrooms in two Philippine provinces as part of the humanitarian and civic assistance exercises. Those classrooms are to be completed and unveiled by April 23, the last day of the exercises, the military said.

US praise

The United States is proud to participate in the Balikatan exercise, and we thank the Armed Forces of the Philippines for hosting U.S. troops in ways that maintain the health and safety of both our militaries, said John Law, Charge dAffaires of the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

Joint exercises like Balikatan demonstrate our shared commitment to peace and stability, and the adaptability of U.S. and Philippine forces. The United States will continue to seek ways, even during the pandemic, to strengthen our security cooperation, Law said.

Balikatan, which began in 1991, is the largest annual exercise involving Philippine and U.S. forces and has included observers from other militaries in the region, including from Japan and Australia. This year, the exercise involves only the two countries.

A Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between Manila and Washington, signed in 1998, provides legal cover for the American soldiers participating in the drills.

President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to scrap it over the U.S. governments decision to bar his former police general  the chief enforcer of his war on drugs that has led to thousands of deaths  from traveling there. He later recanted, and Filipino officials said the country needed the U.S. to assist in its coastal territorial defense.

Last year, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana warned that terminating the VFA could spell the end of the Balikatan and other regular activities between Filipino and American forces.

On Sunday, Lorenzana participated in a phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who pushed for the retention of the VFA, according to Manilas defense office.

Secretary Austin reiterated the importance of the VFA and hopes that it would be continued. Secretary Lorenzana committed to discuss the matter with the president as the final approval lies with him, the defense office said.

Tensions in the South China Sea

Also Monday, Philippine and U.S. military officials began talks about the presence of Chinese ships in the South China Sea, particularly within the Philippine EEZ.

Sobejana and Col. Stephen Ma of the U.S. Joint Military Assistance Group in Manila had a fruitful engagement after the Balikatan opening ceremony, according to military spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo.

The discussions centered on how the Philippine and the United States armed forces can manage and respond to the situation in the Philippine EEZ. They agreed to continue to have subsequent meetings, Arevalo said.

Since late March, Manila has complained of the presence of about 200 Chinese ships, including some suspected of being manned by militia, at Whitsun Reef within the Philippine EEZ. Manila has repeatedly demanded that the ships leave the area.

Beijing refused to do so, and claimed the ships were fishing boats taking shelter from bad weather. It also insisted that Whitsun Reef is part of Chinas territory, along with most of the South China Sea.

Recently, Manila said the ships at Whitsun Reef were down to 44, but others were scattered among different reefs and islets in the Philippine EEZ.

On Sunday, Sobejana said in a radio interview that patrols spotted only 28 Chinese ships remaining in different parts of the Philippine EEZ as of Saturday night: six coast guard ships, 20 fishing boats, and two militia.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone.
David Lacey holds hands with his wife, then-L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles on Nov. 6, 2020, as she prepared to concede to opponent George Gascon. (Los Angeles Times)

Lets first dispose of the easy questions. Should David Lacey, former L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Laceys husband, be held accountable for threatening to shoot Black Lives Matter protesters when they appeared at the Laceys front door in the predawn gloom of March 2, 2020?

Well of course he should. He had a gun in his hand and he wasnt just showing it, despite Jackie Laceys later description of the events. Video evidence suggests that he was pointing it directly at one and perhaps all three of the protesters on his porch when he said, I will shoot you. His finger may have been on the trigger. It was the kind of tense and inherently dangerous situation that could cause even the best trained and most experienced of gun-handlers to inadvertently fire in response to a sudden move or unexpected noise. Things could have turned out much worse than they did. He was appropriately charged with assault.

Should he go to jail? Although there has been no trial and no verdict, that question will be before a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Tuesday, and its also an easy one.

Of course he shouldnt go to jail. No one should go to jail for an alleged offense that occurred in the heat of the moment, under great stress, in which no one was injured and that is unlikely to be repeated.

The question comes up because his attorney has requested diversion, a term that generally means moving the defendant out of the criminal justice system altogether, but that in this case sounds a lot like probation.

That takes us to some questions that are marginally harder  yet on reflection may not be quite so tough after all, especially when the average person imagines standing in David Laceys shoes.

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What business, for example, do people have coming to your house, raising a ruckus and ringing your doorbell before the sun rises?

Thats what happened in this case. It was around 5:40 a.m., according to a statement made at the time by Cal State Los Angeles professor and Black Lives Matter Los Angeles co-founder Melina Abdullah, when she and perhaps 30 other protesters assembled on the street in front of the Laceys Granada Hills home, chanting and banging makeshift drums. Abdullah, Dahlia Ferlito and Justin Marks then walked onto the Laceys porch and rang the bell. Remember, it was early March, so at that hour it was still dark. Most people would have been in bed.

Story continues

If it were your home, you might have called the police, as the Laceys did. Maybe you would not have also grabbed a gun. Maybe you wouldnt have opened the door.

Or maybe you would have. Especially if your spouse had recently received death threats and had been repeatedly harangued in public. Maybe you would have if your spouse had recently participated in a candidates debate, as Jackie Lacey had, repeatedly interrupted by protesters, one of whom rushed the stage. Maybe you would have if at that same debate, after your spouse recounted (as Jackie Lacey did) that her father had once been shot while on his front lawn, some protester in the audience shouted Good! while others cheered. And then, when your spouse added that her father fortunately didnt die, if the same protester shouted, Too bad!

And maybe you would have if you were Black, as David and Jackie Lacey are, and recalled the long history of Black people being harassed in their homes during the night by threatening mobs, and that one of the few defenses was to appear in the window with a shotgun to demonstrate that you would protect your home and your family.

No, of course the BLM protesters weren't burning crosses on the Laceys lawn, and they are not racists angry with the D.A. simply for being Black. Theyre anti-racist activists, demonstrating against the disproportionate killing of Black people at the hands of police. They demonstrated against Jackie Lacey because, her own race notwithstanding, she did not prosecute officers in hundreds of killings and, importantly, they argue, because she would not agree to a meeting with demonstrators under BLMs terms. And, Abdullah said at the time, Jackie Lacey often went to 7 a.m. fundraisers, so the protesters felt they had to be there early.

But their purpose was never to force a dialogue. It was to force a crisis. They succeeded, in that the crisis may have helped send Lacey to defeat in November, and it may stand as a warning to any other official, including current D.A. George Gascon, to toe their line.

David Lacey crossed the line, but in this instance, so did the protesters. That context is something for the court to keep in mind when considering how to deal with David Lacey. And indeed context  our individual stresses and our common humanity  must be kept in mind as we all consider how to deal with one another. Our justice system requires more equity, but to truly work, it also needs a little more compassion.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adhesives and Sealants market will register an incremental spend of about USD 15.41 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 4.91% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Adhesives and Sealants 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:

Adhesives and Sealants 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 Adhesives and Sealants market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Adhesives and Sealants 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%-3.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Adhesives and Sealants 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 Adhesives and Sealants suppliers listed in this report:

This Adhesives and Sealants procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

Sika AG

3M Co.

Co. H.B. Fuller Co.

Bayer AG

Avery Dennison Corp.

Wacker Chemie AG

Dow Inc.

Arkema SA

Illinois Tool Works 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

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SOURCE SpendEdge
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has proved to be a deadly and rapidly spreading plague, with the death count nearing three million so far. A new preprint research paper posted to the bioRxiv* server describes the conservation of an important receptor gene for the virus among several animal species that live in close contact or proximity to humans.

The ACE2 receptor

This virus enters host cells via the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor using its spike protein. The virus shows extensive similarity or near-identity with coronaviruses (CoVs) isolated from multiple other species. This has led to the hypothesis that it probably originated from the bat CoVs and jumped over the species barrier to infect humans via an intermediate host as yet unknown.

The ACE2 receptor was first reported in 2000, with an ~800 amino acid sequence. It is found in various animal species and in multiple animal tissues, including the small and large intestines, the kidneys, testes, and heart. The viral spike engages the receptor through its receptor-binding domain (RBD).

The ACE2 receptor is part of the cardiovascular and osmoregulatory system, involving electrolyte and water homeostasis and blood pressure regulation. The viral RBD binds to the peptidase domain of the receptor from different animals, providing an important method of tracking the origin of this virus.

Moreover, identifying structural and sequence differences in the ACE2 found in different animals may affect the host susceptibility and the immune response to the virus.

Study aims

The study, therefore, aimed to uncover the conservation of this gene in 11 animal species, as well as to describe its expression at ribonucleic acid (RNA) or transcription level, and at protein synthesis (translation) level in three species  wild bats (Hipposideros pomona), mice (Rattus norvegicus) and tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri).

Wild mice and bats are found together in the forest habitat near PuEr and Kunming in China, which led to their use in this study.

ACE2 gene conservation

The researchers found that the ACE2 genes were conserved among the 11 selected animal species, at levels between 85% between wild mice or bats and humans, to 88% between wild rabbits and humans, with the others falling within this range.

Phylogenetically, the ACE2 gene sequence was suggestive of the clustering of wild bat and tree shrew receptors near the human receptor, while the wild mice, C57 and BALB/C formed a close bunch by themselves. Wild mice and Sprague-Dawley Rat formed another tight cluster. Rabbits were in a separate clade.

Differences in RBD-binding polar ACE2 residues

There were 18 residues on all species of ACE2 that take part in binding with the SARS-CoV-2 RBD. Of these, 14 were polar, and four non-polar. Nine of them were highly conserved and may be crucial to the high binding affinity with this virus.

Five residues were not conserved, which may have an even more significant impact on binding affinity. For all species, the ACE2 proteins had similar sequences to humans, from 80% for wild bat ACE2 to 85% for the rabbit ACE2.

The 14 key polar residues formed different sequences at the binding interface in different species. The binding free energy of each virus-receptor protein complex and the stability were

Distribution of ACE2 mRNA

The phylogenetic tree showed that the wild bat and the tree shrew had the closest ACE2 sequence to humans. Wild mice were added to this group, as they were found in the same area as the bats.

RNA from various tissues showed different ACE2 expressions in each tissue and each animal. The stomach of wild bats had high levels of ACE2 mRNA, followed by the kidney, liver, colon and duodenum, trachea, heart, and finally, the spleen and brain.

In the tree shrew, ACE2 mRNA was highest in the colon and then the duodenum, with the kidney, heart, stomach, and trachea following these organs

With wild mice, the highest levels were in the stomach, then the duodenum and colon, followed by the kidney, trachea, heart, lung. In both tree shrews and wild mice, the brain, liver, and spleen had the lowest levels.

Distribution of ACE2 protein

High ACE2 protein levels were seen in the liver in wild bats, as well as kidneys, large and small bowel, and stomach, with the trachea, indicating increased susceptibility to infection by this virus.

In wild mice, the highest levels were in the kidney, colon, duodenum, stomach, and trachea, and the most vulnerable organs were the colon, duodenum, and kidney.

What are the implications?

This study used actual samples from domestic, wild and laboratory animals to explore the conservation of this gene in different animal species, as well as the level of expression of this protein. The results showed high levels of conservation of the ACE2 sequences across the tested mammalian species, congruous with earlier studies.

This implies the existence of multiple different animal hosts for SARS-CoV-2.

The closest phylogenetic relationship was between humans, wild bats and tree shrews. The tree shrew has been used as a useful animal model of many different viral infections, such as herpes simplex, influenza, Zika virus, and hepatitis C virus, and shows potential to be a model for SARS-CoV-2.

The study also shows the length of amino acid sequences unrelated to the presence or sequence of the 14 key polar amino acids forming the binding interface in different species. The greatest similarity among these residues was with the golden hamster.

According to these findings, the expression of ACE2 at both mRNA and protein level shows significant tissue specificity but are not necessarily consistent with each other. Further study will be necessary to understand how these are related to species susceptibility to the virus.

*Important Notice

bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
The unmanned data farm would sit within 100 yards of some homes. A request to rezone the property from residential to industrial is pending.

Video Transcript

- And what do you hear now?

BEVERLY HOOVER: I hear the birds are singing.

- For over 62 years, that's the sound Beverly Hoover has woken up to every morning.

BEVERLY HOOVER: And I'm trying not to cry.

- Soon, that might change.

BEVERLY HOOVER: It sounds like jet engines.

- If Randolph County leaders approve a proposal for this property to get rezoned into an industrial-sized Bitcoin data mining facility.

- Because it's a giant metal warehouse with rows of servers built up basic type of computer processor, and they're all run together. It looks like they have four tractor trailer-sized setups they want to put out there.

- Families on Spencer Meadows Road have hired Matthew [INAUDIBLE] to fight for them. He says, there are a lot of concerns with this unmanned data farm.

- When you're running large server farms, they generate a tremendous amount of heat. They use giant industrial fans that produce a lot of noise. And that noise not only disturbs all the neighborhoods and surrounding businesses.

- On the other side of the 11-acre plot of land is the Asheboro Country Club and the Matt Shiflet Stables. The owner of the stables told me over the phone that he is concerned about the possible noise and the impact it could have on the more than 100 horses they have here. [INAUDIBLE] believes there's more harm than good.

- The only benefit that we can see would be to the people attempting to do it, as they would, if they were successful in mining any, they would derive value from the coins they've mined.

BEVERLY HOOVER: I just want this beauty over here to last. I want it to be quiet. I mean, there is no reason that we should have to endure this.
The Prosecutor's Office attached to the Bucharest Court has taken over from the Prosecutor's Office of the District 3 Court the investigation in the case of the death of the three patients at the "Victor Babes" Institute, opening a criminal investigation for the crime of culpable homicide.

According to some representatives of the Prosecutor's Office, seven people were heard on Monday night, including the hospital manager and technical staff.

The hearings will continue on Tuesday at the Police headquarters.Three patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 died on Monday evening after a malfunction in the mobile intensive care unit at the "Victor Babes" Institute in Bucharest, which led to the failure of the patients' oxygen supply.The first available data showed that the tragedy took place after a sudden increase in the pressure in the oxygen system to which the TIR was connected, which led to the complete blockage of the ventilators to which the eight patients currently in the ATI TIR were connected. .The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, on Monday stated, around 4.25 pm, there was a sudden increase in pressure beyond 6 bar.Raed Arafat pointed out that when a pressure of 6 bar is exceeded, the fans enter the self-protection system and stop.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- OneAmerica today announced that RetirementTrack, its user-friendly solution to participant choice in plan investing, has already exceeded first-year sales goals just nine months after being made available to the market.

"Geared toward 401(k) plans, the story behind RetirementTrack resonates with advisors representing plans of all asset sizes and industries," said Steven Kofkoff, vice president, Retirement Services strategy, product management and innovation at OneAmerica. "The fact that RetirementTrack so quickly found its footing with new and current clients validates our customized approach to Target Date Funds and shows how eager the market is for an innovative product like this."

RetirementTrack, which launched June 1, grew from Retirement Services President Sandy McCarthy's desire to offer flexibility, sophistication and simplicity while meeting the ever-changing needs of participants.

The value of RetirementTrack is that it goes beyond traditional Target Date Funds (TDFs), which tie asset allocation to age and retirement date. RetirementTrack allows participants to customize by risk tolerance. Three glidepath options  conservative, moderate or aggressive  are available within each TDF. The inclusion of a stable value asset class in the investment lineup helps manage market volatility.

"RetirementTrack really speaks to our foundational belief in the importance of customization and choice, but also clarity," McCarthy said. "We understand that many participants find investment allocation challenging and they struggle with selecting appropriate investments to meet their individual needs and objectives. This approach enables them to learn, understand, and then take action."

Created and managed through a collaboration of industry providers  BlackRock, flexPATH Strategies, LLC, and Wilmington Trust  RetirementTrack is available exclusively to OneAmerica customers through a collective investment trust (CIT), with additional highlights of 3(38) investment management. RetirementTrack also adheres to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary guidelines, released to help protect fiduciaries and guide them in making prudent decisions.

"RetirementTrack brings best-practice options with built-in cost efficiencies and it meets the moment regarding DOL," Kofkoff added. "Customers can count on it being a key part of our core strategy for years to come."

Learn more about how we can help your clients plan for the future by speaking with a sales representative at 877-313-7355.

OneAmerica is the marketing name for the companies of OneAmerica. Products issued and underwritten by American United Life Insurance Company (AUL), a OneAmerica company. Administrative and recordkeeping services provided by McCready and Keene, Inc. or OneAmerica Retirement Services LLC, companies of OneAmerica which are not broker/dealers or investment advisors.

BlackRock, flexPATH Strategies, LLC, and Wilmington Trust are not affiliates of any OneAmerica company and are not OneAmerica companies.

Provided content is for overview and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be relied upon as individualized tax, legal, fiduciary, or investment advice.

Custom target date solution funds are Collective Investment Trusts available only to qualified plans and governmental 457(b) plans. They are not mutual funds and are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Investing involves risk including potential loss of principal.

About OneAmerica

A national provider of insurance and financial services for more than 140 years, the companies of OneAmerica help customers build and protect their financial futures. OneAmerica offers a variety of products and services to serve the financial needs of their policyholders and customers. These products include retirement plan products and recordkeeping services, individual life insurance, annuities, asset-based long-term care solutions and employee benefit plan products. Products are issued and underwritten by the companies of OneAmerica and distributed through a nationwide network of employees, agents, brokers and other sources who are committed to providing value to our customers. To learn more about our products, services and the companies of OneAmerica, visit oneamerica.com/about-us/companies-of-oneamerica.

Media Contact

Tom Spalding

[email protected]

317-656-7644

SOURCE OneAmerica
Malcolm Clarke, a two-time Oscar-winning director from the United Kingdom, has a "Chinese dream" -- building a "bridge" with films connecting China and the West.

Having worked in the film industry for more than 40 years, Clarke has traveled to over 80 countries to shoot documentaries and feature films.

In the 1980s, Clarke visited China for the first time. After nine months of traveling and shooting, the country left a deep impression on him as "a rural, poor and difficult place to be."

When returning to the country in 2013 for a documentary on China-U.S. relations, he was taken aback by the extraordinary changes that had taken place.

Towering skyscrapers, vibrant and energetic cities... the country has become "barely recognizable" to him. "The rise of China is the biggest going-on story of the 21st century," he told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday to mark the Shanghai release of a short film he features in. The film tells the great changes China has undergone since the reform and opening up through the eyes of people like Clarke.

"No other country had achieved what China had in such a short span of time," he said. Struck by the thought of showing the world what is happening in China, he decided to make Shanghai his home, and China has since become a major topic of his films.

The film release day also marked the one-year anniversary of the lifting of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, once hit hard by COVID-19. Clarke was one of those who experienced the epidemic in the city.

After the outbreak of COVID-19, Clarke and his team took a risk and spent 55 days in Wuhan shooting a documentary, recording scenes from residents' daily lives and their fight against the epidemic during the trying period.

He was impressed by the quick and efficient epidemic prevention and control measures China had taken, like building makeshift hospitals. "People of my film crew were staggered and hugely impressed with what China had done against COVID-19," he said. "That's a story that we need to tell the world."

With a wide array of exclusive footage, the documentary is still in post-production. Clarke hopes when completed, more people will recognize China's contribution to the global fight against COVID-19.

Currently, he is making a six-episode series, telling the story of a British professor's life in China. "A picture is worth a thousand words," he said, noting that he will try his best to promote the West's understanding of the country through his eyes and lens.

"It's a drop in the ocean, but I hope my films can make people take a better look at China and appreciate it," he said.
New technology is making enhanced customer experiences possible, explains Amit Agarwal, President Shop LC. We are excited to be the first home shopping channel in the United States to offer this Spanish language experience for viewers.

Shop LC becomes the first nationally broadcasted home shopping channel to offer Spanish language Closed Caption support and sales representatives.

New technology is making enhanced customer experiences possible, explains Amit Agarwal, President Shop LC. We are excited to be the first home shopping channel in the United States to offer this Spanish language experience for viewers.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, according to US Census data. Over 40 million people age five or older speak Spanish at home. The United States is also the fifth largest home of Spanish-speaking people.

Shop LC viewers can now watch their favorite hosts with Spanish language support. New technology will provide Spanish language Closed Caption options during live broadcasts. In addition, Spanish language support is available for telephone ordering. Shoppers can now select Spanish language options when placing orders during live programs.

Find Shop LC in your area at http://www.shoplc.com/livetv/channelFinder.

About Shop LC

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Shop LC, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vaibhav Global Ltd. (VGL), a vertically integrated company with global sourcing and manufacturing capabilities. Shop LC is a value-conscious, interactive retailer focused on the fine jewelry, beauty, fashion, home decor and lifestyle product categories. Established in 2007, Shop LC reaches approximately 80 million U.S. households via high-definition programming offered live 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For more information visit http://www.shoplc.com, download the app from the App Store or Google Play, or install the interactive TV app on Roku, Fire TV, or other platforms.
[April 13, 2021] Cyber Security Veteran Joins iProov Advisory Board

iProov, the leading provider of face authentication technology, today announced that Paul King (News - Alert) has joined its advisory board. King spent 27 years at Cisco, most recently as Chief Security Officer, Cisco UK. He has been an influential member of many cyber security industry bodies, including the Advisory Group on Internet Security at Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and INTERPOL Specialists Group on Crimes Against Children. He brings extensive knowledge and experience of researching global cyber risks and detecting threats from nation states and criminal networks. His expertise in implementing enterprise-level threat management will bolster iProov's work in this area to deliver continued protection to its customers and end users. "My professional passion is in the detection of emerging cyber threats," said King. "The protection of identity verification on the internet is of the utmost importance to society and iProov is at the forefront of using AI to combat cyber attacks in this critical area. I've been really impressed by their people, their technology and by their commitment to keeping customers and users safe. I'm very pleased to be joining the team." "We're honored that Paul has joined the iProov mission to bring trust to the internet," said Andrew Bud, CEO of iProov."The challenge of delivering secure biometric authentication requires more than technology - it also demands a world-class threat management strategy and infrastructure. Paul's knowledge and experience will help us to build on our considerable progress in this area."



In 2020, iProov launched the world's first system of global threat intelligence for biometric assurance. The iProov Security Operations Centre (iSOC) manages the rapidly evolving landscape of biometric cyber-crime to secure iProov's technology against the growing threat of AI-driven cyber-attacks, including deepfakes. About iProov

Founded in 2012, iProov is the world leader in online facial biometric authentication, working with governments, banks and other enterprises to securely verify customer identity. Used for effortless onboarding and authentication, customers include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the UK Home Office, the UK National Health Service (NHS), the Australian Taxation Office, GovTech Singapore, Rabobank, ING, and others. iProov's technologies include Liveness Assurance and Genuine Presence Assurance, which ensures that an online customer is the right person, a real person, and is authenticating right now. This protects against spoof attacks from photos, videos, masks and digital injection attacks and the emerging threat of deepfakes. iProov was recognized as a Gartner (News - Alert) Cool Vendor 2020 in Identity Access Management & Fraud Detection. For more information, please see www.iproov.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005817/en/

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New Delhi, April 13 : India's travel and tourism industry has once again urged the government to consider taking multiple steps to ease the pressure on the sector and help it tide over the crisis as the surge in Covid infections and re-imposition of partial travel restrictions in some major states threatens its survival.

The Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), the apex body of inbound tour operators, has urged the government to extend the scope of air bubble arrangements that India is having with different countries for flight operations to include movement of India-destined leisure travellers as well. This, it feels, will help the industry get some overseas tourist traffic.

India has air bubble arrangements with some countries like Sri Lanka, and as per the understanding, they are allowing Indian tourists to visit their country. IATO has said that the government could permit similar arrangements for tourists from Sri Lanka and other countries with which India has air bubble arrangement.

Besides, it has also requested the government to draw a timetable as per which dates for opening of visas, including e-visas, and resumption of international flights can be announced. Such a move will allow the Indian tour operators to sound their counterparts abroad in advance and bookings could be made likewise, it said.

Further countries are opening up for travel for those fully vaccinated and India can adopt the same model, the IATO added in its submission to the government.

The pandemic has hit all the sectors of the economy hard but the hardest hit is the tourism sector, especially the inbound one, which is almost at zilch level since last one year.

Among the financial incentive, the IATO has urged abolishment of levy of tax collection at source (TCS) on foreign tourists as they are not liable to pay income tax in India and therefore cannot claim refund as they don't have a PAN number.

IATO President Rajiv Mehra said: "We have made multiple representations to the government, bringing to their notice that the objective of the TCS levy was to bring Indians in the tax net and it was not meant for taxing international tourists and as a result we are losing business to neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and other countries where no such levy is charged." IATO has also requested the government to urgently announce Service Export Incentive Scheme (SEIS) for financial year 2019-20 which has been delayed by almost one year now. Announcing this will lead to some cash flow for tour operators which is critical for their survival.
"At this time of great change and great challenge in the country, I am elated to take on the role of president of Demos. As a movement-powered think tank, this organization is well-equipped to meet this moment with people-centered solutions that ultimately will change systems," said Butler. "In the midst of calls for us to go back to normal, I will lead with the recognition that 'normal' never has worked for Black and brown Americans. Now is the time for Demos, a think tank in tireless pursuit of a more inclusive democracy where we all can thrive, to push this country forward, and it will be my great honor to serve as president while we do so."

At this time of great change and great challenge in the country, I am elated to take on the role of president of Demos.

In nearly 10 years of work at GBPI, where she has served in the organization's top role since 2015, Butler has advocated for economic opportunity for working families and children in Georgia. At GBPI, she launched People-Powered Prosperity , a proactive campaign that works to help Georgia leverage the economic power of its people, and grew the organization to a staff of 19 from a staff of nine. Under her leadership, GBPI became a model organization in the national State Priorities Partnership (SPP) network, where Butler serves as chair of the SPP steering committee. Prior to joining GBPI as deputy director in 2011, she served as the policy and communications director for the Georgia Family Connection Partnership, where she co-managed the Georgia KIDS COUNT project, a non-partisan effort to raise awareness of the issues that most affect the state's children.

"Throughout her four years on Demos' Board, Taifa Smith Butler has brought her policy expertise, vision for America to reach its full potential, and passion for serving others to our team. She simply has one of the greatest minds and one of the biggest hearts in this field. Taifa knows in order to uproot the systems perpetuating the oppression of Black and brown people, we have to keep an ear to the ground and our eyes on the movement. Taifa is the perfect leader for Demos at this time," said Josh Fryday, chair of Demos' Board of Trustees.

"Taifa Smith Butler is a remarkable leader who brings an essential combination of seasoned economic policy expertise and lived experience to her work," said Trustee Emeritus and former Demos president Heather McGhee. "After years of facing roadblocks at the federal level, our country now is in a moment of extraordinary policy opportunity. In order to seize that moment, Demos will need sharp thinking grounded in sound policy analysis and a vibrant spirit connected to the movement. Taifa comes to this role with both, and I cannot wait to see how Demos evolves under her leadership."

"Taifa Smith Butler is a visionary leader who brings tremendous experience to Demos," said former Demos president K. Sabeel Rahman. "As a leader in public policy research and advocacy in Georgia, a fantastic partner and supporter of Demos on the Board, and as a friend and colleague in this work, she will bring so much to Demos and to the field as a whole. In this turning point moment for American democracy, Taifa's voice and vision will be essential, and I'm so excited to see her lead Demos as a champion for an equitable and inclusive democracy."

A native of Philadelphia, Butler is a first-generation college graduate. She is an alumna of Mount Holyoke College and holds a master's in public management and policy with a concentration in economic development and financial management from the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. Butler is a Class of 2017 Rockwood Leadership Institute "Leading from the Inside Out" fellow, a member of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2016 and was a New Executive Fund fellow with the Open Society Foundation in 2015.

Butler will begin her work as president of Demos in July 2021.

Demos is a think tank that powers the movement for a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy. Through cutting-edge policy research, inspiring litigation, and deep relationships with grassroots organizations, Demos champions solutions that will create a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity.

SOURCE Demos
Tunisia: TAP journalists strike against appointment of CEO Agency staff disputes decision by PM Mechichi

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, 13 APR - Journalists with the Tunisian press agency TAP (Tunis Afrique Presse), who have been agitating since April 6, announced a general strike for April 22 to protest against Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi's decision to appoint Kamel Ben Younes as the agency's new CEO.



In two strike notices, the National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) and the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) called on the prime minister to reconsider this appointment and set professional criteria for the appointment of the TAP CEO to guarantee the independence of this public media outlet.



This is the first decision of its kind since the establishment of TAP news agency in 1961.



It was made during a climate of tension marked by a sit-in of journalists and other staff members at the agency's headquarters on April 6, the day in which the appointment of Kamel Ben Younes as CEO was published in the Tunisian Official Gazzette.



In a statement, TAP journalists and staff said they are opposed to the appointment of Ben Younes for his opposition "before the Tunisian Revolution, to freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and union action. On various occasions, he has tried to undermine the independence of the League for the Defence of Human Rights. TAP staff accused Ben Younes of being part of propaganda in the former dictatorial regime and of having reacted violently against women".



TAP journalists called on Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi to immediately withdraw this "openly political" appointment and to keep the agency away from attempts at political exploitation.



Ben Younes, who already heads the religious radio network Zitouna TV and is a respected journalist, is considered close to the main Islamic party in the country.



Mechichi responded to the issue on local radio Mosaique FM, explaining that CEOs of public media organisations are chosen through an appointment mechanism and not through elections.



He said that appointed CEOs only have the task of managing the institutions, and emphasised that they do not interfere with editorial content.



He therefore assured that "editorial content is determined exclusively by journalists, in complete independence".



(ANSAmed).




Bank of Hawaii announced Tuesday that Senior Vice President Sharlene R. Ginoza-Lee will be promoted to chief people officer, effective May 4. She will lead and manage all areas of the banks People Services division, including compensation and benefits, employee development programs, talent acquisition and management, operations and regulatory compliance.

Ginoza-Lee joined Bank of Hawaiis Human Resources department in 1994. Ginoza-Lee holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.

Ginoza-Lee will succeed Edward Hudson. Hudson will pursue his own human resources consulting business for local HR professionals and organizations.

The bank also announced Chief Audit Executive Lacey Nakaguma will expand her role to oversee a new division at Bank of Hawaii known as Audit Services, to include internal audit and credit review. She joined Bank of Hawaii in March 2019 as vice president and senior audit manager, and was promoted to senior vice president and chief audit executive in 2020. Nakaguma continues to be responsible for the oversight and execution of internal audit planning, fieldwork, and reporting. Effective May 1, in addition to internal audit, she will oversee the banks Credit Review department.

Nakaguma previously worked in auditing and risk positions at American Savings Bank, as well as Union Bank, Amazon and Deloitte, all in Washington state. An alumna of the University of Southern California, she earned her degree in accounting information systems.

Nakagumas appointment is in anticipation of the retirement of executive director of credit review Wayne Anderson, effective April 30.
Saying she has done her best to atone for the crime, a Cumberland County judge on Tuesday chose not to impose any more prison time on a former Carlisle woman who crippled her infant son by violently shaking him in a fit of rage 23 years ago.

Teresa Gill, now 43, already served nearly 6 years in state prison on an aggravated assault conviction, a sentence she finished more than a decade ago.

But after her son, Kurtis Reed-Miller, died in May 2018 of complications from the abuse, including brain injuries, that he suffered 20 years earlier, Gill was charged with homicide. She pleaded no contest to a third-degree murder charge last year.

Gill had no deal for a sentence when she came before President Judge Edward E. Guido on Tuesday morning.

Guido was intimately familiar with the case. He had presided over Kurtis adoption and had kept tabs on his progress over the years.

The first, and only witness prosecutor Kimberly Metzger called to speak on Kurtis behalf was his adoptive mother, Michelle Miller. She had to pause for a few moments and stifle her tears before she could start to speak.

He became the center of our lives, she said of Kurtis. He was truly our hero.

Sometimes, Kurtis had to struggle just to breathe, yet he still found a reason to smile, Miller said.

His example prompted her eldest son to go into law enforcement and her oldest daughter to become a nurse, she said. Miller said it also was behind her own decision to get into child welfare so I could make other children safe.

His life still had value and meaning, she said.

I remember Kurtis well, Guido said, telling Miller that she and her family are heroes.

You gave him a voice and you gave him a life. He was one lucky fellow, the judge said. I was amazed at the abundance of love and sacrifice.

Teresa Gill

Defense attorney Paul Orr said Gill lives with the guilt of abusing her son every day. He said that in 1998 she turned herself into police even before charges were filed.

While in state prison on the aggravated assault sentence, Gill wrote an account of what had happened and sent it to all 67 Children and Youth Services agencies in Pennsylvania, Orr said. It later became the basis for a video produced for National Shaken Baby Awareness Month.

Orr and Gill both said her abuse of Kurtis stemmed from misdirected frustration over mistreatment by the boys father, Christopher William Reed, who is serving a life prison sentence for the 2003 murder of Gills best friend, Melissa Ann Conrad.

This is a guilt that I will carry to my grave, Gill said of her abuse of her son. Im thankful for the family who gave their life to take care of him.

When she finished speaking, Guido sentenced her to 5 to 10 years in prison and, since she already served more than that time for the aggravated assault case, granted her freedom.

Tragedy does not do this case justice, the judge said. The silver lining is the dedication to this child that was given by his new family.

He said he opted not to send Gill back to prison due to her sincere remorse.

While she had done great damage to her child, she has done everything in her ability to atone for that and become a productive member of society, Guido said. We can see no benefit to either society or the memory of Kurtis to impose further incarceration.
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A health care worker prepares a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a new vaccination site in the California Polytechnic State University in Pomona, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Feb. 5, 2021. (Xinhua/IANS) Image Source: IANS News

Washington, April 13 : Several states in the United States have temporarily shut down some vaccine sites after people suffered adverse reactions to the shot.

A total of 18 people in North Carolina reported side effects, while 11 people in Colorado reacted to the shot with symptoms ranging from dizziness, nausea and fainting, according to media reports, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

Georgia was the third US state to temporarily shut down a vaccine site following North Carolina and Colorado, after eight people suffered adverse reactions following vaccination.

According to local officials, one person was sent to a nearby hospital for evaluation before being released. The other seven were sent home after being monitored at the site.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its analysis "did not find any safety issues or reason for concern." The agency recommended that healthcare providers continue to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Another problem facing Johnson & Johnson is vaccine distribution. The supply of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine is expected to drop by 85 per cent nationwide this week, after the company suffered production issues at a facility in Baltimore, Maryland, according to federal officials and data.

A manufacturing subcontractor in Baltimore mixed ingredients from the Covid-19 vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, delaying shipments of the Johnson & Johnson shot across the nation.

The plant is run by Emergent BioSolutions, a manufacturing partner to both Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca. Federal officials attributed the mistake to human error, which resulted in contamination of up to 15 million doses of Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said Friday that the company is still working to address the production issues in Emergent BioSolutions, which is not certified yet by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United States in late February. It is the third Covid-19 vaccine that has received FDA's authorization, also the first single dose Covid-19 vaccine available in the United States.

As of Monday, about 189 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have been administered, while more than 237 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been distributed across the country, according to data of the CDC.
Tehran, April 13 : Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran on Tuesday during which he will hold talks with Iranian leaders on topics including how to salvage a nuclear agreement with world powers and the recent cyberattack on a facility.

He met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and is due to hold talks with President Hassan Rowhani later, dpa news agency reported.

Tehran blames Israel for the "terrorist act" on the nuclear facility in Natanz to sabotage the Vienna negotiations, which are due to continue later this week.

"We are sticking to our line: The incident in Natanz only complicates the negotiations," Zarif said during his meeting with Lavrov.

Iran would resume its obligations under the Vienna agreement as soon as the US returned to the deal, treaty law was implemented and sanctions were lifted, he said.

Lavrov urged haste in talks on a future for the Iran nuclear deal. "I don't think we have much time." He said those who wanted to disrupt and ultimately bury the negotiations knew there was only a certain window of opportunity.

"We condemn all attempts to disrupt these important negotiations," Lavrov said.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Zarif again blamed Isreal for the attack and called it a "war crime".

Russia is one of the countries trying to save the agreement reached in 2015 between Iran, the five UN veto powers and Germany in Vienna.

Negotiations have been under way since last week.

Lavrov said he hoped it would be preserved. The pre-requisite is that the US "fully implement" it.

The US unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 under former President Donald Trump, dealing it a near-fatal blow.

But there have been signs that it could be revived under the new administration of Joe Biden.

At the same time, Lavrov criticised tougher EU sanctions imposed on Iran for violations of basic human rights.

This matter raises many questions, he said.

"If there is no coordination in the European Union, and the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, this is a disaster." But if this decision was taken deliberately in the midst of talks to save the nuclear agreement, it was a mistake, Lavrov said.

The Council of EU member states had agreed on Monday to tighten the punitive measures.
A Queensland GP has been fined $15,000 for providing false information to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency and not declaring criminal charges, despite spending time in an American prison.

David John Farrar, a general practitioner who has operated in Queensland since July 2014, was found by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to have given false information to AHPRA after he failed to notify the board about criminal offences to which he pleaded guilty in the United States.

Farrar was charged in July 2012 and, in March the following year, pleaded guilty in Massachusetts to domestic assault and battery charges, and violation of abuse prevention orders, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment and probation.

He was released from prison in July 2013 and returned to Australia in August that same year.

In October 2012, Farrar had submitted an online application to APHRA to renew his registration as a medical practitioner with the board, in which he responded no when asked on the online application if there had been any change to his criminal history that had not been declared to APHRA.
China in Focus (April 12): Intruders Attack The Epoch Times in Hong Kong

The Epoch Times printing house in Hong Kong was attacked Sunday night. Intruders swung hammers to smash printers. The papers spokesperson suspects Chinese authorities are behind the attack.

Tensions around Taiwan are on the rise. The U.S. Secretary of State warned Beijing that it would be a serious mistake to try to change the status quo by force.

Beijings aggression in the disputed South China Sea is also ramping up. Chinese navy vessels there reportedly chased a Filipino civilian ship loaded with members of a news crew.

Chinese shopping giant Alibabas shares are on the rise despite being fined by Chinese authorities for limiting market competition. We look at why the company actually thanked the Chinese regime for the $3 billion penalty.

And a protester in Burma (also known as Myanmar) is pleading for help in the middle of a bloody crackdown. He tells us about what he witnessed.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more first-hand news from China.

For more news and videos, please visit our website and Twitter.
Two prison officers were taken to hospital, one with a head injury, after a cell door was kicked open by a prisoner at Brisbane Correctional Centre.

Three custodial correctional officers responding to the incident on Monday night were injured, with one officer suffering a head injury after he was struck by the door.

The Together Queensland Prison Officers Union said the cell door was opened to give prisoners Panadol. Credit:Greg Henderson Photography

Two other officers were injured as they tried to restrain the two prisoners who were in the cell.

The Together Queensland Prison Officers Union wrote on Facebook that the officers were seriously assaulted, and the cell door was opened to give prisoners Panadol.
President Joe Biden called the police shooting of Daunte Wright 'God awful' and insisted that change can come through 'police reform' as he met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus at the White House Tuesday.

While the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in March, so far the bill has stalled in the Senate and the Biden administration hasn't formed a proposed policing commission that Biden pitched as a candidate.

Asked Tuesday in the Oval Office what he can deliver on when it comes to how black Americans interact with the police, Biden answered, 'A lot. And I will tell you guys later. Let's go.'

President Joe Biden (center) and Vice President Kamala Harris (upper left) attended an Oval Office meeting Tuesday with members of the Congressional Black Caucus

20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot and killed Sunday by a female police officer who the chief of police Monday said mistook her gun for a taser

Tensions ran hight as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station surrounded by protesters angry at the death of 20-year-old unarmed Daunte Wright

From there, reporters were escorted out of his meeting with lawmakers.

Earlier Tuesday at the White House press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki wouldn't get ahead of negotiations on Capitol Hill between Democratic and Republican senators on a police reform bill.

'I know Senator [Tim] Scott, Senator Booker, and others are in close discussion and coordination about what a path forward may look like. We certainly understand that there could be changes to proposals that have been forward,' Psaki said.

Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, introduced a police reform bill last year after Floyd's death, but it didn't get Democratic support.

'We believe that the George Floyd Act has a lot of the components that will help rebuild the trust, help address - put in place many of the reforms that are, frankly, long overdue,' Psaki continued. 'But we also recognize that democracy in action means changes take place.'

'So we'll have to see what the discussions look like and whether the president could support any changes that would be made through that process,' she added.

After the White House meeting, Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Congressional Black Caucus chair, expressed optimism to reporters that the Biden administration could get something done in the U.S. Senate.

A police reform bill would need a filibuster-proof 60 votes to pass.

'You have to remember the president comes from being a senator. So having two former senators in the room I think speaks volume of how they'll know how to be helpful to us and we trust them with that,' Beatty said of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee confirmed to reporters that the George Floyd policing bill came up during Tuesday's White House meeting.

On Monday, Biden said there was ''absolutely no justification for violence' in the aftermath of Wright's death.

The 20-year-old black man was shot by a female officer in suburban Minneapolis.

The chief of police said she mistook her gun for a taser.

'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in the black community in that environment is real, serious and consequential,' Biden said. 'But that does not justify violence.'

The comments echoed what Biden said on the campaign trail, as former President Donald Trump tried to make the election about Black Lives versus Blue Lives Matter.

The president also revealed that he had watched the 'fairly graphic' body camera footage of Wright being shot.

'The question is whether it was an accident or intentional? That remains to be determined,' Biden said.

The president said he hadn't spoken to members of Wright's family yet.

'We should listen to Daunte's mom, who is calling for peace and calm,' Biden said.

Protesters and law enforcement clashed Sunday and Monday night, with the state calling up the National Guard.

When asked if he expected the country to be on 'razor's edge' over this latest killing of a black man by a police officer, the president said he wasn't going to speculate now.

'I'm hopeful that there will be an outcome that will be supported by the vast majority of people in the region and that is my expectation,' Biden said.

Federal resources were already going to the area in anticipation of the end of Derek Chauvin's trial.

Chauvin is on trial for the Memorial Day 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which reignited the mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations last summer.

On Monday, the police chief for Minneapolis' Brooklyn Center, the suburb where the shooting occurred, explained that a senior female police officer seemingly pulled out her gun instead of her taser, killing 20-year-old Wright.

The cop was later identified as Kimberly Potter, a 25-year veteran of the force.

'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' said Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon.

However Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called for Potter to be jailed for 'not knowing the difference between a fully loaded pistol and a Taser.'

She told CNN: 'Accident? An accident? No, come on now! I own a 20,000 volt Taser. They don't feel nothing like a gun.' She said, of Potter and her police colleagues: 'My family's blood is on their hands.

Police had pulled Wright over for what they said were expired license plate tags, his family has denied that the tags were expired. When police ran his name, they realized he had an outstanding warrant, they said.

The warrant was for a misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without permit and misdemeanor fleeing police, NBC Minneapolis reported. His aunt has said the warrant was for 'just some weed.'

When cops asked Wright to get out of the car, he did, but then got back into the car and tried to flee; that's when Potter shot him. He was able to drive away for a time, until he crashed. Wright, who had a one-year-old son, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chennai, April 13 : The Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to Coimbatore City Police Commissioner over a police officer assaulting people at an eatery, including its staff as well as the customers.

Kattur (Coimbatore) Sub Inspector S. Muthu had assaulted customers and employees at a restaurant, alleging that the Gandhinagar eatery was open even after the permitted time. While the incident occurred at 10.20 p.m. on Sunday, the permitted time as per the Covid 19 protocol is 11 p.m. with 50 per cent occupancy.

The State Human Rights Commission has now served a notice to Coimbatore City Police Commissioner, S. Davidson Devasirvatham, seeking an explanation of the incident.

Raghuram Muthuvel, a customer at the eatery in Gandhinagar, tols IANS, "The officer was hurling abuses at us even as we were with our family members. He assaulted the customers who were at the restaurant and the employees were also not spared. It was only 10.20 p.m., which was much earlier than the permitted time for the eateries to close, which is 11 p.m. It was rampant hooliganism and the women and children were shocked to see such an act by an officer who is supposed to protect the people." The AIADMK government has drawn a lot of flak over police excesses in Tamil Nadu, especially after the deaths of a father-son duo, Jayaraj and Bennicks, in police custody at a police station in Thoothukudi on June.
When We Were Vaccine Guinea Pigs Mom and Dad were kids who survived the Great Depression and World War II, so by the time I came along, not much scared them. But as spring 1954 arrived, they both were jittery and tense though never hysterical. They were not the hysterical sort. They were a "snap out of it" sort of people. But they were deeply fearful for me and my younger brother.

They were afraid of polio. Everybody was. In our quest for safety, Mom and I drove the 13 miles north from Boynton Beach and lined up with maybe a thousand strong in a spacious elementary gym in Palm Beach, Fla., one May morning. We were dressed in our starched, pressed Sunday finery, even the moms. I thought there must have been a million kids in that gym. A year earlier on March 26, 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk announced on a national radio show that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes polio. He gave the vaccine to himself, his wife and his three children. He did the test in his kitchen after boiling the needles and syringes on his stovetop. My mother took great confidence that Salk persuaded his wife to take the shot. But he needed a massive gene pool of guinea pigs. That's where I came in. We might have been lab rats in the initial mass test of the vaccine. No matter. It was a vaccine and as far as medical science knew, it thwarted polio. That "if-then" promise would have been enough for my mother. I have no recollection that my younger brother was vaccinated in that first experiment. Perhaps Mom and Dad designated him as a back-up son in the bullpen just in case the vaccine gave me the disease. Can't be too careful. Thus, off to Palm Beach we drove for the grand preventative cure. We were all 7- or 8-year-old sweaty little lab monkeys, and moms gripped our hands tightly lest we might escape. I do not recall my mother ever holding my hand that tightly, either before that day or after. It was as if we all would slip into an endless abyss if they let our hands loose. The gym dripped and sizzled in nervous anticipation, mostly our moms. Big floor fans kept the heavy air moving. It was hot, but it always was hot, smelly and sweaty in South Florida. We basted in our own fragrant sweat. The first time I saw that happen to a Thanksgiving turkey no one had to explain the procedure to me. Nurses and orderlies all in white uniforms and white shoes hustled to and fro, as the line eased forward one inoculation at a time. Every 30 seconds, we all took one stride closer to rescue. It was May 4, as best as I can recall the specifics. It was the morning Salk and his polio vaccine saved our lives. Of course, polio was hardly the deadliest illness then, but it rode on fear's coattails because polio struck without warning. But Salk's magic elixir saved us from death or permanent paralysis. Shielded us from the gruesome iron lung machine, a massive, cylindrical sarcophagus that even children knew was a mechanical form of living death. If those afflicted were lucky to survive, they could spend the rest of their lives in a wheel chair, relearning how to walk and stand with withered muscles. And learn how to will their lungs to breathe again. Salk was a virtual god to moms everywhere. Even at 7, I knew what polio did. It killed you. Mostly it killed children. We were not a family that staged "family counsels" to share information, opinions and advice. Thank goodness that 1954 spared us that indignity. But even at 7, I paid attention to whispered conversations in adjoining rooms. I knew polio. Dad was a newspaper man, and the papers were full of fearful headlines. I was an early reader. On the first week of May, thousands of Florida kids lined up just as I did, and had their lives changed. The state was emotionally wrought that spring because a polio outbreak had swept through it. According to the Palm Beach Post of that day in 1952, the nation had 58,000 cases. Broward County and Fort Lauderdale - 30 miles to the south of Boynton Beach - had 95 in 1954. Palm Beach County, where we lived, had more than 60 kids stricken. Polio swamped children's hospitals in West Palm Beach and Miami. Those totals seem moderate compared to COVID-19's current death toll. But we were a smaller nation then, and Florida was only a foreshadowed hint of the sweaty colossus it became. Only 2.7 million people populated the entire state that year. There are 23 million now. But human emotions might not fit on a demographic sliding scale. Every heartache in a nation of 130 million, as it was in 1954, might be just as intense as a nation of 331 million. But we were lucky. We had not yet found that satellite-distributed media malevolence could torment us into heightened fear. There was no money yet in enraging the nation's guttural instincts. There was no social media to ratchet the panic, and we were insulated except for rumors. Plus, every other state in the nation seemed like a foreign land to us then. At least to me. Once a year, we would take the round trip 1,000 miles both ways from Boynton to my hometown of Danville, Ky. I and my brother occupied the back seat of Mom and Dad's old Mercury. It seemed like being hurled to a different galaxy riding on a lumpy mattress. In 1954, the scope of life was condensed into smaller but more intense pockets of sensation. Your tragedies all seemed immediate to your home. But even then, losing hundreds of children in your state to a mystery contagion was a cruel, monstrous, fearsome tragedy. Salk's vaccine worked, just as he promised it would. We trusted science then, and trusted scientists too. Mom held an odd affection for the atomic bomb because, as she said, American scientists said it would work and it did. As newspapers reported, the whole world hailed the breakthrough against a mysterious virus. Since 1920, polio had crippled 550,000 Americans and killed 46,500 - most of them children. Florida counted about 8,000 cases. But besides the numerical toll, polio was fear-inducing because no one knew exactly how it worked, how it spread or what caused it. The virus likely had accompanied humanity through millennia. As the authoritative Philadelphia College of Physicians noted, "Poliovirus enters the body through the mouth, multiplying along the way to the digestive tract, where it further multiplies. In about 98 percent of cases, polio is a mild illness, with no symptoms or with viral-like symptoms. In paralytic polio, the virus leaves the digestive tract, enters the bloodstream, and then attacks nerve cells. Fewer than 1 percent - 2 percent of people who contract polio become paralyzed. In severe cases, the throat and chest may be paralyzed. Death may result if the patient does not receive artificial breathing support." Sound familiar? That day and year are so long ago that we might be tempted to think we clearly are advanced now. Science might be improved, but we are not provably improved as a nation of rational thinkers. Sixty-seven years should have given us a better crack at intelligence on such matters as deadly viruses. Do you feel smarter? If anything, we appear to have become far dumber responded to important topics. As for COVID-19, the same strain of lifelong scientist who told us the Salk vaccine and atomic bomb would work now tell us to take the COVID vaccine, wear face masks, stay six feet away from strangers and wash your hands frequently. Do that, and COVID-19 gets sent to the biological ash heap of deadly microbes. It's almost the same prescription that ditched small pox, cholera, measles, mumps, rabies, anthrax, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria, and tuberculosis, to name a few. We took the vaccine. It worked. According to the Centers for Disease Control, polio cases plummeted to fewer than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s. There has not been a natively generated polio case in America since 1979. Mom and Dad relaxed that summer of 1954. We all were happier, even the sweaty guinea pigs. - David Rutter is the former publisher/editor of the Lake County News-Sun, and more importantly, the former author of the Beachwood's late, great "The Week In WTF" column. His most recent piece for us was The Quest For Papa's Perfect Sentence. You can also check him out at his Theeditor50's blog. He welcomes your comments.





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Posted on April 13, 2021






Bravos Family Karma will soon make a sophomore return and the network teased that the new season is forthcoming.

The series left off with Vishal Parvani and Richa Sadanas lavish engagement party. But fractured friendships still plagued this group so where is the cast today? And who just celebrated an engagement?

Bali Chainani, Monica Vaswani, Brian Benni, Anisha Ramakrishna, Amrit Kapai, Vishal Parvani, Shaan Patel | Tommy Garcia/Bravo

Shaan Patel has an Indian engagement party

Shaan Patel, who is the youngest Family Karma cast member, officially celebrated his engagement to girlfriend Pooja with a magnificent Indian engagement celebration. He shared photos on Instagram of the affair, which the couple held in March 2021.

Its all about the #details, Patel wrote in a post. For us, the engagement ceremony was bringing our families together and strengthening the promise we made to each other. Cant wait to take the next step and continue our journey together.

RELATED: Bravos Family Karma: Which Famous Indian Actor Cant Get Enough of Family Karma?

Patel was one of the boldest cast members, pushing back on the Indian tradition of living with his parents. Plus, he and Pooja have been living together too. We dont keep it a secret, he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in 2020. Which is what we wanted to do from the start. A big Indian thing is brushing things under the rug, but we didnt want that specifically.

Bali Chainani and OMalley are still going strong

Bali Chainani, one of the resident pot stirrers, has kept love alive with her boyfriend OMalley. After initially being separated by the pandemic, Chainani and OMalley are stronger than ever, spending as much time together as possible. The couple celebrated the Indian holiday Diwali together in Nov. with friends and family.

Chainanis daughter, Anushka was taking her college classes from home due to the pandemic. I wish I could give you back your first-year college experience, but I have loved every moment of this year with you. You make me so proud, Chainani shared in a New Years Instagram.

Anisha Ramakrishna says she struggled while filming season 1

Anisha Ramakrishna was on the verge of launching a new fashion line when the pandemic struck. She hoped to get her new business off the ground and then hopefully leave the nest. But, Covid-19 threw a wrench in those plans. During the early days of the pandemic, Ramakrishna would often take Instagram followers along for one of her walks in an open-air area in Miami.

RELATED: Family Karma: Why Was Anisha Ramakrishna Upset That Amrit Kapai Wondered If She Was Interested in Vishal Paravni?

She also seems to still be tight with her Family Karma friends, despite the spat she had with Vishal Parvani and Amrit Kapai. And while she seems to still share a bond with them, she felt as though her friends abandoned her during filming.

I [felt] extremely depressed, she shared on her on a Dear Media podcast, Currently Cringing. When we filmed Family Karma, I gained 20 pounds and I feel like my friends were not there for me. And I couldnt even go run to my parents and complain about the show, because then theyd say like I told you so. Like who told you to be on this show?

Did Brian Benni finally move out on his own?

Brian Benni was on the verge of signing a contract to move into his own place during season 1. My parents are really cool but it is time for me to move out, he told Showbiz Cheat Sheet during the Family Karma Season 1 red carpet event in 2020. Im 28 and its time to spread my wings.

He planned to move but the pandemic hit. While he may have still made the move, Benni continued to post videos and photos from his parents house in South Florida. He reconnected with friends in June and some fans wondered where was Monica Vaswani.

Monica Vaswani punked her dad with a call from Andy Cohen

While it is unclear if Monica Vaswani and Benni were in touch over the last year, she pulled a hilarious prank on her father, Raj Vaswani in June. She told him she was FaceTiming with Bravo producer Andy Cohen and had a photo of Cohen on her phone. Her dad thought the video feed of Cohen was frozen on the phone as shes heard laughing in the background. Andy, we have Bravo TV on in my room always, Raj tells the phone.

RELATED: Bravos Family Karma: Anisha Ramakrishna Explains Why Vishal Parvani and Richa Sadana Are Still Not Married

Vaswani has leveraged her Instagram to model outfits and fashion over the past year too.

Amrit Kapai is still with boyfriend Nicholas

Amrit Kapai returned to Miami from Chicago to launch a law office. Unfortunately, that meant a long-distance relationship with boyfriend Nicholas Kouchoukos. And while they dealt with living apart, they seemed to find ways to spend plenty of time together over the past year.

The couple spent summer holidays together, plus they did some traveling throughout the Midwest. Hes still close friends with Vishal Parvani and seems to still be living in Miami. Will the couple finally decide on a home base?

Richa Sadana and Vishal Parvani are still waiting for a dream wedding

After the couples massive engagement party, they still appear to be waiting for the right time to wed. The twosome still seem to be living long distance and took a trip to Colorado over the summer. Breckenridge, Parvani wrote on his Instagram along with photos. We tried to hike a #14er, Quandary Peak and failed. Nature humbled us, as well as my lack of cardio, since its not as it was Pre-quarantine. Have to start getting more creative with the home workouts. Will get back.

This also happened at some point at the Gala #FamilyKarma. https://t.co/bOVOaHxbvE pic.twitter.com/OEqJcN3E0m  Vishal Parvani (@vishal_parvani) March 11, 2020

RELATED: Bravos Family Karma: Is There Hope for Vishal Parvani and Richa Sadanas Mothers to Come Together?

Parvani revealed in March 2020 he contracted Covid-19 and was especially concerned because he has Crohns disease. The results just came back today and I tested positive for the coronavirus, he said on Instagram. I was quarantining myself for the past two weeks with my family and as soon as I found out I was exposed I further isolated myself.
The Free Myanmar campaign fights for justice.

They want it now and they want the world to hear them. The Free Myanmar Campaign USA a organization recently formed to help spread awareness about the atrocities of the military coup d'etat in Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021 that has seen as many as 500 citizens, mostly teens and children, slaughtered for non-violent protest for democracy in Myanmar. On Sunday, April 10 the Free Myanmar Campaign USA held a vigil at Roncalli High School gymnasium for the fallen victims holding candles and flowers in their honor. They told stories, sang songs and chanted to the world for justice for Myanmar now.

Close
Labors candidate for the Upper Hunter byelection Jeff Drayton, a coal miner and union official, says keeping more of the industrys wealth in the region will be one focus of his campaign.

In his first press conference since his selection on Tuesday, Mr Drayton said the regions mining and farming industries sent a lot of money into the states coffers, but disappointingly ... we dont see much coming back. I plan to change that.

NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay presents Upper Hunter NSW Labor candidate, Jeff Drayton, with a birthday cake in Singleton on Tuesday. Credit:Janie Barrett

Mr Drayton, who worked at a winery before joining the coal industry two decades ago, said protecting jobs in mining would also feature prominently.

Im a coal miner and a proud coal miner, he said. Every time I open the newspaper or turn the TV on, I see someone having a go at coal miners, and that has to stop, and Im going to fight bloody hard to make sure it does.
President Museveni, has written to Queen Elizabeth II commiserating with the Royal Family over the death of, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

In the letter, Museveni tells the queen that Ugandans were shocked following the news of the Princes death.

The people of Uganda, Janet and myself, were shocked to learn of the death of your dear husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, a few months short of his 100th birthday, President Museveni said.

Museveni hailed the Queen and the Prince for maintaining a good relationship between their countries. He further hailed Prince Phillip for his contribution in the Second World War.

As freedom lovers and fighters, we also salute his personal contribution to peace as a naval officer in the second World War, he said.

Prince Philip, a constant presence at Queen Elizabeth IIs side for decades, died Friday at age 99.
Organized crime networksor mafiastretched across the U.S. in the 1960s. Researchers used geographic information systems to investigate how these networks were shaped and how they shaped organized crime during the mafia's organizational heigh. Credit: Penn State

At its height in the mid-20th century, American organized crime groups, often called the mafia, grossed approximately $40 billion each year, typically raising that money through illegal or untaxed activities, such as extortion and gambling.

A team of researchers used geographic information systemsa collection of tools for geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and societyand data from a government database on mafia ties during the 1960s, to examine how these networks were built, maintained and grown. The researchers said that this spatial social networks study offers a unique look at the mafia's loosely affiliated criminal groups. Often called families, these groups were connectedinternally and externallyto maintain a balance between security and effectiveness, referred to as the efficiency-security tradeoff.

"In this type of network, there are two competing prerogatives," said Daniel DellaPosta, assistant professor of sociology and social data analytics and affiliate of the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences. "The first is that you want your organization to be structured in a way that allows for effective communication between members, so that they can coordinate their behaviors to achieve goals for the group. However, the second prerogative is security. In a covert network like this, which is trying to evade detection from authorities, you might not want your network to be too well connected because then if one member gets captured, they could implicate a lot of others."

The team investigated this tradeoff by analyzing two specific metrics in the mafia's network connections, according to Clio Andris, assistant professor of city and regional planning and interactive computing, Georgia Tech.

"The efficiency security tradeoff helped us ground the hypothesis that the mafia was optimizing their organization for something," said Andris, who used the mafia data as a case study in graduate seminar in her former role as a Penn State faculty member. "We didn't find a value that we could say how optimized it was, but we were able to use two metrics together to measure optimization. One metric measured how much the network was clustered and the other measured the number of intermediary connectionsor 'hops'between people. We can make those hops into the distance between people."

As one example of that geographic concentration, the researchers found that at least 80% of members in each of New York City's five major crime familiesProfaci, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese and Bonnanolived within about 18.5 miles of their family's median center in the city. High-ranking members tended live near the center of those areas.

Mafia networks needed to be close enough to maintain order and facilitate communication -- but they couldn't be too close, or a single arrest could topple the entire organization, according to researchers. Credit: Penn State

The researchers, who report their findings in a recent issue of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, also examined the mafia's networks in both incorporated and nonincorporated cities. In incorporated cities, like New York City, the mafia families tended to operate in distinct neighborhoods, or "turf." However, in nonincorporated, or open, cities, such as Miami, many different families could operate on the same turf. All five of New York City's families sent representatives to Miami, lured there by the growing gambling rackets, the researchers suggested.

The data suggested that a mafia member's connections may have played some role in whether a member was dispatched to the Florida city or not. According to Andris, the people who were sent to Miami tended to be people with limited connections mixed in with a group of better connectedbut not optimally connectedpeople.

According to DellaPosta, the team's findings could have implications for criminology in general, but also for law enforcement practices today.

"Even though our data is from 1960, many of the families in the data are still around in some fashion today," said DellaPosta. "There's reason to think that they organize in a fairly similar way. What we add to that narrative in this paper is the geographic and spatial dimension, as well, which might be important, especially in coordinating efforts across multiple law enforcement agencies."

The researchers used a database of 680 mafia members taken from a 1960 dossier compiled by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The data included connections between members of the mafia geolocated to a known home address in 15 major U.S. cities.

The study started as a lesson in Andris's graduate seminar in GIS while she was a faculty member at Penn State.

"This project was a cool opportunity to use a unique data source and a novel analysis strategy to think about how people use geographic space," said Brittany Freelin, graduate student sociology and criminology, who worked with Andris and DellaPosta on the project. "The mafia data allowed us to map mafia member's addresses and the spatial social networks approach enabled analyses of how those mafia members were distributed across U.S. cities, which allowed us to simultaneously examine the spatial and social network elements of the data."

Explore further Social network analysis provides new insights on strategies to disrupt the Sicilian Mafia

More information: Clio Andris et al. To racketeer among neighbors: spatial features of criminal collaboration in the American Mafia, International Journal of Geographical Information Science (2021). Clio Andris et al. To racketeer among neighbors: spatial features of criminal collaboration in the American Mafia,(2021). DOI: 10.1080/13658816.2021.1884869
It is hard to tell sometimes whether the climatistas actually believe their apocalyptic catechism about settled science, how we can meet all of our energy needs with wind, solar, and processed banana peels, or whether it is just an excuse to centralize more political power over people and resources, preferably at the international level. (Of course, the two hypotheses are not mutually exclusive.)

Or maybe, as we suggested Sunday in another context, the climatistas are just dumb and unserious. Yesterday the New York Timesthe freakin New York Times!noted that the closure of New Yorks Indian Point nuclear power plant is going to increase fossil fuel use to meet New Yorks electricity needs. Indian Point currently produces more electricity than all of New Yorks wind and solar power installations combined.

So far, most of the electricity produced by the nuclear plant, known as Indian Point, has been replaced by power generated by plants that burn natural gas and emit more pollution. And that trade-off will become more pronounced once Indian Points last reactor shuts down on April 30. . . After one of Indian Points two working reactors was permanently shut down last summer, the share of the states power that came from gas-fired generators jumped in 2020 to about 40 percent, from about 36 percent in 2019, federal data show. . .

When even the New York Times can figure this out. . .

Meanwhile, what about India and China, who are both making public pledges to embrace the Paris Climate Accord and cut emissions, but who continue to build . . . lots of new coal-fired power plants. India has just approved eight brand new coal mines, along with the expansion of 24 existing coal mines. Also:

Coal projected to be Indias largest source of power in 2040: World Coal Association New Delhi: Coal is projected to remain the largest single source of electricity in India in 2040, according to Michelle Manook, Chief Executive, World Coal Association. She said that coal will continue to play a vital role in supporting intermittent renewable energy sources to underpin infrastructure development and industrialization. India is choosing to prioritize economic growth enabled by a resilient energy mix, inclusive of coal and clean coal technologies, Michelle said.

Ditto China:

Chinas 2020 coal output rises to highest since 2015, undermining climate pledges Chinas coal output rose last year to its highest since 2015, despite Beijings climate change pledge to reduce consumption of the dirty fossil fuel and months of disruption at major coal mining hubs. The worlds biggest coal miner and consumer produced 3.84 billion tonnes of coal in 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

This has all led the BBCthe freakin BBC!to report that net zero targets are pie-in-the-sky.

Sharp divisions between the major global emitters have emerged at a series of meetings designed to make progress on climate change. India lambasted the richer worlds carbon cutting plans, calling long term net zero targets, pie in the sky. Their energy minister said poor nations want to continue using fossil fuels and the rich countries cant stop it. China meanwhile declined to attend a different climate event organised by the UK.

Incidentally, the opening gag about energy from processed banana peels . . . isnt entirely a gag. The serious term for it is biomass, and biomass energy is considered a green, renewable energy source. Except that. . . maybe its not. PoliticoPolitico! reports:

The Green Energy That Might Be Ruining the Planet In Europe, biomass power, as its technically called, is now counted and subsidized as zero-emissions renewable energy. As a result, European utilities now import tons of wood from U.S. forests every yearand Europes supposedly eco-friendly economy now generates more energy from burning wood than from wind and solar combined. . . But when it comes to power from ground-up trees, theres still a raging substantive debate about whether its a forest-friendly, carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels, or an environmental disaster. . . In February, more than 500 scientists and economists wrote to President Joe Biden and other leaders to warn that converting wood into power is a carbon disaster, a forest destroyer and an absurdly inefficient way to generate energy. Supplying just 2 percent more global energy from biomass, they estimated, would require doubling total global wood harvests.

When the New York Times, the BBC, and Politico are all punching holes in the green energy mania, youd think the climatistas might want to take stock of things. Dont hold your breath. (Besides, if you hold your breath, you probably increase your personal CO2 emissions.)

Chaser:
The wife of businessman Jamal Marlow Rohosafi says Amber Ray was a friendly neighbour before she became her new co-wife.

In some startling revelations on social media, Amira narrated that the friendship with the controversial socialite started when they were neighbours in Syokimau.

Amber Ray reached out to Amira, inviting her to check out childrens clothes that she was selling.

One day I get a random call, Hey sasa its your neighbour unaweza kuja uone nguo za watoto nauza.Ive been in Dubai for quite some time so sikuwa najua wat kind of person she was. Nikachukua manguo and even asked her where she does her lashes, Amira said in a Q&A with fans on Instagram.

Amira would later go to Amber Rays to have her eyelashes done.

Yaani I even went to her house to have my lashes done after she had called me like 15 times niharakishe.  weeh. Making things worse I even asked her to come to my house yani kama jirani mwema, she wrote.

Asked if she was still in contact with Amber Ray, Amira said she cut off communication after realising that the socialite was a frenemy

I used to talk to her until I realised kikulacho ki nguoni mwako.

Amira also declared that she would not be quitting her marriage of 17 years following the recent development.

17 years and counting. Niende wapi nimekita kambi! Na sibanduki ngo, she said, adding: Me and Jamal come from way back. His mum was a friend to my late mum, so his mum is my mum, nampenda.

When asked how she feels about Amber Ray invading her marriage, Amira quipped: Usiyadharau madafu, maembe ni ya msimu.

Meanwhile, the man at the centre of the drama, Jamal, rubbished rumors that Amber Ray used sorcery to seduce him.

Allow me to put to this matter to rest. Amber Ray is my legal wife and thats the truth. She did not use any juju on me as its being claimed. I am the one who knowingly went after her, hit on her and later married her.
Japan has announced that it will release into the sea more than a million tons of contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant.

Prime minister Yoshihide Suga said releasing the treated water is an, unavoidable task to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and reconstruct the Fukushima area.

Work to release the water will begin in two years and the whole process is expected to take decades to complete, the government said.

The radioactive water is treated in a way that removes most of the radioactive elements but some, such as tritium remain, according to BBC News. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that is considered not harmful to humans in small amounts.

It is then kept in huge tanks but the plants operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said it is running out of space. The capacity is expected to be full by next year.

The prime minister said that the release would happen only after ensuring the safety levels of the water.

The United States said Japan, has weighed the options and effects, has been transparent about its decision and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards, in its decision to release the water.

But Tokyo has faced opposition from the local fishing industry and neighbours, including China, for its announcement.

The fishing industry has expressed fears that the move will undermine consumer confidence in the regions seafood.

Hiroshi Kishi, president of JF Zengyoren, the federation of Japanese fisheries cooperatives, said: Seeing this decision being made is completely outrageous and it is something we absolutely cannot accept. We will strongly protest, according to the Washington Post.

The operator has assured locals that it will do its utmost to prevent reputational damage and pay compensation to those affected.

China termed the plan to release the treated water extremely irresponsible. Its foreign ministry said the move would, seriously damage international public health and safety and the vital interests of the people of neighbouring countries.

South Korea also expressed concerns that Japans decision could, bring a direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and surrounding environment.

Greenpeace Japan said the decision, failed to protect the environment and neglected the large-scale opposition and concerns of the local Fukushima residents, as well as the neighbouring citizens around Japan.
She rarely puts a foot wrong when it comes to picking out stylish ensembles.

And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked effortlessly chic as she stepped out for a business meeting in New York on Tuesday.

The model, 33, showed off her fashion credentials in a stylish cream trench coat as she left her hotel.

Lovely: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley looked effortlessly chic as she stepped out for a business meeting in New York on Tuesday

Underneath her coat she wore a plain white T-shirt and long black trousers, completing the subtle outfit with strappy black sandals.

She accessorized perfectly with a large cream handbag, statement silver chain necklace and wore a silk face mask as she stepped out.

Rosie wore her blonde tresses in a sleek low pony and opted for a low-key makeup look.

Radiant: The model, 33, showed off her fashion credentials in a stylish cream trench coat as she left her hotel

Trendy: Underneath her coat she wore a plain white T-shirt and long black trousers, completing the subtle outfit with strappy black sandals

It comes after on Monday the British beauty opened up the floor to her Instagram followers in a Q+A where she peeled back the curtain on her family.

From unseen snaps of her three-year-old son Jack to revealing partner Jason Statham was an 'amazing' dad, the model was an open book.

Rosie and the Fast & Furious actor have been together since 2010 and got engaged in 2016. They welcomed their son Jack together a year later.

Private life: It comes after on Monday the British beauty opened up the floor to her Instagram followers in a Q+A where she peeled back the curtain on her family

Mom life: When it comes to being a mom she revealed that she adores when Jack hugs her and says 'I love you mama' during the Q+A

Of their decision to not rush into marriage she had told ET in 2018 that it wasn't a 'huge priority.'

'We're looking forward to that time. It's also not a huge priority for us; we're so happy. I think it will be fun to do it when the baby's grown up a bit and he can be involved in the wedding.'

And she additionally added that the pair definitely 'want more kids.'

Next generation: The model joked that although she has no plans to appear in any of Statham's movies their 'little guy might'

Her followers asked everything from her 'favorite thing about being a mother,' to whether or not she would consider making a cameo in Jason's films after acting as Splendid in Mad Max Fury Road.

She revealed that she adores when Jack hugs her and says 'I love you mama,' and that although she has no plans to appear in the Fast & Furious franchise maybe their 'little guy might!'

When asked her favorite thing about her fiance she gushed: 'He's an amazing hands on Daddy. A supportive and protective partner and he's pretty funny too,' but she did later add that she thinks she has him beat in the humor department.

When asked about she and Jason's height difference she replied: 'I am definitely longer than him with heels on..it's been 11 years so I'm pretty sure he feels good about it.'

Hands on: 'He's an amazing hands on Daddy. A supportive and protective partner and he's pretty funny too,' she said of Jason

Comedy face off: Huntington-Whitley did say that although her fiance is funny she thinks she has him beat in the humor department

Additionally she revealed that she has been contemplating doing a clothing line, writing: 'It's definitely something I'm exploring...but I'm a perfectionist so I'd have to do it right.'

Rosie recently put out her first shoe collection a few weeks ago for Gia Couture Firenze.

She was asked to choose between London, LA, and NYC to which she said she felt 'lucky' to be able to work and live in all three.

The family splits time between the three hubs  both she and Jason having family back in the UK, and being tied to all cities for their livelihoods.
Employees of Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) say they have were blindsided with a 33 1/3 per cent pay cut in their salaries.

While some workers were under the impression the cut was supposed to occur next fortnight, many were unprepared for managements move.

One employee told the Express yesterday while talk was being bandied about a few days ago with regard to the pay cut, she thought more notice would have been given to staff since globally theres a pandemic. I am hurt and disappointed.
Brittany Higgins could be set to reveal more explosive details about the sordid culture in Canberra after securing a lucrative book deal.

The former Liberal Party staffer, 26, made national headlines in February when she broke her silence about being allegedly raped by a male colleague in federal defence minister Linda Reynolds' Parliament House office in 2019.

Ms Higgins has now signed a $250,000 deal to write a memoir with Penguin Random House Australia after a three-way bidding war involving rival publishers Allen & Unwin and Hachette.

The staffer turned activist has vowed to 'shine a light' on the 'toxic culture inside the corridors of pwoer'.

Parliament House rap accuser Brittany Higgins (pictured) has vowed to 'shine a light on the culture inside the corridors of power'

'I feel privileged to be afforded the opportunity to share my experience inside Parliament House with readers,' Ms Higgins said in a statement on Tuesday.

'This book will shine a light on the toxic workplace culture inside the corridors of power and provide a firsthand account of what it was like surviving a media storm that turned into a movement.'

Half of the royalties from each book sold will be donated to the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, which Ms Higgins explained was a lifeline for her following her alleged ordeal.

Former Liberal Party staffer Brittany Higgins (pictured) was allegedly raped by a male colleague in federal defence minister Linda Reynolds' Parliament House office in 2019.

Ms Higgins has begun writing the book, which is due to be on the shelves in 2022.

The deal was brokered by Sydney Morning columnist Peter FitzSimons, the husband of The Project host Lisa Wilkinson who secured the first television interview with Ms Higgins about her alleged rape.

Industry insiders told the Sydney Morning Herald timing was a major factor in Ms Higgins' decision to sign with Penguin Random House.

It's understood Ms Higgins wasn't keen to rush getting the memoir done in the coming months to make into stores in time for Christmas.

The publisher described Ms Higgins' untitled memoir as 'her story in her own words'.

'I was moved and angered by Brittany's story,' Penguin Random House Australia chief executive Julia Burland said.

'Her fearless pursuit of justice for herself and her resolute truth-telling is an inspiration to me and so many other women.'

Brittany Higgins (pictured) delivered a powerful address at the Women's March 4 Justice outside Parliament House in Canberra on March 15

Brittany Higgins and her book publisher confirmed the deal on Tuesday night after a three-way bidding war

Ms Higgins' claims have rocked Canberra and prompted several others allegations to emerge against Australian politicians and political staffers.

She returned to Parliament House in March to address thousands who attended Women's March4Justice rally with a powerful speech.

'This isnt a political problem. This is a human problem,' she told the crowds.

'Weve all learnt over the past few weeks just how common gendered violence is in this country.

'Its time our leaders on both sides of politics stop avoiding the subject and side-stepping accountability. Its time we actually address the problem.'

Australian Federal Police recently launched its investigation into rape allegations raised by Ms Higgins.
Pippa Middleton wrapped up warm as she took a stroll with her newborn daughter in London earlier today.

The Duchess of Cambridge's sister, 37, who welcomed her second child Grace Elizabeth Jane with husband James Matthews last month, sported a long-line burgundy coat with a fluffy collar during the walk this afternoon.

The mother-of-two donned a matching polka dot maxi skirt but kept it casual with white trainers in Chelsea, west London.

Grace was born in the early hours of 15 March, weighing 6lbs 7oz. Announcing the birth just hours later, a source told Hello!: 'Mother and baby are doing well. She's perfect, everyone is overjoyed at such a happy arrival.'

Pippa Middleton, 37, wrapped up warm in a long-line burgundy coat with a fluffy collar as she took a stroll with her newborn daughter Grace in Chelsea on Tuesday

Pippa wore her long brown locks loose around her shoulders and kept her makeup minimal for the outing, adding a pair of round sunglasses.

The new mother could be seen gazing down at her newborn and tending to baby Grace as she reached into her navy pram.

Pippa and James already share a two-year-old son Arthur, who joined his mother for a walk at the end of last month.

He clung onto the handle of the pushchair and proved to be the doting big brother as he gave his mum a helping hand.

The Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister sported a matching polka dot maxi skirt and kept the look casual with white trainers

Grace was born in the early hours of 15 March, weighing 6lbs 7oz, with a source later telling Hello! that the family were 'overjoyed' and the baby was 'perfect'

Grace's middle names are a nod to her grandmothers, Carole Elizabeth Middleton and Jane Matthews, while Elizabeth might also be a subtle acknowledgement of the family's royal ties.

Rumours of Pippa's pregnancy first swirled shortly before Christmas when Page Six reported the couple were expecting another baby.

A source close to the Middleton family told Page Six in December Kate's sister was expecting, saying: 'Pippa and James are thrilled, it's fantastic news amid a difficult year. The entire family is delighted.'

Pippa never commented on the pregnancy and instead kept a low public profile.

Pippa wore her long brown locks loose around her shoulders and kept her makeup minimal for the outing, later adding a pair of round sunglasses

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will no doubt be delighted with their new baby niece, which came in the wake of the fallout of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell Oprah interview.

As well as the Cambridge children, Grace has two cousins on her father's side of the family: Theodore Frederick Michael, two, and Gigi Margaux Matthews, nine months, the children of Made In Chelsea's Spencer Matthews and his Irish model wife Vogue Williams.

Kate and Pippa's brother James Middleton, 33, is engaged to Alizee Thevenet.

Pippa and James enjoy a close relationship with both families. The Middletons enjoy holidays with the Matthews clan at the family's exclusive Eden Rock St Barts resort, proving just how well they all get on.

Grace's middle names are a nod to her grandmothers, Carole Elizabeth Middleton and Jane Matthews, while Elizabeth might also be a subtle acknowledgement of the family's royal ties

Pippa and James also raise their children with the support of their parents, with Carole recently telling Good Housekeeping that she is a hands-on grandmother.

'I want to run down the hills, climb the trees, and go through the tunnel at the playground,' she said. 'As long as I am able to, that's what I'll be doing. I cook with them, I muck around dancing, we go on bike rides.'

She said she would hope to pass down a love of the countryside and hoped she could help them 'really see the value of being able to appreciate nature and be active outdoors.'

Pippa took Grace, who is nearing a month old, went for a stroll with Grace in her pram, as she wandered around Chelsea

Describing herself as 'very family-orientated', Carole said she has always 'tried hard to be a listening grandmother and mother-in-law' to Prince William, 38, and Pippa's husband James Matthews.

Pippa and James tied the knot in 2017 at St Mark's Church in Englefield, the estate of former Conservative MP Richard Benyon.

In 2018, Pippa welcomed baby Arthur in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital, the same place where sister Kate gave birth to all three of her children.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Already facing an uphill battle with a portion of the public skeptical about the safety of the coronavirus vaccines, medical experts and the federal government worried Tuesday about how news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could dissuade the uninoculated from getting their shots.

Even as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended halting the administration of the sole single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, experts said no such problems exist in vaccines created by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.

But that wont stop many people on the fence about whether to get the vaccine from interpreting Tuesdays news as a sign that the vaccines are not safe and were hastily approved.

Doctors and officials in Cleveland and the rest of the country said its their job to assuage those concerns so people can do whats medically safe for both them and the community.

People are just afraid, University Hospitals Medical Director for Infection Control Dr. Elie Saade said. Theres a lot of information out there. People tend to focus on the negative information. Thats unfortunately the case for every pandemic, every event.

Our job here is to tell them that the risk of coronavirus is much higher than a problem from the vaccine, and we do have robust systems to detect any problems with the vaccine.

About 6.8 million people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while others who have received doses have received one or both shots as part of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The CDC said that more than 192 million doses were administered as of Tuesday. The federal government has taken no such steps to prevent people from receiving the other two approved vaccines.

In Ohio, 264,311 residents have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Gov. Mike DeWines administration said.

As for those who already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, serious blood-clotting problems have only arisen in six people, which is fewer than one in one million. The federal government nonetheless took the extraordinary step of recommending a pause in administrating the vaccine to investigate further the link between the vaccine and the clots in the brains of six women and see if others may have faced similar issues, officials said Tuesday.

Dr. Amy Ray, the medical director of infection prevention at the MetroHealth System, said the FDA and CDCs call to halt the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a sign that there are a lot of safety nets around vaccines in the U.S. The fact that such a decision was made for so few problems is further evidence, she explained.

That means to me that the process is working, Ray said. It doesnt mean theres a failure.

Saade agreed. He said he encouraged his parents, who live in Beirut, to get whatever vaccine they can. Johnson & Johnson is available there, along with a vaccine made by AstraZeneca, which faced similar scrutiny in some countries overseas after reported links to blood clots. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been approved for use in the U.S.

Its much safer to get the vaccine than risk the chance of having COVID, Saade said.

Their points were very similar to those stressed Tuesday by the Biden administration.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, said at a news conference that people who already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine shouldnt get anxious. Those who received it should watch out for side effects for about three weeks after vaccination and contact a doctor if they have a serious headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.

But even if such reactions have been rare, Fauci said the call to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine shows how seriously the country takes vaccine safety.

When you want to talk about safety, this is an extraordinary safety record that the others have and the fact that a pause was done, I think, just is a testimony to how seriously we take safety and why we have an FDA and a CDC that looks at this very carefully and hopefully will resolve it pretty soon, within days to weeks, he said.

The more significant concern for some, though, is how the abrupt news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will harm the views of people who have not received the vaccine. Especially those who are waiting because of false information they got online or from a loved one.

Kolina Koltai, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for an Informed Public at The University of Washington, studies anti-vaccine misinformation. She anticipates chatter in various corners of Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, similar to what happened when countries in Europe paused administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

People will zero in on one of those anomalies, no matter how small, to make an argument against a vaccine. The spread of that misinformation could influence others.

Even though this was such a small amount of cases, the fact that were willing to pause that on a national level shows we take that seriously, even at the risk of a bad perception, Koltai said.

She said nothing about the false statements made by so-called anti-vaxxers is new. From those for rubella to the flu, other vaccinations faced wrongheaded scrutiny about efficacy, safety and the approval process. With the spotlight on the coronavirus, all those concerns are now more prominent than ever, because more people are aware of vaccines and because social media can help spread misinformation.

Koltai said the best way to quell a persons concerns is by taking time with them to see where they got the information and ensuring they have access to the correct information. Its also good to emphasize that loved ones want that person to be safe and to not antagonize them for having the wrong information, she said.

Often, the correct information will come from doctors.

If people are scared, we have to give them the right information so they make the right decision for themselves, Saade said.

Reporter Evan MacDonald contributed to this story.
Offaly TDs have expressed concern over the loss of jobs at Siblimity Therapeutics in Offaly. Over 50 jobs will be lost between the company's Tullamore and Dublin sites.

Fianna Fail TD for Laois-Offaly, Barry Cowen, expressed his "extreme disappointment" at the announcement while Independent TD Carol Nolan has said she has engaged with the company with reports that as many as 59 jobs could be lost.

Deputy Cowen commented, Firstly, my thoughts go out to the workers, their families and all those affected by this devastating news. Theres little doubt that these workers are facing into an uncertain future after receiving this notice. The impact of these job losses cannot be underestimated.

Having been contacted by a number of former employees regarding this announcement, I understand that liquidators are to be appointed on April 19 and workers have been informed that they will not receive any redundancy or pay for work already completed.



I intend to raise this issue with the Department of Enterprise as a matter of urgency and I am calling on the Minister and the IDA to engage with the workers who have lost their job with a view to providing them with the necessary support at this very difficult time.

Every effort must be made to ensure they are given the best possible terms of redundancy and alternative employment is secured where possible, he concluded.

Deputy Carol Nolan reacted with a similar concern for workers after she too was contacted by former employees.

"The staff maintain that they have been informed they will not receive any redundancy or pay for work already completed," Deputy Nolan claimed.

I think we all recognise the role that Sublimity Therapeutics has played in Tullamore and the valuable employment opportunities the company has provided in recent years," she added.

"But there has to be full respect accorded to employees who may find themselves out of a job, and this includes full access to statutory redundancy payments.

"The company must honour all legal requirements in this regard as a bare minimum.

"I am aware that Sublimity had reported serious losses of about 55 million in 2018 and that it needed to raise significant additional financing to fund its research and development activities.

"But such a situation does not mean that a company in this position can effectively throw its employees to the wolves and ignore the statutory protections that all workers have.

"The sooner this situation is clarified by Sublimity Therapeutics the better. Either way, it is a matter I will be pursuing on behalf of all affected workers at the Tullamore plant, concluded Deputy Nolan.
Researchers in the United States and the UK have conducted a study showing that the rollout of vaccines to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is proving effective among California's general population.

The population-based surveillance study found that vaccination efforts are preventing infection with the causative agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) under real-world conditions, despite the widespread circulation of variants of concern.

Working on behalf of the California COVID-19 Case-Control Study Team, the researchers found that among fully vaccinated individuals (the second dose received two weeks or more previously), protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection was 86%.

Partial protection was also evident following one vaccine dose and within the first two weeks of receiving a second dose, says the team from the University of California at Berkeley, California Department of Public Health in Richmond, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

"Our findings indicate that vaccine rollout is preventing COVID-19 in the general population of California," writes Joseph Lewnard and colleagues.

However, the study also found that vaccine hesitancy presents a barrier to reaching the coverage levels required for herd immunity to be achieved.

The team says different communication and outreach approaches will be needed to address these barriers to vaccine uptake across communities.

A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the medRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review.

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, by doses received and time since last dose. Lines denote 95% confidence intervals, respectively, for estimates of vaccine effectiveness. Estimates were calculated via conditional logistic regression.

Studies of real-world vaccine effectiveness are required

Following demonstration of their efficacy in randomized controlled trials, the Pfizer-BioNtech BNT162b2 and Moderna mRNA1273 vaccines have been administered since December 2020. By the end of April 2021, the vaccines had been administered to 24% of California residents.

"Observational studies characterizing vaccine effectiveness are needed to understand performance under real-world conditions and to inform implementation programs," says Lewnard and the team.

To date, most studies of real-world vaccine effectiveness have focused on healthcare workers and other frontline staff. They have also been performed in settings where variants of concern were not yet accounting for a substantial proportion of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

However, as of March 2021, the B.1.1.7 and B.1.427/B.1.429 variants of concern that emerged in the UK and California, respectively, accounted for 69% of all SARS-CoV-2 isolates in California.

What did the researchers do?

To determine the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines in the context of substantial circulation of these variants, the researchers conducted a case-control study of adult California residents with SARS-CoV-2 test results reported to the California Department of Public Health between 24th February and 7th April 2021.

Individuals who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 infection (controls) were individually matched to SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals (cases) by age, sex, geographic region and the week of testing. A standardized questionnaire covering participants' demographics, symptoms, and vaccination status was administered via telephone-based interviews.

Individuals were considered fully vaccinated two weeks after having received a second dose of either vaccine.

To help identify vaccine uptake barriers that might inform future immunization strategies, unvaccinated individuals were also asked about their willingness to receive a vaccine once they became eligible.

What did the study find?

Among 325 cases, 23 (7%) and 13 (4%) reported receiving at least one dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine and mRNA-1273 vaccine, respectively, and eight cases (2%) were considered fully vaccinated.

Among 260 controls, 49 (19%) and 49 (19%) reported receiving at least one dose of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273, respectively, and 42 (16%) were considered fully vaccinated.

Among the fully vaccinated individuals (at least two weeks since the second dose), vaccine effectiveness was 86%.

Vaccine effectiveness was 66% within the second week of receiving a first dose and 78% within the second week of receiving a second dose.

Rural-urban divides in vaccine willingness

Of 415 unvaccinated individuals, 39% of those residing in rural regions and 23% of those residing in urban regions indicated that they were unlikely or unsure about receiving a vaccine once they became eligible. By contrast, vaccine hesitancy did not significantly vary by age, sex, household income, or ethnicity.

The most commonly reported reasons for the hesitancy were fears over safety (24%) and side effects (26%).

"Vaccine rollout is preventing COVID-19 under real-world conditions"

The researchers say the ongoing vaccine rollout is preventing COVID-19 under real-world conditions in the general population.

Moreover, partial protection was identified before two weeks after receipt of the second dose, in agreement with previous estimates, they add.

"Importantly, though, our results indicate substantial protection despite the widespread circulation of the B.1.427/B.1.429 variants," writes Lewnard and colleagues.

However, vaccine hesitancy is presenting a barrier to reaching the coverage levels needed for herd immunity and "differing messaging and outreach strategies will thus be needed to address barriers to vaccine acceptance across communities," concludes the team.
Elisabetta Caldera joins Aegon as Chief Human Resources Officer

Aegon today announced that Elisabetta Caldera (1970, Italian) will join Aegon as Chief Human Resources Officer, effective June 1, 2021. Elisabetta has more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources and joins Aegon from Vodafone (News - Alert) , where she held various senior HR leadership positions and most recently worked as HR Director Europe Cluster & Egypt. Prior to Vodafone, she held HR management roles at ABB and Alstom.

At Aegon, she will become responsible for leading Aegon's global human resources function and serve as a member of the Management Board of Aegon N.V..

"I am delighted to welcome Elisabetta to our team," said Lard Friese, CEO of Aegon N.V.. "She is a highly experienced HR executive with an international persective and a strong track record. I am confident that she will be an outstanding addition to the management team and will help drive our transformation forward".







Elisabetta will succeed Carla Mahieu, who has decided to step down after more than a decade in the role.

About Aegon

Aegon's roots go back more than 175 years - to the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then, Aegon has grown into an international company, with businesses in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Today, Aegon is one of the world's leading financial services organizations, providing life insurance, pensions and asset management. Aegon's purpose is to help people achieve a lifetime of financial security. More information on aegon.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412006052/en/
(MFs) were big subscribers of share sales in March. BPCL, Bank of Baroda, Wabco India, SBI Cards, and Tata Communications were the top five buys of equity in March. Bank of Baroda issued fresh equity via a qualified institutional placement and the others saw large secondary exits.

MFs also invested big in initial public offerings (IPOs). March was an IPO frenzy month and MFs collectively deployed Rs 1,600 crore in nine issue, says Abhilash Pagaria, analyst at Edelweiss Securities. They invested about Rs 613 crore in MTAR Tech and about Rs 180 crore each in the IPOs of Craftsman Automation and Nazara Tech.

Meanwhile, equity MFs were seen paring their holdings in several blue chip stocks such as RIL (sold shares worth Rs 1,811 crore), HUL (Rs 1,531 crore), and ICICI Bank (Rs 1,267 crore). Nine of the 10 most-sold stocks were part of the Nifty50. Equity MFs had a lot of dry powder in March as they saw positive inflows, of over Rs 9,000 crore, after a gap of nine months.
Spectators watch a projection of Yuri Gagarin's portrait to mark the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight in Saint Petersburg, Russia (Photo : REUTERS/Anton Vaganov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight on Monday with a pledge that Moscow would remain a key space and nuclear power.



Gagarin became the first human in outer space on April 12, 1961, in one of the Soviet Union's most important Cold War victories and a pivotal moment in its space race with the United States.



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The Soviet Union's achievements in space continue to be a source of national pride and a patriotic rallying cry at a time when Moscow's relations with Washington are at a post-Cold War low.



To mark the anniversary, Putin laid flowers on a monument to Gagarin near his landing site close to the city of Engels, some 860 km (535 miles) southeast of Moscow.



"This is without a doubt a great event that changed the world. We will always be proud that it was our country that paved the road to outer space," Putin told senior officials.



"In the 21st century, Russia must properly maintain its status as one of the leading nuclear and space powers, because the space sector is directly linked to defence."



Gagarin's 108-minute orbit around the Earth propelled him to international fame and earned him the status of national hero in the Soviet Union, which erected statues and painted murals in his honour across its vast territory.



The head of Russian space agency Roscosmos and members of the Communist Party laid flowers on Gagarin's grave at the foot of the Kremlin wall on Monday.



Other commemorative events were more light-hearted, including a neighbourhood clean-up in the Siberian city of Irkutsk where volunteers dressed up as characters from Star Wars.



Celebrations also took place in space.



"Our scientists and engineers demonstrated the unquestionable superiority of our homeland's technology, and made us the (world's) first space power," cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky said in a video address from the International Space Station (ISS), flanked by three other Russian cosmonauts.



Roscosmos has suffered a series of technical mishaps and corruption scandals in recent years, including during the construction of the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the country's far east where contractors were accused of embezzling state funds.



In 2019, Putin complained to government officials about corruption at the facility, and investigators said they were looking into allegations of fraud.


The Japanese government has officially decided to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean. It will be discharged in about two years after being diluted.

The Cabinet has endorsed a draft bill on the matter. Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is promising transparency as the process moves forward.

Suga said on Tuesday, "This is a path that we cannot avoid in order to realize Fukushima's regional reconstruction and decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. We will execute it only after ensuring the process is safe. Negative rumors must not stand in the way, or extinguish the hopes of people in Fukushima for recovery. The government will put out information based on science. We will do the best we can. It's all hands on deck."

The decision comes a decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan, triggering a triple meltdown at the power plant.

Water is used to cool molten nuclear fuel. It's mixing with rain and groundwater flowing into damaged reactor buildings, accumulating at a rate of 140 tons per day.

The facility has enough tanks to hold about 1.37 million tons of wastewater. But it's already at 90 percent of capacity. The remainder is expected to fill up sometime next year.

The water is treated in order to remove most of the radioactive material, but still contains radioactive tritium.

The concentration will be diluted to one-40th of what is required under national regulations. That's equivalent to about one-seventh of the World Health Organization's standard for drinking water.

The government will ask the plant's operator, known by its acronym TEPCO, to secure equipment needed to release the treated water in about two years.

The plan calls for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency to disseminate transparent and objective information at home and abroad.

It also pledges support for the local fishery, tourism and agricultural industries. If there is damage to the reputation of an industry, the plan calls for TEPCO to provide compensation.

TEPCO President Kobayakawa Tomoaki said, "We will work hard to fulfill our responsibility to strike a balance between regional reconstruction, and decommissioning the reactors throughout the lengthy decommissioning process."

In Fukushima, reaction from residents is mixed.

A resident said, "I think as long as it's within international standards, it can't be helped under the current circumstances."

Another resident said, "No one is satisfied with the decision. A few words from the prime minister, and the process is set in stone. This is wrong."

People in the fishing industry in particular have been strongly opposed to the plan. The head of a national industry group has released a statement protesting the decision and urging the government to clarify how it will alleviate safety concerns in Japan and abroad.
After several attempts to falsify the history and culture of Armenia, privatize the historical cradle of the Armenian people, Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] and the Republic of Armenia with its capital, Ilham the falsifier decided to falsify the history of the negotiation process with his own cynicism. The office of the third President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, has noted this in a statement it issued Tuesday.

He [Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev] decided to turn the failure of Azerbaijan in the April four-day war into a victory, to attribute his indirect request to end the war to the other side, to come up with texts of a dialogue as direct quotes, citing this falsification. And he found a way to replace the truth with his own lie, repeating the same thing over and over until the other person gets tired of denying it or just ignores a liar like him, leaving only his lie as the only proof of reality.

The truth is that Serzh Sargsyan had promised that the Armenian side would never give up the territories considered as a security zone should Ilham Aliyev not comply with the demands of the Armenian side to determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh outside Azerbaijan, ensure a reliable land border/inland communication between Armenia and Artsakh, and provide a pledge for internationally guaranteed security for the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

The present-day boldness of Ilham Aliyev who regularly lost to Serzh Sargsyan in the war is understandable on the diplomatic front, but at the same time the sometimes contradictory statements of the President of Azerbaijan, who has lost his temper, are ridiculous. According to Aliyev, Serzh Sargsyan first refused to return the lands: Karvachar and Lachin were not to be surrendered in any case under Serzh Sargsyan; they finally captured them heroically in 2020 (bit.ly/2Rl3dhV); then that Serzh Sargsyan had promised to hand over the lands and did not hand them over, and in a third case, he was being urged to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh behind closed doors, but Azerbaijan would never agree to take that step (bit.ly/329iXa1).

Ilham the falsifier should decide at last which of his lies is more correct, also reads the statement by the office of the third president of Armenia.

It was reported that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had said at the opening of the Victory Park in Baku that after the four-day war in April 2016, then-Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had promised him to return the lands, asking him for two weeks for that.
North East Independent School District will relax some of its COVID-19 safety protocols, making masks optional for students during outdoor recess and physical education as long as they are socially distanced.

Trustees adopted the policy by a 6-1 vote Monday, a week after listening to input from parents, employees and community members regarding safety protocols. Commenters at that meeting were roughly split on the issue of mandatory mask use on campuses, but trustees said they were reluctant to make mask-wearing entirely optional with just weeks left in the school year.

In addition to lifting the mask requirement for outdoor activities, the board approved allowing visitors on campuses as long as rooms remain below 50 percent capacity and allowing parent meetings and conferences to be held in person. The district now will allow the sharing of classroom supplies as long as they are disinfected after each use.

The board also dropped a quarantine requirement for students and employees deemed a close contact to someone infected with the coronavirus as long as they are vaccinated and asymptomatic, and extended the districts COVID leave policy for employees through April 30.

On ExpressNews.com: 'Giving parents choice' - Comal ISD's board votes to make masks optional after governor drops mandate

Josie Norris /Staff Photographer

District 6 trustee Steve Hilliard cast the lone dissenting vote against the package of changes, although it appeared to be because they didnt include making mask-wearing optional in classrooms.

This, to me, is a big decision because were invading parent rights, in my opinion, and Im very hesitant to tell other parents what to do with their kids, Hilliard told his fellow trustees before the vote.

District 7 trustee and board vice president Sandy Winkley reminded the board that they had received hundreds of emails from community members, the great majority of which were in favor of keeping the mask requirement in classrooms.

District leaders also consulted with North East ISDs medical advisory council and attorney, who said the recommended adjustments to the districts safety protocols were appropriate.

The board of neighboring Comal ISD voted last month to make masks optional on campuses without seeking parent or employee input, sparking backlash among community members worried about a potential rise in infections and the possibility of having to pull in-person students out of classrooms made riskier for outbreaks.

On ExpressNews.com: Boerne ISD outbreak saw 19 coronavirus cases in two fifth-grade classes

And Boerne Independent School District officials blamed a relaxed attitude toward mask-wearing and hand-washing rules for an outbreak at an elementary school in suburban Fair Oaks Ranch two weeks ago that saw 19 convirirmed cases of the virus in two fifth-grade classes.

North East ISD trustees who voted to loosen the safety protocols framed the decision as a way to safely put the district on a path to normalcy. Several said they were hopeful that rising access to COVID-19 vaccines would soon reduce the communitys risk of disease.

I feel that these ... items here are small steps, but good steps, in working toward some sense of normalcy, but we have to take it one step at a time, said District 2 trustee Terri Williams. Its little steps at a time thats going to get us eventually where we need to be.

andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon
Kabul, April 13 : Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday urged the Taliban to halt fighting and observe a ceasefire during the Islamic holy month month of Ramadan aimed at bolstering the peace process.

"Once again I am calling upon the Taliban to give up fighting, enmity and observe permanent ceasefire which is the demand of the people of Afghanistan," Ghani said in his message to mark the start of Ramadan broadcast by local television channels.

The President made the remarks amid efforts to hold a peace conference on Afghanistan under UN auspices in Turkey.

The Taliban group has to prove its willingness for achieving peace in action and not in word, the Pesident said.

Afghan religious scholars have also called on the warring sides including the Taliban group to observe truce during the holy month.

In war-torn Afghanistan, fighting and violence have been continuing, and in the latest wave, over 50 people including Taliban militants, government security personnel and civilians were killed, according to sources and local media reports.

According to security officials, 18 militants have been killed in Kandahar and 14 more in the neighbouring Uruzgan province since April 10.

At least 16 more insurgents have recently been killed in the Wardak, Kunduz and Samangan provinces.

According to local media reports, a former commander, Sayed Akbar Agha, said that "no sign of observing ceasefire from the Taliban" has been seen.

Local media reports said 79 security personnel and 28 civilians have been killed and 106 others including 57 civilians injured over the past seven days in Afghanistan.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sat on a dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission's "unconstitutional" decision to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours.

Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained last month, arrived at Mayo road around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the venue.



No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby.

A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, "No party leaders are allowed near the site of the protest. She is sitting there alone."

The Election Commission has barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

Banerjee, lashing out at the poll panel, had said on Twitter that she would hold a protest against the poll panel's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" decision.

The TMC boss is scheduled to address two rallies after 8 pm on Tuesday -- one at Barasat and the other at Bidhanangar.

Meanwhile, a defence official said that the area where Banerjee is staging a protest belongs to the army, and the TMC was yet to receive permission for the programme.

"Just to keep everyone informed, we have received an application from the TMC for a no-objection certificate at 9:40 am today. It is still under process," the defence spokesperson said.


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life, April 12)  Here are four virtual events to check out as we enter a modified version of community quarantine this week.

Instituto Cervantes presents "Del corto al largo featuring Mala Espina and Marsella

For those growing tired of the usual Netflix fare, Instituto Cervantes de Manila is presenting Del corto al largo, a series of contemporary Spanish films by four filmmakers. On April 14 and 15, they will be screening Belen Maciass 2001 short film Mala Espina. Adriana Ugarte (who starred in Pedro Almodovars Julieta), in one of her first roles, plays a teenager on vacation and comes into a huge conflict with her elders.

Macias's second feature film Marsella will be screened from April 17 to 18. The film is about the relationship between nine-year-old girl, Claire, her biological mother, Sara, and her foster mother, Virginia.

The film will be available for 48 hours starting 2 a.m. (Manila time). Check the Instituto Cervantes de Manila Facebook page for updates.

Rudolf Rahmann Lecture Series: Cebu and the Visayas at Spanish Contact

In this first webinar of the Rudolf Rahmann lecture series, professors Danilo M. Gerona of the Partido State University and George Emmanuel R. Borrinaga of the University of San Carlos will talk about Cebu and the Visayas at Spanish Contact.

The webinar is on April 14, 2:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the official Facebook page of the USC Department of Anthropology, Sociology and History. Register here to join via Zoom.

Nayong Pilipino as a Creative Hub

Nayong Pilipino has a 9.5 hectare property in Paranaque, 70 percent of which will be an urban forest while 30 percent will have structures that can provide a space for training resources, research resources, culture technology support, incubation, creative entrepreneurship, opportunities for linkages with investors and partners.

The discussion Umpukan sa Nayon will tackle how the Nayong Pilipino Foundation actively serve the creative sector and nurture Filipino creativity in the NPF property? The multi-sectoral consultation on April 16 will involve creatives from the Philippines as well as Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the U.K.

Join the Zoom discussion at 3:30 pm by registering here.

"Afro-Southeast Asia: Pragmatics and Geopoetics of Art During a Cold War" webinar

The webinar series "Afro-Southeast Asia: Pragmatics and Geopoetics of Art During a Cold War" is about expanding the current discourses that shape the history and legacy of Afro-Asian solidarity by prospecting connections and imagined affinities between Africa and Southeast Asia as regional frameworks that emerged out of Cold War decolonisation projects.

For April 17, (8 to 9 p.m.), art historian and curator Patrick Floress Craft and Potency, Place and Relations will talk about the geopoetic potential of curatorial labor while historian Naoko Shimazu will talk about Diplomacy as Theatre: Staging the Bandung Conference of 1955 at 4 p.m.

Register through natalie@greyprojects.org. Visit afrosoutheastasia.com for more details.
Of course, there are some bad laws on the books. The defund the police movement, in part, is about fixing or eliminating bad laws. But its mostly about changing the way we view policing  not shutting down police departments across the country.




By Ko Dong-hwan







The number of visitors to Korea declined sharply due to lengthy self-quarantine measures amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But this has boosted shipments to Korea of online purchases from overseas, including illegal narcotics.







Incheon Main Customs, which operates under the Korea Customs Service, said Monday that a total of 189 counts of smuggled drugs, weighing 99 kilograms in total, were confiscated between January and March this year. Sixteen people involved in the smuggling have been caught and handed over to prosecutors.







Among the busted drugs, 96 kilograms were found concealed in international parcels or letters. That marks an increase of 68 percent year-on-year in terms of weight.







Among the concealed drugs confiscated this year were 58 kilograms of methamphetamine, which is one of the most widely used illegal drugs in Korea. The amount was a big increase (by about 157 percent) from 23 kilograms discovered in the same period of the previous year.







Drug-smuggling methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the customs authority said.







Buyers used the dark web and online messengers protected by security walls to purchase the drugs. Payments were mostly made through virtual currency brokers and the drugs were delivered through a network of couriers. The final deliverer then left the drugs at a certain location for the buyer to pick up later.







Some of the confiscated drugs this year were hidden inside paper congratulatory cards after being spread thinly and placed between the pages. Others were vacuum-packed and concealed inside canned food or hidden inside corrugated cardboard.







The smuggled drugs were discovered after the customs authority traced suspicious communication records and investigated using digital forensics methods.


A Hong-Kong based air freight company has announced a ban on Vivo smartphones after a major fire that occurred over the weekend. A shipment of Vivo Y20 phones caught fire right before it was about to be loaded into a Hong Kong Air Cargo that was bound for Thailand, The Standard reported.

 Twitter

Videos of the shipment on fire posted online show the blazing fire in full effect. It shows the fire started with one pallet that later spread to two more. Pictures of the incident that were shared online show numerous Vivo branded smartphone boxes. Needless to say, the burning of the shipment could have cost lives if the fire occurred while the plane was in flight. The fire took 40 minutes to put out and resulted in an unspecified number of smartphones being damaged.



Vivo Mobile Pallet Catches Fire While Loading in Cargo Plane at HKG pic.twitter.com/sW7NXIoPd5  Solo Shokeen (@SoloShokeen) April 11, 2021

Now, many Airline industry outlets are reporting that Hong Kong Air Cargo has banned Vivo devices and two air freight companies until further notice. As of now, the cause of the fire is not known but it is possible that it could have been caused by the lithium-ion batteries. Batteries in smartphones can cause fires if they are defective, damaged or trigger a chemical reaction. This has happened before in the past where the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 infamously caught fire in 2016.

Whats surprising is that the shipment caught fire right before it was loaded onto the aircraft. So a pressurised cabin cannot be blamed in this situation which could point to faulty or damaged batteries. Even the slightest of fires can cause an aeroplane to crash and in this case, it could have resulted in a catastrophic crash.

Git this on a chat. Anyone can verify? Don't know the date but it's from #HongKong #HKG airport.



A pallet catches fire. Luckily this was on ground. @jaylpod @Chyan pic.twitter.com/m07Zd5sgdn  Andre Quiros (@flyingheavy747) April 11, 2021

Vivo is currently investigating the cause for the fire and said in a statement to Android Authority, We have paid high attention and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause. Vivo will keep the media and public informed about any further developments.

Vivo sells the Y20 in India too and there is no confirmation as to whether batteries on the Indian models could cause a fire as well. We will update the story once Vivo comes out with an explanation on what actually happened.

Source: The Standard, AirCargoWorld
The government said Monday it is considering giving leftover AstraZeneca vaccine doses to ordinary people between 60 and 64 now that they have been suspended for daycare workers and teachers under 30.

The government announced Sunday that it would stop AstraZeneca injections for under-30s since the vaccine has been linked to rare blood clots in younger patients, which leaves some doses available for the elderly.

Jeong Eun-kyeong, the chief of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, told reporters on Monday, "AstraZeneca vaccine injections scheduled to be administered on around 640,000 people in their 20s have been deferred, so we will allocate them to other candidates."

They included special education teachers, day care and kindergarten staff and school nurses.
The National Weather Service confirmed Sunday that a weak tornado hit near Moore in upstate South Carolina on Saturday.

Surveyors say the EF-O tornado had top winds of 80 mph (130 kph) and a path of 1.1 miles (1.75 kilometers). The storm touched down at 6:41 p.m. Saturday, damaging a roof, an enclosed porch and some trees.

Officials said a car flipped and a CVS pharmacy was damaged in the Oconee County town of Seneca. Trees and power lines were reported downed in Spartanburg and Greenville counties. There was also some roof damage, and a radio tower was snapped.

Seneca Fire Chief Richie Caudill told WYFF-TV that a driver was sitting at a traffic signal when winds flipped the car. The woman suffered minor injuries

The storm came nearly a year to the day after a tornado hit Seneca in the middle of the night, killing a security guard when a Borg Warner auto parts factory was heavily damaged. The Weather Service says the EF-3 tornado had top winds of 160 mph (257 kph) and was the strongest recorded in the region since 1994.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm South Carolina
She received high praise for her return to the dance floor on Sunday.

And Bec Hewitt soaked up the adulation from friends later in the week, when the 37-year-old waited to pick up daughter Ava from her own dance rehearsals.

The 37-year-old even showed off her toe point for the assembled group of pals.

Showing off: Bec Hewitt soaked up the adulation from friends later in the week, when the 37-year-old waited to pick up daughter Ava from her own dance rehearsals

The wife of Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt then shared a hug with one of the other waiting mums.

The Home and Away alum was casual chic in slightly flared jeans and a white blouse.

One her feet she wore white sneakers and her wavy blonde tresses were coiffed in a loose wave.

The look: The Home and Away alum was casual chic in slightly flared jeans and a white blouse

Embrace: The wife of Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt then shared a hug with one of the other waiting mums

Bec returned to television screens on Sunday night in the premiere episode of Dancing With The Stars: All Stars.

And viewers praised the former actress for her ageless looks, as she took to the dance floor for the foxtrot with her proud family watching on.

'She hasn't aged a day!' one posted on Twitter.

'She hasn't aged a day!' Dancing With The Stars fans praised Bec for her ageless looks as she returned to TV screens on Sunday, with her proud family watching on

Another added 'Bec looks the same', as well as one who said,'Bec has still got it!!!'

'Bec Hewitt is the fountain of youth,' one also posted.

There were also positive comments in general on her return to TV, such as 'So good to have Bec back on TV, such a gorgeous person'.

Praise: 'Bec hasn't aged one day,' one wrote on Twitter, as well as one who said, 'Bec has still got it!!!'

TV comeback: There were also positive comments in general on her return to TV, such as 'So good to have Bec back on TV, such a gorgeous person'

Co-host Sonia Kruger agreed, joking with Bec how she clearly 'didn't get the memo' about ageing.

'You know it's a fact of life Bec, that as women get older and have children, they don't look or move the way they used to. But you didn't get the memo, clearly,' she said.

'You look exactly the same, you moved brilliantly, as the judges just spoke about.'

Family: Husband Lleyton Hewitt, 40, and their children, daughters Mia, 15, Ava, 10, and son Cruz, 12, (all pictured) were in the crowd to cheer on their famous mother

Bec admitted that she 'felt really rusty' but was determined to 'put in the work'.

Husband Lleyton Hewitt, 40, and their children, daughters Mia, 15, Ava, 10, and son Cruz, 12, were in the crowd to cheer on their famous mother.

They told co-host Daryl Somers that it was great to see their mother on the dance floor.
zoe chace

From Serial Productions in The New York Times, this is The Improvement Association. Chapter 4. Let Them Pull the Red Wagon. Here we are, August 2019, the eve of a congressional election, the special election, the do-over after the cheating scandal, the one where McCrae Dowless allegedly pulled his illegal absentee ballot shenanigans. After which even the Republicans had agreed, OK, throw out the results, lets try this again, so new congressional election. The candidates this time around are Dan McCready, hes the same Democrat as last time, and then another Dan, Dan Bishop. Hes the new Republican candidate.

archived recording Two of the candidates vying to represent the states 9th congressional district.

zoe chace

Its a televised debate between the two Dans, the one and only debate of the race. And at the end, they do that gimmick where both candidates are allowed to ask each other a question.

[background conversation]

If youve ever watched a political debate, you know those questions arent really questions. Theyre little speeches, setups to try to stick it to the other guy, make him look bad. To that end you might think Republican Dan Bishop would do his level best to avoid any talk of McCrae Dowless and the rollicking national embarrassment through which his party, the Republican Party, had just dragged the voters of North Carolina, which caused the special election to happen. But no. He goes right there to allegations of election fraud. He says to the Democrat, Dan McCready, never mind McCrae Dowless. I want to talk about someone else.

archived recording (dan bishop) McCrae Dowless. But tonight, I want to ask you about Lola Wooten.

zoe chace

Lola Wooten, shes a campaign worker in Bladen. Key fact here, unlike McCrae, who has 13 indictments, she has zero. You can forget her name, in fact, as soon as were done here. But Republican Dan Bishop is trying some cynical rhetorical gymnastics right now at the 11th hour of the 11th hour with early voting already underway. Check it out.

archived recording (dan bishop) She turned in excess of 200 applications for absentee ballots.

zoe chace

That was perfectly legal at the time, by the way.

archived recording (dan bishop) She signed as a witness on the ballot envelopes for many, many people.

zoe chace

Also legal.

archived recording (dan bishop) She was paid by the Bladen County Improvement Association.

zoe chace

Also legal. But no matter, there it is. The PAC, on TV, associated, baselessly, with election fraud. Dan Bishop keeps going.

archived recording (dan bishop) The Bladen County Improvement Association, in turn, was paid by the federal account of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

zoe chace

Legal.

archived recording (dan bishop) And the federal account of the North Carolina Democratic Party was funded by your campaign.

zoe chace

Also legal. All of it. Yet Dan Bishop wants to know, all gotcha like, what did you do about that, Dan McCready?

archived recording (dan bishop) Can you explain what steps you took to ensure that Lola Wooten wasnt harvesting ballots or influencing elderly and infirm people in the completion of their ballot?

zoe chace

And Democrat Dan McCready gives your basic, Im not going to dignify that with a response response.

archived recording (dan mccready) Let me answer this question by sharing my horror that after the largest case of election fraud in recent American history, a fraud that took place in our towns in North Carolina, where 

zoe chace

To me, his answer is notable for what he doesnt go on to say. He doesnt say the Bladen Improvement Association, a Black, get out the vote group, hasnt done anything wrong. And your using their name to attack me over election fraud is not only profoundly ironic, its race baiting. He says nothing like that. This pungent exchange during the debate, for one thing, it perfectly illustrated Horaces constant complaint that unfounded accusations and insinuations about the PAC have been turned into weapons by Republicans. To the point that, out of all the things that a congressional candidate could choose to talk about in his closing argument to voters, the Bladen Improvement Association was the Republicans parting shot. And the Democrat, Dan McCready, well, this wasnt the first time he dodged talking about the PAC. Throughout the race, local reporters who covered the cheating story had been asking McCready, are you working with the Bladen Improvement Association now, or did you ever? And Dan McCready was, like, mm mm, nope.

archived recording (dan mccready) Ive not worked with them. archived recording While campaign finance records show he has not donated to them before, we asked Dan McCready if he planned on working with the group for the next election. archived recording (dan mccready) Its not something Ive thought about. I have not really worked with them.

zoe chace

It sounded like McCready considered the PAC a liability. And it also sounded like he was saying hed never even met those guys, which made Horace really mad, Horace and Cogdell, actually. During the first congressional race, the one that ultimately got thrown out, the PACs relationship to the McCready campaign was the normal stuff. Hes a Democrat. They support Democratic candidates. They endorsed McCready on their sample ballot, mobilized their get out the vote machine for him and for everyone else. But once the allegations of fraud by McCrae Dowless started to get out, members of the PAC started getting calls from Black voters who were upset, who said they thought their votes have been tampered with by McCraes workers. So the PAC members who received those calls, motivated in part to bring down Republican operative McCrae Dowless, they went to some of those voters homes. Told them, hey, this is wrong what happened to you. Its important to speak up. Do you want to write up an affidavit? Some of those signed affidavits ended up central to the state hearings in Raleigh. It was Democrats around the county who did this, not just PAC members. But those affidavits gotten by Bladen County Improvement members, they were key, a big reason why a new election was called, the special election, in which Democrat Dan McCready was given a second shot to win the district. But as the special election approached, McCready ignored the PAC. And I started to hear about it from Horace. A Democrat, trying to run in Bladen County who not only didnt seek an endorsement from the PAC, seemed to be actively avoiding it, like it was toxic. McCready didnt send money to the PAC for get out the vote. He hired his own people from outside to temporarily live and work in Bladen County. And Horace was offended. This wasnt how he was used to being treated.

archived recording (horace munn) Once McCready was granted a new election, all of a sudden, he dont want to talk to me. He didnt want to be close to Cogdell.

zoe chace

Horace says Cogdell told him about this one thing that happened a few months back. This big Democratic gathering of local politicos from across the 9th district to support the McCready campaign 

archived recording (horace munn) They were getting ready to take a picture of him with Cogdell. He stepped away.

zoe chace

McCready stepped away and avoided taking a picture with Cogdell, which can be a big deal at local campaign events. And then, according to Horace, McCready wouldnt talk to Cogdell when Cogdell approached him.

archived recording (horace munn) Cogdell, he had a conversation about how he could win election in Bladen County. He said, hey, you deal with my campaign person, who was a kid that didnt know anything about Bladen County. All right? When I found out he had treated Cogdell and I found out that he didnt want to put resources here so we can run his campaign here in Bladen County, he didnt want to deal with us, I called him.

zoe chace

Horace says he spoke to McCready on the phone.

archived recording (horace munn) And I told him how appalled I was at what he had done. I said, but I notice how you act as if we are inferior now. But when you wanted a new election, you came to us. And were the reason you have a new election. I said, from this point forward, dont ever deal with me again.

[music]

zoe chace

Horace takes tremendous pride in the voting block the PAC has built. He genuinely believes its hard for Democrats to get elected in this county without it. And now this Democrat, who Horace and the PAC had supported, was helping to stoke allegations against them by deliberately distancing himself from the group, acting like Bladen Improvement was beneath him. So Horace has decided, if Dan McCready doesnt have our back in public, we wont have his in this election. And in this way, without Horace seeing it, the cheating allegations hes been fending off from the outside would worm their way inside the PAC and start causing havoc. From Serial Productions, its The Improvement Association, a true story about election fraud. Im Zoe Chace.

archived recording (prentis benston) Good afternoon to everyone. Were going to go ahead and get started.

zoe chace

Prentis Benston, the former sheriff of Bladen County, calls the Bladen Improvement Associations monthly meeting to order. Were about a week out from the special election and pretty quickly, the agenda turns to elections-related business. Walking in, I feel a wary side-eyedness in the room, like in any group or office where theres been some behind the scenes drama lately, but you havent all been in a room together for a while. And now youre all meeting and looking at each other, like, are we going to talk about whats been going on, or what?

[side conversation]

The televised debate between the Dans, the congressional candidates, aired last night. So with that hovering over the meeting, Horace takes over.

archived recording (horace munn) This special election has turned out to be one of the most unique elections Ive been a part of.

zoe chace

He has news. The special election is considered tight. And apparently, in these last few weeks, someone from McCreadys campaign has started calling members of the PAC to ask them to help out with the election.

archived recording (horace munn) But evidently, whoever is calling, theyre working their way around me. So with that said, Im not sure where we stand right now with this election. I dont know why things are happening the way they happen. Its a situation there, like I say, Ive never experienced before.

zoe chace

Meaning, Ive never seen a Democrat politician blow us off like this and think they can win in Bladen County. Horace says, speaking just for me personally, as Horace, not as head of the organization, the way I feel 

archived recording (horace munn) If the individuals out here supporting in this campaign or the one running dont want our support, me personally, I think let them pull the red wagon.

zoe chace

Let them pull the red wagon. Means, you made your bed. Now lie in it. If someone wants our support, but wont approach us directly because theyre ashamed or embarrassed or whatever, screw them.

archived recording (horace munn) I think that this organization has been disrespected. Thats how I feel.

zoe chace

And with that, Horace hands it over to Cogdell, the storyteller of the two of them.

archived recording (michael cogdell) The only thing that I want 

zoe chace

Cogdell starts by saying he wishes the Democrat Dan McCready well and doesnt have a vendetta against anybody. But  and it goes from quiet to quiet. As Cogdell picks up speed, his story turns into a one man play, with him acting out the increasingly frantic phone calls hes been getting from the Democrats about getting out the vote for Dan McCready.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Im sitting in the house, 11, 12 oclock at night. And somebody called me, Mike, hey, I need your help. I said, what are you talking about? We got to get the vote out.

zoe chace

This guy is calling Cogdell, like, you know, do your get out the vote program that you guys do for Dan McCready.

archived recording (michael cogdell) We got plenty of money for gas and all kind of stuff. I said, what are you talking about? Well, we got some money. You can do some work, if you want to haul people to the polls and do what you need to do. I say, you calling mighty late on this.

zoe chace

Cogdells, like, uh, no. The election is in about a week. And we havent mobilized at all to help McCready, because you guys didnt want us to do that. If youd given us money for gas stipends and food, wed have people knocking on doors and working the polls. Its a whole machine. We know how to crank up our machine. But the machines not cranked. And were not inclined to crank it for you now.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Then I get another phone call. We got plenty of money, man. Dont worry about the money. We can get you gas. We can come out and feed them, do a meal for them. We can do a party for them. We got plenty money.

zoe chace

Cogdell says he reminded this guy that McCready had chosen to hire other people to get out the vote in Bladen, outsiders. So the Bladen Improvement PAC was, yeah, sitting this one out.

archived recording (michael cogdell) So he said, well, what are we going to do? I said, well, the people he gave the money for need to be trying to figure that out. Thats not for me to think out. Because Im not going to lose my sleep and time running at him, starting the next couple of days. But I will encourage people to go vote and tell them to go vote. But as far as me running around, chasing somebody, talking about lining up some gas, and doing this, and doing that  they told me they had that all figured out. And I left it just that way.

zoe chace

Prentis and Horace are nodding their heads. Cogdells wife Barbara is nodding next to them. The purpose of this whole part of the meeting seems to be to rally this room behind him and Horace, to get everyone to sign off on Horace and Cogdells grudge against McCready, and their decision to have the PAC sit on its hands rather than help them. But not everyone here is with Cogdell. Minnie Price, the treasurer of the PAC, breaks in.

archived recording (minnie price) Are we, as Democrats in here, are we supporting McCready? archived recording (michael cogdell) I support him.

zoe chace

The three guys who basically run this meeting, Horace, Cogdell and Prentis, all jump at once to answer the question and, it seems, try to keep her from putting out a whole new perspective on this. But Minnie pushes through that.

archived recording (minnie price) Well, I volunteered. I made phone calls. Ive been down there four different times. I made phone calls. And I plan to go back again. archived recording (michael cogdell) Minnie, please  archived recording (minnie price) Im not looking for any money. archived recording (michael cogdell) Minnie, please, let me understand this. archived recording (minnie price) Well, we need a Democrat in Washington, D.C., not a Republican. archived recording (horace munn) When the guy talked to me, I said he missed  he made a misperception of what he was doing. We know how to get the vote out. And we can get people to go to the polls. archived recording (minnie price) Yeah, but if  archived recording (michael cogdell) But wait a minute. Wait a minute. Maam, let me hear  let me tell you for a minute. I understand, maam. Go ahead. archived recording (minnie price) Well, I was talking and then he interrupted me. archived recording (michael cogdell) You finish. You finish. archived recording (minnie price) I was talking. He interrupted me. archived recording (michael cogdell) You finish. You finish. archived recording (minnie price) OK. What Im saying is this. Im making phone calls to people to support Dan McCready. And I am not working for any money. Im volunteering. This is my fifth time or being down there making phone calls to people that have not been out to vote. And if Dan McCready said that he does not want to be associated with the Bladen County Improvement, I dont blame him. Because our name is out there. Its in Raleigh. If Im trying to win an election, I dont want to be associated with somebody thats been accused of doing something while Im trying to win a campaign. And we need to, as Democrats, we need to support the Democratic  archived recording Hold on. Now  archived recording (minnie price)  let me finish talking. archived recording Let her finish. archived recording (minnie price) Let me finish talking.

zoe chace

Theres more interrupting. But Minnie says she wants to make this clear. Were damaged goods right now because of our association with that whole fraud hearing up in Raleigh. Take yourselves out of this. Put your egos aside. Look at the bigger fight.

archived recording (minnie price) And I just think that we as an organization, whether we get any money or not from him, that as Democrats that we need to support him.

zoe chace

Horace responds in a way I think he was hoping not to at the beginning, like, mad.

archived recording (horace munn) I solicit funding for this organization to operate. I cannot  it takes a budget of about $9,000 to hire workers to do early voting and to hire workers to work the polls every day during elections. This organization cannot fund 

zoe chace

Horace is shouting this budget information at Minnie, the treasurer of the PAC. His leadership is being questioned here.

archived recording (horace munn) So 

zoe chace

You think we should help McCready, he says, even though his campaign didnt give us any money for get out the vote operation? Didnt think that was important to shore up that vote here? You think people in this poor county should work for free for Dan McCready, just because this dude is a Democrat?

archived recording (minnie price) Im not talking about that, Horace. Im the treasurer. So I know what you do. Im the treasurer. I handle the money. When you get it in, it comes to me. I know. Like I stated before, if he does not want to be associated with Bladen County Improvement, dont worry about it. archived recording (horace munn) So you think its OK for him to not want to be associated with the organization, then come get the members and say, I want you to work with me, but not explain whats the issue? archived recording I think what Miss Minnie is trying to say is that we should vote Democrat. That hes the Democrat candidate. And that we should vote for him.

zoe chace

Another woman jumps in to try to calm things down. Like, hey, were all Democrats here, right? Were on the same side. But then, that makes Cogdell explode.

archived recording (michael cogdell) Yo. Yo. Yo. Wait a minute. Now wait a minute. Youre saying something here that aint making no sense at all. Just because youre a Democrat and you cant deal with what my perspective is, doesnt mean I have to vote for you. archived recording Amen.

[interposing voices]

zoe chace

People who agree with Cogdell start laughing, and yes anding, and it gets kind of chaotic. Someone else says, arent we all Democrats? Cogdells saying, you could be a Democrat and be in the Ku Klux Klan. Doesnt mean I have to vote for you. Thats how Hillary Clinton lost her race in 2016, he says, by just assuming that all the Black people would turn out and vote for her. You cant just support Democrats. Democrats dont necessarily have Black voters best interests in mind. They need to work for our vote, respect us, and deliver on our issues. And thats what the PAC is for, to hold people accountable to the Black voters here.

[background conversation]

[music]

Up until this meeting, I thought the cheating allegations were a problem for the PAC outside this room. I hadnt realized how they could pit everyone inside it against each other, even though the allegations werent true. None of them were indicted or even under investigation. Not long after this, someone abruptly moves to adjourn. And the meeting ends. People leave in a hurry. Theres not some big decision reached, no vote by the group on whether to support McCready, just people storming off to their cars. The one PAC person left after everyones fled to the parking lot is Minnie Price. Shes still fuming about Horace and Cogdell. Shes, like, while these guys are posturing about how the Democratic candidate is ignoring Black people, this Republican candidate, Dan Bishop, is going to get in there and be another vote for Trump. Which, in Minnies view, is, like, really not good for Black people.

archived recording (minnie price) We dont need that. And I listened to that debate last night, mm mm. No. And when he brings up something to Dan McCready about Bladen County Improvement Association, no. Hes doing exactly what Trumps want him to do. And hes going to support Trumps agenda. We dont need that. Were going to be back in slavery again. No. Were just celebrating 400 years? Were going to be back there. Were going to be back there with Trump in Washington, D.C.

zoe chace

She sees Horace and Cogdells whole thing with not supporting McCready as just petty revenge for Cogdells hurt feelings from that picture McCready supposedly wouldnt take. She doesnt buy at all the principled argument that standing back is going to teach Democrats a lesson about taking the Black vote for granted. And she totally gets McCreadys calculation about the PAC, that the PAC is damaged goods.

archived recording (minnie price) I cant blame him. I dont blame him at all. If I was running to try to win an election, I wouldnt want to be associated with Bladen County Improvement Association, either. Because our name, the Bladen County Improvement PAC name is in Raleigh. It is out there. And people got that in their mind, that we did something wrong. Even though we did not do anything, they didnt find anything wrong that we did, our name is out there.

zoe chace

It turns out Minnie has much bigger issues with Horace and Cogdell than the McCready thing. Which should worry Horace and Cogdell, because Minnie, with her big leather briefcase and her ever present notebook, is a political force in Bladen County, all on her own, separate from the PAC. Shes 77-years-old, secretary of the local NAACP chapter, and shes a very busy person. She goes to every town meeting, every county commission meeting, every board of education meeting. She runs this nonprofit. And she founded this intense charter school, the one and only public military charter school in the state. Thats where were meeting, actually, in that school building. Occasionally, a bugle blurts out, telling cadets to change classes. Minnie knows people in Bladen. She has influence. And Minnie will say how she feels about something or someone. And shes been mad at Horace, she tells me. We talked about it a little later. This is what she said to him not long before that meeting.

archived recording (minnie price) I told him, you are a dictator.

zoe chace

Well, the group of them, Horace, Cogdell, Prentis and their buddy, Arthur Bullock, another county commissioner.

archived recording (minnie price) They have this controlling thing, Horace and Cogdell. They want to control everything. When you in a meeting, you dont want to be the one that people think you always causing a problem about something. But it just got to the point where we just got fed up with sitting here with stuff being shoved down our throats.

zoe chace

The McCready thing is just the latest in a string of decisions that Minnie felt the members had no real say in. It was her breaking point. Her view for the last few years is that the four of those guys have been treating the PAC like their fiefdom. The members are basically foot soldiers that the guys expect will do as theyre told. Minnie says it seems to her that the four of them get together before Bladen Improvement meetings and decide what the Bladen Improvement will do, whom it will support, whom it will never support, who needs to wait their turn. The strategy stuff, like, were not doing absentee ballots this year, or we are. The way Minnie describes it, when she joined the organization, it felt more connected to the community, more about uplift. She says the PAC would educate voters. It would do outreach to inform Black people in Bladen County who the candidates were, who might have their best interests at heart. Horace and Cogdell, she thinks, have curved inward, just talk to each other about whats in the best interests of Black voters and then try to steamroll everyone else into going along.

zoe chace In the beginning, 15 years ago, you liked the idea of the PAC. minnie price It was great. zoe chace Tell me. Tell me about that part. minnie price It was a different set of people. Horace was not the president. His daddy used to be involved. And there are people who are saying that if his daddy only knew what he was doing back here now, hed be turning over in his grave. He wouldnt like it at all. Because he was different. He was not like Horace. zoe chace Different how? minnie price Nicer. He was, you know, help people.

zoe chace

I ran Minnies complaints past Horace. He wasnt that bothered by them. Said she was just blowing off steam. I will say, Horace does help people. Hell do unasked for favors. Hes a generous neighbor. But anyway, Minnies fed up. Shes gotten to the point where shes questioning the PACs core goal of a unified Black vote  if unity is just code for do whatever Horace says.

zoe chace Do you think that its possible that the PAC, the PACs power is in how many people vote along the same lines. The PACs powers that sample ballot. minnie price Yeah. zoe chace Do you think that, with this kind of division, that the PAC could lose its power. minnie price I think so. And I think its losing its power. I think so. And its really because of Horace. I think it is because of Horace and the way that he does things. I think so. Yeah. zoe chace Do you think there will be some kind of a loss to this county if this PAC falls apart? minnie price No. I dont. zoe chace Why not?

[bugle playing]

minnie price Because a lot of people dont understand it, anyway. A lot of people dont understand what the PAC is anyway and what they are doing. zoe chace But you do. minnie price I understand. Yeah, I do.

zoe chace

I wanted to know if Minnie minded, basically, that by criticizing the PAC or not supporting the PAC, shed actually be helping the white political interests around here, too.

zoe chace I think some white people are scared of the PAC because of Black political power. minnie price Yeah. They are. Thats why they tried to make that report, to try to find something against the PAC. Thats what they did it for. But they didnt find anything wrong.

zoe chace

She means the accusations against the PAC at the state hearing.

zoe chace Well, if the PAC falls apart, though, I mean, those white people will be happy. minnie price They will be. They will be. Because they want it  they want it to fall apart. zoe chace Well, how does that make you feel? minnie price You know, it doesnt make me feel bad. It really doesnt. It doesnt make me feel bad. Because maybe itll make the people thats involved in it think about what they did, think about what they are doing, to do things different.

zoe chace

Minnie, after years of frustration, thinks that if the Bladen Improvement PAC loses some power, well, so be it. Might be good. Maybe thatll teach Horace and those guys a lesson. The actual day of the do over election, the special election to elect a new Congressman in Bladens district, it was pretty quiet, sunny, breezy, slow. The results were in early. And it wasnt close.

archived recording (tanya rivera) Hello, everyone. Im Tanya Rivera. Thank you for joining us. Republican Dan Bishop has won North Carolinas special election. Bishop will now represent the states 9th congressional district. This red district will remain in GOP hands.

zoe chace

Democrat Dan McCready lost to the Republican, Dan Bishop. And there were no signs of election fraud this time.

archived recording (tanya rivera) President Trump held a rally for Bishop the night before the election. Bishop linked  horace munn You know what? zoe chace Hang on. Let me get my phone ready.

zoe chace

Horace called me after results were in. I was driving.

zoe chace Tell the truth. Are you a little bit excited that Dan McCready lost? horace munn Well, I dont want to say  Im not going to say Im excited. I cant use that word. zoe chace OK. horace munn Theres another word I could use. I feel vindicated. zoe chace Yeah.

zoe chace

Vindicated. Horace has a pretty clear analysis for why McCready lost.

horace munn What he did was he distanced himself from the Blacks, he was willing to take a chance on losing a few Black votes to get a few white votes. But they always think the Blacks, well, they gonna go along. zoe chace Theyll just take you for granted?

zoe chace

Its not like Horace wanted a Republican to win the seat. But then, again, it is kind of what Horace wanted. He says to me, am I gloating?

horace munn Am I gloating? zoe chace Yeah, are you? horace munn Hm. I dont know. But am I upset about the election? No.

[laughs]

No. Im not. And the next person from Bladen County that want to disrespect people, the same thing will happen. Theyre not going to get the vote.

[turn signal clicking]

I would rather lose the battle and win the war.

zoe chace

The battle is just a congressional seat. The war is whether those politicians are listening to and accountable to Black voters. And the way that happens in Bladen County, thats through the Bladen Improvement PAC and its voting bloc. Thats the lesson Horace thinks McCready learned this election. The hard way, hed say.

horace munn We refuse to be compromised by anyone. We refuse. Yeah. Yeah. Im fully satisfied with the election. And hey, you know, sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But sometimes, youre made a fool.

[laughter]

zoe chace

Many months later, I spoke to Dan McCready. He admitted, yes, he distanced himself from the PAC. I had to, he said. It didnt look good because of all these public accusations. I was advised, even by people in Bladen, not to work with the Bladen Improvement PAC. McCready said he didnt remember an angry call with Horace, when Horace told him never to reach out to him again. He was upset to hear, now, that members of the PAC were mad at him. Did the PACs lack of support cost him the election, though? McCready didnt think so. In the special election, McCready lost by 4,000 votes. Its very hard to imagine the PAC, who only operate in Bladen County, conquering that margin. But the math doesnt really matter, not here, in terms of how the results of this election still exploded things in Bladen County. There were Black Democrats who were really mad about how Horace and Cogdell handled the Dan McCready race. Minnie and a group of seven or eight others, mainly women, quit the PAC after that meeting where they got in a fight. But Horace and Cogdell werent chagrined by that at all, the opposite. For them, if the feeling was out there that because they stayed out of the race, McCready lost, good. That proves their point that McCready shouldnt take the Black vote for granted. They felt the McCready result confirmed how well they knew their county and knew the voters they were trying to lead, that they were on the right track, basically. And so they turned their attention to their next political fight, to try something theyd never tried before, a pretty major power shift if they could pull it off. If anyone could pull it off, it would be these two. That was their attitude. After proclaiming that McCready had taken the Black vote for granted, Horace and Cogdell walked right into that same trap. Thats after the break. Now Minnie Prices position on Horace and Cogdell is theyre bullies and theyre out of touch. Horace and Cogdell, of course, feel like, no. They are the ones who get it, in a place where some people, like Minnie, do not understand how to build Black political power. Theyre putting their skills to the test in this little petri dish of an election that hits just two months after the McCready race was over and done. Horace and Cogdell are working to change the leadership of the county seat, Elizabethtown. Three seats on the Elizabethtown council are up for grabs. This isnt about the county, just one town inside the county. And I only understood why Cogdell in particular would choose to invest in whats actually a very tiny local race when he decided to drive me around Elizabethtown one day.

michael cogdell Let me see what time it is. I got  come on. Im going to ride you around. Get in the car. Im going to ride you around. zoe chace Yeah. Are you sure? michael cogdell Im going to show you what Im talking about right quick. zoe chace OK.

zoe chace

Bladens little towns are mostly  a highway runs through, alongside is a gas station, a Hardees, maybe a peanut plant, a dollar store, and then youre out of town  America, basically. But Elizabethtown is the county seat thats got the most going on. Around 3,800 people live here. Its downtown is a big T, not just the one road running through. I can sum up Cogdells tour of Elizabethtown pretty quickly. Its about who owns what.

horace munn All right. Here we go.

zoe chace

Four white families own the major commercial plats in Elizabethtown, the Greens, the Crosses, the Clarks and the Campbells.

horace munn All of this stuff you see right here, the Campbells own all that, that building, that building, that block right there. zoe chace The Campbells own this block? horace munn All these businesses that you see right here.

zoe chace

We head down Poplar Street, one of the two main streets. A handful of older businesses, then KFC, Taco Bell, Bojangles, McDonalds and then Giorgios, the only real restaurant to speak of where you can actually get a drink.

michael cogdell This right here is owned by the Clarks, everything on both sides of the street.

zoe chace

Its only five square miles, Elizabethtown, and it takes less than five minutes for Cogdell to sweep his hand over it. You go down and around, out towards the bypass, which is actually named after a Campbell and were at the other Main Street, Broad Street.

michael cogdell Now you look at this all this stuff inside this here, where Walmart at, and all we cross over there, and the restaurants in over there, that belong to the Greens.

zoe chace

Cogdell says the four families, theyve owned the land for years. Which is his main point. By owning much of the commercial property in Elizabethtown, these four white families have a lot of control over the commercial economy, what businesses get to come downtown, what kind of jobs are available. Meanwhile, in the Black part of town, a neighborhood called Newtown, almost none of the land is zoned commercial, so people cant open businesses. Theres not much investment, generally. Cogdells, like, take a look at these messed up roads. Thats how you know Black people live over here. Horace and Cogdells vision for the election is simple. Get Black people to vote, a lot more than usual. And then, change the zoning ordinances in Elizabethtown  Black-owned, thriving businesses, serving Black customers in the Black part of town. Cogdell believes its possible because of how many Black people could be voting here.

michael cogdell All this is Black district. Everything through heres Black. zoe chace How many  whats the ratio of Black to white people in Elizabethtown? michael cogdell Theres more Black registered voters in Elizabethtown than there is white. Its not much, but its more Black than white. zoe chace I just didnt know it was a majority Black town. michael cogdell Yeah. Majority of the registered voters, theres more registered voters Black than there is white. zoe chace But the local, like, the mayor and stuff, are they white? michael cogdell All white. And its a seven member board, six members and the mayor. Five of them are white and two are Black. I mean, it should be the very reverse, if you voted along demographics. zoe chace Its just not enough people are voting? michael cogdell They just wont vote. They dont deal with a municipal election. Now you get  most of the times you move people in the areas during general election, presidential elections. They dont usually move on municipal election.

zoe chace

So this is their big plan. Flip the town council. There are two Black members on the town council already. And three Black women have declared their candidacy, running against three white incumbents. The women are all new to politics. So Horace and Cogdell are very involved in their campaigns. The PAC, the organization, isnt even working on this as a group, just Horace and Cogdell on their own. If the women win, Black people will finally have the majority power somewhere in Bladen County. And five days before the Elizabethtown council election 

michael cogdell Zoe! zoe chace How are you doing?

zoe chace

During early voting, I meet up with Cogdell and Horace at a small campaign event. Theyve set up a table and a tent. And some of the candidates are sitting around. Its a barbecue. Cogdells enormous smoker is here. Its on wheels and attaches to the back of Cogdells truck. You can smoke the meat when youre driving which, of course, he has. I drove up in a truck, a rental. And Cogdell teases me when I walk over. Calls me a redneck. Says all I need is a gun rack on the back. Cogdells a wisecracker. He likes to poke. And with me, its usually related to being the only white person around, which always manages to tongue tie me. He launches right into a joke about lynching.

michael cogdell You get Horace, and you can get killed going back down East Arcadia. Every time you see him, hes standing here, talking to a white woman. They going to have him hanging up in the tree. Youre going to be doing the story, Black Man Lynched at East Arcadia. horace munn And Zoes going to say, I told you you need to watch yourself.

[laughter]

michael cogdell Got a modern day lynching. Donald Trump will say, you got to lynch. zoe chace This is some Southern jokes.

[laughter]

But I dont like it.

zoe chace

Hes doing it for Horace, to make him laugh. Horace can be stiff, withdrawn. But now with Cogdell, hes easily delighted. Hes energized. I can see how maybe they didnt even mean to start making decisions outside the PAC together. They just talk so much and big each other up so much.

horace munn Lord.

zoe chace

Theyre excited about this election plan. Cogdell tells me, when he first talked to Horace about backing these women for town council, he pitched it like, look at Ferguson, Missouri, where Michael Brown was shot. Horace and Cogdell describe to me how, after that happened, the Black citizens of Ferguson looked around. Like, were the majority here. But 

michael cogdell All the elected officials were white. And they would run the court system, legal system, police system, the county system. And they was out  it was two to one Blacks to every white. So what Ferguson has done now, they got a Black mayor, they got a Black chief of police, a Black attorney  everything. They found out the power was in the vote. horace munn They did the same thing were doing right now. Basically, educate people on the importance of their vote. michael cogdell Its important to go vote.

zoe chace

These two are trying to pull what they see as a Ferguson in Elizabethtown. Turn out Black voters, and flip the leadership from white to Black. This is the early voting period. And this whole campaign event is basically a place to eat and hang out while keeping track of turnout. Horace and Cogdells assumption is Black voters will vote for the Black candidates and white voters will vote for the white incumbents. Increase the number of Black voters by even a bit over the last election, and the women can win. So all day, Horace and Cogdell are taking calls and doing math. How many votes for us and how many votes for them?

michael cogdell Do you think you can give us a rough scenario?

zoe chace

Their friend Arthur, whos been over at the Board of Elections, comes back to the barbecue with the latest round of numbers, public information. Reports on whos voted early already.

arthur I got three more pages to go through.

zoe chace

Arthur sits and goes over the list of voters, trying to estimate how many Black people versus how many white people have voted so far. Sort of crowdsourcing it, with people sitting around a table under a tent, chatting about who on the list is probably Black, whos probably white, based on who lives where.

arthur What white people live at 800 Peanut Road? speaker You got the Johnsons on Peanut Road. arthur Peanut Road, not Peanut Plant Road, Peanut Road. speaker Whats the difference? arthur Peanut Plant and Peanuts different. speaker Whats the difference? arthur Peanut Road in town. Peanut Plant Road in the county. speaker Theyre on the Peanut Plant Road. arthur Theyre on Plant Peanut Road. speaker Havent seen you in a while. How you been?

[chatter]

zoe chace

If this election was a test of their skills, election night did not look good. Horace, Prentis, Arthur and the three women who are running for town council are sitting in the Board of Elections building watching a big computer screen at the front of the room. The numbers keep going in the wrong direction. The women lose by a lot. Dwight Sheppard, Democratic poll watcher, guy who makes everything thats going on in elections in Bladen his business, hes in the back of the room watching the returns. So I ask him what hes seeing. He whispers. He doesnt want to be overheard.

dwight shepard I can tell you that some of the people they thought were going to vote for those three ladies didnt vote for them.

zoe chace

Some of the people they thought were going to vote for those three ladies didnt vote for them, hes saying. When I ask him why, he says I really should go talk to Miss Minnie, meaning Minnie Price, the former PAC treasurer who argued with Horace and Cogdell and then quit.

dwight sheppard Miss Minnie could answer that question better than I can. zoe chace OK. Ill ask her. dwight sheppard Shell help you. zoe chace Uh huh.

zoe chace

Minnie is sitting in the very front row by herself, her own little island. Shes taking notes on the results in a little notebook.

zoe chace So you have a theory about what happened here? minnie price Hm? zoe chace Do you have a theory about what happened here? minnie price Do I have a theory? zoe chace Yeah.

[laughs]

minnie price No. Im just glad it happened this way. zoe chace Why? minnie price Because. People that was running was running for the wrong reasons. And take that off.

zoe chace

She motions for me to stop recording. Minnie has a few thoughts she doesnt want to say tonight, but shes told them to me on the record since. First, she thinks Cogdells redevelopment vision is a pipe dream. Theres never going to be a thriving Black downtown like there was when we grew up, she said to me. What we need to do is give Black children here the skills and education they need to leave this place. It makes her mad the way he talks, like hes selling the voters a bill of goods. But also, he just makes her really mad. Her main critique of what happened here, though, she just didnt think the three women were qualified to run. They werent involved in stuff, she says. They almost never went to town council meetings or anything. Minnie goes to almost all of them. They had no clear agenda. They didnt campaign much. Probably because they were new to it. But I would say, most importantly, she thought they were being used by Cogdell and Horace as just Black faces on the town council who they could control. Minnies take makes sense to me. I interviewed two of the women running. They were really nice and known in the community. One of them hosts a great gospel show on local radio. And they all definitely wanted change in Etown. But they seemed really green. And it really did seem to me like it was Cogdells vision that was driving this whole thing forward, way more than the candidates. Some people in Etown felt like something off was going on, like Horace and Cogdell were interlopers, bigfooting into an election where they didnt belong. Horace, for example, lives half an hour away from Etown. Cogdell lives just outside the city limits. Why were they so deep in the mix?

archived recording (michael cogdell)  of people that look like us that were minorities looking like you guys. You can do the 

zoe chace

I stopped by Cogdells office a few blocks away. He and Horace and the candidates and some others are there. Horace and Cogdell seemed legit taken aback. Cogdell is seated on a stool in front of the group, addressing everybody like a professor and a lecturer. As he puts it to the room, we didnt lose because of white voters. It was people that look like us that took us out.

archived recording (michael cogdell) And it wasnt them. It was us. Because I was standing there. It wasnt  dont get mad with them. It was us.

[chatter]

zoe chace Wait, Horace. Can I tape this? horace munn You can tape it. zoe chace OK.

zoe chace

I called Horace the next day on my ride home from the airport to see how he explained this loss to himself. More Black voters did vote in the municipal election this time. But the Black candidates hed backed still lost. Horace had a few explanations for this. Partly, he thought, this loss was a backlash over Dan McCreadys loss. Black voters who are mad at him and Cogdell for not helping a Democrat beat a Republican. They voted for the white candidates. Horace also blames the results on class divisions among Black people. He says there are upper class Black people, sometimes he calls them the elites, who are fine working with the white political establishment in town, who gain from it, and who voted accordingly. And Horace suggested one other reason for what happened, a reason that quite frankly struck me as pretty wild. In light of all the accusations of vote buying that have been aimed at the PAC, he thinks some voters were getting free stuff from one of the white candidates. Essentially, they were bought off.

horace munn  to win. And I dont know for sure, but Im willing to bet you that some of them Black people getting free stuff that you can never imagine. zoe chace You think? horace munn Yeah. Give me your vote. Get what you want. I cant prove it. zoe chace OK.

horace munn^

But 

zoe chace

Of course, Horace cant prove any such thing. Just like in myriad elections before it, theres no proof anyone was buying votes in the municipal election. I also had a theory for why Black voters in Bladen may not have voted the way Horace expected them to vote. I broached it with him, gingerly.

zoe chace I just think, like, maybe the Black voters  its, like, you know, its like weve talked about before. You know, everybodys not the same. They dont see it all the same way. You know, they dont just have to be bought off to see it different from you. They might just actually see it different. horace munn Well, you dont have to be bought off to see it. Some are bought off. Others are reaping the benefit. If you can reap the benefit of something for yourself and not care about the community, then same thing. Youve sold your soul.

zoe chace

He doubled down. I did, too.

zoe chace But isnt it possible they could have just wanted something different from what you wanted? horace munn I dont think so. How can you  how can you live in a community thats destitute, nothings coming in, all your buildings and your community are dilapidated, no fund is coming to the community. Theyre all spent in the white area, nothing in the Black area. So how can it be? What is it? Do you think the Blacks just vote to say I want to be poor and live in a poor area without any development and I want to support the whites because they are right? Thats bullshit. Its not true. Its unfounded. Its something else. Think about it. Open your mind up and look at the whole picture.

zoe chace

Its always zero sum with Horace when it comes to politics. Ive learned that. If youre not with him, youre against him. And if youre against him, youre wrong. But this is more than that. What Horace is trying to get me to see, the whole picture, as he says, its his understanding of not just this one election, but everything that goes on in Bladen. Whether its white politicians benefiting from Black people divided by class, or white people trading goods for Black votes, theres a grand, unifying explanation for all of it. And Horace believes hes the one who sees it all, like Neo in The Matrix. But what if you dont see things the way Horace does? And youre just as determined as he is? And youre influential and have a lot of connections and think its time for new leadership in Bladen? Well, then youd be Minnie Price.

archived recording (minnie price) If its going to help, I dont care if I triple split the Black vote. Why does he think that he could be the only Black running for something?

zoe chace
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Its been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Todd Goldstein is proof of that.

Goldstein, a Chagrin Falls businessman, has created Whoa! Dough, edible cookie-dough bars that are made with ingredients that are gluten-free certified via GFCO, non-GMO Project verified and OU Kosher certified. They contain no dairy, soy or egg products. Flavors are chocolate chip, sugar cookie, sugar cookie with sprinkles, peanut butter, peanut-butter chocolate chip and brownie-batter chocolate chip.

It really is out of necessity, finding an area of need in your own life and creating something that helps you and others, he said, adding he was missing that healthy, indulgent treat.

Thats because 10 years ago, Goldstein was diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance. He and his wife have three boys. The oldest - born in 2015 and 2017 - have gluten allergies. The youngest, born last year, probably has gluten intolerance, he said. Thats where the necessity serving as the driving force came in for his culinary creation.

So he asked himself: Is there an opportunity to create a better-for-you snack that everyone can enjoy? he said. Who doesnt love cookie dough?

Goldsteins parents owned a restaurant growing up  I used to eat as much cookie dough as I could and then Id get sick, he says  and he studied business management at Johnson & Wales University. In 2008, he founded LaunchHouse, a business-mentoring company that focuses on startups and entrepreneurship. After Goldsteins diagnosis came along and his sons were born, he recalled how much he liked cookie dough.

Oh my gosh, I loved cookie dough, he said. There wasnt anything that resembled it.

So he worked on the treat. And even though he has experience in the food industry  he is a partner in a food business and investor in others - he stumbled a bit before working out the kinks.

Im not completely foreign to it, but no matter how much you think you know, when youre starting from scratch you dont avoid the pitfalls, he said. You still get hit with every hurdle. You try to avoid the mistakes; you still make em. Thats just part of the learning lesson.

The result is the rhyming-named healthy, indulgent snack that officially launched in late 2020.

Each 1.6-ounce bar contains five grams of protein and are made from chickpea flour, a source of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Whoa! Dough is sweetened with allulose, a low-calorie sugar. The bars  which retail for $2.49  have 140 to 170 calories.

Local distribution includes Heinens, Miles Farmers Market, Natures Oasis, Luckys and Plum markets. Deals with other local stores are in the works. Goldstein has his eye on broad expansion; the snack will be in Tops markets in the northeastern part of the country, and he even shipped his product overseas today, he said.

The goal, said Goldstein, who grew up in Lyndhurst and went to Brush High School, is to bring healthy cookie dough to the masses.

As much as necessity helped lead to the creation of the snack, a bit of nostalgia also contributed.

That feeling, when baking at home, youre typically licking the spoon, Goldstein said. When you have a gluten allergy its really tough to do that. The nice thing about our product is you can. It gives that feeling of being at home, licking the spoon.

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 7:05 a.m. Wednesdays 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.
Hillsong Church pauses Dallas campus after completing investigation of former pastors

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Former Hillsong Dallas Lead Pastor Reed Bogard and his wife, Jess, were under investigation for leadership failures when they abruptly resigned in January, Hillsong Church Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston said Saturday while announcing a pause in the operation of the Texas campus.

Early in our process, the Bogards decided to resign from Hillsong Church. We accepted their resignations and acknowledged the time that the Bogards spent establishing our Dallas location, Houston and his wife, Bobbie, told members of the church launched in 2019 in an email cited by The Daily Mail.

It was very disappointing to learn that, while some of you experienced the Bogards as dedicated pastors, many others have experienced leadership that failed to meet the commitments and standards of Hillsong Church, the Houstons continued. I want to be the first to apologize to those who felt disappointed or hurt, and I pray that God does a swift work in bringing peace and healing.

The Houstons said Reed Bogard, who along with his wife allegedly used church funds lavishly, had been suspended from his pastoral duties as complaints that he failed to uphold the standards of Hillsong leadership were being investigated.

In announcing his resignation, Reed Bogard, 38, said he and his 35-year-old wife: Just really feel that its time to transition off of our staff and take some time to remain healthy, get healthy and to really see what this next season holds for us.

Houston also agreed.

Reed and I have been talking over a period of time, and we both agree that it would be a perfect time for them to come to a new season in their life, he said at the time.

However, the leader of the Australia-based global megachurch assured members of the young Dallas congregation that they would eventually get new lead pastors, and they were not going to be forsaken.

Several factors worsened by the coronavirus pandemic worked against the church in fulfilling that promise, the Houstons said.

As we were establishing Hillsong Church in Dallas, the pandemic swept across the globe and quickly changed the shape of our growing church in the city, the Houstons explained. Many factors, all amplified by the pandemic, have resulted in the difficult decision to pause all operations at Hillsong Dallas for now.

The Bogards resigned less than two months after former Hillsong NYC pastor Carl Lentz was fired last November over leadership issues and moral failures, including being unfaithful to his wife.

Hillsong Church stated at the time that it launched an independent investigation "into the inner workings of Hillsong NYC/ East Coast" after hearing concerns from people affiliated with those churches.

Former Hillsong NYC congregant Jenna Babbitt, 27, told The New York Post she provided childcare services for several pastors, including the Bogards, and revealed how church expense cards were used for personal items, like purchasing food for the kids in her care.

The exploitation of free labor while these pastors are making bank is just crazy to me, Babbitt, who spent months working without pay for the Bogards, told the newspaper in January.

Brandon Walker, 28, who helped the Bogards plant Hillsong Dallas, told the New York Post that he witnessed a lot of toxic activity, including $1,100 per day Airbnb rentals.

There was a lot of eating out, a lot of Airbnbs  very nice Airbnbs rented for guests and staff who were between homes, Walker alleged.

Walker recalled one day while he was out with Jess Bogard and two of his friends, she bought them matching $100 jackets before taking them out to dinner at a pretty nice, pretty expensive Italian restaurant called North Italia.

I think the bill was $600 to $700, Walker recalled. It was just, like, Wow. [She] just dropped over $1,000 for no reason.

He also claimed that when money was used on volunteers, it was done manipulatively.

I was paid once for one job, Walker said, recalling how Reed Bogart once gave him some $600 as a favor when he needed some cash.

Thats a tactic a lot of these pastors use to keep their secrets, he charged. Buying us expensive gifts, giving us money, like, I got your back, so when I need you to have my back, this is something to remember.
Pilgrims carried out rituals at the Islamic sacred site of Kaaba in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca on Monday ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Saudi Arabia's moon sighting committee had announced that day that the month of Ramadan would begin on Tuesday.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink between sunrise to sunset.

Usually, Kaaba is packed with worshippers throughout the holy month but numbers were limited on Monday due to strict coronavirus precautions.

The Kaaba is a place of pilgrimage that able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lives.

Millions of people visit it every year, most of them from abroad.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Our ineptitude and ignorance, and worse, our selfish utilitarianism must not endanger others. As the WHO says sagely, health is physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and as a resource for living a full lif e .





by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne

Montreal

On World Health Day, 7 April 2021, we will be inviting you to join a new campaign to build a fairer, healthier world World Health Organization

There are four key words in this clarion call of the WHO: new campaign; fairer; healthier. This invitation for a new campaign seemingly suggests that there has been an old campaign. If this be so, what happened to it? why do we need a fairer campaign? Again, given that a fairer campaign would mean that there was a fair campaign, wasnt that fair campaign good enough? and why so? And how could we attain a healthier world?







When one reads the web page of WHO further, one finds that the WHO is suggesting that the basic premise underlining this call for a fairer, healthier world is because [A]s COVID-19 has highlighted, some people are able to live healthier lives and have better access to health services than others - entirely due to the conditions in which they are born, grow, live, work and age. This is an ineluctable fact and WHO is absolutely correct. Also, it must be mentioned that throughout its tenure as the specialized agency of the United Nations on matters of global , health WHO has diligently addressed public health issues right up to the current pandemic and continues to do so. If WHO did not exist, it would have to be invented.

Arguably, with the mention of COVID-19, WHO can justify its call for a new campaign to build a fairer, healthier world. WHO has said the right thing but seemingly for the wrong reason Heres why.

The thrust of WHOs call hinges basically on its statement that [A]ll over the world, some groups struggle to make ends meet with little daily income, have poorer housing conditions and education, fewer employment opportunities, experience greater gender inequality, and have little or no access to safe environments, clean water and air, food security and health services. This leads to unnecessary suffering, avoidable illness, and premature death. And it harms our societies and economies. This is not only unfair: it is preventable. Thats why we are calling on leaders to ensure that everyone has living and working conditions that are conducive to good health. At the same time, we urge leaders to monitor health inequities, and to ensure that all people are able to access quality health services when and where they need them.

One cannot contest this truism. This is a well-worn platitude and WHO must encourage leaders to monitor health inequities, not only from a local perspective but also in a global context. In this regard, leaders must be commended for their support for research and development which led to an unimaginably short time taken for the vaccine rollout. We are seemingly in good shape, if only we can see something insidious that is going on right in front of our eyes. The virus is mutating into variants at a rapid pace and is being facilitated by our own feckless insouciance.

Richard Gray, in an article on BBC (27 January 2021) titled This is how new Covid-19 variants are changing the pandemic reports: with almost every person it infects, the virus changes very subtly  picking up a letter in its genetic code here, another being deleted there or swapped for something different. These occur usually because of tiny errors as the virus takes over the cell's molecular machinery to copy itself. Most have little effect other than helping scientists to trace how the virus is spreading around the world. But occasionally a mutation occurs that alters how quickly the virus spreads, how infectious it might be or even the severity of the disease it causes.

This is leading to new variants of the virus emerging. The most recent of these  the South African and Brazilian variants  are already showing signs that the virus might be adapting to evade immunity in some people. Although many of the tests are still preliminary on these new Covid-19 variants, it is giving some clues about what might happen in the future.

Much more ominous is a prediction by a Brazilian doctor that the alarming rate at which the virus is spreading in Brazil mostly due to a flagrant disregard by the multitudes of the need to wear personal protection equipment and distance one another as prescribed by the scientific community, we can expect a rapid proliferation of new versions of variants. BBC has reported that: Brazilian public health institute Fiocruz says it has detected 92 variants of coronavirus in the country. Experts say that the development of new variants is not surprising: all viruses mutate as they make copies of themselves to spread.

Incontrovertibly, this catastrophe would affect the whole world and we would be back to where we started. WHO has quite rightly invoked the might of world leaders on World Health Day to address health inequities. However, to effectively preclude the virus from continuously devastating the world, much more needs to be done and a much firmer hand is needed to harness an epicurean public. When most of us are struggling in the third wave, this is no time to be popular at the expense of grave danger to those who look up to a leader. What we need is Machiavellian sensibility - that it is better to be feared than be loved if you cannot be both. On World Health Day, as Winston Churchill notably said, when we are going through hell, we must keep going, But to do this, the philosophy of Machiavelli, as paraphrased by the gigantic intellect of Isiah Berlin, that To know the worst is not always to be liberated from its consequences; nevertheless it is preferable to ignorance. It is this painful truth that Machiavelli forced on our attention, not by formulating explicitly, but perhaps the more effectively by relegating much uncriticized traditional morality to the realm of utopia If you object to the political methods recommended because they seem to you morally detestable, if you refuse to embark upon them because they are, to use Ritter's word, "erschreckend," too frightening, Machiavelli has no answer, no argument. In that case you are perfectly entitled to lead a morally good life, be a private citizen (or a monk), seek some corner of your own. But, in that event, you must not make yourself responsible for the lives of others or expect good fortune; in a material sense you must expect to be ignored or destroyed "

Our ineptitude and ignorance, and worse, our selfish utilitarianism must not endanger others. As the WHO says sagely, health is physical, mental, and social wellbeing, and as a resource for living a full life. It refers not only to the absence of disease, but the ability to recover and bounce back from illness and other problems. Each one of us has the right to this definition and that right must not be denied to us by the negligence of others. This should be the paramount message on World Health Day.





Dr. Abeyratne is the author of AIR TRANSPORT AND THE PANDEMIC: LEGAL, ETHICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES, to be published later this year.
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is the subject of a lawsuit by former state lawmakers who are seeking backpay for automatic raises that were withheld when they were in office.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday announced it has summoned Chinas envoy over the illegal lingering presence of Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian was summoned on Monday, the DFA said in a statement nearly a month after the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea reported the presence of around 200 Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef. The area, also known as Whitsun Reef, is located close to Bataraza, Palawan, well within the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone in the Kalayaan Island Group.

READ: Chinese militia vessels now scattered in West PH Sea, task force says

Armed Forces chief Gen. Cirlito Sobejana earlier said there were still 28 Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea as of April 9  six China Coast Guard ships, 20 fishing boats, and two other vessels believed to be militia. In a tweet on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro "Teddy Boy" Locsin, citing information from the government task force, said there are "only nine ships left," but it's not clear how many are still at Julian Felipe Reef.

The DFA expressed displeasure over the illegal lingering presence of Chinese vessels in Julian Felipe Reef, the agencys statement read, adding that it reiterated "the firm demand of the Philippines that China ensure the immediate departure of all its vessels from the area of Julian Felipe Reef and other maritime zones of the Philippines."

It said DFA Acting Undersecretary Elizabeth Buensuceso told Huang that the reef is within the Philippines' EEZ and its vessels there are a source of regional tension. She also raised the 2016 arbitral decision which recognized the Philippines sovereign rights in areas within its EEZ that China contests.

Both sides affirmed the use of peaceful settlement of disputes in addressing their differences, the DFA said. It noted that this is the first time Huang was summoned more than a year into his term.

China's vessels at Julian Felipe Reef prompted the Philippines to file a number of diplomatic protests and repeatedly demand that China withdraw its ships. Other countries, including the US, have called out China for raising tensions in the disputed waters and stressed the need for the East Asian giant to finally abide by the arbitral ruling.

READ: PH, US tackle 'enhanced cooperation' amid massing of Chinese vessels in WPS

Beijing insisted owning Julian Felipe Reef as part of its historic nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, which the arbitral tribunal had invalidated. It also said the vessels were not maritime militia but fishing boats seeking shelter from bad weather. Weeks later, however, the ships remained moored at Julian Felipe Reef.
In a statement on Monday, President of the election body, Diana Atamaint, said preliminary results issued late Sunday by the CNE indicated an "irreversible" trend, Xinhua news agency reported.

Quito, April 13 (IANS) Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) will take a few days to officially announce the winner of the presidential runoff due to procedural requirements, a top official said here

But political parties "have the right" to file complaints and have them addressed before the definitive results are published, she added.

In addition, each of the 24 provincial electoral boards must review ballots that presented inconsistencies.

With 99 per cent of the ballots tabulated by noon on Monday, former banker Guillermo Lasso maintained his lead with 52.52 per cent of the valid votes (4,563,430), according to the CNE.

Meanwhile, his progressive rival Andres Arauz, a left-leaning economist endorsed by former President Rafael Correa, garnered 47.48 per cent of the votes (4,125,896).

Voter turnout in Sunday's elections was high, with 82.72 per cent of the country's more than 13 million eligible voters going to the polls, though protest votes in the form of null ballots accounted for 16.33 per cent.

Lasso's victory came as somewhat of a surprise since Arauz won the first round of the elections with a sizable lead over the ex-banker, albeit in a crowded field of candidates, and weeks before the runoff, several polls gave Arauz a minimum 7-point advantage.

However, more recent polls showed growing support for Lasso.

--IANS

ksk/
United States President Joe Bidens dog Major, who is the younger of his two German Shepherds and the White House's first-ever rescue dog, will be receiving further training away from the White House after there were two biting incidents at his new home. According to the reports by The Guardian, the German Shepherd will receive private training in the Washington area which is expected to last for a few weeks. The dog is reported to have bitten employees on two occasions, once the canine bit a Secret Service employee, and the second time he nipped at an employee on the South Lawn. Both the incidents took place in the month of March.

According to the reports by The Guardian, a spokeswoman for Jill Biden, Michael LaRosa said that the dog will undergo additional training which will help him adjust to life in the White House. This is not the first time he will be sent for training. After the first biting incident, the dog was sent to Bidens home state, Delaware, for a round of training.

Biden refutes claims

After the first incident, Biden refuted claims that his dog has bit someone in the White House. Various US media reports claimed that Major had bitten a US Secret Service Agent and that he and President Biden's other dog 'Champ' were sent back to the President's home state Delaware shortly afterward. As per Biden, Major was officially 'out of the dog house'. Biden said that you turn the corner and there are two unknown people moving towards you and accordingly he moves to protect. On Major being sent to Delaware, President Biden said that he is receiving training there. He further added that he was sent back to Delaware not because of his involvement in the alleged biting case, but it was already pre-planned to accommodate the First Lady's schedule.

'85% of the White House loves Major'

Calling Major a sweet dog, Biden said that 85 per cent of the White House loves him. All he does is lick them and wag his tail. In 2018, the Bidens adopted Major, 3, as a puppy from Delaware Humane Association. Their older German Shepherd Champ, 12, had already spent some time in the White House as a younger dog, when Joe Biden was Vice President, before moving in permanently in January this year.

(Image Credits: AP)
Acquisition of well-known fire engineering & forensic investigation companies expands Jensen Hughes' European footprint, enhances client services

LONDON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jensen Hughes , a global leader in fire, security and risk-based engineering and consulting, announced today the completion of its brand integration of acquired companies JGA and IFIC Forensics, both now known as Jensen Hughes. JGA, a market leading fire engineering consultancy and IFIC Forensics, forensic investigation specialists, are both based in the UK and Ireland, working with clients across Europe and internationally.

"From the start of the acquisition process, we knew JGA and IFIC Forensics would each bring substantial specialist knowledge in synergy with the Jensen Hughes brand," said Nick Montgomery, Managing Director, Europe for Jensen Hughes. "Both companies are trusted, well-established in their local markets, and are known for outstanding responsiveness to and deep understanding of their clients' needs. Becoming part of Jensen Hughes opens the door for JGA and IFIC Forensics to offer new services and opportunities to their current and future clients, while retaining their existing relationships and high standards."

"Current JGA and IFIC clients, as well as prospective clients, can rest assured that this brand integration is an addition to, rather than a subtraction from, the world class service for which these companies are known," said Jeremy Gardner, founder of JGA and current consultant to Jensen Hughes. "The level of continuity maintained since the acquisition of both companies will continue under the Jensen Hughes name."

The Jensen Hughes corporate growth approach is focused on leveraging the company's resources to enhance the services of the local companies acquired, while recognizing and retaining the strengths of each. This "Global Reach, Local Presence" approach has resulted in continued growth in the European market, including recently opened Forensics offices in London and Belfast.

"We see the European market as an important part of our global strategy, and we will continue to invest to grow our client services," said Raj Arora, CEO, Jensen Hughes. "In addition to our welcoming JGA and IFIC Forensics to the Jensen Hughes brand, fire safety planning and consulting company L2 in Finland is taking the same managed path toward full rebranding, following their acquisition."

For more information, visit jensenhughes.com/europe

About Jensen Hughes

Jensen Hughes is a global leader in safety, security and risk-based engineering and consulting. Every day, a team of 1,400+ engineers, consultants and scientists develop and deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions to a global client base involving fire protection systems design and analysis, code consulting, emergency management services, security consulting, forensic engineering, fire research, risk-informed applications, probabilistic risk assessments, development and testing, commissioning and construction services. Operating from 90+ offices throughout the world, Jensen Hughes consulting teams have delivered more than 40,000 projects in all markets across industries. Jensen Hughes is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management teams. For more information, visit www.jensenhughes.com .

About Gryphon Investors

Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed over $5.0 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $50 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with enterprise values ranging from approximately $100 million to $600 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon's capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1044200/Jensen_Hughes_Logo.jpg
Not Your Fathers Organized Crime was written by Ilene Chaiken and was directed by Ken Girotti, whose othercredits include, and. This episode seemed more fast-paced than the first episode, or maybe the show is just hitting its stride? Christopher Meloni (Stabler) delivers a performance that made me remember why Id been so eager to review this show. Im also already really liking the dynamic between him and Bell (Danielle Mone Truitt). I love how bitchy Sloomaekers (Ainsley Seiger) is about everything! And Im also really impressed with Nicky Torchia as Eli.

The episode sees Wheatley (Dylan McDermott) confirmed as a scumbag as he steals a bunch of Covid-19 vaccine to sell for exorbitant prices to doctors  to sell to their line-jumping patients. He also has a party for his rich friends to get jabbed. Meanwhile, he seems to be positioning himself to take over  or at least take advantage of his fathers business/mob. Its clear that Richie Jr (Nick Creegan) did not inherit either of his parents intelligence. Dana (Christina Marie Karis) clearly does have a head for business.

Lots of favorite scenes with Stabler I loved his in-your-face confrontation with Wheatley. We get the requisite scene with Benson (Mariska Hargitay)  and I know Im the only one on the planet who doesnt swoon to see them together She tells him that he has PTSD  hes aware  and he tells her to back off. It is nice to see two old friends back together again, but I still dont need to see them together as a couple

I loved the scene where Stabler has to go on the blind date and just cant keep the charade up. Its hilarious when the woman is sure shes being brushed off only to have Stabler be absolutely sincere and convince her to give up her doctors name  and her vaccine  in the interest of the public good. It was a nice touch that she immediately responded to his sincerity and that while shed maintain covid protocols and not shake hands, when she saw his pain over his wifes death, she moved in to hug  and really, comfort him.

Eli wakes Stabler up when hes caught in a nightmare about his wifes death. Stabler manages to eventually reassure his son, only to break down as soon as he leaves the room. I have to think that Eli is going to be pretty traumatized himself after this episode, especially when he finds his Dad beaten to a pulp outside their apartment. Not to mention the murder-wall Stablers keeping in the dining room of the apartment! Were the thugs after Stabler or Eli as leverage? No doubt, this will result in the kids getting shipped back to Italy

Finally, a quick word about Stabler and Bell. I loved her enjoying his confrontation with Wheatley. I also like that Stabler is at least reasonably respectful of her being in charge. Its interesting that Stabler is suspicious of Washburn (Ben Chase), Bells old partner. Im curious as to whether theres any real reason for it. The team is also rounded out with the addition of Diego Morales (Michael Rivera).

I really liked the dinner scene between Bell and Stabler. Its a nice moment for him to learn a bit more about her. But I also really liked that Stabler risked his job to be completely honest with her. He tells her about being at the Wonder Wheel and finding Sinatras body. I also liked that she tried to stop him from telling her, not wanting to risk losing him. I also loved her heading him off about the phone  and saying without saying that shes looking forward to seeing what Sloomaekers gets off it

All in all, I thought that the highlight of the episode was Melonis performance. Id also say that overall, this was a better episode than the first one. I always find the cross over events just dont work for me. Id much rather just have a straightforward episode! What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!




MIAMI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- eMed , a digital health company democratizing healthcare through digital point-of-care solutions, today announced a partnership with Truepill , the digital health platform powering consumer health experiences through its diagnostics, telehealth and pharmacy infrastructure. The Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test exclusively administered by eMed, will now also be available for nationwide distribution through Truepill, including within their COVID-19 workplace safety platform, as a result of the partnership.

Truepill's transformative COVID-19 digital testing and treatment platform allows employers to develop, launch and scale customized workplace safety programs in a matter of weeks, rather than months. The end-to-end, consumer-friendly experience provides employees access to COVID-19 testing, clinical care and medication delivery, all from the comfort of their home or place of work. eMed's unique digital health care services will now connect Truepill customers with an at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test , a vital component for any workplace safety initiative.

eMed's partnership with Truepill provides a new distribution channel for companies looking to access the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test. Whether through the COVID-19 workplace safety platform, or as an independent purchase order, Truepill's nimble logistics provide a uniquely customizable solution. Customers can purchase tests in bulk, place smaller orders or request individual shipments - whatever is required to meet their specific needs.

"Regular COVID-19 testing is one of the most important and effective tools we have to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and will be essential to any plan where employees can be better protected," said Dr. Patrice Harris, eMed Co-Founder and CEO. "For many employers, creating a comprehensive testing program can be a logistical nightmare and enormous expense, and our new partnership with Truepill changes that by bringing together eMed's verified testing services and Truepill's user-friendly platform."

eMed's innovative at-home rapid testing services require no additional equipment and provide validated results in 15 minutes. Test users are led and supervised through the testing process remotely by an eMed Certified Guide, who authenticates the test and result, and reports results to the appropriate public health authorities. Integrating eMed's verified testing services into Truepill's platform means a seamless user experience, trusted results, and most importantly, peace of mind for employees returning to in-person worksites.

In addition to providing affordable, customized testing solutions, Truepill's workplace safety platform also includes a white-label web portal where employees can easily view their personal dashboard denoting test status, results, and pending actions to be taken as required by their employer. Likewise, an employer dashboard provides HR and relevant stakeholders with both high-level and granular insights so they can order tests, oversee contact tracing, and seamlessly manage employee care. The all-in-one platform empowers employers to manage costs and boost productivity while maintaining workplace safety as their top priority.

"The key to not only getting back to in-person worksites, but to classrooms, travel, and life as we know it, lies in seamlessly integrating comprehensive COVID-19 testing protocols, with contact tracing and vaccination rollout," said Sid Viswanathan, Truepill Co-Founder and President. "As the need for COVID-19 testing continues to evolve, it's no longer just about keeping people safe in the moment, but about creating sustainable programs that allow us to resume the everyday activities we've spent this past year without. Rapid, affordable and accessible testing is the linchpin to moving forward. We're thrilled to partner with industry innovator eMed to lead the charge and deliver solutions that everyone can rely on."

This product has not been FDA cleared or approved; but has been authorized by FDA under an EUA;

This product has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS- CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and,

This product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization is revoked sooner.

About eMed

eMed ( www.eMed.com ) is a digital health company democratizing healthcare with a digital point-of-care platform that provides fast, easy and affordable at-home healthcare testing, supervised and guided online by eMed Certified Guides. We embrace quantitative medicine to deliver prescribed tests and treatments directly to patients, driving better and more cost-effective health outcomes.

About Truepill

Truepill is a digital health platform that delivers diagnostics, telehealth, and pharmacy infrastructure to power consumer health experiences. Founded in 2016 with a unique B2B model, the company's expansive suite of customizable, direct-to-patient solutions includes nationwide prescription fulfillment and delivery, a US-based network of licensed telehealth providers, an at-home lab testing network, white label packaging, product design and more. With seven owned and operated pharmacies, Truepill accreditations include URAC accredited mail order pharmacy, URAC accredited specialty pharmacy, NABP, Digital Pharmacy Accreditation and LegitScript. Learn more at http://www.truepill.com/ .

Editorial Note: Download additional press materials and images here

SOURCE eMed

Related Links

https://www.emed.com


An exterior view of the nuclear enrichment plant of Natanz, in central Iran, Nov. 18, 2005. Iran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on the facility. EPA



Iran blamed Israel on Monday for an attack on its underground Natanz nuclear facility that damaged its centrifuges  sabotage that imperils ongoing talks over Tehran's tattered nuclear deal and brings a shadow war between the two countries into the light.



Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli media widely reported that the country had orchestrated a devastating cyberattack that caused a blackout at the nuclear facility. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country's secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.



While the nature of the attack and the extent of the damage at Natanz remains unclear, a former Iranian official said the assault set off a fire while a spokesman mentioned a ''possible minor explosion.''



The attack also further strains relations between the U.S., which under President Joe Biden is now negotiating in Vienna to re-enter the nuclear accord, and Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to stop the deal at all costs.



Netanyahu met Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whose arrival in Israel coincided with the first word of the attack. The two spoke briefly to journalists but took no questions.



''My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel,'' Netanyahu said. ''And Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran's aggression and terrorism.''



At an earlier news conference at Israel's Nevatim air base, Austin declined to say whether the Natanz attack could impede the Biden administration's efforts to re-engage with Iran in its nuclear program.



''Those efforts will continue,'' Austin said. The previous American administration under Donald Trump had pulled out of the nuclear deal with world powers, leading Iran to begin abandoning the limits on its atomic program set by the accord.



But German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed concern that it could affect the talks. ''All of what we are hearing from Tehran is not a positive contribution to this,'' Maas told reporters.



In a statement, the White House said it was aware of the Natanz attack and that ''the U.S. was not involved in any manner,'' without elaborating.



Details remained scarce about what happened early Sunday at the facility. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls _ but later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack.



A former chief of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the attack had set off a fire at the site and called for improvements in security. In a tweet, Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said that the second assault at Natanz in a year signaled ''the seriousness of the infiltration phenomenon.'' Rezaei did not say where he got his information.



The facility seemed to be in such disarray that, following the attack, a prominent nuclear spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi walking above ground at the site fell 7 meters (23 feet) through an open ventilation shaft covered by aluminum debris, breaking both his legs and hurting his head.



''A possible minor explosion had scattered debris,'' Kamalvandi said, without elaborating.



Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh acknowledged that IR-1 centrifuges, the first-generation workhorse of Iran's uranium enrichment, had been damaged in the attack, but did not elaborate. State television has yet to show images from the site, which saw new advanced centrifuges turned on there Saturday.



''The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel,'' Khatibzadeh said. ''Israel will receive its answer through its own path.'' He did not elaborate.



Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, meanwhile, warned Natanz would be reconstructed with more advanced machines. That would allow Iran to more quickly enrich uranium, complicating the nuclear talks.



''The Zionists wanted to take revenge against the Iranian people for their success on the path of lifting sanctions,'' Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Zarif as saying. ''But we do not allow (it), and we will take revenge for this action against the Zionists.''



He said late Monday on Twitter he had sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking it to hold Israel accountable. ''Deliberate targeting of a safeguarded nuclear facility_w/ high risk of indiscriminate release of radioactive material is nuclear terrorism a war crime,'' he tweeted.



Iran delivered a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations body that monitors Tehran's atomic program, urging it to condemn the attack, state TV reported Monday.



The IAEA earlier said it was aware of media reports about the blackout at Natanz and had spoken with Iranian officials about it. The agency did not elaborate.



Officials launched an effort Monday to provide emergency power to Natanz, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's civilian nuclear program. He said the sabotage had not stopped enrichment there, without elaborating.



Natanz has been targeted by sabotage in the past. The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010 and widely believed to be a joint U.S.-Israeli creation, once disrupted and destroyed Iranian centrifuges there during an earlier period of Western fears about Tehran's program.



In July, Natanz suffered a mysterious explosion at its advanced centrifuge assembly plant that authorities later described as sabotage. Iran now is rebuilding that facility deep inside a nearby mountain. Iran also blamed Israel for that, as well as the November killing of a scientist who began the country's military nuclear program decades earlier.



Israel also has launched a series of airstrikes in neighboring Syria targeting Iranian forces and their equipment. Israel also is suspected in an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship that is said to serve as a floating base for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard forces off the coast of Yemen.



Multiple Israeli media outlets reported Sunday that an Israeli cyberattack caused the blackout, but it remains unclear what actually happened there. Public broadcaster Kan said the Mossad was behind the attack. Channel 12 TV cited ''experts'' as estimating the attack shut down entire sections of the facility.



While the reports offered no sourcing for their information, Israeli media maintains a close relationship with the country's military and intelligence agencies.



In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly has described Iran as the major threat to his country as he struggles to hold onto power after multiple elections and while facing corruption charges. Stopping the nuclear deal has been a repeated theme of his comments. (AP)


Two more imported Covid-19 patients reported on Tuesday morning

Two Vietnamese people who recently returned from Qatar and Japan have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of patients in the country to 2,707, the Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday morning.













Illustrative photo





According to the ministry's report, the two new patients include a 37-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman who recently returned from Qatar and Japan to Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport.



They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on April 12. The two patients are now being treated at the Cu Chi Field Hospital for Covid-19 patients.



With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 2,707, including 910 locally-transmitted cases reported since the new outbreak started in Hai Duong on January 28.



As of 6 pm on April 12, a total of 2,445 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.



At present, nearly 37,000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.
Process control and industrial automation provider Yokogawa has launched its state-of-the-art technology manufacturing centre at the King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) Digital Hub.

The 12,000-sq-m facility will manufacture internationally benchmarked analyser systems, transmitters and control systems panel assemblies to meet domestic demand as well as for export to the GCC, Middle East and Africa.

Projects within the kingdom and the region will benefit from the facility through faster turnaround in shipment, availability of local support, and better costs.

The facility is equipped with a full suite of testing equipment which ensures that the highest level of quality is maintained throughout the manufacturing process.

As the first-ever analyser OEM investment in Saudi Arabia for analyser system integration, the centre will also provide localised analyser system integration facilities to the Middle Eastern and African region.

The new facility will boost Yokogawas pressure and temperature transmitter manufacturing capacity in the kingdom from 10,000 to 20,000 transmitters annually.

In addition to facilitating Saudi Arabias oil, gas and chemical production and export of high-end technologies to the rest of the world, the centre will contribute to Saudi Vision 2030 by promoting a knowledge-based economy and local value maximisation.-- Tradearabia News Service
TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - EBlock announces that John Brasher will join the executive leadership team as the Chief Operating Officer, focused on the company's rapid expansion into the United States market.

Brasher brings more than 30 years of automotive auction knowledge and experience to the senior leadership team. He joins EBlock from ServNet, where he held the position of executive director. Prior to that, he was president of Brasher's West Coast Auto Auctions from 2001 to 2016. He worked for two years as a General Manager for ADESA, and was a founding partner of AuctionPipeline in 2005, which is now Auction Edge.

"The transformation to digital in the auction space Is happening now and it's happening quickly," Brasher said. "The automotive wholesale business needs a partner that is committed to meeting their customers where they are. I believe EBlock is that partner, and I'm excited to be part of this exciting chapter in our industry."

EBlock was ranked the fastest growing automotive company in Canada and has been penetrating the US market since launching in 2019. The company is the premier remarketing platform for dealers, wholesalers, and independent auctions, providing a tech-first platform with live virtual lanes, set auction starting and ending times, and an uncompromised auction experience.

"We are excited to have an industry icon like John join EBlock," said Jason McClenahan, President and CEO of EBlock. "EBlock is seeing tremendous growth, both in Canada and the United States. His experience and passion for the industry, will only accelerate that momentum. I look forward to working closely with John as we shape the digital auction landscape, to the evolving needs of our customers.

Brasher, a third-generation automotive entrepreneur, has served on numerous industry boards and association committees, and has played an active role whenever possible in the remarketing industry. He steps into his new role as COO of EBlock on May 3.

SOURCE EBlock Inc

Related Links

https://eblock.com/en-ca


Opinion Article

13 April 2021

Amid a worldwide pandemic, the lodging industry is facing a downturn that is greater than the past two lodging-market declines combined. According to Visit Albuquerque, Albuquerque's RevPAR fell roughly 47% in 2020 from 2019 levels, driven primarily by occupancy losses of up to 33% compared to 2019 and ADR declines of up to 21%. The occupancy loss was not only a factor of limited demand caused by the travel halt at the onset of the pandemic, but also of New Mexico being closed to travelers from outside the state for most of the year. As many other markets in the United States were supported mid-summer by leisure guests, a required 14-day quarantine for visitors to New Mexico resulted in significant cancellations starting in July, handicapping demand through the remainder of the year.

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However, as the 14-day required quarantine was lifted in February; all counties, including Bernalillo, move beyond the red phase; and the state's vaccination rates lead the nation, New Mexico and Albuquerque are poised for a quick recovery and continued trajectory towards growth.

Total Doses Administered Reported to the CDC by State/Territory and for Select Federal Entities per 100,000 of the Total Population (as of April 7, 2021)

Source: CDC COVID Data Tracker  Photo: HVS

According to the New Mexico Department of Health, almost 50% of New Mexicans have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, including over 40% of Bernalillo County residents, while roughly 56% of the residents in the county are registered to receive the vaccination. With almost 1.4 million doses administered in New Mexico, vaccine availability was opened to all Phase One individuals in late March and to all adults (age 16+) on April 5, 2021.

Doses Administered by County (as of April 7, 2021)

Source: New Mexico Department of Health, COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard  Photo: HVS

Covid Restrictions

Since mid-March, the region has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting travel and business-operation restrictions. Although some restrictions and "stay at home" orders were lifted in late May and early June, a number of these restrictions, such as for indoor dining at restaurants and bars, were reenacted on July 13. Additionally, the 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving by air was extended to all travelers regardless of transportation means (subject to some exceptions) on July 1, 2020, significantly limiting out-of-state tourism; the required quarantine was lifted on February 10, 2021. From March through the end of August, occupancy limits ranged from 25% to 50% for hotels, excluding essential workers, extended-stay guests, and other categories. On August 29, 2020, restaurants and retail outlets were allowed to reopen with strict social-distancing guidelines and occupancy restrictions in place. Hotel occupancy was allowed to increase to 75% with the New Mexico Safe Certified training and 50% without until mid-November, when a two-week shutdown began. All non-essential businesses were closed and only hotels with NM Safe Certified training were allowed to operate at 25% occupancy. The shutdown ended November 30.

As of December, the reopening approach has been evaluated on a per-county basis, determining reopening based upon the trending of COVID-19 cases. The four stages, from most severe to least severe, are the red phase, yellow phase, green phase, and turquoise phase (added February 24). In the red phase, essential retail spaces are limited to the lesser of 25% occupancy or 75 people, restaurants are limited to 25% occupancy outdoors, hotels are limited to 40% occupancy with safety training, and groups are limited to five people. In yellow phase, hotel occupancy increases to 60% with safety training and groups of up to ten are allowed, while in the green phase, the group size limit increases to 20 and hotel occupancy with safety training increases to 75%. In the turquoise phase, hotels with safety training can operate with no occupancy limit, and the group limit increases to 150 people.

Current COVID Case Outlook  3/23/2021  4/05/2021

Source: New Mexico Department of Health, COVID-19 Public Dashboard  Photo: HVS

Albuquerque Market Overview

2020 Room Night Impact due to COVID-19 as of December 31, 2020

Legend: 2019: Room nights that occurred or were set to occur in 2019 as of one year ago 2020: Room nights that occurred or were set to occur in 2020 as of the date above COVID-19 Losses: Definite room nights and likely repeat sporting event room nights canceled or postponed due to the pandemic  Visit Albuquerque

2020 Room Night Impact due to COVID-19 as of February 28, 2021

Legend: 3 Yr Average: Average monthly room nights that occurred during calendar years 2017-2019 2020: Room nights that occurred during calendar year 2020 2021: Room nights that occurred or are set to occur in 2021 as of the date above -- 2021 future events remain subject to cancellation  Visit Albuquerque

The outlook for events depends heavily on group restrictions during 2021, but many events were postponed to 2021, 2022, and 2023, with future bookings supporting a positive outlook, according to Visit Albuquerque officials.

Similar to national trends, hotels within the full-service segment and the Downtown submarket were hit the hardest given the reliance on meeting and group demand, as well as commercial travelers. Extended-stay hotels have fared the best given the type of demand prevalent during the pandemic, as well as the occupancy-limit exemption for extended-stay guests.

Travel to New Mexico primarily originates from drive-to destinations in surrounding states, including Texas, Colorado, California, and Arizona. Although additional demand comes from fly-to destinations such as Chicago, New York, Florida, and other domestic and international destinations, the influence of drive-to demand should support a quick recovery. Furthermore, as advertising outside the state of New Mexico resumes, momentum from the highly successful #NewMexicoTRUE platform is expected to be regained, raising the state's recognition as a top travel destination in the Southwest.

Limited new hotel supply is also expected to support the recovery going forward; furthermore, the additions to supply are anticipated to foster growth with their popularity among commercial travelers or tourists, such as the Los Poblanos: Historic Inn & Organic Farm.

We are confident Albuquerque will quickly recover given the expected end of meeting restrictions, the reopening of the convention center, the resumption of corporate travel, and increased tourism demand as the vaccine becomes widely available. We continue to watch the factors affecting Albuquerque lodging, and our many consulting engagements throughout the area allow us to keep our finger on the pulse of the market.

For more information, contact McKenna Luke, MAI, who is based in New Mexico.

New Mexico's COVID-19 Guideline Highlights for Bernalillo County (as of April 7, 2021)

Hotel occupancy is limited to 60%, while vacation rentals are limited to five guests maximum.

New Mexico Safe Certified restaurants are limited to 33% indoor dining capacity, outdoor dining capacity is limited to 75%, and all establishments serving alcohol must close by 10 PM nightly. The capacity limits are lower for businesses without the certification.

Groups are limited to ten people or 80 vehicles. Other requirements as part of the current framework are listed here.

The phased framework is updated every two weeks here.

[1] Grace Reader, "UNMH moving forward with construction on parking structure; new tower expected to follow." 1/23/2021. Retrieved 4/7/2021.

[2] Village of Los Lunas  Minutes. 3/11/2021. Retrieved 4/7/2021.

[3] Chris Keller, Albuquerque Business First, "Here's what New Mexico officials and leaders have said about Netflix's planned expansion in Albuquerque." 11/23/2020. Retrieved 4/7/2021.

[4] Chris McKee, "Orion Center promises 1,000+ aerospace, manufacturing jobs for Albuquerque." 11/12/2020. Retrieved 4/7/2021.

[5] Resolutre listing. Retrieved 4/7/2021.

[6] Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Inc., "Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Presented by Canon Generates $186.82 Million into Albuquerque Economy." 3/16/2020. Retrieved 4/9/2021.
It cannot be denied that, over the past few decades, the miniaturization of electronic devices has taken huge strides. Today, after pocket-size smartphones that could put old desktop computers to shame and a plethora of options for wireless connectivity, there is a particular type of device whose development has been steadily advancing: wearable biosensors. These tiny devices are generally meant to be worn directly on the skin in order to measure specific biosignals and, by sending measurements wirelessly to smartphones or computers, keep track of the user's health.

Although materials scientists have developed many types of flexible circuits and electrodes for wearable devices, it has been challenging to find an appropriate power source for wearable biosensors. Traditional button batteries, like those used in wrist watches and pocket calculators, are too thick and bulky, whereas thinner batteries would pose capacity and even safety issues. But what if we were the power sources of wearable devices ourselves?

A team of scientists led by Associate Professor Isao Shitanda from Tokyo University of Science, Japan, are exploring efficient ways of using sweat as the sole source of power for wearable electronics. In their most recent study, published in the Journal of Power Sources, they present a novel design for a biofuel cell array that uses a chemical in sweat, lactate, to generate enough power to drive a biosensor and wireless communication devices for a short time. The study was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Seiya Tsujimura from University of Tsukuba, Dr. Tsutomu Mikawa from RIKEN, and Dr. Hiroyuki Matsui from Yamagata University, all in Japan.

Their new biofuel cell array looks like a paper bandage that can be worn, for example, on the arm or forearm. It essentially consists of a water-repellent paper substrate onto which multiple biofuel cells are laid out in series and in parallel; the number of cells depends on the output voltage and power required. In each cell, electrochemical reactions between lactate and an enzyme present in the electrodes produce an electric current, which flows to a general current collector made from a conducting carbon paste.

This is not the first lactate-based biofuel cell, but some key differences make this novel design stand out from existing lactate-based biofuel cells. One is the fact that the entire device can be fabricated via screen printing, a technique generally suitable for cost-effective mass production. This was possible via the careful selection of materials and an ingenious layout. For example, whereas similar previous cells used silver wires as conducting paths, the present biofuel cells employ porous carbon ink. Another advantage is the way in which lactate is delivered to the cells. Paper layers are used to collect sweat and transport it to all cells simultaneously through the capillary effect--the same effect by which water quickly travels through a napkin when it comes into contact with a water puddle.

These advantages make the biofuel cell arrays exhibit an unprecedented ability to deliver power to electronic circuits, as Dr. Shitanda remarks: "In our experiments, our paper-based biofuel cells could generate a voltage of 3.66 V and an output power of 4.3 mW. To the best of our knowledge, this power is significantly higher than that of previously reported lactate biofuel cells." To demonstrate their applicability for wearable biosensors and general electronic devices, the team fabricated a self-driven lactate biosensor that could not only power itself using lactate and measure the lactate concentration in sweat, but also communicate the measured values in real-time to a smartphone via a low-power Bluetooth device.

As explained in a previous study also led by Dr. Shitanda, lactate is an important biomarker that reflects the intensity of physical exercise in real-time, which is relevant in the training of athletes and rehabilitation patients. However, the proposed biofuel cell arrays can power not only wearable lactate biosensors, but also other types of wearable electronics. "We managed to drive a commercially available activity meter for 1.5 hours using one drop of artificial sweat and our biofuel cells," explains Dr. Shitanda, "and we expect they should be capable of powering all sorts of devices, such as smart watches and other commonplace portable gadgets."

Hopefully, with further developments in wearable biofuel cells, powering portable electronics and biosensors will be no sweat!

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About the Tokyo University of Science

Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-known and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators.

With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field.

Website: https:/ / www. tus. ac. jp/ en/ mediarelations/

About Associate Professor Isao Shitanda from Tokyo University of Science

Dr. Isao Shitanda graduated from Tokyo University of Science in 2001 and then got a PhD from The University of Tokyo, Japan, in 2006. Since 2012, he has been an Associate Professor at the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at Tokyo University of Science, where he leads the Itagaki/Shitanda lab. He specializes in electrochemical micro/nanosystems, physical and analytical chemistry, bio-related chemistry, and environmental chemistry, among other fields. He has published over 180 papers and holds seven patents.

Funding information

This study was partially supported by JST-ASTEP Grant Number JPMJTS1513, JSPS Grant Number 17H02162, the Private University Research Branding Project (2017-2019) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Tokyo University of Science Grant for President's Research Promotion.
By Prossy Kisakye

The opposition Democratic Party has asked the Muslim community in Uganda to use this holy month of Ramadhan to seek for forgiveness and unity amongst themselves.

Muslims across the globe today started the 30 days of fasting to fulfil the fourth pillar of the Islamic faith.

Speaking to the media at the partys head office in Kampala, DP spokesperson, Okoler Opio said Ramadhan is a great opportunity for Muslims to reconcile and walk together, showing one another Gods true love.

The call comes amid growing divisions within the top leadership of the muslim community in Uganda that saw the Supreme Mufti resign, citing endless wrangles.
Shocking images of young calves being punched, kicked and abused have turned the spotlight on a dark secret behind industrial scale milk production.

The male calves, which have little commercial value, were collected from dairy farms in the Midlands and trucked to a collection centre prior to slaughter.

Undercover filming has revealed how the young animals were then beaten and, sometimes, deprived of food and water for long periods.

The farmer at the centre of the allegations has admitted that his staff were at fault and  after being approached by the Daily Mail - ceased trading with immediate effect.

He revealed that the cheap meat from the carcasses was typically turned into kebabs or pet food and often shipped to Poland for processing.

Dairy cows are routinely impregnated so they will give birth to calves and produce the milk which ends up on supermarket shelves. In theory any resulting bull calves should be sold on to be reared as beef animals, however thousands are deemed unsuitable with the result they are killed at a young age.

The footage was captured by the Animal Justice Project which, along with the RSPCA and expert vets, has condemned the way the calves were treated.

The alarming images were filmed at the Oakland Livestock Centre, which is near Shrewsbury. Some of the calves came from farms contracted to the dairy giant Muller, which sells milk to Sainsbury's.

Muller has instructed its dairy farmers to cease supplying calves to Oakland with immediate effect, while Sainsbury's has announced an urgent investigation into the 'unacceptable practices'.

The male calves, which have little commercial value, were collected from dairy farms in the Midlands and trucked to a collection centre prior to slaughter

Undercover filming has revealed how the young animals were then beaten and, sometimes, deprived of food and water for long periods

The footage showed calves being thrown up and down trailer and truck ramps, lifted by their tails, kicked, kneed, punched, hit with sticks, dragged by their ears, jacket whipped, slapped and pushed.

Animal Justice Project founder, Claire Palmer, said: 'This dealer was caught on camera brutally abusing calves and leaving them for many hours with no food or water  yet, naturally, these babies would still be with their mothers, drinking her milk constantly.

'Some 65,000 calves were slaughtered last year because they were deemed 'waste' products by the dairy industry.'

She said there were also concerns about the way the calves were handled in the final moments before death at a slaughterhouse.

Veterinary expert, Molly Vasanthakumar, said: 'Calves are very inquisitive and like all livestock, should be moved gently at their own pace. These incidents are highly distressing to watch.'

The RSPCA has reported the dealer involved to a government watchdog for an animal cruelty investigation. It said: 'No animals should be kicked or punched. As soon as we received the footage we contacted the Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) to urge them to look into this as soon as possible.'

The farmer at the centre of the allegations has admitted that his staff were at fault and  after being approached by the Daily Mail - ceased trading with immediate effect

The owner of the Oakland Livestock Centre is Derek Whittall. He told the Daily Mail: 'When I heard about this I ceased trading. I have just had enough.'

Asked whether the images showed poor handling of the calves, he said: 'Of course it does, yes. It shouldn't happen. What they've done is wrong, so I've stopped.'

Mr Whittall said his wife is recovering from a brain tumour and so the family has more important issues to deal with.

He said dealing with the unwanted bull calves from dairy cattle is a problem for the farming industry and there are aspects of the trade he does not like.

'They will be a fortnight to three or four months old. There is no market for them at all, I'm afraid,' he said.

'The very little ones could go for pet food or kebabs or stuff like that. With the better ones, some of that meat will be exported. There other people in the south of England that are doing two of three times more than I was doing.'

Muller Milk & Ingredients said the bull calves sold by its dairy farm suppliers should be handled according to welfare standards 'which are fully compliant with guidelines and best practice'.

It added: 'In light of this evidence of mistreatment, we are therefore instructing farmers to cease supplying Oaklands with immediate effect.'

Sainsbury's said: 'We have processes in place to prevent these unacceptable practices and we are urgently investigating.'
HOWELL TWP., MI  An armed man wanted in a stolen vehicle investigation in Livingston County was shot by a Michigan State Police detective trooper Tuesday, April 13.

At about 9:45 a.m., a detective trooper was in the area of Milett Road in Howell Township looking for a suspect wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle investigation, according to the Michigan State Police.

The investigation involved a crash the Livingston County Sheriffs Office was investigating earlier in the day, police said.

The trooper located the suspect, a 20-year-old Grand Rapids man, and at some point during an interaction with him was shot by the detective, police said.

The man was taken to an area hospital where he is listed in stable condition. The man was armed at the time of the incident, police said.

The Michigan State Police Forensic Crime Laboratory was called to the area to process the scene. The incident is benign investigated by MSP Third District Investigative Response Team out of the Flint area.

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A glamorous cocaine-running party girl who flaunted her lavish lifestyle on social media quit the drug syndicate just two weeks before her arrest.

Danielle Tara Hogan, 25, from North Bondi in Sydney, cut ties with the syndicate in late 2019 after her then boyfriend became aware of her line of work.

Court documents revealed on October 23, 2019 at 6.30pm, she sent a text message to her syndicate handlers.

It read: 'Hey I'm sorry but I'm done. I've taken my pay $450 from yesterday, left everything in the safe, password is 'c**t',' she wrote.

'My partner found out I was doing this and I had a decision to make. Good luck with everythin'.'

Danielle Tara Hogan, 25, from North Bondi in Sydney, cut ties with the syndicate in late 2019 after her then boyfriend became aware of her line of work

The 25-year-old cut her ties from the syndicate in 2019 after her then boyfriend became aware of her line of 'work' - but was arrested two weeks later in Sydney

Ms Hogan, a former event planner, was blissfully unaware her previous ongoing criminal activity was under police surveillance.

Working as a drug runner, Hogan was said to be involved in delivering almost 600 bags of cocaine to customers in more than 370 separate deliveries across the Harbour City.

Police allege the group supplied about 200 bags of cocaine to customers each week for $300 each, with estimated earnings of $60,000 per week or $3.1 million a year.

On September 13, 2019, officers watched on as Hogan delivered a bag of cocaine to a man in the CBD on Castlereagh St.

She was eventually arrested on November 7 that year.

At the time of Hogan's arrest, police also raided a Bankstown property in Sydney's west they believed was being used to store large amounts of cocaine.

Hogan - who was the seventh person to be charged over the alleged drug ring - is accused of supplying 380g of cocaine between August and October 2019

Danielle Hogan (pictured) spent 12 days behind bars after she was arrested at her apartment on Thursday, November 7, 2019

Inside the property, officers seized more than 1,138g of the drug, according to the Daily Telegraph.

When Hogan first faced Burwood Local Court last year for selling cocaine in the dial-a-dealer scheme, an incredible 18,000 pages of evidence were presented against her.

Before her arrest, she often posted snaps while she enjoyed lavish holidays, wore designer clothes and relaxed at trendy beachfront bars.

After strike force detectives swooped on the alleged syndicate, she was charged with five crimes, including two counts of ongoing drug supply and participating in a criminal group.

Hogan pleaded guilty and will be sentenced later this year.

Hogan was arrested (pictured) at her family's North Bondi apartment on November 7 over the alleged involvement in the drug syndicate
The slaying shocked many in The Gambia and was also widely condemned abroad

In 2004, an army hit squad in The Gambia drew up in front of Deyda Hydara, an AFP correspondent, and gunned him down.

The killing was one of the most infamous atrocities committed under the tiny West African state's then despotic president, Yahya Jammeh, who ruled with an iron fist for 22 years.

An editor of the independent newspaper The Point as well as an AFP correspondent, Hydara had been driving two colleagues home from a party at the paper's offices on the night of December 16.

But on the outskirts of the capital Banjul, a car pulled up and blocked the road in front of them.

Several people jumped out and fired shots into Hydara's car, killing him, the head of The Gambia's press union, Demba Ali Diao, told AFP in 2004.

"He was killed instantly," he said.

The slaying shocked many in The Gambia, the smallest country on Africa's mainland, and was also widely condemned abroad.

Gambia's independent media launched a weeklong news blackout in protest at the killing.

Hydara had written frequently about corruption, and had also taken a strong stance against a press bill that authorised jail time for journalists who violated press laws, as well as heavy fines for their publishers.

He began working at AFP in 1974 as a translator before becoming a correspondent.

The newspaperman also worked with the media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres, who described him as the "impetus" behind an open letter that the group sent to Jammeh about the press bill.

The two colleagues travelling with Hydara after the office party survived after being shot in the legs.

But Hydara died, with a coroner finding he had been struck by three bullets.

He left behind a wife and four children.

The precision of the killing in the poor nation about two million people immediately raised suspicions of a state-sponsored hit job.

- Death squads -

Police pledged to investigate Hydara's murder, but little came of the case.

The Gambia's National Intelligence agency later released a 23-page report describing Hydara as "an instigator who stirred up the anger of a number of people through critical reports in his newspaper".

Story continues

The case then fell silent until, in January 2017, Jammeh fled the country after losing presidential elections and initially refusing to step down.

He had come to power in a bloodless coup in July 1994 and was repeatedly re-elected in disputed circumstances until being defeated in December 2016 by the relatively unknown Adama Barrow.

After Jammeh went into exile, The Gambia set up a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to probe numerous alleged rights violations under his rule.

Since hearings began in 2019, it has heard testimony about torture, rape, death squads and state-sponsored witch hunts, among other alleged abuses.

- 'We opened fire' -

A TRRC hearing in 2019 shed new light on Hydara's murder.

Lieutenant Malick Jatta, a former member of Jammeh's personal death squad -- known as the "Junglers" -- testified that the president himself had ordered the killing.

"We opened fire, myself, Alieu Jen and Sana Manjang," Jatta said at the public hearing, naming two other military officers involved in the assassination.

He also told the truth commission that he received an envelope stuffed full of dollars afterwards, which he said was a "sign of appreciation from the big man".

It remains unclear whether Jammeh or his accomplices will face justice in their native country.

However, hopes for justice were raised this week after public prosecutors in Germany announced that they had arrested a man in connection with Hydara's murder.

The man, whom they identified as Bai L., allegedly worked as a driver for the Junglers -- and allegedly drove the hitmen who killed Hydara, helping to block the journalist's car on the road.

Baba Hydara, the journalist's son, told AFP on Wednesday that he welcomed the arrest.

"I want the killers of my father and all the Junglers prosecuted abroad because I do not trust the justice system in The Gambia," he said.

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With COVID-19 vaccine eligibility now open to all Illinois residents ages 16 or above, health departments are focusing on education as they try to address hesitancy among some in their communities to be vaccinated.

Most counties now are offering the vaccine to anyone who wants it, but there is a concern over the lack of interest being shown.

We are having a hard time getting people in to get vaccinated, said Sharon Bargmann, Pike County Health Departments nursing director. Some places are doing pop-up clinics, hoping to get those passive people  those who wont seek out the vaccine but figure they will get it since its right there.

Pike County hasnt yet opened eligibility to 16- and 17-year-olds, because the county has a limited supply of Pfizer, the only one available for those under 18, Bargmann said.

The reality is that some people are concerned about the vaccine, whether because of what they see as a lack of research or, from potential side effects, or simply misinformation, Bargmann said.

Its the little things that get started and make people question things, she said. You hear the jokes about microchips in the vaccines.

According to a survey by the Journal-Courier that received 16 responses, two of the 16 have not received a vaccination. Of those, one said they will not receive a vaccination, while the second was undecided.

According to their comments, one who has not received the vaccine said they believe the vaccine has not been tested enough to make them willing to use it; the other was concerned about side effects.

Of the 14 who did receive the vaccine, two have received their first shot of Pfizer, nine have received both Pfizer shots, two received both doses of Moderna, and one received the single dose of Johnson and Johnson.

Those who received the vaccine reported side effects that included chills, fever, fatigue, arm pain, shortness of breath, and slight headaches.

A lot of the hesitancy is among those under the age of 64.

Of those who took the Journal-Courier survey, eight were 65 or older, five were ages 21 to 44, while the other three were ages 45 to 64.

Greene County Health Department administrator Molly Peters said her department is working on ways to increase vaccine distribution after a slow down in requests.

We plan to travel around the community, Peters said. We are looking for ways to reach the community in multiple ways and make sure everyone has access.

Peters said the department will visit schools and provide the vaccination at various locations around the county One, including from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday at Kroger in White Hall.

Roughly 35% of Illinois population ages 16 to 64 have been vaccinated, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

In Morgan County, only 28% of those in the 16-to-64 age group have been vaccinated, while just under 73% of the countys 65-plus population have received their shot.

Cass County has about 33% of its 16-to-64 population vaccinated, Greene County has 21%, Jersey has 27%, Macoupin has 26%, Brown County has 15%, Pike County has 16%, Schuyler has 25% and Scott has 22%.

The state health department is seeing more younger people getting sick, Bargmann said.

Andrew English, director of health education for Cass County Health Department, said Cass County is vaccinating those 16 or up. While their clinics have been seeing a lot of requests, there is concern those requests will start to slow, he said.

Vaccination hesitancy is a reality most departments are trying to figure out how to address, English said. We will have to go into health education mode to put people at ease and provide them with all the information they need to feel good about getting the vaccine.

Getting the population fully vaccinated is the only way to move forward, he said.

We need it not only to get back to a normal way of life, but also so we can stay there, English said.
The central government has ruled out another nationwide lockdown and has put the onus on states to impose local restrictions if necessary, even as COVID-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate across India.

Most of the big cities including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru have already imposed partial restrictions on movement with night curfews.

And this has resulted in people going into a panic mode, fearing that there is going to be a total lockdown, something that unleashed absolute chaos in 2020.

BCCL

While the nationwide lockdown caught the majority off guard last year, people want to be prepared this year.

Maharashtra worst-affected

It is most visible in Maharashtra, the worst-affected state in India due to COVID-19.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has confirmed that a lockdown will be imposed and asked people to be mentally prepared for it.

BCCL

Though no specific dates have been announced yet, it is believed that it could happen this week itself.

This has made many rush to markets and neighborhood stores to stock essential supplies.

Most shops in the state, including those dealing in essential supplies, were shut in the weekend. These shops reopened on Monday amid a rush of people, who stocked up on groceries for the next few days, fearing lockdown.

Migrants wanting to leave?

Amid concerns of another migrant worker exodus from the state, in case a lockdown is announced, state labour minister Hasan Mushrif has recommended financial assistance for them through the Building and Other Construction Workers (BoCW) board.

BCCL

Delhi not faring well too

In the national capital too, there is growing speculation about a lockdown in the wake of the rise in new infections.

According to several shopkeepers, they are seeing an increase in demand for everyday items including food and oil, as people are stocking up before lockdown.

Many also complain that they have not been able to refill the shelves as the wholesalers are hoarding the goods to sell them at high prices in case of a lockdown.

While grocery stores are seeing an increase in demand, others like meat sellers have seen their business declining, to nearly half.

BCCL

Some blamed this drop in business on lockdown fears as people have started spending more carefully.

They also said that chicken prices are on the rise as poultry farms have reduced production fearing another lockdown.
DETROIT  A Michigan man is suing the Detroit Police Department in federal court after he was wrongfully arrested and jailed for shoplifting.

Robert Williams, a Black man, was arrested at his home in a Detroit suburb in front of his wife and two young daughters after a police officer called him at work and told him to turn himself in, but didnt say what for, according to a video produced by the American Civil Liberties Union. Williams thought the call was a prank. He was arrested later that day.

Williams experience was the first case of wrongful arrest due to facial recognition technology to come to light in the United States, according to reports.

I came home from work and was arrested in my driveway in front of my wife and daughters, who watched in tears, because a computer made an error, Williams said in a statement. This never should have happened, and I want to make sure that this painful experience never happens to anyone else.

The lawsuit states that Williams Fourth Amendment rights were violated and his wrongful arrest is in violation of the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. It seeks damages and policy changes to stop the use of facial recognition technology by the DPD. Williams is represented by the University of Michigan Law Schools Civil Rights Litigation Initiative (CRLI), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Michigan.

Weve repeatedly urged the Detroit Police Department to abandon its use of this dangerous technology, but it insists on using it anyhow, said Phil Mayor, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan. Justice requires that DPD and its officers be held accountable.

Williams was arrested in January 2020 for a 2018 theft of five watches, worth $3,800, from a Shinola store in Detroit, according to an article from The New York Times that broke the story in June.

DPD officers tried to identify the shoplifter by feeding a blurry image from the stores surveillance video through facial recognition technology, which matched the image with Williams and led to his arrest, the release said.

Williams was held for 30 hours in the Detroit Detention Center where he was forced to sleep on a cement floor due to overcrowding, according to the release.

The lawsuit cites studies that show facial recognition technology is faulty when it comes to identifying Black people especially in cases, like this one, when the photo is grainy, the lighting is poor and the suspect is not looking at the camera, the release said.

The technology is racially biased, flawed and easily leads to false arrests of innocent people, just like our client, said Jeremy Shur, a student attorney with CRLI.

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Billing information

Overview

At MCLA, we bill by semester. Fall semester bills are mailed in early July and due in early August. Spring semester bills are mailed in mid November and due in mid December. Bills are mailed to the permanent address on file at the beginning of each semester, and e-bills are emailed to the students at their school email accounts. It is the responsibility of the student to provide a copy of the email to the payer of their tuition.

In addition to satisfying your balance by the due date, you must also respond to your bill by completing an Intent to Attend Form with indication of payment method by the due date. Non-response and non-payment will result in being dropped from your coursework. Students who are dropped for non-payment would be allowed to re-enroll in courses once their account is deemed satisfied.

Did you get your bill and are not sure where to begin? Review our Semester Billing Checklist to make sure you're on track to satisfy your account by the due date.

Review our to make sure you're on track to satisfy your account by the due date. Do you have any questions about the bill or the fees? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions or Explanation of Fees. You may also contact us at 413.662.5230 or StudentAccounts@mcla.edu.

Check out our or You may also contact us at 413.662.5230 or StudentAccounts@mcla.edu. Do you want a family member to be able to call us on your behalf? MCLA cannot release any financial information, including refunds, pertaining to an account to anyone but the student. If you would like to allow us to share financial information with a parent, guardian, or other interested party, you may complete the FERPA Information Release electronically here.

charges and credits

When you receive your bill, you will see a breakdown of all your fees and any credits on your account. Please note the following:

All students, regardless of whether they are on-campus or commuting, are charged certain fees; Tuition, Campus Support Fee, Capital Improvement Fee, Student Activity Fee, Technology Fee, and Wellness Fee. A list with a description of these fees, and others, is available here.

Tuition, Campus Support Fee, Capital Improvement Fee, Student Activity Fee, Technology Fee, and Wellness Fee. A list with a description of these fees, and others, is available here. The amount of Tuition you are charged is determined by your residency upon admission to MCLA.

If you are on-campus, you will see housing and meal plan charges on your bill.

If you have met the Financial Aid Office deadlines, been awarded financial aid, and accepted that aid, it should appear on your statement. If your award does not appear on your statement as a credit, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 413-662-5219. For federal student loans to appear as aid you must have accepted your award to the Financial Aid Office, and first time borrowers need to complete both Entrance Counseling and a Master Promissory Note.

If you have made any prepayments on your account or signed over a refund to MCLA, those funds will be reflected as a credit on your account.

Attention New Students: If you paid a deposit of $200.00, you will notice that only $100.00 appears as an Admission Deposit on your fall bill. The remaining $100 will appear as a Dormitory Deposit on your Spring bill.

PAYMENT METHODS

If there is a balance due shown at the bottom of your statement, you have several options for payment:

Pay your balance by the due date with cash, personal check, ACH, or debit/credit card;

Get approved for a private, credit-based alternative student loan or have a parent get approved for a federal, credit-based Parent Plus Loan in their name.

Enroll in a monthly payment plan through Nelnet. MCLA is proud to offer tuition payment plan options that allow you to spread expenses over the semester and limit debt. For costs, schedules, or to enroll, please visit MyCollegePaymentPlan.com/MCLA.

OTHER PAYMENTS

The following are less common payment situations, but you may find that one or more of these apply to you.

OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIPS - If you are a recipient of any outside scholarships, please forward copies of these letters to Student Financial Services for review. Depending on the information on the letter, Student Financial Services may be able to note the scholarship as an expected payment on your account. Please note that it is the student's responsibility to coordinate that the scholarship organization has all the required documentation needed to disburse the award (e.g. enrollment verification, copy of bill, thank you note).

COLLEGE SAVINGS PLANS & 529 PLANS - If you or a family member have a college savings plan or a 529 plan, you must request a disbursement from the company. Requests should be processed soon after receiving the bill to ensure a timely delivery of funds to MCLA on or before the due date. When requesting the distribution, please ensure that the check has your full legal name and student ID (A#) printed on it.

MASS REHAB/MASS COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND/ACCES-VR - If you are a client of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, Massachusetts Commission of the Blind, or New York State's ACCES-VR, you must meet with your counselor to start the process. When all the documentation is completed on both sides, we are able to coordinate payment with the organization and note it as an expected payment on your account.

EMPLOYER BENEFITS - Some employers offer their employees and/or their dependents certain benefits for going to school. For state or higher education employees, this may include a Massachusetts State Employee Tuition Waiver or a Massachusetts Higher Education Tuition Waiver. For other employers, it may include direct payments on an account. If you or your parent's employer offers these benefits, the process will need to be started with your/their Human Resources Office. It is the responsibility of the student to coordinate the benefits and notify MCLA.

Additionally, some employers offer reimbursement for paid tuition and fees. If you are seeking reimbursement for what you paid, you can contact Student Financial Services at 413.662.5230 to request a copy of your bill.

VETERANS BENEFITS - Veteran benefits are certified by the Registrar and coordinated with Student Accounts. If you are eligible for any veteran benefits but have questions on how to start this process, please contact Student Financial Services at 413.662.5230 or the Office of Student Records at 413.662.5216. Students receiving chapter 31 or 33 veteran benefits will not be subjected to the following while waiting for VA payments:

Preventing enrollment

Assessing a late payment fee

Requiring alternative or additional sources of funding

Denial of any additional information needed for certification

LATE, returned, AND NON-PAYMENTs

You are expected to return payment due or have payment arrangements made, such as loans or a payment plan, on or before the due date. Students who register for courses at the College do so with the understanding that they are responsible for payment of all charges reflected on their bills. Registered students also understand that certain penalties are applied to accounts that are not settled in full by each semester's due date, such as incurred late fee surcharges, and withheld official academic transcripts. Students may also be dropped for non-payment from their coursework prior to the start of the semester. To re-enroll in coursework, the balance would need to be satisfied, as well as a $75.00 late registration fee charged to the account.

The Student Accounts office reserves the right to request payment in advance for coursework if a student has demonstrated an unsatisfactory payment history, or has defaulted on a prior payment arrangement. This includes any default of prior monthly payment plans, and/or repeated collection efforts.

Late Payment Fee - Total payment or payment arrangements must be in place by the due date on the statement or subject to a $75.00 Late Payment Fee(s).

Returned Check Fee - For each check/ACH payment that is returned by your bank, a $25.00 Returned Check Fee will be added to your account.

WITHDRAWAL

If you do not plan to attend MCLA this semester, you must notify the Office of Student Records at 413-662-5389. Non-attendance in classes does not constitute withdrawal, and you will still be responsible for any charges incurred.

COLLEGE REFUND POLICY

This policy applies to students who are fully withdrawing or taking a leave of absence from MCLA. If you withdraw prior to the first day of classes (official opening), you will receive a 100% refund (less any Admissions or Dormitory Deposits). All refunds for withdrawals after the start of school are determined on a pro-rata basis up to the 60% point of the semester.

In addition, students are eligible for a supplemental Tuition Insurance program through Liberty Mutual, which provides up to 100% protection for your investment, should you need to unexpectedly withdraw. You must sign up before classes begin to be covered.

STUDENT REFUNDS AND BOOK ADVANCES

If the payments on a student's account exceeds the charges, the student will be issued a refund. This typically occurs roughly one month after the start of the semester, but some refunds may be issued later depending on the academic program or type of fund. Read more on student refunds here.

If you are receiving a refund, you may be eligible for a book advance. Book advances can be used at the MCLA Bookstore and are issued in increments of $50.00. Read more about book advances from financial aid here.
A beachgoer wandering on an idyllic Queensland beach has found a bizarre eight-legged sea creature.

Hailey Voke was exploring Moreton Island, off the coast of Brisbane, when she discovered an unusual and rare sea star, scientifically named Luidia maculata, frolicking in the water.

Intrigued, she picked up the echinoderm to take a picture of its unique colouring and many arms before placing it back into the ocean.

Moreton Island is home to diverse wildlife, including bottlenose and humpback dolphins, dugongs, sea turtles, more than 100 species of fish, and over 180 bird species.

Hailey Voke discovered a sea star, scientifically named Luidia maculata, frolicking in the water

The sighting comes after another family stumbled upon the unfamiliar ocean critter in North Queensland over the weekend.

Karen Crompton and her daughter were at Blacks Beach, in Mackay, when they came across the stunning sea star as they were examining the marine life.

'We were looking and counting the starfish and my daughter said, "Oh, is that an octopus?",' Ms Crompton told the Fraser Coast Chronicle.

'I've never seen anything like it before. It tops it all.

The carnivorous sea creature, which feeds on molluscs and other echinoderms, can be found along the coast of Queensland, Northern Territory and the northern half of Western Australia.

The eight-armed sea star is harmless and can be found along the coast of Queensland, Northern Territory and the northern half of Western Australia

According to the Australian Museum, they have 'eight arms tapering to a point' and an 'aboral surface covered with square or polygonal plates'.

They are commonly yellow or buff coloured to dark green and feature 'tube feet ending in a rounded knob rather than a sucker'.

The marine invertebrates, known also as the Southern Sand Star, grow to a maximum of 40cm and while they are harmless to humans, they have soft arms that break easily if they are handled in a rough manner.

They can reproduce asexually or sexually and are known to like burying themselves in sand up to 90 metres deep.
Ree Drummond has been the star of Food Networks The Pioneer Woman since it premiered back in 2006. Drummond, who was a popular blogger before she was discovered by the food-centric channel, has worked hard to balance being a business woman with raising four kids. And she also once revealed the one moment that was most life-changing for her  and it wasnt her cooking show.

The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond in 2017 | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine

The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond has always had a lot on her plate

When Ree Drummond was young, she didnt have plans to become a celebrity chef. Rather, shed graduated from college in California and instead had plans to attend law school in Chicago. That all changed when she met rancher Ladd Drummond, married him, and settled down in rural Oklahoma.

Drummond started her blog, The Pioneer Woman, in 2006. By 2011, it had blown up and caught the attention of Food Network. Drummond began filming her cooking show, and from there, more opportunities landed on her plate.

Since the shows premiere, Drummond has launched a cookware line and magazine. In her hometown, shes opened a home goods store, restaurant, bakery, and bed and breakfast. Shes traveled around the country for countless book tours, published several cookbooks  and has done so all while raising four kids.

Ree Drummond attends a book signing in 2012 | Bobby Bank/Getty Images

RELATED: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummond Once Revealed She Faced Bumps In the Road After Marrying Ladd Drummond

Ree Drummond revealed her most life-changing moment

Drummond has had plenty of amazing things happen during her lifetime. Shes started a family, built a food empire, and even married one of the wealthiest landowners in the country. In a way, much of Drummonds life has been life-changing. But in an interview with TODAYs Savannah Guthrie, Drummond described the moment that changed it all for her, and it had nothing to do with the success shed found in the food world.

It sounds cliche, but just becoming a mother really alters the way you look at everything, doesnt it? Drummond said. I would say that. Guthrie likened motherhood to getting an new pair of eyes, and Drummond agreed. Drummond and Ladd share four kids: Alex, Paige, Bryce, and Todd.

Drummond joked that there was one other life-changing moment for her as well. And when we got high-speed Internet at our house, she said, so I can watch Netflix and Hulu and all that.

Ree Drummond said she worries about her kids more than anything

In the same interview, Drummond was also asked the one thing she worries about more than anything and, unsurprisingly, its her children.

I just dont worry, because Im in today  I dont think about yesterday or tomorrow too much, Drummond told Guthrie. I worry, probably, about my kids, more than anything. Have they gotten to their destination, and, you know.

Drummonds kids have grown up on the show. The Pioneer Woman started when her kids were in their early teen years, and now, theyre all grown up. Drummonds oldest daughter, Alex, is set to wed in early May. Her two middle children, Paige and Bryce, are in college, and her youngest, Todd, is still in high school.
SCHENECTADY  It started with calls from Lomasney Avenue residents rattled by bonfires and inebriated people lying in the street.

Now four months after city police officers launched an extensive outreach campaign - which included trudging through thigh-deep snow for welfare checks - theyve relocated an encampment of people living on the edge of Vale Park that had caused concerns in the neighborhood for months.

But it took time.

While the numbers floated up and down, city police identified five regulars living in the wooded area off Eastern Avenue. Residents saw issues last summer, but city police didn't start engaging in outreach until November. The arrival of newcomers threatened to further destabilize the environment.

It became a rotating clubhouse, said a neighborhood resident, who asked for anonymity for fear of being targeted for harassment.

Now three people who wanted housing have secured a place to live after a prolonged effort officials hailed as breaking new ground in community policing.

For months, Sgt. Nick Mannix gradually enlisted an expanding group of social service agencies, including the county Office of Community Services, Catholic Charities, City Mission and New Choices, among others.

Over time, an email chain grew to at least 100 respondents.

The living situation was concerning as we were expecting snow, it was cold, said Laura Combs, executive director of New Choices. The goal was to see what folks needed and try to help them get those resources, including food and shelter.

Instead of simply removing the occupants, police attempted to link them to resources, and outreach workers incrementally moved towards a solution.

Every time we went in there, we brought a network of agencies with us, Mannix said. And as far as I know, nobodys ever done anything like this."

Numbers at the City Mission have been constant, but havent increased dramatically, said Mike Saccocio, president and CEO.

Weve been busy, but COVID has kept people hesitant about coming into shelters, Saccocio said. What we have done is increased outreach.

Residents first sought a swift solution last summer, and an initial police visit resulted in the encampment simply moving deeper into the wooded area.

They moved to be less visible, said the resident. Unfortunately, they were twice as noisy, so we knew where they were.

Residents said quality-of-life issues were mounting in the quiet dead-end street off Eastern Avenue, including public intoxication, fire risks and people banging on doors asking for food.

We were afraid it would keep getting bigger and bigger, said a second resident.

But Mannix wanted to tailor an approach that didnt simply lead to displacement and shift problems elsewhere.

The situation unfolded in a climate of intense scrutiny of policing, and as a consensus was emerging for police to ease away from responding to mental health calls, instead steering them to outside agencies whenever possible.

The encampment's residents stuck it out for the winter. In order to solve one problem  securing housing  other things, including lack of identification, had to be addressed. One woman refused to leave without her cats.

Mannix returned often to help attack issues as they surfaced, even bringing people hot meals on Thanksgiving Day.

That took months in and of itself to build up that trust, Mannix said. Im glad we were able to get out there in front of it and spearhead it, but I think its the way departments have to go.

And thats why officials are irritated by rumors circulating that officers went in and forcibly cleared people out, chatter overshadowing what they called an innovative model.

We did not throw anyone out and destroy everyones stuff, said Lt. Ryan Macherone, who leads the city police departments neighborhood engagement efforts with Mannix.

City Mayor Gary McCarthy called the rumors grossly distorted.

People were living in less than sanitary conditions, McCarthy said.

City police did, however, accompany a city work crew to the site when they escorted remaining occupants out and used a city truck to haul away the debris.

Few remnants remained on Tuesday except matted-down brush and trash bobbing in a drainage ditch.

Activist Jamaica Miles tracked down one of the former occupants, named Ann, late last month in downtown Schenectady and posted a clip on social media.

Do you feel like the police are helping you? Miles asked.

There are some kind officers out there," Ann said, adding, "Ive ran into a couple that have really gone out of their way to check on me and help.

But Ann also expressed frustration at difficulties homeless people face, including stigma, lack of outdoor water spigots, public bathrooms and places to charge their phones and called for more outreach workers.

Miles pressed Ann on whether police should be engaged in those efforts. They didnt have to do it, but they did it anyways, Ann said.

The relocation was conducted in conjunction with ongoing improvements to Vale Park designed to boost usage, including paring back the treeline near the Nott Terrace entrance.

Residents praised the outcome.

This was not discriminatory against homeless people, said the first resident. This was about people causing problems in the neighborhood.
The People's Bank of China (PBC), the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange again carried out joint regulatory talks with Ant Group on Monday.



Pan Gongsheng, deputy head of the PBC, answered media queries concerning the talks.

After the previous talks with regulators in December last year, Ant Group has set up a special task force to map a rectification plan under the guidance of the financial authorities and to actively carry out the rectification work, according to Pan.

Monday's talks aimed to prompt the group to face the grave problems in its financial business and the seriousness of the rectification work. The group must carry out profound and effective rectification to stay firm in serving the real economy and the people and actively respond to national development strategies, he said.

He said the group's rectification plan aims to correct unfair competition in the group's payment business, giving consumers more payment options.

According to the plan, the group should break the monopoly of information, and guarantee the security of personal and state information, he said.

Ant Group as a whole will apply to become a financial holding company, and all its institutions engaged in financial businesses will be included in the financial holding company and be regulated.

The group should strictly implement the requirements of prudent regulation, improve corporate governance, and rectify non-compliant lending, insurance, wealth management and other financial activities, and curb high leverage and risk contagion.

The group should manage the liquidity risks of major fund products, according to the plan.

For the next step, the country's financial regulators will uphold the principle of fair and strict supervision, promote fair competition, oppose monopolies, and prevent disorderly capital expansion, Pan noted.

Platform enterprises should take serving the real economy and preventing financial risks as the basis of their financial business, and all the financial activities will be put under supervision.

With the rapid development of financial technology and platform economies, new challenges for financial supervision have emerged, and it is a common problem faced by financial regulators across the world.

China's financial regulators are willing to cooperate with international financial organizations and regulatory authorities of other countries in fields including anti-monopoly, data supervision, operation management, and consumer protection, he said.
A small high-end residential community is coming to Silver Spring Township.

Lynwood Estates at 38 Woods Drive will consist of 20 new single-family homes. Home prices are expected to start at $450,000 at the residential development, which is less than a mile from the Walden residential community and about a mile from the Carlisle Pike. The development also has nine acres of dedicated open space that is currently wooded. Plans for the future open space are still being decided by the developer, Wormleysburg-based Integrated Development Partners.

We are very excited about this project, Jonathan Bowser, managing partner of IDP Real Estate, a division of Integrated Development Partners said in a press release. Cumberland County continues to be the fastest growing county in the Commonwealth, and Silver Spring Township continues to be the fastest growing municipality in the county. We continue to see great growth in healthcare and other private sector businesses. As a result, we think an out of the box concept for this excellent location will do very well as we continue to see people moving into the area due to our quality of life and job opportunities.

Integrated Development Partners purchased the approximate 20-acre property in January. Silver Spring Township supervisors conditionally approved plans to build the residential community. Site work is expected to begin later this spring and construction of the homes is expected to begin in the fall.

Integrated Development Partners is also behind several other projects in the midstate including Steel Works, a mixed use development in Steelton; The Porches at Allenberry, a resort community in Monroe Township; High Pointe at Hershey, a condominium community in Derry Township; The Lofts, a condominium community in Harrisburg; the Hampden Terminal Apartments on the Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township and the Smith Farm Partners project, a 63-acre mixed-use development in South Middleton Township.

--Business Buzz

You can follow Daniel Urie on twitter @DanielUrie2018 and you can like him on Facebook.
Am I the only one who has noticed the irony in the recent goings-on at the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation? First, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (a taxpayer-funded state agency) levies a $500,000 fine against the parks bureau (a taxpayer-funded city agency). Although I am not an expert in public finance, my guess is that taxpayers are on the hook for more as a result. Second, the Portland City Council was considering letting parks be used for setting up temporary homeless shelters. Immediately thereafter, perhaps resulting from massive public outrage, the council made parks off-limits for homeless encampments. And last, a big part of the citys brilliant response to escalating gun violence is to hire (drum roll) unarmed park rangers and pay community groups for their help. Hmm. The craziness continues.

Mitch Almy, Vancouver
Technology from Neuro Vigor draws on the work of Riyi Shi (pictured), the Purdue Mari Hulman George Endowed Professor of Applied Neuroscience. (Image provided)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Technology to provide new options for patients with neurological disease and pain has received major new support.

Neuro Vigor, a Purdue University-affiliated startup, won a $100,000 Early Commercialization Award from the Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund. The companys proprietary drugs offer new disease-modifying therapies to reduce patient suffering in neuro-degenerative conditions. This is the first time the research fund has provided support to an early commercialization company.

This award is a significant show of support for our company and technologies, said Mark Van Fleet, CEO of Neuro Vigor. Our initial target is neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury, a largely unmet medical challenge, but our solution has exciting potential for several other devastating neurological diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinsons.

Dr. Henry Feuer, neurosurgeon and chairman of the funds board, said, This creation of an early commercialization opportunity as part of our annual funding mechanism recognizes the contributions that established or startup companies could provide.

This award, using rigid National Institutes of Health criteria, will enable Neuro Vigor to bring together top scientists and collaborators in order to develop a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce the consequences from neuropathic pain, with fewer side effects.

Neuro Vigors technology is largely based on the work of Riyi Shi, Purdues Mari Hulman George Endowed Professor of Applied Neuroscience, director of the Center for Paralysis Research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and a professor of biomedical engineering.

It is an incredible honor to be recognized for our efforts to bring meaningful research out of the lab and into the clinic, said Shi, a noted Purdue neurorescientist and chief scientist for Neuro Vigor. These advances benefit not only Purdue and the scientific arena, but most importantly patients.

The Neuro Vigor team worked with the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub. The research project will involve collaboration with scientists from the University of Western Australia.

This is a very dedicated team advancing technology to impact an exceptionally important unmet medical need, said Wade Lange, vice president and chief entrepreneurial officer at the Purdue Foundry. Its yet another great example of the success of the Purdue entrepreneurial ecosystem, where researchers pair with entrepreneurs to start companies and move inventions to the marketplace.

Shi also works with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent his discoveries. This office operates as one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S.

About Purdue Research Foundation

Purdue Research Foundation supports Purdue Universitys land-grant mission by helping the university improve the world through its technologies and graduates. Established in 1930, PRF is a private, nonprofit foundation. The foundation helps patent and commercialize Purdue technologies; builds places to encourage innovation, invention, investment, commercialization and entrepreneurship; and makes equity available to students to finance their Purdue education. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

About Neuro Vigor

Neuro Vigor is an Indiana-based firm developing novel drugs to address neuro-degenerative disease, pain and injury. The companys innovative strategy reduces toxic aldehydes, a significant contributor to the pathology and symptoms of multiple neurological dysfunctions. For more information: https://www.neurovig.com/

About the Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund

The Indiana Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Fund (ISCBIR) Board was established in 2007 by the state legislature to fund research related to the treatment of spinal cord and brain injuries. These injuries to our nervous system have proven to be the most difficult to treat of all injuries. The research projects for these treatments include acute management, medical complications, rehabilitative techniques and neuronal recovery. Since 2008, our board has implemented an annual call for proposals to achieve that goal. Last year, the board expanded its annual funding mechanism to address a gap in the development of new techniques. This creation of an early commercialization opportunity as part of our annual funding mechanism, recognizes the contributions that established or startup companies could provide.

Writer: Chris Adam

Media contact: Kelly Nicholl, khnicholl@prf.org



Sources: Mark Van Fleet, mvanfleet@convergeventures.net

Henry Feuer, Hfeuer@aol.com

Riyi Shi, riyi@purdue.edu

Wade Lange, walange@prf.org
A man on Shallowford Road told police that his wife does not have a valid drivers license and took their vehicle, a 2010 Ford Escape, the day prior and he was worried about his car. He said that she drinks a lot and wanted to know what could be done. Police told him that the car cannot be listed as stolen because they are married and both own the vehicle. Police took the man's number and told him that if the car was located he would be contacted.



* * *

Police were called to a disorder on a report of a man yelling at two woman, one of which had fled the scene.

The man and woman on scene both said that there was only a verbal altercation and nothing physical.* * *A man on Kirby Avenue told police that his black 2006 Toyota Highlander was broken into. He said he last saw his vehicle around 5:30 p.m. the day before and he is mostly sure it was locked, but there was a chance it wasn't. He said the vehicle stayed parked at his residence overnight and that morning around 7:30 a.m. he discovered the glove box was open and the inside had been ransacked. Also, he said one of the panels on the bottom of the steering column was gone, exposing wires, and his stereo amplifier was missing.* * *A woman called police from her job on Brainerd Road and said that her recent ex-boyfriend was sitting in his vehicle outside of her work. Police arrived on scene and spoke with the man who explained that he was processing the recent break up.* * *A woman told police that a couple have been following her while she drives and trying to run her off the road. The woman was arrested several days prior to this on a stalking warrant reported by the couple she was accusing of following her. The woman was unable to provided evidence showing the couple attempting to run her off the road or following her around.* * *Police received a call about a man who was staying in the park at 3202 Kellys Ferry Road. The man told police that he is homeless and he stays behind the old Bi-Lo store. He said that he has been coming to the park during the day. Police explained to him that it was okay for him to hang out in the park during the day, but after hours he needed to make sure that he was gone from the area. The man said he would not be there after hours.* * *A caller reported a disorder at the parking garage at 537 Market St. A couple told police they were in a verbal disorder and that neither of them had placed any hands on the other. The woman said she had thrown her groceries on the ground because of how upset she was. Police told the couple that they should separate until they both calmed down. They both said they had calmed down due to police presence. They took the bus back to their residence.* * *A woman on S. Crest Road told police that someone broke into her vehicle between 1 and 8 p.m. She said there were no signs of forced entry and nothing was taken.* * *A woman called police from Panda Express, 2260 Gunbarrel Road, and said her purse was stolen out of her truck. She said her truck was unlocked. She said inside her purse was a set of keys to another vehicle, muscle relaxers and Gabapentin. She said she had no suspect information.* * *Police were called to a disorder at an apartment at Bayberry Apartment complex on Windsor Street. A woman told police she had sub-leased her apartment to a couple since October 2020. Both parties were told by police to come to a settlement agreement, due to the fact the couple had established residency. The woman who called police left the apartment for the night. The couple were given suggestions by police as to how to handle the situation.* * *A called reported a suspicious vehicle at the CVS Pharmacy, 3600 Hixson Pike. Police found a gold GMC Envoy parked alone in the far right side of the parking lot. When they approached the vehicle, they found one white female inside. Police asked her to step out. She identified herself and said she had just left her boyfriend and she was on her way to the ER to have her foot looked at (which had a bandage over it). She said she was changing clothes in her car and did not have a place to stay. She gave police permission to search her vehicle and they did not locate anything suspicious.* * *Police were called to Drakes, 7338 McCutcheon Road, about a woman who had been there for five hours. Management requested the woman to leave. Police spoke with the woman and she left the property.* * *Police were called about a disorder at an apartment on Mountain Creek Road. A man was in the apartment by himself and told police he was in the process of moving his personal items, which he said explained the loud noises. Police observed furniture and miscellaneous items scattered around the apartment. The man said he did not need police for anything and was fine. The man had a non-extraditable warrant out of Georgia that was checked through Sessions Court. Police left the apartment without incident.* * *A woman on Jackson Street told police that her 2018 Chevrolet Malibu was stolen from in front of her house. She she went outside and started the car at 4:30 a.m. to warm it up, and went back inside to get the kids ready. She said after she came back inside, she heard the car driving off towards E. 3rd St. (south). She said she still had the keys. She said the vehicle has a push-button start and once it is shut off it will not restart without her keys. She described the vehicle to betan or grey, with dark window tint and a dent on the rear driver's side near the wheel. She said there was no one that had any lien on the vehicle, and it could not have been repossessed. She she had no idea on the value of the vehicle and there were no weapons or items of value in the vehicle, except for an Apple Watch she had left in there. Police entered the vehicle into NCIC as stolen and instructed the woman to contact her insurance company. At 4 p.m. a woman called and stated that a vehicle was parked in her driveway that was not hers. Police arrived on scene and confirmed that the vehicle was the stolen Malibu. Police had dispatch notify the woman and had the vehicle removed from NCIC. The woman said that she could not respond, therefore Fords Garage came and towed the vehicle.* * *Police arrived at a gas station on Commons Boulevard where a manager told police that a white male in a white Honda sedan attempted to use a woman's credit card that had been reported stolen, but it was denied three times. He said the man was wearing a gray jacket, black pants and a white hat with sunglasses. The man was last seen driving northbound on Gunbarrel Road.* * *A employee of Carter Towing, 6320 Highway 58, told police they had repossessed a vehicle from the Planet Fitness on Lee Highway and, when doing an inventory of the vehicle, they found a Smith and Wesson handgun in the glove box. The firearm was taken to Chattanooga Property Division for safekeeping.* * *A man was trespassed from Panera Bread, 417 Market St., due to him sitting in the business and not making a purchase on a daily basis.* * *Police responded to the Community Kitchen, 727 E 11th St., in reference to a suspicious homeless person lying in the grass. The reporting party did not wish to see police. Police spoke with and identified the homeless man. He said he was resting and would leave the area.* * *A woman told police that she has been having issues with her co-worker for the last nine months. She said that he has accused her of stealing and has verbally harassed her. She said that she has spoken with her boss and he is aware, and she just wanted to make a report with the police.

* * *

A woman on S. Seminole Drive told police that sometime between noon and 1 p.m. the day before, a black four-door sedan pulled up to her mailbox. She said that no one got out, but someone opened the rear door, reached in her mailbox and removed some papers. She said it appeared to be an African American male between the ages of 12 to 13. She said that the vehicle has a drive out tag. She said she has not received any mail for the past two weeks and believes that this has been going on for that long. She said that she reported this to the U.S. Postal Service that morning and they told her they would do an investigation and contact her back in a few days.


South Africa: Eskom disposes of non-core properties

As part of its efforts to raise funds from the disposal of non-core property, Eskom has announced the sale of two buildings to the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

According to the power utility, this will help relieve some of the accommodation pressures faced by university students and social housing.

The sale of these two high-rise office buildings in Kimberley and Johannesburg, previously utilised as regional offices, has raised R76.1 million for the utility.

In total, Eskom aims to raise more than R2 billion from the sale of non-core property, Eskom said in a statement on Tuesday.

Staff have since been moved to other locations as part of Eskoms drive to optimise space and derive maximum value from its extensive property portfolio.

The state-owned entity said this forms part of its approved strategy to responsibly dispose of non-core immovable properties. The property disposal process is in line with Eskoms unbundling process and its bid to raise capital.

The entity said the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation has been given the first right of refusal on all properties with a residential potential, in line with government policy.

The department will therefore convert the Kimberley Trust Centre, the tallest building in the Northern Cape city, and the 26-storey regional office in Johannesburg into residential housing units, which will assist the department towards meeting its mandate of providing social housing, Eskom explained.

In terms of the sale agreement, Eskom said the Kimberley building will be converted into social housing units to meet the demand for residential units, while the Braamfontein building will enable the department to respond to the accommodation needs of university students in Johannesburg.

Eskom continues to explore similar opportunities in other areas where it owns non-core property stock. It is expected that sales of Die Wilge Flats outside the Kusile Power Station at eMalahleni and the Lephalale Stands near the Medupi Power Station will be finalised during the first half of the current financial year.

Another non-core immovable property is being offered for sale through the governments process of property disposal.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South African health authorities and scientists will meet Wednesday to discuss the US decision to suspend use of Johnson & Johnsons Covid-19 vaccine after it was linked to rare blood clots.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 will be part of the meeting and will advise the government, Barry Schoub, the head of the group, said in an interview. The South African Health Regulatory Products Authority and the scientists running a trial of J&Js vaccine will be part of the meeting, according to Yuven Gounden, a spokesman for the regulator.

The J&J shot is a key element to South Africas vaccination plan, and has already been used to inoculate health workers as part of the trial with no reported adverse effects. The version is to be manufactured in the country by drugmaker Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd., while its single-dose nature makes it easier to distribute than double-shot alternatives such as the version made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.

J&J said its delaying the roll out of its Covid-19 vaccine in Europe after the US decision to suspend the program, which the Food & Drug Administration said is likely to last just a matter of days.

We are in discussions about how should proceed in South Africa," Glenda Gray, co-chair of the J&J study, said by text message.

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A state department review is under way into the transparency over serious safety breaches at West Australian childcare centres after Nine News Perth revealed more than 40 childcare centres have been sanctioned since 2019.

A Nine News Perth investigation found the state governments Department of Communities had taken enforcement action against 43 childcare or out of school hours care centres over inadequate supervision of children, failure to protect from harm and hazard and contravening safety rules.

When Anthony Shipp went to pick up his four-year-old son Tom from after school care at a Mulberry Tree centre in October last year, he discovered Tom had been left on the centres bus on a 32-degree day.

Tom was only found by staff after Mr Shipp arrived to pick his son up and asked where he was, 30 minutes later.
A fallen Queensland police officer told his wife just days before he was murdered that he had been told zip about the search for his eventual killer because he was in the B-Team.

The coronial inquest into the death of Senior Constable Brett Forte and his killer, Ricky Maddison, also heard from a former colleague of the slain officer, who recounted walking past the killers hide-out while off-duty and out hiking a few days before the shooting.

Susan Forte leaving the Toowoomba Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon. Credit:Toby Crockford

That was before the inquest became so tied up in legal arguments on Tuesday that it lost an entire day of hearings as a result.

While on the run from police, Maddison shot Senior Constable Forte dead on May 29, 2017, near Gatton in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane.
A group of students at a school in Aledo, west of Fort Worth, were disciplined based on a slave auction they set up on social media to pretend to sell their Black classmates, according to local activists.

The Aledo Independent School District learned of an incident where students at the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus cyberbullied and harassed other students based on their race, according to a statement from Superintendent Dr. Susan Bohn. The district started an investigation that involved law enforcement.

The district did not specify what the incident involved and said administrators learned about it more than two weeks ago. Local activists told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that a group of students set up the slave auction. A screenshot provided to the Star-Telegram showed a Snapchat group with various names, including Slave Trade and another name that includes a racial slur. One person typed they would spend $1 on a peer, and another person wrote in the chat they would pay $100 for someone else.

Tony Crawford, an activist and leader with Parker County Progressives, said the situation was another in a long line of incidents that are swept under the rug.

Can you imagine what its like for somebody to put a price on your head? he said in regards to the students who were victims of the cyberbullying. I cannot imagine the embarrassment and hurt that people you might be friends with are having that conversation.

Eddie Burnett, president of Parker County NAACP, said he learned about the situation Sunday. He plans to talk about the situation at the Aledo school board meeting on April 19.

The district did not specify what discipline the students received.

There is no room for racism or hatred in the Aledo ISD, period, Bohn said in the statement. Using inappropriate, offensive and racially charged language and conduct is completely unacceptable and is prohibited by district policy.

In a letter sent to parents the week of April 5, Principal Carolyn Ansley wrote that an incident of cyberbullying and harassment led to conversations about how inappropriate and hurtful language can impact others.

The district spoke with all the students involved, as well as their parents, and made it clear that statements and conduct that targets a student because of his or her race is not only prohibited but also has a profound impact on the victims, Bohn said in the statement.

This incident has caused tremendous pain for the victims, their families, and other students of color and their families, and for that we are deeply saddened, the statement said.

___

(c)2021 the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Visit the Fort Worth Star-Telegram at www.star-telegram.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The dress...the tux....the rules. New York State is out with prom guidance, and it dictates students' behavior from the minute they walk in the door of the milestone high school dances; everything from how long they stand, and why, to who they dance with.

Among the guidelines, attendees should only be standing when necessary, for example, to enter or exit the event, use the restroom or use the buffet. Attendees may dance with members of their own party, socially distanced from others. Prom goers also cannot congregate, except for when seated at their own table. Masks must be worn. The guidance says organizers of the event should ensure compliance. But...who are the organizers?

"If the school's hosting something on its own outside, I would think they'd have the majority of control. If you're going to someplace to try and host an event, then certainly you're collaborating with somebody else," says Dr. Patricia Kilburn, Ph.D, OHM BOCES District Superintendent. "It doesn't look like it will be easy. It certainly looks like it's going to be complex."

Girls usually start dress shopping in January. But with guidance only out this week, they are three months behind.

"Inventories across the board are a lot different than what they normally are so I'm encouraging the girls, if your schools have announced, get in, get a dress get it fitted, get that stuff done now because you're basically fitting four and a half months of prom into six weeks," says Denise Houck, owner of The Princess Shop.

Whitesboro is exploring venue options that will be most conducive to a memorable prom and ball.

"We're looking at everything. We're looking at the possibility of having some of these events outside because it does allow us to increase capacity. We also have a venue right now that might be able to do inside and outside for us right now," says David Russo, Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Accountability. Mostly, Russo is just happy the dances will happen.

"I think looking at what happened last year and having to cancel so many events, right now we're just so happy that we're allowed to have a prom or a ball or end of the year ceremonies," says Russo.
SACRAMENTO  California will follow federal officials advice to pause the use of Johnson & Johnsons one-shot coronavirus vaccine, but the delay will not hamper the states plan to reopen its economy on June 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnsons vaccine currently accounts for only 4% of the states supply from the federal government, Newsom said. He added that the state is still on track to to fully reopen.

Our medium- and long-term goals are not impacted because of the abundance of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that we indeed anticipate, Newsom said during a news conference at Lake Oroville in Butte County. We were assured of that again today in our conversation with the White House.

Newsom said last week that California could reopen almost all sectors of its economy June 15 if there is enough vaccine for everyone 16 and older who wants to be inoculated and if hospital admission rates stay low.

The state plans to open vaccination appointments to everyone 16 and older on Thursday, and the Johnson & Johnson issue will not delay the new eligibility rules, the governor said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration urged states Tuesday to pause the use of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine after six women in the U.S. who received it developed blood clots. One of the women died. Nearly 7 million doses of the vaccine have been administered nationwide.

Newsom was inoculated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 1, a move designed to help address concerns that it was less desirable than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. He said he had no side effects whatsoever.

In fact, someone asked me, Which arm you get shot in? That was the next day, and I honestly didnt even remember, he said.

The J&J vaccine has been extraordinarily safe, save for six specific reported instances, Newsom said. Thats one, quite literally, in a million.

Newsom said about 8,800 people in California have appointments to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and that the state is working to provide alternative doses for them.

Dr. Erica Pan, the state epidemiologist, said California will work with health officials in Nevada, Oregon and Washington to review information that federal officials have shared on the Johnson & Johnson issue.

As the federal government has said, we do not expect a significant impact to our vaccination allocations, Pan said.

Dustin Gardiner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dustin.gardiner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dustingardiner
US President Joe Biden while speaking about the recent killing of an African-American by a police officer mentioned that there is no justification for looting and violence in the United States. The incident took place on Sunday in the state of Minnesota. He further added that peaceful protests are understandable.

He further stressed that there is anger amongst the African-American community.

We do know that the anger, pain, trauma that exists in the black community, in that environment is real, it is serious and it is consequential, added President Biden requesting people to stay calm and maintain peace.

Minnesota killing

The incident of the killing of the black man according to the Minneapolis Brooklyn Center police, took place on Sunday night when police officers stopped the mans vehicle over alleged traffic violations. The killing of the man identified as Duante Wright sparked violent protests. The Brooklyn Center Police has however has described the unfortunate incident as accidental.

Violent protests in Minneapolis

Clashes broke out as hundreds of protestors came on the streets forcing police officials to position National Guard units. A curfew is also declared in the city and nearby areas. According to the police, the protest turned more violent after protestors started throwing rocks and other projectiles at the police. Later, violent clashes broke out between police officers and protestors.

(Inputs from ANI and AP)
Engineering consultants are inspecting a Brisbane hospital's infectious diseases ward after traces of coronavirus turned up in testing there, one week after it was deep cleaned.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital's Ward 5D was shut from March 30 and deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters involving 23 cases, which resulted in a snap three-day lockdown of Greater Brisbane last month.

Metro South Hospital and Health Service says deep cleaning was undertaken by contractors last week, but testing has found the virus is still in Ward 5D.

'Subsequently, testing has shown COVID-19 related virus in Ward 5D, and further cleaning will be occurring of the ward today,' a spokesperson told AAP on Wednesday.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital's Ward 5D was shut from March 30 and deep cleaned after it was found to be at the centre of two virus clusters involving 23 cases

The service says engineering consultants are also examining the ward after maintenance reports indicated all isolation rooms were functioning properly.

Metro South stressed there were no patients currently being treated in the ward.

'It's important to remember that Ward 5D is currently closed,' the spokesperson added.

Two patients with the highly infectious UK strain of the virus, who were treated in Ward 5D, spread the virus to healthcare workers who then inadvertently transmitted it in the community.

The PA Hospital, Queensland's second largest, has been locked down since March 26 along with all other hospitals, aged care facilities, disability providers and prisons in Greater Brisbane.

Restrictions on those facilities are set to be lifted on Thursday if no further unlinked cases of community transmission are reported.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk could also soon give the green light for virus restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing indoors, to be lifted across Queensland from Thursday.
Paleoanthropologists have uncovered two new specimens of Homo erectus at the East Turkana site in Kenya. Theyve also verified the age of a skull fragment of Homo erectus  one of the oldest specimens attributable to this species  found earlier at the same site.

Homo erectus is the first hominin that we know about that has a body plan more like our own and seemed to be on its way to being more human-like, said Dr. Ashley Hammond, a researcher at the American Museum of Natural History.

It had longer lower limbs than upper limbs, a torso shaped more like ours, a larger cranial capacity than earlier hominins, and is associated with a tool industry  its a faster, smarter hominin than Australopithecus and earliest Homo.

In 1974, scientists at the East Turkana site in Kenya found one of the oldest specimens of Homo erectus: a 1.9-million-year-old skull fragment. The specimen is only surpassed in age by a 2-million-year-old skull specimen in South Africa.

But there was pushback within the field, with some paleoanthropologists arguing that the East Turkana specimen could have come from a younger fossil deposit and was possibly moved by water or wind to the spot where it was found.

To pinpoint the locality, Dr. Hammond and colleagues relied on archival materials and geological surveys.

We had to go through hundreds of pages from old reports and published research, reassessing the initial evidence and searching for new clues, said Dr. Dan Palcu, a geoscientist at the University of Sao Paulo and Utrecht University.

We also had to use satellite data and aerial imagery to find out where the fossils were discovered, recreate the scene, and place it in a larger context to find the right clues for determining the age of the fossils.

Although located in a different East Turkana collection area than initially reported, the skull specimen was found in a location that had no evidence of a younger fossil outcrop that may have washed there. This supports the original age given to the fossil.

Within 50 m of the reconstructed location, the researchers found two new specimens: a partial pelvis and a foot bone.

Although they could be from the same individual, theres no way to prove that after the fossils have been separated for so long, they said.

But they might be the earliest postcrania specimens yet discovered for Homo erectus.

Our work also suggests that this early Homo erectus was found in a paleoenvironment that included primarily grazers that prefer open environments to forest areas and was near a stable body of water, as documented by freshwater sponges preserved in the rocks.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Communications.

_____

A.S. Hammond et al. 2021. New hominin remains and revised context from the earliest Homo erectus locality in East Turkana, Kenya. Nat Commun 12, 1939; doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22208-x
WASHINGTON - Federal health officials released guidance Monday that gives fully vaccinated Americans more freedom to socialize and pursue routine daily activities, providing a pandemic-weary nation a first glimpse of what a new normal may look like in coming months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said people who are two weeks past their final shot face little risk if they visit indoors with unvaccinated members of a single household at low risk of severe disease, without wearing masks or distancing. That would free many vaccinated grandparents who live near their unvaccinated children and grandchildren to gather for the first time in a year.

RELATED: Houston COVID-19 expert concerned about early stages of virus' fourth wave

The CDC also said fully vaccinated people can gather indoors with those who are also fully vaccinated. And they do not need to quarantine, or be tested after exposure to the coronavirus, if they have no symptoms.

Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, welcomed the advice, but said it has taken too long for the CDC to tell an exhausted public when their masks can come off.

"The sooner we move to telling people if you're fully vaccinated, you don't have to wear masks, that will be an incentive for people to get vaccinated," Hotez said.

The five-page guidelines offer a road map of sorts to those who have made it through the rocky vaccine rollout to resuming aspects of daily life that have been on hold for more than a year. They come as the government and public health officials are racing to vaccinate people as fast as possible to outpace highly transmissible versions of the virus spreading in the United States. Coronavirus cases have plateaued at a dangerously high level.

After a slow start, the pace of inoculations is accelerating, with more than 58 million people in the United States having received one shot and nearly 31 million people now fully vaccinated, or about 9% of the population, according to CDC. President Joe Biden has vowed to have enough supply for every adult who wants a shot by late May, raising hopes of a return to normal life.

"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 Rochelle Walensky said in releasing the guidance. While the recommendations are a positive step,she and other CDC officials warned that millions more people need to be fully inoculated before everyone can stop following most covid-19 precautions.

The guidance had been expected to be released last Thursday. On Friday, Walensky said the agency was still reviewing the recommendations to make sure they were clear, citing "complex" issues and evolving science. Some infectious-disease experts criticized the delay.

SHORT STAFFED: Texas restaurants don't have enough staff to operate at 100 percent capacity

"I'm disappointed this was not done sooner," said Monica Gandhi, an infectious-disease expert at the University of California at San Francisco. As a clinician, she said she has been bombarded with questions from patients about what they can and cannot do. Recently, to console a profoundly depressed patient, she told him it was safe for both of them to take off their masks and hug. "I sat with him and looked him in the face," she recalled. "It meant a lot to him."

The guidance outlines several ways that fully vaccinated people can return to their old routines, although it is more general than what some people might have hoped for. It doesn't explicitly say, for instance, whether vaccinated grandparents can hug and kiss their unvaccinated grandchildren, but appears to endorse such behavior by saying vaccinated people can safely gather indoors with those in one unvaccinated household without masks or physical distancing, as long as no one is at risk of severe disease.

A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to spread the virus to others, the CDC says. While some prevention measures continue to be necessary, the benefits of reducing social isolation "may outweigh the residual risk of fully vaccinated people becoming ill with covid-19" or transmitting the virus to others, the guidance says.

In addition, relaxing certain measures for vaccinated people "may help improve covid-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake," CDC says. "Therefore, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, at low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the virus to others."

Small gatherings likely represent minimal risk - with the safest situations being for the fully inoculated to get together with one another in private settings, such as a dinner among vaccinated friends in your home, the CDC says.

But risk increases as gatherings get larger, take place outside the home and include more unvaccinated people because they may come from places with high rates of transmission.

FYI: What should you do if you lose your vaccine card?

For the fully vaccinated, decisions about social interactions come down to how much risk they are willing to take.

The level of caution people need to exercise should be determined by the characteristics of those who are unvaccinated, the CDC says. Unvaccinated people from a single household, or people living under one roof who are at low risk for severe covid-19 disease, for instance, can visit with vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks, such as grandparents visiting their grandchildren. But if the unvaccinated neighbors stop by, the visit should take place outdoors or in a well-ventilated space, and everyone should mask because there is a higher risk of virus spread among them.

If a fully vaccinated person visits with an unvaccinated friend who is 70, and therefore at risk of severe disease, the visit should also take place outdoors, with masks and physical distancing, the guidance says.

Vaccinated people should also continue to follow CDC's travel recommendations, which include delaying travel while cases are extremely high. That means vaccinated grandparents are advised against flying to see their grandchildren. And vaccinated people must still follow the same requirements before, during and after domestic or international travel, including wearing masks. The CDC requires all international travelers to show proof that they had tested negative for the coronavirus before boarding flights to the United States.

Vaccinated people engaging in social activities in public settings should continue to follow all guidance for these settings and public health precautions, including wearing a well-fitted mask, physical distancing and avoiding poorly ventilated spaces. The virus has been shown to spread in settings such as gyms and bars.

The CDC said fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed covid-19 do not have to quarantine or be tested if they remain without symptoms. But if the exposure takes place in certain crowded settings that increase the risk of spread, such as prisons and group homes, they must still quarantine for 14 days and get tested.

Advocates for older people embraced guidance that loosens restrictions on social interaction. Many older people, especially those who live alone, they said, have spent the past year in virtual isolation, hunkered down against a virus that mainly kills people over 65.

"If the CDC is offering new ways for older people to connect more in a way that's safe and healthy, this is really good news," said Katie Smith Sloan, president and chief executive officer of LeadingAge, which represents 5,000 nonprofit organizations that provide services to older people. "I think clarity is so important, and good communication around that. So we welcome this. It takes some of the mystery out of it."

Bill Walsh, vice president for communications for AARP, the interest prison that represents 38 million people 50 and older, said that "after nearly a year of the pandemic, we're grateful for any signs of return to life as we know it.

"To the extent this allows people, grandkids, families, loved ones in nursing homes or assisted living [to interact], we welcome that," he added. "We've heard over the past year some heart-wrenching stories of family separation."

But Walsh warned that health officials have a long way to go to eliminate the confusion and trepidation many older people feel about safely resuming their old lives. He said many have struggled to apply vague and often conflicting information to their lives.

Those who have already begun resuming their lives said they were elated about being able to partake in even small activities outside their homes.

After Helen Boucher, an infectious-diseases doctor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, was vaccinated in December, she began shopping at the grocery store again, and visited her in-laws, who are 88 and 90 years old and had received their first shot two and-a half weeks before. Still wearing a mask, Boucher brought them kielbasa, macaroni and cheese, and a box of chocolates.

"I felt good that I could bring them stuff," Boucher said. But she kept her visit short. "I had not been willing to put them at risk."

Hotez and his wife are both fully vaccinated and traveled by plane this past weekend to visit with their two oldest grown children, whom they haven't seen in 14 months. One has been vaccinated and the other was recently infected.

"The risk of transmission between us is very low," he said. "It's as good as it's ever going to be. Risk is never going to go down to zero."

Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, who has been vaccinated, said he will finally embrace his daughter once she is also inoculated. "I'm going to have her over to the house, and I'm going to give her a big hug that I haven't been able to do for a year," he told CNN's Chris Cuomo recently.
Business for Development 2008 offers a fresh look at African agriculture and seeks ways for it to become a profitable industry.

The changing pattern of international trade in agriculture has profound implications for Africa. The books authors discuss these trade flows, map the corporate landscape of agro-food (including the emergent indigenous sector) and assess trends in international development co-operation in agriculture. Particular focus is given to aid for trade programmes that aim to foster private-sector development and trade-capacity building.

A final chapter, drawing lessons from five country case studies, provides evidence of the (in)effectiveness of government intervention and donor programmes in promoting market access for African agriculture. It also offers evidence-based advice on how to foster agricultural development. The book emphasises how the domestic and international private sectors can become drivers of change. This book is a must read for government officials, private actors and the donor community and it may help lead to more balanced support programmes.
CAIRO  Compared with Ramadan 2020, when mosques around the world were closed for prayer during the holiest month of the year for Muslims, and curfews prevented friends and family from gathering to break the fast, the religious holiday this year offered the promise of something much closer to normal.

Last year, I felt depressed and I didnt know how long the pandemic would last, said Riyad Deis, a co-owner of a spice and dried-fruit shop in Jerusalems Old City. On Tuesday, the first day of the Muslim fasting month, its narrow alleys were alive with shoppers browsing Ramadan sweets and worshipers heading to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Mr. Deis, 51, who was selling whole pieces of turmeric and Medjool dates to a customer, recalled how empty and subdued the Old City had felt last year as virus cases surged and the authorities closed Al-Aqsa to the public. Now, Im relaxed, I have enough money to provide for my family and people are purchasing goods from my shop, he said. Its a totally different reality.
Organisers of the 2021 Austrian GP must "wait and see" before pushing ahead with plans to allow spectators into the Red Bull Ring.

That is the news from Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, who blamed the Austrian government for the uncertainty.

"Unfortunately we are very bad with the vaccination in Austria," he told the German broadcaster ntv. "We lack the vaccine, the structure, the organisation."

The 77-year-old said he has already been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"At first my age group was considered endangered, now it is being courted. The whole thing is such an unbelievable theatre," Marko insisted.

That said, he is not ruling out that widespread vaccination progress could advance to the point at which the Austrian GP could be attended by spectators.

"The Chancellor's last words were that the majority of the population will be vaccinated by the end of May," said Marko. "If that is the case, the chance of spectators is higher.

"We just have to wait and see how things develop from day to day."

He said there is more hope in Britain, because vaccination there is progressing "incredibly quickly".

(GMM)
NEW HAVEN  Luis Noel Cruz, convicted of killing two New Haven men in Bridgeport in 1994, has been freed from prison to care for his ailing mother, after U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall granted his motion for compassionate release.

Cruz was sentenced to life in prison for killing Elm City residents Tyler White and Arosmo Rara Diaz as part of racketeering offenses committed while he was a member of the Latin Kings.

In March, Attorney W. Theodore Koch, representing Cruz, argued that the risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to care for his mother, the relative harshness of his life sentence, the possibility of considering his age, 18, at the time of the offense, and Cruzs extraordinary rehabilitation while in prison were sufficient reasons to compel Hall to commute Cruzs sentence and compassionately release him.

Hall concurred in her ruling Friday, saying Cruzs arguments rose to the standard of being extraordinary and compelling, as required under federal law.

In considering the severity of Cruzs sentence, she noted Cruz had committed the slayings soon after his 18th birthday, before, based on modern scientific understanding, his brain had fully developed.

On top of that, the average federal sentence for murder between 2011 and 2020 was 22 years, she said. Cruz effectively has served almost 31 years in prison.

The effect is that Cruz, who was less than fully blameworthy for his crimes given his age when he committed them, will end up serving significantly more time than adults who, fully blameworthy for their conduct, have committed the same crimes, Hall wrote in her decision.

Hall, drawing on line of reasoning about the brain development of adolescents, previously resentenced Cruz to 35 years in prison in February 2019.

At that time, Hall extended the Supreme Courts ruling in Miller v. Alabama, in which the court found that imposing a life sentence to a juvenile convicted of murder violates the Eighth Amendment unless the adolescents crime represents irreparable corruption, to Cruz.

The decision later was overturned by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where three judges noted that Cruz was 18, which was considered an adult in other similar cases.

Cruz has multiple risk factors for COVID-19, Hall noted in her decision Friday, which has, in and of itself, led to the compassionate release of other people serving prison sentences.

He also has the opportunity to aid his mother, who is bed-bound as she suffers from a terminal disease, Hall said.

While he has other siblings in the area  which prosecutors argued meant his presence is not necessary  Cruz, as a live-in caregiver, can be present in emergency situations, when no one else is available, Hall wrote.

And Cruz, she said, had grown noticeably as a person while in prison.

Over 26 years, he never received a disciplinary ticket  Hall said she could only recall one other inmate who had achieved the same over a similar period of incarceration  maintained a job as a clerk for UNICOR, receiving laudatory remarks from supervisors, and has committed to bettering himself, taking more than 60 courses and earning a paralegal certificate.

The courts view of Cruzs life post-sentencing can be summed up in a single word: transformed, Hall wrote.

As part of that transformation, Hall said, Cruz had accepted responsibility for his involvement in the killing of White and Diaz, she said.

Although he denied involvement at his initial trial, Cruz expressed deep remorse for his actions at later proceedings and demonstrated, as not all defendants do, that he understands the devastating and irrevocable impact those actions have wreaked on the victims families, Hall said.

Neither the family of Cruz nor the family of White could be reached for comment. Tyler White was the son of then New Haven police Detective William Billy White.

Tyler Whites family previously objected to Cruzs petition for habeas corpus in February 2019, and again to his motion for compassionate release in March, citing the pain and strife he has caused them.

In March, Nancy White, Tyler Whites stepmother, said Whites mother had become ill after his passing; his father had been consumed by guilt and grief that has robbed him of peace. His daughter, an infant at the time of the killing, had grown up without a father.

(Cruz) is the direct cause of such unmitigated suffering that words continue to fall short in our attempts to explain the chaos, the heartache, and the utter anguish he has inflicted upon our family, said Nancy White.

Hall described the impact of the murder on the White family as enormous, but said she believed Cruz had shown genuine remorse for his actions.

In the courts view, Cruzs remarks were genuine and unequivocal, and reflect an honest appreciation for the lasting pain he has caused, Hall wrote.

Hall, citing the impact of the pandemic and the condition of Cruzs mother, as well as the other factors at hand, resentenced him to 30 years, or time served.

In her ruling, Hall said Cruz would remain on supervised release for five years. Cruz will move to Florida to live with his mother and participate in mental health treatment, Hall said in a separate order.

Koch said in a statement Monday that Cruz had been released, and was now with his family. He thanked Hall for her courage in making the decision.

I cant fathom the pain that the families of murder victims live with every day. I also cant fathom living in a society in which we keep reformed, rehabilitated, and wonderful men such as Mr. Cruz locked away until they die, simply out of retribution, said Koch. I think Judge Halls decision took great courage and wisdom, and I wish more judges would show those traits more often.

Prosecutors John T. Pierpont Jr. and Patricia Stolfi Collins did not return a request for comment Monday.

Asked about the possibility of an appeal, Tom Carson, media liaison for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut, said prosecutors were reviewing the decision and had no further comment at this time.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
After the programme, the siddanthi blessed the Chief Minister and presented Ugadi Pachadi.  DC Image/C. Narayana Rao

VIJAYAWADA: The Telugu New Year Panchangam (almanac) predicts an end to the Coronavirus pandemic and good days for Andhra Pradesh this year.

During Panchanga Sravanam (almanac reading) programme conducted on Ugadi festival to mark the beginning to Plava nama samvatsara at the Chief Ministers camp office at Tadepalli on Tuesday, priest predicted that Andhra Pradesh would emerge prosperous with abundant rainfall and a surge in business due to the containment of Covid-19 this year.

Government siddanthi Kappaganthula Subbaraju Somayajulu recited the new panchangam in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, ministers and eminent persons.

Observing that the meaning of Plava is a ship, the Chief Minister wished for abundant rainfall, good luck to farmers, and every sister would be happy.

Extending his Ugadi greetings to people, the Chief Minister wished prosperity for every house in the state and that everyone would win the war against Covid.

The siddanthi said the state economy would improve this year due to the planetary movements of Guru and Shukra grahas. He also observed that the Chief Ministers personal horoscope also augurs well for the state. He said Gurus stay in the Kumbha rashi for nine months, which would usher in copious rains, increase milk production, education, agriculture and finance sectors, which would give best results with all-round development.

After the programme, the siddanthi blessed the Chief Minister and presented Ugadi Pachadi. Priests of the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD) blessed the Chief Minister with vedic hymns and presented him the TTD Panchangam and Prasadam.

The Chief Minister felicitated the siddanthi, Durga Malleswara Swamy temple chief priest Lingambatla Durga Prasad, Markapuram-based priest A.V.K. Narasimhacharyulu, Tenali-based priest Mamillapalli Mruthyunjaya Prasad and deputy chief priest Kota Ravi Kumar and Vedic scholar R.V.S. Yajulu.
There was drama during a dowry payment ceremony when the bride's mother made away with the bride price paid by her in-laws. The bride's mother, identified as Anne Maweni, reportedly feared her kinsmen would short-change her and left the ceremony with the dowry amounting to Sh170,000. The ceremony was underway in Garsen, Tana River County, Kenya, when family members noticed Maweni, the bride's mother, was no longer present.



"During the ceremony, she is the one who served the guests and elders food but did not join them on the table. Nobody knew what time she left," said Mawenis sister Veronica Meilu.



Efforts to reach her on phone were futile as she had switched it off.



Maweni later texted her sister with another number asking her to oversee the remainder of the ceremony. It was then that the elders and in-laws who had gathered for the ceremony realized that something was amiss. "I was not aware of my sisters plans, but here I was being put to task, to explain how we stole the dowry and where my sister was," said Meilu.



As the leaders were contemplating reporting the "heist" to the police, Maweni called to explain why she took off. "She asked me to put the phone on loudspeaker before revealing that the dowry 'theft' was a plan she had hatched with the son-in-law before the ceremony," Ms Meilu said.



Maweni said that they switched the bag containing money with one that had wrappers.



"Yes, we counted the money together but we exchanged the bag containing money with that holding wrappers because the elders are not deserving of any gains from my daughter," Anne Maweni said on phone.



It also emerged that it was the son-in-law who left the ceremony with the bride price. Maweni defended her actions, recalling how her kinsmen abandoned her when her husband died, leaving her with two children, a five-year-old girl, and a two-year-old boy. "After the demise of my husband, you sent me away with nothing but my daughter. You took my son away, and he later died in your hands. Then, you said that the community had no use for a girl child," she told the elders on phone.



"I have left you with female wrappers to wear since you did not stand for a widow, at her time of need," she said. Ms Maweni, however, promised to send part of the dowry money to only one elder for his support during her tribulations and also standing in for her daughters marriage ceremony.



"Mzee Bajila, you are like a father to me and witnessed the atrocities against me. You fought for me in vain. So only you, deserve a portion of this money," she said and hung up.

Source: LIB









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SHELTON, Conn., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acme United Corporation (NYSE American: ACU) will release its financial results for the First Quarter of 2021 on Monday, April 19, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. EDT.

A conference call to discuss these results will be broadcast over the Internet on Monday, April 19, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. EDT. To listen or participate in a question and answer session, dial 800-367-2403. International callers may dial 334-777-6978. The confirmation code is 7892281. Access to the live webcast of the conference call can be found in the Investor Relations section of the Companys website, www.acmeunited.com. A replay may be accessed under Investor Relations, Audio Archives.

Acme United Corporation is a leading worldwide supplier of innovative safety solutions and cutting technology to the school, home, office, hardware, sporting goods and industrial markets. Its leading brands include First Aid Only, First Aid Central, PhysiciansCare, Pac-Kit, Spill Magic, Westcott, Clauss, Camillus, Cuda, DMT, and Med-Nap.

Contacts

Acme United CorporationPaul G. Driscoll, 203-254-6060pdriscoll@acmeunited.com

Source: Acme United Corporation
Three Upstate New York hunters died from self-inflicted, shooting accidents during the 2020 hunting season, which had a total of 22 reported accidents, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

All three deaths occurred during the fall big hunting seasons. Two of the fatals involved hunters who accidentally shot themselves with muzzleloaders while on the ground. The third fatal involved a crossbow hunter who accidentally fired a bolt from his loaded crossbow into his chest while hauling it up into a tree stand.

Two of the deaths occurred in Onondaga County; the other, in Saratoga County.

While up slightly from the record-low, 12 incidents documented in 2019, the (total) number of incidents in the 2020 season continues the downward trend observed over the past 20 years, DEC said.

During 2019, there was one fatal shooting-related hunting accident in the state. Joshua R. Morgan, 20, of Newport, was hunting with a group of people in a wooded area north of state Route 5 South in the town of Frankfort in Herkimer County at 8:43 a.m. when someone in his group accidentally shot him, state police said.

No charges were filed. The case was presented to the grand jury this past November and a decision was reached not to indict, according to a spokesperson from County District Attorney Jeffery Carpenters office.

This past hunting season, nine of the 22 accidents were two-party firearm incidents, and 13 were self-inflicted.

Further examination of the nine, two-party firearm incidents in 2020 reveal that seven victims involved were not wearing hunter orange or pink when afield, which along with identifying the target and beyond, are two major principles of DECs hunter safety courses, he said.

Last year the DEC for the first time offered a completely online hunting safety course, a move that resulted by the end of 2020 in 67,270 new hunters certified across the state. There was concern that the increase in numbers and new hunters afield would cause problems.

DEC noted, though, that none of the 22 shooting-related accidents this fall involved hunters taking online-only hunter safety courses. All three hunters who died had at least 10 years of hunting experience, DEC said.

In addition to the hunting accident report, DEC also released a summary of hunting-related tree-stand accidents that occurred this fall. The report noted 13 accidents with serious injuries. One was a fatal.

The DEC and police sources revealed the following about the fatal shooting-related accidents this fall:

* The first death occurred on Oct. 17 in Saratoga County. Charles Webster, 48, of Bolton, was at his hunting camp in Edinburg when he pulled a loaded muzzleloader out of his vehicle, according to poststar.com. The gun discharged and the round stuck him in the abdomen. He had 10 years of hunting experience, DEC said.

* The second death occurred on Dec. 7 in Onondaga County. State Police responded to a report of a deceased man on private property on Caughdenoy Road in the Town of Clay. An investigation determined that Brent Harrington, 40, of Central Square was hunting when his crossbow accidentally discharged. According to DEC, the accident occurred while he was hauling up his loaded crossbow into his tree stand, the crossbow fired and the crossbow bolt went into Harringtons chest. DEC said Harrington had 10 years of hunting experience.

* The third death took place on Dec. 21. Ted Taylor, 59, of Marietta, shot himself in the neck with his muzzleloader behind Faith Chapel church off West Seneca Turnpike in the Town of Onondaga, according to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office. Taylor would hunt behind a large bale of hay approximately 200 yards north of the church parking lot, according to Sgt. Jon Seeber. Following an investigation, the death was ruled an accident, Seeber added. DEC said Taylor had 40 years of hunting experience.

***********

What follows are preliminary descriptions of the 22 incidents as of Feb. 8, 2021. Some incidents are still under investigation. Some incidents involve a shooter that was participating in an illegal act. Summaries marked with an * were incidents with violations noted. More details may be added after investigations are completed this year, DEC said.

SMALL GAME & NONGAME

01/20  Jefferson County. While rabbit hunting, the shooter fired at brown objects that turned out to be his hunting partners boots, striking victim in the leg, arm, and head. Age 74. Hunting experience: 62 yrs.

02/22  Steuben County. Son shot his father in the head and upper body while squirrel hunting. Age 13. Hunting experience: 1 yr.

03/28  Schoharie County. Shooter discharged one round striking the victim in the shoulder. Shooter stated that he saw something grey and shot. Shooter had no hunting license or Hunter Safety Certificate. Age 29. Hunting experience: 0 years.*

05/20  Tompkins County. Self-inflicted. Shooter leaned his firearm against tree while shooting at a red squirrel and it slid down and discharged, striking him in the wrist. Age 75. Hunting experience: 60 yrs.

10/1  Columbia County. Shooter fired a round at a pheasant, striking a person from another hunting party in the face. Age: 74. Hunting experience: 50 yrs. *

10/11  Essex County. Self-inflicted. Shooter slipped and discharged a round into his foot while squirrel hunting. Shooter did not have a NY hunting license (minimum hunting age in NY is 12). Age: 11. Hunting experience: 3 yrs out-of-state.*

11/28  Genesee County. Self-inflicted. Shooter discharged one round from an air rifle while squirrel hunting, which ricocheted off a rock and hit his leg. Shooter had no hunting license or Hunter Safety Certificate. Age 15. Hunting experience: 0 yrs.

WATERFOWL HUNTING

10/17  Ontario County. Shooter discharged a round at waterfowl and struck a person in the face 100 yards away. Age 42. Hunting experience: 26 yrs.

10/25  Genesee County. Shooter discharged one round and a pellet struck his father in the face. Age 27. Hunting experience: 16 yrs.

10/25  Seneca County. Self-inflicted. Shooter discharged one round into her foot attempting to shoot a goose. Age 42. Hunting experience: 7 yrs.

11/06  Fulton County. Shooter discharged two rounds at a goose, which skipped off the water and hit a victim on shore. Victim was not injured. Age 52. Hunting experience: 32 yrs.

TURKEY HUNTING

05/8  Niagara County. Shooter discharged one round at 2 hunters as they approached his turkey decoy. Age 59. Hunting experience: 8 yrs. *

BIG GAME HUNTING

10/17  Saratoga County. Self-inflicted fatality. Shooter was pulling a loaded muzzleloader out of his vehicle when it discharged and struck him in the abdomen. Age 48. Hunting experience: 10 yrs. *

10/31  St. Lawrence County. Self-inflicted. Shooter discharged one round into his foot while tracking a deer. Age 16. Hunting experience: 1 yr.

11/07  Chemung County. Self-inflicted. Muzzleloader malfunctioned during discharge, injuring victims hands. Age 25. Hunting experience: 12 yrs. *

11/08  Steuben County. Self-inflicted. Shooter shot himself in the foot while distracted. Age 65. Hunting experience: 53 yrs. *

11/21  Ontario County. Shooter and victim were on opposite sides of a field and a deer walked between them. Shooter discharged 3 rounds, one of which struck the victim in the knee. Age 31. Hunting experience: 20 yrs.

11/21  Allegany County. Self-inflicted. Shooter discharged a round into his foot while unloading his shotgun. Age 30. Hunting experience: 15 yrs.

11/28  Schoharie County. Self-inflicted. Shooter discharged a round into his finger while attempting to clear a jam in his firearm. Age 30. Hunting experience: 15 yrs.

12/07  Onondaga County. Self-inflicted fatality. Shooter discharged a crossbow bolt into his chest while hauling a loaded crossbow into his tree stand. Age 40. Hunting experience: 10 yrs.

12/12  Cayuga County. Self-inflicted. Shooter tied a string to the trigger guard of his shotgun and pulled it into his tree stand. Firearm discharged and a slug hit him in the lower leg. Age 42. Hunting experience: 26 yrs.

12/21  Onondaga County. Self-inflicted fatality. Shooter discharged a round from his muzzleloader into his neck. Age 59. Hunting experience: 40 yrs.

See the complete report on the DECs website.

The DEC reminds hunters to observe the primary rules of hunting safely. They include:

Treat every firearm as if it were loaded

Control the muzzle, keep it pointed in a safe direction

Identify targets and what lies beyond

Keep finger off the trigger until ready to fire

Wear hunter orange or pink

MORE UPSTATE NY OUTDOORS

2020 NY tree stand accidents with injuries: 11 of 13 involved hunters with no safety harnesses

County by county approval needed for NY hunters age 12, 13 to hunt deer with firearms, crossbow

Hudson River striped bass fishing season: Use of in-line circle hooks with bait mandatory

NY seeks volunteers to help with increased numbers of hikers at popular trailheads and problems they cause

Troutland 2021: Upstate NY anglers share photos of their impressive catches

Confused about NYs new trout fishing plan and regulations? Go online -- for now

Dont be that trout angler who trashes the side of a stream, ruining things for others

Anglers tail: I caught a 14 1/2-inch goldfish in Onondaga Lake with my fly rod

Who goes there? The owls of New York, the unique sounds they make and more (videos)

UPGRADE YOUR OUTDOOR GEAR

Fishing Gear | Camo Face Masks | Hunting Gear | Camping Supplies
(Natural News) Censorship by the mainstream media and Big Tech of early treatment options for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) resulted in hundreds of thousands of needless deaths, says Dr. Peter McCullough.

A well-qualified physician who works as an internist and cardiologist, as well as a professor of medicine at Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center, Dr. McCullough says up to 85 percent of the over 500,000 deaths in the United States that have been blamed on Chinese germs could have been prevented had platforms like Facebook and Twitter allowed the truth to be told about safe and effective remedies like zinc and green tea.

The editor of two major medical journals and the most published person in history in his field, Dr. McCullough also says that the present high level of herd immunity proves that there is no scientific, clinical or safety rationale behind continuing to mass vaccinate people for the Chinese virus.

From the beginning, Dr. McCullough personally refused to follow the governments misguided recommendations concerning the Wuhan flu. Rather than let his patients languish at home with no treatment and then be hospitalized when it was too late, Dr. McCullough instead put together a team of doctors to evaluate appropriately prescribed off-label use of conventional medicine to help treat them.

Dr. McCullough explains all about what he and his team learned throughout this process in a paper that was published in the American Journal of Medicine.

The interesting thing was, (that while) there were 50,000 papers in the peer-reviewed literature on COVID, not a single one told the doctor how to treat it, he says.

When does that happen? I was absolutely stunned! And when this paper was published  it became  the most cited paper in basically all of medicine at that time in the world.

YouTube alone is responsible for the deaths of thousands from Covid-19

With his daughters help, Dr. McCullough put together a video incorporating four slides from his peer-reviewed paper, which was published in one of the best medical journals in the world. This video went absolutely viral on YouTube, though it was pulled within a week for violating the terms of the community.

Sen. Bob Johnson, responding to the near total block on any information of treatments to patients who test positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), held a hearing back in November to address Big Tech censorship. Dr. McCullough was the lead witness during that hearing.

No wonder we have had 45,000 deaths in Texas, Dr. McCullough stated, noting that both the media and politicians were aggressively defiant against all information on early treatments for the Chinese virus.

The average person in Texas thinks theres no treatment! he added, explaining that there are viable remedies out there that can help prevent a Chinese virus infection from causing serious harm or death.

Last August, we revealed that these remedies include not just hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) but also zinc and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol found in green tea.

What has gone on has been beyond belief! Dr. McCullough further lamented about the continued suppression of truth by the mainstream media and Big Tech.

How many of you have turned on a local news station, or a national cable news station, and ever gotten an update on treatment at home? How many of you have ever gotten a single word about what to do when you get handed the diagnosis of COVID-19? That is a complete and total failure at every level!

Dr. McCullough rightfully criticized the White House, both under Donald Trump and Joe Biden, for failing to assemble a panel of doctors to pull their last efforts to stop these hospitalizations and prevent a complete and total travesty to have a fatal disease and not treat it.

More of the latest news about Chinese germs can be found at Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Prime Minister Florin Citu pointed out that starting on Tuesday the vaccination capacity reaches 115,000 persons per day at the national level and he urged Romanians again to get immunised, as vaccination is the only way to escape the pandemic.

"Great news for the Romanians! We did what we had promised. Today the vaccination capacity has reached 115,000 persons per day. I urge you all to get vaccinated. This is the only way to escape the pandemic. We need to make a common effort to return to normalcy as soon as possible. Only by getting all involved, only by being responsible and observing the health protection measures we will be able to resume our lives before the pandemic," Florin Citu wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Florin Citu offered on Monday night his condolences to the families of the three Covid patients who died earlier in the day at the mobile Intensive Care Unit of the 'Victor Babes' Hospital in Bucharest, following a malfunction of the oxygen supply system. Citu announced that he asked the Minister of the Interior to initiate a fast investigation into the case for all those who will be found guilty to be held accountable.

"Tragedy hit again in Romania, this time at the 'Victor Babes' Hospital, where three people died for reasons still unknown to us at this moment. My condolences to the grieving families. From what we know so far, it appears to be an accident, but an investigation has also kicked off. (...) I asked the IntMin to conduct this investigation as fast and transparently as possible, for all the culprits for what happened tonight to be held accountable," Florin Citu said at the Victoria Palace of Government.

The Premier added that in the war with the Covid pandemic, hospitals and intensive care units in particular are under very high pressure, and therefore the help of all the society's actors is needed, emphasizing that vaccination is the only way out of this tough situation."We have been caught in a fight and a war with this pandemic for a year now. The pressure on hospitals is very high, the pressure on intensive care units is extremely high. Everybody's help is needed and that is why we have always said, and especially lately, that the vaccination drive is the only solution, it is very important at this time. The reason why I came out tonight - and this is important - is because I saw that the managers or the state representatives are skirting communication. The citizens need us to communicate more in such moments. They need us to come and explain. That's why I also brought [Emergency Department head] Arafat with me tonight to explain exactly what happened. He'll take your questions. What we know so far: we must no longer run away from communication. We must communicate transparently to Romanians every time," Citu said.The head of the Executive also assured that the authorities will further do their best to provide as many intensive care beds as possible, yet he pointed out that there is no guarantee now that such accidents won't happen again. "In order to reduce the pressure and make sure this doesn't repeat we need a successful vaccination campaign. They are going hand in hand at this moment," Citu declared.In his turn, head of the Department for Emergency Situations Raed Arafat said that the ICU oxygen pressure increased abruptly at 16:25 hrs, causing the US-manufactured breathing ventilators to shut down for protection. He also explained that the mobile unit's oxygen supply system was carried out by an authorized company, that there was nothing improvised in the mobile facility which has successfully serviced some 600 - 700 patients in the months since its commissioning. The ordered investigation is to determine the cause for the surge in the oxygen pressure.
A MAN who was arrested following a stabbing incident in Limerick city centre at the weekend has been charged by investigating gardai.

The suspect, whose aged in his 20s, was arrested by uniformed gardai who responded to reports of a disturbance at a flat at Ellen Street on Sunday evening.

The victim, whose aged in this 50s, sustained multiple injuries in the assault and remains in a serious condition at University Hospital Limerick.

A knife was recovered at the scene which was preserved overnight to facilitate forensic and technical examinations by members of the divisional Scenes of Crime Unit.

This evening, gardai have confirmed a man has been charged in connection with the incident and will be appear in court on Tuesday.

"Gardai in Henry Street have charged the man that was arrested in relation to the serious assault that occurred on the evening of Sunday, April , 2021 at a residence on Ellen Street, Limerick city. The man was charged this evening and is due to appear before Limerick District Court tomorrow morning."

Investigations are ongoing.
Through the kizuna, or special bond between the Federated States of Micronesia and Japan, the Japanese government has donated $3.7 million to support the FSM Fisheries & Maritime Institute, the FSM government announced Monday in a press release.

The grant will be used to secure a training vessel, training equipment, and upgrades to the institutes facilities, the FSM stated.

The FSM Department of Education and the College of Micronesia-FSM worked with the Embassy of Japan to complete and submit the grant application.

The Fisheries & Maritime Institute is located in Yap State, where it offers courses in navigation, marine engineering and fishing technology.

These programs are offered in accordance with the standards and requirements of the International Convention on Standards & Training, Certification and Watch Keeping for Seafarers, according to the FSM president's office.

The FSM became a party to the STCW Convention on Oct. 14, 1998.
Slade Rothstein, of Northbrook, had said her top priorities in this term are to be student-centered, data-driven and fiscally responsible. She said the pandemic showed that many schools were not meeting the needs of kids when they were in school. She suggested creating a data-driven dashboard, similar to the one updating health metrics, to showcase and measure the districts goals.
SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Goal Solutions, an award-winning asset management and consumer financial services company, announced today an expansion of its capabilities with the addition of an in-house collections team led by innovative, industry experienced professionals at its wholly-owned and licensed subsidiary, Turnstile Capital Management (TCM).

"TCM has managed a very successful external agency network approach for years with its dedicated and highly skilled team. This added capability at TCM expands our opportunity to serve even more asset types and customize strategies using our in-house data, technology and expertise," stated Matt Myers, President at Goal Solutions. "Our new team has a proven track record of performance and client satisfaction that will offer innovative solutions with exceptionally high standards defining success."

New VP of Collections and Operations, Michael Fromknecht, is responsible for all facets of TCM's expanding Sioux Falls, South Dakota collections and recovery operations. Mike brings his passion for connecting with borrowers as respected individuals, each with their own unique life circumstances. Over the years Mike has created an approach to the business of recovery that has produced outstanding results helping borrowers achieve successful repayment arrangements. Mike and his team work to understand the unique life circumstances of each borrower and strive to accommodate successful arrangements based on those changing dynamics. This is what decades in the business have taught him about doing things the right way while producing the desired results for everyone involved.

"I'm excited to leverage the incredible infrastructure that Goal Solutions offers to help TCM expand its in-house operations," said Mike Fromknecht. "It's a great opportunity to combine decades of experience with modern technology and innovation that are the foundation for success in the evolving collections/recovery space." Initially TCM will focus on all forms of unsecured consumer credit, including: credit cards, installment loans, government fines and tolls, auto deficiency, telecom, home improvement, utility, DDA, private student loans, and other specialty financing.

For more information, please visit www.turnstilecapital.com

About Goal SolutionsSince 2001 Goal Solutions has leveraged data analytics and technology to deliver innovative solutions for asset management, lending, and investments. The depth and variety of our capabilities provides a comprehensive skillset that creates more value and performance in serving our client's overall business objectives. Led by an executive team with decades of experience in consumer loans, Goal manages over $26B in consumer assets, offering a complete suite of asset management services.

Contact for Press Inquiries Brian Cox | VP Business Development617.680.3515bcox@goalsolutions.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goal-solutions-expands-in-house-collections-capabilities-introducing-an-all-star-team-301267261.html

SOURCE Goal Solutions
Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has said the choice of Ghana as headquarters for Twitters Africa operations is great news for the local, vibrant technology community.



In a tweet on Monday April 12, she said Twitter chooses Ghana as their regional hub for Africa!! Thumbs up for Digital Ghana! Great news for our local, vibrant tech community. We cant wait to welcome others #NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana









Twitter chooses Ghana as their regional hub for Africa!! Thumbs up for Digital Ghana! Great news for our local, vibrant tech community. We cant wait to welcome others #NAkufoAddo.#TwitterGhana https://t.co/hYXOuzFnFa

 Ursula Owusu (@UrsulaOw) April 12, 2021



The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x

 Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has commended Twitter for choosing Ghana as the headquarters for its Africa operations.The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana Mr Akufo-Addo said in a tweet.Twitter has chosen Ghana as its Head Quarters for Africa Operations.Twitter said its mission is to serve the public conversation, and its essential, for the world and for Twitter, to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it. To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.Today, in line with our growth strategy, were excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.We are looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications. Full details on current job openings can be found on the Twitter Careers site. Aligned with our existing WFH policies, we look forward to welcoming and onboarding our new team members remotely so that we can make an immediate impact while we explore the opportunity to open an office in Ghana in the future.Explaining the choice of Ghana, Twitter said As a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate. Furthermore, Ghanas recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, well continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving.We still have much to learn but we are excited to listen, learn, and engage. Public conversation is essential to solving problems, building shared ideas, and pushing us all forward together. We cant wait for the next step on that journey.

Source: 3news









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Charleston County and several cities in South Carolina have sued a number of short-term rental companies, alleging the businesses failed to pay taxes to the local governments in recent years.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Charleston County court on April 9, targets industry giants including Airbnb, Vrbo and FlipKey, as well as smaller short-term rental businesses operating out of South Carolina.

The municipalities that initiated the lawsuit are some of South Carolina's biggest tourism destinations, including Charleston, Columbia, North Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, North Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island.

Those towns and cities, along with Charleston County, accused the companies of sidestepping local accommodations and business license taxes even as the businesses controlled the payment systems for the short-term rentals in those areas.

The local governments, which are all being represented by the same group of attorneys, claim the companies should have collected and remitted those taxes to the local governments.

Airbnb, Vrbo and FlipKey either declined to comment for this story or did not return emails from The Post and Courier.

This isn't the first time the companies have faced lawsuits for allegedly refusing to pay local taxes, however. Similar lawsuits have been filed all over the country of late, including a case that was leveled against Airbnb in Georgia last year.

Airbnb and Tripadvisor, the parent company of FlipKey, both noted the risk of such lawsuits in their annual financial reports, which were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

"We are currently involved in a number of lawsuits brought by certain states and localities involving the payment of lodging taxes," Airbnb explained to the company's investors. "These lawsuits are in various stages and we continue to vigorously defend these claims."

"Several states and other taxing jurisdictions have presented or threatened us with assessments, alleging that we are required to collect and remit certain taxes there," Tripadvisor noted in its annual report. "While we do not believe that we are subject to such taxes and intend to vigorously defend our position in these cases, we cannot be sure of the outcome of our discussions and/or appeals with these states."

It's unclear at this point how much money the short-term rental businesses would be required to pay if they lose the lawsuit in South Carolina.

The lawyers who are representing the local governments asked the court to perform a "full accounting" of how many local rentals were arranged by each company in recent years. The local governments also want to calculate how much the businesses would owe in late fees for allegedly shirking those taxes in the past.

Jesse Kirchner, one of the attorneys representing the local governments, said the goal of the lawsuit is to bring the companies into compliance with the local tax ordinances in South Carolina.

"We believe they are obligated to pay them," said Kirchner, who operates his practice out of Charleston.

Kirchner and the other attorneys involved in the case  Ronald Bonds and Michael Saunders  are working on contingency, according to the city of Charleston. That means they won't make any money unless they win the lawsuit for the cities and county.

This isn't the first time Kirchner and Bonds filed a lawsuit against companies for not paying local taxes in South Carolina. Both of the attorneys helped lead a lawsuit that was filed in 2014 against travel companies like Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline.

That lawsuit led to a multimillion dollar settlement for the local governments that participated in the case.

The complaint filed against the short-term rental businesses, Kirchner said, includes some of the same claims and legal arguments as that earlier case.
MINSK -- The Belarusian Committee of State Security (KGB) has confirmed the detention of the chairman of the opposition Belarusian Popular Front (BNF), Ryhor Kastusyou, and noted political analyst Alyaksandr Fyaduta amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election last year.

In a statement on April 13, the KGB said the two men were being held on unspecified charges, adding that detailed information on the cases will be provided later.

Kastusyou's relatives said earlier that the politician had been detained in the eastern city of Shklou on April 12 and taken to Minsk.

Meanwhile, Fyaduta went incommunicado on April 12 in Moscow, where he works as a media consultant. Police in the Russian capital said they had started looking for him after his relatives raised concerns about his whereabouts.

His wife, Maryna Shybko, told RFE/RL on April 13 that she was currently in Moscow, where she went to look for him, only to learn that he had been detained.

"I do not know if he is in Minsk or in Moscow. It is funny to say that my husband is capable of committing a crime, as well as Kastusyou. I don't have the words to describe what is happening now," Shybko said.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who has ruled the country since 1994, was declared the winner in the August 2020 election, which was widely viewed as rigged in his favor.

Thousands of citizens have since taken to the streets to protest the results, saying Lukashenka's challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, actually won the election.

Tsikhanouskaya left Belarus for Lithuania after the election for security reasons, while Lukashenka has directed a brutal postelection crackdown in which almost 30,000 people have been detained, hundreds beaten, several killed, and journalists targeted in the action.

Many other senior opposition figures have also left, or were forced to leave Belarus, fearing for their safety, while several of those who haven't left have been detained by security officials.
DUISBURG, GermanyThe struggle between the U.S. and China for global influence has come to Europes gritty industrial backwaters, where China is steadily co-opting local economies starting with their railroads.

China overtook the U.S. as the European Unions biggest trading partner for goods last year, a historic turning point driven in part by Europeans hunger for Chinese medical equipment and electronics during the Covid-19 pandemic. Increasingly, those goods are arriving in Europe through a new trade corridor consisting of railroads, airport hubs and ports built with Chinese support, often as part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, the giant global infrastructure effort aimed at binding China more closely to the rest of the world. By greasing the wheels of China-Europe trade, those investments have lifted long-neglected, rust-belt cities in places like Duisburg, Germany, and Liege, Belgium.

Western officials, including in the U.S., have accused China of using the Belt and Road to trap poor countries in debt. The Chinese government has denied those accusations. While the pandemic has clouded the outlook for Belt and Road, Beijing isnt likely to abandon it now that the Chinese economy is recovering.

In Europe, China has adapted its approach, sometimes operating below the radar with local authorities and companies. China subsidizes the trains and tracks while big companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. provide direction and demand. That might help Beijing tie rich countries even more closely to China. Europes trade links with China have already made it reluctant to accede to Washingtons attempts to turn it against the Asian giant.

The number of freight trains running between China and Europe topped 12,400 last year, 50% higher than in 2019 and seven times that of 2016, according to Chinese authorities. Demand for trains has been so high that freight companies have introduced a lottery system to allocate space, according to Chinese state media.

The World Bank estimates that Belt and Road transport infrastructure can boost trade by up to 10% for countries along the route. Liege and Duisburg are both part of the Belt and Road initiative, although Germany and Belgium havent formally signed up to it, according to Chinese state media and local port officials.

In gray, unglamorous areas like infrastructure and supply chains, theres a lot less media and political attention, and more understanding that economic integration is necessary, said Bruno Macaes, a former Portuguese minister who wrote a book on the Belt and Road project.

Europes political relationship with China has soured in recent months, notwithstanding a sweeping investment deal they loosely agreed to in December. While many European manufacturers rely heavily on Chinese appetite for autos, luxury products and other goods, they are increasingly alarmed to see China take market share in areas such as advanced manufacturing and engineering.

In infrastructure, however, Europe is much more welcoming of Chinas presence and know-how, Mr. Macaes said. Chinese shipping groups own terminals or share ownership in around a dozen European ports including Antwerp, Rotterdam, Valencia and Marseille.

U.S. officials have warned their European counterparts against excessive dependence on China. The U.S. launched a more limited global infrastructure project in 2019 alongside Japan and Australia. In Duisburg, a west German steel town that handles more than a third of Europe-China rail freight traffic, trade with China rose 70% last year. A new rail terminal there part-built by Chinas Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. will help expand China trade a further 40% to 100 trains a week, according to local officials.

For Duisburg, its manna from heaven, said Markus Taube, professor of East Asian economics at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The rail lines speed compared with the sea route offers a valuable alternative for producers of perishable or time-sensitive, high-value goods like electronics. Chinese internet giant JD.com Inc. is working with the port to export European industrial and consumer goods to China, according to the ports chief executive, Erich Staake.

We are currently transporting as much as possibleas much as our tracks allow, said a spokesman for German rail company Deutsche Bahn AG, which operates trains between 17 European countries and China via Poland, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Some studies suggest that several hundred thousand trains a year could be plying the Europe-China rail route by the 2030s, he said. The rail route was recently boosted further by the blockage of the Suez Canal. Chinese investments support 23,000 jobs in the German state of North Rhine Westphalia, home to Duisburg and the Ruhr industrial heartland, while more than 1,000 local companies have invested in China, according to Andreas Pinkwart, the states economy minister.

In Liege, a Belgian city that has suffered the downturn in steel partly due to low-cost competitors in China, airfreight volumes are up 50% in the two years since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba picked the city as its European hub, said Steven Verhasselt, who runs the airports commercial department. Every month in 2020 was a record and now in 2021 we are growing 20% year on year, he said. With support from Belgian officials, the airport has combined with a sleepy rail station to create a single customs zone. Six trains a week now travel between Liege and China, making it the first dedicated service for e-commerce between the Yangtze River Delta region of China, Central Asia and Europe.

That is all before Alibaba has even completed construction on the new hub. With other Chinese companies also looking at using it, Mr. Verhasselt expects freight volumes to double over the next four years to two million metric tons annually, potentially putting the airport on par with Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt International. The airports expansion has created around 1,000 jobs over the past two years in a region with high unemployment. Belgiums postal service and other non-Chinese businesses have become heavy users of the new rail line. And aircraft and trains back to China are filling up with European goods, including milk powder, leather products, salmon and cheeses. Planes that used to return empty are now 80% full.

The rail link to China was one of the requirements that Alibaba had when selecting its European hub, said Mr. Verhasselt. The Belt and Road is a success story in Liege because of Alibaba, he said. An Alibaba spokesperson said the company is investing 100 million euros, equivalent to $119 million, to build a logistics hub at Liege Airport that should be operational this year, as part of an agreement with the Belgian region of Wallonia.

The fast rail link has provided a critical edge for Chinese manufacturers competing in Europe, said Alexander Alban, managing partner at German mechanical parts manufacturer Walter Schimmel GmbH. Italian business executives say they are being squeezed out of Germanys industrial supply chain by the Chinese, who can now transport heavy industrial goods quickly and cheaply into the heart of Europe. Chinese exports to the EU jumped 63% in January and February year-over-year, while imports from Europe rose 33%.

However, tensions exist. U.S. officials recently cautioned German officials about Chinas plans to expand its activities in Duisburg, according to a person familiar with the matter. In Portugal, where Chinese companies are considering building a container port terminal, the U.S. ambassador warned recently that Portugal must choose between America and China.

Chinese investment in Piraeus, near Athens, has helped transform Greeces primary port over the past decade from an economic backwater into Europes fourth-busiest. Cosco, which controls the port, has proposed building a fourth container terminal that could allow trade volumes to double again, potentially putting Piraeus on a par with giant European ports such as Hamburg. Ten trains a week ply a new rail route that connects Piraeuss port with Eastern European markets including the Czech Republic, transporting around 100,000 containers a year, said Nektarios Demenopoulos, a spokesman for the Piraeus Port Authority.

Greece hasnt yet approved Coscos expansion plans. Greek officials have complained the Chinese company has received most of the benefits. But after Cosco said last month that it would build a childrens playground for local residents, the mayor of Piraeus, Ioannis Moralis, expressed confidence the port would soon be better integrated with the city.

Tom Fairless

: wsj.com
Alessandra Galloni to replace Stephen J. Adler in Reuters top post.

Reuters has named Italian journalist Alessandra Galloni as its next editor-in-chief, the first woman to lead the prestigious international news agency in its 170-year history.

Galloni will succeed Stephen J. Adler who is retiring after leading the editorial team for the past decade, during which time the agency received hundreds of journalism awards, including seven Pulitzer Prizes.

Aged 47 and from Rome, Galloni has been global managing editor for Reuters since 2015, a top position at the agency which has a worldwide staff of almost 2,500 journalists in 200 locations.

"For 170 years, Reuters has set the standard for independent, trusted and global reporting, Galloni said in a statement. It is an honour to lead a world-class newsroom full of talented, dedicated and inspiring journalists.

Galloni's appointment was welcomed on Twitter by Italy's undersecretary for European Affairs Enzo Amendola with the comment "Italian pride."

Galloni speaks four languages and has broad experience covering business and political news at Reuters, where she began her career in the agency's Italian-language news service.

She then spent 13 years reporting and editing at The Wall Street Journal before rejoining Reuters in 2013 as the editor of its Southern Europe bureau.

Galloni is currently based at the agency's London office where she will remain when she takes up the top job next Monday.
Chennai, April 13 : Folk artistes across Tamil Nadu continued their protest for the second day on Tuesday over restrictions on temple festivals amid the surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the southern state. Their main demand is that the festivals must be allowed with a cap on the number of people participating in them.

The folk artistes were expecting a good season, but the second wave of the pandemic has thrashed their hopes.

P. Velmanikyam, the secretary of the Tirunelveli unit of folk artistes, told IANS, "After a total lockdown last year, we were expecting a good season this to make up for the losses. Unfortunately, it is not to be. We demand that the government should restrict the number of people coming to the temples by putting a cap on it, as a complete ban is totally unfounded." The Madras High Court had directed the state government to provide a minimum assistance to the folk artistes at the rate of Rs 2,000 per person in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, following which the Tamil Nadu government had distributed money to 6,810 registered folk artistes in the state.

The move came after the folk artistes who were not members of the Folk Artistes Welfare Board had moved the court seeking to include them in the list of beneficiaries.

The court accepted the prayer of the unorganised folk artistes and had directed the state government to pay one-time assistance to them, thus paving the way for the assistance to reach 6,810 folk artistes.

The beneficiaries include the practitioners of Nada Swaram, Therukoothu, Mangala Isai and other popular folk arts.

B. Ravichandran of the folk artistes welfare association in Nagapattinam told IANS, "The amount given by the state government is a pittance, which we used to earn for a single performance in one night. The government should come forward and relax the restrictions." The folk artistes took out a protest march before the Collectorate in Madurai on Tuesday demanding an assistance of Rs 20,000 or relaxation of the restrictions so that they don't starve.

Sundaram Kalyan, a renowned Therukoothu artiste who launched the march, said, "We demand the state government to provide us an assistance of a minimum of Rs 20,000 or please be kind enough to relax the restrictions on temple festivals. Please allow the festivals but with a restriction on the number of people attending them."
Reuters

Global stocks, oil and gold rallied while the dollar fell on Friday, after U.S. nonfarm payrolls data showed hiring increased in May as the coronavirus pandemic eased, but not quite as much as expected, tempering expectations the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy sooner, rather than later. The hotly anticipated U.S. nonfarm payrolls data showed 559,000 jobs created in May, a sharp increase in hiring from April but below the 650,000 expected from a Reuters poll of analysts. A stronger-than-expected reading would have heightened worries that the robust economic recovery could push the Fed to contemplate paring back its bond buying and raising interest rates.
Orange County Sheriff Will Ask Board to Fund Updated Shooting Range

The Orange County Sheriffs Department (OCSD) on April 13 will ask the Board of Supervisors to fund a major renovation for its shooting range and extend the consulting contract for a company that monitors inmates phone calls.

The OCSD is seeking the boards approval to award a $7 million contract to Archico, a construction company, to upgrade the shooting range at the newly renamed Sandra Hutchens Regional Law Enforcement Training Center.

The safety of the actual range itself needs to be updated, and then theyre also expanding a little bit to be able to include more realistic scenarios, Carrie Braun, OCSDs public information officer, told The Epoch Times.

The funding will allow the department to convert the existing outdoor shooting range into a fully enclosed indoor range, with new storage rooms, live-fire ranges, office spaces, a range store, locker room and restrooms, equipment and ammunition storage areas, classrooms, and an armory. K-9 daytime kennels will also be relocated.

Getting the approval from the Board of Supervisors is step one of a multitude of steps, but I think theyre planning on having the range closed for about a year right now, Braun said.

The range has already been partially upgraded with target systems that are more adaptive to firearms being used, but more is needed to bring the whole range up to code, according to a staff report. Archico was chosen because the company submitted the lowest bid to the department: $7,146,000 for the entire project.

The department will also ask the board to extend its contract for another year with a consulting company that oversees its phone system operator.

The OCSD has been paying Praeses LLC $275,000 per year to monitor its phone systems since 2019; if approved, the extension would bring the total amount paid to Praeses to $825,000. The OCSD hired the company shortly after the departments phone contractor, Global Tel Link (GTL), was accused in 2018 of accidentally recording calls between attorneys and inmates, which is illegal.

Braun said Praeses works directly with both GTL and the OCSD.

They assist us with doing spot checks on recorded phone calls and making sure that the do not record list is updated, and just really ensuring that  we dont have a recurrence of anything along those lines again, Braun said.

The department is currently engaged in a Request for Proposals (RFP) process to seek a new inmate telephone services provider and updated communications system, Braun said.

Theyre hoping that will include some additional things beyond just phone, like the ability for video calls and incorporating some of that new technology, she added.

According to the staff report, the proposalwhich was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemiccould include inmate communication technology such as email systems, video visitation, tablets, and other options.
TORRINGTON  Local health officials said Tuesday they are prepared to continue their clinics using Pfizer and Modernas shots following the news that use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be paused.

In Torrington, officials say they have only been dispensing Moderna and will not have the need to cancel any vaccination clinics due to the concerns with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, according to Torrington Area Health District Deputy Director of Health Tom Stansfield.

The Torrington Area Health District has been on the forefront of the vaccination efforts since late December of 2020, said Stansfield. We will have administered 10,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine by the end of April 2021.

. We will continue to monitor the alerts and guidance from the CDC and the Connecticut Department of Public Health and update the public through our website as new information becomes available, Stansfield said.

Hartford HealthCare, which operates Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, also issued a statement Tuesday morning, saying it was stopping all vaccines involving Johnson & Johnson.

Hartford HealthCare is not currently offering J&J vaccines at any clinics at this time and will only be offering Moderna and Pfizer, according to the statement.

According to Hartford HealthCare, as of April 13, it has provided 18,857 vaccinations using Johnson & Johnson; 236,370 doses  combined first and second  of Pfizer, and 75,971 combined doses of Moderna.

We have adjusted our vaccine distribution in every one of our vaccines clinics to provide only Pfizer and Moderna products, said Dr. James Cardon, Hartford HealthCares Chief Clinical Integration Officer. As always, safety is our first priority and we immediately followed the guidance of federal health agencies while the health concerns with J&J are being thoroughly investigated.

Torrington resident Ginger Balch, who owns In Sheeps Clothing on Water Street, received the COVID-19 vaccine by Moderna. I am OK, she said.

Barkhamsted First Selectman Don Stein said he and his wife got the Pfizer shot. There were no issues, he said.

Steve Williams, Winsteds Director of Emergency Management, said Tuesday that plans to offer vaccines through a mobile clinic with Griffin Hospital and FEMA, will continue.

Winchester/Winsted is holding two clinics this week: one on April 15 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the former Bank of America building, 44 Elm St., and April 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Faith Bible Church, 350 Main St., next to the Gilson Theater.

No Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been used, Williams said.

Winchester has not run its own clinics and has relied on the Torrington Area Health district and CVS Pharmacy, he said. Hartford HealthCare (had a) mobile clinic at the senior center back in March. All of these clinics have been using either the Maderna or Pfizer vaccines.

The two clinics this week are still scheduled to occur ... Instead of using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine they will be administering the Pfizer vaccine, Williams said. Plans are being made to return to town a a later date to administer the second dose to those who receive the first dose this week.

Williams has received a few calls from residents, asking if those clinics are being canceled, which they are not, he said.
Celebrity couple Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song are celebrating the birth of their first child.

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People confirmed that Culkin, 40, and Song, 33, welcomed a son, Dakota, Monday in Los Angeles.

Culkin and Song named their baby boy Dakota after Culkin's late sister, who died at age 29 in December 2008 after being accidentally struck by a car.

Esquire also reported the birth.

"We're overjoyed," Culkin and Song told the magazine.

Culkin and Song were first linked in July 2017 after meeting on the set of the film Changeland, released in 2019. Culkin had nothing but praise for Song in an interview on the Anna Faris is Unqualified podcast in March 2018.

"I'm with a lady right now and she is so good to me," the actor said without mentioning Song by name.

"She just does nice things, and I feel like at first I didn't know how to be treated well in that kind of way. It was a strange, almost foreign concept," he added. "So that kind of thing ... I realize it is important to me."

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Culkin is best known for starring in the first two Home Alone movies. He will appear in American Horror Story: Double Feature, the FX show's upcoming 10th season.

Song is known for playing London Tipton on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. She now portrays Madison Maxwell on the Hulu series Dollface.
CAIRO (AP)  Egyptian authorities impounded a massive cargo vessel that blocked the Suez Canal last month amid a financial dispute with its owner, the canal chief and a judicial official said Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie said the hulking Ever Given would not be allowed to leave the country until a compensation amount is settled on with the vessel's Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd.

The vessel is now officially impounded, he told Egypts state-run television late Monday. They do not want to pay anything.

There was no immediate comment from the vessel's owner.

Rabie did not say how much money the canal authority was seeking. However, a judicial official said it demanded at least $900 million. The state-run Ahram daily also reported the $900 million figure.

That amount takes into account the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic and lost transit fees for the week that the Ever Given blocked the canal.

The official said the order to impound the vessel was issued Monday by a court in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, and that the vessels crew has been informed Tuesday.

He said prosecutors in Ismailia also opened a separate investigation into what led the Ever Given to run aground. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media.

Rabie said negotiations were still ongoing to reach a settlement on compensation.

He warned last week in an interview with The Associated Press that bringing the case before a court would be more harmful to the vessel's owner than settling with the canals management.

Litigation could be complex, since the vessel is owned by a Japanese firm, operated by a Taiwanese shipper, and flagged in Panama.

The Panama-flagged ship that carries some $3.5 billion in cargo between Asia and Europe ran aground March 23 in the narrow, man-made canal dividing continental Africa from the Asian Sinai Peninsula.

The vessel had crashed into the bank of a single-lane stretch of the canal about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) north of the southern entrance, near the city of Suez.

On March 29, salvage teams freed the Ever Given, ending a crisis that had clogged one of the worlds most vital waterways and halted billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce. The vessel has since idled in Egypts Great Bitter Lake, just north of the site where it previously blocked the canal.

The unprecedented six-day shutdown, which raised fears of extended delays, goods shortages and rising costs for consumers, added to strain on the shipping industry already under pressure from the coronavirus pandemic.

Rabie, the canal chief, told state-run television there was no wrongdoing by the canal authority. He declined to discuss possible causes, including the ships speed and the high winds that buffeted it during a sandstorm.

When asked whether the ship's owner was at fault, he said: Of course, yes.

Rabie said the conclusion of the authority's investigation was expected Thursday.
First study to examine suicides occurring around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic finds that - in high-income and upper-middle-income countries - suicide numbers have remained largely unchanged or have declined in the early months of the pandemic, compared with expected levels.

However, the authors stress that governments must remain vigilant as the longer-term mental health and economic effects of the pandemic unfold and be poised to respond if the situation changes.

Study looked at numbers of suicides in 21 countries between 1 April and 31 July 2020 and compared these with trends in the previous one to four years.

A new observational study is the first to examine suicides occurring during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in multiple countries and finds that suicide numbers largely remained unchanged or declined in the pandemic's early months. The study is published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

The authors note that - while their study provides the best available evidence on the pandemic's effects on suicide so far - it only provides a snapshot of the first few months of the pandemic and effects on suicide might not necessarily occur immediately.

Lead author, Professor Jane Pirkis, Director of the Centre for Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, Australia, says: "We need to continue to monitor the data and be alert to any increases in suicide, particularly as the pandemic's full economic consequences emerge. Policymakers should recognise the importance of high-quality, timely data to support suicide prevention efforts, and should work to mitigate suicide risk factors associated with COVID-19, such as the heightened levels of stress and financial difficulties that some people may experience as a result of the pandemic. Increasing mental health services and suicide prevention programmes, and providing financial safety nets may help to prevent the possible longer-term detrimental effects of the pandemic on suicide." [1]

Professor Pirkis also stresses: "We know that many people have had their lives changed dramatically by the pandemic, and the journey for some of them is ongoing. We need to recognise that suicide is not the only indicator of the negative mental health effects of the pandemic - levels of community distress are high, and we need to ensure that people are supported." [1]

It is likely that mental health effects of the pandemic will vary between and within countries, and over time, depending on factors such as the extent of the pandemic, the public health measures used to control it, the capacity of existing mental health services and suicide prevention programmes, and the strength of the economy and relief measures to support those whose livelihoods are affected by the pandemic.

Few studies have examined the effects of any widespread infectious disease outbreaks on suicide. The new study included around 70 authors from 30 countries who are members of the International COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration (ICSPRC), which was created to share knowledge about the impact of the pandemic on suicide and suicidal behaviour, and advise on ways to mitigate any risks.

The study used real-time suicide data obtained from official government sources to determine whether trends in monthly suicide counts changed after the pandemic began. They compared numbers of monthly suicides before COVID-19 (estimated using modelling of available data from at least 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2020, and in some cases ranging from 1 January 2016) with numbers observed in the early months of the pandemic (from 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020) to determine how suicide trends changed during the pandemic. The study included 21 countries and regions (16 high-income, and 5 upper-middle-income), including whole-country data in 10 countries and data for 25 specific areas in 11 countries.

The authors found no evidence of an increase in suicide numbers in the early months of the pandemic in any of the countries included. In 12 areas there was evidence of a decrease in suicide, compared to the expected numbers [2].

The authors note that their findings could be explained by some of the steps that governments took in the various countries. For example, in many countries mental health services were increased or adapted to mitigate the potential impact of lockdown measures on mental health and suicide. Similarly, fiscal measures were put in place to buffer the financial hardship experienced by people who lost jobs or had to close their businesses as a result of stay at home orders. They also note that the pandemic might have heightened some factors that are known to protect against suicide (such as community support of vulnerable individuals, new ways of connecting with others online, and strengthened relationships through households spending more time together), a beneficial collective feeling of 'being in it together', as well as a reduction in everyday stresses for some people.

Professor Pirkis says: "Many countries in our study put in place additional mental health supports and financial safety nets, both of which might have buffered any early adverse effects of the pandemic. There is a need to ensure that efforts that might have kept suicide rates down until now are continued, and to remain vigilant as the longer-term mental health and economic consequences of the pandemic unfold. The effect of the pandemic on suicide might vary over time and be different for different groups in the population." [1]

The authors note that their study did not include low or lower-middle-income countries, which account for 46% of the world's suicides and might have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. They say that there are some concerning signs that the pandemic might be adversely affecting suicide rates in these countries, but that it is difficult to verify as very few of these countries have good quality death registration systems and fewer collect real-time suicide data. In addition, they note that data quality for all countries may have been less reliable if the pandemic disrupted data collection processes, but that sensitivity analyses to test for this in their study yielded similar results.

They also highlight that their data does not explore the association between the pandemic and suicide in different age groups, for males versus females, or for people of different ethnicities. It also does not explore the effects of various public health measures to contain the pandemic or economic support packages on suicide patterns. The authors have plans to study this in future research.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Stella Botchway and Professor Seena Fazel, University of Oxford, UK, say: "[...] despite this initial snapshot, governments and services need to remain vigilant for a possible delayed increase in suicides as a result of the pandemic. Suicide can be a lagging indicator of psychosocial difficulties, influenced by medium-term and longer-term disruptions to civic life and the economy. Other work has shown that suicides can increase following economic recession, and such increases can be sustained for several years. Without counter-measures, ongoing reductions in economic activity can translate into individual financial and personal problems, such as job losses, reduced social status, housing instability, and relationship breakdowns. Alongside social isolation and disruption of normal routines, these factors can, in turn, increase the incidence of suicide through rises in mental health conditions such as depression as well as drug and alcohol misuse. Similar mechanisms might be relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftershocks."

They continue: "Reducing the global impact on mental health of the COVID-19 pandemic will involve continued monitoring alongside early intervention and investment into mental health services. Local, regional, and national strategies should not overlook at-risk groups, including those that might be hidden from view, such as people who are homeless, living in prison, or in abusive relationships. These strategies will be informed by consortia, such as the International COVID-19 Suicide Prevention Research Collaboration, allowing for ongoing surveillance, particularly of populations at higher risk. This collaboration can also lead to more consistent collection of high-quality suicide data across different countries. Pirkis and colleagues' results are reassuring in that there has not been an initial clear increase in suicide deaths, but will need to be followed up across a wider set of countries over the next few years to investigate whether suicide will be one of the health-related aftershocks of the pandemic."

###

Peer-reviewed / Observational study / People

NOTES TO EDITORS

This study received no funding. A full list of authors and their institutes is available in the paper.

If you are reporting on this study, please consider including a link to information and support for your readers.

In the USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be contacted on 1-800-273-8255 or visit https:/ / suicidepreventionlifeline. org/ .

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email: jo@samaritans.org or visit http://www. samaritans. org

For those outside the USA and UK, Befrienders Worldwide also provide support: http://www. befrienders. org/

The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www. sciencemediacentre. org/ wp-content/ uploads/ 2018/ 01/ AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE. pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com

[1] Quote direct from author and cannot be found in the text of the Article.

[2] New South Wales, Australia; Alberta, Canada; British Columbia, Canada; Chile; Leipzig, Germany; Japan; New Zealand; South Korea; California, USA; Illinois (Cook County), USA; Texas (four counties), USA; and Ecuador
Press Release

13 April 2021

Stoneweg, the real estate investment adviser and asset manager with operations and capabilities across Europe and the United States, has consolidated its specialist management and advisory capabilities in the hotels sector into a dedicated platform, Stoneweg Hospitality, as it prepares to take advantage of market dislocation and further expand its activity in the sector. Miguel Casas has been appointed to the newly created position of Managing Director, Stoneweg Hospitality, with responsibility for leading the business' focus on the sector.

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Under Casas's leadership, Stoneweg Hospitality will seek to leverage its deep expertise and track record in the sector to build a hotels focused platform comprising investments in key European markets as economies emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Stoneweg currently has a significant hotels portfolio consisting of 1,500 rooms across southern Europe. The investment strategy will continue to be informed by supportive underlying trends and focus on markets and properties that offer the greatest opportunity to create value and deliver high quality products managed by the industry's leading specialist talent.

Miguel Casas has 15 years of experience in the hospitality investment market. He joins Stoneweg after a 10 year career at CBRE where he was latterly Head of Hotel Investment Properties, Continental Europe, with responsibility for CBRE's pan European activity in the sector, and before that Head of Hotel Investment Properties in Spain. Casas, who holds a degree in Business Administration from CUNEF in Madrid, has extensive experience in undertaking strategic transactions in the sector, as well as in brokerage and buy side advisory and investment services related to hotel assets.

Stoneweg will look to further strengthen the team as it expands its operations and maintains its high levels of client service and delivery.

Joaquin Castellvi, co-founder and head of acquisitions, Europe at Stoneweg, said: "We retain a high conviction in hotels which we believe will see a strong recovery as economies across the globe emerge from the pandemic. Over the years we have an established a strong track record in the sector and our deep-seated network enables us to source attractive opportunities, which we are already seeing as a result of the dislocation caused by COVID-19. We have therefore taken the decision to consolidate and build on our expertise by establishing Stoneweg Hospitality as a dedicated platform."

"Miguel has an extensive background in hospitality advisory and asset management which strengthens our team and will no doubt be invaluable in building this business, which we believe has significant growth potential that will translate into value for our investors."

Miguel Casas, Managing Director, Stoneweg Hospitality said: "Stoneweg already has an impressive background in hotel investment and I'm very pleased to be joining an entrepreneurial team that takes such an innovative approach to transactions and capital deployment. I look forward to working with the team to build on these foundations and to take advantage of the opportunities present in the sector on behalf of our clients."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway has called on Moscow to stop building up its military forces on the border with Ukraine.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to the statement posted on the Norwegian ministrys website.

Norway is seriously concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in and around Ukraine. Norway calls on Russia to reduce tension by immediately reversing its military deployments, and by using its influence on the armed formations it backs to curb the ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Sreide

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry notes that in recent weeks Russia has escalated tension through large military deployments in and around Ukraine. At the same time there has been a sharp increase in the number of ceasefire violations driven by the armed formations in eastern Ukraine, which the Russian Federation supplies with weapons, equipment and personnel.

The Norwegian Foreign Ministry also stresses that Russias occupation and militarisation of the Crimean Peninsula, including recent deployments, are clear violations of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity under international law. Russias military deployments on its own territory, close to the border with Ukraine, constitute a deliberate escalation of tension.

Sadly, the progress achieved through the strengthened ceasefire in eastern Ukraine that started on 27 July 2020 has been reversed by the recent actions of Russia and the armed formations it backs. We urge Russia to return to the negotiating table and in good faith seek a peaceful solution, starting by a renewed ceasefire, said the minister.

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by David Smith

FBOs are notorious for being stuck in their ways. They will store data on spread sheets rather than uploading to cloud-based software and theres still a reluctance to share data with rivals for mutual benefit.

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FBOs are afraid to show their dirty laundry, in case its used against them, says Marilena Sharpell, senior vice president of projects and communications at Global Aerospace, a UK-based company which provides aviation insurance. Business aviation flight operators have overcome this fear and come together with the single goal of safety, but FBOs are way behind.

Aviation companies take part in a number of data-sharing schemes, such as the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program in the USA. ASIAS holds regular round-table sessions and aggregates data. The potentially disastrous nature of aviation incidents has made it an imperative. But FBOs still risk major financial losses and injuries.

We pay a lot of repeat ground-handling claims because FBOs make the same mistakes repeatedly. Data-sharing would help them to develop mitigation strategies, says Sharpell.

Software as a service

Many FBOs are making use of management software to help recover from the pandemic. But there are plenty of antiquated legacy systems out there, according to Simon Underwood, product owner at management software company Myairops. He says, Cloud-based software is filtering into the slightly larger European networks not already under big brands like Signature and Universal. But smaller independent networks often have lots of manual processes.

Were migrating one FBO network with more than 150 spread sheet lists. Its a big task to centralize processes across numerous airports, borders and currencies.

During the Covid-19 epidemic, software as a service (SaaS) came into its own, he adds. With traditional

on-premises software, the need to keep servers on site and install updates slows operations. Cloud-based products have a number of benefits. The flexibility of SaaS means when it became necessary to track people at check-in who had done Covid-19 tests, we could update the software in one week, says Underwood.

A further benefit of SaaS experienced during the pandemic was being able to monitor reductions in personnel efficiently. FBOs had to run with skeleton crews. Teams of three replaced teams of 15, single managers oversaw smaller sites. Cloud-based operations managed fast-moving staffing requirements effectively, says Underwood, as well as monitoring communications with immigration authorities and partner FBOs.

In the recovery period data analytics will be invaluable, Underwood believes. Covid-19 has increased reliance on data analytics. FBOs, operators and business airports all need to understand how best to recover from the devastation, he says. That means getting a deeper understanding of trends and costs. Cloud-based software can monitor seasonal changes, and forecast demand.

Touchless sales

In the USA the cloud-based approach of Mosaix Software had unanticipated advantages in the pandemic. CEO David Castaldo says the company  which supports more than 100 FBOs  moved recently to a no-touch approach for pilots. Pilots today prefer using cellphones, or tablets, with a software app to make reservations and tell the FBO when theyre coming, how much fuel they need and what other services they require.

We didnt expect the pandemic, but allowing pilots to pay without opening their doors was an unplanned benefit.

Tablet-based systems make fueling safer, adds Castaldo. There have been incidents when the wrong fuel was put into aircraft. Theres the danger of destroying an airplane. Our line techs have access to our Ramp Fuel Board. When theres a new order for Jet-A, the system cant even accept it unless its locked into the Jet-A truck. FBOs can store it in their records, he says.

According to Castaldo cloud-based aviation software is able to manage complex operations in detail best. FBOs dont just rely on high-income passengers for revenue. Other services, such as hiring out private rooms, fuel sales and renting out hangars are integral. FBOs have to factor in outgoing expenses for everything from catering to emptying lavatories. Software can determine if each component is making or losing money. You can run loss leaders, but figures must add up to a positive number.

Our software will break it down by sector, or even building by building. Another benefit is storing information about customers online, including everything from their favorite food to where they like to stay.

Visibility and integration

Many FBOs will be reluctant to invest in updating software after steep falls in revenue because of the pandemic. But Castaldo says failing to invest could make them fat, dumb and happy just moments before they pass away. Underwood agrees and says business aviation has traditionally been slow to adopt data analytics and invest in the infrastructure required to benefit from the software.

Fueling costs are high and margins are tight. Larger airports have digital sensors that send real-time data to the operations centre. It helps track expenses. FBOs would benefit from the same level of day-today visibility, Underwood says.

Cloud-based software will integrate data about everything from flight operations, to aircraft maintenance. Data from maintenance software, for example, can be fed into the flight operations software. It allows operators to visualize scheduled maintenance, says Underwood. They can include predictive maintenance analytics, showing that a part is good for another 500 flight hours, but that it would be efficient and cost-effective to change it after 300 hours for instance. FBOs can also integrate safety management systems that pinpoint risks.

Another significant trend for airports is to use aviation software to integrate holiday retailers and operators. Booking data merges with the airport management systems for check-ins and security.

The right culture

Insights from data analytics can remain closely guarded secrets, but emulating the flight worlds culture of openness could benefit everyone. However, a culture of openness is rare when FBOs are competing with rivals at larger airports. FBOs with a monopoly at smaller airports tend to be more open about rates and services. Even then, sharing safety management data is a rare phenomenon.

But theres an even more fundamental problem to resolve before FBOs develop a sharing culture. Its essential to develop a just culture, Sharpell says. Only in a

non-judgmental safe space will employees feel secure enough to admit mistakes.

FBOs have not embraced the just culture. Operators often say that when an aircraft is damaged the FBOs promise to look into it, then fire someone and say it wont happen again, says Sharpell.

That goes totally against a just culture. Rather than fire someone  lets ask if their training has been adequate? Are the standard operating procedures hard to follow? A just culture is essential even before you get to the software and sharing data.

To illustrate the benefits of a data-sharing culture, Sharpell gives the example of an FBO in California moving a Gulfstream aircraft. Its a common source of mistakes and insurance claims, she says. Small FBOs might be unfamiliar with larger airplanes. Will they know a G550 wing grows when you turn and you need extra clearance? And will they know a G450s tail grows? If the industry shares experiences, mistakes will be far less common.

Sharpell believes it is even more vital to report near misses. If these go unnoticed, they eventually cause accidents. Lets say an operative is moving an airplane and forgets they are wearing noise-cancelling headphones. He cant hear the wing walkers and nearly hits a plane. It needs to be reported so FBOs can assess whether its individual, or systemic error. They can improve training, purchase more headsets or buy different batteries.

The impetus for developing transparency has to come from the top. But it will confer competitive advantage, she says. Staff tend to respond positively to a trusting environment and staff turnover is lower. Meanwhile, an FBO that promotes a just culture and data sharing will attract business. Most Gulfstream operators will go with the FBO that is open about safety operations rather than cheaper options, she adds.

FBOs should settle on software that can anonymize data as its essential they trust operators not to use data against them. After that FBOs should take small steps towards developing a data-sharing culture.

They can start by asking for a seat at the table for safety meetings at their local airport. They dont even need to share anything. They can listen to the safety-conscious flight operators and see how they operate. Once they get an understanding of how powerful sharing data is, theyre more likely to share, says Sharpell.

It took the flight world ten years and the non-flight world can learn a lot from them. The culture has to be built from the top down and become part of the FBO safety policy. It goes hand in hand with embracing modern software and a just culture, she adds.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:16:26|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Claiming itself as "the city upon a hill," the United States has always boasted about its role as a preacher for so-called Western-style freedom and democracy.

However, beneath the gloss, history facts have exposed that the country was born with original sins starting from colonialism, featuring violence, lies and guile.

From massacring native Indians to enslaving African people, from racial discrimination making people "unable to breathe" to military interference in other countries, the country called the United States has not changed much its colonialism gene.

The native Indians were the first to bear the brunt. "Gradual disappearance of the native tribes ... Miseries accompanying the forced migrations of the Indians," Alexis de Tocqueville, a French thinker and historian, had written in his masterpiece Democracy in America.

According to the French writer's description in the 19th century, the United States, young at that time, systematically expelled and massacred the Indian aborigines.

Several American administrations had encouraged the slaughter and suppression of native Indians. In 1814, then U.S. President James Madison issued a decree rewarding 50 to 100 U.S. dollars for every Indian's scalp. From the 1860s to the 1890s, then President Abraham Lincoln promulgated the Homestead Act, allowing every American citizen over 21 years old to obtain land in the west of the country, where native Indians used to live for generations.

"The American government does not indeed rob them of their lands, but it allows perpetual incursions to be made on them ... they will then be exposed to the same evils without the same remedies, and as the limits of the earth will at last fail them, their only refuge is the grave," wrote Tocqueville in his book referring to the misery of the Indians.

Besides bloody killing and looting, lies and coercion were also old tricks that the founders of U.S. government and their successors have been apt to use.

In years after the founding of the United States, most of Indian reservations promised by the government had gradually disappeared.

When the U.S. government decided to expand westward in the 1860s, buffalos became the critical target as Indians viewed the animal as sacred and lived on it as essential food supply. Hunting and killing buffalos meant destroying native Indians. After decades of hunting by civil hunters as well as the U.S. army, wild buffalos were nearly extinct by 1873.

The ploy worked as the words of the Sioux leader Sitting Bull went, "a cold wind blew across the prairie when the last buffalo fell -- a death-wind for my people."

During the period between 1887 and 1933, the native Indians lost about 90 million acres of land. From the end of the 15th century to the beginning of the 20th century, the Indian population plummeted from 5 million to 250,000. A real genocide in human history.

The U.S. colonial crimes have also been committed outside the country.

In modern history, the United States annexed the Philippines in 1898 and commenced a formal military occupation of Cuba in 1899. When following European colonist powers to the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society of China, the United States initiated the Open Door policy in 1899, promoting a wave of dividing China according to the interests of Western powers.

In today's world, the United States remains as a habitual meddler by wantonly interfering in other countries' internal affairs.

What an irony that a country with such bad records labels itself as the lecturer in human rights teaching other countries how to behave!

People should be alert to the fact that though the colonialism era has long gone, the aftermath of the colonial crimes such as racism, hegemonism and interventionism still haunts the world. Enditem
Palestinian movement Hamas has elected former Chief Khaled Meshaal to run its diaspora office, Anadolu news agency reports.

The Turkish state-run news agency citing a source within the group and who asked to be named because not allowed, said Meshaal was elected Monday for a four-year term. The 64-year old man will head the movements foreign policy bureau.

He led Hamas between 1996 to 2017. Now based in Qatar, Meshaal survived in 1997 an assassination attempt after agents from Israels secret service Mossad posing as Canadian tourists injected him with a mysterious poison in Jordan.

The kingdom arrested two of the attackers and demanded Israel hand over an antidote if it wanted its agents back, with the Jewish state complying with the demand. Meshaals election is part of internal elections in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and abroad by the group to renew its leadership.

The group members also re-elected Yahya Sinwar as their President in Gaza Strip. Palestinians are expected to head to polls for legislative polls on May 22 and a presidential election on July 31.
Through this partnership with GSA, Varada has the right mechanism to provide clients with the right staff and high-quality solutions to achieve their goals.

Varada (Varada Consulting, LLC), a Woman-Owned and Small Disadvantaged Business that provides highly customized Information Technology (IT) solutions and talent, today announced it has been awarded a five-year, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contract to provide IT professional services. This contract will allow Varada to expand its services within the Dept of Veterans Affairs and across other clients throughout the Federal Government efficiently and cost-effectively. As Government Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and mission-focused organizations enhance and continue to modernize their IT solutions and infrastructure, Varada will partner to provide solutions and expertise in the areas of:



IT Operations and Service Management

Infrastructure Services

Cyber Security

Agile/DevOps

Engineering and System Administration; and

Program and Project Management

"Varada is excited to achieve another milestone with our capabilities to provide the Federal government with the right solutions and expertise, said Tori Draude, Varadas Founder and CEO. "Through this partnership with GSA, Varada has the right mechanism to provide clients with the right staff and high-quality solutions to achieve their goals."

Varada will offer services to the government under SIN 54151S (IT Professional Services). Varada is also planning to become part of the Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services (HACS) program with GSA that expands agencies' capacity to test their high-priority IT systems; rapidly address potential vulnerabilities and stop adversaries before they impact agency networks.

About Varada Consulting

Based in Vienna, Virginia, Varada is a Woman-Owned and Small Disadvantaged Business. Since its inception in 2018, Varada works with clients to bring this IT expertise and solutions to Federal Agency Chief Information Officers (CIO) and mission-oriented organizations to optimize and defend the IT infrastructure needed to propel the organization to achieve their missions. Through on-demand expertise and a growing consulting network, Varadas capabilities have supported the Executive Office of the President, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Defense Intelligence Agency, and Department of Veterans Affairs. Our highly customized IT capabilities from the identification, development, and implementation of the latest technologies to procuring specialized talent in the most challenging environments allow us to support the mission objectives of the federal government. For more information, visit http://www.varadaconsulting.com
(Natural News) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a short national lockdown in response to rising Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country. She is attempting to use the powers of her federal government to enforce this lockdown despite regional leaders refusing to reimpose restrictions within their states.

Deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer announced on Wednesday, April 7, that the chancellor was supporting calls from multiple federal leaders who have been campaigning for a short, intense lockdown to help the countrys coronavirus caseload as well as its mass vaccination program.

Every call for a short, uniform lockdown is right, said Demmer. Also, a common nationwide approach would be important here.

Demmer also claimed to reporters that Germany was seeing a growing number of patients admitted into intensive care units.

But the number of occupied intensive care beds speaks a very clear language, said Demmer. It is increasing very much, very strongly and very much too fast. Intensive care physicians are worried. The government spokeswoman added that the number of patients in intensive care units has increased by five percent in the past 24 hours.

We need a stable incidence below 100, she said, referring to the number of cases over seven days per 100,000 residents. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the countrys leading federal agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention, the national figure is currently at 110.1 per 100,000 residents.

Merkels acceptance of another national lockdown comes just two weeks after she backtracked and was forced to apologize for suggesting a five-day-long lockdown from April 1 to 5 after severe political and public backlash.

I deeply regret it, and for that, I ask all citizens forgiveness, said Merkel during a speech in parliament. The mistake is my mistake alone. A mistake must be called just that. (Related: France enters third NATIONAL LOCKDOWN since the coronavirus pandemic began.)

Merkel experiencing pushback from state leaders

Under Germanys federal system, each of the countrys 16 states has the power to decide its rules regarding COVID-19. Demmer said this patchwork response to the pandemic was not contributing to security and acceptance at the moment.

Some states have imposed nighttime curfews. Others have refused to implement tougher lockdown restrictions despite the number of new coronavirus cases rising within their jurisdiction. Many have even gone ahead with rolling back some lockdown restrictions despite a previous agreement that a state would implement an emergency lockdown if cases rise by a certain amount.

Merkel has been pressing state leaders to tighten lockdown restrictions within their jurisdictions. She has even threatened to use her federal powers to solve this supposed crisis.

One option being considered by Merkel was to amend the Infection Protection Act to lay out what would happen under certain public health situations, including what Germany is going through right now. If the proposed amendment passes parliament, it could enable the federal government to enforce a nationwide lockdown without needing to seek approval from the leaders of the 16 states.

Demmer clarified to reporters that Merkels government was only considering this option and that no final decision had been taken yet.

Local newspaper Bild reported that lawmakers in the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party  Merkels party  are currently working on a draft law that would give the federal government more powers to get the alleged third wave of the coronavirus in the country back under control.

Armin Laschet, leader of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and leader of the CDU, has called for his own version of a lockdown, known as a bridge lockdown that is supposed to last for two to three weeks. Markus Soeder the conservative leader of the state of Bavaria, has also consistently advocated for tougher lockdown restrictions.

Merkel is scheduled to meet with state leaders on Monday, April 12, to decide on what action Germany should take. Laschet has called for the meeting with Merkel to be moved forward, but he hit resistance from his fellow state leaders.

On Wednesday, the number of COVID-19 cases in the country rose by 9,677 to more than 2.9 million total cases and 77,401 deaths. The RKI has warned that these numbers dont yet show the full picture, since not all of the cases discovered over Easter have been tabulated yet.

Learn more about how Germany and other European nations like France have been responding to the coronavirus pandemic by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

DW.com

Reuters.com

ABCNews.go.com
They got tattoos of each other's names after dating for mere weeks.

But Francesca Farago and her girlfriend Demi Sims proved their whirlwind romance is still going strong on Sunday, when they were snapped leaning in for a kiss while filming The Only Way Is Essex.

Stepping out in matching grunge-inspired looks, Francesca 27, slipped her hand inside 22-year-old Demi's jacket as she pulled her other half in for a smooch.

Sweet: Francesca Farago, 27, and her girlfriend Demi Sims, 22, proved their romance is still going strong on Sunday, when they were snapped leaning in for a kiss while filming TOWIE

The brunette bombshells then held hands as they enjoyed a stroll together.

Both Demi and Too Hot To Handle star Francesca slipped into black leather trousers, with Demi teaming her bottoms with a trendy vinyl bomber jacket while Francesca  who also wore a bomber  opted for a satin material.

Demi took her rocker-inspired look up a notch by weaving a silver chain through her trousers' belt loops and added height to her frame with a chunky pair of black boots.

Beneath her jacket, she wore a black t-shirt stamped with a skull graphic and held a stylish white handbag in her left hand.

Francesca opted for a cropped white T-shirt that put her toned midriff on full display.

Demi and Francesca filmed in a full face of glam, and both wore their long, glossy hair loose, with Francesca pinning her dip-dyed dresses back with a pair of sunglasses.

Loved-up: Stepping out in matching grunge-inspired looks, Francesca slipped her hand inside Demi's jacket as she pulled her other half in for a smooch

Standing tall: Demi took her rocker-inspired look up a notch by weaving a silver chain through her trousers' belt loops and added height to her frame with a chunky pair of black boots

The loved-up couple's sweet display of affection comes after Francesca revealed that Demi immediately asked her to marry her when sliding into her DMs on Instagram.

The reality star made the candid admission while appearing on the TOWIE: DRAGGED OUT digital series alongside her Essex-based girlfriend.

Francesca spoke about their first exchange of messages, and said: 'She slid into my DMs and asked me to marry her as a first question.'

Glam: Demi and Francesca filmed in a full face of make-up, and both wore their long, glossy hair loose

The new couple were appearing on a new digital show launched by The Only Way Is Essex, presented by drag artist A'Whora, who recently starred in the second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

TOWIE cast members appear on the social media-based spin-off to discuss the events of the most recent episode.

Last week A'Whora was joined by Demi and Francesca, as well as Chloe Brockett, 20, Joey Turner, 18, and Tom McDonnell, 24.

Romantic stroll: The brunette bombshells then held hands as they enjoyed an Essex stroll together

Demi recently said she and the Too Hot To Handle personality have already considered tying the knot with a post-pandemic ceremony in Italy.

The make-up artist and the model, who have been in a relationship for just two months, also defended getting tattoo tributes of each other's names after just one week of dating during their trip to Mexico.

On taking things to the next level from their first chat, the Essex native said: 'The first conversation we ever had in the DMs was about a wedding, I actually asked her to marry me as my first message and she just went along with it which was great.'

Punk rocker: Beneath her jacket, Demi wore a black t-shirt stamped with a skull graphic and held a stylish white handbag in her left hand

'But yeah we have spoke about it, obviously we've only been actually together for two months so I think I dunno it's up to you really isn't it because you said you're gonna do the proposing, so it's up to Francesca.'

Francesca added: 'I never really thought about doing it myself until I met her, right when I met her, I was like it's gonna be me, it needs to be me who's gonna do it. I already know how I'm gonna do it, she's not gonna see it coming.'

Despite not being engaged, the lovebirds already have their ideal nuptials in mind, with Demi sharing: 'I think it depends on lockdown, were moving into a new place on Monday which is gonna be really nice.

'Hopefully we're gonna move back to Essex because I miss the Essex life. We definitely don't want any lockdown weddings because that's like not a vibe.

'It needs to be like post pandemic, the very first thing I ever said to her was we need a post pandemic wedding in Italy at a vineyard, so I feel like we need to go all out.'

The reality stars shocked fans when they got their names tattooed on each other's bottom and wrist during a whirlwind holiday.

Influencer Demi, who has been living in London with Francesca for a month, stood by their decision as she explained: 'I got her name tattooed on my butt like the first week we met, yeah literally 6 days in.

'From the day that I met Francesca she kept saying ''I really wanna get your name tattooed on me, I really wanna do it I love you so much'' I just thought she was bluffing, I didn't think she was being serious.

Dragged out: Francesca recently revealed that her girlfriend Demi immediately asked her to marry her when sliding into her DMs on Instagram

'Then this one specific day we was at this beach bar and she was like I wanna do it today so then we went into a tattoo shop didn't we and you ended up getting it done in my hand writing.

'Yeah, she wrote it out like 30 times and then I picked the cute one with the heart on the I. Then I felt left out so I wanted to get her initial put on my body, she was like no I'm not letting you do it.

'She doesn't have any tattoo's so this was her very first tattoo so I was like you need to think of what it will look like, like for me I have a few so I knew for sure I wanted to do it and I was thinking about it for like a week up to that.'
COLUMBIA  Three South Carolina women face felony charges in a scheme state authorities say bilked a cable company of more than $700,000 in services and equipment.

Bria Watts, 28, Asia McCrory, 29, and Courtney Smith, 32, of Richland County were each charged by the State Law Enforcement Division with computer crimes.

State investigators accused the women of creating fake customer accounts with Charter Communications, an internet, phone and television service provider operating as Spectrum, and using the accounts to get unspecified equipment and services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an April 12 statement and arrest documents.

Investigators allege the women worked together to create hundreds of bogus accounts from 2018 to 2020 to receive the company's premium services and associated equipment, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby said. They are accused of selling the services and equipment to other people, he said.

Charter would ultimately cut off services for lack of payment, but the equipment wasn't returned, Crosby said.

According to arrest warrants provided by SLED, Watts is alleged to have given the company false personal and payment information over a period from June 2018 until June 2020 and used the fake information for services valued at almost $600,000 during that time.

Authorities accused Smith of taking of $128,965 worth of services, and McCrory of swiping $22,564 worth of services from June 2018 to December 2019.

The charges are each felonies punishable by a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years in prison, according to state law.

McCrory was charged in March and has been free without bond, online Lexington County court records show. She doesn't have an attorney listed on the records.

Watts was arrested April 9 and released the same day with no bond, records show. She also does not have an attorney listed.

Smith was arrested March 2 and was freed with no bond the same day, court records show. Smith's attorney, John Shupper, declined to comment when reached April 12, citing the pending case.
Unfortunately, as a society, we have been confronted with far too many tragic events, the company wrote on its Facebook page. Our decision to have armed security is solely intended to prevent such an event from ever occurring within our establishment. Had this out of control individual assaulted a child or another guest, we would not want to have to answer questions on why we didnt provide proper security.
by Rohana R. Wasala





The report of the ministerial subcommittee appointed by the president on February 19, 2021 to study the Final Report of the PCoI on the Easter Sunday Attacks and to suggest how its recommendations should be carried out was handed over to the president on April 5 by its secretary Harigupta Rohanadheera, the director general of legal affairs at the presidential secretariat. The sectoral oversight committee comprised minister Chamal Rajapaksa (chairman), and ministers Udaya Gammanpila, Prasanne Ranatunga, Romesh Pathirana, Johnston Fernando and Rohitha Abeygunawardane. Two days later (April 7), the media reported that the Attorney General authorized the proscription of some eleven Islamic organizations including all Thawheed groups, Sri Lanka Jamate Islam, and affiliated student movements, of which those directly or indirectly involved in the April attacks held membership.The international organizations ISIS and Al Qaeda are also now banned in Sri Lanka. The government has already initiated implementing the other recommendations of the PCoI as well, such as the regulation of madrasa education. Under the present president the rule of law, which was under stress during the Yahapalanaya, is steadily taking charge, free of political interference. The uproar raised over alleged governmental pussyfooting around the findings and recommendations of the PCoI was premature. Meanwhile the proposed ban on the Bodu Bala Sena, which had taken the public by surprise, seems to have been rightfully set aside.













The controversial recommendation contained in the Final Report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks carried out on April 21, 2019 to ban the Bodu Bala Sena (along with some other smaller national organizations) and to subject its general secretary to a form of shooting the messenger type of judgement, as concerned citizens viewed it, outraged the sentiments of the Maha Sangha, the general public, and some junior partners of the SLPP-led ruling alliance, who, obviously have no idea of the genuine reasons (whatever they were) that caused the commissioners to bracket these national organizations with the very Islamist terrorist outfits that they emerged to fight; these extremist Islamist groups are suspected to have worked to facilitate the radicalization of certain young Muslims, that ultimately led to the bombings. The recommendation, if followed through, could result in consigning the BBS leader, and through him the whole Sinhala Buddhist majority community, to a permanent denial of their right to free speech concerning Islamism and even other non-Islamic forms of religious fundamentalism, which pose a distinct threat to the long entrenched peaceful coexistence of diverse racial and religious communities in the country.





Many, including even His Eminence the Cardinal, scoffed at the idea of appointing a ministerial subcommittee to look at the Final Report and advise the government on how to implement its recommendations. They wondered whether the government was trying to hide some vital information that incriminates an individual or a group to whom it is beholden for something. Were mere MPs eligible to review judicial recommendations? However, minister Gammanpila, a member of the subcommittee, during the debate on the PCoI in parliament, explained on March 11, why such a subcommittee was deemed necessary. Two types of recommendations have been made by the commissioners, he said. One type consists of recommendations which are only for the attention of the Attorney General; the subcommittee has nothing to do with these. Then, there are a large number of recommendations (e.g., banning of extremist organizations) that need to be carried out by the government as appropriate. The subcommittee was appointed to look into the latter and make suitable suggestions on how to implement them. In the course of his parliamentary speech, Gammanpila mentioned the mysterious recommendation that advocates a ban on the BBS and that seems to subject its leader Ven. Gnanasara to a travesty of justice: He said, Instead of being punished, Ven. Gnanasara should be co-opted into the national intelligence service!. The minister is also an outspoken member of a ginger group that is apparently forming within the government ranks (something I see as a positive trend that will help keep the SLPP on the right track, focused on the mandate that the people have given Gotabaya Rajapaksa.





There is no doubt that there are arguably valid reasons, maybe at least of a technical nature, behind the PCoIs problematic advocacy of proscribing the BBS (which are probably set out in the Final Report); that is, there must be some rationalization of that recommendation. In spite of this, it is something that was not expected by ordinary citizens who have no legal sophistication. Those nationalist organizations, foremost among them the BBS, have been peacefully demonstrating against the unacceptable, aggressive activities of religious fundamentalists targeting the countrys majority Buddhist establishment (the Buddha Sasanaya) for over three decades (though the activist monks involved in these organizations have been most treacherously demonised in the eyes of the outside world through well funded, long sustained, false propaganda movements). Both monks and lay activists are in possession of concrete evidence to prove their allegations against fundamentalists, as used to be claimed by various social media posts.





Successive governments have to date mollycoddled certain opportunistic politicoes who depend on the votes of radicalized sections of the Muslim polity to get elected to parliament, but who dont dare confront the handful of extremists who clandestinely brainwash or just terrorise their victim followers. This applies in respect of the Tamil minority as well, in a different way, but perhaps to a lesser degree. Leaders of governments, irrespective of whether they mean well or ill, have had to woo the support of these narrowly communalistic opportunists just to remain in power. Coldly strategic politicking leaves hardly any opportunity for meaningful governance. Meanwhile, most members of parliament elected from among the majority Sinhalese give us the impression that they are fighting among themselves merely to secure their petty personal or party interests, while being oblivious of or indifferent to the emergent threat (of potentially genocidal proportions, according to some) that the latter are now facing. This alarmingly disgusting fact would be obvious to any disinterested observer even now. In short, politicians who have been in power over the years, or even decades, have consistently turned a deaf ear to the monks complaints, and simultaneously, they have turned a blind eye on the illegal activities of Islamist extremists such as the indoctrination of the young through illegal madrasas, defacement of Buddha statues, encroachment or vandalizing or desecration of ancient Buddhist places of worship of national archaeological importance including, for example, the Muhudu Maha Viharaya at Pottuvil in the Ampara district in the eastern province, Kuragala in Balangoda (both dated back to the 2nd century BCE), and the Devenagala Raja Maha Viharaya (known from at least the 5th century CE to the Kandyan period, i.e., early 17th to early 19th CE), near Mavanella in the Kegalle district in central Sri Lanka. Had governments got the relevant civil authorities to perform their duties without let or hindrance in terms of the long established laws and traditions, extremist activities would have been nipped in the bud. (Fortunately, though,today, some positive steps are being taken in this connection.)





When ruling politicians at any time falter due to internal and external pressures, a few government functionaries easily succumb to the lure of the bounties and blandishments that make them look the other way when the laws are violated by extremists. The vast majority of civil servants, however, execute their functions and fulfill their duties with proper patriotism and professionalism. The public must salute them.





Actually, the question of a ban to be imposed on nationalist organizations would not have arisen, if the problem of religious fundamentalist excesses had been dealt with in earnest and eliminated altogether, because the former came into existence purely in reaction to the latter. The BBS leader has repeatedly stated that his organization would be disbanded immediately after the issues he is raising are resolved. But it is not likely now that he will volunteer to terminate his activism before the criminals responsible for the April 21 attacks are brought to book and the religious fundamentalist threats have completely ceased. However, Ven. Gnanasata was not perturbed by the ban. The Sunday Morning newspaper (February 25) reported: We would be more than happy to be banned, as long as the rest of the recommendations in the report are implemented properly, the BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero said when contacted by The Morning yesterday (24). He also noted that the BBS should be provided with reasons as to why they should be banned. We havent committed any crime, we only raised our voice, he claimed.





The fact remains, however, that, had his early warnings been taken seriously and the issues duly investigated, and suitable preemptive actions taken, those monstrous attacks would not have taken place. By the time of the unexpected ouster of war winning UPFA government at the beginning of 2015, meaningful security steps had been initiated under Gotabaya Rajapaksa the then defence secretary to contain the spread of Islamist activities. But the incoming Yahapalanaya completely neglected the national security aspect of governance, and instead launched a witch-hunt against the members of the intelligence establishment that had been set up by the previous UPFA government that it replaced. The rift between the PM and President, which worsened during the latter phase of Yahapalanaya, further eroded national security, and this situation was capitalized on by the Jihadists to mount their attacks with ease, a fact that receives confirmation from the Final Report of The PCoI. We may now breathe a sigh of relief that the anti-nationalist NGO- and media-orchestrated public despair about a possible coverup of the Easter Sunday crime that the opposition politicians fed with ghoulish relish is finally being assuaged.
UPPSC exam result 2021: The Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Monday announced the results of Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services Examination 2020. The UPPSC Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services Exam Result 2020 has been released on official website of UPPSC - uppsc.up.nic.in.

Candidates who appeared in the exam, can visit the official website of the panel, and check their scorecard. You can CLICK HERE for the direct link to check the UPPSC Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services Exam Result 2020.

More than 800 candidates were called for the interviews against 487 vacancies for 24 positions. UPPSC PCS 2020 final results were declared at the official website on uppsc.up.nic.in.

This year, female candidates bagged the top two positions in PCS 2020. Sanchita, Jamia Millia Islamia University (Delhi) student bagged the first position whereas Shivakshi Dixit from Indira Nagar, Lucknow bagged the second spot. Mohit Rawat of Palwal was on 3rd, Shishir Kumar Singh from Ballia on 4th and Udit Panwar of Vivek Vihar, Meerut stod on the fifth rank.

The selected candidates will be appointed to various posts such as Deputy Collector, Food Marketing Officer etc.

More than 800 candidates were called for the interviews against 487 vacancies for 24 positions. UPPSC PCS 2020 final results were declared at the official website on uppsc.up.nic.in.
Why is there no motion sickness on Chinas high-speed trains?

People's Daily Online) 15:11, April 13, 2021

Some people might experience car sickness while driving 80 km per hour or above, and yet they will not have the slightest feeling of motion sickness when riding on a high-speed train in China traveling at more than 300 km/h.

(Photo/Lu Yingguo)

A major reason for this is the use of seamless steel rails, which is a prerequisite for the smooth operation of the trains. In order to build a seamless high-speed railway, a large number of 500-meter-long rail tracks are welded together, without leaving a single gap, which guarantees the smooth operation of trains along the track.

(Photo/Luo Chunxiao)

The train engineers proficient driving skills also ensure that there is no chance for motion sickness while riding in the train car. In order to ensure the selection of top high-speed train engineers, the Chinese railway authorities have implemented rigorous recruitment procedures to test operators theoretical knowledge and driving practices.

The smoothness of driving while operating the train can be tested by seeing whether small wooden sticks of different sizes placed on a table onboard the train fall off or not, and by counting how many of these sticks remain on the table.

Apart from the smoothness of the ride itself, a laminated form of glass used in the train windows made by bonding two layers of tempered glass with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film can help avoid any optical distortions. So passengers who look out the train windows can find that the scenery outside still remains clear without causing any sense of motion sickness when traveling at such a high speed.

(Photo/Liu Shenku)

When passing through the laminated glass of the train windows, light is refracted, which effectively eliminates dizziness, while ensuring that travelers can enjoy the scenery outside with exceptional clarity.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
GOP is again defending voter ID in court

RALEIGH  Three years after the N.C. electorate decided to add a voter identification requirement to the state constitution, Republican lawmakers are defending voter ID in court.

A multiday trial is under way in a lawsuit challenging the states 2018 voter ID law, Senate Bill 824. Lawmakers approved that law to implement the constitutional requirement. Critics say the voter ID law unfairly targets black voters.

At the close of evidence, plaintiffs believe that youll agree with us that the mountain of circumstantial evidence is so overwhelming that no alleged neutral justifications can overcome that mountain, said Allison Riggs of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Shes the lead attorney representing plaintiffs in the case.

At the end, youll conclude that North Carolina once again enacted an unconstitutional law  a voter ID law designed to keep black voters from the ballot box, Riggs added during her nearly 45-minute opening argument.

The laws defenders pointed to some inconvenient facts for Riggs and her clients. Among those facts: Some black Democrats voted for the disputed bill. You wouldnt see this support from Democrats, from African-American Democrats, if [S.B.] 824 really were weaponized for political entrenchment of the opposing party, said David Thompson, an attorney representing Republican legislative leaders.

Legislative Republicans also mounted a defense of the law in the court of public opinion.

The requirement for photo voter ID is in the North Carolina Constitution: In 2018, North Carolina voters opted to amend their Constitution to require photo voter ID, according to a news release from Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus. Reasonable people can have reasonable disagreements about whether voter ID is a good policy, but that debate is over. The Constitution requires voter ID.

The law implementing voter ID was sponsored by an African-American Democrat, Newtons release added. News coverage of the voter ID law almost always quotes left-wing activists who accuse the bill sponsors of racism. Yet that coverage almost never informs readers that one of the bill sponsors is an African-American Democrat. Reporters should take care to note that fact, not bury it.

The voter ID law is among the most permissive in the country, according to the GOP release. The law provides for free IDs to anybody who wants one. It permits a litany of ID options, from drivers licenses to college IDs to tribal IDs and more. Any voter who does not have a photo ID can still fill out a reasonable impediment form and cast a ballot. More restrictive laws in other states have already passed court muster.

A three-judge panel is hearing arguments for and against the 2018 voter ID law. Its not clear when the panel will issue a ruling.

State and federal lawsuits blocked implementation of voter ID in North Carolina during the entire 2020 election cycle. Thats despite 2 million voters (55 percent of the total) supporting voter ID in a November 2018 referendum to place the requirement within the N.C. Constitution.
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP)  A white police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb resigned Tuesday, as did the city's police chief  moves that the mayor said he hoped would help heal the community and lead to reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest.

The resignations from Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon came two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sundays shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said he was appreciative that Potter submitted her resignation but that he had not asked for it nor accepted it. It wasn't immediately clear what that would mean.

Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser! However, protesters and Wright's family members say there's no excuse for the shooting and it shows how the justice system is tilted against Blacks, noting Wright was stopped for expired car registration and ended up dead.

Elliott said the city had been moving toward firing Potter when she resigned. He said he hoped her resignation would bring some calm to the community, but that he would keep working towards full accountability under the law.

We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family deserves that, Elliott said.

Activists who attended the news conference called for sweeping changes to the Brooklyn Center Police Department and sharply criticized the acting police chief, Tony Gruenig, for not yet having a plan.

Elliott said the department has about 49 police officers, none of whom live in Brooklyn Center. He said he didn't have information on racial diversity at hand but that we have very few people of color in our department.

The modest suburb just north of Minneapolis has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino.

Wright was stopped for having expired license plates. Police then tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Body camera footage released Monday shows Wright struggling with police when an officer shouts, Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.

Protests began within hours.

In her one-paragraph letter of resignation, Potter  a 26-year veteran  said, I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately."

Wrights father, Aubrey Wright, told ABCs Good Morning America on Tuesday that he rejects the explanation that Potter mistook her gun for her Taser.

I lost my son. Hes never coming back. I cant accept that. A mistake? That doesnt even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I cant accept that, he said.

Chyna Whitaker, mother of Dauntes son, said at a news conference that she felt police stole my sons dad from him.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the police union, said in a statement Tuesday that no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.

Prosecutors in Hennepin County, where the shooting occurred, said they have referred the case to nearby Washington County -- a practice county attorneys in the Minneapolis area adopted last year in handling police deadly force cases. The Washington County Attorneys office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Elliott, the mayor, called for the governor to move the case to the attorney general to prosecute.

Ben Crump, the Wright family's attorney, spoke outside the Minneapolis courthouse where a fired police officer is on trial in Floyds death. Crump compared Wrights death to Floyd's, who was pinned down by police when they tried to arrest him for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 at a neighborhood market last May.

Daunte Wright was not a threat to them, Crump said. Was it the best decision? No. But young people dont always make the best decisions. As his mother said, he was scared.

Potter has experience with investigations into police shootings. She was the police union president and one of the first officers to respond after Brooklyn Center police fatally shot a man who allegedly tried to stab an officer with a knife in 2019, according to a report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

After medics arrived, she told the two officers who shot the man to get into separate squad cars, turn off their body cameras, and not to speak to each other. She accompanied two other officers involved in the shooting while investigators interviewed them.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor. When protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away. Forty people were arrested. Thirteen arrests were made in neighboring Minneapolis, including for burglaries and curfew violations, police said.

In Portland, Oregon, police said a Monday night demonstration over the shooting turned into a riot, with some in the crowd throwing rocks and other projectiles at officers.
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SEATTLE  An apartment building at 7515 24th Ave. N.W. sold for almost $2.1 million, according to King County records.

The sellers were two local investors who acquired the property in 2011 for a bit over $1 million.





. . .
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 05:18:53|Editor: huaxia

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VIENNA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for efforts on Monday to forestall further harm to environmental protection, food safety and human health.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks when he met Wang Qun, Chinese envoy to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna.

He said the IAEA had taken note of the concerns of relevant parties within the Board with mounting global attention to this matter, and the Agency will actively advance its work on the assessment and monitoring activities in an impartial, objective and scientific-based manner.

In the process, the agency will enhance communication with China and all other relevant stakeholders, said Grossi.

Wang pointed out that a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday expressed concerns over Japan's nuclear wastewater disposal plan.

Expressing China's support for the IAEA to play a vital role in the assessment and monitoring work, Wang said it is legitimate for China as a neighboring country, along with all other stakeholder countries, to be involved in the Agency's work on this front.

Earlier on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that China had expressed grave concerns through diplomatic channels about Japan's decision to dispose of radioactive water at Fukushima by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.

The world is watching with deep concern the upcoming decision by the Japanese side on the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the ocean. There is also strong opposition in Japan. It cannot turn a deaf ear to this, said Zhao. Enditem
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. High around 85F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then off and on rain showers overnight. Low 68F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
(Natural News) Former Pfizer Vice President Dr. Michael Yeadon implored those in the medical profession to stop giving Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines to people who are not at risk of dying from the virus.

Just stop giving them the vaccine. People are dying, Yeadon said in the Delingpod podcast with James Delingpole.

He cited the recent cases of blood clots in the brain associated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Germany where the victims were mostly women under the age of 60. Those are women who would not have died of the virus. Theyre being killed by the vaccine, said Yeadon, who has an extensive experience as allergy and respiratory researcher.

Germany had since suspended the use of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for people aged below 60 because of the risk of rare blood clots.

Yeadon slams AstraZenecas COVID vaccine trial in children

Yeadon also questioned the clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines in children, noting that there had been zero deaths among previously healthy children who acquired the disease. He specifically slammed the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial in 300 children.

Its an awful, awful behavior. Were exposing 300 children to get results that will be used for public relations purposes to coerce you to bring your children (for vaccination), Yeadon said.

University of Oxford, which developed the vaccine with AstraZeneca, said that it had suspended that trial of the vaccine in children and teenagers in Britain while it waits for regulatory guidance.

According to Yeadon, the results of that trial dont really matter because it is statistically underpowered. Meaning, the test has relatively poor probability of detecting a specific effect.

For example, the test wont detect if the vaccine can lead to the death of one in 1,000 children. Without that data, you will not know that 10,000 in every 10 million children will be at risk of dying after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

So he urged the parents not to bring their children to vaccination sites if and when a COVID-19 vaccine for children gets authorized. (Related: Moderna to start testing its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine on children  are parents really letting their kids serve as guinea pigs?)

Why would you want to take the risk of a new technology vaccine which is a few months old and give it to millions of children? The answer cannot be to save them from coronavirus, Yeadon said.

Vaccination drives lead to creation of vaccine passports

Yeadon thinks there is a bigger reason why governments insist on vaccinating everyone: vaccine passports.

Those who own or operate the vaccine passport database (i.e., the governments) will have complete control of people. They will determine where people can or cant go depending on their immunization status. They will determine the privileges a person can get.

They want to have a common platform database with your name, unique ID and immunization status, Yeadon said. That platform provides the perfect tool for totalitarian control of every living being on the planet.

There is no medical reason behind it, according to Yeadon. Governments simply want more control.

Governments cant say they want to protect the vaccinated people from the non-vaccinated people because the vaccinated ones are supposedly immune to the disease. The only plausible reason they can give is that they want to protect the non-vaccinated from each other.

But even that reasoning is flawed. Having vaccine passports promotes division in society. Its like segregating the vaccinated from the non-vaccinated population. So instead of protecting non-vaccinated people from each other, the governments actually encourage them to converge and live a life separate from the vaccinated population.

Of course, governments dont want that scenario. They prefer to control everyone. They want to create a world where they can monitor every action and predict every outcome.

Thats why theyre trying to get everyone vaccinated. They want something that has nothing to do with protecting you from this virus, Yeadon said. (Related: South Koreans without vaccine passports will not be able to go to work and enter stores.)

Its illegal in most countries to coerce people to get vaccinated

He also pointed out in the podcast that people should know it is illegal in most countries to force their constituents to get vaccinated because of treaties.

It resulted from the post-World War II court trials of Nazi doctors who experimented on humans without consent. As part of their judgment, the war crimes tribunal established 10 principles to guide physicians in all human experimentation.

First on the list is the fact that voluntary consent is absolutely essential. Meaning, no one can coerce you to get vaccinated.

The set of principles known as the Nuremberg Code is applicable in the ongoing vaccination drives around the world because, according to Yeadon, these vaccines havent been around long and that no one can tell you what would happen after getting vaccinated.

The first in the set of principles has also put into question the COVID-19 vaccine trials for children as it explicitly states that the person involved should have the legal capacity to give consent. Obviously, children have no such capacity.

Watch the Delingpole podcast featuring Yeadon here.

Other experts have raised doubts about vaccines and vaccination drives

Many other respected individuals have expressed controversial views about COVID-19.

Michael Levitt, a winner of the Nobel Prize for chemistry, told the Stanford Daily last summer that he expected the pandemic would end in the U.S. in 2020 and kill no more than 175,000 Americans and that when we come to look back, were going to say that wasnt such a terrible disease.

Luc Montagnier, another Nobel Prize winner, said last year that he believed the coronavirus was created in a Chinese lab. Many experts doubt that, but so far there is no way to prove or disprove it.

In a debate last fall in Britains House of Commons about the governments response to the pandemic, parliamentarian Richard Drax called Yeadon an eminent scientist, and cited his view that the virus is both manageable and nearing its end.

David Kurten, a member of the London Assembly, tweeted there is a real danger that COVID-19 vaccines could leave women infertile. The cure must not be worse than the disease,' Kurten wrote.

Just recently, vaccine expert Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche urged governments to stop vaccination drives. He said in an open letter that vaccinations will fuel the spread of new dangerous variants of the virus.

Follow Immunization.news for more news and information related to coronavirus vaccines.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

BBC.com

Reuters.com
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OTIS  After a lull in public debate, officials in Otis plan to take up the proposed cell phone tower near Big Pond. The Select Board is scheduled to discuss the logistics of a balloon test at the site near Churchill and Great Woods roads.

The tower is opposed by residents of the Big Pond area in east Otis. They have called on town officials to halt the project, which the town itself initiated in an effort to improve the infrastructure for emergency communications in the region.

One bidder responded to a request for proposals in January. That company, the Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is offering to pay Otis $18,600 a year to lease a 3,600-square-foot parcel off an access road on the northwest side of the pond.

The project is sketched out in the company's Jan. 28 response to the town, a copy of which was obtained by The Eagle. The company says it seeks to erect a tower in a 60-by-60-foot fenced compound that would be equipped with an emergency generator.

The tower, so far of unspecified height, would hold equipment for four wireless carriers as well as telecommunications equipment that the town of Otis seeks to place, at its expense.

In its proposal, a Verizon Wireless official says the tower is meant to help communications in a signal-starved area. The purpose of the installation will be to provide improved coverage and service to the Big Pond area of the Town, wrote Keith Murray, the company's director of network field engineering.

Residents who oppose the tower say they don't want to trade the beauty of their pond's surrounding landscape for improved cell signals. This is the same company that built a new monopole tower at the rear of 877 South St. in Pittsfield, a project that was completed last summer but is still being fought in court by residents of the Alma Street area.

The Select Board's discussion Tuesday, which is item six on the agenda, will focus on the question of the balloon test. Such tests are common in cell tower projects. In them, balloons are floated to tentative heights for a tower, with images capturing the look from different angles.

Murray's proposal acknowledges that it is "generic" on the tower installation, with the final location for the compound, and the tower's height, to be determined. The site that would hold the tower is listed on the Otis assessors' map as 11C, Parcel 23.

Verizon Wireless proposes that it lease for the land for five years, with four, five-year extensions with lease fee increases of 3.5 percent at each renewal.

The proposal says it would take three to six months to erect the tower, which would need to secure various town permits and approvals.

Murray's proposal says that Verizon Wireless would "provide full landscaping to conceal any ground equipment to the maximum extent feasible" and would "maintain the Right-of-Way in a manner that maintains or enhances the scenic beauty of the surrounding land ."

The Select Board meeting starts at 7:30 and will be conducted on Zoom. The meeting ID is 898 7035 9402 and the passcode is 110841.
Darktrace is set to call on a high-profile roster of heavy hitters as it drums up support for its forthcoming float.

The decision by bosses to push ahead with the London listing, which could value the cyber security firm at 3billion, comes just weeks after fellow tech firm Deliveroo flopped on its debut.

Darktrace's close links with Autonomy founder Mike Lynch, an early backer who is embroiled in fraud allegations, are also under scrutiny.

Establishment roots: Darktrace founder Poppy Gustafsson, left, Tory peer David Willetts, right, and City veteran Sir Peter Bonfield lead Darktrace

The Cambridge firm has warned investors that a ruling against Lynch in court could harm its reputation and force the sale of his shares in the business.

And it is set to call on a string of City grandees and former government ministers to press the flesh on its behalf.

Former universities and science minister David Willetts, 65, was recently appointed to the board, and ex-BT boss Sir Peter Bonfield is a director who has served on the boards of firms such as Sony and Ericsson.

Other advisers include former MI5 director Lord Evans, senior CIA veteran Alan Wade and former UK home secretary Amber Rudd. They could be key to keeping investors on-side.

Darktrace was founded in 2013 by a group of Cambridge mathematicians and former spies.

Clients range from Rolls-Royce to Coca Cola. But the long-running association with Lynch, 55, could be a thorn in its side.

On the board: City veteran Sir Peter Bonfield

He is in court on both sides of the Atlantic, battling claims that he cooked the books at Autonomy before it was sold to Hewlett Packard for 7billion in 2011.

Lynch denies any wrongdoing. But he is awaiting judgment after a civil trial in the UK's High Court, while another judge is also set to rule imminently on the separate question of whether the tycoon can be extradited to face criminal charges in the US.

Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's former finance chief, has already been prosecuted and jailed by US authorities, while former vice-president Stephen Chamberlain has been charged.

Chamberlain is a Darktrace employee, serving as operating chief, although he is currently on administrative leave.

In recent years, Lynch has distanced himself from Darktrace. He stepped down as a director in December 2018 after a US grand jury charged him with 14 counts of conspiracy and fraud.

But he continued to sit on Darktrace's advisory board until last month and still sits on its science and technology board.

Darktrace and Lynch remain linked in other ways. The firm's boss, Poppy Gustafsson, is a former Autonomy executive who worked under Lynch, as is her former co-chief Nicole Eagan.

Along with Lynch and Hussain, Eagan founded Invoke Capital, which became Darktrace's first financial backer with a 10,000 investment eight years ago.

Since then Invoke has provided extensive help to Darktrace, and key figures such as Gustafsson, Eagan, technology chief Jack Stockdale and marketing chief Emily Orton were moved across from it.

Since 2018, Invoke has been paid roughly 6.5million for services to Darktrace, according to the firm's registration document.

Darktrace has taken steps to distance itself from Lynch and Invoke, including paying 1.2million to terminate their relationship.

And it has warned its remaining exposure to Lynch still presents risks. He and his wife, Angela Bacares, own roughly 19 per cent of the firm and could make 570million from the listing.

But Darktrace said that if Lynch's legal jeopardy worsens, he may have to sell his shares, undermining the stock price. It also warned that if he is found guilty in the US, Darktrace could face money-laundering charges.

Eagan, who is strategy chief, was previously questioned as part of US inquiries into Autonomy. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on her part.

Gustafsson on Monday said Lynch has 'no involvement in the day to day running of the company'. If questions persist, however, she may find that an increasingly tricky tightrope to walk.
According to a press release published by Boeing on April 12, 2021, the first P-8A Poseidon fuselage for Norway arrived at Boeing facilities in Renton, Washington, from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, marking a major milestone in the production of the first of five Poseidons for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

According to a press release published by Boeing on April 12, 2021, the first P-8A Poseidon fuselage for Norway arrived at Boeing facilities in Renton, Washington, from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, marking a major milestone in the production of the first of five Poseidons for the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Norways first P-8A Poseidon aircraft is moved from a rail car through the air to the first step of the assembly process, the Fuselage Systems Installation tool, in Renton, Washington (Picture source: Boeing)

A derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation commercial aircraft, the P-8 is first assembled at Boeing Commercial Airplanes 737 production line, where the fuselage receives additional wiring and systems needed to support military components, equipment and operation. The aircraft is then delivered to Boeings Defense, Space & Security unit for the installation of military systems, testing and delivery to military customers.

Boeing uses a proven in-line production process to efficiently build the aircraft, said Christian Thomsen, P-8A Europe program manager. Implementing established best practices and common, commercial production-system tools enables the team to reduce flow time and cost while ensuring quality and on-time delivery to our customers.

Norway is expected to receive its first P-8 later this year. In total, five P-8s will eventually replace Norways current fleet of six P-3 Orions and three DA-20 Jet Falcons and will provide advanced capabilities to maintain situational awareness in neighboring waters on and below the surface of the ocean.

To date, Boeing has delivered 104 P-8 aircraft to the U.S. Navy and customers in Australia, India and the United Kingdom.
Charmagne Mavudzi is a force to be reckoned with. As a student, she launched an industry-first mobile beauty app platform that was honoured on Dragon's Den. As a professional, she held managerial roles at Handel and Accenture. Currently, she heads up the Volvo Car South Africa (VCSA) brand, an admirable feat. Mavudzi's official title is head of consumer experience, which is essentially a hybrid marketing role.

Charmagne Mavudzi

Can you share with our readers your recent brand campaigns and the rationales behind them?

Support the larger global Volvo initiative that sought to celebrate the reopening of the world, and encourage people to revisit their places of inspiration, their #HiddenGem during the Covid pandemic.

Secure brand engagement on social media and in the press in order to reposition Volvo locally as a highly desirable luxury product.

Tell us more about your role and what it entails exactly.

Tell us about your career: what you studied and why, and how you ended up where you are today.

How has the pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns affected your work and the brand you oversee?

While our results were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, we expect our business to recover in the second half of the yearhttps://t.co/Q3RDB8Rm9M #VolvoCarsResults pic.twitter.com/cU4b9cL6S7  Volvo Cars (@volvocars) July 21, 2020

Comment on the power of branded content as a form of advertising.

What professional development, musical, cultural, literary or leisure activities do you engage in?

Consumers are increasingly favouring green and sustainable brands; do you have any plans or purpose to increase sustainability in the next 12 months?

What do you enjoy most about working in this space?

What advice would you give to aspiring marketing and brand professionals?

Here, Mavudzi uncovers what it's like being in charge of such a prominent luxury car brand, recent campaigns she has worked on, the challenges faced by VCSA during last year's lockdown, and plans for sustainability.I recently worked on a campaign called Hidden Gems, which performed well. I am particularly proud of this campaign. VCSA partnered with South African fashion designer Rich Mnisi to customise a Volvo XC40. The campaign was created with two objectives:The Volvo brand benefits from being synonymous with safety. However, it suffers from the negative perception of being a car brand that is suited for old people. It ranked particularly poorly in this regard in the minds of the affluent Black African demographic, which is one of the target groups we are actively focusing on as part of our growth strategy.This national campaign utilised social media and online press as the main channel of communication to change this perception. The overall goal was to utilise the global #HiddenGem campaign to improve brand perceptions in South Africa and position Volvo as a highly desirable luxury car. This was measured by positive engagement by our target market - young, Black South Africans - on Instagram and in increased potential audience reach via the online press.As head of CX and marketing communications for VCSA, I wear quite a few hats. In a single day, I can go from brand planning to communications meetings to consumer journey planning.In a nutshell, my role is to look after the customer from acquisition right through to retention, not an easy task but certainly an exciting one.I work very closely with our global team to ensure our marketing and communications efforts are on-brand and aligned to the overall global strategy whilst still localising in a manner that is relevant and relatable. And at a local level, I work with creative and media agencies, dealer marketing teams and various stakeholders to ensure the implementation of all plans is done so effectively and to drive results.I studied a Bachelor of Commerce in marketing and business. Ive grown to be a strong believer in the power of education. I chose to do my masters degree at an early age whilst I still had more time and completed it at the Gordons Institute of Business.This year, I decided to further my studies. Im currently doing an executive post-graduate diploma in digital transformation. This purely was driven by how the world is changing and how digital is now a key driver for anything we do business-related. Because Im curious and Ive grown to enjoy learning it was the natural next step for me in terms of my studies and I doubt it will stop there.It's safe to say the national lockdown was tough on everyone. The automotive industry was hit quite hard as there were serious restrictions on mobility. The subsequent effect was not only on vehicle sales but also the service business. Consumer-spend dropped significantly and we saw consumer needs changing. As a brand, we had to adapt quickly or suffer the consequences.We started looking at how we can reach consumers differently and do business differently, for example: offering competitive pricing and payment terms, shifting focus to driving used cars more and looking at new sales channels such as online sales. We also made sure as a brand we remained empathetic when it mattered most. We are lucky to have survived a tough period and even better, we are performing very well looking at the first quarter of 2021.Research shows us that a higher percentage of customers are more likely to buy from a brand that creates custom content. It creates a level of authenticity and allows for less of a product push. In todays world, customers are inundated with options, branded content allows you as a brand to not only stand out but to have your own voice that allows customers to relate to you. Its a very effective way of bringing heart and emotion to a company.Ive had the privilege of being on a few panels in the industry which I thoroughly enjoy. The idea of being able to share knowledge, learn from others and have interesting discussions around consumers and the advertising industry is something Im passionate about.In my spare time, I enjoy visiting art galleries, markets and generally finding hidden gems that show off peoples creativity and provide unconventional networking and social spaces.Sustainability is one of the core pillars of Volvo Cars. We are known for making cars that are safe, however, we also aspire to make cars that are safe for the environment the people who buy our cars.Beyond the move to electric cars, we encourage our dealers to practice sustainable practices through reduced use of single used plastics in the dealerships and value chain.We also recycle at the office; you could call our team sport. All of these might be small steps, but we believe its small steps combined that can make a big difference.Keep an eye out  we are working on some exciting campaigns that will focus on creating necessary dialogue around sustainability in South Africa.The opportunities to create amazing work is endless. Automotive is an evolving industry with lots of room for fresh young talent. Over the next few years, I have no doubt we will see more and more of the younger generation coming into this space across different roles and at different levels. I always believe when making career choices, go into an environment that will allow you to make a meaningful contribution.Your youth and your knowledge are your superpowers, so use them unapologetically. Brands are actively looking for upcoming talent who have a view and who own their voice to bring meaningful insights and contributions into the boardroom.Believe in yourself in the pursuit of your passions and seek to always add value. People can forget people, but they never forget the difference they made.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recommended that the US temporarily halt vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine over concerns about rare and severe types of blood clots.

Reportedly, six people developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) shortly after inoculation with the J&J vaccine. One person died. All six were women between the ages of 18 and 43 who developed symptoms six to 13 days after receiving the vaccines. Thus far, almost 7 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been given, meaning that the negative outcome is literally one in a million.

Last week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the UKs Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) issued statements that there were plausible links between AstraZenecas COVID-19 vaccine and these very rare and unusual blood clot disorders that are accompanied by a drop in the platelet counts.

In this March 26, 2021, file photo, a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department prepares a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site setup at a Salvation Army location in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

The J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines share a common mechanism for their products. A modified human adenovirus that contains a gene for making the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is used to inoculate people who then develop antibodies against the coronavirus.

Two recent scientific studies, one from Germany and the other from Norway, have established a causal relationship between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the severe thrombotic complications, according to an account published on Monday on Medscape.

The report says: These unusual severe thrombotic events that are accompanied by thrombocytopenia (low platelets) are caused by rogue antibodies directed against platelet factor 4 (PF4), which cause massive platelet aggregation and thrombosis, and result in reduced platelet count elsewhere, leading in turn to bleeding. Patients can therefore have both severe thrombosis (blood clots) and severe bleeding.

The syndrome dubbed vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is treated like a similar condition known as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia using intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) and blood thinners. It has yet to be determined if the immune mechanism that has been elucidated for AstraZeneca will prove to implicate the J&J COVID-19 vaccines, though the diagnoses of these patients are the same.

Dr. Carlos del Rio of Emory University School of Medicine, speaking to CNN, commented that the blood clotting may be connected to the fact that J&Js vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine, the same type as AstraZenecas. However, these researchers still do not know why these vaccines are inducing these immune-mediated complications.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, issued a joint statement yesterday announcing that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) would meet Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance.

Complications with J&Js COVID vaccine were first announced last Friday by the EMA through their Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee. They had stated they were reviewing four cases from the US of unusual blood clotting that included one fatality. One of these recipients of the vaccine had developed the blood clot during the clinical trials.

The mRNA vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, have had their share of concerns raised with low platelets found after immunizations. A Florida physician developed a severe though unusual blood disorder called acute immune thrombocytopenia, where his platelet counts dropped rapidly. He died of bleeding in his brain 16 days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. In total, 20 cases have been reported with low platelets after administration of these vaccines.

In line with these recommendations, J&J issued its own statement on Tuesday stating it is proactively delaying the rollout of its vaccine in Europe. We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communications of this information to healthcare professionals and the public, the company said. They also added that recipients of the J&J vaccine who develop severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks of their injection should seek medical attention.

Since receiving emergency use authorization from the FDA in February, J&Js single-dose COVID-19 vaccine has faced a series of serious setbacks, most of them involving production rather than use. The present concerns over these rare complications will certainly impede the accelerating national vaccine rollout.

Just two weeks ago, it was reported that 15 million doses of the J&J COVID-19 vaccines, manufactured at the Baltimore, Maryland, biotech plant operated by Emergent BioSolutions, had inadvertently been contaminated with material intended for production of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was also being produced there.

The ensuing investigation had revealed that Emergent has been facing severe quality control issues at its plant for some time. Internal documents had shown that several batches of its AstraZenecas vaccine had to be discarded in October and December, which would have accounted for 2 to 3 million doses.

Additional concerns unearthed by recent audits include lack of strict adherence to protocols and inadequate controls of the movement of staff and materials, with risks of microbiological contamination, all because the company was under pressure to expedite production. Federal regulators had known about these issues, but little has been done to address these growing concerns.

According to an expose published by the New York Times on April 6, An examination  of manufacturing practices at the Baltimore facility found serious problems, including a corporate culture that often ignored or deflected missteps and a government sponsor, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), that acted more as a partner than a policeman. Previously undisclosed internal documents and interviews with current and former federal officials and former company employees depict a factory operation that was ill-equipped to take on such a mammoth manufacturing task, despite Emergents having received a $163 million federal contract to improve the facility and prepare it for high-volume production.

Through the Department of Health and Human Services, the Biden administration intervened soon after news of the contamination of the vaccines was made public by placing J&J in charge of the Baltimore biotech firm, including its employees, and discontinued the production of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines at the Baltimore facility. This was an unprecedented move to transfer leadership responsibility to J&J for overseeing all production and manufacturing at the Emergent plant. White House officials were concerned the debacle would seriously impact public confidence in the product and needed to act quickly to shore up their public relations.

Prior to the present pause in using the J&J vaccine, the CDC had estimated that it would be allocating 86 percent fewer doses of the J&J vaccine across the country than previously promised. The ongoing investigation found that the error had been made some time in February but had gone undiscovered for several days until J&Js quality control check picked it up before readying the vaccines for distribution.

Though the factory has made roughly 150 million doses of COVID vaccines, government regulators have yet to certify the factory to allow the vaccines to be distributed to the public. Currently, all J&J vaccines being distributed in the US have been produced at J&Js plant in the Netherlands.

Federal officials had attempted to downplay concerns raised by state governments that the loss in supplies from J&J would impact their vaccination drives, by claiming that Pfizers and Modernas mRNA vaccines could make up the shortfall. However, California has reported it expects to see a 15 percent drop (400,000 fewer doses) in all vaccines next week. Similarly, states like Texas, Virginia and Florida will see drastic reductions in their vaccine allotments.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement last week, We will not be able to get as many shots into New Yorkers arms as we would like. As has been the case since the beginning of our vaccination effort, the X factor is supply, supply, supply. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan told the press, The last thing we wanted to hear about was were getting less vaccines. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has begged President Biden to surge vaccines into her state, where the outbreak is leading to another growing health care crisis. However, none of these state governors has opted to use mitigation strategies to curb the tide of infections.

Additionally, it has been reported that several vaccination sites administering the J&J vaccinesone in Colorado, three in North Carolina, one in Georgia and still another in Iowaall temporarily suspended operations after several reports of adverse reactions raised concerns over the vaccines safety. Approximately 45 people, a number higher than expected, had experienced nausea, dizziness, fainting or lightheadedness.

The current issues emerging with rare but serious complications from COVID-19 vaccines are on par with historical experience. It is important that scientists and specialists have the necessary time to investigate these drawbacks. However, the fundamental problem with the US vaccine campaign is attempting to entirely supplement what is most necessarya comprehensive public health effort to stem the rising tide of infections.

A vaccination campaign must be conducted in a coherent and well-regulated manner to ensure the utmost safety and thorough documentation of all adverse reactions. More so, a system of reporting post-vaccination infections and health outcomes needs to be in place to assure recipients that their concerns and safety are a priority.

Critical is also the establishment of manufacturing and production centers that have been thoroughly vetted by inspectors providing the highest quality assurance. Redundant safety measures must be in place to ensure these life-saving treatments are produced according to the highest standards. It is precisely under a policy of herd immunity that the frenzy to produce and distribute the vaccine has led to the current debacles that continue to erode the publics trust, further exacerbating the efforts to bring the pandemic to an end.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The New York City Health Department released a report Monday afternoon indicating that two concerning coronavirus (COVID-19) variants  one that was first discovered in the United Kingdom and another initially found in New York  have been increasing in prevalence within the five boroughs.

The U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7, is present in all five boroughs, the report said, but is slightly more common in southern Brooklyn, eastern Queens and Staten Island. Citywide, the New York variant  known as B.1.526  has been most common in parts of the Bronx and in Queens but also has a presence on the Islands South Shore.

The data released in the report ranges from Jan. 1, 2021 to March 27, 2021, the city Health Department said, and is the first time zip-code-specific figures have been released regarding the prevalence of coronavirus variants in New York City.

While it is unclear exactly how many cases were genetically sequenced to identify if a person was infected by a variant for the report, the agency said that more than 5% of confirmed specimens have been sequenced by the NYC Pandemic Response Lab and the NYC Public Health Laboratory in recent weeks.

The city Health Department released data showing where the U.K. variant has been most prevalent. (NYC Health Department graphic)

THE U.K. VARIANT

The coronavirus variant that was first discovered in the U.K. has been rapidly spreading through the United States for months, studies have indicated, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the mutated virus is now the predominant strain in the U.S.

In late January, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.K. strain could cause more damage, and it has been shown to be far deadlier and more transmissible than the original form of the virus that launched the pandemic.

The city Health Department data shows that Staten Islands southernmost zip codes  10309 and 10307  have the highest percentage of B.1.1.7 cases among samples sequenced. Those neighborhoods, however, are less densely populated than other portions of the borough and have fewer overall cases  likely providing a smaller number of sequenced samples.

The city Health Department said in the report that it is monitoring epidemiologic surveillance systems to assess for differences in severity, risk for reinfection or risk for impacting vaccine effectiveness that might be associated with variants.

Vaccines currently granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have proven to have strong effectiveness against the U.K. variant.

The city Health Department released data showing where the New York variant has been most prevalent. (NYC Health Department graphic)

THE NEW YORK VARIANT

The New York coronavirus variant, identified by the CDC as a variant of concern, has been increasing in prevalence steadily in recent weeks, the data shows, and has been found in multiple pockets on Staten Island.

The 10310 zip code, which contains parts of Port Richmond and West Brighton, has the highest levels of the New York variant on Staten Island and carries among the highest proportion of New York variant cases citywide, the city Health Department data shows.

More than 20% of total cases in the North Shores 10303, 10302, 10304 and 10305 zip codes have been found to be the New York variant, according to the data. Elsewhere in the borough, a similar percentage of New York variant cases has been sequenced from confirmed tests in the 10306 and 10312 zip codes.

City Health Department said studies are currently underway, investigating the impact of the variant on disease severity, reinfection and its impact on vaccines.

There is currently lab evidence that shows antibody therapies may be less effective at preventing infection against the New York variant, the report indicated, but the real-world effects of that finding remain unknown.

The city Health Department released data showing how much COVID-19 variants make up of the total number of cases in the five boroughs. (NYC Health Department graphic)

PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL CASES

The proportion of variants of concern and variants against the total number of coronavirus cases is increasing across the five boroughs, the city Health Department said.

While variants of concern and variants made up about 10% of cases in New York City in January, that number catapulted to over 70% in mid-March, the report said.

The findings suggest that the spread of variants, which have been shown to be more infectious, is contributing to a high plateau of cases citywide in recent weeks, despite ongoing vaccination efforts.

After descending from a peak of new confirmed cases in early January, Staten Islands cases have plateaued over the past few weeks. Hospitalizations have been fluctuating in the borough in recent days but recently hit a low point for the year on Sunday.

The city also warned that the Brazilian variant  known at P.1  has also been sequenced in New York City. The Brazilian variant is currently low in prevalence in New York City but is increasing, the city Health Department said.

The report indicated that reinfection cases and confirmed tests in people who are fully vaccinated are rare. However, it is too early to know if either of these variants is more likely to cause reinfection or vaccine breakthrough compared to other previously circulating variants, the agency said.

The city Health Department and the CDC previously recommended using two masks (a cloth mask over a disposable mask) to protect against infection by the more contagious variants.
One prominent Washington figure believes the news media have become saturated with liberal bias. The New York Times and Washington Post are virtually Democratic Party broadsheets, and the Associated Press and most major newspapers follow their lead. Nearly all television, except for Fox News, is a Democratic Party trumpet. And it should be much easier for public officials to sue the press for libel.

Donald Trump? His sentiments, maybe, but the person in question is Laurence Silberman, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. since 1985. And he put forth his views in a dissenting opinion in a libel case last month that involved no newspapers, TV stations or evidence of media bias.

The first step taken by any potential authoritarian or dictatorial regime is to gain control of communications, particularly the delivery of news, Silberman wrote. It is fair to conclude, therefore, that one-party control of the press and media is a threat to a viable democracy.

The only available remedy, he said, is for the Supreme Court to overrule New York Times vs. Sullivan, its unanimous 1964 decision that required government officials suing for libel to prove that the writer knowingly lied about them or recklessly disregarded the truth.

The ruling, later extended to non-government public figures, followed a flood of suits by police and officials in Southern states that sought to deter press coverage of civil rights issues by seizing on minor or nonexistent factual errors in news articles and ads to claim huge damage awards. The court has not shown any intent to reconsider the decision, although, as Silberman noted, Justice Clarence Thomas, his friend and fellow conservative, urged his fellow justices to do so in a 2019 opinion.

The 1964 ruling was a policy-driven decision masquerading as constitutional law, Silberman wrote. It allows the press to cast false aspersions on public figures with near impunity. The increased power of the press is so dangerous today because we are very close to one-party control of these institutions.

He offered no evidence for his assertion of anti-Republican bias, but called it a long-term, secular trend, going back at least to the 70s.

Silberman, now 85, was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, for whom he had worked as a campaign adviser in 1980. Both Reagan and President George H.W. Bush considered him among their leading candidates for the Supreme Court.

He had previously been an official in the Labor and Justice departments under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford and served briefly as acting attorney general during the Watergate scandal that led to Nixons resignation. He was later an executive vice president of Crocker National Bank in San Francisco.

Silberman transferred to senior judicial status, with a reduced caseload, in 2000. But he remains a highly visible figure in the judicial world.

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was a law clerk for Silberman after graduating from law school in 1997, and he administered her oath of office as a federal appeals court judge in 2017. She described him to an interviewer last year as a very important mentor in my life.

Then there was the unsolicited email Silberman sent to court colleagues in June accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., of the desecration of Confederate graves by amending a military spending bill to require removal of Confederate markers from U.S. military cemeteries and the names of Confederate generals from military bases. The grave-site provision was later dropped from the $740 billion bill, but Congress approved removing the generals names from the bases and, after Trump objected, overrode his veto of the funding legislation.

While Trumps tirades against fake news and the rest of his record were ultimately subject to voter approval, federal judges are appointed for life. Unless Congress impeaches him, which is unlikely, Silberman can keep his job as long as he wants.

Gabe Roth, executive director of the judicial-accountability group Fix the Court, said members of the public could file a complaint with Silbermans court that might prompt fellow judges to advise him to show more restraint, or perhaps to remove him from some future cases. But he said such efforts have rarely succeeded in the past.

Theres not a lot to be done other than to express disapproval, Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge in San Francisco who now directs the Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law School, said about Silbermans recent opinion. My guess is that having been a judge for so long and perhaps feeling that society has changed around him in ways he doesnt like, hes simply reached the point that he doesnt care if hes crossing any lines or offending any core values.

Another former San Francisco federal judge, Vaughn Walker, author of the 2010 ruling that gave same-sex couples the right to marry in California, said it may be time for the Supreme Court to revisit its 1964 libel decision in an age when anyone with computer access can publish their views. But he said Silbermans out-of-the-blue opinion was unlikely to change anyones mind, and was rather sad to read.

While judges are free to question past rulings, his rant is simply beyond the pale and certainly calls into question his judgment as well as fitness to serve  if not generally, at least in any cases involving the news media or claims of this sort, said Samuel Terilli, a University of Miami communications professor and former general counsel at the Miami Herald.

The case involved a libel suit by two former Liberian officials against a human rights organization, Global Witness, that issued a report saying they had taken bribes from Exxon. Two judges on Silbermans court voted to dismiss the suit, saying the former officials had received payments and had not shown that Global Witness knowingly lied about them, the standard set by the 1964 Supreme Court ruling. Silbermans dissent said the article contained lies but should be judged under the more permissive pre-1964 standard.

When the media has proven its willingness  if not eagerness  to so distort (the facts), it is a profound mistake to stand by unjustified legal rules that serve only to enhance the press power, he wrote.

Rodney Smolla, a lawyer for the former Liberian officials, said they plan to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
The White House convened a meeting of business executives on Monday to discuss semiconductor supply chains amid a global chip shortage, with President Biden using the moment to pitch his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, which aims in part to bolster high-tech domestic manufacturing.

China and the rest of the world is not waiting, and theres no reason why Americans should wait, Mr. Biden said.

At one point, he held up a silicon wafer and declared, This is infrastructure.

Participants in the meeting, described by the White House as a virtual C.E.O. summit on semiconductor and supply chain resilience, included executives from AT&T, Ford Motor, General Motors, Google, Intel, Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The meeting was closed to the news media, aside from a brief portion when Mr. Biden gave remarks.

The global semiconductor shortage has disrupted auto production in the United States and elsewhere, underscoring both a short-term and long-term challenge for the Biden administration with economic and national security implications.
Coal miners at Warrior Met Coal in Brookwood, Alabama are entering their thirteenth day on strike today after having overwhelmingly rejected the tentative agreement reached between the company and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) negotiating team. In response, the union is stepping up its efforts to isolate, wear down and betray the courageous struggle being waged by 1,100 striking miners to restore pay cuts, abolish the companys vindictive attendance system and improve their working conditions.

Striking Warrior Met Coal miners in Brookwood, Alabama (Source: Friends of Coal-Alabama)

The UMWA published a press release on their website Monday claiming the union will be holding unity rallies in the Brookwood area to mobilize support for the striking miners. These rallies are aimed at building solidarity, the statement says, among local and national allies.

In addition, the press release says the UMWA is establishing a $50,000 relief fund for workers and families, paying $600,000 in the first wave of bi-weekly strike benefits to dues-paying members who have participated in strike activity and purchasing health care insurance for striking members and families.

The decision to hold unity rallies came after the UMWA International Executive Board held a special meeting to discuss how it would mobilize its entire resources to support the striking workers. In other words, after rank-and-file Warrior Met miners chased President Cecil E. Roberts back to the UMWAs Washington, D.C. headquarters, burned his sellout contract and voted it down by 1,006-45 votes, the International Executive Board held an emergency meeting to try to figure out how to put out the fire.

The worst mistake miners could make is to believe that their repudiation of the contract will force the UMWA to come back with a better deal. The union hopes its upcoming rallies will be the kiss of death to the strike. The rallies will not be aimed at extending the strike to broader sections of the working class and defeating the companys government-backed strikebreaking operation.

On the contrary, the local and national allies will be union bureaucrats and Democratic Party politicians, who will swear their support for the striking miners while they do everything they can to isolate and defeat the strike. These could include officials from the United Steelworkers, who have overseen tens of thousands of layoffs at the US Steels Fairfield Works and other mills; and representatives from the failed campaign by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU) to unionize the Bessemer Amazon warehouse. Although Amazon workers want to fight the deplorable conditions, the unions, which have spent decades colluding with big business, were unable to generate any support from Amazon workers in Bessemer.

Roberts and Secretary Treasurer Levi Allen have already resumed their behind-the-scenes negotiations with company executives. Their plan is to come up with a slightly modified version of the deal which the miners overwhelmingly defeated in the hopes that the UMWA could sell it to rank and file this time. Meanwhile, the union will try to starve miners and their families into submission with poverty-level strike benefits.

The amount of relief being given to miners and their families, who are taking a stand for all workers, is an insulting pittance. According to the latest Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) filings (fiscal year 2020), the UMWA sits atop $164 million in total assets. Last year, it paid out $0 in strike benefits. At the same time, it had cash disbursements of $45 million, which included $210,693 in compensation to Roberts and $176,887 for Allen and millions more for general overhead, representational activities, political activities and lobbying and contributions, gifts and grants.

Another warning must be made: The call for unity will be used to intimidate miners, who will not go along with another sellout. The UMWA bureaucracy has a long history of organizing thuggish attacks against its opponents, including the 1998 beating of dissident local officials and rank-and-file miners protesting the unions abandonment of the eight-hour day during a Mitchell Day celebration in western Pennsylvania. Afterwards, Cecil Roberts justified the assault, telling the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, This is not the way we want to resolve disputes, but you cant curse the union and its leadership and expect that no one will take exception to that.

Last week, miners passed their judgment on the UMWA when it tried to ram through a five-year agreement that included a measly $1.50 raise after the union pushed through a $6-an-hour wage cut in 2016. Workers took the agreement and tossed it into fire barrels.

By bringing a contract that was written by Warrior Coal CEO Walter Scheller and his attorneys, the union has ceded any authority to conduct negotiations and the strike. Rank-and-file miners should take the conduct of the struggle into their own hands by forming a rank-and-file negotiating and strike committee. This committee should reach out to rank-and-file steelworkers, Amazon workers, educators, Mercedes Benz autoworkers and others to prepare common action against Warrior Coals strikebreaking operations and to overturn all the concessions granted to the company by the UMWA.

A rank-and-file committee must fight for what miners and their families need, not what the wealthy executives and UMWA bureaucrats say is affordable. This should include:

Restore fully all wage and benefit concessions and include a large pay increase to make up for what has been sacrificed.





End all pay tiers. Equal pay for equal work.





Abolish the disciplinary system. Rehire with back pay all workers who were unjustly terminated.





End forced overtime and grueling work schedules. Hire additional miners to ease the workload and give workers time off with their families.





Oversee health and safety conditions by the miners. Enforce appropriate social distancing and daily COVID-19 testing. Uphold the right of workers to refuse to work under unsafe conditions.

Warrior Met coal miners must unite their struggles with the strikes being waged by thousands of ATI steelworkers in Pennsylvania and other states, Massachusetts nurses and New York City graduate student workers who have launched strikes to demand living wages and decent working conditions.

Workers everywhere are fighting the same global corporations and are increasingly facing identical conditions under a rampaging pandemic. The fight against the sacrifice of workers lives to the drive for profit must be combined with the building of an international political movement of the working class for socialism and the reorganization of society so that the wealth created by the collective labor of workers goes to them not the wealthy few.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 15:45:54|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on April 13, 2021 shows vehicles on a street during the Songkran festival in Bangkok, Thailand. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has canceled celebrations of Songkran, the Thai New Year festival. Thailand recorded 965 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing its total tally to 34,575 with 97 deaths, its Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said Tuesday. This is the third consecutive day for the Southeast Asian country to record daily cases at nearly 1,000. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Thailand recorded 965 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing its total tally to 34,575 with 97 deaths, its Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said Tuesday.

This is the third consecutive day for the Southeast Asian country to record daily cases at nearly 1,000.

Of the new cases, 956 were local transmitted infections and nine were imported cases, the center said.

So far, 28,288 COVID-19 patients have fully recovered from the coronavirus epidemic and been released from hospitals in Thailand. There are currently 6,190 active cases being treated in hospitals. Enditem
Police today stormed the headquarters of the national Tunisian news agency TAP in a bid to quell protests by journalists over the appointment of a new director general. The IFJ joined its Tunisian affiliate, SNJT, in condemning the raid and calling for an end to political appointments at the agency.

Video captured by journalists graphically showed the moment the police raided the building in Tunis, manhandling and assaulting journalists. In response journalists chanted and demanded the police leave the premises. Other videos later showed the director general leaving the building under police protection via a back door.

Journalists have been protesting since the authorities sought to impose Kamel Ben Younes as the new head of the agency  a move which critics said amounted to a political appointment and pointed out that he had backed moves to control the press prior to the 2011 protest movement.

Earlier dozens of journalists had gathered in front of Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)s headquarters chanting TAP is free. The SNJT has threatened strike action if the appointment is not withdrawn.

In a statement the SNJT said it strongly opposed political appointments at public media organisations.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: Todays raid is not only a threat to the agencys journalists but a threat to media freedom in Tunisia. Such political appointments have no place in public service media. We applaud the SNJT and TAP journalists who have stood up to defend their right to independence and citizens rights to quality information.
Malvern, Pennsylvania (USA), April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rajant Corporation, the provider of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, will be attending Mining World Russia, which takes place at Moscows Crocus Expo. The international trade show, which is in its 25th year exhibiting machines and equipment for mining, processing, and transportation of minerals, takes place April 20th  22nd, 2021, with Rajant joining its partners in Pavilion 1, Hall 3, Stand B2051. Showcasing collaborative solutions for fully mobile mining connectivity will be Rajants Russia-based distributor CompTek and technology providers LANIT, AMT-GROUP, CROC, DCLogic, NEMAN, and SATEL.

Showcased, alongside Rajants networking, will be LANITs VR/AR smart glasses". Equipped with a video camera and compact screen, this technological solutions software operates over the Rajant network and enables visualization of on-site observations to command centers for collaborative off-site expertise to complete all phases of the mining mission successfully. You need a Mission Critical network to enable Augmented Reality in hard-to-reach challenging locations, says Nikita Ivanov, CompTeks head of sales. CompTeks integration partners in Russia and the CIS are committed to evolving minings overall productivity, safety, and efficiency. With Rajant and its partners, a fully digitalized mine is possible.

Mines are some of the most challenging Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments in which to deploy network systems. Rajants partnership with CompTek, a Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment, has brought together other Eastern Europe and CIS partners to demonstrate support of machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and mobility for open-pit and underground mining.

Unlike traditional wireless networks that run using fixed infrastructure and have limited range and coverage such as Wi-Fi and LTE, Rajant is unique, shares Marcin Kusztal, Sales Director Eastern Europe and CIS for Rajant. Our Kinetic Mesh BreadCrumb nodes overcome the mines constantly changing conditions, which hinder connectivity and real-time application support, with industrial wireless networking that is unwavering in adverse and mobile environments. Rajants self-optimizing Kinetic Mesh nodes work via multiple-frequency, peer-to-peer connections. Plus, the BreadCrumbs can be fixed or mobile, ensuring a mining operations continuous productivity and safety. Stop by our booth at the show, and well show you how we do it.

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About CompTek

Founded in 1989, CompTek is the leading Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment. An innovative company providing breakthrough technologies, CompTeks business is based on a two-tier system affording its partners a whole range of services to support and develop their business. This work model, with the extended support and value-added services (VAD,) is directed at operators, system integrators and software developers. We offer professional technical expertise, project financing and management, equipment testing and the specialists training at our Training Center, one of the first certified in Russia, where thousands of engineers from Russia and CIS countries have received certification.

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About Rajant Corporation

Rajant Corporation is the broadband communications technology company that invented Kinetic Mesh networking, BreadCrumb wireless nodes, and InstaMesh networking software. With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand, mission-critical business intelligence. A low-latency, high-throughput, and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications, Rajants Kinetic Mesh networks provide industrial customers with full mobility, allowing them to take their private network applications and data anywhere. With successful deployments in 65 countries for customers in military, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, public safety, agriculture, and warehouse & factory automation. Rajant is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania with additional facilities and offices in Arizona and Kentucky. For more information, visit Rajant.com or follow Rajant on LinkedIn and Twitter.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:01:28|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. officials should understand that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage on Iran's nuclear facility will work in their favor at the ongoing nuclear talks, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.

"We have no problem returning to nuclear deal commitments ... but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage will give them the means to negotiate, and that these actions will only make the situation more difficult for them," Zarif said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Israeli media widely reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident. The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack.

"It is also necessary for the United States to return to its commitments without any delay and to lift all sanctions," Zarif said.

Sunday's development has complicated efforts to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Nuclear talks were held in Vienna this month, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures topping the agenda.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments in May 2019, one year after the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

Zarif also lauded Russia's stance against the recent sabotage in Iran's Natanz nuclear site and stressed the need for continued cooperation between the two countries. Enditem
ORLANDO, Fla., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida (AACCCF) is honored to announce the winners for the 2021 Eagle Awards. The 17th annual awards ceremony continues its tradition of recognizing the pioneering achievements of local African American leaders, who have positively impacted the community by promoting diversity and inclusion.

The Eagle Awards highlight Central Florida's most successful entrepreneurs, small businesses, corporations and individuals who share the chamber's commitment to the growth and advancement of minority- and women-owned businesses. The Chamber is the leading advocate in the Central Florida area for Black-owned companies in business development, wealth creation and economic empowerment.

2021 Eagle Awards Winners

Legacy Award  Vernice Atkins-Bradley -President/CEO of Votum Construction LLC

 -President/CEO of Votum Construction LLC MLK Humanitarian of The Year Award - Jerry L. Demings  Orange County Mayor

-  Mayor Corporate Recognition Award  JP Morgan Chase

 JP Morgan Chase Small Business Advocate Award  Russell Drake

 Russell Drake Community Advocate of The Year  Richard Black  Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of ONYX Magazine

"For more than 75 years, the Chamber has been committed to helping our members grow their businesses with expert guidance," said Tanisha Nunn Gary, president of the AACCCF. "We are over 500 members strong and our goal is to strengthen strategic relationships with members and those in the community so that everyone benefits."

The winners were officially announced during a special virtual ceremony filmed at the DAVE School, an award-winning educational institute for digital animation and visual effects.

Hosted by Emmy award-winning WESH News Anchor Stewart Moore, the March 25th event was live-streamed on the Chamber's website and Facebook, due to the risk of COVID-19.

The 2021 event was unique in that it celebrated small business owners and entrepreneurs who survived the challenges of the pandemic by adjusting their businesses models to remain open. During the past year, the Chamber gave out several financial grants to members affected by COVID-19. Despite the tough economic year, AACCCF has seen a 25 percent increase in membership. Members of the Chamber nominated 75 local individuals and businesses for the five coveted awards.

Virtual Event Video

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About the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida

The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida is a membership organization serving public, private, and not-for-profit businesses and organizations in Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. For over seven decades, the Chamber has served its members as an advocate and resource. Established in 1945, the Chamber is a members-only network devoted to cultivating a thriving business environment for small businesses including advocacy, an engaged public awareness for minority firms, and education for both members and the Central Florida community.

Media Contact: Maria Isabel Sanquirico

Phone: (813) 420-2922

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE The African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida
Public schools in Louisiana are getting more than $4 billion from three rounds of federal stimulus dollars to help combat the coronavirus pandemic, and a state Senate leader said Tuesday he wants to make sure the once-in-a-lifetime windfall is not squandered.

"We will be wanting to know how you plan on spending that money," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bodi White, R-Central, told state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley.

White noted that the $4 billion is roughly the same as the recommended funding for nearly 700,000 public school students for the 2021-22 school year.

Federal stimulus bill means another $2.6 billion for public schools, 'We just have to execute' Public schools are in line to get a staggering $2.6 billion from the federal stimulus bill that won final congressional approval last week, mo

"What I don't want to see as chairman of finance is to see the money squandered," White said.

"It is a lot of money, and most of the superintendents I talked to say they have a wealth of money right now and they have a wealth of money coming," he added.

"I do hope they (local superintendents) heed your warnings and advice and use the money wisely over two or three years and pay for some of the things they have wanted forever."

The issue surfaced during a hearing on Gov. John Bel Edwards' proposed public schools budget, including $3.9 billion in aid to public schools.

The $4 billion plus in federal aid stems from a trio of bills approved by Congress in March, December of 2020 and March of 2020.

Brumley noted than 90% of the federal dollars go directly to local school districts, and state officials are not allowed to mandate how schools spend the aid.

But he said state education leaders have lined up the federal money and Louisiana public school priorities, and offered guidance to local school districts "to help them think through what would be an appropriate use of those dollars."

He said upgraded summer school programs, including this year to help students make up academic ground lost during the pandemic, are one of the priorities.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The $4 billion for public schools is in addition to nearly $1 billion in federal stimulus dollars for private schools and the child care industry.

The latest round of federal aid, which was approved by Congress in March, includes $172 million for the Jefferson Parish School District; $145 million for the East Baton Rouge Parish School District; $63 million for the Orleans Parish school system and $64 million for the St. Tammany Parish school system.

Edwards has recommended a pay raise of $400 per year for teachers and $200 for support workers  $40 million per year.

The superintendent said that, of teachers who leave Louisiana classrooms, 44% do so in the first five years and 61% in the first 10 years.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has asked the Legislature for twice that much  $40 million to boost teacher pay and another $40 million increase to boost spending per student by 1.375%.

Louisiana school board seeks to double aid requested by governor; includes $400 teacher pay raises Louisiana's top school board Tuesday voted to ask the Legislature for an $80 million hike for public schools, double the amount sought by Gov.

Brumley said 71% of students are getting in-person instruction.

He said a national survey showed Louisiana ranks seventh in the U. S. for in-person learning.

Another 20% of students are relying on virtual learning and 9% use both distance and in-person instruction.

Brumley said 2% of students have tested positive for COVID-19 during the 2020-21 school year.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the coronavirus.
Prevalence of chronic diseases is constantly on the rise across the world. This is leading to a major health burden on governments and the society in general. Out of these, cardiovascular diseases make up around half of the total deaths caused by chronic diseases. According to the World Health Organization, in 2016, ischemic heart disease and stroke accounted for around 27% of total deaths, worldwide. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the third most cause of death in the same years. These non-communicable diseases were major causes of deaths globally, ranging from 37% in lower economies and 88% in countries with high income.

Rising cases of chronic diseases is surging the need for pharmaceutical products, thereby increasing the need for pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), especially small molecules.

Persistence Market Research predicts that the global active pharmaceutical ingredients market to exhibit a CAGR above 4% over the forecast period (2021-2031).

Get Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11260

Companies covered in Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Marke Report

Pfizer Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Cipla Inc.

Eli Lilly and Company

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

GlaxoSmithKline plc

Hepalink Group

Lonza

Merck & Co. Inc.

Sandoz International GmbH

Aurobindo Pharma Limited

Fresenius Kabi LLC

Get To Know Methodology of Report @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/11260

Key Takeaways from Market Study

Non-controlled substances hold over half of the small molecule API market share, making them the predominant growth contributing factor.

Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, combined, to contribute over 70% of the market revenue.

Major markets for active pharmaceutical ingredients to be East Asia, South Asia, North America, and Europe.

China and India to be the most lucrative markets for APIs.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the API market saw a slight decline in growth in 2020, at 3.4%.

Rising prevalence of chronic disorders and increasing research on small molecule APIs are expected to propel growth of the global active pharmaceutical ingredients market over the coming years, says a Persistence Market Research analyst.

Access Full Report @https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/11260

Advancements in API Manufacturing

API manufacturing will require implementation of continuous new technologies and tools to speed up the process and deliver consistent quality products. Hence, major players are highly focused on the production of optimized APIs with technological advancements in processes such as powder handling, lyophilization, process control, continuous flow chemistry, and process control.

Rise in Outsourcing to Merchant Companies

Even if big pharma players have established facilities for the production of APIs and pharma products, the trend of outsourcing is still on the rise. Many companies are outsourcing their requirements to cut costs on expensive equipment, manpower, and infrastructure. It is estimated that 40% of pharma products are manufactured by third-party vendors.

For instance, AstraZeneca used to have several manufacturing centers in North America, but currently, only 15% of its APIs are made in-house, and the company is looking to outsource all manufacturing overseas. From the last 20 years or so, directly sourcing APIs from China and India has increased due to the production capabilities of these countries. Also, stringent regulations in the West have attracted companies toward China and India.

What Does the Report Cover?

Persistence Market Research offers a unique perspective and actionable insights on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) market in its latest study, presenting historical demand assessment of 2016  2020 and projections for 2021  2031, on the basis of API (small molecules [controlled substances {natural opioids and semi-synthetic/synthetic opioids}, non-controlled substances {NSAIDs, anti-infective, antimicrobial, oral anti-diabetics, anti-hypertensive, and others}, and HPAPI], peptides & oligonucleotides, carbohydrate drugs, and steroidal drugs), end user (contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), pharmaceuticals, contract development & manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), and compounding pharmacies), across seven key regions of the world.
President Biden will today announce the final withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11 of this year, the Washington Post reports, bringing a long-awaited but not exactly triumphant end to the longest war in American history. Since military operations began in October 2001, more than 2,300 American troops, more than 1,100 troops from other countries, and well over 150,000 Afghans have been killed. Just 2,500 U.S. troops remain in the country, down from a peak of 98,000 in 2011. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are in Brussels today meeting with officials from NATO countries, who also have around 7,000 troops in Afghanistan.

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The symbolically weighty datethe 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that provided the original impetus for the waris four months after the May 1 withdrawal deadline negotiated between the Trump administration and the Taliban in February, 2020. Biden, a skeptic of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan since the early days of the Obama administration, had previously said it would be hard to meet the May 1 date due to logistical challenges; the administration has also been working to broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

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The U.S. hopes such a deal will prevent the Afghan state from simply collapsing after the Americans leave, but little progress has been made over the past year, as violence in the country has only escalated. The Biden team has pinned many of its hopes on peace talks hosted by Turkey this month. The Taliban yesterday vetoed a planned meeting to be held in Istanbul this week, but on Tuesday, the Turkish government announced that talks would take place on April 24.

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Since the deal was signed in Doha last year, the Taliban has mostly stuck to a pledge to refrain from attacking U.S. troopsalthough it fired rockets at a U.S. base in Kandahar last weekbut not to cut ties with terrorist groups like al-Qaida. It had also threated to resume fighting the Americans if the May 1 deadline was not met. Its unclear if the group has agreed to the new U.S. date.

Now that the Talibans main political goal, the withdrawal of U.S. troops, is on the verge of being accomplished, its hard to know what their next move will be. Its possible they may be willing to seek some accommodation with their rivals in in order to gain international legitimacy; or they might just try to crush them. If the latter happens, it could have devastating consequences for women, ethnic minorities, and Afghans who worked with the American military or the U.S.-backed government.

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Afghan officials claim their military can hold its own, though U.S. commanders are skeptical. The Taliban already controls all or part of more than half the countrys districts. The U.S. plan to continue to provide funding for Afghan security forces and humanitarian aid, and will continue to launch counterterrorism strikes from outside the country. There may also be a small military contingent remaining at the U.S. embassy.

The original justification for the ongoing U.S. military presence, to deny safe haven to groups like al-Qaida and ISIS, has faded in recent years: the most pressing terrorist threat to the U.S. these days comes from U.S. citizens, and ISIS has moved on to new territories. As for stabilizing the country, its not clear that any number of U.S. troops could do that, much less the small force that remains.

Were a long way from the goals that brought U.S. troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago, not to mention the original decision to intervene in the countrys internal fighting 40 years ago; and Biden choice of a symbolic end date only highlights how far the war has drifted from its original purpose.
Daunte Wrights parents have spoken out about their sons death, saying that they cant accept that his killing was a mistake.

Mr Wright, an unarmed father of a two-year-old, was fatally shot by Brooklyn Centre officer Kimberly Potter, a veteran of 26 years of the force, on Sunday afternoon while driving with his girlfriend.

He was pulled over by officers for having an air freshener dangling from his rear view mirror, an offence in Minnesota, and was subsequently fatally shot while attempting to re-enter his vehicle following a short struggle.

The footage showed the officer warning taser, taser, as police are trained to do when using the non-lethal device, but Ms Potter ended up firing with a gun, instantly reacting: Holy s***, I just shot him. She resigned on Tuesday afternoon.

In a press conference on Monday, police chief Tim Gannon said that it was an accidental discharge that resulted in the death of Mr Wright and claimed that the officer intended to use her taser.

At the same press conference, Brooklyn Center mayor Mike Elliott said: My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession, as he added that he fully support[s] releasing the officer of her duties.

Speaking to Good Morning America on Tuesday morning, Mr Wrights father, Aubrey Wright, was asked by host Robin Roberts if he accepted those remarks.

He replied I cant accept that  a mistake, that doesnt even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I cant accept that.

Mr Wrights mother, Katie Wright, also revealed during the interview that she spoke to her son on the phone during the traffic stop on Sunday, hearing him ask the officer: For what, am I in trouble?

She said that the phone was put down, and then I heard scuffling and the girl that was with him screaming, and I heard an officer ask for them to hang up the phone and then I didnt hear anything else.

With tears streaming down her face, Ms Wright said that she tried to call him back three, four times and revealed that the woman who was with him answered the phone and she said that they shot him and he was lying in the drivers seat unresponsive.

And then I heard an officer ask her to hang up the phone again and then after that, thats the last time Ive seen my son. I havent seen him since.

On Monday evening, around 40 people were arrested, as police fired tear gas at protesters outside the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota police precinct, who had gathered in reaction to Mr Wrights death.

The authorities revealed that there were five instances of burglaries in the area during the protest, as a local Dollar Tree store had its windows damaged, while smoke was seen originating from inside it.

Graffiti was also sprayed on the outside of the shop, including: No Justice No Peace and Mr Wrights initials: D.W.

However, the police revealed that some officers deployed chemical irritants and flashbangs to disperse protesters, despite banning those practices earlier in the night.

Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Wright thanked those who demonstrated, saying: I want to say thank you so much for the support and standing by us and making sure that my sons name doesnt get swept under the rug.
The sheriffs office said officers were responding to a call about a man who had entered the bank with a firearm. After arriving on the scene, David W. Determan, of Lena, was observed firing his weapon into the air, according to state police.
SCORES of teachers at Eagle Tanning Primary and Secondary schools in rural Marondera are stranded after an indigenous farmer recently ordered them to pay rentals in foreign currency.

The farmer, identified as Godfrey Gonese, allegedly backdated the US dollar rentals to January this year. In a letter of demand dated March 23 shown to NewsDay, Goneses company Lowveld Leather Products, which owns the farm is demanding US$60 per month for a six-roomed house.

Affected teachers at the learning institution told this publication that they could not afford to pay the rentals because their paltry salaries are paid in local currency.

Teachers currently earn between $14 000 and $19 000. Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe Mashonaland East provincial co-odinator Tapiwa Chengeta confirmed the development yesterday, adding that all schools belonged to government, hence the teachers should not pay the rentals.

Last week, we visited the school after hearing that Lowveld Leather Products, whose farm accommodates the school, is now demanding rentals from teachers. It is unfortunate that some people can come from nowhere and claim that government property is theirs. Schools are owned by the State, it is government that provides accommodation to these teachers. We do not tolerate such demands and we will fight until the teachers concerns are dealt with, he said.

Eagle Tanning primary and secondary schools were established in 1979 by Belmont Leather to cater for employees children as well as those from nearby communities.

The schools were handed over to government in 1981 through the Marondera Rural District Council.

The farm and factory were taken over by indigenous businesspeople in 1987, who then leased the shoe-making factory to an Italian investor.

The primary school has an enrolment of 652 pupils and 19 teachers, while a total of 546 students are enrolled at the secondary school. The catchment area of the school extends to Marondera town. Efforts to get a comment from Mashonaland East provincial education director Annatoria Ncube were fruitless as she had not responded to questions. Newsday
Chinese vessels are moored at Whitsun Reef, South China Sea on March 27, 2021. (National Task Force-West Philippine Sea via AP)

US-Philippines Officials Discuss Concerns Over Chinas Ships

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFTDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday discussed with his Philippine counterpart Chinas recent positioning of militia vessels near the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Austin spoke by phone with Philippine Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana while Austin was flying from Washington to Israel to begin an international trip.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Austin and Lorenzana discussed the situation in the South China Sea and the recent massing of Chinese vessels at Whitsun Reef, which has drawn criticism from Manila.

In their phone call, Austin proposed to Lorenzana several measures to deepen defense cooperation, including by enhancing situational awareness of threats in the South China Sea, Kirby said. He did not elaborate.

Kirby said last week that the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and its strike group, as well as the amphibious ship USS Makin Island, are operating in the South China Sea.

The U.S. has no military forces based permanently in the Philippines but sometimes rotates forces to the country under the U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement.

The recent gathering of Chinese vessels near the Philippines is among moves the United States has criticized as efforts by Beijing to intimidate smaller nations in the region.

By Robert Burns
The Jets blew a 2-0 lead in a loss to the Ottawa Senators last night and appear no better equipped to go on a lengthy playoff run than they were before Mondays trade deadline, Mike McIntyre writes in his latest column .

The first of two telephone town halls on the provincial governments COVID-19 immunization plan is at 6:30 p.m. tonight. Tonights event is for residents of rural and northern Manitoba, while Thursdays is for Winnipeg residents.

A snowfall warning is in effect for Winnipeg, with another 5 to 10 cm expected today. Periods of light snow are forecast well into Wednesday morning.
ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX-V: PNG,OTCQB: KRKNF), Canada's Ocean Company, is pleased to announce that President & CEO Karl Kenny will present live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com on April 15, 2021. This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the Company questions. If attendees are not able to join the presentation, a replay will be available at the Technology Investor Conference website here.

"We are excited to share a number of updates with investors," said Karl Kenny. "Corporate activity is vibrant as we execute on various mine-hunting system contracts for the Danish and Polish Navies. Our products pipeline has never been stronger and our recent news of entering into a LOI to acquire PanGeo SubSea sets the stage for accelerated growth of recurring service revenue. We look forward to updating investors with our progress and introducing our story to new investors who are seeking to invest in unique companies like Kraken that are addressing multi-billion-dollar market opportunities."

RECENT KRAKEN ROBOTICS NEWS

HOW INVESTORS CAN PARTICIPATE

DATE: Thursday, April 15, 2021

TIME: 9:30am ET (30 minutes)

LINK: https://bit.ly/30QIrID

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

ABOUT VIRTUAL INVESTOR CONFERENCES

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to meet and present directly with investors. A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network.

ABOUT KRAKEN ROBOTICS INC.

Kraken Robotics Inc. (TSX.V:PNG) (OTCQB: KRKNF) is a marine technology company dedicated to the production and sale of software-centric sensors, subsea batteries and thrusters, and underwater robotic systems. The company is headquartered in St. John's, Newfoundland with offices in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Toronto, Ontario; Bremen & Rostock, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Boston, Massachusetts. Kraken is ranked as a Top 100 marine technology company by Marine Technology Reporter. For more information, please visit www.krakenrobotics.com, www.krakenrobotik.de, www.krakenpower.de. Find us on social media on LinkedIn (Kraken Robotics), Twitter (@krakenrobotics), Facebook (@krakenroboticsinc), YouTube (Kraken Robotics) and Instagram (@KrakenRobotics).

Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. When used in this news release, the words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "seek", "propose", "estimate", "expect", and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements with respect to, among other things, business objectives, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business projects and opportunities and financial results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events based on certain material factors and assumptions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, changes in market, competition, governmental or regulatory developments, general economic conditions and other factors set out in the Company's public disclosure documents. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to vary from those described in this news release, including without limitation those listed above. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this news release and such forward-looking statements included in, or incorporated by reference in this news release, should not be unduly relied upon. Such statements speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Services Provide (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release, and the OTCQB has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

SOURCE VirtualInvestorConferences.com

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http://www.virtualinvestorconferences.com


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LANCASTER, Pa., April 13, 2021, the leading global provider of anti-counterfeiting and brand protection solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of its OpSec Trend, Dynamic, and Eco offerings. With these offerings, OpSec seamlessly integrates on-trend fashion designs with unique authentication features.

OpSec Security has been providing industry-leading product authentication solutions for decades. No other authentication partner can provide the level of integrated brand protection against counterfeiting and gray market sales in the fashion and apparel industries and beyond. OpSec's new product offerings address the industry need for custom selections of authentication solutions appropriate for each brand's unique needs. These offerings enable several customizable characteristics critical to the fashion and soft goods industries:

Detect counterfeit products and stop unauthorized, "gray market" sales

Easily integrate overt and/or covert security features into your product, including labels, tags, and smart packaging

Track and enforce your products throughout the entire supply chain, from manufacture to purchase and beyond

Build a trusted connection with your brand-loyal customers and enhance the customer experience

The latest product expansion is another demonstration of OpSec Security's ability to innovate and anticipate its customers' brand protection needs. "With this line expansion, we now have customizable options for the vast majority of on-product and online anti-counterfeiting and brand protection requirements that every major fashion brand needs to protect revenue and their consumers, from embedded authentication to sustainable product ranges," Dean Garner, Global Product Line Director of Brand & Fashion Identity Technologies stated. "Footwear and apparel are the world's most counterfeited products, and brands need custom solutions that will fit their requirements in both form and function. The OpSec team has made the strategic decision to invest in the innovation of a full line of customizable authentication solutions," added Garner.

The new line is available through OpSec Security and is backed by OpSec's industry leading expertise; helping customers choose the best program to maximize their results. OpSec offers a fully integrated brand protection solution enabling your brand to grow with confidence to deliver an authentic brand promise and consumer experience, providing in-house design services, and a partnership approach to solution integration.

About OpSec Security

OpSec Security is the global market leader in securing and protecting brands.

After decades of leadership in brand protection technology, OpSec grew to become the leading provider of fully integrated brand and document security, providing companies and governments with myriad solutions to help our customers ensure brand quality, reputation, and integrity.

OpSec is a leading innovator in online brand and digital content protection, offering our clients end-to-end safeguards against counterfeiting, piracy, and unauthorized usage. We continue to innovate, finding increasingly advanced ways to meet an ever-growing range of threats. Even as the counterfeiters, pirates, and other bad actors employ more sophisticated ways to damage your brand, we never stop getting better at protecting it.

What is missing from your brand protection program? Find out more at www.opsecsecurity.com

Media Contact

Amanda Hershey

Marketing Communications Manager

Email: media@opsecsecurity.com

Phone: +1

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bd793704-18c9-42ee-b260-a8583970c9fe
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Coronavirus deaths in England and Wales have plunged to their lowest level in six months, official figures revealed today amid tumbling infections and a successful vaccine roll-out.

Office for National Statistics data showed 400 death certificates that mentioned Covid were registered during the week ending April 2, the latest available.

This was the equivalent of the virus making up around one in twenty of all deaths and marked a 44 per cent drop on the week before. It was the lowest weekly toll since early October, when the second wave started to spiral out of control.

Statisticians admitted the rapid decrease in death registrations was likely down to the seven-day period finishing on Good Friday.

Experts warned the count was likely an 'under-estimate' because figures are never as reliable over bank holidays and that there is always normally a 'bounce' the following week.

But academics tracking the size of the outbreak insisted the numbers were still a good sign and suggested Covid deaths were heading in the right direction.

ONS experts cautioned against comparing the number of deaths recorded with previous weeks in March because Good Friday does not always occur on the same day, meaning the average may be skewed.

Office for National Statistics figures showed 400 deaths were linked to Covid in the week to April 2, the most recent. For comparison, this is the lowest level of Covid deaths since October 2

But experts said the drop could be partially explained by the Good Friday bank holiday, when fewer people were available to process paperwork meaning some deaths went unreported. They warned the figures needed to be taken with a pinch of salt

Deaths linked to the virus in care home residents dropped below 100 for the first time since October in the most recent week

And deaths were also below the average expected at this time of year (dotted line) in every region in England

Professor Paul Hunter, a virologist at the University of East Anglia, warned it was 'difficult to interpret' this week's death statistics because of the bank holiday which likely made them an 'under-estimate'.

'So it probably looks better than reality because of one day's data being missing till the following week,' he said.

Professor Kevin McConway, a statistician at the Open University, claimed the data would have to be taken with a pinch of salt because of the bank holiday break.

'ONS are very clear about this issue in their bulletin, but it does mean that short-term trends, such as changes between the most recent week and the week before, can be misleading,' he said.

NHS COVID VACCINE BOOKING SITE CRASHES The NHS website for booking Covid vaccination appointments crashed this morning, just moments after the roll-out in England was opened up to over-45s. Health chiefs today opened up the national booking system for the next phase of the inoculation drive, after No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule. But the website ran into 'technical difficulties' after over-45s flocked online to book an appointment. Users trying to get a jab were told: 'The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.' Others reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.' Shortly after the site crashed, No10's vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem was 'fixed'. Moderna's vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company's jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week. Advertisement

He added it was hard to draw comparisons between this week and those over the same period for the previous five years because only one other included a bank holiday.

But he said the figures overall showed 'good news' and that deaths linked to the virus were still falling.

There were also 1,121 deaths involving flu and pneumonia, of which 237 had this listed as an underlying cause. But for Covid 308 fatalities had the virus recorded as an underlying cause.

The way the ONS records Covid deaths means its toll differs from the official tally given by the Department of Health.

The ONS includes all deaths were Covid was mentioned on the death certificate as a likely cause, whereas the DOH only lists patients who died within 28 days of a positive test.

For example, the ONS says the death toll exceeded the 150,000 mark in March. Whereas the DOH says the official death toll is currently 127,100.

Because testing was scarce at the start of the pandemic and many people died without confirmation they had the disease, it meant thousands have not been included in the Government's total.

Today's report also found care home deaths linked to the virus fell below 100 for the first time since October 15, in another sign the virus is ebbing away across the country.

Experts had predicted deaths would dip below expected levels around Easter because many people have died earlier than they otherwise would have due to the virus and disruptions to healthcare.

It comes as experts warned today that Covid cases rebounding as lockdown rules are loosened could lead to surges that delay the roadmap to ending restrictions for good.

Self-confessed 'prophet of doom' Chris Hopson, chief of the NHS Providers union, said 'we are likely to have a third and potentially fourth wave' of Covid. He called for the nation to remain cautious.

People in England crowded into city centres to drink in the street last night as bars and restaurants reopened for outdoor service for the first time in months.

But scientists still fear that the coronavirus could resurge in spite of vaccinations, warning that Boris Johnson's roadmap out of lockdown could suffer if it does.

There has been a sudden spike of cases caused by the South African variant in London, which Oxford University's Professor James Naismith said could slow down plans to ease lockdown rules.

It's not clear how well vaccines will protect against the South Africa variant, which officials are still trying to contain using surge testing. It has been spreading in England since late last year but only 544 cases have been officially recorded so far.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced the danger head-on today and said the UK must accept the fact that the virus will come back.

He said: 'As we unlock, the result will inevitably be that we will see more infection, sadly we will see more hospitalisation and deaths, and people have just got to understand that.'

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus rose yesterday, with 3,568 positive tests across the UK.

That was 30 per cent more than the week before, which some experts believe was a sign the four-day Easter weekend may have fuelled a spike in transmission.

It takes up to seven days for people to show symptoms of Covid and get their test results back.

Revellers last weekend flocked to parks to bask in the sunshine and enjoy the first weekend of England's eased restrictions to make the most of the rule of six to see family and friends.

There are fears a similar trend will emerge after the latest lifting of curbs yesterday, which saw pubs and restaurants allowed to offer outdoor service.

Photos emerged from around the country of tables packed with customers braving the chilly weather to have their first drink or meal out in months.

Professor Naismith, a structural biologist at Oxford, told BBC Radio: 'The important thing will be to watch: If the South African variant has really taken off, and we'll probably know in about two to three weeks, then we may need to pause re-opening a little bit.'

At the moment, experts believe the South African variant does not have an 'evolutionary edge' over the current UK dominant Kent variant, which seems to be the most transmissible strain.

But because the South African version has vaccine-resistant abilities, there are fears it could spiral once the Kent strain is squashed by the immunisation programme.

Mr Hopson told Sky News: 'I know I might sound a bit like a prophet of doom the day after we've started enabling people to go back to the pub garden, but the reality is there are four very good reasons why we need to be cautious here.

'The first is that the underlying dynamics haven't changed here which is as soon as you increase social contact  and we've seen this in Europe we've seen it across the whole world  then effectively the rates of transmission will increase so we know we are likely to see increased rates of transmission as we open up the economy.

'The second reason is that whilst we've made huge amounts of progress in terms of the vaccine we've still got a long way to go we've still got all the people under 50 we've still got the extra 5 per cent of people in the most vulnerable groups who haven't had the vaccine yet

'The third reason is that this virus has a nasty habit of mutating and effectively creating new variants and we still don't fully understand exactly how much protection each of these vaccines gives us against each of these variants.'

He called for longer restrictions, adding: 'We'll need to keep continuing to wear masks, to have all those protections, but secondly we do need to prepare for the fact that we are likely to have further surges.

'Hopefully they'll be much smaller than they were in January but actually the underlying dynamics here haven't changed.'
A student was killed and an officer was wounded Monday afternoon in a shooting at Austin-East High School in Knoxville.

The student who died was a male teenager, it was stated.

Reports said the officer was shot in the hip.

The TBI said, "Preliminary information indicates that at approximately 3:15 p.m., the Knoxville Police Department received a report of an individual possibly armed with a gun at Austin-East Magnet High School. Upon arrival, officers located the individual inside a school restroom. They ordered him out, but he refused to comply. As officers entered the restroom, the subject reportedly fired shots, striking an officer. One officer returned fire. The subject was pronounced dead at the scene and has since been identified as a student. The officer who was shot was transported to a local hospital for treatment."

TBI Director David Rausch said, "We have to be careful with our language... This wasn't a school shooting. This was an officer-involved shooting inside a school."

The school was to be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

State Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said, As details continue to emerge, our thoughts are with every member of the school community in Knoxville who is dealing with the immediate impacts of the shooting that took place this afternoon. The department stands ready to provide support. It is time to wrap arms around the affected students, educators, school staff, their families, and the entire community, to support them through this horrific tragedy.

Senator Marsha Blackburn said, I am heartbroken to hear about the shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville. My office has been briefed on the situation and I am praying for the community, including the officer injured in the line of duty.
Olympian Scott Miller (pictured) is facing life in prison if convicted of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug

Swimming great Scott Miller and three members of his alleged $2.2million meth syndicate are all facing the potential of spending the rest of their lives in jail.

A fourth member of the alleged ring has been hit with fresh charges which carry the maximum penalty available under New South Wales law.

Luke Mathew Peake was originally charged only with possessing meth but has now been accused of supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs.

He has also been charged with participating in a criminal group allegedly headed by Miller.

Peake was arrested at Junee prison, where he was already in custody for other unrelated alleged offences.

The 40-year-old was one of two men who allegedly collected 4kg of meth from Miller after the Olympic silver medallist drove the consignment from Sydney halfway to the Victorian border.

The other alleged courier, 44-year-old Justin Szabolics, has been charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group.

Miller, Szabolics, Peake and a fourth man - Wayne Allan Johnson - had their matters mentioned in Newtown Local Court on Tuesday. None applied for bail.

Police will allege Miller drove the 4kg of meth about 280km from Sydney to Yass, where he was met by Peake and Szabolics.

The drugs were allegedly ditched more than 200km further south after Peake and Szabolics were involved in a high-speed pursuit with police.

Accused drug runner Scott Miller won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in the 100m butterfly. He was married to TV personality Charlotte Dawson from 1999 to 2000. Dawson took her own life In 2014. The couple is pictured in August 1999

Police will allege Scott Miller drove this Toyota Camry from Sydney about 280km to Yass with 4kg of meth hidden in a secret compartment. The car and drugs were allegedly then handed to Justin Szabolics and Luke Peake who headed down the Hume Highway towards Albury

A highway patrol unit unsuccessfully tried to pull over the Camry and allegedly gave chase as it reached high speeds. The chase was allegedly terminated shortly before midnight when it became too dangerous, according to sources. Miller is pictured inset top and bottom

Miller had allegedly collected a white Toyota Camry from the Balmain area on January 11 after a man wearing high-vis clothing left a red, white and blue striped bag in the car's footwell.

The 45-year-old retired athlete allegedly hid the bag, which held eight candles containing meth worth $2.2million, in a secret compartment and left the vehicle in the area overnight.

The next day Miller picked up Wayne Johnson and the pair drove the Camry, which had Western Australian plates, to Yass, according to police.

The Camry was then allegedly handed over to Szabolics and Peake who drove down the Hume Highway towards the Victorian border.

Both Szabolics and Peake are from Albury-Wodonga, which police say was the intended destination for the drugs.

During the journey, a highway patrol unit unsuccessfully tried to pull over the Camry near Holbrook, about 215km south-west of Yass, and allegedly gave chase.

The pursuit was allegedly terminated after about 15 minutes shortly after midnight when it became too dangerous.

Peake has been charged with driving recklessly and at dangerous speeds during a police pursuit and driving a motor vehicle while disqualified.

The next day police found the bag allegedly containing the drugs in long grass near an intersection at Cookardinia, about 25km north of Holbrook.

It was more than a month before Miller was arrested just after 6am on February 16 at his home at Rozelle, in Sydney's inner-west, and charged with drug supply.

Miller sat slumped and shirtless in a chair as police searched his apartment at Rozelle, in Sydney's inner west, just after dawn on February 16

The meth, worth $2.2million, was allegedly concealed in eight candles which were put in a red, white and blue striped bag that was stashed in this hidden compartment

This image shows one of the candles allegedly used to smuggle the $2.2million worth of meth. Police claim the drug was moulded into the candle's glass shell

Dramatic footage showed police busting down the door of Miller's unit where they allegedly seized 910g of heroin and $72,595 in cash, as well as the white Camry.

Miller was photographed shirtless and slumped on a chair while investigators scoured the unit for evidence.

Justin Szabolics (pictured) is accused of being part of Olympic swimmer Scott Miller's alleged $2.2million drug syndicate

More than a dozen police were seen at Miller's apartment block, meticulously sorting through his possessions. One policeman was pictured carrying a set of scales out of the property.

Officers were seen lifting Miller's mattress and inspecting a packet of anti-inflammatory medication as his pet pug waddled excitedly around the unit.

Mobile phones, documents, encrypted electronic devices and smaller amounts of allegedly prohibited drugs were taken away for forensic testing.

Miller was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs, knowingly directing a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Police allege the 100m butterfly silver medalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics was the head a syndicate which sought to traffic meth into Albury-Wodonga.

Miller, who is being represented by high-profile solicitor Greg Goold, has refused to be interviewed by police and is on remand at Parklea jail.

On the march: Miller was allowed to put on a striped polo shirt before he was handcuffed and taken to Newtown police station to be charged

Bundles of $50 and $100 notes were clearly visible through in police evidence bags

Johnson, 47, who was arrested at Balmain, was charged with supplying a large commercial quantity of drugs, and participating in a criminal group.

Miller, Johnson, Peake and Szabloics face a maximum term of life in prison if convicted of large commercial drug supply.

Peake was arrested on March 16 and faced Wagga Wagga Local Court the next day. Szabolics, who was already in jail accused of unrelated offences, appeared before Albury Local Court on February 24.

The investigation into Miller began earlier this year after police discovered a shipment of candles which each allegedly contained half a kilogram of high-quality methylamphetamine. The substance was moulded into glass containers.

The NSW State Crime Command's Drug and Firearms Squad and NSW Crime Commission have been involved in the investigation under Strike Force Tarrawilla.

About a dozen officers participated in the raid on Miller's home. Above, two officers carry regulation cardboard evidence bags out to waiting police cars

Police will allege that about a kilogram of heroin and $75,000 in cash were found in Miller's property (in bags on left). On right, an officer carries out a set of scales

Miller has admitted having troubles in his personal life in recent years.

During an interview with 60 Minutes in 2014 he admitted he was battling a drug addiction.

He worked as a drug awareness and prevention speaker with the Church of Scientology's Narconon program, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Miller is also known for his brief marriage to Sydney socialite and TV presenter Charlotte Dawson between 1999 and 2000. Dawson took her own life in 2014.

A source close to Miller said he had been working for a trucking company company until shortly before his arrest.

Miller, Johnson, Peake and Szabolics return to Newtown Local Court on May 11.
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The Japanese 4x4 model may enjoy worldwide fame, but there is one model whose reputation is untouchable in the mountainous region of Italy. We're talking about the Fiat Panda 4x4 . This vehicle is often referred to as "the mountain goat" because of its ability to reach seemingly impossible places (at least for something that looked the way the original Panda did, i.e., like a small three-door hatchback with virtually no off-road credentials).However, even before the Panda 4x4 came to life, another Fiat model fulfilled the same role. It was called the Scoiattolo (Italian for Squirrel), and it wasn't actually an official Fiat car, though it was based on the company's 500 model of that era (1969).Not many people know about the boxy-shaped off-roader, but it appears to hold a special place in the heart of one artist that goes by the nickname of moaoun_moaoun. With the limited-edition model in mind, he set off to create a worthy modern successor that, by the looks of it, takes the old recipe and dials it to 100.While the original Scoiattolo looked like a four-year-old's rendition of a Jeep Willys, moaoun's take is much more difficult not to take seriously. The Fiat 500 links are slightly easier to spot compared to the 1969 conversion, but that doesn't mean it has a lot in common with the Italian company's city car.From the headlights down, the front end is completely changed. The 2021 Scoiattolo gets a sturdy utility bumper complete with a bull bar and winch, as well as recovery hooks and auxiliary LED lights. The large off-road tires are housed underneath flared mud covers that extend the wheel arches with a rail fit between them to protect the side skirts if the driver relied too much on the vehicle's break-over angle.We don't get to see the rear, but it looks as though we're not missing that much as there's just a longitudinally-mounted spare wheel. The rig holding the wheel seems to come down off the roof rack that also accommodates five spotlights, one unidentified item (sleeping bag?), and a surfboard.It's actually the latter object that raises our only objection with moaoun's creation: why not use the Fiat 500's convertible version (the Fiat 500C)? Not only would that be more in line with the original Scoiattolo, but it would also make for a better dune buggy/fun-mobile regardless of any historical connections. Apart from that, it's hard to imagine a cooler, more capable vehicle than this modern interpretationat least not of the same size.
FLUSHING TOWNSHIP - As tensions ran high and conflict arose between residents and the planning commission, Flushing Township residents were able to reach some common ground with officials on a proposed medical marijuana ordinance.

Ordinance 2021-01-Home Occupations Text Amendment seeks to regulate marijuana growing operations by caregivers in the township by putting in place new sets of principles many residents have expressed as restrictive to the growing process.

Tonights going to be an information gathering meeting, and no decision will be made tonight, said township planning commission Chair Ron Voigt at a public hearing Monday night, addressing those in the crowd that included residents and non-residents who came out to speak against the ordinances language.

I am here today because I am for peoples rights, said Jen Lindemann, a Flushing Township resident during the public comments section. It is the right of residents, citizens, under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008 to grow medical marijuana for their patients. My question to all of you is: why do you want to do this?

Under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act of 2008, the use of medical marijuana is legal, and it enables caregivers to legally cultivate up to 12 plants for each of their patients, meaning that if a caregiver has five patients and is also a patient them self, he or she can grow up to 72 marijuana plants.

Caregivers would be required to house and grow their plants in a secured, locked accessory structure on their property -- separate from their home -- under the proposed ordinance.

The proposed ordinance states that the attached building or detached accessory structure being used to grow the plants in, shall not occupy more than 25% or 375 square feet of the residential floor are

Additionally, the ordinance would require caregivers to live on the property, possess at least five acres of land, not to operate within 50 feet of a property line, and cannot occupy more than 25%, or 375 square feet of the residential floor area of the dwelling unit.

The ordinance would also allow township staff, to conduct inspections of the property and home occupation to ensure that all operations are compliant with the zoning ordinance and applicable local and state laws.

The ordinance was first conceived by the township board after incidents in the community regarding medical marijuana caregiver operations. The planning commission previously developed the language of the ordinance with an outside source before it was later addressed by the township board.

Around two dozen people gathered to protest against the ordinance in front of the township hall hours before the meeting.

Opponents lit joints in the parking lot as they held homemade signs that read, Flushing Township is trying to steal your growing rights.

The crowd stood around the front entrance doors for what an extended period of time after the planning commission meeting began to wait their turn to voice their opinions on the ordinance.

I am here to oppose what the Flushing Township is trying to do as far as the medical marijuana caregiver portion of the law is concerned, said a Coldwater resident who identified himself as Carter, who held up one of the homemade signs objecting to the ordinance. I feel like theres a few things that they wrote that are completely out of line.

People were allowed into the hall just before 8 p.m. for the start of the public hearing section of the meeting.

The hall quickly filled up with most of the protesters taking seat on the few chairs available - socially distanced - while the rest stood at the back of the room.

After everyone had settled in, planning commission Chair Voigt addressed everyone on the matters of the meeting.

A representative consultant that helped draft the ordinance then offered a brief overview of the language within the ordinance, speaking on each section of the ordinance individually.

To me, its about crime, said planning commission secretary William Mills. Last year, there was a shootout, and we dont need that. Theres no reason for shootouts in this township, and thats my concern.

Flushing resident Bill Walker addressed the same concerns as Mills, in agreement that his concerns are for safety and crime too.

However, there is some dispute over the incidents, with some residents stating that the crimes that took place have been overplayed including an incident in fall 2020 when someone trespassed on a caregivers property, cut down their plants, and stole them.

Thats when the township board was able to draft an amendment to the ordinance that would address such issues in the future.

Since then, the ordinance has been a topic of discussion in multiple township meetings, with the board approving its first reading of the amendment in January. A second vote was postponed in February after public comments from residents raised concerns over the proposed language.

At the March 11 township board meeting, trustees unanimously voted to move the ordinance amendment back to the planning commission for additional review and the public hearing.

However, those same concerns were once again brought up to the planning commission by residents who feel they will be affected by the ordinance if it is allowed to go through.

Im a longtime Flushing resident of over seven years, said Buddy Dalton, owner of Clio Cultivation, a business that sells indoor grow supplies, hydroponics, and other items. We are all here today to ask you questions about the words of Home Occupation Text Amendment 2021-01 in detail ... and to ask this planning board to please change all of this immediately.

Dalton further asked the planning commission why they ever considered drafting such an ordinance and complying with it.

It was obviously drafted with the idea to ban medical caregivers, said Dalton.

Jason Durham, a Lincoln resident who drove three hours to be at the meeting, asked commission members how many of them actually possess at least five acres of land, to which commission member Mills replied, I do. I have 300.

The exchange resulted in a bombshell outburst from the audience, with a couple members of the crowd shouting out good for you at Mills, while others attempted to silence the crowd to allow Durham to continue speaking.

These ordinances and these rules that are being drafted, theyre not favoring the patient - who come first - and theyre not favoring the caregiver whos taking care of the patient, Durham said.

Lindemann followed Durhams concerns, asking the commission members why they want to pass down such restrictive guidelines to caregivers.

She spoke of her personal experiences dealing with past medical circumstances and how medical marijuana and caregiving has positively affected her life.

Lindemann told the commission members that medical marijuana is the only thing she has left ...and you folks want to take that from me.

Im about to be with no medication and you want to take away the only life I have, Lindemann said. It is not fair, it is wrong and I dont understand why.

Eric Gunnels, a Thetford Township Trustee and supporter of marijuana law reform, offered the commission his assistance in the matter.

Today, I come to offer some simple advice on the process of drafting an ordinance, as Im somewhat familiar to this myself from my own community, Gunnels said.

As a trustee, Gunnels was in a committee to draft an ordinance similar to the one that Flushing Township is trying to pass.

When discussing the language item on the ordinance that requires caregivers to own at least five acres of land, Gunnels said that it was restrictive and that it may lead to further problems.

When you begin to do that, youre kind of disenfranchising lower income people, Gunnels said. When I read the rest of these, it seems to lose track of what you actually intent to do here. I can see what youre trying to do, and some of this makes sense, and I think some other parts do not.

Other residents got to voice their concerns to the committee, with one person stating they need to come together as a group and respect one another.

After the public hearing was adjourned, Mills announced that he would be forming a committee to bring both sides together to draft new language to the ordinance before conducting an official vote.

Ill spend my time. Ill spend whatever this township needs, Mills said. I want a better community, just like you folks. I appreciate everybody coming, and I apologize if I offended anyone.

Read more on MLive:

Residents in Genesee County community upset over proposed medical marijuana ordinance

Flushing Township board sends proposed medical marijuana ordinance back to planning commission

Michigan marijuana stock could offer residents chance to buy their hood back
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Taboola , a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, helping people discover things they may like, today announced a multi-year renewal of their partnership with Dennis Publishing  the dynamic international media group with over 50 million unique users a month  to drive engagement and audience numbers. Dennis was one of the first enterprise publishers signed by Taboola in the U.K., with this renewal taking the two companies to over 10 years as partners.

Dennis has a portfolio of over 30 brands operating in four areas of expertise including Current Affairs, Technology, Automotive, and Specialist and sells over 2.5 million magazines every month. Taboola has been live across eight of the publisher's sites for several years, and this new agreement will see all eight sites renew their deal to drive affiliate revenue and engagement.

Taboola is going public via a merger with ION Acquisition Corp. 1 Ltd. (NYSE: IACA), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. For more information: https://www.taboola.com/press-release/taboola-goes-public.

As part of the renewal, Dennis will be expanding its integration of Taboola Feed  a seamlessly integrated infinite scroll that provides readers with personalized content for a more engaging experience, enabling monetization of below-article placements  across additional sites. Dennis will also expand its use of Taboola's Explore More product across its Coach Magazine , Cyclist and Expert Reviews brands. Explore More is designed to keep users visiting the publisher sites directly from social media and apps, increasing engagement. Finally, Dennis will continue to utilize Taboola's Audience Exchange to drive traffic across its network of sites.

Dan Powell-Rees, Revenue Operations Director, Dennis said: "We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with Taboola, which has driven significant value across our sites throughout our relationship. With excellent boosts in our engagement numbers since working with Taboola, it was a completely natural decision to expand the benefits of their products across multiple sites and sectors, and extend the partnership to cover a decade of working together."

About Taboola

Taboola powers recommendations for the open web, helping people discover things they may like. The company's platform, powered by artificial intelligence, is used by digital properties, including websites, devices and mobile apps, to drive monetization and user engagement. Taboola has long-term partnerships with some of the top digital properties in the world, including CNBC, NBC News, Business Insider, The Independent and El Mundo. More than 13,000 advertisers use Taboola to reach over 500 million daily active users in a brand-safe environment. The company has offices in 18 cities worldwide, including New York and Tel Aviv.

Taboola is going public via a merger with ION Acquisition Corp. 1 Ltd. (NYSE: IACA), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. For more information visit: https://www.taboola.com/press-release/taboola-goes-public.

Learn more at www.taboola.com and follow @taboola on Twitter.

SOURCE Taboola

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Guam Police Department Criminal Investigation Division detectives arrested a 20-year-old man in connection to the 88 Leisure Game Room robbery.

Police continue searching for the second suspect, stated Sgt. Paul Tapao, GPD spokesman.

According to preliminary reports, on April 6, two men were seen on video surveillance assaulting a security guard at the 88 Leisure Game Room in Maite.

Additional surveillance footage also captured a possible vehicle used by the men. This case was forwarded to GPDS Criminal Investigation Division for a follow-up investigation.

Through the course of the follow-up investigation, detectives learned the identity of one of the suspects relative to the surveillance footage of the vehicle and a witness who identified one of the suspects.

Detectives later located 20-year-old Losal Phaynid at a home in Tamuning. He was later interviewed and arrested for the following offenses:

 Aggravated assault

 Theft of property and

 Destruction of evidence

Losal Phaynid was subsequently booked and confined at the Department of Corrections. Although an arrest has been made and the case investigation forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General, this investigation remains open as detectives continue to search for the second suspect.
Local advocates for creation of a state commission to plan for the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington and other events of the era pose at the Statehouse with Gov. Phil Scott after testifying in March 2020 before a legislative committee. COVID-19 slowed that effort, but Scott later created a commission by executive order.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday held extensive talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian, covering all aspects of the bilateral strategic ties as well as regional and global challenges.

The French minister arrived here on Monday evening on a three-day visit to explore ways to further boost cooperation between the two countries, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

After the talks, Jaishankar said India and France will advance their shared post-COVID-19 agenda through "close collaboration".

"A comfortable, substantive and productive discussion with FM @JY_LeDrian. India and France will advance their shared post-COVID agenda through close collaboration," he tweeted.

French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain described the meeting as "excellent".

"Excellent meeting b/w @JY_LeDrian @francediplo_EN & @DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia. The ministers discussed all aspects of the bilateral strategic partnership, regional & global challenges and cooperation at the #UNSC," Lenain said in a tweet.

On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the visit by the French foreign minister will pave the way for further strengthening of bilateral partnership across trade, defence, climate, migration and mobility, education and health sectors in the post-COVID-19 context.

The French embassy said Le Drian is undertaking the visit to strengthen strategic ties between France and India, boost cooperation in several fields, particularly the Indo-Pacific.

The defence and security ties between India and France are on an upswing in the last few years.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of Rafale jets, has delivered 14 aircraft to the Indian Air Force so far.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
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Pandemic-safe spays: Nonprofit animal clinic keeps doors open, costs down

Emma Saldivar/For the DRC A dog and its owner wait to be seen March 16 at Texas Coalition for Animal Protections clinic in Denton. The nonprofit organization provides affordable spaying, neutering and other services for pets. Emma Saldivar/For the DRC Veterinary assistant Chelsea Stewart checks a puppys weight at Texas Coalition for Animal Protections Denton clinic on March 16. Emma Saldivar/For the DRC Sheyenne Blackwell signs in pets as they wait outside of the Texas Coalition for Animal Protections Denton clinic on Sunset Street last month.

With some North Texas pet owners struggling with access to animal care since the start of the pandemic, the Texas Coalition for Animal Protection has kept its doors open for pets in need.

The nonprofit organization, known as TCAP, supplies affordable spaying, neutering and other services for pets.

Since establishing its first clinic in Denton in 2002, TCAP has opened seven more clinics around North Texas.

TCAP differs from traditional veterinary hospitals in that it provides essential wellness care for a fraction of the cost of a full-service veterinarian. While the coalition is unable to provide visits for sick or injured pets, all other services are performed by a certified veterinarian.

Just because its low-cost doesnt mean its low-quality, said Tiffany Ditto, TCAPs marketing coordinator. And yes, they are real vets.

The coalitions stated goal is focused on ending pet euthanasia as a whole and improving the lives of all pets in the community.

TCAP is able to provide subsidized savings at its clinics through money from donors and sponsors, which allow clients to care for their pets through low-cost co-pays.

From March 2020, when COVID-19 shutdowns began, through December, TCAP performed 53,253 spays and neuters across all eight clinics.

People have been impacted financially now more than ever, Ditto said. We dont want people to have to decide between food on the table and care for their pet.

In 2020, TCAP administered an average of 100 vaccinations a day at its Denton location and brought in between 30 and 60 pets daily for spaying and neutering.

Its definitely been busier, but much more fulfilling since were here every day, said Dr. Suzie Smith, a contract veterinarian at TCAP. People are thanking us for our clinic being open; it really feels like were able to make a difference during this time of need.

In compliance with COVID-19 restrictions, TCAP has set up a pet drop-off system to streamline the number of clients coming in and out of the clinic.

For spaying and neutering, a client can bring in a pet for an appointment in the morning, then pick the pet up that afternoon.

Vaccines are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

During the day, a line manager stands outside to distribute paperwork to clients in their cars and hands them a number to wait with until a TCAP employee is available.

Five people are called up to the clinic at a time to maintain social distancing. As long as a client is in the queue by noon that day, TCAP veterinarians will serve them, even after closing time.

Enhanced cleaning protocols have been established, and masks are still required in all TCAP clinics.

Denton resident Eleata Swan recently took advantage of of TCAPs vaccination process and heartworm testing for Maddie, her 4-year-old basset hound and beagle mix.

I would absolutely recommend TCAP to other pet owners, Swan said. The people that work there were very thorough and handled everything really well during the pandemic.

Swan also volunteers with Texas Cattle Dog Rescue of Texas and Basset Buddies, both of which receive help from TCAP to care for dogs.

TCAP served 177,000 animals and vaccinated 131,000 last year.

TCAP also runs monthly specials, which further discount its services. During the months of April and May, cat spays and neuters are free, marked down from the usual $45.

Jeri Sulzman, founder and medical director of the Animal Rescue Foundation of Texas, stressed the importance of regular vaccinations and checkups, in addition to spaying and neutering.

Sulzman works firsthand with TCAP to receive care for animals she brings in to the Animal Rescue Foundation from other shelters.

For areas in Texas that dont have clinics like TCAP, you can just see the huge population of feral cats and dogs running around, Sulzman said. Its healthier for an animal to be fixed, and TCAP helps make that possible at an affordable rate.

Sulzman said she has brought in her own pets to TCAP for vaccines, dental work and heartworm tests.

Im a huge advocate for TCAP, but its still important for your pet to see a full-service vet once a year, Sulzman said. At the bare minimum, please fix your pets.

For more information about TCAPs monthly specials and other events, visit texasforthem.org.
- Growing application as an alternative to fossil fuel and rise in demand for sustainable power source drive the growth of the global hydrogen energy storage market

PORTLAND, Ore., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Hydrogen Energy Storage Market by Product Type (Liquid, Solid, and Gas), Application (Stationary Power and Transportation), and End User (Industrial and Commercial): Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027." According to the report, the global hydrogen energy storage industry was projected at $15.4 billion in 2019, and is anticipated to hit $25.4 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.5% from 2020 to 2027.

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities-

Growing application as an alternative to fossil fuel and rise in demand for sustainable power source drive the growth of the global hydrogen energy storage market. On the other hand, high capital cost is expected to curb the growth to some extent. However, robust investment and government support are expected to create lucrative opportunities for the key players in the industry.

Download Sample PDF (445 Pages PDF with Insights): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10943

Covid-19 scenario-

Annulment of shipments, project postponements, and travel bans across the world slowed down the hydrogen energy storage market growth during the first phase of the lockdown.

However, amendment of energy investment tax structures and robust financial provision from the local and state governments are expected to ameliorate the growth of the market.

The gas segment to retain its dominance by 2027-

Based on product type, the gas segment accounted for nearly three-fourths of the global hydrogen energy storage market share in 2019, and is expected to dominate by the end of 2027. Huge demand from the transportation sector and low storage cost of compressed hydrogen propels the segment growth. The solid segment, on the other hand, would register the fastest CAGR of 9.20% throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the increasing demand from the automotive and transport sectors.

Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Hydrogen Energy Storage Market: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/10943?reqfor=covid

The transportation segment to lead the trail-

Based on application, the transportation segment contributed to more than two-thirds of the global hydrogen energy storage market revenue in 2019, and is projected to rule the roost by 2027. Increase in demand for sustainable fuel power with reduced emission fuels the segment growth. The stationary segment would grow at the fastest CAGR of 7.30% during the forecast period. This is due to growing emphasis on de-carbonization and sustainable power solutions.

Asia-Pacific to dominate in terms of revenue, North America to portray a significant CAGR-

Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the major share in 2019, generating nearly half of the global hydrogen energy storage market, owing to the impact of productivity improvements in the province. The emerging economies in Asia-Pacific are adopting various foreign equipment; thus, improving the production efficiency. Simultaneously, the market across LAMEA would generate the fastest CAGR of 8.60% from 2020 to 2027, due to rise in number of trade fairs and exhibitions that are promoting new technologies in the region.

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Key players in the industry-

Air Products and Chemicals

FuelCell Energy

Hydrogenics,Hexagon Composites

ITM Power

Linde

Nel Hydrogen

Air Liquide ( France )

) Plug Power

Worthington Industries

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Sweet and aromatic! Miao people greet us with homemade rice wine in SW China's Guizhou

14:10, April 13, 2021 By Liu Ning, Zhang Ruohan, Annemarie Li ( People's Daily Online

The Miao people show their highest level of hospitality when they welcome guests outside the village gate and invite them to drink up to 12 rounds of homemade rice wine. Each round represents a blessing.

But its also a challenge for those who cant hold their liquor! Are you up for it?

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Liang Jun)
The Maryland House of Delegates seeks to pass a bill to ban the display of Swastika on school premises. Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has objected the bill that falsely defines Swastika as a hate symbol.

After misappropriation of Yoga and Namaste, another attempt is now underway to ban the display of Swastika on school premises in Maryland. A symbol that signifies peace, co-existence and prosperity, and is worshipped across the Indian society, is now being defined as a symbol of hate by Maryland House of Delegates new bill. In what can be seen as another attempt by the western forces to spread Hinduphobia, the Maryland House of Delegates has drawn a direct link between the swastika and the symbol adopted by the Nazis.

However, what they and the western world at large, fail to recognise is that Nazis has stolen the symbol from Ancient India and given it a negative connotation. They defamed a pious symbol like swastika and defamed it globally, for which they owe all Indians, Buddhists and Jains around the world an apology.

Hindu American Foundation (HAF) has objected the bill that falsely defines Swastika as a hate symbol and said that one can only imagine the shame and bullying the children from these communities would face as the states mis-portayal of swastika. It further highlighted the devastating impact that it could have on the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain families to freely practice their religion and pass it on to the next generation.

Needless to say, this vilification and a desperate attempt by Pakistan and China to spread Hinduphobia must stop. Swastika and its misappropriation by the Nazis are not same and it is our duty to stop such attempts to aim to twist Ancient India pride.
Chavez R. Ocasio, 23, was charged with murder for the death of Dior Harris. He is pictured in an old booking photo

A New York man who was arrested for killing an 11-month-old baby and injuring her two young cousins has been pictured after the horrific drive-by shooting.

Chavez R. Ocasio, 23, was charged with murder for the death of Dior Harris, who was due to celebrate her first birthday on April 29.

She was shot several times in in a volley of gunfire while traveling in the backseat of the car in Syracuse at 7pm on Sunday night.

During the Sunday drive-by, Ocasio also allegedly shot Dior's cousins, aged 3 and 8. The older of the cousins is due to undergo surgery for a gunshot wound to her pelvic area that authorities say nearly killed her. The cousins are both in a stable condition.

Ocasio's connection to the victims, if any, remain unclear as well as the motive behind the brazen drive-by.

He has now been pictured in photos with his own infant daughter, who is just over a month old. He posted pictures of his daughter calling her his 'Twinny Twin Twin' on Facebook.

Ocasio, pictured with his own infant daughter, was accused of gunning down 11-month-old Dior Harris on Sunday. Ocasio's connection to the victims, if any, remain unclear

The young father doted on his own daughter in captions, calling her his 'Twinny Twin Twin' on Facebook

During the Sunday drive-by, Ocasio, pictured, also allegedly shot Dior's cousins, aged 3 and 8

Some photos of Ocasio show the expectant father in February at the baby shower, with a picture of a shirt noting he is 'the daddy' while other posts on his page blast 'pedos.'

'Waking up to this makes everything worth it,' Ocasio wrote in one post of his own daughter.

'It's the smile for me,' the young father wrote in another.

Dior's mother Desiree Seymour and the mother of the injured girls, Shakema Buckmon, who were in the front seat and escaped injury, took the children to Upstate University Hospital, where Dior died.

Ocasio, pictured, pleaded not guilty at a court appearance on Tuesday morning

State parole records show Ocasio was released in 2019 after serving several years for burglary

Buckmon told CNY Central they'd done everything they could to save the baby.

'I tried to get to the hospital as fast as I could, I tried, I tried but she had already passed before we could make it down the street.'

A distraught Seymour took to social media to pay tribute to her daughter.

'There so many things that you had to do and couldnt all because a f***ing coward came and took you from me. Lord why, why me is all I keep asking my baby was innocent. She didnt deserve this.'

Dior Harris was killed and her two young cousins were wounded after being shot in the back seat of a car as they drove to the grocery store with their mothers

Desiree Seymour, right, was in the car when her daughter Dior, left was shot and killed. 'Lord why, why me is all I keep asking my baby was innocent. She didnt deserve this' she wrote

The three girls were in the backseat while their mothers were in the front of the car driving through the Strathmore neighborhood when shots were fired into the vehicle from a passing car. Crime scene pictured

Buckmon told NewsChannel 9 that they had been on their way to the grocery store on Sunday evening when the shooting took place in the 300 block of Grant Avenue, Syracuse.

The three girls were in the backseat while their mothers were in the front of the car driving through the Strathmore neighborhood when shots were fired into the vehicle from a passing car.

Buckmon, the driver and mother of two of the injured, drove away and made it a mile further to a relative's home when they realized the children had been hurt.

'They drove away as they were being shot at. After she realized the children were injured, she stopped and called 911,' Investigative Bureau Chief Derek McGork said.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital, where she died of her injuries, CNY Central reported.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital where she died of her injuries

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh described the incident as an 'unimaginable tragedy'.

'This tragedy is the definition of senseless. How could anyone in their right mind point a gun at a vehicle in broad daylight with children in it?'

At a news conference Monday morning, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said they had not identified a suspect and appealed for information from the public.

By 8pm that evening, police had arrested Ocasio and booked him on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and violation of parole, according to Onondaga County Justice Center records.

Ocasio pleaded not guilty at a court appearance on Tuesday morning.

Judge Erica Clarke agreed to a rare request from prosecutors to seal the file, as revealing too much information about their evidence could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.

State parole records show Ocasio was released in 2019 after serving several years for burglary.

A vigil was held in honor of Dior on Monday evening. Residents of Syracuse carrying candles and pictures of Dior wept and prayed as they came out to pay tribute to Dior.

Police tape blocks off the scene of the drive-by shooting in Syracuse. A 23 year old man named Chavez Ocasio has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder

The murder continues an alarming spike in homicides beginning in 2020.

FBI statistics for 2020, show there was a 25 percent increase in homicides compared to the previous year, after a surge in gun violence.

The nearly 4,000 additional murders recorded throughout 2020 is believed to be their biggest single year increase on record.

That trend carried over into 2021. Already in 2021, there has been more than 130 mass shootings: defined as having more than four victims.

These have included the March 16 spree in Atlanta, in which a gunman killed eight people and wounded six at three massage parlors in the Georgia city.

Six days later in in Boulder, Colorado, ten people were killed, including a local on-duty police officer.


Toronto (April 12, 2021) - Researchers from University Health Network have developed and validated an innovative deep learning model to predict a patient's long-term outcome after receiving a liver transplant.

First of its kind in the field of Transplantation, this model is the result from a collaboration between the Ajmera Transplant Centre and Peter Munk Cardiac Centre. The study, published in Lancet Digital Health, shows it can significantly improve long-term survival and quality of life for liver transplant recipients.

"Historically, we have seen good advances in one-year post-transplant outcomes, but survival in the longer term hasn't significantly improved in the past decades," explains Dr. Mamatha Bhat, a hepatologist with the Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN and co-senior author of the study.

"This model can guide physicians and help anticipate when and how complications may rise. It can really be paradigm-changing in how we support liver transplant recipients in personalizing their care and helping them live better and longer."

For liver transplant recipients, long-term survival beyond one-year is significantly compromised by an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular mortality, infection and graft failure. Clinical tools to identify patients at risk of these complications are limited.

This model will help clinicians enhance post-liver transplant care using machine learning, allowing them to identify potential risks when formulating patient-specific treatment plans.

The study results show this model is more than 80% accurate in predicting potential complications for liver transplant recipients at any point post- transplantation, based on their medical history and comparing to the millions of data points compiled using artificial intelligence.

"Deep Learning enables timely processing of large-scale datasets, finding patterns and signals that can aid clinicians in better predicting the clinical outcomes and creating specific treatment recommendations," says Dr. Bo Wang, AI Lead at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute and co-senior author of this study.

The algorithms for this model were created based on the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) - a national medical database in the United States, with data from over 42,000 liver transplant recipients. They were then validated using the local dataset from UHN's Ajmera Transplant Centre, which had over 3,200 cases.

The research team now plans to share this model with clinicians so that it can be used across the world. Work is also in progress to evaluate what are the best formats to streamline its use, either developing a software or mobile application.

###

This study was supported by the Canadian Liver Foundation, American Society of Transplantation, Canadian Donation and Transplant Research Program, the CIFAR AI Chair Program and the UHN Foundation. Some of the authors are supported by Peter Munk Cardiac Centre AI Fund.

About the Ajmera Transplant Centre at UHN

The Ajmera Transplant Centre is the largest transplant program in Canada, and a global reference in world-class patient care, research and innovation. It performs over 600 transplant surgeries every year, including lung, heart, liver, kidney, pancreas and small bowel transplantation.

For more information, visit: UHNtransplant.ca

About the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre

The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, established through the generous support of The Peter and Melanie Munk Charitable Foundation, is the premier cardiac centre in Canada. Each year, over 163,000 patients receive innovative and compassionate care from a multidisciplinary team who treat some of the most complex cases of heart and vascular disease. Our clinical and research expertise has improved the lives of patients around the world, while we continue to train more cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, and vascular surgeons than any other hospital in Canada. The Peter Munk Cardiac Centre is based at Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute - all members of University Health Network. For more information, visit http://www. petermunkcardiaccentre. ca

About University Health Network

University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in arthritis, cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.

For more information, visit: http://www. uhn. ca

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ana Fernandes

Senior Public Affairs Advisor

Phone: +1 (437) 216-4597

Email: ana.fernandes@uhn.ca

Emma King

Public Affairs and Communications Associate

Phone: 416 559 7315

Email: emma.king@uhn.ca
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 13:03:41|Editor: huaxia

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A citizen protests against the Japanese government's decision to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea, in Tokyo, capital of Japan, April 13, 2021. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that his government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea amid domestic and international opposition. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

TOKYO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that his government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea amid domestic and international opposition.

Suga made the announcement after convening a meeting of relevant ministers to formalize plans to release the radioactive water accumulated at the plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the No. 1-3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns.

The plant has been generating massive amount of radiation-tainted water since the accident happened as it needs water to cool the reactors. The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) said it will take around two years for the release to start.

The water has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants. However, things like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are hard to filter out.

According to some marine experts, traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater also raise concerns.

The plant has been struggling to store the contaminated water in tanks at its facility where more than 1.25 million tons of contaminated water are currently stored in huge tanks, and the space is expected to reach capacity next year.

TEPCO claimed that the whole decommissioning process will be hampered if it needs to keep building storage tanks within the plant's premises.

Japan had considered evaporating or storing underground the tritium-laced water from the plant as an alternative. However, from the perspective of cost and technical feasibility, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea.

The plan has been facing strong opposition from the Japanese fish industry and the public, with fishery industry representatives saying it would undo years of work to restore their reputation.

"We are dead against a release of contaminated water to the ocean as it could have a catastrophic impact on the future of Japan's fishing industry," Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives known as JF Zengyoren, told a meeting with government officials last October.

According to Kishi, the release of radioactive water could trigger other countries to tighten restrictions on imports of Japanese fishery products, reversing a recent trend toward loosening.

Currently, a number of countries and regions continue to impose restrictions on Japanese agricultural and fishery products as a result of the Fukushima crisis amid continued concerns about the safety of the produce.

During a meeting with Suga last week, Kishi reiterated his organization's ardent opposition to the idea of dumping the radioactive water into the sea.

"It is inevitable that there would be reputational damage regardless of how the water will be disposed of, whether into the sea or into the air," he said. "I want the government to clarify how it intends to respond to such reputational damage."

Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said last Friday that while working on the concerns of the fisheries industry, the government hopes to seek cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other global organizations, while maintaining transparency over the matter.

The Japanese government had initially hoped to make a decision on the release of the water last October. However, it delayed the decision due to fierce opposition from local fishermen.

According to a survey conducted by public broadcaster NHK late last year, 51 percent of respondents said they are "against" or "quite against" the idea of discharge the wastewater into the sea, while only 18 percent said they are in favor of the plan.

Another poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun newspaper in January showed that 55 percent of respondents are against the government's plan to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima into the sea, while 32 percent said they support it.

Yukio Edano, the leader of Japan's main opposition party the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) strongly condemned the plan on Saturday, saying the government's decision is unacceptable and a complete disregard for the voices of the people of Fukushima.

Some environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Japan and the Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy said on Monday that they have collected more than 64,000 signatures from 88 countries and regions in a petition to the government against the decision to dump Fukushima wastewater into the sea.

The environmental groups called the government's decision a "crude way of deciding" without adequate discussion and called for it to be withdrawn.

The plan also raised concerns from neighboring countries about possible negative impact on people's health and fishery businesses resulting from the discharge.

China on Tuesday once again expressed serious concerns about Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear station by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, China expressed its grave concerns through diplomatic channels, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying that China urged the Japanese side to take a responsible attitude and treat the issue of nuclear waste disposal with caution.

Zhao stressed that proper disposal of nuclear waste is related to international public interests and the vital interests of neighboring countries. It should be handled carefully and properly to avoid further damaging the marine environment, food safety and human health.

Meanwhile, South Korea on Monday also voiced "grave concerns", with foreign ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam saying "It will be difficult to accept if the Japanese side decides to release the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant without sufficient consultations."

"Our government expresses grave concerns as the decision can have direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and the surrounding environment," he added. Enditem
Scottsdale, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - TriStar Gold Inc. (TSXV: TSG) (OTCQX: TSGZF) (the Company or TriStar) is pleased to announce the results from closely-spaced drilling at the Castelo de Sonhos gold project in Para State, Brazil. The results have confirmed that the reefs identified by 50m spaced drilling are continuous in 10m spaced drill holes. This is the first step towards a test grade control program and possible bulk sample analysis.

"This short-range continuity test is just one example of the many areas in which Castelo de Sonhos is now advancing towards the prefeasibility and permitting," says Nick Appleyard, TriStar's President and CEO. "As the infill drilling has now finished the drill rigs will be focused on exploration and looking to grow our resource base in parallel with aggressively moving forward towards completing the PFS."

Figure 1 below shows a north-south cross section through the long-axis a cross of holes drilled 10m apart in an area of low-to-moderate grade in Esperanca South. In addition to the 10m spaced RC drill holes, twin holes (within 5m of the original hole) were drilled to directly compare the performance of RC drilling versus core drilling. The results from these drill holes are not yet complete, although the partial data currently available appears consistent between the two drilling techniques. The significant intersections from the holes drilled in this program are shown in Table 1 below. Results are in line with expectations, in terms of grade, depth or thickness, given what has been seen in previous drill holes surrounding the closely-spaced drilling study area.

Figure 1, Closely-spaced drilling at Esperanca South, showing gold grades (in g/t) numerically and as a histogram.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4509/80186_c8efec4fe4506a9e_005full.jpg

Detailed Discussion

TriStar initiated the program of closely-spaced drilling in an area where older drill holes showed resources with low to moderate grade (0.3 - 1.5 g/t Au) within 24m of the ground surface. The purpose of this program was to test the continuity of reefs encountered by the 50x50m drilling grid in order to better understand short-scale variation, an important consideration for the technical and economic viability that the upcoming PFS will assess. The maps in Figure 2 show the region chosen in Esperanca South for 10x10m grid to a depth of 24m, using both RC and core holes. Assay results have now been reported by the lab for the 16 holes shown as open circles in Figure 2a; the colored circles show the average resource grade above 0.3 g/t in the top 24m of the drill holes that pre-date the closely-spaced drilling program. Figures 2b and 2c show the prediction of resource grade in the top 24m before and after the assays from the new drill holes are incorporated, using the lithogeochemical model to align the direction of maximum continuity with bedding.

Although the new drilling provides useful local detail, the predictions of the resource grade and tonnage for the entire study area change by less than 5% from Figure 1b (old drilling) to Figure 1c (old drilling + new 10m drill cross), with the updated resource in this area being about 4% higher than previously thought. This provides strong confidence that current resource predictions already have the accuracy and precision expected for preliminary mine planning. One of the most reassuring findings of the new closely-spaced drilling in this area is that all 16 new holes encountered significant mineralisation in the top 24m; the grade continuity suggested by the five older drill holes, more widely spaced, has been confirmed by the new drilling. The drilling plan for 2021 contemplates completion of the 10x10m drilling in this area so that it could serve, in future, as the location for a bulk sample or test mining if such studies are recommended by the PFS.

Figure 2, a) Closely-spaced drilling study area with old holes (colored) and new holes (white), and bedding strike from lithogeochemical model; b) average gold grade of resource in top 24m using only the old, widely-spaced holes; c) average gold grade of resource in top 24m after assays from new drilling have been incorporated. Tonnes, grade and in-situ metal content of estimated resource change by less than 5% when the new drilling is incorporated.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4509/80186_c8efec4fe4506a9e_004full.jpg

Hole Azimuth Dip Depth

(m) From

(m) To

(m) Intersection CSH-20-496 0 -90 25.3 10.5 12 1.5m @ 0.6g/t CSH-20-497 0 -90 25.3 0 9 9.0m @ 0.5g/t





19 25.3 6.3m @ 0.8g/t CSH-20-498 0 -90 25.7 15.4 18.7 3.3m @ 0.7g/t RC-20-557 0 -90 24 3 7 4.0m @ 0.5g/t





18 24 6.0m @ 1.3g/t RC-20-558 0 -90 24 1 24 23.0m @ 0.4g/t RC-20-559 0 -90 24 8 9 1.0m @ 0.5g/t





20 24 4.0m @ 1.1g/t RC-20-560 0 -90 24 13 14 1.0m @ 0.5g/t





23 24 1.0m @ 0.5g/t RC-20-561 0 -90 24 15 20 5.0m @ 0.3g/t RC-20-562 0 -90 24 3 4 1.0m @ 0.4g/t RC-20-563 0 -90 24 13 18 5.0m @ 0.4g/t





21 22 1.0m @ 0.3g/t RC-20-564 0 -90 24 2 5 3.0m @ 0.4g/t





21 24 3.0m @ 1.0g/t RC-20-565 0 -90 24 1 24 23.0m @ 0.5g/t RC-20-566 0 -90 24 0 3 3.0m @ 0.8g/t RC-20-567 0 -90 24 0 1 1.0m @ 0.3g/t





20 22 2.0m @ 0.4g/t RC-20-568 0 -90 24 5 6 1.0m @ 0.8g/t RC-20-569 0 -90 24 5 12 7.0m @ 0.5g/t





19 23 4.0m @ 1.7g/t

Table 1, Significant Intersections from closely-spaced drill holes at Esperanca South. Drill holes with CSH prefix are core holes and those with the RC prefix are reverse circulation.

Qualified Person

Mo Srivastava (P.Geo.) VP of TriStar the Qualified Person for the technical information presented in this press release, has approved its publication.

Assay methods, Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC)

Samples are collected from either  core in diamond drill holes or  of the chips in reverse circulation holes collected using a splitter at the drill rig. Samples are transported by truck from site to the ALS lab in Goiania, Brazil, where they are dried, crushed, pulverized and packaged for shipment to the ALS analytical lab in Lima, Peru. All samples are analyzed using a 1kg Leachwell analysis.

The ALS preparation and analytical labs are accredited to ISO 17025:2005 UKAS ref 4028, and have internal QA/QC programs for monitoring accuracy and precision. In addition to this, TriStar uses standards, blanks and field duplicates in an external QA/QC program to provide independent monitoring of laboratory analyses.

About TriStar

TriStar Gold is an exploration and development company focused on precious metals properties in the Americas that have the potential to become significant producing mines. The Company's current flagship property is Castelo de Sonhos in Para State, Brazil. The Company's shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSG and on the OTCQX under the symbol TSGZF. Further information is available at www.tristargold.com.

On behalf of the board of directors of the company:

Nick Appleyard

President and CEO

For further information, please contact:

TriStar Gold Inc.

Nick Appleyard

President and CEO

480-794-1244

info@tristargold.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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation which are not historical facts and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects" or "it is expected", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward looking statements in this press release include, the scope and success of the planned exploration program at the Castelo de Sonhos project and the Company's opinion that it has clear title to the Castelo de Sonhos property Such forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's reasonable expectations and business plan at the date hereof, which are subject to change depending on economic, political and competitive circumstances and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause a change in such assumptions and the actual outcomes and estimates to be materially different from those estimated or anticipated future results, achievements or position expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's plans to change include changes in demand for and price of gold and other commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; changes or disruptions in the securities markets; legislative, political or economic developments in Brazil; the need to obtain permits and comply with laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements; the possibility that actual results of work may differ from projections/expectations or may not realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; risks of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in development programs; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, mining or development activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves and resources; and the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business. Although management of the Company has 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. 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 applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80186
The federal governments pause on administering the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine  giving scientists a few days to review reports of extremely rare blood clotting in six women  will not have a significant impact on the nations overall vaccination efforts, according to the White House coronavirus response team.

Public health officials and doctors took to social media Tuesday to assure the public of overall vaccine safety and to note continuing progress with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna shots after news of the Johnson & Johnson pause from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration.

Many doctors and observers on social media noted people were more likely to develop blood clots due to smoking, obesity, some forms of birth control, pregnancy, air pollution or contracting COVID-19 itself.

Ben Wakana, a deputy director for communications on the White House COVID team, emphasized the extremely low chance of developing severe blood clots after taking the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the six known cases: less than one in 1 million.

The pause is out of abundance of caution, he said, noting just 6 known cases of blood clots out of nearly 7 million doses administered across the U.S.

The pause will NOT have a significant impact on our vaccination plan, he added, as the U.S. is pushing out 25 million Pfizer and Moderna doses each week.

KEY POINTS ON J&J



-Pause is out of abundance of caution.



-6 blood clots in 6.8M doses administered.



-Pause will NOT have a significant impact on our vaccination plan.



-We're pushing out 25M Pfizer and Moderna doses each week.



- J&J = less than 5%of the shots in arms in US  Ben Wakana (@benwakana46) April 13, 2021

Health officials said Tuesday theyre reviewing data involving six women between the ages of 18 and 48 who developed a rare and severe type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after receiving Johnson & Johnsons vaccine.

Wakana added that one of the key reasons to pause now is because heparin is usually used to treat blood clots, but in this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given. So the pause gives the medical community time.

The pause comes a day after White House officials said they remained confident the Biden administration would hit expansive vaccination targets despite an unrelated blunder at a Baltimore manufacturing facility that sharply reduced short-term deliveries of Johnson & Johnsons doses nationwide.

Over the last three weeks, weve sent out nearly 90 million total doses of vaccine overall, White House pandemic advisor Andy Slavitt told reporters Monday. Even with uneven supply from Johnson & Johnson, we are sending out supply to vaccinate well more than 3 million people per day.

Tuesdays pause will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan: Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date, Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said in a statement.

Based on actions taken by the president earlier this year, the United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans, Zients added. Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines. This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the presidents goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in office  and continue on to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated.

The COVID team is working with state and federal partners to help Americans scheduled for a Johnson & Johnson shot reschedule for Pfizer or Moderna, the White House said.

Health officials in Europe investigated similar blood clotting issues in 222 out of 34 million people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine in Britain, the European Union and three other countries, The New York Times reported. European medical officials said the benefits of the vaccine still outweighed the risks. The Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines use the same platform, called the adenovirus, but health experts are still investigating specific causes of the rare clotting.

As of Monday, 181,034 in Massachusetts have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the state Department of Public Health.

People have a much higher chance of getting run over by a car than developing a blood clot from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the schools vaccine and treatment evaluation unit, told CNN.

For perspective, here are some numbers:



1 in 1,000,000: J&J vaccine

1 in 3,000: oral contraceptives

1 in 5: hospitalized COVID-19 patients



As someone who got the J&J vaccine 8 days ago, and who took oral contraceptives for 20 years, Ill take these odds.  Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) April 13, 2021

We have administered nearly 200 million doses to more than 120 million Americans. Nearly all, like me, have done incredibly well, Dr. Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown School of Health, said on Twitter. These vaccines are very safe. A short pause (days) to develop a plan around these rare J&J events is pretty reasonable.

We have administered nearly 200M doses to more than 120 million Americans



Nearly all, like me, have done incredibly well



These vaccines are very safe



A short pause (days) to develop a plan around these rare J&J events is pretty reasonable  Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) April 13, 2021

Related Content:
Oscar Fuentes, 32, said hed tried for weeks to score a vaccine appointment to protect himself and the customers he serves at the Original Ninfas in Uptown, but he hadnt been able to find one.

Thats one of the reasons Legacy Restaurants, parent company of the Original Ninfas and Antones Famous Po Boys, decided to host an in-house vaccine clinic. After receiving his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the clinic Monday, Fuentes said he looked forward to telling his customers so they feel more at ease.

Being able to tell my customers, I got the vaccine, he said outside the clinics entrance, that will give them more confidence to come to our place.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'It's brutal': As customers return, Houston restaurants struggle to staff up

For Legacy Restaurants and other chains, the push to vaccinate staff is about more than safety. Restaurant chains see employee vaccinations as a way to raise customer confidence and make people feel safer as they begin to dine out again and are part of an effort to restore a level of normalcy in an industry that has seen more than 11,000 eateries in Texas close since the pandemic struck.

Now Playing: Video: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

We believe its the best way to protect all of our employees and all of our customers. Its the way were going to back to our normal, our normal before 2020, said Ana Fernandez, health and safety director for the Houston company, which employs around 300 people and owns five restaurants, noting the company will be requiring employee vaccinations with few exceptions. I think it sends the message that were doing everything we can to keep people safe.

Legacys clinic is among the first in-house vaccination operations of its kind in Houston; the chain partnered with the Texas Vaccine Institute to vaccinate 280 employees.

Showing the consumer a restaurant or bar is safe is important, too, for the bottom line, said Chris Elliott, chief executive of FSC Franchise Co., parent company of the Tampa-based craft beer bar the Brass Tap, which has 25 employees at its outpost in Midtown and 1,000 overall. To that end, hes giving $100 gift cards to employees who get vaccinated, allowing them to choose from Target, Walmart or Amazon.

Across the companys 39 locations, Elliott said customers have balked during the pandemic when they noticed safety measures slip, and they celebrated when their neighborhood bar adhered to those measures.

The consumers made it pretty clear that they are more apt to come out and visit with you if they think youre a safe place to visit, he said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: 'No one is ever here': Downtown Houston faces uncertain future with pandemic's end in sight

The Greater Houston Restaurant Association held its own clinic last week, vaccinating 570 food service workers with a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Cameron James, board president of the association, said it has pushed for months to prioritize vaccines for restaurant workers, who both work on the front lines with customers and tend to be too busy working in restaurants to land an appointment.

Its good for everyone, and its good for business, James said.

I think any business that can say, were vaccinated, it just makes the general public a little more confident going to that business.

Laura Moreno, 34, works as a cashier at Ninfas on Navigation and said she appreciated the clinic because all the pharmacies shed tried were too busy. The uncertainty and possibility of exposure has been difficult, she said. Its hard because you dont know when youre going to get something.

For Luis Rivas, whose wife works at Ninfas, the vaccine was a tonic for dangerous times. Struggling to roll up his long sleeves, Rivas took off his shirt for the shot without hesitation, throwing a cheeky peace sign for the camera while his wife took a photo.

Others were more nervous.

Lista? asked Jocelyn Oviedo as she readied to administer a dose. Ready?

Lista, said Ninfas cook Lamberto Salamanca, closing his eyes.

amanda.drane@chron.com

Twitter.com/amandadrane
This is sad. I feel for the employees and the theater community. :( Ive never been to LA but Ive heard about the Arclight. It was popular among celebs.

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I only know about it because it got featured a lot in the promo for OUATIH.



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Fuck this pandemic

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Also chiming in with Edgar Wright I saw a few tweets mentioning that the celebs should chip in to try and save it??



Obvs a different but I remember when the famous Hollywood sign was almost threatened with being removed and a few people like Hugh Hefner gave money to prevent that.

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If you live in Los Angeles and love movies you have been to @ArcLightCinemas. Hard to quantify what this chain means to movies in Los Angeles. It's also where studios screen tons of films and where many indie movies do premieres. The chain also makes tons of $ for the studios. pic.twitter.com/ADAFFotaZj  Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) April 13, 2021 Yep or the studios.

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Yeah I heard jokes about Amazon trying to rush in before Disney and some others groups join in haha!

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the paris theater in nyc was saved because netflix bought it for exclusive releases so something similar can happen

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They should at least keep Cinerama Dome open :(

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RIP. Im glad I at least got to see some films there.

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This is so sad. I loved the Arclight when lived in LA.

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I'm cruuuuuushed by this. Arclight was just a great fucking place to see a movie, and I couldn't wait to go back once it reopened. I know some might argue it's just a movie theater, and surely someone/another company will buy it, and you are probably correct, but the atmosphere and general love of movies is what I will miss.



I saw a ton of Q&A's there, walked past film premiere red carpets on my way into the theater, enjoyed the costume and set displays in the lobby, spotted multiple celebs just there to see a movie, and always enjoyed the attentive, engaged crowd. I think the only bad moviegoing experience I had there was being in the audience of the infamous Green Book Q&A.



Two of the last movies I saw there were Emma and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and those are representative of the kind of movies you could see there - yes, they had blockbusters, but it was awesome to have a place to see smaller flicks on a big screen with a good audience. One of my last vivid memories was during Emma, the crowd of like 30 people all gasped audibly in unison at the Box Hill scene - it was funny and great and I will miss that kind of moviegoing experience if it is really gone.

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ugh all of this exactly. I'm gonna miss hanging out outside checking out the coffee table books waiting until they let us into theatres. I'm gonna miss the caramel corn and the tedious process of slowly pouring it into the regular popcorn container trying to avoid a big mess. I'm even gonna miss waiting in line to pay for parking after a packed screening at the dome 

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... youre making me miss driving to Hollywood from the Valley, how dare you make me nostalgic about parking.

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im still so sad about alamo drafthouse shutting down :(

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO



I loved Alamo Drafthouse when I lived in Austin! One of my favorite experiences there was seeing The Show With No Name's special live screening!

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all of their special shows were so fun omg! and their menu with $5 endless popcorn??? IT WAS A GOLDEN AGE.

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Our local Alamo closed down but it was for good reasons. There was a lot of sexual harassment and misconduct at the theater. And Alamo tried to cover it up.

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NOOOOOO I just moved to San Antonio and haven't heard about this? I still have a gift card to go!

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Are they shutting down tho?

They announced bankruptcy and maybe a sale if i remember correctly. But not a shut down.

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With the Paramount Decree no more Im sure studios will start snatching up theaters.



Netflix on the phone with the bank right now.

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it was already over when netflix bought one of the last major arthouse theaters in la pre-pandemic, they're coming for the dome now probably :/

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> With the Paramount Decree no more Im sure studios will start snatching up theaters.



Damn, that's not only sad but also a serious case of how the turntables.

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I think I took this picture!  Ben Schwartz (@rejectedjokes) April 13, 2021



This sounds like it was a fun place to go. :(



Edited at 2021-04-13 04:39 pm (UTC) This sounds like it was a fun place to go. :(

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ngl i'm pretty gutted about this. arclight was often too pricey but it's always been a part of my life as a kid my best friend's mom would occasionally take us to brunch there for fun, and working literally across the street from arclight hollywood as an adult was SO fun, i would always walk through on my breaks to look at the costumes on display. they HAVE to save the dome, surely it's a historically/culturally significant landmark by now?? :(

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Yeah, the Dome is a landmark and will be safe, for sure. So that's good, anyway. <3

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hopefully nothing bad happens to the landmark either!! i was kinda surprised it survived the westside pavilion closing 

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:( I'm so disappointed. I just drove past the dome the other day thinking how excited I was to see it open again soon...



The last movie I saw there,the director surprised the audience and did a rando Q&A. I hope we can eventually get back to a place where that kind of magic happens again

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The one by me was a bit more generic so I dont have squishy feelings about it, but it was still a really good place to see quality movies with good audiences, and the staff were always nice.



Now if anything happens to the Landmark Ill be super bummed.

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Totally crushed by this news. The first thing I said after getting vaccinated yesterday was "we can finally go to the Arclight again", then came home to this.

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At least four people were shot when gunfire erupted Monday afternoon in north Birmingham.

The shootings happened at multiple locations in and around the Collegeville community. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Capt. Gail DeJarnett said they transported four victims to UAB Hospitals Trauma Center.

One is in critical condition and three were stable. The victims are three males and one is a female in her 60s.

Sgt. Rod Mauldin said police received a call just after 3 p.m. of shots fired in the area of 33rd Street North and 33rd Avenue North. The officer arrived and encountered a full-fledge shootout between two groups of males,' he said. The officer began to chase a suspect who was armed with a rifle.

During the foot chase, Mauldin said, the suspect turned toward the officer still brandishing the rifle and the officer fired shots at him. The suspect was not injured and was taken into custody.

At least one suspect remains at large.

Mauldin said multiple rounds were fired in three different locations all within a several-block radius. He said it wasnt immediately clear whether all of the victims were innocent bystanders.

There are multiple scenes. Shots were fired while officers were at one of the scenes. pic.twitter.com/lMpEhn6331  carol robinson (@RobinsonCarol) April 12, 2021

One of the wounded victims got on a MAX bus. MAX released this statement:

The bus was traveling on 33rd Avenue and FL Shuttlesworth Drive when there was a shooting in the community. One of the persons who was shot boarded our bus. That person has been transported to UAB hospital. Our driver and the other passengers that were on the bus are safe. Any other inquiries about this incident should be referred to the Birmingham Police Department.

This story will be updated.
CHARLOTTETOWN - Atlantic Canada's premiers announced on Tuesday they were delaying the reopening of the regional travel bubble by at least two weeks because of rising COVID-19 cases and the presence of more transmissible variants.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King speaks to reporters after the speech from the throne in Charlottetown, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. King says the goal of opening the so-called Atlantic bubble on April 19 is "precarious." THE CANADIAN PRESS/BRIAN MCINNIS

CHARLOTTETOWN - Atlantic Canada's premiers announced on Tuesday they were delaying the reopening of the regional travel bubble by at least two weeks because of rising COVID-19 cases and the presence of more transmissible variants.

The four premiers issued a news release after holding a teleconference, stating the reopening of the bubble would be delayed from April 19 to May 3 at the earliest.

"The decision is based upon expert advice from the regions chief medical officers of health," the release stated, adding that the premiers will meet again at the end of April to decide whether to further delay the reopening.

"This delay will support a continued focus on addressing local outbreaks and the rollout of vaccination programs across the region," they said in the joint statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, Nova Scotia Premier Premier Iain Rankin hinted at what was to come when he announced his province was reimposing restrictions for travellers from New Brunswick. Beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, all visitors to Nova Scotia from New Brunswick will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

He said his province is concerned about the potential spread of variants of the virus in New Brunswick following a recent outbreak in the Edmundston, N.B., area.

"Now we are seeing some variant cases in Saint John and, more worrying, we are seeing some cases under investigation in the Moncton area," Rankin said.

The so-called Atlantic bubble was introduced last summer as a way for the region's residents to travel freely between the four provinces without having to isolate for 14 days.

Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King told reporters Tuesday that his province has so far been spared a third wave of COVID-19. "But there is regional evidence in Atlantic Canada that is becoming more and more concerning with each and every day," he said.

The province's chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, reported no new cases on the Island Tuesday.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs told reporters earlier in the day that the reopening of the bubble likely won't wait until all the residents of his province have been offered at least one dose of vaccine, which he said should happen by the end of June.

"The Atlantic bubble was very successful," Higgs said. "And if we get our numbers back under control here, I wouldn't want to wait until the end of June."

New Brunswick reported four new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday: one in the Saint John region and three in the Edmundston area, which is under lockdown.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, health officials reported one new COVID-19 infection Tuesday, bringing the province's active case count to 11.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia reported six new infections and 45 active cases across the province. Five of the new cases were related to international travel, and the other was linked to domestic travel outside the Atlantic region.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.

 By Keith Doucette in Halifax with files from Sarah Smellie.


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COLUMBIA  Gov. Henry McMaster got gifts last year from Kiss, Oprah Winfrey, a car wash kingpin and some who won appointments with the governor's help.

McMaster's gift haul and speaking engagement reimbursements took a hit during the COVID-19 outbreak.

His 2020 total of $17,101 was down by 63 percent from a year earlier, according to annual state financial disclosures required by the end of March. Reimbursements for speaking engagements dropped more sharply, by 80 percent.

Notable gifts include an estimated $2,480 worth of merchandise from the rock band Kiss the governor received after standing next to the stage for an entire concert in Columbia. The filings with the state Ethics Commission do not include specific items, but the governor's office said he received T-shirts, bags, keychains and magazines.

He also received $1,000 worth of face masks from a Taiwanese ambassador, which the governors office said was 10,000 face masks that were sent to the states personal-protective equipment stockpile.

Oprah Winfrey sent the governor a copy of the book "Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson valued at $49.99.

Books were a common gift sent to the governor, but he got other items. Berkeley County Councilman Josh Whitley, an attorney, gave the governor a $75 caramel cake that was received on the day after Christmas.

The list includes two gifts from "company prospect," an unspecified company product valued at $100 and a dinner worth $50. No details were listed because they came from active economic development prospects with the S.C. Department of Commerce and provided at official project meetings, the governor's office said.

McMaster got gifts from people he backed for major government positions.

North Charleston Police Chief Reggie Burgess gave $250 worth of North Charleston police and city of North Charleston jackets and shirts. The gifts arrived on April 5, 2020, three months after Burgess withdrew from consideration as McMaster's nominee to run the state Department of Public Safety amid tax questions.

Elliott Summey gave a Charleston International Airport shirt and bag, a Charleston County shirt, and three face masks valued at $150, months after the governor backed the Charleston County Council chairman to become head of the Charleston County Aviation Authority.

McMaster's most expensive gift came from Mike Hutchins, who runs the Frank's Car Wash chain and whom McMaster reappointed to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources board, where he is vice chairman.

Hutchins gave a $2,563 round-trip flight from Columbia to Washington, D.C. McMaster and his wife, Peggy, flew on Hutchins' plane to attend a White House Christmas reception, the governor's office said.

Hutchins donated $3,000 to McMaster's reelection campaign in February, while two Frank's car washes each donated the maximum $3,500 allowed under state law for a gubernatorial primary, state records show.

McMaster also received a flight last year valued at $450 from Columbia to Myrtle Beach from Fred Price, then-chairman of The Citadel board of visitors and president of Columbia-based Ace Glass Co.

McMaster took a plane owned by Price to speak at the Horry County GOP 2020 Victory Office, the governor's office said. Price and his company donated $4,000 to McMaster's 2018 campaign.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, SynED, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers, announced that Efren "EZ" Zamaro was selected as its national Cyber Hero for April 2021.

At just 18 years old, Zamaro has already completed a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity and information assurance from Western Governors University and secured a position as an associate security analyst at CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity firm.

Efren Zamaro SynED, announced that Efren EZ Zamaro was selected as its national Cyber Hero for April 2021.

Zamaro's journey into cybersecurity started accidentally just a few years ago. He was in his junior year at Valley View High School in Moreno Valley, California, and looking for a course to fill a free period in his schedule. He chose a CyberPatriot course on a whim and found that it appealed to the analytical skills that drove him to his original career interest in finance and his experience working with computers.

The course allowed Zamaro to participate in cyber competitions; he said the California Mayors Cyber Cup, a competition organized and sponsored by SynED's Cyber-Guild, was the first event that really opened his eyes to the potential cybersecurity could offer as a career field. He also had the opportunity to visit cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, where he saw his first cybersecurity operations center and got to witness the things he'd been learning about happen in real life.

"Those experiences were truly my first insights into what cybersecurity is about," Zamaro said. "They taught me about offensive and defensive operations and started my interest in cybersecurity and learning more on my own."

Chris Lorenz, the CyberPatriot instructor at Valley View High School, said Zamaro was the type of student every instructor dreams of having  curious, engaged, and always willing to help his classmates.

"I could never teach him enough, and his desire to learn more is endless," Lorenz said. "He has made me very proud of all that he has accomplished, and my hope is by telling other students about his successes that other students will be inspired as well."

Donna Woods, SynED's academic relations manager and instructor in the CTE Cyber Academic Pathway in the Moreno Valley Unified School District, saw Zamaro's talent in action at cyber competitions and how he dove in with both feet to any opportunity that came his way.

"Having Efren in the MVUSD Cyber Academic Pathway was an absolute joy. Both 'EZ' and his parents were engaged with the program and desired to take advantage of every opportunity we provided for the students," Woods said. We are extremely proud of this young man and know that he will pursue each future endeavor in his career pathway with the same passion and enthusiasm."

Once he entered his senior year in fall 2019, Zamaro began supplementing what he learned in the classroom with his own work to earn three industry-recognized certificates. He earned more than a half dozen certificates during his senior year of high school and parlayed that experience into an entry-level IT role immediately after graduation.

"Certificates are the best thing in this field because they provide a perfect outline of what you need to know, how you should learn, and how you should apply what you've learned," Zamaro said. "Then, you get rewarded for your learning with exams that are well known within the industry."

Zamaro was in his senior year at Valley View High School when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Rather than be deterred by the prospect of remote learning, Zamaro decided to make the most of the situation and employ what he describes as the "pandemic hustle" to make the most of his new schedule.

"When COVID started, I thought it was unfortunate but that it would give me an opportunity to focus on cybersecurity, which is what I did," Zamaro said. "Passion is what pushes you forward and it's where your discipline comes from."

Zamaro took the momentum he built from the certificates into an online degree from Western Governors University, a school that specializes in remote learning and allows students to complete courses and programs at their own pace  which, in Zamaro's case, was very fast. He finished a bachelor's degree in just four months and graduated in December 2020.

After pushing himself nonstop throughout the degree, Zamaro took a much-needed break and started his job search. In March 2021, he started his first full-time cybersecurity position at CrowdStrike, focusing on hacking remediation.

"There's an insane amount I can learn here  some of the things I've seen so far are just so next-level," Zamaro said. "The stuff you hear about in the news is the stuff that we're working on."

He continues to pursue cybersecurity certifications and give back to the community by staying involved with the California Mayors Cyber Cup and other cybersecurity education initiatives. He encourages other students to follow their passion and curiosity for cybersecurity because it will pay off in the long run.

"This stuff gets more fun the more you learn," Zamaro said. "This field rewards people who are passionate, proactive, and curious and I've seen how those things can pay off."

About CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike is a leading cybersecurity company protecting customers from all cyber threats by leveraging its Security Cloud to stop breaches. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform has revolutionized enterprise security for the cloud era. Its single lightweight-agent architecture leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and offers real-time protection and visibility across the enterprise, preventing attacks on endpoints and workloads on or off the network.

About Western Governors University

Western Governors University is the first university where all bachelor's and master's degrees are competency-based, with online courses designed in partnership with leading employers. The university was created by a group of U.S. governors, an innovative solution to their states' demand for high-quality, outcomes-oriented higher education.

About SynED

SynED's CyberHero series, which highlights cyber heroes who quietly go above and beyond in helping to secure our nation and communities, is a monthly column published nationally. SynED is a non-profit organization that acts as a catalyst to help colleges and other higher education partners equip students with the skills they need to enrich their lives through education, knowledge, and skill acquisition, giving them rich career opportunities.

Contact:

Liz Fraumann

866-420-4573

[email protected]

SOURCE SynED
Nearly a dozen seniors at Rooted School, a charter school in New Orleans set to graduate its inaugural class this year, will have to make up credit hours before graduating after the school landed in hot water with district officials for having unusually flexible course offerings and other irregular academic policies.

NOLA Public Schools, which oversees the city's network of charter operators, issued the school two "notices of noncompliance," or warning-level write-ups, this year, according to district documents.

The warnings, which were issued during the second year the district started regularly auditing credit-related policies in charters, related to the school allowing students to take online classes outside of normal school hours and in instances where a certified teacher wasn't teaching certain virtual-learning courses, among other problems.

+2 Here are the schools New Orleans parents really want their kids to attend With more than 9,200 families applying to New Orleans public schools this year, the school district is boasting higher match rates to charters

The district began an audit of all Orleans Parish public high schools in the 2019-20 school year. The new policy came in the wake of a grade-fixing scandal at John F. Kennedy High School, which exposed years of mismanagement at that charter and potential failures in keeping students on track to graduate.

After auditing Rooted, Kevin George, the district's chief of school accountability, asked officials there to "immediately discontinue any distance learning courses," rescind credits for courses already offered outside typical school hours in the fall, and make sure each senior enrolled in course recovery so they could meet Louisiana Department of Education graduation requirements.

Jonathan Johnson, the founder and CEO of Rooted School, said that while he disagrees with the district's interpretation of some distance learning guidelines offered by the state, the school had already taken the actions George requested.

He said that the school was trying to be lenient in allowing students a flexible schedule during the pandemic, when many were experiencing internet connectivity problems, and said he thought the state allowed it.

While there were some "excessive absences," he said, only 10 seniors will need to make up physical time in class by June 5.

"Fortunately, this will have a very small impact on our students and our affected seniors will have a chance to graduate on time," Johnson said in an email, adding that 89% of the inaugural senior class is expected to get diplomas.

Rooted School, located Uptown on St. Charles Avenue, was founded in 2017. It received early praise for a novel academic approach that included obtaining tech-industry credentials, with an aim of having every student graduate with a college acceptance in one hand and a full-time job offer in the other.

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The school's teachers employ "self-directed learning" for its 159 students, which allows students to pursue their interests while also achieving credentials. Johnson said teachers also allow students to move on to work in other courses if they finish tasks in one class early.

In first of its kind, University of Holy Cross launches 'fast track' business degree program The University of Holy Cross is launching an accelerated business degree "fast track" program that will target working adults and be the first

It appears that some of that philosophy was behind the policies that prompted warning letters. So too were the complications that have emerged for area schools during the coronavirus pandemic, when schools and students scrambled to adapt to new hybrid and online learning models as buildings shuttered to prevent the virus' spread.

At the end of last year, Johnson said he realized he wanted to give students even more flexibility because of "myriad of challenges and difficulties" presented by the pandemic.

During virtual learning, he said the school asked students to log on at least once between 8:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. to access school work. If students had technology challenges, they were allowed watch recorded lessons and handle assignments after hours. Students were only marked absent if they did neither.

But in a letter dated March 19, the school district said the school was "improperly offering distance learning courses and improperly awarding Carnegie credits," which are the type of academic credits used by the state to verify graduation eligibility.

The district noted that students were doing as many as four classes outside of normal hours and sometimes weren't spending the minimum required amount of time on classes.

Because the online attendance system didn't track which courses students were working on after hours, the students were permitted to choose for themselves which course they wanted to fail if they fell short.

The letter also said Rooted broke state BESE rules by failing to have a certified teacher instruct those online courses, an issue officials at Kennedy faced when about half the class of 2019 was found ineligible to graduate.

+4 How New Orleans high schools are planning in-person graduations, parties as restrictions ease By the first week of school in mid-August, it had already become clear at Lusher Charter School that the pandemic would make for another rough

The writeup against Rooted last month was the second the school received this year. In February, officials demanded the school change its "ABCF" grading scale, which officials had used since opening in 2017. By excluding the "D," Johnson had said the school aimed to raise expectations by marking an "F" for anything that would calculate as a "D."

The district said that the scale was out of compliance with its rules.
After a shooting incident at Austin-East Magnet High School in East Tennessee on Monday afternoon, the Knoxville Police Department confirmed that a student was killed and a police officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Based on reports, police officers ordered the student inside a restroom wherein he is hiding to come out. However, he refused to comply with the police order.

According to WSB-TV 2, David B. Rausch, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director, said in a news conference that police officers responded to the school around 3:15 p.m. after receiving a report that someone was possibly armed with a gun.

Upon arrival, Rausch said the cops located an armed student inside a restroom. But when the officers entered the restroom, the student immediately fired on them, hitting one of the officers.

The aggressive reaction of the student prompted one police officer to return fire. The student, whose identity remained undisclosed, died at the Tennessee school.

At around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, the Knoxville Police Department issued a statement that another male student was detained for further investigation. But it was not immediately clear whether the individual was the suspected gunman or just another victim in the shooting incident.

The injured officer taken into surgery after being shot in the upper leg is expected to recover after being transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Police said no other injuries were reported related to the shooting incident, according to Associated Press.

Schools in Knox County resumed in-person learning in January, but the Austin-East Magnet High School shifted back briefly to virtual instruction in February. The sudden change was due to a spate of shootings that took three students' lives less than three weeks apart. Two of the victims were 16, and the other was 15.

READ NEXT: Fatal Shooting of Minneapolis Man Involving Police Sparks Unrest, Protesters Clash with Police

Tennessee Officials' Reactions

Speaking outside a medical facility during an interview, the mayor of Knoxville, Indya Kincannon, said that she was able to talk to the wounded officer, and he was conscious and in good spirits.

Kincannon, who is also a former Board President of Knox County Schools, spoke to a press conference in February regarding the gun violence that took the lives of three students from Austin-East, WVLT8 reported.

At that time, Kincannon said that a school is a safe place, and the issues with violence are happening in the community, affecting kids when they are outside of the school.

Knoxville Vice Mayor Gwen McKenzie, who visited the crime scene, sent her prayers to the family of individuals affected by the shooting incident.

Knoxville City Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas shared that all of the students who were not involved in the incident have been released to their families, and the school building has been secured. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will be leading the investigation.

READ MORE: Cop Who Shot Daunte Wright Mistook Her Own Gun for Taser

WATCH: Suspect In Shooting At Tennessee High School Was A Student -From NBC News
India on Tuesday reported a net increase of 63,689 in active cases to take its count to 1,264,698, the most at any time since the outbreak early last year. Indias share of global active cases now stands at 5.30 per cent (one in 19). The country is 3rd among the most affected countries by active cases. On Tuesday, it added 161,736 cases to take its total caseload to 13,689,453. And, with 879 new fatalities, its Covid-19 reached 171,058, or 1.25 per cent of total confirmed infections.

With 4,004,521 more people getting Covid-19 vaccine shots on Monday, Indias total count of those inoculated reached 108,533,085. The count of recovered cases across India, meanwhile, reached 12,253,697  or 89.51 per cent of total caseload  with 97,168 new cured cases being reported on Tuesday.
Dallas, TX, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa, the industrys largest community management company, was recently selected as a 2021 US Best Managed Company, sponsored by Deloitte Private and the Wall Street Journal.

The US Best Managed Companies program was created to acknowledge private companies for operational accomplishments, organizational achievements, and industry contributions. The 2021 designees include top U.S. businesses that have demonstrated excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people and fostering a dynamic, resilient culture, as well as strong financials, all while facing the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. All honorees are recognized for their purposeful leadership, vision, and the significant contributions they made to their industries, communities, workforces, and the economy.

Applicants are evaluated and selected by a panel of external judges focused on assessing hallmarks of excellence in four key areas: strategy, ability to execute, corporate culture, and financial performance. As a 2021 Best Managed Company, Associa joins a global ecosystem of honorees from more than 30 countries recognized by the Best Managed Companies program.

Associa is one of 49 honorees from 23 cities across the U.S. and is recognized alongside companies from a wide range of industries. This is the second consecutive year that Associa has been honored with this achievement.

Associa is proud to be recognized as a US Best Managed Company for the second consecutive year, stated John Carona, Associa chairman and chief executive officer. We share this outstanding achievement with every single Associa family member whose hard work and commitment played a significant role in helping earn this prestigious award. We owe our success to our employees who consistently strive for excellence for our business, our clients, and our communities.

Mr. Carona continued, During the uncertainty of the past year, our dedicated employees played a crucial role in successfully and safely delivering one-of-a-kind services to our clients and supporting our communities across North America. Together, we led our industry, overcame unforeseen obstacles, and emerged a stronger team.

For more information, please visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

About the Best Managed Companies Program

The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practicesstrategy, execution, culture and financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

About Associa

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.

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The Passamaquoddy Tribe has entered into another environmental offset program that will generate funds for the tribe as its lands compensate for ecological impacts at other locations. With the tribe already having received millions through the carbon credit program, with its lands in Maine offsetting emissions from polluters on the other side of the country, it now has approved an agreement for an easement on its blueberry barrens to offset loss of habitat for a protected species at a new solar farm just down the coast in Maine.

Dirigo Solar, the state's leading developer of large-scale solar projects, is planning a new 60-acre solar farm in Hancock that will produce enough electricity to power a couple of thousand homes. Work is expected to begin this month and be completed by the end of the year.

Robert Cleaves, the co-founder of Dirigo Solar, relates that during the permitting process the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) requested that the company study the presence on the lands of the upland sandpiper, which is a protected species under Maine law. An ornithologist concluded that the area does provide habitat for the breeding of upland sandpipers, which like blueberry barrens. The solar farm land will continue to operate as a blueberry farm, but there could be a loss of habitat for the species because of the solar panels.

The DEP and IFW told the company it could develop the solar farm but would have to compensate for the loss of species habitat by finding a comparable site in Downeast Maine with habitat that could be protected for the length of term of the project, which is 40 years.

Cleaves says they were aware of the Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company's lands, which have two important factors: the significant size of the land holdings and their documented presence. "The company has focused on keeping the land in open space as agricultural land," he notes.

Dirigo Solar then negotiated a price with the blueberry company, with the solar company to make a one-time payment of $400,000 for the 40-year easement. The easement will be on 311 acres in Township 19. The tribal company will be required to keep the fields open and not build any structures on them but can still harvest blueberries on the lands. Brian Altvater, president of the board of the Passamaquoddy Wild Blueberry Company, says, "It won't change what we're doing."

While the blueberry company has its own board of directors, it consults with the Passamaquoddy Joint Tribal Council, which has overall responsibility for all tribal businesses and lands and had to approve the agreement. On April 2 the joint council voted 6-3 in favor, with one member abstaining.

Altvater notes there was some distrust by certain tribal members about the agreement, with some confused about the difference between a lease and an easement. "We don't want to lease tribal lands. This is an easement," he says, noting that there will be no occupancy of the lands or any third party involved. "It's just making habitat available for the upland sandpiper." Others were concerned about how the money the blueberry company receives will be spent. Altvater notes that the company's responsibility is to realize profits, which are used for the company's capital expenditures, with any remaining profit sent to the joint council.

Altvater observes that the council has not met on a regular basis for years, which makes it difficult for the company to conduct business. He also notes that the blueberry company, which had successfully sued Cherryfield Foods for breach of contract for not buying its berries in 2017, now has a new 10-year contract with Wyman's.

Of the offset agreement, Cleaves says, "It's a win-win-win -- three wins. It allows for us to move forward with our project. The blueberry company continues to do what they've been doing, as long as they don't build structures that impact the species. And it's a win for the species, as there's not a loss of habitat."

Altvater agrees it's a "win-win situation," with habitat being preserved for the upland sandpipers and income being provided to the tribal company, which will not have to change any of its practices for growing and harvesting wild blueberries. "We've designated land to offset the parcels in Hancock," says Altvater, who also notes that the solar farm is "green" power that is environmentally safe.

Cleaves says the offset agreement works like carbon credit agreements, which the tribe also benefits from through its forestlands that sequester carbon. In both cases, Cleaves says, "That ecological value provides benefit that is a way for the Passamaquoddy to be compensated for that benefit."


WHEN the COVID-19 pandemic forced Muslims in Manitoba and around the world to stay home for Ramadan last year, local filmmaker Nilufer Rahman saw an opportunity.

WHEN the COVID-19 pandemic forced Muslims in Manitoba and around the world to stay home for Ramadan last year, local filmmaker Nilufer Rahman saw an opportunity.

"At a time when all the mosques were closed, and people couldnt gather as communities, I felt a need to capture that moment, to show how Muslims adapted in innovative ways and still managed to connect with each other," she said.

The result is The Year We Fasted Alone, which will be released this week as part of this years Ramadan, which begins tonight in Canada.

"Last year is the first year we experienced Ramadan alone," said Rahman, an independent filmmaker who produced the film through her company, Snow Angel Films.

"As someone who makes films for a living, at this very unique time I felt I should document how Muslims celebrated Ramadan last year."

Rahman put out a call for submissions during last years Ramadan. She received 35 from Canada, the U.S., U.K., Sudan, Palestine, Australia, and South Africa.

In the submissions, Muslims recount how they adapted to celebrating Ramadan alone and what the experience meant to them.

The film "shows the resilience of Muslim community," Rahman said. "Despite what they are going through, people are still hopeful, spending quality time with their families, building relationships."

There is also a sense of loss.

"Theres so much emphasis on community during Ramadan, fasting and praying together," she said, but also a sense of optimism and hope.

People in the film talk about how the pandemic enabled them to slow down, be more introspective, have more time to read the Koran and pray and feel closer to God, Rahman said, adding she hopes viewers will come away with a renewed sense of optimism after viewing the 40-minute film.

"It shows how we can still be connected, even if we are isolated and anxious," she said. "It can encourage us to find ways to make the most of the opportunities in front of us."

The short film would also be of interest to non-Muslims, Rahman said, giving them a sense of Muslim life around the world and what they are going through during the pandemic.

It will also help them understand the importance of Ramadan for Muslims.

"It can dispel the idea some may have that Ramadan is an arduous time of suffering as Muslims, as we give up food and drink from sunrise to sunset for 30 days," she said.

Muslims are "excited for it" because it enhances their spiritual journey and causes them to think more about others and be charitable, Rahman said.

"I am really excited to share the film," she said, describing it as a labour of love. "It shows a bigger picture of humanity, of how people live, work, struggle and hope during this time."

A teaser for The Year We Fasted Alone can be viewed on YouTube. The link to the full film, which will be released later this week will be published on Facebook.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
Scott Technology Limited is pleased to announce a further multi-million dollar contract win within the meat industry to design and build a lamb boning system for one of Australias largest meat processors, Thomas Foods International (TFI).

The significant $10 million investment by TFI will deliver improved product quality and increased yield of high value cuts. The system utilises advanced x-ray and vision technology to deliver a high accuracy of cutting, while also bringing significant developments in health and safety by removing much of the heavy cutting activities.

Scott CEO John Kippenberger, said: We are proud to be partnering with TFI on this project which utilises Scotts demonstrated capabilities in this area.

"Like many industries, the meat processing industry in Australasia and the United States continues to grapple with the challenges of improving worker safety while increasing yields, at the same time as struggling with major issues around labour availability. Scotts world leading automation and robotic systems provide a solution to these significant challenges facing businesses around the world.

Scotts lamb processing technology has proven its value at over 13 processing plants across Australasia. This contract adds to Scotts already growing work volumes as global demand for its unique, world leading lamb automation system continues.

Please see the link below for details:

Meat Industry Contract Win for Scott

Source: Scott Technology Limited

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The single dose COVID-19 vaccine developed by American drugmaker Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is expected to be granted with an emergency use authorization (EUA) by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week.

This development was revealed by FDA Director General Eric Domingo to President Rodrigo Duterte during the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases meeting on Monday.

"Ito po ang ongoing evaluation natin (There is an ongoing evaluation of the vaccine) and we're hoping to finish all of these within the week," said Domingo.

Last March 31, J&J applied for emergency use for its Janssen COVID-19 vaccine to the Philippine FDA. The vaccine was made by Belgium-based firm Janssen Pharmaceuticals, J&J's vaccine arm.

The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine has also been granted with emergency use authorization in the United States, Canada, European Union, Switzerland, and the World Health Organization.

Once authorized, J&J will be the fifth vaccine manufacturer in the country to get regulatory approval, following Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Gamaleya-Sputnik V.

Meanwhile, Domingo said Chinese vaccine manufacturer Sinopharm has yet to submit requirements needed for its emergency use in the Philippines.

"Meron pong sumulat ho sa amin na gustong mag-apply pero noong hiningan po namin ng requirements, hindi pa nila binibigay and we're still waiting for that," he said.

[Translation: There was a letter sent to us seeking to apply. We asked for requirements but they have not yet submitted those to us and we're still waiting for that.]

Domingo also reported that American vaccine manufacturer Moderna told the FDA they are still completing their requirements, which can be submitted this week. He added the agency evaluators have begun to study the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine after it has been granted emergency use in the US and EU.

The FDA chief stated that Novavax, also an American-made COVID-19 vaccine, will apply for EUA in the second quarter of the year.

The Philippine government signed deals with Moderna and Novavax to deliver millions of doses to the country, divided between the government and the private sector, despite the absence of an EUA among the two American vaccine manufacturers.
Why Is the Chinese Communist Party Obsessed With Reunifying Taiwan?

Commentary

Entering 2021, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to flex its military strength in the Taiwan Strait, drawing attention from the international community. Will the CCP reunify Taiwan by force? Why is it obsessed with reunifying Taiwan?

There are four main reasons behind the CCPs behavior in the Taiwan Strait.

First, Taiwan Is a Sore Point for the CCP

In 1921, under the control of the Communist Party of the former Soviet Union, a new political partythe CCP emerged in China. At the time, it was just a branch of the Communist International under the Soviet Communist Party. The CCP was founded with the immediate goal of subverting the Republic of China (ROC), Chinas legitimate government. On Nov. 7, 1931, the CCP established the Chinese Soviet Republic within the territory of the ROC when Japan invaded the three northeastern provinces of China and the country was in crisis.

From 1921 to 1949, the CCP mainly did one thing, which was to subvert the ROC by any means it could. In the end, it succeeded, and the ROC was forced to withdraw to Taiwan.

The name of Communist China is the Peoples Republic of China. The name is a lie itself.

The ancestors of the CCP are not the ancestors of the Chinese nation, but Marx from the West. The theoretical source of the CCP is not the five thousand years of traditional Chinese culture, but the Communist Manifesto published by Marx 172 years ago. Therefore, the CCP cannot represent China.

The 72-year rule of the CCP has deprived the Chinese people of their freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom from fear, and freedom from want. Therefore, the CCP is not a republic at all, it appropriated the concept.

What is a republic? Fair and free elections are another basic criterion to judge whether a country truly practices republican politics, according to the CCPs own website, Baidu. In its 72 years in power, the CCP has never held a fair and free election. In this respect only, the CCP regime has nothing to do with a republic. It is just a brutal totalitarian regime.

Although the CCP, which illegally stole power, has occupied a large part of Chinas territory and ruled mainland China for 72 years, the legitimate government of China, the Republic of China (ROC), still exists. The seals of the ROC, which symbolize the legitimate government of China, are still handed down in Taiwan. For the CCP, the ROC is a thorn in its flesh. If the thorn is not plucked out, itll feel uncomfortable every single day.

Second, the CCPs Taiwan Policy Has Failed

In the 1980s, former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping proposed the idea of one country, two systems in order to solve the Taiwan issue. Later, Deng proposed to implement one country, two systems in Hong Kong after its reunification on July 1, 1997, as a preview of the future reunification of Taiwan.

On Jan. 2, 2019, the current CCP leader Xi Jinping delivered a speech about his intention to unify Taiwan using the one country, two systems model. However, in June 2019, the largest anti-CCP tyranny campaign in Hong Kongs history broke out. Since June 12, 2019, the CCP has escalated its violent crackdown on Hong Kongers. Hong Kong has quickly degenerated into a city where police power is paramount and one country, two systems exists in name only. The atrocities committed by the CCP in Hong Kong have awakened the Taiwanese to the hypocrisy of one country, two systems.

In 2020, Taiwan held four democratic votes: the presidential election, the Legislative Council election, the recall of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu, the election of Chen Chi-Mai as the new mayor of Kaohsiung. The CCP tried in every possible way to interfere in these four democratic elections, but it turned out that refusing the CCP had already become widespread public opinion in Taiwan.

Tsai Ing-wen, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member who opposed the CCP, was re-elected president with a large majority; the DPP who opposed the CCP once again became the majority party in the Legislative Assembly; Chen Chi-Mai, a DPP member who opposed the CCP, won the Kaohsiung mayoral election; Han Kuo-yu, a Kuomintang (KMT) member supported by the CCP, was dismissed by the Kaohsiung citizens with a large majority after his big defeat in the presidential election.

The CCP has failed to attack Taiwan with both infiltration and military threat. One country, two systems has become a propaganda slogan that no one believes.

Third, the Need to Oppose Capitalism

Karl Marx, the ancestor of the CCP, hated capitalism. He shouted 172 years ago that capitalism must be defeated. Generations of communists fought against capitalism under the banner of Marxism. The Communist parties in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe fought against capitalism for decades but ended in failure. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the whole Communist International of Eastern Europe, led by the former Soviet Union, collapsed, and the capitalist system was restored in these countries.

After the collapse of the Communist International in Eastern Europe, the CCP became the single largest communist party in the world. Under the cover of Marxism-Leninism, it continues to be the enemy of capitalism.

When the CCP recovered Hong Kong in 1997, it promised the world that one country, two systems would remain unchanged in Hong Kong for 50 years and that Hong Kongs capitalist system would be preserved. However, socialism and capitalism are two systems with fundamentally opposing values and incompatible in many attributes. How can it tolerate the capitalist system in Hong Kong to remain unchanged for 50 years?

After July 1, 1997, the CCP began to infiltrate Hong Kong as boiling a frog in warm water and to erode one country, two systems. In 2019, Hong Kongers could not tolerate any more and came to a final outburst. The CCP took the opportunity to turn Hong Kong into one country, one system. The Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy proposed by Deng Xiaoping back then has become those who love the CCP rule Hong Kong and follow the CCPs command.

After the CCP has taken Hong Kong, Taiwan will be the next target. However, Taiwan is not an isolated Taiwan, but a Taiwan that shares universal values with capitalist countries around the world. Taiwan is a strategic location in the first island chain of the free world, led by the United States, to defend against the threat of the CCP. If the CCP takes Taiwan, it will directly threaten capitalist Japan, Korea, and the Philippines in the near future, and directly threaten the United States in the far future, and then directly threaten the whole capitalist world.

The capture of Taiwan will serve multiple purposes for the CCP. It is impossible for the CCP not to harass Taiwan.

Fourth, the Need to Shift Focus Away From Domestic Conflict

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CCP, which has survived by unscrupulous means. The Party has no moral or legal boundaries.

Fujian Province, across the Taiwan Strait, is an important base for the CCPs assault on Taiwan. However, Deng Luyan, the eldest son of Deng Keming, former deputy commander of the Fuzhou Military Region, published an article in 2015 saying, Corruption in the military is very serious. When it comes to raking in money, it will only be more underground, more sinister, and more rampant than officials of local governments.

In August 2011, when Zuo Ying (former deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Peoples Congress), the wife of Liu Peishan, former political commissar of the Fuzhou Military Region, died of illness, more than 20 children of high-ranking military officials went to attend the farewell ceremony. Deng Luyan saw for himself how the guests presented a large number of cash gifts. He talked to a friend about it that night, and the friend said, Liu Peishans eldest son is the deputy political commissar of the General Logistics Department (of the Central Military Commission). His younger son is the deputy director of the General Armaments Department (of the Central Military Commission). Do you know how many subordinate units these two departments have in Shanghai? Dozens of them! What subordinate unit would dare to neglect the funeral of their mother? Its normal for Lius family to receive 10 million yuan this time!

Who would believe that such a corrupt army is still capable of fighting?

Since January 2013, when Xi Jinping launched an anti-corruption campaign, more than 510 senior officials at the deputy provincial (ministerial) level and above have been investigated and punished, including more than 160 generals such as Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, deputy secretaries of the Central Military Commission. The CCP does not dare to announce to the public how much money Xu and Guo have corrupted, because if the truth were to be announced, the military would rise up in revolt.

When Jiang Zemin was in power, he called for making a fortune silently. His son, Jiang Mianheng, took the lead in becoming a government official and doing business at the same time. As a result, from Jiang Zemins family to the grassroots village officials, all practiced a belief that use the power or lose the power. How to use the power? Using it to rake in money. With the Jiang family as an example, from the top to the bottom, all those in power at all levels are desperate to rake in money and extort wealth from the people.

In China today, on one hand, a very small number of powerful CCP families are using their power to reap huge profits and live a life of luxury and corruption; on the other hand, 600 million Chinese people are earning only 1,000 yuan a month. Many people have difficulty with school, housing, medical care, pension, and even funerals. Its hard to live as well as to die. The 72 years of high pressure, deception, and lack of moral principles of the CCP have led to an extraordinary sharpness of various conflicts in Chinese society.

What is the CCP doing in the face of these crises? The CCP uses its discursive power to claim that there are people in Taiwan engaged in Taiwan independence, that the CCP is going to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the country, and that reunification with Taiwan is an expression of patriotism. Therefore, the CCP has time and again used the slogan of patriotism to incite patriotic sentiments and keep tormenting Taiwan.

Taiwans Future Is Not in the Hands of the CCP

In 2020, Taiwan achieved six major accomplishments despite the intense pressure from the CCP on all fronts.

(1) Four democratic polls were successfully held, making it a model of democracy in the world;

(2) Highly effective epidemic prevention and control was implemented, making it a model of epidemic prevention in the world;

(3) Rapidly developing economy, ranking first among the Four Asian Dragons, also known as Four Asian Tigers;

(4) The people live and work in peace and contentment, making it the happiest region in East Asia;

(5) U.S.-Taiwan relations have improved on all fronts, reaching the best level in more than 40 years;

(6) One who upholds justice shall not be alone. More and more countries around the world are supporting Taiwan.

The CCPs all-around suppression of Taiwan only makes the 23 million Taiwanese people see the evil nature of the CCP more clearly and makes them stay away from it with all their might. The future winner of Taiwan will be the one who wins the support of the Taiwanese people.

Wang Youqun graduated with a Ph.D. in law from the Renmin University of China. He once worked as a copywriter for Wei Jianxing (19312015), a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee from 1997 to 2002.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
New Delhi:

Chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab entered into a blame game on Thursday regarding the arrest of Honeypreet Insan, adopted daughter of the jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar accused the Punjab Police of not sharing information with its Haryana counterpart ahead of her arrest on 3rd October.

On the other hand, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh alleged that the allegations were an attempt to shift attention from the situation in Haryana.

The Punjab Police should have informed the Haryana Police about Honeypreets whereabouts earlier. Something smells fishy, Khattar told reporters. He was responding to questions about Honeypreet appearing before some media channels hours ahead of her arrest.

This (delay in her arrest) has happened due to the Punjab Police. How much the Punjab police helped (her) and how much was in their knowledge...If it was in their knowledge they should have passed information to the Haryana Police and handed her over to them, he claimed.

After Honeypreets interrogation, many things would come out in the open, he said adding that innocent people would not be punished and guilty would not be spared.

On being asked whether any political leader was involved in shielding Honeypreet, he said that it was not appropriate to comment on the issue as the interrogation was underway.As things come, they will become clear, he said.

However, again commenting about Punjab Police, Khattar said, I already said this about Punjab police that their people and their cars were present, something smells fishy, he said.

He was apparently referring to a raid by the Haryana Police in Rajasthan to nab Honeypreet on September 22. Meanwhile, Aamrinder Singh lambasted Khattar for raising questions about the role of the Punjab Police in the case.

Singh asked Khattar to refrain from such alleged fabrications to shield his own governments failure in the Dera Sacha Sauda case. He alleged that Khattar was trying to divert public attention from the collapse of the law and order in Haryana since conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

The Punjab CM rejected claims of any involvement of the Punjab government or any of its institutions in the episode leading to Honeypreets arrest. He further said that if the state police had any information about her they would have shared it with their Haryana counterparts.

As per reports, Amarinder Singh claimed that a senior Haryana police officer had known about Honeypreets whereabouts for several days but had failed to arrest her.

He alleged that instead of probing the role of his own officials in the affair, Khattar was trying to shift focus to Punjab. He trashed Khattars charges that the Punjab Police had failed to give intelligence inputs to the police in the neighbouring state.

The Punjab CM said that the Punjab Police had been giving regular inputs to their counterparts in Haryana even before the hearing in Ram Rahims case in Panchkula.

He claimed that the Haryana government and police had failed to take cognisance or act on the information.The chief minister said though the Punjab Police was not pursuing Honeypreet as she was not wanted in any case in the state, there was no question of shielding her.

He said Khattar should focus on taking the case to its logical conclusion and on maintaining law and order in Haryana.

With PTI inputs

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Civis Americanus, writing at The American Thinker writes:

While I am not an attorney and cannot give formal legal advice, a 1943 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Murdock v. Pennsylvania, may give Second Amendmentsupporters an overwhelming legal weapon with which to destroy every single firearm ownership (although not necessarily concealed carry) licensing scheme in the country. This includes those that require licenses to own or purchase firearms.

License to own: IL, MA, NY

License to purchase: CT, HI, IA, MD, MI, NE, NJ, NC, RI

The executive summary of the ruling in Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943) was that it is unconstitutional for a state to levy a tax on people who want to sell religious merchandise. "A municipal ordinance which, as construed and applied, requires religious colporteurs to pay a license tax as a condition to the pursuit of their activities, is invalid under the Federal Constitution as a denial of freedom of speech, press and religion. The mere fact that the religious literature is 'sold', rather than 'donated' does not transform the activities of the colporteur into a commercial enterprise."

What does this have to do with fees to obtain a license to own or purchase a firearm? The USSC also found, "A State may not impose a charge for the enjoyment of a right granted by the Federal Constitution." This means the entire Bill of Rights as opposed to just the First Amendment.

It is similarly unconstitutional to charge a fee to exercise the right to vote, AKA a poll tax. This could well be the reason why states with voter ID laws must provide free identification cards to qualified residents who do not have driver's licenses, as shown by Crawford v. Marion County Election Board. "The law's universally applicable requirements are eminently reasonable because the burden of acquiring, possessing, and showing a free photo identification is not a significant increase over the usual voting burdens, and the State's stated interests are sufficient to sustain that minimal burden." States can charge fees for driver's licenses because driving is a privilege, but voting is a right.

Gun Licensing Fees Are Racist

The racist nature of many gun licensing schemes is meanwhile underscored by an amicus curiae brief filed by the African-American Gun Association (AAGA) against California. "African Americans have been the target of some of the oldest and most odious attempts at forced disarmament[.] ... NAAGA has a strong interest in this case because taxes and fees imposed on the right to keep and bear arms disproportionately affect African Americans, due to the average lower income and higher rate of poverty in the African-American community." White supremacists once argued openly that this was their intention, and I recall that the complete quote, while it did not use the N-word, did refer to the "son of Ham."

It is a matter of common knowledge that in this state and in several others, the more especially in the Southern states where the negro population is so large, that this cowardly practice of "toting" guns has always been one of the most fruitful sources of crime[.] ... There would be a very decided falling off of killings "in the heat of passion" if a prohibitive tax were laid on the privilege of handling and disposing of revolvers and other small arms, or else that every person purchasing such deadly weapons should be required to register[.] ... Let a negro board a railroad train with a quart of mean whiskey and a pistol in his grip and the chances are that there will be a murder, or at least a row, before he alights.

The same went for a Virginia poll tax on the right to vote.

Discrimination! Why, that is precisely what we propose; that, exactly, is what this Convention was elected for  to discriminate to the very extremity of permissible action under the limitations of the Federal Constitution, with a view to the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of, legally, without materially impairing the numerical strength of the white electorate.

The same applies to laws that require gun-owners to buy expensive liability insurance that might be affordable by people of the middle and upper classes, but not by low-paid workers among whom are many black Americans. While these laws cannot discriminate openly against black people (just as Jim Crow gun taxes and prohibitions on inexpensive firearms known as N-word Saturday Night Specials did not specify any race), they can and do exploit the economic disparity that unfortunately prevails between Caucasians and black people to disarm the latter. Perhaps certain elements of the Democratic Party have hidden the same sheets and hoods they wore openly 70 or 80 years ago instead of getting rid of them entirely.

An Illinois Court Questioned the FOID Card Requirement

More to the point, however, is the brief's citation of Murdock v. Pennsylvania and the phrase "[a]cross constitutional rights, the courts have consistently forbidden the use of special fees and taxes on constitutionally protected conduct to generate general revenue."

Even Illinois's own courts appear to be finding issues with the Firearm Owner Identification Card per Illinois v. Brown. "The circuit court was correct that the FOID card requirement impermissibly infringes on law- abiding persons' rights to bear long arms-in their own homes for self-defense." The court filing also argues that the FOID card fee violates not just the U.S. Constitution, but also Illinois's own laws: "a person cannot be compelled 'to purchase, through a license fee or a license tax, the privilege freely granted by the constitution. Thus, Brown, who was merely exercising her right to keep a long gun in her own home for self-defense, cannot be made to purchase a card or obtain a license to exercise this fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution." I do not know the outcome of this case but the bottom line is that an Illinois court had problems with the FOID law.

This article has hopefully provided Second Amendmentsupporters with a valuable legal tool with which to attack all state laws that require people to pay for licenses to own or purchase firearms, and potential jurors (i.e., every citizen in the country) with information to use if called to serve in cases that involve these laws.

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. The author is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter.





Read more: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2021/04/us_supreme_court_gun_licensing_fees_are_unconstitutional.html#ixzz6rrz9U5Qc

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President Joe Biden (L), with Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd L), meets virtually with members of the "Quad" alliance of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on March 12, 2021. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Japans Global Diplomatic Efforts Scare the CCP

Commentary

Sun Zi, an ancient Chinese military strategist, says in his The Art of War. as quoted from Lionel Giles English translation: The highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemys forces, stressing on the importance of diplomatic efforts.

Japan has very powerful diplomatic relations that are well established to prevent the junction of the enemys forces, which is one of the two powerful tools Japan has to counteract the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the face of its growing assertiveness and aggression in the region.

I would like to share my view of Japans diplomatic strategies to contain the CCP.

Japan Has Been Consolidating Japan-US Ties

When Trump was President-elect of the United States, Shinzo Abe, former Japanese Prime Minister went to New York to pay a visit, establishing good personal relations and urging Trump to confront the CCP.

(L-R) U.S. President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting during the G20 Osaka Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

The current Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was the first foreign state leader received by President Biden of the United States at the White House.

Japan Has Been Promoting the Quad, Emphasizing Bilateral Military Cooperation

The Quad, short form for Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, refers to the strategic dialogue scheme between the United States, Japan, Australia, and India, initiated by then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007.

The countries in the Indo-Pacific region are the first to feel the pressure of the CCPs global expansion.

However, for various reasons, there is still a long way to go before the Quad develops into an Indo-Pacific version of NATO, so one of Japans major strategies is to focus on developing bilateral cooperation with Australia, the United States, and India under the framework of the Indo-Pacific strategy.

Lets first look at Japans bilateral relationship with Australia, which has been making progress.

In Nov. 2020, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Japan and the two countries announced that they had agreed in principle on the reciprocal access agreement (RAA), which is a landmark defense treaty. If signed, Japan and Australia would form a paramilitary alliance. This would be Japans first in-depth defense agreement, other than a status of forces agreement with Washington in 1960, covering foreign military presence on its soil for the first time in 60 years. It is also the first defense agreement of this kind between Asia-Pacific countries, described by some media as a breakthrough defense pact.

Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) is greeted by Japans Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga (R) prior to an official welcoming ceremony at Sugas official residence in Tokyo on Nov. 17, 2020. (Eugene Hoshiko / POOL / AFP)

Back in 2007, Japan and Australia established a mechanism for 2+2 talks between foreign ministers and defense ministers following the signing of a military cooperation agreement by both countries in the same year that allowed for joint military exercises, formal military exchanges, and the possibility for the Japan Self-Defense Force to conduct counter-terrorism training on Australian soil.

In 2012, the two countries signed an intelligence security agreement and agreed to share military intelligence.

In 2014, the Japan-Australia relationship was upgraded to a special strategic partnership and the two sides signed the Agreement of the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology.

Since then, Japan-Australia military cooperation has expanded to include the sharing of military material and munitions after Japan eased restrictions on arms and equipment exports. As a result, Japan-Australia military relations have continued to gain breakthroughs.

Now lets have a look at Japan-India bilateral relationship.

In 2005, Japans then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited India during the Japan-India summit, and he signed a joint statement on strategic orientation of Japan-India global partnership with Indias then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Japans then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a speech at the Parliament of India during his visit in 2007, and said that the Strategic Global Partnership of Japan and India is pivotal for the pursuit of freedom and prosperity in the region. In this year, the Japan Self-Defense Force took part in Exercise Malabar for the first time, and then in 2009 and annually since 2014.

In 2008, Japan and India concluded the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India to strengthen military exchanges, making India the third country besides the United States and Australia to have a security agreement with Japan.

Since Narendra Damodardas Modi became Prime Minister of India in 2014, Japan-India relations have warmed rapidly. The following illustrates a timeline of Japan strengthening its relations with India.

In Sept. 2014, the two countries established India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership (India has such relations with only two countries, the other being Russia).

On Nov. 30, 2019, in New Delhi, India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was set up.

In Nov. 2020, Japan and India reached an agreement on a military supply-sharing pact to strengthen the implementation of the General Security of Military Information Agreement and the Agreement Concerning the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology signed earlier (pdf). According to this agreement, the Indian Navy is allowed access to the Japanese military base in Djibouti and the Japanese Navy is allowed access to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The cooperation opened up new possibilities for both sides in the development of armaments and weapons.

Japans Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide is scheduled to visit India and the Philippines from late April, according to a Japanese report.

Japan Has Been Actively Developing Military Relations with NATO Countries

The following are several of the countries Japan has close ties with.

Lets start with the UK.

On Feb 3, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of Defense Kishi Nobuo met online with their British counterparts. The four ministers talked about security and defense cooperation and both parties shared their serious concerns about the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and strongly opposed unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, obviously targeting the CCP.

The UK side announced its plan to send HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Carrier Strike Group to visit the region including East Asia this year, showing the UKs commitment to the Indo-Pacific region, and both sides held talks on the implementation of joint exercises during this visit.

An F-35B lands onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth, England, on Sep. 26, 2018. (Kyle Heller/Ministry of Defence via Getty Images)

Looking further back, we can see more moves by Japan in an effort to enhance its relationship with the UK.

In July 2013, the two sides signed an agreement concerning the Transfer of Arms and Military Technologies necessary to implement joint research, development, and production of Defence Equipment and Other Related Items.

2014 saw the start of Japan working with the UK to develop an air-to-air missile, Japans first defense equipment project with a partner other than the United States.

From mid-October to early November 2016, the British Air Force visited Japan, and this was the first time the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) hosted a joint exercise with a third country other than the United States at its Misawa Air Base on its home soil.

In 2017, Japan and the UK signed an agreement of reciprocal provision of supplies and services for their military forces.

Another country in Europe that Japan has been working closely together with is France.

In light of international tensions over the CCPs foreign expansion, particularly over its construction and militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea, France has strengthened its military presence in the Indo-Pacific and issued an Indo-Pacific strategy document, The Indo-Pacific region: a priority for France, in 2018. Japan, on the other hand, is an important pivot point of Frances Indo-Pacific strategy.

As early as 2013, during the visit of then French President Francois Hollande to Japan, the two countries decided to elevate their relationship to an exceptional partnership along with a road map for Franco-Japanese cooperation from 2013 to 2018, and also established a meeting mechanism for their foreign ministers and defense ministers in the areas of politics and security, with Japan being the only country in Asia included in such a mechanism.

In 2015, Japan and France concluded an agreement on the transfer of defense equipment and technology.

In 2018 the Japan-France Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) was signed as the foundation for defense cooperation, as is stated on the website of Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the two countries to build up concrete cooperation in the security and defense fields.

The French-led La Perouse naval exercise was held in the Bay of Bengal from April 5 to 7 this year with the participation of Japan, the United States, Australia, and India.

According to Kyodo News on April 1, Japan plans to hold a joint military exercise with the United States and France in May at a military base in southwestern Japan.

We want to demonstrate our presence to the region and send a message about Japan-France cooperation, said Adm. Pierre Vandier, chief of staff of the French navy, This is a message aimed at China. This is a message about multilateral partnerships and the freedom of passage.

Another important country to be mentioned in this article is Germany.

On April 5, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that Japan and Germany will hold their first 2+2 dialogue in mid-April, which is expected to discuss issues related to defense and the establishment of a free and open Indo-Pacific region and how to deal with an increasingly assertive China.

Earlier in March, German officials confirmed that a German frigate will sail across the South China Sea in August, the first voyage in 19 years since 2002 for a German warship to sail through this area. The German warship will participate in a joint drill with Japan later this year at the invitation of Japan.

Sachsen-class frigate of the Germany navy at the harbor of Wilhelmshaven, northern Germany on Jan. 5, 2018. (Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)

In March, Japan and Germany signed an agreement on the security of information, which facilitates the exchange of information of confidential military and anti-terrorism information, and removes a major obstacle for Japan to export defense equipment to European countries. Japan has entered into similar arrangements with the United States, the UK, Australia, and NATO.

Germany has always been moderate toward the CCP, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is reportedly known as pro-Chinese Communist regime by her western counterparts. But new changes in the situation are forcing Germany to change its policy toward China.

Last September, the German cabinet released a document (pdf) Policy guidelines for the Indo-Pacific region GermanyEuropeAsia: shaping the 21st century together, declaring that Germany will strategically position and step up its engagement vis-a-vis ASEAN, and including strengthening relations with democratic countries such as Japan and Australia. It states that Germany is prepared to promote the enforcement of rules and norms in the region, including freedoms of navigation.

In fact, Shinzo Abe was active in developing Japan-Germany military cooperation at the beginning of his second term as prime minister. In July 2017, Japan and Germany signed an agreement on joint development of defense equipment and technology. After Abes successful revision of Japans security bills in 2014, he has entered into similar agreements with the United States, Australia, India, the Philippines, the UK, France, and Italy.

Conclusion

Japans diplomatic efforts targeting the CCP are far more than what has been discussed above.

In fact, Japans diplomatic efforts have been so effective that it has made the CCP extremely wary. What the CCP does not realize is that it is its own perverse actions that have made Japans diplomatic efforts so smooth. Of course, Japans soft stance and flexible diplomacy are also the main reasons for its success.

One of Japans characteristics is that it is not easy to set its national goals, but once the national goals are set, it will make a solid long-term effort to push forward and make sure to make things happen.

As long as Japan recognizes the nature of the CCP and makes up its mind, dealing with the threat of the CCP is not an impossible task for Japan, though it is daunting.

Wang He has masters degrees in law and history, and has studied the international communist movement. He was a university lecturer and an executive of a large private firm in China. Wang now lives in North America and has published commentaries on Chinas current affairs and politics since 2017.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Nearly 40% of the 123,000 Marines who have had the chance to receive the vaccine for the illness caused by the coronavirus have turned it down, according to force-wide data obtained by Military.com.

About 75,500 Marines are fully or partially vaccinated against COVID-19, which has killed almost 3 million people worldwide, including two dozen U.S. troops. Another 48,000 Marines who've been given the chance to take one of the vaccinations, which medical experts say significantly decrease the likelihood one will die or require hospitalization from the disease, have declined it, Marine Corps data shows.

The Marine Corps is the first military service to release detailed data, first reported by CNN, on the take-rate for vaccinations offered to uniformed personnel. The Defense Department is not currently allowed to require the shots without consent since the vaccines are currently under an emergency-use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.

Members of II Marine Expeditionary Force, based in North Carolina, have been about twice as likely to decline the vaccine compared to personnel on the West Coast or in Japan.

The Marine Corps has offered the vaccine to about 29,300 II MEF personnel. About 17,500 -- or nearly 60% of them -- have turned it down. That decline rate is compared to about 28% of the 30,600 Marines assigned to I MEF on the West Coast and about one-third of the 22,400 Marines assigned to the Japan-based III MEF.

About 102,000 Marine personnel have not yet been offered the vaccine, said Capt. Andrew Wood, a spokesman at the Pentagon. As for those declining it, Wood said there are a host of reasons why a Marine might be turning it down.

The Marine Corps is a mostly young and healthy force. They might be giving up the shot so others can have the chance to take it, Wood said, or might be waiting for the vaccine to become mandatory. Just because they turn it down once doesn't mean they'll be shut out from getting another opportunity, he added.

"Service members who decline one day can change their mind and become vaccinated when the next opportunity presents itself," Wood said.

The Marine Corps didn't offer any insight as to why personnel with II MEF seem to be more hesitant to get the vaccine. Military officials in North Carolina told Carolina Public Press in March that they were fighting misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine spreading on social media.

"We have to inoculate the force from the virus, and we have to inoculate the force for vaccine misinformation," Lt. Col. Thomas B. Turner, who is leading vaccination planning for active-duty Marines at Camp Lejeune, told the outlet.

Wood said leaders are working with commands to ensure Marines and sailors are getting accurate information about the vaccines and their safety, so they're encouraged to get immunized.

"The key to addressing this pandemic is building vaccine confidence," Wood said.

Vaccine hesitancy isn't limited to the Marine Corps or the military community. About 30% of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center in February said they were unlikely to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Participants cited the quick speed at which the vaccine was developed or lack of information about how well it'll work as top reasons they would opt against it.

Military leaders have already said troops will likely be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine once the emergency-use authorization status is lifted, but the designation could remain for up to two years while the FDA assesses the vaccines' effectiveness and their side effects.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, pleaded with military families during a town hall last month to trust the vaccines. Service members and their families are "part of the solution to this outbreak," Fauci said during a Blue Stars Families event.

"It is absolutely critical that we get the military vaccinated," Fauci said, adding that opting against taking the shot could make them inadvertently "part of the problem" since they might transmit the disease to someone else while having no symptoms themselves.

Those declining the vaccine, Fauci said, "like it or not -- you're propagating this outbreak."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

Related: Army Begins Clinical Trials on Vaccine That May Be Effective Against All Coronaviruses
The flare up of trouble across the North is a real kick in the teeth for business.

Covid has been a disaster for business but the optimist in us saw light at the end of a very long tunnel.

With one eye on daily case numbers and another on vaccination numbers, many of us were confident of an economic recovery in the second half of 2020.

And then this trouble kicked off.

At a time when we should be promoting the real economic benefits of the NI Protocol around the world, we are instead watching news coverage of burning buses in Belfast light up screens in homes across the world.

And I am not exaggerating because many of our international customers have been emailing me voicing their concerns. And be under no illusion this will scare investors and tourists.

Companies looking at the competitive advantage of being in NI to service the UK/EU will pause.

We have heard that enquires from firms looking to locate in NI has peaked since the NI Protocol was agreed. Political stability is often cited as a major factor in locating any type of investment.

Watching 13 year-old kids being directed by adults to burn buses won't instil confidence.

I'd hazard a guess that the hard-working staff in Invest NI tasked with selling the North as a gateway into the UK/EU are tearing their hair out watching these images being beamed across the world.

All their good work has literally went up in smoke.

The only way to rescue this and reverse the negative press is to hope that the trouble quickly peters out. Then the marketing people can hit the reset button and rebuild the sales pitch.

My advice is to let the trouble pass and then pause before spending any huge amounts of money or effort on the "NI as a Gateway to EU/UK" campaign.

I would wait until after the July marching season has passed just in case it kicked off again. The story is too fresh in the minds of investors at the minute.

This flare-up has cost the North six months in terms of time and more importantly the momentum which has been building post Brexit at attracting FDI has probably came to an abrupt halt.

We have been here before and hopefully it's a pause and not a rethink by investors.

My other concern is for tourism. It's fair to say that the two biggest markets for the 2021 tourism season will be guests from GB and ROI.

Even as vaccinations roll out, people on these islands will probably opt for staycations in 2021.

The images of rioting and burning buses won't convince a family from Cardiff or Cork to book a staycation in Portrush or Bangor.

We never make things easy for ourselves but there couldn't be a worse time for trouble to flare up than now.

Many families across the UK and Ireland will be planning their summer holidays and seeking out new itineraries.

Googling Belfast, Derry or Northern Ireland at the moment will just bring up images of burning buses rather than beautiful beaches.

We really are shooting ourselves in the foot.

A recovery in the hospitality sector in Derry will be dependent on strong demand from the UK/ROI. I would go as far to say that business survival in 2021 needs big numbers of guests booking from GB/ROI as EU and US visitors will be suppressed.

The marketing people in councils across the North will be busy trying to negate these images with positive news stories and I expect quite a few will be spending considerable sums on Google ads.

So, to all the politicians out there the next few weeks are crucial.

If we don't dial the language down, we risk thousands of jobs being lost by the end of the year.

It's also fair to say that the NI Protocol isn't going to be scrapped no matter how many buses are burned.

It is an international agreement signed between the EU and UK and to be blunt it's going absolutely nowhere.

There might be a few mitigations to make NI/GB trade run smoother but that was always envisaged.

To put it politely, it's a done deal.

No one on the UK side or EU side has the appetite to reopen it.

Senior political leaders should be honest and careful with their language. You can say you want it scrapped but please point out this is extremely unlikely.

Whipping up a crowd for votes is one thing but selling false hope that unionist opposition will get the NI Protocol scrapped is wrong.

Other parties like the TUV peddle this nonsense but challenge this narrative as an established political party rather than be led by Jim Allister. It's embarrassing and opportunistic.

If some unionists fear their identity is being eroded then get around a table and negotiate.

Also spare a thought for the majority who voted to Remain in the EU and feel both Irish and European.

Remember it was a Sovereign British Government which passed the Brexit Bill with a huge parliamentary majority.

They have ignored unionism and the majority pro-European citizens in the North. Destroying your local community won't change that.

So why all this hullabaloo now?

It's clear the Lucid Poll in early February caused the DUP to do a complete 180 regarding the NI Protocol. Within days of the poll, language like the 'we must consider the opportunities the protocol offers NI' was replaced by 'scrap the Protocol'.

A cynic would say the DUP know it won't be scrapped but by getting behind this campaign at least they can get back some of the votes they have lost to TUV.

It really reminds me of the song we sang as wains 'The Grand Old Duke of York he had 10,000 men. He marched them up to the top of the hill and he marched them down again'.

One thing for sure is that we need strong political leadership right across the North.

Every day this goes on we risk the futures of our young people.

They are being used as cannon fodder by others who whip them up with half-truths and lies.

The fear of a criminal record doesn't deter these kids as many can't see a future where they have a job and a stake in their local community.

Community regeneration and providing all our citizens with opportunity must be top of our Economic and Social agenda. Ignoring it for another 20 years isn't an option.

We have to break the link.

And I repeat, it also threatens existing jobs and future investment. If this trouble runs into the July marching season, we will lose the entire summer tourism revenue. If this happens many businesses will go bankrupt at the end of 2021.

Let's hope the worst is over and as Covid-19 eases we can all get out there and promote the NI Protocol across the world.

As happens in news cycles, the story will go somewhere else and hopefully, we can put Derry front and centre for the right reasons.

And remember words matter.
PARADISE, Calif. - Paradise town leaders continue planning on bringing a sewer system to the town, now with the help of Chico city officials.

Paradise Mayor Steve Crowder, Vice Mayor Jody Jones, Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge, and Vice Mayor Kasey Reynolds make up what is called the Paradise Sewer Committee.

At 1pm Monday, the committee finally gathered to discuss the next steps on the sewer project.

The meeting was mainly focused on the engineering of the project, but as Mayor Steve Crowder told Action News Now, along with improving Chicos water and sewer rates, Paradise will help the city upgrade its current water plant.

Crowder explained, They have got to modernize their older sewer system. This is something where we can help and its going to help their capacity as well. So, its kind of a win-win.

Crowder said that this sewer pipeline will go directly from Paradise to Chico, meaning the pipeline will not connect to other nearby areas.

We own the pipeline, he continued. The only waste that will go into that pipeline is from our sewer district to their treatment plant. There are no stops in between that its going to pick up. Thats our pipeline.

The towns water waste will run nearly 25 miles from around Pentz Rd. directly to Chicos Water Pollution Control Plant.

According to the proposed project area map, the sewer service area will start somewhere in between Pentz and Clark Rd., run down Skyway and Clark, and cut across Pearson Rd.

Within the next four to five years, every commercial business along the main roads, including some residential lots, will all be running on sewer.

Although this is a hefty, and nearly $200 million project, businesses and city leaders alike are happy to finally see some movement on this long-awaited sewer system.

This is probably one of the greatest days in Paradises history, Crowder said with a smile.

For more information on the sewer project, click here.
LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Congressional candidate Joe Collins, a Black Republican Navy veteran challenging Rep. Maxine Waters in California, spoke out about the recent police shooting of Daunte Wright by a Brooklyn Center Police officer in Minnesota over the weekend.

US Congressional Candidate Joe Collins is challenging Maxine Waters

Joe Collins stated, "Our law enforcement officers clearly need more training. I have to place blame not only on the negligence of the officers but the city and state legislators for failing to act in a manner that would be beneficial for the people. The inner cities of Minnesota, like many other inner cities, have a history of failures in law enforcement, and their governments have refused to take action to reform their police departments."

"The state legislature has bent to the pressures of those who say defund the police. Our leaders need to take action to remove officers with a history of complaints and infractions and also to introduce new training for their officers. This is the very reason we need to replace ineffective leaders like Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters, and other politicians who are all talk and no action when it comes to providing for the people they claim to represent," Collins continued.

Collins himself grew up in Waters' district in South Los Angeles, an economically challenged community with a history of violent crimes and public activism against police brutality. His district saw a 33% increase in murders between 2019 and 2020 and a 150% increase during the first 30 days of 2021 alone.

Collins also served in the US Navy for over 13 years, giving him multiple perspectives of insight into the shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. The Brooklyn Center police department has claimed that the officer involved mistakenly grabbed their gun instead of a taser and then there was an "accidental discharge." The shooting took place at the same time as marches for George Floyd were underway during the trial of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Joe Collins has made it a key point of his campaign to work on reducing incidents of police violence through practical solutions such pushing for more police training and removing legislators and city officials who have failed to fix long-standing issues in urban communities. Collins believes that, given the opportunity, he can give a voice to the silent majority of people who want to see drastic improvements in both our law enforcement and communities.

In 2020, Joe Collins challenged Maxine Waters for California's 43rd Congressional District. Collins managed to receive nearly double the votes of any Republican in the history of the district and out fundraised Waters 5-to-1. Collins has already filed to run in California's 43rd Congressional district again in 2022. Collins's platform consists of ending homelessness, bringing quality jobs and housing back to the community, creating paths for families to create generational wealth, significantly improving the education system, and reducing crime through border security and police reform.

Joe E. Collins Socials

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Dear Prudence is online weekly to chat live with readers. Heres an edited transcript of this weeks chat.

Danny Lavery: Afternoon, everyone! Lets settle some hash.

Q. Standing out in orange: Overall I would consider myself a very easygoing person for someone who is soon to be married, especially given the uncertainty of planning through a pandemic. But today, one of my sisters decided to dye her hair orange. And by orange, I mean badly done, fake, and garish orange. I asked her what made her choose the color (her natural dark hair is so beautiful, and shes never colored it before). She said she wanted to make sure she stood out in photos, given that she and my two other sisters are wearing matching dresses. (She picked the dress!)

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In my heart of hearts, I know I should probably let this go, and I truly do want everyone to feel good about how they look on the big day, but the dye job is so bad. The wedding is next month and all I can think about is how our family photos from the day are going to have my twin sister looking like Carrot Top. I trust your judgement and if you tell me Im overreacting, Ill try to let it go. I havent addressed it any further with my sister yet. What do I say?

A: I dont think youre overreacting, in the sense that your only reaction so far has been to privately think God, her hair looks terrible without trying to wrest your sisters right to hair autonomy away from her. But theres nothing you can do, and nothing you should try to do. Your sister will have orange hair in your wedding photos (unless she dyes it another color or shaves her head before the ceremony), and life will go on. She will stand out a little bit at your wedding, which will be fine, and will not get in the way of your ability to marry your partner. If someone else loves a haircut that you think looks terrible, theres not much to be done except to remind yourself that life is, after all, a very rich tapestry, and the point of wedding photos is to record the presence of everyone you love celebrating together, not to establish a uniform aesthetic among the wedding party. Letting this go doesnt mean forcing yourself to like your sisters new hair color. It just means you dont waste any time and energy trying to take over her hair decisions just because youre getting married.

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How to Get Advice From Prudie:

 Send questions for publication here. (Questions may be edited.)

 Join the live chat Mondays at noon. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the discussion.

 Call the voicemail of the Dear Prudence podcast at 401-371-DEAR (3327) to hear your question answered on a future episode of the show.

Q. It matters to me: After a health scare during the pandemic, my girlfriend and I eloped. Three weeks later, my wife sat me down and explained that she was asexual. Apparently shed been scared to tell me before the wedding, but now she felt secure enough to come out. She doesnt want to have sex anymore unless were going to try for children. I am frustrated that she knowingly kept this a secret until now and am not sure what I want to do. I love her, but my vision of our life did include a sexual element. I understand that over time life happens and sex stops, but I also think prioritizing sex can include a lot of possible alternatives to traditional sex, and I want to be able to do that.

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I havent made a concrete decision yet, but it is getting to me that my wife insults me for caring about sex. The worst of it comes from her online friends, but she relays it to me without dispute, so I guess she agrees. Ive been compared to an animal for not being able to control my needs, called soulless because I can only experience a physical connection, and just generally ripped apart for maybe not being OK with this. I honestly think that, with some compromise on both parts, my wife and I could maybe come up with a relationship dynamic that worked for both of us. But I am not comfortable with the rhetoric shes using against me right now and it is pushing me toward leaving.

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Honestly, at this point my only hesitation is that my wife has never been mean or unkind before. I wonder if shes just gotten carried away with her new understanding of herself and being part of a like-minded community (the specific friend group shes in, not the asexual community at large). Should I give her a chance to mellow out of the extremes she seems to have adopted (which would result in it being more difficult legally to extract ourselves tidily, but not unbearably), or just assume that this mean side of her was something she just felt safe to bring out once we got married?

A: The way your wife has handled your sexual differences is one thing (and I can certainly understand why this newfound cruelty is at the front of your mind right now), but the question of your long-term sexual compatibility strikes me as at least of equal importance. You say with some compromises you think you two could develop a sustainable long-term relationship, but Im not sure if by compromise you mean something like discuss the possibility of sex with other people or stop calling me an animal for enjoying sex.

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How has your wife responded when youve asked her to stop? Or when you tell her that youre reconsidering your marriage on the basis of how she treats you? Have you shared this with any of your friendsare you getting support for yourself from someone who isnt your wife? And if so, what do they think? If your wife stopped saying these things, would you feel adequately listened to and cared for, or would you worry that she still felt the same way and was merely editing herself?

Whatever you decide to do next, whether thats file for divorce right away or try couples counseling first, dont make assumptions or hope that waiting will produce a change that only difficult conversations can bring about. Tell your wife that her comments have been cruel and dehumanizing, and that they need to stop for you two to even consider discussing what type of marriage you can imagine for yourselves in the future; take it very seriously if they dont.

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Q. Should I rat out my neighbors day care? Like many other families, weve moved from the city to the suburbs during the pandemic to have more space for ourselves. One of our new neighbors is running an unlicensed day care, as has become very obvious over the past few months. I can deal with the inconveniences that come with it, like double-parked cars and blocked sidewalks during drop-off or pickup times, and Im very sympathetic to the needs of working parents with no place to put their kids in these times. However, its noticeable that neither the neighbor nor any of the parents are wearing masks. Its a constant barrage of maskless parents and kids entering and leaving the house. Our county still isnt out of the woods and is seeing increasing cases.

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Whats my responsibility here? Ive held my breath so far, but I cant stop feeling that this operation endangers the community at large, and Im tempted to involve the authorities. However, I also feel like I shouldnt make this my business because it helps out a bunch of parents during difficult times, and it looks like vaccinations are going to make a real difference in the pandemic, regardless of how irresponsibly some people behave.

A: The salient question here is Would involving the authorities likely make these children and their parents safer? If the answer is not a straightforward Yes, then you should consider your other options, like introducing yourself to your neighbor and talking to her directly about getting her guests/visitors/clients to wear masks. You might even offer to put out a box of masks for parents and their kids to draw from, which would be a much easier and low-conflict way to address the problem than calling the cops.

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Q. Im accidentally the other woman: Last summer, I realized I was interested in an internet friend. We began talking and flirting for hours every day, and eventually he moved it into explicit conversation and exchanging photos. This went on for about six months and I really fell for him, but I recently found out hes been in a relationship for about three years. Ive cut off contact with him, but Im struggling to get him out of my mind or figure out if/how I should tell his girlfriend. Whats the responsibility for an (accidental) other woman?

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A: Im really not sure! You dont know this woman or the nature of their relationship, although given that this erstwhile friend withheld information about their relationship from you, its likely she didnt know much about your sexting either. If youre mostly considering saying something to her because youre struggling to get him out of your thoughts and hope that disclosing will bring you peace of mind, I dont think its very likely to bring you much in the way of closure. But if you find a way to get in touch with her (and you feel prepared for the possibility that she wont respond, will be angry with you, or otherwise lash out at you), you certainly can say something. If you do, I think you should keep your disclosure brief, dont volunteer a lot of unsolicited details that might cause her unnecessary pain, and reassure her that shes under no obligation to respondsomething that gestures toward a sense of I realize this is an awkward conversation, and I dont want to make assumptions, and that lets her know youre not going to be peppering her with questions or expectations.

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My basic sense in a situation like yours is something like this: Youre not responsible for this guys bad behavior, and just because you learned he was lying to you doesnt suddenly create an obligation on your part to clean up his mess. But if you think that youd like to know in her position (given, again, that there are some variables there that you cant predict), and you think you can say something to her without bringing a lot of your own (perfectly reasonable, but not appropriate in context) resentment towards this guy, youre certainly free to do so.

Q. Left out of moms night: The weather is warming up, and the vaccine rollout has been going well. Thus, I decided to plan a moms night out with a few moms from my sons school. This is my sons first year at the school and were new to this community, having joined during this strange time. I was really looking forward to getting to know these women more.

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However, when I was talking about my excitement with my neighborthe mom I am closest with and known for yearsshe made a comment that really bothered me. She said she was surprised I was going and not my husband. Her reasoning is that my husband is the one who most often walks our son to school with a group of other moms. As the primary source of income in our house, I work more hours than my husband, and he shoulders a bit more of the parental workload. The balance works well for our family, but I already am self-conscious about whether I am doing enough as a mother. To hear a neighbor say, in different words, that I am not one of the moms really hurt, especially considering I am the one who planned the night out. I am not sure how to move past it and become excited about the evening. Should I talk to her about it and risk everyones excitement, or just figure out my own issues and self-doubt and get over it?

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A: Its entirely possible that this woman did mean that comment as something of a dig, but I think its also possible that she was just acknowledging your husbands (welcome) presence as one of the parents who are involved in your kids lives at school. Yeah, [Husbands] great, but I really want to get to know the other parents myself, especially since my schedule doesnt always coincide with drop-off is a perfectly friendly and informative answer, and stresses your interest in getting involved with this group without getting overly defensive. You might also in the future want to open up such nights to include both moms and dads, since there may be other families at your kids school who split such duties in nontraditional ways.

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If you want to acknowledge this during the night out but without coming across as having a chip on your shoulder, I think you could say something to the group like, Im really looking forward to spending more time with you when I can; thanks for coming out tonight, especially since we havent gotten to talk much yet.

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Q. My sons estranged father: Earlier this week, I was notified via email that my ex-husband died suddenly and was already buried in his home country overseas. We have an 18-year-old son with whom he has had no contact for more than 10 years. When my son was young, my ex was a spotty, inconsistent presence due to alcoholism and travel. I am now remarried and my current husband suffers from depression and anger issues that he takes meds for and gets counseling. He has occasional episodes. He and my son get along for the most part but when they fight, it can be very ugly. Then my son will say he misses his real dad. He went to counseling briefly earlier this year but said it wasnt for him.

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I am sick with regret that I didnt make more of an effort to have my son connect with his father. When his father did contact merarelyit was to ask for money. It is too late for my son to reconnect with his father. I am afraid this news will be devastating to him and serve no purpose. My husband thinks I need to tell him ASAP. I am torn. I just dont think that my son can handle this. He has had a rough senior year of high school with COVID and I am worried about sending him to college with this burden.

A: I can understand why the idea of breaking this news to your son during such a volatile, challenging time feels fraught, but theres simply never going to be a good time for him to learn that his father has died, and the more you put it off, the greater the chances are that youll damage your relationship with your son when he realizes how long youve kept the information from him. Youre not sharing this information with him because you think it will be good for him or certain to serve a greater purpose. Its just bad news. Maybe someday he will arrive at a different understanding of his relationship with his father, or find some sort of peace in how he thinks about his own life, but you wont be able to make that happen for him. Thats simply work your son will have to do himself. Tell him right now, and give him the chance to have his own reaction to his fathers death; hes entitled to that much.

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Where you do have real ability to intervene is with your current husbands anger issues that lead to episodes where his fights with your son become very ugly. You dont say much about just what that ugliness looks like, but if your husband has been abusing or endangering your sons wellbeing, it may be time to reconsider whether its safe for your son to continue living with him. I cant speak more to that possibility without further details, but I think thats the area with the greatest possibility for you to take action, rather than trying to keep this bad news from your son.

Q. How can I educate my husband on revenge porn? While discussing a recent scandal about a lawmaker, my husband and I began talking about the wrongness of sharing naked photos of previous partners. My husband said that its just not professional behavior to be doing with colleagues but completely missed the boat about why sharing naked photos of people without their permission is criminal, period.

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To say that I was stunned would be an understatement. I do think that being male and white has something to do with why he was completely befuddled about why revenge porn should be a crime. I can usually talk to my husband about a lot of things and he is pretty open and willing to listen, but in this case all I could do was stare at him in horror and more than a little bit of anger. I dont know where to begin.

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A: Saying I dont really know where to begin is often a pretty solid beginning. I want to go back to our conversation about revenge porn from the other day. I was really surprised and angry that the only problem you seemed to have with it had to do with professional behavior, so I wasnt really able to put words to my feelings at the time. I know that usually youre a really open-minded person and Ive always appreciated what a good listener you are, so I hope youll hear me out. Its not just bad professional behavior, but a violation of trust and a personal betrayal to share naked images of someone without their consent. That seems pretty straightforward and obvious to me, and Ive felt angry these last few days wondering whether we share the same values on this subject. I want to know more about what youre thinking so I can gauge just how much we disagree and what kind of a fight were going to have about it.

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Q. Re: Standing out in orange: Black-and-white versions of wedding photos provide a timeless fix to any number of wedding day color clashes, until its the right time to look back on the orange hair with fondness and a little laughter.

A: I think its fine to include some black-and-white photos, as long as you dont entirely switch from color photos to all black-and-white simply because you dont want to see her orange hair. Its just orange hair! You will be fine.

Q. Re: Should I rat out my neighbors day care? Please reconsider the answer to the illegally run day care, if not for COVID reasons. Day cares that are run under the radar are often not performing any of the other requirements that keep kids protected, like background checks, safety training for employees, appropriate safety measures in the building, and appropriate kid-to-adult ratios. Kids in illegally run day cares with lack of oversight are at considerably higher risk than kids in registered day care. This is about more than just COVID and some irritating parking struggles.

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A: I feel pretty conflicted about this one! Im glad to run this, though, because I do agree these are important additional considerationsI just dont know enough about this particular arrangement to have a final ruling, and I worry about what other options may or may not be available to these kids and their families. But it is worth keeping in mind that there may be other, much more important, concerns beyond just the parking.

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Discuss this column on our Facebook page!

Classic Prudie

Q. Inheritance and responsibility: My mother is a lifelong substance abuser, and is now close to dying. Her parents left her a lot of money, including sizable funds for my brother and me, and she has been living off the investment income from this money for decades. My father divorced her decades ago, and my brother cut all ties with the family when he turned 18, leaving me the only family or friend my mother has. I know both she and my father were cruel to my brother, but I feel that it is now his turn to take care of her. However, I dont think he deserves to inherit anything since I am the one who loyally stayed with our mother, to the cost of friends, jobs, and fiancees. Should I hire a lawyer and have both my mothers and my grandparents wills revised to reflect and account for everything Ive had to sacrifice, then sue my brother to force him to be a man, own up to his responsibility, and do his part to take care of my mother in her last years? Read what Prudie had to say.

Now available in your podcast player: the audiobook edition of Danny M. Laverys latest book, Something That May Shock and Discredit You. Get it from Slate.
The Department of Health and Social Services website is currently unavailable. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available. Critical COVID-19 information  including vaccine appointment scheduling and the data dashboards  can still be accessed.

The COVID-19 vaccine helpline is available at 907-646-3322 from 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on weekends.

For all other services telephone assistance is available during regular business hours (8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) at 907-269-7800. Specific service and office contact numbers are attached.

Need help with COVID-19 questions or requests?

Find vaccine appointments

Health care providers should direct clinical questions to the Section of Epidemiology at 907-269-8000.

Questions regarding DHSS COVID response, including advisories, can be sent to covidquestions@alaska.gov.

If you are a member of a media and have a question, please contact Clinton.Bennett@alaska.gov or 907-269-4996 for resources and contacts.

Alaska Careline

If you are feeling hopeless or having thoughts of self-harm or suicide, reach out for help right away. Call the Alaska Careline at 877-266-4357 or text 4help to 839863. Or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

Vaccine Data



Visit the Alaska Coronavirus Response Dashboard to explore the the latest data and maps for the coronavirus response in our local area.

Contact information for select DHSS programs and services
New Delhi:

The NHRC on Thursday issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and its police chief after a man recently killed in an alleged fake encounter in Greater Noida.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) affirmed it has issued the notice to the state's chief secretary and the director general of police (DGP), and sought a report in four weeks.

As per media reports, Sumit Gurjar, an alleged gangster, was killed by the police on October 3.

The family members of the deceased have alleged that he was killed in a "staged encounter" after the police picked up him from a market, the NHRC said in a statement.

The family members along with villagers had protested near the mortuary at Sector-94 against the police action and had also blocked traffic at the Mahamaya Flyover for about 45 minutes, the NHRC said quoting from media reports.

"Elimination of a criminal in such an unlawful manner can never send a good message to a civilised society. As has been emphasised time and again, the police do not have the right to take away life of a human being. It is not the lawful way to deal with the criminals," the rights panel said.

Also Read: Gujarat Police officers accused in fake encounter case forced to resign by Supreme Court

The Commission has observed that the allegations levelled by the family members and the villagers, if true, "raise serious issue of violation of human rights" of the deceased and the aggrieved family. (With PTI Inputs)

Also Read: Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case: Former Gujarat Cop DG Vanzara discharged

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Big Decrease in Support for Public Health Restrictions

There has been a sizable shift in Canadian business leaders' stance on public health restrictions

There has been a sizable shift in Canadian business leaders' stance on public health restrictions

TORONTO, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the latest survey from The Business Monitor by Modus Research, Canadian executives were asked whether the government should be easing or tightening public health restrictions, given the current state of the pandemic. This question was asked in the fall of 2020 and again in spring of 2021.



The results from the spring survey show that Canadian businesses are now equally divided on whether public health restrictions should be tightened or eased. This represents a strong shift from the fall where those supporting tighter restrictions outnumbered those favouring easing restrictions by almost 2-to-1.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/459ad5eb-3502-4b9d-972b-5568fabfe784

For full release details: https://modusresearch.com/support-for-tighter-restrictions-has-dropped-across-canadian-businesses/

There are some notable regional differences in these results. In Alberta only 24% support tighter restrictions, while in Ontario this number leads all regions at 44% (still well below the national average from the fall).

Economic confidence is a key factor in whether or not businesses favour easing or tightening public health restrictions. Businesses who favour tightening restrictions have a much more favourable outlook on the economy, both short- and long-term, than those who favour easing them.

This survey was carried out among a representative sample of over 900 Canadian managers and executives in March 2021. The survey relied on multimodal data collection, using both online and mobile phone interfaces. The sample is scientific (i.e., probability-based) and representative of all Canadian businesses.

About The Business Monitor

The Business Monitor is Canadas B2B omnibus service. Results from The Monitor are based on scientific samples of Canadian business leaders from the Modus Business Panel  the gold standard for B2B research in Canada. Surveys from the Modus Business Panel are multimodal, using both online and mobile data collection techniques.

Story continues

About Modus Research

Established in 2012, Modus Research is a full-service research agency that provides clients with actionable feedback from Canadian enterprises based on scientifically representative samples. We are Canadas B2B research experts.

CONTACT: For more information on this release or The Business Monitor please contact: Charlie Graves President, Modus Research cgraves at modusresearch dot com Twitter: @ModusResearch




A state appeals court has upheld Californias fees on large manufacturers of paints and other products that emit air pollutants known as volatile organic compounds, which can cause illnesses such as asthma when inhaled indoors and also contribute to smog.

Sources of the pollutants include consumer products such as detergents, hair sprays and insecticides, as well as paints, stains and lacquers on outdoor buildings. Health officials say the compounds are an ingredient of ozone and small air particulates that can cause respiratory illness.

To pay for programs that reduce the emissions, the state Air Resources Board charges fees on manufacturers whose products emit at least 250 tons of the pollutants each year in California. They total 27 of the 178 companies that manufacture such products for sale in the state.

The fees were first imposed in 2004, with majority legislative approval, and were immediately challenged by the manufacturers, who argued that all producers of the products should be charged and that the payments were actually taxes that required a two-thirds legislative vote.

The fees have remained in effect during years of proceedings in the courts and the Legislature. On Monday, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento said the fee assessment, though not flawless, was a reasonable decision to charge companies that cause much of the pollution.

The Air Resources Board found that the 27 large manufacturers were responsible for 85% of emissions from outdoor architectural coatings in the state and for 64% of other emissions, the court noted. It said the board also found that most of its enforcement costs were in areas with higher levels of pollution.

The Legislature may exempt individual smaller polluters that contribute little to the overall pollution being regulated, even if the cumulative burden is significant, Presiding Justice Vance Raye said in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a Superior Court judges decision.

Raye said the state was also entitled to consider the burden such fees could impose on small businesses, and the greater ability of larger polluters to take measures to reduce pollution. He said the fees were not taxes because they were based on the states costs of regulating the emissions.

Jeffrey Margulies, lawyer for the American Coatings Association, which challenged the fees, said it was disappointed by the ruling but has not decided yet whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Sunday's cyberattack on Iran's underground Natanz uranium enrichment facility, widely believed to be the work of Israel, has added another layer of uncertainty over the already delicate indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday threatened retaliation against Israel and "any power with knowledge" of the sabotage, but he said Iran will take part in scheduled Wednesday negotiations in Vienna, conducted through European and other parties to the nuclear accord.

Israel, whose government strongly opposed the 2015 deal and has criticized President Biden's efforts to resurrect it, has neither publicly denied or claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, which temporarily set back Iran's ability to enrich uranium at the facility. But Israeli media has heavily suggested the country is behind the sabotage, and U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to The New York Times that Israel at least played a role.

The Biden administration has neither condemned nor celebrated the Natanz attack. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday "the U.S. was not involved in any manner" and has "nothing to add on speculation about the causes or the impacts," adding, "Our focus is on the diplomatic path forward."

It isn't clear if the U.S. was warned about the sabotage beforehand or whether Israel timed the attack to coincide with a visit to Israel by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Austin did not mention Iran at a news conference Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The talks to restart the agreement, which former President Donald Trump pulled out from in 2018, are at an early stage, and the U.S. and Iran don't agree about which U.S. sanctions would be lifted and under what conditions; Iran wants them lifted before it returns to compliance with the nuclear deal while the U.S. sees Iran's compliance as a precondition. At this point, both sides are committed to the negotiations.

Israel wants "to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions," Zarif said. "We will not fall into their trap. ... We will not allow this act of sabotage to affect the nuclear talks."

More stories from theweek.com

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Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin and former Disney Channel star Brenda Song have welcomed their first child together. Song gave birth to a baby boy on Monday, April 5 at 1:10 p.m. in Los Angeles, the couple told Esquire. Song never announced her pregnancy, choosing instead to keep the experience private. She is healthy post-birth, according to Esquire.



The couple named their son Dakota Song Culkin in honor of Culkins late sister Dakota, who passed away in 2008. "We're overjoyed, " the new parents told the publication. Culkin spoke to Esquire last year about his hopes of having a family with Song, who he has dated for the last few years.



The two met on the set of Changeland, which they both starred in. Filming for that movie began in June 2017; it was released in 2019. Last March, Culkin revealed to Esquire that he and Song were trying to have a baby.



"We practice a lot," he said. "Were figuring it out, making the timing work. Because nothing turns you on more than when your lady comes into the room and says, 'Honey, Im ovulating'."













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Infinity Investing is built upon the financial records and IRS data of the wealthy. As a tax attorney, Toby Mathis has seen firsthand the difference between actual wealth and a lavish lifestyle that can live or die by the paycheck. He has seen exactly how the ultra-wealthy invest their money and wants to help the average investor leverage these same principles.

This subject is deeply personal for Mathis. "My father looked around and saw people who did not feel like they were carrying the same financial burden he was and did what any good father would do  he urged his kids to be free," Mathis said. "He just did not know how to help." His father got Mathis in touch with entrepreneurs who revealed the way the world works for the driven and wealthy. Today, Mathis is attempting to pass this knowledge along to others who may feel similarly adrift financially.

For Mathis, the divide between the wealthy and everyone else is all about passive income. It's the kind of income that puts you back in control of your life, time, and future. Infinity Investing highlights proven, data-driven methodologies that the wealthy have relied upon for decades.

Mathis's book was written to help readers make sense of the financial situations in which they may find themselves. Infinity Investing recontextualizes wealth according to Mathis's principles, revealing readers' financial class, and ultimately, shows where they can put money to start investing like the wealthy and move the needle on their goals.

Infinity Investing: How The Rich Get Richer And How You Can Do The Same is available on Amazon today.

About Toby Mathis, Esq.

Toby Mathis is a managing partner/president of Anderson Business Partners and current manager of Anderson's Las Vegas office. In that capacity, he helped Anderson grow into the thriving organization it is todaya tax practice and national registered agent service that is trusted by over 18,000 clients.

Mathis became an attorney focusing exclusively on small businesses, taxation, and trusts. He is an author of several books and many articles concerning best practices and growth for businesses. Toby Mathis graduated Magna Cum Laude from Seattle University and graduated with honors from Seattle University School of Law. He currently resides in Las Vegas.

About ForbesBooks

Launched in 2016 in partnership with Advantage Media Group, ForbesBooks is the exclusive business book publishing imprint of Forbes. ForbesBooks offers business and thought leaders an innovative, speed-to-market, fee-based publishing model and a suite of services designed to strategically and tactically support authors and promote their expertise. For more information, visit forbesbooks.com.

Media Contacts

Jack Reich, ForbesBooks, [email protected]

Lisa Loeffler, Anderson Advisors, [email protected]

SOURCE ForbesBooks
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad al-Hariri intends to ask Russia for economic assistance during a visit to Moscow later this week, the RIA news agency cited his special representative as saying on Tuesday.

Hariri will seek Moscow's help restoring the port in Beirut, devastated by a huge chemical explosion last August, and building electric power stations, RIA said.

The explosion killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, further weakening an economy already facing meltdown as a banking crisis sent the value of the Lebanese pound plunging against the U.S. dollar.

Last week, German companies including Hamburg Port Consulting presented a multi-billion-dollar plan to rebuild the port and neighbouring districts, while French container shipping group CMA CGM also said it was pursuing a plan to restore the port.

Neither project can advance until Lebanon's leaders break a political deadlock which has prevented the formation of a new government and stalled economic reforms, which Western countries say must come before aid or investment flows.

Hariri, a three-time prime minister, resigned in 2019 after nationwide protests against a political elite which demonstrators blamed for pushing the country into crisis.

He was nominated prime minister again in October but remains at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun and has been unable to form a new government.

RIA quoted Hariri's envoy, George Shaaban, as saying he would seek Russian support to help address electricity shortages.

"There is a need to build new power plants that will be able to supply the country with 24-hour electricity... We will look to Russia and its possible assistance to Lebanon, both in these sectors and others," Shaaban added.

Hariri will also discuss the possibility of Russia supplying vaccines against the coronavirus, he said.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Alexander Marrow and Dominic Evans; Editing by Alison Williams and Nick Macfie)
FLOWER MOUND, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Digital Development Partners, Inc. (OTC PINK:DGDM) ("DGDM" or the "Company"), announced today that its Board of Directors has voted to change the name of the Company to "Black Bird Biotech, Inc.", to provide a more readily recognizable platform for its EPA-registered plant-based MiteXstream biopesticide technology. The name change will become effective upon the Company's satisfying regulatory procedures.

"MiteXstream is an innovative technology that acts as an extremely effective pesticide - it is not a traditional 'poisonous pesticide' - and our new corporate name should provide greater clarity as to how our company is deploying its innovative intellectual properties," said Fabian Deneault, President of DGDM. "We continue testing several similarly innovative technologies that we hope to bring to market in the relatively near future."

Today, a strong brand is more important than ever to compete in a global marketplace. Over time, many companies will need to update their branding to reflect changes in the market or in the company itself. The DGDM comprehensive rebrand includes a new logo to go with the name change. This marks a new chapter in the evolution of the Company and pulls together the biotech assets to create better brand awareness and improve brand identity.

ABOUT DGDM

DGDM, through its subsidiary, Black Bird Potentials, is the exclusive worldwide manufacturer and distributor for MiteXstreamTM, an EPA-certified plant-based biopesticide effective in the eradication of spider mites, a pest that destroys crops, especially cannabis, hops, coffee and house plants, as well as molds and mildew. DGDM also manufactures and sells, under its Grizzly Creek Naturals brand name, CBD products, including CBD Oils, gummies and pet treats, and CBD-infused personal care products, as well as hand sanitizer gel and spray products. In addition, Black Bird is a licensed grower of industrial hemp under the Montana Hemp Pilot Program. For more information please visit:

Web: https://www.digitaldevelopmentpartners.com/ and

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DGDMCorporate

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information including statements that include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipate," or similar expressions. Such forward looking-statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, description of anyone's past success, either financial or strategic, is no guarantee of future success. This news release speaks as of the date first set forth above and the company assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof. Information concerning these and other factors can be found in the company's filings with the SEC, including its Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K, which can be obtained on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

Contact:

Jon Olson, CEO

702-217-9518

Milestone Management Services, LLC

jon@milestonemanagementservicesllc.com

SOURCE: Digital Development Partners, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640114/Digital-Development-Partners-Officially-Rebrands-As-Black-Bird-Biotech-Inc
[April 13, 2021] Primary.Health's Software Expands Statewide COVID-19 Testing to California Schools, Homeless Shelters, Long-Term Care Facilities

Primary.Health, after a successful launch of the Safely Opening Schools ( SOS (News - Alert) ) pilot, has been selected to support the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) expanded COVID-19 testing for schools, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, and other congregate settings. The program aims to provide rapid antigen tests to these groups, in addition to lab-based PCR (News - Alert) tests. "Primary.Health provides terrific COVID-19 testing software and technology, and from the start has supported communities in scaling testing programs to those who otherwise may not have had access," said Naomi Bardach, MD, lead, Safe Schools for All, California Health and Human Services Agency. "Primary has demonstrated its commitment to support the Governor and California Department of Education's goals to ensure safe schools in California, and to remain vigilant in preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in other congregate settings." More than 60 school districts, including four county offices of education, have already adopted Primary.Health's rapid testing program and will be eligible to transition to the statewide contract. The SOS piot demonstrated a clear need for adaptable software solutions, and confidence in this approach has led many school districts to accelerate their back-to-school plans. Primary.Health's technology and expertise have been integral to the SOS pilot, a collaboration between the Public Health Institute and the California Department of Public Health, which is helping 10 high-need California districts conduct rapid COVID-19 screening programs since early this year. Data from the first eight pilot districts where testing has started shows a positivity test rate of just 0.21 percent, providing critical insights about school re-openings.



School superintendents and administrators can sign up for the free testing program here. Applications for long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, agriculture workplaces and other qualifying organizations, can be found here. To learn more about how testing programs can be successful, visit https://safelyopeningschools.org/ for details on SOS and safely reopening schools. "Frequent rapid testing, along with other measures like vaccination, hand washing, and social distancing, is an economical and sustainable way to help control the spread of COVID-19 and bring our communities back to work and our kids back to classrooms," said Andrew Kobylinski, CEO and co-founder of Primary.Health. "The State's leadership in supporting regular COVID-19 testing across schools and critical services, will provide reassurance to community members, business owners, parents, teachers, and family members that it is safe to return to in-person learning and everyday living knowing that positive cases will be identified within minutes before infecting others."

Beyond the school site testing, the program focuses on health equity by directing testing resources to organizations and groups that are in professions or living circumstances that increase exposure to COVID-19. Primary.Health's software will help schools, homeless shelters, and community-based organizations stand up and operate their testing programs. In addition to supporting the current need for more rapid testing, the platform is lab agnostic and compatible with many kinds of tests and vaccines, from PCR to rapid antigen to new technologies. This unique capability allows schools, essential workforce employers, and local public health agencies to adapt their testing program to the specific needs of their populations and environments. About Primary.Health Primary.Health is the engine behind community testing and vaccination programs. Our platform enables government agencies, employers, researchers, labs, schools, healthcare facilities, and community-based organizations to organize, streamline, and automate efficient and consumer-friendly COVID-19 services. Primary launched in March of 2020 and powers more than 700 COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites across the country. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005418/en/

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COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- White Castle's 10,000 team members will soon be sporting a new uniform designed specifically to commemorate the fast-food hamburger chain's 100th birthday this year.

Created by renowned and award-winning New York City fashion line TELFAR, the new uniform collection includes a T-shirt, polo shirt, apron, visor and durag, all in light blue, royal blue or black. Each piece features the brand name "White Castle" with references to the iconic chain celebrating 100 years "and counting."

Celebrated Fashion House TELFAR Designs New White Castle Team Member Uniforms in Celebration of Family-Owned Restaurants 100th Birthday. PHOTOGRAPHY by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. Celebrated Fashion House TELFAR Designs New White Castle Team Member Uniforms in Celebration of Family-Owned Restaurants 100th Birthday. PHOTOGRAPHY by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr. Celebrated Fashion House TELFAR Designs New White Castle Team Member Uniforms in Celebration of Family-Owned Restaurants 100th Birthday. PHOTOGRAPHY by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

The durag was added to the uniform collection in response to many White Castle team members who requested it. It's the first time White Castle has offered the hair accessory and might be the first time any restaurant has done so.

The new uniform collection is captured in an intimate portrait series of White Castle team members in Queens, shot by art photographer Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.

"We wanted something special for our 100th birthday that captures the authentic spirit of White Castle and, as always, TELFAR came through for us," said Jamie Richardson, a vice president at White Castle. "TELFAR has taken our uniform to a new place, creating something that's distinctive, attractive and comfortable, and something our team members will feel great in whether they're at work or hanging out with friends and family."

TELFAR and White Castle first connected in 2015 when TELFAR's founder and longtime White Castle fan Telfar Clemens asked White Castle to sponsor their fashion show during New York Fashion Week. White Castle not only sponsored the show, but also hosted the after party at its Times Square restaurant. The two brands partnered again in 2017 when TELFAR designed a new team member uniform for the family-owned company. Since then, TELFAR has designed and produced three more sets of White Castle team member uniforms, including the 100th birthday version.

"White Castle supported us before our success and we consider them family," said Babak Radboy, TELFAR's creative director. "Their team would serve Sliders backstage at all our shows and were basically part of our team. It's still the only thing open after midnight in TELFAR's hood  seeing our uniforms there means something to us, and so we take it personally."

In addition to designing employee uniforms, TELFAR also designed a limited-edition White Castle collection, including hats, hoodies and T-shirts, that feature a mashup of White Castle's and TELFAR's logos. Proceeds from this line are donated to the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Liberty and Justice Fund, which provides bail to imprisoned minors.

"This is a special friendship between a 100-year-old food business and a 15-year-old fashion house," Richardson said. "We have genuine reverence for TELFAR's vision and originality, and more importantly, we believe working together provides us the opportunity to make the world a better place."

About White Castle

White Castle, America's first fast-food hamburger chain, has been making hot and tasty Sliders as a family-owned business for 100 years. Based in Columbus, Ohio, White Castle started serving The Original Slider in 1921. Today, White Castle owns and operates more than 360 restaurants dedicated to satisfying customers' cravings morning, noon and night and sells its famous fare in retail stores nationwide. The Original Slider, named in 2014 as Time Magazine's most influential burger of all time, is served alongside a menu of creatively crafted sliders and other mouthwatering food options, including White Castle's Impossible Slider, named by Thrillist in 2019 as the "Best Plant-Based Fast Food Burger." White Castle's commitment to maintaining the highest quality products extends to the company owning and operating its own meat processing plants, bakeries and frozen-food processing plants. White Castle is known for the legendary loyalty of its team members, more than 1 in 4 of whom have worked for White Castle for at least 10 years, and of its faithful fans, affectionately referred to as Cravers, many of whom compete each year for entry into the Cravers Hall of Fame. The official White Castle app, available at iTunes App Store or Google Play, makes it easy for Cravers to access sweet deals and place pickup orders any time. They can also have their orders delivered using one of White Castle's delivery partners. For more information on White Castle, visit whitecastle.com.

SOURCE White Castle

Related Links

http://www.whitecastle.com


Jason Langhans, 17, has died after he was viciously assaulted in the early hours of March 21 at a gathering in Melbourne's south-east

A 'fun loving' teenager has died in hospital after he was stabbed in the head by gatecrashers at a wild house party.

Jason Langhans, 17, was viciously attacked in the early hours of March 21 at the home in Tooradin in Melbourne's south-east.

He was rushed to hospital and had multiple surgeries before being placed in the ICU, but suffered a stroke following medical complications on April 6.

This week, Jason's family were forced to make the heart-breaking decision to turn off his life support.

His mother Carolyn Langhans remains in disbelief she will soon have to bury her son.

'Jason you were our whole life and not a day will go by without us thinking about you and wishing you were here, we love you so much and our lives feel so empty,' she wrote on Facebook.

'You put up a good fight but unfortunately, it was your time to go and now you're no longer in any pain.'

His sister Stacey Langhans is equally devastated.

'Fun loving' teenager Jason Langhans was stabbed in the head on March 21, with the alleged offender still at large

'Jason had everything going for him and has had it all taken away before he could even experience his life,' she told the Herald Sun.

'Our son and baby brother have been murdered and whoever did this is still running around free.'

The family wants answers and vowed not to give up until the killer was brought to justice.

Family friend Greg Angus described the attack on Jason as 'senseless' and said whoever was responsible can 'rot in hell.'

Detectives from the Victorian homicide squad have launched an investigation into Mr Langhans' death.

'Detectives are looking into reports a group of men became involved in an incident with the teen which escalated to a physical altercation,' police said.

'The Cranbourne North boy was taken to hospital at the time with life threatening injuries.'
Despite car dealers still being locked down in many Brazilian cities, last month ended with registrations of light and heavy vehicles up 15.7% on March 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic hit the country. Dealers sold 189,389 units.

All segments continue to face a parts supply shortage, notably of semiconductor chips. Production has been halted at several factories, especially in March. There was, however, a big logistics effort to complete unfinished units left in storage yards lacking some parts.

Stoppages vary widely. Stellantis Fiat and Jeep plants, for example, were affected less than at GM which lost market leadership to the Italian brand.

GM is halting production for 60 days (April through May) at its main plant in Gravatai in Rio Grande do Sul, the countrys southernmost state.

Sales were also hit due to very low inventories: 101,000 units countrywide.



Last month, that covered a mere three days of sales at the automakers storage yards and 13 days on dealers forecourts.

Halved stock has seen off many would-be buyers facing long wait lists who went instead for used cars.

First quarter 2021 registrations ended up just 5.4% down at 527,900.

Of course, since the comparative base with Q2 2020 is low, sales numbers are likely to be very positive for the next few months.

Thematic Reports Are you worried about the pace of innovation in your industry? GlobalData's TMT Themes 2021 Report tells you everything you need to know about disruptive tech themes and which companies are best placed to help you digitally transform your business. Find out more

Just to help, the Sao Paulo state, the countrys main market, unexpectedly hiked tax on new and used vehicles.

The national association of auto makers (Anfavea) tallied first quarter production at 597,800 units, 197,000 in March alone, the best month of the year so far, and up 2% year on year thanks to strong demand for trucks and light commercials.

Brazil agribusiness is growing exports so the outlook for truck buying cargo haulers is rosy.

First quarter vehicle exports rose 7.6% to 95,800 units.

The Brazilian reals devaluation against the US dollar, euro and other currencies has helped to make this countrys products more competitive so more export growth is expected this year.

Job stability was notable during the first quarter with automakers employing 104,700 people. The closing of two Ford manufacturing plants in the country last January is yet to have a major effect due to generous settlements negotiated with the unions.

Hiring by other automakers, albeit at modest pace, is expected to help make up some of the 7% market share Ford took in Brazil last year.

From now on, as an importer only, the blue oval slice is expected to be 1%-2%.
Washington, April 13 : One person was shot dead and a police officer was injured during a shooting at a high school in the US state of Tennessee, police said.

A gunfight erupted on Monday police officers responded to a report of an armed man at the Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville city, Knoxville Police Department said in a statement.

The armed man was killed as police officers approached him and fired shots, according to an NBC News report, adding a Knoxville police officer was struck at least once but suffered non-life threatening injuries, reports Xinhua news agency.

The identity of the dead is not immediately clear.

A second person was detained for further investigation, authorities said.

Earlier, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said the school had been secured and students who were not involved in the shooting were released to their families.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office said there was "no active threat" at the high school, according to CNN affiliate WVLT.
New Delhi: The auspicious occasion of Baisakhi or Vaisakhi will be celebrated this year on April 14. It usually falls on the 13 or 14 of this month as per the Nanakshahi calendar and the Mool Nanakshahi Calendar. One of the major festivals in North India, Baisakhi holds greater significance for the Sikhs.

BAISAKHI SIGNIFICANCE:

Baisakhi or Vaisakhi marks the birth of the Khalsa way of living in the Sikh religion and commemorates the formation of Khalsa Panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh Ji in 1699. On this day, temples, Gurudwaras are decorated beautifully with garlands and other items.

Bhajans, devotional satsangs are organised to spread the message of God. Just in case, you are away from your loved ones and yet want to wish them well on Baisakhi, we thought of helping you out with easy messages. Check out the top WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS which you can send to your loved ones on Baisakhi and celebrate the festival with much gusto:

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Also, Sikhs take a holy bath before visiting the Gurudwara in the morning on this day. Devotees exchange food and offer prasad to the Lord.

Here's wishing all our readers a Happy Baisakhi!
The Nagol is Back! VTOs guide to this years Nagol, plus where to stay and play in south, central and north Pentecost.
After CarParts.com reported its quarterly results last month, executives at the company, which sells replacement auto parts, did what many of their ilk do: They held a conference call with Wall Street analysts, fielding questions about inventory levels, profit margins and corporate strategy.

Roughly 30 minutes later, the same executives were on Clubhouse, hosting an entirely different kind of audience. Their 2,000 or so guests had gathered at the buzzy online meeting spot to learn about the company. Their questions were far more straightforward. How did the business work? Why was CarParts.com able to offer lower prices than brick-and-mortar rivals? Were CarParts.com shares worth buying?

David Meniane, CarParts.coms chief financial officer and chief operating officer, called the session an experiment. Were trying to disrupt the way people fix their cars, he said. Is there a way for us to disrupt how retail investors communicate with management?

As the stock holdings of American households have soared to a record level over the past year, dozens of companies are suddenly paying more attention to individual investors. Some, like CarParts.com, are trying to transform newly minted traders of Reddit-fueled viral meme stocks like GameStop into dedicated shareholders. And some of those meme stock companies, including GameStop itself, are issuing new shares.
There are a lot of ideas in the world today. It is what fuels the world. We always say how we need ideas. But we don't really value them. In our business, thousands get thrown away every day. Over the last couple of years I have noticed what I call Swiss-Army knife ideas...
[April 13, 2021] Voyager Announces Early Tender Results for its Previously Announced Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation and Extension of Early Tender Date

Voyager Aviation Holdings, LLC ("Voyager" or the "Company"), a leading global aviation investment firm and commercial aircraft leasing company, announced today that, as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time on April 12, 2021, holders of 98.49% of the outstanding principal amount of the Company's existing unsecured 8.500% Senior Notes due 2021 (the "Existing Unsecured Notes") have participated in the Company's previously announced Exchange Offer (as defined below). In addition, the Company announced that it has elected to extend the early tender date for the Exchange Offer and In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations (as defined below) from 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 12, 2021, to 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on April 26, 2021 (as so extended, the "Early Tender Date"), as further described below. The Company has received sufficient tenders to meet the minimum tender condition requiring holders of at least 95% in outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Existing Unsecured Notes to have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Time (as defined below), and has received the requisite level of majority consents required to effectuate the Proposed Amendments (as defined below). "We are extremely pleased to have the support of nearly all of our unsecured noteholders and all of our equityholders for our proposed Exchange Offer, well surpassing the minimum threshold for pursuing an out-of-court transaction and taking us one step closer to the stronger business we will be at the end of this process," said Voyager's President & Chief Executive Officer, Mike Lungariello. "This strong support is indicative of our financial stakeholders' belief in our future. We are looking forward to exciting opportunities ahead for Voyager." Exchange Offer Summary As previously announced, on March 30, 2021, the Company commenced an offer to exchange (the "Exchange Offer") any and all of the outstanding $415,337,000 of Existing Unsecured Notes, including any accrued and unpaid interest on the Existing Unsecured Notes from the most recent date on which interest was paid until the date on which the Exchange Offer is completed, for (i) 100% of the pro forma common equity of the Company (the "New Equity"), which will be subject to dilution by a post-restructuring management incentive plan, (ii) up to $150.0 million principal amount of new 8.500% Senior Secured Notes due 2026 to be co-issued by the Issuers (the "New Notes") and (iii) up to $200.0 million liquidation preference of preferred equity (the "Preferred Units" and, collectively with the New Equity and the New Notes, the "New Securities") of an intermediate wholly owned holding company subsidiary of the Company (the "Preferred Units Issuer"). In addition, in connection with the Exchange Offer, the current holders of the existing equity interests of the Company will receive their pro rata share of an additional $15.0 million principal amount of New Notes in exchange for all of their existing equity interests. Eligible holders of Existing Unsecured Notes that tender Existing Unsecured Notes in the Exchange Offer will not receive accrued and unpaid interest on any Existing Unsecured Notes accepted for exchange under the Exchange Offer. Concurrently with the Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation (as defined below), on March 30, 2021 the Company also commenced the process of (i) collecting instructions to vote to accept a Scheme of Arrangement (the "Scheme") in Ireland pursuant to Part 9 of the Companies Act 2014 of the Republic of Ireland (as amended), in the event the Exchange Offer is not successful and (ii) soliciting votes on an in-court prepackaged chapter 11 plan of reorganization (the "Plan"), to be able to implement a chapter 11 plan of reorganization in the event the Exchange Offer is not successful (collectively, the "In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations"). In addition, concurrently with the Exchange Offer and the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations, the Company commenced a consent solicitation (the "Consent Solicitation") whereby the Company is soliciting consents from eligible holders to certain proposed amendments to the indenture governing the Existing Unsecured Notes (the "Existing Unsecured Notes Indenture") to, among other things, eliminate substantially all of the restrictive covenants and certain events of default and related provisions contained in the Existing Unsecured Notes Indenture (collectively, the "Proposed Amendments"). As previously announced, pursuant to an amended and restated Restructuring Support Agreement entered into on March 30, 2021 (the "Restructuring Support Agreement"), holders of approximately 84.85% of the principal amount of the outstanding Existing Unsecured Notes had agreed to tender their Existing Unsecured Notes in the Exchange Offer, consent to the Proposed Amendments and vote to accept the Scheme and the Plan. Extension of Early Tender Date The Company has extended the previously announced Early Tender Date from 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 12, 2021 to 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on April 26, 2021. Accordingly, the Early Tender Date will expire at the same time as the expiration of the Exchange Offer at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on April 26, 2021, unless extended by the Company (the "Expiration Time"). The deadline to validly withdraw tenders of Existing Unsecured Notes, and to revoke the related consents in the Consent Solicitation, was not extended by the Company and expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 12, 2021 (the "Withdrawal Deadline"). Accordingly, given that the Withdrawal Deadline has now passed, any tenders of Existing Unsecured Notes and consents provided in the Consent Solicitation may no longer be withdrawn or revoked, as applicable, unless the Exchange Offer is terminated without any Existing Unsecured Notes being accepted, or as required by applicable law.



As previously announced, the settlement date for the Exchange Offer is expected to occur on or prior to the fifth business day following the Expiration Time. The consummation of the Exchange Offer and the Consent Solicitation remains conditioned upon the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in the Confidential Out-of-Court Exchange Offering Memorandum and Solicitation of Consents and Disclosure Statement and Solicitation of Votes Related to an In-Court Irish Scheme of Arrangement or Votes Related to an In-Court Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan of Reorganization dated as of March 30, 2021 (as amended and supplemented by Supplement No. 1, dated April 8, 2021 and this press release, and as may be further amended, supplemented, modified or updated from time to time, the "Offering Memorandum and Disclosure Statement").

Except as described in this press release, all other terms of the Exchange Offer, the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations and the Consent Solicitations remain unchanged from the terms described in the Offering Memorandum and Disclosure Statement. Satisfaction of Minimum Tender Condition According to information provided to the Company by Epiq Corporate Restructuring, LLC, the information and exchange agent for the Exchange Offer, as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 12, 2021, holders of $409,077,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Existing Unsecured Notes, representing 98.49% of the outstanding aggregate principal amount of the Existing Unsecured Notes, had validly tendered and not validly withdrawn their Existing Unsecured Notes in the Exchange Offer, and had consented to the Proposed Amendments. Accordingly, the Company has received sufficient tenders to meet the minimum tender condition requiring at least 95% in aggregate principal amount of the Existing Unsecured Notes to have been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Expiration Time, and has received the requisite level of majority consents required to effectuate the Proposed Amendments. Other Details The Company is making the Exchange Offer, the Consent Solicitation and the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations only to eligible holders through, and pursuant to, the terms of the Offering Memorandum and Disclosure Statement. None of the Company, the Consenting Stakeholders, the dealer manager for the Exchange Offer, the Information and Exchange Agent (as defined below) for the Exchange Offer, the Voting Agent (as defined below) for the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations, the trustee under the Existing Unsecured Notes Indenture or the trustee and collateral agent under the indenture that will govern the New Notes, or their respective affiliates, takes any position or makes any recommendation as to whether or not eligible holders should participate in the Exchange Offer, the Consent Solicitation and the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations. Epiq Corporate Restructuring, LLC is the information and exchange agent for the Exchange Offer (the "Information and Exchange Agent") and the voting agent for the In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations (the "Voting Agent"). Voyager is advised in this process by Milbank LLP, A&L Goodbody and FTI Consulting. Consenting noteholders under the Restructuring Support Agreement who beneficially owned approximately 60% of the Existing Unsecured Notes as of the date of the Restructuring Support Agreement are advised by Clifford Chance US LLP, and additional Consenting Noteholders under the Restructuring Support Agreement who beneficially owned approximately 25% of the Existing Unsecured Notes as of the date of the Restructuring Support Agreement are advised by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (UK) LLP. About Voyager: Voyager Aviation Holdings, LLC is a privately held aviation investment firm and leading commercial aircraft leasing company based in Ireland. Its assets of approximately $2 billion consist of primarily young and modern aircraft. Voyager has a diverse, global customer base consisting of prominent passenger and cargo airlines that include Air France, AirBridgeCargo, Cebu Pacific, Sichuan Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Alitalia. As of December 31, 2020, the Company's fleet had a weighted average remaining lease term of 6.0 years and there were no scheduled lease maturities until 2022. These existing airline partnerships and lease terms, modern fleet, and the execution of this transaction represent a strong financial base for Voyager as it looks towards future growth opportunities. Disclaimer: This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or sale of securities in any jurisdiction. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of any securities, in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration, qualification or compliance with an applicable exemption under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Any securities proposed to be offered in the Exchange Offer or any In-Court Restructuring have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The New Securities, which have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, are being offered and issued only (a) in the United States, to holders of Existing Unsecured Notes who are or are reasonably believed to be "qualified institutional buyers" (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act) or institutional "accredited investors" within the meaning of Rule 501(a)(1), (2), (3), (7), (8), (9), (12) or (13) of Regulation D under the Securities Act and (b) outside the United States, to holders of Existing Unsecured Notes who are not "U.S. persons" (as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act), in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or Regulation S of the Securities Act, as applicable. Only holders of Existing Unsecured Notes who are or are reasonably believed to be (i) qualified institutional buyers, (ii) accredited investors or (iii) non-U.S. persons, in accordance with the foregoing regulations,, whom we refer to as "eligible holders" in this press release, are authorized to participate in the Exchange Offer. The Exchange Offer, Consent Solicitation, In-Court Restructuring Vote Solicitations and In-Court Restructuring may not be consummated on the terms described in this press release or at all. Forward-Looking Statements: Please note that any statements made in this press release that relate to expectations, plans or objectives regarding future actions by the Company or any other parties are forward-looking statements and involve uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to be materially different. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements. The Company makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or updated status of any such forward looking statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever shall the Company, its subsidiaries or its affiliates be liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements herein or for any related damages. These forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements related to the commencement of the Exchange Offer, any actions to be taken by any of the Consenting Stakeholders with respect to the Exchange Offer or any In-Court Restructuring, the implementation or completion of the Exchange Offer or any In-Court Restructuring, or expected impact (or lack thereof) of the Restructuring on the Company's operations as described in this press release. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable securities laws. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any potential defaults, events of default, conditions that may give rise to the foregoing or other breaches under the agreements governing the Company's or its subsidiaries' indebtedness as described in this release may or may not occur, and the Company expressly retains all of its rights and privileges under such agreements, and nothing herein will be deemed to be a notice or admission (implicit or explicit) that a default, event of default, any condition that may give rise to the foregoing or other breach of such agreements shall have occurred or be continuing as of the date hereof or may occur at any time in the future. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005653/en/

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Editor's note: China's State Council Information Office issued a white paper titled "Poverty Alleviation: China's Experience and Contribution" on April 6. China.org.cn had a written interview with Mr. Martin Raiser, World Bank's Country Director for China and Mongolia, and Director for Korea, and he shares his opinions on China's poverty alleviation efforts, experiences and lessons, five-year transition period for the counties just emerged from poverty, and China's rural revitalization.

China.org.cn: China eliminated extreme poverty on schedule despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. What do you think of the country's poverty alleviation efforts? What are the most important experiences and lessons that it can share with the rest of the world to assist their poverty reduction and sustainable development?

Raiser: China's poverty reduction experience spans more than four decades. At the heart of it is a story of rapid economic growth and structural transformation, from a predominantly rural low-income country to an industrialized and urbanized upper middle-income country. This transformation has allowed hundreds of millions of Chinese to find better jobs and lift themselves out of poverty. China's rapid economic growth has benefited from some favorable initial conditions, including a relatively well-educated population, a high domestic savings rate, and the role played by the Chinese diaspora. China's reform and opening-up policies were able to transform these advantages into a sustained period of rapid growth. The policy lessons emerging from this experience are consistent with those from other high growth episodes in East Asia and elsewhere and essentially include sound macroeconomic management, outward orientation, public investments in infrastructure and human capital, and structural policies broadly consistent with comparative advantage and supportive of competition. A good summary can be found in the report of the Growth Commission which includes a case study on China's growth over the first three decades of reform and opening-up.

Once China reached upper middle-income levels and the extreme poverty rate fell below 10 percent, the broad and place-based development policies were no longer sufficient to lift all boats. China thus had to adopt more targeted poverty reduction policies to support those households left behind in the first phase of economic growth, which required an approach specific to individual circumstances. Here one lesson emerging from China's experience is the importance of basing targeted support on robust evidence. China did a comprehensive survey of its poor households at the start of the targeted poverty reduction campaign in 2015 and this certainly facilitated setting realistic targets, directing resources where they would have the biggest impact, and carrying out continuous monitoring and evaluation. The second lesson to highlight is that China's poverty reduction efforts included multiple stakeholders. Indeed, the resources mobilized from enterprises and financial institutions far exceeded the resources provided for by central and local government budgets. An important achievement has been the coordination of these various stakeholders and this has benefited from China's strong mobilization and administrative capacity. Indeed, the administrative effort invested in this task, including thousands of officials stationed in the field is an important feature and likely contributed to its success. We are currently working with the Center for International Knowledge on Development under the State Council to draw some of these lessons and will soon provide a more detailed assessment.

However, while China's authorities have used data to identify poor households and target poverty reduction efforts, this underlying data is not widely available to the research community. As a result, robust quantitative evaluations of various government policies in terms of their efficiency are missing. This makes it more difficult to transfer and adapt China's experience to other countries. China would make it easier for policy makers elsewhere to learn from its experience if it opened the data and evidence collected to a wider public.

China.org.cn: China has set a five-year transition period for the counties just emerged from poverty and these counties will continue to enjoy the main support policies. What do you think of this interim period?

Raiser: Poverty in modern economies is often a transitory phenomenon. In other words, it is to be expected that households move in and out of poverty as a function of losing employment, rapid structural changes in the economy, natural disasters or personal health or other calamities. Therefore, it is appropriate to continue to monitor households that have recently escaped extreme poverty and be ready to provide additional support as needed. However, the general argument about the transitory nature of poverty in modern economies applies not just to the 95 million people that were identified in the 2015 survey of poor households. Indeed, during the COVID-19 pandemic a large number of people faced economic shocks and were forced to draw down savings to make ends meet. The targeted poverty reduction policies do not cover all of these potentially vulnerable households. The transition period envisaged under the 14th Five Year Plan could be an opportunity to expand the scope of government assistance and integrate the targeted poverty reduction policies with the regular system of social protection (both social assistance transfers and social insurance mechanisms, e.g. unemployment insurance) covering vulnerable households in both rural and urban areas. We would encourage the authorities to use the next five years as a period to plan and begin to implement the transition to a unified social protection system. This will not only be important to permanent address issues of vulnerability but also to facilitate the adjustment of the economy to a new, service and innovation-based growth model.

China.org.cn: Relative poverty still exists in China. It is very important to engage in rural revitalization and balance urban and rural development. What are the opportunities and challenges that China is facing in this regard? How to redirect resources to rural revitalization? Does the WB have any cooperation programs with China and future plans to address relative poverty?

Raiser: The gap between average incomes in rural and urban areas is still very large in China. Note that this gap can be narrowed both by investing resources in rural areas to raise incomes there, and by allowing people from rural areas to move to cities, thereby raising the incomes of those that move and the incomes of those that stay behind, because with fewer people there is a need to and less resistance against measures to increase the productivity of activities in rural areas. This general point is important, because China still has unfilled potential to increase urbanization rates and the country's aggregate productivity could benefit significantly from allowing people to move to where the high value-added occupations are. This does not mean, however, that specific policies to improve economic and social conditions in rural areas are not important. First and foremost among these are investments in public services, particularly in ensuring the quality gap in health and education services is reduced. This will help children in rural areas, whose families are not able to move to cities, enjoy similar opportunities to their urban peers. And it will help the elderly in rural areas reduce the risks of suffering health shocks that could push them or their families back into poverty. Second, other services, such as access to water, sanitation, and housing are also important and here a lot of progress has been made already. A third priority is to look at ways to boost the productivity and environmental sustainability of agriculture and associated agri-food industries. China still has a largely fragmented structure of agricultural production and the existing strategies to boost yields through the application of greater quantities of fertilizer and pesticides are running into diminishing returns. Additional gains would come from the consolidation of land, the introduction of more capital-intensive production technologies, and the shift towards greater quality control along the complete agri-food value chain.

The potential productivity gains from such a transition could go hand in hand with more environmentally sustainable practices. The growing demand for safe and high-quality food from China's own consumers makes this commercially attractive. China's rural revitalization policies are thus intrinsically linked with China's environmental and climate objectives. This is the focus also of the World Bank's support to rural revitalization. We see it as an opportunity to combine more equal access to quality services, agricultural productivity improvements and greater environmental sustainability in one set of policies. We have some ongoing operations already, which have contributed to important reforms, for instance the integration of various government poverty reduction support programs in Guangxi under one budget line at the local level, providing greater flexibility to target assistance where it is most needed, which was later rolled-out nation-wide. Likewise, we are working with Hunan to introduce performance-based transfers into aspects of their rural revitalization program, as a means to increase the efficiency and accountability of government spending in this area. We plan to build on these reforms in our future support, whilst at the same time focusing on greening China's rural revitalization efforts.

One cautionary remark we would make is that there is growing evidence of excess investment in rural infrastructure and question marks over the sustainability of some of the industries attracted by generous subsidies. While the flow of resources has helped reduce rural-urban inequalities in the past decade, the return to investment in rural areas and in China's western provinces has declined rapidly. China's ample domestic savings and relatively strong fiscal position means it could afford these transfers in the past. Going forward, policy makers should consider carefully whether the money would not be better invested in improving social security, health care or education provision in rural areas.
Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stepped down on February 18 following the detention of the opposition United National Movements (UNM) Chairman Nikanor (Nika) Melia. The previous day, Tbilisi City Court ruled to place Melia in pretrial detention on charges of leading the storming of the parliament during the June 2019 protests. Gakharia resigned amid a protracted political conflict between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition following the October 2020 parliamentary elections. The opposition, including UNM, refused to acknowledge the official results and enter the new convocation of the parliament. De-escalation seems unlikely after Irakli Gharibashvili, until then Minister of Defence and known for his uncompromising stance towards the opposition, was appointed to replace Gakharia as Prime Minister.

BACKGROUND: A fresh crisis hit Georgias political life in February, sparked by Tbilisi City Courts verdict on Melia, exacerbating the already tense relations between the ruling party and the opposition following the October 2020 parliamentary elections, which opposition parties claim were fraudulent. The ruling GD won the elections for the third time in a row, however, the opposition rejected the official results due to a large number of irregularities during the vote. While domestic and international electoral watchdogs did register a large number of violations, international observers nevertheless asserted that despite these shortcomings, the violations did not undermine the legitimacy and results of the elections. These assessments did not convince the opposition. Hopes were high that a new electoral framework and widespread dissatisfaction with GDs rule would oust the ruling party from power or, at least, pave the way for a coalition government.

Opposition parties rejected the results of the first election round and decided to boycott the run-offs taking place in November, which the ruling party won decisively. Amid calls to repeat the vote, all eight opposition parties that won seats in the new parliament (with a few exceptions) pledged to refuse their mandates. However, GD nevertheless decided to recognize the new legislature unilaterally.

The U.S. and the EU have sought to persuade the ruling party and opposition to compromise for months but nothing has so far come out of these negotiations. The opposition demanded not only snap elections but also the release of Giorgi Rurua. Rurua, the founder and co-owner of the pro-opposition television channel Mtavari Arkhi was sentenced last year to four years in prison in a case that many opposition representatives have denounced as politically motivated. So far, the ruling party has rejected these demands.

Melias controversial detention has enflamed the conflict between Georgias political factions and given the UNM a much-needed boost. The party received the opportunity to raise its popularity by accentuating its victimhood to a government crackdown, and to draw the attention of Georgias Western partners. Especially given the legal flaws of Melias case, his detention has aggravated the political turmoil at a very inopportune moment when Georgia is going through a serious health and economic crisis. GD has shown little interest in compromise, despite the fact that the current political impasse complicates Georgias recovery from the pandemic and harms its international reputation. The road to consensus in the current political climate will be a rocky path since both GD and UNM have gradually become dominated by hardliners and party loyalists, sidelining politicians willing to look beyond party politics.

IMPLICATIONS: Melias pretrial custody was ordered after he refused to pay the full bail amount, which was increased after he publicly removed an electronic monitoring bracelet during a post-election protest in 2020. The legislature, which is dominated by the ruling party, had previously stripped Melia of his parliamentary immunity, allowing for his arrest.

Melia and a number of other opposition politicians have been charged with incitement of violence during the street protests in 2019, charges that he rejects as politically motivated. In June 2019, protests erupted following a Russian lawmakers visit to Georgias parliament, and turned into clashes with the police when demonstrators attempted to storm the parliament building.

The enforcement of the court ruling sparked fierce disagreements among GD top politicians, unexpectedly leading to Prime Minister Gakharias resignation. In a media statement, Gakharia attributed his resignation to the lack of consensus with his party colleagues over the detention of UNMs chairman, which according to him would cause political and social risks. Gakharia himself was accused of ordering a violent crackdown during the June 2019 protests when he served as Interior Minister. For this reason, the opposition as well as many ordinary Georgians fiercely protested his subsequent appointment as Prime Minister. Yet, Gakharias approval ratings significantly improved during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, likely due to the governments successful early response, which curbed the negative health and economic effects of the first wave.

The former PM had a particularly strong disagreement with Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri over the use of the ministrys Special Forces during the planned detention. Gomelauri is one of GD founder Bidzina Ivanishvilis close associates, which according to analysts confirms that a conflict between Ivanishvili and Gakharia has been unfolding in the past few months.

Gakharia was swiftly replaced by former Prime Minister and most recently Defence Minister Gharibashvili, another close confidant of Ivanishvili. Gharibashvili is known for his combative approach to the opposition and his appointment is a clear signal that the ruling party moves towards confrontation rather than de-escalation.

Unsurprisingly, one of Gharibashvilis first decisions was to authorize a special operation to arrest Melia, which he praised as execution of the law. Melia was detained during a particularly dramatic police raid on the UNMs headquarters in Tbilisi, where riot police entered the partys offices through an upper window and used force against opposition activists who were gathered in the building. In a reaction to the raid, opposition activists and many ordinary Georgians, counting in the thousands, took to the streets of Tbilisi on February 26 to protest Melias arrest and call for snap elections in a demonstration organized by six opposition parties. Georgias Western partners also condemned the crackdown on the opposition, criticizing the governments use of force and harsh, polarizing rhetoric towards its political opponents.

Georgias crisis has drawn a response from the EU, which has sought to facilitate dialogue between the rival political factions. European Council President Charles Michel spearheaded the negotiations, which were relaunched in the beginning of March. Yet neither the ruling party, nor the opposition have shown any openness to revising their maximalist positions. The opposition, and particularly UNM, still demands the release of all political prisoners, including Melia, and to hold early elections, which GD deems unacceptable. Predictably, this round of Western-sponsored mediation efforts to end the political crisis in Georgia failed on March 19, as did the previous attempts. Details of the latest negotiations have not been publicized but the mediation likely failed because GD did not agree to hold snap elections and release all political prisoners including Melia, which were the oppositions main demands. As a result, the opposition warned of switching into emergency mode and holding a large-scale protest on May 15.

CONCLUSIONS: The conflict between rival political factions threatens to harm Georgias vital interests and destroy its international reputation. However, at this point, after months of failed negotiations it is clear that neither the ruling party, nor the opposition is willing to search for possible compromises. Moreover, hardliners dominate both GD and UNM, which does not bode well for the outcome. Adding fuel to the flames, on March 6 GD-critical independent television channel Pirveli released recordings of alleged conversations between Bidzina Ivanishvilis son Bera Ivanishvili, current Prime Minister Gharibashvili, and the head of the special state security service Anzor Chubinidze. In the taped conversations recorded a few years ago at an unspecified time, Bera Ivanishvili apparently demands from Gharibashvili and Chubinidze, both close confidants of his father, to retaliate against a young man for social media posts critical of Ivanishvili's son. The unauthorized recordings has caused a scandal in Georgia since it appears to confirm widespread allegations against the GD governments rule as based on state capture and undue influence of informal networks.

AUTHOR'S BIO:

Natalia Konarzewska ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) is a graduate of University of Warsaw and a freelance expert and analyst with a focus on political and economic developments in the post-Soviet space.

Image Source: Public Domain
Chairman of the PACE Migration Committee Pierre-Alain Fridez is deeply concerned about the fate of missing persons captured as a result of the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

I am deeply concerned about the fate of the alleged captives and missing persons from the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Pierre Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC), Chair of the PACE Migration Committee said after an exchange of views on this issue in the Committee.

This is all the more worrying in the context of the 16 March 2021 press release of the European Court of Human Rights, indicating that the Azerbaijani Government had failed to respect the time-limits set by the Court for the submission of information on the individuals concerned and the rather general and limited information provided by them. The Court identified 188 Armenians allegedly captured by Azerbaijan. Notwithstanding that this number may have gone down since that date, there remain a very large number of persons of concern.

It is incumbent upon Azerbaijan to fully co-operate with the Court, providing information on the whereabouts and fate of the remaining persons of concern on this list, and ensure that they are returned without delay in accordance with article 8 of the trilateral statement of 9-10 November 2020, he said.

I am also concerned about the overall issue of missing persons believed to have fallen in the recent conflict, as well as  in general  the fate of missing persons from the open conflict which took place between 1991 and 1994. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan must co-operate without precondition, in good faith and with the aid of the ICRC, to find a solution to the issue of missing persons, and to organize the swift release of all current captives, Mr Fridez said.

The rising death toll from mines planted in the conflict region, where presumably Armenia holds most of the information and mine maps, is equally a matter of great concern. Information, where available, needs to be urgently disclosed, and I count on Armenia and Azerbaijan to co-operate in good faith and address this pressing issue to avoid ongoing death and injury.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Are you fully vaccinated against COVID-19? Do you love doughnuts? If you answered yes to both questions, listen up. Krispy Kreme is finding ways to be sweet as the U.S. continues to scale COVID-19 vaccinations.

In a promotion that began on March 22, 2021, youll get a free Original Glazed doughnut when you show a valid COVID-19 vaccination card at participating Krispy Kreme shops.

The offer is valid every day through 12/31/21 and can redeemed once per day per person. See the details on their website. The offer is limited to pastry per day with no purchase required.

Krispy Kreme said in a statement that it supports vaccinations against COVID-19 to get the pandemic behind us as fast as possible.

We want to support everyone doing their part to make the country safe by getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available to them, said Dave Skena, Krispy Kreme Chief Marketing Officer.
Gao Fu, director-general of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has made it clear that boosting vaccine protection is a question of global concern, not only for China.

During a forum held on Saturday, Gao proposed upgrading immunization procedures or mixing doses using different technologies as ways to further improve vaccine effectiveness.

However, some media reports have misinterpreted his statement as claiming that Chinese vaccines do not have high efficacy rates, the scientist said.

"They (media reports) are misleading and have taken my words out of context," Gao said during an interview with online media outlet Guancha.cn on Sunday.

"The World Health Organization requires all COVID-19 vaccines to have an efficacy rate of 50 percent or higher, and to be effective in preventing severe infections and deaths. All approved vaccines meet these standards," he said.

Worldwide, nearly 270 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in different stages of development, and 21 of them have completed or are undergoing the third and late stage of human trials, Gao said at the forum.

"Testing data on vaccines being researched around the world are varying, with some higher and some lower. Further improving vaccines' protection rates is worth considering for global scientists and from a global perspective," he was quoted by Guancha.cn as saying.

The quest includes China, but is not limited to China, he added.

Gao said new approaches mentioned in his speech, such as combining different vaccines, changing the number of doses and the length of time between each dose, points to possible pathways for research in the future.

"It is the first time for humans to get COVID-19 vaccines, and current immunization procedures are deduced from past experiences with other vaccines in use," Gao said.

Further improvements

"Though outcomes are very satisfying so far, we will be able to make further improvements based on specific features of the novel coronavirus and the mass immunization situation," he said at the forum, adding that the international community will need to address a number of scientific questions on COVID-19 vaccines in the future.

Many global health experts have cautioned against fixating on comparing the effectiveness rates of different vaccines and overlooking their role in reducing deaths and hospitalizations.

David Kennedy, an infectious disease expert at Pennsylvania State University in the United States, said during an earlier interview with top scientific journal Nature that because of different definitions of key criteria, such as what amounts to a severe episode of COVID-19 illness, and various localities for clinical trials, it is not possible to rank vaccines solely based on trial results.

Zheng Zhongwei, a National Health Commission official who heads China's COVID-19 vaccine development task force, said on Saturday that clinical trials show that all domestic vaccines can prevent severe cases and deaths at nearly 100 percent.

"This means a lot for each individual. To put it simply, the worst result for a person who is infected after inoculation is something like a common cold," he said. "More attention should be paid to the much lower rates of deaths and serious infections through vaccination."

China has issued conditional approval to four domestically made vaccines and granted emergency use approval to one domestic candidate. Three different technologies have been deployed in these products.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg discussed the Russian military buildup near Ukraine and other issues on Monday before the top U.S. diplomat's trip to Brussels this week.

Blinken and Stoltenberg discussed "the immediate need for Russia to cease its aggressive military buildup along Ukraines borders and in occupied Crimea" as well as prospects for advancing peace in Afghanistan, the State Department said in a statement.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu)
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Green Thumb Industries, Inc. ("Green Thumb" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: GTBIF). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Green Thumb 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]

After the markets closed on March 29, 2021, the Chicago Tribune reported that Green Thumb is under federal investigation for possible "pay-to-play violations" during its push to gain coveted growing and distribution licenses in Illinois and several other states. According to the Chicago Tribune article, federal officials are examining campaign donations and other steps that Green Thumb took as it sought to acquire these licenses.

On this news, Green Thumb's stock price fell $3.40 per share or 11.83%, to close at $25.35 per share on March 30, 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

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The son of the partner of hotel tycoon Sir Richard Sutton is facing a three-week trial after being charged over his murder.

Thomas Schreiber, 34, appeared at Winchester Crown Court today, over the death of 84-year-old Sir Richard at his 2million country mansion.

Sir Richard - who was one of Britain's richest men - suffered fatal stab wounds during the incident on April 7.

Schreiber is also charged with the attempted murder of his mother, Anne Schreiber, 65, during the incident at Moorhill in the hamlet of Higher Langham, near Gillingham, Dorset.

Today Schreiber appeared in the dock wearing a grey jumper, a thick bandage around his right hand and spoke only to confirm his identity.

During the brief ten minute hearing a provisional two to three week trial was set for October 25, though Schreiber has not yet entered a plea and will do so on July 5.

Thomas Schreiber, 34, right, who has been charged with the murder of Sir Richard Sutton

Thomas Schreiber, 34, is facing a three-week trial over the murder of Sir Richard Sutton

Sir Richard Sutton, who owned a string of top hotels in London, and died last Wednesday

The court was also told Schreiber, who has short fair hair, is clean shaven and is from the Gillingham area in Dorset, is paying privately for his legal costs.

Prosecutor Adam Feest QC said: 'There's quite a lot of forensic investigation at the scene. The scene has been looked at and now the scientists need to go through it - there's a lot to be looked at.'

Abdullah Al-Yunusi, defending, did not ask for bail but asked for policy body-worn camera footage - filmed during investigations at the house - to be sent to him.

Recorder of Winchester, Her Honour Judge Angela Morris, adjourned the case until July 5.

Judge Morris said: 'This matter will go on to July 5, the defendant will remain in custody.'

She added: 'Mr Schreiber, there have been some dates set. The first of these that is important is July 5. What will happen is that the indictment - the charges - will be put to youand you will plead either guilty or not guilty.

Sir Richard's second wife Anne Schreiber, who is still fighting for her life in hospital

Sir Richard suffered fatal stab wounds at a property in Higher Langham on Wednesday evening

Police were called to the sprawling property after receiving a call over concerns of safety

'There is now a trial date set, that is October 25.'

Police were called to Sir Richard's 2m home at about 7.30pm on April 7.

He had suffered stab wounds to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.15pm.

An initial post-mortem examination that was conducted on Friday indicated that the cause of death was stab wounds to his chest.

Mrs Schreiber was airlifted to Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where she remains in a critical condition.

The defendant faces a third count of dangerous driving on the A303 and M3 in relation to the night of the alleged attack.

Schreiber was arrested by police about three hours after the call to the police in Hammersmith, west London.

Sir Richard, who has been described as an 'old English gentry landowner', was at 435 on the Sunday Times Rich List.

He owned a huge portfolio of hotels, property and farms across the country.

He had two children, David, 61, and Caroline, 55, by his first wife Fiamma, and five grandchildren.

Ms Shreiber, a Danish-born physiotherapist who has a practice in Milborne Port, Dorset, has three grown-up children.
[April 13, 2021] CREST Certification For Cyber Security Specialist, Stripe OLT

BRISTOL, England, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Stripe OLT, a cloud and cyber security specialist headquartered in Bristol, has joined an elite group of cyber security providers certified by CREST, the not for profit, cyber security accreditation and certification body. Recognised for their proficiency in the practice and delivery of Penetration-Testing, Stripe OLT have recently emerged as one of the up-and-coming cloud and cyber security providers in the UK. With a recent rise in cyber security attacks, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations are looking to specialists like Stripe OLT, to carry out robust security testing. Also known as Pen-testing, this is a simulation technique used by 'ethical hackers' to test the fragility of business systems and security defences. Gaining notoriety as a key tool to analyse and improve business technology, this service has recently dominated the business landscape due to an increase in remote working and compliance requirements.



Ryan Pullen, Head of Cyber Security at Stripe OLT, said: "A data breach can occur to any one at any time, it doesn't matter if you're an SME or global corporation, just look at the recent Facebook breach  no one is exempt. We frequently come across complex networks and infrastructures that have been built without security in mind, but it's now 2021 and organisations need to employ a security-first mindset - A penetration test is a great first step in understanding technical controls and how effective they are. We're extremely proud of this latest achievement and it only solidifies the skills and knowledge of our SecOps team. For us, it was essential to gain this accreditation to prove our commitment to this industry."

Ian Glover, President of CREST said: "By achieving CREST accreditation, Stripe OLT positions itself as a trusted provider of penetration testing services and demonstrates that its business processes, data security and testing methodologies meet the highest standards. With the continuing rise of sophisticated cyber-attacks from criminal and state-sponsored hacking groups, Stripe OLT is well-placed to take advantage of the growing demand for professional penetration testing services." Notes to the editor About: Stripe OLT are a Microsoft Gold partner who offer secure cloud-first technology to organisations throughout the UK. Specialising in Cloud Solutions, Cyber Security and Managed IT, Stripe OLT offer a complete business technology solution.

Stripe OLT are a Microsoft Gold partner who offer secure cloud-first technology to organisations throughout the UK. Specialising in Cloud Solutions, Cyber Security and Managed IT, Stripe OLT offer a complete business technology solution. Information on Pen-Testing services: https://stripeolt.com/services/cyber-security/penetration-testing/

Website: www.stripeolt.com

www.stripeolt.com Contact: hello@stripeolt.com

hello@stripeolt.com Technology clients include: Bristol Airport, Bristol Zoo, Hargreaves Lansdown, Knotel and Hansel Henson. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485950/Stripe_OLT_Logo.jpg

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (R) and his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer talk to each other at the Bendlerblock German Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany, on April 13, 2021. (Kay Nietfeld/Pool via Reuters)

Biden Administration to Expand Military Presence in Germany in Reversal of Trump Policy

The Biden administration will station hundreds of additional troops in Germany as early as this fall, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during his visit to Europe.

I briefed the minister on our intention to permanently stage an approximately 500 additional U.S. personnel in the Wiesbaden area, Austin said Tuesday at a press briefing in Berlin.

These forces will strengthen deterrence and defense in Europe, he added. They will augment our existing abilities to prevent conflict, and, if necessary, fight and win.

The move by the administration of President Joe Biden is reversing the policy of former President Donald Trump who sought, during his term as commander in chief, to have 12,000 troops removed from the country, saying Germany has been delinquent in its payments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

So were protecting Germany and theyre delinquent. That doesnt make sense. So I said, were going to bring down the count to 25,000 soldiers, Trump said when he announced the plans in June 2019, adding that Germany treats the United States very badly on trade.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General of NATO speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the NATO Leaders meeting at the NATO HQ in Watford, England, on Dec. 3, 2019. (NATO handout via Getty Images)

The United States currently has more than 62,000 troops in Europeof those, 34,000 troops are stationed in Germany.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germanys Federal Minister of Defence, applauded Austins announcement as wonderful news and a very strong sign of solidarity.

Our cooperation is all the more important, important in times where the security and defense architecture has come under pressure in many parts of the world, she said during Tuesdays briefing.

Austin was asked by reporters during Tuesdays briefing whether the decision to add hundreds of troops means the Biden administration will not carry out Trumps policy to drawback thousands of troops in Germany, to which Austin replied the Pentagon has ceased planning troop reductions.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is pictured at a news conference at the Bendlerblock German Ministry of Defense in Berlin, Germany, on April 13, 2021. (Kay Nietfeld/Pool via Reuters)

Austin was also asked if the deployment of additional U.S. troops should be interpreted as a message to Russia amid renewed tensions, but the defense secretary avoided the question, saying its a message to NATO, and that message is that we support NATO to the fullest extent.

We value the relationship with our partner here in Germany, Austin said. And so we will continue to strengthen our partnership and our alliance.

The decision by the Biden administration to expand military presence in the western European country comes amid recent concerns over an increase in Russian troops on Ukraines eastern border over the past weeks.

Also during Tuesdays briefing, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to withdraw troops that the alliance says Moscow is massing on Ukraines borders, ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defense ministers.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
NMB becomes the first city in Miami-Dade County to observe Juneteenth as a municipal paid holiday for its employees.

"This recognition represents where we are and where we are going as a diverse and vibrant community," said Commissioner Joseph. "I am looking forward to celebrating Juneteenth in North Miami Beach as an official city holiday."

Several local civil rights leaders attended the commission meeting, including Stephen Hunter Johnson, Chair of the Miami-Dade County Black Affairs Advisory Board.

"I applaud the City's leadership for the example they have set by recognizing this important day in our collective American journey. North Miami Beach has set a standard that I hope other local governments follow," expressed Mr. Johnson.

Juneteenth is an annual holiday observing the end of slavery in the U.S. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when news of emancipation reached people in the deepest parts of the former Confederacy in Galveston, Texas.

About the City of North Miami Beach

The City of North Miami Beach and its employees are dedicated to providing its citizens a full range of quality and efficient services and will work to create a better environment in which to live, work, and play. To learn more about the City of North Miami Beach, please visit: www.citynmb.com | Twitter | Facebook

SOURCE City of North Miami Beach
This generous support from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger will help us serve far more people in need, particularly in Montgomery County, said Mark Bucher, co-owner of Medium Rare Restaurant Group and founder of Feed the Fridge/We Care, Inc.

Feed the Fridge will be able to help more hungry people in Marylands Montgomery County thanks to a $10,000 grant from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger.

The grant to We Care, Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization behind Feed the Fridge, shows that the initiative to end food insecurity for residents in Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County continues to gain traction with funders who recognize not only the scope of the need but also the effectiveness of Feed the Fridges triple-impact service model.

This generous support from Business Leaders Fighting Hunger will help us serve far more people in need, particularly in Montgomery County, said Mark Bucher, co-owner of Medium Rare Restaurant Group and founder of Feed the Fridge/We Care, Inc. Feed the Fridge is proof of concept that restaurants can play a vital role in reducing food insecurity, while also keeping their employees working and their doors open for business during the pandemic. Its a win-win-win.

Since its launch in August 2020, Feed the Fridge has stocked 20 community refrigerators around the D-M-V with free meals for food-insecure residents. Business Leaders Fighting Hungers grant allows the effort to expand its service locations. The grant is especially timely because the COVID-19 pandemic continues to make food insecurity a major problem.

The contribution is also aligned with the guiding principles that underpin the mission and work of Business Leaders Fighting Hunger: a coalition whose goal is to make strategic investments to improve food security in Montgomery County.

Our support for Feed the Fridge is part of a larger effort to partner with other businesses and nonprofits in this region working to end hunger and food insecurity, said Andy Burness, co-founder of the Business Leaders Fighting Hunger coalition. Food is a basic human need, and we believe that all kinds of businesses in our community have a stake in ensuring that everyone has access to healthy food as a given each and every day.

Feed the Fridge places refrigerators at recreation centers and schools in D.C. and Montgomery County and then pays local area restaurants to stock them daily with delicious and nutritious meals. Anyone can come up and help themselves to meals, no questions asked.

When COVID-19 hit, Medium Rare Restaurant Groups co-owner, Mark Bucher, realized philanthropy could provide an innovative solution both for people in need and for restaurants struggling to survive the pandemic shutdown.

Medium Rare started providing free meals to those who were isolated due to the pandemic even before Bucher came up with the idea for Feed the Fridge. It began by providing meals to seniors who were stuck inside, scared, and starving. Now, in addition to Feed the Fridge, its estimated that Medium Rare has provided about 30,000 free meals to those battling food insecurity.

When the pandemic hit, I sent out a tweet saying if you know of any seniors who need a meal, we will get them one. Requests started flooding in and we quickly found that those in my local community who were already vulnerable before were now in a really dangerous situation, recalled Bucher. Im honored and grateful to receive Business Leaders Fighting Hungers support to help keep the people fed and our local restaurants doors open.

About Business Leaders Fighting Hunger

Business Leaders Fighting Hunger was co-founded by Sodexo and Burness. Members include:

Atlantic Electric Supply Corp, Bass Accounting & Tax Services, Belikove and Graves, Bendler & Company, Bethesda Magazine, Clark Construction, David R. and Deborah S. Lambert Charitable Trust, Golden & Cohen, SmithPilot, Stein Sperling, LLC, Jezic & Moyse, LLC, Law Office of Brian Gruber, Judith Bluefeld, Jo Benson Fogel, P.A., McCabe Russell, PA, Schulman Bhattacharya LLC, Hostetter Strent LLC.The coalition intends to engage many more businesses going forward.

About We Care, Inc.

We Care, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization helping to fund Feed the Fridge, which provides daily meals to school children in and around Washington, D.C.


US recommends 'pause' in J&J vaccine over clot fears

Besides AstraZeneca, reports of blood clots have also hit Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine. File photo: AFP
We hope they can all find good homes with members. In many ways some will do better in a home than in the firehouse. Rocco, the longtime dog of Engine 117 was a great example. He was a source of concern at the firehouse but I am told he did a great turnabout after being taken in by one member. I will miss Bones as we all miss the pups but it must be done. I would hate to see another pup or worse a child attacked by one of our own.
Woodside Petroleum, the nations largest oil and gas producer, has appointed internal candidate Meg ONeill as its acting chief executive as the boards search for the next CEO continues.

The announcement on Tuesday evening comes amid weeks of speculation about who will be selected to replace long-time CEO Peter Coleman after more than a decade at the helm of the $23 billion energy giant.

Earlier this week, Santos chief Kevin Gallagher, considered in the industry to be a lead contender for the Woodside top job, signalled his intention to stay at Santos after being offered a $6 million bonus plan to see through the companys key growth projects until at least 2025.

Woodside has named Meg ONeill as its acting CEO.

Mr Coleman, who has previously announced his intention to retire, would step down from the board on April 19 and continue to work with Woodside until his retirement on June 3, the company said in a statement.
Irelands oldest agricultural show is one of many cancelled in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the second year in a row, the hugely popular Iverk Agricultural Show, held in Piltown in Co Kilkenny, has been affected by the pandemic restrictions.

The organisers say they are bitterly disappointed to have to cancel the show but the health and safety of all show-goers must be considered.

Scheduled for August 28, it has been called off at an early stage, with show president Jack Kearns saying organisers are bitterly disappointed to have to take this action.

Guided by the recommendations of the Government, HSE, Irish Shows Association, and bearing in mind the health and safety of all our friends and patrons, we felt this was the appropriate action to take.

The Iverk Show has faced many challenges since it was founded in 1826.

Mr Kearns said: The resilience of all those involved will ensure that the 2022 show to be held in Piltown on Saturday, August 27, 2022 will be, once again, a great success.

It one of the highest-profile shows called off so far.

Of shows scheduled to take place before midsummer, the Covid toll in Co Cork so far includes Belgooly Show, with show chairman John Stanley saying his Committee has taken the difficult decision to cancel the show for 2021 due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.

When we cancelled the show last year, we were confident life would be back to normal by now and that organising the show would be well under way.

However, Covid-19 restrictions make that impossible.

The show committee reassure all that our plan now is to ensure there will be a Belgooly Show in 2022.

Elsewhere in Munster, the Newmarket-on-Fergus Agricultural Show in Co Clare is a Covid casualty.

It is with great regret and sadness, we announce we will not be running our agricultural show this year.

Under normal circumstances, at this stage of the year, planning would be well underway for the show on the May Bank Holiday weekend.

A spokesperson said, The staus with Covid-19, restrictions and vaccine rollout is still too uncertain for the committee to decide to go ahead with the show.

The Ballyfoyle Agricultural Show in Co Kilkenny has adhered to the Irish Shows Association recommendation that no show can run until the government deem it safe to do so.

Regretfully, we have decided not to run our show this year, in line with government guidelines.

However, we will mark our show date, Sunday, June 27, with an exciting virtual fundraiser in aid of Carlow Kilkenny Homecare.

In the west, Claregalway Agricultural Show is cancelled for 2021.

Across Northern Ireland, many show committees have made early decisions to cancel.

Armagh County Show chairman George McCall said: It is with a very heavy heart that we have taken this difficult decision, but with lockdown still in place, and restrictions only slowly easing, we do not want to take the unnecessary risk of putting on a large event that may jeopardise the health of our community and the safety of our committee and volunteers.

It takes several months of intense work to organise an event of this scale, but with the uncertainty of how long it will take to get back to some form of normality, it is just not possible to run the show this year.

It is one of the longest-running shows in Ireland, with a report of one being held in the city of Armagh as far back as 1829, and cancelled only a few times, during world wars and for a foot and mouth outbreak.

Ballymoney Show is also cancelled, along with the Ballymena, Omagh, Castewellan, Limavady, Antrim and Lurgan Shows.

In a statement, the Irish Shows Association (ISA) told its member shows the ISA board of directors has no choice but to advise that shows not be held in 2021, until the appropriate authorities deem that it is safe to do so.

The representative body for agricultural shows said that even at level 1 Covid restrictions, the maximum number of people for an outdoor gathering would be 500.

This would not be viable for most of our member shows. The regulations are different in Northern Ireland, but the dates for reopening are still somewhat unclear. We will continue to liaise with the relevant authorities on both sides of the border and advise our member shows.

The 600,000 Department of Rural and Community Development funding to shows awarded in 2020 is still ringfenced for the 2021 shows, if they are able to run.

We hope that this valuable financial support will continue, as there is no doubt that shows will need financial assistance to get up and running again said the ISA.

This years Claremorris Agricultural Show has also been cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation. One of the leading events in the west and northwest, it had been scheduled for the August bank holiday weekend.

The Bannow and Rathangan show in July at Duncormick in south Wexford has also been called off.
The military on Tuesday swiftly halted administering Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, hours after federal health officials announced that a handful of people who had received the vaccine experienced "rare and severe" blood clots.

The government's surprise decision could deal a blow to the military's efforts to vaccinate troops in remote locations overseas, which was dependent on increasing availability of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

And it has the potential to undermine some troops' confidence in COVID-19 vaccines at a time when concerns about such skepticism are on the rise.

Read Next: 48,000 Marines Have Turned Down COVID-19 Vaccine, Corps Says

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday morning that six women who had received the J&J vaccine experienced a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, along with low levels of blood platelets.

All six women, who were between the ages of 18 and 48, were in the United States and experienced symptoms six to 13 days after vaccination.

The government said these blood clot cases appear to be extremely rare. As of Monday, there had been more than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine administered in the U.S.

But the health agencies recommended that administration of the vaccine be paused "out of an abundance of caution" until the six cases are further investigated.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement issued later Tuesday morning that the Defense Department had immediately paused use of the J&J vaccine.

Kirby said the Pentagon does not yet know how long the pause might last.

"The safety of our force and their families is a top priority for the department," Kirby said. "We are communicating this pause to our military health facilities and are reviewing our global vaccine distribution to address this issue and ensure we can continue to provide vaccines to our DoD population at home and abroad."

But halting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine deals a particular blow to the military's efforts to swiftly vaccinate the rest of its force, civilians and family members. The J&J vaccine's more relaxed dosage and refrigeration requirements made it easier to distribute around the world, particularly to troops in remote locations.

Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which require two shots to take full effect, Johnson & Johnson's vaccine requires only one.

Pfizer's vaccine also must be stored in ultra-cold refrigerators, making it harder to ship overseas. In an April 8 news conference, Maj. Gen. Jill Faris, deputy surgeon general for the Army National Guard, said that the military has primarily been shipping Moderna's vaccine to Europe for that reason.

But as Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine became more available, Faris said, it would be easier to vaccinate soldiers in remote locations in Europe and Africa that do not have Army medical treatment facilities nearby.

There are concerns about some troops' reluctance to get vaccinated, which could make it harder to achieve full immunity in the ranks. According to statistics released by the Marine Corps, 48,000 Marines, nearly 40% of those who have been offered the vaccine, have turned it down.

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

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Related: Army Begins Clinical Trials on Vaccine That May Be Effective Against All Coronaviruses
In 2015, the Malloy administration commissioned a study of Connecticuts State Employees Retirement System (SERS) by the Center for Retirement Research, a prominent pension research institute. While the centers report was well done and most of its recommendations were adopted by the state, the center miscalculated the level of employee pension benefits, saying they were not overly generous. They were and, today, still are overgenerous.

The centers error has distorted subsequent debate about state employee compensation, the origins of the drastic underfunding of SERS, the high cost to the state of pension benefits, and the inevitable escalation of the states annual contribution to SERS.

The center stated that The main cost driver for SERS is the unfunded liability from legacy costs and funding shortfalls, not overly generous benefits to members (employees and retirees).

The statement is correct, except that many state employee union supporters and apologists have misinterpreted it to say The only cost driver for SERS is the unfunded liability from legacy costs and funding shortfalls ... That is not correct.

Misinterpretation is understandable in light of another statement by the center the cost of benefits provided to current employees (the total normal cost) is actually below (the national) average for similar plans.

This second statement was erroneous. It relied upon analysis which glossed over the key question of who bears the cost. The cost of benefits is borne both by the state and by employees who contribute to their own pensions.

Because Connecticut employees contributed so little to their own pensions, the cost to the State of Connecticut was actually higher than the average cost of pension benefits in the 50 states.

Here are the numbers from the centers study (page 17). In 2014, the State of Connecticut contributed 8 percent to SERS, while the 50-state average state contribution was 7 percent. These percentages are pension cost as a percent of payroll cost.

The higher level in Connecticut was necessary because state employees contributed only 2.2 percent to their own pensions, while the 50-state average employee contribution was triple that amount, or 6.6 percent.

The differential between Connecticuts 8 percent and the national average of 7 percent amounted to a 14.3 percent higher level in Connecticut.

Either way you look at the extra 14.3 percent  as a higher state cost or as a larger employee benefit  it was both overly generous and above the national average.

So how did the center get it wrong? It ignored employee contributions. It looked only at the gross unallocated cost of pension benefits, namely 10.2 percent in Connecticut versus an average of 13.6 percent in the 50 states. This creates an illusion opposite to reality.

The fair and accurate measure is net cost for the state and net benefit for employees, which, in Connecticut, was 8 percent. The gross cost of the benefit of 10.2 percent was offset by the employee contributions of 2.2 percent, leaving both the states net cost and the employees net benefit at 8 percent. Nationally, a gross cost of 13.6 percent was offset by employee contributions of 6.6 percent, leaving a lower net cost/benefit of 7 percent.

The center stated at the outset of its study that SERS was only 42 percent funded in 2014, among the lowest in the nation. A state with a severely underfunded pension fund should not be bearing a higher-than-average cost to provide its employees more generous pension benefits than states with better-funded pensions.

Yet Connecticut has been doing exactly that, with the consequence that SERS remains among the lowest funded pension funds in the nation, and with the further consequence that the pension cost for the state increases every year, both absolutely and as a percent of the states overall budget.

And pension benefits are not the only element of generosity in Connecticut. State employees enjoy better wages and more robust health care benefits than state employees in the other states. It should be noted that Connecticuts higher wages further skewed the results of the centers pension benefits analysis. With pension benefits measured as a percent of wages (payroll), Connecticuts higher wages made its pension benefits appear to be lower, or less generous.

However, the larger issue is total compensation. There have been five studies of total state employee compensation in Connecticut. The first was a Connecticut state commissions study in 2010. Yankee Institute commissioned studies of Connecticut in 2015 and again in 2020. Finally, the American Enterprise Institute carried out two studies comparing all 50 states, the first in 2014 and the second in 2019 (covering both state and municipal employees).

All five studies compared state employee compensation to private sector compensation. In all five, Connecticut state employees earned from about 30 percent to more than 40 percent more than the states private sector employees, the highest gap in the nation. That is both unfair and unsustainable.

Greenwich resident Red Jahncke is president of The Townsend Group Intl, a business consultancy in Connecticut, and a freelance columnist published in national and Connecticut newspapers.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is still being given to older people across the bloc. But some countries have restricted its use for younger demographics. Britain has drawn the line at age 30. In France and Belgium it is 55. In Germany, Italy and Spain, 60. Other nations, like Norway and Denmark, are not administering the AstraZeneca vaccine at all.

It has not helped that the new guidance not to give the AstraZeneca shot to younger people is the opposite of what was recommended when it was first introduced in Europe, when many countries gave it only to younger people because early data did not include large numbers of older people in clinical trials.

The confusion is taking its own toll. According to a YouGov poll published last month, 61 percent of the French, 55 percent of Germans and 52 percent of Spaniards consider the AstraZeneca vaccine unsafe. That is in stark contrast to the findings of a similar poll from February, when more people in those countries, with the exception of France, believed that the shot was more safe than unsafe.

Regulators have asked vaccine recipients and doctors to be on the lookout for certain symptoms, including severe and persistent headaches and tiny blood spots under the skin. Doctors groups have circulated guidance about how to treat the disorder.

In Poland, where the vaccination campaign relies to a large extent on AstraZeneca and where its use has not been restricted, a recent poll showed that given a choice, fewer than 5 percent of Poles would choose the AstraZeneca shot.

Almost everywhere across the European Union, it seems, many are eager for alternatives, as the new types of vaccines that include the Moderna and Pfizer, which utilize science known as mRNA, have not been associated with similar side effects.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 11:17:37|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW/KIEV, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A war between Russia and Ukraine looks unlikely to happen at any time soon as all parties involved are making intensified efforts to ease the tensions in the Donbass region.

Though trading criticisms against each other and preparing for armed conflict, Russia and Ukraine are seeking a diplomatic solution together with Germany, France and Turkey.

Experts from Moscow and Kiev agreed that a hot war between Russia and Ukraine will inflict losses on both sides and thus is a last resort.

DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS

Political advisers of the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders, or the so-called "Normandy Four," are working towards holding a summit on eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

"This is very difficult contact and it requires great patience from all the four sides," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on their work.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a phone conversation, calling on all parties to exercise restraint.

Late last month, Putin, Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron held a video-conference, with the Donbass tensions as one of their priorities.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Istanbul to discuss the issue with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said that "the current crisis must be resolved peacefully by diplomatic means" and "our main goal is that the Black Sea continues to be a sea of peace, tranquility and cooperation."

According to Ukrainian media reports, Zelensky plans to visit France later this week and hold a trilateral meeting with Merkel and Macron in the coming days.

While many hope that Putin and Zelensky could talk directly, Peskov said on Monday that the Kremlin has not yet received any call from Kiev for such dialogue.

Peskov hinted that the Kremlin does not refuse the interaction between the two presidents as "Vladimir Putin always has something to say when it comes to defusing the tensions and preventing a potential war."

WAR UNLIKELY

"No one is going to move towards a war, and no one at all accepts any possibility of such a war," Peskov said on Sunday in the latest of a string of remarks by senior Russian officials that Moscow does not want a war with Ukraine.

"Fighting is meaningless for both sides ... But a PR war nonetheless won't stop because it is beneficial for both Russia and Ukraine to garner public support at home," Russian political analyst Leonid Radzihovsky said.

Volodymyr Volya, head of the Kiev-based Institute of Politics, expressed his belief that armed clashes with Ukraine will hit Russia harder.

"Escalation of the tensions could be perceived in the West, particularly in Germany, as a reason to suspend the construction of the Nord Stream-2 natural gas pipeline project," Volya said.

Igar Tyshkevich, an expert with the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, said that the reported Russian troops deployment to the Ukrainian borders is aimed at exerting diplomatic and psychological pressure.

Tyshkevich said that a large-scale war is currently unlikely since Russian media outlets have not yet prepared the public for a dramatic turn of events, a practice Moscow did ahead of previous armed conflicts.

In the view of Russian senator Alexei Pushkov, Ukraine will not start a war with Russia because Kiev is well aware of the consequences.

"But Kiev will provoke Russia through shelling Donbass and other types of military activities. Provocative actions are key for Ukraine as an instrument to establish good ties with the West," Pushkov said through his Telegram channel.

Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, also thinks that the likelihood of a large-scale Russia-Ukraine war remains low, but a lot depends on the position of the United States.

"We, in general, do not know whether Washington is holding back Zelensky or inciting violence. It may also be behaving in such a way that the Ukrainian side could perceive as instigation," Pukhov said. Enditem
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Columns are hyper-specific to opinion and are written by only columnists employed by the Iowa State Daily. Columnists are unique because they have a specific writing day and only publish on those writing days. Each column undergoes a thorough editing process ensuring the integrity of the writer, and their claim is maintained while remaining research-based and respectful. Columns may be submitted from community members. These are labelled as Guest Columns. These contain similar research-based content and need to be at least 400 words in length. The following requirements should be met: first and last name, email and relation or position to Iowa State. Emails must be tied to the submitted guest column or it will not be accepted or published. Pseudonyms are prohibited and the writer will be banned from submissions.

Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
HAZEL PARK, MI -- Four teenagers were arrested Monday following a police chase that started when officers responded to a reported shooting in Hazel Park. According to Fox 2 Detroit, Hazel Park police were called around 2 p.m. for a report of shots fired.

The victims described the suspect vehicle as a 2007 Dodge Nitro that was in the area of Woodward Heights and Couzens. Police later spotted the vehicle and attempted to pull it over, but the driver fled. A chase ensued taking officers through Detroit and Warren before the chase eventually ended when the driver crashed on a residential street.

A 19-year-old man, two 18-year-old men and a 19-year-old woman were inside the Nitro with three of the four suspects being taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The two people who originally reported the shooting were not injured in that incident.

All four suspects are from Detroit, according to police.

During the chase, a handgun was thrown from the suspect vehicle and eventually recovered. Police also found a pair of semi-automatic handguns. An investigation is ongoing and Hazel Park Police are expected to turn the case over to the Oakland County Prosecutors Office for consideration of charges.

READ MORE:

Investigation launched after officer-involved shooting in U.P.

Man accused of sexual assault, torturing teen sisters with a hammer takes plea deal

Gunshots strike Michigan fire truck leaving station
(Natural News) A celebrity legal analyst named Midwin Charles passed away after receiving Pfizers covid vaccine. She joins thousands of other people who have reportedly died in the days and weeks after getting their experimental covid-19 vaccinations.

Midwin Charles passed away at the young age of 47. She was a regular contributor to CNN and MSNBC. She received her first dose of Pfizers experimental mRNA vaccine on March 1st and was quick to promote the vaccines on social media. On Twitter, Charles boasted about the efficiency of the vaccination process and encouraged others to line up and do their part, saying Lets do this!

No doubt CNN would report her death as a coincidence while encouraging others to keep taking the covid euthanasia shots.

Young woman suddenly perishes after receiving covid vaccines

In the first three months since launching the covid vaccines, the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) has recorded over 228 cases of anaphylactic shock after administration of the covid vaccines. A person may suffer anaphylaxis within seconds or minutes after they are exposed to something their body is allergic to. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Many people have no idea what their bodies are allergic to or whether they are allergic to one of the many chemicals in a vaccine. According to the Mayo Clinic, anaphylactic shock causes your immune system to release a flood of chemicals that can cause you to go into shock  your blood pressure drops suddenly, and your airways narrow, blocking breathing  If anaphylaxis isnt treated right away, it can be fatal.

According to social media posts, Midwin Charles carried an EpiPen to her vaccine appointments as a precaution. After praising the vaccination, she admitted that she was deathly allergic to peanuts. She said she carried an EpiPen to the vaccination clinic in case i went into anaphylaxis (sic) shock. Medical authorities encourage people with pre-existing allergies and autoimmune conditions to have an EpiPen on hand during and after the covid-19 vaccinations. Midwin Charles didnt suffer an anaphylactic attack up front, but her body did experience mild symptoms like fatigue and soreness in the arm. On her Instagram account, she did report a more serious symptom, shortness of breath. This was a sign of more serious issues to come.

The wrongful death injuries from the covid vaccines are not limited to anaphylactic shock

Potential candidates for vaccination are being misled and NOT provided adequate, informed consent. Many people are told that severe vaccine side effects are extremely rare and only consist of anaphylaxis. Culture icon, Elon Musk, recently tweeted his support for the vaccines, ignorantly proclaiming that any adverse reaction is rare and can easily be addressed with an EpiPen. To be clear, I do support vaccines in general & covid vaccines specifically, said Musk. The science is unequivocal. In very rare cases, there is an allergic reaction, but this is easily addressed with an EpiPen.

The truth is that there are over two dozen serious health problems associated with vaccination, especially with these new experimental mRNA programs. EpiPens do not always save the persons life, either. Elon Musk joins a long list of celebrity figures who mislead the public on a multitude of serious health issues associated with these vaccines. In fact, the sheer frequency of adverse events associated with these experimental vaccines has prompted the CDC to strongly recommend that vaccine clinics keep intubation equipment on hand. The CDC advises that trained personnel qualified to recognize and treat symptoms of anaphylaxis should be available at all vaccine locations at all times.

On one account, a 68-year-old Kansas woman, Jeanie M. Evans died shortly after receiving the vaccine. The mother of five suffered from an anaphylactic reaction in the vaccine clinic. The EpiPen was unable to counter the reaction and the woman passed away at the Stormont-Vail Hospital the very next day.

In just three months, the Pfizer mRNA vaccine alone has been responsible for 28,046 reported injuries, including 1,131 deaths following injection. Instead of addressing this vaccine-induced public health crisis and mass genocide, the government and regulatory agencies are helping the vaccine manufacturers test the shots out on children and preparing for (unlawful) mandatory vaccine policies at schools across the Nation.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com

Twitter.com

MedAlerts.org

NaturalNews.com
The crypto industry as a whole has seen a momentous year of growth, heavily spurred on by the entrance of institutional investors adopting bitcoin due to its store of value properties. The 2020 spike bitcoin experienced was also accelerated by its global adoption as the number of global cryptocurrency users surpassed 100 million in Q3 2020.

For Luno, a U.K.-based crypto company founded by Marcus Swanepoel and Timothy Stranex in 2013, it grew to 6 million customers from January 2020 to January 2021. However, that number has since gone up to 7 million. Today the company has nearly 400 employees across London, South Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria and Singapore, with customers in 40 countries globally.

According to CEO Swanepoel, Luno's numbers have been increasing month-on-month over the last seven years. However, this is the first time it is observing an acceleration of this magnitude.

There are a couple of reasons for Luno's surge in numbers (like any other crypto exchange startup). Generally, despite talks of bitcoin being used in everyday life by crypto enthusiasts and interests from institutional entrants like BNY Mellon, Mastercard and Tesla, it is a longshot before becoming mainstream.

For now, crypto mainly serves investment purposes. This singular factor has particularly made it very popular with Africans -- a demographic that has been a major part of Luno's growth and the huge traction it is witnessing.

Last year, the company surveyed the markets in which it currently operates. It featured 15,000 respondents from South Africa, U.K., France, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nigeria; the answers helped Luno understand how the pandemic influenced attitudes towards the current financial system. According to the survey, 54% of Africans were ready to adopt a single global digital currency, compared to 41% for Asia and 35% for Europe.

Story continues

Africa's dominance also shows in its numbers. Out of the 7 million customers it has globally, 4.7 million people are in Africa. This number was 2.3 million in January 2020. Luno's app installs across the continent have increased by 271% within this time frame, and trading volumes skyrocketed 12x, from $555 million to $7 billion. For context, Luno did $8.3 billion in total trading volume.

But a large part of this growth is down to Luno's early play in the market. Over the last few years, infrastructure in parts of the world that could not previously support the crypto market has improved substantially. Luno has played a vital role as one of the first platforms to improve the crypto marketplace experience by including local currencies. It also helped to lay the groundwork for educating people on digital currencies.

"The last time bitcoin went up as it did during the past year was in 2017 and 2018, and it was mostly driven by retail, but it was still very difficult to buy crypto. There were trust issues; it would take days to get your account verified and even set up a wallet," Swanepoel told TechCrunch. "Now, over the last three years, companies like ours, especially in Africa, have built up this infrastructure, KYCs, new payment methods, customer experience and support. The experience is much better and education levels are a lot higher. To me, I think that's played a large role in crypto adoption in the continent."

In September last year, Luno got acquired by Digital Currency Group (DCG), an investment firm that builds, buys and invests in blockchain companies. Some of its portfolio companies include Coindesk, Genesis and Grayscale Investments. Before acquiring Luno, BCG first invested in the company's seed round in 2014. Then last year, Swanepoel said he saw the opportunity to take Luno to a larger scale after noticing the immense growth and adoption on its platform.

"The first five to six years for us was on a small scale and now, we want to go big. So it helps to have a global platform like DCG to do it from because they have large amounts of capital and are committed to investing in Africa as well as outside the continent," he remarked.

The CEO adds that DCG has more visibility on the crypto industry and trends. The acquisition was simply for Luno to leverage DCG's insights and stay ahead of the curve, which looks to have paid off. Since the acquisition, Luno has seen the number of active users increase by 167%. As of January, the average user held more than $7,000 in their wallet, up 56% from December 2020.

Nothing lasts forever, but if the crypto market bull run is anything to go by, crypto isn't the fad people once thought it was. In Q1 2021, companies like Coinbase (going public Wednesday) and Robinhood experienced monster numbers showing strong growth projections. For Luno, it expects to continue growing exponentially, a trajectory that sets the company on track to reach 1 billion customers by 2030.
A voter lines up to enter to their cast ballot at a Whitehorse polling station during the Yukon election on Monday April 12, 2021. Polls have opened across Yukon as the Liberal government led by Sandy Silver seeks a second term. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Kelly
Consumers' personal data is shared between tech companies in the third-party cookie ecosystem over 500 billion times a day.

The ingenious Facebook trap: Is it time for ensnared brands to cut their losses? Facebook was silently plotting increasingly creative ways to monetise brands' presence on the platform and implemented an ingenious strategy to ensnare unknowing brand custodians...

a brands ability to drive demand



a brands ability to command higher prices



a brands ability to convert customers at a purchase point

8 golden rules for brands to win in a recession Wunderman Thompson published a guide on 'How Brands Can Win in a Recession'. The global report is an essential manual for brands highlighting how to survive and thrive in the face of the recession...

Palesa Molukanele

About Wunderman Thompson

That is changing.At least 90% of consumers want brands to be clearer about how they use their data, and to give them more control over it. In January 2022, Google Chrome will no longer allow the tracking of third-party cookies, meaning brands will cease to have access to much of the data they currently use to target audiences and drive online sales.The impact of this on advertisers and publishers wont be beneficial, however, theres an upside for general internet users and consumers. Naturally, advertisers will see the third-party audience shrink, which will negatively affect media buying activities. At the same time, publishers will feel partnership disruptions with third-party data providers. Internet users, in general, will have more secure data privacy (GDPR/PoPIA), and consumers will have more control over data sharing.A total of 80% of consumers feel they cannot control the security and privacy of their personal data. And they would be right, an average user visiting news24.com will have their data shared 410 times in the first 15 seconds on the website.Ambitious brands do not need to share their customers data. They know how to create direct, valuable relationships that inspire growth. They use data expertise, not intrusive tracking, to see people clearly.Ambitious brands use data with integrity.The worlds most inspiring brands are data and privacy leaders, who use data with integrity to inspire confidence among consumers. These include global brands such as Amazon, Apple, Emirates, Google, Netflix and Adidas. Locally, the leading brands include Woolworths, Discovery, Samsung, OUTsurance and Coca-Cola.The inspiring study developed by Wunderman Thompson found ways in which inspiration can drive brand growth by predicting:This talks to the trust customers have in brands and, of course, data privacy plays an integral part. This is also supported by BrandZs top 30 most valuable South African brands 2020, which includes brands such as FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Discovery, Woolworths, etc.One of the countys largest marketing services agencies, Wunderman Thompson SA, boasts expertise as a technology and data-driven creative powerhouse. It aims to help ambitious brands drive conversations in this regard.Palesa Molukanele, agency head of data, insights and analytics, expressed: We are part creative agency, part technology company and part consultancy, and so we will help our clients prepare to optimally function in a cookie-less world by building short-, medium- and long-term strategies for them. And we have a solution that were delivering on now. Wunderman Thompson has a solution  and were delivering it now.Resolve is our turnkey, cookie-less performance marketing technology that drives growth for brands and protects data privacy. Resolve uses AI to better recognise customers and personalise CRM, media and e-commerce experiences without sharing their data or using third-party tracking.We believe the worlds most inspiring brands need an inspiring approach to privacy and personalisation  and must act now to safeguard the effectiveness of their online ad spend if they are to continue driving growth.Resolve does three things  it recognises customers, like humans do; it learns more about customers as people; and it finds the brand's next, best customers. The fact that those shoes you just searched for are now following you around the web has raised valid data privacy and ethics concerns. Were here to help businesses, marketers, chief data officers and chief technology officers take heed of this reality check, said Alex Steer, chief data officer, EMEA, Wunderman Thompson.Resolve will be the industrys first privacy personalisation technology of its kind, and you can learn more about it here At Wunderman Thompson, we exist to inspire growth for ambitious brands. Part creative agency, part consultancy and part technology company, our experts provide end-to-end capabilities at a global scale to deliver inspiration across the entire brand and customer experience.We are 20,000 strong in 90 markets around the world, and in South Africa we are one of the largest integrated marketing services agencies with over 600 professionals. Our people bring together creative storytelling, diverse perspectives, inclusive thinking, and highly specialised vertical capabilities, to drive growth for our clients. We offer deep expertise across the entire customer journey, including communications, commerce, consultancy, CRM, CX, data, production and technology.Wunderman Thompson is a WPP agency (NYSE: WPP).For more information, please visit us at www.wundermanthompson.com and follow Wunderman Thompson on our social channels via Twitter LinkedIn and Instagram
" Preparing for the next pandemic means investing in our talent and people "

Countries in Asia-Pacific may have fared well in comparison to those in other areas of the world in coping with the current pandemic, but the region is performing below the global average when it comes to the resilience of the biopharma ecosystem according to our recently published Cytiva Global Biopharma Resilience Index.

The Index, which has been compiled in partnership with Financial Times company Longitude, tracks the resilience of the biopharma ecosystem in 20 countries by examining five areas of relevance: supply chain resilience, access to talent, strength of the R&D ecosystem, quality and agility of manufacturing capacity, and effectiveness of government policy in supporting the industry.

While the lower-than-average score for Asia-Pacific might be expected for a region that is still home to many middle and lower income nations, with Asian markets now larger than North America and Europe combined1, and home to an increasingly large proportion of the worlds patients suffering from diseases such as cancer2 and diabetes3, this should still act as a warning sign that we need to do more now if we are to avoid any large-scale healthcare issues in the future.

Fortunately, the Index also gives us plenty of pointers about where we can target our resources to help improve the system. Of the five pillars covered, talent is the lowest scoring in Asia-Pacific, indicating that there is a significant gap in the region in this respect.

Asia-Pacific is a very diverse region in many ways, and none more so than in our people  something that is very evident in the degree of variance in the responses we received when conducting this research. Survey respondents from higher income countries such as Japan and South Korea point to accelerating costs of talent as their greatest challenge across all five of the pillars  more so than other challenges including manufacturing agility and government regulation. Lower income countries on the other hand, including Indonesia and Thailand, show noticeable difficulties in both sourcing and training talent compared with higher income nations.

To me, this signals a huge opportunity for improved training and education, both in quality as well as access. By enhancing content and localizing the delivery (both digital and hands-on) of biopharma-related educational resource, we not only uplift the current talent pool, but we also create more opportunities for students or those from other fields of study to enter the industry.

Im really proud of the work we have been doing at Cytiva in this space, partnering with global academic and government institutions to provide training and education programs to students, researchers and manufacturing staff. Our Fast Trak Education and Training program, for example, already operates six centers worldwide, with three located here in Asia-Pacific. These centers are training thousands of professionals each year, empowering them with the skills they need to drive this industry forward added Francis Van Parys, Vice-President Commercial, Asia-Pacific, Cytiva .

Our long-standing partnership with the National Institute For Bioprocessing Research and Training in Ireland is also enhancing the scale and quality of the training we deliver. Together with NIBRT, Cytiva has co-developed curriculums for Fast Trak centers and other academic institutions worldwide; on top of this, we recently opened a training center for biologics manufacturing in China, the Guangzhou Bioprocess Academy, which delivers courses based on this curriculum.

Where we are unable to reach our customers face-to-face, our rollout of digital tools is enabling our customers to access training and educational resources remotely. Through Cytiva College for example, which was launched in China in 2020, around 10,000 active users now have access to remote training on demand. We also offer webinar trainings for customers across the region  something that has naturally seen an increase in interest during the pandemic.

Culturally, education has always been important to people in the region, and I believe that if we are to prepare ourselves for the future, investing in our people is one of the most effective tools we have at our disposal. This will require an industry-wide effort as well as support from government if we are to make any real impact. Investments in talent development take years, if not generations for the true benefits to be seen. With that in mind, we should be looking at what we can do now in order to secure the future resilience of biopharma.

The Cytiva Biopharma Resilience Index research was conducted by Cytiva and Longitude in late 2020.
Discrimination against Roma remained prevalent, Amnesty International says

The report details how Slovakia addressed the pandemic in marginalised settlements.

Discrimination against the Roma remains prevalent. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of two Roma victims of police brutality. A bill restricting access to abortion was rejected by parliament.

This is a summary of the Amnesty International Report 2020/2021 on the state of human rights in Slovakia.

Roma discrimination

Anti-Roma prejudice and discrimination remained prevalent during this past year as Roma communities were stigmatised as a public health threat during the Covid-19 pandemic, the report reads.

High-level corruption and threats against minorities. US report evaluates human rights practices in Slovakia Read more

The authorities targeted Roma settlements with disproportionate and discriminatory measures in response to the Covid-19 virus, the report says.

In April, the authorities tested residents of some Roma settlements for Covid-19 with the assistance of the army and ordered the mandatory quarantine of five Roma settlements on the grounds of public health.

Residents were not promptly informed of the duration and conditions of the quarantine. Inadequate access to water and sanitation in informal Roma settlements and a lack of adequate alternative accommodation are long-standing problems that were not sufficiently addressed by authorities in their response to Covid-19, making compliance by the community with public health recommendations much more difficult.

Excessive use of force

Complaints of excessive use of force and ill-treatment by police against Roma continued. In May, the Interior Ministry opened an investigation into allegations that a police officer beat five Roma children who had briefly left an area under mandatory quarantine in the village of Krompachy.

Case of police bullying: European court decided about compensation for three Romas Read more

In January, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of a Roma boy who was subjected to ill-treatment by police in 2015 and criticised the authorities failure to effectively investigate his complaint. In March, the court formally requested a response from Slovakia regarding the alleged ill-treatment of six Roma boys in a police station in the city of Kosice in 2009.

In September, the court ruled that two Roma residents of the settlement of Moldava nad Bodvou had been subjected to inhumane treatment during a police operation in June 2013 in which over 30 people were injured. The court also found that the authorities violated the prohibition on discrimination by failing to investigate alleged discrimination in the planning of the operation.

Rights of women and girls

Another topic brought to the spotlight by the reports was an increase in violations of womens rights, often under the guise of protecting religious or traditional values, according to the report.

Although Slovakia remains a signatory of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, parliament has refused to ratify it and in February voted to reject the Convention altogether, the report reads.

Slovak society will be more vigilant after the pandemic is over Read more

Organisations that address violence against women reported an increase in domestic violence following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Public Defender of Human Rights Maria Patakyova expressed concerns regarding womens access to safe and timely sexual and reproductive health care during the pandemic. Some health care providers suspended abortions, referring to a government requirement to postpone nonessential operations in response to Covid-19.

In October, parliament rejected a bill that would have imposed new barriers on access to abortion and thereby endangered the health and wellbeing of women and girls.

13. Apr 2021 at 11:32 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Hong Kong: Govt revisits travel pact

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she expects an early indication on the air travel bubble agreement with the Singaporean government.

Ahead of todays Executive Council meeting, Mrs Lam said both sides are revisiting the air travel bubble plan.

She said: We actually had a very concrete scheme, the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble, in place before the fourth wave hit us.

So what we need to do is to dig out that plan to revisit that plan. For example, in October-November, when we had that plan with Singapore, there was no reference whatsoever to vaccination.

I expect an early indication of agreement between the two sides so that we can tell the people of Hong Kong that its time to travel to Singapore again.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam says the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is proposing to the Singaporean Government that all Hong Kong travellers must be vaccinated before engaging in the travel bubble to Singapore.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
DALLAS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) has been appointed by FGEN LNG Corporation to deliver Owner's Engineer services for the engineering, procurement and construction of FGEN LNG's Interim Offshore Terminal Project to be located in the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City, Philippines.

The project involves the modification of an existing liquid fuel jetty to accommodate a floating storage regasification unit, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for the receipt, storage and delivery of a safe, reliable and competitive supply of LNG to the Philippines. The scope includes modifications to the jetty head, berthing and mooring facilities; a trestle bridge with high-pressure gas pipeline and utilities; and a jetty monitoring building and control room. As Owner's Engineer, Jacobs will undertake design review, project management and supervision of the construction of the project.

The project will play a critical role in opening LNG imports to the Philippines as it transitions to cleaner energy sources.

"Wherever you are in the world, access to a stable and reliable power supply is critical for advancing social and economic development," said Jacobs People & Places Solutions Executive Vice President Patrick Hill. "Supporting a project that will help deliver a more reliable, lower carbon power supply for the people of the Philippines further demonstrates Jacobs' commitment to a more sustainable future."

The modified terminal will help meet the power demands of 4.5 million homes by supplying LNG to existing gas-fired power plants, which in 2019 were responsible for delivering 13,876 GWh into the Luzon grid.

"Jacobs' extensive track record of providing Owner's Engineer services across many diverse and challenging infrastructure projects and their particular experience in LNG projects were major considerations in our decision to award the Owner's Engineer role to them," said FGEN LNG Chief Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Jon Russell. "We are confident that they will provide valuable support to FGEN LNG in the execution of this project of national significance."

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $14 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 55,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector. Visit jacobs.com and connect with Jacobs on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provided by the same. Statements made in this release that are not based on historical fact are forward-looking statements. We base these forward-looking statements on management's current estimates and expectations as well as currently available competitive, financial and economic data. Forward-looking statements, however, are inherently uncertain. There are a variety of factors that could cause business results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related reaction of governments on global and regional market conditions and the company's business. For a description of some additional factors that may occur that could cause actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 2, 2020, and in particular the discussions contained under Item 1 - Business; Item 1A - Risk Factors; Item 3 - Legal Proceedings; and Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended January 1, 2021, and in particular the discussions contained under Part I, Item 2 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations; Part II, Item 1 - Legal Proceedings; and Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors, as well as the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is not under any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform to actual results, except as required by applicable law.

For press/media inquiries:

Kerrie Sparks

214.583.8433

SOURCE Jacobs

Related Links

http://www.jacobs.com


A Gold Coast father has pleaded guilty to two counts of incest with his estranged daughter after the pair reconnected online.

The daughter was 20 while the father was 47 when they connected via Facebook and later shared explicit messages in March and April 2019 before engaging in sexual intercourse.

Judge Geraldine Dann sentenced the man to 12months in prison on Monday and described the incidents as 'brief, totally non-violent, consensual and to some degree 'instigated by the daughter'.

A Gold Coast father has pleaded guilty to two counts of incest with his estranged daughter after the pair reconnected on online (pictured: stock image)

The Southport District Court was told the pair had become estranged when the girl was five years old, but reconnected online 15 years later.

The washing machine repairman would pick up his daughter from Ipswich, west of Brisbane, and travel to the Gold Coast where they booked a hotel.

The father told police he knew their behavior was wrong once they engaged in sexual intercourse, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

They also shared sexually explicit messages but Crown prosecutor Gary Churchill told the court 'it is an unclear situation' on who initiated the conversations.

'There doesn't seem there is any real manipulation by this defendant,' he said.

After the two incidents, the daughter sent screenshots of the pair's messages to her father's sister and 'made plans to meet a second time' with the man.

The pair exchanged sexually explicit messages before meeting up in Gold Coast hotels to engage in consensual intercourse (pictured: stock image)

'The offending was consensual on both sides but she appeared to have been distressed about it,' Mr Churchill said.

Defence barrister John McInnes said the dad 'knew what he was doing was wrong and behaved impulsively' and was undergoing treatment for mental health issues.

The woman was sentenced in Ipswich last year for incest and other unrelated sexual offences to three years in prison.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Montefiore Medical Center is notifying some patients about a security breach involving information illegally accessed by a former employee.

Categories of personal information accessed varied and may include first and last names, medical record numbers, addresses, emails, dates of birth and the last 4-digits of Social Security numbers. There is no evidence that financial information, including credit card numbers, or clinical information was accessed. The inappropriate access occurred between January 2020 and February 2021.

Montefiore requires criminal background checks on all employees and has comprehensive privacy policies, including a strict Code of Conduct that prohibits employees from looking at patient records unless they have a work-related reason. The employee involved in this case chose to violate these policies. Montefiore's FairWarning software, which monitors improper access to electronic patient records, identified the employee.

Upon learning of this situation, Montefiore immediately suspended the employee and disabled access to its electronic medical records system. After a thorough investigation, the employee was fired, and the case was referred to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution.

To date, there is no evidence of identity theft, nor that patients or their insurance companies were improperly billed. Montefiore recommends that patients remain vigilant and carefully review statements from healthcare providers. Please immediately initiate direct contact with your provider regarding any questionable billing. Additional details on identity theft protection will be included in patient notification letters.

This press release is in accordance with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. Montefiore Health System has notified affected members and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

SOURCE Montefiore Medical Center
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones Sociedad Anonima (the "Company") (NYSE: IRS) announced today that it intends to submit an amended draft registration statement on Form F-3 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed offering to holders of record on April 16, 2021 of (i) Global Depositary Shares ("GDSs") representing its common shares, of rights to subscribe for 0.1382465082 new GDSs for every GDS held of record, and (ii) its common shares, of rights to subscribe for 0.1382465082 new common shares for every common share held of record. In addition, the proposed offering contemplates that each GDS holder will receive, free of charge, for each new GDS that it purchases pursuant to the exercise of such rights, 10 warrants, and that each holder of common shares will receive, free of charge, for each new common share that it purchases pursuant to such rights, one warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share. The Company will not issue fractional common shares or GDSs, pursuant to the rights offering or the exercise of the warrants, and entitlements to common shares or GDSs will be rounded down to the nearest whole common share or GDS, as the case may be.

The non-binding indicative subscription price for each new GDS or common share in the proposed offering is US$3.60 and US$0.36, respectively. The subscription period for the rights to acquire GDSs is expected to be from April 19, 2021 to May 3, 2021. The subscription period for the rights to acquire common shares is expected to be from April 19, 2021 to May 6, 2021. The definitive subscription price is expected to be published in the bulletin of the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange and released to PR Newswire on or about April 26, 2021. The new GDSs and warrants acquired pursuant to the rights offering made to GDS holders are expected to be issued and made available as soon as practicable after the new common shares are deposited with the GDS depositary's custodian in Argentina. The new common shares and warrants acquired pursuant to the rights offering made to holders of common shares are expected to be issued and made available within five business days (in New York City and Buenos Aires, Argentina) following the expiration of the common shares subscription period, which is expected to occur on or about May 6, 2021.

The Company may terminate or cancel the proposed offering in its sole discretion at any time on or before the expiration of the common shares subscription period for any reason (including, without limitation, a change in the market price of the common shares or the GDSs). If the offering is terminated, all rights will expire without value and the Company will promptly arrange for the refund, without interest or deduction, of all funds received from holders of common share and GDS rights. Any termination or cancellation of the rights offering will be followed as promptly as practicable by an announcement. The Company may amend or modify the terms of the rights offering, and may extend the expiration date of the rights offering.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations of offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). A registration statement relating to these securities is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This announcement is being issued in accordance with Rule 135 under the Securities Act.

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the risk that the definitive subscription price may be higher than the non-binding indicative subscription price. In addition to the risks and factors identified above, reference is also made to other risks and factors detailed in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions that the foregoing factors are not exclusive. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement in this or any prior forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Relations Department

+ 5411 4323-7449

[email protected]

https://www.irsa.com.ar/home-inversores.php?lng=en

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SOURCE IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones S.A.

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Astronomers Reveal Stunning New Image of Supermassive Black Hole M87 in Polarized Light

The telescope that captured the first-ever image of a supermassive black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy has produced a new image, this time depicting the black hole in polarized light. The view is crucial to helping astronomers understand how M8755 million light-years away from Earthis able to launch energetic jets from its core and eat surrounding matter.

The jets, which extend at least 5,000 light-years, are one of the galaxys most captivating features.

A view of the M87 supermassive black hole in polarized light. (Courtesy of EHT Collaboration)

The new image taken by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a collaboration linking eight telescopes around the world, represents the first time astronomers have been able to measure light polarization so close to the edge of a black hole. This polarization signifies the presence of magnetic fields at the juncture where matter flows in or is ejected out.

You can see the orientation of these light waves highlighted in elegant golden arcs around the black holes shadow, said EHT researchers, sharing the image on Facebook.

Black holes, they explained, have the strongest gravitational pull in the universe. They bend the path of light, pull blazing-hot plasma into orbit, and warp magnetic fields. Some shoot out powerful jets of matter at phenomenal speeds.

A composite image showing three views of the central region of the M87 galaxy in polarized light. (Courtesy of EHT Collaboration; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Goddi et al.; VLBA (NRAO), Kravchenko et al.; J.C. Algaba, I. Marti-Vidal)

But why do these jets form, and how do they resist the pull of the black hole? they posed. With this breakthrough, EHT scientists have taken a crucial step in solving the mystery.

Data on the M87 galaxys supermassive black hole, which is 6.5 billion times more massive than our sun, has been collected since 2017. The first-ever image of the black hole was released on April 10, 2019, depicting a bright ring-like structure with a dark shadow at the center.

EHT project director Sheperd S. Doeleman, of the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, hailed the image as something presumed to be impossible just a generation ago.

The first image of the M87 supermassive black hole taken in April 2019. (Courtesy of Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration)

Light becomes polarized when emitted in hot regions of magnetized space. The significant polarized light around the M87 black hole offers astronomers clarity to map magnetic field lines and examine exactly how some matter escapes at the event horizon, or point of no return, to be blown into space in the form of jets.

The main finding is that we not only see the magnetic fields near the black hole as expected, but they also appear to be strong, Jason Dexter, of the University of Colorado Boulder, and coordinator of the EHT Theory Working Group, told Space.com.

Our results indicate that the magnetic fields can push the gas around and resist being stretched, he explained. The result is an interesting clue to how black holes feed on gas and grow.

The jets of energy produced are collimated, meaning they maintain a consistent shape over huge distances. Coupled to the black hole, its magnetic field controls how the jets of matter flow, study co-author Dr. Ziri Younsi, of University College London, explained to MailOnline.

Before we had no idea, it was very speculative, Younsi said, but now we have very strong evidence to indicate how the magnetic field is organized  it is very organized, very structured, which is surprising.

The EHT collaboration of eight ground-based radio telescopes, positioned at high-altitude sites, created a virtual Earth-sized telescope. The culmination of decades of work, its combined resolution is capable of measuring the length of a credit card on the surface of the Moon.

(Courtesy of ESO/L. Calcada, Digitized Sky Survey 2, ESA/Hubble, RadioAstron, De Gasperin et al., Kim et al., EHT Collaboration. Music: Niklas Falcke)

EHTs latest findings on the M87 supermassive black hole, supported by 300 researchers from organizations and universities around the world, were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on March 24.

The teams next major project is to publish an image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A*, said Younsi. While less static, this black hole is 1,000 times closer, and also 1,000 times smaller, than M87.

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
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 19:31:51|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The key to China's success is that Chinese leaders have adapted Marxism to Chinese realities, said Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council.

"I believe the key to China's success is that it does not cling to the old aspects of Communism and Marxism dogmatically," Haddad-Adel told Xinhua in a recent interview.

What Chinese President Xi Jinping and his colleagues have done is to adapt Marxism to the realities of China, and "they have created flexibility given the realities of the Chinese society and global realities," he said.

"This flexibility and dynamism by preserving the old positive aspects and eliminating the negative aspects were key to Xi's success," said Haddad-Adel, who once served as Iran's parliament speaker.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, is "a strong, active and utterly influential figure in China and in the world scene," the Iranian politician said.

People receive COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Gulou District of Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, April 9, 2021. East China's Jiangsu Province has launched a mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19. (Xinhua/Li Bo)

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that by managing to control the disease and then develop vaccines for it, China "taught a model by controlling and managing it."

Meanwhile, "this is the sign that social and people welfare are important in China," he said.

As for bilateral relations, he said, "The China issue in Iran is followed with interest and importance."

Noting this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, Haddad-Adel said he would like to congratulate the Chinese nation and government on this occasion.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee holds a press conference to shed light on the celebration activities for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing, capital of China, March 23, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Recalling his visits to China, he said what attracted his attention is "social discipline and the fight against corruption."

Haddad-Adel praised the international image of the CPC and China, saying, "its most important characteristic is not interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries."

Under the leadership of the CPC, instead of seeking to dominate or control other countries in international relations, China has been carrying out exchanges and cooperation with other countries and "I hope such exchanges and cooperation will increase day by day," he added.

(Video reporters: Gao Wencheng, Xia Chen; Video editors: Yang Zhixiang, Pang Yuanyuan, Lv Xinhui, Zhang Yuhong, Che Ling)
Poetry collection by former ambassador hailed as seal of China-Pakistan friendship

18:00, April 12, 2021 By Wu Chaolan ( People's Daily Online

A book launched on Monday entitled "Garlands of Love" has been hailed as a seal of friendship between China and Pakistan.

Lu Shulin, former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan and author of Garlands of Love, speaks at the launching ceremony of his book in Beijing, April 12, 2021. (Photo provided to Peoples Daily Online)

The launching ceremony was held at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Beijing, and was attended by nearly 50 people from both sides.

"Garlands of Love" is a collection of poems and essays written by Lu Shulin, a former Chinese ambassador to Pakistan who is known as the poet of ambassadors in Pakistan due to his literary talent.

"Working in Pakistan for 21 years, I felt the pure, sincere, and profound friendship between the two countries and its people, so I use literature to express my feelings," said Lu at the launching ceremony.

Lu Shulin (R), author of Garlands of Love, and Moin ul Haque, Pakistani ambassador to China, at the launching ceremony of Garlands of Love in Beijing, April 12, 2021. (Photo provided to Peoples Daily Online)

According to Lu, this book is written for the youth of the two countries. "I hope the younger generation can learn how the China-Pakistan friendship was formed and how it thrived after they read this book," said Lu.

Moin ul Haque, the Pakistani ambassador to China, praised "Garlands of Love" as a "beautiful book. "The word Garlands of Love chosen by Ambassador Lu for his book not only describes his attachment to Pakistan but also shows the strong emotion of love and feeling for the Pakistan-China friendship," he said.

Guests attend the launching ceremony of Garlands of Love authored by Lu Shulin in Beijing, April 12, 2021. (Photo provided to Peoples Daily Online)

"Garlands of Love is a useful resource to share for the future. The younger generation, especially the young diplomats of the two countries, should deeply learn from Lu, who has made a great contribution to the Pakistan-China relationship," Haque added.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Pakistan, and the launch of "Garlands of Love" served as one of the celebration activities.

"The friendship of the two countries was forged in the cruelty of the times. It's unique and special. In this extraordinary time the world is facing, the meaning of friendship between our two countries becomes even more important," said Haque.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Bianji)
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday (April 13) informed that he has isolated himself after a few members of his office tested positive for coronavirus infection. The UP CM took to Twitter and shared a post informing about his self-isolation.

"Some officers of my office have tested positive for #COVID19. As a precaution, I have been isolated myself," the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's tweet read.

____ ________ __ ___ _______ ______ __ ________ ___ ____ __ _______ ____ ______ ___ ___ ___, ___ _____ ________ ____ __ _______ __ ____ __ ___ ___ _____ ________ ________ __ ___ ____  Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) April 13, 2021

More details are followed.

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Thirty-nine per cent of Cameroons population lives below the poverty line. Caritas Yagoua has launched a project to combat child malnutrition using moringa leaves and seeds which are rich in protein, vitamins and trace minerals. Italian missionary and project coordinator Fabio Mussi says he hears Pope Francis speaking directly to him through "Laudato si".

By Giada Aquilino  Vatican City

Beginning with the local experience, with concrete actions, from the grass roots, to seek new ways in the battle against the tragedy of malnutrition in Africa. This is how Brother Fabio Mussi, Caritas coordinator for the diocese of Yagoua in the northern part of Cameroon, feels challenged by Pope Franciss Encyclical Laudato si and by the Popes invitation to promote programs capable of demonstrating that the human person can still positively intervene in safeguarding our common home and act generously, supportively and caringly. Originally from Lissione (Italian province of Monza-Brianza), for eleven years this Pime missionary has been working in Comeroon in which 39% of the population lives below the poverty level: the 2019 Human Development Index ranks Cameroon 153rd out of 180 countries.

Caritass work in Yagoua

Famine, climate change, the territorial instability of this Anglophone region, violence toward children, families and entire communities, the encroachment of Nigerian Boko Haram Islamic extremists continue to threaten the population and Cameroons primarily agricultural economy.

One of the schools built by Caritas Yagoua

It is in this context that Caritas operates, in particular in Yagoua, where it has been developing hydraulic projects, constructing and repairing water wells (100 new structures and 80 repaired each year); educational projects, with 32 elementary and pre-schools, seven trade schools and two high schools serving a total of about 10 thousand students; healthcare projects, with several clinics and a diocesan hospital in Tulum (about 60 km from Yagoua); projects providing assistance to displaced persons and refugees; projects contributing to the fight against malnutrition: over the years, in collaboration with the World Food Program, local Caritas agencies have managed a project assisting 12 thousand children in the area of Lake Chad, distributing kits containing food supplements imported by UN agencies.

The crises

In the extreme northern region of Cameroon, the Italian missionary explains to Vatican News, there is an acute to serious malnutrition rate higher than the national average. Six out of ten regions in the country record a stunt in the growth rate and a chronic malnutrition rate greater than 30%. In the region where Brother Mussi works, it is 40%. It is estimated, he reports, that they are more or less 40 thousand underweight children who need to be treated. It also needs to be said that these are reported cases. It does not mean this is the actual situation, because in many cases, given the general insecurity and problems, this average may actually be much higher. In addition, in 2020 we also experienced severe flooding. Some areas lost their crops due to the flooding but also because packs of pachyderms, elephants and rhinoceroses, passed through.

In this territory where being on the periphery seems to have provided a cushion regarding the effects of the Covid pandemic, other illnesses such as malaria and cholera are, however, normal, the missionary says. There are many cases of meningitis, especially between February and March, when it is hot and dry and the wind blows from the desert.

A local solution

Analyzing the situation and the rates of malnutrition in our areas, we became aware, explains the coordinator of Caritas of the diocese of Yagoua, that the only effective system for us at this moment is that of distributing food supplements. This is very important right now. But we began to ask ourselves, he continues, how long this can go on because food supplements cost money and it is complicated to get them here in these parts. There are UN international agencies intervening to combat food insecurity and malnutrition. But, Brother Fabio asks, when these organizations leave, will it still be possible to fight against malnutrition with the same imported products?

Studying the experiences of this place and other nearby countries a little, Brother continues, we discovered that local, internal solutions exist. The most workable seems to be utilizing a local, fairly widespread, yet underappreciated plant: the moringa tree.* It is a that has all the properties needed to complement the nutritional value children receive without a huge expense.

Moringa cultivation

The missionary explains, The moringa tree is native to India, but has been present here for decades. It resists tropical temperatures and drought. In addition, it grows rapidly and produces leaves and seeds that are rich in vegetable protein, minerals and vitamins. Therefore, promoting its cultivation and production on the local level, may bear excellent results. What is more, there is no need that its leaves or seeds be treated. It is enough to dry them and you can mix them in your food or infuse them like tea. From the data we have, tested in other African countries and verified by a number of universities, all a malnourished child needs to be treated is a teaspoonful of moringa powder every day for three months in order to regain strength and weight. The FAO notes that moringa leaves are rich in protein, in vitamins A, B and C and mineral salts and recommends it for expectant women, nursing mothers and small children.

Moringa tree

Laudato si and the pilot project

Pope Francis, emphasizes Brother Mussi, says that the basis of our commitment for and in our common home begins with the recognition of the rights of others so as to follow an ethical and spiritual itinerary that, through various aspects of the current ecological crisis also knows how to treasure the results of the best scientific research available today. The Popes words, he observes, invite us to value the results and experiences of scientific progress, adapting it to various situations for the common good. Change is impossible without motivation and a process of education, the Pope explains. For us, this means that sometimes we should not be satisfied with pre-fabricated solutions, but that we should look for new solutions that are more in keeping with the values proposed by the encyclical. It is for this reason, he continues, that Caritas Yagoua is moving forward with the moringa pilot project.

Brother Mussi and others involved in the moringa project

We had already planned in June 2019 to experiment cultivating the plant ourselves. We distributed the seeds among the farms and agricultural organizers. About 500 moringa trees began to grow. We harvested the leaves and turned it into powder, thus preparing small packets, each weighing 50 grams, at a cost of about 500 CFA francs, that is, approximately .80 Euro. Beginning in September 2020, we began to distribute them at no charge to women who receive assistance in the centers where we work, and in Catholic healthcare centers. The mothers who have children with malnutrition problems can thus receive either seedlings or seeds to plant so they can grow the trees and thus have direct access to the product, becoming autonomous. It is important that this knowledge regarding how to treat certain pathologies, such as malnutrition, is passed on to these women so that, even though they are illiterate, they might know that taking good care of their children means ensuring a better life for everyone.

* Translators note: the moringa tree is also known as a drumstick tree.


Israel is to welcome the return of British holidaymakers who have been vaccinated from next month.

The Middle Eastern country announced it will reopen its borders to groups of foreign tourists who have had both doses of a coronavirus vaccine from May 23.

That is just six days after foreign leisure travel could be permitted to resume under Boris Johnson's plan for easing lockdown restrictions.

Israel said inbound travellers will be required to take a PCR test before boarding their flight, and a serological test upon arrival to prove their vaccination status.

Full details will be released in the coming days. The number of visitors allowed will initially be restricted but will increase 'based on the health situation', the government announced.

A paraglider flies above a beach in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on April 7, 2021

Individual travellers will be welcomed at a later stage.

There is speculation that Israel - which is home to some of the world's most visited religious tourist attractions - will be on the UK Government's 'green' list when it unveils details of its traffic light system for international travel.

This is partly due to 62 per cent of Israel's population receiving at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, which is among the highest proportion in the world.

If Israel is on the 'green' list, UK holidaymakers would not need to self-isolate on their return, meaning it could be a popular summer destination.

Minister of health Yuli Edelstein said: 'After opening the economy, it is time to allow tourism in a careful and calculated manner.

A medic collects a swab sample from a traveller at a rapid COVID-19 testing booth in Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, on April 6, 2021

Medics behind screens collect swabs from travellers at a rapid COVID-19 testing booth in Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, on April 6, 2021

'Opening the tourism is important for one of the fields most hurt during the Covid year.'

Other countries that have said they will reopen their borders for UK visitors in the coming months include Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Turkey.

Meanwhile, a major coronavirus testing firm announced it will offer cut-price PCR tests for travellers returning to the UK.

Randox will charge customers flying with partner airlines 60 for the tests, which typically cost around 120.

The partner airlines have not been identified, but it is understood they will be major carriers and the discount will be available ahead of the summer.

A passenger wearing a mask for protection against the coronavirus pulls her suitcase past a closed shop at Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, which reopened on March 7, 2021

Inbound travellers will be required to take a PCR test before boarding their flight. Pictured: Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv

Passengers get tested for coronavirus after they arrived on a flight to Israel at Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv, in Lod, Israel on March 8, 2021

Last week's UK Government announcement that travellers returning from even 'green' destinations will be required to take PCR tests was met with an angry response from the travel industry.

Many firms wanted people arriving from low-risk countries to be able to take rapid lateral flow device tests, which are significantly cheaper and give results in 30 minutes or less.

PCR tests require swabs being processed in a laboratory, which can take several days and add to the expense.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said reducing the price of testing is 'the magic wand to recovery in the travel sector'.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)  The Rise Apartment building is one step closer to filling its retail spaces.

Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers hosted a soft opening for a few very special guests Monday.

The Louisiana-based franchise chose West Lafayette for its second Indiana location.

When asked why West Lafayette for the second Hoosier location, management said it's a no-brainer.

"Our strategy is to be opening a location in every college town in the Midwest," Area Leader of Restaurants Ulises Dubon told News 18. "The first restaurant was opened at the North gates of LSU and was a huge success for us...we know that college kids are going to be coming out in droves for us."

Raising Cane's isn't only for college kids. They have something for the whole family.

The new West Lafayette location is still looking to add more fresh faces to the team. They're needing to hire around twenty more people.

You can grab some Raising Cane's chicken starting Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.
OTTAWA, ON, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, announced $6.3 million in funding over three years to the Rideau Hall Foundation's new Catapult Canada Access Innovation Fund. This funding comes through the Government of Canada's Goal Getters program, which partners with community organizations to support youth facing barriers so they can complete high school and successfully transition to post-secondary education and/or employment.

The Catapult Canada Access Innovation Fund will support community-based organizations to improve educational outcomes for youth through a wide range of innovative approaches. Funded projects will focus on how young people learn, how they engage at school and the tools they use to learn.

For example, Northern Youth Abroad will receive funding to run a pilot project that will connect over 20 Indigenous students from across the NWT, Nunavut and the Yukon to online instruction, as well as academic and other supports at Camosun College in British Columbia.

"Through this investment in Catapult Canada's Access Innovation Fund, up to 7,500 young Canadians will receive the support they need to complete high school or post-secondary education. Canada's prosperity depends on our young people reaching their full potential. When we set them up for success, all Canadians benefit," said Minister Qualtrough.

"The Rideau Hall Foundation is delighted to be partnering with the Government of Canada on Catapult Canada's Access Innovation Fund," said Teresa Marques, President and CEO of the Rideau Hall Foundation. "The fund is designed to be nimble and responsive, and to quickly deliver resources to youth-serving organizations that are starting or scaling up new learning projects that they might not have otherwise had the capacity to put in place. Most importantly, Catapult Canada offers a unique community to share their experiences and approaches with other organizations across the country, and to build on the success of others."

Story continues

The Catapult Canada Access Innovation Fund at-a-glance:

Flexible financing models to seed innovation and support equity in access to learning and educational opportunity in Canada, while narrowing the gap in students accessing post-secondary education.

Accelerator grants to launch new initiatives, and scale-up successful existing programs.

A range of funding opportunities from $25,000 - $300,000 being made available to youth-serving organizations demonstrating scale, collaboration, and piloting of new approaches.

The first call for funding is open and available to organizations across the country. Visit CatapultCanada.ca for information about eligibility, deadlines, and more.

The Catapult Canada Access Innovation Fund is also supported by private philanthropy, including the Barrett Canada Fund and ScotiaRISE, Scotiabank's 10-year, $500 million initiative to promote economic resilience among disadvantaged groups.

The Access Innovation Fund is one of the key components of a wider initiative called Catapult Canada. Powered by the Rideau Hall Foundation, Catapult Canada is a national platform and community that aims to increase equity of access to learning opportunities for youth. Catapult Canada will work closely with Canadian learning technology leader, D2L, to design a cutting-edge solution that effectively meets the needs of youth around the country. This robust online platform will provide, amplify and share resources among a community of organizations serving youth across the country, and eventually support a mentorship program. All with the goal of eliminating barriers for youth to achieve their ambitions and reach their full potential.

About the Rideau Hall Foundation:

The Rideau Hall Foundation is an independent and non-political charitable organization established to mobilize ideas, people, and resources across the country to tap into our national spirit and help realize our shared aspirations. Learn more at www.rhf-frh.ca.

SOURCE Rideau Hall Foundation

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/13/c4790.html
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The EU plans to get its COVID certificate scheme operational by the end of June to open up travel within the bloc in time for European summer vacations, a senior official said Tuesday.

"This proposal's aim is to facilitate getting back to free movement within the European Union," EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told the European Parliament.

Member states are negotiating final details of the so-called digital green certificate and the parliament is hastening a vote, expected to be held during its next plenary June 7-10.

"So, for end of June we want to be ready with the regulation," Reynders said.

He emphasised that "this is not a vaccination passport" as the certificate would encompass not only data on those who have had jabs but also those with negative PCR test results or those who have recovered from COVID.

"All citizens should be able to benefit from a digital green certificate when travelling... Possession of a vaccination certificate should not and cannot be a precondition to exercise free movement rights," he said.

He also said that use of the certificate would be time-limited, to expire once the World Health Organization declared an end to the pandemic, and its data would be minimal and protected to EU standards.

The document's initial focus will be for European citizens and residents to be able to move more freely within the EUespecially given border restrictions by several member states.

Later, the commission would like to see the "digital green certificate" become interoperable at an international level for travel in and out of the bloc, Reynders said, adding that its experts were in contact with the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization on that.

Use of the certificate would not be mandatory for EU countries, but those that chose to adopt it would be compelled to accept the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, currently from BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

Individual member states could accept other vaccines for entry, at their discretion, Reynders noted.

On a technical level, the commission's proposal avoids the need for a centralised database while ensuring certificates can be authenticated by border officials.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
Apr. 13JUNEAU  The head of the Alaska Senate's Rules Committee has fined Sen. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River, $250 for violating the mask mandate in the Alaska State Capitol during a legislative meeting last week.

Sen. Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, called Reinbold's action an "egregious" violation of rules imposed before the Legislature convened this year. She is the first lawmaker to be fined this year.

Under the Capitol's rules, the fine will be deducted from the daily food-and-housing expense payments that Reinbold and other lawmakers receive. According to a document obtained from the Legislature's nonpartisan administrative office, the fine was assessed last week and has already been paid.

Any subsequent violations would involve a $500 fine.

Legislators and staff are required to wear masks within the state Capitol, undergo COVID testing twice per week, and are screened daily for fevers and other symptoms. The public is not allowed within the building.

Reinbold has repeatedly criticized those precautions.

Asked for Reinbold's thoughts on the fine, a spokesman for the Senate Majority referred to Reinbold's published comments on social media.

On April 10, Reinbold wrote that she took off her mask to protest the fact that children are being required to wear masks.

She removed her mask during a meeting of the Senate Health and Social Services Committee, which was hearing a bill about mental health education in schools.

"I think these masks are ridiculous when we're all testing negative," she said on Monday during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which she leads.

During that meeting, Reinbold and Sen. Mike Shower, R-Wasilla, removed their masks to pose for a picture celebrating the advance of an alcohol-licensing reform bill.
(Natural News) Russia will soon integrate robotic killer tanks armed with a variety of weapons into its military forces. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected the tanks on April 9 at the 766th Production and Technological Enterprise, the factory where the tanks were made, in Nakhabino near Moscow.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced on the same day: The first unit with strike robots will be set up in the Russian Armed Forces to operate five Uran-9 robotic systems or 20 combat vehicles.

A Uran-9 robotic system is an unmanned ground vehicle equipped with 30-millimeter automatic guns, anti-tank missiles and flamethrowers. It is the latest model of the Uran series after the mine clearance robot Uran-6 and firefighting Uran-14. These models will be joined by other similar robots that the Russian army plans to develop in the future.

We expect to continue expanding the range of robots which, of course, are already in demand in the military today, Shoigu said. These will be heavy robots (for mine clearance) and everything related to the further development of scouts, radiation and chemical reconnaissance robots. This applies to surface and underwater robots.

Uran-9 robots were deployed in Syria in 2018 for combat testing but failed to live up to expectations, the National Interest reported. Shortly after the testing, defense ministry researcher Andrei Anisimov told a conference that the robots performance in Syria revealed that modern Russian combat unmanned ground vehicles are not able to perform the assigned tasks in the classical types of combat operations.

Vladimir Dmitriev, head of Uran series designer Kalashnikov Concern, said last week that the firm had resolved the performance issues identified from the test. In particular, the issues of control, reduced mobility, and unsatisfactory military intelligence and surveillance functions had been considered by engineers and were rectified, he remarked. (Related: Russia deploying real-deal doomsday weapon that can flood U.S. coastal cities with nuclear tsunamis.)

The ministry said that troops would undergo training to be able to operate the new tank in special military units. This came as increased military buildup by Russia at Ukraines eastern border0 heightened the tensions between the two countries.

Tensions rise between Russia and Ukraine

Since the middle of last month, Ukraine and Western governments had been warning that Russia was massing troops around Ukraines eastern border and in Crimea, the peninsula south of Ukraine which Russia annexed in 2014.

The Kremlin had been mum about its intentions behind the troop buildup. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed that the large military movements into the regions were internal affairs which concerned no one. He later accused Ukraine of staging provocations.

Ukraine, Western governments and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were alarmed that Russia had regular units and heavy weapons in separatist-held eastern Ukraine. So far, Putin sent 40,000 troops to Ukraines eastern border and another 40,000 to Crimea, BBC reported.

The conflict dated back to Russias meddling starting 1991 in clashes involving former Soviet Union territories. But tensions only rose in 2014 when pro-Russian separatists took over the border area of Donbas in eastern Ukraine. This takeover came after Russias annexation of Crimea, a move that no other country recognized.

There was a large-scale combat in 2014 but a ceasefire followed in 2015. The condition turned hostile once again but is not yet all-out war. Russias use of elite forces, cyber warfare and propaganda in this and other conflicts is hybrid warfare  not a hot war but not a cold conflict either, BBC noted. (Related: Russia testing nuclear missiles and submarines in the Arctic as global tensions escalate.)

Analysts speculated several factors fueling Russias increasingly aggressive behavior. This includes the possibility that Putin might be challenging the United States, which was fresh off a change of administration from former President Donald Trump, who had been much tougher on Russia than the president before him, to President Joe Biden.

It is unclear if Russia plans to deploy its new-age robot tanks to Ukraines borders. But governments around the world and NATO are keeping watch for the possibility of war. Its also worth noting that Russias defense minister specifically ordered designers to improve the tanks ability to withstand the effects of strong electromagnetic radiation as well as radioactive pollution.

Visit WWIII.news to learn more about Russia and how close it is to provoking a third world war.

Sources include:

DailyStar.com

NationalInterest.org

BBC.com

AmericanDefenseNews.com
NANJING, China, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Suning.com (002024.SZ), China's leading smart retail service provider and a Fortune Global 500 company owned by Suning Group, today announced its Retail Cloud subsidiary completed series A financing. CPE China Fund and ADV partners participated in the investment.

Officially launched in July 2017, Retail Cloud is an important business sector that aims to help micro and small business merchants thrive in lower-tier cities and county-level markets in China. With the franchise model, Suning Retail Cloud leverages Suning.com's retail capabilities and deep industry know-how especially in logistics, warehouse, supply chain and technology innovations to help micro and small merchants in county-level markets easily start a business. As of the end of 2020, Suning Retail Cloud has opened a total of 8,000 stores, with annual sales exceeding 20 billion yuan.

Zhang Yinghao, the Managing Director of CPE, said, "The lower-tier cities have broad market space and potentials. Suning Retail Cloud has effectively solved the daily operation difficulties of the supply chain, SaaS, logistics and others for small, medium and micro businesses in the lower-tier market, and realized the empowerment of the entire value chain. More importantly, the excellent team ability of Retail Cloud ensures that it can achieve cross-track replication and rapid expansion in the future. "

Suning Retail Cloud has helped more than 1,800 brands penetrate the lower-tier market, covering tens of thousands of towns and villages in 31 provincial units across the country. It serves more than 200 million users both online and offline, and operates more than 10,000 communities. Retail Cloud is becoming a huge private traffic aggregation platform in the lower-tier market. According to Suning.com's 2020 performance preview, there were 3,201 retail cloud franchise stores opened in 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, there were 600 retail cloud stores opened, and in which 120 stores opened on a single day in March.

With the rapid growth and expansion of the business, Suning Retail Cloud has tapped into opportunities in the home furnishing market in counties and towns, and "duplicated" the successful experience accumulated in-home appliance stores for a long time in the home furnishing field. In March 2021, the first retail cloud furniture store opened in Jiangsu Province.

Suning.com sets its goal of 12,000 retail cloud stores opened by the end of 2021. With the completion of series A financing, Suning Retail Cloud will effectively consolidate its position in the lower-tier markets and lead the O2O full-scenario retail transformation in counties and towns.

According to industry analysts, the continued strengthening of the retail cloud in the lower-tier market will further accelerate Suning.com's retail-focused business development strategy and enables the company to share and empower its retail capabilities in the industry. At the same time, it also confirms that Suning.com is gradually transforming its positioning as a retail service provider.

SOURCE Suning.com
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By acquiring a provider of artificial-intelligence software, the tech giant is hoping to bolster its offerings for the fast-growing field of medical computing.

Microsoft said on Monday that it would buy Nuance Communications, a provider of artificial-intelligence and speech-recognition software, for about $16 billion, as it pushes to expand its health care technology services.

In acquiring Nuance, whose products include the transcription tool Dragon, Microsoft is hoping to bolster its offerings for the fast-growing field of medical computing. Nuance has an established set of customers as well as a wide array of speech and text data related to health care, which is often a vital part of building new systems.

Microsoft and Nuance have been working together since 2019, but the acquisition signals that Microsoft has bigger ambitions for Nuances technology. Microsoft has been making large investments in industry-specific cloud technology, including health care, finance and retail. Microsoft said the acquisition would double the size of the health care market where it competed, to almost $500 billion.

The deal is Microsofts biggest takeover since its 2015 acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. Nuance provides the A.I. layer at the health care point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise A.I., Satya Nadella, Microsofts chief executive, said in a statement. When Microsoft buys a company, its executives typically believe they can do more with the technology than the company it is buying can, a model that fits the Nuance deal, said Brad Reback, an analyst at the investment bank Stifel. That Nuance has proved itself in health care, with its technical and complex vocabulary, means Microsoft could introduce other types of businesses.

Being able to solve that problem makes it that much easier to handle other industries terminology, Mr. Reback said. Nuances tools are also used mostly in the United States, so selling to a global powerhouse like Microsoft will let the company much more quickly sell internationally. We saw the opportunity to superscale how we change an industry, Mark Benjamin, Nuances chief executive, said in an interview.

Microsofts profitable business means it has money to spend. It ended 2020 with $132 billion in cash and has been looking for big deals to put that money to use. It announced a deal in September to spend $7.5 billion on ZeniMax Media, the parent company of gaming studios that make major titles like Doom and Quake.

But other potential acquisitions have not always panned out. Last year, a blockbuster bid to buy TikTok, the viral social network, turned into a political soap opera and fell apart. Microsoft has also looked at buying Discord, a live chat community largely used by gamers, though the status of those talks is unclear. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will pay $56 a share in cash, up 23 percent from Nuances closing price on Friday  a total of about $16 billion. Including assumed debt, the transaction values Nuance at about $19.7 billion.

Nuance was a pioneer in speech recognition. It led the market in the 1990s and 2000s and provided part of the underlying technology for Siri, the talking digital assistant that made its debut on the Apple iPhone in 2011. Licensing technology to Apple and other companies was a key part of its business. Li Deng, who helped lead speech recognition research at Microsoft for nearly two decades, said in an email interview that he urged his bosses to acquire Nuance in 1999 but that Microsoft balked, feeling the price was too high.

Speech recognition underwent a sea change in 2010, when a team of researchers at a Microsoft research lab outside Seattle built a new kind of speech recognition system using a method called deep learning. This method  which was far more effective than earlier technologies  rapidly spread across the industry, with companies like Microsoft, Google and IBM rising to the fore.

This is the technology that now allows Siri, the Google Assistant and other digital assistants to recognize spoken words with near-human-level accuracy. Companies like Microsoft and Google also sell the technology to other companies through what are called cloud computing services. After this shift, Nuance revamped its own business, offering speech recognition and other technologies for specific markets, most notably health care. During a conference call with investors, Mr. Benjamin, the Nuance chief executive, who will remain in the role after the acquisition, said that his companys health care business had grown 37 percent over the past year and that he anticipated additional growth.

Microsoft said Nuance technology was used by more than 55 percent of physicians and 75 percent of radiologists in the United States and in 77 percent of hospitals in the country. The deal gives Microsoft access to half a million doctors and some of the largest hospitals around the world, said Dan Ives, managing director of equity research with Wedbush Securities.

Michael J. de la Merced, Cade Metz, Karen Weise

: nytimes.com
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Honda Cars India on Monday said it has lined up various offers, including cash discount, for customers till end of this month on account of various festivals like Baisakhi, Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Bihu and Poila Baisakh. All customers who plan to buy new cars this month on the auspicious occasion of these festivals could avail the benefits at all authorised company dealerships till April 30, the automaker said in a statement.

The company is offering Rs 38,000 benefit on Amaze, Rs 32,500 on WR-V, Rs 32,000 on Jazz and Rs 10,000 on 5th generation City, it added. The available offers are in the form of cash discounts or accessories and discount on car exchange, the company said. There are additional benefits for existing Honda customers like loyalty bonus and special exchange benefits who trade in their old Honda car, it added.

"Being an auspicious occasion, many customers make their car purchase during this time of the year and our endeavour is to enable buyers avail best value for their money, peace of mind and pride of ownership," Honda Cars India Senior Vice President and Director (Marketing and Sales) Rajesh Goel said.

Personal mobility has become a necessity in the current health scenario and to facilitate a safe, secure and contactless buying experience, the company's online platform and robust sales process at dealerships is fully equipped to support customers, he added.

Also read: Strong March quarter show restricts automobile sales decline in FY21 to 13.6%
Today

A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. High 83F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Rod D. Martin, an officer of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, received pushback from Baptist Pastors after criticizing Pastor Josh King who praised his wife's preaching at Criswell College's Chapel Service.

Pastor Dwight McKissic of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) President Adam Greenway rebuked Rod Martin for taking issue with Jacki King's talk at the Criswell College.

McKissic said that he does not see any problem with King's "Solid. Biblical. Preaching" statement in support of his wife and ministry, reports The Christian Post.

On Monday, King captioned a screenshot tweet of his wife's talk at the Criswell College. She's the keynote speaker and her husband could not be any prouder. Her ministry, according to the Post, has similarities with Bible teacher Beth Moore who has recently announced that she's no longer a member of Southern Baptist.

Martin, who is also the Founder and CEO of The Martin Organization, found King's statement unbecoming as their denomination's conservative culture forbids women preachers.

"In case you were wondering why some of the Conservative @BaptistNetwork's most vociferous opponents are so vocal. She also preached @CriswellCollege's chapel service. When asked, the college denied it was 'preaching.' But just as here, her pastor husband boasted of it," wrote Martin on Twitter.

Replying to Martin, McKissic said that he's "grateful for Criswell College & their ministry consistent with Mrs. Criswell teaching a coed Bible class of 600 adults." He added that "Cornerstone Church will mail Criswell College a generous gift this week in honor of their support for people of color & women; historically marginalized groups."

SWBTS President Adam Greenway also had scathing remarks on Martin's reaction.

"Southern Baptists will truly live up to our moniker as Great Commission Baptists when the outrage expressed toward the men of our tribe who never 'preach' the Gospel (cf. Romans 10:14-17) exceeds the outrage expressed toward the women of our tribe who actually do," he tweeted.

The Post also noted that in another tweet, Greenway praised SWBTS's milestone for being the "the first seminary to grant degrees to women" in 1914 and is "the home of the oldest building continually operated for the theological education of females, Barnard Hall."

Others who commented pointed out that the preaching of the Gospel was commissioned to all Jesus followers regardless of their gender. One went to the extreme by demanding the removal of Martin from SBC's Executive Committee.

Nonetheless, just as he had critics, Martin also had people agreeing with him. One replied that it didn't matter that the college used "keynote speaker" in their promotion because what Mrs. King did is still "preaching." Another questions Pastor King's motive when he posted about his wife's "Solid. Biblical. Preaching."

For the couple in question's background, Josh King is the lead pastor of Second Baptist Church in Conway Arkansas while his wife Jacki is a Bible teacher. Both are graduates of the Criswell College and are presently studying at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary under President Adam Greenway.
Michael Cohen will meet for the ninth time with Manhattan prosecutors this week, it was revealed Monday, in their continued criminal investigation into Donald Trump and his namesake business.

The meeting will add to the more than 300 hours Trump's former fix-it man has already spent coordinating with various inquiries, a source familiar with the investigation told New York Daily News.

As Cohen meets with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.'s team he is still arguing the court should let up on his house arrest sentence due to his continued cooperation against his former boss and participation in several rehabilitation programs.

Vance's team probing Trump Organization is led by white-collar prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.

Cohen was convicted in 2018 of campaign finance violations while working as Trump's personal attorney  he was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to nine charges.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen (pictured left on May 21) will meet with prosecutors for the ninth time this week in his continued cooperation with their investigation into the Trump Organization. In a previous meeting he identified Allen Weisselberg as being involved in the scheme to provide hush payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels

Less than a year after his sentencing, Cohen was released from Otisville Correctional Facility in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic on compassionate grounds. He has been confined to his Trump Park Avenue apartment in Lenox Hill ever since July 2020.

Cohen filed a letter Monday pleading with a Manhattan Federal Court judge to end his home confinement.

'The impetus for said request stems from the well-known fact that The Bureau of Prisons conspicuously slow walks these petitions to moot the determination,' he wrote in the letter representing himself.

Cohen told the Daily News: 'I am not asking for any special favors from the Department of Justice or the Bureau of Prisons. I am seeking judicial intervention to force the Bureau of Prisons to provide me what I am entitled to under the First Step Act.'

Also related to the Trump Organization probe, prosecutors on Thursday took multiple boxes of information from the home of the former daughter-in-law of top Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg  in the latest sign they are focusing the company's chief financial officer.

Manhattan prosecutors issued a subpoena for the bank records for Allen Weisselberg as they shift their attention to the longtime Trump Organization CFO

Jennifer Weisselberg, who used to be married to the executives son Barry, also a Trump Organization employee, delivered the materials outside of her New York apartment.

She said earlier this month her former husband's father will 'turn on' Donald Trump and revealed she has already given documents to prosecutors investigating the former president.

She claims she has seven boxes of records  although a copy of the subpoena and images obtained by the Washington Post showed she furnished three of them, plus a laptop computer.

She wheeled the materials out of her apartment building to a black Jeep.

Jennifer was married to Barry Weisselberg from 2004 to 2018 and the couple went through a divorce, and says she was able to obtain financial information through litigation.

The document handoff is the latest sign that investigators are focusing on Weisselberg, whose tenure at the Trump Organization goes back to his time working for Trump's father, as part of Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance's probe into Trump's finances.

The documents were obtained under a grand jury subpoena that specifically seeks documents related to the Trump-operated Wollman Rink in Central Park, which Barry Weisselberg managed.

Once a talking point for Trump on the campaign trail as a turnaround story, the rink became a flashpoint after the January 6th Capitol riot when Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the city was pulling out of contracts with the Trump Organization. The rink was operated on a cash-only basis.

Weisselberg ran the Trump Organization along with Trump's adult sons Don Jr. and Eric during Trump's time in the White House.

A source told the Post last month prosecutors are seeking to 'flip' Weisselberg in order to obtain his cooperation in their probe of Trump.

Jennifer Weisselberg, who was married to the longtime CFO's son Barry from 2004 to 2018, told CNN that Allen will turn on Trump to protect his own kids from liability

NY prosecutors in have already obtained eight years' worth of Trump's tax return information. Allen Weisselberg pictured second from right behind Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

Jennifer Weisselberg told CNN she thinks her father-in-law would flip.

'I think that he'll turn on him,' she said. 'I think that his sons have too much liability,' she said.

She also said investigators were seeking information about a Trump-owned apartment she lived in for years presented as a 'gift' where the couple lived for years and didn't pay rent.

She told CBS news last month that she had been interviewed by prosecutors from Vance's office and the state attorney general's office, and told CBS they sought information on the arrangement.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen identified Allen Weisselberg as being involved in the scheme to provide hush payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an affair with Trump.

Trump has denied wrongdoing, and charges have not alleged any wrongdoing by the Weisselbergs in the probe of Trump's finances.
D.C.'s geography lends itself to having to play a bigger game when it comes to SEO

SEOblog.com, a fast-growing website providing the latest SEO news, tips and resources and helping business owners connect with leading SEO agencies, has released its exclusive 2021 ratings naming the best SEO companies in Washington D.C.

SEOblog analysts determined the 15 best SEO companies in Washington D.C. based on dozens of key quantitative and qualitative factors. SEOblog industry experts examined each Washington D.C. digital marketing agencys website, industry experience, market presence, client list, portfolio, expert certifications and authorship among other factors in its ranking system.

SEOblog has provided an in-depth view of companies in a particular city or focus area on various directory pages to help business owners find the expert help they need to grow. This was a new, free offer added by SEOblog in 2019.

Washington D.C. has several of the nations top SEO agencies that provide a very competitive digital marketing landscape.

D.C.'s geography lends itself to having to play a bigger game when it comes to SEO, said Seth Price, CEO of BluShark Digital. Given that D.C. is treated as the DMV (D.C., Maryland and Virginia), an agency is challenged to dig deeper into targeting multiple markets across state lines when focusing on local and organic SEO. In a nutshell, when optimizing for D.C. audiences, you often must have an additional physical and local presence in Virginia and Maryland to succeed. It's a little extra heavy-lifting, but ultimately the key to maximizing your ROI in the D.C. market.

SEOblog.com rankings are updated regularly as the market shifts and new players emerge. SEOblog.com has published more than 2,300 agency listings with more added every day. There is no fee to participate, and the website welcomes all qualified agencies to apply.

SEOblog.coms 15 Best SEO Companies in Washington D.C. in 2021:

Bizapult, Logo Prime, PBJ Marketing, BluShark Digital, REQ, Plush Marketing, CRAFT Media Digital, TOPO Digital Seas, Dalton Digital, U.Group, Social Market Way, Progressive Office, Bluetext, KazaamSEO and Alliance Interactive.

Link: https://www.seoblog.com/best-seo-companies/washington-dc/

About SEOblog.com

SEOblog.com is a leading thought leadership site with a rich history of publishing educational and informative articles about SEO and digital marketing topics. In early 2019, SEOblog.com answered the call from buyers of digital marketing services that lacked unbiased, informative online resources and launched a comprehensive directory to highlight the best SEO companies in the United States -- https://www.seoblog.com/best-seo-companies/.

SEOblogs mission is to connect businesses with qualified digital marketing agencies while also offering further SEO education, best practices and industry trends.

SEOblog.com is a one-stop shop for educational SEO and digital marketing content, research, ratings and reviews for the best agencies in each local market across the United States. The website will be increasing its coverage of U.S. SEO agencies and accepting more guest blog posts in the coming months. Contact SEOblog if youre interested in getting involved.
The Ministry of Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) are reportedly pondering to reschedule class 10 and board examination due to the surge in coronavirus cases. Currently, as per the official schedule, the CBSE class 10 and 12 board exams will start from May 4.

However, a large numbers of schools, teachers, parents have urged the board and education ministry to defer the offline examination amid the threat of the second wave of COVID-19. Besides, several politicians like Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Bollywood actor Sonu Sood have also voiced their support for the postponement of the board exams to protect the health of students.

On April 12, the Maharashtra government postponed HSC (Class 12) and SSC (Class 10) board examinations to May and June, respectively, as the state is going through the worst phase of the pandemic. The HSC and SSC examinations were slated to begin on April 23 and 29. Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad has also postponed the state board exams, which were scheduled to start from April 24.

However, issue of rescheduling of the exams has come up but no final decision has been taken so far, a senior official from the Union Ministry of Education told the Times of India. "The ministry is monitoring the situation and is in constant touch with the CBSE," he said.

He added that there are no plans to cancel the board exams or make exams online. The only thing the officials are confabulating about is the dates as the cases are scaling up. Since last year in December, several states opened schools for senior classes as the intensity of COVID-19 infection rates dwindled in the country. But in March 2021, the virus resurged, and schools were shut again. The CBSE even had also shifted the board exams from February 2021 to May 2021 this year.

Also read: Rahul, Sonu Sood, Priyanka urge CBSE to reconsider decision to conduct CBSE board exams

Also read: Priyanka Gandhi urges Education Minister Pokhriyal to cancel CBSE board exams

Also read: #CancelBoardExams: Students continue to spar with CBSE
INDUSTRY INSIGHT

The American Rescue Plan is a win for federal IT modernization. Where should agencies start?

IT modernization continues to be an elusive goal for federal agencies. Addressing outdated and legacy systems is a complex and costly process, and agencies have long called for more money to support their efforts. Despite these challenges, there are signs of optimism.

Last summer, federal agencies responded to a request from Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) for insights into their IT modernization strategies and how Congress can help in the form of funding. Their pleas were heard.

Fast-forward to March 2021, when the newly signed American Rescue Plan set aside $2 billion for federal technology modernization efforts -- half of which will be allocated to high-priority projects through the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).

Its a win for many agencies. But given the complexity of modernization, what initiatives should federal CIOs prioritize? Here are four best practices to consider as agencies debate which challenges to prioritize first.

1. Prioritize network architecture modernization

Though attention is often focused on the need to migrate to the cloud, modernize applications or consolidate data centers, agencies should start their modernization initiatives at the network level. Many of the underlying infrastructure technologies on which government agencies have relied for years dont cut it in a cloud-driven world and fail to support the demands of current and future networks.

Modern software-defined networks are key to providing the flexibility and scalability cloud environments need. SDN network architects can accommodate usage spikes and changing bandwidth requirements, eliminating bottlenecks.

With SDN, many functions of the network infrastructure are also automated, and configuration is simplified because SDN can manage thousands of network switches from a single, centralized controller. This reduces the burden on network administrators and enables agencies to elastically scale the network infrastructure as and when its needed to make smarter use of existing resources and budgets.

2. Link priorities to mission outcomes

Key to any IT modernization strategy is ensuring goals and priorities are linked to mission outcomes. For example, when moving workloads to the cloud, agencies must first identify high-value assets and consider how they would benefit from the improved performance, scalability, reliability and cost efficiencies the cloud provides. They must also drill down into how the service is delivered, who uses it, and the current capabilities and limitations of the technology.

To guide modernization efforts, agencies should identify leaders who have a granular command of the environment and system interdependencies and the impact of any changes to the developer, IT, security and user ecosystem.

3. Ensure insight into network operations  even in hybrid infrastructures

As more agencies adopt hybrid IT networks, IT leaders must investigate and deploy solutions providing insight into network operations and applications no matter where they reside -- in the cloud or on-premises. This can be problematic. As data moves between the cloud and on-site infrastructures, blind spots can emerge. Agencies need tools designed to scale across these dynamic environments so they can achieve visibility into network performance across hybrid IT.

This holistic insight can also provide much-needed visibility into SDN network components -- such as the physical, logical and software layers -- in one place, rather than requiring IT teams to jump from tool to tool.

Only with this complete and clear perspective can network administrators ensure reliable, fast, and well-protected networks.

4. Plan and be patient

There are many examples of agencies that are excelling at IT modernization. The Small Business Administration, Social Security Administration, Departments of Defense and Education each outlined their modernization strategies in response to Hassans request. The agencies that are serious about their modernization plans are reaping the rewards. In its letter to Hassan, SSA stated it expects to realize efficiency gains of 20% by year three of its modernization efforts with a positive ROI of 12%. DOD also anticipates reduced operating costs through cloud migration and automation.

Clearly, for IT modernization efforts to succeed, agencies must be meticulous in their plans. They must look to their peers, adopt best practices and acknowledge patience is key.

This approach has been fully embraced by the Department of Homeland Security. Following a rigorous audit, DHS adopted a phased approach to its modernization initiatives through 2024. The plan focuses on its top five priorities, including network modernization, data center consolidation and cloud migration. This mammoth undertaking will allow the department (with the help of TMF funds) to modernize its network and move operations to the cloud. DHS will also operate a hybrid computing environment as workloads migrate from its physical data centers.

Funding aside, agencies must focus on the big picture

While Congress-backed funding is a massive step in the right direction for federal IT modernization efforts, no one should lose sight of the fact that proper planning, patience and a clear understanding of the problems agencies are trying to solve will ultimately drive the most successful modernization initiatives.
Alina Chan is a postdoctoral fellow at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and a genetic engineer who began doing some of the most controversial research into the coronavirus from her home. It started with the viruss genetic blueprint: Shed studied SARS-CoV-1, which spread to humans back in 2003 and is closely related to the newer virus. What stood out to Chan was that it looked like the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, wasnt having to adapt to spread like SARS-CoV-1 did, and she couldnt figure out why. Chan typed up her findings and included scenarios that could explain them, including the possibility that a nongenetically engineered virus was grown in a lab and accidentally spilled. Her paper never claimed that the lab leak was the only explanation for the pandemicjust one that deserved consideration. But the political landscape last spring made that careful suggestion radioactive in the scientific community. Before she published her paper, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton had suggested that COVID was manufactured as a bioweapon from Chinese scientists, and thenPresident Donald Trump said he had reason to believe that the outbreak originated from a laboratory in Wuhan. All this meant that a lot of scientists were reluctant to go anywhere near Chans hypothesis when it finally published, yet she insists that its more than possible to take the lab leak theory without playing into or encouraging such dangerous notions. I spoke with Chan on Tuesdays episode of What Next to further dig into the hypothesis. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Alina Chan: When you compare SARS-CoV-1 with SARS-CoV-2, it is striking that there is this period of rapid mutation adaptation to the host that you could see in SARS-CoV-1 and not the new virus.

Mary Harris: So with SARS-CoV-1, you could see it like changing day to day, trying to figure out how to stick around its host.

Not day to day, but between patients. Based on the sequences they got from patients at the time, you could see it picking up dozens of mutations, functional mutations, within the first two or three months. But the novel virus was genetically stable. It was changing very little.

You published this paper back in May 2020 where you said maybe we should consider the idea that this coronavirus came from a lab. At the time, what was the main theory about where COVID had come from?

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It had been announced by the Chinese government and in January that most likely this virus had come from illegally sold wildlife in a wet market. But over time, that story seemed to disintegrate. And by May, about two or three weeks after my paper came out, the Chinese CDC director actually announced that the market was a victim. He said it was most likely a cluster.

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Where did the Chinese CDC director think it had started?

He didnt provide any answers, but at the time the genetic and the epidemiological evidence did not point to the market being the source of the virus. In Wuhan, there were early versions of the virus that didnt seem to pass through the market. They seemed to precede or be in parallel to the market.

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I want to be really clear that I still think wildlife trade is a plausible scenario. But I think its essential that we have a real investigation, a credible one that is free from political influence, into whether this virus could have come from a lab or from the wildlife trade.

Most of the questions that you and others are raising revolve around the Wuhan Institute of Technology. Tell me more about it.

Its Chinas first BSL-4 laboratory. Its a very prestigious, highly funded institute that studies viruses.

BSL-4 is the highest level of international bioresearch safety. You can have potentially dangerous stuff in there. And researchers are definitely studying viruses that look a lot like COVID, right?

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Yes, they have the closest virus genome to SARS-CoV-2, and its called RaTG13. That has its own interesting story because its linked to these cases among some miners in South China. The WIV was one of the labs that followed up on those mysterious cases. They collected numerous viruses from that mine where the miners had been sickened with the SARS-like illness, and the closest relative was from that mine.

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My understanding is there was a researcher there who would literally go into caves and gather up the virus and bring it back to the lab.

They had a lot of younger scientists and personnel getting into the caves, which are not like tourist destinations where people can arrive by the busload. They have to really squeeze in there and catch and sample all these tens of thousands of bats. And theyve been doing it for the past decade. Sometimes theyre in full hazmat suits, but sometimes they dont wear PPE when they do collections.

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Prolonged contact with so many bats means these scientists are exposed to whatever the bats in these caves might be carryingand any potential exposure goes home with them to Wuhan. And the bats studied in South China cant fly as far as Wuhan.

The question is, what was the conduit for a SARS-CoV-2 virus to get all the way from South China up into central China, where Wuhan is? This lineage of viruses that can only be found like a thousand kilometers down south. Wuhan is not a place where you have millions of these viruses residing in bats.

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In addition, theres research from this institute showing that its pretty rare for humans to actually be infected by bats with the coronavirus, so it was unlikely that a human got infected and got all the way up Wuhan and started an outbreak. But years before COVID became what it is today, U.S. Embassy officials had visited the institute and sent warnings back to Washington saying there wasnt enough safety at the lab. Have you had a chance to look at those cables and think about the implications there?

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I looked at those cables, but actually the thing that was most interesting to me was that in one of the cables, they said that China was prototyping the first global virus collection program. So then what happened to that? Wheres the prototype? Where is this virus collection? The safety issue is important, but its also important to note that labs around the world, they all have safety issues, and its not clear which labs are having how many accidents a year. But these processes do have accidents.

Just because accidents happen.

We have all of these virus hunting programs spread everywhere, especially in developing countries. Theyre worth hundreds of millions of dollars. And its not just that many, many groups of scientists all draw from this money. Theres a disincentive for them to advocate for an investigation into origins because it could shift the perception of their work as life-saving, as pandemic-preventing, to one that could actually result in a pandemic and in lives lost.
Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has broken a five month silence on the scandal that forced her resignation, claiming she was bullied out of the role and ended up on the brink of suicide.

In her first interview after the scandal, she has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Scott Morrison over his scathing attack of her in parliament last October, describing it as 'one of the worse acts of bullying I've ever witnessed'.

A defiant Ms Holgate has opened up on the toll it took on her life, hours after she fronted a Senate inquiry where she revealed she was 'suicidal' after being publicly pushed from her role.

The saga began when she was found to have gifted four Australia Post executives luxury watches as bonuses after they sealed a lucrative deal.

She revealed she hadn't ruled out legal action and had a personal message for Mr Morrison for help in settling her ongoing feud with her former employer.

Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate (pictured at the Senate inquiry on Tuesday) has broken her silence over the scandal that forced her resignation

'Maybe if the Prime Minister is watching he could give me a call and I would love an apology, but he could help me resolve my contract,' she told ABC's 7.30.

She didn't see Mr Morrison's angry address during Question Time demanding her to immediately resign until several weeks afterwards, and admitted it's still painful to watch.

'I think it's one of the worst acts of bullying I've ever witnessed,' Ms Holgate said

'And even now I have to take myself out of myself to watch it. It's an utter disgrace.'

'I think you would have rather hoped that before someone publicly hung and humiliated you, that they may pick up the phone and call you and ask you directly what happened and why.'

Speaking about her reasons for finally speaking out, Ms Holgate said she wanted to take a stand against a culture of harassment and bullying by powerful men.

'I thought it was critically important that we speak out for all people that have been bullied. I want what happened to me to never happen again,' Ms Holgate said.

'I didn't need to sit and contemplate what those men did to me. And I did it because I want to stop to work place bullying, I want a stop to this ridiculous intimidation.

'They harassed me and they thought they'd got away with it.'

Christine Holgate (pictured on 7.30) said she hasn't ruled out legal action against Australia Post after she was publicly slammed for gifting watches to executives

The former Australia Post boss has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured), describing his attack on her as 'one of worse acts of bullying I've ever witnessed'

Ms Holgate defended her decision to gift $20,000 worth of Cartier watches to four executives as a bonus for saving a 'very, very important service' for rural and regional Australia.

'Truth of the matter was it was all about a service call being threatened with closure,' she said.

'If we lost that service, that would have meant 55 per cent of all communities in Australia would have no access to any financial services because the banks had already left.

'If anyone's in any doubt about how important this (investment) was, go into the local community post office and ask the owner,' she said.

'This was for actually getting a life-saving investment that many could have argued the government should have been giving to us to save the post offices.

Ms Holgate added the bonuses were 'celebrated' internally before it became public and sparked national outrage.

'I wanted to give them something special, it was a moment in time and one of the team had worked at Deutsch [Bank] and he shared about how they would always given watches and I, you know, I agreed with him,' she said.

'I thought it was an appropriate recognition and I was immensely proud of those four people.'

Christine Holgate (pictured in 2017) spent three years in the top job at Australia Post

Ms Holgate recalled her outrage of receiving a letter from the Australia Post chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo saying that she had agreed to stand down.

'It's not plausible, I never agreed to do it, I asked constantly for details of when I did,' she said.

'Even again went back to them after their letter and said 'tell me when exactly this phone call took place'. Their response was, 'we will have to talk to our lawyers'.'

'They did nothing to defend my reputation. I can't see one act where that chairman genuinely tried to help and support me.'

She described the last five months as shocking but remains optimistic about the future.

'I hope that going forward I'll be a stronger leader from this, a more compassionate leader, because I know what it feels like to be the person on your own facing a massive organisation,' Ms Holgate said.

'I really believe in our country, I believe in the importance of e-commerce and the importance of growth, I don't mind taking on a hard challenge, so I'm ready to jump back in again.

Christine Holgate defended her decision to gift four executives Cartier watches as a bonus

Ousted Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate reveals she was left suicidal and unable to sleep after Scott Morrison 'humiliated' her over Cartier watches scandal

By Charlie Moore, political reporter for Daily Mail Australia and AAP

Ousted Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has slammed Scott Morrison for 'humiliating her' in public after she gifted Cartier watches to executives and revealed she was 'suicidal' after being forced out of the company.

Wearing suffragette white for a senate hearing on Tuesday, Ms Holgate said she was 'thrown under the bus' and 'driven to despair' when she offered to resign in November.

She revealed she was 'going through hell' in the days after Mr Morrison demanded her resignation, saying: 'I was seriously ill, I was on [insomnia medication] temazepam. I was suicidal.'

Ms Holgate also claimed she was treated so poorly because she is a woman.

'I have never seen any male public servant depicted in that way. So do I believe it's partially a gender issue? You're absolutely right I do,' she said.

'I think it would be fair to say I've never seen a media article comment about a male politician's watch and yet I was depicted as a prostitute,' she added, referring to media scrutiny over her gifts.

The prime minister last year roasted Ms Holgate for giving four executives luxury Cartier watches worth $20,000 in October 2018 as a reward for securing a $66 million deal with three big banks.

On hearing about the reward, a furious Mr Morrison told Parliament the Cartier gifts were disgraceful and appalling.

'She's been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn't do that, she can go,' he said.

Ms Holgate, who was born in Cheshire, north England, claims she offered to go on annual leave pending an investigation and later offered to resign.

But she said her contract has never been resolved and claims on LinkedIn that she is still CEO, despite the board appointing a new boss, former Woolworths executive Paul Graham.

Ms Holgate said she would be willing to return as CEO but only if chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo - aka Lucho - left the company, something he refused to do.

She said she was treated 'like a criminal', 'abandoned to a media firestorm' and wrongfully ousted against her will.

In her opening statement to a senate inquiry on Tuesday, Ms Holgate said: 'I was humiliated by our prime minister for committing no offence and then bullied by my chairman.

Christine Holgate in the senate hearing

She added: 'Lucho unlawfully stood me down under public direction of the Prime Minister. This made my leadership at Australia Post untenable and seriously threatened my health.

'I have done no wrong. Their bullying of me was far from over.

'The simple truth is I was bullied out of my job. I was humiliated and driven to despair. I was thrown under the bus by the chairman of Australia Post, to curry favour with his political masters. But I'm still here and I'm stronger for surviving it,' she said.

Chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo has hit back at Ms Holgate's accusations, insisting that he never wanted her to step down.

'I view the purchase of the watches as an error of judgement made in good faith by an otherwise highly effective CEO,' he said.

The chair said he did not believe she was owed an apology by the board but implied she was treated badly by the media and the government.

'Christine Holgate has been treated abysmally, but I believe the board and management did the right things by her,' he said.

Mr Di Bartolomeo revealed that Communications Minister Paul Fletcher called him at 1.09pm and 1.30pm on 22 October - hours after the watch scandal broke - to tell him that he wanted Ms Holgate to stand aside.

The chair said he called a board meeting at 4pm that afternoon and the board agreed to ask Ms Holgate to stand aside and to take further action if she refused.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said Mr Fletcher did not direct him to stand Ms Holgate aside but made his desires clear.

In her statement to the inquiry which contained emails, photos of cards and a letter to her lawyers, Ms Holgate blamed Mr Di Bartolomeo for her being forced out of the top job.

The former Blackmores executive said the watches were bought legally and signed off by then-chairman John Stanhope, auditors, and Australia Post's chief financial officer.

An independent investigation later cleared Ms Holgate of any dishonesty, fraud, corruption, or intentional misuse of taxpayer funds.

She insisted the gift of the watches was signed off and no-one raised any eyebrows.

'[It was] widely celebrated within the organisation, and presented at a morning tea by the previous chairman and me with a thank you card signed by both of us,' she wrote.

'It was then found to be legal by the 'review' which was clearly intended to find it otherwise.'

Pictured: Australia Post Chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo appears before a Senate estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra on November 9

Mr Di Bartolomeo told an inquiry last November he would have blocked the purchase of the luxury watches if he was in charge when the gifts were handed out.

'He lied repeatedly to the Australian people and to their parliament about his actions,' she claimed in the submission.

'Time after time he has made statements that I had agreed to stand down when I had done no such thing.

'He then abandoned me to a media firestorm that he and others had created and cut me off from resources, despite knowing that these events had caused me to seek mental health care and medication.'

Last Wednesday Mr Di Bartolomeo hit back with a 1,000-word statement and said Ms Holgate was a 'very good chief executive' but accused her of making a series of incorrect claims in her submission.

'Ms Holgate agreed with me to stand aside from her role pending the outcome of the shareholder departments' investigation and any further actions taken by Australia Post,' he said.

'The board's intent was to ensure that both Ms Holgate and the organisation could focus their attentions on full co-operation with the investigation.

Ms Holgate said the watches were given as a reward to four executives who worked hard over a deal with Australia's big banks. Pictured: An Australia Post store in Sydney

'The board did not stand down, or suspend, Ms Holgate from her role - that being an unnecessary consideration given her agreement to stand aside.'

He claimed the agreement was reached in telephone conversations, which go against Ms Holgate's claim that the pair communicated in two emails on the same afternoon that Mr Morrison demanded she step aside.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said he and Ms Holgate did not speak after the Question Time comments, 'however, phone records support my recollection - including that we had conversations at 4.27pm and 5.50pm on that day'.

In response to Ms Holgate's comment that she only 'offered to resign' and never signed the deed of release, the chairman said she wrote to Australia Post at 10.46am on November 2 advising her immediate resignation.

'We understand that Ms Holgate then released the statement at 2pm and subsequently advised the Australia Post Executive Team at 2.29pm that she had done so,' he said.

Ms Holgate said she had two witnesses who could support her version of events, including Australia Post's human resources boss Sue Davies who joined her on the three-hour trip to Sydney from Canberra after Mr Morrison's comments.

It was within those three hours that Ms Holgate and Mr Di Bartolomeo exchanged emails, according to her statement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the gifts were as unacceptable and ordered her to step down

In his lengthy statement, Mr Di Bartolomeo also said he did not try to restrict Ms Holgate from working elsewhere for 12 months.

'Ms Holgate claims that I made a counteroffer which would have prevented her from working for 12 months without pay. That is not correct.

'The existing provisions of Ms Holgate's contract of employment contained non-compete provisions, as is common for such senior executive roles. These provisions apply only to working for a competitor for a period of six months from the end of Ms Holgate's employment - and therefore expire on May 2, 2021.

'Regarding payment, Ms Holgate had already advised the Board and stated publicly that she was not seeking any financial compensation.'

The ex CEO also said she asked Australia Post for support but was met with 'continuous requests to examine credit card expense records, on the disguise that they must be made public, presumably to cause me even greater harm'.

But Mr Di Bartolemo said he was complying with a freedom of information request.

'She also claims there were leaks of misleading reports regarding the management of expenses. This is not correct,' he added.

'Australia Post was obligated to disclose information regarding credit card transactions and other expenses, in response to Senate Committee questions and Freedom of Information requests.'
Egypt has seized the container ship barring the Suez Canal in March, according to the vessel's owner on Tuesday. This is during a dispute over the amount of compensation the nation is owed after the weeklong shutdown of the waterway.

Egypt Seizes Ever Given

The action pressurizes Ever Given's Japanese owner to discuss a settlement that Egyptian authorities are alleging should be an estimated $1 billion for damage to the canal. It also lost business while the stuck ship barred an important artery for global trade.

One court in Ismailia granted the appeal regarding the Ever Given vessel at the instruction of the Suez Canal Authority. It was not reported who the SCA desires compensation from.

According to Lt. Gen. Osama Rabie, the hulking Ever Given would not be permitted to leave Egypt until a compensation amount is settled on with the vessel's owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha. According to him, "The vessel is now officially impounded. They do not want to pay anything," reported Financial Review.

The move highlights the legal complications after Ever Given's grounding on March 23. This led to the canal being closed for nearly a week and roiled shipping markets. Logjams are slated to continue in the future weeks at major ports, including Rotterdam and Singapore, due to disruptions to schedules.

The Taiwanese-operated, Japanese-owned, and Panama-flagged vessel was diagonally stuck in the narrow but important global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23. This set forth a prolonged a six-day-long effort by Egyptian international salvage specialists and personnel to dislodge it.

Maritime data company Lloyd's List stated the blockage had held up roughly a $9.6 billion worth of cargo daily between Europe and Asia. The canal is economically vital to Egypt. The country lost from $12 to $15 million in revenues for each day the waterway was closed, said the canal authority.

Ever Given Stuck Again in Suez Canal, Needs To Pay Egypt $1B for Damages

According to Rabie, the compensation figure was calculated based on "the losses incurred by the grounded vessel as well as the flotation and maintenance costs, according to a court ruling handed down by the Ismailia Economic Court." Rabie did not explicitly cite the Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha. However, according to a different source at the SCA on Tuesday, deals over damages between insurance firms, that company, and the canal authority were underway, reported The Business Times.

The waterway's manager seized the vessel upon an order from an Egyptian court. The move was compared to an arrest. Ryu Murakoshi, a spokesman for the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., "They are still talking to us. So we will continue negotiations on compensation," reported The Wall Street Journal.

The SCA has stated compensation is required to cover losses of transit fees, the cost of equipment and labor, and damage to the waterway during the dredging and salvage efforts. It has calculated it missed out on an estimated $15 million of transit fees every day.

No immediate comment was taken from the vessel's owner. Rabei remarked the order to impound the vessel was issued on Monday by a court in Ismailia. The vessel's staff has been informed on Tuesday.

Suez Canal Open Again, Shipping To Be Snarled for Months

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / Glenbriar Technologies Inc. (CSE:GTI.X) (the "Company") announces that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and provincial health orders limiting the number of persons in public gatherings, the Company determined not to hold an in person shareholders meeting. The Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders is being held through the Zoom application, which requires internet connectivity.

In order to access the Meeting through Zoom, Shareholders will need to download the application onto their computer or smartphone and then once the application is loaded, enter the Meeting ID and Password below or open the following link:

Time: Apr 14, 2021 12:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us05web.zoom.us/j/87946580129?pwd=bkR4dXE5dDhXTEZiZTREUzhNNCthQT09

Meeting ID: 879 4658 0129

Passcode: iNaQ83

For further information, please contact:

Doug Taylor, CEO

Investor Relations

Telephone: 1 (778) 724-1301

E-mail: irglenbriartech@gmail.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or forward looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" 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 Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward-looking information relating to the business of the Company, financing and certain corporate changes. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is 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.

SOURCE: Glenbriar Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640072/Glenbriar-Announces-Access-Codes-for-Annual-Shareholder-Meeting
IBX's genomic sequencing and biomaterials expertise will define changes in transmission and identify new COVID-19 mutations

Today, Infinity BiologiX ("IBX"), a next-generation central laboratory, announced that it has been awarded a contract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "Genomic Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 Variants", to provide genomic sequencing and new variant identification of samples of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005510/en/

IBX NextSeq used for COVIDSeq strain determination. (Photo: Business Wire)

IBX will sequence the viral genomes of random, de-identified samples in the US that test positive in the course of providing molecular diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 for providers and patients. IBX will provide the CDC with completed whole viral sequences in order to aid the CDC in its large-scale longitudinal genomic survey of the virus. The CDC's survey expects to provide baseline information for national and state-level surveillance, identify new variants, and ultimately improve the public health response in the US.

"Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus first discovered outside of the United States in regions such as the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa have now been identified in the US, and IBX is honored to be among a select group of companies that the CDC tasked with this critical next step in the pandemic response." said Robin Grimwood, CEO at IBX. "IBX has the analytical expertise in genomics, as well as extensive COVID-19 testing data which we hope will aid in controlling this deadly virus."

IBX launched its COVID-19 saliva-test in May, after receiving FDA emergency use authorization. It was the first test to utilize saliva as the primary biomaterial for SARS-CoV-2, and IBX subsequently became the first company to offer an at-home collection with this approach, to date IBX has performed almost 7 million diagnostic tests across its 2 sites in NJ (Piscataway) and MN (Oakdale).

About Infinity BiologiX

Infinity BiologiX (IBX) is a market-disrupting next-generation central laboratory supporting academia, government, and industry. IBX provides global sample collection, processing, storage, and analytical services integrated with scientific and technical support in both the research and clinical arenas. As a leader in biomaterials, IBX provides support to the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and research in the genomics, precision, and regenerative medicine arenas. IBX previously operated as RUCDR Infinite Biologics before spinning off from Rutgers University-New Brunswick in August 2020. For more information, visit www.ibx.bio.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005510/en/

Contacts:

IBX Contacts:

Media: Judy Hopkins

judy@infinity-biologix.com
 Close Derek Chauvin found guilty on all charges

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is expected to appeal his conviction after being found guilty on all charges in the murder of George Floyd.

The jury found Chauvin was:

Guilty of second-degree unintentional murder

Guilty of third-degree murder

Guilty of second-degree manslaughter

Joe Biden said the conviction of Chauvin in the killing of Mr Floyd could be a giant step forward for the nation in the fight against systemic racism. But he declared that its not enough.

Chauvin remains in the maximum security prison there and is currently under administrative segregation, otherwise known as solitary confinement, for his safety, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Corrections told CNN.

On Wednesday, US Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a sweeping investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis, which will assess whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests.

Sentencing was scheduled for 16 June, exactly eight weeks from today.

Read More:

Read The Independents updates and analysis below.
ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicken Salad Chick, the nation's only Southern inspired, fast casual chicken salad restaurant concept, announced today the opening of its newest restaurant in Christiansburg, Virginia. Following the brand's state debut in Richmond in 2019, the Christiansburg location highlights Chicken Salad Chick's continued expansion plans for Virginia, marking the first restaurant in the greater Roanoke area with additional locations slated to open in Hampton and Roanoke later this year. The Christiansburg restaurant, which is located at 2575 Market Street Northeast, will celebrate its grand opening on April 27 by offering free chicken salad for a year to first 100 guests. Those awarded will be properly distanced and will receive a designated return time upon arrival to spread out the number of guests at the restaurant throughout the day.

Chicken Salad Chick is closely following Virginia's state and local guidelines for COVID-19 procedures and will open the Christiansburg restaurant with social distancing measures in place. All employees will be wearing masks, as well as practicing proper handwashing and food safety protocol, and all guests will be required to wear masks until seated for dining. The Christiansburg restaurant will also feature patio seating for added convenience.

During grand opening week, guests will experience the Southern hospitality that Chicken Salad Chick is known for, with giveaways and specials that include:

Tuesday, April 27  Free Chicken Salad for a Year  The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests can arrive starting at 7am for grand opening day only.

 Free Chicken Salad for a Year  The first 100 guests will receive one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per month for an entire year, with one of those lucky guests randomly selected to win one large Quick Chick of chicken salad per week.* Guests can arrive starting at for grand opening day only. Wednesday, April 28  The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Special will receive a free Chick Special redeemable on their next visit.

 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Special will receive a free Chick Special redeemable on their next visit. Thursday, April 29  The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick tumbler.

 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick tumbler. Friday, April 30  The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick hat.

 The first 50 guests to purchase a Chick Trio will receive a free Chick hat. Saturday, May 1  The first 50 guests to purchase two large Quick Chicks will receive a free large Chick cooler.

The Christiansburg restaurant is owned and operated by first time Chicken Salad Chick franchise owners Mary Lisa and Lee Anderson of RJP Concepts, LLC. No strangers to the world of franchising, the Andersons owned seven successful Plant Fitness locations across Alabama, Georgia and Florida for over a decade and excel in managing a team and streamlining operations. The husband and wife team sold their Planet Fitness portfolio and when they decided to reenter franchising in 2019, the duo knew the concept needed to be family-oriented and unique. The Andersons discovered Chicken Salad Chick five years ago in Dothan, Alabama and the Southern-inspired restaurant made a lasting impact. The pair decided to relocate their family from Alabama to Virginia to help build the brand in an entirely new market, and following the Christiansburg opening, the Andersons plan to develop four additional Chicken Salad Chick locations, including another Roanoke restaurant slated for this summer.

"When we first encountered Chicken Salad Chick, our family fell for the brand's core value of spreading joy, enriching lives, and serving others, and we knew this was the perfect concept to continue our journey in franchising," said Mary Lisa Anderson. "We are all so excited to call southwest Virginia our new home. The area is filled with an active and outdoorsy population who crave fresh, flavorful foods, but have not yet experienced anything like Chicken Salad Chick. As we open our doors, we cannot wait to not only meet our new Christiansburg neighbors and friends, but also watch them experience the brand's made-from-scratch menu items for the very first time."

Chicken Salad Chick in Christiansburg will be open Monday  Saturday from 10:30 a.m.  8 p.m. For more information, visit www.chickensaladchick.com. Follow Chicken Salad Chick on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends.

*Guests should arrive between 7-10am to get checked in, while maintaining social distancing. The first 100 guests will be assigned a number and designated return time between 10am-11:30am. Upon return, guests will make a purchase of a "Chick Special" or anything of greater value and enter a code on the CravingCredits app to officially secure your spot. If you are late, or miss return time, your spot will be awarded to next in-line. Guests must be 16 years or older, redemption begins 5/3/21.

For more information on giveaways and specials, visit https://www.facebook.com/ChickenSaladChickChristiansburgVA

About Chicken Salad Chick

Chicken Salad Chick serves full-flavored, Southern-style chicken salad made from scratch and served from the heart. With more than a dozen original chicken salad flavors as well as fresh side salads, gourmet soups, signature sandwiches and delicious desserts, Chicken Salad Chick's robust menu is a perfect fit for any guest. Founded in Auburn, Alabama by Stacy and Kevin Brown, in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has grown to more than 185 restaurants in 17 states. Today, under the leadership of Scott Deviney and the Chicken Salad Chick team, the brand is continuing its rapid expansion with both franchise and company locations. Chicken Salad Chick has received numerous accolades including rankings in Franchise Times' Fast & Serious for the second consecutive year, Fast Casual.com's top Movers and Shakers from 2018 to 2020, QSR's Best Franchise Deals in 2019 and 2020, and Franchise Business Review's Top Food Franchises in 2020. See www.chickensaladchick.com for additional information.

Contact:

Shana Rosenthal

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

SOURCE Chicken Salad Chick

Related Links

http://www.chickensaladchick.com






Haiti - Social : The forces of evil speak loud and clear, defeat our country





In a press note, the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, through the voice of Mgr Max Leroy Mesidor, says he has seen for some time the descent into hell of Haitian society; that the violence of armed gangs takes an unprecedented proportion. Also he denounces complacency and complicity wherever they come from; and calls on the State authorities to ensure that those kidnapped are released as soon as possible.





"[...] Haitians from here and elsewhere, Sisters and brothers, 1 - For some time now, we have seen the descent into hell of Haitian society. The forces of evil speak loud and clear, defeat our country and seriously threaten our hope as a people.





The violence of armed gangs takes an unprecedented proportion. Thus, fear sets in minds and hearts. The people or groups of people who provide the weapons, the public authorities who do nothing to resolve this crisis are not immune to all suspicion. We denounce complacency and complicity wherever they come from. 2 - The Bishops, the clergy of Port-au-Prince and the people of God from here and elsewhere are bitterly indignated

at the latest turns of events which accentuate the situation of insecurity in the Country:



Repeated massacres in Bel Air https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33437-haiti-flash-attack-in-bel-air-all-the-details-and-assessment-investigation.html





Fire in several houses in this neighborhood;





Spectacular kidnapping of an Adventist Pastor and a group of faithful https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33390-haiti-flash-live-kidnapping-of-4-people-during-a-religious-service-video.html ;





Disruption, on Maundy Thursday, of the chrism mass in the Cathedral of Port-au-Prince by heavy and threatening gunfire from armed groups who enjoy impunity.



Added to all this, the kidnapping https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33459-haiti-insecurity-the-church-victim-of-kidnapping.html on Sunday April 11 of five priests, two nuns and three members of the family of Father Jean Anel Joseph, of the Society of the Fathers of Saint Jacques. The abducted people were going to participate in the installation of Father Jean Ane! as pastor of the Immaculate Conception parish of Galette Chambon.



Faced with this lamentable and revolting situation, the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince cries out his anger and his dismay. He calls on the state authorities to ensure that those kidnapped are released as quickly as possible, without payment of ransom, and that the entire country finally breathes a renewal of security and serenity.



The Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince also expresses its closeness and sympathies to all victims of kidnapping and any other form of violence, often with the flagrant indifference of public authorities.



Priests, pastors, men and women religious spend themselves body and soul for the integral human development of their brothers and sisters. They have the right, like any other citizen, to expect respect and security. They will not back down in the face of intimidation.



We call for security and peace for all missionaries and all people. We demand the Immediate and unconditional release of our detained brothers and sisters.



To kidnappers and kidnappers, we say loud and clear :



Sispan n detwi peyi a,

Sispan n detwi lespwa pep Ayisyen

Sispan n mode dwet kap banou manje



May the light of the Risen Christ enlighten us and may the God of life accompany us in our walk, through steep paths, towards a better tomorrow !"



HL/ HaitiLibre


















To the editor:

With the surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations in Midland County and surrounding area, could our representatives in Lansing  Sen. Jim Stamas and Rep. Annette Glenn  tell us what measures the Michigan Legislature is taking to help stem this rise? Michigan is now back into the group of the five most COVID infected states.
Ireland's church leaders have urged politicians to treat Northern Ireland's 'fragile peace with care'.

Following recent disturbances in Northern Ireland, the Church Leaders Group (Ireland) has written an open letter to political leaders in Northern Ireland, the governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland and the European Union.

The full letter reads as follows:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God

As Christian Church Leaders from across the island of Ireland we appeal to our political leaders to come together in a unified response to the heartbreaking scenes witnessed on our streets last week and renew their commitment to peace, reconciliation and the protection of the most vulnerable.

The causes of this most recent outbreak of violence are complex and, in some respects, deep-rooted. Church representatives and other community leaders working on the ground in affected communities have spoken to us of their frustration at seeing another generation of young people risk their lives and their futures because repeated warnings about the need to treat our fragile peace with care went unheeded.

The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement has rightly been held up as a beacon of hope for societies in conflict around the world. The significant reduction in violence since 1998 is a major achievement that serves to remind us that the problems we face at present are not insuperable. But that experience also teaches us that these challenges can only be addressed by political leaders coming together with a genuine desire to find solutions and accommodations which meet the legitimate concerns of others as well as their own. The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, and the subsequent agreements that built on its foundations, recognised our interdependence on these islands and the consequent responsibility to respect all identities and foster good relations within Northern Ireland, on the island of Ireland and between the UK and Ireland.

We have previously advocated for the need to protect all these relationships in the context of Brexit. The Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol presents many challenges to the flow of trade and also the flow of goodwill across and between these islands. Some of the challenges were foreseeable and have been planned for and mitigated (at least in part). The political outcomes of the Protocol are more difficult to address because they are tied in with very big issues of world trade and sovereignty. The only way in which these will be constructively handled, from a Northern Ireland point of view, and with a good chance of a successful outcome, is if the European Union (including the Irish Government) and the Government of the United Kingdom are approached jointly by the entire Northern Ireland Executive advocating for the protection of the common good across the whole of Northern Ireland. Such a joint approach would be difficult to turn down, but to develop it will require a renewed generosity of spirit from political leaders on all sides of our community.

Leaders, organisations and communities make mistakes. As Christian leaders we are conscious of the need to acknowledge the failings of leadership from the churches in our ministry to divided communities. In such circumstances there is nothing ignoble in showing genuine sorrow. It is hardly surprising, given the complexities of our relationships at home and abroad, that politicians, political parties and others in leadership make miscalculations. Learning from the consequences of miscalculations is much better than an endless scramble to paper over the cracks.

We also have to face the difficult questions about who pays the price for our failings. In the past week we have seen people afraid to leave their homes, others at risk of violence as they go about their work and young people feeling that they have no stake in society or hope for the future. Much good work on the ground has been undermined as tension has risen and confidence has plummeted. It has been horrific to witness the intensity of the violence directed against the PSNI and the extent of the injuries sustained by officers. All of us in Northern Ireland have created a society in which even-handed policing requires the wisdom of Solomon combined with the patience of Job. The PSNI is relentlessly scrutinised by the Policing Board, and other organs of accountability. In that sense the PSNI has a political legitimacy across this community which is enjoyed by few other institutions. It is vital that we address concerns in a way that strengthens our democratic processes rather than undermining them.

We are conscious too that Churches are only a small part of the wider civic leadership in our society, and that all civic leaders have a responsibility to support our elected representatives as they seek to negotiate difficult compromises and find new accommodations for the common good. At the same time, we have a responsibility to hold them to account, and the persistent levels of socio-economic inequality in the areas worst impacted by violence, over two decades after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, demand more sustained attention and meaningful intervention by political leaders. The Agreement provided for regular and transparent engagement of civic leaders in policy development, but in practice this has been implemented only in a very limited way, and all too often as an emergency response rather than a preventative measure. Churches, together with other civic leaders, are keen to play our part in addressing the root causes of violence and working to ensure all communities here can enjoy the benefits of peace into the future.

Please be assured of our continued prayerful support for your leadership at this critical time.



Yours sincerely,

The Most Reverend John McDowell

Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland

The Most Reverend Eamon Martin

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland

The Rt Reverend Dr David Bruce

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland

The Reverend Dr Tom McKnight

President of the Methodist Church in Ireland

The Very Reverend Dr Ivan Patterson

President of the Irish Council of Churches
UPDATE: No one who has received this vaccine should panic or worry, Murphy says of J&J COVID shot

New Jersey is immediately stopping the administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine after federal health officials made the recommendation Tuesday, the state Health Department said.

The move comes after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 had potentially serious blood clots 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

All New Jersey vaccination sites have been told to cancel or put on hold appointments for the J&J vaccine until further notice, Health Department Commissioner Judy Persichilli said in a statement Tuesday. For individuals scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine, the Department will work with all vaccination sites to make arrangements for the administration of an alternative two-dose vaccine. We will work with all sites, as needed, to reschedule vaccination appointments.

Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday the state has administered roughly 235,000 doses of the J&J vaccine with no similar reported adverse effects.

It was unclear how many doses the state has in its stockpiles but has not yet administered.

Last week, the state received 131,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but it received only 15,600 this week, Persichilli said at Mondays coronavirus briefing.

The week after that it as far as we know may go down to 5,200 doses, Persichilli said.

Vaccine administrators began pulling the vaccine early Tuesday.

We are temporarily suspending the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine at @UnivHospNewark, per @US_FDA and @CDCGov guidance below.



More updates should come tomorrow after the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meets. https://t.co/RhAXscnizZ  Shereef Elnahal, MD (@ShereefElnahal) April 13, 2021

Im here to get my #CovidVaccine at the Cure Arena in Trenton. We were just told that they are not going to give out the Janssen (J&J) vaccine out of an abundance of caution due to the news this morning. @WHYYNews #NewJersey (1/3) pic.twitter.com/RpnuFGi8jU  P. Kenneth Burns (@PKBNews) April 13, 2021

Medical experts say that while the blood clot cases should be investigated, the risk appears to be low.

Were still talking about by and large a very safe vaccine we need to balance our concerns about the vaccine with our concerns about the virus, said Stephanie Silvera, an epidemiologist and public health professor at Montclair State University.

Persichilli said the six cases involved a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets.

Both the CDC and FDA have said that these adverse events are extremely rare. According to the FDA and CDC, individuals who have received the vaccine and develop abdominal pain, leg pain, shortness of breath, severe headache or other unusual symptoms within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider, she said.

Murphy has counted on the Johnson & Johnson vaccines as being critical to hit his administrations goal of vaccinating 70% of the states eligible population by the end of June. Murphy said Monday J&J was explicit over the weekend that they would still be able to achieve their 100 million dose production by the end of June.

He said the state expected to get 1 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by June 30.

Murphy added: That allows us to have the confidence that we have. While the next few weeks feel like theyre going to be lighter than we would like, for sure, as we look at our objective of by the end of June getting 4.7 million vaccinated adults, we feel confident and comfortable to continue to say that.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.

Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com.
Snapchat has launched special AR lenses to celebrate the onset of spring and harvest season in India. This festival is celebrated across the country with different regions having a different name for it. In the north and west, its called Vaisakhi, and Puthandu or Vishu in the south. In the east, the festival is called Pana Sankranti, Bihu and Pahela Baisakh.

Snapchat has made a special lens for each state depending on where its celebrated. For Vaisakhi thats celebrated in north and west India, especially in Punjab, the Snapchat lens features the traditional dhol that is activated through a hand gesture. It has been created by Jagmeet Singh, one of the first Snapchat Official Lens Creators in India. He is also known for the popular Dark Moody lens on Snapchat.

Snapchat also has a special lens for Gudi Padwa that is celebrated to mark the beginning of the New Year in Maharashtra. This festival also marks the onset of the ensuing summer season. Then theres one for Puthandu in Tamil Nadu which is celebrated as the first day of the traditional Tamil calendar. This Snapchat lens has the message Happy Tamil New Year with a diya.

If youre on Snapchat, and you wish to celebrate these festivals virtually, you can do so by following these steps:

Open Snapchat and tap on the smiley face icon next to the capture button.

Now select the explore button thats on the far-right corner of the screen.

Here, youll find different lenses for Vaisakhi, Gudi Padwa and more.

Tap on any of the lenses to use it and create a Snap!
The Federal Drug Administrations recommended pause on the use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine did not appear to have an outsized effect in Laredo on Tuesday.

No local vaccine providers received an allocation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the state this week, and the areas largest vaccine provider, the City of Laredo, has only ever received Moderna.

Last week, however, the state sent 2,400 doses of the J&J vaccine to 17 providers in Laredo, including several doctors offices, clinics, H-E-B pharmacies and Walgreens. A few offices told LMT that they had already given out all of their allocation by the time the announcement was made Tuesday.

Healthville Pharmacy received 300 J&J doses last week and was planning on continuing to distribute what they have left to patients this week. But now that the FDA has recommended this pause, anyone who had an appointment to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at their office will be getting Moderna instead, said Healthville pharmacist Kehinde Busari.

South Laredo Family Clinic received 200 doses of the J&J vaccine last week and still had 75 left to give out by Tuesday. However none of their patients had made appointments to get vaccinated, so this pause did not affect their operations, explained a nurse at the clinic.

A few of the larger pharmacy chains that have locations in Laredo  CVS, Walgreens and H-E-B  are participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, and receive allocations of the vaccine directly from the federal government. The Texas Tribune reported Tuesday that the biggest impact of the pause will be felt in these larger pharmacy chains, which were expecting most of their vaccine allocation this week to be the one-dose Johnson & Johnson.

Gateway Community Health Center also receives vaccine allocations directly from the federal government. This week they are distributing second doses of the Moderna vaccine. They had plans to vaccinate patients with the J&J vaccine next week, but will instead utilize doses of Moderna that they are expecting to receive from the government, said Mara Lopez, director of marketing for Gateway.

Laredo Health Authority Dr. Victor Trevino noted that the health regulators pause on the use of this vaccine is out of an abundance of caution. Of the 6.7 million people in the U.S. who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, blood clots have been found in six women, one of whom has died and another who is hospitalized in critical condition.

Causation has not been established from preliminary data of the 6 reported cases of blood clots (CVST) and low platelets (thrombocytopenia), Trevino said in a statement. We are advising that people that have received the vaccine within two weeks should monitor themselves and report any signs of severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath of breath to their healthcare provider or health department.

None of the six blood clotting cases were in Texas, the Tribune reported.

More than 35% of Webb County residents age 16 and older are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, and 112,521 of the 196,961 eligible Webb County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Department of State Health Services.

Julia Wallace may be reached at 956-728-2543 or jwallace@lmtonline.com
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Honoring pop music's hottest songwriters, producers and publishers, The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) today announces the winners of the 2021 ASCAP Pop Music Awards, which will be celebrated on @ASCAP social media through April 15. After a record-setting year following the release of his double platinum album After Hours, pop superstar Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye is named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year for the first time in his career.

After a record-setting year following the release of his double platinum album After Hours, pop superstar The Weeknd is named ASCAP Songwriter of the Year at the ASCAP 2021 Pop Music Awards. The ASCAP Pop Music Awards take place today through Thursday on @ASCAP social media.

Known for his signature alternative R&B sound, velvety voice and pitch-perfect falsetto, The Weeknd undeniably dominated the charts in 2020. Taking home the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year honor and two most-performed song awards for smash hits "Blinding Lights" and "Heartless," The Weeknd is now a 13-time ASCAP Awards winner. As the critical and commercial success of After Hours continues, "Blinding Lights" closes in on diamond-certified status, while becoming the first song in history to spend an entire year in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10.

ASCAP Pop Music Awards Song of the Year goes to Post Malone's megahit "Circles," honoring ASCAP hitmakers Louis Bell, Kaan Gunesberk and Billy Walsh alongside publishers Nyan King Music, Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group. The third single off the chart-topping album Hollywood's Bleeding, "Circles" spent 39 weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and marks the artist's first #1 hit as a solo billing.

Warner Chappell Music receives Publisher of the Year. The prestigious award recognizes the prominent publisher for their contribution to the pop music soundtrack of 2020 with top tracks "10,000 Hours," "Blinding Lights," "Lose You to Love Me," "ROCKSTAR" and more.

The celebration kicked off yesterday with an ASCAP Pop Music Awards Instagram Live interview and performance from Lewis Capaldi's "Before You Go" co-writer and ASCAP Award winner Phil Plested (additional co-writers Ben Kohn and Pete "Merf" Kelleher are also winners). Later this week "Kings & Queens" co-writers Madison Emiko Love and Leland will take the ASCAP Instagram Live stage to tell the story behind their hit for Ava Max (co-written by winners Desmond Child, Cirkut, and Mimoza) on Wednesday, April 14 at 6 PM ET/3 PM PT. The social media events will also include an exclusive performance of "Die From a Broken Heart" from Maddie & Tae featuring ASCAP Award-winning songwriter Maddie Marlow (co-writers Deric Ruttan and Jonathan Singleton are also winners).

ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams, Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Matthews and Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer John Titta open the event with a special video introduction on @ASCAP social media.

The 2021 ASCAP Pop Music Awards recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most performed songs of the past year in pop music. Providing an unprecedented look at the music creators behind 2020's biggest hits, ASCAP will premiere exclusive winner video acceptance speeches, virtual studio tours, stories behind the songs and more on @ASCAP social media. Starting at 10 AM ET/ 7 AM PT on Tuesday, April 13 through Thursday, April 15, friends, fans and peers can tune in to the festivities via @ASCAP on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook , using the hashtag #ASCAPAwards.

The complete list of winners is available on the ASCAP website: www.ascap.com/popawards21 .

About ASCAP

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a professional membership organization of songwriters, composers and music publishers of every kind of music. ASCAP's mission is to license and promote the music of its members and foreign affiliates, obtain fair compensation for the public performance of their works and to distribute the royalties that it collects based upon those performances. ASCAP members write the world's best-loved music and ASCAP has pioneered the efficient licensing of that music to hundreds of thousands of enterprises who use it to add value to their business - from bars, restaurants and retail, to radio, TV and cable, to Internet, mobile services and more. The ASCAP license offers an efficient solution for businesses to legally perform ASCAP music while respecting the right of songwriters and composers to be paid fairly. With more than 800,000 members representing more than 16 million copyrighted works, ASCAP is the worldwide leader in performance royalties, service and advocacy for songwriters and composers, and the only American performing rights organization (PRO) owned and governed by its writer and publisher members. Learn more and stay in touch at www.ascap.com, on Twitter and Instagram @ASCAP and on Facebook.

SOURCE ASCAP

Related Links

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Events have remained tumultuous in Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari made his latest trip to the United Kingdom late last month.

While the president is resting in London, back home, Nigeria is grappling with a fever of industrial actions by public servants. Those out on strike include judiciary workers, resident doctors, parliamentary staff, Federal Capital Territory workers and staff of polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide. The doctors, on Saturday, suspended their strike for four weeks after some concessions from the federal government.

There have also been renewed attacks on security facilities across the country, particularly in the Southeast, as the face-offs continue between security operatives and criminals.

The president had departed the country for London on a two-week short rest, with one of his media handlers also saying that he was going for a routine medical checkup.

The news that the president needed to see his doctor overseas came out after resident doctors threatened to down tools over unpaid allowances and breach of agreement by the federal government. The Nigerian leader and his handlers saw nothing wrong in travelling for medical check-up at a time doctors in his country were preparing to down tools due to disagreements with his government. The doctors eventually commenced the strike two days after the president travelled.

The doctors strike, before it was temporarily shelved, paralysed medical services at public hospitals in the country. This gave a boon to medical consultants, whose services only a few Nigerians can afford.

The news of the presidents trip drew an outcry that his actions were at odds with his promise to cut the cost of governance and improve the healthcare system.

But presidential publicist, Femi Adesina, downplayed the public outcry. Did you hear all the ululation that attended the announcement and the trip? War of tongues: oh, hes sick again (as if theres anyone whos 100% healthy. If there is, lets see the person).

Resident doctors are going on strike, the President is traveling! Couldnt he have built world class hospitals in Nigeria within the six years he has been in government? Hes going on medical tourism again! How much is the trip costing us o? Are we sure he will come back anytime soon? he wrote on his Facebook wall.

When flights were grounded and borders were shut worldwide for a large part of last year due to the new coronavirus, many political leaders, including Mr Buhari and his immediate family, were trapped at home for their medical care.

At the time, the leaders vowed to pump more money into the health sector and grow the sector to global standard in preparation for another pandemic.

House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said: We must ensure that our healthcare system at home is robust enough to accommodate and respond to current realities, because if we have learned anything from recent events, it is that in a global crisis, it is every country for itself.

But with President Buharis latest medical trip, it is clear that the job may not be done any time soon.

Medical tourism has been estimated to cost Nigeria over N576 billion ($1.2 billion) yearly.

The president himself will account for a sizable share of that outlay. Since 2015 when he came into office, he has made several trips to London with two of them lasting between 51 days and in early 2017 and 103 days in the middle of the same year.

The presidents reluctance to patronise Nigerian doctors could be a catalyst for the exodus of doctors from the country, analysts believe, which should be worrisome for a country that has one doctor for every 5,000 people, as estimated by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

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The U.K., the presidents preferred medical hub, has at least 8,192 medical doctors of Nigerian origin working there, according to the data from the U.K. General Medical Council.

More strikes

The nations highest court as well as other courts have been shut since last Tuesday. Efforts by the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Nigerian Bar Association to broker a deal have fallen flat.

Under the aegis of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), the umbrella body of judiciary workers at all levels in the nation, they are demanding financial independence.

Like their judicial counterpart, members of the national Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) have declared an indefinite strike in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The president of the group, Usman Mohammed, said the action became necessary following the unwillingness of the federal government to implement the financial autonomy act of 2018 and Presidential Order 10.

Having exhausted all attempts aimed at asking for the implementation of the financial autonomy by the federal government after 21 days, 14 days and seven days ultimatums, the union has no other option than to direct our members to embark on an indefinite strike, Mr Mohammed said penultimate Monday.

Also, barely three months after universities were reopened after a nine-month-long strike, polytechnics and monotechnics have now been shut across the country.

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), downed their tools earlier in the week, a year after they threatened to, over unpaid salary backlogs, unfulfilled agreements, and victimisation of members.

Likewise, the Joint Unions Action Committee (JUAC) in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) are on an indefinite strike.

They are protesting against non-implementation of the FCT Civil Service Commission Act which has denied workers certain official benefits.

They declared the office of the serving permanent secretary, Olusade Adesola, illegal saying he was deployed from the office of Head of Service against the provisions of the Act for an FCT Head of Service.

They also accused FCT Minister Muhammad Bello of not implementing the Act signed three years ago by the president.

Unhealthy security

Meanwhile, before the commander-in-chief left, he held a meeting with security chiefs, directing them to fish out and crush heads of bandits, kidnappers and their local collaborators to restore confidence in the society.

His order came amidst rising insecurity up north and attacks on security facilities down south. But it does appear the presidential order did not take immediate effect.

Less than 72 hours after his departure, three police stations were attacked by gunmen in Imo State. The states police headquarters was also torched. So was its correctional centre headquarters, from where over 1,800 inmates are now at large. A few have returned into custody though.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and then Inspector General of Police, Muhammad Adamu, travelled to the state to examine the situation but their visits did not deter one of the attacks.

Mr Adamu accused outlawed secession agitators, IPOB, of being behind the attacks, an allegation IPOB denied. Governor Hope Uzodinma on his part said that aggrieved politicians were behind the attacks.

Mr Adamu could not make it back home before he was sacked and replaced by Usman Alkali.

The Nigerian Army also confirmed the killing of 11 personnel during a stabilisation operation in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State. An allegation that a retaliatory onslaught by the army left many dead in the community has been denied by the military.

An aerial bombardment on Ntak Ikot Akpan, a community in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigerias South-south, by the military was meanwhile reported to have killed many.

The defence headquarters said the shelling was targeted at miscreants who attacked and killed some police officers in the local government area recently.

The presidents rest abroad is expected to end this week, but it is left to be seen how quick the concerns across the country will be resolved.
Tim Keller on the Church's responsibility in the wake of COVID-19 (exclusive)

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Citing the uneven impact COVID-19 has had on churches across the country, pastor and author Tim Keller has urged churches largely unaffected by the pandemic to partner with those reeling from death, illness and financial loss.

The 70-year-old founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan spoke to CP in April 2020, just weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York City.

At the time, he said the real test for Christians in the wake of COVID will come several months down the road when presented with opportunities to witness that we cant even envision just yet.

For example: What if your community escapes pretty much and in three to four months youre OK, yet some communities you know of are hurt economically and there are tons of unemployed people?" he asked. "Maybe you could lock arms with a Church in a more hurt area. I think in the future, there will be ways to help, but that wont be obvious for a while."

One year later, Keller told CP that the churchs responsibility in the wake of COVID is in many ways still unclear. But the clearest, most pressing outcome so far, he said, is that prosperous churches largely unaffected by the virus must partner with those that have been hardest hit.

The impact of the pandemic on the Church has not been even, he said, noting that churches comprised largely of white-collar workers and professionals  those who can work through screens and phones, own stocks, and have investments  are really not doing that badly; they havent seen a lot of deaths of financial loss.

But churches made up of working-class people, multi-ethnic churches, and those in low-income communities have been devastated by the pandemic, he said.

There are a whole lot of have churches and have not churches, and the have not churches are really being hurt badly," Keller posited. "These 'have not' churches, many of them in cities and urban areas, have seen a lot more of their people die because their people were not in as good health or worked in areas exposed to the virus. They've seen financial loss because perhaps their people worked in industries shut down by the virus."

One way churches that have prospered or been largely unaffected by the virus can partner with those who have been hard-hit is through a transfer of funds, Keller said.

I know of churches that got money from the government in the very beginning because they were afraid they weren't going to be able to keep their doors open. But it turns out, they're doing fine, the Hope in Times of Fearauthor shared.

Take some of that money and find some sister churches that preach the Gospel and have been hard hit and just partner with them. Say, How can we give to you, how can we help you?

Keller stressed the importance of offering assistance in a non-paternalistic, non-patronizing, non-condescending way, adding: Youve got to make sure that you empower the people you're giving to.



Though he retired as senior pastor of Redeemer in 2017, Keller, who is currently battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, remains active in ministry, now serving as the chairman of Redeemer City to City. The ministry has helped start more than 500 churches in dozens of the most influential cities in the world.

COVIDs long-term effect on how churches do discipleship, community outreach, and evangelism, the pastor told CP, has yet to be seen. Studies show that pandemic has accelerated the decline in church attendance, even among regular churchgoers.



I do think that everybody going online for a year means that when we come back, there is going to be some change and how we work, how we relate to each other and communicate with each other, he explained. It probably won't come all the way back to the way it was before, but it probably also won't stay the way it was.

We dont know how society is going to work, he added. Some businesses say Everybody's going to stay working remote, other businesses say, We're going to go back the way it was, and other business leaders say, It'll be in the middle. Thats going to have an effect on the church, but how, exactly, is unclear thus far.

Dubbed the most successful evangelist in the city by New York magazine, Keller previously told CP that the coronavirus is doing what 9/11 did to the state: presenting a unique opportunity for Christians to serve as a beacon of hope amid darkness.

At the national level, I dont have much hope, he admitted. Politicians are trying to pin the other side with the blame for the virus and its discouraging. Theyre trying to score points so that when the pandemic begins to ease, they look good.

But at the local level, thats probably not going to happen. Everyone is going to say, OK, how do we deal with the devastation in our communities? And thats where I think, if Christians are willing to get out there and be Good Samaritans and say, How do we work with people of different races and religions and just try to love them and how can we join hands? we will have less polarization and a real opportunity to witness.
White House: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Pause Wont Impact Federal Plan

The White House and top health officials indicated Tuesday that a pause on the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine wont have a lasting or significant impact on the federal governments vaccination plan.

Earlier in the day, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended a pause on the vaccines after reports of rare blood clots among recipients. The agencies are investigating blood clots in six women days after they got the shot.

Acting FDA chief Dr. Woodcock told an online news conference later that she believes the J&J vaccine ban will last a matter of days, while Jeff Zients, President Joe Bidens virus response coordinator, said in a statement that this announcement will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date, Zients added. Based on actions taken by the President earlier this year, the United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans, he said.

Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines. This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, Zeints added.

More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the United States, with the vast majority having no or mild side effects, officials have said.

The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the blood clot cases. The FDA said it is investigating.

The time frame will depend, obviously, what we learn in the next few days, however, we expect it to be a matter of days for this pause, Woodcock said Tuesday.

Last week, several vaccine sites in North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, and Georgia that were using the J&J shot were paused after some recipients developed adverse reactions. J&J is a single-shot vaccine, while Pfizer and Modernawhich are the other two approved by the FDA for emergency usageuse two shots.

CDCs Dr. Anne Schuchat said authorities have not seen similar clots after the use of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and that people should continue to get vaccinated with those shots.

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP virus, a novel coronavirus that is believed to have emerged in 2019 in Wuhan, China.

Johnson & Johnson said in response that the safety and well-being of people who use our products is the companys number one priority, adding it is aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our COVID-19 vaccine.

The firm added its reviewing these cases with European health authorities, and it had made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Investor News No.15/2021

DFDS reports monthly ferry volumes for freight and passengers to provide additional insight into the development of volume trends in DFDS' European route network.



DFDS ferry volumes March LTM* Freight 2020 2021 Change 2020-19 2021-20 Change Lane metres, '000 3,554 3,975 11.8% 40,782 41,062 0.7% Passenger 2020 2021 Change 2020-19 2021-20 Change Passengers, '000 112 25 -77.5% 4,963 1,002 -79.8% *Last twelve months

Ferry - freight: Total volumes in March 2021 were 11.8% above 2020. Net adjustments for structural route changes reduced growth 0.2 ppt to 11.6%. Volumes for routes calling the UK were up 10%.

The positive market momentum in February continued in March for the North Sea and Mediterranean volumes. Volumes on the English Channel were also above 2020. Volumes on the new route between Ireland and France continued above expec-tations. Baltic Sea volumes were above 2020 adjusted for the closure of the Paldiski-Hanko route.

The volume growth in March 2021 was boosted by Covid-19's negative impact on volumes in the last two weeks of March 2020. This effect was largest in the Mediterranean, North Sea and Channel business units.

Ferry - passenger: The total number of passengers in March 2021 was 77% below 2020. The decrease reflects a continued negative impact from travel restrictions related to Covid-19 on the two cruise ferry routes, of which Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen continued to be suspended in March, and the Channel. In the Baltic Sea, passenger numbers were slightly below 2020.

DFDS' ferry routes enable trade and travel in and around Europe. Click on the linkto see a map of the entire network.

The April volume report is expected to be published on 11 May 2021.

Contact

Torben Carlsen, CEO, +45 33 42 32 01



Karina Deacon, CFO, +45 33 42 33 42

Sren Brndholt Nielsen, IR, +45 33 42 33 59

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 06:37:35|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- One person was shot dead and a police officer injured during a shooting on Monday afternoon at a high school in Knoxville, southern U.S. state of Tennessee, police said.

Gunfire erupted as police officers responded to a report of an armed man at the Austin-East Magnet High School in the city, Knoxville Police Department said in a statement.

The armed man was killed as police officers approached him and fired shots, according to an NBC News report, adding a Knoxville police officer was struck at least once but suffered non-life threatening injuries. The identity of the dead is not immediately clear.

A second person was detained for further investigation, authorities said.

Earlier, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said the school had been secured and students who were not involved in the shooting were released to their families.

The Knox County Sheriff's Office said there was "no active threat" at the high school, according to CNN affiliate WVLT. Enditem
U.S. truck tractor price index is up 20% year over year; medium earthmoving in the U.S. up 15%

VANCOUVER, BC, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Over the last year, online shopping has hit new heights, positively impacting the transportation industry, while working from home has resulted in an increase in home renovations and an exodus to the suburbs, directly impacting the construction sector. According to Ritchie Bros. Market Trends, which is now updated with new data daily, U.S. truck tractor pricing is up 20% year over year (for the three months ending March 31), while medium earthmoving equipment prices in the United States are up 15%.

With the April 2021 Market Trends summary report, Ritchie Bros. focuses on U.S. and Canadian equipment sales in March 2021, using the RB Now! functionality in the RB Market Trends tool, which provides a snapshot of Ritchie Bros. transactions over the last 30 days. The company has also included new, updated price indexes in this edition, making them simpler and clearer. The earthmoving index has been split into medium and large, and a more narrowly defined aerial index has replaced lifting and material handling.

"March was a big month, with unprecedented demand resulting in strong pricing across nearly all equipment categories," said Doug Olive, Senior Vice President, Pricing, Ritchie Bros. "As showcased in our new indexes, we continue to see positive pricing trends for earthmoving, transportation, and aerial equipment. Specifically, we saw a big year over year uptick in median pricing for excavators, dozers, articulated dump trucks, skid steers, truck tractors, and boom lifts last month."

Ritchie Bros.' Market Trends application is an independent part of Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions (rbassetsolutions.com), a cloud-based asset management and disposition system with a suite of tools and services to help customers better manage, analyze, and sell their assets. Download the April 2021 Ritchie Bros. Used Equipment Market Trends summary report at rbassetsolutions.com/market-trends-report.

"Ritchie Bros. held a number of large events last month, including three U.S. regional auctions that sold approximately 15,000 equipment items from 13 different locations, and attracted 11,000 bidders each," added Mr. Olive. "We also held our largest-ever Ontario and Texas auctions last month and continue to see strong demand and pricing for all our online events through IronPlanet, GovPlanet, and Marketplace-E, selling more than 17,000 items in March."

Used Commercial Assets - Pricing Highlights Price change (1.5%) year-over-year for the 3 months ending March 31, 2021 Categories USA Canada Large Earthmoving  Increased ~ 5%  Increased ~ 2% Medium Earthmoving  Increased ~ 15%  Increased ~ 5% Aerial  Increased ~ 13%  Increased ~ 2% Truck Tractors  Increased ~ 20%  Increased ~ 9% Vocational Trucks  Increased ~ 16%  Increased ~ 2%

For more information about Market Trends, please email [email protected].

About Ritchie Bros.:

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a number of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing the exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, a controlled marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The Company's suite of solutions also includes Ritchie Bros. Asset Solutions and Rouse Services LLC, which together provides a complete end-to-end asset management, data-driven intelligence and performance benchmarking system. Ritchie Bros. also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, and Kruse Energy, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com.

Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros.
Stargazers in Melbourne were stunned overnight after seeing a trail of dozens of bright lights they assumed were meteorites flying across the sky.

'Anyone else see the line of meteorites at around 5.15 this morning?' a Reddit user captioned a photo he shared of the spectacular phenomenon on Tuesday.

People commenting on the picture were quick to point out the lights were actually a trail of satellites called Starlink launched by the Elon Musk run company SpaceX.

A Reddit user spotted the spectacular phenomenon (pictured) in the Melbourne night sky just after 5am on Tuesday

After guessing they were meteorites, other people pointed out they were actually satellites launched by SpaceX

'That's the Starlink launch. They're internet transmitting satellites about as big as a shoe box and will orbit around 600km from earth,' one person said.

'Yes I saw it this morning in Croydon. It went on for several minutes.' another person said.

'I was awake and I missed it,' a third added.

'Not sure how I feel about a billionaire sending thousands of satellites into our sky,' a fourth said.

In March Space X launched 60 Starlink satellites into the Earth's orbit as part of their plan to create a new global superfast Internet system.

One of the company's Falcon 9 rockets carried the satellites in it's nose cone from the Kennedy Space Center after launching at 6.01am on March 14.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 40 in Florida in March

The early morning launch, which is the 22nd dedicated to sending Starlink satellites into the Earth's lower orbit, took place in fair conditions, with moderate cloud cover.

That launched followed another 60 satellites which left Cape Canaveral Space Force Station days earlier, as Starlink expands its broadband service from the US to parts of the United Kingdom, Germany and New Zealand.

The internet constellation will eventually consist of thousands of mass produced small satellites in low Earth orbit.

While the lights appear in a 'train' after launch they will eventually spread out once they reach their orbital height.

The early morning launch, which is the 22nd dedicated to sending Starlink satellites into the Earth's lower orbit, took place in fair conditions, with moderate cloud cover

Astronomers have raised concerns that the man-made constellation would affect the already crowded orbital environment and debated whether one company should ethically be allowed to change the night sky's appearance.

The sight was not a one-off with stargazers likely being able to spot the phenomenon throughout the year.

Having first been announced in 2015, Space has launched 1,445 Starlink satellites and plans to launch up to 60 more as often as every two weeks throughout 2021.

Each Starlink satellite weighs 500 pounds (227 kilograms) and is roughly the size of a table




Haiti - Politic : Religious kidnapped by deviant elements of society





Following the kidnapping on Sunday of 5 priests and 2 nuns, in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33459-haiti-insecurity-the-church-victim-of-kidnapping.html , by, according to the available information of the men of the gang "400 mawozo" while they were going to the installation ceremony of a priest at the immaculate church of Galette Chambon (Ganthier), the Government reacted by vehemently condemning this act, attributing these actions to "deviant elements of society".



"On behalf of the Government of the Republic, the Ministry of Worship vehemently condemns the kidnapping followed by the sequestration, on Sunday April 11, 2021, of seven religious from the Religious Community of Saint Jacques, accompanied by members of their families .



The Government, which deplores this new unspeakable action of deviant elements of society, has been actively working on the file since yesterday [Sunday] with a view to obtaining the immediate release, safe and sound, of the religious and their parents.



The Ministry of Worship shares the excitement of the Apostolic Nunciature, the Episcopal Conference of Haiti, the Catholic Clergy and the parents of the victims, while calling them for calm and serenity and inviting them to collaborate frankly with the competent authorities. in order to facilitate the return of sequestered persons to their communities and their families.



Aware of its responsibility towards the Nation, the Government wants to reassure the population of its daily efforts to restore peace in the City, guarantee the free movement of citizens, promote and maintain a climate of peace favorable to progress and social development. and sustainable economy of the country."



See also :



https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33459-haiti-insecurity-the-church-victim-of-kidnapping.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2021 - 14:37 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan's COVID-19 vaccine minister on Tuesday warned local governments against letting doses go to waste as the country expands its inoculation campaign to the elderly.

The warning from Taro Kono came as he disclosed that up to five doses of Pfizer Inc.'s vaccine were discarded Monday due to last-minute cancellations.

Kono suggested that local authorities can be flexible in using doses that become available as a result of people canceling their vaccination appointments, such as by allocating them to those aged 64 or younger or those who live outside their municipalities.

"No problem, there are no restrictions (on such usage)," Kono said at a press conference.

On Monday, an initial 1,139 people aged 65 or older received shots of the vaccine as the second group to be vaccinated following health care workers, according to the government.

Amid growing concerns over a "fourth wave" of infections, the government is seeking to secure enough shots of the vaccine for roughly 36 million seniors and deliver them to municipalities by late June.

The elderly, who account for around 29 percent of the population, tend to develop more serious symptoms than younger people when infected with the virus.

The vaccination rate in Japan lags far behind those of other countries such as Britain and the United States since Japan relies entirely on imports for its coronavirus vaccine supply.

Following the elderly, people with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes, and those working at care facilities are slated to get shots next, after which vaccinations will eventually be extended to the rest of the population.
The ABC has addressed complaints made regarding its coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh's death last week.

In a statement, the broadcaster revealed it had received 435 complaints over Friday night's breaking news that Prince Philip had died at the age of 99.

The majority of the complaints were about a news bulletin interrupting a repeat of British crime drama Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn.

Priorities: The ABC received hundreds of complaints from viewers after its breaking news coverage of Prince Philip's death interrupted a repeat of British crime drama Vera. Pictured: Vera actors Kenny Doughty (left) and Brenda Blethyn (right)

A network's spokesperson said: 'The ABC's special Friday night coverage of the death of Prince Philip meant interrupting the scheduled ABC TV broadcast of a repeat of Vera, which is now available to watch on ABC iview and will be rebroadcast on ABC TV this Thursday at 1.30pm.

'The ABC has received a relatively low 435 complaints about its overall coverage, more than three-quarters of which relate to the interruption of Vera.

'Other complaints were about other matters, such as the duration of our coverage.'

Rest in peace: Prince Philip, the Queen's husband for more than 70 years, died on Friday at Windsor Castle, aged 99, two months before his 100th birthday. Pictured in July 2015

Prince Philip, the Queen's husband for more than 70 years, died on Friday at Windsor Castle, aged 99, two months before his 100th birthday.

The popular Royal was the longest-serving royal consort in British history.

In Vera, two-time Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn plays DCI Vera Stanhope, who solves murders in England's Northumberland region.

Repeats of the popular series regularly garner over 300,000 viewers for the ABC.
One year after closing boot camp graduations to the public, the Marines are ready to welcome some members of the public back onto the recruit depot in San Diego to watch recruits graduate, the Marines said in a statement Monday.

Beginning April 22, each graduating Marine will be able to invite two guests to attend graduation and tour facilities at the base, the statement said. The Marines hold about 40 graduations per year in San Diego.

The announcement comes 13 months after the Corps suspended public graduations due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are extremely proud to have families return to the depot for graduations," said Brig. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage, the commanding general of Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. "We look forward to welcoming more families in the near future, as more individuals receive the vaccination each day."

Guests will be screened for COVID-19 upon arrival at the base and will have access to base facilities such as restaurants, the Marine Corps Exchange and the command museum, the Marines said.

Capt. Martin Harris, a depot spokesman, said everyone on the depot will be required to wear a mask at all times.

The pandemic changed how recruits are trained at the depot.

The Marines closed recruit graduations to the public on March 12, 2020, just as life for much of the world began to change in light of the spreading pandemic. Just weeks later, after dozens of recruits tested positive for the virus, the Marines altered how it trains recruits in what many Marines described as a "COVID environment."

Recruits now endure a two-week quarantine at an area hotel to prevent the virus from being introduced to other recruits on the base. During that quarantine, recruits are housed with a roommate but not allowed to leave their rooms. Meals, exercise and recruit studies are all done within the confines of those rooms.

It's only after this quarantine that recruits are issued uniforms, given haircuts and begin boot camp. While in training, recruits wear masks except during certain training exercises.

Recruit graduation traditions haven't fully returned to pre-pandemic norms, Harris said. Graduations have shifted from Fridays to Thursdays and "Family Day," which was held the day before graduation, remains suspended, Harris said.

This article is written by Andrew Dyer from The San Diego Union-Tribune and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.


NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced a temporarily halt on the usage of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine after six recipients developed a rare blood clotting disorder.



'Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare,' the FDA said in a joint statement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.'



All six recipients who developed the rare blood clotting disorder were women aged between 18 and 48. All of them developed the symptoms within one to three weeks of vaccination. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska is in critical condition.



Doctors usually treat this type of blood clot with an anticoagulant drug called heparin, however, health regulators have noted that it could be dangerous in this case and recommended a different treatment.



Meanwhile, J&J in a statement said that 'no clear causal relationship' has been identified between the blood clots and the vaccine. The company said it is working closely with regulators to assess the data.



People who received the J&J vaccine more than a month ago are at very low risk for developing the blood clots, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC.



'For people who recently got the vaccine within the last couple weeks, they should be aware to look for any symptoms,' she said. 'If you've received the vaccine and developed severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breathe you should contact your healthcare provider and seek medical treatment.'



According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of April 12, over 6.8 million people in the US have received Johnson & Johnson vaccine. About nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states.



Within hours of the announcement, several states have temporarily stopped giving Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, including New York, Ohio, Connecticut, and Nebraska.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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New Delhi: Hours after the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved the emergency use authorisation of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine on Monday (April 12, 2011), the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced that it is aiming to produce more than 850 million doses per year in India.

"Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world," the RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said in a press statement.

Dmitriev added, "The Russian vaccine has efficacy of 91.6% and provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the data published in one of the leading medical journals The Lancet."

The RDIF also informed that India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V and is the most populated country to register the Russian vaccine.

"Total population of 60 countries where Sputnik V is approved for use is 3 billion people or about 40% of the global population," the RDIF stated.

It has also been approved in countries like Russia, Belarus, Argentina, Serbia, Algeria, Palestine, Venezuela, Paraguay, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Mexico, Lebanon, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iraq.

Sputnik V, notably, is one of the three coronavirus vaccines registered by India's regulatory authorities.

The vaccine has been registered in India under the emergency use authorization procedure based on results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

In India, the RDIF has reached agreements with the pharmaceutical companies like Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma and Virchow Biotech.


Dealing with disruption in air travel

Increased innovation

Reduced travel disruptions

A seamless travel journey

Streamlined baggage handling

Greater accessibility for passengers with disabilities

Harnessing the cloud for innovation

Paving the way for the airport of the future

From the time travelers check in and drop off their bags to when they board an aircraft, there are several touchpoints  and several opportunities  for airports to make the experience more seamless.However, there are still points of friction within the traveler journey, whether it is long lines at check-in, a lost bag, or a delayed flight. A global pandemic has made it even more challenging for airports to meet travelers expectations, as health and safety concerns increase and airports contend with reduced passenger traffic and declining revenue.But times of crisis often spur innovation. Several airports have seized on this moment to leverage the cloud to both recover from the pandemic and create a path toward modernization, resiliency, and cost savings. Houston Airports, which operates and manages George Bush Intercontinental, IAH, William P. Hobby, HOU, and Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport, EFD in Texas, and Avalon Airport in Melbourne, Australia, are harnessing the cloud to streamline operations and provide a touchless passenger experience.Both airports have collaborated with an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Advanced Consulting Partner  iOLAP for Houston and AWS Advanced Technology Partner Elenium Automation for Avalon  to modernize their IT infrastructure, transform data and analytics into strategic assets, and pivot during the pandemic. With the help of these partners and AWS Cloud solutions and services, these airports are accelerating innovation, cost-effectively modernizing their operations, and laying the foundation for a better experience once the public begins to travel en masse again.Like many industries, airports have faced massive disruption due to the pandemic. Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders led to a huge decline in passenger traffic in the first quarter of 2020  amounting to the equivalent of a 620 million passenger reduction in air travel. In April 2020, this trend continued, as passenger traffic dropped 90 percent globally However, hope is now on the horizon thanks to the ongoing rollout of several vaccines worldwide. Though the pandemic has caused airports to rethink their modernization strategies , even without this once-in-a-century event, forward-thinking airports already had begun to incorporate advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and analytics into their operations. Thats because rising customer expectations all but necessitated it. International Air Transport Association (IATA) research indicates passengers most desire:It is against this backdrop that Houston Airports and Avalon Airport have sought to innovate their operations. Houston Airports, which served nearly 60 million passengers in 2019, faced challenges accessing real-time insights into airport performance for things such as aircraft taxi times, arrival and departure rates, and understanding the factors that contributed to airport traffic delays and incidents.Diego Parra, Director of the IT Program Management Office at Houston Airports, says his organization needed real-time data to improve decision-making and better serve travelers.Our vision really is to deliver the best possible passenger experience. Technology is a great tool to achieve this, especially with the current environment thats so focused on health and safety, Parra says.However, Houston Airports lacked a flexible, scalable infrastructure to process large amounts of data rapidly, maximize advanced analytics, and access insights in real time. The system also needed to integrate emerging technologies like voice-based applications.Avalon Airport also has sought to deliver the best passenger experience and has focused its efforts over the past year on creating a touchless passenger experience  an alternative to the traditional check-in process that involves touching screens and inserting passports or other forms of identification into a slot in a machine. Like Houston, Avalon also experienced declining passenger traffic.The airport sees innovation as not only critical to helping it resume normal operations once the pandemic wanes, but also as essential to restoring passenger confidence.This is really about creating consumer confidence and confidence for people to travel again and to do it safely, says Avalon Airport CEO Justin Giddings.Through their collaborations with AWS Partners iOLAP and Elenium, Avalon and Houston Airports are both leveraging the cloud to achieve mission-critical priorities. From enabling a touchless passenger experience to facilitating data integration and predictive analytics, the cloud has provided the robust technology infrastructure these airports need to transform their operations and the traveler experience.Houston Airports: maximizing data to improve airport operations Houston Airports began working with iOLAP more than two years ago to transition from an on-premises environment to a cloud-based architecture.iOLAP, a big data and advanced analytics consultancy that provides guidance and solutions for clients undergoing IT innovation, worked with Houston Airports to migrate the organizations data to data warehouse solutions on the AWS Cloud. iOLAP, which leverages AWS Cloud services for its technology solutions, suggested a shift to the cloud to help Houston Airports scale data processing and more easily integrate data from different sources.They helped us build the architecture for our data warehouse. We had data in multiple places and wanted to channel it toward one place, clean it, and be able to present it to our users. They were able to help us build that, Parra says.Adam Hofmann, VP of Growth and Client Success at iOLAP, says the company leverages a range of AWS Cloud services to help clients innovate. Its solutions are built on AWS Cloud infrastructure using the AWS well-architected framework, which ensures cloud applications are designed with operational excellence, security, reliability, performance efficiency, and cost optimization in mind. iOLAPs use of the data warehouse solutions allows its customers to analyze structured and unstructured data across different data repositories, including data lakes. They can easily query data in their data lake and transfer information back to this data store in an open format, allowing them to make their data available to other analytics and machine learning applications. iOLAP also uses AWSs fully managed machine learning services to build, test, and deploy machine learning models, along with AWS Cloud services to ingest and process real-time video, audio, IoT, and other multimedia data. This allows the company to run code more efficiently and cost-effectively without having to manage and provision servers. It also ensures iOLAPs applications are highly available and reliable.Houston Airports has taken advantage of all these capabilities to modernize its operations. It has deployed Responsum , iOLAPs AI-powered platform for automating customer and employee communication, on its website and on mobile to provide real-time answers to customers questions. Through thousands of real traveler interactions, Responsum has built a highly trained conversational AI model that can now be deployed to other airports in a few days. The model was proven to be an effective tool during the February 2021 winter event in the Houston area, where usage increased by 43 percent from the previous month.Responsum also securely integrates with core internal applications and systems, allowing the airports internal teams to retrieve information from the organizations data warehouse via voice or text queries. These metrics include passenger traffic stats, information from federal partners, customer satisfaction data and on-time information for flights. This same voice technology will be integrated into its forthcoming airport app, which will allow its internal teams to ask questions and get up-to-the-minute information about current airport operations.Houston Airports has developed a platform where its operational teams can access real-time metrics such as passenger traffic stats, flight information to analyze on-time arrivals, taxi times and gate utilization, journey time through the airport security check points, international arrivals processing time, parking occupancy, and other data. Responsum, which securely integrates with Houston Airports core internal applications and systems, even allows the airports internal teams to retrieve information from the organizations data warehouse via voice queries.Weve focused on being able to help them enhance traveler engagement and internal operational metrics, so their internal team can actually access these real-time metrics just by speaking to the system and using natural language processing, Hofmann says. Parra says improving data management and implementing these technologies has helped reduce call volume in the airports call centers and has allowed his organization to better deploy resources and staff members when passenger traffic increases. It has also enabled them to plan maintenance activities on days when traffic is low to reduce disruption for travelers and gain insight into areas of its business where it can deliver better service.One of our main goals is to improve the customer experience. We want to get to know our customer better  what their wants and needs are and how we can make them happy, Parra says. Were constantly exploring how we can leverage technology to ensure theyre successful in traveling through the airport. As an industry, we want to make people feel safe and let them know they can travel again.Avalon airport: introducing a touchless traveler experience Similar to Houston, the cloud is helping another airport nearly 9,000 miles away transform its passenger experience.Avalon Airport, a regional airport in Melbourne, is the first airport in Australia to implement touchless, self-service technology. Avalon has worked with Elenium, an AWS Partner, to make this happen.Elenium uses computer vision, voice recognition, biometrics, and cloud platforms to deliver self-service tools to airports, and offers a suite of cutting-edge automation technologies called Elenium Voyager. Giddings, Avalons CEO, says his team was most concerned with reliability and data protection. Eleniums advanced technology and partnership with AWS gave him confidence his airport could successfully modernize its check-in experience and other parts of the passenger journey.Giddings and his team wanted to ensure the traveler experience was as simple as possible. Though Elenium uses voice technologies to enable touchless interactions, the touchless experience at Avalon is unique in the sense that it doesnt rely solely on voice  it also uses head control and eye movement detection. Aaron Hornlimann, Eleniums CEO, says passengers can just look at a screen in the airport to select an item and AI does the rest. The company uses AWS machine learning services to build AI models that facilitate these interactions and to understand customer intent when passengers look at their check-in screen. Facial recognition technology also aids this process. Using Eleniums Voyager app, passengers can take a selfie when they check in. The photo is then submitted to Amazon Rekognition, an automated, machine learning-based image and video analysis service. These images then undergo facial analysis for the purpose of identity verification. Once a passenger is authenticated, he or she receives an ID to use throughout the check-in process. All this data is securely stored in an AWS key-value and document database that can call up passenger information in milliseconds.Hornlimann says building and deploying Eleniums solutions using AWS Cloud services comes with several advantages. One is the ability to rapidly deploy. If you think about an airport like Avalon, we were able to put in our kiosks and [auto] bag drops without having to put any local infrastructure in place, Hornlimann says. From a service perspective, all Avalon had to provide us with was a good, redundant internet connection and a connection back to the airline. Thats the real differentiator with using a cloud service provider like AWS.Eleniums technology is helping airports replace traditional check-in methods like scanning boarding passes and manual data entry of passenger information. People can come in, they can go to the kiosk, and they dont have to touch it at all. They can get their ticket, check in, and then go to the auto-bag drops, which are also touchless, and its really quick, Giddings says. Its all about reducing congestion in that check-in area. It has really freed up a lot of space. Its probably doubled our capacity in the check-in area just by installing these products.Giddings says providing a touchless experience is also a great long-term investment because it improves accessibility for a range of travelers, including those with disabilities. At a time when people are more weary than ever of physical contact, it also allows Avalon to provide a safe travel experience and differentiate itself from other airports.In a COVID environment, where people are sensitive about touching things and nervous about airports and travel, thats the real benefit, Giddings says. Regardless of the vaccines and when COVID goes away, for a long time people are going to be very conscious about protecting their health, so this is a good long-term investment. Its only a matter of time before other airports do it.Over the last year, airports have had to become much more agile and responsive.But even amid these challenges, many airports are laying the groundwork for lasting changes that will transform their operations and the passenger experience. The cloud offers an invaluable opportunity to bring more innovation to airports, helping them recover from the pandemic in the short term and modernize for greater resiliency and cost savings in the long term. Self-service touchless technologies, voice-enabled chatbots, and better data management arent just capabilities that will serve airports well during a major public health crisis  they are key capabilities airports must embrace to better serve the public.Avalon and Houston both demonstrate the steps airports can take to better prepare for a return to travel. By harnessing a flexible, scalable cloud infrastructure and leveraging secure, highly efficient, well-architected cloud applications, airports can resume their normal operations and assure the public it is safe  and even enjoyable  to travel again.For more information about AWS, please contact us
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - ScreenPro Security Inc. (CSE: SCRN) ("ScreenPro" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has commenced a new business line providing rapid antigen testing for individuals and corporations with its newly approved Health Canada Rapid Antigen tests. The ScreenPro test are administered by our team of trained nurses and provide results in 10 minutes. By initiating this new platform, the Company has lowered the financial barrier for testing to as little as $60 per test making this a much more affordable option for individuals looking for piece of mind and corporations wanting to ensure a safe and secure workplace environment. This is a significant step for ScreenPro in achieving the Company's core strategy- getting Canadians back to work and school safely.

ScreenPro's rapid antigen test kit, with over 94% sensitivity, is a point-of-care offering where a trained nurse will collect a sample from the client using a nasal swab. When compared with the traditional PCR testing, rapid testing enables the employer to test larger groups of employees in a shorter period of time at a significant cost saving. By trusting ScreenPro and its trained nurses for testing purposes, if a positive case is identified, the nurses are trained to administer PCR tests and will have them on hand to provide that extra layer of testing and piece of mind. ScreenPro can provide its clients a turnkey solution to ensure everyone in their controlled vicinity (office building, concerts, sporting events) has a negative rapid test result prior to entry. This is key to ensure its clients can provide a safe environment for their employees and customers.

"Businesses need an effective and cost-efficient way to reset and restart their businesses. Rapid testing is one of the most widely in-demand processes and we have the platform and solution to achieve our common goal, back to work," said the Company's CEO, John McMullen. "Our test picks up the new variants and with the rapid spread of this third wave, testing is more important than ever."

The company has already rolled out the tests to its clients and received positive responses for the tests accuracy, ease of use and the time it took to produce the results.

About ScreenPro

ScreenPro provides turnkey coronavirus screening solutions to the private sector including testing, track and tracing with GoStop alerting software. ScreenPro's unique access to multiple manufacturers of high quality South Korean test kits and its strategic partnership with Canvas Labs in Vancouver and Integrated Explorations in Ontario. This platform allows ScreenPro to be a nationwide provider of a full-service testing solutions across Canada. In addition to providing test kits, ScreenPro has its own nursing professionals, and access to high quality PPE to ensure that its clients are protected in all aspects of their testing needs. GoStop's passport was developed with a privacy preserving approach that will enable individuals to use the alerting software and downloadable app with authentication certificates. The alerts can be scheduled on an on-demand, daily, weekly, or monthly basis and can be used also for vaccine scheduling.

For additional information on ScreenPro and other corporate information, please visit the Company's website at www.screenprosecurity.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor it's Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"John A. D. McMullen"

President and CEO

For further information please contact:

John McMullen

Email: info@screenprosecurity.com

Forward Looking Statements:

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VOLOGDA, Russia -- Savely Narizhny is a 15-year-old former high school student in the northwestern Russian city of Vologda. On the evening of January 23, he was stopped in the center of the city after attending an unsanctioned mass demonstration in support of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who at the time was jailed and facing serious criminal charges. Narizhny wasn't detained, but police confiscated his telephone. Three days later, police came for him at home.



Narizhny admits that he wrote graffiti calling longtime authoritarian President Vladimir Putin a "thief" on the wall of the regional administration headquarters. A short time later, prosecutors categorized the act as "an action committed by a group of people and motivated by political, ideological, race-based, nationalist, or religious hatred or enmity." If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison.



After the criminal charges were filed, Narizhny was called into the administration of his school. Officials pressured him into withdrawing from the school.



"They told me, 'We don't need criminals' and so on," Narizhny told RFE/RL. "'It will be better for you to withdraw of your own volition.'"



Now he attends classes at night school while awaiting trial.



During the wave of protests in support of Navalny and against Putin's government in January and February, Russian officials and state-controlled media -- noting the relative youthfulness of the movement -- regularly accused the opposition of luring minors

"It's absolutely unacceptable to thrust minors forward," Putin said. "After all, that's what terrorists do."



Leading state television moderator Dmitry Kiselyov railed against the opposition on his prime-time show, accusing them of "pulling children into politics like political pedophiles." Opposition supporters, however, were quick to create a video that overlaid Kiselyov's tirade with a montage of photographs of small children attending events organized by the ruling United Russia party.



In the weeks since the demonstrations, local officials across the country have cracked down on young people -- not just minors -- who participated in the demonstrations. Many have found themselves facing expulsion from their educational institutions, serious criminal charges, or -- as in Narizhny's case -- both.

Also caught up in the post-protest crackdown in Vologda was 17-year-old Ilya Yelshin. A self-confessed bad student at the Spassky Middle School, Yelshin spent most of his time cultivating his quirky YouTube channel featuring videos of him, for instance, watching a single clip by Russian rapper Morgenshtern for more than six hours or strolling around in temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius wearing just a T-shirt and jeans.



'Getting Upset'



In January, however, as Navalny was preparing to return from Germany where he'd spent weeks recuperating from an August nerve-agent poisoning that he says was carried out by Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives at the behest of Putin and the government was threatening to arrest him if he appeared in Russia, Yelshin began including political content on his channel, including surveying other youths about whether they supported Navalny or Putin.



On January 23, he published a YouTube livestream from the Navalny demonstration in Vologda.

"I started getting upset about what was happening in Russia at that moment. And things are still bad, as a matter of fact," he told RFE/RL. "The protests started, and I began looking into things. Russia's problems, Putin."



Although teachers had lectured students before the protest about the "danger" of participating in such activities, nothing happened to Yelshin during the demonstration. The next day, however, two plainclothes police showed up at his house and warned him that he was the target of a criminal investigation. Shortly thereafter, he was summoned to the regional prosecutor's office.



"Don't you understand that you are putting your life in danger by getting involved in this?" the prosecutor asked him, according to an audio recording that Yelshin made surreptitiously and posted on social media. "You are being used. You don't even understand how they are using you."



"And have you thought about how you are being used?" Yelshin retorted.



Navalny's supporters called for another major protest on January 31. Shortly before that date, Yelshin posted a video in which he said: "If you want to go, go. But think carefully many times before you decide not to go."



According to Yelshin's lawyer, Sergei Tikhonov, the director of Yelshin's school telephoned the police to report that video and soon his real troubles began.



Spassky Middle School Director Lyudmila Guseva declined to be interviewed for this article.



Vologda politician Yevgeny Domozhirov, who is a member of the Central Council of Navalny's Party of Progress, posted an image of the police report of Guseva's call dated January 29.



He accuses Guseva of hypocrisy for warning students not to get involved in politics while, at the same time, welcoming the United Russia party into her school.



"It is enough to go onto the school's webpage and to see there the constant reposts from the 'party of crooks and thieves' and photographs of their events at the school," Domozhirov wrote, using the dismissive moniker that Navalny coined to refer to United Russia, in a blog post that featured numerous links to such posts from the Spassky school's social-media pages.



'It Will Only Get Worse'



Yelshin was detained at the January 31 demonstration. Police treated him as an "organizer" of the protest because of the video that Guseva had flagged for them. In the end, he was fined 20,000 rubles ($260) on that count and 10,000 rubles ($130) for participating in a second unsanctioned demonstration. In addition, his parents were fined 100 rubles ($1.30) for "failing to fulfill their parental obligations."



Within days, Yelshin -- like Narizhny -- was summoned to the school administration and pressured to withdraw.



"'Ilyusha, of course we aren't forcing you to do anything, but it would be better if you withdrew,'" Yelshin said he was told. "They told me: 'You know yourself that it will only get worse.'"



Since he left school, Yelshin said, he has more time to work on his YouTube channel. Among other things, he posted a video about how he was "driven out of school."



"Now I am no longer a student," he said. "I don't study anywhere. In short, I'm a bum."

In the southern Russian city of Astrakhan, 22-year-old Vera Inozemtseva and two other students were expelled from Astrakhan State University for attending the Navalny protest in that city on January 23. She said that after the demonstration she was "abducted" by plainclothes police officers who took her telephone and used it to post incriminating messages on her social-media accounts.



"I was taken from room to room," she said of her time at a police station that evening, "and finally I was brought to a room and an officer from Center E came in." Center E is the Interior Ministry department responsible for combating extremism, which has been widely criticized for cracking down on peaceful political dissent.



"I tried to find out what was the legal grounds for this conversation and where my telephone was, but the officer didn't answer my questions and just asked me why I don't like Putin," she added. She said she was returned home by three masked men in an unmarked car. One of them asked her, "You are going to behave now, right?"



"I answered that I would complain to the prosecutor's office," she said. As soon as the masked men let her go, two uniformed police officers walked up to her and ordered her to go with them.



'I Don't Want To Quit'



"I thought that maybe I had gone out of my mind or that I was in the middle of a nightmare," she said. In the end, she was fined 10,000 rubles for participating in the demonstration.



She filed her complaint with prosecutors on January 24, but the Investigative Committee declined to open an investigation.



"We are appealing that refusal," she said.



In March, a local court rejected Inozemtseva's appeal against her expulsion from the university.



"Now we are preparing another appeal," Inozemtseva, who was working on a master's degree in political science before being kicked out, told RFE/RL. "I am ready to go to the Supreme Court and to the European Court of Human Rights."



"But I want to win my case against the university here in Russia and not at the European court," she added. "And I want to see the people who abducted me on January 23 punished."



"I don't want to quit," she concluded, falling into thought. "Quit what? You can't even call it activism. I just do what I do. But if I stop doing that, I will become just another indifferent person. And although Russia does not love me, I cannot be indifferent to it."

Written by RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson based on reporting from Vologda by RFE/RL Russian Service North.Realities correspondent Kirill Kruglikov. RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Darya Yegorova contributed from Astrakhan.
Johnson said that the drop in COVID-19 deaths is not due to the vaccine rollout but to the three-month lockdown

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he expects a surge in cases as the economy reopens, while Londons West End venues are estimated to have racked up 100mln on Monday.

Speaking to reporters a day after non-essential businesses such as shops and restaurants have reopened, Johnson said that the drop in COVID-19 deaths is not due to the vaccine rollout.

The bulk of the work in reducing the disease has been done by the lockdown, he said.

As we unlock the result will inevitably be that we will see more infections and sadly we will see more hospitalizations and deaths.

Johnson added that the plans to loosen restrictions will remain as announced.

Videos showing crowds in major city-centre locations on Monday have sparked concern over a potential resurgence in infections if people don't respect social distancing.

Customers in shops, restaurants and pubs in the capitals West End may have spent around 100mln on the first day out of lockdown, according to estimates by the Centre for Retail Research.

The figure could be as high as 150mln on Saturday, the Evening Standard reported.

Meanwhile, data from Springboard revealed that footfall in UK retail destinations was only 16% lower on Monday compared to the same day in 2019.

Businesses are hoping for pent-up demand and increased consumer confidence over the next months to recover sales lost during lockdowns.

According to s ( ) Barclaycard, consumer spending declined 7.2% in March 2021 but 26% of the survey participants have already started planning for life after restrictions.

There are good news for the hospitality sector as 41% of these consumers reported booking outdoor restaurant reservations.

The GDP rose 0.4% in February but analysts expect a spike soon after March saw an improved set of purchasing managers surveys for the services, manufacturing and construction sectors.

The Governments road map out of lockdown does seem to have lifted both business and consumer confidence. The boost to the economy has likely been reinforced by the additional near-term supportive measures contained in the 3 March Budget, said Howard Archer, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.

With the first quarter likely seeing a markedly slower contraction than expected, and with the economy looking to be on the front foot going into the second quarter, the EY ITEM Club will be substantially raising its current 2021 GDP growth forecast of 5.0% in the upcoming Spring Forecast.
The government's former head of procurement became an adviser to Greensill while he was still a civil servant, it emerged today.

The Cabinet Office revealed that Bill Crothers was already working for the firm before he left the civil service in November 2015.

In a letter to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA), Cabinet Office permanent secretary Alex Chisholm said Mr Crothers had been allowed to take a part-time role advising the board of Greensill Capital in September 2015.

The move was approved via a Cabinet Office internal conflicts of interest policy.

Labour's Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, described the news as an 'extraordinary and shocking revelation'.

It came as Boris Johnson said there are questions that need to be 'satisfied' over the David Cameron Greensill lobbying row as he insisted an independent probe will be given 'carte blanche' to ask anybody anything.

The Prime Minister said he wants a review led by Nigel Boardman to be 'done quickly', with the legal expert to be given 'maximum possible access so we can all understand exactly what has happened'.

However, Downing Street admitted at lunchtime that the probe will not be underpinned with legal powers and it will only be able to make recommendations.

Mr Cameron has welcomed the review and said he is prepared to give evidence to it.

Number 10 yesterday announced the Cabinet Office had commissioned an inquiry into 'the development and use of supply chain finance and associated activities in Government, and the role Greensill played in those'.

The review will look at how contracts were secured and 'how business representatives engaged with Government' amid a furore over text messages sent between Mr Cameron and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron said: 'David Cameron welcomes the inquiry and will be glad to take part.'

Meanwhile, Labour accused Mr Sunak of 'running scared' after he failed to attend the House of Commons to answer an urgent question on the Greensill row.

The Cabinet Office has revealed that Bill Crothers, the government's former chief commercial officer, was already working for Greensill before he left the civil service in November 2015

Downing Street yesterday announced the senior lawyer, Nigel Boardman, had been commissioned to carry out a review into how Greensill Capital  founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill (pictured right)  was able to secure Government contracts

The former Prime Minister, 54, said he 'will be glad' to answer questions about his work for the now collapsed finance firm Greensill Capital after Mr Johnson ordered a probe (pictured: Mr Cameron and Mr Johnson together in 2011)

Mr Cameron is now facing scrutiny over his work for American healthcare firm Illumina after it emerged the company secured a 123million Department of Health contract in 2019. Health Secretary Matt Hancock is pictured in March this year

Friends or 'frenemies'? Boris Johnson and Davis Cameron's rivalry dates back to Eton The announcement of an official investigation into the Greensill lobbying row immediately prompted claims from Tory MPs that Boris Johnson wanted to settle his old rivalry with David Cameron. Competition between the pair started during their time together at Eton College, when both decided they wanted to become prime minister. Their political paths have been linked ever since, as they first headed to Oxford University where they were both in the notorious Bullingdon Club, before then heading to Westminster. Both men were elected as MPs for the first time in 2001 but it was Mr Cameron who achieved his dream before Mr Johnson as he first became Tory leader in 2005 and then PM in 2010. Mr Johnson was made to wait as he took a different path, stepping down as an MP in 2008 to serve two terms as Mayor of London before a return to the Commons in 2015. The rivalry soured in 2016 at the Brexit referendum when Mr Johnson backed Leave despite Mr Cameron seeking his backing for the Remain campaign. The decision left Mr Cameron furious at Mr Johnson, as he said in the run up to June 23: 'I'm still friends with Boris, just perhaps not such good friends.' Mr Johnson was asked directly today whether the inquiry is an attempt to 'rough up an old rival' as some Tory MPs have suggested. Mr Johnson replied: 'I think people have just got questions that they need to satisfy themselves, including me, about how this supply chain finance stuff is meant to work.' Advertisement

Details on the timing of Mr Crothers becoming an adviser to Greensill were set out in a letter from Mr Chisholm to Lord Pickles, the chairman of ACOBA.

In the letter he said: 'Mr Crothers took up a role advising the Board of Greensill Capital in September 2015 whilst he was employed as a Civil Servant.

'This was agreed via the Cabinet Office internal conflicts of interest policy, which advises on how to address real or perceived conflicts of interest.

'Mr Crothers then left the Cabinet Office and the Civil Service, at the end of November 2015.

'As he was already working in an advisory capacity to Greensill before he left the Civil Service, with this role captured under the conflicts of interest policy, no BAR application was required to be submitted to ACOBA at this time.

'As the Business Appointment rules concern new appointments or employment that an individual takes up after they have left the Civil Service, under current policy, a BAR application would only then have been necessitated in the following two years (starting from November 2015) if Mr Crothers' Greensill role changed substantially from the role he undertook in September 2015. If his role changed substantially, the obligation to seek ACOBA approval would have been on Mr Crothers.'

Lord Pickles said in his response to Mr Chisholm that the Cabinet Office should publish the relevant conflicts of interest policy and 'provide details of the historic and current numbers of individuals provided approval under his policy'.

Mr Crothers had told Lord Pickles in correspondence published by ACOBA: 'It was seen as a way of me transitioning back into the private sector and was supported by the Cabinet Office leadership. This advisory role was not seen as contentious, and I believe not uncommon. I then left the civil service in good stead and with best wishes.'

The correspondence was published after Mr Johnson told Sky News this morning: 'I have asked Nigel Boardman to have a look at this whole issue of supply chain finance and given him pretty much carte blanche to ask anybody whatever he needs to find out.

'I would like it to be done quickly but I want him to have the maximum possible access so we can all understand exactly what has happened and that will of course be presented to Parliament in due course.'

Critics have suggested the review is not fully independent because Mr Boardman is a non-executive board member of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy who has previously conducted a review of Cabinet Office procurement processes.

But Mr Johnson said: 'I have got every confidence in Nigel Boardman. I think he will do an outstanding job.

'He has done a very good job on PPE that I have been reading and I think that we need to understand exactly what has been going on with this supply chain finance question and we will make sure that everybody gives him their time and he can set out his thoughts and set out his arguments.'

Mr Johnson would not be drawn on his assessment of Mr Cameron's behaviour as he said: 'That is a matter for Nigel Boardman.'

The announcement of an official investigation prompted Tory MPs to claim Mr Johnson wanted to settle his old rivalry with Mr Cameron which dates back to their time at Eton College and Oxford University.

One senior Conservative MP told the Financial Times that 'Boris is getting his vengeance on Dave' while a former Tory minister claimed the PM 'will love nothing more than throwing Dave under the bus'.

Asked whether the inquiry was an attempt to 'rough up an old rival', Mr Johnson replied: 'I think people have just got questions that they need to satisfy themselves, including me, about how this supply chain finance stuff is meant to work.

'I don't think it is going on at present anywhere in government but we need to understand exactly what the intention was, how it came about and that is what Nigel Boardman is going to do.'

Downing Street admitted at lunchtime that the review will not have any legal powers.

The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said: 'No, it won't have legal powers, but the review will have access to all the necessary information required and engage with those involved at the time.'

Asked if the review is going to be able to recommend changes to lobbying rules, the spokesman said: 'They will be able to make recommendations but I'm not going to set out for an independent review of what he should be looking at.'

It came as Mr Cameron faced new questions over his work for another company he advises, American healthcare firm Illumina, after it emerged the business secured a 123million Department of Health contract in 2019.

Mr Cameron is a paid adviser for Illumina and in his statement released on Sunday in response to the Greensill row he listed the firm as one of his 'commercial interests'.

The Times said the contract was awarded to Illumina a week after Mr Cameron appeared with Health Secretary Matt Hancock at a genomics conference in September 2019.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron denied he had lobbied on any Illumina contracts ever, telling the newspaper: 'He was not engaged as a lobbyist [for Illumina] and has not lobbied the UK government about any contracts between Illumina and the UK government.'

Mr Cameron has said his role with the firm was purely to promote the benefits of genomic sequencing technology.

The 2019 contract was awarded to Illumina by Genomics England which is a Department of Health body set up during the years of the Coalition Government when Mr Cameron was prime minister.

An initial contract was awarded by Genomics England to Illumina back in 2014. Mr Cameron reportedly joined Illumina as a consultant in 2017.

Illumina said: 'Illumina always follows the correct and necessary process in its negotiations with customers.'

The Department of Health said the 2019 contract followed up on the original contract agreed in 2014 and it had been 'directly awarded because Illumina was the only company with the technical capability to deliver the work'.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: 'The Health Secretary is a strong supporter of the UK's world leading genomic sequencing capability.

'This contract was awarded in the correct way following extensive due diligence and through the proper transparency notice process.'

It came as Labour launched a fresh attempt to press ministers over Mr Cameron's lobbying activities on behalf of the collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was granted an urgent question in the Commons this afternoon as she sought answers from Mr Sunak on the 'process by which Greensill Capital was approved as a lender for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)'.

But Mr Sunak did not attend the Commons and Small Business Minister Paul Scully answered on behalf of the Government.

Mr Sunak's absence prompted Ms Dodds to accuse him of being 'frit' and of 'running scared' of scrutiny.

Mr Scully said Mr Sunak had already written to Ms Dodds last week with a 'comprehensive response' to the questions she had raised.

He also said the CBILS scheme 'is administered by the British Business Bank' which means responsibility for the delivery of the scheme sits with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy rather than Mr Sunak and the Treasury.

The Treasury released Chancellor Rishi Sunak's texts to Mr Cameron after a freedom of information request

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds accused Mr Sunak of 'running scared' of scrutiny after he failed to answer an urgent question on the row in the House of Commons, with Small Business Minister Paul Scully responding for the Government

Downing Street yesterday announced Mr Boardman will lead a review into how Greensill Capital  founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill  was able to secure Government contracts.

It follows a series of reports on Mr Cameron's lobbying on behalf of the firm  including sending text messages to Mr Sunak's personal phone number.

In response to one, the Chancellor said he had 'pushed' officials to consider proposals which could have helped Greensill.

It was also reported that Mr Cameron arranged a 'private drink' between Mr Hancock and Mr Greensill to discuss a payment scheme which was later rolled out in the NHS.

Mr Cameron finally broke his silence on the row at the weekend with a statement in which he insisted he had not broken any rules, but accepted there were 'lessons to be learned'.

As a former prime minister, he said that any contacts with government should be through 'only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation'.
Canada is propelling municipalities and Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario to post-pandemic economic recovery through key investments.

Canada looking to increase immigration and tourism in Thunder Bay Canada is propelling municipalities and Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario to post-pandemic economic recovery through key investments.

Canada looking to increase immigration and tourism in Thunder Bay Canada is propelling municipalities and Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario to post-pandemic economic recovery through key investments.

Canada looking to increase immigration and tourism in Thunder Bay Canada is propelling municipalities and Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario to post-pandemic economic recovery through key investments. Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Attracting new immigrants is one of the main priorities of a new $1 million Canadian government investment in Northern Ontario.

Patty Hajdu and Marcus Powlowski, who are Members of Parliament for the Thunder Bay area announced the million-dollar investment to the Thunder Bay-Superior North region on April 7. The funding is intended to help municipalities and Indigenous communities grow their economies and create well-paying jobs for locals as well as newcomers.

The government is looking to achieve these goals through a number of avenues. One of which includes attracting immigrants to the Thunder Bay-Superior North region by matching skilled workers to what employers need.

Todays announcement will enhance tourism and further accelerate community economic development and business growth here at home in Northwestern Ontario, said Hajdu, Our governments focus on economic diversification and immigration will support a strong economic recovery that is inclusive, sustainable, and creates good jobs for families throughout Thunder Bay-Superior North.

Canada is investing about $490,500 in the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission to support Canadas Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). This will help employers in the region better understand the immigration pathways available so that they can meet their labour needs. In addition, these funds will help to promote jobs to newcomers, and to provide employer diversity training.

Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment

What is the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot?

The RNIP is a community-driven immigration program that helps participating municipalities attract and retain foreign workers. RNIP communities take the lead in attracting newcomers and matching them with potential employers in their respective regions.

Thunder Bay is one of 11 participating communities, which also include:

North Bay, Ontario;

Sudbury, Ontario;

Timmins, Ontario;

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario;

Brandon, Manitoba;

Altona/Rhineland, Manitoba;

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan;

Claresholm, Alberta;

Vernon, British Columbia; and

West Kootenay, British Columba.

If you are interested in immigrating to Canada through the RNIP, you will have to meet Canadas federal requirements as well as the desired communitys requirements.

For the federal requirements, you are required to have a recommendation from one of the communities. You will also need to demonstrate having experience or connections to the community such as having a job offer, and at least one year of eligible work experience or a post-secondary credential from a local institution. You must also meet language requirements and have enough money to support yourself and your family while you settle in.

Get a Free Canadian Immigration Assessment

 CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
Oregon public health officials Tuesday announced the immediate suspension of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as the Food and Drug Administration recommended putting a pause on the treatment over rare health concerns.

Oregon Health Authority has asked all of the states vaccine providers to immediately stop administering the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, per the announcement from the U.S. CDC and FDA this morning, the agency said in a statement. This is out of an abundance of caution as they review six cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in women ages 18-48 after vaccination.

The six cases came among nearly 7 million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to federal officials. One person died and another is in critical condition, according to an FDA official.

Some experts worry that the news will embolden the anti-vax movement. Dr. Paul Cieslak, a senior health advisor at the Oregon Health Authority, is concerned.

This may give them some additional fuel, Cieslak said. But I want to point that this was about one in a million vaccine doses administered and we still dont know whether the vaccine was causally related to these side effects.

Cieslak said CDC and FDA investigators will study the cases to try to determine whether the blood clots had any relation to the vaccine. The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to delve into the cases of blood clots and assess their potential significance, according to the CDC and FDAs statement.

I think we will know within a couple of days whether the pause is going to be more or less indefinite or whether well get the green light, Cieslak said.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine received emergency use authorization in the U.S. from the FDA in late February with great fanfare, with hopes that its single-dose and relatively simple storage requirements would speed vaccinations across the country. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were not affected by Tuesdays pause.

More than 85,000 Oregonians have received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and the federal government shipped the state 124,400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week for a total of about 213,000 received. Oregon Health Authority spokesman Tim Heider said the state has distributed the vaccine to 225 locations statewide, and told vaccination providers to hold onto what they have for now. The vaccine can be safely stored at between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit for up to three months, according to Johnson & Johnson.

Heider said its too early to say how the halt in vaccinations will affect the longterm timelines for getting the vast majority of Oregons population vaccinated.

At least immediately, the pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccinations isnt expected to dramatically hinder the pace, beyond a slowdown that already was expected. Officials recently announced they were planning to give far fewer doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over the next few weeks, after problems producing the vaccine in the U.S. and limitations producing it overseas resulted in huge cutbacks in federal shipments to states.

Oregon received 7,300 doses this week and was expecting about 2,000 next week, although numbers werent yet available for additional doses that also might be sent to pharmacies through the federal retail pharmacy program this week and next.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the CDC and FDA said they were investigating clots in the women who showed symptoms six to 13 days after vaccination. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts  making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially dangerous.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, none of the six women were from Oregon.

Johnson & Johnson issued a statement advising people whove received its vaccine to contact a health care provider if they experience symptoms of blood clots -- including headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of their vaccinations.

Cieslak, from the Oregon Health Authority, said people should be on the lookout for a severe headache and not just a mild one. He said even women whove received the vaccine should know theyre at very low risk for blood clots.

Johnson & Johnson also said it was halting the rollout of its vaccine in Europe, where several countries were planning to start administering the vaccine within days.

Oregon Health & Science University said it knows of no blood-clotting problems among the 16 people who took part in Johnson & Johnsons trial through OHSU or the approximately 4,000 people who since have received the vaccine from the institution. Spokeswoman Franny White said OHSU had planned to inoculate about 500 people with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this weekend, but now has decided to give them another vaccine instead.

Although Johnson & Johnsons vaccine makes up only a small minority of inoculations in the U.S. and Oregon, it is causing frustrating delays for some Oregonians.

Newberg resident Danny Marang said he showed up for his 6 a.m. appointment Tuesday at the McMinnville Walmart. He watched a few people in line in front of him get their shots and he had already signed in electronically and was rolling up his sleeve for his Johnson & Johnson shot when a Walmart employee walked up and informed the person who was about to vaccinate him to stop.

Marang said he searched online for news about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and found a story 19 minutes old stating the government officials were recommending the freeze. Marang asked if he could still get the shot.

I told them Im willing to take the risk and they said, Nope, said Marang, who added getting vaccinated will be life-changing.

Marang and his wife are now planning to get the Moderna vaccine at a clinic on Saturday. He said he hopes something in the electronic system doesnt prevent that from happening, showing falsely that he has already received a Johnson & Johnson dose.

I should add that I have a very specific problem now bc my vaccine card is filled out and I digitally accepted the shot but was not given it so I cant even go get the Pfizer or Moderna in the meantime bc the system says I have the shot.



Stuck in vaccine limbo. https://t.co/sxdicXsLcO  Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) April 13, 2021

Getting the vaccine, he said, will mean he can better do his job as host of a Trail Blazers postgame show for NBC Sports Northwest and a podcast for Blazers Edge. He and his wife had to ditch their wedding plans last year and instead get married at a courthouse. They also postponed their honeymoon.

As soon as the basketball seasons over and were both vaccinated, Marang said, were going.

Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
We need to extend our moral imagination and say what about public health? How big of a deal would it be if we can get our students and our family members vaccinated and we can work as a district, as one, to kind of do something that is incredible ... but also can at this moment keep our city protected and safe? Bawany asked.
Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Cloudy early, then thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy with occasional showers overnight. Low around 70F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.
Pennsylvania as of the start of Tuesday had given out 6.5 million vaccine doses, the 11th most in the country in terms of getting a first dose to eligible residents.

The state had earlier reached that ranking but had fallen to about 20th as of late last week.

As of early Tuesday, Pennsylvania was giving about 91,000 doses per day, with 2.5 million state residents having received the two doses needed for full protection, the state said in its daily update. Another 1.8 million are partially vaccinated. Pennsylvania has 12.8 million people.

The state also reported 6,638 new COVID-19 infections and 2,474 people hospitalized with COVID-19.

Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam on Monday had said new cases and hospitalizations, which have been rising for about a month, are showing signs of a plateau.

However, she said Pennsylvania remains in the race to get the vast majority of residents protected through vaccination and minimize the impact of more contagious COVID-19 variant strains which are flowing into the state.

Pennsylvania on Tuesday also reported 66 new COVID-19 deaths, bringing its toll to 25,472.

She said people must continue to wear face masks and use social distancing to hold down spread of COVID-19.

RELATED: Pa. pauses use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine associated with clots
Carlos Ospina's expertise in marine infrastructure, hands-on approach, and commitment to providing innovative value engineering solutions will be assets to the firm and our clients.

Carlos E. Ospina, Ph.D., P.E., FACI, joined Simpson Gumpertz & Heger as a Principal based in the firms Houston, Texas, office. Ospinas experience includes analyzing, designing, and providing construction support for marine structures in container, liquid/solid bulk handling, multipurpose, and cruise terminals in more than twenty countries. His technical practice also includes seismic analysis and design of bridges, underground facilities, monorail guideways, and industrial buildings.

We are excited to welcome Carlos to our local and national structural and marine engineering teams, said James C. Parker, SGH Senior Principal and Head of Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics. His expertise in marine infrastructure, hands-on approach, and commitment to providing innovative value engineering solutions will be assets to the firm and our clients.

Most recently, Ospina was a Vice President in the Maritime Division of WSP USA, where he delivered marine infrastructure designs for local and international clients, including some of the largest container terminal operators in the world. Ospina is a Fellow of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) since 2011. He is a voting member of several ACI committees, including ACI 318 (Structural Concrete Building Code); ACI 318F (Foundations, Chair); and ACI 318S (Spanish Translations). He is also a member of technical committees on seismic design of piers and wharves for both the American Society of Civil Engineers Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute (COPRI) and the World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure (PIANC). Ospinas technical work is nationally recognized for his contributions to punching shear design of structural concrete slabs.

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH) is a national engineering firm that designs, investigates, and rehabilitates structures, building enclosures, and materials. Our award-winning work encompasses building, energy, civil/infrastructure, and science/defense projects in the United States, Canada, and more than thirty additional countries. SGH has offices in Boston; Chicago; Houston; New York; San Francisco Bay Area; Southern California; and Washington, DC. For more information, please visit http://www.sgh.com.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lafayette Square, an impact-driven, minority-owned investment platform, announced today that Seren Tahiroglu has been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the firm's credit strategy. Mr. Tahiroglu, who joins from Ernst & Young LLP, will oversee the accounting and financial reporting functions for the firm's credit platform. Mr. Tahiroglu will hold an important role as the company makes investments in small and medium-sized businesses that support job growth across the United States.

"We're pleased to have Seren join our team and are excited that his experience and background are well suited to lead the finance function for our credit strategy," said Damien Dwin, Founder & CEO of Lafayette Square.

"I feel privileged to join Lafayette Square on its mission to support underserved businesses that play an important role in localized economies throughout the U.S.," said Mr. Tahiroglu. "I look forward to working with Damien and the Lafayette Square team as we put capital to work in ways that help with the economic recovery while contributing to long-term prosperity, particularly in communities that need it most."

Mr. Tahiroglu has over fourteen years of public accounting experience, primarily focused on the financial services industry. He spent the last ten years at Ernst & Young where he was most recently a Senior Manager in the Wealth and Asset Management audit practice, specializing in serving both traded and non-traded BDCs, private equity funds, and credit funds. Before that, Mr. Tahiroglu held accounting and analyst roles at BlumShapiro and ING US Financial Services, respectively.

Mr. Tahiroglu holds a B.S. in Accounting from the Connecticut State University and a Masters in Accounting and Taxation from the University of Hartford. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.

About Lafayette Square

Lafayette Square is an impact-driven, minority-owned investment platform. Founded by Damien Dwin in 2020, the firm confronts critical societal challenges with capital and services in three core areas: housing, jobs, and financial inclusion. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit lafayettesquare.com

Media Contact:

Shree Dhond/Zach Kouwe

Dukas Linden Public Relations

646-722-6531

[email protected]



SOURCE Lafayette Square Holding Company
Salt Bae, the butcher who went viral on social media and launched a food empire off his notoriety, is the subject of a $5million lawsuit from an artist salty over the unauthorized used of artwork featuring the restaurateur's signature pose.

Williams Hicks, a Brooklyn-based artist known for his stenciled paintings and murals, filed the lawsuit against Salt Bae - whose real name is Nusret Gokce - in the District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday.

The suit alleges that after Gokce commissioned Hicks to do several pieces for his restaurants in Miami, New York, Doha, and Dubai, Salt Bae used Hicks' graphics for menus, labels, restaurant signs and more.

Williams Hicks, a Brooklyn-based artist known for his stenciled paintings and murals, filed the lawsuit against Salt Bae - whose real name is Nusret Gokce (pictured) - in the District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday

The first page of the filing from Hicks and his attorneys

The 'unauthorized distribution' of the artwork resulted in a loss of income as Gokce never sought licensing for it, the lawsuit claims.

According to the lawsuit, Hicks and Joseph Iurato were commissioned to create the artwork in September 2017 for Gokce's Nusr-et Miami steakhouse. The artwork consisted of 'an original vectorized patterned work' and an 'original stenciled painting depicting' Gokce in his signature pose, the suit states.

Following the completion of the Miami piece, an additional commission for artwork at Nusr-et New York came next, followed by commissioned pieces at Nusr-et Doha in November 2018 and Nusr-et Dubai in February 2019, the suit reads.

According to the lawsuit, Hicks and Joseph Iurato were commissioned to create the artwork in September 2017 for Gokce's Nusr-et Miami steakhouse. An additional piece was made in New York City

Gokce and the defendants commissioned pieces at Nusr-et Doha in November 2018 and Nusr-et Dubai in February 2019, the suit reads.

Hicks discovered that the defendants were 'engaging in widespread, unauthorized distribution' of the work in early 2020, noting that imagery soon began appearing in window displays, digital signs, menus, wipes and takeout bags at 'Nusr-et steakhouses and Saltbae Burger restaurants in New York, Dubai, and Istanbul.'

The lawsuit reads that Hicks sent a letter to Gokce in April 2020 demanding that they 'immediately cease and desist' from any further use of the artwork. But rather than comply with the request, Gokce began using further graphics at locations in Doha, D Maris Bay, Turkey, Boston, Dallas, and in several Istanbul locations, according to the lawsuit.

Images of the artwork are prominently displayed in window displays and across the front entrances of the Turkish chef's restaurants. The artwork has also been seen on signage, uniforms, menus, takeout bags, table placards, wipes, stickers, brand identity, consumer products, merchandise and other marketing materials, the lawsuit states.

Unauthorized copies of the artwork has also appeared on advertising for Nusr-et steakhouses and Saltbae Burger restaurants, according to the suit. The lawsuit notes that current social media icons, profile pictures and even their online ordering platform use copies of the unauthorized work.

Hicks discovered that the defendants were 'engaging in widespread, unauthorized distribution' of the work in early 2020, the suit reads

Hicks sent a letter to Gokce in April 2020 demanding that they 'immediately cease and desist' from any further use of the artwork. But rather than comply with the request, Gokce began using further graphics at locations in Doha, D Maris Bay, Turkey, Boston (pictured), Dallas, and in several Istanbul locations, according to the lawsuit

The artwork has also been seen on signage, uniforms, menus, takeout bags, table placards, wipes, stickers, brand identity, consumer products, merchandise and other marketing materials, the lawsuit states

As of February 2021, Gokce and the eateries even began selling products that included flavored gourmet salts and steak seasonings that too included unauthorized copies of the artwork on their packaging, the lawsuit contends

And as of February 2021, Gokce and the eateries even began selling products that included flavored gourmet salts and steak seasonings that too included unauthorized copies of the artwork on their packaging, the lawsuit contends.

The products were even marketed at Gulfood 2021, an annual food and beverage trade expo hosted in Dubai. Salt Bae's stall at the exposition even included a 'prominently displayed large printed graphic,' according to the suit.

In addition to the monetary compensation, Hicks is also seeking an injunctive relief and 'other relief as the Court deems just and proper.'

The artwork is seen on a takeout bag for the restaurant

The lawsuit notes that current social media icons, profile pictures and even their online ordering platform use copies of the unauthorized work

The beef comes less than two years after Salt Bae paid a $230,000 settlement to four waiters who accused him of firing them from his Manhattan steakhouse for asking questions about tips.

Gokce agreed to the settlement the day before a trial with the National Labor Relations Board arbiter was set. Four former employees of Nusr-Et Steakhouse New York filed complaints against the Turkish chef in January 2019.

Onur Usluca, 27, Yunus Delimehmet, 36, Suleyman Kucur, 51, and Batuhan M. Yunkus, 30, said they faced wrongful termination, alleging they were dismissed after they began to question how the tip pool was divided.

The juicy drama - or having his New York joint dubbed the worst restaurant in NYC - hasn't stopped Salt Bae from looking to expand even more.
A Ukrainian-born oligarch Tory donor who once bought a bronze bust of David Cameron has given his backing to the embattled former prime minister.

Ex-arms tycoon Alexander Temerko described Mr Cameron as his 'friend' and said he had been trying to 'provide a voice for business'.

He said the fallout from the Greensill-Liberty Steel scandal demonstrated why 'business councils' are needed in the UK  and said the former PM should lead them.

Ex-arms tycoon Alexander Temerko described Mr Cameron as his 'friend' and said he had been trying to 'provide a voice for business'

The support of the controversial businessman  a prominent Tory donor and party member  may do little to help Mr Cameron's cause.

The party under Mr Cameron came under fire for its close links to Russian oligarchs and triggered concerns about the Russian influence over British politics.

In quotes sent to the Mail, Mr Temerko said of the Greensill case: 'Recently, my friend David Cameron has been scrutinised by the media for providing a voice for business, aimed at the Government.

'In my view, the Greensill-Liberty Steel case has shown us above all that in fact, it is inordinately difficult for even major businesses to express their concerns and connect with the Government.'

He complained that there was no 'proper' mechanism for businesses to lobby ministers, adding: 'As such, it is no surprise that they try to engage with Government through ad hoc avenues.'

The former oil and arms executive was granted political asylum in the UK in 2004 and became a prominent businessman.

Mr Temerko once bought a bust of Mr Cameron for 90,000, which went to the Tory party

He was a junior defence minister in Russia but left the country after president Vladimir Putin took control of the oil firm he worked for. He has cut ties with Russia and now holds only a UK passport.

The oligarch and companies he is connected to have donated at least 1.3million to the Conservatives.

He once bought a bust of Mr Cameron for 90,000, which went to the party. He is also a member of the Tories' donor club, The Leader's Group.

Last month he took joint control of a company seeking to build a 1.2billion underwater power cable from Portsmouth to France.
Discovery Minerals Executes Agreement with Sierra Gold LLC to acquire the Ruby Mine in California and has commenced preliminary work.

GRASS VALLEY, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Discovery Minerals LTD (OTC PINK:DSCR), is an acquisition and development company that targets natural resource properties and cutting edge technology opportunities is pleased to announce that it has completed an agreement to acquire the Ruby Mine from Sierra Gold LLC. Discovery's geologists have commenced generating a 3-D model of the property and workings as well as geological evaluation and assessment of all known existing resource targets.

The Ruby is one of California's best-known buried placer mines, and is considered by many to be one of the largest producing river channel mines of modern times. It features a system of gold-bearing Tertiary channels which have been reported to have already produced over 250,000 ounces of gold. The Ruby is also renowned for its production of coarse and jewelers-grade gold, with the largest gold nugget weighing 201 ounces or 17 pounds. It is conservatively estimated that 134,844 ounces of gold are available for near-term recovery from identified channels using the existing Ruby infrastructure. Placer, refers to mining the buried watercourse river bed at Ruby.

There are 3.5 miles of river channels yet to be mined on the Ruby mining claims. Historically the channels have produced up to 106,000 oz per mile, indicating a potential of 370,000 oz of gold still to be mined from the buried placer.

In addition to the well established placer ore that will be mined initially, one of the most exciting features of the Ruby mine is the large greenstone belt formed in the Archean Age that is largely unexplored and is the source of the placer gold. The Discovery Minerals Geologists will be investigating this greenstone belt. There are clear indications of this occurrence in the Wolf Vein that produced 1625 oz of gold by the earlier miners from the vertical greenstone formation that underlies the buried river channels. Although only worked at very shallow depths underfoot from the main Ruby access tunnel, the production was reported to have averaged 10 grams per ton of gold at working widths. Using modern geological concepts & technologies that have emerged around the world in other gold mining areas, Discovery Geologists will use experience gained in the past 40 years where shut down mines have often doubled their original output of gold by starting new operations adjacent to and underneath these previous operations. Geologists have proposed that with careful evaluation and a judicious drilling program a substantial new resource could be uncovered.

The Ruby Mine is located between Downieville and Forest City, in Sierra County, California, approximately 100 miles north of Sacramento and 90 miles west of Reno, NV. The property covers approximately 1,755 acres consisting of the subsurface mineral rights and mining claims.

Russel Smith CEO of Discovery Minerals Ltd commented; " We are extremely happy to complete our agreement with Sierra Gold LLC. to acquire The Ruby Mining claims and commence mining operations on this historic project. While Ruby has been one of the most prolific mines in California, what is so extraordinary is how much of the claims are virtually unexplored. The combination of already identified near term mining targets with the largely unexplored greenstone belt provides significant potential of additional gold reserves. We will bring new technology and geological survey process to Ruby that we believe will quickly identify new mining targets."

Identifying additional channels as well as lode deposits in quartz veins that are known to exist on the property and will require additional development and geological survey work that has already commenced.

The Ruby is fully permitted for mining operations and there is over $3.5M in equipment and infrastructure already in place which includes a fully operational treatment facility. The property also features an excellent system of roads, and is accessible via paved highway from Reno or Sacramento, has abundant water and timber available for mining use, and has PG&E power available on-site.

About Discovery Minerals Ltd.

Discovery Minerals Ltd. (OTC PINK:DSCR) is an acquisition and development company that targets natural resource properties and cutting edge technology opportunities through its subsidiaries. The Board of Directors has determined that these activities be continued with an emphasis on early positive cash flow from any projects undertaken.

Safe Harbor

This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 27E of the Securities Act of 1934. 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. Actual performance and results may differ materially from that projected or suggested herein due to certain risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, ability to obtain financing and regulatory and shareholder approval for anticipated actions.

Contact:

Russell Smith

info@discoveryholdingscorp.com

SOURCE: Discovery Minerals Ltd.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640083/Discovery-Minerals-Commences-Mining-Operations
China is planning a mega-dam in Tibet able to produce triple the electricity generated by the Three Gorges Dam, stoking fears among environmentalists and in neighbouring India.

With Beijings ambitious new plan to construct a mega-hydropower plant, tensions between the two Asian giants are expected to rise. The structure would cross the Brahmaputra River until it leaves the Himalayas and flows into India, straddling the worlds longest and deepest canyon at an altitude of more than 1,500 metres (4,900 feet).

The Tibetan local government signed a strategic partnership deal with PowerChina, a state-owned construction company that specialises in hydroelectric projects, in October of last year. A month later, Yan Zhiyong, the CEO of PowerChina, gave the Communist Youth League, Chinas ruling partys youth wing, a sneak peek at the initiative. The super-dam however is in a league of its own.

The project in Tibets Medog County is projected to outperform the world-record-breaking Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in central China, generating 300 billion kilowatts of electricity annually. New Delhi is concerned about water security in the downstream Brahmaputra River basin in its northeastern state of Assam and neighbouring regions.

Read More: China-Taiwan tensions escalate: 25 Chinese military jets breach Taiwans airspace

Yan Zhiyong, chairman of Chinas Power Construction Corporation, said the project was included in the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Partys plans for formulating the countrys 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and long-term targets through 2035.

The strategically weak Indian states border Tibet in the north and are linked to the rest of India through the Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chickens Neck. New Delhi has not taken lightly Beijings renewed attempt to harness one of South Asias largest and most strategic rivers.

There are environmental and political threats, according to Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, an environmental policy specialist at the Tibetan Policy Institute in Dharamshala, India, which is affiliated with the exiled Tibetan government. The project has also caused concern in New Delhi. According to experts, the Chinese Communist Party effectively controls the sources of much of South Asias water resources.

Also Read: China-Taiwan tensions escalate: 25 Chinese military jets breach Taiwans airspace
The document is now the oldest continuously recognized Indigenous treaty in Anglo-American lawbut for reasons that have nothing to do with 1722 crime.

It has stayed on the books for three hundred years for the simple reason that it recorded new land cessions made by the Five Nations in western Pennsylvania and New York, providing part of the legal underpinning for those colonies territorial claims and later for the sovereign rights of the United States, Eustace writes.

This explains why Anglo-Americans chose to preserve the treaty. But today we can find more in it than they intended to pass down because it also recorded the Five Nations request to the colonists for the liberation of the two killersJohn and Edmund Cartlidge. In effect, the treaty permanently documented a manifestation of Native American justice.

NYU News spoke with Eustace about how this little-known crime and its aftermath can still be instructive today.

Criminal justice has been the subject of debate and controversy in the United States since its founding. Was this handling of this 18th-century, colonial killing controversial as well?

Yes, because what you see through this case is a real debatea back-and-forth between two very different worldviews about what to do when there is a rupture, created by violence, in the fabric of social relationships. Everyone could agree that these two murderers were people who had committed a grave offense. However, under the Indigenous justice system, they did not lose their value as human beings after committing this horrific crime. According to Native protocols, they had to make amends through a series of ritual actions designed to create emotional and economic redress. If they did so to everyones satisfaction, they could then count on being welcomed back into society to continue playing roles as fur traders, as interpreters, and as go-betweens within their own community and across communities. However, according to the Anglo-American legal system, they deserved to be treated simply as criminals in need of punishment. When the killers attempted to make amends, the colonists saw them as attempting to subvert justice, to have a sham trial to exonerate themselves, and to buy people off or buying their way out.

Are there ways that Indigenous justice lives on today?

Yes, we can look to Scandinavian countries and other nations that are taking a less punitive approach to justice. And there are modern-day efforts in the U.S. to reduce incarceration rates and to reduce capital punishmentVirginia recently abolished the death penalty; cash bail is being eliminated in many places; mandatory minimum sentences guidelines are being reformed. There are even reparative justice projects that seek to create dialog, forgiveness, and catharsis for both the victims and the perpetrators of crimes.

Overall, drawing on Indigenous forms of justice means that a person who commits a crime is going to be encouraged to take responsibility, offer remorse, and engage in service or other acts of repair, but not face the attitude that their human worth has been erased. So this can mean creating transitional programs that offer housing support, job training, and other basic kinds of care upon release from prison. Its about making amends and then its about being reintegrated and not losing your value as a member of society after committing a crime. Native American justice is still a seed that could, even after all of this time, be made to blossom. It was a road not taken in America, but its still there.

You write that The Great Treaty of 1722, which remains in effect nearly 300 years later, reflects balanced values of pluralism and communalismvalues that are a part of our national heritage, but, at the same time, ripe for reclamation. What could reclaiming them look like?

Im a historian, not a policy maker, but it seems like its high time that we get away from a notion of crime as a sort of moral failing of the individual and start looking at it as a sign that things have gotten off balance in the community. Native American societies of the Northeastern woodlands, including a variety of Algonquian and Iroquoian nations, have long been recognized for the ways that they value all members of their communities, not just the select few. Today, when childhood learning disabilities are one of the biggest predictors of adult criminal convictions, thats a sign that our education system is failing children. When people can gain lasting criminal records, which make applying for housing and employment difficult to impossible, just because theyve stolen basic necessities like food and diapers, thats a sign that our community is not valuing all its members. From farm policy to mortgage policies, Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color generally have been systematically dispossessed in this country, and as the activist Winona LaDuke puts it, the only compensation for land is land. Still, if we can seriously commit ourselves to strengthening our communities and supporting all our children, we will start to see truly transformational improvements in all our lives.

Historians examine documents and other materials to record and illuminate the past in ways that are instructive to later generations. And they do so with great care and tireless attention to detailyour book, for example, includes 80 pages of notes and references. However, today, we see the recounting of events marred by liesfrom Antifa was behind the Capitol Hill insurrection to The 2020 presidential election was stolen. Have there been previous periods in which history was in danger of being falsely rewritten?

I think its pretty fair to say that history has always been falsely rewritten in some sense and that what we saw around the 2020 election was just the apotheosis of centuries of distortion. Theres a West African proverb that has been circulating a lot recently: Until the lion tells the story, the hunter will always be the hero. American history has long been written in a heroic vein that exalted elite white male leaders over everyone else. Only now are the lions really beginning to roar. Were seeing things like the New York Times 1619 project bringing critical perspectives to popular audiences and thats generating a backlash. Taking criticism is hard and so the question is how can you reach people with a revised and more realistic view of history? What I try to do in this book is to tell a story in the round of real human beings. In this, Ive been very much inspired by the approach of the novelist Imbolo Mbue, who has talked about how hard she works to portray her characters deep human flaws while respecting their humanity. With Covered with Night, the case I look at is not abstract. We know who the Native Americans were who commented on the crime and who tried to school settler colonists in Indigenous perspectives on justice. We know who their colonial counterparts were and we can see how the colonists world view blinded them to the value of Native peoples teachings. I wanted to elevate the perspectives of Indigenous people, to trace the ideas of specific thinkers in real-time situations. And I hope that by telling a multi-perspectival story I can give readers themselves an opportunity to consider new points of view.
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, has today announced that the Personal Injuries Guidelines will come into effect on Saturday, April 24.

The Guidelines set out the level of damages that may be awarded or assessed in respect of personal injuries. The Guidelines reduce award levels for most categories of personal injury and will be used by both the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) and the courts to assess compensation in such claims.

Speaking at the announcement Minister McEntee said: This is a very significant step in meeting our commitment to make insurance more affordable for consumers, businesses and community groups. The commencement of the Personal Injuries Guidelines should reduce costs, and in time, boost competition in the Irish insurance market.

It is now important that the insurance industry follows through and brings down the cost of insurance.

The Personal Injuries Guidelines apply to applications already made to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) except where an assessment has been made. The Book of Quantum will continue to apply where Personal Injuries Assessment Board assessments have been made or where a hearing is already before the courts.

Minister McEntee added: Our overriding concern in Government is to urgently address the economic impacts of high insurance costs, while ensuring fair compensation when someone is injured through no fault of their own. It is my hope that the new Guidelines address those concerns by bringing consistency, and reducing litigation and awards, which are a major driver of insurance costs.

Under the Action Plan on Insurance Reform, the Department of Justice will report on the implementation and early impact of the Personal Injury Guidelines by December 2021.

The Guidelines are required, under the terms of the Judicial Council Act 2019, to be reviewed within three years of being adopted and every three years thereafter.

Minister McEntee continued: Bringing the Guidelines into operation is a key action of the Justice Plan 2021 and delivers on the Programme for Government commitment to recognise the work of the Judicial Council, in providing guidance on personal injury claims.

Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD said: The commencement of these guidelines is a really important step in the implementation of our Action Plan for Insurance Reform, the Governments plan to drive down the cost and increase the availability of insurance for motorists, homeowners, businesses and voluntary groups alike. I want to see the reduction in payouts reflected in lower premiums in the near future

Minister of State with responsibility for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Robert Troy TD added:

The availability of insurance cover at a reasonable and fair price is crucial to the effective functioning of the economy and society as a whole. The commencement of the Guidelines along with reform of PIAB represents an important opportunity to improve the situation. The Guidelines should have a dampening effect on the level of personal injuries awards which we know have been too high for too long.

Minister of State with responsibility for insurance Sean Fleming TD concluded: I welcome todays announcement by Minister McEntee. The commencement of the Personal Injuries Guidelines represents a key milestone in the insurance reform agenda and should have a positive impact by reducing costs, and in time, boosting competition in the Irish insurance market.

"I have been meeting with the main insurers in the Irish market this month to press the need for premium reductions in response to the implementation of the new Guidelines. The engagement to date has been positive, with all insurers indicating that they will begin to reduce premiums in response to these developments. This will continue to reinforce the trend whereby motor insurance premiums, as measured by the CSO, have reduced by about a third since their mid-2016 peak level.
Karnataka: Three dead, nine missing after cargo ship collides with fishing boat off Mangaluru coast

April 13,2021 | Source: The New Indian Express

Three fishermen were killed when a cargo ship collided with a fishing boat off the Mangaluru coast on Monday night. According to sources, two fishermen were rescued alive by the crew of the ship while nine others are missing after the collision. The rescued workers are Vel Murugan of Colachel in Tamil Nadu and Sunil Das of West Bengal. According to Kerala Fishing Boat Operators Association vice president Haneefa Haji, there were 14 workers in the boat of which 7 were from Colachel and 7 from Odisha and West Bengal. "The workers had joined duty only on Sunday. The boat set off for fishing from Beypore harbour on Sunday and collided with the ship at around midnight on Monday," he said. The ill-fated boat IFB Rabbal was owned by Mamantakathu Jaffer of Beypore. According to sources, APL Le Havre, a container ship with Singapore registration, collided with the fishing boat. The crew of the ship launched a rescue operation immediately after they noticed the incident and saved five workers, of whom three died. The Navy and Coast Guard have rushed to the sport and launched a search for the missing fishermen. The incident occurred around 60 nautical miles off the Mangaluru coast.

 newindianexpress.com 2021
An EdTech psychology company to support parents and teachers, a software to save time and cost when building a website and a farm safety wearable device, were the big winners at the LIT New Frontiers Awards 2021.

A total of 14 new business leaders from the acclaimed New Frontiers programme showcased their start-up companies recently at a virtual ceremony hosted by Limerick Institute of Technology.

The LIT New Frontiers programme  funded by Enterprise Ireland, is the National Entrepreneur Development Programme with a support package worth 30,000. It is delivered by LIT at the Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre for early-stage high potential start-ups.

The programmes primary purpose is to accelerate the development of sustainable new businesses that have strong employment, growth, international potential and contribute to job creation and economic activity in the region.

LIT New Frontiers 2021 Winners:

Start Up of the Year 2021

Lorraine Lynch (Galway) CEO & Founder of The Child Psychology Institute.

The Child Psychology Institute was set up in 2020 as a direct response to the need of overwhelmed parents and teachers who want to support childrens emotions and behaviours.

The CPIs course Working With Children Who Have Experienced Trauma is a 10 hour online self-paced course that covers everything parents and professionals need to know about trauma.

This innovative EdTech company offers a premium software platform providing education, resources, a supportive community and practical strategies that members can access any time from the comfort of their home.

Business Innovation Award

Derek Nolan (Limerick) Founder of DogNotDuck. His company provides embedded annotations software for teams building websites, to leave feedback, chat & collaborate directly on the website they are working on, to save time & cost on web projects.

One to Watch

James Power (Limerick based & Waterford native) Founder of Agri Guardian. Agri Guardian is a wearable device to make farming safer.

It has two versions, one for child safety and one for adult safety. The childrens device warns parents when a child enters the farm, is in danger areas and close to machinery in operation. The adult version detects falls, slurry gas levels and provides a location to emergency services, if required.

Congratulating the New Frontier Graduates, President of LIT Professor Vincent Cunnane said: The talent, innovation and sense of purpose that these entrepreneurs have shown is remarkable. Entrepreneurship is at the very heart of what defines this region, and we in LIT are very proud to support and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs. We are committed to fostering creative and entrepreneurial activities, in all their forms, in collaboration with our stakeholders to help shape the future of our region.

The positivity and sheer quality of this years New Frontiers graduates is a testament to themselves and their families as well as to the teams in LIT and Enterprise Ireland support them. It is no surprise that the recent evaluation of the programme showed a 564% return on investment. That is almost 1,000 jobs attributed to this programme nationally, and something that I am sure we will all continue to strive to build on and improve even further.

Vice President for Research Development and Innovation at LIT, Dr Liam Brown, described New Frontiers as a truly national programme with significant regional outreach and global export potential.

Participants of the New Frontiers Programme are playing a significant role in the indigenous business community - driving Irelands economy forward. We know that completing the New Frontiers Programme is like wearing a badge of quality in the business world. There is a willingness for other businesses to meet and engage with you after successful completion of the programme," he said.

Dr Brown added: "The local and national environment and building a global brand is important to the success of entrepreneurship in the region and beyond. LIT plays a key role together with our partners and collaborators, to ensure that this is a thriving region and country for start-up success.

Paula Carroll, Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers National Programme Manager said, I would like to congratulate the 2021 LIT cohort of the New Frontiers Programme for all they have achieved in what has been a difficult year for many due to the impact of the pandemic. This was a particularly strong group, showcasing the entrepreneurial talent of the Mid West.

I look forward to seeing all participants further develop their companies. Enterprise Ireland is proud to offer such a critically important programme like New Frontiers. It is the national entrepreneurial development programme and helps start-ups on their journey, with expertise and funding.

For more details on the programme see HartnettCentre.ie.
Washington, April 13 : A police officer who fatally shot a 20-year-old African-American man in the US state of Minnesota used her gun by mistake instead of her taser, a police chief said on Monday.

"It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Wright with a single bullet," Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said of the death of Daunte Wright on Sunday afternoon in the city which is just a few miles away from Minneapolis, where the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin over killing African-American last year is underway.

In the released body camera footage, three police officers approached Wright's car after pulling him over for expired license tags.

An officer pointed a gun at Wright as he grabbed the steering wheel, and then appeared to drop her handgun.

She could be heard saying "I just shot him".

Wright then drove a few blocks from the scene before he crashed into an oncoming vehicle and died at the scene, according to the police.

Gannon said on Monday that based on his experience and training, it seemed to be an "accidental discharge".

The fatal shooting triggered protests and unrest in Brooklyn Center, leaving businesses damaged and schools closed on Monday.

"We recognise that this couldn't have happened during a worse time," Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said at a news conference on Monday.

"We are all collectively devastated and we have been for over a year now by the killing of George Floyd." President Joe Biden reached out to Elliott on Monday to offer his support, the Mayor said in a tweet.

On Monday afternoon, about 50 protesters gathered outside the Brooklyn Center police headquarters, facing about an equal number of state troopers and National Guard troops, local media outlet Star Tribune reported.

Brooklyn Center is a city of about 31,000, where most residents are people of colour.
Indias Covid-19 cases are flaring up sharply. Today for the seventh consecutive day, the country reported more than 1 lakh cases in the last 24 hours. Although there are no clear answers behind the surge, but top scientists have cited three reasons.

1) The complex interplay of mutant strains

In late March, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced that a new variant had been identified in samples of saliva taken from people in Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab. The genome sequencing carried out by Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) identified two important mutations in the variant dubbed as double mutant".

A new double mutant has emerged in India and is reported in 15-20 per cent of cases analysed from Maharashtra. If this percentage goes up further, it would be a clear indication of its role in the Maharashtra surge," virologist Shahid Jameel told news agency PTI.

Also Read | Why Bangladesh is flying high at 50

2) Lowering of guard

Virologists Shahid Jameel and T Jacob John are agreed that not following COVID-19 protocol is also on of the reasons. The fact that people lowered the guard and didnt follow Covid protocols after the first wave was over is certainly one valid explanation" for the surge, Jameel said.

Everything opening up to pre-Covid levels and behaviour that was no longer risk-averse exposed the susceptible population in a big way. A new factor is emerging mutants -- both imported and homegrown," the eminent virologist added.

The two factors came together and we were leaderless in response at the critical time. The speed of spread in the second wave is twice as fast as in the first wave. Partly due to variants and partly lowering of the guard," John explained.

3) Vaccination Drive

Talking about the vaccination drive, Jameel said the government needs to speed it up. For various reasons, those eligible, including healthcare and frontline workers, were hesitant to get vaccines. Those above 60 also did not show enough eagerness even though cases had started going up by early March. Now we are on a very fast rising curve with only 0.7 per cent Indians having received both doses and only about 5 per cent having received one dose. That is too low to make an impact," said Jameel.

Covid-19 India tally

With over 1.61 lakh new coronavirus cases, the total number of cases has gone up to 1,36,89,453, according to the Union Health Ministry data.

With the country reporting 1,61,736 new COVID-19 cases, the total number of cases has gone up to 1,36,89,453.

In the last 24 hours, 879 COVID-related deaths were reported in the country. This takes the COVID death toll to 1,71,058.

The active number of cases stands at 12,64,698.

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(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Monday approved the results of 2017 national population and housing census with majority votes and decided to hold the new census by end of 2021

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :The Council of Common Interest (CCI) on Monday approved the results of 2017 national population and housing census with majority votes and decided to hold the new census by end of 2021.

The meeting of the CCI was held here presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan and was attended by the Chief Ministers of all the provinces.

Later giving details of the meeting in a press conference here, Minster for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan voted in favor of the approval while the Sindh Chief Minister voted against the approval.

However, he said that keeping in view the reservations showed by some stakeholders including Sindh government over the results of the census, the CCI had decided to start the process of 7th national population census by October this year.

"What we had to do was that either to approve or to reject the results, and as the decision of rejection would mean a great loss to the provinces, the CCI has approved with majority vote and decided not to wait for 10 years to hold the next census," Asad Umar added.

He said the framework for new census would be prepared within six to eight weeks and then the approval for new census would be sought from the CCI. "About four months after the approval, the process of new census would start by end September or start of October this year." The minister informed that the census was a process that spans over a period of 18 months so it would be completed by start of 2023.

"The general election are expected to be held in October 2023 so the next general elections would be held on the basis of new census' results," he added.

Asad Umar said the cost of the new census was estimated at around Rs 23 billion that would be divided in two fiscal years-FY2022 and FY2023.

Referring to the reservations by Sindh government over the the result of 2017 census, the minister pointed out that the PTI was neither in Sindh nor in Federal governments at that time but the PTI government respects the reservations of the Sindh government that is its constitutional right.

"Although the technical experts of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) are ready to respond to the queries raised over the census claiming that they can prove that there is nothing wrong with the results but despite that the CCI has decided to conduct fresh consensus which is a big and costly process," Asad Umar added.

He said in the 6th population census, the whole process in the provinces were held under the supervision of the respective provincial governments, therefore the provinces should now own the results with open heart.

He also asked all the stakeholders to refrain from political point scoring on the next census as it was a national process under which all provinces would national resources and representations in the assemblies.

Responding to a question, Asad Umar said that the next national census would be conducted under a project mode as services of different experts would be hired to ensure the process as transparent and flawless.

Earlier keeping in view the sensitivity of the Census results, the Cabinet had decided to constitute a Ministers' Committee on February 11, 2020 for detailed deliberations on the matter with stakeholders and for recommendations regarding finalization of results of Census-2017.

The Committee conducted six meetings and after extensive considerations submitted its report with recommendations for approval of results of Census-2017 in a larger national interest and to the conduct next census earlier possible by adopting modern technologies.

The Cabinet in its meeting held on December 22, 2020 approved the committee recommendations to forward it to CCI for final consideration being the competent forum. The CCI in its meeting held on Monday deliberated on the subject and approved the final results of Census-2017.

Meanwhile an official press release said that under the final results of Census-2017, the population of Pakistan is 207.68 million (with -0.043% difference with provisional results) with population growth rate of 2.40 percent from 1998 to 2017 with 106.3 million males and 101.3 million females.

Punjab has the highest share of population 52.96 percent in 2017 followed by Sindh with 23.04 percent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 14.69 percent, Balochistan 5.94 percent and FATA & Islamabad with 2.40 percent and 0.96 percent respectively.

The highest population density per square kilometer is in Islamabad with 2211 person per square KM and the lowest in Balochistan at 35.53 persons. The highest gender ratio is 110.68 in Islamabad and lowest in KP with 102.4.

Majority of the Pakistani population is between the age 15 and 64 years with 53.40 percent while 40.31 percent population is in age group less than 15 years. Around 63.56 percent population is living in rural areas and 36.44 percent in urban areas according to Census-2017.
Instantly, said Steven Bellovin, a professor of computer science at Columbia University with almost 40 years of experience in computer networking and security.

Thats how long it took him to realize, he said in an interview, that a certain purported spreadsheet that I showed him was not just fake, but a badly generated fake by someone who didnt know what they were doing.

The spreadsheet, together with an animated film that was said to illustrate its data, formed the crux of a nearly two-hour docu-movie, called Absolute Proof, which aired at least 13 times last February on the One America News Network. The movie, presented in a news magazine format, was hosted, co-produced, and relentlessly flacked by Mike Lindell, the irrepressible CEO of MyPillow, Inc. It purported to furnish absolute proof that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump in an international cyberattack exploiting vulnerabilities in voting-machine software that had been intentionally designed to rig elections.

Dominion Voting Systems, which makes voting technology, filed a $1.3 billion defamation suit against Lindell and his company in late Februarythe third of four massive cases it has filed since the electionin part because of Absolute Proof, which referenced Dominion more than 40 times. (An in-depth analysis of Dominions suits over bogus election-fraud claims, as well as one brought by a rival voting-device company, Smartmatic, is provided in an earlier story I wrote here.)

Compared to the other defendants Dominion has sued Trumps former personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani; so-called Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell; and conservative news goliath Fox News Networkthe MyPillow Guy might seem like a quirky afterthought.

My Pillow CEO Michael Lindell laughs during a O"Keep Iowa Great" press conference in Des Moines, IA, on February 3, 2020. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Hes not, though. With a reported net worth of $300 million, Lindell, 59, is the most deep-pocketed of the non-media defendants, a major funder of conservative media generally, and a crucial underwriter of election-fraud myths in particular. Most notably, he sponsored Women for America Firsts March for Trump bus tourusing a red bus emblazoned with a MyPillow logowhich staged stop-the-steal rallies in 20 cities from late November through early January. The tour culminated in the Save America Rally of Jan. 6, where Trump spoke and from which thousands of attendees peeled away to launch the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Story continues

Lindells case is also intriguing for another reason, which is the focus of this article. It poses a particularly stark test of how our libel lawswhich require that the defendant be shown to actually know or strongly suspect the falsity of his or her statementsplay out when the defendant is a conspiracy theorist who seems beyond the reach of rational persuasion. In essence, it poses the question of whether, in a libel suitwhich is a civil casea defense lawyer could argue something akin to the insanity defense that exists in criminal cases. This story seeks to plumb Lindells highly atypical psyche to imagine how a jury might view his singular case, given our libel laws steep and subjective criteria for liability.

Completely and totally fabricated

The spreadsheet that lay at the heart of Absolute Proof purported to document a massive, international cyberattack on U.S. election tabulation devices last November originating mainly from China, but also from Iran, Czech Republic, and an assortment of other countries. It further purported to identify each individual computer used by the hackers in those foreign countries as well as each targeted U.S. voting tabulator in 2,995 American counties, which were each supposedly identified by something known as a media access control address. The spreadsheet even claimed to report the actual number of votes stolen during each intrusioni.e., switched from then-President Trumps column to that of now-President Joe Biden. If not for these thefts, the spreadsheet data indicated, Trump would have won the election.

Months before the movie was released, of course, essentially every credible authority in the country had already pronounced the elections fair and secure, including Trump-appointed Attorney General Bill Barr and Trump-appointed Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs. If those werent sufficient red flags to give Lindell pause, Dominion had also sent him a four-page cease-and-desist letter on Dec. 23; a five-page retraction demand with 61 pages of exhibits on Jan. 8; and a 12-page letter on Feb. 4 specifically debunking aspects of the spreadsheet in question. (By then, a page of the spreadsheet had already surfaced on a weird internet conspiracy site and Lindell had begun touting it on his Twitter account.)

Lindell plunged forward with the movie anyway.

I feel unclean just having watched those 13 minutes, Bellovin wrote me in an email, referring to the critical segment of the movie displaying the supposed proof of the cyber-attack.

This is completely and totally fabricated, he continued in an interview the next day. The technical details make no sense whatsoever. The network addresses are impossible . . . and the tradecraft is completely wrong. So its all bull.

Three other computer or election security experts interviewed reached similar conclusions, although they sometimes homed in on different features of the spreadsheet in terms of what struck them as the most preposterous. (In nearly every state some pointed out, the official vote is a durable paper ballot, incapable of being altered by computer hackers. In addition, the vast majority of states keep vote tabulators air-gapped, i.e., never hooked up to modems for any purpose.)

My Pillow CEO Michael Lindell speaks as then-U.S. President Donald Trump listens during the daily coronavirus (COVID-19) response briefing in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Whats Lindells answer to this?

Well, youve talked to the wrong people, he told me in an interview last week. Ive spent the last month validating the IP addresses and the IDs of the computers, even over in China, and here in the U.S.

Lindell appeared to acknowledge that there was some sort of flaw in the tabulator addresses shown in the moviebut suggested that that had been done intentionally for benign reasons.

The ones you've seen in Absolute Proofthere was a digit that was off there, he said. So we didn't want people goingdestroying the machines, destroying the computers. So I'm sure that's what they're probably trying to say to you."

But it doesn't matter to me what they say, he continued, his words spilling over each other at a speed that even a recording device could barely keep up with. Ive got all the cyber evidence. He will soon be launching a new social media platform, he assertedto be called Frankwhere were going to be dumping evidence to the world. (Lindell was kicked off Twitter on Jan. 26, for propagating election-fraud myths, and MyPillows corporate account was ejected on Feb. 2.)

As for Dominions suit against him, Lindell said were getting it removed next week [and] taken down as frivolous.

Lindell then addedas has previously been reportedthat he would soon be filing two lawsuits of his own, one against Dominion and a second which is going directly to the Supreme Court where theyre going to take down this election by a nine-zero vote. Trump will be back in office by August, he averred.

A spokesperson for Dominion declined comment beyond the companys original statement when it filed the suit: "Despite repeated warnings and efforts to share the facts with him, Mr. Lindell has continued to maliciously spread false claims about Dominion, each time giving empty assurances that he would come forward with overwhelming proof. These claims have caused irreparable harm to Dominions good reputation and threatened the safety of our employees and customers. Moreover, Mr. Lindell's lies have undermined trust in American democracy and tarnished the hard work of local election officials.

Is lunacy a defense to libel?

The seminal work on political conspiracy theorists is the late historian Richard Hofstadters The Paranoid Style in American Politics, first published as an essay in Harpers in 1964. By choosing the word style, Hofstadter largely side-stepped speculationbeyond his credentialsabout the precise mental state of the people he was chronicling. These included the folks who, over the centuries, saw elaborate, dastardly, and highly implausible plots being hatched by such presumed villains as Bavarian Illuminati, Free Masons, Jesuits, andin some circles in the 1950ssuch putative crypto-communists as Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and even President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Do such conspiracy theorists share any psychic disposition? A personality disorder? A mental illness? For the most part, Hofstadter didnt go there.

My Pillow CEO Michael Lindell applauds as he awaits the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump on the convention floor on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., August 24, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

But theres no side-stepping state of mind in a defamation suit. In the U.S., a public figure who brings a libel caseand Dominion will likely be considered a public figuremust show actual malice to prevail, which is a subjective standard, the Supreme Court has held. The question is not whether the defendant should have known whether his reputation-damaging statements were false, but whether he actually did know they were false, or at least harbored serious doubts about their truth.

Does that mean that lunacy is a defense?

You know I got your email, said David Schulz in an interview, and I had to stop and scratch my head a minute, because its a really difficult question. A media lawyer for 35 years, Schulz is senior counsel at Ballard Spahr and the Floyd Abrams clinical lecturer at Yale Law School. I dont know of any court thats decided that.

Such a defense would certainly be an extraordinary one, Schulz opined. Unless theyre going to come in with some kind of expert psychiatric evidence to say [the defendant] really couldnt understand this, says Schulz, a jury is highly unlikely to be swayed by such a defense.

There are a number of doctrines and precedents, he adds, that, in a sense, almost smuggle an objective standard back into the picture, at least to the extent that they permit a jury to assess all the circumstances and conclude that the defendant must be lying. For instance, sticking to a preconceived narrative in the face of contrary facts can be evidence of actual malice, courts have found. So can a defendants conscious avoidance of evidence that cuts against his or her thesis, Schulz says.

So its not enough to say, well, I didnt know it was false, he continues, in the face of all these facts [weighing the other way]. . . . The jury can say, We dont believe you. No one would have believed this stuff.

On the other hand, juries are wild cards. What if the jury itself includes a conspiracy theorist or two? (In federal court, where the case against Lindell has been filed, civil jury verdicts must be unanimous unless the parties stipulate otherwise.)

From crack addict to CEO

In assessing Mike Lindells state of mind, we must briefly recap his truly incredible back story. For this purpose, we will rely on Lindells own (perfectly titled) autobiography, What Are the Odds?

In 1968, when Lindell was seven, his parents marriage broke up. His mother drove him and his sisters to Chaska, Minn.where MyPillow is now basedto live in a trailer park.

As a kid, he was good in math, though he likely battled with undiagnosed ADHD, he writes. In high school he began drinking and gambling on sports. He survived multiple near-death experiences, by his telling, including smashing his stepfathers pickup truck (he remembers overhearing an EMT pronouncing the words no pulse); getting trapped under a sheet of ice in a lake; being electrocuted by a bolt of power so massive it shut down half the town; and a skydiving accident in which he smashed into the ground at 60 miles per hour because my parachute didnt fully open.

After graduating from high school in 1979, he went to the University of Minnesota for about five minutes. The 1980s were a blur of short-lived business ventures (pig farming; carpet-cleaning); some DUIs; tending bar; and miraculous escapes from ruinous gambling debts. In 1984, he became addicted to cocaine.

Nevertheless, he periodically managed to make some money through card-counting at blackjack in casinos. That art, requiring prodigious memory skills, involves keeping track of all the cards that have been dealt and then playing ones hand in accordance with statistical probability tables that have been memorized. One must also be a good actor, concealing what one is doing from casino monitors, because the practice is forbidden.

In 1990 Lindell bought a bar. In 1999, his cocaine habit escalated into a crack cocaine addiction. In late 2003, in financial straits, he sold the bar.

Sometime in the spring of 2004, he woke up at 2 a.m. asking, Wheres my pillow? He decided to market a product called MyPillow. He settled on a fill (a mix of three foams and a proprietary additive), applied for a patent, set up a factory in a nearby former bus shed, and began selling MyPillows from a mall kiosk by that December.

DULUTH, MN - SEPTEMBER 30: Michael Lindell, CEO of MyPillow Inc., speaks during a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at the Duluth International Airport on September 30, 2020 in Duluth, Minnesota. The rally is Trump's first after last night's Presidential Debate. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Life remained hard-scrabble. In 2007, his marriage of 20 years broke up.

Then, in February 2008, facing hard times again, he got a series of odd phone calls. Four strangers called, each asking only to pray with him. Then he got a fifth call on a line he used only for internet access. A female and robotic voice said: Mike, this is a message from God. Everything youve experienced in your life will give you the strength to get through the next month.

He did get through the month and then, in January 2009, quit drugs. By then hed been on cocaine for 24 yearsthe last nine on crack. He started going to church and to a faith-based recovery program.

In 2011, Minnesotas Star Tribune came out with a human-interest story about this remarkable crack-addict-turned-pillow-entrepreneur. The late Don Imus of New Yorks WABC radio invited Lindell on his show. That October, Lindell did his first infomercial on the Discovery Channel.

In a few short months, we went from approximately 20 employees to more than 500, according to the book, and the company sold $100 million in pillows over the 2011-12 span.

Still, due to poor expense discipline, the company was in the red. Lindells private life was also tumultuous. In 2013, he remarried, but it lasted just 20 days.

The following year, he began receiving almost audible messages. He didnt hear a voice per se, he writes, but he received directions that were nevertheless clear as a bell. One message told him he was about to meet his next girlfriend, for instance: She is the one. Through her, you will become closer to Me.

One such message concerned his company. Though it was then $6 million in the hole, the message said MyPillow would finish the year $8.2 million in the black.

Sure enough, on Nov. 5, 2014the day after the midterm electionsales began spiking. From the promo code, he saw that they were coming from an ad hed placed on Fox News. Though hed never been political, he realized then that Foxs politics actually helped us, he writes. Republicans had retaken Congress, branding it as a reclaiming of America. Fox News watchers . . . really resonated . . . with me talking about my invention made in small-town USA.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell waits outside the West Wing of the White House before entering on January 15, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The company ended the year with $8.19 million in the bankfulfilling the premonitionand we never looked back.

In May 2015a month before Trump announced his candidacyLindell had a dream in which he met Trump, according to a chapter in his book entitled Awakening. About 14 months lateraround the time of the Republican conventionhe was reading a magazine article about Trump when he noticed in a photo that the wall in [Trumps] office was the same one Id seen in my dream. He began praying to God to understand what was happening, and his phone suddenly pinged with a text message: Trump wanted to meet him at Trump Tower in New York.

What brought tears to my eyes, Lindell writes, was that it seemed God had spoken directly to me in real time.

The Trump meetinga divine appointment, Lindell calls itoccurred on Aug. 15, 2016. At its close, a staffer offered to take a picture of the two men using Lindells phone. Just before snapping it, Trump said, No, lets take it over here.

When I checked it later, Lindell writes, I saw that it was the exact image Id seen in my dream.

Real-time documentation of the theft of the vote

Lets skip over the books last several miracles and turbo straight to November 2020. That month something distinctly non-miraculous happened in Lindells life: Americans voted his hero out of office by more than 7 million votes. (Lindells book was published in 2019, so theres no chapter on that.)

On Jan. 3, 2021, an obscure conspiracy-theory website called The American Report, ran a puzzling article about a supposed international cyberattack upon the 2020 election. It included what can now be recognized as an isolated still shot from the animation that later appeared in Absolute Proof.

Then, on Jan. 11, The American Report ran an exclusive offering raw data analytics purporting to document that same attack. It displayed one page from the spreadsheet that later became the heart of Lindells Absolute Proof.

Both American Report articles carried the byline of Mary Fanning and Alan Jones. The previous August, these two had published a Kindle book about a purported CIA supercomputer called THE HAMMER, which the books sources said had been used by President Barack Obama to spy on Trump, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr., 156 lower federal judges, more than 100 members of Congress, and scores of others.

Earlier American Report articles, also authored by Fanning and Jones, had reported that Obama had used THE HAMMER to steal the 2012 election. In late October 2020, an article by Fanning and Jones had floated the notion that THE HAMMER would also be used to steal the 2020 election from Trump. (On Nov. 7 and 8, then-CISA director Krebs warned the public that THE HAMMER story was nonsense, disinfo, not a real thing, and a hoax.)

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According to Dominions later lawsuit against Lindell, The American Report website was originally registered in the name of Mary Kirchhoefer, though the registrant is now concealed by a proxy service. According to federal election records, Mary Fanning Kirchhoefer, 69, is a Trump donor who has lived in affluent suburbs north of Chicago. She also once started a business called Absoluteproof, according to Dominions suit.

A woman who answered a phone listing for Mary Fanning Kirchhoefer acknowledged to me that she was Mary, but then hung up when I identified myself as a reporter inquiring about Absolute Proof. She did not respond to five other messages.

On Jan. 15, Lindell quote-retweeted two screengrabs from Fannings Jan. 11 American Report article, including one displaying the page of the spreadsheet. Lindells second tweet says, Here is one page of hundreds that prove President Trump got around 79m votes to 68m votes for Biden!

In my interview with Lindell last week, he denied knowing what The American Report was. I dont watch The American Report, he said. I dont know what it is. He held to that statement even when I explained that it was Mary Fannings website and that it was currently advertising MyPillows. (In fact, its then-featured story was just a big MyPillow promotion.) Lindell said that didnt mean anything because 5,000 radio stations, podcasts, and websites advertise his pillows.

Lindell told me he first learned of the spreadsheet on Jan. 9 on the internet somewhere, dug into it, and eventually spoke to three guys who were former government employees and government employees and they had the spyware and they had all these cyber footprints and they took it off the machines. He said Mary Fanning didnt show me nothing.

Lindells movie, Absolute Proof, lists himself, Mary Fanning, and Brannon Howse, the president of a Christian conservative radio network, as its three co-producers. It also lists Fanning, Jones, and Howse as its three researchers.

In the movie, a woman identified as Mary Fanningdescribed there as a national intelligence researcher and authornarrates the 13-minute climax of Absolute Proof. It is she who explains what the spreadsheet and animation allegedly show. Unlike all the other people Lindell interviews in his docu-movie, Fanning is interviewed only by phone and her face is never shown, even by photograph.

There are prismatic scoring algorithms, Fanning says in the movie, and they steal the vote at the transfer pointsat the point where the vote is leaving the secretary of states office. (Elsewhere, in The American Report, Fannings articles have posited that THE HAMMER steals votes at transfer points between the secretary of states office and third-party election data vaults.)

While Fanning is speaking in the movie, the animation is showing a global map over which moving, multicolored lines rise up from various cities in China, cross the ocean in high arching trajectories, and then descend back to earth, bombarding various locations in swing states like Georgia and Michigan.

What you're watching, those packets moving, Fanning says in her voiceover, that's real-time documentation of the theft of the vote.

Michael Lindell ,CEO of My Pillow reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Made in America roundtable meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. July 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

This is ridiculous, idiotic nonsense, says Gregory Miller in an email. He is the co-founder of the OSET Institute (OSET stands for Open Source Elections Technology), a non-partisan, non-profit R&D organization devoted to election security.

There are no 3d party vaults, Miller continues. There is no such recognized thing as a transfer point. . ... The paper ballots of record reconcile any discrepancy, real or alleged. This silliness presumes there is no paper ballot.

Asked what prismatic scoring algorithms are, Bellovin, the endowed professor of computer science at Columbia, said, I have no idea what that means. (Miller didnt either.)

Beyond the fact that most of the purported addresses for vote-tabulators listed on the spreadsheet made no technological sense, Bellovin pointed out another glaring problem with both the spreadsheet and the animation.

Attackers dont use their own computers, he said. They go through stepping stone computers, so that the attack finally comes from a computer in the United Statesthereby avoiding, among other things, National Security Agency monitoring. This has been a pattern of behavior of hackers going back at least 35 years, he said. This would be unbelievably poor tradecraft even for ordinary hackers, he continued, let alone a sophisticated attack by nation states.

In our interview, Lindell seemed utterly unfazed that my experts thought his documents were crude fakesand supremely uncurious about the accusation, too. He never asked me why any of them thought so. He was too busy hawking his next movie, to be called Absolute Interference. Thats going to show you a lot more, as it actually validates Absolute Proof, he said.

(In historian Hofstadters famous essay of 56 years ago, he made this disarmingly apt observation: One of the impressive things about paranoid literature is the contrast between its fantasied conclusions and the almost touching concern with factuality it invariably shows. It produces heroic strivings for evidence to prove that the unbelievable is the only thing that can be believed.)

By the end of our interview, Lindell seemed angry. When I asked him how MyPillows business was, he acknowledged that 22 retailers had dropped him since he launched his stop-the-steal crusade, though he blamed that fact on someones having hired bots and trolls to attack those retailers.

Did that mean MyPillows sales were down?

You know, thats none of your business, he said. This interviews done. Youre just gonna write some left-wing crap. He hung up on me seconds later.

Maybe a minute after that, he texted: Not sure what kind of journalist you are! A liar for sure! You lied to me at least 4 times and I will be reporting you to the country for the liar you are! I will pray for you... you obviously have issues! Keep watching lindelltv.com.

Roger Parloff is a regular contributor to Yahoo Finance and has also been published in Yahoo News, The New York Times, ProPublica, New York Magazine, and NewYorker.com, among others. He was formerly an editor-at-large at Fortune Magazine.

More from Roger:

Dominion Voting official, in hiding, speaks out: 'This never ends for me'

The wild ride that made Rudy Giuliani, 'Kraken' lawyer Sidney Powell, and Fox News targets in the mother of all defamation cases

Nikolas Trevor Milton left a trail of bitterness on his way to founding the electric car startup
A somewhat kinder & gentler criminal justice system takes shape as Kansas and the rest of the nation cope with the ongoing opioid crisis in rural America along with an unprecedented surge of substance abuse problems impacting nearly every demographic amid the COVID era.

Read more . . .
Active COVID infections in Massachusetts rose to 36,775 on Monday, up from 36,466 on Sunday, according to the latest data from the Department of Public Health.

State health officials confirmed another 1,376 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. Thats based on 39,378 new molecular tests, according to the Department of Public Health.

Officials also announced another 19 COVID-related fatalities, bringing the death toll from the pandemic to 17,061.

The seven-day average of positive tests is 2.3% on Monday.

Since the pandemic began, officials have confirmed 621,261 total COVID-19 cases across the state.

The number of COVID patients currently hospitalized on Monday is 699, up from 698 the day before. Of them, 162 are in intensive care, and 102 are intubated, data shows. Hospitalizations have hovered around 700 for the past week.

The Department of Public Health added new data showing the number of infections confirmed among children younger than 15. Over the last two weeks, 1,116 cases were confirmed in children younger than 4; 1,396 infections were confirmed in children between the ages of 5 and 9; and 1,722 infections were confirmed in children between the ages of 10 and 14, according to the latest data from the Department of Public Health.

Roughly 2,748 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 came down with COVID over the last two weeks. And 7,205 cases were confirmed among 20-somethings, according to DPH.

There have been a total of 4,556,995 COVID vaccine doses administered in Massachusetts to date, and 1,789,004 residents are now fully vaccinated.

Gov. Charlie Baker during a press conference in Worcester on Monday said officials anticipate that the state will surpass two million fully vaccinated residents this week.

Massachusetts will see a major decrease in its supply of Johnson & Johnsons COVID vaccine this week, down from the more than 100,000 doses received last week to fewer than 15,000 anticipated doses.

We continue to hope that the federal governments increases with regard to vaccine supply generally, and especially with respect to J&J get resolved, and that the supply numbers ... get to the point to where they can actually meet demand, Baker said. And when they do, we will quickly be able to get those doses into peoples arms as we have been for the past month or so.

Next week, on April 19, vaccine eligibility will expand to include all Massachusetts residents.

Total COVID cases by county:

Barnstable County: 12,938

Berkshire County: 5,903

Bristol County: 62,065

Dukes County: 1,113

Essex County: 92,198

Franklin County: 2,330

Hampden County: 47,939

Hampshire County: 8,642

Middlesex County: 127,341

Nantucket County: 1,402

Norfolk County: 51,731

Plymouth County: 45,865

Suffolk County: 87,965

Worcester County: 72,645

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Kolkata, April 13 : Naxalbari, which goes to the polls in the fifth phase of the Bengal elections on April 17 and was once the epicentre of politics after the peasant uprising of 1967, has since lost its political sheen.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address a public rally in support of party candidate Sankar Malakar. BK Hariprasad, a senior observer for the party said, "Rahul Gandhi ji's campaigning will certainly boost the party's performance and help the Congress alliance to win the seat as both the BJP and the TMC have done nothing for the state except play the blame game." The Matigara-Naxalbari Assembly constituency is currently represented by Sankar Malakar of the Congress who is the MLA since 2011. The seat is reserved for Schedules Castes. In the 2016 assembly elections, he had defeated Amar Sinha of the TMC. Sankar Malakar got 41.28 percent of the votes.

In the April 17 poll, Sankar Malakar (INC), Captain Nalini Ranjan Ray (AITC) and Anandamoy Barman (BJP) are contesting from the Matigara-Naxalbari constituency. In the 2016 Assembly elections, the total percentage of votes in this constituency was recorded as 84 percent.

The area was once the epicentre of Left politics and is the home place of the founder of CPI ML, Charu Majumdar who led the peasant movement which led to police firing and triggered an armed revolt. On May 25, 1967, the police opened fire in Prasadujyot village in Naxalbari, which resulted in the death of eleven persons, including two children. As news of the firing and deaths spread the peasants, armed with bows and arrows, launched a spontaneous agitation culminating in a full-scale armed struggle.

The protest of the peasants started with a refusal to hand over the majority of the farm produce to landowners. The protestors not only kept the crop and distributed it but also seized land by sticking red flags as a mark of ownership. The Naxalbari movement split the Communist Party, with the Maoist factions teaming up to launch an armed struggle to overthrow landowners and the State.

Charu Majumdar later launched the CPI-ML in 1969, but the movement was led by Jangal Santhal, Kanu Sanyal, Khokon Majumdar, Nimu Singh and Mujibur Rehman to name a few.

The movement petered out within a few years of the death of Charu Majumdar in police custody in 1972.
IT major Infosys has said its board of directors will consider a proposal for buyback of fully paid-up equity shares of the company on April 14.



The company's board will be meeting on April 13 to announce audited consolidated financial results of Infosys and subsidiaries for the quarter and year ending March 31. A final dividend for the financial year FY21 will also be considered and recommended.



Infosys has already conducted two buyback programmes in the past. A Rs 13,000 crore buyback plan was carried in 2017 at a floor price of Rs 1,150 per share followed by an Rs 8,260 crore buyback programme in 2019 at a floor price of Rs 800 per share.



On Monday`s trading session, Infosys hit a new 52-week high of Rs 1,480 per piece on Sensex during early deals. However, tracking overall bearish market trends, Infosys shares pulled back and were down 1.2 percent to Rs 1,423.40 per unit at 12:55 pm.
New Delhi: On Monday, Netflix released the trailer of their newest documentary based on the life of Osho's controversial closest aide, Ma Anand Sheela. The documentary will take a deep dive into the journey of Ma Anand Sheela who was Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh's secretary from 1981 through 1985. The film will feature inputs from her and excerpts from interviews after she returned to India in 2019 after 34 years.

Public opinion on Sheela is divided as some view her as a criminal after her time in prison, while others identify her as an icon for her remarkable work with Osho.

After witnessing the intriguing story of Osho in the Netflix documentary 'Wild Wild Country', it will be interesting to see Ma Anand Sheela, Osho's right-hand woman's story.

However, before you watch the intriguing documentary 'Searching for Sheela', here are 5 controversial facts to know about Osho:

1. Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh, famously known as Osho, was extremely critical of national icon Mahatma Gandhi for advocating socialism. According to Osho, socialism would lead to poverty and strongly spoke out against it in his lectures.

2. While he was a professor of philosophy at Jabalpur University, he travelled across India to give lectures in which he heavily criticised orthodox Indian religions as oppressive. He claimed that they were filled with empty rituals and instilled fear in their followers.

3. Osho spoke freely about human sexuality which scandalised many. In his lecture series titled 'From Sex to Superconsciousness', he advocated for a freer acceptance of sex. This earned him the label of the "sex guru" by the Indian media.

4. After his Pune ashram felt too small for his disciples, Osho and his commune moved to the State of Oregon in the US and bought a 64,229-acre ranch, establishing it as the city of Rajneeshpuram in May 1982. The commune gained notoriety with its neighbours as many called Osho's followers as part of an 'alien' or religious cult.

5. According to Osho's personal dentist Swami Devageet, the religious leader would consume nitrous oxide on a daily basis while he was in Rajneeshpuram as it gave him a euphoric feeling. Devageet even wrote a book 'Osho: The First Buddha in the Dental Chair' in which he documented funny and insightful conversations he had with Osho.

The controversial figure Osho was deported from the US in 1985 due to being indicted with immigration fraud. Following his deportation, he returned to his Pune ashram and held his last public lecture was held in April 1989. Osho, who was fondly called Bhagwan by his followers, died at the age of 58 on 19 January 1990.

The documentary 'Searching for Sheela' will release on April 2, 2021, on Netflix.
Russia is testing the West by escalating hostilities in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

"What they want to do is raise the temperature just enough to show that the West will waver in its support for Ukraine, that they do not really see us as a partner. It is a kind of test," Zelensky told the Time publication on Monday.

According to him, Russia wants the West to be frightened of its strength.

"I want to get this straight, we are not claiming that there will be a real escalation. It might simply not be in anyone's interests to have one," the president said.
Nick Jonas feels 'really fortunate to have' wife Priyanka Chopra as his 'muse.'

The pop star, 28, opened up about his life and art in a moody new cover shoot for L'Officiel's May 2021 issue.

'I'm not shy about admitting that's the source of a lot, if not all of my inspiration when I'm writing,' Jonas, who released his solo album Spaceman in March, said.

Inspired: Nick Jonas said he's 'fortunate' to have wife Priyanka Chopra as his muse while covering the new issue of L'Officiel

'I feel really fortunate to have that muse and that support propels me to continue to write; it's omnipresent for me,' he went on.

Because of Jonas and Chopra's busy professional lives, they relish in the time they can spend together, making the pair seem inseparable.

'We're together as much as we can be to bank as much time for those moments when we know that we inevitably have to be apart,' said the former Disney star, who was interviewed in London while Priyanka was shooting Citadel, a Russo brothers' spy series for Amazon Prime.

Though inspired by a deep love, his single Spaceman failed to connect with fans or go big on the Billboard charts, with one Buzzfeed critic pointing out the old adage about happiness being a recipe for bad art.

No hiding it: 'I'm not shy about admitting that's the source of a lot, if not all of my inspiration when I'm writing,' Jonas, who released his solo album Spaceman in March, said

Making the most of it: 'We're together as much as we can be to bank as much time for those moments when we know that we inevitably have to be apart,' said the former Disney star, who was interviewed in London while Priyanka was shooting Citadel

Lukewarm: His single Spaceman failed to connect with fans or go big on the Billboard charts, which he was not pleased about having pointed out, telling the mag 'I've had success for quite a long time. Anyone is entitled to their own opinion of my art or something I have doneif they think it's bad, I'd love to hear why'

'Are they saying that the album is bad because I'm happy?' he asked writer Trey Taylor.

'I've had success for quite a long time. Anyone is entitled to their own opinion of my art or something I have doneif they think it's bad, I'd love to hear why.

'And not because they think that I'm happy, that seems like a pretty asinine way to say that.'

'Never take advice from the people you don't respect, right? From those people, there certainly wouldn't be a thing where they would say this isn't good and the reason is because you are happy.'

Hmm... Asked if he was 'underrated,' Jonas was introspective

Respected: 'That's an interesting question,' he said. 'It's most artists' dream to be respected and be awarded by their peers. In some ways, I feel like I have been. In others, I don't'

Asked if he was 'underrated,' Jonas was introspective..

'That's an interesting question,' he said. 'It's most artists' dream to be respected and be awarded by their peers. In some ways, I feel like I have been. In others, I don't.

'I'm not going to assume that's because they don't get [my work], but perhaps I need to get better and push the envelope, push myself.'

'I don't think I'm underrated, I've got room to grow and get better every day.'
A day after the government imposed a night curfew to check the rising number of COVID-19 cases, Home Minister on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of in the state and asserted that COVID-related guidelines will be implemented strictly.

The number of daily cases in has been on the rise with Gurgaon and Faridabad districts being the worst hit.

On the possibility of imposing to contain the surge in cases, Vij, who also holds the health portfolio, said, "We are not in favour of imposing We are not considering this as of now. We want life to go on and at the same time lives should be saved (from coronavirus) and that is possible with strictness."



"Keeping in view the growing number of cases, we have imposed night curfew and taken other steps like imposing restrictions on gatherings," he said.

For indoor gatherings, 50 per cent of hall capacity with a maximum of 200 people is allowed while not more than 500 people are allowed in outdoor gatherings. Not more than 20 people are allowed for a funeral, he added.

"We are taking all necessary steps, but we can succeed only with people's cooperation," Vij said.

He urged people to show the same seriousness in following the guidelines as they had shown last year.

"Everyone will have to strictly follow the guidelines. Wearing masks when out of home is a must. People will have to religiously follow all guidelines if we have to check the spread of cases," he said.

On reports about the exodus of migrants following the imposition of curbs and night curfew, the minister reiterated, "No one needs to leave or go anywhere. We are not going to impose lockdown."



As far as those who work during night shifts are concerned, they can reach their workplace before 9 pm and after 5 am when there are no curfew restrictions, he said.

Vij said that additional chief secretaries of departments of home, health and urban local bodies have been instructed to ensure that people wear masks and follow all other COVID-related guidelines.

He assured that there is sufficient stock of COVID-19 vaccines and all other arrangements are in place to check the spread of the disease.

He added that 45,000 quarantine beds, 11,500 isolation beds, 2,100 ICU beds are available besides a sufficient number of PPE kits and masks, etc.

Vij said 70 per cent of total active cases in the state currently are under home isolation and health department teams regularly monitoring them.

So far, 26 lakh people have been vaccinated in the state and a target of inoculating 10 lakh more during the four-day vaccine festival has been set.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday said states should observe the vaccine festival from April 11 to 14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries against COVID-19.

(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.)
US health insurance company, Centene, has silently seized hold of 37 General Practitioner (GP) surgeries, adding to their takeover of 21 National Health Service (NHS) primary care services in the United Kingdom (UK).

The lie that American corporations would not be able to reap profits from the NHS has been stripped bare. While Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson denied the NHS was on the table during UK-US trade talks, granting contracts to private healthcare firms to both provide advice on NHS services and deliver them proves otherwise.

The UK division of Centene, Operose Health Ltd., acquired this backdoor handout last February when it merged with AT Medics and became the UKs largest private supplier of GP practices. The rewards are substantial, with AT Medics revelling in profits of 35 million in the five years prior to the transfer.

People waiting outside at a GP surgery in Bournemouth to have the Covid-19 vaccine (credit: WSWS media)

Operose confirmed the change in ownership by declaring that it had followed all the required regulatory procedures, including obtaining consent from our CCGs [clinical commissioning groups]. 

These are the CCGs created under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act of David Camerons Conservative-Liberal coalition government. The act allowed clinical commissioners to award public health services to any qualified provider, paving the way for the wholesale outsourcing of services to the private sector.

Looking at Operoses history reveals how qualified it isat closing down GP surgeries. An Operose associate company pulled the plug on Camden Road Surgery in London in 2012, giving the 4,700 patients just four weeks to register elsewhere. The care of a further 11,400 patients was left in doubt after contracts for five surgeries in Brighton and Hove were ended.

In the United States, Centene faces allegations of fraud, for which it is currently being sued in Ohio. The Attorney General of Ohio stated, Corporate greed has led Centene and its wholly-owned subsidiaries to fleece taxpayers out of millions.

Despite this record, the provider was approved by the CCGs for the care of 530,000 patients in the UK, who were given no say. The change in ownership was nodded through with no public meetings, no questions and no mention of Centene itself. Only after the decision was made was Centene mentioned in the public domain.

The deliberate secrecy cannot conceal the reality. Decades of underfunding, outsourcing and erosion of services by successive governments have prepared the National Health Service for easy pickings, with corporations searching out new sources of profit from its 150 annual billion budget.

The greedy private companies are not content with just making profits from primary care. The American-based healthcare group Cleveland Clinic is now in pole position for the takeover of NHS staff too. It plans to open a six-storey outpatient centre in September and a 184-bed general hospital next spring.

The company is recruiting for 1,250 roles, including, in a significant shift, the employment of salaried doctors. Ordinarily, medics are employed by the NHS but can conduct private work outside their normal working hours. Gaining a lucrative yearly salary in private practice, however, will pull them out of the NHS permanently, despite tax-payers having funded their long years of training. Having endured precarious conditions on the frontline, staff shortagesand now a derisory offer of a 1 percent pay risethe lure of the private sector is likely to attract a section of desperate health workers. Experts warn that Cleveland Clinics move will set off a recruitment drive in the private sector for top medical talent.

The relentless integration of the public and independent sector has only accelerated during the pandemic. The government, following the motto of the ruling elite that a good crisis should not go to waste, has plundered millions of pounds and used it towards the upkeep of private hospitals, amid a public health crisis.

Staff in private hospitals returned to NHS roles to cope with demand following the first national lockdown, putting a halt to the majority of private treatments being offered. The private health operators had nothing to worry about though, as the Tory government dished out unprecedented block contracts to keep their hospitals open, supposedly to treat an influx of coronavirus patients.

But the extra beds went unused. An estimated 125 million was awarded every week, with two-thirds of private hospital capacity being left untouched!

According to an NHS source involved in the implementation of these arrangements, The national contract for private sector capacity was for the company shareholders, not for NHS patients.

This process was part of an even broader swathe of deals lining the pockets of private contractors. In March 2020, ministers used emergency powers to fast-track deals directly benefiting private firms, without competing or advertising requirement, bypassing previous laws meant to ensure transparency and value for money for the taxpayer. As a result, deals to manage healthcare staff, provide personal protective equipment, and run test and trace were ripe for picking, particularly by Tory party donors. By February this year, 24.4 billion had been streamlined into the private corporation giants.

With the recent release of the Health and Care White Paper,  Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all , the so-called competitive tendering process has been buried once and for all. While the government claims the prospective legislation moves away from privatisation, in fact, it accelerates it. NHS chiefs will be able to hand out contracts as they see fit, without the need to put services up for competitive bids.

The proposals will also hand more powers to the Secretary of State for Health, including the authority to direct the NHS Commissioning Board, create new NHS Trusts and abolish professional regulators without needing legislation in parliament. In effect, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock stated, he will be empowered to set direction for the NHS and intervene where necessary. He will also be the one continuing to open the doors of the NHS to the financial oligarchy and their cronies, as he has done throughout the pandemic already.

The privatisation momentum does not stop there. The free flow of cash provided by NHS block contracts has not only cushioned the private sector against the blow of COVID-19 but also driven up their profits to pre-pandemic levels.

Private cancer treatment has exceeded 2019 levels. One of the biggest providers, Spire Healthcare, announced that with shares tripling since last March, they now have the income to increase their private patient caseload. Having signed up to NHS Englands deals awarding an eyewatering 10 billion to private companies, Spires profits, along with more than 90 other providers, are guaranteed for the next four years.

In contrast, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in his budget that the NHS will receive a mere 3 billion this year as part of a COVID recovery strategy. As the BMJ (formerly, British Medical Journal ) reported, according to health leaders, the budget lacked both the short-term funding required to help the NHS recover from covid next year and a longer-term recovery plan.

Last year, Sunak had promised that the NHS would get whatever it needs to cope with the pandemic. Yet as the British Medical Associations UK Council chair cautioned, the chancellors rhetoric is far from the reality. The total budget for the NHS has been reduced by 29.3 billion since last year.

Under the guise of the pandemic, the government has not only cut back spending on the NHS but advanced its demolition with the handing over of services worth billions to the super-rich.

The privatisation of the NHS by stealth is not a new phenomenon. It is part of broader social attacks for which governments over the last four decades, including those lead by the Labour Party, are accountable, starting with sweeping deregulation and privatisation under Margaret Thatcher.

The result is a health service riddled with debt, lacking adequate staff, confronting immense bed shortages and sky-high waiting lists now totalling 4.59 million people. Most sobering of all is that within a once comprehensive NHS, approximately 25 percent of public spending goes to the private sector.

We urge all health care workers to join NHS Fightback, initiated by the Socialist Equality Party, and organise rank-and-file committeesto fight for better pay, terms, and conditions and to safeguard health and safety at work. These committees must take up a political struggle to secure the resources needed for a fully functioning public health care system. This requires seizing control of the wealth and resources of the financial oligarchy, banks, big corporations, and big pharmaceutical companies, as part of the struggle for socialism.

For further information visit NHS Fightback
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 20:24:27|Editor: huaxia

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File photo shows a light show illuminates the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Tuesday reiterated China's firm opposition against any form of official ties between the United States and Taiwan.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when commenting on the U.S. revision of its so-called "rules" regarding its contacts with Taiwan, which lifts several previously-imposed restrictions on this matter.

The three China-U.S. joint communiques are the U.S. government's solid commitment to the Chinese side on adherence to the one-China principle, Ma said, urging the U.S. side to live up to its commitments, stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence," and safeguard the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait through its actions.

The plot of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority to rely on the United States to seek "Taiwan independence" is doomed to fail, Ma added. 
by Shafique Khokhar

Samson Salamat, president of the Rwadari Tehreek movement, calls the late rights advocate a mentor, a guide and a father to countless human rights defenders in Pakistan and around the world.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Ibn Abdur Rehman, a former secretary-general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, died yesterday at the age of 90. A writer and journalist, he was born on 1 September 1930 in Haryana, British India.

He worked with several newspapers and published hundreds of articles locally and internationally, and was known for three books: Jinnah as a Parliamentarian (which he co-edited), Arts and Crafts of Pakistan, and Pakistan under Siege, a collection of his editorials.

Activists, writers and marginalised people across the country mourn his passing and are praying that his soul may rest in eternal peace.

Samson Salamat, president of the Rwadari Tehreek movement, spoke to AsiaNews, about I. A. Rehman. On behalf of all the members of Rwadari Tehreek Pakistan, I would like to express my condolences to the entire human rights fraternity because we lost our guardian in the fight for human rights.

In his statement, Salamat extended his condolences to Rehmans family. Paying tribute to the deceased, Rwadari Tehreek's president lamented the loss of our guardian whose words and actions for the advancement of human rights and civil liberties have always been a source of inspiration and courage.

I. A. Rehman was a mentor, a guide and a father to countless human rights defenders in Pakistan and around the world. There is no doubt that he will always live in the hearts of marginalised people and communities who lost the greatest defender of their rights.

Ifran Mufti, deputy director of the South Asia Partnership Pakistan (SAP-Pak), shared the grief. Today we lost I. A. Rehman, a person of great deeds, intellect and a tireless missionary for human rights and democratic development. During his life he had a great impact through his fearless, principled journalism and then as a great defender of human rights.

In interacting with him for more than 30 years I found him a person of great values, an uncompromising missionary for human dignity, passionate about peace and non-violence, and a supporter of regional cooperation in South Asia. He was a conscience for our generation, a mentor to all of us in the fight for democracy and peace.

With his pen as a journalist, his words as a writer, and his actions as a defender of human rights, he fought many battles against tyranny, dictatorships, oppression, violence, and human suffering. Today is the end of an era in the struggle for human rights and democracy. Rest in eternal peace Rehman Sahib, you have earned it through your words and deeds.

Echoing the same sentiments, Xari Jalil, a well-known journalist, noted: Words fail me today as we mourn the passing of Rehman Sahib. Anything I say would be a cliche. His death has left people voiceless, [. . .] without a guardian, a protector: he stood for so much.

Was any person who met Rehman Sahib not impressed by his strength and energy? she asks. At a fragile age where one seeks retirement, Rehman Sahib was seen tirelessly advocating human rights principles, always ready to endorse and patronise those he felt were doing genuine work.

Is there anyone who was not touched by his compassion and empathy, his kindness? Did anyone miss out on the valour he exuded every time he spoke? He was unafraid. When he spoke against the powers that be, he would say it out loud, cut and dry.

We often took his presence for granted. He was always there, everywhere, with people fluttering around him whenever he was around. Let's ask Rehman Sahib. Have a keynote speaker to find? How about Rehman Sahib. Need to find a senior person to lead a campaign? No one better than Rehman Sahib.

As a final note, Xari Jalil acknowledges that Rehman Sahib is gone now, as all men and women must go. There can never be another Rehman Sahib in ages to come, just like there will never be another Asma Jahangir, or Abdul Sattar Edhi. That is the distressing thought. He and his work will never be forgotten and no matter how well we disguise it, the blow has been hard, and its mark deep. Lets hope his life's work brings forth others like him. My deepest condolences to his family.

Dil Nawaz, a researcher in Interfaith Dialogue and Theology at Liverpool Hope University in the United Kingdom, also spoke to AsiaNews about the late Rehman. In his view, the latter was a father figure in Pakistan's struggles for freedom and human rights.

Over the years I, personally, and many other youth have learned a lot from him. My parents were with him at the inception of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 1987.

His wisdom, knowledge and courage will be missed. He sacrificed his own nephew, Advocate Rashid Rehman who was martyred in the fight against blasphemy laws. His contributions will be remembered when someone writes the history of Pakistan impartially.
ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LexisNexis Risk Solutions announced that it won three categories in the 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. LexisNexis ThreatMetrix is the Gold winner for two categories: Cybersecurity Industry Solution - Financial Services and Cybersecurity Product - Fraud Prevention. Kimberly Sutherland, vice president of fraud and identity strategy at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, was named Cybersecurity Woman of the Year.

The 2021 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards recognize companies, products and professionals that demonstrate excellence, innovation and leadership in information security. More than 400,000 cybersecurity professionals within the Information Security community voted to determine winners.

Cybersecurity Woman of the Year

Kimberly Sutherland has helped drive the development of innovative identity management solutions for businesses, government agencies and financial institutions since joining LexisNexis Risk Solutions in 2006.

Grayson Clarke, senior vice president of LexisNexis Risk Solutions said, "Kimberly's contribution to the fraud and identity space has been impactful, from serving on the board of Women in Identity to playing a crucial role in LexisNexis Risk Solutions market for consumer fraud analytics and authentication strategies. Her Cybersecurity Woman of the Year title is well earned and deserved."

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit www.risk.lexisnexis.com and www.relx.com.

Media Contact:

Marcy Theobald

678.694.6681

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SOURCE LexisNexis Risk Solutions

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With 'Eyecam' they now present the prototype of a webcam that not only looks like a human eye, but imitates its movements realistically. "The goal of our project is not to develop a 'better' design for cameras, but to spark a discussion. We want to draw attention to the fact that we are surrounded by sensing devices every day. That raises the question of how that affects us," says Marc Teyssier. In 2020, the French scientist completed his doctorate on the topic of anthropomorphic design in Paris. Now he is a postdoctoral researcher in the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at Saarland University in Germany.

The research team at Saarland Informatics Campus has developed a webcam that not only looks like a human eye, but also realistically imitates unconscious eye movements such as blinking or raising the eyebrow. "With 'Eyecam' we are exploring the question of whether a technical device should reflect its function in its design," adds computer scientist Marion Koelle, who did her doctorate on the social acceptance of body-worn cameras. "There are different ways of seeing, all of which have their own unique connotations, such as observing, recognizing, watching, or even spying. Also, a camera designed as an eye can send nonverbal signals through facial expressions. This opens up a whole new layer of interaction that hasn't existed in technical devices before," Koelle adds.

"The research is part of a whole series of work within a large EU-funded project, the ERC Starting Grant 'InteractiveSkin'. Here we are researching how interfaces that have properties of the human body can improve the interaction between humans and computers," says lab director Professor Jurgen Steimle.

The researchers use the unique capabilities and optics of their new development to explore different facets of ubiquitous sensing. Already today, webcams are a potential privacy risk. 'Eyecam' exaggerates this aspect, acting as an observer by opening its eye and tracking the user with its gaze. Alternatively, the anthropomorphic camera could be used for self-reflection, with the artificial eye getting ever more tired and repeatedly falling shut as the user sits in front of the computer late at night. Or it could take on the role of a pet that is simply there, looking around from time to time and reacting with delight when its owner enters the room.

"Our application scenarios are fictional and are intended to encourage people to think about how we interact with technical devices today, but also in the future. What is special is that we can experience and recreate our imagined scenarios with the help of a physically existing prototype," says Marc Teyssier. To reach as many people as possible with their thought-provoking development, the group has published the blueprints for their device.

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Original Publication:

The original publication titled "Eyecam: Revealing Relations between Humans and Sensing Devices through an Anthropomorphic Webcam" was accepted by the world's largest conference in the field of human-machine interaction. In May, it will be published at the 32nd "ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI)" in Yokohama (Japan). Besides Marc Teyssier and Marion Koelle, Paul Strohmeier, Bruno Fruchard and Professor Jurgen Steimle, all from Saarland University, were involved in the project.

A PDF preprint version of the paper can be found at: https:/ / hci. cs. uni-saarland. de/ wp-content/ uploads/ projects/ critical_design/ eyecam/ teyssier_chi21_eyecam. pdf

Further Information:

https:/ / hci. cs. uni-saarland. de/ projects/ eyecam/

https:/ / marcteyssier. com/ projects/ eyecam/ (Video demonstration)

https:/ / chi2021. acm. org/

https:/ / erc. europa. eu/ projects-figures/ stories/ tech-filled-tattoos-interact-surrounding-world

https:/ / www. uni-saarland. de/ universitaet/ aktuell/ artikel/ nr/ 23327. html (Press pictures)

Questions can be directed at:

Prof. Dr. Jurgen Steimle

Email: steimle@cs.uni-saarland.de

Tel.: +49 681 302 71080

Dr. Marc Teyssier

Email: teyssier@cs.uni-saarland.de

Tel.: +49 681 302 71084

Dr. Marion Koelle

Email: koelle@cs.uni-saarland.de

Tel.: +49 681 302 71931

Background Saarland Informatics Campus:

800 scientists and about 2100 students from more than 80 nations make the Saarland Informatics Campus (SIC) one of the leading locations for computer science in Germany and Europe. Five world-renowned research institutes, namely the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science, the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, the Center for Bioinformatics and the Cluster for "Multimodal Computing and Interaction" as well as Saarland University with three departments and 24 degree programs cover the entire spectrum of computer science.

Editor:

Philipp Zapf-Schramm

Competence Center Computer Science

Saarland Informatics Campus

Phone: +49 681 302-70741

E-Mail: pzapf@mmci.uni-saarland.de

Public relations work at the Saarland Informatics Campus is supported by the Competence Center Computer Science Saarland, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Saarland State Chancellery.
Madam Speaker, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McCarthy, my friend, Minority - Minority Leader McConnell, members of Congress, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, Attorney General Garland, Mayor Bowser, all the Capitol Hill Police and all that are here to pay tribute to this Capitol policeman who fell in the line of duty, Acting Chief Pittman, and the men and women of the Capitol Police Force: I'm sorry - the second time in two months we have such a ceremony.

And, you know, Mom, I didn't know Billy, but I knew Billy. I grew up with Billys in Claymont and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Billy was always the kid that you know if you got in a fight and you're outnumbered three to one, he'd still jump in, knowing you'd both get beaten.

He was the one who always kept his word. If he said he'd be there, he'd be there. He was the one who, just like the folks I grew up with, wasn't capable of saying no when you needed him.

You know, just like you, Officer Kenny Shaver was injured in the attack with Billy. And never has there been more strain - and I've been here a long time; I've been here since 1972 as U.S. senator - '73 - has so much strain and responsibility been placed on the shoulders --the shoulders of Capitol Police. And yet, you hear it, you see it, you watch them, and you watch them do their duty with pure courage and not complain.

You know, Sergeant Kyle King, I'm sorry you had to make the call - that telephone call that every family dreads when they have a son or daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister in uniform. Because every morning - every morning they pin that badge on, go to work, they expect to come home. In the back of your minds, 'We'll never get that call.'

You knew Billy since grade school. I think it was the fourth grade. I got to deal with all the guys that I grew up and knew in fourth grade. When one passes away, the other one has to give up because he has too much information about you, too much to leave behind. But, you know, I'm sure all those memories from North Adams and Clarksburg never changed who Billy was.

He was defined by his dignity, his decency, his loyalty, and his courage. And, Mom, that's because of you and his Dad. That's how it happened - not by accident.

Mrs. Evans, you have - I have some idea of what you're feeling like. I buried two of my children. And people have come up to you and are going to come up to you for some time and say, 'I know how you feel.' They're going to say that to sis. They're going to say that to the kids. They're going to say that to his former wife. And after a while -- you know everybody means well -- you feel like saying, 'You have no idea.'

But the truth is that a time is going to come, I promise you - not believable now - when a memory, a fragrance, a scene, a circumstance, the way his son tilts his head the way he did when he was that age - it's going to bring back the memory. And for the longest time, it's going to feel like, at that moment, that memory - it's going to feel like you got the phone call just that moment ago. And there are going to be people celebrating Billy's life. And as much as you appreciate it - all of you - it also is hard, you relive everything again.

You know, I - I got a phone call when I first got here and lost my family - part of my family - from a person I never knew, never met: the former governor of New Jersey, who was literally 40 - 45 years my senior. And he told me he knew how I felt. And I didn't say anything.

He said, 'I know what you're thinking.' He said, 'But I did know.' He said, 'I used to come home - I was the Attorney General of New Jersey before I was Governor. And I'd come home for lunch because I lived just across the green from my office. And one day, a woman who helped out at our home came running across the green saying, 'She's gone. She's gone.'

His wife had had an aneurysm. And he said, 'You know what I did?' He said, 'I kept - I kept a - I got graph paper, and four months out, I would put the month on it and then a horizontal line. I'd put the date and the month. In the vertical line, I put the numbers 1 to 10. Ten would be the happiest day of my life, and one would be like the moment I got the phone call.'

And he said, 'And every night before I'd go to bed, I'd graph it. I'd put on a dot on that day where I was.' And he said, 'Don't look at it for three or four months. He said, 'And you'll look at it and you'll see.' He'd put it on a graph - graph. 'The downs are just as far down, but they get further and further and further apart.'

That's how you're all going to know that you're going to make it - by holding each other together, and most importantly, by holding Logan and Abigail as tightly as you can. Because as long as you have them, you've got Billy. As long as you have them.

You know, my prayer for all of you is that a day will come when you have that memory, and I've said, 'Just smile before you bring a tear to your eyes.' It's - I promise you it's going to come. It just takes a while. It takes a while.

But when it comes, you'll know, because he's still with you. He's still in your heart.

Losing a son, daughter, brother, sister, mom, dad - it's like losing a piece of your soul. But it's buried deep, but it comes back.

There's a great quote by R.G. Ingersoll. It was read when my son, who was the chief law enforcement officer in the state of Delaware - the attorney general - came back from Iraq after a year and he - and he died. And they read this poem from R.G. Ingersoll, who said, 'When will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns compromise with death, this is heroism.'

Your son, your husband, your brother, your dad was a hero. And he's part of you. It's in your blood.

My prayer for you is that moment when a smile comes before the tear, quicker than longer. Thank you.
This the moment two small terriers chased a bear from a family home in California while their owner was napping on the sofa.

DeeDee Mueller only realised the hungry creature had been in her north-east Pasadena house when she reviewed her CCTV footage after being woken by the dogs barking.

In the footage, filmed on April 10, the young bear ambles onto the deck outside the home and drinks from a fountain before making his way into the house.

Commenting on Facebook about the incident, Ms Mueller said: 'I had no idea the bear came in at the time. I think the dogs smelled him and went nuts.

'I only found out he came when I checked the videos afterwards. I was in the living room taking a nap.'

The bear approached Dee Dee Mueller's home in north-east Pasadena, California, on April 10

The bear drank from a water feature before entering the house through an open door

The bear explored the kitchen before it was disturbed by the two dogs

Squirt and Mei Mei ran after the bear forcing it to retreat from the house

The bear can be seen exploring the kitchen before he is interrupted by the dogs, Squirt and Mei Mei.

Ms Mueller said the doors of the property were left open to allow the dogs the freedom to explore outside.

However, when the unexpected visitor arrived the two dogs responded by barking loudly, prompting the bear to retreat.

The two small dogs chased the bear, which is believed to be around two to three years old, outside where it went back into the wilderness.

Ms Mueller uploaded the footage of the encounter on Facebook and wrote: 'Bear season officially started in our neighborhood.

'A young bear wandered into the house but Squirt and Mei Mei said, "HELL NO, get out of our house!"'

Ms Mueller said she had seen bears in her back yard previously but hoped this 'doesn't set the tone for this bear season'.

She said: 'I was taking a nap in the living room. Our kitchen and dining room doors were both open for fresh air and easy for the doggies to go in and out.

'Mei Mei was curled up by my legs and she suddenly dashed out and barked like crazy with Squirt followed right behind her.

'Based on the barks, I knew something was up. It's time to close all doors.'

She later told ABC News: 'As the bear was turning back, these pair noticed him. We saw a trail of urine so the bear was clearly very nervous.'

Responding to comments on YouTube Ms Mueller said the bear looked skinny and appeared to have recently emerged from hibernation.

Viewers praised Squirt and Mei Mei for seeing off the bear, with one describing them as 'small but mighty' and another praising them for being so 'feisty'.

Others remarked on how frightening it was to discover that a bear had actually entered the house, with Barbara Lindquist Moreno summing up the reaction in a single word - 'scary'.

Ms Mueller was oblivious to the bear's visit until she reviewed the CCTV footage of her home

Barbara Lindquist Moreno described the bear's visit as 'scary'

The bear turned to look at the dogs while retreating from Ms Mueller's home
San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Cofactor Genomics, the company bridging the precision medicine gap, today announced commencement of the first multicenter clinical trial of its OncoPrismTM diagnostic assay, using the company's patented approach to generating multidimensional immune biomarkers. Fifteen hospitals and healthcare networks, including Mayo Clinic, MultiCare Institute for Research and Innovation, and Revive Research Institute, are currently enrolling in the PREDAPT (Predicting Immunotherapy Efficacy From Analysis of Pre-treatment Tumor Biopsies) Trial to evaluate use of the OncoPrism test in patients with recurrent and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (RM-HNSCC) to effectively predict a patient's response to immunotherapy. The company expects additional sites to join the trial before the end of 2021.

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.
Millionaires in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay are living under the cloud of suspicion after a mystery vandal poisoned trees to improve waterfront views .

For wealthy Beach Road residents in Hampton - just south of Melbourne's CBD - the stench of accusation is not unfamiliar.

Signs warning of the costly consequences of illegally clearing trees from the area have lined the busy strip leading into Sandringham for years.

Beyond the wilderness along Beach Road lies a peaceful oasis where locals can walk their dogs and enjoy the million dollar views

Signs line the strip warning people not to destroy the trees

Homes lining the desecrated land all enjoy balconies that can largely see over the scrubland. It is not suggested the houses despictede are responsible for the clearing

Beyond the bush lies tranquil views of Sandringham harbour, with the You Yangs mountain range visible all the way across the bay.

Bayside Council, which has waged a long war with the vandals, has promised to bring them to justice amid fears their eco-destruction has gone a step too far.

Council spokesman Adam McSwain told Daily Mail Australia the entire area is now at risk.

'This site has been subject to ongoing vegetation destruction over the years and now due to the severe extent of this vandalism event, council is undertaking soil testing to determine the type and origin of herbicide used to assist council with ongoing investigations,' he said via a statement.

The council, which presides over most of Melbourne's wealthiest and prettiest suburbs, maintains the bushland lining Beach Road provides vital habitat for small native birds and reptiles and assists in cliff stabilisation in an area prone to erosion.

Large signs have again been placed strategically along the road in areas where trees have been recently poisoned.

Residents directly opposite the kill zones are presented with daily warnings that they face a $25,000 fine if caught participating in the vandalism.

On Tuesday, Daily Mail Australia spoke to several residents living in the homes.

Many had lived there for more than a decade.

Before: An image from Google maps taken in 2019 shows a large tree to the rear of screen close to the road

2021: The large tree to the rear is gone

The You Yangs are clearly visible on the other side of the bay on clear days

'Why do you think we built so high?' one resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

'We can see right over the bush.'

His neighbours were all in the same boat, with some homes towering three storeys high with rooftop dining areas.

'It's a pity,' a neighbour, who also wished to remain anonymous, said.

'Some people build new houses here, and it's a nice amenity to have trees. They provide shade.'

A man who emerged from one of the newer homes seemed to have no idea what the controversy was about.

He hadn't even noticed the signs outside his property, he claimed.

Residents agreed the landscape across the road from their properties had changed dramatically over the years.

'It's been through changes. 12 years ago you had far better views. You could actually see the yacht club so it changes from year to year,' one man said.

'Trees die, there is new growth.'

The telltale signs of poison. Dozens of trees have been killed in recent times

Large homes across the road now front council signs warning their occupants not to kill the vegetation

Another man down the street, who like his neighbours asked to remain nameless, said it was a shame the bay views could not be seen from ground level.

'They should be enjoyed by everyone,' he said.

The long-time resident said the council had been hellbent on ensuring the bushland remained.

Mr McSwain did not disagree.

'The destruction of this vegetation may lead to increased erosion impacts at this site,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'We will continue to monitor this area and revegetation will be undertaken at a later date.'

Beyond the scrub, along a dirt track, Hampton residents point their fingers at homes and suggest candidates for the vandalism.

'You should have seen what it used to look like here,' one local said.

The woman pointed at a solitary tree, blocking the view of a new home going up in the area.

'That'll be the next one to go. They ought put up bigger signs. The size of a tree,' she said.
IRL Board's decision to approve the extension of the overdraft agreement with OP Corporate Bank plc Lithuania Branch

AB INTER RAO Lietuva (hereinafter - the Company) announces that in 2021 the Board of the Company March 30 approved the extension of the overdraft (current bank account credit) agreement (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) for one year, reducing the amount of the overdraft from EUR 10,000,000 (ten million euro) to EUR 5,000,000 (five million euro); Under the Agreement, OP Corporate Bank plc Lithuania Branch, identification code 302535257 (hereinafter referred to as the Bank), has granted the Company an overdraft with a maximum amount of EUR 5,000,000 (five million euro). The Agreement is considered as a non-transferable financial collateral arrangement (security agreement), the object of which is current and future funds kept by the Company with the Bank.

The overdraft will be used to finance working capital needs of the Company. Legal grounds: Article 17.1 of the EU Regulation on market abuse No 596/2014.
Boston, MA - Ellis Fire Suppression is raising the bar by offering affordable fire alarm monitoring backed by a TMA 5-Diamond Central Monitoring Station. Businesses on average pay between $45 to $65 per month for fire alarm monitoring. The price a business ends up paying depends on how the system is connected to the central station: phone lines or cellular and number of devices. Ellis Fire offers simple flat rate 
The controversial new constitution that returns Kyrgyzstan to a presidential form of government has been approved in a nationwide referendum, but almost everything surrounding the document suggests it may live a short life in a country that has had three revolutions in 16 years.

Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Nurzhan Shayldabekova said on April 12 that 79.3 percent of those who cast ballots in the referendum -- some 1.03 million people -- voted in favor of the new constitution, with just 13.65 percent voting against it.

Kyrgyzstan has some 6.5 million citizens, so it is possible to question whether the approval of this new constitution represents the will of the people when less than 1-in-6 citizens voted for it.

Only 30 percent of Kyrgyzstans eligible voters needed to participate for the April 11 referendum to be declared legitimate. Preliminary results show some 37.1 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in the poll, as local elections and the referendum were held simultaneously.

That is slightly less than the approximately 39 percent who turned out for the January 10 election in which voters chose a new president and decided to hold the constitutional referendum.

Some 1.35 million people cast ballots in January, with 81.44 percent -- about 1.1 million people -- voting in favor of holding the referendum.

But controversy surrounded the new constitution from the very beginning.

Shortly after being freed from jail by a mob during the unrest that followed the fraudulent October 4 parliamentary elections, Sadyr Japarov -- who was subsequently elected president in January -- suggested changing the semi-parliamentary form of government that Kyrgyzstan has had since 2010 to a presidential one under a new constitution.

The newly approved constitution is very similar to what Kyrgyzstan had under former Presidents Askar Akaev and Kurmanbek Bakiev, both of whom were chased from power partly due to amendments to the constitution that gave them more power.

Japarov and others argued that the 2010 constitution, which was also adopted in a referendum, created a parliament filled with deputies who bought their seats and mainly bickered, accomplishing very little.

The October 4 polls were eventually annulled after large demonstrations. With their mandates expiring and no replacement elections scheduled, the parliamentary deputies who were elected in 2015 voted to extend their mandates, which were to expire on October 28.

Many legal experts say that action puts into question every decision this parliament has made since its term was extended.

The same parliament then passed the draft of the new constitution on all three readings in December over the course of a few days, which violated the constitution that was still in effect.

Several changes were also made to the draft constitution after it had been approved by parliament, which many of its detractors note.

Furthermore, the decision in late November to form a Constitutional Chamber and the subsequent selection of its 89 members has also been called into question.

Many also wonder how much, if any, of the public's opinion played a role in drafting the new constitution, which was also supposed to be put up for public discussion before it was approved by parliament. But that was not done.

That is in great contrast to the 2010 constitution, which civil society and other public groups contributed to during the drafting stage.

WATCH: October's Upheaval In Kyrgyzstan Followed Two Revolutions This Century

Polls conducted in the days leading up to the April 11 referendum indicated most people did not know very much about the changes contained in the new constitution.

Fresh parliamentary elections that were originally scheduled to be held just days after the October 4 elections were later postponed.

It now seems new parliamentary elections will take place no sooner than this summer, which is strange since it was the popular resistance to the October 4 parliamentary elections that started Kyrgyzstan down its current path that led to the new constitution being approved.

Parliament loses many of its powers under the constitution approved on April 11, which also reduces the number of seats in the body from 120 to 90.

It is not difficult to see that there is ample ground for people to question the legitimacy of this new constitution, something Kyrgyz citizens could do if the become dissatisfied with the new president and his government.

Opponents of the new constitution will say that the constitution was pushed through by a leader who was in prison until October 4; drafted by a group that the public had no role in appointing; approved by a parliament whose mandate had expired; altered after that approval; and endorsed by less than 16 percent of the countrys population in a referendum.

In 2005, 2010, and 2020, such dissatisfaction led to the ousting of the country's leaders.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of CytoDyn Inc. ("CytoDyn" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: CYDY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether CytoDyn 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 March 5, 2021, CytoDyn issued a press release providing an update on its product "Vyrologix (leronlimab-PRO 140), a CCR5 antagonist with the potential for multiple therapeutic indications." The press release stated, in part, that "the Phase 3 trial of leronlimab for the treatment of severe-to-critical patients with COVID-19 demonstrated continued safety, substantial improvement in the survival rate, and faster hospital discharge in critically ill COVID-19 patients." Although the press release touted purportedly positive results, industry observers and analysts quickly characterized the Company's press release as misleading. For example, on March 8, 2021, Seeking Alpha published an article by Paul Santos entitled "CytoDyn: Parsing Failure." The article asserted that Cytodyn's "leronlimab Phase 3 trial on COVID-19 severe-to-critical patients failed . . . to meet both its primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints with any statistical significance" and described the Company as having effectively "buried" the results in its press release. Santos noted that "[a] normal biotech company would have stated this clearly, both in its PR titles and in their text bodies. Cytodyn, however, did something else."

As the market digested the actual significance of CytoDyn's announcement, the Company's stock price fell $1.70 per share, or 41.98%, over the following two trading sessions, closing at $2.35 per share on March 9, 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


TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Next Pathway Inc., the Automated Cloud Migration company, is proud to announce that Next Pathway President Clara Angotti has been selected to DiversityFirst's 2021 list of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology. Angotti is honored to join this elite group of women technologists, which includes professionals from eBay, Facebook, Google, IBM, Microsoft, T-Mobile, VMWare, Xerox, and Yelp.

The awardees will be officially announced at the 17th Annual National Diversity and Leadership Conference, which will be held virtually on April 21-22 and April 28-29.



"It's thrilling to be included with this illustrious group of women technology leaders, each of whom is committed to delivering on the promise of technology," said Angotti. "Equally gratifying is being able to showcase this captivating, dynamic field that I am so privileged to be a part of and which offers women an opportunity to utilize and benefit from their intelligence, creativity and expertise."



DiversityFirst's list of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Technology spotlights women who have reached the top of their profession and are effective leaders in their organization. They drive change, innovate and inspire. To be named to this prestigious list, women have to directly contribute to business growth or strategic direction of their organizations; maintain a record of accomplishments in areas of expertise; be an effective role model who inspires other women and is active in mentoring the next generation of women in the industry; operate with the highest integrity and ethical behavior; and demonstrate a commitment to corporate citizenship.

"As diversity, equity and inclusion are finally being seen and acknowledged as serious, pressing matters of discussion, we are delighted to honor and recognize the women who have become not only champions in their industries but inspirations in their communities. We thank and honor our Most Powerful Women in Tech for your work and commitment, and we look forward to witnessing all that you'll accomplish, all the leaders that you'll develop, and the impact you'll leave behind in the tech sphere," says National Diversity Council founder Dennis Kennedy in a statement to the press.

The full list of the 2021 awardees is available here.

About The National Diversity & Leadership Conference

With thousands of attendees, the 2021 National Diversity & Leadership Conference remains one of the largest diversity conferences in the nation. Offering extraordinary networking opportunities, professional development, and critical conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion, attendees are able to curate their experience for optimal learning and growth. More information about the Diversity & Leadership Conference is available at their website.

About Next Pathway

Next Pathway is the Automated Cloud Migration company. Powered by Crawler360, the Migration Planner and the SHIFT Migration Suite, Next Pathway automates the end-to-end challenges companies experience when migrating applications to the cloud. For more information, please visit nextpathway.com.

Connect with Next Pathway

Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter

SOURCE Next Pathway

Related Links

www.nextpathway.com


LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today invited Los Angeles County restaurants to apply for pandemic relief through the California Restaurant Foundation's (CRF) Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. Qualifying restaurants may now apply for a $3,500 grant to help them rebound from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was co-founded by SoCalGas and represents the company's single largest community donation to date. The program is expected to help about 125 restaurants in LA County, that have suffered losses, pay for things like payroll and hiring new employees. The Resilience Fund applications will be open through April 18, 2021 and can be found at www.restaurantscare.org/resilience.

"Restaurants, especially those owned by people of color, have been among the most impacted by the pandemic," said Adolfo Varas, executive director at the Compton Latino Chamber of Commerce. "We thank SoCalGas and the California Restaurant Foundation for their support to small businesses. And we encourage independently owned restaurants to apply for the Resilience Fund."

"We are proud to partner with the California Restaurant Foundation to support small business in one of the hardest hit industries by the pandemic," said Andy Carrasco, vice president of communications, local government, and community affairs at SoCalGas. "By investing in the long-term success of local restaurants, we can also preserve jobs and help our communities thrive."

"We know that restaurants have a lot going on right now so we wanted to make this application as simple as possible. It should take about 30 minutes to complete and we have checklists and tools available on our website to help," said Alycia Harshfield, executive director of the California Restaurant Foundation.

The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is part of a statewide effort between the California Restaurant Foundation and energy companies. The program focuses on long-term resilience for small restaurants that have struggled the most during the pandemic. In addition to the $3,500 grant, restaurants will be welcomed into a cohort and receive one year of support services and resources to improve their businesses for the long term.

Grants will be available to single-unit, California-based restaurants with a staff of 50 or fewer employees. To qualify, the restaurant must be a SoCalGas customer, currently open, and have experienced a revenue loss of at least 20 percent from 2019-2020.

SoCalGas is dedicated to supporting the health, safety, and wellness of our community. In addition to supporting the Restaurant Care Resilience Fund, the utility has donated more than $4 million to nonprofit organizations to support the region's workforce, feed the hungry, provide bill assistance to customers, and more as part of COVID-19 recovery efforts.

For more information about SoCalGas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit www.socalgas.com/coronavirus.

About SoCalGas

Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas is the largest gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable gas service to 21.8 million consumers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California. Gas delivered through the company's pipelines will continue to play a key role in California's clean energy transitionproviding electric grid reliability and supporting wind and solar energy deployment.

SoCalGas' mission is to build the cleanest, safest and most innovative energy company in America. In support of that mission, SoCalGas is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and delivery of energy by 2045 and to replacing 20 percent of its traditional natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in its gas delivery infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for customers. Over the past five years, the company invested nearly $7.5 billion to upgrade and modernize its pipeline system to enhance safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.

SOURCE Southern California Gas Company

Related Links

http://www.socalgas.com


New Delhi:

Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif warned India on Thursday against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations. He claimed that if such an incident occurred then nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of Indias Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations nobody should expect restraint from us, he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment.

Responding to a question on India, he said, sadly India did not respond to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship. What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks, Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a whipping boy and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan.

He further said that the Americans are only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation. Asif is in Washington as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups.

He claimed that his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good. Was not bad, Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration.

The US has recently been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists. These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision, he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad, Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other. He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

There are many more dimensions of what is going on in Afghanistan, he said. A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan, he said.

Lets see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. That's not acceptable. We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan, he said.

Standing by his remarks on some of the terrorist groups and terrorist leaders at the Asia Society in New York last week, Asif said they are a liability.

We will find ways and means to wrapping up this business. This is a liability. (but) this cannot be wrapped up overnight, he said. Responding to a question, Asif said there are problems in US-Pakistan ties.

We do have problems with the US. We have deficit of trust. We are trying to mend those deficits, he said. Pakistan, he said, sees more role for Russia and China in the region. Pakistan's relationship with Russia has improved in recent years.

We need and have proposed any peace solution in Afghanistan should be backed by regional powers which include the Russian federation, he said in response to a question."

Madrassas, whether we accept or agree with them or not, are the biggest NGO in Pakistan. There are over 20,000 madrasas. Out of these huge number, a very low number of them are infected. Possibly they number around 300-400. The government is managing these madrasas, he said.

With PTI inputs

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A minor walks over others inside a holding facility run by Customs and Border Patrol in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Pool/Getty Images)

US Official Contradicts Biden on Illegal Immigrant Surge in Court Filing

A top official from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in charge of caring for unaccompanied immigrant children (UC) has described the surge of illegal border crossings as unprecedented, while adding that the temporary shelters that have been opened are providing a crisis standard of care to the minors.

Cindy Huang, director of HHSs Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), made the comments in a sworn declaration to a federal court judge in a case related to the 1997 Flores settlement agreement, which sets the principles and guidelines for the care, custody, and release of immigrant children under federal custody.

In her testimony, Huang characterized the ongoing surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S. southern border, particularly a surge in unaccompanied minors, as historic and unprecedented, while telling the federal judge that she believes the influx is likely to increase in the coming weeks and months.

As an initial matter, it is important to understand that the current influx is not limited to the January-March time period but is an ongoing challenge that will likely increase in severity in the coming weeks and months, Huang told a federal judge from California (pdf).

Her declaration was made in response to a series of recommendations by an independent monitor and special expert about the conditions at CBP facilities, ORR emergency holding facilities, and other facilities currently caring for migrant children.

ORR appreciates the Interim Reports acknowledgement that the U.S. Government is dealing with an unprecedented number of UC apprehended at the border and that ORR has vastly expanded its capacity in a short amount of time, she said.

Huangs comments are in contradiction to remarks made by President Joe Biden during his first formal press conference on March 25. Biden sought to downplay the severity of the situation at the U.S. southern border, saying that the influx was driven by normal seasonal patterns rather than his administrations new policies.

It happens every single solitary year. There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March. It happens every year, Biden said at the time.

Other members of Bidens administration such as White House press secretary Jen Psaki have also been careful about using the term crisis to describe the situation at the border.

In her declaration, Huang describes temporary migrant holding centers, known as Emergency Intake Sites, as temporary emergency sites that are focused on providing a crisis standard of care until [unaccompanied children] can be transferred to a better-resourced setting.

Her declaration also provides a glimpse into how the continuous flow of illegal immigration is overwhelming the federal agencies tasked with managing the situation.

[I]t should be noted that EISs are novel temporary facilities implemented with urgency to address the historic number of children arriving at the border, Huang said. Given the significant overcrowding at CBP facilities, immediate implementation of EIS facilities was viewed as critical to ensuring the welfare of UC and was prioritized over the development of nuanced policies governing these sites. However, ORR has been working diligently to develop policies standardizing services at EIS facilities, and these forthcoming policies are currently undergoing an expedited clearance process.

Unaccompanied minors wait for their turn at the secondary processing station inside a holding facility in Donna, Texas, on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/Pool/AP Photo)

The HHS previously said it is seeking to build capacity for 13,500 beds, with the potential for additional capacity in order to meet what has been a continuous flow of unaccompanied minors coming across the border. The department has opened multiple temporary facilities in the past two weeks.

For the month of March, CBP agents encountered over 172,000 illegal immigrants, according to statistics released on April 8. This is up from just over 101,000 individuals encountered in February.

Among those who crossed illegally into the United States last month were over 18,800 unaccompanied minors, which is double the number of minors who illegally arrived in the United States in February at over 9,300 encounters. This is compared to 5,585 unaccompanied minors in January, and 4,993 unaccompanied minors in December 2020.

Under current law, unaccompanied minors are supposed to be transferred out of CBP care and custody to more permanent housing within 72 hours.

The White House did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times request for comment on Huangs testimony.
Dr Anthony Fauci today claimed the US may never need to use AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine.

America's top infectious disease expert said his country has already bought enough alternative jabs to inoculate all 330million people in the US.

He said this was not a 'negative indictment' of the Oxford University-developed jab, adding that it was 'really quite good'. But Dr Fauci told BBC Radio 4: 'It looks right now, at this point in time, that we will not need it.'

Officials across the Atlantic have already given at least one dose of either the Pfizer, Moderna or single-dose Johnson and Johnson jab to 120million people and have fully vaccinated 73million.

The abundance of American vaccines has meant Washington will likely not need to rely on foreign jabs this year, but Dr Fauci has not ruled out turning to AstraZeneca if there are future Covid outbreaks.

Dr Fauci  who has previously been critical of AstraZeneca's trial data and the British regulator for 'rushing' vaccines through approval  tried to quell the growing lack of confidence in the vaccine due to its link to extremely are blood clots.

He said: 'I think the AstraZeneca vaccine, from a standpoint of efficacy, is a good vaccine.

'And if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union  which I understand is still in a bit of controversy about how to use it and when to use and what age groups to use it  the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good.

Dr Anthony Fauci has described the AstraZeneca vaccine as a 'good' jab but revealed the US might not need to use it because it has so many domestic vaccines already

He said this was not a 'negative indictment' of the Oxford University-developed jab (shown), adding that it was 'really quite good'

How do the Chinese vaccines compare to other approved jabs? CoronaVac, made by Chinese pharma company Sinovac, was found to be just 3 per cent effective at stopping symptomatic illness after the first dose, rising to 56.5 per cent two weeks after the second. Another Chinese-made vaccine made by state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm appears slightly better than the CoronaVac, 73 per cent efficacy against symptomatic illness

US SEEING SAME 'ACCELERATION' OF KENT VARIANT AS UK DID LAST YEAR, SAYS FAUCI America's top infectious disease doctor has warned against easing restrictions in the US too soon because of the Kent coronavirus variant. Dr Anthony Fauci said the highly-infectious strain had become 'quite dominant' just as America gets set to start easing curbs. He warned the US was in the same situation as the UK last winter, when the B117 variant rapidly took off and caused a wave that surpassed the peak last spring. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'We're having the same experience that the UK had - an acceleration associated with the variant.' The Kent strain has been shown to be up to 30 per cent more infectious than the original Covid. But the current crop of vaccines are just as effective at neutralising the variant, which means the US' immunisation scheme should not be hampered by its rise. Advertisement

He added: 'The way the US has made contractual relationships with a number of companies, we clearly have enough vaccine  or will get enough vaccine  that does not include AstraZeneca, which would be enough quantitatively to vaccinate everybody in the United States.

'Whether or not we ever use AZ is unclear but it looks right now at this point in time that we will not need it.

'It is not a negative indictment of AZ  it just possible that, given the supply we have from other companies, that we may not need to use an AZ vaccine.'

As US states begin to loosen lockdown restrictions, Dr Fauci also said there was a 'really risky situation' when bars and restaurants were reopening in some places where the use of masks was not being enforced.

Dr Fauci, director of the US's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the vaccine rollout would blunt 'a real explosion of a surge' but it would not stop a moderate increase in cases.

'This is not a time to prematurely declare victory because we have such a successful rollout,' he said.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is currently being investigated by European and British regulators over concerns about rare cases of blood clots.

It has not yet been approved in the US.

American jab watchdogs accused the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant of cherry-picking data to make it seem more effective than it actually was.

The firm hopes it will be given the green light in the coming weeks.

European regulators have found possible links between the shot, which has been given to tens of millions of people, and blood clots but they have reaffirmed the vaccine's importance in protecting people against Covid.

More than a dozen countries have at one time suspended use of the vaccine, but most have resumed, with some, including France, the Netherlands and Germany, recommending a minimum age.

NHS COVID VACCINE BOOKING WEBSITE CRASHES AS ROLL-OUT OPENS UP TO OVER-45S The NHS website for booking Covid vaccination appointments crashed this morning, just moments after the roll-out in England was opened up to over-45s. Health chiefs today opened up the national booking system for the next phase of the inoculation drive, after No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule. But the site ran into 'technical difficulties' after over-45s desperate to get vaccinated flocked online to book an appointment. Users trying to get a jab were told: 'The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.' Other users reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.' But shortly after the site crashed, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem had been 'fixed'. Moderna's vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company's jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week. Ministers have bought 17million doses of Moderna's vaccine, which is the third to be added to the NHS' 'armoury', alongside jabs from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Advertisement

Officials in Britain, where the vaccine was first approved, have advised that those aged under 30 should be offered an alternative.

Medical watchdogs insist there is still no proof the jab causes the blood conditions and stressed the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risk.

They only suspended its use in under-30s because the threat of Covid to them is so small.

Young Britons will be offered jabs made by Moderna or Pfizer instead.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is by far the cheapest and most high-volume shot launched so far, and has none of the extreme refrigeration requirements of some others, making it the planned mainstay of many inoculation programmes.

It comes as England's Covid vaccination roll-out was expanded to over-45s today.

But the NHS website for booking appointments crashed just moments after the drive was officially opened up to younger adults.

Users trying to get a jab were told: 'The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.'

Other users reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.'

Health chiefs have moved on to the next stage of the campaign because No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule.

But shortly after the site crashed, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem had been 'fixed'.

Moderna's vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company's jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week.

Ministers have bought 17million doses of Moderna's vaccine, which is the third to be added to the NHS' 'armoury', alongside jabs from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Moderna's jab  as well as leftover supplies of AstraZeneca and Pfizer that haven't been reserved for second doses  will be used to move on to the next phase of the roll-out.

Boris Johnson hailed the 'hugely significant milestone' in the race to inoculate the country, as he said the Government would 'move forward' on its next goal of inviting every adult for a vaccine by the end of July.
The polarizing issues of homelessness, police reform and redevelopment of the Alamo are among those animating the City Council race in District 1, where Councilman Roberto Trevino is seeking re-election to a final term and attempting to fend off five challengers.

Most of Trevinos opponents in the downtown district have never held an elected office. Only Lauro Bustamante, 70, has won a previous race; the attorney was elected to the board of the Edwards Aquifer Authority in 2006 but has since left the post.

Mario Bravo, 45, has garnered more support than any other challenger. An activist and project manager for the Environmental Defense Fund, Bravo said hes driven by a desire for more meaningful public participation in government. He lost a race for county commissioner in 2018.

Raymond Zavala, 69, is a retired contractor who said he has run unsuccessfully for a seat on council every two years since 2001.

Matthew Gauna, a 23-year-old environmental consultant, said he was inspired to run for office after a disappointing experience with the citys Adopt-A-Spot program.

Cyndi Dominguez, 45, is a financial professional and resident of the Dellview neighborhood. Trevino stirred up opposition  and moved Dominguez to run  by welcoming anyone experiencing homelessness to seek help at his field office in the neighborhood, resulting in a steady presence there.

On ExpressNews.com: Voter Guide: May 1 city elections

The councilmans approach to homelessness also spurred the challenge by Zavala, who argues that those who congregate under bridges and highways are trespassing.

We are under siege by the homeless, Zavala said. Im very compassionate, but when you break the law, all bets are off. Youre breaking the law. And if you allow people to break the law once, you open the floodgates.

In February, Trevino and a handful of angry Dellview residents clashed verbally outside the councilmans field office. The residents complain that Trevinos approach has made their neighborhood less safe.

Frankly, he doesnt care about our concerns, said Ernest Salinas, president of the Dellview Neighborhood Association. Hes trying to shame us as criminalizing the homeless, and that couldnt be any further from the truth. We want to help the homeless. All were saying is that facility, his District 1 office, is not the facility to do that.

Bravo echoed this criticism.

I agree with (Trevino), homelessness is not a crime, he said. But I think we can be much more effective with more coordination, more buy-in at the city.  I dont think its an appropriate place for a homeless service center or a shelter in a residential area.

Trevino, 50, has stood his ground.

Someone who comes to the field office and asks for help, were going to give them help because I think that, again, that is what our role is as a city, Trevino said, stressing that his field office is not a homeless encampment.

On a recent afternoon, about seven people lay on the ground outside the councilmans field office, their belongings scattered around them. A 51-year-old woman who gave her name as Miss Moody called it a safe place. She said she refused to go to Haven for Hope, the citys largest homeless shelter, because it was haunted.

At Haven, those experiencing homelessness can receive access to housing, employment and federal benefit application services, among other resources.

Trevino has complained of barriers at Haven, where those using drugs and alcohol are not permitted on the campus. But anyone can access the same resources at the shelters Prospects Courtyard, said David Huete, Havens senior director of transformational services.

A block from Trevinos field office, Shannon St. Cyrs front yard was festooned with anti-Trevino signs  and one supporting Bravo. The reason, the Dellview resident said, was his policy toward the homeless.

Around 4:20 a.m. the previous Saturday, a security camera mounted on her front door recorded a man apparently trying to force his way inside. St. Cyr, 51, posted the video to social media.

They constantly break into our cars, she said. Its just a nuisance. I cant let my granddaughter play in the back yard alone.

Trevino said he does not condone criminal activity. He called the outreach at his field office a success story thats yet to be told.

The councilman has also taken a strong stance on another divisive issue: a ballot measure that would strip from San Antonio police officers the right to bargain for wages and benefits.

Trevino is the only council incumbent who supports the measure, which is being sought by the organization Fix SAPD to stop the police union from influencing how officers accused of misconduct are disciplined.

Most council members, including Mayor Ron Nirenberg, are neutral on the measure; the only other incumbent to stake out a position is District 8 Councilman Manny Pelaez, who opposes it.

Bravo said hes neutral on the proposition, a position that puzzled Ananda Tomas, deputy director at Fix SAPD.

The one that confuses me the most is Mario Bravo, to be honest, because he was there at the beginning, Tomas said. He was there at the beginning in getting this off the ground.

At a recent meeting with the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board, Bravo acknowledged he met last summer with Fix SAPDs leadership to help them strategize on how do you get more police accountability. But he defended his decision to remain neutral now as one of political calculation.

Its one thing to be an activist. Its another thing to be an elected official, Bravo said. I will have to sit at the table with police officers once Im in office and be able to work with them.

He added that he supports many aspects of police reform, such as eliminating a rule that prohibits Police Chief William McManus from disciplining an officer 180 days after an incident has occurred.

Theres some radical language out there and theres some misleading branding of what the two sides stand for, Bravo said. Ive never been for defund the police. Ive been for a more holistic approach.

Trevino said he has come to a better understanding of problems inherent in the citys contract with the police union and regrets voting for it.

We keep traumatizing our community with some of the policies that we have in place, the councilman said. This is something that Ive had top of mind for years.

Trevino, an architect, was at the center of another contentious issue last month when Nirenberg removed him from two committees involved in the $450 million Alamo Plaza redevelopment project, including a committee that the councilman had chaired.

His removal came at the end of a long struggle over the future of the Cenotaph, a memorial to the Alamo defenders.

Trevino had supported moving the 56-foot-tall marble monument in order to tell a more inclusive story about the Alamos indigenous roots and history as a Spanish mission. But many Texans, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, fought to keep the Cenotaph in place, and the Texas Historical Commission voted 12-2 last year to deny the citys request to move it.

In the wake of Trevinos removal from the committees, Bravo has framed the councilmans relationship with the mayor as broken. Trevino countered that he and Nirenberg simply both feel strongly about policy.

We have a working relationship, and thats whats critical, the councilman said. I believe that Im not a rubber stamp.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Local Japanese fishermen angered by govt. decision on Fukushima plant water release

April 13,2021 | Source: Kyodo News

Local fishermen in Fukushima, Japan, expressed anger and frustration at the Japanese government's decision Tuesday to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea, fearing their efforts to restore fishing following the 2011 disaster will go down the drain.



The controversial move came at "the worst time" for fishermen who are stepping up preparations for the restart of full-fledged coastal fishing off Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after years of small-scale, trial fishing -- complete with safety checks for radioactive materials to win back consumer trust -- ended in March.



"Why now? I'm strongly opposed to the release (of treated water)," said Yoshimi Terashima, a fisherman from the Fukushima town of Shinchi. "I want to go fishing every day like I used to," said the 73-year-old, who can do so only twice a week at present.



At the Nakoso fishing port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Katsuo Watanabe, 82, learned about the government decision as he was fixing his fishing equipment.



"The shortage of successors became more serious after the nuclear accident. If (the treated water) is released into the sea, more young people will see no future for the industry and fishing in Fukushima will decline," Watanabe said.



The government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga decided to release into the sea treated radioactive water that has been accumulating at the Fukushima plant, with the controversial operation expected to start in two years' time.



Most radioactive materials such as strontium and cesium are removed from water pumped into the damaged reactors to cool the melted fuel but tritium, which is said to pose little risk to humans in low concentration, remains.



Hiroshi Kishi, who heads the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, called the formal government decision "extremely regrettable and totally unacceptable" in the group's "strong protest." He had expressed firm opposition to the government's move when he met Suga last week.



Kishi took issue with the government's reversal of its earlier stance to gain local approval first.



"It severely hurts the feelings of fishermen not only in Fukushima but across the nation," Kishi said in a statement.



The fishing industry in Fukushima has been grappling with reputational damage and struggling to restore consumer confidence in its marine products. Fishermen in neighboring prefectures such as Ibaraki have also taken a hit.



"It's a decision that will take back the lives of fishermen to 10 years ago," said a 53-year-old fisherman in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki.



Nobuyuki Aizawa, 69, who runs a seafood processing firm in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, showed some understanding of the government decision, saying, "To move the decommissioning of the plant forward, we cannot keep the treated water stored forever."



However, he called for sufficient explanations about the safety of releasing the water into the sea.



Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the Fukushima plant, plans to scrap the nuclear complex by 2041 to 2051.



A series of delays have raised questions about the feasibility of the decommissioning plan and how to dispose of some 1.25 million tons of treated water in tanks on the premises has been a major challenge.

 Kyodo News

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Since the pandemic made every event virtual, it might have become too easy for Samsung to just keep hosting them. The company has sent out invites to another Galaxy Unpacked this month, making it the second one in Spring and the fourth Samsung event this year. This event will be streamed live on Samsung.com on April 28th at 10am Eastern, and the invite teases that "the most powerful Galaxy is coming."

Given Samsung has already launched a slew of phones and a pair of earbuds this year, it's hard to imagine what this launch might unveil. Observers of the company's portfolio might notice that we still haven't seen a foldable phone this year (by this time in 2020, we'd already seen the Galaxy Z Flip) or new smartwatch. Rumors also suggest Samsung is readying its first laptops powered by its own Exynos chips, which could be what we're seeing this month.

We'll be streaming Samsung's event live on our YouTube channel, where we'll host a pre-show and a Q&A after the company is done. Come join the fun, react with us live and get any burning questions answered as quickly as possible.
Struggling through the pandemic? Youre not alone.

We are an affiliate for Faithful Counseling and we may receive compensation for purchasing through our link.

It has been a tough year. We made it through a challenging election season and are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health was a serious issue before 2020, with The National Alliance on Mental Illness reporting that one in five U.S. adults experience mental illness each year. This does not take into consideration the events of 2020, which resulted in an increase in people seeking treatment for mental health and substance abuse concerns.

As Christians, we know the importance of tending to our spiritual health. Colossians 3:16 instructs us: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

However, there is a stigma around seeking help for emotional health, especially for Christians. Many people still do not understand the causes of mental illness or may believe it is a lack of faith. But seeing a secular therapist may not be the right answer for a Christian who views the Bible as the ultimate guidebook for living and recognizes that God is in control even in difficult circumstances.

By combining Biblical wisdom with clinical expertise in mental health, the counselors with Faithful Counseling invite God into the conversation during their counseling sessions. Their goal is to holistically improve clients well-being, so that they may feel mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.

Although this year is looking better as more people receive the vaccine, the ramifications from the pandemic will linger. Similar to natural disasters, a public health crisis has lasting impact. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that four in 10 adults in the United States reported symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic. Many also have difficulties with sleeping and worsening of chronic symptoms as a result.

In the aftermath of a public health crisis like COVID-19, there are often increased rates in substance abuse, post-traumatic symptoms, and depression. COVID-19 adds additional stresses from mitigating the spread with mask wearing and keeping a distance from other people, which limits ability to gain social support. KFF also noted that the mental health impact of disasters lasts longer than the physical one. They highlighted a study of health care providers who experienced psychological distress three years past an outbreak. To maintain or improve mental health in the long-term, people who may benefit from counseling should seek it out now. For those who want professional help to work through these issues, Faithful Counseling offers affordable Christian therapy to address both needs by matching people with the right therapist.

On World Mental Health Day in October of 2020, the World Health Organization noted a significant disruption in mental health services while the demand increased. During the pandemic, much of what we did normally went virtual and counseling is not an exception. Clients have the option for live chat, phone sessions, or video sessions and have positive feedback about remote sessions with Faithful Counseling. There are no long-term commitments and Christian Post readers can get started with 10% off the first month.
[ Spoiler (click to open) ] but pulled her gun by accident, and shot him once, to which she said Oh Shit I just shot him.

More behind the cutIn VA, Army Medic Lieutenant Caron Nazario in uniform, was pulled over because he had a temporary tag for a new vehicle (!!). He drove to a well lit gas station but was repeatedly pepper sprayed and assaulted. He has filed a civil suit. The main cop has already been fired, the other junior cop who looked uncomfortable but didnt challenge their superior, is on suspension. Gov Northam has ordered an investigation. The panel talks about getting rid of the Police Bill of Rights. White people dont get stopped for this nonsense, much less treated this brutally over nothing.In MN, a twenty year old man Duante Wright was pulled over for violation of air freshener on rear view mirror (?) and when they pulled his name, he had an outstanding warrant. After attempting to arrest him and telling him not to run, the man fled in his car. A female cop called out Taser indicating she planned to tase him,He continued to drive a few blocks before crashing his car. EMT arrived but he was pronounced dead on the scene. An independent investigation is underway.Former Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) is promoting his book. Hes attempting to rehabilitate his reputation. He blames T45 for the insurrection. He says theres no voter fraud. Says the GQP has been taken over by kooks and crazies. Meghan rambles. JB says nice things about Biden, thinks hes a good guy, and willing to work with people. Straddles the line with Gaetz but indicates hed be gone already under his reign. He drags Ted Cruz, which we all love, but dont buy the book, just read the free excerpts online. Says McConnell hates Cruz too. His audiobook version has more anecdotes. Tells stories about Senator Cruz being a knucklehead in the House. Calls him Lucifer in the flesh.More talk about Obama not reaching across the aisle, but why would he when losers thought he was a Muslim foreigner. Regrets voting to impeach Clinton because it was only political to win House seats. Thinks the behavior was wrong, but not the same as an actual crime. Meghan MyFamily blah blah. JB tells a story about Don Young and a knife at his throat.Explains a questionable photo with Boehner and Joy. More talk about the book, why now, why didnt he speak sooner. People can be called out about this which is fair aka personal integrity, but nothing wouldve mattered while T45 had a social media mouthpiece. Says he had 5 yrs for personal reflection. Ps Boehner is now in the cannabis industry loool.+++++++++++++++The whole family were ~normal Bush Republicans then went full loco over T45. Gaetz sex trafficking wingman is making a plea deal and is gonna throw Matt Gaetz under the bus. He sent money via Venmo loool. Which is not funny for the crime, but typical of these ding dongs. Ana has her Friday rant and outlines the whole crazy list of everything Gaetz has done. And hes the keynote speaker at a Womens conference. Kinzinger is the only Republican who has called for his resignation. Sara calls out the doubling-down and gaslighting. Sunny outlines more evidence.10 mass shootings in America in one week. Biden unveiled a series of executive actions aimed at addressing gun violence including banning gun kits. It will take legislation, but this is what he can do through EO now. Ana talks about it personally. She lost a cousin in the Pulse massacre. Sara says its fine for now but we need permanent legislation. Whoopi says the car analogy is foolish due to all the regulations of being able drive, own, rent, insure a car. Sunny talks about background checks, supported by Americans, and tackling assault weapons bans again. Clinton era ban showed positive results, then Bush43 allowed ban to expire. Numbers (deaths) dont lie. NRA is a terr0rist organization.Joy says Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, but theyre not available. Sunny says Billy Dee Williams and Mia Farrow, she was going for a visual vibe. Sara says Robert De Niro and Frances McDormand, not the look but their essence. Ana says Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, she wants a man who can cuss in Spanish. Joy comes back with her real answer, Bobby Cannavale and Lady Gaga.Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks about the American Jobs Plan. They talk about gun control, where Americans support reform, but not the GQP elected officials. Filibuster and corporate tax hike. Bidens diverse cabinet and what it means to him. Details about the $2.3T plan, which includes broadband internet and elder care, infrastructure isnt just roads and bridges. Explains about him riding his bike, which he likes to do on occasion, but since he has a security detail, they have to prepare if they have to drive vs him ride his bike. Eg a Tan Suit Scandal from the right. More talk about the systemic racism built into highway construction that either dismantled Black communities, or disenfranchised them by being convenient to white communities but not Black communities.++++++++++++++++++++New Gallup poll shows Democrats have largest increase in Democratic Party affiliation in nearly 10 years. The panel says in different ways that its because the GQP has devolved to conspiracy theorist openly bigoted crazies. Independents have also grown, which really means former Republicans who ditched the GQP but are still moderates. Plus people by and large like what the Biden admin is doing to help Americans, not themselves. Skipped Meghan, then Whoopi has her last say, to refute the nonsense that Meghan spewed.The panel talks about the pros and cons of going to Google to research their symptoms. Joy makes jokes about going to the doctor so a man can see her naked. She likes televisits. Meghan is boring. Sunny talks about her home life with a real doctor and how she uses Google.Kids misbehaving on Zoom getting sent to Zoom detention for misbehaving during video calls. Cmon people, its hard enough for kids doing virtual school, yikes! Meghan reveals she was always in detention, which surprises no one, based on her bratty entitled personality.This lady ran into her friends ex-husband, then they started talking and wanted to date. Sunny says No. Joy says Yes, because that relationship already ended (not an affair), and a convoluted explanation about the father being in good hands. Meghan can never talk about normal pop culture things.Leslie Odom, Jr talks about, where hes nominated for his performance and Best Song. Hes getting closer to an EGOT, having already won a Grammy and a Tony. First he turned down the role but Regina Kings faith in him changed his mind about playing the legendary Sam Cooke.Then he performs his Oscar nominated song+++++++++++++++Americans against proof of vaccine pretend they didnt have to provide vaxx for measles, mumps, rubella, smallpox, polio, dyptheria to start school, go to camp, or have ever traveled outside the USA (eg hepatitis and other vaxx). Vaxx for some international travel has been required for a century, but GQP ding dongs are still doing the most to be the worst. Biden has said no federal mandate, but private businesses can do what they want. Actions or inactions, have consequences. The panel says normal things except Me-again, who doesnt acknowledge the existing requirements during her own lifetime, blames Biden admin for dum dum GQP who dont want to get vaxx, somehow mentions China.Ben Crump, attorney for George Floyd family, talks about the latest in trial proceedings, where the Blue Wall testifies against Chauvin and his tactics. They talk about the impact of testimony on the family, the strength of the prosecutions case. More discussion on the likelihood of a LEO being held accountable for taking someones life. End of first clip drops George Clooney name. Crump says if Chauvin is so confident what he did was fine, then he should volunteer to get down on the floor and let someone perform that maneuver for 9 mins 28 secs.More talk about possible reaction if Chauvin is not punished. Talks about CEO Kelly King (BB&T-Truist) asking Crump to come talk about the systemic racism and who has to do something to find solutions. BC talks about future police reform as a result of George Floyd tragedy.Buzzfeed article about things moms wish they knew sooner. Sara says she didnt instantly feel all the things she expected to, after giving birth. Sunny says things like boys pee in your face while changing diaper, some existential things. Me-again talked about mastitis, and the loss of her beautiful breasts. Joy says once you have a child, youll never have another day worry free or anxiety free.Source links are below each video or section
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference in Geneva Switzerland July 3, 2020. Europe passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths on Monday, as the WHO warned that infections are rising exponentially despite widespread efforts aimed at stopping them. Reuters



Europe passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths on Monday, as the World Health Organization warned that infections are rising exponentially despite widespread efforts aimed at stopping them.



The death toll across Europe's 52 countries, compiled by AFP from official sources, totalled at least 1,000,288 by 1830 GMT.



"We are in a critical point of the pandemic right now," said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19.



"The trajectory of this pandemic is growing... exponentially.



"This is not the situation we want to be in 16 months into a pandemic, when we have proven control measures," she told reporters.



The coronavirus has already killed more than 2.9 million people and infected nearly 136 million across the world.



But despite the sombre news in Europe  the world's worst-hit region  Britain eased curbs for the first time in months on Monday, allowing Britons to enjoy a taste of freedom with a pint and a haircut.



The changes illustrate how fast-vaccinating countries are leaving other  mostly poorer  nations behind.



In South Africa, the president called for African-made vaccines as the continent lags behind, struggling with inadequate supplies as well as a lack of financing and logistical problems.



"Africa needs to harness its own continental capabilities and identify opportunities for collaboration," Cyril Ramaphosa said.



Ramaphosa suggested India or Brazil could help after successfully developing their own generic pharmaceutical industries.



But both giants are battling severe Covid outbreaks, with India overtaking Brazil on Monday as the country with the second-highest number of infections after logging more than 168,000 new cases in a day.





Muslim people offer prayers on the first night of Ramadan at the Istiqlal grand mosque in Jakarta on April 12. AFP



Muslims prepare for second Covid Ramadan



Experts have warned that huge, mostly maskless crowds at political rallies and religious festivals have fuelled India's caseload.



In the Himalayan city Haridwar, maskless Hindu pilgrims on Monday squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder on the banks of the Ganges River for a dip during the Kumbh Mela ritual.



Several Indian regions have tightened their coronavirus measures, with Maharashtra  India's wealthiest state and current epicentre of its epidemic  imposing a weekend lockdown and night curfew.



Neighbouring Bangladesh has announced it will virtually seal itself off, shutting down both international and domestic transport starting Wednesday while shutting offices in an attempt to staunch its own spiralling outbreak.



Across the Muslim world, worshippers are gearing up for the start of their second Ramadan of the pandemic, with the holy fasting month due to kick off in many countries on Tuesday.



In Egypt, the Arab world's most populous nation, the sanitary measures are less strict than a year ago when mosques were shut completely and a curfew was in force.



The mood in Cairo was relatively cheerful as the city prepared for special prayers on Monday night, with bright lights festooning the streets. Many of those rushing around the city shopping for last-minute supplies were maskless, however.



Saudi authorities have meanwhile said that only people immunised against Covid-19 will be allowed to perform the year-round umrah pilgrimage from the start of Ramadan.





People drink and eat outside in Soho in London, April 12. Britain has begun its second phase of unlocking after months of lockdown. Pubs, restaurants and shops are reopening from April 12. EPA
As we continue to kick the prospect of global economic recovery down the road of 2021, caution remains the buzzword of the oil markets. The less changes month-to-month, the more important the role of secondary factors  narratives spun for the benefit of oil producers or refiners, veiled strategies to get the market where the money is for the oil markets greatest. As we shall see, Middle Eastern OSPs increasingly exhibit the willingness of producers to maximize profits in a global market that grows slower than expected. Corroborating this, the OPEC production quota increases have been rather tame, setting both May and June 2021 at 350kbpd and July 2021 at 440kbpd. Throughout this period, Saudi Arabia will restore the 1mbpd it had pledged to cut back in February. This means that by July 2021, i.e. the peak of the summer season where most refiners usually prefer to run maximum capacity, OPEC will only be producing the same amount as they planned for November-December 2020.

Graph 1. Saudi Aramco Official Selling Prices for Asia in 2018-2021 (vs Oman/Dubai Average).

Source: Saudi Aramco.

There were both bullish and bearish factors to be accounted for in Aramcos May 2021 OSPs, the traditional harbinger of pricing strategies to come in the Middle East. On the one hand, the M1-M3 Dubai spread jumped 50 cents per barrel from February and averaged 1.19 USD per barrel in March. In addition to this, refining margins for light distillates looked fairly robust in March, the regional gasoline swap crack moved to its highest in 16 months. On the other hand, spot trading of Saudi crudes after the above-the-market appreciation of light grades in April 2021 has been relatively meagre. The 50 cent per barrel hiking of Arab Heavy and Arab Medium seems rather counterintuitive as market demand for heavier barrels was much weaker than for lighter grades. This might imply that Saudi Aramco now cares more about the grand message/narratives it puts out into the market than about the actual mirroring of the current supply and demand balance, cognizant of the persisting challenges to bounce back to full demand in Asia.

Related Video: Irans Oil Exports Render Sanctions Irrelevant

Graph 2. Saudi Aramco Official Selling Prices for NW Europe in 2018-2021 (vs Brent Bwave).

Source: Saudi Aramco.

This being said, Saudi Aramco decided on a 20-50 cents per barrel increase with its Asia-bound May 2021 prices. Interestingly, the heavier the grade the bigger was the month-on-month hike, with both Arab Heavy and Arab Medium witnessing 50-cent upward moves, fuelling speculation that spot trading will bring about deep discounts to the OSP. After a blatantly weak February (4.56mbpd), Saudi loadings en route to Asian customers remained tame in March 2021 at 4.58mbpd. Compared to January 2021 (5.36mbpd), Saudi exports to Asia have fallen by more than 10% over the course of past two months and the aggressive Saudi pricing might insinuate that this trend is here to stay further on. In contrast to Asia, Saudi Aramcos OSPs for its Europe-bound cargoes in May were stagnant, Arab Light was the only grade not to be rolled over month-on-month, seeing a modest 20 cent per barrel decrease to -$2.40 per barrel against ICE Bwave.

Graph 3. Official Selling Prices of ADNOC in 2017-2021 (vs Dubai Average).

Source: ADNOC.

Saudi Arabias aggressive pricing policy vis-a-vis its key Asian customers such as India or China will only boost the increasing flows coming in from West Africa and the United States. The government in New Delhi even instructed the countrys state refiners to cut reliance on Middle Eastern barrels, creating a double motivation to bring in lighter (and cheaper) supplies. The United Arab Emirates has seen its crude exports to India for 3 consecutive months already, prompting ADNOC to seek buyers farther out  luckily for the Emirati NOC both South Korea and Japan found the lighter Murban and Das much to their liking in March-April 2021. With its May 2021 official selling prices, ADNOC opted for another layer of nuanced, increasing all grades by 35 cents per barrel from April.

Comparing Murban, ADNOCs flagship grade, with its direct Saudi competitor Arab Extra Light (both 40 API, around 1% Sulphur though the Emirati barrels are less sulphurous) shows that on all recent occasions that Aramco chose to go aggressive with its pricing, ADNOC cuts down some 5-15 cents per barrel from its price increase. The difference in pricing bases notwithstanding (Saudi is priced against the Oman/Dubai average whilst ADNOC relies on the Platts-operated Dubai), ADNOC has effectively been ridding itself of some profits. All the while one might notice ADNOCs propensity to mellow the Saudi ambition for steeper price hikes, the Emirati OSPs will matter less now that ADNOC has launched ICE Futures Abu Dhabi (IFAD). From now on, Murban OSPs will be based on the grades two-month-in-advance futures contract settlement. All the other ADNOC grades will continue to be defined in differentials to Murban.

Graph 4. Kuwaiti Super Light Crude Premium vs Oman/Dubai Average // vs Arab Extra Light in 2018-2021 (USD per barrel).

Source: KPC.

For the second time in history, the Kuwaiti national oil company KPC has set its flagship KEB and KSLC grades at the same level of +$0.7 per barrel to the Oman/Dubai average. Comparing the May 2021 OSPs to April, KPC has hiked KEB and KSLC by 45 and 30 cents per barrel, respectively, implying that Kuwaits pricing policy was rather to the aggressive side, i.e. in line with the general line of Saudi Aramco for the forthcoming month. Kuwait carried out some noteworthy success stories in the past month, with 7.2 MMbbls KEB sailing towards Japan in March 2021, the highest since July 2020. Other traditional partners South Korea and India adding 9 MMbbls each to Kuwaits last month supply tally, effectively accounting for more than half of Kuwaits total crude exports. Related: Chinas Oil Imports Surge Ahead Of Refinery Maintenance Season

The Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO took its time with May 2021 OSPs and only published them on April 12, roughly a week after Saudi Aramco. The additional weeks deliberation has once again nudged SOMO to opt for a more moderate, more nuanced pricing policy for May 2021. Although it raised both Basrah Heavy and Basrah Medium going to Asia by the same 50 cents per barrel than Saudi Aramco did its heavier grades, the lightest of the Iraqi slate Basrah Light saw a modest 10 cents per barrel increase to a +$1.4 per barrel premium over the Oman/Dubai average. Basrah Light has already had a great March in terms of crude exports to Asia, hitting a total of 47.5 MMbbls (almost triple of what it was in February), one should expect strong demand for the grade in the upcoming months, too.

Graph 5. The official Selling Prices for Iraqi Crudes to Europe (FOB Basrah/Kirkuk) in 2018-2021.

Source: SOMO.

In an another display of great nuance, SOMOs pricing policy towards should be noted separately. Whilst Saudi Aramco rolled over most of its April OSPs into May 2021, SOMO has dropped every single grade, even Basrah Heavy, albeit at a symbolic 5 cents per barrel (to a -$5.35 discount to Brent). Once again, Basrah Light is the most-discounted grade, decreasing 50 cents per barrel from April to a -$3 per barrel discount to Dated. It needs to be admitted though that the time it took SOMO to issue its May 2021 OSPs has played into the hands of the Iraqis as Europes flagship medium crude Urals went into a freefall, hitting deep discounts that it last witnessed at the peak of the 2020 spring COVID-depression (CFR Urals in the Mediterranean attained -$2.1 per barrel and plummeted to -$2.6 per barrel in the Baltics).

Graph 6. Official Selling Prices for Iranian Crudes to Asia (FOB Kharg Island vs Oman/Dubai Average) in 2018-2021 (USD per barrel).

Source: NIOC.

On the back of the JCPOA negotiations progressing steadily in Vienna, Iran is consolidating its efforts to mark a gradual comeback to the markets. Concurrently to the nuclear talks, Tehran revived links with OPEC  the prospect of Iranian barrels flooding the markets as soon as US sanctions are lifted presents a quite deleterious future for the oil cartels leaders. Difficult as it is to track Iranian tankers with their transponders off, one can claim that March 2021 has seen a tangible resuscitation of interest towards Iranian barrels, especially from China. Further rapprochement of the two nations can be already considered a certainty, after Tehran and Beijing signed a 25-year trade and security cooperation agreement (the text of which remains hidden from public eyes), under which China promised investment into Iranian infrastructure in return for greater access to Iranian oil.

Graph 7. Iranian Light vs Arab Light Premia in 2018-2021 (against Oman/Dubai Average, USD per barrel).

Source: NIOC / Saudi Aramco.

The Iranian national oil company NIOC has raised its Asia-bound official selling prices for May 2021 by 35-50 cents per barrel. The heavy sour Soroosh (19 API, 3.9% Sulphur content) saw the largest month-on-increase, moving to a -2.85 per barrel discount to the Oman/Dubai average. This means that NIOC continues with its penchant to see Iranian Light 15-20 cents per barrel cheaper than its Saudi peer, Arab Light (before the onset of US sanctions Iranian Light was routinely assessed at a premium). NIOC shied away from the full-on Iraqi opening towards Europe, dropping prices by 15-35 cents per barrel, prepping the erstwhile favourite of Mediterranean refiners, Iranian Light.

By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The launch stands out "as an icon of India-Vietnam defense partnership" and reflects India's commitment towards building the capacity of the Vietnamese military, says Pranay Verma, India's ambassador to Vietnam. He added that the comprehensive strategic partnership and defence relations between the countries would contribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The Indian embassy added that despite disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic, the joint project has progressed at a rapid pace.

Vietnam is making full use of the $100-million line of credit (LoC) extended by India in October 2014 during the State visit of the then Vietnamese Prime Minister to India. The two nations extended their relations to that of "comprehensive strategic partnership" and have been cementing military ties since then. The patrol boat, to be used by the Coast Guard will help Vietnam strengthen regional security, detect illegal activities, curb smuggling and assist in search and rescue operations.

Under the strategic partnership, India is supporting Vietnam, that lies in the critical and highly disputed South China Sea region, to build 12 high-speed patrol vessels for the Vietnamese Coast Guard. Of these, five are being built in Chennai at the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shipyard while seven will be constructed in Hai Phong, Vietnam, with the company's assistance.

Keeping China in the cross-hairs, the two nations have consistently maintained a high level of interaction at the diplomatic and military levels.

On 21 December 2000, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had held a virtual summit with the then Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan, who is now the President of the country as well as the head of the party. The two leaders discussed regional and global issues along with ideas to boost the India-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership.

Before that Vietnam had invited Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus in December 2000, which discussed regional and maritime security along with cyber-crime.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar in his meetings with Vietnam in November 2020 had stressed upon the growing interest in the Indo-Pacific as an integrated and organic maritime space, with ASEAN at its centre.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative/
Lindsay Boylan, 36

Former aide Lindsay Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment in a Medium post on February 24. She claimed that the governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017.

Lindsay Boylan, 36

Charlotte Bennett, 25

Charlotte Bennett, 25, came forward a few days after Boylan and claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her last June while she was working as a health policy adviser in his administration at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

Bennett accused Cuomo of 'grooming' her and asking inappropriate questions about her sex life.

She also claimed that he told her he was open to dating women in their 20s.

BENNETT said the governor asked her about her love life - including whether she ever had sex with older men - and talked about his own, saying that age differences didn't matter in relationships and he was open to dating women over 22.

During a meeting alone in his office, the governor said he was lonely and talked about wanting to hug someone, Bennett said.

She said she swiftly complained to Cuomo's chief of staff and was transferred to another job.

She said she spoke to a lawyer for the governor, but didnt insist on further action because she liked her new post and wanted to move on.

Charlotte Bennett, 25

Anna Ruch, 33

Anna Ruch was the third woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment and the only one thus far who did not work with him in a professional capacity. She claimed that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her just moments after they met at a September 2019 wedding in Manhattan.

Anna Ruch, 33

Ana Liss, 35

Ana Liss, 35, a former aide, said Cuomo asked her whether she had a boyfriend, once kissed her hand at her desk and called her by patronizing names, including 'blondie,' 'sweetheart' and 'honey.'

At a reception, the governor hugged her then put his arm around her lower back and waist as they posed for photo, Liss said.

She said she eventually asked for a job transfer. In an interview, Liss said she was 'not claiming sexual harassment per se,' but felt the administration 'wasn't a safe space for young women to work.'

Liss, who previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, told the Wall Street Journal that during her time in his administration, the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life.

Ana Liss, 35

Karen Hinton, 62

The oldest allegations against Cuomo came from Karen Hinton, who served as a press aide for him when he led the US Department of Housing and Urban Development two decades ago and she was a consultant for the agency. Hinton told the Washington Post about a 2000 incident when she said Cuomo summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event. She said she tried to pull away from Cuomo when he pulled her back and held her before she managed to escape the room.

Karen Hinton, 62

Unnamed sixth accuser

The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from a sixth accuser, whose name has not been released.

The accuser, who is a member of Cuomo's staff, alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor's mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone, according to the Times Union of Albany.

It first reported on her accusation last month; she then gave more detail in her first interview on the matter, published Wednesday.

The woman spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, although her identity is known within the governors circle, the Times Union reported.

The woman, an executive assistant, told the Times Union the governor gave her kisses on the cheek and inappropriately tight hugs for years and made remarks including, 'If you were single, the things that I would do to you' and 'I'm single and ready to mingle.'

Then, one day in November, she was summoned to his Executive Mansion office to help him with a cellphone problem, she said.

He got up from his desk, started groping her and told her 'I don't care' after she tried to deflect him by saying he was going to get them into trouble, and then he slammed the door, she said.

Then he reached under her blouse and clutched one of her breasts over her bra, she told the newspaper.

The woman told a colleague this winter about the alleged encounter, and the co-worker told a supervisor in early March, according to the newspaper.

Cuomo called the report 'gut-wrenching' in a March statement and said: 'I have never done anything like this.'

Another female aide, who has remained anonymous, claimed he called her to his Executive Mansion last year, reached under her blouse and fondled her

Jessica Bakeman

Jessica Bakeman claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her journalism career in 2012.

Bakeman added her voice as the seventh accuser as she detailed inappropriate touching by the governor as he continued to deny all of the claims.

'He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go,' Bakeman wrote of an interaction with Cuomo as she said goodnight at a holiday party in 2014 when she was only 25 years old.

'He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.'

At the time Bakeman had been working for what is now Politico New York and claimed that red flags went up as her 'job was to analyze and scrutinize him'.

'I didn't want a photo of him with his hands on my body and a smile on my face,' she wrote.

Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who once covered the Cuomo administration, was the seventh woman to come forward with claims of harassment

'But I made the reflexive assessment that most women and marginalized people know instinctively, the calculation about risk and power and self-preservation. I knew it would be far easier to smile for the brief moment it takes to snap a picture than to challenge one of the most powerful men in the country.'

In an earlier 2012 incident while she was working for USA Today, Bakeman also claims that Cuomo kept her pinned to his side as he told a story to her male colleagues.

'He left it there, and kept me pinned next to him, for several minutes as he finished telling his story,' she said. 'I stood there, my cheeks hot, giggling nervously as my male colleagues did the same. We all knew it was wrong, but we did nothing.'

The reporter, who now works in Florida, claimed that Cuomo 'never let me forget I was a woman' as she also alleged that he made frequent attempts to humiliate her, including calling out her purple phone instead of answering her question during a press gaggle.

Alyssa McGrath, 33

McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo's office, told The New York Times that he looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.

McGrath didn't say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment.

She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party.

Alyssa McGrath (pictured) is one of two aides who have come forward to accuse the governor of harassment

Sherry Vill, 55

Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred on Monday.

She alleges Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her 'aggressively and in a sexual manner' on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage.

Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek and her attorney held up multiple photos showing the Governor inside her home.

The same photos appear on Cuomo's Flickr account, as well as multiple others that show him kissing and greeting residents as he toured the town.

None of the women in the other photos have accused the governor of inappropriate behavior or wrongdoing.
- By GF Value





The stock of Lincoln Electric Holdings (NAS:LECO, 30-year Financials) gives every indication of being significantly overvalued, according to GuruFocus Value calculation. GuruFocus Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on the historical multiples that the stock has traded at, the past business growth and analyst estimates of future business performance. If the price of a stock is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher. At its current price of $122.56 per share and the market cap of $7.3 billion, Lincoln Electric Holdings stock is believed to be significantly overvalued. GF Value for Lincoln Electric Holdings is shown in the chart below.





Lincoln Electric Holdings Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Significantly Overvalued

Because Lincoln Electric Holdings is significantly overvalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be much lower than its future business growth, which averaged 3.8% over the past three years and is estimated to grow 0.92% annually over the next three to five years.

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

Companies with poor financial strength offer investors a high risk of permanent capital loss. To avoid permanent capital loss, an investor must do their research and review a company's financial strength before deciding to purchase shares. Both the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage of a company are a great way to to understand its financial strength. Lincoln Electric Holdings has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.36, which which ranks worse than 74% of the companies in Industrial Products industry. The overall financial strength of Lincoln Electric Holdings is 6 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Lincoln Electric Holdings is fair. This is the debt and cash of Lincoln Electric Holdings over the past years:

Story continues

Lincoln Electric Holdings Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Significantly Overvalued

It poses less risk to invest in profitable companies, especially those that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. A company with high profit margins is also typically a safer investment than one with low profit margins. Lincoln Electric Holdings has been profitable 10 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $2.7 billion and earnings of $3.41 a share. Its operating margin is 12.33%, which ranks better than 77% of the companies in Industrial Products industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks the profitability of Lincoln Electric Holdings at 8 out of 10, which indicates strong profitability. This is the revenue and net income of Lincoln Electric Holdings over the past years:

Lincoln Electric Holdings Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Significantly Overvalued

Growth is probably the most important factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long term stock performance of a company. A faster growing company creates more value for shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. The 3-year average annual revenue growth of Lincoln Electric Holdings is 3.8%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Industrial Products industry. The 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -3.7%, which ranks in the middle range of the companies in Industrial Products industry.

Another way to evaluate a company's profitability is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it indicates that the company is creating value for shareholders. Over the past 12 months, Lincoln Electric Holdings's ROIC was 13.90, while its WACC came in at 8.19. The historical ROIC vs WACC comparison of Lincoln Electric Holdings is shown below:

Lincoln Electric Holdings Stock Shows Every Sign Of Being Significantly Overvalued

In summary, The stock of Lincoln Electric Holdings (NAS:LECO, 30-year Financials) is estimated to be significantly overvalued. The company's financial condition is fair and its profitability is strong. Its growth ranks in the middle range of the companies in Industrial Products industry. To learn more about Lincoln Electric Holdings stock, you can check out its 30-year Financials here.

To find out the high quality companies that may deliever above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


By Nancy Erika Smith

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has introduced amendments to the states Law Against Discrimination with important input from the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. The amendments, which follow changes made to the New York law, would eliminate the judge-created requirement that victims of harassment must show the harassment was severe or pervasive.

Business interests have complained that the amendment will require employers to defend themselves against insignificant matters. But a very short sampling of the hundreds of cases around the country that judges have found to fail to meet the severe or pervasive standard include cases were:

 Use of the n-word, confederate flags and KKK symbols in the workplace;

 Confederate flags were displayed, racist graffiti and a noose were in the bathroom, and the n-word was used in the workplace;

 A supervisor repeatedly referred to Black workers with the n-word;

 A supervisor told a worker she was voted the sleekest ass in the office and deliberately touched her breasts;

 A supervisor tried repeatedly to kiss a subordinate, asked her on dates, repeatedly fondled her shoulders, called her a dumb blond and put I love you signs in her work areas;

 A supervisor made comments about a womens breasts, asked to lick whipped cream and wine off of her, hugged and touched her, rubbed her shoulders, arms and buttocks and sent inappropriate texts;

 A supervisor slapped a female subordinate on the buttocks (the judge found it unreasonable to think that a womans boss slapping her on the butt was harassing).

How do we stop abusive racist and sexist behavior in the workplace if this kind of conduct is deemed lawful?

The other criticisms from business interests are equally wrong. For example, under existing law, if the employee wins his/her/their case, the employer has to pay the employees lawyer. Lawyers for the employer frequently complain that this fee-shifting provision  designed to encourage lawyers to take risky, time-consuming cases against well-financed corporate law firms  makes it harder to settle cases.

It is ironic to hear complaints from employers lawyers about the costs of litigation. In my 40 years of experience as a lawyer for victims of discrimination and harassment, the employers lawyers frequently drive up the costs of litigation. They put multiple lawyers on every task, even when representing the state. They work for multimillion-dollar global law firms at which the partners make multiple millions of dollars a year. Even the state uses taxpayer money in this way when it is sued for discrimination and harassment.

In fact, studies show that the typical corporate defense lawyer makes much more money than the typical lawyer for employees. Unlike corporate defense counsel, most employee lawyers make nothing if they do not win (or settle because after the employers lawyer makes a lot of money the employer wants to settle and not risk a jury verdict). There is an incentive for the employees lawyers not to bring frivolous cases. If they lose, they dont get paid. There is little incentive for a companys lawyers to quickly resolve cases  and they are almost never resolved by firing the harasser and protecting the victim.

Social science has shown that employers who are serious about preventing racist and sexist harassment and discrimination have higher productivity and employee morale. The argument that its bad for business to have robust laws preventing this cancer on our society is simply false. Those who oppose this amendment to the Laws Against Discrimination argue that a little racist and sexist harassment in your workplace should be O.K. Hopefully, our Legislature and Governor Murphy disagree.

Nancy Erika Smith is a partner at Smith Mullin in Montclair. She previously served as chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association Labor and Employment Section and on the Board of Governors of the New Jersey Association for Justice.

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Real Madrid's Clasico win over Barcelona might well go a long way to determining where this season's LaLiga Santander title will end up.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have roared back to close the gap to Atletico Madrid at the top of the table, while Sevilla in fourth are only six points off top themselves.

But MARCA readers believe that Zinedine Zidane's Los Blancos are favourites, following a poll conducted after Matchday 30.

Real Madrid got 70 percent of the votes, while 26 percent of people think the title will go to the Camp Nou. Strikingly, though, only four percent of readers have faith in Atletico Madrid seeing the job through.

Curiously, Real Madrid and Barcelona have now lost one game apiece in their last 20 league fixtures, while Atletico have lost two in their last 10. They have also drawn four of those matches, so they have dropped 14 of a possible 30 points in this period.

What is beginning to look clear is that Atletico's trip to face Barcelona at the Camp Nou on May 9, in Matchday 35, could end up being decisive in the destination of the title.

Sevilla, meanwhile, won't be ruled out of the title race just yet though, after their win at Celta Vigo on Monday.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 01:56:24|Editor: huaxia

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Students wearing face masks talk in their high school in Glyfada, a southern suburb of Athens, Greece, on April 12, 2021. In Greece, high school students returned to classrooms nationwide on Monday after five months of remote learning, although the nationwide lockdown, which started on Nov. 7, 2020, is still in force. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Parts of Europe on Monday edged further toward normalcy as the situation improved in their countries despite concerns over the third wave of coronavirus on the European continent.

Experts have warned that European countries could risk a repeat of the disaster if the lockdowns were lifted too soon or the public fail to stick to rules.

UK: A MAJOR STEP TOWARDS FREEDOM

In England, all shops are reopening from Monday along with hairdressers, beauty salons and other close-contact services.

Restaurants and pubs are allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors. Meanwhile, gyms, spas, zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centers can all open.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the latest progress as "a major step forward in our roadmap to freedom".

"I urge everyone to continue to behave responsibly and remember 'hands, face, space and fresh air' to suppress COVID as we push on with our vaccination programme," he said in a statement.

Britain appears currently to be in a strong position, as reaffirmed by the government, with almost 40 million combined first and second vaccine doses now administered.

However, British scientists have warned that the government is risking a third wave of COVID-19 by easing the lockdown too soon as some parts of Britain still have higher rates of infection.

"We need to tackle that issue urgently or the virus will come back again," Leeds University medical school Associate Professor Stephen Griffin told the Observer newspaper.

"It's worrying. There are far too many virus hotspots and not enough attention being paid to controlling infections that might spread from them," said Griffin.

Also on Monday, Ireland started to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions as scheduled.

As a result, people are allowed to travel freely within the county where they live or within 20 kilometers from their home, with outdoor gatherings permitted for no more than two households, in-classroom education for all primary and secondary school students resumed, and all residential construction projects reopened.

A PRECARIOUS EUROPE

The situation may be more precarious in other parts of Europe, especially on the European continent.

Major countries like France, Germany and Italy have tightened restrictions to fight a resurge of coronavirus as the vaccination rates in these countries remain relatively low.

In Germany, for instance, 13,245 new infection cases and 99 new deaths were reported within the past day, according to the latest data from the country's disease control agency Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday: "The third wave (of the pandemic) is perhaps the toughest one for us." She stressed the need to strengthen vaccination and testing to "break the third wave".

A week after France entered its third lockdown, the number of new COVID-19 cases "remains very high," Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday. "We can expect that after a period of stabilisation comes the fall. But for that, we must keep going."

On Sunday, the cumulative number of coronavirus infections in France surged by 34,895 and another 176 people have died, data from health authorities showed.

However, countries, including Greece, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, are moving to ease their lockdowns.

The 11-day period of strict lockdown in Slovenia ended on Monday as the country entered the red tier of coronavirus restrictions under an overhauled traffic light system. The night curfew is gone after nearly six months and schools are once again open along with most service businesses.

Slovenian Health Minister Janez Poklukar has said that while the lockdown is being relaxed, the country is well in the third wave of the epidemic, whose extent is difficult to fully predict.

Meanwhile, shops in Serbia started to reopen from Monday, in addition to the already opening of restaurants providing service outdoors.

In Greece, high school students returned to classrooms nationwide on Monday after five months of remote learning, although the nationwide lockdown, which started on Nov. 7, 2020, is still in force.

With the self-testing and the acceleration of the vaccination program the country aims to start lifting the final restrictions in May, officials have said.

The Finnish government has published a plan for possible easing of current restrictions, which will be implemented as the country's anti-coronavirus efforts pay off.

Under the plan, the total closure of restaurants in high infection areas, including the capital Helsinki, will end in April. Primary schools and secondary schools will also return to classroom teaching in April.

In the Czech Republic, the state of emergency ended on Sunday, which means the start of movement between districts and the end to the current night curfew on Monday.

Meanwhile, lower graders of primary schools started returning to schools while selected shops and services were allowed to reopen,

In Latvia, as the state of emergency ended on Wednesday last week, retailers were rushing to reopen their stores to shoppers.

In Malta, childcare centres, kindergartens and primary schools reopened on Monday, to be followed by middle schools and secondary schools later this week.

Sarah Cassar, 37, a Maltese teacher and a mother of three, voiced "mixed feelings" about the return of her children to the classroom, even though she was happy to see her kids going back to school and interact with other children.

"I am rather worried about the possibility of getting infected in class...I am also concerned about the rate of transmission within households. According to the health authorities, that is where the new cases are spreading most. We need more discipline," she told Xinhua.

"I really hope we get this pandemic under control and everyone can start living their lives again," she added.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem
A Southern California couple who closed on a $560,000 dream home weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic finally took control of the house after the former owner used a ban on evictions to squat inside the home for 15 months.

Cell phone video from last fall shows the moment Tracie Albert and her friends confronted the squatter who refused to leave the Riverside, California home that he had sold to her and her husband.

Tracie and Myles Albert used up all of their life savings to pay for the four-bedroom house back in January of last year, CBS Los Angeles reported.

The couple closed on a contract with the seller on January 31, 2020 and were supposed to move in that day.

The seller, who Tracie Albert identified to DailyMail.com as Hossam Boktor, 'did not request any time after escrow to move out,' she said.

Cell phone video from last fall shows a Southern California woman confront the seller of a home she and her husband bought in Riverside. Tracie Albert is seen in the maroon shirt

The seller had been squatting inside the home for the past 15 months after taking the buyers' cash in January 2020

The squatter was identified as Hossam Boktor. He is seen standing at the doorway with a tire iron as he is confronted by Tracie Albert, 39

Tracie and her husband, Myles, used up their life savings and paid $560,000 for their four-bedroom dream house in Riverside, California (above)

Tracie, 39, and her husband, Myles, 41, are seen above. She works as a real estate agent. Her husband is an auctioneer

The couple was shocked to learn that when they arrived at the home to move in, they were told by the seller that he had no intention of leaving.

Tracie told DailyMail.com that she and her husband paid the seller the entire sum in cash.

She said she was told by the Riverside County Sheriff's Office that in order to evict the seller, she needed to obtain a court order from a judge.

In order to obtain the court order, however, she needed to file paperwork with the county proving that the property belonged to her.

After pocketing the money from selling the house, Boktor refused to leave. Just as the couple finished filing the paperwork to evict him last spring, California entered a shutdown due to the pandemic. A few days later, an eviction moratorium was declared statewide

Under California law, for a landlord to evict a tenant they must issue a three-day pay or quit notice, officially informing the tenant that they have three days to either pay outstanding rent or leave.

After the three days are up, landlords must wait 30 days if the tenant stays on the premises without paying.

If the tenant doesn't pay within that allotted time, the landlord can obtain an unlawful detainer.

After filing the paperwork, the landlord obtains a writ of possession from a judge. That document is then taken to the sheriff's office.

The sheriff has between three to 15 days to serve the writ. After the tenant is served the writ, they have five days to vacate the property.

If the tenant refuses, the sheriff will have between six and 15 days to physically evict the tenant.

Tracie told DailyMail.com that by the time she had filed all of the paperwork to evict the seller, the state imposed its COVID-19 shutdown and there were no judges in the local courts to execute the eviction notices.

'That week I was supposed to be getting my writ down was when the state went into lockdown, she said.

'If you were in Arizona, if you were in Nevada, this wouldn't be a problem, you would just go take your house back,' Myles Albert told Fox 11 TV.

'But in California, like our hands are tied, even though we're on your side, there's nothing we can do.'

Throughout the lockdown, Tracie, 39, and her husband, Myles, 41, remained in their old home in Costa Mesa.

Tracie told DailyMail.com that the seller finally moved out of the home last week. She believes that the media attention the story received as well as the state's lifting of restrictions pushed the seller to finally give up the home.

'He figured it was going to happen now with all of the publicity,' she said.

'He probably didn't want to get locked out by the sheriff.'

Tracie said that she's not sure if she and her husband will stay in the home given the negative feelings it has generated.

'We don't even know if we want to move into that house now because i kind of hate it,' she said.

'It's not really what I wanted when we bought it.'

As the coronavirus began to spread in the United States last March, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a stay-at-home order for the nation's most populous state. The order went into effect on March 19, 2020.

Myles and Tracie Albert, who had previously lived in Costa Mesa, California, said the experience has left them disenchanted with the home and they are considering whether to sell it

A week later, Newsom issued another order 'banning the enforcement of eviction orders for renters affected by COVID-19.'

That moratorium has been extended to this day and will last through at least June.

Last month, the Biden administration said it was extending a federal moratorium on evictions of tenants who have fallen behind on rent during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moved to continue the pandemic-related protection, which had been scheduled to expire on March 31. The moratorium is now extended through the end of June.

The ban, initially put in place last year, provides protection for renters out of concern that having families lose their homes and move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the highly contagious virus, which has killed more than 545,000 people in the United States.

To be eligible for the housing protection, renters must earn $198,000 annually or less for couples filing jointly, or $99,000 for single filers; demonstrate that they've sought government help to pay the rent; declare that they can't pay because of COVID-19 hardships; and affirm they are likely to become homeless if evicted.

In February, President Joe Biden extended a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 to help homeowners struggling during the pandemic.

Housing advocates had generally expected the extension of the tenant eviction moratorium and had been lobbying the Biden administration, saying it was too early in the country's economic recovery to let the ban lapse.

Landlords in several states have sued to scrap the order, arguing it was causing them financial hardship and infringing on their property rights.

They remain opposed to any extension, saying it does nothing to address the financial challenges facing renters and landlords.

There are at least six prominent lawsuits challenging the authority of the CDC ban.

So far, three judges have sided with the ban and three have ruled against, with all cases currently going through appeals.

One judge in Memphis declared the CDC order unenforceable in the entire Western District of Tennessee.
Russian Ambassador to Argentina inoculated with Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

Buenos Aires, Apr 13 (Sputnik) Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov has been inoculated with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the embassy told reporters.

"Russian Ambassador to Argentina Dmitry Feoktistov was inoculated with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine," the embassy said.

It said the diplomat felt good and did not have side effects. The embassy clarified the vaccine had been provided by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and was not part of batches intended for Argentina.
The Guiyang house church elder who was detained by the authorities for more than two weeks was charged of "fraud" to justify his sudden transfer to another facility on the night before his release date.



The International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that Elder Zhang Chunlei, a leader at Guiyang Ren'ai Reformed Church, was supposed to walk free on March 28 when he was immediately charged of "fraud." Details of the said charge are still not available. Additionally, those that were detained with him were also freed sooner than Zhang's supposed last day of detention.

In an earlier report, Zhang and 12 other Christians were detained and questioned by Guiyang's police for holding an 'illegal assembly' which was also a 'large-scale gathering.' They were having a peaceful Bible study at a hotel when the police raided their location. The authorities also the elder's home and confiscated some of his valuables. They just told the wife that he will be detained for 11 days.

A follow up report states that Zhang's wife, Yang Aiqing, was just informed of her husband's transfer on March 28. She was told that the transfer happened the night before and no further explanation. The day after, police told Yang that her husband is now being 'criminally detained' but with no clear details as to what charge and for how long.

China Aid was able to reach Zhang's lawyer. He said that he was prevented from seeing his client on April 1. Four days later, he was finally able to see Zhang. The bedraggled elder told his lawyer that he has not slept much since his transfer from the detention center.

A Christian who knows Zhang told ICC that the authorities might use any means to make the church elder compromise his profession of the Christian faith. But Zhang is reputed to be a "tough man" who, like other Chinese Christians who have been arrested, will not easily flip even when faced with threats.

He was also reportedly among the first protestant pastors who signed the "Declaration of the Christian Faith" prepared by Pastor Wang Yi.

The ICC correspondent noted that the Chinese authorities have cooked up several charges they can accuse Christians with ranging from "subversion of state power," "illegal business operation," "illegal publication," "embezzlement," to "crossing borders illegally."

Because Christianity is seen as a threat to the CCP regime, the correspondent believes that their goal is "to keep them quiet and reduce their influence as most of them are leaders." Those who will refuse to accept CCP's conditions will suffer more injustices. But for those who will compromise, they will need to register their church with the bureau on religious affairs and join the CCP's Three-Self Church.

To date, Guiyang city, along with other cities with numerous Christian populations, has become one of the focal points for church crackdowns. Sadly, some locals work with city authorities in locating Christian gatherings which they labeled as "illegal religious activities." Just this February, Church Times predicts that the crackdowns on churches will worsen in China through the help of "half-a-billion digital surveillance cameras."
Archer Roose's new offering, Limited Edition Sampler Pack, falls in line with its eco-friendly portfolio while featuring two of the brand's most celebrated wines, Rose (91 points) and Sauvignon Blanc (89 points). Archer Roose's mission is to make wine more accessible to consumers. By tapping into the popularity of variety packs, as exemplified by volume sales of a leading hard-seltzer brand's berry variety pack increasing 156% year-to-date through May 17, and up a staggering 563% for its tropical mixed variety pack, as reported by IRI in July 2020, Archer Roose's Limited Edition Sampler Pack becomes one of the first canned wine variety packs on the market.

"Archer Roose was founded on prominent values that will continue to help shape the decisions we make as a company," explained Marian Leitner-Waldman, Founder of Archer Roose. "Two of those foundational beliefs are that wine should be made with mindfulness to the planet and to the lifestyles of those who drink them. Adding in a variety pack to our portfolio keeps us true to our word as this offering not only minimizes waste through sampling, but it fits into our consumers lifestyle of wanting to try different wines with one purchase."

The Limited Edition Sampler Pack is rolling out on shelves throughout April 2021 in select retailers throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Alabama, D.C., Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Texas. The pack's suggested retail is $14.99, containing four cans comprised of two Rose and two Sauvignon Blanc varietals. Each 250 mL can contains 13% ABV.

About Archer Roose

Archer Roose takes pride in the craftsmanship of our wine. We return to the foundation of wine as it was - garnering relationships with the winemaking community, preserving terroir, and sourcing the highest quality wine with the highest quality grapes. But we also shape the foundation of wine as it should be - with mindfulness to the planet and to the lifestyles of those who drink them. We create the new tradition, fitting Archer Roose wines into the modern lifestyle for the modern drinker.

For more information, please visit www.archerroose.com and check out our Instagram and Facebook.

Press Contact

Taylor Foxman

[email protected]

609-432-2237

SOURCE Archer Roose
David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. His email is dshribman@post-gazette.com.
Izuu Okoye, a Catholic priest and principal of Fr. Joseph Memorial High School, Aguleri in Anambra State, has called for help to repair the enormous damage done to the school by Saturdays windstorm.

Mr Okoye made the call on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He specifically requested the state and federal governments, as well as public-spirited Nigerians, to come to the aid of the school to enable it to resume teaching and learning.

He said the windstorm pulled down about 14 structures and 15 electric poles in the 61-year-old school owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha.

He listed the administrative block, classroom blocks, kitchen, hostel block and pavilion as some of the structures destroyed by the incident.

Mr Okoye said the incident has disrupted electricity supply to the school, while water supply has also been adversely affected.

He expressed joy that there was no loss of lives but blamed the level of destruction on the lack of trees on the school premises, which ought to serve as a windbreaker.

He said the school management was in a dilemma over how to meet the April 15 date for the commencement of the school examination for its 1,600 students.

Narrating the incident, he said: It happened around 8.30pm on Saturday, the day our students returned from the Easter break.

The windstorm came suddenly, pulled off the roof of our pavilion, and destroyed our hall, library and some buildings in our staff quarters.

The President of the Old Boys Association of the school, Emman Udeakpeh, also told NAN that the entire college community was still in shock over the incident.

According to Mr Udeakpeh, it looks like it was a tornado, considering the magnitude of the destruction.

He described the incident as a natural disaster, saying the group was still consulting and working round the clock to ensure that normal academic activities returned in the school.

He said: We need the efforts of everybody to fix the damaged infrastructure because the school and church cannot do it alone.

For the Old Boys, it is a trying moment and an emergency situation but we are doing our best to ensure normalcy returns.

We advise that people go into massive tree planting to protect our environment. This will help to reduce the effect of this type of storm.

The boarding school, NAN reported, is one of the biggest and functional camps for internally displaced people in the perennially flood-prone area.

Meanwhile, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency and Anambra State Emergency Management Agency have visited the school to assess the level of damage.

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(NAN)
The opening of the so-called military park in Baku is another manifestation of the morbid Armenophobia of the Azerbaijani authorities, which, on the one hand, expresses a huge hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijani society, on the other hand, is a nourishing source of that hatred. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has noted this in a statement he released Tuesday.

In all this, not so much the absolute disrespect of the dictator of Azerbaijan for humanity, but the indifference and tolerance of civilized humanity is surprising.

In front of the whole world, [Azerbaijan President] Ilham Aliev with fascist cynicism publicly insults, humiliates the dignity of an entire nation, and deliberately inflicts suffering on the relatives of the dead soldiers, missing people and prisoners of war.

Instead of condolences and shouting about the universality of human rights, the international community must properly assess the atrocities committed by Azerbaijan and hold it accountable for its crimes against humanity committed during the 44-day war, also reads the Artsakh ombudsmans statement.
The companys exploration strategy at Xanadu will comprise low-cost geophysics and geochemistry to build a deeper knowledge of the geographical potential and to define shallow and deeper targets for drilling.

The Xanadu Project comprises seven prospecting licences and five exploration licences covering 498 square kilometres

( ) (OTCMKTS:PTNUF) (FRA:P4R) will expand its gold presence in Western Australia after signing a conditional term sheet to acquire the Xanadu Gold Project in a favourable regional scale structural setting in Ashburton province.

Xanadu is within proximity to the multi-million ounce Mt Olympus gold deposit explored by Kalamazoo Resources ( ), which is just 7 kilometres to the east.

Platina managing director Corey Nolan said Xanadu added critical mass to the companys gold portfolio at a low acquisition cost.

Immense appeal

He said: Xanadu has immense appeal given the number and width of economic grade gold drill intercepts which have never been followed up with a systematic exploration campaign.

The project has been the subject of a number of mainly shallow drilling programs and a historical gold heap leach operation.

Our exploration strategy will initially comprise low-cost geophysics and geochemistry to build a deeper knowledge of the geological potential of the project and to define both shallow and deeper targets for drilling.

Nolan said the Xanadu Project secured a large alteration system hosted within sediments and carbonates prospective for intrusion-related gold mineralisation such as the Telfer Gold Mine of Newcrest Mining Ltd ( ) and the Hemi discovery of De Grey Mining Ltd ( )).

He said Xanadu also displayed strong similarities to the Carlin gold deposits in Nevada, USA.

Whilst we believe there is significant potential to expand upon the known oxide mineralisation, the longer-term prize is targeting primary mineralisation within the alteration core of the system which has never been tested by historical drill programs.

Platina has entered into a conditional binding agreement with Mineral Edge Pty Ltd and Coolabah Resources Pty Ltd, owners of the tenements and option agreements relating to the tenements.

Key terms of the agreements include:

Payment of A$300,000 in cash and the issuance of A$675,000 Platina ordinary shares priced at 5.3 cents per share on signing of the Sale and Purchase agreement. The shares will be escrowed for three months;

At the 12-month anniversary of the Sale and Purchase agreement, Platina has an option to extend the agreement by issuing a further A$925,000 of Platina ordinary shares priced at A$0.053 per share to the vendors. If the option is not exercised the vendors can buy the tenements back for one dollar;

A milestone payment of A$100,000 on reporting of a JORC (2012) mineral resource of 100,000 ounces of gold;

A 1% gross gold royalty is payable on any gold produced from the prospecting licences and a further 1% new smelter royalty payable on all the tenements. Platina can buy back 50% of the net smelter royalty for A$1 million; and

If tenement E 52/3763 and E 52/3764 are not formally granted, Platina can reduce the final share consideration by A$125,000 per tenement.

Benefits upside

Platina believes the project offers strong upside due to:

A favourable regional scale structural setting, with the multi-million Mt Olympus gold deposit 7 kilometres to the east;

Widespread gold mineralisation identified within a large and intense hydrothermal alteration system which extends for more than 10 kilometres in strike extent;

The host lithology, the Duck Creek dolomite, is a highly reactive rock and favourable host to the target intrusion-related and Carlin styles of gold mineralisation; and

Immediate targets from surface and at depth within the interpretated east plunging alteration system.

Xanadu comprises seven prospecting licences and five exploration licences covering 498 square kilometres.

Logistics and operations are expected to be low cost with access to the project from the regional mining centre of Paraburdoo, around 38 square kilometres to the north.

In prolific region

Mt Olympus has past production of 350,000 ounces and resources of 1.65 million ounces for a combined 2-million-ounce gold endowment.

Other gold centres in the region include the Paulsens Project of ( ), 190 kilometres to the northwest, and the 2.1-million-ounce Karlawinda Project of ( ) 230 kilometres to the southeast.

The project flanks the Pilbara Craton where gold projects have seen a renewed evaluation following the world-class Hemi gold discovery by De Grey Mining.
Cybersecurity

IC warns that U.S. adversaries are ramping up cyber attacks

In its first publicly available worldwide threat assessment report since 2019, the intelligence community is warning that the United States adversaries are increasingly using cyberspace to attack the country and that activities of foreign militaries will be more likely to impact civilian society.

States increasing use of cyber operations as a tool of national power, including increasing use by militaries around the world, raises the prospect of more destructive and disruptive cyber activity, according to the new report released on Tuesday. As states attempt more aggressive cyber operations, they are more likely to affect civilian populations and to embolden other states that seek similar outcomes.

The reports publication, compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, comes one day before the heads of ODNI, FBI, the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency are scheduled to testify to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about their findings in both open and closed hearings.

The report and associated hearings with lawmakers in recent years have historically been closed as a result of lobbying by the intelligence community.

The ICs assessment notes the hacking campaign against SolarWinds Orion and describes it as a demonstration that Russia has the capability and intent to target and potentially disrupt public and private organizations in the United States.

The assessment also says China poses a prolific and effective cyber-espionage threat and possesses substantial cyber-attack capabilities.

Chinas cyber pursuits and proliferation of related technologies increase the threats of cyber attacks against the US homeland, suppression of US web content that Beijing views as threatening to its internal ideological control, and the expansion of technology-driven authoritarianism around the world, according to the IC.

Iran is increasingly conducting influence operations in cyberspace and will likely continue to do so by spreading disinformation online about U.S. elections, according to the report.

The ICs assessment notes North Korea has committed crimes against financial institutions and cryptocurrency fraud, likely to fund government programs such as its nuclear and missile programs.

North Korea probably possesses the expertise to cause temporary, limited disruptions of some critical infrastructure networks and disrupt business in the U.S., according to the report.
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a teenager missing from Sydneys west.

Susie Brown, 13, was last seen on Hunter Street, Parramatta about just after 9am on Tuesday.

Officers from Parramatta Police Area Command were called after she disappeared and have launched an investigation in a bid to track her down.

Susie Brown, 13, was last seen on Hunter Street, Parramatta about just after 9am on Tuesday

Police are concerned for her safety due to her age.

Susie is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 150cm tall, slim build, black shoulder length hair and brown eyes.

Susie is from Canberra, ACT, however she may be in the Parramatta or North Shore areas.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or email https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- " VOICE Talks ," a monthly hour-long talk show that discusses the latest developments in voice technology, and Modev today announced formation of a new strategic committee of VOICE Ecosystem Experts. This inaugural group includes prominent conversational technology leaders whose focus will be to amplify and encourage industry cooperation within the voice, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) communities. The group is also focused on advancing and fostering the use of these technologies in collaboration with VOICE Talks.

The new VOICE Ecosystem Experts group includes:

Dr. Teri Fisher , founder, editor and host, The Voice Den and Voice in Canada ;

, founder, editor and host, The Voice Den and Voice in ; Bret Kinsella , founder, CEO, and research director of Voicebot.ai;

, founder, CEO, and research director of Voicebot.ai; Katherine Prescott , founder and editor, Voicebrew; and

, founder and editor, Voicebrew; and Michal Stanislawek and Karol Stryja of VoiceLunch.

"I am pleased to participate in this group of individuals who are outspoken educators and advocates for expanding the power of voice. In order for the use of voice technologies to grow, we need to ensure that these technologies are embraced by the broader technology community," said Dr. Fisher. "I look forward to continuing to work with this experienced team as we help guide the conversational technology industry forward in the market."

This announcement comes at the one year anniversary of VOICE Talks, which launched in April 2020. The show now has more than 120,000 subscribers from across North America with guests from companies such as Dunkin, Headspace, iRobot, Nike, Sony, Verizon and Vizio sharing voice technology product integrations.

"We are thrilled to have the support and guidance of this group of individuals who are dedicated to fostering the conversational tech, AI and developer communities," said Pete Erickson, founder of VOICE Talks and CEO of Modev. "VOICE Talks quickly became one of the fastest growing internet shows since it launched in April 2020, and we look forward to what the next year will bring."

In addition to incorporating their input into the 2021 season of VOICE Talks, these industry-recognized influencers will also collaborate on ongoing initiatives to continue to expand the voice ecosystem and community.

About VOICE Talks

Produced by Modev and presented by Google Assistant, VOICE Talks is the fastest growing internet technology show featuring industry leaders discussing the latest developments relating to AI-powered voice technologies. Developers, marketers, gamers and voice tech enthusiasts can tune-in live for the chance to interact and ask questions with the show's host, or share their video story in advance for a chance to be featured on the show or receive devices.

Follow VOICE Talks at @VOICETalksAI on Twitter, @VOICETalks on Instagram, or on Facebook or LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

Marie Knowles

SOURCE VOICE Talks
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 20:13:59|Editor: huaxia

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URUMQI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A court in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has accepted a lawsuit against so-called German scholar Adrian Zenz for fabricating "forced labor" rumors.

Shache Xiongying Textile Co., Ltd., an enterprise in south Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture, said it has sued Adrian Zenz for making false claims that the company uses "forced labor," which seriously damaged the company's reputation and caused severe economic losses.

The Intermediate People's Court of Kashgar Prefecture accepted the case on April 2, according to court sources.

In the lawsuit, the company demanded Adrian Zenz to stop infringement, eliminate the impact induced by the rumors, tender an apology, and compensate the company for the losses.

Adrian Zenz has claimed that there is "forced labor" at a number of textile and clothing companies in Xinjiang. Enditem
WARROAD, Minn. and HAYWARD, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marvin, a premium manufacturer of windows, doors and skylights announced today an agreement with Halio, Inc. , the developer and manufacturer of Halio smart-tinting glass. This partnership allows Marvin and Halio to bring smart glass to the residential construction market by offering homeowners the high-quality window and door products Marvin is known for with the unique glazing solution of Halio.

"We are truly committed to well-being at Marvin, focused on providing solutions that support happier and healthier living through maximizing light, air and views in new ways," said Paul Marvin, CEO. "This partnership is the newest in a series of product introductions designed for emerging ways of living. We've long anticipated a complete smart glass solution for the residential market and Halio, the technology leader in architectural smart glass, is delivering just that. We could not be more excited to partner to bring this advanced technology to architects and building professionals who design for homeowner well-being."

Marvin and Halio partnership will bring smart glass to the residential construction market. Tweet this

As the technology leader in architectural smart glass, Halio combines the most advanced electrochromic technologies with a powerful, secure, easy-to-integrate cloud-based system, enabling glass to tint automatically or on command. Critically, Halio achieves its darkest shade in just three minutes, adapting to changes in light through seamlessly smooth transitions that culminate in a beautiful neutral color when tinted. With the ability to respond to a rapidly changing environment, Halio maximizes the amount of natural light coming into a space while keeping out excessive heat and glare. Ultimately, Halio allows for a more comfortable environment and supports health and well-being indoors while achieving the highest levels of energy efficiency.

Through its new joint partnership with Halio, Marvin will bring this technology into an entirely new residential application, whereas previously it was only available in commercial construction. As a result, homeowners can expect to realize a more harmonic connection to the outdoors, with Halio delivering on both form and function to ensure a clutter-free, controlled indoor lighting experience.

"Halio has spent years developing the world's most responsive, intelligent platform for daylight management. We've realized a solution that integrates all the necessary attributes to finally go mainstream, and now that we have it, the smart glass market is at a long-awaited inflection point," said Halio CEO Bruce Sohn. "Marvin is the perfect partner to collaborate with to develop the high-performing products that will introduce residential consumers to the transformational benefits  comfort, natural light and gorgeous design  of smart glass for the first time."

Marvin takes a human-centered approach to innovation, studying the evolution of living in the home to provide people-first products and solutions. As a result, recent products introduced to its broad portfolio of windows and doors include Marvin Skycove , an immersive glass alcove, and Marvin Awaken Skylight , a smart skylight. Both first of their kind in the U.S. building industry, these solutions offer homeowners new opportunities for improved indoor experiences. The addition of smart glass expands the company's offerings, providing even more solutions for modern living.

Parties interested in receiving updates as Marvin and Halio develop products for homeowners can register at: www.halioinc.com/contacts-residential-marvin .

About Marvin

A premier manufacturer of made-to-order wood, clad, fiberglass and aluminum windows and doors, Marvin builds its principle of human-centered design into every product. Marvin products are designed to fit the diverse needs of architects and builders and to improve a homeowner's sense of well-being by leveraging light, views, and air in those spaces where they spend the most time. Marvin is a family-owned and -operated company located in Warroad, Minnesota, a small town just 6 miles from the Canadian border. With over 100 years of industry experience, Marvin has built a reputation for delivering the finest craftsmanship in windows and doors.

About Halio, Inc.

Halio, Inc., formerly Kinestral Technologies, Inc., develops innovative electrochromic glass (EC) solutions for commercial or residential facades and interior applications that advance sustainability, productivity, and wellness through technology. Windows with an integrated Halio Smart Glass EC device are connected to the Halio System which autonomously controls tint levels to maximize daylight for optimal energy savings, solar heat gain, and glare. Powered by Halio windows are available from Halio and third-party fabricators. Learn more at www.halioinc.com. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

SOURCE Marvin
Joyce Sharer-Figart, a Central Pennsylvania native, coal miners daughter, and poet who worked as a bank teller for forty-five years and now enjoys retirement in sunny Florida, has completed her new book Secret Agenda: an entertaining work of fiction for young readers.

Neal and his cousin spied on their nasty neighbor, Marian Casberry. Every morning, her car was full of dogs and cats. Where did they come from and where were they going?

Their secret agenda brought them danger, adventure, and satisfaction. They discovered and proved that Mrs. Casberry was kidnapping neighbors pets and selling them for medical research.

The inner conflict is about an only childs emotions. Neal was upset over the soon expected arrival of a new baby brother.

When Neals dog, Sparky, was missing, the agenda got into action. They had just found Neals dog in one of Mrs. Casberrys sheds and didnt hear her return. She locked them in, but they escaped. Neal called the police, and with the proof that he found in the shed, Marian Casberry was arrested and taken to jail.

Neal went home to meet, Michael, his new brother. Hes so tiny. Neal closed the story by saying, No one will ever hurt you. Not while Im around.

Published by Page Publishing, Joyce Sharer-Figarts engrossing book is a suspenseful and entertaining addition to any childrens library.

Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchase Secret Agenda at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing understands that authors should be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
New Delhi, April 13 : Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Vice Chairman Raghav Chadha on Tuesday accused the Haryana government of releasing "highly contaminated water" to Delhi through the Yamuna river.

Addressing a press conference, Chadha said: "Delhi is facing a double whammy from Haryana, because on one side, it has reduced adequate water supply to Delhi and on the other, it has released highly contaminated water which is untreatable." He also warned that Delhi may face water shortage due to high ammonia levels in Yamuna river due to contaminated water released by Haryana.

"Today, the level of ammonia in Yamuna has reached 7.6 ppm which cannot be treated at DJB's water treatment plants. We can treat contaminated water having levels of ammonia up to 3 to 4 ppm but our WTPs can not treat contaminated water having such levels of ammonia. Delhi may face water shortage in some areas," Chadha said.

The Yamuna provides around 40 per cent of total use of water per day in Delhi.

"If the situation remains so, several areas of Delhi will be affected as Haryana is not honouring even its legal commitment as directed by the Supreme Court with regards to the clean water that it has to supply to Delhi," he added.
Mumbai, April 13 : Actress Rashmi Agdekar celebrated the Maharashtrian festival of Gudi Padwa with her family on Tuesday, as every year.

"Gudi Padwa has always been an intimate celebration for us. Spending time with family and having lots of yummy food. It's pretty much the same this year, too. I dressed up since I haven't done that for a while. We did a little puja at home and enjoyed a typical Maharashtrian meal," Rashmi says.

While the actress wishes the best for everyone on the festival, she does urge people to stay cautious amid the ongoing Covid pandemic.

"Every festival symbolises victory over evil/negativity in oneself. Gudi Padwa marks the Maharashtrian New Year. Here's wishing all a happy new year. Hope you start doing or practicing something new this year. Please stay indoors and let us all work towards breaking the chain to contain the virus. Stay safe, stay healthy," was Rashmi's message to her fans.
The Pivnichny (Northern) Economic Court of Appeal upheld an appeal of CJSC Philip Morris Ukraine and Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC in case No. 910/17723/19, canceled the decision of the Kyiv Economic Court dated August 5, 2020, and canceled the fines for a total amount of UAH 1.18 billion imposed on them in 2019 by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU).

According to the court's decision, promulgated in the unified public register of court rulings, the Pivnichny Economic Court of Appeal ruled to invalidate paragraphs 1 and 11 of AMCU decision No. 697-r dated October 10, 2019 that concern the PMI group of companies, as well as invalidate paragraphs 3 and 4 of this solution.

In addition, the court ruled to collect UAH 14,400 of court fee from the AMCU in favor of OJSC Philip Morris Ukraine (the settlement of Dokuchayevske, Kharkiv region) and Philip Morris Sales and Distribution LLC (Kyiv).

The Pivnichny Economic Court of Appeal also ruled to return the materials of case No. 910/17723/19 to the Economic Court of the city of Kyiv.

The decision of the appellate instance entered into force from the date of its awarding.

As reported, the AMCU in October 2019 imposed a fine of UAH 6.5 billion on four tobacco producers and distributor Tedis Ukraine for anticompetitive concerted actions. Later, Philip Morris Ukraine paid a fine to the AMCU in the total amount of more than UAH 1.18 billion in order to avoid the accrual of penalties, but in February 2020, PMI submitted a notification to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine that Ukraine had violated a number of obligations under investment protection agreements.

The companies of the Philip Morris International group on December 21, 2020 also filed a claim about bilateral investment arbitration against the government of Ukraine with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (Washington, DC, the United States) in connection with the unfair, in their opinion, decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) to fine them UAH 1.2 billion in the case of the wholesale distributor Tedis Ukraine.
04/12/2021

Photo (c) CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY - Getty Images A new study has found that certain types of cancers -- particularly those that affect the blood, bone marrow, or lymph nodes -- could render COVID-19 vaccines significantly less effective.

The results of an analysis of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) patients found that people with these cancers are at a higher risk of COVID-19 vaccine failure. The risk was particularly elevated among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The researchers said these patients, as well as those who interact with them, should get vaccinated as soon as possible and keep practicing pandemic health protocols. Even after getting vaccinated, the researchers recommend that consumers continue to wear masks and practice social distancing.

"As we see more national guidance allowing for unmasked gatherings among vaccinated people, clinicians should counsel their immunocompromised patients about the possibility that COVID-19 vaccines may not fully protect them against SARS-CoV-2," said senior author Dr. Ghady Haidar, a UPMC transplant infectious diseases physician, in a news release.

Equivalent of a coin flip

The study, which has been published in the preprint server medRxiv, involved 67 patients with hematologic malignancies who had been vaccinated with either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

The researchers tested the patients blood three weeks after the final dose and found that more than 46 percent of the patients had not generated COVID-19 antibodies. Only 3 of the 13 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia made antibodies, even though 70 percent weren't undergoing any cancer therapy.

Haidar said the analysis showed that the antibody response to vaccines among those with hematologic malignancies are the equivalent of a coin flip. He added that a negative antibody test doesnt necessarily mean that the patient doesnt have any protection from the virus. Still, the researchers said the lack of response was strikingly low.

We're still working to determine why people with hematologic malignancies -- particularly those with CLL -- have a lower antibody response and if this low response also extends to patients with solid tumors," said Dr. Mounzer Agha, a hematologist at UPMC's Hillman Cancer Center.

While more research is being carried out, these patients should be aware of their continued risk and to seek prompt medical attention if they have COVID-19 symptoms, even after vaccination," Agha said.

"They may benefit from outpatient treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies, before the illness becomes severe, Agha added.
[April 13, 2021] Blackstone to Acquire Sabre Industries, Inc., a Leading Energy and Telecom Infrastructure Provider

Today, Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced that private equity funds affiliated with Blackstone have agreed to acquire Sabre (News - Alert) Industries, Inc. ("Sabre") from The Jordan Company. The acquisition of Sabre continues Blackstone Energy Partners' focus on investing in companies that support the transition to cleaner, more affordable energy. Based in Alvarado, TX, Sabre is a leading designer and manufacturer of highly-engineered, mission-critical overhead steel poles, towers, battery storage solutions, and related services for electrical utility and telecom end markets. The products and services that Sabre can deliver to its customers are critical to modernizing and strengthening the U.S. electrical transmission and distribution grid, safely and efficiently interconnecting rapidly-growing renewable generation capacity and battery storage facilities, and expanding 4G and 5G wireless telecom infrastructure for enhanced network reliability and connectivity. Following the acquisition, Sabre will retain its name and continue to operate independently as a Blackstone portfolio company. The leadership team and employees will remain in their current roles and are planning to invest alongside Blackstone in the transaction. John-Paul (JP) Munfa, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: "We are excited about investing in Sabre, as the company is well-positioned to benefit from increasing investment by electrical utilities and telecom industry participants in their network infrastructure, it has longstanding customer relationships, and it has a truly outstanding management team which has delivered a track record of industry-leading safety, customer satisfaction, and profitable growth. Our investment in Sabre builds upon Blackstone's experience of prior investments in utility-related businesses, such as GridLiance and Custom Truck One Source (News - Alert) ." David Foley, Global Head of Blackstone Energy Partners, said: "Sabre is the most recent in a series of investments by Blackstone Energy Partnersin critical energy infrastructure and essential services needed to help deliver cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy, and an example of Blackstone's ongoing commitment to invest in the entrepreneurs and businesses who will help lead America's energy transition."



Jim Ruddy, CEO of Sabre, said: "Our leadership team is very excited to be partnering with Blackstone, a leading investor in energy and infrastructure related end markets. We believe Blackstone will be an excellent strategic partner and will help the company accelerate its growth, while continuing to provide high-quality products and services that will assist in modernizing the U.S. electrical grid and in enhancing wireless telecom networks. We would also like to thank The Jordan Company, which has been a great partner and supported the company with financial and operational resources as it grew into an industry leader." In conjunction with Blackstone's acquisition of Sabre, Dr. Ulrich Spiesshofer, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of ABB Ltd. and a Blackstone Senior Advisor, who brings decades of executive experience as a global leader in energy, industry, and infrastructure end markets, has agreed to be appointed Chairperson of Sabre's Board following the closing. Dr. Spiesshofer said: "Sabre's unique business model and outstanding customer service positions it ideally as a long-term partner for utility and telecommunications customers. Together with my colleagues at Blackstone, I look forward to partnering with Sabre's employees and its excellent leadership team led by CEO Jim Ruddy as we embark jointly upon Sabre's next phase of profitable growth."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Blackstone was represented in the transaction by Vinson & Elkins LLP, whose team was led by Matt Strock and Keith Fullenweider, and a team led by Matt Musa at Citi. Sabre was represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, whose team was led by Andrew Arons and Lucas Richards, and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC.



About Blackstone Energy Partners

Blackstone Energy Partners is Blackstone's energy-focused private equity business and a leading energy investor with a successful long-term record. The Blackstone Energy Partners team has invested over $18 billion of equity globally across a broad range of sectors within the energy industry. Our investment philosophy is based on backing exceptional management teams with flexible capital to provide solutions that help energy companies grow and improve performance, thereby delivering cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy to meet the needs of the global community. In the process, we build stronger, larger scale enterprises, create jobs and generate lasting value for our investors, employees and all stakeholders.



About Sabre Industries, Inc.

Sabre is a market-leading manufacturer of highly-engineered, mission-critical products to the utility and telecom markets. Sabre's core offerings include utility transmission structures, wireless and small cell towers as well as engineering, design, testing & inspection and other services. For more information, please visit www.sabreindustries.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005777/en/

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The bodycam footage of a shooting incident in Minneapolis that ended the life of Daunte Wright showed that a cop mistook her gun for a taser, police said on Monday.

Based on the bodycam footage, an officer can be heard giving Wright a warning that she will tase him. The officer then yelled, "Taser! Taser! Taser!" as she drew her actual firearm and fired one shot before screaming, "Holy sh--! I shot him!"

The footage also caught Daunte Wright stepped out of his car, then leaped back behind the wheel and drove off. But the officer can be heard in the video saying that she just shot the 20-year-old Black man.

Daunte Wright was killed after a police officer fatally shot him at around 2 p.m. on Sunday in a police traffic stop at Brooklyn Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which is just blocks away from George Floyd's site's death in police custody, Crimeonline reported.

RELATED ARTICLE: Fatal Shooting of Minneapolis Man Involving Police Sparks Unrest, Protesters Clash with Police

The Police Officer Who Shot Daunte Wright Identified

According to Fox9 News, the police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright was identified as Kim Potter by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) on Monday.

The BCA said that Potter, who has been with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 26 years, has already been placed under standard administrative leave.

New York Post reported that Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center Police Chief, said the death of Daunte Wright resulted from an accidental discharge by the cop, whom he did not immediately identify because her job now is not only in the line, but also his family's security.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott on Monday said that they could not afford to make mistakes that could lead to the "loss of life of other people in our profession."

The Brooklyn Center Mayor further noted that he fully supports the officer's release of her duties. However, Gannon pointed out that the officer has a right to "due process." The police chief mentioned that he thinks they can look at the video and ascertain whether she will return on duty.

Gannon noted that he was unaware if there's a weapon recovered inside Wright's vehicle or none. But he clarified that officers initially pulled the victim over because of his expired registration.

He said during the interview that there's no gun mentioned in the investigation. But the video showed that an individual was trying to get back into his vehicle to evade police officers. The Minnesota BCA is handling the investigation into the death of Daunte Wright.

Biden Says Mistake Does Not Justify Violence

President Joe Biden emphasized during his interview in the Oval Office on Monday that there was no justification for Minneapolis' violence after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by an officer, Daily Mail reported.

Biden noted that peaceful protest is understandable, but there is no justification for protesters' looting and aggressiveness.

The president said that he had already seen the body camera footage of Daunte Wright being shot. But he noted that whether it was an accident or intentional remains to be determined.

Protesters and law enforcement clashed on Sunday night. Images from the scene on Monday showed that protesters are back on the streets prompting police to wear their riot gear and National Guard troops deployed in anticipation of another unrest.

READ MORE: Police Points Gun, Pepper-Sprays Black-Latino Army Officer Amid Traffic Stop

WATCH: Daunte Wright bodycam: Police Officer Shouts 'Taser' Before Firing Gun - From The Telegraph
A new project currently in development is establishing a Te Ao Maori Localised Curriculum for all 67 Tauranga Moana schools, early childhood centres and the wider community in partnership with Tauranga Moana Iwi.

The project, called Te Tai Whanake ki Tauranga Moana, will be a first for New Zealand, bringing all Tauranga Moana Iwi and schools together in a unique and enduring way.

The Te Ao Maori Local Curriculum will encompass foundational Te Reo, our Tikanga, stories and history, and will be a tremendous resource for all educational organisations in Tauranga Moana, while also benefiting the wider community by being accessible to all.

The Curriculum will be layered from ECE to Year 13 across many subjects, including history, English, and science, and will also cover protocols such as pepeha and mihi.

Its something that has been years in the making, starting with efforts over the past four years to strengthen partnerships between iwi and Kahui Ako in our region.

Kahui Ako (Communities of Learning) are groups of education and training providers that form around their students education pathway, working together to help students achieve their full potential.

They are established from clusters of schools that are close in geographical location or are grouped by type.

The Otumoetai Kahui Ako lead is Henk Popping, Principal of Otumoetai Intermediate.

He says over the past 100 years there has been no formal reciprocal engagement for Maori communities with schools  something the project aims to change.

The Kahui Ako and iwi used to sit at separate tables, but over time as our relationships have strengthened, iwi are now active members of each Kahui Ako in Tauranga Moana.

As we talked, we realised we were all trying to reinvent the wheel. People were floundering as to what we do when it comes to curriculum and Te Reo and local histories. With the three iwi in our area that have different histories, how do we do that?

The idea for the project came from these conversations and questions of what if we get together and see if we can develop something we can all contribute to.

Reg Blake, Arohanoa Mathews, Wayne Werder, Bill Holland, Toni Heke-Ririnui, Ezra Schuster, and Henk Popping at the Te Tai Whanake ki Tauranga Moana launch last month.

The project is currently in Stage One of development, with the scope of work, project action plan, and Memorandum of Understandings being prepared by iwi education managers and project lead personnel.

In May, the project will move to Stage Two, where the curriculum will be developed and built based on consultation with the local Maori community, their hapu and marae.

Henk says the project is built on innovation and will provide many community benefits.

Collaboration is the key with this project. Its the one thing that is different thats never been done before. There have been various things that are similar across the country, but what is unique is we have three iwi collaborating with every school in our region.

Its a significant milestone in the development of our community. And its all about the future generations. The benefit is that regardless of the context for learning that a child is in, they will have greater empathy and understanding of our local history, and they can also develop their own ability to live in Te Ao Maori.

Even being able to pronounce words correctly, being able to recognise macrons on Maori words  it gives people a much wider view of New Zealand.

TECT has supported Stage 1 of the project with $176,640 funded out of their Catalyst for Change fund.

Henk says TECTs support has been vital to getting the project off the ground.

TECT has provided the opportunity to bring this project to life. Catalyst for Change is an ideal name for that fund  they have got the springboard underway for changing how we do things in this area and the way we form relationships and collaborate across the community.

None of this would be possible without TECT because the biggest thing that TECT have provided is time to be able to carry out this work. We view this less that we are recipients of a grant, but more that we are in a partnership with TECT.

TECT Chairperson Bill Holland says the project appealed to TECT due to its potential for a far wider application than just school use.

It will give the schools a great platform to further develop and strengthen their relationships with local iwi and will support iwi in capturing and documenting their histories in Tauranga Moana to share with future generations as well as all local residents and visitors.

We can see the potential for this information to be used in the citys story-telling through tourism and arts and culture sectors  its just as much a development of our heritage and culture as an educational resource.
New Delhi, April 13 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said that it has arrested Adarsh Kumar, a senior Passport Assistant posted at the Regional Passport Office in Jammu in an alleged bribery case.

A CBI official here said that the agency arrested Kumar for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 from the complainant.

The agency had registered a case on a complaint alleging that the official had demanded a bribe for issuance of his passport in January 2020.

"The complainant was informed that an FIR has been registered against him and due to this, issuance of passport was pending. The complainant however informed that he has been acquitted in the said FIR. Thereafter, the complainant visited Passport Office, Jammu and met Kumar," he said.

Kumar allegedly demanded bribe of Rs 5,000 for issuing the passport but agreed to accept Rs 4,000 after negotiation, the CBI official said.

"CBI laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting bribe of Rs 4,000. After his arrest, searches were conducted at the residential premises of Kumar at Jammu and Lucknow," he said.
A chilling picture of three young women smiling as they sailed along a river was taken just moments before their boat mysteriously exploded - leaving them with horrific life-threatening burns.

Mirka Tothova was celebrating her 30th birthday with ten others on board a boat on Easter Sunday when the vessel exploded into flames on the Hawkesbury River Marina near Brooklyn, north of Sydney.

The shop manager from Sydney's eastern suburbs suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body and was one of four rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

She remains in the burns unit with John Yoon, 33, and Karoline Santana, a small business owner from Brazil who suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body.

Karoline's partner Sam, 33, who was burnt on five per cent of his body has been released from hospital, along with another friend, Bernie Serrou, 43.

Ale Osr, an international student from Mexico, suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body and remains in ICU at Royal North Shore Hospital.

Ale (left) and Karoline (centre) were photographed sitting on the back of the boat just 30 minutes before the tragedy struck

Ale Osr from Mexico suffered severe burns to 60 per cent of her body after the boat exploded north of Sydney on Easter Sunday

Three of the women - including Karoline and Ale - were photographed sitting on the back of the boat just 30 minutes before the tragedy struck.

A two-year-old toddler, who appears in the background of the image, had been on the deck moments before the boat exploded but was moved by chance to the front of the boat and escaped without injury.

Ms Tothova remains in the intensive burns unit at Royal North Shore Hospital where she will undergo skin grafts.

Her partner of four years Joseph Kwon, 33, was standing on the pontoon pushing the boat off after refuelling when the vessel suddenly exploded.

He recalled the horrifying moment of seeing his girlfriend covered in flames.

'It's like we were in a terrorist attack, one minute it was calm, the next it was mayhem,' Mr Kwon told The Daily Telegraph.

'Mirka's hair and clothes were on fire, I was patting them out with my hands.'

Mr Kwon described his girlfriend as a fighter after she moved to Australia to start a new life.

Mirka Tothova is currently remains at Royal North Shore Hospital after suffering burns to her hands, arms, legs and torso

Karoline, a small business owner from Brazil received burns to 30 per cent of her body

Emergency services rushed to the scene where they found a total of eight people injured and the boat engulfed in flames

'She moved here five years ago, so it's hard when she has no family here  we've pretty much only got each other,' Mr Kwon said.

The couple had been celebrating two birthdays and a farewell with friends Mr Kwon had known since primary school when disaster struck.

'You never expect something like this to happen,' Mr Kwon told 7news.com.au.

'One moment you're enjoying life, the next it's a horrific scenario.'

Friends are desperately trying to raise funds to cover the medical expenses of the three women, with GoFundMe pages set up for each of the victims.

'Mirka is loved by her friends and the local community which she gives so much to, and those that are close to her know how funny she is with her unconventional humour,' Ms Tothova's fundraising page reads.

'Mirka is on a bridging visa with no insurance and at this time we don't know exactly how much the financial burden will be for her long term rehabilitation, loss of income, rent, bills and cost for bringing her family to Australia.'

Karoline's partner Sam (left), 33, who was burnt on five per cent of his body has been released from hospital

Joseph Kwon (right) described his partner Mirka (left) as a fighter

Ms Osr (pictured) requires surgery every second day and needs multiple skin grafts as she faces months of rehabilitation

Ms Tothova's wounds are cleaned every three days to remove the dead tissue so they do not become infected.

A fundraiser for Karoline, 25, describes the Brazilian national as a 'beautiful young woman'.

'She is a beautiful, sweet and caring person, who is loved by everyone she comes across,' the page says.

Karoline will require ongoing hospitalisation and multiple medical procedures in the wake of the explosion.

'Her partner Sam has got 5 per cent burns to his body and has been bedside by Karoline in the Royal North Shore hospital as her parents are currently in Brazil and have no immediate family members in Australia,' the page says.

'Unfortunately, Karoline does not have private health insurance and we are unsure what additional medical costs she will incur due to this accident, but we do know there is a long road ahead.

'Karoline is self-employed, her business has come to a halt and has no means of paying her existing bills herself.

'Although Sam and Karoline are very strong people and rarely ask people for help, now is the time where they really need our support.'

Karoline's burns are seen after the boat exploded north of Sydney on Easter Sunday

The boat exploded when the skipper turned on the ignition, the force knocking those on the stern to the ground

Sam (right) remains beside Karoline as she receives treatment in hospital following the explosion

Meanwhile, Ms Osr remains in intensive care.

Friends revealed Ms Osr requires surgery every second day and needs multiple skin grafts as she faces months of rehabilitation.

'There is no timeframe currently on how long she will be in ICU for, as she is still in a critical condition,' a friend wrote online.

The friend said Ms Osr was working at a long day care centre at Gladesville 'where the families, children and educators all absolutely love and adore her'.

'Ale is known for her bubbly personality and infectious smile that has the ability to brighten anyone's day,' the friend said.

As Ms Osr was in Australia on an international student visa she was not covered by Medicare.

Mirka Tothova (pictured) suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body in the horrific explosion

'We are unsure at this time how much her student medical insurance will cover, however we do know that her medical expenses will be significant and may not be entirely covered,' a friends of Ms Osr wrote.

'On top of this, her loss of income, rent, bringing her family to Australia, rehabilitation, and so on, all add extreme financial pressure, something that we would like to support Ale with as much as we can.'

NSW Ambulance inspector David Morris said the explosion was the most catastrophic he had seen.

'It's one of the worst incidents I've seen in my 15-year career in ambulance, and thankfully we had all the other emergency services here to help us out,' Morris told media after the incident.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

You can donate to Mirkas page here, Karoline's page here and Ale's page here.

Mirka Tothova's partner Joseph Kwon was standing on the pontoon when the boat erupted into flames (pictured)
President Biden on Tuesday announced plans to nominate statistician Robert L. Santos to serve as director of the Census Bureau, according to a memo from the White House.

If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Santos would be the first person of color to serve as permanent head of the beleaguered agency as it struggles to complete its once-in-a-decade counting of the nations population needed for drawing new districts for state legislatures and the House of Representatives.

The position, traditionally a straightforward role, was thrust into the political spotlight over the last two years, largely over the Trump administrations efforts to add a citizenship question to the census. After the Supreme Court rejected the administrations reasoning for adding the questions as contrived, the administration dropped the effort.

If confirmed, Mr. Santos would take over the position from Steven Dillingham who held the position from 2019 until January, but resigned after questions surfaced about the accuracy of the count. Mr. Dillingham was to serve through the end of the year.
Company poised to help Canadians thrive in the post-pandemic 'new normal'

TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Highcourt Partners, an entrepreneurial international insurance and risk management consulting firm, has merged with Breckles Group of Companies, an established independent insurance brokerage to form the Highcourt Breckles Group, a proudly Canadian operation poised to help businesses and individuals thrive in this new normal post-pandemic world with access to global wealth preservation solutions in the anytime, anywhere digital world.

HB Logo (CNW Group/Highcourt Breckles Group)

This merger will help make Canadian businesses navigate their growth as the economy regains its pre-pandemic momentum

"This pairing will help make Canadian businesses more competitive around the world, helping them navigate their growth as the economy regains its pre-pandemic momentum to build back better," says Mark R. McKay, CEO of Highcourt Partners who became CEO of the Highcourt Breckles Group upon completion of the merger on April 7, 2021. The deal was done at current market valuation metrics. No regulatory approval is required. The transaction is funded in Canada and led by Highcourt's capital resources.

Both unique, privately-held companies are wholly Canadian-owned and operated and combined the new entity offers a long history of community, client-centric services with global capabilities in home, auto, business, life and health insurance and risk management solutions to more than 50,000 clients nationwide and access to more than 60 insurance providers worldwide. The Highcourt Breckles Group employs more than 100 employees with plans to hire more with growth. It has a combined gross written premium value of nearly $100 million.

Broader Choice for Clients in Global and Digital Space

Toronto-based Highcourt brings its unique business and insurance problem-solving expertise and access to global providers, while Markham-based Breckles is a leader in digital customer service. "Combined we will retain and enhance our high customer service standards and offer clients access to a much broader portfolio of demonstrated, proven solutions with insurance products and risk management services designed for the new normal: digital, global and customized," says McKay.

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The friendly-transaction, headed up by McKay and Breckles Group President Ben Malik, allows the combined entity to further its mission to assist Canadian individuals and businesses, wherever they may be. "The merger delivers unparalleled synergy between the two brands, giving us larger scale to tap into the digital revolution of how people transact with their broker," says Malik.

Friendly Transaction Set to Contribute to Canadian Economy

"Our firms are very like-minded," adds McKay. "In fact, we were collaborating even before this deal. We're committed to creating Canadian-based employment opportunities for existing and new hires, supporting the Canadian economy with plans to grow and reinvest in the tools and technologies to make our clients' lives much easier."

About the Highcourt Breckles Group

The Highcourt Breckles Group (HBG) has a combined staff complement of more than 100 employees and controls significant premium volumes. HBG offers a broad portfolio of insurance and risk management solutions and access to more than 60 insurers worldwide. It is a member of the Unison Steadfast Network, a global alliance of independent insurance and reinsurance firms. Business clients can receive problem-solving expertise from around the world: be it for a technical translation in Argentina, for example, or assistance in understanding anti-terrorism or anti-money laundering laws in Sudan, or direct access into the Lloyd's marketplace or into Bermuda.

HBG has a unique understanding of cyber risk and cyber threats, provides insurance coverage and advisory on risk matters, and is a leader in contractual risk, risk strategy, captives and risk response. It also helps Canadian companies navigate through U.S. compliance when expanding into the U.S. marketplace. Individual clients can access home, auto, life and health insurance via easy-to-use digital platforms. Follow on Twitter: @HBGroupINS.

About Highcourt Partners: pre-deal

Highcourt Partners, with three offices in Ontario and British Columbia, was founded in 2011 to assist individuals and corporations preserve their assets, wherever those may be. From working with landlords to solve tenant insurance problems, to helping Canadian healthcare institutions solve COVID-19 clinical trial issues with its global, risk management expertise, Highcourt also has experience helping firms with the import and distribution of COVID supplies (PPE and sanitizer) and helping companies pivot (such as an automotive company that pivoted to producing COVID equipment). See also: highcourtpartners.com

About Breckles Group of Companies: pre-deal

Breckles Group of Companies was founded more than 70 years ago. It represents more than 30 insurance partners operating in Canada to offer solutions focused to meet clients' needs. It serves small- to medium-sized businesses as well as personal insurance needs and is a leader in the digital delivery space. It has 75 employees based in two offices in Ontario. See also: brecklesgroup.com.

Also: Video featuring McKay and Malik: https://youtu.be/hIFafHgtYJE

SOURCE Highcourt Breckles Group

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There has been a significant increase in satellite networks operating in Australia, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), which says it is witnessing rapid advances in Australian space activities.

Noting that radiocommunications is an essential element of the space industry, the ACMA says that, as reported in a recent IBIS World publication, the space sector generated an estimated $5.7 billion in 2020, with 829 businesses supporting 15,234 jobs.

This was underlined by a significant increase in satellite networks operating in Australia. With heightened levels of interest in essential spectrum resources, our new market study on the Australian space sector examines the local industry and implications for our management of the radiofrequency spectrum.

The paper highlights recent increases in our domestic and international regulatory activity to approve and licence new satellite networks to operate in Australia.

It also explores our efforts to optimise satellite communication pathways and support new and emerging technologies.

The ACMA study notes that much of the growth in new satellite networks is generated by new entrants to the industry - and in future, this will require an increased focus on helping them navigate the complex satellite regulatory process, as well as supporting "innovation in space-based communication systems".
Redmi's gaming phone confirmed to release at the end of this month

Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi teased a gaming smartphone a while ago, and today the company confirmed its first gaming phone will be released at the end of this month.

Redmi didn't reveal any specs about its first gaming smartphone, but the Chinese phone maker announced its partnership with Call Of Duty Mobile for the phone launch.



Redmi's first gaming phone is coming later this month

While we await more official info from Redmi about its first gaming phone, last month, a reliable tipster claimed Redmi will launch a gaming smartphone with the Dimensity 1200 SoC at the helm.

The smartphone will sport a flat OLED panel with a punch hole for the selfie camera and pack a 5,000 mAh battery with 65W charging. It's also expected to come with shoulder triggers and cost between CNY2,000-2,500 ($305-380).

We'll hopefully hear more about Redmi's first gaming phone in the coming days.

Source 1, 2 (both in Chinese) | Via
President Biden opened talks with lawmakers on Monday afternoon, saying that he is willing to negotiate with lawmakers on changes about the size and tax hike of the infrastructure plan. Also called American Jobs Plan, the infrastructure plan Biden is proposing the congress has a budget of more than $2 trillion and is greater than the previous American Rescue Plan.

The infrastructure plan is geared towards the repair and building of bridges, roads, rails, and transport. Another chunk of the plan will also be used for manufacturing, training, and research. President Biden dubbed his jobs and infrastructure plan as the largest jobs program since World War II, according to a report from USA Today. Biden also pointed out that the plan is also aimed to elevate the position of the United States and economically compete with China.

READ NEXT: President Biden Guarantees to Push Tax Hike to Fund the Infrastructure Plan

President Biden on Negotiations

During the talks, President Biden noted that the negotiations with other lawmakers regarding the infrastructure plan are not "performative," according to a New York Post report. Allies of the president said that Biden is attempting to redefine "bipartisanship."

"I think it is a pretty good definition to say that you're pursuing an agenda to unite the country," said Senior Adviser Mike Donilon. Donilon added that if an individual has an agenda that is "broadly popular" among Democrats and Republicans throughout the U.S., then the representatives elected should reflect that.

President Biden noted that the conversation with lawmakers will get down to define what infrastructure is. Meanwhile, Republicans have reacted to Biden's claims of negotiations emphasizing how Democrats utilized a "legislative procedural maneuver" to pass the American Rescue Plan in the Senate without GOP lawmakers voting for it.

Republicans on the Infrastructure Plan

White House has noted that President Biden and the lawmakers have an excellent exchange of ideas because the president has "asked for their feedback and follow-up on proposals discussed in the meeting," according to a CNBC report.

However, Republicans are cynical about the infrastructure plan because, according to them, the plan should only be focused on roads, bridges, and other physical infrastructure. The Republicans have pushed back on spending for home caregiving, energy programs, and other projects that go beyond roads.

"It's not remotely targeted toward what Americans think they are getting when politicians campaign on infrastructure," said Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell noted that Democrats have decided that the definition will have to change instead of coming up with a better bill.

Biden noted that infrastructure is not just roads, bridges, and highways.

"There are a lot of folks saying that the fact that we have millions of people not able to drink water because they're coming through lead pipes. I think that's infrastructure," said President Biden. Biden also noted that he thinks broadband is infrastructure.

Another factor that lawmakers are against the infrastructure plan is the tax hike that it brings. Centrist Democrats Senator Joe Manchin suggested Biden a smaller bump of tax hike amounting to 25 percent. The president noted in the previous week that he is open to a proposal that goes below 28 percent.

Meanwhile, the Republicans have stayed united in opposing Biden's Infrastructure plan since its release two weeks ago.

READ MORE: President Biden Push Policies Fueling Desperate Migration On US Borders

WATCH: Republicans skeptical as Democrats push Biden's infrastructure plan - from Washington Post
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Kadmon Holdings, Inc. ("Kadmon" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: KDMN) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and docketed under 21-cv-01797, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Kadmon securities between October 1, 2020 and March 10, 2021, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.

Fighting for victims of securities fraud for more than 85 years (PRNewsfoto/Pomerantz LLP)

If you are a shareholder who purchased Kadmon securities during the Class Period, you have until June 2, 2021 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

Kadmon is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes small molecules and biologics primarily for the treatment of inflammatory and fibrotic diseases. The Company's lead product candidates include, among others, belumosudil (KD025), an orally administered selective inhibitor of the rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 ("ROCK2"), which is in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease ("cGVHD").

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On September 30, 2020, post-market, Kadmon announced the submission of a New Drug Application ("NDA") for belumosudil for the treatment of cGVHD (the "Belumosudil NDA") with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").

Then, on November 30, 2020, Kadmon announced the FDA's acceptance of the Belumosudil NDA, and that the FDA had assigned the NDA a Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") target action date of May 30, 2021.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Belumosudil NDA was incomplete and/or deficient; (ii) the additional new data that the Company submitted in support of the Belumosudil NDA in response to an information request from the FDA materially altered the NDA submission; (iii) accordingly, the initial Belumosudil NDA submission lacked the degree of support that the Company had led investors to believe; (iv) accordingly, the FDA was likely to extend the PDUFA target action date to review the Belumosudil NDA; and (v) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On March 10, 2021, Kadmon issued a press release "announc[ing] that the [FDA] has extended the review period" for the Belumosudil NDA and that, "[i]n a notice received from the FDA on March 9, 2021, the Company was informed that the [PDUFA] goal date for its Priority Review of belumosudil has been extended to August 30, 2021." Kadmon advised investors that "[t]he FDA extended the PDUFA date to allow time to review additional information submitted by Kadmon in response to a recent FDA information request," and that "[t]he submission of the additional information has been determined by the FDA to constitute a major amendment to the NDA, resulting in an extension of the PDUFA date by three months."

On this news, Kadmon's stock price fell $0.52 per share, or 10.57%, to close at $4.40 per share on March 11, 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

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

Cision

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SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
Australians now face being trapped for years in what has been dubbed 'prison island' with months of promises to open borders when millions are fully-vaccinated seemingly abandoned.

There's now no guarantee borders will reopen after Australia's Covid vaccine rollout is complete, the federal government has warned, due to the unpredictability of the virus.

Australians have been locked in their own country in all but exceptional circumstances since the international border was slammed shut on March 20, 2020 - and there is no date nor a timeline for reopening.

The situation has been slammed by experts, business leaders and commentators, as well as stranded Australians abroad, who accused the government of 'shifting the goal posts'.

Not only does the closure stop Australians from going abroad for holidays or to visit families, but the ban has also left a multi-billion dollar hole in the economy - not to mention the tens of thousands of citizens unable to return home.

But although the federal government has described vaccines as the 'best hope' to keep Australia's economy 'moving and connected' - it on Tuesday admitted it isn't prepared to hang the nation's global reopening on the jab.

There's no guarantee borders will reopen after Australia's Covid vaccine rollout is complete, the federal government has admitted (pictured, passengers at Sydney Domestic Airport)

The government's cautious approach has been lashed by many business leaders and media commentators who say Australia has turned into a 'prison island' (pictured, arrivals at Ballina Airport)

'Vaccination alone is no guarantee that you can open up,' health minister Greg Hunt said on Tuesday.

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders.

'We still have to look at a series of different factors: transmission, longevity [of vaccine protection] and the global impact - and those are factors which the world is learning about.'

The government's cautious approach was quickly lashed by business leaders and media commentators who said Australia has turned into a 'prison island'.

'It's a terrible message to be sending out because it discourages people from getting the vaccine,' outspoken Sky News host Rita Panahi said.

'It's basically saying we're still going to be closed off from the rest of the world.

'It's a terrible policy. How much longer can we remain a prison island? At some point we have to rejoin the rest of the world.'

Poll Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up No - keep borders closed Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up 854 votes

No - keep borders closed 374 votes Now share your opinion





Lawyer Liz Hicks accused the government of 'shifting the goal posts' by previously touting vaccines as Australians' ticket to the outside world.

Fears are growing highly infectious 'mutant strains' seen in the UK, South Africa and Brazil could also make vaccines less effective in years to come, after an Israeli study this week found 'breakthrough infections' are possible after receiving the dose.

Such mutant variants are among the reasons why Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have warned that widespread use of current vaccines may not be enough to open borders.

No coronavirus vaccines, including the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs Australia is relying on, are 100 per cent effective against the deadly virus.

An international traveler carries their luggage into the Intercontinental Hotel on April 8 in Melbourne (pictured) - with harsh restrictions meaning most Aussies can't head abroad

A passenger wearing a facemask arrives at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport from New Zealand (pictured) - the only country in the world Australians can travel to

With over 23million cases still active across the world, Mr Morrison has made no apologies for playing it safe.

'It's not safe right now to open up our international borders. Around the world, COVID-19 is still rife,' he said on Monday.

'We are still seeing increases in daily cases, particularly in the developing world... but around the world, it is still a very dangerous situation because of Covid.'

Back in January, the prime minister said vaccination in 2021 was 'a key component' in Australia's handling of the pandemic, and previously said it would be as 'mandatory as possible'.

He even said that if the vaccines were effective at preventing transmission, borders could open sooner than expected - but that is no longer the case.

'The key thing I think is going to impact on that decision, is going to be whether the evidence emerges about transmissibility, and how the vaccine protects against that,' Mr Morrison said in February 2021.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits a vaccine manufacturing facility in Melbourne (pictured) but health minister Greg Hunt has since admitted jabs won't be enough to open borders

Australia's top doctor professor Brendan Murphy also said vaccine efficacy would help relax borders as soon as the second half of 2021.

'In all likelihood they will have a significant effect on transmission,' he said in February.

'If that's the case they should allow progressively over the second half of this year, some relaxation of border measures and other measures.'

Innes Willox, from employer association AI Group, urged Australia to keep soldiering on with its vaccine rollout for the sake of the economy, saying the nation risks being trapped in a 'gilded cage' with indefinitely shut borders.

'Without an effective vaccine program our states would continue their lazy approach of needlessly shutting their borders to cover the inadequacies of their tracking and tracing systems,' Mr Willox told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Vaccines at least gives us a chance of reconnecting with what will still be a very different world.

'Without it, we risk being trapped in our gilded cage for many years to come.'

Passengers arrive on a Qantas flight from Melbourne at Sydney Airport to be met by health officials taking their temperature (pictured) with domestic travel back on across the country - but there's no end in sight for international border closures

The decision to bunker down for longer comes as stranded Australians accused the government of leaving them at the wayside overseas, with foreign nationals now outnumbering them for new arrivals Down Under.

Foreign nationals can get into Australia, but must still quarantine for the mandatory two weeks in hotels, by getting exemptions - usually for essential work such as doctors and nurses, or for compassionate family reasons.

In February, just 44 per cent of arrivals from overseas were Australian citizens, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

Lucy Morrell from strandedaussies.com - a website set up during the pandemic to advocate for the 36,000 stuck overseas and unable to return home - said Mr Hunt's statements mean citizens and permanent residents will essentially become stateless.

She said as Anzac Day approaches its important to remember we're 'leaving Australians behind' in a crisis.

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders,' Greg Hunt (pictured) said on Tuesday

Nurse Jen Ives receives a Covid-19 vaccination in Tasmania at the North West Regional Hospital (pictured) as the rollout continues slower than planned

Australia has not recorded a single case of community transmission within the last week, with all new infections tucked away in mandatory hotel quarantine.

Deloitte economist Chris Richardson anticipates there will be some sort of quarantine remaining for incoming travellers for some time.

'That keeps international travel - both inbound and outbound - pretty weak in 2022, and it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024,' he said.

Last week health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting, sending the rollout into chaos.

Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine, administered by Registered Nurse Morgan Sleader at Townsville University Hospital on March 5, 2021

It was the vaccine the Australian government was relying heavily on, but it has since ordered an additional 20 million Pfizer vaccine doses that will be shipped from abroad later in the year.

That means Australia's vaccination program may not be complete until well into 2022 - far behind many other developed nations and even worse than the likes of Rwanda, Indonesia and Bermuda.

On Friday, 88,500 new vaccine doses were administered, bringing the total number inoculated to 1.16 million - well short of the four million Mr Morrison originally promised by the end of March.

Mr Morrison dumped the target on Sunday due to 'uncertainties' surrounding vaccine imports.

Passengers at Sydney International Airport arrive after flying in from Auckland, New Zealand on September 18, 2020

Australia has rapidly fallen behind other nations for its Covid-19 vaccine rollout leaving it 102th in the world, as doctors call for state governments to take over.

The federal Government had originally planned to have four million doses administered by April 1, but was 3.4 million doses short of meeting its target.

So far, the rollout has been plagued by delivery delays and complications, with many GP clinics simply unable to give out the desired number of jabs.

The Australian Medical Association slammed the rollout delays as 'unnecessary'.
FILE - In this Thursday, April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine sits on a table at a pop up vaccinations site the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, in the Staten Island borough of New York. The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) PHOTO:AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

CDC, Local Agencies 'Pause' J&J Vaccine

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said that out of 6.8 million doses administered, it was investigating clots in six women in combination with reduced platelet counts.

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow.



Locally this morning, the Purchase District Health Department, the Pennyrile Health District, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Southern Seven Health Department have all said they have paused any distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine per the CDC recommendation.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is scheduled to make a statement about the pause this morning.
A leading think tank for science and technology policy has said as Washington seeks to counter a rising China, no nation is more important than India with its abundance of highly skilled technical professionals and strong political and cultural ties with the United States.

It however cautioned that "overreliance" on India as an IT services provider could become a strategic problem if major disagreements emerge between the two nations on issues such as intellectual property, data governance, tariffs, taxation, local content requirements or individual privacy.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) think-tank in a report released on Monday describes the worst and best-case scenarios.

In one, tensions between India and China are reduced and the many business synergies between these two neighbouring nations come to the fore. In this case, the heart of the global economy would shift to the east, and there would be little the United States could do about it, the report stated.

In the second scenario, the interests of India and the United States become increasingly aligned, as the economic, military, and international relations challenges from China grow. In such a case, democratic norms could prevail across most of the developed world, as developing nations start looking to a 'Delhi model' instead of a 'Beijing model', it stated.

"As America seeks to counter a rising China, no nation is more important than India, with its vast size, an abundance of highly skilled technical professionals, and strong political and cultural ties with the United States.

"But the parallels between America's dependency on China for manufacturing and its dependency on India for IT services are striking," said the think-tank.

According to David Moschella, a non-resident senior fellow at ITIF and co-author of the report, the same forces that increasingly divide the United States and China are now pushing the US and India closer together.

"The interplay between the United States, India, and China will shape global competition and digital innovation for years to come. While there is a wide range of possible scenarios, two things are clear: India should be an essential part of US efforts to compete with and reduce its dependence on China, and this will inevitably expand America's global dependencies from manufacturing to services," he said.

"America's technology dependencies on India in the 2020s seem certain to rise. Yet it is important to know whether the United States will be dependent on a strategic partner with strong mutual interests, or on an increasingly neutral rival," said ITIF president Robert D. Atkinson, who co-authored the report with Moschella.

Much will depend on the strategic choices that the Joe Biden administration and Indian government make in the next several years. One thing is clear that economic and geopolitical stakes could not be higher, he said.

The report describes how India is making important progress in research and development, innovation centres, machine learning, analytics, product design and testing, and other areas, especially in IT and life sciences.

While leading US tech companies are well-positioned in India's booming Internet and e-commerce marketplaces, strong local competitors are now emerging. Outside the technology sector, US companies operating in India face stiff competition from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and other firms.

Although doing business in India is still often difficult, most large US companies have expanded significantly to having IT service providers, large operations, or their own India-based capability centres, the report stated.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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Two medical staff in protective suits at Moc Bai International Border Gate at the Vietnam-Cambodia border in Vietnam's Tay Ninh Province, March 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

With people constantly crossing the border legally and illegally, Vietnam must be on high alert for possible Covid-19 infections from neighboring Cambodia, an expert says.

Cambodia was suffering a significant surge in Covid-19 community transmissions. On Tuesday, the country reported 181 new infections. Three days earlier, there were more than 1,000 cases.

Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor to the Health Ministry's public health emergency operations center, told VnExpress Tuesday that "the border between Vietnam and Cambodia is really long, not to mention the sea and air routes. It should be noted that controlling travel by sea is truly difficult."

Many Vietnamese people stay and do business in Cambodia and the number of people traveling back and forth, both legally and illegally, is high, he said.

"The infection risk is high and it is essential that we tighten control over border gates and all small paths that people use to enter Vietnam. It is possible that community outbreaks could re-emerge in the country if someone sneaks in illegally with the virus," he said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Cambodia has recently warned of the risk Cambodia is facing.

"We stand on the brink of a national tragedy because of Covid-19. Despite our best efforts... new cases occur every day and we are racing against the virus. Unless we can stop the outbreak, Cambodias health system is at high risk of being overwhelmed, which would have disastrous consequences," said WHO Representative to Cambodia, Li Ailan.

Just last month, Vietnam had suffered a spate of infections after a group of Vietnamese returned home illegally via the sea route.

Three of them, all women 25 and 26 years old, were confirmed infected after they returned from Cambodia on a fishing vessel that docked at Phu Quoc Island off the nations southern coast.

Last December, a man had tested positive after entering Vietnam illegally. He traveled from Myanmar to Thailand by truck and then got into Cambodia on another truck before sneaking into the south of the country. Fortunately, his mother reported him and thanks to her, the infection chain was stopped just in time. Three of the eight people crossing the border with him were also infected.

As per Vietnam's protocols, all people entering the nation from abroad must be quarantined for 14 days, during which they will be tested at least twice.

Illegal entrants are those evading checkpoints to avoid quarantine.

Phu called on the nation's citizens to proactively report to authorities if they come to learn of any person sneaking into the country illegally.

For around three weeks now, Vietnam has not recorded any community transmission but the number of imported cases has been increasing gradually, with many of them returnees from Cambodia.

So far, 1,570 of Vietnam's 2,714 Covid-29 cases have been local transmissions.

Vietnam has inoculated around 60,000 citizens against Covid-19 with the vaccine produced by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, obtained either through contracts or global vaccine access mechanism Covax. Most of the vaccinated people so far are frontline workers in the Covid-19 fight.

The nation is expected to start mass production of indigenously produced Nanocovax vaccine in August if a three-phase human trial is successfully completed in May.
Young people are being urged to get their flu shot as they wait to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners on Wednesday recommended all people over the age of six months get their annual influenza vaccination when it becomes available this month.

They said the best time to get the vaccine is before the start of the flu season, which usually peaks from June to September.

Young people are being urged to get their flu shot as they wait to get the COVID-19 vaccine (stock)

RACGP President Dr Karen Price described the twin rollouts of COVID and influenza vaccines as an 'enormous logistical exercise', especially as the two vaccines are not recommended to be given at the same time.

'I have every confidence that general practice is up to the task, vaccines are business as usual for GPs,' she said in a statement.

'But we do need a different approach to get the job done.'

The RACGP is urging people in later phases of the COVID vaccine rollout to get their flu shot as soon as it is available, and then get their COVID vaccine.

'If you're young and healthy you might think you should be standing back and waiting for the most vulnerable patients to get their flu shots first,' Dr Price said.

'In fact, we want these patients to do the opposite. Book an appointment with your GP to get your flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available, and then get your COVID-19 vaccine when you can.

'Patients who are more vulnerable, including those who are older, should prioritise getting their COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is offered to them.'

Doctor in a protective suit taking a throat and nasal swab from a patient to test for possible coronavirus infection

More than 4500 general practices are taking part in Phase 1b of the COVID vaccine rollout, which has been thrown into disarray after a change in medical advice for the AstraZeneca jab.

The federal government had planned for every Australian to be offered at least their first dose of the vaccine by the end of October, with most receiving the AstraZeneca jab.

But that timeline has been scrapped after the federal government was advised those under 50 should not get the vaccine because of blood clotting concerns.

The influenza vaccine and COVID vaccine should be administered at least 14-days apart, according to clinical advice.
In stark contrast, operators providing tours, accommodation, events and experiences reported a 46 per cent decline. Western Australians are doing the classic drive and drop or fly and flop, TCWA chief executive Evan Hall said. They get there, stay in their accommodation and really have a self-service experience from there. West Australians do different things to our other visitors and spend a lot less because they are more self-sufficient. One of the regions iconic attractions  the Busselton Jetty  has seen these intrastate tourism habits first-hand, with its visitor numbers down since international borders closed. The jettys chief executive Lisa Shreeve encouraged West Australian travellers to stop and hop instead.

Hop on a tour bus, a winery tour or a walk, Ms Shreeve said. I think the perception is the South West has gone really well and doesnt need any help, and in part that is right, because some hotels and restaurants are doubling or tripling last years figures, but there is a two-speed economy happening down here. There are lots of businesses in the South West that arent going well. A Margaret River winery Credit:Tourism WA According to Tourism Research Australia, 952,000 intrastate visitors went on an overnight trip in Western Australia in January 2021, up 3 per cent from the 926,000 visitors recorded in January 2020. While these travellers spent $774 million  20 per cent more in that month than in January 2020  it was not enough to compensate for the absence of interstate visitors.

Total expenditure on overnight trips by interstate and international travellers in January 2021 was $876 million, down $105 million year-on-year. The absence of international visitors, which traditionally spend the most per visitor, further exacerbated this trend. Sharna Kearney, joint chief executive of the Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association, said the statewide decline in tourism visitation and spending was represented in the South West region, especially in relation to tours and attractions. Visitation to the four caves the group manages is down as much as 20 per cent year to date, with visitors to its two lighthouses down as much as 50 per cent. The regions visitation pre-COVID was 80 per cent from Perth, 10 per cent interstate and 10 per cent international, but those last two groups accounted for a much larger portion of the spend, Ms Kearney explained. They are likely to do and spend more while they are here, and so it was a valuable part of our tourism industry, more than the 20 per cent in visitor numbers might otherwise suggest.

Our caves and lighthouses, and the Busselton Jetty, are all examples of attractions that would index higher with interstate and international travellers. The number of interstate and international visitors for those attractions would probably track closer to 40 per cent, rather than the regional average of 20 per cent so they are naturally going to be more impacted by the border restrictions. Ms Kearney said among the associations members, almost every sector has a very different story and different challenges whereas normally the sector moves as one. Its a really tricky balancing act for business at the moment, she said. There are varied challenges  many wineries, accommodation providers, restaurants and cafes are struggling to get enough staff to manage their operations. A lot of the businesses that are doing really well arent doing as well as what they could be because they have to manage what they can provide from a staffing point of view.

A good example is restaurants, and there were quite a few over Easter, that didnt do a la carte and only did set menus because they didnt have the staff in the kitchen or on the floor. Loading George Scott, general manager of the Beer Farm in Metricup, said the region had been absolutely pumping and the venue had regularly been at capacity but agreed many hospitality businesses were finding recruitment almost impossible. A few businesses I know have had to restrict their opening times because they havent been able to staff their operations. Our team has been working really hard to keep up with demand, he said. Cape to Cape Explorer Tours founder Gene Hardy said while business had remained relatively strong, he had struggled to find housekeeping and catering staff in the region.
GOP Rep. Norman Says 10th Amendment Bars Bidens Bid to Federalize Suburban Zoning

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) says the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from federalizing suburban zoning powers.

Well, a couple of things. No. 1, its against the 10th Amendment, Norman told The Epoch Times during an interview on April 13, as he returned from an inspection tour of the immigration crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico. The federal government should not be meddling in what counties, municipalities, and states should rule on.

Norman, a Republican member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was referring to President Joe Bidens plan to revive and strengthen President Barack Obamas HUD program known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH).

The 10th Amendment reserves to the states all powers not specifically enumerated as being with the central government in the nations capital. Defenders of centralized planning programs such as AFFH have traditionally defended them as being justified by the Constitutions general welfare clause.

President Donald Trumps housing chief, Dr. Ben Carson, suspended the program that Obama officials had used to persuade local and municipal officials to create anti-housing discrimination plans as a condition of receiving billions of dollars in HUD grants.

Biden promised during the 2020 presidential campaign to revive the AFFH program, and less than a week after her confirmation by the Senate as the HUD secretary, Marcia Fudge was asked about reinstating AFFH.

In response, she told White House reporters that the Biden administration is moving forward with such plans, including as part of the presidents $2.3 trillion American Jobs Program thats being touted by the White House as an unprecedented infrastructure initiative.

We are looking at it. Certainly, we know that fair housing is, in fact, the law of the land, and we want to use every tool that we have. I think that the prior administration did roll back some fair housing tools that we have. So, were looking at how we can go back and make those better and get them re-implemented, if possible, Fudge said.

But Norman also told The Epoch Times that secondly, we dont have the money and third, the fact that Biden would even propose this when only 6 percent of his bill is devoted to infrastructure is unheard of.

The South Carolina lawmaker was referring to estimates that only 6 percent of the total tax dollars to be appropriated under Bidens infrastructure proposal would actually be used to build or repair the nations roads and bridges, and make other related improvements.

Biden and advocates of his program, such as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), argue that officials should adopt a vastly expanded understanding of what comprises infrastructure, including what Pelosi called human infrastructure.

While arguments against new federal programs based on the 10th Amendment havent fared well in the federal courts since President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal and the 1937 failure of his plan to pack the Supreme Court, the presence of a 63 conservative majority on the nations highest tribunal (though Chief Justice John Roberts often sides with the Democrats) could produce a different outcome if legal challenges are mounted.

Norman told The Epoch Times that officials in his South Carolina congressional district have told him they would support legal challenges to a revived AFFH.

Republican critics of AFFH have claimed since it was launched in 2015 that the program amounts to a process by which federal bureaucrats at HUD would effectively become zoning commissioners, controlling a multitude of zoning and development decisions that have for centuries been the exclusive province of officials at the state and local levels.

Bidens plan rips the heart out of local zoning authority, Stanley Kurtz of the Ethics and Public Policy Center told The Epoch Times on April 12. What, if anything, remains when the Biden administration is done wont matter, because de facto control over the suburbs will have passed to the federal government.

In a related development, the University of Pennsylvanias Penn Wharton Budget Model projected on April 7 that the Biden plan will increase the national debt, while reducing economic growth, capital stock, workmens wages and hours, and productivity.

This country is a ship without a rudder with this guy, and whoever is calling the shots is off-base, Norman said.

Congressional correspondent Mark Tapscott may be reached at mark.tapscott@epochtimes.nyc.
Overseas travel could be off the cards for Australians even after Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out across the country.

Australians have been locked in their own country in all but exceptional circumstances since its borders closed on March 20, 2020.

Not only does it stop Aussies from going abroad for holidays or to visit families, but the ban has also left multi-billion dollar hole in tourism sector - as well as stopping crucial fruit pickers from coming to the country.

Greg Hunt has now admitted that international borders will not necessarily open once all Australians have had the jab - which had always been billed by the government as the nation's ticket out of the restrictions since the pandemic began.

'Vaccination alone is no guarantee that you can open up,' the federal health minister said.

Health Minister Greg Hunt (pictured) said 'if the whole country was vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders'

'This is a discussion I had with Professor (Brendan) Murphy in just the last 24 hours, that if the whole country was vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders, we still have to look at a series of different factors.'

Mr Hunt said health experts would have to look at a number of factors, including transmission rates and longevity.

The comments echoed prime minister Scott Morrison's sentiments on Monday night when he said 'it is not safe right now to open up our international borders' while 'Covid is still rife'.

National leaders have face ongoing criticism about the botched vaccine program that fell three million jabs short of the four million target by the end of March. Pictured: Nurses getting vaccinated in Townsville

National leaders have face ongoing criticism about the botched vaccine program that fell three million jabs short of the four million target by the end of March.

Mr Morrison dumped the targets on Sunday due to 'uncertainties' surrounding vaccine imports, and said on Monday that he would not be creating new ones.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheap and easy to transport, was the backbone of the government's $7billion program with almost four million doses ordered from overseas and a further 50 million to be produced in Melbourne.

Pictured: Passengers at Sydney International Airport arriving after flying in from Auckland, New Zealand, in 2020

But the plan fell flat on Thursday when health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting.

Late last week health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting.

The government has since secured an additional 40 million Pfizer vaccine doses that will be shipped from abroad later in the year.
Effective immediately, Suresh Krishnan, Chubb's current Chief Operating Officer, North America Accident and Health, has been named Executive Vice President, Head of North America Specialty Accident and Health. In this expanded role, he will look to grow this critical business segment which offers accident and health insurance to businesses, educational institutions and affinity groups.

Mr. Krishnan will continue to report to Chris Martin, Division President of North America Accident and Health.

Reporting to Mr. Krishnan will be Lauren Gorte, who has been named Chief Operating Officer, Specialty Accident and Health. She will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to further leverage the company's product and service offerings that focus on multinational travel accident and medical, business travel accident, and special risk business lines along with leading the retail field sales and underwriting teams. Prior to this appointment, Ms. Gorte served as Chubb's Errors and Omissions (E&O) Product Manager.

"We are always looking for ways to meet the unique needs of the market, regardless of the business environment," said Mr. Martin. "Having Suresh and Lauren in these roles positions us to provide comprehensive solutions for our customers and distribution partners."

Mr. Krishnan joined Chubb in 1999 and has held a variety of executive-level positions. Previously, he served as Head of Chubb European Group's Major Accounts Division, where he led the development of business strategies and metrics ensuring clients and brokers fully benefited from Chubb's risk and underwriting expertise. Prior to the ACE acquisition of Chubb in 2016, he led Chubb's Overseas General Insurance Division's multinational and large accounts strategy. This included leading and managing the Global Client Executive Practice for Chubb's Overseas General Insurance Division. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colgate University and a Juris Doctor from The University of Richmond School of Law.

Ms. Gorte joined Chubb in 2009 as a professional associate. She has close to a decade of production and field management experience in both the E&O and Cyber product lines. Throughout her career at Chubb, she has held a variety of leadership positions, heading up the Midwest region's underwriting team and overseeing the Western region for E&O and Cyber, as well as managing the company's Real Estate E&O portfolio. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Miami University, and holds a CPCU designation.

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com.

Chubb Insurance Company of Canada has offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver and provides its products and services through licensed insurance brokers across Canada. For additional information, visit: chubb.com/ca.

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The valedictorians of Houston ISDs Bellaire High School in June will forgo the time-honored tradition of delivering a commencement speech to their Class of 2021  and theyre fine with that.

There are, after all, nine of them.

I think nine speeches at one graduation would be kind of boring, to be honest, conceded co-valedictorian Wenson Tsiah-Hao Tang.

Such are the sacrifices that come with a record-breaking nine seniors reaching the pinnacle of academic achievement at HISDs largest campus, each earning a perfect 5.0 GPA en route to some of the nations most prestigious colleges.

As HISD honors its valedictorians and salutatorians this week, the nine at Bellaire High  Alkiviades Boukas, Daniel Chen, Evie Tsen-Ying Kao, Angela Ling, Miles Mackenzie, Tang, Christopher Zhou, and twin sisters Annie and Shirley Zhu  have the unusual distinction of sharing the schools top title.

While nearly all HISD and neighboring districts typically recognize one or two valedictorians, Bellaire High ended the first semester with several of its 700-plus seniors tied atop the class rankings.

Even when they came in (as freshmen), what I started to hear from teachers was this group was different, Bellaire High Principal Michael McDonough said. Teachers just talked a lot about their curiosity. We have that on campus, but it was the density of that with them.

For the nine, the accomplishment reflects countless hours of study, incredible amounts of support from school staff and family members, and a smidgen of smart scheduling.

Each student completed more than a dozen Advanced Placement classes, starting as early as freshman year. They powered through their biggest hurdles  complicated chemistry, perplexing physics, an onslaught of reading in sophomore English  and emerged unscathed. They skipped over potentially easier elective classes in favor of more difficult courses, such as music theory and advanced languages.

I think it just shows that hard work does pay off at some point down the road, said Mackenzie, a soon-to-be physics major at the University of Texas at Austin. Valedictorian isnt necessarily the most important thing, or even being No. 2, as long as youre working hard and giving it your best.

Although rare, the decision to name multiple valedictorians isnt without precedent. Spring Branch ISD high schools sometimes boast dozens of valedictorians, a product of the district limiting the number of advanced courses that count toward GPA calculations. Many districts, including HISD, award additional grade points for more difficult classes.

Some school districts, including Cy-Fair ISD, have scrapped the honors altogether, concerned about the pressure put on students and perverse incentive to game GPAs.

The proliferation and elimination of valedictorian titles has drawn occasional eye-rolls in recent years, with critics hailing it as another example of coddled kids-these-days avoiding the harsh realities of the real world.

The nine Bellaire seniors, however, regaled in sharing the honor.

Gathered on a Zoom call Monday, they jovially recounted overcoming similar obstacles  including a once-in-a-generation pandemic  and managing their hectic schedules. While a few acknowledged a bit of friendly competition among themselves, others said the potential for sharing the title sneaked up on them.

Im definitely really excited to be part of a group of nine, said Annie Zhu, who plans to attend Harvard University or Stanford University, majoring in computer science. I think it goes to show how our school is very collaborative. Its not something we feel like we have to be competing for.

In truth, the potential for multiple valedictorians increased at Bellaire High several years ago. Thats when the campus started offering health, physical education and other classes that do not produce a potential 5.0 grade during the summer. Taken before the start of freshman year, those courses do not count toward a final high school GPA.

Still, the prior two Bellaire High graduating classes maxed out at two valedictorians, illustrating the difficulty of maintaining a perfect GPA. The 3,200-student campus typically matriculates some of HISDs highest-achieving seniors.

I think that shows something about us, said Tang, who is leaning toward studying computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. We show grit and character. And its not just academics. A lot of us have clubs and extracurricular activities.

To date, the nine have not yet gathered together to revel in their accomplishment. That time will come before graduation, however, with McDonough hinting that the group is planning a really special and creative commencement day surprise.

Weve got to create some suspense with graduation, McDonough said.

jacob.carpenter@chron.com

twitter.com/chronjacob
Were seeing institutional adoption of crypto and digital assets on a global scale, said Todd Crosland, Founder and CEO of CoinZoom. CoinZooms mission is to make both retail and institutional access to crypto easy, secure and reliable.

CoinZoom, a U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange and leading fintech company, today announced its arm of institutional services for digital assets, CZ Prime. CoinZooms launch of CZ-Prime FIX API, further accelerates the adoption from its growing list of institutional customers, who want to add Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading strategies to their offerings.

CoinZooms CZ-Prime FIX API, is available to institutional investors, brokers, private traders, hedge funds, asset managers, corporations, VCs, high net worth individuals, endowments, family offices and private wealth managers.

With CZ-Primes FIX integration, institutions can take advantage of minimal latency, secure connection and full-time access around the clock. Institutions will have access to both market rates and trading with full order books, from CoinZooms over 75 markets. Institutions will also have access to the most popular order execution types.

Were seeing institutional adoption of crypto and digital assets on a global scale, said Todd Crosland, Founder and CEO of CoinZoom. CoinZooms mission is to make both retail and institutional access to crypto easy, secure and reliable. CoinZooms release of the CZ-Prime FIX API provides institutions with the ability to manage all their crypto positions programmatically. The launch of our CZ-Prime FIX API, demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with institutional standards of speed, connectivity, security and compliance that institutional traders rely on.

Crosland continued, We anticipate our first global institution to begin trading on our CZ-Prime FIX API by the end of April, with many more to be added in the coming months.

About CoinZoom

CoinZoom, with customers in 185 countries, is the next generation digital asset exchange that uses the team's vast experience in providing superb trade quality, customer-focused tools, and technology that help customers become successful traders. CoinZoom offers services in buying, selling, and spending Bitcoin, Ethereum, and over 28 top digital currencies. CoinZooms premier product is its CoinZoom Visa card, which allows customers the ability to instantly convert crypto to fiat and spend it at over 53M merchants globally. CoinZoom also offers global customers a premier Peer-to-Peer payments system called ZoomMe. CoinZoom customers can send fiat and crypto anywhere in the world, instantly for free. The team's decades of experience in financial technology security are equally important in safeguarding customer funds and customers' digital currency positions. CoinZoom is a U.S. registered Money Services Business with FinCen in all 50 states and territories. CoinZoom is also a U.S. registered Money Transmitter, available for trading in 48 states. CoinZoom also has subsidiaries in Australia and Ireland. CoinZoom Australia PTY LTD is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange with AUSTRAC and CoinZoom Europe Limited, is registered in Ireland.
She's filming a second season of the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.

And the day after National Pet Day, Reese Witherspoon brought along her French bulldog Minnie Pearl as company on set.

The actress, 45, was seen standing by some trailers with Minn on a leash as she chatted with crew members.

Her best friend: Reese Witherspoon brought her French bulldog Minnie Pearl to set as she filmed the second season of her Apple TV+ series the Morning Show on Monday

Reese was dressed in a purple blazer with a black top and black jeans.

She also had on black socks and white trainers.

Her blonde hair was styled in a ponytail and she wore a face visor as part of COVID-19 on set protocols.

She is reuniting with co-star Jennifer Aniston for another season of the streaming series that premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019.

In between takes: The actress, 45, was seen standing by some trailers with Minn on a leash as she chatted with crew members

Relaxed: Reese was dressed in a purple blazer with a black top and black jeans. Her blonde hair was styled in a ponytail and she wore a face visor as part of COVID-19 on set protocols

On Sunday, Reese had shared photos to social media of all three of her dogs as she celebrated National Pet Day.

In addition to Minn, she has a chocolate Labrador named Hank and a black Labrador named Major.

After posting portrait shots of each, she shared a photo of them all cuddled up together as they slept.

So cute: Reese had shared this photo of Minnie Pearl to her Instagram on Sunday as she celebrated National Pet Day

Her boys: In addition to Minn, she has a black Labrador named Major and a chocolate Labrador named Hank

Adorable: After posting a portrait shots of each of her pets, Reese then shared a photo of them all cuddled up together as they slept

In addition to her fur babies, the Big Little Lies and Legally Blonde star is mom to three children.

She shares daughter Ava, 21, and son Deacon, 17, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.

She also has a son Tennessee, eight, with current husband Jim Toth.

Reese and talent agent Jim celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary last month.
Skoltech researchers have developed a prototype of a fluorescence-based sensor for continuous detection of cortisol concentrations in real time, which can help monitor various health conditions. The paper was published in the journal Talanta.

Cortisol, a steroid hormone commonly known as the "stress hormone," plays a significant role in the regulation of a range of physiological processes from glucose levels to blood pressure and inflammation. Reduced or elevated cortisol levels are linked to various diseases and symptoms, but accurate and reliable continuous cortisol monitoring in vivo is yet out of reach. Existing laboratory-based methods such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reliable as they are, cannot be adapted to real-time monitoring due to sample preparation requirements.

"First of all, any analyte monitoring in vivo is a challenge. Secondly, cortisol is a relatively small molecule. Finally, it is always destructive to take a blood test from mouse/rats or human patients. The reason is simple, as any such kind of tests initiate stress and elevate the cortisol concentration, making the test inconclusive. The goal is to develop an implantable cortisol sensor, which would work in real-time placed in blood flow," Vladimir Drachev of Skoltech and the University of North Texas, a coauthor of the paper, explains.

Drachev and his Skoltech colleagues from CDMM created a prototype immunosensor for cortisol monitoring using gold nanoparticles. The free cortisol in the sample displaces fluorescently marked complexes of cortisol and bovine serum albumin (BSA), which are attached to monoclonal antibodies to cortisol and put onto nanoscale gold "islands" on the sensor. The fluorescence can be measured as a signal of cortisol concentration in the sample. This work is performed in collaboration with a Skoltech group of biologists led by Yuri Kotelevtsev.

In in vitro tests, the new sensor showed the lowest levels of detection for cortisol of 0.02 microgram per milliliter, comparable to normal levels in the human plasma. The reversible response was also demonstrated in vitro. The team hopes their approach can lead to the development of an implantable sensor for continuous monitoring of cortisol concentration in real-time. Such an implantable sensor will look like an optical fiber with a capillary cell at the end covered by the semipermeable membrane placed in a thin needle. This needle will have several inside layers and will be connected to a portable spectrometer via fiber optics.

"We need to develop an implantable sensor separated from the biological fluid (blood, saliva, interstitial fluid) with a semi-permeable membrane. Such devices for measuring glucose, for instance, already exist. However, there are still big challenges," Drachev says.

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FRONT PAGE

An article on Wednesday about a tax break for the wealthy in Hong Kong misstated the status of Michael Tien, a Hong Kong lawmaker. He is a current a member of the citys Legislative Council, not a former one.

INTERNATIONAL

An article on Saturday about plans for Prince Philips funeral misidentified the mother of Queen Elizabeth II. Her name was also Elizabeth, not Mary.

SPORTS

An article on Saturday about a citys response to the shooting deaths of a family by ex-N.F.L. player Phillip Adams misstated the given name of the football coach of Rock Hill High School. He is Joe Montgomery, not Jim.

An article on Sunday about the Padres first no-hitter, Joe Musgrove, misstated the year Gaylord Perry won a Cy Young Award while pitching for the San Diego Padres. It was 1978, not 1972. (In 1972, he won the award while pitching for Cleveland.)
The NSW government has decided to delay the introduction of new rules for Airbnb-style letting across the state by three months after an outcry from councils and online rental company Stayz.

The short-term letting rules were due to come into force on July 30, but the government has decided within the past 24 hours to delay their introduction to November 1.

Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said the government had received substantial feedback from key stakeholders about concerns regarding the timeline to implement changes.

NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes. Credit:Kate Geraghty

In the interest of conciliation, and to give the policy the best chance to succeed, were happy to extend the date for implementation to November 1, he said late on Tuesday.
To help relieve the boredom and frustration in these semi-sequestered times, the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington has come up with a couple of online ideas which might prove entertaining/educational for many of us. One of them involves alcohol, nose art and paint brushes (what could go wrong!), while the other features in-depth lectures covering WWII aviation history. So there is something there for every disposition, as their recent press release reveals

Create your own art party with our online experience that combines a dash of decoration, a pinch of airplane history, and recipes for vintage cocktails to awaken your inner aviation-artist.

Aircrews have long flown into harms way emboldened by the personal artwork decorating their aircraft. Now let The Museum of Flights Nose Art Cocktail Party help you combat the daily grind. During this online program, our Curator entertains you with the history of military airplane Nose Art and our drinks master will show you how to make the classic World War II cocktails which helped win the battles on all fronts.

We will help you prepare for the party by providing a booklet with detailed, delicious cocktail recipes, nose art history and an assortment of nose art templates (like a coloring book!). Adorn these pages or create your own original paintings using your favorite medium. And voila!

Shaken or stirred, your Nose Art is a masterpiece, and the cocktail party a success. This event is for those aged 21 and over

When: Thursday, April 22, 2021

Time: 7:00 PM  8:30 PM

This online presentation is facilitated via ZOOM.

Price: $35 (Museum Members: $30)

Includes: Access to presentation for (1) one screen and (1) one Nose Art Coloring Book. You have the option to buy an additional coloring book for $10 when you complete your purchase. Additional add-ons are below.

For more information click HERE.







Inspired by The Museum of Flights Untold Stories: World War II at 75 exhibit, this 4-week interactive online lecture series brings you to the front lines of the subject matter and to the development of a world-class museum display. Each week you will meet Museum curators, exhibit developers and World War II experts to share their professional secrets and some of the forgotten, or sometimes suppressed, histories of World War II. The series can be enjoyed as an in-depth facilitated course, or you may choose individual sessions based upon your own interests.

Each week includes stimulating discussion, insightful speakers, trivia challenges, and more. Facilitated via Zoom video conferencing.

Price for Entire Series: $80 ($60 Members)

Individual Programs: $25 ($20 Members)

Please include the promo code FULLSERIES at checkout to receive the discount for all four programs.

For more information click HERE.






In the eyes of the world, Wilton was a 10-year-old migrant from Nicaragua who had been abandoned in a Texas scrubland. A viral video that showed the crying child asking a US Border Patrol officer for help became a symbol of the first immigration crisis facing the administration of President Joe Biden.

But the story is part of a larger tragedy that began when Wilton and his mother fled their home to escape domestic abuse. The journey took them through the mountains of El Rama, in Nicaraguas southern Caribbean coast, and ended with a kidnapping in northern Mexico, near the US border.

EL PAIS traveled to their hometown to reconstruct their story.

The video of Wilton asking a US Border Patrol officer for help (Spanish audio).

In a remote farming community located more than 3,000 kilometers from the US-Mexico border, in the Nicaraguan mountains of El Rama, a 66-year-old woman named Socorro Leiva was shocked to see her own grandson crying in a video that made the television news. At that point, she did not even know that her daughter, Meylin Obregon Leiva, had left for the US with the eldest of her two children. I was making dinner when my husband, who was sitting in front of the TV set, yelled out Socorro, come quick! Thats Meylins son! And it was indeed my little boy. He was carrying a small bundle in one hand and he was asking for help, she says, standing inside her home in an area known as El Paraiso. According to Leiva, her daughter and grandson left to escape an abusive husband.

The pair managed to make it into US territory, but they were sent right back to Mexico under Title 42, a Trump-era policy that has effectively shut the border to new asylum cases. There they fell into the hands of a criminal group that held them for ransom.

Soon after that, a Miami resident named Misael Obregon  Meylins brother and Wiltons uncle  received the first call from the kidnappers. They were asking for $10,000 (8,400) to release mother and child. But he could only come up with $5,000 (4,200), and it was agreed that they would release Wilton and take him across the border. It was then that a US officer patrolling the area found the child on April 1.

In the month of March alone, the Border Patrol apprehended more than 172,000 undocumented migrants, most of them from Central America. This is the highest monthly figure recorded in the last 15 years. Yet most of those individuals have been sent to Mexico under Title 42 of the US Code, a public-health regulation invoked by former president Donald Trump with the stated aim of curbing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Joe Biden has maintained the policy but made an exception for unaccompanied minors, who have flooded the US shelter system. Those who get sent back, such as Wilton and his mother, run the risk of getting picked up by the criminal groups operating along the border.

Fleeing gender violence

Across from Socorro Leiva's house there is a bar with pool tables where her daughter's husband allegedly harassed the latter when she decided to move back in with her mother. Carlos Herrera

The family tragedy began back in the village that Meylin Obregon fled on February 8 with her eldest son, after deciding that there were no options for a safe life there. Five days before embarking on the journey, she went to the Nicaragua Prosecutors Office and filed a complaint against her former partner, Lazaro Gutierrez Laguna. My daughter put it all down in writing... in her statement she said she did not want Lazaro to be hounding her, begging her or anything, says her mother Socorro Leiva.

The prosecutors office issued a summons, but he never showed up. The harassment continued, and she told me that she could no longer stay in my house. I asked her why: Im her mother and my house is her house too. I know why, she said repeatedly. I felt that she was saying goodbye, but I didnt think it would be for so long, says Leiva.

According to the grandmother, Meylin left a partner who was unfaithful to her, who humiliated her and abused her. He would throw her out of his house every other day. He would boast about having other women, she says. Im not sure if he assaulted her physically, but that man is capable of anything. She would go back to his house out of love for the children, but after a 12-year relationship, she couldnt take it anymore.

Before her daughter went to the Prosecutors Office, Leiva forced Gutierrez to sign a letter in front of an evangelical pastor and a local community leader in which he pledged to stop abusing Meylin. But it had no effect. She is very scared of him, notes the grandmother.

Meylin Obregon Leiva never told her mother too much, but she did confide in her brother Misael who was living in Miami. Misael helped pay for the trip in order to help his sister escape her situation, unaware that she was headed straight for a different kind of hell in northern Mexico. She is currently being held in an undefined location according to her brother, who has spoken to her.

Socorro Leiva watching news about her daughter on TV. Carlos Herrera

On the day that EL PAIS visited Socorro Leiva in El Paraiso after a 300-kilometer trip from Managua, there was more bad news on TV. The grandmother learned that her daughter was being held by a group of coyotes, or people smugglers. There is no electricity in El Paraiso, and hardly any cellphone reception. The only real contact with the outside world is through a small TV whose battery is powered by solar panels.

Oh my Lord! exclaimed Leiva when she heard the news. Bursting into tears, she said that only God now with his power can release her. In the hands of those people, anything can happen. If there were a law protecting women here [in Nicaragua] maybe my daughter would not have left.

In an interview with the local media, Lazaro Gutierrez Laguna said that his relationship with Meylin ended due to couples problems and that both of them agreed that she and Wilton would travel to the US. But the grandmother denies this, and says the boy refused to go with his father when the latter attempted to keep him by force a few days before the trip. The second child did stay in Nicaragua with him.

In the meantime, Nicaraguan Vice-President Rosario Murillo has taken the case to heart, saying that Meylin left due to problems at home although she did not specifically mention gender violence, which has killed 19 women so far this year according to the non-profit group Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Catholics for the Right to Decide). Murillo also said that the government is working to repatriate the 10-year-old, who is currently staying at a shelter for unaccompanied minors in Brownsville, Texas.

But Leiva thinks it would be better for Wilton to go live with his uncle in Miami, and for Meylin to do the same if she makes it out alive. In this country, nothing is done even when they [women] get killed, she says. Its all in vain.

English version by Susana Urra.
Smacking your child can affect their brain development by altering neural responses to their environment, a new study warns.

Harvard University researchers investigated the effects of smacking, known as corporal punishment, on the brains of 147 children.

They found it may affect a child's brain development in similar ways to 'more severe forms of violence' and maltreatment.

Children who had been smacked had a greater neural response in multiple regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), including in regions that are part of what's known as the 'salience network' (SN).

These regions respond to cues in the environment that tend to be consequential, such as a threat, and may affect decision-making and processing of situations.

Smacking is legal in the US, while in the UK, Scotland completely prohibited corporal punishment of children in 2020, and Wales is set to follow in 2022.

In England, however, a 'reasonable chastisement' defence allows parents to legally smack their child unless it causes bruises, grazes, scratches, minor swellings or cuts.

This defence has been criticised as it effectively means children can be smacked if it doesn't leave evidence.

This could mean parents target areas that don't leave a mark, such as the head, potentially causing even more serious injuries that aren't easily detected.

Smacking could alter a child's neural responses to their environment in similar ways to a child experiencing more severe violence (stock picture posed by models)

What the law says Hitting a child as a form of chastisement has been outlawed in several countries across the world such as France, Scotland and Sweden. In England, it is unlawful for a parent or carer to smack their child, except where this amounts to 'reasonable punishment'. The defence of reasonable punishment is not valid in the case where the punishment 'amounts to wounding, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm or child cruelty'. In the US, it is legal to hit a child in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, but states differ widely about what precisely is allowed. Enforcement of the law often depends on the discretion of prosecutors. Advertisement

An NSPCC spokesperson said: 'There is clear evidence that physical punishment damages children's wellbeing and is linked to poorer outcomes in childhood and adulthood.

'We would encourage parents to use alternative methods to teach their children the difference between right and wrong, with a positive parenting approach such as setting clear and consistent boundaries.'

The new research from the Harvard team builds on existing studies that show heightened activity in certain regions of the brains of children who experience abuse in response to threat cues.

'We know that children whose families use corporal punishment are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, behaviour problems, and other mental health problems, but many people don't think about spanking as a form of violence,' said study author Katie A. McLaughlin at Harvard's Department of Psychology.

'In this study, we wanted to examine whether there was an impact of spanking at a neurobiological level, in terms of how the brain is developing.'

McLaughlin and her colleagues analysed data from a large study of children between the ages of three and 11.

They focused on 147 children around ages 10 and 11 who had been spanked, excluding children who had also experienced more severe forms of violence.

Map shows the countries that have outlawed all forms of corporal punishment of children (highlighted in red). Wales is set to follow in 2022

Each child lay in an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, which uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to produce detailed images of the inside of the body.

Smacking 'makes your child less intelligent' Smacking children stunts their intelligence, prior research suggests. Smacked youngsters have IQs severalpoints lower than those whose parents merely remonstrate with them, a 2009 study found. Researcher Murray Straus of the University of New Hampshire, who devoted his career to studying the effects of corporal punishment, said talking tochildren fosters brain development. In contrast, physical punishment can leave youngsters in a state of fear, hindering their ability to learn. DrStraus said: 'The less corporal punishment is used by a parent, the more verbal interaction is needed to teach and correct the child. 'Beingslapped or spanked is a frightening and threatening event that childrenexperience as highly stressful. Fright and stress can result incognitive deficits.' Dr Straus, whose books include Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families and Its Effects on Children, called for legislation on smacking to be introduced in the US before his death in 2016. Advertisement

As they did so, they watched a computer screen that displayed different images of actors making 'fearful' and 'neutral' faces.

A scanner captured the child's brain activity in response to each kind of face, and the images were analysed to determine whether the faces sparked different patterns of brain activity in children who were spanked compared to those who were not.

'On average, across the entire sample, fearful faces elicited greater activation than neutral faces in many regions throughout the brain,' the researchers say in their paper, published in the journal Child Development.

'Children who were spanked demonstrated greater activation in multiple regions of PFC to fearful relative to neutral faces than children who were never spanked.'

Researchers believe the study is a first step towards further analysis of spanking's potential effects on children's brain development.

Corporal punishment has already been linked to the development of mental health issues, anxiety, depression, behavioural problems and substance use disorders.

However, the relationship between spanking and brain activity had not previously been studied.

'While we might not conceptualise corporal punishment to be a form of violence, in terms of how a child's brain responds, it's not all that different than abuse,' said McLaughlin.

'We're hopeful that this finding may encourage families not to use this strategy, and that it may open people's eyes to the potential negative consequences of corporal punishment in ways they haven't thought of before.'

Parents and policymakers should work toward trying to reduce corporal punishment, the researchers add.

The argument against criminalising smacking seems to stem from concerns over the state's growing interference in family life.

Campaigners have suggested it undermines parents' ability to decide how to bring up their children  and will result in needless criminalisation.

Dr Ashley Frawley, a senior lecturer in public health at Swansea University, criticised this new research and said an outright smacking ban could have a disproportionate impact on 'loving parents who are suspected of smacking their child, including being arrested and investigated'.

'Even if they are found not guilty, this information would still be recorded by the police and could appear on a DBS check, potentially blighting the careers of hundreds of teachers, nurses and doctors,' she said.

'If it was true that smacking caused brain damage, most of humanity throughout all of human history would have been severely damaged.'

Dr Frawley is a supporter of the Be Reasonable campaign, which aims to discourage the Welsh government from making reasonable chastisement a criminal offence.

When Scotland outlawed smacking children last November, Minister for Children Maree Todd said that the 'justifiable assault' defence was 'outdated' and had 'no place in a modern Scotland'.

'The removal of this defence reaffirms that we want this country to be the best place in the world for children to grow up,' she said.

In 1979, Sweden became the first country in the world to explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment of children.

Since then, more than 60 countries or territories have followed suit, including Brazil, Spain, France, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea  but not England or the US.

In the US, approximately half of parents reported spanking their children between the ages 0-9 in the year prior, according to a 2019 study.
GREENVILLE  For more than a year, decisions about wearing masks in retail establishments and funding for Unity Park were made on the other side of a video screen.

Beginning next month Greenville City Council will return to meeting in-person, as most other Upstate governing bodies have done as the COVID-19 pandemic shifted from absolute lockdown, to uncertain path, to return to semi-normalcy.

On April 12, City Manager John McDonough said the council would meet in person on May 10 at the Greenville Convention Center and continue there for the foreseeable future.

The sprawling convention center was used early on in the pandemic to host a weekly news conference that provided updates on city actions and advice from health experts. The venue will allow for more social distance than can be accomplished in the 10th-floor chambers of City Hall, McDonough said.

Last month, the council discussed returning to in-person meetings as council members were vaccinated.

The city now joins local governing bodies like Greenville County Council and the Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees in returning to at least partial in-person deliberation.

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The decision comes as the city prepares to put on the popular downtown Saturday Market and after the retooled downtown concert series "Sound Check" sold out limited tickets in its first week, and again for this week, within five minutes.

Three weeks ago, Mayor Knox White told The Post and Courier that the all-virtual format of public meetings has increased public participation in some regards but is lacking.

"Where it still suffers is the personal and spontaneous sharing of ideas," White said. "It's the same for council meetings. It's harder online to informally float a suggestion or idea in real time, or to sense the direction a collective body wants to go to."

The ability to participate remotely will be a legacy of COVID-19. The city is working with its IT department to facilitate continued remote participation, city spokeswoman Beth Brotherton said.
Enterprises will go through the Response, Recovery, and Renew phases.

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The automotive automatic transmission (AT) market will witness a Negative impact during the forecast period, owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth is likely to increase in 2021 as compared to 2020.

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Aisin Seiki Co. Ltd.

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BorgWarner Inc.

BorgWarner Inc. operates business through various segments such as Engine and Drivetrain. The company offers automatic transmission clutch components and systems.

Grupo KUO SAB de CV

Grupo KUO SAB de CV operates business through various segments such as Consumer, Chemical, and Automotive. The company offers transmission systems such as passenger vehicle transmission, light-duty truck transmissions, Medium and Heavy-Duty Truck Transmissions, Specialty Drives, and others through its subsidiary Grupo Kuo SAB de CV.

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MEA

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'Sex over religion': Legal scholars discuss America's shifting religious freedom landscape

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Legal scholars discussed Monday how the religious freedom landscape is shifting in the United States and voiced concern about the impact of the nation's increasing religious disaffiliation on the First Amendment.

The Washington, D.C.-based Religious Freedom Institute hosted a virtual panel event on Monday titled Religious Liberty: Where We Are and Where Were Going."

Religious freedom legal experts were invited to discuss the progression that led to the current state of religious freedom in America and how it has been shaped through recent decades. The discussion was the inaugural event for RFIs Courtrooms to Classrooms series.

Religious Freedom Institute Senior Fellow Andrew Graham moderated the discussion. Featured speakers were U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas and James A. Sonne, a law professor and director of Religious Liberty Clinic at Stanford Law School.

Kacsmaryk, appointed to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump in 2019, said multiple factors have contributed to the legislative shift in religious freedom over the last 20 years. One of those factors, he said, is how the Democratic Party has morphed over recent years. The party was once seen as a haven for religious minorities.

Within 30 years, the [Democratic Party], which had always been a sanctuary for religious minorities and those among persecuted religious groups, went from enacting and pushing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 to at least sponsoring legislation [in 2019] that would expressly restrict the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act," the judge said.

[You] see this in the 2019 Equality Act and No Harm Act, which are both sponsored by Democratic leaders, he continued. I think this cultural move toward religious disaffiliation is most pronounced in one of our major national parties, which had always been a sanctuary for persecuted religious minorities. So, I think this, in part, explains why there is maybe less support for religious liberty as a general principle.

Kacsmaryk also referred to a Gallup Poll from March that showed how religious membership dipped below the majority of the population for the first time in the polls recorded history.

There has also been a rise in religious nones, or those who do not adhere to any religion.

This points to the recent legal and legislative trends away from religious freedom since law flows downstream from politics and politics flows downstream from culture, Kacsmaryk added.

Another cause of the decrease in national religiosity resulted from the sexual revolution that began in the mid-20th century, the judge contended.

This affected an evaporation of religious consensus, he asserted, suggesting that a cultural upheaval led to the effective deregulation of sex.

When combined, the sociological, theological and theoretical factors generate a culture that is focused on expressive individualism, self-definition and therapeutic affirmation. It combines to create a politics that prioritizes expression over free exercise, prioritizes sex over religion and safe spaces over debate and dialogue, Kacsmaryk stated. And finally, in the law, you see a shift in emphasis away from hard rules of damages, case and controversy.  You see this reflected in recent Supreme Court cases.

The judge argued that traditional Abrahamic religions will become harder to explain to courts and legislatures as these beliefs continue to fall outside the mainstream.

Sonne, who established a legal clinic at Stanford to serve individuals with religious freedom concerns, cited various Supreme Court cases in past years involving freedom of religion, including the Little Sisters of the Poor case against the Obamacare contraceptive healthcare mandate.

Sonne said there has been a recent trend of religious liberty being diminished in the name of equality. Despite the pushback against certain areas of religious liberty in recent years, he remains optimistic.

Really remembering the human, remembering what this is all about, Sonne said. What is religious liberty and religious freedom all about? And its different than those substantive questions."

"My concern is that those disputes, though they are important in their own right, will overwhelm and we will forget what religious liberty is truly about, which is again, human beings trying to live, work, survive and follow the law as best they can, and be good citizens in a way thats true to themselves as human beings and most importantly exercise their faith," Sonne stated. "And so, to honor that and to really try and work together for a principled pluralism.

I am optimistic that that work can be done, he assured.
A study conducted by researchers in Canada suggests that children may be less likely than adults to spread the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

As recently reported in The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the study found that samples taken from 175 children aged 17 years or younger were about half as likely to contain culturable viruses than samples taken from adults.

Furthermore, when SARS-CoV-2 was successfully cultured, a significantly less viable virus was present in samples from children than from adults.

The team from Cadham Provincial Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba, says the findings suggest that children do not appear to be the main drivers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, which has important public health and clinical implications.

Jared Bullard and colleagues say the study also suggests that the cycle threshold value  the number of cycles required for the virus to be detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing  may be highly valuable in determining the potential infectiousness of a child.

Improved understanding of childhood transmission is essential

Public health measures taken to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 have included the suspension of in-person school attendance. This decision was primarily based on observations that children have previously played a role in driving the transmission of respiratory viruses such as influenza.

However, Bullard and the team say the role children play in SARS-CoV-2 transmission remains unclear, given the lack of studies and conflicting results so far.

As an increasing number of jurisdictions consider whether in-school learning, daycare and extracurricular activities should continue or resume, a better understanding of the relative contributions of children and adolescents to SARS-CoV-2 transmission when compared with adults, is essential, they write. This is particularly important given the increased likelihood of asymptomatic infection in this group.

Studies have been lacking a critical dimension

An important proxy of in vivo infectivity is the recovery of the live virus on cell culture. The researchers say assessment of this critical dimension has been lacking in almost all pediatric studies of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, thereby limiting the ability to perform a more complete risk-to-benefit analysis of the role children play in spreading the virus.

Furthermore, evidence suggests that SARS-CoV-2 infectivity can be predicted using data such as the cycle threshold value generated during reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR).

The cycle threshold value is a relative measure of the quantity of genetic material in a sample, with a lower value indicating the presence of more viral genetic material.

What did the researchers do?

The researchers obtained nasopharyngeal swabs from adult and pediatric cases of COVID-19 and their contacts who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between March and December 2020.

The rates of SARS-CoV-2 culture positivity were quantified and compared between adults and children. Cycle threshold values from RT-PCR and the 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50/mL) were also compared between adults and children. The TCID50/mL is a commonly used assay for quantifying infectious viral titers.

What did the study find?

Of 305 samples cultured, 97 were from children aged 10 years or younger, 78 were from children aged 11 to 17 years and 130 were from adults (aged 18 years or older).

The team successfully grew SARS-CoV-2 in 93 (31%) of the 305 samples, including 57 (44%) of the samples from adults.

By contrast, the virus could only be cultured in 18 (19%) of the samples from children aged 10 years or younger and 18 (23%) of the samples from children aged 11 to 17 years.

The likelihood of growing live virus from the childrens samples was 55% lower than for the adults samples.

For the children aged 10 years or younger and those aged 11 to 17 years, the median cycle threshold was 25.1 and 22.2, respectively, compared with 18.7 for adults.

For both children and adults, the cycle threshold value was highly predictive of SARS-CoV-2 culture positivity.

In addition, the median TCID50/mL was significantly lower among the samples from children aged 1117 years than among samples from adults, at 316 versus 5620. The median TCID50/mL did not significantly differ between adults and children aged 10 years or younger.

What are the implications of the study?

The researchers say the results demonstrate that RT-PCR positivity does not necessarily equate to culture positivity.

In children who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR, knowing the cycle threshold value may be more informative for determining the potential infectiousness of a child, and may have implications for duration of isolation, writes Bullard and colleagues.

Given the difficulties in keeping children isolated within the home environment and the significant impact of prolonged isolation on both child development and parental function (such as loss of work or income), a robust tool to decrease the length of, or need for, quarantine would be an important public health development, concludes the team.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will address several public programs and roadshows in West Bengal on Tuesday (April 13) ahead of the fifth phase of assembly elections.

The Union Home Minister is scheduled to address a public meeting at Darjeeling in the morning, followed by rallies in Nagrakata and Islampur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will finally conclude his visit to West Bengal on Tuesday with his last public meeting in Bidhannagar later in the afternoon.

Additionally, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will also address a series of public meetings in West Bengal today. Singh will commence his visit to West Bengal with a public meeting in Karimpur AC at 11:15 am, followed by a public meeting in the Madhyamgram. Finally, the Defence Minister will conclude his campaign with a public meeting in Swarupnagar later in the afternoon.

Earlier, on Monday, Amit Shah held back-to-back roadshows in West Bengal and also addressed several public meetings. PM Narendra Modi also held several public programs in West Bengal on Monday.

Meanwhile, polling for the fifth phase of the ongoing elections will take place on April 17. Counting of votes will take place on May 2.

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BUFFALO GROVE, IL / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / In Home Caregivers, a company based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, is happy to announce that they are providing independent home care for seniors and physically challenged individuals who require assistance with housekeeping, meal preparation, bill paying, lawn care, and more. The elderly home health care that they offer for residents of Buffalo Grove and neighboring areas is provided by a team of home care specialists who help seniors with their activities of daily living/ wellness services, safety supervision/ physical assistance, and socialization.

Jeff Handelman, owner of In Home Caregivers, says, "We have home care specialists with all skill sets and capabilities to match your loved ones' needs. From one to 24 hour shifts, we provide premium certified nursing assistants, trained caregivers and personal companions. Our relationship begins with a free 'in home' assessment to determine a client's health, home and daily living needs. Next, we connect with any physicians and health care providers to ensure a cohesive evaluation. Finally, we recommend a custom care plan based upon a client's individual necessities and their family's needs."

Assistance for activities of daily living or wellness services involves various daily routine tasks. These include assistance with: getting dressed, oral hygiene, positioning in bed or chair, grooming, bathing or showering, medication reminders, toileting or incontinent care, shaving with electric razor, simple meal preparation or feeding assistance, light housekeeping including laundry, and more.

The home care specialists from In Home Caregivers also provide physical assistance and safety supervision. Activities involved include: wheelchair or walker assistance, ambulatory assistance involving walking and/or climbing the stairs, transferring to the bed/chair/couch, and help in the bathroom with bathing/toileting/oral care. Assistance with regards to socialization includes cognitive stimulation; newspaper, book or magazine reading; game playing, and conversation. Those who would like to learn more about In Home Caregivers can visit and follow their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/InhomeCaregiversLLC.

According to Jeff Handelman, their home services specialists are ready to take over where the caregiver have left off. They can provide professional assistance when it comes to such things as dog walking, lawn care or snow removal, finances and paying bills, meal preparation, house cleaning, grocery shopping, lawn care, snow removal, estate packing, and more.

In Home Caregivers can also provide a home retrofit, which is basically for seniors who want to age in place. The company's goal here is to enhance the independence of their clients so they can have a great quality of life and continue to live safely at home. The company has a team of skilled, knowledgeable and experienced experts on installation and retrofitting, which allows the home to be as safe as possible and to minimize the risk of falls. These include a grab bar in the shower to help prevent falls, pull-down shelving in kitchen cabinets and closets for easy accessibility, accessible walk-in bathtubs, and more. Such modifications to the home will not just ensure the safety and comfort of the elderly, but will also enhance their quality of living and enjoyment, while feeling secure when at home. Some of the things they can install in the home include: safety rails and bars, wheelchair accessibility, accessible kitchen shelves, toilet bars, stand-up safety poles, chair lifts, visual and hearing impaired improvements, and interior and exterior ramps.

Jeff Handelman established In Home Caregivers because he believes that he always had an affinity to the goal of helping others. It has always been his passion to care for the elderly and people with disabilities. He personally experienced how to take care of the elderly when at the age of 17, his grandfather had to be hospitalized after a fall. After his grandfather returned home from the hospital, he had to help his grandfather adjust to having limited mobility and having to use the wheelchair. He helped his grandfather with various activities, such as reminding him to take his medication, helping him bathe, going to doctor appointments, shaving and feeding him, stocking his pantry and refrigerator, toileting, cleaning his home, and paying his bills.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLcvbNLjDaH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Those who are interested in learning more about the home care services provided by In Home Caregivers can visit their website at https://www.inhomecaregivers.net/caregivers, or contact the on the phone or through email.

For more information about In Home Caregivers, contact the company here:

In Home Caregivers

Jeff Handelman

(847) 219-1718

jeff@inhomecaregivers.net

100 Lake Blvd Unit 617

Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

SOURCE: In Home Caregivers

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640192/In-Home-Caregivers-Provides-Independent-Home-Care-for-Seniors-in-Buffalo-Grove-IL
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The first photo of David Cameron and his financier friend Lex Greensill on their 'desert camping trip' to Saudi Arabia has emerged as the lobbying scandal around the former prime minister continues to spiral.

Dressed in business suits and drinking tea around a campfire, the pair are pictured during their visit to Riyadh in January 2020 when Greensill Capital planned to open an office in the capital.

During the trip, they met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Mr Cameron insisted he raised human rights concerns with the Arab leader.

The photo obtained by the Wall Street Journal appeared as it was revealed one of Mr Cameron's top officials was allowed to work for Greensill Capital while still a civil servant.

Bill Crothers spent several months as Government procurement head and a Greensill board adviser, it emerged last night.

The extraordinary arrangement meant when he quit to work for the lender full-time he did not have to ask approval from the watchdog that monitors the revolving door between Whitehall and business.

Sipping tea in front of an open fire, this is the first picture of David Cameron and Lex Greensill on their 'desert camping trip' to Saudi Arabia

Bill Crothers (pictured right) spent several months as Government procurement head and a Greensill board adviser

He later received shares that could have been worth more than 5million. Boris Johnson is understood to be concerned about the highly unusual dual role agreed by the Cabinet Office. It was revealed in official correspondence yesterday as the lobbying scandal around the former prime minister grew.

Mr Johnson pledged that a Greensill investigation he launched this week will have 'carte blanche'  but dodged claims he was just trying to take revenge on his long-standing Tory rival Mr Cameron. The House of Commons will today decide if an independent parliamentary inquiry should also be held into the Greensill affair, in a vote forced by Labour. In other developments:

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed he went for a 'social' drink with Mr Cameron and his financier boss Lex Greensill;

Russian oligarch Tory donor Alexander Temerko backed the former PM.

The scandal began last month when it was revealed Mr Cameron, a paid part-time adviser to Greensill since 2018, lobbied ministers and officials last year to let the firm gain access to the Bank of England's huge Covid loan scheme.

The Cabinet Office revealed that Bill Crothers, the government's former chief commercial officer, was already working for Greensill before he left the civil service in November 2015

But in recent weeks more details have emerged of the previously unknown links between Greensill and Government when Mr Cameron was in No10, with financier Mr Greensill even given Downing Street business cards.

Yesterday correspondence was published showing how senior civil servant Mr Crothers was involved in this close relationship. He had been the Government's Chief Commercial Officer inside the Cabinet Office, responsible for overseeing an estimated 40billion of taxpayers' money, from April 2012.

123m UK contract for Cameron's healthcare firm A healthcare firm which has David Cameron as a paid consultant won a 123million contract with a Department of Health company. US-based Illumina made the former PM chairman of its international board in 2017, the year after he left Downing Street. Its executive chairman Jay Flatley and Mr Cameron appeared on stage with Health Secretary Matt Hancock at a conference in September 2019. A week later, Illumina was awarded the massive contract by Genomics England  set up when Mr Cameron was Premier to sequence the DNA of cancer patients. The Department of Health yesterday insisted Illumina was the only firm capable of carrying out the work and it was a continuation of a 2014 deal. It said: 'This contract was awarded in the correct way following extensive due diligence.' A spokesman for Mr Cameron insisted he was not a lobbyist for Illumina and had not lobbied the Government over contracts involving the American firm. Advertisement

Then in September 2015 he was given permission to become an adviser to Greensill's board, while still in the civil service.

The unheard-of joint role meant that when he left Whitehall in November that year, he did not have to seek approval from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA).

Mr Crothers wrote in a letter published by the watchdog: 'I was given approval to take up a part-time board advisory role with Greensill Capital starting from September 2015, whilst employed as a civil servant.

'At that time Greensill was a small business, 30 or 40 employees, which did not conduct any business with UK Government.

'The approval was to be a board adviser, attending board meetings, with the role developing, discussed as becoming a director.'

He went on: 'I then left the Cabinet Office and the Civil Service in November 2015. I again sought advice and was told that as I was already working in an advisory capacity to Greensill before I left the Civil Service, with that role captured under the conflicts of interest policy, no BARs [business appointment rules] application was required to be submitted to ACOBA.'

Mr Crothers said the part-time role took up one day a month but he had been given approval to work 'up to a day a week'.

He insisted: 'It was seen as a way of me transitioning back into the private sector and was supported by the Cabinet Office leadership. This advisory role was not seen as contentious, and I believe not uncommon.'

It is thought the move would have been approved by the Cabinet Secretary at the time, Sir Jeremy Heywood, who had originally brought young Australian banker Mr Greensill into Government in 2011, or the then-Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary John Manzoni.

In 2016 Mr Crothers became a director of Greensill Capital, and went on to hold 3,653 shares, according to financial reports, which could have been worth as much as 5.7million when the company was highly valued in the City. But it went bust last month and the shares are now worthless.

Boris Johnson is understood to be concerned about the highly unusual dual role agreed by the Cabinet Office

Mr Crothers went on to have at least five meetings with Whitehall officials on behalf of Greensill.

ACOBA chairman Lord Pickles wrote to the Cabinet Office yesterday requesting its guidance on conflicts of interest. He wrote: 'The lack of transparency around this part-time employment with Greensill may have left the misleading impression that Mr Crothers had wilfully ignored the obligation to seek advice.'

Lord Pickles called for the Cabinet Office to publish 'historic and current numbers of individuals' given approval for dual roles as well as a register of interests.

The probe into the Greensill scandal to be carried out by City lawyer Nigel Boardman by June will look into dual roles such as that carried out by Mr Crothers as well as lobbying by Mr Cameron.

Speaking about the inquiry for the first time yesterday, the Prime Minister told broadcasters he had given Mr Boardman 'pretty much carte blanche to ask anybody whatever he needs to find out'.

Mr Cameron, a paid part-time adviser to Lex Greensill's (right) firm since 2018, lobbied ministers and officials last year to let the firm gain access to the Bank of England's huge Covid loan scheme

The Treasury released Chancellor Rishi Sunak's texts to Mr Cameron after a freedom of information request

He added: I would like it to be done quickly, but I want him to have the maximum possible access so we can all understand exactly what has happened, and that will of course be presented to Parliament in due course.'

Asked if he was looking to 'rough up a rival' in the form of Mr Cameron by launching the inquiry, the PM replied: 'I think people have got questions they need to satisfy themselves about  including me  about how this supply chain finance stuff is meant to work.'

Kwarteng tells MPs 170m steel bailout would be 'irresponsible' Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng yesterday said it would be 'very irresponsible' to bail out an 'opaque' company like Liberty Steel with 170million of public money. The Government has been under pressure to intervene to salvage the British steel-making industry and save 5,000 jobs. It follows the collapse of Greensill Capital  its main financial backer and the firm at the centre of the David Cameron lobbying scandal. Mr Kwarteng told the Commons if parent company GFG Alliance was granted a loan there was no certainty the money would stay in the UK. 'We didn't have those guarantees. It was a very opaque structure,' he said. 'We don't know the full extent of their liabilities. The idea we would sign a cheque for this group for 170million would be very irresponsible.' He said Liberty had 'good' assets and 'an incredibly talented and focused and passionate workforce'  but warned there was a danger it could be forced to close UK plants. Advertisement

In the Commons, MPs demanded answers on how Greensill had obtained an estimated 200million in Covid loans under a Government scheme, as well as a series of meetings with senior civil servants as it sought access to even more cash.

Labour's Wes Streeting said: 'A few texts from 'dodgy Dave' and Greensill got ten meetings and a ream of correspondence with senior Treasury officials, the type of access that most businesses in this country could only dream of.'

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves said: 'This is an extraordinary and shocking revelation. The Conservatives have weakened the rules so much they may as well rip them up and start again. They must be kidding themselves if they think the current checks and measures they've got in place are working.

'They need to strengthen rules now and get everything about the Greensill scandal out in the open with a proper Parliamentary inquiry.'

Today Labour will call for the establishment of a new independent 'Investigation into Lobbying of Government Committee', consisting of 16 MPs, fearing the Government-commissioned probe will be a whitewash.

Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve, who served under Mr Cameron, became the latest to speak out against his lobbying last night.

'If you have been a minister of the crown and you have held high office then, I think, to turn oneself into a paid lobbyist is an unfortunate thing to do,' he told Channel 4 News.

'The public are increasingly cynical about the way politicians behave about allegations of corruption and cronyism in government, and the perception that there are lots of private channels which are being exploited.'

Mr Cameron, who will co-operate with the inquiry into his lobbying, has insisted that he broke no rules or codes of conduct.

Last night the Cabinet Office said of Mr Crothers' dual role: 'The Boardman review into Greensill Capital and supply chain finance will be wide-ranging and will also consider the issues raised so the public can judge whether they were appropriately handled at the time.'

Getting cosy in the Saudi desert... David Cameron and his financier chum sip tea in business suits in first photo revealed of their camping trip

Sipping tea in front of an open fire, this is the first picture of David Cameron and Lex Greensill on their 'desert camping trip' to Saudi Arabia.

They are wearing business suits and appear to be reclining on luxurious floor cushions inside a tent in the photograph obtained by the Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Greensill Capital was planning to open an office in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at the time of the trip in January 2020.

The pair are wearing business suits and appear to be reclining on luxurious floor cushions inside a tent

The former PM and his friend met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman  who was accused of approving the brutal 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr Greensill is said to have later boasted that they went 'camping in the desert' and he bonded with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia under the night sky, because they had both studied law at university.

Mr Cameron insisted he raised human rights concerns with the Crown Prince during the trip.

He said in his statement on the affair: 'While visiting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in January 2020 to advise on their forthcoming chairmanship of the G20, I also  with Lex Greensill  met with a range of business and political leaders, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

'As the Softbank Vision Fund was by this time the largest investor in Greensill, the company was, in effect, part-owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

'Greensill planned to open a new regional office in Riyadh as part of its international expansion and I wanted to assist in this effort.

'While in Saudi Arabia, I took the opportunity to raise concerns about human rights, as I always did when meeting the Saudi leadership when I was prime minister.'

A revenge brewing since Eton: Cheap jibes and a naked rivalry that has simmered for decades... in this peerless insight, ANDREW PIERCE reveals the true motive behind Boris Johnson's inquiry into David Cameron

As Mayor of London, Boris Johnson breezed one day into Downing Street to talk to David Cameron about his budget settlement for City Hall. He wanted a bumper payday for Londoners.

But Cameron, the Prime Minister for four years, was not well disposed to his fellow Old Etonian. He believed, with some justification, that the mayoralty was being used by Boris not to help the Government but to promote his own Tory leadership credentials.

After some stilted small talk in the No10 study, the mayor noticed a briefing note on Cameron's desk, which he demanded to see. The PM refused. When Boris tried to take it, Cameron snatched it back, and the tussle continued across the study floor, witnessed by several astonished aides.

Both men took great delight in boasting privately that they got the piece of paper, thereby asserting their authority over the other.

In the last 48 hours the rivalry has taken a more serious turn after Boris, who now clearly has the political upper hand, ordered an unprecedented inquiry into Cameron's lobbying for the collapsed company Greensill Capital.

In the last 48 hours the rivalry has taken a more serious turn after Boris, who now clearly has the political upper hand, ordered an unprecedented inquiry into Cameron's lobbying for the collapsed company Greensill Capital

Team Boris insists that the inquiry is not inspired by a wish to damage Cameron. But Cameron's allies, who it has to be said are rapidly reducing in number, are not so sure.

'This could have been swerved by No10 but instead Boris has fanned the flames with the inquiry,' said a former MP who was close to Cameron. 'No10 says it's all about transparency, but I think it's partly about Boris needling Dave.'

Others suspect a more Machiavellian motive. They believe the inquiry has been set up to divert attention from the 60,000 lavished on the Downing Street flat redecoration project  which has been paid for by a Tory donor but was not declared publicly by Boris. Reports suggest that Cameron had hoped to make 60million from share options in Greenhill, although he denies this. Boris could happily point out that, in comparison, 60,000 spent on Downing Street is nothing.

Both sides have their supporters. Only yesterday Kwasi Kwarteng, who has enjoyed a rapid rise into the Cabinet as Business Secretary under Boris, told MPs the sorts of loans Cameron was trying to persuade the Government to grant were 'very irresponsible'. Tellingly, Kwarteng  yet another Old Etonian  was mysteriously overlooked for ministerial jobs by Cameron.

The war of words between these Cameron and Boris backers is a replay of what has been going on between the two men since they first crossed swords at school. For decades now, they have been earnest rivals, constantly trying to outdo each other.

Boris was two years above Cameron at Eton and it was he who was the academic high-achiever and King's Scholar. Cleverer, more original and more popular than Cameron, he boasted that he wanted to be 'world king'. 'I dimly remember Cameron at Eton,' he said later, 'a tiny chap known as Cameron Minor.' (Younger brothers were called Minor, older ones Major, after their surnames).

But at Oxford their fortunes turned. While Boris became president of the Oxford Union debating society, Cameron secured a First in Philosophy, Politics and Economics while Johnson received a 2:1 in Greats (Classics).

Boris scoffed that those who got Firsts were 'girly swots who wasted their time at university' but privately he was embarrassed he hadn't achieved the same grade.

They both became MPs in 2001, and in the House of Commons, Cameron stretched his lead. Within two years, he was in the shadow cabinet, while Boris never made it. By 2005 he was Tory leader and conspicuously gave no big job to Boris  which seriously rankled.

Even now Boris resents how Cameron invited himself to dinner at his London home in the autumn of 2007 with George Osborne the shadow chancellor. The two younger men told Boris, a backbencher, he had to run to be London Mayor the next year as he had no future as a senior shadow cabinet player. They told him he wasn't sufficiently serious or hard-working.

David Cameron, standing second left, when he was in the Bullingdon Club at Oxford with Boris Johnson, sitting down far right

Little did Cameron realise that the mayoral job would be the making of Boris, who defied political gravity to win twice in London, a city where Labour is now dominant. 'Suddenly Boris became king across the water,' said one ally of the current PM, referring to the mayor's City Hall on the other side of the Thames from Westminster. 'Boris had an aura of the winner.' When it came to the general election in 2010, and it was Cameron's turn to face the electorate, one of Boris's most trusted media advisers Guto Harri said: 'Shouldn't you send Dave a text wishing him well?'

To which Boris said: 'Why?' 'Because you're old friends.' After some persuasion, he sent the text but couldn't resist the opportunity to turn the knife: 'Good luck Dave and don't worry, if you bog it up I'm standing by to fill the gap.'

Boris's extraordinary ambition will have meant he loathed the fact that, in that 2010 election, Cameron at 43 became the youngest Prime Minister in almost 200 years.

Which helps explain why, as mayor, he never missed a chance to outshine the PM. At the parade for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics he capped his highly successful summer by reducing Cameron to awkward bystander.

crowds cheered, Cameron clapping awkwardly, as Boris hailed our athletes for producing 'paroxysms of tears and joy on the sofas of Britain'. Cameron complained bitterly about his showboating.

At Tory Party conferences the mayor was always given a prime speaking spot and never disappointed. The standing ovation was often longer and louder than the one enjoyed by Cameron.

In public at least they pretended to be good friends, with Cameron acknowledging that the mayor was clever, oozed self-belief and exuded charisma, a quality in short supply at Westminster. But when it came to the 2016 referendum the pretence stopped.

Having vacillated for weeks on the issue, Boris  who had returned to the Commons at the 2015 election and was standing down as mayor in the summer of 2016  sent Cameron a text message saying he was backing Leave. Nine minutes later he made his decision public.

The gloves were off. In the Commons, a few days later in February 2016, Cameron ridiculed Boris who had floated an extraordinarily complicated idea of two EU referendums: the first to reject the paltry concessions Cameron had secured in a deal from Brussels; the second to endorse a better package from the EU, which he said would be forthcoming because of the first rejection.

David Cameron in his House group photgraphs at Eton in 1984 (left) and Boris Johnson at the school in 1979

Cameron's remarks seemed to be aimed at Boris, who had experienced trouble in his second marriage which was to end in divorce: 'Sadly I have known a number of couples who have begun divorce proceedings, but I do not know any who have begun divorce proceedings in order to renew their marriage vows.'

From the backbenches, Boris shouted: 'Rubbish.'

Relations deteriorated further when Boris and Cabinet minister Michael Gove accused Cameron in an open letter of corroding public trust about immigration. There was a Trappist vow of silence from Cameron from when Boris became PM until the decision to merge the Department for International Department (DfID) into the Foreign Office.

He warned it would lead to 'less respect for the UK overseas'. In the Commons Boris retorted: 'I profoundly disagree with that.'

In a 2019 entry in the diaries of Alan Duncan, serialised in the Daily Mail, the former minister wrote: 'Breakfast with David Cameron. He has a very straightforward opinion about Boris. 'He ruined my bloody career'.'

The Greensill review could do just as much damage.Boris was pressed yesterday on whether he was looking to 'rough up a rival' via the review. He dodged the question. Cameron might have had a more colourful answer.
We understand her credentials to be really independent of her race or her gender, right? But we do understand the importance of this moment, Rondeau said. Weve never had a woman leader, weve never had a leader of color. So we first understand that the experiences and the perspectives that she brings as a Black woman  especially as a Black woman so connected to our city  is only an additional set of assets as we focus on how we continue to deliver, and be held accountable to deliver, on our mission.
President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021, 20 years to the day after al Qaeda's attacks triggered America's longest war, but several months after a May 1 deadline negotiated by the Trump administration.

The decision on a deadline to remove the final 2,500 U.S. forces would finally put an end to the war  amid questions about how much stability and security the U.S. would leave behind amid a fragile government that the military has helped prop up in Kabul.

However, the withdrawal would be based on certain security and human rights guarantees, the sources told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the formalization of the decision. The sources did not provide further details.

President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected to brief the decision to NATO allies in Brussels on Wednesday. Biden may also publicly announce his decision, the sources said.

Biden's decision, should it be confirmed, would miss a May 1 deadline for withdrawal agreed with Taliban insurgents by his predecessor Donald Trump's administration.

The U.S. and allied effort to force the Taliban from power began in October of 2001, weeks after the Sept. 11th attacks under the George W. Bush administration, after the regime had provided sanctuary to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda fighters.

American soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division deploy to fight Taliban fighters as part of Operation Mountain Thrust to a U.S. base near the village of Deh Afghan on June 22, 2006 in the Zabul province of Afghanistan. U.S. and coalition forces and the Afghan government have faced a long insurgency

Members of the Taliban delegation (L-R) Khairullah Khairkhwa, former western Herat Governor and one of five Taliban released from the US prison on Guantanamo Bay in exchange for US soldier Bowe Bergdahl, Suhail Shaheen, member of negotiation team, Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban's political office attend their joint news conference in Moscow, Russia, 19 March 2021. The Taliban warned Washington against defying the 01 May deadline

Were 20 years of blood and treasure wasted? How conflict cost $825billlion and 3,500 dead troops Critics lined up to slam the 'pointless' war in Afghanistan as US, UK and NATO allies prepare to pull out troops and hand the country to the Taliban after a 20-year conflict which cost $825 billion and the lives of 3,500 soldiers. The conflict has seen tens of thousands of deaths in all, with remarkably few of the aims set out in the beginning actually achieved. As NATO leaders meet for talks this week, with a possible withdrawal on the cards following President Trump's pledge to have all US troops out by May, those across the globe who have opposed the war have once again made their views known. American author and combat vet Daniel L. Davis wrote: 'The United States has been fighting a pointless, unnecessary war in Afghanistan for nearly two decades.' Laila Harre, leader of New Zealand's Internet Party, tweeted that it was '20 years since the Alliance stood against this predictably destructive deployment. 20 years wasted on war.' Meanwhile, a survey in 2019 found 58 per cent of veterans and 59 per cent of the public felt the conflict was not worth fighting. Afghanistan's government is held together by a fragile power-sharing deal, it is one of the least democratic and most-violent places on earth, and half of its territory is either in Taliban hands or being contested by the Islamists. It is unlikely that NATO forces will stay much longer. Their withdrawal would bring an end to one of the longest conflicts of modern times. But it will also be the beginning of the end of democracy in the country - the long-running campaign's main objective - as the Taliban reclaim total control. The US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 on a counter-terrorism mission - seeking to capture or kill the Al Qaeda leaders who orchestrated the 9/11 terror attack, and to displace the Taliban government which sheltered the group. NATO was not far behind, arriving in the country two months later with a mission to secure Kabul province so the new government could be established there. But the objectives quickly changed - a new goal to rebuild Afghanistan as a stable and democratic country within the Middle East emerged, and the war dragged on. Military operations expanded to fit. In 2003, NATO's mission extended across the entire country and troops became more involved in day-to-day fighting alongside regular US forces. At its height, in 2011, the NATO force numbered roughly 130,000 men drawn from 50 countries, before declining rapidly from 2013 as US forces pulled back. In 2014, primary responsibility for security was handed over to the Afghan government and today, there are around 10,000 troops from 36 countries stationed there in support and training roles. Over that time, some 3,500 coalition troops have died fighting - the vast majority, around 2,400, were American. The UK lost some 450 soldiers - the second-highest total - who were largely killed in Helmand and Kandahar provinces when they took over combat operations from the Americans. On the Afghan side, it is thought that more than 110,000 have been killed including at least 31,000 civilians who were largely hit by airstrikes. At least 30,000 coalition troops have also been wounded in the fighting - the vast majority American - while tens of thousands of Afghans have also been wounded. NATO costs are hard to estimate because its troops are drawn from dozens of countries which control spending individually through many separate budgets. However, the respected Stockholm International Peace Research Institute previously estimated that combined US and NATO combat costs in Afghanistan from 2001 and 2012 totalled around $725billion. Advertisement

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the move in a Senate floor statement  saying Biden plans to 'turn tail' and calling it a 'retreat.'

'Just moments ago, new reporting suggests the Biden Administration plans to turn tail and abandon the fight in Afghanistan,' McConnell said.

'Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake. It is retreat in the face of an enemy that has not yet been vanquished and abdication of American leadership,' he added. He said leaders in both parties criticized a 'reckless withdrawal' from Syria and Afghanistan in the 'prior Administration.'

'Those same voices in both parties should be equally concerned about the Biden Administration's announcement today,' he said. 'A reckless pullback like this would abandon our Afghan, regional, and NATO partners in a shared fight against terrorists that we have not yet won.' He also said it would 'specifically abandon the women of Afghanistan, whose individual freedoms and human rights will be imperiled.'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a GOP hawk, called the planned withdrawal a 'disaster in the making.'

'A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous. President Biden will have, in essence, cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11,' said Graham.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), a voice on military issues among Senate Democrats, declined to say directly he was on board with the decision.

'Well, it will be a transition. Because we still have vital interests in protecting against terrorist attacks that could be emanating from that area. But there are other places in the world too where you have to be conscious,' he said. We also have to maintain a presence for regional stability,' he said.

Asked if he supports the move, he responded: 'You know there is no easy answer.'

Said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), 'Its a little concerning to me. It should be a conditions-based withdrawal, and not just because it's the 20th anniversary of 9/11/'

U.S. and coalition forces were able to drive the Taliban from power and a new Afghan government was created. A long effort to train and equip native Afghan forces followed, amid an ongoing insurgency.

In a statement last month, the Taliban threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they did not meet the May 1 deadline.

But it would still set a near-term date with withdrawal, potentially allaying Taliban concerns that Biden would drag out the process.

The May 1 deadline had already started to appear less and less likely in recent weeks, given the lack of preparations on the ground to ensure it could be done in a safe and responsible way. U.S. officials have also blamed the Taliban for failing to live up to commitments to reduce violence and some have warned about persistent Taliban links to al Qaeda.

It was those ties that triggered U.S. military intervention in 2001 following al Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington because the Taliban had harbored al Qaeda leaders.

Thousands of American and allied troops have died in fighting in Afghanistan.

Biden said at his first press conference last month that: 'It's going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline' for a full withdrawal.

'Just in terms of tactical reasons, hard to get those troops out,' Biden said, when asked about his plans.

He said the nation was coordinating with allies, and allowed: 'If we leave, we're going to do so in a safe and orderly way.'

Biden also said couldn't picture U.S. troops still being in Afghanistan by March 2022. 'I can't picture that being the case,' he said.

He added: 'But we are not staying a long time. We will leave. The question is when we leave.'

Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government is held together by a fragile power-sharing agreement. About half of the nation's territory remains under control of the Taliban or other islamists.

The war has resulted in 3,500 U.S. and coalition casualties, with a cost to the U.S. Treasury of more than $2 trillion, and a cost to NATO of an estimated $825 billion.

At the height of the conflict in 2011, the U.S. and NATO forces totaled 130,000. The war is believed to have resulted in 110,000 Afghan forces, with an estimated 31,000 civilian casualties.
MDC leader Douglas Mwonzora, says the opposition will receive a heavy electoral shellacking in 2023, unless it changes tack quickly and ditches confrontational politics.

In addition, the MDC boss also wants the opposition to pursue dialogue more vigorously to avoid violence in the countrys fast approaching national elections.

This comes as opposition bigwigs have warned that their fight for a better Zimbabwe for all is being slowed down by fear, as authorities continue to crack down on people accused of breaching the countrys laws.

It also comes after the recent imprisonment of MDC Alliance activist, Makomborero Haruzivishe, who was convicted on charges of inciting public violence and resisting arrest.

Speaking to MDC structures in Masvingo at the weekend, Mwonzora said confrontational politics would likely result in Zanu PF using State machinery to annihilate the opposition.

If we adopt the politics of confrontation, the members who will be beaten up, tear-gassed, killed and hurt are opposition members.

The market will stall and small businesses that will be affected are those of our members. The vendors who will not trade in cities are our members and big businesses will suffer, and this will affect the labour force we represent.

But dialogue will safeguard our members from harm, death and other losses which may be caused by confrontation, Mwonzora warned.

We dont want this country to disintegrate like Somalia and to be at war like Mozambique. Dialogue has worked in this country before.

The war of liberation ended with the Lancaster House talks which led to independence, then dialogue also worked to end Gukurahundi in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in 1987, and finally it worked in 2009.

Even when the late  Morgan Richard Tsvangirai had won the election, he chose the route of dialogue, which led to the government of national unity, Mwonzora further told his supporters.

This comes after MDC Alliance deputy national chairperson, Job Wiwa Sikhala, and Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume, told the Daily News at the weekend that they feared that authorities would descend on opposition figures with a hammer in the coming weeks.

What is scary is that anyone with a pending case of standing up against Mnangagwa is in danger. Its not only me. There are many in the same position, including Jacob Ngarivhume, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai Marowa, Allan Moyo, Takudzwa Ngadziore and many other prominent citizens.

The conviction of Haruzivishe testifies to the absolute extinction of any space for criticism directed at the Mnangagwa regime.

The most hazardous occupation today is criticising the regime. They have turned to terrorism against citizens, Sikhala said.

Sikhala, who is facing charges of inciting public violence together with Ngarivhume, added that opposition figures and other government critics were facing difficult times ahead.

Those with giraffe sight have been giving red alerts to everyone on the dangers posed to the advocates of a free society and of equal opportunities.

The end-game by Mnangagwas regime is to make sure that all his vocal opponents are in prison, to clear the road for his free continued reign against the wishes of our people.

The law is now the most lethal and dangerous weapon against the people of Zimbabwe, Sikhala also said.

The Zengeza West MP was nabbed by police in August last year, after nearly a month in hiding, after authorities went on the hunt for some of the leaders of the foiled July 31 anti-government mass protests.

Upon his arrest, police claimed he had been found hiding in a ceiling at a house in Tynwald North  claims which Sikhala refuted, saying he had a huge frame which made it impossible for him to hide there.

His arrest also sent tongues wagging at the time within opposition ranks, where accusations flew furiously as to how he ended up being nabbed by authorities.

At the same time, MDC Alliance leaders have been accused of calling for protests but failing to lead from the front  like the much-loved late MDC founding father Tsvangirai used to do, including when he participated in the Save Zimbabwe march in Harare in 2007.

Then, Tsvangirai and his colleagues such as Tendai Biti, Arthur Mutambara, Grace Kwinjeh, Sekai Holland and Lovemore Madhuku were bludgeoned by heavily-armed police during brutal attacks which saw a shoe cobbler, Gift Tandare, being shot dead.

Ngarivhume  who is also facing the rap at the courts for calling for protests in 2020  has also warned that the writing is on the wall for pro-democracy activists.

What is more frightening is that we are all in the pipeline to go to jail. While our worry is not necessarily what will befall us, we are concerned about what will happen to our country when all those who have the courage to speak truth to power are sent to jail.

There will be no resistance and the government will plunder resources willy-nilly. That is why the punishment meted out to Haruzivishe is a serious cause for concern and disappointment, Ngarivhume said.

All this also comes as political analysts have once again warned that the opposition risks being annihilated by Zanu PF ahead of the 2023 polls, unless they change strategy and pursue national dialogue.

In addition, the analysts also recently told the Daily News that MDC Alliance leaders needed to ditch their student politics and stop dithering about whether to stick with the current name or come up with a completely new outfit.

Renowned professor of World Politics at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, Stephen Chan, said Nelson Chamisa needed to reinvent both himself and his party and pursue dialogue to enhance his chances in the fast-approaching elections.

You cannot confront Zanu PF and at the same time confront the other MDC, complaining that you are the real MDC  a situation of circular futility arises. He (Chamisa) needs to rebrand his party, ensure that there is national dialogue along the issue of reforms by engaging Zanu PF without necessarily being combative.

I hate to say this, especially as many people think I am overly critical of him but, in fact, I extend my admiration to him, for he has great courage.

However, it seems he uses exactly the same confrontational strategy that he used as a student leader, Chan told the Daily News.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sat on a dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission's "unconstitutional" decision to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours.

Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained last month, arrived at Mayo road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the venue.

Mamata Banerjee

No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby. A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, "No party leaders are allowed near the site of the protest. She is sitting there alone."

The Election Commission has barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

EC Banerjee, lashing out at the poll panel, had said on Twitter that she would hold a protest against the poll panel's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" decision.
I for one loved it when Lori Lightfoot and Pritzker got booed and jeered at the White Sox home opener. I think its time for them to take up and to realize theres a lot of people in this state that dont care for the job either one of them is doing. You cannot keep all these small businesses locked up forever, and criticizing the police all the time. First of all, you have to get this gang violence under control. You have to make these parents step up to the plate and take care of these kids like the 13-year-old boy. What was he doing out at 2:30 in the morning?
New Delhi, April 13 : "The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds" that charts the trajectory of the YES Bank from its inception to its dramatic rise and meteoric downfall, capturing the story of the people behind one of the biggest banking failures in Indian history, is to be adapted for the screen, its publisher, Penguin, has announced after closing a deal with Almighty Motion Picture for its AV rights.

Vaishnavi Singh, Manager, Digital Platforms, Products & Video Rights, Penguin Random House India, said: "After the resounding success of the book, we are excited to see the story of one of the biggest banking scams transform for screen. We have seen a growing appetite for financial crime drama and 'The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds' not only fits the bill as a cautionary tale, but it is also a revelation of the chinks in India's armour against financial chaos." "I am really excited that Almighty Motion Picture has acquired the rights for my book," the author, Furquan Moharkan, said.

"A scam of this magnitude has to be taken to masses, and what better than a book getting made into an AV form. We have also seen growing interest in financial thrillers in the country, which I hope would lead to success of 'The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds' in AV form. This will also help a lot in making the masses financially more literate," he added.

On September 28, 2018, after announcing that he was going to step down as the Managing Director of YES Bank, Rana Kapoor had claimed: "Diamonds are forever. My promoter shares of YES Bank are invaluable to me." However, in a span of just 14 months, Kapoor did a complete U-turn. He sold his entire stake in the bank, even as the shares continued to get hammered by investors.

Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapur had founded YES Bank in 2004.

On March 5, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took control of it in an attempt to avoid the collapse of the bank, which had an excessive amount of bad loans.

"The Banker Who Crushed His Diamonds" takes you right to the start of Rana Kapoor's career as a banker, charting his meteoric rise, his mercurial personality, the lavish lifestyle and the unravelling of it all.

Kapoor's story runs parallel with that of the fourth largest private bank in India.

In what feels like a story straight from a financial thriller, the book uncovers the rot deep within YES Bank's glittering success story. It serves as much as a cautionary tale as it exposes the chink in India's armour against financial chaos.
Minh Long Material Gallery features trendy industrial wood for furniture in Hanoi

With an area of more than 200 square metres, Minh Long Material Gallery will be the place to update on the latest fashion trends in the furniture industry, affirm its position as the pioneer brand that brings the personal beauty and fashion for every Vietnamese home.

The place displays the latest surface coated industrial wood products in the market including Melamine surface, Laminate (HPL), Acrylic, VFB, SGP, V Number, and others. Of these, Melamine and Laminate are widely used in construction and interior design, including home, offices, commercial centres, and public furniture. In particular, Minh Long Material Gallery also features the latest designs in their Melamine "Home Colour Home" collection.

For the first time in the market, the concept of "fashion" is applied in the furniture industry to create a distinctive feature associated with Minh Long wood  a fashion brand for the interior. Aesthetic and unique surface designs will be displayed at this showroom.

Nguyen Minh Cuong, general director of Minh Long Co., Ltd. said that up to now, Minh Long has been on a 13-year unwavering mission to create fashionable, highly applicable, and environmentally-friendly products. In the early years, Minh Long mainly focused on ensuring and improving product quality. In the last three years, however, it has focused more on furniture fashion, helping the company's customers to express themselves in their interior space.

Architect Vu Hong Cuong, head of the Faculty of Furniture and Fine Arts of Hanoi Architecture University, said that Minh Long's products have kept up with the trend of the world wood furniture industry, showing Vietnamese enterprises' ability to research and develop excellent products. In addition, the fact that Minh Long regularly cooperates with the university in training activities is also a significant contribution to the overall development of the interior art industry and demonstrates the companys social responsibility.

As a supplier of industrial wood furniture materials in Vietnam, Minh Long Co., Ltd. has made constant efforts to introduce to the market Melamine coated material products (MFC, MFM, MFP), Laminates, Acrylic, VFB, and SGP, among others, as well as wood furniture solutions suitable for each specific need and the increasingly diverse industrial wood market.

Minh Long Material Gallery will not only be a place for experts, architects, design consultants, and consumers to learn more deeply about furniture and receive consultancy to choose products but also a place for talk shows on interior materials, style, and industry perspectives of the design world.
CPC applies scientific methods in governance, says British business leader

Xinhua) 08:34, April 13, 2021

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has applied scientific methods in governance, Chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club Stephen Perry has told Xinhua.

For more than half a century, three generations of Perry's family have devoted their lives to promoting China-Britain economic and trade ties. Witnessing the country's dramatic changes for decades, Perry holds an insightful observation on China's system and its ways of thinking and acting.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 13, 2021

2021/04/13

CCTV: On April 11, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview that in the early stages of COVID-19, China "didn't do what it needed to do, which was to, in real time, give access to international experts, in real time to share information, in real time to provide real transparency". What is your comment on his remarks?

Zhao Lijian: In the face of the sudden onslaught of the epidemic caused by an unknown virus, the Chinese government, putting people and life first, took the most rigorous control measures and shared our experience with other countries without any reservation. China served as a crucial line of defense for the world and bought precious time for the global fight against the virus. The four keywords for China's response are openness, transparency, science and responsibility. What about the US? Its moves can be summarized as scapegoating, blame-shifting, stigmatization and politicization. It is immoral and irresponsible that some in the US always make an issue out of China whenever the topic of COVID-19 is brought up. China will never accept that.

Since January 3, China has been providing timely updates on the epidemic on a regular basis. On January 4, heads of Chinese and American centers for disease control and prevention spoke on the phone about the epidemic situation. WHO experts visited China three times for exchanges on issues including origin studies. The experts spoke highly of China's openness and transparency. One can never wake up a person who pretends to be asleep. Some in the US don't care about facts or truth. What they are pursuing is political manipulation and stigmatization against China. The international community sees through this crystal-clear.

In the US, there are over 30 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 560,000 deaths, which are 300 times and over 110 times that of China respectively. The number of people who died of COVID-19 in the US already exceeds the deaths of the US military in WWI, WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined. The US response to the epidemic is nothing short of a mess and total failure. In contrast, China secured major strategic outcomes in fighting the virus. I wonder where certain US politicians got the confidence to brazenly brag about US-style human rights and criticize China's epidemic response?

I also want to ask the US: What has it done to whistle-blowers like Dr. Helen Y. Chu, Dr. Rick Bright and Captain Brett Crozier? How does it respond to clues that may move the timeline earlier provided by the mayor of Belleville in New Jersey and health officials of Santa Clara County in California? Is there any explanation on doubts raised by the international community about Fort Detrick? When will the US invite WHO experts to do origin-tracing investigations in the US? Will the US do "what it needs to do" and take questions that it needs to answer? It's time for the US to give an answer.

HRTN: The foreign ministry held a special promotion event for Hubei Province yesterday, the largest of its kind with the most foreign envoys and representatives in attendance. How do you comment on the event and what does the foreign ministry plan to do in order to help the province further go global?

Zhao Lijian: The Special Promotion Event for Hubei Province is the first such event the foreign ministry has held since the outbreak of the epidemic. It was attended by 122 ambassadors or charges d'affaires ad interim in China.

The promotion event shows the world that under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, the heroic people in Wuhan and Hubei have made enormous sacrifices for a national victory over COVID-19 and contributed significantly to the global COVID-19 response. It presents the achievements Hubei has made from realizing post-COVID recovery to achieving steady socioeconomic development, and from effectively tackling poverty to securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The event demonstrates China's firm commitment to joining hands with other countries to defeat COVID-19, boost world economic recovery and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Diplomatic envoys attending the event extended warm congratulations on what Hubei and Wuhan have achieved in anti-epidemic response and economic recovery. They highly commended the philosophy of putting people's life front and center and everybody lending a helping hand in times of difficulty, and expressed the hope to further deepen exchanges and cooperation with Hubei and Wuhan in areas of economy, trade, science and technology, education, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

As a follow-up to the special promotion event, the foreign ministry will invite diplomatic missions and foreign correspondents in China to visit Hubei and conduct interviews, so as to further deepen the international community's understanding of Hubei and Wuhan, tap into opportunities for cooperation, and offer a platform for further opening-up and development of Hubei.

Global Times: It is reported that Gao Fu, Director-General of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the National Vaccines and Health Conference that Chinese vaccines don't have very high rates of protection, adding that we should consider using different vaccines from different technical lines of the immunization process. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: We noticed that Director-General Gao Fu of China CDC has already made responses to this, saying that relevant media reports are a complete misunderstanding. Vaccines should be used to fight the virus and save lives. When conducting reports, media organizations should follow a science-based and objective approach, rather than taking words out of context or even intentionally distort people's remarks just to attract attention. Otherwise, they risk seriously misleading the public and even costing lives.

Shenzhen TV: The website of the Government of Canada updated its travel advice for China, adding security risk content in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It claims that Chinese authorities are detaining ethnic and Muslim minorities in the region without due process and that some Canadian citizens' family members with Chinese citizenship have been detained. It warns Canadian citizens that they may be at risk of arbitrary detention if they travel to Xinjiang. Do you have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: The Canadian travel advice is groundless.

We've refuted time and again the lies on Xinjiang fabricated by some institutions and individuals in the US and other Western countries. At present, Xinjiang enjoys social harmony and stability, sustained economic development and notably improved living standards. People of all ethnic groups enjoy fully their rights including the right to subsistence and the right to development.

China is a country with rule of law where everything is handled in strict accordance with law. Foreign citizens in China, including Canadian nationals, have absolutely nothing to worry as long as they abide by laws and regulations. In recent years, Xinjiang has set new records in the number of domestic and international tourists it has received. In 2019, over 200 million visits were paid to the region. We hope more people from foreign countries will go to Xinjiang and see the true picture there. When confronted with facts and truth, lies and disinformation will crumble by themselves.

AFP: According to a report, hackers operating in Russia and China targeted France's homeschooling platform last week at the start of a nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. Is China aware of this incident? Does the foreign ministry have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: We note relevant reports. China stands against all forms of cyber attacks. The tracing of cyber attacks is a highly complicated technical matter. More often than not, the source of attack is not where the attack is initiated. We've noted that the report says it's not entirely certain that China initiated the attack. If the French side needs to conduct an investigation and provide relevant data, the Chinese side stands ready to cooperate with it on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, so as to jointly deal with the threat posed by hackers.

CRI: On April 8, the 29th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul rejected China's request to extradite Abduqadir Yapchan, a criminal suspect of ETIM terrorist activities. The court also lifted judicial control and travel restrictions on him. Do you have any comment? How will the Chinese side respond to that?

Zhao Lijian: The East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is a terrorist organization listed by the UN Security Council and is recognized as such by Turkey. Abduqadir Yapchan is a founder of the ETIM and masterminded multiple violent terrorist activities in China, and the evidence is irrefutable. China deplores and rejects the court verdict, urge the relevant Turkish side to see the violent terrorist nature of Abduqadir Yapchan as it is, reverse its wrong verdict, lest the case should have a severe negative impact on China-Turkey relations.

Kyodo News: US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry is reported to be travelling to China soon for a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua. When is the visit and what are items on agenda? The US has invited President Xi Jinping to attend the global climate change summit on April 22. Will President Xi attend the event?

Zhao Lijian: On your two questions, I have nothing to offer at this moment.

Beijing Daily: The British government has recently announced a 43 million package to support Hong Kong families following the BNO visa route to settle in the country by helping with employment, housing and children's education. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: We noticed the announcement. China has elaborated on its position many times. The UK side's move to repeatedly hype up the issue and seek political manipulation is hypocritical and doomed to fail.

Xinhua News Agency: According to preliminary results, the turnout of the referendum on new constitution in Kyrgyzstan on April 11 is above the 30 percent threshold required to make the referendum valid. Nearly 80 percent of the voters voted in favor of the new constitution. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: China and Kyrgyzstan are friendly neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners. We congratulate Kyrgyzstan on the smooth process of the referendum on the new constitution. China always respects the development path chosen by the Kyrgyz people in light of their national conditions and opposes interference by any external forces in Kyrgyzstan's internal affairs under any pretext.

As a good neighbor, friend and partner, China sincerely hopes that Kyrgyzstan can achieve stability and development. We believe that under the leadership of President Sadyr Japarov, the Kyrgyz people will surely score new achievements in national development and rejuvenation. China is ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen BRI cooperation and strive for greater outcomes in our comprehensive strategic partnership for the benefit of the two peoples.

Bloomberg: The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs summoned the Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines on Monday to express displeasure on the presence of Chinese vessels near Whitsun Reef. In addition, the Philippines has deployed extra patrol vessels to the South China Sea. Does the foreign ministry have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: China's position on the South China Sea issue is consistent and clear. China firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. We stand ready to properly resolve the relevant dispute with the Philippines through friendly consultations and jointly uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.

We have noticed that President Duterte recently said that the Philippines will continue to resolve the issue peacefully through diplomatic channel. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi reached consensus with Foreign Secretary Locsin on the proper settlement of the relevant dispute during the latter's visit to China recently. We hope certain Philippine officials can stop hying up the issue and avoid producing a negative impact on bilateral relations and peace and stability in the South China Sea.

CNR: The Japanese government today formally decided to discharge nuclear wastewater from Fukushima nuclear plant accident into the sea. We know China has expressed concern in two statements. I wonder if you have a comment on the formal decision by the Japanese side?

Zhao Lijian: On April 13, the Japanese government decided to dispose of the nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant accident by discharging it into the sea. As a close neighbor and stakeholder, the Chinese side expresses grave concern over this.

The Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the most serious in world history. The leak of large amounts of radioactive materials has had far-reaching implications on the marine environment, food safety and human health. Despite doubts and opposition from home and abroad, Japan has unilaterally decided to release the Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea before exhausting all safe ways of disposal and without fully consulting with neighboring countries and the international community. This is highly irresponsible and will severely affect human health and the immediate interests of people in neighboring countries.

The oceans are mankind's shared property. How the wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is handled is not merely a domestic issue for Japan. We strongly urge the Japanese side to face up to its responsibility, follow the science, fulfill its international obligations and duly respond to the serious concerns of the international community, neighboring countries and its own people. It should reevaluate the issue and refrain from wantonly discharging the wastewater before reaching consensus with all stakeholders and the IAEA through full consultations. China will continue to watch closely the developments of the matter together with the international community and reserves the right to make further reactions.

CNR: The US State Department issued a statement on the Japanese government's decision to dispose of the treated wastewater by discharging it into the sea on April 12 local time saying the latter "has been transparent about its decision, and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards". Does China have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: The disposal of wastewater from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant accident concerns international marine environment, food safety and human health. As as been pointed out by authoritative institutions and experts, if the wastewater containing tritium from the Fukushima nuclear plant is discharged into the sea, it will affect the marine environment and people's health of neighboring countries and that the treated wastewater needs to be further purified to remove other radionuclides.

The US always attaches high importance to environmental issues. We hope it will remain objective on this matter, or its commitment to environmental protection may be questioned.

NHK: Also a question on the Fukushima wastewater disposal. Nuclear facilities produce tritium during normal operation, which is diluted based on national standards before discharge into the sea and air. Such discharge has been reported in the ROK, in Europe and the US. In China, 42 trillion becquerels of tritium was released by the Dayawan nuclear power plant in 2002. The Japanese government's plan is to dilute the wastewater to one seventh of the WHO standard before discharge. So the opposition in Japan is not based on health impact, but on worries of economic losses. I personally believe that this issue calls for science-based and objective judgment. Do you have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: The wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station after the highest-level nuclear accident is entirely different from the wastewater produced from the normal operation of nuclear power plants. Otherwise it would not have been necessary for Japan to seal the wastewater in tanks for the past years. No comparison can be drawn between the two.

An earlier review report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team points out that if the wastewater containing tritium from the Fukushima nuclear plant is discharged into the sea, it will affect the marine environment and people's health of neighboring countries and that the treated wastewater needs to be further purified to remove other radionuclides. A report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) also believes that the impact of the wastewater on the marine ecological environment requires continued monitoring. According to a German marine scientific research institute, with the world's strongest currents along the coast of Fukushima, radioactive materials could spread to most of the Pacific Ocean within 57 days from the date of discharge, and reach all oceans of the globe in a decade. Greenpeace nuclear experts say the level of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 in the wastewater will remain hazardous for thousands of years with the potential to cause genetic damage. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on April 12 that the IAEA had taken note of the concerns of relevant parties with mounting global attention to this matter, and will actively advance its work on the assessment and monitoring activities in an impartial, objective and scientific-based manner. The agency will enhance communication with all relevant stakeholders to forestall further harm to environmental protection, food safety and human health.

The Japanese side should respond with honesty to these views from authoritative institutions and experts instead of turning a deaf ear. Still less should it disregard global public interests and simply dump the contaminated water from Fukushima into the sea and be done with it.

Reuters: Canadian Security Intelligent Service said recently that foreign spying and interference in Canada increased significantly last year, and singled out Russia and China as particular causes for concern. Do you have any comment on this?

Zhao Lijian: I'm afraid Canada is playing the old trick of a thief crying "stop the thief". Does it have any evidence? No one should slander with impunity.

SCMP: Montenegro recently said that it faces difficulties repaying China's debt of one billion euros. The European Commission said on Monday that it won't help Montenegro repay the debt. Montenegro's Deputy Prime Minister said earlier that the EU should help the country refinance the loan to protect the EU candidate from becoming dependent on China. What's your response? Have you talked about this with Montenegro or the EU?

Zhao Lijian: We've noticed reports on that. China and Montenegro enjoy traditional friendship. In recent years, our relations have grown smoothly with fruitful practical cooperation in areas including infrastructure. The highway project you mentioned is of major significance to local people's livelihood and the country's socioeconomic development. China places great emphasis on growing relations with Montenegro and hopes to work together with it to further deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation to deliver benefits to the two peoples.

Beijing Youth Daily: On April 11, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US will bring the world together in speaking with one voice in condemning China's actions and will take actions to make sure that none of the companies are providing China with things that they can use to repress minority groups. Does China have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: The US has been repeating the lie of the century that there is genocide in Xinjiang. Its obsession with smearing and slandering China only reveals its three-fold conspiracy.

First, disrupting Xinjiang to contain China. Xinjiang, a vast region with an important geographical location, is at the center of the Silk Road Economic Belt and a gateway for China's opening-up on the west. On Xinjiang-related issues, some in the US are truly in a league of their own with their feverish minds and sinister means. The US committed genocide on native Indians, traded and enslaved black people, and wantonly invaded and interfered in sovereign countries. There is solid evidence for its numerous crimes. Some in the US concocted the lies of "detention camps", "genocide", "forced labor" and "systemic sexual abuse" on Xinjiang-related issues out of thin air. They also keep up a constant effort to refurbish their lies. Now they even attempt to target snow-white cotton in Xinjiang. The accusations they place on China are better left to the US itself. The last thing those in the US care about is facts and truth. Their true intention is to deal a heavy blow to Xinjiang's cotton textile industry, disrupt prosperity and stability in the region and hold back China's development.

Second, sowing discord between China and Muslim countries. We would like to remind the US that 64 countries, including Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Iran, Syria and Pakistan, spoke with one voice at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council to support China on Xinjiang-related issues. Not long ago, SCO Secretary-General and ambassadors and other diplomats posted in China by 21 countries went to visit Xinjiang. After seeing the region as it is, they came to the conclusion that slanders against China by anti-China elements are groundless. They understand and support Xinjiang's counter-terrorism and de-radicalization efforts, and commend its stability, prosperity and unprecedented development achievements. As the fact has shown, the vicious US conspiracy to sow discord has no effect whatsoever on Muslim countries and visionary people of the international community. Instead of caring about the human rights of people in Xinjiang, some in the US are taking advantage of the religious sentiments of Muslims to drive wedges between China and Muslim countries.

Third, covering up its own deplorable record on the treatment of Muslims. Since 2001, the US has launched military operations in over 80 countries in the name of fighting terrorism, taking more than 800,000 lives, including 330,000 civilians. By citing a test tube of laundry powder and a staged video, the US blatantly invaded sovereign countries including Iraq and Syria, causing tens of thousands of civilian casualties and making tens of millions homeless. Is this how the US cares for the Muslims? Why does the US "worry itself sick" over Muslims in Xinjiang only? Muslims around the world have long been suffering from untold misery inflicted by the US that does not care about Muslims at all and is just trying to divert the Muslim community's anger toward itself.

If the US is bent on repeating lies 1,000 times, we will reiterate the truth 10,000 times. Whether the US chooses to see and believe it or not, facts and truth about Xinjiang will stay unshakable like the towering mountain of Tianshan and clear like the crystal lake of Tianchi. Prosperity, stability and ethnic harmony in Xinjiang are the source of our confidence. The US lies on Xinjiang will collapse and its attempt to contain China is doomed to fail.

Bloomberg: I have a question regarding the RMB. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will decline to name China as a currency manipulator in her first semiannual foreign-exchange report, according to people familiar with the matter. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this?

Zhao Lijian: China has not used currency exchange rate as a tool to deal with external disruptions like trade disputes.

China News Service: US State Department spokesperson said in a statement on April 9 that following a review as set forth in the Taiwan Assurance Act, the State Department has issued new guidelines to liberalize guidance on contacts with Taiwan and encourage U.S. government engagement with Taiwan that reflects its deepening unofficial relationship. Do you have any response?

Zhao Lijian: The one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US relations. As the China-US Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations clearly stipulates, "The people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan." This is the premise for China and the US to develop bilateral relations over the past four decades or so. The so-called guidelines for U.S. government interaction with Taiwan counterparts blatantly encourages U.S. government engagement with Taiwan, which severely violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques and runs counter to the serious political commitment the US has made to China on the Taiwan question.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests. There is zero room for compromise and not an inch to give. We urge the U.S. side to grasp the situation, earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, refrain from playing with fire, immediately stop official contact with Taiwan in any form, prudently and properly handle Taiwan-related issues, and avoid sending any wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces, lest it should shake the foundation of China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The Paper: According to reports, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov delivered a speech on April 12 in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of mankind's first manned space mission, calling for a ban on arms race in space and for peaceful use of space for the welfare of all humanity. He also called for maintaining stability and order in space based on the 2014 draft by China and Russia. Does China have any comment on the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's successful space trip? Would you like to respond to Foreign Minister Lavrov's appeal for the peaceful use of outer space?

Zhao Lijian: Space exploration is a dream shared by mankind. On April 12, 60 years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being in space after a successful flight, which marked the beginning of manned space missions. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Gagarin's mission and the 65th anniversary of the launch of China's space endeavor. For over half a century, China and Russia have had productive cooperation in this field, forging a deep bond of friendship and setting an example of cooperation. On this special occasion, we would like to pay tribute to all astronauts in the world who dedicate themselves to the scientific cause of exploring the vast universe for the welfare of all human beings.

The issue of space security is a challenge to us all. No country can keep itself away from it. To ensure the peaceful use of outer space and prevent weaponization and arms race in space is in the interests of all countries and also a shared responsibility. China has been calling actively for the prevention of arms race in outer space. Together with Russia, we have been promoting negotiation on a legally-binding international instrument on outer space arms control to provide a fundamental solution to the issue of security in outer space. In 2008, we jointly submitted a draft treaty on prevention of arms race in outer space to the Conference on Disarmament, which was later updated in 2014. It is getting more and more support internationally. We call on the international community to start negotiation using it as a basis at an early date to conclude a treaty on outer space arms control to underpin space security.

In 2021, China will continue its broad cooperation with Russia in the space sector. We also look forward to working together with all sides to contribute to maintaining lasting peace and common security in space, advancing mankind's peaceful exploration and use of space, and building a community with a shared future for mankind.
New Delhi: The government will look to reduce prices of petrol and diesel through a cut in taxes when the time comes, the head of the agency responsible for excise and other indirect tax collections said on Tuesday.

Record excise duty on petrol and diesel helped indirect tax collections rise by more than 59 per cent in the fiscal year ended March 31 (2020-21) when compared to the previous year.

"We are very hopeful that revenue in the coming months is going to be very strong," Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman M Ajit Kumar said over a video call with journalists to give out tax collection numbers.

"As far as reduction in fuel prices are concerned, it is a matter that is being looked into constantly and I am as sure as and when the time comes, a view will be taken on that," he said.

He was asked if the government was considering reducing excise duty on petrol and diesel to give relief to consumers.

He, however, did not elaborate on the timing.

The government last year raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 13 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 16. Excise duty on petrol now totals Rs 32.90 a litre and makes up for 36 per cent of the Rs 90.56 a litre retail selling price of the fuel in Delhi.

Excise duty on diesel totals Rs 31.80 and makes up for 39 per cent of the retail selling price of Rs 80.87.

Together with state VAT, taxes make up for 55-60 per cent of the price that consumers pay.

Petrol prices crossed Rs 100-mark in some places in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in February as international oil soared. But as soon as elections to five states including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were announced, the prices hit a freeze button.

And they declined a bit when international prices dipped on worries about demand recovery amid a resurgence?of Covid infection. Petrol had hit an all-time high of Rs 91.17 a litre in Delhi in February and diesel touched a record Rs 81.47.

CBIC member (Budget) Vivek Johri said a 59.2 per cent growth in excise collections is partly "explained by an increase in the rate of tax".

"If there is a cut that will have an impact on revenue collection from excise," he said.

Also, there has been a dip in consumption as states imposed partial lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus infection.

"Because of Covid, you would have seen recent reports of a dip in consumption of petroleum products, particularly diesel, motor spirits (petrol) and other fuels. So revenue will be a function of where the rates settle, if at all there is a change in the rates, and the level of consumption that we see in the economy," he said.

Last month, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had told Parliament that the tax collected on petrol and diesel was Rs 52,537 crore in 2013, which rose to Rs 2.13 lakh crore in 2019-20 and swelled further to Rs 2.94 lakh crore in the first 11 months of 2020-21 fiscal.

The CBIC did not separately give excise collection on petrol and diesel for 2020-21 fiscal.

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Bombay High Court on 10th March 2021 granted an ad-interim injunction against Prince Platinum Pipes and Fittings, Vigor Plast India Private Limited and Dhananjay Brass Products after hearing a trademark infringement suit filed by Prince Pipes and Fittings Limited. [With reference to the order dated 10th March 2021 passed by the Bombay high court CORAM Justice GS Patel in Case no. 5290 Of 2021 Commercial suit no. 5286 Of 2021.]

Justice GS Patel ruled that use of trademark PRINCE Platinum by Prince Platinum Pipes and Fittings, Vigor Plast India Private Limited and Dhananjay Brass Products is an obvious attempt to trade upon and cash in on the reputation and goodwill built up by Prince Pipes and Fittings Limited.

Nihar Chheda, AVP - Strategy, Prince Pipes and Fittings Limited said, Prince Pipes is taking strict action against duplicacy and all such cases will be dealt with swift legal action. Prince Pipes does not manufacture any product under the name Prince Platinum. Other duplicate manufacturers infringing on the Prince Pipes brand will also be dealt with stern action to protect Prince Pipes credibility which continues to be nurtured over 3 decades.

As a step to immediately contain the confusion spreading in the market and damage to our reputation and market share being inflicted by sale of counterfeit products our Company approached Bombay High Court to restrain sale of counterfeit products.

The PRINCE mark has been in regular, extensive and continuous use since the year 1966 and has attained a distinct name and strong goodwill in trade circles, Prince Pipes Counsel told the court in its plea.

Justice GS Patel accepted Prince Pipes argument and maintained that the word PRINCE is being used to create a deception in minds of general public. The court held that considerable damage must have been already caused to Prince Pipes and any further damage must be immediately avoided.

Besides the injunction, the Bombay High Court also appointed court receiver to carry out search and seizure at the business premises of the Prince Platinum Pipes and Fittings, Vigor Plast India Private Limited and Dhananjay Brass Products situated in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The local sources at Jamnagar have reported that a huge scale operation of manufacturing and packaging of the counterfeit products was underway in Jamnagar, which has now been seized by the court receiver during the raid conducted at the business premises.

Prince Pipes was represented by Senior Advocate, Dr. Veerendra Tulzapurkar and Advocate Mr. Hiren Kamod assisted by law firm Induslaw.
13 April 2021

Keller Group plc

Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 and Notice of 2021 Annual General Meeting

Keller Group plc ("Keller", the "Company") announces that its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will be held at 9.00am on Wednesday19 May 2021 at the offices of DLA Piper UK LLP, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HT.

In connection with this, the following documents have been posted or otherwise made available to shareholders:

 Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020 ("Annual Report 2020")

 Notice of AGM

 Proxy Form (in the case of shareholders on the register of members)

Copies of these documents have been submitted, where appropriate, to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

The Annual Report 2020 and the Notice of AGM are now available to view on the Company's website at www.keller.com.

Keller is closely monitoring developments relating to COVID-19 and how this may affect the arrangements for the AGM. Shareholders should therefore continue to refer to the Company's website and announcements for any updates in relation to the AGM, including venue.

In addition, should shareholders wish to ask any questions of the Board relating to the business of the AGM, they are encouraged to email their questions in advance to secretariat@keller.com or send them by post to the Company's registered office for the attention of the Group Company Secretary and Legal Advisor.

In accordance with the DTR 6.3.5, this announcement contains information in the attached Appendix about the principal risks and uncertainties, the Directors' responsibility statement and note 28 to the accounts on related party transactions. This information has been extracted in full unedited text from the Annual Report 2020. This material should be read in conjunction with and is not a substitute for reading the full Annual Report 2020. References to page numbers and notes in the Appendix refer to those in the Annual Report 2020. A condensed set of financial statements was appended to the Keller's preliminary results announcement issued on 9 March 2021.

For further information, please contact:

Keller Group plc www.keller.com

Kerry Porritt, Group Company Secretary and Legal Advisor 020 7616 7575

Silvana Glibota-Vigo, Group Head of Secretariat

Notes to editors:

Keller is the world's largest geotechnical specialist contractor providing a wide portfolio of advanced foundation and ground improvement techniques used across the entire construction sector. With around 9,000 staff and operations across five continents, Keller tackles an unrivalled 6,000 projects every year, generating annual revenue of more than 2bn.

LEI number: 549300QO4MBL43UHSN10

Classification: 1.1 (Annual financial and audit reports)

Appendix

Unedited extract from Annual Report 2020

Principal risks and uncertainties

The table on the following pages lists the principal risks and uncertainties as determined by the Board that may affect the Group and highlights the mitigating actions that are being taken. The content of the table, however, is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all the risks and uncertainties that may arise.

The COVID-19 pandemic is having and will continue to have an impact across the entire organisation. We have incorporated commentary into affected principal risks, which we will continue to manage centrally as well as regionally.

Key: Strategy lever Key: Risk movement

1 Balanced portfolio Increased risk Reduced risk

2 Engineered solutions

3 Operational excellence

4 Expertise and scale Constant risk Link to viability

Financial risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Inability to finance our business

Insufficient levels of funding, whether from operating cash flow or external financing facilities, that are necessary to support the business.



Link to strategic lever: 3, 4 A lack of available funds restricts investment in growth opportunities, whether through acquisition or innovation.



In an extreme circumstance, the lack of available funds could lead to a failure of the Group to continue as a going concern. Mixture of long-term committed debt with varying maturity dates which comprise a 375m revolving credit facility with a maturity extended to November 2025 and a US private placement debt of $125m ($50m note maturing in 2021 and $75m note maturing in 2024).



Active and open communication with the revolving credit facility banking group ensures that it understands the Group's financial performance and is supportive of funding requirements.



Strong free cash flow profile with the ability to turn off capital expenditure and reduce dividends.



Embedded procedures to monitor the effective management of cash and debt, including weekly cash reports and regular cash flow forecasting to ensure compliance with borrowing limits and lender covenants.



Culture focused on actively managing our working capital; the annual bonus plan is linked to executive remuneration through an operating cash flow metric. Please see the Directors' remuneration report for further information on metrics.



Monitoring of and response to external factors that may affect funding availability; as a result of the strong cash management, even taking account of the impact of COVID-19, the Board announced in November 2020 reduced leverage guidance from 1.0x-1.5x to 0.5x-1.5x.

Constant risk

Link to viability

Market risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) A rapid downturn in our markets

Inability to maintain a sustainable level of financial performance throughout the construction industry market cycle, which grows more than many other industries during periods of economic expansion and falls more harder than many other industries when the economy contracts.



Link to strategic lever: 1, 2 Reduction in the demand for our products and services may lead to a significant deterioration in financial performance, including cash flow generation.



In an extreme circumstance, reduced cash flow generation could lead to a failure of the Group to continue as a going concern. The diverse markets in which the Group operates, both in terms of geography and market segment, provide protection to individual geographic or segment slowdowns.



Since March 2020, COVID-19 has caused a decrease in economic activity in several of the markets in which we operate. Whilst the Group has shown good resilience to this change, it is likely that COVID-19 will continue to depress the economies in affected markets over the next 12 months. This may cause a reduction in activity in the construction sector which adversely affects the Group's order book.



Having strong local businesses with in-depth knowledge of the local markets enables early detection and response to market trends.



Leveraging the global scale of the Group, talent and resources can be redeployed to other parts of the company during individual market slowdowns.



The diverse customer base, with no single customer accounting for more than 3% of group revenue, reduces the potential impact of individual customer failure caused by an economic downturn. Constant risk

Link to viability





While we expect a slight shrinking of the construction market in 2021 and an adverse impact on our order book, we will mitigate through our exposure across a number of sectors of the construction market and are well placed to take advantage of opportunities, especially in infrastructure. We will continue to monitor this risk closely, paying close attention to any impact on the size of our order book and take appropriate mitigating actions. Strategic risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Failure to procure new contracts on satisfactory terms

Increasing competition, changing customer requirements or a loss of technological advantage results in a failure to continue to win and retain contracts on satisfactory terms and conditions in our existing and new target markets.



Link to strategic lever: 1, 2, 3, 4 Failure to negotiate satisfactory and appropriate contractual terms may result in delays and disputes during project delivery, negatively impacting our relationships with our customers and the Group's reputation for delivering quality products and solutions.



Inability to enter into commercially viable contracts may have a negative effect on the profitability of our projects and prevent the Group from achieving its targets. A focus on understanding customers' requirements and competitors' capabilities.



Structured bid review processes in operation throughout the Group with well-defined selection criteria that are designed to ensure we take on contracts only where we understand and can manage the risks involved.



The Project Lifecycle Management (PLM) Standard has introduced more rigour into how risks are considered during the opportunity, contract approval and project execution phases.



Sales training, which includes a focus on contractual and commercial terms. Increased risk



In addition to a potential adverse impact on our order book as a result of a downturn in our markets due to COVID-19, it is possible that there is increased competition for a reduced number of contracts within those markets. This may increase pressure on bid pricing and potentially erode contract margins. We will continue to monitor any increased pressure on contract margins and take appropriate mitigating actions.

Strategic risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Losing our market share

Inability to achieve sustainable growth, whether through acquisition, new products, new geographies or industry-specific solutions, may jeopardise our position as the preferred international geotechnical specialist contractor.



Link to strategic lever: 1, 2 Delivering sustainable growth is a key component of our strategy. Failure to deliver on our key strategic objective may result in the loss of confidence and trust of our key stakeholders including investors, financial institutions and customers. A clear business strategy with defined short, medium and long-term objectives, which is monitored at local, divisional and group level.



Continued analysis of existing and target markets to ensure opportunities that they offer are understood.



An opportunities pipeline covering all sectors of the construction market.



A wide-ranging local branch network which facilitates customer relationships and helps secure repeat work.



Continually seeking to differentiate our offering through service quality, value for money and innovation.



North American businesses reorganisation delivering on cross-selling opportunities. However, due to COVID-19 there is an economic squeeze globally, increasing pressure on volume/market share.



Minimising the risk of acquisitions, including getting to know a target company in advance, often working in joint venture, to understand the operational and cultural differences and potential synergies. As well as undertaking these through due diligence and structured and carefully managed integration plans. Constant risk

Link to viability Ethical misconduct and non-compliance with regulations

Keller operates in many different jurisdictions and is subject to various rules, regulations and other legal requirements including those related to anti-bribery and anti-corruption. There is a risk that the Group fails to maintain the required level of compliance.



Link to strategic lever: 3, 4 Non-compliance with relevant laws and regulations could lead to substantial damage to Keller's reputation and/or large financial penalties.



Losing the trust of our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders would have an adverse effect on our ability to deliver against our strategy and business objectives. A Code of Business Conduct that sets out minimum expectations for all colleagues in respect of ethics, integrity and regulatory requirements and is backed by a training programme to ensure that it is fully embedded across the Group.



A clear and confidential externally run 'whistleblowing' facility encouraging employees to report any suspected misconduct.



An Ethics and Compliance Officer at every business unit who supports the ethics and compliance culture and ensures best practice developed by the Group is communicated and embedded into local business practices.



Regular workshops across the Group to ensure compliance risks are identified and addressed. Constant risk

Link to viability



Strengthened communication of Keller's tone at the top and a renewed focus on risk management and internal control have maintained the exposure of this risk.

Strategic risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Inability to maintain our technological product advantage

Keller has a history of innovation that has given us a technological advantage which is recognised by our clients and competitors. Inability to maintain this advantage through the continued technological advancements in our equipment, products and solutions may impact our position in the market.



Link to strategic lever: 1, 2 Without a structured innovation approach, including sufficient investment, Keller may lose its completive advantage. The Keller Innovation Board works closely with business units, divisions and global product teams to ensure a structured approach to innovation is in place across the Group.



Keller's continued investment in both external and internal equipment manufacture.



Keller Data AcQuisition (KDAQ), a group-wide innovation project, will bring information together and make it accessible in one simple and concise platform. It will include all technical information from Keller and third-party sources at each stage of delivery, including data analysis and visualisations where possible, and it will also be BIM-compatible. Constant risk Changing environmental factors

Changes in environmental legislation and relevant standards that impact our product and service offerings and an increasingly active public response to environmental concerns in the sectors in which we operate.



Link to strategic lever: 3 Inability to achieve Keller's commitment to deliver solutions in an environmentally conscious manner may have a negative impact on our reputation, affect employee morale and lead to loss of confidence from our customers, suppliers and investors.



Product offerings become obsolete because they are no longer compliant with environmental standards. We may be required to remediate at our own cost to attain compliance. Collaboration with the University of Surrey's Centre for Environment and Sustainability to apply sustainability best practice to all business functions.



A Sustainability Steering Group is responsible for integrating sustainability targets and measures into the group business plan to successfully drive changes important to the company.



Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions verified by accredited external third party (Carbon Intelligence).



Carbon Calculator tool used to identify/improve carbon efficiency.



Project team created to develop processes to meet Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) requirements.



Further details can be found in the ESG and sustainability section on pages 40 to 53. Constant risk



While the focus around environmental legislation is increasing, we believe this will present opportunities to us that we are well placed to exploit. Our increasing activity to improve sustainability over and above our peers will ensure we are ready to take opportunities as they arise.

Operational risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Service or solutions failure

In designing a product or a solution for customers many factors need to be considered including client requirements, site and loading conditions and local constraints (eg neighbouring buildings, other underground structures). Inadequate design of a customer product and/or solution may lead to an inability to achieve the required standard.



Misinterpretation of client requirements or miscommunication of requirements by the client may lead to a poorly designed solution and consequently failure.



Link to strategic lever: 2, 4 Failure to meet quality standards could damage our reputation, result in regulatory action and legal liability, and impact financial performance.



The liability limitation period of our products is generally 12 years; consequently, a poorly designed product/solution could have an impact on our long-term profitability. Continuing to enhance our technological and operational capabilities through investment in our product teams, project managers and our engineering capabilities.



Employing geotechnical engineers that are focused purely on design.



Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Plans in place across the Group.



The global product teams set standards, provide guidance and disseminate best practice across the organisation for our eight key products.



We seek to agree liability limits in our contracts with customers.



Insurance solutions are in place to limit financial exposure of a potential customer claim. Constant risk

Link to viability

Operational risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Ineffective execution of our projects

Failure to manage our projects to ensure that they are delivered on time and to budget due to unforeseen ground and site conditions, weather-related delays, unavailability of key materials, workforce shortages or equipment breakdowns.



Link to strategic lever: 3, 4 Inability to successfully deliver projects in line with the agreed customer requirements may result in cost overruns, contractual disputes and reputational damage.



Ineffective project delivery may also expose the Group to long-term obligations including legal action and additional costs to remedy solution failure. Ensuring we understand all of our risks through the bid appraisal process and applying rigorous policies and processes to manage and monitor contract performance.



Ensuring we have high-quality people delivering projects. Keller's Project Management Academy and Field Leadership Academy are designed to create project managers with a consistent skill set across the entire organisation. The academies cover a broad range of topics including contract management, planning, risk assessment, change management, decision-making and finance.



KDAQ system enabling comparison of performance across sites using similar products, identification of areas of best practice and quickly raising awareness of where improvement is needed.



Safety Standards for operations (eg platform, cage handling), Equipment Standards and fleet renewal.



The PLM Standard drives a consistent approach to project delivery with robust controls at every project phase.



A formal, structured approach to LEAN and 5S across the organisation is being embedded, which is improving processes and strengthening Keller's working culture. Constant risk

Link to viability

Operational risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Causing a serious injury or fatality to an employee or a member of the public

Failure to maintain high standards of health and safety, and an increase in serious injuries or fatalities leading to an erosion of trust of employees and potential clients.



Link to strategic lever: 3 Inability to maintain a positive health and safety culture may lead to damage to morale, an increase in employee turnover rates and a decrease in productivity.



Deterioration in health and safety performance may lead to loss of customer, supplier and partner confidence and damage to our reputation in an area that we regard as a top priority. Board-led commitment to drive health and safety programmes and performance with a vision of zero harm.



An emphasis on safety leadership to ensure both HSEQ professionals and operational leaders drive implementation and sustainment of our safety standards through ongoing site presence, using safety tours, safety audits, safety action groups and mandatory employee training.



Ongoing improvement of existing HSEQ systems to identify and control known and emerging HSEQ risks, which conform to internal standards.



Incident Management Standard and incident management software driving a robust and consistent management process across the organisation that ensures the cause of the incident is identified and actions are put in place to prevent recurrence. Constant risk

Link to viability Not having the right skills to deliver

Inability to attract and develop excellent people to create a high-quality, vibrant, diverse and flexible workforce.



Link to strategic lever: 2, 3, 4 Failure to maintain satisfactory performance in respect of our current projects and failure to deliver our strategy and business targets for growth. Continuing to invest in our people and organisation in line with the four pillars of the Keller People agenda as noted below.



Ensuring that the 'Right Organisation' is in place with people having clear accountabilities; each organisational unit is properly configured with a matrix of line management, functional support and product expertise.



As industry leader, that Keller is made up of 'Great People' that are well trained, motivated and have opportunities to develop to their full potential. Project managers and field employees receive comprehensive training programmes which cover a broad range of topics including contract management, planning, risk assessment, change management, decision?making and finance.



A strong focus on the 'Exceptional Performance' of employees in delivering commercial outcomes safely for Keller based upon project successes for our customers. Business leaders are incentivised to deliver their annual financial and safety commitments to the Group.



The 'Keller Way' provides guidance to the company's employees and leaders to comply with local laws

and work within Keller's values and Code of Business Conduct. Constant risk

Operational risk Risk Potential impact Demonstrable mitigation Risk movement (since 2019) Risk of potential disruption in the business operations, reputational damage and/or loss or corruption of data through external or internal technical threats and malicious action

Information security and cyber threats are a concern across industries worldwide. The introduction of digital solutions such as InSite and KDAQ increases the Group's reliance on IT and its inherent cyber risk exposure.



Link to strategic lever: 3, 4 Cyber security breach could result in leakage of proprietary information, operational disruptions, and loss of employee and customer data. Building a cyber security and information assurance team and services.



Building a zero trust layered technology capability.



Creation of an Information Security Management System framework, referencing industry standards to ensure appropriate governance, control and risk management and then onward management for compliance, maturity and development of service.



Introduction of technical capabilities and services to further enable prevention, detection, prediction and response services.



Multi-factor authentication for all users prevents unauthorised access to Keller's networks and applications.



Advanced threat protection on all IT equipment delivers comprehensive, ongoing and real-time protection against viruses, malware and spyware.



Data protection framework to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other standards of data protection. Constant risk



The threat landscape continues to evolve each year and so we continue to adapt our monitoring, detection, prevention and education processes to maintain a balanced risk perspective.



We assess cyber risks and determine appropriate actions for our business. Existing capabilities continue to be deployed and enhanced if needed.



As an example, having seen in 2020 the rise in the number of ransomware attacks and the increased number of reported attacks that target backup as well as production environments across all industries, we shall implement in 2021 a backup solution for key services that is immutable and cannot be encrypted.

Responsibility statement of the Directors in respect of the Annual Report and the financial statements

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation as a whole; and

the Strategic report and the Directors' report, including content contained by reference, includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position and performance of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

The Board confirms that the Annual Report and the financial statements, taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and understandable and provide the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Group's position and performance, business model and strategy.

28 Related party transactions

Transactions between the parent, its subsidiaries and joint operations, which are related parties, have been eliminated on consolidation. Other related party transactions are disclosed below:

Compensation of key management personnel

The remuneration of the Board and Executive Committee, who are the key management personnel, comprised:

2020

m 2019

m Short-term employee benefits 8.3 5.4 Post-employment benefits 0.4 0.4 Termination payments 0.4 0.2 9.1 6.0

Other related party transactions

As at the year end there was a net balance of 0.1m owed by (2019: 0.2m owed to) the joint venture. These amounts are unsecured, have no fixed date of repayment and are repayable on demand.
Chilling footage has captured the moment a stranger casually strolled into a family's yard and stole their beloved cat Fostok from their front porch.

The 10-year-old cat's owner Jessica Stevens shared confronting video on Facebook on Monday of a man wearing a backpack taking the mixed breed cat from outside the home in Dulwich Hill in Sydney's inner-west about 7.10pm on April 6.

Ms Stevens, 29, said her family were away for Easter and realised the cat was missing when the neighbour who was feeding him said they hadn't seen him in two days.

The video showed the man walking up to Fostok as he sat on a ledge before putting out his hand, picking him up and walking off down the street with the cat in his arms.

Ms Stevens' cousin Jason Abrahim, who lives across the road from her family home, said the 10-year-old pet was like 'family' to him and begged for the man to return him.

Jessica Stevens' beloved family cat Fostok was stolen from their front porch in Dulwich Hill in Sydney's inner-west on April 6

Ms Stevens' family were away at the time of the theft. The neighbour who had been feeding Fostok raised the alarm after not seeing him for two days

'I don't know what this guy's mental state is. In a way I feel sorry for him, maybe he's lonely,' Mr Abrahim, 28, told Daily Mail Australia.

'We just want our cat back. He just needs to give me a call or an email and I'll pick it up and say "I forgive you",' he said.

He said Fostok - who loved playing with children and having cuddles - would generally stay away if he encountered a 'bad person' but could be swayed by someone who appeared to be friendly.

'If someone comes up doing hand signals then he'll be nice,' Mr Abrahim said.

'You could see in this video though Fostok turns away when the man tries to grab him. He didn't want to go.'

The cousin said the entire community had rallied around his family and shared the video in the hope of retrieving their pet.

Mr Abrahim's grandparents also live on the same street, which he described as a 'well-connected community'.

Footage showed the man walking up to Fostok as he sat on a ledge before putting out his hand, picking him up and walking off down the street with the cat in his arms

'They've really been helping,' he said. 'It has been overwhelming to see people from far and near reaching out to share the word around.'

Commenters on Facebook were left shocked at the brazen theft.

'That makes me sick to my stomach I hope you are able to find him!' one said.

'So creepy!!! I hope hes returned to you safely,' another wrote.

Anyone with any information about the stolen cat is urged to contact Mr Abrahim at jason.abrahim92@hotmail.com.

The family has also reported the matter to police.
April 13, 2021, marks the 102nd anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. The killings took place at Jallianwala on April 13, 1919. As we remember those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, here is what happened on the unfateful day:

People were not made aware of the Martian Law imposition that prohibited public gatherings. As a result, thousands gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab's Amritsar to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi, which was marked on April 13 in the year 1919.

File

To teach Indians a "lesson"

To teach Indians a "lesson" for their "disobedience", Brigadier-General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the gathering. General Dyer ordered the firing without warning or asking the crowd to disperse.

Eyewitnesses say General Dyer entered the premises and ordered the British Army to open fire on innocent civilians. No prior warning was given, nor a chance was given for people to save their lives.

Troops blocked entry, exit points

The troops, before opening fire, blocked all the entry and exit gates of the Jallianwala Bagh. Bullets rained on thousands of people, who were at the venue unaware of British order, for nearly 10 minutes as many jumped into the well to save themselves. Although the official number was 350, the Congress party had claimed that more than 1,000 Indians were martyred.

ANI

Following the incident, General Dyer was removed from his post, his promotion was stalled and he was barred from any further duty in India. The incident was also a turning point in India's modern for it changed the course of the freedom movement.

Dyer presented with Saviour of the Punjab sword

While many, including Sir Winston Churchill, then secretary of war, condemned General Dyer's actions, the House of the Lords lauded him and presented him with a sword having Saviour of the Punjab inscribed on it.

The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument. Over a century since the massacre, Indians remember the sacrifice of men, women, and children, who lost their lives to the British bullets. With ever-growing calls for an apology, former British PM Theresa May had expressed regret over the incident, adding it was a "shameful scar" on British-Indian history. However, there was no apology from neither her nor any other British leader.



ANI

Leaders pay tributes to martyrs

Praying tributes to the people who lost their lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, Their courage, heroism, and sacrifice give strength to every Indian.

Tributes to those martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Their courage, heroism and sacrifice gives strength to every Indian.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2021





The Congress Party also remembered the sacrifice, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal called the massacre a tragic incident that will always serve to remind us of the price the country paid for its freedom.

             



                     ,       pic.twitter.com/VEtqdIDxPq  Congress (@INCIndia) April 13, 2021

Remembering those who sacrificed their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on April 13, 1919. The tragic incident will always serve to remind us of the price the country paid for its freedom.#JallianwalaBaghMassacre pic.twitter.com/QJs1Yyz29R  Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) April 13, 2021





Punjabs Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu were also among those who also paid tribute to Martyrs.
This would be the first step for Vietnams state firms to list shares on international stock exchanges.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) plans to speed up the privatization of state-owned enterprises via stock market, marking a viable way to boost transparency along the process.

Production at Samsung Vietnam. Photo: Hanoitimes

In a pilot program proposed by the ministry, a number of state-owned corporations operating under the form of a single member limited liability company would be transformed into joint-stock company wholly owned by the state.

These firms in subject are expected to list their shares on stock exchanges for divestment of state capital or raising funds, in turn ensuring transparency and convenience throughout the process, stated the MoF in a draft project on restructuring state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with a focus on major corporations in the 2021-2025 period.

This would be the first step for Vietnams state firms to list shares on international stock exchanges, added the MoF.

According to the MoF, the model of joint-stock companies wholly owned by the government has been adopted in countries such as Germany or Japan. In Germany, there are around 10,000 state-owned joint-stock companies, of which 1,000 have listed shares on stock exchanges.

Moreover, the solution could accelerate the realization of a pilot project by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in forming 17 large scale SOEs serving as leaders in their respective industries, added the MoF.

Drastic measures to privatize enterprises 50% owned by state

Former Director of the Institute for World Economics and Politics Vo Dai Luoc told Tien Phong Online the fact that only 37 SOEs privatized out of the planned 128 SOEs under prime ministers instruction for the 2016-2020 period is a concern.

In many cases, the target is to just sell less than 50% of the state capital to ensure that the government remains a major shareholder, said Luoc.

In this situation, there would be no substantial change to enterprises corporate governance mechanism, but additional fund pumped into those may increase risks of wasting social resources, he added.

Luoc suggested the government to draft a list of SOEs required to divest a minimum of 50% stake owned by the state, saying this would help private sector to further grow.

For the past five years, the government targeted to sell VND98.74 trillion (US$4.28 billion) of state capital, or 48% of total, but the actual figure was VND22.74 trillion (US$986.85 million), or 23% of the plan.

The MoF said as state ownership remains high in enterprises post-privatization, the goal of improving current corporate governance and business operation at firms has not been as expected.

The MoF set the goal of completing the SOE restructuring process via privatization and state capital divestment by 2025 with nine solutions, including finalizing legal framework; modernizing corporate governance; separating the management of state capital and business operation for hiring managers for enterprises co-owned by the state.

Hanoitimes

Government names SOEs incurring losses of trillions of VND The government has sent a report to the National Assembly on investment of state capital in enterprises, and the use of the fund for enterprise support and development in 2019.
The statue of William Wilberforce is seen in Hull, UK, on June 10, 2020. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

For the Record: Antipathy Toward Others Is Not a Tenet of Christianity

Commentary

Over Easter, The American Catholic published a photographic illustration of just how much things can change in a single lifetime.

In the photo, enormous crosses formed by lighted windows blazed above New Yorks skyline as part of the 1956 Easter display in Manhattans financial district. This was Easter in the year of my tenth birthday and a poignant reminder of how much the future of ordinary people can be affected by an unhinged intelligentsia dedicated to radical action in the present.

Today, in cosmopolitan Western cities, almost any civic display of religious faith, especially one of a Judeo-Christian nature, is unthinkable. Not only has the practice of religion been in decline, it has fallen into particular disrepute among our highest credentialed, progressive elites.

During the 2008 Democratic Party primary, would-be presidential candidate Barack Obama sought to link religion to violence and racism. Speaking about Americas fly-over voters he said, And its not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who arent like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Some 13 years on, Americas ruling Wokeratti now regard any intersection of whiteness, masculinity, heterosexuality, conservatism, patriotism, or Christianity to be leading indicators of a racist disposition.

Over the course of one lifetime, young Christian men have gone from being recognized as mostly honorable altar boys to potentially violent hate-mongers.

Religious Resistance to Slavery and Racism

Do churchgoers belong in the basket of deplorables described by 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton? Are practicing middle- and working-class Christians really the prime movers behind systemic racism in America and the West?

The historical record indicates otherwise.

In fact, in the Anglo-American context, practicing Christians were at the center of campaigns to abolish slavery and racial discrimination from the 18th through the 20th century.

Although many Enlightenment philosophers opposed slavery, it was Christian activists, with strong religious convictions, who initiated and organized the abolitionist movement. Abolitionists found ways to use the Bible and Christian tradition, along with Anglo-American civic ideals, to make a persuasive case against slavery.

Throughout the British Empire and the United States, Christian faith leaders were at the forefront of abolitionist and civil rights movements. It was the evangelical Christian parliamentarian William Wilberforce who campaigned tirelessly for the abolition of the slave trade in early 19th century Britain. Wilberforce wrote in his diary that God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the Slave Trade and Reformation of Morals.

In mid-20th century America, it was an African American Baptist minister, Martin Luther King, who became the moral leader of the U.S. civil rights movement. Inspired by his Christian belief, King advanced civil rights through non-violent civil disobedience and the religious principle that all men are equal before God.

Fair-minded scholars acknowledge that the greatest common denominator among those who fought against racial injustice was a fundamental grounding in the Judeo-Christian heritage.

Unintended Consequences of Following the Science

Religious history has seen its share of witch-hunts and inquisitions, but the moral fallout from scientific advances has also been less than perfect. Slavishly following the science as U.S. President Joe Biden continues to recommend, has been known to produce many unintended consequences.

In fact, its fair to suggest that racism, as well as other ungodly human pathologies, have also been generated by the misguided application of scientific conclusions.

For example, modern assaults on human equality are more attributable to a particular school of anthropological biology than to any form of religious practice. In the case of racism, the historical record points directly toward the Darwinian theory of the survival of the fittest and its early 20th century influence on the science of eugenics.

Eugenics was an applied science primarily inspired by Charles Darwins 19th century empirical investigation of The Origin of Species and The Descent of Man. By the early 20th century the idea that eugenics might be applied to the improvement of human beings in the same way that selective breeding is applied to farm animals almost achieved the status of settled science.

The idea that society could be improved by producing more perfect human specimens found considerable favor among many who considered themselves to be progressive thinkers. Following the science took us to some very dark places.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels recognized that the replacement of a religious outlook with Darwinian scientific analysis provided a basis in natural science for their idea of class struggle and revolutionary violence.

Later in the 20th century the German National Socialist movement, led by Adolf Hitler, extended the implications of Darwins Descent to their quest for the development of a master race. German intellectuals picked up on the idea that nature favors the strong. Unrestrained by religious morality, they sought extraordinary means, including mass murder, to eliminate people they deemed to be inferior. This was the science of eugenics in action.

The Birth of Relativism

At about the same time that Darwins theory was capturing the imagination of anti-religious intellectuals, a little-known 26-year-old, Jewish patent office clerk by the name of Albert Einstein came up with a scientific discovery challenging the framework for human knowledge that had been around since the era of Galileo.

Einsteins Special Theory of Relativity, the proposition that space and time are relative rather than absolute terms of measurement, followed by his demonstration that all mass has energy (E=MC), led to the modern development of nuclear energy.

Once again, however, blindly following the science produced unintended consequences. Unfortunately, Einsteins discovery started the military race for the development of nuclear weapons.

In addition, according to British historian Paul Johnson, the scientific conclusion that there are no absolutes of time, space, and motion soon supported the post-modern misconception that there are no absolutes at all: of right or wrong, good or evil, truth or falsehood, virtue or vice.

Tragically, Relativity became confused with Relativism a form of cultural dictatorship that recognizes no universal morality and views individual whim as the ultimate and only measure of value or truth.

Science Doesnt Eradicate Wickedness

The invocation of science in support of a relativistic, neo-Marxist mega-narrative has continued apace in the Woke culture of the 21st century.

Last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Dr. Rochelle Walensky leveraged her privileged institutional position and medical science credentials to put forward the same politically motivated allegation that Obama unleashed on Christian Americans during his 2008 primary election.

Invoking the familiar Woke assertion that white people are systemically racist whether they know it or not, Walensky claimed that racism is a serious threat to public health in the United States.

News outlets reported that the CDC is launching a new web portal, Racism and Health, which will serve as a catalyst for public discourse on the topic. The agency has also produced an interactive map showing more than 170 municipalities that have declared racism a public health crisis or emergency.

Why dont more ordinary people warm up to such pronouncements? Perhaps because they intuitively understand that science and social engineering do not solve moral dilemmas.

With all due respect to the managerial acumen of the CDC director and the analytical powers of the Woke medical science community, it might be useful to explore other paths toward the eradication of racism in Western society.

Science, in itself, has shown a limited capacity to eradicate human wickedness. Christians, on the other hand, have waged epic battles against slavery, racism, relativism, and other forms of human pathology.

With this in mind, administrative authorities might want to consider placing a little higher priority on the task of reopening our churches.

William Brooks is a writer and educator based in Montreal. He currently serves as editor of The Civil Conversation for Canadas Civitas Society and is an Epoch Times contributor.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Others said while extra time for tenure may help, it will be far from enough.

Its sort of like if youre drowning, and the university tells you, Dont worry if it takes you an extra year to get back to shore, Dr. Witten said. Its like, Hey, thats not helpful. I need a flotation device.

Compounding the frustration are the outdated notions about how to help women in science. But social media has allowed women to share some of those concerns and find allies to organize and call out injustice when they see it, said Jessica Hamerman, an immunologist at the Benaroya Research Institute in Seattle. People are just much less likely to sit quietly, and listen to biased statements that affect them.

In November, for example, a controversial study on female scientists was published in the influential journal Nature Communications, suggesting that having female mentors would hinder the career of young scientists and recommending that the young women instead seek out men to help them.

The response was intense and unforgiving.

Hundreds of scientists, male and female, renounced the papers flawed methods and conclusions, saying it reinforced outdated stereotypes and neglected to take structural biases in academia into account.

The advice from the paper was basically similar to advice your grandmother may have given you 50 years ago: Get yourself a man who will take care of you, and all will be fine, Dr. Cardel said.

Nearly 7,600 scientists signed a petition calling on the journal to retract the paper  which it did on Dec. 21.

The study arrived at a time when many female scientists were already worried about the pandemics effect on their careers, and already on edge and angry with a system that offered them little support.
New Zealanders with a sense of humour are being buried in giant cream-filled doughnuts, a pirate ship and even life-sized blocks of Lego.

The bizarre custom-made coffins are built to reflect the personality of the departed who will soon be laid to rest inside them.

Dying Art has designed hundreds of wacky final resting places and is so busy he has a team of 15 constructing them in an Auckland workshop.

Business owner Ross Hall came up with the colourful idea when drafting his own will 15 years ago.

One of the more popular caskets made by Dying Art for a client was a long-filled cream doughnut sculpted casket (pictured above)

Business owner Ross Hall (pictured above) came up with the colourful business idea when drafting up his own will 15 years ago

Other clients have requested they are buried in designs such as a pirate style ship (pictured above)

He had no desire to be buried in a bland brown box, and raised the idea of caskets with a difference with his then-partner.

The pair initially laughed off the radical suggestion, but six months later Mr Hall followed up the business idea.

He now enjoys making people smile on what is a sad day for grieving families.

'We have had some fantastic responses back from families about what a difference the casket made on the day,' Hall told Daily Mail Australia.

'They (the caskets) provide a happy twist to a sad moment.'

Hall employs a team to work on the custom-made coffins, some of the designs taking two days to complete.

The nature of the job often requires them to 'drop everything' and getting to work as the requests need to be completed as soon as possible.

One of his favourite recent requests was a long cream-filled doughnut sculpted casket.

'We used shaping foam and we glued it to the side of a standard casket... and then we spent about two days actually shaping the cream doughnut,' he told the NZ Herald.

'And then once we had a decent looking [doughnut] design, we went back in with acrylic paints.'

Another popular design created by the Dying Art team was inspired by a firetruck (pictured above)

Auckland based Dying Art design custom-made caskets (pictured above) which aim to reflect the personality of the people who will eventually be laid to rest inside them

A musically inspired coffin (pictured above) was one of the more innovative creations in recent years

Hall said his line of work is a 'celebration of a life', and working closely with funeral directors is a fascinating experience.

'It has definitely changed my outlook on life... because now every day I wake up, I live that moment like it's my last one,' he said.

'I get in contact with the funeral directors when the requests come in.. they then go back and forth with members of the public who are making the requests for their loved ones.

'All our designs are environmentally friendly and I can't stress enough how important it is we deliver on what people want.'
The United States and Ukraine remain in touch at various levels in connection with the increasing military threat from Russia due to the concentration of Russian troops near Ukraines border and in the occupied Crimea.

We remain in touch with Ukrainian officials at a range of levels, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing on April 12.

Psaki noted she would not comment on the issues being discussed by the American side with the partners.

The White House Press Secretary emphasized that the US had watched the increasing aggression of Russian forces on Ukraines border over the course of the weekend.

As noted, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are in Brussels this week, meeting with their NATO partners. Im sure this [Russias escalation] will be a topic of discussion, the White House Press Secretary added.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for Brussels where he will take part in NATO consultations and hold bilateral and multilateral meetings. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also plans to visit NATO Headquarters this week.

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Alabamas fire chiefs and construction industry groups are sounding alarms about a bill that would move oversight of building code compliance from a state agency to community colleges and local school boards.

The change in oversight would apply to all community college projects. For K through 12 public schools and universities, the change would apply to projects costing up to $500,000.

The law now requires all projects to be cleared by the Division of Construction Management, which is part of the state Finance Department, an agency under control of the governor.

House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, a Republican from Rainsville, said his bill would streamline bureaucracy without sacrificing safety.

Ledbetter said it would not weaken legal requirements to meet building codes but would help eliminate delays and increased costs that he said sometimes result from the Division of Construction Managements actions and decisions.

If the people want us to cut bureaucracy and still do an appropriate job, this does it, Ledbetter said.

Opponents of the bill say it would eliminate an important independent review of compliance with the codes that make public structures safe and accessible. They say it would wrongly put architects who design projects in the position of signing off on their work.

The same person that designed it is going to review their own work? Alabaster Fire Chief Tim Love said. Thats just not a proper way to do it. And its leading us into some future tragic events could happen from this.

Love is president of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs and signed a letter in opposition to the bill.

HB220 as written will remove any government oversight that would ensure safety of applicable building and fire codes for many buildings and projects, Love wrote. All inspections would be the responsibility of the person that designs or engineers the project.

Another letter in opposition to the bill is signed by five groups: Alabama Associated General Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama, Subcontractors Association of Alabama, American Institute of Architects - Alabama, and the Alabama Contractors Association.

While $500,000 may seem like a relatively small threshold, lack of proper oversight can create firetraps, impact structural integrity, prevent access to individuals with disabilities, result in mechanical and electrical hazards and lead to injuries if not checked for minimum code compliance, the letter says.

Before creating duplicate departments around the state that are difficult to staff and expensive to fund, the legislature should review these improvements, monitor its performance and not rely on anecdotal evidence before acting.

Ledbetters bill has received strong support from lawmakers. It passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 96-1 in February. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee heard from both sides at a public hearing last week and approved the bill. The Alabama Association of School Boards supports the bill.

Lawmakers could give it final passage and send it to Gov. Kay Ivey as early as this week.

The governors office has not spoken out publicly about the bill. Iveys office referred questions to the Finance Department. Jana Ingels, public information officer for the Finance Department, sent AL.com a link to a report that praises the work and accomplishments of the Division of Construction Management.

Reviews of building plans by the Division of Construction Management ensure that the projects, once they are completed and occupied, are compliant with all life-safety codes, Ingels said in an email. DCM and the Department of Finance work diligently to ensure the safety of public buildings. The safety and well-being of occupants and visitors to state properties is of highest priority to our Department.

Ledbetter said hes been working on the legislation for about two years. He said he has seen examples of school projects, like a roof repair, that he said became unnecessarily expensive because of the involvement of the Division of Construction Management. Ledbetter also noted that school systems would still be able to use the Division of Construction Management on the projects under $500,000 if they so choose. For projects over $500,000, that would still be required.

As for the community colleges, Ledbetter said they have staff in place to do the work now done by the Division of Construction Management.

If the people want us to cut bureaucracy and still do an appropriate job, this does it, Ledbetter said. And it dont go as far as Id like for it to go, to be honest with you. But I think the $500,000 cap, it was actually a compromise we had in the bill.

Larry Vinson, a lobbyist who represents the Alabama Council of the American Institute of Architects, said he believes some anecdotal information used to promote the legislation has been misleading.

The Division of Construction Management, they dont sell anything, Vinson said. Theyre not running costs up. What theyre doing is theyre making people adhere to the codes for safety of those buildings. And if adhering to a code runs the cost up some, whats that worth? Is it worth someones life?

The Legislature returns Tuesday for the 22nd day of the 30-day session.

Alabama and national politics.
By Lee Seong-hyon





The Communist Party of China will officially announce whether General Secretary Xi Jinping will serve his third five-year term at the 20th Party Congress in the fall of next year.



The United States, which is in "extreme competition" with China (according to Biden), is keenly interested in whether Xi will manage to maintain his long-term grip on power. If Xi continues to hold on to power, then Washington should also have a long-term strategy to deal with "Xi Jinping's China" that goes beyond the Biden administration.



The reason why the U.S. is interested in Xi's possible third term is also related to a recent report titled, "The Longer Telegram: Toward a new American China strategy," released by the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank. The report attributes the fundamental cause of the U.S.-China conflict to a single person, i.e., Xi Jinping. Xi is a leader who advocates the "Chinese Dream" and challenges U.S. global hegemony. Therefore, replacing Xi is a fundamental solution to the U.S.-China conflict, according to that logic.



The report states that all five Chinese leaders before Xi tried to "work with" the U.S.-led world order, but Xi is attempting to reshape it, and that the current situation indicates a fundamental change in the strategic environment facing the U.S. In response, the U.S. should make China return to a state prior to Xi, proposing that he be replaced.



Specifically, the author diagnosed that the Chinese Communist Party is experiencing a "significant division" internally over Xi's style of leadership, and said his policy and demand for absolute loyalty are causing internal opposition.



From an analytical perspective, all of the rumors suggesting widespread dissatisfaction within the Communist Party against Xi are nothing new. There clearer signs of a possible rift. For instance, at a leadership meeting in Beidaihe, last summer, it was reported that a senior CCP elder accused Xi of aggravating U.S.-China relations. On another occasion, Cai Xia, a former professor of the Central Party School, which grooms mid-career CCP officials, publicly criticized Xi as a "mafia boss."



But when analyzing authoritarian states like China, it is more important to gauge whether the political storm has reached a critical point that can tip a revolution, because complaints about leaders are always present. In particular, it is necessary to diagnose the degree of consolidation of Xi's power at this time, in consideration of the COVID-19 situation over the past year or so.



China was the only major country in the world that has succeeded in both containing COVID-19 and recovering its economy in 2020. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attributed this dual success to the result of the CCP's leadership with "Comrade Xi Jinping as the core."



In addition, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party, which promised to achieve a full-scale "xiao kang" or a moderately prosperous society. The Chinese government declared "complete victory" in this regard, attributing it again to Xi's leadership.



Xi also accelerated the improvement of a more affordable medical insurance system and the national pension system, which began during the time of his predecessor, Hu Jintao, resulting in the improvement of the people's livelihoods, especially in rural areas.



Xi's success and his popularity with the public by copying Mao Zedong's "mass line" (qunzhong luxian) strategy is something that outside observers often overlook. As a result, Xi is unlikely to encounter decisive difficulties in eliciting support from the Chinese people for his long-term rule, because of his efforts to eliminate poverty, continued anti-corruption campaign, and the improvement in the social safety net. On the other hand, at present, there are no meaningful political forces to challenge Xi in China.



The U.S., unexpectedly, also helped Xi strengthen his power. In the wake of more than 500,000 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. and the unprecedented insurrection at Capitol Hill, Chinese state media focused its reporting on the weaknesses and flaws of U.S. democracy. The Chinese government now even displays a sense of superiority of socialism over democracy. In addition, the upward surge of nationalism and patriotic mentality in China in the context of the U.S.-China rivalry also justifies the need for a strong leader like Xi.



China's elite power landscape is murky and requires continuous observation. But it is the view of this author, at this time, that there is no fatal flaw that can prevent Xi from winning his third term.





Lee Seong-hyon, Ph.D. (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), is the director of the Center for Chinese Studies at the Sejong Institute


Votes cast exclusively through the independent proxy in line with COVID-19 Ordinance 3 of the Swiss government to combat the pandemic

Increase in the dividend from CHF 2.20 to CHF 2.30 per share

Lukas Braunschweiler, Heinrich Fischer, Oliver Fetzer, Karen Huebscher, Christa Kreuzburg and Daniel R. Marshak re-elected as members of the Board of Directors

Lukas Braunschweiler confirmed by shareholders as Chairman of the Board

Christa Kreuzburg, Oliver Fetzer and Daniel R. Marshak confirmed as members of the Compensation Committee

All proposals relating to compensation approved

Mannedorf, Switzerland, April 13, 2021 - The Annual General Meeting of the Tecan Group (SIX Swiss Exchange: TECN) endorsed all motions proposed by the Board of Directors on April 13, 2021. The Annual General Meeting was held at the headquarters of the company, without personal attendance by shareholders. Voting rights could only be exercised through the independent proxy in line with the Federal Act on the Statutory Principles for Federal Council Ordinances on Combating the COVID-19 Epidemic and/or with the COVID-19 Ordinance 3 of the Swiss government to combat the pandemic. Tecan informed of the procedure on March 23, 2021.

Shareholders approved the Annual Report, the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements, and granted discharge to the Board of Directors and the Management Board. They agreed to an increase in the dividend from CHF 2.20 to CHF 2.30 per registered share. Half of the dividend, i.e., CHF 1.15, will be paid out from the available capital contribution reserve and is therefore not subject to withholding tax. The payout will take place on April 19, 2021.

All current members of the Tecan Board of Directors were confirmed by the shareholders for a term of one year: Heinrich Fischer, Dr. Oliver Fetzer, Dr. Karen Huebscher, Dr. Christa Kreuzburg, Dr. Daniel R. Marshak and Dr. Lukas Braunschweiler. Lars Holmqvist, a member of the Board of Directors since 2015, did not stand for re-election. Lukas Braunschweiler, Chairman of the Board of Directors, warmly thanked the departing member on behalf of the Board for his service over many years and the valuable contribution he had made to the development of the company with his proven industry expertise.

Until the Annual General Meeting in 2022, the Board of Directors will consist of six members.

Lukas Braunschweiler was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors. The shareholders also confirmed Christa Kreuzburg, Oliver Fetzer and Daniel R. Marshak as members of the Compensation Committee.

Other proposals also approved

The shareholders voted on the conditions governing the compensation of the Board of Directors and Management Board for the following fiscal year, according to the Ordinance Against Excessive Compensation in Listed Stock Companies of the Swiss government (OaEC). They made a binding decision to endorse the proposed maximum total amount of compensation for fiscal year 2022 and also, for the Board of Directors, for the period until the 2022 Annual General Meeting. The 2020 Compensation Report, which was submitted for an advisory vote, was also accepted by shareholders.

Ernst & Young AG, Zurich, was reappointed as the statutory auditors for fiscal year 2021.

Shareholders approved the motion proposed by the Board of Directors to appoint Proxy Voting Services GmbH, Zurich, as the independent proxy for the period up to the close of the Tecan Group 36th Annual General Meeting in 2022.

Key upcoming date

Tecan will publish the 2021 Interim Report on August 18, 2021.

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics and clinical diagnostics. The company specializes in the development, production and distribution of automation solutions for laboratories in the life sciences sector. Its clients include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments, forensic and diagnostic laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both Europe and North America and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2020, Tecan generated sales of CHF 731 million (USD 778 million; EUR 683 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TECN; ISIN CH0012100191).

For further information:

Tecan Group

Martin Braendle

Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & IR

Tel. +41

www.tecan.com

Attachment
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - REIT Public Storage (PSA), the leading owner, acquirer, developer, and operator of self-storage properties, announced Tuesday the acquisition of ezStorage, one of the highest quality self-storage portfolios in the U.S., for $1.8 billion. The portfolio comprises 48 properties (4.2 million net rentable square feet) located in submarkets with strong demand drivers and high barriers for new property development across Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland. Public Storage's industry-leading development team will assume responsibility for one property that is under construction and expand eight additional properties, resulting in a 10% increase in square footage through 2023. In combination with its existing market presence, the Company's Mid-Atlantic portfolio will be unmatched in coverage and quality with 163 properties and 11.3 million net rentable square feet. The Company plans to fund the acquisition with unsecured debt. The transaction will be immediately accretive to FFO following an anticipated closing in May 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.
Devon Windsor shared the first sonogram photos of her baby and teased an imminent gender reveal in a cute picture she posted to her Instagram on Tuesday.

The models husband Johnny Dex Barbara wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek as the happy couple held the sonogram photos between them.

'Boy or girl? Final guesses below before our gender reveal tomorrow at 11:30!' the blonde wrote in her caption.

Baby bliss: Devon Windsor shared the first sonogram photos of her baby and teased an imminent gender reveal in a cute pic she posted to her Instagram on Tuesday

She wore a bright pink and blue tie-dye sleeveless maxi-dress in the snap while Johnny looked casual in a white button-down long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants.

On Monday night, the blonde beauty shared a video of herself dancing with the sonogram photos.

She added text to the video saying: Everything looked great! Baby was jumping and bouncing around! He/She is getting so big already.

The Maxim cover star captioned the video: Today was a good day! Seeing little baby Barbara.

Baby news: The Missouri native and her husband shared in March that they were expecting their first child

Joyful: On Monday night, the blonde beauty shared a video of herself dancing with the sonogram photos on her Instagram

Over the weekend, Windsor shared two new photos of her baby bump to Instagram.

The runway queen showed off her pregnant tummy as she posed in a black and off white bikini with a sheer black coverup from her own swimwear collection.

Windsor could barely contain her excitement in another post, happily dancing in a video as she revealed she was 18 weeks along in her pregnancy.

Dressed in a white short sleeve shirt and a teal pleated skirt, Devon was heading out the door to a doctor's appointment and assured her fans that she would update them later.

And she fulfilled her promise with her latest Instagram post on Tuesday.

Starting to show: Windsor's baby bump was on full display as she posed in a black and off white bikini with a sheer black coverup from her own swimwear collection

Countdown: The mother-to-be revealed that she had hit her 18 week pregnancy milestone by posting a cute video in which she danced to Ryn Weaver's song 'Pierre' and improvised her own lyrics about going into the doctor for a check up.

The Missouri native and her husband shared that they were expecting their first child last month.

The model posted two black and white snaps of her growing baby bump and ultrasound scan to Instagram.

She captioned the photo: '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!'

Beautiful blonde. The model's hair was dyed platinum blonde during fittings for the 2013 Prada runway show and this became her signature look. Seen in January 2021

One photo showed Johnny tenderly kissing Devon's cheek while she held up the ultrasound scan to the camera.

The model wore her jeans partially unbuttoned and lifted her shirt up so as to display her baby bump.

Devon was discovered when she was just 14 and her first modeling gigs were for local publications and fashion shows in her hometown of St. Louis, Mo. After graduating from high school in 2021, she modeled in Milan and London.

Windsor's career took off after she walked for Prada in September 2013. Her hair was dyed platinum blonde during fittings for the show and this became her signature look.

The 5ft 11in beauty married Johnny, co-owner of fashion label Alexis, in a lavish ceremony on November 16 2019 at St Bartholomew's Anglican Church on the Caribbean island of St Barths.

According to Harper's Bazaar, the celebration lasted for three days and Georgia Fowler, Shanina Shaik, Olivia Culpo and Cara were in attendance.
April 13 : Diva Shraddha Kapoor pens a note of gratitude for all her fans on social media as she hits 60 million fans following on Instagram.

The acting, dancing and singing triple threat of Bollywood, Shraddha Kapoor is over the moon with her unprecedented fan following. She wrote, Abundant Love!!! #60M Overwhelmed and overflowing with gratitude...Thank you all so, so much for your precious and unlimited love...My fan clubs, sweetest babudies, you guys are the best!!! Over the days Ive been going through your amazing edits...Thanks to each one of you for making such a beautiful effort

The 'Stree' star wrote this alongside a picture from her getaway at the Maldives in which she is seen practising yoga on the shore of a sea.

Shraddha is currently enjoying her vacations in the Maldives and has been quite active on social media in updating her fans about her activities by sharing pictures and videos from the serene location.

Meanwhile on the work front, Shraddha recently announced her next project titled 'Chaalbaaz In London', which will be a reboot of the 1989 rom-com classic 'Chaalbaaz' directed by Pankaj Parashar.

The actor has reportedly signed a three-film franchise based on the tele-series 'Naagin' to be produced by Nikhil Dwivedi.
This year our dine and drink business locations throughout the Gorge have suffered with closures. You can help support your favorites by purchasing take out and gift cards. Many of these business will offer curb-side delivery and some will deliver to your home. Lets keep the Gorge going strong!
The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office on Monday jailed one of its own deputies on allegations that he tried to smuggle synthetic marijuana and prescription medication for heroin addiction into the city lockup.

According to authorities, 36-year-old Deputy Louis Williams admitted that he had been paid $1,000 to bring a packet with 39 doses of Suboxone, more than 22 grams of synthetic marijuana referred to as MoJo, and tobacco into the Orleans Justice Center for an inmate being held on counts of first-degree rape and kidnapping.

A Sheriffs Office sergeant confronted Williams about the illicit delivery after receiving a "credible" tip during a broader investigation that is expected to produce more arrests, agency officials said in a statement.

Deputies confiscated the package from Williams vehicle and booked him on counts of conspiracy to introduce contraband into a penal institution, possession with intent to distribute synthetic marijuana as well as Suboxone without a valid prescription, and malfeasance in public office.

The inmate who was allegedly awaiting the package  50-year-old Isaac Fields  wasnt immediately booked in the case, which comes as the Sheriffs Office tries to stem an ongoing flow of narcotics contraband at a jail that has been under a federal reform agreement since 2013.

The Sheriffs Office said in a statement that Williams is cooperating with investigators. But general counsel Blake Arcuri added that Williams was still suspended without pay following his arrest.

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Williams faces termination from his job, though an internal disciplinary investigation against him remained pending Monday.

His bail was later set at $400, records show. Each of the counts with which he was booked is a felony.

Sheriff Marlin Gusman issued a statement thanking the informant who called in the tip about Williams, saying, "It's important for everyone's safety to say something if you see something, and we are grateful this person did just that."

OPSO employee arrested on charges of smuggling contraband to inmate; more arrests expected The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office arrested one of its own employees on accusations of smuggling contraband to an inmate at Orleans Justice C
U.S. President Joe Biden holds up a silicon wafer as he participates virtually in the CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, April 12, in Washington. AP



U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday that his country will increase its investment in infrastructure to protect its supply chains, including the supply chain of semiconductors.



His remarks came in a meeting with the top executive officers of 19 global firms, including South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics, to discuss ways to address the ongoing shortage of semiconductors.



"Chips, like the one I have here, these chips, these wafers, our batteries, broadband, it's all infrastructure. This is infrastructure," Biden said in the virtual meeting, holding up a wafer.



"We need to build infrastructure of today, not repair the one of yesterday, and the plan I proposed is going to create millions of jobs, rebuild America, protect our supply chains and revitalize American manufacturing," he added.



Monday's meeting, hosted by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director (NEC) Brian Deese, came as the United States is increasingly facing a shortage of semiconductors, especially those used in vehicles, which is affecting major U.S. automakers.



The U.S. president has proposed to Congress a US$2 trillion infrastructure plan.



"It's going to make American research and development a great engine again. We led the world in the middle of the 20th century. We led the world toward the end of the century. We are going to lead the world again," Biden said of his infrastructure plan.










China's engagement in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) started later than in many other countries. In 2002, when the National Bureau of Statistics began measuring the OFDI, the net amount was $2.7 billion. However, in 2016 it soared to $196.15 billion, occupying 13.6 percent of the global total. In recent years, China's OFDI has stayed between $140 billion and $160 billion. He Zhenwei, Secretary General of the China Overseas Development Association, spoke to Beijing Review reporter Tao Xing, sharing his observations on the development of China's OFDI. This is an edited excerpt of the interview:



Rapid development

Between 1978 and 2000, China mainly focused on absorbing foreign investment in order to develop its economy and accumulate capital. The Go Global strategy emerged in 2000, after Chinese enterprises began to attain the resources and competence to invest abroad.

Large state-owned companies played a leading role at the very beginning, as they had greater economic and human resource strength than small and medium-sized ones. As energy plays a crucial role in supporting domestic productivity, projects in this field were a focus for Chinese investment in other countries.

Nevertheless, in recent years, OFDI by the thriving private sector has surpassed that of state-owned companies and their investment has entered a wider range of industries, such as services, manufacturing and light industries.

The Go Global strategy has helped Chinese enterprises enhance their development and branding. For example, Haier Group, one of the country's largest home appliance and electronics makers, began its overseas expansion in 1989 by exporting niche products. In 2006, Haier launched a new strategy to bolster its global brand awareness, and has since established factories and research bases abroad. It is now a household name in overseas markets for its hi-tech products, and runs ahead of most of its Western peers in product research and development.

In 2010, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a leading private carmaker in China, signed a deal to buy ailing Swedish luxury car brand Volvo from U.S. giant Ford for $1.8 billion. The acquisition offered Geely access to a high-end brand and the technologies it needs to compete with much bigger rivals. It also provided a channel for China-made cars to gain a share in the world market.

As economic globalization gains momentum, nations worldwide have become ever more closely linked, and it is impossible for any country to develop its own economy in isolation. The new Chinese development paradigm of dual circulation underlines the importance of the domestic and overseas markets reinforcing one another, with the domestic market as the mainstay. However, taking the domestic market as the mainstay should not be regarded simply as a return to an inward-looking economy.

China will continue to fulfill its commitment to opening up, and will strive to promote the coordinated development of internal and external demand, import and export, as well as inbound and outbound investment.

Promising industries

China has pledged to peak its carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060. These are ambitious goals that require sound overall environmental governance, breakthroughs in new-energy technology and adjustments to the energy structure. Meanwhile, protecting the environment and mitigating climate change are issues of global concern, both for developed and developing countries. There are ample opportunities for Chinese enterprises to invest in new energy, such as photovoltaic and wind power industries, abroad, as well as to deliver Chinese technologies internationally.

Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed potential in some new industries, including cross-border e-commerce.

Reliable logistics is a basic requirement for trade. Impacts of the recent Suez Canal blockage are another reminder of the importance of supply chain management. For this reason, we firstly need to establish a sea-rail multimodal freight transportation chain, capable of providing efficient means of delivering goods to Chinese and foreign customers. Chinese e-commerce enterprises also need to invest in establishing a presence overseas, including distribution hubs.

Win-win results

China's investment in African countries and other countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative could become an efficient channel for the sharing of technologies.

More importantly, when Chinese enterprises invest in foreign countries, it is not merely finding a new home for their existing technologies but advancing entirely new technologies in the process. For example, a China-Kazakhstan cement plant with a designed daily production of 2,500 tons of clinker cement was officially put into operation in Shieli County, Kyzylorda Region in southwest Kazakhstan, in 2019.

The joint venture is one of 55 industrial capacity cooperation projects between the two countries. It uses advanced technologies and produces nine types of cement. After it went into operation, Kazakhstan was able to shake off dependence on imported oil well cement. The plant is Kyzylorda's first cement factory and brought 260 new jobs to the region.

An additional emerging trend is the deepening of cooperation in industrial capacity in third-party markets, inspired by the Belt and Road Initiative. Third-party market cooperation refers to the economic cooperation between Chinese enterprises and enterprises of other countries in the market of a third country.

In 2014, in order to solve the water shortage in the capital city of Beirut, the Lebanese Government launched the Greater Beirut Water Supply Project, which would involve the construction of tunnels and pipelines. Cooperativa Muratori & Cementisti, an Italian civil engineering contractor, won the tunneling contract and purchased two hard-rock tunnel boring machines from China Railway Group Ltd. This cooperation hastened the progress of the project and resolved the water problem in Beirut.

Third-party market cooperation can help Chinese enterprises and enterprises of other countries complement each other, and promote the improvement of industries, infrastructure and people's livelihood in third countries. China has signed this kind of cooperation agreements with 14 countries including France, Japan, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Platforms and enterprises

For Chinese enterprises to go global, it is essential to understand how to get accurate information about the target markets and how to raise risk awareness. When individual companies intend to invest abroad, it is difficult to gain the necessary information and understanding to do so. Platforms and organizations for effective communication are needed.

Every year, the China Overseas Development Association organizes the China Overseas Investment Fair to create an information-sharing platform for Chinese enterprises and foreign governments. In 2020, the ambassadors of 31 countries attended the fair where Chinese business people could directly consult with them. Multilateral events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Boao Forum for Asia in the Chinese island province of Hainan play a similar role. Investors and parties seeking investment meet at these gatherings to discuss issues of common concern, which can help solve global challenges and influence the world.

On such platforms, enterprises can also share information and experience, such as areas that require caution when investing in a specific country, or why a particular investment failed.

Braving the challenges

As COVID-19 spreads across the world and international protectionism rises, OFDI by Chinese enterprises face many challenges, including restrictions on the global movement of people.

However, China and other countries are working on these problems.

When addressing economic protectionism in general or specific trade disputes, new methods of cooperation must be devised. For example, the China-U.S. trade war has impacted heavily on cooperation between enterprises of the two countries. While the U.S. has raised import duties on many goods imported from China, it has not done so for products from many other countries, creating the possibility for factories of Chinese enterprises in these countries to export their products to the U.S.

In the end, the virus will be defeated. Once the pandemic ends, all nations will focus on economic recovery, boosting market and project demand. Chinese enterprises need to be ready for these opportunities.
Brussels: US President Joe Biden has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to de-escalate tensions following a Russian military build-up on the Ukraine border in their second tense call of Bidens young presidency.

Biden proposed a summit in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of US-Russia issues, the White House said.

He also told Putin on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST)the US would act firmly in defence of its national interests regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference, according to the White House.

Joe Biden has said Vladimir Putin will pay for meddling in the US election. Credit:Facebook

The Biden-Putin relationship has been rocky in the early going of the new US administration. Biden is weighing action against Russia for the SolarWinds hacking campaign, Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election, reports of Russian bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan and the poisoning and jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Woolpert Aviation Geospatial Project Manager Prateek Sharma Having experience on the client side, I know the biggest challenges airports face are finding ways to leverage new technologies and big data to improve workflows and better plan for future growth.

Woolpert has hired GIS and airport expert Prateek Sharma as an aviation geospatial project manager. Sharma has extensive experience in creating, managing and leveraging geospatial databases and new technologies to improve asset management and operations at busy airports.

Sharma comes to Woolpert after serving as an embedded consultant and GIS manager for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, where he managed a team of consultants in creating and managing GIS databases for the Orlando International Airport and the Orlando Executive Airport. In addition to coordinating with outside agencies to map the utilities infrastructure, Sharmas team collected field data and developed GIS database and web applications for a wide variety of internal usersincluding maintenance, security and janitorial staff members. He was also the Authoritys liaison to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Having supported virtually every aspect of airport operations for the past 16 years, Sharma describes himself as a Jack of all trades when it comes to providing GIS solutions for airports. He said hes excited to be joining a large firm that has experts in the architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) industries under one roof.

Having experience on the client side, I know the biggest challenges airports face are finding ways to leverage new technologies and big data to improve workflows and better plan for future growth, Sharma said.

In addition to his bachelors degree in architecture, Sharma holds a masters degree in city and regional planning and a masters degree in business administration. He said he hopes to grow professionally at Woolpert to work on larger projects and eventually apply his business administration skills.

Ive been very focused on working with specific departments on smaller projects for many years, Sharma said. Im excited for the opportunity to fully be a part of enterprise solutions and leveraging everything that Woolpert has to offer in my day-to-day work with clients.

Woolpert Senior Associate and Practice Leader Eric Risner said Sharmas background working at large airports has given him rare insight into how GIS can be used to find innovative aviation solutions.

The aviation industry was on a huge growth trajectory prior to the pandemic and, as recovery continues, is expected to pick up right where it left off, Risner said. This kind of adjustment and expansion fuels difficult decisions when maintaining assets and strategically augmenting operations. Prateeks aviation, planning and GIS capabilities are unique and immensely valuable to our aviation objectives. Were excited to have him join our team.

About Woolpert

Woolpert is the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, with a vision to become one of the best companies in the world. We innovate within and across markets to effectively serve public, private and government clients worldwide. Woolpert is an ENR Top 150 Global Design Firm, recently earned its fifth-straight Great Place to Work certification and actively nurtures a culture of growth, inclusion, diversity and respect. Founded in 1911 in Dayton, Ohio, Woolpert has been Americas fastest-growing AEG firm since 2015. The firm has over 1,100 employees and 42 offices in three countries. For more, visit woolpert.com.
Washington: President Joe Biden has decided to leave American troops in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline negotiated with the Taliban by the Trump administration, and has set the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks as the new goal, US officials said.

Biden has been hinting for weeks that he was going to let the deadline lapse, and as the days went by it became clear that an orderly withdrawal of the remaining 2500 troops would be difficult and was unlikely.

Soldiers stand guard in the motorcade for then president Donald Trump when he visited Afghanistan in 2019. Credit:AP

US officials provided details on Bidens decision on the condition of anonymity, speaking ahead of the announcement on Tuesday, local time. It was first reported by The Washington Post.

His decision risks retaliation by the Taliban on US and Afghan forces, possibly escalating the 20-year war. And it will reignite political division over Americas involvement in what many have called the endless war.
Rosie Torres has been advocating for health care for veterans sickened by burn pits for years. This could be the year a major bill passes through Congress or the effort could suffer a crushing and demoralizing defeat.

For decades, the military used open-air burn pits to dispose of garbage, paint, plastics, jet fuel and human waste. Now, some veterans are getting sick and dying from what they believe are cancers and other illnesses caused by breathing in the toxic fumes.

The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates 3.5 million veterans were exposed to toxic burn pits, yet 75% are denied health care and disability compensation. The VA maintains that the science is unclear on the link between conditions such as cancer and breathing in burning garbage for months at a time.

Read Next: 48,000 Marines Have Turned Down COVID-19 Vaccine, Corps Says

Torres and other advocates, including former "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, have been lobbying heavily for The Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

On paper, the bill is set up for success: Democrats have slim control of Congress; the lobbying campaign has Stewart as its heavyweight to bring in a wide array of attention from media that doesn't otherwise cover veterans issues; and President Joe Biden himself has been touched by the problem after his son Beau, a major in the Delaware Army National Guard, died of brain cancer in 2015 due to what his father suspects was the result of burn pit exposure in Iraq.

But the bill cannot seem to get off the ground. Even as lawmakers say there's huge support for the effort on Capitol Hill and across the board with influential veterans advocates, the ambitious health care plan is still stuck in legislative mud. With the stars seemingly aligned and setting the bill up for success, many argue this year is the best shot to pass something entitling veterans to presumptive care.

"We've been playing with this issue for almost 20 years," Torres, co-founder and executive director for Burn Pits 360, said in an interview with Military.com. "I don't see there being another approach or tactic, anything that could be said or done differently than we are with this bill. There's nothing different that we could do next year."

The measure, which also was proposed last year and failed to get significant traction, would remove the burden of proof from a veteran to show that they got sick from service; they would need to prove only that they served in one of the 34 countries named in the bill.

The bill also has the backing of key veterans groups, including the American Legion and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, or IAVA. A House version was introduced by Reps. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.

The Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, has yet to issue a "score" on the bill estimating its overall cost, which could be enormous and scare off some lawmakers, especially given the mammoth amount of money the federal government has spent lately combating COVID-19 and jolting the economy.

"This is a bill [for] which the time has come. I'm optimistic we'll get a vote this year, because it's something that's affecting so many people in the country," Gillibrand said in an interview with Military.com. "I feel like the level of advocacy for this is significant. We're still waiting on our CBO score, but the truth is, this is the cost of war, and we have to include that when we're deciding when and how to deploy."

Meanwhile, the VA is the second largest federal agency, and its budget has ballooned over the years with no end in sight. Biden's budget plan, unveiled last week, calls for an 8.2% increase in discretionary funding for the department, an $8.5 billion boost, bringing discretionary spending to $113.1 billion.

Advocates and some lawmakers argue that health care for veterans is part of the cost of war just as much as tanks and planes. On top of veterans sickened over the past two decades, there's no reason to think the next war won't expose troops to toxic environments, they say.

It is unclear how many veterans have been sickened by burn pits. According to the VA, 13,936 veterans filed a claim related to exposure between June 2007 and Feb. 28 of this year. Of that number, 9,380 were denied.

"They come home, and now the enemy is negligence, bureaucracy and apathy," Stewart said Tuesday as he was flanked by key lawmakers and advocates at a press conference. "They aren't trained for that. The VA has one job, to act in the benefit of the veteran. That's it. If the culture doesn't change, then we will continue to make the same mistake we've clearly made decade after decade, forcing more suffering and disease."

It's unlikely the data shows the full scope of what some fear is the largest veteran health care crisis since Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Many veterans might not bother going through the VA since it is not clear for whom it will provide care and disability compensation; some might not even be aware their conditions could be service connected. But more than 230,000 veterans have registered for the agency's burn pit data collection registry.

Gillibrand said she discussed the issue with Biden last year and felt he would be a key ally, given his son's exposure. But to the ire of some advocates, the president hasn't mentioned burn pits once since taking office.

"The administration is committed to understanding and addressing the effects of toxic exposures, including to exposure to burn pits, for military service members and veterans," a White House spokesperson told Military.com

Gillibrand's bill is one of several burn pit-related measures on the table. Rep. Elaine Luria, D-Va., recently introduced her own presumptive care bill, but it lacks what some advocates argue is a critical provision allowing for more diseases to be covered down the road. Instead, her bill sticks to a static list of illnesses. However, that might reduce the bill's overall cost.

There are also a handful of other burn pit-related bills set to be introduced soon, according to a House VA committee aide, signaling that this surely will be the focus of lawmakers who work on veterans issues. Yet whether big-ticket items to deliver health care to sick veterans can get across the finish line this Congress is the looming question.

Advocates say they are fed up with waiting around as more veterans get sick and die at relatively young ages, adding that more studies and half measures from Congress don't cut it anymore.

"This is it. If you were to ask veterans if they want research, they'll tell you no. They want to be treated for their injuries; they want to be compensated for their injuries," Tom Porter, executive vice president of government affairs for IAVA, said in an interview with Military.com. "We can't be having this conversation next year. The stars are aligned this year, period."

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: 'We're Better Than This': Jon Stewart, Veterans Advocates Rally for Bipartisan Burn Pit Legislation
Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukemia.

Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the eight-month-old.

After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot.

Ashley, 30, later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'.

Heartbreak: Ashley Cain's girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukemia

The couple have been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed with leukemia at just two months and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson.

In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe.

On her tattoo, she said: 'We did more castings yesterday to get some necklaces and some hand prints and foot prints...

'I started stressing in case I dropped it but the lady was so good and gave me a print that I can get as a tattoo so she'll always be with me and so close. So I decided to get the prints done and a tattoo of her hands and feet.'

Heartbreak: Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the eight-month-old

Let's go: Ashley, 30, later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'

'She's so beautiful': After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot

On their trip to hospital and her transfusion the previous day, she said: 'Azaylia was experiencing loads of nosebleeds due to the platelets in the body not being able to clot the blood so we went to hospital...

'Unfortunately over the night she's still experiencing the bleeding. Just spoken to the community nurse and they're coming to check. Anything you're experiencing with your child, you know your child best. We thought it was right to get the transfusion...

'The NHS and the service they provide is amazing. Every morning I wake up is a blessing and I just feel so lucky to hold her there and for her to smile and to sing to and all our Jungle Book themed tunes...

'The amount of times we sing you wouldn't even know. You don't know how much I love her and it's absolutely heartbreaking and this feels like torture it's so hard and the support you've given us is amazing...

Pained: In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe

'It's so hard and painful but I'm gonna make every day as special and fun as possible for her. Make the most of everyday because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.'

She then shared a video of Ashley's sister Alissia dancing with Azaylia and another showing them snapping selfies together.

Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body.

The couple recently raised more than 1.5m to fund a trip to Singapore for life-saving transplant, but she was being treated in the UK during the interim.

Heartache: Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body

He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'.

Ashley penned a detailed account of Azaylia's health battle on his GoFundMe page and said that any extra funds the couple receive will be donated to other families in a similar situation to them.

According to the NHS, it is a 'highly complex and potentially risky treatment' but has been shown in trials to cure some patients when other treatments have failed.

Sweetheart: Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer

Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer.

Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia.

Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body.

And as he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to the brave youngster as he admitted: 'I don't know what I will do without you.'

Pained: Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body

In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward.

Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylias last bath in hospital, before we take her home where she belongs. 

'9 days ago consultants told us my daughter had 1-2 days to live, but thought she may pass that evening. Even with a barbaric disease consuming her blood, tumours in her brain and organs and amounts of pain I cannot imagine...

'She is still battling through 9 days later, with parts of the day with nothing but smiles despite her discomfort.

'This is a testament of this little girls strength and the fight she has possessed all of the way through. She has fought a battle that not many, if any, of us could have endured and shes earned the love and respect of many on the way...

Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on

'The truth is though, I hope and pray that I have earned hers! Even through the hardest and saddest time of my life, she has found a way to make it better...

'She has shined light on the darkest of days and she has opened my heart to amounts of love I couldnt believe possible!...

'The truth is, I dont know what I will do without you. But for now, I find strength in giving you the best of me, and the only me that you deserve!...

'You are in my arms, my thoughts, my prayers and my heart everyday my princess. YOURE MY HERO!  DADDY LOVES YOU!'
Heyday, a fast-growing New York-based skincare franchise thats on a mission to provide expert skincare that empowers everyone to be their best self, is changing the way people think about skincare. Now, the brand with locations in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, is bringing a lucrative new franchise opportunity to business-minded individuals craving their next venture as a recession-resistant service that offers a recurring customer model.

For a whole younger generation of consumers, there's no trusted brand in the skincare category, and none that can drive personalized recommendations and expertise like Heyday, said Adam Ross, Heydays Co-Founder and CEO. That's what's exciting to us. Skincare is a $7 billion service industry, and $100 billion online category. Right now, we're doing the work to become the brand that wins the hearts and minds of a very large set of customers.

Currently, Heyday has ten locations, and Sean Bock, Heydays chief development officer, believes that the brand will grow dramatically through franchising with plans to have 300+ shops opened over the next five years. The brand has already attracted interest from multi-franchise operators, senior executives, and entrepreneurs with strong backgrounds in sales and marketing.

We want franchise candidates with high emotional intelligence, people who know how to build a team, and want to develop a lifetime business, said Bock. Our ideal franchisee will ensure that they invest in their Heyday estheticians to create a world class hospitality experience for both their own team and for their clients.

The skincare industry is growing, and Bock believes Heyday has the winning formula for entrepreneurs who want to tap into this demand. In fact, in the first quarter, the company received a $20 million Series B round of funding led by Level 5 Capital Partners with participation from existing investors Lerer Hippeau and Fifth Wall Ventures. The fundraise is allowing Heyday to further scale and cement its position as the trusted brand in skincare, along with Level 5 committing to opening 40 units over the next five years.

We know that Level 5s investment validates our franchise unit economic model and their commitment as a franchisee for 40 locations will help us lock arms in solving problems with our franchise partners and working together to be a best-in-class partner with our franchisees. said Ross.

WIthin Franchising, There is no Dominate Facial Brand, Until Now

While facials have long been viewed as an occasional indulgence or a gift for someone in need of pampering, Heyday is redefining the industry by providing its customers with regularly scheduled visits as part of a well-rounded health-and-wellness maintenance routine. Its newly launched SMS text program allows for anyone interested in receiving facial tips to have an ongoing exchange with a licensed esthetician.

Its an approach that is resonating with customers. Heyday says approximately 80% of its clients are under the age of 34, and 30% have signed up for ongoing memberships and monthly services.

By repositioning the facial and taking it out the spa, Heyday is reframing the entire facial experience, and combined with its unintimidating, gender-neutral, design-inspired space, is making it easy for a younger generation of customers to engage with professional skincare by addressing the friction points of time, cost and convenience. Heydays ability to focus on skincare sets itself apart from so many other spas that offer a myriad of services. With this repositioning comes a younger customer who is focused on self-care and wellness compared to what can be a pampering and indulgent experience at a higher-end spa that targets an older, more affluent customer.

By focusing singularly on providing regular facials, Heyday offers customers a modern, personalized approach to skincare, one supported by a licensed esthetician and customer skincare education programs.

Bock, who led franchise growth and operations for six years at Drybar, says that the size of the market combined with Heydays membership model, its focus on esthetician education, and its innovative digital integration, make the brand a uniquely profitable opportunity for prospective franchise owners.

The franchise model is a great way to elevate the customer experience because you have local operators involved in the business, and Heyday can really focus on branding innovation and the education platform, Bock said. By focusing on an education platform for our estheticians and clients we are serving a huge unspoken need in the market.

Why Heyday is Poised for Franchise Success:

The customer base: Millennials and Gen Z customers view skincare as self-care versus beauty, and are willing to invest in this as part of them being their best-self. The importance of having their best possible skin has never been greater, a trend exacerbated by social media, and tied to the empowerment that comes with confidence in ones-self. On average, more than 70% of revenue each month comes from returning customers.

An understandable product: Facials are concepts that customers immediately understand because they are the gold standard of the skincare market. Its an effective treatment that offers real and immediate benefits, and theres also a cumulative benefit that builds with regular use. Unlike other single-service salon treatments, like lash extensions or blowouts, clients already understand the value of the service. They are now looking for a modern experience, one that focuses on self-care, accessibility, education, frequency and technological innovation.

A scalable business model: With an average store size of just 1,800 square feet, the concept can fit into a variety of build-outs. Additionally, the brand has proven viable in a range of markets from coast to coast, with major potential to succeed in both small towns and large cities.

The Industry: the $7 billion spa services category is a massive and growing category, yet is under-developed relative to other beauty categories. The category is incredibly fragmented with more than 75% of spas across the US being single unit operators, 98% of them offering a myriad of services and products versus focusing only on facials. Until Heyday, the category has lacked specialization, standardization, operational expertise and educational engagement.

Profitability: The average customer-spend at Heyday is $140, with 50 minutes spent on-site. Heyday locations that are currently in operation see about 20% net earnings.* Plus, additional service enhancements can be easily added to any appointment without extending the length of service.

Esthetician training & customer relationships: Heydays licensed estheticians are able to focus on what they enjoy most: the facial and offering personalized treatment to every customer. Working in a fun, collaborative, non-competitive work environment, Heyday estheticians have time to connect more deeply with clients and their work. The company sets itself apart from small, all-in-one spas by providing ongoing training to enhance estheticians skincare knowledge, plus Heyday does not have an agreement with one single skincare line, which means that they truly pick the best products for each guests needs.

The company is currently targeting expansion in the top 54 major metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, New York and Boston, among other large U.S. cities. Start-up costs range from $574,000 to $755,500. Learn more about franchise opportunities here: https://www.heydayskincare.com/pages/franchise.

About Heyday

Heyday is a fast-growing skincare company on a mission to provide expert skincare that empowers everyone to be their best self. Through a fleet of industry-leading physical stores, Heyday has made the facial experience more accessible and helps consumers achieve their skincare goals with the knowledge and care of talented estheticians. Heyday is changing how we take care of our skin redefining the future of the skincare industry for the modern consumer.

*To see the full financial earnings, see the Heyday Franchise Disclosure Document Item 19.
New grants from the State University of New York could help researchers at Binghamton University create a new therapy to provide relief to Parkinson's patients and help locate abandoned oil and gas wells.

Binghamton University researchers Christopher Bishop and Timothy de Smet have each received grants from the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund, which helps faculty inventors and scientists turn their research into market-ready technologies.

The technologies that our researchers are developing have the potential to assist people in pain and to protect our environment. I'm proud of the accomplishments that our faculty have made so far and am pleased that this funding will help support such important, potentially life-changing initiatives." Harvey Stenger, Binghamton University President

Bishop and Barrow Neurological Institute Associate Professor Fredric Manfredsson are developing a new therapy to provide relief to people with Parkinson's disease who experience a harmful side effect that occurs as a result of chronic drug therapy. Their innovative approach repurposes an FDA-approved drug previously developed for depression to prevent the emergence of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia.

"I am grateful to SUNY for this award, which will provide key funding to investigate and translate an exciting new therapy for Parkinson's disease that could help minimize its debilitating symptoms and treatment-related side effects," said Bishop.

De Smet and Assistant Professor of Geological Sciences and Environmental Studies Alex Nikulin have devised a safe and efficient way to locate abandoned oil and gas wells, which present environmental hazards across the United States. Their unique system uses drones to detect magnetic anomalies in the metal casings of abandoned oil and gas wells, pinpointing their location.

"My collaborator, Alex Nikulin, and I are excited to receive this award," said de Smet. "Abandoned gas and oil wells are a serious environmental problem, and this funding will allow us to further investigate a technology that could help locate and address this ongoing issue."

Bishop and de Smet will each receive $50,000 to fund their projects.
WAYNE, Pa., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolve IP, a leading international service provider of Work Anywhere solutions, today announced that Paradigm Technology Group, an IT services distributor, has joined its partner program. Based out of Chicago, IL, Paradigm has expertise in managed services/ managed IT, voice and data solutions, and cloud. The firm works with customers internationally across every vertical, with large practices in healthcare, financial, and GovEd markets.



As part of the Evolve IP partner program Paradigm Technology Group will bring the following enterprise-grade solutions to market:

Microsoft Teams Direct Routing integrated with Cisco VoIP  Evolve IP's native integration of the world's #1 collaboration and communications services enables employees to work anywhere, on every connected device without 3 rd party bots, browser extensions, or additional software. Additionally, it delivers market-leading features like business SMS, call recording with AI speech recognition and sentiment, access via digital workspaces and enterprise features like contact center, receptionist clients, multi-level hunt groups and more.

 Evolve IP's native integration of the world's #1 collaboration and communications services enables employees to work anywhere, on every connected device without 3 party bots, browser extensions, or additional software. Additionally, it delivers market-leading features like business SMS, call recording with AI speech recognition and sentiment, access via digital workspaces and enterprise features like contact center, receptionist clients, multi-level hunt groups and more. Digital Workspaces  Evolve IP's digital workspaces enable organizations to support hybrid workforces with integrated single-sign-on and multifactor authentication, virtual desktop / desktop-as-a-service, and hosted Windows applications. Noted by both Gartner and Frost & Sullivan, Evolve IP's award-winning solution ensure employees can access all of their data and applications on virtually any device, anywhere, at any time.

 Evolve IP's digital workspaces enable organizations to support hybrid workforces with integrated single-sign-on and multifactor authentication, virtual desktop / desktop-as-a-service, and hosted Windows applications. Noted by both Gartner and Frost & Sullivan, Evolve IP's award-winning solution ensure employees can access all of their data and applications on virtually any device, anywhere, at any time. Omnichannel Contact Center  Evolve IP's contact center software ensures agents can deliver a great customer experience and build lasting relationships. The solution includes all of the features needed to build a world-class contact center and costs 30-40% less than alternative solutions. Noted in the last four Gartner CCaaS magic quadrants, Evolve IP's solution can be integrated with Microsoft Teams and digital workspaces ensuring agents are not only connected to customers, they remain engaged with the rest of the business.

 Evolve IP's contact center software ensures agents can deliver a great customer experience and build lasting relationships. The solution includes all of the features needed to build a world-class contact center and costs 30-40% less than alternative solutions. Noted in the last four Gartner CCaaS magic quadrants, Evolve IP's solution can be integrated with Microsoft Teams and digital workspaces ensuring agents are not only connected to customers, they remain engaged with the rest of the business. Unified Communications  Evolve IP's UCaaS service from Cisco delivers award-winning collaboration (video, chat, conferencing and more), and crystal-clear voice services that integrate with the applications businesses are already deploying, on any connected device. With a proven history of 99.999% uptime, the solution provides enterprises with business continuity no matter where employees are working or what is happening inside or outside their offices.

"Paradigm prides itself on delivering superior client service and truly understanding their clients' business challenges. With that shared mindset, they are a perfect match for Evolve IP," said Tim Allen, Executive Vice President of Business Development of Evolve IP. "Our solutions are in high demand as organizations transition from 'work from home' to 'work from anywhere' and we're excited to talk with Paradigm's clients as they adopt new ways of operating their business."



"Our clients are actively looking at how they service employees wherever they are working  not just their offices and cubicles," said Mike Hochberg Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Paradigm. "By adding Evolve IP's integrated solutions to the Paradigm portfolio we have a great new option to provide our clients with work-from-home, hybrid work, and in-office collaboration, communications, digital workspace, and contact center technologies."

Why Clients Choose Evolve IP



Evolve IP enables employees to Work Anywhere productively and securely. Our enterprise solutions seamlessly integrate collaboration & communications, digital workspaces and contact center  all delivered from a browser on any connected device. Evolve IP's technologies free IT to focus on business innovation, not systems and infrastructure, and enable their employees to contribute even more to the enterprise -- no matter where or when they are working. Businesses that choose Evolve IP have selected a true technology partner. A company that becomes an expert extension of their IT team, an organization that listens to their needs to tailor solutions just for their business, and is responsive and engaged in every interaction.

Follow Evolve IP on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.



Media Contact

Michael Hochberg

[email protected]



Photo(s):

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Local News, Business & Finance, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 13 2021

Weekly unemployment claims in New York increased by 434.07% compared to the same week in 2019.

New York is struggling to recover from new unemployment claims, with last weeks claims higher than at the start of 2020, according to WalletHubs updated rankings for the States Whose Unemployment Claims Are Recovering the Quickest

Key Stats:

Weekly unemployment claims in New York increased by 434.07% compared to the same week in 2019. This was the 15th biggest increase in the U.S.

Weekly unemployment claims in New York increased by 50.09% compared to the start of 2020. This was the 22nd smallest increase in the U.S.

Weekly unemployment claims in New York decreased by 80.46% compared to the same week last year. This was the 9th smallest decrease in the U.S.

Q&A

Do you expect companies to require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment?

It is likely that some companies will require getting the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition for employment, with obvious exemptions for people who are medically unable to receive it, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. Companies should be able to have a COVID-19 vaccine requirement because they need to do everything in their power to keep their workers and customers safe. In addition, the more companies that require employees to get a vaccine, the faster we will be able to achieve a full reopening.

How might a states efficiency at administering the COVID-19 vaccine affect unemployment?

States that are able to more efficiently vaccinate their residents will likely see better job growth than states that are less efficient. The more a state vaccinates, the safer conditions in that state will become and the sooner businesses will be able to fully reopen and have the resources to expand hiring, said Jill Gonzalez, WalletHub analyst. Currently, some places are far more efficient than others. For example, New Hampshire has used 90% of its vaccine supply, while Alabama has only used 61%.
Tuolumne County Animal Control officer aiding a fawn View Photos

View Video

Sonora, CA  Animal services workers take on many tasks, like nursing sick animals back to health, advising the public on wildlife interaction, and, unfortunately, uncovering some horrific abuses of animals.

That was the case just this past Friday, when a man was arrested in Northern California near Lake Tahoe after 16 dogs were found living inside his SUV, a picture is in the image box. A report of a suspicious vehicle sent law enforcement to Bridal Veil Falls, a rural area near Lake Tahoe to investigate. A search of the vehicle revealed that three of the dogs were dead and the rest were tied together, sitting and lying in their own waste. Some of the dogs rescued were a golden retriever, a husky, a dalmatian, and a Pomeranian.

The pooches that survived were placed in the care of Animal Services while a 57-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of non-care and cruelty to animals and placed on $50,000 bail.

Animal control officers also deal with wildlife and currently it is the peak time for deer herds to give birth to fawns, but do not trying to interact with those babies, advise officers  even if one appears to be abandoned. That is because they add adult female deer often stash their fawns in tall grass or brush for many hours while they are out foraging for food.

Its actually a survival strategy for the doe to separate from her fawns so as not to attract predators to the whereabouts of her young, details Joe Croteau, environmental program manager with California Department of Fish and Wildlifes (CDFW) Northern Region.

Croteau warns that each year, CDFW and wildlife rehabilitation facilities are called to assist with fawns that have been removed from the wild by concerned people. Unfortunately, he added that with limited long-term placement options, such as zoos or other wildlife sanctuaries, the animals often must be euthanized, as they lack the survival skills to be released back into the wild and can become dangerous and difficult to keep as they become bigger.

The public is asked to report an injured, sick, or suspected orphaned fawn, to their local CDFW regional office directly. Also, anyone removing a young animal from the wild must notify CDFW or take the animal to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator within 48 hours. State wildlife officials instruct that it is illegal to feed deer and keep deer in your personal possession. Those crimes are punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and/or six months in jail. A CDFW video in the image box details the dangers and consequences of feeding deer.

To honor all workers that aid animals this week, April 11-17th, has been designated National Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week. As stated by the Tuolumne County Animal Control on social media its officers are devoted to all animals: small, exotic, wild and large. We are the voices for those who cannot speak for themselves. Pictures of just some of the care that the Tuolumne County Animal Control has provided in the image box.
One of Canada's longest running breeding operations, West River Stock Farm in Antigonish, N.S. recently celebrated its sixth generation of a bloodline with its most recent foal arrival.

The story starts some 60-plus years ago with a mare by the name of Arlene Braden that Ed Haley purchased in Ohio. According to Haley's daughter and current West River owner and operator Clare MacDonald, one of Arlene Braden's foals helped keep that bloodline alive with some on-track accomplishments that don't sparkle on paper in this day and age -- a mark of 2:04.4 and $21,000 in purses -- but definitely proved successful at the time.

"He raced two foals off [Arlene Braden] but there was a mare named West River Kelsa," MacDonald told Trot Insider. "She was the top mare of her time and, ironically, it was the last year of our stakes program because it was a burgeoning program and just building in numbers...they didn't separate colts and fillies. So she raced the colts predominantly, but she was the best of the fillies. She went on to be a really good aged mare...she had a mark of 2:04.4, free-legged, and at the time that put her right in the open class."

A pre-teen MacDonald was gifted West River Kelsa by her father, and Clare took some of her early qualifying drives on the pacing mare when she turned 16 and applied for her license. As MacDonald started her on-track career, West River Kelsa was nearing the end of hers and the decision was made to retire her to the broodmare ranks.

West River Kelsa went on to produce the unraced West River Isobel, who in turn foaled West River Rosie. Rosie's second foal, by Brandons Cowboy, was the accomplished West River Ambyr -- a multiple stakes winning pacing mare that MacDonald retired to the broodmare ranks after making 120 starts, amassing a record of 21-27-24 and banked $112,494 without leaving the Maritimes.

Those five generations of the family turned to six last Tuesday (April 6) with the arrival of another filly, the first foal of West River Ambyr, sired by Arthur Blue Chip.

MacDonald was quick to point out that her farm's prolific filly production hasn't gone unnoticed.

We all joke here in the family that [for] probably the last 10 years or more, weve been the West River Filly Farm," laughed MacDonald, "because we never seemed to have a colt; everything seems to have fillies. Rosies had six fillies. Thats just ridiculous!"
The Charger Blog

In response to recent acts of violence and discrimination targeting members of the AAPI community across the country, members of the University community came together to offer support and foster a dialogue that promotes education, inclusion, and healing. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications

The University community came together to show support for members of the AAPI community.

Distinguished professor Henry C. Lee, Ph.D., has worked on more than 7,000 major case investigations during his decades-long career. A world-renowned forensic scientist, he has served as an expert in all 50 states and more than 30 countries, working on some of the most high-profile cases of the past half century. Yet, he says, as a Chinese American forensic scientist and investigator, he has faced discrimination.

Dr. Lee spoke to the University community as part of a recent virtual event titled Courageous Conversations: The Rise in Anti-Asian Violence, that was held in response to the recent acts of harassment and violence directed toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community nationwide.

Reflecting on the rise in hate crimes targeting the AAPI community since the start of the coronavirus global pandemic, Dr. Lee expressed his concern about the epidemic of racism in the United States. He told the University community that the problem is not new, as he has personally faced racial harassment during his decorated career.

Talk is cheap, it is easy, he said. I think its more important for legislators to develop programs and pass bills to protect minorities and the victims of attacks and discrimination. Government leaders should not just make statements. They should take action. We should be all equal. We should help each other, rather than attack each other.

Distinguished professor Henry C. Lee, Ph.D., shared his concerns about the epidemic of racism in the U.S.

Im thinking about my familys safety

In organizing the event, Dean of Students Ophelie Rowe-Allen, Ed.D., emphasized that the University stands in solidarity with all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and condemns any acts of violence and hate. Angered and appalled by the acts of racism targeting the AAPI community nationwide, the University community came together for two recent events to show support for the AAPI community and to promote education, conversation, and healing.

The initial virtual forum enabled members of the AAPI community to share their stories as well as reflect on how the recent events across the country have personally impacted them and their families.

It causes a lot of distress and worry for my family in China, said Hang Chelsea Su 23, a forensic science major . Its a very critical time for us to start a discussion about how this can impact international students and students of Asian descent in the United States.

Thomas Chung 22, a communication major from Flushing, NY, says he is worried about the safety of his own family members.

Were seeing attacks against Asian people in my neighborhood, he said. I fear that, if it can happen to them, can it happen to my family?

For Kento Yasuhara, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology, the past few weeks have been devastating. He told the University community that he has felt overwhelmed by the recent attacks and discrimination, and it has impacted him both professionally and personally.

Kento Yasuhara, Ph.D., shared his story with the University community.

Im thinking about my own safety, and Im thinking about my familys safety, he said. I have a seven-year-old who I have to explain this to. Does he understand it all? No, but Im afraid hes going to encounter something he wont understand, and thats been weighing on my mind.

We hear you, and we see you

As a follow up to the virtual event, the University hosted Healing in Action: Support for the AAPI Community on campus and online. Dean Rowe-Allen offered actionable ways that Chargers could support the AAPI community. She encouraged everyone to educate themselves, to continue to have conscious conversations in and out of the classroom, and to check in on their fellow Chargers.

Anti-Asian racism started long before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. My hope for the Charger community is that we will continue to focus on education, inclusion, and belonging. Lets continue to make the University a place where the sacredness of each person is honored and diversity and inclusion are aggressively pursued.

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH spoke to the University community as part of a recent Courageous Conversations event.

Sofia Martinez 22, president of the Universitys Undergraduate Student Government Associations, echoed Dr. Rowe-Allens commitment to fostering inclusion and offered her support to the Universitys AAPI community on behalf of the undergraduate student body.

Theres a certain frustration I am experiencing in that this isnt the first time Im speaking after a mass shooting, said Martinez, a communication major. That should not desensitize us to the role we have in creating change. This is not okay. We have to condemn all acts of hate. To the members of our AAPI community: We will actively commit to playing a role in disarming hate. We hear you, and we see you.

We are not going anywhere

Chargers were encouraged to be upstanders and to report any instances of racially-motivated aggression through the Universitys Report It system.

The event also enabled members of the AAPI community to share their stories, concerns, and messages of hope. Rebecca Chan-Chao 21, a forensic science major and president of the Asian American Student Union, read a poem, and she shared her own feelings about how the violence has impacted her.

I am mad, I am angry, I am sad, she said. I am Asian America, and you cant separate one from the other.

Alvin Tran, Sc.D., MPH described his own experience these past few weeks, which he said has been draining and very heavy. He also told the University community about his painful experiences growing up in Washington State when he was told to go back to his country, yet he offered a message of hope to his fellow Chargers.

Im Vietnamese American, and Im proud of that, said Dr. Tran, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy and assistant provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion. As we move forward, I think the AAPI voice is only going to get louder. No one is going to tell us to go back to our home country because we are already in our home country. We are not going anywhere.
A search warrant was served Wednesday at the Los Angeles home related to the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart, authorities said. (FBI file photo)

Suspect Arrested 25 Years After College Student Disappeared: Family

The suspect in the disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart was arrested Tuesday.

Paul Flores and his father, Ruben Flores, were taken into custody early on Tuesday in San Pedro, a Smart family spokesman John Seagle said, according to CNN and KCRA.

Smart, 19, of Stockton, California, vanished while returning to a dorm at California Polytechnic State University in 1996 after a party. Smart was seen with Flores, who was also a student at the time.

In April 2020, a search warrant was served at Flores home in San Pedro. Flores, now 44, was arrested in February on a weapons charge unrelated to the case.

A month ago, the San Louis Obispo County Sheriffs office said Flores was the prime suspect in the Smart case.

The office also said: The search warrant has been sealed. As a result, we are precluded by law from disclosing any further details regarding it. This is an active and on-going investigation. The Sheriffs Office will not be commenting any further and no additional information will be released at this time.

Smart was declared deceased in 2002.

In 2016, following new information, the FBI flew in dogs to dig up part of a hillside at Cal Poly to no avail, reports said.

Derrick Tse, Flores roommate at the time, told officials that Flores allegedly admitted to killing Smart. Yes, I killed her and brought her to my moms and she is still there, Flores allegedly said, according to Tses statement.

In January 2020, Kristins mother told a Stockton paper that a former FBI agent said she would prepare for a break in the case.

Be ready. This is really going to be something you dont expect. We want to give you the support you need, the agent reportedly told her.
It was an interesting assortment of items that workers at a Ravenel, South Carolina butcher and taxidermy shop reportedly found inside the stomach of a 12-foot alligator killed by a Lowcountry hunter.

A Facebook post by the owner of Cordrays, where the alligator was taken for processing, said his team found five dog tags, a shell casing, turtle shells, several bobcat claws, and even a spark plug inside the alligators stomach.

WCSC 5 News reported the 445-pound gator was killed by Ned McNeely, owner of the Adams Run property where he found it. McNeely said he has several alligator tags you apply for with the state, which the report said are dispersed by South Carolina based on the acreage hunters have, as well as alligator population.

The report cited McNeely who said in addition to twin 7-year-old girls, he has three labs and a variety of duck impoundments at his property, and a lot of swampland near the Edisto River.

So Im rife with alligators down there, he said.

According to Cordrays Facebook post, McNeely asked that they examine the reptiles stomach, which Kenneth Cordray said they dont normally do, but in this case they did.

Cordray said in the post that since two of the dog tags were still readable, he called one of the numbers that still worked, and was connected with an older gentlemen, who said he had that lease 24 years ago, and those were from his deer dogs.

WCSC 5 reported that although McNeely said he understood that a gator will take a dog if they get the chance, he was puzzled as to how the spark plug got in there.

How old was the gator?

The news outlet noted that McNeely and Cordray both agreed that its difficult to estimate the alligators age, although McNeely called it an old man.

Cordray estimated the gator had to be up there because it was big enough 25 years ago to eat a full grown hunting dog, which, according to the description the man gave of the dog, he estimates it would have weighted about 80 pounds or so, WCSC 5 reported.

Cordray explained that gators grow according to their habitat and their food supply and their population, the report cited.

What will McNeely do with the gator?

Reportedly, Cordrays team will process the alligator meat, taking about a week to make steaks, summer sausage and jerky; and a mount will be made of the gators skin, which takes about nine months.

McNeely said that so far, this one was the biggest hes killed in his 10 to 15 years of hunting alligators, the report cited.

He said he had to shoot it a couple of times, and that getting it out of the eight to nine-foot canal required a bunch of ropes and hooks and kayaks and a tractor with a chain.

According to the report, McNeely said he hasnt yet decided what to do with the gator, although hes talking about doing a full mount, or a rug mount.

However, he jokingly said his wife was having discussions with him about the plan, the report said.

READ MORE:
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
MILAN (Reuters) - There is research to support a possible delay in the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and should be considered as a way to protect as many people as possible, the head of Italy's national medicines agency AIFA was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"Theoretically, it would be better to respect the time interval between the two doses. But we have to take action," Giorgio Palu told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. "There is a vaccine shortage and we need to protect as many citizens as possible."

Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Monday that Italy would start administering a second dose to those vaccinated with Pfizer and Moderna after 42 days rather than 21/28 days following an approval by AIFA.

(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Agnieszka Flak)
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[April 13, 2021] Foreside Launches Marketing Hub Aimed to Help RIAs Grow Their Business

Foreside Financial Group, LLC (Foreside), a provider of governance, risk management, and compliance consulting and technology solutions for global asset and wealth managers, today announced the launch of RevBuilder360, an innovative marketing program designed to help RIAs elevate their firm's brand and value proposition. The program is offered through collaboration with Harborside Group, an industry-leading marketing firm serving the financial services industry. An RIA market analysis from Foreside and Harborside Group found many RIA firms have experienced less than desired organic growth. With a growing trend of advisors starting their own firms, many RIAs are looking to attract new assets. RevBuilder360 supports asset growth and helps firms: Energize AUM and revenue growth

Elevate their brand and value proposition

Strengthen their business pipeline

Increase client satisfaction

Differentiate themselves relative to competition RevBuilder360 allows RIAs to select the investment and financial topics most relevant to their clients. It then delivers high-quality, company-branded content such as emails, articles, newsletters, and firm profiles to proactively market to new and existing clients. The content, which is vetted by Foreside from a regulatory and compliance standpoint, includes actionable steps to engage existing clients and prospects. "Our partnership with Harborsde showcases one of the many technologies and professional services partnerships we've completed to bring comprehensive value to our clients, enhancing their own service offerings, increasing their operational efficiency, and prioritizing asset raising," said Emmy Bernard, senior managing director of client development at Foreside.



"We are delighted to partner with Foreside on RevBuilder360 and further Foreside's impressive service suite to its growing base of RIA clients," said Brian Nelson, president of Harborside Group. "This innovative and comprehensive solution delivers custom-branded compliant marketing materials and is fine-tuned for each firm." Other recent technology and professional partnerships recently completed by Foreside include solutions in best execution, business insurance, code of ethics, cybersecurity, electronic communication reviews, turnkey asset management programs, and online training and educational programs.

About Foreside Financial Group Foreside delivers comprehensive advice and best-in-class technology solutions to clients in the global asset and wealth management industries. Foreside distributes more than $1 trillion* of product through their 17 limited purpose broker-dealers. For 15 years, Foreside's suite of services and platform-based model have helped automate and simplify compliance and marketing for clients. Foreside works with pooled investment products, investment advisors, broker-dealers, global asset managers, and other financial institutions. By harnessing state-of-the-art technology, Foreside helps firms address and shape today's regulatory environment, drive operational efficiency and growth, and focus on value-adding work. Foreside is headquartered in Portland, Maine, with numerous regional offices, including New York and Boston. For more information on Foreside's suite of services, please visit www.foreside.com. *as of 1/1/2021 About Harborside Group Founded in 2004, Harborside is an investment sales and financial marketing firm based in Baltimore, MD, specializing in comprehensive distribution solutions for asset managers and financial advisors. Harborside provides its marketing services to clients with collective assets exceeding $200 billion**. **as of 12/31/2020 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005234/en/

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As an experiment, I put in a profile of a family member a generation older than me with a more complicated health profile to see how it would tilt my mental calculus. I would be devastated if this person was harmed by COVID-19. This person in their 70s would see a 1 in 211 chance of hospitalisation and a 1 in 556 chance of death, according to the Oxford model. Given we perceive the UK as one of the hardest hit nations in the world, they do not feel to me like extraordinarily, unacceptably high odds, but your mileage may vary. Some more figures. In a normal year you would expect about 3 million people to die in the United States of America. Health Minister Greg Hunt suggested Australias international border closures could stay in place even if the entire population had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The US has recorded 562,000 COVID deaths, though total deaths in 2020 of all causes were about 3.1 million, according to preliminary estimates. In 2019, 8.7 people per 1000 died in the United States. In 2020, according to those preliminary estimates, the figure was 9.7 per 1000. I have a theory that what Australians are really most scared of when they look overseas is being locked down and masked up like so many places we see on TV. Many Australians have British relatives, and what we get from the United States comes from the media capitals of New York and Washington DC, where lockdowns have been much more prevalent than in other parts of the country. My family connections are in Florida, where life has been mostly normal since last April. Hospitals have not been overwhelmed, masks have not been mandated and other COVID-19 outcomes are not obviously worse than in the lockdown states.

Loading Do you want to get COVID-19? Of course not, and evidence is still emerging about long COVID  symptoms that persist after a nominal recovery and it doesnt sound like very much fun. Should you get vaccinated? Absolutely: the evidence is strong that the vaccines  yes, AstraZeneca too  are very effective at preventing serious illness and death. Is COVID-19 a death sentence? Almost certainly not, with the major caveat being that the elderly and those with multiple health conditions are at much, much greater risk (as they are of all causes of mortality), which is why the vaccine for these vulnerable groups should be such an urgent priority. Professor Peter Collignon from the Australian National University is, I think, the most sensible and considered of the infectious diseases experts that we have heard from almost daily since the pandemic began.

In trying to put the risk of blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine in perspective, he said something this week that caught my attention. If youre over the age of 70 and you get COVID youve got a 1 in 100 chance of dying and if youre over 85 youve got a 1 in 5 or 1 in 10 chance of dying. I wondered what the chances are of dying of anything if you are over 70 and over 85, so I went burrowing into the ABS life tables data. The chance of all-cause death at age 75 is 1 in 39 for men and 1 in 60 for women. The chance of all-cause death at age 85 is 1 in 12 for men and 1 in 17 for women.

The figures show why it really is the elderly who should be most concerned about COVID and, for everyone else, the risk equation is far less tilted than the dominant media narratives would have us believe. Two moments from our federal leaders have hit me like thunderbolts this past week. The first was when Scott Morrison called a 7.15pm press conference to announce that AstraZeneca would no longer be preferred for under 50s because of extremely rare (1 in 250,000) but potentially serious blood clot risks. I listened to it live on 6PR in the car and my heart sank, because it was obvious immediately how it would undermine confidence in the vaccination program and delay its rollout. In the UK they shifted away from AstraZeneca for under 30s because they have ready supplies of alternatives for that very low risk portion of the population, but here, with so many eggs in the AstraZeneca basket, the consequences were obvious.

In any population there is vaccine hesitancy, and the government made it worse by highlighting risks that are close to negligible (you have about as much chance of winning a Division 2 Lotto prize as developing a blood clot from AstraZeneca). There was much media and political focus on the West Australian woman in her 40s hospitalised in Darwin as a result of clotting linked to the jab, although not much of it was on this part: The family has asked for privacy to be respected but the patient was making positive progress and recovering well. The other thunderbolt moment was Hunt. If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldnt just open the borders, he said. We still have to look at a series of different factors: transmission, longevity (of vaccine protection) and the global impact  and those are factors which the world is learning about. Then its hard to see how we ever open the borders. The whole country will never be vaccinated, and the virus will never be eliminated globally.

It is not how public health works, it is not how life works  there is never zero risk. Loading None of this is an argument to let it rip but it has been starkly obvious how little work has been done to facilitate the return of the movement of people. It is obvious that Howard Springs in the Northern Territory is the best practice model for quarantine - why havent we invested in 20 of them around the country in the name of a national recovery, persisting instead with too small, too risky hotel quarantine arrangements in the city centres? It has been an increasingly disorienting experience to watch our national reaction to the pandemic and how we treat COVID-19 risk so differently to risk in literally every other area, not just of public health but of human endeavour.
Darktrace has revealed plans for a blockbuster float in London just weeks after Deliveroo's botched debut.

The Cambridge-based cyber-security business has yet to price its shares but could be worth as much as 3billion  putting bosses in line for tens of millions of pounds.

The decision will be seen as a vote of confidence in the Square Mile after worries that the food delivery app's disastrous float would make other tech firms wary of following suit.

Darktrace boss Poppy Gustafsson (pictured) said the firm was not like Deliveroo and that it followed in the footsteps of mathematicians Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing

Darktrace boss Poppy Gustafsson said yesterday that the two companies were not alike and that her firm followed in the footsteps of British mathematicians Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace and Alan Turing.

The Cambridge-based company, which is backed by Autonomy tycoon Mike Lynch, has developed world-leading software that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to fend off cyber-security attacks.

Atom Bank to ponder Spac Atom Bank also revealed it is considering a stock market listing via a so-called blank cheque vehicle, in a hectic day for the tech sector. Mark Mullen, the digital banks boss, said the option of floating through a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) was interesting and intriguing. Spacs have become a popular way for tech companies to list because they allow the firms to bypass the traditional float process. Online used car platform Cazoo, which the Daily Mail and General Trust owns shares in, recently unveiled plans to float in New York via a Spac.

If it is valued at 3billion, Gustafsson, 38, stands to make nearly 20million while co-founders Dave Palmer, Emily Orton, Jack Stockdale and Nicole Eagan could make another 120million between them.

The former British and American intelligence service veterans and Cambridge mathematicians founded Darktrace in 2013.

Lynch, who is battling extradition to the US over fraud allegations which he denies, also owns around 19 per cent of shares and could make nearly 600million.

The tech tycoon was Darktrace's first major investor and top figures at the company are veterans of Autonomy and his investment fund Invoke Capital  although Lynch stopped working with the business after his legal troubles began.

Darktrace warned yesterday that its share price could be undermined if Lynch loses the court cases and is forced to sell his holdings.

Top advisers to Darktrace include former MI5 director Lord Evans, former top CIA veteran Alan Wade and former home secretary Amber Rudd.

Gustafsson said the decision to press ahead with a stock market float was 'a major milestone in Darktrace's history, and a historic day for the UK's thriving technology sector'.

She added: 'Darktrace's success is testament to the strength of the UK's world-leading science base and long history of mathematical discovery and computing inventions, from Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing. We are proud to be part of that tradition of British innovation.'

Gustafsson also insisted that she has no qualms about the listing, despite Deliveroo's recent flop.

When the food delivery company floated in London two weeks ago, it was shunned by big institutional funds over concerns about working practices and shares then crashed by 27 per cent on their first day.

But Gustafsson, who has been chief executive since 2016, said the fiasco had not worried her.

'We have created a fundamental technology where we have artificial intelligence in a business, actively defending that business from threats.

'Deliveroo is a technology-enabled service. When I talk to investors, they love that this business is sustainable.'

It has grown to employ some 1,500 staff and boasts 4,700 customers, including Rolls-Royce and Coca-Cola. Last year it generated 145million in revenues and 6.5million in adjusted profits.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday, lifted by an upward revision in energy demand forecast by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Data showing a surge in Chinese imports contributed as well to oil's uptick. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.48 or about 0.8% at $60.18 a barrel. The OPEC today raised its demand forecast by 190,000 barrels a day from its March estimate. The group said in its monthly report that it expects consumption to average 96.46 million barrels a day this year, citing economic stimulus programs and a further easing of lockdown measures. Data out of China showed oil imports to that country rose as much as 21% in March, compared to the same month last year. Meanwhile, investors look ahead to weekly crude inventory reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) and Energy Information Administration (EIA). The API's report is later today, while the EIA will release its data Wednesday morning. 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.
A glum-looking Magda Szubanski celebrated her 60th birthday on Monday by taking a solo stroll in Melbourne, after being criticised by female politicians for comparing Prime Minister Scott Morrison's wife, Jenny, to a character from The Handmaid's Tale.

The left-wing comedian had retweeted a photo of Mrs Morrison in a high-neck black dress as she watched her husband sign a condolence book for the late Prince Philip.

Szubanski captioned the image: 'I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaids Tale meme. But no. Its 21st century Aussie life.'

Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, HBO series The Handmaid's Tale is set in a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property of the state.

Stepping out: A glum-looking Magda Szubanski celebrated her 60th birthday on Monday by taking a solo stroll in Melbourne, after being criticised by female politicians for comparing Prime Minister Scott Morrison's wife, Jenny, to a character from The Handmaid's Tale

Szubanski had retweeted the photo with a message from a left-wing Twitter account, which read: 'Good morning to everyone else to whom this feels creepy, chilling, terrifying, ominous, enraging, despairing and utterly, completely f**king depressing.'

After facing widespread backlash for her commentary - which suggested Ms Morrison was subservient to her husband and part of the machinery of a misogynist society - Szubanski failed to raise a smile on Monday while going for an afternoon walk.

She wrapped up against the chilly weather in a winter coat, red sweater and patterned leggings, and listened to music via headphones.

'Appalling': The left-wing comedian had retweeted a photo of Mrs Morrison watching her husband sign a condolence book for the late Prince Philip, captioning the image: 'I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaids Tale meme. But no. Its 21st century Aussie life'

Dystopian: Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood, HBO series The Handmaid's Tale is set in a totalitarian society in which women are treated as property of the state. Pictured: actors Yvonne Strahovski and Elisabeth Moss in The Handmaid's Tale

Solemn: After facing widespread backlash for her commentary - which suggested Ms Morrison was subservient to her husband and part of the machinery of a misogynist society - Szubanski failed to raise a smile on Monday while going for an afternoon walk

Cold: She wrapped up against the chilly weather in a winter coat, red sweater and patterned leggings, and listened to music via headphones

Backlash: It will be a bittersweet birthday for the actress - who played loveable misfit Sharon Strzelecki in ABC sitcom Kath & Kim - as she faces backlash from a growing number of conservative female politicians over her controversial tweet

'I genuinely thought this was a photoshopped Handmaid's Tale meme': Szubanski had tweeted that she couldn't believe the photo of Mr and Mrs Morrison was real

Shamed: Szubanski has since been slammed by a number of conservative female politicians

After taking a stroll, she climbed into her car and picked up lunch.

Meanwhile, bouquets of flowers were delivered to her front door from friends wishing her a happy birthday.

It will be a bittersweet celebration for the actress - who played loveable misfit Sharon Strzelecki in ABC sitcom Kath & Kim - as she faces backlash from a growing number of conservative female politicians over her controversial tweet which compared Mrs Morrison to a character from The Handmaid's Tale.

NSW Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes told The Daily Telegraph: 'Ms Szubanski has herself been the target of obscene trolls, yet the hypocritical nature of the Left is here on display.'

Blasted: 'The sisterhood need to stop picking and choosing which sisters to protect; all women deserve to be treated with respect,' Liberal MP Nicolle Flint said

Celebration: As Szubanski picked up lunch, bouquets of flowers were delivered to her front door from friends wishing her a happy birthday

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint also launched a scathing attack on Magda, saying her tweet represents a 'double standard' in the way female politicians are perceived.

'I cannot believe the appalling personal attacks on Mrs Morrison, especially by Ms Szubanski, a woman who has received one of our nations highest honours,' she said.

'Ms Szubanski's completely disrespectful comments are yet another example of the double standards demonstrated towards women on the centre-right of politics.

'The sisterhood need to stop picking and choosing which sisters to protect; all women deserve to be treated with respect.'

More backlash: Szubanski had also re-tweeted this image of the Morrison family posing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, zooming in on Mrs Morrison's hand which showed her forefinger and thumb joined. While many understand the symbol to be a benign sign for 'OK', darker corners of the Internet allege it's been appropriated to signify 'white supremacy'

Response: 'Let me be clear...' Szubanski tweeted after the backlash, 'I'm not actually making a disparaging comment about Jenny. I just genuinely thought it was a meme!'

Szubanski had also re-tweeted an image of the Morrison family posing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, zooming in on Mrs Morrison's hand which showed her forefinger and thumb joined.

While many understand the symbol to be a benign sign for 'OK', darker corners of the Internet allege it's been appropriated as a way to signify 'white supremacy'.

'What's this little hand signal thingy??' Szubanski tweeted.

While her question may have been innocent, it prompted a string of replies questioning if the hand gesture was somehow sinister - which it wasn't.

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Jenny Morrison's hand gesture was in any way signifying 'white supremacy'.

Power walk: Szubanski wore blue sneakers and leggings for the outing

Brief visit: She also stopped by a convenience store

On Tuesday afternoon, Szubanski took to her social media platform again to address the backlash against her controversial Handmaid's Tale tweet.

'Let me be clear...' she wrote, 'I'm not actually making a disparaging comment about Jenny. I just genuinely thought it was a meme!'

After one follower called her 'bitter and twisted', she replied: 'I know, right?! I'm terrible Muriel. A bitter twisted wreck of a once talented (debatable) funny gal.

'Sigh. So do yourself a favour and spare yourself the awful spectacle and don't follow me or read my tweets. Actually, I'll save you the effort and just block you.'
Here are todays leading news stories:

COVID-19 Updates

-- The Ministry of Health confirmed two imported COVID-19 cases in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday morning, raising the countrys tally to 2,707, with 2,445 recoveries and 35 deaths.

Society

-- The rainy season in southern Vietnam may begin early this year due to the effect of La Nina phenomenon but will last shorter, resulting in a lower volume of rainfall compared to previous years, according to the southern hydro-meteorological station.

-- A fire broke out at Dong Khanh Hotel in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City despite a heavy rain on Monday afternoon. There were no casualties but a lot of assets were burned down.

-- Three companies specializing in building material production have been fined VND210 million (US$9,100) and suspended for nine months for violating regulations on environmental protection in the southern province of Dong Nai.

-- About 200,000 passenger buses and tractor-trailers in Vietnam are required to be equipped with surveillance cameras prior to July 1 in accordance with a new government decree.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has requested that three new elevators be installed at the multi-story parking lot of Tan Son Nhat International Airport before April 30 to prepare for surging travel demand during the upcoming holidays.

-- Two people on a motorbike were hospitalized after being hit by a falling tree during a rain in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City on Monday afternoon.

Business

-- Japans Enshu Railway Company will invest in the establishment of a subsidiary focusing on software development in Vietnam in July, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

-- The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA) has announced that its five members sold 701,454 vehicles in the first quarter of 2021, down 4.05 percent year-on-year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Clubhouse App has been rumored to be hacked, exposing the data of over 1.3 million users from the invite-only application. The hacked data from users reportedly includes names, user IDs, Twitter and Instagram handles and more. The said info were said to be shared in an online hacker forum.

For what it's worth, this news broke out days after data of half a billion Facebook were also hacked and leaked.

Clubhouse App User Profiles Hack

According to Cybernews, more than a million Clubhouse App user profiles were hacked, showing profile information on the SQL database. The leaked information about the app's users include User ID, Name, Photo URL, Username, Twitter Handle, Instagram Handle, Number of Followers, Number of people followed by the user, Account creation date and Invited by user profile name.

According to the news site, the Clubhouse App data leaks did not possess any sensitive information about its users, such as credit card/debit card information, legal documents and other stuff. However, the audio app's user names can still be targeted, as well as other social media platforms. It can be enough for a cybercriminal to cause hurt and hacking.

Also, determined cybercriminals can combine information found on the SQL database with other data breaches and use it to create detailed profiles of their potential victims, thus making a new account that can develop into an identity theft.

Also Read: Clubhouse App Android Version in Development? It Will Take Months!

Clubhouse CEO Paul Davidson Speaks Out

Following the rumored Clubhouse App hack, the CEO of the drop-in audio application, Paul Davidson, addressed that the report from Cybernews is false and misleading and that it is a clickbait article. Davidson added that the app was not hacked, and the date referred to was all public profile information from their app, as The Verge shared.

This is misleading and false. Clubhouse has not been breached or hacked. The data referred to is all public profile information from our app, which anyone can access via the app or our API. https://t.co/I1OfPyc0Bo  Clubhouse (@joinClubhouse) April 11, 2021

Mashable also noted that while Davidson's statement could be true, it is still a breach of privacy from users since it shows their data can be collected and shared to others. The publication also pointed out questioned why all of the information is included in Clubhouse's API. Things like real names and the user's IDs of those invited to the app could be considered important enough to keep behind some digital lock.

Furthermore, it will be interesting how Clubhouse will handle this situation with its data security breach. If this could happen to Clubhouse, it may not take long for hackers to share personal information from Twitter or Facebook users.

This is misleading and false. Clubhouse has not been breached or hacked. The data referred to is all public profile information from our app, which anyone can access via the app or our API. https://t.co/I1OfPyc0Bo  Clubhouse (@joinClubhouse) April 11, 2021

Nope none of this is false, user data, even if publicly available, should never be consolidated and made available in one place where it will be abused. And the article never claimed you were breached or hacked, it stated that the information was only *posted* on a hacker forum.  Ryan Zohoury (@RyanZohoury) April 11, 2021

Other Social Media Information Hacks

According to AppleInsider, there have been several hacks from the Clubhouse App throughout its one year of existence. In February 2021, it upgraded its security over concerns that bad actors in China could potentially spy on others.

The app was then hit by a regulator in Oman was eventually blocked. While the country stated that there is a permit issue, some critics expressed fear that it is a form of censorship.

Related Article: Clubhouse: Popular Audio-Only Social Media App Saw An Explosion of New Users From China
Palmdale, CA (93550)

Today

Mostly sunny. Becoming windy this afternoon. High 94F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Gusty winds during the evening. Low 64F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph.
The assault of a 13-year-old girl in Venezuela and the arrest of her mother and a teacher who helped her end the pregnancy have forced a national debate about legalizing abortion.

MERIDA, Venezuela  She wore a ponytail and a red T-shirt, the words Glitter Girl sketched across the front.

Gripping her mothers hand, she spoke softly, describing how she had been forced out of school by Venezuelas economic crisis, and then was raped at least six times by a neighborhood predator who threatened to harm her family if she spoke out. At just 13, she became pregnant.

With her mother, she sought out a doctor, who told her the pregnancy endangered her life, and then a former teacher, who provided pills that induced an abortion.

But ending a pregnancy is illegal in almost all circumstances in Venezuela. And now the girl was speaking up, she said, because her teacher, Vannesa Rosales, was in jail, facing more than a decade in prison for helping her end a pregnancy  while the accused rapist remained free.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Just a week into students in New Mexico going back to school for in-person learning, COVID-19 outbreaks on several dozen campuses have forced both students and teachers to temporarily return home  either to recover from the virus or to quarantine.

The principal of Eldorado High School in Albuquerque announced Monday afternoon that the school will close its campus and switch to remote learning for two weeks beginning Tuesday (today) after several students tested positive for COVID-19.

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At Albuquerque Public Schools, 35 cases of COVID-19 were reported last week, involving 16 schools, an APS spokeswoman said.

Parents at Eisenhower and Cleveland Middle Schools received notification of positive tests on Monday.

Its no surprise, said Monica Armenta of APS, There is no way you can have a pandemic and not be affected like this.

Menaul School, a privately run institution for grades six through 12 in Albuquerque, stopped in-person learning as of Monday after an undisclosed number of students came down with the virus last week. The schools 200 students will go online for instruction for the next two weeks.

In the Rio Rancho Public School District, about 500 students, and nearly 40 teachers and staff members potentially exposed to the coronavirus entered quarantine on April 5 because of potential exposure, according to its website.

Nearly 40 classrooms, and parts of cafeterias and Rio Rancho school buses have been shut down temporarily for disinfection. Thirteen students and two employees were reported as testing positive for COVID-19 in the past week.

A 10-day quarantine is required of anyone considered a close contact of a student or employee who tests positive for coronavirus, according to the state Public Education Department.

A close contact is defined as all students and staff who were in the same classroom as the infected individual, those on the same bus and those who came within six feet of the infected individual (even while wearing a mask) for longer than three minutes.

The closure of Eldorado High School for in-person learning came after the school experienced four rapid responses by the PED in 14 days. That is the state threshold that triggers a temporary return to remote-only instruction.

A rapid response occurs when a school has at least two positive cases.

All but one of the cases at Eldorado appear to have occurred off-campus, said principal Martin C. Sandoval in a letter to students, families and staff.

All practices, activities and competitions involving Eldorado students have been canceled for two weeks.

Under the reopening plan, parents and student can still choose remote learning.

Its really sad

Though the state pushed COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers before the reopening, some are in quarantine because they arent considered fully vaccinated  and exempt from quarantine  until 10 days after their second shot.

That has resulted in students meeting in the classroom at one Albuquerque middle school, but being taught by a quarantined teacher working remotely from home. Other students have been told to meet in the library, cafeteria or gyms for remote learning with their teachers.

Elsewhere around the state, 45 students at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces must quarantine after a student tested positive last week, according to a report by KVIA.com.

Its really sad we cant get through even a week of school without cases, one parent said Monday.

Heeding a call from federal officials, state PED Secretary Ryan Stewart announced a push in early March for fully reopening in-person learning in schools by April 5.

Its the first time since the start of the pandemic a year ago that the state permitted full reentry for K-12 schools across the state.

School administrators are required to report positive cases to the PED within four hours of the school being notified and provide a COVID-19 Positive Case Letter to all staff and families within six hours, according to the PED website.

On Monday, a PED spokeswoman said the agency couldnt provide total numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by schools statewide since April 5.

We stopped counting individual cases back in the fall because that figure included many who were never on campus while infectious, said a PED spokeswoman. She said the PED counts those schools where a rapid response intervention by state officials occurs because at least two positive cases were reported.

As of Monday, the state reported 10 schools across the state as warranting a rapid response in the past 14 days.

They were: Alamorgordo High and Chaparral Middle School in Alamogordo; Country Club Elementary and Esperanza Elementary in Farmington; Hobbs High School; Eldorado High, Manzano High and Petroglyph Elementary in Albuquerque; Nizhoni Elementary in Shiprock; and Rio Rancho High School.

Ups and downs to be expected

Armenta, from APS, said it isnt clear yet how many of the districts 75,000 students have opted to return in person, but estimates range from 40% at some schools to 90% at others.

The return to a traditional instruction model was deemed less risky by state officials, in part because the state Department of Health stepped up COVID-19 vaccinations of teachers and school staff in March.

About 68% of teachers, staff and early education professionals who registered for a vaccine with the state Department of Health have received both doses. Some 84% of registrants in the education category are partly vaccinated, according to a DOH vaccine dashboard.

William Gonzales, choir director and exploratory music teacher at Eisenhower Middle School in Albuquerque, informed parents in an email over the weekend that his first period mix/treble choir class was sent home Friday to quarantine for 10 days due to possible exposure.

And he must quarantine because he is still in the 10-day window from his second vaccination dose. So, he will be teaching remotely from home.

At the private Menaul School in Albuquerque, last week marked the first outbreak of COVID-19 at the school.

Lindsey Gilbert, head of school, attributed the new cases to the fact that students had been on spring break in late March.

Until last week, the school had transitioned to in-person learning 25 weeks ago without an issue, Gilbert said.

The little ups and downs of teaching students in a pandemic are to be expected, he added.
A letter published today [April 8, 2021] by Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that melanoma mortality among Utahns outpaced that of the rest of the United States during the period from 1975 to 2013.

Melanoma death rates have been decreasing in recent years both in Utah and the United States, a trend likely attributable to new, more effective treatments, like immunotherapy. However, melanoma remains the deadliest type of skin cancer, and the incidence of melanoma diagnoses in Utahns is higher than in any other state.

The research was conducted in response to recent published data showing that for most of the 1990s and 2000s, melanoma mortality in the United States remained constant, while incidence increased six-fold. Increasing incidence without a corresponding increase in mortality suggests a potentially worrying trend of overdiagnosis-;that is, when patients with benign conditions are incorrectly diagnosed as having cancer.

In the case of melanoma, overdiagnosis may result from increased scrutiny, where repeated skin exams lead to increasing numbers of biopsies and a higher chance of finding a lesion that would not have been detected otherwise, and which might not be likely to progress to a harmful cancer.

Given Utah's status as the state with the highest incidence of melanoma, the HCI team set out to evaluate the melanoma diagnosis and death rate data in Utah. After review and analysis of data by biostatistician Kim Herget from the Utah Cancer Registry, a National Cancer Institute Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, the researchers found that in contrast to the rest of the United States, melanoma mortality in Utah increased by 0.8% per year through the entire period from 1975 through 2013. While melanoma deaths in Utah are decreasing in recent years, Utah's melanoma death rate remains higher than that observed in the rest of the United States.

Although we agree that overdiagnosis of melanoma is a growing problem, the sustained increase in melanoma mortality in Utah suggests that at least some fraction of the increasing incidence is real and cannot be attributed solely to overdiagnosis. Our research underscores an increased risk for Utahns, and so we must remain vigilant about melanoma. For doctors, this means regular conversations with patients about their skin health and family history. For patients, this means practicing sun-safe behaviors like diligent sunscreen use, wearing sun-protective clothing, and monitoring their skin at home on a monthly basis to reduce risk of skin cancer and optimize early detection." Doug Grossman, MD, PhD, Co-Lead of HCI Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center, Huntsman Cancer Instituteand Professor of Dermatology, University of Utah

The researchers anticipate future studies to determine whether this trend in Utahns is a result of increased ultraviolet exposure in a largely fair-skinned population living in a sunny, high-altitude climate or is associated with other environmental or genetic factors.
A Westfield State University search committee will meet April 22 to review community input regarding the five finalists to become the schools next president.

The 13-member committee will pass on its findings to the universitys Board of Trustees, which is expected to announce its choice in May. In accordance with guidelines set down by the state Board of Higher Education, the search committee will report information but not make a recommendation of any particular candidate.

We do not rank the candidates. We will give information on all five. Our task on the search committee is to report our findings and forward them to the Board of Trustees, said Robert Martin, a trustee who is serving as chair of the search committee. Our job is to examine strengths, weaknesses and any concerns.

The Board of Trustees will convene April 29, but the presidency is not expected to be addressed at that meeting.

Im reasonably certain it will not be on the April 29 agenda. There are other items on the agenda, and Kevin Queenin and I agreed this issue deserved a meeting unto itself, Martin said, referring to the boards chairman.

Five finalists are in contention to replace interim president Roy H. Saigo, who agreed to a one-year contract in 2020. The temporary hiring gave the search committee time to review candidates for the 2021-22 academic year and beyond.

Saigo was hired to replace Ramon Torrecilha, who retired last year. Saigo, who was hired with the mutual understanding he would not be a candidate for the permanent position, is expected to complete his tenure in June.

Torrecilhas last salary was $254,690, according to state records. Saigos annual rate was $240,000 in 2020.

The five finalists are:

Kristin Esterberg, president of the State University of New York College at Potsdam.

Darrell Kruger, professor of geography and former provost of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

Robert Pignatello, senior adviser to the chancellor of the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education and former president of Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania.

Dione Somerville, executive vice president of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa.

Linda Thompson, Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Interviews will end on April 21, the day before the search committee meets to review the finalists. The committee will pay particular attention to public input.

Three candidates have made two-day visits to the campus and a fourth is scheduled. The other candidate, which Martin did not name, opted for a virtual session.

That is a personal choice, and in these times of COVID-19, we respect that and will accommodate it, Martin said.

Related content:
Queen Letizia of Spain cut a stylish figure in a pleated white midi skirt as she attended an event in Madrid today.

The royal mother-of-two, 48, looked radiant as she joined her husband King Felipe, 53, while they chaired the presentation of the new corporative strategy and brand of IFEMA convention and exhibition center.

Queen Letizia paired the trendy white midi skirt with a high neck, sleeveless, black t-shirt and a black belt.

She accessorised with a black clutch bag with gold hardware, her usual rings and a pair of silver, tear drop-shaped dangling earrings.

Queen Letizia of Spain looked stunning in a pleated white midi skirt as she chaired the presentation of the new corporative strategy and brand of IFEMA convention and exhibition center with her husband King Felipe, 53, in Madrid today

The stylish Spanish monarch opted for a glowing, natural make-up look, with a lick of brown eyeshadow across her lids.

Queen Letizia wore her brunette locks down and paired the outfit with pointed stiletto heels.

The royal couple wore white face coverings in line with the country's coronavirus guidelines which says masks are mandatory in all public spaces, indoor and outdoor.

Meanwhile, King Felipe wore a smart grey suit with a navy blue tie and white shirt for the event.

The royal mother-of-two looked radiant, as she opted for a glowing make-up look with a small amount of brown eyeshadow on her lids

It comes amid a busy period for the couple, days after Queen Letizia attended the placing of the desk of late MP Clara Campoamor at the Congress of Deputies.

The event commemorated the 90th anniversary of the female vote in Spain, when Clara Campoamor's desk and various personal belongings were placed in the Congress Place.

Queen Letizia made a statement in a scarlet ensemble, a bold trouser suit which is a favourite for the royal, who has recycled it on several occasions.

The outfit is a favourite for Letizia, who also chose the crimson number when she chaired the board of trustee's meeting of the Foundation of Student Residences in Madrid in October last year.

Queen Letizia paired the elegant skirt with a black belt and a black high-neck top with black stiletto heels

The stylish Spanish monarch accessorised with a black clutch bag with gold hardware and her usual rings, as well as a pair of silver tear drop-shaped dangling earrings

She was joined by the Spanish Upper Chamber's Speaker Pilar Llop, the Lower Chamber's Speaker Meritxell Batet and the Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo.

Clara Campoamor was a Spanish politician and feminist who advocated for women's rights and suffrage in 1931, during the writing of the Spanish Constitution.

It led to the inclusion of constitutional language that sought to guarantee equality between men and women.

It comes after she and her husband King Felipe, 53, penned a telegram addressed to 'Dear Aunt Lilibet' to mourn the passing of 'Dear Uncle Philip', who died at Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on Friday.

King Felipe, meanwhile, wore a grey suit with a navy tie and white shirt with black shoes for the event in Madrid

The familiarity between the British and Spanish royal households are thanks to Felipe's maternal great-grandfather, King Constantine I of Greece (1868-1923), also being uncle to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Queen Elizabeth II announced her husband's death at midday on Friday as the Union Flag was lowered to half-mast outside Buckingham Palace.

European royals were quick to offer their condolences, with Felipe sharing a touching and personal message to his 'Dear Aunt Lilibet', expressing 'all our love and affection'.

It read: 'We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear Uncle Philip.

The royal couple sported white face coverings to keep with Spain's coronavirus guidelines, which dictates masks should be worn in any public setting, whether indoors or outdoors

Queen Letizia's glossy locks were worn down, and hanging loose down her back as she tucked it behind her ears

'At this painful time, we would like to convey to you our deepest condolences on behalf of the Spanish Government and the people and all our closeness and support.

'We will never forget the occasions we were able to share with him and the legacy of service and dedicated to the Crown and the United Kingdom that he always carried out at your side.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with Your Majesty and the whole family. With all our love and affection.'
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Albuquerque Police Department detectives have made an arrest in one of two homicides they investigated on Sunday.

Mary Jane Luna-Ruybal, 31, is charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of her girlfriend at a motel on Central near Tramway.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, officers were called to a stabbing at the Desert Sands Inn and Suites around 8 a.m. on Sunday. When they arrived they found Luna-Ruybal, who showed them Olivia Herrera, 31, lying face down in a room. She was dead.

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The two had been staying at the motel for about a week.

A spokeswoman for the Law Offices of the Public Defender said the allegations against Luna-Ruybal are being evaluated to determine which attorney will take her case. Prosecutors have asked for her to be held until her trial.

According to the complaint, Luna-Ruybal told detectives she and Herrera had some friends over who smoked meth while the couple drank. She said after their friends left she and Herrera began to argue so she went for a walk in order to separate herself. Luna-Ruybal said when she returned about 30 minutes later Herrera had been stabbed.

However, detectives found security camera footage from the motel. According to the complaint when they told Luna-Ruybal they hadnt seen her leave the property, she told them a different story.

In this version, Luna-Ruybal told detectives after their friends left she took an Advil for a headache and was lying down when she saw Herrera using a dating app. She said she confronted her girlfriend about this and the two argued so she went outside to smoke a cigarette. When she tried to go back inside the door was locked and so she removed the screen from the window so she could get in.

Luna-Ruybal said the argument became physical and once she was inside the room Herrera threatened to stab her with her knife, described as a large black survival knife. Then Herrera went to the bathroom, leaving the knife behind, so Luna-Ruybal said she grabbed it before she came back out.

Luna-Ruybal told detectives Herrera was taunting and telling her she would not stab her.

Mary Jane then stated she went to stab the door when Olivia stepped in front of her and she accidentally stabbed Olivia, the detective wrote in the complaint. Mary Jane stated Olivia grabbed onto the desk and said wow. Olivia then collapsed and that is when Mary Jane attempted to help Olivia by covering her wound.

The knife could not be found in or around the motel. About 8 hours after APD was called to investigate Herreras death, a spokeswoman announced they were investigating another homicide after a man was found dead in an alleyway. No one has been arrested in that case.
A man was arrested near San Ygnacio for allegedly transporting three immigrants who had crossed the border illegally.

At about 7 p.m. April 11, a U.S. Border Patrol agent observed a blue Chevrolet Avalanche with several occupants on U.S. 83 near San Ygnacio. The agent recognized the pickup from a previous failed human smuggling attempt in Zapata.

The Avalanche was recognizable due to the red perpendicular custom stripes on top of the front wheel wells, states the affidavit.

The Avalanche then drove north. The agent passed a vehicle to try to catch up to the Avalanche. As the agent got closer to the Avalanche, the driver activated the brakes. The driver was not keeping a constant speed and was weaving in and out of the lane.

Authorities said the driver kept addressing the back passengers, who apparently tried to hide. A registration check revealed the Avalanche had an address in Rio Grande City. The agent then pulled over the vehicle to conduct an immigration inspection of its occupants.

The driver was identified as Ruben Clarke, a U.S. citizen. Meanwhile, the three passengers were citizens of Guatemala who had crossed the border illegally. All were taken to the Zapata Border Patrol Station for further investigation.

Clarke declined to provide a post-arrest statement. He was arrested and charged with transport, attempt to transport and conspire to transport the immigrants.
Commerce and industry minister on Tuesday said that e-SANTA, an to connect aqua farmers and the buyers, will enable farmers to get a better price and the exporters to directly purchase quality products from them.

Launching e-Santa or Electronic Solution for Augmenting NaCSA farmers' Trade in Aquaculture, the minister said that the platform will change the traditional way of carrying out business on word-of-mouth basis and will make the system more formal and legally binding.

National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an extension arm of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under the department of commerce.

The farmers can sell their produce with a click of a button on e-Santa. It will provide more freedom, options and opportunities to the farmers. It will ensure fair prices for farmers & traceability, Goyal said.

When we talk of becoming self-reliant, empowering our farmers, ensuring the right price for farmers, & maintaining quick sales vs maintaining stock in the future, eSanta will enable the farmers to do spot sales & forward sales, Goyal added.

e-SANTA is a completely paperless, electronic trade platform between fish and aqua farmers and exporters. The farmers list their produce and quote their price, while exporters can list their requirements based on location, harvest dates, among others. The platform will also act as an alternative marketing tool between farmers and buyers, thereby eliminating middlemen.

Farmers were facing monopoly and exploitation, exporters were facing inconsistency and quality gaps in the products purchased, and traceability is a big issue in international trade, the minister said, adding that the platform will also enhance Indias reputation in the global trade.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday flagged China's assertive moves such as coercing neighbours in the region and hampering freedom of navigation in the South Sea, while asserting that the transatlantic military alliance is a key platform to forge convergence on responding to the security implications of a rising

In his virtual address at the Raisina Dialogue, Stoltenberg also said India is a "pivotal player" in the Indo-Pacific region and asserted there is a huge potential for to work with the country in different ways without being part of an integrated military cooperation.

"India is a pivotal player in the Indo-Pacific region. It is also an important and active actor. You are one of the largest troop contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions. Currently, a member of the UN Security Council. And you will hold the G20 presidency in 2023," he said, adding that India truly matters on the global scene.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries.

Noting that the rise of is a defining global issue which has implications for all, Stoltenberg said there are opportunities that come with China's rise.

China has lifted millions out of poverty, brought economic growth and prosperity, and it is an important trade and investment partner to many countries, he noted.

China will soon have the biggest economy in the world, it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and therefore it is "instrumental in dealing with issues of our time" -- from global governance to trade and climate change, he said.

"That is why at NATO, we engage with China. In the past, we have cooperated in fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia. And there are areas where China can play a constructive role to our mutual benefit. From peace and stability in Afghanistan, to negotiating arms control arrangements," Stoltenberg said.

"But we must be clear-headed about the challenges that come with China's rise," he added.

China is matching its military power to its economic power, it has tripled its military expenditure over the last decade, now has the world's second largest defence budget, and it continues to invest massively in military modernisation, he said.

"At the same time, China does not share our values. It persecutes ethnic and religious minorities, such as the Uighurs, suppresses human rights in Hong Kong and it is using new and advanced technology to monitor and control its own people, creating state surveillance without precedent," the NATO Secretary General said.

"We have also seen more assertive moves by Beijing, to challenge the rules-based order. It is openly threatening Taiwan, coercing neighbours in the region and hampering freedom of navigation in the South China Sea," he said.

Asserting that China's rise has "real implications on our security", Stoltenberg said NATO is, and will remain, a regional alliance for Europe and North America.

"But China is coming closer to us. And this requires our collective attention and action," he said.

NATO is a key platform to forge convergence on responding to the security implications of a rising China, Stoltenberg said.

"This is one of the reasons why we are addressing how to further strengthen the resilience of our societies and our infrastructure. So that we can reduce vulnerabilities stemming from foreign ownership, coercion or manipulation," he said.

"And we want to engage even more closely with our friends and partners around the world. Because that is the best way to protect the rules-based international order, secure our societies and ring-fence our democracies," he asserted.

Stoltenberg's remarks come in the wake of China's increasing military muscle flexing in the and the Sino-India border row in eastern Ladakh.

Stoltenberg said the Indo-Pacific is becoming more and more important and NATO sees the value of strengthening its partnership and cooperation with countries in the region.

"We already have formalized strong partnerships with like-minded democracies in the region, including South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

"But we also strongly believe that we can work more closely with countries like India, a like-minded democracy, sharing the same values and standing up for the rules based order," Stoltenberg said.

Refusing to compare the rise of China with the Soviet Union in the Cold War period, Stoltenberg said, "We don't regard China as an adversary and we also see real opportunities in the rise of China".

But then there is a need to combine that understanding with the fact that "we see a more assertive China, violating international or undermining the rules-based order, threatening neighbours, and, of course, China is a country that doesn't share our values", he said.

Organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a think-tank, in partnership with the MEA, Raisina Dialogue is India's premier conference on geopolitics and geo-economics.

(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.)
AMSTERDAM, NL / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / A joint report by the Administrative Center of Shanghai R&D Public Service Platforms and Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, shows that while Asian cities increase their innovative and economic footprint, their European and North American counterparts remain the power centers of science and innovation.

The report, "Data and Insights on International Science, Technology, and Innovation - Comparative Research Report of 20 Global Cities," also highlights an increasingly diverse landscape of other Asian cities, beyond the power centers of Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai, showing rapid growth in the areas of academic output, academic excellence and knowledge transfer.

In a knowledge-driven economy, a city and region's competitiveness are often driven by pools of talent and ideas originating from research and innovation, usually centered around the scientific activities of a city's network comprising academic institutions and their ecosystem of industries, investors, government agencies and NGOs to translate knowledge into products and services.

To determine the innovation and competitiveness factor of each city, the report looks at the academic output and impact, researcher mobility, collaborations between academia and industry, and patent activity as proxies of research and innovation across 20 global cities based on several indicators over a five-year period between 2014 and 2018 (inclusive)1.

Findings of the report may contribute to discussions relating to regional and national strategies in terms of investment decisions in support of innovation and growth.

Selected highlights from the report

Human capital, international collaboration, and mobility:

The researcher population grew in 18 cities with the highest counts in Beijing, London, and Boston. Shenzhen has the fastest researcher population growth. Most Chinese cities in the study were among the top 10 cities in terms of researcher population growth, reflecting the result of China's increasing efforts to cultivate, support, and boost its pool of researcher talent.

Hong Kong, Stockholm, and Singapore are the top three cities with the highest share of internationally collaborative publications at 64%, 62.4%, and 61.1%, respectively, well above the world average of 19.6%. Of the 20 cities, 19 have had increasing international collaboration over the past five years, except for Moscow.

In terms of mobility (i.e., researchers moving between locations), Paris, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have been attracting talent with the highest "inflow" as measured by share of researcher. In contrast, Beijing, Boston, and Berlin have the highest share of "outflow" researchers. Traditional research hubs - Boston, San Francisco, and London - continue to be the most popular destination for high-impact talent as measured by the normalized indicator of Field Weighted Citation Impact - FWCI2 - among the "inflow" of researchers.

Research strengths:

Beijing, New York, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo were the top producers of scholarly output among the comparators, while Shenzhen, Boston, and Moscow showed the fastest growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.4%, 17.3%, and 15%, respectively.

While Asian cities lead in terms of scholarly output, their citation impact as measured by the normalized Field Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) indicator are lagging. San Francisco, Boston, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles are the top four cities with FWCIs at a value over 2.0, an indication that their normalized citation impact is twice that the global average.

San Francisco, Boston, and Amsterdam are among the global top 1% of most-cited publications based on share of research output. However, within the same period, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai have seen the fastest growth in research output among the top 1% of most-cited publications with a CAGR of 33%, 18%, and 13 %, respectively.

Knowledge transfer and innovation:

Despite a lag in academic output, Tokyo has the most patent applications within the study period - 1.11 million patents applied - as well as having the largest number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications among the 20 cities. At 27.9%, Hong Kong has the highest growth of PCT patent applications, while Seoul leads the integrated ranking score of all its highly innovative companies.

San Francisco, New York, and Osaka are the top 3 cities with the largest share of publications written collaboratively between academia and industry at 10.7%, 8.6%, and 8.5% respectively. This is well above the world average of 2.7%. Amsterdam, Singapore, and Stockholm, on the other hand, have the highest growth rate of academic-corporate publications with a CAGR of 6.9%, 5.9%, and 5.1%, respectively.

While Boston has the largest number of patent references made to its scholarly output, San Francisco has the highest share in terms of having its publications referenced by patents.

Notes for editors

1 This report is based on the original report in Chinese with data up to 2018, co-published in late 2020 by Administrative Center of Shanghai R&D Public Service Platforms and Elsevier. After calculating the 2019 values for key indicators, Elsevier noted no major changes to the conclusions generated in the original report using 2014 - 2018 data.

2 Field-Weighted Citation Impact - FWCI is an indicator of mean citation impact and compares the actual number of citations received by a paper with the expected number of citations for publications of the same document type (article, review, or conference proceeding), publication year, and subject area. When the paper is classified in two or more subject areas, the harmonic mean of the actual and expected citation rates is used. The indicator is therefore always defined with reference to a global baseline of 1.0 and intrinsically accounts for differences in citation accrual over time, differences in citation rates for different document types (e.g., reviews typically attract more citations than research articles), as well as subject-specific differences in citation frequencies overall and over time and document types. It is one of the most sophisticated indicators in the modern bibliometric toolkit.

Journalists who wish to receive a copy of the full report can download it here.

Main methodology and definitions

Scholarly output

In this report, a city's research output is defined as the number of publications published by authors with affiliations belonging to the city listed in Elsevier's Scopus database.

Active researcher

An active researcher from a city is defined as a researcher having at least one publication indexed by Scopus with affiliations belonging to the city for the period between 2014 - 2018. Individual researchers were identified and counted based on their unique Scopus author IDs.

International collaboration

A publication with at least one author listing an affiliation in a country and at least one author listing an affiliation in another country counts as an internationally collaborated publication.

Academic-corporate collaboration

Academic-corporate collaboration is defined as those publications that have authors from both the academic and corporate sectors.

Patenting activity

The patent applications are defined as the number of patent applications from the China National Intellectual Property Administration, the European Patent Office, the Japan Patent Office, the South Korean Intellectual Property Office, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including the applications of plant patents, utility patents, and design patents. In this report, the patent applications for a city are defined as the count of patent applications with the application address located in the city with the filling year between 2014 - 2018.

Citing-patents count

It is defined as count of patents citing the scholarly output published by authors from a city. In this report, the citing patents are from the European Patent Office, UK Intellectual Property Office, Japan Patent Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

About Us

About Administrative Center of Shanghai R&D Public Service Platforms

Shanghai R&D Public Service Platform Management Center (hereinafter referred to as "the Center"), established in November 2015, is a public institution directly under the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), led by STCSM, to construct the Shanghai R&D public service platform (hereinafter referred to as "the R&D Platform"). The core goal of the Center is to build a science and technology innovation center with a global influence, to implement the project "Enable open access to national major scientific research infrastructure and large-scale scientific research equipment in Shanghai," to agglomerate as well as to integrate science and technology resources, to fulfill the "Innovation Voucher" policy, to construct the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Resource Center, and to preserve the Shanghai Science and Technology Service Hotline. For more information, please visit: www.sstir.cn

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. www.elsevier.com

Contacts

Jason Chan, Director Elsevier Communications, APAC j.chan@elsevier.com



SOURCE: Elsevier

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639944/Asian-Cities-Increasing-in-Influence-as-Science-and-Innovation-Centers-While-Europe-and-North-America-Still-Hold-Sway-New-Report-Shows
A mother-to-be has filed a discrimination lawsuit against a pizzeria in South Jersey, claiming she was fired after she became pregnant.

Ashley Shaner, 20, worked as a cashier and later a delivery driver for privately owned Pizza Heaven in the 700 block of Route 9 South in Cape May Court House, according to court documents.

Shaner delivered pizza and worked 30-40 hours a week in the afternoons and evening, states the suit, filed April 2 in Superior Court of Cape May County.

In early September 2020, Shaner told business owner and operator Dilpreet Jimmy Singh that she was pregnant and showed him her pregnancy test, the lawsuit states.

Singh was displeased and took an obvious negative attitude toward her, the lawsuit claims.

Singh could not be reached for comment. A worker who answered the phone at the pizzeria on Tuesday said he did not know when Singh would be at the restaurant.

The suit states Shaner then noticed her hours were reduced. She texted Singh, I can work the same hours I was working before, and then requested her hours be restored, the suit states.

But Shaner claims instead of more hours, she was moved from the higher paying afternoon and evening shift to the lesser paying morning and lunch shift, the suit states.

The shift manager allegedly told Shaner the change in hours and schedule was due to her pregnancy.

Jimmy doesnt want you working. He said that in his religion he doesnt want pregnant women working, the manager allegedly said, according to the suit.

The lawsuit states that Shaner continued to work at the pizzeria for several weeks but when she struggled financially to support herself, she decided to reach out to the owner again.

Shaner texted Singh on Oct. 5 to request more hours. But instead of granting the request, Shaner said she was fired on Oct. 18.

The lawsuit alleges Singh and Pizza Heaven violated Shaners civil rights under New Jersey law by discriminating against her gender and her pregnancy.

Shaner claims she has suffered financially and has experienced losses to her self-esteem, reputation, and has struggled with emotional trauma and distress.

The lawsuit seeks back pay, future pay, compensatory damages and other relief.

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.
On Monday, high-profile justice advocate Topeka K. Sam visited New Orleans to help celebrate the first anniversary of Hope House NOLA, the home she purchased here last year to provide year-long transitional housing for up to eight women coming home from prison.

In 2017, Sam, a native of Long Island, started the first Hope House, in the Bronx, run by her nonprofit The Ladies of Hope Ministries. Future Hope Houses are planned for Miami, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta and in Trinidad. But Sam traveled to New Orleans early last year to close on the only other established Hope House to date, a five-bedroom house in a leafy section of New Orleans, though its exact location is not made public for safety reasons.

(Hope House NOLA is unrelated to longtime social-service agency Hope House, run by Don Everard and Sister Lilianne Flavin, near the former St. Thomas public-housing development.)

Nothing like this was in place several years ago, when Dolfinette Martin, now 51, was released after serving nearly eight years for shoplifting. Instead, she secretly stayed with her elderly mother in a complex that allowed only senior-citizen residents. I would leave before the management office opened, and I wouldnt come back until it closed, Martin recalled. I was basically hiding in my mothers house, not knowing when I would be asked to leave or if my mother would be evicted for having me there.

Today, Martin coordinates programming for Hope House NOLA as housing and operations director of Operation Restoration, the local group co-founded in 2016 by Syrita Steib and Annie Phoenix, which works with programming and policymakers on key issues, including, in 2017, an effort to unlock higher education by removing criminal-history questions from public college applications in Louisiana. Steib, 41, had been released in 2009 after serving nine years in federal prison for arson and was rejected for college despite high grades.

On Sunday, the women spent important personal time together, focused on the next generation, as Sam became the godmother of Steibs 4-month-old baby girl, Saige, who was christened in New Orleans.

Her friendship is one of the best things thats come out of doing this work, Steib said.

Martin, too, is grateful to Sam for helping fulfill Martins longtime dream: a New Orleans home for women returning from incarceration, which was near the top of Operation Restorations to-do list from its inception.

We knew what the vision was, Martin said. But had it not been for Topeka, we wouldnt have had the tangible: the house itself.

Nationally, the population of women in prison is eight times what it was in the 1980s and continues to grow twice as fast as the rate of male incarceration, according to data from the Prison Policy Initiative. In Louisiana, though less than 5 percent of the state prison population is female, the average age of conviction is 32.8 years, an age when most women still have minor children, so the effect of one womans incarceration multiplies quickly.

Six years ago, Sam, now 45, was able to move in with her parents when she was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, after serving a three-year sentence for drug conspiracy.

But like Martin, women Sam served time with had to hide with relatives. Others became homeless, or did what they needed to do to survive, getting involved in sex work or staying with abusive partners. Youre released from prison with nothing. You need clothes, undergarments, hygiene products, a bus pass and a phone, she said.

Sam believes that what a woman needs most when she's released from prison is a stable home. And for a year now, Hope House NOLA has provided that.

When women arrive here, they know that, for a year, they dont have to worry about where to lay their heads, Martin said. They know that when they close their eyes to rest, they can sleep. Only then can women feel stable enough to make other progress in their lives: to re-unite with their children, enroll in school and find decent jobs, Martin said.

Soon after her release, Sam spun into the national spotlight as a key expert on issues affecting incarcerated women. She successfully applied for two consecutive fellowships at Columbia University and was hired as a director for the incarcerated women portion of #Cut50, a bipartisan effort to pare down crime levels and incarceration by 50% within a decade. Through the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, which she helped to found, she created Real Women, Real Voices symposia at 11 law schools across the nation.

Through #Cut50, Steib and Sam worked together to help formerly incarcerated women like themselves. They instituted a series of changes through legislation such as the federal First Step Act, which banned traumatic practices such as shackling incarcerated women who are in labor and strip searches by male guards, and provided necessities to incarcerated women, such as free feminine-hygiene products.

The work of the two women caught the attention of the White House, which eventually led to federal pardons for both of them, issued by President Donald Trump at the end of his presidency. While the women were already out of prison, the pardons meant clear records and an end to reporting to parole officers, along with payments for that oversight.

Sam, like Steib, is grateful for her personal pardon. But it also seems woefully inadequate, given the overwhelming numbers of incarcerated men and women in the United States, she said. Were only two people.
Meghan McCain defends her pro-life stance in spat with Planned Parenthood: Abortion is murder

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Meghan McCain clapped back at Planned Parenthood in defense of her pro-life stance following criticism from the billion-dollar abortion business.

McCain has become an outspoken pro-lifer in recent months as she regularly shares her views as a co-host on ABC's daytime talk show The View.

Planned Parenthood's criticism of McCain followed a post on Twitter of her fellow co-host Sara Haines speaking on "The View" about the vaccine passports which would ban U.S. citizens from traveling unless they've had a vaccine for COVID-19.

"I cannot argue privacy on a public health issue like this when I don't understand how the most private thing in my body  my uterus  seems to be open for business when it is convenient politically," Haines said of her support for vaccine passports.

While Haines didn't directly address McCain, nor did McCain respond to Haines on the show, a commenter on Twitter attempted to make the issue personal between the women by adding both of their names in a tweet that got the attention of Planned Parenthood.

In a retweet of Haines post, the person added: Sara to Meghan McCain.

Sara to Meghan McCain: "I don't understand how the most private thing in my body  my uterus  seems to be open for business when it is convenient politically." #TheView ???? pic.twitter.com/RpMD2sLp0F  The Chat (@LiveOnTheChat) April 7, 2021

Planned Parenthood retweeted the post and included fire emojis.

McCain saw the tweet from the abortion giant and responded by defending her long-held pro-life views.

"I believe life begins at conception  I will NEVER apologize or back down from defending the rights of the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn," said the daughter of the late Arizona senator and former Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

During his last term in the Senate, however, McCain was roundly rebuked by pro-life groups for refusing to defund Planned Parenthood which was part of the 2017 healthcare reform package. It failed by one vote after McCain decided to vote against it.

I believe life begins at conception - I will NEVER apologize or back down from defending the rights of the most vulnerable in our society, the unborn. https://t.co/fmF0Zgj443  Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) April 7, 2021

Following her defense, pro-life advocates rallied behind McCain on social media.

"Thank you for standing up for women & children, Meghan!" Live Action tweeted.

Susan B. Anthony List stated, "Life begins at conception and ends at Planned Parenthood."

McCain took her post further and added another tweet, which said, "Always. Abortion is murder."

Live Action also noted that pro-life pregnancy centers have been a major contribution to society.

"In a single year, PRO-LIFE Pregnancy Resource Centers: Served 1.85M people, Provided $267M in FREE services, Gave parenting courses to 313,328, Provided 1,290,079 packs of diapers, Supplied 2,033,513 baby outfits. Not one is run by a 'pro-choice' advocate," Live Action maintained.

McCain has been known for her pro-life advocacy. In 2019 she was honored with the "Defender of Life" award by the Americans United for Life, an organization that opposes abortion.

The groups president and CEO, Catherine Glenn Foster, revealed that they awarded McCain because they admired her "courage in the cause of life," as she called for Planned Parenthood to be defunded by supporting the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.

On Jan. 28, President Joe Biden revoked the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits U.S. tax dollars from being used by nongovernmental organizations and other entities that provide abortions, referrals for abortion or expand abortion services. Under the Trump administration, the policy was reinstituted and subsequently expanded.

The Mexico City Policy, which critics call the "global gag rule," was first implemented by President Ronald Reagan. Ever since, Republican administrations have supported it and Democratic administrations have revoked it soon after entering office. Abortion rights activists have petitioned the Biden administration to rescind Trump's pro-life policies.

Bidens move marked an end to a four-year period under the Trump administration that saw the greatest expansion of the policy in its history, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The policy was first implemented by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. Ever since, Republican administrations have supported it and Democratic administrations have revoked it soon after entering office. Abortion rights activists have petitioned the Biden administration to rescind Trump's pro-life policies.

Jean Mancini, president of the March for Life Defense and Education Fund, criticized Biden's actions rescinding his predecessor's pro-life policies. She said the move goes against the "wishes" of the majority of the American people because 77% of the population in the U.S. oppose the federal funding of abortion overseas.
(Newser)  White supremacists in the US have worried about being replaced by voters of color for a long time. Last week, host Tucker Carlson laid out the conspiracy theory explicitly on Fox News. It involves immigration, Charles Blow writes in a New York Times opinion piece. Suggesting that there's an effort "to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters, from the third world" upsets the forces of the left, Carlson said. "But, they become hysterical because that's whats happening, actually. Let's just say it: That's true." That's the basis of the "racist, anti-Semitic, patriarchal and conspiratorial 'white replacement theory,'" Blow writesthat nonwhite immigrants are being brought to the US to replace white voters. "Every time they import a new voter," Carlson said, "I become disenfranchised as a current voter."

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When Carlson says third world arrivals, Blow writes, he means Hispanic, Asian, and Black people. The fear used to center on Black voters, as it did in the South after the Civil War. Jim Crow voter suppression laws and the movement of Black people out of the South took care of that, ensuring Black voters wouldn't outnumber white voters in any state. The theory peaked at other times, such as around the Voting Rights Act debates of the 1960s. "White" has been defined so narrowly in this country, Blow says, that the white grip on politics is not sustainable. The multiracial, multicultural majority that Carlson fears will assume power at the ballot box at some point. That's a fact, Blow writes. You can tell by the panic. You can read Blow's piece here. (The Anti-Defamation League wants Fox to fire Carlson for the comments.)
SHANGHAI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Queclink (Stock: 300590.SZ), a world leading supplier of IoT devices and technologies, and Sigfox, the 0G network pioneer and the world's leading IoT service provider, today announced their partnership. The collaboration will see the launch of a series of initiatives designed to enable asset management and stolen vehicle recovery (SVR).

Queclink and Sigfox, two active participants in the IoT industry, share a common goal to empower a future where the physical world is connected to the digital universe. Queclink as an IoT hardware designer and manufacturer inspires data-driven solutions with smart devices, while Sigfox has revolutionized connectivity for IoT devices with its low power, low cost and long range 0G network spanning 72 countries.

These two leading IoT brands have joined forces to enhance asset management and SVR solutions worldwide. The first milestone of the partnership is marked by the launch of the GL52S, Queclink's first Sigfox integrated tracking device.

The GL52S is resistant to jamming, largely used by auto thieves, thanks to one of the many benefits of Sigfox's network. With its small footprint and over 4-year standby time, the GL52S is an ideal covert device for vehicle and static asset tracking, as it combines Queclink's deep expertise in designing battery-powered asset trackers with the Sigfox network that features low energy consumption, cost effectiveness and scalability.

Queclink and Sigfox will work together to uncover hidden potential of IoT with more products to come with different form factors and targeted applications.

"Sigfox is delighted to partner with Queclink, one of the leading vendors in the global SVR market," says Ajay Rane, VP of Global Ecosystem Development at Sigfox. "Sigfox and Queclink are delivering compelling IoT solutions to SVR customers that leverage core competencies of both companies such as jamming resistance, innovative design, value priced small form factor devices, and industry leading global coverage for asset tracking and recovery. "

"The addition of the Sigfox 0G network in our extensive range of asset trackers adds significant advantage - resistance to jamming. This allows Queclink's current and potential SVR customers to gain an even bigger lead in combats against auto theft," says Alejandro Patino, VP Global Sales of Queclink. "Our partnership with Sigfox is aligned with Queclink's commitment to continuously creating smarter IoT solutions through technical innovation and partnership."

About Sigfox

Sigfox is the 0G network pioneer and the world's leading IoT (Internet of Things) service provider. Sigfox offers a unique combination of ultra-low cost and ultra-low power technologies supported by a global network, enabling businesses to gain visibility and track their assets worldwide. With more than 17 million connected devices and 70 million messages sent a day, Sigfox helps its customers to extract crucial data at the lowest cost and to accelerate their digital transformation in key areas such as Asset Tracking and Supply Chain.

ISO 9001 certified and surrounded by a large ecosystem of partners and IoT key players, Sigfox was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Labege, France, with offices in Boston, Dallas, Dubai, Madrid, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore and Tokyo.

About Queclink

Since 2009 Queclink Wireless Solutions has been "Driving Smarter IoT".

Queclink is a pure play IoT hardware designer and manufacturer working with many well-known industrial and consumer companies to bring innovative IoT solutions to market. Its business units span transportation, asset and mobility, networks and agriculture. With 35 million IoT products delivered to over 140 countries, Queclink inspires data-driven solutions for its worldwide customers.

For more information, visit our website, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook or contact sales@queclink.com

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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia Provides the Trending Market Research Report on Fish and Seafood in the United Arab Emirates under Food & Beverage category. The United Arab Emirates Fish and Seafood Market is projected to exhibit highest growth rate over report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, and competitive intelligence and industry reports.

Over the review period, foodservice remained a continuously growing channel for fish and seafood players. Consumers were increasingly choosing to eat out more often and demanding more cosmopolitan food. In addition, the growing percentage of southeast Asians in the United Arab Emirates and their preference for seafood led to increased demand. However, foodservice venue closures and consumers unwilling to dine out due to COVID-19, will lead to foodservice recording a double-digit volume decrease

Fish and Seafood in United Arab Emirates report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data in volume terms 2016-2020, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth. It offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market  be they new product developments, consumption patterns and distribution data. Forecasts to 2025 illustrate how the market is set to change.

Product coverage:

Crustaceans, Fish, Molluscs and Cephalopods.

Request a free sample copy of United Arab Emirates Fish and Seafood Market Report @

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Data coverage:

market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.

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* Get a detailed picture of the Fish and Seafood market;

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Table Of Contents

Fish and Seafood in the United Arab Emirates

List OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

KEY DATA FINDINGS

2020 IMPACT

Closure of foodservice venues and markets negatively impacts category sales

Increased demand for frozen fish as consumers limit shopping trips

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Health and wellness trend expected to drive growth in organic fish

Frozen fish and seafood set to experience boosted popularity

Summary 1 Major Processors of Fish and Seafood 2020

CATEGORY DATA

Table 1 Total Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Total Volume 2015-2020

Table 2 Total Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 3 Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 4 Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 5 Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 6 Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 7 Sales of Fish and Seafood by Organic/Fairtrade % of Total: % Total Volume 2015-2020

Table 8 Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Packaged vs Unpackaged: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 9 Forecast Total Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Total Volume 2020-2025

Table 10 Forecast Total Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 11 Forecast Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Volume 2020-2025

Table 12 Forecast Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 13 Forecast Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 14 Forecast Retail Sales of Fish and Seafood by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

COVID-19 impact on fresh food

COVID-19 country impact

Retailing shift

What next for fresh food?

MARKET DATA

Table 15 Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Total Volume 2015-2020

Table 16 Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 17 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Volume 2015-2020

Table 18 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Volume Growth 2015-2020

Table 19 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Value 2015-2020

Table 20 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Value Growth 2015-2020

Table 21 Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Packaged vs Unpackaged: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 22 Retail Distribution of Fresh Food by Format: % Volume 2015-2020

Table 23 Forecast Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Total Volume 2020-2025

Table 24 Forecast Total Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Total Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 25 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Volume 2020-2025

Table 26 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Volume Growth 2020-2025

Table 27 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: Value 2020-2025

Table 28 Forecast Retail Sales of Fresh Food by Category: % Value Growth 2020-2025

GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

GLOBAL INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT

DISCLAIMER

SOURCES

Summary 2 Research Sources

Browse our full report with Table of Contents: http://www.marketreportsonsaudiarabia.com/marketreports/fish-and-seafood-in-the-united-arab-emirates/522328

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Market Reports on Saudi Arabia provides you with an in-depth industry reports focusing on various economic, political and operational risk environment, complemented by detailed sector analysis. We have an exhaustive coverage on variety of industries  ranging from energy and chemicals to transportation, communications, constructions and mining to Food and Beverage and education. Our collection includes over 3000 up-to-date reports all researched, analysed and published by top-notch international research firms.

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Additional High-Grade Gold Intercepts Incl 14m at 3.89g/t Au

Perth, April 12, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - OzAurum Resources Ltd ( ASX:OZM ) is pleased to announce further Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling results from its initial 20,000 metre (m) drilling campaign at the Mulgabbie North Project situated North East of Kalgoorlie, including twenty-one holes for 4,038m of drilling.Highlights- Significant high-grade gold mineralisation intersected, with mineralisation open along strike and at depth.- RC holes that intersected significant gold mineralisation, include:o 14m @ 3.89 g/t gold (Au) - (within 27m @ 2.2 g/t Au and including 5m @ 9.44 g/t Au from 25m) MNORC 038o 4m @ 5.28 g/t Au - (within 44m @ 1.06 g/t Au from 107m) MNORC 033o 12m @ 2.00 g/t Au - (within 35m @ 1.02 g/t Au from 128m) MNORC 034o 10m @ 1.58 g/t Au - (within 33m @ 0.92 g/t Au from 179m) MNORC 034o 12m @ 1.66 g/t Au - (within 51m @ 0.7 g/t Au from 108m) MNORC 030o 9m @ 1.47 g/t Au - including 1m @ 9.47 g/t Au (from 168m) MNORC 020o 12m @ 1.65 g/t Au - (from 189m) MNORC 021- Numerous RC holes intersected high grade gold mineralisation within wide, lower grade zones such as MNORC 034 with 68m of mineralisation intersected downhole.- Additional RC drilling results at Mulgabbie North clearly indicate that the Project is situated within a large gold mineralised system. The Company is confident that, through continuous drilling, the Project has the potential to host a significant gold discovery.Mulgabbie North RC Drilling ResultsThe twenty-one holes that were drilled for 4,038m at the Mulgabbie North Project are a continuation of OzAurum's initial 20,000m RC drilling campaign. These excellent RC results, combined with recently announced aircore (AC) results defining new zones of mineralisation (see ASX announcement on 29 March 2021), further highlight the potential of Mulgabbie North to be a significant gold project.Most notably, RC hole MNORC 038 intersected 14m @ 3.89 g/t Au from 25m within a wider zone of 27m @ 2.2 g/t Au, and includes 5m @ 9.44 g/t Au. Numerous RC drill holes intersected high grade mineralisation within wide lower grade intervals indicating Mulgabbie North is situated within a large mineralised gold system. Gold Mineralisation at Mulgabbie North is currently open at depth and along strike at both the Ben and James Prospects.Wide zones of weak to moderate hematite alteration have been discovered in some RC holes at Mulgabbie North. Specifically, the hematite alteration indicates oxidised fluids from an intrusive complex suggesting proximity to the mineralising centre - likely to be within OzAurum's 100% owned Mulgabbie North tenure.The additional planned RC drilling at Mulgabbie North will further test strike and depth extensions of gold mineralisation at the James and Ben Prospects that are situated on the Relief Shear. Gold mineralisation at these prospects is hosted in the intermediate-felsic volcaniclastic units. The RC drilling program at Mulgabbie North will scope out the extent of known mineralisation aimed at making a significant gold discovery.Utilising best practice RC drilling, sampling and assay protocols will allow for a potential future JORC 2012 compliant resource to be estimated with confidence at Mulgabbie North. Systematic RC drilling is being undertaken on a 20m x 20m spacing and a limited number of historic + 33-year-old RC drill hole positions will be redrilled to meet JORC 2012 requirements.OzAurum's Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Pumphrey, said:"The Company is very encouraged by the additional high-grade intercepts so early on in our large-scale drilling campaign, and we are confident that ongoing RC drilling has the potential to unlock a significant gold project at Mulgabbie. In particular, we are excited by the potential of this area where the host rocks are intermediate-felsic volcaniclastic units. In addition, the wide zones of Hematite alteration intersected in some deeper holes is very promising since this is a key signature of oxidised gold fluids, similar to that of Northern Star ( ASX: NST ) Carosue Dam Karari and Whirling Dervish Gold Mines. Lastly, this area is under transported cover that has prevented previous effective exploration. "To view tables and figures, please visit:About OzAurum Resources Limited

OzAurum Resources Ltd (ASX:OZM) is a Western Australian gold explorer with two advanced gold projects located 130 km north east of Kalgoorlie. The Company's main objective is to make a significant gold discovery that can be brought to production.
I had it in the time where you couldnt tell nobody. We had been practicing safely the entire time, and then I think I went to a birthday for one of my best friends that had passed, ran into somebody who was sick, Henry said. I think losing my smell and my taste was the worst. ... That whole feeling was like something that you aint really understand.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks with the press before boarding Marine One with First Lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 3, 2017, en route to Puerto Rico. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Trump Lawyers: New York Tax Return Law No Longer Applies Since Hes Not President

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump told a judge on Monday that a New York law does not apply to the Republican because he is no longer president.

While the TRUST Act is not the clearest statute, the best reading is that it does not apply to former Presidents, the attorneys wrote in a filing.

The law in question, which was enacted in 2019, lets the state share tax return information with congressional committees.

Legislators who sponsored the bill said it was inspired by the Trump administrations refusal to hand over Trumps tax returns. House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) sought Trumps tax returns that year but was turned down, triggering a lawsuit.

The Treasury Department later found that then-Secretary Steven Mnuchin acted properly in his refusal.

In the new filing, Trumps lawyers said the House committee is still pursuing Trumps tax returns even though he left office on Jan. 20.

The committee is still pursuing plaintiffs financial information, the committee wont concede that the Trust Act is limited to current presidents, the committee wont promise not to invoke the Trust Act against plaintiff, and the committee wont agree to give plaintiff advance notice before it invokes the Trust Act, it stated.

Lawyers for the committee told U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols in their own filing that was submitted at the same time that it has no plans to proceed in the matter.

At no point has the Chairman or the Committee taken any action with regard to the relevant New York state statute. Indeed, the Chairman and the Committee have taken no action at all with regard to the New York state statute or plaintiff Donald J. Trumps New York state tax returns, nor threatened to take any such action, they wrote.

Trump brought the lawsuit in the case in July 2019, asking the court to declare that the committee lacked a legitimate legislative purpose for obtaining his information, to declare that the TRUST Act violates the First Amendment, and to issue a permanent injunction against the states attorney general from enforcing the law.

Trump has several ongoing legal battles concerning his taxes. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court allowed an accounting firm to deliver his returns to prosecutors in New York as they investigate him for undisclosed wrongdoing. In a third case, the parties will appear in June as a separate House committee seeks Trumps records.
Many Danbury-area clinics and providers say they will be largely unaffected by the federal pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine administration announcedTuesday morning following six cases of rare but severe blood clots.

Some providers reported small allocation from the state, while others said the vaccine is used minimally at their facilities or that can switch to other vaccines.

Bethel, Redding and Danbury health departments have not been using Johnson & Johnson, while New Milford has used it at its regular clinics. Ridgefield has also used it at its clinics and, specifically, to vaccinate homebound populations, but did not receive any Johnson & Johnson vaccine last week.

The one-shot vaccine has made up less than 1 percent of the shots received by the Community Health Center, Inc., which, as of Tuesday, has distributed 250,000 doses statewide, including at the Danbury Fair mall.

The Johnson & Johnson doses administered by the center make up an infinitesimally small portion of total vaccine administered, said Lisa Gianelli, spokeswoman for the health center.

We have it on hand, but we havent been using it, she said.

The health center has been focused on vaccinating high school students, who are cleared to receive only the Pfizer vaccine. For now, the doses will stay in the refrigerators.

Well leave them in the inventory until were advised otherwise, Gianelli said.

But the postponement is a wedge in the health centers plans to administer 2,500 doses of Johnson & Johnson to Western Connecticut State University beginning next Tuesday.

The university is working the state health department and the Connecticut Board of Regents to come up with a new plan, WestConn spokesman Paul Steinmetz said.

Appointments and clinics in other areas are less affected.

Nuvance Health, which includes Danbury and New Milford hospitals, is not administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at its clinics, said Jeff Nicastro, chief medical officer and system chairman of surgery at Nuvance Health, due to limited supply.

Brookfield received 240 doses of the vaccine and used them at its clinic Monday. But First Selectman Steve Dunn said the town doesnt have any more Johnson & Johnson appointments planned because it doesnt have the supply and is not expecting more deliveries any time soon.

We anticipate that we will not receive any further allocations of the [Johnson & Johnson] until the FDA, CDC and the state have been able to review this and make a decision on the safety of the [Johnson & Johnson] vaccine, Dunn wrote in an email Tuesday.

Newtown has primarily distributed the Moderna vaccine, but its health department received a small allotment of 50 doses of Johnson & Johnson that were administered last week at its regular clinic, said Donna Culbert, health director. The department had no future Johnson & Johnson clinics planned, she said.

For RVNAhealth, the Ridgefield-based organization running the towns local clinic, Johnson & Johnson doses have not been abundant, and the group received none of the one-shot vaccine in its state allotment this week, according to Nancy Rowe, spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, New Milford will pivot its Johnson & Johnson appointments quite easily due to a large allocation of Pfizer, according to Mayor Pete Bass.

While providers across the state are altering appointments and leaving the Johnson & Johnson in refrigerators for now, officials are doing their best to deal with concerned residents and provide insight.

Bass said residents have called his office and the health center Tuesday and asked residents to reach out to their primary doctors with questions.

State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, D-Bethel, has spent his morning trying to provide information and context to his constituents about the data to mitigate increased vaccine hesitancy.

Theres already a lot of hesitancy and skepticism, and I think that hesitancy can lead to more deaths, said Allie-Brennan, who got his Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 1.

With just six people affected of the nearly 7 million whove received this type of vaccine, Allie-Brennan said its important to understand the statistics.

Thats less than one in a million, he said. The CDC says the odds of being struck by lightening are one in 500,000.

Allie-Brennan noted that women taking birth control medication are also susceptible to blood clots.

I think people need to take a breath and let the CDC do its investigation, he said.

Area residents said they werent terribly worried. Summer Hoogenboom, a Brookfield woman who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine last Monday, said while she had a fairly bad reaction to it, she was not overly concerned that the vaccine has been paused.

My side effects lasted two days, she said. It was intense, but I feel like it made sense. I dont think it was abnormal.

She said her reactions included fever, serious muscle pain and chills.

Hoogenboom, who said she didnt feel 100 percent until the end of the following day, had COVID-19 in January.

Kents resident Jennifer Willcox, who received Johnson & Johnson April 1, said while the news is worrisome, she is still glad she got that vaccine, over the other options.

Prior to receiving the vaccine, she had consulted with family members who are doctors, who specifically told her to get Johnson & Johnson over Moderna or Pfizer because it's a more proven technology.

I was worried about blood clots, but they told me this was very rare. Everything has a risk, and the shot is still safer than driving in a car, she said.

Staff writers Shayla Colon and Julia Perkins contributed to this report.
BIWIN, a leading chip manufacturer for flash storage, reached an agreement with Acer to bring Acer-branded memory and personal SSD storage products to customers in India.

The product offerings will take advantage of BIWINs manufacturing capabilities and Acers global brand recognition to provide the latest memory and storage solutions for both professional and home users.

The new Acer-branded SSD portfolio offers a range of 2.5 SATA, M.2 SATA and M.2 PCIe NVMe drives.

The entry-level 2.5 SA100 offers performance and reliability and is available in capacities from 120 GB to 1.92 TB.

The RE100 is available as a standard 2.5 SATA drive as well as in a smaller M.2 SATA form factor. With capacities from 128 GB up to 1 TB (M.2) and 4 TB (SATA) and with read and write speeds of 560 MB/s and 520 MB/s, the RE100 performs close to the SATA interfaces maximum speed and is an extremely reliable solution in terms of speed and capacity to upgrade any desktop PC or laptop to the latest SATA technology.

In terms of maximizing performance, an Acer-branded M.2 PCIe Gen3 NVMe drive, the FA100is available in capacities from 128 GB up to 2 TB, reaching up to 3300 MB/s read and 2700 MB/s write speeds. This exceptional performance is six times faster than standard SATA SSDs.

An Acer-branded DRAM module lineup includes standard SO- and UDIMM-modules with speeds in a range from 2666 MHz up to 3200 MHz and capacities from 4 GB up to 32 GB per single module. The perfect upgrade for any desktop PC and laptop especially as demand is continuously growing for higher capacity memory modules.

For high-performance computing enthusiasts, BIWIN will also offer an Acer-branded HT100 module with a heatspreader and a unique design. The densities (from 8 GB up to 32 GB) and the offered speed rates (from 2666 MHz up to 3600 MHz) meet a wide range of customer needs.

For these newly launched product segment, Fortune Marketing Private Limited has been appointed as National Distributor in India.

Rajesh Khurana, Country Manager- Consumer Business, BIWIN commented, We believe that we will be able to contribute to the Indian market through experience, expertise & strong network of Fortune Marketing. These advanced quality products will give us the opportunity to provide mind-blowing experiences to our customer like never before. We are looking forward to work closely with Fortune Marketing to promote best of Acer branded storage and memory products to market.

On this association, Manoj Gupta, MD, Fortune Marketing added We are glad to partner with BIWIN for their Acer branded memory and storage products in India. Their cutting-edge technology and quality products will be a value addition to our portfolio. It will further enhance our B2B solutions range to the Indian market by offering best-in-class products through our strong distribution network .
A Black Lives Matter protester whose testicle exploded into pieces after he was shot with a hard -foam projectile by a Los Angeles police officer during demonstrations last summer filed a lawsuit Monday.

Ben Montemayor, now 29, named the city and LAPD Chief Michael Moore as defendants in the suit, calling foul to findings by the department's Use of Force Review Board that determined the officer was in policy when Montemayor was shot during June protests in Hollywood.

Montemayor is seeking unspecified monetary damages in the suit but he told the Los Angeles Times that he hopes the case will help hold the LAPD accountable and protect future protesters from the dangers of the projectiles.

'They're used irresponsibly. They're overused,' he said. 'I don't want them to be downplayed.'

Bodycam footage taken at a Black Lives Matter protest in Los Angeles on June 20 showed the moment a police officer fired a foam bullet into an activist's groin. Ben Montemayor, now 29, named the city and LAPD Chief Michael Moore as defendants in the suit he filed

Ben Montemayor, now 29, named the city and LAPD Chief Michael Moore (pictured) as defendants in the suit he filed

At the time of the incident, Montemayor had been holding a sign calling for the department to be defunded when officers began approaching.

The lawsuit contends that Montemayor had not heard the dispersal order but as he walked in the general direction of where he believed officers wanted him to go, two rushed him and ripped his sign before shoving him backwards.

'As Mr. Montemayor stood there, unarmed, not resisting arrest, posing no threat whatsoever to anyone around him, and having just been violently shoved, a third officer less than ten feet away aimed his green [40-millimeter] launcher at Mr. Montemayor and intentionally shot him in the groin with a high-speed plastic, hard foam projectile,' the lawsuit claims.

Body-cam footage shows Montemayor being shot by a 40mm foam pellet gun along Hollywood Boulevard on June 20.

The lawsuit states that both of Montemayor's testicles swelled up immediately, with the right one growing to the size of a grapefruit.

Footage shows the man standing in the middle of a crosswalk with his arms raised in the air as he holds a banner. Montemayor would be shot soon after

A scrotal ultrasound was performed by doctors who soon determined that the man needed emergency surgery - which involved 'piecing back together portions of his testicle which had exploded,' the lawsuit states.

Montemayor claims that since the shooting, he still suffers from emotional distress and trauma. He still has 'flashbacks of being attacked' whenever he sees police and does not feel comfortable protesting since the incident, according to the lawsuit.

The suit states that Montemayor's treatment shows 'a horrific example of the unjustified police abuse and First Amendment retaliation meted out violently against peaceful protesters.'

'A civilized society cannot survive if the police are allowed to run wild in the streets,' Dan Stormer, one of his attorneys, said in a statement Monday. 'The LAPD is out of control.'

Last September, California police released bodycam footage that showed the Black Lives Matter protester being shot in the groin with a foam bullet during a march in Los Angeles.

Police subsequently announced their own investigation into the shooting. The bodycam footage was released as part of the police probe.

Police take his banner and push him out of the road, before opening fire as he takes a step towards them - which he said was to help a friend who was pushed over

The footage showed a group of officers who were sent to tackle protesters who were gathering on part of Hollywood Boulevard on June 20.

In the video, officers run towards a junction of Hollywood Boulevard and another street as bottles are thrown at them, and attempt to clear the activists away.

Two protesters can be seen standing on the crosswalk holding a banner, one of whom has his hands raised in the air.

Officers take the banner away and push the man with his hands up away from the crossing. He takes a single step towards the officers, and is shot in the groin.

Montemayor told the LA Times that he was trying to help up a friend who had been pushed to the ground when he was shot.

Montemayor told the LA Times that he was trying to help up a friend who had been pushed to the ground when he was shot

He said fellow protesters helped him away from the scene, and that afterwards he went to hospital when one of his testicles swelled to twice its normal size.

He was taken in for emergency surgery which lasted around three hours in an attempt to preserve his ability to have children.

Montemayor described the shooting as a 'brutal assault' and said the video shows that 'in some ways, it's even worse than we thought.'

Dismissing the police investigation, he said the department were simply covering their own backs 'to protect themselves from the lawsuit that is coming'.

LAPD policy states that crowd-control weapons, such as foam bullets, should only be used on people who are more than five feet away.

The weapons cannot be blindly fired into crowds, must be used against people who present a 'clear and immediate threat', and cannot be used to retaliate against verbal threats or because of 'noncompliance'.

California has seen near-continuous protests against inequality and police brutality that began in May after the death of George Floyd (pictured, marchers in LA the day before the shooting)
Robert Irwin has paid tribute to his 'absolute best sister' Bindi as she settles into life with her daughter Grace Warrior.

The 17-year-old conservationist posted a photo of himself with Bindi, 22, on Instagram on Monday to celebrate National Siblings Day.

In the heartwarming picture, first-time uncle Robert beams with pride as his sister cradles baby Grace in her arms.

Sibling bond: Robert Irwin (left) has paid tribute to his 'absolute best sister' Bindi (right) as she settles into life with her daughter Grace Warrior

'Happy #NationalSiblingsDay!' Robert captioned post, adding: 'I've got the absolute best sister - Grace definitely has an amazing mum.'

Bindi commented below the photo to thank Robert for being 'the greatest brother and uncle' in the world.

'Thank you for being the greatest brother and uncle to beautiful Grace. We love you!' she wrote.

Blast from the past: Bindi also celebrated National Siblings Day on Monday by sharing this cute throwback photo of the pair holding a snake at Australia Zoo when they were children

The mother of one also shared a cute throwback photo of the pair holding a snake at Australia Zoo when they were children.

'I'm thankful every day that I get to be your sister. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend and light in my life,' Bindi captioned it.

It comes after Bindi shared a gallery of heart-melting photos on Instagram on Friday to update fans on her journey into motherhood.

Making memories: It comes after Bindi shared a gallery of photos on Instagram on Friday to update fans on her journey into motherhood. Pictured with her husband Chandler Powell

The daughter of the late Steve Irwin gazed sweetly at her little girl next to her husband Chandler Powell, 24, as she held a sign reading 'two weeks old'.

'Two weeks with our Warrior princess. Cherishing every moment together,' she wrote.

Bindi and Chandler announced the birth of their daughter on March 26, one day after welcoming the child at Buderim Private Hospital on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Narek Sarkisian fled Armenia shortly before his familys house in Yerevan was searched by the National Security Service (NSS) in July 2018. The NSS claimed that he asked one of his friends to hide his illegally owned guns, cocaine and other drugs in a safer place.

Sarkisian reportedly produced a fake Guatemalan passport when Czech police detained him in Prague in December 2018. He was extradited to Armenia and immediately arrested a year later. The Armenian Court of Appeals agreed to grant him bail last November.

Acting on an appeal lodged by prosecutors, the higher Court of Cassation overturned the ruling and allowed investigators to send Sarkisian back to jail late on Monday. It said that he spent more than a year on the run and could again try to escape prosecution.

One of the suspects lawyers, Karen Mezhlumian, criticized the courts decision as unfair and biased on Tuesday.

Mezhlumian insisted that there are no grounds to hold his client in detention because the latter has not gone into hiding or committed crimes and has attended all sessions of his trial since being set free in November.

Narek Sarkisian has pleaded guilty to the accusations leveled against him.
We've heard the announcement by the Tourism Ministry that cultural workers are to get priority access to vaccines and travel exemptions.
Lucknow: The campaigning for the first phase of the Uttar Pradesh panchayat election, which will be held on April 15, ended on Tuesday (April 14). The eligible voters will be able to exercise their franchise from 7 am to 6 pm on the polling day.

The counting of votes of Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections will take place on May 2.

Notably, the police in Bhadohi district arrested two panchayat election candidates for distributing money among voters, and one former block chairman for threatening balloters, according to officials. Arrests were made on Monday night, the officials told PTI.

Vipul Dubey, contesting for the post of Zila panchayat member from ward number 14 and Ajit Yadav from ward number 8, was caught red-handed, Superintendent of Police (SP) Ram Badan Singh reportedly said. The SP further said that cash and ATM cards were recovered from their possession.

Former block chairman Vinay Kumar Dubey was arrested for allegedly threatening people to cast their votes in favour of his sister-in-law Amrita Dubey, the SP added.

Last week, The Yogi Adityanath government had said that the candidates in the upcoming panchayat elections would be allowed to campaign only in groups of five. The state government ordered them to compulsorily wear masks while campaigning.

Among other measures, CM Yogi directed that not more than 100 persons will be allowed at a time in weddings and other functions in view of the spiraling COVID-19 cases.

Notably, one 81-year-old woman will be contesting the panchayat elections from the Kanpur district to ensure better facilities and development of her village.

Rani Devi of Rudrapur Bail village in Chaubepur block of Kanpur district told ANI, "I decided to contest the panchayat to ensure the development of my village. At this age, neither I have greed for any post, nor I am here to at the behest of any political party. I have decided on my own to contest the poll for the overall development of my village."

Rani Devi filed her nomination papers for Block Development Council (BDC) member.

(With Agency Inputs)

Live TV
New Delhi, April 13 : Every rural household in Haryana will get tap water connection by November 1, 2022 while Odisha will achieve the same by 2024, according to the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) annual action plan presented by the two states to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Both Haryan and Odissa presented their JJM annual action plan detailing their plan of action for the financial year 2021-22 as well as the saturation plan for the states to ensure that every rural household gets household tap water connection.

In a statement, the Ministry of Jal Shakti said, "During the presentation, the state of Haryana reiterated its commitment to achieve the JJM target by November 1, 2022 (Haryana Day), much ahead of the national deadline. Odisha plans for 100 per cent saturation by 2024." According to the ministry, the month-long exercise of taking up the annual action plan of states and Union Territories (UTs) under JJM is carried out by a committee to do a rigorous scrutiny of the proposed plan prepared by the states and UTs before finalising the same.

"Thereafter, funds are released throughout the year and regular field visits and review meetings are held to ensure the implementation of these annual action plans to achieve the goal of JJM," the ministry said.

It further stated that the review committee advised the states to identify the sources of convergence and invest in sensor-based IoT technology for real-time monitoring and measurement of water supply.

Further, the committee emphasised on well-placed Information, Education & Communication (IEC) strategies to instill behavioural change among the public.

Haryana has 31.03 lakh rural households, out of which 26.93 lakh (86.8 per cent) households were provided with tap connection as on March 31 this year. In FY 2021-22, the state plans to provide 4.09 lakh tap connections.

The committee has advised the state to work on the sustainability water sources and increase tap water connections at the household level.

Odisha has 85.66 lakh rural households, out of which 23.25 lakh households (27.15 per cent) have tap water connection.

"When JJM was started on August 15, 2019, only 3.63 per cent of the people in Odisha had access to tap water. In the past one-and-a-half years, JJM has ensured that 20.15 lakh rural homes get safe drinking water through taps," the ministry added.

The committee suggested Odissa to focus on testing and treating contaminated water. Odisha plans NABL accreditation of 19 laboratories during the current year.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge this week moved to restore two Obama-era fair housing regulations that were rescinded under former President Trump. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Housing Secretary Marcia L. Fudge this week moved to restore two Obama-era fair housing rules that were rescinded under former President Trump.

Throughout his presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden said he would combat systemic racism and discrimination as president.

In his first month, Biden issued an executive order that recognized the role the federal government has played in racist housing discriminatory practices and directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine regulatory actions under Trump that may have "undermined fair housing policies and laws" as well as take steps to ensure the 1968 Fair Housing Act was being implemented.

This civil rights-era legislation bars housing discrimination on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability.

The two rules the administration is seeking to restore had been used in recent years to enforce this 1968 law.

Under President Obama, HUD codified a legal standard known as disparate impact." The standard says policies that adversely affect a group of people can be discriminatory even if that's not their explicit intent. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled "disparate impact" claims were legitimate if plaintiffs could show defendants' policies lead to discriminatory results.

Following the Supreme Court opinion, Trump's HUD Secretary Ben Carson changed the rule, in what he said was an effort to promote more available housing, increase legal clarity.... making sure every person is treated fairly under the law."

Advocates decried the change, saying the move essentially gutted the Obama-era protection and would make it harder to bring discriminatory claims before the court.

The second rule, the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing requirement, sought to compel local governments receiving federal housing funding to actively work to reverse segregation. Carson ended that policy too, arguing it was "complicated, costly, and ineffective." He also said it resulted in funds being steered away from communities that needed it most.

Story continues

HUD is barred from commenting on rules under review, but spokeswoman Meaghan Lynch said Biden "has every confidence in HUD to advance a regulatory agenda rooted in fairness and equity."

The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday initiated its first step in the rule-making process by submitting two draft rules to the Office of Management and Budget. The notices were made public Tuesday and are under review for approval.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
They are often seen out on the town getting lunch or going out together for girls night.

But on Monday, models Jasmine Tookes and Sarah Sampaio were spotted leaving a workout together outside of the celebrity-friendly Dogpound gym in West Hollywood, California.

Jasmine, 30, looked sublime in soft pink tones, consisting of a dusty rose crop top with cinched wraparound fabric at her ribcage.

On Monday: Models Jasmine Tookes and Sarah Sampaio were spotted leaving a workout together outside of the celebrity-friendly Dogpound gym in West Hollywood

Splash of color: Sara sported a bright marble print sweatshirt in shades of white and peach, paired with neon orange cropped leggings

She wore high-waisted darker leggings, along with bubblegum pink Nike sneakers.

Her ensemble afforded a peek at her toned midriff.

Jasmine wrapped up in a cream felt jacket that hung open and below her hips.

The stunner shouldered a black purse, and wore a smattering of jewelry.

Smiling: Jasmine looked sublime in soft pink tones, consisting of a dusty rose crop top with cinched wraparound fabric at her ribcage and darker leggings

Her manicure was light to match her jacket.

Tookes smiled widely as she headed back to her car.

Her dark hair was up in a high bun.

Sara, 29, wore her dark hair in a similar high bun.

She sported a bright marble print sweatshirt in shades of white and peach, paired with neon orange cropped leggings.

The Portuguese runway stars sneakers were in an ombre of bright orange to black.

Sporty spice: The Portuguese runway stars sneakers were in an ombre of bright orange to black around the laces

She carried a water bottle along with a handsome black leather valise.

Both models posted content from their gym outing to their respective Instagram Stories, with Jasmine including a snippet of their heavy cable arm workout.

Sara shared a selfie of a group of women on their mats in a class setting, as she made a mock sad expression for the workout that was to come.

Twinning: Both beauties wore their dark hair up in a high buns atop their heads

They also posted content from their gym outing to their respective Instagram Stories: Jasmine included a snippet of their heavy cable arm workout

Sampaio also recently shared some sporty selfies to her IG feed in an all-white outfit from alo, as she is a new ambassador for the athleisure brand.

The ladies often hang with other beautiful glamazon models, like their best friend Josephine Skriver.

Just last month, in fact, the trio of beauties grabbed lunch together at Hugo's, which is located in the heart of WeHo.

Turn that frown upside down: Sara shared a selfie of a group of women on their mats in a class setting, as she made a mock sad expression for the workout that was to come

Alo partner: Sampaio also recently shared some sporty selfies to her IG feed in an all-white outfit from alo, as she is a new ambassador for the athleisure brand
What is the meaning of security of the person and right to liberty in a state of emergency (SoE)?

The security of the person is a basic and most fundamental of all human rights (as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), and involves the liberty of the person, the right not to be unlawfully detained, or the right to be detained only with due cause or with due process.
Travel is picking up with the rollout of very effective vaccines, but it remains far below pre-pandemic levels. In the U.S., nearly 1.5 million people a day have gone through airport checkpoints this month, down from more than 2.3 million people per day in early April 2019.
She is always dressed to the nines when she presents The Morning Show alongside her co-host Larry Emdur.

And on Tuesday, Kylie Gillies, 53, took a bit of a fashion gamble with her outfit.

The mother-of-two wore a bright red blouse and navy miniskirt, but made a statement with her footwear by slipping her feet into a pair of fluffy red heels.

Would YOU wear them? On Tuesday, Kylie Gillies made a style statement on The Morning Show as she slipped into a pair of fluffy red heels

While Kylie's outfit looked business as usual, it was her shoes that caught the eye of viewers.

Her shoes featured a small stiletto heel and a crossover strap on the ankle.

Kylie regularly posts about her TV outfits on Instagram and is also a fashion ambassador for Harris Scarfe.

Added details: While Kylie's outfit looked business as usual, it was her shoes that caught the eye the most

Glamorous: Kylie is always dressed to the nines when she presents on The Morning Show alongside her co-host, Larry Emdur

Last month, the brunette made headlines when she revealed why she and co-host Larry attended Sam Armytage's farewell party on March 11, but Sam's Sunrise colleagues didn't.

She said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show at the time that Sam hadn't actually planned a send-off, but decided to do something at the last minute when Kylie asked her what she was doing that afternoon.

The late lunch at Catalina restaurant in Sydney's Rose Bay was cobbled together at the eleventh hour, she said, and the Sunrise team didn't go because they had already spent hours toasting with Sam at Seven's Martin Place studios.

Making headlines: Meanwhile last month, Kylie made headlines when she revealed why she and co-host Larry attended Sam Armytage's farewell party on March 11, and Sam's Sunrise colleagues didn't

She explained: 'I was there... I said to Sam, "What are you doing after work? You can't go home and do the washing. Let's go out and have [lunch]. Let's have a champagne; you can't go home."'

Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson replied: 'So you were the one responsible for this impromptu little get-together!'

Kylie agreed, then said reports of the Sunrise team being snubbed by Sam weren't accurate as they'd spent the morning drinking champagne at Brekky Central.

Send-off: Kylie said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show at the time that Sam hadn't actually planned a send-off, but decided to do something at the last minute when Kylie asked her what she was doing that afternoon

It comes after Sunrise hosts David 'Kochie' Koch and Natalie Barr confirmed that they hadn't been invited to former anchor Sam's farewell party.

The pair were grilled about Sam's departure on Kyle and Jackie O, and Kochie, 65, admitted he and Natalie, 53, hadn't even been told about the shindig.

The pair also strongly denied rumours Sam had been forced to leave Channel Seven's top-rating breakfast show.

Kochie insisted Sam hadn't been pushed out, saying she 'just wanted a change of life' after marrying Bowral businessman Richard Lavender.


Significant Gold Results from Surface at Mt Stirling

Perth, April 12, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Torian Resources Ltd ( ASX:TNR ) is pleased to advise that recent drilling results continue to extend the Mt Stirling Gold System over ~1.1km of Strike, ~300m at depth, and it remains open in multiple directions.Highlights:- The interpreted strike of the Mt Stirling gold system exceeds 1.160km with Mt Stirling Main Zone; Hanging Wall and Viserion lodes all remaining open along strike and down-dip.- Assay results and footprint continue to track on par and are consistent with regional significant discoveries, e.g. St Barbara's ( ASX:SBM ) 4.8Moz Gwalia Mine and Saracen's ( ASX:SAR ) 3.8Moz Thunderbox Mine, with the Mt Stirling Gold System remaining open in all directions.- Torian awaiting results from 3 drill holes to be incorporated to the interim Resource Estimate; in addition to 11 SE Phase 2 drill holes; 16 holes at Stirling Well and 19 holes from Diorite, with results forthcoming.- Mt Stirling Regional targeting has identified numerous Priority 1 and Priority 2 targets along four key structural corridors; Viserion Shear (3.4km); Wonambi Shear (2.2km); Ursus Fault (2.5km) and Blue Jacket (2.2km) for immediate follow-up exploration including AV drilling.- Torian is now fully funded to conduct its 50,000m drilling campaign in 2021.Torian's Executive Director Mr Peretz Schapiro said "Cracking 1km of Strike at Mt Stirling represents a significant milestone for our company. With each batch of results received, it becomes clearer and clearer to us that we're sitting on something quite substantial at Mt Stirling. We have demonstrated that we are 'on the system', with our immediate task being to define the actual footprint of Mt Stirling, as it continues to remain open along strike and depth.Should results confirm our interpretation of a shear-hosted gold system that continues at depth, for considerable down-dip depth, it would mean that Mt Stirling's multiple gold structures continue to have the potential to depth and resemble that of regional operating gold mines e.g St Barbara's ( ASX:SBM ) 4.8Moz Gwalia Mine and Saracen's ( ASX:SAR ) 3.8Moz Thunderbox Mine, given it remains open in all directions.Whilst we were frustrated at having to delay the resource update, in hindsight it is clear that we made the correct decision to delay, as the estimate will now include this set of excellent results. Had we opted to not delay the resource estimate update, these assays would not have been included.Results received continue to fill us with confidence that when our interim resource estimate is completed later this month, it will result in a significant update to our tonnage and gold ounces at Mt Stirling. The interim resource will provide the Company with strong fundamental backing as we continue our journey to develop Mt Stirling into a Gold Camp.In addition to attempting to prove up a larger footprint at Mt Stirling itself, we will soon be actively following up with other high priority targets in the region. For instance, there have been historical gold intercepts 1.2km NW and along strike from Mt Stirling. We are excited about a potential connection between Mt Stirling Well and Mt Stirling. We will be following up on the Blue Jacket prospect to the east, which has historical gold intercepts alongside some deep historical shafts, in addition to following up on the newly discovered eastern zone at Mt Stirling and the prolific Ursus fault (Figure 11*). We are also looking forward to follow up work on Diorite, particularly around the high grade historical mines and soil and rock chip anomalies.2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for our Company as we anticipate significant news flow over the coming weeks and months. We eagerly await the remaining results from Mt Stirling, some of which will feed into our resource upgrade, in addition to the results from 18 drillholes at Stirling Well, 19 exploratory drill holes at Diorite and the continued exploration of our Mt Stirling and Diorite projects.*To view tables and figures, please visit:About Torian Resources Limited

Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) is a gold exploration and development company with an extensive and strategic land holding comprising eight projects and over 400km2 of tenure in the Goldfields Region of Western Australia.

Torian's flagship project, Zuleika, is located along the world-class Zuleika Shear. The Zuleika Shear is the fourth largest gold producing region in Australia and consistently produces some of the country's highest grade and lowest cost gold mines. Torian's Zuleika project lies north and partly along strike of several major gold deposits including Northern Star's (ASX:NST) 7.0Moz East Kundana Joint Venture and Evolutions (ASX:EVN) 1.8Moz Frogs Legs and White Foil deposits.

Torian's other projects include the strategically located Mt Stirling and Malcolm Projects in the Leonora region (near Red 5's King of the Hills Project), where it recently completed updated Mineral Resource Estimates and preliminary scoping studies, and a suite of other projects in the Kalgoorlie region including Credo Well JV Zuleika JV, Bonnie Vale, Gibraltar and Mount Monger/Wombola.
New research by the University of Kent and the SWPS University has discovered that national narcissists are more likely to support greenwashing in order to improve their nation's public image.

New research by the University of Kent and the SWPS University has discovered that national narcissists are more likely to support greenwashing (misleading information about the environmental benefits of a product, a company or a policy) in order to improve their nation's public image.

Findings show that while national narcissists are not likely to support genuine pro-environmental campaigns, they are ready to support political greenwashing campaigns. In business greenwashing decreases consumers' trust and undermines both the image and the profits of the companies that use this strategy. In the realms of politics, it may garner support from those whose strong national attachment is rooted in feelings of underappreciation and belief in their nation's unrecognised greatness.

The study, published by the Journal of Environmental Psychology, highlights the importance of group-based underpinnings of anti-environmental attitudes. It shows that nation-based defensiveness is a significant barrier in introducing pro-environmental policies, as it is associated with the preoccupation of national image more than with taking actual pro-environmental action. National narcissism, characterised by a strong need to validate a grandiose ingroup image, is related to support for pretending to be green just to impress others. Thereby, those high in national narcissism support creating pro-environmental appearances (although only to the extent they believe it is a low-cost strategy).

The team of psychologists led by Dr Aleksandra Cislak (SWPS University) and Dr Aleksandra Cichocka (Kent) hypothesised that although national narcissists might not support pro-environmental actions, they would support promoting a pro-environmental image of their nation. In five studies, psychologists demonstrated that individuals high in national narcissism were less likely to support actual pro-environmental actions (Studies 2-5), but more likely to support greenwashing campaigns (Studies 1-3, 5), although not when greenwashing would involve financial costs incurred by the ingroup (Study 4). In Study 5, national narcissism predicted support for greenwashing as a political strategy. This was related to the preference for green image enhancement over green actions (controlling for pro-environmental attitudes and individual narcissism). Psychologists did not observe similar effects for national identification or right-wing political ideology.

Lead author, Dr Aleksandra Cislak from the Center for Research on Social Relations at SWPS University said: 'Greenwashing is appealing to those high in national narcissism, as it allows them to maintain external recognition while at the same time refrain from pro-environmental actions. In this, support for greenwashing, while rejecting genuinely green actions, is similar to anti-science attitudes such as vaccination hesitancy. For those high in national narcissism, it feels powerful to reject or undermine policies recommended by other groups, especially the elite.'

Dr Aleksandra Cichocka, a co-author of the research paper and a reader in political psychology at the University of Kent's School of Psychology, added: 'When it comes to green deeds that could actually help protect the environment, those with a narcissistic view of their nation may be reluctant to offer support, especially when those actions are costly or seen as being imposed by other countries.'

###

The research paper 'Words not Deeds: National narcissism, national identification, and support for greenwashing versus genuine pro-environmental campaigns' (Dr Aleksandra Cislak, Center for Research on Social Relations, SWPS University; Dr Aleksandra Cichocka, School of Psychology, University of Kent; Dr Adrian Wojcik, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun; Dr Taciano L. Milfont, University of Waikato) is published by the Journal of Environmental Psychology. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101576
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2021) The head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, has criticized the International Day of Human Space Flight release of the US State Department on Facebook, which makes no mention of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

On April 12, 1961, Gagarin pronounced his famous "Poyekhali!" (Let's Go!) as the Vostok spacecraft lifted off the ground, taking the first person ever to space. The anniversary of the first Soviet cosmonaut's flight is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day on April 12, and as International Day of Human Space Flight in the rest of the world.

The US State Department made no mention of Gagarin at all in its Facebook statement released on the occasion of International Day of Human Space Flight on Monday and posted pictures of US astronauts instead.

"Superpowers don't act this way," Rogozin said on Twitter, commenting on the State Department's releases.

The UN General Assembly declared April 12, the day of Gagarin's space flight, as the International Day of Human Space Flight in 2011.

US-based Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor told Sputnik on Monday that legendary Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space flight 60 years ago was life-changing for every nation on the planet. According to Zelibor, many people in the United States are unaware either of the achievements of the Russian space program or the risks of Gagarin's space flight, and that the Soviet cosmonaut's story should be told better in the US.
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11 total passengers tonight on SQ24 - the longest commercial flight in the world SIN-JFK. Were nearly 20% of the paying passengers and were outnumbered by crew 13:11. pic.twitter.com/HDF2ohr9OK  Steve Giordano???????????????? (@JTTsteve) April 12, 2021

On the other hand, people flying with Singapore Airlines these days probably think otherwise, especially if they have traveled from Singapore to New York lately.The worlds longest flight, during which the airplane stays up in the air for approximately 18 hours and over 9,500 miles, took off earlier this week with just 11 passengers on board.Photos published on Twitter show just how ghostly the cabin looked like in a plane that had just 11 passengers on 161 seats. The A350-900ULR that operates the flight between Singapore and JFK offers 67 business class seats and 94 premium economy seats. As you can easily figure out by simply checking the photos in the gallery here, these numbers sound ridiculous given the airplane had less than a dozen of passengers on board.Even more ironic is that flight SQ24 had more crew members than passengers, as the plane took off with nine cabin crew members and four pilots.So does it make any sense for the world's longest flight to continue operating nearly empty? Thats hard to say, but as others have explained , too, it all comes down to how much cargo is actually transported.Because at the end of the day, while few people might travel between the two locations, cargo still needs to be transported from Singapore to the United States and the other way around as efficiently as possible, and airplanes are obviously the fastest method.Not to mention that airplanes have found another purpose these days, as they can very well be used to transport vaccines. For now, nobody knows for sure if the 11-passenger flight was actually loaded with any important cargo.
Connecticut has reached a new milestone in its COVID-19 vaccine roll-out - more than half its residents 16 and older have received their first dose of a vaccine.

At the same time, the state expects to receive 100,000 fewer doses this week than last week, dropping from about 288,000 to 180,000.

That shortfall is really all related to Johnson & Johnson, Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday at his briefing on the pandemic.

The state was expecting the reduced supply, which is tied to an issue at J&Js manufacturing facility in Maryland that led to the disposal of 15 million doses of the vaccine.

The state expects to receive 21,000 doses of the J&J vaccine this week, but the governor said he doesnt have any clarity on what we can expect next week.

The state is also slated to receive 98,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 60,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine this week.

The majority of the states supply of the one-dose J&J vaccine will go toward the mobile vans its using to vaccinate hard to reach populations. Officials are also developing backup plans in case they have to switch to using the two dose Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for these groups.

Officials were hoping to use the J&J supply to vaccinate college students before they return home for the semester but is now working with other states and the federal government on a plan to administer at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines to them before they leave and then have them get second shots in their home state.

Lamont began his briefing Monday by addressing another public health crisis facing the state  two needless gun-related fatalities in Hartford that occurred over the weekend.

COVID isnt the only thing stealing lives, so is gun violence, Lamont said, referring to the deaths of 3-year-old Randell Tarez Jones and 16-year-old JaMari Preston.

Marichal Monts, pastor at the Citadel of Love in Hartford, joined Lamont virtually. The senseless and unnecessary killings took the lives of two beautiful children with dreams in front of them, he said.

Is this the Hartford we want? Is this the Connecticut we want? said Monts, who also serves as chaplain to the Hartford Police Department.

Turning to the pandemic, Monts said he was heartened by the success of a 24-hour vaccine clinic in Hartford over the weekend put on by Trinity Health of New England. An estimated 4,000 doses were administered at the so-called vax-a-thon, which targeted communities of color.

But the states vaccine providers tasked with reaching equity targets the state state again missed the mark this past week.

One reason for that: the state received a record supply of the vaccine last week and the providers tasked with reaching those living in zip codes identified to maximize racial equity were maxed out, so the state provided more supply to local health districts, particularly those in suburban communities, said Josh Geballe the states chief operating officer.

As supply gets closer to outpacing demand, which is expected to happen at the end of this month, the number of walk-up appointments is expected to significantly increase, Geballe said, and the state would continue to find opportunities to bring vaccine straight to communities that need it.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
The Health Silk Road features prominently at this year's Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference. The Shanghai Institutes for International Studies and Grisons Peak Services, a consultancy firm based in London, recently published a report on this program, which is part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. In an interview with Beijing Review reporter Wen Qing, Henry Tillman, founder and Chairman of Grisons Peak Services, shared some of the key findings. This is an edited excerpt of the interview:

Beijing Review: Why is the Health Silk Road important to global public health governance?

Henry Tillman: Upon gaining control of COVID-19 on a domestic basis, over a seven-month period running from early March until late October 2020, China provided medical assistance to some 150 countries. This is an extraordinary feat.

In addition, the nation also provided other aid to numerous countries adversely affected by the virus, coming both directly from the Chinese Government and its policy banks as well as via multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and its vaccine pillar COVAX. Throughout 2020, Chinese biotech companies subsequently developed, tested and began distributing vaccines by the year's end.

These global partnerships extended beyond the circa 140 countries which had previously signed Belt and Road cooperation documents, reaching out to all of humanity.

Being the first country to control the virus, China then rapidly changed course to provide time-sensitive medical aid focusing on countries which had signed Belt and Road cooperation deals as well as some other countries in the EU and Asia, demonstrating global leadership. China has also donated $50 million to WHO in support of its anti-pandemic programs and joined the COVAX.

The combination of this global coalition together with what we see as the development of a hub-and-spoke model along the Belt and Road routes can provide up-to-date medical data as well as a base for identifying possible future epidemics.

Beijing Review: How do you interpret the growth of mutual investment between China and foreign countries in the health and pharmaceutical fields?

Henry Tillman: From our study on outbound healthcare investments, partnerships, joint ventures (JVs) and licensing agreements gathered pace throughout the third quarter of 2020. This trend continued in the following quarter. Our numbers are in line with Gordon Orr, a global consultant, who mentioned in March that over 250 partnerships were launched just in 2020 between Chinese and non-Chinese pharmaceutical companies. Many of these were forged to license China-developed innovative drugs for global salea reflection of the advancements in China's pharmaceutical and biotech research and development.

Beijing Review: Financing of China's capital market in the country's health and pharmaceutical enterprises has increased. How do you think this will contribute to global health?

Henry Tillman: According to Pitchbook Data Inc., venture capital (VC) investment in the biotech and pharmaceutical fields totaled $28.5 billion across 1,073 deals, up by 60.5 percent year on year, driven in part by the importance of vaccine development. VC-backed biotech companies raised $11.5 billion across 73 public listings in 2020. This helped lead to a global No.2 ranking for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ($51.2-billion IPO proceeds), No.3 for the Shanghai Stock Exchange ($51-billion IPO proceeds) and No.5 for the Shenzhen Stock Exchange ($18.8-billion IPO proceeds).

This new capital raised via capital markets as well as from VC investors can be expected to fuel the growth of existing vaccine groups as well as new groups being formed and new vaccines being tested.

Beijing Review: How can Belt and Road Initiative participating countries work together to address deficiencies in their health sectors?

Henry Tillman: The official launch of the Health Silk Road program in 2015 is a token of China's commitment to global healthcare. The term Health Silk Road was first officially used in a document by Chinese health authorities. President Xi Jinping mentioned this when he visited the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2017.

It is not possible to predict any future responses from various governments, but China's development of a number of healthcare hubs in other Belt and Road Initiative participants is a solid starting point for further collaboration.
Troy Carter has continued to enjoy a substantial financial advantage over the past month compared to Karen Carter Peterson, his rival for the open U.S. House seat that one of the two will fill after the April 24 runoff.

As of April 4, Carter had raised more money than Peterson and had more cash on hand.

Both of them are Democratic state senators from New Orleans running in a district that includes most of New Orleans and the west bank of Jefferson Parish and extends up the Mississippi River to North Baton Rouge.

Carter raised $610,000 from March 1 to April 4, according to the latest FEC filing, compared to $362,000 for Peterson.

He had $223,000 on hand as of April 4 compared to $138,000 for Peterson.

In all, Carter had raised $1.5 million during the campaign to replace Cedric Richmond, while Peterson overall had collected $1.1 million.

Carter has had the advantage of Richmonds endorsement, as well as the support of East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, all eight of the Black state senators not running for the congressional seat and U.S. House Rep. James Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat and a close political ally of Richmond.

Peterson is running to make history as the first Black female to represent Louisiana in Congress. She has endorsements from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell; Gary Chambers Jr., the Baton Rouge social justice activist and advocate who finished third in the March 20 primary; Stacey Abrams in Georgia; EMILYs List and several national progressive PACs. Peterson built those national relationships when she chaired the Louisiana Democratic Party and served as vice chair of engagement for the Democratic National Committee.

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Carter led the March 20 primary with 36% to Peterson's 23%. Early voting for the runoff is underway.

That Carter has raised more money than Peterson doesnt mean that his side will have more money to spend than her side will.

EMILYs List, which helps female pro-abortion rights candidates, spent heavily for Peterson in the primary. One mailer called misleading by UNO Professor Ed Chervenak attacked Carter for a 1995 trip to Los Angeles intended to promote New Orleans as a site to film Hollywood productions. He served on the City Council at the time.

EMILYs List spent another $150,000 for Peterson on Friday and is putting at least another $200,000 into the race, according to AdImpact.

Peterson and Carter are both pro-abortion rights. Ironically, Peterson missed more than half the votes on abortion in 2016, 2017 and 2018 -- she was one of seven Democrats who did -- according to a scorecard for Louisiana Right to Life, the state's most important anti-abortion group.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus has spent $215,000 for Peterson in recent days. Chervenak also called their TV ad misleading because it said Peterson was responsible for Medicaid expansion in Louisiana, when the expansion was actually carried out by Gov. John Bel Edwards through an executive order.

The American Jobs and Growth PAC, which has helped Republican candidates in the past, has spent $32,000 since the primary attacking Peterson.

Progress for the People, a PAC created recently to defeat Peterson, has filed a report with the FEC that shows a small amount of spending even though a spokesperson had said they would be spending six figures for a negative TV ad.
Durham, NC - When leukemia strikes an older person, it is in part due to the aging of his or her hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). These immature cells can develop into all types of blood cells, including white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. As such, researchers have focused on rejuvenating HSCs as a way to treat leukemia.

A new study released today in STEM CELLS adds much to that level of knowledge by showing that the youthful function of rejuvenated HSCs upon transplantation depends in part on a young bone marrow "niche," which is the microenvironment surrounding stem cells that interacts with them to regulate their fate.

"The information revealed by our study tells us that the influence of this niche needs to be considered in approaches to rejuvenate old HSCs for treating aging-associated leukemia or immune remodeling," said Hartmut Geiger, Ph.D. He was senior author of the study, conducted by researchers at Ulm University (Germany) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Old HSCs exhibit a reduced reconstitution potential and other negative aspects such as altered gene expression profiles and an increase in apolar distribution of proteins. (Polarity is believed to be particularly important to fate decisions on stem cell division and for maintaining an HSC's interaction with its niche. Consequently, a failure to establish or regulate stem cell polarity might result in disease or tissue deterioration.) Aging of HSCs might even affect lifespan.

Researchers already knew that increased activity of a protein called Cdc42, which controls cell division, leads to HSC aging, and that when old HSCs are treated ex vivo with CASIN, an inhibitor of Cdc42 activity, they stay rejuvenated upon transplantation into young recipients. The aim of this latest study was to learn what happens to these rejuvenated HSCs when they are transplanted into an aged niche.

To find out, Dr. Geiger and his team transplanted rejuvenated aged HSCs into three groups of mice: young (8 to 10 weeks old), old (19 to 24 months old) and young cytokine osteopontin (OPN) knockout mice (8 to 12 weeks old). The team had recently demonstrated that a decrease in the level of secreted OPN in the aged bone marrow niche confers hallmarks of aging on young HSCs, and also that secreted OPN regulates HSC polarity. Old HSC and rejuvenated old HSCs were therefore transplanted into the OPN knockout recipients to test whether a lack of this protein in the niche affects the function of old rejuvenated HSCs.

The results were then analyzed for up to 23 weeks after transplantation.

"They showed us that an aged niche restrains the function of ex vivo rejuvenated HSCs, which is at least in part linked to a low level of OPN found in aged niches," Dr. Geiger reported. "This tells us that in order to sustain the function of rejuvenated aged HSCs, we will likely need to address the influence of an aged niche on rejuvenated HSCs."

Dr. Jan Nolta, Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS, said, "this study is an elegant demonstration of the molecular mechanisms by which the marrow microenvironment controls cellular aging of hematopoietic stem cells. This new information will be extremely useful in the fields of transplantation and treatment of leukemia and other disorders of the blood-forming system."

###

The full article, "An aged bone marrow niche restrains rejuvenated hematopoietic stem cells," can be accessed at https:/ / stemcellsjournals. onlinelibrary. wiley. com/ doi/ abs/ 10. 1002/ stem. 3372 .

About the Journal: STEM CELLS, a peer reviewed journal published monthly, provides a forum for prompt publication of original investigative papers and concise reviews. The journal covers all aspects of stem cells: embryonic stem cells/induced pluripotent stem cells; tissue-specific stem cells; cancer stem cells; the stem cell niche; stem cell epigenetics, genomics and proteomics; and translational and clinical research. STEM CELLS is co-published by AlphaMed Press and Wiley.

About AlphaMed Press: Established in 1983, AlphaMed Press with offices in Durham, NC, San Francisco, CA, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, publishes two other internationally renowned peer-reviewed journals: STEM CELLS, celebrating its 39th year, is the world's first journal devoted to this fast paced field of research. The Oncologist, also a monthly peer-reviewed publication, entering its 26th year, is devoted to community and hospital-based oncologists and physicians entrusted with cancer patient care. All three journals are premier periodicals with globally recognized editorial boards dedicated to advancing knowledge and education in their focused disciplines.
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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday, assured that hazard allowance for medical doctors would be included in the 2021 budget.

He also said the leadership of the House would invite the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, for a meeting next Tuesday.

Mr Gbajabiamila stated this during a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) in Abuja.

He said the House was committed to addressing the issue of hazard allowance as well as other issues affecting the doctors.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how NARD suspended its 10-day-old strike to allow the federal government implement the agreements in the Memorandum of Action.

ALSO READ: Senate wants resident doctors to call off strike

Parts of the demands of the doctors include: migration of members on GIFMIS to IPPIS and for those still being owed 2020 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) to be paid from the supplementary budget.

According to a statement by his media aide, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker said the implementation of the agreements will be the talking point between the lawmakers and the minister.

We will monitor issues being processedthe IPPIS, training fund, hazard allowances which the House championed at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. All the issues will be addressed, the statement quoted Mr Gbajabiamila as saying.

We are looking to come to a reasonable and acceptable hazard allowance as well as the training fund, which when the supplementary budget is introduced, we hope and expect to justify why this should be accommodated. We will do everything we need to do to see how we can capture that.

We are inviting finance minister next week so that we can talk and see how, as best as we can, accommodate all these issues and cement the Memorandum of Action.

President of NARD, Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, commended the Speaker for visiting the secretariat of the association.
Arnott's has teased shoppers with two never-before-seen Tim Tam flavours - but only one variety will join the classic range on supermarket shelves.

The iconic biscuit brand is giving Australians a choice between Dark Choc Banoffee and Caramelised Pineapple, with the winning flavour launching in Coles from July 19.

Both contending flavours are new tropical varieties - and will sure attract voters from both ends of the indulgent chocolate spectrum.

The banoffee variety features two crunchy biscuits sandwiched together with a creamy banana flavoured cream and gooey caramel centre, covered in indulgent dark chocolate.

While the second contender consists of two crunchy chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with a caramelised pineapple flavoured cream and gooey caramel centre, covered in milk chocolate.

The banoffee variety features two crunchy biscuits sandwiched together with a creamy banana flavoured cream and gooey caramel centre, covered in indulgent dark chocolate

The second contender consists of two crunchy chocolate biscuits sandwiched together with a caramelised pineapple flavoured cream and gooey caramel centre, covered in milk chocolate

Poll Which is your favourite Tim Tim flavour? Dark Choc Banoffee Caramelised Pineapple Which is your favourite Tim Tim flavour? Dark Choc Banoffee 163 votes

Caramelised Pineapple 125 votes Now share your opinion





'There's no denying Tim Tam is Australia's most loved chocolate biscuit and we have always been passionate about new varieties and flavours,' Matt Grant, Arnott's marketing manager, said.

'We can't wait to see how many get involved this year and what Australia decides! Democracy at its finest.'

Last year, nearly 640,000 Australians participated in the new flavour vote - that's more than the amount of 101,826 votes tallied in the 2020 ACT general election.

Double Choc Caramel took out the winning crown in 2020 to become available for purchase in stores - and this year will be no different.

To pick a winner, Australians can cast their vote by visiting the Tim Tam Instagram from now until Sunday, April 18.

The new and winning Tim Tam flavour will be announced the day after voting closes.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams gubernatorial campaign has paid at least $62,500 as part of a settlement with a former staff member who had accused her of sexual mistreatment during a staff meeting, according to documents filed Monday.

The payments went to a law firm representing James Hallinan, a spokesman for Lujan Grisham during her 2018 general election campaign.

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The five monthly payments of $12,500 are outlined in a campaign finance report filed late Monday by Lujan Grishams campaign with the Secretary of States Office. They are listed as legal expenses, with one payment a month from November through March.

It wasnt clear how many payments might also be made in future months as part of the settlement agreement.

In a written statement Monday, campaign spokesman Jared Leopold said the payments are part of a settlement resolving numerous dubious and disputed potential claims made by Mr. Hallinan arising from his employment in 2018 with the campaign organization and his subsequent search for employment.

Hallinan, who now runs his own communications company, accused Lujan Grisham in late 2019  about a year after he left the campaign  of pouring a bottle of water on his crotch and then grabbing his crotch through his clothes as she laughed, an incident he said took place in front of other campaign staffers.

Hallinan said he was talked out of reporting the incident by Lujan Grisham campaign manager Dominic Gabello, who is now a senior adviser in the Governors Office.

Leopold said Monday that the settlement was reached to avoid the distraction and cost of litigation.

Lujan Grisham, Gabello and the campaign organization itself strenuously deny that there is any merit or truth to Mr. Hallinans claims, including his claims about difficulty finding or keeping work after the campaign, Leopold said. They reached a settlement in order to avoid the continuing distraction and significant expense of possible litigation and allow them to concentrate on working for the people of New Mexico during this pandemic.

Settlement payments were made to the Buckley Beal law firm in Atlanta, where Rachel Berlin Benjamin, an attorney for Hallinan, is senior partner.

She said Monday that the governor and Hallinan have resolved any differences or issues to their satisfaction.

I am not able to provide any further information, she said.

Hallinan has worked for years in New Mexico politics  both on campaigns and for public agencies. Before joining the Lujan Grisham campaign, he worked for Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas.

Hallinan made his allegations public on Christmas morning 2019 with a tweet: A governor  is not above the law for her sexual and physical abuse of employees including (me!!!) Ill talk more when I return to the country.

The next day, a Lujan Grisham spokeswoman called the allegations bizarre, slanderous and false and said the other staffers present during the meeting referenced by Hallinan say the alleged wrongdoing didnt happen.

Monday was one of just two campaign reporting deadlines for 2021, an off year for statewide elections.

Among the other filings were:

 Balderas, now in his second term as attorney general, reported $676,000 cash on hand, after raising $22,500 in donations during the period.

 Sen. Crystal Diamond, R-Elephant Butte, reported about $33,400 in her account after spending about $7,000 in the reporting period. She won one of the most expensive and fiercely contested legislative races of 2020 to flip control of a southern New Mexico district.
We share this good news for one of the families that rules Kansas City if only to make the broke-ass plebs feel better about their horrible lives and the odds that always stacked against them.



Yet again, our prediction of victory for the super rich was proven correct as the media celebrates the glory of the 1% and dutifully forgets about all of the poorer broads who were forced to compete against the heiress who doesn't REALLY live in Kansas but, rather, resides in a multi-billionaire bubble.

Check-it . . .



LBS: Gracie Hunt, daughter of Chiefs owner, wins Miss Kansas USA

TMZ: K.C. Chiefs Heiress Gracie Hunt Wins Miss Kansas USA, 'Hope to Make Everyone Proud'

Again, there's an upside here and if she "wins" Miss USA . . . That's a very good sign that the Hunt fam is still in the mood to spend big bucks and might actually pay for a decent O-line.



Developing . . .




Space News space history and artifacts articles Messages space history discussion forums Sightings worldwide astronaut appearances Resources selected space history documents





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LEGO launching NASA/ESA Ulysses solar probe as VIP reward set



April 13, 2021  LEGO has a new mission for its recently-released space shuttle Discovery and you can get it for free  if you are a VIP.



The toy company is set to launch a brick-built model of NASA and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Ulysses solar probe on Wednesday (April 14), available to members of its customer loyalty program.



"Redeem 1,800 VIP points now for this NASA-inspired space collectible," LEGO teased on its VIP website on Tuesday.



The Ulysses set will be rolled out by region via LEGO.com: 9 a.m. EDT in North America; 9 a.m. AEST in Australia and New Zealand; and in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 9 a.m. CST and 10 a.m. CET, according to LEGO on Twitter.



Based on a published photo of the assembled kit, the LEGO Ulysses will include the solar probe, as well as the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and Payload Assist Module-S (PAM-S) that were attached to the sun-bound spacecraft when it was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery and were used to boost it out of Earth orbit toward Jupiter for a gravity-assist to circle the sun.



Originally scheduled for release with the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set that went on sale on April 1, LEGO delayed the Ulysses probe reward due to an unstated issue. If designed to the same scale as the 1:70th orbiter, the Ulysses should be able to fit into Discovery's payload bay, offering a second "mission" for the orbiter after the Hubble Space Telescope included with the Discovery set.



The real Ulysses probe, which studied the sun for 15 years from 1994 to 2009, was also late to launch. Originally targeted for 1983, a number of delays, including the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, resulted in the spacecraft not leaving Earth until Oct. 6, 1990.



Lifting off with the STS-41 crew on board Discovery, the Ulysses probe was deployed from the shuttle's payload bay six hours into the four-day mission. The boost provided by the IUS and PAM-S accelerated Ulysses to about 10 miles per second (15.4 kilometers per second), making it the fastest human-made object launched from Earth until the Pluto-bound New Horizons probe in January 2006.



The first mission to survey the space environment above and below the poles of the sun, the Ulysses probe was a joint project by NASA and ESA. Over the course of its observations, the probe collected data showing that the solar wind weakens over time, that the sun's magnetic field reverses direction every 11 years and that the solar magnetic field at the poles was weaker than previously known.



During its extended mission, Ulysses also encountered three comets and passed through their tails.



Contact with the Ulysses probe was lost on June 30, 2009, after the spacecraft had operated for more than four times its design life. The total mission elapsed time  18 years, 8 months, 23 days, 12 hours, 12 minutes and 44 seconds  is noted on a small display plaque included with the LEGO Ulysses set in the same style as those for the Hubble and shuttle that come with the Discovery set.



LEGO VIP members can redeem 1,800 points for a model of the Ulysses solar probe, a NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft launched aboard the space shuttle Discovery. (LEGO)





The Ulysses solar probe is seen after being deployed by the space shuttle Discovery, beginning its 18-year mission to the sun. (NASA)





The Ulysses probe, attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) and Payload Assist Module-S (PAM-S), is seen in the space shuttle Discovery's payload bay prior to the launch of the STS-41 mission in October 1990. (NASA)



 2021 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.
LONDON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The holy month of Ramadan, set to begin on April 13, 2021, is considered a time of spiritual reflection, fasting and prayer. It is a time when Muslims across the globe abstain from eating or drinking between dawn and sundown during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Though Muslims are a religious minority in the Commonwealth of Dominica, they are active members of society as the country's constitution provides freedom of religion, including freedom of thought, freedom to practice one's faith, and freedom from oaths contrary to one's beliefs.

Muslims first arrived in the Caribbean nation from West Africa during colonial rule. Additional waves of Muslims who migrated to Dominica were labourers from Asia. The community strengthened later as more international students came to the islands to study at the island's leading universities like the Roseau-based University of the West Indies and All Saints University School of Medicine.

As Ramadan observances begin, Dominica's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Head, Ambassador Emmanuel Nanthan, offered his greetings to the community. "To all our brothers and sisters who always welcome us openly, Ramadan Mubarak from Dominica." The country's CBI Programme has enabled many Muslim foreigners who have obtained Dominican citizenship to escape religious persecution, visit local mosques, and enjoy the freedom of belief, a sentiment regarded highly by Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and all Dominican citizens.

The island is also committed to keeping close ties with Middle Eastern countries. In January last year, Dominica officially opened its first embassy in the Middle East, located in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

According to the Financial Times' CBI Index, Dominica's CBI Programme is rated the best in the world for the last four years. It offers single and family applicants second citizenship in the country in exchange for an investment in Dominica's Economic Diversification Fund or in a CBI-approved real estate project in the country.

The Programme is highly regarded for its efficient application process and its affordability, with investment beginning at USD 100,000 in the Economic Diversification Fund or a minimum of USD 200,000 in real estate. Benefits of citizenship include visa-free and visa-on-arrival travel to 75 percent of the world, including major business hubs. No physical residency or interview is required for the application process, and citizenship can be obtained in approximately three months.

Contact:

[email protected]

www.csglobalpartners.com

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Family history of early cardiac events in first degree relatives such as a parent or sibling is a major risk factor, especially for premature events. Currently, data on risks in close relatives of patients with a family history of premature heart attacks, chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease are sparse.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine in collaboration with an international team of leading scientists in Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland, assembled a consecutive series of 230 patients with premature onset of heart attacks, strokes, angina or peripheral artery disease and a comparison group of apparently healthy men and women during a 24-month period. The comparison group had no family or personal history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and had normal electrocardiograms (ECGs), cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressures and glucose. Researchers defined a premature event as occurring in men 60 years or younger and in women 65 years or younger.

Our data indicate that early cardiac events pose major and different risks in close relatives. Further, since families share more than genes, not surprisingly, these data are compatible with a role for both genetic and environmental factors." Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH. Senior Author, the First Sir Richard Doll Professor and Senior Academic Advisor in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine

The data, published in the International Journal of Cardiology, also suggest that first degree relatives of patients with premature heart attacks compared with those presenting with a first episode of chronic stable angina or peripheral vascular disease have a shorter survival time. Patients with heart attacks and chronic stable angina reported significantly higher frequencies of attacks in their first degree relatives than patients with peripheral vascular disease. In contrast, patients with chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease reported significantly higher frequencies of chronic stable angina and peripheral vascular disease, respectively, in their first degree relatives compared to patients with heart attacks.

"Family history of early onset events is a major and independent risk factor. Thus, patients with a positive parental or sibling history of premature cardiac events require even more aggressive therapeutic lifestyle changes as well as adjunctive drug therapies of proven benefit," said Hennekens. "In the United States, Europe and worldwide, most guidelines recommend risk scores for initial clinical assessments, which do not include family history of early events."

Hennekens formerly served as the first John Snow and the first Braunwald professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. His groundbreaking scientific findings have significantly improved the ability to treat as well as prevent CVD, and for more than a decade, he was ranked as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world by Science Watch.

Hennekens has collaborated for several decades with Felicita Andreotti, M.D., Ph.D., first author and a professor at Catholic University Cardiovascular Medicine in Rome; and brought the data when she served as visiting professor at FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine. Their collaborations have included the major role of therapeutic lifestyle changes, especially overweight and obesity and physical inactivity as well as statins, PCSK9 inhibitors, aspirin, converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers.

In this study, Hennekens and Andreotti collaborated with Janet Robishaw, Ph.D., co-author and senior associate dean for research and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in FAU's Schmidt College of Medicine. Andreotti had conducted the study at the Hammersmith Hospital and London Chest Hospital in the United Kingdom.

"Recent advances in human genome sequencing as well as basic and population genetics may help identify specific genotypes that predispose to atherosclerosis, thrombosis, or both," said Robishaw, a world renowned functional and translational genomics researcher with 30 years of sustained federal funding from the National Institutes of Health who trained under Nobel Laureate Alfred G. Gilman, Ph.D. "Further studies also are needed to identify and quantify the functional role of candidate and marker genes for cardiovascular phenotypes and risk factors, as well as to better understand plausible independent contributions as well as interactions between nature and nurture concerning family history as a major and independent risk factor in cardiovascular disease, especially of premature onset."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for many decades, heart disease has been the leading killer among American men and women, causing approximately 600,000 deaths each year of which about 25 percent present with sudden cardiac death.
Head of children's hiking group caught in avalanche freed from detention

 flickr.com/ travelwayoflife

15:20 13/04/2021

ST. PETERSBURG, April 13 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  The Murmansk Regional Court released Sergey Smirnov, the leader of a children's tourist group trapped under an avalanche in the Khibiny Mountains, what resulted in the death of a 13-year girl, from detention, RAPSI was told in the courts press service.

The court imposed a restraining order on him. He is ordered to live in Murmansk, banned from leaving the place of residence until May 22 and communicating with witnesses in the case.

Sergey Smirnov was charged with providing services not meeting safety requirements, what resulted in the death of a child. Investigators allege that Smirnov, an instructor of the St. Petersburg tourist club Skif, led a group of children aged 12 to 15 on the avalanche-risk slope on March 22.

As follows from the materials of the case, the head of the group failed to take into account the hazards presented by the hard-to-reach terrain of the region, its difficult relief, and the state and volume of snow cover before going on a multi-day ski trip with minors.

On the third day of the hike the children found themselves dangerously close to an overhanging snow mass on a hill, which collapsed when the group passed in its immediate vicinity. According to the press service of the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Murmansk region, Smirnov committed numerous violations during his passage.

The reasons making investigators to insist on the arrest of the man are to be voiced next Monday according to the press service of the Investigative Committee.

The St. Petersburg main directorate of the federal Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against managers of the Skif club over alleged negligence on their part.
2020 Internet Telephony Product of the Year Our Canadian customer base leverages top tier technology innovator partners like Gigamon and RedShift Networks UCTM solution to prevent robocall propagation, said Steve Watt, President at Layer 8 Solutions.

RedShift Networks today announced the addition of an important new addressable market in Canada through a partnership with Layer 8 Solutions, a Canadian Value-Added-Reseller. Layer 8 Solutions expertise focuses on network visibility, network & application performance and cyber security. The new Canadian partnership delivers security for Voice over IP (VoIP) services offered and consumed by both Enterprise and Communications Service Providers (CSPs). During 2020, Statista notes that Canadian businesses spent more than $50 billion on telecommunication services.

To address the increasing problem of costly VoIP security breaches resulting in credential theft, robocalls and degraded end-user experience, Layer 8 Solutions is partnering with RedShift Networks to remediate these costly, malicious attacks. With most North American staff continuing to work from home (WFH), VoIP security is a top priority for Large Enterprises and CSPs alike. Redshift Networks developed the Unified Communications Threat Management (UCTM) platform to address the WFH security gap.

Combining RedShift Networks innovative UCTM platform with Layer 8 Solutions expertise in Network Visibility, threats to VoIP and other SIP based services including Unified Communications, Collaboration, VoWIFI and 4G/5G VoLTE can be easily and rapidly identified and mitigated. This approach reduces costly security concerns for both Enterprise and CSPs from damaging robocall attacks, bot-nets, malicious end-points and T-DOS attacks.

Our Canadian customer base leverages top tier technology innovator partners like Gigamon and RedShift Networks UCTM solution to prevent robocall propagation, said Steve Watt, President at Layer 8 Solutions.

Layer 8 Solutions also recently launched a VoIP HealthCheck campaign giving customers a rapidly deployed UCTM platform to monitor their environment with detailed reporting capabilities for threats that may otherwise go undetected. The partnership of Redshift Networks and Layer 8 Solutions gives Canadian Enterprise and CSP customers a more secure VoIP network and an enhanced customer experience.

Layer 8s unique approach to Zero Trust architectures including UCTM covers the risk issues of mobile apps and devices. They already have customers benefiting from predictive real-time application security to shine a spotlight on potential VoIP security issues, said RedShift Networks Co-Founder and CEO, Amitava Mukherjee.

About Layer 8 Solutions

Layer 8 Solutions helps organizations solve complex IT challenges related to their network, and security. Our team offers more than 75 years relevant and Canadian regional solutions, rather than just products. In combination, our expertise and partner community relationships, will fill the gap within Vulnerability Management, Data Loss Prevention, Zero Trust, NDR, Testing, Tap and Aggregation and much more. We can help you combine network and security operations to optimize your security posture.

Layer 8 Solutions is helping clients embrace digital innovation by driving actionable insights gained from their information-in-motion across physical, virtual and cloud infrastructure. We can provide and implement solutions that leverage artificial intelligence and accelerate their ability to become data driven within their business decisions. http://www.layer8solutions.ca

Contact Brent Inwood, binwood@layer8solutions.ca for more details.

About RedShift Networks

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, RedShift Networks is the global leader in providing Cyber Security solutions for Enterprises, Global Carrier, and Cloud Communications Operators to secure and protect their VoIP/SIP based networks. Our Unified Communications Threat Management (UCTM) software and appliance-based systems offer proactive robocall fraud prevention by delivering VoIP/SIP Security, Threat Intelligence Analytics, and Fraud detection technology. Our highly scalable, reliable, and patented UCTM software allows for unprecedented real-time visibility into operators VoIP networks allowing our customers to immediately detect and automatically mitigate security attacks and fraudulent events. For more information, please visit http://www.redshiftnetworks.com.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The mass vaccination site at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland, where officials had planned to administer Johnson & Johnson shots in the last two weeks of the clinic, may have to continue to offer a two-dose shot, Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

Furthermore, it may stay open beyond its scheduled eight weeks.

Nothing is off the table at all, and well see, based upon what what the demand is, after seeing what happens in regard to Johnson & Johnson, DeWine said.

This week at the Wolstein Center, where around 6,000 people are getting shots each day, patients are completing their second Pfizer dose. The second doses were to continue until the seventh week, starting April 27, when health workers were supposed to shift to the single-dose J&J shot.

But that depends on whether the federal government allows the J & J coronavirus shots to resume. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is helping run and pay for the Cleveland mass vaccination clinic, said Tuesday morning it will suspend the use of the J&J shot at its sites. That was after six women across the U.S. who received the vaccine reported severe blood clots, out of a total of 6.8 million doses given. The pause is expected to be temporary, DeWine said.

In other parts of the state, where J&J shots were expected to be administered, the Ohio Department of Health helped providers make alternate plans.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine and extremely rare blood clots: What you need to know

Sixty-three public and private Ohio colleges and universities have received J&J shots. They were working to vaccinate students before the end of the semester, around May 1, when many would not be around to receive a second shot if they would have received Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

DeWine said many mass vaccination sites across the state were using Johnson & Johnson as well.

The following sites are proceeding with Pfizer shots:

-Dayton Convention Center

-Zanesville Genesis Healthcare System

-Akron at Summit County Fairgrounds

-Columbus Public Health, Celeste Center at the Ohio Expo Center and State Fairgrounds

-University of Cincinnati student clinic

-Ohio University student clinic

-University of Toledo student clinic

-Wright State University student clinic

The following sites are proceeding with Moderna shots:

-Lima/Allen County Public Health

-Maumee at Lucas County Rec Center

-Marietta at Memorial Health System

-Ohio Northern University Mobil Clinic

-Chillicothe at Adena PACCAR

-Steubenville at Jefferson County General Health District (no Saturday clinic)

-Mansfield at Richland County Fairgrounds

-Fostoria/Seneca County Mobile Clinic

The following sites will pause offering any type of vaccine this week:

-Ohio University Mobile Clinic

-Youngstown/Mahoning County Public Health at Dillards in Southern Park Mall

-Kroger at Cincinnati Cintas Center

-Kroger at Wilmington Air Park

-Bowling Green State University student clinic

-Miami University student clinic

-Cleveland State University student-only vaccination center at the Recreation Center Mac Gymnasium

-Youngstown State University student clinic

Both Kent State University and the University of Akron also said they are are pausing their on-campus clinics.

In all, 264,311 Johnson & Johnson shots have been administered in Ohio, DeWine said.

The CDC and the FDA say the pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be short, DeWine said, based on a call he was on earlier Tuesday with federal officials. They described it on the White House call this morning as days to weeks, rather than weeks to months.
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But no amount of rockabilly bluster could have prepared them for the realities of being a gigging rock band. With Stuart Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums, the Fresh-faced Five were shipped off to Hamburg's Indra Club, "the naughtiest place on earth," in the summer of 1960. Surrounded by strip clubs, brothels, and adult cinemas, The Beatles played to crowds mostly consisting of drunk American soldiers or rowdy German johns unimpressed by any stage performance that didn't involve launching a ping pong ball out of an orifice and into their beer stein.

Lipinski, Wikimedia Commons The bars weren't there to keep people out. They were there to keep the bands in.

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Whatever little downtime they had, they spent washing their beer-soaked clothes in women's toilets or sleeping on cots in the concrete basement of a nearby kino. But it was in their trial by fire that they'd acquire the three things that would launch The Beatles to greatness: their style, their sound, and their crippling addiction to narcotics.

Badgreeb Records, Flickr You're not a rock musician until you've done a song in a studio and a line in a womens' bathroom.

To get some kind of reaction out of the crowds other than a barrage of empty beer bottles, the Beatles quickly learned how to "mach shau" (put on a show) as the impatient Germans would shout. Tightening their set and perfecting their swagger, The Beatles started becoming known as the best thing to happen to Hamburg's red-light district since vulcanized rubber condoms. Younger, hipper crowds started venturing into the seedy district just to see these Liverpool lads rock out with their glockenspiel out. This led to them meeting the two people who turned The Beatles into The Beatles: German intellectual Astrid Kirchherr, who gave them the iconic mop-top haircut that every other German hipster sported, and Ringo Star, then the drummer for Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, whom McCartney, Lennon, and Harrison thought was the coolest guy in the world. (Don't laugh).
New Delhi: The security agencies have managed to track top Naxal commander Mandvi Hidma, who is said to be the mastermind behind the brutal killing of 22 CRPF commandos in Chhattisgarh, to the dense jungles of Andhra Pradesh, where he is believed to have crossed over after the April 3 attack. Massive aerial surveillance has been mounted using helicopters and drones to keep a watch on the entire region with thick jungles close to the Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana borders.

Union home minister Amit Shah has given a clear directive to the forces that strict action should be taken against those responsible for the killing of the 22 commandos in Chhattisgarhs Bastar region on Saturday. After this, the security forces launched a massive hunt for Hidma, who is the key Naxal commander who planned this entire operation.

A massive aerial surveillance was launched in the Bastar region too with helicopters and drones. The information gathered through this aerial surveillance was shared with the security forces on the ground. Sources claimed they have concrete information that immediately after the CRPF attack, Hidma left the Bastar region and moved to the dense forest areas close to the Chhattisgar-Andhra-Telangana borders.

The problem that the security forces are now facing is that due to thick growth in the forest neither drones nor helicopters can be used for hot pursuit of Hidma and some of this close associates.

We have a fairly good idea of where Hidma could be hiding. But we are waiting for some more concrete information to confirm this through our human intelligence network. This is to ensure our security personnel dont fall into a false information trap. Once more concrete information and intelligence is received from our ground sources, an unprecedented operation will be launched with the active coordination of three state police forces -- from Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, a top CRPF official told this newspaper from Raipur.


Forty years after China became a part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the country has made so much efforts to ensure 85 percent of key safeguarded wildlife are under good protection, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration (SFGA) said Thursday, promising to eliminate outmoded habits of feeding on wild animals as well as prohibit their illegal trade.

Unlawful Trading of Wild Animals

On Thursday, the administration hosted a ceremony to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the entry of China into CITES. Ninety percent of land and floral ecosystems, and also 85 percent of key safeguarded animals are under effective protection, a document issued by SFGA said, taking note that the amount of endangered spices, like crested ibis and the giant panda, is increasing.

The administration revealed that such an accomplishment is a result of the arduous endeavor of China to safeguard endangered species of wild flora and fauna. For instance, the country has boosted strict measures to stop the smuggling and unlawful trading of wild animals and took the enormous step of prohibiting the ivory trade inside the country in 2018.

Also Read: Coronavirus and Its Effect to Animals' "Landscape of Fear"

Artificial Breeding Farms

The SFGA said the next level is to eliminate the outdated habit of feeding on wild animals, prohibit the unlawful trade of wild plants and animals, as well as increase habitats protection of those groups.

After the COVID-19 outbreak, the SFGA in last year January took what is known as "the most stringent measures" in the regulation of wild animals, which include prohibiting all types of wild animal trade, and a total prohibition on the transfer of wild animals through artificial breeding farms to discontinue possible coronavirus transmission as soon as possible.

Yet the pandemic has uncovered the safety hazard in feeding on wild animals, and has made many health experts call for legislation in opposition to such behavior.

Prohibition of the Wildlife Trade

A year on, when the world is looking for an answer to the origins of the coronavirus, some foreign media, both National Public Radio, cited the government of Chinese swift reply in prohibiting the wildlife trade and shutting down farms as indications that wildlife farms in southern China are the most possible source.

The co-head of the WHO-China joint expert team's animals and environment group and a professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Tong Yigang, said at a March Conference that the knowledge of the world about the virus was very little in the initial stages of the outbreak, making some researchers speculate it had some connection with wild animals.

In order to contain the viral spread, China made use of so many positive measures both the closure of farmland, he said, taking note that mounting proof has revealed that China's initial measures were confirmed effective in slowing viral transmission, he said.

Related Article: Not Animals: Humans Are Probably the Carriers of COVID-19 Virus to Wuhan, Contrary to China's Claims

For more news, updates about coronaviruses and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
Mumbai, April 13 : The correction in gold prices in recent months is not expected to materially impact the asset quality of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) lending against gold. Apart from periodically collecting interest over the past few fiscals, they have ensured that disbursement loan-to-value (LTV) is maintained below 75 per cent, ratings agency Crisil said.

On a 30-day rolling basis, gold price has corrected 10 per cent over the past six months, while on an absolute basis it fell twice that rate.

For NBFCs, the average portfolio LTV as on December 31, 2020, was 63-67 per cent, while average LTV on incremental disbursements in the October-December 2020 quarter was 70 per cent. The LTV discipline is also evident in interest receivables remaining at just 2-4 per cent of the loan book over the past few years.

For banks, however, incremental-disbursement LTV was higher at 78-82 per cent because they were more aggressive than NBFCs in lending against gold during last fiscal. Much of the growth in their book came during the third quarter of the last fiscal, when gold prices were soaring.

Since June 2020, loans against gold surged even as lending to other segments was affected by asset-quality concerns. In the 11 months through February 2021, loans against gold grew 70 per cent for banks to over Rs 56,000 crore. What further contributed to this growth was the LTV relaxation to 90 per cent (only for banks) announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2020.

Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director & Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, Crisil Ratings, said: "The average LTV of the gold-loan books of banks is estimated at 75-80 per cent currently versus 70 per cent before the RBI relaxation. Given that gold prices have dropped 18-20 per cent from their August peaks on an absolute basis, without periodic interest collections, the books of banks may be susceptible to asset-quality issues to some extent. However, with the LTV dispensation period ending in March 2021, incremental lending would have more LTV cushion." Disbursement LTV and timely interest collection have a significant bearing on the cushion available with lenders in terms of value of gold given as collateral compared with the loan outstanding. This, in turn, impacts asset quality. Therefore, robust risk management systems and timely auctions are crucial to offset volatility in gold prices and ultimate credit loss.

Ajit Velonie, Director, CRISIL Ratings, said: "While gross non-performing assets (GNPA) could rise, ultimate credit cost - a more appropriate indicator of asset quality for gold loans - is not expected to. Historically, while GNPAs had risen to as much as 7 per cent for NBFCs, credit costs were low at 10-80 basis points. This underscores sound business acumen and strong track record of timely auctions. For banks, given the sharp growth they have seen, monitoring LTV and staying agile are imperatives to avert potential asset-quality challenges."
OTTAWA - China's ambassador to Canada says the media has "hyped up" stories about violations against the two Canadians detained in China.

China's ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu speaks as part of a panel at the Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence in Ottawa, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. Peiwu says the media has "hyped up" stories about violations against the two Canadians detained in China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA - China's ambassador to Canada says the media has "hyped up" stories about violations against the two Canadians detained in China.

Speaking at an event organized by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Cong Peiwu said Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are on trial for suspected crimes of secretly gathering state secrets and leaking them to foreign countries.

"They have been detained and prosecuted ... for suspected crimes in secretly gathering state's secrets and intelligence for foreign forces," he said.

"Those charges are clear, and they have solid evidence to support them."

The men who have become known as the "two Michaels" were detained in December 2018, days after Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on an extradition request from the United States.

They have been in custody since, held on what the Canadian government and observers have described as bogus charges aimed at putting pressure on Canada to release Meng.

After more than two years years in detention, the first two separate hearings for them wrapped up last month with the verdict to be announced at an unspecified later date. The sentencing in the Chinese system can be delayed for years.

Peiwu said the men's trials are not open to the public because their charges are related to China's national security.

He accused Western media outlets of publishing inaccurate information about the conditions in which the two Canadians are being detained.

"Someone here would like to hype up the issues like they have been deprived the right to sleep, and their reading glasses have been taken away," he said. "There's nothing like that. This is just kind of hyping up by certain media."

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau said last month following the secret hearing of the two Michael's last month that he's "deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency surrounding these hearings."

"We continue to work towards an immediate end to their arbitrary detention," Garneau said.

China has denied Canadian diplomats access to the hearings of Kovrig and Spavor.

Garneau said Canadian officials are seeking continued consular access the two detained Canadians in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the China-Canada Consular Agreement.

On March 30, Canadian consular officials were granted on-site virtual consular access to Michael Kovrig. The officials were granted on-site virtual consular access to Michael Spavor one day later.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.


Earn your Associate of Applied Business in Business IT (BIT) degree online from the University of Cincinnati. This program can be completed fully online, with curriculum customized to fit your schedule, interests and how quickly you want to complete your degree. Application deadline July 1, 2021. Learn More 

Startup information security firm Intrigue on Tuesday announced a US$2 million seed round led by LiveOak Venture Partners for a new attack service management platform that helps secure enterprise networks. The Intrigue tools scan all public, exposed attack surfaces inside and outside a company.

The seed funding will also support the security and developer communities contributing to Intrigue Core -- an open-source asset discovery project that serves as the backbone of Intrigue's enterprise solutions.

Intrigue Founder and CEO Jonathan Cran at the same time disclosed that his company's network security tools discovered the extensive infiltration done in a successful breach by a Chinese cyber-espionage unit to compile a list of Fortune 500 companies still exposed to last month's Microsoft Exchange breach.

Reports surfaced last month that a Chinese cyber espionage unit focused on stealing email from some 30,000 organizations by exploiting four newly-discovered flaws in Microsoft Exchange Server email software. That attack reportedly seeded hundreds of thousands of victim organizations worldwide with tools that give the attackers total, remote control over affected systems.

"You can't secure what you can't see. Intrigue goes far beyond current offerings to give enterprises visibility into their entire public-facing footprint so they can both monitor it and secure it," said Creighton Hicks, principal at LiveOak Venture Partners, of the significance of Intrigue.IO's network security tools.

Attack surface management (ASM) tools are designed to detect network vulnerabilities and prevent breaches. The network attack surface is comprised of all vulnerabilities in connected hardware and software accessible to unauthenticated users.

How It Works

Attack Surface Management is the practice of relentless mapping and securing of all Internet-facing assets throughout an organization's entire network perimeter. It has rapidly become a top enterprise priority, as massive adoption of cloud, SaaS, and mobile across a distributed workforce means an expanding, evolving, and changing attack surface subject to an increasing number of sophisticated threats, according to Intrigue.

The Intrigue platform is built on an open core architecture that offers a comprehensive view of an enterprise's attack surface. For example, according to Intrigue's tools, the average Fortune 500 company now has 631 unique application endpoints across their external attack surface and an additional 464 open ports.

"Intrigue began with the idea that security teams must be able to scale to enable innovation while also managing an ever-growing and changing attack surface. To do this well requires deep visibility of assets and awareness of their exposure to threat actors," explained Cran.

Rapid Market Path

Cran founded the company in 2019. He is a former principal at Rapid7, Bugcrowd and Kenna Security, and architect of multiple leading security technologies, standards and frameworks.

Intrigue offers a comprehensive view of an enterprise's attack surface. It is the only attack surface management solution that fully enables organizations to map their assets, monitor their environment, and mitigate ongoing risk, he said.

Since opening its doors, the company developed Intrigue Enterprise which includes expanded non-linear mapping technology for asset discovery, workflows for automatic scoping and vulnerability control, and extensive enterprise integrations.

The Intrigue Core open-source software project includes a discovery engine for asset mapping, vulnerability, and misconfiguration identification, along with deep asset fingerprinting and analysis.

In this transitional moment, technology is becoming more dynamic and distributed. In the wake of yet another unprecedented wave of breaches, LiveOak is partnering with Intrigue to quickly bring the new platform to market, according to Intrigue's founder.

"The founding team at Intrigue has spent years in the trenches exploring the problem set and building a world class attack surface discovery platform. With this investment, we are now in a position to expand upon this foundation investing in our enterprise solution and partnering deeply with our customers," Cran said.

New Needs in Different Times

Managing enterprise security is a different ballgame than ever before, especially with the rise of cloud native, observed Chris Aniszczyk, CTO at Cloud Native Computing Foundation.

"Intrigue's novel and extensive approach to mapping, monitoring, and managing attack surfaces, and its open-source strategy move the state of cloud native security forward," he said.

Attack surface management was born out of necessity, with the recognition that existing security tools are unable to effectively discover and map an organization's assets, offered Adrian Sanabria, senior research engineer at CyberRisk Alliance. Traditional vulnerability management offerings consistently miss assets, and penetration tests occur too infrequently to reliably fill that gap.

"I've yet to find a case where an organization used a solution like Intrigue, and wasn't surprised by some significant discoveries," he said.

The beauty of Intrigue is that it provides amazing detail on the attack surface and defensive posture not only of your organization but that of other organizations you depend upon, like your vendors, supply chain, and critical infrastructure sector, added Greg Conti, cofounder and principal at Kopidion, black hat trainer, and founder of the Army Cyber Institute.

"What we think is our organizational attack surface always differs from the reality. Intrigue allows defenders to learn the truth of their attack surface quickly and easily," he said.

Essential Security Performance

Intrigue is an essential part of a firm's security operations that creates a very detailed infrastructure mapping across all types of assets. It also continually monitors known threats, and alerts an organization to potential exposure, offered Chris Gates, red team manager at Robinhood.

"Intrigue is an extremely comprehensive asset discovery and security assessment platform that provides its users with an early warning to effectively mitigate risk," he said.

Almost everywhere security teams are increasingly becoming overwhelmed by data, according to Greg Martin, general manager of security at Sumo Logic and former cybersecurity advisor to NASA, the FBI, and the Secret Service. They are inundated with an exploding number of security alerts driven by fundamental changes in IT infrastructure, a move to remote work, and an increase in the frequency of sophisticated threats.

"To optimize security operations and ensure a focus on the most critical vulnerabilities, it is essential that an organization receive actionable intelligence to quickly analyze any threat and immediately assess both its importance and the degree of exposure within their environment. This process used to be very manual, time-consuming, and error prone. Now an organization can just use Intrigue," he said.

Jack M. Germain has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His main areas of focus are enterprise IT, Linux and open-source technologies. He is an esteemed reviewer of Linux distros and other open-source software. In addition, Jack extensively covers business technology and privacy issues, as well as developments in e-commerce and consumer electronics. Email Jack.


DETROIT, MI  Salvatore Sam Cipriano, CEO of Better Made Snack Foods, has died. He was 80.

Cipriano, a second-generation leader of the Detroit-based company, died on Tuesday from heart failure. He served as CEO of Better Made for 10 years during which he took the company to new levels of success, according to a news release.

He was loved by everyone at Better Made and those that knew him, and will be missed tremendously, Cathy Gusmano, Chairman of the Board at Better Made Snack Foods said.

RELATED: Popular Michigan snack company Better Made celebrates 90 years

Founded in 1930 in Detroit as Cross and Peters (after Sams father Peter Cipriano), and now in its 90th year, Better Made is known for wide variety of award-winning snack foods, including assorted regular and flavored potato chips and potato sticks, gourmet popcorn, pretzels, tortilla chips, pork rinds, and more.

The family-owned company uses locally grown potatoes and trans fat-free cottonseed oil in its products.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the American Heart Association.
was diagnosed with an unexplained PTSD after several panic attacks

The parents of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a fellow student are suing their daughter's special-needs school.

Evi Rowe was in Year 8 in 2018 when she was allegedly molested by a male pupil at St Edmund's College in Wahroonga, on Sydney's upper north shore.

Following the alleged series of attacks, the teen was then diagnosed with unexplained post traumatic stress disorder.

She was said to have suffered several panic attacks, including one where she stood with her fists clenched without sleep for 30 hours.

Evi Rowe was in year 8 in 2018 when she was allegedly molested by a male pupil at St Edmund's College in Wahroonga, on Sydney's upper north shore (pictured above)

Steve and Belinda Rowe described the effects the alleged disturbing acts had on their daughter.

'Evi went from a happy, bubbly child to someone who couldn't toilet herself, she couldn't feed herself, she couldn't pick up a spoon,' Mrs Rowe told the ABC.

'My other children have been affected by it as well they keep Evi very close and safe, but they recognise Evi is no longer the little sister they had.'

St Edmund's College, a co-educational special high school for teenagers with a wide range of disabilities, contacted the Rowe's to reveal a male student was allegedly inappropriately sexually touching their daughter.

Text messages between students discussing sexual content were also allegedly uncovered.

Police later investigated the claims, and concluded it was 'likely' the alleged assaults included digital penetration on multiple young women in a secluded rainforest on school grounds known as the 'sacred space'.

Speaking on behalf of the Rowe family, lawyer Danielle De Paoli said the College failed in their basic duty of care towards its students after their daughter was allegedly assaulted in 2018 (stock image)

Detectives later closed the investigation, after the Rowe's said they didn't want the alleged offender to be prosecuted.

Speaking on behalf of the Rowe family, lawyer Danielle De Paoli said the College failed in its basic duty of care towards its students and that Evi was a 'child at risk who was particularly vulnerable'.

St Edmund's principal Jon Franzin argued the school maintained a 'high standard of care'.

'The well-being and safety of our students is, and has always been, our number-one priority,' he said.

'We acted promptly to thoroughly investigate the allegations, speaking to all parents and students involved, while also enlisting the support of external agencies.'
New Delhi  The coronavirus is spreading much faster in India than in any other country in the world, worrying experts about the threat posed to the rest of the world.

India has been reporting an average of nearly 150,000 new cases daily over the past week. On Tuesday, the country reported nearly 162,000 new infections  slightly lower than an all-time high of 168,912 fresh cases from a day earlier, raising the total number of cases in the country to nearly 13.6 million.

Experts believe the surge of infections in India poses a threat to other parts of the world because international travel hasn't been significantly restricted.

"The high infection rate in India is worrying both because it indicates that in the absence of movement restrictions, and with significant vaccination, the virus continues to pose a serious threat," Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder and director of the Washington-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy told CBS News.

"But because of India's size, it is unlikely that the world would be done with Covid unless we are able to stop the epidemic here."

India is now only behind the U.S., which has reported more than 31 million cases. Brazil at number three has 13.4 million cases.

The U.S. and Brazil have been adding an average of around 70,000 new cases daily for the past week  a number that India now doubles. More than 171,000 people in India have died from the virus, 879 of them on Monday.

Professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India, explained that if there are no significant travel restrictions, the virus surge is bound to reach other countries.

"We know how the British, Brazilian and other variants of the virus reached other countries so international travel is of great concern," Reddy said.

Another epidemiologist, Dr. Lalit Kant, the former head of epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research, agreed that the surge of COVID-19 cases in India will have a "ripple" effect globally.

Story continues

India has taken several steps to curb the surge of the virus, banning gatherings and imposing fines on violations of precautionary measures such as the use of masks and social distancing. More than half of India's 29 states have either imposed night curfews or enforced weekend lockdowns in parts or across the state.

Passengers outside Lokmanya Tilak Terminus railway complex in Mumbai on April 13, 2021. / Credit: INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty

India's western state of Maharashtra, home to the country's financial capital of Mumbai, has been hit the hardest. State officials announced new lockdown-like strict restrictions for the next 15 days, with the movement of people and operation of businesses limited to essential services only. The state's highest elected officer, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, called the grim situation in his state a "war," and said: "I am not saying a lockdown just now, but strict restrictions. I know bread and butter is important but saving lives is important."

The state has reported more than 3.4 million cases so far, adding about 50,000 new cases daily.

New Delhi, like many other cities, has closed schools and colleges, restricted gatherings at weddings and funerals, and reduced the number of people allowed in buses, trains, restaurants and cinemas.

However, there is very little possibility of the entire country or major parts of it going into a complete and strict lockdown like the one imposed a year ago that had a negative impact on the country's economy and jobs.

But there have been reports of hundreds of lockdown-anxious migrant workers already leaving big cities like Mumbai and Delhi for their hometowns  much like last year when millions of cash-strapped casual laborers who lost their jobs walked hundreds of miles to their homes: one of the reasons believed to have contributed to the spread of the virus into the country's interiors.

Elections and religious festival during the pandemic

While on the one hand the government is actively pushing for precautions and urging people to get vaccinated, on the other hand, it has allowed massive election rallies in several states and permitted large crowds at a Hindu religious festival  for which it has come under criticism.

Politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, have led dozens of massive election rallies in the past couple of weeks during campaigning for multi-phase state elections in four big Indian states and one federal territory that started last month. Footage of the rallies shown by local TV news outlets showed a blatant disregard for precautions like wearing masks and social distancing.

"If at all the government was concerned and cared for people, it wouldn't have held such massive election rallies There is a big difference in what this government says and what it does," said Dr. Vikas Bajpai, an assistant professor at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

People participate in the ongoing Kumbh Mela festival, in Haridwar, India, on April 12, 2021. / Credit: MONEY SHARMA/AFP via Getty

Bajpai highlighted the shortage of hospital beds, vaccines, oxygen cylinders in top Indian cities like Mumbai and New Delhi to argue that the government has failed to scale up its health infrastructure in the past year.

"I am not even talking about the rural areas of India clearly, there is a sense of panic," he said.

The government is also being criticized for not canceling or failing to enforce a COVID-appropriate behavior at Kumbh Mela, a weeks-long Hindu festival held in the northern Indian city of Haridwar.

At least three million people are gathered on the banks of the River Ganges, which is considered holy by Hindus, bathing in it to cleanse themselves of their sins. More than a hundred devotees have tested positive for coronavirus.

The festival is held once every 12 years in one of the four big cities on the river banks: Haridwar, Allahabad, Nasik and Ujjain.

India is approving more vaccines soon

Amid the surge in coronavirus cases and reports of vaccine shortage, the Indian government is opening doors to all major vaccines being administered globally.

On Tuesday, the Drugs Controller General of India approved Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. Limited doses of the vaccine are expected to be available in the country by April end. This will be the third vaccine to be used in India. The other two being Oxford-AstraZeneca (being made in India as Covishield) and indigenously produced Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech.

More than 100 million doses of two vaccines have been administered so far. The government has set itself a target of 250 million vaccinations by July end.

The government on Tuesday also said it has fast-tracked emergency approvals for foreign-produced vaccines, making it possible for Pfizer, Moderna, and others to become available in India soon.

"The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before it is rolled out for further immunization programme within the country," said an Indian Health Ministry handout on Tuesday.

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Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich spoke out Monday night in the wake of the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright in Minnesota.

Popovich, who is perhaps the most outspoken coach in the league, was as outraged as he has ever been in recent memory.

It just makes you sick to your stomach, Popovich said, via KSATs RJ Marquez. How many times does it have to happen? As sick to our stomachs as we might feel, that individual is dead! Hes dead! And his family is grieving, and his friends are grieving. And we just keep moving on as if nothing is happening.

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Wright was pulled over for a traffic violation Sunday afternoon in a suburb just north of Minneapolis, and police tried to detain him after discovering he had an arrest warrant, according to The New York Times. Wright then stepped back into his car, and an officer shot him. He drove off and crashed several blocks away, where he died at the scene.

He was 20.

Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon said Monday that the officer who shot Wright did so accidentally, as she was instead trying to use her taser.

The shooting comes amid a tense time in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, as former police officer Derek Chauvin is currently on trial facing murder charges for the death of George Floyd last summer.

Wrights death prompted the Minnesota Twins, Timberwolves and Wild to all postpone their respective games in the Twin Cities on Monday.

Athletes and other figures across the sports world took to social media to voice their anger over his death.

"We mourn the death of Daunte Wright and pray for his family and loved ones during this extremely difficult time," the NBPA said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to the entire Minneapolis community as they struggle to process this latest tragedy together with the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin."

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Popovich slams Donald Trump, Republicans for inaction

Popovich got very emotional speaking about the shooting, which he said is the latest frustrating issue related to policing and gun control, issues he has been vocal about for years.

Story continues

Though there is outrage in the immediate aftermath of incidents like this, he said, people in power are constantly pushing to maintain the status quo. He also called out Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

I mentioned our governor in Texas, Governor Abbott, Popovich said, via KSATs RJ Marquez. Its deplorable and its almost impossible to listen to this man speak. The other day when guns came up, he actually made the statement again, an old trite myth argument that, Theyre coming for your guns. Thats going to be the next step. Theyre going to take away your guns.

Nobody is taking away anybodys guns and he knows it. So hes a liar. But he wants to keep his seat. He wants to continue to stay in power, and hell say whatever he has to do to follow the lead of Donald Trump and the rest of the Republicans.

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Popovich continued railing against the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump for their role in pushing the big lie about nonexistent fraud in the presidential elections, the violent and deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol in January and for calling the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax.

Its childish. Its sickening. Its dangerous. And do these people want a country or not? Popovich told KSAT. Do these people have grandchildren? Do they want their grandchildren to go to work and go to school and go through these [mass shooter] drills and worry about being murdered? What does it take?

They care more about them than your freaking power and your position and your donors. And with policing, its the same damn way. How many young Black kids have to be killed for no freaking reason?

Popovich finished by calling for action within the NBA. He wants to know where the money comes from.

We need to find out who funds these people, he said. I want to know what owners in the NBA fund these people who perpetrate these lies. Maybe thats a good place to start so its all transparent.

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers spoke out on Monday after the Daunte Wright shooting in Minnesota. (AP/Gerald Herbert)

Rivers: Improving our culture as a society is really important.

Rivers made similar comments before their game Monday night.

The anger that he and others in the Black community are feeling in the wake of Wright's death, he said, needs to reach much, much further.

[Its] frustrating, as it should be for I think we got to stop saying its frustrating for all Black Americans, Rivers said, via Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice. I think we should be frustrated by all Americans. I dont know if it was a mistake or not, I saw the body cam video like everyone else, but I just know the frustration is a real thing for everybody and for us.

Rivers then addressed "cancel culture," something he says completely misses the point and brought up how Germany moved on and rebuilt after World War II.

You keep hearing this cancel culture stuff, but were canceling Black lives. To me, thats a little more important, in my opinion, and it just keeps happening, Rivers said, via Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice. We keep making mistakes on killing Black people  To me, improving our culture as a society is really important. Not canceling it, but improving it.

Other countries have done a terrific job. I keep going back to Germany, I use Germany as a great example. You dont see swastikas, you dont see statues of Nazi soldiers all around, and they dont say thats cancel culture. They say thats improving their culture. I think we need to think more on those terms.

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Following its development and creation by the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), micro-satellite NanoDragon has now completed all testing and is set to be launched into orbit during Japan's 2021 fiscal year.

Made-in-Vietnam satellite NanoDragon.

The device was sent to the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan in order to undergo quality control in an environment which aims to simulate the conditions that it will face after launch, with the satellite now ready after successfully passing all tests.

At present, the satellite has been returned to Vietnam and is now operating normally. Moving forward, it is poised to be launched by the Japanese Epsilon missile in Japan's 2021 fiscal year, which will last until March, 2022.

According to Le Xuan Huy, deputy general director of VNSC, NanoDragon is anticipated to operate in the solar synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of roughly 560 km. Weighing approximately four kilos, the devices main task will be to integrate an Automatic Identification System (AIS) which is used for the purpose of tracking and monitoring vessels out at sea.

It has also been designed to verify the quality of Japan's MEISEI satellite navigation and positioning system, along with a new advanced onboard computer which has been developed exclusively for microsatellites, he says.

"Space technology is a high-tech industry that requires sufficient qualifications in terms of human resources, and infrastructure facilities, coupled with long-term development orientation. It takes between 5 and 7 years to develop a satellite so it is essential to outline a long-term orientation as a way of ensuring human resources and proper investments to meet the demand, Huy adds.

Alongside NanoDragon, VNSC has previously conducted research and manufactured the PicoDragon satellite which weighs one kg, along with the MicroDragon satellite which weighs 50kg, both of which ultimately proved to be highly-successful projects.

VOV
On Sunday afternoon, Kim Potter, a police officer in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, shot and killed Daunte Wright, a twenty-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop. Minneapolis was already grappling with the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin, the cop charged with murdering George Floyd in the city last summer; on Sunday night, protesters gathered at the Brooklyn Center Police Department, and officers used tear gas, flash bangs, and rubber bullets to disperse them. Yesterday, police leaders convened a press conference to address Wrights killing. Journalists with national and international media, which already had a presence in Minneapolis for the Chauvin trial, were admitted, but local outlets had a tougher time getting intwo of the three journalists sent by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune were denied entry, as were reporters from Minnesota Public Radio and the Minnesota Reformer. The Star-Tribunes Andy Mannix, who was turned away, said an official he approached shut the blinds on him. The situation, Mannix added, was outrageous.

An official reportedly told local media that the room was full, a claim that was disputed by the lone Star-Tribune journalist who managed to get inside. Online, observers speculated that baser instincts were at work. Officials often fear local journalists the most because they have the best context and knowledge to ask the right questions and spot the spin, Fenit Nirappil, of the Washington Post, noted; MSNBCs Hayes Brown added that the access block, when added to officers decision to quickly release body-camera footage, seems to indicate a strategy of getting ahead of the normal police shooting narrative: Get the national media in. Show that it was an accidental discharge. Move on. An accident was, indeed, what Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center police chief, claimed at the presser: Potter, he said, had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet. In the footage shared by police, Potter can be heard shouting Taser, Taser, Taser, followed by, Holy shit. I just shot him. Gannon told reporters that he can only see what youre seeing. I can couple that with much of the training that I have received, and thats why Im believing it to be an accidental discharge.

ICYMI: Living Through the Climate Emergency

Almost immediately, the words police say and accidental were paired in a barrage of headlines, push notifications, and tweets, as various commentators, politicians, and law-enforcement experts pushed back on Gannons claim. On Fox News, anchor Sandra Smith asked correspondent Mike Tobin about the local response to the presser. I think there is still a great deal of anger, Tobin said. You still have a young Black man who has been killed at the hands of police, and when you have something like an accidental discharge, people arent going to say that its justified, and theyre still going to default to the belief that police that Black lives matter, and they think that Black people are treated somehow otherwise. Numerous outlets referred to Wright as an unarmed Black man, a framing that can, as Poynters Kelly McBride has written, fuel stereotypes and dangerous assumptions about the justification for police killings even when reporters use it to communicate innocence; others referred to Wrights killing as an officer-involved shooting, which, as Mya Frazier has written for CJR, is police jargon that obscures accountability and basic clarity. Some reporters spelled Daunte wrong.

On cable news, the bodycam footage looped all night. Networks also patched in reporters on the ground as protesters again stayed in the streets, in defiance of an official curfew, and some of them clashed with police. At one point, a group of protesters surrounded NBCs Ron Allen, as one shouted go the fuck home into the camera; separately, a man approached Sara Sidner, while she was reporting live for CNN, and took her to task, telling her to get away from here with all that media shit youre doing, and accusing the media of making protesters look crazier than what they are. Police fired what Sidner described as the strongest tear gas I have ever faced during a protest, and also used stun grenades. Carlos Gonzalez, a photojournalist at the Star-Tribune, reported that he was pepper-sprayed in the eye while he covered confrontations outside the police department. Later, police ordered journalistswho were theoretically exempted from the curfewto gather in a single spot. According to Sidner, reporters were threatened with detention if they didnt comply.

The protests werent limited to Brooklyn Center. Demonstrators gathered in Wrights memory elsewhere in America, including in Portland, Oregon, where, according to the Portland Tribune, members of the press were confronted by protesters and knocked to the ground in a police charge. Nor was yesterdays coverage of police brutality limited to Minneapolis: footage circulated, too, of a traffic stop near Norfolk, Virginia, during which officers pulled their weapons on Caron Nazario, a Black and Latino Army lieutenant, pepper-sprayed him, and shouted threats. (The stop occurred in December; on Sunday, officials said that one of the officers had been fired. Nazario also recently sued the officers.) Last night, Nazarios treatment was paired with the killings of Wright and Floyd in cable coverage. Policing, lets just be honest, its broken, MSNBCs Joy Reid said. Its broken at every level in America. Following Reid onto the air, Chris Hayes asked, Is anything really getting better in the wake of George Floyd?

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A month ago, I wrote that a wave of individual stories about police brutality and misconduct that were then in the news cycle had not yet added up to a collective, national focus on the institution of policing of the type that we saw last summer, after Floyds death. Chauvins trial, which has been a huge story for much of the past two weeks, began to retrain that focusamid much legalistic dissection of courtroom particulars, and whether each day has been a good day for the prosecution. It has taken the killing of another Black man in the Minneapolis area to sharpen it.

Below, more on Minneapolis and the police:



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Looking for a future beyond print in western Iowa

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
When police told Johnson that they had video of him, he then changed his story and said that Bhattarai was following him and he went into the gangway to see if he was still being followed. He said Bhattarai then took out a knife, so he took the knife and stabbed Bhattarai with it.
Further doubts have been cast over the future of the metals trading and manufacturing company GFG Alliance owned by Sanjeev Gupta following the publication of details of possible fraudulent activity.

Thousands of jobs are under threat in Britain, France and Australia if companies owned by Gupta, once touted as the saviour of steel, are forced into administration and possibly wound up.

GFG Alliance executive chairman Sanjeev Gupta marches with union officials and ALP senator Kim Carr in Whyalla, South Australia, September 2017. (AAP Image/David Mariuz.)

Evidence of possible fraud was revealed in an article published by the Financial Times (FT) over the weekend. It involves the use of fake invoices that formed the basis of finance provided to Guptas operations by the now collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital.

The liquidation threat arises from legal action taken by Credit Suisse which provided up to $10 billion for Greensill and is now attempting to recover some of its losses through a liquidation operation.

Greensill packaged the loans to Gupta into funds that were then sold off to Credit Suisse. The FT article said that six European metal companies named by Credit Suisses fund accounts had confirmed to the newspaper that they had never traded with Liberty Commodities, one of Guptas firms.

Ulrich Becker, the chief executive of KME Germany, one of the companies named, said: We have nothing to do with Liberty. We did not trade with them in the past, we are not trading with them now, and we will not trade with them. We are copper producers and dont even know that we would have bought from them.

The German scrap metal firm RPS Siegen also said it had never traded with Gupta. However, Gupta told the FT that RPS had been identified as a potential customer and financing had been provided on that basis. The article stated that among the invoices seen by the FT is a Liberty Commodities bill submitted to Greensill, which claimed Guptas trading firm had sold nickel to RPS.

A GFG statement submitted in response to questions from the FT about the suspect invoices also pointed to the dubious activities of Greensill. Many of Greensills financing arrangements with its clients, including some of the companies in the GFG Alliance, were prospective receivables programs, sometimes described as future receivables. As part of those programs, Greensill selected and approved companies with whom its counterparties could potentially do business in the future, it said.

But as the article pointed out, GFG failed to account for the fact that it provided invoices from trading with a company where the relationship was only prospective.

The fallout from the collapse of Greensill and the legal action by Credit Suisse is widening. GFG employs 35,000 workers globally, all of whom are threatened with the loss of their jobs. It employs 5,000 workers in Britain, where, in Yorkshire, some 1,600 jobs are at immediate risk in three plants. Many of the 600-strong workforce at the Liberty Steel factory in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, have been placed on furlough and production at the plant has been described as intermittent since the middle of March.

In France, Gupta last week placed parts of his Alvance operation, involved in the manufacture of aluminium, in effective administration in order to try to protect them from creditors. Alvance launched a conciliation procedure, in which a conciliator tries to work out arrangements for the payment of creditors for three factories it owns which make parts for cars.

The factories employ almost 1,000 workers but there seems to be little prospect of rescuing them because their major customer, Renault, appears to have severed relations and GFG is not able to finance them.

An official of the CGT trade union said the conciliation process was not likely to succeed especially since Renault and the government are not in a hurry to come to our rescue.

As the financial net closes around his conglomerate, Gupta has initiated a media campaign attempting to portray himself as the defender of workers and their jobs against rapacious creditors.

In an op-ed piece published in the London Times on Friday, he wrote that aggressive tactics by Greensill creditors were threatening tens of thousands of long-term jobs in the UK and elsewhere.

These creditors are at risk of destroying their own chance of recouping value by taking these knee-jerk actions. They undermine profitable businesses and ultimately put at risk thousands of skilled, industrial jobs in communities with limited alternative employment opportunities.

In an oblique reference to some of GFGs financial practices, Gupta said both he and GFG were ready to change. We understand that the way we used to finance our operations needs to be overhauled and we will address our challenges head on. But at this time of crisis what was needed were cool heads and collaboration, not dangerous and cavalier behaviour.

The media offensive has extended to Australia where around 1,800 jobs at the Whyalla, South Australia, steelworks of OneSteel Manufacturing are threatened, along with jobs at the metallurgical coal mine Tahmoor Coal in NSW. A liquidation operation launched by Citibank on behalf of Credit Suisse is set down for a hearing on May 6.

In 2017 Gupta was hailed as the saviour of Whyalla and led a victory march through the town, replete with union banners, when his company took over the plant. It had been placed in administration following the collapse of the previous owner Arrium in 2016.

Last week Gupta issued an open letter to the people of South Australia and the population of Whyalla, in particular, thanking them for the support they had shown since the Greensill collapse.

Whyalla, he wrote, had played an important role in providing high-quality steel that had shaped much of the countrys infrastructure for many decades. I care deeply about continuing this legacy and building upon it to ensure and a sustainable future for industry and society.

He claimed that GFG had received multiple offers from large lenders to finance both the Whyalla works and the Tahmoor coal mine that were now in an advanced stage of due diligence.

Whyalla will always be a special place for me, he concluded, I have said before it is my spiritual home.

None of this should be accepted by workers now facing the prospect of losing their jobs and livelihoods as a result of the dubious financial operations carried out by Gupta and his cohorts at Greensill. His spiritual and material home is not Whyalla, or Rotherham or his operations in France but money and capital.

His appeals are aimed at using the threat of thousands of job losses and the consequent economic and social devastation to pressure governments to come to the rescue of his financial empire.

In considering how to meet this impending threat, workers at Whyalla and around the world need to make a sober assessment of the experiences through which they have passed. Gupta and his companies were presented to them by the trade unions and Labor leaders as the path to a secure future. Just four years on, they are confronted with a disaster.

The issue goes far beyond the issue of the possible fraudulent operations conducted by Gupta and Greensill. The use of dubious and possibly criminal financial methods is not a personal or individual issue. Rather, it is the expression of a widening malignancy lodged in the very heart of the global financial system.

The entire financial world now functions on the basis of subjective valuations and the manipulation of arcane mathematical models, utilising the supply of ultra-cheap money from the worlds central banks, to ensure the flow of profit into the hands of the financial oligarchy at the expense of the rest of society.

These operations and the valuations attributed to financial assets bear no relation to the underlying real economy and contain within them the seeds of a collapse, with vast, devastating, social consequences. This can be seen from the fact that, in the midst of the greatest economic contraction since the Great Depression, the stock market has enjoyed one of its best years ever, reaching record highs.

The collapse of Greensill and its impact on Guptas operation is a warning of the crisis now building up in the financial system as a whole and the threats confronting all sections of the working class, the world over.

Workers cannot meet these dangers by seeking a solution for their individual companies within the framework of the profit system. That was the road taken four years ago and it has ended in an even bigger crisis.

The working class must advance its own independent program to meet the crisis of the system as a whole which, as the global character of the GFG crisis reveals, must be international in scope.

Discussion should begin on the fight to establish independent rank-and-file committees to fight for the interests of the workers against the perspective of the unions which will seek to lead workers into yet another dead-end and defeat.

This perspective must be grounded on a program that tackles the great problems at their source through the struggle for a socialist program based on the taking of political power by the working class as the first step in putting the banks, financial system and major industries into public ownership under democratic control.
A record number of 25 Chinese military jets breached Taiwan's defence zone on Monday, the island's government said, after a top US official warned against an "increasingly aggressive" Beijing

Taipei, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :A record number of 25 Chinese military jets breached Taiwan's defence zone on Monday, the island's government said, after a top US official warned against an "increasingly aggressive" Beijing.

The defence ministry scrambled aircraft to broadcast warnings to leave and monitored the planes as China's jets, including 18 fighters, entered the island's southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) for the tenth straight day this month.

The incursion -- the largest in a year -- came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday warned China not to attempt to change the status quo around Taiwan, saying to do so would be a "serious mistake".

Democratic and self-ruled Taiwan lives under the constant threat of invasion by China, which has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if needed.

Blinken's comments also followed the State Department's Friday announcement that it will make it easier for US officials to meet Taiwanese representatives, defying pressure from China amid high tensions.

The sabre-rattling has increased since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen -- who rejects the idea the island is part of "one China".

Some analysts and US military officials have warned tensions between Taiwan and China are now at their highest since the mid-1990s.

"What we've seen, and what is of real concern to us, is increasingly aggressive actions by the government in Beijing directed at Taiwan, raising tensions in the (Taiwan) Straits," Blinken told NBC's "Meet the Press".

He said the United States has a long-standing commitment to Taiwan, but would not be drawn on whether Washington would respond militarily to any Chinese action involving Taiwan.

He added: "All I can tell you is it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo".

Taiwan's ageing fighter fleet has suffered a string of fatal accidents in recent years as its air force is kept under constant pressure by China.

Last year Chinese jets made a record 380 incursions into Taiwan's ADIZ, according to Taipei authorities.
WEST CHESTER, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SentriLock, LLC, the leading real estate technology provider, today announced the availability of SentriKey Showing Service, a comprehensive solution fully integrated with the real estate tools REALTORS use every day. SentriLock, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).

First previewed in 2020, SentriKey Showing Service is now available as a trusted and secure solution for current SentriLock customers, and will be available to all MLSs and associations in Q3 2021.

"Competition anywhere benefits consumers everywhere, and the introduction of SentriLock's showing service solution offers a significant opportunity for REALTORS and our nation's entire real estate industry," said Bob Goldberg, CEO of the National Association of REALTORS. "Moving forward, NAR will continue working to find new and innovative ways to ensure REALTORS have every tool at their disposal to enhance their businesses and best serve their clients."

SentriKey Showing Service leverages feedback from top real estate professionals to provide easy management of showings, real time data around market activity, and virtual assistant technology through SAM, the SentriKey Assistant for Mobile. With the SentriKey Showing Service, real estate professionals can schedule and manage showings from a simple dashboard, maintain their client roster, share listings with clients, view property details and notifications, open the lockbox, and much more using SentriLock's best-in-class technology. With SAM, the industry's first AI-powered virtual assistant, users can automatically reschedule showings.

Among the first groups to deploy SentriKey Showing Service is the Missoula Organization of REALTORS. Chartered in 1947, the group has been serving Montana's real estate market for more than 70 years.

"Our members have relied on SentriLock lockboxes for years, and we have had great success with their products and customer support," said Jim Bachand, CEO of the Missoula Organization of REALTORS. "With SentriKey Showing Service, we now have an integrated lockbox and showing service solution from SentriLock that is game-changing for agents because it enables the delivery of secure and streamlined experiences to both buyers and sellers."

"We set a high bar for ourselves when we decided to build a showing service solution leveraging our real estate expertise, technology platform and world-class customer support," said Scott Fisher, CEO and Founder of SentriLock. "Now that the service is available to customers, we've been overwhelmed by the positive response. The convergence of lockbox access, showing technology and experience management software all on the same platform is the future state of the technology  and we are proud to offer it now."

The SentriKey Showing Service requires a subscription by an association or MLS for the service to be available to its members. For more information, visit the company's showing service page at https://www.sentrilock.com/showing-service/.

About SentriLock Founded in 2002, SentriLock, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and its Official Lockbox Solution. SentriLock is the leading lockbox, showing service and experience management solution for the real estate industry. SentriLock enables real estate professionals to spend more time selling while delivering great experiences to buyers and sellers. SentriLock is committed to delivering superior customer service, and has a 96 percent customer satisfaction rating.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sentrilock-announces-availability-of-sentrikey-showing-service-the-trusted-solution-from-the-national-association-of-realtors-301265037.html

SOURCE SentriLock
Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Education Minister Norma Foley have committed to a review of the school capacity issues in East Cork following a meeting with principals in the area.

Principals from eight schools in the region participated in the meeting yesterday and had the opportunity to outline the various school capacity issues with the Taoiseach and Minister.

Speaking after the meeting, Pobailscoil na Trionoide principal Seamus O Ceallachain said that the meeting gave principals the opportunity to highlight the need to approve education resources in East Cork because of the huge increase in the population and demographics in the area.

Commitment to resolve issue

He continued: Certainly, they [the Taoiseach and Education Minister] were very committed to resolving the issues and providing more temporary, medium-term and long-term solutions to the needs in east Cork which is something we were delighted to hear.

Mr O Ceallachain also said that in the case of the school itself, it was an opportunity to highlight the need for a new school extension, which they intend to submit planning permission for in the next six to eight weeks.

Also it was a chance for us to thank the Department for the extra temporary accommodation that we have been granted for next year, he added.

At the meeting, it was acknowledged that alongside the ongoing development of the Carrigtwohill Community College Complex, a need for additional schools will be required.

Mr Martin stressed that education is a key priority for the Government and all will be done to ensure that the necessary supports are made available.

The ASD capacity of schools as well as the need for a dedicated school for special education was also raised.

A source of stress

Deputy James OConnor, who organised the meeting, said: "The lack of school places has caused a great deal of stress among parents, students, and the wider school community. I will continue to work with the Department of Education to ensure that East Cork is prioritised.

The meeting with An Taoiseach indicates the seriousness of which this matter is being addressed and I welcome an active approach by the Minister for Education to work with the school principals to overcome the challenges we face."
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America that were co-ordinated from that country, several U.S. officials said Tuesday.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with lawmakers to discuss the American Jobs Plan in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden will withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America that were co-ordinated from that country, several U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The decision defies a May 1 deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year, but leaves no room for additional extensions. A senior administration official called the September date an absolute deadline that won't be affected by security conditions in the country.

While Biden's decision keeps U.S. troops in Afghanistan four months longer than initially planned, it sets a firm end to two decades of war that killed more than 2,200 U.S. troops, wounded 20,000, and cost as much as $1 trillion. The conflict largely crippled al-Qaida and led to the death of Osama bin Laden, the architect of the Sept. 11 attacks. But an American withdrawal also risks many of the gains made in democracy, women's rights and governance, while ensuring that the Taliban, who provided al-Qaida's safe haven, remain strong and in control of large swaths of the country.

Biden has been hinting for weeks that he was going to let the May deadline lapse, and as the days went by it became clear that an orderly withdrawal of the roughly 2,500 remaining troops would be difficult and was unlikely. The administration official said the drawdown would begin by May 1.

Biden's choice of the 9-11 date underscores the reason that American troops were in Afghanistan to begin with  to prevent extremist groups like al-Qaida from establishing a foothold again that could be used to launch attacks against the U.S.

President Joe Biden speaks during a ceremony to honor slain U.S. Capitol Police officer William "Billy" Evans as he lies in honor at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

The administration official said Biden decided that the withdrawal deadline had to be absolute, rather than based on conditions on the ground. Were committing today to going to zero U.S. forces by Sept. 11, and possibly well before, the official said, adding that Biden concluded that a conditioned withdrawal would be a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever.

Defence officials and commanders had argued against the May 1 deadline, saying the U.S. troop withdrawal should be based on security conditions in Afghanistan, including Taliban attacks and violence.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will deliver remarks Wednesday on the way forward in Afghanistan, including his plans and timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops. She didn't provide details, but said during a White House briefing that Biden "has been consistent in his view that there is not a military solution to Afghanistan, that we have been there for far too long.

Psaki tweeted later Tuesday that Biden would also visit Arlington National Cemetery to pay his respects to the brave men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.

Several U.S. officials confirmed Bidens withdrawal decision to The Associated Press, and an administration official provided details to reporters on condition of anonymity, speaking ahead of the announcement.

According to the administration official, the only U.S. forces remaining in Afghanistan will be those needed to protect diplomats there. No exact number was provided, but American troop totals in Afghanistan have been understated by U.S. administrations for years. Officials have quietly acknowledged that there are hundreds more in Afghanistan than the official 2,500 number, and likely would include special operations forces conducting covert or counterterrorism missions, often working with intelligence agency personnel.

FILE - In this March 6, 2021, file photo, President Ashraf Ghani speaks during the opening ceremony of the new legislative session of the Parliament in Kabul, Afghanistan. In March 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave both the Taliban and the Afghan government an eight-page proposed peace plan, which they were to discuss, revise and review and come to Turkey ready to cobble together an agreement. But on Monday, April 12, 2021, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said the religious militia wont attend a peace conference tentatively planned for later in the week in Turkey, putting U.S. efforts to get a peace plan anytime soon in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Biden's new, extended timeline will allow a safe and orderly withdrawal of American troops in co-ordination with NATO allies, the administration official added.

The president's decision, however, risks retaliation by the Taliban on U.S. and Afghan forces, possibly escalating the 20-year war. And it will reignite political division over Americas involvement in what many have called the endless war.

An intelligence community report issued Tuesday about global challenges for the next year said prospects for a peace deal in Afghanistan are low and warned that the Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield. If the coalition withdraws support, the report says, the Afghan government will struggle to control the Taliban.

Congressional reaction to the new deadline was mixed.

Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "It is retreat in the face of an enemy that has not yet been vanquished and abdication of American leadership.

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed it as a reckless and dangerous decision. He said any withdrawal should be conditions-based, adding that arbitrary deadlines could put troops in danger, create a breeding ground for terrorists and lead to civil war in Afghanistan.

Democrats were generally more supportive. Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Trumps May 1 deadline limited Bidens options. We still have vital interests in protecting against terrorist attacks that could be emanating from that part of the world, but there are other areas, too, we have to be conscious of, Reed said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said troops should come home, and the U.S. must refocus American national security on more pressing challenges.

But at least one senior Democrat expressed disappointment. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire said in a tweet that the U.S. has sacrificed too much to bring stability to Afghanistan to leave w/o verifiable assurances of a secure future.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed told The Associated Press that the religious militia is waiting for a formal announcement to issue its reaction. The Taliban previously warned the U.S. of consequences if it reneged on the May 1 deadline.

In a February 2020 agreement with the administration of President Donald Trump, the Taliban agreed to halt attacks and hold peace talks with the Afghan government, in exchange for a U.S. commitment to a complete withdrawal by May 2021.

Over the past year, U.S. military commanders and defence officials have said that attacks on U.S. troops have largely paused, but that Taliban attacks on the Afghans increased. Commanders have argued that the Taliban have failed to meet the conditions of the peace agreement by continuing attacks on the Afghans and failing to totally cut ties with al-Qaida and other extremist groups.

When Biden entered the White House in January, he was keenly aware of the looming deadline and had time to meet it if he had chosen to do so. He began a review of the February 2020 agreement shortly after taking office, and has been consulting at length with his defence advisers and allies.

In recent weeks, it became increasingly clear that he was leaning toward defying the deadline.

Its going to be hard to meet the May 1 deadline, Biden said in March. Just in terms of tactical reasons, its hard to get those troops out. He added, And if we leave, were going to do so in a safe and orderly way.

___ Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writers Kathy Gannon in Islamabad, Eric Tucker and broadcast correspondent Sagar Meghani contributed to this report.
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After interviewing various stakeholders from public and private healthcare systems (in Lithuania and the US), researchers from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania designed a structure revealing added value of remote healthcare services

After interviewing various stakeholders from public and private healthcare systems (in Lithuania and the US), researchers Dr Agne Gadeikiene, Prof Asta Pundziene, Dr Aiste Dovaliene from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania designed a detailed structure revealing added value of remote healthcare services, i.e. telehealth. Adopting the concept of value co-creation common in business research to healthcare, the scientists claim that this is the first comprehensive analysis of this kind in the healthcare field involving two different healthcare systems.

According to the researchers, although in the US the consultations via phone with physician have been available for more than fifty years, the technological development of recent years has radically changed the concept of telehealth. Using artificial intelligence for automated diagnostics, big-data analytics, virtual visits, real-time communication with data exchange, 5G, and blockchain can make a significant impact in the prediction and prevention of various health conditions, and personalisation of healthcare services.

"Despite the increased usage of telehealth during the Covid-19 pandemics, these services are still limited. Without any doubt, telehealth usage will increase in the future as it is considered one of the very important healthcare service trends. However, partly due to the inertia of the healthcare system, which is slow to adopt technology innovations, telehealth development is insufficient", says Dr Agne Gadeikiene, a researcher at KTU School of Economics and Business.

According to her, the acknowledgement of the telehealth added value would allow developing more precise value propositions for different stakeholders of telehealth - patients, physicians, healthcare providers, and the government.

During their research, the scientists interviewed healthcare institutions managers, heads of telehealth programmes and physicians from different clinical areas where telehealth is applied, e.g. radiology, endocrinology, paediatrics and family medicine. In total, 15 interviews were conducted in Lithuania and 10 in California, USA.

"There is clear evidence that telehealth enhances patient and physician experience. It saves time as there is no need to travel, you have a shorter waiting time to access the physician, timeless help at a better price, and more. The issue is with measuring the clinical outcomes of telehealth, but also patient and doctors experience and one of the major issues is exactly what we explore - the added value created by telehealth", Prof Asta Pundziene says.

The research revealed that among the most commonly expressed added values for healthcare system specialists both in the US and Lithuania were: accessibility of care, convenience, timely diagnosis, cost-saving, warmer and closer relationships between the patient and physician, focus on a patient. Remote patient monitoring and monitoring after disease were indicated as added values of telehealth only among the US health service system practitioners, and patient engagement into their illness control, better quality service, convenience, learning and avoidance of mistakes, a second opinion from colleagues were among the added value dimensions indicated by healthcare system representatives in Lithuania.

"The USA can be characterised as an innovative, and Lithuania - as a conservative culture. In the United States, the healthcare system is more of collaborative nature, and private insurance companies and healthcare providers search for ways to improve, save resources and satisfy their customers better. However, both research participants from Lithuania and the USA acknowledge the added value of telehealth, and it is only a matter of time until it will become a common practice in both countries", says Dr Gadeikiene.

Among the inhibitions to the expansion of telehealth, the researchers indicate such organisational-level obstacles as the insufficient managerial shift towards remote patient care, lack of digital training in medical schools. Adoption of digital healthcare technologies incurs additional costs. Also, there are some inhibitions towards it on the individual level, including a lack of competence in using digital technologies both from the patient and from the physician point of view.

Another cluster of obstacles is connected to reimbursement, security and liability issues. It is very difficult to bill for telehealth services, especially when they are administered at the patient's home, which is not affiliated with the hospital. Security of connection between different patient databases, systems, platforms, and information exchange, and the trust issues between patient and physician where the latter has to rely on the patients' provided information further complicates the telehealth advance.

"To fully realise the potential of telehealth, the deployment and transformation part is missing. This entails orchestrating the resources, establishing new processes, capturing the value of telehealth, and transforming institutions to fit the need for the new strategies, resources, processes, and more. To do this, strong leadership is needed. The case of the US demonstrates that they are more advanced due to the stronger leadership to deploy the telehealth services", Prof Pundziene is convinced.

The scientists argue that their research is especially important for healthcare policymakers and healthcare providers' executives, who seek to clearly understand what aspects should be emphasised for patients, physicians, and health insurance companies while promoting telehealth as a new way of achieving value-based healthcare. Also, the research can be very useful for telehealth platform developers as it provides a detailed structure of the telehealth added value that could be applied for a telehealth platform architecture. Additionally, the results of the research could be valuable for public policymakers as a source of information to justify the need and to promote the benefits of telehealth services. In this mission, the intermediary function could be passed on to the governmental organisations responsible for legal regulations.

The scientists emphasise that a strategic approach to telehealth guarantees that the investments in the development of these services are worth spending, as their outcomes are tremendous. However, they acknowledge that this should not compromise traditional service development, as it is of no less importance.

###
A delegation comprised of former Sen. Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg left for Taiwan on Tuesday at President Biden's request as tensions rise between the self-ruled island nation and China, according to Reuters.

Why it matters: A White House official told Reuters that the "unofficial" delegation is intended as a personal signal of Biden's commitment to Taiwan.

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Of note: The trip also comes as the U.S. and Taiwan mark the 42nd anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, which in part committed the U.S. to maintaining the island's defensive capabilities.

Biden voted for the act when he served as U.S. senator.

The big picture: The Biden administration has concluded that China "is flirting with the idea of seizing control of Taiwan as President Xi Jinping becomes more willing to take risks to boost his legacy," the Financial Times reports.

That would force the U.S. to decide whether to go to war with China to defend an implicit ally.

The Department of State last Friday issued new guidelines "to encourage U.S. government engagement with Taiwan that reflects our deepening unofficial relationship."

China has repeatedly flown military aircraft into Taiwan's airspace as part of military exercises. The Chinese government has claimed the exercises are meant to show its determination to defend the island.

Taiwan reported on Monday that a record 25 Chinese warplanes entered its airspace.

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Muslim pilgrims carried out the first dawn prayer of the holy month of Ramadan on Tuesday in Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Socially-distanced pilgrims dressed in traditional white prayed around the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam.

Only people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccine or had recently recovered from the coronavirus were allowed to attend.

Saudi Arabia's moon-sighting committee had announced earlier in the day that the month of Ramadan would begin on Tuesday.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink between sunrise to sunset.

The Kaaba is a place of pilgrimage that able-bodied Muslims are required to visit at least once in their lives.

Millions of people visit every year, most of them from abroad.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
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The police in Lagos have poured accolades on some of its officers for rejecting a N500,000 bribe offered to them during an operation and arresting the suspects with stolen construction materials.

This is contained in a statement released by Muyiwa Adejobi, the Lagos police spokesperson on Tuesday.

Mr Adejobi said the police operatives, who are attached to Area E Command at Festac, accosted five men with stolen construction material belonging to China Construction Engineering Company (CCEC) at midnight on Sunday.

The suspects allegedly offered N500,000 bribe to the officers, but it was rejected and they were arrested.

The Police operatives attached to Area E Command, Festac Lagos State, on 11th April, 2021, at about 3am, accosted five (5) suspects in a Ford Bus with Reg. Number FST 679 XZ, with some 25mm iron rods, property of China Construction Engineering Company (CCEC) between Volks Bus Stop and Iyana Iba, Lagos State.

The suspects, when arrested by the police operatives, were alleged to have offered a bribe of Five Hundred Thousand only (#500,000) to the police operatives who rejected the offer and went ahead to arrest them with the stolen Iron rods, the police spokesperson said.

The suspects are Lawal Saheed, 40; Taofeek Adenigba, 43; Ope Olowolayemo, 28; Azeez Jamie, 41; and Omotayo Adewale, 34.

The police said the stolen items recovered from the suspects are some pieces of 25mm iron rods, one Nozzle, one gas cylinder and Ford Bus with Reg. No. FST 697 XZ.

The management of CCEC has been contacted by the police and identified the stolen items to be their property, the police spokesperson added.

In another development, police operatives attached to Sagamu Road Division of Ikorodu, arrested two suspects, Awosika Kehinde, and Olatilewa Ayomide, at Sabo area for using dummy guns to scare their victims.

Mr Adejobi said the suspects were accosted by the police on a motorcycle in Sabo area and preliminary investigation revealed that they were using the dummy guns to scare their victims anytime they were on robbery operation, particularly in the traffic.

They are giving useful information to assist the police in the course of their investigation. Items recovered form them include one dummy beretta pistol and some assorted charms, the police spokesperson said.

Mr Adejobi added that the Commissioner of Police in state, Hakeem Odumosu has directed that the suspects be transferred to the Command Special Squad for thorough investigation.
Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has piled more pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison over his governments treatment of women, alleging he bullied her out of a job as the first female chief of the postal service.

Dressed in suffragette white, Ms Holgate tore into the Morrison government over its treatment of her and alleged her gender was absolutely a factor in her controversial exit from Australia Post over her decision to reward four employees with Cartier watches in 2018.

Christine Holgate takes her seat at the start of the Senate hearing on Australia Post at Parliament House. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

He has people in his cabinet, he has members of parliament, who are being accused of the most terrible atrocities to women ... and theyre allowed to stand and still remain in their jobs and represent our country. I was forced to stand down, Ms Holgate told a Senate inquiry on Tuesday.

She said she was left contemplating suicide as a result of the bullying and intimidation she endured over the watches saga, which she said included Mr Morrison humiliating her in the Parliament.
Parbec Update - includes assay results for Fall 2020 drill program, including 10.75m of 1.54 g/t gold drilled in PAR-20-121

Surimeau Update - includes visual identification of nickel, copper and zinc in each hole drilled over 2.2km strike length at Victoria West

PICKERING, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Renforth Resources Inc. (CSE:RFR)(OTCQB:RFHRF)(FSE:9RR) ("Renforth" or the "Company") is pleased to update shareholders on assay results received for Renforth's 2020 drill program on the wholly owned Parbec open pit constrained gold deposit on the Cadillac Break and visual drill results obtained in the current drill program on the wholly owned Surimeau District nickel rich VMS target at Victoria West, both properties are adjacent to the Canadian Malartic Mine in NW Quebec.

This press release gives highlights of assays received for PAR-20-114, PAR-20-118, and a portion of PAR-20-121, all drilled in the Fall 2020 program at Parbec where 9,644m were drilled in phase one of a drill program designed to support a new 2021 resource estimate for Parbec. The drill program finished at 15,569m of drilling completed with the assay results for a total of 35 drill holes in both phase one (Fall 2020) and phase two (Winter 2021) of the program still outstanding.

The drill program was designed to fill in gaps within the existing deposit model, to test for the downdip extension of mineralized zones with undercut drillholes and to twin holes drilled between 1986 and 1993 in order to allow the assay results from those 62 holes to be used in the 2021 resource estimate for Parbec, anticipated to be completed in June/July 2021, however, the timeline is dependent on the receipt of assays. The two complete drill holes and one partial drill hole reported on in this press release continue Renforth's success in drilling at Parbec with, again, each hole drilled returning gold values of interest. Each of the results given below are accretive to the overall gold endowment of the Parbec deposit and are expected to positively impact a resource estimate calculation.

Parbec Fall 2020 Assay Highlight Table

Drillhole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Gold g/t PAR-20-114 315.75 325.9 10.15 0.7 PAR-20-114 331 332.2 1.2 1.02 PAR-20-114 380.5 381 0.5 1.63 PAR-20-114 410.7 411.85 1.15 2.64 PAR-20-118 136.65 138 1.35 0.99 PAR-20-118 194.35 195.85 1.5 2.28 PAR-20-118 136.65 138 1.35 0.989 PAR-20-121 128 139.75 10.75 1.54 including 129.15 132 2.85 3.61 also includes 130.5 131.5 1 7.97

*assay intervals are as measured in the core box, not true width.

Surimeau District Property Update

In late March Renforth commenced a 3500m drill program at the 215km2 Surimeau District Property, which hosts gold, nickel, copper, zinc and other metals in various settings at several locations on the large property. This drill program is on the Victoria West Target Area, a nickel rich VMS target which has been explored historically and by Renforth over a strike length of 5kms within a 20km long magnetic anomaly associated with intrusives. This program has successfully drilled off 2.2km of this strike length. Significant chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrrhotite mineralization was identified in each hole drilled. The mineralized anomaly is now proven to be up to 250m in width. There remains 4 km of strike length along the anomaly to the west within the property boundary and 12 km to the east which has never been prospected or drilled, except in the very eastern end where the Colonie showing has been identified historically and verified by Renforth. Renforth has completed 13 holes, with drilling ongoing in the 14th hole, SUR-21-17, in 2892m. The final hole planned in the program is SUR-21-18, an undercut of two earlier holes, SUR-21-06 and SUR-21-07, which gave visual mineralization in multiple lithologies between the two holes. Samples have been selected, split and delivered to the lab for this program, results are awaited.

Parbec samples reported on in this press release were selected, split, bagged and tagged in the field and delivered to the facilities of AGAT Laboratories in Val d'Or Quebec where they were assayed for gold using "202-051 - Au by Fire Assay, AAS Finish" and "202-064 - Au by Fire Assay, Gravimetric Finish" for overlimit (>10 g/t Au) values.

Technical disclosure in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Francis R. Newton P.Geo (OGQ#2129), a "qualified person" pursuant to NI 43-101

On April 6, 2021, the Board granted 2,550,000 stock options to officers, directors and consultants of the Company. The options were granted pursuant to the Company's option plan, have an exercise price of $0.08 and are exercisable for five years from the date of grant.

The Company also announces that it reached an agreement on April 6 2021 with two related party creditors to settle debt in the total amount of $165,000 by the issuance of 2,062,500 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of $0.08 per share.

CFO Advantage Inc., a company owned by Kyle Appleby, the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, participated in the debt settlement by settling debt in the amount of $55,000 in respect of which it will receive 687,500 common shares of the Company.

Minroc Management Limited., a company that Nicole Brewster (the Company's Chief Executive Officer) is associated with, participated in the debt settlement by settling debt in the amount of $110,000 in respect of which it will receive 1,375,000 common shares of the Company.

For further information please contact:

Renforth Resources Inc.

Nicole Brewster

President and Chief Executive Officer

C:416-818-1393

E: nicole@renforthresources.com

#269 - 1099 Kingston Road, Pickering ON L1V 1B5

Follow Renforth on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram!

About Renforth

Renforth holds the Parbec open pit constrained gold deposit in Malartic Quebec, contiguous to the Canadian Malartic mine, with a 2020 resource estimate of 104,000 indicated ounces of gold at a grade of 1.78 g/t Au and 177,000 inferred ounces of gold at a grade of 1.78 g/t Au. This resource estimate is now considered by Renforth to be out of date due to the results received in a 15,569m drill program which has been recently completed. This program was planned to twin, infill and undercut existing drill holes at Parbec, to support a rebuild of the geological model and a resource estimate restatement. In addition to this Renforth has discovered a nickel bearing ultramafic, coincident with a copper/zinc VMS, over ~5km of strike in the western end of the 20km central anomaly at Renforth's wholly owned 215 km2 Surimeau property. This prospect was discovered on surface and the subject of a very short, shallow drill program, a more robust drill program is planned for Spring 2021. Renforth also holds the Malartic West property, the site of a copper/silver discovery, and Nixon-Bartleman, west of Timmins Ontario, with gold present on surface over a strike length of ~500m. Renforth is well funded, with ~$6 million in cash and securities on hand (*as at 03/15/21), in addition to the gold contained in our gold deposit.

No securities regulatory authority has approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward looking. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as 'may', 'will', 'plan', 'expect', 'believe', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'intend' and similar words referring to future events and results. Such statements and information are based on the current opinions and expectations of management. All forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the risks of obtaining necessary approvals, licenses and permits and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in the Company's securities filings available at www.sedar.com. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and the reader is cautioned against placing undue reliance thereon. Forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is provided and the Company assumes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: Renforth Resources Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640093/Renforth-Drills-Gold-at-Parbec-and-Sulphides-over-22-kms-Strike-at-Surimeau
Burma Myanmar Military Blames Rioters for Arson Attacks

A burnt-out ward administration office in Yangon's Thaketa Township in March.

More than 230 police stations, government offices, banks and factories in Myanmar have been attacked since mid-March, according to Myanmars military, which is keen to blame the attacks on anti-regime protesters.

Many attacks started on March 14 when the military regime killed more than 110 civilians during their nationwide crackdowns on peaceful protests.

In Hlaing Tharyar Township, Yangon, more than 50 civilians were killed in a single day and some factories were burned down in arson attacks in the township.

Myanmars military spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun said on Friday that 49 police stations and outposts, 29 ward administration offices and 39 government offices were attacked in March. Eleven roads and bridges, 10 banks and 72 private houses, telecoms towers, factories and shops were also attacked in March, he said.

During the attacks, 16 police officers were killed, 36 seriously injured and 227 officers suffered minor injuries, the general said.

He added that six soldiers and one of their relatives had been killed.

Since mid-March, several police stations and outposts in cities including Myawaddy, Bago, Mandalay, Mogoke, Kawthaung, Lashio, Kawlin and Myitkyina had faced arson or homemade bomb attacks, according to news reports.

Some police outposts had been entirely burned down while others were partially damaged.

In recent days, anti-regime protesters from Gangaw, Kale, Tamu, Taze and Yinmabin in Sagaing Region have resisted the juntas forces with homemade firearms, gas-powered guns and slingshots.

On Sunday morning, junta troops providing security at the military-owned Myawaddy Bank in Chanmyathazi Township, Mandalay, were attacked with a homemade bomb thrown by motorcyclists.

A police battalion in Myitkyina, Kachin State, was attacked with two homemade bombs from motorcyclists that night.

Meanwhile, some police outposts and military positions in Kachin and Shan states were attacked by the Kachin Independent Army and the Brotherhood Alliance, which includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, Taang National Liberation Army and Arakan Army.

Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun accused National League for Democracy members and supporters of committing arson and bomb attacks on police stations, government offices and peoples homes.

However, it has been observed that most arson attacks have been reported during the 8pm to 4am curfew when civilians are not allowed to go outdoors.

On April 1, two military-owned shopping malls in Yangon, including one in the city center, burned down during the curfew while a CNN team was visiting Yangon with the militarys permission.

The CNN team was taken to report from the military-owned shopping malls the next morning.

On April 7, explosions hit seven Yangon sites, including state-owned offices, an army camp, a shopping mall and near the regional parliament.

The regime has blamed anti-regime protesters but people have accused the junta of arranging the attacks to justify violence against demonstrators.

State-owned newspapers and television have labeled the protesters as rioters who are attacking government property.

As of Monday, around 710 people have been killed since the Feb. 1 coup by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which lists the fatalities and detainees.

Amid the deadly crackdowns, tens of thousands of people across the country continue to take to the streets each day to defy the regime in various ways.



You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Military Suffers Heavy Casualties in Fierce Fighting With Ethnic Armed Groups

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AA Chief Does Not Want Myanmars Strikes and Protests in Rakhine State
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Residents near the South Street cell tower say it is having a deleterious effect on their health.

Pittsfield Health Board to Hold Cell-Tower Forum With Mass DPH



The Board of Health says it doesn't have the expertise to investigate on its own. It voted to support a legislative bill that would create a commission to look into cell radiation and to partner with a state program on a public forum.

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Local health officials are supporting the investigation of concerns related to a 115-foot Verizon cell tower at 877 South St. in a two-part plan.

On Monday, the Board of Health unanimously voted to support a bill filed by state Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro  Senate Docket 2418  that calls for a special commission to research the impact of electromagnetic (EMR) and radio frequency (RFR) radiation's health effects and voted to communicate with the Berkshire delegation, the Massachusetts Department of Health, and the governor's office on the importance of moving it forward.

The board also voted unanimously to have a panel presentation "as soon as possible" with the Mass DPH's Environmental Toxicology Program for the purpose of public education on the issue of electromagnetic radiation.

"We've now developed an action plan, we're here tonight to move this forward to give clear instructions on what residents can do," Director of Public Health Gina Armstrong said. "I think if we, if I, had received communications from specific individuals prior to this, those referrals probably would have been made sooner. We haven't received specific communications from other residents in that area, but what we'd like to do tonight is really encourage people with those specific health conditions that they believe are related to EMF exposure to please use those resources at Mass DPH."

This is the first time the board has taken up the issue and some who had planned to speak were upset that the board only allowed Pittsfield residents to speak during the open portion of the meting.

In February, the City Council voted to have the Health Department investigate health concerns related to the tower. This petition was brought forward by Ward 4 Councilor Chris Connell and Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, whose wards are in proximity to the tower.

The council had been hearing of these symptoms primarily from Alma Street resident Courtney Gilardi every two weeks during public comment since the tower was turned on in August. Gilardi said she and her family will move if the tower is not turned off.

Gilardi also has had her 12-year-old daughter Amelia call into the meetings to speak about the symptoms she is experiencing such as nausea and sleep disturbances.

"I submitted this petition over two months ago requesting the Health Department to investigate the symptoms that were being reported by the residents that surrounded this cell tower. We did not hear anything back until last month, which was a full four meetings or two months after the fact of that petition," Connell said, upset that he had not heard back from Armstrong when the concerns arose.

"The response was from Director Armstrong was 'we do not have the expertise.' I understand that. Why was that not given to myself or the residents back last August when I originally submitted the email back to director Armstrong, or not at the following meeting in which we presented the petition?"

Chairman Dr. Alan Kulberg reiterated that the Health Department does not have the expertise to investigate cell tower sickness, as the task involves interviewing residents, which has to be done epidemiological and in a scientifically sound manner.

"You just don't ask people what their symptoms are," he said. "Even in the form of an interview can create its own bias, so the issue about gathering information from the local residents about their symptoms has to be done in a way that is familiar to epidemiologists, but not familiar to those on the Board of Health."

Kulberg added that hiring an expert to investigate these claims would be out of taxpayer money and that would be something that the City Council ultimately decides on.

He mentioned that the Environmental Toxicology Program at the Mass DPH offered its assistance in listening to residents' concerns and responding with a local forum, which the board voted to hold.

"We have never at any point in time, had taken the attitude that we would want to dismiss the complaints of the residents," Kulberg said. "We have always taken this seriously and it is the residents' concerns about their health, which are is our number one priority."

Armstrong said that over the past two months there has been a "reviewing of a vast amount of material that has been sent from numerous people expressing concern about EMF" and also considering the different options of where to go with these reports.

Kulberg and Armstrong both expressed that the health department has been preoccupied with the COVID-19 pandemic and then vaccination rollout, insisting that the delay was not out of lack of interest.

"Bottom line is, we're here to get today, eight months later and now we're developing a response. I'm sorry, it's not acceptable to me as a counselor," Connell asserted. "And if it's acceptable to my other council members, that's up to them, but certainly not to me."

Board member Kimberly Loring hopes that residents will utilize the public forum and contact the state health department directly with concerns for more effective problem-solving.

"I just am hoping that we all availed ourselves of the public comment through the Department of Public Health when we have this public forum," She said. "I can understand that possibly some residents didn't want to contact the city Health Department for privacy reasons and that, going forward, they may feel more comfortable contacting the State Department of Public Health directly so that we can get some good numbers of knowing how many people are feeling like them are being affected from on the EMFs."

Public comment was limited to Pittsfield residents for this meeting, as a previous meeting included testimonies from individuals in other states and communities that the board didn't see fit for this discussion.
John Pipers son Abraham Piper skewers evangelicals as his star rises on TikTok

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Abraham Piper, an artist and son of desiringGod.org founder and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minnesota, John Piper, is a rising star on the social network TikTok for his irreverent and quirky videos on a random mix of subjects, including growing up evangelical.

Once you recognize that resurrection is a metaphor, youre free to ask, OK, but are there any *better* metaphors? And the answer is yes. Bowling. It has all the same allegorical potency, is truer to life, generally comes w/ beer, and has no holiday youre obliged to celebrate.  Abraham Piper (@abrahampiper) April 5, 2021

In video snippets on his evangelical upbringing, such as his Christian education, Abraham Piper, whom his father revealed in 2012 had become an unbeliever at the age of 19, has attracted a following of almost a million followers as of Monday evening after posting his first video in November. His videos have also amassed nearly 15 million likes.

What is something they told you in school which you found out was a complete lie? a fan asked of Piper in one video.

In a real class at a school that charged real money to parents to give their kids a real education, I was taught that the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin all had satanic messages in their music. But this was the '90s  25, 30 years after these bands were in their prime, he said with wincing sarcasm.

So lets say my teachers were telling us the truth and it wasnt just fear-mongering propaganda from another little ministry hiding out in Colorado. Why didnt the devil have anything new to tell us? Shouldnt we have gotten that demonic head nod from Green Day or Nirvana? Maybe Garth Brooks? he asked. Anyhow, these lessons took place between teaching us how to defend Young Earth Creationism and protect ourselves from secular humanism which, in case you didnt know, is the root cause of every single atrocity that took place in the 20th century, if you went to my high school.

In another video posted early last month, he responded to an accusation that he was attacking Christianity.

Is one of my themes attacking Christianity? No. I dont attack Christianity. I berate evangelicalism. Fundamentalism. Its a destructive narrow-minded worldview. And one of the most destructive, narrow-minded aspects of it is that its adherents feel as if they are the entirety of Christianity rather than the tiny sliver of it that they actually are, he argued.

Evangelicalism is a toddler tradition thats cousins with Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy and the snot-nosed little sibling of mainline Protestant denominations. So yes, Im out here saying that fundamentalism is bizarre anti-intellectual bulls--t. But thats not me attacking Christianity. Christianity is a big family. Im just saying that one of the kids is being kind of a brat. And most of the rest of the family agrees, he added.

Abraham Piper shares other glaring videos online, including suggestions that the Bible says having kids isnt a good idea, advice for doubting evangelical kids who still live with their parents, and Bonkers Bible stories. He also confesses that memorizing the Bible was not worth it for him.

Groups like the newly formed Mid-Ohio Valley Atheists & Humanists had high praise for his content:

I follow @abrahampiper on TikTok and hes amazing. I identify with a big part of his journey away from Christianity, a statement from their Twitter account noted Monday.

Four years after Abraham Piper was excommunicated from his fathers church for turning away, he returned to the faith and was restored. He later walked away from his faith again and has not returned to it since.

Taylor Brown, a New Testament Ph.D. student at Baylor University opined on his dislike for both Pipers in a comment on Twitter Monday: Abraham Piper seems just as bad as his dad with saying dumb stuff but just in an insufferable exvangelical way instead of an insufferable hyper-Calvinist way.
DUNEDIN, Fla.  Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks will sit out Monday nights game vs. the Blue Jays at TD Ballpark in the wake of the Daunte Wright police shooting in Minneapolis.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton was also considering sitting out. Hicks and Stanton each participated in light pregame workouts.

Hicks spoke with Boone on Monday afternoon while at the stadium.

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For Yankee tickets visit: VividSeats, Ticketmaster and StubHub

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With all thats going on in Minneapolis, hes having a tough time right now.  He just felt like it was best to not have him in the starting lineup tonight and I certainly support that. Well try and rally around him the best we can, Boone said.

Boone called the situation heartbreaking.

I think its been a hard day for him, understandably, Boone said. Emotional. I think he felt like he would have a hard time going out there tonight and probably thought it was to keep him out of the lineup. Thats about how it went and all I could do is try as best as I can to offer that support that Im here for him and I understand how hes feeling.

Hicks and Stanton have been among the most outspoken Yankees regarding racial injustice in America, particularly since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020.

A police officer shot and killed 20-year-old Wright in Brooklyn Center on Sunday afternoon. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said an accidental discharge was what led to the shooting of Wright. A report from the Associated Press said that the officer allegedly intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as Wright struggled with police.

The shooting sparked protests in which officers in riot gear clashed with protestors.

In an address from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden urged peace.

We do know that the anger, pain and trauma amidst the Black community is real, Biden said.

Police have not named the officer.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com.
Iran says Israel behind sabotage at nuclear facility to disrupt Vienna talks

Xinhua) 13:42, April 13, 2021

TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday accused Israel of plotting an incident at an Iranian nuclear facility to disrupt Iran's efforts to have U.S. sanctions lifted in the recent Vienna nuclear talks.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Media in Iran widely reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident.

"NUCLEAR TERRORISM"

Israel "wants to take revenge on the Iranian people for their success in lifting the unjust sanctions, but we will not allow it," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying on Monday.

Zarif said that the centrifuges damaged at the Natanz facility were the first generation, and will be replaced with more advanced devices, which will strengthen Iran's position in the negotiations aiming to have U.S. sanctions against Iran lifted.

Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will "take revenge on" Israel for the incident in Natanz.

Meanwhile, Sunday's incident was "a bold act of nuclear terrorism on the Iranian soil," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted by Press TV as saying on Monday.

Ali Akbar Saleh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), on Sunday also described the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism."

"Necessary measures are being taken to arrest the main element behind the disruption in the power system of Natanz complex," Iran's Nour News reported, citing a security source.

The incident at the nuclear facility came a day after 164 IR-6 semi-industrial centrifuges were injected with gas and became fully operational at a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, and 30 IR-6S centrifuges entered the first phase of gas injection at the same plant.

ISRAEL-IRAN TENSIONS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

"We both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability," Netanyahu said in joint statements with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In November 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by an armed attack on his car. At that time, Tehran held Israel accountable for the assassination.

In July 2020, Iran said an "incident" affected a shed under construction at the Natanz complex. Later, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi described the incident as "an act of sabotage."

A decade ago, the Stuxnet cyberattack, revealed in 2010, delivered a blow to the nuclear program of Iran. Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, the computer worm is widely believed to be a cyberweapon built jointly by the United States and Israel.

Earlier this month, Iran confirmed an explosion in the country's commercial ship Saviz in the Red Sea. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Friday that Israel and the United States are suspected to be behind the recent attack on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea.

The New York Times called the attack against the Iranian ship as "an escalation of the shadowy naval skirmishing" between Iran and Israel, which has gone on for two years and opened "a new maritime front in a regional shadow war that had previously played out by land and air."

PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR DEAL

These recent developments have also complicated efforts to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as nuclear talks have been held in Vienna this month, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures topping the agenda.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019, one year after the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

As the Biden administration has expressed its desire to rejoin the nuclear agreement, Israel, a staunch opponent of Iran, has repeatedly voiced against Washington returning to the JCPOA.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at Northwest University of China, told Xinhua that Israel's recent actions against Iran are aimed at exerting strategic pressure on Iran's regional influence and Vienna nuclear meetings.

"At a time when the international community hopes to put the Iran nuclear deal back on track, Israel tried to deteriorate regional relations, block the return to the Iran nuclear deal, and create a favorable regional landscape for Israel," he said.

The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

"The United States was not involved in any manner," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing, adding that Washington is focused on discussions scheduled this Wednesday in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

In Iran, voices asking the government to halt the Vienna talks were clear heard after the incident. In response, Zarif called on the Iranian people not to "fall in a trap" set up by Israel.

Similarly, Iranian Students News Agency on Monday published an opinion piece titled "Let us not walk into the trap set by Iran's enemies."

Their goal is "to block the normalization of Iran's relations with the world, the reduction of economic pressure and the continuation of the security-building project for Iran," it said.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Published on 2021/04/12 | Source

Actress Seo Ye-ji is known to have deleted her social posts after allegations surrounding her, but the account was confirmed to not belong to her.

According to a report by the Korea Expo News on the 12th, Seo Ye-ji is currently not operating social media. An official told the Expo News that the social media account currently known as Seo Ye-ji's is not actually hers.

Earlier in the day, Seo Ye-ji was embroiled in allegations related to actor Kim Jung-hyun. It was reported that Kim Jung-hyun was insincere when he appeared on MBC's "Time - Drama" in the past, and this was caused by his lover Seo Ye-ji.

Since then, a media outlet has been told that Seo Ye-ji has deleted all social posts since the controversy. However, it has been confirmed that Seo Ye-ji does not operate a social media account.

Seo Ye-ji will not attend the press preview of her upcoming film, "Recalled" on the 13th.
Photo: The Canadian Press Premier John Horgan walks back to his office following the throne speech at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Monday, April 12, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

UPDATE 5:15 p.m.

The B.C. government has formally extended its provincial state of emergency, allowing health officials to make orders to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state of emergency has been extended through the end of the day on April 27, 2021. The original declaration was made on March 18, 2020.

"This is a difficult time for everyone," said Premier John Horgan. "With the vaccine program well underway we can see hope on the horizon, but higher case numbers and variants mean that we need to draw back in some places instead of opening up. I want to thank British Columbians for their hard work so far, and I'm going to ask you to keep putting your shoulders to the wheel for a while longer so we can all get through this safely and recover with the strength this province is known for."

ORIGINAL 3 p.m.

Further COVID-19 restrictions may be on the way for British Columbia, with the premier suggesting changes could come as early as Thursday.

John Horgan says travel restrictions will be discussed Wednesday by the provincial cabinet and those talks will also likely examine the status of bookings for hotels, bed and breakfasts and camping sites.

The premier says provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry will provide any update of possible new restrictions Thursday during a briefing where the province's latest COVID-19 modelling data will be presented.

On Monday, Henry said about 50 per cent of B.C.'s COVID-19 cases are variants of concern as she announced 3,289 new infections over a three-day period and 18 more deaths.

Horgan says he spoke to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on Monday about the pandemic and their mutual concerns about travel between the provinces and the consequences that is having on case counts.

He says he is troubled by the recent COVID-19 case counts in B.C. and is looking to Thursday's release of information for a better sense of where the province stands.
The decision to temporarily halt use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine reflects an unprecedented level of scrutiny, and is cause for confidence in the overall safety of the vaccines, Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said Tuesday.

We are really looking at an unprecedented rollout and the scrutiny applied to it, she said. The federal governments action is prudent to allow us to retain the trust around the vaccination process as a whole.

The pause on Johnson & Johnson, one of three COVID-19 vaccines that have been used, results from blood clots that arose in six of the 6.8 million people across the country who have received it.

Dr. Denise Johnson, Pennsylvanias acting physician general, said that, overall, blood clots are a lot more common than one in a million. However, the six people, all women between 18 and 48, who developed clots after receiving Johnson & Johnson vaccine came down with a rare kind involving low platelet levels. That means the normal treatment could increase their risk, she said.

So [the federal government] really wanted to heighten the alertness of providers who might see these patients, Johnson said.

Even before the Johnson & Johnson problem arose, Beam had cited signs that demand for COVID-19 vaccination might be falling off, and pointed to a need for a state-led effort against vaccine hesitancy.

She was asked Tuesday whether the Johnson & Johnson clots might add to the problem.

She said the pause on Johnson & Johnson reflects the federal governments commitment to protecting Americans. The protocols in place should give Pennsylvanians confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Pfizer and Moderna are the first two vaccines that became available in the United States. There have been no problems with those two, which have been given to far more people over a longer period.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been given to 262,739 people in Pennsylvania, Beam said. She said on Tuesday afternoon she was trying to find out if any of the six who developed blood clots are from Pennsylvania.

Johnson and Johnson vaccine requires only one dose, while the others require two. It has been used to vaccinate about 113,000 teachers and school staffers in Pennsylvania.

All told, Pennsylvania has given out about 6.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of early Tuesday.

While providers were canceling appointments of people scheduled to get Johnson & Johnson, Beam stressed appointments for Pfizer and Moderna arent affected.

State officials on Tuesday called the pause on Johnson & Johnson temporary and said it will last least until April 20.

Federal agencies will take a closer look at the clot cases and also make sure doctors know the correct way to treat clots related to Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The state health department said people who have received Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of their vaccination should contact a doctor.

The Pennsylvania State Education Association isnt aware of any school staff member reporting serious side effects due to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine but the teachers union is remaining vigilant, spokesman Chris Lilienthal said.

He said the bulk of the school staff who received their COVID-19 vaccinations got their shots more than two weeks ago. Federal officials said the cases involving clots came within days of vaccination.

The first shots administered through the school staff vaccination program began March 10. On April 2, Wolf announced all the school staff who wanted a shot got one through that program in three weeks time.

Despite receiving no reports of any side effects from the vaccine beyond the fatigue, sore arms, and body aches, Lilienthal said the union is preparing communications to its members, including warning signs of more serious concerns, such as severe headaches and shortness of breath.

If anyone out there is worried about these side effects or believe they might be experiencing them, we are advising them to definitely talk to their health care provider right away, Lilienthal said.

PennLive staff writer Jan Murphy contributed to this report.

RELATED: Pa. pauses use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine associated with clots

RELATED: Pause on Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine expected to be a matter of days, CDC and FDA say
International

Iran blames Israel for attack on nuke facility

Tehran, April 12 (IANS) | Publish Date: 4/12/2021 1:20:02 PM IST

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday described the cyberattack on the Natanz nuclear facility as an act of terrorism and blamed Israel for it.

The plant in central Iran produces, among other things, new centrifuges for uranium enrichment, dpa news agency reported.

The Zionists want to sabotage Irans nuclear achievements and the nuclear negotiations (in Vienna) with these terrorist operations, Zarif told Parliament on Monday.

Neither, however, will happen, he said.

Our revenge is that we will continue successfully in both areas, Zarif added.

Israel has so far not commented on the allegations.

The activities of the Israeli army in the Middle East are not hidden from the enemies, Israeli Chief of General Staff Aviv Kochavi said on Sunday.

They are watching us, seeing our capabilities, and carefully considering their moves.

Israel considers Irans nuclear programme a serious threat because Tehran has missiles with a range of up to 2,000 km that could hit anywhere in the Jewish state.

If the missiles were equipped with nuclear warheads, Israels existence would be seriously threatened.

Tehran insists it has no nuclear warheads and will only use the missiles for a retaliatory strike.
Adding to the programming slate, BBC Select and UK content distributor Beyond Rights have just completed a deal for a range of new titles. At the head of the slate is The $50 Million Art Swindle (1 x 90) from director Vanessa Engle and Top Hat Productions, tells the story of New York art dealer Michel Cohen who swindled over $50 million from the art establishment before going on the run from the FBI for 18 years. Worlds Greatest Paintings (10 x 60), from Lambent Production and presented by BBC journalist Andrew Marr, reveals the stories behind ten of the greatest paintings, from conception, creation, and public reception to the surprising life of the canvasses across generations.A Brief History of Graffiti (1 x 60, pictured) is from Kaboom Film & TV and follows Dr Richard Clay as he goes in search of what it is that has made human scribble and scratch mementoes of their lives. From the prehistoric cave paintings of Burgundy in France, through gladiatorial fan worship in Roman Lyon to the messages on the walls of Germanys Reichstag in 1945. How I Created a Cult (3 x 60) is Conscious Lifes in-depth look at US cult leader Andrew Cohen, one of the most notorious gurus of the last 30 years, and examines what attracts people to charismatic leaders and how the best of intentions can turn dark when authoritarian power structures benefit those in power.BBC Select is all about culture, politics and ideas and the Beyond Rights catalogue has some standout content on all three areas, remarked BBC Select editor in chief Jon Farrar, commenting on the deals. I think the documentaries will have real resonance with our subscribers.Sherry Fynbo, Beyond Rights EVP sales for North America who negotiated the deal, added:  BBC Select offers an exciting new destination in the US and Canada for thought-provoking content that generates lively discussion and debate. We are delighted to have provided so many top tier titles from UK producer partners to add to its line-up.
United Nations, April 14 : India has been invited to an Afghanistan peace conference in Turkey to back up the slowed down negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Kabul government ahead of a delayed US withdrawal from that country, according to diplomatic sources.

The convening of the meeting announced at the UN and in Istanbul on Tuesday comes amid reports that US President Joe Biden would be withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan by September 11, instead of the May 1 deadline set by his predecessor Donald Trump.

Biden's deadline is symbolic as it was the 9/11 al-Qaeda attack directed from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan 20 years that started the US-led invasion. Between 2,500 and 3,500 US troops remain in Afghanistan, down from about 100,000 at the height of the deployment in 2010.

The conference jointly hosted by the UN, Qatar and Turkey, is scheduled to be held over ten days starting on April 24 in Istanbul, the Turkish foreign ministry said without details about the participants.

The US had pushed for the convening of the conference through the UN and notably had wanted India as a participant.

In a letter to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani that was reported by TOLOnews, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had said that Washington was going to ask the UN to convene a conference with the participation of the foreign ministers and envoys of India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Iran and the US.

"These countries share an abiding common interest in a stable Afghanistan and must work together if we are to succeed," he wrote.

Diplomatic sources at the UN said that the participation has been enlarged to 21 countries along with three international groups.

Regarding the invitation to India, a diplomatic source said that it was a recognition of its stake and an interest in resolving the situation in Afghanistan.

The Taliban has said that it would not attend the Istanbul meeting, but the conveners sounded optimistic.

"It is important to have both the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. "We understand deliberations are still going on and we very much hope they will participate." Negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghani government on power-sharing and peaceful transition had stalled ahead of the original US troop withdrawal deadline, and as the US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is still trying to seal a peace deal.

Dujarric, however, said he did not see a deadlock in Doha and added that the conference is "a way for the international community to bolster the work of the parties and to show a united front in a path forward".

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the Istanbul conference was meant to speed up the intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha.

Its aim is to help the negotiators "reach a set of shared, foundational principles that reflect an agreed vision for a future Afghanistan, a roadmap to a future political settlement and an end to the conflict." Dujarric said that the conference was likely to have a hybrid model with some participants in person in Istanbul and others participating digitally with Guterres kicking it off "through modern technology".

The timing of the conference, which will span May 1 appears to take into account the risk of the Taliban's reactions to the US troops remaining in the country on that date.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis)
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A leading physiotherapist has highlighted the worrying increase in the number of patients presenting with injuries as a result of working from home.

Camilla Reilly, physiotherapy manager of the Hermitage Medical Clinic, says she is seeing a definite upswing in the number of people who are suffering from issues like back and neck problems, nerve pain, stiffness, headaches and other symptoms associated with working from home without proper equipment or advice.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, many workers have been forced to leave the office for most of the past year with over a third of the population working remotely from home, according to CSO figures.

An EU study last year found that Ireland has one of the highest rates of home working in Europe, and the situation is likely to remain unchanged for many months to come.

Though this has helped in the fight against Covid, physiotherapists in the Hermitage in Dublin say a growing number of patients are presenting with injuries caused by working in less-than-ideal conditions, with traditional office workers being worst affected.

More and more patients are coming to us with serious health problems as a result of working from home, Camilla Reilly said.

We have seen a sharp increase in the number of patients with issues such as nerve pain, stiffness, headaches and much more besides, and it is mostly office workers who are being affected by this. Many people have been forced to set up make-shift desks at their kitchen tables, in their bedrooms or in any quiet space they can find free in the house.

People with pre-existing conditions are experiencing increased difficulties, and some post-operative patients are taking longer to recover as a result of factors such as bad posture caused by the height of their desks, how their laptops are angled, or how they are sitting.

Reilly and her colleagues in the Hermitage Physiotherapy Department have some simple tips and guidelines on how to prevent injuries by moving regularly, stretching properly and making some small changes to how or where remote workers sit and how their laptop is positioned. She is urging patients to get in touch with their physiotherapist if they feel they need treatment.

We have remained open throughout Covid, and our team of expert physiotherapists in the Hermitage Medical Clinic are continuing to provide treatment, as well as providing ergonomic assessments and guidance about how work stations should be set up.

We are doing everything that we can to reach more patients, and we are about to launch an online Pilates class aimed at reaching more people in need of treatment.

The most important thing for people to realise - even in the midst of the Level 5 restrictions - is that it is vital for people to look after their physical and mental wellbeing. Effective physiotherapy is an important part of this, and our services are available to patients without any need for a referral by their doctor, she concluded.
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Radiko Holdings (CSE:RDKO) (the "Company") announced today that La Vida Verde, Inc. ("LVV"), a company operating in California in which it has a 51% interest, has provided the Company with notices that: (a) the LVV shareholders have filed the stipulated judgment and claimed the approximately 16% of the shares of LVV that had been pledged by the Company as security for payment of additional capital commitment made by the Company pursuant to a settlement agreement dated April 21, 2020 (the "Settlement Agreement"), as disclosed in the Company's press release dated April 22, 2020; and (b) the shareholders of LVV, excluding the Company, have resolved to sell all the assets of LVV, liquidate its inventory and equipment, assign its related party leases and terminate all its employees and initiate proceedings for the winding-up and dissolution of LVV.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the deal with LVV was restructured and the Company renewed its commitment to invest a total of US$700,000 in the capital of LVV (the "Capital Investment") over the course of the ensuing months, with the final payment US$300,000 to be made by September 30, 2020. The Company paid a total of US$150,000, under the Capital Investment but ceased to make any further payments. LVV has struggled with its operations and distribution through COVID, however, the Company was optimistic the issues could be resolved. Negotiations following the Settlement Agreement with the principals of LVV relating to the Company's concerns around LVV's operations have not proved to be fruitful. The actions by the LVV shareholders have been taken despite a requirement in a unanimous shareholders' agreement that requires approval from 75% of the shareholders (which was not approved by the Company). While the Company disputes the ability for the LVV shareholders to seize the 16% pledged pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, even with such seizure, the actions to cease operations and proceed with winding-up and dissolution require the approval of the Company.

Steve Gormley commented: "We are extremely disappointed with the latest actions taken by the other LVV shareholders. The Settlement Agreement was meant to be a fresh start for the parties and it has not met our expectations."

The Company is currently assessing its legal options in the face of these actions, however, the cessation of operations by LVV is expected to have a material adverse impact on the business of the Company.

About Radiko Holdings

Radiko Holdings Corp. (RDKO) is a CBD and cannabis-focused brand portfolio, leveraging the potential of the plant by offering best of breed products that naturally complement today's consumer lifestyles. The Corporation's mission is to build and market a diversified portfolio of cannabis and CBD brands, with strategic manufacturing and distribution partnerships to support better EBITDA and margins. RDKO markets products with THC content where that practice has been legalized at the state level through either medicinal or recreational use. RDKO also markets products containing CBD in the US and internationally. The Corporation believes as the legal cannabis and CBD markets evolve, high-quality, unique products will increasingly capture market share and provide a valuable platform for growth.

For further information:

Steve Gormley

Chief Executive Officer

Radiko Holdings Corp.

12655 W Jefferson Blvd

Los Angeles, CA, 90066

Ph: +1-(323)-828-4321 or steve@radikoholdings.com

Media Inquiries: media@radikoholdings.com

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Disclaimer concerning Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included herein constitute "forward-looking statements" relating to the operations of the Company and its business prospects within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at this time, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties regarding the Company are described in its publicly-available disclosure documents filed by the Company on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). The forward-looking statements contained in this news release represent the Company's expectations as of the date of this news release, or as of the date they are otherwise stated to be made, and subsequent events may cause these expectations to change. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend, and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events.

SOURCE: Radiko Holdings Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640112/Radiko-Announces-LVV-Shareholders-Decision-to-Cease-Operations-and-Proceed-With-Winding-Up
"My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected. Though I may be miles away the Caribbean is my home and whatever affects you, affects me. I stand with you my Vincy family, my Caribbean family, I pray for you and with you. I hope that everyone continues to stay safe. You will get through this #prayers #caribbean #caribbeanstrong," he added posting several pictures and a video of the devastation that volcanic eruption has caused in the region.

"I look on in horror as ash continues to cover the beautiful Island of St. Vincent with ash fall being reported in St. Lucia and Barbados and my heart breaks," said Lara in an Instagram post, commenting on the cascading disaster.

Dormant since 1979, La Soufriere started spewing smoke and actively rumbling in December. On April 8, the seismic activity changed significantly and the volcano entered a heightened period of activity indicative of a fresh batch of magma either near to or approaching the surface. It was followed by an explosive event at the volcano site after which the alert level was raised to 'red' and an evacuation order Issued.

On April 9, the La Soufriere volcano entered an explosive eruptive phase with the first column of ash as high as 10 km.

"Explosions and accompanying ashfall of similar or larger magnitude are likely to continue to occur over the next few days," according to the UN humanitarian office.

As evacuation efforts continue, pyroclastic flows (a cloud of hot ash and rock) has forced the closure of airports in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where maritime assets are few.

Leading regional airlines of the Caribbean, including LIAT and the Caribbean Airlines, have also announced suspension of flights to not just St Vincent but also Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and Guyana.

Several other countries in the Caribbean, including Barbados have also suffered heavy ash deposits, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley announcing the start of a national clean-up, urging Barbadians to clear up the ash from around their homes and properties. Smaller ash deposits were also reported in Grenada and Saint Lucia.

While there have been no reports of any injuries or death, citing reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), officials indicate that about 20,000 evacuees on the Caribbean island are currently in need of shelter.

OCHA reported that as of yesterday, intervals between tremors have lasted between 1.5 to 3 hours, which, based on visual observations and satellite imagery, are associated with periods of explosive activity or enhanced venting of the volcano.

Agencies engaged in rescue efforts say that the current activity pattern is similar to that of the 1902 eruption and implies that the eruptions will cause more damage and destruction.

Meanwhile, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has also mobilised to support St Vincent and the Grenadines, offering support to house evacuees from the affected area.

The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) has been working alongside the St Vincent National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO), the SRC and the Regional Security System (RSS).

NEMO reported that majority of the country remains out of power and is covered in ash. It said that the volcano continues to erupt explosively with the production of copious amounts of ash.

Even as rainfall has added to the weight of ash on buildings and the remobilization of material in streams, valleys and on hills, explosions and accompanying ashfall, of similar or larger magnitude, are likely to continue to occur over the next few days.

(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative/
LOVE IN COLOR

Mythical Tales From Around the World, Retold

By Bolu Babalola

Before she was a best-selling author, the Nigerian-British writer Bolu Babalola was a rom-com expert, social media observationist and, infamously, Michael B. Jordans girlfriend  a humorist armed with Twitter, Photoshop and the ability to see a joke through without making it uncomfortable. Some would say that Babalola was a storyteller all along. A lot of people can use Photoshop to paste themselves next to a celeb; few make us care enough to go along with the tall tale and even fewer manifest that story into reality. Like the heroines in her debut book, Love in Color: Mythical Tales From Around the World, Retold, Babalola resists having her facets flattened by other peoples perceptions.

Love in Color is a collection of 13 short stories about love  10 retellings (ranging from Ghanas The Princesss Wedding to Greeces Psyche and Eros), as well as three New Tales, original short romantic works from Babalola (one of which is based on her own parents relationship). A sharp sense of purpose sheathed in humor glints through every story, which are delightfully varied in subgenre, voice and time period: Osun retells Yoruba myth as a new adult love triangle with a homecoming-style backdrop; Naleli dips into Lesothoian folk tale and emerges with a fizzy Y.A. friends-to-lovers romance; Siya and Nefertiti feature warrior-type heroines in fantasy forest lair and modern speakeasy, respectively; and Zhinu is a banter-laden modern pop-star rom-com redux of Chinese myth.

As with most fairy tales, there is a warning aspect to Babalolas stories. Some examine the less vibrant shades of love, like partners who seek to possess and dim their lovers rather than amplify their brightness. There is a subtle emphasis on how romantic relationships, which should be a safe haven, can instead reduce women to objects and caretakers whose work is unreciprocated. In Osun, Osun is the only one who can calm Sangos thunderous rage, though he cant be bothered to know she loves to dance; in Yaa, Yaa must support Kofis political aspirations and serve as a receptacle for his emotions, while on her birthday he cheats on her. In these modern tales, the monster isnt necessarily a dragon, but the emotionally stunted partners churned out by patriarchal societies.
Guwahati:

At least eight infants have died at the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMC) in Assams Barpeta district since Wednesday.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said about five crib deaths at FAAMC since yesterday, while its principal said three more infants died this evening.

The (five) infants died due to serious neo-natal medical complications and not due to human negligence. Doctors tried their best to save the newborns and adequate medicines were available in the hospital, the minister said.

Three more infants, aged between one day and two months, died due to birth asphyxia, FAAMC Principal Dilip Dutta said.

Birth asphyxia is a condition when a babys brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen before, during or right after birth.

The infants had low birth weight or were admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition at a very late stage, Dutta said.

Among the deceased infants, eight were male and one female.

I have talked to the doctors concerned and they have categorically said that the infants could not be saved in spite of their best possible care, the minister said.

These mortalities are related to purely critical nature of the case like age of the mother or weight of the baby, Sarma said.

The minister ordered an inquiry into the crib deaths by the Director of Medical education who visited the hospital along with consultants from UNICEF to audit the deaths.

An expert team of doctors has been called from Guwahati Medical College and Hospital to support the doctors at FAAMC, Dutta said.

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Alex Albon says he is only using his new race seat in DTM as a springboard for returning to Formula 1.

After losing his F1 seat at Red Bull, the British-born Thai will be reserve driver this year and also race an Alpha Tauri-livered Ferrari in the revamped German touring car series.

When asked if he sees DTM or GT racing as a longer-term project, the 25-year-old said: "Seriously, not really.

"It's good for now," he is quoted by Speed Week during DTM testing at Hockenheim. "But I want to get back into Formula 1.

"If that doesn't work, we'll see. I definitely wouldn't say no (to GT racing) 100 percent. And I have to make sure that I do well. I want to make a good impression in order to keep my chances alive for Formula 1."

However, he admits that his actual chances "probably depend a little more on how other drivers do and whether there are opportunities".

As for how DTM and F1 compare, Albon smiled that the fabled Eau Rouge corner at Spa "definitely isn't as flat as I imagined".

"But at the end of the day it's still a car and you can adapt to it pretty quickly. It feels ok, I am enjoying it and there is still time."

(GMM)
The wife of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny says she is growing more concerned over his health as the toll of prison life and a hunger strike mounts.

Yulia Navalnaya said in a post on Instagram that she visited the Kremlin critic on April 13 at the prison where he is serving 2 1/2 years for an embezzlement conviction widely considered as politically trumped-up.

Navalnaya said the two spoke via telephone and could see each other through a glass barrier in what she called "the best date of my life."

"He is just as cheerful and fun. But he speaks with difficulty and from time to time hangs up and lies down on the table to rest," she wrote in the post, noting his weight was down to 76 kilograms, 17 less than when he entered the notorious Correctional Colony No. 2, about 100 kilometers from Moscow.

"I know that he is not going to give up.... But after the visit with Aleksei, I worry about him even more," she added.

Navalny was arrested in January on his arrival from Germany, where he was treated for poisoning in Siberia with what was defined by European labs as a nerve agent in August 2020. Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering the poisoning, which the Kremlin has denied.

In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered as being politically motivated.

His 3 1/2-year suspended sentence from the case was converted into a prison term, though the court said he will serve a shorter sentence given time he had been held in detention.

Navalny has complained recently of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and has accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment.

Navalnaya said the prison was still refusing to allow her husband to be examined by an independent doctor, even though Russian law provides for such care.

"This is a completely legal right for any person -- the right to see a doctor. I have never seen skin wrapped so tightly around a skull like his now is," she said in describing the effects of illness and weight loss on her husband.

Earlier in the day Navalny said he had filed a lawsuit against the administration of the prison for not allowing him to read the Koran.

Navalny wrote on Instagram on April 13 that the holy book for Muslims and all of the other books he brought with him to the penitentiary in early March had been withheld, as the guards said that they needed three months to check all his books -- including the Koran -- for extremism.

"The problem is that they have not given me my Koran. When they incarcerated me, I made a list of tasks to improve myself while in prison. One of such points was to study deeply and understand the Koran and the Prophet's followers.... I understood that my development as a Christian also requires the study of the Koran," Navalny wrote in the post.

Navalny's statement came on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, during which practicing Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sex from dawn to sunset.

Some 10 percent of Russia's more than 144 million population are Muslims or from an Islamic cultural background.
The World Logistics Passport (WLP), which aims to increase trading opportunities between emerging markets and the rest of the world, has launched its latest digital platform for the redemption of benefits.



The platform focuses on the utilisation of financial and non-financial benefits for increased trade volumes by members and traders from the various partners in the programme.



Dubai-based traders can now register in the programme as members within the White Tier and redeem over 100 benefits which will unlock operational agility.



The WLP Digital Platform provides participating traders with fast-track access to the programme, tapping into a global network of more than 30 partners, in 12 hub countries, and unlock opportunities within the programme which provides access to 20% of the global trade. Benefits also include up to two additional months for re-export declaration, complimentary access to DP Worlds digital, and online solutions including SeaRates and Cargoes Runner.



The announcement came on the back of the WLPs first Dubai Webinar  a virtual event which brought together nine WLP members, namely Dubai Ports World (DP World), Dubai Chamber, Dubai Customs, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Emirates SkyCargo, FlyDubai, Dubai South, dnata, and Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI). The event showcased the programmes key milestones, unveiled new initiatives within the programme, and underpinned the WLPs geographical focus on South-South trade.



In addition to the Dubai-based partners, the WLP engages major multinational corporations including UPS, Pfizer, Sony, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, and LG.



As part of the networking event, a study was conducted to measure perceptions and experiences of traders operating through global routes. Insights concluded that the main obstacle faced by traders was accessing new markets, with 60% of all respondents sharing the same sentiment.



Mike Bhaskaran, CEO of the World Logistics Passport, said: Our study has shown that traders were most concerned about the availability of information and experience in local demand and overseas regulation. Furthermore, 68% of respondents reported that they face issues connected with complexity of clearance processes of goods. We are confident that the World Logistics Passport will tackle issues of traders, increase and enable entry to new markets  by connecting traders to local entities (benefit providers), and help overcome key obstacles to doing business in other markets.



Moreover, transportation costs comprised the majority of cargo costs, signalling that efficiency gains are more important than costs for Dubai traders. Custom fees were seen as an area where the focus of benefits would be most impactful, particularly those related to documentation procedures, as they required a long lead period for clearance.





Omar Khan, Director of International Offices, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, commented:Dubai Chamber is proud to support the World Logistics Passport as strategic partner and business enabler. As part of the initiative, the Chamber is providing a wide range of value-added benefits to participating companies from its network of 11 international offices across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, advancing our mission of continuously improving ease of doing business in Dubai, protecting the interests of the private sector, and enhancing the emirates economic competitiveness to elevate its status a global business hub.



We are delighted to introduce our members to this game-changing programme, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it will create in boosting Dubais trade with the rest of 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 programme 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


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Online conference of the Ambassador of Belarus to Kenya P.Vzyatkin with the Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Program

April 13th, 2021, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Kenya, Permanent Representative to the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) Pavel Vziatkin held an online meeting with Executive-Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

The Permanent Representative stressed the important role of the UN-Habitat in integtrating green technologies in urban infrastructure and achieving Sustainable Development Goals. P.Vzyatkin informed that at the moment the Republic of Belarus has launched a number of projects to create "smart cities" and counts on the support of UN-Habitat in its successful implementation.

In turn, Executive Director Sharif noted that the creation of "smart cities" is one of the priorities of UN-Habitat and expressed the readiness to provide the necessary assistance in implementation of joint plans appointing responsible UN-Habitat officers.

M.Sharif invited the Belarusian side to take part in the World Urban Forum 2022.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a news release issued earlier today by Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MRO, OTCQB: MLRKF), we are advised by the company that their forward-looking statement paragraph was not included in the release. Complete corrected text follows.

Highlights:

Millrock has signed an option to purchase a 100% interest in the former producing Grant Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Grant Mine is a high-grade vein deposit with expansion potential. Indicated and Inferred Resources have been estimated at 340,800 ounces of gold. Strategic partner Felix Gold may elect to assume the option in exchange for a royalty interest in favour of Millrock.

Millrock signed a letter of intent to enter a lease agreement with option to purchase a 100% interest concerning the GST claim blocks with Fairbanks Exploration, Inc. The claims cover favourable geological structures adjacent to Freegolds Golden Summit project northeast of Fairbanks, near Kinross Fort Knox gold mine. Felix Gold may be assigned the lease and purchase option in exchange for a royalty interest.

Partner Felix Gold has appointed David Larimer as Vice-President of Exploration. Mr Larimer will head a joint Felix Gold  Millrock exploration team. Mr. Larimer was formerly Chief Geologist at the Pogo Mine, Principal Geologist for Teck Resources Ltd., and is a University of Alaska, Fairbanks alumnus.

Millrock and Felix Gold have amended the Strategic Alliance agreement between the two companies announced on January 12, 2021. The amendment provides a framework for share payments to Millrock in the event that Felix Gold does not become a publicly traded company in the next 18 months.

Landholdings in the Fairbanks Gold District now cover approximately 24,000 hectares of high potential ground covering numerous prospects.

Exploration plans for the 2021 field season are being finalized. Drilling is being planned with an initial focus on extensions of the Grant Mine and the Northwest Array prospect on the Treasure Creek project.

Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MRO, OTCQB: MLRKF) ("Millrock" or the Company) is providing an update on its partner-funded activities in the Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska with partner Felix Gold (a private Australian company).

Figure 1: Tintina Gold Province in yellow shading. Millrock projects subject to agreement with Felix Gold are shown in red text.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e882946-9446-4e09-9bd3-2a10d4d5a63b

Grant Mine Option To Purchase Agreement

Millrock has entered an option to purchase agreement concerning the Grant Mine with owner Roger Burggraf. Consideration is US$2.0 million to be paid over a six-year period. The new property will form part of the larger Ester Dome exploration project, which is subject to an agreement between Millrock and partner Felix Gold. Felix has paid the costs to secure the Grant Mine claims and can, at any time in the next twelve months, elect to assume the option agreement rights. In the event that Felix Gold assumes the option rights and proceeds to make the purchase of the Grant Mine, Millrock will vest with a 1.5% Net Smelter Return royalty on gold production with an advanced minimum royalty provision. The Grant Mine is a former-producing gold mine reported to have produced approximately 25,000 ounces of gold. Production reports and estimates of unmined gold resources have been made by a third-party independent geologist in a Ni43-101 report (Bundtzen T.K., 2008, Ester Dome Mineral Resource Estimation and Eagle Creek Exploration Results, Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska, July 31st, 2008, 117 pages).

Table 17.1 of the aforementioned report is presented below and shows combined Indicated and Inferred resources of 340,800 ounces of gold.

Category Cut-off grade

(oz/ton Au) Quantity

(ton) Grade

(oz/ton Au) Metal

(oz Au) Indicated 0.08 613,600 0.21 126,700 Inferred 0.04 2,553,400 0.08 214,100

Table 17.1: Bundtzen 2008 NI43-101 report prepared for Silverado Gold Mines Ltd.



Figure 2: Photo of the decommissioned Grant Mine headframe (left) and core storage warehouse at Grant Mine (right). Drill core from Grant Mine, other parts of the Ester Dome project, and the Treasure Creek project have all been preserved here.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f933217f-8cb9-4cc1-ba98-2e8317d4f656

Plans are being made to do an initial round of drilling in Summer 2021. The longitudinal section presented in Figure 3 illustrates the historic mine workings and drill intersections obtained in the 1990s by operators American Copper & Nickel (ACNC) and Silverado Gold Mines.

No exploration work has been carried out since the 1990s. Millrock has not independently verified the drill intersections indicated on Figure 3.

Figure 3: Longitudinal section illustrating drill intersections from ACNC and Silverado exploration drilling in the 1990s. Millrock has not independently verified the historic drill intersections reported on this figure which is taken from Bundtzen 2008.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/394d40de-a24b-4b22-bf4b-45a15ee99c2d

Figure 4: Claims owned and controlled by Millrock that have been assigned to Felix Gold in exchange for equity and royalty interests are shown in blue. Note the location of Kinross Fort Knox mine and Freegolds Golden Summit project.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2da0f65e-b931-4e16-bf9d-1a60de9e6df4

Fairbanks District Exploration Team

Felix Gold and Millrock are building an outstanding exploration team that is mandated to aggressively explore the Fairbanks Mining District and make new gold deposit discoveries. Felix Gold has appointed David Larimer to Vice-President of Exploration. Mr. Larimer will lead a team of Millrock geologists and technical staff, as well as coordinate amongst local and global experts to maximize the chances of discovery success. Prior to joining Felix Gold, Mr. Larimer was Principal Geologist in charge of exploration for Tecks Red Dog zinc mine in northwestern Alaska, and Chief Geologist for the Pogo Mine during the time it was owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining. Mr. Larimer is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is very knowledgeable on gold deposit genesis and exploration in the Tintina Gold Province.

Millrock President & CEO Gregory Beischer commented: We have known of Dave Larimer for many years and watched his career progress. Previously, Dave was very helpful in developing Millrocks understanding of gold mineralization in the Goodpaster Mining District, south of Fairbanks. We think that Dave Larimer will be able to build an outstanding team of exploration geologists composed of Millrock staff, local Fairbanks experts, Felix Gold personnel, and global experts. As major shareholders of Felix Gold, our company will be very supportive and help unravel the geological puzzle presented for gold mineralization in the Fairbanks District.

Fairbanks District Land Holdings and Agreement Structure

Felix Gold, the private Australian company with which Millrock has made a strategic alliance with, has decided to defer a go-public decision while waiting for the gold market to further strengthen. A further capital raise as a private company is planned by Felix Gold to fund 2021 summer exploration. The amendment assures that Millrock will receive the agreed 10% share of the private company Felix Gold in the event that it does not go public. Royalty provisions of the original agreement remain unchanged. The original agreement between Millrock and Felix Gold was documented in a January 12, 2020 Millrock press release.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information disclosed within this document has been prepared, reviewed, and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO, and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Millrock Resources Inc.

Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages, and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is recognized as the premier generative explorer in Alaska, holds royalty interests in British Columbia, Canada, and Sonora State, Mexico, and is a significant shareholder of junior explorer ArcWest Exploration Inc. and owns a large shareholding in Resolution Minerals Limited. Funding for drilling at Millrocks exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: EMX Royalty, Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet and, Altius as well as junior explorers Resolution, Riverside, PolarX, and Felix Gold.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Gregory Beischer

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Melanee Henderson, Investor Relations

Toll-Free: 877-217-8978 | Local: 604-638-3164

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including without limitation the intention to mount further exploration including drilling in 2021, and the intention to enter a lease agreement with Fairbanks Exploration, Inc. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, 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 the statements.
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Fishmongers' Hall attacker Usman Khan seemed 'a little shy' and did nothing to raise suspicions in the minutes before he stabbed two people to death, an inquest jury heard today.

Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed by the convicted terrorist at a prisoner rehabilitation conference near London Bridge on November 29, 2019.

As an inquest continued today, a fresh image showed Khan standing yards away from Mr Merritt only three hours before murdering him, while a second showed him sitting just one seat away from his second victim Miss Jones.

The video still showing Khan and Mr Merritt was captured at 11.08am, nearly three hours before the terrorist launched his attack at 1.57pm, stabbing him multiple times and causing 12 injuries including a fatal chest wound.

Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest, was tackled by members of the public with a decorative pike, narwhal tusk and fire extinguisher, and then shot dead by police on London Bridge.

At the inquest today, barrister Catherine Jaquiss, who shared a table with Khan at the Learning Together anniversary event, said he had described how he had been going down the wrong path in life but had changed.

Usman Khan (left) stands across the hall from Jack Merritt (right) on November 29, 2019 before Khan carried out the attack

Usman Khan and Saskia Jones sat at a table at a prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall on November 29, 2018

Usman Khan was photographed sitting one seat away from Saskia Jones in the banqueting hall at Fishmongers' Hall in 2019

Usman Khan stands (circled, left) at a drinks reception before the prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall in 2019

Jack Merritt (circled) in the main event room at the prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge on November 29, 2019

Usman Khan (1) and Saskia Jones (2) sit at a table together at the prisoner rehabilitation event near London Bridge in 2019

Cambridge University graduates Jack Merritt (left), 25, and Saskia Jones (right), 23, were killed by convicted terrorist Khan

Ms Jaquiss told jurors that she had invited Khan to come and sit at a table to take part in a group discussion during a workshop. Asked how he seemed, she said: 'Perhaps a little shy.

'I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary at all at the time. I remember him saying something to the effect of he had been involved with a group of people who had been leading him down the wrong path.

Usman Khan, 28, who was armed with two knives and wore a fake suicide vest, was tackled by members of the public

'He had now seen that way was wrong and he was now essentially turning the other way or going a different way.'

A statement from Millicent Grant, a legal executive who sat at a nearby table, said: 'He wasn't animated, he was sat back in his chair, straight faced and with a clear, steady voice.'

Khan was wearing a padded jacket at the conference, and jurors heard a statement from Cambridge PhD student Benjamin Jarman, who had planned to ask him if he was warm.

In his evidence, read by counsel to the inquest Aaron Moss, Mr Jarman said: 'He was looking anxious... I was going to ask him where he was from and mention he must have been warm in his coat.'

It was later discovered that Khan was wearing a fake suicide vest.

Ms Jaquiss said that after a refreshment break at the end of the workshop, she heard screaming and grunting coming from downstairs in the building.

The barrister, who knew Mr Merritt from her previous involvement with Learning Together, told the jury a man came into the room 'who said there is a man downstairs with knives and a bomb strapped to him'.

Bystanders and police surrounding Usman Khan at the scene of the terror attack on London Bridge on November 29, 2019

Jack Merritt is seen on CCTV arriving at the prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall on November 29, 2019

A Metropolitan Police photograph of an improvised explosive device which was shown during the inquest yesterday

Saskia Jones is seen on CCTV arriving at the prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall on November 29, 2019

Steve Gallant (left), who confronted Khan on London Bridge, and Darryn Frost (right), the 38-year-old civil servant working at the Ministry of Justice who fought off Khan with a narwhal tusk

Usman Khan is pictured (bottom left) arriving at the prisoner rehabilitation event at Fishmongers' Hall on November 29, 2019

'I was certainly very scared and I suppose frozen to the spot a little bit, not knowing what to do.'

Also today, witness Amy Coop, a film-maker who had been attending the Learning Together conference to make a video for the organisers, described hearing screaming and quickly realising 'something very bad had happened'.

How the Fishmongers' Hall attack unfolded Convicted terrorist Usman Khan killed two talented young people and injured three more in around five minutes during a knife attack at Fishmongers' Hall. An inquest into the deaths of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt has heard a detailed account of how events unfolded: March 10 1991 : Usman Khan is born in Stoke-on-Trent.

: Usman Khan is born in Stoke-on-Trent. 2010 : Aged 19, Khan is convicted of terrorism offences and spends the next eight years in jail. In that time, he becomes involved with Learning Together organisation.

: Aged 19, Khan is convicted of terrorism offences and spends the next eight years in jail. In that time, he becomes involved with Learning Together organisation. December 2018 : Khan is released from jail on various licence conditions and lives in Stafford.

: Khan is released from jail on various licence conditions and lives in Stafford. March 2019 : Khan maintains contact with Learning Together and is involved with filming a video for the organisation.

: Khan maintains contact with Learning Together and is involved with filming a video for the organisation. June 2019 : He attends a Learning Together event at one of his former prisons, HMP Whitemoor.

: He attends a Learning Together event at one of his former prisons, HMP Whitemoor. November 29, 2019 , 7.30am: Khan travels by train from Stafford to Euston Station in London. He is met at the station by a Learning Together staff member and he travels by Tube and foot to Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge. On route to London, it is believed Khan straps a fake suicide belt around his waist and covers it with his jacket.

, 7.30am: Khan travels by train from Stafford to Euston Station in London. He is met at the station by a Learning Together staff member and he travels by Tube and foot to Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge. On route to London, it is believed Khan straps a fake suicide belt around his waist and covers it with his jacket. 11am to noon : The delegates attend a brunch at Fishmongers' Hall.

: The delegates attend a brunch at Fishmongers' Hall. 11.56am : Video footage shows Khan talking 'animatedly' with Saskia Jones at a table, even though they had not known each other before.

: Video footage shows Khan talking 'animatedly' with Saskia Jones at a table, even though they had not known each other before. 12noon : The main Learning Together sessions get under way with speeches in the Banqueting Hall followed by breakout sessions until 1.30pm.

: The main Learning Together sessions get under way with speeches in the Banqueting Hall followed by breakout sessions until 1.30pm. 1.37pm : Jack Merritt leaves the building briefly, returning at 1.40pm.

: Jack Merritt leaves the building briefly, returning at 1.40pm. 1 .4 5pm : A further breakout session is due to begin but Khan goes down to the toilets on the ground floor next to the reception area.

: A further breakout session is due to begin but Khan goes down to the toilets on the ground floor next to the reception area. Around 1.53pm : Mr Merritt goes to the gents toilets.

: Mr Merritt goes to the gents toilets. Between 1.56-1.57pm : Khan launches his attack in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall with two knives strapped into his hands. As he prepares, he leaves a bag containing a third blade in a cubicle and drops a prayer book on the floor. He encounters Mr Merritt in the toilets and stabs him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest. Khan makes his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet'. He stabs Ms Jones once in the neck. She staggers up a few steps before collapsing. Khan goes on to stab Stephanie Szczotko in the arm at the bottom of the stairs before stabbing Isobel Rowbotham in the main reception. Over the next few minutes, Khan is confronted by a number of people who take items from the walls to defend themselves, including a ornamental pike and narwhal tusks. Khan returns to attack Ms Rowbotham again as she lies on the ground. He also injures the Fishmongers' Hall porter Lukasz Koczocik, who suffers a stab to the arm. Khan forces a member of staff to open the doors by holding a knife to his chest. He tries to chase a member of the public back inside the hall but is unsuccessful.

: Khan launches his attack in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall with two knives strapped into his hands. As he prepares, he leaves a bag containing a third blade in a cubicle and drops a prayer book on the floor. He encounters Mr Merritt in the toilets and stabs him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest. Khan makes his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet'. He stabs Ms Jones once in the neck. She staggers up a few steps before collapsing. Khan goes on to stab Stephanie Szczotko in the arm at the bottom of the stairs before stabbing Isobel Rowbotham in the main reception. Over the next few minutes, Khan is confronted by a number of people who take items from the walls to defend themselves, including a ornamental pike and narwhal tusks. Khan returns to attack Ms Rowbotham again as she lies on the ground. He also injures the Fishmongers' Hall porter Lukasz Koczocik, who suffers a stab to the arm. Khan forces a member of staff to open the doors by holding a knife to his chest. He tries to chase a member of the public back inside the hall but is unsuccessful. 1.58pm : Police receive a call to attend the scene.

: Police receive a call to attend the scene. Around 2.01pm : Khan is pursued on to London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost. During a confrontation on the bridge, Mr Crilly sprays a fire extinguisher at him and Mr Frost jabs at him with a narwhal tusk before they all tackled Khan to the ground with other members of the public.

: Khan is pursued on to London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost. During a confrontation on the bridge, Mr Crilly sprays a fire extinguisher at him and Mr Frost jabs at him with a narwhal tusk before they all tackled Khan to the ground with other members of the public. 2.02pm : Armed City of London Police officers arrive on the bridge and tell members of the public to stand back. Khan is shot and Tasered by police, causing him to writhe on the ground.

: Armed City of London Police officers arrive on the bridge and tell members of the public to stand back. Khan is shot and Tasered by police, causing him to writhe on the ground. 2.10pm : Khan is shot again due to the alleged 'threat' from what police believed was an improvised explosive device strapped to his body.

: Khan is shot again due to the alleged 'threat' from what police believed was an improvised explosive device strapped to his body. 2.12pm Khan no longer shows any signs of life.

Khan no longer shows any signs of life. 2.25pm Ms Jones is pronounced dead from a single neck wound.

Ms Jones is pronounced dead from a single neck wound. 2.33pm : Mr Merritt is pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later confirms he suffered multiple knife wounds, including some defensive injuries. The fatal wound is to the chest.

: Mr Merritt is pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination later confirms he suffered multiple knife wounds, including some defensive injuries. The fatal wound is to the chest. 2.41pm : An explosives officer moves towards Khan with armed officers and concludes the IED is fake.

: An explosives officer moves towards Khan with armed officers and concludes the IED is fake. 3.07pm : Khan's life is pronounced extinct. Advertisement

Ms Coop was in the Banqueting Hall to get footage of a feedback session when she heard screaming and shouting - and went out on to a landing to see what was happening.

At the inquests into Mr Merritt and Ms Jones's deaths today, Ms Coop told the jury: 'There was more screaming and shouting and it very quickly became apparent that something very bad had happened.

'As soon as I stepped out on to the landing it was clear that something was going on.'

She saw Ms Jones lying injured on the stairs, with a man kneeling next to her, trying to give first aid.

'She looked very, very unwell,' Ms Coop said. 'She was ashen, grey in the face. Her eyes were open and very glassy and staring straight upwards.'

The film-maker went to look for a first aid kit or something that might help stem the bleeding for anyone who was injured.

As she returned to the landing, she heard more shouting, including 'a loud and guttural roar'.

She told the jury: 'It was a horrible noise coming from someone. It sounded like the kind of thing you see in a film.'

Earlier, jurors were shown graphic footage of Khan lying on London Bridge after he had been shot for the first time.

The terrorist could be seen rolling around, removing his jacket and gloves, while officers kept members of the public back.

Around eight minutes after he was first shot, he sat up, leading police to shoot him again. Less than two minutes after the second shots, he stopped moving.

Yesterday, Mr Merritt's mother tearfully described her son as a 'force for good in the world' as the inquest heard graphic details of the attack in which he died.

Ms Jones was a former criminology student and ex-Cambridge undergraduate Mr Merritt was employed by the university on the Learning Together programme.

Speaking in the Old Library at Guildhall yesterday, Mr Merritt's mother Anne wept as she told jurors: 'Jack Merritt was a good person. Jack was a force for good in the world, someone who made other people's lives better for knowing him.

'We are hugely proud of who Jack was and what he stood for. His death was a tragedy but his life was a triumph.'

She read tributes from friends and family who described him as a 'true visionary', a 'very cool brother', and a 'fiercely loyal' friend who 'championed the underdog'.

Henry Pitchers QC, for the Jones family, said Ms Jones would wish the inquest to focus on the facts and evidence, with the 'emphasis to be on a thorough investigation as to how she came to lose her life'.

He said: 'It would be her hope that no other family is devastated and heartbroken again in similar circumstances.'

He added it is important to the family that her legacy is not solely based on her work with Learning Together.

Mr Pitchers said: 'She should be defined as someone who battled to improve the lives of others in several spheres and was driven to make real changes in the world.'

He described her research in the field of sexual violence with Rape Crisis in Cambridge.

He said: 'Her passion in this area enabled her to finally find her career path with the hope of becoming a detective in victim support within the police force.

'The positive impact Saskia had on so many people in challenging situations provided a valley of light for them to seek hope and a way forward.'

Detective Chief Inspector Dan Brown chronicled the attack in a series of graphic photographs and video.

Jurors were told that Mr Merritt had some professional dealings with Khan before the Learning Together event in the stately hall.

Footage from shortly before midday showed Khan talking 'animatedly' with Ms Jones at a table, even though they had not known each other before.

Around two hours later, at 1.56pm, he launched his attack in the men's toilets at Fishmongers' Hall.

Khan had strapped two knives on to his hands, leaving a bag containing a third blade in a cubicle and dropping a prayer book on the floor.

He came across Mr Merritt, stabbing him multiple times, causing 12 injuries including a fatal wound to the chest, the court heard.

Khan made his way to the cloakroom area, where he gestured to a member of staff 'as if to be quiet', Mr Brown said.

A Metropolitan Police photograph of an improvised explosive device used during the terror attack at Fishmonger's Hall

Mr Frost jabbed at Khan with a narwhal tusk (pictured) before tackling Khan to the ground with other members of the public

Metropolitan Police photographs of a knife and tape which were shown in court yesterday as the inquest began

A decorative pike, which was used by members of the public as they tackled terrorist Khan during the attack in 2019

Ms Jones was stabbed once in the neck and staggered up a few steps before she collapsed, jurors heard. Khan went on to injure Stephanie Szczotko and Isobel Rowbotham during the rampage.

How victim Saskia was a ray of hope for others Saskia Jones, 23, had hoped to become a police detective Saskia Jones had hoped to become a police detective specialising in victim support. Originally from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, the 23-year-old had graduated with a degree in criminology from Anglia Ruskin University. She then continued her studies with a masters at Cambridge, graduating in 2018. Alongside academic research into how much help is given to rape victims, she carried out voluntary work with inmates at HMP Grendon and also volunteered at the Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre. Henry Pitchers QC told yesterday's inquest: 'The positive impact Saskia had on so many people in challenging situations provided a valley of light for them to seek hope and a way forward.' Advertisement

He was confronted by a number of attendees with makeshift weapons, including an ornamental pike taken from the wall.

The attacker approached a member of staff, held a knife to his chest and asked him to open the door, which he did, the court was told.

The court heard there were screams and lots of confusion as people left by another exit.

Khan was pursued on to London Bridge by John Crilly, Steven Gallant and Darryn Frost at around 2.01pm, five minutes after the attack began, jurors were told.

Mr Crilly sprayed a fire extinguisher at him and Mr Frost jabbed at him with a narwhal tusk before they all tackled Khan to the ground with other members of the public.

Police had been called at 1.58pm and armed City of London Police officers arrived at 2.02pm. Shouts could be heard that the suspect had just killed two people and a male voice called him a 'scumbag'.

Mr Brown said Khan appeared to be wearing an improvised explosive device (IED) strapped around his midriff and people were told stand clear.

The senior officer told jurors: 'There was one individual, Mr Frost, who was still holding on to Khan. He was told to move out of the way.'

Khan was then shot and Tasered by police but still appeared to present a threat as he writhed on the floor wearing the IED, Mr Brown said.

He said police discharged firearms again at 2.10pm and by 2.12pm Khan no longer showed any signs of life.

A examination of the IED later revealed it was not genuine, the court heard. Jurors heard that one of Khan's knives had a crudely etched Arabic symbol for Allah on it. A fourth knife was discovered at his home in Stafford.

Mr Brown suggested Khan put on the fake IED on the train to London. The officer told jurors that investigators examined Khan's digital devices, CCTV, mobile phone data and GPS he wore as an offender on licence. He said: 'We are satisfied he acted completely alone in this attack.'

Jury inquests into the deaths of Mr Merritt and Ms Jones are taking place before coroner Mark Lucraft QC at Guildhall in the City of London. They are due to go on for six weeks before a separate inquest into Khan's death.
As it headed for the exit late last year, the Trump administration bestowed a final gift on the oil and gas industry by rolling back federal regulation of methane pollution from oil and gas drilling.

Until the reversal, energy companies had been required under standards adopted in 2012 to look for and correct leaks of an array of pollutants known as volatile organic compounds from wells, processing equipment and pipelines. The administration deleted methane from the regulation, even though methane is among the most potent of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Climate scientists have said that methane is responsible for about 25% of current global warming.

Technology to find and correct leaks readily is available, and many companies have used it to comply with the regulation. Since methane also is the product that the companies sell for power production and home heating, the industrys reward is more of its principal product to sell.

Sen. Bob Casey of Scranton and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb of Allegheny County, both Democrats, have introduced resolutions to reverse the regulatory rollback under the Congressional Review Act.

Doing so would be especially important for Pennsylvania. The Wolf administration has improved the states methane regulation but state standards cover only modern, deep Marcellus and Ithaca shale wells. They exempt older, conventional wells that still emit large amounts of methane. The federal standard would cover those wells.

As the Biden administration attempts to lead the nation away from fossil fuels, Congress has a duty to ensure that existing sources are as clean as possible. It should reestablish the methane rule.
MILWAUKEE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, today announced that it has been awarded a $91 million project with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to improve facilities and energy efficiencies of landmark buildings. As part of the National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) program, the GSA is upgrading building technologies in the pursuit of net zero energy consumption while achieving energy goals prescribed in various federal Energy Acts.

Johnson Controls portfolio of smart building systems provides the physical components for the upgrades as well as OpenBlue software solutions that support systemic management of building operations, providing memory, intelligence and unique identity to spaces. This infusion of physical systems with award-winning artificial intelligence that helps systems learn over time automates changes that drive maximum energy and resource efficiency.

Buildings receiving facility improvements over the next three years include the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (RRBITC), the New Executive Office Building (NEOB), the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), Jackson Place, the Winder Building and the Civil Service Building. Johnson Controls Federal Systems' team will perform much of the work associated with the project. Execution of these projects is anticipated to begin on May 1, 2021.

"Sustainability, energy efficiency and working toward the goal of net zero are top of mind for government leaders across the United States. This is reflected in the Biden-Harris Administration's recent infrastructure bill as well as our nation's re-joining of the Paris Agreement," said George Oliver, chairman and CEO at Johnson Controls. "Partnering with the GSA to make these historic buildings more environmentally friendly and energy efficient is an honor, and we look forward to upgrading more buildings around the U.S. in the coming years to create healthier places and do our part to support a healthier planet."

Overall project objectives include:

Reducing energy and water consumption

Improving efficiency of lighting, water and HVAC systems

Transforming building automation systems

Implementing cost-effective retrofits with paybacks of 25 years or less

Completing construction with minimal disruption to tenants

A comprehensive and integrated whole-building approach to the various energy conservation measures

"We are proud to help the GSA achieve energy resilience in the Nation's Capital through Johnson Controls legacy of building expertise and our intimate understanding of the agency's technology and security needs," said Nate Manning, President of Building Solutions North America at Johnson Controls. "It is a privilege to work with GSA on infrastructure projects that deliver transformational sustainability solutions for iconic landmarks. These buildings are critical locations for the federal government and include parts of the White House Complex and a National Historic Landmark used by the Executive Office of the President including the Office of the Vice President, Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Council."

The NDER program demonstrates GSA's commitment to driving energy savings beyond that of an ordinary energy savings project without a detrimental effect on occupant comfort and agency mission. GSA's NDER program is achieving greater than 34 percent energy savings over its portfolio of buildings included in the program. The cornerstone of success in NDER projects is the holistic and interactive consideration of energy conservation measures. For the RRBITC and the NEOB projects alone, energy conservation measures are projected to reduce combined energy consumption by 42% and water consumption by 50%.

This initiative leveraged the Department of Energy's Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) in conjunction with GSA's innovative NDER program to achieve transformative infrastructure outcomes. By following an ESPC approach, the GSA was able to more quickly finalize the contract and award the work to Johnson Controls with minimal up-front capital costs or special appropriations from Congress. This approach to contracting simplified finalization of agreements, paving the way for facility improvements to begin and energy savings to be realized as soon as possible.

Sustainability is an integral part of Johnson Controls vision and values. Since signing the United Nations Global Compact in 2004, the company has remained fully committed to aligning its operations and strategies with the U.N. Global Compact's Ten Principles. In January 2021 the company announced ambitious and accelerated sustainability commitments . Further, in March, the Science Based Targets Initiative approved Johnson Controls ambitious emissions reductions targets. These commitments not only reflect internal action being taken across the company, but also the way that Johnson Controls works with and supports customers, partners, vendors and supply chain participants.

To read more about Johnson Controls commitment and accomplishments around sustainability, please visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/corporate-sustainability/environment

About Johnson Controls:

At Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI) we transform the environments where people live, work, learn and play. As the global leader in smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, our mission is to reimagine the performance of buildings to serve people, places and the planet.

With a history of more than 135 years of innovation, Johnson Controls delivers the blueprint of the future for industries such as healthcare, schools, data centers, airports, stadiums, manufacturing and beyond through its comprehensive digital offering OpenBlue. With a global team of 100,000 experts in more than 150 countries, Johnson Controls offers the world`s largest portfolio of building technology, software as well as service solutions with some of the most trusted names in the industry. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com or follow us @johnsoncontrols on Twitter.

SOURCE Johnson Controls International plc

Related Links

https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/


Efficient and adaptive processing facility equipped to manufacture consumer products with industry-leading margins

Company eager to build off success and community engagement of subsidiary business Token Bitters

With majority of shareholders identifying as visible minorities and women, Token brings more accessibility and diversity in partners and products to industry

EDMONTON, AB, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Token Naturals Ltd. (" Token Naturals ", "Token") has announced that on April 9th Health Canada issued the company a Standard Processing licence. The privately-owned company is now fully licensed to extract and process cannabis at its central Edmonton manufacturing facility. Token Naturals plans to supply extract and derivative products in wholesale to licensed cannabis producers and direct to consumers through licensed cannabis retailers. Token's facility was built as an efficient and adaptive processing space, designed with the goal to operate at industry-leading efficiencies and margins. The company intends to submit a Sales Licence application immediately to provide more robust services to their partners.

Token offers private label manufacturing of cannabis and is currently equipped to produce oils, tinctures, topicals, rosin, vapes and edibles. The company is now commercializing the formulations they have been conceptually developing for partners' products and for Token's own branded lines. Token is currently in talks with a licensed third party to utilize their sales amendment. This agreement would allow Token to sell their own and their partners' products directly to distributors and retailers in order to get products to consumers more swiftly.

"We're looking forward to a new wave of the cannabis industry, one that is more accessible to participate in, more transparent and more responsible in the long term. There is the space and the opportunity to do business differently than we saw in the early days of legalized cannabis," says Keenan Pascal, founder and CEO of Token Naturals. "Many producers now need outside solutions for their cannabis manufacturing, whether that's because they want to focus on growing great flower or they don't have the space and capacity in-house. We're providing customers with a wider range of product formats, and we are doing so with a diverse workforce and a different way of thinking about the industry: looking at the long term."

Token is minority-led and majority owned by shareholders who identify as visible minorities and/or women. As the most centrally located cannabis facility in Edmonton, Token is also the closest licensed manufacturer to Alberta's cannabis distribution board, AGLC.

The licence currently allows for manufacturing in the first phase of Token's facility which occupies 8,300 square feet of the larger building. While concurrently manufacturing in their licensed phase one space, Token will develop an additional 13,500 square feet holding extraction, storage and laboratory spaces. Phase two, which is expected to be completed in early 2022, will hold a proprietary, continuous throughput cryo-ethanol extraction system that is fully process-engineered. This system has the power to collect a higher yield from biomass, which results in higher output, higher margins and less waste without compromising on quality and purity.

In addition to providing white-label manufacturing, Token plans to release their own consumer line of cannabis products. They are now preparing to enter the market with THC and CBD drink shots, complimenting the increasingly popular beverage additives space. The decision to enter both the B2B and B2C markets was an intentional exercise to provide the best possible service to manufacturing partners. By operating in both, Token can pass their experience bringing products to market on to their partner brands.

Token's team brings unique experience and success in the consumer packaged goods space. The company also manufactures and distributes Token Bitters, a line of cocktail bitters sold across Canada and exported to Asia. Token Bitters is Alberta's leading bitters brand and the company will rely on this key network and brand expertise to launch their cannabis products.

For more information on Token and its facility visit tokennaturals.com .

About Token Naturals

Token Naturals Ltd. is an Edmonton-based independent cannabis company creating products for companies and consumers. With a Standard Processing licence from Health Canada, Token's central Edmonton facility focuses on extract and derivative products.

www.tokennaturals.com

@tokennaturals

SOURCE Token Naturals

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: Carla Mitchell, [email protected]
Russian man suspected of treason placed in detention for three months

 RAPSI

14:12 13/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 13 (RAPSI)  Moscows Lefortovsky District Court on Tuesday ordered detention of Russian citizen Valery Golubkin suspected of treason until June 12, the courts press service told RAPSI.

Details are not revealed. Under the law, the suspect could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.

According to the website of Moscows Institute of Physics and Technology, Professor Valery Golubkin specializing in the hypersonic flow of flying machine elements and aerodynamic optimization is one of the employees of the Professorship of Theoretic and Applied Aero and Hydromechanics.
Scholarships may 'do little' to make private schools more socially inclusive because less than half of fee remissions go towards helping poorer families pay them, according to a study.

The study suggests private schools are building luxury facilities in an 'educational arms race' while minimising access to students from lower income families.

The findings are based on analysis of data from the Charity Commission and the annual financial accounts of 142 private schools in England.

Researchers found that private schools awarded fee remission totalling just over 1 billion to 176,234 out of their 537,315 students in 2018-19.

The findings, presented at the British Sociological Association's (BSA) virtual annual conference, suggest that only 44% of this - around 440 million - went to help less well-off families with fees.

The rest were scholarships for students with sporting or musical talent, or they were discounts for school staff's own children, the researchers said.

Scholarships may 'do little' to make independent schools more socially inclusive, according to a study (stock image)

Parents of only 6,118 students - around 1% of all private school students - received a full scholarship, while the parents of a further 2% received remissions in excess of 75% of fees, the report highlights.

Dr Malcolm James, head of accounting, economics and finance at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said: 'Given the levels of fees, the overwhelming majority of scholarship students still require very substantial family contributions.

'Many scholarships may, in practice, be awarded to middle- or upper-class families. Scholarships may therefore do little to make schools genuinely more socially inclusive.'

As part of the research, Dr James found that scholarships were equivalent to around 5% of schools' income.

But he warned: 'The limited nature of the level and reach of scholarships may be obscured by exaggerating their costs in the schools' financial accounts.'

The paper suggests that private school fees had tripled since the early 1980s, with their total annual capital expenditure rising from 247 million in 1997 to 794 million in 2009, declining to 771 million in 2013.

Dr James claimed that schools are using their income to 'build ever more substantial and luxurious facilities in an educational arms race designed to attract high-end clientele and to justify high fees'.

The study suggests that private schools are building luxury facilities in an 'educational arms race' while minimising access to students from lower income families

'Any decisions to improve facilities inevitably drives up fees, effectively excluding increasing numbers of potential students,' he added.

Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), said: 'Independent schools are committed to widening access - the value of means-tested fee assistance provided by schools has increased by over 175 million since 2011 to reach 440 million in 2019 - and the sector has proposed a scheme to enable up to 10,000 children from low-income families to attend independent schools every year.

'Schools spend far more on bursaries than on scholarships; in fact, over double the amount is spent on means-tested bursaries compared to scholarships. Bursaries are specifically targeted at those whose financial circumstances merit fee assistance.

'Means-tested bursary funding is provided to both low- and middle-income families and many schools are striving to do more to provide places for disadvantaged pupils, but are doing so in an environment where they also need to be mindful of holding down fee increases despite facing growing costs.

'Schools' accounts are independently audited every year to ensure they are fully compliant, which includes meeting all charity law requirements.'
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On Sunday, a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer, while trying to taser Daunte Wright, who was violently resisting arrest, shot him instead. Within hours, the Minneapolis suburb, which is almost 30% black, was threatening the police, rioting, and looting. That's barely a headline nowadays. What was more interesting and, to born-and-raised American citizens, more disturbing, was the fact that, when Brooklyn Center's city manager insisted that the police officer still get the benefit of due process, the City Council promptly fired him.

During a press conference on Monday, when a reporter asked Mayor Mike Elliott if he was going to dismiss the officer who killed Wright, Elliott said yes:

Let me be very clear. My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession. And so I do fully support releasing the officer of her duties.

It turned out, though, that Elliott was not the one who would be making the decision. Instead, when the reporter pressed for details, Elliott acknowledged that, "under our form of government, the City Manager, who is here...he ultimately is, actually has control over the police department, not the mayor" and asked his city manager, Curt Boganey, to speak.

Boganey made his position clear:

All employees working for the City of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline. This employee will receive due process and that's really all that I can say today.

When a reporter pressed for a more inflammatory statement because of the "valuation of black life," Boganey doubled down:

You know, I understand and appreciate the comment that you made and why you said it, but if I were to answer that question, I would be contradicting what I said a moment ago, which is to say that all employees are entitled to due process and, after that, due process discipline will be determined. If I were to say anything else, I would actually be contradicting the idea of due process.

Due process is the underpinning of the rule of law: those in power cannot treat people in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Instead, there are rules for dealing with problematic situations, whether criminal accusations or workplace wrongdoing, especially in the context of government employment. Due process is a double-sided shield that, in addition to protecting Americans from those in power, also protects them from the passions of the mob.

A man like this, who can stand for the rule of law when the mob is baying for blood, is a treasure and should be cherished. In a fraught situation, he placed profoundly important principles ahead of any personal feelings he might have had regarding the events that just put his city on the map.

It turned out that the City Council would have liked to cherish him, but the members were too frightened to do so. Immediately after the conference, the Council convened in an emergency session and promptly fired Boganey. As one council member stated explicitly, the council's decision was made entirely to appease the mob:

At a virtual council workshop, Council Member Kris Lawrence-Anderson said she voted to remove the city manager because she feared for her property and retaliation by protestors if she had voted to keep him. "He was doing a great job. I respect him dearly," she said. "I didn't want repercussions at a personal level."

We are witnessing what happens when leftism has eaten away at the underpinnings of a constitutional system governed by the rules of law and due process. In place of those profoundly civilizing principles, we are looking at a country in which guilt and innocence, and punishment and reward, are determined by the passions of the mob and the arbitrary values placed upon the "in groups" and "out groups" in American society. This is a very dangerous time in our history.

Image: Kurt Boganey on LinkedIn.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Michigan Stop on Underground Railroad Undergoes Rehab

The Banks-Dolbeer-Bradley-Foster farmhouse served as a depot on the Underground Railroad to help escapers of slavery reach their freedom. Because of its proximity to Canada, Michigan was a hotspot for freedom fighters from the South, and Walled Lakes very own farmhouse was one stop along the way. The stop in Walled Lake was added to National Park Services National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

Dr. Sarah Gertrude Banks, one of the first women to graduate from the University of Michigan Medical School, resided in the house. She was Clara Fords personal physician, friend of Susan B. Anthony and a champion of womens rights.

From horsehair plaster to hand-hewn beams, much of the buildings early design remains, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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The deep history of the building was almost lost in the late 1990s, when corporations planned to demolish the historic farmhouse to make way for condominiums. History buffs and council people, including current Mayor Linda Ackley, came together and raised money to preserve the building, and, in 1997, the whole farmhouse was moved a couple blocks over to Riley Park in the citys historic district.

Ackley and others had tried to restore the property over the years. They plastered parts of the interior, installed geothermal heating and utilities, and the mayor herself worked on retiling the bathroom.

However, with limited funds, the project fell by the wayside, until about a year ago when Jerry Millen, owner of local cannabis dispensary, Greenhouse, jumpstarted the project.

Its a relay race, and hes taken over the relay, Walled Lake Councilman John Owsinek said.

Millen, along with Antcliff Windows and Doors in White Lake and Especially Windows and Remodeling, chipped in money and labor to replace the farmhouses windows and doors. To restore the entire structure, Millen estimates it will cost a couple hundred thousand dollars.

My goal right now is baby steps, Millen said.

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The pandemic has also slowed restoration efforts.

COVID has increased the price and slowed down the delivery of everything in the country, Millen said. Building supplies were harder to get and reopening for tours would be pushed back until it was safe.

Further steps include retiling, restoring the parlor and decorating the interior with historic artifacts. Millen said people from the community had contacted him, saying they had original items from the house they wanted to donate, including pottery, furniture and pictures.

Once the work is done, Millen and Owsinek said they envision the farmhouse to serve as a historic center for the city, and a place where surrounding schools can visit to understand the past.

I think its important to preserve history, because otherwise, youll forget it, Millen said.

Much of the buildings history is thanks to recordings of conversations with the towns oldest residents in the 1960s and 70s, but much has been lost to the dim past, Owsinek said.

Walled Lakes mayor said shes very grateful to Millen and the crew for their efforts to restore this landmark, and the history attached to it.

Its part of what our nation went through, Ackley said.

Ackley said she believes Millen will see this project through, and that by the end

of the summer, I truly believe were going to have tours going through the homes, and that gives me great pride.
The prime suspect was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder in the 25-year-old disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart.

Paul Flores, 44, who was the last person seen with Smart on the California Polytechnic State University campus in San Luis Obispo before she vanished in 1996, was taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. His father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriffs investigators conducted their latest search for evidence.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said search warrants were sealed and so he could not disclose what evidence led to the arrests, but he said Smart's remains were not found.

We have not recovered Kristin, he told a news conference. We will continue to focus on finding her remains regardless of any court action.

Parkinson did say forensic physical evidence was located and, yes, we believe it's linked to Kristin.

Smart, 19, of Stockton, vanished in May 1996 while returning to her dorm at Cal Poly after a party. She was seen with Flores, who was a student at the school at the time.
Pisit Opnititanit left Thailand and eventually found his way to a few acres of land next to a cow pasture on Martin Bluff Road in Gautier, Mississippi.

The Buddhist monk could have stayed in his home country, where 95 percent of people practice Theravada Buddhism. Instead, his devotion led him to the Mississippi Gulf Coast by way of New Orleans.

Since Wat Buddhametta Mahabaramee opened in July 2016, Opnititanit and fellow monks and volunteers have transformed a typical suburban home, adding gabled tile roofs in the traditional style and an intricately carved wooden porch. A sign outside advertises the Sunday sales of Thai food, which is how most of Wat Buddhamettas non-Buddhist neighbors get to know the place.

The temple is the only Therevada Buddhist temple in Mississippi and one of a handful on the Gulf Coast.

Its not just a religious place, its more like a community center, for gathering, eating good food, and enjoying life, said Monsiri Jintasawang, whose mother has been involved with the temple since it opened.

Jintasawang lives in Las Vegas, but she drove her RV across the country to help out at the temples celebration of Songkran, the Thai New Year. The festival on Sunday brought people from Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida to the temple to pray, share food, and seek blessings for the new year.

Rita Ritano, who was born in Bangkok, came from New Orleans. Next week, a Thai temple there will hold a celebration. Theres also one in New Iberia, Louisiana and several around Irvington, Alabama, home to a Cambodian and Laotian community.

Because the temple communities all over the Gulf South are relatively small, the new year celebrations are staggered so people like Ritano and monks can attend all of them.

On Sunday afternoon, the monks of Wat Buddhametta and colleagues from New Orleans sat outside the temple behind seven statues of the Buddha, one for each day of the week. Attendees filled cups of water and poured them on statues of the Buddha and then on the monks.

In Thailand, people mark the holiday by going to the temple to pray, make donations to the monks, and acknowledge wrongdoings during the last year.

And then the community throws water at each other, Ritano said. It means youre clean.

Family reunions and water fights

Wirinda Rongdech, 24, was among the visitors to Wat Budhametta Mahabaramee on Sunday. Rongdech is from southern Thailand but has been studying and working in New Orleans. A Thailand-born colleague invited her to join their trip.

I just wanted to see how a Thai temple in America looks, she said.

It was different from Songkran in Thailand, where part of the festivities is huge water fights. The holiday falls during the hottest part of the year in Thailand, so the water is not only a symbol of ablution but also welcome relief from the heat.

In big cities like Bangkok, people arm themselves with water guns and buckets, and the water fights turn into huge street parties. As Rongdech put it, people get drunk and get wet.

The holiday falls on April 13 but is celebrated through the 15th, and everything shuts down so people can go home to be with their families.

The most important thing, the key, is reunion, said Joe Khotwong, a legal advisor to Wat Buddhametta Mahabaramee and head monk at Wat Wimuttayaram Buddhist Temple in New Orleans.

When children leave their parents for work in the city, they come back for the New Year, he said.

Theravada Buddhism in the Gulf South

Theravada Buddhism is also the dominant religion in Laos and Cambodia, and Wat Buddhametta Mahabaramee serves community members with roots in those countries, too. There are some Vietnamese attendees, too, but most Vietnamese Buddhists align with Mahayana Buddhism, and on the Coast, most Vietnamese Americans are Catholic.

The first Theravada Buddhists arrived in the Gulf South in the 1970s as refugees after the Vietnam War.

Some of them eventually made their way to the Gulf Coast. Cambodians arrived in Alabama around Bayou La Batre in 1975 and soon built their own temples. Laotians and Vietnamese came to work in the seafood industry there, too.

Biloxis thriving Vietnamese community established its own Catholic church and Buddhist temple.

U.S. Census data breaks down national origin for some of Mississippis roughly 30,000 Asian residents, showing that about 7,000 Mississippians have roots in India and about 11,000 in Vietnam. But the census doesnt have a separate box for Cambodians, Laotians and Thais to check. Instead, they are gathered with other nationalities under the umbrella other Asian, which encompasses about 2,000 people in the state.

The census estimates there are about 10,000 other Asians in Louisiana and 8,000 in Alabama.

Thai immigrants to the U.S. came mostly for economic reasons  Ritano arrived 40 years ago as a student. Some of the longest-standing members of the community in Mississippi are women who met their American husbands when they were serving in the Vietnam War.

Khotwongs temple in New Orleans was established in 2009. Historically, Thai Buddhists in Mississippi have traveled to Louisiana or Alabama for festivals and events.

Finding a monk who could establish a temple in Mississippi was a challenge, he said.

Its not only for one year, maybe long-term leadership, he said. A small community there were no monks coming.

A monk on a mission

Then, Opnititanit, who had been at Khotwongs New Orleans temple, decided to move to Gautier.The location was good, within a three-hour drive of small Thai communities in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. And, to a missionary of Theravada Buddhism, setting up a temple where there was none held appeal.

In addition to regular prayers and participating in festivals, Opnititanit and his colleagues teach visitors, including non-Buddhists, about Buddhism and meditation.

He also oversees the physical expansion and remodeling of the temple. His construction skills are self-taught via YouTube and internet research.

Every week, volunteers cook and sell dishes like pad Thai and papaya salad to help raise money for the temples expansion.

The landscaping and decorations in front of the temple were all imported from Thailand, said Khotwong. The temple community is planning to build a multi-purpose center, and the monks will once again handle the construction.

There is no money, Khotwong said. We devote our life to serve Buddhism. Thats our return, not money.

Opnititanit spends many days working in front of the temple. Its cheap, and it gives him a chance to meet people who might be wondering about the statues of the Buddha on Martin Bluff Road.

Every day, people stop by, he said. The temple is for everyone in the world.

___

(c)2021 The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

Visit The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.) at www.sunherald.com

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said "simple math" is behind the recent decline of coronavirus cases in his state: Take the number of people who have been vaccinated and combine it with the number who have been infected. The result, he said, is something "very close" to herd immunity - the point at which enough of the population is immune that the virus can no longer easily spread.

"We remain very vigilant and guarded and proactive in our response, but there is simple math behind the reason why we continue to have success," Abbott, a Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday." The equation "means, very simply, it's a whole lot more difficult for covid-19 to be spreading to other people in the state of Texas."

ICYMI: Trying to make sense of how Texas ranks on COVID vaccinations? Here's a look behind the numbers.

Experts have said immunity from vaccinations and prior infections may have partly contributed to declining cases nationwide after the virus's winter surge. But in Texas, the numbers Abbott cited do not add up to herd immunity, according estimates of that threshold.

Scientists do not know the precise point at which herd immunity will begin, but in recent months they've said anywhere from 70% to more than 90% of the population would need to acquire protection. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious-diseases doctor, has predicted 80% to 85%.

Lauren Ancel Meyers, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin and director of its covid-19 modeling consortium, said that "a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding" has surrounded the herd immunity threshold and that several factors could still influence it.

"It depends on the efficacy and duration of immunity acquired through infection or vaccination, whether we have pockets of low immunity in our communities and whether there are emerging variants that can evade immunity," Meyers said.

Nineteen percent of Texas residents are fully vaccinated, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a lower share than all but six U.S. states. Health officials there have confirmed more than 2.4 million infections and counted an additional 400,000 "probable" coronavirus infections. Almost 50,000 of those people have died, according to data gathered by The Washington Post.

The official number of people who have survived infection, about 2.77 million, plus the number inoculated, about 5.5 million, equals more than 8.27 million people with some form of immunity, or about 29% of Texas's population.

However, there is a hidden variable that is crucial to this calculation: the number of people who have contracted the coronavirus but have not been formally counted - either because they were never tested or were never linked to a positive case.

It is impossible to know exactly what this number is, but researchers reckon that it's much greater than what shows up on state data dashboards and the ubiquitous pandemic trackers. A team at Columbia University used a mathematical model to estimate the true scope of infections, and it found that by late January, 31% of Texans probably had contracted the novel coronavirus, which can cause the illness covid-19.

This would mean at least 50% of residents may have some sort of immunity - more than the official tallies would suggest, but still well short of Abbott's pronouncement.

READ ALSO: All adults in Texas are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. But there still aren't enough doses.

Jeffrey Shaman, the study's lead researcher, added a note of caution when discussing his findings with NPR: Protection gained through mild or asymptomatic infection may wane and offer little help in the race to herd immunity, he said.

In his Fox News interview, Abbott said that more than 70% of the state's seniors received at least one dose of a vaccine, and that more than 50% of those ages 50 to 65 have gotten one.

"I don't know what herd immunity is, but when you add that to the people who have acquired immunity, it looks like it could be very close to herd immunity," he said.

Last week, the epidemiologist Michael Osterholm predicted the beginning of a "fourth surge" of new cases, noting hot spots in the Midwest and the pattern of previous pandemic waves, which tended to hit northern states before moving south. His message was clear: In due time, case numbers will rise in states such as Florida and Texas.

In an interview with The New York Times on Sunday, Osterholm reacted bluntly to Abbott's boast: "There is no way on God's green earth that Texas is anywhere even close to herd immunity," he said.

The governor has touted the state's trends as evidence that his aggressive reopening strategy, which public health experts criticized, is working. In the month since Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate, the daily average of newly reported cases has decreased from 4,700 to about 3,500. In March, scholar Daniel Drezner wrote in an essay for The Washington Post that the politicization of herd immunity is "inevitable," with scientists revising their threshold estimates upward and conservative commentators contending that it is lower.

But such arguments could be costly, with experts pointing to virus variant-driven outbreaks in states such as Michigan and Minnesota as evidence that the country is not yet in the clear. Those Midwestern states have vaccinated a higher share of their populations than Texas - 24% in Minnesota and 22% in Michigan - yet they've been unable to escape the latest surges.

"We don't know if and when we'll get to the point that the virus is completely eliminated, particularly given complications like emerging variants and pockets of low vaccination coverage," said Meyers, the University of Texas biologist. "Still, the closer we get to herd immunity by closing gaps in vaccine coverage and overcoming vaccine hesitancy, the safer, healthier and more open our society will be."
The East Khasi Hills district administration in Meghalaya extended the night curfew timing from Monday in view of the rising Covid-19 cases.

According to a notification issued by East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Isawanda Laloo, the night curfew would begin every night from 10 pm instead of midnight and end at 5 am.

The order has been invoked under Section 144 CrPC read together with Regulation 3 of the Meghalaya Epidemic Diseases, Covid-19 Regulations, 2020.

Laloo directed all shops, establishments, restaurants and bars to shut down by 9 pm under the new order.

Meanwhile, the DC also informed that three paid quarantine hotels have been earmarked for people who need to be quarantined till their RT-PCR report is available. According to the DC, returnees who have to undergo the RT-PCR test at the entry point can stay at the three hotels till their test results are out within 48 hours.

She added that if the person tests negative, then the report would be communicated through an SMS or can be checked online at www.coronamegh.in. Such individuals (negative report) can carry on with their daily activities or work normally. If tested positive, SOPs for home or institutional isolation should be followed, Laloo said.

The DC said that it is mandatory that all persons undergoing quarantine should not move around until such time the test results are obtained. They should also observe Covid-19 appropriate behaviour at all times by wearing a mask, maintaining social distance and practising hand hygiene.
Over the past few decades, many countries have made reforms toward greater gender equality, but despite this progress, women still face regulations that restrict their economic opportunities. Let's have a look at what has changed from 1970 till today.

Fifty years ago, women had, on average, less than half the legal rights of men. In many countries, they weren't allowed to work in industrial jobs and there was no law protecting them against gender-based discrimination at work. Paid leave for mothers was offered in just a few countries and legislation addressing domestic violence was practically nonexistent.

Gender Equality 50 Years Ago And Now

The Women, Business, And The Law index issued by the World Bank ranks countries based on their legislation and regulations that affect women's economic opportunities. The index consists of eight indicators (such as mobility, pay, and pensions), which are structured around the life cycle of a working woman. The higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation is.

In 1970, the global index was 46.3 points out of 100 -- meaning that, on average, women had less than half the legal rights of men. The biggest inequalities were observed in the areas of parenthood, the workplace, and pay.

Over subsequent decades, the index gradually increased and eventually reached 76.1 points in 2020. According to the latest report, parenthood and pay were still the areas where the biggest inequalities were found, and the World Bank considers only 10 countries in the world to be fully gender-equal.

Russia -- Falling Below The World Average

In 1970, Russia was one of the republics of the former Soviet Union. Local women had slightly more than half the legal rights of men (its index score was 55.6 points), which was above the global average at that time.

Between 1960 and 1971, as the Soviet Union strived to expand its economy, more than 18 million women were brought into the workforce. As motherhood and family values were also promoted, new regulations had to be adopted.

For example, gender-based employment discrimination was officially prohibited and the dismissal of workers for being pregnant was banned. Paid maternity leave was also available. Back then, leave of at least 14 weeks was common in fewer than 30 countries around the world.

On the other hand, women were banned from jobs that were deemed dangerous to their reproductive health. They faced restrictions on working at night and in certain industrial jobs, such as those that required lifting or moving heavy items. At one point, there were more than 400 such jobs on the list of occupations deemed unsuitable for women. Equal pay for equal work was also not required by law.

Women, Business, and the Law index

(1970-2020 data)

After 1991, Russia improved its index by allowing women to work at night and legally requiring equal pay for work of equal value. However, no major reforms have been adopted since 2002 and the index has stagnated ever since. In 2016, it even fell below the world average.

Russian women still can't work in many industries, although the list of banned occupations was reduced to 100 jobs in 2021. Russia is also one of about 30 countries in the world that doesn't have a law addressing domestic violence and there is no legislation protecting workers against sexual harassment at work.

Scores By Indicator

(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)

Hungary -- One Step Away From Gender Equality?

With an index of almost 67 points, Hungary was among 10 countries in the world with the highest score in 1970. Women could work in industrial jobs, there was paid leave for mothers, and it was prohibited to dismiss a worker for being pregnant. Nonetheless, women were not allowed to work in jobs that were deemed dangerous. The law also didn't prohibit gender-based discrimination in employment, and equal pay for equal work was not guaranteed.

Until 2004, Hungary's score on the Women, Business, And The Law index remained virtually unchanged. After that the government adopted legislation to protect women from sexual harassment and domestic violence. It also prohibited gender-based discrimination in the workplace.

Women, Business, And The Law Index

(1970-2020 data)

In the latest report, Hungary got a score of 96.5 points and was among 25 countries with the most gender-equal rights. Women can now work in all industries, the law prohibits gender-based discrimination in access to credit, and there is paid leave available to fathers. To get the highest score and join other countries that are recognized as fully gender-equal by the World Bank, Hungary would need to adopt a law demanding equal pay for work of equal value.

Scores By Indicator

(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)

Iran -- A Paragon Of

Gender Inequality?

In 1970, women in Iran had less than one-third of the legal rights of men. Over the next 50 years, the country's index score has remained almost the same and Iran is currently among 10 countries with the least gender-equal rights in the world. Women face far more restrictions than men when it comes to leaving the home, traveling abroad, or remarrying. And these are just a few of the obstacles they must contend with.

Women, Business, And The Law Index

(1970-2020 data)

For 50 years now, Iran has been getting a zero score in three areas measured -- mobility, the workplace, and marriage. To this day, women can't choose where to live in the same way as men can. Sons and daughters don't have equal rights when it comes to inheriting assets from their parents, there is no legislation addressing sexual harassment and domestic violence, and it is not prohibited to dismiss a worker for being pregnant.

One of the very few changes adopted by Iran is paid leave, which is to some extent available for mothers and fathers.

Scores By Indicator

(the higher the score, the more gender-equal the legislation in this area is)

Interactive Guide

To Gender Inequality

In this section, you can discover for yourself how gender-equality laws have changed in more than 20 countries around the world. We chose countries from our broadcast region and added a few others for reference purposes.

Note: The results are based on a report titled Women, Business, And The Law. This was published by the World Bank in February 2021 and looks at data that had been gathered by October 1, 2020. The report focuses mainly on the economic and legal impediments facing women in various countries, so there might be other further studies available that describe other aspects of gender inequality.
The planet is more connected than it appears, and an event that happened more than 6,000 kilometres away is likely to make an impression on Spain in the coming days.

The La Soufriere volcano on the island of San Vicente, in the Caribbean, erupted on 9 April and the cloud of ash and gases has made its way across the Atlantic and is approaching the Canary Islands first and, in the following days, the south of the Spanish mainland.

Spains national weather agency, Aemet, is monitoring the phenomenon, although it is unlikely to affect the general public as it is moving at a high altitude, between 3,000 and 5,000 metres.

Jose Maria Sanchez-Laulhe, director of the Aemet Meteorological Centre in Malaga, said everything indicates the impact is likely to be mild for air traffic and very low for the general public.

The path of the volcanic ash cloud. / SUR

The arrival of the ash cloud is expected on Wednesday and Thursday and will, likely, coincide with rain. It is possible that it will become noticeable with a change in the colours of the sky at dawn, "like a candle", says Jose Luis Escudero, a weather expert in Malaga and author of the SUR blog Tormentas y Rayos.
WHISTLER, B.C. - Adults living and working in Whistler, B.C. will be able to receive their COVID-19 vaccination earlier than other parts of the province, as the region grapples with a surge of cases.

Cyclists ride their bikes past empty shops in Whistler, B.C., on May 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

WHISTLER, B.C. - Adults living and working in Whistler, B.C. will be able to receive their COVID-19 vaccination earlier than other parts of the province, as the region grapples with a surge of cases.

Eligible residents will be required to provide proof of their permanent residency or employment in Whistler. A B.C. drivers licence, a valid credit card statement with their Whistler address, or a recent paystub to confirm their employment in the area will be required.

Those eligible for the vaccine will be able to start receiving doses starting Monday.

Penny Ballem, who is leading B.C.'s immunization program, said Whistler has endured three surges of the virus since January.

"We've used aggressive public health measures to the best of our ability to manage them," Ballem said, adding that the town's housing situation has also exacerbated attempts to deal with the virus.

"We're at a place now where we have to get better containment of the surge."

From the start of the new year to April 5, there have been 1,505 COVID-19 cases in Whistler, with the majority occurring in people aged 20 to 39.

The health authority adds that the Howe Sound health area has the highest rate of COVID-19 of any local health area in the province, with the majority of these cases residing in the Whistler community.

Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton said the move will protect more than the residents of his town.

"This protects Whistlerites but I believe it will protect the province as well," Crompton said in an interview. "The community vaccination means that when people come from Vancouver in to this community and go home, they'll be more protected than they would've been otherwise."

The town is largely made-up of hospitality workers and small business owners, which have seen their livelihoods devastated by the pandemic, he added.

"Whistler does not have an economy in the middle of COVID-19. That's never been clearer than when the mountain closed and the vast majority of our community was out of work," said Crompton.

The program also comes as the town deals with a large number of COVID-19 variant cases.

B.C. has recorded 974 cases of the variant that originated in Brazil, the highest in Canada.

Of those cases, there are at least 197 of the variant cases in the community.

The ski resort was shut down at the end of March with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry blaming the rising number of COVID-19 cases for the decision.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2021.
China lacked transparency during the early stages of COVID-19, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the US would get to the bottom of this.

Blinken claims China lacked transparency during COVID-19's origin probe

Following Secretary of State Antony Blinken's claim that Beijing did not maintain accountability during the early stages of COVID19, the US launched a new broadside against China on Sunday. He has called on a thorough inquiry into COVID-19's origins.

These comments came after a new investigation conducted jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and China yielded inconclusive findings of the virus's spread. It was also alleged that the western interests were ignored while the Chinese government skewed the investigation to their advantage.

According to the Republic World, Blinken mentioned that even China recognizes that they failed miserably during the early stages of the virus's outbreak. When asked whether Washington would get to the bottom of the pandemic, the state official replied, adding, "We need to get to the bottom of this." He went on to say that to keep this from happening again. We need to get to the root of the problem.

The remarks are a strong sign that the US government can counter China's reservations. Following the findings of the investigation conducted by the Chinese team and the World Health Organization (WHO), a coalition of international scientists demanded a new analysis.

According to reports, scientists have encouraged a team of biosecurity and biosafety specialists to investigate. In a statement, the US, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, and Israel said that they support WHO's attempts to find the pandemic's origin but that the investigative evidence is incomplete.

Vladimir Putin Tests Joe Biden by Massing Troops Along Ukraine's Border, Former US Ambassador Warns

US slams China for not cooperating COVID-19 origin probe

China has been chastised by the US Secretary of State for obstructing COVID-19 probes for its advantage, as per Zeenews India. The US diplomat said we need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible to have the greatest chance of stopping it from happening again. On Sunday (April 11), US Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched a sharp attack on China for lack of clarity during the "early days" of the coronavirus pandemic, calling for a more comprehensive investigation of COVID-19's origins.

Blinken's statements come after a report released last month by the World Health Organization, and China could not conclusively determine how or why the virus started to spread and did nothing to allay Western fears that the Chinese Communist Party rigged the investigation to benefit itself.

China Admits Its COVID-19 Vaccines Are Only 50 Percent Effective Against the Virus

Bipartisan bill calls for Biden to declassify intel in China

According to a newly introduced bipartisan bill aimed at tackling the Chinese Communist Party's increasing economic challenge and national security threat. The Biden administration must declassify a slew of intelligence relating to COVID-19's origins, including some signs of a Chinese cover-up or ties to a Wuhan lab, Washington Examiner reported.

Johns Hopkins University revealed that the Chinese government sought to thwart an unbiased investigation into the source of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed 2.93 million people globally, according to officials from the Trump and Biden administrations. Both administrations questioned the findings of a joint WHO-China origins report published in March.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Democratic Chairman Bob Menendez and ranking GOP member Jim Risch introduced the bipartisan Strategic Competition Act last week. They were calling on the executive branch to provide several reports on Chinese misconduct, global influence operations, and malign activities, including a detailed analysis of the novel coronavirus source.

Health Official Admits Having No Idea AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Causes Blood Clots

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Flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) and The International Air Transport Association (IATA) have announced a partnership to trial IATA Travel Pass, a digital health pass that aims to support the safe reopening of borders and assist in the industry recovery from Covid-19 pandemic impact.

IATA Travel Pass is a mobile app that will enable passengers to create digital passports where test and vaccine data can be securely loaded and shared, to ensure that governmental health requirements are fulfilled both at the departure and destination points.

Saudia will begin to introduce the IATA Travel Pass on its network, starting first with a trial that is set to take place on the Kuala Lumpur  Jeddah route later this month, on April 19.

Guests travelling with Saudia will be able to visit a designated laboratory in Malaysia to complete PCR test requirements, which can then be uploaded on the IATA Travel App for use in onward travel to Saudi Arabia.

Saudia is among the worlds leading airlines to partner with IATA on this robust initiative that will assist in helping in providing seamless travel free of the hassles faced by passengers as they cross the borders.

Following the trial, once the IATA Travel Pass is finalised, it will be rolled out across the airlines network.

Saudia Chief Commercial Officer Khalid Albassam said: Saudia is keen to partner with IATA in this innovative digital solution which will assist in steering industry recovery and facilitating the travel process for all stakeholders, the passenger, the airline, the testing labs and the border authorities.

Saudia continues to lead the way in safety measures and ease of travel with electronic solutions and the IATA Travel Pass partnership is another reinforcement that readiness and usage of contactless methods is the way forward for travel journeys, Albassam added.

Were proud to work with Saudia to make IATA Travel Pass available in Saudi Arabia. This is the first step in making regional and international travel during the pandemic as convenient as possible giving people the confidence that they are meeting Covid-19 government health requirements. IATA Travel Pass holds the key to the safe restart of the travel and tourism industry, which is an important contributor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias economy, said Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security. - TradeArabia News Service
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, center, reviews the honor guard upon arrival during the official launching of Taiwan's new amphibious transport dock YU SHAN (LPD-1401) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, April 13. EPA




A box of Janssen vaccines is shown by pharmacist Zsolt Szenasi at a warehouse of Hungaropharma, a Hungarian pharmaceutical wholesale company, in Budapest, Hungary, after the arrival of the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson, US, made one-dose vaccine against the new coronavirus in the country Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The first shopment contains 28 thousand doses of Janssen. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)
13/04/2021 - Foreign aid from official donors rose to an all-time high of USD 161.2 billion in 2020, up 3.5% in real terms from 2019, boosted by additional spending mobilised to help developing countries grappling with the COVID-19 crisis, according to preliminary data collected by the OECD.





Within total Official Development Assistance (ODA) provided by members of the OECDs Development Assistance Committee in 2020, initial estimates indicate that DAC countries spent USD 12 billion on COVID-19 related activities. Some of this was new spending and some was redirected from existing development programmes, according to an OECD survey carried out in April and May 2020. Most providers said they would not discontinue programmes already in place.





Total ODA equated to around 1% of the amount countries have mobilised over the past year in economic stimulus measures to help their own societies recover from the COVID crisis. Meanwhile the global vaccine distribution facility COVAX remains severely underfunded, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said during a virtual presentation of the aid data.





Governments globally have provided 16 trillion dollars worth of COVID stimulus measures yet we have only mobilised 1% of this amount to help developing countries cope with a crisis that is unprecedented in our lifetimes, Mr Gurria said. This crisis is a major test for multilateralism and for the very concept of foreign aid. We need to make a much greater effort to help developing countries with vaccine distribution, with hospital services and to support the worlds most vulnerable peoples incomes and livelihoods tobuild a truly global recovery.





Foreign aid rose in a year that saw all other major flows of income for developing countries  trade, foreign direct investment and remittances  decline due to the pandemic, and domestic resources under increased pressure. Total external private finance to developing countries fell 13% in 2020 and trade volumes declined by 8.5%. (See the OECDs Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021.)





The rise in 2020 ODA was also affected, however, by an increase in loans by some donors. Of gross bilateral ODA, 22% was in the form of loans and equity investments, up from around 17% in previous years, with the rest provided as grants.





The 2020 ODA total is equivalent to 0.32% of DAC donors combined gross national income, up from 0.30% in 2019 but below a target of 0.7% ODA to GNI. Part of the rise in the ratio was due to the fact that GNI fell in most DAC countries. Six DAC members  Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom  met or exceeded the 0.7% target. Among non-DAC donors, whose assistance to developing countries is not included in the ODA total, Turkey provided aid equivalent to 1.12% of its GNI.





ODA rose in 16 DAC countries, with some substantially increasing their aid budgets to help developing countries respond to the pandemic. The largest increases were in Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, the Slovak Republic, Sweden and Switzerland. ODA fell in 13 countries, most notably in Australia, Greece, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Portugal and the United Kingdom. G7 donors provided 76% of total ODA and DAC-EU countries 45%. ODA provided by EU Institutions jumped by 25.4% in real terms as they mobilised funds for COVID-19 related activities and increased sovereign lending by 136% over 2019.





Short-term support to help with the COVID-19 crisis focused on health systems, humanitarian aid and food security, according to the OECD survey. Aid providers indicated they would focus in the medium-term on making diagnostics and vaccines available to countries in need, as well as offering support to address the economic and social repercussions of the pandemic.





At the outset of the pandemic, DAC donors said that they would strive to protect ODA volumes. I am grateful and proud to say that they have done that and more. Donor countries have stepped up to support developing countries struggling with the health and economic fallout of COVID-19, even as their own economies and societies have been battered, said DAC Chair Susanna Moorehead. The next few years will be tough and the finance we provide must work harder than ever. If we really are going to build forward better and greener, we must focus on the most vulnerable countries and the most vulnerable people in them, especially women and girls.





Bilateral ODA to Africa and least-developed countries rose by 4.1% and 1.8% respectively. Humanitarian aid rose by 6%. Excluding aid spent on hosting refugees within donor countries  which was down 9.5% from 2019 to USD 9.0 billion and mainly concerned Canada, Iceland and the Netherlands  ODA rose by 4.4% in real terms in 2020.





ODA makes up over two thirds of external finance for least-developed countries. The OECD also monitors flows from some non-DAC providers and private foundations. Preliminary data released by the OECD each April is followed by final statistics published at the end of each year with a detailed geographic and sectoral breakdown. (See the 2019 ODA breakdown.)





Net ODA has risen for the most part steadily in volume terms from just below USD 40 billion (in 2019 prices) in 1960. It has more than doubled in real terms (up 110%) since 2000, when the Millennium Development Goals were agreed, despite the impact of the 2008 crisis on provider economies.

Links to aid data and background information:

2020 ODA statistics in detail

More information on ODA (including Frequently Asked Questions, eligible countries, and all OECD aid data including charts on donors & recipients since 1960)

For further information, journalists should contact Catherine Bremer in the OECD Media Office (+33 1 4524 80 97.)

The DAC is an OECD committee that serves as a forum for 30 donors and observer bodies.





ODA is defined as official financing flows to promote the economic development and welfare of low and middle-income countries. Net ODA is total ODA spent minus repayment of loan principals by recipient countries.





Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

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[April 13, 2021] Identity Defined Security Alliance Unveils Winners of Inaugural Identity Management Awards on Identity Management Day

DENVER, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Identity Defined Security Alliance (IDSA), a nonprofit that provides vendor-neutral education and resources to help organizations reduce the risk of a breach by combining identity and security strategies, today announced the winners of the inaugural Identity Management Awards . The awards are part of todays first-ever Identity Management Day , hosted by the IDSA in partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA). Winners were selected by a panel of judges from the IDSA and NCSA for their commitment to identity management and security as an enabler to business operations while reducing risks.

Identity Management Evangelist of the Year: Tom Malta, Head of Identity and Access Management, Navy Federal Credit Union This award recognizes exemplary individuals who evangelize and progress identity management and security initiatives in their organization, help to protect their company against identity-related breaches, and work to educate the broader industry on the subject. For over two decades, Tom Malta has been evangelizing best practices and principles of Identity and Access Management (IAM) through webinars and interviews, while also serving as an advisor to vendors and service firms. Malta demonstrates an innovative approach to building out both workforce and external-facing IAM programs by leveraging cutting-edge technologies and adopting appropriate standards. Whether working from a B2B or B2C perspective, Malta prioritizes a long-term, strategic approach, ultimately safeguarding his organizations and any businesses who seek his advice.



Finalists: Bil Harmer, CISO and Chief Evangelist, SecureAuth

Mradula Singh, Founder and CEO, NexSchools

Sam Tang, Managing Director of Cybersecurty Services, Ernst & Young LLP





Identity Management Organization of the Year: The City of Boston This award recognizes organizations that go above and beyond to protect employee, customer, and partner identities, and have implemented outstanding identity management and security projects. The City of Boston initiated a complete transformation of its identity program in order to improve overall security posture, end reliance on legacy systems, and solve user experience issues. The project, Access Boston, was the culmination of a 2-year multi-million-dollar IAM program implementation. Access Boston better protects city resources through effective and efficient identity lifecycle management, access control and account auditing. The project also enhanced user experience by simplifying and improving staff access to city applications and data from anywhere, along with self-service functionality for password resets and access requests and has reduced administrative overhead by minimizing the duplication of effort through streamlined provisioning and deprovisioning.

Finalists: Intermountain Healthcare

Sonrai Security

Starbucks

The response to the first-ever Identity Management Evangelist and Organization of the Year Awards was overwhelming. The winners represent significant transformational efforts and a long-term commitment to evangelizing the importance of identity management and securing digital identities, said Julie Smith, executive director of the IDSA. On behalf of the IDSA and NCSA, I would like to congratulate the winners and finalists of the inaugural Identity Management Awards. We hope that other companies can look to them for best practices on Identity Management Day and beyond. Identity Management Day Live Events - April 13 10 a.m. MT - Identity Management Day 2021 Panel Webcast moderated by Julie Smith, executive director of the IDSA. Panelists will include: Kelvin Coleman, executive director of the NCSA, Stephen Lee, VP, technical strategy and partnerships for Okta, Tom Malta, head of IAM for Navy Federal Credit Union, and Greg McCarthy, chief information security officer for the City of Boston.

moderated by Julie Smith, executive director of the IDSA. Panelists will include: Kelvin Coleman, executive director of the NCSA, Stephen Lee, VP, technical strategy and partnerships for Okta, Tom Malta, head of IAM for Navy Federal Credit Union, and Greg McCarthy, chief information security officer for the City of Boston. 12 p.m. MT - NCSA Webinar: Secure Your SMB with Proper Identity Management .

. 1 p.m. MT - #IDMgmtDayChat on Twitter hosted by the NCSA (@StaySafeOnline). To participate, contact Jennifer Cook, jennifer@staysafeonline.org.

To learn more about Identity Management Day, visit www.identitymanagementday.org . About Identity Management Day

Identity Management Day, founded by the Identity Defined Security Alliance, and held the second Tuesday of April each year, aims to inform about the dangers of casually or improperly managing and securing digital identities by raising awareness, sharing best practices, and leveraging the support of vendors in the identity security space. To learn more and get involved, visit www.identitymanagementday.org . About the Identity Defined Security Alliance

The IDSA is a group of identity and security vendors, solution providers, and practitioners that acts as an independent source of thought leadership, expertise, and practical guidance on identity centric approaches to security for technology professionals. The IDSA is a nonprofit that facilitates community collaboration to help organizations reduce risk by providing education, best practices, and resources.

Industry Contact Identity Defined Security Alliance Julie Smith julie@idsalliance.org

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[April 13, 2021] Addiction Alliance of Georgia Launches Prevention Collaborative in Atlanta School

BARR Center (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) and the Addiction Alliance of Georgia-a unique collaboration between Emory Healthcare and the Hazelden Betty Ford (News - Alert) Foundation-are excited to announce their partnership in welcoming South Atlanta High School of Atlanta Public Schools as the first BARR school in Georgia. BARR is a national organization that aims to bring education into the 21st century through intentionally deepened relationships and a data-driven, personalized and supportive approach. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005931/en/ South Atlanta High School students smile and gather, showcasing their school's spirit. South Atlanta High School will begin implementing the comprehensive, evidence-based prevention model BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) with ninth-grade students. NOTE: This photo was captured pre-COVID during the 2018-2019 academic year. Students and staff are required to were masks in all APS buildings. (Photo: Business Wire) "In this time of the pandemic, with multiple school disruptions and ongoing physical isolation, students, teachers, families and schools are experiencing significant stress and strain, which we know is increasing risks for substance use, mental health issues and negative educational consequences for young people," said Stephen Delisi, MD, medical director for the Professional Education Continuum Solutions team at Hazelden Betty Ford. "A comprehensive, evidence-based prevention model such as BARR is so important now because it targets social-emotional learning and builds supportive relationships among students, teachers, peers and parents in a way that helps change trajectories so chronic lifelong mental health and substance use disorders, and other negative outcomes, do not occur." Hazelden Betty Ford is the nation's largest nonprofit system of addiction treatment, co-occurring mental health care, recovery resources and related prevention and education services. It partners with BARR Center to implement the BARR model at schools throughout the country. Last fall, it also launched the Addiction Alliance of Georgia in partnership with leading U.S. health system Emory Healthcare. The Addiction Alliance of Georgia is engaging public and private collaborators throughout Georgia to reduce addiction rates, improve recovery rates and save more lives through a diverse strategy of treatment, prevention, education, research and outreach. The Alliance is beginning its work by focusing on prevention and developmental growth with the future leaders of tomorrow - students. The goal is to help develop resilient, healthy and compassionate young leaders. "This is a great early project for us with an incredible partner like BARR Center, and an exceptional way to begin our work reaching out to community-based prevention professionals throughout Georgia to determine how best we can fill gaps and partner with others engaged in similar work. Our work with BARR at South Atlanta High School will help provide the tools necessary to keep healthy kids healthy," said William McDonald, MD, professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine. McDonald and Delisi chair the Addiction Alliance of Georgia's Education and Community Outreach Committee. BARR is an evidence-based universal prevention model that has been proven t reduce risky behaviors including decreasing the incidence of substance use (alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs), academic failure, truancy and disciplinary incidents among youth. By using real-time data and building relationships, staff are able to support healthy development and reduce the likelihood that risky behaviors will become the norm.



South Atlanta High School will begin implementing BARR with ninth-grade students. The school has already begun BARR's implementation training with staff members who have been learning more about the model's two pillars - relationships and data. BARR is designed to create strong schools and communities by empowering students, teachers and families with data, so that schools can re-align existing resources to nurture a unified and personalized culture of support and success for every student, both inside and outside of the classroom. The BARR model provides a system and structure to the schools' prevention efforts, allowing for targeted interventions to be put in place for those students most in need. These interventions range from encouraging students to enroll in advanced or honors courses all the way to putting supports in place for mental health and other concerns through school - or community-based programming.

COVID-19 has made it even more critical that educators have the tools they need to reach students like never before. The changes educators have made in the past year have been revolutionary in transforming education given the impact of the pandemic throughout the world. "Things a year ago that seemed impossible are not," said BARR's Founder and Executive Director Angela Jerabek. "We need each other now more than ever." By implementing BARR at South Atlanta High School, educators will have the support they need in these challenging times and in the future to continue fostering even stronger relationships with their students. This support will help ensure each and every student feels seen, heard and valued. Strengthening these relationships will be critical to give educators the tools they need to remove barriers to help students enhance their health. By using a whole-child approach, educators are able to look at students' needs from multiple perspectives and help them succeed. "At South Atlanta High School, we prioritize the need to transform students into future leaders to have a lasting impact in their communities," said South Atlanta High School Principal Dr. Patricia Ford. "We are grateful for the opportunity to offer BARR to students through this partnership, as we continue strengthening relationships, supporting each learner and helping students be the best versions of themselves." BARR will also equip South Atlanta High School with the tools to be able to further assess data to help keep students healthy while meeting high standards, achieving their goals, and attending school more. This data is pivotal to better serving students by understanding them academically, socially and emotionally. BARR will provide educators with time specifically allotted in their schedules to focus on each individual student's well-being, strengths and needs together. This collaboration is critical to help students feel supported as they strive for growth. "In order to create a thriving environment, we need to truly know each student and understand them from multiple perspectives," said Jerabek. "BARR will provide South Atlanta High School's team with the tools they need by building meeting time into their calendars to focus on data and strengthen relationships, helping each and every student succeed." This partnership between BARR and the Addiction Alliance of Georgia will not only help students academically, socially and emotionally. It will provide educators with the tools they need to truly transform students' lives. About BARR Center BARR Center (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) aims to bring education into the 21st century with intentionally deepened relationships and a data-driven personalized and supportive approach that aligns students, teachers, staff, and families with a unified culture of support and success so that, together, we can build strong schools and communities. For more information, visit BARRcenter.org. About Atlanta Public Schools Atlanta Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the state of Georgia, serving approximately 51,000 students across 87 schools and five programs. The District is organized into nine K-12 clusters with 64 traditional schools, 19 charter schools, six partner schools, two alternative schools and five alternative programs. To learn more about Atlanta Public Schools, follow us on social media - Twitter (News - Alert) (@apsupdate), Facebook (News - Alert) (Atlanta Public Schools), and Instagram (apsupdate) - or visit us online at www.atlantapublicschools.us. About the Addiction Alliance of Georgia Utilizing the experience and strengths of two national health care leaders, Emory Healthcare and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, the Addiction Alliance of Georgia is a comprehensive partnership dedicated to reducing substance-use-disorder rates; improving recovery rates; and bringing hope, healing and health to more people and families throughout Georgia and beyond. Founded in 2020, the Alliance integrates addiction treatment and co-occurring mental health care, education, prevention, outreach and research, collaborating with government agencies, concerned donors and partners throughout the larger community. Learn more at AddictionAllianceOfGeorgia.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005931/en/

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May help design better diagnostic and therapeutic tools to fight the virus

(Boston)--How could studying gastrointestinal cells help the fight against COVD-19, which is a respiratory disease? According to a team led by Gustavo Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD, at the BU/BMC Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) and Elke Muhlberger, PhD, from the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) at Boston University, testing how SARS-CoV-2 affects the gut can potentially serve to test novel therapeutics for COVID-19.

In order to study SARS-CoV-2, models are needed that can duplicate disease development in humans, identify potential targets and enable drug testing. BU researchers have created human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived intestinal organoids or 3-D models that can be infected and replicated with SARS-CoV-2.

iPSC are stem cells derived from the donated skin or blood cells that are reprogrammed back to an embryonic stem cell-like state and then can be developed into any cell type in the body.

"Human induced pluripotent stem cell derived intestinal organoids represent an inexhaustible cellular resource that could serve as a valuable tool to study SARS-CoV-2, as well as other intestinal viruses that infect the intestinal epithelium," explained corresponding author Mostoslavsky, associate professor of microbiology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and co-director of the CReM.

Using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) the researchers differentiated the iPSC cells into colonic and small intestine 3D organoids. The organoids were then passed along to the Muhlberger lab at the NEIDL where they were infected with SARS-CoV-2 to analyze the effect of infection on the cells by staining against markers, by electron microscopy and by RNA-sequencing.

"Our findings suggests that different epithelial tissues (such as the lung and the gut) react in similar manner to SARS-CoV-2 infection and therefore can help identify common mechanisms of disease that can be targeted by drugs," added Muhlberger, director of Integrated Science Services at the NEIDL and professor of microbiology at BUSM.

###

These findings appear online in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

Funding for this research was provided by Evergrande MassCPR, Fast Grants, and NIH NCATS grant UL1TR001430 awards to EM. AM is supported by the Kilachand Multicellular Design Program at Boston University. GM is supported by NIH Grants N0175N92020C00005 and 1R01DA05188901
LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kiwibot, a robotic delivery service that has completed over 150,000 food deliveries with semi-autonomous robots, is announcing the launch of their next-generation Kiwibot 4.0. The robots are already cruising the streets of Santa Monica, and by the beginning of May 2021, for those who order through local Shopify-powered portals, the service will extend across Los Angeles, San Jose, Miami, Pittsburg, and Detroit.

A special keynote event will take place on April 13 at 9.00am (PST) to cover the robots' operational features and announce the partnerships with Segway, Knight Foundation, and Chick-fil-A and Shopify that have enabled Kiwibot to be at the forefront of reimagining the robotic delivery business and technology in dense urban areas.

This next-generation robot will use a whole new set of cameras, lights, speakers, and modular features to enhance robot-human interaction - it can even wink. These upgraded Level-3 autonomous devices are equipped with high-tech sensors to detect people, traffic lights, vehicles, and take decisions in path planning and obstacle avoidance. Additionally, they are supported remotely by trained human supervisors to cross streets and stop immediately to ensure safe operations, stated Kiwibot.

Whether ordering from local businesses, university campuses, airports, or malls, food can be requested via Shopify web portals, then Kiwibots will meet customers up to a mile away and serve with a smile. The average delivery takes 30 minutes and costs $1.99, and the robot won't be expecting a tip.

Felipe Chavez Cortes, the CEO and Co-Founder of Kiwibot, recognizes that the idea of a company planning to "deploy tens of thousands of adorable robots" sounds rather futuristic. He aspires to educate the general population during the keynote about integrating robots into communities so that food delivery is available for everyone at low costs.

During Kiwibot's trial-and-error piloting, the manufacturing partnership with Segway will improve the robot capabilities while the pilots with Chick-fil-A, a quick-service restaurant that has experienced a major increase in delivery demand over the last year, evaluated the impact of robots on customer experience.

The company is aiming to be the biggest robotic fleet in the world and build an ecosystem to serve college campuses. For Kiwibot, the pandemic has further proven that food delivery is no longer a luxury - it's a key part of thriving in an ever-changing world.

Links

https://www.kiwibot.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJEvf0sflT8oxhL8MffyeWw

https://www.instagram.com/gokiwibot

https://twitter.com/gokiwibot

https://co.linkedin.com/company/kiwibot

About the company

Kiwibot aims to revolutionize food delivery with semi-autonomous robots. Since 2017, it has completed over 150,000 food deliveries and built 400 robots. Kiwibot is on a mission to develop the world's largest robotic fleet, most convenient delivery service, and first ever internet of atoms.

CONTACT



Name: Felipe Chavez Cortes, CEO & Co-Founder, and Diego Varela Prada, COO

Phone: +14157991465, +13059304876

Email: [email protected], [email protected]

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kiwibot-logo.png

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SOURCE Kiwibot
Metal structures of furnaces at some crematoriums in have started melting or breaking as they are being used round-the-clock due to the rush of bodies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said on Tuesday.

Since the past one week, around 16 gas-based furnaces at the Kurukshetra Crematorium and Ashvini Kumar Crematorium here in are operating 24X7 to cremate bodies, hence maintenance issues are cropping up, they said.

The metal frames of gas furnaces, on which the bodies are kept, and chimneys are melting or breaking because of overheating and excessive use, the official said.

In the last couple of days, city reported 18 to 19 deaths due to COVID-19 every day.

"Before the outbreak last year, around 20 bodies were cremated at the Kurukhsetra Crematorium every day. Now, there is a sudden rush of bodies. At present, we are handling about 100 bodies per day," Kamlesh Sailor, president of a trust which manages the crematorium, told PTI.

Sailor said six gas furnaces at their facility are now being operated 24 hours and hence, the temperature there reaches up to 600 degrees Celsius.

As a result, the iron frames and chimneys have started melting and breaking due to the heat, he said, adding that mechanics are being called to replace those parts.

The Ashvini Kumar Crematorium, the oldest such facility in Surat, is also facing similar issues and its management has decided to increase the number of traditional wood pyres to manage the rush of bodies in case of maintenance issues in the gas furnaces.

"We operate 10 gas furnaces and three wood pyres. Earlier, we used to cremate about 30 bodies every day. Now, the number has gone up to 90-95," the crematorium's manager, Prashant Kabrawala, said.

Since the furnaces are being operated round-the-clock, some of their iron frames have melted due to overheating. Some pipes and chimney joints have also broken because of the excessive heat generated in the facility, he said.

"We recently installed heat-resistant bricks in two of our furnaces, which were shut for some time. Our maintenance engineers are visiting the crematorium almost daily as we are facing these issues every day," he said.

Kabrawala said they have decided to add two more wood pyres in the wake of these frequent maintenance issues.

(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.)
Amidst the rising number of COVID cases in the national capital, some of the have started returning to their native places in fear of imposition of

Some alone, with backpacks, while some with their families, can be seen leaving for their home at ISBT, Anand Vihar and other key transit points in the city.

With increasing COVID numbers the fear of imposition of has been making anxious.

Gouri Shankar Sharma, who hails from Lucknow, told ANI, "The way COVID numbers are rising, there are chances of There is no work. So I am leaving."

"The current situation, pushing Delhi towards another lockdown. I have no choice. I am leaving from home," Sunil Gupta, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly told ANI.

"The leaders do not have any problem. They travel in air-conditioned cars. If lockdown is imposed, the transportation will be closed. So I am leaving now," a migrant worker who was heading for Kanauj in Uttar Pradesh told ANI.

"The rate at which the cases are rising makes it obvious that lockdown would be imposed. That is why I am going home," a labourer told ANI.

The country had last year witnessed a major movement of migrants labourers and workers after the imposition of a nationwide lockdown in the last week of March.

The nationwide lockdown resulted in an exodus of migrant workers from cities to their native places.

Delhi reported 11,491 new COVID-19 cases and 72 related deaths on Monday. This is Delhi's highest single-day spike since the start of the pandemic.

According to the state health department, the infection tally in the national capital has gone up to 7,36,688 and a total of 11,355 fatalities due to the disease have been recorded so far. There are 38,095 active COVID-19 cases in Delhi.

The city's positivity rate stands at 12.44 per cent while the cumulative positivity rate is at 4.71 per cent.

In view of the rapidly rising cases, the Delhi government has imposed a night curfew in the national capital from 10 pm to 5 am on April 6 till April 30.

(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.)
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall warned public officials today to follow the ethics law and open meetings law as they decide how to use the unusual amount of federal money flowing into the state.

Marshall spoke at a press conference with leaders of the associations representing city and county governments, who are trying to help their members know best how to put the money to work.

Alabama is expected to receive about $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan, including about $1.7 billion for cities and counties. President Biden signed the bill into law on March 11, the latest package passed by Congress to help in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Marshall said the unprecedented amount of federal dollars creates the possibility of costly legal mistakes if officials dont know and understand the state ethics law.

Take care to avoid decisions and votes that present a conflict of interest, Marshall said, referring to the main thrust of the state ethics law. You must guard against the appearance of or the reality that this money is being used for personal gain or for the gain of your family members or business partners. And you must be cautious with your interactions with lobbyists or other officials seeking to influence your spending decisions. And you must not solicit or accept anything of value from them for yourself or for your family.

Under the American Rescue Plan, half of the money is expected to come to the state by mid-May. The other half is slated to come no more than a year later. State and local governments will have until the end of 2024 to use the funds.

Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, said the ACCA has set up a website, Investing in Alabama Counties, to help county governments navigate the process of planning and spending the funds.

Counties will receive a total of about $950 million. A formula based mostly on population will determine how much each county gets. That ranges from $128 million for Jefferson County to $1.7 million for Perry County.

At every county commission level, the amount of money can have a lasting impact on that community, Brasfield said.

Related: Alabama environmental groups see opportunity in $4 billion state will get in stimulus

Officials say American Rescue Plan could be transformational

Alabama cities and towns will share a total of about $780 million. For cities with populations more than 50,000, the allocations are based on a formula that takes into account factors such as poverty and unemployment. Cities of less than 50,000 will receive an amount based on population.

Lori Lein, general counsel for the Alabama League of Municipalities, said officials are still waiting on guidance from the federal Treasury Department on use of the funds. Lein said any decisions that city councils make about using the fund should come in public meetings under the states open meetings law.

The League of Municipalities has compiled this information about the American Rescue Plan on its website.

Marshall said officials should study the ethics law and make sure they understand it.

Please understand that Im not here to threaten anyone, Marshall said. Im really here to plead with those governmental officials to please be careful.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Newspaper Advertising market will register an incremental spend of about USD 3.12 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 0.98% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Newspaper Advertising 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

Newspaper Advertising Market Procurement Research Report

Key Highlights Offered in the 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 Newspaper Advertising market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Newspaper Advertising 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 Newspaper Advertising 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 Newspaper Advertising suppliers listed in this report:

This Newspaper Advertising procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Dentsu Group Inc.

VMLY&R

McCann

BBDO

DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC

The Ogilvy Group

VCCP

J. Walter Thompson Worldwide

Leo Burnett Worldwide

Saatchi & Saatchi Group 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

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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.

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Megachurch leader who allegedly made sex videos with minors to face trial in September

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Naason Joaquin Garcia, the controversial leader of the 5 million-member Light of the World, who's accused of multiple sex crimes, including making sex videos with minor girls from his flock, will go on trial in Los Angeles on Sept. 27.

An attorney from the California attorney generals office, which is prosecuting the case, expects the trial could last about five to seven weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Garcias attorney, Alan Jackson, had argued during a hearing Monday that he was not prepared to announce ready for trial due to discovery issues and asked for a little bit more time. Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen set a date for his trial nevertheless and ordered his alleged accomplice, Susana Medina Oaxaca, to also appear in court for trial.

The 51-year-old megachurch leader, who is considered by his followers to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, was arrested in the summer of 2019 at the Los Angeles International Airport. In a release that also highlighted the criminal complaint against Garcia, other individuals associated with the church, including Oaxaca, now 26, were named as co-defendants. Alondra Ocampo and Azalea Rangel Melendez round out the list of Garcia's co-defendants.

Garcia and his co-defendants were charged with human trafficking, production of child pornography, forcible rape of a minor, and other felonies committed between 2015 and 2019.

A group of girls were told that if they went against Garcias desires, they were going against God, according to the criminal complaint. Children were allegedly told to perform flirty dances for Garcia while wearing as little clothing as possible. Garcia also once gave a group of children a speech about a king having mistresses and stated that an apostle of God can never be judged for his actions, the complaint adds.

State law enforcement officer and forensic examiner Steven Stover testified in 2019 about a video found on an iPad seized from Garcia, which allegedly shows the church leader having a threesome with a woman and an underage male.

Stover also testified that he found child pornography on an iPhone taken from Garcia. One video found on the phone shows females of a very young age performing sexual acts.

Garcia pleaded not guilty to the charges against him at the time and was slapped with a $50 million bail, believed to be the highest ever imposed in L.A. County. He is now being held in lieu of a $90 million bail, the LA Times reported, even as some of his followers have maintained that he is 100% innocent.

In a statement released on the churchs Facebook page Monday, officials noted: To our sisters and brothers around the world: We inform you about the outcome of the hearing this day. We trust that righteousness will prevail, for the truth is this: The [a]postle of Jesus Christ Naason Joaquin Garcia is innocent, his integrity is known to millions of people.

Ocampo, who is also being held without bail, pleaded guilty to four counts Oct. 13, 2020. These include three counts of contact with a minor for a sexual offense, involving three Jane Does, and one count of forcible sexual penetration, involving a fourth Jane Doe, the LA Times said. Oaxaca, who claimed to be innocent of the charges against her, has been released on bail.
Zimbabwean Nyasha Mugwagwa, who was among the 12 people killed in Palma, Mozambique, when armed criminals who claim allegiance to a terrorist group  ISIS  that attacked the town, has been buried by Mozambican authorities.

Government is presently working with the Mozambique government and companies in Palma to account for all Zimbabweans who were working in that town when the group attacked the town.

Palma is in Cabo Delgado province and is rich in oil and gas. Armed gangs have been escalating attacks since 2017 and it appears they are being assisted by foreign fighters using techniques similar to those in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The attacks have been roundly condemned by the United Nations, which has since called for an investigation into the activities of the terrorists in the province, which has seen several villagers including women and children, being beheaded.

In a statement yesterday, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry Permanent Secretary Ambassador James Manzou, said emerging eye witness accounts are confirming that Mr Mugwagwa worked for the Remote Site Solution (RSS) company in Palma, and was among the 12 people killed by the insurgents.

The 12 have since been buried by the local authorities as their bodies were in a state of advanced decomposition, said Ambassador Manzou. Under such conditions, pathological expertise is required to identify the bodies. The Government of Zimbabwe is therefore working with the Government of Mozambique with a view to identifying the bodies.

Once one of the bodies is confirmed to be that of Mr Mugwagwa, the Government would facilitate the repatriation process.

Ambassador Manzou appealed to all those whose beloved ones were still missing to get in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade on +263 24 2794681-5 or 263 24 2727 005, Consular Department.

SADC last week convened a Double Troika Summit in Mozambique and agreed to urgently resuscitate and capacitate its Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) to facilitate deployment in Mozambique, which is under siege from the terrorist gangs.

FIB was first conceived as an arm of the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC. It is composed entirely of troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. At the key meeting, SADC resolved to immediately deploy in Mozambique as it prepares a proportionate regional response to terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado.

Defence ministers from Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, which currently make up the Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation meet on April 28 to prepare a follow-up extraordinary meeting of the Organ Troika the following day.

A communique at the end of the summit said the heinous attacks could not be allowed to continue. Terrorists attacked the coastal city of Palma on March 24 and displaced over 11 000 people.

The exact number of people killed in the attacks, which took place close to the multibillion-dollar gas project by French energy giant Total, are not yet known. Herald
Speculations claimed that Google is working on a new global media control feature. However, there's a simple catch regarding its availability.

According to XDA Developers' latest report, the new capability offers a new icon, which can be located at the address bar that opens a simple playback controls window. This section has a pause/play button.

On the other hand, the feature shows the URL and the song title of the video or sound content. Aside from this, the new global media control feature also shows what album the song is from.

Google confirmed that the new progress bar and dynamic backgrounds will be available once the media controls update is released on the latest Chrome Canary Build Version 91.

Google's new global media control progress bar

The new Google Chrome global media control progress bar was first leaked by the Reddit user u/Leopeva64-2.

Also Read: Google Plans to Shut Down Shopping App, Prompting Users to Switch to the Web Version

"Google has made some changes to the Global media controls UI and one of those changes is the addition of a progress bar, here you can see the new design," said the leaker.

The Reddit user also provided two videos that show how Google Chrome's new feature works. Aside from the mentioned features above, the two videos also show that the progress bar also offers the users Live Captions. However, the feature only offers English language as of now.

Will it be available for everyone?

As of the moment, the new feature is only available in the latest Chrome Canary. Once you have installed it, you can find the new progress bar by searching the new #global-media-controls-modern-ui flag.

When you find it, all you need to do is activate the new feature so that the new media control progress bar will appear whenever you play a soundtrack or video. Meanwhile, Google said that the users should wait a few more weeks before it sends out the new updates on the stable channel.

If ever you decide to install the new Chrome Canary, you need to remember that it is advised for daily usage since this browser is still an incomplete and unstable version of Chrome.

For more news updates about Google Chrome and its upcoming features, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Google Play Movies and TV App is Bidding Farewell to Smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Roku, and Vizio-Is YouTube TV Worth It?

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Giuliano de Leon

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
New Delhi, April 13 : India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahims younger brother and accused in the Mumbai serial blasts, Anees Ibrahim is under the lens of Indian security agencies for his involvement in smuggling and manufacturing of contraband narcotics.

Anees Ibrahim's close aide Kailash Rajput, a high profile drug operator based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is already on the wanted list of Mumbai Police and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), for smuggling drugs from India, highly placed sources told IANS on Tuesday.

Sources said Anees Ibrahim's linkages with a drug syndicate operating in South Mumbai came to light when his aide Arif Bhujwala was arrested by the NCB earlier this year from Raigarh in Maharashtra.

"During questioning of Arif Bhujwala, it was revealed that he was in touch with Kailash Rajput, an alleged financier of Anees Ibrahim, who also looks after the D-company's drug operation in Europe. Kailash Rajput's location has been traced in Dubai by our agencies," said an officer associated with investigations.

Based on specific inputs of intelligence agencies, the NCB has been trailing D-company's drug operators in India. The Bureau hit the jackpot when its sleuths busted a drug factory in South Mumbai, reportedly run by Dawood's aide Chinku Pathan in the third week of January this year. After Pathan's questioning, the sleuths arrested key drug operator Arif Bhujwala, linked with Anees Ibrahim. Bhujwala disclosed that he had earlier visited Dubai, where he met Anees Ibrahim's financier Kailash Rajput.

A report of Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai Police reveals that Kailash Rajput has links with Mexican cartel and had been involved in smuggling huge consignments of drugs like Phenethyl-4-Piperidone and Fentanyl from India.

The report says that in 2019, a rice exporter was interrogated by the ANC who later revealed that during a holiday trip to Dubai in November 2018, he was introduced to Kailash Rajput. Through this exporter, Kailash Rajput tried to smuggle a shipment of drugs from Mumbai, which was to be pushed to Mexico.

Dossier on Kailash Rajput says that he fled to Dubai in 2014 and later came into contact with Anees Ibrahim, who is currently based in Karachi.

A major shift in D-company, sources said, is that earlier such underworld operations were directly looked at by Chhota Shakeel.

But recently Anees Ibrahim, who handles the finance of D-company, also looks after drug operations.

Sources said Anees Ibrahim's operatives are also based in Germany, Netherlands and Britain, who look after the lucrative drug deals of D-company.

Earlier Dawood's right hand man, Iqbal Mirchi was reportedly incharge of Dawood's drug operations in Europe.
When Ridgefield police officer Kate Williams responds to calls she is sometimes greeted by people as honey or sweetie.

We go out there and people are not shy to say what they may think of you off appearance so, in the past, it doesnt happen all the time, Ill get comments about my looks, my appearance, she said.

Williams doesnt take it personally though, she recognizes it as something thats obviously gender influence, and she knows more often than ever people are expecting a middle-aged man to show up, not a woman.

We make up such a small percentage of the cops in this department, so I think its more just the expectation, said Williams colleague, Detective Victoria Ryan.

Williams and Ryan are the only two female police officers in the overall 39 officers the Ridgefield department has. National data shows women account for just 12 percent of all police officers nationwide, despite women representing more than half of the countrys population.

In recognition of the need for more female officers, several agencies across the country and locally have been making additional efforts to hire women to the force.

Danbury Police Chief Patrick Ridenhour said he has seen diversity be an issue among police for years.

For many years its been a white male-dominated profession going back to when formalized policing began, he said.

And Danbury officer Melissa Morrill  a 16-year cop and one of 12 female officers in a 153-person police force  knows exactly what it feels like to be a woman working in a male-dominated field where only a sliver of your fellow officers are women.

It is a male-dominated profession but when we took this job I just want to be treated the same. We dont need to be treated any differently, our limitations are probably the same, Morrill said.

We just want to be treated equally and being a female in this line of work, sometimes its not that easy, she added.

Like Williams, Morrill is no stranger to people expecting her to be a male officer when she answers calls. And, shes noticed some people  dont always appreciate a woman showing up, because not only do they expect a man, but they prefer a man.

With the public, sometimes you know, you call for a police officer and you expect some big muscley kind of guy to show up and then you have this 58 female that weighs 130 pounds show up and theyre like what are you going to do, she said.

They dont want to talk to you. I really feel at times that I have a problem with that, but as soon as you start talking to us you realize that were just as good as the men we work with, she added.

Granted these Danbury area police officers explained they have not faced discrimination from their male colleagues and praised them, that is not always the case for others.

Under-representation

Ridenhour joined the police force in 1988. And in all his years as an officer, he said theres always been a fair number of female police officers in the departments hes worked in.

However, as demonstrated by the Ridgefield and Danbury department metrics, female police officers are hard to come by. Nationally, women only make up about 12 percent of all police, a number which is up about 8 percent from the 1980s, according to Terrence Dwyer, a legal studies professor at Western Connecticut State University, lawyer and retired police officer.

Similarly, only about one-in-10 supervisors or managers and just 3 percent of local police chiefs are women, according to a 2013 Pew Research study, and four in ten female officers have admitted they feel men are treated better when it comes time for assignments and promotions.

Ridenhour said one piece of the puzzle that hinders attempts to diversify departments are recruiting obstacles, indicating numbers are always a challenge.

It takes time, a willingness for females and people in underserved communities to really take a serious look at law enforcement and put their hat in the ring, he said.

Theres definitely ways that we can do things better in my view, but its not just at the agency level where those changes need to take place, he added.

What discrimination some female officers face looks like

While Ridenhour said he has not personally witnessed any discrimination first-hand, he recognizes it is an experience some female and minority officers endure.

In general, its difficult when you enter a profession that is dominated by people who dont look like you. Theres always a desire to prove yourself, challenges when youre trying to move up the ranks and, just like there is for male officers, challenges balancing the work life and the personal life, he said.

Dwyer, who personally knows the field and has prosecuted cases of discrimination against female officers, said women get a lot more scrutiny and certainly deal with forms of discrimination throughout their careers.

One thing I noticed is that they always have to be that much better than their male colleagues, he said.

In his experience, Dwyer believes female officers put up with things no male officer would ever have to put up with, whether it be demeaning comments or assignments, harassment or even assault.

Despite it not being a prevalent issue, he said it is surely occurring enough that departments have to be aware of it and guard against it.

How discrimination cases brought forth often play out

Dwyer recently took a sabbatical to research this very discrimination. He examined over 175 cases from departments nationwide dating as far back as 2000 to look at the gender discrimination some women faced at the hands of male officers. Several of these cases of discrimination, harassment and assault did happen on Connecticut soil and Dwyer had merely scratched the surface in his search.

In many cases, he found, the behavior worsens when a woman issues a complaint. Dwyer has frequently warned his clients to be on your guard, because of retaliation.

Additionally, because of said retaliation, some women who call him for advice become hesitant to move forward with a case because theyve seen retaliation in their departments or heard the stories about it, he said. Hes seen plenty of cases dropped as a result.

In his years defending a range of female police officers in discrimination, harassment and assault cases, Dwyer said he often sees accused officers "blaze this trail of sexual harassment wherever they go," by jumping between departments to avoid charges that eventually catch up with them later.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has urged bars and restaurants in the prefecture to reduce their normal business hours, and is urging residents to avoid non-essential trips under an order that will remain in effect until May 11. Many areas of Japan are under various states of emergency due to growing rates of new coronavirus infections, which have complicated plans for the traditional relay of the Olympic torch across the country.

Only about 120 sites across Japan opened Monday to distribute the first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine to people 65 and older. Officials say they expect about 100 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine to arrive by the end of June, enough to inoculate Japan's 36 million elderly residents as the country races to vaccinate as many people as possible in time for the Tokyo Olympics, which begin on July 23.

Japan has begun vaccinating its elderly residents against COVID-19 as Tokyo imposes a set of tougher restrictions to blunt a fourth wave of the pandemic.

 Britain Eases Restrictions

Monday marked the beginning of Britain's reopening after nearly three months under a strict lockdown in response to a new wave of infections sparked by more transmissible strain of the coronavirus discovered late last year in the southeastern county of Kent. Thousands of gyms, hair salons, retail shops and zoos reopened their doors across England, along with bars and restaurants, which are limited to just outdoor service.

Similar restrictions remain in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own timetables for reopening.

Britain has the sixth highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world with 4.3 million confirmed cases, including 127,331 deaths, the fifth highest in that category, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. The country has administered more than 39 million doses of vaccines, with almost 7 million people fully vaccinated. The United States continues to lead in both cases and deaths, with 31.1 million total infections and 562,066 deaths.

 China Looking at Other Vaccines

Meanwhile, China said it is considering using vaccines developed in other countries in conjunction with vaccines developed in China to boost the efficacy of China's vaccines.

Gao Fu, the head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told attendees at a conference in the southwest city of Chengdu Saturday that public health officials must "consider ways to solve the issue that efficacy rates of existing vaccines are not high."

Gaos comments were a rare admission from China about its domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines. Health authorities in Brazil say late-stage clinical trials of the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Beijing-based private company Sinovac was just barely over 50-percent effective. In the United Arab Emirates, medical workers have recently begun offering a third dose of the vaccine developed by China's Sinopharm company after reports surfaced of very low numbers of antibodies produced after the two dose regimen.


Federal health agencies are calling for the immediate pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after six people in the United States developed a very rare blood clot disorder within two weeks of vaccination.

The decision was announced Tuesday morning by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and pertains to federal vaccinations sites but is recommended to states as well.

Today FDA and @CDCgov issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson #COVID19 vaccine. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.  U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) April 13, 2021

Six people developed a very rare blood clot disorder within two weeks of receiving the vaccine. They were women ages 18 to 48, the report said. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition, The New York Times reported.

So far 6.8 million Americans have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the CDC. About 9 million doses have been shipped to states but have yet to be used, according to the data.

The CDC and FDA are reviewing the data involving six reported blood clot cases. In these cases, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets.

The CDC said it will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance.

The CDC said people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

Its the latest setback for a rollout by Johnson & Johnson that has included several hurdles.

Recently, about 15 million Johnson & Johnson doses were disposed of after workers at a Baltimore factory  run by Emergent BioSolutions, one of Johnson & Johnsons manufacturing partners  accidentally mixed up some of the ingredients caused the doses to become contaminated.

The blunder dried up the supply of the vaccine within the United States. A week after Massachusetts received about 100,000 Johnson & Johnson doses, it anticipated receiving 12,000 next week and 4,000 the week after.

On Monday, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker still emphasized the importance of the singe-dose vaccine in boosting immunization numbers.

What I think all of us are hoping happens is that we can get into as a country the same kind of rhythm on the one-dose J&J that weve been in for about a month now with Moderna and Pfizer, Baker said in Worcester.

Baker said his sentiments echoed that of other governors hes discussed the issue with. The announcement by the FDA and CDC pertains only to federal vaccine sites but is recommended for state sites as well.

The FDA has a press conference planned at 10 a.m.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the agencies said in a statement. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.
NATO, US vow support for Ukraine, warn Russia on troops View Photo

BRUSSELS (AP)  The United States and NATO on Tuesday expressed strong support for Ukraine and warned Russia against pressing ahead with a major troop buildup along the former Soviet republics eastern border.

In separate meetings with Ukraines foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg expressed serious concern about Russia deploying the largest concentration of troops near the Ukraine border since 2014.

Blinken accused Russia of taking very provocative actions that have alarmed Ukraine and the West. Stoltenberg, meanwhile, called the Russian movements unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv welcomed the support and urged Western countries to make clear to Moscow that it would pay a price for its aggression.

The comments came amid a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. NATO is holding a special meeting Tuesday on Ukraine.

The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Blinken told Kuleba at the start of their meeting at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, a post once held by Blinkens uncle. Thats particularly important at a time when were seeing, unfortunately, Russia take very provocative actions when it comes to Ukraine.

Kuleba replied that Ukraine was grateful for the support of the U.S. and NATO, an alliance that Kyiv is looking to join over fierce Russian objections.

In this struggle, the support of the United States is absolutely crucial and deeply appreciated, Kuleba said. He called Russias troop build-up aggressive and asked the U.S. and others to make it very clear to Russia that the price of its aggression against Ukraine will be too heavy for it to bear.

Earlier, at news conference with Kuleba at NATO headquarters, Stoltenberg said the alliance was united in its unwavering support for Ukraine. NATO stands with Ukraine, he said. Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately.

Stoltenberg called Moscows recent troop deployment the biggest military buildup since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.

Russia has moved thousands of combat troops to Ukraines borders, the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Over the last days, several Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in eastern Ukraine, he said.

The Ukrainian foreign minister sounded defiant toward Moscow, and said Ukraine and its Western partners were better prepared than seven years ago.

Should Moscow take any reckless move or start a new spiral of violence, it will be costly in all senses, Kuleba said.

A special NATO meeting Tuesday on Ukraine would make sure the alliance is not caught unaware, he said.

By gathering today, we try to avoid the mistake that was made in 2014 when Russia was ready to act swiftly and pursue its military goals, Kuleba said.

Ukraine has said Russia has accumulated 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. The numbers are likely to grow as the troops keep arriving.

The Kremlin has maintained that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of provocative actions along the line of control and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Kremlin officials charged that Kyivs actions have threatened Russias security, warning that Russia may intervene to protect Russian speakers in the east.

Underlying Tuesdays meeting is also Ukraines wish to become a NATO member.

Stoltenberg insisted it was up to the alliances 30 members to decide who could join the group, and no one else has any right to try to meddle or to interfere in that process. Its a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership.

This is an important principle, because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence where they try to decide what neighbors can do. And that is a world we are really trying to leave behind, the NATO chief said.

By MATTHEW LEE and RAF CASERT

Associated Press
Published on 2021/04/12 | Source

JTBC's Wednesday-Thursday drama "Law School" will meet viewers around the world through Netflix.

Netflix announced on the 12th that it will release "Law School" which will be first released on the 14th, at 11PM (Korea Standard Time) every Thursday in Asia, English, Arab and Latin America, including Korea. Other regions will be unveiled simultaneously on June 10 at 4PM (Korea Standard Time).

"Law School" is a campus mystery drama that unfolds as prestigious law school professors and students become entangled in unprecedented events. Director Kim Seok-yoon directs the drama and the script was written by Seo In.

Kim Myung-min plays Yang Jong-hoon, a prosecutor-turned-professor of criminal law who took the elite course, and Kim Beom plays Han Joon-hwi, a first-year law school student from the National Police University. Ryu Hye-young plays Kang Sol-ah, who enters the Korea National University Law School on special admission, and Lee Jung-eun plays Kim Eun-sook, a judge-turned-civil law professor.
[April 13, 2021] Informatica Announces New Cloud Data Integration Free Service for Customers to Accelerate Cloud Modernization on Microsoft Azure

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Informatica, the enterprise cloud data management leader, today announced a key initiative in collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate customers' journeys to the cloud using the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC)on Microsoft Azure. Customers can now process data integration and data loading use-cases at no charge using Informatica's industry leading iPaaS service, enabling enterprises to get started quickly and easily with IDMC on Azure with Azure Synapse Analytics. In addition, Informatica is expanding its Azure global footprint with new IDMC regions in Asia and Europe. IDC, the market intelligence firm, predicts that by the end of this 20211, 80% of enterprises will shift to cloud-centric infrastructure and applications twice as fast as before the global pandemic. In light of this rapid acceleration to the cloud, Informatica is announcing in collaboration with Microsoft a new Informatica Cloud Data Integration Free Service to help customers get started quickly and easily with IDMC on Azure. To lower the barrier and help customers who are just getting started on their cloud migration or net-new cloud analytics initiatives, IDMC can be accessed as a no-charge service on Azure. This helps fast track data integration, transformation and loading of priority workloads to Azure Synapse for cloud data warehousing. Informatica Cloud Data Integration Free Service provides 100 compute hours per month at no charge: Cloud Data Integration Services offers intelligent, automated, high performance data integration at scale, with higher data processing capabilities.

offers intelligent, automated, high performance data integration at scale, with higher data processing capabilities. Cloud Mass Ingestion Services to streamline the building and running of complex integrations with high-performance ingestion of enterprise databases and files from on-premises and cloud sources. It has the ability to load up to 150 GB of data per month for each File Mass Ingestion and Database Mass Ingestion.

to streamline the building and running of complex integrations with high-performance ingestion of enterprise databases and files from on-premises and cloud sources. It has the ability to load up to 150 GB of data per month for each File Mass Ingestion and Database Mass Ingestion. Broad Range of Connectivity with out-of-the box connectivity to the most popular on-premises, cloud, and SaaS data sources and applications, including Azure Synapse, Azure Data Lake Store Gen2, MySQL, SQL Server, Teradata, Oracle Exadata, Postgres, Oracle, ODBC, Salesforce.com, CSV, FTP, and REST. In addition, Informatica will be launching new IDMC regions in Singapore and Germany, providing joint customers with the ablity to comply with data locality and sovereignty requirements. This international expansion of services is directly correlated to the success of Informatica's partnership with Microsoft.



"We are thrilled to elevate our Microsoft relationship as we embark on the next phase of digital transformation marked by a multi-cloud, hybrid enterprise that is looking to truly innovate in the cloud," said Amit Walia, CEO, Informatica. "The strategic investments we are making in Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud in collaboration with Microsoft Azure are driven by the continued success we have had with Microsoft in delivering a cloud data management platform that helps our customers reimagine their business in incredibly innovative ways." "Recognized as Microsoft's Partner of the Year in Data Analytics, Informatica has been a valuable partner in all things cloud data managementdata governance, data integration and master data managementoffering seamless integration with Microsoft Azure," said Rohan Kumar, corporate vice president, Azure Data, Microsoft. "As we continue to help our customers in their digital transformation, we focus on delivering a cloud that enables enterprises to use bleeding-edge technologies and our relationship with Informatica has been vital to integrating a wide ecosystem of capabilities focused on driving business outcomes with a high degree of trust."

Using the agility of the cloud Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services is available for purchase via the Azure Marketplace. 1 IDC Global IT Outlook for 2021 and Beyond About Informatica

Informatica, the Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, accelerates data-driven digital transformation. Informatica enables companies to fuel innovation, become more agile, and realize new growth opportunities, resulting in intelligent market disruptions. Over the last 25 years, Informatica has helped more than 9,000 customers unleash the power of data. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described today remain at the sole discretion of Informatica and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future. See https://www.informatica.com/trademarks.html for a list of Informatica trademarks. Contact: Informatica Public Relations prteam@informatica.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/informatica-announces-new-cloud-data-integration-free-service-for-customers-to-accelerate-cloud-modernization-on-microsoft-azure-301267943.html SOURCE Informatica

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Unicorn fintech company has acquired Fave, Southeast Asias fast-growing consumer fintech platform, in a deal valued over $45 million. Malaysia-based company Fave provides QR payments and loyalty cashback to restaurants and retailers. It has enabled 6 million consumers in SEA to save over $400 million across 40,000 retailers since 2016. With this acquisition, Indian consumers will be able to use the Fave app later this year to save across 500,000 merchant network points powered by across 3,700 in India.

The will help both accelerate their growth in the Asia region. It would unlock massive consumer opportunities across retail, F&B (food and beverage), fashion, and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) markets. Joining forces with will reinforce Faves market position in Southeast Asia.

Consumers have tremendous choices in their payment types. They want to be sure that they save on every transaction, said B. Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs. Fave helps consumers apply their best rewards, coupons, gift cards and cashback on all transactions in a seamless manner.

Faves founders will have their roles expanded to lead the overall consumer platform for the group across Asia. Fave will also be hiring over 100 new employees in Southeast Asia and India to accelerate cashless payments and smart savings across the region. It will continue to introduce new smart payment features via the Fave platform, unlocking new ways to maximize joy and value in every shopping experience for consumers across Asia. In August 2020, Fave announced a partnership with Singtel and DBS Bank that has enabled over half a million Singaporeans to use their respective Singtel Dash and Paylah! e-wallet app to pay at Fave partner stores.





Pine Labs CEO B Amrish Rau said Fave helps consumers apply rewards, coupons, gift cards on all transactions in a seamless manner

Really excited to work with Amrish (Rau) and the Pine Labs team to continue expanding the Fave platform across the Asia region, said Joel Neoh, co-founder and CEO of Fave. Pine Labs has been a great partner and investor for us, and it only made sense for us to join our synergies together and work towards our shared vision of building a truly global consumer and merchant platform.

Neoh said India has the digital advantage with young demography, a growing aspirational middle class with rising disposable income and increasing digital savviness. We are confident that the APAC e-payments landscape will continue to achieve exponential growth in the coming decade, said Neoh. Together, we will be stronger, faster and better."

Fave currently operates in 35 cities across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. The Fave app will be rolled out across all major Indian cities. In India, the introduction of the Fave app this year comes at an opportune moment, with UPI (unified payments interface) growing to 2.7 billion transactions in March 2021. Pine Labs also recorded a significant growth of 171 per cent in UPI transactions over the last two quarters.

Last year, Pine Labs had made an investment and formed a strategic partnership with Fave.

Joel (Neoh) and the Fave team have built a loyal consumer base with their smooth checkout experience, said Rau of Pine Labs. We are excited to partner with them in this journey in South East Asia and India.

Fave is the second for Pine Labs. In 2019, it acquired Amazon-backed Qwikcilver, a gift card technology startup for $110 million. The combined gift solutions business that time became the largest in India with a customer base of over 250 brands and retailers and 1,500 enterprise customers.

Most small businesses in India across every sector took a severe hit in 2020. But now a year later, embracing e-commerce and online payment methods has played a major role in keeping such enterprises afloat. Digital payment transactions are up by 76 per cent in Jan-Feb-March (JFM) of 2021, as compared to JFM, 2020, according to a report by fintech firm Razorpay.

The report, The Era of Rising Fintech, said that in JFM21, tier-2 and 3 cities and towns continued to contribute over 50 per cent of all online transactions. As tourism opened up, Jammu & Kashmir found itself in the top 10 digitally inclusive states and union territories for the first time, with a growth of 36 per cent in online transactions in JFM21 compared to JFM20, ranking above Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
Pete Davidson seemingly confirmed he is dating Bridgerton's leading lady Phoebe Dynevor during a virtual conversation with Marquette University students on Sunday.

When asked to reveal the identity of his celebrity crush during the Q&A, the 27-year-old Saturday Night Live star told the student body he was off the market.

'Im with my celebrity crush,' he teased with a cheeky grin, without specifically using Dynevors name, months after sparking romance rumors with the actress.

Dropping hints: Pete Davidson seemingly confirmed he is dating Bridgerton's Phoebe Dynevor during a virtual conversation with Marquette University students on Sunday night

He added: 'That is all I can speak on.'

Pete is the ex-fiance of superstar Ariana, 27, who he was engaged to for four months until October 2018 when they ended their whirlwind romance.

Ariana later referenced Pete in her song Thank U, Next with the lyric: 'Even almost got married, and for Pete, I'm so thankful.'

Going strong: When asked to reveal the identity of his celebrity crush during the Q&A, the 27-year-old The King of Staten Island star told the student body he was off the market; seen in 2020

Phoebe is the daughter of Coronation Street actress Sally Dynevor, 57, who plays Sally Webster, and she first appeared on TV aged 14 with roles in Snatch and later Waterloo Road.

She recently rose to prominence in Netflix's Bridgerton, shooting raunchy love scenes with onscreen husband Rege-Jean Page, 31.

The show has already been renewed for a second series, but the cast are yet to start filming.

The first became Netflix's most-watched original series ever after debuting in December with 82million households watching in its first 28 days.

'Im with my celebrity crush,' he teased with a cheeky grin, without specifically using Dynevors name, months after sparking romance rumors with the actress (pictured in 2017)

In 2019, Pete had a relationship with British actress Kate Beckinsale, who is 20 years older than him.

Pete also romanced Once Upon A Time In Hollywood actress Margaret Qualley, 26, daughter of Four Weddings and a Funeral's Andie MacDowell, and last year he dated Cindy Crawford's daughter Kaia Gerber, 19.

Phoebe's last relationship is thought to have been with Skins actor Sean Teale, 28, in 2017.
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Over the weekend in Lagos, female stakeholders in the Nigerian movie industry gathered to discuss and proffer solutions to the challenges they face.

The occasion was the April edition of the Inkblot Women in Film (IWIF) lunch. IWIF is an initiative of the Co-founder of Inkblot Productions, Zulumoke Oyibo.

With the objective of tackling social, ethical, and professional issues surrounding women in Nollywood, IWIF aims at creating a working environment that is safe and free.

Speaking at the gathering, Ms Oyibo said some of the challenges confronting Nigerian women in the film industry like unequal pay and sexism are some of the reasons (IWIF) exists to advocate womens inclusiveness and impartial access in the Nigerian Film Industry.

The industry is opening up now, and as we continue to grow, it will be great to have it less fragmented and informal than it currently is. The IWIF is to ensure that we put together whatever we need to get the industry to become the standard industry that we desire it to be, Ms Oyibo emphasised at the third edition of the IWIF lunch.

Challenges

From disrespect to unequal pay, sexism, and more, the participants shared first-hand experiences of the issues women face in Nollywood.

Actor, producer and host, Eku Edewor made reference to the portrayal of sexism in Nollywood, mentioning that some female producers and writers are guilty of this as well.

Report shows that women make up 60% of the Nollywood film audience. It is important that women are represented better in films, rather than telling the story from the male gaze: from characterization to story, costumes and more, Edewor said proffering a solution.

Another issue that was brought into the limelight is the gender pay gap. Many of the attendees at IWIF confirmed that women still earn less than men, for doing equal work in some productions. Whats even more shocking is that there have been cases where male supporting actors got paid more than the female leads.

Actor and presenter, Michelle Dede said, One of the things that always stuck out when I first came to work here (Nigeria) was the fact that people felt the male host of a show should be better paid than the female, even though the woman would have done all the research and is better equipped than her male counterpart.

Speaking in the same vein, Omowunmi Akinnifesi stated that secrecy in fees is also one of the reasons the pay inequality thrives.

The former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria and founder of Global Woman Africa suggested that practitioners open up about their fees so people know what is obtainable so no one gets cheated.

Suggestions

Women were also encouraged not to accept being treated unequally or paid less than they deserve when such instances occur. Sometimes it is very hard to say no when everyone is saying yes, but to get a standardised rate and improve the way creatives are paid, people may need to start saying NO to fees that do not reflect their worth, said Teniola Olatoni, director and producer.

To solve this, it was recommended that Nollywood welcome a standard/union level fee structure as is practised in some other film industries across the globe.

The belief is that when there is no secrecy about the fees that people are paid in the industry, people will not be shortchanged as everyone has an idea how much they are paid. A structure that caters to what everyone should be entitled to based on expertise and experience, regardless of gender.

In attendance at the event were Nancy Isime (Actor and Talk show host); Efe Irele (Actor & Producer); Eku Edewor (Actor/Producer/TV Host); Ibukun Omisore (Insurance broker); Jemima Osunde (Actor & physiotherapist); Joy Azumar (Lawyer); Michelle Dede (Actor and Presenter) and Omowunmi Akinnifesi (Beauty Queen/Founder Global woman Africa).

Others are Teniola Olatoni (Director/Producer); Funmilola Odubitan (Insurance broker); Uche Odoh (Director & Producer) Amaka Akukwe (Founder, Redbox Events), and Omawumi Ogbe (PR & Communications consultant).
Alvarez & Marsal (A&M), a leading global professional services firm has appointed Ali Anwar as a Managing Director and Middle East Practice Leader of A&M's Global Transaction Advisory Group based in Dubai, UAE.



The Middle East, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is embracing a diversified economic outlook along with visionary advancements to legal and regulatory frameworks. This scenario increases the need for independent advisory services, driving our strong business growth in the region, said Tony Alvarez III, Managing Director and leader of A&Ms European and Middle East practices.



Our work on high-profile assignments across the region, including NMC in which I am personally involved, showcases our leadership, action, results differentiators. A&Ms ability to attract accomplished local talent supports our ability to build depth and breadth service offerings aligned with our integrated approach.



Our expanding transaction advisory footprint, combined with Alis appointment, will help create value for Middle East-based businesses, sovereign wealth funds, and regionally located international investors deploying capital and resources inside and outside of the region, he added.



The expansion of A&Ms Global Transaction Advisory Group to the Middle East is the continuation of our firms global growth strategy, said Paul Aversano, Managing Director and Global Practice Leader of A&Ms Global Transaction Advisory Group.



Alis experience and local market relationships align with A&Ms global network and boots-on-the-ground approach. He strengthens our ability to help clients be successful investors and maximize value amidst a fluctuating landscape regionally and globally.



Anwar has provided financial due diligence and related services on transactions involving some of the most well-known Middle East-based businesses. He has advised clients on more than 130transactions/projects in the past decade in the Middle East. He has wide-ranging experience in helping sovereign wealth funds, global and regional private equity firms, multinational corporations and family offices navigate M&A and capital markets transactions.



Additionally, Anwar has worked with clients on deal origination, market entry approaches, feasibility studies, expansion strategies, and operating model and business case development. He joins A&M after nearly 15 years at Ernst & Young (EY), where he served as an Engagement Partner and a trusted advisor to some of the firms key clients in the Middle East.



Anwar said: A&Ms integrated platform positions the firm to advise Middle East-based clients, as well as those around the world, on domestic, inbound and outbound transactions. Our Middle East Transaction Advisory Group further amplifies A&Ms restructuring heritage and deep operational expertise. It advances our mission to drive change that helps clients turn market challenges into investment opportunities.



Anwar earned a bachelor of science in mathematics from Imperial College London and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.  TradeArabia News Service
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13) - I knew what was happening - my mom and dad were sick, so I said I have to be my mom and dad til theyre okay.

These were the words of 12-year-old Aianna Andrey upon learning that both of her parents tested positive for COVID-19. She knew she had to do some adulting for her parents and three siblings.

Her father felt the symptoms first and left their condominium unit in Taguig City to isolate himself.

Two days later, Aiannas mother had difficulty breathing. She waited for more than 15 hours before she could be treated at the emergency room. She was confirmed to have COVID-19 and diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia  a lung infection which affects both lungs.

Aiannas father, Aris, said they knew that many hospitals are in full capacity so they decided to undergo home treatment. His wife also felt there were others who needed to be confined more than her, She was treated in a tent. And she said, Nakakaawa yung mga matatanda (I feel bad for the elderly). So she said, Im confident I can be managed at home and she will take that risk.

Mallen was isolated in their condo units only bedroom. A doctor comes in everyday to check on her. The living room was converted into the kids sleeping area.

Aianna said she just followed her parents instructions given over the phone or online. Me and my brother take turns doing the chores. We clean the floor, do the laundry, wash the dishes, disinfect the house I usually just complain to myself that I have lots of chores. I still do it because I have to.

The family received a lot of help from relatives and friends from Aiannas swimming team at the Colegio San Agustin. They sent food every day. They made sure they didnt miss out on sending a cake and some balloons for Aiannas birthday last March 25. Aianna shares, It was kinda sad. My wish for my birthday was that everythings gonnna be okay, and the wish came true.

Aiannas parents are recovering now. One of her twin sisters also tested positive for the virus but only had mild symptoms.

Aris said this is one of the hardest things the family had to go through. Hes very proud his eldest daughter took charge and held them together, Shes our rock in the family But I think what you really have to do - not only for businesses, even for families, aside from being self-reliant, you really have to be resilient.

Big families struggle with limited space and resources

Lorraine Emeterios family has been on isolation in their home in Meycauayan, Bulacan for more than a month now.

One by one, three of them tested positive for the virus, starting with her mother.

But the patients werent the only ones affected. Since they lived with their extended family, ten other relatives had to evacuate and squeeze into a smaller room outside the main house.

Lorraine was especially worried for the children and their 76-year-old grandmother.

Mahirap, kasi malaki ang pamilya namin. Sa kitchen namin dun nagluluto, sa sala dun nanonood ng tv. Dun tumatambay mga bata kaya natakot din po kami. Ang dami pong bata eh And kahit na sabihin mild ang symptoms eh bata-bata naman kami. Pero kapag si Nanay ang matamaan baka siya ang makaramdam ng intensity ng virus, she said.

[Translation : Its hard because we have a big family. In our kitchen, this is where we cook. We watch TV in the living room. This is where the children hang out. We got scared because of the kids And eventhough we had mild symptoms, we are young. But if our Nanay (grandmother) gets infected, she might feel the intensity of the virus.]

Their isolation also meant her mother and sister had to be absent from work.

Lorraine had to stop attending online classes. Yung unang linggo ang pinakamahirap kasi tatlo kaming baldado nun Nahirapan din talaga kami mag-cope kase di makapagtrabaho si Mama. Medyo nag-rely din kami sa donation ng friends and ibang kamaganak.

[Translation : The first week was the hardest because the three of us couldnt move We had a hard time coping because Mama cant work. We had to rely on donations from friends and other relatives.]

According to the Health Department, more than 97% of COVID-19 patients have mild symptoms. With hospitals in full capacity, DOH officials suggest home care for asymptomatic patients or those with mild to moderate cases.

Dr. Anna Lisa Ong-Lim of the DOH-technical advisory group says among things that should be considered for home care are clinical evaluation of the patient, home set-up and having a reliable caregiver.
A so-called "exhibition-park" related to the September-November 2020 war was opened in Baku today, on April 12, 2021. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, has noted this in a statement he issued Monday. The statement continues as follows:

In the "Park", along with the Armenian military equipment, mannequins of the Armenian military servicemen have been displayed, all of which presented in a degrading manner, in a manner violating human dignity. This is done to ensure the widest possible publicity.

It is obvious from the published videos and photos of the "Park" that the exhibition was designed to increase and encourage hatred and animosity towards the population of Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)], the citizens of Armenia. Exhibitions are with cynicism to publicly humiliate the memory of the victims of the war, the rights of missing persons and captives, to violate the rights and dignity of their families.

Personal belongings of the soldiers of Armenia and Artsakh are displayed with the same cynicism, and the helmets of the killed soldiers are displayed knowing that it will cause additional suffering to their families, to the Armenian and Artsakh society, and will generate new hatred in the Azerbaijani society.

The Azerbaijani authorities also showed scenes of Armenian prisoners in the opened "park". This step is especially reprehensible against the background that in Azerbaijan, prisoners of war and civilians continue to be held illegally, in gross violation of international human rights requirements.

It is obvious to the Azerbaijani authorities that this sensitive issue would cause mental pain and suffering to the families of the missing persons and captives, as well as to the Armenian society in general.

Numerous complaints and alarms with this content have been addressed to the RA Human Rights Defender, as well as alarming posts on social networks were registered.

The monitoring of the Armenias Human Rights Defenders Staff revealed posts on Azerbaijani social networks about the exhibition (we will publish the evidence separately), which only welcomed and encouraged the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan, and the comments testified to the obvious hatred and hostility towards Armenians.

The opening of such a "park" clearly confirms the fact of institutional hatred towards Armenians in Azerbaijan and existence of a state policy of propaganda of animosity. This policy has been consistently implemented for years, confirmed by concrete evidence.

The consequences of this policy are the atrocities and torture, killings of Armenian military servicemen and civilians by Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the 2020 September-November war; the 2016 April war or other Azerbaijani armed attacks on the.

State-sponsored hostility was the reason why the Azerbaijani military brutally tortured and killed Armenian servicemen and civilians, being with open faces and with exceptional cynicism, without even thinking about responsibility, and being confident that they would only be praised for that.

Therefore, the demonstrations in the "park" dedicated to the September-November 2020 war clearly reaffirm existence of the Azerbaijani genocidal policy towards the entire population of Armenia and Artsakh.

This absolutely vicious phenomenon proves once again that we must not allow ourselves to be intoxicated with false Azerbaijani peace building initiatives; they are just veils for the international community.

This statement of Armenias Human Rights Defender will be sent to international bodies, with a special note that these steps of Azerbaijani authorities are horrible phenomena leading to torture, cruelty, absolutely disturb peace and solidarity in the region.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  Bradley Beal scored 34 points to help the Washington Wizards beat Utah 125-121 on Monday night, ending a franchise-record, 24-game home winning streak for the Jazz.

Russell Westbrook had 25 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists for the Wizards. Daniel Gafford matched his season high with 15 points. The Wizards swept the season series after shooting 52% from the field and 47% from 3-point range.

We definitely had our hands full, but I love how we accepted all the challenges and made it tough for them, Beal said.

Donovan Mitchell scored 42 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added a season-high 33 for Utah. Joe Ingles chipped in 18 but the Jazz also had a two-game winning streak snapped while losing at home for the first time in 2021.

They were just too comfortable in the beginning, Jazz center Rudy Gobert said. When you have that kind of game, everyone is having fun. Everyone on the court for them had a little moment."

The Jazz rallied late and cut a 19-point deficit to 121-119 on a driving layup from Mitchell with 12.3 seconds left.

Beal hit a pair of free throws with 11.5 seconds remaining after missing a pair of few seconds earlier. Bogdanovic missed a corner 3-pointer on the other end and then Westbrook added two more free throws to secure the win.

It gave the Wizards their third victory in four games.

I like how guys are playing, Washington coach Scott Brooks said. Everyone is accepting their roles. When you have a healthy roster  this is something we havent had for a long time. Its kind of nice having it.

Washington seemingly broke open the game starting late in the third quarter. After Mitchell hit a pair of free throws to give Utah an 80-79 lead, the Wizards went on a 30-10 run to take control.

Westbrook scored a basket and assisted on five others to help Washington pull away. Ish Smith capped the lengthy run with a running layup, giving the Wizards a 109-90 lead with 8:23 left.

Mitchell scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first quarter. Utah scored on 11 straight possessions and staked out a 39-30 lead in the final minute. Mitchell fueled that with six consecutive baskets.

Story continues

The Jazz shot 16 of 23 from the field in the first quarter.

Washington was even more efficient in the second quarter. The Wizards made 13 of their first 15 shots from the field and shot 16 of 22 overall.

It helped Washington build a 66-59 lead after stringing together a 12-4 run. Beal scored or assisted on four out of five baskets to fuel the run, and had 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting by halftime.

We didnt have the right focus defensively, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. In the first half, we gave up so much in a couple of quarters that it made it difficult for us even when we started playing better defense later in the game.

TIP-INS

Wizards: Alex Len made Washingtons only 3-pointer in the first quarter. It was just the seventh made 3-pointer for Len this season and his only basket of the game.  The Wizards outscored Utah 57-14 in bench points and 58-46 in the paint.

Jazz: Jordan Clarkson (right sprained ankle) and Mike Conley (right hamstring injury management) did not play.  Mitchell is averaging 40.5 points over his last four games.  Utah outscored Washington 18-11 in second-chance points.  Gobert and Royce ONeale each finished with 12 rebounds.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Beal was supposed to play on a minutes restriction after sitting out with back tightness against Phoenix on Saturday. It did not turn out that way.

He ended up staying on the court for 37 minutes. Beal had been limited to 30 minutes in the Wizards victories over Orlando and Golden State last week after returning from a five-game absence caused by a right hip contusion. Brooks said Beal begged for extra minutes starting in the first quarter and yielded to his All-Stars wishes.

Everything feels good. My body feels good, Beal said. I felt good early on, didnt have any problems.

MAKING A PREDICTION

Several teams are working to unseat Utah from the pole position as the top seed in the Western Conference. Brooks thinks the Jazz will be the ones who ultimately finish on top out West.

Theyve got everything right now, Brooks said. I wouldnt be surprised if they advance to the NBA Finals.

UP NEXT

Wizards: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Jazz: Host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
11:33 | Lima, Apr. 13.

Provincial Prosecutor Jorge Camargo, who was in charge of the mega-operation, pointed out that a group of people had arranged to transport the cocaine along bridle paths to a clandestine airstrip in Alto Picha, La Convencion Province (Cusco region), in order to send the drug to international markets via airplanes.









By order of the representative of the Public Ministry on board three helicopters the police members also members of Los Sinchis de Mazamari entered the area on April 8 to carry out a search and found 23 sacks containing 911 packages of drugs.





Concerning this fact, the prosecutor stated that the investigation will run its course to achieve the capture of those responsible, who could face a custodial sentence of between 15 and 25 years.




Infosec IQ Culture Survey results screen Traditional security awareness and training success metrics like phishing clicks are important, but the majority of our clients are driving behavior change beyond just the inbox. They are looking to shift the way employees think and feel about cybersecurity.

Infosec, the leading cybersecurity education company, today released one of the industrys first cybersecurity culture assessment tools. The new Infosec IQ Cybersecurity Culture Survey introduces an actionable, scalable way to analyze and measure employee attitudes and perceptions towards security practices, policies and training strategies across five cultural domains.

Few metrics offer better insight into the effectiveness of your security awareness training program than your cybersecurity culture, said Jack Koziol, Infosec CEO and founder. However, it is also an extremely challenging metric to quantify and track over time. The new Infosec IQ Cybersecurity Culture Survey leverages the latest research into security culture assessment to help our clients show the impact of training beyond measurements like phishing click rates and training completion.

The Infosec IQ Cybersecurity Culture Survey collects employee feedback and scores organizations across these five domains:



Confidence: how employees classify their own ability to put their cybersecurity knowledge to practical use

Responsibility: how employees perceive their role in organizational security

Engagement: how willingly employees participate in an organization's security awareness and training program and apply available resources and support to improve security behaviors

Trust: how employees perceive the security posture and processes at their organization

Outcomes: how employees perceive the consequences of a security incident at their organization

Traditional security awareness and training success metrics like phishing clicks are important, but the majority of our clients are driving behavior change beyond just the inbox. They are looking to shift the way employees think and feel about cybersecurity, said Koziol. Interactive Infosec IQ training resources like the Choose Your Own Adventure Security Awareness Games are designed to fundamentally change the way employees perceive security functions and learn how they personally contribute to keeping data secure. Cultural assessments are one way our clients can measure this perception shift over time.

The Infosec IQ Cybersecurity Culture Survey helps security awareness managers evolve program goals and success metrics to align with recommendations from leading research firms like Forrester. According to a Forrester report authored by analysts Jinan Budge and Claire O'Malley, Cultural change takes time and results are difficult to measure. One technique they recommend CISOs use is surveying the workforce to measure motivation, ability and triggers. This will allow you to quantify the strengths and weaknesses of an existing or potential SA&T [security awareness and training] program and gain insight into the current state of security culture.1

Infosec IQ program managers can administer the Cybersecurity Culture Survey as needed and use results to guide changes to cybersecurity policies, practices or training strategies. The tool generates scores across all five domains and provides recommendations for strengthening cybersecurity culture and improving scores in each domain. Recommendations include training content and employee engagement features built within the Infosec IQ security awareness platform and suggestions for increasing the impact of security-related communications.

Click here to learn more about the Infosec IQ Cybersecurity Culture Survey.

About Infosec

Infosec is the leading cybersecurity education company helping IT and security professionals advance their careers and empowering employees to be cyber-safe at work and home. Its mission is to equip individuals and organizations with the knowledge, skills and confidence to outsmart cybercrime. More than 70% of the Fortune 500 have relied on Infosec Skills to develop their security talent and teams, and more than 5 million learners worldwide are more cyber-resilient from Infosec IQs security awareness and phishing training. Learn more at infosecinstitute.com.



1 The Business Case for Security Awareness And Training, Forrester Research, Inc., April 19, 2019
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Migration Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Pierre-Alain Fridez is deeply concerned over the fate of persons who have been captured or declared missing due to the recent Nagorno Karabakh war.

This is all the more worrying in the context of the 16 March 2021 press release of the European Court of Human Rights, indicating that the Azerbaijani Government had failed to respect the time-limits set by the Court for the submission of information on the individuals concerned and the rather general and limited information provided by them, he said after an exchange of views on this issue in the Committee. It is incumbent upon Azerbaijan to fully co-operate with the Court, providing information on the whereabouts and fate of the remaining persons of concern on this list, and ensure that they are returned without delay in accordance with article 8 of the trilateral statement of 9-10 November 2020, he added.

The Committee Chair noted that both Armenia and Azerbaijan must cooperate without precondition, in good faith and with the aid of the ICRC, to find a solution to the issue of missing persons, and to organize the swift release of all current captives.

Pierre-Alain Fridez said the Committee is ready to assist both countries in solving the humanitarian consequences caused by the conflict. Its rapporteur, Mr Paul Gavan (Ireland UEL), is preparing a report on the issue of the Humanitarian consequences of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he added.
US officials are racing to vaccinate as many Americans as possible to beat another Covid-19 surge -- and doses are being administered at a record pace.

But Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise, especially among young Americans who are less likely to be vaccinated, health officials say.

"Don't declare victory prematurely," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"We see so many pulling back on some of the public health measures: the mask mandates, the restaurant opening, the bars. We can't be doing that. We've got to wait a bit longer until we get enough vaccine into people that we will clearly blunt any surge."

If the US keeps vaccinating quickly and doubles down on safety measures, it could soon see a "turnaround," Fauci said.

One of the biggest challenges is the B.1.1.7 strain, which is more contagious than the original strain of coronavirus and is now the dominant strain in the US.

B.1.1.7 is also hitting young people particularly hard.

To try to get out of this pandemic, "it's still about masks and physical distancing and ventilation and vaccines," said emergency physician Dr. Megan Ranney, director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health in Rhode Island.

"The current vaccines work really well against B.1.1.7."

Coronavirus variants are behind alarming trends in several states, including Michigan, which local officials say is in the middle of another surge, with both case and hospitalization numbers quickly rising.

The state has the second-highest number of cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state with the highest number of cases of the variant is Florida.

In New Jersey, where there are more than 950 cases reported of concerning variants, patients on ventilators and virus-related deaths have increased, state health commissioner Judy Persichilli said Monday.

About 48% of the state's new hospitalizations were people under the age of 60, she added.

FDA recommends pausing the J&J vaccine

The CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over "six reported US cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot," the agencies said in a statement.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, according to a statement Tuesday by officials at the agencies.

"CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance," the statement said.

"FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot."

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are extremely safe and effective and continue to be distributed widely.

US is on track to hit a key vaccination milestone

The good news is that vaccination numbers are climbing rapidly.

More than 120 million Americans -- about 36.4% of the population -- have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. About 74 million people -- about 22.3% of the US population -- have been fully vaccinated.

The US is on track to reach half of the US adult population with at least one dose by the end of the week, according to a CNN analysis of CDC data.

At least 11 states have already reached that threshold: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear announced a new "Team Kentucky Vaccination Challenge," saying that when 2.5 million residents have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the state will remove most of its capacity restrictions.

"With the vaccine supply we have, we could get there in as little as three-and-a-half weeks from now," Beshear said in a news release. "That minimum time frame might not be realistic, but we should get there in four to six weeks if we are intentional."

More than 1.6 million residents have so far received at least their first dose of vaccine, the release said. Kentucky has a population of about 4.5 million.

"We have to try everything to reach this point as quickly as possible. That will help us have a more normal summer than any of us could have imagined this winter," the governor added.

What Fauci says about indoor and outdoor dining

Fauci, who has been fully vaccinated, was asked by CNN's Wolf Blitzer whether he would consider outdoor dining.

Fauci said that while he's been too busy to do so recently, "in an outdoor restaurant, right now, where we are, I would not hesitate to do that."

And what about indoor dining for Americans who are fully vaccinated?

"What you need to do is you need to look at the level of infection in the community," Fauci said.

"Being vaccinated, the risk for you is very low. It isn't like before, when you were not vaccinated and you had a lot of activity in the community and you went into an indoor restaurant where there was no (restrictions) ... your risk would be up there. Whereas now, the risk is not zero, but it's extremely low" if you're fully vaccinated.

More universities will require vaccine proof

To lower Covid-19 risks on their campuses, a growing number of colleges and universities have said they will require all students to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before returning to campus.

Johns Hopkins University, in Maryland, is the latest to join the list.

All students who plan to be on campus will be required to be vaccinated unless they have a medical or religious reason not to be and faculty are also strongly recommended to be vaccinated, although it will not be required for them, according to an announcement sent to the campus community on Friday.

"Our plans are predicated on continuing public health strategies to promote a safe campus and community," Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels and other university leaders wrote.

"Ensuring that the overwhelming percentage of our community's population is vaccinated will greatly reduce the risk of the virus's spread on our campuses and will also protect our neighbors in Baltimore," they added.

By CNN's count, there are at least 18 colleges and universities in the US that will be requiring Covid-19 vaccines.
In the wake of the death of DMX last Friday after suffering heart attack, his family broke their silence about numerous things.

Just ahead of the rapper's funeral, whose real name is Earl Simmons, family provided a statement to Billboardto clear things, including the reported purchase of power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce of their son's master recordings.

According to rumors, the "Crazy in Love" hitmakers purchased the master recordings for a reported $10 million.

It was also rumored that the couple purchased it because they planned to return it to DMX's 17 children - however, he only has 15.

"There have been a few rumors following our loved one, Earl Simmons' passing that we'd like to clear up."

They continued, "No one has bought Earl's masters."

As per the family, his masters are still under the control of Def Jam, not owned outright by Jay-Z.

Swizz Beatz, an American record producer, also denied the claim on social media, saying, "Not true king."

The family has also warned the fans of several scammers raising cash, saying they are not strapped for cash and are not asking for the public to donate money for burial expenses.

TMZ reported that the family has contacted them to say that DMX's family are not raising money and want the public to know that any campaigns suggest the contrary are "completely bogus and not connected to the fam at all."

Another rumor that the family warned the public to look out for was the rumored selling of any DMX merch.

The outlet revealed that if the public are seeing DMX-related items hitting the market at the moment, his family didn't authorize it and that they are not profiting from it.

READ ALSO: Black Rob Illness: GoFundMe Donations Pour as Rapper Reveals More Shocking Condition

DMX Death

DMX died last Friday after suffering a heart attack triggered by an unconfirmed drug overdose. He was 50 years old.

The "Ruff Ryder's Anthem" rapper had been on life support and was in a "vegetative state" as per his former manager Nakia Walker.

On Apr. 5, his family and friends organized a prayer vigil just outside of White Plains Hospital.

When news of DMX's death surfaced on Apr. 9, Yonkers Mayor Mike Sopana told TMZ that he's willing to offer Yonkers Raceway, the city's largest outdoor venue, to become a public hometown memorial.

TMZ reported that there will be a public and private service in the works and are being finalized this week.



READ MORE: Does Black Rob Have Cancer? Rapper's Real Health Problems Revealed

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
IT firm said Tuesday it will work with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) to build a digital platform for Indias second largest oil and gas companys sales and distribution network.

The network called IRIS will integrate real-time data from across BPCLs countrywide network of more than 18,000 fuel outlets, 25,000 tank trucks, 75 oil installations and depots, 52 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plants and 250 additional industrial and commercial locations to give the company a consolidated view of its operations.

IRIS, by using analytics based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, will trigger automated alerts and actions, like rapid a response to equipment failures or hazardous situations.

The new platform will be capable of accepting more than three million inputs per second from automated sensors, cameras and Internet of Things (IoT) devices deployed at all key locations, tracking performance based on key parameters such as fuel stock, safety, compliance, equipment health and boosting asset uptime. BPCLs field workforce and partner network will have a seamless experience thanks to support from a portal, mobile app and call centers in Noida and Chennai.





ALSO READ: Cabinet may soon take up extending subsidy to BPCL after privatisation

We believe our industry expertise and extensive digital capabilities can help drive the next wave of growth and gain a distinct advantage in the market. The powerful combination of human and applied intelligence will facilitate transformative change to ensure BPCLs operations are safer, more secure and more efficient, said Piyush N. Singh, India Market Unit Lead at

IRIS will also empower the workforce of more than 100,000 across the country to make faster and more accurate decisions, including preventative maintenance.

This can help increase sales at fuel retail outlets by minimizing infrastructure downtime and ensuring consistent fuel quality, as well as improve the experience for customers.

With the deployment of this highly automated command and control platform called IRIS, we will not only bolster our digital capabilities significantly, but also improve customer experience and transform operations at scale. It will further ensure consistent and uniform delivery of BPCLs brand promises of innovation, care and reliability to our customers, said Rahul Tandon, Head, Digital Transformation,

Digital transformation opens up new opportunities for the oil and gas industry. As an organization passionate about embracing change and leading the charge, we look forward to leveraging technology to unlock tremendous value, sustainable growth, and improved efficiency, said Arun Kumar Singh, Director (Marketing) and Director (Refineries), BPCL.
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a $2.2 million settlement agreement with Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police over a 2014 claim that the state police use of physical tests as part of the entry-level hiring process for state troopers resulted in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against women.

In the suit, the Justice Department argued the use of the tests to screen and select applicants for the entry-level positions resulted in a much greater percentage of male applicants than female applicants passing the physical fitness tests going back to 2003.

As a result, the state police had failed to hire dozens of women for entry-level trooper positions on an equal basis with men, the Justice Department argued in the suit, saying this amounted to a pattern of employment discrimination against women, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Employers cannot impose selection criteria that unfairly screen out qualified female applicants, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said in a press release Tuesday. When the Pennsylvania State Police use a physical fitness test as part of the process for choosing state troopers, they must ensure that the test complies with federal law. This settlement agreement reflects the Civil Rights Divisions continued commitment to removing artificial barriers that prevent women from becoming law enforcement officers.

The fitness test that had been at the center of the suit required candidates to be able to reach a standard of:

14-inch vertical jump in three attempts,

Agility run in 23.5 seconds in two attempts,

A 300-meter run in 77 seconds,

13 push-ups,

And a 1.5-mile run in 17 minutes and 48 seconds.

From 2003 to 2008, 94 percent of male applicants passed the fitness test, while 71 percent of female applicants passed. Under a similar test administered in 2009 through 2012, 98 percent of male applicants passed, while 72 percent of female applicants passed, according to the suit.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, still subject to court approval, the Pennsylvania State Police will pay $2.2 million into a settlement fund that will be used to compensate those women who were harmed by the employment practices, according to Justice Department officials.

The agreement also requires the Pennsylvania State Police to offer priority hiring relief, with retroactive seniority, for up to 65 women for entry-level state trooper jobs. All priority hiring candidates must meet the employers lawful selection criteria, including the successful passing of any physical fitness test that meets the requirements of Title VII, justice department officials say.

In a joint filing Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the parties moved for a court order provisionally approving the terms of the settlement agreement.

The motion also asks the court to schedule a fairness hearing to provide an opportunity for individuals potentially affected by the proposed agreement to provide comments on the terms of the settlement.

The Pennsylvania State Police is committed to the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of the most qualified applicants to become Pennsylvania State troopers, with an emphasis on women and minority recruitment, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Ryan Tarkowski said in a statement released today. As the joint motion filed today by the PSP and Department of Justice explains, PSP has already implemented the new physical fitness test outlined in the agreement. Changes to the physical readiness test were made in consultation with the DOJ and adopted by PSP during the recruiting cycle for the 161st Cadet Class, which reported to the Academy in January 2021.

When the suit was first filed in 2014, state police officials had argued lowering the physical fitness standards for applicants would be insulting to those men and women who already strove to achieve those standards, and it would endanger current and future troopers.

This post has been updated with comment from the Pennsylvania State Police.
A man has been charged with the murder of a Lithuanian mother-of-five who was found dead in a pond at a country park.

Police were called by ambulance staff just before 7am last Friday after Egle Vengaliene, 35, was found in the water next to a care home at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk.

Andrius Vengalis, 46, of Brandon, was arrested early on Friday afternoon and questioned at the Police Investigation Centre in Bury St Edmunds.

Suffolk Police charged him with her murder tonight and he will appear on Tuesday before magistrates in Ipswich.

Mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, 35, (pictured) from Lithuania, was found dead in the water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk on Friday

Mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, 35, from Lithuania, was found dead in the water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk on Friday (police at the scene earlier)

Police are still carrying out searches at the 30 acre country park and are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen Ms Vengaliene or knew her.

Forensic officers have also been searching outside an end terraced Victorian house in Bury Road around half a mile which is believed to have been her home.

The family of Ms Vengaliene have set up a Facebook appeal to help pay for her body to be taken back to Lithuania

In the post, Vitalija - who only provided a first name - described Ms Vengaliene as 'beloved daughter and sister' and says there are 'five kids left without a mom' following her tragic death.

Vitalija told MailOnline that Ms Vengaliene was a 'good mother' and a 'pretty woman'.

She said her friend lived in the UK for around seven years prior to her death and the pair are both from the city of Rokiskis in Lithuania.

Police arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of murder at around 12.15pm. Pictured: Brandon park

A friend of Ms Vengaliene (pictured) launched a fundraiser on Facebook to raise money to bring her body back to Lithuania

A Suffolk Police statement said last night: 'A large area of Brandon Country Park remains cordoned off by police as various searches and other enquiries are ongoing.

'The investigation is ongoing and officers remain keen to hear from anybody who knew Egle and have not yet been in contact with police, or from anyone with a recent sighting of her prior to 7am on Friday morning.

'Detectives are also continuing to appeal for witnesses, particularly anyone who was in the area of Brandon Country Park, Bury Road or the surrounding streets, and who may have seen or heard anything suspicious.

Police were call by the ambulance service shortly before 7am on Friday following reports that a woman's body had been found in the water (pictured are Police at the scene)

Suffolk Police said it detained the 46-year-old suspect at around 12.15pm (pictured are police at the scene)

Any residents in the local area with a doorbell camera or private CCTV are also asked to review their footage, as well as anyone with motion activated dash-cam footage.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team either by using the online portal: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/363718M87-PO1 or by calling 101 and quoting reference: 17570/21.

Alternatively, contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, through their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org
SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Synergy One Lending welcomes Dave Slater and Charadie Finkle, expanding their footprint into the Colorado Springs Market!

"Our decision to join Synergy One was about leadership and trust. Not only have they built a best-in-class platform for top producers today, but they have an amazing vision for what is to come, allowing us to truly shape our team's future while knowing our clients will be put first each and every time along the way," said Charadie Finkle.

Synergy One President, Aaron Nemec added, "Charadie and Dave bring a level of integrity and professionalism to Synergy One that we could not be more excited about! They're the best in the market for a reason and having them join the team means the world as we continue to expand across the West!"

Synergy One Lending is based in San Diego, CA, is currently licensed in 38 states and has Operational HUBS in Boise, ID, Denver, CO and Dallas, TX. To learn more about Synergy One Lending, reach out to Aaron Nemec or Ben Green.

CONTACT: Aaron Nemec, [email protected].

SOURCE Synergy One Lending

Related Links

https://s1lending.com/


MDOT hosting virtual public meeting for M-37 repaving and Battle Creek Linear Park Trail temporary closure

MDOT hosting virtual public meeting for M-37 repaving and Battle Creek Linear Park Trail temporary closure

Nick Schirripa, MDOT Office of Communications, 269-208-7829 Transportation

WHAT:

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting a virtual public meeting to discuss M-37 (Helmer Road/Bedford Road) repaving in Battle Creek and Springfield, Calhoun County, which will require temporarily closing the Battle Creek Linear Park Trail.

WHO:

MDOT representatives

Residents

Business owners

Community leaders

Media

WHEN:

4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

WHERE:

Click here to join the Microsoft Teams Virtual Public Meeting

To join by phone without using Internet, call 248-509-0316

Conference ID: 887 608 594#

How to attend a Microsoft Teams meeting

Accommodations can be made for persons with disabilities and limited English-speaking ability. Large print materials, auxiliary aids or the services of interpreters, signers, or readers are available upon request. To make a request, contact Orlando Curry at 517-241-7462 or CurryO@Michigan.gov at least seven days before the meeting.

Public input is being sought to help MDOT recognize and address any public concerns that may result from the temporary pathway closure of Battle Creek Linear Park Trail, per a proposed de minimis impact finding under Section 4(f) of the U.S. Department of Transportation Act of 1966. Provide your comments and questions by May 4, 2021, using the online comment form or by contacting MDOT Public Involvement Specialist and Hearings Officer Monica Monsma at MonsmaM@Michigan.gov or by mail:

Monica Monsma

MDOT Environmental Services Section

Van Wagoner Building

425 West Ottawa St.

PO Box 30050

Lansing, MI 48909

BACKGROUND:

MDOT is planning a 2022 project to repave M-37 from M-96 (Dickman Road) in Springfield to Creekview Drive in Bedford Charter Township. The Battle Creek Linear Park Trail will be closed between the Kalamazoo River bridge and Upton Avenue for a 10-day period during the project.
RYSE SmartShade Our vision is to own the smart shades space. We want RYSE to be synonymous with smart shades  just like what Nest is to the thermostat, Ring is to the doorbell, or Dyson is to the vacuum.

RYSE Inc., the Internet-of-Things (IoT) company behind the SmartShade, announced today that it will be offering equity shares in the company to the public. With more than $4.5 million in lifetime revenue and $185K in pre-orders for its second-generation device, market demand has been clearly established. Powered by software that leverages AI, sensors, and weather data, RYSE intelligently controls window shades to optimize for energy and occupant comfort.

Motorized window shades are one of the best investments a building can have to reduce building emissions and minimize energy consumption. With increasing legislation against building emissions, such as the Green New Deal & Local Law 97 that require buildings to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by specified targets, RYSE products are an effective solution for buildings to effectively meet both current and future regulations.

The company launched in 2015 and has since established a solid supply chain network having shipped over 30,000 devices since 2017. In addition, RYSE graduated from several accelerators including OCADs Imagination Catalyst, NEXT Founders, Canadian Technology Accelerator, and the Digital Media Zone (ranked globally as the #1 university-based incubator in the world by UBI Global). RYSE also has ongoing partnerships with a number of commercial properties, including the ANNEX Hotel, EurekaHub, and QuadReal.

Founder & CEO, Trung Pham, says Our vision is to own the smart shades space. We want RYSE to be synonymous with smart shades  just like what Nest is to the thermostat, Ring is to the doorbell, or Dyson is to the vacuum.

Ultimately, this raise puts the fate of our company in the hands of everyday investors, rather than relying on one or two decision-makers at a VC fund. The online public offering is made possible in the U.S. through Title IV of the JOBS Act, which allows companies to acquire funding from non-accredited investors through what is known as Regulation A+, or equity crowdfunding. RYSE Inc.s online public offerings will be accessible for the U.S. and international investors at invest.helloryse.com.

Investor Derek Luke, the CEO of InterAxon stated, When investing in startups, we consider the long-term growth potential, the strength of the founding team, and the mission of the company. RYSE ticked all the boxes and more.

For more information, view the RYSE Inc. Offering Circular.

About RYSE Inc.

RYSE Inc. is a Toronto-based IoT company at the forefront of the smart window shades industry. Since 2017, it has shipped over 30K devices and totaled $4.5 million in sales. The company has been awarded over CDN$3.85 million in cleantech funding.

Media Contact:

Natacha Rousseau

Company: RYSE Inc.

Website: https://invest.helloryse.com

Email: natacha@helloryse.com

(323) 352-6417
The violence at the Capitol, Mr. Trumps continued devotion to an untruthful narrative, and the flood of anti-voting legislation being passed by Republican-led state governments in response to his failed 2020 campaign have all fed outrage among many high-dollar donors and corporations with long histories of supporting Republicans.

Robert Cahaly, a Republican pollster and strategist, said that this trend was only the latest example of how Mr. Trump has shifted the power in Republican politics away from major corporations and establishment figures, and toward the grass roots  a demographic he firmly controls.

In a world where the traditional Republican corporate donors are drying up, there are millions of people who will donate $5, $10, $20 and easily make up that difference, Mr. Cahaly said. If youre going to move toward a crowd-funded party, you cant alienate the people who make up the crowd.

As his speech on Saturday made clear, Mr. Trump remains devoted to one cause above all else: himself. And for now, so do Republican voters.

Even as two-thirds of Americans said in a CNN poll last month that they disapproved of how Mr. Trump had responded to the Jan. 6 attack, 63 percent of Republicans said he had responded to it well. And 71 percent of Republicans said Mr. Trump had had a positive effect on the G.O.P., not a negative one.

On Saturday, Mr. Trump didnt give his speech at the Palm Beach Four Seasons, where the weekends official gathering of Republican National Committee donors took place. In a characteristic act of symbolic big-footing, he delivered his address at nearby Mar-a-Lago, his private club, forcing donors to caravan over to hear him.

Mr. Trump went entirely off script, but he was totally on brand. He dished out falsehoods about the election in November, and bashed some Republicans who had denounced the Jan. 6 riot  including Mr. McConnell and former Vice President Mike Pence  while heaping praise on his closest allies.
Experts have suggested imposing high taxes on vehicles and encouraging the use of electric cars.

At a seminar on urban transports impact on the environment held several days ago, Yann Maublanc from Espelia said that, after electric car usage kicked off, nitrogen oxide emissions in the populous Ile-de-France decreased by 37 percent in 2005-2015, while emissions from transport decreased by 32 percent. The volume of fine dust, which caused 50,000 deaths a year, also fell by 36 percent.

The decreases were not attributed to the reduction in number of vehicles, but to the increase in the number of electric vehicles.

Vietnam is entering a motorization period. Experts say that if Vietnam cannot reduce the number of vehicles in circulation, it needs to restrict the use of old-technology vehicles and encourage vehicles using clean green technologies.

But the problem is that the vehicles using new technologies are pricey.

HEV (hybrid electric vehicles) are believed to be a solution to environmental problems in Vietnam. The School of Transportation Engineering under the Hanoi University of Science and Technology, after an experiment, concluded that HEV has outstanding advantages over traditional internal combustion vehicles in Vietnamese conditions, especially in terms of fuel savings.

The researchers used two Toyota Corola Cross 1.8L for the experiment, one with hybrid technology and the other with internal combustion engine technology.

On inner city roads, the hybrid only consumed 5.6 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers in rush hours, 4.8 liters in normal hours and 4.6 liters on highways.

The figures were 11.2 liters, 10.3 liters and 5.7 liters for an international combustion engine car.

Experts pointed out that in foreign countries, hybrids have become more popular than ever as they are green, clean and friendly to the environment. At first, people drove small cars, but there are now medium and large hybrids as well.

In Vietnam, hybrids do not enjoy any preferences compared with traditional internal combustion engine cars. Both types of cars bear the same import tariff, luxury tax and VAT.

Using high technologies, hybrids have high prices. In Vietnam, a hybrid is at least VND100 million more expensive that an internal combustion engine car. The modest income of Vietnamese explains why they are indifferent to hybrids.

Enterprises have been calling for reasonable policies to encourage people to use green cars. With preferential taxes and fees, hybrids would become cheaper and more people would use them. But policies have not been created.

That is why the number remains small. VAMA reported that 289 hybrids were imported in 2010, then the figure rose to 347 in 2011, but once again dropped to 131 in 2015. The imports continued to drop to to 84 in 2016 and 20 in 2017.

In late 2020, the sales of hybrids increased slightly with the hybrid version of Toyota Corolla Cross imported from Thailand. However, it is estimated that there are only 1,000 hybrids of different kinds, or just 0.3 percent of total cars.

Environmental quality

Some enterprises have tried to develop PHEV (plug in hybrid electric vehicle), but their efforts did not bring the desired effects.

It is impossible to shift to use EV immediately. Enterprises still need more time, more preferences and high financial capability to develop infrastructure and technology.

Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam introduced the Outlander PHEV in 2017, but there has been no information about sales.

The model uses two electric engines and a petrol one. Once fully charged, the car can run 60 kilometers without petrol. If it needs to go further, the petrol engine will be activated to charge the battery with electricity and support acceleration.

The Outlander PHEV consumes 1.9 liters per 100 kilometers, with CO2 volume of 44g/km, lower than the 173g/km of normal cars.

The product line has a preferential luxury tax, 70 percent of petrol engine cars, so the selling price is still high.

In order to develop these products, it is necessary to develop a network of electricity charging stations, like the one for EV (electric vehicle).

In Vietnam, the EV market has seen considerable progress compared with 2-3 years ago. VinFast has its first orders for its first EV model, and plans to delivery products in November. Some companies have imported EVs for domestic sale and their prices are nearly the same as petrol cars of the same segments.

In some cities, electricity charging stations have been built which allow drivers to charge quickly. A 25-minute charge is equal to 200 kilometers of travel.

But analysts still believe that it is impossible to shift to use EV immediately. Enterprises still need more time, more preferences and high financial capability to develop infrastructure and technology.

Frost and Sullivan believe that PHEV and EV will account for 30.4 percent of total cars in the world by 2030.

Experts believe that Vietnam needs to impose high taxes on vehicles that produce high emissions that pollute the environment. At the same time, it is necessary to encourage or even award clients using electrified vehicles. A good transport system and reduced pollution will attract investors and improve peoples lives.

Tran Thuy

Vietnam's automobile manufacturers to develop solid-state batteries for electric cars Making solid-state batteries is a prerequisite for the development of the electric vehicle (EV) market, helping create smart cars which can run thousands of kilometers after just minutes of battery charge.
Hong Kong: Infirmary hospital visits to resume

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Hospital Authority will resume the special visiting arrangement in eight infirmary hospitals on April 21.

The authoritys Chief Manager (Clinical Effectiveness & Technology Management) Dr Linda Yu told a press briefing this afternoon that each patient will be allocated a one-hour visiting session by one designated relative every week.

She said visitors are required to present a negative COVID-19 test result.

For the relaxation of special visiting arrangements, the relatives of the patients can actually have two choices. They can either have COVID-19 nucleic acid tests within 72 hours before the scheduled visit, or for those who have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for at least 14 days, they can opt for rapid antigen tests within 24 hours.

These measures are to ensure the risk of infection can be minimised for in-patients, our staff and also other visitors.

Dr Yu added that visitors who have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccination for at least 14 days have to purchase the COVID-19 rapid antigen test and conduct it at home.

They have to take a photo of themselves being tested with the negative results and the time and date of the test and show the photo, the packing and product insert of the rapid antigen test kit and the vaccination record to the ward staff for checking before entering the ward.

For visits arranged under urgent circumstances, the visitor must provide a test result within two days after the visit.

Ward staff will begin contacting patients' families in the next few days to schedule visits.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
3:30 p.m. UPDATE: The man barricaded in a vehicle since 10 a.m. has been taken into custody.

A man allegedly wanted for a robbery in North Bergen is involved in a tense, four-hour standoff with Jersey City police this afternoon, city officials said.

The man is said to be armed inside a motor vehicle at Kennedy Boulevard near Clinton Avenue, a photographer at the scene said. Roads in the area, from Bergen Avenue to the east and West Side Avenue to the west have been closed due to the incident, which began at roughly 10 a.m.

There are no hostages, city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said. Jersey City police negotiators are in contact with the man, whose name has not been released.

According to police radio transmissions, North Bergen police traveled to Jersey City Tuesday morning to arrest the man.
BALTIMORE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Humanity First USA (HFUSA) is launching its Fast to Feed campaign during the month of Ramadan this year from April 14th, 2021 through May 13th, 2021. They will also have a "National Donate a Lunch Day: COVID-19 Response" on May 1st, 2021, which is part of the Fast to Feed Campaign.

Donate Your Lunch during our Fast 2 Feed campaign to help Food Security in America!

By fasting for over 14 hours a day in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims get a small taste of hunger, thus giving many the realization of the pain endured by millions of starving human beings. However, unlike many who go on to enjoy their favorite foods after breaking their fast in the evening, millions do not have the luxury of even one meal a day. This is especially relevant in these unprecedented times with the spread of COVID-19. Many are hungry in America and would need one lunch to survive a day in hunger.

Hunger among Americans is real. According to USDA, 50 million people in the United States, including 17 million children, are battling hunger and feeling food insecure. This is almost a 2% increase since 2019 due to COVID-19.

With a vision to make America hunger free, HFUSA's Food Security program seeks to reduce hunger and food wastage, provide food for our communities, and raise awareness about food insecurity.

During Humanity First USA's Fast to Feed campaign and specifically on the "National Donate a Lunch Day: COVID-19 Response" they urge consumers to donate the value of one meal to fill a hungry stomach. Humanity First USA's supporters from other faiths can also try to experience a day of fasting or skip a meal and donate the cost of that meal to feed children, parents, or elders who are suffering because of hunger in America during these dire times.

The campaign will support many food pantries and soup kitchens across the US, and will also support many of our makeshift COVID-19 response pantries in several other cities in America and around the world.

Humanity First USA's goal is to raise $100,000 during this campaign.

Donations can be made at: https://fundraise.humanityfirst.org/Fast2Feed2021

For more information, please visit https://usa.humanityfirst.org/hf_campaigns/fast2feed/

Media Contact:

Ismat Mahmood

214-326-9152

[email protected]

SOURCE Humanity First USA
(Newser)  Facebook is sorry that its notorious algorithm hounded a small French town. Ville de Bitche's official page disappeared without warning on March 19. Facebook restored it Tuesday, with a personal apology from the head of Facebook France to Benoit Kieffer, mayor of the town of 5,000, per Newsweek. The town built an interim page to keep the Bitchois updated on local news, but had to name it after the regions postcode to keep Facebooks algorithm at bay. Bitche spokesperson Valerie Degouy told a local radio station that she has had trouble with Facebook from the get-go. "I could not enter the word Bitche, it was impossible. I had to create a page that I had called Ville fortifiee, and change it afterwards," the Guardian reports. (To wit, the page's Facebook URL remains facebook.com/villefortifiee.)

story continues below

The town's efforts to reach out to Facebook were to no avail for quite some time, with Degouy saying she left roughly 10 messages each day to Facebook France via its own page. After the issue was resolved, Kieffer publicly invited Mark Zuckerberg and the head of Facebook France to visit Bitche, which is pronounced more like "beach" than another English word it resembles. He noted the town has historically gotten more respect from Americans, "who under the flag of the 100 Infantry Division came from South Carolina to liberate our town: liberators who called themselves, with pride, the 'sons of Bitche,'" Kieffer said. But the BBC reports he also got in a dig at Facebook: "What has happened to the town of Bitche demonstrates the insufficient and limited moderating tools that only the human gaze can appreciate." (Read more Facebook stories.)
New Delhi:

The GST Council is set to meet on Friday and is likely to decide on providing some relief to exporters in terms of faster refunds as well as compliance.

The meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is also likely to assess the improvements in the GST Networks functioning, officials said.

This will be the 22nd meeting of the Council. Officials in the ministry said that the Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches will also brief the Council on the portals functioning.

With over 33 lakh businesses filing the final GSTR-1 return, the GoM has tasked GSTN to send reminder text messages to the remaining 20 lakh businesses which are yet to submit the tax forms.

The last date for filing of final sales returns for July in GSTR-1 form is October 10, while the date for uploading of purchase returns in GSTR-2 is October 31.

The final GSTR-3, matching GSTR-1 and 2, is to be filed by November 10. The GoM in its meeting had asked GSTN and Infosys to brace up for handling the rush of last-minute filers.

Besides, the committee set up under Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on issues faced by exporters, is likely to submit its preliminary report to the Council on Friday.

Based on that the Council is likely to recommend some relaxation for exporters so that their working capital which is locked up in refunds is released, officials said.

Further, the apex indirect tax body CBEC will inform the Council that it is ready to release Integrated GST (IGST) refunds to exporters?from October 10.

In a meeting with the Revenue Secretary in September, exporters had said that an estimated Rs 65,000 crore is locked up in GST refunds.

Moreover, officials said that easy compliance for exporters, like quarterly filing of returns instead of monthly filing, is likely to be discussed by the Council.

The government has already allowed exporters to furnish 'Letter of Undertaking (LUT)' instead of bonds at the time of exports, which will ease the compliance burden and stop locking up of capital.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - RIWI Corp. (TSXV: RIWI) (OTC Pink: RWCRF) (the "Company" or "RIWI"), a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm, has been recognized for a second consecutive year as part of the Financial Times list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies. This prestigious award is presented by the Financial Times and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider.

The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies award identifies the firms that contribute most heavily to economic growth. The Financial Times and Statista chose the top 500 companies for the list, which was announced online on April 13, 2021 and can currently be viewed on the Financial Times website. Out of the millions of active companies in North and South America, only 500 firms placed in the list, and RIWI is pleased to be recognized for securing a spot on this list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021.

RIWI's most recent audited financial statements were published on March 3, 2021 and the Company's financial information and most recent investor presentation may be found at: https://riwi.com/investor-info/.

"This accolade from the Financial Times is a tribute to the hard work of a tremendous team and of an innovation firm that enjoys a track record of lasting international impact: our data feeds and analytics offer insights that can save lives and livelihoods across the world," said Neil Seeman, RIWI's Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Today's recognition follows on the heels of our audited financial statements showing 47% year-over-year growth from 2019-2020, and three consecutive years of profitability in 2018, 2019, and 2020," he added.

To learn more about the Company's impact-based vision, please see Mr. Seeman's Annual Letter to Shareholders - entitled "Focus on what is real" - published March 25, 2021 and online at: https://riwi.com/annual-shareholder-meetings/,

CEO Search for Next Stage of Growth Starts; Founder to Remain as Chair after Search is Completed

"Today's leadership announcement is part of a thoughtful succession planning process led by Neil," said Kevin Mahoney, RIWI's Lead Director. "On behalf of the Board of Directors, I thank Neil for his leadership as CEO and look forward to his continued stewardship as Board Chair. Neil has built a culture of increased accountability and encouraged collaboration. Thanks to him, RIWI is now better positioned for success. Neil has built a world-class company, and passing the baton to a new CEO as the company grew has always been one of Neil's goals," added Mr. Mahoney.

"Neil has made an indelible mark on the global data industry and has created an enviable legacy in the form of RIWI and the potential that exists for the Company over the coming decades. As the original RIWI visionary, Neil continues to be a tremendous resource with deep knowledge that RIWI can leverage. The entire Board looks forward to having him continue on as Chairman of our Board," said Mr. Mahoney.

"I wish to express my deep gratitude to all the amazing people since our inception who have helped RIWI service clients to advance the causes of prosperity, safety and liberty," said Mr. Seeman. "I look forward to working with our next CEO and the RIWI team to help fuel our Company's growth and innovation agenda," he added.

"RIWI started as my conceptual framework designed to hear from quiet voices, from the most diverse sets of populations, in all countries, in real-time. We then created a proven machine-learning global platform. We now work collaboratively with a wide array of clients to predict sharp economic shifts, to ensure public health safety, to monitor threats and violent extremism, and to distinguish truth from noise in all countries - across the People's Republic of China, in every society, including in conflict zones and fragile states," Mr. Seeman added.

Organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry has been engaged to lead the search for RIWI's next CEO.

About RIWI

RIWI is a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm. On a monthly or annual subscription basis, RIWI offers its clients tracking surveys, continuous risk monitoring, predictive analytics and ad effectiveness tests in all countries - without collecting any personally identifiable data. https://riwi.com.

RIWI CORP.

Signed: "Neil Seeman"

Neil Seeman, Chief Executive Officer

For more information, please contact:

Andrew Barwicki

Barwicki Investor Relations Inc.

Andrew@Barwicki.com

1-516-662-9461

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.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

Information and statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involves risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information included herein is made as of the date of this news release and RIWI does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update forward-looking information unless required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and reflects management of the Company's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. This forward-looking information is 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80195
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa received a cable of congratulations and good wishes from His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, on the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan today.

HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister prayed to Allah the Almighty to protect HM the King, wishing the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab and Islamic nations many happy returns.

He also prayed to protect the Kingdom, citizens and residents, in light of current conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

HM the King also sent a reply cable of congratulations to HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, praying to protect HRH and lift the pandemic off all humanity, wishing Bahrain, the Arab and Islamic nations many happy returns.

Yesterday, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA) officially announced the start of Ramadan. SCIA extended congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad, HRH Prince Salman, royal family, Bahraini people, as well as the Arab and Islamic nations, on the occasion.
Tirupati, April 13 : Senior Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy alleged that the stone pelting incident was stage-managed by a desperate Nara Chandrababu Naidu to grab public attention. Reddy claimed that Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) defeat is imminent in the forthcoming Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll.

"The stage-managed show by Chandrababu shows how desperate he is to grab public attention as defeat is staring at TDP in the bypoll," claimed Reddy after the stone pelting controversy on Monday night.

He claimed that if a stone was really thrown at Naidu, it would have come from some direction, injuring someone but things were not so.

"The incident so happened that the stone seems to have landed at the fag end of his speech in which he (Naidu) levelled serious allegations against the Chief Minister," claimed Reddy.

The minister claimed that Naidu allegedly resorted to theatrics, abusive language, staged sit-in and making statements that he would complain to the district superintendent of police as well as meeting the Governor on Tuesday.

"The sequence of events show that it was stage managed and we will also ask the police to inquire into the incident and book the guilty," said Reddy.

He said this incident was 'created' to attribute motives to the ruling YSRCP and allegedly being executed to salvage TDP from slipping into oblivion.

The Panchayat Raj Minister urged the police to conduct a thorough probe and take action against those responsible.

However, he claimed that if the incident was found to be stage managed by the TDP, action would be taken against the TDP leadership.

"There is no need for us to pelt stones as TDP is fast fading," claimed the minister.

TDP leaders alleged that stones were pelted on Naidu while he was campaigning for the forthcoming Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll and accused YSRCP leaders for allegedly being behind it.

The incident occurred on Monday night, drawing sharp reactions from the opposition party leaders.

Tirupati Lok Sabha bypoll will be held on April 17.
Press Release

April 13, 2021 Gatchalian to energy sector: Ensure no brownouts amid COVID-19 crisis response Senator Win Gatchalian called on energy sector agencies and other stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted and reliable power supply while strict home quarantine is called to be observed in all households and while the government rolls out its COVID-19 vaccination program. Electricity demand is usually higher during the summer months and as such, the reserve margin is thinner, if not insufficient, during these months. Gatchalian emphasized that the country cannot afford to have brownouts during this time when vaccines need to be stored in specific cold conditions or refrigerated to maintain its efficacy. The senator made the call after noting reports on a series of forced power outages in the Luzon grid. Data provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) showed that for the billing period February 26 to March 25, there were 15 unplanned outages due to excessive oil leaks, high turbine vibration, and other technical problems while there are seven planned outages during the said period. The Senate Energy Committee Chairperson also urged the generation companies to defer to a later date any planned maintenance shutdowns if possible. "These days, we could ill afford any power interruption as most workers, even government employees are on a work-from-home scheme, some on distance learning, and online business transactions. The wellbeing of the general public is of paramount importance as new cases of COVID-19 infections remain at an average of 12,000 daily," Gatchalian said. "Hindi katulad ng mga nakaraang taon, hindi dapat natin maranasan ngayon ang kahit ilang minuto lang na brownout dahil kailangang masiguro natin ang kapakanan ng publiko habang patuloy tayong lumalaban sa pandemya," he added. # # # 'No brownouts' dapat mapanatili sa gitna ng krisis sa COVID-19 - Gatchalian Hinimok ni Senador Win Gatchalian ang mga nasa sektor ng enerhiya na siguruhin ang pagkakaroon ng sapat na suplay ng kuryente habang patuloy na umiiral ang mahigpit na community quarantine status sa kabuuan ng bansa at umaarangkada ang COVID-19 vaccination program ng gobyerno. Kadalasang mataas ang konsumo ng kuryente sa panahon ng summer at dahil dito ay lumiliit ang reserba kaya kadalasan ay hindi sumasapat sa pangangailangan ng mga konsyumer. Sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon kung saan kinakailangang mapanatili ang pagkakaimbak sa malamig na storage facilities ng mga bakuna laban sa COVID-19, iginiit ni Gatchalian na hindi dapat maranasan ang pagkakaroon ng brownout dahil maaaring makompromiso ang bisa ng bakuna. Ang panawagan ni Gatchalian ay kasunod ng nakarating sa kanyang kaalaman kung saan nagkaroon ng forced power outages o biglaang pagsasara ng ilang planta sa Luzon. Sa datos ng Department of Energy (DOE), lumalabas na sa billing period mula Pebrero 26 hanggang March 25 ay nagkaroon ng 15 na unplanned outages na sumabay pa sa pitong naka iskedyul o planned outages noong mga panahong iyon. Dahil dito, iminungkahi ng Senate Energy Committee Chairperson sa mga generation companies na ipagpaliban muna ang iba pang nakaplano ng maintenance shutdown sa mga darating na panahon kung maaari. "Sa mga ganitong panahon, hindi dapat mangyari ang anumang brownout dahil karamihan sa mga namamasukan, kahit ang mga nasa gobyerno, ay nasa work-from-home scheme habang ang iba naman ay nasa distance learning o 'di kaya ay nagsasagawa ng negosyo sa online habang patuloy na tumataas ang bilang ng mga bagong kaso ng COVID-19 na sa ngayon ay karaniwang nasa 12,000 kada araw," ani Gatchalian. "Hindi katulad ng mga nakaraang taon, hindi dapat natin maranasan ngayon ang kahit ilang minuto lang na brownout dahil kailangang masiguro natin ang kapakanan ng publiko habang patuloy tayong lumalaban sa pandemya," dagdag pa ng mambabatas.
The SolarWinds attack, which succeeded by utilizing the sunburst malware, shocked the cyber-security industry. This attack achieved persistence and was able to evade internal systems long enough to gain access to the source code of the victim.

Because of the far-reaching SolarWinds deployments, the perpetrators were also able to infiltrate many other organizations, looking for intellectual property and other assets.

Among the co-victims: US government, government contractors, Information Technology companies, and NGOs. An incredible amount of sensitive data was stolen from several customers after a trojanized version of SolarWinds' application was installed on their internal structures.

Looking at the technical capabilities of the malware, as you will see, this particular attack was quite impressive. A particular file, named SolarWinds.Orion.Core.BusinessLayer.dll is a SolarWinds digitally signed component of the Orion software framework.

The threat actors installed a backdoor that communicates via HTTP to third-party servers. After an initial dormant period of up to two weeks, it retrieves and executes commands, called "Jobs," which includes the ability to transfer files, execute files, profile the system, reboot the machine, and disable system services.

So how could one protect the organization from Sunburst or a similar attack? Supply chain attacks have the advantage of establishing an initial foothold under the guise of a trusted 3rd party. But that's where the distinction ends; from there on, they progress like any other attack, and they can be detected if we know where to look.

Developing SIEM rules, using the SolarWinds attack as an example

Let's start with Sigma rules; these create a sort of a common language to create and share quality queries regardless of the SIEM your organization uses. The Cymulate platform will produce Sigma Rules for you to download these queries to your SIEM. This will enable Security Operations teams to build out the elements needed to detect future attacks. As you can see below in the 3 examples, the Sigma Rule is the same, yet the custom query is specifically for that SIEM's language. At the click of a button, you can switch to your preferred SIEM.

Example 1: Splunk:

Example 2: Qradar:

Example 3: Azure Sentinel:

Although Sigma rules are designed mostly for queries, one can use them to build a full anti-attack-chain SIEM or EDR rule. In the case of the SolarWinds Sunburst attack and many other attacks, Cymulate Sigma Rules are queries that search for the IOBs of the attack. Each sigma rule will query the SIEM for an IOB of one stage of the attack.

When the IOBs from the sigma rules are combined, they can result in a specific rule for the target system  something that can, with a high degree of confidence, point out the attack without "inventing the wheel" all over again. All the required IOB's are in place  in the Sigma rules  you just need to reach out your hand and take them.

Let's look at the specific case of a recreated SolarWinds attack on the Windows platform and hunt it together.

Hunting SolarWinds on Microsoft Windows

The Cymulate Platform provides us the capability to replicate the supply chain attack, which starts with an Exchange server mailbox export. The subsequent stages of the attack, available in the Cymulate platform to simulate the attack, can be seen in the screenshot.

The first event will not get any trigger by Windows, but it will be written in various network logs. Since the event itself cannot be very specific, we will leave it as optional for placement in a general rule. Let's continue.

The next event in the attack is downloading content with PowerShell. Such an event can be monitored with Windows Event IDs 4103 and 4104, which can also show the actual code being run, but we don't want to limit ourselves to a specific method because, let's face it: PowerShell is not the only tool an attacker can use.

What is common to all tools is that while downloading content, an object is created in the system, and for that, there is a Windows Event ID 4663 with an indicator of Access mask 0x1 or, if you use Sysmon, Event ID 11.

Below is a general screenshot of a 4663 Event ID with the relevant fields highlighted. This is the event that the Cymulate Sigma rule detects, and it is also the first IOB in the rule that we will create. You can find more on this Event ID here.

Next in line is the next stage in the attack: Task Scheduler: Masquerading Tasks triggered on the windows lock screen for lateral movement. Once again, it is irrelevant exactly which Tasks are being masqueraded; what is important is that there are Windows Event ID's that can help us identify this chain of events.

The Event ID's are:

4698 - task created 4700 - Scheduled task enabled. 4702 - Scheduled task updated. 4699 - Scheduled task removed.

What is relevant for us is, of course, is 4698 as this will pop up when a new task is created. Events of updating, enabling and/or removing a task are a good enhancement but optional. Personally, I would recommend adding an option of 4699, since there is always a possibility that the attacker would like to remove the task after completion to cover his tracks.

So, what we will want for minimal requirements is 4698 with a set of specific regexes in the "Command" field in the event, that match known executable types for example:

- '.exe' - '.py - '.ps1' - '.msi - '.msp' - '.mst' - '.ws' - '.wsf' - '.vb' - '.vbs' - '.jst' - '.cmd' - '.cpl'

For complex cases, regular expressions, such as those below, can be used:

- '^([A-Za-z0-9+/]{4})*([A-Za-z0-9+/]{3}=|[A-Za-z0-9+/]{2}==)?$' -'^([A-Za-z0-9 \/]{4})*([A-Za-z0-9 \/]{3}=|[A-Za-z0-9 \/]{2}==)?$'

Pay special attention to the last two IOBs (regexes): these match a base64 pattern. Although "Scheduled Task" receives a string as an input, it is possible to write in it an obfuscated/encrypted form of a command. For example, "python" as command and "base64.b64decode(some base64 payload)" as an argument, thus effectively making your task into "decoding base64 payload" tool.

Once again, all the indicators can be found in the Sigma Rules supplied by Cymulate. We will call this list and other upcoming lists of IOB's just "relevant IOB list" for the purpose of convenience. Below is the general view of the 4698 Event ID of creating a new task.

So, by now, we have covered two events in the chain. These should occur on the same machine and with the same username. After that, the process in your task will be executed, resulting in 4688 Event ID with Creator Process name: TaskScheduler or TaskScheduler.dll or taskeng.exe (depending on the version of build you use), and New Process Name will have one of those IOB's in the executables list. So, at this stage, our Rule looks like this:

(4663 + Access mask 0x1) (4698 and relevant IOB list) (4688+list of relevant Creator Process name + list of relevant IOBs as part of New process Name)

OR

4663 + Access mask 0x1 or Sysmon 11) [(4698 + relevant IOB list) (4688+(TaskScheduler.dll or taskeng.exe))] The  sign represents "followed by" operation

The next stage in the attack is running DLL file with rundll32. This is a simple IOB, which, by the way, can be run in a previous step as well. In this specific case it is 4688+rundll.32

Next is ADFind : Enumerating an AD Group using ADFind Masqueraded as csrss.exe. This step is a bit tricky. During this step an attacker masquerades his enumerating tool as some legitimate file. However, before this can happen, the illegitimate file has to be written somewhere on one of your drives (preferably in the system folder) with the legitimate name.

In this specific case it is csrss.exe, but there is quite a large number of file names that could be used for the same purpose for example:

- 'svchost.exe'. - rundll32.exe. - services.exe. - powershell.exe. - regsvr32.exe. - spoolsv.exe - lsass.exe. - smss.exe. - csrss.exe. - conhost.exe. - wininit.exe. - winlogon.exe. - explorer.exe - taskhost.exe. - Taskmgr.exe. - sihost.exe - RuntimeBroker.exe - smartscreen.exe.

Again, no need to search for all of them, they are already supplied in the relevant Sigma rule.

Below is an example of one possible Sigma rule for this specific step, which detects creating a file with one of the specified above names. But with a hash that is different from the original. Whether overriding a system file or creating a new path, it will still result in a 4663 Event ID (or Sysmon Event ID 11), and one of the names below will be found in the payload.

Working with System files also requires privileged access, so there inevitably will be privilege escalation, which is also documented as 4688 Event ID (file access) and Token Elevation Type of %%1936 or %%1937, which are types for system and administrator access respectively.

Below is a screenshot of the 4688 Event ID with relevant fields highlighted.

Optionally you could search for 4672 Event ID with any of the privilege escalation strings, but the event of privilege escalation can happen at any step in the attack. We recommend a separate rule for this, which should be correlated with the rule we are building.

Let's take a look at our rule at this stage:

(4663 + Access mask 0x1 or Sysmon 11) [(4698 + relevant IOB list) (4688+(TaskScheduler.dll or taskeng.exe))  (4688 and rundll32)  (4663 or Sysmon 11 + generic list of system files)  (4688 and 1 of files in list and Token Elevation Type (%%1936 OR %%1937))]

The next step is "Execute base64-encoded PowerShell from Windows Registry". What happens here is an attacker executes an obfuscated code previously written into a registry value. As you could understand, before he can do this, he needs to create a new registry value or modify an existing one.

A Windows event ID 4657 and a value matching base64 pattern (which can be identified with regexes that we have already seen in a preceding step) can help identify this step. The event can include "Existing registry value modified" or "Creating new registry value" as the Operation Type. All the IOB's, as mentioned before, can be obtained from the supplied Sigma Rules.

This event can show you other valuable information, such as:

1) What key was involved.

The format is: \REGISTRY\HIVE\PATH where:

HIVE:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE = \REGISTRY\MACHINE

HKEY_CURRENT_USER = \REGISTRY\USER\[USER_SID], where [USER_SID] is the SID of current user.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT = \REGISTRY\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes

HKEY_USERS = \REGISTRY\USER

HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG = \REGISTRY\MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\Current





What is the originating process.What is the old value and the new value.

Below you can view a general representation of 4657 Event ID.

Taking into account possible timeframes, since the entire operation will probably be scripted, we can safely say that if successful, steps 2-6 will take no more than 5 seconds. The entire chain until execution of code stored in the registry could be no more than 10 minutes.

After adding those variables, what we have is a chain of events that can be correlated:

It will all originate on one machine. It will be started as the same user. The operational rule will look like the below:

{ (4663 + Access mask 0x1 or Sysmon 11) [ (4698 + relevant IOB list)  (4688+(TaskScheduler.dll or taskeng.exe))  (4688 and rundll32)  (4663 or Sysmon 11 + generic list of system files)  (4688 and 1 of files in list and Token Elevation Type(%%1936 OR %%1937)) (4657 +New value created OR existing value modified+ base64 matching pattern in value in time frame up to 5s)] in time frame of 10 mins }

So now, if you have built this SIEM or EDR rule, using Cymulate-provided Sigma rules, and you see an alert from it  there is a good chance you are experiencing the SolarWinds attack right now.

If you still have your doubt, you can always add some optional stages and enhance them even further by adding two next stages to the rule. These are Exchange Server Mailbox Export Cleanup and Exchange Exfiltration using basic HTTP Request, respectively.

Even though Windows doesn't have a built-in Event ID for HTTP/S requests, there will always be {4660 on mailbox (HTTP request + 4663 of filename.zip/rar/tar/other)}. In order to get an event of HTTP/S requests, additional systems, for example, a network traffic analysis system, can assist here.

Optimize your Security Operations with Cymulate and Sigma Rules

As you have seen in the breakdown of this particular attack, you can use IOB's in Sigma Rules. This will help your security operations to challenge, assess, measure, and optimize. This can easily be accomplished by the Cymulate platform in all areas. The steps as shown in this article are meant to help with the optimization and guide through how to prevent a SolarWinds type attack. As you have seen from the Cymulate platform, a scenario, whether it be simple, or complex can assist with optimizing your SIEM or EDR rules. This will enhance your organization's security against the most sophisticated threats with low effort.

Good Hunting to you!

And as they say in the Hunger Games, "may the odds be ever in your favor."

This article was written by Michael Ioffe, Senior Security Researcher at Cymulate.
TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Magna Gold Corp. (TSXV: MGR) (OTCQB: MGLQF) ("Magna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its preliminary operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

The operational ramp-up at the San Francisco mine has been progressing well. Production levels have benefited from the accelerated stripping program, which has increased productivity and efficiency at the mine. As a result, Q1 2021 has shown progressive month-to-month growth in gold production with 3,085 ounces in January, 2,670 ounces in February and 4,030 ounces in March. Magna continues to see growth in production post Q1 2021 and anticipates the mine will return to full scale commercial production by June 2021, starting H2 at a production run rate of over 6,000 ounces per month and exiting the year with over 7,500 ounces per month, resulting in meaningful growth to sustained free cash flow generation. Magna reiterates that it remains on track to achieve its 2021 production guidance of 55,000 to 65,000 ounces of gold.

Key operating highlights:

Gold and silver production during the three months ended March 31, 2021 was 9,785 ounces and 8,093 ounces, respectively. Compared to the three months ended December 31, 2020 , this represents a material increase of 31% and 76% to gold and silver production, respectively.

was 9,785 ounces and 8,093 ounces, respectively. Compared to the three months ended , this represents a material increase of 31% and 76% to gold and silver production, respectively. Average gold grade of fresh ore processed from open pit over the three months ended March 31, 2021 was 0.32 g/t compared to an average gold grade of 0.25 g/t over the three months ended December 31, 2020 , representing an increase of 28% largely driven by the accelerated stripping of waste.

was 0.32 g/t compared to an average gold grade of 0.25 g/t over the three months ended , representing an increase of 28% largely driven by the accelerated stripping of waste. Gold placed on the leach pads, including ore from the open pits and from the underground mine development, during the three months ended March 31, 2021 was 12,177 ounces, representing an increase of 29% compared to 9,411 ounces placed on the pads during the three months ended December 31, 2020 .

was 12,177 ounces, representing an increase of 29% compared to 9,411 ounces placed on the pads during the three months ended . Strip ratio over the three months ended March 31, 2021 was 8.4:1, representing a modest increase from a strip ratio of 6.9:1 over the three months ended December 31, 2020 due to the accelerated waste stripping program implemented by the Company. The strip ratio is expected to decline to 3.5 during H2 2021 once operational steady state is achieved and average 2.5 over the life-of mine.

was 8.4:1, representing a modest increase from a strip ratio of 6.9:1 over the three months ended due to the accelerated waste stripping program implemented by the Company. The strip ratio is expected to decline to 3.5 during H2 2021 once operational steady state is achieved and average 2.5 over the life-of mine. Ongoing operational improvements were realized from addressing the deficiencies of the past, including leach solution imbalances that affected costs and gold recoveries, as well as extensive repair and refurbishment of the plant and equipment, which had not received proper maintenance by the prior operator for an extended period of time.

Summary of Q1 2021 Operating Results



Three Months

Ended

31-Mar-21 Three Months

Ended

31-Dec-20 Change Change

(%)









MINING







Ore mined (dry kt) 619 427 192 45% Ore mined grade (g/t Au) 0.34 0.30 0.04 13% Waste mined (kt) 5,195 2,954 2,241 76% Total mined (kt) 5,814 3,381 2,433 72% Strip ratio 8.40 6.92 1.48 21% Avg. total mined (t/d) 64,597 36,746 27,851 76%









CRUSHING AND PROCESSING







Ore processed (kt)  From open pit 611 416 195 47% Ore processed grade (g/t Au)  From open pit 0.32 0.25 0.07 28% Ore processed (kt)  All sources 744 746 (2) (0%) Ore processed grade (g/t Au)  All sources 0.51 0.39 0.12 31% Gold placed on pad (ozs)  All sources 12,177 9,411 2,766 29%









PRODUCTION







Gold ounces produced (ozs) 9,785 7,485 2,300 31% Silver ounces produced (ozs) 8,093 4,609 3,484 76% Gold ounces sold (ozs) 8,430 7,827 603 8% Silver ounces sold (ozs) 6,961 3,756 3,205 85%

Mr. Arturo Bonillas, President & CEO of Magna commented, "We are extremely proud of our progress at San Francisco  our team has made considerable progress during ramp-up and we are well on our way to establishing San Francisco as a stable free cash flow generator. The evident turnaround of the San Francisco Mine, considered by many as an impossible task one year ago, shows our team's resourcefulness and commitment to executing our mission to become a profitable precious metal producer. In addition to achieving commercial production at San Francisco in the coming months, we will remain focused on realizing further operational efficiencies, expanding mineral reserves and resources and seeking growth opportunities externally and within our significant pipeline of projects."

The Company intends to provide an update to its ongoing drill program in Q3, which is already showing a positive potential impact to current internal 2021 and 2022 gold production expectations.

Qualified Person

James Baughman (P. Geo.), Consulting Geologist and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101  Standard of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved scientific and technical information in this news release.

About Magna Gold Corp.

Magna is a mineral exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring, developing and operating quality precious metals properties in Mexico. The primary strength of the Company is the team of highly experienced mining professionals with a proven track record of developing properties in Mexico from discovery to production on budget and on time.

Magna is a Mexico focused gold/silver exploration company that is committed to advancing its 100% owned highly prospective mineral properties located in Sonora and in Chihuahua. The Company's shares trade on the TSXV under the trading symbol "MGR" and OTCQB under the trading symbol "MGLQF". Magna employs community members and services in its operations.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Arturo Bonillas

President and CEO

THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

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 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 the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or 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 the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet 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 Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, exploration and mine development plans, production (including the timing of the commencement of commercial production and production guidance), processing and mining expectations, strip ratio forecasts, cash flow generation and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

SOURCE Magna Gold Corp.

Related Links

https://www.magnagoldcorp.com/


Despite odds against her - no money, poor maths skills and only a dream to one day become a pilot, 35-year-old Precious Sibalo of Zimbabwe persevered until she got the highest certification - Airline Transport Pilots (ATP) license. The Bulawayo native spoke with Gibbs Dube of VOA's Zimbabwe Service.
A Florida man who preyed on undocumented immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and filed fraudulent asylum documents on their behalf was sentenced Monday to 20 years and nine months in prison.

Elvis Harold Reyes, 56, learned of his sentencing during a court hearing in Tampa, according to the Department of Justice. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft on December 15, 2020.

Reyes presented himself as an immigration lawyer to hundreds of victims who sought him out for assistance in obtaining Florida driver licenses and work authorization documents. Authorities say his victims were defrauded of more than $400,000.

Investigators found that Reyes dispensed erroneous advice on legal and immigration matters to the victims so that they could contract the services that he and his company, EHR Ministries, provided in the Tampa area.

Elvis Harold Reyes was sentenced Monday by a federal court in Florida to 20 years and nine months in prison. According to the Department of Justice, Reyes preyed on undocumented immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and filed fraudulent asylum documents on their behalf. At least six victims were deported and an additional six have deportation orders

The convicted scammer described himself on his LinkedIn profile as 'an ordained minister of Christ' dating back to 2005.

'I serve Him as to fulfilling the great commission. I have many achievements but I owe them only to God first,' Reyes wrote. 'I am humbled and find no need to share them at this time as I allow Him to do that for me.'

The victims hired Reyes to represent them before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and other government agencies, court documents showed.

Reyes, who never had a license to practice law, filed fraudulent immigration applications for the victims and sought asylum relief and the withholding-of-removal protections afforded under the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Reyes filed more than 225 applications and made up answers to the questions in the asylum applications. He made up stories about the threats that were made to his clients and said the victims feared the possibility of returning to their home countries.

In filing the fraudulent applications, Reyes failed to inform his clients about the answers that he had provided, and did not explain the consequences that they could face.

Elvis Harold Reyes (second to the right) described himself on his LinkedIn page as a minister who was ordained in 2005. Reyes presented himself a lawyer to undocumented immigrants in the Tampa, Florida area and filed fraudulent immigration applications for the victims and sought asylum relief and the withholding-of-removal protections afforded under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, according to the Department of Justice

At least six victims were deported to their native countries and there are also six other individuals who have deportation orders, according to The Washington Times.

A client who is married to a United States citizens is facing the possibility of not being able to be granted a green card due to the fraud that Reyes committed.

According to district court, Reyes had the intentions of causing the victims potential losses of more than $1 million. However, the actual losses surpassed $411,000.

One of the victims temporarily stopped her cancer treatments by paying Reyes more than $4,000 so that he could file her immigration documents and pave the way so that she could legally remain in Florida.

Carmen Sanchez was among several victims who spoke at Reyes' sentencing and recalled how were son had been deported to Mexico after he paid Reyes so that he could secure his family's legal residency status in the United States, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

'When we complained to him, Reyes said that he was going to call the immigration authorities to come to our houses to look for us,' Sanchez said. 'It played on our hopes and feelings.'

Reyes used his illicit earnings to splurge on travel, shopping, spas, jewelry, and provided an allowance for his girlfriend.

Reyes fought back the claims of the victims by threatening that he would have them deported. He also attempted to shield himself from being prosecuted by hiring a friend to erase data from his computers.

'This criminal defrauded hundreds of victims who thought they were starting a path to legal citizenship,' said HSI Tampa Assistant Special in Charge Michael Cochran.

'Identity and benefit fraud are crimes that threaten the national security and public safety of the U.S. by creating vulnerabilities to our legal immigration system. Thanks to HSI special agents, and our partners with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, he will now be held accountable for his crimes.'
Samsung may soon launch a new version of its popular Galaxy Tab A7 tablet. The new device will be aimed at the budget segment as it is being dubbed as the Tab A7 Lite. Ahead of the official launch, the tablet has made an appearance on the TENAA certification website.

According to Gizmochina, Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite looks identical to the main version. The back has a small camera array at the top left corner. The listing also confirms the availability of the device in at least two colours, black and blue.

Older leaks reveal Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite will come with an 8.4-inch LCD panel. The device is said to run on MediaTeks Helio P22T processor. It will also come with 3GB of RAM. It will pack a 5,000mAh battery and run on the Android 11 operating system.

That said, Samsung recently announced discounts on the purchase of Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Tab A7, Tab S7, Tab S7+ for students. On the Galaxy Tab A7, the company is offering a Book Cover at a discounted price of 999. HDFC Bank Credit and Debit card users will get an additional cashback of 2,000 on the purchase of the device.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 had launched in India for a starting price of 17,999. The device comes with a 10.4-inch QVGA+ display. It packs a 7,000mAh battery. Other highlights of the tablet are quad speakers with Dolby Atmos and Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 processor. If you are planning to buy the device, read our detailed Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Review.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 04:33:15|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday called for the resumption of dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade as soon as possible.

The Kosovo issue is essential to peace and stability in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole. It is important that Serbia and Kosovo work within the framework of Security Council Resolution 1244 to find a solution acceptable to both parties through dialogue and consultation. In this process, Serbia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be fully respected, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

Due to political turmoil in Kosovo, dialogue between the two sides has been stalled since December 2020. China looks forward to the resumption of dialogue as soon as possible and appreciates the willingness on the part of Serbia for talks, he told the Security Council.

The results of the previous dialogues must also be implemented. Kosovo should follow the Brussels Agreement and make effective efforts as early as possible to promote community building in Serb-majority municipalities. As the coordinator of the Serbia-Kosovo relationship, the EU should play a facilitating role in this regard, he said.

Strengthening unity among ethnic groups is the only way to achieve peace and stability in Kosovo. COVID-19 poses a threat to the health of people of all ethnic groups in Kosovo, who should turn the fight against the virus into an important opportunity to strengthen unity and cooperation and achieve peaceful coexistence, he said.

According to the UN secretary-general's latest report on Kosovo, pandemic prevention and control was relaxed during the political turmoil and the number of infections increased sharply. When Serbia provided vaccines to areas in Kosovo inhabited by Kosovo Serbs, the Kosovo authorities reacted strongly, which came as a surprise, said Geng.

"The international community should make sure that vaccines are fairly distributed and vaccine gaps eliminated. It also should make sure that there are no man-made obstacles to vaccination. We should reach as many people as possible without any barriers. Extensive vaccination should be done in a way that helps mutual trust among all ethnic groups," he said.

China appreciates the work done by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). China supports UNMIK's continued efforts to perform its duties and calls on relevant parties to fully protect the safety of UN personnel and create favorable conditions for UNMIK to perform its duties, said Geng. Enditem
From optogenetics to sonogenetics to magnetognetics, scientists around the world are investigating new techniques to treat Parkinson's disease without the need for invasive surgery.

There is still no treatment that can reverse the effects of Parkinson's disease, a condition estimated to affect 10 million people worldwide. As life expectancy increases, the number of people suffering from this disease is set to rise in the future, making the need for effective treatment a priority.

Doctors prescribe oral medication to alleviate the main symptoms and, for a few patients, use deep brain stimulation. The electrodes stimulate the affected areas and relieve the reactions induced by the disease such as tremor or rigidity.

However, this technique presents significant challenges because surgeons have to drill a hole in the skull to implant the electrodes.But what if we could control the neurons without the need of this invasive and expensive procedure?

This is the question some scientists asked themselves a few decades ago, opening the doors to what are known as non-invasive neuromodulation techniques. Although manipulating neurons without touching them was regarded as science fiction, this method gained a lot of popularity, and several groups of researchers worldwide jumped onto investigating it for a wide variety of conditions, including Parkinson's disease.

In 2004, one of those techniques, named optogenetics,was described for the first time, revolutionising the field of neuroscience. It consists of genetically modifying the brain cells to express proteins sensitive to light, meaning that aneuron's activity can be controlled using light pulses. Until last year, this procedure was still considered invasive, as getting the pulses of light inside the brain to control cells required implants.

However, this changed last October when a group of researchers from Stanford University reported having successfully developed an implant-free version of the technique, making deep brain optogenetics without surgery possible in mice.

Following the principles of optogenetics, a new technique called sonogeneticswas proposed in 2015.

We discovered a new set of proteins, which are not normally expressed in the cells that we are trying to control. And the special thing about these proteins is that they are sensitive to ultrasound. By delivering these proteins to the affected cells, they become responsive to ultrasound," he says. "You don't need any surgery, you stick your transducer on the skull, and you deliver theultrasound to control the cells." Sreekanth Chalasani, Associate Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, US

Chalasani first described sonogenetics. Besides the fact that surgery is not needed, one of the main advantages of this technique is its safety, as Chalasani points out. "Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than what humans can hear.

It is safe, non-invasive, and we have a lot of experience with it. For decades, we've been using ultrasound to image babies, and to relieve pain," he explains. Moreover, ultrasound goes through skin and bone. Because of this, "the transducer that produces the ultrasound can be outside of the body and still target structures that are deep in the brain, as is required to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson's disease," adds Chalasani.

Although a lot has been accomplished since 2015, some questions remain unsolved. On the one hand,scientists need to find a reliable way to introduce light- and ultrasound-sensitive proteins to the human body. "At the moment, we don't have a way of delivering genes to a specific targets in the human brain," says Chalasani.

"We need a way to express a protein just in the desired cells, and not anywhere else." On the other hand,the technology of the transducer also has to be further developed. "We want something that is tiny, but that produces enough energy to go through the skull without heating the brain," Chalasani explains. "We're developing a new class of transducer that does not cause any heating and, at the same time, produces enough energy to control the cells".

Other than using light and ultrasound, scientists also discovered they could use magnets to control the cells' behaviour. They named this approachmagnetogenetics. The EU FET open project Magneuron, which started in 2016, sought to use the technique to advance cell replacement therapy one step further.

The principle is simple: to replace damaged neurons in the brain with healthy new ones created in the laboratory. But the therapy faces a significant challenge given the complexity of the human brain.

"In brain regeneration, we have a problem when it comes to the central nervous system. You place the neurons in the brain and they don't know where to go after transplantation. Also, the connectivity between neurons is not restored," explains Rolf Heumann, head of the group molecular neurochemistry at the University Ruhr Bochum, in Germany, and one of the participants in the Magneuron project.

To overcome this challenge, the interdisciplinary consortium had the idea to preload neurons in the laboratory with magnetic nanoparticles so that, once implanted in the brain, scientists would be able to control the direction in which the neurons grow by using magnets.

One of the main differences regarding the two techniques explained before is that, in this case, the patients' neurons don't need to be genetically modified. "With the methods we use, we try to avoid genetic manipulation," Heumann explains. "We use nanoparticles that have proteins responsible for directing the growth of the neuron attached to them. Those proteins are made in bacteria, purified and attached to the nanoparticles. Therefore, it's not a primary genetic method on the patient," Heumann points out.

The researchers achieved various milestones. "We described how to handle the pure nanoparticles and bind the proteins to them. Also, we found a way to get the nanoparticles into living cells and manipulate them once inside," explains Fabian Raudzus, an assistant professor at Kyoto University, in Japan, who also worked on the project.

One of the most significant achievements was to find a way to load the nanoparticles into a lot of cells at the same time. "The idea is that we apply some pressure to the cells so that we are able to push a higher quantity of nanoparticles into them," says doctor Sebastian Neumann, from the University Ruhr Bochum, in Germany, and another participant in the Magneuron project. "And this would be an important approach for the future when it comes to the treatment of patients".

Although the project ended in 2019, some of the members continue to work in this field, focusing mainly on finding a stable magnetic gradient to control the nanoparticles, assessing the effects of the nanoparticles in the long term, and moving from in vitro studies in cells to organoids.

Scientists are still far from testing optogenetics, sonogenetics and magnetogenetics in the clinics, but the neuromodulation approaches are fuelling high hopes: they promise not only to avoid invasive surgery, but also reactivate the damaged neurons and reverse the effects of many neurodegenerative disorders.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:59:54|Editor: huaxia

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MOSCOW, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Tuesday accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of turning Ukraine "into a powder keg" by increasing military support.

"The (military) supplies are continuing and the volume of aid is increasing," Ryabkov told reporters.

He urged that NATO countries shift their focus to curbing Kiev's belligerent sentiment and ensure Ukraine's compliance with the Minsk agreements on a settlement of the Donbass conflict.

"In case of further escalations, we, of course, will do everything to guarantee our own security, the safety of our citizens wherever they are," he said.

Ryabkov said Ukraine has been conducting training activities for several years and constructing facilities that are threatening Russia's security. Enditem
(CNN)  France is set to ban short domestic flights in favor of train services, after lawmakers approved a plan that will see several air routes discontinued to reduce emissions.

MPs voted late on Saturday to some suspend some flights by domestic airlines that can be made by train in less than two-and-a-half hours, as part of a wider climate bill.

If the bill passes through France's upper house, the Senate, France will join a number of European countries seeking to move away from short flights.

But some have criticized President Emmanuel Macron for watering down proposals from his own environmental panel, which had recommended a ban on flights where a train journey would take less than four hours.

Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said the government's proposal was "reasonable." He told lawmakers during the debate that a four-hour threshold "would have really impacted territories that need flights."

"When there is a robust alternative, usually clients switch to trains," he said, citing routes from Strasbourg and Bordeaux to Paris. "Each time high-speed lines have competed with flights, we have noticed that trains have largely drained (airline passengers)."

Djebbari also said the bill would mean an end to flights from Paris' Orly Airport to Nantes and Lyon.

But the measures don't apply to routes that typically form part of a connecting international flight; meaning that the capital's Charles de Gaulle airport is largely spared by the move, because it is France's main international transport hub.

Left-wing MP Daniele Obono said the government's plan to move away from a four-hour limit would "save the three routes that emit the most greenhouse gas: Paris-Nice, Paris-Toulouse, (and) Paris-Marseille."

The four-hour proposal came from the Climate Convention citizens' panel, which was set up by Macron to take the temperature of the country on emission-cutting measures.

A number of European countries have sought to promote train travel as an alternative to domestic flights, even as the Covid-19 pandemic has put the airline industry under strain.

Last year, Austria's flagship airline was ordered to replace one of its flights with a more frequent train service, in order to meet the environmental criteria of its government bailout.

The 600 million ($714 million) government aid package for Austrian Airlines stipulated it cut its domestic flight emissions by 50% by 2050 and ended flights where a direct train alternative takes "considerably less than three hours."

In a similar move, the French government last year agreed on a 7 billion ($8.3 billion) rescue package for AirFrance that was tied to certain conditions, including "a drastic reduction of internal flights, limited to transfers towards hubs, whenever there is an alternative route by train that can be completed within two-and-a-half hours."

This story was first published on CNN.com "France to ban domestic flights where trains are available, in move to cut emissions"
For Subscribers Mom shares story of son's suicide, shines light on teen mental health

After Aiden Alexander's suicide, his family wants to break the stigma associated with suicide so more youths can be helped.
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A member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Samuel Tsebe, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Speaker of the House, Ibrahim Balarabe -Abdullahi, disclosed this when he spoke with newsmen in Lafia on Monday.

This development comes weeks after a number of lawmakers at the House of Representatives defected from different parties to the APC.

Mr Balarabe-Abdullahi said he received a letter from the lawmaker who represent Akwanga Constituency at the House, indicating his defection.

He said the APC family in the state had accepted the lawmaker into its fold and would treat him equally with other members.

Mr Balarabe- Abdullahi while congratulating the lawmaker, urged him to remain focused in contributing his quota positively to the development of the party, the state and the country at large.

This is a new development in APC. He is highly welcomed into our great party, the APC.

 On behalf of the leadership of the house, I wish to congratulate him for his defection to APC.

 I want to assure him of equal opportunity in the party in the interest of peace, progress and for the overall development of the party and the state at large, he said.

(NAN)
For the upcoming Earth Day, Judy Wrights April 9 Eco Talk piece invites us to plant trees, take to the outdoors and consider how our actions may be impacting the environment and climate change.

Shes right, and we should take those steps. But fighting climate change takes more than little tweaks to our lifestyles. Change needs to happen throughout the economy, by incentivizing people and companies to move away from fossil fuels.

Its easier than it sounds. A simple policy can very effectively reduce global warming: a fee on carbon. A carbon fee can be designed to be effective in reducing carbon emissions, encourage clean technology innovation, economically benefit all Americans, and protect American manufacturers from unfair foreign competition.

Thats exactly what the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA) does. It imposes a fee on coal mines, oil refineries and natural gas processing plants. The fee starts out low and gradually escalates until emissions are low without causing economic shocks. Itll unleash a chain of beneficial events: diminish demand for carbon-intensive energy, accelerate clean technology innovation, create new jobs, and ultimately reduce carbon output by 40% over 12 years and get the country to net zero emissions by 2050.
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The Royal Family today paid tribute to Prince Philip's work abroad, releasing a series of photographs showcasing his work around the Commonwealth as they revealed he had visited 70 per cent of the world's countries.

The Duke of Edinburgh, who died last Friday at Windsor Castle aged 99, made 229 visits to 67 Commonwealth countries on solo visits without The Queen over a 67-year period between 1949 and 2016.

Philip, who completed a total of 22,219 solo engagements and thousands more at the side of his wife, became the Queen's consort when she acceded to the throne in 1952 and completed his last public event in August 2017.

Today, the @RoyalFamily Twitter account released 12 photos of Philip showcasing his work, with the first post saying: 'The Duke of Edinburgh was committed to the Commonwealth, meeting people from every walk of life.

'Since 1949, HRH visited 70 per cent of the world's countries; visited 50 Commonwealth countries; made 229 solo visits, often to the most remote parts of the Commonwealth.'

February 1977: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, both wearing Maori Kahu-Kiwi (Kiwi feather cloaks) at Rugby Park in Gisborne, on the North Island of New Zealand when they attended the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival

December 2003: The Duke of Edinburgh tours the Commonwealth People's Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, on the opening day of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting

October 1997: The Duke of Edinburgh tries his hand at teaching English to Chitrali children at the Aga Khan School in Bilphok, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan

Undated: Prince Philip was a keen supporter of young people and is pictured here meeting Scouts in an unknown country

This post was accompanied by a photo from February 1977 of Philip with the Queen both wearing Kiwi feather cloaks at Rugby Park in Gisborne, when they attended the opening of the Royal New Zealand Polynesian Festival.

Another image showed the Duke of Edinburgh smiling as he toured the Commonwealth People's Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2003; while a third showed him meeting Scouts in an undisclosed country.

The fourth image, taken in October 1997, showed the Duke trying his hand at teaching English to Chitrali children at the Aga Khan School at Bilphok in Pakistan in what was then known as the North West Frontier Province.

A second post on the @RoyalFamily account stated: 'The Duke had a number of Commonwealth appointments over the course of his life, including with @thecgf (Commonwealth Sport), @THE_RASC (The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth) and the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.

'HRH also had military affiliations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago.'

This was accompanied by a further four photographs, including one of the Queen with Philip at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Baton relay launch ceremony at Buckingham Palace in October 2013.

Another showed Prince Philip meeting medal-winning athletes at the Brisbane Commonwealth Games in September 1982, while a third showed him at the International Fleet Review in Halifax, Canada, in 2010.

The final Twitter post today from @RoyalFamily stated: 'In 1956, HRH founded The Duke of Edinburgh's Commonwealth Study Conferences, bringing together emerging Commonwealth leaders.

October 2013: Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh attend the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Baton relay launch ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London

September 1982: Prince Philip meets medal-winning athletes at what is thought to be the Brisbane Commonwealth Games

Undated: The Queen and Prince Philip meet servicemen at an unknown event also highlighted in the series of pictures

June 2010: Prince Philip in front of HMCS St John's after the International Fleet Review in Halifax, Canada

'The @CommonPurpose conferences have continued to this day, and over 10,000 people having participated in The Duke of Edinburgh's leadership programs.'

Three pictures accompanying this post showed him at Australian National University in Canberra in May 1968, in Canada in May 1980 and at a Buckingham Palace reception for Commonwealth leaders in April 2014.

A fourth Twitter post added: 'The Duke of Edinburgh held Patronage appointments in 12 different Commonwealth countries, including: @BNTBahamas, @Ngr_Brit_Asso, @SLSAustralia and @OutwardBoundCan.'

A similar Instagram post was also published by @theroyalfamily account today, which featured all the pictures on Twitter plus two more - including one of Philip during a walkabout in Melbourne in October 2011.

It comes as hundreds of politicians and peers shared personal tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh as his grandsons hailed him as an 'extraordinary man' and a 'legend of banter'.

The Duke of Cambridge and Duke of Sussex recalled their grandfather as an individual 'authentically himself' filled with warmth and wit and devoted to the monarch, as they joined the nation in honouring his memory.

May 1968: Prince Philip at Australian National University in Canberra opening the Sixth Commonwealth Study Conference

May 1980: The Duke of Edinburgh stands with Commonwealth Study Conference participants in Canada

April 2014: The CSCLeaders conference, a programme for Commonwealth leaders, has a reception at Buckingham Palace

On a day of eulogies for Philip yesterday, hours of tributes were also heard in the Parliaments of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff - including by more than 100 MPs in the House of Commons.

William and Harry released separate statements to pay tribute to Philip, with the older brother pledging to uphold his grandfather's wishes and continue, along with wife Kate, to support the Queen and 'get on with the job'.

Reflecting on how his grandfather's 'century of life was defined by service', William added: 'I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life - both through good times and the hardest days.'

He added: 'My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation. Catherine and I will continue to do what he would have wanted and will support the Queen in the years ahead. I will miss my Grandpa, but I know he would want us to get on with the job.'

Harry, who is quarantining ahead of Saturday's funeral at his former home of Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, released a more informal statement, describing the duke as 'my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right till the end'.

He said: 'My grandfather was a man of service, honour and great humour. He was authentically himself, with a seriously sharp wit, and could hold the attention of any room due to his charm - and also because you never knew what he might say next.'

October 2011: The Duke of Edinburgh is given flowers for Queen Elizabeth II during a walkabout in Melbourne, Australia

A second further image released on Instagram showcasing how Prince Philip was 'committed' to the Commonwealth

Prime Minister Boris Johnson led the tributes in the Commons, saying Philip 'touched the lives of millions'.

'It is fitting that on Saturday his Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh will be conveyed to his final resting place in a Land Rover which Prince Philip designed himself, with a long wheel base and capacious rear cabin,' he said.

'Because that vehicle's unique and idiosyncratic silhouette reminds the world that he was above all a practical man, who could take something very traditional - whether a machine or, indeed, a great national institution - and find a way by his own ingenuity to improve it, to adapt it for the 20th and 21st century.'

Other politicians described Philip as a 'role model', and said his 'greatest memorial' was his 73-year marriage to the Queen.

Over the weekend, Philip's four children spoke movingly about the loss of their father and how the Queen was being very 'stoic' after losing her husband of 73 years who died peacefully on Friday.
A 911 dispatcher from Louisiana was arrested after she allegedly refused to return the $1.2 million that was mistakenly deposited into her brokerage account in February.

She was charged with theft after Charles Schwab & Co. accidentally deposited the money in Kelyn Spadoni's account. According to Crime Online, Spadoni moved the money to another account and used some of it to buy herself a 2021 Hyundai Genesis sport utility and a house.

Kelyn Spadoni, 33, reportedly lost her 911 dispatching job with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office because of the charge filed against her.

READ NEXT: 11-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead by 9-Year-Old Who Found Gun in Car Outside Dallas Store

The Case Against Kelyn Spadoni

Capt. Jason Rivarde, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson, said that it is not Spadoni's money despite being deposited into her account, Nola reported.

"She has no legal claim to that money. Even if it was put in there by mistake. It was an accounting error," Rivarde said in the report.

Spadoni was said to have opened an account with Charles Schwab & Co. in January. The financial services installed an enhancement to software in January, which manages transferring funds.

In late February, the company accidentally transfer $1,205,619 instead of $82.56 into a Fidelity Brokerage Services account owned by Spadoni.

The financial service then tried to reclaim the amount. However, police said the request was rejected as Kelyn Spadoni already transferred the $1.2 million into another account.

Charles Schwab & Co. filed a lawsuit against Kelyn Spadoni on Tuesday in federal court. The company said they have tried to contact the former 911 dispatcher several times regarding the matter, but she allegedly ignored the phone calls, emails, and text messages at the time.

Rivarde noted that about 75 percent of the money has already been recovered, WFTV reported. The company said that Spadoni's account contract with them includes an agreement that the client is mandated to return the full amount if a client receives an overpayment.

"If someone accidentally puts an extra zero on a utility payment, they would want that money returned or credited to them," Rivarde said, adding that that situation is no different from Spadoni.

He noted that Kelyn Spadoni had been a 911 dispatcher for four and a half years. Spadoni's bond was set at $50,000 on Thursday. However, it is not yet known if she remains in police custody.

What Happens on Accidental Deposits

If false deposits are made involving your account, the bank will take the money back and put it in the correct amount.

Also, it does not have to request permission to do or notify the owner of the account that they will be removing the erroneously deposited funds, according to The Balance report. Aside from that, one can be held liable if they spent any of the wrongly deposited money into their account.

The owner could be charged with theft, just like what happened to Spadoni, after she bought a car and a house with the wrongly deposited money.

Banks have 10 business days to prove the issue. It can last up to 20 business days if a person's account has been active for less than a month.

If banks fail to complete their investigation within the said period, they should credit your account for the missing deposit amount.

READ MORE: 13-Year-Old boy Arrested for Shooting Younger Sister to Death

WATCH: 911 Dispatcher Refuses to Return $1.2 Million Paid to Her By Mistake - From News Today
New Delhi: A big announcement on Maharashtra lockdown is likely to be out in the next few hours, the sources on Tuesday (April 13, 2021) afternoon.

Zee News has come to know through sources that the Uddhav Thackrey-led government is mulling stricter 'Break the Chain' restrictions. The state government has reportedly discussed the plan with other senior political leaders and the COVID-19 Task Force.

On April 10, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had headed an all-party meeting to discuss the crisis where a proposal of a complete lockdown for 15 days was also floated.

The state government has also recently announced a slew of restrictions that also included a weekend lockdown and night curfew till April 30.

The second wave of the coronavirus has also led to the postponement of the state board exams for classes 10 and 12. The exams for Class 12th will now be tentatively be held by end of May, while the Class 10th exams will be conducted in June.

Taking to Twitter, the state's School Education Minister Varsha Gaikwad informed that the situation was being closely monitored and that fresh dates for these exams will be announced accordingly.

Imp Announcement: Given the current #COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, weve postponed state board exams for class 10th & 12th. The present circumstances are not conducive for holding exams. Your health is our priority. #PariskhaPeCharcha #HSC #SSC #exams (1/5) pic.twitter.com/cjeRZAT7ux  Varsha Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) April 12, 2021

This is pertinent to know that Maharashtra, the worst coronavirus-hit Indian state, has been witnessing an unprecedented surge in infections from the past few weeks. It reported 51,751 new cases in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra's active count has now soared to 5.64 lakh, whereas, the death toll stands at 58,245.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration are recommending that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine over six reported US cases of a 'rare and severe' type of blood clot.

One person is currently in critical condition and another, a 45-year-old Virginia woman, died.

The six reported cases were among more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered in the United States.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination, according to a joint statement on Tuesday from Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

'CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance,' the statement said. 'FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution. This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.'

'It's a very rare event'

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said it has decided to 'proactively delay the rollout' of its vaccine in Europe. Tuesday evening, Johnson & Johnson said it will pause vaccinations in all of its Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials while they 'update guidance for investigators and participants.'

'We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public,' J&J's statement said in its earlier statement.

For people who have received the Johnson & Johnson shot, those who have developed severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider, according to the statement.

The statement also noted that these adverse events 'appear to be extremely rare.'

'It's a very rare event. You're talking about 1 per million, and when you give millions of doses of vaccines, you will see events like this that you couldn't see in the clinical trial just because you didn't have millions of people enrolled,' Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of the Emory University School of Medicine at Grady Health System, told CNN's John Berman and Poppy Harlow on Tuesday morning.

'But I want to congratulate the CDC and the FDA for very quickly jumping on it, halting the vaccinations until we know more, and really trying to understand what's going on,' del Rio said. 'I think vaccine safety has always been a priority -- and I think this is exactly the right move until we understand what's going on and what's the way forward.'

Del Rio added that the blood clotting may be connected to how the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is an adenovirus vector vaccine -- the same type as AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine.

The AstraZeneca vaccine isn't in use in the United States, but has been authorized in more than 70 countries. The European Medicines Agency recently concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as 'very rare side effects' of the AstraZeneca vaccine. While advising the public to look out for the signs of clots, the regulators said the benefits of the shot were still worth the risk.

'The adenovirus vector vaccine may have something to do with it,' del Rio said. The two other Covid-19 vaccines authorized for emergency use in the United States -- Pfizer's and Moderna's -- are mRNA vaccines, which are a different type.

He added that he still recommends people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Overall, there appears to be similarities between the rare blood clotting events possibly associated with Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine and the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, FDA's Marks said during a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

'It's plainly obvious to us already that what we're seeing with the Janssen vaccines looks very similar to what was being seen with the AstraZeneca vaccine,' Marks said. Janssen is the vaccine arm of Johnson & Johnson.

'The AstraZeneca is a chimpanzee adenoviral vector vaccine. The Janssen is a human adenoviral vector vaccine,' Marks said. 'We can't make some broad statement yet, but obviously they are from the same general class of viral vectors.'

The mechanism behind the blood clotting events among those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains unknown -- but may be similar to the mechanism behind possible events connected to the AstraZeneca vaccine, Marks said.

'We don't have a definitive cause, but the probable cause that we believe may be involved here -- that we can speculate -- is a similar mechanism that may be going on with the other adenoviral vector vaccine,' Marks said. 'That is that this is an immune response that occurs very, very rarely after some people receive the vaccine and that immune response leads to activation of the platelets and these extremely rare blood clots.'

Federal health channels to stop using J&J vaccine immediately

The new announcement from the FDA and CDC means all federal health channels -- mass vaccination sites, community health centers and the like -- that were previously administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will immediately stop for the time being, according to a federal health official.

The agencies are recommending that states do the same, but it will be up to the individual states to make that decision because they are given a separate allocation of doses.

The pause happened because this type of blood clot is not listed on the list of potential adverse side effects that were part of the emergency use authorization for J&J.

While officials are stressing it is rare, they want health care providers to have time to understand what potential side effects are and how to best treat them.

The CDC and FDA came to a decision late last night, a federal health official said.

The agencies made the recommendation to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine quickly -- even without giving states a heads up -- because of concern that rare blood clot incidents might be treated inappropriately.

'The issue here with these types of blood clots is that if one administers the standard treatment that we as doctors have learned to give for blood clots, one can cause tremendous harm,' Marks said in Tuesday's briefing.

The rare type of blood clots observed in association with the vaccine require unique treatment. For instance, the anticoagulant drug heparin should not be used to treat these types of blood clots, Marks said, adding that health care providers had to be made aware of the pause immediately in case they see patients with possible blood clot symptoms.

'Treatment for this specific type of blood clot is different from typical treatments for other types of blood clots, which usually involve an anticoagulant called heparin,' he said. 'With cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, heparin may be dangerous and alternative treatments need to be given, preferably under the guidance of physicians experienced in the treatment of blood clots.'

FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said during the briefing that she expects the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be 'a matter of days.'

'As we learned about the issue with appropriate treatment, it was clear to us that we needed to alert the public,' Woodcock said.

'The timeframe will depend obviously on what we learn in the next few days,' Woodcock said. 'However, we expect it to be a matter of days for this pause.'
The Realme 8 family is going to get a new member, and this one is coming with 5G connectivity. The phone, tentatively called Realme 8 5G, is arriving in Thailand on April 21, and in India just a day later - April 22.

The info comes from anonymous sources, which also mention a Realme 8 Pro 5G, to be powered by a Dimensity 800U chipset.

We also have no info on the non-Pro, but we expect it to be a Realme V13 under a new name, meaning it will come with a Dimensity 700 chip, 48MP quad cam and a 5,000 mAh battery.

Other key specs that were revealed by Geekbench are Android 11 out of the box and an 8GB RAM option.

Source
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.
Judiciary workers continued with their strike after talks with the Minister of Labour and Employment,, Chris Ngige, and other federal government officials failed on Monday.

The Federal Government on Monday, appealed to the striking workers union, the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) to suspend its nationwide industrial action, which had paralysed activities in courts across the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the union had on April 6 embarked on nationwide strike to protest the non-implementation of the financial autonomy of the nations judiciary.

Mr Ngige, made the appeal at a reconciliatory meeting between the Federal Government and the leadership of the union in Abuja.

The minister reminded the striking judicial workers that like doctors and nurses, they were on essential duties and should not go on strike.

According to him, the country cannot make progress economically and socially, when the laws of the country are not enforced.

You are important people and that is why we waited to see if there can be an in-house reconciliation with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

But since progress was not made, we decided to exercise our mandate here as Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Grant us peace and we are going to handle this matter in a way that do not lose sight of what you are pursuing. I will do a report on this meeting and forward to the President when he returns.

I will make a commitment here. The Executive Order 10 and its application, granting autonomy to the judiciary which is topmost on your demand will be tackled because it is a constitutional issue.

Even Governors owe their offices to the constitution. You dont pick and choose what to obey . However, we must handle this matter with maturity and utmost patriotism, Mr Ngige said.

He appealed to the striking judicial workers to resume work so that when the judicial officers returned from Easter holidays, they would not meet the strike.

He added that the ministry would approach the dispute in line with the labour laws of the country.

You people are judicial workers and if any group of people will break the laws of the land, it should not be you.

Even if we disagree here, we will certainly agree later on one thing, which is to call off the strike, Mr Ngige said.

Union leaders react

Speaking, a representative of the President of JUSUN, Marwan Adamu, said at the meeting that the union was guided by the constitution of the country in its action, stressing that democracy had to thrive on the Rule of Law.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a federation and is guided by a constitution.

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However, we observed that the particular provision of the constitution that grants financial autonomy to the judiciary has never been obeyed as much as it should be, particularly Section 21(3) and Section 81(3), he said.

According to him, having agitated for so long for the needful to be done and it is not done, we went to court and got a judgment before 2014.

We are patient. We are not lawless people because we work in a sector where the Rule of Law guides our operations.

But to our amazement since we went on strike in 2015, the government seems not to hear us until now, he said.

READ ALSO: Judiciary workers

Mr Adamu said that the union believed so strongly that anything could happen without the Rule of Law and when there is the law of nature, life can be poor, solitary, brutish and nasty.

At the meeting were representatives of the Solicitor General of Nigeria, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger/Delta Affairs, Eta Enang.

NAN reports that the meeting agreed to reconvene on Thursday.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the union leaders are due to meet with governors on Wednesday.

(NAN)
TYLER, Texas, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Advanced, Inc., a leading EdTech SaaS company providing innovative operations tools for K-12 education, has been ranked No. 199 on The Financial Times 2021 list of Americas' 500 Fastest Growing Companies.

"Our continued growth is a result of our passion for providing unparalleled operational efficiency solutions for school districts, allowing them to reinvest time and cost savings to improve education quality," said Dr. Eli Crow, founder and CEO of Education Advanced, Inc. "Being recognized by The Financial Times is an honor, and a testament to our team's hard work to empower educators to transform schools across the nation."

The Financial Times Americas' Fastest Growing Companies list recognizes the most innovative and fastest growing companies in seven countries across North and South America. The 500 companies recognized are ranked based on annual revenue growth between 2016 and 2019. Education Advanced, Inc., founded in 2014, grew 63% during that time. The full report and analysis of this year's ranking can be viewed here.

About Education Advanced, Inc. (EAI)

Education Advanced is a privately held K-12 EdTech SaaS company providing operations tools to enable educators to be more efficient, allowing them to dedicate more of their time and resources to exceeding student needs. EAI's product offering includes Cardonex, TestHound and BuildYourOwnCurriculum (BYOC). These award-winning and patented technology solutions significantly advance the efficacy of master scheduling, staff planning, curriculum development and delivery, and assessment coordination for K-12 school districts across the country. Learn more at https://educationadvanced.com/

SOURCE Education Advanced

Related Links

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Traffic zooms along West Hausman Road and Kyle Seale Parkway as 14-year-old Louis Dopp picks up litter near his North Side home.

In 2019, he took up the task in middle school after searching for a community service project. He logged onto the citys website and found the Adopt-A-Spot program, where residents can volunteer to clean up and beautify their neighborhoods.

Louis is not alone. He found help from his sister Nichole, 17; mother Emily, 50; and father Nicholas, 52. They all go out twice a month to collect trash from the brush line of a three-mile stretch near Brandeis High School, where Louis is a freshman.

I picked an area that I experience every day, Louis said.

Its more than a project to the teen siblings, both national honor society members. They grew up in California with an affinity for preventing plastic and trash from polluting oceans. For Nichole, a citizen scientist, the family project is one more step toward becoming a marine biologist.

It starts here on land, she said. The plastics are biodegradable. While it may seem like it will break down and enter the earth, these particles are so small we cannot physically clean them from the ground, and it gets into waterways and streams. Not only does it affect plant life and wildlife, but it does eventually affects us.

They leave trash-stuffed bags for the city to pick up beneath an Adopt-A-Spot sign that encourages passersby to Keep San Antonio Beautiful. There are also the letters LENN, an acronym of the first letter of each family members first name.

Thats what weve taught them all their lives, Emily Dopp said. So we can send them forward into life knowing that you need to give back in order to receive.

On ExpressNews.com: Neighborhood volunteers create pocket park from eyesore in Fairfield near Starcrest and Loop 410 in San Antonio

The Dopp family is among 178 groups that take part in the program sponsored by the City of San Antonio Public Works Department  Storm Water Division. Throughout the year, volunteers clear debris from drainage channels, green spaces, street medians and city-owned rights of way around San Antonio.

The initiative began more than 10 years ago with several volunteer groups; by the end of 2020, that number had increased to 120 citizen crews.

Lisa Krantz /Staff photographer

Nefi Garza, assistant director of public works, said the volunteers efforts prevent clippings, trash and other waste from flowing into creeks and rivers. In 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to the city as part of the Clean Water Act of 1972. The permit outlines how to discharge pollutants from rain run-offs before debris flows to public waterways.

Trash and debris in San Antonio is probably the biggest problem we have with flooding, he said.

Garza said volunteers have collected more than 6,000 pounds, about 3-and-a-half tons, in the past year. In 2020, the city collected more than 11,000 tons of debris within creeks, rivers and trash-swept streets.

When a group adopts a spot, the department puts up a sign with its name on it. The Public Works Department provides gloves, safety vests, trash bags and trash grabbers. The groups then call the department to come pick up the refuse each time theyve worked to gather it from the roadway.

On ExpressNews.com: Trust in San Antonio church draws in members of the Black community for COVID-19 vaccinations

The volunteers are the heart of the program. Participants include church groups, families, students, neighborhood associations and military members.

The Friends of Fairfield raised money to create a reading and picnic space in their neighborhood not far from Loop 410 and Starcrest. For more than 20 years, Omega Psi Phi fraternity has kept the area along a busy East Side street clean.

Near the Quarry Market and Olmos Park, Wayne Smith, 32, and his wife Eve, 27, have tended to a green space they said was once an eyesore.

A year ago, the Smiths decided they wanted to help beautify the blighted area that included a trash-logged drainage ditch and debris-littered brush. The sights were the opposite of what Eve Smith had seen as a graduate student in Germany, where green spaces were kept clean.

They logged onto the public works website and signed up to care for the area. With gloved hands, they stuff trash in bags they keep in the trunk. They mow away overgrowth. They enlist their friends to help, playing games of Frisbee after finishing the clean-up.

If you want to love the area where you live, take the responsibility, Smith said. It does not take much. In the end, you live there, not the city.

vtdavis@express-news.net
By David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and former Deputy Secretaries of State Richard Armitage and James Steinberg headed to Taiwan on Tuesday at President Joe Biden's request, in what a White House official called a "personal signal" of the president's commitment to the Chinese-claimed island and its democracy.

A senior Biden administration official told Reuters the dispatch of the "unofficial" delegation comes as the United States and Taiwan mark the 42nd anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, for which Biden voted when he was a U.S. senator.

The delegation will meet with senior Taiwanese officials and followed "a long-standing bipartisan tradition of U.S. administrations sending high-level, unofficial delegations to Taiwan," the official said.

The official called it "a personal signal" from the president, who took office in January.

"The selection of these three individuals  senior statesmen who are longtime friends of Taiwan and personally close with President Biden  sends an important signal about the U.S. commitment to Taiwan and its democracy."

The State Department said on Friday it was issuing new guidelines to enable U.S. officials to meet more freely with officials from Taiwan, a move that deepens relations with Taipei amid stepped-up Chinese military activity around the island, which China claims as its own.

Former President Donald Trump angered China by sending several senior officials to Taiwan, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, announced days before the Trump presidency ended in January that he was lifting restrictions on contacts between U.S. officials and their Taiwanese counterparts.

Taiwan is China's most sensitive territorial issue and a major bone of contention with Washington, which is required by U.S. law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

"The United States is committed to engaging Taiwan and deepening our cooperation on shared interests in line with the U.S. 'one-China' policy," the Biden administration official said, referring to the long-standing U.S. policy under which Washington officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei.

Story continues

The official waved off a question as to whether dispatch of the delegation might have been coordinated to coincide with U.S. climate envoy John Kerrys visit to Shanghai this week, saying climate talks with Beijing "shouldnt be linked with other areas of the relationship."

"And it's certainly not to the diminishment of any of our concerns about Beijing's behavior," the official said. "Our unofficial engagement with Taiwan ... should stand on its own."

Asked about future official-level contacts with Taiwan after the State Department announcement, the official replied: "We don't have specific plans at this time, for particular travel, but ... I certainly do expect for us to be having engagements and travel consistent with our one-China policy."

The official said Taiwan and preserving the status quo across the Taiwan Strait would be part of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga when he visits Washington for talks with Biden later this week.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Peter Cooney)
WALTHAM, Mass., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) announced it will host an investor day on May 18, 2021 with presentations from management from 10:30 a.m.  2:30 p.m. ET. During the event, Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes and other members of the executive team will provide details on the company's long-term growth strategy and outlook.

The meeting will be broadcast live on the Internet at investors.rtx.com and will be archived on the website afterward. Corresponding presentations will be available on the site prior to the meeting.

About Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense  the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Media Contact

C: 860.493.4364

Investor Contact

C: 781.522.5123

SOURCE Raytheon Technologies
[April 13, 2021] MeMed and 360Dx Bring Together International Experts for a Timely Discussion on Predicting COVID-19 Severity Using the Host Immune Response







MeMed and 360Dx Bring Together International Experts for a Timely Discussion on Predicting COVID-19 Severity Using the Host Immune Response HAIFA, Israel, April 13, 2021  MeMed, a leader in advanced host-immune response technologies, is pleased to be collaborating with 360Dx on a webinar entitled  Predicting COVID-19 Severity: Leveraging the Host Immune Response to Identify High-Risk Patients and Improve Outcomes . Published by GenomeWeb , 360Dx will host the 60-minute webinar on Monday, May 10th at 13.00 ET, which will feature a discussion with a panel of international experts moderated by GenomeWeb editor and 360Dx contributor Adam Bonislawski. Amid the pandemic, clinicians have faced th difficult challenge of patient prioritization, identifying which patients to admit and how to effectively triage them within emergency room and hospital settings, and which patients can safely get the care they need at home, in isolation. Accurately predicting which COVID-19 patients are at risk of severe disease and deterioration, as well as personalized management of critically ill patients, remains challenging. However, novel host immune response technologies are showing promise in changing the paradigm in acute care patient management.



On May 10, panelists will share new research and insights from their experiences on how predictive biomarkers can potentially be used in clinical practice to enable more accurate, rapid diagnoses and timely interventions that can help reduce ICU admissions, the need for ventilation and, ultimately, mortality. Speakers include:

Shaul Lev, MD, Head of the Department of General Intensive Care, Rabin Medical Centers Hasharon Hospital



Sergey Motov, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center



Eran Eden, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO, MeMed During the webinar, they will discuss: Recent prospective data on the potential utility of a host immune signature, which combines three biomarkers (TRAIL, IP-10, CRP), as a valuable resource for predicting disease severity and progression



How utilizing IP-10 as a biomarker in real-world settings can aid in monitoring inflammatory status and personalizing treatment strategies for patients with severe COVID-19



The applications of host immune response technologies in easing the burdens on healthcare systems presented by COVID-19 as well as future pandemics Register now online to confirm your interest and receive session details. A recording of the webinar will be available to view via the 360Dx website shortly after the event. About 360Dx 360Dx is published by GenomeWeb, an independent online news organization based in New York. Since 1997, GenomeWeb has served the global community of scientists, technology professionals, and executives who use and develop the latest advanced tools in molecular biology research and diagnostics. GenomeWeb is a business unit of Crain Communications. 360Dx, launched in 2016, covers emerging economic and technological trends in the clinical diagnostic market. Our dedicated online newsroom tracks the biggest players in the diagnostics market and reports on regulatory, reimbursement, and policy issues that impact the commercial operations of clinical labs. About MeMed Our mission is to translate the immune system's complex signals into simple insights that transform the way diseases are diagnosed and treated, profoundly benefiting patients and society. To learn more about MeMed and our solutions, please visit http://www.me-med.com MeMed Contacts:

Media: Adee Mor, VP Marketing, MeMed

pr@me-med.com

IR: Kfir Emmer, VP Finance, MeMed

kfir.emmer@me-med.com

Phone: +972-4-8500302







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THUNDER BAY, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Wolfden Resources Corporation (TSXV:WLF) ("Wolfden" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a 5-hole, 2,300 metre winter diamond drilling program on is wholly owned Rice Island Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-Platinum Group Elements Project in Snow Lake, Manitoba and is waiting for assay results. Three of the four holes that targeted the nickel-rich Keel and Feeder Zones interested encouraging sulphide mineralization and the fourth hole passed below the east-plunging mineralization. The fifth hole, that tested a regional airborne conductor and magnetic target, yielded a 138 metre-long zone with approximately 40% sulphides (pyrite and pyrrhotite). The drill program was funded in part with the support of a $230,000 grant from the Manitoba Government Mineral Development Fund.

"The drilling was a success with respect to intersecting additional mineralization of the Keel and Feeder zones resulting in the potential to increase the known resources of the deposit (assays pending see Figure 2.), stated Don Dudek V.P Exploration for Wolfden. "The program would have continued with additional holes if the weather had not warmed so early. We will be keen to follow-up the pending assay results, new model insights and down-hole geophysical targets in the next round of drilling".

The Keel Zone -Principle Ni-rich mineralization

Holes RI-20-42 and RI-20-43 tested a 150-metre gap in the Keel Zone and intersected sulphide mineralization (20-25% sulphides including pyrrhotite/pentlandite with lesser amounts of chalcopyrite) over 22.2 and 24.2 metre intervals including narrower zones of semi-massive to massive sulphide This gap was bound between an up-plunge hole that returned 0.61% Ni and 0.39% Cu over 43.3 metres3 (no previous Co or PGE assays, ~20 m true width) and a down-plunge hole that returned 0.60% Ni and 0.45% Cu over 18.5 metres3 (no Co or PGE assays, ~10 m true width) (see Figure 2). Assays are expected within the next 8 weeks. True widths of the recent drill intersections are uncertain at this time.

The Feeder Zone - Feeder to the Keel Zone

Hole RI-21-40 was drilled to test the Feeder Zone, that occurs below the Keel and was the principal conduit of the Keel Zone mineralization (see model cross section Figure 4.), and intersected a 3-metre-wide zone estimated to contain 5-10% combined millerite (mineral containing approximately 65% nickel) and associated pyrrhotite/pentlandite (mineral containing 30-35% nickel). This hole also intersected thermal alteration zones beyond the Feeder Zone that may be indicative of additional mineralization nearby and will be followed-up with additional drilling depending on further review of the down-hole geophysical data and assay results.

Bore hole electromagnetic surveys (BHEM) were completed down holes RI-21-40, 41 and 42. Preliminary results indicate in-hole anomalies associated with the sulphide mineralization in holes RI-40 and 42. A complete interpretation is the BHEM survey data is pending.

The Regional Target - Gold Potential

Hole RI-21-44 was drilled approximately 1 km west of the Rice Island deposit to test an airborne conductor and coincident magnetic target that occurs close to the main contact between the Wekusko Lake sediments and the Snow Lake volcanic belt. The hole intersected 138-metre long zone with approximately 40% sulphides (pyrite and pyrrhotite) within a quartz veined graphitic sedimentary host rock. Assays (more focused on precious metals) are pending and the true width is uncertain at this time.

A review of the historic data indicates several holes, along strike from the same magnetic feature related to the Rice Island Deposit (see Figure 1.), had intersected narrow ultramafic intervals and zones of interpreted thermal alteration. Untested geophysical anomalies are also noted in several areas along the trend of the Nickel Island mineralization. Further testing of these targets is warranted due to their potential for hosting additional nickel sulphide mineralization.

About the Rice Island Deposit

The Rice Island Ni-Cu-Co-PGE sulphide deposit is comprised of a 'keel' of higher-grade mineralization where previous drilling returned intercepts of up to 14.7 metres grading 3.63% nickel, 1.13% copper, 0.12% cobalt (March 22, 2016, true width approx. 5m) and a 'feeder-dyke-type' zone that returned intercepts of up to 21.1 metres of 2.4% nickel, 1.3% copper and 0.16 g/t PGE2 (April 12, 2016, true width approx. 10.6m). A historical inferred mineral resource (non 43-101 compliant) was reported as 5.5 million tonnes at a grade of 1.1% nickel, 0.7% copper and 0.07% cobalt1. The Keel Zone has been traced for 600 metres and remains open down-plunge while the Feeder Zone is open along strike and at depth. The Feeder Zone was not included in the historical inferred resource.

About Wolfden

Wolfden is an exploration and development company focused on high-margin metallic mineral deposits. Its wholly owned Pickett Mountain Project is one of the highest-grade polymetallic projects in North America (Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, Au). This relatively advanced project in northern Maine is well-located near excellent infrastructure that will support near term development as detailed in a Preliminary Economic Assessment date September 14, 2020.

For further information please contact Ron Little, President & CEO, at (807) 624-1136 or Rahim Lakha, Corporate Development at (416) 414-9954.

The information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Don Dudek, P. Geo., VP Exploration and Ron Little P.Eng., President and CEO, who are Qualified Persons' under National Instrument 43-101.

1The potential tonnage and grade of the historical resource is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration of this deposit to define a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the historical resource being delineated as a Mineral Resource

2Wolfden Sample analyses includes holes with 15, 16 and 17 in central portion of hole designation. Wolfden adheres to strict Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocols, including routine insertion of blanks and certified reference standards in each sample batch, that is sent to the lab for analyses. Drill core was cut with a diamond saw on site, with one half retained by the Company and the other half shipped by Gardewine North, to Activation Laboratories in Dryden, Ontario. Samples were analyzed for Au, Pd and Pt by fire assay with ICP-OES finish (Code 1C-OES) and were also analyzed by multi-element assays using peroxide fusion and ICPOES finish (Code 8 Peroxide ICP-O.

3QAQC procedures for historic holes are unknown. During the 2015-2017, Wolfden completed a series of holes into the deposit, with holes returning Ni and Cu results similar to those obtained during the historic drilling programs. However, the reader must be cautioned that an independent review of the historic results and how they compare to the Wolfden results, has not been carried out.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation) that involves various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking information includes statements based on current expectations involving a number of risks and uncertainties and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance of the Company, and include, without limitation, metal price assumptions, cash flow forecasts, projected capital and operating costs, metal or mineral recoveries, mine life and production rates, and other assumptions used in Preliminary Economic Assessment dated September 14, 2020, information about future activities at the Pickett Mountain Project that include plans to complete additional drilling and pre-permitting (rezoning petition), the results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment dated September 14, 2020, the potential upside of the Pickett Mt. Project, and the timing and completion of drill programs in Maine, Manitoba and New Brunswick and the respective drill results. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information in this news release, including without limitation, the following risks and uncertainties: (i) risks inherent in the mining industry; (ii) regulatory and environmental risks; (iii) results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; (iv) risks relating to the estimation of mineral resources; (v) stock market volatility and capital market fluctuations; and (vi) general market and industry conditions. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. This forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management on the date hereof and is expressly qualified by this notice. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by applicable law.

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.

Figure 1. Rice Island Drill Hole Plan on Airborne Geophysics

Figure 2. Rice Lake Deposit Longitudinal Section (Keel Plunging to East)

Figure 3. Rice Lake Deposit Isometric Longitudinal Section

Figure 4. Rice Island Deposit Cross-section through Keel Zone showing Feeder Zone below

Figure 5. Rice Island Regional Geology Map and Wolfden Landing Holdings (black outline)

SOURCE: Wolfden Resources Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640099/Wolfden-Reports-on-Rice-Island-Drill-Program-Snow-Lake-Manitoba
Lucknow, April 13 : Special steps are being taken for the safety of the staff going to the field as part of the polling duties in the ongoing Panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the government spokesman, it has been decided that essential items including facemasks, sanitizer and gloves would be given to every member who would be performing duty in the Panchayat polls.

Liquid hand wash will also be made available at polling stations which would be used by the voters.

Steps are also being taken to ensure that all norms of social distancing are followed strictly at the polling stations.

"These are challenging times and our employees have stood to the occasion with utmost vigour. But, to support their efforts in terms of performing their duties, we have ensured to take utmost care so that they do not get infected with the coronavirus, for which all norms would be followed as instructed by the state government", said the spokesman.

Besides, in order to conduct polling properly in the Panchayat elections, the officials of the administration have started meeting candidates, Panchayat wise. The candidates are being motivated to encourage voters to come out of their houses at different time duration of the day.

Voters are being told to refrain from moving out for polling in groups.

The candidates have also been told to make the villagers aware that the Covid guidelines should be followed at all costs.

Voters would not be allowed to arrive at polling centres without wearing masks from home.

Likewise, voters of the Panchayat are also made aware about the concept of social distancing which has to be followed while voting and also while waiting for their turn.

The voters will also be motivated to wash their hands once they arrive at the polling centre. Thermal screening of all the voters would also be done to ensure minimizing the threat of spread of the deadly virus.

The first phase of polling in the Panchayat elections is due on April 15.
Massive 160lb Saint Bernard Named Hercules Thinks Hes a Lapdog and Squashes Owners Guests

A couple are forced to warn everyone who visits their home to be careful when sitting down or they may get trapped under their 12-stone dog Herculeswho thinks hes a lapdog.

Hercules, a 2-year-old Saint Bernard, is blissfully unaware of his enormous size as the loveable goof enjoys nothing more than sitting on peoples laps for a good cuddle.

But once the huge 161 lb. hound plonks himself on someones knee, there is no moving him until he decides hes had his fill.

Gentle giant 161 lb. pooch Hercules who thinks hes a lapdog sitting on his owner Katie Bridge, 29, at their home in Bristol, UK (Kennedy News and Media)

His owners Katie and Nick Bridge, both 29, regularly find themselves stuck under their colossal canine for so long that their legs fall asleep.

And the parents-of-one even advise house guests against sitting in any of Hercules favorite spots unless theyre ready to brace themselves for the mammoth mutts weight.

Hercules definitely thinks he is a lapdog but its like having a fully grown man plonked on your lap, said Katie, who works as a care worker.

Nick bridge, 29, of Bristol, holding Saint Bernard Hercules when he was just 8 weeks old (L), already weighing 24 lb.; and his owner holding him again at 6 months (R), having grown considerably (Kennedy News and Media)

You really have to brace yourself because he is heavy, he weighs more than me.

And once hes on you, you cant move until he decides hes ready to move. You are there for the duration, there is no way youre shifting such a big dog off your lap.

Hell sit on us until our legs have completely gone to sleep but hes so happy that we just cant bring ourselves to push him off.

We have to warn anyone who comes to the house never to sit on the floor because thats Hercules favorite place to come up and snuggle you and sit on your lap.

She adds, If you dont want a 73 kg sat on your lap, do not sit on the floor.

When they first got him, they said he would never be allowed on the sofa. They were really strict about it at first, but by the time he was 4 months, they were calling him up for cuddles.

He loves coming up for a snuggle, especially in the evening once weve put our little one to bed, said Katie. He comes up for a cuddle and takes up nearly the whole sofa.

Mom Katie Bridge on her second day home from the hospital in November with newborn daughter Zoe Bridge, now 4 months, and gentle giant Hercules, now 2 (Kennedy News and Media)

Katie and Nick, an engineer, who have a 4-month-old daughter named Zoe, brought Hercules home when he was just 8 weeks old and already 24 lb.

While they felt ready for life with a big dog, nothing could have fully prepared Katie and Nick for how quickly Hercules grew with the pup piling on almost 5 lb. a week.

Now fully grown, Hercules stands at 5 feet, 9 inches when on his hind legs, and plows through 15-kilogram bags of dog food every two weeks.

Katie and Nick admit sharing their home and lives with their jumbo pup has come with some adjustmentsthe priciest of which was buying a new car.

After realizing their Mazda2 would never be big enough for Hercules as an adult, Katie and Nick opted for a larger Mazda6, shelling out 24,000 pounds (approx. US$33,000), to cater to their pooch.

Saint Bernard Hercules covered in mud after a walk, taking up all the hatch space of his owners Mazda6 which they bought especially to cater for his enormous size (Kennedy News and Media)

Two-year-old Saint Bernard Hercules taking up an entire patio sofa as he relaxes in the sun at home in Bristol (Kennedy News and Media)

The couple also have to deal with lots of the Saint Bernards slobber, which thanks to Hercules height gets smothered up their wallsand sometimes over strangers children.

But the mom-of-one says the biggest change has been allowing hours for trips that should take minutes as everyone they pass wants to meet the mighty Hercules.

Thankfully Hercules is as big as hes going to get now. I dont think our car would take much more, Katie said. When he gets in you can hear that the suspension is struggling.

We already had to buy one new car with him in mind. There was absolutely no way he would have fit into our old small Mazda2.

Loveable pooch Hercules enjoys a good cuddle with his owner Nick Bridge, but the 161 lb. hound is unaware of his enormous size. (Kennedy News and Media)

It has been an adjustment sharing our space with such a big dog. As hes grown, weve had to move everything in our house higher and higher up so its out of his reach.

He loves to steal fridge magnets so we had to move them further and further up until they were all in the top third of our fridge.

The massive pooch is always in the way, and the familys gotten used to constantly stepping over him and gaining access into cupboards hes sleeping in front of.

We have slobber towels all over the house ready for when hes had a drink or hes excited, Katie adds. Sometimes you find it half way up the wall.

We have to apologize to other people when were out and about because hes slobbered over their pet or child. Thats the worst.

Saint Bernard Hercules can easily take up an entire sofa when lounging around at home in Bristol (Kennedy News and Media)

Everyone wants to meet him and ask questions about him. They all comment on how massive he is, how huge his paws are and so many kids shout its Beethoven.

Sometimes we have to leave him at home just so we can pop out quickly.

No matter how many changes they have to make for the burly Saint Bernard, Katie and Nick wouldnt have it any other way.

Hercules is a loving, snuggly, and chilled-out dog who provides their little family with endless fun, and Katie even credits him for helping her tone-up post-pregnancy.

Huge hound Hercules chilling out on the sofa at home in Bristol with his owner Katie Bridge (Kennedy News and Media)

Having Hercules around is definitely a lot of fun, said Katie. We really cant imagine life without him. Hes the best.

He is a loveable goof and a gentle giant, especially with Zoe. I cant believe how gentle and lovely he is with her.

Hes so chilled out when hes at home and just mooches around and flops down for a sleep. He loves snuggles and wants to be cuddled all the time.

When they take him out, he has a good run around and is obsessed with mud and water and finds every opportunity to take a swim.

Adds Katie, Hes not that fussed on most dog toys but he loves his tug toy. Hes so strong, playing with him is definitely making me and Nick stronger.

I reckon hes really helped me post-pregnancy, making sure I get a good workout even though the gyms are closed.

Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.

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Despite the dominance of variants, hospitalizations have not been rising in the city in recent weeks, and are actually on a slight decline. And cases have been stable, though at a high level. To me that is reassuring, said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, an epidemiologist at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health. We may be seeing the beginnings of a vaccine effect.

The data has limitations

In a given week, about one to two thousand positive coronavirus cases in New York City are sequenced  that is, the genetic material of the virus is examined for mutations. That represents roughly between four and eight percent of New York Citys new cases. The majority of those cases are sequenced at a laboratory in Long Island City operated by Opentrons, a robotics company.

At the request of The Times, the companys chief executive, Jonathan Brennan-Badal, shared ZIP code-level data for about 7,500 sequenced cases, explaining that the information could help identify where the need for more resources  including testing and vaccinations  was greatest.

The city Health Department uses the sequences from this laboratory, known as the Pandemic Response Lab, as the basis for its weekly sample gauging the prevalence of each variant.

But even with thousands of samples sequenced, the data still has significant limitations. Most of its coronavirus samples come from the citys public hospital system and city-sponsored testing sites. It receives lots of samples from some neighborhoods, but few from others.

The limited number of variants sequenced up till now make it difficult to arrive at conclusions as to whether some neighborhoods are more severely affected than others, Dr. El-Sadr said.

Each dot on the density maps above is placed in the ZIP code of a New Yorker whose coronavirus sample was sequenced at the Opentrons lab. But neighborhoods with lots of dots do not necessarily correspond with coronavirus hot spots. The density of dots can often be explained by the presence of a city testing center nearby.
You are here: China

China will continue to exert great efforts to boost aerospace as a strategic emerging industry in the next five years, a senior aerospace official said.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is drawing up a plan for the country's space development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said Zhang Kejian, head of the CNSA.

During this period, China will promote priority science and technology projects in the aerospace field. These will include the lunar exploration program's fourth phase, interplanetary exploration such as asteroid reconnaissance, heavy-lift carrier rockets, and reusable space transportation systems, Zhang told Xinhua.

China will also build a space infrastructure system for communications, navigation, and remote sensing that covers the world, making better contributions to humanity's peaceful use of space, he added.

He revealed that a new edition of the white paper on China's space activities would be released this year.
(Natural News) Just days before he reportedly died of a major heart attack, rapper DMX was vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19).

Born as Earl Simmons, DMX fell into a coma and had to be taken to an ICU not long after being injected, which the mainstream media is blaming on an alleged drug overdose. The only drug that DMX took, however, was a Wuhan flu shot.

He got the vaccine when they opened it to people over 50, one of DMXs family members reportedly told MTO News. He got it so he could travel and perform, stuff like that.

DMX lived in New York, where injections for Chinese germs became available to people 50 years of age and older in mid-March.

Everyone [in the news] says that over and over again [DMX] had a drug overdose. How do you know? I am in the family and no doctor has told me about an overdose, the family member went on to reveal.

This same family member expressed anger over the fact that the corporate media is simply assuming that DMX died of a drug overdose when the reality is that the only thing in his life that changed prior to his deadly heart attack was that he took one of Donald Trumps Operation Warp Speed injections.

Yes, he has had problems with drugs in the past, the family member added. But no one knows he had an overdose. It is damned to be reported that way.

DMXs family planning to sue mainstream media for lying about alleged drug overdose

The family member further revealed that her family is considering taking legal action against every fake news outlet that falsely blamed DMXs death on a drug overdose  unless by drugs they are referring to the injection he received for Chinese germs.

He took the vaccine and he had a heart attack, the family member went on to explain. Im not saying the vaccine did it, but he never had a heart attack before.

It is clear to DMXs family that the rapper more than likely suffered a reaction to the vaccine that ultimately killed him. Which vaccine DMX received has not been publicly revealed at this time.

The hashtag #RIPDMX began trending on Twitter before the rapper had actually died when he was still on life support. DMX later died, as many have, due to what family members say was injection with Chinese virus chemicals.

Fans are likewise confused by media reports that either blame a drug overdose or reveal nothing about why DMX suffered a heart attack and died. Many reports are pretending as though it is completely normal for an otherwise healthy 50-year-old man to die suddenly from a heart attack.

I have no clue whats true & whats false at this point, one fan tweeted while DMX was still alive and on life support. So many reports being made by the hour.

Its annoying @ this point, wrote another about the medias failure to report the facts. If it was their loved ones in the same position, they wouldnt want NONE of this happening.

Now that it is pretty much clear that the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) took DMXs life, the media is silent about the true cause of his death. Many headlines and stories are now just memorializing DMXs life while pretending as though his untimely death is perfectly normal.

If DMX did die due to the Covid-19 vaccine, you will not hear another word about it in the media, much like Hank Aaron and Marvin Hagler, wrote one Meaww commenter. Wake up: there is no history on these vaccines.

To learn more about how Chinese virus injections are killing people, be sure to check out ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

Meaww.com

NewSportif.com

NaturalNews.com
South Africa: Sisulu to assess Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works progress

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza -- together with the Mpumalanga MEC of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, Mandla Msibi -- has met with farmers and farmer organisations to discuss farm lease agreements, among other issues. Issues discussed include farm lease agreements... See more


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Joe Biden has nominated international security expert Christine Wormuth as the new Secretary of the US Army.



This the first time in the U.S. history that a female is appointed to this key post. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to hold the third most senior civilian position in the Department of Defense.



Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin described her as 'a true patriot with a dedicated career in service to America and the nation's security'.



As the former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Christine advanced the department's counter-ISIS campaign and the rebalance to Asia, and her deep expertise will be critical in addressing and deterring today's global threats, including the pacing challenge from China and nation-state threats emanating from Russia, Iran, and North Korea, he said in a statement.



Christine Wormuth served as Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) under President Barack Obama, advising two Secretaries of Defense on foreign policy and national security issues.



She joined the Obama Administration in 2009 as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Civil Support.



She also served as the senior director for defense policy on the National Security Council, helping shape the 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance that began re-balancing the military toward the Indo-Pacific.



Wormuth has twice received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.



Previously, Wormuth was a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.



Wormuth is currently Director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the RAND Corporation. The 51-year-old international security expert writes and speaks about foreign policy and homeland security in the role.



She also teaches as an adjunct professor in Georgetown University, and serves on the honorary advisory board of the Leadership Committee for Women in National Security (LCWINS).



In January, Biden picked Wormuth to lead his administration's Defense Agency Review Team.



Besides Wormuth, Biden added on Monday 10 more members to his Administration to lead on national security and law enforcement at White House and across key agencies.



The President has tapped Christy Abizaid for Director of National Counterterrorism Center, Chris Inglis for National Cyber Director, Gil Cisneros for Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, Anne Milgram for Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Susanna Blume for Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, Marcela Escobari for Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean at USAID, C.S. Eliot Kang for Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation, Kenneth Polite for Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Division, Todd Robinson for Assistant Secretary of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and Christopher Schroeder for Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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TORONTO - The head of the Bank of Nova Scotia is urging Ottawa to adopt a series of policy changes to help parents, businesses of all sizes and companies trade between provinces.

Brian Porter, president and CEO of Scotiabank, addresses the company's annual meeting in Calgary, Tuesday, April 12, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

TORONTO - The head of the Bank of Nova Scotia is urging Ottawa to adopt a series of policy changes to help parents, businesses of all sizes and companies trade between provinces.

Scotiabank CEO Brian Porter said Tuesday that he wants to see a top up to the annual Canada Child Benefit and childcare expense deductions, the introduction of a grant for businesses to make capital investments and the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers.

Speaking at the bank's annual general meeting, which was held virtually for the second time because of the pandemic, he positioned his pitches as an opportunity to learn from the health crisis because "we have seen over the last year, the decisions we make matter."

"We have an opportunity today to pursue policies that ensure that Canada does not just go back to the pre-pandemic growth but achieves even higher and better growth for a sustained period," he said.

Porter's ideas come ahead of the April 19 federal budget and he believes they would help grow the economy, increase the number of working Canadians and make the country stronger and more prosperous.

First, Porter called for the Canada Child Benefit to be topped up by $5,000 per kid.

In July, the maximum annual Canada Child Benefit reached up to $6,765 per child under age six and up to $5,708 for kids aged six to 17.

Families already receiving the Canada Child Benefit also got a one-time $300 boost per child last year.

On top of the benefit increase, Porter is advocating for a significant increase to the childcare expense deductions to allow parents to fully deduct the cost of preschool child care.

Under the current rules, parents and guardians can claim up to $8,000 per child for kids under the age of seven and $5,000 per child for children aged seven to 16.

While childcare costs vary across the country, Porter said increasing the amount to $20,000 per child per year should cover the cost of daycare in every Canadian city.

It will also help keep women in the workforce, said Porter, because women are more likely to put careers on hold or abandon to raise children.

"Providing greater flexibility to families to find childcare arrangements that are best suited for them is good for women, its good for families, and its good for the country," he said.

Porter also wants a one-time, matching grant for businesses to make capital investments in machinery, equipment, and intellectual property.

The grant would help small businesses digitize, medium-sized businesses retool for efficiency and large businesses become more sustainable, he said.

His final ask was for the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers  a longtime demand for the bank.

"Lets prioritize free trade between provinces and territories in the same way we prioritize free trade between countries," he said.

According to Porter, the International Monetary Fund estimates that complete liberalization of internal trade in goods can increase Canadas GDP per capita by about four per cent per year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BNS)
Two men, including one armed with a pick axe, have been spotted roaming around an outback town in their birthday suits.

The first naked man, who has long hair, was reportedly screaming and cursing as he walked around Nightcliff, Darwin, with bloodied hands at about 1.30pm on Monday.

Terrifying video footage showed the moment the disrobed man handed over an axe to another member of the community.

Witness Keith Gregory, who disarmed the bare individual, said 'he really wasn't threatening anyone'.

The first naked man, who has long hair, was reportedly screaming and cursing as he walked around Nightcliff, Darwin, with bloodied hands at about 1.30pm on Monday

'He had blood all over his hands, he said ''here it is'', I took it off him,' Mr Gregory told NT News.

'He was frustrated, somebody had done the wrong thing by him. (He) didn't present any danger.'

Police arrived at about 1.45pm and took the man back to his unit.

Another onlooker filmed the man walking through the streets as he travelled along in a car.

'Didn't seem to be aggressive apart from being naked and brandishing a bloody pick axe. He was smiling when I saw him,' the witness told Facebook news page The Mango Inquirer.

The Mango Inquirer then shared video footage of a second naked man running past a school in Palmerston on the same day.

A second naked man running past a school in Palmerston on the same day

The two incidents appeared about 20 kilometres apart from each other.

'I thought he was in an accident of some sort,' the witness told The Mango Inquirer.

The man ran towards bushland behind the school.

'He had a plain face and kept his cool like it was normal,' the witness said.
Contemporary Pediatrics adds the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation to its SAP program. Tweet this

EGPAF is a nonprofit organization working to help children with HIV and AIDS to live full, healthy lives into adulthood. Since being founded over 30 years ago, EGPAF has been a proven leader in meeting the urgent needs of pediatric patients with HIV and AIDS in some of the world's most affected regions, with programs largely based in sub-Saharan Africa.

With a global reach, EGPAF can combat the HIV and AIDS epidemic on a vast scale, prioritizing children, youth, and families in the United States and around the world. To date, EGPAF has supported over 15,000 sites in 17 countries. Additionally, EGPAF is supported by several notable donors and collaborators such as Johnson & Johnson, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Disney, UNICEF, and more.

EGPAF remains committed to reaching its goals, which include advancing research and innovations that lead to improved, scalable solutions for ending HIV and AIDS; advocating on the global stage for resources, policies, and leadership needed at local levels to address the epidemic; strengthening local health care systems; and growing the capabilities of governments and communities through providing technical expertise and proven solutions. EGPAF works toward these goals through research, advocacy, capacity building, and making its presence known on a global scale.

"Since 2000, new pediatric HIV infections around the world have been reduced by more than half, yet every day, nearly 500 children are newly infected because their families lack access to the health services they need to prevent transmission," said Clare Dougherty, EGPAF's vice president for external affairs. "The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation is excited to partner with Contemporary Pediatrics to further our shared goal of advocating for children, youth, and families to live long, healthy lives."

For more information on the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, click here.

For more information about Contemporary Pediatrics, click here.

About Contemporary Pediatrics

Contemporary Pediatrics provides pediatricians with timely, trusted, and practical information to enhance their care of children. The multimedia platform features relevant clinical and peer-reviewed articles, summarized guideline updates, case studies, and sensible practice management tips that pediatricians can apply immediately. Contemporary Pediatrics is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels.

Contemporary Pediatrics Media Contact

Alyssa Scarpaci, 609-250-4356

[email protected]

SOURCE Contemporary Pediatrics

Related Links

https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com


Today, all of that has flipped. Now no superpower wants to touch your country because all they can win is a bill. China is in the W.T.O., so it is much harder to compete in low-wage industries. Populations have exploded. Climate change is hammering small-scale farmers, so they are leaving their lands for the cities and beyond  and everyone has a smartphone to complain or find a human trafficker to be smuggled north.

The result: Many weak nations are fracturing and hemorrhaging their people, creating vast zones of disorder, from which millions of people are seeking, unsurprisingly, to migrate to zones of order  i.e., from Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia to the U.S. and Europe. And the pandemic has made things only worse. Just on Tuesday CNN reported that at least 42 migrants have died after a boat they were traveling in from Yemen capsized off the coast of Djibouti, East Africa.

Last week the U.S. National Intelligence Council released its quadrennial Global Trends report. It stated right at the top: In coming years and decades, the world will face more intense and cascading global challenges, ranging from disease to climate change to the disruptions from new technologies and financial crises. These challenges will repeatedly test the resilience and adaptability of communities, states and the international system, often exceeding the capacity of existing systems and models.

Indeed, while a lot of attention has been devoted to the number of unaccompanied children coming across our border, The Wall Street Journal reported on March 24 that the actual numbers of migrants reveal that this surge is primarily being driven by individual adults. Most of the migrants are Mexicans, often men in search of work with the pandemic easing and the U.S. economy set to boom.

Without proper border controls and simultaneous investments in stabilizing weak countries  which Biden has smartly proposed  we and the European Union will face many more surges. And you can be sure that another Trump-like figure will emerge to exploit them  and undermine support for legal immigration right when we need it more than ever.

Because, we are also at the dawn of a cold war with China in which both the economic and the military battlefields will be around technology  artificial intelligence, quantum computing, drones, autonomous vehicles, microchips, software, cyberwarfare, biotech, new materials and batteries. In this competition each side will be trying to leverage as much brain power, patents and start-ups as possible.

Alas, brains are distributed evenly around the world. The great advantage America has had, though, is that while we were just roughly four percent of the global population, through immigration and our open universities, we attracted a far higher percentage than any other country of high-energy, high-aspiring lower-skilled workers and the high-I.Q. risk-takers who start new companies, notes Craig Mundie, Microsofts former chief research and strategy officer.
Theres a crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. Its not the one that politicos from Washington are commenting about and journalists from around the country are flying in to cover.

The crisis du jour is the increase in migrants crossing the border. Yet for decades, the flow of migrants has risen and fallen under a broken immigration system and costly border security schemes, driven by economic and political forces well beyond our border communities.

The real crisis has been in existence for more than a year now: the closure of our border crossings to so-called nonessential travel. On top of the economic impact of the pandemic, the closure has devastated border businesses, separated families and disrupted communities that straddle both sides of the Rio Grande. Small businesses are being destroyed.

Both crises  the one getting attention and the one being ignored  are a function of the same problem. Decision-makers in Washington dont listen to those of us who live and work on the border.

For years, weve offered commonsense solutions to border security, trade and immigration issues. The solutions weve put forward require sustained engagement. Unfortunately, too many folks inside the Beltway play politics with these issues and are more interested in photo ops and sound bites.

The increase in crossings and border apprehensions is the result of the Biden administrations political disregard for a plan to manage the predictable surge of asylum-seekers after ending the Remain in Mexico policy.

Our nations asylum policy  a subset of our shoddy immigration system  was already in need of repair before President Joe Biden. Biden, however, made matters worse. Under current policy, once migrants set foot on U.S. territory, they can seek legal asylum and enter the yearslong process for adjudication. Human smugglers and social media have spread the word, drawing migrants to the border to meet traffickers who make enormous sums bringing them to the United States.

Also, in most parts of Texas, the border wall is not on the banks of the Rio Grande and is often hundreds of yards from the border. One of the many follies of President Donald Trumps expensive and ineffective wall is that once migrants cross the river and enter the so-called enforcement zone behind the wall, they are eligible for asylum because they are already in the United States.

Both parties share responsibility for this deplorable situation. We havent had meaningful reform of our nations immigration policies since President Ronald Reagan forged a bipartisan agreement in 1986. Thirty-five years later, our immigration policies, and the physical and administrative system that supports them, are completely out of sync with our national interests and economic needs. Our immigration system should support our workforce needs.

On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases

Our immigration policies are at odds with the demographic realities of an American population that is rapidly aging while birth rates are rapidly declining. Every sector of our economy, from high-tech jobs to health care and agriculture, needs human capital to continue growing.

Our nation thrives on the contributions and entrepreneurial spirit of new Americans. Bidens efforts to extend permanent protections to DACA recipients is an important first step, but it is a small step. Much more policy reform must happen to solve this horrible problem.

Then, theres the other crisis: the border closure to what the government calls nonessential travel. In Laredo, Mexican shoppers account for 40 to 45 percent of retail activity, according to a report from the Dallas Federal Reserve. Similar economic impacts from Mexican visitors can be found in Brownsville, McAllen and El Paso. For the second consecutive year, malls and retail districts were empty during Holy Week, normally a bonanza for border businesses.

The supposedly temporary border closures were instituted in the early days of the pandemic without any scientific rationale. Ridiculously, the restrictions dont apply to air travel. Mexican residents can fly to San Antonio or Houston to shop. But if they want to walk or drive across a bridge in Laredo to do those things, they cant.

While theres no quick fix for the migrant issue, there is one for the border travel closure: The Biden administration needs to stop the monthly extensions of the punitive and ineffectual restrictions on nonessential travel.

Our border communities are one city in two countries. Border travel must be reopened.

If the people claiming to be concerned about the border mean what they say, theyll listen to the areas residents and keep working with us for solutions when the photo ops are over.

Dennis E. Nixon is chairman and CEO of IBC Bank in Laredo.
Plymouth, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc. (CSE: PRT) (OTCQB: PLRTF) (FSE: 4XA) (WKN: A2N8RH) ("Plymouth Rock", "PRT", or the "Company"), a leader in developing threat detection and unmanned technologies, is pleased to announce that Dr. Gianluca De Novi has been appointed to the role of VP of Engineering.

Dr. De Novi is currently a Harvard Faculty member, Director of the Medical Device and Simulation Laboratory at the Imaging Department of the Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital and CEO at XSurgical Robotics. Dr. De Novi, was recently appointed as Scientific Advisor and then transitioned to the new role as the Company accelerates the market deployment of its new shoe scanner.

"We are happy to announce that, as part of this advance in market deployment of the PRT SS1 Shoe Scanner Dr. Gianluca De Novi will now serve as a key element of the strategic team as VP of Engineering and accelerate our ongoing R&D programs," stated Dana wheeler, Co-Founder and CEO. "Dr. De Novi's international experience in the fields of automation and research and his exceptional engineering skills, positions him perfectly to undertake this role," concluded Wheeler.

"I feel pleased for the new role that was offered to me at Plymouth Rock Technologies. I see a tremendous opportunity of growth for PRT and I am confident that this will happen very fast considering the extraordinary work that they have done to date," stated De Novi.

"At Plymouth Rock, we execute without hesitation, scopes of change that improve the pace of product development," stated Carl Cagliarini, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer. "It didn't take us very long to understand that Dr. De Novi would represent a valuable asset to help us roll out some of our products faster," concluded Cagliarini.

About Plymouth Rock Technologies Inc.

We are on a mission to bring engineering-driven answers to the most critical problems that threaten our safety. We work with government, law enforcement and military to innovate solutions for national security, defense and space systems.

The Company is developing the next generation of threat detection solutions and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

The PRT X1 is a purpose-built multirotor UAS, utilizing Artificial Intelligence, cutting-edge sensors and the latest FLIR dual-camera module as standard, offering thermal capabilities alongside 1080p HD real-time air-to-ground streaming and 4K video recording, with the ability to mount multiple, various sensors, modules and payloads.

Our advanced threat detection methods fuse artificial intelligence with augmented reality interfaces to eliminate human operating error. Plymouth Rock products, both airborne and land-based, will scan for threat items at greater 'stand-off' distances than current existing technologies. Our unique radar imaging and signal processing technology creates new opportunities for remotely operated, non-intrusive screening of crowds in real time.

Plymouth Rock's core technologies include: (1) UAS platforms engineered to conform to H.R.4753 - Drone Origin Security Enhancement Act ("X1") ("XV"); (2) Millimeter Remote Imaging from Airborne Drone ("MIRIAD"); (3) A compact microwave radar system for scanning shoe's ("Shoe Scanner"); (4) A compact modular radar utilized for a variety of applications, from aircraft to weapon detection ("CODA").

www.plyrotech.com

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dana Wheeler

President and CEO

+1-774-404-7685

info@plyrotech.com

Investor Information:

Tasso Baras

+1-778-477-6990

tasso@plyrotech.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. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. 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, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. 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. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80321
Were getting by, and I dont want to jump ahead, but I dont see the bars getting back to normal anytime soon.

It has been over a year since New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy mandated non-essential businesses to close their doors for the foreseeable future in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, retail stores, and the like resorted to take-out and curbside pick-up to keep their businesses afloat for what they believed would be a temporary two-week closure. Fast forward one year since businesses reopened, and those that survived are still battling capacity limits and heavy restrictions, preventing business as usual from returning anytime soon.

At the beginning of the shutdowns, Bielat Santore & Company launched a weekly interview series, Restaurant Rap, becoming a sounding board for restaurateurs to vocalize how their businesses were handling the state-wide closures. In a new revival series, How Ya Doin?, Richard Santore, Vice President of Bielat Santore & Company is checking in with these same restaurateurs one year later.

For owner of seven MJs restaurants in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties, Angelo DiCapua, challenging is an understatement to describe the past year for the hospitality industry. Its kind of hard to believe a year has gone by, said DiCapua. So many things have changed! When Santore previously sat down with DiCapua in the first installment of the Restaurant Rap series in April 2020, DiCapua admitted his restaurants were relying heavily on to-go services as dining rooms had been closed for over three weeks. While all locations have welcomed customers back since, takeout and delivery continues to be a big help while capacity is limited and bar seating remains off-limits. We pay the bills and we stay afloat at 50 percent [capacity], said DiCapua. What really hurts us is on the weekends when youre only seating 50 percent [capacity], you cant make ends meet. Outdoor dining has also been a pleasant alternative for customers itching to dine out again, which DiCapua claims has produced some challenges. You know youre trying to chase your money, but when it got cold and you cant sit outside anymore, that was the real challenge, said DiCapua.

Support from the community played a major role in helping restaurants survive, not just from customers, but from fellow restaurant owners as well. DiCapua was also a member of Bielat Santore & Companys Task Force; a group comprised of multi-unit restaurant operators to collaborate ideas, procedures, strategies, and goals as they relate to the preparation for the reopening of restaurants and other hospitality-based businesses in New Jersey. To be a part of that group was pretty cool because we had some great operators in there. Guys and gals I always looked up to, said DiCapua. To hear them having the same struggles as I was having, it was a great experience.

With a post-COVID world getting closer to reality, restaurateurs are eager for business to get back to normal, but DiCapua isnt getting his hopes up just yet. Were getting by, and I dont want to jump ahead, but I dont see the bars getting back to normal anytime soon, said DiCapua. I just dont see anything happening where its going to get better.

To view the full video interview, visit Bielat Santore & Companys website at http://www.123bsc.com and stay tuned for the next video of the How Ya Doin? series.

About Bielat Santore & Company

Bielat Santore & Company is an established commercial real estate firm. The companys expertise lies chiefly within the restaurant and hospitality industry, specializing in the sale of restaurants and other food and beverage real estate businesses. Since 1978, the principals of Bielat Santore & Company, Barry Bielat and Richard Santore, have sold more restaurants and similar type properties in New Jersey than any other real estate company. Furthermore, the firm has secured in excess of $500,000,000 in financing to facilitate these transactions. Visit the companys website, http://www.123bsc.com for the latest in new listings, property searches, available land, market data, financing trends, RSS feeds, press releases and more.
Zoe Ventoura welcomed her first child Austin Xavier in December 2019 but his arrival was only confirmed in May last year.

And now, the 40-year-old actress has revealed how she kept her pregnancy a secret for so long.

Zoe told The Sydney Morning Herald's Sunday Life she hid her growing bump while filming Home and Away by wearing big jackets.

Private life: Zoe Ventoura (pictured) has revealed how she kept her pregnancy and the birth of her son Austin Xavier a secret for so long

'For the first couple of months I looked pretty normal, but by the end of my contract I was starting to show quite a bit, so there were some big bags and some very big jackets,' she said.

'I was playing a doctor, so I was hiding behind folders quite a lot!'

Zoe also explained she wasn't hiding her pregnancy but the secret 'never came out'.

'If someone had gone, "Oh god, she's pregnant" I would have been "yeah", but it never came out,' she said.

'There were some big bags and some very big jackets': Zoe told The Sydney Morning Herald's Sunday Life she hid her growing bump while filming Home and Away by wearing big jackets

Zoe welcomed her son Austin with her ex-husband Daniel MacPherson in December 2019.

They have proven to be notoriously private about their only child, keeping him out of the public eye, as well as keeping the pregnancy and birth a secret.

In December last year, Zoe and actor Dan announced their shock split after just five years of marriage.

Parenthood: Zoe welcomed her son Austin with her ex-husband Daniel MacPherson (pictured) in December 2019

The couple shared almost identically worded posts to Instagram, revealing they had mutually decided to separate.

Alongside a photo of the pair with their backs turned to the camera at sunset, Daniel, 40, wrote: 'With the greatest respect for each other, Zoe and I have separated.'

'Together, we will continue wholeheartedly to raise our beautiful boy Austin. He is, and will forever be, our greatest priority.

'We ask for your respect and will be making no further comment.'
This is truly a recognition for all of us at CollegeSource as our dedicated team brings decades of expertise and commitment to finding new solutions serving both students and institutions in their quest to enable degree achievement and most importantly, positive career outcomes - CEO Kerry Cooper

CollegeSource, the higher education industrys most trusted provider of transfer and degree achievement solutions, today announced that CEO Kerry Cooper has been recognized as a finalist in the 2021 EdTech Digest Awards for the EdTech Leadership/CEO category. Celebrating its 11th year, the US-based award program is the largest recognition program in all of education technology, honoring the biggest names in edtech.

Under Coopers leadership as CEO since 2005, CollegeSource now serves more than 2,000 institutions, as well as millions of institutional and student users through its innovative solutions for degree audit, academic planning, and transfer credit evaluation and articulation.

The EdTech Awards from EdTech Digest recognizes people in and around education for outstanding contributions in transforming education through technology to enrich the lives of learners everywhere, said Victor Rivero, EdTech Digest Editor-in-Chief. Cooper is a premier example of a leading female entrepreneur who has dedicated herself to both her organization and the clients they serve to deliver technology solutions that promote more employable students, higher retention rates, and a seamless path to earning post-secondary credentials.

Cooper has served as an instrumental leader of the higher education world since 1973. Working her way up the ranks of the business founded by her uncle, Harry G. Cooper  which published an annual collection of U.S. college course catalogs  Kerry Cooper has evolved CollegeSource with each successive generation of technological advancements, enabling the company to remain a long-term, relevant and critical resource for institutions worldwide.

It is a huge thrill to be honored as a finalist and it is truly a recognition for all of us at CollegeSource. Our brilliant, dedicated team brings decades of expertise and commitment to finding new solutions that serve both students and institutions in their quest to enable degree achievement and most importantly, positive career outcomes, said Cooper.

The EdTech Awards were established in 2010 to recognize, acknowledge, and celebrate the most exceptional innovators, leaders, and trendsetters in education technology.

Featuring edtechs best and brightest, the annual program shines a spotlight on cool tools, inspiring leaders and innovative trendsetters across the K-12, Higher Education, and Skills and Workforce sectors. This years finalists and winners were narrowed from the larger field and judged based on various criteria, including: pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value and potential.

For more information on CollegeSource, please visit https://www.collegesource.com.

About CollegeSource

CollegeSource is the higher education industrys trusted provider of transfer and degree achievement solutions. For nearly 50 years, CollegeSource has led market-changing transformation by inventing and investing in technology solutions that aid the staff and students of higher education in their quest to plan and complete academic careers. As the archiver of the nations extensive higher education course catalogs, CollegeSources degree audit, academic planning, and transfer credit evaluation solutions are depended on by more than 2,000 institutions and millions of individuals worldwide. Founded and led by higher education and technology veterans, CollegeSource is a privately-held company based in San Diego with offices in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, please visit collegesource.com.
Seoul, April 13 : Huawei on Tuesday blamed the US for a global chip shortage as it called for cooperation with South Korea, Japan and Europe to form a new semiconductor supply chain.

The move came hours after US President Joe Biden urged more spending in the chipmaking sector to resolve the chip shortage and build up a stable supply chain, Yonhap news agency reported.

A recent shortage of semiconductors has stalled production across manufacturing industries, especially in the auto sector.

Karl Song, Huawei's Vice President of Corporate Communications, called for the lifting of US sanctions, which the Chinese network equipment maker claimed has led to the recent chip crisis.

Currently, the Chinese telecom equipment giant is being cut off from semiconductors made with US equipment, software and designs due to US sanctions over national security concerns.

"The current global chipset shortage is due to the sanctions (Huawei) faces and its impact on the companies that we cooperate with," Song said in a press conference.

"We hope to cooperate with advanced semiconductor countries, such as South Korea, Japan and Europe, to form a global supply chain again," he said.

Eric Xu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman, said on Monday that US sanctions against the company have hurt the broader semiconductor industry as they have created supply uncertainties.

The US has long alleged that Huawei's equipment is used to spy on foreign networks, a claim repeatedly rejected by the Chinese company.

The US sanctions have hurt the Chinese tech giant, which requires semiconductors for its telecom equipment and electronic devices.

Huawei said it still plans to further strengthen its presence in South Korea by collaborating with South Korean companies, adding that it has made purchases worth $37 billion from South Korea over the past five years.

LG Uplus, the smallest of South Korea's three major mobile carriers, currently uses equipment manufactured by Huawei for its 5G network.

In Washington, Biden said on Monday that the US will increase its investment in infrastructure to protect its supply chains, including the supply chain of semiconductors.

His remarks came in a meeting with the top executive officers of 19 global firms, including South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics, to discuss ways to address the ongoing shortage of semiconductors.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he plans to deliver a lot on police reform but would not elaborate further ahead of a meeting that afternoon with Vice President Kamala Harris and key members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the Oval Office.

Biden, speaking days after police killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, in a Minneapolis suburb, said he would inform reporters of his plans to reform police at a later date.

The White House billed Tuesday afternoons meeting with members of the CBC as an opportunity to create a path forward on voting rights, racial equity and infrastructure legislation. The meeting comes a few days after Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council, announced that the Biden administration was pausing the creation of a national police oversight commission.

Biden meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday. (Tom Brenner/Reuters)

White House officials told Politico the decision was made in coordination with civil rights groups and police union representatives, who agreed that a commission would not be effective. Biden had pledged to create a commission aiming to address police brutality within the first hundred days of his presidency.

Beyond commissions and executive orders, there may not be much the Biden administration can do to make significant changes to how police carry out their jobs. Instead, the White House plans to encourage the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a bill passed by the House of Representatives last year with the support of just one Republican lawmaker.

The legislation aims to ramp up oversight of law enforcement by, among other measures, ending qualified immunity, lowering the criminal intent standard and creating a national database of police misconduct. The Floyd bill is likely to meet Senate opposition from moderates and conservatives who believe the reforms to be too far-reaching.

In the meantime, protests continue following the death of Wright at the hands of a white police officer who says she accidentally discharged her firearm at a traffic stop on Sunday. The Minneapolis area has been tense in the months since Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died there in police custody last May, setting off nationwide protests that continued throughout the summer.

Story continues

Family of Daunte Wright protesting in Brooklyn Center, Minn. (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A verdict is expected soon in the case of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer charged with killing Floyd. Biden called for peaceful protest on Monday afternoon, and reiterated his stance Tuesday that there is no excuse for violence.

When asked Tuesday if the White House is prepared to negotiate on some aspects of the Floyd bill, or perhaps even embrace parts of a more conservative reform bill introduced last summer by South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, White House press secretary Jen Psaki would not rule out any legislative path forward.

We certainly understand that there could be changes to proposals that have been put forward to date, said Psaki during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

We believe that the George Floyd Act has a lot of the components to rebuild the trust, [and] help put in place many of the reforms that are frankly long overdue. But we also recognize that democracy in action means changes take place, Psaki said.

So well have to see what the discussions look like and whether the president could support any changes that could be made in that process.

____

Read more from Yahoo News:
TOKYO (AP)  Japans government announced Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. Its a move thats fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japans neighbors.

The decision, long speculated at but delayed for years because of safety worries and protests, came during a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plants storage capacity will be full late next year.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is needed to complete the decades-long decommissioning of the Fukushima plant. He said the government would work to make sure the water is safe and to help local agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

The plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to releasable levels. Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

The government stresses the waters safety, calling it treated not radioactive, even though radionuclides can only be reduced to disposable levels, not to zero. The amount of radioactive material that would remain in the water is unknown.

Releasing the water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.

Under the basic plan adopted Tuesday by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility and compiling release plans that follow safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

Residents, fisheries officials and environmental groups issued statements denouncing the decision as ignoring environmental safety and health, and further hurting Fukushimas image and economy.

Japan Fisheries Cooperatives chairman Hiroshi Kishi said the decision less than a week after he met with Suga trampled on all Japanese fisheries operators.

Local fisheries have just returned to full operation after a decade in which their catch was only for testing purposes, and they are struggling because of dwindling demand.

Protestors gathered outside the Prime Ministers Office to demand the plan be scrapped.

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around fall of 2022. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks needs to be used for new buildings needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors and for other decommissioning work in coming years.

In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water.

Those tanks, which occupy a large space at the plant, interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said.

About 70% of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond discharge limits but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual release of the water will take nearly 40 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, in a video message, said the ocean discharge was in line with international practice, though the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant makes it a unique and complex case.

China and South Korea reacted strongly to Tuesdays decision.

Koo Yun-cheol, minister of South Koreas Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the plan was absolutely unacceptable and urged Japan to disclose how the water is treated and its safety is verified. South Korea has banned seafood imports from parts of Japan since 2013 and could increase those steps.

China criticized Japans decision as extremely irresponsible, saying it had not considered the health concerns of neighboring countries.
VANCOUVER, BC, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Awale Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARIC) (the "Company" or "Awale") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with Geodrill Limited (TSX: GEO) ("Geodrill" ) for a US$1 million drilling for equity program on Awale's Odienne and Bondoukou gold projects in Cote d'Ivoire.

This MoU covers a minimum of 10,000 meters of drilling for value US$1 million, commencing in April over the Company's two focus areas.

Odienne Project (North West Cote d'Ivoire)- Resource definition and discovery drilling focussed on rapidly building near surface gold ounces both in and around the existing Empire Main discovery area. Extending mineralization over the 900m geochemical footprint at the Empire Main high grade gold discovery is a priority and the Charger prospect just to the north of Empire main will also be drill tested. Charger is a compelling 700m long high order geochemical anomaly that lies withing the Empire Corridor.

Refer recent announcements and latest presentation:

https://www.awaleresources.com/_resources/presentations/corporate-presentation.pdf

Bondoukou Project (North East Cote d'Ivoire)- Discovery drilling over 5 to potentially 8 new drill ready targets hosted along a 60 km near continuous gold anomalous structural setting. These high order drill targets have been generated through the last two years of systematic exploration. Each of the new targets have different geological and structural settings and are situated over all three granted tenements. The prospects include Samanda West , Awari Shear and the Kodio Gold trend. Refer Latest presentation link above.

Geodrill, established in 1998, is a leading exploration drilling Company with operations is Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, and Zambia and will be mobilising in the coming weeks.

CEO Glen Parsons commented today:

"We are extremely pleased to announce this agreement with Geodrill as this significant drill program secures Awale's potential to continue growing and discovering new, near surface gold ounces at and around the Empire Main Zone.

Furthermore, we have the confidence that at Bondoukou we are now poised for multiple gold discoveries. Bondoukou has the potential to becoming a new gold camp in Cote d'Ivoire, evidenced by the considerable systematic target generation work done by the Awale team over the last two and a half years. The significant >60km mineralized trend continues to deliver multiple gold anomalous targets, where we are ready to drill test the most advanced targets.

Geodrill's drilling capabilities and availability in April allows the Company to continue to advance its portfolio. We believe Awale is on the cusp of a momentum shift and we look forward to working together with Geodrill in unlocking this potential.

The nature of this MoU reflects the confidence that Geodrill has in the projects, Awale's management and its strategy whilst allowing the Company to preserve cash resources for further exploration.

Dave Harper, Chief Executive Officer commented:

"We previously performed the maiden drilling program for Awale and now we are extremely excited to be drilling these targets at Odienne and Bondoukou. Having been on the ground we recognise the potential scale of these projects and their extremely anomalous long trends. It is always exciting in drilling new well-defined targets that have been systematically explored to the point of firm confidence to drill. Now we will see the results that unfold and with this MoU we share in that exciting upside and look forward to an aligned outcome with significant upside potential on Awale's gold assets in Cote d'Ivoire."

Details of the MoU:

Pursuant to the MoU, Awale has the option to pay Geodrill for its services in cash or a combination of cash and or the issuance to Geodrill of common shares of Awale (the "Payment Shares") based on a deemed price for each Payment Share equal to the greater of:

the 15 day VWAP for the Payment Shares immediately prior to the issuance of the Payment Shares less a 10% discount;

or

or the "Discounted Market Price" as defined in polices of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

It is anticipated that the MoU will be replaced and superseded by a standard drilling contract between Awale and Geodrill setting forth the drill programs for the Cote D'Ivoire Projects and incorporating the terms set out in the MoU the "Drilling Contact"). The Drilling Contact will be for a term of six months.

The issuance of the Payment Shares to Geodrill is subject to TSXV acceptance.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

AWALE RESOURCES LTD.

"Glen Parsons"

Glen Parsons, Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Awale Resources

Related Links

http://www.awaleresources.com/


Leading Arab Biotech Innovator Visits Wyoming, to Speak Wednesday

The CEO and founder of a leading biotechnology company in the Arab region is visiting Wyoming this week at the invitation of University of Wyoming President Ed Seidel.

Dr. Penelope Shihab is scheduled to give a virtual public presentation, Women Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Wednesday, April 14, at 5 p.m. The link to the Zoom webinar, which will allow for a question-and-answer session, is https://uwyo.zoom.us/j/91549657826.

Shihab has previously collaborated professionally with Seidel and is looking to explore opportunities for leveraging her international experience to support development of biotechnology innovation in Wyoming, and to discuss Wyomings entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Shihabs company, Jordan Company for Antibody Production (MonoJo Biotech), was established in 2005 in Amman, Jordan. It has been selected by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the Bahrain Economic Development Board, as one of the 100 Arab startups shaping the Fourth Industrial Revolution -- and, from that group, one of 10 startups helping change to the Arab world.

She was ranked 16th among the Worlds Most Influential Arabs by Arabian Business and was selected by Forbes Middle East as one of the top 30 women behind Middle Eastern beauty brands.

In addition to visiting leaders and researchers at UW, Shihab this week is speaking with state government and business leaders in Cheyenne, Casper and Jackson.
[April 13, 2021]

ZTO Announces the Establishment of Environmental, Social and Governance Committee

SHANGHAI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The board of directors (the "Board") of ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: ZTO and HKEX: 2057) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that an Environmental, Social and Governance Committee (the "ESG Committee") has been formed with effect from March 16, 2021.

The Board also announces that, Mr. Jianfa Lai, Mr. Jilei Wang and Mr. Qin Charles Huang have been appointed as the members of the ESG Committee, and Mr. Jianfa Lai has been appointed as the chairman of the ESG Committee with effect from Mar 16, 2021. The terms of reference of the ESG Committee will be posted on thewebsite of the Company (https://zto.investorroom.com/).







About ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.

ZTO is a leading and fast-growing express delivery company in China. ZTO provides express delivery service as well as other value-added logistics services through its extensive and reliable nationwide network coverage in China.

ZTO operates a highly scalable network partner model, which the Company believes is best suited to support the significant growth of e-commerce in China. The Company leverages its network partners to provide pickup and last-mile delivery services, while controlling the mission-critical line-haul transportation and sorting network within the express delivery service value chain.

For more information, please visit http://zto.investorroom.com.

For investor inquiries, please contact:

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.

Investor Relations

E-mail: ir@zto.com

Phone: +86 21 5980 4508

SOURCE ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc.
There is an urgent need for global industry to accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies across the entire industrial value chain in line with the demands of the digital era and fourth industrial revolution. This will also be critical to driving global economic recovery in the wake of Covid-19.

This was the overarching theme at the webinar co-hosted by the UAEs Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) alongside experts from the World Economic Forum (Forum), a WAM report said.

The interactive webinar, which was attended by more than 30 representatives of UAE industry and local economic departments, including Emirates Steel, Emirates Global Aluminium, Edge, and national energy company Adnoc, also served as a platform for mutual engagement between the industry representatives, ministry figures and Forum experts.

As well as discussions to raise awareness around industry 4.0 and guidance for UAE-based companies to leverage technologies to take a leading role in the fourth industrial revolution, the webinar included informative updates from MoIAT on its ongoing strategy and upcoming initiatives and incentives it will be rolling out, such as Operation 300 billion in partnership with the Emirates Development Bank.

Mohammed Al Qasim, Director of Technology Development and Adoption, explained how UAE-based companies can be at the forefront of industry by harnessing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies and solutions.

"Over the years, industrial companies in the UAE have contributed significantly to our progress. Today, they are critical to our continued diversification efforts. Thanks to the UAEs unique competitive advantages and unrivalled digital infrastructure, national business, as well as businesses from around the world can be integral to the nations aims to take the industrial sector to new heights and drive the global economic recovery."

He added: "That is why MoIAT is rolling out a number of incentives and initiatives to encourage adoption of advanced technologies in the industrial sector. In addition, in line with Operation 300 billion, Emirates Development Bank will provide financing support to businesses to enable the uptake and development of industry 4.0 technologies in the sector."

He added: "By leveraging the power of advanced technologies, the UAEs strong industrial base is well-set to rapidly expand and turbocharge sustainable economic growth. And companies able to adopt the latest innovations and technological solutions will be key enablers of this journey."

For their part, Ian Cronin, Project Lead, Advanced Manufacturing and Production Platform at the World Economic Forum outlined the Forums vision of a future of advanced manufacturing and production that is inclusive, people centred, agile, sustainable and connected.

During the session, Ben Ong, Expert, Advanced Manufacturing and Production Platform, World Economic Forum also outlined the Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) which was created in partnership with a network of leading technology companies, consultancy firms and industry and academic experts. SIRI comprises a suite of frameworks and tools to help manufacturers  regardless of size and industry  start, scale, and sustain their manufacturing transformation journeys. SIRI covers the three core elements of Industry 4.0: Process, Technology, and Organisation. -- Tradearabia News Service
GRAND BLANC, MI -- A former Grand Blanc Community Schools teacher has been charged for an incident involving alleged inappropriate contact with a student dating back to November 2014.

Michael Paris, 35, was arraigned Saturday, April 10 by Genesee District Court Judge Christopher Odette on three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

A former Grand Blanc High School student reported to the school district in March that she had a sexual relationship with Paris while she was a student in 2014, Grand Blanc Police Detective Ryan Rouse confirmed with MLive-The Flint Journal.

Paris was a high school English teacher, according to prior reporting.

The district reported the case to the Grand Blanc Police Department, Rouse said.

A charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involves penetration, Rouse said. Paris turned himself into the Genesee County Jail.

While Rouse could not share further details on the case, he said, generally, when a sexual assault is reported by a former student, police would take a statement from the victim and gather any evidence available to support the victims claim.

Obviously we dont want to just run away with claims against anybody and everybody, he said. We want some supporting documentation.

Officers then attempt to contact the person being accused of criminal sexual conduct.

In this particular situation, the suspect declined an interview at that point and time, Rouse said.

After the investigation was completed, Rouse said it was sent to the office of Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, who filed the charges against Paris.

The victim was between 16 and 18 years old when the relationship occurred, Genesee County Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Potbury said.

Victims of criminal sexual conduct have 15 years from the time of the incident, Potbury said, or until they turn 28 years old to report it to police under Michigans statute of limitations.

Potbury said the law recognizes teachers hold authority and influence over their students.

Those in the teaching profession are very well aware of the law. If they violate the law, they put themselves at risk of being prosecuted, he said. This is a stern warning to those in the teaching profession to be very careful and to obey the law. Its as clear as that.

Grand Blanc Community Schools provided the following statement to MLive-The Flint Journal when asked about the issue:

Grand Blanc Community Schools recently received allegations of misconduct by a former staff member at Grand Blanc High School involving a former student. We immediately referred the matter to law enforcement and are cooperating fully with law enforcement. The staff member under investigation is no longer employed by the school district. Due to the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.

District Superintendent Clarence Garner did not respond to a request by The Journal for comment.

Paris has been released from jail on a $150,000 personal recognizance bond, according to court documents.

He was ordered by the court to have no contact with the victim and was issued a tether.

Paris is scheduled to return to court April 22 for a probable cause conference in front of Genesee District Court Judge David Guinn.

Read more on MLive:

Man who exchanged gunfire with Flint police charged with 18 felonies

Two suspects being investigated after alleged postal worker assault in Flint

Man accused of taking upskirt video of 14-year-old girl on Easter Sunday

Teen who took plea in 2018 case involving 2 bodies found in Flint River granted new attorney

Gunman shot after firing assault rifle at Flint officers, police say

Saginaw teen killed in Flint I-75 crash loved family, music

Man dies after truck hits tree in Flint, police say

Arrest made after postal worker assaulted in Flint, police say

I have to tell my grandchildren about their father in the past tense: Mother calls for end to gun violence in Flint
NEW HAVEN  A clinic has been postponed and Yale New Haven Hospital is changing appointments Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Food and Drug Administration called for a pause in the distribution of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

The city announced that it would postpone a clinic, which was to be held at Casa de Oracion y Adoracion at 555 Columbus Ave., until Wednesday.

The timing of other scheduled clinics will not be affected, Health Director Maritza Bond said in a release. All clinics will offer the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of Johnson & Johnson, Bond and Mayor Justin Elicker said.

In an abundance of caution, we are pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine indefinitely, Elicker said in a statement. Until we have further clearance from the CDC and authorization from the State regarding the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the City will be using the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at all COVID-19 clinics in New Haven.

Further, Dr. Ohm Deshpande, vice president of population health at Yale New Haven Health, said the hospital system had halted all distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. They have not seen any cases of clotting after the distribution of the vaccine, he said.

Fair Haven Community Health Community Health Care also began rescheduling appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that were to be delivered in its clinic at Wilbur Cross High School.

FHCHC Director of Marketing and Development Karen Nemiah said the clinic has been using a mix of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on what they had been allocated. She said that in recent weeks the clinic has been receiving a larger allocation of Johnson & Johnson than Moderna.

Hamden Mayor Curt B. Leng said on Twitter that the vaccination clinic at the Keefe Community Center had been canceled for Tuesday, with further plans for later in the week still being developed.

Deshpande said YNHH officials are working to shift scheduled appointments to the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, provided the hospital system can obtain the necessary supply, and provide information to those concerned by the development.

Were working on getting more data to counsel and support people, said Deshpande.

Deshpande said that those who had previously received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should be aware of the rarity of the adverse reports.

City Director of Emergency Management Rick Fontana said the pause will reduce the number of needed vaccinations where only one touch is required amid concerns that have been raised.

This is cautionary until further evaluation, and the hope of many just a short stoppage in the flow of this needed vaccine, he said.

In calling for the pause, federal officials cited six women, all of whom had received a dose 6 to 13 days earlier, who developed blood clots. Approximately 6.8 million people nationwide have received the vaccine, including about 97,000 in Connecticut.

Luck is on your side. It is very, very unlikely that you will have these issues happen to you, said Deshpande. (I)ts a really, really low chance.

Deshpande noted the reported cases of clotting had happened within the first two weeks after vaccination. Potential signs of an adverse reaction include weakness in the lower extremities and nausea, he said.

Deshpande said he had been surprised by the development; the hospital system learned about it from news reports. These sort of trends, given the scarcity of cases, are only really observable at the national level, he said.

The state Department of Public Health said in a statement Tuesday that none of the six cases had occurred in Connecticut.

Officials said they had recommended that any clinics scheduled to distribute the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be delayed or changed to offer an alternative vaccine, and that providers reach out to those with appointments to reschedule them.

Although the reported complications are extremely rare, we will await the results of the investigation before proceeding with further use of the J&J vaccine, officials said.

DPH said those that develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks of receiving the J&J medication should contact their healthcare provider.

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson noted it was aware of the cases, but said they had not been clearly linked to the vaccine.

We are aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with Covid-19 vaccines, said Johnson & Johnson in a statement. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen Covid-19 vaccine.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com; reporting from Nicholas Rodinone is included in this story
Nguyen Thi Sen shows off her home that protects her from flooding

For many years, Nguyen Thi Sen, 61, in Phu Cat district in the central province of Binh Dinh, had experienced water coming into her house during flooding season. I used to be scared when the flood season came, Sen said. I often had to put my belongings to higher ground and take my children and the cow to relatives or friends until the flooding passed.

However, the farmer was recently provided with a plot of land above the flood plain. She had her new house built and construction completed in time for her and her children to move in before flooding season started. I am no longer worried about it, she said with a smile.

Sen is among 29 families who have been relocated from the lowland to this higher area in Cat Nhon commune. The local government provided each family with 200 square metres of land and VND20 million ($870) to build a house.

This safe area is part of 9,000 hectares of land that has been cleared of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and landmines by the Korea-Vietnam Mine Action project. Leaders of the Vietnam National Mine Action Centre (VNMAC), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam have officially handed over the map with post-clearance land and documents to the local government and communities for socioeconomic development.

Both UNDP resident representative Caitlin Wiesen and KOICA country director Cho Han-Deog appreciated the dedication and effort of the survey and clearance teams in ensuring that the work was carried out safely, at high quality, and on schedule, despite challenges caused by the pandemic and the unfavourable weather conditions.

I am so moved to hand over the documents of surveyed and cleared land in Binh Dinh, one of most UXO-contaminated provinces in Vietnam, Wiesen said. The UNDP is honoured to partner with the VNMAC and KOICA to extend this work and release land for peoples development.

More than four decades after the war, 40 per cent (nearly 250,000ha) of Binh Dinhs land area remains contaminated with UXO and landmines. The Korea-Vietnam Mine Action Project was launched in March 2018 to strengthen the governance and management of national mine action activities, as well as to promote peoples safety and development in areas contaminated with UXO in Binh Dinh and Quang Binh provinces.

The project has provided a large area of clean and safe land for the provinces development and local peoples expansion of production, especially for the construction of social infrastructure such as healthcare centres and schools, said Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Vice Chairwoman of Phu Cat Peoples Committee.

The $20-million project is funded by the South Korean government, through KOICA, and implemented by the VNMAC and the UNDP. The project has so far surveyed nearly 17,000ha of land and cleared 9,000ha of confirmed hazardous areas in Quang Binh and Binh Dinh, providing more land for development projects in the central provinces.

A large database was created with 75,000 people with disabilities, of which 9,100 were caused by UXO and landmines. Meanwhile, nearly 90,000 local students and 363,000 other community members were educated about how to remain safe in areas with potential UXO contamination.

Other development partners are helping other central provinces such as Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. Hence, the Vietnamese government and the international community are gathering important data for evidence-based policy making in the mine action sector. The UNDP and KOICA said they will continue to offer opportunities for Vietnam to collect necessary data to measure progress, as well as enabling the government to set ambitious targets for this decade, and stand ready to support the Vietnamese government to achieve a shared ambition of eliminating the impact of UXO and landmines on the population of Vietnam by 2030, as well as putting a complete stop to civilian casualties from the remnants of war.

Placing mine action at the forefront of Vietnamese chairmanship of the UN Security Council (UNSC) during this month is a signal of global commitment, rooted in a conviction that the issue can be dealt with through strong regional and national institutions. It is a message which was highlighted during the Vietnam-led UNSC open debate on April 8 on mine action and sustaining peace, with stronger partnerships for better delivery.

The mine action sector in Vietnam is blessed with a strong and genuine partnership between government and development partners, Wiesen said. Strong sector coordination and collaboration are key to make Vietnam impact free by 2030. To the extent possible, the international community should commit to making the support predictable and long-term to align resources with government plans.

Wiesen added that the important progress made over the past few years is a clear indicator that it is indeed feasible for the mine action sector to think big and be ambitious, yet also have realistic strategies and plans to reach the finish line.

Last year, we celebrated the issuance of regulations on implementation and management of mine action. This year, we can applaud the continued efforts to update the national regulatory framework in line with International Mine Action Standards, she explained. This is the kind of steady improvement of the sector makes it possible to set even more ambitious goals.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021

In early 1971, Garrison filed a response, in U.S. District Court, to Clay Shaw's complaint regarding the upcoming perjury charges. He listed a variety of witnesses that would support "the probability of Shaw's association on some occasions with Ferrie, on some occasions with Oswald, and on some occasion with both parties at the same time."

One witness on the list was Herbert Wagner, a friend of David Ferrie's.

New Orleans States-Item, April 24, 1961

Here is Wagner's statement to the D.A.'s office from December 1967:

Point #1 reads: "A CPT. VON MAYER who lived at 6942 Canal Boulevard, as a personal friend."

The last sentence reads "This is the only loan ARCACHA made with me. At that time I did see a United States government Diplomatic I.D. card with his picture and so forth on it. I verified his employment by calling..."

The second to last paragraph ends "I told him, "How in the hell can you make money, DAVE. Just tell me that." And he said, "We're taking people in and out of Cuba at nighttime." I didn't want any part of it."

A couple of things worth noting. Wagner clearly did not identify Clay Shaw. Had he been a witness at a Shaw perjury trial, and had the defense known about this memo, his value as a witness would have been zero.

Wagner had loaned money to Ferrie and was very patient with repayment. He even once refinanced the loan in a way to put money into Ferrie's pocket, even though it seemed clear that Ferrie did not have the resources to pay him back.

Ferrie also bragged to Wagner about some of his activities. It is doubtful that he flew to Cuba. Ferrie was asked about flying to Cuba in his first interview with the D,A.'s office on December 15, 1966 :

Here is what Stephen Roy (aka Blackburst) wrote on an internet forum about Ferrie flying to Cuba:

"I have spent many years examining the life of David Ferrie and his role in the New Orleans milieu. I have conducted numerous interviews with primary sources and obtained or read many thousands of pages of documents relating to these matters.

Ferrie's period of activity with the Cubans was very brief, beginning in late 1960 and abruptly ending in the fall of 1961 after his morals arrests. Throughout most of this period, his whereabouts are established by his employment and other records. He had very little opportunity to fly any missions."

Roy also added:

"Having looked very closely into the career of David Ferrie, while I cannot rule out the possibility that he may have made such flights at some juncture, I make the following observations:

1) Prior to September 1961, Ferrie was flying for Eastern Air Lines three times a week from New Orleans to Houston and other Texas cities, including two overnighters. There would not have been a great deal of opportunity for him to have made such flights from Florida. (And the flight log on his Stinson contains no indication of any such flights.)

2) Prior to April 1961, Ferrie was not fully accepted as an active participant by the anti-Castro Cubans.

3) After his August 1961 morals arrests, Ferrie was soon ostracized by the Cubans. Further, his Stinson soon entered a long period of inactivity.

Ferrie denied ever going to Cuba. However, he did tell a friend about one sojourn into Cuba in August 1960, which he said was for the CIA. He said he was wounded in the process, but his friends doubted this.

So the assertion that Ferrie made "flights" or extensive flights into Cuba is not strongly supported by the evidence."

Conspiracy theorists also make another claim from the Wagner memo above.

"The capper to it all is that Litwin writes that Ferries anti-Castro activities ended in 1961, when, in fact, Ferrie admitted he was involved with Operation Mongoose, which began in 1962. (NODA Interview with Herbert Wagner 12/6/67)"

But, the Wagner memo above references an Operation Mosquito, which DiEugenio believes is really Operation Mongoose. But Wagner definately heard mosquito - he even made a joke about it. Furthermore, Operation Mongoose took place in 1962 which is after Ferrie left his Cuban activities to focus on his problems with Eastern Airlines, and a morals charge. As mentioned above, Ferrie was ostracized by the Cubans after his August 1961 morals arrest.

New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 26, 1961

Stephen Roy writes in his unpublished manuscript, Perfect Villain: David Ferrie and the JFK Mystery:

While the sources on Ferrie's anti-Castro activities from, at the earliest, summer 1959 to about October 1961 are many, detailed, mutually corroborative and reliable, there are no reliable sources for significant anti-Castro activities on his part after October 1961. This is an important point missed in most studies of Ferrie's life and career. The single thread of Al Landry's runaway, pulled by New Orleans area police, led to the virtual collapse of Ferrie's life: his job, his Falcon [CAP] group, his position in the anti-Castro group and his standing in the community. While he would have loved to have continued on in the fight against Castro, nobody would have him. What scattered reports there are of anti-Castro activities by Ferrie in 1962 and 1963, such as running training camps, all come from sources of questionable reliability and are impossible to corroborate. Ferrie had other battles to fight."

If you want to claim Ferrie was associated with Operation Mongoose, well, the Herbert Wagner's statement is not sufficient to prove the point.
"We are proud to work with 00 Wines to help ensure every bottle of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir arrive from the winery to your doorstep in a temperature-controlled container that preserves each bottle as if it never left the winery in the first place," said Liviri General Manager Chuck Kukic. "It's appropriate that we are announcing this partnership as Earth Day approaches. It is a special day for Liviri, as we launched Vino just over one year ago and will continue to make a ripple in the shipping industry to drive the circular mindset for a more sustainable future."

Liviri Vino is a premium, reusable and protective shipping solution for fine wine and alcohol in four- and six-bottle configurations. Precision padding keeps bottles secure and separated while reusable coolant inserts and industry-leading insulation provide a safe, temperature-stable environment inside the box to reduce weather shipment holds. A critically reviewed lifecycle assessment has determined that Vino is environmentally preferable to the leading single-use wine shipping solution.1 For 00 Wines, an eye on sustainability is vitally important.

Proprietor Kathryn Hermann explains 00 Wines' excitement to go green with this exciting new initiative. "As a sustainable alternative to conventional cardboard shipping to boxes, tape, and other products long used for shipping wine, we are trusting Liviri to safely protect our luxury wines as they depart from Oregon to ship all around the world."

From producing their first Oregon vintage in 2013 as a pioneering project with five barrels of pinot noir in their backyard, 00 Wines has become a global luxury brand with wine projects in the Willamette Valley, Burgundy, and Champagne. With the brands reputation growing quickly, the need for sustainable shipping has become a top priority for the winery.

Liviri Vino is one of a growing number of sustainable transport solutions including Liviri Fresh and Liviri Sprint. Liviri Fresh is a durable, insulated, reusable shipping container sized perfectly for meal kits and perishables like meat, seafood, produce, juices and more. Liviri Sprint is designed for in-store "click and collect" pickup and to handle the rigors of last-mile home delivery. Learn more at liviri.com.

About Liviri:

Liviri is here to do what cardboard can't. Our family of reusable, thermally protective containers provide durable, sustainable and reliable transport solutions for everything from shipping frozen meats store-to-door to staging chilled groceries for pickup to sending fine wine in any season. Our square box with a circular mindset carries scalable, cost-effective results across the cold chain.

LIVIRI  Deliver Different

About 00 Wines:

00 Wines "Double Zero" is an ultra-luxury winery producing Grand Cru Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Oregon, Burgundy, and Champagne. With a singular focus on complex grand cru wines, the multi-national winery is creating an entirely new luxury category in Oregon and beyond. Blending New World with Old World, French and American teams, sun cycles and moon cycles, the hand and the land, the producer and the consumer, 00 Wines brings a perfect harmony of binary forces to create an unparalleled expression from vine to glass. Helmed by Proprietors Chris and Kathryn Hermann, 00 Wines is a family-operated winery named after the number of potential in numerology 0. For more information, visit www.00wines.com.

Notes:

2020 Otter Products, LLC. All rights reserved. The Liviri name and Liviri trademarks are the property of Otter Products, LLC, registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Liviri
David Cameron has many qualities: he is quite extraordinarily bright, was an exceptional chair of meetings, fought bravely for issues in which he believed such as gay marriage, and helped rebuild the country after the global financial crisis of 200809.

But he could be cavalier in his words, as when he blurted out the Queen's sentiments after the Scottish referendum result ('she purred down the line'); could be casual and cliquey in his appointments, and was too ready to be taken in by plausible figures who flattered him.

He never really understood that in politics a prime minister cannot have personal friends: for example, he assumed that his friendship with Michael Gove would be more important than Gove's beliefs on the EU, and so he felt betrayed by him  and still feels betrayed  when Gove came out in favour of Brexit.

Then London Mayor Boris Johnson and Prime Minister David Cameron speak at a Conservative party election rally in Hendon in north London on May 5, 2015

Humiliation

Cameron's propensity to be naive was checked by the No 10 machine when he was PM. Outside, he has been operating in a no man's land with an apparent recklessness that looks to cast a long shadow over his reputation.

The Government announcement yesterday of an independent review into the conduct of Cameron's efforts to lobby ministers on behalf of Greensill Capital, the collapsed finance company he advised and in which he held significant share options, will come as a bitter blow.

Sir Anthony Seldon, the political historian and commentator

Not the least of his discomfort will be the knowledge that the review was instigated by Boris Johnson  who was ultimately responsible for Cameron's departure from Downing Street in the wake of the EU referendum in June 2016.

For Cameron, as for his family and friends, it is humiliation piled upon humiliation.

He is the figure who, after the scandal of parliamentary expenses in 2008-09, promised the nation that as PM he was going to clean up politics once and for all. And when he decided to quit as an MP, he told the world that he was going to be committed to good causes, and conduct his life in an exemplary way. I'm sure that he meant it when he uttered those high hopes. But how miserably he has failed to realise the expectations that his words aroused.

Prime ministers have a duty when they are in power to conduct themselves in a way that is beyond reproach. Holding the top office is an enormous honour. Only 53 men and two women have served as PM since the office was created 300 years ago this month.

The most successful holders of the office acted with the highest moral tone: I'm thinking of figures such as William Gladstone, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher.

Former British Prime Minister David Cameron arrives at the Houses of Parliament in London on September 5, 2016

Those who brought discredit to the office, such as Lord Melbourne, who fawned on the young Queen Victoria and was swept up in a series of scandals, and Anthony Eden, who dragged the country into the disastrous Suez War in 1956 and then lied to the House of Commons, were the failures.

Prime ministers equally have a duty to behave impeccably when they leave office. They have an unrivalled opportunity to make an impact for good, using the prestige of their office, their experiences and contacts for the public benefit.

Even if he is ultimately cleared, Cameron's reported lobbying of four senior Tory ministers  including texts, emails and 'private drinks'  in an attempt to facilitate Greensill's access to a government Covid loan scheme, has brought the office into disrepute.

How still to be of service to one's country is a question that almost every retiring prime minister must have asked themselves (except for the seven who had the misfortune to die in office). And for modern former PMs it is a particular conundrum. Today, it seems impossible that a prime minister might return to ministerial office. Not so during the 19th century. Between 1804 and 1895, 11 former PMs returned to No 10 including Pitt the Younger, Wellington, Peel, Disraeli and Gladstone.

Back then, political lives were long: 24 years separated the beginning of William Gladstone's first term in 1868 with the beginning of his fourth in 1892 when he was 82. This is the equivalent of David Cameron or Gordon Brown becoming PM again during the 2030s.

Yet it is beyond imagination for Cameron or any other modern PM to return to a more junior role in government after No 10. Boris Johnson might have a stronger government if Cameron or Theresa May were offered a post but it isn't going to happen.

Tony Blair has enriched himself considerably with consultancy work, on occasion for governments of questionable integrity. Pictured: Tony Blair inside Number 10 Downing Street in 2000

Enriched

William Hague, the former Conservative Party leader, served under Cameron as Foreign Secretary between 2010 and 2014, but they're not made like him any more.

Britain now has as many former PMs alive as at any point in the past 300 years. Some have chosen to champion favoured causes, or make money giving speeches or as private-sector advisers: Thatcher did so (for tobacco giant Philip Morris), as did John Major (U.S investment firm, the Carlyle Group), and Cameron (for Greensill).

Tony Blair has enriched himself considerably with consultancy work, on occasion for governments of questionable integrity. In contrast, Gordon Brown has undertaken consultancy work for asset managers Pimco and the fees go to his charitable foundation.

None of these appointments has succeeded in bringing sustained honour to their former office and country. So are we placing our former PMs in an impossible position where, increasingly still of working age (David Cameron was 49 when he left No 10), they not unreasonably seek to make money that they were unable to make while in politics?

Part of the problem is that the conventions governing their conduct are now absurdly weak. Former PMs are constrained by two documents that apply to other former ministers; the Ministerial Code and the Business Appointment Rules for Former Ministers.

They are prohibited from lobbying appointments for two years. Cabinet Ministers are expected to wait for three months before taking up a new (non-lobbying) appointment or employment. And they are required to seek advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments.

Damage

This is not good enough. No one becomes prime minister unless they are deeply ambitious. We are being naive if we expect that ambition to die when they leave Downing Street. They will never sit on their hands for the rest of their lives. Even Churchill was not above seeking favours from some fairly shady characters after he stood down in 1955.

We need a much tighter post-ministerial code of conduct specifically for former PMs. It must make clear that they have a duty to serve the nation by using their accumulated expertise in positive fashion for the rest of their working lives.

There is no reason why former PMs should not be able to earn a good living, but leverage of contacts made in government to enrich themselves or others must not be tolerated when they are out of office. And if that deters some from choosing to seek the highest office in the first place, so be it.

Codes of behaviour and transparency help us all to perform and aspire to be better people. A new code needs to be put in place this year to limit further damage to the public's trust in politicians and to the image of Britain abroad. It is the very least we can expect.
A young woman who had to drop out of college to help support her family during the pandemic has found financial success as a day trader  and says that 'the stock market completely changed my life in a year.'

Kiersten Crum, 20, from Lawrence, Kansas, was attending the University of Kansas School of Business in 2020 when COVID-19 swept the US, sending her back home to stay with her family  who were suddenly struggling to pay bills after her dad's business was shut down amid the pandemic.

Kiersten began working two jobs, one at a grocery store and one a bar, but she was soon making more money than she expected by patiently playing the stock market.

Success story: Kiersten Crum from Lawrence, Kansas says that 'the stock market completely changed my life in a year'

When life gives you lemons: After leaving college during the pandemic, she began playing the stock market to help support her family

Impressive! She grew her initial $500 to over $50,000

'A year ago, COVID hit, [and I] had to move out of school,' she explained in a viral TikTok video.

'My dad's business had just been shut down because of it, so I started working at a grocery store. I was then responsible for family bills, so I started working another job at night,' she went on.

Kiersten would start her day at 5 a.m. as a grocery store manager, then head over to her second job at a bar.

It was a shock to go from never needing to work much to 'being the one paying family bills,' she said.

Soon, she realized she had no money to continue going to school  and not much time to dedicate to classes, either.

So despite her 3.9 GPA and just two years of college behind her, Kiersten decided to drop out.

Working: After the pandemic caused her dad's business to close, Kiersten took jobs at a grocery store and a bar to help pay family bills

Struggles: With no money or time for classes, she soon made the decision to drop out of college

Plan B: But she also started playing the stock market, earning money bit by bit

'Some of my friends made me go to an investment club meeting a year ago,' she said. 'Ever since then, I've had such a passion for the markets'

Nice! She watched as her bank account grow, and was thrilled when she was able to treat her dad to something nice

Though she plans to go back, she also came up with a Plan B: In addition to her two jobs, she started playing the stock market.

'Some of my friends made me go to an investment club meeting a year ago,' she said. 'Ever since then, I've had such a passion for the markets.'

'The moment COVID hit and I saw the market crash, I thought, this is my perfect opportunity to get started.'

She began small, and over time built up quiet a bit of cash.

'I just started in the stock market with $500,' she said. At first, 'I made pennies, dollars. That was my first real win.'

She watched as her bank account grow, little by little, topping $1,000, then $4,000, then $11,000.

'I realized I was getting good at this. I became obsessed with the stock market,' she said

Expertise: Now, Kiersten goes by @stonk.queen on social media, where she shares peeks into her life as a self-employed day trader inside her aqua-painted bedroom

Helpful: She also shares plenty of tips on TikTok and Discord, offering explanations on topics like short selling and candlesticks as well as names of stocks she's keeping an eye on

'I ended up contributing about ten grand into the market. Slowly and slowly, it kept going up,' she said.

'I realized I was getting good at this. I became obsessed with the stock market,' she went on.

Eventually, she hit $50,000, and used the cash to treat her dad.

Now, Kiersten goes by @stonk.queen on social media, where she shares peeks into her life as a self-employed day trader inside her aqua-painted bedroom.

She also shares plenty of tips on TikTok and Discord, offering explanations on topics like short selling and candlesticks as well as names of stocks she's keeping an eye on.

'You're not gonna get rich overnight doing this, and the market's not always gonna be nice to you,' she warns

How to do it: She also shared a video explaining how others can get started

Looking back: Kiersten was studying at the University of Kansas when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and forced her to drop out of college

'You're not gonna get rich overnight doing this, and the market's not always gonna be nice to you,' she warns.

'But once you figure out how to use it, the possibilities could be endless,' she adds.

She recommends that people who want to try trading stocks on their own start by opening a brokerage account with firms like Fidelity, E-trade, Charles Schwab, Webull, and TD Ameritrade.

Then, she says, take five to ten books on trading out at the library. Make a list of all the terms you don't understand, and use it as a guide for what you have to teach yourself about, using those books or YouTube videos.

Networking with other people who are investing can help, too.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to Ukraine Juris Poikans, Ukrinform reports with reference to the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.

During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of investment protection and return of assets, as well as ways to intensify cooperation between the relevant authorities of both countries.

"Protecting investors' rights is one of the most important tasks for us today, and we already have a lot of successful cases in this area. Our goal is to prevent illegal pressure on business due to criminal prosecution and launch those proceedings where investors are victims. Compliance with the law and the rule of law is the best signal for our international partners that they can cooperate with Ukraine, the Prosecutor General said.

Venediktova also stressed the urgent need to develop an effective roadmap for the return to Ukraine of assets illegally appropriated by former high-ranking officials and their associates.

In turn, the Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia assured of providing continuous support to Ukraine at all levels. He offered assistance in establishing closer ties and constructive cooperation between the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office of Latvia.

As Ukrinform reported, Latvia supports the provision of a NATO Membership Action Plan to Ukraine amid the escalation of the situation by Russia.

iy
April 13, 1956

Diesel buses coming to county

It was revealed at a meeting at Scranton City Hall on April 13, 1956, that the Scranton Transit Co. was negotiating for the purchase of 30 brand new diesel buses to replace the companys gasoline-powered buses.

Harry Weinberg, the court-appointed receiver of the Scranton Transit Co., was the one handling the diesel bus purchase. He reported at the meeting he was working with a bus manufacturer in Detroit to supply the buses. The buses would each cost $20,000 and had room for 45 passengers.

Scranton Mayor James Hanlon, who was also in attendance at the meeting, said he was pleased with the transit companys plans and it could help give the community an economic lift. But he also cautioned Weinberg the purchase of the new buses would need to be approved by the Lackawanna County Court.

If the purchase was approved by the court, the first 15 buses would be delivered to Scranton on July 1 and the remaining buses would be delivered sometime in either September or October.

City native pens waltz for princess

Ned Washington, Scranton native and award-winning composer, penned a new waltz along with his songwriting partner Dmitri Tiomkin to celebrate the upcoming wedding of actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

The song was titled The Prince and the Princess Waltz.

Russ Morgan, Scranton native and big band leader, recorded the song for Washington and Tiomkin.

Washington then had the recording sent by special courier to Kelly in Monaco.

The actress and her prince were scheduled to be married in a civil ceremony on April 18. The following day, they would have a church wedding in the Monaco Cathedral in Monte Carlo.

Whats on sale at the Globe Store?

First communion or confirmation suits for boys were $9.95, mens all-wool suits were priced between $29 to $49, Betty Hartfords Dacron chiffon dresses were $12.95, womens spring coats were $29, glamorous womens hats were $4.88 and womens Car Hopper coats for $10.95.

Brian Fulton, library manager, oversees The Times-Tribunes expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history. Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9140.
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The main N80 Stradbally road into Portlaoise is about to be partially closed off, for the next four months, for a huge 2 million reconstruction job.

The roadworks may add to the queues of school traffic, starting on the week that thousands of children return to school nearby on the Portlaoise Southern Circular Route, where traffic will be diverted.

Laois County Council has today advised the public that this Thursday April 15 the works will start on the N80 Ballymacken Road Reconstruction Scheme.

"The Scheme involves the reconstruction and resurfacing of approximately 4km of the N80 National Secondary Road, from St. Peter & Pauls Church, Portlaoise Town to the Ballymacken Industrial Estate. The project is funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland," they say.

The job is expected to take about 15 weeks, bringing it up to the end of July. The work will start at 7am and end at 7pm each day.

"Kilsaran Road Surfacing and Contracting are the main contractors and the works will take approximately 15 weeks to complete. The works will be undertaken in phases and carried out between the hours of 7:00am  7.00pm."

They say that one way traffic lane will be aimed for, with traffic diversions around the town.

"Various temporary traffic management arrangements will be in place for the duration of the works with a particular focus on local, one-way traffic systems. In general outbound vehicular traffic will continue to use the N80 whereas inbound traffic will be diverted via the Portlaoise Southern Circular Road and other suitable routes. As works progress interim traffic management plans will be available on the Laois County Council website. Alternative routes will be fully sign posted.

"Local access will be retained but there may be interim interruptions," Laois County Council warns.

Pedestrians will be able to walk along the road.
COVID-19 vaccines are still limited in other states and areas in the country, but this problem can be solved as teens from California created the Twitter bot called "CovaxSF" to secure one via social media. The technology was created to help these teenagers' parents to get an appointment but has evolved into something that can help others too.

Initially, it was only the next-generation consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X that were available via a Twitter and Discord bot that looks for stocks and helps a person secure a unit for purchase and gaming. The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines late last year has pushed the tech to shift to look for the immunization's availability as it remains limited to the public.

However, it would not be that much of a problem as a virtual bot via Twitter can secure a vaccine appointment for everyone who needs it, and it is thanks to teenagers that have made it for their parents to secure one. Alternatively, there is a company that does the same feature that scans web pages to look for any stock changes, and that is via the VisualPing platform.

Read Also: Sony Direct PS5 Restock: Fastest Way to Get Console--- How to Turn-On Notifications to Receive Updates

CovaxSF COVID-19 Vaccine Twitter Bot

According to CNet, Teenagers Sam Mendelson and Daniel Stoiber created the Twitter bot to help their parents secure a COVID-19 vaccine appointment which was still hard to come by in the state of California. After securing one, the teenagers have shared their resources and technology with the public in the form of a Twitter bot for alerts and updates.

The Twitter bot is focused on California's MyTurn vaccination drive that has launched for the citizens of the state, which has been seen to run out of stocks and shots of the COVID-19 vaccine. The website automatically pins one's location and finds a vaccination clinic or facility nearby for stocks. However, the website was initially unable to provide updates due to shortage, which is why the bot was created.

Like most website change monitoring features, the CovaxSF Twitter bot does the same and performs a similar feat, as it inspects the website and determines any developments, especially if availability comes back. This is beneficial for people who are more inclined to use the Twitter application over the website-based monitoring applications.

How to Use CovaxSF Twitter Bot to Get Notifications

Like the Twitter and Discord Bots for the PlayStation 5, users need to have a Twitter account to use CovaxSF's features and functions to get notified. After creating an account, users need to follow the account of CovaxSF (@CovaxSF) and press the bell icon to toggle the tweet notifications for alerts and first notice on changes or announcements for the company.

To get notified when appointments are available, follow @CovaxSF, click the bell, and select All Tweets.



If you have questions or want to contact us, check out our FAQ at https://t.co/eYJm9bePsK  COVID Vaccines SF (@CovaxSF) April 7, 2021

Related Article: Elon Musk COVID-19 Vaccine: Prefers J&J, BioNtech, Moderna, Suggests EpiPen for Allergic Reaction

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Isaiah Alonzo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
As many as 375 local and state elected officials are calling on the Biden Administration to institute a ban on new oil and gas drilling permits on federal lands and in federal waters and stop energy infrastructure for fossil fuels.

In the first week in office, President Joe Biden paused in January new oil and natural gas leases pending completion of a review for potential changes to the regulations.

The local elected officials now want the federal government to play its role in averting a climate crisis and sent a letter to President Biden, as reported by The Hill.

We can ban fracking in the City of Denver, but if we dont do this at a national and international scale, we will continue to destroy our habitability on our planet, Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds, one of the signatories to the letter, said in a statement carried by The Hill.

The 375 local and state officials also want the Biden Administration to end subsidies to the fossil fuel industry and revoke permits for drilling on sites that are less than 2,500 feet away from homes and schools.

The officials are also calling on the federal government to support a just transition to clean energy for workers and communities impacted by fossil fuels.

Republican-leaning states, for their part, sued the Administration last month for its decision to impose a moratorium on new oil lease permits. Major oil-producing states, including Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Alaska filed a joint lawsuit, while Wyoming filed a separate suit.

The $2-trillion infrastructure and tax plan of President Biden proposes eliminating tax preferences and implicit subsidies for fossil fuels that would boost government receipts by more than $35 billion over the next decade, the U.S. Treasury said last week. Tax preferences for oil, gas, and coal producers undermine the fight against climate change, the Treasury said.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Read From Oilprice.com:
President Joe Biden signed an international deal with the governments of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras to stop the migrants from reaching the U.S. The spike of migrants arriving at the Southern Border is one of the challenges that the young Biden administration faces. The uptick of migrants in March is so far the highest number of monthly apprehensions.

Biden Signs An International Deal

According to a recently published article in The Guardian, Biden signed an international deal with the governments of Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras to stop massive numbers of migrants arriving at the Southern Border.

The agreement comes after a record high of unaccompanied children of migrants arrived at the Southern border and after the largest number of Border Patrol apprehensions with around 170,000 since 2001.

Biden Officials Order GOP Senator to Delete Migrant Photos Crammed in like Sardines

Deployment of Military Troops

Part of their agreement is the deployment of military troops. According to a published article in the Associated Press, the White House Press Secretary said Mexico would maintain its deployment of 10,000 troops.

Meanwhile, Guatemala sent 1,500 police and military troops to the Southern Border, while Honduras contributed 7,000 troops. They aim to disperse massive numbers of migrants who will attempt to reach the border.

Guatemala will make sure also that they can stop any attempts of migrants in reaching the Southern Border. They will set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through the country, according to an article published by PBS.

Pentagon Approves to House Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Its Military Base

The White House Released a Statement

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, "the objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey and make crossing the borders more difficult." She also added that the agreement was a product of a series of bilateral agreements between the U.S. and Central American nations' governments.

Migrants from Central America and Mexico are fleeing rampant violence, organized crime, and hunger brought about by crop failure and the effects of climate change. The right to seek asylum is protected by foreign and U.S. law.

The spike of migrants, most especially the unaccompanied children, comes after President Biden revoked most of the immigration policies of former President Donald Trump. He also stopped the construction and funding of border walls.

Migrants Increased During Biden's Term

Numbers increased dramatically during Trump's final year in office but continued under Biden, who immediately reversed much of his predecessor's policies, including requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for court hearings in the United States.

Previously militarized efforts to restrict migration in the area have not limited the number of people moving north through Mexico. Instead, it pushed refugees to take riskier paths through rural areas, exposing them to an increased risk of kidnapping and death.

Mexicans made up the lion's share of those seen by the U.S. Border Patrol, and almost all were single adults. Honduran and Guatemalan arrivals were second and third, respectively, and more than half of those were families or children traveling alone.

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
[April 13, 2021] Textron Aviation's Special Edition 75th Anniversary Beechcraft Bonanza Blends Modern Technology With Retro Styling

Textron Aviation has turned to an aviation legend and founding member of the Beechcraft brand to commemorate a milestone for one of its most iconic aircraft. The company today announced a special edition 75th anniversary option for its Beechcraft Bonanza G36 single-engine piston aircraft, distinguished by its custom interior and paint scheme inspired by Olive Ann Beech's signature blue color. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005705/en/ The special edition 75th anniversary option for the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 single-engine piston aircraft is distinguished by its custom interior and paint scheme inspired by Olive Ann Beech's signature blue color. (Photo: Business Wire) The Beechcraft Bonanza G36 is designed and manufactured by Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company. The order book is open for the limited-edition model that will deliver in 2022 - the 75th year since it first entered the market for the longest continuously produced aircraft in history. The Beechcraft Bonanza continues to be a cornerstone of the company's leadership in the piston market. "The formula for the Beechcraft Bonanza's longevity involves an ageless style and utility, a passionate legion of owners and aspiring owners, and a seven-decade commitment by company engineers to continuously refine and update features to meet customer, technology, regulatory and environmental needs," said Lannie O'Bannion, senior vice president, Global Sales & Flight Operations. "We know Walter and Olive Ann Beech would be proud of where we've taken their stylish and powerful piston with today's Bonanza G36." More than 18,000 Bonanza aircraft have entered the market since deliveries began, 15 years after Walter and Olive Ann started Beech Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas. "The retro scheme of our 75th anniversary special edition Bonanza is a nod to Mrs. Beech's strength, vision, pioneering leadership and her well-dcumented style," O'Bannion said. "The interior color combination is inspired by trends from the 1950s, when Mrs. Beech assumed leadership of the company."



Olive Ann became president in 1950 upon Walter's death, making her the first woman to head a major aircraft company. Her legendary career spanned 50 years and by the time she retired in 1982, she'd played key roles in growing the company from 10 to 10,000 employees and made an impact on the aviation industry in numerous ways. The 75th anniversary special edition Beechcraft Bonanza G36 is inspired by "Mrs. Beech Blue," a custom color Olive Ann adopted on the advice of fashion designer Oleg Cassini. The color became her brand and could be found on everything from her dress suits and office furnishings to her automobile's paint and personal aircraft interiors.

The commemorative Bonanza G36 stylishly incorporates the color on the exterior paint scheme and the interior's window panels, carpet and accents. The seat upholstery lines and sidewall /table contours add a sporty, modern interest to the retro color palette. Other details include a "Bubble B" logo registered in 1954 on the carpet entry and her signature used as a metal piece above the cabin table and as an exterior graphic below the pilot window. About the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 The six-seat Beechcraft Bonanza G36 piston aircraft has a cabin almost a third larger than its nearest competitor. Powered by a 300-horsepower Continental IO-550-B engine and a three-blade constant-speed propeller, the aircraft has a maximum cruise speed of 176 knots, a maximum range of more than 920 nautical miles, a 1,060-pound maximum payload and an 18,500-foot service ceiling. Among the recent upgrades taking the Bonanza G36 to new heights is Garmin's (News - Alert) G1000 NXI next-generation integrated flight deck. The aircraft's spacious interior can quickly be arranged into various configurations, making it a great multi-tasker for recreational pilots, as well as business owners. About Textron Aviation We inspire the journey of flight. For more than 90 years, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has empowered our collective talent across the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker brands to design and deliver the best aviation experience for our customers. With a range that includes everything from business jets, turboprops, and high-performance pistons, to special mission, military trainer and defense products, Textron Aviation has the most versatile and comprehensive aviation product portfolio in the world and a workforce that has produced more than half of all general aviation aircraft worldwide. Customers in more than 170 countries rely on our legendary performance, reliability and versatility, along with our trusted global customer service network, for affordable and flexible flight. For more information, visit www.txtav.com | www.defense.txtav.com | www.scorpionjet.com. About Textron Inc. Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training. For more information, visit: www.textron.com Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005705/en/

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New Delhi, April 13 : The BJP is launching a specially designed campaign focusing on 40 seats spread across the greater Kolkata region, also called the presidency area, to tell voters about its vision for the area specifically and the state in general. The party is also approaching professionals to seek their support.

According to a West Bengal BJP leader, the campaign is designed to highlight the unique features of an urban area in light of the several governance and infrastructure related issues facing the city of Kolkata. The party will be starting a massive public outreach campaign in and around Kolkata in which the saffron party will reach out to professionals like doctors, lawyers and others.

"Various national and state leaders of the party will reach out to the plethora of communities residing in Kolkata to share with them the BJP's vision for Kolkata specifically and the state in general. In order to effectively reach out to the general public and keeping in mind the convenience of the people, this campaign will take place in the evening in easy to access areas such as housing societies and community centres, among others," a party leader said. BJP candidate from Nandigram Suvendu Adhikari and West Bengal unit co-incharge Amit Malviya held an interactive meeting with doctors.

"Addressed a gathering of doctors in Kolkata along with Adhikari. Urged them to contribute two hours per day for the next 15 days to secure Bengal's future. Doctors have an important role in the society and now is the time for them to step up and go beyond their professional work," Malviya tweeted after meeting the doctors.

In the run up to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP formed a separate group "Friends of BJP" to reach out to youth and professionals. The group was entrusted with the responsibility to engage the youth with the political process.

The group "Friends of BJP", a brainchild of Union Minister Piyush Goel, then party treasurer and member of Rajya Sabha, had worked actively in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. In 2014, the group was revived and a similar campaign launched as part of the party's 'Mission 272+' campaign. In the 2019 general elections, "Volunteers and professionals who had participated in the activities were not from the BJP but leaned towards the BJP," a party leader said.

The BJP leaders will explain to voters and professionals about the party's vision for Kolkata. "It is our vision to make Kolkata the engine of development of the state and all of Eastern India. We will bring 'Ashol Poriborton' to Kolkata's cityscape by building world class infrastructure, boosting its economy, ensuring cleanliness and providing a safe environment to its residents. We will lead Kolkata towards a new era by making it the city of the future and a fitting capital of Sonar Bangla," the leader said.

The saffron party believes that Kolkata is the cultural capital of India and has always led the way in the advancement of literature, spirituality, music and cinema. "Right from the age of Bengali renaissance, which started in Kolkata, the city has witnessed glorious changes that have uplifted the country as well. From social reforms such as abolition of the Sati Pratha, to the first steps towards women empowerment that legalised widow remarriage and the formation of the Indian National Army that fought for India's independence, Kolkata has been the home ground for many significant movements in India's history," another BJP leader said.

A senior party leader said that, however, due to the neglect by the state governments of the past, the city and its people have been facing many issues on multiple fronts such as crumbling infrastructure, inadequate healthcare facilities, lack of economic growth and growing concerns around safety of women, among others.
Opinion Article

12 April 2021

In the last decade, India has emerged as one of the leading medical tourism destinations globally. The presence of several high-quality, well-equipped healthcare facilities along with a strong base of highly skilled and specialized English-speaking medical professionals, offering world-class treatments at much more affordable costs compared to developed nations are some of the reasons for the growth of this segment in India. Reports indicate that medical treatments and travel in India cost up to 50% less than that in developed western countries. India has also been successful at attracting medical tourists from other developing nations, mainly from Asia and Africa, looking for specialized treatments that may not be easily available in their home countries.

Looking at the potential in this segment, the government introduced e-medical visa in 2014, which along with the other competitive advantages mentioned earlier have provided a significant boost to this segment. The government also set up facilitation counters at major airports for medical travellers and launched a portal to provide comprehensive information on the healthcare facilities in the country. As a result, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) on medical visa to India has grown at a notable CAGR of over 30% during 2014-19 and accounted for 6.4% of the total FTAs in the country in 2019. The medical tourism segment was expected to reach US$9 bn in 2020 as per a report by FICCI, however, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related travel restrictions became temporary roadblocks in its growth story. The segment has been witnessing green shoots in the last few months with easing travel restrictions and creation of air bubbles, with a number of medical travelers, especially those coming in for critical treatments, gradually picking up.

The current pandemic is an inflection point for the medical tourism segment in India, giving the country an opportunity to become a global medical tourism hub as soon as international travel restrictions are eased considerably. During the last one year, India has been lauded for handling the COVID crisis in a much better way compared to other countries, especially due to the lower COVID-mortality rate in the country. India has also been one of the few countries to manufacture its own COVID vaccination, which is being used to inoculate not only Indians but also people in other countries, clearly showcasing the country's scientific prowess and capabilities. The government is also increasing its spending on healthcare to improve the healthcare infrastructure in the country. These initiatives will help increase the credibility of the Indian healthcare sector in the eyes of medical travellers going forward. Moreover, India continues to be one of the most affordable destinations for medical treatments globally, which will continue to be an advantage in the post-COVID world.

India competes with other Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia that offer similar advantages to medical travellers. It is, therefore, imperative to develop effective marketing campaigns to create awareness and communicate the COVID safety measures being implemented at various facilities. This will showcase the country as a 'safe' global medical tourism destination and help rebuild traveller confidence. The campaigns should not only highlight the various healthcare facilities & services offered at a much more reasonable cost, but also promote India's strength in alternate medicine and practices such as Ayurveda, Naturopathy and Yoga which can help patients recuperate after their treatment. India has 37 JCI and 767 NABH accredited hospitals and it is important to ensure that all these facilities meet the required quality standards. Public-private partnerships to improve the healthcare infrastructure in the country can go a long way in leveraging the full potential of medical tourism in the country.
Facing backlash for the plethora of COVID-19 violations, Uttarakhand CM Tirath Singh Rawat on Tuesday, requested all devotees to wear masks and adhere to all social distancing guidelines ahead of the 'Third Snan'. Visuals from Haridwar's Har Ki Pauri ghat for Shahi Snan or royal bath on Monday showed thousands flock the ghat mask-less, with all social distancing going for a toss. Moreover, twenty-six people tested positive in the 9,678 random COVID tests conducted in the mela area while 408 fresh cases were reported on Monday across Haridwar.

CM urges people to adhere to COVID guidelines ahead of Shahi Snan

Chief Minister has requested all the devotees coming for the third 'Shahi Snan' at Haridwar Kumbh Mela to follow COVID19 guidelines of wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and sanitising hands: Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Office  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2021

Kumbh Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal said that they are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour but it is difficult to ensure social distancing at ghats. The IG added that a stampede-like situation may arise if they would try to enforce social distancing. Former King of Nepal Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah too visited Haridwar and took a bath in the river. The first bath was held on March 11 on the occasion of Mahashivratri, while the second will be held on April 12 and on April 14, the third royal bath will be taken by the 13 Akhadas

"Common devotees will be allowed to bathe in Bramha Kund until 7 am, after which no one will be allowed because the area will be reserved for the Akhadas. The royal bath will be open until the evening. However, other devotees are permitted to take holy dip on other ghats," stated Gunjyal.

Apart from the 'Snan' guidelines, the state has allowed only people with a negative RT-PCR test report will be allowed to take part in the Kumbh Mela. The report should not be older than 72 hours and should be carried along by everyone, including those who have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, every time while visiting between April 1-30. All entry points of Uttarakhand have been equipped with testing facilities, and if tested positive, there have been made arrangements for isolation as well.

The authorities have made it mandatory for the devotees to comply with COVID appropriate behaviour, which includes wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing at all time and sanitizing your hand with sanitiser or soap at regular intervals. Sanitiser dispensers have been placed all across for this purpose. Anybody found flouting norms will be subjected to penalties.
Heavy rain and wind gusts on Monday afternoon uprooted a tree in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, crushing a passing motorbike and injuring two riders.

The incident transpired around 2:00 pm on Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, where the two victims, 41-year-old Tran Thi Thuy L. and an unidentified driver, were passing when the tree fell on them.

It was later revealed that the driver was transporting L. on a Grab ride.

Nearby residents promptly brought the two victims to the hospital, while officials also showed up to seal off the scene for an investigation.

The motorbikes headlights were shattered, while the steering handle bar was dislocated.

Heavy rain coupled with strong winds on Monday also caused several trees in Ho Chi Minh Citys District 7 to be uprooted, damaging one car.

Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City is sealed off for inspection, April 12, 2021. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

An uprooted tree on Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 12, 2021. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

A motorbike is crushed by a falling tree on Nguyen Cong Tru Street in Nguyen Thai Binh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, April 12, 2021. Photo: Minh Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Falling trees crush a car in Phu My Hung New Urban Area in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, April 12, 2021. Photo: M.H. / Tuoi Tre

Fallen trees crush a car on Nguyen Van Linh Street in District, Ho Chi Minh City, April 12, 2021. Video: M.H. / Tuoi Tre

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New Delhi:

Becoming a mother is one of the most amazing feelings for women but delivering a baby in a cab makes the experience unique.

Ishwari Singh Vishwakarma delivered a baby in an Ola cab on the way to hospital on October 2. But there is another reason for the 21-year-old woman to feel elated.

The Ola company has announced that Ishwari and her son can avail free rides for the next five years as a gift.

The company generated a special coupon named after her baby, which can be used by the woman and her child to avail free rides.

On Monday evening, the woman went into labour pain, three weeks before her expected date, Ramesh Singh Vishwakarma (her husband) said.

My wifes expected delivery date was October 24 but in the wee hours of October 2, she started experiencing labour pains, so we booked a cab in the morning to go to Kamla Nehru Hospital, and at around 7.20 am, the cab driver arrived for pick up at our residence in Kondhwa area, the husband said.

ALSO READ: Ola to raise USD 2 billion in fresh funding from Tencent, SoftBank

Describing the incident, he said that his mother and brother along with his pregnant wife were in the cab while he was riding a bike.

After travelling four to five kms from home, I got a call from my brother informing me about my wife delivering in the cab, Vishwakarma said.

Interestingly, it was the maiden cab ride for Vishwakarmas wife.

The woman and her son are fine and discharged from the hospital on Thursday.

The cabbie Yashwant Galande said he was thrilled by the experience.

Recalling the ride, the driver said the womans pains gradually increased while they were headed to the hospital, located in Mangalwaaar Peth area of the city, a distance of 12 kms from Kondhwa.

Looking at her situation, I decided not to stop the cab anywhere and continued to drive to the hospital. However, after travelling for hardly four to five kms, the customer delivered the baby in the backseat with the help of her relative, Yashwant Galande said.

The cabbie said he reached the hospital within 30 minutes after he picked up the woman from her house.

Vishwakarma said he alerted the hospital about the delivery and a team of doctors was waiting at its entrance.

The doctors immediately detached the umbilical cord inside the cab and got my wife and son admitted for further treatment, he said.

Vishwakarma said he was grateful to the cabbie for taking his wife and the newborn to the hospital safely.

In a release, Ola said the mother and the child are entitled to free rides for the next five years as a gift.

These rides can be availed by a special coupon, named after the baby, it said.

Ola also felicitated Galande for going an extra mile to help the passengers in need.

As a goodwill gesture, Ola on Thursday sent the same cab and the driver to the hospital to take the mother and baby home.

(With PTI inputs)

ALSO READ: New parents Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kemmu gives a 'unique' name to their baby girl

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For people with disabilities, this is more than a financial issue, its a civil rights one, said Melwood President & CEO, Larysa Kautz.

Melwood is proud to support the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (H.R. 2373) introduced by Representatives Bobby Scott and Cathy McMorris Rodgers. The bill will finally end an 83-year-old discriminatory practice allowing employers to pay people with disabilities as little as $2.15 per hour while subjecting them to stressful and demoralizing time trials.

Melwood has been a champion for the elimination of the subminimum wage for many years and successfully advocated banning the practice in the State of Maryland. For people with disabilities, this is more than a financial issue, its a civil rights one, said Melwood President & CEO, Larysa Kautz. On behalf of Melwood and our more than 1,600 employees across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., including nearly 1,000 employees with disabilities, I would like to express our support for this critical legislation.

The existing subminimum wage law comes from Section 14(c) of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and was written at a time when lawmakers thought that people with disabilities couldnt  or shouldnt  work like any other employee. Today, people with all types of disabilities have proven that they have the same abilities, desires, and motivations to work and earn a paycheck as the rest of our community. We just have to break down the barriers and ceilings that have been in place for a very long time, said Kautz.

Melwood believes the continued practice of paying people with disabilities lower than minimum wage reinforces the discriminatory premise that a person with a disability is not capable of working and adding the same level of value to a job as a person without a disability. It is this bigotry of low expectations that foreshadows, and often directly causes, a life of poverty, segregation, and dependence on public support for the people that Melwood serves. Because of the continuation of this policy, an estimated 400,000 people with disabilities are currently treated as though the value of one hour of their time is worth less than the minimum value that we, as a society, have deemed for an hour of work for every other citizen.

Our collective goal should be to ensure that all people, regardless of race, gender, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or disability, have the same opportunities to live lives of their choosing in an inclusive community and workforce.

This legislation represents a thoughtful approach to ending the outdated and unfair practice of paying subminimum wages to workers with disabilities by not only phasing out Section 14(c), but also including funding to help states and providers transform business models to support individuals with disabilities while transitioning to competitive integrated employment.

Melwood thanks Representatives Bobby Scott and McMorris Rodgers for their leadership on this important issue of equity and inclusion.

About Melwood

Melwood is one of the largest employers of people with disabilities in the country, employing more than 1,600 workers  nearly 1,000 of whom have a disability on over 60 competitive and integrated AbilityOne sites in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Melwood offers job placement, job training, life skills for independence, and support services to more than 2,500 people each year in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Melwood also has an inclusive summer camp program for children and provides support services to veterans and active-duty military members who have experienced service-related trauma or injury. For more information, visit http://www.Melwood.org.
Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via Getty

A Minnesota city was gripped by protests for a second night in a row as officials released the name of the white cop who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stopapparently after she mistook her handgun for a taser.

Officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was identified as the person who fired a bullet into 20-year-old Daunte Wrights chest. Demonstrators flouted a curfew Monday to take to the streets and demand Potter be fired and charged. She has been placed on standard administrative leave, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

Wrights death Sunday set off a series of demonstrations that are occurring against the backdrop of the Derek Chauvin murder trial in neighboring Minneapolis, which also involved a Black man, George Floyd, killed at the hands of police. People have been demonstrating outside Brooklyn Center Police Department headquarters since Sunday; cops have used tear gas, flashbangs, and rubber bullets to control the crowd. Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said Monday that the National Guard presence would remain robust over the next two or three days.

Protesters remained outside well past the 7 p.m. curfew ordered by Gov. Tim Walz in the aftermath of the fatal police shooting of Wright. National Guard troops joined police to keep the crowd under control as night fell upon a city in turmoil.

In video footage from the body-cam worn by Potter during an the fatal Sunday traffic stop, a second cop can be seen yanking Wright from the vehicle after pulling him over for what police first said was an outstanding misdemeanor warrantan explanation they later revised to say Wright had in fact been stopped for having expired license plates. Wrights mother said her son called her during the incident and told her he had been pulled over for having an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, a citable offense in Minnesota.Wright can be seen in the bodycam video getting back into his SUV when Potter pulls her gun and yells, Taser, Taser! She then shoots Wright and immediately exclaims, Holy shit, I shot him.

Story continues

As I watch the video and listen to the officers commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon told reporters in a press briefing.The Hennepin County Medical Examiner declared Wright to have died from a gunshot wound to the chest and classified the manner of death as homicide.

In 2019, Potterwho was the police union president at the timewas admonished by investigators for allegedly attempting to conceal evidence after a police shooting that left a 21-year-old autistic man dead.

Officer Potter instructed Officers Turner and Akers to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other, states a report issued by the Hennepin County Attorneys Office. No charges were filed in that case.

Potter has also been on the receiving end of accolades. In 2016, she was honored for successfully ending a standoff the previous year with an apparently armed man threatening suicide.

The Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center was established in 1911 on land owned by a county sheriff and Ku Klux Klansman named Earle Brown, who was also a founding member of the Minnesota Highway Patrol. Brown also served as vice president of the Minnesota Eugenics Society, a virulently racist organization that promoted the sterilization of the feeble minded. Hennepin County, which includes Brooklyn Center, is subject to the curfew, as are Ramsey, Dakota and Anoka counties. The same curfew will apply in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, their mayors announced.

The shooting and the continually tightening restrictions on public protests have not only heightened tensions among protesters but among many Muslim residents of the area.By imposing a citywide curfew on the very first night of Ramadan without consulting Minneapolis Muslim leaders, our leaders have undermined the communitys trust and violated the Constitution, Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement. Public officials must amend the curfew in order to respect freedom of religion, including the right to gather and worship during Ramadan.

Wrights killing has already shaken up city government. After Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said he believed the officer who shot and killed Wright should be firedechoing a demand made by local activistsBrooklyn Center City Manager Curt Boganey said the officer would be afforded due process. Elliott later announced that Boganey had been relieved of his duties and that Deputy City Manager Reggie Edwards would be taking over.

All of the world is watching our community. We continue to be distressed as we go through the Derek Chauvin trial, Elliott said. We will get to the bottom of this.

Wright had a minor police record, with two petty misdemeanor charges filed against him in August 2019 for selling marijuana and disorderly conduct. He was released and scheduled to appear in court this summer, according to jail records. There was in fact an outstanding warrant for Wrights arrest, according to Hennepin County authorities, who said it was issued after Wright failed to appear for a court hearing on April 2. The charge involved an unlicensed gun Wright was allegedly caught carrying.

Wrights family has hired attorney Ben Crump, a civil-rights lawyer who has in the past represented the families of other victims of police misconduct including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.

We just want people to know Daunte was a good kid, the family said in a statement. He loved being a father to Daunte Jr.

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Police in San Francisco said Monday they've arrested a man who allegedly attacked an Asian couple without provocation earlier this month in the city's Financial District.

According to police, on April 4, officers responded to a report of an assault near the corner of Broadway and Montgomery Street.

There, they found a 65-year-old Asian man on the ground. The victim's wife, a 57-year-old Asian woman, said she and her husband had just parked their car and exited the vehicle when the suspect approached her and spit on her.

The suspect then punched the male victim, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head and lose consciousness, according to police.

Although the suspect said something to the victims, the victims weren't able to understand due to a language barrier, police said.

After the attack, the suspect fled on foot.

Medics were able to transport the male victim to the hospital, where he was treated for injuries not considered life-threatening, according to police.

After investigating, officers were able to identify the suspect as 41-year-old Dewayne Kemp, police said.

On Thursday, officers located Kemp, a San Francisco resident, in the 300 block of Broadway and arrested him on suspicion of assault, battery, and elder abuse, police said.

Copyright  2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright  2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on Sept. 4, 2017. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Japans China Policy Turns to Confrontation in 2021

Since the start of 2021, significant changes have sprung up in the diplomatic ties between two east Asian countriesJapan and China. Currently, the Japanese government is making a dramatic turn to confront China over a range of issues including the disputed waters in the East and South China Seas, Taiwan, and the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Days before Japans Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visits the United States, Kyodo News Agency published an in-depth article titled Focus: Japans China Strategy Is at Critical Juncture on its Chinese-language site on April 5, mindful of major changes it is undergoing in coping with its neighborthe Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.

The report highlighted that Japan could be left in a national crisis in the event of Chinas invading Taiwan by force, which could come in the foreseeable future, according to the prediction of top U.S. military officials.

On March 23, the U.S. Navy Adm. John Aquilino, nominee to the U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, estimated that China might decide to launch a military strike against Taiwan sometime before 2045, based on various studies, while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

My opinion is this problem is much closer to us than most think, he warned.

However, Adm. Phil Davidson, the current U.S. Indo-Pacific commander, seemed to be more pessimistic.

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on March 9, Davidson said that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could come as soon as within the next six years, deeming it necessary to create a network of longer-range, land-based missiles in the Western Pacific to deter China from military action against Taiwan and over the Senkaku islets as well.

The Senkaku islets are contested waters, which are respectively called the Tiao-yu Islands by Taiwan and the Diaoyu Islands by China.

Japan is reportedly considering deployment of U.S. land-based missiles on its own territory as a critical means of forcing China to abort its ambitions toward Taiwan.

Taiwan Under Military Pressure from China

For geographical, political, and economic reasons, a free, democratic Taiwan is vital to Japans national security, according to a Feb. 9 opinion article by The Japan Times.

Taiwan is the nearest democracy to Japan, with only about 110 kms (68 miles) distance between them.

Frank Hsieh, head of the Association of Taiwan-Japan Relations, recently told the Jiji Press that China deems the United States as its biggest enemy and Japan the second biggest.

If Taiwan were occupied by China, Japan would have to confront Chinas threats squarely, Hsieh said. In the event of Taiwan being in an emergency situation, Japan couldnt steer clear of it.

However, Taiwan endures enormous pressure from the CCP, which considers the democratic island an integral part of China, and has stated in its decades-long propaganda that it will liberate or reunify Taiwan with the mainland, meaning occupy Taiwan even by force if necessary.

A map based on a Chinese Ministry of Defense map marks the East China

Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. The area includes the disputed Senkaku

Islands, marking them as being located within its territorial waters. (Diana Hubert/Epoch Times)

In 2020 the CCP stepped up its military maneuvers against Taiwan after President Tsai Ing-wen won re-election.

Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwans air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on March 26, 2020. They included four nuclear-capable H-6K bombers, ten J-16 fighter jets, two Y-8 anti-submarine warfare aircraft, and a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft. It was the most serious incursion ever, according to Taiwans Ministry of National Defense.

The CCPs military harassment didnt even stop on April 2, 2021 when a major train crash took place in Taiwan that claimed the lives of 50 people and injured many others.

Japans Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi expressed his concern over the widening difference in military power between China and Taiwan at a press conference on April 2, 2021.

Two days later, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, when asked on a Fuji TV program whether he felt disturbed by Chinas maneuvers, replied, Yes indeed.

The looming Taiwan crisis is pushing the Japanese government to make critical choices and strengthen collaboration with the United States, Kyodo News reported.

On March 16 of this year, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin traveled to Tokyo for a 2 plus 2 ministerial meeting with their Japanese counterparts.

At the meeting, they agreed that Chinas behavior has become more aggressive. Austin emphasized that the U.S.-Japan alliance system is the best way to confront Chinas destabilizing efforts.

This was the first trip outside the United States by Biden administration officials.

Chinas New Coast Guard Law

On Jan. 22, 2021, the National Peoples Congress (NPC)Chinas rubber-stamp legislaturepassed the China Coast Guard Law, which took effect on Feb. 1. The law authorizes Chinas maritime law enforcement to open fire on foreign vessels when necessary.

Jun Tsuruta, an associate professor of international law at Japans Meiji Gakuin University, argued that the law poses a challenge for Japan because of Chinas vague definition of jurisdictional waters. He identified China Coast Guard as a maritime law enforcement agency and also a military agency after examining the text of the law in detail.

The Coast Guard Law caused strong reactions from Chinas neighbors, including Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

On Feb. 4, the Japanese government conveyed strong concerns over the controversial law at the 12th Round Meeting of the Japan-China High-Level Consultation on Maritime Affairs.

A Chinese coast guard vessel sails near disputed East China Sea islands on Aug. 6, 2016. (11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters via AP)

In fact, Chinese government ships sailed in the contiguous zone around the Senkakus for 333 daysa record numberin 2020, with multiple incidents of chasing Japanese fishing vessels in Japans territorial waters, according to Nikkei Asia. The China Coast Guard reportedly has two 10,000-ton-plus patrol ships, the largest of any coast guard in the world.

On Feb. 20, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga raised concern over Chinas unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China Seas in G7 talks.

China commentator Wen Zhao noted on his Chinese-language Youtube channel on April 5: Early this year, [Beijing] passed the China Coast Guard Law, which has provided a basis for Chinas takeover of the Senkakus. Japan is unbearably worried, afraid, that the CCP might swallow up Taiwan by use of military force and the Senkaku Islands as well.

Wen added, Japan must show a clearer attitude towards collaboration with the United States.

Japan Speaks Against Chinas Human Rights Abuses

Though China has been notorious for its bad human rights abuses, Japan has been incredibly cautious regarding this sensitive subject for decades, avoiding friction with Chinaits biggest trading partner.

Japans foreign minister Motegi, in a 90-minute phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 5, urged China to improve their human rights situation in Xinjiang or stop their crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, according to a report by RFI.

Chinese policemen push Uighur women who are protesting at a street in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, on July 7, 2009. (Guang Niu/Getty Images)

However, on April 6, about 40 lawmakers from Japans ruling and opposition parties launched a bipartisan effort to draw up legislation that will enable Japan to impose sanctions on individuals and entities over human rights violations.

We need action not just words, so that people dont think that Japan is the only country avoiding this issue, Gen Nakatani, a Liberal Democratic Party member and a former defense minister, said.
Photo: Glacier Media

The Chinese consulate in Vancouver has lashed back at Mayor Kennedy Stewart for his decision to suspend meetings and contact with Chinese government officials.

Stewart recently put a freeze on relations with officials after China recently announced sanctions on individuals in the United States and Canada, including friend and Conservative MP Michael Chong.

The mayor called the tactics threatening and intimidating and said his response was also aimed at denouncing the treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province and the continued detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.

Canadas parliamentary subcommittee on international human rights, whose members include Chong, and the U.S. State Departments annual report on human rights concluded genocide is occurring in Xinjiang province.

In an emailed statement April 9 to Glacier Media, the Chinese consulate said any decision aimed at politicizing normal exchanges between China and Canada is not acceptable.

A healthy and stable bilateral relationship will enhance the understanding and confidence of both sides and benefit both peoples, the statement said.

The allegations of genocide or forced labour in Xinjiang are the most outrageous lies of the century. Weve presented the true situation in Xinjiang on multiple occasions. Xinjiang-related issues are never about human rights, ethnicity, or religion, but about combating violent terrorism and secession.

The consulate, whose consul general is Tong Xiaoling, said Chinas preventive counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures have protected the basic human rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Kovrig and Spavor, meanwhile, are suspected of crimes endangering China's national security and their litigation rights are fully protected, the statement said.

The Chinese judicial authorities try cases in strict accordance with law, the statement said.

We hope that the Canadian politicians and people of influence can take off their tinted glasses, respect the truth and the legal system of China and the development path chosen by the Chinese people, remove instead of setting up obstacles in the relationship between our two countries.

Media reports of the trials of Spavor and Kovrig said no Canadian or foreign diplomats were allowed to attend the recent court hearings of the two men, who were detained shortly after Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 at the Vancouver International Airport.

The U.S., which requested Wanzhous arrest, is seeking the Huawei executives extradition to face fraud and conspiracy charges that concern her companys dealings with Iran.

Stewart told Glacier Media last week that he had a recent invitation to meet with Cong Peiwu, Chinas ambassador to Canada, but turned him down.
Chandigarh, April 13 : Putting to rest all speculation, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ruled out any role of poll strategist Prashant Kishor in the finalisation of Congress tickets in the 2022 Assembly elections.

"There is no question of it. (Prashant) Kishor has no say in the matter," said the Chief Minister, amid reports of resentment brewing in Punjab Congress over Amarinder Singh's newly appointed principal advisor Prashant Kishor deciding on the tickets for next year's Assembly elections.

There are set norms and patterns for ticket allocation in the Congress, which are followed in all elections in all the states, said Amarinder Singh, adding that Punjab is no exception.

A state election committee is set up by the party high command ahead of any Assembly poll, which considers all the names and decides on the final candidates, the Chief Minister pointed out, adding that the shortlisted names are then sent for scrutiny to the screening committee, comprising top party leadership, including the Congress President.

The final decision is taken by the Central Election Committee, with no individual having any role to play, he added.

In the process of ticket finalisation, inputs are always taken by this committee from various internal and external parties, including independent agencies as well the state party unit, he said, adding that this is the process that was followed in 2017 and it will be adopted this time also.

"So where does Kishor come into the picture," he asked.

Amarinder Singh further said that this system had worked well last time, when the Congress won 80 seats in Punjab. "Why should the party want to change it and disturb the political balance that we have managed to strike so beautifully in the past four years," he said.

In fact, the Chief Minister pointed out, the Congress in Punjab has been on a strong wicket in every election in the last four years, including in the recent urban local body polls, which the party swept.

"This shows that there is no anti-incumbency at play in the state, as is being speculated by the media ever since Kishor's appointment," he said.

If the party sees any instances of local anti-incumbency, it will handle it the way it usually does -- by looking at the alternatives, and finding the best fit to ensure victory, Amarinder Singh said, making it clear that this is an issue for the Congress, and not Kishor, to consider and decide.

"His (Kishor's) role as my principal advisor is limited. It is only advisory in nature, with no decision-making authority vested in him," added the Chief Minister.
Demonstrators burn a flag outside the Brooklyn Center police station in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Rioting Ensues in Minnesota After Police Shooting of Daunte Wright

Violent demonstrations erupted in Minnesota and elsewhere late Monday as people angry over the police shooting of a 20-year-old man the day prior ransacked stores and threw bottles, bricks, and other projectiles at law enforcement officers.

Approximately 40 people were arrested in Brooklyn Center, where the April 11 shooting occurred, for crimes including curfew violations and rioting, Col. Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol told reporters during a briefing just after midnight on Tuesday.

Several officers struck by debris suffered minor injuries, while there were no reported wounds among demonstrators.

The arrests came after a crowd clashed with officers outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department headquarters.

For months, weve been saying that riotous behavior is just not going to be tolerated. And unfortunately tonight, that is some of the things that we encountered, Booker Hodges, assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, told the briefing.

Elsewhere in the city, and nearby areas, people looted stores, including a Target, a Boost Mobile location, and a Dollar Tree, which video footage showed was also set on fire.

Some stores had civilians with firearms protecting them, scaring off would-be looters, Townhall reporter Julio Rosas reported.

Amelia Huffman, a deputy chief for the Minneapolis Police Department, told the early morning press conference that she was happy to report that there were only five business burglaries reported in Minneapolis so far tonight.

Officers were able to respond quickly and made some arrests, including apprehending individuals after hearing gunshots fired and finding a firearm.

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during civil unrest in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (John Minchillo/AP Photo)

People illegally jump over turnstiles at the Gallery Place metro station during civil unrest following the fatal police shooting of 20-year-old black man Daunte Wright, in Washington on April 12, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Portland police officers chase demonstrators after a riot was declared during civil unrest over the shooting in Minnesota of Daunte Wright, in Portland, Ore., on April 12, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

People out and about were defying curfews imposed by local and state officials. People were forbidden to gather from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., with limited exceptions.

Riots also took place in other states, including in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington.

The civil unrest unfolded for a second consecutive night after Daunte Wright was fatally shot by a police officer after he resisted arrest and tried fleeing from law enforcement.

Body camera footage showed officers try to apprehend Wright on an outstanding warrant when the 20-year-old slipped from one officers grasp before entering his vehicle and starting to drive away. As the vehicle moved, a different officer fired her gun and struck Wright in the chest.

He drove several blocks before crashing into another vehicle. He was ruled dead at the scene. The manner of death was deemed homicide.

Authorities late Monday identified the officer who shot Wright as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Potter, who thought she was firing her Taser and who activists say should be immediately fired, has been placed on leave pending an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Earlier on Monday, Brooklyn Centers City Council gave Mayor Mike Elliott command of the police department, and also voted to fire City Manager Curt Boganey, who had said Potter, like all city employees, deserved and would receive due process.
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Govt bans on-board meals in flights as Covid-19 cases rise

The Civil Aviation Ministry said on Monday that airlines are not allowed to serve meals on flights that have a duration of less than two hours in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases in India.The ban will come into effect from April 15, the ministry said in its latest order. However, there are no curbs on inflight meals on international flights as of now.

Poonawalla-led Rising Sun's acquisition of stake in Magma Fincorp gets CCI nod

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of a shareholding in Magma Fincorp Limited by Adar Poonwalla-led Rising Star Holdings Private Ltd (RSHPL) and its promoters Sanjay Chamria and Mayank Poddar.Poonawalla is the CEO of the world's largest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India.

Pune traders to back Maha govt on 'full lockdown' to curb rising COVID-19 cases

An umbrella organisation of traders in Pune on Monday said it will extend support to the Maharashtra government if it imposes a "full lockdown" in the state to curb the rising cases of coronavirus. The Federation of Traders Association (FTA), Pune, took the decision after a detailed meeting of its representatives with senior government officials from Pune district as well as the civic administration, its president said.

India's vaccination drive may limit economic impact of second COVID-19 wave: Barclays

India's accelerated vaccination drive may limit the economic disruption caused by a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, Barclays said in a note on Monday, although it warned that shortages in vaccine supply could weigh on the campaign's progress. India racked up the world's highest daily tally of coronavirus infections with 168,912 new cases on Monday, overtaking Brazil as the second-most affected country by the pandemic

Centre's strategy to curb COVID-19 spread 'monumental failure', should supply vaccines: Congress

The Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP-led central government's strategy to control the spread of COVID-19 was a "monumental failure" and said while people are dying across the country the saffron party's leadership is busy campaigning for elections. Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said people of the country will not pardon the BJP for such a dangerous situation and called for scaling up the COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Ant Group gives in to regulators' pressure; to restructure as financial holding company

China's Ant Group, the fintech giant whose $37 billion IPO was derailed by risk-wary regulators days before it was due to list in November, will restructure as a financial holding company, the country's central bank said on Monday. The overhaul comes two days after e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, of which Ant is an affiliate, was hit with a $2.75 billion antitrust penalty as China tightens controls on the "platform economy".
The Senate is known as the worlds greatest deliberative body, said Nick Stehle, Vice President of Communications at FGA. West Virginians understand that protecting the filibuster keeps it that way, and prevents any one party from forcing legislation past the otherjust as our founders intended.

A recent poll conducted by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) found that there is bipartisan support in West Virginia for the use of the filibuster during U.S. Senate floor debate. The filibuster is a political procedure through which a senator can block or delay legislation from moving forward to a vote.

Historically, this tool has been used by both Republicans and Democrats to encourage the U.S. Senate to act as a careful, deliberative body that can come to agreement through insightful debate. Its also an opportunity to state objections and offer improvements to the legislation. Understandably, its more popular with the minority party than the majority party each Congress as filibusters can lead to gridlock.

West Virginians like it that way. There was a 20-point margin between those who support keeping the filibuster (52 percent) and those who would like to do away with it (32 percent). Sen. Manchin would also likely lose the support of many West Virginians as 56 percent of those polled stated they would be less likely to vote for him if he changes his mind and decides to help end the filibuster.

Its worth noting that only 38 percent support doing away with the filibuster to help President Biden pass his agenda. While ending the filibuster is an annual debate, its commonly understood that removing the filibuster could mean the party you support has no voice in the Senate if, and inevitably when, the opposing party takes control of the chamber.

The Senate is known as the worlds greatest deliberative body, said Nick Stehle, Vice President of Communications at FGA. West Virginians understand that protecting the filibuster keeps it that way, and prevents any one party from forcing legislation past the otherjust as our founders intended.

###

The Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) is a nonprofit, multistate think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and work reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.
A father-of-six has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for dangerous driving with his wife and two of their youngest children in the car.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the accused had been living in his car at the time of the incident.

Charlie Maughan (42) of 77 Lower Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Snugborough Road, Dublin 15 on April 28 2019.

Simon Matthews, BL defending told the court that Maughan is no longer living in his car, and that with a son who is suicidal and a daughter that has cystic fibrosis, he is holding the family together.

He added that Maughan is aware of the seriousness of the offence and that he has 22 previous convictions which are mostly non-violent.

Judge Pauline Codd described the gravity of the offence, which she said arose in the context of a garda checkpoint routine stop in which the accused increased speed while being followed by gardai who had activated their lights and a siren.

Judge Codd described Maughans behaviour as reckless driving during which he went the wrong way around a roundabout, swerved to the other side of the road and overtook three cars.

The court heard that the accused man's wife and two of his young children were passengers in the car at the time of the incident.

Judge Codd said that a car is essentially a dangerous weapon and that Maughan was fortunate that no-one was injured during this impulsive offence.

She added that mitigating factors were the fact that the accused was living in his car at the time and that he could benefit from therapy in future.

However, the level of risk posed at numerous points required a custodial sentence.

She sentenced Mr Maughan to four years in prison, suspending the final 18 months on the condition that the accused follow the conditions of probation.
The Narendra Modi government seems to have pulled a rabbit out of the hat right in the midst of the ongoing farmers protest. The Punjab government has been virtually forced to directly transfer payments of the minimum support price (MSP) to farmers bank accounts for the upcoming wheat procurement season.

This is the first time Punjab will be doing so. Till now MSP payments were being routed through commission agents (arthiyas) who would then transfer it to farmers. This comes at a time when one of the major concerns of the farmers protesting on Delhis borders is that the ...
Can Voluntary Assisted Dying Really Be Policed?

Commentary

In March of this year, Tasmania became the third jurisdiction in Australia to legalise euthanasia, with the passage of the End-Of-Life Choices (Voluntary Assisted Dying) Bill 2020, the law will give patients a way to end their lives if the right criteria are met.

This law is of course not the first of its type in Tasmania, with numerous attempts to pass assisted dying legislation in 2009, 2013, and 2016.

In 1995 ,the Northern Territory passed the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995, which was later rendered inoperable by the federal governments Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 amid public outcry.

Numerous attempts at passing voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation have taken place since then, with Victoria being the first state to successfully do so in 2017, and Western Australia following suit in 2019.

With the bulk of the provisions of the West Australian model yet to come into effect, the only way we can examine Australias experience so far with the practice comes from three reports published by the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board of Victoria.

Prior to the Victorian provisions coming into effect, the Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews said, We anticipate in the first 12 months, based on overseas experience, around a dozen people that will access voluntary assisted dying.

Andrews added that the number of patients would increase and begin stabilising at up to 150 patients per year.

The first report (pdf) from the Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board for the period June to December 2019 noted 52 cases of the VAD drug being administered to patients.

The second report (pdf), from January to June 2020, showed 78 people choosing to end their lives via VAD in that period.

The most recent report (pdf), from July to December 2020, revealed 94 people choosing to end their lives, bringing the total VAD deaths to 224 since it became accessible in 2019.

This is far more than the expected dozen cases of the first year of operation, and beyond the higher stabilised estimate by the Andrews Government.

Evidently, this shows that the VAD experience has far outweighed the expectations of the government.

Which raises the question: Is it safe?

The answer is almost impossible to say. The VAD Review Boards primary function is merely to check paperwork and ensure the process has been complied with. However the first report revealed that 83 percent of cases had deficient paperwork that was sent back for correction.

As author John Keown said in his book Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy:

What checks, if any, will the Secretary carry out to ensure that the requirements have been met before issuing a permit? If the required forms have been submitted and the appropriate boxes ticked, will they not automatically attract a rubber stamp?

This model, as is most likely the case in Tasmania, largely relies on the expertise of doctors and the accuracy of their reports.

The first report noted that the kind of training doctors had to undertake in order to deal with patients in VAD situations took four hours to complete, and focused on compliance with the actnot speciality care or training on how to identify issues like undue influence and duress on a patient.

This question is particularly relevant when considered against the Inquiry into Elder Abuse by the Parliament of Western Australian in 2018, which acknowledged inheritance impatience being one of the ten forms of elder abuse.

Further, there is the criminal case of Justins v Regina in New South Wales where a wife and a friend helped end the life of the wifes husband who had Alzheimers disease.

At first glance, the case looked like an act of mercy committed on a husband who wanted to die. However, upon deeper investigation, the case revealed a much more complex backstory.

The wife and the husband visited a doctor who was not their usual general practitioner (GP) and had never seen before. The husband could no longer read or write and did not have testamentary capacitythe mental capacity to amend his will.

Yet, they were able to obtain certification from the GP to assert that the husband was capable of making his own decisions and understanding the nature of those decisions.

The husband was then taken by the wife to see a solicitor to have his will amended. The will originally left 50 percent of his A$2 million estate to the wife, and 25 percent to each of the husbands daughters (the wifes stepdaughters).

The wife instructed the solicitor to amend the will to leave almost all of the estate to her, minus a sum of $100,000 per daughter (5 percent of the estate each).

While in the appeal, the court acknowledged:

The Crown takes issue with this aspect of the offenders account, in that the offenders role in changing her partners will justifies the conclusion that her assistance in his suicide was not entirely altruistic, but was motivated to some degree by self-interest.

No jurisdiction appears to have a mechanism to prevent something like this from happening under its VAD legislation.

There is seemingly no active policing outside of paperwork compliance. While there is a criminal penalty for those who do such a thing, monitoring such an issue and launching an investigation is difficult and unlikely. If they do occur, it may be too late for the victim.

Ultimately, issues involving undue influence, duress, and abuse are not actively policed in VAD cases.

These issues are entirely reliant on a doctor, which is even more difficult since this sort of influence is likely hidden by the victim or perpetrator.

Nor does the legislation effectively prevent individuals from doctor shopping, that is, to attend numerous doctors to find one who will sign-off on the relevant paperwork and give a desirable diagnosis.

While the Tasmanian model attempts to prevent this shopping under Section 38 of the Act, there are still loopholes for patients to find a preferred diagnosis or assessment.

While many are supportive of legalising VAD in Australia, a word of caution is necessary because we are dealing with important matters of life and death. Above all, we must not let eagerness get in the way of scrutiny and we should always seek to protect our most vulnerable from abuse.

By Heath Harley-Bellemore

Heath Harley-Bellemore is the vice-president of the Western Australian Legal Theory Association, and who is researching voluntary assisted dying at the University of Notre Dame, Sydney.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
DAVENPORT, IA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Davenport, IA based John Cornish - Mortgage Lender is pleased to announce that their new website has now launched, offering help for first time homebuyers in the states of Iowa and the surrounding areas. Those interested may visit the following link to get started: http://www.qchomeloan.com/

John Cornish, the head of the company, has been in the field of real estate finances since graduating from St. Ambrose University in 2003. He has long been known for the quality of work and service that he provides his clients. As he gained further experience as a home financial aid provider, he decided to work with Key Mortgage Group and was later on offered a partnership with Homeside, a housing opportunity financial provider. Now, John is the Branch Manager and Vice President for Mortgages of the Key Mortgage Group at Homeside.

These financial companies have been providing their services in and around the Quad Cities for prospective clients. The Quad Cities in the state of Iowa, namely Davenport, Bettendorf, Rock Island, Moline and East Moline, are where most of their clients reside.

Cornish is a devoted financial provider with unmatched passion and commitment to serving the needs of the local housing market. He makes sure to provide his clients the best professional advice and deals possible. He also educates them on the selection of programs available so they can make informed decisions on the financing option that best suits their needs as aspiring home buyers. Additionally, he has more than a decade's worth of experience in the industry.

Assisted by his team, Cornish is more than qualified to provide legal advice to their clients. As professional housing financial aid specialists, they aim to provide professional services to first time home buyers in the states of Iowa. For more detailed feedback from former and current clients about Cornish's quality of work, visit this link: https://www.instagram.com/johncornish_keymortgagegroup.

First time home buyers are not only the clients that they hope to assist. Cornish and his team are also prepared to offer home financial solutions to veterans who want the best rates for their situations. They are dedicated to provide the best solutions possible in accordance with each client's needs and circumstances. They may also provide assistance through VA, a housing aid in the United States guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (specifically tailored for active veteran service personnel and their families).

On the other hand, they are also willing to provide their services as home financial aid specialists to current homeowners who are looking to refinance their home for cash or better rates. As certified home financial aid providers, they are also able to provide Federal Housing Administration (FHA) aid, and those that aim to cater the needs of low-to-moderate-income borrowers.

John Cornish, Key Mortgage Group and Homeside, have been working closely together and found a great deal of mutual success since their partnership took its first steps. It was grounded not only by the alignment of their platforms but also by their strong connection, passion for their work and desire to provide their clients effective solutions through high quality and reliable services.

When asked about the partnership, Cornish says, "I knew right away that this was the right fit for me and my team. They are the type of people that I want to partner with to continue to grow our presence in the Midwest."

Meanwhile, Kevin, one of John's clients, says in a glowing testimonial in Homeside's website, "John and his staff did a great job making sure I was comfortable with the entire process as well as being sure to let me know that I could ask questions about anything at nearly any time of day and would receive a response. I appreciated this tremendously as a first time buyer."

First time buyers and veterans who need professional advice for home financing concerns, and current homeowners who seek to refinance their home, may visit Homeside's official website for more details. Clients may also connect with them through their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/JohnCornishKeyMortgageGroup to stay up to date with their news, offers, and other announcements.

For more information about John Cornish - Mortgage Lender, contact the company here:

John Cornish - Mortgage Lender

John Cornish

(563) 214-1539

jcornish@gohomeside.com

5189 Utica Ridge Rd

Davenport, IA 52807

SOURCE: John Cornish - Mortgage Lender

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640154/John-Cornish--Mortgage-Lender-Launches-New-Website-Suitable-For-First-Time-Home-Buyer
The Napa Valley Wine Library will present its 30th Annual Wine Seminar online via Zoom at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 15.

Seminar host Tegan Passalacqua, winemaker for Turley Wine Cellars, will guide participants through the Napa Valley from the 19th century to present day with the assistance of four panelists and their illustrative wines from key vineyards planted 50 years ago or more.

From the earliest arrivals, with their tradition of field blends, to the most innovative philosophies of winemaking today, attendees will taste their way through four appellations and four distinct wines from Napa Valley.

The confirmed panelists are Bob Biale of Robert Biale Vineyards, Rosemary Cakebread of Gallica, Michael Hirby of Relic Wine Cellars, and Morgan Twain Peterson, MW, of Bedrock Wine Company.

Registration is $75 and includes a tasting kit for the first 50 registrants able to pick up a kit in St. Helena the day before the event. Full bottles may also be ordered. Visit napawinelibrary.com for details.
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:
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations reports that several roads are closed across Armenia.

The ministry told Armenpress that the roads leading to the Amberd Fortress and Lake Kari in Aragatsotn province are closed.

The Georgian side informs that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open for all types of vehicles.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
(Correcting date of annual general meeting to June 23.)

Dignity PLC - Birmingham-based funeral provider - Responds to Phoenix UK Fund Ltd's April 12 statement, calling it "deeply irresponsible" in discussing possible strategies and publishing unverified valuations for the crematoria division. Says the board is already assessing ideas in the letter and is well-advanced in making a full strategy plan, including distributing the crematoria business to shareholders. Calls for shareholders to reject Phoenix's resolutions at annual general meeting on June 23.

Phoenix UK Fund said the crematoria business woud be worth over GBP1 billion if it was listed separately. Called for other Dignity shareholders to vote in favour of its resolutions, which include replacing Executive Chair Clive Whiley with Phoenix partner Gary Channon.

Current stock price: 688.00 pence, up 8.8% on Tuesday

Year-to-date change: up 8.4%

By Ivan Edwards; ivanedwards@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Jaipur, April 13 : A small village in Rajasthan situated near Jaipur, which was washed away in floods four decades back, is now speaking the story of Atmanirbhar Bharat, with the villagers earning their livelihood by creating organic lamps, Holi colours and saffron flags for Navratri.

The village, then known as Chadel Khurd, was destroyed when gushing waters from the Dhund river engulfed it in 1981.

Now, this village stands as a role model for other villages, with only one temple and one well, a concept aimed at ending caste discrimination.

Keshavpura is turning the slogan of Atmanirbhar Bharat into a reality with people joining hands to become self dependant by cashing in on festive fervour in India while producing handmade products which are much in demand during festive times.

On Holi, women from this village produced Gulal which earned them money in lakhs of rupees, while on Diwali, they produced lamps and decor products, all handmade and organic in nature which were sold in large quantities across the state.

This time, the women here have produced 50,000 saffron flags to be hoisted on the rooftops of houses.

Being sold at Rs 2.5/flag in the market, the project has earned them a decent income.

Now, we are training women in tailoring and generating employment for them while boosting their confidence. This tailoring work is sure to help them earn a decent living, said Pushpa Saini from this village.

Says Ramkaran Saini, "Keshavpura, an ideal village, is taking a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. The efforts of the village development committee, which started working in this direction since the last two years, are now yielding the desired results." Keshavpura near Chaksu in Jaipur, which was devastated by floods in 1981, has now emerged as a model village.

The village was re-established by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers.

After 37 years, it got its name registered in the revenue records of the state on October 5, 2018.

The RSS volunteers worked hard to rebuild the village and helped in constructing pucca houses and get the lives of the villagers in order. The flood waters destroyed everything including their houses, animals etc. However, the volunteers here helped in building pucca houses, roads, community halls, temple and well and the village is now emerging as a new model.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
While William was undoubtedly intending to reflect his grandfathers no-nonsense approach to life, there is no escaping the inherent implication that he and his wife are the embodiment of the Duke and the Queens keep calm and carry on mantra compared with their escapee brother and sister-in-law. During the Sussexes interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry suggested his brother and father Prince Charles were trapped in the monarchy. This was Williams way of responding to that extraordinary two-hour tell all on his own terms, stating the case for personal sacrifice in the face of public duty. The inclusion of the final paragraph is all the more intriguing since it was apparently not included in the statement when it was first drafted over the weekend. It had been originally mooted that Williams tribute might go out alongside his fathers on Saturday, before it was decided that all of Philips children should pay tribute before his grandchildren. Although the palace was made aware of the timing of Harrys statement, royal aides were not involved in the wording before it was circulated by the Sussexes global press secretary half an hour later.

Loading You did not need to look far to find similar hidden meaning in the much more informal 197-homage to my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter and cheeky right til the end. The upbeat paean could not have been more unquestionably Harry as he reflected that, if he were here right now, his grandfather would say to all of us, beer in hand: Oh, do get on with it! Like his brother, the California-based prince could not resist a reference to his own immediate family in absentia, revealing: Meghan, Archie, and I (as well as your future great-granddaughter) will always hold a special place for you in our hearts. The pregnant duchess has not flown over for the funeral on doctors advice. Yet his attempt to draw a personal parallel with Prince Philip was plain to see as he described his grandfather as someone who was authentically himself, who could hold the attention of any room due to his charm  and also because you never knew what he might say next.

Loading Harrys decision to sign off with the Royal Marines motto Per Mare, Per Terram (By Sea, By Land) also appeared a thinly veiled reference to his superior military service to Williams, along with a reminder that he had inherited the role of Captain General of the regiment from his grandfather  only to be stripped of such honorary appointments post-Megxit, seemingly against his will. Having made no secret of the fact that he was disappointed not to be able to maintain his military ties, the inclusion of the four-word Latin phrase appeared designed to tell the world that, while he may no longer be a working royal, like his grandfather he will forever remain one who saw active service. It may have also been an echo of Harrys new-found Californian way of life as it is a military custom in much of the US armed forces to sign off letters, speeches and even individual social interactions with a unit motto. Members of the US Marine Corps, for example, end correspondence with the words semper fi (short for semper fidelis, Latin for always faithful). But the custom is not practised in the British armed forces, perhaps saying more about the direction of Harrys future career than his previous one.
It makes a lot of stress on somebody when you dont know whats going to happen next, he said.

Now Napa County should stay in the orange barring a surge of hospitalizations. That should add some stability to the tier regime.

We do our part to keep everybody safe as well, Curtin said. As long as the restaurants are allowing people to eat safely, there should be no reason for closing us back down or anything like that. We go above and beyond to make sure everything is sanitized and everybody is getting COVID tested regularly.

Napas stay in the orange tier means HealthQuest Fitness Center can keep having 25% of its customers inside, instead of dropping to 10% under red.

Its significant, for sure, owner Tony Giovannoni said. Even more for peoples peace of mind, theyve just been bounced around so much, they dont know what to think at this point.

The tightening and loosening of restrictions created a roller-coaster ride, he said. Each time tighter restrictions kicked in and then loosened, fewer people came back to the fitness center.

What will ultimately help his business isnt the tiers, but how comfortable people feel coming back. Its different for different people, he said.
HANOI -- Vingroup JSC, Vietnams largest conglomerate, is considering an U.S. initial public offering (IPO) of its car unit that could value VinFast at about $60 billion, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Vingroup, which was founded in 1993 in Ukraine, is working with Credit Suisse Hong Kong for the potential offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the sources said.

Bloomberg News had reported earlier on Monday that the company could raise as much as $3 billion in its IPO, making it the biggest-ever listing by a Vietnamese company.

The offering will take place in the second quarter, one of the sources said.

A Vingroup spokesman declined to comment.

VinFast became Vietnams first fully fledged domestic car manufacturer when its first gasoline-powered models built under its own badge hit the streets in 2019.

Last month, Reuters exclusively reported that VinFast was in early stage talks with Taiwans Foxconn about partnering in electric vehicles.

The company sold about 30,000 vehicles last year and has forecast sales of more than 45,000 for 2021.

It will begin delivery of EVs produced at its factory in the northern port city of Hai Phong to domestic customers by December.

VinFast, which also produces electric motorbikes and buses, obtained a permit to test autonomous vehicles on public streets in California earlier this year.

Vingroup has grown to become one of Vietnams largest listed firms. The company, once a real estate and retail conglomerate, now also sells vehicles, television sets and smartphones.
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
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After a hiatus imposed by COVID-19, the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) will resume its annual rendezvous at the eponymous tropical town in the Chinese island province of Hainan.

The conference, to be held from April 18 to 21 with over 2,000 persons attending offline, will be "the world's first large-scale on-site international conference in 2021," BFA Secretary General Li Baodong said at a press conference in Beijing on March 30.

In addition, a number of national leaders, former political dignitaries and heads of international organizations will join the meeting via video link.

This year's meeting will center on the theme A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation. Topics for discussion fall into six categories: Explore China, Understand the Changing World, Belt and Road Initiative Cooperation, Embrace the Industrial Changes, Dance with New Technologies, and Development for All.

The primary task of the event is to help Asian countries and the wider world build a consensus on development, and reshape growth confidence while ensuring pandemic prevention, according to Li.

He also pointed out that this year's gathering is special not only because of COVID-19, but also because it coincides with the 20th anniversary of the forum. "With azure skies, white clouds, rolling waves, a spring breeze and beautiful flowers, Boao is ready to welcome its guests," he said.

A world in change

The theme and topics for discussion at a BFA annual conference are usually formulated in light of the situation across Asia and the world at large at the time.

Since the beginning of last year, COVID-19 has been ravaging the world. As of April 5, the pandemic had resulted in 131 million confirmed cases worldwide, including more than 2.85 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

"Pandemic control, defense of international economic and trade rules, responses to climate change and the leapfrog development of science and technology will top the BFA's agenda, especially in the post-pandemic era," Zhou Xiaochuan, BFA Vice Chairman and chief representative of China, told Beijing Review.

"The pandemic has rendered a huge impact on the global economy and society, and triggered the most serious humanitarian and economic crisis in modern human history. The gap between the rich and the poor and that between the global North and South have further widened," Li said.

The latest UN report shows that the pandemic has led to a loss of 114 million jobs worldwide, and left nearly 120 million people in extreme poverty.

Compounding the pandemic's impact is rising trade protectionism. However, "in spite of deglobalization tendencies and COVID-19, the Asian economy remains resilient," Zhou said.

The Asian Development Bank forecasted last December that the economy in developing Asia would contract by 0.4 percent in 2020, before picking up to growth of 6.8 percent in 2021. Official statistics show China's GDP grew by 2.3 percent in 2020, owing to its effective containment of the epidemic.

"Measured by purchasing power parity, Asia is expected to account for more than 50 percent of the world economy in 2020, up from less than one third in 2000. Asia is also becoming a more integrated community, with the share of inter-regional trade in its total import and export volume up from 45.2 percent in 2000 to 58 percent at present," Zhou remarked at the end of 2020.

In November 2020, 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, and New Zealand signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). These countries together represent one third of the global GDP. Zhou hailed the RCEP as the largest ever free trade agreement in terms of economic engagement and population coverage, marking a new chapter of economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region.

Moreover, cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative has promoted economic recovery in Asia and adjacent regions, Li said. Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the initiative aims to better connect Asian, European and African countries along the ancient Silk Road routes.

According to Li, Asia's performance in achieving sustainable development goals is remarkable. "The number of people living in extreme poverty in Asia has dropped dramatically," he said. "Basic education, health and other conditions on the continent have seen significant progress."

Given these situations, during this year's BFA annual conference, "great attention will be given to the global impact of COVID-19, the recovery trajectory of the world economy, and the consolidation of global confidence," Zhou said.

Keeping up with the times

Proposed in 1998 by Fidel V. Ramos, former President of the Philippines, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia, and Morihiro Hosokawa, former Prime Minister of Japan, the BFA was inaugurated 20 years ago as a non-governmental international organization headquartered in China. With agreements signed by more than 20 countries, it is dedicated to building consensus in Asia, standing up for Asian countries, and providing Asian solutions. The forum has become a high-end platform for dialogue among leaders of national governments, industrial and business communities, and academic circles of countries in Asia and the wider world.

"The forum is already full-fledged, however, it keeps moving forward. The variety of topics discussed at the forum expands every year," Viktor Zubkov, a BFA board member, said. Zubkov is also Russia's special presidential representative for cooperation with the Gas Exporting Countries Forum.

The topics of the BFA annual conferences have been expanded from the economy, finance, commerce, trade, global governance, to technological innovation, green development and topics more directly pertaining to people's livelihoods, such as public health, culture, education, elderly care and rural development. Usually, a large number of participants to the conferences are from the business community across the world.

In addition, the forum has launched separate conferences on specific topics. For instance, in June 2019, it hosted the First Conference of the BFA Global Health Forum in Qingdao, Shandong Province in east China, to facilitate the goal of "health for all."

On the subjects of the discussions, Li said, "Each of them carries the forum's ardent expectation for boosting international cooperation and common development."

The advocacy of multilateralism and the pursuit of win-win cooperation are the very themes reverberating in all BFA sessions, he said.

When the BFA was born 20 years ago, globalization was changing the globe and in 2001, China, after 15 years of negotiations, eventually joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In recent years, "globalization has been suffering setbacks and the operation of the multilateral trading mechanism, with the WTO at its core, was disrupted," Zhou said at a meeting in January launching the Free Trade Agreements: Asia's Choice report.

He said prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, rising trade protectionism and unilateralism were causing frequent frictions between major economies; whereas after the outbreak, as economic development came to a standstill and supply chains were interrupted, many countries turned inward in their policies, bringing about further threats to the international trade order.

As the WTO has sunk into a predicament, having difficulties in updating and revising global trade rules, "in the short run, globalization is becoming more regionally focused, relying more on stronger regional cooperation to influence global governance," Zhou said. He pointed out that multiple bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment deals have been signed since the beginning of 2020, including the RCEP.

China ratified the RCEP in March. Once ratified by six ASEAN members and three non-ASEAN members, the agreement will enter into force in 60 days, expected to take place sometime next year. "There had been no free trade agreement involving China, Japan and the ROK at the same time. On that note, the RCEP for the first time brings all three economies together," Zhou noted.

Last December, negotiations on the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment also completed, boosting cooperation between the two large economies.

In order to overcome development challenges, improve Asian and global governance, and enable sustainable development, the BFA should keep up with the times, Zhou said.

In response to a drastically changing international situation, the BFA's board of directors has been dedicated to promoting dialogue, building mutual trust, and pooling positive energy for Asia and the globe, according to Zhou. The incumbent board took office in 2018 under the leadership of Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary General.

An influential platform

"It is on the Boao stage that several momentous achievements in cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region have been developed and perfected, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, all of which have invigorated regional cooperation and economic growth," Li said.

President Xi attended the BFA annual conference in 2013, 2015 and 2018. In 2013, he declared that China would accelerate its interconnectivity with neighboring countries and build a financing platform to strengthen regional economic integration and competitiveness. Months later, he unveiled the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the 2015 annual conference, he put forward four general principles for promoting a community with a shared future for humanity.

At the 2018 annual conference, he made it clear that "China's open doors will not close, but will only open wider." The promise was followed by concrete measures, including the launch of the China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The BFA has facilitated the dialogue between Asia and other parts of the world. Its board of directors began to have European and American members in 2010, expanding the forum's global influence. Several of its council of advisors members hail from non-Asian countries, such as Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister of France.

Zubkov became a BFA board member in 2017. "I am honored to have participated in the work of the BFA board of directors in the past years, and I have seen that the preparations of BFA events were meticulous, the topics discussed at the forum were carefully selected, and the dialogues were organized in an orderly manner," he said.

Leif Johansson, Chairman of the Board of London-based multinational biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is also a BFA board member. He has participated in the forum since its inception. He said as the international situation becomes more and more complicated and volatile, dialogues and exchanges are needed more than ever.

In addition, the BFA annual conferences have special sessions on EU and U.S.-related topics. In recent years, the forum has also stepped outside Asia and hosted seminars in Europe, Oceania and the Americas, Zhou added. The BFA's partners include not only Chinese companies but also multinationals such as Samsung, AstraZeneca and U.S.-based Deloitte.

Over the past 20 years, the BFA has played a vital role in promoting globalization, regional integration and sustainable development, Molly Peck, Executive Director of Buick Sales and Marketing at SAIC-GM, a China-U.S. joint-venture carmaker, said. She added that she believes "this year's conference will provide an opportunity for us to exchange our ideas and contribute to a shared future."
Space Raiders and Hula Hoops crisps have remained lunchbox staples throughout the years - but their latest release could see them also become a must-have on dinner plates.

KP Snacks has sparked a frenzy with the announcement that two of their most popular crisps brands will be available as frozen potato treats that fans can cook in the oven.

The crisps, which can be baked in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, will be available at Iceland and Food Warehouse for 1.50.

Social media users have taken to Instagram gushing about the 'tasty' food, with many admitting they will be joining the crowds searching for the potatoes during their next visit to the UK supermarket.

KP Snacks has introduced a range of Hula Hoops and Space Raiders that can be oven cooked for 1.50 at Iceland and Food Warehouse

Frozen Hula Hoops were previously sold by Iceland alongside McCoy's, however by 2013 the potato shapes were discontinued.

The new release includes original salted Hula Hoops, BBQ beef Hula Hoops, beef Space Raiders and pickled onion Space Raiders among the enticing flavours.

David Lennox who is Head of Product Development at Iceland, explained: 'The KP Snacks addition to our frozen food section is a really exciting one.

'We are always working closely with suppliers to create new and exciting products we know our customers will love and this is one we believe will temp crisp and chip lovers alike.'

Foodie John's Snack Reviews racked up over 1,000 likes on his Instagram post announcing the release and his thoughts on the BBQ Beef flavour Hula Hoops

Social media users have taken to Instagram to share their thoughts on the release, with foodie John's Snack Reviews racking up over 1,000 likes on his post.

He offered his almost 20,000 followers an update alongside photos from his attempt at cooking, saying: 'New frozen Hula Hoops potato rings! BBQ beef flavour!

'8.5/10. Not bad at all. Bought from the Food Warehouse (Iceland) for 1.50.

'They smell exactly like beef Hula Hoops crisps. Have a nice fluffy potato taste and a nice crispy skin. Good portion and makes a nice snack.'

Iceland recommends cooking the frozen Hula Hoops and Space Raiders (pictured) for 15 to 20 minutes in the oven

Foodie John's Snack Reviews rated the potatoes 8.5 out of 10 and said they were 'nice and fluffy'

Eager to try, one person commented: 'They look pretty tasty! Better than I thought

One added: 'Looks sooo good,' while a third wrote: 'I can't figure out if I want to shove these in my gob or run away.'

Tagging a friend, another added: 'Did you know this was a thing? Definitely gonna have to try these.'
Alex Salmond was last night accused of pandering to anti-English bigots in Scotland after summoning support from a 700-year-old medieval Scots king in a bizarre campaign video for his new political party.

The former First Minister's Alba party broadcast a strange 100-second clip in which an actor playing Robert the Bruce vows the rival to Nicola Sturgeon's SNP will break 'the spine of English superiority' and 'unite the clans'.

In the clip, the Bruce - who led Scotland in its first War of Independence against England in the 14th century - is voiced by actor Angus Macfadyen, who played the warlord in the Mel Gibson's 1995 blockbuster Braveheart.

The video shows modern-day images of pro-independence activists during a monologue from the Bruce, in what is a supposed endorsement of Mr Salmond's platform to drive a wedge between Scotland and England.

The campaigners are apparently compared to the Scottish 'forces of freedom' who defeated armies of the English 'oppressor' at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, the Bruce's famous victory in the war against King Edward.

It claims that the demonstration of 'people power by the sma' [small] folk of Scotland was the straw that broke the spine of English superiority'.

However, the video has prompted fury from Mr Salmond's political rivals, who have accused the former SNP leader of indulging extreme Scottish nationalists to outdo Ms Sturgeon in the Holyrood election.

ALBA Party leader Alex Salmond at a photocall on Calton Hill, Edinburgh

In the clip, the Bruce - who led Scotland in its first War of Independence against England in the 14th century - is voiced by actor Angus Macfadyen, who played the warlord in Braveheart

Robert the Bruce: The hero of Bannockburn who created an independent Scotland Robert the Bruce was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. He was one of the most famous warriors of his generation and led Scotland during the First War of Independence against England. As Earl of Carrick, Robert supported his family's claim to the Scottish throne and took part in William Wallace's revolt against Edward I of England. Robert seized the throne and was crowned king in March 1306. Edward's forces defeated Robert in the battle of Methven, forcing him to go into hiding before re-emerging in 1307 to defeat an English army at Loudoun Hill and wage a guerrilla war. A series of victories between 1310 and 1314 won him control of much of Scotland, and at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Robert defeated a much larger English army under Edward II of England. Despite Bannockburn, Edward II refused to renounce his claim to the overlordship of Scotland. In 1320, the Scottish nobility declared Robert as their rightful monarch and asserting Scotland's status as an independent kingdom. Robert died in June 1329. His body is buried in Dunfermline Abbey, while his heart was interred in Melrose Abbey and his internal organs embalmed and placed in St Serf's Chapel, Dumbarton. Advertisement

Mr Macfadyen, a journeyman actor who remains best known for his role in Mel Gibson's movie about William Wallace, said the video was 'ever so slightly tongue in cheek but still makes a very serious point'.

Former first minister Mr Salmond attempted to portray the video as light-hearted, saying: 'With Robert the Bruce on our side the other parties should start to tremble.'

When criticised, he said victory at Bannockburn was a source of 'national pride' and that those attacking its message had 'scant regard for the history of Scotland'.

However, his opponents claimed the bizarre video was designed to stoke up anti-English sentiment as he attempts to outdo Nicola Sturgeon's nationalist platform.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Pamela Nash, chief executive of the pro-UK Scotland in Union campaign group, accused Mr Salmond's campaign of being '700 years out of date' and said 'the nationalist mask has slipped'.

She added that making the May election 'a battle between Scotland and England' is 'pathetic and divisive' and likely to backfire with voters.

Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said that the 'unpleasantness of Alex Salmond's mob' had been revealed by a video which promoted 'hateful division'.

He added: 'Scratch the surface of many involved in Scotland's nationalist movement and you reveal the bigotry beneath the surface. We need a Scotland focussed on a national recovery - not this kind of hateful division.'

Mr Salmond's war of words with his one-time protegee Ms Sturgeon has intensified as the former First Minister attacked the SNP chief's independence strategy.

The Alba leader claimed the First Minister's suggestion that a referendum will happen in 2023 or later depending on the battle against Covid has caused 'consternation' in the pro-independence movement.

He also accused her of a 'lack of urgency' in the bid to tear Scotland out of the UK.

Ms Sturgeon used a newspaper interview to launch new attacks on Mr Salmond and claim that Boris Johnson will grant a referendum if there is a pro-independence majority.

Critics said the latest exchanges show nationalists will be 'fighting like ferrets in a sack' in the next term of parliament.

Calls also grew for a full judge-led inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of harassment complaints after Ms Sturgeon admitted the various probes had not properly got to the bottom of the issue.

Scottish Conservative candidate Annie Wells said: 'Scotland deserves better than nationalists fighting like ferrets in a sack over who is trying to break up our United Kingdom quicker.

'At a time when we should all be focused on our post-Covid recovery, nationalists are only obsessed with their fresh drive for another independence referendum and trying to settle personal grievances.'

Mr Salmond's comments are the most direct attack on Ms Sturgeon's strategy since he launched his rival pro-independence party last month.

He was responding to Ms Sturgeon telling journalists last week that her 'preference' is to hold a referendum in the first half of the next term of parliament, a period that runs until the end of 2023, but that whether that will 'definitely happen' depends on the fight against coronavirus.

ALBA party political broadcast featuring Robert The Bruce statue

Nicola Sturgeon used a newspaper interview to launch new attacks on Mr Salmond and claim that Boris Johnson will grant a referendum if there is a pro-independence majority

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Salmond said Ms Sturgeon's comments about an independence referendum in 2023 or later had caused 'total consternation' in the nationalist movement.

He said: 'It seems to be that Scotland will not 'be free until after 2023'  more seriously, it seems to indicate a lack of urgency in bringing the independence question to a decision.'

Mr Salmond also claimed the Prime Minister would find it 'substantially more difficult' if there is a pro-independence 'super-majority' in Holyrood.

In an interview with the Guardian, Ms Sturgeon claimed Mr Johnson would not 'stand in the way' of a referendum if her party wins the election.

She hit out at Mr Salmond's tactics - which include support for street protests - saying they will put off voters, and again questioned whether he should be able to return to public office.

Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chairman Alistair Carmichael said: 'Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond don't care about your job, your parent's operation or your child's schooling.

'Scotland deserves better than a nationalist movement that wants to spend the next five years arguing about the timeline for independence.'

Meanwhile, calls grew yesterday for a judge-led inquiry into the handling of complaints about Mr Salmond after Ms Sturgeon admitted various probes had not got to the bottom of the issue.

Women who complained about Mr Salmond told MSPs a 'blind eye' was turned to his behaviour before they made their complaints.

Asked if the inquiry had discovered exactly what was going on in government prior to 2017, Ms Sturgeon told the Guardian: 'Have any of the inquiries properly done that? Probably not.'

Murdo Fraser, one of the members of the Holyrood inquiry, said: 'At every turn during this inquiry, it was the SNP Government who obstructed our work and attempted to keep vital evidence secret from us.'

He insisted 'a judge-led inquiry is now necessary'.
Macaron enthusiasts were heartbroken in October when Chantal Guillon announced that it would shutter its French pastry business after 12 years. But after months of closure, the famed macaron shop is back and ready for business as usual.

This is our dream come true, said Lubna Lassaque, who is the new owner alongside husband and French pastry chef Patrick Lassaque. We were overwhelmed with the response of the clients. They were saying they were devastated when this closed.

Chantal Guillon returned for service at its San Francisco and Palo Alto stores in January exactly as it was before  including the same, classic macaron recipe Chantal Guillon is known for. Patrick is at the helm of macaron production in San Francisco, while Lubna runs the macaron shop in Palo Alto.

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for the couple who relocated from Las Vegas. They both did stints in the hospitality business there, before moving to San Francisco after purchasing two of Chantal Guillon's locations from the previous owner and business namesake, Chantal Guillon.

The purchase included the 1309 Howard St. location in San Francisco, and the Palo Alto location on University Avenue, but Lubna said they declined to buy a third business location in Hayes Valley since its lease was up and they couldnt commit to renting three retail locations.

When Guillon announced she would close her pastry shops in October 2020, she kept mum on the details, but Lubna explained that it had to do with Guillons wish to retire. According to Lubna, she and Patrick had expressed an interest to buy the brand three years ago, but at that time Guillon was not interested. They stayed connected until the pandemic hit, when Guillon reached out to them with a bid to sell the brand.

Chantal Guillon on Yelp

[Guillon] came back to us and said, Hey, are you guys still interested because I really want someone who knows how to run a business, Lubna said. We love the product and we wanted to continue it.

As new owners, Lubna wants to stay true to the integrity of their product, but she hopes that she and Patrick can grow it more. Some of that might take shape with rebranding, and also reaching a wider audience.

We want to be a little bit more recognized in the East Coast and just get a little bit beyond [that]. Those things will take a little bit of effort and time, but that's definitely our next step.

For now, the Lassaques will focus their efforts on their two stores. Theyre working on new flavors, which will include a hazelnut macaron with a 24-karat gold leaf and a forthcoming rose champagne macaron.

Taking on Chantal Guillon amid the pandemic did worry the new business owners, but Lubna is confident it was worth the investment.

We knew the risks that were coming into screen, but we still wanted to do it because we know things will get better, Lubna said.

Chantal Guillon is located at 1309 Howard St. in San Francisco and 444 University Ave. in Palo Alto.
New Delhi: With an aim to expand the basket of COVID-19 vaccines and enhance the pace of inoculation in India, the central government on Tuesday said it has decided to fast-track emergency approvals for all coronavirus jabs that have been given a similar nod by the World Health Organization or regulators in the United States, Europe, Britain or Japan. The move is significant as it may make available several vaccines, including those made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, in India with certain conditions.

The first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before they are rolled out for further immunization programme within the country, the Union Health Ministry said. Terming it a significant development and a liberal regulatory step that will increase the access to vaccines manufactured outside, NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr VK Paul said, "We hope and we invite vaccine makers such as Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson and others...To be ready to come to India as early as possible."

The government has decided that COVID-19 vaccines which have been developed and are being manufactured in foreign countries and which have been granted emergency approval for restricted use by authorities in the US, Europe, the UK, Japan or which are listed in the WHO Emergency Use Listing may be granted emergency use approval in India. They will be given emergency use approval mandating the requirement of post-approval parallel bridging clinical trial in place of a local clinical trial under the provisions of the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules 2019, the ministry said. "This decision will facilitate quicker access to such foreign vaccines by India and would encourage imports, including import of bulk drug material, optimal utilization of domestic fill and finish capacity, etc., which will in turn provide a fillip to vaccine manufacturing capacity and total vaccine availability for domestic (use)," the ministry said.

The decision came following the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). Currently, two vaccines -- Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and Covishield by Serum Institute of India (SII) -- are being used for inoculation in India. India's drug regulator also granted permission for the restricted emergency use of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V with certain conditions on Monday.

The matter of augmenting the basket of vaccines available for fighting the pandemic as well as to accelerate the pace and coverage of domestic vaccination programme were discussed in the 23rd meeting of NEGVAC chaired by V K Paul on April 11. India is following a comprehensive approach to tackle the pandemic in a proactive and pre-emptive manner, the ministry said in a statement.

In this context, as early as May 2020, India constituted a task force headed by the Principal Scientific Advisor to encourage research and development for vaccine manufacture and constituted in August 2020 an expert group headed by Member, NITI Aayog to assist in the rollout of the COVID vaccination programme. It was because of these strategies that India became the first country to have two "Made in India" vaccines for domestic vaccination drive, it said.

Live TV

Vaccination is one of the critical pillars of COVID-19 control and management strategy adopted by the Centre, it underlined.
New Delhi/Washington, April 13 (IANS) As America seeks to counter a rising China, no nation is more important than India, with its vast size, abundance of highly skilled technical professionals, and strong political and cultural ties with the United States. This conclusion has been made by one of the leading science and technology think tanks in the US.

The Washington based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), in a significant paper authored by David Moschella and Robert Atkinson, has said that the economic and geopolitical stakes for the US could not be much higher.

Reviewing geopolitics of the world, the ITIF said that based on what the Biden administration and the Modi government decide, the world could end up in two possible scenarios.

In the first possibility, the ITIF predicted, "As tensions between India and China are reduced, and the many business synergies between these two neighbouring nations come to the fore. The combination of China's manufacturing might and India's software and service prowess provides across-the-board value-chain capabilities. The United States remains heavily reliant on both nations, whose market sizes dwarf that of America, giving Chinese and Indian companies colossal economies of scale and leading to large bilateral trade deficits for the United States with both nations."

"These dynamics ultimately result in world-leading Chinese and Indian universities, companies, and research institutions. Given its relatively small size and many dependencies, there is little the United States can do, as the heart of the global economy shifts to the East, and as democratic nations and norms are increasingly seen as failing to keep pace with China's rapid societal progress."

In the other scenario, "The interests of India and the United States become increasingly aligned, as the economic, military, and international relations challenges from China grow. Rapidly growing Indian manufacturing, much of it from plants moving out of China, helps reduce U.S. dependencies on China while slowing China's growth."

"At the same time, Indian students continue to flock to the United States, with many staying and making essential contributions to America's technological capabilities. The Indian diaspora creates even more-powerful bonds between India and the United States, generating a great many business, political, and cultural leaders."

The think tank argued that rising U.S. company dependence on India-based technology services proves to have more benefits than drawbacks and is largely offset by the success of U.S. tech giants in India and by ever-improving cloud services that make extensive customized IT services less necessary. As a result, Indian exports to the United States are broadly matched by U.S. business within India, and both nations grow.

The combined military prowess of the United States, India, Japan, and Australia (and eventually South Korea and Taiwan) proves sufficient to prevent China's hegemony within the Pacific region, the ITIF said. In this scenario, the foundation predicted that democratic norms will prevail across most of the developed world, with many developing nations looking to the "Delhi model" rather than the "Beijing model."

As America's technology dependencies on India in the 2020s seem certain to rise, and therefore there is now no more important bilateral relationship for the United States than India, the ITIF paper said.

While geopolitical forces are drawing America and India closer together, long-term alignment with the United States and the West is by no means assured and will require successful policymaking by both India and the United States, the paper argued.

Though America and India are both rightly keen to move more manufacturing operations from China to India, significant shifts will take time, as China still has many advantages, the think tank warned.

Most large U.S. companies now rely heavily on India-based IT services-whether from India-headquartered IT service providers, U.S.-headquartered IT services companies with large India-based operations, or their own India-based capability centers.

Leading U.S. tech companies are well positioned in India's booming Internet and e-commerce marketplaces, but strong local competitors are emerging.

India is moving up the value chain into R&D, innovation centers, machine learning, analytics, product design and testing, and other areas, especially in IT and life sciences. Outside of IT, U.S. companies operating in India typically face stiff competition from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and of course, Indian firms-and doing business in India is still often difficult.

Therefore, the foundation has proposed that the US must ensure that Americans firms, especially technology and Internet firms (including e-commerce and payments) have the same access to the India market as India does to the U.S. market in terms of licenses, taxes, tariffs, data usage/storage, e-commerce, privacy, etc.

"India greatly values its access to the U.S. IT services market, so this is a very powerful bargaining chip that should be used as needed to ensure relatively fair and balanced trade between the two nations. For example, imposing taxes on India's IT services sales in the United States could be used to offset any digital services taxes imposed on U.S. firms operating in India, as opposed to the tariffs on imported physical goods from India that the Biden administration has recently proposed."

The foundation has also recommended the U.S. and India to develop joint technology policies, rules, and regulations in the above areas as a potentially powerful alternative to the EU-and China-in terms of setting global norms. As many of India's policies in these areas are being developed now, the Biden administration should make this an immediate priority, the ITIF paper pointed out.

The think tank also supports a limited U.S./India free trade agreement focused on key technology areas, including having India join the ITA-2 agreement and establishing agreements on cross-border data flows.

--IANS

aat/skp/
OAKLAND, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Logan, brand new best-in-class apartments and townhomes, is now open and available for lease. The property, located at the gateway to Temescal, consists of 204 oversized homes with an upscale market opening later this year and a 25,000 square foot rooftop farm, the largest on the West Coast.

Residents and guests are welcomed to the Logan by an outdoor arcade flanked by two living walls and inset water features. A breezeway with custom tile mural by Oakland artist Annie Vought connects the residential space to the on-site grocery space, greater Temescal, the 51st street corridor, and the newly completed Frog Park. Upon entering the dramatic two-story lobby, you'll find a welcoming front desk with a living wall backdrop, an appointed space for on-site resident services, and a mail center featuring custom wallcovering showcasing local Oakland community members. Start your day with a HIIT workout in the Gym with top-of-the-line machinery designed for functional training, including Woodway treadmills and a Mirror for interactive workouts. 2,000 square feet of collaborative co-working space is completed with a coffee bar, private alcoves, cafe tables, and AV systems with quiet mics for comfortable remote work environment. Walk up to The Mezzanine to experience a relaxing moment with friends around the catering kitchen and lounge. Nestled on the 25,000 square foot rooftop farm are two terraces with grills, space for alfresco dining or working from home and sweeping views of the Oakland Hills, downtown Oakland, the Bay, and San Francisco.

The residences feature oversized homes that were factory-built modular construction. The largest in any new construction in Temescal, the homes range from 480 to 1810 square feet with sun-drenched rooms in three different color palates  Light, Dark and Bold. LG smart home technology and air conditioning keeps the homes cool on the warmest summer days; cozy in the rainy winter. With wood-surface flooring throughout, these homes are a pet-owner's dream. Select homes feature private patios up to 400 square feet and a second floor outdoor Mews with local vegetation provides an oasis to enjoy from surrounding private balconies. Full-sized washer-dryers are in every home, in addition to an elevated suite of kitchen appliances  French door refrigerators with cold beverage station, pull out freezers and induction cooktops. The kitchens have full custom tile back splashes, waterfall quartz countertops and custom cabinetry. Each bedroom is outfitted with built-in closet-organizers.

Studio, One, Two, and Three bedroom homes are available with specials up to 12 weeks free rent depending on the size of home. Immediate move-in is available.

Community extends outside The Logan in Oakland's vibrant Temescal neighborhood, peppered with local favorites  Bake-Sale Betty's , Cholita Linda's street tacos, Aunt Mary's Cafe, Burma Superstar, Temescal Brewing, Kansai, Temescal Alley Barber's Shop, Frog Park, Flying Yoga, and all that Temescal Alley has to offer. MacArthur Bart is just a 15-minute walk away and the 51st street entrance to highway 24 will connect you to 580, 880, or 80 in a matter of minutes. The Logan is a convenient place to call home.

Contact: Jill Dolnicek, 3039492267, jill@alignresidential.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/living-the-temescal-life-301267989.html

SOURCE The Logan
While the fight over terminology reflects the intractability of racial issues in society, it is also indicative of a peculiar organizational culture that relies on informal consensus to get things done.

The Internet Engineering Task Force eschews voting, and it often measures consensus by asking opposing factions of engineers to hum during meetings. The hums are then assessed by volume and ferocity. Vigorous humming, even from only a few people, could indicate strong disagreement, a sign that consensus has not yet been reached.

The I.E.T.F. has created rigorous standards for the internet and for itself. Until 2016, it required the documents in which its standards are published to be precisely 72 characters wide and 58 lines long, a format adapted from the era when programmers punched their code into paper cards and fed them into early IBM computers.

We have big fights with each other, but our intent is always to reach consensus, said Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the task force and a vice president at Google. I think that the spirit of the I.E.T.F. still is that, if were going to do anything, lets try to do it one way so that we can have a uniform expectation that things will function.

The group is made up of about 7,000 volunteers from around the world. It has two full-time employees, an executive director and a spokesman, whose work is primarily funded by meeting dues and the registration fees of dot-org internet domains. It cannot force giants like Amazon or Apple to follow its guidance, but tech companies often choose to do so because the I.E.T.F. has created elegant solutions for engineering problems.
While the annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards were put on hold due to the pandemic, the grocery giant opted to expand on the recognition program with a statewide Texas Loves Teachers bus tour.

During the tour, H-E-B is visiting 50 school districts and early childhood education centers within 50 days, and it is giving away $20,000 in H-E-B gift cards each week.
Knoxville police work the scene of a shooting at Austin East High School in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Shooter Killed at Tennessee High School Identified as Student: Police

An armed student has died in a shooting with police on Monday after he opened fired at an officer responding to a call for help at the Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) announced.

Initial reports of the incident established that one person had died and an officer was injured, but had yet to identify the person as a student of the high school. The student has not been named.

Its a sad day for Knoxville, and its tough for Austin-East, TBI Director David B. Rausch, a former Knoxville police chief, told reporters.

The student died at the scene and the officer was wounded in the upper leg and taken into surgery at a local hospital, authorities said at a press conference late Monday. No one else was hurt.

Knoxville police work the scene of a shooting at Austin East High School in Knoxville, Tenn., on April 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

The TBI announced in a release that the Knoxville Police Department received a report around 3:15 p.m. of an armed person at the high school. Police officers found the person inside a restroom, and the person refused to comply after being ordered to come out.

The person fired shots and hit an officer as the officers entered the restroom, police said. One officer shot back and fatally wounded the armed subject.

The subject was pronounced dead at the scene and has since been identified as a student. The officer who was shot was transported to a local hospital for treatment, the announcement reads.

The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and, instead, refer questions of that nature to their respective department to answer as it sees fit.

Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon told WATE-TV earlier in the day that she spoke with the wounded officer and that he was conscious and in good spirits.

Gov. Bill Lee mentioned the shooting at a news conference following the incident.

I just wanted to make reference to that and ask, for those who are watching, online or otherwise, to pray for that situation and for the families and the victims that might be affected by that in our state, he said.

Lee said on Twitter late Monday, A tragic situation unfolded at Austin-East Magnet High School today. We mourn the loss of life and commend law enforcement for their rapid response. We offer our full support to @TBI as they investigate this situation further.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Venture capital fund manager Energy Transition Ventures said on Tuesday it had launched the first venture fund in Texas that will exclusively invest in energy transition technologies.

The fund is founded in the worlds energy capital Houston by cleantech start-up executives and venture capitalists Craig Lawrence and Neal Dikeman, with anchor investment from two operating companies from the GS Group of South Korea. Energy Transition Ventures will be investing in early-stage start-ups in North America.

Texas is the energy capital of the world, and outside of corporate venture capital, there are not many venture funds in the state, Craig Lawrence, co-founder of Energy Transition Ventures, said in a statement. So it makes sense to start an energy transition focused fund here as the latest wave of clean technology investing accelerates, Lawrence added.

Energy Transition Ventures closed its first capital in February this year and completed its first investment a month later in March. Now Energy Transition Ventures is expected to close new investors for a total fund size of US$75 million, the fund manager said.

Before Energy Transition Ventures, the founders Lawrence and Dikeman took part in the launch and management of clean energy investing at Accel Partners, Jane Capital, and Shell Technology Ventures. They have also held various operating roles in solar power companies and smart grid start-ups.

The worlds oil capital Houston and the U.S. wind power leader Texas would be the ideal place to support energy ventures that would profit in the post-oil world, Dikeman told Bloomberg in an interview.

If youre going to play tech, you should do it in Silicon Valley, Dikeman said. If youre going to do media, you should do it in New York. If youre going to do auto, do it in Detroit. If youre going to play energy, do it in Texas, the venture capitalist told Bloomberg.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  Medical frontliners are up in arms over a Cabinet official's claim they get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks.

In a meeting Monday night, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told President Rodrigo Duterte the government is making sure health workers are safe through regular testing, and that the infected are quarantined immediately.

Health workers, including the group Filipino Nurses United, refuted Duque.

Hindi po yan totoo (That is not true), Jocelyn Andamo, secretary general of the FNU, told CNN Philippines Balitaan on Tuesday.

Marami po kaming miyembro na napipilitan magduty kahit hindi natetest (We have a lot of members who are forced to report to duty without getting tested), she said. Some pay for their own COVID-19 test for their peace of mind, she added.

The exponential rise in COVID-19 cases has taken its toll on frontliners working for long hours for lack of manpower. Rest is a luxury, putting health workers at higher risk of catching the virus, according to the FNU.

Marami po kaming colleagues, members na pag nagduty po ng 12 hours, pag hindi po nakapasok ang kanilang mga kasamahan dahil may sakit, nag-eextend pa sila ng 16 hours. Kung minsan, 36 hours, Andamo said.

[Translation: We have many members, who, after a 12-hour duty, have to extend for another 16 hours, or even 36 hours to cover the shift of infected colleagues.]

Infected health workers numbered 628 as of April 11, according to official data. A total of 16,510 health frontliners tested positive for coronavirus since the pandemic. Eighty-six died while more than 15,000 recovered.

The FNU believes fatigue, personal protective equipment, and free mandatory testing are to blame for the continued rise in health workers getting sick.

Hindi po community transmission ang main problem natin kung hindi yung kakulangan rin ng protection ng mga nurses at iba pang health workers, Andamo said.

[Translation: Community transmission is not the main problem but the lack of protection for nurses and other health workers.]
Johnstown, PA, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Environment, Safety, and Infrastructure (SAF/IEE) has awarded a contract modification worth $4.1 million to Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC). This modification is the second option year of a competitively bid, five-year contract worth up to $21 million.

For more than a decade, CTC has provided policy, guidance, and oversight support to SAF/IEEs energy and water portfolio. Specifically, CTC delivers proven program management processes along with subject matter expertise and advanced performance in facility energy, water and utility management, mission assurance, strategic communications, and statutory and legislative affairs. In addition to energy and water, this contract modification also covers safety, environment, and infrastructure. CTC will coordinate the efforts of two subcontracting partners, AGEISS and IBM Global Services, to provide technical expertise in those additional areas.

We are honored SAF/IEE has chosen to continue its relationship with CTC and our talented employees to help bring technical expertise and innovative solutions to the complex challenges facing the Air Force, said Edward J. Sheehan, Jr., CTC President and CEO. We welcome the opportunity to continue our successful partnership and share SAF/IEEs desire to develop solutions to enhance mission assurance.

CTCs work is led by Richard RB Brill, Director of CTCs Air Force Strategic Advisory Program. We remain committed to SAF/IEEs mission as they integrate the best in environment, safety, energy, water, and infrastructure practices into Air Force activities, said Brill. This renewal serves to highlight the knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm our team brings to help keep our nations Air and Space Forces safe and ensure they have the infrastructure necessary to be mission-ready.

The work on this modification will run until the middle of March 2022. This award was facilitated through the U.S. General Services Administrations One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) contract.

Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization. Together with our affiliates, Enterprise Ventures Corporation and CTC Foundation, we leverage research, development, test and evaluation work to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions. To best serve our clients needs, we offer the complete ability to fully design, develop, test, prototype and build. We deliver robust, technical, and innovative solutions that safeguard our national security, retain U.S. technological advantage, and ensure the primacy of American manufacturing. For more information about CTC, visit www.ctc.com.

Attachment
State Duma MPs back ban on confiscation of debtors pets

 flickr.com/ fbazhenov

17:53 13/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 13 (RAPSI)  The lower house of Russian parliament adopted a bill prohibiting confiscation of domestic animals of debtors in the third and final reading on Tuesday, according to the State Duma website.

Amendments are expected to be introduced in the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

The initiative stipulates that recovery on the basis of an enforcement document cannot be applied to family pets not used for business purposes.

The draft laws authors are Chair of the Committee on State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov and Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Ecology and Environment Protection Vladimir Burmatov. They believe the amendments will promote more humane treatment of domestic animals, provision of adequate pet care conditions and emotional well-being of their owners.
Yves here. Jared Holst thought it was important to clarify the term bullshit economy.

However, wed like to add a key point: Jared relies upon the foundational chart of economics, the cute X of the downward sloping demand line and the upward sloping supply line that magically intersect and define a price.

We explained long form in ECONNED that this aint always so:

Consider the most basic image in economics: a chart with a downward sloping demand

curve and the upward sloping supply curve, the same sort found in Krugmans diagram. Deidre McCloskey points out that the statistical attempts to prove the relationship have had mixed results. That is actually not surprising, since one can think of lower prices leading to more purchases (the obvious example of sales) but also higher prices leading to more demand. Price can be seen as a proxy for quality. A price that looks suspiciously low can produce a something must be wrong with it reaction. For instance, some luxury goods dealers, such as jewelers, have sometimes been able to move inventory that was not selling by increasing prices. Elevated prices may also elicit purchases when the customer expects them to rise even further. Recall that some people who bought houses near the peak felt they had to do so then or risk being priced out of the market. Some airline companies locked in the high oil prices of early 2008 fearing further price rises. The theoretical proof is also more limited than the simplified picture suggests. Demand curves are generally downward sloping, but in particular cases or regions, per the examples above, they may not be. Yet how often do you see a caveat added to models that use a simple declining line to represent the demand functions? Not only is it absent from popular presentations, it is seldom found in policy papers or in blogs written by and for economists. McCloskey argues that economists actually rely on introspection, thought experiments, case examples, and the lore of the marketplace, to support the supply/demand model. Similarly, a prediction of a simple supply-demand model is that if you increase minimum wages, you will increase unemployment. Its the same picture we saw for the oil market, with different labels. In this case, the excess inventory would be people not able to find work. One curious element of some of the responses was that they charged Card and Krueger with violating immutable laws of economics. For instance, Reed Garfield, the senior economist of the Joint Economic Committee, wrote: The results of the study were extraordinary. Card and Krueger seemed to have discovered a refutation of the law of demand. Economists were stunned. Because of these extraordinary results, they debated the results. Many economists argued that the differences . . . were more than simply differences of minimum wage rates. Other economists argued that the study design was flawed. Notice the assertion of the existence of the law of demand, by which Garfield means demand curves slope downwardly, when in fact no such law exists. And there are reasons the Card-Krueger findings could be plausible, the biggest being that the sort of places that hire low-wage labor may not be able to get by with fewer workers and still function. Yet some empirical work by David Card, an economics professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Alan Krueger, a professor of economics at Princeton, disputed the idea that increasing minimum wages lowers the number of jobs for the lowest-paid workers. Needless to say, the studies got a great deal of attention, with the reactions often breaking along ideological lines.

And there are cases where economists acknowledge that the demand line is not downward sloping, such as when demand is inelastic:

Peoples lives are not commoditiesyou cannot ask the question how much will you pay to live, because the answer is everything. That is what makes the price of medicine different than the price of an iPhone.  @AOC pic.twitter.com/j4DTOR7VgI  SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) May 16, 2019

Mind you, Im not disputing Jareds argument below, since the simple X picture is often accurate. Its just every time I see that classic demand/supply chart, I feel I have to clear my throat.

Jareds commentary about bonnet-owners and the rancid ecosystem that develops to exploit them is reminiscent of another passage in ECONNED:

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the vast panorama of financial instruments and strategies that have grown up (and blown up), in recent years. But the complexity of these transactions and securities is all part of a relentless trend: toward greater and greater leverage, and greater opacity. The dirty secret of the credit crisis is that the relentless pursuit of innovation meant there was virtually no equity, no cushion for losses anywhere behind the massive creation of risky debt. Arcane, illiquid securities were rated superduper AAA and, with their true risks misunderstood and masked, required only minuscule reserves. Their illiquidity and complexity also meant their accounting value could be finessed. The same instruments, their intricacies overlooked, would soon become raw material for more leverage as they became accepted as collateral for further borrowing, whether via commercial paper or repos. But even then, the bankers still needed real assets, real borrowers. Investment bankers screamed at mortgage lenders to find them more product, and still, it was not enough. But credit default swaps solved this problem. Once a CDS on low-grade subprime was sufficiently liquid, synthetic borrowers could stand in the place of subprime borrowers, paying when the borrowers paid and winning a reward when real borrowers could pay no longer. The buyers of CDS were synthetic borrowers that made synthetic CDOs possible. With CDS, supply was no longer bound by earthly constraints on the number of subprime borrowers, but could ascend skyward, as long as there were short sellers willing to be synthetic borrowers and insurers who, tempted by fees, would volunteer to be synthetic lenders, standing atop their own edifice of risks, oblivious to its precariousness. Institution after institution was bled dry. Yet economists and central bankers applauded the wondrous innovations, seeing increased liquidity and more efficient loan intermedation, ignoring the unhealthy condition of the industry. The firms that had been silently drained of capital and tied together in shadowy counterparty links teetered, fell, and looked certain to perish. There was one last capital reserve to tap, U.S. taxpayers, to revive the financial system and make the innovators whole. Widespread anger turned into sullen resignation as the public realized its opposition to the looting was futile. The authorities now claim they will find ways to solve the problems of opacity, leverage, and moral hazard. But opacity, leverage, and moral hazard are not accidental byproducts of otherwise salutary innovations; they are the direct intent of the innovations. No one at the major capital markets firms was celebrated for creating markets to connect borrowers and savers transparently and with low risk. After all, efficient markets produce minimal profits. They were instead rewarded for making sure no one, the regulators, the press, the community at large, could see and understand what they were doing.

Forgive this very long-winded set-up to Jareds somewhat light-hearted illustration of the bullshit economy at work. Businessmen once sought to gain advantage by creating a competitive advantage, which in the past generally meant finding a way to serve customers better or at lower cost. Serving them better might mean catering to niche needs, like having a convenience store open 24 hours where the patrons accepted high prices because the stores location and hours were worth paying for. Too often now schemes for gaining advantage rely on exploiting customer ignorance or desperation, or using legal and regulatory process to restrict their choices.

By Jared Holst, the author at Brands Mean a Lot, a weekly commentary on the ways branding impacts our lives. Each week, he explores contradictions within the way politics, products, and pop-culture are branded for us, offering insight on whats really being said. You can follow Jared on Twitter @jarholst. Originally published at Brands Mean a Lot

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.  Adam Smith, The Wealth Of Nations.

Economics, the sort which most people study in high school and undergrad, teach us that if demand exists for a good (good, in this essay, can mean a product or service), supply will rise to meet that demand. Conversely, if demand falls, so too will supply. This function is meant to illustrate the relationship between buyers and suppliersmarket equilibrium is when demand and supply equal one another, signaling that suppliers and buyers agree, sans coercion, on a price and a supply of a good.

The price of a product also plays a role. If a products price is too high, the supply of the product will outstrip the demand, creating a surplus. Priced too low, and the demand outstrips the supply, creating a shortage.

But in foundational economics, virtually no time is spent on the creation of demand.

The origin of the demand for a particular good is central to The Bullshit Economy. In our high school and undergrad economics, were taught to think of market equilibrium in terms of staple goods like gasoline and plumbing and discretionary goods like PlayStations and first class airfare. People need gas because it powers combustion motors and they want first class airfare because of comped bloody marys and wide seats. Although external forces impact the demand of eachan OPEC embargo in the case of gas or a recession in the case of first class flyingmost of the demand for those goods is intrinsic to the good itself. The supply and the goods themselves are generated to meet demand.

At the root of The Bullshit Economy is artificial demand. Demand that precedes supply. Market equilibrium, rather than an unfettered and unspoken agreement on terms between buyers and suppliers, becomes coercion on behalf of buyers.

You possess a priceless family heirloom, an embroidered lace bonnet worn by 6 successive generations. Its traveled from the grey skied, hardscrabble motherland, to the shores of America, all the way to your attic. Through Facebook, you happen upon a vast community of others in possession of priceless antique bonnets. The community numbers millions.

Sensing opportunity, an interloper makes their way into the community. The rapscallion invents a unique jelly that permanently stains the antique bonnets. At that years Antique Bonnet convention in Springfield, MO, they manage to stain millions of heirloom bonnets. Being unique, this jellys resistant to all existing stain removers. The only solution? A patented jelly remover, invented by the rapscallion.

Knowing theyve got the market cornered and control the supply of jelly remover, the rapscallion charges obscenely high prices for the product. They recruit companies, who in partnership with the rapscallion, conjure financial products to help those with stained bonnets afford the jelly. Those with stained bonnets have two options, pay the price, or go without a pristine bonnet, thereby angering the ghosts of generations past and forgoing spotless headwear for future generations.



Pictured: Adam Smith in a bonnet

The government gets hip to it all and rules that Rapscallion brand jelly remover has created a monopoly for itself and must share its recipe so that other jelly remover brands may enter the market. Towards the financing products created to make jelly remover affordable, both public and political sentiment sours. New laws are written that expressly outlaw the extension of certain types of jelly remover loans and cap the rates at which the remaining, legal loans can be given.

Knowing that jelly remover is vital to antique bonnet owners, other companies produce their own removers, but prices remain high due to unspoken acknowledgement by jelly remover producers of the crucial nature of jelly remover. A jelly remover cartel forms.

Noticing loopholes in the governments ruling, new firms step in to help bonnet owners pay for the product. Instead of calling them loans and charging interest, they brand them fiscal favors. Receiving a fiscal favor requires bonnet owners to provide their bank routing and account numbers so the new entrants may provide an initial deposit into the users accountsand subsequently garnish a portion of the users paycheck for the next 10 years. The garnishing rate shall never be less than 45% and increases from there depending on the lunar phase of the users payday.

Illuminated by fluorescent tube lights, lawyers examine government regulation to stay on the right side of the law and draft consumer-side terms and conditions to be agreed upon via browser checkbox. Advertising agencies staffed with lit majors from universities like Bennington, Bard, and Yale pitch these companies on which non-binary colorway will appeal to the stained bonnet cohort. Product managers fresh out of MIT and Harvard Business School ingeniously work dark patterns into each new app so as to befuddle bonnet owners into agreeing to pay more as each month passes.

Its a shit seed, from which sprouts a shit tree, which bears shit fruit. It stinks!

Some will read this and say, Isnt it good that now the bonnet people can afford the cleaner for which they so desperately yearn? Couldnt the bonnet people just put it on a credit card, that must be better? The average credit card APR is 15.56% to 22.87%. Also, in a properly functioning economy and society, thered be no need for these companies in the first place. The genesis of the demand is rotten.

Not every good in the bullshit economy follows this exact pattern, but many occupy a portion of the story. Uber and Lyft, for example, thrive because of loopholes in the law around what constitutes an employee versus an independent contractor. The college admissions ecosystem perpetuates because, amongst other reasons, inequality of opportunity and access.

In the coming months, I aim to expand on this by way of presenting fresh examples. In the meantime, I hope this helped narrow in on the source of the stench.
Shares of public sector lender surged as much as 20 per cent to hit an intra-day high of 27.3 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday after over three million shares changed hands on the counter in multiple block deals. At 3:20 am, the stock was ruling 19 per cent higher at Rs 27 per cent as against a 1 per cent gain in the benchmark Sensex index. About 3.2 million shares had changed hands on the counter on the BSE till the time of writing of this report.

According to data provided by BSE, 41,590 shares changed hands on the stock on the exchange at 9:15 am; 44,353 shares at 9:20 am; 44,113 shares at 9:25 am; 54,630 shares at 9:30 am; 53,575 shares at 9:31 am; and 79,068 shares at 9:32 am. These were coupled with 13 other block deals with shares changing hands in the range of 6,000 to 40,000 per block.

So far in the calendar year 2021, the stock of the PSB has rallied 74.4 per cent till Monday as against a 0.2 per cent gain in the benchmark Sensex index during the same period. The stock witnessed a breakout on the upside on February 15 after agency Reuters reported that the bank could be one of the four PSBs which the government may privatise during the on-going financial year.

"India's government has shortlisted four mid-sized state-run banks for privatisation, under a new push to sell state assets and shore up government revenues... The four banks on the shortlist are Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and the Central Bank of India," two officials told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Business Standard reported on April 9 that senior officials of the Niti Aayog, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the finance ministrys financial services and economic affairs departments are expected to meet on April 14 (Wednesday) to discuss the potential candidates for privatisation.

"Four to five PSBs have been suggested by the Niti Aayog and they will be discussed in the meeting.. The names could include and Indian Overseas Bank," the report added.

The Aayog is learnt to have prepared a report on PSBs based on their financials, debt and other issues, and accordingly short-listed them. The government may pump in some liquidity in those banks that are currently under the RBIs prompt corrective action framework, and may consider them for either privatisation or merger once they are out of it.

The government is considering mid-sized to small banks for its first round of privatisation to test the waters and may go for large banks sometime later.

In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced privatising two public sector banks and one general insurance company in 2021-22. According to the new Public Sector Enterprise policy for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the Aayog is mandated to recommend the names of PSUs in strategic sectors to be privatised, merged, or made subsidiaries of other PSUs.

Strategic sectors in which the government intends to keep a bare minimum presence include atomic energy, space, defence, transport, telecommunications, power, petroleum, coal, banking, insurance, and financial services.
A pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 93 in Massachusetts early Tuesday, authorities said.

Massachusetts State Police troopers responded to crash on I-93 southbound near Exit 6 in Braintree around 4:25 a.m. The pedestrian, a 42-year-old Boston man, was found dead at the scene, according to officials.

Troopers are working to establish a possible description of the vehicle that struck the victim, as well as to determine additional facts and circumstances regarding the incident, state police said in a statement.

An investigation into the fatal crash revealed the pedestrian entered the highway when he was struck in the area of the second and third lanes. The vehicle or vehicles that hit him didnt stop, instead fleeing the scene, according to state police.

The center and right travel lanes of the highway were closed to let patrol, detective, collision reconstruction, and crime scene units investigate the scene. Only the left lane was left open as of around 5:30 a.m., state police said.

The facts and circumstances of the crash, including why the victim was walking on the highway, remain under investigation. Authorities said they wouldnt immediately release the victims name.
An Egyptian court has ruled that the Ever Given container ship be seized until its owner pays $900 million to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) in compensation for blocking the critical waterway for almost one week, the Shorouk News newspaper reported, citing sources.

The temporary confiscation was requested by the SCA in a suit filed with the Ismailia economic court. The canal authority asked that the ship not be let move until all salvage and maintenance expenses, as well as lost traffic fees, are paid in full for the six-day period that Ever Given had disrupted the navigation.

The Panama-flagged ship will now be placed under the court's supervision, in line with Article 6 of Egypt's law on maritime trade, until the operator fulfills the SCA's demands, according to the report. Court officers will reportedly go to the ship's current stop in the Bitter Lakes area on Tuesday to notify the crew of the ruling in person.

The incident with the Suez canal's blockage is still being investigated. SCA chief Osama Rabie told Egypt's Youm7 newspaper that the conclusions were expected to be announced on Thursday.

Ever Given ran aground in the Suez Canal on 23 March. It got wedged diagonally between the two banks, blocking the passage for continuously arriving ships in both directions and causing a massive jam. It was not until March 29 that Ever Given was dislodged, thanks to unceasing excavation and towing efforts.

The last of the 422 vessels stranded at the Suez Canal tips passed through the waterway on April 3. The canal authority estimated the blockage's total damage to global trade at $1 billion.
We learned yesterday that Daunte Wright's death in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota occurred after Wright wildly fought off the arresting officers, only to have an officer mistake her gun for her taser. The complete absence of information about Wright's cause of death didn't stop the usual suspects from going to war against their own community, looting and destroying property. However, unlike last year, the escalation against the police is getting more vicious because people are being encouraged to dox police and threaten their families.

Let me break down the multiple points in that opening paragraph:

1. If you watch the graphic bodycam footage, which the police released on Monday, Wright struggled violently. The female officer whose bodycam you're watching intended to taser him because she can be heard screaming, "Taser! Taser! Taser!" And then she fired her gun. This has happened before, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

It's impossible to know whether Wright's immediate cause of death was due to stupidity, carelessness, or a pure mistake. I can imagine myself making the same stupid mistake in the heat of the moment. Perhaps the answer is for tasers to start being manufactured in unmistakable fluorescent colors. Fundamentally, though, one can say that, had Wright followed the number-one rule of not resisting arrest, he'd still be alive. Sometimes police are just evil in their cruelty or stupidity, and sometimes they are humans who are panicked or overwhelmed.

2. BLM showed up on the scene immediately, and people started the usual looting and rioting.

3. A man with a bullhorn announced a new tactic in dealing with the police. As you may recall, in Portland last year, federal agents, who were being brutally attacked, hid their name tags because Antifa was trying to dox them. Black Lives Matter has now adopted the doxing approach.

In the video, the assembled crowd is told to "go to the Brooklyn Center police page, website, and go through the officers that are on duty" in order to identify each one of them. Then, armed with that information, they are told to hunt them down on social media, capture pictures of their families, and threaten them in their homes. Another woman fully grasps what she's being told to do:

They're not gonna understand until they start getting popped too! And their kids, and their families. Once their kids and families start getting shot and killed too, then that's when it's gonna make a difference. Period.

Holy crap. Watch BLM protesters threaten to dox these officers and kill their families. https://t.co/PKwh0A9c46 pic.twitter.com/5Nj4RIw05R  Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) April 12, 2021

It's important, once again, to note that study after study shows that it's a lie that police are engaging in some sort of racist mass murder. Almost invariably, the person killed was violently resisting arrest (including George Floyd and Daunte Wright) or actively trying to kill the police officers.

So where do those three points take us? They take us to the fact that no person in his right mind should want to be a police officer in America today. The risks are simply too great. It was one thing when police officers put themselves at risk, something that tragically and horrifically goes with the job. Now, though, they're being told that their families will die, too. Moreover, as the Chauvin case shows, if they find themselves making a life-or-death call, or just doing ordinary things that have bad outcomes because the person they're dealing with is a drugged up, walking heart attack, they will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration is coming for your guns. As I've said before, once the Democrats do their work  police run out of town, law-abiding citizens disarmed  all that will be left is vigilante justice. Frightened people, without law enforcement to protect them, and deprived of the ultimate disincentive for any criminal, will react quickly and blindly to beat or burn to death anyone they suspect of a crime.

Image: Doxing Brooklyn MN police. Twitter screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
Local News, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Chris Boyle Published: April 13 2021

The extension of this regulation and guidance will help to ensure there are no barriers to New Yorkers accessing the vaccine.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has directed the Department of Financial Services to extend the emergency regulation requiring all health insurers to waive co-pays for the COVID-19 vaccine until April 30. The extension of this regulation and guidance will help to ensure there are no barriers to New Yorkers accessing the vaccine as the State continues to implement its vaccine administration plan and get every New Yorker vaccinated.

"We know the vaccine is the weapon that will win the war against COVID and we are doing everything we can to get more shots in arms as quickly as possible and become the first COVID-free state in the nation," Governor Cuomo said. "From the beginning of our vaccination efforts we've prioritized vulnerable communities that have been hit the hardest by COVID, and extending this regulation will further break down barriers to access and help ensure that no New Yorker is denied a vaccine just because they can't afford it."

First issued December 16, 2020, the regulation requires a policy or contract that provides hospital, surgical, or medical care coverage, including a grandfathered health plan, to provide immediate coverage, without cost sharing, of COVID-19 immunizations and the administration thereof at a provider's office, facility, pharmacy, or other setting, including any provider or location authorized by New York State or the federal government to administer or host the administration of the immunization.

The New York State Department of Financial Services also previously issued a circular letter to New York-regulated health insurers directing them to immediately cover, without cost-sharing, approved COVID-19 immunizations and their administration.

Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell said, "DFS has been at the forefront of this virus since the first case by providing financial regulatory relief to New Yorkers and businesses across the state. It is now more important than ever to get vaccinated as New York continues to rebuild, which is why DFS is extending the regulation to require New York health insurers to waive co-pays for the COVID-19 vaccine. We believe all New Yorkers should have access to vaccines without the financial burden of co-pays."

Federal rules also require COVID-19 immunizations and their administration to be covered when provided by out-of-network providers for the duration of the public health emergency. Health care providers that participate in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Program must agree to administer a COVID-19 immunization regardless of an individual's ability to pay or health insurance coverage status, and may not seek reimbursement from the immunization recipient.

DFS expects full adherence to state and federal requirements for coverage of any approved COVID-19 immunization and its administration.
Gemma Collins has admitted her 73-year-old father Alan isn't 'the same man' after suffering from 'long coronavirus'.

In a new interview, the former TOWIE star, 40, admitted to being distressed by her parent's health troubles, after he was previously diagnosed with coronavirus and spent time in hospital.

'He's got long COVID. He's not the same man he was before he went into hospital', the media personality confessed.

'It's really distressing': Gemma Collins has admitted her 73-year-old father Alan isn't 'the same man' after suffering from 'long coronavirus' (pictured together with mum Joan)

The reality star, whose mother also suffered from coronavirus, detailed her dad's current condition to new! magazine, sharing: 'He's very tired, he gets weak, he gets out of breath and still coughs a lot.

'It's really distressing, but we're just so grateful that he's alive and hope he will come through the long COVID soon.'

Scientists claim seven in 10 patients hospitalised by coronavirus still suffer debilitating 'long Covid' symptoms five months after being discharged.

Research laying bare the toll of the condition revealed survivors were plagued with problems including breathlessness, fatigue and muscle pain.

'We're just so grateful that he's alive': In a new interview, the former TOWIE star, 40, admitted to being distressed by her parent's health troubles after he was admitted to hospital

'He still coughs a lot': The reality star, whose mother also suffered from coronavirus, detailed her dad's current condition

Candid: 'He's got long COVID. He's not the same man he was before he went into hospital', the media personality confessed

University of Leicester experts, who quizzed 1,077 long-haulers, found two in five had reduced their workload or were off sick because of their persistent symptoms.

They also found evidence of organ damage in sufferers, and that those who required mechanical ventilation took longer to recover from long Covid.

Separate data from Glasgow University released today further highlighted the plight of long Covid victims, saying women under-50 were worst affected.

Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, claimed the studies added to knowledge of long Covid, which is still surrounded in mystery.

WHAT ARE THE LONG-TERM SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19? Most coronavirus patients will recover within a fortnight, suffering a fever, cough and losing their sense of smell or taste for several days. However, evidence is beginning to show that the tell-tale symptoms of the virus can persist for weeks on end in 'long haulers'  the term for patients plagued by lasting complications. Data from the COVID Symptom Study app, by King's College London and health company Zoe, suggests one in ten people may still have symptoms after three weeks, and some may suffer for months. Long term symptoms include: Chronic tiredness

Breathlessness

Raised heart rate

Delusions

Strokes

Insomnia

Loss of taste/smell

Kidney disease

Mobility issues

Headaches

Muscle pains

Fevers For those with more severe disease, Italian researchers who tracked 143 people who had been hospitalised with the disease found almost 90 per cent still had symptoms including fatigue two months after first falling unwell. The most common complaints were fatigue, a shortness of breath and joint pain - all of which were reported during their battle with the illness. Another study in Italy showed one in ten people who lose their sense of taste and smell with the coronavirus - now recognised as a key sign of the infection - may not get it back within a month. The study, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, involved 187 Italians who had the virus but who were not ill enough to be admitted to hospital. The UK's Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has said the longer term impacts of Covid-19 on health 'may be significant'. Support groups such as Long Covid have popped up online for those who 'have suspected Covid-19 and your experience doesn't follow the textbook symptoms or recovery time'. Advertisement

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was 'determined' to improve care for Britons suffering the 'lasting and debilitating' impacts of Covid  which is estimated to have infected around 15million people in the UK.

The TV star previously shared an update on Alan's health after uploading a video of him wearing an oxygen mask and struggling to speak.

Gemma revealed: 'He has long Covid so every day is a step in the right direction his mental strength is unreal and he's determined to get back to his best!!

'I did have to tell him off this week when I found out he sneaked into work!!'

In January, Gemma revealed her dad's recovery from COVID-19 was the 'biggest gift of all'.

'He's determined to get back to his best': The TV star previously shared an update on Alan's health after uploading a video of him wearing an oxygen mask and struggling to speak

The influencer didn't sleep for days as her beloved dad battled the novel coronavirus in hospital.

She said: 'My dad was really unwell  you can see how tired I am. I literally haven't slept. Because he was in hospital I was just so worried all the time.

'It's only really now that I'm catching up on my sleep,' she continued, before revealing: 'He's out of hospital, I don't need to worry. It's only really now he's home I can start getting everything back together again.

'I couldn't ask for any more. I turn 40 on Sunday. Yes, I've got bags under my eyes but my dad is alive. I'm able to eat a piece of cake with him.'
MANISTEE COUNTY  A former Wellston man was sentenced Monday on a felony aiding and abetting the delivery or manufacture of a controlled substance charge after a narcotics team undercover methamphetamine buy in July.

Michael Lott, 30, formerly of Wellston, was sentenced on Monday and appeared from the Earnest C Brooks Correctional Facility, in Muskegon, via Zoom video technology in front of Judge David Thompson.

Lott was sentenced to a minimum of 29 months to a maximum of seven years in prison. He is credited with 218 days served.

He is ordered to pay a crime victims assessment of $130, and $68 in state costs.

On March 1, Lott pleaded guilty to the felony aiding and abetting the delivery or manufacture of a schedule 1, 2 or 3 controlled substance.

This is a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and/or $10,000 fine.

In a plea agreement, the court dismissed a charge of delivery or manufacturing of a schedule 1,2 or 3 controlled substance, which is a 20-year felony. The court also agreed to not seek an enhanced sentence for habitual offender status.

On July 14, Lott and William Agster, 43, of Irons, were charged in relation to an undercover State Sheriff City Enforcement Narcotics Team (SSCENT) methamphetamine buy.

At court, Thompson read part of the presentence report that stated the SSCENT team had been investigating Agster for the delivery of meth where an undercover deal was set up to take place at the Wellston Dollar General parking lot.

The undercover buy was made and $350 in pre-recorded bond money was given to Agster. Later, the vehicle Agster had left in was stopped on Seaman Road near Hoxeyville.

Agster and two other people were in the vehicle at the time.

The driver was identified as Michael Lott. During (the) pat down search of Lott a large amount of cash determined to be the pre-recorded SSCENT money was (found), Thompson said. Ultimately, the defendant was interviewed by a detective and he admitted that he sells and uses drugs and he knew that a drug deal was taking place on that day  he stated Agster handed him the drug money because (Agster) owed him $1,200 for marijuana (and gave him gas money.)

According to conversations at the sentencing, Agsters location was unknown on Monday.

Prior to sentencing, Lott said he now has a relationship with his family and children.

I know I made a mistake, I know I (have) a lot of issues I need to deal with, but now this part of my life now, Ive got a lot things going for me that I didnt have before, he said. I realize I need help with my substance abuse issues.

Thompson listed Lotts prior juvenile and adult convictions that date back 17 years:

 In 2003  Retail fraud (juvenile);

 In 2004  Domestic violence (juvenile);

 In 2004  Assault or assault and battery (juvenile);

 In 2004  Larceny of a building (juvenile);

 In 2005  Assault or assault and battery (juvenile);

 In 2005  Larceny of less than $200 (juvenile);

 In 2005  Assault, to rob while armed (juvenile);

 In 2007  Malicious destruction of a building, less than $200 in damages (juvenile);

 In 2007  Possessing a weapon in a weapons-free school zone (juvenile);

 In 2007  Larceny of less than $200 (adult);

 In 2007  Retail fraud third degree (adult);

 In 2010  Assault with a dangerous weapon (adult);

 In 2011  Larceny of a firearm (adult);

 In 2011  Retail fraud (adult);

 In 2017  Tampering with electronic monitoring device (adult);

 In 2018  Felon in possession of a firearm (adult);

 In 2020 Domestic violence, in Lake County (adult); and

 In 2020  Breaking and entering a building with intent to commit larceny there in, in Lake County (adult).

Ill take you for your word, Mr. Lott that youre in the planning stages of trying to address your struggles with controlled substances, but youve been given probation in the past and unfortunately that hasnt been successful, Thompson said, adding that Lott had also been sentenced to prison more than once. The community is safer when youre not part of it  whether youre dealing drugs such as this or your past record demonstrates (an) assaultive nature including firearms.

This sentence is to be served concurrently with the time he is currently serving with the Michigan Department of Corrections. Thompson also said that he will recommend that Lott receive substance abuse treatment while incarcerated.

RELATED: Prisoner enters plea in Wellston meth case

Two face meth related charges in Manistee County after undercover buy
A medical assistant prepares a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to be administered to a patient. Credit: Public domain image courtesy of Lisa Ferdinando, U.S. Department of Defense

Canada continues to expect its first shipment of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines at month's end despite US and EU pauses over blood clot fears, officials said Tuesday, while also announcing a first Canadian clotting case linked to the AstraZeneca jab.

US health authorities earlier recommended pausing the Johnson & Johnson shot while the company said it would delay its European rollout, after six American women aged between 18 and 48 developed a rare type of clot in the brain along with low platelets.

One later died while another is in critical condition.

"We are still on track to receiving our first shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines by the end of this month," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference.

"But obviously we're following closely developments in the United States," he said.

Health Canada authorized the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on March 5, alongside three others. It said it is working with the manufacturer, the US Food and Drug Administration and other international regulators to determine the shot's safety as it awaits orders for up to 38 million doses.

The agency also identified Canada's first case of blood clotting with low platelets in a Quebec woman who received an AstraZeneca shot made by the Serum Institute of India.

"The person is at home now recovering," it said in a statement, adding that it continues to urge using the vaccine, saying the benefits of protection against the coronavirus "outweigh the potential risks."

As of Tuesday, Canada recorded more than 1,076,000 cases of coronavirus and 23,385 deaths.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker website, 20 percent of the Canadian population of 38 million have received at least one dose.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

 2021 AFP
The Nigerian Army says it has begun to engage some of its retirees to assist in tackling the rising insecurity in the country.

The Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Attahiru, a lieutenant general, said this on Tuesday, while declaring open the First Quarter 2021 Veterans Affairs Directorate Workshop in Port Harcourt.

The workshop has as its theme, Harnessing the skills of retirees for national security.

Mr Attahiru, represented by the Army Chief of Administration, Abdulrasheed Aliyu, a major general, said veterans still had a lot to offer, in spite of their retirement from active service.

We decided to engage them considering that Nigeria is currently faced with diverse security challenges, and everybody has a role to play toward securing the country.

To this end, our retired and discharged personnel also have a role to play, especially at this time when our nation is faced with insecurity.

So, this seminar seeks to tap into the wealth of experience of our retirees in tackling the nations diverse security challenges.

It is also organised to prepare and strengthen the participants to play an important supporting role in curbing the spate of crime and criminality, Mr Attahiru said.

He further said the seminar would seek to broaden the knowledge of veterans in the areas their skills and experience would be needed to boost national security.

He said the engagement of the retirees was part of a plan to reposition the army to professionally defeat all internal and external adversaries.

The General Officer Commanding, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, Sani Mohammed, a major general, said the participants were drawn from formations, units and communities in the southern part of the country.

According to him, participants would deliberate and proffer solutions for a more efficient security architecture.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State described the initiative by the army chief as a welcome development.

He said that the country had continued to experience serious security challenges, hence the need for all citizens to assist the law enforcement agencies to tackle the menace.

It is a known fact that veterans and legionnaires are force multipliers in most militaries, especially in areas such as information gathering.

This is because fighting insecurity remains a collective responsibility that cannot be left for serving personnel alone, the governor said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that lectures on: Management of retirees skills for national security and development and How military retirees can contribute to national security, amongst others, were presented at the workshop.

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(NAN)
By SA Commercial Prop News

King Air Industria in Cape Town will host The Courier Guy in a 10,112m2 building facility.



Western Capes King Air Industria, a 72-hectare Industrial development close proximity to Cape Town International Airport, grows apace with Infrastructure completion for the first two phases of the project.

The demand for logistics business parks rather than warehousing is rising, prompting property investors to increase their allocations and exposure in the Industrial sector.

Last year, Atterbury Property and Old Mutual Properties commenced the development of the King Air Industria park, just 2km radius from Cape Town International Airport.

The development, alone represents a R3 billion investment in the Mother City and has taken more than three years of planning.

Infrastructure is nearing completion for the first two phases of the 72-hectare project.

Internal services will be ready by end-April. Extensive external road upgrades to Robert Sobukwe and Borcherds Quarry roads as part of the development will be completed by the end of May 2021, when the park will officially open.

The Courier Guy will be the first business to start operating at King Air Industria in a 10,112m2 turnkey facility, from 1 July 2021. Then, from 1 September 2021, Morgan Cargo will begin trading in a 7,500m2 tailor-made facility comprising a contemporary provincial head office and a specialised cold storage facility.



Arno du Plessis, Atterburys development manager for King Air Industria Cape Town, reports, The imminent completion of infrastructure for its first phases has put King Air Industria on the map as a ready-to-develop the business site.



The King Air Industria Cape Town site allows for the development of 280,000m2 of facilities.



The fully fenced park is surrounded by 2.4-meter-high boundary fencing with an early-detection perimeter monitoring system. Its manned gatehouse provides controlled access using licence plate and drivers licence scanning protocols with a long-range vehicle identification system to allow for quick access. The advanced security set-up incorporates a sophisticated camera system and AI software for identification and recognition.





King Air Industrias infrastructure includes centralised fire pumps and tanks, saving development and maintenance costs for users. It also benefits from ample electricity supply to power high energy users such as cold storage facilities, data centres and light manufacturing.



The project is on a prime site between Airport Approach, Borcherds Quarry, Robert Sobukwe and Pallotti roads and connected to the region with access to the N2 highway and the R300 freeway.

James Ehlers, Development Director for Atterbury, comments, The development roll-out of King Air Industria is making progress at a very exciting time for logistics, warehousing and certain types of industrial property in South Africa generally, and in Cape Town specifically.
American culture is a grand mix of the old and the not so old, as we all know. As is true in other cultures, including the island culture here Read more
German environmentalists file lawsuit against decision to restore construction of Nord Stream 2 in German waters - Ukrainian ambassador

German environmental organizations have filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency to restore the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters, Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk said.

"German environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency which appealed the permission to continue construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in German waters," Ambassador Melnyk wrote on his Twitter page.

As reported, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany rejected the environmentalists' demand to revoke the permit for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 00:14:25|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will host a conference on Afghanistan's peace process in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday.

The ministry said in a written statement that Turkey, Qatar, and the United Nations are co-convening a "high-level and inclusive" conference between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

"The co-conveners are committed to supporting a sovereign, independent, and unified Afghanistan," the statement noted, adding that "participation in the conference and its agenda have been the subject of extensive consultations with the Afghan parties."

The ministry noted that the conference would focus on drawing a roadmap for a future political settlement and bringing an end to the conflict.

"It is our expectation that the conference will provide an important opportunity for all partners to reiterate support for the people of Afghanistan on their path toward inclusive peace, stability, and prosperity," it added. Enditem
The correction in in recent months is not expected to materially impact the asset quality of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) lending against gold. Apart from periodically collecting interest over the past few fiscals, they have ensured that disbursement loan-to-value (LTV) is maintained below 75 per cent, ratings agency Crisil said.

On a 30-day rolling basis, gold price has corrected 10 per cent over the past six months, while on an absolute basis it fell twice that rate.

For NBFCs, the average portfolio LTV as on December 31, 2020, was 63-67 per cent, while average LTV on incremental disbursements in the October-December 2020 quarter was 70 per cent. The LTV discipline is also evident in interest receivables remaining at just 2-4 per cent of the loan book over the past few years.

For banks, however, incremental-disbursement LTV was higher at 78-82 per cent because they were more aggressive than in lending against gold during last fiscal. Much of the growth in their book came during the third quarter of the last fiscal, when were soaring.

Since June 2020, loans against gold surged even as lending to other segments was affected by asset-quality concerns. In the 11 months through February 2021, loans against gold grew 70 per cent for to over Rs 56,000 crore. What further contributed to this growth was the LTV relaxation to 90 per cent (only for banks) announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2020.

Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director & Deputy Chief Ratings Officer, Crisil Ratings, said: "The average LTV of the gold-loan books of is estimated at 75-80 per cent currently versus 70 per cent before the RBI relaxation. Given that have dropped 18-20 per cent from their August peaks on an absolute basis, without periodic interest collections, the books of may be susceptible to asset-quality issues to some extent. However, with the LTV dispensation period ending in March 2021, incremental lending would have more LTV cushion."

Disbursement LTV and timely interest collection have a significant bearing on the cushion available with lenders in terms of value of gold given as collateral compared with the loan outstanding. This, in turn, impacts asset quality. Therefore, robust risk management systems and timely auctions are crucial to offset volatility in gold prices and ultimate credit loss.

Ajit Velonie, Director, CRISIL Ratings, said: "While gross non-performing assets (GNPA) could rise, ultimate credit cost - a more appropriate indicator of asset quality for gold loans - is not expected to. Historically, while GNPAs had risen to as much as 7 per cent for NBFCs, credit costs were low at 10-80 basis points. This underscores sound business acumen and strong track record of timely auctions. For banks, given the sharp growth they have seen, monitoring LTV and staying agile are imperatives to avert potential asset-quality challenges."

--IANS

sn/rs/skp/

(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.)
Dems Blast Oklahoma Lawmaker Who Compared Slavery

A white Republican lawmaker from southeast Oklahoma is facing criticism for comparing lawmakers efforts to end abortion to the fight against slavery.

Rep. Jim Olsen, of Roland, made the comments Wednesday during a meeting of the House Public Health Committee that was considering several anti-abortion bills.

None of us would like to be a slave, Olsen said when asked to clarify his comments, according to KOCO-TV. If I had my choice, I guess Id be a slave. At least a slave has his life. Once your life is gone, its gone.

House Democrats immediately denounced Olsens comments, and the state party asked for Olsen to be formally censured. A spokesman for House Speaker Charles McCall didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Olsen would face disciplinary action.

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Today, we heard a claim that the abortion fight is bigger than the hundreds of years when African Americans were kidnapped and enslaved, with no control of their bodies, families, or even recognized as humans, said Rep. Denise Brewer, D-Tulsa. Those insensitive ideas are alive and well in our Capitol.

Olsen said Thursday he stands by his comments.

I made a very historically appropriate analogy. I never spoke positively of slavery, Olsen said. One evil at one time was acceptable in our society, and now its not. I look forward to the time when we stop killing babies.

Last month, another Republican House member apologized after using a racist term to describe Black babies during debate on a separate abortion bill on the House floor.

Olsens bill would make it a felony to perform an abortion in Oklahoma, except to save the life of a pregnant woman, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The committee approved the measure, which now heads to the House for final consideration. It is one of several anti-abortion bills making its way to the governors desk.
A vegan student studying animal management has won a battle with her college over the right to skip a farming module that would have have involved a trip to an abattoir - forcing tutors to find her a 'more suitable' assessment.

Fiji Willets, 18, didn't expect the topic of farming to come up when she signed up for the BTEC National Extended Diploma in Animal Management at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

She joined after reading it was 'great for people who love animals' - but was shocked to discover the course could see her work on a farm and possibly visit an abattoir.

The teenager, whose mother used to be a veterinary nurse, complained to tutors that she was suffering with anxiety over the module.

She claims tutors told her it was mandatory - despite the exam board later confirming it was not.

She enlisted the help of the Vegan Society - who once called on bosses to provide workers with their own vegan shelf - to fight her corner and together they complained to both the college, as well as the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Despite being rejected twice, their complaints were eventually heard by exam board Pearson who decided the college could offer her an alternative module while taking the BTEC qualification.

Despite assurances from the college that the module would be 'ethically planned', she's finally been told she can take a business unit instead, which it believes is 'more suitable'.

The 2021 prospectus for the BTEC course says it is 'Great for people who love animals, want a career within the animal care industry, are passionate about conservation and the countryside, like hands-on work and varied responsibilities and like being outside in all weathers.'

The decision comes after vegans won protection under anti-discrimination laws last year, when a landmark hearing ruled ethical veganism is a philosophical belief.

Animal lover Fiji Willetts, 18, didn't think a college course on animal management would have a module on farming

After making numerous complaints, the vegan has been told she doesn't need to take part in the unit

Veganism is classed as a philosophical belief Last year a judge ruled that veganism was a belief protected by law - after a case was brought by a man who avoids taking the bus as they crash into insects and birds. The groundbreaking case was brought by Jordi Casamitjana, who said he was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports after raising concerns that its pension fund was being invested into companies involved in animal testing. The 55-year-old, from London, claimed he was unfairly disciplined for making this disclosure and that the decision to dismiss him was because of his philosophical belief in ethical veganism. In his witness statement he claims to go as far as avoiding holding onto leather straps or sitting on leather seats, and prefers to walk rather than catch a bus in case the vehicle kills a fly while on its journey. At the tribunal in Norwich last January judge Robin Postle ruled ethical veganism satisfies the tests required for it to be a philosophical belief and is therefore protected under the Equality Act 2010. Last year the society called on bosses for a shake-up in the workplace  including separate food areas in office kitchens for people following the diet. Advertisement

Fiji, from Downend, Bristol, whose father is a software designer, said: 'I am vegan because I love animals, so to attend a farm where I would be supporting a farmer would be wrong.

'I would have been denied a college education.

'I couldn't simply break my way of living purely to pass a course.

'I hope I can now be an example to other vegans so they don't have to go through the ordeal I went through.'

But after enrolling, she discovered she had to take and pass, a module on farm husbandry - the branch of agriculture which focuses on raising animals for products.

Students were expected to attend working farms and a slaughterhouse visit was also discussed, according to the Vegan Society, which supported Fiji's claim.

She said: 'This course is the only one in Bristol which allows 16 to 18 year olds to study to work in the sector.

'The course has given me what I need for the most part.

'Near the end of last year I heard people talking about having to go to a farm.

'Then at the start of this year (September 2020) they said we would be going to a farm weekly or fortnightly.

'I looked on the Pearsons specifications and saw that the module is optional.

'There are 15 optional units, and colleges can select which you have to take.

'My college has decided this one should be mandatory.

'Near the end of last year I heard people talking about having to go to a farm.

'Then at the start of this year (September 2020) they said we would be going to a farm weekly or fortnightly.

'I looked on the Pearsons specifications and saw that the module is optional.

'There are 15 optional units, and colleges can select which you have to take. My college has decided this one should be mandatory.'

The 2021 prospectus for the BTEC course says it is 'Great for people who love animals, want a career within the animal care industry'. Fiji has had the farming element of her qualification replaced with a business module

Other teenagers on the course are expected to work on a farm and could potentially visit an abattoir, but after complaining with the help of 'vegan rights advocates', Miss Willetts will not have to

The world's oldest charity for vegans: The Vegan Society Set up in 1944, The Vegan Society has helped promote veganism across Britain while also informing people of its benefits and beliefs. The group strives to end 'exploitation of animal life by man', and does so by promoting an alternative diet, while also lobbying politicians to adopt its message. In 2018 it released a booklet for vegan criminals and for prison staff so they can ensure those who want to lead an animal-free life can continue to do so even when locked up. At the time, the charity said British vegans are 'protected under human rights and equality law'. They argued that prisons have an obligation to ensure they 'don't interfere with a vegan's right to freedom of conscience'. Advertisement

Following a tutorial given to her class for Mental Health Awareness Week, Fiji felt safe approaching her tutor to describe how she was feeling about the Farm Husbandry module, on October 7.

She said: 'He had just given this tutorial, so I told him I was suffering with really bad anxiety, and showing clinical signs.

'He said 'you merely need to learn the subject and complete an assignment.' I felt really upset, and I just couldn't see a way forward.'

She submitted a formal complaint to the college, which maintained a substitute module was not available, it is claimed.

A similar complaint was issued to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), who supported the college.

But the case was escalated to the awarding body for non-compliance with equality law, and college tutors finally changed their minds.

Five months after the start of Fiji's claim, they have agreed to provide 'a more suitable module' for her to complete at the college in Filton, Bristol.

Speaking today, Fiji said: 'I'm quite a quiet person so didn't tell many people about my struggle with this case.

'I just told a few friends who have been quite supportive.

'Whilst I was still 'fighting' it, I didn't want to openly share it with everyone in my class, as I am aware of the backlash and negativity that vegans often face.

'I really wanted to keep things quiet until I had actually succeeded to avoid as much negative attention as possible.

'Whilst most of our lessons have been online because of the pandemic, the days where I have been in college have felt quite awkward and I haven't been shown any support.'

South Gloucester and Stroud College tutors initially told Miss Willetts that she would have to take the farming unit or it would result in an 'automatic fail'

Complaints were initially dismissed, until Miss Willetts, helped by The Vegan Society, escalated her claim. Supporters say it is 'a big win for the vegan movement'

Jeanette Rowley, vegan rights advocate at The Vegan Society, said: 'I'm delighted Fiji was able to stay at her college and continue working towards her diploma.

'This was a really big win for Fiji, and for the vegan movement.

'Education providers have a duty to be inclusive and must do everything they can to remove any disadvantages faced by vegans.

'There is an urgent need to assess the approach taken to teaching students about nonhuman animals and the way they are treated.

Five months after the start of Fiji's claim, they have agreed to provide 'a more suitable module' for her to complete at the college in Filton, Bristol

'Vegans in the UK have the protection of human rights and equality law, and it is vital that schools and colleges understand that they are under a statutory duty to examine how their educational policies and practices might have a negative impact on vegan students.'

Principal of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Sara-Jane Watkins said the college has repeatedly assured the teenager and her parents that the course was 'ethically planned' while also offering her the chance to take another qualification.

Ms Watkins said: 'The College has made every effort to explain to Fiji Willetts that the unit was chosen with the intention of delivering a holistic and well-rounded programme that both meets local need while also enabling learners to progress onto the next stages of their education.

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College said itrepeatedly assured the teenager and her parents that the course was 'ethically planned' while also offering her the chance to take another qualification

'On at least three separate occasions the college has also acted to reassure Fiji Willetts, and her parents, that the unit had been ethically planned and, in addition to our commitment that it would be delivered to the highest possible standards and with the highest regard for animal welfare, that it would not be delivered in a way that either disregards Fiji Willetts's beliefs or places her at any disadvantage.

'The college also confirmed with Fiji that she would not be expected to undertake any activity with which she was uncomfortable and that she could opt out of all or some of Unit 19 if she so wished.

'The College has remained in contact with Fiji's chosen university to ensure that any alternative options offered would not negatively impact upon her application to read programmes such as Zoological Management or Integrated Wildlife Conservation at University.

'The college has confirmed to Fiji exactly what the College has done to ensure that unit 19 is delivered in total respect of, and sympathy for, her beliefs. Fiji has also been offered the option to opt out of some or all of Unit 19 or to complete an alternative unit.'
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to rise mainly among younger people in the U.S. whove yet to be vaccinated, reports say.

According to a report by CNN, this is worrisome for some experts who are concerned that this may only be the beginning of what we can expect in the weeks to come.

Michigan is reportedly experiencing a brutal surge. Epidemiologist Dr. Celine Gounder says other states should be paying attention to whats happening there. Gounder says what were seeing in Michigan is really the bellwether for what the spread of B.1.1.7, the variant first detected in the U.K.

In the U.S. it is rapidly spreading, making it the dominant strain. Its more contagious and may cause more severe disease and therefore has the potential to be more deadly, the report said.

Gounder told CNN on Sunday that the variant is not only causing a surge in cases, but its a more severe disease. The variant is impacting people in their 30s, 40s and 50s who are getting very sick and requiring hospitalization.

CDC indicates Michigan currently holds the number two spot for the highest number of cases of the variant, with Florida coming in at number one. Minnesota and Massachusetts follows Michigan, respectively.

The surge is a combination of two factors.

According to Gounder, the spread of the variant responsible for Michigans surge is caused by a combination of people relaxing on mitigation measures before enough residents are vaccinated.

Due to the two-week timeframe between vaccination and immunity, and the four-to five-day incubation period, which is the time from when you are exposed to when you are infected with coronavirus, Gounder said any attempt to ramp up vaccines to the state wont be effective in preventing the current surge, because transmission is happening right now.

Gounder said the only effective means to curb transmission right now are immediate measures, such as masking up, not dining indoors, and socializing outdoors.

Although just weeks ago, Michigans daily reported case-count data was as low as 563 cases. CNN said the state is now reporting thousands of new COVID-19 cases daily. Emergency room physician Dr. Rob Davidson also told CNN in one part of the state hospitalizations have increased four fold in just the last two weeks.

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, said the states hospitals are being inundated, and suggested that Michigan needs to shut down, adding that more vaccines should be sent to the state.

Its not just Michigan.

Reportedly, a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases was noted by Minnesota health officials, who warned that wearing a mask and social distancing is more important than ever.

CNN said COVID-19 cases were rising in Ohio, as well as hospitalizations and ICU admissions. Gov. Mike DeWine urged residents to get vaccinated.

Also, Pennsylvania is seeing a rise in cases. Gov. Tom Wolf last week reportedly urged residents to do their part to keep each other safe, by practicing proven public health measures.

In New Jersey, consistently high COVID-19 case numbers prompted Gov. Phil Murphy to express concern over what could be ahead. Its the reason for continuing the enforcement of measures like the statewide mask mandate and accelerating vaccine eligibility.

READ MORE:
Award recognizes the crucial role StoreDot's extreme fast charging battery technology plays in increasing adoption of electric vehicles by overcoming range and charging anxiety

Rapid progress in battery development backed by strong cross-industry partnerships cited as proof of StoreDot's ability to rapidly commercialize and scale production of five-minute charge batteries

HERZELIYA, Israel, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EVs), has been named New Product Innovation Leader in the European Rapid Charging Battery Manufacturing Industry by Frost & Sullivan. The Best Practices award recognizes the crucial role of StoreDot's XFC battery technology in accelerating the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by overcoming one of the biggest barriers to mainstream adoption - range and charging anxiety. It also underlines Frost & Sullivan's strong belief that StoreDot, which recently produced the world's first engineering samples of five-minute charge batteries and has the backing of strategic partners BP, Daimler, Samsung Ventures, and TDK, has the necessary building blocks in place to achieve rapid commercialization.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices awards seek to recognize individuals or companies that have accomplished an innovative or disruptive breakthrough in their field. StoreDot received the award for its ground-breaking FlashBattery XFC technology that can charge an EV in just five minutes, the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle, and delivers a driving range of up to 300 miles. This breakthrough is achieved by replacing graphite in the cell's anode with metalloid nano-particles and proprietary organic compounds to overcome major safety issues, battery cycle life, and swelling during the charging process. In particular, Frost & Sullivan analysts noted FlashBattery's unique ability to eliminate issues such as plating, thermal fluctuations, and unstable charging.

StoreDot's XFC battery was benchmarked against competing products on several attributes (match to market needs, reliability, quality, positioning, and design) and its customer impact (brand equity). StoreDot achieved close to full marks in both categories, which was accredited to FlashBattery being a "one-stop-shop solution that offers a safe fast charging solution at a competitive price, and has the backing of their strong industry partnerships with OEMs, manufacturers, and energy providers".

Vijay Wilfred, Senior Research Analyst, TechVision, at Frost & Sullivan, says: "Batteries are one of the primary technologies when it comes to EV integration, and although lithium-ion batteries have substantially transformed the industry, these systems require long charging times and are unable to keep that charge. StoreDot's technology is a significant step up, and with its outstanding performance in both categories, the company was a step ahead of its competition. With its strong R&D team, we can see that it will be able to achieve rapid commercialization through mass production."

StoreDot's R&D team consists of more than 100 scientists, including 34 PHDs, who "continuously strive to achieve disruptive developments in FlashBattery technology", says Frost & Sullivan. In addition, it states that StoreDot's strong and diverse patent portfolio, consisting of 82 global patents, provides a significant competitive advantage in the fast-growing rapid charging battery market.

In January of this year, StoreDot achieved a world first when it launched engineering samples of its first-generation battery technology manufactured on standard lithium-ion production lines. This removes a significant barrier to achieving full commercialization of StoreDot's XFC technology by eliminating the need for manufacturing partners to invest in costly bespoke manufacturing equipment.

Frost & Sullivan noted that another indicator of StoreDot's ability to flourish commercially is its focus on meeting the needs of the future EV industry with its second- and third-generation technologies. StoreDot's second-generation battery, which will be launched as a prototype later in 2021, comprises a silicon-dominant anode and will bring the price of XFC technology much closer to that of standard lithium-ion batteries. Looking further ahead, its third-generation cells will use a hybrid form of solid-state technologies to deliver extreme energy density (XED) as an evolution to XFC, thus continuously improving the EV driving experience by delivering more miles per minute of charging.

Dr. Doron Myersdorf, CEO and Cofounder of StoreDot, says: "We are delighted to receive this award, which is testament to the vision and hard work of StoreDot's qualified team of scientists together with our partners. The world is facing a mounting environmental crisis and making a rapid transition to EVs will play a crucial role in helping our planet. However, achieving that goal is only possible with the availability of a true and proven new battery technology."

Myersdorf continues: "Today, there are still cynics that believe that XFC is not possible. Yet, we proved time and again that it is very real. First in 2019, when we partnered with BP to demonstrate the world's first live charge of a two-wheeled EV, and more recently with the launch of our first-generation engineering samples. This award from industry experts provides a further proof point that not only is XFC possible, it is also commercially viable and ready to scale for mass production."

About StoreDot:

StoreDot is a pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) batteries that overcome the critical barrier to mainstream EV adoption - range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, making it possible to fully charge an EV in just five minutes - the same time it takes to refuel a conventional combustion engine vehicle. StoreDot's battery technology is optimized for best driver experience with XFC in Li-ion batteries, as well as future generations delivering extreme energy density (XED).

StoreDot's strategic investors include bp, Daimler, Samsung Ventures and TDK. In 2019, the company achieved a world first by demonstrating the live full charge of a two-wheeled EV in just five minutes. Moving XFC battery technology from the lab to a commercially viable product for the first time, StoreDot has launched engineering samples of its first-generation batteries, designed to be manufactured at scale on traditional Li-lion production lines.

For more information see: www.store-dot.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1486245/StoreDot.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1486246/StoreDot_Award_Logo.jpg
Porsche driver Richard Pusey is set to contest a charge of assaulting a woman in Melbourne.

But other charges, including that he threatened to kill her and placed a noose around her neck in December, are likely to be dropped.

Pusey's lawyer Vincent Peters told Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday the assault charge was 'trite'.

Richard Pusey's lawyer has said he will not plead guilty to the charge that he assaulted a woman

He said Pusey would plead not guilty.

'It seems hardly worthwhile pursuing,' the lawyer said.

Prosecutor Meagan McDonnell replied that it was not a trivial matter.

'There was screaming and distress observed,' she said.

The court was told prosecutors were set to drop five other charges from the same incident, including the noose allegation.

The court heard that the prosecutors were set to drop five other charges from the same incident

Meanwhile, Pusey was expected to admit to another charge of using a carriage service to menace the woman.

He would also plead guilty to an unrelated charge of damaging a motorbike worth $3400 at Richmond in 2019, the court was told.

Pusey is due back in Melbourne Magistrates Court on May 13.

He is awaiting sentence in the County Court for other charges including outraging public decency after he filmed a fatal police crash last April.

He repeatedly described the scene as 'amazing' and zoomed in on the injuries of the dead and dying officers on the Eastern Freeway.

Judge Trevor Wraight during a pre-sentence hearing for those charges commented Pusey was 'probably the most hated man in Australia'.
Mayfield

Meet Tommy. He's a chimpanzee living in Mayfield. And, quite suddenly, he's famous.

That's because he's the unsuspecting plaintiff in a groundbreaking case that seeks legal rights for animals. The Nonhuman Rights Project has filed a writ of habeas corpus on Tommy's behalf and is asking a state Supreme Court to release him to a sanctuary for primates.

Tommy lives alone behind Circle L Trailer Sales, along Route 30 near Gloversville. The animal-rights group believes Tommy is being "imprisoned" and says New York law provides him "the common law right to bodily liberty."

They're not joking.

The group has submitted a 79-page brief detailing the legal rationale for its claim. There's ample precedent, it says, establishing that being human isn't the only requirement for legal rights. The petition also notes that chimps and people share nearly 99 percent of their DNA, and says "no other species comes so close to humans in self-awareness."

All this has left Patrick Lavery, the chimp's owner, flummoxed.

For him, the lawsuit  and the attention it's generating  were completely unexpected. Speaking by phone from his home in Florida, he said the petition paints an overly grim picture of Tommy's life. The chimp, he said, seems content.

"He's really got it good," Lavery said. "He's got a lot of enrichment. He's got color TV, cable and a stereo."

What more does a chimp need?

Well, for starters, Tommy might like a tree to climb, sunshine and other chimps with which to socialize.

Tommy doesn't have those things, but Lavery said the chimp's conditions are far better than at his prior home. He said Tommy has a spacious enclosure that complies with state and federal regulations.

I asked to visit Tommy, but Lavery said he wouldn't allow it until he returns to Mayfield in March. Lavery said employees take care of Tommy while he's away. Lavery, who also owns Santa's Hitching Post, which rents and sells reindeer, said he has kept chimps for decades.

The Nonhuman Rights Project, based in Florida, didn't randomly choose New York for its battle venue. The group believes the state is fertile ground for the establishment of non-human rights. In particular, it notes that New York allows animals to be the beneficiaries of trusts  legislation that may open the door to other legal advantages.

The group, which has anthropologist Jane Goodall on its board of directors, isn't claiming that a chimp is a human's equal, legally or otherwise. It only contends that Tommy can be considered a "legal person" under the law  just as corporations are.

"Tommy cannot be released to Africa," the petition says. "But he can be released from his imprisonment in New York."

Yet if Tommy were granted rights, could he legally be kept anywhere? Wouldn't a sanctuary be just another form of imprisonment?

Those are just two of the questions that occurred to me as I read the petition. If nothing else, the effort is thought provoking.

"If chimpanzees have rights, then how about dogs?" asked Laurie Shanks, professor at Albany Law. "Would that mean you couldn't legally euthanize? Would it mean we can't eat animals? Where are you going to draw the line?"

Shanks credited the creativity behind the Nonhuman Rights Project effort and called its petition a serious attempt at expanding how the law protects animals. But she believes the petition won't succeed, because the intent behind habeas corpus is to protect humans (and only humans) from unreasonable imprisonment.

More Information Have a story? Contact Churchill at 518-454-5700 or cchurchill@timesunion.com. See More Collapse

Still, you don't have to be an activist to believe that Tommy deserves better. Just because it's legal to keep him in solitary confinement doesn't mean it's ethical. He's committed no crime.

"Chimps are really just like us," said Sarah Baeckler Davis, director of the North American Sanctuary Primate Alliance. "They need friends."

The alliance isn't participating in the Nonhuman Rights Project effort, but it has promised to find a better home for Tommy if he's released, either by a court or Lavery. The non-profit works with eight sanctuaries  and each is more suitable for a chimp than Tommy's enclosure behind a trailer business.

Tommy is 42 years old, making him elderly by chimp standards. He'll probably live for just a few more years.

Lavery says he's looked without success for a sanctuary that would take Tommy. But he hasn't felt an urgent need to find a better home, because he believes Tommy isn't bothered by his solitary life.

"He'd rather be by himself," Lavery said. "He likes being by himself."

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5700  @chris_churchill
Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said the Queen has 'lost the captain of her ship' after the death of Prince Philip, her husband of more than 70 years.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 99, spent his final days at Windsor Castle with his wife, who he lovingly called Lilibet throughout their long life together.

He died on Friday after a 28-night stay in hospital having been admitted in mid-February for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition.

Burrell, who served as Diana's butler between 1987 and her death in Paris in 1997, told Sunrise on Tuesday that his thoughts are with Her Majesty in her time of mourning.

'I've been thinking about her sleeping at Windsor in her tower in her bedroom and looking at the dressing room door in the corner of her room and thinking 'he's never going to comes through that door again,' he told Natalie Barr and David Koch.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 99, spent his final days at Windsor Castle with his wife, who he lovingly called Lilibet throughout their long life together

Prince Philip died on Friday after a 28-night stay in hospital having been admitted in mid-February for an infection and a pre-existing heart condition

Burrell, who served as Diana's butler between 1987 and her death in Paris in 1997, told Sunrise on Tuesday that his thoughts are with Her Majesty in her time of mourning

'And that's so sad, she's suddenly realised she's lost the captain of her ship, she's lost the CEO of the House of Windsor and nobody can fill that void.

'Now for the rest of her life she will live in Windsor Castle, I don't think she will ever go back to Buckingham Palace, and she will stay there and remember those happy times.'

Burrell, who also served as the Queen's footman, said the Queen and Prince Philip had a 'Yin and Yang' relationship.

'He was there to break the ice, to make the gags, to be funny because the Queen couldn't do that as head of state and head of church,' the 62-year-old said.

'But she let him do it and she just rolled her eyes and used to say 'well that's Philip isn't it'.'

Burrell also shared intimate moments he witnessed while working in the British Royal Household, saying the Duke of Edinburgh's nickname for the Queen was 'cabbage'.

'Can you imagine the Queen ever being called Cabbage?' Burrell said.

On Monday, Burrell appeared on British talk show Lorraine, where he described Prince Philip as a 'practical, no nonsense man' who was 'sometimes very gruff'.

'And he at times frightened the living day lights out of me,' he said.

'He was very aggressive at times and very vocal, I've seen grown men come out of his room in tears. Prince Philip knew always the direction, what he wanted to do and wanted to achieve.'

'Prince Philip was always attentive of the Queen, he was a gentleman with the Queen, he would mix her favourite martini in her sitting room at night and take her a glass through while she was dressing.

'They spent a great deal of time together.'

Burrell revealed how the monarch always 'remained calm', recalling once when Philip lost his temper in the Queen's sitting room because Her Majesty's corgis were blocking the door.

Burrell, who also served as the Queen's footman, said the Queen and Prince Philip had a 'Yin and Yang' relationship

Burrell said the Duke of Edinburgh's nickname for the Queen was 'cabbage'

On Monday, Burrell appeared on British talk show Lorraine, where he described Prince Philip as a 'practical, no nonsense man' who was 'sometimes very gruff'

'She always remained calm', said Paul, 'He was the one who was off like a volcano, I remember once standing in the Queen's sitting room, the bedroom door was trying to open.

'The corgis were fast asleep like door stops and he couldn't get through and he was cursing and shouting and said, "I don't know why you have so many f**** dogs!".

'And she looked at him calmly and said 'But darling they're so collectable'.

The Queen on Friday announced with 'deep sorrow' the death of her husband at the age of 99, her 'strength and guide' throughout their 73-year marriage and her 69-year reign.

The Royal Family said in a statement: 'It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss'.
zeitgeist \ tsit-gist , zit- \ noun

: the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation (often capitalized: Zeitgeist)

_________

The word zeitgeist has appeared in 76 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Dec. 10 in The Highly Unlikely Yet Totally Predictable Return of Uggs by Max Berlinger:

Ms. ODonnell, whose first memory of the brand is Pamela Anderson wearing Uggs with her red Baywatch swimsuit (Ms. Anderson, an animal-rights activist, has since renounced the boots), calls the classic boot a cultural icon. That sort of talk is often ballyhoo, but in this shes not wrong. Uggs permeated the zeitgeist in a way few other footwear brands can claim. Oprah Winfrey included them in her annual Favorite Things episodes, starting in 2003, creating a frenzy. Celebrities often wore them between takes while filming, which continued to raise their profile. And starlets helped forge an image of them as glamorous and casual in the early part of the century. Originally they were worn by surfers to keep their feet warm after a morning of wave-riding, giving them instant street (beach?) cred. Still, without constant tending and innovation, a brand built around one signature item can easily get stuck in a rut. Uggs will always and forever remind me of coming of age in the early aughts, seeing them on celebrities like Jessica Simpson on Newlyweds or Paris Hilton shopping at Kitson, said Tyler McCall, the editor in chief of the Fashionista website. Lately, though, they also bring up images of a very specific, cool-art-scene kid.

Daily Word Challenge

Can you correctly use the word zeitgeist in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using todays Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the words definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the Recommend button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how zeitgeist can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

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Mam | Marketing

Impact's Sanjay Kaul starts second innings with new venture LMCE Days after stepping down as Impact Group CEO, Sanjay Kaul has launched a new start-up, Last Mile Channel Enhancement (LMCE)  a tech-enabled b2b aggregator for brands keen to foray into the rural market. As the name suggests, LMCE aims to solve the last mile challenges for brands. Read More...

Mam | Marketing

Cannes Lions 2021: Seven Indians part of the jury panel The jury line-up for Cannes Lions (International Festival of Creativity) that will take place from 21-25 June has been revealed. Organisers of the annual gala celebrating the advertising, marketing, and communications network, have scrapped the on-ground event due to Covid fears, and have taken the digital route. Read More...

Mam | Media and Advertising

Gangster Pankaj Tripathi shows his love for Nilon's products Condiments brand Nilon's has rolled out a new campaign - Isme Pyaar Mila Hai, highlighting the brand products across television and digital platforms with Pankaj Tripathi as its face. The campaign consists a series of quirky and comical ad films that highlight the superior quality ingredients and attention to the smallest detail that the processed food company employs. Read More...

Mam | Media and Advertising

Kewal Kapoor joins Fun2 app as consultant global advisor & creative strategist Sports and entertainment video sharing platform Fun2 app has onboarded Kewal Kapoor as consultant global advisor & creative strategist. He brings with him industry insights, vast experience in creative strategy and brand development, and innovative experience to the business gained in the largest and most successful brands worldwide. Read More...

Mam | Marketing

Kansai Nerolac wishes happy new beginnings with #ColoursThatCare Considered as the start of the Hindu new year, Gudi Padwa, as it is known in Maharashtra, has always been looked upon as one of the most auspicious days of the year, as it brings prosperity, happiness, and success into our homes. Read More...

Mam | Media and Advertising

315Work Avenue offers to protect you from 'Indiranagar Gunda' Rahul Dravid If there was one thing that bowled over netizens this weekend, it was Rahul Dravid's dramatic turn as 'Indiranagar ka gunda' in a Cred advertisement. Otherwise known for his cool persona, a commercial managed to do what the fiercest bowlers and toughest competition couldn't - get Dravid to lose his cool. Read More...
Japan's government announced on Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years.

It's a move that's fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbours.

The decision, long speculated at but delayed for years because of safety worries and protests, came during a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking.

The plant's storage capacity will be full late next year.

Japan's government announced on Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is needed to complete the decades-long decommissioning of the Fukushima plant.

He said the government would work to make sure the water is safe and to help local agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to releasable levels.

Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

The decision to release treated radioactive water into the sea is one that's fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbours (pictured, South Korean environmental activists protest against the decision)

Protestors in Japan gathered outside the Fukushima prefectural government headquarters to demand the plan be scrapped

The government stresses the water's safety, calling it 'treated' not 'radioactive,' even though radionuclides can only be reduced to disposable levels, not to zero. The amount of radioactive material that would remain in the water is unknown.

Releasing the water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.

Under the basic plan adopted Tuesday by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility and compiling release plans that follow safety requirements.

It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

Residents, fisheries officials and environmental groups issued statements denouncing the decision as ignoring environmental safety and health, and further hurting Fukushima's image and economy.

Japan Fisheries Cooperatives chairman Hiroshi Kishi said the decision less than a week after he met with Suga 'trampled on' all Japanese fisheries operators.

Local fisheries have just returned to full operation after a decade in which their catch was only for testing purposes, and they are struggling because of dwindling demand.

Protestors gathered outside the Prime Minister's Office to demand the plan be scrapped.

Protestors gathered outside the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on April 13 to demand the plan be scrapped

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant's storage capacity will be full late next year

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full by around autumn 2022.

Also, the area now filled with storage tanks needs to be used for new buildings needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors and for other decommissioning work in coming years.

In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings.

To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel.

Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water.

Those tanks, which occupy a large space at the plant, interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said.

The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is needed to complete the decades-long decommissioning of the Fukushima plant

Releasing the water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option

About 70 per cent of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond discharge limits but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says.

According to a preliminary estimate, gradual release of the water will take nearly 40 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, in a video message, said the ocean discharge was in line with international practice, though 'the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant makes it a unique and complex case.'

China and South Korea reacted strongly to Tuesday's decision.

Koo Yun-cheol, minister of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the plan was 'absolutely unacceptable' and urged Japan to disclose how the water is treated and its safety is verified.

South Korea has banned seafood imports from parts of Japan since 2013 and could increase those steps.

China criticised Japan's decision as 'extremely irresponsible,' saying it had not considered the health concerns of neighbouring countries.
The mission is to extend the life of billions of pounds of fresh produce each year, preventing spoilage from grower to grocer to your kitchen counter. Hazel works with more than 160 companies across 12 countries, with major customers such as Mission Avocado, the worlds largest distributor of fresh avocados; Zespri, the worlds biggest kiwifruit distributor; and Oppy, Canadas largest produce distributor.
Aside from a few forays into the street, yesterday's protest march was mostly uneventful and didn't draw much interest so early in the week.



Here's a balanced round-up of the event that pushed anti-police hype via social media without very much real world support . . . Read more:


Two of the four intruders caught on CCTV at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (The Epoch Times)

Attack on Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press Highlights Citys Declining Press Freedom

Hong Kongs dwindling press freedom took another blow on April 12, when The Epoch Times printing plant was damaged by four intruders. The incident has led to widespread criticism, some directed at the pro-Beijing Hong Kong government.

If the Hong Kong government has any credibility left, and wants to convince the world that HK is still a safe and stable society, it should conduct an immediate investigation and prosecute those responsible, stated Miles Yu, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, in a statement to The Epoch Times.

The attack took place in the early hours on Monday, when four men wearing masks barged into the printing warehouse and began smashing equipment and computers with sledgehammers. They also tossed construction debris on equipment before leaving with a computer.

The intrusion lasted for about two minutes, but the damage the intruders inflicted has forced the Hong Kong Epoch Times edition to temporarily suspend distribution.

Hong Kong edition spokeswoman Cheryl Ng said the intrusion was characteristic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with the aim of silencing an independent media outlet. Several U.S. lawmakers also said they wouldnt be surprised if the CCP was behind the attack.

The Monday attack was the second against the same facility in less than 18 months. In November 2019, four masked men set fire to two printing machines and printing paper. The perpetrators behind the arson attack are still at large.

There is no freedom of the press in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is gone, stated Robert Spalding, a former senior strategist in the Trump administrations National Security Council and a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, in a statement to The Epoch Times in response to the Monday attack.

Hong Kongs press freedom has been on a steady decline since 2013. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), the citys press freedom index hit a record low of 41.9 points for the year 2019, a drop from 49.4 in 2013. The drop was in part because of local journalists becoming the targets of extralegal intimidation or physical violence when reporting.

There have been many incidences of violence against journalists covering the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, which started in June 2019 when millions took to the streets in protest against an extradition bill. For instance, the HKJA released a statement saying that the police failed to fairly enforc[e] the law to apprehend individuals attacking journalists covering protests in Hong Kong on Sept. 15, 2019.

Beijings imposition of a draconian national security law on the China-ruled city has further eroded press freedom. On Oct. 8, 2020, Sarah Cook, China analyst at Freedom House, warned that independent journalists face increasing risks due to recent events in Hong Kong, including when 200 police officers raided Hong Kong outlet Apple Dailys newsroom.

Construction debris on top of printing press equipment at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

Hong Kong

On Tuesday, the Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) in Hong Kong issued a statement condemning the attack while calling for the perpetrators to be brought swiftly to justice.

The FCC insists that media should be able [to] operate freely without fear of violence in Hong Kong regardless of their political stance.

Also on April 12, the HKJA released a separate statement condemning the attack on the printing plant. It also called on the Hong Kong police to solemnly investigate the case.

The association strongly condemns acts of violence to maliciously target and intimidate the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times and all other journalists, stated the Hong Kong Internet Journalist Association in a Facebook statement on Monday.

It added that journalists working environment in Hong Kong has not improved but worsened since the HJKA statement in September 2019.

Since the Monday attack, several Hongkongers have spoken to the Hong Kong bureau of The Epoch Times in support of the newspaper.

Current affairs commentator Gordon Poon applauded The Epoch Times for its objective reporting throughout years of social movements in Hong Kong.

Damaged computers and construction debris on the floor. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

Koo Sze-yiu, a veteran pro-democracy activist, said that it was the CCPs fear of The Epoch Timeswhich he said is a global media that often exposes the communist regimes ugly facethat has driven Beijing to sabotage the newspapers operations.

The Epoch Times, one of the few independent media outlets in Hong Kong, is known for its uncensored coverage of China, including political infighting within the CCP and the regimes human rights violations against ethnic minorities and religious groups.

The Monday attack is the fifth time that the printing house has been vandalized since it was established in 2006. In February that year, thugs broke into the warehouse and damaged the newly purchased equipment, which was valued at more than HK$1 million ($128,660).

Hong Kong businessman Herbert Chow urged locals to support The Epoch Times by subscribing to the paper.
Brandon Lewis today condemned 'unacceptable' riots in Northern Ireland that left 88 police injured as he warned the Brexit protocol has fuelled tensions.

The Cabinet minister said the violence over the past week was 'tragic and deeply concerning', while attacks on officers were 'utterly reprehensible'.

He insisted the causes were 'complex and multi-faceted' - pointing to the frustrations and sense of unfairness caused by the pandemic.

But under pressure from MPs he acknowledged that the protocol Boris Johnson agreed with the EU was fuelling grievances. Loyalists have been angry at obstructions to trade with mainland Britain, with ministers struggling to strike a deal with Brussels about how to defuse the problems.

Brandon Lewis today condemned 'unacceptable' riots in Northern Ireland that left 88 police injured as he warned the Brexit protocol has fuelled tensions

The Cabinet minister said the violence over the past week was 'tragic and deeply concerning'. Pictured, Belfast on Friday night

In a statement to the Commons, the Northern Ireland secretary said: 'The violence witnessed last week is totally unacceptable. Attacks on police officers are utterly reprehensible.

'Those engaged in this destruction and disorder do not represent the people of Northern Ireland.

'It is tragic and deeply concerning that young people have been engaged in and encouraged into this violence and, as a result, will now end up with criminal records.

'It can be easy to look for a simplistic explanation for the recent disorder, however it is clear that the factors behind it are in fact complex and multi-faceted.'

Mr Lewis said there remain 'elements of fragility' in Northern Ireland despite the 'huge strides' over the past two decades.

He told MPs: 'People are frustrated after a year in which coronavirus has challenged all of us, and I do recognise how frustrating it's been especially for young people in Northern Ireland facing the uncertainty around lifting lockdown restrictions without having a clear road map in Northern Ireland.

'There is also a perception that the rules and restrictions have not been enforced equally in Northern Ireland and we all know there are strongly-held political views within and between communities that can be in tension with each other.

'I recognise that there are concerns about the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol, concerns which overlap with wider questions about national identity and political allegiance, and that comes at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

'Northern Ireland has made huge strides over the last two decades but it is a post-conflict society and there do remain elements of fragility.'

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Louise Haigh said there was a 'very deep sense of hurt and anger amongst the unionist and loyalist communities which has been building for months and which must not be ignored'.

'The Prime Minister made promises to the people of Northern Ireland that there would be no border with Great Britain, knowing full well his Brexit deal would introduce barriers across the Irish Sea,' she said.

'He made those promises because he knew economic separation would be unacceptable to the unionist community and the growing political instability we are seeing has its roots in the loss of trust that this caused.

Loyalist rioters were engaged in clashes with police officers in North Belfast on Friday night

Mr Lewis acknowledged that the protocol Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) agreed with the EU was fuelling grievances

'Trust matters, it is what secured and has always sustained the Belfast Good Friday Agreement  trust, leadership and partnership are paramount to finding a way forward in Northern Ireland.'

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson called on the Government to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol altogether.

He said: 'Importantly, there was a breach of trust in relation to the Northern Ireland Protocol and creating barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland that we were told would not happen and have happened. They undermine the sense of identity and the place of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

'What is the Secretary of State going to do with the Northern Ireland political parties to address the issues around policing and justice, and, crucially, to replace this Protocol with something better that restores Northern Ireland's place fully within the internal market of the United Kingdom?'

Mr Lewis replied: 'We took unilateral action just a few weeks ago to ease some of the issues and issues that would have made matters even more difficult as I suggested at the time. I think it is now very clear they were the right actions to take.

'I think, through that, people can see that we are determined to deal with some of the problems and the issues there (with) the Protocol.'
Male, April 13 : Monthly tourism arrivals have been on the rise in the Maldives, with over 330,000 tourists visiting the island nation between January and March, the Ministry of Tourism revealed on Tuesday.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism showed that 109,585 tourists arrived in March, up from 96,882 tourist arrivals in February, and 92,103 tourist arrivals in January, reports Xinhua news agency.

A further 35,358 tourists have arrived in the country in the first 10 days of April.

The daily average for tourism arrivals has gradually risen every month from 2,971 in January, to 3,460 in February, and 3,535 in March.

Twenty-three per cent of the tourists came from India while 21 per cent from Russia.

Maldives briefly closed its borders to tourism last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and re-opened on July 15, 2020.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:37:02|Editor: huaxia

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds virtual dialogue with U.S. business leaders in Beijing, capital of China, April 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday that China welcomes the active participation of companies from the United States and around the world in its reform and opening-up, as well as its modernization process.

Li made the remarks during a virtual dialogue with U.S. business leaders, with board chairmen and CEOs from the U.S.-China Business Council and over 20 U.S. multinational companies in attendance.

Promoting the healthy and stable development of China-U.S. relations is the common aspiration of both peoples as well as the international community, Li said.

He called upon the two sides to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, respecting each other's core interests and major concerns, enhancing dialogue and communication, expanding practical cooperation and properly handling differences.

"The essence of economic and trade relations between China and the U.S. is mutual benefit," said Li, adding that such a relationship benefits the two peoples as well as world peace, stability, development and prosperity.

Noting that trade between the two countries in 2020 increased despite multiple shocks, Li said this indicates that there are objective conditions and opportunities for cooperation between the two sides.

"Problems that occur in cooperation should be resolved through cooperation," said Li, adding that decoupling does no good to either side and will hurt the world.

Li expressed the hope that China and the U.S. can meet each other half-way, promote cooperation by making a bigger pie of common interests and safeguard the safety and stability of the industrial and supply chains.

Li reiterated that championing opening-up is China's fundamental policy and China's door to the outside world will open wider.

The premier expounded that by fostering a new development pattern, China will, on the one hand, keep tapping the potential of the domestic market and form a stable support for economic growth and employment, and on the other hand, further open up China's market and continue to make China an important destination for foreign investment and a big market for the world.

China will further open up, work toward a market-based and law-governed business environment that is up to international standards, and promote reforms to delegate power, streamline administration and optimize government services, ensuring a level playing field for both domestic and foreign enterprises.

Participants from the U.S. side said that avoiding conflict and confrontation and putting bilateral relations back on a constructive track are in the common interests of both sides.

Noting that economic and trade relations are the cornerstone of bilateral ties, they said that decoupling will bring huge uncertainties, not only for the two countries, but also for the whole world.

They said the U.S. business community supports the two sides increasing mutual trust through communication, enhancing coordination and cooperation in areas including epidemic prevention and control, climate change, sustainable development and innovation, and resuming people-to-people exchanges as soon as possible.

They said that U.S. companies welcome progress made by China in the areas of opening-up and optimizing the business environment, feel optimistic about China's development prospects and opportunities, and are committed to the long-term trade and investment cooperation with China. Enditem
The funeral for HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh will take place at 12am Sunday morning (Saturday night) AEST.

Nine:

Nines coverage will begin at 10pm AEST Saturday night, live in all states. It will be preceded by the FTA premiere of the Downton Abbey movie at 7:30pm, a good fit (Adelaide has The Lady in the Van). Funeral coverage from 10pm, Funeral from 11pm and repeated 5am.

Join 9News for special coverage of the funeral for HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Joined by a panel of expert guests as well as our European reporters live from Windsor Castle.

Seven:

Join 7NEWS on Saturday as the world farewells Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with special live coverage of the ceremonial royal funeral to begin from 5.00pm AEST on Channel 7 and 7plus.

7NEWS Europe Bureau Chief Hugh Whitfeld will lead coverage from outside St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the Queen and members of the Royal family will attend to pay their final respects. Hell be joined by acclaimed BBC broadcaster and royal expert, Angela Rippon CBE, and Sunrises royal editor, Rob Jobson.

Following 7NEWS at 6.00, special coverage will recommence from 9.30pm AEST (check local guides).

Immediately following Weekend Sunrise on Sunday, Prince Philips funeral service will be replayed, commercial free, from 10am on 7TWO.

Sydney

5.00pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral 6.00pm 7NEWS at 6.00

7.00pm The Latest: Prince Philip

7.30pm Movie: The Queen

9.30pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral

Melbourne

5.00pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral 6.00pm 7NEWS at 6.00

7.00pm AFL: Brisbane v Essendon

10.30pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral

Brisbane

5.00pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral 6.00pm 7NEWS at 6.00

7.00pm AFL: Brisbane v Essendon

10.30pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral

Adelaide

5.00pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral 6.00pm 7NEWS at 6.00

7.00pm AFL: Carlton v Port Adelaide

9.30pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral

Perth

5.30pm Perth Local News

6.00pm 7NEWS at 6.00

7.00pm 7NEWS Perth: Prince Philip Special

8.00pm 7NEWS Special Coverage: Prince Philip Funeral

ABC:

11pm AEST The Funeral of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, held at St Georges Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle with 30 people in attendance due to UK COVID restrictions.

10:

Syd / Melb / Bris:

10:20pm A Tribute To HRH The Duke Of Edinburgh

11:40pm The Funeral Of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke Of Edinburgh

Adelaide 9:40pm / 11:10pm

Perth Funeral 9:40pm, Tribute 11:20pm.

Funeral is replayed 8am Sunday local time.

This post updates.

Related
The report " Carotenoids Market by Type (Astaxanthin, Beta-Carotene, Lutein, Lycopene, Canthaxanthin, and Zeaxanthin), Application (Feed, Food & Beverages, Dietary Supplements, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceuticals), Source, Formulation, and Region - Global Forecast to 2026 ", The carotenoids market is projected to grow from USD 1.5 billion in 2019 to USD 2.0 billion by 2026, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2% during the forecast period. The major factors driving the growth of the carotenoids market includes the growing use of carotenoids in preventive healthcare and as a food colorant in the feed industry.

By application, the feed segment is estimated to account for the largest market share in 2019 in the carotenoids market

Carotenoids are extensively used in animal nutrition products due to their coloring properties and are incorporated in feed to pigment the egg yolks, broiler skin, fishes, and crustaceans. These also help in increasing the immunity and improving the health of livestock by enhancing the quality of nutrition. The fertility of cattle, swine, and horses can be improved by feeding beta-carotene, whereas astaxanthin and canthaxanthin help in improving the growth of salmons and larval fishes.

Download PDF Brochure:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=158421566

The beadlet segment in the carotenoids market is estimated to dominate the market in 2019

On the basis of formulation, the beadlet segment is estimated to dominate the carotenoids market in 2019. Carotenoid beadlets are free-flowing spherical particles developed from spray drying technology. They are usually packed in an aluminum foil bag and stored in a cool and dry place away from direct light, oxygen, and heat. Some of the other major benefits of using beadlet formulations include increased stability, cold water dispersion, and enhanced of shelf life.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR in the carotenoids market during the forecast period. This is due to the growing application of carotenoids in the health supplements, as they are rich in protein, vitamin, iron, manganese, and antioxidants, which help in preventing cardiovascular diseases and maintaining weight. Asia Pacific offers profitable growth opportunities to manufacturers and suppliers of carotenoids as the processing of carotenoids is cheaper in this region and witnesses a high demand in this region.

The prominent vendors in the carotenoids market includes Koninklijke DSM (Netherlands), BASF (Germany), Chr. Hansen (Denmark), Kemin Industries (US), Lycored Limited (Israel), Cyanotech Corporation (US), Fuji Chemical Industry Co Ltd. (Japan), Novus International (US), DDW The Color House (US), Dohler Group (Germany), Allied Biotech Corporation (Taiwan), EID Parry (India), Farbest Brands (US), Excelvite Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), AlgaTechnologies Ltd. (Israel), Zhejiang NHU Co. Ltd (China), Dynadis SARL (France), Deinove SAS (France), Vidya Europe SAS (France), and Divi's Laboratories (India).

Request for Customization:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=158421566

Recent Developments:
Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. (Getty Images)

The Minnesota police officer who shot fatally 20-year-old Duante Wright after reportedly mistaking her gun for a taser was training a new recruit at the time of the shooting.

The 26-year veteran of the force can be heard saying: Holy s***. I just shot him! in bodycam footage after allegedly intending to tase Mr Wright but shooting him instead.

Kimberly Potter, 48, was identified on Monday night as the officer who pulled the trigger. She got her police licence in 1995 at the age of 22, state records show.

Ms Potter was working as a field training officer on Sunday in Brooklyn Center north of Minneapolis. At least one of the officers who was with her at the time of the shooting was a new recruit who she was training, the head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association Brian Peters told the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

He said: "She's just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It's completely devastating. She [is] just a good person, always willing to help out."

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said on Monday night that Ms Potter is on administrative leave. The mayor and the family of Mr Wright have called for her to be fired.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said: "I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning."

He described the shooting as "an accidental discharge".

Ms Potter has served on the force's negotiation team. During another fatal shooting in August 2019, Ms Potter was among those who arrived first at the scene where Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after being shot after he reportedly ran at officers with a knife, The Star Tribune reported.

A report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Ms Potter instructed the two officers involved to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body-worn cameras, and to not talk to each other.

The actions of both officers were found to have been justified and no charges were filed.

Story continues

Ms Potter has been a union president for her department and was a part of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association. In the association, she was a member of the casket team, working to honour fallen police officers.

Public records stated that her salary was $86,190 when the records were last updated in 2018.

The Independent has reached out to the lawyer handling the case of Ms Potter for comment.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2021 - 19:47 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

The Japanese government decided Tuesday to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, having determined it poses no safety concerns despite opposition from local fishermen and neighboring countries.

The water will be significantly diluted and released in small amounts, with the step-by-step operation set to start in about two years to allow the utility, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., time to set up facilities and receive approval from nuclear regulators.

The decision ends years of discussions on how to dispose of more than 1 million tons of the treated water, which has accumulated at the complex after a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered a triple meltdown in March 2011.

Water pumped into the ruined reactors at the Fukushima plant to cool the melted fuel, mixed with rain and groundwater that has also been contaminated, is being treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS.

The process removes most radioactive materials including strontium and cesium but leaves behind tritium, which is related to hydrogen and said to pose little health risk in low concentrations.

The water is being kept in tanks on the plant's premises, and there was about 1.25 million tons in total as of March. TEPCO expects to run out of storage capacity as early as fall next year, and the government had been considering ways to dispose of the water.

"Disposing of the treated water is an unavoidable issue for decommissioning the Fukushima Daiichi plant," Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said after finalizing the decision in a meeting with members of his Cabinet, vowing to ensure "more than adequate" compliance with safety standards and to take steps to protect the fishery industry.

The government's plan calls for TEPCO to pay compensation to local fishermen who suffer reputational damage, though it does not detail how that determination will be made.

The head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives, Hiroshi Kishi, strongly opposed the decision to release the tritiated water into the sea, calling it "utterly unacceptable" and saying it "tramples on the feelings of fishermen not only in Fukushima Prefecture but across Japan."

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the decision is "extremely irresponsible" and detrimental for neighboring countries, while Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council also voiced opposition.

The South Korean government held an emergency meeting to discuss its response, with the Foreign Ministry summoning Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi to lodge a formal protest.

China, Taiwan and South Korea are among 15 countries and regions that continue to restrict imports of Japanese agricultural and fishery products following the Fukushima disaster.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency backed the plan to release the water into the Pacific Ocean, with Director General Rafael Grossi saying the method is "both technically feasible and in line with international practice."

"At Japan's request, the IAEA stands ready to provide technical support in reviewing the plan's safe and transparent implementation," he said in a video message.

Following the announcement, the U.S. State Department noted that Japan has "weighed the options and effects, has been transparent about its decision, and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards."

According to the government's plan, the tritium will be diluted to less than 1,500 becquerels per liter, one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards and one-seventh of the World Health Organization's guideline for drinking water.

Third parties including the IAEA and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Nuclear Energy Agency will be involved to ensure the plan is being implemented properly, the plan says.

A subcommittee of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry concluded in February 2020 that releasing the tritiated water into the sea and evaporating it were both realistic options, with the former being easier for monitoring radiation levels.

The government had initially hoped to finalize the decision last October, viewing it as necessary to clear up space at the Fukushima plant in order to move forward with the decades-long decommissioning process, but decided it needed more time to gain the public's understanding.

Related coverage:

Q&A: Release of Fukushima nuclear plant treated water into sea

U.S. backs Japan's decision to release Fukushima plant treated water

China, South Korea wary of release of Fukushima treated water into sea

Fukushima tries to update image with new multilingual website

Chronology of events related to Fukushima plant water release into sea

The following is a chronology of events related to the Japanese government's decision to release into sea treated radioactive water from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered core meltdowns for some of its reactors due to the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.

March 11, 2011 -- Magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami trigger a nuclear crisis at Fukushima Daiichi plant, resulting in a loss of power at the Nos. 1-4 reactor facilities. The Nos. 1-3 reactors subsequently suffer core meltdowns, and the plant keeps generating massive amounts of radiation-tainted water as it needs water to cool the reactors.

March 2013 -- Japanese government begins trial operation of an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, which removes radioactive materials other than tritium from contaminated water.

April 2016 -- A government panel proposes five options for disposing of the ALPS-treated water and publishes an estimate that releasing it into the ocean would take the least time and cost.

February 2020 -- A government subcommittee releases a report stating that releasing the water into the ocean or evaporating it are realistic options.

April 2020 -- The International Atomic Energy Agency expresses support for the subcommittee's findings.

June 2020 -- At its ordinary general meeting, the national federation of fisheries cooperatives known as JF Zengyoren unanimously adopts a special resolution opposing the release of radioactive materials into the ocean.

March 2021 -- Japan's industry minister Hiroshi Kajiyama and IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi agree to cooperate in dispelling harmful rumors after the policy on the treated water is decided.

April 7 -- Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets with the chairman of JF Zengyoren.

April 13 -- The government decides to discharge the treated water into the ocean.
WABASH TOWNSHIP, Ind. (WLFI) - Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising said she is being investigated by the state for her residency. However, she said this investigation is groundless and is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

We spoke exclusively with Teising two weeks ago where she showed us documents proving where she lives. After that story aired, Indiana State Police contacted News 18 and requested the raw footage from that story for an investigation. When we reached out to Teising about this, she said she was willing to talk again on this issue.

She said this started for her when she and her office staff had reason to believe someone had been in the Wabash Trustee office. She said a file was missing and it appeared that someone had been tracking her movement through her phone.

Teising said when she reported it to police, they told her they couldn't do anything about it because of their investigation against her.

She said she is facing charges of not living in the township as an elected leader, and of theft for stealing wages while allegedly not living in the township.

"It's frustrating," said Teising.

As we previously reported, Teising said her residency has always been in the township for the duration of her term as trustee. She said that she had taken advantage of being able to work remotely during the pandemic to take her RV and travel to see friends and family.

She believes this investigation is political.

"I have these Republican men who, I can imagine, they don't exactly love a Bernie Sanders supporting, liberal, single mom with a gay child, feminist. I'm sure they have a real problem with me," she said. "Using taxpayer dollars to investigate, to settle political disputes or because they have a problem with a political party or a person trying to accomplish things in the community is outrageous."

News 18 reached out to Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington with several questions about the case. He said he is not allowed to comment on pending cases and couldn't answer any of those questions.

This investigation started when the Wabash Township Board voted for Teising to resign. They claimed that Teising sold her home in June and moved to Anderson, Indiana, and later Florida. The three board members who voted in favor of the resignation are all from the Democratic party.

We also reached out to Indiana State Police here in Lafayette. Public Information Officer Sgt. Jeremy Piers said in an email, "I am unable to speak about anyone who is or is not a suspect in any ongoing investigation."

When ISP asked News 18 for the raw footage from the previous story, that request did not have any sort of legal backing. Due to journalism ethics and News 18 policy, we will not be turning over any footage to police until they come back with a subpoena.

Several viewers have also wanted to know more about Trustee Teising had done to help people directly during the pandemic. She said that because the township has such a small budget, they are not able to help people directly with financial problems. But she said they set up a system where if someone contacted her office for help, they had a network of community resources, like the United Way, to send people to.

"We estimate that Wabash Township alone helped people connect with $70,000 worth of funds," she said.

Teising said time is getting even closer to running out on getting funding for the fire district. As we previously reported, Teising said she is trying to get signatures of support from the people in the township to create a fire district, which would solve the townships funding problems. Without this source of revenue, Teasing said she is going to have to start laying off the employed firefighters in the department.
Xi stresses development of modern vocational education system

Xinhua) 13:30, April 13, 2021

Students have a training class on auto repairing at a vocational school in Xiji County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to speed up the development of the modern vocational education system and cultivate more high-quality technical professionals.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction on improving the country's vocational education.

Vocational education has a promising future and great potential as China journeys toward socialist modernization, Xi said.

Xi stressed the need to reform training and schooling modes as well as management and support mechanisms related to vocational education.

He called for promoting bachelor-level vocational education and bringing about a number of quality vocational education institutions and programs.

Party committees and government departments at various levels are urged to further innovate relevant institutions and enhance policy support and investment to see that fine workmanship is promoted and that the social status of technical professionals improves.

In doing so, strong talent and skill support can be provided for the building of a modern socialist China and the realization of the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

The building of the high-level technical professional training system should focus on the country's modernization drive and high-quality development, Premier Li Keqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said in another instruction on vocational education.

Aiming at the forefront of technological change and industrial upgrading, more efforts are needed to promote integration between industry and education and cooperation between schools and enterprises, and attract more young people to receive vocational education, Li said.

A national conference on vocational education was held in Beijing from Monday to Tuesday, during which the instructions of Xi and Li were delivered.

Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attended the conference. She called for an integrated vocational education system covering different levels, better treatment and promotion opportunities for skilled professionals.

(Web editor: Guo Wenrui, Liang Jun)
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 -- From Los Angeles and the Lower East Side of New York City to Paris and Penang, street art by famous and not-so-famous artists adorns highways, roads and alleys. In addition to creating social statements, works of beauty and tourist attractions, street art sometimes attracts vandals who add their unwanted graffiti, which is hard to remove without destroying the underlying painting. Now, researchers report novel, environmentally friendly techniques that quickly and safely remove over-paintings on street art.

The researchers will present their results today at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2021 is being held online April 5-30. Live sessions will be hosted April 5-16, and on-demand and networking content will continue through April 30. The meeting features nearly 9,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

"For decades, we have focused on cleaning or restoring classical artworks that used paints designed to last centuries," says Piero Baglioni, Ph.D., the project's principal investigator. "In contrast, modern art and street art, as well as the coatings and graffiti applied on top, use materials that were never intended to stand the test of time."

Research fellow Michele Baglioni, Ph.D., (no relation to Piero Baglioni) and coworkers built on their colleagues' work and designed a nanostructured fluid, based on nontoxic solvents and surfactants, loaded in highly retentive hydrogels that very slowly release cleaning agents to just the top layer -- a few microns in depth. The undesired top layer is removed in seconds to minutes, with no damage or alteration to the original painting.

Street art and overlying graffiti usually contain one or more of three classes of paint binders -- acrylic, vinyl or alkyd polymers. Because these paints are similar in composition, removing the top layer frequently damages the underlying layer. Until now, the only way to remove unwanted graffiti was by using chemical cleaners or mechanical action such as scraping or sand blasting. These traditional methods are hard to control and often damaged the original art.

"We have to know exactly what is going on at the surface of the paintings if we want to design cleaners," explains Michele Baglioni, who is at the University of Florence (Italy). "In some respects, the chemistry is simple -- we are using known surfactants, solvents and polymers. The challenge is combining them in the right way to get all the properties we need."

Michele Baglioni and coworkers used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to characterize the binders, fillers and pigments in the three classes of paints. After screening for suitable low-toxicity, "green" solvents and biodegradable surfactants, he used small angle X-ray scattering analyses to study the behavior of four alkyl carbonate solvents and a biodegradable nonionic surfactant in water.

The final step was formulating the nanostructured cleaning combination. The system that worked well also included 2-butanol and a readily biodegradable alkyl glycoside hydrotrope as co-solvents/co-surfactants. Hydrotropes are water-soluble, surface-active compounds used at low levels that allow more concentrated formulations of surfactants to be developed. The system was then loaded into highly retentive hydrogels and tested for its ability to remove overpaintings on laboratory mockups using selected paints in all possible combinations.

After dozens of tests, which helped determine how long the gel should be applied and removed without damaging the underlying painting, he tested the gels on a real piece of street art in Florence, successfully removing graffiti without affecting the original work.

"This is the first systematic study on the selective and controlled removal of modern paints from paints with similar chemical composition," Michele Baglioni says. The hydrogels can also be used for the removal of top coatings on modern art that were originally intended to preserve the paintings but have turned out to be damaging. The hydrogels will become available commercially from CSGI Solutions for Conservation of Cultural Heritage, a company founded by Piero Baglioni and others. CSGI, the Center for Colloid and Surface Science, is a university consortium mainly funded through programs of the European Union.

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A press conference on this topic will be held Tuesday, April 13, at 11 a.m. Eastern time online at http://www. acs. org/ acsspring2021conferences .

The researchers acknowledge support and funding from the European Union NANORESTART (Nanomaterials for the Restoration of Works of Art) Program and CSGI.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder and STN), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.

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Title

Selective removal of over-paintings using an environmentally friendly nanostructured fluid loaded in highly retentive hydrogels

Abstract

The removal (cleaning) of over-paintings (i.e., paint layers laid on preexisting paintings) or graffiti is becoming a priority for conservators and restorers. This operation is complex, and it is further complicated when over-paintings lay on painted surfaces that must be preserved, as in the case of writings or tags on street art, where the two layers are usually also chemically similar. Traditional methodologies do not usually provide satisfactory results, especially when a controlled and selective cleaning is needed. In this contribution, a systematic study on the selective and controlled removal of modern paints from chemically similar paints is reported. Several paints including different binder classes, i.e., vinyl, acrylic and alkyd polymers were characterized by means of attenuated total reflection--Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR) and their composition was unveiled in terms of binders, pigment and fillers. A screening of possible solvents to be used for the overpainting removal was performed with neat solvents and via mechanical action with cotton swabs soaked with the same solvents. Two-, three, and pseudo-three components (solvents + surfactant) phase diagrams were studied to formulate a novel nanostructured fluid based on green (low-toxicity) organic solvents and on a biodegradable nonionic surfactant. Size, shape and composition of supra molecular aggregates of the novel nanostructured fluid were determined by means of small angle X-ray scattering. Finally, this system was loaded in highly retentive hydrogels and successfully used for the selective removal of overpaintings on laboratory mockups, prepared using the selected paints in all the possible combinations. The proposed methodology and cleaning system were ultimate assessed in the selective removal of black tags from a real piece of street art with excellent results.
Customers always have their favorites at a restaurant.

At Mike Anderson's Seafood, quite often that favorite is as much about the food as it is about the server.

"They'll say, 'Oh, I want to sit with Miss Desiree today,'" said general manager Josh Jones. "And if Miss Desiree isn't here on that day, they're asking for their second choices, 'So, well, what about, uh, you know, is this person?' We see it on a daily basis here. It's like a family."

Desiree Thibodeaux has been part of the family for 25 years.

And that family connection between customers and staff along with a menu that's served up the same great dishes for 46 years is what has made Mike Anderson's a success.

The restaurant is named for its owner, an All-American linebacker at LSU from 1967 to 1970. Mike Anderson opened his restaurant in a small house outside LSU's North Gate in 1975, then moved the restaurant to its current location at 1031 W. Lee Drive in the 1980s.

"For sure, we're a staple in Baton Rouge," Jones said, "but I would say, we're a staple in Louisiana, as well. You mention Mike Anderson's, and people know what you're talking about."

That's not to say changes haven't been made in the restaurant's almost five decades. Anderson has retired from the day-to-day operations, which are now overseen by his son and co-owner, Mike Anderson Jr. Anderson's brother-in-law and nephew, Harry and Chip Robert, own the Mike Anderson's franchise in Gonzales.

Through the years, Mike Anderson's also opened locations in the New Orleans Riverwalk and in Central, which closed after the 2016 flood.

But none of that has changed the menu and the service customers have come to expect.

Diners know they can always order the Guitreau, grilled mahi-mahi topped with crawfish, shrimp and mushrooms; or the Shrimp Norman, a plate of fried jumbo butterflied shrimp topped with crabmeat etouffee; or the favorite Friday lunch special, Catfish Le Fete, of fresh catfish fillets topped by crawfish etouffee.

Rounding out the favorites are the fried shrimp po-boy and oysters on the half shell, which are always ready to go at the oyster bar.

"All of our ingredients are locally sourced, and the recipes have never changed," Jones said. "We've changed the menu a little bit, more or less just taking some things off to simplify it because we had such a humongous menu when I started. But if there's something that isn't on the menu, and we have the product in the building, the regulars know that if they ask for it, we'll make it. If something works, why change it?"

In addition to what's on the menu, the restaurant offers monthly specials of dishes formerly on the menu, which includes choices between two appetizers, two entrees and a dessert.

"That's where we broadcast some of that stuff that our customers want to see," Jones said. "That's what keeps it flowing."

Jones came on board four years ago as executive chef. He was later promoted to general manager and had to take on the roles of events manager and marketing during the pandemic.

Event bookings have risen since the state's easing of pandemic restrictions in March, but, as was the case with most area restaurants, business was uncertain last year at this time.

"It (the pandemic) definitely made a major impact on our business and our industry as a whole," Jones said. "When it happened, we didn't really know the extent of what was going on and the impact that it was going to have on us for the next year and the future."

At the start of the pandemic when state orders shut down dining rooms, Jones said sales dropped as the business focused on to-go and curbside service. But no workers were furloughed.

"The government tried to assist as they could, but it was a major adjustment as a whole," Jones said. "Everybody pitched in and did more than normal, and we sustained it. We've been here for 46 years, so we definitely appreciate all our loyal customers that have supported us and kept us with our doors open."

Some workers opted to leave because of health risks. Others decided to take advantage of the federal government's hefty unemployment benefits package.

"But we still didn't lay off anybody," Jones said. "But as far as just operations in general, we noticed that we can get the job done with less people, and that wasn't by choice. We're still hiring, that's everybody, but I think the major thing was we had to get an idea of what we had and try not to affect the quality of the food or the guest experience as a whole."

In the end, it was all about keeping within the standards set by Mike Anderson all those years ago.

"One of our big slogans here is, 'When you care, it shows,'" Jones aid. "That's a big thing that Big Mike has always implemented here through the years. When you care, it shows, and it does. That's a staple slogan for this business."
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Danaher Corporation (DHR) said it expects first quarter core revenue growth to be above the high-end of the prior guidance range. The company anticipates revenue growth to be approximately 57.0% and non-GAAP core revenue growth including Cytiva to be approximately 29.0%. The impact of Cytiva sales growth (net of divested product lines) was 10.0%, for the quarter. Core sales growth is projected to be approximately 19.0%. Danaher will hold its earnings conference call for the first quarter on April 22, 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.
[April 13, 2021] mPhase Announces $2.0 Million Institutional Financing to Support Near-Term Growth Initiatives

Gaithersburg, MD, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- mPhase Technologies, Inc. (OTC: XDSL) (mPhase or the Company), a leading technology driven development company that creates and commercializes solutions that impact everyday people, today announced that is has secured $2.0 million in fixed-rate, institutional financing to support near-term growth initiatives.

Per the terms of the agreement, mPhase has raised $2.0 million via a convertible promissory note with a fixed conversion price of $0.20 per share with an institutional investor. The note matures on April 6, 2022 and bears interest at the rate of 5% per annum. Full terms of the note are available in the Companys Form 8-K dated April 13, 2021 as filed with the SEC. We are pleased to have fortified our balance sheet through this attractive fixed-rate institutional debt financing, which we will leverage to pay off our previously outstanding convertible debt  significantly reducing potential dilution to our shareholders, said Anshu Bhatnagar, Chief Executive Officer of mPhase Technologies. This financing will provide us with the capital needed to accelerate our development timelines, enabling the creation of multiple new recurring revenue streams across our various businesses. Our financial position continues to strengthen, as we improve our receivables collections and drive forward revenue growth throughout the remainder of the year. We are well positioned to continue to execute upon the near-term growth opportunities facing mPhase today, positioning s to create sustainable, long-term value for our shareholders, concluded Bhatnagar.



About mPhase Technologies mPhase Technologies (OTC: XSDL) is a technology driven, innovative development company that creates and commercializes products and applications that impact everyday people. The Company is assembling industry-leading teams specializing in artificial intelligence, machine learning, software, consumer engagement, and other advanced technologies. Additional information can be found at the mPhase website, www.mphasetech.com. Please follow us on twitter: @mPhase_Tech for the latest updates.

Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by the use of the words could, believe, anticipate, intend, estimate, expect, may, continue, predict, potential, project and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investor Contact:

ir@mphasetech.com



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This week's selection comes from Sarah Coggrave, Rights Clearance Officer for Unlocking our Sound Heritage.

In 2017, the Mike Sparrow Collection (C1248) was the first audio collection to be preserved as part of the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project. Mike Sparrow (1948 - 2005) was a radio producer and presenter for BBC Radio London (UK) in the 1970s and 1980s, and his collection includes music, reviews, current affairs features and interviews from shows he worked on. One of my favourite recordings is of Mike Sparrow interviewing Indian sitar virtuoso and composer Ravi Shankar (1920  2012), in the 1970s.

Based on the details accompanying the collection and from clues within the audio, it is likely this recording was made in early 1978, shortly before Ravi Shankars performance on 20 January at the Royal Albert Hall (London, U.K.), in the same year. In this blog I will share some short excerpts from the recording.

Ravi Shankar performing at Woodstock Festival in 1969, image sourced via Wikimedia Commons and licensed by CC-SA 4.0.

Ravi Shankar is known across the world for his teaching and performance work, and for sharing North Indian classical music with a range of audiences. In the interview he gives fascinating glimpses into this work, his well-documented association with other famous musicians (including George Harrison and Yehudi Menuhin) as well as discussing how best to define and appreciate different types of classical music.

In this first excerpt from the interview, Ravi Shankar explains what a raga is.

Ravi Shankar defines raga (excerpt 1)

The sitar (a stringed instrument used Indian classical music) presents particular physical challenges due to the length of the fretboard and the method of playing, which, as Ravi Shankar mentions in the interview, results in cut fingers and callouses. In the second excerpt he describes the years of study required to develop the necessary technical and improvisational skills for performances.

Ravi Shankar describes his musical training (excerpt 2)

Throughout the interview Ravi Shankar talks about his desire to bring Indian classical music to new audiences, and reflects on the positive effects of his association with the rock and roll world, including performing at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 (California, U.S.A.) and Woodstock in 1969 (New York, U.S.A.), where the image in this blog was taken. While performances such as these made it possible to reach younger listeners, he also expressed concern about the drinking, smoking and drug taking that took place at such festivals, activities that he thought might undermine the appreciation and enjoyment of the music.

This partially accounts for Ravi Shankars subsequent move away from the rock and roll music scene and when Mike Sparrow asks for further clarification, the discussion moves on to what is meant by the term 'classical music'. Their conversation can be heard in the following excerpt from the interview:

Ravi Shankar discusses types of classical music (excerpt 3)

Interview transcript

Later in the interview this theme is explored further in terms of how Western audiences react to their first encounters with classical Indian music and vice versa. Ravi Shankar talks specifically about the greater emphasis on melody and rhythm in Indian classical music, and how this can be disconcerting for listeners who are accustomed to harmony, modulation and dynamics being more central.

Mike Sparrows final question concerns Ravi Shankars (then) upcoming performance at the Royal Albert Hall (London, U.K.). What might audiences expect? He responds by explaining that he often does not decide on the ragas until shortly before the performance, although avoids starting with a long one in case of latecomers, who might otherwise face waiting outside for up to 45 minutes!

It would not have been possible to share this interview without the kind assistance of Ravi Shankars estate, Mike Sparrows executor and the BBC. Many recordings of Ravi Shankars performances can be accessed at the British Library, as well as his autobiography and other publications describing his life and work. More details on all of this can be found searching British Library catalogues.

Follow @BLSoundHeritage and @soundarchive for all the latest news.
Alex Menard and his dogs stand by one of the few signs regarding use of the Lead King Loop.
Light beams are widely used in photonics applications and attracted immense research interests. Compared to homogeneously polarized light beams, vectorial optical fields (VOFs) with tailored wave-fronts and inhomogeneous polarization distributions exhibits more advantages in applications comparing to their scalar-wave counterparts, thanks to the added degree of freedom (DOF) of polarization. By tailoring the polarization distributions, special VOFs such as flap-top beams and radially polarized beams can be generated, being highly favored in super-resolution microscopy, optical manipulations, etc.

Despite of great advances in applications, generation of such complex VOFs are far from satisfactory. Available methods based on conventional materials suffer from bulky size and low efficiency issues, due to the limited electromagnetic response of natural materials. And recently, metasurfaces have been widely used to generate VOFs in different frequency range, but mostly for far-field generation with certain limited polarization distributions (e.g. radial or azimuthal linear polarizations). In addition, complex VOFs in the near-field with arbitrary polarization distributions are so far rarely generated with metasurfaces.

In a newly published paper in Light: Science & Application, Prof. Lei Zhou's group from Physics Department of Fudan University in China, proposed a generic approach to efficiently generate arbitrary VOFs based on metasurfaces exhibiting full-matrix yet inhomogeneous Jones-matrix distributions. To illustrate the feasibility and powerfulness of their strategy, they elucidated their concept based on model-level analytical calculations, and experimentally demonstrated a meta-device as a benchmark that can simultaneously deflect light and manipulate its polarization in controllable manner. Then, they further experimentally demonstrate the generations of far-field VOFs exhibiting a vortex wave front with an inhomogeneous polarization distribution and the generation of a near-field VOF with specially designed wave front and polarization distributions and even orbital angular momentum, i.e. a cylindrically polarized vortex surface plasmon wave. The excellent performance of realized meta-devices and the good agreement among the experimental results in NIR regime, the simulations and analytical calculations well validated their approach, making such meta-platform as an alternative avenue to generate complex VOFs. These scientists summarize their VOF generation platform:

"...we establish a generic strategy for designing ultra-thin meta-devices to efficiently generate arbitrary VOFs (including both far-field and near-field ones) as desired, and experimentally demonstrate the concept in the near-infrared (NIR) regime. The key idea is to assume the meta-device to exhibit an inhomogeneous full-matrix Jones matrix, thus possessing the control capabilities on both local spin and global wave-front of a light beam."

"...the strategy proposed is so generic that we can design VOF-generation meta-devices working for impinging lights with arbitrary incident angles and polarizations in both reflection and transmission geometries." They added.

"In summary, by exploiting the full degrees of freedoms provided by full-matrix inhomogeneous Jones matrix, we establish a general strategy to realize meta-devices to generate VOFs both in the near- and far-field, with any designed wave fronts and local polarization distributions. After illustrating our generic concept by both model-level analytical calculations and benchmark experiments on an anomalously-reflecting half-wave plate, we demonstrate the full capabilities of our approach by experimentally realizing two meta-devices...Our results offer a systematic approach to design ultra-compact optical devices to generate arbitrary VOFs under general conditions in different frequency domains, which are of great importance in both fundamental researches and photonic applications. Many future works can be expected along this line, such as extending the concept to transmission geometry, off-normal incidences, inhomogeneous amplitudes and arbitrary incident polarizations, and applying the generated VOFs to multi-channel communications, near-field sensing, optical trapping, and super-resolution imaging." the scientists forecast.

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Dharamsala, April 13 : Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Lobsang Sangay on Tuesday offered condolences to Britain's Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who passed away at the age of 99 last week.

"With deep sadness, we learned the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. On behalf of the Central Tibetan Administration and the Tibetan people, we express our deepest sympathy and condolences," said Sangay in his condolence remarks.

"A distinguished leader, His Royal Highness' contribution was far-reaching and diverse. From environmental cause to the advancement of science and technology and renewable energy, from providing education, healthcare, and clean water in impoverished nations to giving young children opportunities for a better future, the world will forever remember His Royal Highness' legacy." "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Royal Family and the people of Great Britain," concluded the CTA President.

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has lived in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959.

The Tibetan exile administration is based in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.
Mom Finds Contraceptive Coil in Placenta After Giving Birth to Miracle Baby

A mom who conceived despite using birth control says her baby boy is a miracle as he survived the high risk of miscarriage that occurs when pregnant with a contraceptive coil. The little boy is now 16 months old.

Claire Cowen, 34, from Penicuik, Scotland, already had two childrenCraig, 16, and Lucy, 6with husband David, and had been using a coil as contraception for three years.

Claire Cowen, 33, and her son Lewis. (SWNS)

The mom had still been experiencing periods but when they stopped suddenly in March 2019, she decided to take a pregnancy test.

To her shock, the test results came back as positive, and a doctors appointment confirmed that she was 13 weeks pregnant.

I couldnt believe it, I knew there was a tiny chance of falling pregnant but you never think it will happen, Claire said. I was sent to pregnancy support and offered an abortion but the baby was healthy so I wasnt keen on the idea.

The couple didnt want to have more children but were excited upon finding out that they were expecting. Claire said she was completely unaware that there could be complications because of the coil.

Claire discovered that the coil was titled at the top of her cervix and the babys amniotic sac was sitting just above it.

Doctors at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary warned the expectant parents that removing the coil ran the risk of accidentally rupturing the sacso they left it there.

They also had no way of knowing if it could work its way in there organically, so Claire was closely monitored throughout her pregnancy.

Claire Cowen while she was pregnant. (SWNS)

It wreaked havoc with my nerves and my anxiety was through the roof, the social worker said. I went in for scans every four weeks to check the baby and make sure it hadnt moved.

I felt like a bit of a guinea pig because the doctors at the hospital had never cared for a pregnant woman with the coil still in, she added.

The doctors, Claire said, werent able to give her a guarantee that the baby would be able to survive if the coil moved. It was just a waiting game.

During the nine months of the pregnancy, which Claire described as the most stressful, scary few months of her life, she researched her condition.

Theres a higher risk of miscarriage or premature birth while pregnant with the coil, Claire said. Every story I could find was quite scary and negativewomen losing their babies or complications.

It didnt fill me with hope but I remained positive, the mom further added.

However, at 39 weeks, Claire was induced at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and she gave birth to her little boy, Lewis, on Nov. 26, 2019.

Despite the odds stacked against him, baby Lewis arrived safelyweighing a healthy 6 pounds 3 ounces (approx. 2.8 kg).

Baby Lewis Cowen. (SWNS)

Upon finding out that he was absolutely fine, Claire recalled that it was such a relief, and calls him my little miracle.

Straight after he arrived the nurse spotted the coil stuck in the placentait was quite a shocking sight, she said.

Claire Cowens contraceptive coil seen at the bottom of her placenta. (SWNS)

Since giving birth to Lewis, Claire hasnt had a new coil implanted. According to the NHS website, Intrauterine devices (IUDs) or the coil, are more than 99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.

I want to share a positive story to show women it is possible for there to be a happy ending when an unexpected pregnancy happens on the coil, Claire said. I know we were one of the lucky ones but babies can survive and Lewis is doing well.

SWNS contributed to this report.

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
CAIRO: The Arab Parliament, the legislative body of the Arab League, has condemned the Yemeni Houthi militia attacks using explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles on targets in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

In its statements on Monday, the Arab Parliament said, "The continuing escalation and targeting of civilians in Saudi Arabia reflect the Houthis' challenge of the international law and rejection for all the political efforts to end the crisis in Yemen," It has also attributed the aggression of the Houthi militia to the reluctance of the international community to take a firm stand for deterring all the violating practices.

It reiterated its support for Saudi Arabia in the measures taken to protect the safety and security of its lands, adding that "security of Saudi is a basic pillar in the Arab national security", reports Xinhua news agency.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported on Sunday night that the Riyadh-led coalition had intercepted and destroyed six bomb-laden drones and a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi militia from Yemen toward Saudi southern border cities.

The attack came a day after the Houthi militia lost dozens of fighters in a battle with the Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the oil-rich Marib province.

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Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has vowed to sue Russian prison officials for denying him access to the Muslim holy book, the Koran, in his penal colony outside Moscow.

Navalny, 44, who is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence on old embezzlement charges, was jailed in February after returning to Russia from Germany where he was receiving treatment for a poisoning attack.

Russia's most prominent opposition figure announced a hunger strike two weeks ago to demand adequate medical treatment.

Alexei Navalny, 44, (pictured at a court hearing in February) is planning to sue a Russian prison for taking away his Koran which he says he was planning to study

Navalny said he was taking legal action against prison authorities because 'they won't give me my Koran. And it's infuriating.'

'When I was jailed, I made a list of ways I wanted to improve myself that I will try to complete in jail. One of the points was to deeply study and understand the Koran,' he wrote.

'Books are our everything, and if you have to sue for the right to read, I will sue,' he said.

His post came one day after many Muslims around the world started Ramadan after religious leaders confirmed the month of fasting would begin on Tuesday.

Navalny, pictured with his wife and children, was in hospital in Germany where he was receiving treatment for a poisoning attack

In his Instagram post Tuesday, Navalny said he had read the Koran before but had not internalised its core tenets.

'I realised that my development as a Christian also requires studying the Koran,' he wrote

This week his allies said had lost 15kg since arriving at the facility last month and that authorities had threatened to force feed him.

The prison said Navalny was offered proper treatment but refused it, insisting he wanted to be treated by a doctor of his choice from outside the facility. The request was denied.

is serving a two-and-a-half year sentence on old embezzlement charges after he was jailed in February when he returned from Germany

Navalny, whom the West says has been wrongly jailed and should be freed, was moved to a prison clinic earlier this month after complaining of a high temperature and a bad cough.

His lawyers and allies are demanding that he be transferred to a regular hospital. The Kremlin has said that Navalny is not entitled to any special treatment.

He came under fire early in his political career for making nationalistic comments and deriding immigrants in Russia from predominantly Muslim countries in Central Asia.

He has since been a thorn in the Kremlin's side for a decade by probing corruption among officials and leading large protests throughout Russia.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, attends a cabinet meeting at his official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, April 12, 2021. Japan's government said Tuesday it has decided to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water stored at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in two years after treatment. Suga told that the government adopted the release to sea as "most realistic" and that the disposal of the water is "unavoidable in order to achieve Fukushima's recovery." (Yoshitaka Sugawara/Kyodo News via AP)

Japan's government announced Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. It's a move that's fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbors.

The decision, long speculated at but delayed for years because of safety worries and protests, came during a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant's storage capacity will be full late next year.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is needed to complete the decades-long decommissioning of the Fukushima plant. He said the government would work to make sure the water is safe and to help local agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to releasable levels. Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

People chant slogans against government's decision to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

The government stresses the water's safety, calling it "treated" not "radioactive," even though radionuclides can only be reduced to disposable levels, not to zero. The amount of radioactive material that would remain in the water is unknown.

Releasing the water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.

Under the basic plan adopted Tuesday by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility and compiling release plans that follow safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government said Tuesday it has decided to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in two years after treatment. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News via AP)

Residents, fisheries officials and environmental groups issued statements denouncing the decision as ignoring environmental safety and health, and further hurting Fukushima's image and economy.

Japan Fisheries Cooperatives chairman Hiroshi Kishi said the decision less than a week after he met with Suga "trampled on" all Japanese fisheries operators.

Local fisheries have just returned to full operation after a decade in which their catch was only for testing purposes, and they are struggling because of dwindling demand.

Protestors gathered outside the Prime Minister's Office to demand the plan be scrapped.

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around fall of 2022. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks needs to be used for new buildings needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors and for other decommissioning work in coming years.

Fishing boats are seen at Ukedo port with a backdrop of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years - an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News via AP)

In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water.

Those tanks, which occupy a large space at the plant, interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said.

About 70% of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond discharge limits but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual release of the water will take nearly 40 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned.

This Feb. 13, 2021, aerial photo shows Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government said Tuesday, April 13, 2021 it has decided to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in two years after treatment. (Kyodo News via AP)

A member of youth groups wearing a cutout of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga performs to denounce the Japan government's decision on Fukushima water, in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years - an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. The Korean letters read: "Denounce Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

People chant slogans against government's decision to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Environmental activists wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and protective suits perform to denounce the Japanese government's decision on Fukushima water, near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two yearsan option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Fishing boats are seen at Ukedo port with a backdrop of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years - an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News via AP)

People chant slogans against government's decision to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

An environmental activist wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga performs to denounce the Japanese government's decision near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years - an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A man holds placards that read "Oppose to release contaminated water," left, and "Stop Nuclear Waste Dumping" during a protest rally against government's decision, outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years, an option fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbors. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People hold a banner that partially reads "Don't dump into the sea" during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years, an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People protest against government's decision to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option. Signs mean "Don't release radioactive water into the sea." (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, in a video message, said the ocean discharge was in line with international practice, though "the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant makes it a unique and complex case."

China and South Korea reacted strongly to Tuesday's decision.

Koo Yun-cheol, minister of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the plan was "absolutely unacceptable" and urged Japan to disclose how the water is treated and its safety is verified. South Korea has banned seafood imports from parts of Japan since 2013 and could increase those steps.

China criticized Japan's decision as "extremely irresponsible," saying it had not considered the health concerns of neighboring countries.

Explore further Japan to start releasing Fukushima water into sea in 2 years

 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
One of the selling points of the planned Skyline West luxury apartments are the sites views of Bethlehems historic Colonial Industrial Quarter.

But there are now fears that its perch above the historic Moravian community could jeopardize efforts to nominate Bethlehem for inclusion on the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Moravian district is on the U.S. UNESCO World Heritage site short list and, if put forward, it could be named a site within the next five years.

World Heritage designation requires a buffer zone around properties on the list and it includes important views. Bethlehems World Heritage Commission is working to establish a buffer zone for the almost 15-acre historic Moravian settlement and its expert adviser has warned the proposed Skyline West project would not be considered an appropriate project, commission President Charlene Donchez Mowers wrote in an April 7 letter to city officials.

The concerns came to light at a Thursday evening Bethlehem Planning Commission meeting where Skyline West developer Dennis Benner was asking the board for general feedback on the project concept and variances it is seeking. Benner is partnering with his sons, Brandon and Garrett, and ArtsQuest founder Jeff Parks on the development thats been stymied by rare hurdles.

Plans call for demolishing a historic house at 143 W. Broad St. to construct Skyline West, an upscale 50-unit apartment building on an urban island of steep land tucked between Route 378 and the Colonial Industrial Quarter. The project  estimated in 2018 at $15 million  has been stalled by murky title issues that are finally sorted out after almost two years.

Now, Skyline West faces a new challenge as Bethlehems World Heritage Commission fears the development is incompatible with the buffer zone and would jeopardize an honor the citys been seeking for almost two decades.

Bethlehems first landed on the U.S.s tentative nomination list in 2016. Its an arduous process to even be considered to join the UNESCO  United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization  list of more than 1,100 sites worldwide. The U.S. boasts just 24, two of them in Pennsylvania: Independence Hall and architect Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater.

Bethlehem Director of Planning Darlene Heller said the situation is evolving and there are not yet buffer zone parameters in place. The nominating commission has a strong feeling Bethlehem could be listed and it would be a great honor for the city, she said.

We are not looking to jeopardize that status, Chairman Rob Melosky said.

Nominees on the tentative list vie to be one of the two sites the U.S. Department of Interior can nominate each year to be selected by UNESCO. New additions to the list cannot be nominated for at least a year. World Heritage sites do not receive funding, but the designation signals to travelers that these are must-see tourist destinations. Some of the spots include the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.

Officials hope inclusion would elevate Bethlehems reputation as a Colonial-era historic site.

Skyline West, a 50-unit luxury apartment building proposed for 143 W. Broad St. in Bethlehem, is seen in an artist?s rendering.Courtesy photo

As Skyline West goes through the design process, the planning bureau will ensure it is compatible with the area and it would receive a close review by the historic architecture review board, Heller said.

Dennis Benner noted that they hired an architect who specializes in historic projects and hed work closely with the city to tweak the plans.

Commission member Matt Malozi is eager to see what the architect proposes for the exterior surfaces after completing some studies of the materials used in neighborhood facades.

It utilizes tough ground on tough slopes, Malozii said. There is a reason why the Redevelopment Authority probably has all of these parcels because they are tough. Itd be great to see something that created some density close to downtown and for West Broad Street as well.

Skyline West would put residents just steps from Main Street and the downtown Historic Bethlehem. The design calls for a courtyard fronting on West Broad Street where residents would enter the secured, ground-floor of the building complete with amenities, like a gym and outdoor deck overlooking the Colonial Industrial Quarter. Cars would be funneled back to a 68-space parking deck below the building and West Broad.

In 2012, the Moravian settlement was designated as one of the nations approximately 200 National Historic Landmark Districts.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
Advertisement

A sprawling hillside mega-mansion captures uninterrupted views of Australia's east coast from an extraordinarily luxurious swimming pool.

Designed by architect Ian Bennett, Eagle's Nest offers what is arguably one of the finest waterfront outlooks on Sydney's Northern Beaches from a lap pool filled with mineral water - no trace of chlorine in sight.

The 534.8sqm property in Collaroy Plateau, 22 kilometres north-east of the CBD, has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, multiple sunlit living spaces, a cinema, gym and wine cellar.

Designed by architect Ian Bennett, Eagle's Nest offers what is arguably one of the finest waterfront outlooks on Sydney's Northern Beaches

This sprawling hillside mega-mansion captures uninterrupted views of Australia's east coast

Shortlisted for the Australian Architectural Residential Houses 2020 Award, the layout of the landmark home was based on contemporary Brazilian Modernism which meticulously blurs the lines between inside and out.

Shortlisted for the Australian Architectural Residential Houses 2020 Award, the layout of the landmark home was based on contemporary Brazilian Modernism which meticulously blurs the lines between inside and out.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and stacks of sliding doors enable the sought-after 'indoor, outdoor' lifestyle that Sydney's climate enjoys year-round.

And the mineral lap pool isn't the only attraction outside - there's also a glass terrace that wraps around the front of the house, an outdoor kitchen with a built-in barbecue and a Wi-Fi enabled sound system, perfect for al fresco entertaining.

The 534.8sqm property in Collaroy Plateau, 22 kilometres north-east of the CBD, has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, multiple sunlit living spaces, a cinema, gym and wine cellar

Each bedroom (two pictured) captures breathtaking ocean views

Four bathrooms are kitted out with brushed chrome fixtures and square white tiles

Burnished concrete floors run throughout the house

Listing agent Christene O'Sullivan, who is overseeing the sale of the mega-mansion for McGrath Real Estate, described it as 'a very unique' find in the 2097 postcode.

'It's very much a standout,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'Magnificent views' stretching almost 200 degrees up the Central Coast and the privacy of the home, which has no neighbours either beside or behind it, are what sets it apart along with the abundance of luxury features, Ms O'Sullivan said.

Listing agent Christene O'Sullivan described it as 'a very unique' find in the 2097 postcode

The house offers total privacy, with no neighbours either beside or behind it

Floor-to-ceiling windows and stacks of sliding doors enable the sought-after 'indoor, outdoor' lifestyle that Sydney's climate enjoys year-round

The house (pictured) is on the market with a guide price of $8.8million (AUD)

'It's out on the edge of the escarpment and incredibly private. You're really on your own which is what makes it so special,' she added.

The house is on the market with a guide price of $8.8million (AUD), a $1.2million reduction on the $10million it was originally listed for in 2020.

That discount still puts it close to $6.7million higher than the average price of a house in the area, which was $2.095million last year according to realestate.com.au.
The economy will bounce back like a coiled spring after people rushed back to pubs, shops, hairdressers and gyms yesterday, experts claimed.

Restrictions were eased for the first time since early January, when the UK entered its third lockdown and people were forced to stay at home for all but essential trips.

Such was the excitement and pent up demand that people queued up outside shops from 5.30am despite the freezing cold, and snow in some parts of the country.

Lockdown ends: Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane (pictured) believes Britain is set for a spending bonanza over the coming months

Figures showed that visits to high streets, shopping centres and retail parks were up 218.2 per cent from last week and a whopping 505 per cent from 2020.

Unsurprisingly, retail parks, with larger stores and more space, were the preferred destination, according to Springboard, the customer activity data provider.

It is estimated that UK households have built up 250billion in savings during lockdown, which Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane believes could lead to a spending bonanza over the coming months.

Haldane has been an eternal optimist during the crisis, telling people they must reject the economics of Chicken Licken.

Getting people splashing the cash again is crucial for Britain's recovery as 2020 was the worst year for more than three centuries, with a 9.8 per cent decline in GDP.

Industry lobby group, the British Retail Consortium, estimates UK stores lost 27billion in sales over the three lockdowns.

Top economists said that the economy is expected to bounce back rapidly over the summer months.

Samuel Tombs, economist at economic research consultancy Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: 'Yesterday was a positive start and we are moving in the right direction. The main driver seems to be people desperate to get a haircut.

'There's still a way to go to pre-Covid spending levels but the recovery is starting to come through.'

Michael Grady, chief economist at insurer Aviva, added: 'The Covid pandemic is passing, and successful rollouts of vaccination programmes are allowing economies to reopen. Pent-up demand, large savings buffers and ongoing fiscal and monetary policy support will all help boost the recovery.'

But despite the renewed optimism, share prices in the retailers and pub chains fell on the London stock exchange.

Associated British Foods, which owns Primark, was down 0.9 per cent, or 21p, to 2463p and retail giant Next lost 2.4 per cent, or 196p, to 8100p.

Pub shares fared little better and Marston's fell 4 per cent, or 4.05p, to 96.25p, while Mitchells & Butlers slid 3.3 per cent, or 10.8p, to 313.8p.

Brokers warned that the cold weather could put many shoppers off, adding that not many people will be prepared to drink pints of lager in the snow.
[April 13, 2021] WGU Appoints Windrum as Government Relations Director for Northeast Region

Online, nonprofit, accredited Western Governors University (WGU) has appointed Matthew Windrum to serve as government relations director, northeast region. Windrum has more than 15 years of experience in government relations and public policy and will develop relationships with elected officials, policymakers, and leaders of state agencies from Maine to Virginia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005444/en/ Matthew Windrum, Government Relations Director (Photo: Business Wire) WGU's government relations team supports the university's core mission to expand access to career-relevant post-secondary educational opportunities, especially to historically underrepresented populations, including working adults, low-income earners, rural residents, students of color, military personnel, and first-generation college students. Prior to joining WGU, Windrum was director of government and community affairs at New York City-based nonprofit The Doe Fund, which designs, develops, and manages affordable housing across the city and runs a work training program for homeless nd formerly incarcerated men. He was previously head of the political and economic affairs team at the British Consulate General, where he worked to promote and defend the United Kingdom's economic, foreign policy, and national security priorities across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.



"Matthew's passion for improving lives by building relationships and trust makes him a valuable addition to our team," said Rebecca Watts, Ph.D., regional vice president of the northeast region. "As a representative of WGU's student focus and commitment to integrity, Matthew will make a positive difference in helping us to increase student access, improve affordability, and enhance the student experience in the Northeast." Windrum has an M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science and Spanish from Lafayette College. He is a volunteer advocate for the Epilepsy Foundation, working to raise awareness and understanding of epilepsy and seizures. He and his wife, Susan, live in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., with their two children.

WGU offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the in-demand career fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions. For more information about WGU, visit wgu.edu. About WGU Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves more than 133,000 students nationwide and has more than 222,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 24 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR (News - Alert) , NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at wgu.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005444/en/

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JACKSON, Miss., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambetter from Magnolia Health announced today the launch of a pilot program offering an interest-free line of credit through a partnership with Paytient Technologies, Inc. to Mississippi members. In a recent poll of Ambetter members, 54% indicated an interest-free line of credit would remove barriers to usage of health care. The program allows members to pay out-of-pocket medical costs over time, thereby enhancing their ability to obtain necessary medical care.

"We know many are struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis, and we are committed to enhancing our member's ability to obtain the medical care they need, when they need it," said Aaron Sisk, Plan President of Magnolia Health. "We are pleased to partner with Paytient to bring this program to our members and remove a potential barrier to receiving medical care."

The program is designed to improve both member and provider experience, by allowing providers to be paid in full and on time, while giving members flexibility to pay these out of pocket costs in a manner that fits their budget. The program is currently available for members in select states.

"We have been deeply impressed by Centene's shared commitment to improving access to care and eliminating preventable financial harm among their plan members and providers," said Darius Chehrzad, Paytient's Chief Commercial Officer. "Affordability has never been a more important topic in healthcare, and through this unique partnership Centene has taken a very innovative approach to supporting their plan members' physical, mental and financial health."

About Magnolia Health

Magnolia Health is a long-term solution to help the state of Mississippi enhance care for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recipients, while most effectively managing taxpayer dollars. A physician-driven, Mississippi-based Coordinated Care Organization (CCO), Magnolia is backed by its parent company, Centene Corporation, a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise. For more information about Magnolia, visit www.magnoliahealthplan.com .

About Paytient Technologies, Inc.

Paytient is a platform for plan-sponsored healthcare payments that enables members to pay for care over time - always without interest or fees. Paytient turns unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses into affordable, interest-free payment plans, enabling members to get the care they need without causing financial harm. For more information, visit Paytient.co.

SOURCE Magnolia Health

Related Links

https://www.magnoliahealthplan.com/


NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Streambank, a market leading advisory firm specializing in the sale of intellectual property assets and domain name brokerage, is seeking one or more buyers for various domain names on behalf of a chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee. The available domain names include AllOut.com, AllOut.net, MindControl.com, Words.org, Nature101.com and Psonic.com.

"A chapter 7 bankruptcy case represents a unique opportunity to acquire premium domains," commented Hilco Streambank Senior Vice President Richelle Kalnit. "These domain names will sell." The domain names are being administered by Erin Renneker, as chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee in a case pending in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio (the "Bankruptcy Court").

Offers to acquire one or more of the available domain names are due on or before April 20, 2021. An auction will be held on April 22, 2021. The sale will be subject to approval of the Bankruptcy Court. Bidding documents are available upon request.

Parties interested in the domain names or learning more about the sale process should CLICK HERE or contact Hilco Streambank directly using the contact information provided below.

Richelle Kalnit Senior Vice President [email protected] 212.993.7214 Ryan Brenner Analyst [email protected] 212.993.7213

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.

SOURCE Hilco Streambank

Related Links

https://www.hilcostreambank.com


Polcyn Insurance is a business that has achieved remarkable sales metrics since its inception, providing life insurance products through 6,000 agents nationwide. In 2020, the company helped more than 78,000 Americans secure their financial futures by placing over $30 million in annual paid premium. As a company, their devotion and focused determination has them on pace to provide more than $75 million in annual paid premium during 2021, representing more than 150% year-over-year organic growth.

"Grady is another young and emerging leader that has chosen to join Integrity to take his company to the next level. His drive and passion are the epitome of our nationwide team of Integrity partners who are changing the industry for all stakeholders," shared Bryan W. Adams, Co-Founder and CEO of Integrity Marketing Group. "His business has been growing rapidly and with Integrity's cutting-edge resources behind him, Grady will experience the 'Integrity Effect' of additional explosive growth. He is a true leader, and I can't wait to be part of all he will accomplish going forward in helping even more families."

"It is exciting beyond belief to call myself a partner with so many industry icons who have walked this path of incredible growth," said Grady Polcyn, President of Polcyn Insurance. "Being able to utilize Integrity's full support system offers so much peace of mind, from the technology platform and tools to the business resources that support my staff. Because of this partnership, I can continue to do what I do best  help agents become the greatest versions of themselves and protect hardworking American families every day."

Polcyn Insurance will leverage Integrity's comprehensive platform, which includes proprietary technology only available to partners. Integrity's business services and infrastructure include CRM, data solutions, agency management software, product development, IT, human resources and marketing support. Partners can further facilitate growth by collaborating with industry legends who are part of Integrity's fast-growing partner network. In addition, Polcyn Insurance employees will now receive meaningful company ownership through the Integrity Employee Ownership Plan.

"Grady is so unbelievably passionate about helping others win, which is a value we share at Integrity," explained Shawn Meaike, Managing Partner at Integrity and President of Family First Life. "He is a great example to other agents and agency builders of the payoffs that hard work and commitment can bring. The Polcyn Insurance team is ambitious and youthful  the momentum they bring will further energize the Integrity family."

"Grady is a natural leader and a selfless team player," said Andrew Taylor, Managing Partner at Integrity and President of Taylor Financial. "This partnership allows him to benefit from Integrity's technology and marketing resources while he grows and supports his team. I'm thrilled to have him join Integrity as we transform the insurance experience."

For more information about Polcyn Insurance's partnership with Integrity, view a video at www.integritymarketing.com/PolcynInsurance.

About Integrity Marketing Group

Integrity Marketing Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the leading independent distributor of life and health insurance products focused on meeting Americans wherever they are  in person, over the phone and online. Integrity is innovating insurance by developing cutting-edge technology designed to simplify and streamline the health care experience for everyone. In addition, Integrity develops exclusive products with insurance carrier partners and markets these products through its distribution network that includes other large insurance agencies throughout the country. Integrity's almost 5,500 employees work with over 345,000 independent agents who service more than seven million clients annually. In 2021, Integrity expects to help insurance carriers place over $7 billion in new premium. For more information, visit www.integritymarketing.com.

About Polcyn Insurance and Financial Services

Polcyn Insurance and Financial Services, also known as Family First Life America, is a leading insurance agency headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. They specialize in final expense life insurance, mortgage protection, fixed indexed annuities and Medicare supplements. Polcyn Insurance prides itself on empowering agents across the country to attain great success with top compensation, vested renewals, diverse product lines, innovative lead options and superior sales training. Polcyn Insurance's more than 6,000 agents served over 78,000 clients in 2020, placing more than $30 million in paid premium. For more information, visit www.familyfirstlifeamerica.com.

SOURCE Integrity Marketing Group, LLC
"James has introduced into the clinic and developed numerous novel treatments across a wide range of autoimmune diseases. This includes a therapeutic candidate for lupus nephritis, a disease with significant unmet medical need where our cell therapy approaches could be transformational. His experience as a physician-scientist and expert drug developer makes him the ideal person to implement Kyverna's strategy. By combining advanced T cell engineering and synthetic biology technologies, our goal is to create a new class of T-cell therapies programmed to target and selectively modulate the underlying causes of autoimmunity," said Dominic Borie, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Kyverna. "James's leadership and extensive industry experience will be essential as we advance our programs into the clinic and achieve our mission to bring curative living medicines to life to free patients from the siege of autoimmune disease."

"Kyverna's innovative cell therapy-based approach could revolutionize how we treat serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by appropriately modulating the immune system to achieve optimal and long-lasting disease control, and potentially finding cures. I am thrilled to join such a dedicated team committed to developing these new modalities that have the potential to transform the natural history of a variety of severe immune-related diseases and change the lives of patients living with autoimmune diseases," said Dr. Chung.

Dr. Chung joins Kyverna from Amgen where he most recently was Executive Medical Director, head of Inflammation and Neuroscience, Global Medical Organization, and Global Development Leader for Enbrel. He joined Amgen in 2004 in Medical Sciences/Early Development advancing inflammation programs from first-in-human to proof-of-concept, eventually serving as the Early Development Inflammation Therapeutic Area Head leading a team of physician-scientists, biomarker scientists, and clinical study managers. In 2013, he transitioned to late-stage Global Development and then in 2015 to Amgen's Global Medical Organization where he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including therapeutic area head for Inflammation, Nephrology, and Neuroscience, where he was responsible for the development and execution of medical strategies for a portfolio of marketed drugs and near-launch molecules. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Chung began his industry career as an Associate Director in Clinical Sciences at Pfizer where he served as the Early Clinical Leader for several early development programs in inflammation. His work is extensively published.

Prior to joining industry, Dr. Chung was Instructor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania where he also completed his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Rheumatology. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. in Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. in Biology at Harvard College.

Kyverna also announced that it has named three of the world's leading experts in immunology as Scientific Advisors (listed in alphabetical order).

Christophe Benoist , M.D., Ph.D., Morton Grove-Rasmussen Chair in Immunohematology, Harvard Medical School

, M.D., Ph.D., Morton Grove-Rasmussen Chair in Immunohematology, Eugene C. Butcher , M.D., Klaus Bensch Professor of Pathology, Stanford University

, M.D., Klaus Bensch Professor of Pathology, Ignacio Sanz , M.D., Mason I. Lowance Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology, and Director of the Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Emory University

"We are excited to welcome Christophe, Eugene, and Ignacio to our Scientific Advisory Board at this important time for Kyverna. They are recognized leaders in the fields of human and molecular immunology, autoimmunity, and inflammation, and their expertise will be critical as we advance our therapeutic platforms and clinical programs," added Dr. Borie.

About Kyverna Therapeutics

Kyverna Therapeutics, located in the San Francisco East Bay, is a cell therapy company engineering a new class of therapies for serious autoimmune diseases. The Kyverna therapeutic platform combines advanced T cell engineering and synthetic biology technologies to suppress and eliminate the autoreactive immune cells at the root cause of inflammatory diseases. For more information, please visit http://kyvernatx.com/.

SOURCE Kyverna Therapeutics

Related Links

http://kyvernatx.com


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Security officers on Monday night foiled an attempt to kidnap four students of Plateau State University (PLASU) at their off-campus residence in Ndar, Bokkos.

Responding to a distress call, officers of Operation Safe Haven, Operation Rainbow, the police, University Security and Community Watch Group went after the kidnappers who had abducted the four students.

The criminals abandoned the students under chase by the officers, leading to the safe rescue of the students.

Speaking on the incident, Governor Simon Lalong commended the security personnel for their swift response to the distress call and the rescue of the students.

He said the officers rose up to the occasion and were proactive.

According to a statement by his spokesperson, Makut Macham, the governor directed the immediate establishment of a police post in Bokkos, the host community of the university, in order to forestall any reoccurrence of the kidnap attempt.

He also directed that security be tightened in schools across the state for the safety and security of students.

The governor had last year directed the management of PLASU to improve security of the institution.

The directive led to the installation of CCTV surveillance and early warning systems all over the campus as well as the preparation for fencing of the entire campus.

The governor again appealed to the citizens to assist security agencies with relevant intelligence that will lead to not only the arrest of the fleeing kidnappers, but of all criminal elements trying to disrupt the peace of the state.


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They've been struggling to find a connection on Married At First Sight for the past few weeks.

And it appears Jake Edwards and Rebecca Zemek really were at breaking point towards the end of the series.

Footage has now emerged of the couple embroiled in a vicious fight on a Sydney street, just two days before the final reunion.

EXCLUSIVE: Proof MAFS couple Jake Edwards and Rebecca Zemek hate each other: Footage has emerged of the pair having a vicious fight just two days before the reunion

Daily Mail Australia has obtained an exclusive video of Jake and Beck yelling expletives at each other during a night out on with their co-stars.

In the 30-second clip, a frustrated Jake, 32, asks his TV 'wife' which bar they were heading to next before an argument broke out.

Beck is then heard telling her groom to 'f**k off' before walking off.

Off camera, fellow bride Beth Moore urged the couple to calm down.

'You guys stop arguing, there are cameras here,' she said as the pair continued to bicker.

Footage has now emerged of the couple embroiled in a vicious fight on a Sydney street, just two days before the final reunion

Frustrated: In the 30-second clip, a frustrated Jake, 32, asks his TV 'wife' which bar they were heading to next before an argument broke out

Oh dear: Beck is then heard telling her groom to 'f**k off' before walking off

Beck can be seen waving her arms in frustration, saying 'I've told you where we are going ... I've told everyone we are going to Sidebar.'

Jake immediately snapped back and mocked his TV bride.

'I'm going to go to go wherever you want to go... you were like "I don't care where you were going". 'Okay we'll go to Sidebar for f**ks sake,' he said, before storming off.

In an attempt to defuse the situation, fellow bride Booka Nile explained 'It's like 700 metres away' as she looked up their next destination on her iPhone map.

Trouble in paradise? Earlier in the night, things appeared tense between the couple. Jake even stuck his middle finger up at her as they exited the bar

'They were both snappy with each other all night, the cast were just looking around confused not knowing what was going on with them,' a source said

Earlier in the night, things appeared tense between the couple.

Jake even stuck his middle finger at Beck as they exited the bar.

'They were both snappy with each other all night, the cast were just looking around confused not knowing what was going on with them,' a source said.

Meanwhile, it seems Jake is well and truly over trying to hide his post-show relationship with Gold Coast personal trainer Sophie Guidolin.

Despite the fact he's still with Beck on the Nine show - which was filmed months ago - Jake has spotted enjoying several dates with Sophie.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- For the first quarter of 2021, SAIC Motor saw its auto sales surge 68.24% over a year ago to 1,142,410 units, with all subsidiaries recording robust growth, according to the company's announcement.

Partly due to the low base for the year-ago period, the Shanghai-based auto giant boasted a 112.94% surge last month by selling 492,853 vehicles. As of March 2021, SAIC Motor had achieved year-over-year increase in monthly sales for ten consecutive months.



Photo credit: SAIC Motor



In March, there were five subsidiaries whose respective sales all exceeded 10,000 units. Among them, SAIC-GM was the fastest-growing one. It is worth mentioning that the Sino-U.S. joint venture was also honored the No.1 subsidiary by first-quarter sales. Some industry insiders said its robust sales owed much to the joint venture's roll-out of new models and upgrades of existing products starting last year. In 2021, SAIC-GM plans to launch more new models like the Buick Envision PLUS.

Hongguang MINIEV; photo credit: SAIC Motor



With a sales volume of 150,000 units (+100% YoY), SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) was the champion in terms of March sales. Its year-to-date sales also soared 87% to 308,631 units.

On March 29, SGMW launched the Wuling global silver logo in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, marking a new milestone for Wuling brands' global offensive. At the same time, the Wuling Almaz RS, the first model bearing the logo, made its debut with pricing starting at 368,500,000 Indonesian rupiahs, equivalent to about 180,000 yuan.

SAIC Volkswagen's March sales zoomed up 87.47% year on year to 112,500 units in March, resulting in 249,100 units for the first quarter.

Moreover, SAIC Motor sold roughly 62,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) last month, representing a marvelous hike of 837% compared to the prior-year period. The sales of SGMW's MINIEVs amounted to nearly 40,000 units.
YEREVAN.  The government does not care about the issue of captives. Armenian independent MP Gevorg Petrosyan told this to a press conference Tuesday.

"Everyone says something about this topic? One says, 50 captives will be returned soon, the other says, We did not assure, but expressed hope. Boy, is that a topic of expressing hope? Do you understand the situation of a parent of a prisoner of war? When he is told, 'Your prisoner of war is being brought, come and meet [him'], he stands, waits for hours that he shall see his child soon, and suddenly someone comes, says, 'The plane has come empty. Where is there such disgrace? [PM] Nikol Pashinyan is not interested in this issue at all; he has a main task: to stay in power at any cost," Petrosyan added.

Referring to the defeat in the recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war, the independent lawmaker said: "Is there any commander today who is being prosecuted in connection with losing the war? That is, were you all clean, righteous? Was the poor soldier alone to blame for going, dying?
"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
VATICAN CITY, APR 13 - Pope Francis on Tuesday marked the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Teresa of Avila as a Doctor of the Church, and stressed her importance even today, especially in highlighting the role of women in the Church and in society. Opening his message to Archbishop Gil Tamayo of Avila, Spain, Pope Francis noted that St Teresa was the first woman to become a Doctor of the Church, Vatican News reported. He said the title was a recognition of the "precious teaching that God has transmitted to us through her writings and the testimony of her life." Fifty years ago, on 27 September 1970, Pope St Paul VI conferred the title of Doctor of the Church on St. Teresa of Avila. The Catholic University of Avila, which is dedicated to the Spanish mystic, is celebrating this historic anniversary with an international congress entitled "Exceptional woman," as Pope Paul VI described her himself. It runs until 15 April. Saint Teresa was born in 1515 and died in 1582. Pope Francis wrote in his message that even now, nearly half a millenium since her death, wrote that "the flame that Jesus lit in Teresa continues to shine in this world, always in need of courageous witnesses, capable of breaking down any wall, whether physical, existential or cultural." He also cited her intelligence and tenacity, which she joined to "a sensitivity to beauty and a spiritual motherhood toward all those who approached her work." The Pope added that she was an example of the "extraordinary role that women have played throughout history in the Church and in society." (ANSA).
High-speed trains between Rome and Milan will only carry passengers and staff who have tested negative for coronavirus.

First there were the covid-free flights between Rome and Milan airports. Now it is the turn of trains.

Italy's first covid-free trains will operate between Rome and Milan from Friday 16 April, with only those who have tested negative for covid-19 permitted to board the Frecciarossa high-speed service.

Initially there will be two non-stop trains running between Rome and Milan, reports Italian news agency ANSA, with the first train leaving Roma Termini at 08.50 and the second train leaving Milano Centrale at 18.00.

Tickets are available online with the passenger informed that the train is "covid-free" and can only be taken by displaying, in addition to the ticket, a certificate showing they tested negative for covid-19 within 48 hours before departure.

The test can also be taken in the screening area at the stations and passengers must show up 50 minutes before departure. Those who have already had a test within the last 48 hours do not need to arrive 50 minutes early.

Covid-19 test centres

In Rome the screening centre is in Piazza dei Cinquecento, at the corner with the ruins of the Servian Walls to the northern side of the square, reports Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

In Milan the testing hub will be at street level in Piazza Duca dAosta, near the entrance to the subway. Both centres are in general use but will have a priority lane for train passengers.

Those who been vaccinated must also present a certificate of a negative test within the last 48 hours or undergo a new test at the train station.

Passengers who test positive at the station cannot board the train. Trenitalia provides a 100 per cent refund of the ticket price, either in voucher form or cash refund, reports Il Sole 24 Ore.

Italy to launch 'covid-free' trains between Rome and Milan

The covid-free trains will have a passenger capacity of 50 per cent.

Covid-free flights

The procedure is similar to that of covid tested flights, also known as covid free, which began on a trial basis last September on the Rome-Milan route.

In December the covid-free model was extended to intercontinental flights from Rome Fiumicino to New York (with Alitalia) and Atlanta (with Delta), while more recently there were covid-free flights launched from New York to Malpensa, with Delta and American Airlines.

Covid-free trains for tourism

Gianfranco Battisti, the CEO of Ferrovie dello Stato, announced his intention to extend covid-free trains in late spring and summer to other cities.

Battisti said the move would allow "travel in total safety to tourist destinations such as Florence, Venice, Naples and many others."

A detailed plan, with times and destinations, has yet to be revealed.
New Delhi: The consistent rise in coronavirus cases in the Border Security Force (BSF) has raised the concern of the forces as to information received by Zee News. In the last 24 hours, as many as 311 new cases of coronavirus have been reported and a total of 1362 BSF personnel are currently infected with COVID-19.

According to the report, at least 16,150 BSF personnel have been infected out of which 14,739 jawans have completely recovered.

Though, other paramilitary forces such as CRPF, CISF, SSB, ITBP, NDRF and NSG have reported far fewer COVID-19 cases than BSF.

According to the report, while 28 new cases have been registered in CRPF, 43 in CISF, 8 in SSB, 31 in ITBP, zero cases of COVID-19 in NDRF and NSG in the past 24 hours. No new case has come to light.

At the same time, the total active cases of coronavirus in other forces are also less compared to BSF.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calls on Russia to immediately stop the buildup of troops on the border with Ukraine and in the occupied territories.

He made such a statement in Brussels at the end of the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission on Tuesday, which was held at the request of the Ukrainian side due to the strengthening of the military presence of Russia on the border with Ukraine.

"We are seriously concerned by ongoing development. And NATO is monitoring the situation very closely. In recent weeks, Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraines borders. The largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014," NATO Secretary General said.

In this regard, he expressed his conviction that "Russia's considerable military build-up is unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning."

"Russia must end this military build-up in and around Ukraine. Stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately," Stontenberg urged Moscow.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio House Republicans are proposing to cut taxes while also incorporating what lawmakers hope will be a permanent fix of the states long-criticized formula for funding K-12 schools, under a new rewrite of Gov. Mike DeWines state budget bill.

The substitute budget bill, introduced Tuesday by the Ohio House Finance Committee, proposes cutting income taxes by 2%, costing the state $380 million annually.

This is despite a prohibition in a federal coronavirus relief bill, signed by Democratic President Joe Biden earlier this year, that arguably could bar Ohio and other states from cutting taxes through 2024 if they accept the billions in funding contained in the bill. DeWine, a Republican, has proposed spending more than $1 billion of the roughly $5.4 billion the state is expected to receive to balance the states unemployment compensation fund.

State Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, has sued, hoping to strike down the prohibition.

The House budget bill also adds the school-funding overhaul, which would increase annual education funding by spending by $1.8 billion, phased in over six years. It would start in earnest with a $150 million increase in 2023, the second year of the two-year budget.

Lawmakers have been working on the plan for months, introducing it as a standalone bill in January. Theyre aiming to fix the states school-funding formula, which the Ohio Supreme Court first found unconstitutional in 1997 because of its overreliance on local property tax revenues, which justices said unfairly disadvantaged poorer areas.

Notably, House Republicans also cut several other key asks from DeWine. DeWine had included in his budget bill a series of reforms meant to tackle gun violence, a proposal thats languished in the Republican-controlled legislature since DeWine introduced the measures following a mass shooting in Dayton in August 2019. The House version cut them.

DeWine had proposed increasing annual funding for H2Ohio, his water-quality program aimed at keeping Lake Erie and other state waterways clean, from $85 million to $120 million annually. The House budget keeps it at $85 million. Lawmakers separately have proposed a state ballot issue that would borrow money to pay for the program.

DeWine also had proposed spending $50 million on a tourism campaign to promote Ohio, particularly to people who may be moving out of higher-cost cities. The House budget eliminates it.

Asked about Yosts pending lawsuit challenging the federal prohibition on tax cuts, State Rep. Scott Oeslager, a Canton Republican who chairs the House Finance Committee, referenced future steps in the budget-process, which will require sign-off from the Senate and DeWine. We feel at this point in time we can move forward. Because this is one step of a three-step process, he said.

We feel that anytime you can cut income taxes, you can incentivize people to grow, prosper and achieve more as an individual, and also make the state more attractive for businesses, he said.

As for the cuts of DeWine priorities, Oeslager said the caucus felt they were unnecessary and duplicative, or in the instance of the gun reforms, best taken up as a separate bill.

This is a thoughtful, structurally balanced and comprehensive budget plan that funds Ohios priorities and invests in Ohios future, Oeslager said in a statement.

Columbus Rep. Erica Crawley, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee, in a statement called the new budget bill a mixed bag. She said the income-tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, since income taxes rates are higher for those who make more money.

Democrats made real, substantive improvements to this budget, including fair school funding, which is a historic step to ensuring the promise of a quality public education for all Ohio students, Crawley said. But the fact is this budget needs a lot of work to be the bold blueprint for Ohios future Democrats wanted to see. Another Republican tax giveaway that largely benefits millionaires and billionaires isnt what we need as countless Ohioans continue to feel the uncertainty of our current health and economic crisis. Instead, we should be working together to invest in childcare, housing and other areas to benefit working people and families and get Ohio back on the right track.

The new language is the first mark-up of DeWines budget plan, introduced by the Republican governor in January. The House version spends $74.3 billion over two years, compared to the $74 billion proposed by DeWine. The House Finance Committee has budget hearings scheduled for the remainder of the week, with the goal of sending to the House floor for a full vote next Tuesday.

Ohios growing tax revenues, tied to the ongoing recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, made it easier for lawmakers to figure out how to increase school funding while also cutting taxes.

The legislatures budget officers in their projections estimated they had $838 million more to work with than DeWines fiscal officers did when they wrote their budget plan. But in recent months, Ohioans have made more and especially spent more than the governors office thought they would, leading to the state bringing in $763.4 million more in tax revenues since July than DeWines office initially expected.

Right now, as we stand here, we are experiencing a surplus in revenue coming in, and so we will watch the economic indicators and prognosticators, but as we go forward, we do feel the budget is structurally sound, Oeslager said.

State Rep. Bride Rose Sweeney, a Cleveland Democrat who co-sponsored the school-funding plan that was folded into the budget bill, said the plan always was to combine the two.

Its very difficult to separate the two, and Im very happy and excited it was implemented in the [substitute] bill, she said. I look forward to it passing the House and finally becoming law.

Beginning in 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled four times that Ohios education funding is unconstitutional. Ohios school funding formula largely relies on local property taxes, and sometimes income taxes, with the state providing extra funding to make up the difference in poorer districts while capping state funding for richer districts. Critics have said this creates a system thats unfair, and prone to fluctuations as property values change from year to year.

The new formula aims to base school funding on what each district actually spends, starting with factors such as teacher and other staff salaries, their professional development, the costs of dealing with kids social and emotional needs, kids career readiness and technology. It also attempts to calculate a districts wealth by incorporating local incomes, and not just property values.

Even though the new plan will get rid of funding guarantees, lawmakers said no schools will see their funding cut while the new formula is phased in. Thats because it includes transitional payments that will give schools time to prepare for the changes to take effect.

Lawmakers have been working on a fix to the states school funding formula for years. House Speaker Bob Cupp, a Lima Republican, has taken a lead role on the issue, working on a bill last session before he held his leadership role.
New Delhi, April 13 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the High Courts should refrain from holding a "mini trial" at the stage of discharge application or framing of charges.

A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said: "At the stage of framing of the charge and/or considering the discharge application, the mini trial is not permissible. At this stage, it is to be noted that even as per Section 7 of the PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act, even an attempt constitutes an offence. Therefore, the High Court has erred and/or exceeded in virtually holding a mini trial at the stage of discharge application." It emphasised that a High Court is required to consider whether a prima facie case has been made out or not and whether the accused is required to be further tried or not.

The observations were made by the top court on an appeal filed by the Rajasthan government challenging a High Court order discharging a patwari, accused for demanding a bribe of Rs 2,800 for issuing Domicile Certificate and OBC Certificate, under Section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Special judge, Bharatpur, after considering the material on record including the transcript of the conversation between the complainant and the accused, concluded there is a prima facie case of the alleged offence under Section 7, and framed the charge against the accused. However, the High Court, after examining the transcript, said there was no specific demand of a bribe and discharged the accused.

The top court said: "The High Court materially erred in negating the exercise of considering the transcript in detail and in considering whether on the basis of the material on record the accused is likely to be convicted for the offence under Section 7 of the PC Act or not." The bench said it is not going to enter into the merits of the case and/or merits of the transcript as the same is required to be considered at the time of trial. "Defence on merits is not to be considered at the stage of framing of the charge and/or at the stage of discharge application," it observed.

It also said that the High Court has exceeded in its jurisdiction in exercise of the revisional jurisdiction and has acted beyond the scope of Section 227/239 Cr.P.C.

"The impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court discharging the accused under Section 7 of the PC Act is unsustainable in law and the same deserves to be quashed and set aside and is accordingly hereby quashed," it said.
FLINT, MI -- The Genesee County Health Department will pause usage of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after federal regulators issued a statement recommending to do so out of an abundance of caution.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement Tuesday, April 13. The CDC and FDA are investigating six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine.

More than 6.8 million J&J doses have been administered to date, according to the CDC and FDA.

All Genesee County residents currently scheduled to receive a Johnson & Johnson vaccine will now receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead.

No vaccination appointments will be canceled, Genesee County Deputy Health Officer Kayleigh Blaney said.

The CDC and FDA started investigating the six reported cases on April 9. The CDC is meeting with an advisory committee April 14 to assess the significance of the cases.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the FDA tweeted this morning. Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was the third shot to receive authorization for use in the U.S. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer last week requested more vaccination shots from the federal government.

Read more:

Feds recommend pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine following reports of severe reaction

Michigan will pause use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, following CDC guidance

More than 3.3M Michiganders have had first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Genesee County health officials avoiding one-size-fits-all approach when considering school closings
INDIANAPOLIS, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Versiti Blood Center of Indiana is issuing an emergency appeal for blood donations as communities throughout the state face a potential crisis with blood supplies dropping to critically low levels.

"Versiti Blood Center of Indiana is urgently seeking help from the public. We need to do all we can to ensure that Indiana hospitals have the blood they need for their patients," said Dr. Dan Waxman, vice president of transfusion medicine and senior medical director at Versiti. "As more people are getting vaccinated and getting out of their homes, attention has shifted away from blood donation. On top of that, drives at schools and businesses, which are typically Versiti's largest source of blood donations this time of year, have been cancelled. All of this is creating a crisis situation  a shortage of much-needed blood."

In Indiana, the state's blood supply has dropped to a critically low level, with less than a day's supply of life-saving blood on shelves to supply Versiti's more than 90 hospital partners throughout the state. Ideally, Versiti strives for a three-day supply of blood available to its partner hospitals.

In the first quarter alone, compared to a typical year, Versiti Blood Centers is down more than 40 percent in donations  or nearly 20,000 units of blood  from schools and businesses.

Blood donors are needed now to help ensure life-saving blood is available for Hoosiers who need it. One donation of blood, which takes less than one hour, can help save up to three lives.

O-negative and O-positive blood donors are most needed now. O-negative and O-positive blood is the universal blood type, meaning donations can be transfused to all patients, including trauma victims, cancer patients and those undergoing surgery.

Hoosiers are needed to extend the generous gift of life to neighbors who need help and donate blood at a Versiti Blood Center of Indiana donor center nearest them:

INDIANAPOLIS : 3450 N. Meridian St.

: 3450 N. Meridian St. FISHERS : 11005 Allisonville Road

: 11005 Allisonville Road CARMEL : 726 Adams St., Suite 150

: 726 Adams St., Suite 150 GREENWOOD : 8739 U.S. 31 South

: 8739 U.S. 31 South TERRE HAUTE : 2021 S. Third St.

: 2021 S. Third St. LAFAYETTE : 2200 Elmwood Ave., Suite D-16

Indiana residents can also make an appointment to donate at a local community blood drive in their area. Times, dates and locations of upcoming local drives can be found online https://donate.indiana.versiti.org. Interested donors should click the "Schedule to Donate" tab to find the nearest drive to them.

To help ensure donor safety, everyone entering Versiti facilities must wear a mask and have their temperature taken. All Versiti donation locations are practicing social distancing and closely adhering to FDA and CDC cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

Donating blood takes about an hour. Anyone age 17 or older in good health who meets eligibility requirements is encouraged to give. Parental consent is required for donors age 16 to donate blood. Donors should bring a photo ID that includes their birth date.

Appointments are encouraged at any of Versiti's six Indiana donor centers or at any local community blood drive. Walk-ins are always welcome. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call 1-317-916-5150 or visit Versiti online at versiti.org/Indiana.

About Versiti Blood Center of Indiana

More than 90,000 Indiana residents each year give blood through Versiti Blood Center of Indiana, formerly Indiana Blood Center, a non-profit organization founded in 1952 that operates blood donation centers in Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Greenwood, Lafayette and Terre Haute. The center also operates thousands of mobile and community blood drives each year throughout the state. Versiti provides a continuous and safe supply of blood and biological services to more than 90 Indiana hospitals and their patients and beyond.

SOURCE Versiti Blood Center of Indiana
(Natural News) Ever since getting vaccinated for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19), many women are now reporting irregular, heavier, and more painful periods.

Some say they are experiencing breakthrough bleeding in the middle of a cycle, for example, while others are bleeding for days on end  all thanks to getting jabbed.

A colleague told me she has heard from others that their periods were heavy post-vax, says Dr. Kate Clancy, an associated professor at the University of Illinois who has been tracking the phenomenon for several months.

On Twitter, Clancy has been asking injected women to share their menstrual concerns. Many told of heavy flow, worsened cramps, irregular timing, while one says she bled for 16 days after getting the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) injection.

Im curious whether other menstruators have noticed changes too? Clancy added. Im a week and a half out from dose 1 of Moderna, got my period maybe a day or so early, and am gushing like Im in my 20s again.

Clancy went on to reveal that on day three of her period she was still swapping out extra long overnight pads a few times a day.

Typical for me at this time is maybe one or two regular pads (though extra absorbent, Always Infinity ones) for the whole day, she further wrote.

Speculating as to whether the Moderna shot might be to blame, Clancy added that perhaps the injections are prompting a broader inflammatory response in women because of the lipid nanoparticle or mRNA mechanism.

Either way I am fascinated! she added. Inflammation + tissue remodeling = extra bleedypants!

Covid-19 vaccination is an IQ test  get it and you fail

Clancy, by the way, is pro-vaccine and pro-LGBT, hence her reference to other menstruators  this implying that men who self-identify as women also have periods.

She is anything but an anti-vaxxer, in other words, and yet is noticing that injected women are suffering major changes to their female parts as a result of getting stabbed for the Chinese virus.

One woman who responded to Clancys tweet explained that two days after receiving the J&J injection she started her period over a week early, adding that it was heavier than normal.

Two weeks exactly after shot number 2, my cycle started 12 days earlier and heavier than its been for the last three years, wrote another.

Someone named the Pro-Vaccine Queen tweeted that she started her period in the middle of a birth control pack three weeks after getting injected with a Moderna syringe. She added that this has never happened to me in 12 years of taking the pill.

Many, many others reported similar adverse effects while expressing relief that they were not alone. Somehow, misery loves company when it comes to experiencing the irreversible changes associated with Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injection.

According to Monica Grohne, founder of Marea Wellness, her company has heard from thousands of women who suffered irregular periods after getting a Kung Flu shot.

There is no biologic mechanism that would account for [the] disruption of the menstrual cycle following receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine, claims Dr. Mark Turrentine, M.D., a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

A paper published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online found that at least 25 percent of women who tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) experienced menstrual volume changes, while 19 percent experienced longer-than-usual periods.

Data collected from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) further shows that upwards of 80 percent of all reactions to the vaccine are reported by women.

More related news about the health damage caused by Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NaturalNews.com
Hady Ahmad with his mother

I'm an engineer in the oil industry who has to travel a lot for work to countries like Qatar.

Towards the end of last February my income dried up as a result of the pandemic as countries imposed travel restrictions and the price of oil fell.

As a result, I applied for payment holidays on my mortgage, main credit card and some personal loans, but I did not think PayPal were offering them.

I missed two payments - one in March one in and April and only later found out I could have taken a payment break.

These two missed payments have hit my credit file and have meant I have been turned down for a mortgage, which I wanted for a bigger property for myself and my mother, who was diagnosed with coronavirus.

I have asked PayPal to remove these marks, citing Financial Conduct Authority guidance, but they have refused. Is this right?  Hady Ahmad, West London, via email

George Nixon, This is Money, replies: By the time you wrote to This is Money in mid-March, you described yourself as having gone through a near-nine month back-and-forth with PayPal and the credit reference agency TransUnion.

You said that after you learned of both the missed payment marks and the availability of a payment holiday on your PayPal Credit account, the first of which you took in May 2020, you complained to the company in June.

The FCA guidance you used in your claim, and in a subsequent letter you sent to PayPal this January, states borrowers should not be disadvantaged by firms 'operational difficulties' in setting up payment holidays.

Your argument was that because you didn't know, and say you were never told, that a PayPal payment holiday was available.

'Firms should work with the customer to put them in the position they would have been in, had they received timely forbearance', the FCA guidance states.

'Firms should ensure no default or arrears charges are levied as a result, and work with customers and Credit Reference Agencies to ensure that any necessary rectifications are made to credit files so that no worsening status is recorded in respect of this period.'

PayPal insisted payment holidays had been available since mid-March, just after Mr Ahmad missed his first payment

In your email to This is Money, you told us the company had 'never acknowledged' the FCA guidance you had included in your complaints.

However, this appears to be very much a 'he said, she said' situation, as the company denies any operational difficulties or that it needs to correct your credit file.

PayPal said it had offered 30-day interest-free payment breaks from mid-March and three-month ones once it was required to by the FCA at the start of April.

Because of the travel restrictions and the fall in the oil price, which at one point on 20 April last year even went below zero, you said you were struggling to earn any income.

'I did a short trip to Doha, Qatar, for a job for six days in February and then as the oil price effectively collapsed from around $50 to $20 as the pandemic really became global my contract was terminated', you said.

'I didn't even receive any payments for the hours I had worked in February until early May.'

Luckily you said you were now again able to work but added: 'I could not travel to Qatar from around April to October due to the border closures the Qatari government had enacted because of coronavirus.

'Usually there is a good amount of work available, but the issue are the current travel bans and quarantines.

'You're getting work these days but can't get on site. And with our sort of role there is only so much you can do from home.'

Your first PayPal credit missed payment was on 7 March, just prior to the company's introduction of its 30-day payment break, and you missed another payment a month later.

You claim to us that having looked through your emails and postal statements you were never told about this first missed payment which, again, the company denies. It said it sent multiple messages by email and post which included the fact help was available.

But we get to the central dispute after this point in April, when you called up the company to clear your arrears.

At this point, you said, you had been able to sort out missed payments on your other outgoings.

'When I spoke on the phone to the lady from PayPal, I mentioned I was having difficulties travelling to work and was not sure if I could make my payments on time, however she did not mention there was a payment freeze available', you told us.

'I remember this distinctly as I actually made my credit payment on the phone and not on the website. I mentioned to her I was having difficulties hence the inability to make the payment on time and she did not offer any support or make me aware of the fact that a payment freeze was on offer.'

But the company disputes this. It said recordings of two separate calls, including this one, did not suggest you were in need of any help, and said if it had been informed of any difficulties it could have been able to help you.

Responding to the suggestion the company's customer services had asked him if he needed help, you told us from Doha, were you currently are for work: 'I'm pretty sure that if they had offered me a payment freeze, I would have taken it up.

'She probably said, "are you ok," I said, "I should be" and as nothing else was forthcoming I left it at that.'

Doha, in Qatar, where Mr Ahmad is currently working

This situation meant that by the time you did take two payment holidays on your PayPal Credit account, first in May and then again in August, the company had reported two missed payments on your credit file.

Having been unable to get anywhere with either PayPal or TransUnion, which PayPal said you needed to contact to get the markers removed, which according to FCA rules is incorrect, you wrote to us in March.

We had previously fixed a payment holiday mix-up involving a Nationwide mortgage borrower in December.

As a result, we put your claims to PayPal. In response, a spokesperson said: 'Mr Ahmad's first missed payment, according to our records, was on 7 March.

We have no record of him reporting any issues with repayments until 7 April, by which time he was two months late with payment due from his February and March 2020 statements PayPal

'We have no record of him reporting any issues with repayments until 7 April, by which time he was two months late with payment due from his February and March 2020 statements.

'We have an obligation as a responsible lender to report a customer's repayment record accurately to the credit broking agencies.

'In this case, Mr Ahmad missed two payments on 7 March and 5 April. We believe this to be accurate and accordingly had an obligation to report this performance.

'Had Mr Ahmad contacted us to let us know he was experiencing financial difficulty; we would have been able to assist and could have offered him an alternative solution.

'We do have record of Mr Ahmad asking for a payment holiday in May and again in August, both of which we agreed to and provided to him promptly.

'However, we have no evidence of any operational delay or similar event which led to his missed payments and which would mean our reporting needs correction.

'Please note, PayPal does provide positive credit ratings to the agencies as well when payments are made on time, which can build a customer's credit rating.'

After this decision, you have told us you plan to take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The Covid-19 pandemic impacted every industry of our nation's economy. Hardest hit were small businesses, especially in communities of color. Many have been forced to close and more are struggling to stay open. The only way to change this trend is by fully reopening the economy, and that cannot happen until enough Americans are vaccinated. The group that can be the most effective in this area is also the most impacted by the pandemic: small business owners.

Small business is the most trusted institution in the United States, according to Gallup, and represents more than 90% of all businesses in the country. Business ownership is also a proven path to addressing the racial wealth gap. Before the pandemic, 43% of small businesses were opened in low-wealth communities, creating jobs and income in these economically disadvantaged areas.

A completely reopened economy will allow businesses to operate at full capacity, bring normalcy back to communities, and reduce staffing issues caused by Covid-19 exposure and infection.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 70-85% of Americans need to receive the vaccine to achieve herd immunity. For that to happen as quickly as possible, more small business owners need to become vaccine champions, starting with themselves and their businesses.

Our organizations jointly fielded a survey this year of more than 3,300 U.S. small employers and found that 64% say it is very important that their employees get vaccinated. More than half have had formal conversations, including staff meetings and one-on-ones with employees, and more than 80% of respondents are willing to encourage and incentivize employees to get vaccinated. The survey also found that 80% of small business owners plan to get a vaccine, which is 10% higher than the overall public. While these numbers are encouraging, they also demonstrate why they can and should be higher.

With all of the misinformation that was purposefully or accidentally shared in the past year, it is understandable to be skeptical about the vaccine. Since employees often look to their employers for information, it is important to remind them that all FDA-authorized Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They will not alter one's DNA nor give people Covid-19 or cause them to test positive for it. Covid-19 vaccines are free, and people do not need insurance or money to get vaccinated or to worry about any co-payments, deductibles, or unexpected bills for receiving one.

Nobody has to take our word for this, either. Many agencies and organizations, including the CDC, have compiled easy-to-digest information packets discussing the safety and benefits of the vaccines.

If small business owners are willing to champion vaccines, they need to do at least two things: 1) get the vaccine when it is their turn, and 2) create a vaccine plan for their employees. A good vaccine plan aligns with state or local vaccine policies, is clearly communicated to employees, and includes incentives, such as paid time off for employees to get the shot(s) and recover from side effects if they occur. It should also follow the CDC's guidance on wearing masks and social distancing, even after all employees are vaccinated.

Small business owners who want to do more can encourage local community members to receive the vaccine. There are a number of ways to do this, ranging from helping reduce vaccine hesitancy among friends, family, and peers to spreading awareness or providing logistical support. This is not only good for the health of the community, but it will restore the confidence of people who will be comfortable going back to normal with a fully reopened Main Street.

It has been a hard year, but small businesses across America have banded together and come up with creative ways to stay afloat. With the country being so close to the end of the pandemic, the leadership of small businesses is needed to get us there faster.
Kolkata: In protest against the Election Commissions decision to ban her from campaigning for the next 24 hours, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a dharna on Tuesday.

The TMC chief had called the EC move undemocratic and unconstitutional and vowed to protest it. The apex poll panel had on Monday barred the Trinamool Congress supremo from any kind of campaigning for 24 hours, from 8 pm on Monday to 8 pm on Tuesday.

The Commission had earlier sent notices to Banerjee for her remarks against central forces and a statement that had alleged religious overtones.

In a five-page letter written to the Chief Minister, the Commission said: "The Commission hereby condemns such statements potent with serious law and order problem across the state(s) and sternly warns Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force. The Commission also imposes a ban of 24 hours on Banerjee from campaigning in any manner".

Banerjee was quick to respond and announced a dharna against this "unconstitutional decision". "To protest against this undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission, I will sit on a dharna on Tuesday at Gandhi Murti from 12 noon," she tweeted.

Democracy shall prevail. @MamataOfficial will fight back. Bengal will give a befitting reply to this undemocratic step!#BlackDayForDemocracy pic.twitter.com/Fr0AOlqIBI  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 12, 2021

On April 7 the EC had served a notice to the CM directing her to submit a written clarification explaining her open demand for votes on communal grounds for her party Trinamool Congress in the ongoing Assembly elections in the state.

"I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands, don`t divide the minority votes after listening to the devil person who had taken money from the BJP. He passes many communal statements and initiates clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims. He is one of the apostles of the BJP, comrade. The comrades of CPM and BJP are roaming around with the money given by the BJP to divide the minority votes," she had said.

In her reply, she wrote: "I did not seek to influence the voters to cast their vote for her on religious segmentary lines I categorically spoke on the religious harmony lines with the spirit of the MCC."

The Commission issued a second show-cause notice for her "attempt to berate and vilify the central forces by making false, provocative and intemperate statements".

"I know under whose instruction they beat up and how they beat up, It is your duty to save the family of the people. If any of your mothers and sisters suffer a single stroke with a stick attack them... I am telling you. It is the right of the women. And if anyone of our mothers and sisters is denied entry in the voting compartment all of you come out and revolt," she said.

Banerjee in her reply again defended herself and said "In my speech, I had only called upon the voters to protest (democratically by gherao) if and when somebody (including CAPF) created any obstruction in their right to vote. Gherao is a democratic way of registering protest".

The Commission said Banerjee, who happens to be the Chief Minister of the poll-bound state has violated the Model Code of Conduct as well as section 123(3) and (3A) of the Representation of the People`s Act 1951 and sections `186, 189 and 505 of Indian Penal Code and made highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with the serious potential of the breakdown of law and thereby adversely affecting the poll process.

The fifth of the eight-phase Assembly election in Bengal is scheduled to be held on April 17. The results will be declared on May 2.

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MONCKS CORNER  With only a few days left before the application deadline, Berkeley County still has more than $4.6 million available to help residents who are unable to pay rent or utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county received $6.89 million from the Emergency Rental Assistance Program but has more than two-thirds of that amount remaining.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. April 16.

As of April 13, the county had completed 244 applications with another 660 submissions in various stages of the process.

Thus far, the county has received requests for:

Total rental assistance  $1,516,114.91

Total utility assistance  $85,130.21

Total assistance requested  $1,601,245.12

The federal program allows 10 percent of the total amount to go to administrative costs such as software, the countys advertising budget and its contract with Civitas, a Charleston-based community development consulting firm that's helping allocate the funds.

We knew there was a need for a program like this but weve had trouble gauging the interest in the program from the beginning because weve never done it before, said Berkeley County Grants Administrator Sandi Riddle.

It was very difficult to put a dollar figure on how much funding wed need," she added. "The amount we received came from a federal formula and was not determined from any specific needs of the county.

The rental assistance will cover up to 12 months of rent or utilities accrued after March 13, 2020, for those who qualify and apply. 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.

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. In 2019, the median household income in the county was $63,000, according to U.S. Census data.

We dont want folks that need this assistance to not get it because they didnt apply for it, County Councilman Steve Davis said.

Riddle said the county is expecting to receive a flood of applications this week.

I think people are starting realize that the deadline is coming up and well see more applications in the coming days, she said.

Riddle said if there are remaining funds in the program, the county will most likely open up an additional application period later in the year. All funds that are not used by the program will be returned to the U.S. Treasury, Riddle said.

I feel confident that there will be a second opportunity for people to get assistance, she said.

All counties in South Carolina with 200,000 or more residents received federal money for the current round of rent and utility assistance under the program. Nationwide, it's a $25 billion program.

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.

Overall funding for the assistance program came from the federal level, but each state received an allotment of money, which they passed along to the counties that qualified for the program.

Berkeley and Charleston counties received nearly $19 million in relief money. Charleston County opened up its application process April 12.

There are limits on the amount of rent the program will pay, based on federal standards for fair-market rent. For example, someone renting a two-bedroom apartment or house would qualify for up to $1,175 per month, while a three-bedroom rental would qualify for up to $1,535 monthly.

All funds will be paid directly to landlords and utility service providers.

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.
A GameStop store is seen in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Nick Zieminski/File Photo)

GameStop Corp is looking for a new chief executive to replace George Sherman as it pivots from a brick-and-mortar video game retailer to an e-commerce firm, three people familiar with the matter said on Monday.



It would be the biggest shakeup at GameStop since Ryan Cohen, the co-founder and former chief executive of online pet food company Chewy Inc, joined its board in January and began laying the groundwork for a shift in culture and strategy, people familiar with his work at GameStop said.



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Its stock is up almost 4,000% from a year ago, after it became the poster child of day traders betting on so-called meme stocks.



GameStop's board is working with an executive headhunter on the CEO search, said the sources, who requested anonymity because the matter is confidential.



Several GameStop board directors are involved in the search and have spoken with potential candidates from the gaming industry, as well as the e-commerce and technology sectors, the sources said.



A GameStop spokesman declined to comment.



GameStop shares ended trading on Monday down 11% at $141.04, giving the company a market value of about $10 billion. The stock hit a record high of $483 in late January.



The CEO replacement is the latest in a string of changes pursued by Cohen since he joined GameStop's board.



Former Chief Financial Officer Jim Bell and Chief Customer Officer Frank Hamlin are among the senior executives who have left the company in recent weeks.



Sherman, who has been CEO since April 2019, has been credited internally with slashing costs and steering GameStop through the COVID-19 pandemic that led many retailers to go out of business.



But Sherman's 25 years of experience have been largely with brick-and-mortar retailers, such as Advance Auto Parts Inc and Home Depot Inc, and his experience is seen as less relevant to the digital transformation, two of the sources said.



Cohen, who last week was named GameStop's board chairman, is seeking to make the company the online destination of choice for video game fans, just as Chewy won over pet lovers.



He pushed for a number of hires at GameStop, including Elliott Wilke as chief growth officer, Jenna Owens as chief operating officer and Matt Francis as chief technology officer. All three previously worked at Amazon.com Inc.



Cohen also brought on people from Chewy, including Andrea Wolfe as vice president of brand development, Neda Pacifico as senior vice president of e-commerce and Kelli Durkin as senior vice president of customer care.



GameStop last week increased the value of new stock it may sell from $100 million to $1 billion, as it moves to capitalize on a surge in its shares from the retail trader-driven rally in January.



That rally has fizzled in recent days. Many Wall Street analysts remain skeptical about the company's ability to reinvent itself. Of seven analysts covering GameStop, five currently recommend selling the stock and only two rate it as "hold."



"We remain very concerned about the long term prospects for (GameStop's) video game business, especially once hardware sales temper as the installed base matures," Ascendiant analyst Edward Woo wrote in a note on Monday.


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md, on Nov. 17, 2020, (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

FDA to Extend Emergency Authorization of COVID-19 Vaccine to Adolescents Without Advice From Advisory Committee

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it will not require expert advice from its advisory committee that evaluates and reviews vaccine efficacy and safety to amend Pfizer-BioNTechs emergency use authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents aged 12 to 15, according to an FDA spokesperson. That decision will be made by the agency after reviewing the relevant data.

As Pfizer has announced, the FDA has received the companys request to amend its emergency use authorization (EUA) in order to expand the age range for its COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals 12-15 years of age, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

Based on an initial evaluation of the information submitted, at this time, the agency does not plan to hold a meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on this request to amend the EUA for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, which was discussed and recommended for authorization at a VRBPAC meeting in December 2020, she added.

The VRBPAC, established in 1979, is composed of independent experts from the medical and scientific community, who provide the FDA with recommendations and advice on scientific and regulatory issues, including the evaluation of data concerning the safety, effectiveness, and appropriate use of vaccines that are intended for use in the prevention, treatment, or diagnosis of human diseases, according to the Federal Advisory Committee Act database.

However, the role of the advisory committee is purely advisory in nature and although the FDA will most often accept the recommendations, it has the option of not implementing the advice.

Vials with Covid-19 Vaccine stickers attached, with the logo of U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer, are seen on Nov. 17, 2020. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Pfizer submitted a request (pdf) to the FDA on April 9 to expand its vaccine emergency authorization to the adolescent group, after the drug manufacturer said its vaccine demonstrated 100 percent efficacy and robust antibody response after vaccination with the COVID-19 Vaccine.

The results were from a Phase 3 trial involving over 2,200 volunteers ages 12 to 15, where 1,131 received a vaccine and the rest were given a placebo.

Preliminary data showed that no COVID-19 cases were observed in the vaccinated group versus the 18 cases in the placebo group. Side effects such as pain, fatigue, and fever were consistent with those observed in participants 25 and younger. The study has not been published yet.

Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine is currently authorized for emergency use in people ages 16 and older. The company says it plans to make similar requests to other regulatory authorities worldwide.

There is no reason to mandate healthy children ages 12 to 15 years old with any of the investigational COVID-19 vaccines, Dr. Teryn Clarke, MD, communications director of Americas Frontline Doctors told The Epoch Times in an email. The facts are clear: children do not get serious illness from this virus.

Until larger-scale studies are completed, including on people who have recovered from COVID-19, parents should carefully weigh the facts when deciding on vaccination, Clarke added.

According to the FDA (pdf), any vaccine issued an emergency use authorization and not FDA-licensed is considered an investigational vaccine. All three COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States continue to collect safety and efficacy data for their Phase 3 clinical trials that will complete either in 2022 or 2023.

It is expected that the FDA will extend the emergency authorization of Pfizer-BioNTechs vaccine to kids ages 12 to 15 years old, but the agency said it doesnt know when that decision will be made.

While the FDA cannot predict how long its evaluation of the data and information will take, the agency will review the request as expeditiously as possible using its thorough and science-based approach, the spokesperson said. As with all FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines, we are committed to transparency with this EUA review process.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may be available for adolescents before they head back to school this coming fall.

Johnson & Johnson announced on April 2 that it had begun testing its vaccine on adolescents aged 12 to 17 in a Phase 2a trial, while Moderna began testing children aged six months to 11 years with its vaccine in March.

As of April 13, more than 192 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine had been administered, with at least 75 million Americans vaccinated or 22.7 percent of the total population.
Seabourn, the ultra-luxury cruise line, together with the Government of Greece is developing plans to restart Seabourn operations in the Mediterranean with a series of sailings operating round-trip out of Athens beginning July 3.

Seabourn Ovation will operate a series of seven-day cruises exploring beautiful and historic ports throughout the Greek Isles. The voyages are scheduled to open for booking on April 12. Guests will also be able to book longer 14-day voyages, which combine individual seven-day voyages with a variety of different ports on each. Seabourn will take guests to the ports of Agios Nikolaos, Rhodes, Mykonos and Nafplion as well as Limassol, Cyprus on one itinerary. On the other, guests will have the opportunity to experience Patmos, Rhodes, Thira and Spetsai along with a call at Paphos, Cyprus.

Each sailing also includes a sea day for time spent onboard enjoying venues like Earth & Ocean for al fresco dining, cooling off with artisanal gelato made fresh by the culinary team, or a host of activities available aboard Seabourn Ovation. Those who prefer quiet relaxation can find a comfortable chair in Seabourn Square to read or even take time to sit and watch the scenery go by from their private furnished veranda in their suite.

The entire Seabourn family is truly excited to provide our award-winning travel experience aboard Seabourn Ovation starting again this July in the Greek Isles, said Josh Leibowitz, president of Seabourn. Were grateful to the people of Greece for welcoming Seabourn back to the Mediterranean this summer.

Seabourn has been visiting Greece for more than 30 years and we look forward to welcoming their ships back to our unique destinations this summer, said Harry Theoharis, Ministry of Tourism  Hellenic Republic. Tourism is a vital part of our economy and our plans place a priority on health and safety to help restore traveller confidence to all. We are sure that once again all your guests will have the best experiences in Greece creating memories to last a lifetime.

The cruises are open to any guests that are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Fully vaccinated means a minimum of 14 days following the final dose of the currently approved Covid-19 vaccines being administered. Proof of vaccination and the dates given will be required. Approved forms of documentation will be confirmed closer to time of departure and must be shown at the terminal prior to boarding.

Seabourn passengers will be required to comply with all health protocols that may be in place at the time of their departure. Travellers should check on travel requirements regularly, for both inbound travel and their return home, since policies continue to change based on the latest advice.

Additional initial preventive health measures under Seabourns Travel Safe program will also be in place including health screening questionnaires, face mask requirements, physical distancing and capacity controls for indoor venues, as well as enhanced environmental sanitation and HVAC upgrades.

Seabourn Ovation will continue to follow stringent health and safety protocols. The brands protocols are subject to change as work continues in collaboration with medical experts and government bodies to ensure the practices evolve in line with the latest advice. Seabourns priority is to protect the health and safety of our guests, team members, and the people in the communities the brand visits. More details on the protocols are available on the Seabourn website.

Seabourn is finalising additional details for these voyages, including more information on the shoreside experiences, and will share them in the coming weeks. They will also be posted on the Seabourn website. Guests are encouraged to book early for best suite selection and the brand will offer flexible cancellation terms as well. Guests with existing 2021 Greek Isles bookings will be notified with specific details for their updated itinerary under the same booking number. Airfare is available for purchase at competitive rates using Seabourns FlightEase program, which includes complimentary transfers from the airport to the ship. Travellers can also book a private charter flight through Seabourn Private Air, which provides the ultimate in privacy and convenience.

Seabourn represents the pinnacle of ultra-luxury travel. Our all-inclusive, boutique ships offer all-suite accommodations with oceanfront views; award-winning dining; complimentary premium spirits and fine wines available at all times; renowned service provided by an industry-leading crew; a relaxed, sociable atmosphere that makes guests feel at home; a pedigree in expedition travel through the Ventures by Seabourn program and two new ultra-luxury purpose-built expedition ships coming in 2021 and 2022. Seabourn takes travellers to every continent on the globe with more than 400 ports including marquee cities and lesser-known ports and hideaways. The line is also the official cruise partner of UNESCO World Heritage.

Guests of Seabourn experience extraordinary offerings and programs, including partnerships with leading entertainers, dining, personal health and wellbeing, and engaging speakers. - TradeArabia News Service
A Peoples Liberation Army Navy Corvette class warship is seen near Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea, April 11, 2021.

Manilas foreign office said Tuesday it had summoned Beijings ambassador for the first time to discuss the illegal lingering presence of Chinese ships moored in its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea, as the Philippines stepped up its protest on the issue.

Meanwhile late Tuesday, a government task force said that Philippine military patrols over the weekend had spotted hundreds of Chinese Maritime Military ships also lingering in different Philippine-claimed areas of the disputed waterway.

Undersecretary Elizabeth Buensuceso said she met Chinese Ambassador Huang Xi Lian at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday and repeated Manilas demand that Beijing withdraw the ships.

The DFA expressed displeasure over the illegal lingering presence of Chinese in Julian Felipe Reef, the foreign department said, using the Filipino name for Whitsun Reef. The continuing presence of Chinese vessels around the reef is a source of regional tension.

China, for its part, has said that these are Chinese fishing vessels operating in waters of the Spratlys Islands, over which Beijing claims to have maritime rights. Beijing had earlier said that the ships were sheltering from bad weather.

Earlier this month, the foreign affairs office blasted the Chinese Embassy for issuing blatant falsehoods such as claims of adverse weather conditions when there were none and the supposed non-existence of maritime militia vessels in the area.

The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Tuesday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. reiterated his call for China to pull out its boats.

Come, come, time to go, Locsin said in a tweet. As I said, while it may well be traditional fishing grounds, tradition yields to law and the law on the matter is UNCLOS and the arbitral award and the common rules of statutory construction, he said, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

During their meeting, Buensuceso said she reminded Ambassador Huang of a Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling in 2016 that said Beijing had no basis to claim historic rights in the South China Sea. China has refused to honor that ruling.

Locsin tweeted that only nine ships remained at Whitsun Reef, which lies within the Philippines 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

In a statement issued late in the evening, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said government patrols had spotted an estimated 240 Chinese ships crewed by militia in Philippine waters earlier this week. The number is higher than the 220 reported in March.

According to the task force, Sunday patrols had observed 136 ships at Burgos Reef, nine at Julian Felipe Reef (the Philippine name for Whitsun Reef), 65 at Johnson South Reef, six at Mischief Reef, three at Subi Reef, four at Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, one at West York Island, five at Kota Island and 11 at the Second Thomas Shoal.

The patrols also spotted Peoples Liberation Army Navy ships, including two Houbei-class missile warships, at Panganiban Reef, one Corvette-class warship at Fiery Cross Reef, and one navy tugboat at Zamora Reef.

The Philippines has named its territory in the South China Sea the West Philippine Sea.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone.

Carriers in waterway

Meanwhile in recent days, both the United States and China have sent aircraft carriers into the South China Sea.

The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group sailed into the area earlier this month and then conducted joint maneuvers with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). The strike group also joined with the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group for expeditionary strike-force operations on April 9, the U.S. Navy said.

The Liaoning, a Chinese aircraft carrier, entered the South China Sea on April 10, according to the Global Times, a Chinese state-run tabloid.

While the Philippines has been lodging daily diplomatic protests against Beijing for intruding in its waters, the decision to summon the Chinese envoy was a rare occurrence under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. Mondays meeting at the Philippine foreign office was the first time for Huang, who assumed the post in December 2019.

In a statement relayed through his spokesman earlier this month, Duterte said he preferred to resolve peacefully the issue of the Chinese militia ships moored in EEZ waters. The president made no mention of the sea dispute during a speech late Monday, his first major public appearance in two weeks.

Marielle Lucenio and Jojo Rinoza in Manila, Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato, Philippines, and Zachary Haver in Washington contributed to this report.
New Delhi, April 13 : The Border Security Force (BSF) on Tuesday apprehended a Pakistani national who crossed the International Border (IB) near R.S. Pura sector in Jammu and Kashmir.

The 40-year-old, who identified himself as Shabbir during preliminary inquiry, was held while he was making a desperate attempt to cross the fence.

"BSF troopers observed the suspicious movement of the Pakistani national who had crossed the IB near BP No 942. He was warned to stop but did not pay any attention," the BSF said in a statement.

Shabbir was subsequently fired upon due to which he sustained a minor injury.

The BSF troopers later apprehended Shabbir and handed him over to the police.

The BSF is responsible for guarding the 3,323 km India-Pakistan and 4,096 km India-Bangladesh borders.
An environmental activist wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga denounces the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, April 13. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



South Korean civic groups on Tuesday asked Japan to retract its decision to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, denouncing the move as nuclear terrorism.



An alliance of 31 anti-nuclear and environmental civic groups in South Korea issued a statement expressing resentment at the Japanese government's move to release contaminated Fukushima water despite objections from neighboring countries and vowing to do everything possible to prevent what it calls nuclear terror.



"The Japanese government said it will gradually release radioactive water after diluting it to a level that is harmless to the human body. But diluting will not change the total amount of radioactive materials released into the sea," the statement said, warning it will become an irreparable disaster for humans beyond the marine ecosystem.





An environmental activist wearing a mask denounces the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, near the Japanese embassy in Seoul, April 13. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk




Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 13.04.21:

A trophy park of Armenian armored equipment taken as loot has been created in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

According to Azerbaijani media, more than two thousand license plates taken by the Azerbaijani army can be seen at the entrance to this park. The series ends with the inscription: "Karabakh is Azerbaijan."

There are also scarecrows with photos of Armenian soldiers, on which the eyes are protruding and blood is dripping.

And Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been photographed against this very backdrop.

International journalists have highly slammed the opening of this 'park' in Azerbaijan.

According to Bloomberg journalist Bobby Ghosh, it is deeply disgusting and reminiscent.

British journalist Thomas de Waal, in turn, noted that this is really depressing, while investigative journalist Lindsey Snell said that this kind of debauchery is encouraged and celebrated at the state level.

In the meantime, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has not ruled out the possibility of signing a peace agreement with Armenia.

His remarks came at a conference in Baku.

"Ilham Aliyev believes that the situation in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh [(Artsakh)] remains fragile after the end of the military actions. The post-war situation remains fragile. The ceasefire is maintained, but despite that, we still have many questions related to the post-war development," Minval.az reports referring to Aliyev.

Canada has canceled permits to export weapons and technology to Turkey after Canadian authorities received evidence of their use in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh ([Artsakh]) conflict.

According to a statement issued Monday by Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau, the use of weapons in Artsakh 'was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey.'

On Monday, parents of Armenian prisoners of war and missing servicemen met with Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

The relatives on Monday gathered in front of the government building with the demand for a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. After waiting for a short while, the PM finally met with them.

However, following the meeting, they commented on the talks with dissatisfaction.

According to one of the parents, some relatives were still inside the government building.

They noted that parents will remain in the government building until they receive clear answers to their questions.

However, later the National Security Service head met the relatives in the government and told them that they will be met by the PM in groups.

Vaccinations against COVID-19 are getting underway Tuesday at the polyclinics of Yerevan.

Armenia has recently acquired AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines, with 24,000 and 15,000 batches, respectively.

The country has reported a total of 204,053 COVID-19 cases, while the death toll is 3,775.

Hraparak daily based in Yerevan reported that Moscow has refused to receive the delegation led by Armenian Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan was to visit Moscow on Tuesday and on Wednesday to attend a meeting of the Council of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly.

The business trip to St. Petersburg is in force, however, the Russian side has canceled Mirzoyan's reception in Moscow.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) expects first-quarter oil production to average approximately 152 MBopd and first quarter natural gas production to average approximately 935 MMcfpd. The company noted that February 2021 weather adversely impacted first quarter total production by approximately 6 MBoepd. The company's preliminary production guidance for second quarter is 160 to 165 MBopd and 920 to 940 MMcfpd. The company is on track to meet or exceed its annual production guidance for the year of 160 to 165 MBopd and 880 to 920 MMcfpd. As of March 31, 2021, the company has reduced its total debt to $4.97 billion, with a cash balance of $96 million, equating to net debt of $4.88 billion. Continental Resources plans to announce first quarter results on April 28, 2021 after the close of trading. 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.
BUDAPEST, Hungary, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Between the 10-13th April 2021, during the 29th Annual Meeting of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA)  which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation  new analysis of cariprazine studies with patients experiencing acute or predominant negative symptoms (PNS) of schizophrenia was presented by Gedeon Richter Plc. According to the scientific posters, cariprazine significantly improved patient engagement in individuals suffering from PNS compared to risperidone, and the co-administration of cariprazine with other antipsychotic medications did not show an unexpected safety profile nor overlapping toxicities. It was also shown that cariprazine was well-tolerated in the early stage of the illness (first five years) and the discontinuation rates due to unbearable side effects were also low.

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder comprising positive, negative, and affective symptoms, as well as cognitive impairment. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population; an estimated 5 million people struggle with this disorder in the EU. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia affect up to 60% of patients and have a significant impact on their daily functioning. Antipsychotics have been proven to be an effective treatment of positive symptoms, nonetheless the management of negative symptoms remains a considerable clinical challenge.

Based on evidence from a double-blind clinical trial, cariprazine has been proven to significantly improve engagement, defined as the patient's desire and capability to re-engage with life, in individuals with PNS compared to risperidone based on the post-hoc analysis of 11 items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-11). The improvement (in favor of cariprazine) was statistically significant from week 14 onwards. In addition, greater change from baseline was showed in almost all investigated PANSS items compared to risperidone. The importance of these results  highlighted in one of our scientific posters  is that cariprazine can not only alleviate symptoms and improve everyday functioning of PNS patients, but also has a positive impact on their engagement with their life and treatment, which is undeniably one of the most important issues for patients and their caregivers too.

The tolerability and safety of antipsychotics is also an important question, especially when it comes to polypharmacy, the administration of two or more medications at the same time. Although recommendations favor antipsychotic monotherapy for schizophrenia, polypharmacy is common in everyday clinical practice. This especially true in the case of switching medications, where during the cross-titration phase, the patient receives two or even more drugs for a certain amount of time, hence increasing the chance of experiencing side effects. Based on the results of the post-hoc analysis of a randomized, double blind, parallel group, active controlled study in adult patients with PNS, the co-administration of cariprazine with other antipsychotic medications did not show an unexpected safety profile, nor overlapping toxicities. Given the fact that during the treatment of the disorder switching of medication is fairly common, this can be considered as a great advantage for cariprazine.

Early discontinuation of antipsychotic medication due to intolerable side effects is one of the most common causes of relapse. As each relapse significantly decreases the possibility of preferable long-term outcomes, relapse prevention represents an important clinical target in the early stage of schizophrenia. The third scientific poster of Gedeon Richter shown at EPA 2021 Virtual concentrated on this issue by analyzing and pooling 4 phase II/III double blind placebo-controlled trials post-hoc. According to the results, cariprazine was well tolerated in the early stage of schizophrenia, and discontinuation rates due to unbearable side effects were low. Relapse occurred in only a low percentage of patients. Weight gain and sexual problems, two of the most important side effects for patients in the early stage of schizophrenia, affected less than 2% of patients who took cariprazine.

About Cariprazine

Cariprazine, a potent dopamine D3/D2 receptor partial agonist with preferential binding to D3 receptors, is approved in the EU for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults under the brand name Reagila and in the US for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic, mixed or depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder under the Brand Name Vraylar. In addition, cariprazine is being investigated as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder in adults. Cariprazine is protected by a composition-of-matter patent that expires in 2029. Cariprazine was discovered by Gedeon Richter Plc. and is licensed to Allergan (AbbVie) in America and to Recordati SpA in Western European Countries.

About Richter

Gedeon Richter Plc. (www.gedeonrichter.com), headquartered in Budapest/Hungary, is a major pharmaceutical company in Central Eastern Europe, with an expanding direct presence in Western Europe, in China and in Latin America. Having reached a market capitalization of EUR 3.8 billion (USD 4.5 billion) by the end of 2020, Richter's consolidated sales were approximately EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.8 billion) during the same year. The product portfolio of Richter covers many important therapeutic areas, including Women's Healthcare, Central Nervous System and Cardiovascular areas. Having the largest R&D unit in Central Eastern Europe, Richter's original research activity focuses on CNS disorders. With its widely acknowledged steroid chemistry expertise, Richter is a significant player in the Women's Healthcare field worldwide. Richter is also active in biosimilar product development.

About Recordati

Recordati, established in 1926, is an international pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003828271), with a total staff of more than 4,300, dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Recordati has operations in Europe, Russia and the other C.I.S. countries, Ukraine, Turkey, North Africa, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, some South American countries, Japan and Australia. An efficient field force of medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, both proprietary and under license, in several therapeutic areas including a specialized business dedicated to treatments for rare diseases. Recordati is a partner of choice for new product licenses for its territories. Recordati is committed to the research and development of new specialties with a focus on treatments for rare diseases. Consolidated revenue for 2020 was  1,448.9 million.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/872464/Gedeon_Richter_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Gedeon Richter Plc.
KALAMAZOO, MI  The Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department is halting plans for all upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinics, the agency announced Tuesday, April. 13.

The move was made in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, to review relevant data concerning cases of extremely rare but serious blood clots in those who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the health department said.

The health department will work to reschedule Johnson & Johnson vaccine clinic appointments to instead provide those patients with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines that are still in use.

Related: Feds recommend pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine following reports of severe reaction

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States. The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

In Kalamazoo County 4,015 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered with no reported cases of blood-clotting, the local health department said.

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday, April 14, to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, Kalamazoo Countys health department will be following the recommended pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution, the agency said.

The adverse events appear to be extremely rare at this time, the health department said.

We take this recent development very seriously and we will continue to review the data and follow the recommendations given by our state and federal partners regarding vaccine management and distribution, said Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department Health Officer Jim Rutherford.

Vaccines remain as the best defense against COVID-19 which has taken more than 550,000 lives nationally, Rutherford said.

Individuals with postponed appointments will be contacted and rescheduled as soon as possible, the health department said.

People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider. Health care providers are asked to report adverse events to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System at https://vaers.hhs.gov/reportevent.html.

Important points:

The most up-to-date information is at www.kalcounty.com/covid19 and www.facebook.com/KalamazooCountyHCS . The health department will notify the public via press releases, social media and website updates as information changes.

If you schedule an appointment but find another option or cannot make it, please remember to cancel your appointment so someone else can schedule. You may cancel through the appointment reminder email you received from the health departments scheduling system or by calling the health departments COVID-19 Call Center at 269-373-5200.

Vaccination is by appointment only. Do NOT show up at the health department or any vaccination site without an appointment.

Kalamazoo County Governments website can be converted to Spanish, Arabic and French. On any county website, in the top right-hand corner under the social media icons, you will see Translate. Click on this and select the language you wish to translate the page to. The pre-registration waitlist form will also translate to this language.

Please reserve phone calls for those who cannot easily access online information. The health departments COVID-19 Call Center is 269-373-5200.

Read more:

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Mike Pence launches new conservative organization to advance Trump-era policies

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Former Vice President Mike Pence has created a conservative advocacy group to advance policies that were championed during the Trump administration.

Known as Advancing American Freedom, the launch of the conservative policy group was announced last week, with Pence explaining in a statement that its goal is to build on the success of the last four years by promoting traditional Conservative values and promoting the successful policies of the Trump Administration.

Conservatives will not stand idly by as the radical Left and the new administration attempt to threaten Americas standing as the greatest Nation in the world with their destructive policies, stated Pence in the announcement.

Advancing American Freedom will engage in policy discussions and issue advocacy at both the state and federal level by proposing conservative policy solutions. Among many policy focuses, the group will try to "stop taxpayer dollars from funding abortions domestically and globally" and "defend religious liberty, including the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, teachers, and religious charities."

The announcement also listed the Advancing American Freedom Advisory Board members, which comprises several leading conservative activists and public figures.

Advisory board members include former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress, former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, former Heritage Foundation President Kay James, former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, and Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, among others.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Dannenfelser, who heads one of the nation's leading grassroots pro-life organizations, explained that she has known Pence and his team for many years and has worked alongside them to advance pro-life policy efforts.

Ive known Mike Pence and his team for many, many, many years. So, I think its a natural extension of our friendship and our partnership and the fact that I really believe in him, said Dannenfelser. He invited me to be on the advisory board, and I said yes.

Dannenfelser spoke positively of Pence, saying he makes this organization what it is and has a strong adherence to principle and ability to lead in what she called a moment for the pro-life movement.

She told CP that she believes Pence can be an important factor for helping to support pro-life legislation, especially at the state level, and aid in having Republicans take back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.

This is a larger moment for the pro-life movement. And for him to lead at this moment is particularly important, and it is a watershed because of the complete transformation of the federal judiciary, she continued.

All of those [state-level pro-life] bills will require articulation, they require advocacy, and then the people who are the governors, who are signing those bills, the legislators that are advancing those bills, the people running for Congress later need an advocate that has a high profile, [an] articulate advocate like Mike Pence.

Although Pence wants to build upon the Trump administration's policies, former President Donald Trump recently criticized his vice president at a fundraiser event in Florida.

At the invitation-only speech held Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump reportedly told Republican donors that he was disappointed in Pence. Trump also attacked U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
At least 28 people in 12 states  including New Jersey  have gotten sick after eating certain brands of ground turkey, federal heath officials said.

Two of the 28 had to be hospitalized when they came down with salmonellosis, the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service said Monday.

Officials issued a public health alert, but didnt recall the possibly tainted meat because the products are no longer available for purchase.

Anyone who has the following ground turkey made by Plainville Brands in their freezers should throw it out:

1 pound packages of Natures Promise Free from 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 1, Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

1 pound packages of Wegman 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

3 pound packages of Wegman 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

1-lb. packages of Plainville Farms ground white turkey 93% | 7% fat with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

The packages have the establishment number P-244 inside the U.S. Department of Agricultures mark of inspection. They were made on December 18-29, 2020 and sold across the country with about 211,406 pounds produced.

In addition to two people who fell ill in New Jersey, there were seven sicknesses in Massachusetts and four apiece in New York and Pennsylvania. Three people were sickened in North Carolina, two in Virginia and one apiece in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, Indiana, Missouri and Arizona.

Salmonellosis usually causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within six hours to six days after eating the contaminated product. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Most people recover without treatment.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ.

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The long-time suspect in the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart has been charged with her murder less than a month after investigators used ground penetrating radar to search his family home.

Paul Flores, 44 - Smart's classmate and the last person she was seen with before she vanished in 1996 from the Cal Poly University campus - was taken into custody with no bail in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday.

His father, Ruben Flores, 80, was also arrested as an accessory around the same time at his Arroyo Grande home. His bail was set at $250,000.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a press conference Tuesday that search warrants were sealed and so he could not disclose what evidence led to the arrests, but he said Smart's remains were not found.

Sheriff Parkinson said: 'In late 2016, we discovered additional evidence that confirmed Paul was the suspect in the disappearance.'

Police recovered 193 items, including 'physical evidence', following searches of 60 different locations since 2011 including the suspects' homes. They were also able to monitor Paul's cell phone and text messages thanks to a recent court order.

Parkinson told reporters Tuesday that 'forensic physical evidence was located, and yes we believe it is linked to Kristin, and yes we did find physical evidence at, at least two homes'.

He added : 'I am confident we have enough of a case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt...I believe we will find Kristin.'

Parkinson also noted that many of those interviewed since 2019 came to light thanks to true crime podcast Your Own Backyard, which renewed interest in the case.

Scroll down for video

Paul Flores, now 44, was taken into custody on Tuesday in San Pedro, California

Paul Flores, the long-time suspect in the 1996 disappearance of California college student Kristin Smart, was arrested on Tuesday in San Pedro, California

Following the press conference a spokesperson for the Smart family issued a statement calling it a 'bittersweet day'.

They added: 'It is impossible to put into words what this day means for our family; we pray it is the first step to bringing our daughter home.

'While Kristin's loving spirit will always live in our hearts, our life without her hugs, laughs and smiles is a heartache that never abates.

'The knowledge that a father and son, despite our desperate pleas for help, could have withheld this horrible secret for nearly 25 years, denying us the chance to lay our daughter to rest, is an unrelenting and unforgiving pain.'

The younger Flores, who has long been a suspect in Smart's 1996 disappearance, was a former classmate and the last known person to see Smart the night she vanished.

Paul Flores, 44 -(left in his booking photo) and his father, Ruben Flores, 80, (right in his booking photo) were arrested in connection with Kristin Smart's 1996 disappearance

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson said at a press conference Tuesday that search warrants were sealed and so he could not disclose what evidence led to the arrests, but he said Smart's remains were not found

Smart was last seen in the early hours of May 15, 1996 when she returned to her dorm after a party near the California Polytechnic State University campus.

But she was not reported officially missing until three days later after friends believed she had gone camping.

Sheriff Parkinson said Tuesday: 'There were some mistakes made early on that made it much more difficult.'

The sheriff's office had said as recently as last month that Flores is still 'prime suspect' in Smart's disappearance.

Parkinson said Tuesday: 'Throughout our investigation Paul Flores has remained a person of significant interest, as the case progressed became a suspect and the prime suspect in the case.'

Flores has previously invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not answer questions before a grand jury and in a deposition for a lawsuit that was brought against him in relation to the investigation.

The arrests come less than a month after officers conducted a search warrant at the Flores' family home. Investigators brought in ground penetrating radar equipment and cadaver dogs to search the home on March 15.

They served another search warrant on Tuesday at Ruben Flores' home. Investigators appeared to be disassembling a deck outside the home and the sound of power saws and drills could be heard whining in the background.

The arrests come less than a month after officers conducted a search warrant at the Flores' family home (above) during which they used ground penetrating radar equipment and cadaver dogs

Investigators brought in ground penetrating radar equipment and cadaver dogs to search the home on March 15

They served another search warrant on Tuesday at Ruben Flores' home. Investigators appeared to be disassembling a deck outside the home and the sound of power saws and drills could be heard whining in the background

Various search efforts have been carried out over the years, including the excavation of three different hillside locations near the campus in 2016 (pictured above)

Authorities also carried out several search warrants last year in both California and Washington.

Two trucks belonging to the Flores family were seized as evidence at the time.

The younger Flores, who has long been a suspect in Smart's 1996 disappearance, was a former classmate and the last known person to see Smart the night she vanished. He has never been charged over her disappearance

Investigators have long said that Flores was the last person to see Smart alive.

He told police at the time that he walked Smart back from the party but parted ways with her about a block from her dorm.

She was reported missing two days later by a friend but a search didn't begin until days later due to the miscommunication between authorities.

During the investigation, four different search dogs trained to pick up the smell of human remains led police to Flores' dorm room.

No evidence was found in Flores' room.

Smart was officially declared dead in 2002 but her body has never been found.

Various search efforts have been carried out over the years, including the excavation of three different hillside locations near the campus in 2016.

At the time, an investigator said a lead strongly suggested her remains might be buried near a large concrete letter 'P' that is the school's landmark.

The search ended with no trace of Smart's remains.

Smart was officially declared dead in 2002 but her body has never been found
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, has paid a courtesy call on the Minister for Construction, Housing and Urban Planning of Cote d'Ivoire, Mr Bruno Nabagne Kone, in Abidjan.

The visit was aimed at deepening the ties of co-operation between the two countries in the housing sector, especially with regard to providing affordable housing.



Speaking at the meeting, Mr Asenso-Boakye said the government of Ghana was exploring all suitable options to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for the Ghanaian people.



Cooperation



He noted that bilateral relations between the two countries had been deepened under the leadership of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Ivorian counterpart, President Alassane Ouattara, resulting in increased co-operation in the sectors of agriculture, maritime and energy.



Our cooperation in the cocoa sector has resulted in the agreement of a common base price for our cocoa to cushion farmers in both countries, Mr Asenso-Boakye said.



AfCTA



On the AfCTA, Mr Asenso-Boakye said it was imperative that both countries took advantage of the strategic framework to effectively drive their industrialisation.



Diplomatic ties



For his part, Mr Kone commended the Ghanaian delegation for the courtesy call and was hopeful that both countries would capitalise on the close ties between them to share ideas and best practices in the housing and construction industries.



Tour



As part of the visit, the Ghanaian team toured various affordable housing projects in Cote dIvoire. Mr Asenso-Boakye later expressed his gratitude for the warm reception accorded him and his team during their visit.



The Works and Housing Minister was accompanied on the visit by officials from the ministry and the State Housing Company.





Source: graphiconline.com









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Imagine the terror they felt, said Rithy Panh, an award-winning Cambodian documentary filmmaker whose relatives died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. When the Khmer Rouge photographers took off their blindfolds, the first thing the victims saw was the camera and sometimes the flash of the flashbulb. That is the first act of the killing. From that moment on they were only numbers.

In an interview before he died in 2011, Vann Nath, one of the few survivors of Tuol Sleng, said many of the victims had been starved for a week or beaten before the pictures were taken. Many had never seen a camera before. These expressions that people empathize with are just pure shock from the flash, he said.

When journalists and art critics write about the photographs, they tend to focus on the victims expression as an indictment of Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, said Mr. Vann Nath. But this is all in their imagination, he said. They have no clue.

Many of the photographs were taken by Nhem En, a village boy who was chosen at the age of 15 to be an official photographer at Tuol Sleng. He was sent to China to learn photographic techniques and many of his pictures are technically beautiful.

After the Khmer Rouge were driven from power by a Vietnamese invasion, the pictures lay moldering and unattended in drawers inside the prison until 1993. That year, two young photographers, Chris Riley and Douglas Niven, cleaned and archived 6,000 negatives in return for the right to publish 100 of them in a book called The Killing Fields.

Although the photographs were intended as identification mug shots to be attached to the biographies of the prisoners, they have since been presented in different guises, as historical artifacts, as legal evidence and as art.
A proposed California law that would have eliminated most oil extraction in the state died Tuesday after failing to clear its first legislative hurdle.

SB467 would have banned the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, otherwise known as fracking, along with some other more common ways of removing fossil fuels from the ground. The bill fell one vote short of passing the state Senates Natural Resources and Water Committee.

Had it become law, SB467 would have been one of Californias most aggressive measures yet to combat climate change, and it won support from a wide range of environmental organizations and climate advocates.

But the bill also faced huge resistance from organized labor and multiple lawmakers who expressed deep concerns about the bills impact on thousands of jobs and economic activity in the states petroleum industry. California is the nations seventh-largest producer of crude oil.

Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and and Sen. Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara, who carried the bill, said in a joint statement that they were extremely disappointed by the committee vote. They also said they were inspired by those who supported their efforts by standing up for the basic but important notions that California should lead on climate action and that permitting massive, destructive oil drilling isnt consistent with being a climate leader.

While we saw this effort defeated today, this issue isnt going away, Wiener and Limon said in their statement. Well continue to fight for aggressive climate action, against harmful drilling and for the health of our communities.

Gov. Gavin Newsom last year called on the Legislature to halt fracking, which accounts for about 2% of the states oil production, according to the Department of Conservation. But SB467 would have gone much further by also eliminating some other techniques that use water, steam or acid to extract fossil fuels. The bill would have also required that oil and gas wells be kept 2,500 feet away from homes, schools and other public places.

Industry leaders said the provisions in their entirety would have banned as much as 97% of Californias oil production and forced the state to rely even more on out-of-state imports.

Our blue-collar workers cant afford this now, Rudy Gonzalez, executive director of the San Francisco Labor Council, said at the hearing. He also rebuffed the bills attempt to steer oil extraction workers into jobs fixing abandoned wells, lamenting that the provision was merely relegating us to cleanup work.

While skeptical of the industrys data, Wiener tried to address some of the concerns by agreeing to extend the timeline of SB467, preserving his desire to halt fracking permits next year while allowing some other extraction methods to be employed as late as 2035.

The changes were not enough to persuade critical or hesitant lawmakers. SB467 needed five votes to pass but secured only four. Republican Sens. Brian Jones of Santee and Shannon Grove of Bakersfield voted against the bill, as did Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton. Democratic Sens. Ben Hueso of San Diego and Bob Hertzberg of Van Nuys abstained.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
Prestigious, brilliant and dedicated were only a few of the many positive words used to describe the late Dr. Francisco M. Marty of Brigham and Womens Hospital.

Former mentees, colleagues and loved ones of the Boston doctor and Venezuelan native took to social media to share their experiences with Marty, whose death was reported by the Dominican newspaper Listin Diario and confirmed by his brother over Twitter.

Today, in the city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, my older brother Francisco Miguel Marty Forero died due to an accident, a prestigious Venezuelan infectious disease doctor, Rafael Marty said in a message written in Spanish. PEACE TO YOUR SOUL

Hoy en la ciudad de Santo Domingo, Republica Dominicana, murio mi hermano mayor Francisco Miguel Marty Forero por un accidente, prestigioso medico venezolano infectologo, PAZ A SU ALMA pic.twitter.com/D9x5LYjAGJ  Rafael Marty (@rafaelmarty) April 9, 2021

Francisco Marty died at age 53 after tragically falling to his death while taking photographs near Salto de Aguas Blancas, a 272-foot waterfall in the community of Constanza in the Dominican Republic, Listin Diario reported last week.

He was a 1993 graduate of the Jose Maria Vargas School of Medicine at Universidad Central de Venezuela. An associate physician at Brigham and Womens and professor at Harvard Medical School, Marty specialized in the treatment of infectious diseases affecting transplant and cancer patients. In a statement, the hospital called him a gifted and devoted physician-scientist.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Marty was also a near-constant presence in Brigham and Womens Special Pathogens Units, caring for vulnerable patients with compassion, warmth and meticulous attention to detail, according to the hospital.

Notably, last year, Marty was the principal investigator for clinical trials that looked at the use of remdesivir, an antiviral medication, for COVID-19 patients. The trials were among several studies that led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand its emergency use authorization for the drug to treat all hospitalized patients with the viral respiratory infection, the hospital noted.

Our hearts go out to Dr. Martys family, friends and colleagues during this extraordinarily difficult time, Brigham and Womens said.

Along with working at Brigham and Womens, Marty also worked at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. According to Dr. Laurie Glimcher, president and CEO of the cancer treatment and research institution, staff there are shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of their friend and colleague.

He was devoted to his patients and a mentor to many, the Dana-Farber president wrote. We will miss him dearly.

All of us at @DanaFarber are shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of our friend and colleague, Dr. Francisco Marty. He was devoted to his patients and a mentor to many. Our hearts are with his family, friends, colleagues, and patients. We will miss him dearly.  Laurie Glimcher MD (@LGlimcherMD) April 9, 2021

The Boston doctor wasnt just a skilled physician, though. He was also a talented photographer, posting close to 400 pictures to his Instagram account of a variety of images, among them sunsets, oceans and cityscapes, some as close by as Ogunquit, Maine, others as far away as Chennai, India.

One photograph dated Dec. 18 showed Marty getting vaccinated for coronavirus. In the caption for the post, he wrote, A small #jab for each one, a giant shot for #humanity! The doctor noted he was thinking about his parents and all his family as well as everyone in the United States and elsewhere who were waiting to receive their vaccine.

We need to show this is the way forward for all to control [COVID-19], he said.

Dr. Fatima Al Dhaheri, an infectious disease specialist at Boston Childrens Hospital, described Marty as someone who was more than a mentor to her. Shes said shes still processing his death and cant find the words to describe what he meant to her or her family, who got to know him when he visited her hometown of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

During that visit, Al Dhaheri translated a conversation her father had with Marty at the dinner table. At the end of the conversation, her father said he didnt know Marty before the meal, but felt like he knew him for a long time, noting the doctor had a good soul.

Its an honor to sit with and learn from someone so knowledgeable, Al Dhaheris father said about Marty, she recalled.

On the passing of Francisco Marty. Someone who was more than a mentor to me



A photo I took of Francisco at the highest summit in my Hometown of AlAin, UAEtaking a picture of the sunset



I know wherever he is, he is taking a photo of another sunset, only more beautiful pic.twitter.com/2xAqHiqQGB  Fatima Al Dhaheri, MD   (@FatimaAlDee) April 11, 2021

According to Al Dhaheri, Marty replied saying he was the student during the dinner, learning from her father about lessons greater than those found in academics: lessons in life.

That was Franciscos effect on people. Even after one meeting. His passion, humility and love for what he does was palpable, that it inspired you to do better, Al Dhaheri said. And be better.

Alongside her kind words for her former mentor, Al Dhaheri also posted a photo she took of Marty at the highest summit in her hometown. The picture was taken at sunset.

I know wherever he is, he is taking a photo of another sunset, only more beautiful, she wrote.

Dr. Anne Marie Darling, an epidemiologist, said she worked as an RA for Marty many years ago and was deeply saddened by the news of his death.

He was brilliant, dedicated ID doc and researcher who brightened everyones days with his kindness and humor, she wrote over Twitter. What a devastating loss to the world when it needed him most.
michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Today, the decision-making process that led the U.S. government to suspend the use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, how long it may last and the impact it could have. I spoke with my colleague, science reporter Carl Zimmer. Its Thursday, April 15th. Carl, walk us through how this very big decision was reached to pause vaccinations with Johnson & Johnsons vaccine in the U.S. Where does that story start?

carl zimmer

The story starts in Europe with another vaccine, one thats made by AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca is going into widespread use in Europe. Its not yet authorized in the United States. And after a while, the European regulators notice a few rare cases of blood clots, which start to get them concerned. And so they begin to investigate whether that has anything to do with the vaccine.

michael barbaro

With the AstraZeneca vaccine. Got it.

carl zimmer

So blood clots are a surprisingly common thing. Thousands of people get blood clots every day. So just because people who get vaccinated get a blood clot, that doesnt really tell you anything in particular about whether the vaccine is dangerous. You have to take a closer look. And when European regulators took a closer look at people getting vaccinated, they noticed that there was a small amount of people who were all getting the same unusual kind of blood clot. They were taking place in the brain, and they were associated with very low levels of something called platelets.

michael barbaro

And what are platelets?

carl zimmer

Platelets are a component of the clotting process in our bloodstream. So when we get little wounds in our blood vessels, platelets jump into the wound and basically create a little patch. And that allows us to heal. So thats good. Whats bad is when the platelets start to form a big clot, which can then break loose and go around in our bloodstream and end up in dangerous places, like in our brains.

michael barbaro

Got it.

carl zimmer

And so what puzzled and concerned European regulators is that you had this very strange condition where you had a combination of these particular kinds of clots with low platelets. So they thought, maybe were looking at a rare but distinct and serious condition. Now, its not clear why, in these people, theyre getting brain clots along with low platelets. One idea is that all the platelets in the blood are going into these clots, and so their level of platelets is going down. This is a hypothesis thats coming out of the first studies of people who have gotten vaccinated with AstraZeneca and have developed these peculiar blood clots with the low platelets.

michael barbaro

OK, so how do we get to Johnson & Johnson?

carl zimmer

European regulators start to wonder if they could get some clues to whats happening with AstraZeneca by looking at the Johnson & Johnson vaccine because its similar, in some ways, to AstraZeneca. They use the same basic technology, unlike Moderna and Pfizer. So last week, they start to look at data from the United States. Now, at first, there isnt a lot of data that really points to something similar happening with Johnson & Johnson, but over the weekend, that changed. By the weekend, the C.D.C. and the F.D.A. have gotten six reports that are very similar to what European regulators were seeing with AstraZeneca, people who have suffered from this distinctive brain clot combined with low platelets. Six people out of seven million or so who have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, thats tiny. But its a pretty unusual combination. Also, all of those six people were women, and one of those women actually died of her blood clot. And so that started to set off alarms in the government that maybe we need to stop and take a close look at whats happening.

michael barbaro

OK, and so how do U.S. regulators, who have been watching, Im sure, what was happening in Europe with AstraZeneca, how do they start to think about how to respond to this very small  six  number of cases of blood clots in people who have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

carl zimmer

Once these six cases had come to light, government officials got together and talked about what their options were. And basically, it came down to two. On the one hand, they could issue a warning. In other words, they could let doctors know that they had seen this incredibly rare but very serious condition, and just have doctors be aware that this is an issue, and maybe keep an eye out for it. Or they could recommend a pause on vaccination. In other words, they would recommend that doctors and vaccination centers and so on stop for now giving out the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while they investigated it further.

michael barbaro

Wow. Those are very different options. I mean, one is essentially send the medical world a memo saying heads up. The other is far more significant. Its stopping temporarily the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which of course would be very disruptive. So what factors are influencing how they are considering these two options?

carl zimmer

One important factor is that they were wondering how many more cases out there ar ethere. So they knew of six, but maybe there were more that people just hadnt reported yet.

michael barbaro

Right.

carl zimmer

And so if they just give a quiet little warning, people might not pay attention to it. But if they say, hey folks, were taking this seriously, that might spur doctors and patients and so on to get in touch and say, hey, guess what, Ive seen the same thing, or Ive experienced the same thing. Its also of concern because theres some indication that some of the standard way to treat a blood clot, with a drug called heparin, might actually be bad for this particular condition. So you really want to make sure that people are aware that there is a potential risk of just treating a blood clot like any other blood clot.

michael barbaro

Thats interesting. So these regulators are not just worried about the danger of these blood clots, but also about the danger of potentially mistreating them.

carl zimmer

Theyre concerned that this might be a risk. You know, again, they have to figure out whats going on. You know, they really have to figure out if this is even a cause and effect that theyre looking at. But these kinds of concerns shifts the government officials away from just sending out a warning to actually going for a pause.

michael barbaro

Right. And of course, a pause is what the regulators decide on. So how do they describe that decision to the American public?

archived recording Thank you. And thank you all for joining us.

carl zimmer

Tuesday morning, there is a press conference.

archived recording This morning, the F.D.A. and C.D.C. announced that, out of an abundance of caution, were recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. With the acting director of the Food and Drug Administration, Janet Woodcock, and other officials. These events appear to be extremely rare.

carl zimmer

And they present the data.

archived recording One case was fatal, and one patient is in critical condition. Right now, these events appear to be extremely rare. That said, COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government.

carl zimmer

Said that this is very, very rare, but on the other hand, its serious enough that they have to investigate it.

archived recording We are committed to an expeditious review of the available information.

carl zimmer

And expected that this investigation might take only a few days.

archived recording The time frame will depend, obviously, on what we learn in the next few days.

carl zimmer

And during those few days, they recommended that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be paused.

archived recording This concludes todays media briefing.

michael barbaro

And Carl, you just used an important word, recommended. This is federal guidance. It is not a mandate. So what is the immediate response to U.S. health regulators giving the recommendation that the Johnson & Johnson vaccinations be paused?

carl zimmer

The effect is really swift.

archived recording The F.D.A. and the C.D.C. has announced that they are now recommending a pause. Walgreens, CVS and Kroger among the national pharmacies that also will pause using J&J as well.

carl zimmer

Walgreens and CVS both quickly say that theyre going to pause using Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

archived recording You might as well view it as a pause nationwide.

carl zimmer

A number of states do the same thing.

archived recording Signs now flash this message outside the federally supported vaccine site  no J&J here.

carl zimmer

Theres a huge wave of cancelations of appointments to get vaccinated.

archived recording Its so rare, the side effects, that I really wasnt worried about it.

carl zimmer

There are mobile vaccination clinics that are just canceled in different cities.

archived recording Im just disappointed theres no shot at all. So Im definitely disappointed.

carl zimmer

So this has gigantic effects immediately. And by the end of Tuesday, Johnson & Johnson vaccination across the United States has pretty much ground to a halt.

michael barbaro

Right. And in a sense, what that tells us is that the pause worked. Right? I mean, pharmacies and states do exactly what the C.D.C. and the F.D.A. have guided them to do.

carl zimmer

Yes. So the pause is happening in exactly the way that government officials had hoped for, but that doesnt mean that there arent some concerns about what the long-term effects could be of this pause.

[music]

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Carl, once this pause is in effect, it raises tons of questions. So lets spin through those questions. The first is, what will be the consequence of the pause on the U.S. vaccination campaign, on the deadlines and the schedule for returning to normalcy?

carl zimmer

Johnson & Johnson has been a crucial component of the Biden administrations plans for getting the United States back to normal. They were supposed to be delivering 100 million doses by the end of May.

michael barbaro

Wow.

carl zimmer

And theyve already been having some problems with manufacturing their vaccines, and had to essentially throw out 50 million doses. So now, even pausing for a few days can throw that plan into even further uncertainty.

michael barbaro

Right. So on a logistical, scheduling level, this is a meaningfully big deal.

carl zimmer

Its a big deal, especially in parts of the country where the other two vaccines, by Moderna and Pfizer, are not so easy to give out.

michael barbaro

And what kinds of places would those be?

carl zimmer

Well, Moderna and Pfizers vaccines both need to be frozen.

michael barbaro

Right.

carl zimmer

Johnson & Johnsons is a lot easier to use. You just throw it in the fridge. And so you can have these mobile clinics driving around with them. You can bring them to rural areas, where they dont have the facilities for keeping frozen vaccines. I mean, you can do things with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that you just couldnt do with the other vaccines. So for example, there are people who cant get to a clinic. Theyre homebound. And so if youre going to send out public health workers to get to them with the vaccine, you dont want them to have to be lugging around big freezers. Its really easy, relatively speaking, to send them out with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, going to peoples homes and vaccinate them. And do it once, and then youre done. And it also had the advantage of just being one shot. And so a lot of people just really liked the prospect of getting just one dose, as opposed to two with Moderna and Pfizer. So there were going to be a sizable number of people who were going to really benefit from having this option of Johnson & Johnson. And now, for the next few days at least, thats not an option.

michael barbaro

Carl, what about hesitancy? What might this pause do to and for a U.S. public that already showed signs in some demographics, in particular, of being skeptical of COVID vaccines, despite data, as weve talked to you about many times, that shows how historically safe and effective all three of these vaccines are?

carl zimmer

Well, if people just hear a few words, they might get concerned. They might hear vaccine, blood clot, oh my gosh, thats bad.

michael barbaro

Right.

carl zimmer

So really, were going to have to see how well the U.S. government handles the messaging of what theyre doing in the days to follow, because whats crucial for people to understand is that, first of all, this is so far an incredibly rare condition. If you look at 7 million people who have gotten this vaccine so far in the United States, and we only know of six cases of this particular condition, you know, that means that 99.999999% of people who got the vaccine didnt get that condition.

michael barbaro

Right.

carl zimmer

So if youre thinking about your odds, well, your odds of getting COVID are way higher right now, and the risks you face from COVID of ending up in the ICU and potentially dying are also, by comparison, incredibly high. So this is going to be the kind of information that public health officials are going to have to get out, and get out clearly, in the days to follow.

michael barbaro

What youre describing is essentially a messaging battle for the government, how easily can it communicate safety and the rarity of these blood clots. Do you have any sense yet, based on your reporting, of how the government is thinking of approaching the question of communicating that?

carl zimmer

I think that the theme that the government is hammering on over and over again is that this is how government regulators keep us safe, that they are keeping a very careful eye on these new vaccines, and at even the slightest suggestion of a problem, theyre are going to take it very seriously and look very closely at it. Thats the message.

michael barbaro

Carl, so far we have been talking about the domestic impacts of this decision on Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, but every vaccine maker is attempting to put doses into arms across the world. So is the U.S. government. We all want as many people to be vaccinated as possible in every country. So how, if at all, does this pause impact people outside the U.S.?

carl zimmer

The ramifications of these findings are pretty big right now. Johnson & Johnson was in the process of seeking authorization in Europe for their vaccine. Theyre putting that on pause for now. There were such concerns in Australia that they decided that theyre not going to buy Johnson & Johnson vaccines at all.

michael barbaro

Wow. Thats a very big deal.

carl zimmer

It is. Johnson & Johnson had promised half a billion doses to an effort called COVAX to get vaccines to lots of countries that might not be able to afford to get them on their own. This development throws that into question. Its not clear what COVAX is going to do about this. South Africa had been planning on using AstraZeneca to treat their health care workers. Then it turned out that AstraZeneca might not be effective against their particular variant of COVID, and so they said thats OK, well use Johnson & Johnson. Well, theyre probably not going to use Johnson & Johnson for now. So this is having impacts across the world.

michael barbaro

So given just how high the stakes are, here and globally, for resuming J&J vaccinations, do you have any sense of how long this pause may last?

carl zimmer

If it follows the example of what happened in Europe with AstraZeneca, I think this will be resolved in a few days. I think whats happening now is that the F.D.A. and the C.D.C. are taking in new reports that might or might not represent more of these cases of these peculiar blood clots, and then theyre going to look at the data and figure out, well, what do we do next? Is this as significant a risk that we need to adjust how we give the vaccines out? One possibility is that they might restrict who gets the vaccine, simply to minimize risk. So far, the six cases are in women between 18 and 48. Does that mean that this vaccine represents a very small, but significant risk specifically for women? We dont know yet. It could be that a bunch of cases involving men might come in today and tomorrow and in the next few days. Well see. But you could imagine decisions based on age or on sex or other things that might come out in the next few days.

michael barbaro

Interesting. So this could result in an unpausing of the vaccine pretty quickly, but one where there are now restrictions and different guidelines about who can get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S..

carl zimmer

Yes. And what people have to recognize is that pauses happen all the time in the world of vaccines and drug development. Theres a huge amount of attention on this particular pause because were in a pandemic, right? But you just have to bear in mind that pauses happen, and they happen a lot. And then generally what happens is that the pause ends and things go forward.

michael barbaro

That said, Carl, if youve just gotten the J&J vaccine, this pause period is one where youre craving information. And I wonder what guidance, based on your reporting, should be given to people in that position.

carl zimmer

First off, if youve just gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, take a deep breath and remember that this condition seems to be incredibly rare. It may or may not have anything to do with getting this vaccine in the first place. Then just monitor your health. The F.D.A. and the C.D.C. have given a list of symptoms, including severe headache, for example. So if, in the three weeks after you get your Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you experience a severe headache, maybe a pain in your leg, call your doctor. Let your doctor know that youre not feeling great, and tell them that you got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. And then you and your doctor can take things from there. The chances are overwhelmingly likely that youre not going to have these problems, that youre not going to be calling your doctor about it, and youre going to come out of this protected from COVID.

michael barbaro

Which is a very good thing.

carl zimmer

Which is a very, very good thing.

michael barbaro

Well, Carl, thank you. We, as always, appreciate your wisdom.

carl zimmer

Thank you.

[music]

Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today.

archived recording (joe biden) Im now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.

michael barbaro

In a speech on Wednesday, President Biden explained his decision to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, saying that the United States had achieved its goal of ensuring that Afghanistan would never again serve as a launching pad for a terrorist attack on the United States.

archived recording (joe biden) Ive concluded that its time to end Americas longest war. Its time for American troops to come home.

michael barbaro

Biden said that the drawdown would begin on May 1st, the deadline for withdrawal set by his predecessor, Donald Trump. But in a pointed warning, Biden admonished the Taliban against seeking to attack U.S. forces as they left Afghanistan.

archived recording (joe biden) And the Taliban should know that, if they attack us as we draw down, we will defend ourselves and our partners with all the tools at our disposal.

michael barbaro

And.

archived recording (david fowler) So in my opinion, Mr. Floyd had a sudden cardiac arrhythmia, or cardiac arrhythmia due to his atherosclerotic and hypertensive heart disease, or 

michael barbaro

On Wednesday, defense lawyers in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin sought to rebut claims that George Floyd died because Chauvin deprived him of oxygen, calling to the stand a former medical examiner for Maryland, Dr. David Fowler, who said that Floyds heart condition, drug use, and even carbon monoxide from the tailpipe of a nearby car contributed to his death.

archived recording (david fowler) All of those combined to cause Mr. Floyds death.

michael barbaro

As medical examiner in Maryland, Fowler had previously ruled that the 2018 death of another Black man in police custody, Anton Black, was an accident, prompting a lawsuit from Blacks family. Finally, prosecutors in Minnesota said they would charge the white police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, with second-degree manslaughter. Police officials have said that the officer, Kim Potter, appeared to have shot Wright by accident after mistaking her gun for her taser. Todays episode was produced by Rachel Quester, Jessica Cheung, and Leslye Davis, with help from Alexandra Leigh Young. It was edited by M.J. Davis Lin, and engineered by Chris Wood.

[music]
[April 12, 2021] Alessandra Galloni appointed editor-in-chief of Reuters

NEW YORK, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ -- Reuters today announced the appointment of Alessandra Galloni as editor-in-chief, effective April 19. Michael Friedenberg, president of Reuters, wrote to employees to share that Galloni, previously global managing editor at Reuters, will oversee all editorial functions for the newsroom and its 2500 journalists in 200 locations around the world. She will become the first female editor-in-chief in Reuters 170-year history. Galloni's appointment comes after an extensive global search and follows the announcement that Stephen J. Adler, who has served as editor-in-chief of Reuters for a decade, will be retiring at the end of April. She will sit on Reuters executive committee and be based in London. As global managing editor, Galloni has overseen news planning and creation for Reuters newsroom since 2015. She joined Reuters in 2013 as editor of the Southern Europe bureau following 13 years at the Wall Street Journal. Galloni is the recipient of the 2020 Minard Editor Award from the Gerald Loeb Foundation, as well as the winner of an Overseas Press Club Award and a UK Business Journalist of the Year Award. "Alessandra is a transformative and inspirational leader with outstanding journalistic credentials, a truly global perspective and a compelling vision for the future of news," said Friedenberg. "She was the standout candidate in an extensive, global search and highly competitive recruitment process, which featured many impressive internal and external candidates. Alessandra has driven innovation, speed and quality throughout our newsgathering operation since becoming global managing editor. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Steve Adler once again for his extraordinary contribution to Reuters over the past ten years. Alessandra shares his passion for independent journalism and will continue to champion Reuters - and our Trust Principles - around the world. I am delighted that she will lead our newsroom into an exciting, new era." "I am thrilled to become editor-in-chief of Reuters," said Galloni. "For 170 years, Reuters has set the standard for independent, trusted and global reporting. It is an honor to lead a world-class newsroom full of talented, dedicated and inspiring journalists. I am so grateful to Steve for his mentorship and for putting a visionary, enduring stamp on Reuters, and to Michael for his leadership and for this opportunity." Steve Hasker, Thomson Reuters president and CEO, said: "At a time when the world sorely needs independent, unbiased journalism, we take seriously the need to push boundaries for all of our customers. Alessandra will do just that. Her skills, talent and expertise are ideal for this moment in the story of the world's leading newsroom. I have no doubt Reuters will achieve great things under her editorship  and I join many others in thanking Steve Adler for his outstanding service to public service journalism and to Thomson Reuters." Reuters

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world's largest multimedia news provider. Founded in 1851, it is committed to the Trust Principles of independence, integrity and freedom from bias. With unmatched coverage in over 16 languages, and reaching billions of people worldwide every day, Reuters provides trusted intelligence that powers humans and machines to make smart decisions. It supplies business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. Reuters: The Real World in Real Time. Follow news about Reuters at reuters.com/rpb and @ReutersPR. Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the world's most global news service  Reuters. For more information on Thomson Reuters, visit tr.com and for the latest world news, reuters.com. CONTACTS







Jamie Austin Vice President Communications, Reuters +44 2075138182 Jamie.austin@tr.com Heather Carpenter Senior Director Communications, Reuters +1 3322191992 Heather.carpenter@tr.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alessandra-galloni-appointed-editor-in-chief-of-reuters-301267142.html SOURCE Thomson Reuters

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Lawmakers, experts, and organizations around the world decried the latest attack on The Epoch Times printing press in Hong Kong, saying it would not be a surprise if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was behind the attack in an attempt to silence reporting critical of the regime.

In the early hours on Monday, four men wearing maskstwo of whom wielded sledgehammersbarged into the printing warehouse and smashed machinery and computers for approximately two minutes before leaving with a computer. No staff members were hurt during the incident.

The intruders caused extensive damage, and the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times has been forced to suspend its operations for the foreseeable future.

Rep. Michael McCaul

Its no secret that the CCP uses, or at least enables, violent and anonymous plainclothes thugs as part of its efforts to crush dissent in Hong Kong. This incident is further proof that the CCP is extending its repression into Hong Kong, destroying one country, two systems.

French Senator Andre Gattolin

It is completely unacceptable, it is again a repeated attack against the press, against freedom of expression and therefore against democracy in Hong Kong. We see it there again, and it is not the first time since there have already been four incidents at The Epoch Times; the modus operandi is revealing of an authoritarian state.

Its very clear that this is a deliberate, organized aggression in the current policy of total repression in Hong Kong. After the laws on national security, the law changing the electoral system, they want to suppress those who still dare to speak out. If they dont attack journalists, they attack the media. The printing company is the place where the news is reproduced and distributed, and as such, it is indeed scandalous. As a former newspaper publisher in France, I am in total solidarity with the Epoch Times team and of course with the people of Hong Kong who see their freedoms reduced every day.

It is absolutely terrible because there is a veil of silence that has just been placed over Hong Kong. Finally, when we discuss at the international level with political leaders, everyone says its shameful, its scandalous, Hong Kong is finished. But no, there is still a lot to be done, and above all there is a population to protect, there is a break in international law in the Sino-British agreements that had been signed and ran until 2047, and there was no reason to call [them] into question since no reservation had been made to change the one country, two systems status. So we can see that the offensive, violent, and hard normalization continues in Hong Kong, and unfortunately the international community remains extremely silent.

Scott Griffen, deputy director of International Press Institute

We are outraged by this latest attack on The Epoch Times, which comes at a time when the Chinese government is methodically and brutally stripping away the fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, of the people of Hong Kong.

This attack must be fully and immediately investigated by the authorities, who must hold those responsible to account. There must be zero tolerance for attacks on journalists and media outlets, and we expect swift action by Hong Kong officials.

Michael Chong, MP, Canadian Conservative Party shadow minister for Foreign Affairs

The Chinese communist leadership continues to violate international law in Hong Kong by breaching the terms of the 1984 Joint Declaration, which guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

This attack follows Beijings ban on the BBC from broadcasting in China, and the expulsion of dozens of foreign journalists from mainland China.

The suppression of an independent press in China is concerning. Conservatives call on the Trudeau government to stand up and speak out against Beijings crackdown in Hong Kong and on a free press.

The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR)

By attacking the newspaper, the perpetrators want to intimidate critical media and dissenters, said Hubert Korper, spokesman for IGFMs China working committee.

Martin Patzelt, member of the German Parliament

As a member of the German Federal Parliament and a member of the Committee on Human Rights and rapporteur for South-East Asia, I strongly condemn these actions and repeated destruction against an independent newspaper as an attack on freedom of the press and freedom of expression, he told Epoch Times.

In Hong Kong in particular, it is more important than ever that there continue to be independent media outlets that report clearly, as Epoch Times has always done with unflinching and independent reporting on the pro-democracy Hong Kong movement and also on human rights abuses in China.

I will discuss the issue at the next meeting of the CDU/CSUs Human Rights Working Group and work to ensure that the issue is raised in the Human Rights Committee.

Rep. Ralph Norman

Tyranny thrives when those who expose it cannot be heard. This was clearly an attempt to silence the Epoch Times, and I condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms. Around the world, enemies of free speech must be met with resolve, resilience, and even louder voices. I will celebrate with the Epoch Times when their printing presses are soon rolling again in Hong Kong.

Tony Shaffer, president of London Center for Policy Research

The recent attacks on The Epoch Times offices in Hong Kong reflects both the new political reality where the government of Hong Kong is willing to defer to the interests CCP/PRC.

These sorts of attacks will only increase as the CCP/PRC becomes more emboldened to extinguish voices of freedom and independent journalism.

Reporters Without Borders

By leaving previous attacks on journalists unpunished and creating a climate of suspicion against independent media outlets, the Hong Kong authorities are encouraging such violence, says Cedric Alviani, head of RSF East Asia bureau, who calls on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam to put an end to her governments attacks, which are threatening media independence, and restore full freedom of the press as enshrined in the Basic Law she is supposed to enforce.

Ellie Cohanim, former US Deputy Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism

Chinese Communist Party is trying to silence one of its most effective critics: @EpochTimes.

We bear witness to this state-sanctioned violence. The Epoch Times will not be silenced. #CCP

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, UK MP

The recent attack on The Epoch Times printing press in Hong Kong is shocking and a crime against a free and independent press.

I deplore and condemn any act of sabotage against the media who should be free to report without the fear of violence, suppression or intimidation.

Sen. Pat Toomey

The Chinese Communist Party is actively stifling any semblance of a free press in Hong Kong. These actions are a direct contradiction of the Basic Law, and should serve as a reason for greater sanctions through the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

Henri Malosse, former president of the European Economic and Social Committee

I think what happened in Hong Kong, its a big worry because we see that the Communist Party of China is now transforming Hong Kong into just a normal communist Chinese province.

And all the violence against the Falun Gong stand and Information Office are showing that they didnt consider at all Hong Kong as a separate system, they just introduced their dictatorship and their violence policy against freedom of religion, freedom of thought, political freedom in Hong Kong, as well as in other parts of China.

And they show that they dont respect at all the agreements they passed with the UK  So this is a clear violation of international treaty, a clear violation of our commitment. And I think the people in Europe, in the U.S., in another part of the free world should react very clearly against this unacceptable violation. And I would like to send all my sympathy to the people of Hong Kong and particularly, to the members of Falun Gong and to the democrats in Hong Kong.

US State Department spokesperson

We condemn the attack on the Epoch Times printing plant and urge the Hong Kong authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The United States is concerned by increased efforts to silence independent media and otherwise suppress freedom of expression, including the politically motivated targeting of journalists.

We are committed to standing up for press freedom and freer and wider access to information and ideas around the world.

Freedom of expression, including for members of the press, is critical to transparency.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

The attack on The Epoch Times and on the free press in Hong Kong is appalling, but not unexpected. The Chinese Communist Party continues to demonstrate they will not honor their agreement on the freedom of the people of Hong Kong. The United States should send a clear message that continuing to oppress the people of Hong Kong and eroding their freedoms, particularly the freedom of the press will not be tolerated.

Markus Wiechel (SD), member of the Swedish Parliament

That was terrible news. The Epoch Times fulfills an extremely important function as one of the very few independent media in Hong Kong and which also deals with uncensored review, which, to put it mildly, is an indescribably important function. Not least in these times when we see recurring violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, which of course also include the right to freedom of the press and expression, those who stand up for these inviolable values also need to act.

I myself will raise this with our Foreign Minister.

Rep. Louie Gohmert

At a time when most news organizations have become nothing more than mouthpieces for radical leftist ideology, The Epoch Times stands out as a valuable asset in the fight for truth and fair reporting. The attack on its Hong Kong printing press is an age old battle between good versus evil as dishonest, power-lusting people attack free speech across the world. Hopefully, there will be courageous lovers of truth who will make their voices heard in condemning the barbarity.

Rep. Byron Donalds

As our nation experiences cancel culture and big tech censorship of conservative voices, the tactics of corporate America and the mainstream media resemble that of the CCP, not our Constitutional Republic. The recent attack on the Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press is a direct attack against the freedoms we hold dear in America and deserve universal condemnation. The world has seen first-hand the deadly impact of the CCPs lack of transparency, and we must have more journalist organization reporting on the atrocities of this regime.

Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong

The Foreign Correspondents Club, Hong Kong strongly condemns the attack on The Epoch Times printing presses and calls for the perpetrators to be brought swiftly to justice.

The newspaper posted CCTV images of the four attackers smashing equipment with sledgehammers and said that they had threatened staff with violence during the early morning raid on Monday 12 April.

The FCC insists that media should be able to operate freely without fear of violence in Hong Kong regardless of their political stance.

The Epoch Times printing plant was targeted in a similar attack during the Hong Kong protests in November 2019.

Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath, UK

Very shocked to hear this. The Epoch Times is an amazing independent media outlet in Hong Kong, fearless and standing up for a free press and human rights. May its voice never be silenced.

My best wishes to you all.

Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch

This attack on The Epoch Times is yet another deplorable example of increasing threats to media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong, and should be condemned unequivocally.

Lord David Alton, UK

The Nobel Laureate, Liu Xiaobo, once said that Freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights, the source of humanity and the mother of truth. Those who become enemies of freedom of speech, who smash up printing presses or threaten journalists, have no respect for human rights and show their fear of truth. Paradoxically, their use of violence, intimidation, and brute force, reveals their weakness and the nature of their ideology.

Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China

The freedom of press is an absolute requirement in any state that respects the rule of law. If the Hong Kong authorities really were independent champions of their democratic system, theyd defend The Epoch Times. That they wont tells you all you need to know: Hong Kong has slipped into the grips of an authoritarian communist party that will tolerate no criticism.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, UK

Freedom of the press is fundamental to a democracy. Crushing the media and independent journalism is the way to deny citizens information about abuses of power and about the loss of their rights. Wrecking computers and printing equipment is the act of those who despise democracy.

Wong On-yin, Hong Kong senior journalist

The Epoch Times is the hope of Hong Kong. If you are still here, Hong Kong still has hope.

Hermann Tertsch, member of European Parliament

No one who denounces the barbaric human rights violations of the communist regime in Beijing is safe from reprisals by the dictatorship. But there is no stepping back.

Michael Johns, former White House speechwriter to President George H.W. Bush and Tea Party movement co-founder

One of the most obvious attributes of a tyrannical, communist regime is its intolerance for independent media. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, for instance, one of the Soviets first acts was the implementation of their so-called Decree on the Press, which brought all media under control of the government. Similarly, after the 1959 communist revolution in Cuba, all media was brought under the control of the governments Department of Revolutionary Orientation. Importantly, when Zhao Ziyang signed the Sino-British Declaration on Hong Kong in December 1984, China committed to preserving Hong Kongs political independence and sovereignty for fifty years. But we have now witnessed case after casefrom the illegal rewriting of Hong Kongs security laws to the crushing of rallies and free speechthat demonstrate a complete violation of this treaty. In now stifling Hong Kongs freedom of press, Chinas Communist Party is sending the message that its signature on a treaty is worth nothing. The world needs to take close notice of this fact.

Since Biden took office on January 20, weve now witnessed over two months of aggressive, belligerent, and tyrannical behavior by Chinas Communist Party that seems designed at least partly to test Bidens resolve. The very day Biden took office, for instance, the CCP imposed sanctions on 28 American officials. They have stepped up repression in Hong Kong, Tibet, and East Turkistan, and increasingly are threatening the sovereignty of Taiwan. Tiger Yangs 16-minute anti-American diatribe in Anchorage was insulting, and should have been the end of that summit. We should have ended it right there like Reagan ended Reykjavik in 1986. This act of violence against The Epoch Times, a U.S.-based media outlet, needs to be taken immensely seriously by the United States government. It warrants a full investigation by U.S. officials. And we should demand that this violence be condemned by the CCP. Why hasnt it been already? One reason, of course, is that the CCP almost certainly was behind it. If thats the case, then there needs to be concrete ramifications from the U.S. Chinas acts of repression at home and acts of aggression abroad must result in concrete and immediate ramifications, or they will only escalate. Biden is going to continue to be tested until he demonstrates that he has the resolve necessary to counter CCP aggression, and I suspect they very much doubt his resolve.

Laura Harth, campaign director, Safeguard Defenders

I have no doubt one of the mainif not the biggestcrimes the CCP holds freedom-loving Hong Kongers responsible for is that of having shown the entire world the true face of this cruel regime. Hong Kongs free press opened a window of priceless value into the true nature of the CCP and its contempt for universal values. Many of us asked ourselves how long these courageous voices and press staff would be allowed to continue, and unfortunately the answer is becoming clear all too rapidly. Between Jimmy Lais warning from prison, Yvonne Tongs resignation and the egregious attack on Epoch Times printing press yesterday, the regimes intention is all too clear: impose the same wall of censorship and control reigning the mainland, impeding the world their right to know and possibility to act upon that evidence.

All this while the CCPs propaganda freely roams the world, touting the very principle of freedom of speech it denies its citizens and using torture, forced confessions, and intentional lies to spread its political terror around the globe. Faced with the growing irrefutable evidence of law- and information warfare by the CCP, increasingly imposing its repression across borders exactly as Hong Kongers predicted, the democratic world must urgently get its act together and follow in the footsteps of the brave men and women that continue to man the few remaining bastions of free speech in Hong Kong. If they can rise above the fear instilled by the regimes cold-hearted threats, surely so must we!

Anders Corr, publisher, Journal of Political Risk

The sabotage of equipment of Epoch Times in Hong Kong is the latest attack on freedom of speech in that city, which since at least the 1990s has come under increasing pressure by the CCP in the form of threats, bribes, and arrests of those who champion human rights and freedom against totalitarianism. The attack is a badge of honor for Epoch Times, albeit an expensive one. It shows that they are producing hard-hitting journalism against the CCP at a time when exposing the CCP is critically important to freedom not only today, but into the foreseeable future. The use of sledge hammers against a press shows what kind of thuggish future the world can look forward to if the CCP is not stopped. The time in which to do this without great global harm is growing short.

Sen. Rick Scott

Reports of attacks on free press are extremely concerning. Senator Scott will always stand with the people of Hong Kong fighting for their freedom, Sen. Rick Scotts (R-Fla.) office told The Epoch Times in an email. Now more than ever, the United States must stand up for democracy and human rights, and fight against Communist Chinas aggression and quest for global dominance.

Rep. Devin Nunes

The repeated, violent attacks on The Epoch Times shock the conscience, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

Clearly, the Chinese Communist Party and its street thugs cannot abide any media outlet reporting the facts about the Partys depredations.

Rep. Jim Banks

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) described the attack as reprehensible.

The freedom of the press in Hong Kong is under attack from the Chinese Communist Party, Banks said in a statement.

Rep. Mike Doyle

Any violent assault on news media deserves the harshest condemnation.

Rep. Michelle Steel

The attack on The Epoch Times Hong Kong is a direct assault on Hong Kongs free press, said Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.). The Chinese Communist Party cannot continue to intimidate and infringe on freedom of the press in Hong Kong. If it is true that the CCP was behind these attacks, they must be held accountable.

Rep. Brian Babin

This is just another attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to silence the voices of truth-tellers in Hong Kong. I reject and condemn all attacks on free speech and the free press!, Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Im praying for my fellow freedom-lovers living under the CCPs repressive regime. May they remain steadfast and courageous in their pursuit of the truth!

Rep. Greg Steube

This is proof of how far the CCP will go to silence anyone who does not support their communist regime. We will not back down to their intimidation tactics, and this event should not stop publications like The Epoch Times from speaking out against the CCPs actions and humanitarian crimes, Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) said in a statement. This attack on free speech is one of the many reasons why holding communist China accountable is a top priority for me in Congress.

Rep. Scott Perry

The Chinese Communist Party is a thugocracy that relies on intimidation, extortion, and violence to suppress freedom and those who strive for truth and self-government by consent. It would be no surprise if the CCP were behind such an attack as they consistently seek to extinguish any light that exposes the dark sea of repression that keeps their illegitimate government afloat, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) wrote in a statement.

Rep. Russ Fulcher

We cannot underestimate the impact and importance of the Epoch Times workand thats why theyre consistently a target. Standing in the face of the largest perpetrators against free speech (China), the Epoch Times is a one of the only independent outlets in Hong Kong. Please know we are praying for your continued safety and strength in the face of these violent attacks.

Robert Spalding, retired US Air Force brigadier general

There is no freedom of the press in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is gone.

Miles Yu, senior fellow at Hudson Institute

If the Hong Kong government has any credibility left, and wants to convince the world that HK is still a safe and stable society, it should conduct an immediate investigation and prosecute those responsible.

Reggie Littlejohn, founder and president of Womens Rights Without Frontiers

The attack on the Epoch Times printing press is part of the totalitarian takeover of Hong Kong by the CCP. Tyrants are threatened by truth, and so have sought to intimidate the Epoch Times by repeatedly attacking their offices. The journalists at the Epoch Times are heroic in their courage and persistence. They will continue to expose the evil of the CCP no matter what the personal or professional cost.

Javier Larrondo Calafat, Prisoners Defenders EU representative

We condemn the attack on The Epoch Times in Hong Kong. When a media outlet is attacked for defending freedom of information, its vital importance becomes even more apparent. Supporting free journalism in the world is a duty of all nations and citizens.

Lucio Malan, member of Italian Parliament

This is yet another act of brutality against Hong Kongs democracy and freedom by the Beijing regime. That such an attack could happen without the connivance of the Chinese communist authorities is totally ruled out. Alongside sophisticated 21st century technology, Beijing also uses methods that are a hundred or two hundred years old. [Italian Foreign Affairs] Minister Di Maio must still answer my question asking why Italy abstained on the UN resolution condemning the repression of the opposition in the former British colony.

Maria Herrera Mellado, Spanish Vox party representative

The violence carried out against The Epoch Times media in Hong Kong is disturbing. At a time when socialism and cancel culture is advancing by leaps and bounds, and even totalitarian regimes are being whitewashed, ordinary citizens and especially lawyers must unite to defend freedom of the press, a fundamental right and the cornerstone for living in a full democracy.

Rosa Maria Paya, Cuban activist, executive director of the Foundation for Pan-American Democracy:

Just like its ally, the Communist Party of Cuba, the Chinese Communist Party also demonstrates its censorious nature and its fear of citizens freedom of speech. When they cannot silence the people with fear, they turn to violence. We extend our solidarity to the brave journalists of Epoch Times in Hong Kong. Only the voices and actions of the international community can break the impunity of the repression of CCPs totalitarian power.

Canadian Sen. Marilou McPhedran

This latest attack, on a newspaper in Hong Kong that is known for strong points of view, is very concerning as were the previous attacks. I think it is excellent that weve heard from the [U.S.] State Department, with concerns about what this means for freedom of the press.

Freedom of the press is key to a democracy. It is key to a peaceful world. And when we have attacks like this, regardless of where they come from, but especially if they appear to be connected to the state that is trying to repress or silence media, then we have a situation that concerns all of us in the world as global citizens.

This latest attack is an indicator of the very serious decline in Hong Kong. And again, we see China as the chief bully of the world.

As a Canadian senator who believes very strongly in freedom of the press, freedom of expression as being a cornerstone of a democracy and a key human right, I want to express to journalists in Hong Kong who are taking risks everyday by reporting  I thank you for your courage, and I hope you will stay safe and you will continue to exercise freedom of the press. Not only for the good of Hong Kong, but for the good of the world.

Arnold Viersen, MP, Conservative Party of Canada

A free and independent press is essential for human rights and dignity to flourish. I am alarmed by these latest reports of attacks on media like the Epoch Times. I am calling on the Liberal government to stand up and speak out against Beijings crackdown in Hong Kong and on a free press.

Kenny Chiu, MP, Conservative Party of Canada

When the magazine [Charlie Hebdo] in Paris was under attack, even to the extreme of people being killed,  we stood together with [them] and denounced the oppression and the crime and the suppression of freedom of speech around the world. And in the same way, I would not want to see the people in Hong Kong, given such a precious freedom of press that they have and enjoy for so many decades, for over a century,  be threatened by  violent attacks like that.

I know that for The Epoch Times, they have sustained multiple attacks already. And thats something that people from around the world, from free democratic countries like Canada,[like] I can certainly understand how repugnant that is, and would like to denounce any such activity.

James Bezan, MP, shadow minister for national defence for the Conservative Party of Canada

I was shocked to learn that there was such a blatant attack. This is a direct violation of international norms of protecting freedom of the press, freedom of speech. To see a bunch of thugs who are more than likely connected to the Communist Party of China, carrying out this attack is disturbing and disgusting.

This is just more evidence and proof that the Communist Party of China is more interested in stopping free speech, in destroying the norms of human right, and civil liberties that we enjoy throughout the democratic world. 

We have to be stronger against the regime in Beijing and call them out every time that they are overstepping their bounds, and that includes how they continue to crack down on pro-democracy supporters in Hong Kong, including The Epoch Times.

Hirofumi Ryu, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan

The Epoch Times has been harshly criticizing the Chinese Communist Party from the standpoint of seeking freedom and democracy. If this is the background of the incident, it would be a very terrible situation.

Its a repeated harassment, or an act that is absolutely unacceptable. It is a challenge to Hong Kongs speech and freedom.

I hope the police will arrest the criminal as soon as possible. The criminals should be punished, and the police should investigate their background.

I was a news reporter on TV Asahi 18 years ago. I have to protect freedom of speech from the standpoint of politicians and also as a Japanese people. This is what politicians and the people should understand properly.

David Lega (KD), Swedish Member of the European Parliament

I really regret that The Epoch Times was subject to this attack. To attack media is to attack freedom of expression and free press, which is fundamental in a democracy. So its extremely serious.

When you go against investigative media, like The Epoch Times, there are two reasons; one is that you oppose democracy and human rights, and the other is that you have something to hide. Both of these are unacceptable, we must not accept any of it.

Canadian Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo

I categorically condemn this brutal attack on the printing press of The Epoch Timesknown for its independent, honest and uncensored coverage of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I urge the Hong Kong authorities to ensure that a thorough investigation into these events takes place, and the perpetrators swiftly brought to justice. We can only safeguard these values by ensuring that all media is able to publish freely, without fear of violent retribution.

Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy minister of Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council

The Mainland Affairs Council severely condemns this violent act of suppressing freedom of speech and press.

Huang Pengxiao, former Taiwanese legislator

These attacks are a typical example of collusion between the red tyranny and the mafia. Its hard to imagine that this kind of barbarous attack and harassment has happened in Hong Kong, a place that used to be a model of civilization and rule of law in Asia. Its really heartbreaking [to see this].

Wang Ting-Yu, Taiwanese legislator

The boss that backs Hong Kong police is the Chinese Communist Party. They are the biggest criminal organization and murderers.

Only the truth can let people recognize [the nature of the CCP]. With the truth, the democratic and free countries in the world can unite together and deter evil regimes, such as CCP. Only the truth can help Hongkongers and Chinese people to see clearly the evil nature of CCP. Then they can save themselves, and avoid being persecuted by this kind of regime.

Chao Tien-lin, Taiwanese legislator

With the thugs having attacked it so many times, the police has not solved any of the cases. This leads one to suspect whether the Hong Kong security system is discriminatory. On some levels, could it be a result of the CCPs orders? I think for Hong Kong, which has a free economy and had enjoyed relative democracy and freedom in the past, this is quite dangerous.

Chiu Hsien-chih, Taiwanese legislator

Was the state behind this attack? Were there government factors involved? Why cant the police ever find the thugs? This definitely is a great violation of press freedom and individuals freedom. The attacks will also cause the so-called chilling effect [on Hong Kong people].

Leung Man-To, professor at Taiwan National Cheng Kung University

These are all done under the tacit approval of the Hong Kong government. It must have been planned by the CCP. Of course, we must condemn it!

Witold Waszczykowski, Member of the European Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in 2015-2018

The attack on the printing plant of The Epoch Times is another indication that the Chinese Communist Party is a tyranny not only by name. The brutal suppression of the freedom of expression in Hong Kong proves that the authorities in Beijing dont have the support of its [Hong Kongs] people.

The ongoing destruction of democracy in Hong Kong constitutes a breach of international commitments that China made over two decades ago. The international community should take this into account in its further interactions with Beijing. I hope that short-term economic agreements will not obscure human rights issues and Beijings failure to uphold its international commitments.

Magorzata Prokop-Paczkowska, Polish MP, member of the Lewica party

All the attacks on the freedom of the media are very concerning and saddeningfor myself and my party Lewica. We certainly condemn all similar attacks and this one too. Unfortunately, such things are happening in the Peoples Republic of China since many years. Economic successes, which this country is undoubtedly achieving, and the increase in prosperity, certainly sometimes make the public opinion forget about the taking away of the civil liberties and freedom of expression  which the Chinese government is doing. But it shouldnt be like that.

Grzegorz Bierecki, Senator of the Republic of Poland

Independent press is the foundation of freedom and democracy. Without it the economic success of the country is destroyed by corruption and nepotism, and the society is deprived of the fruits of its hard work. China in its own well-understood interest should defend freedom of press.

Waldemar Sugocki, member of the Polish Parliament

This type of situations raise concern and are unacceptable, because free media is the basis on which a democratic country and a civil society are built. Freedom of expression, which the free media provide, is essential for the citizens of any country in the world in order to get to know the facts and also to familiarize themselves with different points of view on various issues, that are important for the citizens of various countries.

Of course, journalists, the media, should also act according to the law and within the law. We know however that the free media are the backbone of democracy and of the civil society and any assault, any attack on them, is a matter of concern and should be reviled and condemned.

I deeply hope that an investigation will take place and the perpetrators of this intrusionthese four masked menwill be identified, their act will be judged by the court and they will bear the consequences of their actions.

I believe that anybody who represents the democratic world, every person for which the democratic values are important, should express his concern about this situation. I express this concern and I am calling on the authorities to investigate this case very carefully and to hold accountable the people, who broke the provisions of the law.

Janusz Kowalski, member of the Polish Parliament

I would like to express words of condemnation in relation to the recent attack on the printing facility of Epoch Times in Hong Kong. The target of the attack was destroyed many times since the time of its establishment. It wouldnt be surprising if the Chinese Communist Party would be responsible for this incident. The freedom of press in Hong Kong is attacked by the Chinese Communist Party, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly visible. The repeated brutal attacks on The Epoch Times seem to be directed at intimidating the defenders of free speech in the Communist China. There should never be any permission for this by international public opinion, especially by the Western countries. It is obvious that the Communist Party of China doesnt want the mass media to expose its scandals, its further restrictions of civil liberties or even the cases of financial fraud and the crimes committed by the party officials.

The attack should be described as reprehensible. Such activities are an abuse against all the standards of political competition in a civilized, democratic world and should be met with determined opposition from the international community. Maybe after this case will be solved by an independent court, it would be worth considering imposing serious sanctions against Beijing and finally to break with the middle politics, which may lead to even bigger tragedies and  ultimately  even to the situation where the Free World will be totally dominated by authoritarian regimes. The passivity of many countries cooperating with China, also those ones in Europe, and putting the economic interests over human rights is not helping unfortunately.

Tomasz Zielinski, member of the Polish Parliament

As a member of the Polish parliament, I would like to express my deep concern caused by the attack on the printing facility of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times. I believe that media should be independent, and the freedom of speech shouldnt be constrained. The media exist in order to give honest and trustworthy information material, whereas the attempts to silence the objective sources of information, such as the devastation of the printing facility, are simply an act of vandalism and they should be condemned, and the perpetrators should be strictly punished.

Joanna Sekua, Senator of the Republic of Poland

The events that took place on April 12th in Hong Kong in the printing facility of the independent journal The Epoch Times are an act that should have never happened in the modern world. Destruction of the printing equipment is an attempt to silence the free press. Free media play a very important role for the citizens and are the only uncensored source of information. The destruction of the printing equipment is also an abuse of the right to property and the right to possess material wealth.
The legal fight over the police seizure of $17,000 in Mooresville took on a Whac-A-Mole quality this week with a judge again holding the town in contempt only to see town officials file another appeal to stop her.

On Monday  and for the second time this year  Iredell County District Judge Christine Underwood threatened town leaders and police with jail time for not returning Jermaine Sanders money.

The judge gave officials seven days to comply with her signed order or she would start putting people behind bars.

A court hearing, if necessary, would determine which town officials that would be. But Sanders attorney, Ashley Cannon of Statesville, said the most likely targets are police Chief Ron Campurciani and Town Manager Randy Hemann.

All that was put on hold Tuesday, when in response to Underwoods latest contempt order, town officials announced they again planned to turn to the N.C. Court of Appeals seeking immediate relief from this ruling.

According to the town statement, Mooresville police acted appropriately and in accordance with the law, and this will be established both in federal court and when the court of appeals reviews these proceedings.

Whether that prediction is borne out by the state and federal courts remains to be seen. At the very least, the towns decision to extend the fight over the money makes it increasingly likely that town taxpayers will spend far more in legal costs than police will ever receive from their November seizure.

Cannon said in a statement Tuesday that the Iredell courts have found that the seizure was illegal and a violation of Mr. Sanders constitutional rights. Attorneys and public must respect court orders, she said, why not the Mooresville police?

We deny that the town and police department have acted appropriately in this matter, and deny that Judge Underwoods orders are somehow overshadowed by the police department having involved the federal government in this seizure, Cannon said. We further deny that the Town and police department are incapable of returning Mr. Sanders money because that argument is contrary to state law.

Story continues

If this all sounds familiar, it is. In February, a furious Underwood issued an identical contempt order demanding the return of Sanders money.

But then the town appealed and the U.S. Attorneys Office filed a claim for the cash in federal court. Meaning, that five months after a judge first ordered the recouping of Sanders money he still does not have it. After this weeks legal jousting, Sanders wait will be even longer.

Underwoods most recent directive attempted to simplify things. First, she threw out the towns appeal to the N.C. Court of Appeals on procedural grounds then ordered the town to make good on its debt or else.

The answer is easy. The punishment for civil contempt is incarceration (until the court order is complied with), Underwood told the Observer during a phone interview Monday night.

I havent had a civil contempt case where the defendant is a town. But because the law is pretty standard, its no different procedurally than your average, everyday deadbeat parent who doesnt pay child support.

Except, this case has been anything but routine from the start.

Feds escalate fight for seized money. Law enforcement out of control, expert says.

Warrantless search outside motel

On Nov. 16, police say they found the money in Sanders rented pickup outside a Mooresville motel during a warrantless search. Police also say they discovered a small amount of marijuana buds. Sanders, a convicted felon from Connecticut who was visiting his daughter at the time, was charged with misdemeanor drug possession. His case is pending.

The money chase quickly became far more complicated. Cannon promptly filed a motion for the return of her clients cash, and Iredell District Judge Deborah Brown, since retired, scheduled a hearing for Nov. 24.

The day before, however, a police detective sent a certified check for the entire amount  $16,761  to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Police then showed up in court the next day to say they could not return Sanders money because they no longer had it.

Attorney David Smith, one of the countrys foremost legal critics of the controversial police practice of civil asset forfeiture described the Mooresville case as one of the most outrageous hed come across.

Thats disrespect of the court in the extreme ... This is law enforcement out of control, he told the Observer earlier this month.

Underwood adopted a similar tone in February when she first found the town and police in contempt.

I dont know who to put in jail, but somebody needs to go, the judge told the Observer at the time.

Furious NC judge threatens jail time unless town, cops return seized cash

Civil asset forfeiture was created to siphon off the resources of gangs, drug rings and other illicit enterprises. It allows police to seize, keep or sell any property they deem to have been involved in a crime. The amount of property and cash confiscated each year now runs into the billions.

But critics say individual residents too often are unfairly victimized by government seizures of cash, cars and homes, which law enforcement agencies can keep even in the absence of criminal charges or convictions.

If local police departments need more motivation to stop and search, federal law provides it. Cops can recoup up to 80 percent of the money they turn over to the feds, which Cannon says explains why Mooresville police were so quick to write a check to the Border Patrol in November.

Attorney: Legal fight shocks the conscience

In a 15-page filing last month in federal court, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte detailed Sanders lengthy criminal background and argued that his money is likely tied to illegal activity and thus is open to seizure.

In a federal filing on Tuesday, Sanders accused police of illegally taking his money and cited the Iredell County court orders as grounds for its return.

But as far as Underwood is concerned, thats a different legal fight for a different court on a different day. In essence, she said, the feds can keep that money as long as Mooresville pays up.

On Tuesday, Cannon again expressed disbelief that five months after the first court order, her client is still waiting for his check.

I just dont understand all this time and effort over the money they seized or the small amount of marijuana they found when he wasnt even there, she said.

It still sort of shocks the conscience that they would go to this extreme.

Given Tuesdays notice of another appeal, the town may only be getting started.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Dr. Daniel Kirchert, co-founder and former CEO of EV startup BYTON, has joined Evergrande Auto, the new energy vehicle (NEV) unit of Chinese property giant Evergrande Group, as executive vice president, according to recent local reports.



Dr. Daniel Kirchertphoto credit: BYTON



Dr. Daniel Kirchert is one of the most experienced executives in China's premium auto industry, with extensive experience in marketing, sales, branding, business development and operations. In March 2016, he co-founded BYTON with Dr. Carsten Breitfeld and left the startup in June 2020.

Before setting up BYTON, Dr. Kirchert was managing director of Infiniti China and president of Dongfeng Infiniti Motor Co., Ltd. Prior to joining Infiniti, he served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd. During his 11-year tenure at BMW, the German automaker's sales in China increased by nearly 8 times. Dr. Kirchert is also an expert in product strategy, dealership network development and joint venture operations.

Evergrande Auto is moving into a stage of rapid development. As of today, it has unveiled nine models, which are numbered quite simply from 1 to 9 (the Hengchi 1 to Hengchi 9) and cover various passenger vehicle segments including sedans, SUVs, MPVs and crossovers.

According to a plan previously exposed, the company is about to start trial production of its first six models, namely the Hengchi 1 to 6, in the first half of 2021, and kick off volume production in the second half of the year.

As for sales networks, Evergrande Auto plans to build 36 experience centers, 1,600 sales centers as well as 3,000 self-operating and authorized after-sales service centers across China.

Evergrande Auto targets annual sales of more than 1 million vehicles by 2025, and sales of 5 million cars by 2035, aiming to become the world's largest and most powerful new energy vehicle enterprise, according to Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Group.


CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth analysis and data-driven insights on the impact of COVID-19 included in this Africa data center market report.

The Africa data center market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 15% during the period 2020-2026.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

South Africa dominated the Africa market in 2020, in terms of area, investments, and power capacity, followed by Kenya . Morocco , Nigeria , and Egypt are emerging markets in Africa . Increasing internet penetration, adoption of cloud, and migration from on-premises to colocation and managed data centers is driving the data center demand in Africa . The rate of urbanization in Africa is expected to go up to aroundd 60% in 2050, with more than 10 mega cities comprising over 150 million residents, and accounting for over 15% share of the global GDP. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has introduced initiatives to boost renewable power generation across Africa , such as the Africa Clean Energy Corridor, West Africa Clean Energy Corridor, Entrepreneurship Support Facility in Western and Southern Africa , and Renewables Readiness Assessment. Smart cities are being built across Africa , including South Africa , Kenya , Morocco , and Nigeria , leading to increased network connectivity and data generation, and benefitting the data center industry. Smart Africa , an alliance between 29 African heads of state and the government, aims to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development, through affordable internet access and the use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT).

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 2020-2026

Market Dynamics - Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation - A detailed analysis by IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling technique, cooling systems, general construction, tier standards, and geography

Competitive Landscape - 10 IT infrastructure providers, 11 support infrastructure providers, 6 construction contractors, and 14 data center investors.

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/africa-data-center-market

Africa Data Center Market - Segmentation

The Africa IT infrastructure market expects to reach approx. USD 4 billion by 2026. The growth in data generation in Africa is fueling the demand for fast-processing efficient servers. The demand for build-to-suit infrastructure is growing to support specific applications. Several segments such as BFSI, healthcare, transportation and logistics, education, and heavy industries adopt advanced server systems for efficient services.

by 2026. The growth in data generation in is fueling the demand for fast-processing efficient servers. The demand for build-to-suit infrastructure is growing to support specific applications. Several segments such as BFSI, healthcare, transportation and logistics, education, and heavy industries adopt advanced server systems for efficient services. The unreliable power grid connectivity increases the demand for power backup sources. UPS and generator systems are expected to grow due to the increased construction of large and mega data center facilities. The Kenya data center market has witnessed the installation of energy-efficient power infrastructure. Most facilities are of Tier III standards and are adopting power redundancy of N+1 or 2N to manage power grid instability.

data center market has witnessed the installation of energy-efficient power infrastructure. Most facilities are of Tier III standards and are adopting power redundancy of N+1 or 2N to manage power grid instability. Data center facilities operating in the African region mainly adopt chillers and precision air cooling. The adoption of air-based cooling (free cooling chillers) is likely to gain traction as certain African countries experience cold winter seasons. South Africa is likely to adopt free cooling chillers or evaporative coolers.

Africa Data Center Market by IT Infrastructure

Servers

Storage

Network

Africa Data Center Market by Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Transfer Switches and Switchgears

PDUs

Other Electrical Infrastructures

Africa Data Center Market by Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

CRAC & CRAH Units



Chiller Units



Cooling Towers, Dry Coolers, & Condensers



Other Cooling Units

Racks

Others Mechanical Infrastructure

Africa Data Center Market by Cooling Technique

Air-based Cooling Technique

Liquid-based Cooling Technique

Africa Data Center Market by General Construction

Core and Shell Development

Installation and Commissioning Services

Engineering and Building Designs

Physical Security

DCIM/BMS

Africa Data Center Market by Tier Standards

Tier I & II

Tier III

Tier IV

Africa Data Center Market - Dynamics

The Africa data center market is increasingly moving towards digitization, with the rising adoption of the internet, the implementation of 5G services by a few telecom companies in Tier I cities, as well as improvement in overall connectivity in the region by way of terrestrial and subsea cables. The number of interconnected devices is also increasing significantly in recent years. By 2050, Africa will have 10 mega cities with over 150 million residents. These mega cities are expected to account for over 15% share of the global GDP. The rate of urbanization in Africa is expected to go up to 60% in 2050. This pace of urbanization will power the economy in the region and attract investments for technological advancements. Government-funded public administration initiatives are paving the way to the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) networks and related edge networks, 5G, and analytics applications in Africa. Smart city initiatives further emphasize the importance of data in improving communication among cities, citizens, automobiles, electronics, and devices.

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

Government Support to Boost Digital Economy

Rising Adoption of All-Flash Storage Solutions

Big Data & IoT on Data Center Growth

Migration from On-Premises Infrastructure to Colocation & Managed Services

Africa Data Center Market - Geography

South Africa is witnessing increased adoption of cloud-based solutions among enterprises and is rapidly emerging as a center for public and private cloud hosting, which will encourage more data center developments in the country. Cape Town and Johannesburg are the major preferred locations for data center development. For instance, AWS, a leading cloud service provider, has opened a cloud presence in Cape Town. This will help enterprises to gain faster access to their cloud service offerings at a cheaper rate in South Africa. The manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare sectors are among the major contributors to data center investments as these sectors are rapidly adopting cloud computing. The South African data center market is also increasingly adopting cloud technology. In September 2019, the data-only operator Rain, in partnership with Huawei, launched 5G network operations in South Africa. Vodacom and MTN have also launched commercial 5G services in the Tier I cities in South Africa, which will further increase the need for data storage, thereby increasing the requirement for additional data centers.

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/africa-data-center-market

Africa Data Center Market by Geography

Africa

South Africa



Morocco



Kenya



Nigeria



Egypt



Other Countries

Key Data Center Critical (IT) Infrastructure Providers

Arista Networks

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

Dell Technologies

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Huawei Technologies

IBM

Juniper Networks

Lenovo

NetApp

Key Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers

ABB

Caterpillar

Cummins

Eaton

Envicool

Legrand

Rittal

Rolls-Royce Power Systems

Schneider Electric

STULZ

Vertiv Group

Key Data Center Investors

Africa Data Centres

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

io

Internet Technologies Angola (ITA)

Inwi

IXAfrica

MainOne (MDXi)

N+ONE

Orange

PAIX

Raxio Group

Raya Data Center

Teraco Data Environments

Wingu

Key Construction Constructors

Arup Group

Atkins

Edarat Group

Future-tech

ISG

Vantage Data Centers

Explore our data center knowledge base profile to know more about the industry.

Read some of the top-selling reports:

Data Center Market in India - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

- Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026 Data Center Market in Southeast Asia - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

- Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026 Data Center Market in Middle East - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

- Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026 Data Center Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

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Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

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The European Court of Human Rights ruled that the right to liberty and freedom of expression of Turkish journalist and writer Ahmet Altan was violated in connection with his arrest and imprisonment on charges related to the attempted coup in 2016.

Altan, 71, has been in jail since September 2016 and was detained on charges of spreading messages on a coup attempt during a TV program, as well as articles criticizing the government.

In 2018, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, but this decision was later overturned by an appellate court.

Altan was then re-tried and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for aiding a terrorist organization. He was briefly released due to serving his sentence but was re-arrested a day later. The appellate court is still considering the case.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Altan's right to liberty and security was violated as he was charged without reasonable suspicion.

The court found that the applicant's criticism of the presidents political approach cannot be regarded as an indication that he knew in advance about the attempted coup d'etat, the ECHR said.

Consequently, the logic applied by the authorities in the present case - equating these acts with the crimes of which the applicant was charged - cannot be regarded as an acceptable assessment of the facts, the statement said.

The court ruled that Altan's freedom of expression had been violated because his detention could not be justified by law.

While the decisions of the ECHR are binding, Turkey has ignored several recent rulings, including calls for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala and pro-Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas.
Ecuador's President-elect said on Monday that his priority was to "vaccinate all of Ecuador" following his election victory. Guillermo Lasso's win came after less than half of a percentage point put him ahead of another candidate and allowed him to claim a spot in Sundays runoff ballot. Speaking in the capital Quito, Lasso urged residents to receive a COVID-19 jab to help "reactivate the economy."

The banker, who will lead Ecuador for the next four years, managed to rebuff a left-leaning movement that yielded an economic boom and then a recession since taking hold of the presidency last decade. The result breaks off the countrys years under the so-called Correismo, a movement labeled after former President Rafael Correa who governed Ecuador from 2007 through 2017, grew increasingly authoritarian in the latter years of his presidency and was sentenced to prison last year in a corruption scandal.

Correas protege, Andres Arauz, easily advanced to the contest to replace President Lenin Moreno, who chose not to seek re-election. Elections officials have not officially declared a winner, but Arauz conceded the election on Sunday and at least one head of state has congratulated Lasso on the outcome.

Image Credits: AP

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:58:12|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Ma Qian

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- To break through the British economic blockade back in 1784, the then newly-independent United States had decided to look to the East and send to China a merchant vessel loaded with cotton, animal furs and barrels of pepper.

As a group of U.S. business executives held on Tuesday a video dialogue with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the two sides are facing a similar challenge as the one confronting those pioneering American merchants who travelled to China aboard the "Empress of China" more than two centuries ago: to overcome man-made barriers on bilateral economic exchanges.

Today, with ever deepening globalization, sound and stable economic and trade interactions between the world's top two economies have already become a common expectation for Chinese and Americans as well as an irresistible trend of the times.

Despite the raging pandemic and difficulties in bilateral ties, the two-way trade between China and the United States jumped by 8.8 percent year-on-year in 2020 and surged 81.3 percent in the first two months of 2021.

However, China-U.S. economic cooperation overall is still overshadowed by a flurry of anti-China polices put forward by the previous U.S. administration that tried to decouple the two countries. So far, there is still no sign that the current administration is going to terminate those unilateral protectionist measures.

The U.S. business community has for long played an important part in bolstering America's economic and trade interactions with China. Under the current situation, its unique role remains indispensible.

To begin with, the U.S. business community can help ignite and ratchet up real discussions in Washington on returning common sense back to U.S. policy-making towards China, and push for constructive communication between the two sides.

Members of the American business community have been the participants in as well as the promoters and beneficiaries of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation over the decades.

Thus they are the most qualified to make two things clear to the decision-makers in Washington: one, that it is impossible as well as a game with no winners if the United States goes ahead and decouples with China; and two, that the China-U.S. economic relationship is win-win in nature, and there is still tremendous opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation for the two countries to tap.

To do that, the U.S. business community needs to remain sober enough itself so as to reject the political turbulence caused by some China hawks in Washington.

That is how American companies can continue to reap the benefits from the growing opportunities presented by an ever opening-up Chinese market.

The good news is that most of the American enterprises investing in China have not been swayed by Washington's wrong policies towards China.

Greg Gilligan, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), said recently that 70 percent of the nearly 1,000 U.S.-funded enterprises under AmCham China surveyed have no plans to move out of the Chinese market.

Last but not the least, the U.S. business community can join their Chinese counterparts in exploring more cooperation opportunities in new and flourishing areas.

For example, the two sides can collaborate on the research and development of advanced green technologies to jointly tackle climate change.

Bilateral cooperation in infrastructure also looks promising, given China's colossal infrastructure experience in recent decades both at home and overseas and U.S. President Joe Biden's ambitious infrastructure plan to revitalize the U.S. economy.

More than two centuries ago, with the voyage of the "Empress of China," the business communities of the two countries opened the door to exchanges between the two peoples.

Today, the hardships impeding China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation are certainly greater than the waves of the Pacific Ocean the U.S. merchant ship rode out back in 1789 to reach China's shores.

However, so long as the two sides can join forces, steer themselves in the right direction, and arm themselves with determination, no difficulty will be too hard to overcome. Enditem
Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro has officially voiced support for Prop B, which would, in short, allow officers who have committed misconduct to be permanently fired.

On Monday, April 12, a pre-recorded video of Castro was shared by the Fix SAPD social media channels. Though Castro gave credit and acknowledged the work of law enforcement, the former secretary of HUD also called for police officers to be held accountable when necessary.

Like you, I have tremendous respect for our men and women of law enforcement, said the San Antonio native. I also believe that you and your family - that all of us - deserve accountability when bad officers cross the line.

Castro goes on to say that is not the case in San Antonio.

Our system of accountability is broken, Castro said, noting that 70 percent of San Antonio Police Department officers are rehired after being let go from the force. The number is so high that San Antonio actually has the worst rehire rate in the U.S.

RELATED: Black voting rights group calls out SAPD for rehiring fired officers, pushes for Prop B

Castro notes that San Antonio mayors, city council members, and other political representatives have worked to resolve this issue, but said they have been unsuccessful. But, Castro explains, San Antonians can call for that change and fix the problem by voting yes on Prop B.

Its time for the people to have a voice in ensuring public safety accountability in San Antonio, Castro said.

The former mayor argues that voting yes on Prop B supports good faith negotiations between law enforcement and Alamo City residents, holds officers accountable, and builds a safer community.

Accountability for bad officers doesnt belong at the bargaining table, Castro said, calling it a nonnegotiable.

Meanwhile, most local leaders and political candidates have remained neutral or strongly opposed the measure, though some have voiced support, according to the Express-News. District 2 candidates Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and Pharaoh Clark, and District 3 candidate Mark Arthur Vargas Jr. have all thrown their support for Prop B. Currently, District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino is the only incumbent backing the measure.

Mayoral candidates Greg Brockhouse, who ran to unseat Mayor Ron Nirenberg two years ago, and Denise Gutierrez-Homer have both publicly opposed the proposition. During a recent debate, Brockhouse, a known ally to the police union, said there have not been enough bad officers to justify throwing out the police contract.

READ MORE: San Antonio mayoral candidates debate police reform, pandemic response

Nirenberg, however, has expressed his support in police union leaders fight against Prop B, but has not made an official stance on the proposition, which some speculate is due to his wanting an endorsement from the police union. Just this week, San Antonio Police Officers Association president John Danny Diaz said the union would not endorse any mayoral candidate unless there is a runoff. In the past, the police union opposed Nirenberg and instead endorsed Brockhouse.

Early voting will take place from April 19 through April 27. Election Day is Saturday, May 1.
Iris Reyes, MD, a professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine, vaccinates a Philadelphian at a West Philadelphia COVID-19 vaccine clinic. Credit: University of Pennsylvania

Nationwide, the rollout for the COVID-19 vaccine has been inequitable, with white individuals being vaccinated at higher rates compared to Black individuals. In Philadelphia, only 21% of the vaccine had gone to Black residents by March 2021, even though this group makes up 42% of the city's population. As such, leaders from Penn Medicine, Mercy Catholic Medical Center, and the community partnered on designing and running a series of community-based clinics that vaccinated almost 3,000 people, 85% of whom were Black. A retrospective of their efforts on the three initial clinics was published in NEJM Catalyst.

"Addressing the vast disparity in both COVID outcomes and vaccine distribution is a critical priority both locally and nationally," said the paper's lead author, Kathleen Lee, MD, director of Clinical Implementation in the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation and an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine. "We wanted to share our insights in the hope that this will both bring further attention to the issue and help inform the efforts of others."

The process described in the paper was designed to intentionally center equity and address the structural barrierssuch as clinic location, web-based sign-ups that require a computer and stable internet connections, and the time to navigate complicated formsthat have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated at equitable rates.

Ultimately, the paper emphasizes that any community clinic must be highly tied to the unique needs of a community, and both informed and designed with the input of its key leaders. This includes an emphasis on building trust and utilizing existing neighborhood-level networks.

While the paper describes the efforts in detail, Lee, senior author Eugenia South, MD, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine, and other members of the team describe some of the main takeaways for cities, health systems, non-profits, and others looking to equitably distribute the COVID-19 vaccine:

Leadership Buy-in a Must

"The success of this equity effort was only possible because it was prioritized, led, and resourced from the top," Lee explained.

In Penn Medicine's case, the community vaccine clinics utilized partnerships with local faith communities. Having the health system's senior leadershipwhich included this paper's co-authors P.J. Brennan, MD, the chief medical officer, and Phil Okala, the chief operating officer, of the University of Pennsylvania Health Systemdirectly involved in discussions with faith leaders from the start facilitated the baseline trust that was crucial in establishing successful clinics.

"The reality is that the relationship between health care systems across the country and the Black neighborhoods where many are located, has been complicated," South said. "As healthcare institutions, if we want to actually achieve health equity, we must acknowledge past and present harms while simultaneously doing the work to move forward. Part of that work is centering community voices at our decision-making tables, and relationships between healthcare leaders and community leaders are at the core of that."

On top of smoothing some trust issues with health systemsand the COVID-19 vaccines themselvesleadership interest is vital for the pure fact that any undertaking of this scale requires widespread institutional support for infrastructure, as there are many moving pieces that touch different areas across a health system. This includes technical areas like setting up a registration system, to the logistics of moving vaccine safely, and the staff to administer the vaccines.

Locate Rotating Clinics in the Heart of Black Neighborhoods

Often, vaccine clinics around the country have been located in what are viewed as centralized locations, but they are actually not easily reached by underserved populations. Some require a car to reach or, if they are reachable by public transportation, it's not easily done and could require multiple transfers.

"It's important to remember that if you're trying to convince someone to do something, especially if they're skeptical, you need to make it as easy as possible to complete," said South. "Locating these clinics in Black neighborhoods, where COVID has hit the hardest, is a simple way to do that. If a person can walk to the site or only has to travel a handful of blocks versus taking a train and a bus, you're much more likely to reach them."

Not only does ease of access play a role here, but the location also signals a commitment to meet people where they are, where they feel most comfortable.

Embrace the Low/No-Tech Approach

"Developing a low-tech/no-tech sign-up and engagement process is crucial to fostering 'techquity'  technological equityand bridging the digital divide to ensure all eligible patients have access to the vaccines," said co-author Lauren Hahn, an innovation manager at the Center for Digital Health. "We co-designed our platform with the community, for the community."

Early input from community members clued the team into the need for something beyond the online sign-ups that dominate most vaccine clinics. Many of the patients they hoped to reachwho were older, per guidelines at the timedidn't have the internet savvy to easily navigate such methods for registration. And that was if they had reliable internet at all.

Avoiding methods of outreach that required high levels of technology and know-how also allowed for people to help family members or friends who qualified to get signed up as well. These "super-referrers" were particularly valuable as they became unofficial extensions of the effort.

So, a Penn Medicine team developed two methods to reach out to potential patients to make sign-ups easier for them: one where text messages with sign-ups were automatically sent out, and another phone-based system run by a dedicated team.

Adapt Clinics to be Scalable in Any Space

The clinics held by Penn Medicine, Mercy Catholic Medical Center, and their community partners were held in three different spaces: a church, a school, and a community center. Each space was unique, but each worked well enough to vaccinate hundreds of people.

"The importance highlighted in this operation is that it demonstrates a new model of care," said Nida Al-Ramahi, another co-author and an administrative fellow at Penn Medicine. "It shows that we are nimble enough to be successful outside the traditional brick-and-mortar standard of practice, creating the 'hospital in the neighborhood." It is the start to how we can operationalize addressing social determinants of health."

Importantly, creating such a flexible design also allows for the experience of vaccination itself to be much smoother for people. That includes something as simple as making every effort to reduce the potential for waiting in lines, such as creating check-in lanes within the sites' entrances organized by alphabet. Another practical method to reduce the likelihood of a line was equipping everyone administering vaccines with a paddle reading "READY" when they could take a new patient.

"Every part of the effort was intentional, designed to ensure both accessibility and an exceptional experience," Lee said. "Equity demands it. Our Black and Brown communities deserve nothing less."

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

More information: Operationalizing Equity: A Rapid-Cycle Innovation Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination in Black Neighborhoods. NEJM Catalyst, catalyst.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/CAT.21.0094 Operationalizing Equity: A Rapid-Cycle Innovation Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination in Black Neighborhoods.
DUBLIN, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Telematics Insurance Market - A Global and Regional Market Analysis: Focus on Product, Application, and Country Assessment - Analysis and Forecast, 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Telematics insurance is an insurance program based on current driving behavior as opposed to historic achievement and is sometimes called black box insurance. Telematics Insurance is designed to match engine drivers with customized performance premiums. Some insurers are implementing black-box practices in order to establish an insurance policy for car owners for pay as you drive (PAYD) or pay how you drive (PHYD). In most cases, insurers quote drivers a fixed premium based on the number of miles permitted per year in a standard insurance policy.

The auto driver only pays for what they use in terms of miles traveled under a PAYD or PHYD policy. PAYD or PHYD are also referred to as usage-based insurance (UBI) because the insurer only charges the user for the number of miles driven as documented by the black box device or application. The rising demand for autonomous vehicles and the increasing false insurance claims by drivers in the automobile industry have played a pivotal role in the adoption of telematics insurance globally. Along with this, the increase in the adoption of smartphones has given way for managing insurance premiums and tracking driver's behavior quite easily, thus providing an impetus of growth to the telematics insurance market.



The telematics insurance market research provides a detailed perspective on the different types of products, their applications, and value estimation, among others. The principal purpose of this market analysis is to examine the telematics insurance market in terms of factors driving the market, restraints, trends, and opportunities, among others.



The report further considers the market dynamics, supply chain analysis, and the detailed product contribution of the key players operating in the market. The telematics insurance market report is a compilation of different segments, including market breakdown by type, application, region, and country.



The telematics insurance market, based on type, is segmented into pay as you drive and pay how you drive segments. The pay as you drive segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period in the telematics insurance market.



The telematics insurance market, based on distribution channel, has been segmented into OEM and aftermarket. The aftermarket segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period in the telematics insurance market.



The telematics insurance market, based on device type, has been segmented into smartphone, onboard device, blackbox, and OEM embedded. The smartphone segment is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period in the telematics insurance market.



The telematics insurance market, by application, has been segmented into passenger and commercial segments. The passenger segment dominated the telematics insurance market in 2019 in terms of value and is expected to maintain its dominance through the forecast period.



Based on region, the telematics insurance market has been segmented into Asia-Pacific and Japan, Europe, the U.K., China, North America, and Rest-of-the-World. Each region is segmented into countries. Data for each of these regions and countries is provided by product type and application.

Growth Drivers

Growing Popularity of Mobile Telematics

Prevention of False Insurance Claims

Increasing Road Accidents

Stringent Automotive Safety Regulations

Market Challenges

Conflicting Regulations in the Adoption of Insurance Telematics

Lack of Data Protection and Breach of Privacy

Market Opportunities

Growing Popularity of Autonomous Vehicles

Emergence of Internet of Things (IoT)

Key Companies Profiled



Octo Group S.p.A., Insurance & Mobility Solutions, Agero, Inc., Webfleet Solutions B.V., Verizon Communications, Inc., AXA Group, The Progressive Corporation, Amodo Ltd., Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Generali Group, The Floow Limited, TrueMotion Inc., insurethebox Ltd., Insure Telematics Solutions, and CalAmp Corp.



Key Questions Answered in this Report:

For a new company looking to enter the market, which areas could it focus upon to stay ahead in the competition?

How do the existing market players function to improve their market positioning?

Which are the promising companies that have obtained financial support to develop their products and markets?

How does the supply chain function in the telematics insurance market?

Which companies have been actively involved in innovation through patent applications, and which products have witnessed maximum patent applications during the period 2017-2020?

Which product segment is expected to witness the maximum demand growth in the telematics insurance market during 2020-2025?

Which are the players that are catering to the demand for different insurance programs?

How should the strategies adopted by market players vary for different product segments based on the size of companies involved in each segment?

What are the key offerings of the prominent companies in the market for telematics insurances?

What are the demand patterns of telematics insurances across the application areas in different regions and countries during the period 2020-2025?

Competitive Landscape



The telematics insurance market's competitive landscape consists of different strategies undertaken by key players across the industry to gain traction and market share presence. Some strategies adopted by the service providers are new product launches, business expansions, mergers, partnerships, and collaborations. Among all these strategies adopted, partnerships and collaborations are the popular choices of the strategy implemented in the telematics insurance market. Some of the most prominent ecosystem players are Octo Group S.p.A., Insurance & Mobility Solutions, Agero, Inc., Webfleet Solutions B.V., Verizon Communications, Inc., AXA Group, The Progressive Corporation, Amodo Ltd., Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Generali Group, The Floow Limited, TrueMotion Inc., insurethebox Ltd., Insure Telematics Solutions, and CalAmp Corp.



Some of the notable developments in the telematics insurance market are:

Octo acquired Nebula Systems, a developer of advanced cloud technologies for the automotive and insurance industries, in December 2019 .

. In December 2020 , Amodo Ltd. partnered with Galileo Platforms, an insuretech company, to develop new insurance solutions.

, Amodo Ltd. partnered with Galileo Platforms, an insuretech company, to develop new insurance solutions. In November 2020 , Generali Group partnered with Cattolica Group, an insurance provider, to provide its telematics capabilities to the company.

, Generali Group partnered with Cattolica Group, an insurance provider, to provide its telematics capabilities to the company. In October 2020 , True Motion Inc. partnered with LB Forsikring, an auto insurer based in Denmark , to launch the country's first smartphone-only program.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Markets

1.1 Industry Outlook

1.1.1 Trends: Industry Dynamics Defining the Future Trends in Telematics Insurance Market

1.1.1.1 Impact of COVID-19

1.1.1.2 Smart Camera Technologies in Association with Telematics

1.1.1.3 Telematics for Electric Vehicles

1.1.2 Supply Chain Analysis

1.2 Business Dynamics

1.2.1 Business Drivers

1.2.1.1 Growing Popularity of Mobile Telematics

1.2.1.2 Prevention of False Insurance Claims

1.2.1.3 Increasing Road Accidents

1.2.1.4 Stringent Automotive Safety Regulations

1.2.2 Business Restraints

1.2.2.1 Conflicting Regulations in the Adoption of Insurance Telematics

1.2.2.2 Lack of Data Protection and Breach of Privacy

1.2.3 Business and Corporate Strategies

1.2.4 Business Opportunities

1.2.4.1 Growing Popularity of Autonomous Vehicles

1.2.4.2 Emergence of Internet of Things (IoT)



2 Application

2.1 Telematics Insurance Market: Applications and Specifications

2.1.1 Telematics Insurance Market (by Application)

2.1.1.1 Passenger Vehicles

2.1.1.2 Commercial Vehicles

2.1.2 Telematics Insurance Market (by Distribution Channel)

2.1.2.1 OEM

2.1.2.2 Aftermarket

2.2 Demand Analysis for Telematics Insurance Market (by Application)

2.2.1 Telematics Insurance Market (by Application)

2.2.1.1 Passenger Vehicles

2.2.1.2 Commercial Vehicles

2.2.2 Telematics Insurance Market (by Distribution Channel)

2.2.2.1 OEM

2.2.2.2 Aftermarket



3 Products

3.1 Telematics Insurance Market: Products and Specifications

3.1.1 Telematics Insurance Market (by Type)

3.1.1.1 Pay As You Drive (PAYD) Model

3.1.1.2 Pay How You Drive (PHYD) Model

3.1.2 Telematics Insurance Market (by Device Type)

3.1.2.1 Smartphone

3.1.2.2 On-Board Device

3.1.2.3 Black Box

3.1.2.4 OEM Embedded

3.2 Demand Analysis of Telematics Insurance Market (by Product)

3.2.1 Telematics Insurance Market (by Type), Value, 2019-2025

3.2.1.1 Pay as You Drive (PAYD)

3.2.1.2 Pay How You Drive (PHYD)

3.2.2 Telematics Insurance Market (by Device Type), Value, 2019-2025

3.2.2.1 Smartphone

3.2.2.2 Onboard Device

3.2.2.3 Blackbox

3.2.2.4 OEM embedded



4 Region

4.1 North America

4.2 Europe

4.3 U.K.

4.4 China

4.5 Asia-Pacific and Japan

4.6 Rest-of-the-World (RoW)

5 Markets - Competitive Benchmarking & Company Profiles

5.1 Competitive Benchmarking

5.2 Company Profiles

5.2.1 Octo Group S.p.A.

5.2.1.1 Company Overview

5.2.1.1.1 Product Portfolio

5.2.1.2 Corporate Strategies

5.2.1.2.1 Partnerships and Collaborations

5.2.1.2.2 Mergers and Acquisitions

5.2.1.3 Competitive Position

5.2.1.3.1 Strengths of the Company

5.2.1.3.2 Weakness of the Company

5.2.1.4 Patent Analysis

5.2.2 Insurance & Mobility Solutions

5.2.3 Agero, Inc.

5.2.4 Webfleet Solutions B.V.

5.2.5 Verizon Communications, Inc.

5.2.6 AXA Group

5.2.7 The Progressive Corporation

5.2.8 Amodo Ltd.

5.2.9 Cambridge Mobile Telematics

5.2.10 Generali Group

5.2.11 The Floow Limited

5.2.12 TrueMotion Inc.

5.2.13 insurethebox Ltd.

5.2.14 Insure Telematics Solutions

5.2.15 CalAmp Corp.

6 Research Methodology

6.1 Data Sources

6.1.1 Primary Data Sources

6.2 Data Triangulation

6.3 Market Estimation and Forecast

6.3.1 Factors for Data Prediction and Modeling

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zhkq8w

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets

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Russia must stop its military buildup and ongoing aggression along Ukraine's borders, U.S. Secretary General Antony Blinken said.

"Good to speak today with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg today, whom I look forward to seeing soon. We agreed Russia must end its dangerous military buildup and ongoing aggression along Ukraine's borders," Bliken wrote on his Twitter microblog.

He also said that he and Stoltenberg discussed prospects for advancing peace in Afghanistan.
Some Midwestern cities experiencing an economic boost from immigration sit in conservative counties that helped elect Trump, and opinions about immigration vary in the region. The residents of some towns have risen up to support friends who were living in the country illegally and were scheduled to be deported. Others, like Scott Hansen, a 52-year-old living in Wausau, Wis., say they embrace immigrants who want to start new lives in their cities, but think they should do so legally, through a "front door, not a back door."
As far back as 1996, Mikhail Gorbachev laid bare the agenda driving climate alarmism: The threat of environmental crisis will be the international disaster key to unlock the New World Order. He was underscoring the importance of advancing Marxist objectives by creating an emergency to convince people they must surrender freedom to be safe. That idea has been parlayed over the decades into a global campaign of the Left to control vibrant economies, end individual freedom and national sovereignties, and impoverish the world. In America, it is being served up as the Green New Deal (GND).

Author Marc Morano exposes that elaborate con game in Green Fraud: Why the Green New Deal Is Even Worse Than You Think. Morano is a former senior staff member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and narrator of the film Climate Hustle. His book shows how the GND -- which dovetails with the U.N.s Agenda 21 -- has nothing to do with saving the planet and is actually about transforming modern America into a centrally planned and managed society and imposing an ideology that will rein in the freedoms of individual Americans.

Like Gorbachev, GND champions admit as much. Morano quotes Saikat Chakrabarti, former chief of staff to debutant Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as saying, We really think of it as a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing. And he cites Ocasio-Cortezs campaign aide Waleed Shahid explaining the GND as a proposal to redistribute wealth and power from people on top to the people at the bottom.

For an agenda so ambitious, the name ironically draws on FDRs failed New Deal of the 1930s, a massive program that expanded the size and scope of the federal government to stimulate an economic recovery but ended up prolonging the Great Depression. The prognosis for the GND -- which includes components like universal healthcare, guaranteed annual income, affordable housing, clear water and air projects, and special social and racial justice goals -- is worse. Says David Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research, To reach zero net-carbon emissions in 10 years, the government would regulate and ultimately prohibit the use of affordable energy sources. This would trigger a massive decline in industrial productivity and result in mass layoffs.

Morano attacks the misconception that CO2 levels are rising, explaining how they are in fact among the lowest now in Earths history, and debunks the idea that it is the control knob of the climate. He notes how land use, volcanoes, wind oscillations, ocean cycles, solar activity, the Earths tilt, and multifarious other factors impact climate, adding up to much more than the impact of CO2. He explains that the gas is a harmless and essential component of the atmosphere, a natural product of respiration. Climate scientist Anastasios Tsonis, a former distinguished professor emeritus of University of Wisconsin, is in agreement: Im a skeptic not just about global warming but also about many other aspects of science Climate is too complicated to attribute its variability to one cause.

In truth, the GND is an all-encompassing attack on capitalism, wealth creation, and freedom; its a vehicle for a fundamental transformation of our constitutional republic. The list of non-climate issues tagged on to so-called green goals is ludicrous: income inequality, racial wealth divide, gender earnings gap, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Ocasio-Cortez even believes 100% renewable energy will lead to economic, social, and racial justice in America. Meat-eating isnt spared: the GND proposes to end meat-eating, in line with U.N. climate advisors suggestion that meat-eaters be ostracized like smokers and meat prices wildly inflated to discourage consumption. Why? Flatulent cows and sheep flood the atmosphere with climate-changing methane. To get to net zero emissions by 2050, GND proponents want to eliminate private vehicles, home ownership, and air travel; they also want to ban new roads, fossil fuel production, and nuclear power. These will be achieved through draconian taxes and regulations that advance the Lefts depopulation and deindustrialization agenda.

Shorn of environmental hysterics and the accompanying litany of socialist solutions -- massive government intervention, population control, wealth redistribution, economic restructuring, and limits to national sovereignty -- the GND is an onslaught on the very American spirit of freedom, innovation, and creativity that leads to prosperity. Its well known that prosperous countries do a better job preserving the environment and providing efficient healthcare and cleaner air and water to their people.

In Green Fraud, Morano tallies the astronomical cost of the GNDs fossil fuel phase-out, predicated on the false premise that fossil fuels are a cost rather than a net benefit to society. According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, phasing out fossil fuels and regulating how electricity is produced will cost the average household $75,000 annually. It will also result in steep economic depression and a massive increase in land use for no meaningful climate benefit. The institute calls the GND a back-to-the-Dark-Ages manifesto and has released a series of educational videos on the GNDs heavy-handed regulations.

Contrary to the GNPs insistence on renewables, the world continues to run on fossil fuels. According to the Statistical Review of World Energy 2019 by BP Plc, oil, coal, and gas constitute 85% of the worlds energy consumption while wind and solar represent only 3%. This despite $50 billion in subsidies. Fans of wind and solar energy ignore the mining of rare earth minerals used in components, the toxic wastes produced, and that components -- like windmill blades, which are buried upon scrapping -- cannot be recycled. Solar panels create 200 times more waste than nuclear plants. To produce the same amount of energy, solar and wind farms require 300-400 times more land on average than a natural gas or nuclear plant. Manufacturing the rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles requires the mining of huge amounts of cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, and other minerals, resulting in massive environmental costs.

During the pandemic, climate activists and left-leaning celebrities celebrated the economic collapse and hoped it would result in an inflection point for the planet as the world came to a standstill. Some linked the coronavirus to climate change. Actress-turned-scientist Jane Fonda nonsensically ventured: The melting of the Arctic sheet is releasing untold pathogens to which humans are not immune. Lockdowns necessitated by the pandemic were viewed as a template for the GND. Klaus Schwab, chairman and founder of the World Economic Forum, gleefully contemplated how COVID lockdowns could morph into climate lockdowns.

These might seem like over-the-top instances of Lysenkoism at work -- the willful distortion of science to serve a political purpose. But the woke Left has long been utilizing environmentalism to advance its agenda, insidiously linking climate issues to race, identity, gender, and whatnot. Unfortunately, fashionable wokeness is gaining traction. NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel thinks climate justice and racial justice are the same thing, and well never head off climate catastrophe without dismantling white supremacy. U.N. delegates came up with a Gender Action Plan based on observations that climate change exacerbates existing gender inequality.

Morano final statement on saving America and the world from a crew of anarchists and radicals says it all: The way forward is already clear. Improving technologies, expanding energy access, and growing economies in the developing world are already improving the environment in the United States and across the world more than any Green New Deal, UN treaty, or carbon (dioxide) taxes ever conceivably could.

We must halt the GND and curtail this leftist madness. Or we will lose the worlds greatest experiment in liberty. We will lose America and what it stands for.

Image: Regnery Publishng

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
The National Executive Committee of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is expected to come out with new guidelines for flagbearer aspirants ahead of the next general elections.



The move has become necessary due to the recent scramble among cabinet ministers to succeed President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with barely five months into his second term.



Speaking in an interview on Asaase Radio Monday 12 April, the NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, revealed NEC will meet over the issue later this month.



He said the party is currently drafting a proposal to facilitate the national executive committees work. If we are not mindful of these things, what it means is that for the next three years governments activities and presidents actions are going to be distracted by these needless water testers, he said.



Boadu added: Very soon we will go to our national executive committee, we want a very strong statement from the committee, beyond even that. So, I am putting forward some proposal to the national steering committee quickly by this month we will be at NEC meeting to fashion out guidance to allow governments work to go on.



According to him, the party will not hesitate to sanction those who would flout the measures. President Akufo-Addo must ask any minister who has ambitions to become 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 had told Asaase Radio.



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.



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 a 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.



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 NPP. I believe the current leadership is not doing well. Thats my candid opinion, Mpiani said. He mused on the cause of the scramble, 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 NPP flagbearership.

Source: asaaseradio









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Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP attorneys represented Vizient, Inc. in its acquisition of Intalere from Intermountain Healthcare, which closed on March 31, 2021. Vizient is widely considered the largest member-driven health care performance improvement company in the United States.

This acquisition allows Vizient to expand our relationship with Intermountain Healthcare to include supply chain solutions and services, in addition to clinical and cost analytics, said Byron Jobe, Vizients president and CEO. A special thank you to the GT team for their legal guidance.

The transaction was led by Corporate and Health Care & FDA Practice shareholder Michael L. Malone and Corporate shareholder Thomas Woolsey, both of whom are based in Greenberg Traurigs Dallas office.

Vizient has been a long-time client of the firm and we have always appreciated their trust in our attorneys and legal strategies, said Malone and Woolsey in a joint statement. This acquisition represents yet another great partnership between our colleagues and all of the hard-working individuals at Vizient.

The Greenberg Traurig team also included Washington D.C. office Antitrust Litigation and Competition Regulation shareholder Andrew G. Berg, Dallas office Corporate Associate Richard D. Dusenbury, Dallas office Health Care & FDA Associate Somer Hayes, Dallas Tax Associate Josh Prywes, and Washington D.C. office Corporate Practice Group attorney Rebecca Tracy Rotem.

Read the press release issued by Vizient.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP  Texas: Texas is important to Greenberg Traurig, LLP and part of its history. With more than 130 Texas lawyers in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Greenberg Traurig has deep roots in the Texas business, legal, and governmental communities. Greenberg Traurig Texas works with clients to address their interdisciplinary legal needs across the state utilizing the firms global platform. The Texas attorneys are experienced in industries key to the states future, including: aviation, chemicals, construction, education, energy and natural resources, financial institutions, health care, hedge funds, hospitality, infrastructure, insurance, media, medical devices, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, real estate, retail, sports, technology and software, telecommunications, transportation, and video games and esports.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT), has approximately 2200 attorneys in over 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. The firm is net carbon neutral with respect to its office energy usage and Mansfield Rule 3.0 Certified. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- At a recent online Webinar on Workplace Safety And Workspace Management, DeskFlex executive Shaun Passley noted that major global organizations, like Google LLC and Amazon.Com Inc. have commenced plans to gradually reopen their businesses. Shaun Passley suggested that organizations of all sizes and from all sectors will soon do the same, and stressed the importance of preparing now for that eventuality.

In his welcoming remarks, he said that DeskFlex's own research (based on conversations with existing and prospective clients) indicated that re-opening their physical workspaces is high on their agenda. Many organizations, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are looking for innovative technological solutions, like a start of the art desk reservation system, to help them successfully implement their re-opening plans. In Mr. Shaun Passley words:

"The old ways of using manual visitor registers and visitor logs, to manage employee and visitor safety at workspaces, won't cut it anymore! Only organizations that embrace innovative, real-time technological solutions will make the successful transition from locked-own to open-for-business!"



The Webinar focused on various aspects of Workplace Safety And Workspace Management. These included how organizations can use Office Hoteling, Desk and Cubicle sharing and Conference Room and Meeting space scheduling, and rolling out a remote desk and cubicle reservation system to streamline a safe reopening experience for visitors, guests and employees alike.

The 2-hour session, which was fully-booked based on prescheduling, concluded with a demonstration of various DeskFlex solutions to support a workspace reopening strategy, including workspace safety and scheduling products. Company staff highlighted the ease of integration of these tools with corporate systems, such as MS Outlook and Exchange, and displayed a variety of planning, scheduling and reporting tools to support office hoteling and desk space management.



Established in 1993, DeskFlex is now one of the premier providers of flexible and innovative software for office hoteling and scheduling of conference rooms, office workspaces, desks, and parking spaces. Today, we also offer a broader range of currently applicable solutions, from Vaccine Management, Contact Tracing, and Thermal Detection, to Room Scheduling, Visitor Management, Touch Screens and Cubicle and Desk Beacons.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.





SOURCE DeskFlex
IBC Capital chairman Khurram Shroff has announced the launch of a collection from calligraphist Afaque Hussain, valued at $39 million, on the Toronto-based curated digital arts NFT marketplace, Artifya.

This is the first-ever Arabic calligraphy collection to be tokenized as NFTs, and Khurram plans to make the artwork available to mosques across North America, in commemoration of the holy month of Ramadan.

A member of Artifiyas board of directors, Shroff is also a co-founder of the Ethereum GeneSys Blockchain. As a result of being backed by Ethereum GeneSys, Artifya is able to offer greater code flexibility, and the lowest transaction fees, among similar marketplaces, creating positives for both artists and collectors. The NFT market has been making significant gains globally, with gamers and collectors investing hundreds of millions of dollars, in Blockchain-secured digital collectibles. By lowering the cost associated with the creation and exchange of NFTs, Ethereum GeneSys is playing a critical role in the expansion of this emerging ecosystem.

We are witnessing a boom in NFTs, and the creation of a digital marketplace that is bringing together artists, musicians, gamers, and collectors, globally," said Shroff. Its particularly exciting to be involved in the launch of the first-ever digitally tokenized Arabic calligraphy collection, especially as the NFTs are being created just in time to commemorate Ramadan Kareem.

Shroffs sentiments are shared by the artist and calligraphist whose creations are being offered as NFTs, in this unique launch. As an artist, it's very gratifying to see the latest chapter in the history of an ancient artform being showcased using cutting edge technology, said Hussain. Arabic calligraphy is inextricably linked with Islamic theology and spiritual expression, so Im delighted that the digitized versions of my artwork will be shared with mosques across North America, during the holy month of Ramadan.

Blockchain-authenticated NFTs are creating a mechanism for artists to unlock the value in their creations, and Artifya is at the forefront of this movement, by transparently monetising artwork and making it globally accessible. In addition to lowering costs associated with digitally tokenizing collectibles, Artifya is also able to age NFTs, with the help of Ethereum GeneSys, to mimic changes in the value of physical artwork, with time.

For those of us who have been proponents of Blockchain since its inception, the growth in NFTs is another validation of this decentralized and empowering technology. As supporters of artistic expression around the world, Artifya will continue to expand the number of artists it features, with many more collections to be tokenized in the near future, Shroff concluded. -- Tradearabia News Service
President Joe Biden, seen here on April 7, plans to announce a withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by the upcoming twentieth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to three people familiar with the plans.
At Work: our annual report

At Work is an annual report of the World Nuclear Association's activities. You will find details of the Association's everyday work and plans for the year ahead.

Download At Work 2021 Edition.

Foreword

2020 is a year unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon, for a number of reasons. All of us have been impacted by the pandemic in one way or another, and we have been forced to reassess our priorities. The ongoing crisis showcased just how important affordable and reliable electricity is, both hallmarks of the nuclear industry. As we look ahead at the challenges of the post-COVID economic recovery, of achieving greater climate ambitions at COP26 and reaching the Sustainable Development Goals, nuclear energy is perhaps more important than ever before. The Association will continue to devote every effort towards ensuring that the industrys voice is heard loud and clear.

The pandemic recovery has inevitably been an important aspect of the Associations work for the past year. We joined forces with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency to explore how nuclear energy can aid the recovery. This resulted in four briefs  jobs creation, cost-effective decarbonization, financing and building resiliency with nuclear energy  highlighting the multifaceted role that nuclear energy can and should play in helping the world to get back on its feet. In July we published Building a Stronger Tomorrow: Nuclear power in the post-pandemic world, a white paper setting out how nuclear energy can play a central role in post-COVID recovery efforts by boosting economic growth in the short term, whilst also supporting, in a cost-effective manner, the development of a low-carbon, resilient and affordable energy infrastructure.

Despite the pandemic, six reactors were connected to the grid in 2020, including two in newcomer countries  Belarus (Ostrovets-1) and the United Arab Emirates (Barakah-1)  and construction started on a further six. Every reactor constructed gets us closer to fulfilling our goals of global decarbonization and economic development.

The Association continued to be at the forefront of nuclear conversations around the world, representing the industry at events throughout the year. At the inaugural World Nuclear Association Strategic eForum in September, attended by some 1350 delegates, the global industry came together virtually to discuss pressing issues such as how to maximize the benefits of nuclear and drive investments towards nuclear projects.

Beyond the pandemic response, the Association has continued to engage on issues of global impact, most notably the European Unions Sustainable Financing Taxonomy, the end point of which is critical to ensure that nuclear energy shares the same access to affordable financing as other low-carbon energy sources. We published a white paper, The need for large and small nuclear, today and tomorrow, describing how both large[1] scale nuclear power plants and small modular reactors can play a significant role in the clean energy transition. Towards the end of 2020, the Association also began its preparation for COP26 in earnest, meeting with UK government ministers to reinforce the importance of nuclear energy in any deep decarbonization efforts.

World Nuclear University became virtual in 2020 to continue its mission to train the future leaders of the nuclear industry. Two World Nuclear Industry Today courses were hosted, one in China and one in Brazil, with over 1400 participants. Furthermore, three Extended Leadership Development workshops were hosted, attracting more than 350 participants.

During the course of the year, the Association has welcomed new members covering diverse sectors, from operations to waste management and instrumentation. Our Working Groups have remained active through virtual meetings resulting in the publication of several reports on the enduring value of nuclear energy assets, transportation of uranium, harmonization of reactor design and licensing, and safety classifications.

We have also continued to build and strengthen collaborations, be it with traditional partners such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, or newfound ones, such as the United Nations Economic Commission on Europe, the International Monetary Fund and the ASEAN Centre for Energy. Our ability to extend our reach to new audiences and new channels in 2020, despite difficult conditions, demonstrates the strength of our industry.

In September, it was announced that Agneta Rising, Director General since 2013, would be stepping down. Many of us have admired Agneta and her stalwart efforts to further the nuclear cause for many decades. We are grateful for her service to the Association and its members, and the broader nuclear industry.

Looking ahead, the Association will continue to represent the interests of the nuclear industry in the global arena, ensuring that nuclear power continues to play an integral role now and in the future. As the global community comes together to work towards delivering on our ambitions to combat climate change and achieve sustainable development, it is crucial that we stand ready to do our bit in building a stronger and cleaner tomorrow, today.

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Joe Biden has told Vladimir Putin to stand down in Ukraine as the two leaders shared a phone call today amid a massive build-up of Russian troops on the border.

The US President, facing his first major foreign policy test against an experienced foe, 'voiced concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions', the White House said.

Biden spoke of his 'unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity' and proposed a summit 'in the coming months', the White House said, without giving any indication of Putin's response.

Moscow later added that the phone call had taken place at Washington's request, making it appear that Biden had come crawling to his adversary.

It took place hours after Russia's deputy foreign minister warned Washington to keep its warships away from the Black Sea 'for their own good' while accusing the US and NATO of turning the region into a 'powder keg'.

Sergei Ryabkov said the decision to deploy two ships to the Black Sea is 'a provocation' designed 'to test our nerves' as he called the US 'an adversary', ramping up a war of words between the two nuclear-armed superpowers.

The USS Donald Cook and USS Roosevelt, two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, are thought to be on their way to the Black Sea from a naval base in Spain and due to arrive tomorrow and Thursday, according to Turkish sources which are responsible for policing the straits leading to the sea.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also met with Ukraine's foreign minister in Brussels today, saying that America 'stands firmly behind' its eastern European ally while NATO chief Jens Stoltenburg gave the alliance's 'unwavering support' to Kiev.

President Putin has spent the last week building up forces along Ukraine's border - where there are now thought to be some 83,000 troops - presenting Joe Biden with the first major foreign policy test of his presidency.

While Putin has given no official reason for the build-up, observers believe the move may be in response to a tough line that Biden has taken with Moscow, including referring to Putin as 'a killer' while vowing 'consequences' for attempts to interfere in US elections.

Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow who was in post when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, said this week that Putin appears to be sizing up his counterpart including how he responds to military threats.

Russia has warned the US to keep its ships out of the Black Sea 'for their own good' after Washington sent two destroyers to the region to counter a build-up of Kremlin troops on the Ukrainian border

The USS Roosevelt, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is thought to be one of two warships en route to the Black Sea as a deterrent to Russia (file image)

The USS Donald Cook is also thought to be on its way to the Black Sea, and is due to arrive either tomorrow or on Thursday amid a massive build-up of Russian troops

Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers are seen assembled near the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine where government forces have been fighting Russian-backed rebels since 2015

Ukrainian soldiers train using a heavy machine gun near the border with Russia amid increasing tensions between the two countries which has seen Moscow rapidly increase troop numbers

Putin has not yet given a reason for the sudden troop buildup along Russia's border with Ukraine, but observers believe it may be designed as a test for President Biden after he took a tough stance against Moscow

Joe Biden raised tensions with Moscow by branding Putin a 'killer', with experts saying the troop movements are designed to 'test' the US president

Others theorise that Putin is responding to pressure on his leadership from within Russia itself as poll numbers slump and he fends off unprecedented leaks about his personal life as well as political dissent in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed opposition leader who inspired mass rallies earlier this year.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, said on Tuesday that NATO was planning to station 40,000 troops and 15,000 piece of military equipment in the region - a claim that NATO denies - and Russia is merely responding.

He also blamed NATO training exercises and combat readiness checks for increasing tensions.

'Over three weeks, two armies and three airborne units were successfully deployed to the western borders of the Russian Federation in areas for performing combat training exercises,' he said.

He added that the 'troops have shown full readiness and ability to carry out tasks to ensure the country's military security' and that the exercises would be completed 'within two weeks'.

In a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, NATO leader Stoltenberg said it was actually Russia which had built up arms in the region, calling its latest military movements 'unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.' 'NATO stands with Ukraine,' he added.

Stationed alongside the Russian troops are tanks, artillery, armoured personnel carriers, anti-aircraft missile systems, landing craft and artillery boats.

In response, the Pentagon today confirmed that troop withdrawals from Germany approved under Trump will be cancelled and an additional 500 soldiers will be sent to the country.

The build-up has been matched by an uptick in violence between Ukrainian government forces fighting Russian-backed rebel groups in the country's east, with another Ukrainian soldier killed today.

Alexey Mamchiy, 40, was killed by shrapnel from an enemy grenade which was dropped on him by a drone, according to Ukrainian media. It brings the total number of Ukrainian troops killed in the region this year to 29.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov, speaking in Moscow today, warned the US to keep its distance from Russian forces in the Black Sea, saying the risk of unspecified 'incidents' is very high.

'There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action,' he said. 'Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they are testing our strength... They will not succeed.

'We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay far away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for their own good.'

He added: 'The United States is our adversary and does everything it can to undermine Russia's position on the world stage. We do not see any other elements in their approach. Those are our conclusions.'

A Russian minister warned the US against deploying troops to Crimea and said staying away was 'for their own good'. Pictured: Ukrainian Armed Forces patrol the border in Donbass

Ukrainian servicemen hold a position on the frontline with Russia backed separatists near small city of Marinka, Donetsk

Ukrainian soldiers are seen near a region occupied by Russian-backed separatist groups where fighting has increased in recent weeks, with at least 28 of Kiev's men killed so far this year

'If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are,' Ryabkov added.

'But Kiev and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation.'

Meanwhile the US State Department confirmed that Blinken had met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela in Brussels, saying he 'affirmed the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression.'

'The Secretary expressed concern about Russia's deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing ceasefire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimes and near Ukraine's borders,' a statement added.

'Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Kuleba discussed the importance of advancing rule of law and economic reforms to strengthen Ukraine's institutions, support anti-corruption efforts, and further its Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations.'

Ukraine says Russia has accumulated 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. The numbers are likely to grow as the troops keep arriving.

The Kremlin argues that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of 'provocative actions' along the line of control and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Kremlin officials charged that Kyiv's actions have threatened Russia's security, warning that Russia may intervene to protect Russian speakers in the east.

Underlying Tuesday's meeting is also Ukraine's wish to become a member of NATO over the vehement objections of Moscow.

Stoltenberg insisted it was up to the alliance's 30 members to decide who could join the group, 'and no one else has any right to try to meddle or to interfere in that process.

'It's a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership.

'This is an important principle, because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence where they try to decide what neighbors can do.

'And that is a world we are really trying to leave behind,' the NATO chief said.

'Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately,' Stoltenberg added.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (right) meets with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba (left) in Brussels today as Washington threw its full backing behind its eastern European ally

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov (pictured) said there was no need for American ships 'on our shores', claiming it was 'pure provocation'

Russian media also continued to ramp up tensions, with Margarita Simonyan - editor-in-chief of state-funded outlets RT and Sputnik, calling war with the US 'inevitable' and will break out 'when not if' Putin decides to seize more territory from Ukraine.

But she said it will not be a conventional war, but will instead be fought over information networks - with all-out cyberwarfare, nation-wide blackouts, and the targeted disruption of internet services deployed as weapons.

'In conventional war, we could defeat Ukraine in two days,' Simonyan said, 'but it will be another kind of war. Well do it, and then [the U.S.] will respond by turning off power to [the Russian city] Voronezh.'

Simonyan encourage Putin to shore up Russia's 'vulnerabilities' to cyber warfare while exploiting the US's 'catastrophic' educational standards in order to achieve victory.

The latest warnings come after Russian state TV new anchor Dmitry Kiselyov warned that Russia is 'one step away from war' in Ukraine during a primetime broadcast in Russia on Sunday.

He branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state, saying that Russia may be forced to 'de-Nazify' it buy force - a process he said would bring about its 'economic and military collapse'.

A news report on Russia's Channel One also likened Zelensky - a former actor - to Napoleon after digging up images of him playing the part in an old TV comedy.

The Ukrainian leader was dreaming of 'Napoleonic ambitions' by hoping NATO would come to his aid against Russia, the report said.

But it was clear Zelensky was not evaluating himself 'sensibly'. Portraying Napoleon on screen 'is not the same as doing it,' the report added.

Another report labelled the ex-TV comedian Zelensky a 'commander-in-chief comic', a 'president of war' who was 'inciting' conflict.

Viewers were told that Ukraine with NATO support, rather than Russia, was building up military firepower close to Donetsk and Luhansk, which are controlled by pro-Moscow rebels following a civil war in 2014 that has led to more than 14,000 deaths.

'Never before has there been so much Nato military hardware in Ukraine,' claimed the report.

It also highlighted alleged arrivals of US transport planes and Pentagon-leased cargo vessels in strategic Ukrainian port Odessa.

These claims could not be immediately corroborated.

Videos have also shown tanks, mobile artillery, howitzers, armoured personnel carriers and support vehicles being ferried to the front - many of which are being massed at a camp near the city of Voronezh, around 115 miles from the border.

Russia has continued to move artillery pieces (left), armoured vehicles (right) and troops to its border with Ukraine amid warnings the build-up could spark war in Europe

Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Moscow, said the build-up - which is being carriedo out in full view of cameras (above ) - is 'definitely' designed to test Joe Biden

Videos from Rostov-on-Don, around 100 miles from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, show tanks (left) and support vehicles being moved closer to the border

Mendel added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has requested talks with Putin over the troop buildup, but has not yet received a response.

Zelenskiy will this week travel to Paris to discuss the rising tensions with European allies.

Asked by BBC Radio 4 how concerned world leaders should be by the situation in Ukraine, Mr McFaul responded simply: 'Very.'

While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened 'consequences and costs' if Russia moves into Ukraine, Mr McFaul said his threat does not go far enough.

He called on the White House should be explicit in spelling out what its retaliation would be if Russia attacked, in the hopes of changing the calculation Putin makes before giving the order.

'Sanctions almost never change Putin's behaviour post-facto, but they might change his calculations before he decides to make a move,' he said.

He added that the G7 should also put out a statement condemning Russia's actions instead of forcing America to take its stand alone.

Invited to speculate on why Putin is now making an issue out of a conflict that has been smouldering in eastern Ukraine for the past five years, Mr McFaul pointed to 'tough' things that Biden has said about the Russian president since taking office.

Back in March, Biden called Putin 'a killer' while threatening to retaliate against Russian attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.

The remark caused fury in Moscow, as Putin's spokesman called it 'unprecedented' and said it is clear that Biden 'does not want to improve relations with us, and we will continue to proceed from this'.

Observers have also pointed to pressure mounting on Putin from within Russia as a reason for him to ratchet up simmering tensions.

The president is facing slumping popularity in the polls, repeated leaks to the media about his closely-guarded private life, and serious opposition in the form of Alexei Navalny - the now-jailed critic who sparked mass protests back in January.

Andrea Kendall-Taylor, of the Center for a New American Security, told Foreign Policy magazine that 'it feels like Putin is drumming up the besieged Russia narrative'.

Amid the tensions, Russian media warned on Monday that the country is 'one step away from war' as anchors branded Ukraine a 'Nazi' state and played footage of weapons being moved to the border.

Ukraine has begun pumping out its own images of military preparations, including troops practicing with an anti-tank launcher

Ukrainian troops practice with anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers as the government warns of the risk of Russian invasion

A Russian 'peacekeeping' vehicle is seen on the move in Transnistria, in Moldova, along Ukraine's western flank

Moscow also unveiled a new video of its latest weaponry marking Day of the Air Defence Forces.

More footage showed the first recent Russian military massing on Ukraine's western flank, with movements in Transnistria, a no-man's land controlled by Moscow that borders Moldova.

Some carried 'peacekeeper' signs, normal for Moscow forces in the breakaway territory. It was not immediately clear where the forces were heading.

Troops and equipment have also been on the move in annexed Crimea, along with the Russian regions of Pskov, Ryazan, Rostov-on-Don, and elsewhere.

Images also emerged from Ukraine of forces doing drills with the Korsar (Corsar) light portable anti tank missile system.

And reports say US military reconnaissance planes P-8A Poseidon and Lockheed EP-3E Orion have been spotted over the Black Sea close to Crimea during the weekend.

It comes after Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, warned last week of the threat of a 'second Srebrenica' against Russian speakers in Ukraine - referencing a massacre of Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war.

Deputy head of the presidential administration Dmitry Kozak warned that, if Russia finds reason to intervene in the conflict, then it would be the 'beginning of the end' for Ukraine.

Military action would be 'not a shot in the leg, but in the face', he added.
People line up in the rain for a COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up clinic at the Masjid Darus Salaam in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood in Toronto on Sunday, April 11, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Let's not forget that the former Navy SEAL also came to the aid of a shooting victim in STL as his life story remains more captivating than any of the other challengers for Jeff City job.

Read more . . .
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - SALAZAR RESOURCES LIMITED (TSXV: SRL) (OTCQB: SRLZF) ("Salazar" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the exploration activities within its wholly-owned portfolio of properties.

Mapping, and rock chip and soil sampling at Los Santos has been carried out over approximately 12% of the area (Figure 1). Initial results indicate the area has gold potential (Figure 2). Nearby, at Los Osos, drilling is underway with OSOS-03 at a depth of 508 m (Figure 3). The targeted hole depth is 500-600 m, depending on mineralization intensity, and the core will be logged prior to despatch for assay.

A geophysical survey at Macara Mina has highlighted feeder structures and possibly an intrusion at depth, both of which are associated with previously reported geological and geochemical anomalies (Figure 4). Drilling is planned at Macara Mina in H2 2021, contingent on the requisite permits being granted.

At Ruminahui preparations for a preliminary drill program of 3,000 m to test gold-copper targets are well advanced. The core shed is complete, and the team is ready to start drilling as soon as the requisite water permits are received.

Perforaciones Andesdrill S.A, a wholly owned subsidiary of Salazar Resources, currently has one rig deployed at Los Osos, another two rigs currently available for work on the Curipamba and Pijili projects with Adventus Mining, and a fourth rig completing maintenance in HQ at Las Naves and ready to be deployed. The rigs will continue to work across the broader portfolio, as the drilling schedule demands, providing cost-effective drilling services for the Company.

Fredy E. Salazar, CEO and President of Salazar Resources commented, "Our drill rigs are turning and we have projects advancing in both the carried and the wholly-owned portfolio of properties. In particular, it will be great to see our original discovery at El Domo reach the milestone of a completed Feasibility Study later this year.

2021 remains on track to be Salazar's busiest ever year, as we explore and delineate in the search for the next great copper-gold discovery. Not only that, but in this election year we reiterate our commitment to ensuring that all of our exploration and development activities have a positive impact on Ecuadorian communities and the economy. Our successful track record of working closely with communities to bring exploration projects to development phase attests to this."

Los Santos

Los Santos 2.1 lies in a district with a well-established tradition of gold panning and artisanal gold mining. The licence is adjacent to identified mineral resources at Lumina Gold's 17 million ounce Cangrejos project (10.4 million oz indicated and 6.6 million oz inferred - see Lumina Gold's news release dated June 9, 2020), and in close proximity to Salazar Resources' Los Osos property. Salazar Resources field crews have mapped about 12% of the 2,215 hectare licence area so far, with a number of soil and rock chip samples collected and assayed (see Figure 1, below).

The geochemical plots in Figure 2 (below) show that the gold and the copper anomalies are coincident, with gold values high relative to copper. The presence of porphyritic intrusions and artisanal development on structures has been noted, but so far the intense brecciation seen at Los Osos has not been encountered. Fieldwork continues and the aim of having drill targets developed by mid-year remains on track.

Los Osos

Two holes within the Phase 1 drilling program at the Osos project, El Oro, Ecuador, have already been completed. The drilling is designed to define mineralized breccias and test for the presence of the upper portions of a mineralized porphyry. The northernmost hole of the two, OSOS-01, successfully intersected hydrothermal breccias, sulphides including chalcopyrite, clay alteration, quartz veining, veinlets, and stockworks, with elevated to anomalous gold mineralization. The core indicates that the hole was drilled into the upper part of a mineralized porphyry system, and OSOS-03 is a step-out to the north to test the continuity of the mineralization. OSOS-03 has an azimuth of 270o, and a dip of 60o (see Figure 3, below). OSOS-03 has reached a depth of 508 m, intersecting core visually similar to OSOS-01, with sulphides, breccias, and porphyritic intrusions. The targeted hole depth was 500-600 m, depending on mineralization intensity, and the core will be logged prior to despatch for assay.

After OSOS-03, Salazar is planning to drill test the high-grade structures in the northeast of the property. Drilling is being carried out by Perforaciones Andes Drill S.A, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Salazar Resources.

The property is located in the Miocene Porphyry belt of Ecuador which is becoming an increasingly important zone of discoveries. It sits at the western end of the Cangrejos-Zaruma intrusive belt in southern Ecuador. This geologic belt is typified by multiple nested late Oligocene to Early Miocene intrusions, punctured and intruded by a number of porphyry dikes and breccia pipes. The approximately 20 Ma age of the intrusions in the Zaruma intrusive belt is the same as that of the giant Chilean porphyries which range in age from 10-40 Ma years.

Macara

In late 2020 a geophysical survey was completed at Macara Mina. The Prospect was surveyed, where possible, on 17 N-S lines 100 m apart with magnetic and gravity surveys by EIRL of Peru. An interpretation of the data was carried out by Brian Williams, Consultant Geophysicist at Williams Geophysics Ltd (UK).

A portion of the area in the southwest could not be surveyed due to prohibitively steep terrain. Due to the rugged topography figures 4 and 5, below, show slices extracted at depth below the surface rather than at horizontal intervals.

The main magnetic body lies beneath the valley in the northern part of the grid, near the center of the large gold-bearing geochemical anomaly as shown in Figure 4. This suggests that the gold is associated with the magnetic body, and the survey showed that the anomaly persists at depth. Figure 4 shows the Magnetic Vector Inversion ("MVI") at a depth of 200 m below surface, and the anomaly is clear for the -50 m and -100 m levels as well. The magnetic sources appear to lie in an arc trending SSW from north to south across the grid. MVI was used as that was found to best accommodate the remnant magnetic fields in the magnetic sources.

The gravity survey did not pick up a large dense body that would have potentially indicated a massive sulphide occurrence but it did highlight an area of low density in the northern part of the license area. As can be seen in Figure 5, below, the gravity low coincides well with the hydrothermal breccias and gold anomalies shown in the rock samples. The anomaly improves in resolution with depth, and the figure below uses a depth of 500 m as it shows a potential correlation between the gravity signal and the geochemical signal more clearly than shallower slices.

The combined gravity and magnetic anomalies, coupled with the geology indicate that the features may well be part of a feeder system or the host of the mineralization seen at surface. Thick units of pillow lavas are evident in the area, and the low density zone under the geochemical anomaly could be generated by an intrusion.

Ruminahui

At Ruminahui, preparations for a preliminary drill program of 3,000 m to test gold-copper targets are complete, bar the water use permit. Drilling will be the culmination of years of positive and constructive dialogue with the local community. The drill program is being designed to test historic adits, old workings, near surface veins and stockworks that Salazar believes may be linked to an underlying porphyry. The core shed and logging areas are ready, as are all the support and logistics systems. The Company has complied with the regulatory requirements to qualify for drilling and is now awaiting final sign-off from the local authorities.

QAQC

Salazar maintains a rigorous chain-of-custody and quality assurance/quality control program that includes the insertion of certified standard control samples and blanks, and re-analysis of samples with high levels (over limit) of gold, copper and zinc. All samples were analysed by Inspectorate Services Peru S.A.C. (Bureau Veritas), a certified ISO 17025:1999 and ISO 9001:2000 laboratory. The laboratory also maintains a QAQC program that includes insertion of blanks, standards and duplicate reanalysis of selected samples. Gold was analysed by fire assay - atomic absorption spectroscopy (FA-AAS). Silver, copper, zinc and other elements were analyzed by aqua regia extraction with an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS) finish.

Qualified Person

Kieran Downes, Ph.D., P. Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and verified the technical information provided in this release.

About Salazar

Salazar Resources is focused on creating value and positive change through discovery, exploration and development in Ecuador. The team has an unrivalled understanding of the geology in-country, and has played an integral role in the discovery of many of the major projects in Ecuador, including the two newest operating gold and copper mines.

Salazar Resources has a wholly-owned pipeline of copper-gold exploration projects across Ecuador with a strategy to make another commercial discovery and farm-out non-core assets. The Company actively engages with Ecuadorian communities and together with the Salazar family it co-founded The Salazar Foundation, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to sustainable progress through economic development.

The Company already has carried interests in three projects. At its maiden discovery, Curipamba, Salazar Resources has a 25% stake fully carried through to production. A feasibility study is underway and a 2019 PEA generated a base case NPV(8%) of US$288 million. At two copper-gold porphyry projects, Pijili and Santiago, the Company has a 20% stake fully carried through to a construction decision.

Figure 1. Soil geochemistry sample points, Los Santos, El Oro, Ecuador

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Salazar Resources

Figure 2. Copper and Gold soil geochemistry, Los Santos, El Oro, Ecuador

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Salazar Resources

Figure 3. Drill Plan, Los Osos, El Oro, Ecuador

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Salazar Resources



Figure 4. Combined geochemistry and geophysics (magnetics) at Macara

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Salazar Resources



Figure 5. Combined geology and geophysics (gravity) at Macara

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Source: Salazar Resources

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80194
State prosecutors have agreed to take over the investigation into sexual assault accusations against Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli from the Sonoma County District Attorneys Office after a prosecutor in that office, who is also on Windsors Town Council, made new allegations about Foppolis conduct.

Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch released a statement Monday announcing the move and describing the chain of events that led to her decision to recuse her office.

Over the weekend I became aware of allegations made by a member of my office that made clear to me that my office would have a conflict of interest proceeding with any further investigation, or potential subsequent prosecution of charges related to the allegations, she said.

As such, I contacted the Attorney Generals office to share my concerns. I was advised (Monday) morning by that agency that they will immediately assume the responsibilities of reviewing these incidents, and if appropriate, charging and prosecuting any relevant violations of the law.

Over the weekend, Foppoli and Town Council member and Deputy District Attorney Esther Lemus traded allegations about each other, which were reported by other media. The Chronicle continues to investigate those statements.

Ravitch said she first learned of the Foppoli allegations by reading a Chronicle investigation into the Windsor mayor published Thursday. The expose detailed allegations by four women who said the 38-year-old elected official and winemaker sexually assaulted them in incidents from 2003 to 2019.

A fifth woman then accused Foppoli, who has served as Windsors mayor since 2018, of sexual assault during a three-year relationship that ended in 2004. She said she decided to speak publicly after reading The Chronicles account.

A statement from Foppoli on Saturday night called the five womens allegations against him unfounded. He said he never pressured any female to engage in sexual conduct with me. Despite a growing list of North Bay elected officials calling for him to resign, along with his brother, Foppoli has vowed to fight the accusations.

Ravitch had said that upon reading the articles she became deeply concerned and assigned her chief investigator and chief deputy in charge of sexual assault prosecutions to review the article and recommend next steps. She also released a message asking victims to reach out to her office.

Weve subsequently communicated with a number of individuals with information, she said. Additionally, the Sonoma County Sheriffs Office has now opened an investigation, so we are directing anyone with information to contact that agency.

The DA encouraged anyone with information about the allegations or who may have been victimized to contact the sheriffs office, the state attorney generals office or the Family Justice Center Sonoma County.

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni
Cuomo would never credit the mayor with his own ideological recalibration, and many New Yorkers do share the governors view of de Blasio as a hollow ideologue and bumbling manager. De Blasio, in turn, has complained about what he sees as inequities in their respective news coverage, according to former aides: How does he get away with this stuff? he has said of Cuomo to his staff. The mayor accused the governor in 2015 of carrying out a vendetta against him, despite de Blasios past fealty, surmising correctly that the word carried sufficient Mafia connotations to especially enrage Cuomo. He knows what that means, the governor simmered privately.

That these men are essentially right about each other has made the proceedings no less exasperating for their constituents. But Cuomo, by far the more powerful and vindictive of the pair, is most responsible for sustaining hostilities, bedeviling City Hall with such nontrivial slights as failing to give notice that the state planned to shut down transit service during a 2015 snowstorm. He doesnt want other people to win, even if it doesnt affect him  that is uniquely Cuomo in a lot of ways, Eric Phillips, a former press secretary to de Blasio, told me. In his world, two people cant win. He must be the only one who wins.

He has won, more often than not, even measuring himself against his heroes. Cuomo has always seemed to believe that he was different from and tougher than his father  the blunt-force son of a ponderous liberal  straining to resist the executive atrophy that he sensed late in the last Cuomo administration. The younger Cuomo has told confidantes in recent years that he advised his father against pursuing a fourth term in 1994. Andrew Cuomo cited the challenges of attracting and retaining top talent across so many years as an argument against another campaign. He encouraged his father to embrace an offer that Clinton had dangled: a nomination to the Supreme Court. Instead, Mario Cuomo ran again and lost.

Andrew Cuomos prophecy about staff churn seems to have caught up to him, too, at an equivalent point in his tenure. Joseph Percoco, a former top aide whom Cuomo had referred to as his fathers third son, sits in federal prison after being convicted in 2018 of soliciting and accepting bribes. Other advisers have left the administration or his circle altogether, ground down by the punishing hours and slashing insults that have at times reduced state officials to tears. Some who remain, including Melissa DeRosa, his top aide, have seen their own reputations ravaged by allegations of dishonesty and belligerence, even as most in state politics assume that the tone is set by the governor. Andrew Cuomo demands loyalty under all circumstances, Sheinkopf, the former adviser, told me. The question is, what do people get in return?

To Paterson, who struggled himself to corral the machinery of government, the better question is what Cuomo is missing out on. The former governor told me that he admired his successors ability to leave no doubt about who controlled the state. But he did wonder what Cuomo wasnt hearing. I think he has people hes very close to, Paterson said. I think theyll tell him what they really think if hes going after someone. But if its something theyre not doing, or something hes doing, I dont think they tell him. I dont think they tell him.

In American Crisis  Cuomos book last year about leadership lessons from his time as the determined public face of Covids initial U.S. epicenter  the governor steered his prose to the subject of his own daring when at sea. Some of my adventures have been quite foolhardy, he wrote, with more thrill than regret, recalling treacherous outings off the Eastern Seaboard. There is nothing quite as intimidating as being in a storm at night in a small boat and looking at a wave you know could crush you in an instant.
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MOSCOW  Russias defense minister said Tuesday that the countrys massive military buildup in the west was part of readiness drills amid what he described as threats from NATO.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the maneuvers in western Russia that have worried neighboring Ukraine and brought warnings from NATO would last for another two weeks.

Speaking at a meeting with the top military brass, Shoigu said the ongoing exercise was a response to what he claimed were continuous efforts by the United States and its NATO allies to beef up their forces near Russias borders.

In the past three weeks, the Russian military has deployed two armies and three airborne formations to western regions as a response to the alliances military activities threatening Russia, the defense minister said.

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The troops have shown their full readiness to fulfill tasks to ensure the countrys security, he said.

The U.S. and its allies have sounded alarm about the concentration of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine and increasing violations of a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-baked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula.

More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. The chief of NATO on Tuesday called the recent Russian deployment the largest concentration of troops near the Ukraine border since 2014.

The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden voiced concern over the Russian buildup and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, during a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In separate meetings with Ukraines foreign minister, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg strong support for Ukraine and warned Russia against pressing ahead with its troop buildup along the former Soviet republics eastern border.

Amid the recent tensions, the United States notified Turkey that two U.S. warships would sail to the Black Sea on April 14 and April 15 and stay there until May 4 and May 5. The U.S. Navy ships have made regular visits to the Black Sea in past years, vexing Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov denounced the latest deployment as openly provocative, adding that American ships have absolutely nothing to do near our shores.

They are testing our strength and playing on our nerves, Ryabkov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. Seeing itself as the Queen of the Seas, the U.S. should realize that the risks of various incidents are very high. We warn the U.S. that it should stay away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast for their own benefit.

NATO chief Stoltenberg expressed the Western military alliances unwavering support for Ukraine during a news conference on Tuesday with Ukraines foreign minister, calling the Russian movements unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.

The Kremlin has argued that Russia is free to deploy its troops wherever it wants on its territory and has repeatedly accused the Ukrainian military of provocative actions along the line of control in the east and of planning to retake control of the rebel regions by force.

Ryabkov reaffirmed Tuesday that if there is any escalation, we will do everything to ensure our own security and the security of our citizens whenever they are, adding that Kyiv and its Western curators will bear all the responsibility for the consequences of that hypothetical escalation.
ALBANY  Denmark is showing the Capital Region what the offshore wind power industry can do to remake an economy without it being a zero-sum game.

And business and government policy makers are taking notice from the Scandinavian country, which has transformed itself into one of the leading renewable energy producers in the world over the past several decades, with a special focus on offshore wind farms.

On Tuesday, Albany's Center for Economic Growth hosted a virtual summit on the topic of offshore wind development, following the state's announcement in January that the Port of Albany, on the Hudson River, would host the first-ever U.S.-based offshore wind turbine tower assembly facility.

The selection of the Port of Albany  the Port of Coeymans just south of there will also play a role  was the result of years of effort by the Cuomo administration to encourage offshore wind farm development off the shore of Long Island. That move is attracting billions of dollars of investment in the state  much of it from overseas  while helping Gov. Andrew Cuomo achieve his renewable energy goals for the state.

The goal is to create 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity in the state by 2035, enough to power six million homes and carry 30 percent of the state's electrical load. Such a buildup would lead to 10,000 jobs and billions of dollars in infrastructure investments in New York, supporters say.

Danish officials participated in the summit, along with local civic and business officials, including Doreen Harris, the CEO of NYSERDA, the state's renewable energy development agency.

"This is one of my favorite topics to talk about," Harris said during the summit. "It's many, many years in the making, and this is really the beginning. The Capital Region offers a very significant value proposition to this industry. We're talking about hundreds and thousands of jobs coming our way."

And Denmark has provided a guide for how to get there. The small country surrounded by water has literally built its economy on energy production from renewable sources in the past 40 years.

"We do believe these two countries (Denmark and the United States) can learn from each other and inspire each other," said Lone Dencker Wisborg, Denmark's ambassador to the U.S. "We look forward to it."

Denmark is actually helping CEG educate the local business and political community in creating its own offshore wind industry, which was jump-started in January when the Port of Albany and the Port of Coeymans were named as production facilities for two offshore wind farm developments awarded by NYSERDA. The two facilities are expected to hire 1,300 workers to help assemble offshore wind farm parts starting in 2023. A third wind farm off the New England coast will provide electricity to New York state as well.

The projects are expected to attract $14 billion in investments. The Port of Coeymans will be making foundations for the wind farms. A Norwegian firm called Equinor will be operating at the Port of Albany.

James Glennie, an offshore wind expert with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that unlike in the U.S., energy policy and environmental policy in Denmark are intertwined, along with domestic security. Renewable energy accounts for 80 percent of the country's output, an incredible number that went from zero during the OPEC embargo in the 1970s. The Cuomo administration is looking to a similar model.

"There was a lot of industry separation (in the past)," Glennie said. "It's very important to address policy across departments. It's really important to set a long-term vision, and not just set it but hold onto it."
For Robert Fuller, owning one of Hudson Valley's most charming and carefully curated home furnishing and vintage stores certainly has its perks: It means that his personal home, a rustic 1,300 square-foot cabin in the woods of Jewett that hes owned for three years, has an entire store at its disposal.

He often rotates out pieces of furniture, decor and sought-after vintage items between his store and home. That opportunity, combined with the talents of his day job as Chanels U.S. Director of Visual Merchandising, where hes the man behind the creative direction for all points of sale where Chanel is sold, is the perfect equation for creating a beautiful and comfortable home.

GO WEEKENDING WITH ROBERT FULLER: 48 hours in the Hudson Valley with a vintage specialist

Prior the pandemic, Fuller rented out his home on Airbnb for vacationers who were lucky enough to stumble upon the jewel in Jewett, Greene County. Now, Fuller spends most of his weekends in his captivating cabin, filled with surprise wonders and vintage finds in every corner.

The living room

Fuller describes the journey to finding his home: Two things happened at the same time [that drew me upstate]: my love for antiques and nostalgic items. In an attempt to collect more, I would research new locations for antiques and vintage collectibles and one of those places was the upstate area, specifically Hudson. I would go alone, I would go with friends, it didnt matter  I would always be shopping for antiques. They bring me comfort. I would be upstate so often and spent so much money on Airbnbs, that I thought, Why dont you just buy a place of your own? So I did.

The kitchen and dining room

Fuller: Before finding this one, my realtor had taken me on a search for many different kinds of homes. There were ultra modern homes, there were colonial homes  you name the era and style and Ive seen it. When she saw this one, she didnt think I would like it because it was very simple and very dark and very rustic. It had all dark wood paneling which also made it look very outdated ... She was really shocked to see a huge smile on my face as I went from room to room. And even more shocked when I put an offer on it. I saw the potential.

The bedrooms

Fuller: I had never heard of Jewett before. I had heard of Hunter and Windham because they are two major ski areas. When I heard of Jewett I didnt know what to think. Whenever anyone comes here whether its the repair man or a friend, they always say, Wow, youre really out there arent you? Because it really is remote. And you have your full privacy.

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The bathroom

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The cabin, which was built in 1972, has two bathrooms and two bedrooms, and the renovation took about a year  a delay lengthened by how difficult it was to find contractors who would come all the way out to Jewett, Fuller recalls. He says of the 1,300-square-foot cabin: Its not awfully large. Its just very cozy and comforting.

The basement

Says Fuller of his home's aesthetic: The cabin really gives a nod to the Catskills. There are quite a number of animals, both fake and taxidermy. I enjoy taxidermy, especially in the speakeasy/library Ive created in the basement. There are lots of items made of wood and antlers, as well as lots of skis and sleds used for decor.

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Robert Vintage Home, Robert Fuller's vintage and unique home furnishings store, is located at The Antique Warehouse, 99 S Front St, Hudson, NY 12534. Open daily, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Follow him on Instagram @robert_vintagehome

Laura Lane is an author, journalist and comedy writer. Her most recent book Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling is available now. Twitter @lauralane
A heartbroken mother has been given fresh hope after police announced a $100,000 reward for anybody with information about her daughter's disappearance nearly 30 years ago.

Amber-Lee Cruickshank was just two years old when she vanished from a house in Kingston, near Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand, on October 17, 1992.

Her mother, Nicole, has spent the past 29 years in agony wondering what happened to her baby girl as her body has never been found.

New Zealand Police on Tuesday announced they would be offering the large reward and immunity to anyone with knowledge about Amber-Lee's whereabouts.

Ms Cruickshank said that even after 29 years, she and her family had 'never given up hope'.

Amber-Lee Cruickshank was just two-years-old when she vanished from a house in Kingston, near Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand on October 17, 1992

'It's been sheer hell. It doesn't stop for us and it never will until we bring Amber home,' Ms Cruickshank, who has three other sons, told Daily Mail Australia.

'I don't want to leave this earth without knowing what happened.'

On the day of Amber-Lee's sudden disappearance, Ms Cruickshank and her family had been on their way to set up a new life on the west coast.

They stopped by in Kingston because one of their back windows on their house bus had been smashed and they needed to repair it.

While staying overnight in the small town, the family threw a barbecue near the lake, spending time with friends and enjoying a day on the water in their boat.

'Next minute, she was gone,' Ms Cruickshank said.

In the 29 years since her disappearance, police have stumbled across leads and pieces of information but none have ever brought the family any closer to finding Amber-Lee.

Extensive searches across the country on land and in the water have given the family no solace.

In 2011 their fears were almost put to rest when bones were found near the area where the toddler had vanished from.

But in a cruel twist of fate, the bones were found to have belonged to a sheep.

'I'll never forget that day,' Ms Cruickshank said.

In the 29 years since her disappearance, police have stumbled across leads and pieces of information but none have ever brought the family any closer to finding Amber-Lee

'I crumbled. I've never felt a loss like that in my life and I have lost a lot. I couldn't believe the bones I thought were my baby daughter's were those of a sheep.

'It was pure torture.'

She said her sons, Harley, Danny and Jacob, had all suffered with the void of losing their sister and seeing the constant pain their mother lives in.

Ms Cruickshank said the police reward was 'overwhelming' and 'long overdue'.

'It should have been put out there a long time ago,' she said.

'But it doesn't change the fact that we still have hope, we have a bit more now.'

Heroically, the mother said she didn't care what happened to the person responsible for her daughter's disappearance, but simply wanted to bring her little girl home.

'I just want Amber home. I don't care about what punishment the person responsible gets,' she said.

'I just want an end to this nightmare. She deserves this.'

Amber-Lee would have turned 31 years old on May 5.

Detective Inspector Stu Harvey said she may have been the victim of foul play.

'There is someone out there who holds the key to the truth,' he said.

The family of the two-year-old say they will never give up hope in finding out what happened to their beloved Amber-Lee

'We're hoping with the passing of time that someone will come forward with information that will finally provide both Amber-Lee's family and police with answers.'

The reward will be for anyone who has material information or evidence which can lead to the identity of a person responsible for the toddler's disappearance.

The $100,000 will be on offer for six months and immunity from prosecution will be considered for any accomplice who is not the main offender.

'Her mother and family members have been left to worry and angst about what happened to this very young child for far too long,' Inspector Harvey said.

'We want to bring them answers and closure.'

Anyone with information should contact police on non-emergency phone number 105 and reference Operation Oliver: 921030/2144.
In continuity, we will demonstrate the unique strengths and the added advantage of the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to the NPPs electoral fortunes as far as the 2024 general election is concerned.



The Samira Bawumia Effect



One of the greatest assets and strength to the candidature of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is his beloved and awe-inspiring spouse, Alhajia Samira Bawumia, who has over the years proven to be a rock around not just his success but also to the NPP and its electoral fortunes. Again, rarely do we see wives of Presidential candidates or their running-mates engage in the rigorous grassroot politicking as being done by Alhajia Samira Bawumia. Her strong appetite for grassroots politics has seen her traverse every part of our country and engage with rural and urban dwellers especially amongst the minority settlers canvassing for votes for our party Parliamentary and Presidential candidates.



She is eloquent and has mastery of political communication which she has consistently deployed to move crowds on bigger campaign platforms  an example of such a trait is her we see you speech at our last rally at the Trade fair Centre in the crucial 2016 elections which shook the foundations of the NDC and electrified the political atmosphere at the time. She will offer impetus to a Bawumia ticket which will be useful to the party going forward as it has been the case with past elections.



The Bawumia Effect - Competence



With respect, never has our nation witnessed the kind of vibrancy, teamwork and activeness of any Vice President at least in the 4th republic as we have seen with Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. His creative thinking and innovation in driving policies that seeks to place Ghana at a competitive edge among her peers is admirable. It will amount to incompetence to latch him with failure as far as the delivery of our economy and other social policies are concerned. He is largely credited with leading the governments efforts in formalising our economy through digitalization.



Though Ghana is not yet there, however, we are certainly better-off than we were yesterday due to some of the strategic inputs of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia. It is not surprising that notable leaders in every sphere of our national life including President Nana Akufo Addo and former President John Agyekum Kufuor continually extol his credentials and the meaningful impacts that he continues to exude for the benefit of our country men and women. Indeed, the living colossus and eminent statesman, President John Agyekum Kufuor is quoted to have said in one of his many speeches reposing his confidence in the Veep that ...the nation must count itself fortunate to have such a son as Alhaji. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia who rightly fits the role of the needed analyst. He is an Economist, Banker and also a Responsible Politician who has a lot of experience.



The historical provenance of the Ghanaian politics has always been characterised by what we describe as an issue-based politics which has always been about the progress of Ghana and the welfare of its people. On the same stretch, our politics was not spared by our political opponents, who in expressing their sheer discomfort against issues-based politics, were so convinced about providing in their party constitution the election of a propaganda Secretary, a position which they struggled to abandon, but eventually did so reluctantly.



Dr. Bawumia arguably succeeded in reshaping and reintroducing into the discourse of our body-politics once again an issue based and intellectually stimulating politicking. He has consistently boxed our main opponents, the NDC, into the intellectual corner much to their discomfort by getting them to stick to relevant issues that affect our economy. Till date, the NDC is still struggling to mount a purposeful challenge against Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with respect to most of his remarks  indeed, facts and data which are his greatest weapons has generated him into becoming their tormentor-in-chief. Hate or loathe him, Ghanaians have come to appreciate his brilliance through his series of lectures dubbed by many as Economics 101, and more importantly, the dexterity with which he is able to demystify certain economic jargons to the understanding of the least educated in society.



Aside Dr. Bawumia having the competence to continue on the transformational path and legacy of President Akufo-Addo, he has proven to be a thorn in the flesh of the NDC with his intellectual approach to our national discourse and taking the fight to their doorstep.



Most Marketable with a National Appeal



The weakest amongst the arguments being canvassed by critics of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is to tout him as politically inexperienced. If having been a running-mate for a major political party like ours on 4 different elections and having helped immensely to win 2 of those general elections to become a Vice President serving in a 2nd term is not a political experience enough to become a President, then it begs the question, what is political experience? It only takes a political novice to advance or agree to such a fallacious commentary. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has a mountainous and unmatched pedigree in terms of marketability and national appeal.



Indeed, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has become a household name in Ghana  having traversed the length and breadth of our country canvassing for votes for the past 11years. Averagely, he has crisscrossed the country not less than twice prior to both internal Presidential primaries and the general elections.



It is important to emphasise that he has appeared on campaign posters, commercials, billboards etc alongside with President Nana Akufo Addo since 2008  not to talk of his widespread media coverage and appearances.



Such is an enviable and unbeatable credentials that cant be downplayed. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia with his national appeal and charisma will make the job of beating any NDC contender in 2024 much easier than presenting a totally new candidate who does not come with all these many added advantages.



He has a national appeal which cuts across ethnicity, religion and persons of all ages and gender. Though a Muslim, he has continually promoted and become a symbol of religious tolerance in our nation  He offers persons of the Christian faith and their clergy due recognition as he is often seen attending their programs in the same manner, he carries on with people of his Islamic faith. This has endeared him to a tremendous support from people of all religious faith.



Loyalty and Dedication



Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has since his emergence onto the national political space remained a true blue  through thick and thin, he has shown fidelity to the course by being there for the party and its flagbearer at every material time. It is by no means a coincidence that he has always enjoyed the support of the party and the President especially for choosing him in 4 consecutive elections to be their running mate  that is a testament of the confidence they repose in him for his dedication, loyalty and value addition to the course.



As a technocrat of international repute, he did not abandon the party to seek his personal interest when it mattered most - we saw how he worked tirelessly during the 2012 election petition and by so doing becoming its star witness during those difficult moments which redefined the elections of our country  it was through some of his efforts and sacrifice that our country was able to undertake some major electoral reforms which has bear fruit for us all as citizens today.



Our party is one that rewards hard work and sacrifice, and we wont be forgetting too soon its dedicated servants.



Conclusion



There is certainly a lot to say on the attributes of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in regard to our electoral advantage. However, with this little background, one cannot be oblivious of the fact that he represents our best choice as the next lead-servant of our party as we prepare for the elections of 2024. He has what it takes to win a general election and to govern a nation.



For some of us, leadership such as ours is not borne-out of a supposed queuing proposition or an entitlement theory but must be anchored on who has a competitive edge to harness political power for us at a given time  a leader who is compassionate, magnanimous, appealing to all, has great humility, selfless with the sense of service, able to unite the party, has tremendous love for the party and country, people-centred with an exceptional human relation, an enviable electoral track record and most importantly, a visionary to help transform and engineer prosperity to all.



We must endeavour to send a positive signal to the generality of Ghanaians that ours is a party that embraces and offers opportunities to all  a party that guarantees that irrespective of ones creed, ethnicity, gender and faith, they can still rise to the number one spot of the party  a party that the daughter or son of a farmer from Fumbisi in the Upper East region can have the hope that they too with a dint of hard work can someday rise to the apex of its leadership.



May we be guided by the eternal spirit of S.D Dombo of blessed memory to know when to deny our own personal interest and sacrifice for the collective good of all.





Source: Chief Obosu Mohammed









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New Delhi, April 13 : Alarmed by the recent spurt in the number of Covid-19 cases, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, has called a meeting of UP leaders and party MLAs to discuss the situation.

The meeting will be held virtually, during which the UP Congress will derive a strategy to help the people in these tough times.

The meeting comes in the wake of a state minister writing a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary, expressing his anguish over the stressed out health facilities in the state.

Uttar Pradesh reported 13,604 new cases in the last 24 hours, while the number active cases in the state stood at 81,576.

India reported 1,61,736 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, setting another grim single-day record as the overall tally reached 1,36,89,453. With this, India has once again emerged as the second-worst hit nation in terms of infections after the US.

The five states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala cumulatively account for 68.85 per cent of India's total active Cases. Maharashtra alone accounts for 44.78 per cent of the total active caseload in the country, the government said on Tuesday.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Nomadland Wins 4 BAFTAs Including Best Picture; Director Wins Top DGA Honor

Chloe Zhaos Nomadland continued its tour of dominance through awards season Sunday, where it won four prizes including best picture at the British Academy Film Awards. One day earlier, Zhao took top honors at the 73rd annual Directors Guild Association Awards.

Zhao became only the second woman, and the first woman of color, to win the BAFTA for best director, and star Frances McDormand was named best actress. Nomadland also took the cinematography prize.

Zhao is also the second woman to earn the top prize at DGA awards and the first woman of color to do so. Kathryn Bigelow was the first for The Hurt Locker. And it all but solidifies her frontrunner status leading up to the Oscars on April 25.

Only seven times in history has the DGA winner ever not gone on to take the best director prize at the Academy Awards.

Zhaos lyrical film about transient workers in the American West starring Frances McDormand started its awards journey winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the Peoples Choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Golden Globe for best drama and best director and the top honor from the Producers Guild.

Zhao grew up in Beijing, China, but went on to receive her college education in the United States.

Despite the films success, Chinese authorities are said to have ordered state media outlets to downplay the 93rd Oscars ceremony, with Chinas state broadcaster CCTV saying it will cancel its planned live streaming. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s 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.

This came after some past comments Zhao made that were critical of Chinese society.

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.

Chinese authorities have not confirmed whether Nomadland will be released in China.

Epoch Times reporter Frank Yue and The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The sudden pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in New Mexico wont stop a planned COVID-19 vaccine drive-thru event for seniors in Edgewood on Wednesday, but officials in Las Cruces had to scale back a vaccination mega-event planned for this weekend.

The New Mexico Department of Health decision Tuesday to halt the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine came on the recommendation of the Food and Drug Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are looking into a rare blood clotting disorder associated with six people who received the one-dose shot.

The CDC guidance led to swift action nationwide, with the U.S. military and many other states announcing suspensions of the vaccine.

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The vaccine has been administered by pharmacies and other providers in New Mexico for the past six weeks as the third brand to be approved for emergency use nationally. The other two, from Moderna and Pfizer, require a two-shot regimen.

State health officials didnt immediately say Tuesday how many doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine were scheduled to be administered this week.

A total of 39,982 New Mexicans have been vaccinated against COVID-19 using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said DOH spokesman David Morgan.

Thats 3% of the total number of doses administered in the state. Any remaining number of Johnson & Johnson doses currently on hand will not be used until the pause is lifted by the CDC and FDA. No question that is leading to some rescheduling and postponements of vaccination opportunities in the state, Morgan told the Journal.

Because of the convenience of administering one dose, state health officials had targeted specific populations to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, such as people who are homebound, disabled or lived in rural areas and would have to travel long distances for a second dose.

The 500 or so seniors and others invited by Santa Fe County to a drive-thru vaccination event in Edgewood were supposed to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, said Carmelina Hart, county public information officer. For weeks, the county has been contacting seniors who attend events or get services through its senior centers to ensure they get vaccinated, she said. To avoid having to cancel the Edgewood drive-thru clinic, the county  with help from the DOH  was able to substitute doses of the Moderna vaccine.

But that means double the work for organizers, who now must plan a subsequent event to administer the second shots.

The city of Las Cruces, which has been trying to boost its vaccination rate, scheduled about 6,000 people to be vaccinated this weekend at two locations. Because the Johnson & Johnson vaccine wont be available, event organizers had to cancel appointments for the event by more than half and rely only on the shipment of Pfizer doses.

We were looking forward to a mega-event (for vaccinations), and this will slow us down, said Assistant City Manager Eric Enriquez. But well get over this hurdle.

The immediate practical effect of the recommended pause was limited across the U.S. because the overwhelming majority of the 192 million shots administered in the U.S. have been manufactured by Pfizer or Moderna.

All six cases of the rare brain clots in the United States involving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine involved women between the ages of 18 and 48. Their symptoms developed six to 13 days after vaccination. One woman died in March, and another was in critical condition.

But health officials say the adverse events reported are extremely rare  less than one per million.

Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner, said, Id like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However, COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of adverse events following vaccination very seriously.

On Tuesday, The DOH reported 187 new COVID-19 cases statewide and nine additional deaths related to the coronavirus.

According to The New York Times, since January of last year, at least 1 in 11 people who live in New Mexico have been infected, and at least 1 in 527 have died.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.
As helicopters hovered overhead, and protesters proclaimed their right to peacefully assemble prior to the start of the march, Judith and Jorge Garcia and their 7-year-old daughter, Abigail, a family from the San Francisco Bay Area who are visiting Chicago this week, said the event represents the second time this year that theyve joined in one of the citys protests.
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The Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has called on South-west governors to invest in the promotion of Yoruba culture and harness its tourist potential for economic growth and global recognition.

Mr Adams said the promotion of the culture would turn Yoruba states to tourist destinations and thereby enhance rapid social and economic development of the area.

Mr Adams, who made the call at the Grand Finale of `Omituntun Pacesetter Festival of Arts and Culture, tagged Asa wa, Ipile wa, maintained that Yoruba was rich in culture and tradition.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the festival, held at the Cultural Centre, Mokola, Ibadan, was organised by the Oyo State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

He described the cultural festival as significant and would help in the promotion of peace and tranquility in the state and the nation as a whole.

Mr Adams urged the Oyo State Government to develop and maintain all the existing tourist destinations in the state for economic growth and global recognition.

We are fast losing our identity, even our children, its becoming difficult for them to speak Yoruba language, and its becoming difficult to identify with our culture.

Instead of them to identify with our culture they promote Western culture, they have pride in it and this is very dangerous.

We need to start working on the promotion of culture and turn it to tourism potential and upgrade our destination so that the generation that is coming can be proud, Mr Adams said.

Earlier, the Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Wasiu Olatunbosun, said the motive of the cultural festival was for the rejuvenation and promotion of culture, talent hunt through cultural competition.

According to him, it is also aimed to give Yoruba culture the recognition it deserves worldwide.

I realised that the last time they had any cultural festival was about 10 years before I came to office, which means throughout eight years of the last administration they didnt do anything like this.

I said that we should do something and we wanted to do it last year but unfortunately it was postponed because of COVID-19 concerns. This year, I said whatever will happen I must do it.

This one is unique in the sense that this will be the first time that we are having a festival of culture and tourism in Oyo State, Mr Olatunbosun said.

NAN reports that the festival featured cultural display by various groups, associations, local councils in different areas of development.

Some of the participants carted away prizes in various games and competitions include `Ayo olopon, drama, masquerade, music and dance, poetry and chant rendition. (NAN)
The new tax year and the launch of Marcus Bank's Isa has failed to spur a revival in tax-free savings rates, with returns actually lower than they were at the start of March.

While 12 new Isa accounts, including the one from Marcus, have been launched since 6 April compared to six which have been cut or shelved, figures from the analyst Savings Champion reveal savers have been handed little joy over the last month.

Despite March and April historically being a time when banks competed for savers' cash ahead of the end of the tax year, rates have fallen this year.

Barren landscape: Spring is normally fertile ground for tax-free savings rates but returns have actually fallen since this March

The rates paid on the top five easy-access, one-year fixed-rate and two-year fixed-rate Isas have actually fallen between the start of March and this week.

One-year fixed-rate Isa rates have fallen from 0.49 per cent at the start of last month to 0.44 per cent on Tuesday 13 April, and rates on two-year Isas from 0.6 per cent to 0.58 per cent.

Meanwhile rates on easy-access tax-free deals have fallen from 0.46 per cent to 0.41 per cent over the same period, despite two best buy accounts being launched during that time.

The first day of the new tax year, 6 April, saw Goldman Sachs-backed Marcus Bank launch an easy-access Isa paying 0.4 per cent, its first new savings account in just over a year.

But while last Friday saw Paragon Bank beat it with a 0.41 per cent paying 'limited edition' easy-access Isa, it has failed to spur a revival in tax-free rates, which are currently at record lows.

This is likely because Marcus only dipped its toe into the Isa market, given its account is open only to existing customers and does not accept previous years' Isa transfers.

How have savings rates changed since the new tax year started? Account type Top 5 average rate 1 March 2021 Top 5 average rate 1 April 2021 Top 5 average rate 13 April 2021 Easy-access Isa 0.46% 0.41% 0.41% One-year fixed-rate Isa 0.49% 0.43% 0.44% Two-year fixed-rate Isa 0.6% 0.58% 0.58% Source: Savings Champion

Experts suggested the move was to try and cannibalise existing Marcus deposits, meaning it is not directly competing with other banks at the top of the best buy tables.

Paragon's account does accept transfers, meaning it is unlikely to keep the rate at 0.41 per cent for long.

And aside from the Marcus announcement and two moves from Nationwide Building Society, the end of the tax year saw very few moves from major names.

Anna Bowes, co-founder of Savings Champion, said the lack of meaningful competition at the start of the new tax year was 'disappointing'.

Instead the top of the best buy tables are filled with smaller banks unable to sustain a major volume of money. Most of the new accounts launched since 6 April paying competitive rates come from these banks.

Charter Savings Bank launched a one-year fixed-rate bond paying 0.45 per cent on 7 April, the second-best rate in our tables. Meanwhile Close Brothers launched two, three and five-year fixed-rate bonds on the same day, the three-year version of which paying 0.7 per cent was a best buy.

The lack of supply has been matched by a lack of demand, with cash Isas proving less popular than their non-tax-free cousins over the last 12 months, which have seen record amounts of money saved.

Just 1.806billion more was held in cash Isas in February 2021 compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England, with money actually pulled out of tax-free accounts in the second half of 2020.

And in some cases, it is not even worth shopping around. Last month, This is Money reported figures from Savings Champion which revealed the average 'old' easy-access Isa paid more than the average on-sale one by a larger amount than had been seen in any March since 2013.

The average old account paid 0.37 per cent and the average new one 0.22 per cent, largely weighed down by the pitiful rates paid by Britain's biggest banks.

But Anna Bowes added: 'It's still worth shopping around for the best Isas if you already pay tax on the interest from your savings, or you may do if things change in the future.

'Isas are still valuable for many so making sure you get as much tax free interest as possible is important'.
NORTHWOOD, Iowa  A Kensett man is sentence for a car chase that could have had a tragic conclusion.

The Worth County Sheriffs Office says a deputy tried to pull Justin Lee Mulliner over on August 3, 2020, for not having a valid drivers license. Court documents state that resulted in a chase where Mulliner allegedly ran a stop sign crossing Highway 9 and nearly hit another vehicle at 370th Street.

Mulliner has now pleaded guilty to OWI-1st offense and driving while barred. Hes been sentenced to seven days in jail and must pay combined fines of $2,105.
Mumbai, April 13 : Refuting claims made by many that social media leads to divisive opinions, actor Atul Kulkarni on Tuesday offered his interpretation on the matter.

Kulkarni tweeted: "It's a misconception that Social Media has CREATED social divide and divisive opinions. They've been ever-present and that's why they managed to surface so quickly and universally. Social Media has just created a TANGIBLE RECORD of how we all think..." Commenting on the actor's tweet, netizens expressed their opinion.

"It has reinforced and legitimised it . This divide may have been their it was never something one could take pride in. Now it's something one flaunts," commented a user.

"The sane and sensible voices are drowned in the noise of extreme and polarized views on SM. It wasn't the case earlier," suggested another user.

"Perfecto... the hate was always there, social media has helped such people to come out of dormancy," shared another user.

On the work front, Kulkarni will next be seen in the upcoming thriller titled "A Thursday" alongside Yami Gautam, Dimple Kapadia, Neha Dhupia and Maya Sarao.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
ALLENDALE, MI  Grand Valley State University has launched an initiative aimed at broadening its student population while responding to the regions industry needs for a diverse workforce through agreements with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

GVSU recently finalized an agreement with Fort Valley State University (FVSU), an HBCU in Georgia, that creates a pathway for its students to earn their bachelors degree from the university combined with a masters degree in engineering or computer science at GVSU.

The collaborative effort, which was announced April 8, will allow students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields to obtain their graduate degrees at GVSUs Padnos College of Engineering and Computing.

B. Donta Truss, GVSU Vice President for Enrollment Management and Educational Outreach, said students will attend GVSU through the agreement as soon as Fall 2021.

The plan is part of GVSUs efforts to restructure its enrollment efforts in a way that makes campus more welcoming, Truss said. The result has broader ripples, as agreements like with this one increases community diversity, grows the regional talent pool and provides students at FVSU with more opportunities to seize, he said.

This actually creates a litany of opportunities that [students] will be able to tap into that they might not have gotten if we didnt have this particular partnership, Truss said.

For example, our portfolio of engineering programs is much more vast than theirs is. So now (a student) who started at Fort Valley State University because they want the historical black college culture but would not have had an opportunity at that institution to have access to the portfolio of programs. And now they do.

FVSU was picked for a variety of reasons, with their Cooperative Developmental Energy Program (CDEP) program being one of the highlights. Paired with a growing relationship and the ability for FVSU students to help diversity GVSUs student body, the university seemed to be a natural fit.

When we look at the success rates of those students, its been amazing, Truss said. So, these are highly qualified students. And we had some relationships that started to blossom there, and those things came together and created, I think, a really strong synergy.

Paul Plotkowski, Dean of the Padnos College for Engineering and Computing, said students coming from this new Fort Valley State pipeline directly fit the top two things regional partners and employers are looking for in program graduates.

The number one challenge that our partners put out to me on a regular basis is the need for more talent, said. Why am I not graduating more? So, any opportunity, we have to expand our pipelines to bring more talent to our region is going to be top of the list. But their number two challenge is and is greater diversity in that pipeline. So again, this effort just hits both of their top two concerns.

Plotkowski said the immediate effects will be filling the campus with a highly qualified, diverse pool of students for GVSU to connect with West Michigan partners. He said the partnership is a win across the board for FVSU students, regional employers and GVSUs diversity efforts alike.

Diversity has always been important to GVSU, Plotkowski said. Were just taking a look at how can we get [more diversity], and we believe these kinds of structured partnerships help us to get better.

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India is likely to get normal southwest rains this year, private weather forecasting agency said on Tuesday, raising prospects of bumper farm growth in the country.

rains are expected to be 103 per cent of long-period average (LPA) of 880.6 millimetres (mm) for the four-month period from June to September. The forecast is with an error margin of plus/minus 5 per cent of LPA.

If the forecast comes true, the actual rainfall in the country could be around 907 mm.

This could also mean that for the third consecutive year, India will have a normal to above-normal rainfall during the months.





ALSO READ: 15-day curfew in Maharashtra from April 14; essential services exempted

India defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 88 centimetres for the entire four-month season beginning June. In 2020, actual rainfall across India was 109 per cent of LPA. In 2019, it was 110 per cent of LPA.

Last time India had three consecutive years of normal monsoon, according to Skymet, was between 1996 and 1998.

A well-distributed and timely monsoon will mean another year of bumper farm production in 2021. This will be one less reason to worry about an economy already battling the second wave of Covid-19 infections.

It is too early to predict the impact of normal rains on agriculture or the economy. Everything hinges on its timely arrival, spread, and distribution, said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings.



also said there is 85 per cent probability of rainfall across the country to be normal to above-normal. There is a 15 per cent chance of it being below normal.

In the June-September months, normal rainfall is expected in East and Central India. North and Northwest India might have some chances of below-normal rainfall, said





ALSO READ: Central govt's indirect tax collection up 12% in FY21, GST number falls

It said the neutral El Nino conditions will prevail during the June-September months, while the Indian Ocean Dipole, also known as the Indian Nino, will remain neutral.

The heartening fact is that there is no chance of El Nino impacting Indian monsoon in any way this year, added the agency.

Monthwise, Skymet said monsoon in June will be 106 per cent of LPA, which will be 177 mm of rainfall. Monsoon in July will be 97 per cent of LPA, which will be 277 mm of rainfall. Monsoon in August is expected to be 99 per cent of LPA, which will be 256 mm of rainfall. Monsoon in September is expected to be the best at 116 per cent of LPA. According to Skymet, monsoon in September is expected to be 197 mm.

Heavy rainfall in September will mean that monsoon withdrawal might once again get delayed this year, said G P Sharma, president (meteorology) of Skymet Weather.

The 2020 southwest monsoon season was 9 per cent above average, which made it the second consecutive year of rainfall being more than normal  a feat that happened for the first time in 60 years. Buoyed by good rains, the overall foodgrain harvest in 2020-21 was estimated to be over 300 million tonnes, which was an all-time high harvest.
Granarolo, the Italy-based dairy group, has businesses on its radar to potentially acquire at home and overseas after a year when Covid-19 hit sales but profits rose.

The company, which also has plant-based dairy alternatives and gluten-free products in its portfolio, is looking to buy businesses in the dairy sector, general manager Filippo Marchi told just-food.

We are considering the possibility of acquisitions on the national and international market: we have identified areas of intervention, we are looking for healthy companies, with an adequate capital structure, that help us to improve our dairy portfolio, Marchi said.

Two-thirds of Granarolos revenue in 2020 was generated in Italy and the company is eyeing assets in its domestic market. Two in Italy at the moment, one in USA, one in central Europe, Marchi said, when asked where the companies being evaluated are based. We are thinking of an important acquisition in the USA and an equally important one in central Europe. He added the company expects to make an acquisition this year.

Granarolo has eight factories outside Italy  three in Brazil, two in France and one in each of Germany, the UK and New Zealand.



Last year, Granarolo generated revenue of EUR1.28bn (US$1.52bn), down 3% on 2019, with the near-closure of foodservice markets hitting the companys top line. The company said its sales to foodservice customers fell by 25 to 30% on average.

EBITDA was up 8% at EUR78.5m, while Granarolo saw its net profit rise 9% to EUR15.8m.

When Granarolo announced its 2020 results last month, chairman Gianpiero Calzolari said the figures were in line with the companys goals to give back the most value added to our shareholders and the countrys dairy farmers deriving from production quality and organisational efficiency. More than 77% of the groups shares are owned by the Granlatte cooperative.

However, he added: Full resumption, once the effects of the vaccine campaign have been felt, nevertheless raises some concerns. Forecasts from Italian national statistics agency ISTAT indeed see many families in difficulty, falling GDP and a third of businesses  bars, restaurants etc.  not opening their doors again.
By Amanda Roberts | Creative Director, Northern Onondaga Public Libraries

Lyssa Kay Adams, best-selling author of The Bromance Book Club, will be releasing a new book this July, Isnt It Bromantic?, the fourth book in the series. The Northern Onondaga Public Library (NOPL) and Skaneateles Library have partnered to host a virtual interview with Adams at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21.

Adams Bromance Book Club series tells the story of an all-mens book club that reads romance to better understand the women in their lives and to help them learn about themselves. Filled with hilarity, a cast of quirky and endearing characters, soul-searching moments, and some steamy scenes, these are books destined to become some of your new favorite reads.

In Adams new book we meet, Vlad, aka The Russian, who thought he could be content with his marriage of convenience. But after four years, its become too difficult to continue in a one-sided relationship. He joined the Bromance Book Club to learn how to make his wife love him, but all hes learned is that he deserves more. Hes ready to create his own sweeping romance  both on and off the page.

The Bros are unwilling to let Vlad forgo true love  and this time theyre not operating solo. They join forces with Vlads senior citizen neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves The Loners. Just when things finally look promising, the danger from his wifes past life intrudes, and the book club will face their first-ever life-or-death grand gesture as they race to a happy ever after.

Join NOPL and Skaneateles libraries for an exciting evening with the bestselling author. The intimate hour-long discussion will include questions about Adams books, her writing style, the inspiration behind her characters, the impact of a global pandemic on her writing, her beloved furry assistant Domino and the release of her next book this summer. The event will also include a Q&A session with the author. This event is free and open to the public; registration is required. To register visit NOPL.org.
Minnesota officials on Monday identified the police officer who shot Daunte Wright as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, and said she had been placed on administrative leave.

The states Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a brief statement that Officer Potter had been placed on standard administrative leave. The statement did not elaborate, citing an active investigation.

The Star Tribune newspaper reported on Monday that Officer Potter, 48, had been licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995. It said that her duties over the course of her tenure had included serving on the departments negotiation team.

Officer Potter could not be reached for comment.

She had been among the first to arrive at the scene after Kobe Edgar Dimock-Heisler, 21, was fatally shot in Brooklyn Center two years ago. An investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office stated that she told two officers involved in the shooting to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body cameras and not talk to each other.
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, the rise in hate crimes and incidents targeting the Asian American community has made national headlines and sparked widespread discourse.

Last month, the Center for the Study Of Hate & Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino reported a 145% increase in hate crimes targeting Asian Americans across America's 18 largest cities between 2019 and 2020, in a study that analyzed police data.

In the past month, Americans have rallied and protested after the March 16 Atlanta spa shootings left six women of Asian descent and two others dead. Federal investigators say they have not found enough evidence to charge the shooter with a hate crime, which has sparked discussions about what exactly hate crimes entail, and why prosecuting offenders on hate crime charges is challenging.

Our newsroom's public affairs show AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 KPCC, recently talked with Jerry Kang, distinguished professor of law and Asian American Studies at UCLA, to explain what constitutes a hate crime in California.

We've also included some additional information and resources.

What Is A Hate Crime?

The FBI defines a hate crime as "a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias." Federal statutes would prosecute a hate crime based on different protected categories, namely race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.

Despite the federal legislation, states are left to create their own statutes, and these protected categories differ in each state. In the 47 states that have enacted hate crime laws, 17 do not require data collection on hate crimes, according to the Department of Justice.

California's own statutes recognize hate crimes as offenses "where a victim is singled out because of their actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics."

These offenses can serve as a stand-alone crime, as an aggravating factor or as a sentence enhancement under the state's penal codes.

According to UCLA's Kang, hate crimes prosecuted at the state level generally have three elements:

A "criminal act" was committed

There is a causation between the crime committed "in whole or in part" and...

The victim's "actual or perceived characteristics"

Some examples are offered in an LAPD circular on hate crimes:

Acts which result in injury, even if the injury is slight

Threats of violence that looks like they can be carried out

Acts which result in property damage

Any criminal act or attempted criminal act, including property damage, directed against individuals, public or private agencies

People hold signs during the "We Are Not Silent" rally against anti-Asian hate in response to recent anti-Asian crime in Seattle, Washington on March 13, 2021. (Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images)

What's Not Considered A Hate Crime?

A lot of hate rhetoric is protected as free speech under the First Amendment. Therefore, it's difficult to make words criminally accountable unless it includes a direct threat.

However, Kang says if an attempted physical altercation includes such hate speech, even if the speech did not provoke the fight, such speech can be relevant in enhancing a criminal offense to a hate crime.

"Unfortunately, we have to distinguish between words on the one hand, and actual sort of physical behaviors on the other, at least in the criminal context," Kang says. "We should not assume criminal law fixes everything."

But Kang warns that words have an unconscious and explicit impact on the "milder states of mind." In other words, the widespread stereotypical jokes and jabs launched against a racial group can influence how someone might react toward that group.

"There are a bunch of stereotypes associated with the Asian American body that marks us as forever foreign, fungible, looking alike, submissive, unfair competitors," Kang told KPCC, "that come from centuries of treatment (and) that actually make it a little bit more likely that we are scapegoated."

This is exemplified by phrases like "you don't belong here" that were woven into racist letters that reached multiple Asian businesses across California last month. (The same phrase was used by a man who physically attacked a 65-year-old Filipino American woman in New York recently -- and who has been charged with a hate crime.)

In order for a perpetrator to psychologically prepare for a hate attack, Kang says there must be a cognitive engagement in racial blaming and racial dehumanization.

Those incidents that do not rise to the level of a hate crime are typically labeled a "hate incident." The federal Department of Justice defines a bias or hate incident as "acts of prejudice that are not crimes and do not involve violence, threats, or property damage."

The LAPD's circular on hate crimes and incidents denotes that "the difference between a hate incident and a hate crime is that a hate incident is not a criminal act." It lists these examples as hate incidents:

Offensive materials such as hate flyers placed in mailboxes or thrown on lawns

Hate materials, not resulting in property damage, such as demeaning caricatures depicting a racial, ethnic or a religious group

Hate graffiti in public places not directed against a specific target such as an epithet on a vacant building

Hate incidents are tracked by some law enforcement and several NGOs.

How Do I Report A Hate Crime Or Incident?

If you believe you have been the victim of a hate crime, Kang recommends calling your local police department and using official channels to report crimes.

The Department of Justice calls on victims and eyewitnesses of hate crimes to report to local police and submit a tip to the FBI.

Currently, state lawmakers are aiming to resurrect past bills that expand state hate crime legislation. California Reps. David Chiu and Al Muratsuchi introduced a bill that would establish a statewide, toll-free hotline for reporting hate crimes.

For other incidents of hate, Kang suggests reporting them to community and advocacy organizations such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

"This might be especially useful if you think that the incident did not rise to the level of a crime but still should be recorded as an incident of hate," he said.

There is also an online hate tracker called Stop AAPI Hate, put together last year by the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University that encourages the reporting of hate incidents.

"I think part of our challenge," Kang said, "is to see where in our culture are we looking the other way when we tend to scapegoat certain populations, and tend to think of certain populations as other and not fully human."

To listen to Jerry Kang's conversation with Larry Mantle on AirTalk, click here.
Patti Bacchus is the Georgia Straight K-12 education columnist. She was chair of the Vancouver school board from 2008 to 2014. This column ran originally in The Georgia Straight.
UNI NEWS DIGEST AT 1500 HRS FOR JUNE 5, 2021 05 Jun 2021 | 3:12 PM New Delhi : India logs over 1.20 lakh new nCoV cases, 3.3k fatalities in last 24 hrs (DI1)

: Malls, markets to reopen on odd-even basis, metro to run at 50 pc capacity

in Delhi from Jun 7 (DI3)

Mumbai : Maharashtra to start unlock process from June 7 (BY3)

Chennai : Lockdown extended in TN for one more week till Jun 14 (MS4)

Shimla : HP BJP MLA Narinder Bragta dies at 69 (DR2)

Bhubaneswar: Renowned Odia actor Atal Bihari Panda dies at 92, CM, Dharmendra Pradhan mourn (CA6)

Moscow : India, China will find way to resolve arising issues: Putin (DF1)

Moscow : Putin hopes solution to North Korean nuclear issue will be found (FN12)

Mumbai : Sensex zooms 677.17 pts during week (DC2)

Chandigarh: Four Indian wrestlers to play in Poland Open (SPD1)

UNI JAL SV 15011. see more..

Malls, markets to reopen on odd-even basis, metro to run at 50 pc capacity in Delhi from Jun 7 05 Jun 2021 | 1:57 PM New Delhi, Jun 5 (UNI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal here on Saturday announced the reopening of malls and markets on odd-even basis, resuming of metro services and physical attendance at government and private offices at 50 per cent capacity from June 7, Monday onwards, in the National Capital which is under COVID-19-induced lockdown since April 19. see more..

Govts, Industry join forces on 100 days mission to tackle future pandemics 05 Jun 2021 | 1:35 PM New Delhi, Jun 5 (UNI) Life science industry leaders and governments at the G7 Health Ministers Meeting hosted by the UK government agreed on Friday to work towards a plan to develop and deploy high-quality diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines in just 100 days after a new pandemic threat is identified. see more..

India logs over 1 20 lakh new nCoV cases, 3 3k fatalities in last 24 hrs 05 Jun 2021 | 11:29 AM New Delhi, Jun 5 (UNI) India recorded 1,20,529 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the lowest in 58 days, taking the total number of infections to 2,86,94,879, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday. see more..
Mumbai, April 13 : The Congress's All India SC Cell on Tuesday welcomed the move by the British Columbia province of western Canada to celebrate the 130th birth anniversary of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar on April 14 as 'Equality Day'.

The Congress' All India SC Cell Chairman Dr. Nitin Raut, who is also Maharashtra Energy Minister has written a letter to the British Columbia Lt. Governor Janet Austin hailing the Proclamation to the effect.

"The Proclamation to celebrate Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti as 'Equality Day' by the British Columbia would inspire the humanity to follow his ideals of human rights and social justice," Raut said in his letter.

Expressing pleasure at the recognition accorded to Dr. Ambedkar's work by the British Columbia government, he said people around the world are inspired by the great leader's fight against social and racial discrimination.

Referring to the Proclamation, Dr. Raut appreciated the British Columbia authorities' commitment to address the issues of racial discrimination and social justice in their state too. IANS first highlighted the issue on April 11.

He pointed out to the Lt. Governor Austin how the followers of Dr. Ambedkar in India and elsewhere are very proud to share his legacy and are inspired by his relentless fight social justice and equality till his last breath.

Dr. Raut said that Dr. Ambedkar was so obsessed with equality that he made it the first Fundamental Right in the Indian Constitution, of which he is hailed as the Chief Architect.

The Proclamation was made on April 1 by the Province of British Columbia Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin, declaring that "April 14, 2021, shall be known as 'Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Equality Day' in the Province.

Decreed in the name of Queen Elizabeth II, the Proclamation noted that British Columbia is 'a culturally diverse province comprising many peoples and communities'.

It added that the "Indigenous people, Black people and people of colour in British Columbia continue to experience systemic racism, injustices, discrimination and hate" and the province's government was committed to address all forms of racism.

The descendants of Dr. Ambedkar - grandsons Dr. Prakash Ambedkar and Anand Ambedkar - and other prominent personalities, including Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale and Dr. Raut have congratulated the British Columbia government for its move.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the 130th birth anniversary of Dr. Ambedkar - a great legal luminary, renowned economist, politician, author, champion of the downtrodden masses and social reformer - which will be celebrated in a big way with several functions scheduled in India and Ambedkarites world over.


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Microsoft on Monday announced it is purchasing Nuance Communications, a natural language to computer processing company, in a deal valued at $19.7 billion.

In the all-cash transaction, Microsoft will acquire all of Nuance's outstanding stock for US$56 a share, a 23 percent premium over the share price at the close of the market last Friday. The deal, which is Microsoft's largest since it acquired LinkedIn in 2016 for more than $26 billion, is expected to close at the end of the calendar year.

Mark Benjamin will remain CEO of Nuance and report to Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of cloud and artificial intelligence at Microsoft, the Redmond, Wash. company said in a statement.

"Nuance's popular healthcare-focused products and services will provide Microsoft an instant revenue stream and relationships with existing Nuance customers," noted Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, Calif.

"More importantly," he told the E-Commerce Times, "Nuance will open the door for Microsoft to sell and upsell other healthcare-related services and solutions."

According to Microsoft, Nuance solutions are currently used by more than 55 percent of physicians, 75 percent of radiologists and 77 percent of hospitals in the United States.

In its most recent fiscal year, it continued, which ended in September, Nuance's Healthcare Cloud revenue showed year-over-year growth of 37 percent.

The acquisition will double Microsoft's total addressable market in healthcare to nearly $500 billion, the company added.

Playing Catchup

"Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained in a statement.

"AI is technology's most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application," he continued. "Together, with our partner ecosystem, we will put advanced AI solutions into the hands of professionals everywhere to drive better decision-making and create more meaningful connections, as we accelerate growth of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and Nuance."

The acquisition will help Microsoft catch up with its cloud rivals, maintained Jack E. Gold, founder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, an IT advisory company in Northborough, Mass.

"Microsoft is pretty far behind AWS and Google in natural language processing in the cloud. Microsoft has been a third-place player," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"Nuance gives Microsoft the ability to attack the enterprise, which is really important to them for Azure, but it also gives them instant credibility because they're getting a real, natural-language processing system," he said.

"Rather than develop everything in-house," he continued, "they needed something to give them a quick kick-start, and Nuance gives them that."

Looking Beyond Healthcare

While giving Microsoft a mighty presence in healthcare, the Nuance acquisition will give the Redmond crew much more in the future.

"AI Spending will reach $110.7 billion by 2024," observed Ritu Jyoti, program vice president for the worldwide AI and automation research practice at IDC.

"Banking, retail, manufacturing and healthcare will approach close to more than half of global spend," he told the E-Commerce Times. "So while initially, Microsoft may be focused in healthcare solutions, longer term its focus will be much broader."

He explained that beyond healthcare, Nuance provides AI expertise and customer engagement solutions across interactive voice response (IVR), virtual assistants, and digital and biometric solutions to companies around the world across all industries.

"This expertise will come together with the breadth and depth of Microsoft's cloud," he said, "including Azure, Teams, and Dynamics 365, to deliver next-generation customer engagement and security solutions."

Nuance, too, will benefit from being under Microsoft's wing.

"It expands markets dramatically for Nuance," Gold said. "It'll help get it out of its niches. It can be in almost any space with Azure."

King explained that while Nuance has done well since shifting its focus to healthcare solutions, it appears to have hit the ceiling in terms of business and revenue growth.

"Being part of a far larger and better funded company, like Microsoft, should [provide] Nuance and its employees a brighter future," he said.

Key Healthcare Tech

The Nuance acquisition shows not only how important healthcare is to Microsoft, but how important voice recognition technology is to the future of healthcare, maintained Paddy Padmanabhan, founder and CEO of Damo Consulting, a Villa Park, Ill. growth strategy and digital transformation advisory firm that works with healthcare enterprises and global technology companies.

"Voice-enabled healthcare is still in its very, very early stages relative to its potential impact. There is a huge market waiting to be opened up," he said in a statement.

"Conversation AI tools such as that of Nuance have started making a big difference in ambient clinical computing, specifically in the transcription of doctor-patient encounters," he observed.

"The next stage of growth for voice will be in clinical decision support, enabled by stronger integration with EHR systems, that will take the form of AI-enabled functions that will improve the quality of the patient experience and outcomes," Padmanabhan added.

He explained that as digital transformation accelerates, the use of emerging technologies such as voice will drive care delivery in the hospital and in the home.

"Amazon has already made significant moves in home-based care which include its voice-enabled Alexa services as a central component," he noted. "Microsoft's Cortana offering hasn't made as much of a mark as Alexa in the healthcare context."

"Microsoft had to make a move to meet the competition head on, and the Nuance acquisition may be the best bet it can make at this time," he continued.

"The field has essentially now narrowed down to two players in the voice-enabled healthcare delivery space," he added.

Next Gen Interface

The Nuance acquisition also reveals the role of conversational AI in Microsoft's roadmap for the future.

Lian Jye Su, artificial intelligence and machine learning principal analyst at ABI Research, explained in a statement that Microsoft has attempted to bolster its own conversational AI both through in-house development, with Cortana, and through acquisition, by buying Semantic Machines in 2018.

"However, all these have yet to allow Microsoft to replicate the success of Amazon, Google, and Apple in the consumer space and IBM in the enterprise space," he asserted.

Su added that Microsoft is also feeling the threat from the conversational AI capabilities demonstrated by AI players in China, such as Alibaba, Baidu, iFlyTek, Mobvoi, Zhuiyi, and Unisound.

"The acquisition of Nuance Communications will elevate Microsoft's capabilities and allow Microsoft to develop both consumer and enterprise-focused conversational AI solutions," he said.

He added that the move by Microsoft also acknowledges the importance of conversational AI and natural language processing capabilities to the future of AI.

"This announcement validates the efforts of many natural language processing hardware and software startups," he observed. "As the market slowly matures, voice command and control have the potential to replace touch control in many use cases and become the main interaction method for the next-generation user interface."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


Swiss Post Solutions logo "Swiss Post Solutions' approach has resonated in the global marketplace as we have helped our clients through the recent crisis by supporting their efforts with innovative service delivery methods to ensure resiliency."

Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), a leading outsourcing provider for business process solutions and innovative services in document management, has been recognized for excellence in six categories by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) as part of the 2021 Global Outsourcing 100 (GO100) program.

IAOP denotes top performers among the GO100 honorees with distinguishing stars, based on the scoring of independent judges. This year, Swiss Post Solutions received distinguishing stars in the following categories:



Customer References  Demonstrating sustained excellence provided to top customers

Programs for Innovation  Specific cutting-edge programs that produce new forms of value for customers

Corporate Social Responsibility  Corporate programs that address such topics as community involvement and development, environmental impacts, labor practices, human rights, fair operating practices, and organizational governance

Sustained Excellence  Consistently high levels of service provided to customers

Awards & Certifications  Recent and public recognitions that demonstrate business and outsourcing excellence

All-Star  Multiple appearances on the Global Outsourcing 100 list

In response to the achievement, Dan Moscatiello, CEO North America at Swiss Post Solutions, stated, This independent recognition by IAOP reaffirms SPS success in delivering our corporate values: putting Clients First, fostering Innovative Thinking and Delivering Operational Excellence. Our approach has resonated in the global marketplace as we have helped our clients through the recent crisis by supporting their efforts with innovative service delivery methods to ensure resiliency.

The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-lists are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. The lists include companies from around the world that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services  not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but also facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing and logistics.

2021 marks Swiss Post Solutions ninth consecutive year as part of The Global Outsourcing 100.

About SPS

We connect the physical and digital worlds Swiss Post Solutions (SPS) is a leading outsourcing provider for business process solutions and innovative services in document management. A strong international client base relies on SPS ability to envision, design and build end-to-end solutions and to be its trusted advisor for the key value drivers in BPO: location strategy, process optimization and technology, such as intelligent automation. Part of the Swiss Post Group headquartered in Bern, Switzerland, SPS 7800 employees and specialized partners span the full range of the industry with focus on banking, insurance, telecommunications and healthcare, addressing customer needs in more than 20 countries.

About IAOP

IAOP is the global association that brings together customers, providers, and advisors in a collaborative, knowledge-based environment that promotes professional and organizational development, recognition, certification, and excellence to improve business service models and outcomes. Our members and affiliates worldwide are digging deep at IAOP conferences, learning at IAOP chapter meetings, getting trained and certified at IAOP courses and workshops, and connecting through IAOP social media, all with one goal: better business results. Whether you are a customer, provider or advisor, new to collaborative business models like outsourcing, or you are an experienced professional, IAOP connects you and your organization to our growing global community and the resources you need to get the results your company deserves and demands. For more information and how you can become involved, visit http://www.IAOP.org.

About The Global Outsourcing 100

As the global, standard-setting association and advocate for outsourcing professionals and the organizations they support, IAOP annually produces subsequent research to help companies in their outsourcing decisions:



The Global Outsourcing 100  the annual listing of the worlds best outsourcing service providers  in its 15th year

The Global Outsourcing 100 and its sub-list are essential references for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the industry's best companies. The list includes companies worldwide that provide the full spectrum of outsourcing services  not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but also facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing and logistics. They include not only today's leaders but tomorrow's rising stars.

Companies of all sizes, from around the world and from across the entire outsourcing industry - information technology outsourcing, business process outsourcing, facility services, real estate, design, testing, manufacturing and logistics, to name a few  can apply for inclusion on this list. IAOP Membership IS NOT REQUIRED, nor is it considered in compiling the final list.

To help ensure participation by a broad cross-section of the industry, The Global Outsourcing 100 list includes larger established global firms, referred to as 'Leaders,' smaller, faster-growing firms with less than $50 million per year in revenue and/or fewer than 5,000 employees, referred to as 'Rising Stars,' as well as 'Advisors,' regardless of size. Companies are first organized by Leader, Rising Star or Advisor criteria, then evaluated based on the four judging categories. The final list is composed of the top-scoring companies, regardless of type.
Covid-19 vaccines reduce the chances of developing severe infection and mortality, ICMRChief Balram Bhargava said on Tuesday.

Responding to a question about people contracting the coronavirus infection even after taking both doses of COVID vaccine, he said these are "disease-modifying" vaccines and there is an 85 percent reduction in hospitalisation after vaccination which is well established internationally.

"These vaccines are disease-modifying. After two doses are administered, the antibodies develop.The COVID-19 vaccines reduce the chances of developing severe infection and death due to the disease," the Director General said.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the country's apex health research body.

Currently, two vaccines -- Covaxin by Bharat Biotech and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) -- are being used for inoculation in India.

India's drug regulator has also granted permission for the restricted emergency use of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V with certain conditions.
History was made when the Oscar nominations were released for the Best Director category. Only five women have ever been nominated before. This year, Chloe Zhao was chosen for her elegiac road-trip drama Nomadland, along with first-time feature-filmmaker Emerald Fennel for her #MeToo revenge comedy Promising Young Woman.

Chloe Zhao, the first woman of color nominated for best director, is the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history, since shes also competing as best picture producer, along with adapted screenplay and editing. Thats a record-breaking four nominations in a single year.

And this past weekend, she won the coveted Directors Guild Award.

A Chinese immigrant who spent her childhood in Beijing, Zhao attended high school in Los Angeles, living alone in a Koreatown studio apartment behind a Sizzler restaurant. I had such a romanticized version of America, she says. At NYUs film school, she studied with Spike Lee and spent a year on the Oglala Lakota reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, before making The Rider (2017).

Id seen some older nomads around, but I didnt know how big a movement it was or what its like for a person in their twilight years to hit the road. I was very drawn to that idea, Zhao explains.

Before this year, London-born actress Emerald Fennell was best known as Camilla Parker Bowles on The Crown. She took over from Phoebe Waller-Bridge as showrunner for the second season of Killing Eve before making her feature filmmaking debut as writer, director and producer of Promising Young Woman.

This is such an exciting year for diversity -- such an extraordinary breadth of voices and stories, notes Fennell. To be part of a group of people who feel like theyre really doing something new is thrilling.

Emerald Fennells razor-sharp debut is like a beautifully wrapped piece of candy, muses Carey Mulligan, except when you put it in your mouth, you realize its full of poison.

Only five women have ever been Oscar-nominated by the insular, male-dominated Directors Branch: Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano) and Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation). And only one, Kathryn Bigelow, has ever won.

Long characterized as an aging boys club, the Directors Branch has been working to diversify its ranks, many drawn from the international film community. There are 564 members of which 24.1 percent are women.

It was disappointing that no Black women directors were nominated this year, particularly after Regina Kings first feature, One Night in Miami, was so critically lauded and Gina Prince-Blythewoods action-packed The Old Guard won the Critics Choice Super Award. No Black woman has ever been nominated in the Director category at the Oscars.

On the other hand, Black artisans Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson made Oscar history with Ma Raineys Black Bottom nominations in the Best Makeup & Hairstyling category. Neal was in charge of hair-styling/wigs, while Wilson was Viola Davis personal stylist.



As of January, 2021, the Academys membership was 84 percent white and 68 percent male. A record total of 70 women were honored this year. Their 76 nominations out of the 235 individual nominees across all 23 competitive categories constitute 32.3 percent.

What does that mean for Hollywood? Could it mark a turning point where we begin to see more women landing behind-the-camera jobs and garnering award recognition on a regular basis?

The Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film at San Diego State University concludes that a record 16 percent of women were behind the 100 top-grossing films of 2020, up from 12 percent in 2019 and a mere 4 percent in 2018. Quite simply, 80 percent of the top films still dont have women at the helm.

While most Hollywood studios have shown some progress in hiring women directors, Lionsgate stands alone, having given a wide theatrical release to only one film (The Spy Who Dumped Me) directed by a woman since 2016.

With the acquisition of 20th Century Fox/Fox Searchlight, Disney has vastly increased the number of films it releases. Searchlight had Chloe Zhaos Nomadland, while Disney+ carried Niki Caros Mulan and Thea Sharrocks The One and Only Ivan. Marvel Studios Black Widow, directed by Cate Shortland, and Eternals, directed by Chloe Zhao will be released later this year. For 2022, Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta, and in 2023, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron helmed by Patty Jenkins.

Sony comes the closest to gender parity with six of its 21 films coming from female directors, while its indie wing Sony Pictures Classics has three on its upcoming slate: Heidi Ewings I Carry You With Me, Eva Hussons Mothering Sunday, and Melanie Laurents The Nightigale.

Universals two 2020 films directed by women were Floria Sigismondis The Turning and Stella Meghies The Photograph. In 2021, theres Nia DaCostas revival of Candyman and DreamWorks Aimations Spirit Untamed, helmed by Elaine Bogan.

Universals indie wing, Focus Features, released Emerald Fennells Promising Young Woman and, more recently, Robin Wrights Land. Coming up in 2022, theres Lulu Wangs follow-up to The Farewell, along with Nathalia Biancheris Polish drama Wolf and Massy Tadjedins Circle of Treason.

Many in Hollywood firmly believe that this is the decade of women championing and supporting other women. Theres a safe space being created for younger women whose voices are being heard.

Looking ahead, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences decreed that, starting with the 2024 Oscars, in order for any film to be eligible for Best Picture consideration, it would need to reflect the industrys inclusion standards both on-screen and behind the camera.

Its a culmination of a social-media movement that ignited when #OscarsSoWhite tainted the 2015 Awards ceremony. For the 94th and 95th ceremonies  2022 and 2023  filmmakers will have to submit a confidential Academy Inclusion Standards form to be considered. For the 96th Awards in 2024, Best Picture hopefuls will be required to meet at least two out of four new standards.

Standard A states that at least one lead or significant supporting actor must be either Asian, Hispanic, Latinx, Black/African American, Indigenous/Native American/Alaskan, Middle Eastern/North African, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander or Other underrepresented race or ethnicity.

The rest of the cast must be at least 30 percent women, racial or ethnic group, LBGTQ+ or people with cognitive or physical disabilities, or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The main storyline, narrative or theme of the film must also be centered on one of the above groups.

At least two members of these same groups must be represented in the films leadership crew, including casting director, cinematographer, composer, costume designer, director, editor, hairstylist, makeup artist, producer, production designer, set decorator, sound, VFX supervisor, writer.

Additionally, at least 30 percent of the total crew must be from an under-represented or ethnic minority.

This seems to be a place to start. Obviously, the goal is not to prevent films from being made. Its about broadening the scope of films being made. People in the industry now know that their choices are being evaluated, which  in the long run  is healthier for our culture and healthier for our employment to have more diverse behind-the-scenes community.

As Martha Stewart would say, Its a good thing.

Susan Granger has been an on-air television and radio commentator and entertainment critic for more than 25 years. Raised in Hollywood, Granger appeared as a child actress in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, and Lassie. She currently resides in Westport.
Then-President Donald Trump speaks to the media after signing a bill for border funding in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on July 1, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Trump: Supreme Court Will Get What They Deserve If Court Is Expanded

Former President Donald Trump reacted to White House plans to create a commission that would study potentially expanding the Supreme Court, among other proposals.

Trump said that because the high court didnt hear election-related cases after Nov. 3, the justices on the Supreme Court will get what they deserve if its expanded.

Now there is a very good chance they will be diluted (and moved throughout the court system so that they can see how the lower courts work), with many new Justices added to the Court, far more than has been reported. There is also a good chance that they will be term-limited, Trump said of the Supreme Court, as he renewed claims of election fraud during the 2020 election.

Our politically correct Supreme Court will get what they deservean unconstitutionally elected group of Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country.

Last week, the White House released a statement saying President Joe Biden would create a commission that would look into possibly expandingor packingthe Supreme Court and term limits for justices. The commission is headed by two former Obama administration officials.

The Commissions purpose is to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals, the White House stated.

The topics it will examine include the genesis of the reform debate; the Courts role in the Constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the membership and size of the Court; and the Courts case selection, rules, and practices.

However, Justice Stephen Breyer, a member of the liberal wing of the court, warned that packing the nations highest court is an unwise move because it will create the impression that the court would be a politically motivated entity, which would further erode trust in U.S. institutions.

If the public sees judges as politicians in robes, its confidence in the courts and in the rule of law can only diminish, diminishing the courts power, including its power to act as a check on other branches, he said during a speech to Harvard University students.

As a result of Breyers comments, left-wing activist groups began calling for the 82-year-old justice to retire.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki rebuffed those calls, saying Biden wouldnt push him to step down.

He believes thats a decision Justice Breyer will make when he decides its time to no longer serve on the Supreme Court, Psaki told reporters on April 10.
Ahead of the fifth phase of the West Bengal Assembly Election, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate from the Chopra constituency Hamidul Rehman on Tuesday issued a death threat to WB CM Mamata Banerjee's friend-turned-foe and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Rehman said that Adhikari is alive because he arrived in the constituency on a chopper, but if he arrived by road instead, he would have been killed by the people.

The TMC leader said, "Unfaithful people are bound to be abused. Is there anyone more dishonest than him? you saw the number of people who came here. He was lucky that he did not come by road, or else he would get killed. After what he did to didi, people have been very agitated here. He came and left in a Helicopter. "

Meanwhile, Suvendu Adhikari has received a notice from Election Commission after his 'Mini-Pakistan' remarks in one of his speeches. The EC through its notice has urged BJP's Nandigram candidate to refrain from making such statements even as the Model Code of Conduct is in force. Whereas EC has barred TMC chief Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for the West Bengal election for a period of 24 hours. The ban is currently in effect till 8 pm on April 13. These notices were issued to Banerjee following her minority vote appeal and repeated accusations against the Central Armed Police Forces.

West Bengal Assembly Election

The first phase concluded with a voter turnout of 82 percent, the second phase concluded with a voter turnout of 80.43 percent, the third phase concluded with a voter turnout of 83.93 percent, and the fourth phase concluded with a voter turnout of 79.90 percent. West Bengal's other phases of elections are scheduled on April 17, April 22, April 26, and April 29 with results to be announced on May 2.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Federal health officials triggered a public health alert for more than 200,000 pounds of raw ground turkey products due to concerns the meat could have caused Salmonella Hadar illnesses in people across 12 states, including New York.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said they were investigating the multi-state outbreak, which involved 28 people who were sickened.

A traceback investigation for one of the sickened individuals found that the patient ate ground turkey produced by Plainville Brands, LLC. An unopened package of the turkey collected from the individuals home tested positive for Salmonella Hadar.

Anyone who has the following ground turkey made by Plainville Brands in their freezers should throw it out, officials said:

1 pound packages of Natures Promise Free from 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 1, Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

1 pound packages of Wegman 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

3 pound packages of Wegman 94% lean | 6% fat ground turkey with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 3, Jan. 4, Jan. 8 and Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

1 pound packages of Plainville Farms ground white turkey 93% | 7% fat with use by/freeze/sell by date of Jan. 10 on the front of the package.

The packages have the establishment number P-244 inside the U.S. Department of Agricultures mark of inspection. They were made on Dec. 18-29, 2020, and sold across the country with about 211,406 pounds produced.

Because the products are no longer available for purchase, a recall for the possibly tainted meat was not initiated.

So far, the CDC indicates that four people in New York have been sickened with salmonella in connection with the investigation. Pennsylvania also has four cases, New Jersey has two and Massachusetts has the highest in the U.S. at seven.

Two people have been hospitalized, the CDC said, but no deaths have been reported.

Salmonellosis usually causes diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within six hours to six days after eating the contaminated product. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. Most people recover without treatment.
John Oliver had some strong words for President Joe Biden over unkept promises surrounding the United States Refugee Admissions Program on Last Week Tonight.

The Refugee Admissions Program, as a reminder, is designed to help people from other countries who are fleeing persecution and have applied for resettlement in the US.

The US used to be a world leader in how many refugees we accepted, but this f***ing guy," Oliver said on Sunday (11 April), pointing to a photo of former President Donald Trump, not only slashed the admissions low down to a historic annual low of 15,000, he also added discriminatory eligibility categories that have blocked many Muslim and African refugees from coming to the US.

The host then reminded viewers how Biden ran on a platform of reversing Trump's policies, which included raising the limit on the number of admissions to 62,500 and raising the cap again the following year.

Biden, however, has not signed the Presidential Determination that would reverse the rules put into place by Trump, Oliver noted. It has been hard to get a straight answer from this administration on why.

Tossing to a clip of Jen Psaki, Oliver called out Biden's press secretary for being evasive in her answers when journalists asked about the status of Biden's signing the Presidential Determination.

Props to Jen Psaki there, only a few months into the job and she's already waving away concerns about stranded refugees with the ease of a Spirit Airlines gate agent letting you know your flight's delayed: Rest assured, we're committed to getting you to Orlando eventually. We just can't tell you where your plane is, why it's taking so long and what year you might arrive, he said.

Remember, these are vulnerable people who may have surrendered their belongings or homes in anticipation of leaving the country or who are having to wait in camps, he continued.

For Biden, this is actually really simple  he just needs to sign a piece of paper, Oliver said. And for a guy who clearly wanted to be the person who 'restored the soul of America  a phrase he's uttered many times  it is past time for him to look deep into his own, pick up a f***ing pen and do the right thing.
The Cherokee Nation Constitution requires an annual audit of the financial statements by a certified public accounting be completed and presented to the Tribal Council within six months following the end of each fiscal year, which is Sept. 30. The fiscal year 2020 audit and accompanying financial reports were given to the Tribal Council on March 31.
Press Release

April 13, 2021 Hontiveros demands China completely vacate Julian Felipe Reef, says China is becoming the region's biggest bully Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday once again expressed indignation against China's increasingly aggressive territorial expansion in the West Philippine Sea. According to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, there are still 28 vessels in Julian Felipe Reef. "We demanded that every single Chinese vessel leaves Philippine territory. Why are they still there? China is becoming the region's biggest bully. She exploited a global health crisis by executing a series of coordinated incursions into the WPS, and insisting her presence even after several diplomatic actions from our end," Hontiveros said. "It only shows how China will do what she wants for her own selfish interest, even if it means threatening peace and stability in the region; even if it means attacking already vulnerable countries, including the Philippines," the senator said. The Department of National Defense had ordered for all of China's vessels to evacuate Philippine territory, after over 200 ships gathered at the Julian Felipe Reef last March. The Department of Foreign Affairs then promised to lodge a diplomatic protest everyday until China's vessels vacate our seas. However, Beijing's ships have still been spotted within our Exclusive Economic Zone. "At first, the Chinese Embassy claimed the vessels were just parking due to inclement weather. But Philippine authorities said there was no storm. Then it went as far as insisting that Julian Felipe Reef is Chinese territory. When will the lies, deception, and hypocrisy stop?" Hontiveros asked. "Our coast guard should also immediately inspect what the Chinese vessels are doing there to see if our environmental and fisheries laws are being observed," the senator added. This April, a Chinese Coast Guard Vessel and a People's Liberation Army Navy missile boat impeded a Philippine vessel from exercising the freedom of navigation guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea - or UNCLOS - within the Philippine's EEZ. "This is a direct challenge to the international rules-based order that has maintained stability in the region for so long. The use of a PLAN missile boat to shadow the Philippine vessel back to the Philippine coast signals a willingness to escalate the conflict with naval assets," Hontiveros said. Due to the increasing tension in our waters, the senator said that the DND should deploy more naval assets, including the Philippine Coast Guard, to provide a protective umbrella for fisherfolk who want to venture out to sea. Hontiveros added that government must assure fisherfolk communities that our defense forces would be able to safeguard our fisherfolk's means of subsistence. "We cannot allow ourselves to be kicked out of our own backyard. The West Philippine Sea is part of the patrimony of the Filipino people. Above and beyond considerations of access to resources, diplomacy, and geopolitics, our national dignity is at stake," Hontiveros concluded.
[April 13, 2021] Synergy One Lending Welcomes Top Producers Dave Slater and Charadie Finkle

SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Synergy One Lending welcomes Dave Slater and Charadie Finkle, expanding their footprint into the Colorado Springs Market! "Our decision to join Synergy One was about leadership and trust. Not only have they built a best-in-class platform for top producers today, but the have an amazing vision for what is to come, allowing us to truly shape our team's future while knowing our clients will be put first each and every time along the way," said Charadie Finkle.



Synergy One President, Aaron Nemec added, "Charadie and Dave bring a level of integrity and professionalism to Synergy One that we could not be more excited about! They're the best in the market for a reason and having them join the team means the world as we continue to expand across the West!" Synergy One Lending is based in San Diego, CA, is currently licensed in 38 states and has Operational HUBS in Boise, ID, Denver, CO and Dallas, TX. To learn more about Synergy One Lending, reach out to Aaron Nemec or Ben Green.

CONTACT: Aaron Nemec, aaron@s1l.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/synergy-one-lending-welcomes-top-producers-dave-slater-and-charadie-finkle-301268020.html SOURCE Synergy One Lending

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Here we go again.



Local protesters who might not be looking for a better job during the COVID economic recovery are quickly organizing a protest tonight in solidarity with Minnesota demonstrators.

To wit and sparked by bombastic statements via social media:



KANSAS CITY ACTIVISTS QUICKLY ORGANIZE ANTI-POLICE DEMONSTRATIONS ON THE PLAZA TONIGHT!!!

We're hoping "the festivities" remain cordial, peaceful and focus on healing . . . But the signage doesn't seem very open to compromise.

Whilst tough talk against law enforcement is trending via social media across the nation, the nicer weather might spark turnout for this protest with a connection that's not really local at all.



Check the links . . .



BBC: Daunte Wright shooting by police 'accidental'

UST: 'This is murder': Outrage builds over death of Daunte Wright in traffic stop; police chief says officer intended to use Taser

Guardian: Minnesota police shooting of Daunte Wright: what we know so far

The Hill: Minneapolis pro sports team games postponed after Daunte Wright shooting

NBC: Police release bodycam video of Daunte Wright shooting

Fox News: Daunte Wright's death reignites 'Defund the Police' movement

CNN: Biden calls for 'peace and calm' in the wake of Daunte Wright's fatal encounter with police in Minnesota

Developing . . .


Yuri Gagarin belied the West's austere impression of the Soviet Union  a charming, easygoing Russian with a ready smile. It was the smile that clinched it, BBC reports. The first cadre of Soviet space explorers gathered together numbered 20. Among them were Gherman Titov, still the youngest person to fly in space (aged 26), and Alexei Leonov, the first person to venture out of the safety of a capsule to conduct a spacewalk. But these pioneers still followed in the footsteps of another.

The cosmonaut who would become the first man in orbit needed to be a calm and confident pilot, someone able to function on a mission no person had ever encountered without going to pieces. But there was more to this selection process than pure technical skill. Yuri Gagarin's smile, it's been said, could melt the stoniest heart, and not even those at the highest echelons of Soviet power were immune. When Sergei Korolev  the USSR's chief rocket designer  first met the cadre of pioneering cosmonauts, he spent most of that first meeting chatting to the charismatic Gagarin. Korolev would later call him his "little eagle".

Gagarin's historic mission in Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961 lasted one hour and 48 minutes  far less than the average multiplex movie. The 5ft 2in (155cm) fighter pilot and former foundry worker  his short stature perfect for the cramped interior of the Vostok capsule, it turned out  blasted into space from the Baikonur Cosmodrome (now in Kazakhstan) with a delightfully informal quip into his earpiece: "Let's roll!" Less than two hours later, his re-entry capsule landed on the ground near the city of Engels in Western Russia, with Gagarin himself landing by parachute minutes later.

A farmer and his daughter, who had seen the round capsule fall heavily to Earth, were greeted by the site of a strange, silver-suited figure. "I told them, don't be afraid, I am a Soviet like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!" Gagarin later wrote in his log book. In a few short weeks, the cosmonaut's face would become one of the most recognisable in the world.

On 14 April, two days after he returns to Earth, the USSR unveils the cosmonaut to the world at a giant gathering in Moscow's Red Square after a 12-mile (10km) parade through the city. Millions of Soviet citizens attend.

"[Soviet leader] Nikita Khrushchev said before: 'It's not going to be stage-managed, this is going to be spontaneous'," says Tom Ellis, a professor of Cold War history at the London School of Economics. "And the gathering is spontaneous, there's this amazing footage of labourers and students all dancing together." It's thought the celebrations to mark Gagarin's return are the biggest since the end of the war in Europe, 16 years before.

Gagarin's charisma and easy smile are quickly evident. There are invitations for the first cosmonaut to visit from across the globe. "There are crowds wherever he goes to meet him, even in the UK, which is very firmly in the US camp," says Ellis. "It's very difficult for us now to understand the interest. People just wanted to get a glimpse of him."

Gagarin's visit to the UK, three months after his historic flight, is initially a cautious affair. The US-aligned United Kingdom steps carefully around the politics, refusing to make it a state visit, even though Gagarin is accompanied by an official delegation. The UK authorities are perhaps taken aback by the excitement. A foundry workers' union  in honour of Gagarin's former occupation  invite the cosmonaut to Manchester, and Gagarin accepts, extending his stay. "There's quite a famous moment when he's appearing in Manchester, and he stays in an open-top car even though it's raining, because, he says, 'The people have come to see me.'"

Gagarin's world tour comes at a delicate time in East-West relations. It is only a few months before the building of the Berlin Wall. His flight takes place only a few days before the abortive US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba; the Cuba Missile Crisis a year later will bring the world closer to a nuclear confrontation than ever before. Amid such tension, Gagarin's visit is a rare moment of celebration, and possibly a way of building detente. "One of the other people who was working with him said, 'That person who asks for an autograph and gets a moment with him, will come back and show all their friends and family, and start reading more about the space programme,'" says Ellis.

"When he came here to England, he was seen as a superhero," says Gurbir Singh, a space journalist who has written a book about Gagarin's visit to the UK. "He had experienced something no one else had experienced. Apart from the speed and altitude records he achieved he'd also experienced a realm  space, micro-gravity, weightlessness  something no one had ever experienced, and for a few months, no one else would experience."

In the UK, Gagarin's popularity took the establishment by surprise. "He certainly met the prime minister MacMillan and the Queen at Buckingham Palace, and neither of those two things were on the cards at the time he arranged to come. It was very confusing for the British government, to on the one hand recognise the technological achievement. And it was a huge technological achievement  and the bravery of this individual it was a very high-risk adventure." Gagarin, it emerged later, was lucky to survive the mission  not because of problems in space, but because his re-entry module had failed to disengage properly from the orbital module. The cables failed to cut correctly and the two craft spun violently until the wires gave way. Only after that was Gagarin able to eject from the module and make it safely back down to Earth. "So when he did come over, everybody in the West acknowledged that this was a huge achievement for the Soviet Union."

Glorification of Gagarin's humble roots goes deeper than a simple East-vs-West battle of wills, says Ellis. The early 1960s is a period of enormous global change, with many former colonies finally gaining their independence. Ellis says the exploits of Gagarin  and wider Soviet accomplishments  are a "model of development" for many new nations. "The Soviets are essentially saying to them, 'Look, we've been through the same things that you have, we were technologically backward, and we've managed to forge ahead and get to space in a short amount of time.'" The garrulous, ever-smiling Gagarin was the easygoing public face of something more imposing  a giant technical/industrial base able to design and build a rocket to send a human into space.

Gagarin's tour included a stop off at the United Nations in New York (technically he did not set foot on US soil because he was taken from the airport to the UN by helicopter) but also visited some newly independent nations, like India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Unlike most of his contemporary cosmonauts  such as Alexei Leonov, who passed away in 2019 aged 85  Gagarin is frozen in time. The statues and paintings, like the young cosmonaut himself, never age. After his world tour, Gagarin became deputy director of the new Cosmonaut Training Centre. Sudden fame and the pressure of his diplomatic duties put strain on his marriage; there were rumours of a drink problem and infidelities, including one where Gagarin leapt out of a window after being caught by his wife in bed with another woman.

Gagarin then focused on getting fit enough for a return to space. The first cosmonaut was reserve pilot for the first Soyuz mission in April 1967; this mission ended in tragedy, killing Gagarin's friend Vladimir Komarov. Soviet authorities banned him from space travel, though Gagarin still insisted on logging enough flight hours on jet aircraft to remain a credible instructor. It was on one of these flights, in March 1968, that Gagarin died. In an incident still mired in conspiracy and controversy, Gagarin's MiG-15 trainer crashed in woodland just outside Moscow. he was only 34.

"When he died, it all started to go wrong for the Soviet Union," says Ellis. "Korolev dies. You have the Americans surging ahead with the Saturn 5 rocket [which eventually takes them to the Moon]. They know they're in trouble. "Gagarin's status survives the Soviet space programme being eclipsed by the Americans. "He's enshrined as a hero," says Ellis. "When Neil Armstrong visits the Soviet Union, he is mobbed by crowds who are really pleased to see him. Nasa thought that it's maybe because Armstrong looks a little like Gagarin."
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(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, 13 APR - Israeli Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen and Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced they have reached an agreement in which Israel will allow groups of tourists to begin entering the country starting May 23, in a first step towards reopening to non-citizens.



The choice to favour groups was explained with the fact that they are more controllable.



Tourists will be required to be vaccinated as well as show proof of a negative Covid test prior to departure and a negative test upon arrival in Israel, and a serology test showing the presence of antibodies.



The two ministers said the government will continue to negotiate with other countries for reciprocal recognition of vaccines in order to avoid the serology test. (ANSAmed).


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PAGE TITLE Web hosting provider - Bluehost.com - domain hosting - PHP Hosting - cheap web hosting - Frontpage H DESCRIPTION Bluehost - Top rated web hosting provider - Free 1 click installs For blogs, shopping carts, and more. Get a free domain name, real NON-outsourced 24/7 support, and superior speed. web hosting provider php hosting cheap web hosting, Web hosting, domain na KEYWORDS web hosting, provider, php hosting, web hosting, free domain names, domain name, front page hosting, web site, web design, domain name registration, business web site, web site hosting, web space, picture hosting, small business, cheap web hosting, webmas OTHER KEYWORDS hosting, web hosting, bluehost,



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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:27:58|Editor: huaxia

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KABUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Fighting in Afghanistan has continued with heavy casualties reported since Monday amid repeated calls for observance of cease-fire in Muslims' fasting month of holy Ramadan.

In the latest reports of violent incidents, the Taliban militants stormed a security base in Dahna-e-Ghori district of northern Baghlan province on Tuesday, killing six security personnel and injuring nine others, district governor Qasim Khan said.

Nearly a dozen militants were also reported to be killed and injured in the firefight lasting six hours.

Five Afghan army soldiers and seven militants were killed and six others including two soldiers and four insurgents sustained injuries in the fighting in Balkh's Chamtal district late Monday night, on the eve of Ramadan.

Taliban militants executed three captured soldiers in Zibak district of northern Badakhshan province on Tuesday morning, provincial government spokesman Nik Mohammad Nazari said.

Two militants, according to an army statement, were killed in eastern Wardak province on Monday.

Exchanges of fire between government forces and Taliban militants have been continuing while Ramadan started on Tuesday with calls for observance of a cease-fire during the fasting month.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday repeated the call, urging the Taliban outfit to halt fighting and observe cease-fire during the religious fasting month to bolster the peace process.

"Once again I am calling upon the Taliban to give up fighting, enmity and observe permanent ceasefire which is the demand of the people of Afghanistan," Ghani said in his message to mark the start of Ramadan broadcast by local television channels. Enditem
Hassan Bility is a central figure in Liberian activists fight to bring to justice the warlords who scarred Liberia between 1989 and 2003. Investigations by the NGO he founded and directs, the Global Justice Research Project (GJRP), and its Swiss partner Civitas Maxima have led to most of the prosecutions of former Liberian warlords in exile in the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. They also triggered the investigations that led the Finnish justice system to now be trying Gibril Massaquoi. This former commander and spokesman for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a Sierra Leonean rebel movement officially active between 1991 and 2001, is accused of crimes against humanity committed in Liberia between 1999 and 2003. From February 23 to April 7, the Finnish court that is trying him relocated to the Liberian capital Monrovia to hold a major part of the trial. Fifty-five witnesses were heard over 21 days of hearings. Hassan Bility was the second-to-last witness to appear.

But the Massaquoi case is not like the other Liberian cases. For there is a direct and personal connection between Bility and this case. Since at least 2009, Bility has accused Massaquoi of personally torturing him in 2002 while he was held incommunicado in Liberian jails. Without this testimony, there would be no Massaquoi trial today. This recollection is the reason for the investigations opened in 2018 by the GJRP and Civitas Maxima  and then Finland, where Massaquoi has resided since 2008, took up the case based on information submitted by these NGOs.

Tortured in Liberian jails

In 2002, Bility was editor of Liberian magazine The Analyst. He had already been arrested six times when, on June 24, he was arrested for the seventh and final time. At the hearing, he gave an almost cinematic account of his arrest, which took place before the eyes of his one-and-a-half-year-old son, on whom he cast a mute gaze through the rear window of the vehicle into which he had just been forced. Taken before Liberian President Charles Taylor himself, he was lectured in front of a crowd of regime bigwigs. Taylor wanted him to confess to plotting to overthrow him by buying weapons and storing them in the US embassy, and by bringing in mercenaries. The head of state gave the names of the accomplices whom Bility was ordered to denounce. But Bility refused to videotape the false confessions. And during the next six months, he was taken to multiple places of detention, suffering threats, punishments and torture.

The worst part of his ordeal was between July 26 and the end of August 2002. This was the period when he was detained at Clay Junction, a major intersection about 35 km north of the capital. He and about eight fellow prisoners were secretly held under a roadside weighing station. It was the middle of the rainy season and the area was flooded.

Bility briefly recalled the torture known as tie-bay he underwent there, where bonds cruelly cut his arms (he still has the scars), as well as electric shocks on his genitals. This was done by a man who introduced himself as Angel Gabriel. He asked me what it meant. He said he was Gibril Massaquoi. I knew Gibril is Arabic for Gabriel. I could tell he was Sierra Leonean because of his accent. I believe I had heard his name on radio in connection to the RUF. Mr. Massaquoi wanted me to tell the truth. And the truth he wanted was an admission that I had planned to overthrow Charles Taylor. It was he who was directly doing the interrogation. He tied me. He stepped on me and kicked me when I resisted. And he was present when I was electrocuted.

At the hearing, nearly 18 years after the event, Bility placed this moment of terror on July 26, 2002. In other statements he has made in the past, including a few weeks after his release in February 2003 and only three years ago when questioned by his colleagues at Civitas Maxima, he placed the event a week later, in August. But the witness says he has since clarified his memory with the help of former inmates. They said it was that day. It was Independence Day. Bility named another former detainee who would corroborate his accusation against Massaquoi  an imam, who is said to have forgiven his torturer. He has not been questioned by the Finnish judiciary. The story of Massaquoi acting as a torturer in Taylors jails in mid-2002  around the time that the same Massaquoi began his contacts in Sierra Leone with investigators from a newly established UN tribunal in that neighbouring country  is a unique story.

Until 2018, only Hassan Bility had told of Gibril Massaquoi presenting himself as Angel Gabriel.  Thierry Cruvellier

Im your Angel Gabriel

But there is another key element of the human rights activists testimony. Bility was the first to say that Massaquoi had the nom de guerre Angel Gabriel. He says he told it publicly immediately after his release in late 2002, in his forced exile in the United States. But there is no record of this. In contrast, in 2009, Bility testified at the trial of Taylor, the former president of Liberia from 1997 to 2003 who was sentenced in 2012 to 50 years in prison by the UN tribunal for Sierra Leone. His public testimony on January 13, 2009 is the first public record referring to Angel Gabriel:

I did see someone that I had previously reported on, Gibril Massaquoi, who () asked me when torturing me if I knew the meaning of Gibril and I said yes, because I understand Arabic. I said it means Gabriel. He said, Okay, Im your Angel Gabriel. I have been instructed by [Joe Towah, the prison supervisor] to make you to talk. () By this time I had basically almost lost track of time, but I do know I was held there well into August [2002].

Apart from this testimony, the nom de guerre allegedly used by Massaquoi does not appear anywhere else. It is not in the work of the Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commission, completed in 2004, that blames Massaquoi heavily for crimes committed by the RUF, nor in the report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, completed in 2009, which never mentions the former RUF commander. There is nothing of it in the rest of the investigations by the UN tribunal for Sierra Leone, where Massaquoi was a witness and a key informant for the prosecutor. Nothing in the investigations conducted in Lofa after the war by Human Rights Watch. And like other experts, Lansana Gberie, one of the best experts on the RUF and the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia who was in frequent contact with Massaquoi at the time of Bilitys allegations, is adamant that no one had ever seen this nom de guerre appear.

Until 2018, reference to Angel Gabriel aka Massaquoi existed only in Bilitys testimony. Then, suddenly, it spread everywhere  first in the investigations of Civitas Maxima/GJRP, launched in January 2018 in Lofa, then in those of the Finnish police, which took over. The Angel Gabriel then no longer appeared only in Lofa but also in Monrovia. This appearance of Angel Gabriel alias Massaquoi is therefore central in this case. It makes Bilitys testimony key.

Yet at the hearing, the defence did not ask the witness about this, focusing on his involvement in the initial Civitas investigations and his possible contacts with a key investigator on the Finnish team, a Liberian recruited from within Bilitys organization. At this stage of the trial, the mystery of Angel Gabriel remains.
On Saturday, Donald Trump spoke to a Republican National Committee event at Mar-a-Lago. From reports by some in attendance, it looks like the former president, in true Trumpian fashion, aired grievances and bitterly attacked former allies.

Most notably, Trump went after Mitch McConnell. Reportedly, he called the Minority Leader a dumb son of a bitch and claimed that Chuck Schumer would never have allowed the 2020 presidential results to be certified. Trump also claimed, again according to accounts, that he won the Kentucky Senate race for McConnell.

Such a claim would be absurd. McConnell crushed his opponent by nearly 20 percentage points in 2020. Kentucky has elected him to the Senate seven times.

We dont know for sure what Chuck Schumer would have done regarding certification of the 2020 election had the shoe been on the other foot. We know that Schumer did not try to prevent Trump from being the certified winner in 2016 in a race that was about as close as the 2020 contest.

Presumably, Schumer didnt try to block Trump for the same reason that McConnell didnt try to block Biden. Neither believed that the results to be certified were invalid, and neither wanted a constitutional crisis or a pitched battle over presidential succession. In my view, Trump has never presented evidence that should have persuaded McConnell that Trump was the proper winner of the 2020 campaign.

We also know that Al Gore didnt press Democrats not to certify the results of the 2000 election, even though he probably had a better claim than Trump of having obtained the votes needed to win. I dont consider Gores decision dumb, I consider it patriotic.

My favorite line from Trumps speech, as reported, is this statement about Republicans who voted to impeach him:

We cant have these guys that like publicity.

If we cant have politicians who like publicity, well have to fire virtually the entire political class. If we cant have ones who obsessively crave publicity, Trump will have to be among the first disqualified.

Republicans can talk all they want about divisions in the Democratic party, and they should. However, Trumps speech reminds us that its Democrats who are likely to be passing the most popcorn in the coming years.
Muslims to observe the holy month of Ramadan under certain restrictions due to pandemic

Muslims in Turkey are gearing up to welcome the holy month of Ramadan which will begin on Tuesday.

Fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan is one of Islams five pillars. It is a time of self-examination and increased religious devotion.

Like last year, Muslims in the country will observe Ramadan under certain restrictions due to the pandemic.

During the holy month, gatherings for sahur and iftar  pre-dawn and fast-breaking meals, respectively  are prohibited nationwide.

Tarawih, the special night prayers during Ramadan, will not be allowed at mosques, according to the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet).

Additionally, weekend lockdowns will be in place across Turkey during the Muslim holy month.

Besides, during Ramadan, restaurants and coffeehouses will only be open for takeaway and delivery services.

Overall, it will be a muted Ramadan for the faithful, with traditions changed or scaled back. Drummers, a staple of the month, are the only people spared from the impact of the pandemic. Similar to 2020, they will be back on the street to carry on the tradition of waking people up for sahur.

Vaccination during fasting

It is permissible for the fasting person to take the COVID-19 vaccine jab and it does not invalidate the fast, a top official of Diyanet told Anadolu Agency.

There is no nutritious vitamin or food substance in any vaccine, including the COVID-19 vaccine. Injecting such a thing into the body does not break the fast, Idris Bozkurt said.

However, people also can get the vaccine after iftar or before sahur.

Since its vaccination campaign began on Jan. 14, Turkey has administered more than 18.7 million vaccine jabs nationwide, according to official figures.

More than 11.1 million people have received their first dose of a vaccine while second doses were given to over 7.6 million.

Source: aa.com.tr

Whilst these measures are in place during this years Ramazan, the principles of this holy month remain the same. Devout muslims all over Turkey, and the world, will still be honoring this pillar of the Muslim faith from their homes.

All about Ramazan

Please note, some activities mentioned in this section will not take place due to pandemic measures.

Ramazan (Ramadan) is the holy month of Islam. In this period the holy book Quran was sent to Muhammed. And in the Quran, those who are not sick or travelling are ordered to honour and fast during these 30 days.

When is Ramazan?

This year Ramazan (Ramadan) begins on Tuesday, April 12 and ends on Wednesday, May 12. Because of the lunar calendar, the start of Ramazan moves backwards by about eleven days each year.

What is Ramazan?

People, and certainly non-Muslims, associate this holy month purely with fasting (oruc). But Ramazan is more than that. Keeping Ramazan is one of the five pillars (basic duties) of the Muslim faith.

It is intended to bring Muslims closer to God and teach them about patience, spirituality, and humility. Hence the fasting, to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. It also teaches Muslims to practice self-discipline, self-control, sacrifice, and empathy for those who are less fortunate and encourage actions of generosity and charity.

Fasting

Fasting is the religious duty of all Muslims and it means not letting anything pass or even touch the lips. Starting from the twilight before sunrise (the first call to prayer) until the twilight after sunset, no food, drink, tobacco smoke, chewing gum or any other thing that involves the mouth is allowed.

Some people are exempt from fasting: children until the age of puberty, pregnant women, travellers, the elderly and people that are chronically ill.

Sahur

During Ramadan, Muslims wake up well before dawn to eat the pre-dawn meal or sahur. This is the most important meal during Ramazan since it has to last until sunset. This means eating lots of high-protein foods and drinking as much water as possible right up until dawn, after which you cant eat or drink anything.

Iftar

The day of fasting is over at sunset. The exact minute that its ok to eat iftar is signalled by the fourth call to prayer at dusk. Hungry people may start the evening with a light snack. This light meal, consisting of freshly-baked Ramazan pide bread, pickled vegetables, olives and other easily-prepared edibles is often enjoyed in a group with family members and/or friends.

Youll see Turks queueing for the specially baked Pide bread just before dusk

More elaborate dinners are normally held later in the evening or night, but some people just go for it right from the start.

Iftar

Ramazan etiquette

Even though many Turks dont fast for Ramazan, they are sensitive to those who are fasting around them. As a visitor, its best to be considerate by not eating in public during daylight, especially in rural areas of more traditional cities. Be patient with the hungry Turks you encounter  fasters can be a bit on the grumpy side.

Some restaurants which normally serve alcoholic beverages may not do so during Ramazan.

Ramazan greeting

Those who want be kind to someone fasting in Ramadan may say or greet with Ramadan Mubarak (Hayrl Ramazanlar in Turkish), meaning Have a blessed Ramadan.

Celebrate with the locals

Various events take place during Ramazan so keep your eyes (and ears) open when youre out and about in the evenings. Join in the festivities to celebrate the holy month with local people.

27th night of Ramadan  Kadir Gecesi (Qadr)

The Order of the Mevlevi (Whirling Dervishes) performing the mesmerising Sema at Erasta AVM on Kadir Gecesi. They glide effortlessly in circles, their white robes rising and falling, thinking all the while of their act as a bridge from God to earth.

The 27th night of Ramadan is called Kadir Gecesi, the Night of Power.

The greatest night of the Muslim year, this is the sanctified night when the history of Islam began, the night on which the first verses of the Koran are believed to have been revealed to Prophet Muhammed in Mecca in the year 610 AD.

The gates of heaven are opened wide, angels walk the earth and the demons of Hell are chained in their fiery pits.

It is also a night of forgiveness when good deeds performed are better than the deeds of 1000 months which do not contain a Night of the Decree.

The anniversary of that night or the birthday of the Koran, became the holiest moment in the Muslim calendar (Kadir Gecesi).

This year, Kadir Gecesi falls on May 8/9, beginning at sunset in the evening and lasting until the following evening:

Click here to read more about Kadir Gecesi

Eid al-Fitr/Ramazan Bayram (Seker Bayram)

The end of Ramazan is celebrated with a holiday, Eid al-Fitr, also known as Ramazan Bayram or Seker Bayram. It starts at sunset on the last day of Ramazan and celebrates the completion of the holy month of fasting.

This year, Ramazan Bayram will begin on Thursday, May 13 and end on Saturday, May 15.

Hayrl Ramazanlar
Sydney, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Proactive, provider of real-time news and video interviews on growth companies listed in Australia, has covered the following companies:

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Peninsula Energy Ltds (ASX:PEN) (OTCMKTS:PENMF) (FRA:P1M) MU1A low-pH field demonstration test modifications for the flagship Lance Project in Wyoming, USA, have delivered favourable results including an increase in uranium recovery solution and improved response time in modified test patterns. Click here

Castillo Copper Ltd (ASX:CCZ) (LON:CCZ) (FRA:7OR) is gearing up to resume drilling at Mt Oxide Project in the Mt Isa Copper Belt of northwest Queensland off the back of a review of historical data that enhances the exploration potential of Arya prospect. Click here

Alto Metals Ltd (ASX:AME) has received highly encouraging first assay results from an ongoing extensive drilling program at its 100%-owned, 900 square kilometres Sandstone Gold Project in Western Australia. Click here

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PolarX Ltd (ASX:PXX) (OTCMKTS:PXXXF) (FRA:PX0) has mobilised its field team to the Humboldt Range Gold-Silver Project in Nevada with fieldwork, including extensive geological mapping and rock-chip sampling, expected to begin this week aimed at establishing drilling targets. Click here

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Q+A is in Melbourne this week to discuss delays to the vaccine rollout.

The Federal Government has scrapped its targets for the nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, after new medical advice derailed the rollout. More doses of the much-needed Pfizer vaccine have been ordered, taking the total number to 40 million. But of that, only about one million has arrived on our shores.

So, when will Australians be fully vaccinated? And how quickly can the Government get the program back on track?

The delay has some experts questioning when Australias international borders will reopen. Its a stark contrast to China, which despite being the origin of the virus, continues to recover strongly, with its economy surging at the start 2021.

The relationship between Australia continues to sour over the fallout of its push for an international investigation into Covid-19. Exporters and business leaders are bearing the brunt and fear it could spell potential economic disaster.

How can the relationship be repaired? Does having a trade relationship with China mean we have to stay silent on human rights issues?

Joining Hamish on the panel:

Norman Swan, Presenter RN and Coronacast

James Paterson, Liberal Senator for Victoria

Katy Gallagher, Shadow Minister for Finance

Vicky Xu, Journalist and researcher

David Olsson, President, Australia China Business Council

8:30pm Thursday on ABC.

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LG has made a public pledge to reassure current and future customers on future OS updates following its announcement to withdraw from the mobile industry, for select 2019 and 2020 premium models.

With OS updates on Android a known bug-bear for Android smartphone owners, save those of the Google Pixel range which get Google's own Android updates effectively immediately upon release, LG has made an announcement it should have made long before shutting down its mobile business.

Naturally, because LG still has stock in stores that it would love to sell, and it still has customers who are using its smartphones, LG has acknowledged concerns around OS updates with its new announcement.

After all, existing and future customers want assurance that it's safe to use LG phones, and that the phones will still get support.

LG's announcement is that "all premium LG smartphones currently in use will receive up to three iterations of Android operating system updates from the year of purchase."

What that actually means for specific models is "the three OS update applies to LG premium phones released in 2019 and later (G series, V series, VELVET2) while certain 2020 models such as LG Stylo and K series will receive two OS updates.

LG says this promise "comes on the heels of the announcement last week that LG will be exiting the mobile business by the end of July."

LG is also continuing to make smartphones, but not for much longer. The Korean electronics giant says it will "continue to manufacture phones through the second quarter to meet contractual obligations to carriers and partners.

"This means customers can still purchase LG mobile phones currently in inventory and service support and security software updates will continue to be provided in accordance with LGs contractual obligations, Manufacturers warranty and the Australian Consumer law."

LG also notes that "future updates will depend on Googles distribution schedule as well as other factors such as device performance and compatibility", with the added notes that the "G series and V series will be updated to Android 12", while "Velvet will be updated to Android 13."
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 02:37:38|Editor: huaxia

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SAN FRANCISCO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft Corporation and Nuance Communications on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Nuance for 56 U.S. dollars per share.

The price implies a 23 percent premium to the closing price of Nuance on Friday, April 9, in an all-cash transaction valued at 19.7 billion dollars, inclusive of Nuance's net debt, Microsoft said in an announcement.

According to the announcement, Microsoft has accelerated its efforts to provide industry-specific cloud offerings to support customers and partners as they respond to disruption and new opportunities. These efforts include the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, introduced in 2020, which aims to address the comprehensive needs of the rapidly transforming and growing healthcare industry.

"Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. "AI is technology's most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application."

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Nuance and Microsoft. The deal is intended to close by the end of this calendar year. Mark Benjamin will remain the CEO of Nuance, reporting to Scott Guthrie, executive vice president of Cloud & AI at Microsoft, the announcement said. Enditem
Before the pandemic, part of my weekend routine was swinging by two to three different grocery stores with my mom. Amid racks, stands, and chillers, I examined the color and texture of bunched up kiat-kiat while at the other end, my mom shifted her focus between two different piles of carrots before deciding which would be better for her specialty pancit bihon.

Today, produce shopping has become about tapping, clicking, and scrolling through browsers in different hues of greens and reds for an experience of choice but also less contact. While Im robbed of the autonomy to select my usual assembly of lettuce, oranges and carrots in person, the shift to digital has made it possible for necessities to become more accessible online, as rising health concerns have made people increasingly conscious of what they eat, what its made of, and where it comes from. On a recent foray into the new delivery website of industry pioneer Dizon Farms, I skimmed through time-saving produce bundles packed together and labelled according to the dish that you can make with them  pinakbet, chopsuey, ginataan, among others. I managed to easily procure all the ingredients I needed to make Sinigang in Dizon Farms curated bunch of kangkong, white radish, tomatoes, and three different kinds of sigang.

Also quick to respond to this digital wave is Lazadas new platform for fresh produce merchants: Lazada Fresh. Initially an idea in late 2019, The lockdown in 2020 accelerated our team's efforts in working with sellers that needed an avenue to continue their businesses while providing consumers with convenient access to fresh goods, Carlos Barrera, COO of Lazada Philippines shared. Setting up this online marketplace strictly for fresh food granted shoppers the convenience to quickly segregate the fruits and vegetables on their to-buy lists from Lazadas plethora of miscellaneous items. Currently, their population of over 1,000+ produce sellers continues to grow by the day. By displaying different brands, Lazada users are presented with a wealth of options  enabling them not only to shop Enoki mushrooms online, but to choose specifically who to buy Enoki mushrooms from.

Another platform player, ZAP, originally providing loyalty points systems to brick-and-mortar stores to encourage in-store visits, shifted to a new strategy: building quick websites for food brands and restaurants that have shifted to delivery or in-store pickups. Among them: King Chef Dimsum, Vikings, Sugarhouse and Take Root.

The focus is on onboarding many smaller shops, giving them an online presence, like a mom-and-pop fruit stand in Banaue, which Alfonso Manrique, ZAPs Business Development Manager, hopes to take to the web.

He shared how the personal relationship between individuals and their local neighborhood fruit stand endures. Personally, a part of me still hesitates to buy kiat-kiat that Im not able to touch, see, or even smell before I place them in my basket. The trust really needs to go both ways, Manrique said. Through the order forms on the webpages they set up, customers can input their preferences  such as ripeness  in the notes section, he explained.

While these experiences illustrate the efficiency of tech when it comes to the ease of shopping, direct-to-consumer startup Future Fresh takes it all the way back into the supply chain. Maintaining their own indoor farms, they are able to offer an exclusive assortment focused on non-native plants with unique flavors. Co-founder Derya Tanghe lists their produce with a sense of ownership. So, we have products that people may not be familiar with including our arugula, our type of baby kale, our type of spinach, and especially our type of microgreens, he told CNN Philippines Life on a call.

I confirmed this myself when I sampled their fast-selling loose-leaf Salanova lettuce mix, built around a variety with a natural, well-rounded sweetness that only Future Fresh grows. The cool thing about Salanova lettuce is that its easy to prep, easy to eat, and tastes great, Tanghe mentioned. On its own, Salanova lettuces crisp flavors ranged from nutty to bittersweet. After adding some chicken and shrimp to my salad, I sprinkled some of their radish microgreens which offered a different and slight peppery taste that I was pleasantly surprised with but hadnt encountered before.

(From left) Future Freshs Butterhead Lettuce (250g for 200), Frisee Lettuce (250g for 200), Oakleaf Lettuce (250g for 200), and Crystal Lettuce (250g for 200). Photos from FUTUREFRESH.PH

Future Fresh, which is operated and run by a multidisciplinary team of agronomists, farmers, and business leads, wants to reimagine the next generation farming in Southeast Asia.

If the Philippines doesnt have that much arable land left and Manilas got like 22 million people, how will you be able to feed them good quality produce for years to come? Tanghe said.

Future Fresh designed their indoor hydroponic farms using vertical racks  allowing them to grow their signature varieties year round and control the weather and environment even as the enclosing building is in a dense part of Quezon City. To eliminate produce wastage, their team summarizes orders and cuts only what they need on the day of delivery, preserving maximum freshness. They also take care to grow only what they need. Sometimes when you visit the website, some varieties are marked sold out. In case a customer orders something that has just run out, a customer service representative will send a message to figure out a swap thats close in price or flavor, and to make sure someone is around to receive the order, packed and sealed in reusable ziplock bags that allow it to keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Future Fresh has become a benevolent middleman between farmer and customer, answering customer questions that range from highly scientific ones like What temperature is your farm controlled in? to the more practical How long can this last? or the perennial Is this organic? To which Tanghe explained that their produce is what he likes to call post-organic. We cant use the term organic because we dont grow on soil. We grow indoors to avoid spraying pesticides or herbicides because were not open to outside climate externalities, he said. The result is a clean, crisp bite to all their produce. But the nutritional value is way up there.

They are also set to build the countrys largest indoor farm and triple their capacity and offerings by May. Maybe fruiting crops like strawberries and specialty tomatoes, Tanghe said. They also just launched spearmint and watercress on a limited release, available twice a week.

Speaking of specialty, Aba Pardes Hydroponics sells premium boxed selections of tomatoes, mustard greens, herbs and lettuce supplied to 5-star hotels and using Israeli agricultural technology, seeds and cultivation techniques, from 95 up to 2,000+.

For these fresh produce purveyors, the end mission is to connect people at both ends of a transaction. Manrique of ZAP called it a farm-to-customer way of doing business. Our goal is to, one day, be able to connect with vendors on a producer level," he said. We want our clients to keep as much profits as possible and at the same time have the convenience and technology to make it all work. Thats the space were trying to fill.
PALO ALTO, Calif., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, the premier provider of legal services to technology, life sciences, and growth enterprises worldwide, announced today that Joshua (Josh) Beser has joined the firm as a corporate partner in the New York office. He will be a member of the emerging companies practice, representing early- and growth-stage consumer brands and technology and life sciences companies in corporate matters and as outside general counsel. The move signals Wilson Sonsini's continued efforts to strengthen the firm's presence in New York and its commitment to the start-up and venture community in the region.

Beser brings over a decade of executive-level, in-house operating experience at consumer brands and technology and life sciences companies. Most recently, he served as general counsel at Away, a New York-based direct-to-consumer travel brand twice named as one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Companies" and as one of Time's "50 Most Genius Companies," among other honors. At Away, Beser was a member of the executive team, served as corporate secretary, and led teams in a wide range of operational functions, including information security, real estate, and global trade. Beser built and implemented Away's legal strategy and infrastructure at scale and led Away's legal team through substantial revenue and headcount growth, international expansion, Series C and Series D financings, growth-stage debt financing, liquidity transactions, global intellectual property development and brand protection programs, public company readiness, and executive transitions.

"Josh's combination of in-house and law firm experience will allow him to offer both early- and late-stage clients practical insights and valuable perspectives," said Doug Clark, managing partner at Wilson Sonsini. "Josh is well known in New York's in-house legal community, particularly among general counsels for technology, consumer, and life sciences companies. He's also developed extensive ties to the area's dynamic start-up community, in large part through his work advising venture-backed, early-stage companies and founders in the market. We're very pleased to welcome Josh to our firm."

In June 2020, Wilson Sonsini also added Salil Gandhi to its emerging companies practice, further strengthening the firm's corporate team in New York, which includes Megan Baier and Sriram Krishnamurthy. The team works with the Boston and Washington, D.C., offices to represent emerging company clients throughout the Northeast region. They facilitate the corporate formation of start-ups, negotiate venture capital financings, advise on strategic alliances and joint ventures, and prepare companies for initial public offerings, secondary offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.

Prior to joining Away in 2017, Beser was vice president and general counsel at Canary, a consumer technology leader. In this role as a member of the company's management team, he built and implemented the company's legal strategy through significant growth, advising the founders and board on all legal issues, including the company's Series C and D financing rounds, debt financing activities, and technology- and data privacy-focused commercial and intellectual property matters, as well as leading the people function during a time of significant transition in the business.

Previously, from 2010 to 2015, Beser was assistant general counsel at Lonza, a publicly traded Swiss life sciences company, where he served on the executive leadership team of the Consumer Care division. He was responsible for a broad range of legal matters that included M&A, commercial, employment, online privacy, and consumer-facing product issues, as well as technology licensing, procurement, and implementation.

Before moving in-house, Beser was an associate in the New York office of Bingham McCutchen LLP from 2008 to 2010. He began his career at Heller Ehrman LLP, where he worked in the San Diego, New York, and London offices from 2005 to 2008. During Beser's time at both firms, he represented venture capital and private equity funds and their high-growth operating companies in public and private financing, M&A, and commercial transactions, primarily in the technology and life sciences industries.

"I'm really excited about joining Wilson Sonsini because the firm has such an impressive brand and legacy of working with iconic and innovative technology and life sciences clients," said Beser. "Returning to private practice gives me an opportunity to apply my in-house and law firm experience toward partnering with founders and executive teams, start-ups, and investors. I'm also looking forward to collaborating with the firm's impressive team in NY and others in the Northeast, and contributing to the growth of the emerging companies practice in the region."

Beser earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law in 2005 and a B.S. in business administration from Colorado State University in 2002.

About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati For 60 years, Wilson Sonsini has offered a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wilson-sonsini-adds-josh-beser-to-growing-emerging-companies-practice-in-new-york-301266448.html

SOURCE Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
A South Florida doctor faces two counts of child neglect after allegedly leaving her two young children in a running car parked in the parking lot of a Hard Rock Casino.

Cuban- born doctor Marieny Elena Guimera-Revelo, 43, faces two counts of child neglect after leaving her two young children in a parked car of a Hard Rock Casino on Sunday afternoon

Cuban-born doctor Marieny Elena Guimera-Revelo, 43, allegedly left her two kids, aged three and 11, in the locked car in a high foot traffic area of a parking lot as she gambled at the casino in Hollywood, Florida on Sunday.

Surveillance footage captured the doctor at a poker table for at least 12 minutes where she failed to respond to text messages.

The children had been in the car for about an hour before police found them at 3.15pm.

Dr. Giumera-Revelos, who is charged with two counts of child neglect without great bodily harm, appeared in court via Zoom on Monday where Judge Tabitha Blackmon said the court had 'a lot of concerns for the wellbeing and safety of these children.'

Judge Blackmon said the kids could have easily been taken as the keys had been left in the running car.

Surveillance footage shows the doctor at a poker table at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida

Dr. Guimera-Reveloas is listed as an internal medicine doctor at Cano Health, a senior health care center in Pembroke Pines, just a 15 minute drive away from the casino.

The doctor, who has no prior criminal record, has been a South Florida resident for 20 years, and has been practicing general medicine for the last six years, her attorney said at the hearing.

Dr. Guimera-Revelo was listed as an internal medicine doctor at Cano Health in Pembroke Pines, just a 15 minute drive to the casino

The doctor was held on $10,000 bond on each count, totaling $20,000, and ordered by the judge to not have contact with her children

The 43-year-old got her medical degree from Ross University in Florida in 2012 and did her residency at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, NBC South Florida reports.

Because of her income she did not qualify for a public defender and would have to hire her own attorney.

The doctor was held on $10,000 bond on each count, totaling $20,000, and ordered by the judge to not have contact with her children.
Patna: The Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC) declared Bihar Police constable PET final result 2021 on Monday (April 12) on its official website.

Candidates who had appeared in the Bihar Police CSBC Physical eligibility Test 2021 can check and download their results from- csbc.bih.nic.in.

The Bihar Police constable Physical eligibility Test 2021 was conducted December 7, 2020 to January 30, 2021 by the Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC).

ALSO READ: Bihar Class 10 results: Board opens scrutiny application, check how to apply

The Bihar constable PET 2021 will fill over 11,880 seats and the notification for the same was released in October 2019. Find the direct link to check the result below.

Heres step-by-step guide to download your Bihar Police constable PET final result 2021:

Step 1: Go CSBC official website- csbc.bih.nic.in.

Step 2: Click on Result section

Step 3: Click on links which reads Finally selected candidates for the post of Constable in Bihar Police, Bihar Military Police, Special India Reserve Battalion and Bihar State Industrial Security Battalion

Step 4: Enter your credentials, like Roll number and user name.

Step 5: Click Entre

Step 6: The new window will display CSBC PET 2021 physical eligibility test 2021 result list.

Step 7: Check for your roll number of finally selected candidates list.

Step 8: Download Bihar Police constable PET final result 2021 and keep it for future references.

ALSO READ: Bihar Hospital declares alive COVID-19 patient as dead, hands over body of another person to kin

The candidates need to note that those applicants whose roll number is in the list are finally selected for Bihar Police constable posts.

Bihar Police constable PET result 2021 direct link
Following the killings of six Asian Americans in Georgia, Rep. Andy Kim flew to Atlanta to meet with a community already traumatized by the uptick in hate crimes during the coronavirus pandemic.

One question kept coming, which is, What are you going to do about this? Kim, D-3rd Dist., said Tuesday. That is the demand being made right now, Its a demand that is justified given the violence and discrimination that the AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] community has faced.

Kim, who had come to Atlanta March 28 with three other Asian-American members of Congress, joined other lawmakers Tuesday at a Capitol press conference called to push legislation designed to make it easier for Asian-Americans to report bias incidents and to help federal and local law enforcement authorities address them.

There is no reason, no reason, this shouldnt be a bipartisan bill that passes the Senate without delay, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. This is not some piece of gotcha legislation. This is legislation our times demand.

Anti-Asian incidents have grown across the county. Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group, found 3,795 such occurrences across the nation from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021. In March, six Asian-American women were among eight people killed at three spas in the Atlanta area.

Many incidents are never reported, because victims dont speak English or know where to go. The bill requires authorities to provide ways to report such incidents online and to reach out to affected communities in their own languages to encourage them to report.

For more than a year, the Asian American community has been fighting two viruses -- the COVID-19 pandemic and anti-Asian hate, said Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., the lead sponsor of the legislation in the House.

Asian-Americans long have been singled out for discrimination, most notably during World War II when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps.

But the problem has gotten worse during the pandemic, with unprovoked verbal and physical attacks on Asian-Americans. U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, the bills chief Senate sponsor, blamed the uptick on rhetoric during President Donald Trumps administration.

When you have a president who deems a virus to be the China virus or to have members of his administration refer to it as kung flu, you create an environment where people will be motivated, because of whatever reasons they have, to commit these kinds of crimes, she said. Its very important we now have a president who speaks out and takes a stand.

In an executive order issued Jan. 26, President Joe Biden acknowledged the federal governments 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.

Biden said his administration condemns and denounces acts of racism, xenophobia, and intolerance against AAPI communities.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

In New Jersey, bias incidents against Asian-Americans rose 74% last year to 68, up from 39 in 2019, according to preliminary data released by the New Jersey State Police

There are 941,057 Asian Americans in New Jersey, more than 10% of the population, according to Jersey Promise, an advocacy group for Asian-Americans. Only California and Hawaii have a larger percentage of Asian-Americans.

Kim, who is of Korean ancestry, said his 5-year-old son was taunted in school as Chinese boy. And he said he worried such attacks on Asian-Americans could increase as the U.S. steps up competition with China.

This is a historic moment right now for the AAPI community in America, he said. There has never been a situation during my lifetime where I felt this level of fear and this level of vulnerability and also a level of isolation that I do right now.

Schumer said at the press conference that he would bring up the Senate bill for a vote this week, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said her chamber would consider similar legislation after that.

Kim said he hoped to have some good news to report when he returned to Atlanta to meet with Asian-Americans there.

I want to go back there and look them in the eye and say, We did everything that we could at this moment to try to fight for justice and equality and allow you to feel safe here in your home country, he said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JDSalant.

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The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has clarified that the Eastern Security Network was not established to f...

The leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has clarified that the Eastern Security Network was not established to fight against a particular tribe or religion but against every terrorist.

Recall that the IPOBs security outfit had several times been accused of launching attacks on Northerners residing in the Southeast.

Also, the former Inspector General of Police, IGP, Muhammed Adamu had accused IPOB of recently attacking the Imo State Police Headquarters and the correctional centre in Owerri which led to the release of over 1,800 inmates.

But the IPOB leader, in a tweet on his official Twitter page on Tuesday, said the ESN only attacks terrorists who kill regardless of tribe or religion.

According to him, those against the goal of the ESN should be regarded as terrorists or slaves.

Eastern Security Network is not after PEOPLE or any tribe/religion.

ESN is after TERRORISTS because terrorists kill people, regardless of tribe/religion.

If youve a problem with that, youre either a terrorist or a slave, Kanu tweeted.
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed that it has achieved 100% smart transformation of its core services, marking a new milestone in the organisations digital transformation mission.



By the end of 2020, 99.26% of the services and 659,000 transactions were processed by the Chamber were digital, reflecting a rapid shift to digital adoption led by Covid-19, while the vast majority of the organisations events and meetings were held virtually.



Currently, the Chamber offers 50 smart services to Dubais business community through its website and mobile applications. These services cover everything from certificates of origin, attestation, ATA Carnets and credit reports, economic research, market intelligence, policy advocacy, business mentorship, business matching, mediation and arbitration, to training, seminars and workshops related to e-commerce, startups, sustainability, CSR, legal matters and international expansion.



Hamad Buamim, President & CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry described the Chambers rapid digital transformation over the last year as seamless and successful thanks to the advanced digital infrastructure in which the Chamber had invested in over the past years, which ensured business continuity and enhanced economic competitiveness.



Dubai Chambers digital transformation mission supports ongoing efforts to improve ease of doing business and strengthen Dubais position as a global smart city, Buamim pointed out, adding that the Chambers shift to e-services is an important indicator showing its preparedness as it deals with future challenges and works towards achieving new goals over the next 50 years.  TradeArabia News Service
Patna, April 13 : Due to continuous change in the weather of Bihar, farmers are worried a lot this year as their mango crops were hit by a disease caused by red banded caterpillar. Farmers say, due to the prolonged period of moisture in the air, there has been an outbreak of the disease on the mango crops. Young fruits are particularly susceptible as fungi invade them and make the fruit rot. Sticky liquid exudes from the larval entry hole, dribbles down the fruit as a dark stain and collects at the base due to which cracks appear on the fruits at the entry hole destroy the crops.

When the flowering turned into young fruits, red banded mango caterpillar start appearing, spoiling the fruits completely.

Rampravesh Singh, a mango farmer from Bhagalpur, says red banded caterpillar pests are sucking the juice of fruits including new branches of mango trees, due to which the flowering dries up.

Agricultural scientists say that caterpillars are leaving a sticky honey-like substance which hinder the process of photosynthesis in the plant.

Suresh Kumar Rai, a farmer, says that this year, during the time of flowering of trees, dark stains on the sides of the fruit are formed from liquid oozing out of the entry sites made by the larvae of the red-banded mango caterpillar.

Dr. Mukesh Singh, the horticultural scientist of Central Agricultural University, Pusa, told IANS that this time the frequent change in weather in Bihar for most of the time led to moisture content in the air. He said the moisture was high due to which the outbreak of the disease took place.

He said, this year the problem of red banded caterpillar cropped up in many areas including Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Samastipur and some other districts. He said this was not there till a few years ago. Last year, this problem was seen in some areas of Darbhanga district only. He said that the red banded caterpillar kills the young fruits.

He said the only way to deal with the situation is that farmers should remove the red banded caterpillar or burn them so that the rest of the crops can be saved to some extent.

Singh also said that mango farmers should avoid spraying the medicine. The drug should be sprayed only when needed. He said medicine is sprayed even before the flowering begins, which should be avoided.
HARTFORD  As the city reckons with the shooting deaths of two juveniles  ages 3 and 16  state officials said they are ready to tap federal COVID recovery money to address the gun violence that persists through the pandemic.

The shootings Saturday, two hours and a mile apart, killed 3-year-old Randell Jones, of Hartford, and 16-year-old JaMari Preston, of New Britain. Though initially thought to be unrelated, Hartford police said Monday the shootings appear linked.

As more than 100 people gathered in Hartfords North End Monday to call for action in the wake of the the shootings, Gov. Ned Lamont said they were again ready to use federal COVID funds to address gun violence, similar to when it spiked last summer.

We did previously because of the nature of the demand with everybody quarantining and what that meant in terms of some spikes of violence going back a few months and were ready to do that again as needed, Lamont said.

The weekend shootings, Lamont said, were a reminder that gun violence has not stopped through the pandemic.

COVID is not the only thing stealing lives, so is gun violence, Lamont said Monday during a COVID-19 press conference.

Joining Lamont was Pastor Marichal Monts, whose Citadel of Love church sits blocks from where Randell was shot.

Monts said people need to come together and ask: Is this the Hartford we want? Is this the Connecticut we want? Is this the world we want, where our children are being killed?

He went on to say: Its one thing where people can make decisions to do certain things, but a 3-year-old, I mean come on. Weve got to fix this. Weve got to fix this fast.

Officers were called to the first of the two shootings shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday when gunfire was reported on Nelson Street.

Investigators learned the passenger of a stolen black Honda Accord opened fire on another vehicle that contained two adults and three children, police said.

One of the children, 3-year-old Randell, was rushed to a nearby hospital with gunshot wounds, where he initially was listed in critical condition, but later died.

While Randell was mortally wounded, the others in the car, including children ages 4 and 5, were unharmed, police said.

Major Crimes Division detectives, working with crime scene investigators, are continuing to pursue leads in the case as of Monday.

Police officials said the intended victim of the drive-by shooting fled after the shots were fired. On Monday, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said the man went to the police department and spoke to investigators.

About two hours after Randell was shot, police rushed to a separate shooting about a mile away on Magnolia Street where JaMari was killed. Rifle bullet casings were discovered at the scene, according to police.

JaMari was a student at Capitol Region Education Council schools. CREC Executive Director Greg Florio said JaMari endeared himself to many staff and students who are devastated by his sudden and tragic death.

Boisvert, head of the Hartford Police Departments Major Crimes Division, said Monday they have information that leads us to believe the shootings were connected. He declined to say why investigators now believe the shootings are linked.

Feet from where Randell was shot, residents joined family, elected officials, clergy and police officials Monday to press the community to put an end to the gun violence that led to the childrens deaths.

Its a sad day here in Hartford. A 3-year-old and a 16-year-old both lost their life on the same day, hours apart. If that aint enough to make you wonder whats going on, then whats going to move us? Whats going to move us? said the Rev. Henry Brown, whose organization Mothers United Against Violence called the community together for the vigil. We know about the constant shootings. We know about the blood being spilled in our neighborhood over and over and over. Dont you get tired of hearing someones been shot?

Flanked by family and members of Mothers United Against Violence, Randells mother declined to speak.

Mayor Luke Bronin, in tearful remarks, asked that this be the day that things really begin to change and none of us accept this.

There are no words that are adequate for today. And Im sorry if mine fall short. Im sorry when we as a city fall short, but this is a city full of a lot of people with a lot of love, Bronin said.

Those gathered at Mondays vigil urged for people to speak out if they know who was responsible for the killings.

You need to see something, say something. Thats why you have these police to take care of this violence in these streets, Brown said.

Police, aware that there were a number of people who saw what happened, again called for witnesses Monday as they seek justice for the family.

We will continue to devote every resource to bring the perpetrators to justice, and we are grateful for our partners who are working alongside us. We also again ask our community to come forward with information they may have, Police Chief Jason Thody said.

Police said anyone with information on the killings can call the departments tipline at 860-722-8477.
Metro CreativeThe New York State Department of Health has revised its guidance to school districts and will now allow for three feet of distancing in academic classrooms when certain conditions are met. There are also some exceptions to the three foot distance that will require a six foot distance to be maintained.
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:58 am

On her visit to a local mass vaccination site, Clark Countys Congresswoman noted the irony when she saw people intent on getting their skin broken.

Its so funny to see people lined up with smiles to get a shot, U.S. Rep Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, said during her visit to the Tower Mall mass COVID-19 testing and vaccination site April 5.

Herrera Beutler was visiting to see the site in action, a product of coordination between Clark County Public Health and a number of other partners, both public and private. The site sees more than 1,000 individuals receive their doses on a daily basis.

Her trip comes more than a year after Clark County was thrust into an official emergency situation, seeing more than 19,000 of its inhabitants as confirmed COVID-19 cases. The vaccination part of the site began in early March as the latest effort to curtail the pandemics activity.

Its been all hands on deck over a year now, and throwing everything that we can at it. This really feels like were finally taking some ground, Herrera Beutler said. And it was fun to see people, like, happy to get a shot.

Herrera Beutler said she personally was not a fan of getting a shot.

Seeing them happy to come and get this (vaccine) is a step in the right direction. Its encouraging, she said.

Herrera Beutler spoke positively of the operation she saw in Vancouver that Monday.

Honestly, its a pretty well-oiled machine, Herrera Beutler said about the Tower Mall operation. The only question is, how do we get more people who are waiting (and) who want it to be able to come through and get their vaccines?

Clark County Public Health Director Alan Melnick remarked that he felt better as of the visit than he did in the first few weeks of vaccine administration, which began in the county shortly before the new year. He noted work by representatives of the local community helped distribution be more effective.

Herrera Beutler said the first weeks of vaccine rollout were not good for Clark County. She noted that she was able to ask Washington state Health Secretary Umair Shah about the vaccine discrepancy during a congressional hearing, where he made mention of the number of moving parts that factored into the equation of getting people jabbed.

My belief isnt that someone wasnt withholding from us for some weird reason, but the reality is theres a lot of moving parts, Herrera Beutler explained, adding that it was the job of those in Congress to advocate on the behalf of their constituents.

Melnick said local health care officials, both public and private, were instrumental in advocacy for greater vaccine levels in Clark County. He said the Clark County Fairgrounds mass vaccination site differed from the Tower Mall site in that it was operated at a state level, whereas Tower Mall was federally-funded.

Both Herrera Beutler and Melnick spoke about the necessity of getting essential workers vaccinated, specifically about those workers who arent immediately visible in commonplace, such as factory workers in food processing. Melnick referenced an outbreak of the disease last year, likely the Firestone Pacific Foods outbreak, that sickened dozens.

It wasnt just the workers who got infected, their family members did as well, Melnick said.

He added that alongside the mass vaccination sites, the county has organized mobile vaccination units that have helped the homebound and long-term care facilities in getting individuals their shots.

Overall, Herrera Beutlers tone during the visit was one of relief. She was happy the county, the state, and the federal governments efforts were moving in the right direction.

Were excited about getting back to normal, Herrera Beutler remarked. I dont know about you, but I am so over this pandemic, and anything we can do to move us forward, to get our businesses moving, to get our kids back in school, this is a huge part of that goal.
Elections in Indias Uttar Pradesh state are literally going to the dogs as several candidates are reportedly using stray dogs as billboards to make sure their campaign messages reach as many people as possible.

At least two candidates  one in Rae Bareli and another in Ballia district  have been attaching their campaign banners and posters to stray dogs in their areas and letting them roam around. Photos of these walking, barking advertising billboards went viral on social media this past weekend, angering animal protection activists, and inspiring all sorts of memes. But despite the negative feedback to the advertising tactic, one of the candidates who admitted to using dogs to get his message out there has no regrets.

There is no rule in the model code of conduct which prevents us from using stray dogs in the campaign. We are not harming the animal in any way, the candidate, who preferred to remain unnamed, said. In fact, we feed the dogs every day. It is a novel idea and the voters are attracted to such innovations.

Animal activists and dog lovers dont really agree with the politician. Many of them believe that using the dogs as advertising billboards should be a punishable offence.

How would a man feel if similar stickers are stuck on his face during the election? animal rights activist Reena Mishra said. Just before a dog cannot protest, we have no business to treat them in such a manner. The police should immediately take action against candidates who are resorting to this manner of electioneering.
[April 13, 2021] Upland Capital Group Launches New Excess Liability Program for Public Entities

The leaders at Upland Capital Group are not letting any grass grow under their feet as they announce the launch of the company's Excess Liability for Public Entities specialty insurance offering. The new product joins the company's Excess Transportation Liability (XTL) line that came out in February, and will cover entities such as counties, municipalities, school districts, higher education systems, and public utilities, among others. Upland will write the program in all 50 states on non-admitted paper, rated A-VIII by AM Best. The minimum attachment point is $5 million (targeting up to $2 million excess limits). Industry pro Richard Wilson will act as Senior Vice President, Casualty, and lead the in-house team of knowledgeable professionals. As is the case with Upland's other important early hires, Wilson has previous ties to the company's leadership. He was most recently Senior Vice Presidnt - Excess Public Entity at Scion Underwriting and previously served as Senior Vice President, National Practice Leader at Hallmark Financial Services.



"Richard is well-respected in the public entity insurance industry so he's the perfect person to lead this new offering at Upland Capital Group," said Upland's President of Insurance Operations and Chief Underwriting Officer James A. Damonte. "Even better, I have personally worked closely with him over the years. I've seen him in action and have always been impressed with his professionalism and productivity." "Our aim is to grow Upland Capital Group purposefully and begin by focusing on people and product with which we've had previous successful relationships," added Upland Capital Group's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer Todd Hart. "I have the utmost confidence that Richard's vision aligns with the rest of the leadership team."

The new product is expected to be available in mid-May 2021. AM Best recently assigned a Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" to Upland Specialty Insurance Co., the non-operating holding company of Upland Capital Group Inc. About Upland Capital Group

Upland Capital Group is an E&S casualty, property, and specialty insurance provider that was founded in 2020. Based in Dallas, Texas, Upland Capital is focused on becoming the most nimble, disciplined, and profitable specialty insurer by building a great company where "we entrepreneurs" can master their underwriting craft. Upland Capital is funded with over a $200 million of equity line by Newlight Partners and executive management. For more information, please visit www.uplandcapgroup.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005835/en/

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michael barbaro

From the New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[music]

Today, It started with a picture posted on the internet and ended in an extravagant cryptocurrency bidding war.

[archived recording]

Now to the latest trend thats sweeping the internet, the skyrocketing prices for digital art sold as NFTs. NFT, and that stands for nonfungible token.

michael barbaro

My colleague Sabrina Tavernise speaks with columnist Kevin Roose about digital currencies newest frontier, his unexpected role in it, and why it actually matters. Its Tuesday, April 13.

sabrina tavernise

So Kevin, I realized how little I understood about your world when I saw this headline of yours in the paper. And Im going to read it to you right now. So it says, why did someone pay $560,000 for a picture of my column? So tell me about that.

kevin roose

Well, actually, that is a little outdated because the exchange rates have fluctuated since I published that column. So someone actually paid $725,000 for a picture of my column.

sabrina tavernise

So youre saying you sold something that everybody can read online, basically for free, for hundreds of thousands of real dollars?

kevin roose

Yeah, I mean, I would like to think that all my columns are worth at least $725,000. But that might have been an anomaly. But that is the world of NFTs for you.

sabrina tavernise

So Kevin, where does the story of NFTs begin?

kevin roose

So the story of NFTs really starts with the story of cryptocurrencies and, in particular, with Bitcoin, which began all the way back in 2008. During the financial crisis, there was a mortgage meltdown. The Federal Reserve was bailing out banks and printing all this money, trying to stabilize the economy. And in the middle of all this, this mysterious paper appeared on a cryptography email listserv. And it was written by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto. And it proposed this new form of digital money called Bitcoin. And the technology that sort of powered Bitcoin, the infrastructure that allows Bitcoin to work becomes known as the blockchain.

sabrina tavernise

So explain both of those to me. How during that work?

kevin roose

OK, you know how money, regular money, is controlled by a central bank. The Federal Reserve manages the United States dollar. And the Federal Reserve basically has free reign to do whatever it wants with the dollar. It can decide how many dollars there should be, like whether we should print more money or not, based on how much they think the dollar should be worth. So its this very centralized system where the government, politicians and institutions have a lot of control over money, this thing that affects all of us. So what Satoshi Nakamoto proposed was a totally decentralized system. And in this system, there are a finite number of units. There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins, and no more can ever be created. So everyone knows exactly how many there are, how many there will be. And people can just buy them with regular money and spend them anywhere that accepts Bitcoin. And instead of the supply and the value of bitcoins being controlled by a central bank or a government, Bitcoin is controlled by a piece of software called a blockchain. And at a very simple level, a blockchain is a network of computers all over the world, thousands of them. And they keep track of every Bitcoin transaction ever made. So every time a Bitcoin is bought or sold, that transaction gets recorded in this shared global database, kind of like a Google spreadsheet or something. And anyone with an internet connection can go back and see every change thats ever been made to this database in a very public, and transparent, and permanent way. So no one person or institution controls this thing. Its just this permission-less, distributed computer network that people who are into Bitcoin think is actually more trustworthy than banks that can be manipulated by politicians and governments.

sabrina tavernise

Got it. So this is ultimately about trust and transparency coming off the distrust people developed after the 2008 financial crisis. And that felt like institutions were manipulating things behind the scenes. Whereas here, theres no wizard behind the curtain, no shadowy figures, no politicians, as you say doing, the manipulating. Its just a bunch of computers that no one controls.

kevin roose

Yeah. Its essentially taking this giant financial system that is based on human decisions, and political considerations, and global economies and its just replacing it all with computer code.

sabrina tavernise

OK, so Kevin, Nakamoto creates this whole new system of buying and selling and tracking those sales. But so then what happens? What do people do with it?

kevin roose

Yeah. So this paper appears on this obscure cryptographic listserv. And then Satoshi Nakamoto, whoever he, or she, or they are, disappears. And people sort of take this idea of Bitcoin and they run it. Early on this is sort of an experimental weird community of people who are really into this new form of money. And theyre just playing around with it. I mean, theyre testing out the technology. And Bitcoin, at the time, is worth basically nothing. I mean, each Bitcoin is worth a tiny fraction of a cent. So theyre doing things like buying pizza.

man

When I say Bitcoin, you say what?

man 2

Pizza.

kevin roose

So there was this programer in Florida who sort of famously bought two pizzas from Papa Johns for 10,000 Bitcoin, which, at the time, was worth about $25.

man 2

I just told people I wanted a pizza and I want to pay with Bitcoin. I didnt want a gift card. I didnt want some weird exchange. I want to give you Bitcoin and you give me pizza.

kevin roose

People start developing new ways to spend Bitcoin. People are sending it to each other instead of sending a Venmo payment or a PayPal payment. Some people are buying clothes with it. Some websites start accepting it as a form of payment. It becomes this viral phenomenon that people are very excited about.

man 3

Now its starting to actually gain some traction.

kevin roose

And as it gets more attention and people get more excited about it, The price of Bitcoin keeps rising.

[archived recording]

Bitcoins are booming.

kevin roose

It reaches $5,000 a Bitcoin and then $10,000 a Bitcoin. And now its up well past $50,000 a Bitcoin.

[archived recording]

Cash is no longer king.

sabrina tavernise

And the reason why the price of Bitcoin keeps going up and up is because there are a finite number of bitcoins, so people are willing to pay more and more to acquire the limited number of them.

kevin roose

Exactly. And so as thats happening, people are starting to create other different cryptocurrencies. Some of them are very serious, like Ethereum is a new one that pops up. But there are also joke coins. And people call them shit-coins sometimes. Theres a Dogecoin, which is like reference to this meme. Theres a Dentacoin, cryptocurrency for dentists. Theres Potcoin, which is the cryptocurrency for cannabis enthusiasts. Theres even Bitcoen, which is the Jewish crypto-token. So all of these start springing up. Most of them are worth absolutely nothing. But then theres this quieter movement building, of people who are using blockchains as a base technology to build lots of other things, things like tracking the rights to photography online. So like if youre a photographer and you want to get credit and get paid, when your photos are used, you could attach that information to a blockchain, where it would be permanently and publicly available for people to see. Like, this photo belongs to Sabrina. This one belongs to Kevin. And when these photos get used, they get paid this much.

sabrina tavernise

Thats really interesting. That seems huge, actually.

kevin roose

Yeah, it becomes a way to track the ownership and the ownership history of lots of different kinds of digital goods. And so one big moment for cryptocurrency comes when this other blockchain, Ethereum, allows you to create one of a kind goods, goods that cant be exchanged for other goods. If you have a Bitcoin, it doesnt really matter whether you have one Bitcoin or another Bitcoin. Its all Bitcoin. But what Ethereum allows people to do is to say this is a one-of-a-kind asset. And it cant be exchanged for any other asset. It is unique.

sabrina tavernise

So its like a deed to a house or something?

kevin roose

Its like a deed to a house or a certificate of authenticity that you might get if you buy a rare antique or something. Ethereum allows you to kind of say this thing is mine and theres only one of them. And I can track its ownership forever. And anyone can go on the internet and see that I own this thing. And this becomes known as the nonfungible token, or NFT.

sabrina tavernise

Nonfungible?

kevin roose

So fungible just means you can exchange one of it for any other one of it. So dollars are fungible because I can trade you $1 and I have the same spending power with your dollar as I had with my dollar. Something like an artwork is nonfungible because theres only one of them. So if I have a Renaissance painting, Im not going to trade you for a poster of that painting because mine is the original. Its more valuable. And why would I give you my painting?

sabrina tavernise

Right.

kevin roose

And so basically, people are discovering this ability to create just one of something on the internet. Before this, things that were on the internet were just infinitely copyable. If you had a song or a photo, you could copy and paste that any number of times. And every copy would be exactly the same and totally indistinguishable from every other copy. But what the Ethereum blockchain allows people to do is to stamp these digital objects with sort of a certificate of authenticity to say this is the original of this item. And you cant copy or fake the digital signature that is sort of attached to that item.

sabrina tavernise

Can I ask a really stupid question at this point?

kevin roose

Sure.

sabrina tavernise

Is the NFT the thing or is the NFT the digital stamp of authenticity of the thing?

kevin roose

Great question. It is a token that represents a thing. When you have an NFT of an image or a video clip, the NFT is not the image or the video clip itself. Its the certificate of authenticity that attaches to that thing and links to it.

sabrina tavernise

OK, I think I understand. With NFTs, you can still make a copy. But this allows us to know which one is the original, which one exactly. And we can assign value to that original and see the whole story of buying and selling that original item.

kevin roose

Exactly. Its a way to keep track of ownership and where something came from.

sabrina tavernise

OK, so Kevin, there are these things, nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. What do people do with them?

kevin roose

So for a while people are just sort of thinking about the theoretical possibility of NFTs. And then in about 2017, people actually start creating them. So the first NFTs are kind of these crypto art projects. Theres this thing called crypto punks, which is this set of cartoon characters that people started treating as digital action figures. And other people would take memes, like popular graphics, and turn them into NFTs and sell the NFTs, this thing that represented, like, this is the one true version of this meme. And then last year, they really exploded.

[archived recording]

Youve got songs, music videos, memes, even tweets of Lindsay Lohans face all becoming NFTs.

kevin roose

People started buying NFTs of sports videos.

[archived recording]

: Our next guest is the first NFL player to get involved in the NFT craze, launching a new line of exclusive digital trading cards this morning. And I am proud to be launching the Rob Gronkowski Championship Series NFT collection. Tom Brady announced hes launching an NFT company called 

kevin roose

A clip of LeBron James dunking became an NFT and was sold for more than $200,000. Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, sold his first ever tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million.

[archived recording]

I dont know about you, but this sounds nuts. Where do you hang the NFT in the living room, you know what I mean? Like, over the mantle?

kevin roose

And earlier this year, the biggest NFT sale ever happened. Christies, the auction house, auctioned off a collection of digital art by this digital artist named Beeple for $69 million. And that was sort of 

sabrina tavernise

$69 million?

kevin roose

Correct.

[archived recording]

Thats more than most Picassos, Monets or Warhols. The beautys in the eye of the NFT beholder here, Carl.

kevin roose

And all of a sudden its like, wow, this is a real market. People are really willing to pay for these tokens, these digital certificates of authenticity. And theres a lot of money to be made here. So I thought to myself, why should LeBron James and Jack Dorsey have all the fun? Why cant I make and sell my own NFT?

sabrina tavernise

So Kevin, you see this world of NFTs kind of going crazy, gaining traction. And you, Kevin Roose, a New York Times journalist, decide to sell an NFT yourself. So what do you do? Whats the first thing you do?

kevin roose

So I decided that I would write a column explaining NFTs. And that I would turn that column into an NFT and sell it. And whatever I made would go to the Neediest Cases Fund, which is the New York Timess charity. So I wrote the column. And then I had a graphic created of the column. And I took that graphic, the picture of my column. And I then did whats called minting an NFT. I actually created the NFT and put it on the blockchain. And then it was ready to be sold.

sabrina tavernise

And what happens once you get the NFT on the blockchain? I mean, is there like, I dont know, confetti or balloons or something that appear on your screen? Like, what does it look like?

kevin roose

Yeah, Jack Dorsey shows up at your house and gives you a bag full of cash. No, it basically just says this thing lives on the blockchain now. It is here. And once you have the NFT, then you have to actually set up the auction to sell it. So the auction is not run by humans. Theyre run by software. You have some choices to make. So one thing you can do when youre selling it left is to set a royalty, essentially saying that if someone buys it for $100 and then resells it for $200 to someone else, the artist, the person who originally uploaded that, can get a portion of that sale forever. And thats sort of built into the code of the auction.

sabrina tavernise

So that would essentially allow you to continue to make money each time the thing is sold, right?

kevin roose

Yes. And thats part of what makes NFTs really attractive to artists. Because if youre selling physical paintings, you sell it to someone, they resell it to someone else for a lot more money, and you dont get a cut of that as the artist. But with NFTs, you can build it into the code that every time its resold, forever, the artist, the original person who uploaded the file, can get paid a fraction of that.

sabrina tavernise

Right. Its a really big difference.

kevin roose

You can also set a minimum acceptable price, so like, what is the lowest amount of money I would be willing to sell my NFT for? And I was feeling pretty optimistic. I thought maybe someone out there, some New York Times reader, will have some Etherum burning a hole in their digital wallet and theyll decide my column is worth half an Ether, about $850. So I set the minimum price and I listed the auction and simultaneously published my story about the auction. And so then it was just on the blockchain up for sale.

sabrina tavernise

OK, so what happens?

kevin roose

So immediately, my colleagues start joking about the fact that no ones going to bid on my dumb NFT. Theres a Slack thread with some of my colleagues where theyre sort of betting on how much its going to sell for. The consensus is that its not going to go for much. So I list it in the morning. And at first, there are just a couple of bids. Someone bids the minimum, $850. And then theres $1,000, then $1,200. And Im going, OK, were going to make some money here. And before I went to bed that night, I checked again. And the top bid had risen to more than $30,000, which was like mind blowing to me. I was like this picture, this NFT, is now worth more than basically anything else I own.

sabrina tavernise

Crazy.

kevin roose

And Im thinking, this is insane. This is going to make a great story. Can you believe it, $30,000 for a picture of my column? Then I wake up the next morning and the chaos starts. So the auction is supposed to last for 24 hours. And in the last, I would say, hour of that, a bidding war breaks out. It started going up, and up and up. It went to $98,000, then $143,000, then $277,000.

sabrina tavernise

Wow.

kevin roose

And I was just watching my computer screen and refreshing, and just agog. I was like, is this real? Like, am I being pranked here? So in the final minutes of this auction, it went from 100 Ether, which was about $160,000, all the way up to the final sale price, which was 350 Ether, which, at the time, was about $560,000, but is now about $725,000.

sabrina tavernise

Kevin, it is crazy. I mean, no offense, but your column, in my mind, it is not worth the price of a nice house. I mean, its a good column. But you know, house, column, house, column.

kevin roose

No, I mean, I generally have decent self-esteem. And even I was like, there is nothing Ive ever written is worth this much money.

sabrina tavernise

But also, Kevin, especially when I can read it for free online.

kevin roose

Yes, I mean, that was the thing that was so crazy is like, you could go on nytimes.com and read this entire thing for free. And I just stared at my monitor just laughing uncontrollably, just totally in shock about what had happened.

sabrina tavernise

So Kevin, who bought this? And more importantly, why did someone buy your column for the price of a nice house, a really nice house?

kevin roose

Id like to think they just have good taste. But more realistically, the winner of the auction  I dont know for sure who it is  but their username was 3F Music. And they appear to be a music production company based in Dubai. And they are a prominent NFT collector. And so I did reach out to 3F Music. I also reached out to a number of other people who bid on the auction. And I asked them why. And for some of them, especially the early bidders who are bidding relatively small amounts of money, they thought of this as just a fun transaction that might get them some publicity. So I should say, in addition to the NFT of this column, I also said that I would write a follow-up column about the auction and feature the winner. And so I think for some of them, it was like, this is a price Im willing to pay to get into The New York Times. But then, at a certain point, I would say like around $10,000 or so, I started to hear other explanations. And some of them were basically saying this was a speculative investment. So they were bidding on this NFT because it was the first NFT created by The New York Times. And you know, theres sort of like a status attached to the first of something. And so they thought if NFTs become a huge industry, then owning the first one from The New York Times, I might be able to resell that for more money later on. I also talked to some people who said that this was essentially like an ideological statement for them. I talked to one musician who actually bid on my NFT who said that he had grown up in the era of Napster when songs were first able to be copied and distributed on the internet for free. And piracy became a huge problem, and that blockchain technology. And NFTs had changed that by basically allowing digital goods to have scarcity, which is what gives physical goods their value. So this musician said, basically, that collecting NFTs was less about owning the actual NFT, but more about sort of signaling optimism and belief in this new ownership model.

sabrina tavernise

Right. So you have the speculators, you have people who are trying to invest, but you also have people who care about art and intellectual property who are trying to make a statement, which I think is pretty interesting. But also, I mean, $500,000 is just so much money. So was there some deeper reason for this purchase, do you think, I mean, not only your column, but these other crazy high prices for sort of seemingly cheap things?

kevin roose

Its a great question. And there are a lot of possible answers. You know, wealth inequality is obviously part of the equation, the fact that there are people with this much disposable income. And one of the artists I talked to who bid on the auction actually said, you know, this isnt actually that strange in the offline world. Rich people spend vast sums of money on things of dubious value all the time. They fly off to art fairs. They spend millions of dollars on sculptures and pieces of art for their walls. Or maybe they dont even have the art on their walls, maybe its just theyre trading pieces of art that live in a warehouse somewhere. And so all they really have is the knowledge that they own a thing.

sabrina tavernise

Right. Its like a new Birkin bag or owning a Warhol.

kevin roose

Exactly. And I think that for some people who are investing tons of money in an NFTs, we cant underestimate the role that just emotion and status and bragging rights play in all of this.

sabrina tavernise

OK, that kind of brings us all the way back to the very beginning, Kevin, because the point you just made about NFTs and how they operate, its kind of similar to how weve always valued things. So Im wondering, if you go back to the conversation about the blockchain, we were thinking about what Nakamoto was trying to solve for. He wanted to fundamentally change the financial system and how it works. But did he succeed? Or has he just created some different system in which we operate basically in the same way, with the same kind of human emotion motivations? Did he just create a thing to covet or did he actually do something truly new?

kevin roose

So I think there are sort of two ways to look at something like NFTs. On one level, I think, yes, as you said, its just taking something that existed offline, this concept of scarcity, of having one of something and having that quality of scarcity be the thing that gives an object its value. And youre translating that onto the internet, where it really hadnt existed before. So even if NFts are just a way of kind of replicating the scarcity that objects can have in the offline world, thats an incredibly valuable thing. But I think theres this other change happening, this generational transformation thats happening as more of our lives move onto the internet. I mean, we spend so much time in the offline world sort of curating our surroundings, putting art on our walls, figuring out what car to drive, what house to buy, what neighborhood to live in, expressing ourselves through the consumption of scarce goods and building identities around the physical objects that we own. And now, with NFTs, that aspect of life, kind of figuring out what to buy to signal who we are and what we value, that can also be online. Maybe the thing that gives you status and identity is not a physical object, maybe its a token on the blockchain.

sabrina tavernise

Thanks so much, Kevin.

kevin roose

Thank you for having me.

[music]

michael barbaro

Heres what else you need to know today. [ARCHIVAL RECORDING] This appears to me, from what I viewed and the officers reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright. As outcry and protest grew over the shooting of Daunte Wright, an unarmed black man killed during an encounter with police officers in a suburb of Minneapolis, local officials said that the officer who shot Wright appeared to have done so by accident. After stopping Wright for a traffic violation, police in the city of Brooklyn Center discovered there was a warrant for his arrest. According to police, Wright stepped back into his car, triggering a struggle with officers. A video of that encounter, recorded by the officers body camera, shows that she repeatedly yelled taser before discharging her gun and immediately expressed surprise after shooting Wright. [ARCHIVAL RECORDING] As I watch the video and listen to the officers commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet. The shooting occurred less than 10 miles from the courtroom where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is on trial for the murder of George Floyd. And on Monday, the Biden administration urged the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, to lock down her state to slow what has become the nations worst outbreak of COVID-19 infections. But Whitmer remains resistant and instead called for a surge in vaccinations in Michigan.

gretchen whitmer

When you have an acute situation, an extraordinary number of cases like we have in Michigan, the answer is not necessarily to give vaccine in fact, we know 

michael barbaro
EV

Regardless of what his detractors think, it won't be because of one of his tweets or because the company will nose-dive toward bankruptcy, but simply because Elon Musk will want to. Actually, he already did, but every parent knows how difficult it is to find someone with whom you can comfortably entrust your baby.A recent report from the German edition of Business Insider suggests Elon Musk did find that person back in 2015, only to be shunned in favor of Volkswagen. We're obviously talking about Herbert Diess, former CEO of BMW and current CEO of the Volkswagen Group and one of the most respected figures in the automotive industry.The publication claims that Elon Musk swooped in during Diess's transition from the Bavarians to the Wolfsburg-based giant and tried to lure him to California instead. Apparently, the two had met while the latter was still in his position at BMW and struck some sort of friendship based on mutual admiration and respect.If the report is to be believed, Elon Musk thought highly enough of Dr. Herbert Diess to offer him his position as Tesla Inc. (then Tesla Motors) CEO. "According to research by Business Insider, Diess had an employment contract from the Americans that was ready to be signed," says the article. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer any information on why the current Volkswagen Group CEO refused the alleged offer, though it's easy to imagine a few reasons.Imagining where both Tesla and Volkswagen would be right now if the deal had gone through, on the other hand, is much more difficult. Since then, Tesla has become the most valuable automotive brand, and Volkswagen has successfully navigated through the Dieselgate scandal and became the legacy carmaker with the most convincingstrategy. Things could have been worse for either of the two, but could they have been better too? Hard to tell, but now we can't get over the idea of a CEO swap. They should try it, if only for a month or two.
Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday announced plans of easing social distancing measures such as extending dining hours in restaurants under the condition that staff and customers are vaccinated.

Lam said at a press conference that the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong which emerged late in November last year has been under control. Over the past 14 days, the seven-day moving average of confirmed cases was two and that of untraceable cases was 0.7. In the past four months, the entry of COVID-19 variants has been successfully blocked from entering the community.

Lam said that the existing social distancing measures due to expire on Thursday will be extended for another 14 days to observe whether the pandemic will rebound after the Easter holiday.

Lam said that the restrictions will be relaxed in stages depending on the vaccination situation. Restaurants are allowed to extend dine-in services to midnight with the cap on diners per table raised from four to six provided that staff members have received their first dose of vaccine.

The restrictions will be further relaxed to 12 people to be seated at each table under the condition that both the staff members and customers have taken two doses of vaccines, she said.

Lam said, in late April, the "Return2hk" travel scheme which allows Hong Kong residents returning from neighboring Guangdong Province or the Macao Special Administrative Region to be exempted from a 14-day quarantine will be expanded to other mainland provinces.

In mid-May, non-Hong Kong residents will be allowed to enter Hong Kong from the mainland without compulsory quarantine, she added.

Furthermore, Hong Kong will lift the restrictions on people boarding flights from Britain to Hong Kong in early May, but these people will still have to be quarantined for 21 days upon arrival, Lam said.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 13 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking its total tally to 11,594.

Among the newly reported cases, 11 were imported cases and two were epidemiologically linked with local cases, according to the CHP.

Hong Kong launched a COVID-19 vaccination drive on Feb. 26. About 578,900 people have received their first dose of vaccine, and over 250,000 have received their second dose so far.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World Bank President David Malpass and Jose Manuel Barroso, chair of the Gavi vaccine alliance, on Monday discussed the importance of countries with excess COVID-19 vaccine supplies releasing them as soon as possible, the World Bank said.

Malpass expressed his desire to work closely with Gavi on a 2022 strategy, including helping expand vaccine production capacity for developing countries, the bank said in a statement.

The two officials also discussed the need for more transparency by countries, suppliers and development partners on vaccine contracts, and regarding national export and supply commitments and requirements, the bank said.

"During their meeting, President Malpass and Mr. Barroso discussed challenges facing acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines by developing countries and the importance of countries with excess vaccine supplies releasing them as soon as possible," it said.

Malpass has been outspoken about the need to accelerate vaccinations to contain the pandemic and limit further economic damage. Last week, he warned the slow rollout of vaccines in Europe could weigh on the region's economic growth.

On Monday, the bank said it had committed $1.7 billion of $12 billion that it has made available for vaccine development, distribution and production in low- and middle-income countries, with around $4 billion expected to be approved by mid-year.

Malpass said those funds could be used to make co-payments to the COVAX vaccine distribution initiative, and to buy additional doses beyond the basic 20% population coverage.

With new variants of the virus emerging, public health officials have warned the world could lose the race between the coronavirus and the vaccines meant to stop it due to the slow pace of vaccinations in developing nations.

The World Health Organization is urging more political will to boost production of COVID-19 vaccines and share supplies, including through stalled intellectual property waivers on vaccines through the World Trade Organization.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Chris Reese and Lincoln Feast.)
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 44 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 163,837.

The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Monday.

The agency also reported a COVID-19 related death in the last 24 hours, while the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country stood at 2,061.

It noted that the new infections were registered from four states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the last 24 hours.

The NCDC stated that Enugu took the lead with 22 cases, Lagos 15, FCT 4, Osun 2 and Kaduna 1.

It noted that 70 people were discharged from various isolation centres after testing negative to the virus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries in the country to 154,177.

The discharges today include 40 community recoveries in Enugu State and four community recoveries in FCT managed in line with guidelines, the NCDC said.

The public health agency said there were 7,599 active cases spread across the country.

It said that a multi-sectoral National Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), activated at Level 3, had continued to coordinate the national response activities in the country.

Meanwhile, the NCDC has appealed to Muslims in the country to observe COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical protocols in the spiritual and other activities during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Please take measures to stay safe and healthy during Ramadan.

Wear a face mask. Observe physical distance.Wash hands frequently. Avoid gatherings and crowded places, it advised.

The NCDC urged all Nigerians to continue to practice all COVID-19 preventive measures.

The agency added that getting the COVID-19 vaccine did not stop Nigerians from getting exposed to someone who had been infected.

But, with the vaccination, they will develop immunity that would stop the infection from progressing to the virus, it said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that between April 5 to April 12, the country tested 34,997 people.

The country has also tested 1,803,177 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 pandemic was announced on Feb. 27, 2020.

(NAN)

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Muslims began marking Ramadan with communal prayers on Tuesday in a socially distanced contrast to the vast crowds of two years ago, before the coronavirus pandemic.

This year, the central courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca has seen worshippers return to the space for socially distanced prayer in much in smaller quantities than the hordes of people of the past.

The courtyard, which hosts the Kaaba - the holiest site in Islam - is usually at its busiest during Hajj but remains open all year round for other pilgrimages meaning it is almost never empty.

Muslims began marking Ramadan with communal prayers on Tuesday in a socially distanced contrast to the hordes of people who descended on the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca before the pandemic

 Slide me  Pictures from 2019 showed the central courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca filled with worshippers praying during Ramadan. After a year of unprecedented lockdown measures which left the holy sites deserted, worshippers have been allowed to return in a socially distanced manner

The holy month sees them fast for 30 days during daylight hours to mark the month the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Every evening after the sun sets, families usually gather to eat together, and many go to the mosque to pray, but these activities, which were impossible under last year's Covid-19 restrictions, will have to be adapted to changing restrictions.

People across the Muslim world are grappling with Covid-19 restrictions as they try to find a hybridised way to celebrate the Islamic holy month this year.

2019: The courtyard of the Great Mosque in Mecca is usually at its busiest during Hajj but remains open all year round for other pilgrimages meaning it is almost never empty

 Slide me  Istiqlal Mosque, Indonesia is pictured full of worshippers on the first night of Ramadan in 2019. The mosque was empty last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic but has seen Muslims return in a socially distanced manner for Ramadan in 2021

In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, Covid-9 cases are spiking, but vaccines are being administered and the government is loosening restrictions.

Mosques were allowed to open for Ramadan prayers with strict health protocols in place, and with malls and cafes open, passers-by could again see curtains shielding the sight of food from people fasting.

Neighbouring Muslim-majority Malaysia also eased its restrictions, including last year's ban on 'taraweeh' nighttime prayers and allowing popular open-air bazaars selling food, drinks and clothes to open.

Indonesia's Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas announced in a televised address Monday evening that the new Ramadan moon had been spotted.

The holy month is marked by intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.

In 2019, Muslims were able to celebrate by meeting friends and family for iftar, or breaking the fast, but in 2020 they were asked to stay home to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Last year, authorities shuttered all mosques and clerics issued a fatwa, or edict, urging Muslims to pray at home over the holy month rather than congregate in crowded spaces and risk spreading the virus.

Muslims this year are expecting a virus resurgence but all mosques will be continuing to adhere to social distancing and other precautions, which will significantly reduce crowds, said Nasaruddin Umar, imam of Jakarta's Istiqlal grand mosque.

'I miss everything of Ramadan already,' Umar said, 'The heart of faithful Muslims is tied to the mosque... the longing for Ramadan lovers has finally been relieved today although the pandemic has not yet ended.'

 Slide me  Muslims in Germany take part in the Tarawih prayers at the start of Ramadan in 2019 and again in 2021, when they are observing social distancing in the Cologne Central Mosque

2021: Palestinians, some wearing face masks, perform the Tarwih prayer at a mosque in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, after the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Palestine, Mohammad Hussein, declared the start of Ramadan

2021: Mosques re-open, in spite of Covid-19 restrictions, for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, allowing Muslims to return after they were forced to celebrate in isolation last year

2021: Palestinian Muslims wearing masks attend prayer on the first night of Ramadan. The holy month sees Muslims fast for 30 days during daylight hours to mark the month the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad

2021: Muslims gather to pray in Cologne Central Mosque for the first Tarawih prayer of the holy month of Ramadan, which started on April 12

2021: Women in Indonesia frequent Al Makmur mosque in Banda Aceh on April 13. Many Muslims will read the entire Quran during the holy month of Ramadan

2021: Two men rest on the floor of Al Makmur mosque in Banda Aceh after prayer during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan

In the capital, Jakarta, authorities disinfected 317 mosques on Sunday in preparation for Ramadan, said Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

Social distancing markers have been installed and soap and hand sanitisers have been prepared.

The government also will allow people to hold 'iftar' gatherings during Ramadan in restaurants, malls and cafes, which can serve customers up to 50 per cent of their capacity and follow strict health guidelines.

Iftar occurs at sunset, the time Muslims break their fast and usually the prime time for people to have dinner together with friends and family members before the night prayer.

'Easing restrictions is like a breath of fresh air for us who are tired by this COVID-19 outbreak,' said Anna Mardyastuti, a resident in Jakarta.

'Yes, they should act to stop the virus, but not block the door to worship or to change our tradition of Ramadan entirely,' she said.

In Malaysia, Wan Noradriana Balqis, 21, welcomed the return of community prayers in mosques but said she will avoid Ramadan bazaars that are often packed with people.

'I don't think it's a good idea to reopen the bazaars. The rules are there but many people don't follow them,' the database administrative officer said.

2021: A Muslim reads the Quran before the Tarawih prayer during the first evening of the holy month of Ramadan in Chicago's Muslim Community Centre

2021: Muslims perform the Tarawih prayer while practicing social distancing on the first evening of Ramadan on April 12, in Chicago

2021: Muslims pray on the first night of Ramadan on April 12. The Islamic holy month usually lasts for 29 or 30 days depending on the position of the moon

2021: Yusuf Omar, coordinator of Chicago's Muslim Community Center, performs the Adhan, or call to prayer, as Muslims are welcomed back to mosques after a year of Covid-19 restrictions, for Ramadan

2021: Muslims in Chicago pray on the first evening of Ramadan. The Islamic holy month is marked by intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts

2021: Indonesian muslims participate in Tarawih prayer while socially distanced on the first day of Ramadan amid a spike of cases in Jakarta

2021: Muslim women, who pray separately from men in mosques, are pictured praying in a socially distanced manner on the first night of Ramadan

2021: Muslim women in Indonesia are seen participating in the first Tarawih prayer at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, while following Covid-19 regulations

2021: Indonesia will maintain its vaccine rollout through Ramadan as officials try to tackle a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country

2021: A group of teenagers in Indonesia read and memorise the Quran at a mosque in Banda Aceh during the holy month of Ramadan

2021: Muslims in Indonesia take part in the traditional ritual of Padusan, a Javanese tradition to purify oneself ahead of the holy month of Ramadan

2021: Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body said Muslims eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations are not only allowed but 'required' to get them during Ramadan, in an effort to tackle the spike in virus cases

2021: Not all worshippers have followed social distancing guidelines, however. Pictured here, Muslims in Indonesia perform the Tarawih prayer

Malaysia's coronavirus cases have more than tripled since January to more than 362,000, with daily increases exceeding 1,000. Indonesia is the worst-hit country in Southeast Asia with over 1.5 million infections as of Monday and more than 42,600 deaths.

Indonesia will maintain its vaccine rollout through Ramadan as officials tried to ease worries over the Islamic teaching that Muslims should refrain 'from anything entering the body' between sunrise and sunset.

Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body said Muslims eligible for vaccinations are not only allowed but 'required' to get them during Ramadan.

Although Muslims abstain from all food and drink in daylight hours during Ramadan, the vaccine enters muscle rather than the bloodstream and is not nutrition, so it does not invalidate fasting, said Asrorun Niam Sholeh, the head of fatwas for the Indonesian Ulema Council.

'If we carry on taking our vaccines, we can ensure that next Ramadan we do return to some normality,' Sholeh said.

Some vaccine sites in Jakarta are extending their opening hours so Muslims can come after they have broken their fast.

2021: A stall in the northern Cairo suburb of Shubra sells Ramadan lanterns on a busy street at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan

2021: Children in the Iraqi city of Mosul gather along outside on a street to play as part of a celebration for the start of Ramadan hosted by a local cultural NGO

2021: Turkey's Camlica Mosque is lit up with 'mahya', illuminated messages hung between two minarets, in preparation for Ramadan

2021: Turkey illuminates the Camlica Mosque in Istanbul to usher in the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on April 12

Turkey has allowed worshippers into mosques for the holy month of Ramadan in a partial return to pre-pandemic normality, despite seeing a spike in Covid-19 cases that forced Erdogan to impose weekend lockdowns in recent weeks

2021: Muslims in Istanbul, Turkey, are preparing to return to mosques to celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in a pre-pandemic way after being forced to spend it in isolation last year because of Covid-19

2021: Muslims in Washington, US, perform the Tarawih prayer on the first night of Ramadan while following Covid-19 measures at the Diyanet Center of America

2021: Worshippers in Washington wore face masks while they prayed as part of efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19

Indonesia plans to vaccinate two-thirds of its population of about 270 million people - or just over 180 million people by the end of next year.

The current priorities are health care workers, elderly and other at-risk populations, and the two-dose vaccine will be free for all Indonesians.

In India, which is experiencing an explosive spread of the virus, Muslim scholars are appealing to their communities to strictly follow anti-virus protocols and refrain from organising large gatherings.

Ramadan prayers begin Tuesday night and fasting begins Wednesday in the country with 200 million Muslims.

2021: A Palestinian boy waves fireworks as people celebrate the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah

2021: Gazan youths perform fire spinning as they usher in the start of the holy month of Ramadan in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip

2021: Kazakhstan has banned all mass prayers during Ramadan this year as a result of the pandemic, leaving mosques deserted

Many Indian cities dealing with major virus surges have imposed night curfews, and it remains unclear whether the faithful will be allowed to offer Taraweeh, the long post-Iftar congregational prayers in mosques that sometimes stretch late into the night.

Muslims in Indian-controlled Kashmir are still suffering from the two back-to-back lockdowns that left tens of thousands without any means to earn their livelihoods.

The disputed region, the only part of the Hindu-dominated country that is majority Muslim, was under an unprecedented military lockdown in 2019 for months before the months-long coronavirus lockdown last year.

Local charities, like last year, have planned to distribute Ramadan ration kits for needy and destitute families.

2019: An aerial view shows the Great Mosque filled with hoards of people celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca
Related: CNN reporter Omar Jimenez arrested live on TV at Minneapolis protest (AFP/Getty)

At least 50 journalists in the US have been arrested during Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the US, while dozens of others have also been injured by rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas.

The US Press Freedom Tracker has collected nearly 500 incidents from 382 reports, from the unrest in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyds killing by police in late May, to demonstrations in more than 70 cities across 35 states since.

At least 46 journalists were arrested between the end of May and the beginning of June, according to data collected by the organisation. Dozens of others reported injuries from law enforcement, firing less lethal projectiles, tear gas canisters and other weapons into crowds or directly at reporters during demonstrations, even when they had identified themselves and shown credentials, the organisation reports.

Two reporters have suffered permanent eye injuries.

The latest reports mark a significant spike since the end of May, when nationwide protests started, at which point the organisation had recorded only five arrests and 26 attacks for the entire year by that point.

But by the end of the month, the number of attacks had increased nearly five times, after more than a month of nightly protests, vigils and other demonstrations against police violence and racial injustice.

The importance of documenting these  and doing it as quickly as we can  is not lost: the conversations and reckoning that lie ahead of us as a country are taking shape right now, Press Freedom Tracker managing editor Kristin McCudden said in a statement.

No matter where were talking about it, the message is the same: whats happened in 70 cities in more than 30 states across the nation in one month is unlike anything weve seen in modern history and surpasses the Trackers entire three-year history of documentation.

Minneapolis has had 71 reported incidents against reporters, followed by Washington DC with 33, New York with 27, and Los Angeles with 20, the Press Freedom Tracker reports.

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By the Fourth of July weekend, demonstrations had been going for more than 40 days, from memorials and rallies for victims of police violence to groups of people attempting to dislodge monuments to Confederates and slaveholders, including prominent US figures and former presidents.

Reporters used social media to capture several of these incidents, while news networks were devoting significant live coverage to protests in the first weeks of demonstrations and finding themselves targets.

CNN correspondent Omar Jiminez spent an hour in custody after he was arrested live on television while covering the aftermath of protests in Minneapolis in May.

Put us back where you want us, we are getting out of your way, just let us know, he told police in riot gear as the camera captured his arrest.

That same day, a local television reporter in Louisville, Kentucky covering unrest after the police killing of Breonna Taylor captured an officer appear to take aim and fire a pepper ball directly into her camera.

Photojournalist Linda Tirado, who recently testified to a congressional committee about police violence at protests, had pulled her camera away from her face for a brief moment while shooting images in Minneapolis when she was hit by what she believes was a rubber bullet.

The impact permanently blinded her left eye.

On 1 July Andrew Buncombe, chief US correspondent with The Independent, was arrested in Seattle while covering the police clearance of the so-called CHOP protest zone. He was charged with failure to disperse despite repeatedly identifying himself as a journalist and held for at least eight hours before being released.

As journalists continue to report police violence against them in the field, which press advocates argue underlines the diminishing trust among law enforcement for the news media, Donald Trumps message to his supporters remains the same.

The president has broadly derided journalists as fake news at his own press conferences while encouraging supporters at his rallies to mock the enemy of the people in the room. Amid his 2020 re-election campaign fury on Independence Day, he attacked reporters as part of a far-left fascism staging a mutiny against him.

His attacks against the press have been derided as a creeping threat of authoritarianism, as arrests of journalists under his administration have begun outpacing those under authoritarian regimes.

In its 2019 survey, the Committee to Protect Journalists discovered that at least 248 journalists worldwide were jailed in retaliation for their work that year. Its annual survey found 255 reporters were jailed in 2018.

The highest number of journalists imprisoned in any year since the organisation began its annual survey was 273 in 2016.

Last year, at least 48 journalists were jailed in China, followed by 26 in Saudi Arabia and 26 in Egypt, the organisation reported.

The US currently ranks 45th among 180 counties on the 2020 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.

The scale of attacks on journalists in the US has alarmed international human rights groups, which called on city and state officials and law enforcement to immediately halt the arrests of reporters and to appoint independent commissions to investigate assaults.

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The arrest of the mother and a teacher who helped an assaulted 13-year-old girl to end her pregnancy has forced a national debate regarding the legalization of abortion in Venezuela.

Based on reports, at the age of 13, she became pregnant after she was forced out of school due to the economic crisis in the country. She was raped by a predator in the neighborhood six times, who threatened to harm her family if she spoke out about the sexual abuse.

Together with her mother, the 13-year-old pregnant girl sought a doctor, but the medical practitioner warned her that could put her life in danger. But a concerned former teacher of the girl provided pills that induced an abortion.

According to The New York Times, the 13-year-old pregnant girl, who has not been identified as she was a minor, shared that every day she prays to God that her teacher would be released and that there will be justice that would put the suspect to jail. The girl now speaks up because her teacher, Vannesa Rosales, who helped her get out of unwanted pregnancy, was in prison, facing more than ten years of imprisonment for helping her, while the accused rapist remained free of his abuse. The teacher was put behind bars as abortion is illegal in almost all circumstances in Venezuela.

The case reached to public and international press earlier this year, which has started a point of outrage for women's rights activists. The women's rights supporters say that it demonstrates how the economic and humanitarian crisis has stripped away protections for young Venezuelan women and even girls.

In addition, the decline of the country was pointed to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and exacerbated by the sanctions imposed by the United States by experts. The sanctions have crippled schools, shuttered community programs, and sent millions of parents abroad, leaving vulnerable young women to predators in the neighborhood who were threatening to kill them once they speak.

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Moreover, the assault on the girl and the arrest of her teacher has become a big issue in the country as activists say that it is time for Venezuela to have a serious discussion regarding the legalization of abortion. Activists pointed out that the time is now more important than ever to discuss the issue, Latino USA reported.

Root Cause

Furthermore, issues linked to abortion have unnoticing damage to the country, as it created hunger due to overpopulation and trapped women and denied them to control their body and their future.

On the other hand, the penal code of Venezuela dates back to the 1800s, which criminalizes abortion in almost all cases. The South American country punishes pregnant women lasting six months to two years who engage in abortion, while one to nearly three years for abortion providers.

The only exception is if the doctor will perform an abortion in order to save the life of a pregnant woman.

Gioconda Espina, a longtime Venezuelan women's rights activist, shared that they can ride the wave of triumph in Argentina but legalization in Venezuela is far from imminent as the country is a deeply Catholic country.

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WATCH: Women across Latin America march on Women's Day - AP Archive
Officers declared a riot Monday night, after at least 200 protesters gathered in Southeast Portland to protest the police killing of a Black man in Minnesota.

Around 10:30 p.m., police said the crowd had broken windows, thrown projectiles and tried to enter the Penumbra Kelly Building, and threatened anyone who didnt leave the area with arrest.

The situation at the Kelly Building has devolved into a riot. Dispersal orders have been given. In addition to broken windows and continued projectiles being thrown at police, multiple attempts to breach the building have occurred.  Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) April 13, 2021

Reporters at the scene said a crowd of at least 200 poured into the area in front of the building, which houses offices for multiple law enforcement agencies, including Portland police and Multnomah County Sheriffs Office. They broke windows and tore down light fixtures, and officers responded by pushing them into the street. They also shot munitions and deployed flash bang grenades before declaring an unlawful assembly, according to those at the scene.

Demonstrators were protesting the killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old who was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn Center, near Minneapolis. Wright was shot by Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the citys police force and the president of the police union. Police officials say Potter accidentally shot Wright, and was trying to Taser him, according to NPR.

Around 10:45 p.m., shortly after declaring a riot, police bull-rushed protesters, pushing them to the ground and macing them, according to reporters at the scene.

Police Bull rush protestors, pushing them to the ground and bear macing them pic.twitter.com/HQadK3VnsX  Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) April 13, 2021

At about 11 p.m., Portland police officers said they had pushed the crowd toward Laurelhurst Park and had disengaged, but were still in the area to monitor protesters.

The crowd has been moved to the West toward Laurelhurst Park. Police have disengaged. Officers remain in the area monitoring the situation for safety.  Portland Police (@PortlandPolice) April 13, 2021

About an hour before the march began in Portland, a group gathered at Salmon Street Springs on the waterfront to listen to several speakers.

A group gathered at Laurelhurst Park around 8:30 p.m. for a second event and marched to the Penumbra Kelly Building.

Protesters marching in Portland Oregon for Daunte Wright have arrived at the Penumbra Kelly building. Protesters were met by police and some protesters threw fireworks at the police#Minneapolis #DaunteWright #Portland #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForDaunteWright #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/1Irhdx04Gl  Bethany Kerley (@BethanyKerleyOR) April 13, 2021

Some protesters lit a dumpster on fire.

Police are firing impact munitions, a protestor holds out an impact round he picked up from the floor pic.twitter.com/LqgCxag7dp  Sergio Olmos (@MrOlmos) April 13, 2021

Around 9 p.m., Portland police gave warnings over the loudspeaker and fired rubber bullets at the crowd, according to photos from reporters at the scene.

Portland Police officers are responding to the MCSO windows being broken. Officers deployed flashbangs. More fireworks fly onto property. #PortlandProtests #PDXProtests #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/cszaQCw60d  Justin Yau (@PDocumentarians) April 13, 2021

At 9:50 p.m., reporters at the scene said Portland police deployed flash bang grenades in response to protesters breaking windows at the building.

Around the same time on the other side of town, police said a group of people cut through a chain link fence at a police building in the 7200 block of North Philadelphia Avenue. Several police vehicles were vandalized before the group fled the area, officials said, and no arrests were made.

The Oregonian/OregonLive
The latest monthly employment report, published on April 2nd, painted an impressive picture: over the previous month America created more than 900,000 jobs. That figure, the strongest since August, reflects the state of the economy in the first half of March, when the surveys took place. But a look at high-frequency economic data for more recent weeks, on everything from daily restaurant diners to Google-search behaviour, suggests that, since then, the recovery has if anything accelerated further. Americas post-lockdown boom has begun.

A rapid bounce-back would be welcome, because the worlds largest economy remains a long way off its pre-pandemic peak, and the damage has been severe. Even after the latest jobs numbers, over 8m fewer people are in work than before the pandemic. The job losses are concentrated among low-income groups (though it is no longer the case that women are more affected than men). One-third of small businesses remain closed. Poverty is higher than it was before covid-19 struck, especially among black families. And the impact of school closures on childrens education could last for decades.

High-frequency data, largely produced by the private sector, are useful in identifying economic turning-points before they get picked up in the governments figures, which are slower to arrive. In March and April 2020, long before the publication of official numbers, these data showed that the economy was falling off a cliff. A year on, happily, they point to a rapidly strengthening economy.

Using mobility data from Google, The Economist has constructed an economic-activity index, which measures peoples visits to workplaces, stations, retail outlets and recreation sites. A month ago the index was 30% below its pre-pandemic baseline (see chart 1). In recent days the index has jumped to 20% below the baseline.

Other high-frequency data show similar trends. The number of passengers travelling through American airports is rising fast. Economists have also closely watched statistics from OpenTable, a booking platform. In February the number of restaurant diners was 48% lower than normal. So far in April it is 18% lower. Hotel occupancy is increasing rapidly. High-frequency indicators of manufacturing and services activity are surging, too.

People are venturing outside, and mixing, in greater numbers, in part because a successful vaccination campaign has allowed some easing of restrictions. And when people do leave the house, they have money to spend. On March 17th the Treasury deposited $250bn in stimulus cheques into peoples bank accounts, adding to the $1.5trn of extra personal savings (about 10% of annual consumer spending) that households had piled up by the end of 2020. A tracker by JPMorgan Chase, a bank, shows that payment-card spending is near its pre-pandemic level (see chart 2). In late March total spending was up by nearly 20% on the previous month, according to Cardify, a data-provider.

The upshot is that America is likely to register jumbo gdp-growth numbers in the second quarter of 2021. Research by Nicolas Woloszko of the oecd, a rich-country think-tank, gives a hint of what is to come. He uses another type of real-time data, Google-search trends, to construct weekly gdp measurements for the g20 economies. In the final week of March American gdp was about 4% below where it would have been in the absence of the pandemic. That is the strongest figure in over a year, and far better than most other rich countries.

Many forecasters are now expecting gdp growth of 6% or more in 2021. If that happens, then it will not come as a surprise if America notches up monthly jobs gains of 1m or more in future employment reports. The unemployment rate could be near its pre-pandemic rate fairly soon. Yet two factors could spoil the party. One relates to economic scarring. Some economists worry that the pandemic has damaged Americas productive capacity. If lots of businesses have gone bankrupt, then even with buoyant demand many Americans will not have jobs to go back to.

So far there is no compelling evidence of a wave of insolvency. In 2020 total commercial bankruptcies were about 15% lower than the year before. Extensive fiscal support offered by the federal government has helped firms pay their bills, while many landlords have offered rent concessions. Bankruptcies have remained low so far in 2021, but no one really knows whether or not they will rise in the coming months, as fiscal support ends and landlords seek to make up for lost time.

The second factor relates to fears that infections could take off again, despite the momentum behind vaccination. There are particular concerns about coronavirus variants, such as one first found in Britain, which spread more easily (though the prevalence of the British variant has not stopped cases tumbling in Britain itself, where, as in America, vaccination has been proceeding apace). Cases of covid-19 in America are now rising again. Some places, such as Chicago and New Jersey, have paused reopening.

That is slowing the recovery, but not yet stopping it. Widespread vaccination has weakened the link between infection and hospitalisation. In Michigan and Florida, two states with high levels of the British variant, the Google-Economist economic-activity index has lost steam in recent days, though it is still stronger than it was in the first quarter of the year. There will be setbacks along the way, but expect the good economic news to start piling up.

: economist.com
Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri got off to a very good start to their new Formula One season in Bahrain. Both teams seem to have taken a big step forward, and the most important part of that seems to be the Honda engine.

The step of Honda

In recent years Mercedes has dominated Formula 1, but in Bahrain, it became clear that Red Bull Racing are now really in the fight. As well as Red Bull, however, it was also AlphaTauri that seemed to have made a huge step. Franz Tost stated that this was 70 percent thanks to Honda, and of course, that says something about the huge progress at the Japanese.

Read more Perez says he has learned a lot from Verstappen in Bahrain

"If Franz says that, then there must be some truth in it. As a team boss, you are more likely to say that the progress is due to the hard work of your own team. Also, Honda was very strong in Imola last year, so I expect the same this year'', says Marc Priestley in His latest video. The configuration at Imola seemed to suit Honda well, and with the amount of performance gained, Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri could well do good business.

Mercedes versus Red Bull Racing

''Mercedes won the race in Bahrain but weren't in great form either. For some teams, it was a bit of an extra winter test, where they were collecting data that they normally would have collected on the fourth or fifth day. Also, Bahrain is very open and that was a disadvantage for wind sensitive cars like Mercedes.''

It will therefore be exciting in Imola according to the former McLaren mechanic. ''Honda excelled here last year. It will be close again this time, and Mercedes will not struggle as much as they did in Bahrain. It will, as always, be about who can handle the tyres best. In Bahrain, Red Bull managed that quickly, whereas we haven't really been used to that from them in recent years'', Priestley concludes.

Read more Timetable of the Emila Romagna Grand Prix: This is when the action starts in Imola
ORANGEBURG  Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under then-President Donald Trump, said she won't run for president in 2024 if her former boss seeks to reclaim his old office.

In a news conference after touring South Carolina State University on April 12, Haley said she would support Trump if he decides to run again, adding that she enjoyed working with him during her time in his administration.

"I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it," Haley said. "That's something that we'll have a conversation about at some point if that decision is something that has to be made."

The latest remarks represent a stark turnaround from comments Haley made in interviews with Politico after Jan. 6 when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol over Trump's unfounded allegations the 2020 election was fraudulent.

In a lengthy story about Haley's approach to Trump and her own future, she was quoted as saying that Trump would not run for federal office again.

"I dont think hes going to be in the picture," Haley said at the time. "I dont think he can. Hes fallen so far."

On April 12, Haley said she still has not spoken to Trump since the Jan. 6 riots. But she repeatedly praised the former president, saying she had "a great working relationship" with him during her time in his administration.

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"I appreciated the way he let me do my job," Haley said. "I thought we did some fantastically great foreign policy things together and, look, I just want to keep building on what we accomplished."

Haley's latest comments appear to more closely reflect the broader sentiment of Republicans in her home state.

A poll of likely South Carolina GOP primary voters conducted last month by the Trafalgar Group found more than 60 percent would vote for Trump again in a 2024 Republican primary, while another 20 percent said they would consider it.

Haley also declined to criticize Trump for comments he reportedly made over the weekend at a Republican National Committee gathering when he called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a "dumb son of a (expletive)" and criticized Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

Trump "is not going to change his style just because he left the president's office," Haley said. Instead, she focused on the parts of his remarks that focused on how Republicans can regain control in Washington.

"I think President Trumps always been opinionated," Haley said. "But I think what he also talked about were all the successes that he had in the administration, and I think that's what Republicans are uniting on."

Haley also said she expects Republicans will ultimately unify around opposition to Democratic President Joe Biden. On foreign policy, Haley has criticized Biden's approach to China and called on him to boycott the winter Olympics there in 2022.

"I think that he has shown that he has a sense of wanting to hold China to account," Haley said. "The only thing is it's been very surface, and I think we have to wait and see what he does."
The Simpsons along with The Family Guy and South Park are some of the timeless American animated sitcoms that continue to be a source of laughter to millions of people across the globe, regardless of them falling under the category of being a Boomer, Millennial, or Gen Z.



However, while being incredibly funny, the shows have also remained a topic of debate with regard to controversial content that is at times deemed offensive to people of a certain region, race, or color.

With the new age of social media bringing a host of important issues such as gender equality, women empowerment, racism, mental health, and online bullying to the forefront, there has been a higher level of accountability from people who produce content consumed by millions of people.

One man who has taken up responsibility for his actions is American actor, voice actor, comedian, and producer Hank Azaria, who voiced the animated character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, an Indian immigrant proprietor in The Simpsons.

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Hank has apologized to every Indian for the offense caused by him playing Apu on the sitcom.



 Fox

The 56-year-old opened up about a visit to his son's school, where he spoke at length about his character with other students. He said a young Indian student told him how his actions as the character had a huge consequence on other peoples' lives.



"I was speaking at my son's school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input."

"A 17-year-old... he's never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It's practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country," said Azaria, while speaking to Dax Shepherd on the Armchair Expert podcast, a show which talks about "the messiness of being human."

 Mirror

Azaria, who officially stepped away from Apu's character last year, issued an apology to everyone who might have been offended by a character he felt he had "a part in creating".



"I really do apologise, it's important. I apologise for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do," said Azaria.

Earlier, in an interview with the New York Times, Azaria had spoken on his decision to leave the role of the character.

"Once I realized that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didn't want to participate in it anymore.It just didn't feel right."

Well, his decision to issue an apology was met with a string of reactions from people on the microblogging website, Twitter.

Decades of playing the character the way the producers, directors, and writers wanted him to. If Azaria feels he must apologize, I certainly understand. I'm just saying, there are *a lot* of people who should be lining up behind him. Or in front of him to apologize first.  Rick Kiebiech (@Draft6isblue) April 13, 2021

I still find the whole Apu thing stupid and nonsensical, Apu was seen more than just for his race he was an actual character and if a characters only trait is theyre race thats the writers fault not the actor  Keith D Gatling II (@KeithDGatlingII) April 12, 2021

So, whats he doing with all that money he made from stereotyping us? Maybe he could set up a scholarship fund or help South Asian businesses. Saying sorry now means little.  NotARaja (@NotARaja) April 12, 2021

Don't shame him.

All he did was portray an accent...Meryl Streep does the same thing.  MauiMellow (@AlohaDeningham) April 12, 2021

@HankAzaria there is no need to apologize for Apu. The character was beautiful and you did a wonderful job playing him. I wish you were still playing Apu. Truly dont apologize. We know your heart was in the right place.  Johnny Cool Dewan (@JohnnyDewan) April 13, 2021

Indians don't like sympathies nor do we want it. Hank Azaria is a legend. He has done nothing wrong to apologize for.I'd rather wish he doesn't.  Bramma (@bramma925) April 13, 2021

No need to apologise. I am an Indian, and I do not seek apology. No need, really. Most of the Indians are not even concerned with these type of issues, they have much more important issues to attend to than seek apology from somebody who gives voice to a cartoon character.  Bane432 (@bane432) April 13, 2021

He better get started yesterday. pic.twitter.com/HyeeUXoGLe  Super Straight Super Minority (@DAVID_LEE_RGV) April 12, 2021

I think the important point is being missed. They can employ an Indian actor to voice an Indian character. This isn't cancel culture. It is an employment philosophy.  dowd72 (@dowd0702) April 13, 2021

As an Indian-American, I've NEVER been offended by Hank Azaria voicing Apu or the character. The character is very relatable for many Indian-Americans and we should take no shame in that.  Samir Sampat (@SHSampat) April 12, 2021
Wife of slain Arkansas pastor formally charged with his murder; 911 call released

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Kristie Evans, the wife of the late Pastor David Evans of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church in Arkansas, has been formally charged with first-degree murder after confessing to plotting his murder with a man she spent three nights with while her husband was on a mission trip.

Both Evans, 47, and the alleged accomplice, Kahlil Deamie Square, 26, are facing first-degree murder charges, according to KFOR-TV. Her next court date will take place in May.

Evans was killed in his home on March 22, hours after he warned his flock in a sermon that the devil would seek to kill and destroy them for being witnesses to God's power in the world.

After telling police that an intruder killed her husband while he was sleeping, the widow confessed to investigators that she plotted his murder with a man she spent three nights with while he was in Mexico on a mission trip.

Three days after the pastor was killed, his wife confessed to the Ada Police Department that the intruder, Square, was known to her.

The recording of Evans 911 call reporting her husbands death has been released. The local NBC news affiliate broadcasted a portion of the call.

Someone shot my husband, Evans' frantically said in the 911 call. Hes in a pool of blood, and I heard a loud pop."

She added that her husband was "bleeding out his nose and mouth and its all over the bed.

Claiming that she didnt know how the murder happened, the dispatch asked Evans if she saw a gun anywhere around him.

No, I dont see anything, she responded.

Square, she later told police, had spent the night with her on March 17, 18 and 19 while her husband was on his mission trip to Mexico.

Evans told investigators that she and her husband led secret life as swingers and met Square for sex at a Super 8 on more than one occasion months ago.

On one of those occasions, Kristie secretly dropped her phone number on the floor for Kahlil, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent reported in arresting documents obtained by The Oklahoman. Kristie continued to communicate by phone daily with Kahlil without David's knowledge.

Evans reportedly asked him to kill her husband and even provided him with a gun and bullets. She reportedly left the home's backdoor open on the night of his murder.

At one point, Square crouched down in the couples dining room because he was worried about making too much noise. But Kristie Evans urged her lover to proceed with the plan."

In her interviews with the investigators, Evans claimed her husband insulted her by calling herslut, fat, ugly and whore. After sharing these concerns with Square, he allegedly replied, Damn. She also told Square, it would be nice to have more freedom.

The circumstances surrounding Evans death have taken the Harmony Free Will Baptist Church community by surprise, a spokesperson for the church told KFOR last month.

We are greatly saddened. We serve a perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us. These revelations do not diminish that truth and we will continue to serve Him, the spokesperson said. We are aware that even pastors can succumb to human frailty and we ask that our privacy be respected at this time as we as a church family grieve and process all of these events.
(ANSA) - ROME, APR 13 - Hundreds of shopkeeper, restaurant, bar and gym owners from all over Italy protested against COVID lockdowns and demanded the reopening of the economy at the Circus Maximus in Rome on Tuesday.

The protesters chanted "Work, work", and "Reopening, reopening" as police looked on.

Many demonstrators tried to form a march towards the premier's office but police stopped them.

Eventually a delegation of five was allowed to go to the premier's office where it was received by undersecretary for relations with parliament Deborah Bergamini.

Demos demanding reopening after COVID lockdowns have increased across Italy over the last week.

Some of them have turned ugly. (ANSA).


Of the 41,700 or so men and women currently detained in Australias prison systems, almost 30 per cent are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. Yet Indigenous people make up only about 3.3 per cent of the broader population. This grossly disproportionate incarceration rate has been highlighted repeatedly over the past several decades because it points to fundamental inequities within our nation.

Protesters march in Melbourne on Saturday over Indigenous deaths in custody. Credit:Getty Images

Coming into contact with police, being accused of offending, negotiating the justice system and weathering time in a detention centre is personally traumatic and can have a dreadful impact on families. For that reason alone, having so many of its men and women in custody at any time is a wholesale tragedy for the Indigenous community.

Based on current custody figures, it would seem that little has changed in the 30 years since the landmark Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its final report. While the commission was convened to consider the circumstances behind numerous Aboriginal deaths in custody, it ultimately found Indigenous people are not more likely to die in prison than someone from a non-Indigenous background. It did find many of the deaths in the 1980s arose from a lack of appreciation of the duty of care that is owed when someone, anyone, is taken into custody.

However, it is the rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people come into contact with the police, justice and prison systems that was then, and remains today, of enormous concern. Indigenous people tend to encounter the police and corrections systems more often than any other sector of the population, both as victims and offenders, and the reasons are multifaceted and profound. They come from deep, inter-generational trauma. Having children stolen from your arms, taken away to be indoctrinated; having your land, your country and your community seized; having your story negated, your culture erased by newcomers. These are the enduring scars of this nations history.
Ukrainian Institute of the Future

We bring to your attention the strategy of Ukraine's actions in connection with the escalation in Donbass.

Part I . Escalation goals and motivation of the Russian Federation.

It is proposed to divide the goals of military-political aggravation into two categories: global, which are not related to Ukraine, and regional, which are directly related to it.

Global:

Raising stakes in the political confrontation with the West (US and EU) against the background of strained relations between them and the reformatting of international processes after the change of power in the United States; Intensification of contradictions between Western allies (USA, Great Britain, France, Germany) on security issues on the Eurasian continent; Reconsolidation of political influence in order to return to world politics as a global player with whom we have to talk on key issues of international security, return to the Yalta-Potsdam division of the world, where Russia as the successor to the USSR is a key player and has a zone of exclusive interests ; Engage neutrality or limited acceptance by the United States of Russia's dominant role in its periphery (Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, South Caucasus); Put pressure on European countries in order to reach an acceptable compromise on the distribution of zones of influence in the post-Soviet geopolitical space; To strike a preemptive strike or to demonstrate a readiness to strike such a blow at one of the crisis sites in order to deter the West from trying to destabilize the domestic political situation in Russia.

Regional:

To play a "Ukrainian card" for the internal audience to mobilize supporters before the elections to the State Duma, where one of the main elements will be the "protection of the Russian people" and to prevent the channeling of protests; To force Ukraine to open access to the North Crimean Canal, or to start negotiations on it, or to gain access to it by conducting a limited military operation; To persuade Ukraine to negotiate with ORDLO militants; Economic blockade of Ukraine due to increasing pressure on the Sea of Azov and complicating the work of Black Sea ports; Destabilization of the domestic political situation in Ukraine in order to at least weaken the political power and persuade it to make concessions in the negotiations, and as a maximum to bring the situation to chaos and civil war against the background of mass hysteria and escalation; Return of pro-Russian forces to Ukrainian politics; Preservation of the Donbass issue as one of the top issues of the domestic political agenda in Ukraine; Rapid military victory over the Armed Forces in the shortest possible time with or without the subsequent capture of part of the territory; Achieve Ukraine's refusal to deepen cooperation with NATO, a moratorium on the presence of any NATO military forces and prototypes of military bases on the territory of Ukraine.

Part II . Action plans and strategic objectives of Ukraine.

Before considering what specific instruments of action there are in Ukraine, it is important to begin by defining a model of behavior that we must choose depending on the strategic challenges facing the state. There may be several such models. Within these plans, all or most of the following instruments can be used, only the priority of their application, tone and communication with society will differ.

Model 1. Preventive escalation. Ukraine raises stakes in response to the escalation in order to deter Russia from the idea of a new military invasion or large-scale escalation on the line of demarcation or from the Crimea, and eventually returns to de-escalation and restoration of the status quo.

Model 2. Accept the challenge. Ukraine is raising rates in response to the escalation in preparation for an outbreak of large-scale hostilities. Against the background of a stalemate in the negotiations and the futility of the negotiations, the Ukrainian authorities accept the challenge and the idea that another intermediate phase of hostilities is needed to change the modality of the conflict.

Model 3. Gradual de-escalation . Ukraine is taking limited steps to prepare its military infrastructure for a potential conflict, and at the same time is taking a number of decisions and initiatives aimed at de-escalating and unblocking negotiations to avoid further escalation and resumption of the political process.

Model 4. Peace at any cost . Ukraine is initiating new negotiations with Russia and accepting part or all of the conditions that will lead to the resumption of the political process and the settlement of the conflict, but under strong and legal guarantees from the West and Russia.

Part III . Plan implementation tools.

Military and military-political.

Meeting of the National Security and Defense Council and preparation of a decree on martial law;

Urgent military exercises (possibly with NATO members). Particular emphasis should be placed on the development of missile fire and on improving the combat capability of air defense forces;

Urgent military exercises (possibly with NATO members). Particular emphasis should be placed on the development of missile fire and on improving the combat capability of air defense forces; Urgently adopt a law on terrorism, and terrorism should not be a public organization, as is now proposed in the OPU, but a separate part of the Armed Forces and be subordinated to the General Staff (the law can be adopted within one week). In the shortest possible time to hold a monthly meeting-training of terrorist defense;

Conduct training of reservists;

Negotiate the presence of several NATO ships in the Black Sea (ports of Ukraine);

Accelerate the execution of the defense order and ensure uninterrupted flow of funds to the plants of Ukroboronprom.

Political.

The truce must be officially declared disrupted. The President must announce a new ceasefire initiative, which should include the possibility of some backlash on the supply of water to the Crimea. A major international dialogue needs to be launched around this;

Closed session of the parliament with discussion of the situation and possible actions of the Council on the imposition of martial law;

Adopt changes to the budget, which will provide for increased funding for the army (necessarily raising military salaries) and defense orders;

Strengthening the screening of conscripts who cross the line of demarcation;

Consultations with Moldova on smuggling goods through Transnistria, strengthening the border with Transnistria;

Involve the church in the dialogue, especially the UOC-MP, which will be forced to react in an awkward situation. Also pay attention to church sponsors so that they are forced to put pressure on hierarchs.

International.

Convening of the UN Security Council to discuss a new truce (obviously, will have to hold several meetings). In parallel, prepare a resolution of the UN General Assembly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation;

The beginning of the information rolling of the topic of preparing a "new initiative" to resolve the conflict in the Donbass (a kind of "Minsk-3"). Along with this idea, start actively talking about moving the talks from Minsk to another place. Options: Budapest, Istanbul or Nur Sultan. Start negotiations on this with the participants of the Normandy format;

Lobbying in the US to strengthen sanctions against the sovereign debt of the Russian Federation and their banking sector;

Announce personnel changes in the TCG (our group is led by a heavyweight diplomat). Recognize that TCG negotiations can only be used to address tactical and humanitarian issues, and the entire political part in the Normandy format;

Return to the idea of UN peacekeepers to freeze the situation;

Agree to increase the volume of lethal weapons from the West (in the short term we should receive such weapons, even in small quantities).

In a very extreme case, if there is an urgent need to defuse the situation, we can declare the readiness of negotiations with ORDLO, but only on tactical issues, such as security at the checkpoint, the transfer of humanitarian aid, infrastructure repairs. At the same time, firmly understand that the creation of any permanent formalized sites is not acceptable;

Stop the information swing about "we will get the MAP soon": it is more like hysteria and does not help in this situation, showing that we are weak and hope only for external support.

Information.
It seems one kayaker took the old adage of being up shit's creek without a paddle a little too literally (and conspicuously sans either of the Levys), finding himself stranded on a Scottish isle without an oar. Earlier this month, a man row, row, row-ed his boat from England to the remote island of Inchtavannach, one of the Loch Lomond Islands in South Scotland for an Easter weekend camping trip, not only bypassing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions but breaking the cardinal rule of kayaking  don't lose your paddle.

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After taking a walk on Tuesday afternoon, the man returned to his boat to discover that his paddle had suddenly vanished, The Guardian reported. Fortunately, the stranded paddler apparently had cell service and was able to contact local authorities and request the aquatic equivalent of a tow. The local lifeboat service were contacted and the incident handed to them," a representative of the Police Scotland told the outlet. "The man was rescued safe and well.

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Yet in light of this unfortunate accident, the Loch Lomond Rescue Boat issued a statement on Facebook, warning other travelers of the dangers of not only losing your paddle to the tides but breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules. The rescue boat was launched and located the person on the island and safely transferred himself and his equipment over to his car at Aldochlay. LLRB then returned to Luss and stood down," the organization wrote on Facebook.This person had travelled from England to camp on the island for the Easter weekend. Please could we remind all to stick to the Covid rules and keep people safe.

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So folks, remember, if you're going kayaking, please always keep a good handle on your paddle  like, that's boating 101.

For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.
 "The Practice and Pedagogy of Carceral Abolition in a Criminal Defense Clinic" | Main | Any interesting new insights about the interesting new folks tapped by Prez Biden for DEA and AAG positions at the Department of Justice? 

April 13, 2021

Hoping many more folks will focus on "how" as marijuana reform continues to gain momentum

German Lopez has this new Vox piece, headlined "Marijuana legalization has won," that I find both effective and frustrating. The piece is effective because it reviews well the modern political realities of marijuana reform, while not even mentioning the modern policy and practical realities of reform. Here is how the piece starts:

The US is nearing a tipping point of sorts on marijuana legalization: Almost half the country  about 43 percent of the population  now lives in a state where marijuana is legal to consume just for fun. The past two months alone have seen a burst of activity as four states across the US legalized marijuana for recreational use: New Jersey, New York, Virginia, and, on Monday, New Mexico. Its a massive shift that took place over just a few years. A decade ago, no states allowed marijuana for recreational use; the first states to legalize cannabis in 2012, Colorado and Washington, did so through voter-driven initiatives. Now, 17 states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana (although DC doesnt yet allow sales), with five enacting their laws through legislatures, showing even typically cautious politicians are embracing the issue. At this point, the question of nationwide marijuana legalization is more a matter of when, not if.

I started teaching a new law school class and started a new law blog about marijuana reform topics way back in 2013 because I had reason to believe, even back, then that political and social forces were already lining up to make marijuana reform "more a matter of when, not if." But, as I have paid ever more attention to these issues for now nearly a decade (and even helped start a new law school center to study these issues), I have grown even more aware of the many challenges surrounding the "how" of marijuana legalization. And, as the title of this post suggests, I keep hoping that even more and more serious people will start spending more and more time examining and reviewing the pros and cons of different approaches to reform. Though there has been a growing number of public health and criminal justice researchers and academics paying more attention to these topics, I still see so much important "how" work that needs to be done and still relatively few folks on the job.

That said, as I try to highlight over at Marijuana Law, Policy and Reform, I suppose I should celebrate that this even more policy discussion and academic writing about the "how"

April 13, 2021 at 07:59 AM | Permalink

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Cinereous vulture in flight. There are only around 2,400 pairs across Europe (Getty )

A livestock drug banned in Asia after it accidentally killed at least 40 million vultures between the 1990s and the early 2000s but approved for usage in parts of Europe, and has now killed a rare cinereous vulture in Spain.

Diclofenac, a potent anti-inflammatory medicine, was banned in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, after it wiped out 99.9 per cent of white-backed vultures and 97 per cent of long and slender-billed vultures.

The discovery of diclofenac as the cause of the deaths was made in 2003. Veterinarians had been injecting cattle with the drug and when the vultures scavenged carcasses they suffered kidney failure and died.

This led to bans coming into force between 2006 and 2010, but by then Asian vultures had become critically endangered.

Farmers are able to use Meloxicam, an alternative drug which is non-toxic to scavenging birds, which in Europe can also include species such as eagles.

Despite the well-documented evidence, diclofenac was cleared for usage on livestock in Spain in 2013.

Approval was given despite strong warnings that there could be impacts on European vulture populations.

The death of the vulture in Spain was confirmed without a doubt to be the result of diclofenac poisoning, a study into the birds death found.

Dr John Mallord, senior conservation scientist at the RSPB told The Independent: We already knew that diclofenac had been found in the food of vultures in Spain, despite being told by the regulatory authorities that this could never happen.

Now, we have confirmation that this has resulted in the death of a threatened vulture. However, this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg - who knows how many other vultures have been killed by diclofenac and not been found."

The cinereous vulture, also known as the black vulture, has a wingspan of up to 3.1 metres (over 10 feet), and is distributed across much of Eurasia.

Ernesto Alvarez, president of wildlife rehabilitation group Grefa and one of the authors of the study which documented the death of the young vulture, told website BirdGuides: Now we know that the risk of black vultures or scavengers of other species dying in Europe from this cause is very real and there may even have been previous cases that have not been detected.

Story continues

Spain, by harbouring the largest populations of European vultures by far, has a responsibility towards the conservation of these birds that it can no longer avoid in any way, in view of the results of this revealing study.

According to the RSPB it was argued by regulatory authorities in the EU and Spain and also by some other European countries, that diclofenac would not enter the vulture food chain because of tight restrictions on the provisioning of vulture feeding sites with carcasses of animals that had received veterinary drugs before they died.

However, the organisation said that even at the time approval for diclofenac was given, this argument was already known to be false.

The evidence that regulations intended to control the method of disposal of carcasses do not protect vultures from exposure to toxic drugs is now overwhelming, the RSPB said in its Save Vultures campaign.

A vulture which was found dead in 2020 in Catalonia was also believed to have died from diclofenac poisoning.

Chris Bowden, co-chair of the IUCN Vulture Specialist Group said: It seemed unbelievable that Spain, Italy and the EU would allow the licensing of veterinary diclofenac in 2013 after what had happened in Asia, and hopefully this latest evidence has come to light in time to prompt immediate action to cease veterinary use of the drug and avoid much wider impacts.

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UK variant does not increase disease severity, new studies suggest
(Natural News) If you have fair skin and live in the Boston area, you will probably want to avoid ever getting care at Brigham and Womens Hospital because the antiracist staff that works there could intentionally kill you in order to correct the problem of systemic racism.

According to an article published in the Boston Review, Brigham and Womens Hospital is now offering preferential care based on race as part of new race-explicit interventions that aim to disenfranchise whites while catering to blacks and browns.

Harvard Medical School professors Bram Wispelwey, an LGBT-rights activist, and Michelle Morse, a black woman, say that discriminating against whites in the medical profession is good and necessary, even though doing so may elicit legal challenges from our system of colorblind law.

But given the ample current evidence that our health, judicial, and other systems already unfairly preference people who are white, we believe  that our approach is corrective and therefore mandated, they write.

Not only do Wispelwey and Morse want the corrupt Brigham and Womens Hospital to adopt their new anti-white policies, but they are also encouraging other institutions to proceed confidently on behalf of equity and racial justice.

Racist doctors say Biden executive orders support not providing medical care to whites

Citing numerous executive orders recently signed by Resident Biden, Wispelwey and Morse say that American hospitals have a mandate to withhold care from whites, allowing them to die so more black and brown people can get drugged and undergo surgery at the front of the line.

After abolishing President Donald Trumps 1776 Commission, which sought to once again teach foundational American civics in schools, Hunters dad on his first day in office signed an executive order requiring an equity assessment in federal agencies.

Based on this, Wispelwey and Morse concluded that too many white people are being treated at hospitals, which constitutes racial inequity. From now on, only black and brown people should be treated, they say, and white people left to die.

What we need  we have come to believe, is a proactively antiracist agenda for medicine, they wrote, adding that things like implicit bias training and checklists will have to suffice whenever indirect solutions where more direct forms of race-explicit action are not available.

The two professors are piloting their program at Brigham and Womens Hospital with the hope that it will be expanded nationwide. They say the equitable solutions offered will ensure that more black and brown people receive care instead of white people.

Citing leftist economist William Darity Jr.s reparations framework, Wispelwey and Morse believe that black and Latinx patients need to be prioritized over white people, which also ties into their Redress program that is intended to discriminate against whites who require medical attention so other individuals can automatically be given treatment.

Redress could take multiple forms, from cash transfers and discounted or free care to taxes on nonprofit hospitals that exclude patients of color and race-explicit protocol changes (such as preferentially admitting patients historically denied access to certain forms of medical care), they explain.

Brigham and Womens will prioritize five neighborhoods in Boston with the highest black and Latino populations as part of the program. Non-whites in these areas will be engaged through outreach to take the place of whites at hospitals, as well as be apologized to for the institutional racism of America.

Brigham and Womens Hospitals decision to discriminate in providing medical services makes it ineligible to receive federal funding and jeopardizes the federal funding of Harvard Medical School with which it is affiliated, warns GianCarlo Canaparo, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation.

More related news about the problem of systemic woke racism against whites can be found at AntiWhite.news

Sources for this article include:

HarbingersDaily.com

NaturalNews.com
ROME, APR 13 - Reuters has announced that Rome native Alessandra Galloni is to be its first woman editor-in-chief in its 170-year history. The 47-year-old, who is currently the news agency's Global Managing Editor, replaces Stephen J. Adler, who is retiring. "So honored to lead the best newsroom in the world!," Galloni, who speaks four languages, said via Twitter. Reuters said the London-based journalist is "is known internally as a charismatic presence with a keen interest in business news" Early in her career, she worked for Reuters' Italian-language news service. She returned to the agency in 2013 after 13 years at The Wall Street Journal as a reporter and editor in London, Paris and Rome. (ANSA).
[April 13, 2021] InsurTech Update: The RW Exchange and Sterling Seacrest Pritchard announce formal Partnership

NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The RW Exchange (RWX) is excited to announce that Sterling Seacrest Pritchard is the first representations and warranties insurance (RWI) broker specialist in the United States to license the RWX technology. Developed by Kirk Sanderson of M&A Insurance Solutions to enhance the RWI experience for clients and M&A stakeholders alike, RWX is building momentum with its retail broker partnership program either through licensing the RWX technology directly or traditional wholesale arrangements. RWX is a cloud-based project management tool specifically designed to deliver speed and execution to all parties (clients/lawyers/insurers/brokers/etc.) in the RWI policy placement process. "The insurance industry in general has been notorious for offering low client engagement and significantly lagging in tech adoption. However, as millennials are quickly becoming key decision makers within the M&am;A ecosystem, clients are increasingly expecting on-demand user experiences with greater control and transparency," Sanderson explained.



The RWX platform provides an RWI tracker for the 25 steps across 6 stages of the placement process (see video). RWX also doubles as a shared virtual data-room for the storage and exchange of documents for active placements as well as instant insights into all historical projects for program management and critical decision making. The benefits of RWX to clients and other stakeholders include unprecedented transparency into the RWI process, enhanced collaboration/control via the shared platform, instant access to key documents, and data storage/compliance auditing functions. "Simply put, RWX is the future of RWI and we are very pleased to be on the cutting edge of the industry," said Tray Traynor, M&A Practice Group leader at Sterling Seacrest Pritchard.

Currently, access to RWX is only available via M&A Insurance Solutions and Sterling Seacrest Pritchard. The RW Exchange [www.RW-Exchange.com] is the only digital R&W/W&I delivery platform in the world. RWX provides a real-time underwriting tool offering 100% transparency to all stakeholders within the process  delivering the only replicable playbook to manage and track RWI on a programmatic basis. M&A Insurance Solutions [www.RWpolicy.com] works exclusively with private equity and venture capital funds, target companies, institutional/corporate acquirers, and legal professionals to structure insurance solutions to replace seller indemnities/escrows in M&A transactions. Sterling Seacrest Pritchard [www.PJins.com] is a full-service, broker-owned risk management and insurance brokerage firm serving the commercial needs of clients across a range of industries including the private equity, M&A and other transactional risk insurance markets. Inquiries: Kirk@RWpolicy.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insurtech-update-the-rw-exchange-and-sterling-seacrest-pritchard-announce-formal-partnership-301268026.html SOURCE The RW Exchange (RWX)

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NYSE American Symbol  UEC

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSE American: UEC) ("UEC" or the "Company") today announced it will be featured as a presenting company at the H.C. Wainwright Spring Mining Conference. The conference is being held on April 19-20, 2021 virtually.

Amir Adnani, President and CEO of Uranium Energy Corp, will provide an overview of the Company's business during the live presentation and will be available to participate in one-on-one meetings with investors who are registered to join the conference.

If you are an institutional investor, and would like to listen to the Company's presentation, please click on the following link (www.hcwevents.com/mining) to register for the conference.

You may also listen to the company presentation online at: https://bit.ly/320tXGz, starting on Monday, April 19th, 2021 at 10:00 AM ET and archived for 90 days.

Event: H.C. Wainwright Spring Mining Conference (Virtual Conference) April 19-20, 2021

UEC Presentation: Monday, April 19th at 10:00 AM ET

Company Webcasting Link: https://bit.ly/320tXGz

Location: Virtual Conference

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.

About H.C. Wainwright & Co.

H.C. Wainwright is a fullservice investment bank dedicated to providing corporate finance, strategic advisory and related services to public and private companies across multiple sectors and regions. H.C. Wainwright & Co. also provides research and sales and trading services to institutional investors. According to Sagient Research Systems, H.C. Wainwright's team is ranked as the #1 Placement Agent in terms of aggregate CMPO (confidentially marketed public offering), RD (registered direct offering) and PIPE (private investment in public equity) executed cumulatively since 1998. For more information visit H.C. Wainwright & Co. on the web at www.hcwco.com

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/


The family of jailed rights activist Guo Hongwei, who died on after surgery while serving a 13-year jail term in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, say there are many unanswered questions around his illness and death.



"We are not convinced," Guo's father Guo Yinqi told RFA on . "He mustn't be cremated until the cause of death is known."



"There needs to be due process and [the cause of death] must be identified."



Guo Yinqi said the family had wanted to take pictures of Guo Hongwei's body when they went to identify it.



"We wanted to take pictures of him ... after his death, but a number of prison guards were there, and they wouldn't let us," he said.



Guo Yinqi said the family had doubts around the refusal of prison authorities to order medical parole for Guo despite his systolic blood pressure readings of around 260 consistently during the last two years.



"He was persecuted [to death]," Guo Yinqi said. "Not allowing a critically ill patient with systolic blood pressure of 260 out on medical parole is the same as killing them."



Guo Yinqi said Guo Hongwei had been transferred to Gongzhuling Prison after the family reported that he was being tortured at Songyuan Prison near Jilin's Siwei city.



"We weren't allowed to see him after the transfer to Gongzhuling Prison, and we couldn't have phone calls with him either," Guo Yinqi said. "And after being transferred to Gongzhuling Prison, he will not be allowed to meet. , And phone calls are not allowed. We wanted to take pictures when we were in the funeral after death. Several prison guards were there and were not allowed to take pictures."



Guo Hongwei died on after undergoing two operations for cerebral hemorrhage on and 5.



Guo Yinqi said that, while there was no indication of external, physical attacks on his son's body, the family wanted a full investigation into his death to establish responsibility.



"We have suspicions, because the issue that killed him was in his brain, and they won't release his [remains] to us, nor the scans [of his brain]," he said.



"They say this has to be dealt with in a 'unified' manner, and so it can't be handed over the family," Guo Yinqi said



A file photo of Guo Hongwei in prison, provided by his family. Credit: Guo Yingqi Autopsy demand

Rights lawyer Xie Yanyi said he plans to assist the family in demanding an autopsy and inquest into Guo Hongwei's death.



"Further investigation is needed, as well as the issue of the autopsy, and gaining access to video surveillance footage and medical records," Xie told RFA.



"Prisons have obligations to cooperate under the Criminal Procedure Law and the Prisons Law," he said. "Guo Hongwei should have been granted medical parole for his own protection once his health had deteriorated to that point."



The family has said Guo was torture and held in solitary confinement in a tiny cell with no light or toilet facility during much of his time at Songyuan Ningjiang Prison in Jilin.



In , prison guard Lu Jiaxun locked him in a cell filled with peracetic acid, causing him choke, they said, yet the guard only received a small deduction from his bonus as punishment.



Guo Yinqi filed a complaint to the Jilin provincial prison administration bureau at the time of that incident, but has yet to receive a response.



Guo was transferred to Gongzhuling Prison on Nov. 26, where he was held incommunicado, with authorities citing pandemic restrictions as the reason for the ban on visits. However, phone calls weren't permitted either.



When he was finally admitted to the Jilin Guowen Hospital in early April, police told one of the surgeons operating on him that he had been in a similar condition for more than two months. He was already in a coma at the time of admission, they told RFA.



Guo Hongwei's mother Xiao Yunling said Guo had once been a strong and well-built man of 1.73 meters who had never been troubled by illness.



Whatever treatment was meted out to him in prison left him unable to walk and with life-threatening hypertension.



"Rest easy, son. Mom will avenge you," Xiao said. "Why did they frame my son? I won't be able to rest another day until I find out."



"Why did he have a cerebral hemorrhage? This happened all of a sudden in April," she said. "Why was he so skinny? Why didn't they give my son more food?"



An ailing Guo Hongwei being transported on a stretcher in what is believed to be his last day alive, April 2021. Credit: Guo Yingqi Botched surgery
Interview: Adaptation of Marxism to Chinese context key to CPC's success, says Iranian politician

Xinhua) 13:44, April 13, 2021

TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The key to China's success is that Chinese leaders have adapted Marxism to Chinese realities, said Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council.

"I believe the key to China's success is that it does not cling to the old aspects of Communism and Marxism dogmatically," Haddad-Adel told Xinhua in a recent interview.

What Chinese President Xi Jinping and his colleagues have done is to adapt Marxism to the realities of China, and "they have created flexibility given the realities of the Chinese society and global realities," he said.

"This flexibility and dynamism by preserving the old positive aspects and eliminating the negative aspects were key to Xi's success," said Haddad-Adel, who once served as Iran's parliament speaker.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, is "a strong, active and utterly influential figure in China and in the world scene," the Iranian politician said.

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, he said that by managing to control the disease and then develop vaccines for it, China "taught a model by controlling and managing it."

Meanwhile, "this is the sign that social and people welfare are important in China," he said.

As for bilateral relations, he said, "The China issue in Iran is followed with interest and importance."

Noting this year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, Haddad-Adel said he would like to congratulate the Chinese nation and government on this occasion.

Recalling his visits to China, he said what attracted his attention is "social discipline and the fight against corruption."

Haddad-Adel praised the international image of the CPC and China, saying, "its most important characteristic is not interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries."

Under the leadership of the CPC, instead of seeking to dominate or control other countries in international relations, China has been carrying out exchanges and cooperation with other countries and "I hope such exchanges and cooperation will increase day by day," he added.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:31 am

When the COVID-19 pandemic began changing life around the globe, local landscaping business Battle Ground Rockery was already looking for a way to renovate their business to accommodate more customers and offer contactless drive-through pickup options.

We knew we had some work to do to the site, anyways, said Battle Ground Rockery Operations Manager Sam Rhoades, who mentioned the pandemic just exacerbated the need for an upgrade.

Battle Ground Rockery started in 2010 and offers bark and rock products to both businesses and the general public of the north county area. In 2016, the business moved to its location off Main Street and also offers mixed soils, dirt, top soil and sand.

According to Rhoades, Tapani Inc., which owns the rockery, fully purchased the land last year and began making renovations to the property and the building on it.

Battle Ground Rockery Manager Nikki Dunn said the main plans for renovations included making it safer and more efficient for customers picking up and ordering products.

Customers can (now) stay in their vehicle and no contact is needed, Dunn said. It keeps the line flowing and keeps people happy.

Allowing a steady flow of traffic through the property was a top priority for the rockery as it planned out its renovation.

According to Dunn, prior to the recent change, cars would line up on the property and out onto Main Street, crowding the yard space and creating a traffic hazard on the main road. The rockerys entrance is now located to the right of Battle Ground Produce, which allows the line of people who want to pick up yard materials to wrap around the produce building. The change has doubled the lines capacity and has taken cars off Main Street on busy days.

We were completely outgrowing the other parking area and now have enough capacity and enough room to effectively serve our customers, Dunn said. (And) customers are absolutely loving it.  They love that they can just drive up to the window and get what they need.

Dunn said the process is much more convenient for the driver. After pulling up to the window and placing their order for material, the driver pulls forward 20 yards or so to have a loader fill their pickup truck or trailer with bark, rock and more.

Dunn said the experience of watching the rockery expand from a small building in a muddy field to the current business format after the renovation has been amazing and the new property is much nicer and more appealing.

Along with the addition of the drive through, the renovation allowed the rockery to expand the yard and increase the space for each product, resulting in fewer large deliveries to the business.

The yard expansion also gave the rockery the space to create displays of the products just outside of the drive-through. With the display, the rockery has set up each of their products with a labeled sign to show customers how the rock, bark or dirt would look outside of their home.

We wanted to show people what it would look like on their property since a lot of the rocks can get dirty in the yard, Dunn said, who added some people brought up how dirty the rocks were in the yard. We wanted to show them that after you wash them or have a little rain, it can look like this.

Along with the large-scale demonstration, the rockery has also set up a smaller scale operation in front of the office, allowing customers to touch and view the product up close as well as see the differences between offerings. Dunn said the rockery has even created its own form of gravel for use around the property.

With the expansion, the rockery also started selling a few products in bags for customers that dont need a lot or dont have a vehicle that allows the person to transport a large amount of potting soil.

According to Dunn, the smallest quantity a customer can buy in the yard is half a cubic yard of material, the space equivalent to 27 bags of topsoil that weigh 40 pounds each.

While the COVID-19 pandemic kickstarted much of the renovation efforts at the rockery, Dunn said the pandemic has also increased business as people spend more time at home landscaping their properties. The uptick in business hasnt slowed down even as the community moves into the second year of the pandemic, Dunn said.

COVID was a complete flip of the switch as families had nothing to do, Dunn said. We were fortunate enough that we were able to stay open as families needed an outlet to do something. We went from zero to 100 overnight.
LANSING, MI - Civil rights activist Marian Wright Edelman once said that democracy cannot breathe and will die if those enjoined to protect it and uphold the laws snuff it out  with no consequences.

On Tuesday at the Michigan State Capitol, todays wave of Black activists from Detroit updated that message for modern times.

Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, led an April 13 rally alongside Mayor Mike Duggan and the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus to oppose voting measures introduced by the state Senate last month.

Invoking images of the COVID-19 age, he said these bills would usher in a political pandemic.

They would place democracy on a ventilator, he said to a crowd of about 100 on the Capitol steps. They dont provide greater access, but a grand scheme to suppress the rights of a select group of Michiganders.

The Lansing protest marks the latest plea from Democrats and activists to rally support against the 39 bill Senate package scheduled for initial deliberation this week. Senate Bills 273 through 311 cover a range of proposed changes, but opponents have focused on various controls to the absentee ballot process.

Read more: Michigan Senate GOP debuts election reforms critical of Secretary of States handling of November election

Duggan addressed a handful of these proposals:

Senate Bill 310 , sponsored by Sen. Ruth Johnson of Holly, which would require absentee ballot applications to only be sent to voters who request them, and that the Secretary of State could not share an online link to an application page.

Senate Bill 285 , sponsored by Sen. Lana Theis of Brighton, which would require absentee ballot applicants to attach a photocopy of a personal ID when submitting applications to local clerks.

Senate Bill 287 , sponsored by Sen. Jim Stamas of Midland, which would block the state or local clerks from pre-paying for postage on return absentee ballot envelopes, requiring the voter to pay for postage on a mail-in ballot.

Senate Bill 273 , sponsored by Johnson, which would require any absentee ballot drop boxes installed before 2020 to be approved by both the Secretary of State and the county board of canvassers by Oct. 1, 2021. Local clerks would also have to ensure constant video surveillance of the box.

Duggan asserted that these bills target low-income and minority communities.

Theyre structured in a way where the people who dont agree with the bill sponsors are the ones who are going to have the most trouble voting, he said. In short, they raise barriers.

Senate Republicans have pitched the bills with the slogan easier to vote, harder to cheat. Responding to opposition expressed by more than 30 Michigan corporations such as Ford or General Motors, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said the package is still in its infancy, and will be negotiated with his Senate colleagues from across the aisle.

Read more: Ford, GM, slew of Michigan corporations denounce Senate Republican voting bills

At all times, we must use logic, not political sentiment or wokeness to build good public policy that will serve all Michiganders and safeguard our democracy, he said in a statement. If having an ID is viewed as an obstacle to voting because there is a problem with getting ID, lets solve that problem.

The Senate package in its current form has more controls on the absentee ballot process than simply just having a personal ID.

Anthony praised the joint statement by the Michigan corporations, saying if you stop the money, you stop the honey from getting into office.

More than 20 Democratic lawmakers gathered on the Capitol steps as Sen. Erika Geiss of Taylor spoke on behalf of the states Legislative Black Caucus. She echoed the lsentiment that these bills suppress votes, but she also said they would make jobs harder for local clerks.

These bills complicate the jobs of clerks, the Secretary of State and other election workers who already do a yeomans job of running and administering elections, she said.

One of the packages lead sponsors is Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, who points to Senate Bill 286 as a counter to that point. It would ban the dropping off of absentee ballots in collection boxes after 5 p.m. the day before Election Day.

He argues that the whole process of collecting ballots for various boxes in a precinct, processing them and finally tabulating them can be expedited by simply telling people to vote in-person on Election Day (barring a public health emergency, he added).

If youre waiting til Election Day to vote, just walk inside the building and hand the ballot off to a person, so they can start working on that as soon as possible, he said, Rather than having a huge wave of them coming in after 8 p.m.

Geiss also lumped in a handful of election bills approved by the House of Representatives into her criticism. Five of the seven bills came from recommended changes from the Auditor General, and all of them were sponsored and approved on a bipartisan basis.

The measures would clean up the qualified voter files list of names, ensure better training of local clerks and improve campaign finance reporting.

The Senate will start hearings on the 39 bill package Wednesday afternoon, April 14 in the Senate Election Committee.

Read more from MLive:

Whitmer, Gilchrist & liberal activists prepping to fight Republican voting bills, potential petitions

Election hearings are back as lawmakers look to clear up confusion, initiate reform

Michigan senate passes resolution to oppose federal election reform bill

Michigan completes general election audits, no foul play found

Auditor-recommended election reforms approved in Michigan House
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenian historians have addressed an open letter to US President Joe Biden, hoping to see clearly the term genocide in his annual April 24 address.

The letter has been signed by the Union of Historians of Armenia, the History Institute of the National Academy of Sciences, the History Faculty of the Yerevan State University, the Institute for Armenian Scientific Research of the YSU, the Faculty of History and Social Science of the Armenian State Pedagogical University.

In the letter the historians state that they do not seek to scientifically prove once again the obvious fact of the Armenian Genocide. The concern is connected with the persistent denial by Turkey, which serves for that country as a carte blanche to make new genocidal acts.

The last of it was carried out against the peaceful population of the self-determined Nagorno Karabakh through broad involvement of international terrorist organizations. A NATO member state, combining the modern technical means provided by that powerful security system and the capacities of terrorist structures, has again behaved itself in Nagorno Karabakh as a serial killer because it has not yet been held accountable for its past crimes committed against humanity and civilization, the letter says.

The letter notes that Turkey poses a threat not only for Armenia, but also for all its neighbors and the entire civilized world.

The two major crimes committed against humanity and civilization during the First and Second World Wars  the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust, have outlined the clear line, with which the 20th century has set the red lines guaranteeing peaceful coexistence on the Planet Earth, which have become inseparable parts of whole human consciousness. Their protection and the prevention of new genocides firstly depend on the will and determination of the United States as one of the greatest countries which guarantees freedom and human rights in the whole world, the letter states, adding that the decisive condition for preventing the new genocidal aspirations of Turkey, bringing that country back to the field of its international obligations is overcoming the phenomenon of Turkish impunity through the unconditional and final recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

At this historic moment the souls of not only the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide, but also millions of people killed in violence and sufferings are praying with a hope to see clearly the GENOCIDE term in your annual April 24 address, the letter says.

Full text of the letter is available in Armenian.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla. on Feb. 27, 2021. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times)

Appalling But Not Unexpected: Pompeo Condemns Attack on Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press

The violent assault on the Hong Kong Epoch Times printing plant was appalling, but not unexpected, given the dwindling freedom in the city, according to former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The Chinese Communist Party continues to demonstrate they will not honor their agreement on the freedom of the people of Hong Kong, he said in a statement to The Epoch Times. The United States should send a clear message that continuing to oppress the people of Hong Kong and eroding their freedoms, particularly the freedom of the press will not be tolerated.

Around 4 a.m. on April 12, four masked men wielding sledgehammers broke into the printing shop. They smashed printing press equipment and threw construction debris, damaging multiple computers and the printing presss central control panel. The intrusion, which lasted about two minutes, forced the Hong Kong Epoch Times to temporarily stop printing just days before the sentencing of prominent local pro-democracy activists will be delivered.

It was the second attack the warehouse has suffered in 18 months. During that period, the Chinese regime has significantly tightened its grip on the city. Beijings rubber-stamp legislature approved a national security law that prohibits broadly defined crimes such as secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces, and most recently, a proposal to only allow those it considers patriots to rule Hong Kong.

A CCTV screenshot showing intruders dressed in black, one wielding a sledgehammer, damaging printing press equipment at the print shop of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times on April 12, 2021. (The Epoch Times)

Press freedom in the city has also been sliding downwards since the former British colony reverted back to Chinese rule in 1997. It now ranks in 80th place on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, down from 18th in 2002.

This attack on The Epoch Times is yet another deplorable example of increasing threats to media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong, and should be condemned unequivocally, said Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chief executive of Hong Kong Watch.

I have no doubt one of the mainif not the biggestcrimes the CCP holds freedom-loving Hong Kongers responsible for is that of having shown the entire world the true face of this cruel regime, said Laura Harth of Safeguard Defenders. She added that Hong Kongs free press opened a window of priceless value into the true nature of the CCP and its contempt for universal values.

Many of us asked ourselves how long these courageous voices and press staff would be allowed to continue, and unfortunately the answer is becoming clear all too rapidly, she said.

She noted that the government has moved to prosecute Jimmy Lai, business tycoon and publisher of local newspaper Apple Daily. Journalist Yvonne Tong from the public broadcaster RTHK, who previously challenged a World Health Organization official over Taiwan, has resigned reportedly under pressure and erased all tweets from her personal Twitter account.

Compounding these together with the egregious attack on Epoch Times printing press yesterday, the regimes intention is all too clear: impose the same wall of censorship and control reigning the mainland, impeding the world their right to know and possibility to act upon that evidence, said Harth.

Officials in the United States and elsewhere have also lent their support following the vandalism.

The recent attack on the Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press is a direct attack against the freedoms we hold dear in America and deserve universal condemnation, said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). The world has seen first-hand the deadly impact of the CCPs lack of transparency, and we must have more journalist organizations reporting on the atrocities of this regime.

A damaged computer and construction debris on the floor. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said The Epoch Times stands out as a valuable asset in the fight for truth and fair reporting.

The attack on its Hong Kong printing press is an age old battle between good versus evil as dishonest, power-lusting people attack free speech across the world, he told The Epoch Times. Hopefully, there will be courageous lovers of truth who will make their voices heard in condemning the barbarity.

Markus Wiechel, a Swedish Parliament member, called the intrusion terrible news, adding that the outlet fulfills an extremely important function as one of the very few independent media in Hong Kong to bring uncensored views.

Not least in these times when we see recurring violations of fundamental human rights and freedoms, which of course also include the right to freedom of the press and expression, those who stand up for these inviolable values also need to act, he said.

Lucio Malan, a member of the Italian Parliament, said the Monday attack is yet another act of brutality against Hong Kongs democracy and freedom by the Beijing regime.

That such an attack could happen without the connivance of the Chinese communist authorities is totally ruled out, he said in a statement to The Epoch Times. Alongside sophisticated 21st-century technology, Beijing also uses methods that are a hundred or two hundred years old.
The jury that will decide whether to send a man to the death chamber for shooting a San Antonio police detective has been chosen and a trial date set for July.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys picked a jury of 12 and two alternates late Friday for the capital murder trial of Otis McKane, said state District Judge Ron Rangel, who will preside over the trial.

The trial was set for July 12.

On ExpressNews.com: Jury selection resumes in the killing of SAPD Detective Ben Marconi

McKane, 36, is accused of killing Det. Benjamin Marconi, 50. He was working an overtime shift as a patrol officer and was writing a traffic citation in front of Public Safety Headquarters on Nov. 20, 2016, when a man came up behind him and shot him twice in the head.

Marconi had been with the department for 20 years. His killing, coming midday on a Sunday afternoon, shocked the community.

2 1 of 2 Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Marvin Pfeiffer /Staff Photographer Show More Show Less



Surveillance video from outside the police department showed McKane at the building in the hours before the shooting. He was arrested the next day and told police he was upset about a child custody battle and lashed out at the first officer he saw, according to reports.

Rangel, administrative judge for the district courts, said other in-person jury trials could restart as early as June, but it would depend on coronavirus numbers in Bexar County.

On ExpressNews.com: COVID froze the machinery of justice - now, in-person jury trials could resume in June

Before COVID-19 forced state judicial officials to suspend jury summonses in March last year, a large panel had been selected in preparation for picking a jury for the McKane case. That process, handled under different protocols because of the pandemic, had to be halted several times.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales is seeking the death penalty in the case.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
TBILISI  A court in Tbilisi has ordered the continued detention of the leader of the main opposition party, Nika Melia, whose case has roiled Georgia's political scene.

Judge Nino Chakhnashvili handed down her decision on April 13 while hundreds of Melia's supporters rallied outside the court building demanding release of the leader of the United National Movement (ENM).

Melia went on trial on April 8 charged with organizing "mass violence" during 2019 anti-government protests. Melia has rejected the charge, calling it politically motivated, which the ruling Georgian Dream party denies.

The decision to arrest Melia after he refused to pay an increased bail bond led to the resignation of Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia in February.

Gakharia said Melia's arrest was unacceptable if it threatened to fuel political divisions in the country of 3.7 million people.

The political scene in Georgia has been on the brink of crisis since October elections dominated by the Georgian Dream party, but which independent monitors said were marred by irregularities.

The Interior Ministry arrested Melia on February 23, five days after Gakharia stepped down, which further deepened an ongoing political crisis in the South Caucasus country caused by October parliamentary elections.

The 41-year-old politician faces up to nine years in prison if found guilty.

Two rounds of EU-mediated talks in March between the government and the opposition aimed at de-escalating the postelection tensions have failed to produce any breakthrough.
Press release

Paris, April 13th

HOPIUM announces the launch of UNA, its California-based subsidiary dedicated to blockchain technology.

Hopium (code Isin: FR0014000U63, Mnemonic: MLHPI), the first manufacturer of high-end hydrogen vehicles, announces the launch of UNA, a subsidiary based in California, that will be dedicated to blockchain technology.

The French car manufacturer Hopium continues to imagine the future of mobility by integrating blockchain technology at the source of the development of its hydrogen vehicle, a first in the automotive industry.

Through UNA, its Californian subsidiary based in "Silicon Beach", Hopium intends to harness emerging technologies to service both mankind and nature. The manufacturer aims to contribute to the decarbonization of the blockchain while serving the automotive sector through an encrypted ultra-secure and decentralized data system.

The philosophy of UNA Blockchain is to improve the balance between people, machines and the environment.

A team of developers and experts is currently working on the first phase of UNAs project. It will integrate integrate access to precise data on the ecological impact of vehicles, the creation of a personalized digital passport, a registration of ownership offering optimal security and traceability of the supply chain.

Although UNA is mainly at the service of Hopium, it aims to strengthen the blockchain ecosystem as a whole, to provide a strong response to the challenges of the sector and to help define the automotive standards of tomorrow.

About UNA

UNA is a blockchain company founded in 2021 by the hydrogen car manufacturer Hopium.

Based in Venice Beach, California, UNA embodies the next era of automotive and is poised to take a leadership position within the industry.

With an emphasis on ethics and transparency, UNA, along with key partners such as IBM Hyperledger, is leveraging next generation technologies to build a blockchain ecosystem capable of exceeding expectations.

www.unablockchain.io

About Hopium

Founded by Olivier Lombard, the youngest winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Hopium is a high-end hydrogen car manufacturer, the result of his experience as a professional racing driver.

Olivier Lombard, who carries in his blood an automobile legacy, has been driving hydrogen powered racing cars for 7 years, making him the world's most experienced racer in this field.

The race was like an open-air laboratory which made it possible for Olivier Lombard and his team to reflect on new mobility solutions to meet contemporary environmental challenges. While the transport sector alone is responsible for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, the company is positioning itself as a player in climate change.

Hopium brings together a team of leading partners and experts at the forefront of innovation in the hydrogen fuel cell, blockchain technology and automotive engineering sectors.

Hopium (FR0014000U63 - MLHPI) is listed on Euronext Access+ and is eligble et est eligible for PEA-PME.

www.hopium.com

Contacts :

Hopium

contact@hopium.com

Actifin

Financial Communication

Alexandre COMMEROT

07 85 55 25 25

acommerot@actifin.fr Actifin

Financial Press Relations

Jennifer JULLIA

06 47 97 54 87

jjullia@actifin.fr

------------------------

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- SECURITY MASTER Key:

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- Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com.

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Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-68654-2021.04.13.hopium.cp.blockchain.en.pdf
The White House announced on Monday that Pres. Joe Biden will nominate Christine Wormuth to be the Army Secretary.

Biden to Nominate First Female Army Secretary

Christine Wormuth will be the first female Army Secretary if she is confirmed. This is after the White House announced the interest of Pres. Joe Biden to nominate her in the job, according to a recently published article in The Hill.

She recently served as the head of Biden's Pentagon transition team. A position she took after Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks stepped aside to focus on her appointment and confirmation process.

If confirmed as Army secretary by the Senate, Wormuth would be one of the most important officials in a defense establishment long ruled by men. She will serve with the Army's chief of staff, Gen. James McConville, who does not command troops but is responsible for preparing and equipping them, along with the Army secretary, according to a published report in KCRA.

Republicans Warn Of the Negative Effect of Biden's Proposed Infrastructure Plan

Previous Jobs of Christine Wormuth

Christine Wormuth has vast experience in the military and Defense. During the Obama administration, she worked at the Pentagon. She also served as the Undersecretary of Defense for policy from 2014 to 2016.

The White House said that the department's third most powerful civilian job is advising two secretaries of Defense on the full range of foreign policy and national security issues.

In a recently published report in POLITICO, Wormuth is currently working as the International Security and Defense Policy Center director at the RAND Corp. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin praised her track record after he knew the announcement.

Trump, Expected to Tell Donors That Republicans Will Take White House in 2024

Wormuth Received Recognition from Defense Secretary

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recognized the achievements of Wormuth. He said in his prepared speech, "Christine is a true patriot with a dedicated career in service to America and our nation's security."

"I have no doubt that if confirmed she will lead our soldiers and represent their families with honor and integrity as the secretary of the Army," Austine continued. He believes that her track record is enough that her nomination will be confirmed.

If confirmed, she will take over the Army when it, like the other military branches, is working to modernize in preparation for the period of so-called great power rivalry with China and Russia.

White House Announced Other Nominations

Aside from Wormuth, the U.S. White House also announced other nominations that included Gil Cisneros to be undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness and Susanna Blume as director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.

Blume's position is a key office in charge of conducting unbiased analyses and evaluations of major defense programs and activities. She is now the acting head of that office and has previously filled senior Pentagon staff posts. Meanwhile, Cisneros is a former member of Congress and a Navy veteran.

Austin said that the nomination of "Christine Wormuth, Gil Cisneros, and Susanna Blume represent decades of combined expertise in national security and are well-positioned to take on the crises we face in the current moment and prepare ourselves for the threats of tomorrow."

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said Tuesday that the message to those who have not yet been vaccinated would be "to get vaccines that are available to them, because the risks from the pandemic are significant, and the government is really looking into, very carefully, any safety problems so that they can be managed properly with this particular vaccine and all vaccines."
Julie Wiejak, co-chairwoman of the Safe Return Task Force, said the university received 1,200 Pfizer doses yesterday and 1,100 people had already signed up for shots. If it appears there will be some doses left, Wiejak said PNW will put out an alert on social media and on WJOB, a Hammond radio station, so anyone in the community can get vaccinated.
A former Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, Rt Rev. Joseph K. Ato Brown, has urged the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Justina Marigold Assan, to distinguish herself in her new portfolio to justify President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos confidence in her.

The task given to you is obviously a difficult one and required you to serve to the best of your ability towards the realisation of the vision of the government aimed at bettering the lives of the people, he stated.



Thanksgiving service



Rt Rev. Brown was delivering a sermon at a thanksgiving service held in honour of Mrs Assan at the Emmanuel Society of the Methodist Church Ghana at Agona Swedru in the Central Region last Sunday.



The well-attended ceremony was graced by party faithful, family and friends, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executive (MMDCEs) and classmates of Swedru Secondary School (SWESCO).



Also in attendance were the Central Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr Robert Kutin Jnr; the Regional Secretary, Mr Takyi Mensah; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Agona West Constituency and former Gender Minister, Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison; the MP for Gomoa Central, Mrs Naana Eyiah Quansah, and other regional and constituency executive.



Be a true servant



Rt Rev. Brown entreated the minister not to depart from the virtues she exhibited during her tenure as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West since it was those traits that caught the attention of the President which led to her new portfolio.



I personally know you since your days as MCE as a humble and respectful person and urge you to be a listening leader who will listen and consult more towards the transformation of the region, he stated.



Many people may envy your position and may not like you but you should not be disturbed since you find yourself in a human institution, he said, adding that rather put your trust in the Almighty God and He will deliver you from the machinations of your enemies.



Partisanship



Addressing the gathering, Mrs Assan said the nation needed a political atmosphere devoid of extreme partisanship to be able to achieve her desired progress and development.



I, therefore, call on supporters of both NPP and NDC to show maturity and come together to drive the growth of the region, she stated.









Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Irish Water and Leitrim County Council are carrying out emergency repairs to two bursts on a watermain between Garvagh and Gortfadda to restore water to customers in the area.

Crews are working to repair the bursts on the watermain as quickly and as safely as possible and in line with Covid-19 protocols. Repairs are expected to be completed by 3pm today and it may take a further two to three hours for a full water supply to be returned.

Customers in the following areas will be without water today while these essential repairs are taking place: Garvagh, Gortyfadda and Drumkeilvhy. Customers in Drumkeilvhy, Gortleteragh, Killyvehy and Fearglass will experience reduced pressure. Customers in Cloone and Aughavas and local Group Water Schemes will also be impacted.

Georgina OReilly, Irish Water, said: Irish Water is working with Leitrim County Council and Farrans Construction to repair two bursts which are causing water outages to a large number of customers today.

"People living and working in these areas are asked to conserve water where possible and to only use what they need whilst continuing to adhere to public health advice on hand washing and hygiene regarding COVID-19 while these repairs are underway.

"Simple water conservation efforts can have a big impact, such as taking showers over baths and fixing dripping taps where it is possible to do so. There are lots more tips on how to conserve water in your home, business or school on our website at https://www.water.ie/ conservation/.

Irish Water continues to work at this time with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of both staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of critical drinking water and wastewater services. Irish Water would like to remind people to follow the HSE COVID-19 advice and ensure frequent handwashing.

Irish Water understands the inconvenience when a leak of this nature occurs and thanks customers for their patience while we work to repair the burst and restore normal supply to impacted customers. Irish Water regrets any inconvenience caused.

Our customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1850 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please see the water supply and services section of our website.
By Ahn Ho-young





The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. jointly hosted a webinar on April 1 on a topic we will have to face in not too distant future: "How Korea and the Korean business community must prepare for the Korea-U.S. Summit." As I sat through the seminar as a panelist, many thoughts crossed my mind. I wish to share some of them.



First, good preparation must start with a good study of President Biden and his team. What impresses me most about the team is the consistency of its focus on both domestic and foreign issues. On domestic issues, Biden has been consistently focused on the pandemic, jobs, climate change and racial harmony, often declaring that the government can make changes to all these issues and lead the U.S. through his "Build Back Better" agenda.



Biden has been equally consistent on foreign policy, declaring the return of the U.S. to the global leadership role, emphasizing the importance of allies and building coalitions with fellow democracies. Such consistency of focus is garnering much praise from Washington commentators: George Will's "Trumanesque foreign policy", and E.J. Dionne's "paradigm shifter," among them. More importantly, it offers a stable basis for further strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance.



Second, four weeks ago in this column, I suggested three issues for the 2+2 meeting that was held on March 17. They are key issues that should be addressed through the summit meeting as well. One issue the presidents must address is restoring trust in the alliance, which has been critically damaged in the past several years.



Trust cannot be built without common perception of threats and a shared sense of priorities in the efforts to be made to address those. After the release of the joint statement from the 2+2 meeting in Seoul, the Korean press took note of the conspicuous absence of the two allies' resolve to achieve North Korean denuclearization, in particular, in comparison to its salient coverage in the joint statements of the two preceding meetings, namely, the Quad summit meeting and the 2+2 meeting in Tokyo. Apart from the real significance of that absence, such a perception does not help to restore trust.



As for U.S.-China relations, Korea's position should be based on "strategic clarity" for the reasons I shared four weeks ago. After the 2+2 meeting in Seoul, the national security advisors of Korea, the U.S. and Japan met in Annapolis, near Washington, D.C. on April 3. On that same day, the foreign ministers of Korea and China met in Xiamen, Fujian province.



Again, apart from the real importance of the timing and the venue, these meetings added to the concern that Korea keeps straddling the fence between the U.S. and China. At the FKI-CSIS webinar, CSIS' Victor Cha characterized Korea's position as "hedging," and argued that the hedging space is being significantly narrowed, which must be taken into consideration.



In the webinar, Cha also addressed an issue I addressed four weeks ago: the perception of Korea turning increasingly inward-looking and becoming isolated. Such a perception of Korea, if left unaddressed, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, with impacts on our growth as a nation and the psyche of our citizens, especially of the young. This perception of Korea being too inward-looking is one key issue that must be addressed through the summit meeting.



Third, there was an impressive unanimity among all the webinar panelists that the Korea-U.S. alliance must move forward and collectively address the new issues and challenges of the 21st century: the pandemic, climate change, clean energy, critical technology, cyber-security and space.



As for clean energy, CSIS' Matthew Goodman gave a lengthy explanation on the central place the climate change issue assumes for the Biden team. He then suggested further strengthening Korea-U.S. cooperation on fuel cell and other clean energy technology. The Korean Chamber of Commerce's Woo Tae-hee welcomed the suggestion, and suggested joint R&D to develop the next generation of battery technology.



Batteries, of course, are one of the four vital products included in Biden's Feb. 24 Executive Order on the supply chain. Lee & Ko's Choi Seok-young explained the Korean business community's keen interest in the new U.S. administration's actions regarding the supply chain issue, and suggested that the U.S. engage Korean business more in implementing the Executive Order. Incidentally, the White House invited Samsung to the semiconductor meeting to be hosted by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on April 12.



With respect to trade issues, Goodman said that they are so far not a priority of the Biden. administration. He thus wondered how soon the U.S. could move on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) front, and suggested that Korea should best move first to join it. Choi countered with a view that many key trade issues, especially World Trade Organization (WTO) reform and Korea's accession to the CPTPP, would need more proactive engagement by the U.S.





Ahn Ho-young (hyahn78@mofa.or.kr) is president of the University of North Korean Studies. He has served as Korean ambassador to the United States as well as first vice foreign minister.


Most Bollywood celebrities are surrounded by one controversy or another. Also, they often deny if asked about their differences with other actors. However, sometimes we have seen them reacting just like a regular human being, we have seen the worst cat fights in Bollywood and we have also seen actor friends becoming strangers.



So, here are 5 Bollywood celebrities who held the longest grudge against their actor friends.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Sonam K Ahuja

This is the most confusing controversy that youll ever read about. In 2009, Sonam Kapoor became the brand ambassador of a beauty brand which was also endorsed by Aishwarya Rai and she didnt like it.



After this, Sonam said controversial things about Aishwarya in an interview. She said, "Aish has worked with my dad so I have to call her aunty na!"

Then in 2011, the two were supposed to walk the ramp together at the Cannes Film Festival in France. However, according to rumours Aishwarya refused to walk the ramp with Sonam and also said that she would quit if Sonam will be a part of it. But, later the two patched things up and then years later Aishwarya was seen at Sonams wedding.

Katrina Kaif & Deepika Padukone

Allegedly, Ranbir Kapoor cheated on Deepika Padukone with Katrina Kaif and later went on to date her after Ranbir and Katrinas breakup. This also led to rumours that both had problems with each other.

Later, Deepika and Ranbirs closeness also was one of the reasons behind Katrina and Ranbirs breakup. However, Katrina was spotted at Deepikas wedding reception. And Deepika said in an interview about Katrina, "A lot of water has flown under the bridge. For me, just the fact that she came and was very present was gracious.

Shah Rukh Khan & Ajay Devgn

Now, this one is quite silly. According to reports, Ajay Devgn didnt like the on-screen chemistry of SRK and Kajol and this became a major concern for him. This is also one reason that the actor started disliking SRK.

Also, things worsened between them when Son of Sardaar and Jab Tak Hai Jaan were released together. Now, both are on good terms and they also shot a commercial together.

Kareena Kapoor & Priyanka Chopra

The two were said to have become friends when they shot Aitraaz together. However, while traveling together for a concert years later, Priyanka and Kareena got into a fight. According to reports, "They had a huge fight and were screaming at each other. They almost came to blows. They had to be pulled apart."

Also, Kareena Kapoor commented on Priyanka Chopras accent in a Koffee With Karan episode, and later, Priyanka commented on Saifs in return. Kareena recently also praised Priyankas work outside India when they appeared on a Koffee With Karan episode together. To which Priyanka responded saying, "Thank you for acknowledging my work. I really admire her for being that way for me. I am grateful for words that came from her."

Salman Khan & Shah Rukh Khan

This started in the year 2002 when Salman Khan reportedly barged into the sets of Chalte Chalte to talk to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Then in 2008, Salman welcomed Gauri and SRK at Katrinas birthday party but kept taking digs at them. This argument turned into a physical fight and both had to be pulled apart.

Now, the two have made their peace with each other. SRK even shared what he told his kids about their fight. He said, "I was very ashamed over the Salman issue. I hope it never happens to me again. I didn't know how to explain it, and finally told them, 'There are some people who just don't get along. I'm not disturbed that Salman and I don't talk. We're too different. His life kuch aur hai aur mera kuch aur hai, and the train shall never meet."
A worker dressed in PPE talks with members of the public arriving to take COVID-19 tests at a mobile novel coronavirus surge testing centre in Brockwell Park in south London, on Apr. 13, 2021. (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP via Getty Images)

UK Launches Largest Surge Testing Operation to Curb SA Variant in London

UK health authorities are carrying out the countrys largest surge testing operation so far to curb the spread of the South African variant of the CCP virus in parts of South London, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said on Monday.

Extra testing and genomic sequencing are taking place across parts of South London, mainly in the boroughs of Wandsworth and Lambeth, where a cluster of cases of the mutant virus have been found since early March.

We are deploying extra surge testing & enhanced contact tracing in two London boroughs where the #COVID19 variant first identified in South Africa has been found. Everyone in these boroughs should request a PCR test:

Wandsworth

Lambeth More infohttps://t.co/CVdEJCrTEb  Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) April 13, 2021

To date, 44 confirmed cases and 30 probable cases have been found, the DHSC said, adding that all identified cases are isolating or have completed their isolation, and their contacts have been traced and asked to isolate.

Dr. Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for NHS Test and Trace, said the cluster of cases in South London is significant and urged people in the local area to play their part in stopping any further spread within the local community.

The government said everybody aged 11 years and over who resides in, works in, or travels through these boroughs is strongly encouraged to take a COVID-19 PCR test, even if they are not showing any symptoms.

Writing on Twitter, London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged anyone living or working in the affected areas to book a PCR test via your local council website as soon as possible.

Dr. Hopkins said: Around one in three people with COVID-19 dont show any symptoms. By taking part you can protect yourselves and your loved ones and help us identify any possible new cases that would otherwise be missed, preventing further transmission and saving lives.

Medical experts have warned that the South African variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus is more resistant to antibodies than the old variant and may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

A study published in February showed that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine did not seem to offer protection against mild and moderate cases of the South African variant.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in February that the UK authorities would come down hard on the mutant virus to curb its spread in the communities.
Long-time Around The Horn host Tony Reali is entering his 20th year on-air with ESPN, and hes now set for a few more. ESPN announced Tuesday that theyve signed Reali to a multi-year extension. Heres more from that release:

A host with a producers mentality, Reali has helped mentor ATHs recent influx of new panelists. He has also used his platform to speak openly about mental health awareness and other important issues, and he has been a champion for Special Olympics. My goal for every show, every day is to make people feel, said Reali. I want people to remember what we say and what we did  mute faces!  but Im most proud that we make people feel. Tony is the face of Around the Horn and hes a big reason why the show has been a staple of ESPNs weekday programming lineup all these years, said ESPN Executive Vice President, Event and Studio Production and Executive Editor, Norby Williamson. With multiple panelists and the scoring component, hosting this show is very challenging, yet Tony makes it look effortless.

Reali began his career with ESPN in 2000 at the age of 21, starting as a writer and researcher for quiz show Two Minute Drill. When Pardon The Interruption launched in 2001, Reali worked on it as Stat Boy, making end-of-episode on-air appearances to give hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon notes on anything they missed. Heres an early clip of him in that role:

Around The Horn launched in November 2002 with Max Kellerman as host, a role hed remain in until January 2004 (when he left for Fox Sports). Reali was initially a frequent guest host, and he was named the full-time host on February 2, 2004. Reali has hosted more than 3,800 ATH shows to date. Heres a compilation of some of his early ATH moments from a video ESPN put out in 2012:

Reali has been a steady face on a show thats seen a lot of contributors come and go over the years, and hes done a lot to contribute to ATHs remarkable longevity. There arent a lot of ESPN programs that have lasted that long, and its notable that two of them (PTI and ATH) featured significant involvement from Reali. Making it 20-plus years at ESPN is impressive enough in its own right, especially in an era of cutbacks, but doing so as an on-air talent hosting the same show for the majority of that time is particularly remarkable.

Reali has done important things with that platform, too. Hes spoken out on mental health, in support of the Special Olympics, about his familys journey with losing a child and welcoming another, and much more. And hes also supported panelists who have wanted to address important topics of their own. Heres one example of Reali speaking out on the importance of the Special Olympics following a proposed 2019 U.S. federal government cut of support (which ultimately didnt go through following massive backlash):

.@TonyReali with thoughts on @SpecialOlympics and the ways we are all asked to include all people, everyday. "This is a test for all of us. Do we include all? In what ways can we encourage better? We can't be brave in the fight and win unless we include and encourage all." pic.twitter.com/bg7aWGPiTH  Around The Horn (@AroundtheHorn) March 27, 2019

Realis run at ESPN overall and at ATH in particular has been remarkable. And with this extension, fans of him and the show will have Reali around for longer still.

[ESPN Front Row]
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By SAM METZ and KEN RITTER

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS  A desert city built on a reputation for excess and indulgence wants to become a model for restraint and conservation with a first-in-the-nation policy banning grass that nobody walks on.

Las Vegas-area water officials have spent two decades trying to get people to replace thirsty greenery with desert plants, and now they're asking the Nevada Legislature to outlaw roughly 40% of the turf that's left.





. . .
Bunny Wailers life and legacy received stirring tributes when several Dancehall and Reggae entertainers came together last Saturday, April 10 to celebrate what would have been his 74th birthday.

Wailer, also known as Jah B, died on March 2 after battling to recover from two strokes.

In a pre-recorded show called Rootsman Skanking at his Weymouth Drive home, several prominent Reggae and Dancehall artists came together to give the iconic Rastafarian a fitting celebration.

The show started with Bunny Wailer himself, outlining his vision for lime and tune. Besides stirring performances, many heartfelt tributes came in from artists like Spragga Benz, who shared that he was honored to have known Jah B. He thanked the legend for the guidance he provided.

The younger generation artists delivered high-energy performances as they celebrated Wailers birthday.

Chronixx was among those sharing his voice in tribute to the Reggae legend. He began his set with Wailers Ram Dancehall and followed it up with a performance of Keep on Moving. During his performance, he declared: Godfather an God of dancehall. No one sing dancehall like di great.

The second track was modified as Popcaan, who happened to be driving past the event, jumped on the set to pay his tribute thanking Jah B as he set the pace for we.

Popcaan then took center stage as he expertly mixed his track Family with the beat. Zamunda also jumped in, after being prompted by Popcaan, and he delivered a stirring performance of Jah Love Surround Me.

Another well-known musician Ibo Cooper also paid tribute. He charted new territory in music and left a legacy for our nation and the world. He capably played the supporting role when necessary but when his time came he played his leading role with equal capability, he said. He added that he hoped that Wailers legacy would be preserved and celebrated.

Throughout the presentation, several of his children described what it was like to live with him and how much they were inspired to be better because of his sacrifices. Wailer, whose real name was Neville Livingston, was the father to 13 children, 12 of them daughters. Some of them shared powerful anecdotes as his only son Asadenaki Wailer performed some of his tracks in the background.

Following the heartwarming tributes, Tony Rebel also graced the stage to sing Wailers popular track, Crucial. He tailored the track to reflect on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and urged those listening to take the situation seriously and even called on them to consider taking the vaccine.

Asadenaki spoke to the Jamaica Observer following the event about the need to protect and promote fathers legacy.

As I got older and more involved in the business, I saw the impact that his music had on the lives of people. His determination to own and preserve his image and works made me pledge to do the same with my own works and his legacy, he said.

Sadly, Wailer was never able to reunite with his beloved Jean Watt, affectionately known as Sister Jean who went missing on May 23. They shared a relationship of 50 years. The family is still holding out hope that she will be found.

Watch the full Rootsman Skankin below.
A teenager was on bail on charges of violence when he drove a stolen car and caused a crash that killed a 15-year-old girl, a court has heard.

The 16-year-old drove at between 122km/h and 130km/h, deliberately fishtailing along Old Geelong Road in Hoppers Crossing, when he lost control. The Subaru Liberty flipped and crashed into a tree about 6.30pm on March 27.

Makuini Rikiti died in the crash.

Makuini Rikiti, 15, one of four passengers in the car, suffered critical injuries and died soon after being taken to hospital.

The other four teens were either unhurt or suffered minor injuries. Two fled the scene after the crash.
DELHI: Amid spiralling coronavirus cases across the country, the Centre is reported to be mulling to reconsider its decision to conduct the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examination for Class 10 and 12 students in offline mode.

It may be noted that the CBSE Board exams are scheduled to be held from May 4 in the offline (traditional pen and paper) mode.

However, if the Education Ministry sources are to be believed, both the Education Ministry and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) officials are discussing if the Class 10, 12 board exams could be postponed in view of an unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases.

While the government is open to reconsidering the exam dates, the Board officials are not sure that there will be any changes in exam schedule announced earlier.

Besides students and their parents, several top political leaders and celebrities actors have demanded the Centre to reconsider its decision to hold the exams next month.

One among them is Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had earlier reiterated her call for cancelling CBSE Board exams. She had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank "to do the right thing" by calling off the tests in view of the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The Congress general secretary had on Sunday written to the education minister seeking cancellation of the CBSE Board exams, saying it will be impossible to ensure the safety of students at crowded exam centres.

In a tweet on Monday, she said, "Come on @cbseindia29 @DrRPNishank @narendramodi do the right thing!" She also posted the hashtag 'cancelboardexam2021'.

Priyanka Gandhi also tagged a tweet on the announcement that the Maharashtra government has postponed the state board exams of Classes 10 and 12, which were scheduled to be held later this month, in view of a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the state.

In her letter to the minister, she had said by forcing children to sit for these exams during a raging pandemic, the government and the CBSE will be held responsible if any exam centre becomes a hotspot with a large number of children becoming infected with the disease.

According to the revised date sheet for CBSE board exams 2021, the Class 10 exams would be held between May 4 and June 7 and those for Class 12 would be held between May 4 and June 15.

CBSE officials have said that exam centres across the country have been increased by 40-50 per cent to ensure social distancing among students.

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Idris Elba admitted his mother is still holding out hope that he will become the next James Bond, after confirming a feature length version of Luther is still in the works.

The actor has been repeatedly linked with the coveted role following Daniel Craig's confirmation that he will not return following the delayed release of No Time To Die - his sixth film as Bond.

But while Elba, 48, has previously admitted his chances of becoming the next 007 are remote, his mum Eve remains quietly optimistic.

Opening up: Idris Elba admitted his mother is still holding out hope that he will become the next James Bond, after confirming a feature length version of Luther is still in the works

Speaking to Capital XTRA on Tuesday, the British star admitted a big-screen addition to hugely popular BBC drama Luther is a more likely possibility.

He said: 'The Luther film is definitely coming, Im very excited. For the fans that have watched five seasons of Luther, I owe it to them to take it to the next level, and thats where the film comes in.

'I know the rumours about Bond have always chased me. Listen, my poor mum is like one day youre going to get it! I was like "mum, Im good, Ive got Luther". Im definitely doing that.'

The name's Bond: The actor has been repeatedly linked with the coveted role following Daniel Craig's confirmation that he will not return following the delayed release of No Time To Die

Divided opinion: While Elba, 48, has previously admitted his chances of becoming the next 007 are remote, his mum Eve (pictured) remains quietly optimistic

Looking ahead: Speaking to Capital XTRA on Tuesday, the British star admitted a big-screen addition to hugely popular BBC drama Luther is a more likely possibility

Hopeful: 'I know the rumours about Bond have always chased me. Listen, my poor mum is like one day youre going to get it! he said

Looking ahead to his latest projects, he added: 'Ive got Suicide Squad coming out this year, thats a good look. Im really excited about that. Shout out to James Garner who directed that, and his whole team.

'And then Im definitely doing more music. Ive got a tune thats coming that I think is gonna be the biggest tune of the summer  just putting it out there, just saying. And Im just having fun with the creativity.'

Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2019, Elba conceded he was not in the running to become the first black Bond in the franchise's 59 year history.

Success: Luther is expected to return in a feature length film, although a date is yet to be established

He said: 'Of course, if someone said to me "Do you want to play James Bond?", I'd be like, Yeah! That's fascinating to me.

'But it's not something I've expressed, like, Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.'

Reflecting on the debate regarding Bond's ethnicity, he added: 'You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, "It can't be."'

'And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn't work, or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That's a difficult position to put myself into when I don't need to.'
MIAMI, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Diplomatico Rum, a leader in the super-premium rum category, announced a pilot program focused on improving sustainability within the restaurant and bar industries while helping address the ongoing food insecurity issue in the United States.

Dubbed "Project Leftover," the Diplomatico Rum program aims to create and connect a network of local nonprofit food rescue organizations with restaurants and bars whose food surplus would previously go unused, while helping reduce their carbon footprints and directly reduce local food insecurity. Restaurants can also realize additional savings through an enhanced tax deduction designed to incentivize businesses to donate food1.

Food waste is a global problem and major contributor to climate change. Additionally, each year just in the US, 72 billion pounds of food goes to waste while 42 million people face hunger2. Both food insecurity and the environmental impact of food waste can be reduced if restaurants, a big contributor to the problem, stop wasting food.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry is in crisis. Food industry workers face decreased revenues, soaring unemployment, and increased food insecurity. Reducing food waste is a shared value opportunity that can positively impact the economy, help the environment and support the food insecurity crisis. In restaurants, reducing food waste can mean reduced operational costs, higher profit margins, public good-will and increased employee morale, all of which are good for business.

Project Leftover is being organized by The LBB Agency, which provides brands and the hospitality industry with a focused approach on how to implement conscious, purpose-driven and sustainable strategies into their work, a little bit at a time.

"Sustainability is at the heart of the Diplomatico brand, and Project Leftover is an extension of our long-standing commitment to making a difference," said Alex Fellows at Diplomatico. "Our distillery has developed the ability to recycle 100 percent of all solid waste generated during rum production, and 100 percent of the liquid waste is reused as organic fertilizer to grow the sugar cane, which covers 120 acres of farmland and helps local families with their own crops."

The program is expected to launch initially in South Florida with programs in Houston, New York and Los Angeles rolling out throughout 2021. Each market will enlist 25 participating restaurants and bars, who will be provided an individualized food waste reduction solution tailored to their business and paired with a local community partner organization.

Each partner organization will work with the restaurant or bar to pick up leftover food on a rolling basis and deliver it to local non-profits feeding those experiencing food insecurity.

Community partner organizations include (Subject to change):

"We are thankful for the opportunity to partner with Diplomatico Rum and the local establishments in our area to not only promote sustainability within the restaurant industry, but to also ensure that the extra food is being used to specifically help those in need right here in our community," said Sari Vatske, Executive Vice President at Feeding South Florida. "In South Florida, 1 in 6 people are food insecure, so every little bit of help we can provide goes a long way."

The program is a part of the brand's global sustainability platform, "Distilled Consciously," which is focused on improving sustainability within the restaurant and bar industries while helping address the ongoing food insecurity issue across the globe. As part of Diplomatico Rum's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) plan, "Distilled Consciously" sets the challenge of aligning efforts with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This CSR plan reinforces the brand's ongoing commitment to responsible production, good environmental practices, and social support for both workers and local communities.

In the US, Diplomatico Rum's goal for Project Leftover, running now through February 2022, is to donate a collective 35,000 pounds of food, which would have otherwise gone to landfills. This amount has a potential net benefit for 3.5 million gallons of water saved and over 29,000 meals recovered3. For more information about Diplomatico Rum, visit rondiplomatico.com and for more information on Project Leftover, visit rondiplomatico.com/sustainability.

About Diplomatico

Diplomatico is a super-premium rum from Venezuela. In 2018, Diplomatico was awarded Wine Enthusiast's prestigious "Spirit Brand of the Year," the first-ever rum to win in this category. The Diplomatico distillery is located at the foot of the Andes Mountains and is a family-owned brand inspired by the character of Don Juan Nieto Melendez, whose portrait is illustrated on its labels. Having produced top-quality spirits since 1959, Diplomatico's distillery combines traditional methods with modern technology to produce the finest of rums. The production area boasts great conditions for sugar cane and rum production including fertile lands, abundant water and a Caribbean climate.

The team of award-winning Master Blenders works diligently to create unique and complex rums. The product range consists of the Tradition Range: Planas, Mantuano and flagship Reserva Exclusiva, the Prestige Range: Single Vintage and Ambassador, both aged 12 years and finished in Spanish sherry casks for one and two years, respectively, as well as The Distillery Collection: a range of three limited production bottlings that showcase the distillery's unique distillation methods. www.rondiplomatico.com, @diplomaticorum

1  http://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Food-Donation-Fed-Tax-Guide-for-Pub-2.pdf

2  https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/National%20Projections%20Brief_3.9.2021_0.pdf

3  https://insights-engine.refed.com/impact-calculator?inputs=%7B%22sector%22%3Anull%2C%22type%22%3A%22standard-mix%22%2C%22unit%22%3A%22tons%22%2C%22alternative%22%3Afalse%2C%22destinations%22%3A%5B%5D%7D

SOURCE Diplomatico Rum

Related Links

https://rondiplomatico.com


NASHVILLE  Rising timber prices and the value of individual species have enticed thieves to steal timber across Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) urges forest landowners to be aware of timber theft and provides steps owners can take to protect their assets.

Timber theft can be financially devastating to a landowner, State Forester David Arnold said. The value of the timber is not the only loss. In most cases, the thieves damage property and negatively impact conservation efforts and wildlife. We want Tennessee landowners to know what they can do to help protect their property against theft or accidental harvest.

Steps to safeguard against timber theft include well-marked property boundaries and a plan of action for your property. Landowners without marked property lines can unintentionally invite timber theft when neighboring land is harvested. The plan of action is invaluable if you do not live on the property or if you plan to be away for an extended period. Your plan should include your name, how to contact you, and how to contact local law enforcement. Share your plan with neighbors so they can reach you if they see harvesting on your land.

A current timber inventory with estimated value is another helpful tool should any theft occur. Consulting foresters can help guide landowners on how to mark their property lines and how to mark trees prior to a timber sale. The Division of Forestry maintains a directory of private consulting foresters who specialize in timber inventory and in damage and trespass assessments at www.tn.gov/agriculture/forests/landowners/consulting-foresters.html.

Weve had reports of oak trees, poplar, and some hickory stolen in Middle and East Tennessee, Agricultural Crime Unit Special Agent LaLonna Kuehn said. One of the best ways to prevent this crime is to let your neighbors know if you will be removing timber from your property. If they havent heard from you and see harvesting, they should contact you or law enforcement immediately.

Whether the timber theft is intentional or accidental, it is a crime and can carry civil penalties of double or triple the current market value of the timber. If you experience timber theft, report the crime to the Agricultural Crime Unit (ACU) via the online Farm Tracs form found here www.tn.gov/agriculture/consumers/ag-crime-unit.html or contact your local law enforcement.

ACU is a specialized unit dedicated to investigating and enforcing state laws and regulations related to agriculture, forestry, animal health, and agribusinesses. Visit the ACUs webpage to learn more, www.tn.gov/agriculture/consumers/ag-crime-unit.

Photo of white oak by David Stephens at bugwood.org


Gov. Mike Dunleavy attended an Anchorage ceremony last week dedicating the first battery-powered electric bus to be used by a public transit agency in Alaska.
The Canadian government suspended export permits for such technology in early October one week after the outbreak of large-scale fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. It pledged to investigate reports that Turkish-manufactured Bayraktar TB2 combat drones heavily used by the Azerbaijani army are equipped with imaging and targeting systems made by L3Harris Wescam, a Canada-based firm.

Following this review, which found credible evidence that Canadian technology exported to Turkey was used in Nagorno-Karabakh, today I am announcing the cancellation of permits that were suspended in the fall of 2020, Canadas Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement issued on Monday.

This use was not consistent with Canadian foreign policy, nor end-use assurances given by Turkey, Garneau said, adding that he raised his concerns with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu earlier in the day.

Cavusoglu reportedly criticized the embargo and urged Canada to reconsider it.

Armenia did not immediately react to Ottawas decision to scrap export permits to Turkey altogether.

Yerevan had welcomed the suspension of such exports in October and urged other Western countries to follow Canadas example.

Karabakhs Armenian-backed army claimed to have shot down several Bayraktar drones during the six-week war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10.

The Armenian Defense Ministry released in late October photographs of what it described as fragments of such unmanned aerial vehicles. One of the photos purportedly showed a drones largely intact camera system.

It was manufactured by the Canadian company Wescam in June 2020 and installed on Bayraktar TB2 in September 2020, a ministry spokeswoman said at the time.

Canada had first suspended export licenses for such equipment in 2019 during Turkish military activities in Syria. The restrictions were then eased but re-imposed during the Karabakh war.

According to exports data cited by the Reuters news agency, Turkeys military exports to Azerbaijan rose six-fold last year, with sales of drones and other military equipment rising to $77 million in September 2020 alone. Most of the purchased drones, rocket launchers, ammunition and other weapons were delivered after July.
BATON ROUGE  The Louisiana Department of Health is placing a temporary pause on all administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine while federal health agencies investigate whether six reported cases of blood clotting in other states were caused by the vaccine. Providers in the state of Louisiana will continue to use the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and all Louisianans are encouraged to take advantage of the available vaccines, so the state can continue to slow the spread of COVID-19 and put the pandemic in its rearview.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have recommended that the United States pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution over six reported U.S. cases of a "rare and severe" type of blood clot.

Todays pause in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is out of an abundance of caution. This morning, I had a call with White House officials and other governors to discuss this issue as we work to safely get as many Louisianans 16 and older vaccinated as quickly and safely as possible. While I understand that this news may be concerning, I remain committed to working alongside public health experts to make sure people can get the answers they need to make an informed decision, Gov. John Bel Edwards said. Right now, there are two safe and effective vaccines  Pfizer and Moderna  available and being administered in Louisiana and I encourage everyone in Louisiana to keep their appointments and to take advantage of the vaccines we have available. Nearly one million Louisianans have already completed their vaccinations against COVID-19. There have been around 85,000 Johnson and Johnson doses administered in Louisiana and no reported cases of this rare blood clot that we are aware of. In the short-term, this means some community vaccination events may have to be rescheduled or shifted to use Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for now and working with the team from the Louisiana Department of Health and health care officials, we will continue the important work of administering vaccines.

While this news is frustrating and concerning, we appreciate the FDA acting with abundant caution and transparency, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisianas State Health Officer. We do not yet know whether these reported cases of blood clotting were caused by the vaccine. The State of Louisiana takes vaccine safety very seriously, and this temporary pause should give the public and providers confidence the system of monitoring and safety checks are working as intended.

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases. Until that process is complete, LDH is temporarily pausing in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, chest pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

Minor side effects are a normal sign the body is building protection. Side effects may include pain and swelling in the arm, fever, chills, tiredness or a headache. Most side effects will go away in a few days or less.

Vaccine availability of Pfizer and Moderna will continue uninterrupted.
Lt. Governor Visits Lourdes Vaccination Site

By West Kentucky Star Staff

PADUCAH - While visiting western Kentucky on Monday, Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman toured the vaccination site at Mercy Health Lourdes.Coleman toured several vaccination sites across western Kentucky to thank healthcare workers for their efforts and learn about any challenges they might be encountering.While visiting Mercy Health Lourdes, Coleman praised their vaccination process."What we're seeing here is exactly why Kentucky is one of the national leaders in our vaccination process. You see how effective and efficient it is." She continued, "To see the efficiency and the effectiveness that our medical community has been able to establish around this process is incredible."Coleman encouraged everyone who has already received a vaccine to discuss it with those that are hesitant."If you've gotten a vaccination, talk to your family and your friends. Encourage them to go and do it. Show them that you did it and that there's nothing to worry about," Coleman said.Mercy Health Lourdes vaccination clinic director Tennille Rushing told West Kentucky Star the event was well-timed.She said, "We are seeing more and more folks wanting to get their vaccination. They've seen their family members or colleagues come through, and they understand the value of it more and more. This is just another one of those encouraging tips."According to Rushing, the hospital has vaccinated approximately 12,000 people and tested over 100,000.
Monday, April 12th, some local schools reopened to students. Whether they were hybrid or fully remote, now some schools are allowing all students back to the classroom. We spoke with the Rome and Utica School District Superintendents.

Rome Free Academy had hybrid learning, but now students can go back full time. It was a busy day as schools prepared for all of the students coming back to in person learning. The Rome Free Academy Superintendent, Peter Blake, said "It's a great day. It's wonderful to welcome back the students that want to be back for in person learning."

Although, not everyone came to school today as remote learning is still an option. The Rome Superintendent said "By regulation we can't force people to come to school. We're required to offer full remote option for any family or student that wants that for the remainder of the year."

If you are on the fence about sending your kids back to school, just know that schools have strict safety regulations. The Rome Superintendent said "Having kids in the building is not new to us. We still have the virtual screening at home. Just the simple questionnaire, we have temperature checks, temperature stations when they come in the building. The frequent wiping of high touch surfaces throughout the day. Standard protocols that have been in place all year long."

For some other local schools, students haven't been inside for more than a year. But that changes today. The Utica City School District Superintendent, Bruce Karam, said "Well this is a day we've been looking forward to for a year. All the students are back full in person, except at the high school."

At Proctor High School, 11th and 12th graders are in person but 9th and 10th are remote learning. They are hoping to allow them to come back in a few weeks. The Utica Superintendent said "We're very happy that we can do it. The positivity rate on the virus is down. The vaccination rate is up. So there's a lot of good indicators out there. We're prepared, we have a good plan, and we're moving forward." Local schools must follow the CDC and NYS health department new guidelines that were issued on Friday.

And a reminder for parents, even if your kids are welcomed back to school, you still have the choice for them to continue remote learning.
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New Delhi: The third royal bath of the Maha Kumbh is on Wednesday (April 14). On the occasion several devotees will take a holy bath in the Ganga river at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.

The holy dip of Maha Kumbh comes when the country is fighting the second wave of COVID-19. Amid the COVID-19 guideline in place, the general public has been allowed at the Bramha Kund only till 7 am, post which, the area will be reserved for akharas. Devotees, however, have been allowed to take the holy dip on other ghats.

Earlier, officials revealed that by Monday evening on the occasion of the second holy dip more than 3.1 million devotees had bathed in the river, with many more expected to follow suit.

ALSO READ: Kumbh Mela 2021: Devotees participate in second 'Shahi Snan' at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar

The Maha Kumbh Mela authorities in Haridwar are struggling to ensure COVID-19 related guidelines as over 20 lakh pilgrims arrived at different ghats in the district on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya on Monday.

Most of the individuals were neither wearing masks nor adhering to social distancing protocols in the Maha Kumbh in Haridwar.

"We are continuously appealing to people to follow COVID-19 (/topic/covid-19) appropriate behaviour. But due to the huge crowd, it is practically not possible to issue challans today. It is very difficult to ensure social distancing at ghats," Kumbh Inspector General (IG) Sanjay Gunjyal said.

"A stampede-like situation may arise if we would try to enforce social distancing at ghats so we are unable to enforce social distancing here," he said on Monday.

Meanwhile, India registered more than 1.60 lakh COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day, according to the official figures released on Tuesday (April 13, 2021) morning. India recorded 1,61,736 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, besides 97,168 recoveries and 879 deaths.

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The Ukrainian government has allowed the Ministry of Justice to engage a legal advisor to defend the state in an Oleh Zhukovsky's $300 million lawsuit filed on January 4 this year against the National Bank of Ukraine with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

According to government resolution No. 261 dated March 31, 2021, these services will be procured using a negotiation procedure.

According to an explanatory note to the document, the National Bank received a statement of claim on February 5 this year, after which it turned to the Ministry of Justice for help. On March 11, an interdepartmental working group was created to protect the interests of the state in this case, which considered it necessary to involve the advisor.

According to the lawsuit, Zhukovsky is seeking to recover $102.2 million of the principal amount of the debt and the interest, penalties and fines on deposits in Brokbusinessbank, invested by companies ZUKK Trading Limited, Intertransgroup LLC and ex-MP from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc Mykola Kovzel and his assistant Vitaliy Didylivsky in 2012-2013. They transferred the rights to compensation for losses to Zhukovsky, who engaged Shutts & Bower in the lawsuit.

It claims that the officials of the National Bank were "accomplices" of the scheme for allegedly withdrawing money from Brokbusinessbank by business man Serhiy Kurchenko, and after a part of the funds in the amount of $172 million was returned as a result of special confiscation in 2017, they sent them to pay interest on eurobonds of Ukraine to American mutual funds including Franklin Templeton Investments, T. Rowe Price and TCW.

According to the lawsuit, criminal cases of embezzlement related to the case are being investigated in Ukraine and the United States, which corroborates the plaintiff's charges. In addition to Brokbusinessbank and Kurchenko, who bought it in 2013 without the permission of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine and his Real Bank, the plaintiff also accuses ex-Governor of the National Bank Serhiy Arbuzov, who allegedly assisted them and Ihor Sorkin, who replaced him, as well as Viktor Yanukovych, who was then President of Ukraine. The list of those involved also included Valeriya Gontareva, who became governor of the NBU after the escape of Yanukovych, under whom the deposits in Brokbusinessbank could not be returned.

In addition, the list of those involved contains ex-owners of PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov, their American partners Mordechai Korf and Uriel Laber, companies from the Optima group, as well as Ukrnafta and PrivatBank. The lawsuit alleges that the ex-owners of PrivatBank were involved in laundering Kurchenko's money and buying real estate in the United States using this money.
A 62-year-old pizza deliveryman has been punched, kicked and robbed in an attack caught on CCTV.

The robbery on Staten Island, New York happened at around 6.15pm on the evening of February 10.

The man was dropping pizza off when he was approached by five males in front of 151 Jersey Street who began taunting him.

A 62-year-old pizza deliveryman was punched, kicked and robbed in an attack caught on CCTV

The robbery on Staten Island, New York happened at around 6.15pm February 10

One of the crooks handed the delivery man a fake $20 bill then snatched it back while another tried to grab the pizza.

The surveillance footage shows the men knocking the deliveryman to the ground when he refused to hand over the pizza, before punching him in the head.

The assailants stole $100 and pizza from the man, according to a statement from the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The 62-year-old suffered cuts to his hands and swelling to his head in the attack.

He was treated by medics at the scene.

One of the crooks handed the delivery man a fake $20 bill then snatched it back while another tried to grab the pizza

Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with the incident, including a 16-year-old who was charged with robbery, grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Lamont Almon, 18, was charged with robbery.

Police are now seeking the publics assistance to find three people in connection with the robbery investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
The international body found that at least one chlorine bomb was dropped on the city of Saraqeb, intoxicating 12 people. The government claims the rebels staged the attack.

Damascus (AsiaNews/Agencies)  A team from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found "reasonable grounds to believe" that on 4 February 20218, the Syrian air force dropped at least one chlorine bomb on Saraqeb, a rebel-held city in the north-western part of the country.

The report by the Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) follows a visit it conducted at the scene of the alleged attack. The chlorine released by a Syrian helicopter intoxicated 12 people.

To reach their conclusion, OPCW investigators interviewed witnesses, analysed samples collected at the site, examined imagery, and spoke to experts.

The victims, rescuers and medical staff reported symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing, skin irritation, and chest pain, which toxicologists consider consistent with exposure to toxic gases such as chlorin.

The Syrian military has always denied using of chemical weapons. When questioned by the OPCW, Syrian officials blamed rescue workers and jihadist fighters, claiming that the latter brought chlorine-filled cylinders to the area to stage a gas attack. The ITT found no concrete evidence to back such claims.

This is not the first time that chemical weapons have been used in the Syrian conflict. Since 2013, the government and rebels have accused each other in connection with a number of attacks with chemical agents.

Sources close to the opposition to Bashar al-Assad have released images purported to show such attacks. The UN confirmed claims that government forces used chlorine bombs and sarin gas in the city of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017.

After Russia vetoed a resolution to extend the mandate of a joint UN-OPCW mission, the latter, which is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, continued its investigation into disputed incidents.
Two years ago, Li Dongliang opened his clothes factory in Myanmar. Today, he fears he will be forced to close his business and lay off 800 workers.

Lis business had already been struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then on February 1, the army took over the country and arrested many of its democratic leaders. People began to protest and were attacked by the army. During the violence, someone set fire to Lis factory. New orders for clothes stopped.

Clothes make up a third of Myanmars exports. Clothing factories employ about 700,000 workers, United Nations data shows. The problems facing clothing businesses in Myanmar have had a major effect on the countrys economy.

We would have no choice but to give up on Myanmar if there are no new orders in the next few months, Li told Reuters. He explained that he has been operating at about 20 percent of his normal work level. And he has already laid off 400 workers.

Li said he and many other business leaders were considering moving to other low-cost clothes manufacturing countries, like China, Cambodia and Vietnam. Several large, international clothes buyers have refused to trade with Myanmar because of the army takeover.

Chinese nationals like Li own and run nearly a third of Myanmars 600 clothes factories, says the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, a large investor group.

At least two other Chinese-financed clothes factories in Myanmar have decided to close, said Khin May Htway. She is managing partner of MyanWei Consulting Group, which assists Chinese investors in Myanmar. The two factories will lay off 3,000 workers.

Foreign investment in clothes rose sharply in Myanmar over the past ten years. Economic reforms, an end to Western sanctions and trade deals helped establish clothing as a major industry.

U.N. trade data shows that Myanmar clothing exports rose from less than $1 billion in 2011 to more than $6.5 billion in 2019.

But all clothing businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic, which brought on a recession. People have stopped going to stores to buy clothing. Ten of thousands of jobs have been lost in Myanmar and other parts of Asia.

Then the army took over the government.



The protests that followed made the streets dangerous and unpassable. Many people could not get to work. The banking system stopped working and it became impossible to get goods in and out of the country.

European and U.S. clothing importers said in a statement last month that they would not pull out of Myanmar. But they may not have a choice if the countrys situation does not change.

Some large clothing companies recently decided to halt orders from Myanmar. One of them was Swedens H&M, the worlds second-largest clothes seller.

In Vietnam, clothes factory owner Ravi Chunilal told Reuters he was starting to get more business from European buyers leaving Myanmar.

They dont want to abandon Myanmar ... but its being forced upon them, said Peter McAllister of Ethical Trade Initiative. It is a labor rights organization whose members include many well-known European stores.

McAllister said it would be very difficult for Myanmars clothes industry to recover if Chinese investors left. Many people have become loudly anti-Chinese since the army takeover because China has not condemned the army for its actions.

It was for this reason that several Chinese-owned factories, including Lis, were set on fire last month.

Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Myanmars clothing industry. The businesses employ mostly women workers who earn as little as $3.40 a day, the lowest pay in the area.

But the industry has provided an escape from poverty for many. Workers have left rural areas to work in the factories. They often send money back to their families.

Khin Maung Aye is the managing director of Lat War clothing factory, which employs 3,500 people. He says the industry could die if the military does not restore the democratically elected government.

That would result in terrible outcomes of poverty, he said.

The United States has placed targeted sanctions on Myanmars military government and has also ended all trade talks.

Im Susan Shand.

The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

lay off  v. to end employment for workers while there is not work for them to do

sanction  n. a restriction, usually limiting trade, that are meant to cause a country to obey international law

abandon  v. to stop doing something before it is finished

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:34:33|Editor: huaxia

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MOGADISHU, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Somali Parliament voted on Monday to extend President Mohamed Farmajo's term in office for two years.

Lower House Speaker Mohamed Mursal said 149 legislators endorsed the motion for the special electoral law on directing the national elections, three lawmakers opposed it while one abstained.

The resolution gives the National Independent Electoral Commission (NIEC) authority to hold elections in not more than two years and means that federal member states will continue functioning during the period.

According to the resolution passed in Parliament, elections will be based on one person one vote with the electoral mandate now shifted to the people.

Farmajo whose four year-term in office officially ended on Feb. 8 welcomed the resolution by Parliament and urged the citizens to seize the historic chance to choose their destiny as Parliament voted to return the elections mandate to the people.

The move he said came after the failure of the consultative talks between the government and leaders of the five federal member states to support the implementation of the pre-election deal inked in September 2020.

Farmajo said his government will play its key role in the implementation of the electoral law as passed by Parliament to rightfully restore the constitutional power to the Somali people.

"All government agencies shall carry out their mandates using diplomatic terms and principles without tolerating any external interference in important affairs, especially the country's elections," Farmajo said in a statement.

The president who is seeking another term in office has however been unable to find a truce with regional leaders and agree on a timetable for electing new office holders.

Newly formed alliance for opposition presidential candidates dubbed the National Salvation Forum has also warned it will not accept term extension for constitutional office holders. Enditem
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The Office of the Third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has commented on the statement of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev about the agreement on handing over the lands of Nagorno Karabakh within two weeks after the 2016 April Four-Day War.

After several attempts to falsify the history and culture of Armenia, privatize the historical cradle of the Armenian people, Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia with its capital, Ilham the falsifier decided to falsify the history of the negotiation process with his own cynicism. He decided to turn the failure of Azerbaijan in the April four-day war into a victory, to attribute his indirect request to end the war to the other side, to come up with texts of a dialogue as direct quotes, citing this falsification. And he found a way to replace the truth with his own lie, repeating the same thing over and over until the other person gets tired of denying it or just ignores a liar like him, leaving only his lie as the only proof of reality.

The truth is that Serzh Sargsyan had promised that the Armenian side would never give up the territories considered as a security zone should Ilham Aliyev not comply with the demands of the Armenian side to determine the status of Nagorno Karabakh outside Azerbaijan, ensure a reliable land border / inland communication between Armenia and Artsakh, and provide a pledge for internationally guaranteed security for the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

The present-day boldness of Ilham Aliyev who regularly lost to Serzh Sargsyan in the war is understandable on the diplomatic front, but at the same time the sometimes contradictory statements of the President of Azerbaijan, who has lost his temper, are ridiculous. According to Aliyev, Serzh Sargsyan first refused to return the lands: Karvachar and Lachin were not to be surrendered in any case under Serzh Sargsyan; they finally captured them heroically in 2020; then that Serzh Sargsyan had promised to hand over the lands and did not hand them over, and in a third case, he was being urged to recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh behind closed doors, but Azerbaijan would never agree to take that step.

Ilham the falsifier should decide at last which of his lies is more correct, the Office of the Third President said in a statement.
A French court has revisited one of the 2018 court cases against Quantic Dream overturned the decision of that unfair dismissal case which, at the time, found that the employee had been forced out of the studio by toxic and predatory behavior.

In a ruling shared by GamesIndustry.biz (via IGN) this week, the court has come to the consensus that the allegedly misogynistic, homophobic, and racist culture at Quantic Dream wasn't the reason for the employee's departure, and therefore the unfair dismissal ruling doesn't apply.

The earlier case concerned a number of reports published by French media outlets that levied serious misconduct allegations against Quantic Dream co-founders David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumiere, and detailed other instances of toxic and predatory behavior at the studio.

Those allegations included mention of an internal collection of 600 photoshopped images, allegedly ranging from homophobic and sexist jokes to altered images of employees along those same lines.

Four former Quantic Dream employees cited the information uncovered by that report as the grounds for their unfair dismissal claims. The court sided with the ex-employee in only one of those cases and, as of this latest decision, the court has overturned the 2018 ruling on the grounds that the discovery of those images weren't directly responsible for the employee's departure from Quantic Dream.

According to the Court of Appeals, that one employee was only featured in one of the infamous photoshops in that collection of 600, and that the employee in question knew about the image when it was created in 2015, not in 2018 as he argued in the unfair dismissal case, so unfair dismissal no longer applies. As such, that individual is now on the hook to pay Quantic Dream around $12,000.

Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain developer Quantic Dream, meanwhile, paints the ruling as a dismissal of those toxic culture allegations as a whole in a statement issued following the ruling.

"In January 2018, three articles published in the French press made extremely serious accusations against Quantic Dream, claiming in particular a 'toxic' corporate culture, characterized by 'misogynistic,' 'sexist.' 'homophobic' and 'racist' behaviors, as well as alleged financial malpractice and supposed 'liberties taken with labor laws,'" said the company in a statement.

"These accusations, formally denied by the company, its managers, its Staff Representatives, and its employees, and contradicted by the reality of objectively verifiable facts, seriously damaged the honor and reputation of the studio. On April 7, 2021, the Paris Court of Appeals issued a new court decision, which once again very clearly establishes the facts and responsibilities in this case, by dismissing the plaintiffs claims in their entirety."

[UPDATE 6 PM ET: This story was updated to add additional context on the court's decision.]
TAMPA, Fla., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Re-Bath, the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling company, is marking the opening of its Tampa location with an official grand opening event, April 22 from 4  7 p.m. at its showroom located in the Brandon Mall at 459 Brandon Town Center. Community members are encouraged to attend the event that will bring together mall merchants, feature restaurant partners, kid's activities and more, all while having the opportunity to browse the showroom floor to find solutions for design and remodeling needs. Throughout the event, customers will receive various discounts and offers including $1,000 off a complete bathroom remodel, $500 off a tub to shower conversion, $100 gift cards for referrals, plus financing promotions with EnerBank USA.

Re-Bath  Tampa is owned and operated by previous industry colleagues, Rhina Rubio and Jackie Ruiz. Rubio is an industry leader in the retail environment having managed various stores and districts for Sears, Macy's, and Lowe's for over 20 years. Ruiz holds an interior design degree and brings over 20 plus years in the kitchen and bath industry as a sales leader for Builders Square, Expo Design Center, and Lowe's amongst other. With a desire to meet consumer demand for effortless bathroom solutions, the duo has been hard at work establishing community connections while growing their Re-Bath portfolio, also owning and operating Re-Bath St. Petersburg, which just began servicing the community in March 2021. With a population of nearly five million people spanning East Auburndale to St. Petersburg, Rubio and Ruiz aim to bring convenience and high-quality bathroom remodeling services to the community as demand for home improvement projects continue to surge.

"We are extremely excited to be servicing homeowners in the greater Tampa community by providing a best-in-class business to turn to for their remodeling needs," said Rubio. "It's been incredible to see the immediate impact this business has on not only the community as a whole but the specific families and their homes where we work to help find the perfect solutions and craft a design to transform their space into the bathroom of their dreams," added Ruiz.

The event is set to kick off with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony with Brittany Tribou, President of The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, who will officially welcome the Re-Bath business to the community. Also in attendance, will be key members from the Re-Bath corporate leadership team, including COO David Dunsmuir, in addition to vendor partners, designers, and installers  all on hand to answer specific remodeling, product, and service related questions.

"We're thrilled to have Rhina and Jackie join the Re-Bath family," said Dunsmuir. "As we continue expansion throughout the country, it's so important that we partner with community leaders who are passionate about the remodeling industry and are committed to going above and beyond to provide an unmatched customer service experience. This duo is 100% aligned with our core values and we are confident they will make a true impact in their community."

Re-Bath has grown into a trusted and respected brand known for providing expert, affordable, and effortless bathroom remodeling solutions that transform homeowners' bathrooms in days, not weeks. Whether seeking a tub or shower area update, better accessibility and safety in your bathroom or a complete bathroom remodel, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling easy. The company's exclusive remodel process removes old materials and fixtures and replaces them with beautiful new options in a wide variety of colors and styles.

"We are extremely impressed with Rhina and Jackie's level of sophistication and deep industry knowledge," said Re-Bath CEO, Brad Hillier. "Their ability to connect with the community and go above and beyond in customer service is what makes them standout owners in their market. We have complete confidence they will be outstanding stewards of the Re-Bath brand as they continue to grow their portfolio and service the greater Tampa market."

To learn more about Re-Bath for your bathroom remodeling needs, please visit https://www.rebath.com/location/tampa/ or https://www.rebath.com/location/stpetersburg/ .

About Re-Bath

Re-Bath is the nation's largest complete bathroom remodeling franchise that has grown to more than 100 locations across the country. The parent company's first entry in the bathroom remodeling industry occurred in 1978 and focused on the hospitality sector. In 1991, Re-Bath launched its first franchise location to focus on the residential market. The company offers complete bathroom remodels, tub and shower updates, plus aging and accessibility solutions. From simple bathtub replacements to complete bathroom redesigns, Re-Bath makes bathroom remodeling effortless, convenient and affordable, all with professional, friendly and factory-trained installers. Re-Bath is a one-stop service that covers the entire process  from design to done  in three easy steps: consultation, removal, and installation. Re-Bath assembles its own exclusive line of products at its headquarters located in Phoenix, Ariz., and offers best-in-class products from national brands for its customers. For more information please visit www.rebath.com or www.rebathfranchise.com for more details on the franchise opportunity.

Media Contact: Kelly McNamara, [email protected], (847) 945-1300

SOURCE Re-Bath

Related Links

https://www.rebath.com/


"China is really an impressive example of an outlier in the positive sense," the International Monetary Fund's Tobias Adrian told CNBC last week as the institution projected 8.4% GDP growth for China this year. He added, "They have cracked down on the pandemic very aggressively, very early and the economy really already came back to normal levels at the middle of last year, so way ahead of any country in the world." The forecast follows on from China's growth of 2.3% last year, making it the only major economy to post positive growth, bucking the severe global recession brought about by pandemic shutdowns.



While 2021 will of course be a year of economic recovery all around the world, something which will in turn drag China's growth rate back up in line with resurgent trade and growing demand for consumer goods, nonetheless, the consistent growth ultimately demonstrates the resilience of the Chinese economy, its ability to weather crisis, its role in supply chains and its sustained potential.

But how has China been able to sustain growth? While some countries such as the United States sought to facilitate economic recovery by pouring trillions of dollars into stimulus bills, China noticeably did not seek to resuscitate its economy by going into debt. Although this was the country's response to the 2008 financial crisis, Beijing's growth strategy has since emphasized sustainability. Instead of splashing the cash, China focused on a long-term strategy of opting for "stability" and that involved allowing the economy to naturally recuperate by opting for total eradication of COVID-19 within its borders.

Eliminating the virus has involved airtight lockdowns and travel curbs in response to any outbreaks, be it entire cities or isolated neighborhoods if necessary, and a comprehensive testing mechanism that "leaves no stone unturned" whereby all individuals in a given area are tested at the first sign of trouble. Recently, this has also been expanded to mass vaccination campaigns whereby all people eligible for vaccination in an affected area are encouraged to get vaccinated, and authorities ensure access to vaccines in response to an outbreak.

As a result, China has been able to attain outright stability for well over a year, and, despite multiple huge global outbreaks of COVID-19, has been able to successfully avoid the second and third waves other countries have experienced. This has allowed the natural facilitation of economic growth, a reignition of consumerism and also a huge intake in foreign direct investment as investors fled less economically stable regions for the secure environment of China. This led China to become the largest recipient of FDI in the world last year. China's stability has also allowed the country to play a pivotal role in the supply of medical resources having not had to enforce any new national shutdowns, and likewise is again serving that purpose through vaccines.

These circumstances have allowed China's growth to subsequently accelerate further in 2021 and be lifted further up by global trends. In essence, China has been an anchor and facilitator within the global recovery. Its economy has shown resilience and endurance through one of the deepest crises on record and has still been able to come out with an optimistic picture. The Western media, so obsessed with pushing a geopolitical agenda against Beijing, has ultimately failed to acknowledge or appreciate this. The idea of an economic future which China is detached from, or plays less of a role in, is simply incomprehensible.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
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In L.A. County there are, and have been for years, stark health disparities between Black families and those of other races.

Black babies born here are three times more likely than white babies to die before their first birthday, and Black moms are four times more likely than white moms to die of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Research suggests the root cause is not any singular behavior, rather it's a lifetime of living with racism, an experience sometimes called "weathering."

"What that stands for is the idea that being a black woman in America is associated with such adverse experience that it ages you  it ages you  before your time," said Dr. Deborah Allen, deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health during a press conference Monday.

Three years ago, the department committed to reducing the gap between Black and white infant mortality by 30% by 2023.

"Racism is so pervasive a social phenomenon in our society, that we can't make this a project, if you will, for one agency," Allen said. "This really has to be a movement, and it has to include all sectors in the county."

For a few examples of this effort, see our stories about midwives who are expanding options for birthing in South L.A. and doulas who've adapted to working during the pandemic.

"To call together this community has really been a labor of love," said Adjoa Jones, founding leader of the County's African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Community Action Team. "We can come together, we who are impacted by this issue, can come together and address this."

Part of this expansive effort is Black Maternal Health Week, a nationwide initiative created four years ago by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance to encourage "awareness, activism, and community building."

A mural on the walls of the courtyard at Kindred Space LA. (Chava Sanchez / LAist)

HERE ARE A FEW WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN L.A.

Learn how to create family-centered care

TUESDAY, APRIL 13; 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Virtual event



Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist LeHenry Solomon moderates a conversation about doulas, fathers supporting mothers during labor, home visitation and the Black Daddy Dialogue support group. The conversation will also be livestreamed on Facebook. Here's MORE INFO.

Donate toys to South L.A. and South Bay families

TUESDAY, APRIL 13 and WEDNESDAY, April 14

Meet Antelope Valley doulas

TUESDAY, APRIL 13; 12 p.m.

Virtual event



Learn about how doulas can support families in pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Hosted by the Antelope Valley African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative. Here's MORE INFO.

Cook tasty and nutritious food for breastfeeding mothers

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14; 12 p.m.

Virtual event



Join the Kitchen Divas on Zoom to learn more about preparing meals and treats to nourish breastfeeding mothers. Presented by non-profit Black Women for Wellness. Here's MORE INFO.

Pick up some fresh produce in the San Gabriel Valley

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14; 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Pomona Wellness Community-- 750 S Park Avenue Pomona, CA 91766



A drive-through giveaway of fresh produce, masks, hand sanitizer, home goods and baby supplies for San Gabriel Valley families that "identify as African-American, Black and/or African descent" with at least one child in the family. Here's MORE INFO.

Connect the dots between health disparities and solutions

THURSDAY, APRIL 15; 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Learn how collaboration can improve the health of Black families

THURSDAY, APRIL 15; 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Virtual event



A roundtable discussion between clinicians, family members, birth workers and advocates for Black maternal health hosted by March of Dimes Greater Los Angeles, Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. Pasadena chapter and Links, Inc. San Fernando Valley chapter. Join via Zoom meeting ID: 903 596 5996

Honor lost pregnancies and babies

FRIDAY, APRIL 16; 9:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Virtual event



Join the Antelope Valley African American Infant and Maternal Mortality Initiative in remembering those lost in pregnancy and infancy. Here's MORE INFO.

Refill needed family supplies

FRIDAY, APRIL 16; 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Miller Family Health Education Center -- 3820 Cherry Ave. Long Beach, CA 90807



The Long Beach Black Infant Health program is giving away diapers, wipes, educational materials for kids and more. Participants must register on Eventbrite and can call or text 562-246-6218 with questions. Here's MORE INFO.

Get to know your pelvic floor

FRIDAY, APRIL 16; 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Virtual event



Learn how to prep your pelvic floor for labor, ask questions about preventing prolapse and tearing and more during this workshop from the Children's Collective Black Infant Health Program. Here's MORE INFO.

Love yourself

FRIDAY, APRIL 16; 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Virtual event



Self care...in this pandemic? Licensed clinical social worker and mental health entrepreneur Nakeya Fields leads a workshop on self-love, accountability, forgiveness and accessing mental health resources. Here's MORE INFO.

Amplify the experiences of Black mothers

MONDAY, APRIL 19; 2-3:00 p.m.

Virtual event



March of Dimes Greater Los Angeles Maternal and Infant Health Director Mashariki Kudumu and journalist Kimberly Seals Aller discuss how to uplift the stories of Black mothers and her new app, Irth, "a tool for Black and brown parents to use in creating accountability around bias and racism in maternity and infant care." The event is hosted by the Los Angeles Public Library with March of Dimes and the initiative Cherished Futures. Here's MORE INFO.

Listen to some podcasts

ANYTIME
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This April for Limb Loss Awareness Month, prosthetic and orthotic company Click Medical is giving back through each sale by donating to the global non-profit Range of Motion Project (ROMP). The goal of Limb Loss Awareness Month is to recognize those living with limb loss/difference and to bring awareness and a voice to this community, while aiming to help those in need.

Giving the gift of mobility

Click Medical is donating $1 to ROMP for every RevoFit and RevoLock prosthetics kit sold during the month of April, which through ROMP's mission and services will go directly to providing prosthetic and orthotic care to those without access to these services. "Every time you use a Click Medical kit this month, know that you are not only helping your patient and yourself with the benefits of adjustability, but you are also helping someone in an underserved population get the prosthetic care they need," said Jen Howland, Click Medical's Vice President of Marketing.

In developing countries, amputation is more prevalent while access to prosthetic care is less available. The World Health Organization estimates that nine out of 10 people worldwide who need assistive technologies including prosthetic care cannot access it. "Working in low resource countries and rural communities warrants a major need for adjustability in sockets," said ROMP co-founder David Krupa. "This is a necessary solution for our patients who cannot access regular visits to a clinic for socket changes, as well as the everyday comfort that amputees deserve in their pursuit of mobility. RevoFit technology gives our patients the ability to micro adjust themselves."

Click and ROMP changing lives together

In 2019, ROMP and Click Medical came together to bring Click's adjustable technologies to ROMP patients in Latin America. Click Medical co-founder Joe Mahon traveled to ROMP's clinic in Quito, Ecuador to train local staff on how to fabricate adjustable sockets. ROMP plans to fit hundreds of adjustable sockets on patients through the partnership. Click Medical is not only supporting ROMP's mission financially but also through innovation, education, and access to their amazing technologies.

"We are proud to partner with ROMP and we fully support their mission to provide high-quality prosthetic devices to underserved populations," said Mahon. "ROMP has worked tirelessly over the past 15 years to create sustainable programs that provide mobility to thousands of people across two continents. A model we admire and can get behind! Empowering people with mobility and adjustability are common goals that we believe in and constantly pursue. We are excited to be working with ROMP and help assist in their effort to unlock the human potential within these emerging markets."

"Click's partnership with ROMP is truly special," said Howland. "Not only do we have alignment on our individual company missions as we grow awareness of Click Technology but we get to share profound ideas to further the commitment to all amputees worldwide. What ROMP has done and will do leaves us not only inspired but motivated to think bigger."

To help give the gift of mobility for Limb Loss Awareness Month, visit clickmedical.com to purchase a kit. For every RevoFit and RevoLock prosthetics kit sold during the month of April, $1 will be donated to ROMP. For more information about the Range of Motion Project visit www.rompglobal.org.

About Click Medical

Click Medical is changing the Orthotic and Prosthetic industry with its revolutionary technologies that add adjustability to sockets. With RevoFit and RevoLock, prosthetists can give their patients the ability to micro-adjust their sockets themselves by simply turning a dial.

About ROMP

The Range of Motion Project (ROMP) is a non-profit healthcare organization dedicated to providing prosthetic and orthotic care to those without access to these services. Through quality clinical care, local investments, and advocacy, ROMP refurbishes donated components and purchases new components to get patients what they need. ROMP aims to return patients to their families and communities as productive, healthy individuals after receiving prosthetic care.



Media Contact:

Kendra Walker, PR coordinator

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Range of Motion Project

Related Links

http://www.rompglobal.org


Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 14:11:14|Editor: huaxia

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MALE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Monthly tourism arrivals have been on the rise in the Maldives, with over 330,000 tourists visiting the country between January and March, local media citing the Ministry of Tourism reported here Tuesday.

Data from the Ministry of Tourism showed that 109,585 tourists arrived in March, up from 96,882 tourist arrivals in February, and 92,103 tourist arrivals in January. A further 35,358 tourists have arrived in the country in the first 10 days of April.

The daily average for tourism arrivals has gradually risen every month from 2,971 in January, to 3,460 in February, and 3,535 in March. Twenty-three percent of the tourists came from India while 21 percent came from Russia.

Maldives briefly closed its borders to tourism last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and re-opened on July 15, 2020. Enditem
(CNN)  No classes will be held for the next two days at a school in Knoxville, Tennessee after a shooting left one student dead and a police officer injured.

Counselors will be available at Austin-East Magnet High School Tuesday Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said during a press conference Monday.

Thomas said a decision about the rest of the week's classes will be made later.

"We are all devastated by this tragedy," he said.

The superintendent was speaking after a traumatic day in which officers responded to a call of a potentially armed person Monday afternoon and found the person in the school bathroom, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations (TBI) Director David Rausch said during the press conference.

Rausch said that officers ordered him out but he refused and fired shots, prompting one officer to return fire.

The gunman died at the scene, according to Rausch. He was identified as a student at the school but his name has not been released.

The shooting is just the latest gun violence incident to plague the school, which has already lost four students in the last few months, Knoxville Fire Department Capt. D.J. Corcoran told CNN in an email Monday.

'Our worst fear'

The investigation is continuing and the findings will be shared with the local District Attorney, Rausch said during the press conference.

Rausch said this is not a "school shooting" but is an "officer-involved shooting at a school," noting that the distinction is important.

"It's our worst fear, an active shooter in a school," Knoxville Police Chief Eve Thomas said during the press conference.

"We all need to work together to stop the violence," Mayor Indya Kincannon said, according to CNN affiliate WVLT. "It's a big challenge and we're going to need the whole city to work together."

Austin-East Magnet High School is a Title 1 school, which is a federal program providing financial assistance to "schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families," according to the US education department.

The school's website says it has "a performing arts focus that offers resources including visual arts, CTE and rigorous academic courses."

Responders trained for incidents like this

The injured officer is "conscious" and "going to be OK," Kincannon said, adding that she spoke with him and he was in good spirits.

"I thanked him for putting his life on the line to protect the students and staff at the school, and he said he'd rather he be hurt than anybody else," the mayor said.

The Knoxville Fire Department has trained for these kinds of incidents.

Fire Department Captain Corcoran told CNN in an email that the department co-trained with the KPD's SWAT team for incidents like this, "entering into a potential hot zone where it's unknown if there is still an active shooter on the loose".

"Unfortunately that training was used today when responding to Austin East high school," Corcoran said. "As far as our response to the incident, it was a successful one."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Classes canceled at Knoxville school for two days after shooting leaves student dead and officer injured"
The world needs to understand feelings of the Azerbaijani people, who liberated their native lands after 30 years of occupation and discovered how devastated they were by the invaders from Armenia over the years, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, speaking at the the "New vision for South Caucasus: Post-conflict development and cooperation" international conference, which was held at ADA University.

"Before talking about post conflict development we need to understand that our lands were under occupation for 30 years. And we cannot exclude our memories of those who lost their family members, the memory of those who were deprived from the fundamental right to live in their own lands. We cannot forget the atrocities committed by Armenian army. We cannot and will never forget Khojaly genocide and the innocent victims of Khojaly genocide organized by the leaders of Armenia and the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh regime. Therefore, its very important to understand that this memory will be with us. We will keep it in our heart," Ilham Aliyev stressed in the first place.

"At the same time, we need to look to the future. Also, the destructions on the territories which we liberated are beyond all our worst expectations. Because we more or less knew what Armenians have done to our citizen villages. Because there have been from time to time some video footages some information from some international representatives who managed to visit those lands. By the way, you probably know that foreigners who were illegally visiting then Nagorno-Karabakh were deprived from visiting territories which you have visited. They were deprived from going to Aghdam, to Fusilli, to other territories which surrounded the former NKAO. Because Armenian government didn't want foreigners to see the devastation and to see their hatred for Azerbaijanis," the Azerbaijani leader said.

"Because it's clear that those destructions and devastations were done after the First Karabakh war stopped - and it was not possible to destroy citizen villages during the war. They did it deliberately in order to erase the legacy of Azerbaijani culture, in order to erase these territories from our memories, in order to change the origin of those lands. Therefore, we need to understand the feelings of Azerbaijani people," the Azerbaijani president stressed.

"And now when we returned to those lands and we see with our own eyes what the occupation of Armenian forces did to our historical monuments, to religious monuments, to our cities and villages. Of course, this is a very important factor in order to understand our steps during the post conflict situation. You are all very well aware about what happened, you were involved in this process. There's no need for me to make kind of a long speech talking about 30 years of occupation. Probably I will conclude now in order to have more time for discussions. So thank you once again for being here with us," Ilham Aliyev concluded his opening speech.

The first question to the President was from the former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, former Assistant Secretary of State for the South Caucasus Matthew Bryza: "I want to pick up on where you just left off about mindsets both in Armenia and in Azerbaijan. And that fact is that the decisive victory was won by Azerbaijan through a combination of innovative technology, tactics, but also incredible bravery. I don't think people understand that you conducted a war in a restrained way, the collateral damage or civilian casualties were at a minimum. You show strategic vision by pausing after you won a military phase of the war in Shusha. This was preceded by years of negotiations and preliminary agreements back in 2009, the so-called basic principles. I mean the November 9-10 agreement is essentially the basic principles, except there is no possibility in the change of Nagorno-Karabakh status, because Armenia didn't accept throughout the war that solution and lost a war. My question is: is there any sense in Armenia, do you feel it at all that there is an appreciation that the way the war was conducted was actually quite restrained?"

When answering this question, Ilham Aliyev recalled that Azerbaijan has always strived to minimize losses in the conflict, and therefore made so many efforts towards a peaceful settlement. "Thank you for your question. You were directly involved in the negotiation process and therefore you know what was our position and what was the position of Armenia. The Azerbaijani position has always been constructive. We have said many times at our meetings with your former colleagues and ambassadors of the Minsk Group from France and Russia that Azerbaijan always was interested in finding a soonest solution to the conflict, because we were the suffering side. I had a strong feeling during negotiations, which I shared with you, that Armenia does not want a solution. They say they want but they do everything in order not to have this solution," he noted.

"So, when we liberated those territories, those fortifications, those hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, in mining in building these defense lines, we clearly understand that they were doing it to keep these lands under occupation forever. We clearly understand that they were doing it in order to keep these lands under occupation forever. So, their tactics was actually to be in the process of negotiations, I mean the previous governments, to have kind of a process, to imitate, to negotiate, to agree on something, to disagree on other things. But when it comes to make a decisive step to step back as it was in France, in Rambouillet, as it was in 2009 after Armenian side actually rejected the formula of settlement which provided the liberation of the surrounding territories of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan and leaving the so-called status for future negotiations. So, you know it very well," the Azerbaijani leader said.

"With respect to our behaviour during the war from the very beginning it was very clear that Azerbaijan is conducting not only the war of XXI century but the war of new morality if I may say so. When war started my immediate commands to our military servicemen was to behave with dignity to behave in a moderate way, and to do maximum in order not to do damage civilians. And the fact that there have been less than 40 victims on Armenian side among civilians clearly demonstrated. Because we were liberating territories. Some territories were illegally inhabited. Therefore, our attacks, our technical capability was aimed only on military objects. And those less than 40 victims which Armenian side had most of those people were participating in the military operations. They were civilians who were recruited to the military units and they were part of military operations," the Azerbaijani president said.

"The way how we treated those who were left behind also is a clear demonstration of the human nature of our policy and human behaviour of our army. There have been several elderly people left behind for instance in the province of Hadrut. And when our soldiers came they saw these people. They were frightened. The elderly people, they spoke very good Azerbaijani, because they lived together with Azerbaijanis, and they were taken to the hospital. They were treated in our hospitals. Then, when we decided and the Red Cross was involved to return them back, Armenia refused to receive them. One of the elderly who was in poor health condition, they refused to receive him. They said they don't want to take care of him. So we together with Red Cross put him to the hospital in Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev said.

"With respect to the question of does Armenia appreciate our behaviour, I would say no. Its a very unfortunate development. If we're talking about post-conflict situation, we need to concentrate on some elements, which can lead to future reconciliation. But there has been such a long period of deliberate policy of demonization of Azerbaijan, inventing stories, presenting Azerbaijanis as enemies, as those who occupied Armenia or occupied Karabakh. So, it will probably take time for society to understand, not only during the war, but even after it, what we've done. We returned more than 1,500 dead bodies of Armenian soldiers. We're still participating together with Russian peacekeepers in this searching operations. I can tell you that during the first Karabakh war, we had almost 4,000 missing Azerbaijani soldiers. None of them was returned. We provide easy transportation to Russian peacekeepers through our railways: they bring their goods by railroad to Barda, which is much easier and cheaper than flying to Yerevan and then go for 5-6 hours by Lachin corridor," the President of Azerbaijan said.



"There are other examples I can bring. We allowed Russian Gazprom to transport natural gas to Armenia through Azerbaijani territory due to repairs work on Russian territory. We couldve said no, but we said yes. We allow Armenians to use 21 km of our road in Zangilan and Gubadli districts, which is a road situated on Azerbaijani territory, but was used by Armenians. We allowed it, we didn't block it. Did they allow us to move one meter to the territories which were occupied during the war? No. So these are all unilateral steps, and its not only a gesture, this is a deliberate policy of turning the page of the war," Ilham Aliyev stressed.

"We expect more activity from the civil society of Armenia. Because neither the government, nor the opposition today will not afford them to say not positive but even neutral word about Azerbaijan. Because there's a concept of Azerbaijanophobia. It's decades of cultivation of hatred against Azerbaijanis. But I think they should find courage, and they should start telling the truth to the Armenian people, because the war is already in history, the conflict is resolved, and we need to look into the future," he added.

Caucasus Programme Director at the international peacebuilding organization Conciliation Resources Laurence Broers asked the question of the role of public contacts in the post-war processes. "Mr. President, in the late 1990s, there was a view in Azerbaijan that civil society and NGOs could work with the population to build confidence after the conflict is resolved. I would like to continue what you said and ask what do you think about it now, given what you said that the conflict has been resolved? What should be the role of civil society and peacebuilding in this new vision for the region?"

"I think that they can play a crucial role, especially with respect to what I said about my expectations from the political segment of the Armenian society. There's a big room for civil society to make steps with respect to reconciliation. But I can tell, probably you know that even those very few representatives of Armenian civil society who speak for peace with Azerbaijan are becoming the subject of public attacks, sometimes physical attacks. They are announced as traitors, Armenian politicians call them "Turks", apparently, in their political slang, this is a very insulting word. And they are being frightened by politicians," Ilham Aliyev said in the first place.

Expert at the International Crisis Group Nigar Goksel asked Ilham Aliyev to share his vision of a peaceful future in the South Caucasus.

"It is difficult to predict how Azerbaijanis and Armenians will interact in the future. I think to a large degree it will depend on the will and political wisdom of politicians, because I think we need to be more active here and in Yerevan in order to try to build bridges, of course, if Armenia wants that. We dont know what are their intentions. They never elaborated on that. I already on several occasions made it very clear that we consider the page of the conflict turned down. We even can talk and I already said it a couple of times about a possible peace agreement with Armenia. These are our plans. But we do not have any messages of this kind from Armenian side. Armenian prime minister is silent, Armenian foreign minister is very aggressive," Ilham Aliyev pointed out.

"Armenia is not in the situation now to afford themselves to be aggressive against Azerbaijan. They should remember what happened during the war. Armenian opposition is now actually in hysteria. And Azerbaijanophobia, Turkophobia became one of the main, it always was very important but now, I think, it is the only factor. I am sure that they will build their election campaign on Azerbaijanophobia, Turkophobia on the feelings of revanshism. Therefore we cannot establish this interaction unilaterally. Our position is clear. We are ready for that. It will not be easy," he noted.

"Those former refugees who will return to Aghdam and other cities, they will see what Armenians have done to their lands, to the graves of their beloved ones, to their religious monuments. What will they feel? I can predict. I felt the same. When I was approaching the line of contact during the war, and was only able to see Aghdam through lenses from binoculars and when I went there, to all the occupied territories. Yes, I am a President and I must be in line with my duties but we are all people we have feelings, we can hide them, we can control them but sometimes it is very difficult. I can predict what will be the feelings of former Azerbaijani refugees but as a President, as a person who looks to the future we will do everything if Armenia has positive signals to us to try to build these connections," the Azerbaijani president said.

"We made steps to build bridges between our civil societies members even during the conflict. There were two delegations visiting Armenia and Karabakh, and coming to Baku, but after the second trip of representatives of civil society, journalists and some members of parliament, the Armenian side stopped it. When I asked former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan why they stopped it, there was no answer. After we found out that they were afraid that there could be some approach, there could be some elements of cooperation. They were always blocking that," the Azerbaijani leader noted.



"We need to be able to deliver our messages to the Armenian society. Our resources are very limited, the public space in Armenia is strongly controlled by the government. As I said, any positive sign about Azerbaijan is considered to be a treason. Therefore, I think that international organizations, especially those with experience in dealing with this kind of issues of post-war reconciliation, or normalization, confidence-building measures. I think we should count a lot on the support from international NGOs, and Azerbaijan is ready to work with them on this issue," the President of Azerbaijan said.

Nigar Goksel also asked about Turkish-Armenian relations: "In the near or medium term, do you think Turkey should open its borders with Armenia for regional integration and to address the problem of demonization of Turkey and Turkophobia in Armenian society?"

"We see some signs, we hear some low voices in the Armenian establishment about reconsidering their policy towards Turkey. Even during the conflict on several occasions I was talking about that, saying that it is absolutely unacceptable and strange that such a small, impoverished and weak country as Armenia has territorial claims to such a great and powerful country as Turkey.There are so much ideological dogmas and turkophobia has become their national policy, that they have even lost their sense of reality," Ilham Aliyev stated.



"As far as I know, the Turkish government is planning the steps in a very constructive way, but of course, they need an adequate response. The first thing Armenia should do is to refrain from territorial claims against Turkey. They should rewrite the Constitution. They should adopt a new constitution, Yerevan is already planning to rewrite the Constitution, but only for the political agenda of a government that wants to strengthen its political position. I think I can give them good advice: remove territorial claims against Turkey from the Constitution. I do not know in which country's Constitution there is a territorial claim to other country. I think it's a unique situation," the President of Azerbaijan noted.

"Everyone should understand that there have been many wars in history. In Armenia, facts are falsified regarding, for example, the so-called" genocide ", which has nothing to do with reality. Then there was a war, there was a situation when people and countries were fighting with each other - but then there was a reconciliation. By the way, at that time Armenia not only had difficulties with the Ottoman Empire, but also with other neighbors. Why did they select Turkey for their unjustified attacks? The Turkish government on several occasions publicly offered to create certain joint groups of historians to look impartially - but they refuse in Armenia. Why? Because they need a fake history in order to get political dividends. They were exploiting this fake story to get protection and get some assistance from some countries," he said.

"Of course, I cannot speak on behalf of Turkey, but I can say, and it is not a secret, that today we are discussing the unblocking of communication channels, in particular, the Zangezur corridor. The Zangezur corridor cannot be unblocked without Turkish agreement and participation. Although Turkey is not present in a trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, but Turkey has been informed by us what we discuss. If Armenia wants to put an end to difficulties with communications, if they want to get the opportunity to become a transit country, it's only Turkey which can provide that. As far as I know, the Turkish government is ready. Again, the ball is now on the Armenian side," Ilham Aliyev said.

"Armenia needs good doctors. I have said many times, they are poisoned with poison coming from the diaspora, which sits in very quiet and nice places in southern France, California, Krasnodar Territory, in some other capitals, enjoying their life. The Diaspora wants the Armenians in Karabakh and Armenia to be their hostages and tools for them to pursue some ambitious and chauvinistic ideas. The Armenian society needs to destroy the iron curtain behind which it lives under the influence of poisonous ideas. We are ready to help them with that," the Azerbaijani leader concluded.

Head of the Center for Central Asia and Caucasus Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Stanislav Pritchin asked a question about Azerbaijan's future.

"We actually have elaborated the mid-term and long term development strategy for Azerbaijan even before the war. Of course, the liberation of territories will be additional opportunities, because though the restoration of territories will demand a lot of resources, at the same time these resources will be spent in Azerbaijan. They will stimulate business, they will stimulate the construction sector of our economy, they will create jobs, they will create opportunities, they will create additional values in agriculture. Therefore, now we, in a way, have two development programs; first is an annual development program which we approve every year, and also the development program until 2030, and the second is the development program for Karabakh reconstruction which is now only in the phase of beginning. So, now our governmental structures work in combination or coordination between two, in order not to spend twice for the same purpose. And for that purpose in the liberated territories we are now introducing an absolutely new model of governance. There will be a different model of governance of presidential administration and there will be a very modern approach to development not only during the reconstruction but also after it," Ilham Aliyev said.

"Therefore, we are now evaluating all our resources which have been illegally exploited by Armenia. There is a big potential for mining in those areas. By the way, we already started illegal procedures against some so-called businessmen who were illegally exploiting our copper and gold resources on the liberated territories," he noted.



"Karabakh will generate a lot of GDP in non-energy sector of our economy, also transportation. Three airports are already in the process, in one airport works have already started, railroad connections. Zangilan can become important transportation and logistical hub taking into account its location and close proximity to the neighbors. Industrialization, attracting more investments in non-energy sector, business opportunities. You all probably heard that the leading rating agencies improved our ratings. On the World Bank Doing Business report we are number 28. So, the business climate is improving and we have very educated people and young generation which now is generating ideas and its hope for the future. As I said during the war, the biggest burden of war was on the shoulders of those who were children when I came to power. So, we managed to help young generation to develop. Taking into account, energy resources and completion of all major oil and gas pipelines that will feed our economy with additional sources of supply. We do not depend on foreign aid, our foreign debt is something around 18% of GDP, and I put a target to reduce it to 10% of GDP which will be then one of the best results in the world," the Azerbaijani leader said.

"We have a very low rate of poverty around 5%, when I came to this position it was 49%. So, we actually feel that we will be able to implement all our plans, which is with a strategic vision. But for that we need stability not only inside Azerbaijan, which we have for already 28 years, but we need stability beyond our borders. And one of the main concerns will be our steps in order to minimize risks. We have taken the obligation of the chair of Non-Aligned Movement with great success. Our international efforts in the region led to the creation of new formats of cooperation or a trilateral cooperation with Turkey-Iran, Georgia-Turkey, Russia-Iran. So this is also a contribution to stability and predictability. Of course, there should be zero risk of revenge attempts from Armenian side. If they do it, I said we want peace, but we will destroy them completely. Destroy them completely and let them not forget what I say now," President Ilham Aliyev stressed.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is taking the high road after former President Donald Trump ripped him as a 'dumb son of a b****' at a party fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago this past weekend.

The powerful Republican has so far stayed silent as after Trump insulted him to a top gathering of Republicans, then went after him again as someone was 'helpless' to fight Joe Biden's potential efforts to 'pack' the Supreme Court.

'What Im concentrating on is the future and what we are confronted with here is a totally left-wing administration, with a slight majority in the House, a 50-50 Senate trying to transform America into something no one voted for last year,' Biden told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked about Trump's attacks.

''What Im concentrating on is the future,' said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell following a meeting with Senate Republicans. He spoke after Trump called him a 'dumb son of a b****' at a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser

'Thats what Im concentrating on,' said McConnell.

Trump also went after McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who resigned as his Transportation secretary after the Jan. 6 riot.

'I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you?' Trump said. 'She suffered so greatly,' he mocked, the Washington Post reported.

It was just the latest chapter in the feud between the two men  after McConnell accused Trump of having 'provoked' the January 6th MAGA riot that resulted in the death of five people.

Trump issued his latest attack on McConnell to Republican National Committee donors who gathered at his private club, where he once again revisited his unsubstantiated claim that he won the election, which he called a 'fraud.'

'If that were Schumer instead of this dumb son of a b**** Mitch McConnell, they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it,' he said, the Washington Post reported.

Trump blasted McConnell again over the weekend from his Mar-a-Lago club

Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who runs the GOP Senate campaign arm, over the weekend presented Trump with a newly created 'Champion for Freedom Award'

Trump has said he will seek to primary Republicans who voted to impeach him, in a threat that could undermine McConnell's efforts to retake the Senate, which Republicans lost in two runoff elections.

Trump kept up the attacks in a written statement Monday  bringing up a looming judicial fight, on a subject that has been a central focus for McConnell for decades.

'With leaders like Mitch McConnell, they are helpless to fight. He didnt fight for the Presidency, and he wont fight for the Court,' Trump wrote.

Standing nearby McConnell when he spoke was Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who over the weekend presented Trump with a newly created award, the 'Champion for Freedom Award,' presenting him with a silver colored bowl.

The new award is for 'conservative leaders who have worked tirelessly to create good jobs, protect the values that make our country great, and stop the Democrats socialist agenda,' according to the National Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Senate Republicans are grappling with how to handle Trump, who is sitting on a multi-million war-chest built in part through his election fraud claims, and who would be a powerful force in 2022.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican whip, said of the attacks on the party leader: 'I wish he wouldnt do it but I dont think theres any way that you could change how he does things. I think we just have to adapt the best we can and stay focused on what are our objectives and thats get the [Senate] majority back in 2022,' he said, the Hill reported.
In the first three weeks of a massive aid program for renters, applications appear to be falling well short of early projections by Connecticuts lead housing official.

Connecticut set aside $235 million under the UniteCT program to help with rental and electricity bill assistance for as long as 15 months, funding the program from federal relief money authorized by Congress in December 2020. Assistance for any household is capped at $10,000 for rent and $1,500 for electricity.

As of April 7, the Connecticut Department of Housing had received only 2,200 fully completed applications for UniteCT rent relief, according to Yardi, the California company that designed the software to process applications and deposit funds in accounts.

Days after the program was started, the Department of Housing received 4,000 initial applications, not all of which were completed to trigger review and potential award of funds.

We are anticipating to assist between 25,000 and 30,000 households, said Seila Mosquera-Bruno, commissioner of the Department of Housing, speaking March 28 on NBC Connecticut. From our previous experience, they come from everywhere  everybody has been affected.

But with only a small percentage of applications in from those eligible to apply, questions remain as to whether or not any extraordinary hurdles are in place that would delay the completion of forms.

By contrast, the Connecticut Department of Labor was overwhelmed with 220,000 initial claims for unemployment last year  just three weeks into the pandemic.

Some would-be applicants have struggled to produce all required paperwork to qualify for the program, according to Joe DAscoli, president of the Connecticut chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and head of the Manchester Housing Authority.

These individuals have to provide A, B and C  and if they dont have all the documentation, that application wont be processed until all the completed information is there, DAscoli said. I was astonished, too, when I heard there was only 2,200 [completed] applications  this is $235 million in the coffers.

With Gov. Ned Lamonts moratorium on evictions scheduled to end on April 19, the need for rent relief enters the spotlight for many Connecticut households. Landlords can begin serving notice three days later  on April 22  for any reason allowed by statute.

UniteCT applications opened in mid-March. Funds are reserved for households making no more than 80 percent of the median income for their town and who are able to demonstrate they are under financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Connecticut Department of Housing is prioritizing funds for those who have lost jobs and who have household incomes at half the median of their town.

Mosquera-Bruno told NBC Connecticut the department would be able to provide a breakdown of where those applicants were located. A Department of Housing spokesperson did not respond Monday to a Hearst Connecticut query seeking those figures.

UniteCT is open to both renters and landlords who are absorbing top-line hits, as renters miss their monthly payments. The state will pay 85 percent of amounts due to landlords, who have the option of rejecting participation in the program.

The state is paying landlords and utilities directly, as a lump-sum covering three months of rent. To get the next installment, applicants must re-certify that rent or electric bills remain in arrears.

The program is barred to those already receiving federal or state housing assistance, and renters who are on sub-lease arrangements. UniteCT details and applications are online at Portal.ct.gov/doh or by calling 1-844-864-8328.

Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Connecticut has already provided $26.5 million in aid to more than 6,700 households under a Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program, working out to nearly $4,000 each.

Another 2,500 families who filed incomplete applications under TRHAP were notified that they may qualify for UniteCT funds.

As the case with TRHAP, the UniteCT assistance program allows applications to be paused while participants gather extra paperwork.

John Souza, a landlord and the president of the CT Coalition of Property Owners, said UniteCTs numbers will likely grow in coming weeks, as landlords help tenants track down every piece of paperwork for those agreeing to participate.

Souza said the Department of Housing had indicated plans to place an application counter on its website, which was not immediately apparent as of Monday afternoon.

You can literally put your name and your email address in and start the application, Souza said. I think a lot of people may have put it in just to get their place in line, or they got somebody helping them who put it in for them. And now the tenants or the landlord have to do everything.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, 13 APR - Moments of tension took place on Tuesday at the headquarters of Tunisian news agency TAP (Tunis Afrique Presse), where journalists have been agitating since April 6 to protest Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi's decision to appoint Kamel Ben Younes as the agency's new CEO, which they says undermines the agency's independence.



According to local media, and as shown in some videos released online by the journalists, after Ben Younes appealed to a judicial official, he allegedly asked the police to intervene so he could enter the agency building.



The journalists present shouted at the scandal, denouncing the use of force and "dictatorial practices that recall those of the police state".



Some journalists also said they were attacked by law enforcement.



TAP journalists announced a strike for April 22 to protest against Mechichi's decision, calling for it to be revoked.



(ANSAmed).


Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday ordered an Army review of an investigation into a January 2020 militant assault on the Manda Bay military base in Kenya that killed three Americans and wounded three others.

In a written statement announcing Austin's decision, his press secretary, John Kirby did not pinpoint what Austin found lacking in the initial investigation, which was conducted by U.S. Africa Command. By apparent coincidence, Austin plans to meet with Africa Command officials Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of a broader tour of Europe to consult with allies and talk to U.S. commanders. He also will meet separately with officials at U.S. European Command, also in Stuttgart.

An independent review will provide added insight, perspective, and the ability to assess the totality of this tragic event involving multiple military services and Department of Defense components, Kirby said.

Kirby said that after considering the results of Africa Command's investigation, which have not been released publicly, Austin decided to order the Army to pick a four-star general to conduct the review. The Army chose Gen. Paul Funk, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command. Funk is an experienced combat veteran who served six deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is the secretarys desire to ensure there is a full examination and consideration of the contributing factors that led to this tragic event and that appropriate action is taken to reduce the risk of future occurrence, Kirby said. The families impacted deserve nothing less.

The attack by al-Shabab militants at the Manda Bay base destroyed six aircraft in addition to killing three Americans and wounding three others.

The base, in the Kenyan seaside resort, was overrun by 30 to 40 of the al-Qaida linked insurgents on Jan. 5, 2020, marking al-Shababs first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country. The predawn assault triggered a lengthy firefight and daylong struggle for U.S. and Kenyan forces to search and secure the base.

The base at Manda Bay has been used for years by the U.S. military, but it only became a full-time airfield in 2016, with increased personnel, aircraft and operations.

The initial phase of the assault came near dawn, when 20 to 30 al-Shabab militants slipped through the forest and fired rocket-propelled grenades onto the air field at the base. The opening rounds of grenades quickly killed a soldier in a truck and wounded another, and killed two contractors in an aircraft and wounded one other. About a mile down the road, other militants fired on Camp Simba, a section of the base where U.S. forces are stationed.

Marines from Camp Simba initially responded to the attack site and begin to fight back against the militants, who had made it onto the air field and into buildings. But it took all day for Kenyan and U.S. security forces to finally quash the attack, search the airfield and secure the area.

Kenya has been a key base for fighting al-Shabab, which is based in Somalia and is one of the worlds most resilient extremist organizations. Al-Shabab has launched a number of attacks inside Kenya, including against civilian targets on buses, at schools and at shopping malls.

Al-Shabab had been the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes inside Somalia during President Donald Trumps administration. But Trump late last year ordered the withdrawal of the roughly 700 American forces there, and the bulk of those troops were pulled out of the country by mid-January. According to officials, there are well below 100 U.S. troops in Somalia now.

Austin has launched a review of Americas military posture around the world.
In March, Katko joined House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for a tour of the southern border near El Paso, Texas. Katko recently announced that he would lead another trip to the border  his second in a month. The purpose of the visits is to criticize Biden's immigration policies, which Katko says has created "disorder at the border."

Katko said in a statement that Border Patrol agents, who would be led by Magnus if he's confirmed, are telling members of Congress that the Trump administration's policies worked.

"We would not be witnessing this crisis if President Biden didn't immediately pull out his pen on Jan. 20 to sign away these policies," he added.

What Customs and Border Protection needs, Katko continued, is "a leader who will support and advocate for frontline law enforcement trying to secure the border, and actually listen to what they are saying about this crisis."

Katko urged the Senate to give careful consideration of whether Magnus should lead Customs and Border Protection.

"Our homeland security will not be served by someone who will make their jobs harder," he said. "They are the ones on the frontlines of this complete disorder every single day, placing themselves in harm's way. They know how to do their jobs best and what is required to do so."

Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Interview: Strength of China's system must be better appreciated, says scholar

Xinhua) 10:27, April 13, 2021

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Westerners require a better appreciation of China's governance system, one that has evolved from its own history and helped increase the country's stature in the world, a well-known U.S. scholar has said.

"I just hope that that kind of reporting gets more traction in America, so that there is a more realistic appreciation of what President Xi Jinping means to China, his way of increasing China's stature," Sarwar Kashmeri, adjunct professor of political science at Norwich University, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

According to a Harvard Kennedy School survey released in July last year on the Chinese public's satisfaction with their government, the Chinese central government received a level of satisfaction of 93.1 percent in 2016, up from 86.1 percent in 2003.

"Because even I, who try to pay close attention to what's happening in China, was a bit surprised at how forthright this report was. We really should appreciate and listen to what they're saying," said Kashmeri, also a fellow of the Foreign Policy Association.

Kashmeri, who hosted Polaris-Live, a series of talks with experts worldwide on U.S.-China ties, said that several of his interviewees referenced the survey published in July 2020.

China's governance system "has strengths because there's continuity," Kashmeri said, adding, "having made a strategic plan, the leader is able to execute it, and think ahead."

In fact, each country's governance system is derived from various historical facts, and people should "look at it, understand it and understand where it comes from," said Kashmeri.

"China's system has evolved from its own history," and all of us should "accept the fact that it is going to be different from countries that have had a different history," he said.

Calling the Communist Party of China a "successful ruling party for China," Kashmeri noted the party has lifted over 800 million people out of poverty and led the country to become the world's second largest economy.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Gaza, April 13 : The Islamic Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, has decided to tighten the precautionary measures during the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan in an effort to curb Covid-19 spread.

The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday that traffic all over the Gaza Strip will be banned everyday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., reports Xinhua news agency.

The new measures will be valid starting on Tuesday for 30 days until the end of Ramadan, and a full lockdown will start from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., which includes the closure of shops and stores, it added.

"Gatherings of people in public places and on streets, including outdoor weddings and weekly public markets, will also be banned during the fasting month of Ramadan," the statement said.

Eyad al-Bozzom, the Ministry spokesman in Gaza, told reporters that people must abide by all the required precautionary measures, mainly wearing face masks when they pray at the mosques during Ramadan.

The Gaza Strip has recently witnessed an unexpected surge in daily infections due to the outbreak of more contagious coronavirus strains.

On Monday, the Ramallah-based Health Ministry said 2,762 new Covid-19 infections and 26 deaths were registered across the Palestinian territories during the last 24 hours.

Among the new 2,762 cases, 998 cases were recorded in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 1,764 others in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Currently, the vaccination campaign has been going on smoothly across the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

So far, 146,986 people have received their first jab of the vaccine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of whom 14,674 received the second dose, according to the Health Ministry.
More than 3.37 million Michigan residents have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of the start of the week. Thats about 41.3% of residents 16 and older.

As of Sunday, April 11, the state had administered 5,370,443 doses, including more than 3.3 million first-dose shots. In most cases, a second dose and two additional weeks are needed before a resident is considered fully vaccinated.

About 2 million residents have gotten their second of two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Combined with nearly 200,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered to date, Michigan has about 27% of its 16 and older population fully vaccinated.

Related: Feds recommend pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine following reports of severe reaction

Michigan reported a record high for doses administered over seven days for the seventh consecutive week April 4-10 with 623,232 total doses. Thats 89,033 shots per day, which is up from 75,175 per day two weeks earlier.

The states goal is to vaccinate at least 70% of the adult population before the end of the calendar year. As of last Monday, all residents 16 years and older are eligible to get a shot.

The vaccination breakdown by age group looks like this:

75 and older: 69.8% initiated; 60.9% completed.

65 to 74: 70.6% initiated; 60.4% completed.

50 to 64: 48.9% initiated; 28.1% completed.

40 to 49: 33.3% initiated; 17.6% completed.

30 to 39: 30% initiated; 15.2% completed.

20 to 29: 20.6% initiated; 9.8% completed.

16 to 19: 12.8% initiated; 2.7% completed.

Individuals younger than 16 are not yet eligible for vaccination, though there are clinical trials underway to test the vaccines in children.

The shot breakdown of population by race looks like this:

White: 30.8% initiated; 19.9% completed.

Black : 18.8% initiated; 11.1% completed.

Asian/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islands: 30.1% initiated; 12% completed.

American Indian/Alaska Native: 27.6% initiated; 17% completed.

Hispanic: 17.8% initiated; 8.6% completed.

Local heath departments lead the way in total vaccines administered, followed by hospitals and pharmacies. But since mid-March, more residents are getting their shots from pharmacies than anywhere else, followed by health departments.

All three vaccines received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after a group of independent experts determined the shots were safe and effective at reducing the risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and that their benefits far outweighed any risks associated with the vaccine.

However, on Tuesday, April 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended pausing the use of Johnson & Johnsons vaccine while health experts investigate six reports of a severe blood clot following vaccination. These adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the FDA said, as more than 6.8 million doses have been administered in the U.S. to date.

Michigan has administered nearly 200,000 of the Johnson & Johnson shot, though its not clear if any of the severe reactions occurred in Michigan.

Read more on MLive:

Active COVID-19 outbreaks jump another 16% in Michigans April 12 report

Many of Michigans Thumb residents are done with COVID-19 pandemic, even as virus rages like wildfire

Michigan coronavirus data for Monday, April 12: Michigan had more cases in April 7-10 than all of February

As Michigans coronavirus cases surge, experts say its hard to pinpoint an exact cause
ALBANY  A Cohoes man claimed he was innocent and that his husband was the one who caused the death of a 6-week-old baby boy by giving him methamphetamine in their home, leading a judge to vacate his guilty plea to manslaughter Monday, according to court documents.

Anthony Ojeda, 39, said through his attorney that his husband admitted to him to intentionally poisoning Eli Harmon-Ojeda in his apartment at 11 Van Vechten St. in Cohoes on Dec. 3, 2019. Ojeda also told authorities that he was not with the infant but that his husband was, according to the hearing transcript.

Ojeda was the infants legal guardian and believed by authorities to be his father. The infant died shortly after arriving at Albany Medical Center Hospital. He had injuries to his ribs and head and appeared to have overdosed from ingesting methamphetamine.

On Dec. 4, 2020, Ojeda pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in a deal in which he would have received a prison sentence of three to nine years. Sentencing was postponed twice previously before Monday when Ojeda was given an opportunity to file an oral motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Ojeda, a native of Mexico who speaks little English, relies on a Spanish-speaking court interpreter during court proceedings.

State Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch heard arguments from the defense and prosecution before referencing the pre-sentencing report compiled by the Albany County Probation Department.

The basis for that motion is that he is asserting his actual innocence based on his husbands admissions that he intentionally poisoned the child with Methamphetamine, Assistant Public Defender Angela Kelley, who represents Ojeda, said based on the transcript.

The Times Union is withholding the husbands name as he has not been charged previously and could not be reached for comment. Ojedas claim in court Monday is the first time he has been mentioned.

Assistant District Attorney Caroline Murray asserted that Ojeda had entered the guilty plea and should be held to it.

I would add that Mr. Ojeda pleaded guilty to manslaughter under the theory of recklessly causing the death of another, and the basis for that being he did not get his infant son appropriate medical care in an appropriate time, which led to the death of his son, stated Murray, according to the transcript.

Lynch read from the pre-sentencing report which described how the person writing it said that Ojeda suggested that maybe his husband hurt the baby. When Ojeda was questioned by the writer of the report if he blamed his husband for the babys death, Ojeda responded, I cant blame him because I have no proof, but he was with the baby. He was with him.

That statement, coupled with a claim of admission, undermines the integrity of the voluntariness of the guilty plea, Lynch said.

That led Lynch to exercise his judicial discretion and vacate Ojedas guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter.

The district attorney's office can present the case to a grand jury to consider filing charges against Ojeda. If indicted for second-degree manslaughter, Ojeda would face a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison if convicted.

It's not known when the case would go before a grand jury as a result of the pandemic affecting scheduling.

The infant was born in Troy, where his mother, Daisy Harmon, lived. The Times Union has reported that the mother and child were taken to a hospital and, because the mother had a drug addiction problem, Rensselaer County Child Protective Services became involved. Ojeda had temporary sole custody of the baby in Cohoes at the time of his death.

The Times Union has reported that after the infants death, questions arose about whether social services workers in Rensselaer County had done enough to protect the boy. The state Office of Children and Family Services was required to issue a report within six months of the childs death to examine whether social services workers in Rensselaer County followed regulations while investigating possible neglect or abuse.

The agency has kept its report secret, saying in its response to a Freedom of Information Law request filed by the Times Union that releasing it would be "contrary to the best interests" of the infants "siblings, or other children in the household."
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You step off the Q train and the Jamaica Bay wind slaps, sending the salt air cutting through your mask to tickle your nose. You know youre close.

Its opening day at Coney Islands Luna Park, the first since the pandemic. Its April 9 and 55 degrees  at best  but no one cares. This year, no one wants to miss a thing.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, April 13. AP



Japan's government on Tuesday approved a plan to release more than one million tonnes of treated water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, in a controversial decision that follows years of debate.



The release, which is not likely to begin for several years and could take decades to complete, has sparked concern in neighbouring countries and faces fierce opposition from local fishing communities and anti-nuclear activists.



Japan's government argues that the release will be safe because the water is processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted.



It has support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which says the release is similar to processes for disposing of waste water from nuclear plants elsewhere in the world.



Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told a ministerial meeting that disposing of the water was an "inevitable task" in the decades-long process of decommissioning the nuclear plant.



He said the release would happen only "after ensuring the safety levels of the water" and alongside measures to "prevent reputational damage".



Around 1.25 million tonnes of water has accumulated in tanks at the nuclear plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011.



It includes water used to cool the plant, as well as rain and groundwater that seeps in daily.



An extensive pumping and filtration system known as "ALPS (Advanced Liquid Processing System)" extracts tonnes of newly contaminated water each day and filters out most radioactive elements.



But local fishing communities fear releasing the water will undermine years of work to restore confidence in seafood from the region.



"They told us that they wouldn't release the water into the sea without the support of fishermen," Kanji Tachiya, who heads a local fisheries cooperative in Fukushima, told NHK ahead of the announcement.



"We can't back this move to break that promise and release the water into the sea unilaterally."









The decision also prompted regional opposition even before it was official, with South Korea's foreign minister on Monday expressing "serious regret".



Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged Japan to "act in a responsible manner".



"To safeguard international public interests and Chinese people's health and safety, China has expressed grave concern to the Japanese side through the diplomatic channel," Zhao said Monday.





Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, attends a cabinet meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, April 12. AP
Advances strategy to hold bitcoins as its primary treasury reserve assets

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. (CSE: HODL) (OTC Pink: KHRIF) (the "Company"), a sector leader for privacy-technology investments, is pleased to announce that it has purchased 68.16 bitcoins for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $5 million (Canadian dollars), inclusive of fees and expenses. The average price per bitcoin was $58,092. As a result of this acquisition, the Company now holds an aggregate of 350 bitcoins.

The purchase by the Company of additional bitcoins was made in accordance with its newly updated capital allocation and treasury management strategy for the Company's capital in excess of its working capital and other investment requirements. Under the Company's current capital allocation plan, the Company intends to continue to maintain cash assets that are sufficient to meet the day-to-day working capital requirements of its business and its investment needs. In addition, under this plan, the Company's objective is to hold a majority of its unallocated resources in bitcoin, which the Company now regards as its primary treasury reserve asset (being all unallocated cash and bitcoin assets of the Company in excess of the Company's anticipated near term working capital and other investment capital needs), subject to market conditions and the Company's anticipated needs for cash assets.

In connection with its holdings of digital assets, such as bitcoin and any other applicable cryptocurrencies, the Company has adopted controls to guard against the risk of loss and/or theft associated with holding such assets. For example, the Company uses third-party custodians to safeguard all or a substantial portion of its digital assets. Certain information about such third party custodial arrangements which the Company believes could be important to investors is available on the Company's website at: https://cypherpunkholdings.com/security-operations/.

About Cypherpunk Holdings Inc.

Cypherpunk is a company set-up to invest in companies, technologies and protocols, which enhance or protect privacy. Its strategy is to make targeted investments in businesses and assets with strong privacy, often within the blockchain ecosystem, including select cryptocurrencies. Current equity investments include Samourai Wallet, Wasabi Wallet, Chia, NGRAVE, and Hydro 66.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the Company's planned allocation of assets and its treasury management. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include the historical price volatility of bitcoin; uncertainty regarding the regulatory treatment of bitcoin under various securities, commodities, and other regulatory regimes; the potential for significant impairment charges to the Company's earnings in the event of a decrease in the price of bitcoin and resulting volatility in the Company's reported assets and earnings; the potential for security breaches or other cyberattacks that could result in a partial or total loss of the Company's bitcoin assets; and other risks detailed in the Company's disclosure documents filed under its profile on www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking 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. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

Investor Relations Contacts:

veronika@cypherpunkholdings.com , Veronika Oswald, Investor Relations

Cypherpunk Holdings Inc.,

Office: +1 416.599.8547 & +44 (0) 20 3143 7418

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80292
ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- One year ago, the commercial real estate industry suffered a steep decline in building activity as COVID-19 turned skyscrapers into vertical ghost towns. But according to the TK Elevator Index Powered by MAX, the industry's most accurate urban mobility analysis tool, elevator activity has now returned to 71% of pre-COVID levels as tenants and visitors increasingly return to buildings.

The TK Elevator Index Powered by MAX is a monthly indicator of average elevator activity across the U.S. The proprietary data platform is powered by MAX, the elevator industry's first cloud- and IoT-based digital platform enabling enhanced service and predictive maintenance. MAX is connected to more than 85,000 elevators across the U.S., and, as part of its diverse capabilities, accurately monitors elevator activity in all types of commercial and residential buildings.

"Smarter building management requires smarter building solutions, and the TK Elevator Index Powered by MAX provides a level of actionable intelligence that property managers cannot get anywhere else," says Kevin Lavallee, President and CEO, TK Elevator North America. "It is an extremely valuable tool that will empower property managers to approach people movement throughout their buildings from a more data-driven and analytical perspective."

Prior to the pandemic, there were approximately 14 million daily elevator trips on MAX-supported elevators across the U.S. That number plummeted to 5.5 million daily elevator trips in April 2020 but has rebounded to more than 10.6 million daily elevator trips today.

Thanks in part to beachfront communities in Florida  including West Palm Beach, Miami, Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers  the Sunshine State has rebounded to 86% pre-pandemic levels, among the highest in the country. By comparison, California has been among the slowest to return to pre-pandemic levels with major markets like San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles lagging well behind the current national average of 71%.

Meanwhile in Manhattan, the high-rise capital of the U.S., elevator activity has returned to 62% pre-pandemic levels, up from its low point of 29% at this time last year.

To learn more about TK Elevator Index Powered by MAX and how specific regions are returning to buildings throughout the U.S., check out this blog.

A TOUCH OF CONFIDENCE

One of key reasons tenants are returning is the confidence they have in their elevator systems. While elevators are statistically the safest form of transportation already, companies like TK Elevator took safety one step further by introducing numerous touchless solutions to ensure passengers stay healthy too.

No touchless technology has been more valuable during the pandemic than MAX.

In 2020, TK Elevator introduced three digital subscription packages for MAX and in the first year, sold more than 5,000 subscriptions. Shortly after the pandemic began spreading across the U.S., TK Elevator donated its MAX Premium service to select hospitals to help front-line medical workers in the fight against COVID-19. The donation of the MAX Premium elevator service was critical in ensuring the safe transportation and movement of patients, key medical personnel and supplies as it allowed TK Elevator technicians to monitor machine health remotely while providing them with the ability to identify and address equipment issues or potential service interruptions before they occur.

TK Elevator also launched a Social Distancing Service, which helps tenants stay safe by limiting passenger counts in elevators so they can maintain maximum physical distance. Earlier this year, TK Elevator also introduced the AGILE mobile app, which allows passengers to operate an elevator via their smartphone or wearable device.

TK Elevator also partnered with air quality companies to address the inside of an elevator  specifically, installing air purifying devices that feature Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI) technology. The air quality device safely and continuously cleans elevators with no harmful by-products while also reducing odors inside elevators.

"Our portfolio of touchless solutions in tandem with our new TK Elevator Index Powered by MAX provides our customers with a level of insight and support far beyond anything else available today, and is one of multiple ways we go above and beyond to ensure our customers receive the support they deserve," adds Kevin Robertson, Senior VP, Sales for TK Elevator North America.

For more information on TK Elevator's touchless solutions, go to https://www.thyssenkrupp-elevator.com/us/coronavirus/.

PRESS IMAGES

Available here.

PRESS CONTACT

Dennis Van Milligen

Manager, Public Relations

TK Elevator North America

P +1 312 525 3190

[email protected]

www.tkelevator.com/us

COMPANY BLOG

www.urban-hub.com

ABOUT US

TK Elevator (formerly: thyssenkrupp Elevator)

With customers in over 100 countries served by 50,000 employees, TK Elevator achieved sales of around 8 billion in the fiscal year 2019/2020. Over 1,000 locations around the world provide an extensive network that guarantees closeness to customers. Over the past decades, TK Elevator has established itself as one of the world's leading elevator companies and became independent since its sale by thyssenkrupp AG in August 2020. The company's most important business line is the service business represented by over 24,000 service technicians. The product portfolio covers commodity elevators for residential and commercial buildings to cutting-edge, highly customized solutions for state-of-the-art skyscrapers. In addition, it also consists of escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts. Integrated cloud-based service solutions, such as the MAX platform, are gaining in importance. With these digital offerings, there are no limits to urban mobility anymore. TKE  move beyond.

SOURCE TK Elevator

Related Links

http://www.tkelevator.com/us


NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Demand for temporary workers in the United States is expected to increase 45.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the 2021 second quarter, when compared with the same period in 2020, according to the Palmer Forecast, released today. The significant increase in demand principally reflects economic recovery from the pandemic-related business lockdowns a year ago.

The Palmer Forecast indicated an 8.6% decrease in temporary help for the 2021 first quarter. Actual results as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) came in better than anticipated, with a decline of just 6.0%, largely reflecting lower unemployment rates and faster jobs growth, led by hospitality and leisure, but also supported across the board in business services, education, healthcare, warehousing, retail, construction and manufacturing sectors. Although temp help declined by 800 jobs in March vs. February, and was down 4.3% from a year ago, it is rapidly improving as compared with a decline of 7.8% in February versus the previous year.

There has been a strong rebound in the 2021 first quarter, with 149,000 temp help jobs added, or 49,700 on average per month. According to the BLS, 332,000 temp jobs were lost in 2020, the second straight year of declines, or an average job loss of 27,750 per month. The BLS also reported that 42,000 temp help jobs were lost in 2019, an average of 3,500 fewer jobs per month. In 2018, more than 99,000 temp help jobs were added versus 2017, an average of 8,200 per month. Additionally, 96,000 temp jobs were added in 2017 over 2016, an average of 8,000 per month, compared with 32,000 temp jobs added in 2016, or an average of 2,600 per month. In 2015, approximately 97,000 temporary jobs were added, compared with 162,000 new temp jobs in 2014.

The Labor Department reported nonfarm payroll employment increased by 916,000 jobs in March 2021, significantly better than consensus estimate increase of 618,000 jobs. For the first quarter 2021, non-farm jobs average increased to 539,000, but remained 4.46 % below a year ago. For 2020, nonfarm employment was down 6.17%, or 9,372,000 jobs, compared with 2019. To put this in perspective, there were 176,000 jobs added on average per month in 2019 and 2.1 million total jobs added for the year, which was less than the 220,000 added per month in 2018, and 2.6 million for that year. For 2017, a total of 2.1 million new jobs were created, versus 2.2 million new jobs in 2016.

The key categories of jobs created are as follows:

Total Non-farm jobs: +916,000

Hospitality and leisure: +280,000

Government sector: +136,000

Retail: +121,000

Construction: +110,000

Education and Health Services: +101,000

Professional and business services: +66,000

Manufacturing: +53,000

Temp Help: -800



In March 2021, the labor participation rate increased slightly to 61.4% from 61.2 % in February. The U3, commonly referred to as the unemployment rate, also improved slightly to 6.0% in March from 6.2% in February.

As reported by the BLS, the rate of unemployment for workers with college degrees ticked down 10 bps in March versus February, to 3.7%, and the unemployment rate for workers with less than a high school education decreased 190 bps to 8.2%. The U6 unemployment rate, which tracks those who are unemployed, as well as those who are underemployed and are working part-time for economic reasons, was down 40 bps to 10.7% in March versus February. The U6 rate is considered the rate that most broadly depicts those most affected by the last economic downturn and measures the rate of discouraged workers.

We have to keep prior year comparisons in mind, when the rapid decline in jobs occurred, so as welcomed as the increase is, it needs to be kept in perspective, said Greg Palmer, founder and managing director of G. Palmer & Associates, an Orange County, California-based human capital advisory firm that specializes in workforce solutions. One of the most revealing indicators to watch is the temp help penetration rate, because it measures temp help as a percentage of total employment. In March 2021, the temp penetration rate decreased 10 bps from February, to 1.92% of the total labor market, versus 1.57% pre-pandemic. The penetration rate cycle peak at 2.05% in December 2019 and a low of 1.3% in June 2009.

The temp help employment market improved substantially in March, and the trend most likely will continue as businesses reopen further, Palmer added. The uncertainty of both the third round of stimulus checks and unemployment benefits, as well as additional bail-out for businesses impacted by COVID-19 make the flexibility to hire temp help more attractive during uncertain times. The largest issue is the number of workers willing to work versus collect unemployment benefits. Staffing companies are reporting extreme difficulty in filling the many current open jobs they have. The American Staffing Association Staffing Index is also rebounding from an index low of 59.9 on May 10, 2020 to a strong close of 94 on March 27, 2021, an 11.3% increase year over year (average the last four previous weeks). This all adds up to further signs of recovery in temp help as we move further into 2021.

About the Palmer Forecast

The Palmer Forecast is based, in part, on BLS and other key indicators. The model was initially developed by the A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University and serves as an indicator of economic activity. Companies that employ temporary staff use the forecast as a guide to navigate through fluctuating economic conditions in managing their workforce to meet business demands.

About G. Palmer & Associates

G. Palmer & Associates, founded in 2006, provides advisory services in the human capital sector. Founder Greg Palmer has served on the board of the American Staffing Association and was president and chief executive officer of RemedyTemp, Inc., one of the nations largest temporary staffing companies, prior to its sale in June 2006. For more information, visit www.GPalmerandAssociates.com .
A Kilkenny councillor who received his first Astrazeneca jab in February said that he is happy to take the second dose if medical advice is to do same.

Cllr Joe Malone told The Kilkenny People that he received his first dose of the vaccine at St Luke's Hospital because of his voluntary work.

"I got it because I am a volunteer and deliver meals to the elderly. I will have to talk to my doctor about Astrazeneca now only being available to the over-60s," he said.

"I am a volunteer driver with Meals on Wheels and Kilkenny Social Services. I was contacted back in February and offered the vaccine and after speaking with Kilkenny Social Services I decided to take it as I am working with vulnerable people. I did what I was told after and took Panadol and rested and didn't have any side effects.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) yesterday advised that the Astrazeneca vaccine is no longer to be used in the under 60s. Local clinics were cancelled today, and it is understood that hundreds of people in Kilkenny have had scheduled vaccines cancelled due to the latest scandal to rock the rollout.

"Although I have got the first jab, I still continue with all the other measures like sanitising my hands, wearing a mask and social distancing," said Cllr Malone.

"I am happy to take the second dose if that is the instructions of my GP."

Speaking about the vaccine rollout, the 58-year-old councillor said that the government are sending out 'mixed messages'.

"They are saying that there will be so many people vaccinated by a certain date and then they can't deliver because of supply," he said.

He also said that the army should have a greater input in the rollout and that this might result in fewer logistical problems."
San Antonio is taking a break from the 90-degree heat this week with the help of cloudy skies and rain chances that will continue through the weekend.

A cold front moved through Texas on Tuesday morning, adding a slight chance of shower activity in the area through this evening.

A 30 percent chance of showers will stay in the forecast on Wednesday and Thursday with high temperatures only in the mid 70s.

RELATED: Scientists predict 'above average' hurricane season in 2021

The best chance for San Antonio to see rain is on Friday with a 50 percent chance of showers as another front will move through our area overnight into early Saturday.

This front will bring drier air allowing morning temperatures for Saturday and Sunday to feel quite chilly in the 50s. However, high temperatures will still feel comfortable in the mid 60s for the weekend.

READ MORE: 'It just makes you sick to your stomach': Gregg Popovich reacts to Daunte Wright fatal shooting

Saturday rain chances will hang around especially in the morning hours but taper off through the evening. Sunday rain chances will be slim with partly cloudy skies.

Overall, expect the clouds to hang around through the rest of the week until Monday afternoon.

Teresa Velasco is a digital producer for MySA and the San Antonio Express-News. She has a bachelors degree in broadcast meteorology. She uses data provided by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and others for her forecasts.
The U.S. State Department has called for the release of an RFE/RL freelance correspondent arrested in Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimea region and joined human rights groups in expressing concern over his treatment and a televised "confession" he gave.

Troubled by reports that Russian occupation authorities in Crimea tortured @RFERL freelance journalist [Vladyslav] Yesypenko to coerce his confession. We call for his release, and for Russia to cease its reprisals against independent voices in Crimea, spokesman Ned Price tweeted on April 13.

Yesypenko's lawyer on April 6 said his client testified during a closed-door court hearing that he was tortured with electric shocks, beaten, and threatened with death unless he "confessed" to spying on behalf of Ukraine.

Lawyer Aleksei Ladin said after the hearing that the torture lasted two days after Yesypenko's arrest on March 10 on what the defense calls false charges against the journalist, who has Ukrainian and Russian dual nationality.

RFE/RL President Jamie Fly at the time said that the broadcaster is outraged to learn what Yesypenko said during his testimony, saying the journalist must be set free now, and allowed to rejoin his family in Ukraine immediately.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said Yesypenko, a freelance contributor to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, was suspected of collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence, and claimed that an object "looking like an explosive device" was found in his automobile during his apprehension.

The journalist was charged with making firearms, which is punishable by up to six years in prison.

Ladin said that a televised interview broadcast on March 18, in which Yesypenko "confessed" to spying for Ukraine, was staged. The lawyer quoted his client as saying he was given a written text to read aloud and then answered questions that people in charge of his detainment asked.

According to Ladin, Yesypenko also said at the trial that he has serious problems with his kidneys and needs medicine for the ailment.

RFE/RL President Fly has questioned the circumstances under which Yesypenko made his confession, saying it appeared "to be forced and made without access to legal counsel."

"The Russian authorities have similarly smeared RFE/RL Ukrainian Service contributors with false charges in the past. Vladyslav is a freelance contributor with RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service, not a spy, and he should be released," he said.

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has described the arrest as a convenient attempt to distract the attention of the population away from the numerous internal problems of the peninsula" around the seventh anniversary of its forcible annexation, which was marked on March 18.

The U.S. State Department has called Yesypenko's arrest another attempt to repress those who speak the truth about Russia's aggression in Ukraine.

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.
Researchers have answered key questions to help prevent damage and improve the safety of hydraulic systems used for pipelines, water turbines and other applications

Researchers have answered key questions to help prevent damage and improve the safety of hydraulic systems used for pipelines, water turbines and other applications.

The work, led by engineers at the University of Waterloo, investigates a phenomenon known as cavitation, or the formation and collapse of destructive gas-filled bubbles resulting from rapid pressure changes in liquids.

Cavitation is behind a well-known party trick that involves shattering the bottom of a liquid-filled bottle by striking its open top with the palm of your hand.

"The growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles are fascinating," said Zhao Pan, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering who led the research. "They are usually small and fast, but they can cause serious damage even on surfaces such as hard alloys and glass."

The researchers developed a theoretical model to predict the formation and size of large, particularly damaging bubbles based on the acceleration and velocity of fluid flow. Experiments using high-speed photography validated the theory.

Information provided by the model will help engineers design hydraulic systems and develop operation guidelines to minimize wear and tear, avoid major failures, and improve the reliability of the technology.

In the party trick, hitting the bottle causes high acceleration of the liquid relative to the walls of the bottle. That reduces the pressure of the liquid at the bottom, triggering the rapid formation of gaseous bubbles.

When those bubbles collapse, or implode, they temporarily create high temperatures, high-speed micro-jets and shockwaves. Those effects are powerful enough to break the glass.

The phenomenon is a common culprit in damaged water pipes and ship propellers, for example. In extreme cases, it has led to disastrous pipe failures in hydropower plants.

"On the other hand, the power of these bubbles can also be harnessed for good," Pan said. "Cavitation can be used to break up kidney stones, kill bacteria without using chemicals, and even in the production of beer and chocolate."

Pan previously worked with researchers in Japan and the United States on a new theory of small cavitation bubbles caused by the acceleration of liquids that explained how the trick works. Recent work extends those results to the prediction of large bubbles. A paper on the research, On the criteria of large cavitation bubbles in a tube during a transient process, appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Pan collaborated on the new study with researchers from Tsinghua University in China.

###
RTHK: Japan plans to release contaminated nuclear water

Japan plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, the government said on Tuesday, a decision that is likely to anger neighbours such as South Korea.

The move, more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will deal another blow to the fishing industry in Fukushima, which has opposed such a step for years.

The work to release the water will begin in about two years, the government said, and the whole process is expected to take decades. "On the premise of strict compliance with regulatory standards that have been established, we select oceanic release," the government said in a statement after relevant ministers formalised the decision.

The water needs to be filtered again to remove harmful isotopes and will be diluted to meet international standards before any release.

The decision comes about three months ahead of the postponed Olympic Games to be hosted by Tokyo, with some events planned as close as 60 km (35 miles) from the wrecked plant.

The disposal of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power, has proved a thorny problem for Japan as it pursues a decades-long decommissioning project. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
New Delhi:

An Al-Qaeda commander was killed after a US drone fell on the central province of Baida, Yemen, security sources said on Friday.

Shroum al-Sanaani, a leading figure with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group, was travelling on a motorbike along with an unidentified man when the strike killed them both, the sources said.

The attack was carried out on the Yakala area, a stronghold for the jihadist group where US drones have repeatedly targeted Al-Qaeda members in the past few months.

The United States considers the Yemen-based AQAP to be the groups most dangerous branch. A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

An air raid he ordered that month killed a US Navy SEAL and several Yemeni civilians in Baida province, south of Marib. AQAP has taken advantage of a war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels to expand its presence in several areas of eastern and southern Yemen.

More than 8,000 people have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the conflict in 2015.

With PTI inputs

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
[April 13, 2021] VEGAMOUR Announces $80 Million Minority Growth Investment by General Atlantic to Fuel Continued Expansion as a Category Leader in Hair Wellness

VEGAMOUR, a premium, direct-to-consumer, clean hair wellness brand, today announced $80M in funding from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm. The Company will use the new funds to further its organic e-commerce growth, launch additional products and expand into new channels and geographies. Founded in 2016 by CEO Daniel Hodgdon, VEGAMOUR is a plant-based hair wellness brand that incorporates a comprehensive range of naturally-derived products to support healthy hair growth and wellness. All of VEGAMOUR's products are clean, vegan and formulated with proprietary phytoactive ingredients clinically proven to help promote abundant and radiant-looking hair. VEGAMOUR has emerged as a differentiated solution from traditional hair care products, which are often formulated with potentially harmful and synthetic chemicals. Through its expanding line of best-selling topical serums, organically-sourced supplements and natural hair maintenance and scalp health products, VEGAMOUR hopes to redefine the hair care category with its holistic, inside-out approach to hair wellness. Hair loss affects approximately 35% of women - amounting to nearly 60 million people in the U.S. alone - and VEGAMOUR is directly addressing this large unmet need by providing a vegan and efficacious product line for all women. Hodgdon, a longtime advocate and producer of sustainably-sourced, plant-based ingredients for the skincare and hair care industry, said, "After years of observing how things thrive in nature, it's clear that when it comes to healthy hair, we should consider the body's entire ecosystem. Hair wellness is impacted by so many factors - aging, stress, sleep, our environment and especiall the things we put into and onto our bodies. At VEGAMOUR, we've developed a 360 approach to hair health that seeks to address these issues and support a balanced physiological ecosystem conducive to healthy, beautiful hair. As we look ahead, we are excited to be partnering with General Atlantic and leveraging the firm's deep expertise in helping beauty brands scale globally. We look forward to bringing continued product innovation to the market and making VEGAMOUR accessible on a wider scale as we meet growing consumer demand for natural and sustainable beauty products."



"VEGAMOUR has been a leader in creating a new category in hair wellness and occupies a differentiated position in the marketplace as an efficacious, vegan and clean solution," said Andrew Ferrer, Managing Director at General Atlantic. "In partnership with Dan and the VEGAMOUR team, we are excited to accelerate the company's growth and build upon its proven model." As part of the transaction, General Atlantic's Andrew Ferrer and Lexie Bartlett will join the VEGAMOUR Board of Directors.

VEGAMOUR was advised by Financo | Raymond James and Sidley Austin LLP. General Atlantic was advised by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About VEGAMOUR VEGAMOUR is a digitally native, vegan beauty company. Founded in 2016, VEGAMOUR is committed to creating clean, sustainable, plant-based products that have a positive impact on people's lives and the planet we all share. For more information, please visit https://vegamour.com/. About General Atlantic General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm providing capital and strategic support for growth companies. Established in 1980, General Atlantic combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to build market-leading businesses worldwide. General Atlantic has more than 175 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Greenwich, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto (News - Alert) , Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Singapore. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005317/en/

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Researchers have developed tattoos which change colour when there is a certain amount of glucose or albumin in the blood, or when the pH level of the blood changes to a certain level. Credit: Dr Ali Kemal Yetisen

Researchers are developing wearable devices to transform the way we monitor, diagnose and treat acute and chronic conditions, including COVID-19.

Researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Freiburg have proposed that wearable devices could be used to develop a network of health data about a patient, allowing for early diagnosis of COVID-19, even when the patient is asymptomatic.

An increasing number of people are using wearable devices to better understand their health, also known as "quantified self-movement." There are a variety of exciting new devices being developed, including tattoos, contact lenses, and clothing, which can monitor a range of different health signals and provide us with real-time data about our bodies. Now, researchers have suggested that this data could help to diagnose and treat COVID-19.

The article has been published in Nature Electronics.

Positive correlation

Smartphones, fitness trackers and smart watches have drastically changed the way we understand our personal health and fitness. These devices allow us to monitor our wellbeing through measurements of heart rate, movement, and even blood oxygen levels.

Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Freiberg have reviewed the literature on wearable devices and argue that their potential has become increasingly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They make the case that by building on previous research into wearable devices, these technologies could be used to detect even asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.

They note that previous studies in this field have shown promising data but were limited for several reasons. They were unable to distinguish between COVID-19 and other, similar viral infections, and the data was likely to show bias as smartwatches are generally more accessible to higher-income communities. There was also a need for large amounts of data in order to carry out accurate analysis, which would make diagnosis of novel pathogens difficult.

In their article, the researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Freiburg proposed that the use of wearable devices to detect COVID-19 could be significantly increased by employing a network of devices.

Smart network

There are a wide range of new low-cost wearables that measure various physical quantities currently in development. These include clothing that can detect when certain molecules or "biomarkers" are present in sweat; face masks that can analyse breath and detect airborne diseases; and contact lenses that can measure the pressure of fluid inside the eye.

Using several of these devices together would help to build a clearer picture of a patient's health, without requiring large amounts of data.

Dr. Ali Yetisen from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London said: "By using a combination of different wearable devices, we could collect data on various patient signals, such as movement, respiratory rate or concentration of biomarkers in sweat. These could be used for pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic diagnosis, monitoring of the health of COVID-19 patients, or assessment of treatments."

Intelligent face masks, in particular, would be very useful for detecting COVID-19. Face masks have already become a part of our everyday life, so it would not be challenging to encourage large numbers of people to wear them.

Dr. Firat Guder from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London said: "The use of intelligent facemasks could allow us to continuously access medically relevant physiological data in a non-invasive way. In the past, this data would have only been accessible if a patient was assessed at a clinic by healthcare professionals."

The face masks could also monitor the air around the wearer, perhaps even alerting them to the presence of harmful airborne molecules. Spyras LTD, a start-up from the laboratory of Dr. Guder, is already in the final phase of releasing their intelligent face mask for analysing respiration in real-time.

Wearables of the future

This research does not stop at COVID-19. In collaboration with researchers from University of California Davis, Dr. Ali Yetisen's research group have developed tattoos which change colour in the presence of certain biomarkers. These tattoos could keep a diabetic person informed about glucose levels in their blood or tell a person with a hormonal or metabolic disease if the pH of their body has changed.

This is just one example of an exciting new wearable device. There are a seemingly infinite number of uses for wearable technologies in medicine, which could really transform the way we assess and treat our health.

Dr. Yetisen explained: "The key advantage of wearables is that they are able to collect real-time information. This could transform the way we collect medical data by allowing measurements of trends and abrupt metabolic changes between check-ups."

As these devices get smaller and cheaper, they will become more accessible to the average person. It may not be too long before we can all monitor every aspect of our health through our clothing, tattoos and face masks.

Explore further Wearable fitness devices deliver early warning of possible COVID-19 infection

More information: H. Ceren Ates et al. Wearable devices for the detection of COVID-19, Nature Electronics (2021). Journal information: Nature Electronics H. Ceren Ates et al. Wearable devices for the detection of COVID-19,(2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41928-020-00533-1
NEWTON, Mass., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MPINarada, a global leader in battery technology, has been manufacturing lithium batteries for telecommunications and other markets for over 10 years, exceeding 1.2 million units deployed globally. The introduction of the HELiION NPFC series 48VDC 200Ahr lithium battery delivers the next level in reliable solutions for the telecom industry. This new addition to our NPFC lineup, provides increased capacity over past products providing a smaller more energy dense product. With a longer life cycle compared to standard valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, this lithium option boasts UL and UN certifications, demonstrating MPINarada's commitment to quality and safety.

Key Benefits:

Form factor: With an increased capacity in a smaller package, existing battery rack units (RUs) can now be freed up, creating additional space for transport gear or other revenue generating equipment. The reduction in the size of the battery without compromising power, permits more space for what matters.

Ease of installation : With only two connection points for a 48VDC string versus multiple VRLA battery connections, the NPFC battery provides a simplified installation process and higher connection reliability.

With only two connection points for a 48VDC string versus multiple VRLA battery connections, the NPFC battery provides a simplified installation process and higher connection reliability. Weight savings: The smaller form factor also corresponds to less weight, which can make a difference in a weight critical site such as rooftop or pole mounted applications.

Ideally suited for telecommunications, CATV and renewable energy applications, the Narada HELiION NPFC Series lithium batteries are designed to meet the market needs of today. Suitable for both high and low temperature operation, the unique lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry makes it one of the safer lithium options. The battery is certified to UL1973, the Standard for Safety Batteries for Use in Stationary Applications and UN 38.3 requirements, to ensure the safety of lithium batteries during shipping, establishing a solid example for reliability and safety.

"MPINarada recognizes the importance of delivering a quality product that our customers can rely on," said Steven Dworkin , President. "Our battery is a complete Narada package. We manufacture the complete unit from the cell level to the finished product that powers your network. This allows us the unique versatility and quality control over the products we produce."

With a fully established supply and an exceptional warranty, this new higher capacity product is ready for the market today. For more information, go to www.mpinarada.com .

About MPINarada: Since 1994, Narada has been a leader of one of the broadest and most reliable VRLA and lithium battery solutions for telecom , data center , colocation, edge, grid, microgrid, and C&I energy storage . MPINarada is the North American operation providing local sales support, engineering and design, and multiple inventory locations.

CONTACT: Jennifer MacNeil

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE MPINarada

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COMMERZBANK AG (London Branch) - Pre Stabilisation - Eurogrid GmbH EUR 12 year

Pre-Stabilisation notice

12 April 2021

Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful.

Eurogrid GmbH, Berlin, Germany

EUR Benchmark Fixed Rate Notes due 21 April 2033

Issued offDebt Issuance Programme dated 30 April 2020 and supplemented on 9 April 2021

Commerzbank AG (contact: Ian Turner; telephone: +44 207 475 1817) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014).

The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Eurogrid GmbH, Berlin, Germany Guarantor (if any): 50Hertz Transmission GmbH and 50Hertz Offshore GmbH Aggregate nominal amount: EUR Benchmark Description: Fixed Rate Notes due 21 April 2033 Offer price: tbc Other offer terms: payment date 21 April 2021, denoms 100k/100k, listing Luxembourg, 3mth par call, tax call, MWC. Rated BBB+ by S&P Stabilisation: Stabilisation coordinator:

Stabilising Managers: Commerzbank AG

BNP Paribas

ING Bank

NatWest Markets Stabilisation period expected to start on: 13 April 2021 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: Luxembourg Stock Exchange, Regulated Market

In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities during the stabilisation period at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur and any stabilisation action, if begun, may cease at any time Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction.

This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful.

END
Marks & Spencer has delighted fans by launching their own brand of hard seltzers.

Famed for their canned cocktail range, affectionately known as 'tinnies', the upmarket British retailer has launched three flavours of alcoholic sparkling water, which has taken the US by storm in recent years.

Last summer, famed brand White Claw, which accounts for more than half of hard seltzer sales in the US, launched in the UK, with dozens of independent and well-established brands following in their footsteps.

Marks & Spencer has delighted fans by launching their own brand of hard seltzers. Famed for their canned cocktail range, affectionately known as 'tinnies', the upmarket British retailer has launched three flavours of alcoholic sparkling water, which has taken the US by storm in recent years.

Now, Marks & Spencer has joined the trend in time for summer, with the launch of Black Cherry, Lemon and Lime and Raspberry and Rhubarb, flavours all for 1.80 and 75 calories or less.

Popular with health conscious millennials, hard seltzers became a sensation with American drinkers in summer 2019, so much so that there were shortages in stores, rationing was introduced, and a festival was launched in its name.

What's in Marks & Spencer new Hard Seltzer range? Black Cherry Hard Seltzer, 1.80 (73 CALORIES)

Lemon and Lime Hard Seltzer, 1.80 (75 CALORIES)

Raspberry and Rhubarb Hard Seltzer, 1.80 (75 CALORIES) Advertisement

Since White Claw has launched in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, other brands including Bud Light, Long Shot and Kopparberg have launched versions as well- but White Claw certainly stood out, with 'clawing' becoming slang with young drinkers who consumed the beverage in troves.

The Atlantic described 2019 as 'The Summer of White Claw', with sales of the drink surging 300 per cent in a year.

A festival called Seltzer Land even debuted in the US, and has held nine events in eight cities since the summer of 2020.

And the trend has travelled across the pond to the UK, with Sainsburys ready-to-drink sales are up 80 per cent week on week at the end of March, with many revellers grabbing a hard seltzers while the sun was out.

Other brands have debuted as well, including Berczy, which launched in November and promises 100 per cent natural, alcoholic sparkling waters with no added sugar in three delicious fruity hipster flavours including Passionfruit & Turmeric.

Now, Marks & Spencer has joined the trend in time for summer, with the launch of Black Cherry, Lemon and Lime and Raspberry and Rhubarb, flavours all for 1.80 and 75 calories or less.

Meanwhile, Swedish cider brand Kopparberg have three fruit flavoured Hard Seltzers, while Funkin Cocktails have their own range and Love Island star Charlie Brake also launched his own brand 'Naughty Water' earlier this year.

All brands are low carb and low calorie, and usually gluten-free and vegan.

Many see it as a healthy way to drink. SENTZ, which launched earlier this year, features added minerals - calcium, magnesium and potassium - and at just 92 calories per can (330ml) with a 4% ABV alcoholic kick.

White Claw - who account for more than half of hard seltzer sales in the US - was the first Hard Seltzer to launch in the UK, with shoppers able to get their hands on the beverage in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

It comes as non-alcoholic options will continue to grow, as Gen Z and younger millenials opt for more conscious dirnking.

Kricket's Head of Beverage Will Rogers told FEMAIL last year: 'Brought over from the US, these low-calorie spiked sodas are hitting the supermarket shelves with full force'.

In December, Bibendum Wine, which supplies alcohol to bars and restaurants across the UK, told FEMAIL hard seltzers and other low calorie drinks will take the UK market by storm this year.

The retailer monitors the spending habits at restaurants and bars across the country to pick out trends at the early stages and predict what might be the next big thing.
Photo: BC Gov Flickr

With the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic crashing over British Columbia, the provinces public health officer says she is trying to be more selective this time around with closures and health orders to fight the virus.

We have recognized from the very beginning that the impacts of shutdowns and the measures that we take in public health dont affect people equally, said Dr. Bonnie Henry.

That has been an important consideration that we have taken all along in our management of this pandemic.

Henry pointed to new rules rolling out this week that will allow health authorities to shut down individual businesses for 10 days where transmission has occurred with three or more cases as an effort to avoid sector-wide shut downs.

Public health has been working hard with businesses that have been impacted by this virus, and it is through no fault of one business, its not about blaming them, she said.

We want to keep businesses open and keep people working, because we know how important that is, not just for the economy but for our health.

She did not offer any hint of what she may do with the current pause on indoor dining at restaurants in B.C., which is currently set to expire on April 19.

With active cases in B.C. expected to reach an all-time high this week, Dr. Henry said she is in no rush to follow the lead of Ontario, which today closed schools.

We heard loud and clear from families across the board, and from many of the educators in school systems, that when we had that shutdown of schools last year that it impacted negatively, she said, noting discussions on the issue take place "daily."

When we see increased transmission in the community, its when children were not in school The important structure that school gives to families and communities, is really important and is a less risky environment.

On Monday, B.C. announced 3,289 new COVID-19 cases, including 299 in the Interior Health region, over the past three days.
Epoch Times publisher Stephen Gregory speaks as Guo Jun (R), director of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, looks on, during a press conference about the attack on the printing press of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, at the National Press Club in Washington on April 13, 2021. (Jenny Jing/Epoch Times)

Hong Kong Epoch Times Vows to Never Give Up After Attack on Printing Press

A day after a violent attack at the printing press of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, the outlet said it would never give in to intimidation, pressure, or sabotage attempts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), at a press conference in Washington on April 13.

In the early hours of Monday, four men broke into the printing warehouse of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times. The perpetrators smashed printing equipment with sledgehammers and tossed construction debris on it before fleeing the scene in a white van. They threatened the staff onsite not to do anything that would compel them to take action.

The printing plant suffered extensive damage from the assault, which affected multiple computers, the transmitter, and a computer, and forced the Hong Kong edition to suspend printing for the time being.

Guo Jun, the director of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, said the attack was the latest in a long line of actions aimed at crippling the outlet.

The Chinese Communist Party has used every trick in the book to suppress The Epoch Times in Hong Kong in an attempt to prevent the citys people from getting independent news, Guo said. The Epoch Times is one of the few remaining voices in the Hong Kong media landscape that does not bend to the CCP.

In November 2019, during the height of the mass pro-democracy protests in the city, four masked men broke into the same printing facility and set fire to the equipment. The arson resulted in an estimated damage of $40,000. The printing press has been targeted three other times since its founding in 2006.

While The Epoch Times Hong Kong will increase security measures, that in itself is not enough to counter the effect of declining press freedom, Guo said.

Since October last year, employees from the warehouse have been monitored by unknown vehicles, she said.

In March, a Hong Kong host of the outlets online current affairs programs received a message that mainland China police had delivered to her relative, that she should stop broadcasting or face arrest under the new National Security Law. Last July, the CCP imposed a national security law on the city that punishes vaguely defined crimes including secession and collusion with foreign forces, which critics say is a tool used to suppress dissent.

Guo vowed to resume publishing the newspaper by Friday, when a Hong Kong court will announce the sentencing of several key pro-democracy activists.

We will not back down, and will never bow to evil forces, she said.

Preliminary Police Statement

Hong Kong polices organized crime squad has taken over the investigation. In an overnight statement to AFP, the police said they received a report that the attack was related to a dispute over a debt.

Police received a report saying that the suspects claimed the staff from the above company owed loans and used hammers to destroy five computer screens and one printer, the statement said.

The story we can say is a ruse, and most likely planted in order to deflect attention away from the obvious culprit here which is the Chinese Communist Party, said Stephen Gregory, the publisher of the U.S.-based newspaper, in the press conference.

Guo confirmed that there have been no outstanding debts by the warehouse or the Hong Kong Epoch Times.

The police statement appeared to refer to a note left by the attackers at the scene, Gregory said.

Director of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times, Guo Jun, speaks during a press conference about an attack on the printing press in Hong Kong, at the National Press Club in Washington on April 13, 2021. (Jenny Jing/Epoch Times)

In order to gain access to the print shop, the first man who blocked the door demanded to see Mr. Chu, he wants to see Mr. Chu right awaythere is no Mr. Chu who works in the Hong Kong print shop, he said. Despite being told so by the woman he confronted, the man quickly let in three other attackers. The four later left a note that the police found asserting the debt claim, Gregory said.

Journalist watchdogs have called for the police to conduct a thorough investigation and hold the attackers accountable.

Police investigations into the previous attacks on The Epoch Times printing press have not brought meaningful results, Guo noted, calling for international support for the outlet to continue its mission.

What happened to the printing plant allows the world to see what it means to live under the Chinese Communist Party, Gregory said.

The world needs to push back, said Gregory. They need to stand up for democracy, they need to stand up for human rights, they need to let the Chinese Communist Party know its not going to have a free hand taking democracy and human rights away from the people of Hong Kong and people around the world.

Cathy He contributed to this report.
HOUSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- KBR, Inc. (NYSE: KBR) announced that it has signed a license agreement with JS Energy Limited for its proprietary K-PRO Propane Dehydrogenation (PDH) technology to convert propane into propylene for JS Energy's planned PDH project in Pakistan, which is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

Launched in 2019, K-PRO is positioned to revolutionize the PDH industry through its innovative and compact design resulting in inherently lower capital cost. Other key advantages are that unlike conventional PDH technologies, K-PRO's proprietary catalyst does not include expensive precious metals and pollutants, thereby delivering tangible environmental and operating cost benefits.

"We are excited to announce that JS Energy's K-PRO project is progressing further to meet increasing propylene derivatives demand," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. "KBR offers various sustainable technologies that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly. K-PRO is based on an innovative catalyst that does not contain costly precious metals or environmentally-sensitive chromium and is a continuous process with efficient energy integration, heat recovery and high conversion."

KBR has been a leader in petrochemical plant design, construction, and technology development for more than 50 years.

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.

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[April 13, 2021] SkyPoint Federal Credit Union Expands from Montgomery County Base to Serve More Communities Across the DMV Region

SkyPoint Federal Credit Union (SkyPoint), a premier, member-owned financial institution, announces its recent expansion to extend its service offerings and reach more communities across the region. From its base in Montgomery County, Maryland, SkyPoint now serves customers in Frederick County, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia. With the mission to 'make banking simple,' SkyPoint offers its members a wide variety of financial services to meet their needs, and embraces the use of innovative technology to achieve top levels of value and returns. Formerly known as Montgomery County Employees Federal Credit Union, SkyPoint completed a full-scale re-brand in 2019 that was rooted in adapting its offerings to better reflect its expanding and increasingly diverse membership base. >



Among SkyPoint's solutions are a full range of financial solutions, free online services, and a financial wellness program, SkyPoint at Work, for corporate partner employees with accompanying educational tools. SkyPoint is fully bilingual with over 80,000 ATMs available nationwide for fee-free use due to its extensive ATM network.

"We are proud of our deep roots in Montgomery County and take our role in delivering financial services to improve our members' lives very seriously," said Jim Norris, President and CEO of SkyPoint. "Many people don't know what credit unions offer or how we differ from banks. We provide the same services and financial solutions that they do, but at lower rates and with less fees. This allows us to not just make banking simple, but cost-effective and easy at the same time." About SkyPoint Federal Credit Union (SkyPoint) SkyPoint is one of the premier financial institutions serving Montgomery County, MD; Frederick County, MD; Arlington County, VA; Alexandria and Falls Church, VA; and the District of Columbia. We strive to offer our members a wide array of financial services, supported by the best technology, and offering great value through our member-owned structure. To learn more visit www.skypointfcu.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005396/en/

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The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Ogun Council, has embarked on a strike over the kidnapping of its members and insecurity in the state.

A statement jointly signed by the Chairperson of NANNM, Roseline Solarin, and the state Chair of the Nigerian Medical Association, Oladayo Ogunlaja., said the strike took effect from the midnight of April 13th.

The nurses association described the alleged recent kidnappings of health workers as disheartening, repugnant and unacceptable.

The group said the state governments approach of not negotiating with the alleged kidnappers had made them believe that their lives and property were of no essence to the government.

They alleged that the state has not shown any commitment that could facilitate the early release of their members, hence, the decision to down tools.

The recent kidnapping of health workers after rendering their services to the good citizens of Ogun is so disheartening, repugnant and unacceptable.

Recall that Dr Oladunni Adetola and Mrs Bamgbose, a nurse, were precisely abducted on the 7th of April, making it six days in incarceration.

Also, another dental therapist working at the General Hospital, Ijebu-Igbo, was abducted today on her way to work.

In the light of these, there is immediate withdrawal of services of our members from all institutions in Ogun until the safety of our members is guaranteed, it said. (NAN)
Samuel Bistrian, founder and CEO of Americas favorite rain boot brand, ROMA Boots. Early on, I simply wanted to help those less fortunate, I still do. But as I've grown and understood that a business like ROMA Boots must be able to sustain our non-profit ROMA Foundation through the donation of boots. So, I got more comfortable with being CEO, albeit reluctantly."

During the past year, business owners have been forced to shift strategy to stay afloat. Samuel Bistrian, founder and CEO of Americas favorite rain boot brand, ROMA Boots, has stayed true to his passion and the commitment he made 11 years ago, leading a company with a philanthropic mission at the forefront.

This month, ROMA Boots celebrates its 11th anniversary marking their most successful year to date in terms of sales, customer service, and most importantly, to Give Poverty the Boot. The companys business model merges for-profit fashion with a strong 1-for-1 philanthropic give back mission. The brand gives back to charities daily through its Product With Purpose initiative and the ROMA Foundation. Bistrian identifies as philanthropist first, and businessman second.

I never thought of myself as a businessman or an entrepreneur. For years I struggled with being known as the CEO of ROMA Boots. Early on, I simply wanted to help those less fortunate, I still do. But as I've grown and understood that a business like ROMA Boots must be able to sustain our non-profit ROMA Foundation through the donation of boots. So, I got more comfortable with being CEO, albeit reluctantly, explained Bistrian when asked about the importance of his give back model.

The ROMA Foundation brings children and families hope, love, and lasting change by donating a brand new pair of vegan rain boots, investing in their education, and creating jobs in their communities. Also partnering with Convoy of Hope, the brand donated 40,000 boots in 2020 alone. The mission for 2021 and beyond is to increase the momentum and keep helping people, especially children.

According to Bistrian, it was imperative for the company to keep excellence as the central mission and stay true to its values during the hardships created by COVID-19. He notes the consumer appetite for products that give back and have the credibility and reputation for eco-friendly products that make a difference.

It's no secret that COVID's effect on small businesses was enormous. As retailers cancelled their orders, we had to get creative and find other ways to stay afloat without compromising quality & customer experience, two key components we built our business on. Fortunately, we were able to quickly adapt and make 2020 our best year ever. That momentum carried us into 2021 and Q1 this year was our best quarter ever, said Bistrian.

Bistrian is no stranger to challenging times, having started ROMA Boots during the last recession in 2010. Having grown up in a poor Romanian village, the idea of providing boots to children in need especially hit home for Bistrian, knowing that children still went without adequate footwear for the wet, cold climate. What began as a local idea in Dallas to help kids in Romania has turned into a global movement impacting hundreds of thousands of children across 30 countries.

The eco-conscious fashion brand continues to offer new designs that are becoming must-haves for the rainy spring season. ROMA Boots is preparing to launch new colors for its best-selling Chelsea Boot line, with plans to ramp up even more philanthropic initiatives as well to celebrate their monumental success.

ROMA Boots are sold at over 1,500 independent retailers across the U.S. at romaboots.com and on Amazon. . To learn more about ROMA Boots and how you can make a difference in a childs life, visitromaboots.com or romafoundation.com.

About ROMA Boots: Founded in 2010 by Samuel Bistrian, the company name ROMA means love. After spending years working at Neiman Marcus, Romanian-born Samuel Bistrian wanted to take his passion for quality and customer service a step further by giving back to people in need. Following a buy one, give one model similar TOMS footwear, ROMA does the same with boots. Growing up in rural Romania, Bristrian knows how proper footwear can empower and inspire children to live their best lives and encourage them to spread their talents with the world.
BURBANK, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Front Signs has released a free and ultimate guide to choosing a business sign for your company. Outstanding signage can rally the right crowd and become your breakthrough to success. Choosing the ideal signage can be a tough task but it's one of the most important steps in company branding. In this guide, they break down trade secrets to optimize the purpose of your business signs.



Experts at Front Signs know all the ins-and-outs of the industry and are sharing their knowledge to help companies thrive. During their time in the signage sphere, they've worked with thousands of entrepreneurs struggling with their commercial sign choices. They've created this free guide that answers all their questions and directs them to the ultimate business signs.



Here's what you'll get from this free guide:



Honest insights, hacks and tips from industry leaders.

A list of things to consider before purchasing a business sign.

Which types of signs will best suit your business requirements.

How to distinguish between reliable and questionable sign companies.



Front Signs is a comprehensive sign-making and printing company headquartered in Burbank, California. They offer everything from sign design and manufacturing to permitting, installation and maintenance.



Since its establishment in 2016, the company has worked with over 50,000 customers including world-renowned business giants. Last year, the company moved to a new and advanced facility in Burbank, CA and became the largest signage company in the area.



Contact:

Front Signs,

3520 Valhalla Dr.

Burbank, CA 91505,

844-833-1188,

[email protected],

https://www.frontsigns.com/

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Front Signs
BEND, Ore.  Two Black Bear Diner locations in Deschutes County face fines from Oregon OSHA after the agency said that they kept indoor dining open while the county remained under "Extreme Risk" restrictions.

Both sites share the same ownership, OSHA said, and will be fined more than $35,000 in total. One of the locations is in Bend and the other in Redmond.

According to OSHA, inspections of the two sites found that they "willfully" kept indoor dining open from roughly January 13 through February 11, while the county was under prohibitive restrictions.

"During an interview, the owner of the restaurants, Kathy Degree, said she was aware that indoor dining was not allowed in Deschutes County during that time," the agency said.

Each restaurant was fined $17,800 for the indoor dining violation, and OSHA also noted that the owner failed to establish a safety committee for the locations. Fines levied against the owners were double the minimum penalty at the decision of OSHA administrator Michael Wood.

Most employers continue to follow worker health and safety standards as part of our ongoing work to defeat this disease. And we continue to make progress, Wood said. Unfortunately, some employers are choosing to defy standards and to put their workers at risk. As a result, we will continue to bring our enforcement tools to bear where appropriate.

State officials reported a similar penalty for the Twisted River Saloon in Springfield on Monday, amounting to $18,430.

As with all other fines of this sort  a number of which have been announced within the past month  employers have 30 days to appeal the citation.
A total of 1, 287, 706 petitions on human rights violations were filed by Nigerians at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2020, data obtained by PREMIUM TIMES has shown.

The petitions were filed at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja and its branches in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

They were largely filed against individuals, Nigerias judiciary system and law enforcement agencies.

The alleged violations were in 14 broad areas namely sexual and gender based violence; women and gender rights; child rights; freedom/liberty of persons; right to life; freedom of religion; and law enforcement and human dignity.

Others are labour rights; freedom from discrimination; judiciary, rule of law and access to justice; right of the aged; Niger Delta and environment; and others.

Unusual year, events

Arguably one of the most turbulent years in the history of the world, 2020 will continue to reverberate in the minds of many Nigerians for unusual events.

Aside its link with the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus, an event Nigeria and the rest of the world are yet to recover from, 2020 has singled itself out because of the social cum political campaign tagged #EndSARS.

The campaign which strictly started as a massive resistance against police brutality later metamorphosed into a call to end bad governance amidst the biting impact of COVID-19.

While COVID-19 halted the social and economic lifestyle of Nigerians and sent many back home, #ENDSARS took others, majorly youth to the streets to protest.

It was in the midst of these historical events that Nigeria recorded yet a staggering record of human rights violations filed at the human rights commission.

Breakdown

With figures to match, Nigeria is arguably one of the countries in the world where human rights are routinely violated, usually without commensurate punishments.

In the context of COVID-19, #EndSARS protests, among other events, the raw data PREMIUM TIMES obtained from NHRC showed a noticeable increase in violations against the rights of Nigerian in 2020.

After weeks of careful data collation across the country, NHRC streamlined the total complaints filed by individuals, groups or organisations into 14 broad categories of human rights violations in the year under review.

The commission further categorised the complaints into 58 thematic focal points.

With 212,480 petitions confirmed to have been filed, violations of the rightd of children topped the chart.

From child labour, child trafficking and abuse to denial of the right to education, the data clearly suggested that children were highly affected by the developments peculiar to 2020.

The reason for this may not be divorced from the fact that academic sessions from primary to higher institutions were placed on hold, exposing children to adverse treatment from parents, siblings, family, friends and neighbours.

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Violation of different labour rights is second on the chart with 193,960 complaints filed against individuals, companies and organisations across the country.

Though Nigeria was not listed among the top ten worst countries for workers rights in the June 2020 Global Rights Index of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the data shows that many workers rights in the country were not highly upheld not only by the concerned persons and organisations but also by the law.

Petitions on sexual and gender-based violence, women rights violation, law enforcement and human dignity also formed a large percentage of the total complaints received by the NHRC between January and December 2020.

While sexual and gender-based violence and women rights violation account for 128,320 and 104,000 of the total number of complaints respectively, petitions against law enforcement agents and agencies totalled 111,880.

The reason for this may not be unconnected to COVID-19 and protests against the age long police brutality.

Shocking exception

Interestingly, despite the harassment of some journalists and other media personalities by security operatives in 2020, not a single petition on obstruction to press freedom was filed or published.

Meanwhile, speaking on the petitions, NHRC Director, Women and Children Department, Harry Obe, said the largest number of complaints came from the North-east region of the country.

I cant speak to specific figures with you but I know as of fact that the highest number of cases came from the North-east, where we have the conflict and the reason is not far-fetched, Mr Obe told PREMIUM TIMES.

As of September 2020, Borno State was the highest. That was the report I received from the state.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 11:21:43|Editor: huaxia

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Workers are busy at a reopened residential construction site in Dublin, Ireland, April 12, 2021. Ireland on Monday started to ease some of its COVID-19 restrictions as scheduled. People are allowed to travel freely within the county where they live or within 20 kilometers from their home, with outdoor gatherings permitted for no more than two households, in-classroom education for all primary and secondary school students resumed, and all residential construction projects reopened. (Xinhua)
Allentown broke ground Tuesday on a new estimated $1.5 million skatepark, to be built in two phases.

We are pleased at this time to get Phase 1 underway at a cost of a little over $500,000 and an estimated completion time of end of summer, Mayor Ray OConnell said in a statement following the ceremony for the new addition to the citys Jordan Park.

The city has a $300,000 matching grant for the project from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as $10,000 from the Tony Hawk Foundation.

Grindline Skateparks, of Seattle, Washington, designed the park with input from the Lehigh Valley skateboarders and BMX bicyclists, and it is being built by Los Angeles-based Spohn Ranch Inc.

The project includes construction of the skatepark accessible to people with disabilities, pedestrian walkways, stormwater management measures, landscaping and other site improvements, as well as fencing and signage, according to the city.

Officials take part in a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday, April 13, 2021, on the new, two-phase Jordan Park Skatepark in Allentown.Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com

We are proud to add the Jordan Skatepark to our recreational offerings and look forward to welcoming our residents, visitors and the entire skateboarding community to this state-of-the-art facility, stated Allentown Department of Parks and Recreation Director Karen El-Chaar.

Jordan Park, at 1001 N. Sixth St. Extension near the Whitehall Township border, is also being spruced up with a $25,000 grant from the Giant Company and Stonyfield Organics to move towards more regenerative and organic maintenance of green spaces under the Non-Toxic Neighborhoods program, according to a news release from the city.

Jordan Park is also planned for trail improvements as part of the Jordan Creek Greenway & Trail that aims to link Allentown to the Trexler Game Preserve.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
The coronial inquest will not sit on Wednesday, despite having witnesses due to give evidence, because the widow of Senior Constable Brett Forte will spend the day writing a new statement in response to legal action launched mid-inquest by lawyers representing police officers.

State Coroner Terry Ryan allowed Fortes widow, Susan, to remain in the courtroom after an application to temporarily exclude her was launched by police lawyers.

Brett Forte with his wife, fellow cop Susan.

The police lawyers then made a second application to the Coroners Court, requesting that Mrs Forte write a new statement for the inquest and disclose any further concerns or pieces of information she plans to put before Mr Ryan during the inquests remaining six days.

Lawyers representing police officers who have testified so far were provoked by the questions put to those officers during cross-examination by Mrs Fortes lawyer, David Funch.

They described some of Mr Funchs questions as ambushing witnesses because the information or conversations he asked the officers about had not been disclosed in the brief of evidence the lawyers received prior to the inquest, which is designed to help them and their clients prepare.

Mr Ryan agreed, saying it would be helpful for Mrs Forte to disclose any other matters she wishes to put before me and any further evidence she may be in possession of.

The witnesses due to give evidence tomorrow and the two witnesses who were due to give evidence this afternoon but did not get their chance will now be called to testify on Thursday.

All remaining witnesses will be pushed back.

And with that, the coronial inquest is closed for the day. It will return on Thursday morning.
Around 30 relatives are expected to attend the funeral at

Around 30 relatives are expected to attend the funeral at St George's Chapel

They will reunite to walk directly behind their grandfather's coffin on Saturday

William, 38, and Harry, 36 walked behind Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral

The royal expert claimed it will bring back 'memories' of 'losing their mother'

Penny Junor said Prince Philip's funeral will be 'difficult' for William and Harry

A royal expert has claimed that walking behind Prince Philip's coffin will bring back 'difficult memories' for Prince William and Harry of 'losing their mother'.

The Duke of Cambridge, 38, and the Duke of Sussex, 36, will reunite to walk behind their grandfather's coffin with their father Prince Charles as part of a procession at his funeral in Windsor on Saturday.

Speaking to FEMAIL, royal expert Penny Junor explained the funeral will bring back 'difficult memories' of Princess Diana's funeral for William, Harry and Charles.

Following Princess Diana's death, William and Harry walked behind her coffin alongside Prince Charles, Prince Philip and Earl Spencer as it made its way to Westminster Abbey.

Walking behind Prince Philip's coffin will bring back 'memories' for William and Harry of 'losing their mother', a royal expert claimed (above, with Charles and Earl Spencer at Diana's funeral)

According to Penny Junor, the funeral will bring back 'difficult memories' for the brothers (pictured with the Duke of Edinburgh in 2015) of their mother's funeral in 1997

She told FEMAIL: 'This is likely to be a very emotional and reflective time for the entire family.

'I am sure that walking behind their grandfather's coffin will bring back difficult memories for William and Harry of losing their mother. It will probably bring back difficult memories for their father, too.

'And I am sure it won't be lost on any of them that the last time they walked behind a coffin, the Duke of Edinburgh was there walking with them and giving them all the courage they needed to get through the day.'

The Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, which he planned himself, will be televised around the world on Saturday.

Prince Harry and Prince William, who both paid tribute to their grandfather yesterday, are expected to stand shoulder to shoulder as they form part of the royal procession at the service.

Prince Philip's coffin will be placed on to a specially modified Land Rover, which Philip helped to design, to transport it to its final resting place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The vehicle will process slowly through the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the funeral, draped in his personal standard, a wreath of flowers and his naval cap and sword.

William, 38, and Harry, 36, will reunite for the first time since Harry's Oprah interview for their grandfather's funeral on Saturday, where they are set to form part of the royal procession

The procession from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to the chapel will take eight minutes and members of the royal family will take part in the procession on foot, immediately behind the duke's coffin, with six staff members from Philip's household.

The route of the procession will be lined by representatives drawn from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the Highlanders, 4th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Air Force.

A bearing party of Royal Marines will carry the coffin up the chapel's steps and pause for a minute's silence, before the Dean of Windsor, together with the Archbishop of Canterbury, will receive the coffin at the top of the West Steps.

In keeping with Covid-19 guidelines to limit guests inside the chapel, most of the procession will not enter the chapel for the funeral, except for members of the royal family, and the duke's private secretary Archie Miller Bakewell.

Only around 30 relatives are expected to attend the family funeral at St George's Chapel, stripped back due to Britain's ongoing lockdown. Britons are being warned to stay at home and watch on TV to avoid spreading coronavirus.

Philip's coffin was in Her Majesty's private chapel of worship at their Berkshire home before being moved to the nearby Albert Memorial Chapel, where he will rest during seven days of national mourning ahead of his scaled-back funeral this weekend.
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The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, adjourned plenary until April 20 to honour two of its colleagues that died during its Easter recess.

The two deceased lawmakers are Haruna Maitala (APC-Plateau) who died in a car accident on Abuja-Keffi road on his way to Jos on April 3 and Suleiman Lere (APC-Kaduna) died on April 6, at Barau Diko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna State after a brief illness.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, expressed shock over the demise of the lawmakers during the plenary.

While paying tribute to the departed lawmakers, Mr Gbajabiamila said Maitala was a quiet gentleman.

The circumstance surrounding his death is very painful.

The day he died, he had just come back from an official assignment of ECOWAS parliament.

He was going to Jos for his sons wedding when death confronted him, he died together with his son and Yusuf Gadgi, his legislative aide.

The Speaker also described the death of Mr Lere as painful.

We know how he struggled in law courts for his election petition case and he eventually won almost after two years.

READ ALSO: Another Nigerian lawmaker is dead

We swore him in two months ago, which was a very bitter fight, only for us to hear he died a few weeks after his swearing in.

Both deaths are difficult to understand but God knows best, he said.

Mr Gbajabiamila said the House would hold a valedictory session next Tuesday, in honour of late Ossy Prestige, who also died in February.

He pleaded with members to be in attendance in order to honour their departed colleagues.

The Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, then moved the motion for adjournment till April 20.

(NAN)
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Trial lawyers representing a growing number of people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease after exposure to paraquat-based herbicides have asked a federal judicial panel to consolidate their lawsuits under a single federal court. The request comes as new filings by the Fears Nachawati Law Firm bring the number of federal lawsuits to more than 20.

Grouping the lawsuits as multidistrict litigation (MDL) cuts duplication and allows lawsuits to proceed more efficiently, said Fears Nachawati co-founder Majed Nachawati. The legal team has asked the federal Joint Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) to consolidate the cases with Judge Edward Chen in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

"With a progressive neurological disease like Parkinson's, there's no time to lose," said Mr. Nachawati. "The efficiencies of multidistrict litigation cut duplication and provide the fastest way for these individuals to achieve justice."

Similar lawsuits have been filed in California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri and West Virginia by Parkinson's patients exposed to paraquat products like Gramoxone. The lawsuits name Gramoxone-maker Syngenta (SZSE: 000553) and Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., which manufactured and sold Gramoxone. Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., better known as CPChem, is a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX).

Paraquat's dangers have been documented for decades. The chemical is deadly if even a small amount is swallowed. Medical studies have established links between paraquat and Parkinson's, an incurable and progressive brain disorder that leads to tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination.

"For too long, these companies have knowingly exposed tens of thousands of unsuspecting Americans to a chemical so deadly that it has been banned in more than 50 countries," said Fears Nachawati trial lawyer Bryan Fears. "These lawsuits are a critical step toward answering important questions about how this was allowed to happen and to make sure the damage caused by paraquat has stopped."

The case is In Re: Paraquat Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3004.

Dallas-based Fears | Nachawati Law Firm represents individuals in mass tort litigation, businesses and governmental entities in contingent litigation, and individual victims in complex personal injury litigation. For the past three years, the law firm was ranked No. 1 nationally in product liability filings in federal court. For more information, visit https://www.fnlawfirm.com.

Media Contact:

Robert Tharp

214-420-6011

[email protected]

SOURCE Fears Nachawati Law Firm

Related Links

https://www.fnlawfirm.com


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Protests have erupted in Berlin after Angela Merkel's cabinet approved a new law that hands the government power to impose rules across Germany to combat a third wave of Covid-19.

Police were seen dragging demonstrators away from outside the German parliament on Tuesday where crowds of anti-lockdown protesters had gathered to oppose the law.

One the protester held a sign comparing the introduction of the new law to fascism. Another wore a face mask emblazoned with a drawing of Merkel and the words 'Mother's muzzle' - a reference to her nickname.

The new law, which still needs to be approved by parliament, means that lockdown measures will be automatically imposed on areas where Covid cases spike, bypassing the authority of regional leaders who were resisting the moves.

For example, if an area registers more than 100 cases per 100,000 people for three consecutive days, then a 9pm til 5am curfew will come into force.

If the case rate goes over 200 per 100,000 people, then schools will have to close within a week, German media reported.

Previously, Merkel had the power to activate a national 'emergency brake' which forced all regional leaders to discuss curbs - but all measures had to be agreed with them and it was left up to them how the rules should be implemented.

Protests have erupted in Berlin after Angela Merkel's cabinet agreed a new law that hands the government power to impose rules across Germany to combat a third wave of Covid-19

Police were seen dragging demonstrators away from outside the German parliament on Tuesday where crowds of anti-lockdown protesters had gathered to oppose the law

One protester in an Angela Merkel mask wore a sign comparing the introduction of the new law to fascism while demonstrating in Berlin on Tuesday

The new law, which still needs to be approved by parliament, means that lockdown measures will be automatically imposed on areas where Covid cases spike, bypassing the authority of regional leaders who were resisting the moves. Pictured: Protesters in Berlin on Tuesday

One anti-lockdown protester wore a face mask emblazoned with a drawing of Merkel and the words 'Mother's muzzle' - a reference to her nickname

A man is arrested by riot police for not wearing a face covering during a protests in Berlin on Tuesday against new legal measures to impose coronavirus restrictions

In addition, ministers on Tuesday approved a rule which will make it compulsory for companies to offer coronavirus testing to employees.

The controversial laws appear to have been carefully crafted to absolve Merkel of the responsibility of choosing which measures should be used and of imposing them.

The measures were bitterly opposed by some states, and fraught with political difficulty for Merkel with the far-right AfD courts voters opposed to lockdowns ahead of the September elections.

Angela Merkel's cabinet has signed off on new laws that will automatically impose lockdown measures on regions where Covid cases spike, bypassing regional leaders

Germany is battling a third wave of virus that has seen Merkel call for tougher lockdowns even as regional leaders reopen their economies

While deaths from the virus have not hit their second wave peak, they have begun rising again amid fears the situation could deteriorate further

A protester holds a sign saying: 'Stop the Merkel System it's enough! Remove the government immediately!' while demonstrating outside the German parliament

Riot police grapple with a protester during a demonstration outside the German parliament in Berlin on Tuesday

Germany is currently battling a third wave of Covid infections that saw the number of patients in intensive care rise by 20 per cent last week. Pictured: A demonstrator is detained in Berlin on Tuesday

The measures were bitterly opposed by some states, and fraught with political difficulty for Merkel with the far-right AfD courts voters opposed to lockdowns ahead of the September elections. Pictured: Riot police at a protest in Berlin on Tuesday

Meeting in Dresden to agree a new party manifesto at the weekend, the AfD came out in favour of ending Covid measures and of withdrawing Germany from the EU.

AfD pledges to end 'lockdown madness' in new manifesto The far-right Alternative for Germany party is calling for an end to 'lockdown madness' and Germany's exit from the EU as part of its new manifesto. Meeting in Dresden at the weekend, the AfD backed a slogan of 'Germany, but normal' for the September ballot. Policies it plans to adopt include rejecting masks in day-care centres and schools and ending 'disproportionate' lockdown measures. Party co-leader Joerg Meuthen told the conference: 'The AfD wants to show these orgies of prohibition, this imprisonment, this lockdown madness, that there is no need for this.' AfD delegates also backed a call for Germany to leave the EU and set up a new European community of economies and interests. Advertisement

Germany is currently battling a third wave of Covid infections that saw the number of patients in intensive care rise by 20 per cent last week - a trend that Health Minister Jens Spahn said is unsustainable and will result in beds running out.

Merkel attempted to impose a short but strict nationwide lockdown over Easter to curb cases but was forced into an humiliating climb-down over the unpopular decision.

At a press conference on Monday, Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said the new law aimed to create 'uniform national' rules.

'The aim is to bring the country as quickly as possible to a situation with much lower infection rates at which we can responsibly ease restrictions with testing,' he said.

Regular meetings between Berlin and the regions to set Germany's coronavirus policies have been marked by bitter disputes and spotty compliance in recent weeks.

Most notably, some states have not followed through on an agreement to row back on the easing of measures in areas where the seven-day incidence rate exceeds 100 new infections per 100,000 people.

The adjusted law would give Berlin the power to enforce this 'emergency brake'.

In a draft seen by AFP over the weekend, measures included a night-time curfew between 9pm and 5am, the closing of non-essential shops and restricting private gatherings to five people from two households.

The draft would also enable Berlin to force schools - usually strictly within the remit of the federal states - to revert to virtual teaching in most cases.

Yet amid fierce criticism from some regional leaders, Seibert said on Monday that discussions over details were still ongoing.

Lower Saxony's interior minister Boris Pistorius told Die Welt newspaper on Monday that it was a 'big mistake to take power from the regions in the middle of a crisis'.

The German Association of Towns and Municipalities also criticised the plans, telling the Rheinische Post that the proposed curfews were 'constitutionally problematic'.

The changes would also still have to pass through parliament, where Merkel's coalition has a majority.

The law could also potentially be passed without approval from the upper house Bundesrat, where passage of the bill is less certain.

The German Association of Towns and Municipalities also criticised the plans, telling the Rheinische Post that the proposed curfews were 'constitutionally problematic'. Pictured: Riot police carry a protester away in Berlin on Tuesday

An anti-lockdown protester wears underwear as a face covering during a protest against a new law in Berlin on Tuesday

Anti-lockdown protesters gathered outside Germany's parliament on Tuesday to oppose the controversial new law that will allow Berlin more power over regional lockdown measures

The streets of Dresden are empty amid a partial nationwide lockdown that Germany has been under since last year, which saw restaurants and leisure facilities shuttered

A man walks past a sign in Berlin advising people to go and get a Covid test during the country's third wave of coronavirus infections

Empty outdoor tables and chairs stand outside of a restaurant in Berlin, Germany, where Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned that hospital beds could run out if infections remain high

'We don't need to have everyone on board,' Ralph Brinkhaus, parliamentary leader for Merkel's conservatives, told public broadcaster ARD.

The controversial move away from Germany's strict federal structures comes as Europe's biggest economy struggles to contain rising infection rates.

'The numbers are too high at the moment. The pressure on our intensive care stations is growing and we have to say that this third wave is perhaps the hardest one to break,' said Merkel.

Case numbers continue to rise despite cultural venues, restaurants and leisure facilities having been closed for months, with the total number of infections passing the three million mark on Monday.

Health authorities warned last week that hospitals could become overwhelmed without tougher national measures.

'If we don't go into lockdown, a lot of people will lose their lives,' said Lothar Wieler, head of the Robert Koch Institute infectious disease agency.
Narek Sargsyan, the nephew of third President Serzh Sargsyan, has been arrested. Gor Abrahamyan, Adviser to the Prosecutor General of Armenia, informed this on Facebook.

He noted that the Court of Cassation on Monday granted the appeal of the Prosecutor General's Office, overturned the decision of the Court of Appeals, and gave legal force to the decision of the Court of General Jurisdiction to arrest defendant Narek Sargsyan. Sargsyan was initially remanded in custody, but later he was released on a 25mn dram bail.

Abrahamyan added that the aforesaid decision of the Court of Cassation has been sent to the investigative body to ensure the execution of this judicial act, and Narek Sargsyan has been arrested.

On July 26, 2018, the National Security Service of Armenia instituted a criminal case under the elements of illegally acquiring, selling, keeping, transferring or bearing weapons, ammunition, explosives or explosive devices, realizing illicit circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic (psychoactive) substances and their precursors, or preparing them or selling them illegally.

A nationwide search and, subsequently, and international search was declared against Narek Sargsyan.

On December 6, 2018, various units of the Police of Armenia, as well as the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Armenia, in cooperation with the law-enforcement authorities and Interpol in various European countries and through extensive operational intelligence measures, found Sargsyan in Prague, Czech Republic. Afterwards, he was extradited to Armenia and charged.
Chicago aldermen on Monday moved to officially condemn a newly elected Illinois congresswoman who told an audience at a Washington, D.C., rally, Hitler was right on one thing.

The nonbinding resolution denounces Republican U.S. Rep. Mary Millers remarks as a disgrace to the memories of those killed in the Holocaust and the millions of victims of World War II, an insult to the families of those who perished, and a discredit to the office of United States congresswoman and the great state of Illinois.

During a Jan. 5 speech to conservative group Moms for America, Miller said each generation has the responsibility to teach and train the next generation.

You know, if we win a few elections, were still going to be losing unless we win the hearts and minds of our children. This is the battle. Hitler was right on one thing. He said, whoever has the youth has the future, she said.

Facing widespread criticism and calls for her resignation, Miller issued a statement days later saying she apologized for any harm my words caused and regret using a reference to one of the most evil dictators in history to illustrate the dangers that outside influences can have on our youth.

Speaking in support of the City Council resolution Monday, Far North Side Alderwoman Debra Silverstein, 50th, said the remarks were hugely offensive to the big Jewish population in her ward, where Holocaust survivors and residents who lost family members in Nazi concentration camps are part of the fabric of the neighborhoods.

Silverstein, who is Jewish, noted that she herself lost great-aunts and great-uncles in the Holocaust.

As a representative of Chicagos largest Jewish community and a proud Jewish woman myself, I can say with certainty that nothing Hitler did was right, Silverstein said. And as a proud citizen of Chicago, a city that stands up for ethical and moral ideas, I condemn Rep. Millers statements in the strongest terms possible.

Millers office did not immediately respond to questions about the City Council resolution.

The resolution passed the council Health and Human Relations Committee, and the full council will consider it later this month.

2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
During his campaign, Mr. Biden also pledged to restore the use of consent decrees, a court order negotiated between federal and local officials that the Justice Department for years used to pressure police departments. The Trump administration largely backed away from the practice when Jeff Sessions, President Donald J. Trumps first attorney general, curtailed their use before his departure in 2018.

Mr. Biden has also tapped a former top civil rights official, Vanita Gupta, as associate attorney general and Kristen Clarke, a former civil rights lawyer, to lead the Justice Departments civil rights division. Those nominations, some said, signaled that the administration would enact more accountability measures. In its discretionary budget request, the administration also proposed $209 million for the civil rights division.

The president also vowed to bolster the Justice Department office that issues grants to police departments with a requirement that it use funds to ensure diversity within police ranks.

They have carrots, they have funding they can control to try to encourage certain behaviors in police departments, encourage them to seek to find ways of reforming themselves before they have it do it to them by something like a consent decree, said Kristy Parker, who spent 15 years in the civil rights division of the Justice Department.

With a set of nascent campaign promises, Mr. Biden and his advisers have relied on the continued support of civil rights groups as they urge calm after the shooting of Mr. Wright.

On Wednesday, Mr. Biden will deliver virtual remarks at a convention held by the National Action Network, a civil rights nonprofit founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton. He is not expected to focus on promoting the policing bill.

We have so much work to do, from criminal justice and police reform, to addressing health disparities and voting rights, the president will say, according to a copy of his remarks provided to The New York Times.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 16:27:05|Editor: huaxia

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ISTANBUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 84 suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police launched simultaneous operations in 49 provinces to arrest the suspects, upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

Those targeted in the operations were reportedly soldiers on active duty, expelled military personnel, and on-duty police officers.

The suspects have alleged connections with the network headed by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, said the agency.

The Turkish government blames Gulen and his network for masterminding the coup bid in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed, and has been pushing for his extradition. Enditem
(Photo : Screenshot From Bilal Mustafa YouTube) Huawei: US to Blame for Global Chip Shortage which Could Trigger Economic Crisis

Huawei has just blamed the US for the whole chip crunch that is shaking the global tech industry. Due to the sanctions against Chinese companies, a panic buying of semiconductors and other supplies have rocked global availability.

Semiconductor Shortage 2021

Eric Xu, Rotating Chairman of Huawei noted at the company's 18th Huawei Analyst Summit that due to US sanctions against Huawei, there has been a panic stockpiling from major companies and even Chinese ones. Companies are now reportedly building up to three to six months worth of inventory.

According to the story by Nikkei, the US has listed Huawei and some other Chinese tech companies on the official trade blacklists which restricts their access to general American technology due to "national security risks." Xu noted that the "unwarranted US sanctions" directly towards Huawei and other Chinese companies are now creating a massive industry-wide supply shortage.

White House Summit to Address Chip Shortage

It was also noted that this could even trigger a whole new global economic crisis. Xu's recent remarks come just hours before the White House planned to host a summit which aims to address the global chip shortage, according to the report by CNBC. The main emphasis of this summit is on the automotive industry and there were dozens of executives in attendance.

List of Those That Attended the Summit

General Motors

Ford

Intel

Google

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC)

Samsung Electronics

NXP

These are the names of the major companies that joined the summit and the White House officials acknowledge the whole chip shortage could be hard to solve in the short term.

Prices Can Go from 35% to 65%

Xu also noted that US trade restrictions directly on Huawei have not just undermined the company but also caused damage to the relationship of trust that once existed within the global semiconductor supply chain.

He also noted that even more countries are now trying to push onshore chip production to boost self-reliance especially in the tech field. This will reportedly entail at least a massive $1 trillion upfront investment. The result will reportedly push semiconductor prices to hike by 35% to 65% and might even lead to the general higher costing of electronic devices for general users.

Read Also: Intel Takes Advantage of AMD Chip Shortage, Cuts 10th-Gen Comet Lake Prices

Huawei to Focus on Software

Other Chinese companies are now concerned that they might face either the same or similar situation as Huawei noting he believes that there might be companies that would want to invest in chip manufacturing in order to satisfy the needs of Huawei and also other Chinese companies while complying with US rules.

Xu also acknowledged that as of the moment, no chip manufacturers around the world are able to help Huawei put its very own chip design production to life due to US export control rules. Huawei, however, continues to fund its very own team for the research and development for chips. The company noted that it will also continue to invest directly into software engineering over the course of the next five years to potentially further boost the company's resilience and also make its products able to compete even more.

Related Article: Apple to Bring its Chip Partner TSMC at the White House Summit to Talk About Semiconductor Shortage

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:00:12|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- It is a known fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has injured many countries' industrial production capacity.

However, not all is gloomy, as the pandemic has equally compelled some progressive countries to be inward-looking, with regard to the provision of basic services to citizens within a specified national geographical situation.

To this end, some countries have been forced to industrialize, as the importation of raw materials and finished goods is now a nightmare owing to reduced global travel, and invariably domestic and commercial products have become scarce, or when available, clearly beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.

In Zambia, a number of manufacturing companies are already doing their best to keep afloat and meet the ever-growing demand for raw materials and finished goods that were sourced out of the country, prior to the advent of COVID-19.

The homegrown development efforts of these companies are not only ensuring that small-scale traders stay in business but are to a greater extent also helping to address high unemployment levels in the country.

Boyd Siame, who runs business in Mandevu Township's Lupili Market in Zambia's capital Lusaka, is happy to note that COVID-19 is a blessing in disguise to the local manufacturing industry now taking center stage in business

Siame, a household products dealer, said many small-scale traders in Zambia have survived harsh economic times because of local manufacturing companies that stepped up to the plate.

"My business has stayed afloat because local manufacturers stepped in to produce the goods I used to get from neighboring countries particularly Tanzania," he said.

He adds that it is encouraging that most local manufacturing companies are not just supplying the Zambian market but also the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Great Lakes Region.

"I am aware of traders that come as far as Zimbabwe to get quality household goods manufactured in Zambia. That tells you that our local industry is capable of producing goods," said Siame.

For Rebecca Phiri, a trader dealing in baby wear and beddings at COMESA market in Lusaka, business remains good, as she is still able to get almost all her merchandise locally.

Phiri explains that the advent of the COVID-19 was to her an apparent misfortune that eventually has good results in that, like many other traders, at the market she no longer has to travel outside Zambia to get goods for resell as all her supplies are sourced locally.

"With travel restrictions, we had to rely on local manufacturers for most of the items and they have not disappointed. This has helped to cut down on travel costs as well as the time spent traveling either to source goods," attested Phiri.

She asserted that local industries had within a short period made tremendous improvements in terms of the quality of goods manufactured and produced within the geographical landscape.

"It is becoming increasingly difficult to tell which blankets for instance are made in South Africa and those made within Zambia on account of a noted improvement in quality," Phiri said.

Phiri, who prior to the COVID-19 era got her merchandise from Botswana and South Africa, further added that getting things locally has helped her to have more time for customers and pay attention to their needs as she is now often in her trading space.

And COMESA market trust chairperson Misheck Musonda commended local manufacturing companies for quickly responding to the needs of both resellers and consumers and ensuring that gaps in the supply chain are minimized.

But industrial economist Misheck Mwanza does not want manufacturers to sit on this performance laurel, preferring more investments into the manufacturing sector, as a means to overcome noted high unemployment, high-income inequality, and high poverty confronting a majority of Zambian citizens.

"I believe investment in the manufacturing sector has the potential to lift many out of abject poverty as more men, young people and women will be employed. Zambia must now begin to invest in the production of high-value goods," advised Mwanza. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:48:41|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu)

The spokesperson urged the British side to shake off the colonialist mindset, respect the history, face reality and stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and warned that otherwise it would only further damage its own image and interests in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The British side has breached its promises and shown pure hypocrisy in manipulating the issue of the British National Overseas (BNO) passport, the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said Tuesday.

The British government announced recently a 43-million-British-pound (59-million-U.S. dollar) package to facilitate employment and settlement of Hong Kong BNO status holders in Britain.

The spokesperson of the office said in a statement that the British side has breached its promises by providing relevant people with a pathway to settlement and citizenship.

It constitutes an outright interference with Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, and a flagrant violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations, the spokesperson said, adding that China has voiced firm opposition multiple times and taken strong countermeasures.

Whatever the pretexts or maneuver tactics may be, the British side has openly reneged on its commitment and laid bare sheer hypocrisy, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the Hong Kong people who truly love the country and the city are not easily fooled, nor will China's determination to fully and faithfully implement "one country, two systems" and staunchly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests waver.

The spokesperson urged the British side to shake off the colonialist mindset, respect the history, face reality and stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and warned that otherwise it would only further damage its own image and interests in Hong Kong. 
(CNN) -- Furious over the fatal shooting of a Black man by a police officer during a traffic stop, demonstrators gathered Monday night to protest outside the police department of a Minneapolis suburb for a second night in a row.

The familiar refrains, "No Justice No Peace" was heard among with crowd in Brooklyn Center, alongside the shattering din of conflict.

Police fired tear gas and stun guns to disperse the gathering that was defying a curfew while protesters launched "bottles, fireworks, bricks and other projectiles at public safety officials," according to a tweet from Operation Safety Net (OSN), a joint effort of local entities to ensure the safety of the public during the trial of Derek Chauvin,

"Go home or you will be arrested. Curfew violation is a misdemeanor," OSN tweeted.

It was the second night of protests after 20-year-old Daunte Wright was killed by a police officer, identified by authorities as Officer Kim Potter, during a routine traffic stop. Potter has been with Brooklyn Center police department for 26 years, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. She has been placed on administrative leave, police chief Tim Gannon said.

In addition to dispersing the demonstrators, authorities responded to multiple reports of break-ins and looting. And fire trucks were called to a local Dollar Tree, according to a tweet from OSN.

About 40 arrests were made Monday night for offenses ranging from curfew violations to riot, Col. Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol said during an early morning press conference.

The outburst of anger was happening only 10 miles away from the trial of a police officer accused of killing another Black man, George Floyd.

"I'm thinking about Black America, so many people who have lost loved ones and yet we have to look at another mother who lost a child," Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, said. "I miss my bother and she's going to miss her son."

Separately, a vigil held for Wright in Portland, Oregon, got out of hand, according to CNN affiliate KPTV. Growing to about 200 people, some in the crowd attempted to set a dumpster on fire and some threw glass bottles, rocks, other object and some shot fireworks, according to the City of Portland.

The traffic stop that ended in Wright's death

Wright was with his girlfriend Sunday afternoon, driving to his older brother's house, when police pulled him over in Brooklyn Center over an expired tag, police said. Officers learned he had an outstanding warrant and attempted to handcuff him while he was standing outside his car.

Wright's older brother, Damik Bryant, told CNN he texted Wright moments before the shooting, asking what was taking him so long. Wright sent another text saying he was pulled over and asked for insurance information, Bryant said. Bryant told him to call their mother.

Wright gave officers his name before calling his mother, Bryant said.

"They asked him to step out the car, and you know his first instinct was, 'What did I do, what's wrong?' And they were like, 'Well, put the phone down, get out the car now, we'll talk to you about it when you get out,'" Bryant said.

"He said they pulled him over because he had air fresheners hanging from the rearview mirror," Wright's mother, Katie Wright, told CNN affiliate WCCO. "I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car,' and Daunte said, 'Why?' And he said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car,'" Katie Wright told CNN affiliate KARE.

"So, I heard the phone get either put on the dashboard or dropped, and I heard scuffling, and I heard the police officers say, 'Daunte don't run.' And then the other officer said, 'Put the phone down'" before it sounded like the phone was hung up, she said.

In the body-worn camera footage released Monday, an officer tells Wright "don't" as Wright twisted away from an officer to get back into the car. Gannon said it appeared from the video that Wright was trying to leave.

The officer whose camera footage was released is heard warning the man she's going to use her Taser on him, before repeatedly shouting, "Taser! Taser! Taser!"

Then, the officer is heard screaming, "Holy sh*t! I just shot him."

Police release body camera footage

Gannon said his release of the video was for the sake of transparency and that the BCA doesn't condone the release of video in ongoing investigations.

"I felt the community needed to know what happened. They needed to see it. I needed to be transparent. And I want to be forthright," Gannon said.

Gannon said the portion of body-worn camera footage released Monday led him to believe the shooting was accidental and that the officer's actions before the shooting were consistent with the department's training on Tasers.

"As I watched the video and listened to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet," Gannon said. "This appears to me, from what I've viewed and the officer's reaction and distress immediately after, that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright."

Gannon said he asked BCA to investigate and present its findings, "independent of me," to authorities and attorneys to review the case.

A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice said the shooting was a local matter and that the department is not involved in the investigation. The district attorney for Hennepin County said it sent the case to a different county to avoid an "appearance of a conflict of interest."

'How do we put life back together after this?'

An attorney for Wright's family, Ben Crump, called the shooting "entirely preventable" and "inhumane."

"As Minneapolis and the rest of the country continue to deal with the tragic killing of George Floyd, now we must also mourn the loss of this young man and father," he said.

For his family, it is difficult to see a way forward without Wright, his aunt Naisha Wright told CNN's Don Lemon.

Naisha Wright was driving to be with her brother and sister-in-law, Duante's parents, Monday night. Starting in Alabama, she spent hours driving to pick up her mother in Tennessee so they could both go to Minneapolis. It will take until 11 a.m. Tuesday to get there, but Naisha Wright said being with her family is all she can think about.

"How do we put life back together after this?" she asked. "My mother shouldn't have to burying her grandchild. My brother and my sister shouldn't be burying their son."

Many are looking to fault her nephew to justify the fatal shooting, but she described him as a young man who loved his family and was loved by them, Wright said. Despite what some have assumed, his aunt emphasized Duante Wright came from a strong, loving home with parents who have been together for over two decades.

She questioned how the perpetrators of the Atlanta spa shootings and the shooting at a grocery store in Colorado were apprehended alive, but officers used force on her nephew.

"My great nephew now has to grow up without knowing, without being able to touch, his father," she said.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Police and demonstrators clash during protests over the shooting of a Minnesota man during a traffic stop"
The United Nations last night claimed a government bid to restrict war crimes investigations involving UK troops risks undermining human rights obligations.

UN high commissioner Michelle Bachelet warned the legislation, which intends to curb prosecutions involving soldiers alleged to have tortured detainees, will make the UK less accountable.

The Overseas Operations Bill, which is entering the final stages of the legislative process, would introduce a 'presumption against prosecution' for British personnel accused of historical war crimes.

According to ex-military chiefs and legal critics, this would damage the UK's international reputation for integrity.

The Bill has also been criticised for recommending that requests for financial support brought by troops suffering from degenerative conditions such post-traumatic stress disorder should be 'timed out' after six years.

The Ministry of Defence would not be liable to pay compensation after this period.

UN high commissioner Michelle Bachelet warned the legislation, which intends to curb prosecutions involving soldiers alleged to have tortured detainees, will make the UK less accountable

Now, ahead of a crucial House of Lords debate on the Bill, the UN has joined those calling for it to be amended.

Miss Bachelet said: 'As currently drafted, the Bill would make it substantially less likely that UK service members on overseas operations would be held accountable for serious human rights violations amounting to international crimes.

'The prohibition of torture in international law is both clear and absolute: No exceptional circumstances whatsoever may be invoked as a justification of torture.'

Last night ex-Nato chief and former UK defence secretary Lord Robertson also highlighted adverse consequences for the UK from the passing of this legislation. He told the Financial Times: 'It proposes a 'presumption against prosecution' of torture and other grave crimes after five years barring exceptional circumstances, thus risking the creation of de facto immunity after that time.

Former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a senior Labour MP, has warned that any attempt to give immunity to soldiers would harm their reputation and Britain's standing in the world

'The Bill claims to support British troops but their reputation will be tarnished if they are no longer held to high legal standards.'

After five years any claims against UK soldiers would be required to provide 'exceptional evidence' of guilt and Britain's attorney general would have to approve any prosecution.

Experts say these provisions breach international law and could give the green light to rogue states to declare themselves not guilty of human rights abuses after a given time period.

The MoD strongly denies claims the Bill amounts to an amnesty for British troops.

It said it is intended to block vexatious prosecutions based on bogus evidence and testimonies  such as those which caused distress to hundreds of UK veterans of the Iraq War.

Almost 1,000 compensation claims for unlawful detention were brought by Iraqis as well as 1,400 applications for judicial reviews into allegations of human rights abuses  the vast majority of which were dismissed.

Veterans minister Johnny Mercer insisted the legislation was not to put troops above the law but 'protect them from lawyers intent on rewriting history to line their own pockets'.

But former Parachute Regiment officer Dan Jarvis, now a senior Labour MP, has warned that any attempt to give immunity to soldiers would harm their reputation and Britain's standing in the world.

He said: 'What does it say about the professionalism of members of our armed forces if we give them effective legal immunity for no other reason than them being members of our armed forces?'

Compensation claims made by UK troops suffering from conditions such as PTSD and hearing loss would be timed out after six years under the Bill.

The MoD said most are already brought within six years.

But the Law Society said it would be a 'gross injustice' to veterans if they were denied the opportunity to claim for injuries. David Greene, from the society, said last year: 'Only the Ministry of Defence stands to gain from the proposed time limit on compensation claims, as it would avoid having to pay court-awarded damages and costs.'
The Diocese of Lafayette issued the following statement in regards to allegations made against Michael Guidry:

"After careful examination, the Diocese of Lafayette has determined that the allegations made by Oliver Peyton against Michael Guidry, who formerly served as a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette, are credible. The Diocese further denounces the actions of Michael Guidry towards Oliver Peyton and hereby formally and publicly apologizes to Oliver Peyton and to his family. Michael Guidry has been permanently removed from ministry."

The Louisiana Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a former Catholic priest sentenced to seven years in prison in April of 2019 after pleading guilty to molesting a 16-year-old boy. Michael Guidry, now 78, appealed the sentence of 10 years with three years suspended as excessive, but last year the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal disagreed, ruling the sentence was consistent with Louisiana law and the circumstances of Guidry's crime. The former priest pleaded guilty to molesting the boy at least once during several occasions in 2015 when the boy did chores or hung out at Guidry's house. Guidry admitted to serving the boy alcohol on several occasions as well. Guidry was the pastor at St. Peters Church in Morrow during when he molested the boy, whose family were parishioners of the church. Guidry was originally sentenced by Judge Alonzo Harris in St. Landry Parish.
FireEye released the FireEye Mandiant M-Trends 2021 report. Now in its 12th year, M-Trends brings together the best of cybersecurity expertise and threat intelligence with statistics and insights gleaned from recent frontline Mandiant investigations around the globe.

This years report outlines critical details on trending attacker techniques and malware, the proliferation of multifaceted extortion and ransomware, preparing for expected UNC2452 / SUNBURST copycat threat actors, growing insider threats, plus pandemic and industry targeting trends. Additional findings are summarized below.

Global Median Dwell Time Drops Below One Month for First Time

Over the past decade, Mandiant has observed a trending reduction in global median dwell time (defined as the duration between the start of a cyber intrusion and when it is identified). This measure went from over one year in 2011 to just 24 days in 2020  thats more than twice as quickly identified in comparison to last years report with a median dwell time of 56 days. Mandiant attributes this reduction to continued development and improvement of organizational detection and response capabilities, along with the surge of multifaceted extortion and ransomware intrusions.

Median dwell time trends varied by region. The Americas continued to decrease. The Americas median dwell time for incidents discovered internally improved the most  dropping from 32 days down to only nine days  marking the first time a region has dipped into single digits. Conversely, APAC and EMEA experienced an overall increase in median dwell time, which Mandiant experts believe to be influenced by a greater number of intrusions with dwell times extending beyond three years, as compared to the Americas.

Internal Detections on the Rise

While last years report noted a drop in internal detections of intrusions compared to the previous year, Mandiant experts observed a return of organizations independently detecting most of their own incidents. Internal incident detection rose to 59% in 2020  a 12-point increase compared to 2019. This return to organizations detecting the majority of intrusions within their environments is in line with the overall trend observed over the last five years.

Notably, internal detection was on the rise across all regions year-over-year. Organizations located in the Americas led the internal detection trendline at 61%, followed by EMEA and APAC closely aligned at 53% and 52%, respectively. In comparison, APAC and EMEA organizations received more notifications of compromise from external entities, versus North America organizations.

Attackers Narrow Sights on Retail & Hospitality and Healthcare

The top five most targeted industries, in order, are Business and Professional Services, Retail and Hospitality, Financial, Healthcare and High Technology.

Mandiant experts observed that organizations in the Retail and Hospitality industry were targeted more heavily in 2020  coming in as the second most targeted industry compared to 11th in last years report. Healthcare also rose significantly, becoming the third most targeted industry in 2020, compared to eighth in last years report. This increased focus by threat actors can most likely be explained by the vital role the healthcare sector played during the global pandemic.

Executive Quotes

Jurgen Kutscher, Executive Vice President, Service Delivery, Mandiant, said, While organizations continue to improve their ability to discover compromises within their environments, containing adversaries today comes with unique challenges. The consequences of a global pandemic forced companies to rethink how they operate and move to a remote workforce. This change resulted in VPN infrastructure, video conferencing, collaboration and knowledge sharing platforms becoming business-critical systems and changing the attack surface of organizations. In many cases, regular employees became responsible for connectivity and cybersecurity. While Business and Professional Services has been in the top five most targeted industries since 2016, we believe the sudden boost in business services necessary for remote working has made this industry the most targeted in 2020 by cybercriminals and state-sponsored threat actors.

Charles Carmakal, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Mandiant, said, Multifaceted extortion and ransomware are the most prevalent threats to organizations. In this years report, direct financial gain was the likely motive for at least 36% of the intrusions we investigated. Data theft and reselling of unauthorized access to victim organizations remain high as multifaceted extortion and ransomware actors have trended away from purely opportunistic campaigns in favor of targeting organizations that are more likely to pay large extortion demands. Given this surge, organizations must take proactive action to mitigate the potential impact.

Sandra Joyce, Executive Vice President, Global Threat Intelligence, Mandiant, said, UNC2452, the threat actor responsible for the SolarWinds supply chain attack, reminds us that a highly-disciplined and patient actor cannot be underestimated. This actors attention paid to operational security, counter forensics, and even counterintelligence set it apart from its peers. Defense against this actor will not be easy, but it is not impossible. We have learned a great deal about UNC2452 in recent months, and we believe that intelligence will be our advantage in future encounters.

Jurgen Kutscher, Executive Vice President, Service Delivery, Mandiant, said, This years M-Trends report identified the three most frequently used initial vectors of compromise as exploits (29%), phishing emails (23%) and stolen credentials or brute-force (19%). While phishing remains a preferred vector by cyber threat actors, we saw more actors leveraging exploits to compromise victims. The increase in exploit usage should remind organizations to have a more robust plan for patching product vulnerabilities. One of the challenges here is identifying what sources and information are available to make better risk-based decisions when prioritizing what systems and applications to patch now and what to patch at a later stage based on current knowledge about exploitation and targeting by threat actors.

Charles Carmakal, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Mandiant, said, We have continued to see a wolf in sheeps clothing trend where threat groups and cyber criminals rely on publicly available tools introduced in different stages of a compromise. The usage of public or commercially available tools, often used by red teams and penetration testers, allows the threat actor to blend in with security testing. It also makes attribution more complex. In this years report, 24% of the intrusions analyzed involved BEACON usage, which is a commercial tool, part of the Cobalt Strike software platform, commonly used for pentesting network environments. We have observed BEACON being used by a wide range of named threat groups, including APT19, APT32, APT40, APT41, FIN6, FIN7, FIN9 and FIN11, as well as nearly 300 uncategorized clusters of threat activity. 
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics will pay a working visit to Kyiv on April 15 to express solidarity and reaffirm his strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a statement posted on the website of the Latvian Foreign Ministry.

"Russia's recent military activity and movements including the build-up of its military forces in the immediate vicinity of the territory of Ukraine pose a significant threat to security in the region; therefore, it is important that Latvia voice its unwavering support for Ukraine under these complicated circumstances," Rinkevics said ahead of the visit.

According to the statement, during the visit he is to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and other senior Ukrainian officials.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis will also arrive in Kyiv on Thursday, April 15, "to show solidarity" amid rising tensions with Russia.

Earlier, Rinkevics and Landsbergis said that Latvia and Lithuania support the idea of granting Ukraine a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP), which will allow the country to become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia to immediately stop provocations in Ukraine and along its borders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed hope for the support of NATO allies in granting Ukraine the MAP.

op
The vaccine intention hasn't weakened in Romania, as sociological data shows it standing at 50 percent at least, president of the National COVID Vaccination Coordination Committee (CNCAV) Valeriu Gheorghita said on Tuesday.

"I don't think there is a decrease in vaccination interest. The drop in the number of people on the waiting list is due to the fact that someone who doesn't confirm the appointment is removed from the list exactly in order to facilitate the notification of the others. That would be one aspect. The second aspect is the envisaged possibility of getting the shot at family doctors - this has most likely led many people to wait until they have this possibility. So, from our standpoint, there is no decrease in the intention to vaccinate, quite the contrary, sociological data shows a vaccine intent of at least 50 percent," Gheorghita told today a press conference at the Victoria Palace of Government, agerpres.ro confirms.

According to the CNCAV president, a total of 1,225,356 people are currently scheduled on the booking platform for the first dose and the booster shot. 662,726 people are scheduled at the Pfizer centers, 160,300 - at the Moderna centers, and 402,329 - at the AstraZeneca vaccination centers.

As many as 2,326,484 people had received at least one dose of vaccine by April 12.

Stage one vaccinees account for 89.2 percent of health workers.

As many as 1,741,448 people have been vaccinated so far with at least one dose in the second immunization stage. In a breakdown by categories, 508,714 people with chronic diseases, 604,437 people aged over 65, 34,790 people from social and residential centers, 22,289 home confined persons and 565 homeless persons received the vaccine in the second stage - accounting for about 75.4 percent of the total stage 2 vaccinees. Also, 428,072 essential employees and 149,581 education personnel were vaccinated in the same stage, said Valeriu Gheorghita.

About 103,760 people were vaccinated in the centers of the Ministry of National Defense, that is 4.6 percent of the national total of vaccinated persons, and 37,186 people were immunized in the centers managed by the Ministry of the Interior, or 1.6 percent of the total vaccinated people.

A total of 281,508 people have received the vaccine in the third stage, of whom 20,245 were also given the second shot.
Editors note: Syracuse.com Staff writer Samantha House contributed to this report.

Syracuse, N.Y.  Chavez Ocasio was placed on criminal probation as a young teen, accused of shooting a teenager in the head at age 17, spent four years in prison and was paroled  all before his 22nd birthday, criminal records show.

But after his release in September 2019, Ocasio insisted he had changed. He became an honors student at Onondaga Community College and worked a variety of jobs that started as soon as he left prison.

Just because you have a bad moment, thats not who you are, he said in a story posted on OCCs website last fall that has since been removed. People can change.

Ocasios public campaign to rehabilitate his image came crashing down Monday with his arrest in connection with the murder of 11-month-old Dior Harris, believed to be the youngest victim of street violence in the citys history.

Dior Harris, 11 months, was killed Sunday night, April 11, 2021, when she was wounded by gunfire in a drive-by shooting in Syracuse.Provided photo

Dior died Sunday evening after a shooter opened fire on the car she was riding in with her mother and cousins in the 300 block of Grant Avenue. She was 18 days away from celebrating her first birthday.

The babys two young cousins  a 3-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl  were shot, but are expected to survive. Diors mother, Desiree Seymore, and the girls mother, Shakema Buckmon, who was driving the car, were not hit by the gunfire.

Police say the suspect vehicle in Sundays murder had been registered to Ocasio, 23, of Grant Boulevard. And while being questioned Monday evening while in police custody, Ocasio erased all the data off his iPhone, according to a criminal complaint.

Meanwhile, Ocasios LinkedIn profile still touts his work as a warehouse associate, former assistant manager at a pizza chain and a line cook at an Armory Square restaurant.

It also celebrates the birth of Ocasios own daughter a month ago.

Ocasios life has been marred by trouble with the law starting in 2011, records show. Thats when he was placed on probation. He was either 13 or 14 years old at the time.

In July 2014, Ocasio, then 17, was charged with shooting a 13-year-old boy in the head on the citys North Side. There is no known public record of that court case, but Ocasio was out of jail within a year.

Chavez Ocasio, 2014 mug shot.Provided photograph

In June 2015, Ocasio was arrested on a burglary charge. He pleaded guilty to that charge, which also covered pending robbery and harassment charges, according to court records.

Its that burglary case that sent Ocasio to prison for nearly four years, before he was paroled in September 2019, prison records show.

Read more

Man charged in babys murder linked to vehicle, deleted phone data at police station: court papers

I tried to save you: Community mourns Syracuse baby shot and killed

Man charged with murder in connection with shooting of Syracuse baby

She made everything better: Family IDs Syracuse baby fatally shot

Baby killed in Syracuse shooting is citys youngest known victim of street violence

Syracuse police ask public for help in solving babys death in citys Ground Zero for violent crime

DA: Two moms uninjured in shooting that killed 11-month-old girl, wounded 3- and 8-year-old sisters

Baby killed, 2 children injured in shooting in Syracuse
MYRTLE BEACH  Gov. Henry McMaster has moved to close South Carolina's doors to unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border.

McMaster signed an executive order April 12 mandating the S.C. Department of Social Services prevent federal agencies from placing undocumented and unaccompanied migrant children into South Carolina foster care and group homes.

The move comes as there has been a decline in the number of children in the foster care system but a spike in lone children crossing the border  some 19,000 last month.

McMaster's move comes days after he was in Texas over the weekend visiting S.C. National Guard soldiers and where he said he saw firsthand migrants trying to come across the border.

"I think the Biden administration has made a very bad decision in stopping construction on that wall," McMaster said during a Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce meeting.

President Joe Biden suspended wall construction on the U.S.-Mexico border in January.

McMaster's order comes after the governor contacted DSS about the systems capacity to accommodate minors. In an April 8 letter, DSS Director Michael Leach told McMaster the federal government has made preliminary inquiries to move an unknown number of unaccompanied migrant children from the southern border and put them in South Carolina foster care or group homes licensed by DSS.

McMaster is moving to stop that from happening.

South Carolinas children must always be given first priority for placement into foster care and the states strained resources must be directed to addressing the needs of its children," the governor wrote Leach, according to a press announcement April 12 from his office.

"Allowing the federal government to place an unlimited number of unaccompanied migrant children into our states child welfare system for an unspecified length of time is an unacceptable proposition," McMaster added. "Weve been down this road with the federal government before and the state usually ends up on the hook. 

McMaster asked the agency to determine potential risks posed to the state's child welfare system and to provide options to mitigate them.

Whether DSS currently has unaccompanied migrant children in its system is unclear; DSS was not willing to comment further.

"We have to be sure that we are taking care of those that we already committed to first," McMaster said in regards to children already in foster care.

According to DSS data, in March 2020 there were close 4,400 children in South Carolina foster care. Last month there were close to 3,900 children.

A DSS spokeswoman said the agency's primary concern is state resident cases.

"As much as the people of the (DSS) are inclined to offer aid and assistance in any crisis, DSS is nonetheless faced with the reality that placement of unaccompanied minors in South Carolina group care facilities could have detrimental impacts on the child welfare system including, but not limited to, the health and safety of children already placed at these facilities and the potential displacement of South Carolina children who need services," DSS spokeswoman Danielle Jones said.

Jones added that while the federal government offering additional payments might benefit foster care providers, the overall lack of support from the federal government would leave many of the unaccompanied minors dependent on South Carolina.
Following Google's rumored user privacy tracking with its online ads, the company has vowed to stop it by introducing a system called FLoC (Federated Learning of Cohorts), which improves users' anonymity while still collecting their browsing data for advertising purposes. However, the company did not release an official way for users to know if the system has been applied into their browsing experience.

With that said, many have opposed and criticized Googlefor its FLoC system and noted that the feature still harms user's privacy. One of these is the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that has put up a website dedicated to informing users if their devices have been FLoCed.

The "Am I FLoCed?" Website From EFF

According to BGR, Google has rolled out the FLoC feature to 0.5 percent of Google users worldwide, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the U.S. The Am I FLoCed? website by the EFF can identify if the user's browser has the FLoC feature from Google.

The said site would then inform users if they are part of the 0.5 percent that has the FLoC system enabled. Users may encounter a message like the one below if their Google Chrome is without the FLoC feature from the company.

The EFF website noted that the Chrome origin trial for FLoC has been deployed to millions of random Chrome users without warning. The website provides information if the user's browser is one of the millions worldwide with the feature enabled. The website added that one way to avoid FLoC to their Google browser is to switch to another web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Opera or DuckDuckGo, and more if users feel violated by this.

Also Read: Google Incognito Lawsuit Pushing Through--Company Could Pay Up to $5 Billion in Damages

According to the EFF website, the Google FLoC features an algorithm called SimHash to calculate the user's FLoC ID. The system currently uses the list of domains users have visited in the past seven days as input and recalculates the FLoC ID once a week.

Once the FloC ID has been calculated, users are then assigned to a group of similar people with similar search histories worldwide. This grouping would allow personalized advertising to continue without necessarily targeting individual users, and FLoC should add a layer of anonymity. In contrast, Google will not share personal data from the user to others. However, the EFF thinks people can combine FLoC data with other techniques to fingerprint users.

If users are not willing to delete Chrome and switch to another browser, regularly checking the EFF website can inform them if they are added to the Google FLoC program. However, the risk of getting user's data by using Google Chrome is still high, and there is a high chance that Google tracks user's privacy as we speak.

DuckDuckGo Blocks Google's FLoC System

In other news, SlashGear also reported that DuckDuckGo, a private search engine, has taken a bold step over Google as the search engine blocks the tech giant's FLoC system. It is updating its Chrome web extension to block FLoC interactions in addition to tracking cookies. DuckDuckGo also said that it opts out FLoC by default, regardless if users have the extension or not.

Besides that, the publication reported that there have been accusations that Google is using its favorable position in the web browser market to give it an advantage in the advertising platform since FLoC and its advertising benefits only work on Chrome anyway.

Related Article: DuckDuckGo vs. Google: Which Is the Better Search Engine for Your Privacy?
TORONTO, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the latest survey from The Business Monitor by Modus Research, Canadian executives were asked whether the government should be easing or tightening public health restrictions, given the current state of the pandemic. This question was asked in the fall of 2020 and again in spring of 2021.



The results from the spring survey show that Canadian businesses are now equally divided on whether public health restrictions should be tightened or eased. This represents a strong shift from the fall where those supporting tighter restrictions outnumbered those favouring easing restrictions by almost 2-to-1.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/459ad5eb-3502-4b9d-972b-5568fabfe784

For full release details: https://modusresearch.com/support-for-tighter-restrictions-has-dropped-across-canadian-businesses/

There are some notable regional differences in these results. In Alberta only 24% support tighter restrictions, while in Ontario this number leads all regions at 44% (still well below the national average from the fall).

Economic confidence is a key factor in whether or not businesses favour easing or tightening public health restrictions. Businesses who favour tightening restrictions have a much more favourable outlook on the economy, both short- and long-term, than those who favour easing them.

This survey was carried out among a representative sample of over 900 Canadian managers and executives in March 2021. The survey relied on multimodal data collection, using both online and mobile phone interfaces. The sample is scientific (i.e., probability-based) and representative of all Canadian businesses.

About The Business Monitor

The Business Monitor is Canadas B2B omnibus service. Results from The Monitor are based on scientific samples of Canadian business leaders from the Modus Business Panel  the gold standard for B2B research in Canada. Surveys from the Modus Business Panel are multimodal, using both online and mobile data collection techniques.

About Modus Research

Established in 2012, Modus Research is a full-service research agency that provides clients with actionable feedback from Canadian enterprises based on scientifically representative samples. We are Canadas B2B research experts.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global biotechnology market size is expected to reach USD 2.44 trillion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 15.83% from 2021 to 2028. The factors driving the market include favorable government policies, the launch of new and advanced products, robust investment in the biotechnology sector, and rising demand for synthetic biology.

Key suggestions from the report:

The health application segment accounted for the largest share of 48.64% in 2020 owing to the COVID-19 impact, prevalence of diseases, increasing focus on the development of regenerative medicines, and improving healthcare infrastructure

The DNA sequencing technology segment held the second-largest share in 2020 owing to its growing penetration in the development of precision medicines

North America held the largest share of 44.19% in 2020. Companies operating in the region are launching advanced solutions to cater to the needs of the biotechnology industry

For instance, in February 2021 , Waters Corporation launched Waters ACQUITY PREMIER Solution. It is a next-generation liquid chromatography solution for improving analytical data quality

Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR of 16.8% from 2021 to 2028 owing to favorable government initiatives and changes in drug approval regulations in India and China

Read 150 page research report with ToC on "Biotechnology Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology (DNA Sequencing, Nanobiotechnology), By Application (Health, Bioinformatics), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/biotechnology-market

Robust funding through alliance investment in start-up biotechnology companies for adopting new and advanced products is contributing to market growth. For instance, in February 2021, Illumina, Inc. invested in nine new genomics companies through Illumina Accelerator in 4 start-ups in the U.K. and 5 start-ups in the U.S. The companies include MultiplAI Health LTD.; BiotaX Labs LTD.; Mitra Bio Limited; Broken String Biosciences Limited; Flightpath Biosciences, Inc.; Doloromics Inc.; Oshun Medical Inc.; Parallel Health Inc.; and Rubik Therapeutics, Inc. Illumina Accelerator is an initiative through which selected startups can access to seed investment, genomics expertise, and Illumina sequencing systems and reagents and seek business guidance.

The bioinformatics application segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028 owing to the increasing adoption of these tools for analyzing complex sequencing data. By technology, nanobiotechnology is expected to expand at a lucrative growth rate of 16.8% over the forecast period owing to the growing focus on nanotechnologies for efficient drug delivery and increasing research using this technology.

Supportive government initiatives are significantly contributing to market growth. For instance, in September 2020, the Government of India supported research institutes in agriculture biotechnology, including organic farming. Since the last 3 years, around USD 42.67 million had been invested to support this endeavor.

Moreover, the emergence of the SARS-COV-2 infection is driving the market. Companies are developing new solutions for combating the pandemic situation. For instance, in December 2020, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced CE-marking for TaqPath COVID-19 that can be used to perform in-vitro diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A/B, and influenza A/B infections. The new kit will help in the detection and differentiation between diseases that have similar clinical symptoms.

Grand View Research has segmented the global biotechnology market on the basis of technology, application, and region:

Biotechnology Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2028)

Nanobiotechnology



Tissue Engineering And Regeneration



DNA Sequencing



Cell-based Assays



Fermentation



PCR Technology



Chromatography



Others

Biotechnology Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2028)

Health



Food & Agriculture



Natural Resources & Environment



Industrial Processing



Bioinformatics



Others

Biotechnology Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada



Europe



Germany





U.K.





Spain





France





Italy



Asia Pacific



Japan





China





India





South Korea





Australia



Latin America



Brazil





Mexico



Middle East & Africa



South Africa





Saudi Arabia

List of Key Players of Biotechnology Market

AstraZeneca

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

CELGENE CORPORATION

Biogen

Abbott

Amgen Inc.

Novo Nordisk A/S

Merck & Co.

Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc.

Novartis AG

Sanofi

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.

Pfizer, Inc.

Lonza

Find more research reports on Biotechnology Industry, by Grand View Research:

DNA Sequencing Market  The global DNA sequencing market size is expected to reach USD 11.2 billion by 2027 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% from 2020 to 2027. Rapid advancements in sequencing technology and bioinformatics have enabled the identification of DNA variations.

by 2027 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4% from 2020 to 2027. Rapid advancements in sequencing technology and bioinformatics have enabled the identification of DNA variations. Genomics Market  The scientific community has tried to address genetic susceptibility and severity to SARS-CoV-2 infection by combining research efforts using existing genetic databases. Multiomic-based approaches and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been employed to uncover biological networks and common variants underlying host-pathogen interactions.

Gene Expression Market  Rise in investments for the development of alternative drug discovery approaches coupled with an increase in research activities for genetic studies is expected to drive the global market.

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: [email protected]

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com

Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter

SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc.
This Week in Review

A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
SAN DIEGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Goal Solutions , an award-winning asset management and consumer financial services company, announced today an expansion of its capabilities with the addition of an in-house collections team led by innovative, industry experienced professionals at its wholly-owned and licensed subsidiary, Turnstile Capital Management (TCM).

"TCM has managed a very successful external agency network approach for years with its dedicated and highly skilled team. This added capability at TCM expands our opportunity to serve even more asset types and customize strategies using our in-house data, technology and expertise," stated Matt Myers, President at Goal Solutions. "Our new team has a proven track record of performance and client satisfaction that will offer innovative solutions with exceptionally high standards defining success."

New VP of Collections and Operations, Michael Fromknecht, is responsible for all facets of TCM's expanding Sioux Falls, South Dakota collections and recovery operations. Mike brings his passion for connecting with borrowers as respected individuals, each with their own unique life circumstances. Over the years Mike has created an approach to the business of recovery that has produced outstanding results helping borrowers achieve successful repayment arrangements. Mike and his team work to understand the unique life circumstances of each borrower and strive to accommodate successful arrangements based on those changing dynamics. This is what decades in the business have taught him about doing things the right way while producing the desired results for everyone involved.

"I'm excited to leverage the incredible infrastructure that Goal Solutions offers to help TCM expand its in-house operations," said Mike Fromknecht. "It's a great opportunity to combine decades of experience with modern technology and innovation that are the foundation for success in the evolving collections/recovery space." Initially TCM will focus on all forms of unsecured consumer credit, including: credit cards, installment loans, government fines and tolls, auto deficiency, telecom, home improvement, utility, DDA, private student loans, and other specialty financing.

For more information, please visit www.turnstilecapital.com

About Goal Solutions

Since 2001 Goal Solutions has leveraged data analytics and technology to deliver innovative solutions for asset management, lending, and investments. The depth and variety of our capabilities provides a comprehensive skillset that creates more value and performance in serving our client's overall business objectives. Led by an executive team with decades of experience in consumer loans, Goal manages over $26B in consumer assets, offering a complete suite of asset management services.

Contact for Press Inquiries

Brian Cox | VP Business Development

617.680.3515

[email protected]

SOURCE Goal Solutions
NORMAN TOWNSHIP, MI  A 22-year-old Michigan man is alive today thanks to the quick actions of a state conservation officer who was on the scene of the shooting within three minutes of the 911 call and applied life-saving medical care.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Scott MacNeill used a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound on Sunday morning, April 11, at a shooting range on U.S. Forest Service land in Manistee County.

The man loaded his .40-caliber Smith and Wesson Bodyguard pistol at the rear of his truck and put it in the front, left pocket of his shorts, at which point, it discharged. The bullet struck him in the left leg. He called 911 at 11:49 a.m.

MacNeill was patrolling in the area and arrived at the scene three minutes later. It was another eight minutes before other emergency responders arrived.

MacNeill found the man sitting alone in the drivers seat of a pickup truck. He was surrounded by blood and displayed initial symptoms of shock. He was plugging the wound with his finger to slow the blood loss from his swollen and discolored leg.

Evaluating where the bullet entered the leg, MacNeill could not locate an exit wound and suspected the man had arterial bleeding under the skin that was filling his lower leg with blood.

MacNeill applied his department-issued tourniquet above the wound, which stopped the blood loss.

While waiting for additional medical assistance to arrive, MacNeill kept the man stabilized in an upright position, while establishing a calm conversation about what happened.

Norman Township Fire and EMS personnel arrived on the scene at noon  11 minutes after the 911 call  and transported the man to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City. North Flight EMS also responded to the scene.

At the mans request, MacNeill unloaded, cased and safely stowed the firearm, secured the vehicle, and returned the keys to him.

We are thankful to hear that as of this morning, a young man is recovering in the hospital after an accidental gunshot wound, Chief Gary Hagler, DNR Law Enforcement Division, said in a statement. Conservation Officer Scott MacNeill was patrolling nearby and immediately responded to the federal property where he delivered lifesaving first-aid and established a calm and trusting rapport with the man. This is a strong reminder to always practice the highest level of firearm safety.

MacNeill has been a conservation officer since 2016 and patrols Manistee County.

READ MORE:

Woman claims bomb in stolen vehicle after fleeing police in Northern Michigan

Investigation launched after officer-involved shooting in U.P.

Lawyer accused of stealing $262K his dead client left for Michigan Humane Society
~ Plant&Co is spinning out its Cannabis technology and True Focus assets to unlock shareholder value ~

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Plant&Co. Brands Ltd. (CSE: VEGN) (FSE: VGP) (OTC PINK: VGANF) ("Plant&Co" or the "Company"), a modern health and wellness company curating delicious plant-based foods, is pleased to announce that it is proceeding with a corporate reorganization of assets by way of a plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") to liberate the value of certain technology assets and its True Focus assets. Under the terms of the Arrangement currently being contemplated, the Company's technology business would be spun out as a separate publicly listed reporting issuer ("Newco").

"We have an opportunity to unlock additional shareholder value through the spinout of our cannabis related technology assets and other cannabis related assets into a public company," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Plant&Co. "The new company will take ownership of cannabis related assets and the top tier cannabis clients, while Plant&Co will continue focus on expanding plant-based food products including Holy Crap breakfast cereals and YamChops franchise opportunities throughout North America."

Plant&Co plans to announce a record date in connection with the Arrangement in due course and anticipates the record date will occur within Q2 of 2021. It is expected that, upon closing of the Arrangement, each shareholder of the Company will receive common shares of Newco based on the amount of common shares of Plant&Co held on the record date.

There is no assurance that the Arrangement or the offering will proceed on these terms or at all. The Arrangement and the offering would be subject to customary approvals, including shareholder approval and regulatory approval, as applicable.

About Plant&Co

Plant&Co. Brands Ltd. (CSE: VEGN) (FSE: VGP) (OTCPK: VGANF) is modern health and wellness company curating delicious plant-based foods. For more information please visit: www.PlantandCo.com.

About Holy Crap Foods Inc.

At Holy Crap Foods Inc. our mission is to create products that create a healthy gut through simple, quality ingredients that ultimately feed the connection between gut and mind. Holy Crap is an organic breakfast cereal for today's consumer that expects their food to work hard for them. Our great tasting cereal helps maintain a healthy gut which creates a happy mind. For more information on the healthy and high-quality breakfast cereals visit: www.HolyCrap.com.

About YamChops

YamChops is a plant-based butcher shop based in Toronto, Ontario. Vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and even meat enthusiasts love visiting the beautifully curated shop located in the heart of Toronto's food district. Whether customers sample YamChops' Tunaless "Tuna", Chick*n Schnitzel, Szechuan "Beef", Montreal Style "Steak", or browse their vegan grocery market assisted by its knowledgeable staff, customers will have an unforgettable experience at YamChops vegan butcher shop. YamChops' mission is to provide extraordinary plant-based foods and provide extraordinary service to its customers, with a vision to expand its plant based culinary experience and make YamChops the destination of choice for all consumers. For more product information please visit: www.YamChops.com. Interested entrepreneurs can find more information regarding YamChops franchising opportunities by visiting: https://yamchops.com/pages/franchise.

For additional information, please contact:

Shawn Moniz

Chief Executive Officer

Plant & Co. Brands Ltd.

ir@plantandco.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. 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 business plans for Plant&Co. Brands 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. 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 and other disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80254
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth analysis and data-driven insights on the impact of COVID-19 included in this Africa data center market report.

The Africa data center market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 15% during the period 20202026.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

South Africa dominated the Africa market in 2020, in terms of area, investments, and power capacity, followed by Kenya . Morocco , Nigeria , and Egypt are emerging markets in Africa . Increasing internet penetration, adoption of cloud, and migration from on-premises to colocation and managed data centers is driving the data center demand in Africa . The rate of urbanization in Africa is expected to go up to aroundd 60% in 2050, with more than 10 mega cities comprising over 150 million residents, and accounting for over 15% share of the global GDP. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has introduced initiatives to boost renewable power generation across Africa , such as the Africa Clean Energy Corridor, West Africa Clean Energy Corridor, Entrepreneurship Support Facility in Western and Southern Africa , and Renewables Readiness Assessment. Smart cities are being built across Africa , including South Africa , Kenya , Morocco , and Nigeria , leading to increased network connectivity and data generation, and benefitting the data center industry. Smart Africa , an alliance between 29 African heads of state and the government, aims to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development, through affordable internet access and the use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT).

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20202026

Market Dynamics  Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation  A detailed analysis by IT infrastructure, electrical infrastructure, mechanical infrastructure, cooling technique, cooling systems, general construction, tier standards, and geography

Competitive Landscape  10 IT infrastructure providers, 11 support infrastructure providers, 6 construction contractors, and 14 data center investors.

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/africa-data-center-market

Africa Data Center Market  Segmentation

The Africa IT infrastructure market expects to reach approx. USD 4 billion by 2026. The growth in data generation in Africa is fueling the demand for fast-processing efficient servers. The demand for build-to-suit infrastructure is growing to support specific applications. Several segments such as BFSI, healthcare, transportation and logistics, education, and heavy industries adopt advanced server systems for efficient services.

by 2026. The growth in data generation in is fueling the demand for fast-processing efficient servers. The demand for build-to-suit infrastructure is growing to support specific applications. Several segments such as BFSI, healthcare, transportation and logistics, education, and heavy industries adopt advanced server systems for efficient services. The unreliable power grid connectivity increases the demand for power backup sources. UPS and generator systems are expected to grow due to the increased construction of large and mega data center facilities. The Kenya data center market has witnessed the installation of energy-efficient power infrastructure. Most facilities are of Tier III standards and are adopting power redundancy of N+1 or 2N to manage power grid instability.

data center market has witnessed the installation of energy-efficient power infrastructure. Most facilities are of Tier III standards and are adopting power redundancy of N+1 or 2N to manage power grid instability. Data center facilities operating in the African region mainly adopt chillers and precision air cooling. The adoption of air-based cooling (free cooling chillers) is likely to gain traction as certain African countries experience cold winter seasons. South Africa is likely to adopt free cooling chillers or evaporative coolers.

Africa Data Center Market by IT Infrastructure

Servers

Storage

Network

Africa Data Center Market by Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Transfer Switches and Switchgears

PDUs

Other Electrical Infrastructures

Africa Data Center Market by Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

CRAC & CRAH Units



Chiller Units



Cooling Towers, Dry Coolers, & Condensers



Other Cooling Units

Racks

Others Mechanical Infrastructure

Africa Data Center Market by Cooling Technique

Air-based Cooling Technique

Liquid-based Cooling Technique

Africa Data Center Market by General Construction

Core and Shell Development

Installation and Commissioning Services

Engineering and Building Designs

Physical Security

DCIM/BMS

Africa Data Center Market by Tier Standards

Tier I & II

Tier III

Tier IV

Africa Data Center Market  Dynamics

The Africa data center market is increasingly moving towards digitization, with the rising adoption of the internet, the implementation of 5G services by a few telecom companies in Tier I cities, as well as improvement in overall connectivity in the region by way of terrestrial and subsea cables. The number of interconnected devices is also increasing significantly in recent years. By 2050, Africa will have 10 mega cities with over 150 million residents. These mega cities are expected to account for over 15% share of the global GDP. The rate of urbanization in Africa is expected to go up to 60% in 2050. This pace of urbanization will power the economy in the region and attract investments for technological advancements. Government-funded public administration initiatives are paving the way to the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) networks and related edge networks, 5G, and analytics applications in Africa. Smart city initiatives further emphasize the importance of data in improving communication among cities, citizens, automobiles, electronics, and devices.

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

Government Support to Boost Digital Economy

Rising Adoption of All-Flash Storage Solutions

Big Data & IoT on Data Center Growth

Migration from On-Premises Infrastructure to Colocation & Managed Services

Africa Data Center Market  Geography

South Africa is witnessing increased adoption of cloud-based solutions among enterprises and is rapidly emerging as a center for public and private cloud hosting, which will encourage more data center developments in the country. Cape Town and Johannesburg are the major preferred locations for data center development. For instance, AWS, a leading cloud service provider, has opened a cloud presence in Cape Town. This will help enterprises to gain faster access to their cloud service offerings at a cheaper rate in South Africa. The manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare sectors are among the major contributors to data center investments as these sectors are rapidly adopting cloud computing. The South African data center market is also increasingly adopting cloud technology. In September 2019, the data-only operator Rain, in partnership with Huawei, launched 5G network operations in South Africa. Vodacom and MTN have also launched commercial 5G services in the Tier I cities in South Africa, which will further increase the need for data storage, thereby increasing the requirement for additional data centers.

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/africa-data-center-market

Africa Data Center Market by Geography

Africa

South Africa



Morocco



Kenya



Nigeria



Egypt



Other Countries

Key Data Center Critical (IT) Infrastructure Providers

Arista Networks

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

Dell Technologies

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Huawei Technologies

IBM

Juniper Networks

Lenovo

NetApp

Key Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers

ABB

Caterpillar

Cummins

Eaton

Envicool

Legrand

Rittal

Rolls-Royce Power Systems

Schneider Electric

STULZ

Vertiv Group

Key Data Center Investors

Africa Data Centres

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

io

Internet Technologies Angola (ITA)

Inwi

IXAfrica

MainOne (MDXi)

N+ONE

Orange

PAIX

Raxio Group

Raya Data Center

Teraco Data Environments

Wingu

Key Construction Constructors

Arup Group

Atkins

Edarat Group

Future-tech

ISG

Vantage Data Centers

Explore our data center knowledge base profile to know more about the industry.

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EAST HAMPTON  Supporters and opponents of a zone change that could open the door to the expansion of a local gas station came with dueling petitions as the Planning and Zoning Commission opened a hearing on the proposal.

At issue is a request from a New York property company to change the zoning to allow construction of a larger gas station where one currently sits at 1 Colchester Ave.

The existing station is from the 1940s.

The service station is a non-confirming use and has been since the town zoned the area immediately adjacent to the station as an R-2 single-family residential neighborhood in 1990.

Neighbors opposed to the zone change contend there is no need for a much larger gas station.

Resident Kate Avery said if the zone change were approved, construction of a mega gas station would be grossly detrimental to our safety, our property values and the idyllic aesthetic that makes East Hampton truly special.

Avery circulated a petition in opposition to the proposed zone change.

Jeremy DeCarli, the towns planning and zoning official, said, Three different opposition petitions were submitted along with one petition in support.

A number of letters also were submitted in opposition to the proposal.

We read 46 opposition letters into the record, [and] one support letter, DeCarli reported.

In addition, about 15 people or so spoke at the hearing, DeCarli said, and the public hearing was continued to May 5 to allow others to speak at that time and to allow the applicants to address comments that were received.

Avery said she was encouraged by the turnout of those opposed to the plan.

The community response in opposition to this preposterous zone change request was nothing short of breathtaking, Avery said via email Monday.

It is so wonderful to see my town come together and speak clearly, concisely, and so eloquently against proposed spot commercial zoning changes that would be not just inappropriate for our historic neighborhood but intensely detrimental for our entire community, Avery said.

The application was submitted by Atlantis Marketing of Mount Vernon, N.Y., a subsidiary of Atlantis LLC of Dallas.

A telephone call seeking comment from the company was not immediately returned.
Former Communications Minister under the Mahama administration, Dr Edward Omane Boamah has said it is glad that Twitter selected Ghana to host its Africa operations.



According to him, the previous Mahama administration delivered 4G on a wider scale to Ghanaians and extended optic fiber across the country including rural areas.



Data is the currency for the future. Data will generate more jobs, he said.



Glad Twitter selected Ghana to host its Africa operations. This is benefit from investments in both fixed & wireless broadband. Also glad we delivered 4G on a wider scale to Ghanaians & extended optic fiber across the country including rural areas. Data is the currency for the future. Data will generate more jobs, he wrote on Facebook.



The American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages, has chosen Ghana as its Head Quarters for Africa Operations.



Twitter said its mission is to serve the public conversation, and its essential, for the world and for Twitter, to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it. To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.



Today, in line with our growth strategy, were excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.



In a tweet on Monday, April 12, she said Twitter chooses Ghana as their regional hub for Africa!! Thumbs up for Digital Ghana! Great news for our local, vibrant tech community. We cant wait to welcome others #NAkufoAddo. #TwitterGhana



President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has also commended Twitter for choosing Ghana as the headquarters for its Africa operations.



The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana Mr Akufo-Addo said in a tweet.



Below is the post by Dr Omane Boamah:









Glad Twitter selected Ghana to host its Africa operations. This is benefit from investments in both fixed & wireless...

Posted by Dr Omane Boamah on Monday, April 12, 2021











Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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View our Exclusive report on robotic flexible part feeding systems market scenarios, estimates, the impact of lockdown, and customer behaviour.

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The report on the robotic flexible part feeding systems market provides a holistic update, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis.

The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario and the overall market environment. The market is driven by technological innovations fueling demand.

The robotic flexible part feeding systems market includes analysis on end-user segment, component segment and geographic landscape. This study identifies the development of industrial robots with self-diagnostic capabilities as one of the prime reasons driving the robotic flexible part feeding systems market growth during the next few years.

This report presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters.

The robotic flexible part feeding systems market covers the following areas:

Robotic Flexible Part Feeding Systems Market Sizing

Robotic Flexible Part Feeding Systems Market Forecast

Robotic Flexible Part Feeding Systems Market Analysis

Companies Mentioned

ABB Ltd.

ARS Srl Socio Unico

Daifuku Co. Ltd.

FANUC Corp.

ISRA VISION AG

Keyence Corp.

OMRON Corp.

RNA Automation Ltd.

Seiko Epson Corp.

Teradyne Inc.

Related Reports on Industrials Include:

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by End-user

Market segments

Comparison by End-user

Consumer electronics and appliances - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Semiconductors - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Pharmaceuticals - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Automotive - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Other industries - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by End-user

Market Segmentation by Component

Market segments

Comparison by Component

Robotics - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Feeding devices - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Vision systems - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Component

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Overview

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

ABB Ltd.

ARS Srl Socio Unico

Daifuku Co. Ltd.

FANUC Corp.

ISRA VISION AG

Keyence Corp.

OMRON Corp.

RNA Automation Ltd.

Seiko Epson Corp.

Teradyne Inc.

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

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Revenue for the period was US$8.9 million, compared to US$149,000 in the same period of 2020

Looking ahead, the company continues to project revenue of between US$33 million and US$38 million for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2021

Byrna Technologies Inc ( ) ( ) has announced results for its fiscal first quarter ended February 28, 2021, revealing major revenue growth that the company attributes to rising demands for its non-lethal personal security device.

Revenue for the period was US$8.9 million, compared to US$149,000 in the same period of 2020, while adjusted income was US$421,000, a turnaround from a loss of US$1.7 million. Gross margin was 53.3%, compared to -19.5%.

"The quarter-over-quarter growth in revenues reflects the large increase in consumer demand for our Byrna HD non-lethal personal security device that began during the second half of 2020," Bryna CEO Bryan Ganz said in a statement. "It was gratifying to also see steady improvement in our bottom-line performance.

These results mark Byrnas second sequential quarter with a non-GAAP adjusted net income, Ganz noted. The significant increase in sales was driven by both strong order growth for the flagship Byrna HD personal security device and a reduction in the order backlog resulting from an increase in quarterly production volume, the company said.

At the end of February, Byrna had cash of US$4.1 million, including US$2.2 million of restricted cash, which is released as backorders are fulfilled.

Looking ahead, the company said it continues to project revenue between of US$33 million and US$38 million for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2021. That would be good for year-over-year growth of roughly 100% to 130%, based on order backlog, order flow and projected growth.

Byrna cited the following factors as growth drivers this fiscal year:

Expansion of advertising and promotional campaign

Plans to open a dedicated Amazon store

Increased leverage from our post-backlog resumption of dealer stocking

Planned new product launches

"Now that we have worked through our ecommerce order backlog, we can turn our attention to opening our Amazon store and enhancing our Dealer Program, Ganz said. Additionally, our 'Learn Safe' school safety program is just getting off the ground with our inaugural School Safety Training Program taking place in Texas today."

Additionally, Byrna is introducing new products, including the Byrna HD XL and the Byrna HD Boost, both of which provide greater velocity than the original Byrna HD. They also both use the more common 12-gram CO2 cartridge (as opposed to the 8-gram cartridge used in the Byrna HD), meaning users will be able to fire more projectiles on a single CO2 cartridge, thereby bringing down the CO2 cost per round by 40%. The company said it also plans to introduce a new lower-cost, biodegradable projectile.

The Byrna HD Boost is available as both a new product and as an aftermarket retrofit, allowing the more than 50,000 owners of the Byrna HD to be able to upgrade their existing launcher to a Byrna HD Boost by ordering a 12-gram adapter that can easily be attached to the original Byrna HD, the company said.

This summer, Byrna plans to begin offering its Byrna LE for Law Enforcement and firearm enthusiasts, which will have an even greater velocity than the Byrna HD XL, an improved sighting system, a seven-round magazine and extreme cold weather capabilities. Early in 2022 the Company plans to introduce the Byrna CP, a compact launcher designed for those that would like to carry their Byrna in a more discrete manner and for those with smaller hands.

"Sadly, our nation continues to be traumatized by tragic events and civil unrest that can cause people to be afraid to go about their daily lives, Ganz said. Our mission is to provide both civilians and law enforcement professionals with a safe and effective alternative to lethal firearms that enable our customers to safely and effectively protect themselves, their families and their communities and in so doing, gain the confidence and sense of security that can only come from being in control of one's environment, allowing anyone to live life unafraid, to live life to the fullest  to Live Safe!"

Byrna also announced that it has granted a total of 250,000 restricted stock units (RSUs) and 50,000 incentive stock options (ISOs) to the employees leading the Learn Safe initiative.

Contact Andrew Kessel at andrew.kessel@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel
Another serial burglar nicknamed Spiderman who has been terrorizing Nairobi residents has been arrested.

Kennedy Otieno Oyier, 27, has been scaling apartment walls in Kilimani and Kileleshwa estates, earning himself the tag Spiderman 3.

He was arrested Sunday night following increased incidents of burglary in Kileleshwa, Parklands, Lavington, Muthangari and Westlands.

Police said he had been on the run for weeks and had even changed his residence after realising detectives were on his trail.

Oyier, who has been stealing electronics, money, jewelry, and other household valuables, led officers to his residence in Kawangware where they recovered 10 laptop bags, 20 flash disks, one television set, several motor vehicles parts, metal bars used to break into houses, and assorted electronic cables.

Detectives also noted that Oyier is a brother to another suspect John Otieno Oyier, who is infamously known as Spiderman 2.

Spiderman 2 was arrested in January of this year and is being held at Industrial Area prisons.

Spiderman 3 told police he and his brother got skills of scaling the walls from a movie they watched online.

He said they have broken into many residences in the posh Nairobi estates using metal rods and master keys.

Police believe he has been working with security guards of the affected apartments to carry out the heists.

Oyier was Monday arraigned at the Kibera law courts where police constable Stephen Kibei from Kilimani DCI offices made a successful miscellaneous application to detain the accused.

Preliminary investigations indicate the suspect was a notorious house breaker and who has the habit of terrorizing residents of Kilimani and in some incidences, he was captured in CCTV footage, constable Kibei told the court.

Adding: During the time of the arrest one mobile phone which we believe contained important information which will assist in arresting his accomplices was recovered from the suspect.

Senior principal magistrate Charles Mwaniki granted detectives seven days to hold the suspect and directed that the matter be mentioned next week.

Oyiers arrest brings the number of notorious burglars nicknamed spiderman to four.

The first spiderman, identified as Michael Joseph Otieno Odhiambo, was arrested in 2019 after he was caught on CCTV scaling walls in Kilimani apartments.

A fourth spiderman was convicted in February of this year for stealing from personnel at the National Youth Service (NYS) headquarters in Ruaraka.

Stephen Ochieng pleaded guilty to stealing and handling stolen goods belonging to one Anthony Munene Njeru.

He had broken into Njerus house at dawn and stolen underwear, a subwoofer, and a claw hammer, all valued at Sh4,900.

While sentencing Ochieng to three years in jail, Makadara chief magistrate Heston Nyaga remembered convicting him for a similar offence in 2016 and nicknamed him the Spiderman of NYS.

He must be another Spiderman after the one who has tormented the residents of Kilimani in Nairobi only that this one can be termed as the Spiderman of NYS, Nyaga noted.

Having proven that the previous term has not taught him a lesson, I think a larger sentence may do so, the magistrate ruled.

Interestingly, three of his accomplices are serving death sentences for robbing him. They had reportedly disagreed on a sharing formula after a successful heist at NYS in 2016 before his accomplices armed themselves and violently robbed him.

In the 2016 case, Ochieng had admitted to charges of stealing a TV and a mobile phone valued at Sh55,000 from Fridah Opiyo Odongos house and was jailed for two years after being arrested while selling the items to a police officer.

The convict is said to have been brought up inside the NYS headquarters where his father worked before he retired.
Charlotte (pictured) and her now husband were told that the pregnancy was ectopic  rather than growing in the womb, the fertilised egg had lodged in one of her fallopian tubes

Young filmmaker Charlotte Carroll went to hospital writhing in agony, convinced she had a hernia. But as she waited on the trolley, she received surprising news.

'I was told I was pregnant,' says Charlotte, 29.

'I was shocked as I wasn't trying.'

But the joy at the 'amazing news' for Charlotte and her now husband, Diego Bivero-Volpe, an entrepreneur, was short-lived.

An hour later, they were told that the pregnancy was ectopic  rather than growing in the womb, the fertilised egg had lodged in one of her fallopian tubes.

An ectopic pregnancy is never viable and can be fatal for a woman, because the tube can rupture as the developing baby grows, causing dramatic blood loss.

'A nurse told me that I was eight weeks pregnant and that they would most likely have to take out the embryo along with the fallopian tube,' says Charlotte, who lives with Diego, formerly of TV's Made In Chelsea, in South-West London.

'I burst into tears and said: 'So how am I ever going to have a baby again?' It was such a sad moment.'

Charlotte was unaware that the lower abdominal pain and vaginal bleeding she had been experiencing were classic warning signs of an ectopic pregnancy.

Nor did she realise that the fact she has endometriosis  where cells similar to those found in the lining of the womb occur elsewhere in the body  doubles her risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

These cells can grow anywhere, including in the pelvis, around the bladder and even in the lungs, causing intense pain. The tissue swells and bleeds each month like the womb lining, but the blood has nowhere to go. Charlotte was 25 when she was told she had endometriosis.

'I learned that 50 per cent of women with it suffer from fertility issues, but I didn't know there was an increased chance of an ectopic pregnancy,' she says.

She is telling her story now to give others hope, as she is pregnant again  'by accident, like before'  and her baby is due this month. It is a surprise, as having only one fallopian tube can reduce the chance of getting pregnant, and so does endometriosis

Why it increases this risk is unclear.

'We know the association, but can't explain the mechanism,' says Andrew Horne, a professor of gynaecology and reproductive medicine at Edinburgh University.

There are 11,000 ectopic pregnancies diagnosed in the UK every year. Sometimes an ectopic pregnancy can implant in the spleen, bowel or an old caesarean scar, but 95 per cent embed in one of the fallopian tubes.

Charlotte, who has appeared in films such as Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper, and won awards for her 2017 film Red Crayon, decided to turn the camera on herself while being treated in hospital for her ectopic pregnancy in August 2019.

'What was happening was so unbelievable and traumatic, I thought maybe I wouldn't remember it,' she says. She has now turned the footage into a powerful short film, The Topic.

'I wanted women to know they're not alone,' she says.

During her two-night stay at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, she had to have the embryo and fallopian tube in which it had implanted removed via a laparoscopy. This is when a tube with a camera on the end is passed in via a small incision in the abdomen.

The whole experience left her feeling 'destroyed' and wondering if she should be 'freezing my eggs or calling adoption agencies'.

She is telling her story now to give others hope, as she is pregnant again  'by accident, like before'  and her baby is due this month.

It is a surprise, as having only one fallopian tube can reduce the chance of getting pregnant, and so does endometriosis.

'One third to half of women with endometriosis will have problems getting pregnant,' says Professor Horne.

Charlotte's happiness was mixed with fear when she found out she was pregnant again. 'I couldn't relax until I'd had an early pregnancy scan and it was confirmed that it was in the right place,' she says

'Endometriosis may cause problems by changing the environment in the pelvis, making it more inflammatory, so that the pregnancy does not implant properly or the egg quality may not be so good.'

At least 1.5 million women in the UK have this condition  although the charity Endometriosis UK believes the true figure may be higher because awareness remains low and women are embarrassed to seek help for symptoms such as heavy periods.

Women experience symptoms for on average eight years before diagnosis  also partly because endometriosis can be difficult to diagnose, says Professor Horne.

'Many of the symptoms cross over with other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome [painful stomach cramps and bloating], or painful bladder syndrome, which can mimic the pain of women with endometriosis in the bladder,' he says.

Charlotte lost count of the number of times she went to her GP and was told she was simply experiencing painful periods.

'I went on the contraceptive pill at 15 and felt it was time to come off when I was 20,' she says.

'I didn't know at the time, but the Pill suppresses symptoms of endometriosis because it inhibits ovulation and stops the growth and shedding of the endometrial lining of the womb.

'When I came off the Pill, my periods got so painful that I couldn't cope. It was impossible to stand up or talk.

'My GP gave me powerful prescription painkillers such as diclofenac, but she never mentioned endometriosis. She just said I was having painful periods.

'The pain would come on 12 hours before the period. It felt like barbed wire and made me nauseous.'

When Charlotte was 23, her GP referred her to a gynaecologist, who eventually performed a laparoscopy  this found areas of endometrial tissue on the left side of her abdomen, which were lasered off.

'It was a relief knowing what was wrong, but I felt silly, even angry, that it hadn't been dealt with before,' says Charlotte.

'I never had some of the classic symptoms, such as pain during sex or bowel movements, but after the surgical treatment, the pain during my periods stopped.'

Three years later, in 2019, however, the pain returned.

Laparoscopy is the most common way to diagnose endometriosis, and while the tissue is often cut out during the procedure, it usually recurs.

'In 20 per cent of women, symptoms come back in two years, and in 50 per cent, within five years,' says Professor Horne. Female hormones encourage endometrial tissue to regrow.

This month, Professor Horne is launching a study involving 400 women undergoing laparoscopies to see if it is better to remove the tissue at the same time, or opt for medical management instead.

Typically, the condition is treated with hormonal drugs such as the combined contraceptive pill, but these are not suitable for women wanting to become pregnant.

Meanwhile, work is ongoing to understand the cause of endometriosis. 'The theory we work on in Edinburgh is based on retrograde menstruation,' says Professor Horne.

'This is when menstrual blood containing endometrial cells flows back up the fallopian tubes into the pelvis, instead of passing out of the body. That happens in 80 per cent to 90 per cent of endometriosis patients, so we have been looking at why in some that tissue seems to stick to the lining of the womb, as it should, but not in others.'

Professor Jason Abbott, a gynaecologist and obstetrician at the University of New South Wales in Australia, believes some cases are caused by a 'pain syndrome' whereby the brain learns to experience pain even after the tissue has been removed.

Charlotte's happiness was mixed with fear when she found out she was pregnant again.

'I couldn't relax until I'd had an early pregnancy scan and it was confirmed that it was in the right place,' she says.

'I want to inspire hope in other women struggling with endometriosis, who will see that a successful pregnancy is possible.'

You can see Charlotte's film at thetopic.co.uk
Patna, April 13 : The recovery rate of Covid-19 patients continues to decline after a rapid spike in the number of infected persons in Bihar. The state's recovery rate was recorded at more than 99 per cent during March, which has now slumped to 93 per cent. According to the health department, the infection-free rate has declined after the rise in the number of infected persons, which has brought down the recovery rate.

According to data released by the health department, the recovery rate of Covid-infected persons has declined by three per cent in the last five days. According to the data, 85,050 samples were tested in the state on April 7, of which 1,527 were detected to be new infected cases. The infection rate in the state was 1.79 per cent on this day, while the recovery rate was 97.24 per cent.

According to the health department data, the state recorded an infection-free rate of 99.23 per cent on March 20, registering a steady decline. On March 25, the infection-free rate had fallen to 99.06 per cent, which further reduced to 98.81 per cent on March 31.

As per the state health data, the infection-free rate was recorded at 96.68 per cent on April 8, while it fell to 96.03 per cent on April 9 and 95.13 per cent on April 10. On April 11, the figure further plunged to 94.24 per cent.

On April 12, 80,018 samples were tested, detecting 2,999 new infected persons. As many as 636 people returned to their homes after recovering from the virus Thus, the recovery rate in the state reached 93.48 per cent on Monday, said a health department official.

The number of active patients has also registered an increase due to the decline in the rate of recovery from the infection. In Patna, 289 micro-containment zones have been created after the number of infected persons increased.

The number of infected cases is said to be more in urban areas than rural areas. The number of micro-containment zones in Patna Sadar division is 163, while the number of micro-containment zones in Paliganj is only nine. Health Minister Mangal Pandey said instructions have been issued to increase the number of beds for corona patients in all hospitals in the state.

At present, there are 17,052 active Covid-19 patients in 38 districts of Bihar after 2,999 new positive cases were reported in the state on Monday. As many as 80,018 samples were tested during the last 24 hours.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
India has administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to 9.5 crore people and the second dose to 1.34 crore till April 13, thus vaccinating 10.85 crore people so far, the health ministry data shows. But Maharashtra-the most affected state-has so far vaccinated only 77.3 lakh above the age of 45. The state not only has the highest cases and deaths in the country but also has one of the highest test positivity rates in the world.

Around 2.75-3 lakh people are being vaccinated in Maharashtra on an average every day, say state health officials. Of the 3.86 crore people above 45 years of age in Maharashtra, the state has vaccinated 33.8 lakh in the 45-60 age group and 43.5 lakh above the age of 60 years, totalling 77.3 lakh. That's just 19.9 per cent of those over 45 years of age. To vaccinate the remaining 80 per cent (3.08 crore) people in this age group, Maharashtra will take between 102 and 112 days at current rate of vaccination.

For the age group of 25-45, Maharashtra has a population of 3.43 crore, according to the 2011 census. The government has not started with the vaccination of people under the age of 45 yet, but whenever it'll start, another 4 months will be required to cover them at the present rate of vaccination.

ALSO READ: India fast-tracks emergency approval for foreign COVID-19 vaccines

The target, however, could be achieved much faster if the vaccination per day is increased. Officials say the capacity to administer jabs can be enhanced up to 6-7 lakh per day. However, it is easier said than done.

Maharashtra has contributed over 33 per cent of daily Covid-19 cases since the start of the second coronavirus wave in India. As the country recorded 1.61 lakh news cases today, Maharashtra reported the highest daily news cases at 51,751, followed by 13,604 in Uttar Pradesh and 13,576 in Chhattisgarh.

Maharashtra's case recovery rate is poor at 81.94 per cent and the fatality rate is 1.68 per cent. Currently, 32,75,224 people are in-home quarantine while 29,399 people are in institutional quarantine. It is recording over 50,000 Covid cases every day after April 6 when the daily Covid count was 47,288.

Maharashtra government has blamed the Centre for not dispatching enough vaccines for it to enhance vaccination. State health minister Rajesh Tope last week alleged BJP-ruled states were getting more vaccines than non-BJP ones. He said Gujarat has a population of 6 crore, and it got 1 crore doses, while Maharashtra has a population of 12 crore but it received 1.04 crore doses only. Many other non-BJP ruled states also highlighted the problem of COVID-19 vaccines' shortages.

In a strongly worded response, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said it was nothing but an attempt to divert attention from the Maharashtra government's repeated failures to control the spread of the pandemic. "Their testing is not up to the mark and their contact tracing leaves a lot to be desired," he said.

ALSO READ: Russia's Sputnik V to be rolled out in May in India; pricing to be affordable

Though states like Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh have come under pressure due to the rising Covid graph, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his recent online meet with chief ministers, tried to soothe fears, saying there's no need to worry if cases were rising.

Instead, he asked officials to ramp up testing and vaccination. He also called for 'Teeka Utsav' - a vaccination festival between April 11 and April 14, which has received better response.

India is right now facing the worst of the Covid-19 wave with infections rising at an unprecedented pace. The government has stepped up the fight against the deadly virus by doubling down efforts on testing and vaccination. India's vaccination programme is the biggest in the world in terms of scale, but it's still not enough to cover the entire population of over 1.35 billion people.

The country started the Covid vaccination programme on January 16, covering healthcare workers in the first phase. In early February, the vaccination programme was expanded to include frontline workers. In phase 2 from March 1, people aged above 60 years and those above 45 years of age with co-morbidities were included. On April 1, the programme was further expanded to everyone above the age of 45.

ALSO READ: How much vaccines can India make? And the catch...

(Edited by Manoj Sharma)
Curt Boganey, a city manager in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, at a Monday press conference about the death of the 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

The city manager of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, was fired Monday evening.

Mayor Mike Elliott announced the move on Twitter.

A police officer in Brooklyn Center on Sunday fatally shot Daunte Wright, 20, during a traffic stop.

See more stories on Insider's business page.

The person who oversees day-to-day government operations in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, was fired Monday, a day after a police officer in the city fatally shot a young Black man during a traffic stop.

"Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties," Mayor Mike Elliott announced on Twitter.

On Sunday, a police officer in Brooklyn Center shot Daunte Wright, 20, in what the officer's superiors insist was an accident. Body-camera footage of the incident shows Wright scuffling with the police and getting back into the driver's seat of his car, at which point an officer can be heard shouting: "Taser! Taser! Taser!"

Moments later, that same voice can be heard saying: "Holy s---. I just shot him."

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Monday that Wright died from a gunshot wound to the chest, ruling his death a homicide.

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Earlier in the day, City Manager Curt Boganey, amid calls to fire the officer who pulled the trigger, said all employees of the city were entitled to "due process with respect to discipline."

"This employee will receive due process," he said, "and that's really all I can say today."

He was removed from his position soon after. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, city-council members also voted 3-2 to hand the former city manager's authority over the police department to the mayor.

Wright's killing comes at a particularly fraught time, as just a short drive away jurors hear testimony in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with killing George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com



Read the original article on Business Insider
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots on the final day of early voting for the 2020 presidential election in a file photo. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Democrat Polling Firms Admit Major Errors in 2020 Election Polls

A group of top Democratic Party pollsters released a public statement Tuesday acknowledging major errors in their 2020 polling, while venturing several theories they believe may account for the blunders.

In 2020, our industry saw major errors and failed to live up to our own expectations, said the statement by ALG Research, Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group, GBAO Strategies, Global Strategy Group, and Normington Petts.

Most preelection polls ahead of the November election overstated then-presidential candidate Joe Bidens lead over then-President Donald Trump, and in some states incorrectly predicted that Biden would win or that the race would be close. This sparked critical post-election media commentary, with some asserting that polling seems to be irrevocably broken, while others argued that the polling industry is a wreck, and should be blown up.

Polling was in the spotlight ahead of the November election, with The Epoch Times reporting on questions about whether the so-called shy voter phenomenon was undercounting support for Trump.

An average of 2020 presidential election polls on the eve of Nov. 3, compiled by FiveThirtyEight, showed Biden with an 8.4 percentage point lead over Trump, with the actual results later shown to be around 4.4 points. Not only that, but in Republican states Trump fared better than the polls predicted by a stunning 6.4 points.

Every one of us thought Democrats would have a better Election Day than they did, the five polling companies wrote in the memo. So what went wrong?

They floated the proposition that several factors may have contributed to the 2020 polling errors, and there is not a single, definitive answerwhich makes solving the problem especially frustrating.

Broadly, they blame errors in both turnout and measurement, with measurement probably the larger culprit in most places.

Turnout error is when pollsters get the composition of the electorate wrong, leading to a miscalibration in who actually shows up to vote versus who polls predict will do so.

Following investigation into the polling errors in 2016, when polls showed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with a lead of around four percentage points, the pollsters said they had all adjusted their weighting protocols to make sure they had enough white non-college voters in their turnout stats. But while polling improved in blue states and some swing states like Georgia and Arizona, in more Republican areas, the data were often wrong, sometimes egregiously so.

The pollsters found that their models overestimated Democratic turnout relative to Republican turnout.

Among low propensity voterspeople who we expect to vote rarelythe Republican share of the electorate exceeded expectations at four times the rate of the Democratic share, they said, meaning thatagainpollsters underestimated turnout among rural and white non-college voters.

While arguing that measurement error was the bigger factor, they said its source could be one (or more) of a million different things, and plenty of theories have already been discussed, privately and publicly.

One theory is late-deciding voters breaking for Trump, which the companies said was a major phenomenon in 2016, but in 2020, this probably did not play a major role.

Another possible explanation is the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have led people who stayed home to answer the phone when pollsters called at a greater rate than those who did not. This is the idea that Trump supporters may have been out and about more, while Biden voters may have been self-isolating at home.

Perhaps voters with more progressive attitudes on COVID-19 were not only more likely to wear masks and stay at home, but also more likely to answer our poll calls while conservatives remained harder to reach, they wrote.

Finally, theres the theory that decline of social trust and faith in institutions played a role, amplified by Trump on the ticket.

High quality social science surveys suggest Americans trust in each other has been falling for decades, they wrote, adding that, Trump may have helped turn this into a problem for pollsters by attracting distrustful voters and making his most ardent supporters even more distrustful of other people, of the media, and perhaps even polling itself. This would have made Trump supporters less likely to answer polls, they argued.

A study in August 2020 showed that nearly 12 percent of Republican voters fall into the shy voter category, meaning they would be reluctant to disclose to pollsters their true preferences.

Following his win in 2016, Trump said his confidence in polling took a major hit.

I went to see my wife. I say, Baby, I tell you what. Were not going to win tonight, Trump said in West Allis, Wisconsin, in December 2016. The polls are coming outI always used to believe in those things. I dont believe them anymore, Trump said.

Since then, Trump repeatedly called into question the accuracy of polls, even arguing they were being intentionally manipulated to sway elections.

The polling companies said that, while there is evidence some of the theories they mentioned played a part, no consensus on a solution has emerged.

They said they would embark on a number of experiments over the course of this year to get the bottom of the issue and come up with a more solid explanation for the errors.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The global personal protective equipment market size is expected to reach USD 112.07 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 7.3% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The upgrading of the public healthcare system and infrastructure coupled with investments in new facilities in developing economies is anticipated to drive the product demand over the coming years.

Key suggestions from the report:

Hand protection PPE accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% over the forecast period owing to the rising product demand on account of risks associated with corrosive chemicals, handling warm objects, and heavy-duty equipment

Protective footwear accounted for a significant market share and is expected to expand further at a steady CAGR over the forecast period on account of the increasing workplace fatalities

The oil & gas industry accounted for a significant share, in terms of revenue, in 2020 and is expected to witness a growth rate of 6.9% over the projected period owing to high accident risk in upstream and midstream activities in the industry

Growth in the food & beverage sector across the globe is projected to drive PPE demand over the forecast period

Companies are focusing on manufacturing branded and fashionable PPE owing to the increased demand for durable and customized products

Read 150 page research report with ToC on "Personal Protective Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Respiratory Protection, Protective Clothing), By End-use (Healthcare, Manufacturing), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2028" at:https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/personal-protective-equipment-ppe-market

The stringent regulations imposed by the U.S. Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the country have a positive impact on product demand from the end-use industries. In addition, the growing employee awareness related to personal safety has a significant influence on the increased penetration of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the country.

Constant innovations, in terms of production, such as the development of lighter, comfortable industrial protective equipment using premium-quality fabric, are projected to propel market growth. High demand for PPE, which combines safety with improved aesthetics and technological innovation, is further estimated to augment market growth.

Various countries implemented Covid-19 related acts, such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act by the U.S., for protecting public health workers, establishing free testing, providing paid leaves, and important benefits to children and families in 2020 to curb the spread of the virus. Increasing domestic production coupled with restraints on imports and exports of PPE surged the product demand in 2020.

Grand View Research has segmented the global personal protective equipment market on the basis of product, end-use, and region:

PPE Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

Head, Eye & Face Protection



Hearing Protection



Protective Clothing



Heat & Flame Protection





Chemical Defending





Cleanroom Clothing





Mechanical Protective Clothing





Limited General Use





Others



Respiratory Protection



Air-purifying Respirators





Supplied Air Respirators



Protective Footwear



Leather





Rubber





PVC





Polyurethane





Others



Fall Protection



Hand Protection



Disposable Gloves





By Type







General Purpose









Chemical Handling









Sterile Gloves









Surgical









Others







By Material







Natural Rubber









Nitrile









Neoprene









Vinyl









Others





Durable Gloves





Mechanical Gloves







Chemical Handling







Thermal/Flame Retardant







Others



Others

PPE End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

Construction



Manufacturing



Oil & Gas



Chemicals



Food



Pharmaceuticals



Healthcare



Transportation



Mining



Others

PPE Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

North America



U.S.





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





France





U.K.





Italy





Spain





Russia



Asia Pacific



China





India





Japan





South Korea





Indonesia





Australia





Thailand





Malaysia



Central & South America



Brazil





Argentina



Middle East & Africa

&

Saudi Arabia





UAE

List of Key Players of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market

Honeywell International, Inc.

Lakeland Industries, Inc.

DuPont

3M

Ansell Ltd.

Avon Rubber plc

COFRA S.r.l.

Uvex Safety Group

Lindstrom Group

BartelsRieger Atemschutztechnik GmbH

Rock Fall (U.K.) Ltd.

Mine Safety Appliances (MSA) Company

Radians, Inc.

Polison Corp.

Gateway Safety, Inc.

Find more research reports on Smart Textiles Industry, by Grand View Research:

U.S. Medical Device Manufacturers Market - The U.S. medical device manufacturers market size was valued at USD 176.7 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% over the forecast period.

in 2020 and is anticipated to exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.0% over the forecast period. Rubber Gloves Market - The global rubber gloves market size was estimated at USD 7.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.7% from 2020 to 2027.

in 2019 and is expected to expand at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.7% from 2020 to 2027. Healthcare Personal Protective Equipment Market - The global healthcare personal protective equipment market size was valued at USD 22.96 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1% from 2020 to 2028.

Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

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Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

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An investigation is underway after a fatal shooting in eastern Jefferson County Monday afternoon.

The shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. in the 1100 block of Florentine Circle, which is Country Park Apartments. Sgt. Joni Money said three people were in a Cadillac when the back seat passenger was shot through a closed window.

The driver fled to get away from the gunfire, finally stopping on Wear Drive, just across the street from Huffman High School on Springville Road.

The victim, who is in his 30s, was pronounced on the scene. No suspects are in custody.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriffs office at 205-325-1450 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A pet owner was left bruised after two masked thieves tackled her to the ground and snatched her sausage dog.

Joanna Fox, 50, was walking her two-year-old dachshund Minnie near the village of Woodville, Derbyshire, when she was approached by two men.

One man knocked her over and grabbed Minnie while the other held his fist to her face at about 8.20pm on Sunday.

Two-year-old sausage dog Minnie (pictured) was stolen by two men while out on a walk with her owner in Woodville, Derbyshire, on Sunday

Ms Fox said: 'A man who was masked pushed me and I fell on the ground. The tall man was yanking the lead and the short one was hovering above me as if to hit my face.

'All I want is the dog to come back. I just feel broken, I feel lost.'

Her son James, a mechanical engineer, said that one man tackled his mother to the ground and left her lying on the pavement, while another snatched the dog lead out of her hand.

He said as the pair stole the dog, they lifted her up in air by the lead, strangling her.

Mr Fox, who has now set up an appeal to find Minnie, said his mother could hear her beloved pet 'crying' as she was thrown into a black Ford Mondeo, which had a registration plate beginning YG60.

He said: 'She had been walking near the roundabout and she said someone jumped on her from behind and tackled her to the ground. Then another man snatched the lead from her hand and picked up Minnie in the air by her lead. She was being strangled.

Derbyshire Constabulary have released an image of a man they are seeking in connection with this incident (pictured)

'Mum is really shook up. We are massive pet lovers and the dog means more than anything to us. Mum is a bit scuffed and bruised. We are just mortified and heartbroken.

'Minnie had a litter about a year ago and she has been spayed now and has a chip. We only live around the corner from where it happened.'

Mr Fox also said that on top of the two men who attacked his mother and stole Minnie, a third individual had been driving the Ford Mondeo.

He said: 'My mum wouldn't usually walk that route, so they were just driving around the area looking for victims when they found the perfect opportunity.

"They saw my mum and the dog and decided to attack them.

"She is physically and mentally hurting.

"She has cuts and bruises on her neck and wrists.

"She wants the dog back more than anything and we won't stop until we find her."

Mr Fox added that it was one of the first times timid Minnie had been outside since December when she was spooked by fireworks and that the crime had occurred during April, which is the anniversary of the death of his brother.

The victim's son James Fox said that one man tackled his mum to the ground and left her lying on the pavement, while another snatched the dog lead out of her hand. Minnie (pictured) was thrown into a black Ford Mondeo before the men drove off

He said: 'She has only just rebuilt her confidence and then this happens. She is such a lovely dog.'

Mr Fox said that he has heard of other Dachshunds selling for between 2,000 and 3,000 and believes the dog has been stolen so the thieves can claim the reward.

Police released an appeal yesterday for information relating to the dog theft, describing the two men involved as being aged in their 30s, with one of the men being white, of a stocky build and with short fair hair.

Also of interest to detectives are any drivers who were in an Asda filling station in Woodville between 8.10pm and 8.15pm where officers believe the car was sighted shortly after the incident.

Inspector Chris Thornhill, who leads the policing in south Derbyshire, said: 'Incidents such as this are, thankfully, very rare in Derbyshire. However, I am very aware of the impact that these crimes have on victims and how worried fellow dog owners will be hearing this news.

Mr Fox also said that on top of the two men who attacked his mother and stole Minnie, a third individual had been driving the Ford Mondeo

'Patrols have been stepped up in the area and you may see an increased police presence in the coming days. I would urge anyone with information, or concerns, to speak to them.'

Anyone with information is urged to contact police on 101 and quoting reference 21*198495 in any correspondence.

Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

It comes amid a rise in dog-nappings across the UK.

A thief stole a miniature dachshund on March 14 from a home in Burton after telling the owner he only wanted to show the sausage dog to his children - but never returned.

A month before, on February 10, eight miniature wire-haired dachshunds were stolen by thieves who raided a house in Acresford. Two of the pedigree show dogs were later located but six remain missing.

A man walking his collie dog in Derbyshire also told how two men posing as RSPCA officials asked to check his dog in the back of their van.

After challenging the pair, they drove off.
Citing reputational risk from poor animal welfare practice, New Zealand is banning live exports of animals.

On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor announced the controversial practice would end within the next two years.

'There's a lot of public pressure here, a lot of concern,' Mr O'Connor said, saying many farmers supported the ban.

'We must stay ahead of the curve in a world where animal welfare is under increasing scrutiny.'

Citing reputational risk from poor animal welfare practice, New Zealand is banning live exports of animals (file image)

Unlike Australia, New Zealand does not export live exports for slaughter, only for breeding.

Since the start of 2020, Kiwi exporters have sent 118,000 cattle overseas, all to China.

TVNZ has reported the government informed the Chinese Embassy a fortnight ago warning of the move.

'This is not about China. It's about animal welfare,' Mr O'Connor said.

Despite its reputation, New Zealand has exported just one voyage of sheep in the past 13 years.

The ban will take effect after a two-year transitional period.
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COVID-19 lockdown measures have been much harder on those with pre-existing anxiety issues or in lower-income demographics. Credit: Unsplash

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in massive shifts to seemingly every aspect of daily life. At the heart of these changes have been requirements to socially distance from others and stay at home.

A number of businesses closed their doors or drastically cut back on hours and continue to do so. The result has been a historic economic recession in Canada. The drop in economic productivity has been unprecedented and millions of Canadians became unemployed after the first onset of lockdown measures.

These economic changes have resulted in much greater financial stress for many Canadians than they had faced prior to the pandemic. The financial fallout of the pandemic often loomed larger than the health threat.

As Loretta, a 43-year-old clerical worker, told us as part of our research into the pandemic: "To me, the word 'stress' is really more financial than anything. I was like, "Oh, I gotta really think about how I'm spending my money and where I can cut back." The stress for me wasn't really COVID-specific in terms of illness, catching it, transmitting it."

Our recently published study suggests that financial stress during the first several months of pandemic was not the same for all Canadians.

Instead, Canadians who already had poor health and finances at the start of the pandemic were most at risk. In March 2020, shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada, we collaborated with the Angus Reid Forum to conduct a national survey of about 2,500 Canadian workers. We surveyed workers across a number of levels of education, fields of expertise and occupations so that our results are broadly representative of Canadian workers at the start of the pandemic.

We then re-interviewed these same people in April, May and June of 2020, including people who were laid off, temporarily furloughed or unemployed. Each time, we asked questions about common experiences of financial stress, such as whether they had enough money for bills or basic necessities. We then examined the factors in March that lead to risks of financial stress between April and June.

Poor finances harmed mental health

We found a consistent and concerning pattern: People with financial problems at the start of the pandemic were much more likely to experience financial stress throughout the next several months.

Another prominent factor was people's health. People with frequent symptoms of anxiety and poor physical health were much more likely to experience financial stress across the first months of the pandemic.

We also found that financial stress had substantial effects on mental health. By June, people who consistently reported financial stress in the prior months had higher levels of psychological distress than people who did not report any financial stress.

Financial stress can have powerful effects on mental health by creating anxiety and uncertainty in people's lives. Tom, a 36-year-old who works in sales, described his experience: "I was literally sitting in my home, unable to find out whether or not I was going to have income in the following week  where the stress came from was that complete inability to financially plan."

Economic divide

Our research highlights the growing economic divide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadians have been asked to sacrifice a lot in the name of slowing the spread of COVID-19. Careers have been irreparably harmed, and many families have shouldered additional child care and schooling burdens.

But the financial burdens of the pandemic were not shared equally by all Canadians. Instead, people who were already under economic pressure and dealing with health problems were more likely to experience a vicious cycle of economic hardship and worsened mental health.

Two lessons emerged from our research.

First, government leaders need to recognize that even with financial support like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, known as CERB, many Canadians have fallen through the economic cracks.

The consequences for impaired mental health are clear and destructive. Much more needs to be done to provide financial support during the pandemic, or it is quite likely that vulnerable Canadians will continue to experience financial impairments and reduced mental health many years into the future, even as vaccination rates continue to rise.

Second, short-term interventions like CERB are likely inadequate for addressing systemic inequalities that deepened during the pandemic. While there is no simple solution to addressing economic inequality, Canadians will need to consider more extensive remedies, such as basic income support programs that ensure a sufficient standard of living.

The alternative is a probable increase in the number of Canadians who are shunted off from society and mired in despair due to a lack of financial resources.

Explore further Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Prayagraj, April 13 : The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Tuesday moved an urgent petition before the Allahabad High Court in the Kashi Vishwanath Mandi-Gyanvapi Masjid case in which the trial court at Varanasi allowed an ASI study of the mosque on April 8.

Sunni Central Waqf Board's standing counsel Puneet Kumar Gupta argued that the trial court passed the order illegally and without jurisdiction as the matter is before the high court and Justice Prakash Pandia had reserved the order on March 15 this year.

"We moved the Allahabad High Court today against the judgment of the lower court and filed a petition," Gupta told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, the management committee of the Gyanvapi mosque, had also moved an application before the Allahabad High Court in the case.

Counsel for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, S.F.A. Naqvi prayed for stay of operation of the April 8 order of the Varanasi court, contending that the high court had reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the suit pending in the Varanasi court, which is hearing the contentions of the opposite party (the Temple trust).

The petition states that the lower court ignored the entire written submissions and applicability of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 and Order 7 Rule 11D of the Civil Procedure Code.

"It appears that the learned civil judge concerned is more interested to bypass all judicial discipline and ethics as well as procedures of law and to establish himself as above the judicial hierarchy as defined under the Civil Procedure Code and had assumed himself as the only authority to decide the entire issue without looking into the legal impediment and bar," it says.

Athar Hussain, secretary of Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), the Ayodhya Mosque Trust, said, "The move of Anjuman Intezamia challenging the civil judge's order in Allahabad high court is welcome. It will help uphold the Places of Worship Act, 1991, te relevance of which for preserving the secular character of our Constitution was clearly highlighted in the Ayodhya title suit verdict." On April 8, the Varanasi court had allowed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) study of the Gyanvapi Mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

The court ordered an archaeological survey of a centuries-old mosque complex abutting the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple, saying the exercise was required to decide on pleas that allege the mosque was built by Mughal emperors after partially demolishing a Hindu shrine.

The suit was filed in 1991 seeking restoration of the ancient temple at the site where the Gyanvapi Mosque currently stands.

On March 15, the Allahabad High Court reserved its judgment in various pleas, which had challenged the maintainability of the 1991 suit before the Varanasi trial court/
(Photo : Screenshot From Graphically Challenged YouTube) Nvidia Plans RTX 4000 Series and RTX 5000 Series as Upcoming Ampere Next GPUs!

Despite gamers barely getting their hands on the Nvidia RTX 30 series GPUs like the RTX 3090 or the more affordable RTX 3060, the intensely high demand has been good for Nvidia. It looks like the company is planning to take things a step further going past the RTX 3000 series and into the realm of the RTX 4000 and RTX 5000 series!

Nvidia GTC Announcements

According to the story by TechSpot, Nvidia's most recent GPU Technology Conference or GTC has just kicked off today talking about the company's digital format and what they plan to do. Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, got on stage to give the masses just a few pieces of juicy GPU news and more.

This time, Nvidia announced the news in the form of a roadmap which actually laid out Nvidia's rough hardware plans over the course of the next four years. Between this 2021 all the way up to 2025, Nvidia actually aims to release six generations of massive hardware! Two of them will be centered yet again around the GPUs.

Nvidia RTX 30 Series Upgrade

Nvidia GPU fans can expect the Ampere Next and the Ampere Next Next to come in the following years. The article by TechSpot assumes, however, that the GPU titles still aren't final but the cards are expected to release in 2022 and later on in 2024 respectively.

The Nvidia plan will give current Nvidia GPU fans about another year to enjoy the widely successful but also very scarce Nvidia RTX 30 series GPUs even before the next hardware leap finally arrives.

Nvidia RTX 4000 Series and RTX 5000 Series

If Nvidia really did stick to its own current RTX naming conventions, the Ampere Next, according to TechSpot, will most likely be branded the Nvidia RTX 4000-series. The Next Next is expected to take on the upcoming RTX 5000-series names.

It is now a bit too early to predict things like the specs, performance, cooling capacities, or even energy efficiency for the other next-gen GPUs. However, other products are expected to be coming to Nvidia's roadmap as well. This includes the just newly announced ARM-based CPUs called the Grace and the Grace Next. These particular CPU generations are both scheduled to launch this upcoming 2023 and 2025, according to CRN.

Read Also: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT vs. Nvidia RTX 3060: Which is Faster?

Upcoming Nvidia DPU

Finally, Nvidia's upcoming Data Processing Unit or DPU Bluefield is also expected to be coming out in two new iterations like Bluefield-3 in 2022 and the upcoming Bluefield 4 later on in 2024. Nvidia now hopes its new DPUs will be able to offer exponential increases in its raw processing power. The new Bluefield-3 is now expected to function a massive 10 times faster than its very own processor, and the Bluefield-4 could bring an almost unimaginable 100x boost in performance.

The company is basically expected to come up with a lot of powerful products over the course of the next five years. The only problem is if the upcoming products will be scarce like how they are now.

Related Article: Nvidia RTX 3060 Benchmark: Initial Results Show It's Not Hitting Expectations

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian Buenconsejo

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HYDERABAD: Biodegradable waste wrapped in plastic bags has been the prime cause for chockages of nalas and storm water drains across the city. This came to light when Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was desilting the city.

The corporation, after conducting a comprehensive study, found that more than 60 per cent of biodegradable waste is wrapped in plastic bags. To add to the woes, since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, face masks and sanitizer bottles are adding to the plastic waste.

GHMC officials have taken up desilting works at 356 locations over an overall 951-kilometre stretch. The corporation so far has found 30 percent of plastic waste, including masks and sanitizer bottles. It has excavated one tonne waste this year and the material composition has been ascertained. It was found that more than 30 per cent of the excavated heap from the nala comprised plastics, plastic covers, paper plates, water hyacinth, clothes and other materials. Apart from that were 40 per cent silt (earthen material) and 30 per cent of water (sewage and storm water).

When the corporation again conducted a comprehensive study, citizens living alongside open nalas have been dumping 60 per cent of biodegradable waste like vegetable waste and animal waste. Apart from this, the citizens have been wrapping non-bio-degradable products like sanitary napkins, which would turn into a hard substance and chock the free flow water during rainy days and inundate low-lying areas.

A senior GHMC official said that the corporation has taken desilted nala in two layers. He said that the first layer hardly had any silt with more than 30 per cent comprising plastic waste and 20 per cent comprising paper plates, water hyacinth, clothes and other materials.

"Ironically, the second layer has also seen 60 per cent of silt only. This has been the situation in the 951 kms spanning major nalas in the city", he said.

Explaining about the chockage, the official said that the floating plastic waste, including face masks, which have been entering into the passages near culverts and blocking the free flow of rainwater.

The chockage has been pushing back water into residential areas and causing severe inconvenience. Apart from spreading foul smell in the locality, the choked nalas affect the health of the residents, as they turn into mosquito-breeding centres, he added. "Despite plastic ban, several commercial establishments have been selling material below 50 microns which was clearly evident during desilting. This situation will end only if manufacturing units are closed. Situation cannot be improved as people lack civic sense", he added.
The former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley revealed that she is not contesting a bid for the White House in the 2024 elections if Donald Trump runs as president. She said this is a response to him considered the number one contender.

Nikki Haley will forgo her bid if Donald Trump runs

One of the top picks as a Republican 2024 presidential candidate, Haley announced last Monday, Trump's bid for the Oval Office would be the priority, not hers. Most Republicans are crossing their fingers that a Trump run will recapture the White House in four years, reported the Epoch Times.

Ex-Governor Haley was quoted by the Associated Press to the release this statement. "I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it." "If that decision is something that needs to be made," she said, "we'll have a discussion about it at some point."

She is one of the prominent female Republicans with a fair shot at running as a presidential candidate. At her age, 46 years old, she is an accomplished Republican with credits to government service.

Other than her, the other possible nominees from the GOP are South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. All of them have supported Trump's agenda as president and acknowledged his leadership as the 45th president to sit in the White House.

Nikki Haley, like Pompeo, was a part of the Donald Trump administration, acting as the United States ambassador to the United Nations. She left the position in 2018, expressing a desire to leave the public sector after nearly eight years.

Nikki Haley Scorches Liberal Media of Intentionally Inciting Republican Civil War for Democrat Advantage

On Monday, she said that Trump would get her full support should he run for a long-awaited second term to begin in 2024. She disagrees with what the Biden administration has done, causing even those who oppose Trump to rally behind him.

When asked regarding Trump's strong complaints of former Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Haley replied, "I think former President Trump has always been opinionated."

She added that even if Trump is not president, he won't stop there. During his administration, he achieved nothing short of compelling, and Republicans are smart enough to see that even after he called some RINOS. Trump's uniting influence based on action and success in policies and the mistakes of Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris is another factor for the GOP's unification.

Trump is still not saying that he will run on a third presidential bid. A month ago, he told daughter-in-law Lara Trump during a one on one that there is a chance that he would.

Former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, said a good 50-50 would be the best bet when asked what he thought of Trump running. He added, "I'm feeling great about President Trump's willingness to serve once again in the Oval Office."

Everyone awaits the big announcement of Donald Trump, with all the necessary preparations, and is being encouraged by many people for another term. Nikki Haley is fully supportive of it and will back down if needed.

Seven GOP Members Who Voted for Conviction, to Be Political Pariahs in Republican Party

Trump's Overwhelming Victory in CPAC Straw Poll, DeSantis Next in Line to Succeed

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A man charged with murdering a young Lithuanian mother-of-five who was found dead in a country park lake last week was described in court today as the victim's husband and the father of her children.

Andrius Vengalis, 46, who lived with his wife Egle Vengaliene, 35, has been remanded in custody by Suffolk magistrates in Ipswich.

Ms Vengaliene, who was said to be from Rokiskis and was described by loved ones as a 'good mother', was found dead early last Friday morning in the water next to a care home at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk.

Prosecuting, Wayne Ablett told magistrates a preliminary post-mortem examination had found a wound to the neck and ligature marks, but ultimately indicated that the most likely cause of death would be drowning.

Mr Ablett said Vengalis, who appeared before magistrates via a video link, was 'married to the deceased and had five children'. He added that the alleged offence had to be committed to the crown court.

Vengalis then again before Ipswich Crown Court this afternoon and was remanded to appear again on July 19 for a plea hearing. No application was made for bail.

Andrius Vengalis, 46, who is charged with murdering Lithuanian mother-of-five Egle Vengaliene, was described in court as the victim's husband and the father of her children

Ms Vengaliene, who was said to be from Rokiskis and was described by loved ones as a 'good mother', was found dead last Friday in water at Brandon Country Park in Suffolk

Police were called by ambulance staff just before 7am last Friday after the body of Ms Vengaliene was found. Vengalis (pictured together) was arrested early on Friday afternoon and questioned at the Police Investigation Centre in Bury St Edmunds

Police at the scene after a murder inquiry was launched following the discovery of the body

Police were called by ambulance staff just before 7am last Friday after the body of Ms Vengaliene was found. Vengalis was arrested early on Friday afternoon and questioned at the Police Investigation Centre in Bury St Edmunds.

Suffolk Police charged him with her murder last night after being granted two extensions to continue holding him in custody.

Police are still carrying out searches at the 30-acre country park and are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen Ms Vengaliene or knew her.

Forensic officers have also been searching an end terraced Victorian house in Bury Road around half a mile from the country park.

The family of Ms Vengaliene have set up a fundraiser to help pay for her body to be taken back to Lithuania, along with her children.

A friend described her as a 'a good mother' and a 'pretty woman' as well as a 'beloved daughter and sister'.

She added that Ms Vengaliene has lived in the UK for around seven years and was from the city of Rokiskis in Lithuania.

Police at the scene after a murder inquiry was launched following the discovery of the body

Police were call by the ambulance service shortly before 7am on Friday following reports that a woman's body had been found in the water (pictured are Police at the scene)

A Suffolk Police statement said last night: 'A large area of Brandon Country Park remains cordoned off by police as various searches and other enquiries are ongoing.

'The investigation is ongoing and officers remain keen to hear from anybody who knew Egle and have not yet been in contact with police, or from anyone with a recent sighting of her prior to 7am on Friday morning.

'Detectives are also continuing to appeal for witnesses, particularly anyone who was in the area of Brandon Country Park, Bury Road or the surrounding streets, and who may have seen or heard anything suspicious.'

To donate to the fundraiser for Ms Vengaliene, click here.

Any residents in the local area with a doorbell camera or private CCTV are also asked to review their footage, as well as anyone with motion activated dash-cam footage.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Investigation Team either by using the online portal: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/363718M87-PO1 or by calling 101 and quoting reference: 17570/21.

Alternatively, contact the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, through their anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Washington  Rep. John Katko has raised more than $436,000 for his re-election campaign  a personal record for the first quarter  despite backlash he received from Republicans for voting to impeach Donald Trump.

Katkos campaign said today it plans to file a report with the Federal Election Commission showing the big quarterly haul left him with $586,014 cash on hand as of March 31.

It was not immediately possible to determine how much of the money flowed into Katkos campaign after the Jan. 13 impeachment vote, and who donated to his campaign. An itemized report of donations will not be filed with the FEC until Thursday.

Katko, R-Camillus, is seeking a fifth term in Congress in 2022. National Democratic officials said last week that Katko is among 21 vulnerable Republicans the party will target in the midterm election.

For now, no challengers have emerged to take on Katko.

Dana Balter, a Democrat who lost to Katko in the 2018 and 2020 elections, told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that she has decided against making a third bid for the seat next year.

Francis Conole, an Iraq war veteran from Syracuse who lost to Balter in the Democratic primary election, said he is considering whether to challenge Katko in 2022.

Katko could also face a Republican primary opponent next year as part of the backlash to his Jan. 13 vote to impeach Trump for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The attack left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.

Katko was among 10 House Republicans to vote for impeachment, and the first of the group to publicly announce his intention to break ranks with the House GOP before the vote.

After the vote, some Republican and Conservative Party leaders in Central New York threatened to withdraw their support for Katko and back someone else in a GOP primary campaign.

The Wayne County Conservative Committee passed a resolution expressing no confidence in Katko, whom the party had backed in his four previous elections.

Separately, about 40 Republican and Conservative party leaders and donors met privately at a Syracuse restaurant in February to discuss whether to continue supporting Katko or to back a primary opponent.

Some members of the Cayuga County Republican Committee tried to censure Katko, but the party didnt have enough votes at its March meeting to move forward with a resolution.

Trump also vowed in March at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference to get rid of Katko and the nine other House Republicans who voted to impeach him.

But some Republicans have come to Katkos defense, including the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project.

The group paid for billboards in Central New York in February that thanked Katko for his impeachment vote. It was part of a $1 million national ad campaign in the districts of the 10 House Republicans and seven GOP senators who voted to impeach and convict Trump.

Katko said in a statement today that his record fundraising haul for the quarter represents an unmistakable affirmation of my approach in Congress.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
A York man has been sentenced to 33 years in federal prison for running a brutal prostitution ring in which, according to federal prosecutors, he used violence and access to drugs to force his victims to work for him according to his rules.

Robert Lee Johnson, 55, of York, Pennsylvania, received his sentence in federal court after pleading guilty to sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion last June.

Johnson was charged in November 2018 with recruiting multiple victims to perform sex acts for pay at local hotels between November 2015 and August 2016, after an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. At the time of his arrest, Johnson was serving a state prison sentence for a dealing drugs out of York County.

In a release Monday announcing Johnsons sentence, acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler said the FBIs investigation showed that most of Johnsons victims worked on an all in basis, meaning they would give all of the money they earned from performing sex acts to Johnson in exchange for having basic living expenses supplied.

The victims, Brandler said, relied on Johnson for food and clothing and, most significantly, heroin to support their addictions. At times, Brandler said, Johnson would withhold heroin from addicts until they reached a quota of tricks.

Johnson was often violent, threatened his victims and physically assaulted them if they tried to keep any money for themselves, or if they were disrespectful, the agents found. Johnson would also force victims to watch him beat someone to serve as a warning on what would happen to them if they crossed him.

Johnson was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Wilson.
New Delhi:

It seems that tension between Chinese and India armies has yet not reduced as the former has still maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the Dokalam Pleateu.

Sources said China is slowly enhancing its troops in the Dokalam Plateau which could further escalate tension between the two nations.

India has reasons to be concerned about it, sources added.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa also gave similar indication that tension could prevail in the region due to the presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in the Dokalam Plateau.

The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over, Dhanoa told reporters.

There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Dokalam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Dokalam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam.

Also Read | India-China standoff: US wants India, China to have direct dialogue to reduce tensions

Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.

Days after the face-off ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started flexing its muscles and warned that the situation in Indias northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

There are also reports that Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung.

Sources said though Chinese troops have been deployed in Dokalam Plateau, they leave the area during winters.

Also Read | Bhutan acknowledges that Dokalam is a Chinese area: Beijing

But, there were indication that they may leave the areas this time, they added. (With PTI Inputs)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
American Idol judge Katy Perry feels like contestant Colin Jamieson has grown since his days in a boy band in Massachusetts.

I think you have grown so much right before our very eyes, Perry said. I really think youve found your voice.

But it wasnt enough to keep him in this seasons competition.

Jamieson was eliminated from the show Monday night after not receiving enough fan votes and not being one of the judges two saves.

Madison Watkins was the judges first save and Brennan Beane Hepler, 23-year-old Massachusetts man and Berklee College of Music graduate, was the second.

Jamieson posted to his Instagram story after the episode thanking his fans.

My best friend called me and told me to sign up, he said. And it changed my life.

Beane and Grace Kinstler are two other contestants with Massachusetts ties that are still in the competition.

Related Content:
China's market regulator, fresh from fining e-commerce giant Alibaba $2.75 billion, said on Tuesday it had warned nearly three dozen internet "platform" to stop using any banned practices such as forcing vendors to use their platform exclusively.

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said it met with 34 including Tencent, ByteDance and JD.com, and ordered them to conduct self-inspections within one month, with those found in violation facing "severe punishment."

The meeting was intended to "guide" the in their work, according to the statement. Despite what it described as "positive" development of the platform economy in China, "harms can't be neglected and no time can be wasted in correcting their parctice according to the law," SAMR said.

The regulator imposed the record fine on Alibaba on Saturday.

In February, issued new anti-monopoly guidelines targeting internet platforms that barred a range of behaviour, including forcing merchants to choose between the country's top internet players, a long-time practice in the market.

Tuesday's meeting was held by SAMR as well as China's cyberspace regulator and tax administration, according to a statement on the homepage of the market regulator.

(Reporting by Tony Munroe and Sophie Yu; Editing by Kim Coghill & Simon Cameron-Moore)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:27:20|Editor: huaxia

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attend a joint press conference in Jerusalem, on April 12, 2021. Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. (Yonatan Sindel/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

"We both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability," Netanyahu said in joint statements with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Iran has repeatedly denied its attempts to obtain nuclear weapons and says its nuclear facilities are meant for civil purposes only.

Austin did not mention Iran in his statement, but said that the United States and Israel will "maintain close cooperation."

The U.S. official said he hopes that "together we can draw a path toward stable peace" in the Middle East, in the wake of the normalization deals between Israel and Gulf countries.

The comments were made a day after an attack on Iran's nuclear facility in Natanz. Iran blamed Israel for the attack.

Austin arrived in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. It is the first official visit to Israel by a senior official with the Biden administration. It came as the White House has been holding indirect talks over possible renewing of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Enditem
Committee takes up Moffitt's bill to fully open bars, restaurants

A House Judiciary committee is scheduled Tuesday, April 13, to take up a bill that would fully reopen bars and restaurants provided they follow specific safety guidelines.

Restrictions on N.C. businesses continues, even though more than 40 percent of the states adult population has been vaccinated, according to the states health department. More than 30 percent have received two doses of the vaccine.



In late March, Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order allowing restaurants to open at 75 percent capacity indoors, and outdoors at 100 percent. Same goes for wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Bars and movie theaters can open at 50 percent capacity, indoors and out. Cooper also removed the 11 p.m. curfew for alcohol sales. The order, which keeps the mask mandate, expires April 30.



House Bill 211 requires that employees undergo daily temperature checks and health screenings, frequently clean high-touch areas, and deep clean each night.



Private bars, for all intents and purposes, had been closed for nearly a year before being allowed to reopen at the end of February.



If the establishment offers buffet-style service or self-service, it must provide disposable gloves and require masks while guests and employees are using the buffet-style service or self-service. The bill also limits the number of guests at each table to no more than 10 who are seated together at the same time, unless all guests are members of the same household.



The House committee meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m.



The hospitality industry lies at the heart of who we are as North Carolinians, Rep. Tim Moffitt, of Henderson County, a primary sponsor, said in a news release. The pandemic has threatened to leave permanent scars in our communities, and if we continue to treat these businesses differently than our neighboring states, the legacy will last for decades.



I believe we can trust our small businesses to open and operate in a thoughtful, safe and appropriate manner, as many other non-hospitality businesses are doing. These businesses have been disproportionately impacted, and it is my belief that we are at a point, where following appropriate guidelines should allow for re-opening.



Another measure involving alcohol, House Bill 73, passed the N.C. House with just one dissenting vote and was scheduled to be heard Monday in the Senate Rules committee, typically the final step before heading to the floor. Moffitt is also a primary sponsor. That bill waives, for a year, certain ABC renewal and registration fees for 13 categories of alcohol permittees and permits.



Moffitt also sponsored House Bill 4, which is now law. The move extends the delay on payment deadlines for the renewal of certain alcohol permits. The extension continues until 90 days after all executive orders limiting permittees full operation are rescinded or expire, the bill says. The bill allows certain ABC permittees whose operation is limited by executive orders responding to the COVID-19 pandemic to request a refund of any permit fees paid for the 2020-21 permit year. It directs the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to reinstate or reactivate any permits canceled or moved to inactive status.



More than 120 bars across North Carolina lost their licenses in January because they hadnt paid fees to the state. Most fell behind on their fees because they were out of money. Cooper had shut down all private bars as part of his COVID-19 regulations.
Venezuelan refugee children play with a bike at a shelter in Manaus, Brazil.  UNHCR/Felipe Irnaldo

Religious leaders representing the worlds diverse faith traditions committed on Tuesday to work together to address the root causes of forced displacement and help those forced to flee by promoting peacebuilding, conflict prevention, inclusion and social cohesion in their countries and regions.

The commitments came during the inaugural meeting of the Multi-Religious Council of Leaders. The Council comprises more than 20 religious and spiritual leaders and was born out of the need to enlist the help of faith leaders and communities in tackling the root causes of global forced displacement.

The call to welcome the stranger, through protection, compassion, care and hospitality, is deeply rooted in all religions, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said during the virtual meeting to establish the group.

As wars, conflict and persecution continue to force people to flee their homes , we seek the support of faith leaders and their communities. They are key in not only standing with and supporting refugees during their displacement, but in addressing the root causes that gave rise to their flight.

The Council was established by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in cooperation with Religions for Peace, a long-time UNHCR partner providing inter-religious solidarity and support to refugee and migrant communities.

"We have to raise our religious voices together."

As people are forcibly displaced across national boundaries, and ravaged by unimaginable multiple challenges, Religions for Peace leaders commit to support UNHCR to ensure limitless compassion and multiple forms of mercy, through their institutions and communities, said Prof. Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace

Among the commitments made by faith representatives in the meeting was to help refugees and internally displaced people integrate into the communities where they work, and provide them with greater access to education, housing and mental health services.

We, as a community of people from diverse religious traditions committed to ensuring respect for human dignity, can set an example and share a message based on human rights to create a strong platform to connect with people around the globe," said Emina Frljak, Program Coordinator of Youth for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"We must not forget that 80 per cent of people in the world are driven by spiritual values of some kind, and here we have a strong group of people who can appeal to those values and generate empathy for people on the move, she added.

As well as the individual commitments of its members, the Council will also focus on promoting the inclusion of forcibly displaced women in peacebuilding efforts, and advocating for the protection of vulnerable groups, particularly those at risk of gender-based violence.

See also: The nun and the imam

"If religious leaders use their platforms to promote language that supports protecting, welcoming and integrating, it will raise awareness in communities of the moral obligation to welcome and protect," said the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Liaison Bishop for Migrants and Refugees, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, South Africa.

"We need to say 'humanity first', loudly and clearly. We have to raise our religious voices together. The job of religious leaders is to act together and to act globally. We must work collectively to change one heart at a time, said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the US-based Union for Reform Judaism.

The Council members mandate extends until the second Global Refugee Forum in 2023, where they will present their achievements and seek further commitments to action from a wider range of religious actors and institutions.

Members of the Council were jointly identified and selected on the basis of having served as strong advocates for conflict prevention, reconciliation and peacebuilding in humanitarian and forced displacement contexts.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Ohios bridges, roads and other infrastructure are earning poor grades, but that could mean an infusion of cash for the state to bring them back up to shape.

You can listen online here.

The federal government gave Ohio a C-minus for its 1,377 bridges and more than 4,925 miles of highways, rating them in poor condition. President Joe Bidens American Jobs Plan would spend $600 billion on transportation infrastructure. That means the plan, if approved, might send a lot of money to Ohio for upgrades. In Cleveland, lawyers are clashing over an affidavit from the former director of the fertility lab at University Hospitals. And the city has applied for $6.5 million from the state to design a land bridge downtown from Mall C to the North Coast Harbor on the waterfront.

Hear cleveland.com editor Chris Quinn discuss these stories and more in The Wake Up podcast.

The podcast is a summary of cleveland.coms morning newsletter The Wake Up. You can receive The Wake Up through email at 5:30 a.m. each weekday by subscribing here.

You can get our podcasts delivered directly to your phone, and we have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here.

Do you get your podcasts on Spotify? Find us here.

If you use Stitcher, we are here.

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This illustration shows the LG and Magna joint venture with logos of each company, Wednesday. Courtesy of LG Electronics



By Kim Yoo-chul



LG Electronics' joint venture with Canada-based automotive supplier Magna International  tentatively named LG Magna e-Powertrain  is "very near" to signing contracts with Apple to build its early electric vehicle (EV) models.



"LG Magna e-Powertrain is very near to signing contracts with Apple under which they could handle the initial volume production of Apple EVs. Contract details are still being discussed," a source familiar with the issue told The Korea Times, Tuesday.



The production volume the joint venture could handle won't be that huge as Apple is mostly intending to use its first-generation EVs as an opportunity to evaluate their marketability, according to the source. "Because LG Group affiliates including LG Display, LG Chem, LG Energy Solution and LG Innotek are already included in Apple's parts supply chain, Apple doesn't have to worry about any supply chain issues. These LG affiliate are qualified to guarantee production yields and faster delivery of parts needed for Apple EVs."



LG officials declined to comment on the matter.



After LG Electronics officially abandoned its handset business, the company is urgently responding to investors' growing calls to produce results from vehicle component-related businesses. LG's smartphone exit could boost its margins and it could invest the money saved from the exit in vehicle component-related businesses.



"As the LG brand is not that strong in the global EV industry, it needs a pretty competitive reference to show off its transformation efforts. From that standpoint, LG's bet on the Apple EV is not that bad, and vice versa for Apple," another source said, adding the monetary volume of the partnership wouldn't be huge.



Once an agreement is made, the two parties will jointly establish relevant details for the production of the Apple EV, a prototype of which will be teased sometime in early 2024.



LG Magna e-Powertrain is valued at $1 billion and will be assigned to manufacture e-motors, inverters and onboard chargers. LG will own 51 percent of the new company and Magna, 49 percent. The transaction is expected to close in July, pending LG shareholders' approval among other conditions. LG has previously supplied motors, battery packs and other components for General Motors' Bolt EV and to Tesla. Magna already makes automotive electronics for companies.



Magna, headquartered outside Toronto, said earlier it would build vehicles at a plant in North America if contracted to do so.




Over 100 Wall Street corporate chieftains met in a private meeting recently to discuss collusion possibilities after the passage of electoral reform in several states, including Georgia.

The corporate elite is striking back, exerting their vast economic privilege to punish the people and undermine the political process. It is clear they do not want a non-globalist to ever be elected president again.

The Wall Street tycoons have cravenly refused to list their identities, as they understand that opposing voter security may have negative consequences in the marketplace. This is why they are hiding behind anonymity in making their threats against states that are implementing common sense reforms.

Their statement indicates that these CEOs indicated readiness to act individually and collectively to shore up American democracy and ensure Americans have access to a world class voting system.

Big League Politics has reported on corporate America stabbing the people in the back by assisting the coup to oust former president Donald Trump by any means necessary:

Over 200 corporate chieftains have signed on to an op/ed in the globalist faux-conservative Wall Street Journal to urge Congress to certify election fraud on Wednesday.

Attempts to thwart or delay this process run counter to the essential tenets of our democracy, the letter said. Our duly elected leaders deserve the respect and bipartisan support of all Americans at a moment when we are dealing with the worst health and economic crises in modern history.

The letter was sent by the non-profit Partnership for New York City, an organization that represents the super rich elite of Wall Street. It is clear that corporate America has fully sold out to China.

Signatories to the letter include high-level executives from BlackRock, Deloitte, Pfizer, JetBlue, Mastercard, Moodys Corporation, Macys, Lyft, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Etsy, the National Basketball Association, and Zagat. This is an impressive coalition of corporations that are in full support of the vote steal coup against the Bill of Rights and Constitution

Monolithic corporations are slaves to the dollar bill, and they see China as the most important market these days. This is why they support the vote steal and want to get back to the pre-Trump status quo.

The Beast System is revealing itself to mankind, and it is practically all-encompassing. If the common people lack the courage to stand up and defeat this great evil, humanity is doomed.
Closing arguments in the trial of Mr. Chauvin are expected to come at the beginning of next week. On Monday, jurors heard from Mr. Floyds brother as well as a cardiologist  one of several medical witnesses called by prosecutors  who said he saw no evidence that Mr. Floyd died from a drug overdose or a heart attack. Here are the takeaways from Day 11.

The day began with the backdrop of protests that kicked off on Sunday night in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb about 10 miles north of the courthouse. Chief Tim Gannon of the Brooklyn Center Police Department said that an officer had shot Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, after pulling him over for a traffic violation. After the car was pulled over, the officer found that the driver had a warrant for his arrest. As the police tried to arrest him, Mr. Wright stepped back into his car, and the officer shot him. Protesters gathered on Sunday night outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department. Some of the demonstrators threw objects at police officers, who responded by firing chemical agents and rubber bullets. On Monday, Chief Gannon said the officer meant to grab her Taser, but she accidentally grabbed her pistol and shot Mr. Wright.

Philonise Floyd, George Floyds brother, gave tearful testimony about Mr. Floyd as a brother and a son. He talked about how they played video games together when they were children. I finally beat him in a game, and I was just so happy, he said, giving jurors some glimpse into George Floyds personality and family life. Spark of life testimonies, like that of Philonise Floyds, are generally not allowed, but Minnesota courts allow them as a way to present a fuller picture of victims as human beings  personalities and all. While looking at a photo of George Floyd as a toddler, sleeping while his mother cradled him and smiled, Philonise Floyd began to cry. Their mother died in 2018, and George Floyd was deeply affected, his brother said. When we went to the funeral, George just sat there at the casket over and over again, he said. He would just say, Mom, Mom over and over again. Philonise Floyd said his brother was a talented athlete. When George Floyd was young, he would mark his height on the wall, always wanting to be taller to have an edge in sports. He always wanted to be the best, his brother said.

Dr. Jonathan Rich, a cardiologist called to the witness stand by prosecutors, said that Mr. Floyds death was absolutely preventable and that officers should have immediately begun chest compressions once they failed to find a pulse. Dr. Rich is one of several medical expert witnesses who have testified that Mr. Floyd died as a result of his interaction with police officers, not from a drug overdose or a heart attack, as the defense has suggested. Dr. Rich said Mr. Floyd died from cardio pulmonary arrest caused by low oxygen levels induced by the police restraint. He was trying to get enough oxygen and because of the position that he was subjected to, the heart thus did not have enough oxygen, he said. Mr. Chauvin had used his knee to hold Mr. Floyd handcuffed and facedown on the street for nine and a half minutes. Dr. Rich said he believed that had Mr. Floyd not been restrained in that way, he would have survived.
Scott Distler: Finding a way out of 'the cave'
President Moon Jae-in said in a meeting with key government officials on Monday, "Through various efforts and preparations, I can confidently say that Korea is significantly lowering uncertainties over coronavirus vaccine supply." Where on earth did he get that idea from? At present, only around 40,000 people a day are being inoculated in Korea because the government failed to secure enough vaccines on time. Health authorities said Korea has the capacity to vaccinate up to 1.15 million people a day, but what with? Korea's embarrassing vaccination rate of 2.3 percent is not only slower than many other countries' but has led to the possibility of another surge in nationwide infections.

Now health officials have decided not to administer AstraZeneca's vaccine to people under 30 because of a risk of rare blood clots. When asked when people would be able to return to normal life, Jeong Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, "We will have to keep wearing face masks and maintain social distancing until the end of this year." In other words, the government's goal of achieving herd immunity by November has slipped out of reach.

"This month, domestic production of Novavax's vaccine will begin, and we secured necessary raw and subsidiary materials," Moon claimed. "By the third quarter, 20 million doses will be supplied." That would be nice, but nobody knows how long it will take for the vaccine to be approved and whether there will be any side effects. Those are the reasons why many health experts are suspicious of the president's claims.

Meanwhile Moderna vaccines, which Moon had to wheedle out of the manufacturer with a personal phone call, were scheduled to have arrived by now, but nobody knows if they have even been shipped yet. Many countries including Israel, the U.S. and U.K. are getting close to herd immunity by boosting the rate of inoculation and life is slowly returning to normal. But that is a distant dream here. The president needs to apologize to the public for failing to secure enough vaccines in time instead of patting himself on the back.


Burma Myanmar Regime Forces Kill Gurkha Couple in the Border Town of Tamu

The couple, Kishan and Harimay Gotamay, were shot dead by Myanmar junta forces in Tamu on April 13.

A husband and wife were shot dead by forces of Myanmars military regime Tuesday in Tamu, a town in Myanmars northwest along the border with India.

The area has been under the control of soldiers and police since Saturday after a violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters there.

Kishan Gotamay (Goutam), in his late 40s, and his wife Harimaya Gotamay, in her late 30s, were on their motorbike and on their way back from collecting cows milk when they were shot at Pahe Bridge in Tamu, according to local residents. Both are Gurkha.

Their family was contacted by police before noon and funerals were conducted within hours, said a relative, speaking on condition of anonymity.

We were looking for them as they were late coming home in the morning. They went to pick up the cow-milk from their farm to sell in the wards, she said.

The relative said that normally the couple returned home within 30 minutes to an hour. But when they did not arrive on time on Tuesday morning, family members searched for them.

But we could not go very far away outside given the current situation. We only learned about their deaths when the police contacted us at around 11:30 a.m., said the relative.

The relative said the husband was shot in his cheek and the wife was shot in the back.

Their bodies were taken back home and funerals were held quickly on Tuesday afternoon before 5 p.m.

At least, the family got the chance to see their bodies before the funeral, said the relative.

Junta forces raided Tamu town Saturday and destroyed the fortified barricades set up by anti-regime protesters. The residents have been unable to hold protests for three days. Residents said the soldiers have taken control of the town, patrolling the streets and searching everyone they encounter.

A resident told The Irrawaddy that he saw about 50 soldiers patrolling the ward where the shooting occurred. They were destroying roadblocks as well as checking people and firing their guns on Tuesday.

When we heard the shooting, we also ran and hid in nearby forests and only came back home in the afternoon, said Ko Kyaw (not his real name) who lives near the bridge.

We are scared and feel unsafe. We also worry for our familys safety, he said, adding that the junta forces had been destroying other wards for the past three days and turned into his ward today.

On Monday, a seven-year-old girl was hit and about 200 residents fled from their homes when regime forces raided the town and randomly fired their weapons.

As of Monday, there were 710 civilian deaths, documented by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The number of civilians killed by regime forces since the Feb. 1 coup was at least 713 by Tuesday morning.

Some of those fleeing their homes in Tamu are taking shelter in Indias Manipur state, as Tamu is the border town with Manipur states Moreh town, another resident told The Irrawaddy.

The town has been defending itself with improvised arms and explosives against the military regime forces for more than two weeks following the death of a peaceful protester on March 26.

The junta forces have arrested at least three people, Ko Hlaing Moe, Ko Aung Than and Ko Aye Chan, according to residents.

A member of the resistance force in Tamu said police arrested five youths who are not part of their movement.

They [security forces] covered the heads of five youths with cloths and tied their hands behind the back. They were beaten and taken. We dont know where they were taken, said the Tamu resident.

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The Joe Biden administration, trying to build support for its $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, has released a summary of needs in Alabama that said the state has a grade of C-minus on its infrastructure.

The nation overall received the same C-minus grade, according to the American Society for Civil Engineers, which does periodic report cards on infrastructure.

Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Transportation, asked about the grade and the information from the White House, did not comment on the grade but acknowledged that the state has infrastructure needs. They do not say that Bidens plan is the answer to those needs.

The American Jobs Plan, which Biden announced two weeks ago, faces opposition from Republicans in Washington. Alabamas GOP Congressmen oppose the plan, which would raise taxes on corporations.

The Ivey administration has stressed the need for better infrastructure since 2017. Ivey, with backing from ALDOT, led the effort to increase the state tax on gasoline and diesel fuel two years ago to increase funding for roads and bridges. The Rebuild Alabama Act was the first increase in the state gas tax since 1992. ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris said the tax increase is raising more than $300 million a year for roads and bridges. As for Bidens American Jobs Plan, Harris said its too soon to know how that might affect the state.

At the Federal level, the Alabama Department of Transportation observes actions in Congress related to funding for roads and bridges, both in terms of authorizing a federal surface transportation funding act and the Biden Administrations proposed infrastructure program, Harris said.

We cant speculate on how future federal funding might affect Alabama until we see appropriation amounts, funding categories, rules and restrictions, and other pertinent details.

Gina Maiola, press secretary for Ivey, said in an email: It is no secret that Alabamas roads and bridges needed improvements, which is exactly why Governor Ivey and the Alabama Legislature successfully implemented the Rebuild Alabama Act in 2018. This was done through a responsible manner without accruing debt. These improvements are not happening overnight, but have definitely begun and will continue.

Obviously, any state would welcome infrastructure projects using federal dollars for the traditional definition of what infrastructure is, but not a wish list of pet projects. However, our federal government seems to have the appetite to spend trillions on trillions with little concern for the burden of debt that our country is clearly incurring. This is a massive spending package, and we are still working to determine exactly what this will mean for Alabama.
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[April 13, 2021] Auto Industry Veteran Matt Carpenter to lead Dealerware Expansion and Internationalization as CEO

AUSTIN, Texas, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealerware, the leading connected car platform for automotive retailers, will be led by CEO Matt Carpenter through its next phase of rapid growth. Carpenter has served as CEO of Silvercar, Inc. since August 2019, a role he will also continue in. Prior to leading Silvercar and Dealerware, Carpenter held the positions of CFO from 2016 to 2019 and General Manager Vehicle Sales from 2011 to 2015 at Audi of America, where he championed new business models and mobility services including the acquisition of Silvercar by AUDI AG in 2017. Carpenter's extensive experience in the automotive industry will help Dealerware navigate international markets, continue its strong relationships with automotive manufacturers, and further its accelerated growth, underway since the company's launch in 2016. Despite the pandemic, Dealerware increased their customer base by 75% since January 2020, following three consecutive years of 100% year over year growth. Dealerware expects strong growth to continue in 2021 fueled by international expansion, an expanded partner ecosystem and new OEM partnerships. In the first quarter of 2021, Dealerware announced new programs with Toyota, Lexus, and Audi Canada. After moving into Canada in mid-2020, Dealerware powers dealerships representing 16 OEM brands in the market.



"Retail automotive is undergoing more transformation today than I've witnessed in my nearly 20 years in the industry, fueled by innovation and evolving consumer needs. Dealerware provides dealerships, dealer groups and OEMs with the digital tools and expert partnership they need to delight customers and drive profits in a shifting marketplace. We are helping our partners realize significant improvements to fleet costs and customer experiences today while readying them for tomorrow's opportunities." Carpenter said. "The success of our internationalization efforts and recent recognition by some of the largest OEMs and retail groups in the world are evidence that we've built a platform ready to take our partners into the future of retail automotive," Carpenter said. "We are dealer champions, and we believe dealers have the right to win in that new future. Our vision is to be the central platform of the connected retail fleet, and we are preparing to connect every retail fleet in the market."

In advance of its ambitious growth plans, Dealerware doubled the size of its organization in 2020 and will add another 50 new positions this year, primarily in engineering and customer support roles. The company will also seek to widen its network of partners by launching a new developer portal, through which third parties can develop custom solutions for automotive retailers on top of Dealerware's powerful infrastructure. In addition, to help automotive retailers, technology innovators and media organizations understand how new innovations are being developed, tested and proven within the automotive and other retail sectors, Dealerware will launch a new event series, INSPIRE Sessions, later this month. INSPIRE Sessions will gather thought leaders from a variety of industries to share insights on retail customer experience innovations, technology solutions for digital and brick-and-mortar retailing, and more. Through discussions around market challenges and new solutions, INSPIRE Sessions will encourage new investment in automotive retail's digital transformation and the sharing of ideas among innovators in other retail sectors. The inaugural INSPIRE Session will be held at 3 PM EST on April 20, 2021, via LinkedIn Live. Panelists for the event include Gary Marcotte, SVP of Customer Engagement Innovation at Outsell Inc. and Joanna Feeley, Founder and CEO of Trend Bible. Interested audiences may register to attend INSPIRE Sessions here: https://www.dealerware.com/inspire-2021/ About Dealerware

Dealerware is modern fleet management for the modern retailer. The Dealerware connected car platform elevates the service experience for dealerships, dealer groups and OEMs. By automating cost recovery, improving efficiencies, and elevating the customer experience, Dealerware allows automotive retailers to lower the cost and complexity associated with the management of courtesy vehicles, retail rental, and subscription programs. Launched in 2016, Dealerware today manages tens of thousands of vehicles for hundreds of dealerships in North America, including the top 10 public dealer groups, across 28 OEM brands. For more information, please visit Dealerware.com. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/auto-industry-veteran-matt-carpenter-to-lead-dealerware-expansion-and-internationalization-as-ceo-301267412.html SOURCE Dealerware

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Marylands Legislature recently overrode a gubernatorial veto and enacted a new tax on digital advertising  the first of its kind among the states. It was inevitable that somebody would break the ice. Last August, I explored the revenue implications for states and localities of a federal tax on interstate digital commerce. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated business migration to Internet platforms, making this the new frontier for tax policy.Maryland legislators deserve credit for planting their semi-checkered state flag first, to stake their claim, but they are still far from the finish line. Anti-tax wonks point to a host of possible legal snags that could tie up the Maryland tax for some time. They complain that its unduly vague, imprecisely crafted, and invites double taxation. The social media goliaths are already protesting that its unconstitutional under the commerce clause , which gives Congress supreme authority to regulate interstate business. To salvage its tax, Maryland may find it necessary to make defensible amendments that can withstand judicial scrutiny. But rather than going it alone, the state could use some help from its peers eyeing digital ad taxes of their own.States have been called the laboratories of democracy, and rightfully so. However, when it comes to national and international commercial activity that sweeps across state lines through complex multi-party transactions, lets face it: Heterogeneity and administrative complexity are not desirable outcomes. Fifty separate labs tinkering with different tax formulas will drive companies nuts.The elephant in the room now is whether a patchwork of disparate state tax laws and competing enforcement activities make economic sense, even if they stand up in court. Imagine a future in which every state allows inexperienced legislators pandering to local lobbyists to craft a hodgepodge of rival, untested and idiosyncratic digital-tax rules. Thats a dream come true for litigators and CPA firms, but a nightmare for advertisers compliance departments. Such a lack of uniformity invites Congress to eventually trump the rights of states with a national tax, ostensibly to reduce complexity and friction.In light of the global race to tax multi-national activities, it is hard to see a long-term future for uncoordinated, piecemeal, competing and overlapping subnational taxes on digital advertising. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has now weighed in by advocating a global minimum corporate tax structure , which eventually could include digital commerce as one of its groundbreaking elements.This is a job for the skilled folks who base operations at the Hall of the States on Capitol Hill, and they should act quickly. The national associations of governors, state treasurers, state tax administrators and state legislatures need to organize themselves quickly to develop a model tax law that provides the template for coordinated revenue levies and administration in the digital ad space. Failure to act promptly could invite an avalanche of losing court battles and pre-emptive intervention by Congress.Just as the Supreme Courts 1988 ruling in South Carolina v. Baker dealt a crippling blow to municipal bonds historical premises for federal income-tax exemption, a group-grope approach to taxing digital ads could set the states back forever in their efforts to keep pace with future business innovations. Nature hates a void, and the longer these groups wait, the more likely it becomes that Capitol Hill or the G-7 nations will approve an over-arching tax law or international treaty that trumps the labyrinthine rules of 50 states ruling by chaos theory instead of mutual interests wisely managed.Here are five guiding principles for model state legislation to promote maximum uniformity in multistate digital advertising taxes and strengthen the case for state  not federal  authority:As the Japanese adage goes, the nail that stands out gets pounded down, and that applies aptly to eccentric single-state tax features. A uniform tax system should apply the levy consistently to the same and similar businesses, at the same level, in all participating states. This framework minimizes administrative burdens on businesses and removes the disparate treatment objection. For starters, most legislatures will likely seek to avoid taxing small local businesses, instead focusing their taxes on the Big Tech companies. But that is just the first step. Digital advertising has many facets, including content creation, promotion, representation, financing, distribution and analytics, so those that are to be included and excluded from a subsector-specific tax must be specified. To minimize second-guessing by the courts, the principles and research to support those distinctions should be included in preambles and legislative findings. There will be comfort in the herd and strength in the pack.Digital ad industry taxes should be straightforward to administer, with the lowest achievable standardized costs of calculation, collection and enforcement. A gross receipts tax is simplest, but states will struggle to establish the relevant taxable nexus for myriad transactions that cross state lines.The legislation should be clear to all parties with respect to incidence  where and to whom the tax applies  and administration. The anti-tax wonks complaints and industry legal arguments against the Maryland laws are the obvious hot buttons to avoid.A revered rule of taxation is attributed to Frances Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister under Louis XIV: The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to procure the greatest amount of feathers with the smallest amount of hissing. Predictably, the Internet goliaths have learned to hiss at any and all taxes. There is no reason for digital advertising to enjoy a lower tax rate than those which prevail in other highly profitable businesses. This is true especially of the global giants, which otherwise enjoy massive write-offs and offshore havens to shield their taxable income. If advertising subsectors such as agencies are to be taxed in addition to business income taxes on their profits, a lower separate tax rate (or a countervailing credit similar to a value-added-tax offset) may be justified  and more defensible both legally and politically.In the drafting, every precaution should be taken to minimize the litigation risk that model legislation invites the digital advertising industry giants to lobby Congress for relief under the commerce clause. The Maryland plaintiffs who oppose that states initiative are already asserting that claim, and the ugliest scenario for states would be if Capitol Hill enacts pre-emptive legislation. Congress has a clear right  but not an obligation  to regulate commerce, while its failure to do so gives credence to the rights of states to tax economic activity within their jurisdictions. Some of the precedents in South Dakota v. Wayfair , the 2018 Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for states to collect taxes on online sales, can help shed light on legislative designs that are most likely to succeed in federal courts.Some sound advice to the states is that their policy associations will be wise to confer with litigators and expert economists whose advice can be baked into a model bill, so that expert testimony can be presented reliably in the inevitable congressional and multi-level court battles that lie ahead. States looking with an envious eye at Marylands foray into this new taxation frontier would do well to turn up a few modern-day Jean-Baptiste Colberts of their own.GoverningGoverning
Two women working at a bar in Connecticut together became fast friends after realizing how much they had in common.

Recently, though, they discovered their common ground was far more expansive, as it turns out theyre biological sisters.

USA Today reports how Cassandra Madison and Julia Tinetti began working with each other at the Russian Lady Bar in New Haven back in 2013. They struck up a tight relationship very quickly, even joking every now and then that they could be related due to all of the similarities they shared.

For one thing, both of them have tattoos of the Dominican flag, the place in which they were born. For another, they were also both adopted from the Dominican Republic, and shared a very strong physical resemblance to each other.

It was only when Madison began to research her biological family did the pieces begin to fall together. Her adoptive mother bought her a 23andMe DNA test in 2018, which eventually led her to finding her biological father and seven siblings back in the Dominican Republic.

But there was more: Apparently not only did Tinettis best friend turn out to be Madisons cousin (who was also adopted from that area), but her biological father confessed that he and her mother had put up two daughters up for adoption, not just her.

Not too long afterwards, another DNA test confirmed that Madison and Tinetti were, indeed, long-lost sisters.

Its really exciting, Tinetti told the network. I mean, to be honest with you, we really thought this could be a possibility. But our relationship hasnt changed. We dont treat each other any different.

Weirdly enough, the cousinMolly Sapadinalso found her own biological sister as well, who happened to be living just 40 minutes away.
Chief Minister and TMC supremo on Tuesday staged a 3.5-hour-long dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission's "unconstitutional" decision to bar her from campaigning for 24 hours.

Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained in Nandigram last month, arrived at Mayo Road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with the security personnel having cordoned off the area.

No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby.

A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, "No party member was allowed anywhere near the site of the dharna. She sat there alone."



The CM, who had a black scarf wrapped around her neck as a mark of protest, took to painting -- one of her favourite hobbies -- during the 3.5-hour sit-in.

The Election Commission (EC) has barred the TMC boss from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

Banerjee, lashing out at the EC, had said on Twitter that she would sit on a dharna in protest against its "unconstitutional and undemocratic" decision.

She is scheduled to address two rallies after 8 pm on Tuesday -- one at Barasat and the other at Bidhannagar.

Criticising Banerjee over her decision to hold a protest in the city, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said the TMC supremo has "no regard for the poll panel".

"There have been instances when the EC banned our leaders from campaigning. We have always respected the EC's decision. What she (Banerjee) did is unacceptable," 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.)
Amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), scientists aim to determine ways to limit viral transmission, particularly in indoor spaces.

The risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 increases in indoor spaces without proper ventilation. That is why public health officials recommend the use of masks in indoor spaces. A new guideline for mitigating the indoor airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 also recommends limiting the time spent in a shared space with an infected person.

Researchers at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, revealed that the SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk depends on both the pathogen concentration and exposure time.

In the study, which appeared on the pre-print server medRxiv*, the team developed a general mathematical theory to predict airborne transmission risk from carbon dioxide (CO2) time series in real-time and clarify different estimates that steer the guideline. The study findings were based on the assessment of transmission risk and implementing the guideline by CO2 monitoring in university classrooms and office spaces.

Carbon dioxide and airborne disease transmission

The SARS-CoV-2 spreads primarily via respiratory droplets when in close contact with an infected person. There is overwhelming evidence that the virus can also spread through exhaled aerosol droplets suspended in indoor air.

Scientists believe that airborne transmission explains super-spreading events, which caused skyrocketing cases in many countries. The dominance of indoor airborne transmission is supported by the fact that face mask orders were more effective in limiting COVID-19 spread than social distancing orders or lockdowns.

A recent study of viral spread at Massachusetts public schools where face-mask orders were implemented found no significant effect of social distance orders, ranging from 3 feet to 6 feet.

Lastly, studies have also demonstrated the detection of infected virions suspended in hospital room air as far as 18 feet from an infected patient. This provides direct evidence that the virus thrives in the air and spread through infected aerosols.

For decades, carbon dioxide measurements have been used to quantify airflow and zonal mixing in buildings to guide the design of cooling, heating, and ventilation systems.

High CO2 levels indoors are tied to poor health. Reports have also shown the link between CO2 levels and the concentration of airborne bacteria in schools. At the same time, correlations between outdoor air exchange rates and respiratory infections in dormitories have also been reported.

Measured CO2 concentration and calculated transmission rate for 12 masked students in a university lecture hall. a) Black dots represent the concentration of CO2. The solid blue and dash-dot green curves represent the transmission rate, as calculated from (20), when the occupants are wearing masks, and in the hypothetical case where they are not, respectively. b) The solid blue and dash-dot green curves indicate the total risk of transmission with and without masks, respectively, as deduced by integrating (20) over time. Even had masks not been worn, the safety guideline would not have been violated during the lecture.

Measuring CO2 levels

In the current study, the team developed a safety guideline for mitigating the indoor airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in terms of CO2 concentration. This way, it will be apparent that aside from limiting CO2 concentration, they should also limit occupancy time.

The teams mathematical model demonstrates the effects of pathogen filtration, sedimentation, and deactivation, apart from the aerosol production rates, which alter the relative concentrations of airborne pathogen and CO2.

The new guideline recommends limiting transmission by wearing face masks, filtrating air, and imposing quiet spaces. The team also rephrased the guideline in terms of CO2 concentration. They modeled the illness transmission dynamics, allowing for the risk of indoor airborne transmission to be evaluated from CO2 measurements obtained in real-time.

The researchers applied the model in office and classroom settings. These demonstrate how CO2 monitoring, alongside safety guidelines, can help control the spread of COVID-19 in indoor spaces. The guideline does not only apply to SARS-CoV-2 but also a wide range of respiratory infections.

The simple guideline and the mathematical formula linking CO2 data to transmission risk allowed for the real-time assessment of transmission risk in indoor spaces.

Our transmission theory and safety guideline provide a quantitative basis for the use of CO2 monitors in assessing the risk of indoor airborne disease transmission of indoor airborne disease transmission, the team noted in the study.

The study results also allow for building-scale optimization of public health using CO2 sensors. The model also provides a blueprint for using CO2 monitors to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in indoor and shared spaces. Apart from COVID-19, the method and sensors can track other viral infections, such as seasonal flu.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
ROME, APR 13 - Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio stressed the importance Rome gives to multilateralism as he took part in an online event celebrating the 160th anniversary of Italy's diplomatic relations with the United States during a visit to Washington on Tuesday. "Our support of multilateralism is central in our foreign policy," Di Maio said, recalling the shared vales of Italy and the USA. "We intend to work in all the major multilateral fora, together with the United States and our partners, to increase the ambition on climate change, access to vaccines and to promote an economic and socially sustainable recovery". Di Maio said that "Italy's commitment towards NATO remains resolute". "As allies we are determined in our commitment to protect our collective security and work together to maintain peace and international stability". The minister recalled the Italy's contribution to the international security framework, including its efforts in Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon and Iraq. (ANSA).
Police in Ba Ria  Vung Tau Province, about 100km from Ho Chi Minh City, on Monday inaugurated a US$3.5 million smart camera system for traffic surveillance on the local section of National Highway No. 51.

The system consists of 89 cameras placed along National Highway No. 51, from Ba Ria  Vung Taus Phu My Town to the entrance of Vung Tau City.

Images from the system will be sent to a server located at the headquarters of the municipal police department, where officers can monitor traffic in real time via a board of screens.

Among the 89 cameras, six will supervise speeding violations, while eight others observe social order and the others keep track of other lawbreaking behaviors such as lane crossing, wrong parking, as well as traffic light non-adherence.

The camera network can monitor multiple traffic lanes at a time, gauge the speed of a vehicle running as fast as 300 kilometers per hour, and capturing the number plates of violators vehicles, regardless of day, night or weather conditions, according to the developer of the system.

A man shows a monitoring screen, which shows live surveillance footage from National Highway No. 51, at the headquarters of Ba Ria-Vung Tau's police department. Photo: D.H. / Tuoi Tre

Bui Van Thao, director of Ba Ria-Vung Tau's police department, said the system will enter a trial run to warn commuters and urge traffic law adherence at first.

After the incoming four-day national holiday from April 30 to May 3, administrative fines will be introduced, either via on-the-spot handling or violation tickets.

The system was developed using a budget of VND80 billion ($3.5 million).

The province is mulling similar systems on the local section of National Highway No. 55 and 56 at a cost of VND50 billion ($2.2 million).

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Federal regulators are taking another look at Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine after six cases of a severe blood clotting condition occurred in individuals across the nation.

Beyond determining if theres a link between the vaccine and a rare type of blood clotting, health officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it was important to take time during the pause to prepare health care systems regarding treatment, as typical treatment for blood clots could be dangerous in these cases.

The condition that grabbed federal regulators attention is a type of blood clotting in the brain known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, combined with thrombocytopenia (low blood platelet count).

The clotting was found in six women, ages 18 to 48, who had received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine between six and 13 days earlier. One women died, while another was in critical condition as of Tuesday morning, April 13. None were known to be from Michigan, according to the states health department.

Unlike other blood clots that can be treated with an anticoagulant drug called heparin, health experts say a different treatment is necessary to avoid making the case worse.

The issue is if one administers the standard treatment for blood clots, one can actually cause tremendous harm or the outcome could be fatal, said Dr. Peter Marks, director for the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. One needs to make sure providers are aware if they see people with low blood platelets or blood clots, they need to inquire about history of vaccination and act accordingly.

Vaccines arent typically linked to blood clotting, said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a vascular cardiologist for Michigan Medicine who specializes in anticoagulation and diseases of the blood vessels.

These particular blood clots also appear in different parts of the body than usual. Typically, people get blood clots in their legs or lungs, but those who have reported clots post vaccination have gotten them in their brain or intestines -- a similar pattern seen in a small number of individuals who received the AstraZeneca vaccine elsewhere in the world.

Related: Johnson & Johnson pause has similarities to AstraZeneca, not Pfizer or Moderna vaccines

Symptoms of these severe blood clots can appear between five days and three weeks of vaccination, Barnes said. They would likely appear later and more severe than the typical side effects that can be expected with a COVID-19 vaccine.

Barnes recommends seeking medical attention if you develop a severe headache and vision change, or severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting five days or later after receiving a Johnson & Johnson vaccine, up to three weeks. Other symptoms can include shortness of breath or leg pain.

Its important to note, this isnt a day or two after when many people will get chills, muscles aches, maybe nausea and the normal effects that the vaccine is working, Barnes said.

Diagnosing this rare form of blood clots can be difficult since symptoms can be shared with other health conditions. Barnes said individuals who seek medical attention should note when they got a vaccine and which one. He also noted that most hospitals have imaging equipment that can spot a clot.

Above all else, Barnes said he would provide reassurance that these severe cases are exceedingly rare.

The U.S. has identified six cases out of more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In Michigan, nearly 200,000 doses have been administered with no such cases reported to the state health department.

We dont need everyone rushing to the hospital, Barnes said. This a a severe headache were talking about.

Asked if they might be overreacting with the pause given such few cases were reported out of millions of vaccinations, federal health officials from the FDA and CDC repeated their commitments to vaccine safety and transparency.

When we saw this pattern and were aware that treatment needed to be individualized for this condition, it was of the utmost importance for us to get the word out, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director for the CDC.

With that said, the pandemic is quite severe and cases are increasing in a lot of places and vaccination is critical so we want to make some recommendations quickly.

Read more on MLive:

Michigan will pause use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, following CDC guidance

More than 3.3M Michiganders have had first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Michigan restaurants would be shut down under GOP bill that sought to tie COVID-19 restrictions to metrics

Michigan reports 4,000+ coronavirus hospitalizations for first time since December
Two fifteen-year agreements with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) will support the commercial development of two renewable energy projects in southern Alberta

TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Canada's oldest and largest bakery, Bimbo Canada, has signed two virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) to procure renewable electricity that will offset 100 per cent of the company's electricity consumption in Canada. The projects are expected to be fully operational by December, 2022.

Bimbo Canada logo (CNW Group/Bimbo Canada)

Canada is the second market, alongside the United States, to enter into VPPAs. These agreements, together with additional sustainability initiatives conducted around the world by the parent company Grupo Bimbo, will help the company offset 90 per cent of its global electricity consumption.

"Bimbo Canada is committed to nourishing a better world through productive sustainability practices," said Joe McCarthy, president of Bimbo Canada. "These agreements are the next big step in reducing our environmental footprint and becoming leaders in responsible stewardship of the environment."

The 15-year agreements with RES will support the commercial development of two renewable energy projects in southern Alberta, consisting of wind and solar projects, totaling 170MW of installed capacity. Under these two agreements, Bimbo Canada will procure the benefit of approximately 50MW of renewable electricity to offset electricity consumption for its 16 bakeries, 14 distribution centres and 191 depots. Commercial development for the wind and solar farms will be finalized later this year by RES Canada and the projects are expected to be fully operational by the end of next year.

"RES is proud that its Alberta wind and solar projects are helping Bimbo Canada meet its sustainability initiatives," said Peter Clibbon, RES Senior VP of Development. "It's a win-win situation with our projects delivering competitive wind and solar electricity to Bimbo Canada, and while providing our host communities with long-term tax and landowner income."

Story continues

In 2018, Grupo Bimbo joined RE100, a global initiative led by The Climate Group and in partnership with Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and committed to operating with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025. As a leading supplier of fresh-baked goods and snacks for Canadian families, these agreements support the company's targets and builds upon many successful past sustainability initiatives.

"The renewable electricity initiatives in our operations respond to Grupo Bimbo's deep commitment that we have had for many decades globally with the planet and with present and future generations," said Daniel Servitje, global CEO of Grupo Bimbo. "With this announcement, we have achieved another important milestone for the company on our journey towards becoming 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025."

Last year, Bimbo Canada reduced product waste and exceeded its product waste reduction target by 18 per cent, which saved four million units of products from landfills. The company also eliminated 174 metric tonnes of plastic per year (equal to 43 adult elephants) through several packaging optimization initiatives.

Earlier this year, Bimbo Canada signed the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP) and earned its first ENERGY STAR certification for its Hamilton, Ontario bakery. The company will continue to work towards other initiatives that fulfill its commitment to be a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company.

About Bimbo Canada

Bimbo Canada is Canada's largest bakery, operating for more than 100 years. It is a leading producer and distributor of fresh packaged breads and snacks with more than 1,000 products across 18 brands Canadians know and love, like Dempster's, Stonemill, Villaggio, Vachon cakes and Takis. Bimbo Canada is proud to feed Canadian families with safe, high-quality products they can trust made by Canadians, for Canadians at 16 bakeries, 14 distribution centres and 191 depots across the country. Bimbo Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo, the world's largest baking company. Together, they are nourishing a better world with delicious baked goods and snacks by building a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company. The company is dedicated to building a diverse workplace that promotes equity and belonging, where all employees can develop and contribute to the transformation of the company, the baking industry and our communities.

For more, visit www.bimbocanada.com.

About RES

RES is the world's largest independent renewable energy company active in onshore and offshore wind, solar, energy storage, transmission and distribution. At the forefront of the industry for 39 years, RES has delivered more than 19GW of renewable energy projects across the globe and supports an operational asset portfolio exceeding 7GW worldwide for a large client base. Understanding the unique needs of corporate clients, RES has secured 1.5GW of power purchase agreements (PPAs) enabling access to energy at the lowest cost. RES employs more than 3,000 people and is active in 10 countries.

For more, visit www.res-group.com.

RES logo (CNW Group/Bimbo Canada)

SOURCE Bimbo Canada

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View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/13/c9028.html
Dat Bike aims to conquer the 2-wheeler market of Southeast Asia

The fresh funds will bankroll Dat Bikes plans to scale its team, research and development, and customer-facing operations.

These expansion plans come after what the company claims is a 35 per cent monthly growth in demand for its bikes.

Launched in 2018 after founder Son Nguyen left a cushy job in the Silicon Valley, Dat Bike provides electric motorbikes that are on par with their gasoline counterparts.

The company claims its flagship Weaver model (which retails at $1,700) can rival gas bikes in power and range and is powered with a 5,000W motor that helps the bike accelerate from 0 to 50kmph within three seconds.

Dat Bike added that the charging time for its motorbikes is also the fastest in the industry at just under three hours and its brake mechanism is also tailored to the notoriously hectic traffic situation in Vietnam.

The company claims it ships out hundreds of bikes monthly and launched its first physical store in Ho Chi Minh City last December.

We want to transform the 250 million gasoline bikes in Southeast Asia to electric vehicles. We believe that if given a choice, everyone would pick electric over gas. It is just that the current electric motorbikes in the market lag behind in power and range, making it difficult for people to make the switch, Son shared.

"There are three big motorcycle markets in the world: China, India, and Southeast Asia. While both China and India already have dominant local bike manufacturers, Southeast Asia has no local motorcycle brand and the market is dominated by Japanese players. We want to change that, to become the motorcycle company of Southeast Asia. And electric is our way, he added.

This investment into Dat Bike marks our first investment in the mobility sector which is rapidly getting transformed by technology. The $25 billion 2-wheeler industry in Southeast Asia, in particular, is ripe for reaping benefits of new developments in electric vehicles and automation, opined Amit Anand, founding partner of Jungle Ventures.

We believe that Dat Bike will lead this charge and create a new benchmark not just in the region but potentially globally for what the next generation of 2-wheeler electric vehicles will look and perform like, he further remarked.
Boris Johnson has confirmed churches in Britain will still be allowed to pray for gay people who are questioning their sexuality - despite plans to ban conversion therapy.

The Prime Minister said all adults can still get 'appropriate pastoral support including prayer' in religious settings in the 'exploration of their sexual orientation'.

He responded after church leaders raised fears that Christians could be prosecuted if they were banned from praying for people who no longer wish to be gay.

The PM told the Evangelical Alliance that he takes 'freedom of speech and freedom of religion very seriously' while the Government plans to ban conversion therapy.

And he will therefore not back calls from some LGBT campaigners who wanted a ban on any practice aiming to change someone's sexual identity, including prayer.

The Government first announced it would ban conversion therapy in 2018, with Mr Johnson re-confirming this last July and calling the practice 'absolutely abhorrent'.

Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday) said all adults can still get 'appropriate pastoral support including prayer' in religious settings in the 'exploration of their sexual orientation'.

The PM told the Evangelical Alliance (whose UK director Peter Lynas is pictured) that he takes 'freedom of speech and freedom of religion very seriously'

Then in December 2020 more than 370 religious leaders from around the world including Archbishop Desmond Tutu joined forces in a declaration backing the ban.

But last month the EA protested to Mr Johnson that a ban on conversion therapy would prevent church ministers from preaching the virtues of chastity.

What is gay conversion therapy and how has it been used in Britain? The phrase 'conversion therapy' covers any treatment or psychotherapy that tries to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of someone. It has been criticised by LGBT rights campaigners for being based on an assumption that being gay is a mental illness that can be 'cured'. Some abusive methods have allegedly gone as far as using electro-shock treatment and even 'corrective' rape. The Government committed in 2018 to banning the practice, with Boris Johnson confirming last July that this was still the case when he called it 'absolutely abhorrent' and something that 'has no place in a civilised society, has no place in this country'. The NHS and all major UK counselling and psychotherapy bodies have all condemned conversion therapy in a memorandum of understanding. But a 2018 report by the gay rights charity Stonewall found 5 per cent of LGBT people have been pressured to access services to question or change their sexual orientation when accessing healthcare services. Countries that have already banned conversion therapy include Brazil, Ecuador and Malta, while the likes of Canada, Chile and New Zealand are also looking to outlaw it. Advertisement

It said a new law to end the practice of trying to convert gay and lesbian people to heterosexuality would endanger freedom of speech and religion but do nothing to prevent abusive practices.

That intervention followed the resignation of three Government advisers in a coup aimed at pushing Ministers into introducing legislation.

In response Equalities Minister Liz Truss called conversion treatment 'abhorrent' and promised to bring forward a new law.

The warning against introducing a legal ban was sent to the PM by Peter Lynas, UK director of the EA, which represents protestant factions of the Church of England and many evangelical churches.

Mr Lynas said by some definitions a ban would make it a crime to talk to someone aiming 'to change their sexual orientation or behaviour so as to conform with a heteronormative lifestyle or their gender identity.'

He said: 'Proposals as currently discussed could have the consequence of restricting individual freedom and impinging on essential religious liberty - potentially criminalising Christians and common church activities.

'Proposals to end conversion therapy must not prevent people from seeking and receiving support to live chaste lives.

'Language that suggests a ban would cove 'suppressing' or 'repressing' sexuality would be a substantive block on supporting those that do not wish to act on their sexual attraction.

'Ironically, those calling for a ban are promoting polices that would discriminate against someone based on their sexuality - preventing someone who is gay from accessing counselling available to a straight person.'

He added: 'An expansive definition of conversion therapy, and a ban along such lines, would place church leaders at risk of prosecution when they preach on biblical texts relating to marriage and sexuality.

'We recognise the role the church has sadly played historically in perpetuating stigma, discrimination and harm towards people because of their sexuality.

Earlier this month Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer apologised after visiting a church in Brent, North London, which had been widely criticised for its views on homosexuality

The Labour Campaign for LGBT+ Rights called Sir Keir's visit and subsequent post praising the church 'unacceptable', and Sir Keir then apologised in the above tweet (pictured)

'We oppose abusive practices and the use of electro-shock treatment and corrective rape are clearly wrong and should be ended.

'However, such practices should already be banned or illegal and as such should be dealt with under existing policies and laws.'

Government's LGBT advisory panel is disbanded, says No10 The Government's LGBT advisory panel has been disbanded, Downing Street confirmed. The panel, established by Theresa May's government, will be replaced with a new body, No 10 indicated. Panellists' terms were due to expire on March 31 but a series of members of the group had resigned earlier in protest at Government policies. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Women and Equalities Minister Liz Truss had written to the remaining panel members to thank them for their service. 'The Prime Minister is immensely proud to live in a country that is one of the most progressive and liberal when it comes to LGBT equality,' the spokesman said. 'The LGBT advisory panel was created under the previous administration and the term of all panel members was always due to end on the 31st. 'The Minister for Women and Equalities has written to all panel members to thank them for their contributions and plans for a replacement to the panel will be set out in due course.' Advertisement

Now, Premier Christian Radio has reported that Mr Johnson has replied to the EA and confirmed any new legislation will not cover prayer or pastoral support.

In his letter, the PM said: 'I want to reassure you that I take freedom of speech and freedom of religion very seriously.

'As the Government made clear in 2018, when we first made our commitment to end conversion therapy, we will continue to allow adults to receive appropriate pastoral support (including prayer), in churches and other religious settings, in the exploration of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

'Like you, I do not want to see clergy and church members criminalised for normal non-coercive activity.'

The Government has not yet revealed how it plans to ban conversion therapy and the exact scope of any new law, although a Bill is expected to go through Parliament later this year.

Jayne Ozanne, a leading LGBTQ+ evangelical Christian, told MailOnline: 'The government is on the record as saying they will include religious practices in any ban on conversion therapy, and I have no doubt that this will therefore include prayer that is aimed at changing or suppressing someone's sexuality or gender identity.

'In contrast, prayer that enables someone to come to terms with who they are, which does not have a focused outcome of trying to make someone into something they are not, is to be welcomed. It is this I believe the Prime Minister's letter was making clear.'

Last month Church of England Bishop of Liverpool the Right Reverend Paul Bayes said: 'LGBTI+ orientation/identity is not a sickness, not a crime and not a sin.

'Conversion therapy damages people. So I hope that the Government will stay faithful to its commitment to a ban.'

Earlier this month Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer apologised after visiting a church in Brent, North London, which had been widely criticised for its views on homosexuality.

Sir Keir posted a video from Jesus House For All The Nations, which he praised as a 'wonderful example of a church serving their community' during the pandemic.

The church, which is a vaccination centre, is led by pastor Agu Irukwu who has previously written about his opposition to equality legislation and gay marriage.

The Labour Campaign for LGBT+ Rights called Sir Keir's visit and subsequent post praising the church 'unacceptable'.

Sir Keir then said: 'I completely disagree with Jesus House's beliefs on LGBT+ rights, which I was not aware of before my visit. I apologise for the hurt my visit caused and have taken down the video. It was a mistake and I accept that.'

However, following Sir Keir's apology, Mr Iruku told Premier Christianity: 'We do not engage in any form of conversion therapy.

'We, as a church, provide appropriate pastoral support, including prayer, to all our members, whatever life situations or circumstances they find themselves in.'

Former Prime Minister Theresa May was criticised in 2017 for visiting the church, but Boris Johnson and the Prince of Wales have both been to the pop-up vaccination centre there in recent weeks without attracting widespread comment.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Federal health agencies recommended Tuesday that states pause their use of Johnson & Johnsons coronavirus vaccine as they investigate reports linking it to extremely rare but dangerous blood clots.

But what if youve already gotten the shot?

The overall risk of developing blood clots after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is exceedingly low. There have been just six reports of blood clots out of more than 6.8 million doses administered in the U.S., the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Thats less than one out of every 1 million doses administered so far in America.

However, as a precaution, experts recommend monitoring yourself for approximately three weeks after you received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. You should contact a doctor if you experience a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath. Those symptoms are different from more standard, flu-like side effects such as a fever or mild headache, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts said Tuesday during a media briefing.

The headaches someone might experience if theyre developing blood clots are much more severe than the headaches you might experience as a typical side effect of the vaccine, said Dr. Elie Saade, the medical director for infection control at University Hospitals. They would also be in conjunction with other symptoms.

They usually would be much more severe, there would usually be something else going on, like with a stroke, he said. They may be losing their vision or having a problem with moving their arm or leg.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, also described the rare blood clots as a stroke-like illness during Tuesdays media briefing.

The risk is less for someone who received the vaccine more than one month ago, CDC experts said.

Each of the six reports of blood clots involved women between the ages of 18 and 48; one woman died and another was hospitalized in critical condition. The CDC and FDA said during the briefing that the blood clots do not appear to be linked to any pre-existing condition or the use of birth control.

There is also no indication a certain type of medication someone might be taking at home puts them at greater risk of developing blood clots after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Saade said.

The CDC and FDA said they are recommending the pause out of an abundance of caution and expect it to last several days. The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting Wednesday to discuss the six cases of blood clots.

Its still not clear whether the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is causing the blood clots, said Dr. Amy Ray, the medical director of infection prevention at MetroHealth. She cautioned against concluding theres anything wrong with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine before the FDA and CDC review is completed.

With any vaccine, a large roll-out to the general public is more likely to raise issues that werent identified during smaller clinical trials. Ray said the decision to recommend a pause of the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a sign federal health officials are prioritizing patient safety.

This is a pause to investigate, Ray said. Its not a conclusion that the vaccine causes these clots.

The White House said in a statement Tuesday that the pause is not expected to have a significant impact on the vaccine rollout in the U.S.

Johnson & Johnson accounts for only 5% of the vaccinations administered so far across the country, and the federal government has secured enough doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for 300 million Americans.

Your coronavirus vaccine questions answered:

Are you contagious if you have side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine?

Are you less immune to the coronavirus if you dont have vaccine side effects?

Can I still get my second dose of coronavirus vaccine if I develop COVID-19 symptoms after the first?

Can you mix and match two doses of coronavirus vaccine from different manufacturers?

Can you request one coronavirus vaccine if you have concerns about the other?

Coronavirus vaccine misinformation permeates social media: Here are the facts to counter six false claims

How will local drug stores keep the coronavirus vaccine on site if it needs to be cold? How will they avoid waste?

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Is it OK to take over-the-counter or prescription pain medication before getting a COVID-19 vaccine?

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Should you get the coronavirus vaccine if youve had a bad reaction to the flu shot?

Should you get the second vaccine if you contract COVID-19 after your first coronavirus vaccine dose?

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[April 12, 2021] Splitit Partners with UnionPay, the World's Largest Card Network of 9 Billion Cardholders

Splitit, a global payment technology company (ASX:SPT), announces a new global partnership with UnionPay International, part of China UnionPay, the provider of bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China. UnionPay International will be integrating Splitit to make it available to its network. This will give UnionPay card holders and those accepting UnionPay the opportunity to utilize Splitit's installment payments product. The UnionPay global acceptance network has expanded to 180 countries and regions, covering over 55 million merchants. Outside the Chinese Mainland, UnionPay is accepted at over 32 million merchants. To date, over 9 billion UnionPay cards (debit and credit) are issued in 68 countries and regions, among which over 150 million are issued outside mainland China. All UnionPay credit cardholders will be able to use Splitit's interest- and fee-free installment payment option at any merchant offering Splitit from June FY21. "The cooperation with Splitit is a remarkable milestone for UnionPay to further deepen its cooperation with partners in the South Pacific region," said Jiangtao Jian, General Manager, UnionPay International South Pacific branch. "We're excited to bring this partnership with Splitit to UPI customers globally so they can benefit from increased flexibility in how they pay." "Partnering with UnionPay opens up our solution to UnionPay credit card holders, building on our existing card partner networks. It combines our unique installment solution and global reach, with UnionPay's powerful card holder base to allow countless more shoppers to better use their existing credit," commented Brad Paterson, CEO of Splitit. "The partnership is another significant milestone in Splitit's Asia Pacific expansion strategy to boost consumer adoption andmerchant acceptance. This increased relevance to more cardholders and merchants will, in turn, accelerate our merchant sales volume," he concluded.



The economic materiality of the agreement with UnionPay International is unknown due to the contingent nature of results that may be generated. At this point in time, Splitit considers the UnionPay partnership is unlikely to yield a short-term economic benefit for Splitit, however, Splitit considers that the UnionPay partnership supports Splitit's strategic growth plans. About UnionPay International

UPI Company Profile:

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay's global business. In partnership with more than 2400 institutions worldwide, UnionPay International has enabled card acceptance in 180 countries and regions with issuance in 68 countries and regions. UnionPay International provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world's largest cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants. Global Acceptance and Issuance

So far, the UnionPay global acceptance network has expanded to 180 countries and regions, covering over 55 million merchants and about 2.9 million ATMs. Outside the Chinese Mainland, UnionPay is accepted at over 32 million merchants and 1.7 million ATMs. To date, over 9 billion UnionPay cards are issued in 68 countries and regions, among which over 150 million are issued outside mainland China. Global Acceptance of UnionPay mobile payment service

To date, UnionPay mobile payment services, UnionPay mobile QuickPass and UnionPay QR code payment, are accepted in 94 countries and regions (60 outside mainland China). UnionPay QR code payment is accepted at 30 million merchants in 45 countries and regions. UnionPay mobile QuickPass (UnionPay contactless payment solution) is accepted at 25 million POS terminals, including over 7 million POS terminals in 82 countries and regions outside mainland China. About Splitit Splitit is a global payment solution provider that enables shoppers to use the credit they've earned by breaking up purchases into monthly interest-free installments, using their existing credit card. Splitit enables merchants to improve conversion rates and increase average order value by giving customers an easy and fast way to pay for purchases over time without requiring additional approvals. Serving many of Internet Retailer's top 500 merchants, Splitit's global footprint extends to thousands of merchants in countries around the world. Headquartered in New York, Splitit has an R&D center in Israel and offices in London and Australia. The company is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under ticker code SPT. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005991/en/

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An interview with anthropologist Douglas P. Fry on how societies that operate within peace systems avoid war and create positive intergroup relationshipsand what this might mean for humanitys future.





by April M. Short





We live in a time in which we face many global challenges, including the climate disaster, dwindling biodiversity (due to international industrial practices), polluted oceans, nuclear proliferation and a worldwide pandemic, just for starters. Realistic solutions to the hurdles humanity faces will require international cooperationwhich will require the adoption of viable alternatives to the predominant systems of conflict and war.













While conflict and war have written much of modern human history, they offer an incomplete narrative. Anthropological evidence suggests war is not innate to humanity, as detailed in a recent Independent Media Institute (IMI) article on the topic. Further, war can be successfully stopped and can be prevented in the future when societies shift their cultures and values and adopt intentional systems of peace, or what are now called peace systems, due in large part to the work of anthropologist Douglas P. Fry. Fry, a professor and chair of the department of peace and conflict studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has studied existing clusters of neighboring societies that do not make war with each other, and how they operate, for years. These peace systems exist both in smaller, Indigenous groups like Brazils Upper Xingu River Basin tribes and Aboriginal Australians, as well as in larger societies, the most obvious modern example being the European Union (EU)a peace system which would have been assumed impossible, even ridiculous, just decades prior to its adoption.





Fry says peace systems like the EU demonstrate the ability for peace to eclipse systems of war.





Today, the idea of the European nations waging war with each other is absurd, he says. Fry notes that humans are flexible, and sweeping changes in the way we operate are the rule, rather than the exception.





Fry was one of the leading authors of an article published on January 18, 2021, in the scientific journal Nature titled  Societies Within Peace Systems Avoid War and Build Positive Intergroup Relationships . It offers a comparative anthropological perspective to demonstrate not only that some human societies avoid war but also that peaceful social systems existand they work.





The articles abstract states:

The mere existence of peace systems is important because it demonstrates that creating peaceful intergroup relationships is possible whether the social units are tribal societies, nations, or actors within a regional system. Peace systems have received scant scientific attention despite holding potentially useful knowledge and principles about how to successfully cooperate to keep the peace. Thus, the mechanisms through which peace systems maintain peaceful relationships are largely unknown.

The studys authors hypothesized that there are certain factors known to contribute to intergroup peace and demonstrated that those factors are more developed within peace systems than elsewhere. These factors include:

Overarching common identity

Positive social interconnectedness

Interdependence

Non-warring values and norms

Non-warring myths, rituals, and symbols

Peace leadership

The study explains that a machine learning analysis found non-warring norms, rituals, and values to have the greatest relative importance for a peace system outcome. The findings of the analysis of peace systems also show that they may have policy implications regarding how to promote and sustain peace, cohesion, and cooperation among neighbouring societies in various social contexts, including among nations. For example, the purposeful promotion of peace system features may facilitate the international cooperation necessary to address interwoven global challenges such as global pandemics, oceanic pollution, loss of biodiversity, nuclear proliferation, and climate change, the study abstract states.





April M. Short, reporting for IMI, recently interviewed Doug P. Fry about his work studying peace systems and their potentially global implications.





April M. Short: How did you first come to study alternatives to war, and what made you begin to question the predominant narratives around humans and war (which have typically assumed war is a given)?





Douglas P. Fry: This goes way back for me. I was a teenager toward the end of the Vietnam War, and in that time period I certainly picked up on the movements against the Vietnam War. Unlike more recent wars, there were, on the nightly news, pictures of bodies, Vietcong bodies, civilian bodies and American troops whod been killed in combat. War was really ugly, and it came onto our TV sets. As a young person, I realized that I was going to turn 18 in a couple of years, and that really pushed me to a personal set of reflections. Would I really engage in a war that I felt was wrong? That was one. Then, much more philosophically, or deeply, I asked myself, Could I really find it within myself to kill another human being?





I went through exploration by reading and talking to a few friends, and talking to my father, who was very supportive, and reached the decision that I should apply for a conscientious objector status (and the military ultimately classified me as 1-H; H is for holding. It was like I was in limbo, and if they needed more troops, they would call me up, but they never did). At about the same time, I started university at UCLA and I discovered anthropology, and it has been a love affair ever since. I think anthropology is just a wonderful field it takes into consideration all the worlds cultures and what it means to be human. It asks, where did we come from in the past, and whats our nature, and so forth. For me, in particular, the guiding question was, at first, to understand human aggressiveness and the violence of war, and then I morphed over the decades to try to understand how we can get rid of war. What actions can we take as alternatives? How can we promote peace? How can we promote nonviolent forms of conflict resolution to deal with our differences without war?





AMS: How did you eventually come to study systems of peace and intergroup cooperation, or peace systems?





DPF: Around 2000, I realized that in anthropology there were not really any central books that dealt in a holistic or complete way with peace. So, I formulated a scheme to study peace (and eventually systems of peace). I was living in Finland at the time and working part-time. I thought, Ive got the ideas, Ive got the time, this is an opportunity. I started working on a book that eventually became The Human Potential for Peace . For that book, I was reading avidly about internally peaceful societies and conflict resolution across cultures. I was thinking about archaeology and delving into the question of,  How old is war?  I was also looking at evolutionary theory and doing a bit of a critique of some of the primatological work that Brian Ferguson mentions in your recent interview .





The Human Potential for Peace I gave a pretty thorough review of all of Gregors work, as well as other anthropologists who had studied the regionand I mention this because its rather unusual when you find a rich description from different people and they all pretty much correspond with each other over decades and over sources. These Upper Xingu River Basin societies really do not engage in warfare with each other. Out of this exploration, I came across the work of Thomas Gregor , who is one of many anthropologists who had worked with societies in Brazils Upper Xingu River Basin. What Gregor nicely summed up was that there are about 10 tribes there that have four different language groups represented, and that they are a peace system. He used that term, peace system, and I just thought that was very cool. In chapter two ofI gave a pretty thorough review of all of Gregors work, as well as other anthropologists who had studied the regionand I mention this because its rather unusual when you find a rich description from different people and they all pretty much correspond with each other over decades and over sources. These Upper Xingu River Basin societies really do not engage in warfare with each other.





They dont like violence. They perceive themselves as civilized, and morally superior to neighboring Indigenous groups that do engage in warfare because they dont believe in killing people. Now, they will engage in warfare to protect themselves, so theyre not total pacifists, but they are non-warring among themselves. And thats the key way to define peace systems, or at least thats the way Ive done it across a series of articles: clusters of societies that dont make war with each other. Sometimes they dont make war at all, but sometimes they do make war outside the system.





I enjoyed reading everything I could find on these societies and writing it up for chapter two, and thats how I discovered peace systems. Since that time, Ive made many personal moves between different countries, different jobs, and focuses for my work, but I always somehow come back to peace systems. It happened that in 2014, I was invited by a colleague, Peter Coleman , whos an eminent peace psychologist and social psychologist at Columbia University, to be part of a project he was launching on mapping sustainable peace , now called the Sustaining Peace Project . I was a core member there, and my wife, Genevieve Souillac , is involved with the project as well. Early in 2014, I was considering how I could really contribute to this as an anthropologist. I went home after the first day of meeting for the project and woke up thinking: Peace systems, of course!





That was really the birth of the article in Nature. Youll notice theres a whole team that worked on that article, including my former students who collected a lot of the data and coded it. My wife, Genevieve Souillac, and I have been talking about, and thinking and writing on, this subject since weve known each other Peter generated and pushed the button to start the whole thing by starting up this sustaining peace project and including us. It was very labor-intensive to find all these societies and code all this data. Here we are literally six years later, and it has finally come out in print.





AMS: In the article, it is noted that not only do some human societies not engage in war, but peaceful social systems or peace systems exist. Will you clarify the difference between simply an absence of war between groups and societies that actively engage in peace?





DPF: This is an interesting point. In peace studies, we sometimes talk about negative peace and positive peace. Negative peace is simply the absence of violence or the absence of war, and, therefore, theres peace. Sort of what the person on the street tends to think is, Oh, were at peace for now, or, War is coming; were now at war. Thats a negative definition of peace, in peace studies.





Then there are all sorts of variations on what we call positive peace. These would include the positive elements, so not simply the opposites of violence. These are things such as people having equal rights or access to resources; being part of decision-making for the group (and democracy would be one model for this; another might be nomadic foragers who were egalitarian and made decisions out of discussion and consensus). Having your basic needs taken care of is generally thought to be positive peace, so things like safe drinking water, enough to eat, and access to health care. In a way, if you start ticking the boxes for what is a good life, in terms of having your needs taken care of and living safely and happily, thats where a whole variety of different positive peace elements come in.





For this article in Nature, I remember my wife and I were talking and discussing peace systems a year ago. She was telling me, Weve got to make really clear this distinction between positive and negative peace. The definition that you started with is a negative definition of these clusters.





She was absolutely right, and I hadnt thought of it that way. My next thought was that what we are actually looking at are the conditions and features that lead to a peace system.





There are some societies where it has just been noted in the literature that they dont engage in warfare, and there are different ways to look at this. Theres been a big presumption on the part of anthropologists and others, as part of the traditional view, that, of course, everybody engages in warfare.





One interesting reflection of this, historically, is this monumental work done during World War II, by political scientist Quincy Wright and a whole team of scholars. When they looked at ethnographic data from many different angles that they pursued in the study of war, they only used four classifications for the different types of societies, for almost 600 societies. They said a society could either engage in warfare because it was a social phenomenon or economic phenomenon or political phenomenon, or defensive, and they classified it as defensive for only about 5 percent of those societies. In their descriptions, they said these people are not particularly warlike, but if they had encountered a fighting force, no doubt, they would have used their simple tools and their digging sticks to fight back and defend themselves. Hence, the label they put on these societies: defensive war.





I went through some of these defensive war societies. I looked at enough of them to realize that some and maybe all of them really were non-warring societies. And there had been a misclassification because of the starting presumption that all societies make war. There was no category called non-warring societies. That was one thing that I just found psychologically and historically pretty interesting as an apparent bias. And it was, otherwise, a very carefully done, and monumental, study of war.





What I did in writing The Human Potential for Peace is I started collecting a list of non-warring societies. And to classify them as such, it had to be very clear that they did not engage in warfarethe ethnographers or the historians had to really spell this out, I wasnt just taking vague statements like these were peace-loving people. I came up with 74 examples, across different types of social organizations, of non-warring societies. So, most societies do partake in some sort of collective, violent engagement with other societies, but some do not. The difference there is that peace systems really are clusters. They could be as few as say three societies, or they could be 27, as with the European Union. They are a given number of clusters of neighboring societies that dont engage in war with each other.





Many of the non-warring societies might exist as members of a peace system, or they might be somewhat isolated in some cases, or it could be ethnographically or historically unclear as to how many societies they were in contact with. There is a wealth of further studies that need to be done, and could be done, on non-warring societies and peace systems. Were just touching the tip of the iceberg with our 16 examples of peace systems that we talk about in the recent article . What we have is a relatively small, well-described number of peace systems. Then weve got a larger number of societies that are just being reported by historians or anthropologists as non-warring. They sort of overlap, but that would be the distinction or the difference.





AMS: In the article , you hypothesize a list of features present in societies that contribute to peace systems. One of these is overarching common identity. Would you explain that a bit further?





DPF: In working on the Nature article , these different features that would promote peace came to mind as hypotheses, based on the social science literature as well as our studies of existing peace systems. These include things such as having an overarching identity, not just a parochial identity. Rather than just identifying, for example, as, Im a Finn, its, Im a Finn, and Im a European. And that is happening in the EU as we speak. The idea is, theres this overall identity where people perceive themselves as Europeans.





Another example of a peace system is the United States (which is in some ways sort of a problematic one, because we did have a civil war in the middle of the countrys history, among other issues) but whats really telling to me is that when we were still 13 colonies and fighting that Revolutionary War and then grappling with what the way forward would be, peoples identities were connected with that of the former colonies. People identified with their states. People from Virginia were Virginians and people from Georgia were Georgians, and that was their primary identity. At some point, this all shifted to include this higher level of identity of being American.





Overarching identity is just one of the features of positive peace, and its a really important factor that promotes positive peace and a peace system. As you know from the article , there are others that we discuss as potential factors, and we could probably come up with a few other ones in addition to them.





AMS: I read the chapter you co-authored with your wife, Genevieve Souillac, for Ronald Edsforths A Cultural History of Peace in the Modern Age (1920-present) , which was titled Human Nature, Peace, and War in the Modern Era Since 1920. In the chapter, you break down and confront the classic narrative of human history that says war is basically human nature and explain that this is a perspective that is at least as old as Greek civilization. What made you think to challenge the common assumptions around war and human nature?





DPF: I tend to take a very holistic view, as does my wife, meaning we look at information interdisciplinarily as much as we can. Now, the common theme for that particular chapter is on history, but there is also the thesis that we could take a totally new perspective. The dominant perspective is just steeped in Western tradition and its basically not supported by evidence. That leads to the question, What evidence are you talking about? In the chapter you mention, we thought it would be good to just give a rather brief and understandable sampling of the various types of evidence that you can find across sub-disciplines, and across the disciplines that really support a totally new way of looking at humanity thats not in accordance with the traditional view. We look at evidence for nomadic foragers and ask whether or not they are warlike, and to what degree, and what sort of violence they practice. The reason anthropologists look at nomadic foragers is because we as a human species have lived as nomadic foragers for almost our entire existence.





In getting at human nature questions, theres going to be a mix of genes and environment, or nature and nurture and so forth to consider. We acknowledge epigeneticsthe term used to consider gene-environment interactionand in this case it plays into the way we live, the types of societies we lived in and the physical environments along with the social environments (both of which are important to take into consideration). So we consider, How are we in the so-called state of nature? The answer, shortly put, is that nomadic foragers are not particularly warlike. Theyre very egalitarian. They have a lot of space and low population density, and because they move around, they dont have material possessions. They dont really have much to fight over.





Then, of course, another line to look at is archaeology. In the traditional view, they usually acknowledge, somewhat begrudgingly, that theres no real evidence of warfare back beyond roughly 10,000 years ago, which is about the time agriculture started to come in. If you look at archaeology, the evidence really isnt there for war forever backward, as Brian Ferguson likes to put it.





What some of the proponents of the traditional view say is that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and I recall that was in the [IMI article with Brian Ferguson] and Ferguson explained that thats not a scientific claim because you cant disprove it, which I thought was a lovely point. There are also multiple sequences around the planet that show the origins of war, so if you think about it, the evidence sort of undermines this whole idea that war is ancient. If it had evolved long ago and always been with us, then why do we find archaeological sequences from Oaxaca, for example, in Mexico, or from several parts of the Northwest coast of America, or from the Kodiak Island area in Alaska and so on that show that theres a long period of nomadic foraging and no evidence of warfare; then people start settling down and they tend to settle down in specific places where there are resources? They develop surpluses, and this leads to social hierarchy, which is what Im calling complexity or the complexity complex.





Complexity is new. It has occurred, generally speaking, within the last 12,000 to 13,000 years, at different times and at different places. And its often much more recent than that. There may be a few cases that are older than that, but the pattern, which weve documented recently, is that when you have nomadic foragers that have become complex and settled down, youre much more likely to have war there. We can see these origins of war archaeologically, and they are recent, which is a whole other line of evidence in this chapter we wrote [Human Nature, Peace, and War in the Modern Era Since 1920].





Then, we can start looking at some other things, like what military science suggests. And there has not been a lot of research in this area, but there have been a few key studies that really are showing how humans and modern military or historical military situations are not really inclined to be so gung-ho for war. Its not the Hollywood movie that weve all been brainwashed with. On the contrary, if you start looking at the evidence during whatever war you picklets take World War II, for instance, there are numerous situations where German troops and U.S. troops understood that the enemy was right nearby, and decided, Were not going to shoot at you. You dont shoot at us. You go your way. Well go our way. There are many of these types of anecdotes, and there is also some more systematic evidence.





In one case that I like, somebody got the idea to examine all of the muskets collected off of the Gettysburg battlefield. I think they collected around 27,000 or so muskets. Many of the muskets were loaded twice, some were loaded thrice and a few were loaded 21 times or something absolutely crazy. Overall, 90 percent of all 27,000 muskets were loaded one or more times. If you work out the statistics around how long it takes to load a musket, and all the time there was a battle going, then if people are loading their musket and firing, youd expect only about 5 percent to have been loaded. Of course, we dont have videotapes of what was going on, exactly, but it points to the idea that there was a whole lot of reluctance to actually be shooting at the enemy. Now, thats just one case from our own U.S. history, and there are others. There is a wonderful, descriptive book written by a military man and historian who served in the U.S. army [during WWII and the Korean War] named S.L.A. Marshall called Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command (published in 1947). He did a series of interviews and found out that a vast majority of the combat troops were not firing at the enemy. Some were firing into the air. Some were firing into the bushes. Some were firing over the heads of the enemy. Many werent firing at all.





Most scientists are specialists who take on something specific and they try to research it carefully, and thats valuable. However, when you have larger questions around human nature and whether or not we are warlike, what makes sense is to draw from all types of information that you can find, from history and prehistory, to social organization and, in this case, military science. What were arguing in that chapter you mentioned is these multiple lines of evidence are all pointing in the same direction, and we are arguing that they demonstrate a new paradigm, or at least a new perspective, for looking at war, peace and human nature. Of course, were capable as a species of engaging in warfare, thats obviouswere not making some crazy argument that humans dont war, as we sometimes have been misunderstood as arguing, intentionally or not. Thats silly. Were just saying that were not necessarily inclined toward war, and especially across huge spans of our evolutionary history, there is an absence of war. Therefore, theres not something built into us, or hardwired into our genes evolutionarily, that pushes us toward warfare.





The application here is: If war is related to social organization, or socializing culture in a broader senseand other circumstances, like economic factors coming in and complexity, as I was just discussingthen you can design systems where you dont have warfare. So, here we look back to peace systems once again.





AMS: In looking at peace systems that already exist, youve factored in smaller-scale tribal societies such as Brazils Indigenous tribes and Aboriginal people in Australia. Then, you also look at broader peace systems like the EU. I find that to be significant, that non-warring systems can and do apply on a larger scale to developed-world nations and arent just curiosities of the ethnographic world, as you put it in your 2009 paper,  Anthropological Insights for Creating Non-Warring Social Systems . Would you expand a bit on the peace system that is the EU?





DPF: Historically, following World War II, people had just been through absolute hell. Just about every European had lost family, friends, colleagues, villagers. Even in small villages in rural Francealmost all of them have a monument to those killed in World War I and killed in World War IItheres a list of names, and sometimes you can tell from the surname, they were probably brothers who lost their lives. Everybody was touched by this. Right after World War II in Europe, food shortages and infrastructurebridges, railroad lines, and everythinghad been destroyed. France was on the verge of starvation, at one point and the Dutch went through a starving winter. For five or six years, in some way or another, everybody had suffered the horrors of war, close up and personal.





You had a public who just recently had gone through this catastrophe of a huge magnitude and understood the horrors of war, but they were not really catalyzed to do something creative until Jean Monnet , one of the founding fathers of the EU, came in with his message, sharing it with anybody who would listen. He was an influential and very clever man. He talked to people incessantly, he organized a think tank and he lobbied for a unified Europe. He was very explicit about why he was doing this: he was doing it to bring peace and prosperity. And the peace was the first part, after the horrible war. The prosperity was just something that would make sense, and it was easily sellable that you could have a much stronger economic basis and support people better through economic collaboration and cooperation. And all of this has proven to be true in the recent decades, since World War II.





The key idea that Monnet had early on was that we could make a supra-national organization that would be in charge of coal and steel, which were not only the foundational ingredients to warfare but also to a peaceful economy. He realized that across history, France and Germany, in particular, were often at the roots of wars in Europe and that they had access, literally along their border, to steel production and coal mining and so forth. He pulled this off through his magic of convincing, and also due to a willingness of people to try something new.





The first six countries that joined were the Benelux countries , along with France, Germany, and Italy, which was a good, solid core. The Brits were reluctantand of course, theyre the ones that have just exited [the EU]. When they tried to get the Brits into the union, they wanted special consideration. This might sound familiar after Brexit. Monnet conferred with the others and they said no, no special consideration for the Brits. Its, were all in, were all equal. Long story short, as this evolved into the common market, the Brits wanted in, and the EU founders had predicted that would happen.





As I look at the European Union, I see it as a huge success story. Im putting that label of peace system on it as I dont know of anybody else who has called it a peace system, but it absolutely is. Its a cluster of neighboring societies that dont make war with each other (ever since World War II, thats been the case). And, like some other peace systemsnot all, but somethey have engaged in military expeditions elsewhere (the French going into Mali a few years ago and contributing some troops and forces in Afghanistan and so forth). Im not making an argument that this is a peace system that is totally pacifist. They have their security forces and different countries, to different degrees, do engage in military expeditions elsewhere. But the key factor is theyve set up certain structures of economic interdependence, beginning with the coal and steel community and evolving to the Commonwealth, the economic unification of Europe, and then ultimately the European Union. And they are a strong economy. Theyre giving the United States and other countries that are strong a real run for their money, economically. Its a peace economy, in a way. You could look at it that way.





Another great example that overlaps with the European Union is the Nordic countries that are sometimes called Norden . I was reading recently about the first Nordic non-war story where, in 1905, Norway declared its independence from Sweden. Troops lined up on both sides of the border and it looked like Sweden was going to go to war with Norway to keep it as part of Sweden, but that didnt happen. This became the first Nordic non-war. This whole region, which somewhat overlaps with the EU (but not totally, not all nations are members of the EU), has been at peace for over 200 years now. There have been no wars within this little sub-peace system. And there have been conflicts, but they have evolved a different way of dealing with conflicts. The idea that there would be warfare within the Nordic countries now is basically considered absurd, just as the idea that there would be war in the European Union is considered absurd (Europe is the most peaceful region on the planet , as is thoroughly documented).





In the case of Norden, the peace system doesnt have a lot of political bite. It is structured, it exists, there are agreements made in order to be part of it, there are ministers from all countries represented. But its more of an agreement to cooperate because thats the right thing to do. There is a document thats available to download, from another entity that is supra-international, called the Nordic Council of Ministers, titled  New Nordic Peace: Nordic Peace and Conflict Resolution Efforts . This document blew me away, in a sense, because it basically argues that there is a Nordic Peace brand, internally and externally. Its pretty cool.





AMS: You mentioned peaceful societies, and systems of peace, have typically received scant attention from historians, scientists and the academic world. Why do you think this is? Why has the traditional view been so self-assured that war is always the go-to in human societies?





DPF: I think, in part, it is that if youre so enthralled with looking at conflict, war, aggression and so forth, you dont look for peace, so you dont really recognize it. This has been reflected in the records. One of my colleagues in anthropology, Leslie Sponsel at the University of Hawaii, crunched the numbers . He looked at given examples. He did things like, Lets look at all these journals and see how many articles are actually on conflict and how many are on peace. He found that these are really lopsided numbers, like 95 percent on conflict and 5 percent on peace. There are very few articles, relatively speaking, that deal with peace or nonviolence compared to all the ones on genocide and war and abuse and everything else. Theres this academic bias.





I think there is also a person on the street type of bias. Hollywood, of course, has come up with the formula that violence sells, and to my thinking, some of this is because our culture is accustomed to violence. If you have a culture thats so steeped in violence then, yeah, it sells. You create a self-fulfilling prophecy, generation after generation, by promoting violence as something thats interesting. Ill share two things that I think illustrate this idea. First: in one of his popular books, the very famous primatologist Frans de Waal (who is from the Netherlands originally, but hes lived most of his life in the United States, working as a professor) said that in the Netherlands, people like breasts but are afraid of guns; in the U.S. people are afraid of breasts but love guns. He was comparing the converse values, as a cultural outsider commenting on America.





The second thing Ill share is about one of the non-warring and extremely internally peaceful societies, the Ifaluk of Micronesia. They are out in the Pacific with a low population density, living on this atoll and having some interaction with neighboring islands. They are extremely peaceful, according to various anthropologists who have described them. Catherine Lutz is the most recent anthropologist that I know of to observe them. When she did her fieldwork there, people told her how the United States Navy came by on goodwill visits and anchored their ship off the atoll. They brought projectors onto the beach and set up a screen, and they showed the people these lethal Westerns and other movies that were popular at the timeI think were talking 1950s, 1960s.





Catherine Lutz discovered, when she did her fieldwork in the 80s, that people were traumatized by the films. It literally gave them trauma. Some of them said that they ran away in fear for their life. They refused to watch the movies after they saw what was going on. It led them to ask her questions like, So in your country, people really do kill each other? To which, of course, she answered yes. And they were just astounded at this. Three anthropologists that Ive read, all on this same Ifaluk culture from different time periods, say that they could find no evidence of any rapes or murders. The most serious aggression they saw was when one time a guy was really agitated and put his hand on the shoulder of another guy, which was considered most inappropriate. This non-warring, peaceful Ifaluk culture was traumatized when they saw our Westerns, with people having fistfights and shooting each other with guns (I guess they didnt quite know what a gun was but they could see the person fall over and the ketchup come out, Hollywood style). I think an extreme case like this just gives us some perspective to reflect back on our own society.





Why have peace systems not been studied? There have been different people who have used the term peace system, but theyve used it in different ways When I became really interested in peace systems, I looped in some colleagues, and, hence, we started to approach it systematically for the first time. In 2009, I wrote an article that started by laying out just three of the factors of peace systems in a descriptive way, with no statistics. Then I was invited by Science to write an article called Life Without War in 2012. And when one of the reviewers wrote back and said, This is a science journal, shouldnt these be hypotheses? I thought, thats brilliant. Of course, they should be hypotheses. So, all of a sudden it turned into, at that point, six different hypotheses as to what could contribute to a peace system. That led to the first step toward [the] study published in Nature in 2021





So, why are people not interested in peace? My hope, to be honest, is that this online publication in Nature, which is open access, will stir up a lot more interest in peace systemswhether the historical examples or the ethnographic examples. Whats unique about this approach that were taking is that people tend not to look at what the similarities are across all types of different cultures, from nomadic bands to modern states or regional entities like the European Union. Instead, people tend to look more locally, either with one pet theory or one model or in some sort of geographical regional context. Weve really bitten off a huge chunk and tried to look across time and across culture and compare peace systems with non-peace systems, to really try to find out what are the special things that are going on with positive peace and peace systems. Why has somebody not done this before? Fundamentally, I dont know. But I think it is an area that shows real potential.





AMS: In the Nature study, you discuss the idea that the purposeful promotion of peace system features may facilitate international cooperation necessary to address interwoven global challenges such as global pandemics and ocean pollution. Do you think that now is the time when people are ready to look to peace systems and more global, widespread cooperationbecause we need these new ways of thinking and looking at solutions to our global catastrophes?





DPF: Right. Here we are at this point in historywere facing global warming, just to take one example.  I thought it was very interesting, or almost ironic, the number of the peace systems that seem to come into being due to an external military threat of some sort. So, thats one ingredient here. Perhaps, some groups hang together because then there will be more of them and theyll be able to put up a common defense. Many times, its an external threat that causes people to adopt a peace system Global warming is an example of a real, external threat. The classic example is, of course, the idea that Martians will invade and all of Earth will come together and defend ourselves against the Martians, creating global cooperation. No, the Martian is us, actually, manifested through various things like the pandemics and not being able to deal with them effectively; or pollution of our oceans, this lifeblood; species lost. Were going to be in really bad shape if we have an equal ecosystem collapse regionally bit by bit, or more globally. These are all really, really serious threats. If we can only adjust our mentality a bit to redefine things to understand that, really, the only way forward for humanity is going to be to pull together and address these common threats to our species survival, or else the future is not looking good.





But one thing about the peace system model is it shows time and time again that across history, in different cultures and space, humans do realize the necessity of cooperating when faced with an external threat. So again, if we can just do a little bit of reframing the narrative, the external threat is not necessarily the Russians or whatever. No, its the conditions weve made and the conditions we face. So, we really have to pull together as a peace system.





AMS: Is there hope and potential, do you think, for global peace systems to become the more dominant model?





DPF: Yeah, of course, there is. You have to have some hope. In this case given our common, global threats, maybe well develop a global peace system. I dont know, but I hope so, or something similar to it. As we just talked about, I think its really necessary to have much greater international cooperation. We would solve so many problems if we could develop that expanded level of identification all the way up to humanity, all the way up to the planet level, and basically think about the Earth also, and all the creatures on it, as being part of the same bio life system. We need to get this, as in Buckminster Fullers book, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth . Were all on the same spaceship, so we cant be fouling our nest with pollution and so forth. Its just foolish to be fighting among ourselves, or as the old saying goes, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic . We need to actually be steering the ship away from icebergs. There is hope.





Another way to approach this, and Ive done this in some of my writings, is to understand just how flexible we humans really are and how huge changes really are the rule, not the exception. Things that people thought just never would change, have. If youre talking about the fall of the Soviet Union into pieces, the breaking down of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany, in some way these are sort of childs play compared to the larger magnitude of changes between our lives today and all of us running around as nomadic foragers for millennia upon millennia. Now here we find ourselves with mobile phones and everything else. The immensity of the changes that have occurred and can take place in the human future is huge.





As I see it, if youre going to put forth the pessimistic view that weve always been this way and always will be, that weve always made warwell, first of all, thats totally wrong. Thats just nearsightedness. And then if you follow that with a pessimistic view to the effect that this is just a mess were in and theres nothing we can do about it, well, thats wrong, too. People all the time have been making huge social movements and improvements. I also like to look at social improvements such as reducing the chance of war or successfully tackling climate change as two steps forward and one step back. You just have to maintain some optimism. Sometimes its two steps forward and four steps back. Okay. Thats a real bummer. Dont get too depressed. Just work on going forward again.





This article was produced by Local Peace Economy , a project of the Independent Media Institute.




[April 13, 2021] Thycotic and Centrify Merge to Become a Leading Cloud Privileged Identity Security Vendor

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Thycotic , a leading provider of privileged access management (PAM) solutions for more than 12,500 organizations worldwide, and Centrify , a leading provider of modern privileged access management solutions to over half of the Fortune 100, today announced that the companies have completed their previously-announced merger to form a leading cloud identity security vendor. The combined company has now begun integrations and will operate under the temporary name ThycoticCentrify. PAM, one of the fastest-growing areas in cyber-security today, is expected to double from $2.2B to $5.4B by 2025, according to KuppingerCole . Organizations struggle to keep up with the complexity of protecting the ever-growing number of privileged accounts created by the business requirements to move more infrastructure and services into the cloud. This cloud-centric business transformation has created more opportunities for cyber-attackers and driven a greater need for better control and compliance around these types of accounts. Backed by the financial strength of TPG Capital, the combined company brings together complementary product capabilities, best-in-class technology, and deep expertise to better enable and protect the modern, hybrid enterprise in an environment defined by ever-increasing, identity-based cyber-attacks. "The accelerated use of cloud services has skyrocketed in recent years, and we believe ThycoticCentrify is uniquely qualified to meet the evolvig identity security needs across all industries," said Art Gilliland, CEO, ThycoticCentrify. "Our combined organization will deliver comprehensive PAM solutions built in the cloud, for the cloud that our customers require to enable their business transformation."



The combined company will provide one of the most extensive platforms in the privileged identity security market. ThycoticCentrify's deployment speed and PAM-as-a-Service offerings, paired with its strong identity bridging capabilities and deep experience operating in highly complex environments, creates one of the broadest SaaS offerings that enables organizations of all sizes to meet the needs of their customers in an efficient, safe, and compliant way. ThycoticCentrify expects to debut a new brand in the second half of 2021, which references both companies' rich legacies and communicates modern identity security.

The merger's completion marks a time of significant momentum for ThycoticCentrify, following TPG Capital's acquisitions and subsequently-announced combination of the companies in the first quarter of 2021. With the ongoing support and resources of TPG Capital, ThycoticCentrify is well-positioned for continued growth. In connection with the closing, Insight Partners, Thoma Bravo, and Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) have taken minority investments in the business. For the most updated information about the merger and integration of Thycotic and Centrify into ThycoticCentrify, please visit the Merger Status Update web pages at www.thycotic.com or www.centrify.com . About ThycoticCentrify

ThycoticCentrify is a leading cloud identity security vendor, enabling digital transformation at scale. ThycoticCentrify's industry-leading privileged access management (PAM) solutions reduce risk, complexity, and cost while securing organizations' data, devices, and code across cloud, on-premises and hybrid environments. ThycoticCentrify is trusted by over 14,000 leading organizations around the globe including over half of the Fortune 100, and customers include the world's largest financial institutions, intelligence agencies, and critical infrastructure companies. Human or machine, in the cloud or on-premises, privileged access is secure with ThycoticCentrify. 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 Austin, Beijing, Boston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, and Singapore. 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 or @TPG on Twitter.  Thycotic and Centrify 2021. Centrify and Thycotic are registered trademarks of Centrify Corporation and Thycotic Software, respectively. Contact

ThycoticCentrify:

Brad Shewmake

brad.shewmake@centrify.com

858-735-8748 Allison Arvanitis

Lumina Communications

thycotic@luminapr.com

910-690-9482 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/thycotic-and-centrify-merge-to-become-a-leading-cloud-privileged-identity-security-vendor-301268150.html SOURCE Thycotic

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As non-essential retail, pubs, beauty salons and more reopen their doors after over four months, small businesses are more positive about their prospects than ever.

According to the latest study by the Federation of Small Businesses, two-thirds of respondents expect their performance to improve between April and June while the UK SBI confidence measure has risen to +27.3 for this quarter.

This is the highest level recorded by the index since the third quarter of 2014, when it hit +41, and is the first time it has since positive territory since the second quarter of 2018.

This week, non-essential retail, salons and pubs reopened their doors with new restrictions

The new figure is a dramatic increase on the period between October and December, when it stood at -49.3, and is largely down to more clarity on the future of the economy and plans for getting back to 'normality'.

Out of the 1,700 business owners surveyed, more than half (51 per cent) expect their revenues to increase over the coming three months, the highest proportion recorded since the summer of 2015.

Fewer than one in four (24 per cent) expect sales to fall, but this is still a significant change in attitude as the same figure stood at 84 per cent at this time last year.

Meanwhile 53 per cent of respondents aspire to grow their firms over the next 12 months, be that through more members of staff, product or service offering or expanding their reach.

The 'Glorious Twelfth': What can you do from April 12? (And what do we have to wait for?) All non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, as will hairdressers, beauty salons, gyms and swimming pools, with no group classes allowed

Pubs, restaurants and cafes can reopen for outdoor service, but will have to wait until at least May 17 to serve customers indoors

Mass testing to be available, with everyone urged to take two tests per week

New care home rules will allow residents to have two visitors, rather than just one

Self-catering accommodation, including campsites, can reopen, but hotels and B&Bs must remain closed until at least May 17

Shops will be allowed to stay open until 10pm, six days a week, in a bid to reduce crowding

The maximum number of people allowed to attend weddings and wakes will rise from six to 15

Public buildings can reopen, as can outdoor attractions such as theme parks and zoos

Controversial hospitality rules such as the 10pm curfew and requirement to buy a 'substantial meal' with alcohol will be dropped

Clothes shops will be allowed to reopen their changing rooms for the first time in more than a year Still banned Until May 17 at the earliest: Gatherings of up to 30 people outdoors, with the rule of six and two-household rule indoors; pubs and restaurants will reopen indoors; and controlled indoor events of up to 1,000 people or 50 per cent of a venue's capacity, whichever is lower, will be permitted Outdoor events will be allowed to have a capacity of 50 per cent or 4,000 people, whichever is lower; while special provisions will be made for large, outdoor, seated venues where crowds can be spaced out, with up to 10,000 people or 25 per cent of total seated capacity, whichever is lower Up to 30 people will be allowed to attend weddings, receptions, funerals, and commemorative events, including wakes. Indoor gatherings like exercise classes will be given the go ahead Until June 21 at the earliest: All legal limits on social contact will be lifted and nightclubs reopened.

This is also the highest share seen since the third quarter of 2019, while marking a 22 percentage point jump compared to the same period last year

However, with the job retention scheme starting to wind down over the coming months, one in seven (14 per cent) small firms with staff say they are likely to make some or all of their team redundant this quarter.

Mike Cherry, the national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: 'Its fantastic that our shops, hairdressers and gyms can get back to doing what they do best all over England from Monday this week, with some restrictions easing in other parts of the UK as well.

'The certainty provided by the Governments road-map is filling many small business owners with renewed confidence. We live in hope that the virus stays in retreat so the remaining indicative dates for unlocking can be met, enabling our vital night time economies, offices and travel and tourism businesses to get back to it as well.

'Its worrying to see such a sizeable proportion of employers fearing redundancies over the coming months.

'Initiatives like Kickstart, as well as incentives to take on apprentices and trainees, need to be delivered efficiently over the coming months to protect against a job market shock and support the young people that have disproportionately borne the brunt of rising unemployment.'

Cherry added that policymakers also needed to look at measures to encourage hiring activity. Bringing down costs such as employer national insurance contributions, which essentially serve as a jobs tax, would certainly help, he said.

He added: 'With emergency loan repayments now starting to bite, the Government should carefully consider routes to realising economic value from the facilities it has underwritten: an approach to repayment based on the student loan model and greater adoption of employee ownership trusts could both mark constructive ways forward.

'Lockdowns have caused our 23billion late payment crisis to deepen. As confidence returns, now is the time to bring forward reforms that will help audit committees gain full visibility of payment practices.

'As the economy shifts, support measures need to evolve - particularly where support for start-ups is concerned. The Help to Grow initiative should be urgently reformed in order to both widen its support remit and make it open to all small business owners as they start out, not just those that already have staff.'

'We're looking forward to welcoming everyone back!'

Like many small businesses reopening their doors, Roberto Pintus, general manager of The Varsity Hotel & Spa Cambridge, said he is very excited to open its rooftop terrace, coined as the 'most romantic location in the city'.

He said: 'Our outdoor space will initially only operate table service, with our seating adequately spaced and sanitiser stations installed throughout.

'We will be reopening in accordance with the governments safety instructions, and will be modifying our operations to keep everyone safe, whilst ensuring guests still have an enjoyable and memorable time.

The Varsity Hotel in Cambridge is home to the popular Roof Terrace which reopened yesterday

From this week, guests will also be able to access the hotel's spa treatments and gym. It is operating on a first-come, first-serve basis, but Roberto said the response has been very positive so far and he has received a number of enquiries about coming to visit already.

He added: 'The lockdown has been tough and challenging for us all but weve been pleased with the support of the furlough scheme in that weve managed to keep all our staff.

'We hope to see increased government support in terms of financial assistance, so we can continue to maintain the jobs at the hotel, as well as jobs with our existing suppliers.'
VANCOUVER, BC and ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. ("Liberty" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCAN) (OTCQB: LDDFF) (FRANKFURT: LD2), a leading concealed weapons detection company, is pleased to announce that it has signed a license agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute ("Battelle") to develop next-generation checkpoint screening solutions.

Liberty has licensed the millimeter wave-based, High Definition Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) body scanner and shoe scanner technologies as part of its ongoing relationship with Battelle. HD-AIT will enhance security screening at airports today by providing a next-generation technology platform for threat detection. The HD-AIT technology received early-stage funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while the shoe screener received an R&D Magazine 100 award in 2020 and is currently in testing and evaluation.

Both the body and shoe scanner technologies were developed by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), one of eight U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories managed by Battelle.

"The aviation security market needs new technologies that can address emerging threats while also offering efficient passenger throughput. We will continue the development of HD-AIT by leveraging the experience of our multi-disciplined engineering team as we see many parallels to the development of our HEXWAVE platform, a contactless security solution for concealed weapons detection in high-volume foot traffic areas," said Liberty CEO Bill Frain.

This licensing agreement will enhance Liberty's growing portfolio of security solutions, addressing the need for advanced technology at aviation checkpoints as well as for other commercial applications.

"The Liberty Defense team provides the leadership, engineering skills, and experience in the security industry that we seek to bring technologies to the defense of our nation. We look forward to teaming with Liberty to advance the development of these important platforms," said PNNL's Commercialization Manager Kannan Krishnaswami.

"Liberty is committed to protecting communities and preserving peace of mind through next-generation security solutions. The Battelle solutions are an ideal complement to our current technologies. We look forward to working closely with their team to deploy these solutions," added Frain.

Battelle is a global research and development organization committed to science and technology for the greater good, serving the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 22,000 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide, including eight national laboratories for which Battelle has a significant management role on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the United Kingdom. With approximately $6 billion in annual revenues, Battelle has been a source of mission-ready solutions for decades that protect people, secure the homeland, and save lives.

On Behalf of Liberty Defense

Bill Frain

CEO & Director

About Liberty Defense

Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. (TSXV: SCAN, OTCQB: LDDFF, FRANKFURT: LD2) provides advanced security solutions for concealed weapons detection in high volume foot traffic areas. Liberty has secured an exclusive license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a technology transfer agreement, for patents related to active 3D radar imaging technology, which is packaged into Liberty's HEXWAVE product. HEXWAVE is discrete, modular and scalable, and provides layered defense with stand-off detection capability. This is intended to provide a means to proactively counter evolving threats. HEXWAVE uses active 3D radar imaging and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect metal and non-metal firearms, knives, explosives and other threats. Liberty is committed to protecting communities and preserving peace of mind through superior security detection solutions. Learn more: LibertyDefense.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Although Liberty believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information in this press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Liberty. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Liberty's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history of the parties; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general development, market and industry conditions. The parties undertake no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of their securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable).

Liberty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Liberty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Liberty has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Liberty as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Liberty does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

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 press release.

SOURCE Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd.

Related Links

www.libertydefense.com


Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia's second-most populous state Victoria on Saturday reported a small increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases as authorities hunted for the source of a highly infectious variant that has been detected in a new cluster. Five new local cases were reported, taking Victoria's total to 70 in the latest outbreak, including one recovered case, as the state capital Melbourne entered its second weekend of a hard lockdown, due to end on June 10. Saturday's count was up from four new locally acquired cases on Friday.
Senior Executive with vast CPG Experience to Lead Sales Function, Driving Growth for the Rritual product line throughout USA

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Rritual Superfoods Inc. (CSE: RSF) (FSE: 0RW) ("Rritual" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the Company has appointed Sarton Molnar-Fenton to lead the Company's sales function as VP Sales USA, developing go to market and growth strategies to maximize results across multiple channels including, mass retail, grocery, convenience, club and through sales and distribution partners.

"Sarton is a tremendous addition to our team, bringing top tier CPG sales experience, from emerging to large brands, to elevate Rritual's ability to execute on its aggressive sales campaign," said Mr. David Kerbel, Rritual CEO. "Having worked with Sarton previously at Celsius, the drive, relationships and results oriented mindset she brings represent the ideal skillset for Rritual to execute its sales strategy at the absolute highest level going forward."

Sarton Molnar-Fenton Career Highlights:

The JET Collection - Executive Vice President Sales and Managing Partner

Delivered over $100 million in incremental sales, securing over 100,000 new points of distribution.

Delivered over $100 million in incremental sales, securing over 100,000 new points of distribution. Tribe Hummus (Nestle) - Senior Executive National Sales Manager

Managed $20M territory with P&L responsibilities, leading all accounts; including Ahold Delhaize, Tops, Trader Joe's, C&S, Safeway, Albertsons, Publix, Wegmans and Kroger. Achieved average all-commodity volume (ACV) of $95 on all core items.

Managed $20M territory with P&L responsibilities, leading all accounts; including Ahold Delhaize, Tops, Trader Joe's, C&S, Safeway, Albertsons, Publix, Wegmans and Kroger. Achieved average all-commodity volume (ACV) of $95 on all core items. The Danone Company - Senior District Manager

Developed processes to maximize sales execution across the organization, awarded 2013 most improved region for Danone's #1 initiative - PUMA execution.

Developed processes to maximize sales execution across the organization, awarded 2013 most improved region for Danone's #1 initiative - PUMA execution. Celsius Inc. - Area Sales Manager

Grew sales with all key accounts, including Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Roche Bros, Xtramart, 7-11, Tedeschi's, CVS, Walgreen's, BJ's, Costco and Walmart.

About Rritual

Rritual is a functional superfood company that creates plant-based elixirs, which support immunity, focus and relaxation. The company is poised to dominate a segment where demand and sales are growing exponentially. Under the executive leadership with over 100 years of CPG pedigree, Rritual is launching in North America in Q2 2021 as the company positions itself as a leader in the functional health and wellness industry. Rritual's superfood elixirs can be found online at www.rritual.com.

Follow Rritual on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

For further information please contact:

David Kerbel - Chief Executive Officer and Director

Investor Relations:

Edge Communications Group

E-mail: investors@wearerritual.com

Telephone: 604-394-2082

Functional Foods Market

According to Grandview Research*, it is estimated that the global functional food market is projected to reach $275 billion by 2025, growing at 7.9% each year with consumers putting more emphasis on health and wellness.

*https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-functional-foods-market

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements") that relate to Rritual's current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "expects", "will continue", "is anticipated", "anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans", "forecast", "projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company's plans to leverage third party manufacturing and logistics, the Company's broader retail distribution plans and the Company's other plans, focus and objectives.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Rritual's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact and progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors set forth under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated February 26, 2021 and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Rritual undertakes no obligation 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 law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Rritual to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80244
Kent State University student Marz Anderson gets his Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination from Kent State nurse Beth Krul in Kent, Ohio, Thursday, April 8, 2021. U.S. colleges hoping for a return to normalcy next fall are weighing how far they should go in urging students to get the COVID-19 vaccine, including whether they should  or legally can  require it. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
SAN MATEO (BCN)

A crime spree that started with a purse snatching Saturday evening in San Mateo ended about 14 hours later with the arrest of two men police said committed multiple robberies and a burglary, stole one car and used stolen credit cards to make multiple fraudulent purchases.

San Mateo police are searching for a third man involved in the crimes and arrested 20-year-old Richard Farries and 18-year-old Okusitino Tau shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday. Both men are San Mateo residents and were arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes, including robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of stolen property and possession of burglary tools.

Farries was also arrested on suspicion of being a parolee at large, and Tau was also arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes, including being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a large capacity ammunition magazine, possession of a handgun with altered serial number, possession of a short-barreled rifle and committing a felony while out on bail.

Police said Tau was out on bail for two street robberies he committed in October 2019.

The crime spree began at about 7:45 p.m. Saturday, when the suspects were in a vehicle on Laurel Avenue and pulled up next to an elderly female pedestrian and grabber her purse, police said.

The vehicle then fled east on Seventh Avenue. The woman was uninjured.

Later that same evening, the woman contacted police to report her credit cards had been used in Belmont, San Carlos and in Hayward.

Officers obtained security video footage from the businesses where the credit cards were used and were able to obtain descriptions of three people and the suspect vehicle, a gold minivan.

The next morning at 7:20 a.m., police issued an alert for a robbery and car theft by suspects in a vehicle that matched the description of the one driven by the purse snatchers.

At 8:27 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a report on Ridgecrest Terrace for the theft of a vehicle belonging to the daughter of the woman whose purse was snatched the night before. Police learned later that a spare key to the daughter's Honda was in the stolen purse.

Video footage from a private surveillance camera recorded the same gold minivan involved in the car theft.

A report of an auto burglary in San Mateo came in at 9:13 a.m. with the same gold minivan involved, and 23 minutes later another robbery was reported in Millbrae involving the same car.

The gold minivan was spotted by police shortly before 10 a.m. and officers initiated a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued until it pulled into a driveway in the 300 block of North Idaho Street.

Police took into custody the two men in the car, which had multiple purses and burglary tools in plain sight. The purse belonging to the first victim of the crime spree was located inside one of two houses occupied by the suspects.

During the search, officers also found property likely belonging to more victims, a handgun with shaved off serial number, and a short-barreled AR-15 gun with an extended magazine.

Copyright  2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.

Copyright  2021 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Federal regulators recommended halting the use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. after a handful of rare but serious adverse reactions involving blood clotting were reported earlier this week.

In number, the cases arent statistically significant. There are six known cases to date out of more than 6.8 million doses of the single-dose vaccine administered across the country.

But the parallels between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and another in use elsewhere around the world -- developed by AstraZeneca -- have given federal regulators reason to pause for more investigation.

Although its an exceedingly small number, it also has a pattern similar to what were hearing about in Europe and Canada with the AstraZeneca vaccine, said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a vascular cardiologist at Michigan Medicine who specializes in blood clots.

With early similarities, its prudent to pause and investigate to see if theres a link so we know how to safely treat patients and administer vaccines to get this pandemic under control.

Related: Michigan will pause use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, following CDC guidance

The Johnson & Johnson shot is a viral vector vaccine, which uses an adenovirus that causes the common cold, engineered to carry the genetic code of SARS-CoV-2, which teaches the immune system to detect and fight the coronavirus.

Its a similar type of vaccine as that developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which is used in more than 20 countries across the globe, excluding the U.S.

Earlier this year, AstraZenecas vaccine was suspended in several countries in Europe and Canada following reports of rare but serious blood clotting, according to reports from AP.

The European Unions medical regulators found 18 blood clotting cases similar to the U.S. cases, out of more than 20 million vaccinations. After analyzing their findings, the World Health Organization said there was no available data to suggest an overall increase in clotting conditions. While it noted the rare severe outcomes, it said the observed rates were fewer than expected naturally.

Its very similar to what was seen in Europe with another vaccine, said Dr. Peter Marks, director for the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. So we have to take the time to understand this complication and address it properly.

Asked about the similarities between the class of vaccine for the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca shots on Tuesday, Marks said he couldnt make a broad statement but noted the similarities in type of vaccine.

He did note that out of the more than 180 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna administered in the U.S. to date, there havent been any reports of the same combination of blood clotting in the brain and low blood platelet counts.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made differently than the previously mentioned shots. They use messenger RNA, or mRNA, which instructs the cells to make the spike protein found in SARS-CoV-2, and then instructs the immune system to detect and fight it.

We have not heard about blood clots associated with either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines so if people are scheduled to get a vaccine with one of those, I strongly recommend getting one, Barnes said. Overall, we know COVID is a significant public health crisis. We know it in Michigan better than most.

In Michigan, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up about 200,000 -- or less than 6% -- of the 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered to date. Michigan health officials said they are not aware of any cases of blood clots in Michigan residents who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Read more on MLive:

More than 3.3M Michiganders have had first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Michigan restaurants would be shut down under GOP bill that sought to tie COVID-19 restrictions to metrics

Among 1.7 million fully vaccinated Michiganders, state identifies small number of COVID-19 infections and deaths

Michigan reports 4,000+ coronavirus hospitalizations for first time since December
A New Braunfels technology firm is making moves to go public.

TaskUs, Inc. filed forms with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12 outlining an initial public offering of company shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

The company will trade under the symbol TASK, but details on the number of available shares, price range and timing arent yet available, according to the filing.

TaskUs has been a great New Braunfels partner, said Chester Jenke, a vice president at New Braunfels Economic Development Corp. They have overachieved every estimated commitment that they committed to  capital investment, employees and wages for their employees.

The plan outlines two types of common stocks: class A and B. The companys co-founders, Bryce Maddock and Jaspar Weir, along with affiliates of the Blackstone Group Inc., a New York-based investment management firm, will hold all class B common stock.

On ExpressNews.com: Rackspace filing spawns sale speculation, stock price spike

Theyll also hold a majority of the voting power in the election of companys directors.

TaskUs calls itself a business processing outsourcer. It provides companies with tech services such as customer support, content security, consulting and artificial intelligence operations.

Its clients include many big-name tech companies such as Netflix, Shopify, Zoom, Uber, Doordash, Mailchimp and Robinhood.

Founded in 2008, the company posted $478 million in revenue in 2020. The firm has more than 23,600 employees at 18 locations in seven countries.

The majority of the companys employees, more than 15,200, are in the Philippines.

On ExpressNews.com: Aircraft maintenance firm lands in Kerrville

Since opening its first San Antonio office in 2017, TaskUs has significantly expanded its operations and employs more than 1,500 people across the San Antonio region, said Tom Long, chief development officer at the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. From their New Braunfels headquarters, we are thrilled to see TaskUs reaching new organizational goals, most recently filing for IPO.

New Braunfels is a critical ally in our regional economic development efforts and an incredible community for business investment.

The companys New Braunfels location has nearly 510 employees at its 41,150-square-foot facility called Galaxis on Independence Drive.

Its New Braunfels growth stems from a deal with New Braunfels and Comal County, who chipped in about $300,000 in incentives, including an employee development grant as well as real estate and sales tax breaks, according to a 2018 Express-News report.

The company had been outgrowing its San Antonio footprint, and with the downtown area falling short on needed employee parking, TaskUs had been looking around for room to grow, a TaskUs executive said at the time.

In San Antonio, the firm employs roughly 1,160 employees in a 77,400-square-foot facility dubbed Lizzys Clubhouse at Rackspace Technologys headquarters in Windcrest.

Goldman Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan are managing the companys IPO.

Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. brandon.lingle@express-news.net
After cargo pallets containing Y20 smartphones caught fire at airport this week, a major cargo airline has reportedly announced a ban on phones.

According to Android Authority, Chinese smartphone maker has confirmed that it is investigating the cause of the fire.

"We noticed that a shipment of goods, some of which were Vivo products, got burned on the parking apron of International Airport on April 11," Android Authority quoted the company as saying.

"We have paid high attention and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause," it added, saying it would keep the media and public informed of any development.

The report, citing The Standard, said that the cargo fire occurred on the airport's apron just before the pallets containing Vivo Y20 phones and associated accessories were due to be loaded into a Air Cargo plane bound for Thailand.

Several industry outlets have since reported that Hong Kong Air Cargo has banned Vivo devices and two air freight companies until further notice, the report said.

The cause of the fire is not known yet, but lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones can cause fires if they are defective or damaged, it added.

--IANS

vc/bg

(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.)
ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greenwood Commercial Real Estate Group (Greenwood CRE), a national commercial real estate services platform led by experienced African American commercial real estate professionals launched in multiple cities across the US. Greenwood CRE is licensed in or has affiliates in 16 states with offices in Atlanta, Washington DC, Detroit, and upcoming offices in Denver, Philadelphia, and Dallas while working on operations in several other major U.S. cities.

About Greenwood CRE

Greenwood CRE features best-in-class corporate real estate expertise gained from working with some of the US largest companies paired with the national coverage required to deliver results.

Greenwood CREs focus is on office, industrial, retail, and land transaction services in the local markets it serves, and also for larger corporate users with multiple locations. Professional services include real estate portfolio strategy, location analytics, transaction management, space expansion/contraction, lease administration, and acquisition/disposition of leased and owned space and land. Greenwood CRE helps it clients to be more profitable and successful through informed real estate decision making.

The founding Principals each worked for and excelled at some of the world's premier commercial real estate firms including JLL, CBRE, Studley, Staubach, Avison Young, JCI Global Workplace Solutions, Duke Realty, and Grubb & Ellis.

The Greenwood CRE name is a salute to the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was called the Black Wall Street of the early 20th Century, an inspiring symbol of the economic potential of community collaboration and empowerment.

To learn more about Greenwood CRE, please visit www.greenwoodcre.com

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BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn.  A white police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb resigned Tuesday, as did the citys police chief  moves that the mayor said he hoped would help heal the community and lead to reconciliation after two nights of protests and unrest.

The resignations from Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon came two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sundays shooting, which happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said he was appreciative that Potter submitted her resignation but that he had not asked for it nor accepted it. It wasnt immediately clear what that would mean.

A decision on whether prosecutors will charge Potter could come as soon as Wednesday.

Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser! However, protesters and Wrights family members say theres no excuse for the shooting and it shows how the justice system is tilted against Blacks, noting Wright was stopped for expired car registration and ended up dead.

Elliott said at a news conference that the city had been moving toward firing Potter when she resigned. He said he hoped her resignation would bring some calm to the community, but that he would keep working towards full accountability under the law.

We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family deserves that, Elliott said.

Activists who attended the news conference called for sweeping changes to the Brooklyn Center Police Department and sharply criticized the acting police chief, Tony Gruenig, for not yet having a plan.

Elliott said the department has about 49 police officers, none of whom live in Brooklyn Center. He said he didnt have information on racial diversity at hand but that we have very few people of color in our department.

The modest suburb just north of Minneapolis has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino.

Wright was stopped for having expired license plates. Police then tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Body camera footage released Monday shows Wright struggling with police when Potter shouts, Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and Potter says, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner.

Protests began within hours.

In her one-paragraph letter of resignation, Potter  a 26-year veteran  said, I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately.

Wrights father, Aubrey Wright, told ABCs Good Morning America that he rejects the explanation that Potter mistook her gun for her Taser.

I lost my son. Hes never coming back. I cant accept that. A mistake? That doesnt even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I cant accept that, he said.

Chyna Whitaker, mother of Dauntes son, said at a news conference that she felt police stole my sons dad from him.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said in a statement Tuesday that no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.

Prosecutors in Hennepin County, where the shooting occurred, said they have referred the case to nearby Washington County -- a practice county attorneys in the Minneapolis area adopted last year in handling police deadly force cases. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput told WCCO-AM that he had received information on the case from state investigators and hoped to have a charging decision on Wednesday. Orput did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press.

Elliott, the mayor, called for the governor to move the case to the attorney general to prosecute.

Asked to comment, John Stiles, spokesman for the attorney generals office, said the attorney general has confidence in Orputs review of the case.

Ben Crump, the Wright familys attorney, spoke outside the Minneapolis courthouse where a fired police officer is on trial in Floyds death. Crump compared Wrights death to Floyds, who was pinned down by police when they tried to arrest him for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 at a neighborhood market last May.

Daunte Wright was not a threat to them, Crump said. Was it the best decision? No. But young people dont always make the best decisions. As his mother said, he was scared.

Potter has experience with investigations into police shootings. She was the police union president and one of the first officers to respond after Brooklyn Center police fatally shot a man who allegedly tried to stab an officer with a knife in 2019, according to a report from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office.

After medics arrived, she told the two officers who shot the man to get into separate squad cars, turn off their body cameras, and not to speak to each other. She accompanied two other officers involved in the shooting while investigators interviewed them.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor. When protesters wouldnt disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away. Forty people were arrested. Thirteen arrests were made in neighboring Minneapolis, including for burglaries and curfew violations, police said.

In Portland, Oregon, police said a Monday night demonstration over the shooting turned into a riot, with some in the crowd throwing rocks and other projectiles at officers.

--The Associated Press
(Newser)  Michigan's current coronavirus outbreak is the worst one in the US, and now the state's governor and the White House are in what CNN refers to as a "standoff" (or, if you prefer the New York Times' take, "at loggerheads") over vaccines. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has made multiple requests for more vaccines, all of which federal health authorities have rejected. The governor, a close ally of President Biden's and even a one-time vice presidential contender, even called Biden directly and talked to him for 20-30 minutes about the issue. But health authorities disagree with Whitmer that increased vaccinations are the way to combat the surge. "The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, to go back to where we were last spring, last summer, and to shut things down," said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Monday.

story continues below

In the coming weeks, variants including the B117 variant driving Michigan's surge could cause similar surges in other states, another coronavirus adviser to Biden added. "So our ability to vaccinate people quickly in each of those states, rather than taking vaccines and shifting it to playing whack-a-mole, isn't the strategy that public health leaders and scientists have laid out," he said. While Whitmer on Monday did extend current workplace-related restrictions another six months, her advisers have said that due to a state Supreme Court's ruling last October, she lacks the authority to order the state locked down, as she did (quite controversially) early in the pandemic. She did, last week, call for a two-week pause on indoor dining, youth sports, and in-person high school classes, but per the Detroit Free Press, most of the entities involved in those activities appear to be ignoring those recommendations. (Michigan is one of just a few states driving new COVID-19 infections across the US.)
Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus speaks during a press conference in Tucson, Ariz., on June 24, 2020. (Josh Galemore/Arizona Daily Star via AP)

Biden Announces 2 Trump Critics to Head CBP, USCIS

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced two critics of former President Donald Trump as his nominees to lead border law enforcement and the immigration services.

Biden has nominated Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Chris Magnus to be Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner and Ur Mendoza Jaddou as Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). CBP is responsible for securing the border, countering terrorism, and combating transnational crime. USCIS handles legal immigration services.

The White House pointed out that Magnus has extensive experience in addressing immigration issues because of Tucsons proximity to the border.

Magnus publicly criticized the Trump administrations policy to punish sanctuary cities that refused to cooperate with federal authorities, arguing that the policy damaged relations between law enforcement and migrant communities, and that this was what would make cities more dangerous.

Magnus also received national attention when a photo of him in Richmond, California, went viral in December 2014. At the time, he was holding a Black Lives Matter sign while in uniform. He later argued that his action conveyed a message the police department wanted to build bridges and strengthen relationships with persons of color.

Ur Mendoza Jaddou, an immigration expert, was also a Trump critic. She served as chief counsel to USCIS during the Obama administration. Most recently, she was director of the non-profit Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Watch, which was critical of the Trump administrations immigration policies.

DHS Watch is a project of Americas Voice, which advocates for freedom and opportunity for illegal immigrants, including undocumented minors, in America. Americas Voice states that its priority goal is to win reforms that put 11 million undocumented Americans on a path to full citizenship.

The number of illegal immigrants trying to cross the southern border has reached record highs under the Biden administration, which is facing growing pressure to fix the issue.

Last month, Border Patrol apprehended 172,000 illegal aliens, according to CBP data. Among those, 18,600 were unaccompanied minorsthe largest monthly number ever recorded. An additional 1,000 per day is estimated to have evaded capture.

Immigrants who arrived illegally from across the Rio Grande river from Mexico make their way along a track towards a processing checkpoint set up by Border Patrol agents in the border city of Roma, Texas, on March 27, 2021. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead diplomatic efforts to address the root causes of the surge in illegal immigrants, and work with those nations [El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras] to accept the returnees and enhance migration enforcement at their borders.

Meanwhile, Bidens border czar Roberta Jacobson announced her resignation last week.

Among Bidens Wednesday nominations, John Tien, an Asian American, was tapped as Deputy Secretary of DHS; Jen Easterly as head Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency; Jonathan Meyer as the DHS General Counsel; and Robert Silvers as DHS Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans.

All nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate.

I am excited that President Biden has nominated an extraordinary group of individuals for critical leadership positions in the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in a statement. I look forward to working with the Senate in support of their swift confirmation.

The Associated Press, Charlotte Cuthbertson, and Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
As the nation slowly begins to heal from pandemic-driven circumstances, Negative Population Growth (NPG) has published a new Forum paper discussing the number of illegal immigrants in the United States. Titled Yale Researchers Debunk the Myth of 11 Million Illegal Immigrants, author Edwin S. Rubenstein begins by spotlighting two widely accepted truths: a. there are currently 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and b. Pew Research Center (PRC) is the source of this information. He then introduces the reader to a new study published by three Yale-affiliated researchers, which suggests all the perceptions and arguments based on that figure [11 million] have a faulty foundation; the actual population of undocumented immigrants residing in the country is much larger, perhaps twice as high, and has been underestimated for decades. Adding, Applying their mathematical models to a range of demographic and immigration data, Yale researchers estimated that 22.1 million illegal immigrants resided in the U.S. in 2016.

Although the difference (10.1 million!) between PRCs count and the Yale study is significant, Rubenstein notes the problem lies within the Census data itself due to their formula, which accounts for missing information. Focusing mainly on Yales work, Rubenstein addresses the inherent value of the Yale study, stating: The Yale researchers are not political. Nor are they particularly focused on immigration policy. They are professional statisticians interested in overcoming the challenges posed by people who do not want to be counted. Delving further into Yales method of analysis, Rubenstein says: As newcomers to the illegal alien estimation business, the Yalies eschew methodology long embraced by Pew and other inside-the-beltway think tanks. For example: they do not rely on Census surveys. Their numbers are based on operational data, such as deportations and Border Patrol apprehensions, and demographic data, including death rates and immigration rates.

Some similarities exist between PRC and the Yale study, Rubenstein observed, saying: Nevertheless, there are key points of agreement between Yale and Pew. As seen in the graphic, both groups agree that the greatest growth of the undocumented population occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s. Both find that the population size has been relatively stable since 2008.

Rubenstein also outlines the Reagan era Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). Paying close attention to the dismal statistic attesting to the lackluster enforcement of IRCA nationwide, he goes on to say: In truth, no President, no matter how dedicated to immigration control, can match the overarching power of the immigration bureaucracy  the folks who actually enforce the law Or are supposed to. The open secret behind the IRCA amnesty was the unspoken F-word: FRAUD.

After touching on the infrastructure of the IRCA, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service, and subsequently the Department of Homeland Security, Rubenstein circles back to his overall point, concluding: There is fraud, and there is fraud. [David] North speaks to the fraud perpetrated by illegal aliens. A different and potentially more dangerous fraud, occurs when government officials understate the size, and abandon efforts to control, the amnestied population. When the Reagan amnesty was first announced, the government estimated that about 1 million illegals would be eligible. The number turned out to be 3 million. Will amnesty for Pews 11 million turn out to be amnesty for 33 million? Or: will Yales 22 million become amnesty for (GULP) 66 million? Stay tuned.

Founded in 1972, NPG is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to educating the American public and political leaders regarding the damaging effects of population growth. We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment. NPG advocates the adoption of its Proposed National Population Policy, with the goal of eventually stabilizing U.S. population at a sustainable level  far lower than todays. We do not simply identify the problems  we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on Twitter @npg_org.


A regional coronavirus vaccine clinic in the Merrimack Valley announced Tuesday its allowing roughly 250 people who were originally scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to get Pfizer-BioNTechs instead following news from the state and federal government they would be pressing pause on the use of the formers.

The Lower Merrimack Valley Regional Collaborative (LMVRC) was notified by the Massachusetts Department of Public Heath (DPH) that federal authorities have called for a suspension on the use of Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID-19 vaccine effective immediately.

This is an unfortunate situation, but as always we will abide by the guidance and information we receive from our state and federal health partners, said Amesbury Fire Chief and Health Director Ken Berkenbush.

DPHs notification came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a joint statement saying they are reviewing the cases of six women ages 18 to 48 who developed a rare and severe type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after being vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson shot.

Massachusetts public health department has since ordered all vaccine providers in the state to press pause on administering Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, noting the decision was made out of an abundance of caution as the CDC and FDA review the six blood clot cases, none of which are believed to be connected to the commonwealth.

The federal agencies said the pause on the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will last a matter of days.

Those who have scheduled appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and have questions were urged by officials in Massachusetts to contact the vaccine provider they booked with directly. Individuals should contact their physician if they already received the shot and have concerns, authorities said.

Roughly 2,000 people have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the LMVRCs clinics in Amesbury and West Newbury. The collaborative said its expecting guidance from state and federal authorities on any advisories or information needed to send to those patients.

An LMVRC clinic scheduled for Thursday, during which roughly 250 people were set to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, has since been canceled. However, all the registered registered patients will be contacted and given the opportunity to book shots of the Pfizer vaccine during a session this weekend. No person will lose their opportunity to receive a vaccine, officials noted.

The vaccine collaborative is made up of the communities of Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rowley, Salisbury and West Newbury.

We are pleased that we will be able to hold our patients faultless and ensure that all patients who would have received a Janssen vaccine this week will have the chance to receive a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, Berkenbush said.

The Merrimack Valley collaborative isnt the first clinic in the state to cancel Johnson & Johnson vaccinations. The Behavioral Health Network in Holyoke also called off its COVID-19 vaccine clinic Tuesday and instead will hold a clinic Wednesday at 417 Liberty St. in Springfield, where it will offer doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Related Content:
At the outset of a Senate campaign, a Missouri leader targets the White House and an immigration crisis that's actually bigger than most voters understand.

Just a bit more context: Of all migrants to the U.S., 40% come from Asia, and out of 18 million Asian Americans in the country, 1.7 million are undocumented.

This time around we're somewhat impressed with the GOP for blaming elected officials rather than demonizing tragic youngster migrants or concocting billionaire conspiracies.

Read more . . .
The defacing of the Avicenne cultural centre and mosque in the French city of Rennes over the weekend underscores the dangerous implications of the anti-Muslim atmosphere being whipped up by the government of Emmanuel Macron, and its politically criminal character.

The caretaker of the centre found the graffiti at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning as prayers were taking place. The graffiti included anti-Muslim slogans like No to Islamisation, as well as fascist and royalist statements, such as immigration kills, The crusades will begin again, Long live the king and Catholicism religion of the state, as well as Catholic crosses and the royalist fleur-de-lis.

Paris - Mosquee de Paris Moschee Camii (muratc3/Creative Commons)

After news of the attack broke nationally, the government issued a hypocritical condemnation. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted that these anti-Muslim inscriptions are unacceptable. He went to Rennes on Sunday afternoon, where he stated that the president has asked me to inform the leaders of this association  of the disgust that these inscriptions inspire in us. All religious houses, all places of religious inspiration are welcome in our country and we owe protection to our Muslim fellow citizens just as to our Christian or Jewish fellow citizens.

These statements should fool no one. It is the Macron governments anti-Muslim campaign that is creating the political atmosphere directly emboldening openly fascist forces like those who carried out the attack in Rennes. Darmanin himself has played a leading role in this effort.

Among the far-right slogans scrawled on the Rennes mosque was Greens = traitors, alluding to the Macron governments ongoing campaign against a local Greens mayor in the Alsace-Lorraine regions city of Strasbourg.

Last month, the mayor voted to allocate $2.5 million toward the construction of a mosque. The Alsace-Lorraine region is not subject to the 1905 secularism law banning state funding of religious buildings, which went into effect when Alsace-Lorraine was not part of France. The region has previously allocated funding toward Jewish and Christian churches, in larger amounts.

On March 23, Darmanin intervened to build a national political campaign around denunciations of funding for the construction of a mosque. It was centred on the claim that the Greens-led council was supporting political Islam, and implicitly allowing foreign powers, notably Turkey, which has ties to the association building the mosque, to conduct political interference in France.

Darmanin denounced the Greens as a party that is complacent towards radical Islam. Marlene Schiappa, the junior minister for citizenship, tweeted that here, clearly, there is an irresponsibility on the part of the Greens.  In the facts, there is a complicity with political Islam in any case.

More broadly, the Macron government has led an ever more open campaign restricting the rights of Frances Muslim population and promoting an anti-Muslim atmosphere. On Friday, police in Angers reported that they had arrested a 24-year-old man supporting Nazi ideology, after a report that he had threatened to conduct an attack on the Mans mosque and kill multiple people. Police discovered multiple arms where he was living, including a pump-action shotgun. He admitted to making the threat and stated that he had a hatred for Arabs.

Macron is currently seeking to pass the anti-separatism law, so named to refer to the supposed danger of Islamic separatism, which it later renamed the law protecting Republican principles.

The law would establish a Charter of principles that Muslim associations are legally obliged to sign, pledging their allegiance to the state. It provides vast powers to the government over religious and all other associations, such as political associations, including the power to dissolve them based on the conduct of individual members. Political discussion inside mosques is banned, and statements denouncing the French state as racist are declared to be defamatory.

Amnesty International last month denounced the anti-separatism law as being incompatible with fundamental democratic rights. Katja Rouge of Amnesty stated that conditioning public funding toward associations on their acceptance of fundamental symbols of the Republic constitutes an illegal restriction on the right to freedom of expression. The organization has called for the removal of Article 6 of the law, which specifies a contract of Republican engagement that every association must submit to.

On March 30, in its first week of debate of the anti-separatism law passed by the National Assembly, the Senate voted to amend the bill by banning children under the age of 18 from wearing religious clothing in publica measure clearly directed at banning the wearing of the veil by young women.

Over the last year, the Macron government has closed more than 70 mosques, promoting a hysterical atmosphere in which mosques are constantly suspected of potentially harbouring terrorist sympathizers.

Darmanin himself denounced even the presence of international foods, such as halal and kosher foods, in separate supermarket aisles, in a television interview conducted in October. In the wake of the Islamist terror attack killing of high school teacher Samuel Paty on October 16, Darmanin declared that he had always been shocked to walk into a supermarket and see an aisle with the cuisine from some community and some other on the other side. Thats my opinionthat this is how communalism begins.

The political context of the Macron governments increasingly hysterical anti-Muslim campaign is the coronavirus pandemic, which has dramatically intensified social inequality and opposition in the working class over the homicidal policy that the Macron government has pursued in response to the virus. As across the EU, Macron has permitted the virus to spread throughout the population, leaving schools and non-essential workplaces open in order to prevent any restriction on production and corporate profit-making. Almost 100,000 people in the country have died as a result.

The French ruling class is aware of explosive anger over these conditions and is building up the powers of the state to violently suppress social opposition. The past two years have already witnessed major upheavals in the form of the yellow vest protests over social inequality, which were met with riot police, tear gas and rubber bullets.

The Macron governments anti-Muslim campaign is directed at dividing a movement of the working class along religious lines, and promoting far-right forces that will be used as a repressive arm of the state against social opposition.
Verisart Adopts Vouched Digital Identity Verification Platform to Validate Artist, Collector Identities as Part of Its Groundbreaking Certification of Authenticity Service for Digital Works of Art

Power to the Beeple, and to every other artist, collector, and investor working to expand the boundaries of fine art by bringing works tied to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the mainstream.

Vouched and Verisart today announced an industry-first partnership to apply Vouched's unique digital identity verification technology to Verisart's first-of-its-kind blockchain certification platform for digital artists and collectors. The partnership is a significant step forward for the NFT art industry, which has recently seen spikes in interest after a piece created by artist Beeple sold for $69.3 million, a new record for purely digital work.

"The rise of NFTs demonstrates that virtually everything in our known history can be adapted to a digital future, from healthcare to banking to real estate, and now fine art," said John Baird, Co-Founder, and CEO of Vouched. "Identity verification is absolutely foundational to every element of this ongoing digital revolution. We are excited to work with Verisart to bring Vouched's unmatched AI technology to the world of NFT art, helping to unleash creativity for artists and enable more confident investing for collectors."

Vouched's identity verification platform will be used as part of Verisart's new patent-pending global standard for digital art certification, enabling creators, collectors, and dealers to easily create digital certificates registered on the blockchain.

"While there may be a lot of hype around the NFT art market right now, it highlights an important advancement that is here to stay and will continue to reshape how we create, authenticate and value those creations moving forward," said Robert Norton, CEO of Verisart. "Verisart is pioneering the capability to apply blockchain to certification in the art and collectibles market. We support creativity by facilitating trusted transactions and empowering artists to establish their careers and legacies, regardless of what their works sell for."

Starting immediately, artists can create secure certificates of authenticity for their NFTs on Verisart using Vouched's platform by using their ID and Vouched's facial recognition tools to ensure they are who they say they are. The same process is being utilized for collectors on Verisart to verify purchaser identity, creating an extra layer of security for both the artist and the buyer.

About Vouched

Vouched is proprietary artificial intelligence and computer vision that powers end-to-end visual identity verification and fraud detection online in real-time. An expert on more than 450 government-issued identity documents, including driver's licenses, passports, and permanent resident cards, in 50+ countries, Vouched helps banks, gig and sharing companies, and hospital and healthcare providers verify and onboard users to provide access to life's most critical services instantly.

For more information on Vouched, visit www.vouched.id, or contact Vouched communications at 1-800-674-8798 or press@vouched.id.

About Verisart

Verisart is an award-winning certification service enabling artists, galleries, and collectors to create certificates of authenticity securely registered on the blockchain. Founded in 2015 as the first company to apply blockchain to certification in the art and collectibles market, Verisart has pioneered a new patent-pending global standard for certification. Over 20,000 artworks have been certified on the platform by more than 5000 artists including Shepard Fairey, Ai Weiwei, Jules De Balincourt, Penny Slinger, and Derek Boshier.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005446/en/

Contacts:

Danny Kerth

Danny.Kerth@fleishman.com

314.570.0090

Janna Nallet

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A growing number of Massachusetts business owners  who took solace in the passage of a bill promoting an unemployment tax rate freeze during the COVID-19 pandemic  are sounding the alarm after seeing massive increases in their employee contribution rate on their state tax notices.

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts circulated a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker and lawmakers urging them to find a fix to close a $4 billion-plus deficit the state Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund faces by the end of the year. RAM President Jon Hurst, Massachusetts Restaurant Association President Bob Luz and 17 chamber leaders signed onto the letter.

East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce, which represents some 200 business owners in East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham, is preparing a webinar this week to discuss next steps with its members.

People are just now starting to hear about the solvency fund, said Charlie Christianson, president of the ERC5 chamber and a business owner for more than three decades. Unemployment insurance for most small business people is little more than a line on a report from your payroll company.

Christianson said he became aware of the ballooning unemployment tax bills after reading a MassLive report shared by other chamber leaders.

The latest quarterly report on the states UI Trust Fund, released in February, projects the fund will have a deficit of a little more than $4 billion by the end of 2021 following the historic unemployment levels in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While thats lower than the $4.7 billion deficit projected earlier this year, Massachusetts will likely need to request more federal advances in addition to the $10.8 million already borrowed from the federal unemployment account, according to the trust fund report. The states trust fund could take years to recover.

Lawmakers scrambled to lessen the blow to employers, authorizing $7 billion in borrowing to replenish the trust fund and taking other steps to halt unemployment insurance tax increases. But the Legislature focused on keeping employers on Schedule E to prevent increases to their experience rate, missing the potential increases in another area: solvency fund assessments.

The solvency fund typically covers unemployment claims for workers whose businesses closed shop and for certain families who receive financial assistance. With the CARES Act provision, the solvency fund also absorbed the cost of COVID-related unemployment claims.

The result? All employers, not just those who laid off workers, face higher tax bills to offset the historic unemployment-related debt.

Before the pandemic, most Massachusetts businesses reported a solvency fund rate around 0.58%. This year, business owners are seeing rates of up to 9.23%, nearly 16 times as high. The rate changes are set in state statute, meaning the state Department of Unemployment Assistance cannot change it back.

Those increases mean higher employer contribution rates and thousands of dollars more on unemployment tax bills.

Canavan, president of the national staffing firm United Personnel in Springfield, said the company paid $900,000 in unemployment taxes in 2020. The firm owed less than half that amount in unemployment costs but paid extra anticipating a higher bill because of COVID-related layoffs.

Canavan has asked with little avail about what happened to the extra money United Personnel paid the state, but she did receive a state tax notice stating the solvency rate jumped, nearly doubling the employer contribution rate. The company is now on the hook for another $400,000 in unemployment taxes for 2021.

We employ a lot of people. We pay it, and its built into our cost structure, Canavan said, referring to unemployment taxes. But if we want to add $300,000 or $400,000 to that amount, Im going to be paying $1.2 or $1.3 million to the state? Im not GE.

For Canavan, the jump in the solvency fund assessment adds to the pile. Minimum wage increases, new family and medical leave premiums and protective equipment have added to employers costs. And like other companies, United Personnel is struggling to recruit new workers. The staffing firm used to interview 200 people a week. Now theyre lucky to speak with 80 people a week, and some of those prospects ghost prospective employers.

To ask employers coming off from, for many people, the worst year theyve had in recent memory to absorb these additional taxes is unfair and its also shortsighted, Canavan said. So many businesses have gone under. Lets make it possible for more businesses to survive.

One recommendation RAM President Jon Hurst and several heads of chambers of commerce made was to use federal aid to close the deficit in the UI Trust Fund.

The Massachusetts employer community strongly urges our state and federal partners within the UI system to share the responsibility for the ongoing UI Trust Fund debt crisis, the letter states. Immediate financial relief can be accomplished through new federal UI Trust Fund aid to the states, Massachusetts using existing CARES Act or American Rescue Plan funding, or some other innovative approach.

The letter also criticized the states UI benefits, calling them the most generous with the least stringent qualifying standards. The UI system, combined with the extra $300 a week from the federal government, is making

Christianson, the ERC5 president, said hed like to see lawmakers find a way to spread out the costs of the solvency fund and reduce the impact on businesses.

It doesnt mean creating another bill with another huge number associated with it, but rather reaching into some of the original funds that havent even been used to help the states at least get even with these funds to offset the mandates that were pushed down.

Maryland, Kentucky and other states have moved to use funds coming in from the federal American Rescue Plan to replenish their unemployment systems, preventing businesses from facing unemployment tax increases.

The Legislatures minority leaders, Rep. Bradley Jones and Sen. Bruce Tarr, are circulating a letter urging Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka to follow Marylands lead and use federal aid on the UI trust fund.

Doing so will remove the financial burden from employers who are already struggling to survive, which in turn will help protect jobs and contribute to a strong post-pandemic economic recovery, the letter circulated by the Republican leaders states.

CARES Act funds come with lots of strings attached as far as where and how the aid can be spent, experts say. ARPA does not explicitly say whether or not states should direct funds to their unemployment funds, but it doesnt prohibit that strategy either.

Massachusetts lawmakers, however, might just wait for the federal guidance to come out in mid-May before acting, said Doug Howgate, executive vice president of the Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation.

They have all the information before them on how to use some of those resources, and that seems like a very wise course of action, Howgate said. Once we have that information, clearly one of the things that makes a lot of sense to think about and pursue is, How do we make sure these resources are being used to help businesses and other folks that have been really impacted by this?

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Around 1.25 million tonnes of water has accumulated at the site of the nuclear plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011

Japans government sparked a furious backlash on Tuesday after it announced plans to release more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The water is stored in vast tanks at the plant, which was destroyed by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, causing melt-downs of three of the six reactors. Cold water was used to cool the reactor cores and pooled in the basement levels of the buildings, with levels further elevated by groundwater.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co, the operator of the plant, say they have considered a number of solutions to the problem and concluded that treating the water to remove the radioactive contaminants, diluting it and then releasing it into the ocean is the best option.

Critics, however, point out that the much-vaunted Advanced Liquid Processing System has failed to reduce contaminants such as strontium 90, cobalt, rhodium and iodine to non-detect levels, as was initially promised as a condition for releasing the water into the Pacific.

Work takes places in the damaged No. 4 reactor unit in 2013 - EPA

They add that the Japanese authorities have not permitted an independent investigation into the levels of radionuclides in the water.

Neighbouring governments were quick to denounce Japans plans, although the operation is not expected to begin for another two years.

The South Korean government called an emergency meeting to discuss the issue and the Japanese ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry later in the day to receive a formal protest.

Parties across the political spectrum have also condemned the decision, along with environmental groups, which described the plan as nuclear terror.

China said Japan had decided to release the water without regard for domestic and foreign doubts and opposition, adding that the plan threatens public health.

This approach is extremely irresponsible and will seriously damage international public health and safety and the vital interests of the people of neighbouring countries, the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

Story continues

Beijing said the ocean was the common property of mankind and the disposal of the nuclear waste water is not just Japan's domestic issue.

Taiwan has also communicated its concerns to Tokyo and it is possible that one or more national governments may take legal action against Japan.

There is also domestic opposition to the plan, with the head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives declaring the decision to be extremely regrettable and utterly unacceptable to his members, who have already struggled to rebuild the local industry in the aftermath of the original disaster.

Hideyuki Ban, co-director of the Tokyo-based Citizens Nuclear Information Centre, said local fishermen, representatives of the tourism industry in north-east Japan and residents of 45 major cities and towns in the region have expressed their opposition.

The government has repeatedly acted contrary to the promise it made that it would not take any action without the understanding of all concerned, Mr Ban said.

It is an act that makes us lose confidence in the governments promise not only for the present but also for the future. Greenpeace has gathered more than 184,000 signatures to a petition calling on the government to reconsider its plan, pointing out that some of the radionuclides in the water have a lifespan of tens of thousands of years.

The Japanese government has once again failed the people of Fukushima, said Kazue Suzuki, a campaigner with Greenpeace Japan.

The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive waste.

It has discounted the radiation risks and turned its back on the clear evidence that sufficient storage capacity is available on the nuclear site as well as in surrounding districts, she added.
Lawyers and securities experts said a multibillion-dollar family office like Archegos could avoid making 13F disclosures, but it would require threading a needle: The firm could have managed money for only Mr. Hwang and his spouse  not other family members, fund employees or his charity, which operated on the same floor of a Midtown Manhattan office building. The firm could also have been able to skip filing a 13F if it sold off enough stocks to fall below the $100 million threshold before the end of each quarter. It also could have requested confidential treatment from the S.E.C. to keep such disclosures private, lawyers and experts said.

Archegos was set up to make filings to the S.E.C.  it had its own Central Index Key number  but a search for documents returns no results.

The S.E.C. has opened an informal inquiry into Archegos and the spillover effects of its collapse, which caused billions of dollars in losses at banks around the globe. Regulators have declined to comment on the investigation.

Senator Sherrod Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, sent letters to the half-dozen banks that did business with Archegos  including Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley  seeking information about their dealings with Mr. Hwangs firm. That includes information about any transactions that would be subject to regulatory reporting with the S.E.C.

The rules for 13F filings apply to registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers that manage accounts on behalf of others, including advisers to separately managed accounts, private funds, mutual funds, and pension plans. They must file if they have discretion over $100 million or more in securities at the end of a quarter.

Nicolas Morgan, a former S.E.C. lawyer, said a family office could get around the stock reporting requirement in only rare circumstances. It would be outside the norm to not file a 13F, said Mr. Morgan, a partner in the white-collar defense practice at Paul Hastings.

After the failure of Archegos, Americans for Financial Reform, an advocacy group, sent a letter to the S.E.C. calling for a review of 13F filings and whether gaps in the disclosure process created the registration exemption for family offices, which control roughly $6 trillion in assets, according to Campden Wealth, which provides research and networking opportunities to wealthy families.
Spains Black Panther Films and Chiles Invercine Prods. (Dignidad) have joined forces to co-produce a gangster thriller series based on the eponymous bestseller Matadero Franklin (Slaughterhouse Franklin) by Simon Soto.

The first season, starring Chiles most bankable star, Alfredo Castro (My Tender Matador), comprises six episodes while a second season is already in the works.

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Matadero Franklin follows a young Mario Cabro Leiva whose life is upended when the powerful gangster Felipe Cortina, aka the Spaniard, returns to the Franklin Slaughterhouse. Cabro, who has enjoyed the protection of respected butcher Lobo Mardones, will have to decide whether to remain loyal to Mardones, or to embrace the life of crime, passion and obscene wealth offered by the Spaniard.

If we could combine Fargo, The Sopranos, Gangs of New York and set them in Chile of the last century, the end result would not be as surprising, noted Soto, who is also one of the series scriptwriters.

The Matadero Franklin series is a project that transports us back to the glamor, class and aspirational nature of classic gangster films like The Godfather or Goodfellas but in a series format, said Ignacio de Medina, executive producer of Black Panther Films, who foresees a high international demand for the project.

This is certainly not the first Latin American co-production deal for Black Panther Films, the boutique content arm of the Black Panther Group, which forged a strategic alliance with Argentina and Mexico-based Jaque Content to co-develop fiction projects last October.

Conversely, in 2020, Invercine Prods. co-produced acclaimed series Dignity for German digital platform Joyn, a streaming service run jointly by Discovery and German media giant ProSiebenSat.

Story continues

Matadero Franklin is an extraordinary story that captures and excites with charismatic and attractive characters and a fascinating aesthetic of the period. In most of the series that we have produced, we seek stories that connect with both local and international audiences, said Macarena Cardone, executive producer of Invercine Prods.

She added: Now we have a successful book in our hands, which starkly presents the world of the Chilean mafia of the 1940s in a fierce and popular tale, as well as a magnificent strategic alliance with Black Panther Films.

Spanish and Chilean co-production of this series could not be more organic as it delves into the character of Felipe Cortina who forms part of that history of black-market glamor during the post-war period in Spain, which was closely linked to Latin America then, said Black Panther executive producer Mercedes Ezpeleta.

It is one of those projects in which the talents of Spain and Latin America are perfectly integrated; something that Blanco & White (Black Panther Group) has been working on for years and that now takes on greater relevance, she asserted.

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You may wonder  whats miss Thedas secret to longevity? Ive been drinking a Dr. Pepper every day for as long as I remember  a Dr. Pepper a day keeps the doctor away! she says.

The Westmore Senior Living in Westworth Village, Texas will proudly celebrate the 103rd birthday of resident Theda J. with a drive-by parade on Thursday, April 15.

The parade will be held at the community located at 25 Leonard Trail, Westworth Village, TX 76114 at 2:00 p.m. and will feature music, cake and lots of fun. Attendees are encouraged to wear blue in honor of miss Thedas favorite color and to decorate their cars, bring signs and lots of love and energy to celebrate this special resident.

Local organizations including the Westworth Village police department are expected to attend the parade.

You may wonder  whats miss Thedas secret to longevity? Ive been drinking a Dr. Pepper every day for as long as I remember  a Dr. Pepper a day keeps the doctor away! she says.

We are blessed to have miss Theda as part of our Sagora Senior Living family and are honored to celebrate her special day with her. All are welcome to participate in the drive-by parade.


Amazon may think its done in Bessemer, Alabama, but Bessemer isnt done with Amazon. Last week, the vote on whether to unionize the companys warehouse in the Birmingham suburb ended with a win for Amazon, with workers voting 2-1 against joining a union. But now the company is facing allegations that it illegally interfered with the historic campaign. The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency charged with enforcing labor law, will likely find that Amazon flouted federal labor law and may order a redo of the election. But even if Amazon follows the law next time, Amazon workers wont get a free and fair chance to vote on unionizingbecause federal labor law is so broken that employers can and do legally rig union elections against their own workers.

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To start a union, workers have to show that a majority of their co-workers want to joinusually through an NLRB-supervised representation election. These elections are supposed to be free and fair. But in reality, theyre more like the kinds of elections run by a Tammany Hall mob boss (or sought by Georgia Republicans). When workers announce plans to unionize, employers like Amazon respond with a relentless, no-holds-barred campaign of intimidation, anti-union propaganda, and retaliation. The company faces dozens of federal allegations from facilities around the country for firing workers who organized walk-outs demanding the company adopt COVID-19 safety best practices, sending the message that workers who spoke out for any union effort could expect to lose their jobs during a pandemic and economic crisis. The company surveils workers who organize and recently even posted job listings for intelligence analysts to monitor labor organizing threats.

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The National Labor Relations Act, the federal law governing unions and workplace organizing, is supposed to protect workers right to organize for better wages and working conditions. But the NLRA hasnt been updated in decades, while right-wing judges and politicians have steadily chipped away at the laws protections. Today, many of Amazons worst union-busting tactics are effective, intimidating, and mostly legal.

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When workers started organizing in Bessemer, the company immediately hired anti-union consultants, to the tune of over $10,000 a day, to create a climate of fear and intimidation. The company papered the warehouse, including bathroom stalls, with anti-union propaganda and sent workers daily text messages pushing them to vote No. Workers every move is tracked through workstation cameras and mobile apps. As Rep. (and former labor organizer) Andy Levin explained, Amazons goal isnt to persuade people to vote No. Its to create so much pressure, anxiety, and fear that workers feel they have no choice but to vote NO, like someone crying uncle when they have been threatened relentlessly for days, weeks, and months. But unless the barrage of anti-union messaging contains clear threats of retaliation, its probably legaleven if any worker knows that the implied message is that being pro-union could cost them their jobs. Meanwhile, employers can legally bar pro-union workers from talking about the union and building support at their place of work.

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Amazon forced workers to attend what labor organizers call captive audience meetings, in which company representatives push workers to vote against the union. Employers can legally lie about unions as long as they dont do it with forged documents (its the first bullet on the NLRBs explainer of what employers can and cant do), so captive audience meetings tend to be full of misinformation and intimidation. Employers monitor which workers attend these meetingsand workers who dont go can legally be disciplined or even fired. Amazon sometimes forced workers to attend several sessions a week. Federal labor law prohibits employers from threatening workers to vote No, but companies can use captive audience meetings to make ominous predictions about what will happen if they dont. Bessemer workers report that Amazon representatives said the company would slash benefits and even shut down the warehouse if the union won. If that sounds like a threat to you, it probably sounds like one to the workers toowhether or not federal labor law recognizes it as one. And even if workers file a federal claim saying that Amazons misinformation crossed the line into illegal threats, by the time the National Labor Relations Board hears the charge, its too latethe company has already sown fear and made a fair election nearly impossible.

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Amazons most effective union-busting tactic may have been diluting the unions vote. The union initially filed a petition to represent 1,500 workers in the Bessemer warehouse, excluding employees like truck drivers and seasonal workers. But in December, just months before the election, Amazon pushed for all 5,800 warehouse workers to be part of the bargaining unit that would vote on the union. Amazons move added thousands of workers to the unit who union organizers had never spoken to or organizedbut who were forced to attend Amazons meetings, absorb anti-union propaganda, and internalize fear of retaliation for pro-union activity. If Amazon hadnt diluted the vote, the union may very well have won the original 1,5000 person unit, which it had organized and trained for months in advancebut under current law, Amazon can legally gerrymander the unit to all but guarantee that the union loses.

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Amazon also barred union organizers from coming into the warehouse to talk to workers (legal), forbid workers from promoting the union during working time (legal), and hired cops as private security to keep union supporters and organizers out of a warehouse where the large majority of workers are Black (legal). Amazon even demanded local county officials alter the traffic light patterns outside the warehouse to make it harder for union organizers to reach employees during shift changes. Neither the NLRB nor any court has said thats illegal either.

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Even when companies openly break the law, federal labor law only responds with a slap on the wrist. Amazon is currently under investigation for illegally firing workers who organized at a number of its warehouses. But even if the company is found responsible for retaliation against pro-union workers, the only financial penalty it facesand the only compensation that fired workers will seeis reinstating those workers and paying back pay for the time they were off the job, minus wages they earned in any new ones. In other words, if Amazon gets caught illegally firing workers, theyre just put back in the same financial position they would have been in if they had just followed the law in the first place. Meanwhile, a pro-union worker could have been jobless for months during the pandemic, lost their home, and struggled to put food on the table. With penalties like these, its no wonder that employers are charged with violating workers rights in more than 40 percent of NLRB union elections, often by retaliating against pro-union workers.

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Amazon wont even face significant consequences for openly defying the NLRBs order to honor workers right to vote via secret ballot. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bessemer election was conducted by mail. According to the Washington Post, the National Labor Relations Board denied the companys request to put a ballot drop box on company property, where the company could track which workers were voting No on the union. The company simply ignored them, successfully pressuring the USPS to install a ballot dropbox with no USPS markings right outside Amazons warehousewhich organizers believe led some workers to (incorrectly) think that Amazon had a role in overseeing the election. Because Amazon reportedly ignored the NLRBs orders, the Board will probably find that the company violated federal labor law. But again, the company wont face fines or penalties; they wont be required to recognize the union or back off their anti-union tactics. Under current law, the only remedy is to let the union try again, after Amazon has blunted their momentum.

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Today, the Senate is considering the PRO Act, the most ambitious labor law proposal to pass the House in nearly a centuryand which could help workers get a fair shot at forming a union. The law would ban captive audience meetings and allow electronic voting, so workers could vote from the privacy of their homes instead of at work under Amazons all-seeing surveillance system. As labor lawyer Brandon Manger recently explained, the law would limit Amazons vote-dilution tactics. And, critically, the PRO Act would actually incentivize employers to follow the law. Companies that broke federal labor law would be subject to civil penalties, workers could directly sue for retaliation (which they currently cannot), and employers who ignored Board orders would earn fines of $10,000 a day for each separate unfair labor practice. Because retail giants like Amazon might see penalties as the cost of doing business, the company executives who plan to break labor law could be on the hook to pay those penalties personally.

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Most importantly, workers might never have to go through the fear and intimidation of a union campaign in the first place. Before a union election is called, unions have to show that a large group of workers have signed cards saying they want a union  and, to help protect workers from retaliation, many unions wait to go public until a majority of workers have signed cards. Under the PRO Acts card check provisions, a union could show that a majority of workers support the union just by signing cards, gathering support before a boss has time to interfere. Workers would be spared the pressure campaign: If a majority of workers wanted a union, theyd just get it.

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Labor law is supposed to protect the right to organize. But today, though more than half of workers say they would join a union if they could, fewer than 11 percent of workers are actually in one. Public support for unions is higher than it has been in nearly 20 years, but union membership is on a steady decline. That gap proves that anti-union employers like Amazon are winning, because the very laws that are supposed to protect workers right to organize make it easy for employers to kill a union with a barrage of intimidation and retaliationand it wont change until labor law works for working people.
Nepal has the potential of exporting 12 times higher than its existing annual exports, with the highest potential of boosting exports to China, the World Bank said in a report released on Monday.

Nepal's total export in the last fiscal year 2019-20 that ended in mid-July 2020 was worth 815 million U.S. dollars, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank, the central bank of the country.

The World Bank estimated in its annual Nepal specific report titled "Nepal Development Update 2021" that Nepal's untapped export potential stands at around 9.2 billion U.S. dollars, 12 times its actual annual merchandise exports.

"Realizing that potential is achievable in the medium term," the report said. "This export potential represents an opportunity to create an estimated 220,000 new jobs, with significant implications for productivity growth."

The multilateral funding agency has termed the untapped export potential as "missing exports."

From the perspective of destinations, Nepal's largest "missing exports" are with China (by over 2.2 billion U.S. dollars), followed by India (1.2 billion U.S. dollars), the United States (800 million U.S. dollars) and Japan (700 million U.S. dollars), according to the report.

Over the past two decades, Nepal's export growth has been stagnant. With export growth at 4 percent on average since the turn of the century, Nepal features among the 20 countries in the world with the least dynamic exports, the global lender said.

In order to realize untapped export potential, the World Bank has recommended a number of measures to be taken, including reforming the tourism sector for a quick and resilient recovery; simplifying and streamlining the processes to attract more foreign direct investment; modernizing export promotion and upgrading exporters' capability; reducing trade costs; investing in quality control-related infrastructure and boosting digital trade and e-commerce for more opportunities linked to global value chains.

During the virtual release of the report on Monday, Nepal's Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel said that the Nepali government was ready to discuss necessary policy measures to be taken to realize the country's export potentials.

The global lender also said that the stronger exports could help increase Nepal's economic resilience, and accelerate recovery from the devastating shock that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to Nepal's private sector.

"Exports can not only bring foreign currency into the economy to finance well-needed imports, but also spur the creation of 'good jobs' in higher value-added activities," the report said.
(Natural News) There is only one threat out there that is more serious than a Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) infection and it is known as racism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC head Rochelle Walensky has officially declared racism to be a serious public health threat, which suggests her agency could soon be planning to roll out a vaccine to fight it.

After fake crying during a Zoom meeting about how scary the Chinese virus is to her, Walensky is now shifting gears to highlight the disproportionate impact of Chinese germs on communities of color.

The disparities seen over the past year were not a result of Covid-19, Walensky claims.

Instead, the pandemic illuminated inequities that have existed for generations and revealed for all of America a known, but often unaddressed, epidemic impacting public health: racism.

According to Walensky, the well-being of millions of Americans is being negatively impacted by white people, in turn affecting the health of our entire nation. The only cure is to be even more racist against white people.

Racism is not just the discrimination against one group based on the color of their skin or their race or ethnicity, but the structural barriers that impact racial and ethnic groups differently to influence where a person lives, where they work, where their children play, and where they worship and gather in community, Walensky alleges.

These social determinants of health have life-long negative effects on the mental and physical health of individuals in communities of color.

More related news about how the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) is being used as just another excuse to promote racism against white people can be found at Pandemic.news.

Walensky urges Whitmer to close things down in Michigan again

Moving forward, the CDC under Walensky is planning to waste gobs of American taxpayer dollars studying the impact of social determinants on health outcomes. The CDC under Walensky is also planning to make investments in racial and ethnic minority communities to address disparities related to Covid-19 and other health conditions.

To show just how serious it is about discriminating against white people, the CDC has even launched a new web portal called Racism and Health that claims to serve as a hub for the agencys efforts and a catalyst for greater education and dialogue around these critical issues.

According to Wikipedia, Walensky was born as Rochelle Paula Bersoff to Edward Bersoff and Carol Bersoff-Bernstein. She is married to Loren D. Walensky, a physician-scientist, and she and her Jewish family are members of Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts.

Across this country, people are suffering, Walensky whined during a recent public appearance. Importantly, these painful experiences and the impact of Covid-19 are felt, most severely, in communities of color.

Back in June, former mayor of Boston Marty Walsh declared racism to be a public health crisis in that city specifically. Since that time, more than 170 local and state leaders, along with public health agencies, have done the same.

When she is not fake crying on Zoom about Chinese germs and lamenting about racism, Walensky reportedly keeps busy pushing leftist governors to once again close things down in order to stop the spread of infections.

So when you have an acute situation, extraordinary number of cases like we have in Michigan, the answer is not necessarily to give vaccine, Walensky maintains.

The answer to that is to really close things down, to go back to our basics, go back to where we were last spring, last summer  to flatten the curve, to decrease contact with one another, to test  to contact trace.

Sources for this article include:

Axios.com

NaturalNews.com

Wikipedia.org

MSN.com

HoustonChronicle.com
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

Its night and day for Santa Fes budget.

The city is preparing for a year of big spending after an economy that relies heavily on the tourism industry struggled during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

City officials unveiled Monday a proposed $348.6 million budget for fiscal year 2022  a 9% increase over the previous year  with significant investments in areas that faced cuts last year.

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The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases in Santa Fe and New Mexico remain comparatively low and out-of-state visitors are starting to return in greater numbers.

We are committed to the continuation of many of the things that kind of had to be put aside during COVID, Mayor Alan Webber told reporters Monday.

That includes a 4% pay raise for city employees, investing millions in affordable housing and funding some positions that were previously frozen during the pandemic.

Its a far cry from the financial quagmire the city found itself in at the onset of the pandemic.

Pandemic-related closures forced much of the City Differents tourism-reliant economy to shut down for months, causing city coffers to start hemorrhaging funds. City Hall implemented temporary furloughs that cut some employees pay as much as 16%.

Webber said the current pay raises and funds invested in employee health care attempt to address how difficult the past year was for many employees.

Its a very good recognition that last year was punishing for everybody, he said. Were coming out of it and we hope to be able to show that with these pay increases and health care benefits.

And while its an optimistic outlook for the city, Finance Director Mary McCoy said a spike in cases and subsequent restrictions need to be considered, as well.

That is definitely a downside risk that we are monitoring  in the coming months of the next fiscal year, McCoy said.

Still, McCoy said the current budget is crafted on the assumption that economic recovery will continue and not regress due to a spike in cases.

The projected revenue still falls $22 million short of pre-pandemic figures and the city does not expect a full recovery within the next fiscal year.

The City Council will begin a series of budget hearings on Tuesday.
Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson pledged to stay together after Married At First Sight's final commitment ceremony on Monday night.





But days before their final vows, the controversial couple, both 32, looked incredibly glum as they attempted to go incognito during a break from production.





Bryce and Melissa both appeared strained as they went for stroll near their Sydney apartment.

Married At First Sight EXCLUSIVE: Bryce Ruthven and Melissa Rawson looked strained days just days before professing their love to each other in the final commitment ceremony

Melissa was dressed down in a black hoodie which she teamed with tracksuit pants and flip flops.

The Melbourne-based workplace trainer completed her low-key look with a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Meanwhile, Bryce also opted for a black printed Lakers t-shirt, black shorts and sandals.

Not happy: The controversial couple, both 32, looked glum as they attempted to go incognito during a break from production

Trouble in paradise? The pair attempted to hide from photographers as they strolled around Sydney's CBD

Dressed down: Melissa was dressed down in a black hoodie which she teamed with tracksuit pants and flip flops

Matching: Meanwhile, Bryce also opted for a black printed Lakers t-shirt, black shorts and sandals

He too also kept a low profile in a pair of tinted sunglasses and looked engrossed in a text conversation on his phone as he walked ahead of his TV bride.

The sighting comes after the couple decided stay together, despite the ups and downs of their relationship throughout the experiment.

'I have never met someone who instantly puts a smile on my face like when I see you enter a room,' Bryce said during Monday night's final commitment ceremony as he stared into Melissa's eyes.

Sticking in: The sighting come after the couple decided stay together despite the ups and downs their relationship had experienced throughout the experiment

Love: 'Melissa, I have fallen in love with you. And I can't wait to start a life together,' Bryce said

'From the moment I first met you, you've been nothing but loyal, understanding and stood by me through the good and the bad times.

'Melissa, I have fallen in love with you. And I can't wait to start a life together,' he concluded.

Melissa replied that she had to be 'completely and brutally honest' and admitted rumours that Bryce had a secret girlfriend in Canberra had shaken her trust.

However, she concluded: 'Despite the rumour, the conflict and everyone's opinion on our relationship, I know deep down in my heart that I have never felt this way.

'I can absolutely say with certainty that I'm in love with you. Our relationship and you are truly worth fighting for.'

The pair declared that they had 'found their fairytale' in one another and vowed to stay together as they embraced and kissed passionately.

Staying: Melissa admitted rumours that Bryce had a secret girlfriend in Canberra had shaken her trust. However, she said: ''I can absolutely say with certainty that I'm in love with you'
Roberts: 'The Pioneers' reveals great things done by common men

Donus Roberts reviews the book "The Pioneers," which covers the history of what's now called the Midwest.
Morries Hall, who was in the car with George Floyd when police arrived, appears via a video link from the county jail on the seventh day of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 6, 2021. (Pool via Reuters)

Judge in Chauvin Trial Wont Allow Admission of Statements From Passenger in George Floyds Car

The man who was in a car with George Floyd on the day that Floyd died described in detail last year Floyds demeanor and taking of drugs, but those statements will not be allowed to be shown to the jury in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Morries Hall will appear in court on Tuesday but the answers he gave to law enforcement on June 2, 2020, after being apprehended in Texas are not admissible in Chauvins trial, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill ruled on Monday.

Cahill said he was concerned about the trustworthiness of Halls statements, echoing a prosecutor from earlier in the day.

I see nothing internally within the question and answer statement that Mr. Halls statements had any guarantees of trustworthiness. And accordingly it is not admissible, under state rules, he said at the Hennepin County Courthouse.

Hall will be forced to appear in court on Tuesday while the judge weighs whether he can answer any questions without incriminating himself. The appearance will be while jurors are not in the courtroom.

Floyd and girlfriend Courteney Ross bought drugs from Hall, the girlfriend told the court earlier in the trial. Hall was riding in the vehicle Floyd was driving on May 25, 2020, when Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call regarding counterfeit money being used in a nearby store and started the encounter that led to Floyds death.

Hall not only gave false identification to officers, he was captured on camera tossing what appeared to be drugs and admitted to possessing a fake $20 bill, according to Chauvins attorney Eric Nelson.

Hall was apprehended on June 2 of last year after fleeing to Texas. He had warrants out for his arrest.

Nelson pushed the judge to let him call one of the agents who questioned Hall to the stand and play clips from Halls interview from 2020, noting that Hall had an attorney with him at the time who gave their blessing to speak to law enforcement.

He freely answered the agents questions about where he and Mr. Floyd spent the day, what their behaviors were, where they went earlier in the day. And specifically how he appeared physically, what his demeanor was, etc., Nelson said.

What Mr. Hall described was that instantaneously it was day and night difference essentially in his behavior. He fell asleep. They were concerned. They didnt understand why they werent driving.

Hall through a lawyer has said he would plead the Fifth Amendment if forced to testify, but that right needs to be balanced with the right of Chauvin to present a complete defense, the former officers lawyer asserted. Chauvin has a right to confront any witnesses available to him, he told the judge.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson (L) discusses motions before the court as defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (R), and Nelsons assistant Amy Voss (rear) listen as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Matthew Frank speaks as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill discusses motions before the court, in the trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 12, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Matthew Frank, a prosecutor for the state, said that Nelsons push contained a key conflict.

Counsel is saying Mr. Hall made statements against his interest. But those are not the statements that he is trying to have Mr. Hall testify about, he said.

Frank said Hall likely made false statements during the interview with law enforcement last year.

He denies giving any pills to Mr. Floyd, denies that he had pills, we know a lot of that istheres a lot of evidence that suggests thats not true, he said, adding later, There are a lot of reasons to doubt Mr. Halls credibility when analyzing the entire giving of this statement.

The judge ultimately agreed with the state, as he did on the question of whether to sequester the jury over violence concerns.

Hall could potentially be prosecuted for third-degree murder, his public defender has told the court previously, as she put forth that he would plead the Fifth Amendment if questioned.

I cannot envision any topic that Mr. Hall would be called to testify on that would be relevant to the case and that would not incriminate him, she said on April 7, as Hall listened via Zoom from jail.

Hall has described himself as a key witness to the events that transpired on the day of Floyds death and called the deceased man a confidant and mentor.

Hall is in jail on charges including possessing a gun despite being a convicted felon, domestic assault, and drug possession. He also faces charges in another county that include solicitation and sex trafficking.

Chauvin is on trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Floyd.
The official distributor of British-born automotive brand MG Motor in Kuwait, Adel Alghanim has opened a new MG showroom and service facility with an investment of more than $20 million.



This will be MGs flagship and the biggest of its kind in the GCC as the brand expands its operations across the region.



The new,4,000-sq-m state-of-the-art 3S facility includes a showroom, service centre and spare parts centre, and is located in Al-Rai, Mohammad Bin Al Qasim St, offering customers a unique experience. The new showroom has the capacity to display 18 vehicles.



The customer experience has been tailored to ensure that each visitor receives a uniquely personal experience. Adel Alghanims expert sales team has joined the brand from a range of premium brands ensuring they are highly trained.



Designed in line with MGs new brand positioning, the showroom has one lounge and the service centre has another lounge both designed to maintain safe social space. The lounges are designed to reflect a modern car-cafe concept, a consistent feature across all new MG showrooms and facilities. Customers in the service centre lounge can watch their cars being serviced through glass walls. All cars are properly sanitised, and social distancing guidelines are implemented as per government rules and regulations.



The showroom will display MGs latest and newest product line up, including the seven-seater flagship MG RX8, the new compact crossover MG ZST, the MG HS, the MG RX5, as well as popular sedan models, the MG 5 and the MG6.



Marzooq Alghanim, the president of Adel Alghanim, said: The new flagship 3Sfacility combines the showroom, service centre and spare parts workshop, and it marks a new milestone in the incredible success story of MG in the Kuwait market.



MG has achieved significant year-on-year growth in each of our ten years of partnership, and we expect to continue this positive trajectory over the coming decade. The significant investment in this facility is aimed at increasing customer satisfaction and boosting MGs market share. We thank MG Middle East for their continued support and guidance.



In recognition of Adel Alghanims outstanding contribution to growing the MG brand in Kuwait and the region, MG Motor Middle East will be granting it The First Flagship Showroom in The Middle East Award.



Tom Lee, Managing Director of MG Motor Middle East, said: Over the past decade, the partnership between Adel Alghanim and MG Motor has grown increasingly stronger and closer. This significant new investment not only demonstrates this, but also highlights the confidence that exists in the brand in Kuwait. Moreover, customers can be reassured that they will be receiving a level of experience as good or better than any they can enjoy around the world.  TradeArabia News Service
Parsippany, New Jersey, USA, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wireless Telecom Group (NYSE American: WTT ), announced that Noisecom has introduced the UFX7000B , strengthening its leadership in noise generation solutions with this new version of its most versatile and most popular programmable noise generator. Built upon core Noisecom technology, the UFX7000B features a new design and streamlined user interface in an innovative platform, which will serve as the building block for a broad range of customizable, configurable, and specialized solutions. The unique noise generation products enabled by UFX7000B are vital to address the complex demands of growing and emerging wireless applications, including GPS, satellite communications, aerospace, defense, and wireless communications such as next-generation Wi-Fi and 5G systems, up to 40 GHz.

The UFX platform has been our most popular instrument for many years. Our customers appreciate the broad range of capabilities that include signal combining, filtering, attenuation, and switching, said Dr. Lee McMillan, VP, Engineering and Manufacturing at Wireless Telecom Group. With the new UFX7000B product we have an advanced platform to build upon for the future of all our benchtop and rackmount programable noise generators so we can better meet application- and industry-specific needs.

The Noisecom UFX7000B broadband additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) generator has a powerful single board computer with flexible architecture used to create complex custom noise signals for advanced test systems. This versatile platform allows the user to meet their most challenging design requirements. Precision components provide high output power with superior flatness, and the flexible computer architecture allows control of multiple attenuators, switches, and filter banks. Joining a robust portfolio of leading benchtop noise generators, the newly designed Noisecom UFX7000B demonstrates a continued innovation in generating, controlling, and using RF and microwave noise to support high-performance wireless applications.

- END -

About Wireless Telecom Group

Wireless Telecom Group, Inc., comprised of Boonton , CommAgility , Holzworth , Microlab , and Noisecom , is a global designer and manufacturer of advanced RF and microwave components, modules, systems, and instruments. Serving the wireless, telecommunication, satellite, military, aerospace, semiconductor, and medical industries, Wireless Telecom Group products enable innovation across existing and emerging wireless technologies. With a product portfolio including peak power meters, signal generators, phase noise analyzers, signal processing modules, LTE PHY/stack software, power splitters and combiners, GPS repeaters, public safety components, noise sources, and programmable noise generators, Wireless Telecom Group supports the development, testing, and deployment of wireless technologies around the globe.



Wireless Telecom Group, Inc.s website address is wirelesstelecomgroup.com . Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release may be considered "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. Such statements include declarations regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of the Company and its management. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results. Such risks and uncertainties are identified in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Investor Contact

Andrew M. Berger

Managing Director

SM Berger& Company

(216) 464-6400

andrew@smberger.com

Marketing Contact

Maria Droge: +1 (973) 386-9696

Wireless Telecom Group Inc.

25 Eastmans Road

Parsippany, NJ 07054

Tel: (973) 386-9696

Fax: (973) 386-9191

www.wtcom.com
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg claims that the Alliance supports Ukraine in the face of aggression from the Russian Federation, not only in words, but also in deeds.

Thus, the Alliance Secretary General, at a press conference that took place after the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Brussels on Tuesday, responded to the question of what he would say to the fact that all conversations about support and serious concern are just words that can be ignored.

"What we have seen since 2014 [the start of Russia aggression] is that NATO allies and NATO has provided significant support to Ukraine, in many different ways. We express strong political support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, but the NATO allies and NATO also provide practical support, we help them to build their defense and security institutions, we help them to modernize their armed forces with the reforms and NATO allies also provide training, support with training, exercises, participating in joint exercises, and also supporting in other different ways," he said.

Stoltenberg noted that NATO and Ukraine have developed a partnership, which is strong, which has been strengthened over the last years also by granting Ukraine, the special status as an Enhanced Opportunity Partner. "So, this is a support which is demonstrated not only words but also in deeds, and I can further demonstrate the strong support of NATO allies and NATO to Ukraine," the Secretary General assured.

He recalled that the Alliance has "a very limited number of Enhanced Opportunity Partners in NATO: it's Sweden, Finland, Georgia, Jordan, and Australia." "And also Ukraine. And that's a platform to further strengthen our political cooperation, our practical cooperation to work together. This is good for Ukraine but also good for NATO allies, and I strongly welcome the renewed commitment and the very strong message of the importance of the close partnership, which has demonstrated through the Enhanced Opportunity Partnership, which has been established between Ukraine and NATO," Stoltenberg noted.

In addition, he recalled about "stepped up our cooperation in the Black Sea region with more exercises and port visits."

"NATO allies have also responded by increasing the readiness of our forces, for the first time of the year so cutting defense spending, all allies are investing more in defense, and we have increased also our presence, military presence, in the eastern part of the Alliance, in the Black Sea region but also in the Baltic region. All of this was done as a response to Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine. So, this is a support which is demonstrated not only words but also in deeds, and during the meeting today we, of course, discussed how we can further strengthen our partnership, and demonstrate the strong support of NATO allies and NATO to Ukraine," Stoltenberg summed up.
A body was reportedly found Tuesday during a search for a missing Louisiana State University freshman whose car was found abandoned on a bridge last week.

LSU student Kori Gauthier, 18, has been missing since April 6, when her car unoccupied vehicle was found on a bridge over the river in Baton Rouge after another motorist crashed into it.

According to The Advocate, St John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre confirmed that a body was found in the Mississippi River in Reserve on Tuesday morning around 9.18am.

Tregre said the body was recovered near Milepost 137 after a crewmember on a tugboat spotted the body in the middle of the river.

Authorities have not released the person's identity. An autopsy will be conducted.

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A body was reportedly found Tuesday during a search for missing Louisiana State University freshman, Kori Gauthier (pictured), 18, whose car was found abandoned on a bridge last week

St John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre confirmed that a body was found in the Mississippi River in Reserve on Tuesday morning around 9.18am. Authorities have not released the person's identity. An autopsy will be conducted. Gauthier is pictured

Search crews (volunteers pictured) and police, including drones, helicopters, and boats, have spent the last two days combing the banks of the Mississippi River in the hopes of finding the missing teen

Volunteers on foot, in cars, on ATVs, and on horseback were seen aiding the search for Gauthier. The United Cajun Navy was drafted to assist the rescue effort

Search crews and police, including drones, helicopters, and boats, have spent the last two days combing the banks of the Mississippi River in the hopes of finding the missing teen.

Volunteers on foot, in cars, on ATVs, and on horseback were seen aiding the search for Gauthier. The United Cajun Navy was drafted to assist the rescue effort.

Over the weekend, rescuers had zeroed on a small area of the Mississippi River, but were unable to send in divers because it was considered unsafe.

A statement released by LSU on Saturday evening said: 'A K9 cadaver dog with Mercy Search & Rescue alerted twice in the same area on the river, which is 85-90 feet deep with conditions that were unsafe to deploy divers.'

Search efforts continued with Mounted Patrol 'searching the levee in both directions from Farr Park, while EBRSO, LDWF, LSUPD and BRPD will continue boat searches, including with the latest available sonar technology' on Sunday, the statement said.

'At this time, based on evidence collected during the investigation thus far, law enforcement officials suspect that no criminal activity or foul play took place'.

Gauthier's phone and wallet were recovered from her vehicle after the crash on April 7, which was left idling on the side of the road.

Devin Jones, who crashed into Gauthier's car, said he checked right after the collision and there was nobody inside the car.

Gauthier has been missing since April 6, when her car unoccupied vehicle was found on a bridge over the river in Baton Rouge after another motorist crashed into it

Devin Jones, who crashed into Gauthier's car, said he checked right after the collision and there was nobody inside the car

Search crews and police were searching the single section of the river, around the Farr Park RV Campground, after dogs alerted handlers to the spot twice in one day

Volunteers from the United Cajun Navy assemble on Sunday to search the Mississippi River

Officials are not dealing with her disappearance as suspicious.

Gauthier's uncle has offered a $10,000 award for her anyone who brings her home.

Writing on Facebook, he said: 'Everyone I need your help! Please share this picture of my niece Kori Gauthier. She has not been seen since April 6th.

'She is a Freshman at LSU. Her vehicle was involved in an accident (currently in a junk yard) on the Mississippi River bridge at or around 1am on April 7th.

'I've checked every hospital, jail, coroners office you name it. No sign of her. I'll personally pay $10K to anyone that leads her home. I need my niece!!!!'

Gauthier's father, Levar, joined the search for his daughter on Friday and attended a prayer circle to pray for her safe return that night.

He told WAFB: 'I haven't eaten since Wednesday at work for lunch, I've maybe gotten four hours of sleep in the last couple of days and her mom hadn't gotten that much, I'm sure. I get a cat nap here and there but I mean we won't stop until we know something about my daughter.'

Police have been criticized for their slow response to Gauthier's disappearance after they failed to notify the registered owner of her vehicle that it had been involved in a crash.

Gauthier's parents said they only realized she had vanished when she did not turn up for work on April 6 and repeated calls went unanswered.

Levar said he had received several unusual phone calls from Gauthier's mother who told him his daughter was not answering her phone, prompting further unsuccessful efforts to contact her.

On Friday, the Baton Rouge police department said in a statement: 'On April 7, 2020 shortly after midnight we responded to the Horace Wilkinson Bridge (also known as the Mississippi River Bridge) regarding a reported accident involving a stalled vehicle.

'Upon arrival the officer observed the stalled vehicle was unoccupied. The officer acted quickly to have the vehicle removed from the roadway to prevent any other crashes.

'The registered owner of the unoccupied vehicle was not contacted, but this investigation remained ongoing.'

According to LSU, Gauthier is five feet, five inches, and weighs around 120 pounds. She has dark brown hair and brown eyes.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, announced the additions of David Smith, CFA, CTP, and Jonathan Farr, CFA, in the firm's Alternatives Consulting group. Mr. Smith, who joined Callan on April 5, is based out of the firm's Summit, NJ office, while Mr. Farr will join Callan on May 10 in the Atlanta office. They both will report to Pete Keliuotis, executive vice president and head of the Alternatives Consulting group.

Mr. Smith, a senior vice president, will focus on implementing private markets portfolios, as well as client servicing, strategic planning, and manager evaluations. Most recently, he was treasurer for Syracuse University, overseeing all aspects of the university's treasury and investment strategy and operations management, including its endowment. He also served as treasurer for the university's captive insurance company, as the ex-officio member of the university's Board of Trustees Investment and Endowment Committee, and as a member of the university's defined contribution committee. Of note, in 2019, Trusted Insight, an industry publication, ranked Mr. Smith as one of the "top 30 investors at next-generation leading endowments."

Prior to Syracuse University, he was a partner at the private equity firm Bay Hills Capital Management. Mr. Smith earned a BBA from Western Illinois University and an MBA from Syracuse University School of Management. He is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Certified Treasury Professional designation.

"Dave brings decades of institutional investment experience, depth, and perspective in private markets to Callan," said Mr. Keliuotis. "His experience at a major university endowment will add tremendous value to our nonprofit clients. His experience as a private equity fund-of-funds investor will contribute to our team's ability to source compelling funds and build lasting portfolios for all of our clients invested in private equity."

"I've known members of the Callan team for over a decade," said Mr. Smith. "I'm thrilled to be joining this incredible group as they continue to grow their private markets team."

Mr. Farr, a vice president, will also focus on private equity and private debt. He joins Callan from Southern Company where he was an investment officer, leading strategic, financial, and legal due diligence for new private markets investments, and represented the company's interests on fund advisory boards. Prior to Southern Company, Mr. Farr was a senior consultant for Value Prism Consulting and an associate with Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. He earned a BBA from the University of Georgia, and is a holder of the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

"Jonathan brings years of experience to our group analyzing, negotiating and advising private funds. Callan's clients will benefit from his investment experience and in-depth understanding of fund valuation and governance," said Mr. Keliuotis."

"I'm looking forward to working with Callan's seasoned alternatives professionals to support our clients' investment programs," said Mr. Farr.

About Callan

Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises on more than $2 trillion in total fund sponsor assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Anathan

[email protected]

415-274-3020

SOURCE Callan LLC

Related Links

callan.com


Kanye West recently filed his document in response to Kim Kardashian's divorce petition.

Nearly two months after Kardashian decided to part ways with West, the rapper made his shocking move and agreed to what his wife proposed.

Kanye West Responds to Kim Kardashian's Divorce Filing

According to the new court document, the "Jesus is King" hitmaker aims to have joint custody of their four children. Kardashian pledged to the same statement in her first filing.

This set-up will allow the estranged couple to share their time with their kids at the most convenient time possible.

In addition, West is also open to co-parenting with the "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star.

The same filing states that the rapper agreed on the removal of spousal support as well as paying their own legal fees.

Everything is expected to be smooth-sailing as the two have a prenup which will help them divide their assets.

Their decisions reflected exactly what they want to happen in their family. As previously revealed by Kris Jenner, she reportedly wants Kardashian and West to be happy along with their four kids - North, Saint, Chicago, and Psalm.

"Well, I think it's always going to be hard anytime someone-you know, there's a lot of kids, and Kim and Kanye-and I just, you know, the good thing about our family is we're there for each other and we're supportive and we love each other very, very much," the matriarch said during her interview on "Kyle & Jackie O Show."

Their divorce came after Kardashian finally found the "last straw" when West had his tumultuous Presidential bid. During that time, the rapper outed the family's damaging secrets, including Kardashian's previous plan on aborting their eldest child.

Since the beginning of this year, reports suggested that they had just been seeing each other for their kids. However, they already stopped staying in one house which indicated that they were falling apart.

Kanye West, Kim Kardashian's Life Update

Since the divorce filing, both of them created buzzes that became people's topic online.

West is scheduled to dedicate his time creating a documentary team-up. He will work with Clarence Simmons, Chike Ozah, and Time Studios.

A follow-up on Pusha-T's "Daytona" by Yeezy Production is also expected to arrive.

Meanwhile, Kardashian just reached a billion mark on her net worth as confirmed by Forbes. She joined West and Kylie Jenner on the record.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
As of Monday night, 2,028 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 466 patients in intensive care units and 185 patients on ventilators. Thats the first time the total number of hospitalizations has been over 2,000 since Feb. 9, when the count was 2,082. Its also far higher than a month ago, when 1,082 hospitalizations were reported on March 12.
President Biden is considering appointing Matthew Rojansky, head of the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute, as Russia director on the National Security Council, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Why it matters: Rojansky has been praised for his scholarship on Russia and is frequently cited in U.S. media for his expert commentary. But his work has drawn criticism  including in a 2018 open letter from Ukrainian alumni of Kennan that blasted the think tank he runs as an "unwitting tool of Russias political interference."

Background: Rojansky has served as director of the Kennan Institute, widely viewed as one of the world's premier think tanks on Russia, since 2013. He was previously deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In 2017, Rojansky decried America's "Cold War style paranoia about the Russian bogeyman," acknowledging that Putin "is a huge problem for the United States" while arguing that escalation carries "unacceptable risks." He has consistently called for managing competition with Russia in a way that protects U.S. interests and minimizes risks.

"Russia is not going to go away," Rojansky wrote in a National Interest op-ed last year criticizing what he characterized as the overuse of sanctions. "Peaceful coexistence remains an imperative, no matter how unsavory Putins regime might be."

In 2018, 31 Ukrainian alumni of the Kennan Institute wrote an open letter criticizing the think tank's "growing pro-Kremlin policies, lack of democratic procedures and unprofessional communication with Kennan Institute alumni in Ukraine."

The letter accused Rojansky of firing the director of the Kennan Institute's Kyiv office for political reasons and appointing a replacement "known for his biased analysis of Ukraine's post-Euromaidan developments."

The alumni also condemned the Kennan Institute for hosting pro-Kremlin guests including Alfa Bank President Petr Aven, who was later named in a Treasury report on Russian oligarchs close to Putin.

Rojansky also made an appearance in former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's guilty plea for unregistered foreign lobbying on behalf of the pro-Putin former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

In an April 2013 email cited in a court filing by special counsel Robert Mueller, Manafort wrote: "This week we directed the efforts of a number of positive news articles that appeared in several prominent publications and in the digital media space."

One of the articles Manafort linked to was a CNN op-ed by Rojansky, which argued that Yanukovych could win "greater credibility" for a "wide range of reforms" he had undertaken by releasing opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko from prison.

Robert Litwak, senior vice president at the Wilson Center, told Axios in a statement: "The Wilson Center's Matthew Rojansky is one of the country's top experts on Russia, Ukraine and the region ... The CNN article in question, and all of the Center's work, is the product of independent research and analysis."

The big picture: Rojansky's potential appointment comes at a fraught moment in U.S.-Russia relations, with tensions running high over the Kremlin's 2020 election interference, the SolarWinds hack of U.S. agencies, detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and recent military buildup along the border of eastern Ukraine.

Biden has ruled out an Obama-style "reset" of relations, and triggered an early spat with Moscow by labeling Putin a "killer" in a TV interview. He sanctioned Russian officials over the attempted poisoning of Navalny and is expected to announce additional sanctions in the coming weeks over the SolarWinds hack and Russia's election meddling.

The administration has drawn concerns from U.S. allies and members of Congress, however, for not moving faster and more aggressively with sanctions to stop the completion of the Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would be a huge geopolitical win for Putin.

Hawks are worried about what Rojansky's appointment would mean for Biden's resolve to confront Russia.

Biden has stressed the importance of engaging with Russia on matters of shared interest, extending the New START nuclear treaty in his first days in office and inviting Putin to a virtual summit on climate change later this month.

An NSC spokesperson declined to comment.

Flashback: The NSC's Russia portfolio endured significant turmoil and staff turnover under the Trump administration, with several top officials testifying before Congress in the Trump-Ukraine scandal and another escorted off White House grounds for unspecified security reasons.
Investment in digital selling is imperative for long-term success, but most are underprepared, with 55% of manufacturing intending to bring operations back to Australia within the next three years, while 70% of survey respondents believing Australia has the technology, people and economy to support the industry boom.

PROS. https://www.pros.com The company says it is a provider of SaaS solutions that optimise every shopping and selling experience, via AI-powered solutions.

One in two Australian manufacturers responding to the survey (55%) intend to reshore their operations to Australia by 2023 following market volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and international relations with neighbouring countries, according to the new PROS survey.

The Australian Manufacturing Outlook survey revealed "confidence in that the Australian economy is growing, with more companies signalling they intend to bring manufacturing operations back to Australia. Nearly one quarter (22%) of respondents have already reshored their operations, with nearly half of companies overall manufacturing capacity (48%) targeted to return to Australia by 2023.

"Western Australia, Northern Territory and South Australia are poised to lead the nations charge on reshoring over the next three years according to respondents, with a focus on creating local jobs and growing priority sectors such as lithium batteries, defence and space, and capitalising on their respective geographic advantages."

"The rise to reshore has been driven by the need to future-proof critical supply chains in the face of market change and disruption, to minimise risk and protect jobs in key industries. This is coupled with the Australian Governments support through the Modern Manufacturing five-year plan and strong consumer preference (89%) towards our nation producing more products, according to research conducted by Roy Morgan.

"Three-quarters of those surveyed (78%) believe Australia possesses the technology, people and economic strength to support the creation of an agile manufacturing base, which would better protect and reinstate the local production of goods. Recent quarterly GDP data (released in December) also revealed a growth of 3.1%, as Australia pushed through the height of the pandemic.

"However, Australian manufacturers are underprepared to compete in a digital economy, with 82% of survey respondents still in the planning process or yet to implement eCommerce channels to sell to domestic or international buyers; only nine% also have market-aware, dynamic pricing strategies."

Haley Glasgow, APAC Head of Strategic Consulting and Alliances at PROS said: The economic recovery is well underway, but Australian manufacturers must equip themselves with eCommerce and dynamic pricing capabilities, otherwise we risk not only stalling the economic growth already achieved but missing the right moment in history to reclaim our manufacturing heritage.

Australia is incredibly well-placed to leverage smart technologies like artificial intelligence and digital selling channels to overcome the competition challenges from imports and online sources. But to reinvent themselves, investment must be made by the government, industry and companies themselves.

Accelerating the sales process with AI-powered insights can also deliver prescriptive guidance on product recommendations, identify cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and proactively mitigate churn risk. This investment can improve the buying experience, order accuracy and accelerate business growth as the economy recovers, Glasgow continued.

In support of strengthening self-reliance, we're told "nine in ten (90%) Australian manufacturer respondents are confident their company has access to a skilled Australian workforce capable of producing, marketing and selling its products through traditional and digital channels.

"Prior to the pandemic, multinational glass manufacturer Saint-Gobain had a traditional approach to purchasing and selling, completing only 10% of its orders online. Now, more than 80% of orders are conducted through AI-powered digital selling platforms, demonstrating the growing appetite from manufacturing buyers to purchase through digital channels."

Jean Phillippe Bitouzet, Supply Chain and Business Model Director at Saint-Gobain said: In the emerging digital selling landscape, customers are looking for a frictionless buying experiences, with immediate responses about pricing and delivery.

PROS has proved to be an excellent partner, committed to our success. Today were able to simplify the order process, deliver quotes more quickly, and provide tracking and delivery.

As Australian manufacturers seek to reshore, it is vital they lead with a digital strategy and mindset if they are to achieve local and global competitiveness. Leveraging price optimisation solutions to process billions of unique prices in real-time, while catering to the complexity of each buying interaction, creates a harmonised pricing strategy for 2021 and beyond, Glasgow concluded.



The Australian Manufacturing Outlook survey was conducted by independent market research firm OnePoll in December 2020. The research sample consisted of 500 senior employees in the manufacturing sector across Australia.

Here's a couple of manufacturing related videos from the official PROS YouTube channel:
Classes in the Wilkes County Schools will start on Aug. 23 and end on May 25 in 2021-22 as a result of a calendar approved by the Wilkes Board of Education on Feb. 1.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Big Idea Ventures, the global leader in early-stage alternative protein investing, recently announced the launch of the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund with NC State as the inaugural collaborator. GFRP is a $125 million target fund that will fuel economic development in rural communities through the commercialization of university-developed intellectual property. Today, BIV is announcing nine additional university collaborators to the fund:

Louisiana State University  Louisiana State University AgCenters research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university.

 Louisiana State University AgCenters research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university. Oregon State University  Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. OSUs College of Agricultural Sciences accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment.

 Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. OSUs College of Agricultural Sciences accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment. Penn State University  Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with annual research expenditures exceeding $1 billion. Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been notably successful at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the Invent Penn State initiative, a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies.

 Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with annual research expenditures exceeding $1 billion. Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been notably successful at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the Invent Penn State initiative, a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies. Purdue University  Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S.

 Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Tufts University - Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering.

- Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering. University of Hawaii  The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. The University of Hawaii at Manoa, the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more.

 The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. The University of Hawaii at Manoa, the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign  As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at aces.illinois.edu.

 As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at aces.illinois.edu. University of Massachusetts Amherst  UMass Amherst is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the 2020 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

 UMass Amherst is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the 2020 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. Worcester Polytechnic Institute  Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a long history of intellectual property creation across a number of cutting-edge technologies. Innovations span biotechnology, tissue engineering, bioreactor design, sensing technologies, advanced materials, machine learning, and scale-up manufacturing processes. Recognizing WPIs strong interdisciplinary approach connecting life sciences and manufacturing engineering, WPIs NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a research center focused in part on the industrial drying of food products, is leading to the development of technologies that support companies in the food industry worldwide.

Were honored to welcome these universities to the GFRP consortium, said Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer for Big Idea Ventures. The research being conducted at each of these institutions spans our three areas of focus: breakthroughs in food, protein and agriculture innovation. Our team is excited to start building new companies based on technology being developed by some of the worlds best and brightest.

The GFRP fund will establish venture centers to facilitate collaboration with multiple leading U.S. universities. BIV will staff the venture centers with team members experienced in evaluating intellectual property to work with the universities to identify and evaluate new developments with the strongest commercialization potential and the fund will then invest in new companies formed around the groundbreaking research. These new companies will be headquartered in rural communities near the collaborating universities. The GRRP team expects the first of these to open in conjunction with the initial closing of capital commitments.

We believe GFRP will drive additional research and encourage entrepreneurs to establish their companies near our venture centers in rural America, added Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner of BIV. Our rural communities have always been the center of our countrys food production and this is one way to help those communities continue to grow economically into the future.

About Big Idea VenturesBig Idea Ventures (BIV) is solving the world's greatest challenges by supporting the worlds best entrepreneurs. Big Idea Ventures develops the most globally strategic funds delivering significant investor returns while addressing real world challenges. BIV is focused on alternative protein with its New Protein Fund, innovations in the food industry to solve challenges in waste, water use, plastic use and CO2 with its Generation Food Fund and commercialization of university intellectual property with its Generation Food Rural Partners fund. www.bigideaventures.com

Media ContactBig Idea Ventures | Tom Mastrobuoni | tom@bigideaventures.com | +1-201-725-3800

Source: Big Idea Ventures, LLC
DUBAI, UAE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GISEC, the most influential cybersecurity event in the Middle East and Africa, will provide an in-person meeting point for the cybersecurity ecosystem from 31st May-2nd June at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

GISEC is organised in partnership with the UAE's most influential cyber entities to curate regional cybersecurity agendas, including the UAE Cyber Security Council, Dubai Electronic Security Centre, Dubai Police, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), Smart Dubai, Investment Corporation of Dubai, ADNOC Refining and aeCERT.

GISEC is the largest regional showcase of cybersecurity solutions, hosted alongside a three-day conference agenda attended by government and corporate IT decision makers and supported by digital transformation leaders including Google Cloud, Microsoft, Etisalat Digital and SPIRE Solutions.

GISEC will explore issues including state-sponsored attacks, insider threats, ransomware, malware, DDOS and phishing attacks, as well as the increasing importance of artificial intelligence, 5G and cloud in the cybersecurity realm.

PwC research shows that 55% of organisations are increasing their cybersecurity budgets for 2021, while 90% of executives say their organisations have experienced an increase in cyberattacks due to the pandemic.

"The global pandemic has inflicted widespread suffering and disruption, as well as causing wholesale, unexpected challenges to governments and businesses. As cyber security leaders, if we are not proactive in the ways we collaborate across the cyber ecosystem, the cyber pandemic will have a long-lasting effect on many digital transformations. GISEC is the ideal cybersecurity platform to participate and partner with vendors and government entities in the region, and sparks necessary conversations in order to mitigate cyber attacks," said H.E. Dr. Mohamed Al-Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security, United Arab Emirates Government.

Thomas Loffler, AVP, Exhibitions, said, "The last year has forced the cybersecurity community to face unprecedented threat levels. GISEC 2021 will finally give key stakeholders the opportunity to interact in-person, which is so vital in creating new value by fostering business connections."

In December, DWTC hosted GITEX Technology Week  2020's only major in-person tech event - encompassing GISEC, proving it could curate world-class events with the highest safety protocols, welcoming tens of thousands of visitors from 107 countries, with 96% of attendees recording a 'safe' or 'very safe' experience.

GISEC will host country pavilions from India, the UK and Turkey, with Germany and Israel debuting their government-supported pavilions for the first time.

Media Contact:

James Dartnell

+971-430-86354

[email protected]





SOURCE Dubai World Trade Centre
Red Light Holland to purchase 80% of Happy Caps Urban Gourmet Mushroom Farm, specializing in quality 'grow your own mushroom kits', mushroom plug spawn and fresh mushrooms for the wholesale market

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTC Pink: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale of a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, is pleased to announce it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire an 80% stake in Happy Caps Farm ("Happy Caps"), one of Nova Scotia's most unique gourmet mushroom farms, cleverly positioned in the mushroom plug spawn business, selling fresh mushrooms for the wholesale market and specializing in 'grow your own mushroom kits'.

"Now this gets me excited! Happy Caps' founders, Andrew Kobayashi and Andrew Hatfield will be strong additions to Red Light Holland. Not only are we expected to purchase an 80% stake in their growing and profitable business, but we will also gain valuable intellectual property as Andrew and Andrew both possess strong mushroom growing expertise and capabilities," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "There remain a few details to iron out, but everyone at Red Light Holland is extremely excited by the potential to grow our business, our brand and our revenues in our home country of Canada and we look forward to potentially realizing synergies by introducing Happy Caps to Europe via our wholly owned distribution company SR-Wholesale."

"Getting to know Todd Shapiro and the entire team at Red Light Holland has been a pleasure so far," said Andrew Kobayashi, CEO of Happy Caps "We are very experienced Mushroom growers and can work effectively with all types of genetics and strains. We are looking forward to working with Todd and his team to drive growth in our Happy Caps homegrow kits, where we help you grow your own mushrooms."

"We are making mushroom growing easy and accessible, and Red Light Holland gets that! They also get how magical growing mushrooms can be, which is why we are excited to effect this transaction," said Andrew Hatfield, CMO of Happy Caps. "We look forward to working as Red Light Holland's Master Growers in Canada, and believe that together we can contribute to future growth in the ever-expanding mushroom industry."

Further details of the proposed 80% acquisition will be announced once available.

About Happy Caps Farm

Happy Caps is an urban gourmet mushroom farm located in Halifax, Nova Scotia that specializes in quality 'grow your own mushroom kits', mushroom plug spawn and fresh mushrooms for the wholesale market. Grow your own Mushroom kits are available at www.HappyCaps.ca

About Red Light Holland Corp.

The Company is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth and sale (through existing Smart Shops operators and an advanced e-commerce platform) of a premium brand of magic truffles to the legal market within the Netherlands, in accordance with the highest standards, in compliance with all applicable laws.

For additional information on the Company:

Todd Shapiro

Chief Executive Officer & Director

Tel: 647-204-7129

Email: todd@redlighttruffles.com

Website: https://redlighttruffles.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (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.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, information the timing and other aspects of the non-binding letter of intent to acquire 80% of Happy Caps Farm; statements about the Company's partnership with Happy Caps Farm; risks associated with the psychedelics industry in general such as operational risks in growing, competition, incorrect assessment of the value and potential benefits of various transactions; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals and changes in legislation; changes to the Company's strategic growth plans; and the prospects thereof and the distribution and sale of mushroom products. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward- looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. In particular, there is no guarantee that the acquisition of 80% of Happy Caps Farm will proceed, or if it does proceed it will reflect the understanding of the parties as of the date of this release. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80325
All Pennsylvania COVID-19 vaccine providers should pause giving doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for at least a week, on the heels of a Tuesday recommendation from federal health officials, the state Health Department said

The department is taking the precautionary step as the Federal Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention review the cases of six women between the ages of 18 and 48, who had potentially serious blood clots 6 to 13 days after vaccination. This is a rare event as 6.8 million Americans have already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

While this announcement is challenging, it highlights the vaccine evaluation process, Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. The CDC and the FDA are closely monitoring vaccines for safety and effectiveness, and if there is a cause for concern, they will take action because safety is paramount. This protocol should give all Pennsylvanians confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine, and individuals should proceed with getting vaccinated as soon as possible to fight the virus, particularly as our case counts rise.

New Jersey announced a similar pause on Tuesday.

The CDC is convening an emergency meeting Wednesday of the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices to review the six cases for any details that may shed light on the rare blood clots. During a press conference Tuesday, federal officials indicated that the blood clots require specialized treatment that medical providers need to be aware of.

One more point on WHY pause now?



Heparin is usually used to treat blood clots.



BUT in this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.



So the pause gives the medical community time.  Ben Wakana (@benwakana46) April 13, 2021

The single-dose vaccine has made up a small share of Pennsylvania and Philadelphias vaccine allotments. The federal government has allotted 4.3 million Pfizer doses and 4 million Moderna doses total through Monday to Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

Both received a total of 428,400 Johnson & Johnson single-dose shots, which the state largely earmarked for essential workers like teachers and law enforcement. The two vaccine entities saw an all-time high of 192,700 doses the week ending April 5, but the allotment dropped to just 22,800 over the last seven days.

St. Lukes University Health Network is temporarily transitioning all future appointments to Moderna or Pfizer doses, spokesman Sam Kennedy said. Anyone who already received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being contacted to self-monitor for symptoms, which may include severe headache, visual changes, abdominal pain, leg pain, confusion or shortness of breath. The network advises contacting your healthcare provider if you experience symptoms and calling 911 in an emergency.

At the direction of the CDC and FDA, we along with other health care providers are pausing the administration of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine out of an abundance of caution..., Kennedy said. While these serious reactions are extremely rare, we encourage all individuals who received the J&J vaccine to monitor for symptoms for three weeks post vaccination.

Locally, Lehigh Valley Health Network said it has never received or administered Johnson and Johnson doses. This pause could create increased demand for the other two-shot vaccines, but that could be hard to track since it comes at the same time anyone 16 and up can book an appointment, spokesman Brian Downs said.

The state health department urges anyone with a vaccine appointment to keep it and know they will be receiving Pfizer or Moderna.

Some scientists used Twitter Tuesday to emphasize just how rare these potential complications are and to encourage faith in the vaccines.

For perspective, here are some numbers:



1 in 1,000,000: J&J vaccine

1 in 3,000: oral contraceptives

1 in 5: hospitalized COVID-19 patients



As someone who got the J&J vaccine 8 days ago, and who took oral contraceptives for 20 years, Ill take these odds.  Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) April 13, 2021

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Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
Indias beleaguered blockchain industry has finally got some solid support to ensure its survival, with an influential industry evangelist evoking the vision of a billion smartphones acting as gateways to the brave new world of decentralized finance.

In this world, Wall Street's capabilities will be available to everyone, according to angel investor Balaji Srinivasan, formerly the chief technology officer at Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange about to go public. We could turn every phone into not just a bank account but a bonafide Bloomberg Terminal," he writes on his blog.

Mobile banking has indeed emerged as a way to end financial exclusion, a chronic problem in all emerging markets. In India, payments worth almost $60 billion are now taking place every month via wireless devices, three-fifths more than ATM withdrawals. A year ago, cash was ahead by 37%. At this rate of digital adoption, the lead enjoyed by checks might also soon vanish.

But because India has done exceedingly well in mobile payments, the bureaucracy has developed a phlegmatic resistance to newer ideas. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are misunderstood as instruments of money laundering that offer no real benefits. The countrys nascent blockchain industry  survivor of an attempt on its life in 2018  is growing up in fear. According to media reports, a new law might ban all tokenized representation of money  unless it is the central banks own electronic cash.

Srinivasans advocacy has thus come at a crucial time. A digital wallet that can handle both central bank-issued electronic cash and cryptocurrencies will end up giving every Indian the ability to make both domestic and international transactions of arbitrary complexity, attracting crypto capital from around the world, and leapfrogging the 20th century financial system entirely," he says in his blog post.

A sometime Stanford University lecturer in computational biology and statistics and cofounder of a genomics startup, Srinivasan is a recognized name in the rapidly growing field of smart contracts. Running on the Ethereum blockchain, these lines of cryptographic code can substitute for paper agreements, calculations of who owes what to whom, and enforcement of claims via courts.

Its early days, but if they live up to their hype, smart contracts could upend traditional finance.

Srinivasan is proposing to put this new-age capability within reach of Indias internet users, wholl be nearing the 1 billion mark by 2023. Whats more, iSPIRT, the think tank that has conceived much of Indias digital identity and payments architecture, is putting its weight behind his idea, which it says can help fill a $250 billion financing gap for small and midsize firms. Meritorious businesses without national profiles arent able to access the capital they need," the Bangalore-based think tanks researchers wrote in a companion paper to Srinivasans article.

The message is clear. The tech industry is picking up the cudgels on behalf of blockchain entrepreneurs, with Nandan Nilekani, a cofounder of software exporter Infosys Ltd. and the architect of Indias universal identification program, amplifying iSPIRTs case with a tweet.

The arguments should give policy makers pause before they impose some sort of an impractical, impossible-to-enforce ban on cryptocurrencies. Millennials have already embraced tokens. India is of late providing more volume than China on popular peer-to-peer platforms for transferring Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The bureaucracy will no doubt push back. The Reserve Bank of India, which tried in 2018 to cut off the digital-asset industrys links to local bank accounts, would likely see Srinivasans proposals for democratized access to international finance as an end to its capital controls. (Even students, he says, should be allowed to issue personal tokens, collateralizing the worth of their future time.) Monetary policy may then have to give up trying to manage the exchange rate altogether.

Maybe the authorities will propose a compromise: experimentation in baby steps. That will be just fine, considering that the still-modest $50 billion decentralized finance industry will need time to mature. As the Greensill Capital fiasco showed, even promising innovations in closely supervised conventional finance  such as supply-chain financing  arent without their big blowups.

At a minimum, decentralized finance offers a third option. Traditional banks are slow and expensive, while finance by large e-commerce firms could get too dominant. Big Techs can use their platforms to generate large amounts of customer data, employ it in training their artificial intelligence algorithms, and identify high-quality loans more efficiently than competitors lacking the same information," says University of California, Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen.

China is reining in its tech titans, and may launch its official digital currency, e-CNY, next year. India, meanwhile, is still debating whether it can employ blockchain technology in social projects like land registry while barring tokens from circulating as money. With proponents like Srinivasan and Nilekani, the conversation will hopefully become more real.

Andy Mukherjee is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services. He previously was a columnist for Reuters Breakingviews. He has also worked for the Straits Times, ET NOW and Bloomberg News.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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State President launches tree planting campaign

State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc launched a tree planting campaign at a ceremony held at the historical site K9-Da Chong in Hanois Ba Vi district on April 13.















State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

In his speech at the event, Phuc affirmed that the army should make tree planting and afforestation as a practical political task following President Ho Chi Minh's teaching.



He happily acknowledged that the army has actively responded to a project on growing 1 billion trees in Vietnam, having planted more than 1.5 million trees since the beginning of 2021.



The president lauded the Ministry of National Defences organisation of tree planting movements across all military units, particularly those stationed in midland, mountainous, and island areas; economic and defence groups; and barracks.



He recommended the army to conduct more communications campaigns on the role of afforestation and collaborate with local authorities and people to prevent illegal logging and forest fire.



State President launches tree planting campaign hinh anh 2President Phuc and other officials offer incence at the shrine dedicated to the late President Ho Chi Minh at the K9-Da Chong site (Photo: VNA)



The army planted nearly 11 million trees during 2015  2020 in contribution to greening up barren land, proactively preventing and combating natural disasters, and improving the environment and landscape around their barracks. It has set a goal to grow more than 37 million trees in the 2021  2025 period.



As part of the ceremony, Phuc joined other participating officials and military officers to plant trees at the site.


US nominates NY lawyer to monitor United Auto Workers union View Photo

DETROIT (AP)  The U.S. attorneys office in Detroit is recommending that a federal judge name New York lawyer Neil Barofsky to monitor the United Auto Workers unions behavior after a corruption scandal.

Appointing an independent monitor is part of a settlement the union agreed to with federal prosecutors in December. Hell stay in place for six years unless both sides agree to a shorter term.

Barofsky leads the law firm Jenner & Blocks monitorship practice. He monitored two units of Credit Suisse following multibillion-dollar settlements. He also was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and served as Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out banks and two auto companies after the 2009 financial crisis.

After a monitor is appointed, the union has six months to hold a secret-ballot election to decide whether members will vote directly to pick the unions future leaders. Barofsky would monitor the election, as well as compliance with the settlement. Currently union leaders are picked by delegates to a national convention.

The monitor will administer the election, will have the power to approve hiring or discharges of union employees, and can end or approve contracts, the settlement agreement says.

Acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin made the motion to hire Barofsky on Monday, according to court records. The union submitted the names of three candidates, and the appointment still must be approved by Judge David Lawson.

The agreement came in the wake of a wide-ranging federal probe into corruption that reached into the upper ranks of the 400,000-member UAW. It held off a possible federal takeover of the union due to the bribery and embezzlement investigation that has lasted more than five years.

The probe has led to 11 convictions of union members, including two former presidents. The U.S. Attorneys office said it uncovered embezzlement of over $1.5 million in dues money, kickbacks to union officials from vendors, and $3.5 million in illegal payments from executives at Fiat Chrysler who wanted to corruptly influence contract talks.

UAW President Rory Gamble, who was not charged in the probe, has said the union is now clean and will have safeguards in place to prevent the scandal from happening again.
New York, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Next Generation Military Power Supply Market Research Report by Type, by Component, by System Type, by End Use - United States Forecast to 2025 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06014214/?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 United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market is expected to grow from USD 2,052.01 Million in 2020 to USD 3,178.31 Million by the end of 2025.

2. The United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market is expected to grow from EUR 1,799.24 Million in 2020 to EUR 2,786.80 Million by the end of 2025.

3. The United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market is expected to grow from GBP 1,599.53 Million in 2020 to GBP 2,477.47 Million by the end of 2025.

4. The United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market is expected to grow from JPY 219,001.74 Million in 2020 to JPY 339,206.63 Million by the end of 2025.

5. The United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market is expected to grow from AUD 2,979.79 Million in 2020 to AUD 4,615.33 Million by the end of 2025.



Market Segmentation & Coverage:

This research report categorizes the Next Generation Military Power Supply to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:



"The Programmable is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Type, the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market studied across Non-Programmable and Programmable. The Non-Programmable commanded the largest size in the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Programmable is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Software is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on Component, the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market studied across Hardware and Software. The Hardware further studied across AC/DC Converter, DC/AC Converter, DC/DC Converter, and EMI Filter. The Hardware commanded the largest size in the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Software is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Integrated Power Modules is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on System Type, the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market studied across Discrete Power Supply System and Integrated Power Modules. The Discrete Power Supply System commanded the largest size in the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Integrated Power Modules is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



"The Naval is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period"



Based on End Use, the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market studied across Aerial, Land, and Naval. The Aerial commanded the largest size in the Next Generation Military Power Supply Market in 2020. On the other hand, the Naval is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period.



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.



360iResearch FPNV Positioning Matrix:

The 360iResearch FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the Next Generation Military Power Supply 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.



360iResearch Competitive Strategic Window:

The 360iResearch Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies. The 360iResearch 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 United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market?

2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market during the forecast period?

3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market?

4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market?

5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market?

6. What are the modes and strategic moves considered suitable for entering the United States Next Generation Military Power Supply Market?

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06014214/?utm_source=GNW



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(Natural News) Brazil recorded more than 4,000 deaths related to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in 24 hours for the first time as a new surge of the disease filled the countrys hospitals and morgues.

With 4,195 deaths on Tuesday, April 6, Brazil came close to the peak U.S. daily death toll of 4,476 recorded on Jan. 12, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Brazils COVID-19 death toll is now almost 337,000, next only to the U.S. To date, Brazil has recorded more than 13 million cases of COVID-19. Some 66,570 people died with COVID-19 in March, more than double the previous monthly record.

Brazil is brewing new variants every week

Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, a former regional coordinator of the countrys pandemic response team, described Brazils response to the crisis as a complete calamity.

Its the largest human tragedy in Brazilian history, he said. We may get to 500,000 deaths by July 1, thats the latest estimate.

Nicolelis quickly corrected himself, citing the estimates released by the University of Washington. If the rate of transmission goes up by about 10 percent, we could get to 600,000 deaths, he said.

Its a nuclear reactor that has set off a chain reaction and is out of control. Its a biological Fukushima, he said, referring to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan that was sparked by a tsunami in 2011. (Related: Brazil relives the worst of the pandemic as coronavirus cases and deaths surge anew.)

According to Nicolelis, Brazil is threatening to undermine the entire effort of the international community to control the pandemic on the planet.

If Brazil is not under control, then the planet is not going to be safe, because we are brewing new variants every week and they are going to cross borders, he said.

Brazilian president says no to lockdown

Despite the recent spike in its COVID-19 death toll, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro maintained that there would be no national lockdown.

Were not going to accept this politics of stay home and shut everything down, Bolsonaro said, resisting the pressure in a speech in the city of Chapeco in Santa Catarina state. There will be no national lockdown.

Last month, Bolsonaro told people in Rio de Janeiro to stop whining about the virus. On Tuesday, he criticized quarantine measures and suggested that they were linked to obesity and depression.

Other government officials also insisted that Brazil will soon be back to normal. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said: We think that probably two, three months from now Brazil could be back to business.

Bolsonaro has seen his popularity go down amid heavy criticism of his handling of the pandemic. He has shifted his focus to immunizations recently, pledging to make 2021 the year of vaccinations.

However, the country has struggled with the rollout of its program. Critics said his government was slow in negotiating supplies. Only around 8 percent of the population had been given at least one dose, according to the Our World in Data tracker.

Health experts and Bolsonaros political opponents demanded stricter measures to slow down the spread of the virus.

In an open letter published Tuesday in the newspaper O Globo, the Brazilian Association of Collective Health called for a three-week nationwide lockdown.

The serious epidemiological situation that is leading to the collapse of the health system in several states requires the immediate adoption, without hesitation, of strict restrictive measures, the statement said.

Brazil is fighting a more transmissible variant of the virus

The country is fighting a more transmissible variant of the virus that has swept the nation in recent months. According to reports, 92 variants have now been detected in the country  including the P.1 or Brazil variant, which is thought to be much more contagious. (Related: Another Plandemic? P1 said to be a different pandemic from the one we saw last year  Brazil is the target.)

The preliminary results of an ongoing study involving 67,700 healthcare workers in Manaus  where a more contagious variant of COVID-19 was detected this year  seemed to confirm earlier findings that Chinas Sinovac vaccine is effective against the virus.

A press release published Wednesday mentioned a 50 percent efficacy rate after the administration of just one of the vaccines two doses.

The study involves researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine, the Yale School of Public Health and Brazils state-run Fiocruz Institute. In its own preliminary study, Sao Paulos Butantan Institute had also found in March that the vaccine was effective against the P1 variant.

With mass vaccinations curtailing the U.S. outbreak, Brazil has quickly become the epicenter of the pandemic. According to a new analysis by Reuters, the country is contributing about one in four deaths per day globally.

Brazil has set daily death records every week since late February. Patients with COVID-19 are occupying more than 90 percent of intensive care unit beds while several states have reported short supplies of oxygen and sedatives.

Epidemiologist Ethel Maciel said the country was in a dreadful situation.

At the rate were vaccinating the only way to slow the extremely fast spread of the virus is an effective lockdown for at least 20 days, she said.

Some cant help but take a shot at the president.

The fact is the anti-lockdown narrative of President Jair Bolsonaro has won, said Miguel Lago, executive director of Brazils Institute for Health Policy Studies, which advises public health officials. Mayors and governors are politically prohibited from beefing up social distancing policies because they know supporters of the president, including business leaders, will sabotage them.

Follow Pandemic.news for more news and information related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sources include:

TheSun.co.uk

Coronavirus.JHU.edu

BBC.com

APNews.com

OurWorldInData.org
County Derry recorded over a quarter more positive cases of Covid-19 over the last seven days than were identified during the previous week.

A total of 170 cases were identified within the county's postal areas, a figure which meant the rate per 100,000 rose to 68.5, almost double the overall Northern Ireland figure of 37.9.

The 28.8% increase in positive tests is alongside a 10.7% rise in testing numbers, and the percentage of positive tests only rose from 3% to 3.8% over the seven days.

Magherafelt's rate per 100,000 of population continues to yo-yo, and BT45 now has the lowest in the county, except for Portstewart's BT55 area which recorded no cases from 145 tests.

The highest rate is in Derry City's BT48 area, where a 39% increase in cases saw their rate rise to 126.5, with 7.1% of those tested being positive.

There were two Covid-related deaths within the county's three local government districts over the last seven days. One was recorded in Mid Ulster and the second in Causeway Coast and Glens.

There have been no Covid-related deaths in Derry City and Strabane for a second week in a row.

Twelve patients are currently being treated for Covid-19 in Altnagelvin Hospital, a drop of one from last week's figure, while 16 are being treated at Antrim Area Hospital, a reduction of three.

Five patients are currently being treated at Causeway Hospital, an increase of four from last week, while a further five are being treated at Mid Ulster Hospital.

826,412 first doses of the vaccine have now been administered, representing 43.7% of the NI population, while a further 199,500 have received their second dose.

Health Minister Robin Swann has paid tribute to the vaccine teams after the total number breached 1,000,000 at the weekend.

The success of our vaccination programme is down to the hard work and dedication of the health care teams and volunteers working in GP practices, pharmacies and vaccination centres right across Northern Ireland, he said.

It is testament to them that we surpassed the one million vaccines milestone at the weekend and over 820,000 people in Northern Ireland have now received a vaccine.

Health Minister Robin Swann receives his vaccine.

Every jab takes us further down the pathway towards a better and safer future and I would call on people to get the vaccine when their turn comes, or if you fall into one of the eligible cohorts then book your appointment today.

Do not delay. Having received my first COVID-19 vaccine I can assure people that it was a quick and straightforward process and Im grateful that Ill soon have some protection from this awful virus while I await my second dose in due course.
Related: Michigan will pause use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, following CDC guidance

Federal regulators are recommending a pause on the use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine while they review a handful of severe reactions to the shot.

On Tuesday, April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement recommending a pause in use of the one-shot vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

The pause comes as the CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. These adverse events appear to be extremely rare, the FDA said, as more than 6.8 million doses have been administered in the U.S. to date.

The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday, April 14 to further review the cases and assess their potential significance. The FDA will then review their analysis.

Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause, the FDA tweeted Tuesday morning. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.

As of Monday, Michigan had administered 199,075 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. MLive attempted to reach the states health department for comment on the recommendation but was not immediately successful. It is unknown if any Michigan residents had a severe reaction to the vaccine.

Related: 6 things you need to know about new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

The FDA is slated to host a virtual press conference on the subject at 10 a.m. Tuesday, which will be aired via its Youtube account.

In late February, Johnson & Johnsons vaccine was found to be safe and effective against COVID-19 following clinical trials of about 45,000 participants. It became the third shot to receive emergency use authorization in the U.S., making it available to be used during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week, at least four states -- Georgia, North Carolina, Iowa and Colorado -- reported adverse reactions of people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at some locations, according to a report by the Associated Press. Some of the adverse reactions involved fainting in Georgia and North Carolina.

The CDC was investigating the incidents in those four states as of Friday, April 9.

Read more on MLive:

Among 1.7 million fully vaccinated Michiganders, state identifies small number of COVID-19 infections and deaths

Michigan reports 4,000+ coronavirus hospitalizations for first time since December

Active COVID-19 outbreaks jump another 16% in Michigans April 12 report

With a long way to go, Detroit takes vaccination efforts directly to neighborhoods
The rare volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland has become a tourist hot spot for the weekend hikers as thousands occasionally gather admiring the hot red glowing lava that streams into a river. The fissure burst near Mount Fagradalsfjall has also witnessed some valiant sightseers grilling hotdogs, and marshmallows and gathering in large number, encircling to gasp and admire at the volcanic phenomenon that occurred in about 900 years at about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik. The recent pictures of the visitors from the scene have now sparked jokes and humour across the social media as the internet compared the gatherers witnessing, what they call breathtaking volcanic spurts and incandescent lava with a scene from the HBO drama, Game of Thrones.

As the photos of eruption scenes, captured by an aerial videographer, Brian Emfinger appeared online, many compared its visual appeal with R. R. Martins A Song of Ice and Fire series Game of Thrones symbology that revolves around ice vs. fire. Iceland hikers were seen flocking the site in knee-deep snow as they stood glancing at the stark red hot lava streams bubbling and spurting out against the pure white snow following onto the snowy mountainous terrain in frosty temperatures. The image of the 300,000 cubic meters (10.5 million cubic feet) of lava streaming in the ice-cold region and Icelanders collectively reminded the internet of HBOs screenplay, as the scenes bore resemblance with the fantasy drama. This photo is very interesting, one said. Whats strange, is the snow between the people and flow, isnt melted, another analyzed. The third wrote, Land of fire and ice, making reference to Martins Game of Thrones.

'Power of photos..' netizens analyse the scene

Several others admired the photographic skills of Emfinger saying, The second picture is fascinating. The fractal structure, the people around it at a universal distance. It's perfect. Another commented, The power of these photos, the snow and lava contrast.. One other compared the scene with Werner Herzog and volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer's documentary as they said, You think folks are getting close there? Check out Werner Herzog's film Into the Inferno. The movie features somewhat similar shots and stunning views of volcanic eruptions and lava flows. Those Icelanders! You have to love them, one other said.

On Friday, a separate volcanic eruption covered the Caribbean island of St Vincent after a long-dormant fissure exploded, spewing red hot lava and ash plumes 6 km (3.7 miles) in the air. More than 16,000 inhabitants in "red zones" were asked to immediately evacuate by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

I wonder if you can grill marshmallow with lava. cc @enn_nafnlaus  Tim Wither (@WitherTim) April 11, 2021

Land of fire and ice.  Asroq Khotaminur (@asarochi) April 11, 2021

As long as you arent in a low point where sulfurous gases and carbon dioxide can pool (particularly in cold weather), youll be fine. Cooking stuff on it is the only bad idea, youll get microscopic peles hair and volcanic glass in your teeth and GI tract - fun stuff!!   Covert Goat (@CovertGoat) April 11, 2021

Why are the people so close to the glowly molten stuff?  MatthewSievert (@MatthewSievert) April 10, 2021

We've got a daredevil here pic.twitter.com/WDi0cuVgXp  Jesse Clark (@PandaSalesman) April 10, 2021

Incredible images, wow!  McArt Lab (@McArtLab) April 11, 2021

Stunning images  Paul Le Comte (@five15photoNZ) April 11, 2021

That looks dangerous.. "hey let's go gather round in front of the actively flowing lava and roast marshmallows"  Judi Anne McIlroy (@judithamc) April 10, 2021

I guess everything changed when the fire nation attacked...  Mohl (@Mohl) April 11, 2021

Maybe with a 10 meter pole made of incredibly heat-resistant material you could get a marshmallow close enough to immediately evaporate?  Dork Helmet (@HelmetDork) April 11, 2021

Earth growing a cerebellum. Nature is healing  pic.twitter.com/s9f50RnNe4  Ubadah Sabbagh (@neubadah) April 10, 2021

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.
U.S. regulators are throwing another wrench into Wall Streets SPAC machine by cracking down on how accounting rules apply to a key element of blank-check companies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is setting forth new guidance that warrants, which are issued to early investors in the deals, might not be considered equity instruments and may instead be liabilities for accounting purposes. The move, reported earlier by Bloomberg News, threatens to disrupt filings for new special purpose acquisition companies until the issue is resolved.

Related: SEC Warns SPACs Arent a Way to Avoid Securities Laws SPAC Mania Anxiety Grows; Bankers, Regulators, Insurers Try to Keep Pace

The accounting considerations mark the latest effort by the SEC to clamp down on the white-hot SPAC market. For months, the regulator has been raising red flags that investors arent being fully informed of potential risks associated with blank-check companies, which list on public stock exchanges to raise money for the purpose of buying other entities.

The SEC began reaching out to accountants last week with the guidance on warrants, according to people familiar with the matter. A pipeline of hundreds of filings for new SPACs could be affected, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations were private.

The SEC indicated that they will not declare any registration statements effective unless the warrant issue is addressed, according to a client note sent by accounting firm Marcum that was reviewed by Bloomberg.

In a SPAC, early investors buy units, which typically includes a share of common stock and a fraction of a warrant to purchase more stock at a later date. Theyre considered a sweetener for backers and have thus far been considered equity instruments for accounting purposes. Sponsor teams  the management of a SPAC  are also typically given warrants as part of their reward to find a deal, on top of the founder shares.

In a statement late Monday, SEC officials urged those involved in SPACs to pay attention to the accounting implications of their transactions. They said that a recent analysis of the market had shown a fact pattern in transactions in which warrants should be classified as a liability measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.

The evaluation of the accounting for contracts in an entitys own equity, such as warrants issued by a SPAC, requires careful consideration of the specific facts and circumstances for each entity and each contract, the officials said in the statement.

The SEC issued its guidance after a firm asked the agency how certain accounting rules applied to SPACs, according to another person familiar with the matter. Its unclear how many companies will be impacted by the move and not all warrants will be affected. Still, regulators consider it likely to be a widespread issue. Firms will be expected to review their statements and correct any material errors, said the person.

The shift would spell a massive nuisance for accountants and lawyers, who are hired to ensure blank-check companies are in compliance with the agency. SPACs that are already public and that have struck mergers with targets may have to restate their financial results, the people familiar with the matter said.

More than 550 SPACs have filed to go public on U.S. exchanges in the year to date, seeking to raise a combined $162 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That exceeds the total for all of 2020, during which SPACs raised more than every prior year combined.

In an April 8 statement, John Coates, the SECs top official for corporate filings, warned Wall Street against viewing SPACs as a way to avoid securities laws. Claims that promoters face less legal liability than a traditional public offering are uncertain at best, Coates, who was one of the officials issuing Mondays statement on accounting, said at the time.

The deluge has overwhelmed those responsible for reviewing filings at the SEC, triggered a surge in liability insurance rates for blank-check companies and fueled market anxieties that the bubble is about to burst.

With assistance from Robert Schmidt.

Photograph: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission headquarters stands in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
A Pottsville man was charged late Monday night with stabbing an Orwigsburg man to death in what state police are calling a road rage incident earlier in the day along Route 61 in West Brunswick Township.

Tamir Ion Whitted, 29, of 119 W. Market St., Apt. 1, was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder and related offenses.

State police at Schuylkill Haven said the body of George Marcincin, 38, of Orwigsburg, was found near the concrete barrier in the left southbound lane of the highway at the intersection with Brick Hill Road south of Orwigsburg. He was pronounced dead at the scene by a Schuylkill County deputy coroner.

Police said the victim and the alleged assailant were involved in a road rage incident about 2 p.m. and stopped their vehicles along the highway. Both men exited their vehicles and the assailant allegedly stabbed Marcincin multiple times and drove off.

Orwigsburg police tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver fled. He eventually pulled over a few miles south along Route 61 between Holly Road and Chestnut Hill Drive, where he was taken into custody, police said.

Both the northbound and southbound passing lanes at the intersection were shut down as police investigated.

Roman Delight restaurant is on the west side of the highway in that area and BB&T Bank on the east side.

Whitted was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville, and committed to Schuylkill County Prison without bail.

In a homicide case, bail can only be set by a judge in the county County of Common Pleas and not at the magisterial district judge level.

Reiley tentative preliminary hearing for 10 a.m. April 22 before Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg.
[April 12, 2021] Cardiac Insight Remains Committed to Serving Seniors and Medically Underserved in ECG Wearable Market

Cardiac Insight, Inc., a healthcare innovator specializing in wearable cardiac sensors and proven automated electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis, remains committed to delivering highly differentiated benefits to healthcare providers and all patients, including underserved populations. The company remains optimistic despite the recent April 10, 2021 updates to the original January 29, 2021 reimbursement rate decision published by Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Novitas Solutions (Novitas) and First Coast Service Options (First Coast) for CPT codes 93241, 93243, 93245, and 93247. "Cardiac Insight remains entirely committed to improving the detection of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in all patients at risk," said Brad Harlow, CEO of Cardiac Insight. "We are disappointed to hear iRhythm's announcement to discontinue serving the Medicare fee for service segment with the ZIO XT beginning in the second quarter. We will not abandon our customers or patients during these challenging times. Cardiac Insight continues to ensure equitable access to our cost-effective efficient diagnostic solution to all patiens, particularly the Medicare and medically underserved populations who have been shown to be at higher risk for complications such as stroke."



The company advised it will continue to work with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and all other MACs to ensure access to long-term extended ECG technologies like the Cardea SOLO, no matter where in the United States these populations reside. "Full access to technologies should not rely on the decision of a single MAC, which just happens to be where the majority of the service centers are located," said Bob Odell, President and COO of Cardiac Insight. "Complete access really needs a national coverage determination (NCD), or all of the MACs to reimburse appropriately and equitably. Until this happens, providers are faced with significant challenges to support our seniors and underserved." Cardiac Insight provides the only all-inclusive seven-day ambulatory ECG system, the Cardea SOLO, that enables 100% in-office rapid automated ECG analysis and reporting to detect arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation. Cardea SOLO speeds the time to diagnosis and simplifies the diagnostic process by enabling clinicians to generate an automated report immediately in-house without the need to outsource to third parties.

Follow Cardiac Insight on LinkedIn and Twitter for the latest information. ABOUT CARDIAC INSIGHT, INC: Cardiac Insight, Inc. (www.cardiacinsightinc.com) is a leading U.S. digital healthcare innovation company specializing in the development of medical-grade, body-worn ECG sensor technology and automated cardiac analysis solutions through its proprietary algorithms and software platforms. The company's products include the Cardea SOLO wearable ECG Sensor and Software Analysis System as well as the Cardea 20/20 ECG - the only resting ECG System designed for cardiac risk screening in active youth and athletes at all levels of play. AFib is the most common type of treated heart arrhythmia, with an estimated 2.7 to 6.1 million people in the U.S. living with this arrhythmia. While AFib itself is typically not life-threatening, complications from AFib if left untreated include increased risk for heart problems and heart failure, and increased risk for stroke. AFib is responsible for about one in seven strokes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005994/en/

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Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of reports on the lasting impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. military.

As America slowly emerges from the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Army recruiters are finally beginning to return to face-to-face interactions with young people.

It's been just over a year since the Army ordered its recruiting stations to close temporarily and shifted to an all-virtual recruiting machine. And while U.S. Army Recruiting Command, or USAREC, met its goal for last fiscal year, recruiters are eager to hold large, in-person events as school systems open back up across the country, USAREC commander Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen told Military.com.

"I just spent a couple days out in Ohio, and so their school systems are opening up and [recruiters] are actually doing in-school events," he said. "They're setting up tables, and ... they're physically back doing recruiting operations in high schools.

Read Next: For Decades, Women Were Discharged from the Military for Pregnancy. Now a Lawmaker Wants to Restore Their Benefits

"We are not necessarily completely out of COVID-19, but we are seeing parts of the country opening," Vereen added.

But like the rest of the Army, recruiting and retention officials acknowledge that the pandemic forced the service to learn how to thrive in the virtual world -- a skill that's not going away.

"Hey, look, COVID is absolutely bad, but because we have experienced this for a year, we have been, I think, at the forefront of how can we do things and still have the same effect," Vereen said. "We've done virtual roundtables, we've done virtual hiring fairs, we've done virtual job fairs ... and that's been a huge advantage, and we won't lose that. I think we're going to do a combination of that as we move forward."

Virtual platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom became the go-to tools for holding meetings with potential recruits and their parents. Recruiters also learned how to join existing virtual job fairs being held by unemployment agencies, schools or private companies. They connected with young people by accessing chat rooms on the job fair sites.

Recruiters on the Army eSports Team work late into the night, trying to connect with young people participating in "Call of Duty" and other esports gaming tournaments.

Army retention officers have also learned to do their jobs more efficiently in the virtual landscape, Sgt. Maj. Stuart Morgan, a senior Army career counselor, told Military.com.

"We have learned to operate in the virtual domain, to leverage digital signatures and [rely on] platforms such as MS Teams to actually conduct the reenlistment ceremony," Morgan said. "So not only have we learned to adapt to a new environment, it has actually injected some additional flexibility into the program that we will continue to use in the future."

Other services have also ramped up virtual recruiting operations. The Navy last year accelerated a plan to have "e-talent teams" at each of the service's more than two dozen talent acquisition groups.

The teams receive all the Navy's marketing and advertising leads, meaning those inquiring about the service on its recruiting website or phone line, which used to go straight to recruiters. The e-talent teams are also engaging and vetting those leads to ensure they're qualified and interested in military service, which frees up recruiters to do other tasks.

The Navy has also experimented with several social media influencers -- musicians, chefs, do-it-yourself builders, and others -- to help get its story out. Called the "Sailor Vs." series, the videos feature sailors doing similar jobs as popular social media influencers to highlight some of the more unexpected ratings the Navy has to offer.

Marine recruiters have experimented with virtual town halls, online career fairs and other safe ways to connect with young people in their communities.

But the virtual experience has not been without challenges, as the Army at times struggled to navigate the minefield of rules and norms for operating in the online world.

Last July, the Army temporarily stopped its esports team from streaming on Twitch in the wake of accusations that it had banned commenters for asking about war crimes.

The Army said commenters were spamming the team's social media pages asking questions like "what's your favorite war crime," which led recruiting officials to reexamine its policies for banning individuals.

Vereen views the episode as a learning experience about the inherent risks of social media.

"For us, it's a reality, it's a fact of life," he said. "But we have gotten comfortable, and we understand, look, everybody doesn't have the best interest of the military at hand. But there are a lot of folks that do. And that's the people that we really want to talk to."

With five months left in the fiscal year, both Army recruiting and retention officials say they are confident they will meet their goals.

The service's total retention mission is 56,300, and "we have completed 55,900," Morgan said.

"We continue to have very strong performance in the retention program," he added. "We are actually forecasting that we are going to complete our fiscal year objective by the middle of April."

Army officials, however, have been reluctant to discuss recruiting goals after the service missed its goal for fiscal 2018 by 6,500 soldiers.

Vereen said the Army has not yet set a formal recruiting goal for this fiscal year, nor has the service set an active end-strength goal beyond its current size of 486,000.

"Whatever number we would have today would be definitely different by the time we got to the end of the fiscal year," he said, describing how the number fluctuates every month.

"I think we're in a good position. ... We will definitely hold up our end of the bargain."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Army Gambles on Virtual Tools Like Facetime to Make Up Recruiting Shortfall
Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead, Manitoba Vaccine Implementation Task Force draws a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Winnipeg, on March 19, 2021. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

Universities Concerned Vaccine Rollout Will Delay Return of International Students

Australian university sector executives are worried the delayed vaccine rollout will hinder international students returning to the country.

Theres no way the $40 billion-a-year (US$30.5 billion) industry could withstand the loss of a third academic year next year, Phil Honeywood, CEO of International Education Association of Australia, told The Age.

The recent change in medical advice surrounding the dangers of AstraZeneca has hampered the governments original plan to get every Australian vaccinated by October this year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also refrained from setting a new target but said he hopes the public will be vaccinated by the end of the year.

Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor Barney Glover told The Age he was concerned around rollout delays and hoped it would not impact a program that would enable the return of international students in small numbers.

I am hoping that the challenges around the vaccine program in Australia are not going to adversely affect the very modest trial of students coming inbound, Glover said.

The proposed program refers to the New South Wales (NSW) government plan for alternative quarantine, which will allow small numbers of students into the country without taking up quarantine places of returning Australians.

Education is Australias fourth-largest export and generated $37.5 billion to the Australian economy during the last financial year.

For NSW, it generated $14.6 billion in exports prior to the lockdowns.

The NSW Treasury estimated that the state has already lost one-third of its international student base.

The return of international students as soon as possible is vital for retaining jobs in our education sector, and for the economy more broadly, the NSW Treasury said.

Universities have long been anxious around the delayed re-opening of international borders causing students to look elsewhere to study.

In November last year, IDP Connect found that over half of the students applying for Australian universities were considering switching elsewhere if they could begin studies on campus sooner.

RMIT University spokesman told The Epoch Times that it had seen a decrease in new international students applications compared to the same time last year.

While border controls will see a decrease in international students studying in Australia, RMIT students studying offshore (campuses in Vietnam and partnership Universities) have remained strong throughout the COVID-19 period, the spokesman said.
A second pandemic death has been linked to a highly contagious COVID-19 variant, as the province announced the more infectious strain has spread into northern Manitoba.

A second pandemic death has been linked to a highly contagious COVID-19 variant, as the province announced the more infectious strain has spread into northern Manitoba.

The first confirmed case of the B.1.1.7 variant has been identified in the North, the provincial government announced in a news release Tuesday. The variant was first detected in the U.K. and is becoming the dominant strain of the coronavirus in Manitoba.

Also Tuesday, the province said a man in his 60s from the Winnipeg health region has died after contracting B.1.1.7. His death follows the first reported Manitoba B.1.1.7 death, a Winnipeg man in his 70s, in late March.

The province also reported a second death Tuesday: a man in his 80s linked to a previous COVID-19 outbreak at Holy Family Home in Winnipeg.

The province-wide test positivity rate for COVID-19 was six per cent.

As of Tuesday there were 89 new cases identified in Winnipeg, 34 in the Northern Health region, five each in Prairie Mountain and Southern Health, and two in the Interlake-Eastern Health region.

Manitoba had 62 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 33 of them in the ICU.

An outbreak was declared at the Fairview Personal Care Home in Brandon.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation has lifted its lockdown orders, which were implemented when the Canadian military was called in to respond to a spike in COVID-19 cases in the community last month. General provincial public health orders remain in effect.
The longtime art collector and marketing executive Denise Gardner will become the chairwoman of the Art Institute of Chicago in November, perhaps the countrys first Black woman to hold that position on a major museum board.

Its hard to avoid the historical significance, Gardner said in a telephone interview on Monday. That does add a sense of responsibility and pressure to succeed, and thats fine with me. I like to exceed expectations.

Gardner, 66, will succeed Robert M. Levy  whose term ends in November  at the helm of the Institutes school as well as the museum.

Having served for 15 years as a trustee and for five in her current role as vice chair, Gardner has championed Black artists as well as art accessibility and education for underrepresented audiences. The work is still unfinished, Gardner said. In this role, I can help the museum accelerate its progress.
Monday, April 12, 2021

Introducing

The Fox Feats and Shark Tales of Pollution Fighter James F. Phillips and Animal Rights Warrior Steven O. Hindi

by Pauline Marie Gambill

The FOX FEATS and SHARK TALES of Pollution Fighter James F. Phillips and Animal Rights Warrior Steven O. Hindi is an extensive and absorbing look at the lives and achievements of two courageous and fearless individuals: James F. Phillips (1930-2001), known as the Fox; and Steven Hindi, founder of the animal rights organization SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness).

The book delves into the early lives of Phillips and Hindi and looks at what drove them to a fierce and relentless dedication to their causes. Their journeys were not without serious and dangerous obstacles, andin Hindis caseeven resulted in physical injury. In addition to the telling of the mens intriguing histories, visual images provide an important peek into their lives and work.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-954039-05-6

 Publisher : Who Chains You Books (April 2, 2021)  Language : English  Paperback : 296 pages  ISBN-10 : 1954039050  ISBN-13 : 978-1954039056  Item Weight : 14.1 ounces  Dimensions : 6 x 0.67 x 9 inches

E-Pub ISBN: 978-1-954039-06-3

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091SK675D

Other E-Pub Sites: https://books2read.com/foxfeats

About the Author

Pauline Marie Gambill is a dedicated environmentalist and animal rights advocate. After working many years for the State of Illinois Department of Human Services in Chicago, she took an early retirement and returned to college to obtain an MA in Environmental Studies. She then worked at the USEPA in Chicago for ten years. Since her second retirement, she has continued her support of environmental and animal rights causes and has been a member of the Chicago Animal Rights Coalition which was originally established by Steve Hindi.

Her other primary interest is genealogy. She has traveled all over the country to do research and has written numerous family histories.
Wang Fuman, also known as "Frost Boy," walks on the road in Ludian in China's southwestern Yunnan Province on Jan. 12, 2018. (AFP/Getty Images)

Miracle or Disgrace: A Perspective on the CCPs Report on Poverty Alleviation

Commentary

Beijings mouthpiece, the Peoples Daily, has described the ruling Communist Partys poverty alleviation efforts in an article on April 7 as fulfilling a solemn commitment and creating a miracle on earth.

The message from state media came a day after the State Council Information Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) released a white paper titled, Poverty Alleviation: Chinas Experience and Contribution.

In announcing the paper, Xu Lin, deputy head of the CCPs publicity department, said, The most important reason why China has eliminated absolute poverty is the CCPs sentiment toward the peoplefrom the Party leaders to ordinary Party members and cadres, who all put the people in the highest position in their hearts.

While the CCPs propaganda sounds very noble, it cannot hide the reality of poverty still facing many of Chinas citizens, which is very embarrassing to the Party.

What Do the CCPs Official Figures Tell Us?

On Feb. 25, state-run Xinhua News Agency published an article titled, How Did China Achieve Such a Miracle?

The article claims that according to a 2013 World Bank report: From 1981 to 2010, the top 3 countries and regions in the world in terms of the extreme poor population were: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), India, and China. Of these, the total number of the extreme poor in SSA and India has increased over 30 years as a percentage of the worlds extreme poor, while the percentage in China has dropped significantly from 43 percent in 1981 to 13 percent.

Please note that, according to the figures quoted in the article, from 1981 to 2010, which is 31 to 60 years under the CCPs rule, China had the third-highest number of extremely poor people in the world for nearly 30 consecutive years, while the actual number of people in extreme poverty accounted for nearly half of the worlds extremely poor. For the ruling Party, is this a merit or a disgrace?

The CCP has always boasted about its greatness, glory, and correctness, but why have hundreds of millions of people been living below the poverty line for decades under its rule?

From the time the CCP took power to the late 1970s, it carried out all sorts of political campaigns incessantly. Its policy of grasping revolution and promoting production did not activate the economy but led to the tragedy of the great famine from 1958 t0 1962, which was later referred to as Maos Great Famine by historian Frank Dikotter. Mainland Chinese scholars such as Tan Song found out from their investigations that the bloody land reform in the early 1950s wiped out the elite class (the gentry) in rural China, killed a large number of wealthy landlords, destroyed rural harmony, and changed traditional rural values. Therefore, the CCP can hardly absolve itself from the blame for the huge number of poor people in rural China.

A man preparing beans outside his house in a village near the Yellow River in Lankao county, Henan Province, on Sept. 28, 2017. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

The CCPs propaganda organ disclosed some figures. According to a report by Xinhua, Chinas poverty population has been reduced from 98.99 million at the end of 2012 to 5.511 million at the end of 2019, reducing poverty by more than 10 million a year for seven consecutive years. By 2020, all rural poverty population under the current standard will be taken out of poverty, and all 832 poverty-stricken counties will be removed from the poverty list.

The CCP is referring to the removal of absolute poverty under its current standards, not the relative poverty. Moreover, the so-called poverty reduction of more than 10 million people per year has been achieved under the strong mobilization at the highest level and carried out at all levels. Therefore, the data is questionable.

The Harsh Standards of Poverty Alleviation

The adjustments to the poverty standards in China have been summarized in this Xinhua report: In 1986, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and development (LGOP) cooperated to establish the first official poverty line based on data from the 1984 rural household survey, determining the absolute poverty line to be 206 yuan per capita net income per year or less than 1 yuan per person per day. At that time, the World Bank proposed a minimum poverty line of $1 per person per day and a poverty line of $2 per person per day.

In other words, the CCP used the extremely low standard poverty line to keep out a large number of people who should have been on relief, which simultaneously reduced the number and proportion of the countrys poverty-stricken population and relieved the CCP of its rightful responsibility.

Villagers wash clothes and prepare food in a ditch on World Water Day, in Wuhan, a suburb of Hubei Province, China, on March 22, 2008. In China, it is estimated that more than 300 million rural residents still have low access to safe drinking water, and 400 cities face the problem of water shortages. (China Photos/Getty Images)

The article continues to say, In 2000, considering that the standard poverty line in China was too harsh and excluded many poor people from the threshold of policy support, the National Bureau of Statistics established another low-income line, which is 865 yuan per year. And according to the article, in 2015, the standard was raised to 2,855 yuan per year.

2,855 yuan was equivalent to $439.9 at the time, or $1.20 per capita per day, while the World Bank raised the extreme poverty line to $1.90 in October 2015.

Relative Poverty Beyond Absolute Poverty

The CCPs high-profile achievements in poverty eradication refer to absolute poverty, not relative poverty, and a much larger number of Chinese people are trapped in chronic poverty.

Premier Li Keqiang revealed last May that 600 million Chinese earned only 1,000 yuan (about $140 a month). Although these 600 million people have very low income, they were not included among those people to be supported in the fight against poverty. Have the CCP authorities ever considered how to help them move towards a moderately prosperous and harmonious society?

In October 2018, the World Bank issued the report Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2018: Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle, and in its questions and answers section, the World Bank introduced two complementary global poverty lines: the lower-middle-income poverty line, which is $3.20, and the upper-middle-income poverty line, which is $5.50 per person per day. These lines are designed to complement the international poverty line, which is $1.90 per person per day, the report said.

Based on the CCPs official national income per capita information, China is now an upper-middle-income country. However, according to the World Banks standard, the 600 million Chinese people that Li referred to are actually living below the international poverty line.

Does the CCP Care About the Poor?

On April 7, Peoples Daily said in a report that the problems such as difficult access to roads, drinking water, electricity, and communication have been historically solved in poverty-alleviated areas.

One has to ask why hundreds of millions of Chinese people are still stagnating in poverty after 71 years of the CCPs rule, and why it is still difficult for many areas to have access to roads, drinking water, electricity, and telecommunication. How many leaders and CCP members have shared the hardships of the people in poverty-stricken areas?

According to the CCPs National Bureau of Statistics, there are altogether 14 concentrated poverty-stricken areas, or contiguous destitute areas, in the country, based on geographical connectivity, causes of poverty, and similarity of resource conditions.

Lyuliang city of Shanxi Province is one of the 14 contiguous destitute areas. One of its former vice mayors, Zhang Zhongsheng, embezzled as much as 1.04 billion yuan (about $158 million), which is more than the combined annual revenue of the bottom nine poor counties in Shanxi.

Daming of Hebei Province is a destitute county. Its former CCP general secretary Bian Fei was punished for embezzling 101 million yuan (about $15.4 million). A few years later, Bians successor, Fang Yansheng, was placed under investigation for corruption.

These two examples alone show that it is an outright lie of the CCP to say that Party leaders and ordinary Party members and cadres care about the people.

Buses drive on a section of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge on Oct. 24, 2018. (Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images)

On April 4, a commentary in the Peoples Daily claimed, Todays China dares to do and can do the worlds most important projects: the Three Gorges Dam, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the South-to-North Water Diversion project, the West-East Gas Pipeline project, the West-East Power Transmission project, hosting of the Olympic Games, World Expo 2010 Shanghai, and China International Import Expo (CIIE). China is creating one miracle after another on earth.

The so-called worlds most important projects are actually image projects of the CCP, by which it strengthens its internal rule and global infiltration, with the ultimate goal of creating more benefits for the CCPs plutocrat cliques. These massive projects always cost the Chinese taxpayers a lot of money and they open the door for collusion between the government and enterprises.

Tragedies Caused by Poverty

The CCP touts its so-called victory in the war against poverty, but it doesnt dare acknowledge the tragedies in everyday society in China. The following are just a few tragic cases.

In January 2020, Wu Huayan, a university student in Guizhou, died of severe malnutrition. She couldnt afford good nutrition, and consequently she suffered from stunted growth and other health problems.

An screenshot from Chinese media of Wu Huayan sitting on a hospital bed in Guiyang city of southwestern Chinas Guizhou Province in October 2019. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

In the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 2018, 8-year-old Wang Fuman, from Yunnan Province, walked for more than an hour to school with an empty stomach, braving the cold weather. When he walked into the classroom, his hair and eyebrows were covered with frost. The news spread widely on the internet, and Wangs poor family received media attention, which exposed the failure of the governments so-called targeted and precise poverty alleviation.

In Aug. 24, 2016, Yang Gailan, a 28-year-old resident from Agu village, Gansu Province, killed her four children and then committed suicide by taking poison. Soon after, Yangs husband, Li Keying, also took his own life. According to the neighbors, the family was in a desperate situation after local authorities cut off their government assistance.

In the summer of 2003, the daughter of Jing Tongshi, a farmer in Yulin County, Shaanxi Province, was admitted to Northeast Normal University with high grades. The cost of her first-year tuition and fees was approximately 10,000 yuan (about $1,525), which her family couldnt afford. Jing, 53, was already in a lot of debt and he took his own life by drinking pesticide.

The so-called liberated New China, as always proclaimed by the CCP, has given rise to numerous corrupt officials and hundreds of millions of dirty money. An image of poverty described by Du Fu, a renowned poet from the Tang Dynasty, has now become a common reality in China, as quoted from Harvard University professor Stephen Owens English translation: Crimson gates reek with meat and ale, while on the streets are bones of the frozen dead.

Are these tragedies what the CCP calls miracles on earth? Or are they a disgrace to the CCP?

Tian Yun, M.A., specializes in education management and historical-cultural research. She has published articles on China-related current affairs in The Epoch Times since 2018.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The Bui Power Authority (BPA) says the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) misinformed the Minister of Energy and Ghanaians, when it said the Bui Power Plant had been shut down due to low level of water and hence the intermittent power supply in the central part of Ghana and especially in Kumasi.



Following the intermittent power supply in recent weeks, GRIDCo at a press briefing on the issue on April 1, 2021 said the Bui Power Plant had been shut down because of low water in the dam and therefore all the power the country needed was being generated from the coast, Tema and Takoradi.



But reacting to the GRIDCo statement in a radio interview with Accra based Joy FM on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, the Chief Executive of BPA, Mr Fred Oware said the claim by GRIDCo was misleading and added that Bui cannot be responsible for the current intermittent power supply in the country.



Let me be bold enough and say that I think GRIDCo has misled the Minister [of Energy] in making such a sad statement because as we sit here, talking right now, Bui is in operation, we have three units which works at 133 [megawatts].



The water is gone down without any doubt whatsoever but this is not an unforeseen act, we knew this and last year when we submitted our supply plan, we indicated clearly that this year, we will not be able to generate as much as we generated last year and weve given them month by month how much we are going to. If there is a problem, lets talk about it but they cant put it on Bui because we knew last year that the supply plan will be what it is and so they should have looked at our supply plan and make alternative arrangements to fill in the gap but to say that there is dumsor in Ghana because, it is quite misleading and I think you can make your own independent investigation.



As at this morning, we were generating 90 [megawatts]



He insisted that the problem of intermittent power supply has nothing to do with Bui.



He said Bui has a three-year cycle of and three years ago water was spilled at Bui for 10 days. And when they calculated it was something like US$600,000 equivalent per day for 10 days.



Last year the rainfall wasnt as good as the previous year, this is the worst for the three years and so we expect next year to be much better. These are things which are known and calculated. Now it is for the system operator to say that if you are looking for, at peak 2800 [megawatts] to sustain the system and a generator number one, Bui will give me 90 [megawatts] what is the difference, the 2710, let me go and look for it from somewhere, if you dont go and look for it and you wait and your light goes off, you say that because of Buis 90 that is why, that is not right.



GRIDCo had explained on April 1, 2021 that the Ameri Power Plant was being relocated from Aboadze to Kumasi in the Ashanti Region as a move to help use the 250 megawatts plant to stabilise the power situation in the central part of Ghana.



GRIDCo's Director of System Operations Mr Mark Baah had said the Bui Power Authority (BPA) or the Bui Hydroelectric Power Plant happens to be the only power generation plant which is located in the central part of Ghana.

All the other generating power plants are located in the southern and coastal parts of Ghana.



Bui supplies the central part and the rest of the load is met by generation from down south.



Whilst giving an update on the intermittent power supply being experienced in Ghana at the moment especially in Kumasi and Accra, the Director of System Operations at GRIDCo, Mr Mark Baah said "currently, we have had to shut down the Bui plant because of the low level of water in the dam."



In view of this, every power that Ghana requires from the southern parts up to Bolgatanga, Wa, everything has to come from the coast, down south upwards towards the north.

Interruptions



He said since the beginning of the year, there has been some power interruptions in the network.



This, he said is primarily due to the fact that the transmission system in particular has some "weaknesses, which we are trying to address but have not finished yet."

"So we have had intermittent outages, sometimes transmission lines tripping off from the south western part of the country, affecting the entire system particularly Kumasi and this culminated in the entire system collapse on March 7, 2021".



"Beyond this, Ashanti Region and in particular Kumasi has been experiencing intermittent outages particularly in the evening during peak times and all this is basically because of the fact that our power system has grown in terms of demand."

Mr Baah said: "In fact, for the first time this year, we have crossed 3000 megawatts in terms of demand. At the moment, there is no generation plant in the central part of Ghana. All the power needed is generated from the coastal parts of Ghana.



Kumasi



"Kumasi happens to be the major central point within the system, heavy load. By the time the power gets to Kumasi, the voltage is so low, when voltages are low, you switch on your light and it is almost dim. Normally people call it low current, it is actually called low voltage, the voltage becomes so low and if we dont do anything about it to prop up the voltage, the entire system will collapse.



"So it happens that during the evenings, during peak hours when the voltages are so low, sometimes weve resorted to taking off some figures particularly in Kumasi in order to prop up the voltages, so you will have Kumasi continue to experience this outage situation.



"Weve noted that inherent problem and there was a partial solution whereby we moved one transformer from Accra to Kumasi, but this is not the entire solution.:

To address the Kumasi problem, he said the Kumasi-Kintampo project is being built and will be completed by July 2021.



Why Ameri is going to Kumasi



He said as they analyzed, they saw that it is best to get a generator around Kumasi, "so the Ministry [of Energy] has taken a decision that the Ameri Power Plant, should be moved to Kumasi. So efforts are being put in place to ensure that gas infrastructure is sent to Kumasi to feed the Ameri Power Plant once tht project is done. So when this is completed, our system will become even more resilient, Mr Baah said.

Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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As cases surge in Delhi, private laboratories, which are conducting more tests than ever, say they are losing important time in manually uploading data on the ICMR website.

Dr Gauri Agarwal from Genestring Labs, responsible for conducting COVID-19 testing at the Delhi airport, said they are doing around 8,000 tests daily.

Manpower and data entry is a challenge. Many times, the entire system has to be realigned if workers get infected, she said.

The most important thing is uploading data on the website of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and sharing it with the state government which takes considerable time, Agarwal said.

However, she said, the laboratories are better prepared this time.

We have enough equipment. Around 350 people are working in shifts round the clock, Agarwal said.

In November, around 13,000 tests were conducted in a day, the highest so far. We expect to cross this number considering the surge this time, she said.

Dr Dangs lab is, at present, processing double the number of samples than in October and November, when Delhi witnessed the third wave of coronavirus, said CEO Dr Arjun Dang.

He acknowledged his laboratories were unable to serve everyone, as their "resources are not limitless".

Dr Dang suggested that the government make data collection automated as a lot of human resources and time are lost in entering data manually on the ICMR portal.

Ideally, an API (Application Programming Interface) should be provided that can pull all data from our software and give it to ICMR. But unfortunately, there is no automation till date, and dozens of people are entering data manually, he said.

The government should be informed of reports on time for effective tracing and tracking, Dr Dang added.

He also stressed the need for "careful calibration"before increasing the testing capacity of laboratories.

There should not be any compromise on the turnaround time or the quality of the report.

"If the report is not going out in the stipulated time ... if the reporting time is more than 48 hours, it doesn't add any value to the patient's condition and also to the people around," Dang said.

At Dr Dangs Labs, around 100 people are engaged in collecting and processing samples and entering the data on the ICMR portal.

Dinesh Chauhan, CEO, CORE Diagnostics, said,"We have witnessed a sudden spike in the number of patients who are testing positive as we are running twice as many tests compared to the last quarter."



"At present, we are reporting a large majority of our reports within 24 hours. Given our investment in automation, we have been able to streamline the data management and reporting process," he said.

Core Diagnostics has noticed a large increase in the number of queries from the companies for COVID-19 testing for their employees.

The requirement of negative RT-PCR reports for interstate travel has led to a surge in requests from travellers. So, the demand is on the higher side, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Joe Biden has been President of the United States for less than three months, but already, the fears of many conservatives are being realized. On many different fronts, things are going in a very wrong and dangerous direction. The question is: What can we do about it? How do we respond?

In no particular order, consider the following.

1) H.R. 1 would dramatically reshape our electoral system so as to cement Democratic rule for decades to come.

2) H.R. 5 would effectively gut religious liberties across the nation.

3) Open borders would bring in a flood of immigrants who will quickly learn to vote Democrat as well, at least for the first generation.

4) Packing the Supreme Court would fundamentally restructure our legal system, thwarting efforts to push back against the radical leftist agenda and effectively codifying Roe v. Wade for good.

5) Attacks on the Second Amendment would further cripple American rights when it comes to gun ownership.

6) Big Tech censorship, bolstered by the COVID-19 crisis and the storming of the Capitol, would silence all resistance.

7) Renewed relations with Iran would destabilize the Middle East.

8) Failure to stand up to China would undo the international balance of power.

9) ??? (this is where you get to add any concerns that I left out)

Again, this is why so many of us voted for Trump, despite our misgivings about his leadership style. The alternatives were just too chilling.

But this is where I personally believe it is crucial that we rethink our strategy and approach to the current political scene. This is where I believe it is critical that we learn some lessons from our recent mistakes. In short, this is where each of us must find our own roles in the midst of this current national crisis.

We either get this right now (when I say we, Im speaking in particular of conservative people of faith), or else. Allow me to explain.

In years past, to the extent that Christian conservatives were involved in politics, we looked to organizations like the FRC or the ADF to give us guidance when it was time to vote and to alert us about critical bills before Congress or cases before the Supreme Court.

For our part, we would cast our votes every two or four years, contact our elected officials at key times, pray for righteous court decisions, and help support these organizations financially. And that was it.

Most of our energies were spent on being the church in our communities. Most of our focus was on loving God and loving our neighbor. Most of our efforts were expended on Gospel work rather than political work.

And thats the way it should be. Each part of the Body has a specific function and purpose, and by each of us being faithful to our calling and fulfilling our particular role, there will be health and success.

To be sure, we often fell way short of fulfilling our political and cultural responsibilities. And all too often, pastors and Christian leaders did not want to touch these hot-button issues for fear of offending people. Thats one reason were in the mess we are today. The Church failed to engage properly. We were also lukewarm and lackadaisical when it came to spiritual focus and commitment.

But in the last four years, I believe we swung to the other extreme. So many of us became consumed with the political scene day and night. So many of us talked about Trump and the swamp and socialism by the hour.

We were more consumed with the news than with the Word of God. More focused on the 2016 and 2018 and 2020 elections than on the Great Commission. More interested in voting than in praying. More fixated on debating politics than on praying for revival. And that is how we got off-track.

Put another way, rather than letting the political leaders do their thing with us voting accordingly, we all became political pundits. We all became commentators and experts. We all got caught up in the DC mess.

In fact, draining the swamp dominated our thinking more than reaching our neighbors with the Gospel of Jesus. (This does not apply to all of us, but it does apply to many of us.) And rather than us majoring on the majors in our own worlds  prayer, devotion to God and His Word, holy living, being godly witnesses, seeking personal and corporate renewal, strengthening our marriages, pouring into our kids  our consuming focus became political.

As John Burton recently wrote, It has been sad to watch Christians adopt an aggressive, flesh-driven political spirit. What looks like brash boldness is actually a manifestation of fear as the blood seeps out of their tender hearts and into their fists.

Many have shifted from an emphasis on faith, intercession, worship, revival and awakening to blasting opinions on politics and culture. Yes, we must not avoid confronting the spirit of the age with a sharp anointing, but thats not what we are mostly seeing today.

And this brings us to the crux of the matter.

In short, if America is to be saved from destruction, each of us must do our part. There must be a holistic push back against the increasingly radical leftist agenda.

We must give ourselves to both the spiritual and the practical. We must stand for what is right both culturally and politically. But we cannot swing to extremes, either the extreme of a hyper-spiritual, other-worldly, pie in the sky type of pietism. Or the extreme of a hyper-national, partisan-driven, politics-first mentality.

In the past, our lack of political engagement hurt the nation. More recently, our over-involvement hurt the nation again.

So, lets get in our proper lanes, lets get our individual assignments, and with the help of the Spirit, lets do what we can to bring about positive change on a daily basis. Then, when its time to vote or contact our elected officials, lets do that as well.

But let the politicians fight the political wars and let us fight the cultural and spiritual and practical wars where we live and work every day.

After all, you cant impact the vote on H.R. 1 or H.R. 5 by engaging in endless online debate on social media. But you can impact the life of your family or friends or neighbors or coworkers in a multitude of different ways. And, by engaging in serious prayer and fasting, you can impact the fate of the nation.

The hour is urgent. The future of America is at stake. But spending our time mocking Biden or criticizing the GOP establishment is not the way to stave off the danger.

Lets go back to our spiritual roots, to our real strength, to our ultimate calling.

We do have effective, gospel-based weapons. Let us use them effectively without abandoning the political front. Its a matter of priorities. Its a matter of first things first. This is how America can be saved from oblivion.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Amazon announced today that it is donating $1.75 million to fund robotics and computer science programs at the new STEAM high school planned for downtown Syracuse.

The $74 million regional high school is expected to open in fall 2022 in the former Central Tech High School building in downtown Syracuse. It is a joint project between the Syracuse school district, city of Syracuse and Onondaga County. It will be the first regional high school in Central New York.

We want to inspire the next generation of innovators to explore opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, so were proud to partner with Onondaga County -- which we will soon call home -- to increase access to STEM education for thousands of local students for years to come. We hope theyll join our team at Amazon one day and teach us a thing or two as they build their careers here, said Ryan Smith, director of North America fulfillment operations at Amazon.

Amazon is building two new centers in Onondaga County: A distribution center in Clay and a delivery facility in DeWitt. The Clay location will be one of the largest warehouses in the world and is expected to employ 1,000 people. The DeWitt center will employ about 200 people.

This is an exciting day for our community and for the progress on the new STEAM school, said County Executive Ryan McMahon said. Last May we welcomed Amazon to Onondaga County with their state-of-the-art robotics fulfillment center. Now they are furthering their commitment and investment in our community and children with this donation to our STEAM school. Preparing our kids for the jobs of tomorrow is a priority for all of us and a belief that Amazon also shares. This donation will go a long way towards making that a reality.

McMahon said the STEAM school (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) was part of the regions push to lure Amazon here.

This was a highly competitive process to get the large process, McMahon said. We talked about this project. Because they wanted to know, Where am I going to get 1,000 employees.

The STEAM school was part of that solution, he said. McMahon said that it had always been Amazons intent to do something for the community it decided to locate in.

The Clay center will depend heavily on robotics for fulfilling orders and Amazon wants to help train the next generation of workers in the community where it is investing more than $340 million, the company said.

Our employees work alongside innovative, advanced technologies, and we recognize the jobs of tomorrow require a stronger aptitude for STEM skills, Smith said.

The STEAM school, announced before the coronavirus began in January 2020, will begin construction this year and be open for the first class of students in 2022. The schedule has been delayed some by the virus.

The county will pay for the construction and take over ownership of the old high school building from the city, then lease it to the school district. The state will reimburse the county for the construction over time.

The plan expects 60 percent of the students to be from the city and 40 percent from the suburbs. The suburban districts would pay tuition per student to the city school district.

The school would graduate 250 students per year; the city school district has an enrollment of about 20,000 students.

Students from both city and suburban school districts will be prepared for the careers of tomorrow together in a state of the art complex in downtown Syracuse, said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. This donation from Amazon is yet another indicator of how much stronger we are when we work together. It also serves as the latest example of how the Syracuse Surge strategy is already working to ensure opportunity for all in our community.

Walsh said the STEAM school will help ease the divide between kids in the city school district and the suburbs.

By making it county wide, were starting to break down some of those barriers that have often held kids back in the city, Walsh said.

The STEAM school also will have a workforce training center that will offer high-school equivalency degrees and other programs through SUNY Empire State College.

Rep. John Katko also applauded Amazons investment.

With the ongoing development of the Amazon fulfillment center in Clay, I am glad to see this company make an additional investment to support Central New York students and workforce development programming.

The Syracuse school district plans to make robotics a significant part of the STEAM curriculum, said Superintendent Jaime Alicea.

We are thrilled to have Amazon on board as a partner in the development of our new regional STEAM High School, Alicea said. Their focus on technology and STEM coupled with their presence in our community makes them the perfect partner for us.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, public affairs and the Syracuse City School District. Contact her anytime email | Twitter| Facebook | 315-470-2246.
The Charger Blog

As part of its commemoration of Womens History Month, the Universitys Connecticut Institute of Technology welcomed two leaders in cybersecurity who discussed the challenges they have overcome and shared their wisdom with the University community. By Sarah Kispert '22

Diane Janosek (top, center) and Lynne Clark (top, right) recently spoke to the University community as part of the Connecticut Institute of Technologys Cyber Legends Series.

On March 22, the Universitys Connecticut Institute of Technologys Cyber Legends Series welcomed Diane Janosek, commandant for the National Cryptologic School at the National Security Agency, and Lynne Clark, deputy chief for the Center for Cybersecurity Education, Innovation and Outreach. The webcast focused on the importance of expressing individuality and growing as a professional in both technical and non-technical aspects.

The conversation began with a discussion about the challenges of being a female leader and the obstacles they faced during their careers, which included personal, work environment, and external challenges.

An open door might not be the only way in, said Clark. You might have to climb through a window or break a hole in the wall to get in. If you believe in yourself, there is always a way in.

Clark also discussed how, when she began her career, her biggest challenge was having faith in herself and not being afraid of what was ahead.

You are unique

Janosek is a big believer in depending on yourself, as well as understanding your ability to succeed in the workforce. She emphasized the importance of continuing to grow as an individual, both personally and professionally.

"You know who you are, and you know what your passions are, said Janosek. Depend on your own innate competence. You are unique.

Both Clark and Janosek told students that some of the biggest things to remember when they are working to overcome obstacles is to celebrate individuality and their unique skills. They highlighted the importance of being honest with yourself, as well as knowing yourself and your skills. They encouraged students to keep growing and to push past barriers that they may face throughout their careers.

Your work quality proceeds you, said Janosek. Not only is being honest with yourself an important aspect of success, but showing that you care about your work quality and your product, as well as respecting ethics, paired with a high confidence level, are also essential.

Joining the discussion, Tiffanie Edwards 22 M.S., a candidate in the Universitys graduate program in cybersecurity and networks, asked about how to attract and retain women in cybersecurity. Both women discussed the importance of creating a more open and welcoming community. They say the field needs to be made more accepting of individuals regardless of factors such as gender, race, and sexual orientation, and that future leaders need to be the ones to change that.

On Monday, April 12, the Cyber Legends Series will feature what promises to be a lively and in-depth conversation with Roger Grimes, a data-driven defense evangelist for KnowBe4, Inc., the world's largest integrated platform for security awareness training combined with simulated phishing attacks. He also is the author of a dozen books. The webcast, which will stream on Twitch, will begin at 4 p.m.

Sarah Kispert '22 is a forensic science major at the University of New Haven and a cybersecurity marketing intern. She is the daughter of Karl Kispert, host of the Cyber Legends Series.
Researchers' work will help the pipeline industry limit the destructive power of bubbles

Researchers have answered key questions to help prevent damage and improve the safety of hydraulic systems used for pipelines, water turbines and other applications.

The work, led by engineers at the University of Waterloo, investigates a phenomenon known as cavitation, or the formation and collapse of destructive gas-filled bubbles resulting from rapid pressure changes in liquids.

Cavitation is behind a well-known party trick that involves shattering the bottom of a liquid-filled bottle by striking its open top with the palm of your hand.

"The growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles are fascinating," said Zhao Pan, a professor of mechanical and mechatronics engineering who led the research. "They are usually small and fast, but they can cause serious damage even on surfaces such as hard alloys and glass."

The researchers developed a theoretical model to predict the formation and size of large, particularly damaging bubbles based on the acceleration and velocity of fluid flow. Experiments using high-speed photography validated the theory.

Information provided by the model will help engineers design hydraulic systems and develop operation guidelines to minimize wear and tear, avoid major failures, and improve the reliability of the technology.

In the party trick, hitting the bottle causes high acceleration of the liquid relative to the walls of the bottle. That reduces the pressure of the liquid at the bottom, triggering the rapid formation of gaseous bubbles.

When those bubbles collapse, or implode, they temporarily create high temperatures, high-speed micro-jets and shockwaves. Those effects are powerful enough to break the glass.

The phenomenon is a common culprit in damaged water pipes and ship propellers, for example. In extreme cases, it has led to disastrous pipe failures in hydropower plants.

"On the other hand, the power of these bubbles can also be harnessed for good," Pan said. "Cavitation can be used to break up kidney stones, kill bacteria without using chemicals, and even in the production of beer and chocolate."

Pan previously worked with researchers in Japan and the United States on a new theory of small cavitation bubbles caused by the acceleration of liquids that explained how the trick works. Recent work extends those results to the prediction of large bubbles. A paper on the research, On the criteria of large cavitation bubbles in a tube during a transient process, appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics. Pan collaborated on the new study with researchers from Tsinghua University in China.

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This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The pause in administering Johnson & Johnsons one-shot vaccine amid reports of extremely rare blood clots in six patients who got the shot shouldnt put a big dent in Louisianas mass immunization effort, the state health officer said Tuesday.

Dr. Joe Kanter said in an interview the state was only expected to receive 2,000 doses of J&Js vaccine next week, and potentially only 2,000 the week after that, representing a small fraction of the weekly shipments. The state only got 8,000 doses of the vaccine this week amid nationwide supply shortages.

Kanter called the pause frustrating because of the popularity of the Johnson & Johnson shot in Louisiana, but he said it was the prudent step to ensure safety.

Baton Rouge clinics, hospitals shift to other vaccines following Johnson & Johnson 'pause' CareSouth Medical and Dental will not use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at their event Friday, following guidance by the CDC and FDA.

Numerically this is not going to be a big dent, he said. I think theres a lot of nuance in the communication and we need to be careful in how we talk about it because we dont want it to be more concerning than it needs to be.

Kanter noted that the risk of dying from COVID-19 is much higher than experiencing the blood clots, which have been reported by six patients out of 6.8 million Johnson & Johnson shots administered. In Louisiana, more than 85,000 Johnson & Johnson shots have been administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Gov. John Bel Edwards and Kanter joined other governors on a call with White House officials Tuesday morning as they made the decision to recommend states pause J&J shots. Some governors asked the feds about the possibility the pause will damage confidence in the vaccines over such a rare event, Kanter said.

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The answer they gave was listen, from day one, safety has been the most important thing, Kanter said. When you get a signal like this you have to hit pause and you have to investigate. Hopefully its a short pause. But with the stakes as high as they are the last thing you want to do is threaten your credibility.

85,000 J&J vaccines given in Louisiana before pause to investigate 'extremely rare' blood clots More than 85,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered in Louisiana before the state told providers to pause t

Its not clear how long the pause will last. The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Janet Woodcock, said at a news conference the pause was only expected to last a matter of days, though the time frame depends on what the agency learns in the coming days as it investigates the matter.

The pause is also aimed at giving providers guidance on how to spot and treat the rare blood clots, Kanter said. Typically, blood clots are treated with an anticoagulant drug called heparin, but that treatment can be dangerous if used in these instances because the patients also experienced low platelets, the feds said.

The state has been able to keep most mass vaccination events that were scheduled to use Johnson & Johnson running by switching to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, Kanter said. But he said some, like the Bayou Classic vaccine event on Saturday, may not be able to happen.

All Johnson & Johnson doses will stay in the refrigerators where theyre located while the pause is in effect, Kanter said.
MIGDAL HA'EMEK, Israel, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Camtek Ltd. (Nasdaq: CAMT) (TASE: CAMT) announced that it would be releasing its financial results for the first quarter 2021 on Wednesday, April 28, 2021.

The Company will also host a video conference call on the same day via Zoom, starting at 9:00 am ET. Rafi Amit, Chief Executive Officer, Moshe Eisenberg, Chief Financial Officer and Ramy Langer, Chief Operating Officer will host the call and will be available to answer questions after presenting the results.

To participate in the video call, please visit a link on Camtek's website at:

http://www.camtek.com/investors/overview

For those unable to participate, the call will be available for replay on Camtek's website beginning 24 hours after the call.

ABOUT CAMTEK LTD.

Camtek is a leading developer and manufacturer of high-end inspection and metrology equipment for the semiconductor industry.

Camtek's systems inspect and measure wafers throughout the production process of semiconductor devices, covering the front and mid-end, and up to the beginning of assembly (Post Dicing).

Camtek's systems inspect wafers for the most demanding semiconductor market segments, including Advanced Interconnect Packaging, Memory, CMOS Image Sensors, MEMS and RF, serving the industry's leading global IDMs, OSATs and foundries.

Camtek's world-class sales and customer support infrastructure is organized around eight subsidiaries based in the US, Europe, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore.

This press release is available at http://www.camtek.com.

CAMTEK LTD.

Moshe Eisenberg, CFO

Tel.: +972-4-604 8308

Mobile: +972-54-900-7100

moshee@camtek.com

INTERNATIONAL INVESTOR RELATIONS

GK Investor Relations

Ehud Helft

Tel. (US): +1-646-201-9246

camtek@gkir.com

Cision

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/camtek-schedules-first-quarter-2021-results-release-and-conference-call-for-april-28-2021-301267961.html

SOURCE Camtek Ltd
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On April 5, 2007, Time Magazineasked the question, Should Incest Be Legal? Three years later, when Columbia University professor David Epstein was arrested for a three-year, consensual affair with his adult daughter, his attorney noted, Its OK for homosexuals to do whatever they want in their own home. How is this so different? We have to figure out why some behavior is tolerated and some is not. Not surprisingly, some Columbia students asked why any sexual acts committed by consenting adults should be considered a crime.

Today, that question is being asked again, this time in the context of a lawsuit reported by the New York Post on April 10. Specifically, A New Yorker who wants to marry their own adult offspring is suing to overturn laws barring the incestuous practice, calling it a matter of individual autonomy.

They argue that, Through the enduring bond of marriage, two persons, whatever relationship they might otherwise have with one another, can find a greater level of expression, intimacy and spirituality, the parent argues in the Manhattan Federal Court claim filed April 1.

Really now, in light of the prevailing logic that love is love, since this is consensual and between adults, why not?

One immediate answer, aside from the obvious revulsion and horror which quite naturally greets this request for marriage, is that it is biologically dangerous. Any children produced as a result of this union could have serious genetic issues.

In this case, however, we are told that this is not an issue. According to the filing, The proposed spouses are adults. The proposed spouses are biological parent and child. The proposed spouses are unable to procreate together. The lawsuit even uses the acronym PAACNP, standing for Parent and Adult Child Non-Procreationable.

So, this would either refer to a same-sex parent and child who cannot, therefore, procreate, or to an opposite sex parent and child, one or both of whom is unable to procreate because of age or biological problems. Why say no to them?

As their argument goes, Parent-and-adult-child couples for whom procreation is either virtually or literally impossible can aspire to the transcendent purposes of marriage and seek fulfillment in its highest meaning.

Indeed, they claim that it would diminish their humanity if they were unable to marry. Why would anyone want to do something so cruel to them? Wasnt it diminishing to the humanity of gays to forbid them the ability to marry? (For those who are unfamiliar with my own views, Im simply playing the devils advocate here.)

After all, who are we to tell people who they can and cannot love? Havent we been told that love is love? That love wins? That we have the right to marry the one (or ones) we love? Why draw the line here?

For some years, I have been documenting the increasing acceptance of adult, consensual incest in our culture, including these articles:

Here Comes Incest, Just as Predicted  posted September 14, 2012, with documentation going back to 2007 and including reference to GSA (Genetic Sexual Attraction) along with actual cases in the courts in other countries.

Next stop on slippery slope: Incest  posted July 23, 2014, adding a surprising statement from a judge in Australia along with the latest celebration of incest in pop culture.

Why Cant Two Gay Brothers Marry?  posted October 27, 2015, citing a pro-incest argument from a gay politician in Ireland.

Legalizing adult incest -- here we go again  posted January 27, 2016, including further cultural updates.

In my 2015 book, Outlasting the Gay Revolution, I also cited the latest examples of the medias celebration of adult consensual incest.

So, again, sadly and tragically, all this is nothing new. The slippery slope is very real.

In this light, it is worth revisiting the opening paragraphs of the Timearticle from 2007: When the Supreme Court struck down Texas's law against sodomy in the summer of 2003, in the landmark gay rights case of Lawrence v. Texas, critics warned that its sweeping support of a powerful doctrine of privacy could lead to challenges of state laws that forbade such things as gay marriage and bigamy. State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are ... called into question by today's decision, wrote Justice Antonin Scalia, in a withering dissent he read aloud page by page from the bench.

It turns out the critics were right. Plaintiffs have made the decision the centerpiece of attempts to defeat state bans on the sale of sex toys in Alabama, polygamy in Utah and adoptions by gay couples in Florida. So far the challenges have been unsuccessful. But plaintiffs are still trying, even using Lawrence to challenge laws against incest.

Note those words carefully, penned in 2007 in the left-leaning Time: It turns out the critics were right. (See further my video pointing to Scalias prescience.)

Obviously, a strong argument against any lawful sexual or romantic connection between family members is that it opens the door to further abuses. In other words, the moral, legal, and societal wall against incestuous relationships helps remove the possibility of such relationships (and sexual unions). They are off limits. They are taboo. They are forbidden. Take down that wall, and anything can happen.

Thats why challenges to incest remain more marginal than mainstream.

But make no mistake about it. If marriage could be so radically redefined so as to remove the requirement of a man and a woman, it can be further redefined to include family members or to expand the number from two.

Not surprisingly, when I participated in a written debate in 2014 on the quickly defunct Debate Out website, I was the only one of 5 participants who argued that consensual adult incest should remain illegal. (Two of the participants didnt like the idea of consensual adult incest but felt the government had no right to interfere; the other two operated on the love is love principle.)

Interestingly, of all those interviewed for the debate, I was the only one who emphasized the importance of keeping social walls intact, quoting the famous dictum of G. K. Chesterton, Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place. The interviewer, herself a liberal lesbian, found the argument very interesting, having heard it from me for the very first time.

Writing about Chestertons dictum (and quoting Chesterton in full context), an FS blog noted that, Second-order thinking is the practice of not just considering the consequences of our decisions but also the consequences of those consequences. . . . Second-order thinking will get you extraordinary results, and so will learning to recognize when other people are using second-order thinking.

Conversely, it is the lack of second-order thinking, a direct result of the sexual revolution that downplayed long-term consequences, that helped get us into our current cultural mess.

As for the case before the New York court, let this serve as a further wake-up call in the midst of our ongoing moral decline. What on earth could be coming next?
Sturbridge  Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) has announced a new Director of Retail Operations and Gift Shops, Ellen Taviano, to oversee the Villages retail division. With a focus on elevating and enhancing the visitor experience, Old Sturbridge Village has recently taken back management over their retail operations after outsourcing the division for many years.

Ellen Taviano has an accomplished retail career spanning over thirty-five years. Having graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Marketing, Taviano started her retail career at Bloomingdales in Manhattan. She went on to work for Woodward & Lothrop, Inc., John Wannamakers, and most recently Winterthur Museum in Delaware, where she served as General Manager of Retail and Licensed Products for over twenty-four years. At Winterthur, Ellen managed two stores consisting of over 4,000 square feet of retail space, launched an online store that yielded over $150,000 in annual revenue, and is credited with product exclusivity and excellence in customer service.

Taviano has a wealth of ideas for Old Sturbridge Village, including launching a robust online store later this year. Tavianos vision to increase Village-made goods includes working with Old Sturbridge Villages potters to reintroduce colors that havent previously been available in the Village stores and selecting a wider variety of tinware which is very popular with patrons. Specialty food items, such as jams, jellies, and preserves are being developed with unique ingredients like rhubarb and quince often found in receipts from the 1830s. (Receipts are known as recipes in modern language.) As the retail division undergoes its transformation, all items will be sold out of Miner Grant which is located on the Village common within the museum. Plans for a larger store with public access are also in the works, along with pop-up stores throughout the Village for visitors to purchase exclusive products.
Niaz Uddin Hawladar (center), a seriously ill COVID-19 patient, is helped out of a vehicle outside Dhaka Medical College, April 12, 2021.

Seriously ill COVID-19 patients in Bangladesh are being turned away from hospitals due to an acute shortage of Intensive Care Unit beds amid spiraling infections, a local health expert told BenarNews on Monday, blaming the government for not acting rapidly in installing these facilities.

A government official, meanwhile, acknowledged to BenarNews that the administration had been unprepared for the 18-fold increase in new cases in the past two months.

To control the worsening pandemic, Bangladesh on Monday ordered the shutdown of all offices, banks, and domestic and international transport for eight days starting Wednesday, authorities said.

There is a huge shortage of ICU beds as our health service did not give the necessary attention to the matter. As a result, most districts are still out of ICU coverage, virologist Dr. Nazrul Islam, who is a member of a national committee on COVID-19, told BenarNews.

Worse, hospitals had removed some makeshift ICU facilities that were installed during the first wave of the virus last May, he said.

The authorities concerned removed the temporary ICU facilities thinking there was no possibility of a second wave of infections. Now, they have started working to reinstall these facilities, Islam said.

Data released by the Directorate General of Health Services on April 11 showed a total of 672 ICU beds nationwide designated for COVID-19 patients, with only 295 of those located outside of Dhaka.

However, of the 142 ICU beds listed as available, only seven were in Dhaka, the data showed.

Meanwhile, the country logged 7,201 new COVID-19 infections on Monday  compared to 401 on Feb. 12  and the highest ever number of daily virus-related deaths at 83. The cumulative caseload rose to 691,957 since March 8, 2020, with pandemic deaths rising to 9,822.

The demands for ICU beds increased as the number of patients increased compared with last year, Dr. A. S. M. Alamgir, principal scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, told BenarNews.

Islam said one explanation for the steep increase in infections was the presence of the so-called South African variant of the coronavirus, which is more infectious than earlier variants. Another reason for the rise, he said, is the dangerous backsliding in the use of protective masks and social distancing.

Could not get ICU bed in time

The shortage of ICU beds has sent desperate families rushing from one facility to another in search of acute care for suffering loved ones.

Take the case of 28-year-old Dhaka woman Ishrat Jahan. She had medical conditions that put her at high risk if she contracted COVID-19. She got very sick when infected, Ishrats brother-in-law Abdul Mannan told BenarNews.

Her family ran from pillar to post for days to find a hospital where she could be placed in intensive care, and after three days found one with an ICU opening.

Even before the COVID-19 test report came, physicians figured out that Ishrat needed an ICU bed and asked us to manage it as no ICU bed was vacant in the hospital [where she was tested], Mannan said.

We tried everything, but we found no hospital had a vacant ICU bed, until on April 9 evening one bed came free. We booked that bed for her at about 4:30 p.m. and Ishrat died at about 4:45 pm.

Technology professional Muhammad Abdus Salam Khan died of COVID-19 on Monday, according to a social media post by his son Muhammad Anwarus Salam.

My father died today as he could not get an ICU bed in time ! the son wrote on Facebook.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had last June directed that ICU beds be set up in every district of Bangladesh. Two donor-funded programs began to achieve this objective.

The number of ICU beds in the country has since increased by 200, and a new hospital with another 200 ICU beds is expected to be inaugurated in a week in Dhaka, DGHS Director (Hospital) Dr. Md. Farid Hossain Miah said.

The work of installing ICUs at district-level hospitals funded by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank is still underway, Miah told BenarNews.

Authorities had expected a second wave of infections in Bangladeshs winter, November to February. But we did not imagine that it would come at such a time, Miah said, adding that health authorities had also not anticipated such a massive rise new COVID-19 infections.

Khaleda Zia infected

The government on Monday announced a fresh lockdown from April 14 to April 21 midnight. An earlier weeklong lockdown, which ended on Sunday, was met with sometimes violent protests, in the run-up to Ramadan that is set to begin this week.

However, Health Rights Movement Bangladeshs head Rashid-e-Mahbub said an eight-day lockdown was not enough. The country needs a lockdown of at least two weeks, he said.

The situation is still not out of our control, and light restrictions would lead to us failing to control the situation, said the public health expert.

Separately, former Prime Minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairperson Khaleda Zia tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday night.

Zia, who is on a conditional release from jail, had no serious symptoms and was being treated at home, the partys Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said at a press conference on Sunday.

The three-time PM has been staying at her residence since she was released from prison by the government on March 25, 2020, right after the outbreak of the pandemic.

Zia was sentenced to 17 years in prison after being convicted for corruption in 2018.
Solution Partners CompTek, LANIT, and Others Demonstrate Mission Critical Voice, Video, and Augmented Reality for Mining Applications Live on the Show Floor

CompTek is the leading Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment, including Rajant Corporation industrial wireless networking, known as Kinetic Mesh.

CompTek is the leading Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment, including Rajant Corporation industrial wireless networking, known as Kinetic Mesh.

Mining World Russia, takes place at Moscows Crocus Expo April 20th-22nd, 2021. It is an international trade show, which is in its 25th year exhibiting machines and equipment for mining, processing, and transportation of minerals.

Mining World Russia, takes place at Moscows Crocus Expo April 20th-22nd, 2021. It is an international trade show, which is in its 25th year exhibiting machines and equipment for mining, processing, and transportation of minerals.

Malvern, Pennsylvania (USA), April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rajant Corporation, the provider of Kinetic Mesh wireless networks, will be attending Mining World Russia, which takes place at Moscows Crocus Expo. The international trade show, which is in its 25th year exhibiting machines and equipment for mining, processing, and transportation of minerals, takes place April 20th  22nd, 2021, with Rajant joining its partners in Pavilion 1, Hall 3, Stand B2051. Showcasing collaborative solutions for fully mobile mining connectivity will be Rajants Russia-based distributor CompTek and technology providers LANIT, AMT-GROUP, CROC, DCLogic, NEMAN, and SATEL.

Showcased, alongside Rajants networking, will be LANITs VR/AR smart glasses". Equipped with a video camera and compact screen, this technological solutions software operates over the Rajant network and enables visualization of on-site observations to command centers for collaborative off-site expertise to complete all phases of the mining mission successfully. You need a Mission Critical network to enable Augmented Reality in hard-to-reach challenging locations, says Nikita Ivanov, CompTeks head of sales. CompTeks integration partners in Russia and the CIS are committed to evolving minings overall productivity, safety, and efficiency. With Rajant and its partners, a fully digitalized mine is possible.

Mines are some of the most challenging Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) environments in which to deploy network systems. Rajants partnership with CompTek, a Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment, has brought together other Eastern Europe and CIS partners to demonstrate support of machine-to-machine (M2M) connectivity and mobility for open-pit and underground mining.

Story continues

Unlike traditional wireless networks that run using fixed infrastructure and have limited range and coverage such as Wi-Fi and LTE, Rajant is unique, shares Marcin Kusztal, Sales Director Eastern Europe and CIS for Rajant. Our Kinetic Mesh BreadCrumb nodes overcome the mines constantly changing conditions, which hinder connectivity and real-time application support, with industrial wireless networking that is unwavering in adverse and mobile environments. Rajants self-optimizing Kinetic Mesh nodes work via multiple-frequency, peer-to-peer connections. Plus, the BreadCrumbs can be fixed or mobile, ensuring a mining operations continuous productivity and safety. Stop by our booth at the show, and well show you how we do it.

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About CompTek

Founded in 1989, CompTek is the leading Russian distributor of network and telecommunication equipment. An innovative company providing breakthrough technologies, CompTeks business is based on a two-tier system affording its partners a whole range of services to support and develop their business. This work model, with the extended support and value-added services (VAD,) is directed at operators, system integrators and software developers. We offer professional technical expertise, project financing and management, equipment testing and the specialists training at our Training Center, one of the first certified in Russia, where thousands of engineers from Russia and CIS countries have received certification.

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About Rajant Corporation

Rajant Corporation is the broadband communications technology company that invented Kinetic Mesh networking, BreadCrumb wireless nodes, and InstaMesh networking software. With Rajant, customers can rapidly deploy a highly adaptable and scalable network that leverages the power of real-time data to deliver on-demand, mission-critical business intelligence. A low-latency, high-throughput, and secure solution for a variety of data, voice, video, and autonomous applications, Rajants Kinetic Mesh networks provide industrial customers with full mobility, allowing them to take their private network applications and data anywhere. With successful deployments in 65 countries for customers in military, mining, ports, rail, oil & gas, petrochemical plants, municipalities, public safety, agriculture, and warehouse & factory automation. Rajant is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania with additional facilities and offices in Arizona and Kentucky. For more information, visit Rajant.com or follow Rajant on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Attachments

CONTACT: Alice DiSanto Rajant Corporation 914-582-8464 adisanto@rajant.com




In the Myanmar militarys crackdown against opponents of its Feb. 1 coup, places of worship of all religious affiliations are being targeted with raids by security forces in search of protesters, alleged illegal activities or insurgents.

By Robin Gomes

At least four Catholic churches in villages in Myanmar's Pathein Diocese in Irrawaddy division were raided on April 8 by police and soldiers in search of alleged illegal activities or anti-coup activists. Armed security forces searched inside a Catholic church and checked around the cemetery, according to church sources. The latest targeting of Catholic churches follows military raids on other churches in Kachin state, a Christian stronghold, over the Easter weekend.

Places of worship

A source of the Vaticans Fides news agency said the military recently raided Baptist Christian, Catholic and Anglican churches in the city of Mohnyin. On March 1, security forces also broke through the gate of a Kachin Baptist church in Lashio, in Shan state, and detained more than 10 religious leaders and staff who were released later, according to media reports. The soldiers fired shots inside the church compound during their search. The raids are also targeting Buddhist monasteries and temples in the largely Buddhist country.

The Fides source said, Buddhist places of worship and monasteries are regularly ransacked with violence. These are serious acts of intimidation by the army that are generating growing tension and hostility in the Burmese population of all ethnicities and religions." He said, "The military identifies youth and protest leaders on social media and then launches night raids to stop them.

The Irrawaddy online news website run by Myanmar exiles in Thailand recounted raids in 3 churches of Reverend Awng Seng of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC). Soldiers climbed over the fences and entered all the buildings in the complex, without any justification and searched all the spaces", the Reverend said. They were suspecting a protest leader was hiding inside and those religious leaders participated in protests against the regime. Nothing illegal was found in the churches, he said, lamenting how it must be in peoples homes. He condemned the military actions, which also targeted the KBCs Kachin Theological College and the adjacent Baptist Christian Seminary in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin.

Insurgency

Christians are a minority in the predominantly Buddhist country, accounting for 6.2 percent of the 54 million population. Areas occupied by the Kachin, Chin, Karen and Kayah ethnic groups, who have been facing oppression and persecution at the hands of the military for decades, are largely Christian.

An estimated one-third of Myanmars territory  mostly the border regions  is currently controlled by 20-odd armed rebel outfits. The military has been fighting these groups. Since 2015, 10 armed groups have signed a nationwide ceasefire agreement with the civilian government. But fighting has continued particularly in Kachin and Shan states in the north, and Rakhine state in the west, displacing thousands. On 27 March, army fighter jets launched air strikes on a Karen village, killing at least three and injuring eight.

Displacement

More than 100,000 people, many of them Christians, remain in camps for displaced persons in Kachin and Shan states, while another 100,000, mostly Karen Christians, are in camps across the Thai border. According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom report 2020, the military has reportedly damaged or destroyed over 300 churches in the conflicts.

Protests

Myanmar's powerful military seized power on Feb. 1, after detaining the nations elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This has triggered nationwide daily protests and a civil disobedience movement, including a strike, demanding her release and the restoration of democracy.

The coup came after days of escalating tension between the civilian government and the military, which claimed that the November general election, won overwhelmingly by Suu Kyis governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party was fraudulent. The security forces have been responding with brutal force, killing 710 protesters so far as of Monday, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an activist group that verifies and compiles the list of casualties and those imprisoned in the protests.
Gina Liano recently revealed she would not return to The Real Housewives of Melbourne set for its fifth season.

And three weeks after calling it quits, rumours are swirling Foxtel will overhaul the cast for the upcoming series.

Sources have hinted up to four new Housewives could make an appearance on the next season, reports the Herald Sun.

Hearsay: Three weeks after Gina Liano (centre) quit, rumours are swirling Foxtel will overhaul the cast for season 5 of The Real Housewives Of Melbourne. Pictured (L-R): Anjali Rao, Gamble Breaux, Janet Roach, Gina, Lydia Schiavello, Cherry Dipietrantonio and Kyla Kirkpatrick

The series was initially scheduled to film in March last year, but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The stars of the show include Gina, Gamble Breaux, Janet Roach, Lydia Schiavello, Cherry Dipietrantonio, Kyla Kirkpatrick and Anjali Rao.

The rumours come after barrister Gina announced last month she was pulling out of the show, despite producers' best efforts to convince her to stay.

Production company Matchbox Pictures is now on a mission to find a new 'leading woman', an insider told New Idea on March 22.

End of an era: The rumours come after barrister Gina announced last month she was pulling out of the show, despite producers' best efforts to convince her to stay

Gina had been on RHOM since its premiere in 2014.

The last cast shake-up came in February last year, when Cherry, Kyla and Anjali joined the Foxtel series.

'It's a big responsibility having a public profile, even though I swear and carry on and maybe act a bit irresponsible,' Gina previously told News Corp.

Last big change? Gina had been on RHOM since its premiere in 2014. Pictured with the cast in February last year

'I got back into my own life, it was peaceful and I quite enjoyed it and I was hesitant to come back only for that reason.

'I think there might be a time where I don't come back just because my life will keep moving.'

No premiere date has been confirmed for season five of The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
The hunt for Orson Welles fabled lost, longer cut of The Magnificent Ambersons will be undertaken by a documentary film crew bound for Brazil this fall.

Turner Classic Movies announced Tuesday it will distribute the documentary that director Josh Grossberg intends to make about his search for cinemas Holy Grail.

Im cautiously optimistic that we will find the print, Grossberg told The Republican. I believe this expedition, generously sponsored by TCM, is our last, best chance of finding the original version of The Magnificent Ambersons.

Filmed in 1942, The Magnificent Ambersons was Welles followup to Citizen Kane. Based on the Booth Tarkington novel of the same name, the movie starred Joseph Cotten and centered on the failing fortunes of a Midwestern family.

As editing commenced, Welles was dispatched by RKO Pictures to Brazil to direct a wartime project. He was given a copy of his 131-minute rough cut with the promise he would be further involved in the editing. However, after a test audience reacted badly to the downbeat drama, RKO ordered a happier ending shot in Welles absence and chopped the movie down to 88 minutes.

Famed filmmaker David O. Selznick after seeing the long version reportedly suggested a copy be donated to the Museum of Modern Art. However, all known copies of the longer cut in the RKO vaults were destroyed.

They destroyed Ambersons, Welles lamented in a BBC interview in 1982, and the picture itself destroyed me; I didnt get a job as a director for years afterwards.

Grossberg suspects the long version sent to Brazil may be in the hands of private collectors there.

More than two years after the drastically edited The Magnificent Ambersons was released to theaters, RKO instructed Cinedia Studios in Rio de Janiero, where Welles worked in 1942, to junk the reels left behind. Cinedia owner Adhemar Gonzaga, an avid film collector, notified RKO he had complied with their wishes.

During a trip to Brazil a quarter of a century ago, Grossberg met an archivist who worked at Cinedia in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He reported seeing a Welles print in a film can, though he could not confirm it was The Magnificent Ambersons.

The archivist searched for it later, but it was gone  possibly trashed or sold to a private collector.

Grossberg has identified four private collectors who bought films from the Cinedia warehouses.

The challenge, of course, is tracking down the film collectors  or their families if theyre no longer with us, Grossberg said. Its also worth noting that Ambersons had a different name in Portuguese, Soberba, and while Welles directed the film, he never starred in it  so its possible whoever has the print in his possession may not realize its value.

A journalist and award winning filmmaker, Grossberg has teamed with fellow producers Joseph Schroeder, known for his work with PBS, National Geographic, A&E and Discovery; and Gary Greenblatt, an award winning digital content producer and app developer. The documentary will air in summer 2022 on Turner Classic Movies.

We know its a long shot but if these guys are able to find Orson Welles version of the film it would be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of cinema, said Charlie Tabesh, senior vice-president, programming and content strategy for TCM, in a statement. Its too important not to try.

The search was planned to start last year, but the pandemic delayed that effort.

By the time we arrive this September, I expect that any local crews we work with will be fully vaccinated, Grossberg said. Regardless, we will implement the necessary guidelines provided by the Brazilian government to ensure everyones safety.

While skeptics may doubt the longer cut Magnificent Ambersons still exists, its discovery would not mark the first time a lost film turned up decades later. Previously lost  and later found  movies include:

Director Carl Theodor Dreyers cut of his 1927 movie The Passion of Joan of Arc turned up in a psychiatric hospital near Olso, Norway in 1981.

A 16mm negative of the original cut of Fritz Langs 1927 classic Metropolis was discovered in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2008.

A print of John Fords 1927 comedy Upstream was found in the New Zealand Film Archive in 2009.

Its been 80 years since The Magnificent Ambersons was made and a lot can happen in that time. Celluloid recorded on nitrate was utilized in Hollywood up until about 1950 before acetate took over and was highly flammable. And nitrate wasnt easy to store as well, Grossberg said. Archives here in the States usually kept their nitrate films stored at 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 30% humidity so they wouldnt deteriorate.

He added, Obviously, Brazil is a tropical country and quite hot and humid. So, wed be lucky indeed if any archive or film collector unwittingly in possession of the print stored it correctly. However, even if not, and we can locate the missing reels and find they are degraded and in bad shape, there are technologies today which didnt exist 30 years ago that might be able to restore the film.

Related content:
A 44-year-old Louth man has been convicted of IRA membership by the Special Criminal Court.

Michael Connolly, of Grange Drive in Dundalk, had been observed driving in convoy with another man, who was then found with two improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Connolly had pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful organisation, styling itself Oglaigh na hEireann, otherwise the Irish Republican Army, otherwise the IRA, on December 16, 2014.

The three-judge, non-jury court had heard that Connolly and another man were seen together in the Ardee area that morning. They left the same house at the same time in two cars, and were then observed at a service station in Clonmellon, before both cars travelled in convoy to Mullingar.

The two men were later stopped by members of the Special Detective Unit on the N52, and two IEDs were found in a brown paper bag in the other mans car.

There was also telephone contact between the two men that morning.

The judges had heard that the accused had failed to answer material questions, when interviewed under a provision that allows for inferences to be drawn from such a failure.

The court had also heard belief evidence from Garda Assistant Commissioner Michael OSullivan that Connolly was a member of the IRA at the time.

The prosecution had argued that Connolly and this man had engaged in a joint enterprise on the day.

The defence had argued that there was no other evidence to support the belief evidence and asked for an acquittal.

However, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge John OHagan and Judge Flann Brennan delivered a guilty verdict this morning, Thursday, June 1.

Justice Hunt said the court accepted beyond reasonable doubt the veracity of the belief evidence, which had been informed by a review of information held by gardai.

It was also satisfied that the accused was the driver of the same car at all times that morning, and had travelled in convoy with another man to a house in Mullingar. It was satisfied that the other man had collected the improvised devices there and that the accused was a willing and knowing participant in this enterprise.

The judge then addressed the possibility that the defendant was operating in some capacity other than as a member of the IRA that morning.

Although Connolly had consistently denied being a member during his interviews, the court noted that he had stayed silent following specific questions. Justice Hunt said that it was proper to draw inferences from this, and that the silence corroborated the other strands of evidence.

Connolly was convicted and remanded in custody for sentencing on Monday, July 10.
Former President Donald Trump repeatedly declared himself the real winner of the 2020 election, disputing the election victory of Joe Biden in at least five of the battleground states which he had won in the Electoral College.

The remarks were made to a large group of wealthy Republicans, who traveled to Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort from nearby Palm Beach, where the Republican National Committee was holding a meeting for its donors.

The RNC meeting was held only 10 minutes from Mar-a-Lago, and the Saturday night event was the closing address, in which the donors came to Trump rather than Trump appearing before them, signifying his continued dominance of the Republican Party.

Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

The ex-president took the occasion to attack two other top Republican figuresSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his own former Vice President Mike Pencewhile his audience cheered its approval.

According to press reports of the closed-door meeting, based on accounts from some of the donors who attended it, Trump went through a litany of states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the five states he won in 2016 but lost in 2020, claiming in each case that the results had been rigged.

He denounced McConnell and said that Pence had failed him by agreeing to certify the Electoral College results on January 6, when a pro-Trump rally ended in the physical assault on Congress for the purpose of blocking the certification and maintaining Trump as a dictator-president.

Trump pledged to support Republican candidates for Congress in 2022 and then in 2024 for the presidency, although he limited his remarks on the presidential campaign to saying that a Republican candidate is going to win the White House, without declaring that he would be that candidate.

More significant was his positioning of himself and the Republican Party as the opponents of Beltway elites and the party of the working class. This signals an ongoing effort to transform the Republican Party into an openly fascistic party that would rail at the elites and Wall Streetwhile of course taking Wall Streets money hand over fist. Trump has raised more than $85 million since his defeat in the election, giving him a campaign war chest equal to that of the RNC itself.

While half a dozen Republican senators applauded, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rick Scott and Marco Rubio of Florida, Trump reserved some of his most vitriolic language for the Senate Republican leader McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao, Trumps secretary of transportation, who resigned after the January 6 coup attempt.

If that were [Senator Chuck] Schumer instead of this dumb son of a bitch Mitch McConnell, they would never allow it to happen. They would have fought it, he said, referring to the January 6 vote by a joint session of Congress to certify the victory of Biden in the Electoral College.

Referring to Chao, he continued, I hired his wife. Did he ever say thank you? He then mocked Chao for resigning, saying sarcastically, She suffered so greatly. He subsequently referred to McConnell as a stone cold loser.

Coming in the wake of anti-Asian violence in Atlanta, Georgia and widespread reports of mounting attacks on Asian Americans, inspired by the anti-China rhetoric of both the Trump and the Biden administrations, Trumps sneering at the Taiwan-born Chao was particularly significant. He is openly appealing to the most reactionary and backward elements in American society.

Trump also repeated his racist attacks on immigrants, calling them murderers, racists and drug dealers. He declared, Theyre coming in from the Middle East across the US-Mexico border.

The ex-president reiterated his defense of his own actions on January 6, when he whipped up a crowd in front of the White House and directed them to the Capitol, where they subsequently stormed the building and temporarily halted the vote certification. Instead, he criticized his own vice president for not collaborating in this attack by blocking the certification.

I wish that Mike Pence had the courage to send it back to the legislatures, he said. I was so disappointed. Constitutionally and legally, the vice president presides over the joint session but has no power to overturn the decisions of Congress to accept or reject the electoral votes of any state. Trump was expressing regret that Pencewho had backed the lies about vote fraud right up until January 6did not join him in an unconstitutional coup detat.

The false claims of a rigged election are the driving force of the Republican campaign in state legislatures throughout the country to restrict the right to vote, particularly by limiting mail ballots and making it more difficult for poor and minority voters to get to the polls. The premise of this campaign is that only the right people should be allowed to vote, in order to get the right result.

In reality, there is no evidence of any significant vote fraud in the 2020 elections. Instead, there was massive voter turnout driven by hostility to the Trump administration and its attacks on democratic rights and working people. Within the framework of the American two-party system, this mass opposition to Trump was diverted behind the Democratic Party and the Biden campaign.

While Trump continues to beat the drum for the big lie about the election result, the Democratic Party has effectively shelved any investigation into the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill. That is because it would expose large sections of the Republican Party, who voted against certification of the electoral votes even after barely escaping with their lives from the mob attack. Biden insists on preserving a strong Republican Party in order to provide a reactionary anchor against demands by the working class for jobs, decent living standards and a serious fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Moreover, a serious investigation into the January 6 coup would examine the role of the Pentagon, the FBI and other government agencies, which either directly collaborated with the attackers or did nothing to oppose them. Biden relies on these same state forces in both his foreign and domestic policies.
Looking ahead to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is satisfied with the result in Bahrain but says that his team is still far from confident of winning its eighth consecutive world title, this is due to the threat posed by the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes.

"The 2021 F1 season certainly began in spectacular style", began Wolff in his outlook in a recent press release from Mercedes. "It was an encouraging first race, coming away from Bahrain with a double podium, and hopefully the duel in the desert between us and Red Bull is a sign of what's to come this year."

The Austrian then strikes a more sober tone when talking about the competitive threat in the form of Red Bull racing. "We may have won the first round, but we're under no illusions that this will be a straightforward season. The car is still lacking pace over a single lap and Red Bull appear to have the edge right now. We're pushing hard to close the gap, and this is a challenge we relish", said Wolff.

Imola technically challenging

"Round two, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, is just around the corner." the Silver Arrows team boss continued. "Imola is such an historic and iconic venue, and it's a track the drivers really enjoy, with its sweeping nature, high speeds and variety of corner types." This weekend will show whether Mercedes can beat the faster RBR 16 B on Imola's more technically oriented circuit.
[April 13, 2021] Ryan Named One of the Best Workplaces in Canada for Ninth Consecutive Year

Ryan, a leading global tax services and software provider, has recently been named to the 2021 list of Best Workplaces in Canada. This marks the ninth consecutive year Ryan has been recognized as one of Canada's premier companies for building and maintaining high-trust, high-performance cultures that enhance business results and quality of worklife. Ryan has offices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. More than 82,000 people participated in the 2021 Best Workplaces in Canada survey, which captured their experiences and sentiments toward their places of employment. "It is an honor to be recognized as a leader in workplace excellence for nine consecutive years," said Ryan President of Canadian Operations Garry Round. "This accomplishment is a salute to the ongoing efforts in creating a positive team environment that inspires our employees to want to come to work each day, and I appreciate their continued trust in Ryan and dedication to delivering world-class client service and results." The 2021 Best Workplaces in Canada list is compiled by the Great Place to Work  Institute. The list criteria are employee driven, based on two benchmarks: two-thirds of the total score is compiled from confidential employee survey results and the remaining one-third from an in-depth review of the organization's culture. This offers a rigorous representation of the organization from an employee perspective and an overall portrait of the workplace culture. Together, they provide crucial data relative to five trust-building dimensions: credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.



For more information on the 2021 Best Workplaces in Canada list, visit here. About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high performance workplace cultures. It is a global research and consulting firm with a mission to build a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces. Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In Canada, Great Place to Work produces both industry and demographic-specific Best Workplace lists. This is part of the world's largest annual workplace study, which culminates in a series of national lists in more than 50 countries, including the study's flagship list of 100 Best Companies published annually in FORTUNE magazine. Globally, this survey represents the voices of 11 million employees, which are the primary determinant used in selecting winners. There's only one way to get on this list-your employees have to put you on it. About Ryan Ryan, an award-winning global tax services and software provider, is the largest Firm in the world dedicated exclusively to business taxes. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides an integrated suite of federal, state, local, and international tax services on a multijurisdictional basis, including tax recovery, consulting, advocacy, compliance, and technology services. Ryan is a nine-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multidisciplinary team of more than 3,000 professionals and associates serves over 18,000 clients in more than 60 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com. "Ryan" and "Firm" refer to the global organizational network and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ryan International, each of which is a separate legal entity. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005959/en/

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Thriller/Horror Writer R. B. Wood Announces his latest Book Bayou Whispers

Boston writer and author of speculative, horror, and dark thrillers R.B. Wood announces his latest novel Bayou Whispers published by Crystal Lake Publishing.

Plot twists, dark mystery and voodoo magic - Bayou Whispers is the latest thriller from horror writer R.B. Wood and is the story of no-nonsense New Orleans native, Jeannine LaRue. She is the sole survivor of her family after the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath of the storm, she believed she'd been saved, but soon found herself held hostage and sexually exploited, rescued months later by sheriffs deputy Curtis Jones.

Twelve years after Katrina, Jeannine is a new attorney who returns to New Orleans to save her old friend Curtis Jonesnow a local thief and trafficker of stolen goodsafter he is arrested for the murder of Jeannines captors, whose bodies have recently been found. But Jeannine discovers more than she bargained for when she uncovers a family history of dark voodoo magic and an unholy alliance with an ancient evil Haitian god.

I grew up surrounded by strong female role models. Recent personal events have made me understand and truly appreciate the survival story. And what better city to set a survival story in than New Orleansa city of history and magic that continues its own survivor story to this day? Anyone who loves twists and suspense will get caught up in Bayou Whispers.

Book Release Live, Virtual Launch/Author Q&A is April 29th 8:00 pm EDT  Via Facebook at Crystal Lake Publishing https://www.facebook.com/events/1091171888051483

Bayou Whispers is available April 29th (ISBN: 978-1-63752-990-4 Release Date: 29 April 2021 Genre: Supernatural Thriller/Horror 250 Pages | 5x8 Trade Paperback Paperback: $15.99 Kindle Edition: $4.99)

About the author:

R. B. Wood is an MFA graduate of Emerson College and a writer of speculative and dark thrillers. Wood recently has appeared in Crystal Lake Publishings Shallow Waters anthology, as well as online via SickLit Magazine & HorrorAddicts.net, and in the award-winning anthology Offbeat: Nine Spins on Song from Wicked ink Books. Along with his writing passion, R. B. is the host of The Word Count Podcasta show of original flash fiction. R. B. currently lives in Boston with his partner Tina, a multitude of cats, and various other critters that visit from time to time. R.B can be found on the web at http://www.rbwood.com, Twitter @RBWOOD, Facebook @Rbwoodwriter, and Instagram @r.b.wood.

Bayou Whispers can be purchased from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Whispers-R-B-Wood/dp/1637529902/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bayou+Whispers&qid=1617721345&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble.com and any local bookstore. For more great titles, go to http://www.crystallakepub.com.

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A New Jersey family kicked off a Spirit Airlines flight last week because their two-year-old daughter wasn't wearing a mask described the incident as a nightmare leaving the pregnant wife with painful contractions, their toddler screaming uncontrollably and 7-year-old son with special needs wetting his pants.

Ari and Avital Eisenberg, of Toms River, were seen being booted off a plane with their two young children last week in now-viral videos shared on social media.

In an interview with DailyMail.com they claim they were singled out for 'being Jewish' and say staff later tried to smooth things over by offering them a coupon.

The Jewish couple were flying back home with their toddler daughter Esther and seven-year-old son Daniel, who has special needs, after spending Passover with relatives in Florida.

Just moments after they boarded, a flight attendant accused the family of violating the mask mandate after Esther took her face covering off to eat yogurt.

They were ordered to deplane.

The confrontation resulted in a heated exchange, prompting the attendant to call the police and order all passengers to disembark.

Ari and Avital Eisenberg, pictured with their daughter Esther, were temporarily booted off a Spirit Airlines flight from Orlando to Atlantic City last Monday after the toddler removed her mask

Avital, who is seven months pregnant, and her husband recalled the 'humiliating' and 'mortifying' incident in an interview with DailyMail.com

The Jewish couple were flying back home with their toddler daughter Esther and seven-year-old son Daniel, who has special needs, after spending Passover with relatives in Florida. Just moments after they boarded, a flight attendant (pictured) accused the family of violating the mask mandate after Esther took her face covering off to eat yogurt

Avital claimed the flight attendant addressed them in a way that suggested she was being discriminatory.

She claimed the woman addressed her and her husband, who was wearing a yarmulke, as 'you people', which she took as a reference to Orthodox Judaism.

'Right away, I was like, 'Oh, she's calling me out for being Jewish.'

Avital said the insults kept coming even after her family was invited back onto the plane.

Members of the flight crew started cracking jokes, tried charging her for water and then attempted to smooth things over by gifting her a pair of Spirit coupons worth a combined 2,000 points  not enough for even a single one-way flight.

'The stewardess came up to me and said, 'Are you the Eisenberg family?' Avital recalled of the coupon exchange.

'And then she handed me the two tickets, saying 'These are for you. A special gift from Spirit to you.'

She was trying to be nice to me and sweet, as though that makes up for everything, as though I'm ever going to fly on Spirit ever again, or anyone I know will ever fly on Spirit again.'

She and her husband, Ari spoke with DailyMail.com outside their special education lawyer's office in Lakewood, N.J. They're considering legal action against Spirit, wanting to pressure the airline to make accommodations for toddlers and other children with special needs in their mask policy..

In now-viral footage of the incident, a flight attendant was seen ordering the family off the plane because they allegedly violated the mask policy

Ari pointed out that they were traveling with their 'special needs' son (pictured) but the flight attendant was less than sympathetic

They're also demanding an official apology.

'The most important thing we're looking to happen is that this doesn't happen again, to any child,' lawyer Michael Inzelbuch told DailyMail.com.

The incident happened as the flight from Atlantic City from Orlando, Florida was about to take off last week.

The family spent Passover with Ari's relatives in Florida and were about to board the plane when 7-year-old Daniel, who has ADD, suffers seizures and is prone to aggression, ran ahead without a mask.

They said a male flight attendant named Daryl stopped them.

'Daryl turned to me and said, 'Where's his mask?' Avital Eisenberg recalled. 'And I explained he has special needs, that he doesn't let me touch him, let alone put a mask on him.'

'Daryl looked at me and replied, 'I said, where's his mask?' He clearly was not listening to what I was saying. He told me if he doesn't put a mask on, we're not flying.'

The Eisenbergs asked for two masks.

'I told him we were going to try our best,' Ari Eisenberg told DailyMail.com. 'We tried so freaking hard, trust me. I'd pay anyone in the world to keep a mask on my children for more than 10 seconds.'

Despite their efforts to reason with the cabin crew, the confrontation resulted in all of the passengers being ordered off the flight. Avital is seen holding her two-year-old as they prepare to leave the plane

After they got to their seats, the father gave his boy an iPhone loaded with prerecorded videos of elevator doors opening and closing. His son Daniel, who has an aversion to earphones because of his condition and watches the clips to stay calm, turned up the volume.

Another flight attendant ordered them to lower the sound. Ari grabbed the phone from his son, who grew agitated. Avital explained the situation and the flight attendant relented.

'I'm not having the risk of having my son have a seizure just because somebody wants the volume turned down,' the mother said.

Esther, the toddler, started eating her brother's yogurt, sans mask. This prompted an announcement.

'They said on the loudspeaker, 'You have to put a mask on between every bite.' Avital recalled. 'I started to laugh. She's two. She's a baby. She was hungry. She saw her brother's yogurt. She ate it.'

The family was then ordered to leave the plane for violating the mask mandate, prompting the heated exchange.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requires everyone over 2 years old to wear a face covering on commercial flights, but allows some exceptions for passengers with special needs.

The confrontation was captured on video, as passengers whipped out their cell phones. Videos posted online were viewed by millions.

Avital claims the woman addressed her and her husband, who was wearing a yarmulke at the time, as 'you people', which the mom took as a reference to Orthodox Judaism. 'Right away, I was like, "Oh, she's calling me out for being Jewish,' she said

The family, pictured with their lawyer Michael Inzelbuch, are now considering taking legal action against the airline and are demanding a formal apology

Spirit Airlines defended its handling of the dispute and say they wish to 'open up a direct dialogue with the family'

The mother and father immediately asked the steward why they were being kicked off the flight.

''I'm sorry. They want you off,' the flight attendant tells the family, adding that they were 'noncompliant with the masks'.

The Eisenbergs responded that they have been wearing their masks when the attendant pointed to their daughter and said: 'She's not wearing one.'

Other passengers sitting nearby told the flight attendant that there were other babies not wearing masks and that the little girl was eating yogurt while waiting for takeoff.

The flight attendant responded: 'it's not my choice' as the girl's dad argued that they also have their 'special needs' son with them.

'We're done talking. The pilot wants you off, so you have to get off.'

Avital pleaded: 'She's a baby. She just turned two a month ago. She's been trying to wear it.'

At one point, Ari seemed to bring race into the mix. 'The captain was OK with it, the whole plane was okay with it but there was one African-American that was not okay with it,' he says on the video.

The family (pictured after getting back on the plane) and all of the passengers were let back onto the plane a short time later

He drew some flak for that comment. Asked about it during his interview, with DailyMail.com Ari said he didn't mean to offend anyone. 'My help is black, the person who watches my baby every day,' he noted. 'I was trying to be respectful. I guess that was not respectful.'

His wife said the flight attendant made her own discriminatory remark when she told them 'you people' aren't following the mask mandate. She took that as a reference to Orthodox Judaism.

'Right away, I was like, 'Oh, she's calling me out for being Jewish,' Avital said.

All passengers were ordered off the plane. The Eisenbergs were greeted by cops and ordered to sit in a small corner of the airport.

'My son was trying to escape,' Avital Eisenberg told DailyMail.com. 'I was literally having contractions from all the stress. And my daughter was going crazy.'

They spent nearly an hour cooped up in the airport before they were all allowed back on board.

Once in their seats, a flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and started cracking jokes.

'Welcome to Spirit Airlines. We are on board flying to Jamaica  just kidding!' the crew member quipped.

'She was making a joke about putting a mother through hell,' Avital said. 'Nobody thought it was funny. Nobody was laughing. Forget me and my family, what we went through. Everyone had little children who were going absolutely psycho at this point.'

'And they were trying to be funny and silly the whole flight, They were telling everyone, "We're going to give you a complimentary water bottle."'

Later in the flight, Avital asked for a second bottle of water. The flight attendant initially refused.

'I asked for two waters during the flight,' she said. 'I told her I'm seven months pregnant. And she told me -- 'No, only one on the house.'

I said, 'You know I was the one kicked off the plane.' And she started complaining about the fact she wasn't even supposed to be working that shift. She's like  'I was supposed to be in a hotel resting right now. I was disturbed from my hotel shift.'

She speculated that this crew member was a replacement for Daryl, who didn't return to the flight.

Once the plane landed in Atlantic City, the Eisenbergs turned on their iPhones.

'We landed and our phones blew up,' Avital said. 'It was embarrassing, mortifying, humiliating. Just bringing my kids to the shoe store can be traumatic for us. Now the entire world saw me, my husband, our two beautiful children in not such a good state.'

Spirit Airlines defended its handling of the dispute.

'Our team members were following the federal mask requirement and asked the adults in the party multiple times to comply with that requirement, which happened prior to videos that have been widely shared,' the company said in a statement. 'We were pleased that they eventually complied and traveled on the flight as planned. We also understand that we're looking at this through different lenses which is why we would like to open up a direct dialogue with the family.'

The family's lawyer said he and the family welcome such a dialogue and have asked Spirit to share information about its mask policies involving two-year-olds and nonverbal, seizure prone children.

Spirit did not return comment request for the perceived anti-Semitic comment.
A whale hunting for food off the coast of South Africa almost bit off more than it could chew after knocking a hapless father off a sightseeing boat and very nearly swallowing him.

Marino Gherbavaz, 51, was taking part in a whale-watching tour with 22-year-old daughter Gillian and the rest of his family in Algoa Bay when the dramatic scene unfolded on April 3.

Gillian said they were watching a pod of dolphins herd sardines into a bait ball when a whale came up from the depths to take a mouthful of fish and struck the boat.

Gillian Gherbavaz, 22, was filming dolphins eating sardines off the coast of South African when a whale suddenly surfaced to take a mouthful of fish and hit the boat she was on

Marino Gherbavaz, Gillian's father, was knocked overboard amid the chaos and very nearly into the whale's open mouth (pictured)

At first, Gillian thought they had hit a rock but as she looked around she saw the whale breech the water.

But amid the commotion she had failed to see her father being thrown overboard and it took a few more moments to realise that he was in the water.

Luckily another boat was in the area and was able to pull up alongside and help Marino out of the water before the whale returned.

Whales typically feed on small marine life such as sardines and plankton and do not hunt larger animals such as people.

But they have been known to accidentally swallow larger creatures such as birds while taking part in hunts.

Gillian, from Gqeberha, South Africa, said: 'When I realised it was my dad in the water, I panicked. I could not understand why he was in the ocean.

'He is not normally the type to make a spectacle, so I was very confused. Once I knew he was okay and could swim to the boat on his own I relaxed.

'The whale and dolphins had moved on so I couldn't see any immediate danger.

'When he got back in the boat, I went to him and said "what did you do that for?" and we both laughed so I knew he was okay.

Recalling the events leading up to her dad going overboard, she said: 'A massive pod of common dolphins were rounding up the fish into a bait ball and the fish tried to use the boat for cover and that's when the whale went in for a lunge and hit us.

Mr Gherbavaz was left splashing around in the water of Algoa Bay until another boat arrived to help bring him back to safety

Gillian said she and her father quickly began joking about the incident, but her mother took longer to reassure

'I honestly thought we had hit a rock until I saw the breech. It felt like the boat had stalled the way a car would and there was a loud bang.

'There was another rubber dinghy at the site and they came to help my dad out. It was really quick, and he was back in the boat before I had a real chance to worry.

'I was relieved to see him laugh at what had happened and we quickly started discussing how he had ended up in the water. My mum took a bit longer to realize he was okay.

'We had made it around all three of the islands in the bay and were about to head home when the charter received information about the sardines and that whales had been sighted so the crew took us out to see them.

'We had been out since about 8am and got to the site where the whale was around 11:30 and shortly after the whale hit the boat in the middle of the feeding frenzy.

'My whole family were on the boat, as well as my aunt and uncle. We did a similar trip in December and loved it so much we decided to go again. We will probably go many more times in the future.'

Raggy Charters, which organised Gillian's trip, has been running in South Africa since 1992 and is the oldest Marine Eco Tour company combined with a conservation project in the country.

Owner Lloyd Edwards said: 'Luckily the whale didn't hit us in the middle, otherwise the boat would have been in real trouble. It was a glancing blow to the side.

'The whale was keen to get to the sardines which had been herded into a bait ball by the common dolphins chasing it up the coast.

'It still left a hole in the boat but we have fixed that already and we filed a report with the coast guard immediately. We have a 100% safety record.'
A group of five prominent Democratic polling firms has conducted a deep dive into errors that caused surveys to fall widely off the mark in 2020 for the second consecutive presidential election  admitting the data were often 'egregiously' wrong in Republican states.

The assessment comes five months after an election where pollsters had Democrat Joe Biden leading Donald Trump by 10 percentage points leading up to the election, for a race where Biden's actual margin was 4 percentage points.

Just as consequentially, a range of pollsters had Democrats dominating key House and Senate races  missing how Democrats saw their House majority narrow. Democrats took over the Senate only after prevailing in two runoff elections in Georgia.

A group of five Democratic polling firms has taken a deep look-back at what went wrong in 2020, after surveys underestimated a support for Donald Trump and failed to anticipate that 'low propensity' voters who backed the Republican would show up on Election Day

Having taken the unusual step to share data in order to identify structural flaws, the pollsters say that in 2020 'our industry saw major errors and failed to live up to our own expectations.'

Data was off more in Republican states

'We saw that in more Democratic states and districts, and some closely divided states like Georgia and Arizona, the data were quite good. But in more Republican areas, the data were often wrong, sometimes egregiously so,' they wrote in the assessment.

The group of top pollsters, including leading pollster for the Biden campaign ALG polling, identify several factors contributing to the industry-wide whiff.

Pollsters had difficulty reaching 'low propensity' voters who supported President Donald Trump, seen here on election night at the White House

The polling firms shared data and conducted their own analysis to try to find out why they missed the mark

Pre-election polls overstated Biden's margin and under-estimated Trump's. Some pre-election polls had Biden holding a 10-point edge. Biden beat Trump 51 to 47, winning by about 7 million votes in the popular vote

Pollsters struggled once again to predict which voters would turn out. They say they were hampered by Trump supporters who were skeptical of pollsters

Pre-election polls consistently had Joe Biden ahead, with some pollsters showing him with a 10-point lead in the popular vote. The final result, a 51 to 47 per cent win for Biden, was tighter.

Trump supporters were skeptical of institutions  including pollsters

Some difficulties are grounded to changes in the nation's technology habits: more people are using cell phones, shedding landlines, and refusing to pick up unfamiliar numbers. But pollsters have ways to account for such factors  as well as adjusting turnout models to tweak for the electorate they believe will actually show up.

The group also homes in on polling challenges specific to Trump supporters, who may be more skeptical about institutions like government, the media, and polling firms. The pollsters say Trump may himself have exacerbated the situation himself.

What is 'social desirability bias' and why does it affect the polls? Social desirability bias is the name some pollsters have given to the effect that keeps Trump supporters quiet when asked who they are voting for. Simply, it means that people are more likely to give the answer they think the person asking them wants to hear, rather than what they actually think. While this could be true of any question, it is exacerbated in the case of Trump because of abuse that Trump supporters are often subjected to, pollsters say. Robert Cahaly, pollster for the Trafalgar Group, said the abuse has worsened between 2016 and this year. 'In 2016, the worst being said about Trump voters is that they were 'deplorable',' he said. Now 'people [are] getting beat up for wearing the wrong hat, people getting harassed for having a sticker on their car. People just do not want to say anything.' Fellow pollster Arie Kapteyn said this effect can be measured by asking people who they are voting for, then asking them who they think other people are voting for. Asking people who they will vote for in 2020 returned a solid 10 point lead for Biden, he said. But asking them who other people will vote for cut that in half. This is because it leaves people free to speculate about how popular they think a candidate is, without implicating themselves. Advertisement

'Trump may have helped turn this into a problem for pollsters by attracting distrustful voters and making his most ardent supporters even more distrustful of other people, of the media, and perhaps even polling itself,' they write. 'That, in turn, could have made his supporters less likely to answer polls.'

Participating in the look-back are ALG Research  which did polling for the Biden campaign, Garin-Hart-Yang Research, GBAO Strategies, Global Strategy Group and Normington Petts.

''Trump went after the polls,' one pollster told Politico. 'He was really pretty overt to those that were listening about some of his distrust of polls or media.'

Another told the publication 2020 was an 'Oh, s---' moment for all of us,' adding: 'I think that we all kind of quickly came to the point that we need to set our egos aside. We need to get this right.'

Models were wrong on 'low propensity voters'  underestimating white rural turnout  The pollsters also hashed out the problem teaching low propensity voters, those who are unlikely to show up even if they tell a pollster they have a preference.

They found that their models 'consistently overestimated Democratic turnout relative to Republican turnout' for such low propensity voters. Among such voters, 'the Republican share of the electorate exceeded expectations at four times the rate of the Democratic share,' they conclude.

'This turnout error meant, at least in some places, we again underestimated relative turnout among rural and white non-college voters, who are overrepresented among low propensity Republicans,' they write.

Pandemic factor

Polling the electorate amid a global pandemic would be challenging under any circumstances. But the pollsters hypothesize the pandemic could have worked to further skew data.

'Perhaps voters with more progressive attitudes on COVID-19 were not only more likely to wear masks and stay at home, but also more likely to answer our poll calls while conservatives remained harder to reach,' they write.

Late-break not considered controlling

The authors reference theories about a similar polling error in 2016, which may have missed a late-break among voters that handed Trump a surprise win over Hillary Clinton. But they note the stability of polling in 2020, and say this was not likely the driver this time.

How to avoid making the same mistakes again

The pollsters put forward a few potential solutions, but don't attempt to put forth a detailed solution that would fix polling if Donald Trump runs again in 2024, as he might. One idea is to go back to door-to-door surveys of an earlier era. They also talk about paying survey subjects to induce participation, and developing 'multi-modal research tools.'

They point out that the error factor may be partly specific to Trump, so they caution against overcorrecting against someone they say will 'hopefully' never be on the ballot again.
The primary reason is we were concerned, of course, about the neighborhood, he said. None of our guys wanted to get shot either, but we felt with him being in the house by himself, penned in there, we had the situation contained and there was no threat to the people outside. We didnt want to kill anybody, so we felt patience was the way to handle this and get him to come out.
Just 10 miles. Thats roughly the distance separating the Minneapolis intersection where a handcuffed George Floyd gasped for life as a police officer knelt on his neck, and the stretch of road in suburban Brooklyn Center, Minn., where 20-year-old Daunte Wright was pulled over and ultimately shot and killed by a police officer Sunday.

By Sunday night, news had spread fast enough for protests to sprout up in Minneapolis, a city still reliving Floyds death each day via the highly publicized trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

By Monday, some 1,970 miles away, Oakland activists stood in solidarity during a candlelight vigil held for Wright outside Oakland City Hall at Oscar Grant Plaza.

The location for the vigil, unofficially named after the 22-year-old Oakland resident slain by a BART officer at Fruitvale station in 2009, was no coincidence, and carried an added layer of symbolic and emotional weight for those gathered. In a press conference Monday, the Brooklyn Center police chief claimed the officer who shot Wright had intended to use her Taser, not her handgunthe exact argument employed over a decade ago by Johannes Mehserle, the BART police officer who shot Grant.

The parallels did not go unnoticed among those gathered in the square Monday evening. Indeed, they served as a reminder of how little has changed all these years later.

A single Instagram post published at 5:30 p.m. served as the events catalyst, calling for members of the Black community and its allies to gather at the plaza for collective healing. By 7 p.m., a few dozen people had arrived. Over the course of the night, the crowd eventually swelled to over 100 people.

I just kinda want to show support, man, said Nnamdi Ihenetu, an Oakland resident who attended the vigil. Things like this keep happening, and I think its time we start taking it more seriously, and drawing momentum, and getting as many people as we can out here to support a good cause and end police brutality.

Jungho Kim/Special to SFGATE

The vigil itself was grassroots and loosely organized. Those involved simply intended to create a space for the community to gather and speak with each other, rather than the more typical protest routine of slated speakers and planned marches. A PA system softly played music and an open microphone stood attached for community members to use at will. One attendee performed a live rap, while another gave a fiery speech. At times, chants broke out. Anger bubbled over in fits and starts, though mostly grief prevailed.

If youre a fg trained police officer how the fk dont you know the difference between a Taser and a gun? a woman from Sacramento said into the microphone, through stifled tears and a cracking voice.

Her audience agreed with solemn applause.

Jungho Kim/Special to SFGATE

Why us? We literally dont bother anyone, the same speaker asked. [Wright] got killed over fg air fresheners. Air fresheners. It doesnt make sense. Everyone has those in their fg car. How does that make sense?"

The mic stand stood atop the plazas steps and aside a white poster board bearing large, black words that read SAY HIS NAME and DAUNTE WRIGHT. Surrounding the sign sat a bouquet of lit candles, while multiple colored posters strewn across the ground bore the frank demands heard often in last summers protests.

Jungho Kim/Special to SFGATE

Black Lives Matter one read. Others called to Abolish the Police and Abolish Killer KKKops."

At the foot of the Daunte Wright sign, resting on the floor of Oscar Grant Plaza, sat another handwritten poster  worn out and faded almost to the point of being illegible  that simply read, Too Many Names.
Former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano constituency, Samuel Ayeh-Paye has commended the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako-Atta over his initiative to revamp the road sector.



The Minister is said to have promised to pay upfront all arrears the Road Minsitry owes contractors in order to cause them to finish the road projects they are in charge.



The Minister's aim is to ensure there are better roads in the country to avoid road accidents.



Contributing to a panel discussion on the topic of road accidents on Peace FM's morning programme 'Kokrokoo', Samuel Ayeh-Paye applauded the Minister for his willingness to pay the contractors to complete the road projects as he believed that is the way forward in preventing the numerous accidents on the country's roads.



He also believed the behaviour of drivers is a causative factor of road accidents but was also of a strong view that the lack of better roads is a major factor and that the Minister's initiative will go a long way to resolve this challenge.



"I applaud you for making this decision. If you are able to effect this decision, it will help us a lot with our road networks," he said.



He also called on the Minister to fast-track the implementation of the Road Fund to help fund road projects.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Award-winning investigative journalist John Allan Namu narrated how his expose on Rwandan genocidaire Felicien Kabuga affected his family.

Speaking on NTVs Singleton Stories on Sunday, April 11, Allan Namu said he started receiving threats after gathering evidence on a tip from a friend that Kabuga was hiding in Kenya.

We go out and started following his trail picking clues. I go back and share my evidence with my boss. It goes through the editorial committee Then I start to receive threats, some of my sources have been threatened, Namu recounted.

The threats started even before the expose had aired.

The journalist said he had to take his children out of school and into a safe house for about two months. His wife, Sheena Makena, also had to take a three-month leave.

For two months while I was doing the story, my wife and my two children at the time were in the safe house with me. I had to pull them out of kindergarten which wasnt a big deal, but my wife had to leave work to take care of them, which was a big deal, said Namu.

The journo revealed that the threats ultimately cost his wife her job.

She went on leave for the first month, then unpaid leave for the second month. Just as we were releasing the story, we took off to another country. While we were in hiding, she lost her job, he narrated.

After the expose had aired, Namu said his story fell apart after Kenya police revealed the true identity of a man in a photograph that Namu had reported was Kabuga.

Here is this man, wearing the exact same T-shirt that I had in that photograph and it is a businessman from Isiolo. It hit me very hard because when I got into this profession, I wanted to do things right. This was by far, up until that point, the biggest story I had ever done, and I got it wrong, said the journalist.

My wife was a huge pillar of support for me. That was my burning house moment, admitted Allan Namu.
The government of Nicaragua has reached out to its counterparts in Mexico and the United States as well as Interpol in hopes of finding the kidnapped mother of a 10-year-old boy who made headlines after he was seen on video begging a U.S. Border Patrol officer for help after he had been abandoned in Texas.

Abductors are requesting $5,000 for the release of Meylin Obregon, 30, the mother of Wilton Obregon, who was caught on video tearfully asking a Border Patrol officer for aid.

The Obregons had left their home in the Nicaragua town of El Rama with Meylin's twin nephews on February 8 as mother and son sought to distance themselves from alleged abuse she had suffered at the hands of her partner and the boy's father, Lazaro Gutierrez, according to newspaper La Prensa.

In late March, Meylin Obregon and Wilton Obregon illegally crossed the Mexico-United States border and were intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol before they were forced to return back to Mexico. However, her 15-year-old nephews were able to remain in the U.S.

Meylin Obregon and Wilton Obregon were then kidnapped an hour after arriving in Mexico.

The Nicaraguan government has appealed to its counterparts in Mexico and the United States and also enlisted the help of Interpol to find 30-year-old mother Meylin Obregon (left) who was kidnapped by a gang near the Mexico border in late March just an hour after immigration officials in Texas expelled her and her son Wilton Obregon (right) for illegally crossing the border

Wilton Obregon, a native of Nicaragua, drew headlines last week after he appeared in a video crying in front of a U.S. Border Patrol agent and asking for help after he had been abandoned by the group of migrants he had crossed the Mexico-United States border with. Obregon was found in the middle of a Texas road April 1 and placed in custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Nicaragua Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo said the consul general in Houston returned to the United States on Monday and was expecting to visit the child at a CBP holding facility

Misael Obregon (pictured) said he has encountered problems sleeping ever since his sister Meylin Obregon was kidnapped near the Mexico border in late March

Her abductors contacted her brother Misael Obregon in Miami requesting ransom, but he was only able to gather enough money to secure his nephew Wilton's freedom, Univision reported.

'Well, the truth is, I got a part of the money with friends. I got a part of the money to free my nephew and thank God they released him,' said Misael Obregon, who was reunited with his 15-year-old sons April 6.

'But I don't have the money for her. It's kind of ugly. I hardly sleep,' added Misael Obregon.

After Wilton Obregon was released from his captors, he was able to again cross into the United States with more than 100 people.

But he was left behind in the middle of the night while napping in the Texas desert area. On April 1, a U.S. Border Patrol officer who was on his way home after concluding his work shift encountered Wilton Obregon in the middle of a dirt road in the Texas border city of La Grulla.

Wilton Obregon (left) , his mother Meylin Obregon (right) and two cousins left Nicaragua for the United States on February 8 and were expelled by immigration authorities and forced to return to Mexico in late March. His two cousins were able to remain in the U.S. because they were unaccompanied minors. An hour after arriving in Mexico, mother and child were kidnapped by a local gang, who used the woman's phone to contact her brother, Misael Obregon, in Miami, Florida. He borrowed money from friends to secure his nephew's freedom but was unable to pay the $5,000 ransom the abductors want to release his sister

Misael Obregon with his 15-year-old twin sons at his home in Miami, Florida. The children were allowed to enter the United States because they were unaccompanied although they had crossed the Mexico-United States border with their aunt, Meylin Obregon, and cousin, Wilton Obregon

A video recorded by the Border Patrol agent, who remains unnamed, captured the moment Obregon went up to him crying and asking for help.

'It's that I was coming with a group and they abandoned me and I do not know where they are at,' the child told the officer in Spanish.

Later the border agent asked the boy if he had been instructed 'to come ask for help,' but the the child replied, 'no, I am coming because if I did not, where am I going to go? Somebody could abduct me, kidnap me. I am scared.'

Meylin Obregon (right) abandoned her Nicaragua home with her son Wilton Obregon (left) due to the alleged abuse that the father of her two children inflicted on her

Still image of Misael Obregon speaking to his nephew Wilton Obregon, who is currently in custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at a facility in Brownsville, Texas

Nicaragua First Lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo told reporters on Monday night that the country's consul general in Houston was traveling back to Texas to meet with Wilton Obregon.

Murillo said that the government was working on the necessary measures to reunite the boy with Gutierrez, his father.

Gutierrez, who has another son with Meylin Obregon, told La Prensa that he was open to allowing his son to remain in the United States if immigration authorities grant him permission to do so.

However, Misael Obregon told La Prensa that he opposes his nephew's repatriation to Nicaragua because he would be placed under the custody of an 'irresponsible and abusive father.'

'I did not know those intentions [of Gutierrez] because I had seen a video where he said that he did not have an opinion about the child because the child prefers his mother and now I do not know why he is saying [to repatriate his son].'

A second video that surfaced online last week shows Misael Obregon on a cellphone talking to his nephew from the CBP facility he is being held at in Brownsville, Texas.

Wilton Obregon can be heard telling his uncle that he had been studying on a computer and had blood drawn from each of his arms by the CBP medical staff.

'I know that hurts a lot,' he said.

'I know my child,' Misael Obregon replied. 'But you know that's for you well-being so that you don't get sick ... How are you feeling my child? Do you want to get out of there? Do you want to be with me already?'
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The Security Forces on Tuesday killed an active Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist Peer alias Asad during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) conducted in Ladha area of South Wazirstan

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :The Security Forces on Tuesday killed an active Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist Peer alias Asad during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) conducted in Ladha area of South Wazirstan.

The Security Forces conducted the IBO on reported presence of terrorists, however, during intense exchange of fire, one terrorist, Peer alias Asad was killed, said an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) media release.

The killed terrorist was an active member of TTP since 2006 who had joined TTP Baitullah Mehsud Group and remained involved in terrorist activities against Security Forces.

It also mentioned that after the death of Hakeem Ullah Mehsud, he (Peer) had joined Shehryar Mehsud Group.
The wife of Declan Brady and another woman have pleaded guilty at the non-jury Special Criminal Court today (TUESDAY) to two crime cash laundering offences.

Deirdre Brady (53) and Erika Lukacs (37) were originally charged with a total of 52 money laundering offences when they first came before the court last February.

Read more County Kildare news

Ms Brady is charged with 36 non-scheduled offences and Ms Lukacs is charged with 16 non-scheduled offences. All the charges come under Section 7 of Criminal Justice Act 2010 and relate to money laundering and terrorist financing within the State.



Ms Brady, of The Bailey, Castlefarm, Naas, Co Kildare and Ms Lukacs, with an address at Lakelands, Naas, Co Kildare were arraigned before the three-judge court today and each pleaded guilty to one count on the indictment.



Deirdre Brady is the wife of Declan Brady (55), with an address at The Park, Wolstan Abbey, Celbridge, Co Kildare, who was also charged at the Special Criminal Court with 16 offences relating to money laundering and the concealment of crime cash.

Ms Brady this morning (TUESDAY) pleaded guilty to concealing or disguising the true nature or source of money credited to a Permanent TSB Account on various dates between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property, in the names of Declan Brady and Deirdre Brady, was the proceeds of criminal conduct.



Ms Lukacs admitted to concealing or disguising the true nature or source of money credited to an Allied Irish Bank account on various dates between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property, in the name of Erika Lukacs, was the proceeds of criminal conduct.



Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge David McHugh, remanded Ms Brady and Ms Lukacs on continuing bail until June 14, for a sentence hearing.



Co-accused Declan Brady, who appeared via videolink from Mountjoy prison for the brief hearing, was granted legal aid by the three-judge panel and remanded in custody to April 23.



The Kildare man is charged with concealing cash to the value of 2,000 and UK10,000 within a breadbin at The Dairy, Rathasker Road, Naas, Co Kildare on January 24, 2017, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property was the proceeds of crime.

Brady is also charged with concealing cash to the value of 268,940 in the attic of The Dairy, Rathasker Road, Naas, Co Kildare on the same date.

He is further charged with concealing, disguising, converting, transferring, handling, acquiring, possessing or using money credited to Ulster Bank Account and Permanent TSB, in the names of Declan Brady and Deirdre Brady, on various dates between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016, within the State, knowing or believing or being reckless as to whether the property was the proceeds of criminal conduct.

In addition, he is charged with possessing, using, converting, transferring or handling 27,265 in discharging sums due and owing to the Druids Glen Hotel in Co Wicklow, on dates between May 1 and May 4, 2015, the proceeds of criminal conduct.On February 19, three detectives from the National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), gave evidence to the Special Criminal Court of the arrest, charge and caution of the three accused. Three books of evidence were served on each of the defendants and USB keys containing the exhibits were attached to the books of evidence.






MTN is by far the best mobile network in South Africa with an average download speed of 64.29Mbps. Rain is the worst with a speed of 10.58Mbps.

This was revealed in MyBroadband Insights Q1 2021 Mobile Network Quality Report which ranked South Africas mobile operators based on network performance.

MyBroadband Insights uses crowdsourced data from the MyBroadband Speed Test App and controlled drive tests to collect network performance data.

The latest report is based on 349,575 speed tests which were performed across South Africa between 1 January 2021 and 31 March 2021.

The research showed that South Africa had an average mobile download speed of 33.23Mbps and an average upload speed of 12.71Mbps.

The average download speed across all operators increased from 25.57Mbps in Q1 2020 to 33.23Mbps a year later.

This speed increase occurred despite a significant increase in traffic during the lockdown, which raises the question of how it was possible.

The answer is temporary spectrum which was issued to mobile operators during the lockdown.

This temporary spectrum helped mobile networks to increase their network capacity and improve their average speeds during the lockdown.

The chart below shows the average network speed across mobile operators over the past three years.

Looking at the performance of individual operators revealed that MTN had the highest average download speed at 64.29Mbps over the last three months.

Vodacom was second on 32.76Mbps, followed by Telkom on 27.83Mbps, Cell C on 20.82Mbps, and Rain on 10.58Mbps.

MTNs exceptional performance is a result of a R50-billion infrastructure investment over the past five years to extend coverage, improve network quality, and increase speeds.

Rain was the only operator whose year-on-year performance declined. Its average download speed plummeted from 15.20Mbps in Q1 2020 to 10.58Mbps in Q1 2021.

The decline in Rains network performance was likely a result of network congestion in some areas because of higher subscriber numbers.

To determine the best mobile network in South Africa, a Network Quality Score was calculated for each network using download speed, upload speed, and latency.

The Network Quality Score out of 10 then shows how a network performed in relation to other networks.

MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.73, followed by Vodacom on 5.65, Telkom on 5.17, Cell C on 4.36, and Rain on 3.40.

The table below provides an overview of the mobile network rankings in South Africa.
(Natural News) Researchers from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are warning that the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology used in Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines has the capability to forever alter recipients genomic DNA, making them more susceptible to disease and death.

Their December preprint paper contains findings about wild coronaviruses that challenge the CDCs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) narrative that synthetic mRNA from Chinese virus injections cannot enter cell nuclei where DNA resides. It also questions the CDC claim that cells get rid of this synthetic mRNA soon after it is finished using the programmed instructions.

Under ordinary circumstances, the body makes (transcribes) mRNA from the DNA in a cells nucleus. The mRNA then travels out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm, where it provides instructions about which proteins to make, explains Childrens Health Defense (CHD) about how the process works naturally.

By comparison, mRNA vaccines send their chemically synthesized mRNA payload (bundled with spike protein-manufacturing instructions) directly into the cytoplasm, it adds about how the synthetic mRNA found in Wuhan flu shots functions.

Biochemist and molecular biologist Doug Corrigan, PhD, and his team say they were perplexed as to why many people who had already been injected for Chinese germs with synthetic mRNA still tested positive for them later on down the road. What they ultimately determined is that mRNA vaccines may be permanently altering human DNA through reverse transcription.

Their paper explains that SARS-CoV-2 RNA s can be reverse transcribed in human cells, contrary to what the CDC claims. Further, these DNA sequences can be integrated into the cell genome and subsequently be transcribed, this being a phenomenon known as retro-integration.

Check out this article to learn more about how mRNA technology works.

If you were vaccinated for the Wuhan flu, your body could initiate a deadly cytokine storm the next time you encounter germs

According to Corrigan, his teams findings run contrary to the current biological dogma concerning Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injections. They also belong to a category that he humorously describes as Things We Were Absolutely and Unequivocally Certain Couldnt Happen Which Actually Happened.

In other words, the science being touted by the likes of Anthony Fauci is wrong again. Getting injected with experimental gene therapy chemicals from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna is a recipe for permanent, life-altering DNA changes that could result in death.

The CDCs assumptions about Chinese virus injections being safe and effective are completely unsubstantiated, and Corrigan highlights why in a post on his blog that he published prior to his papers release. Corrigan also wrote a second post that warns about the potential for synthetic mRNA to alter human DNA permanently, which he describes as the big elephant in the room.

In Corrigans view, the information contained in his preprint validates that this is at least plausible, and most likely probable. The DNA-to-mRNA pathway is not a one-way street like the CDC claims. Reverse transcriptase enzymes do, in fact, have the ability to convert RNA into DNA, which can then integrate back into cell nuclei DNA. More than 40 percent of mammalian genomes, it turns out, comprise the products of reverse transcription.

The preliminary evidence cited by the Harvard-MIT researchers indicates that endogenous reverse transcriptase enzymes may facilitate reverse transcription of coronavirus RNAs and trigger their integration into the human genome, CHD explains.

The potential result of this, Corrigan and his team warn, is a more severe immune response among the vaccinated when they are exposed to wild-type illness  think cytokine storm or autoimmune disease.

More of the latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) mRNA injections can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Science.news

ScienceWithDrDoug.com

ScienceWithDrDoug.com
(Natural News) Orr, a former POLITICO employee, would report as her first story for Jeff Zuckers network that Rep. Gaetz had been denied a meeting with former President Trump. The aim of the story was to weaken support for Gaetz on Capitol Hill as the House returns from recess.

(Article by Raheem Kassam republished from TheNationalPulse.com)

Orrs e-mail read: Apologies for bothering you on a Sunday but I wanted to run something by you for confirmation before reporting it out I was told by two people familiar that Congressman Matt Gaetz asked to meet with former President Trump at [Mar-A-Lago] last week and was denied.

But Orr did, in fact, report it out before receiving any confirmation from either side. And the original CNN story claimed neither side has responded, which wasnt true.

She was reaching out from an unverified, anonymized ProtonMail account, while her Twitter biography still held her old, POLITICO e-mail address.

A few hours later, Gaetzs team responded. At least, they thought they did.

Rep. Gaetz was welcomed to Trump Doral this week and has not sought to meet with President Trump himself. Hes been mostly relaxing with his fiancee this week during recess. GOP establishment types can leak as many lies as they want to their friends at CNN, but a recent poll showed Rep Gaetzs constituents are overwhelmingly supportive of him, and thats the only support a Member of Congress needs, their statement read, in full.

The statement was sent to Orr on multiple channels, including every possible perturbation of a CNN e-mail address for her, her POLITICO e-mail address, and via Twitter direct messages, The National Pulse has verified. Spokesmen tend not to respond to @protonmail.com or other easily faked e-mail accounts because they have no way of verifying that it is the actual reporter reaching out. They prefer official emails.

When the story was released, and as of the time of publication, CNN failed to include this whole statement in their story. Instead, they claimed Gaetz staff had not responded.

The National Pulse reached out to Orr over the matter, who admitted in direct messages to me, an Honest mistake, and a sincere oversight on my end, adding: I would never deliberately ignore a spokespersons response to a request for comment.

But even after several updates the article still only contains half the Gaetz spokesman comment, and for hours did not reference the most critical part of the story, which came shortly after CNN had to first update its story: the official denial from Trump world.

Trump comms strategist Jason Miller took to Twitter to slam Orr and CNNs reporting, claiming the entire thing was fabricated.

CNN has no on-the-record sources making this claim, no electronic or written or recorded evidence backing up this claim, it flat out never happened, and we demand a full retraction of this story. Who was the editor that allowed this to be printed??? https://t.co/sgTTWOF1YT  Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) April 12, 2021

Why  if Gaetz had really reached out and was openly rebuffed  would Trumps spokesman bother responding like this? Surely the point would be to hang Gaetz out to dry. But they didnt.

Miller insisted: This CNN story is complete fake news. No such scheduling or meeting request was ever made, and therefore, it could never have been declined. Take note that this story has zero on-the-record sources. Its literally made-up. We are demanding a full retraction.

He added, in a second statement: CNN has no on-the-record sources making this claim, no electronic or written or recorded evidence backing up this claim, it flat out never happened, and we demand a full retraction of this story. Who was the editor that allowed this to be printed???

That CNN failed to approach Miller in the first instance, forcing a post-publication correction would be bad enough.

But the CNN editorial process failed on multiple levels:

The reporter failed to include the comment from the spokesman of the subject of the story;

The reporter e-mail from an anonymized, private e-mail account, not an official address;

The reporters contact details in her own biography were incorrect;

CNN refused to retract the story, even once they learned they had it completely wrong.

But wait, thats not all.

Your faithful correspondent was at the Trump Doral event this weekend in Miami, wherein Rep. Gaetz broke his silence on the number of increasingly bizarre allegations against him and even preemptively warned of anonymous sources in stories about him.

It took less than 24 hours for his predictions to be borne out.

CNN wrote of the speech, given to the Women for America First group, Aides saw his last-minute speech at the Women for America First event, which was held at the nearby Trump National Doral resort, as a blatant attempt to reach Trump and his supporters.

A person directly involved with Trumps post-presidential operation said the ex-Presidents aides were under the impression that Gaetz went down there to try and run into Trump or people around him.

But the claim makes no sense for multiple reasons, confirmed and observed by The National Pulse:

Gaetz arrived at the event, spoke, and left. He did not attempt to run into anyone; Trumps whereabouts this weekend were well known. He was hosting at Mar-A-Lago, not Doral, and therefore there was no chance of running into Trump; CNN accredited 12 reporters to the Doral event to cover Gaetzs speech, any of whom could have confirmed these details to their own reporter, Gabby Orr.

As of the time of publication, this farcical, anonymously-quoted line remains in CNNs story.

It is very possible Orrs representation of the events are as she claims: an Honest mistake. But if it was so honest, why does the false article remain on the CNN website, and why do these mistakes only ever happen when reporting on conservatives?

Read more at: TheNationalPulse.com and CNNSoFake.news.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SynED, a national non-profit focused on education, today released ReportOUT, a quarterly publication that highlights innovative educational initiatives that promise different perspectives and lasting changes, with its latest edition entitled "Netflix University: Why Not?"

ReportOUT includes insights from across the economic, education, and political world, bringing a diverse array of viewpoints and analysis on how to approach education differently and how corporate training is serving as a catalyst for tectonic changes in higher ed.

ReportOUT V9 Guy Smith

"For the past five centuries, few institutions have been more successful at resisting change than higher education," said Guy Smith, Executive Editor, ReportOUT. Mr. Smith, a former Vice President at Antioch University who also previously served as the Dean of Educational Programs at Santa Barbara City College, continued: "Mega forces are now impacting higher ed with incomprehensible velocity. If colleges are not looking over their shoulder at corporate learning, they should be. There is a revolution going on right in front of us that represents a fundamental shift in the way that society organizes itself around education. This edition of ReportOUT highlights some of those changes."

This issue is a compendium of 12 articles that provide insight on the rapid changes happening in higher ed.

The first article provocatively asks, "Is This the End of College as We Know It?" Douglas Belkin, journalist at the Wall Street Journal, argues that the blue-chip credential of a four year college degree (and the debt that often comes with it) is no longer a sure stepping stone to the American dream. In fact, Belkin writes, "For many millennials and now Gen Z, it has become an albatross around their necks." New models are already gaining prominence: "Faster, cheaper, specialized credentials closely aligned with the labor market and updated incrementally over a longer period," with private industry playing a larger role.

Steven Mintz, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin, writes in "Why Higher Education Will Change": "Higher education needs to find more effective, efficient ways to educate students, without sacrificing rigor or the human interactions and feedback that lie at the heart of a quality education. And it needs to do this while somehow covering the escalating costs of financial aid, student services, technology, and compliance with government mandates. Trends that are unsustainable inevitably come to an end. But that need not mean that brick-and-mortar institutions need to be replaced by universities in the cloud. It means that these schools must adapt." As we look to the future, Dr. Mintz breaks down the bottom-line reasons why higher ed must change:

Students have changed Students and parents' priorities have shifted Expectations about graduation rates, the quality of teaching and facilities, and the range of student services have risen sharply Higher education ecosystem has changed Teaching is too often outmoded Four-year institution financial models are under severe stress Employer skills expectations are changing And, most important of all, because higher education's promise  to open opportunities in the job market  proves false for too many students

"One of the consequences of the digital revolution is that it has made life-long learning not only accessible, but expected," concluded Mr. Smith. "Those who learn how to seek out new ideas to integrate, apply and adapt will prosper and excel. The reality in today's digital-first world is that we need to teach every generation how to learn, unlearn, and relearn  quickly  so they can transform the future of work, rather than be transformed by it."

About SynED

SynED is a non-profit organization that acts as a catalyst to help you help others to improve their lives through education and knowledge and skill acquisition, giving them rich career opportunities. Our team will help you explore the many possibilities and potential solutions available to achieve your desired outcomes. SynED also maintains a community for CTE professionals at Cyber-Guild.org. SynED is the proud recipient of the 2021 Association for Career & Technical Education Business-Education Partnership Award.

About ReportOUT

Recognizing that real change is necessary, ReportOUT focuses on the non-traditional, and the notion that effective educational practices can be found in some unlikely places. When searching around the edges, exploring techniques and technologies outside of traditional education, and looking within the ancillary realms of corporate training, for profit schools, and independent learning systems, it helps to have a guidebook.

Media Contact: Guy Smith

866-420-4573

[email protected]

SOURCE SynED

Related Links

https://syned.org


BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 2.00 am ET Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics releases UK monthly GDP estimate, industrial output and external trade figures. The economy is forecast to grow 0.6 percent on month in February, reversing a 2.9 percent fall in January. Ahead of the data, the pound rose against its major rivals. The pound was worth 1.3742 against the greenback, 150.44 against the yen, 1.2702 against the franc and 0.8654 against the euro as of 1:55 am ET. 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.
EastEnders' Shona McGarty has revealed her hopes to star on Strictly Come Dancing following the success of her co-star Maisie Smith, despite turning down the opportunity in the past.

The actress, 29, confessed she previously declined the offer to appear on the BBC show due to 'nerves and anxiety', while praising Maisie's, 19, stint on the 2020 series.

Shona, who plays Whitney Dean in EastEnders, said in this week's New! magazine: 'I want to do a skydive and I'd like to do Strictly. I was asked to do it, but nerves got the better of me.

Take centre stage: EastEnders' Shona McGarty has revealed her hopes to star on Strictly Come Dancing following the success of her co-star Maisie Smith, despite previously turning down the opportunity

'As I've grown up, I've realised that the anxiety that I suffer from, which stops me from doing things, is all in my head.

'I'm doing more things now that I used to be afraid of, such as live interviews. I know I am on a huge soap, but if I make a mistake, I can do it again. With a live interview or Strictly, you only get one shot.'

Her co-star, who plays Tiffany Butcher, made it to the final in last year's series alongside her professional dance partner Gorka Marquez.

According to Shona, the EastEnders star has been encouraging her to appear on the show, but she will have to wait at least two years before being offered the opportunity again.

Applause: The actress, 29, confessed she previously declined the offer to appear on the BBC show due to 'nerves and anxiety', while praising Maisie's, 19, (pictured) stint on the 2020 series

She added: 'Maisie keeps telling me to do Strictly and I would love to, although she absolutely smashed it and I said to her that I'll have to wait two years now before I do it.'

MailOnline have contacted Strictly Come Dancing and Shona's reps for comment.

Earlier on Tuesday, the actress hinted that her character Whitney will get a 'happily ever after' exit from Walford with Kush.

Whitney and Kush's (Davood Ghadami) romance has been slowly simmering with Kush recently moving in with her.

The duo have grown close in recent months after she helped him hide out following his disastrous involvement in the Mitchells' car heist - with the fallout ultimately bring about the end of his relationship with Kat Slater.

Kush is now expected to leave Albert Square after he attends court to confess to the Mitchells crimes, as he previously agreed to take the fall in hopes of securing a huge payout for his ex-partner Kat.

But the market stall trader begins to have second thoughts after building a promising romance with Whitney and getting engaged, shortly before the trial.

The final details of Kush's looming court case, exit storyline and future with Whitney remains a closely guarded secret until the revealing new episodes.
A New York parent who wants to marry their adult biological child is suing to overturn laws banning incest, saying marriage is a matter of 'individual autonomy'.

The parent filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on April 1 asking a judge to declare incest laws 'unconstitutional' and unenforceable so that they can wed their offspring in a ceremony in New York City.

The identities of both the parent and the child are not known, with the gender, ages, hometowns and nature of their relationship not detailed in the suit, seen by the New York Post.

The suit says the parent wishes to remain anonymous because they recognize that their hope of marrying their child is 'an action that a large segment of society views as morally, socially and biologically repugnant.'

A New York parent who wants to marry their adult biological child is suing to overturn laws banning incest. The parent filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court (above Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse in Manhattan) on April 1

'The proposed spouses are adults. The proposed spouses are biological parent and child,' the suit reads.

'The proposed spouses are unable to procreate together.'

According to the suit, the parent and child regard themselves as a 'PAACNP' couple - 'Parent and Adult Child Non-Procreationable' couple - and believe it would 'diminish their humanity' if they could not marry one another.

The claimant argues that the 'enduring bond of marriage' would take the parent and child union to a 'greater level of expression, intimacy and spirituality.'

'Parent-and-adult-child couples for whom procreation is either virtually or literally impossible can aspire to the transcendent purposes of marriage and seek fulfillment in its highest meaning,' the suit reads.

The parent claims they want to propose to their other half but have not yet done so because they would 'sustain emotional harm' if they became engaged when they are legally unable to walk down the aisle.

A lawyer representing the parent did not return the Post's requests for comment.

Under New York law, incest is a third-degree class E felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

A person is guilty of incest in the third degree when he or she marries or engages in sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct with a person they are knowingly related to such as an ancestor, descendant, brother or sister of either the whole or the half blood, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece, according to the New York State Senate.

Incestuous marriages are not recognized by the state and couples who do marry face up to six months behind bars and a fine.

To apply for a marriage license in New York City, the two would-be spouses are required to detail the name and country of birth of their parents and swear that there are no legal impediments to the marriage.

The parent is asking a judge to declare incest laws unconstitutional and unenforceable so that they can wed their offspring in a ceremony in New York City

The parent and child at the crux of the lawsuit have not yet filed for a marriage license, according to the Post.

Manhattan family and matrimonial law attorney Eric Wrubel told the outlet this means the litigation is 'premature' insofar as the couple have not yet been denied any rights.

Wrubel said he doubts the suit will be successful, pointing out the taboo of incest.

'It's never gonna fly,' he said.

'The closest you can come is Woody Allen, and that wasn't his daughter, it was an adopted child whom he never adopted and it still turns people's stomachs.'

In 1992, the world was shocked when it emerged Hollywood filmmaker Woody Allen, then 56, had been having an affair with Soon-Yi Previn, the then-21-year-old adoptive daughter of his long-term partner Mia Farrow.

Allen and Previn later married and adopted two children together. They remain together to this day.

NYU Law Professor Sylvia Law told the Post there have always been cases of incest throughout history, more recently where parents and children are separated from birth and reunite many years later.

'I don't think there's a big popular movement, but I do think as long as we've kept records, there have been cases,' she said.

'It's an area where I think most people would say the government has a right to make the rules, even if they don't apply to every situation.'

The controversial lawsuit filed this month comes seven years after New York's court of appeals ruled in favor of a married uncle and niece after an immigration judge had earlier said they should be deported due to their relationship.

Huyen Nguyen and her mother's half-brother Vu Truong tied the knot in Rochester back in 2000.

The couple's attorney had argued they had been married for 14 years, had no children, shared just one-eighth the same DNA and that such unions had been lawful in New York until 1893.

In 2014, Judge Robert Smith of the Court of Appeals agreed and said there was no 'strong objection to uncle-niece marriages.'

But, despite the victory for this couple, Smith at the time drew a distinction between their union and parent-child and sibling-sibling marriages which he said were 'grounded in the almost universal horror.'
Apr. 12LANSING  Michigan Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican who leads the Senate Oversight Committee, says he is concerned that former GOP gubernatorial candidate Patrick Colbeck is "ignoring truth" as he continues to make unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 election.

McBroom, R-Vulcan, sent Colbeck, a former state senator himself, a two-page letter on Friday, apparently responding to a request by Colbeck to appear before the Oversight Committee at a future meeting, according to a document obtained by The Detroit News.

"Are you also prepared to be under oath to answer additional questions about yourself?" McBroom wrote in the letter to Colbeck. "The chair will not prevent committee members from inquiring into the allegations made against you in lawsuits or media when they are relevant to your testimony regarding the 2020 election.

"Questions about your financial gain and personal credibility are entirely relevant and admissible. I advise you to seek out legal counsel prior to putting yourself into such a position."

Colbeck, a conservative activist from Canton Township, has been in the spotlight in recent days after Dominion Voting Systems asked him to retract false claims he's been making about the company and its election technology, which is used in the majority of Michigan counties to tabulate results.

The former state senator has created a PowerPoint presentation on the 2020 election and previously appeared before the Senate Oversight Committee on Dec. 1 but did not testify under oath. During that hearing, he criticized the media and claimed there was "rampant" voter fraud.

"What I hope to provide you today is just a snippet of information that indicates it was rampant," Colbeck told lawmakers. "It doesn't have to be rampant to be significant."

Dominion's attorneys said Colbeck had solicited more than $1 million from audiences while "knowingly sowing discord in our democracy." Colbeck has denied that claim. According to his response to Dominion, he's raised $30,195 through memberships and donations from his website over the last nine months.

Story continues

"Their letter is yet another example of an orchestrated campaign by election fraud-deniers to infringe upon our fundamental civil rights such as our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the redress of grievances," Colbeck wrote in a response to Dominion posted on his website.

According to McBroom's letter, Colbeck has sought to appear again before the Senate Oversight Committee, which has been examining the 2020 election, because he has "new information" that he feels lawmakers must know.

Colbeck didn't respond to a request for comment.

McBroom wrote that during Colbeck's Dec. 1 presentation before the panel, he said systems at TCF Center, where Detroit's absentee ballots were counted, were connected to the internet.

"I asked if you could prove that such a connection had resulted in some changing or manipulation of votes, but you did not have that material," McBroom wrote. "I do not see such definitive demonstrations in your materials."

Colbeck also privately messaged members of the Senate Oversight Committee to say Dominion CEO John Poulus was "lying" when Poulus appeared before the committee on Dec. 15, according to McBroom's letter. Poulus testified under oath.

"Your online resources also allege many things about Dominion that Mr. Poulus specifically denied were true," McBroom said. "Yet, no legal action has been taken by yourself or anyone else related to his statements before the committee.

"Nor do your slides present a rebuttal to the testimony he gave but rather continue the same allegations about Smartmatic, Venezuela, and China that were the reasons we asked him questions about those things in the first place."

The Senate Oversight Committee chairman wrote Colbeck has been his friend for many years but McBroom is "desperately concerned that you are ignoring truth."

"Certainly, your willingness to persist with failed arguments and to associate with those who are known liars must, at the least, strike you as dangerous to all who you would seek to convince of your commitment to truth," McBroom continued. "While it is not wrong to seek for the real truth when one issue has been debased, you seem to hold on to what is no longer tenable while incorporating new speculation and convoluted hypothesis  this does not add to credibility."

The Senate chairman concluded his letter by saying he would give Colbeck an opportunity to testify if he can provide a summary of new information he plans to present or if he plans to "provide amendments" to his past testimony "should those statements or commitments have been subsequently found to be unobtainable or unverifiable."

Colbeck is an influential figure among conservative GOP groups in Michigan. He came in third place in the GOP primary race for governor in 2018 with 13% of the vote. Then-Attorney General Bill Schuette received 51%, and then-Lt. Gov. Brian Calley got 25%.

cmauger@detroitnews.com
Just as moviegoing is eyeing a rebound this summer after being decimated by COVID-19, one of Los Angeles' most beloved theater chains - Arclight Cinemas - is shutting its doors permanently.

All of the Arclight Cinemas locations and Pacific Theaters locations - both owned by The Decurion Corporation - will be closing its doors for good, according to a statement the chain provided to Deadline.

While Los Angeles theaters have slowly started to re-open over the past few weeks, for the first time in over a year, the Arclight was reportedly hoping to re-open over the Memorial Day holiday, but that's not happening as of yet.

'After shutting our doors more than a year ago, today we must share the difficult and sad news that Pacific will not be reopening its ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres locations,' the statement began.

Shutting down: Just as moviegoing is eyeing a rebound this summer after being decimated by COVID-19, one of Los Angeles' most beloved theater chains - Arclight Cinemas - is shutting its doors permanently

'This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward,' the statement continued.

'To all the Pacific and ArcLight employees who have devoted their professional lives to making our theaters the very best places in the world to see movies: we are grateful for your service and your dedication to our customers,' the statement added.

'To our guests and members of the film industry who have made going to the movies such a magical experience over the years: our deepest thanks. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve you,' the statement concluded.

Arclight Cinemas operated six theaters throughout Los Angeles, including the famed Arclight Hollywood attached to the iconic CineramaDome on Sunset Boulevard.

Arclight Hollywood: Arclight Cinemas operated six theaters throughout Los Angeles, including the famed Arclight Hollywood attached to the iconic CineramaDome on Sunset Boulevard

There were also Arclight theaters in San Diego, Chicago, Boston and Bethesda, with Pacific Theaters operating another 300 screens throughout California, including The Grove at Farmer's Market and one of the few drive-in theaters in Los Angeles, the Vineland Drive-in in the City of Industry.

Arclight and Pacific's parent company Decurion is reportedly 'handing back the keys' to the landlords of all the Arclight and Pacific properties.

There is no word yet if the chains are up for sale, since it's possible that the landlords could return the keys to some of the properties, meaning the chain isn't bankrupt, though they are entering a, 'thick lease negotiation.'

The report adds that the venues that Decurion doesn't own are the ones where they are particularly 'upside down' on their leases, though the chain is waiting to see which of their leases they get back before putting the chain up for sale.

Grove: There were also Arclight theaters in San Diego, Chicago, Boston and Bethesda, with Pacific Theaters operating another 300 screens throughout California, including The Grove at Farmer's Market (above) and one of the few drive-in theaters in Los Angeles, the Vineland Drive-in in the City of Industry

The chain gave notice to its theatrical staff, while it was reported over the weekend that Arclight Culver City was facing eviction after a notice was spotted posted on the doors of the shuttered theater.

The notice was dated March 29 and revealed they had not paid their full March rent, which amounted to $181,900.40.

All 19 locations operated by Arclight and Pacific took in $114 million in 2019, according to IndieWire, with the Arclight Hollywood location said to be one of the highest-grossing theaters in the entire country.

Upon closing its doors in March 2020, the Arclight Cinemas Twitter announced they will, 'temporarily close all locations,' while thanking patrons for their, 'ongoing loyalty and understanding during this time.'

Thanks: Upon closing its doors in March 2020, the Arclight Cinemas Twitter announced they will, 'temporarily close all locations,' while thanking patrons for their, 'ongoing loyalty and understanding during this time'

Almost exactly a year later, when theaters around Los Angeles were starting to re-open, they posted another statement on Twitter, revealing they weren't opening up quite yet.

'Arclight Cinemas remains committed to providing a meaningful communal moviegoing experience,' the statement began.

'Given the complexity of the current situation, we are not reopening movie theaters until operating conditions stabilize and we're able to deliver the Arclight experience you've come to know and love. We miss you and look forward to welcoming you back,' the statement concluded.

The Deadline report revealed the chain was hoping to re-open over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, when Disney's Cruella and Paramount's A Quiet Place II are set for release.

Los Angeles theaters are currently allowed to open at 50% capacity, or 200 people, whichever is fewer, according to Los Angeles County Public Health guidelines.

California governor Gavin Newsom also stated he hopes to have the state 100% open by June 15, and it's possible Los Angeles theaters may even get to 100% before then.
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BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn.  Police clashed with protesters for a second night in the Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot a Black man in a traffic stop over the weekend. The police chief said the officer had apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with fellow officers.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as an accidental discharge. The shooting sparked unrest in an area already on edge because of the trial of the first of four police officers charged in George Floyds death.

Hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall Monday, and hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor. When the protesters wouldnt disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away. A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

Move back! the police chanted. Hands up! Dont shoot! the crowd chanted back.

By 10 p.m., only a few dozen protesters remained.

Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after the Sunday night violence. The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.

Authorities released body cam footage that showed the officer shouting at Wright as police tried to arrest him.

Katie Wright spoke earlier at the vigil held where her son Daunte was killed yesterday.



"My heart is literally broken into a thousand pieces and I don't know what to do or say... I just need everyone to know that he was my life, he was my son, and I can never get that back" pic.twitter.com/uq4d8pRPa4  Jared Goyette (@JaredGoyette) April 13, 2021

Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! she can be heard saying. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

Brooklyn Ce

nter Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting deeply tragic and said the officer should be fired.

Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole, he said.

Elliott later announced that the city council had voted to give his office command authority over the police department.

This will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership, he wrote on Twitter. He also said the city manager had been fired, and that the deputy city manager would take over his duties.

The reason behind the firing was not immediately clear, but the city manager controls the police department, according to the citys charter. Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking earlier to reporters, said the officer who shot Wright would get due process after the shooting.

Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino.

Organizers from the Movement for Black Lives, a national coalition of more than 150 Black-led political and advocacy groups, pointed to Wrights killing as yet another reason why cities must take up proposals for defunding an irreparably broken, racist system.

The fact that police killed him just miles from where they murdered George Floyd last year is a slap in the face to an entire community, said Karissa Lewis, the coalitions national field director.

The body camera footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle.

Gannon said he believed the officer had intended to use her Taser, but instead fired one bullet at Wright. From what I viewed and the officers reaction in distress immediately after that this was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office said in a statement.

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating the shooting, identified the officer as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran who has been placed on administrative leave.

The scene at the Brooklyn Center Police Department where several hundred protesters have gathered. Nat Guard soldiers are mixed in with police at the gate. Both carry long wooden batons. The crowd is growing despite the looming 7 pm curfew. pic.twitter.com/puyGi6LCaN  Jared Goyette (@JaredGoyette) April 12, 2021

Gannon would not say whether she would be fired.

I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said.

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Wrights mother, Katie Wright, said her son called her as he was getting pulled over.

During the call, she said she heard scuffling and then someone saying Daunte, dont run before the call ended. When she called back, her sons girlfriend answered and said he had been shot.

His brother, Dallas Bryant, told about a hundred people gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday evening that Wright sounded scared during the phone call, and questioned how the officer could mistake a gun for a Taser.

You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it, he said.

Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars. Marchers also descended on the citys police headquarters, throwing rocks and other objects. About 20 businesses were broken into at the citys Shingle Creek shopping center, authorities said.

The trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer charged in Floyds death, continued Monday. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck. Prosecutors say Floyd was pinned for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. The judge in that case refused Monday to sequester the jury after a defense attorney argued that the panel could be influenced by the prospect of what might happen as a result of their verdict.

___

By Mohamed Ibrahim. Scott Bauer, Tim Sullivan, Aaron Morrison and Jonathan Lemire contributed.
WALLINGFORD  Two officers were fired from the Wallingford Police Department in March after separate Internal Affairs investigations determined the officers had violated departmental policies.

William Bugbee was fired March 1 after less than a year in the department. Jeffrey Acheychek was fired March 8 after almost 7 years.

Police Chief William Wright said this week that its the first time in his six years as chief that he has terminated anyone.

The Record-Journal accessed police and human resources records regarding the officers firings through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Although Bugbee and Acheychek were fired around the same time, their Internal Affairs cases were separate and the reasons for their termination were not related.

Wallingford police officers are represented by Council 4 AFSCME Local 1570, the Wallingford Police Union.

Sgt. Joseph Cafasso, union president, said in a statement that no union action was filed on behalf of Bugbee because his employment status at the time of his termination was probationary.

He said that Acheychek is awaiting completion of due process.

The union filed a grievance for Acheychek after his employment termination.

Wright said via email Tuesday that he denied the grievance, and the union then moved to the next step  a hearing with town Human Resources Director Jim Hutt.

The hearing occurred a week ago, Wright said, and Hutt has yet to rule on the hearing.

Depending on Hutt's finding, the process can move to the state labor board or Human Resources can order the employee to be reinstated.

Attempts by the Record-Journal to reach Bugbee and Acheychek by phone were unsuccessful.

COLLECT system

Bugbee transferred to Wallingford in March 2020 after five years with the Hartford Police Department, Wright said.

In January, Wallingford Police Lt. Michael Colavolpe initiated an Internal Affairs investigation into Bugbees use of the Connecticut On-Line Law Enforcement Communications Teleprocessing (COLLECT) system.

COLLECT is a statewide computer database that contains records of motor vehicle and criminal histories. Its accessible by law enforcement and criminal justice agencies in the course of their duties only.

There are strict rules about how COLLECT can be used, both at state and municipal levels.

According to Bugbees employment termination letter, he attended a hearing on Feb. 16 regarding the investigation into his conduct with Cafasso present.

During the hearing, Bugbee said he had been having marital problems with his wife. One of his concerns was whether his vehicles were registered and insured, so he accessed COLLECT to look up his own information.

The investigation report, prepared by Sgt. Brian Nowek, stated that an audit of COLLECT revealed Bugbee accessed the system to look up information for personal use on three dates.

On April 13, 2020, Bugbee ran a check on his own drivers license, according to the report. On July 4, 2020, he ran a check on his own date of birth, license and vehicle registration, as well as the vehicle registration of his wifes ex-husband. On October 14, 2020, he ran a check on his own vehicle registration.

He told police during the investigation that he believed he had seen his wifes ex-husband driving in Wallingford, which prompted him to run the ex-husbands information on July 4.

The ex-husband was contacted by police and said he had not been in Wallingford that day, according to the investigation report.

Connecticut State Police manages the COLLECT system. State police notified Wright March 1 that Bugbees permission to use COLLECT was suspended for one year.

Wright said that since Bugbee could not access the COLLECT system, he subsequently could not perform his job duties. For that reason, in addition to the gravity of the matter, Bugbee was fired, Wright said.

24 violations

Acheychek joined the Wallingford police department in June 2014.

According to his employment termination letter, Acheychek attended a hearing March 4 with Cafasso and Officer Shawn Fairbrother regarding the Internal Affairs investigation into his conduct.

Cafasso and Fairbrother both spoke on Acheycheks behalf, the letter stated, saying he was an asset to the agency and that Acheycheks willingness to work through the issues, coupled with a period of suspension, would fix the problem.

The Internal Affairs investigation, prepared by Lt. Anthony DeMaio, examined eight cases Acheychek had worked on from May to November 2020 that were insufficiently investigated, the letter stated, including four thefts, an evading motor vehicle, a domestic call, a threat from an unwanted person and a harassment call.

Acheycheks honesty while investigating some of the cases assigned to him was also called into question. The letter stated that Acheychek had indicated that he had completed certain tasks that actually had not been done.

According to the report, Acheychek was assigned to an evading motor vehicle case, in which a vehicle struck a parked car at On Track Karting, a go-kart racing center on Route 5, and then fled the scene.

The business provided police with surveillance camera video of the incident as well as a copy of the suspects drivers license, which the business makes in order for customers to use the go-karts.

Acheychek stated that he called Assistant State's Attorney John Lion, who told him not to file the case in court, according to the report. When Lt. Cheryl Bradley called Lion, he said that he didnt recall talking to Acheychek at all about the case.

Bradley, who recently retired, brought the discrepancies in the case to Wrights attention.

A search of Acheycheks locker and duty bag uncovered more than 100 items  several with direct relation to four of the eight cases examined in the Internal Affairs investigation  that were not entered into the reporting system properly or logged into evidence appropriately, according to the letter.

After reviewing the Internal Affairs investigation file on Acheychek, Wright compiled a list of 24 violations of police department orders, including seven violations for incompetence, five for insubordination, eight for neglect of duty and four for dishonesty.

During the March 4 hearing, Acheychek said he had been having a difficult time at home, working 16-hour days to support his family. He felt overwhelmed by his work responsibilities, but had not sought the assistance of a supervisor for help with his cases.

The letter said that the number of Acheycheks transgressions, the lapses in his honesty and integrity, and the fact that the department cant forward his cases to court led to his firing.

LTakores@record-journal.com203-317-2212Twitter: @LCTakores
The Chief Executive Officer of Africa Energy Consortium, Kwame Jantuah, is warning that the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) risk losing power in the next election if it does not immediately solve the current power crisis.



Power consumers across the country have had to grapple with intermittent power outages raising fears the country has returned to the era of power rationing (dumsor).



Despite the frustration, the Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has attributed the current situation to ongoing maintenance works.



Speaking on The Forum, a current affairs and news analysis programme on Asaase Radio, the CEO of Africa Energy Consortium said government must fix the problem within the first two years to avoid defeat in 2024.



Nobody should take the people of Ghana for granted, although by the end of 2016 majority of dumsor was solved. The people of Ghana took the NDC out because of the situation they went through, he said.



Jantuah added: And this government, if they dont solve dumsor by the mid of their reign, they will go out of power, because the people of Ghana have given you the mandate to serve us and to make sure whatever the people need is done.



Realistic tariffs

Jantuah also wants the government to desist from playing politics with energy tariff, calling for a national forum to help review the current regime to ensure consumers pay realistic tariff.



We should look at the tariff system. We should start telling Ghanaians this system will collapse if we dont pay realistic tariffs, subsidies today wont help so we should look at the tariff system, and it is time for that discussion.



He added: And if that discussion is going to happen, it should not be only in the caucus of the NPP, get all stakeholders round the table and let us discuss it and make sure that whatever results come from that discussion is permanent and can be continuous.

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.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a statement on Tuesday, explaining that more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. Out of those cases, there are six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot developed in individuals after they received the J&J vaccine. All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18- 48, and symptoms occurred 6-13 days after vaccination.

This pause is a recommendation, not a mandate, said Midland County Department of Public Health Director/Health Officer Fred Yanoski. Theyre taking a pause just to do a little more due diligence.
A senior Tory MP today accused China of hacking him for years in an 'attack on democracy'.

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat said the threat to free speech from rival states was not being taken 'seriously enough' by the government.

Mr Tugendhat - one of a group of politicians targeted with sanctions by Beijing for speaking out about human rights abuses - revealed that emails were circulated recently falsely claiming he had resigned.

And he said experts from GCHQ had told him that Gmail was more secure than his Parliamentary account.

Tory MPs have been pushing Boris Johnson to take a tougher approach to China amid growing concerns about the communist state's power and determination to crush dissent.

Mr Tugendhat was one of nine British critics, including five MPs and two peers, sanctioned by Beijing in response to the UK's imposition of asset freezes and travel bans on individuals and organisations linked to the abuses of Uighurs in Xinjiang.

An urgent question has been tabled in the Commons on the situation this afternoon.

Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat (left) said the threat to free speech from states such as China (pictured right, President Xi Jinping) was not being taken 'seriously enough' by the government

In another recent escalation, the BBC's correspondent was forced to flee to Taiwan amid complaints of surveillance, obstruction and intimidation.

Mr Tugendhat told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the stance taken by China amounted to 'an attack on UK democracy... and frankly we are not taking it seriously enough'.

'The sanctions that China has applied are for speaking. They are for calling out the violation of Chinese citizens of the brutality towards the Chinese Uighur population,' he said.

'What the British government has to respond and what Parliament has to respond to is defending freedom of speech in the UK.'

Describing his experience of cuber attacks, Mr Tugendhat said: 'Last week, emails were sent around claiming to be from me, claiming that I'd resigned from the Foreign Affairs Committee, which of course I haven't.

'Many other cyberattacks have been perpetrated either on me or on others - attacks of impersonation, attempts to enter accounts and various other things.'

The MP went on: 'It has been happening for about two or three years  in fact, it is not just China that has done it.

'Iran is one country I know of that has done it and there are likely to be two others that I won't name because I can't be certain.'

Mr Tugendhat warned that while it would be 'extreme' to cut off trade with China in response, the government should be taking more action to counter the threat.

'When, for example, I was told by friends at GCHQ - not formally, I admit - that I was better off sticking to Gmail rather than using the Parliamentary system because it was more secure, frankly that tells you the level of security and the priority we're giving to democracy in the United Kingdom,' he said.

A Parliament spokeswoman said: 'We have robust cybersecurity measures in place and work closely with partners in the National Cyber Security Centre.

'In line with guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre we would always encourage MPs to use parliamentary emails which offers significantly higher levels of security than external providers.'

It is believed the emails purporting to be from Mr Tugendhat were sent from a personal account.
KATY, Texas, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SLCA) announced today that it will release its first quarter 2021 financial results before the New York Stock Exchange opens on Friday, April 30, 2021.

Conference Call

This release will be followed by a conference call for investors on Friday, April 30, 2021 at 7:30 a.m. Central Time to discuss the results. Hosting the call will be Bryan Shinn, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Don Merril, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Investors are invited to listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the "Investor Resources" section of the Company's website at www.ussilica.com. The webcast will be archived for one year. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing (877) 869-3847 or for international callers, (201) 689-8261. A replay will be available shortly after the call and can be accessed by dialing (877) 660-6853 or for international callers, (201) 612-7415. The conference ID for the replay is 13718876. The replay will be available through May 30, 2021.

About U.S. Silica

U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc. is a global performance materials company and last-mile logistics provider and is a member of the Russell 2000 Index. The Company is a leading producer of commercial silica used in a wide range of industrial applications and in the oil and gas industry. Over its 121-year history, U.S. Silica has developed core competencies in mining, processing, logistics and materials science that enable it to produce and cost-effectively deliver over 400 diversified product types to customers across its multiple end markets. U.S. Silica's wholly owned subsidiaries include EP Minerals and SandBox Logistics. EP Minerals is an industry leader in the production of products derived from diatomaceous earth, perlite, engineered clays, and non-activated clays. SandBox Logistics is a state-of-the-art leader in proppant storage, handling and well-site delivery, dedicated to making proppant logistics cleaner, safer and more efficient. The Company currently operates 24 mines and production facilities. The Company is headquartered in Katy, Texas.

Investor Contact:

Donald A. Merril

EVP and Chief Financial Officer

(301) 682-0302

[email protected]

SOURCE U.S. Silica Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

www.ussilica.com


Senate Filibusters Racist Past Fuels Arguments For Its End

Once obscure, the Senate filibuster is coming under fresh scrutiny not only because of the enormous power it gives a single senator to halt President Joe Bidens agenda, but as a tool historically used for racism.

Senators and those advocating for changes to the practice say the procedure that allows endless debate is hardly what the founders intended, but rather a Jim Crow-relic whose time is up. Among the most vivid examples, they point to landmark filibusters including Strom Thurmonds 24-hour speech against a 1957 Civil Rights bill, as ways it has been used to stall changes.

The debate ahead is no longer just academic, but one that could make or break Bidens agenda in the split 50-50 Senate. Carrying echoes of that earlier Civil Rights era, the Senate is poised to consider a sweeping elections and voting rights bill that has been approved by House Democrats but is running into a Senate Republican filibuster.

In a letter Friday, nearly 150 groups called on the Senate to eliminate the filibuster, saying the matter takes on fresh urgency after passage of more restrictive new elections law in Georgia, which could be undone by the pending For the People act thats before Congress.

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The filibuster has a long history of being used to block voting rights, civil rights, and democracy-protecting bills, said Fix our Senate and a roster of leading progressive and advocacy groups focused on gun control, climate change, immigration and other issues.

Senate Democrats will soon face a choice: Protect our democracy and pass the For the People Act, or protect the filibuster _ an outdated and abused `Jim Crow relic that deserves to be tossed into the dustbin of history.

The pressure is mounting on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democrats as time ticks on Bidens priorities. With the narrow Senate and the Democrats holding just a slim majority in the House, its clear that Republicans will be able to easily block bills from passing Congress, which they plan to do.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell recently declared it fake history to suggest a racial component to the filibuster practice.

In a Senate speech, McConnell recalled times the filibuster was used by both parties, including just last year when Democrats were in the minority and used it to block other bills. Its not a racist relic, McConnell said.

Established almost by accident in a way that allows unlimited debate, the filibuster practice dots early congressional history, but entered the lexicon on the eve of the Civil War. By the early 20th century, it was used to block anti-lynching bills but became more widely used in recent years, sharpened as a procedural weapon to grind any action to a halt in the Senate.

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To overcome a filibuster takes 60 votes, but some Democratic senators have proposed lowering that threshold to 51 votes, as has been done to allow approval of executive and judicial nominees. Senate Democrats hold the slim majority this session because under the Constitution, the Vice President, Democrat Kamala Harris, can cast the tie-breaking vote.

The filibuster rules have been changed before. In 2013, the Senate, under then-Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, lowered the threshold to 51 votes for some executive nominees.

McConnell himself went further when Republicans were in the majority, stunning Washington when he maneuvered the Senate to lower it to 51 for Supreme Court nominees, enabling Republicans to install three of Donald Trumps high court judicial picks over Democratic objections.

The top-ranking Black member of Congress, House Majority Whip James Clyburn, warned senators recently that he would not be quiet if they used the filibuster to halt action on raising the minimum wage and other Democratic priorities. Were not just going to give in to these arcane methods of denying progress, the South Carolina Democrat said, hearkening back to Thurmonds speech.

But it would take all Democrats to agree to change the rules, and some centrists, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are not on board.

There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster, he wrote in a recent op-ed.

Manchin has received as much attention as any other senator as the White House conducts outreach to Congress.

Biden has spoken to him several times, and hes also received calls from other senior officials including White House chief of staff Ron Klain.

Biden advisors have long known that he would express reluctance to overhaul the filibuster. And Manchin is not alone _ as many as 10 Democratic senators have been wary of changing the filibuster practice.

The president and White House aides have also spoken to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., among others, according to advisors.

The administrations pitch to all the senators, including Manchin, has framed the moment as one that calls for drastic action, including a need to uphold voting rights in the face of legislation they believe can be considered racist.

Harvard Law professor Michael Klarman said while the filibuster may not in itself be racist, it certainly has been used that way in the past _ as well as in the present.

Theres nothing partisan about saying the filibuster has mostly been used for racist reasons, I think everybody would agree that thats true, he said.

The election legislation coming before the Senate will become a test case. Already approved by the House as H.R. 1, the sweeping federal package would expanding voting access by allowing universal registration, early voting by mail and other options, undoing some of Georgias new law.

Democrats intend to eventually bring it forward for votes and test the Republicans willingness to object.

At the same time, Schumer is eyeing another process, so-called budget reconciliation, that provides a tool for certain budgetary bills to be approved on a 51-vote threshold, bypassing GOP opposition.

Democrats used the reconciliation process to Bidens $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, in the face of unified Republican no votes, and could use it again to advance his $2.3 trillion infrastructure packag e or other priorities.

Since reconciliation revolves around budgetary matters, its its not clear the elections bill or others legislation gun control or immigration, for example, could be considered under the procedure.

One Democrat, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the new senator whose election in January helped deliver the party majority control, recently signaled he is prepared to use all options to push ahead on the elections bill.

I intend to use my leverage, and my states leverage as the majority maker, whose electoral future is in peril right now, to demand that we deal with voting rights, he told The Associated Press, and we deal with it urgently and swiftly.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:50:54|Editor: huaxia

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by Saud Abu Ramadan, Sanaa Kamal

GAZA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- In sharp contrast to what was expected, major Palestinian markets in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have witnessed a significant turnout as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is arriving, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Zawiya market, one of the most popular markets in Gaza, was overcrowded ahead of Ramadan that commenced on Tuesday. The small shops and food stores were decorated with Ramadan lanterns in different colors and sizes.

Happiness was visible on the face of Saeed al-Saqqa, one of the store owners, who pinned his hopes on Ramadan to improve his deteriorating economic conditions.

"Despite coronavirus, there is a significant turnout of customers purchasing Ramadan foodstuffs and other products compared with previous years," said the 55-year-old father of six, while arranging his goods outside the store to attract customers.

While "products are affordable for everyone, the problematic living situation in Gaza deprives many families of celebrating Ramadan," he added.

Muslims worldwide fast about 15 hours a day for 30 days during Ramadan. Housewives usually spend the end of the day in kitchens to prepare breakfast with desserts and juices.

While shopping, Iktimal al-Kamouni told Xinhua that the atmosphere of Ramadan was beautiful and buying Ramadan products will serve to increase the joy during the fasting month.

However, the apparent boom in the markets might not last too long, as the Hamas, ruler of Gaza, has tightened the precautionary measures to curb the spread of the new COVID-19 variants.

On Monday evening, the Hamas-run interior ministry announced that it will ban the traffic in all governorates of the coastal enclave every day from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.. Besides, a full lockdown will start at 9 p.m. and end at 6 a.m., which includes the closure of shops and stores.

"The new instructions will start on Tuesday and will last the entire 30 days of Ramadan. In addition, gatherings in public places and streets, as well as outdoor weddings and weekly markets will be banned," Eyad al-Bozzom, interior ministry spokesman in Gaza, told reporters.

Gazans must abide by all the required precautionary measures, including wearing face masks when praying at the mosques during Ramadan, he noted.

Al-Saqqa expressed deep concerns about the anti-virus measures Hamas is taking during Ramadan.

"Imposing a full lockdown in Gaza amid the increasing number of coronavirus infections will negatively affect my economic conditions and will cause accumulation of goods in my shop," he told Xinhua.

Mohammed al-Tayar, a taxi driver from Deir al-Balah city in the central Gaza Strip, said he will not be able to make money to make his seven-member family afloat.

"Banning traffic means we will stay without work," he complained. Enditem
David Cameron's defence is 'rather a line you would expect from a drug dealer who says 'I don't know what is in those pills',' Lord Myners said - AFP

Boris Johnson has refused to give David Cameron his backing over the Greensill Capital scandal, saying he has his own questions about what happened.

The Prime Minister yesterday ordered lawyer Nigel Boardman to head up an inquiry into how the finance firm secured state contracts for supply chain finance The probe will also look at how the lenders representatives, including Mr Cameron, "engaged with Government".

Asked what he made of his predecessor's behaviour the Prime Minister told journalists: "That's a matter for Nigel Boardman's report."

Pressed on whether he is attempting to "rough up a rival" with the review, Boris Johnson said: "I think people have got questions that they need to satisfy themselves about - including me - about how this supply chain finance stuff is meant to work.

"I don't think it is going on at present anywhere in Government but we need to understand exactly what the intention was, how it came about, and that is exactly what Nigel Boardman is going to do."

Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, admitted he had met Mr Cameron and Lex Greensill socially, but insisted he had referred the meeting to officials after "department business" came up.

Meanwhile Kwasi Kwarteng, the recently-appointed Business Secretary, told a committee of MPs that he "never received a phone call or WhatsApp" from Mr Cameron.

03:04 PM

And that's it for another day...

It has been a fairly bruising day for David Cameron, as the Greensill Capital row rumbles on - with Boris Johnson distancing him from his long-time frenemy.

Story continues

Matt Hancock admitted to meeting the former prime minister and Lex Greensill, but insisted he had informed officials in the proper way - raising questions about why that did not appear to be documented (see 12:31pm).

Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, told the Beis committee he had never been contacted by Mr Cameron - although given he has only been in the post since January, the spotlight merely shifts to his predecessor Alok Sharma.

Paul Scully appeared instead of Rishi Sunak, facing a barrage of criticism about "grubby" deals and a reminder of the time Dennis Skinner was kicked out of the Commons for calling Mr Cameron "Dodgy Dave" (see 1:41pm).

Meanwhile former City minister Lord Myners claimed Mr Cameron had done "just about everything" wrong (see 10:25am), as he warned of the wider ramifications of the scandal for taxpayers.

The Chancellor may have escaped unscathed but he and the Treasury ministers involved may not yet be out of the woods.

Our readers were split on whether the saga will tarnish his star, with 55 per cent saying he has done nothing wrong while 45 per cent said he should not have "pushed" his officials.

For all that, and more of today's news, carry on reading below.

02:52 PM

ICYMI: Sir John Major urges ethics rules overhaul after David Cameron Greensill row

Sir John Major believes "it is right to re-examine and update the rules on propriety" in the wake of the row over Mr Cameron - PA

Sir John Major has called for an overhaul of the ethics rules binding former ministers as Number 10 launched an independent investigation that will examine David Cameron's lobbying for the collapsed lender Greensill.

Former Prime Minister Sir John said propriety regulations governing all current and former frontbenchers and senior officials should be updated and examined in the wake of the row engulfing Mr Cameron, The Telegraph can reveal.

Read the full story here.

02:41 PM

European 'belligerence' is exacerbating Northern Ireland tensions, claims DUP MP

A DUP MP has claimed that the "belligerent approach" of European politicians towards the Northern Ireland protocol has further inflamed tensions.

Carla Lockhart, the MP for Upper Bann, said: "While all right-minded people will condemn any violence or threat of violence in Northern Ireland, whether now or in the past, does the Secretary of State accept that the anger in the unionist community goes far beyond those who have taken to the streets in recent days?

"Will the Secretary of State take any opportunity to point out to his Irish and European colleagues whose belligerent approach has exacerbated the difficulties that the rigorous implementation of the Protocol is not only inconsistent with the Belfast Agreement, but is also, even before it is being implemented in full, causing societal difficulties in Northern Ireland."

Brandon Lewis replied: "We are determined to work through these issues and make sure that the Protocol is one that can work for everybody in a sense that is pragmatic, flexible and free-flowing trade for GB to NI."

02:35 PM

DUP accuses Government of 'breach of trust' over protocol

A DUP MP has echoed Labour's criticism of the Government over Northern Ireland, saying there was a "breach of trust" over the promises to prevent a border with Britain.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the Commons that Labour's shadow Northern Ireland secretary Louise Haigh had "put her finger on it when she said that the issue here is trust - and taking the peace process forward has to be built on trust."

He continued: "Importantly, there was a breach of trust in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol and creating barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland that we were told would not happen and have happened. They undermine the sense of identity and the place of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom."

Sir Jeffrey called on Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary to replace the protocol "with something better that restores Northern Ireland's place fully within the internal market of the United Kingdom".

Mr Lewis said the Government was "determined to deal with some of the problems and the issues" that have arisen.

02:20 PM

MPs urged to use parliamentary email system after Tory MP claims Gmail is 'more secure'

Tom Tugendhat (C) is one of several MPs including Iain Duncan Smith (R) and Nusrat Ghani (L) to have been sanctioned by China - AFP

MPs have been urged to use their parliamentary emails rather than commercial providers, after a senior Tory claimed he had been told Gmail was "more secure".

Tom Tugendhat, who has been subjected to cyber attacks and hacking attempts, said he had been advised not to use his work email by "friends at GCHQ" (see post 8:53am).

But a parliamentary spokesman said: "We have robust cybersecurity measures in place and work closely with partners in the National Cyber Security Centre.

"In line with guidance from the NCSC we would always encourage MPs to use parliamentary emails, which offers significantly higher levels of security than external providers."

An NCSC spokesman said the parliamentary system follows "best practice" and "MPs should continue to use it".

02:07 PM

Covid vaccine slump continues with fewer than 200,000 jabs given yesterday

Fewer than 200,000 Covid vaccines were given out in England yesterday - of which the bulk were second doses - as the slump in supply continues.

A total of 33,637,546 jabs have been given since the programme launched on December 8, including first and second doses. That is a rise of 191,624 on the previous day.

NHS England said 27,132,941 were the first dose of a vaccine, a rise of 25,351 on the previous day, while 6,504,605 were a second dose, an increase of 166,273.

Latest UK vaccine numbers: rollout figures

01:59 PM

Goods must move 'as easily from Liverpool to Belfast as to Birmingham', says Tory MP

Sir John Redwood has called for the Government to ensure "a good can move as easily from Liverpool to Belfast as Liverpool to Birmingham".

The Conservative MP said the protocol did "maintain Northern Ireland's integrated place in the UK's internal market".

Goods "not at risk of going to the Republic" should be "under the direct control of the UK authorities," he added.

Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland Secretary, said this is "exactly" the position the Government is aiming to get to, in dialogue with partners in the EU.

01:50 PM

Boris Johnson is 'not a casual observer' to unrest in Northern Ireland, says Labour

Boris Johnson is "not a casual observer" to the growing tensions in Northern Ireland, Labour's shadow Northern Ireland secretary has said.

Louise Haigh said he must "face up to the consequences of his own actions and show the leadership communities are crying out for".

The Labour frontbencher claimed that the Prime Minister "made promises to the people of Northern Ireland that there would be no border with Britain, knowing full well his Brexit deal would introduce barriers across the Irish Sea".

He did this because he knew "economic separation would be unacceptable", but that has "squandered" trust, she says.

"He is not a casual observer in these events. He must step up and urgently convene talks with the political parties in Northern Ireland and all parties to the protocol to find solutions and political agreement," she adds.

"Northern Ireland has been relegated to little more than an afterthought and the promise of peace allowed to stall.

01:41 PM

Northern Ireland violence 'totally unacceptable', says Secretary of State

Violence in Northern Ireland is "totally unacceptable" and attacks on police are "utterly reprehensible", the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Brandon Lewis told the Commons it was "tragic and deeply concerning" that young people have been encouraged into it.

Highlighting the "economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic", he says Northern Ireland's post-conflict society retains "elements of fragility".

Mr Lewis added that "some sections of the community feel their concerns are not understood", and that "there is still work to do".

The answer lies in "dialogue and engagement in democratic process", he adds, stressing the need for parties to work together "to ensure that calm prevails".

01:22 PM

Ross Clark: Boris Johnson's Greensill plan could just backfire

Like the tango, it takes two to lobby: the lobbyist and the person who has allowed themselves to be lobbied, writes Ross Clark.

Therein lies the problem for Boris Johnson in calling an inquiry into David Camerons lobbying activities on behalf of the defunct Greensill Capital. While, in the reported words of one former minister Johnson might enjoy throwing Cameron under a bus, the more you dig deeper into the former Prime Ministers activities, the more it will reveal about those who are currently in power.The Greensill affair is deeply embarrassing for Cameron. Surely he is rich enough not to have to bother with returning to the career in the grubby world of PR whence he came. He could be carving out a remunerative career as an elder statesman  or, failing that, sitting in his shepherds hut harmlessly listening to Mumford and Sons. But should the rest of us really care all that much what he gets up to? He is a private citizen and has been for over four years.Rather more concerning is the way that current ministers happily entertained him.

Read the rest of Ross' column in full here.

01:19 PM

Some Liberty Steel UK plants may close, Business Secretary admits

Kwasi Kwarteng has warned there is a "danger" that Liberty Steel could be forced to close some of its UK plants following the collapse of its main financial backer GFG.

Giving evidence to the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, the Business Secretary said: "I am very keen to see that these assets, which are good assets, continue to operate and the company continues to operate but we can't strip Liberty Steel from the wider group under which it sits and, as Mr Gupta says, they have billions and billions of debt."

"I think it can work but what I won't rush into is giving any guarantees in this committee or in any other forum. It is a patient game."

Mr Kwarteng again defended the Government's decision to reject an appeal by GFG for a 170million bailout, saying there was no assurance the money would have stayed in the UK.

"We didn't have those guarantees. It was a very opaque structure," he said. "As officials and ministers we have a responsibility to taxpayers not simply sign off 170million without any knowledge of where that money might ultimately go."

01:00 PM

Iain Duncan Smith calls for ban on 'preferential trade deal' with China over sanctions

Iain Duncan Smith has challenged the Government to join up with allies in Europe and the US to refuse to agree any trade deals with China until sanctions are lifted.

The former Conservative leader said ministers must take two-pronged action: " Lead now those allies of ours in Europe and US to say there can be no preferential trade, economic or commerical deals while their own individuals are sanctioned, and resist any moves to water down anything in the new infrastructure bill going through this place."

Nigel Adams reiterated the Government view that China's "increasing assertiveness and scale is potentially the most significant geopolitical shifts in the 2020s", but that the UK must continue to engage with the regime on issues such as climate change.

"We need to defend our values, but cooperate where our interests align," he said.

12:53 PM

Senior Tory calls on Government to end 'Project Kowtow' over China sanctions

A senior Tory has called on the Government to "signal that Project Kowtow is over", after a number of MPs were sanctioned by China.

Tim Loughton, one of nine individuals to have been hit by tit-for-tat measures, said he and colleagues had been "fortified to call out the abuses of this totalitarian government in China, but their badly thought out and counterproductive use of sanctions, which will wear as a badge of honour".

Nigel Adams, a Foreign Office minister, said the sanctions were "unwarranted and unacceptable" and that the Government would not allow China to distract attention from the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

12:42 PM

Have your say: Will the Greensill row tarnish Rishi Sunak?

The row over David Cameron's lobbying for Greensill Capital shows no sign of blowing over yet, despite the Prime Minister yesterday announcing a probe into how the lenders representatives, including Mr Cameron, "engaged with Government".

This morning Rishi Sunak is back in the spotlight, with Labour attacking him for swerving questions in the Commons about his involvement in the matter, instead sending junior minister Paul Scully.

The opposition is also making much of his own admission that he "pushed" his officials to see what could be done.

The Chancellor has ridden high in the polls throughout the pandemic - but there are signs that his popularity is starting to wane. Could Greensill be about to tarnish his once bright star?

Have your say in the poll below.

12:41 PM

Labour MP harks back to 'Dodgy Dave' moment

Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck reminds MPs that Dennis Skinner was booted out of the Commons for calling David Cameron "dodgy".

She asks business minister Paul Scully if he agrees that "Dave was, and indeed remains, dodgy?"

Mr Scully replied simply: "No."

Watch the moment again in the video below.

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12:32 PM

Labour MP compares Greensill to Enron collapse

A Labour MP has compared the Greensill scandal to the infamous Enron collapse as she warned it could leave "many German people facing bankruptcy".

Stella Creasy, MP for Walthamstow, said: "Like other corporate financial scandals such as Enron, we need to follow the money.

"It was the German Greensill bank that made the loans to Sanjeev Gupta which also supported the use of private jets which the former prime minister made many journeys on and we know is now under criminal investigation as many thousands of German people face bankruptcy.

"So the minister tells us what conversations he has had with the German prosecutors about the CBILs loans schemes and if they will be invited to give evidence?"

Paul Scully reiterated that "the bank has opened investigation into Greensill's compliance... and that is continuing."

He adds that it "wouldn't be appropriate to comment further".

Ms Creasy could be seen mouthing something about "the Germans" as the business minister was speaking.

12:19 PM

Tory MP calls for Grant Thornton to be 'properly investigated' over Greensill scandal

A Conservative MP has called for Grant Thornton's role in Greensill's collapse to be "properly investigated".

Kevin Hollinrake attacked the "blatant political opportunism" from opposition parties, but said "there is a scandal behind this".

Greensill failed because it "over-extended" itself by borrowing hundreds of millions of pounds "based on the security of a very insecure, possibly non-existent, order book", the MP adds.

He asks for reforms of the auditory system to be brought forward, alongside a full investigation of Grant Thornton.

Paul Scully says "in light of recent failures, it is absolutely right" that reforms are brought forward.

12:14 PM

MPs to decide whether to establish parliamentary inquiry into David Cameron

MP will vote on whether to establish a parliamentary inquiry into David Cameron's lobbying activities.

A plan put forward by Labour would create a new select committee to investigate lobbying, including the former prime minister's activities in support of collapsed lender Greensill Capital.

If MPs approve the motion, which will be brought tomorrow, the cross-party committee would investigate whether current laws are sufficient to prevent "inappropriate lobbying" of ministers and officials.

Shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rachel Reeves urged Tory MPs to back the motion if they want to "stop the cronyism rampant in their party and in government".

Opposition day motions are not usually binding on the Government, but because this is calling for Parliament rather than ministers to establish an inquiry it would lead to the creation of the Investigation Into Lobbying Of Government committee.

The proposed committee would have the power to "send for persons, papers and records" - giving it the ability to summon Mr Cameron and ministers including Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Matt Hancock to answer questions in public.

12:08 PM

Rishi Sunak 'right to push officials' on Greensill, says minister

Rishi Sunak: Junior minister Paul Scully was forced to defend the Chancellor, who did not appear to answer an urgent question today - Simon Walker HM Treasury

Paul Scully has said MPs must let the inquiry announced by Boris Johnson yesterday have time to "do its work".

The business minister says the Chancellor was "right to push officials, as we all have, to explore all ways of capital getting to businesses big and small".

But he notes that Rishi Sunak rejected the idea that the scheme be adapted to allow any banks to take advantage of the CCFF scheme.

He notes that the CLBIL scheme is administered by the British Business Bank, which sits within Beis, and suggests she should rewrite her question if she wants Mr Sunak to appears.

12:04 PM

Labour accuses Rishi Sunak of 'running scared' over David Cameron

Anneliese Dodds says she welcomes the business minister's appearance but it was "the Chancellor who told David Cameron he would pus his team to amend emergency loan schemes to suit Cameron's new employer" who should have appeared.

She claims that Rishi Sunak is "frit of putting his name to those loan schemes today", despite having touted them when they first launched.

"What was the alternative that the Chancellor pushed his team to explore after DAvid Cameron texted him? What discussions did the Government have with the British Business Bank about Greensill's access to CLBILs after it had already been rejected for the CCFF? Were the criteria for CLBILs amended so that Greensill could access the scheme?

"And why was Greensill the only supply chain finance firm accredited, what due diligence was done?"

Thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of pounds of public money have been used in this but the Chancellor is "running scared". she adds.

12:00 PM

Greensill loan approved 'independently' of Government, says business minister

Greensill Capital were approved for the Covid loan schemes "in accordance with published guidance", and "all decisions made independently" by the British Business Bank, a minister has said.

Paul Scully, answering an urgent question intended for Rishi Sunak, told MPs that the bank opened an investigation into Greensill in October last year and that investigation is continuing.

The Government's obligations are "suspended on a precautionary basis", he adds.

11:56 AM

Cameron scandal puts spotlight on revolving door between politics and business

The escalating scandal involving David Camerons ties to collapsed finance firm Greensill has put a spotlight on the often-lucrative afterlife that many politicians enjoy.

As Number 10 commissions an investigation into the former prime minister's attempt to lobby ministers on Greensill's behalf, calls are growing for more scrutiny on business appointments.

The row has put the activities of his former cabinet in the spotlight, with the class of 2016 attracting lucrative roles at major banks, technology firms and consultancies since leaving politics.

They are not accused of any wrongdoing, but the Greensill saga draws attention to the complex links between business and politics and raises wider questions about how ministers should use their contacts books after a political career ends and a business one begins. As Cameron said in 2010, this is a big issue that can no longer be ignored.

David Cameron-Greensill scandal

Read our analysis of the revolving door in full here.

11:53 AM

Lobby latest: Government disbands LGBT panel

The Government's LGBT advisory panel has been disbanded, Downing Street confirmed.

The panel, established by Theresa May's government, will be replaced with a new body, No 10 indicated.

Panellists' terms were due to expire on March 31 but a series of members of the group had resigned earlier in protest at Government policies.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Women and Equalities Minister Liz Truss had written to the remaining panel members to thank them for their service.

"The Prime Minister is immensely proud to live in a country that is one of the most progressive and liberal when it comes to LGBT equality," the spokesman said.

"The LGBT advisory panel was created under the previous administration and the term of all panel members was always due to end on the 31st.

"The Minister for Women and Equalities has written to all panel members to thank them for their contributions and plans for a replacement to the panel will be set out in due course."

11:50 AM

Sir Bernard Jenkin tears up as he praises 'most trusted friend' Dame Cheryl Gillan

Sir Bernard Jenkin has given an emotional tribute to Dame Cheryl Gillan, who became a Conservative MP in the same election.

The liaison committee chairman teared up as he praised her for being "gentle and polite", saying she had become "one of my most trusted friends" over the years.

The former Welsh secretary was "terrific fun" and a champion of women in politics, he added.

Sir Bernard told colleagues that her failing health and cancer had been particularly "bitter for her" because of the ban on proxy voting for MPs who are "incapacitated by sickness".

"Perhaps we should have a campaign to rectify this and call it Cheryl's vote," he added.

11:42 AM

Lobby latest: South African cluster being taken 'very seriously', says No 10

Downing Street has said the cluster of cases of the South African coronavirus variant was being taken "very seriously".

Some 44 confirmed cases of the variant have been found in the south London boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth and residents have been urged to get a coronavirus test even if they do not have symptoms.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "I think this is something that we are taking very seriously and the effective surge testing processes that we have in place have been working well here.

"We know that variants do pose a risk, it's one of our four tests for the progression of the road map.

"But... we have strong measures in place to find and isolate any new cases."

11:41 AM

Speaker leads tribute to 'doughty' Dame Cheryl Gillan

Dame Cheryl Gillan who died last weekend after a long illness - PA

The Speaker of the House has led tributes to Dame Cheryl Gillan, who died last weekend at the age of 68 after a long illness.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the former Welsh Secretary and Conservative MP was a "doughty defender of her constituents interests" and the "champion of private members bills which led to the Autism Act" in 2009.

"She will be remembered as a friend and mentor to many members," Sir Lindsay added.

He also paid tribute to "five former members who passed away while the House was in recess", including Baroness Williams of Crosby, who died yesterday aged 90.

11:31 AM

Matt Hancock admits meeting with David Cameron and Lex Greensill

Matt Hancock answering questions in the House of Commons - PA

Matt Hancock admitted meeting David Cameron and Lex Greensill, as he was accused of a "a pattern of behaviour".

It emerged at the weekend that the former prime minister had lobbied the Health Secretary to use Greensill for an NHS pay scheme. Today Jon Ashworth asked why "that meeting was not declared".

Mr Hancock said: "Absolutely, I attended a social meeting organised by former prime minster, and given that departmental business came up, I reported it to officials in the normal way."

But his shadow said it was "cronyism and it stinks", asking Mr Hancock to publish all the correspondence to the former prime minister and officials about Greensill "to see exactly what went on with the awarding of this contract".

The Health Secretary said he would "participate in full" with the ongoing review, but stressed that it was "very important" that governments engaged with all stakeholders "within the rules, which is what happened in this case".

11:22 AM

Nicola Sturgeon relaxes Covid restrictions after 'significant progress' made

Coronavirus travel restrictions within Scotland are to be eased from Friday and six adults from up to six households will be able to meet up outside, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

It comes as "significant progress" has been made in reducing the number of Covid-19 cases in Scotland.

Addressing the coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh, the First Minister said figures are now at their lowest since September, and have fallen by 40 per cent in the past two weeks.

But she warned against complacency as Scotland continues to tackle the virus, saying: "We've got to be careful not to do too much all at once, because we don't want the virus quickly gaining ground again, particularly because this new variant is we know more infectious and setting us all back."

11:20 AM

Covid, Price Philip and Northern Ireland on the Cabinet agenda

Boris Johnson chaired Cabinet this morning, in which he highlighted the tributes paid to the Duke of Edinburgh in Parliament yesterday, in which 136 MPs spoke.

He added that the reaction to the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh has shown the level of affection held for him across the entire country and around the world and that his thoughts remain with Her Majesty The Queen and her family.

Ahead of an oral statement in the House this afternoon, Brandon Lewis updated his colleagues about "the current challenges in Northern Ireland and the work the UK Government is doing to support the Northern Ireland political parties in their solidarity in rejecting violence and disorder", a spokesperson said.

Ministers also discussed progress in the roadmap and vaccination programme, with the Prime Minister congratulating Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary on the success of the roll out.

11:09 AM

Boris Johnson: No reason to roadmap dates to change

Boris Johnson again insisted that "at the moment I can't see any reason for us to change the road map, to deviate from the targets that we have set ourselves", but he urged people to be cautious.

The next "waymarks" on England's road map out of lockdown are due on May 17 and June 21.

He added: "But it is very, very important that, if we are to get there in the way that we all want, people continue to be cautious and they continue to exercise restraint and just do the basic things to stop the spread of the virus - washing your hands, giving people plenty of space, doing things in fresh air."

His comments come amid another round of surge testing in South London, following an outbreak of the South African variant.

Timeline of restrictions - what opens and when

10:46 AM

Business Secretary has 'never received phone call or WhatsApp from David Cameron'

Kwasi Kwarteng was made Business Secretary in January of this year - AFP

Kwarsi Kwarteng has said he has never been contacted by David Cameron during his time as Business Secretary - although he has only been in the role since January.

Labour MP and business committee chair Darren Jones challenged the minister about the Chancellor's no-show in the Commons this afternoon, but he stressed that Rishi Sunak was right "on a point of technical fact".

Asked if Beis was being "pushed under a bus" by the Treasury, Mr Kwarteng said: "I don't thin that is the case here at all.As a matter of fact the British Business Bank is one of 40 ARBs I am responsible for."

Asked if he was contacted by David Cameron, he added: "I have never received a single phone call or WhatsApp from Mr Cameron."

Asked the same question about Beis officials, he said: "As far as I understand they haven't. We have this inquiry as you know, and I am sure inquiry will get to the bottom of exactly what messages Mr Cameron sent."

10:33 AM

Boris Johnson refuses to give David Cameron his backing

Boris Johnson said ruling on David Cameron's actions was "a matter for Nigel Boardman" - AFP

Boris Johnson has dodged a question about his view on David Cameron's actions, saying it is a matter for the man charged with the independent review.

The Prime Minister also swerved a question about whether he was trying to "rough up" an old rival.

He told journalists: "I have asked Nigel Boardman to look at supply chain finance and giving him pretty much carte blanche to ask anybody whatever he needs to find out. I would like it to be done quickly, but he needs the maximum possible access so we can all understand what has happened, and it will be presented to Parliament in due course."

Mr Johnson added: "We will make sure everybody gives him their time and sets out their thoughts and arguments."

Asked his own view of Mr Cameron's behaviour, he said: "That's a matter for Nigel Boardman."

He added: "People have just got questions they need to satisfy themselves - including me - about how this supply chain finances stuff is meant to work. I don't think it is going on anywhere at present in Government but we need to understand how it came about."

10:27 AM

Drop in rates and deaths 'not achieved by vaccines', says Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has stressed that the drop in infection rates, hospitalisations and deaths has "not been achieved by the vaccination programme", but by lockdown.

The Prime Minister told journalists that "clearly everybody has been able to yesterday go to the pub... go shopping, get a haircut and so on.

"That is great... but it is very, very important for everybody to understand that a reduction in these numbers.. has not been achieved by the vaccination programme. It is the lockdown has been overwhelmingly important in delivering this improvement in... the figures that we are seeing."

He added that while the vaccines have "helped", the "bulk of the work has been done by the lockdown", and there would "inevitably" be a rise in hospitalisations and deaths as the country unlocks.

"People have just got to understand that," he added.

10:22 AM

Speaker stands by decision to grant Labour's urgent question to Rishi Sunak

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said the question was 'appropriate' - PA

Sir Lindsay Hoyle has backed his decision to grant Labour's urgent question aimed at Rishi Sunak, despite the Chancellor deciding not to appear.

Instead, junior business minister Paul Scully will be grilled on the emergency Covid loan granted to Greensill Capital, in a debate that kicks off at 12:30.

The Speaker told Sky News he was "not going to prejudge" what will be said, but added: "I thought it was appropriate to grant the urgent question.... I will reflect on what the Government has to say, but I thought it was important to have an urgent question and that is what has been granted."

Sir Lindsay, who took over from John Bercow on a pledge to end the bullying culture that has emerged in recent years, restated his commitment to a "nicer Parliament", adding that transparency was critical to this.

"We need to rebuild trust and respect," he added. "Quite rightly the Government has set up an inquiry, that is the right thing to do."

10:16 AM

David Cameron had 'informal meeting' with most senior civil servant one day into the job

David Cameron met with the head of the civil service for an "informal catch up" just one day after he took on the job.

The BBC's political correspondent Chris Mason has dug up the list of official meetings held by the Cabinet Secretary, showing that Simon Case's very first engagement after taking over from Sir Jeremy Heywood was with the former prime minister.

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10:03 AM

Boris Johnson hails 'hugely significant milestone' as top nine groups get vaccine

Boris Johnson has hailed the "hugely significant milestone" reached, as the first phase of the UK's vaccination programme concludes.

As of today, everyone in the top nine groups - those aged 50 and over and those with underlying health conditions - has been offered at least one Covid jab.

That means those aged 45-49 can now start to book their appointment.

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09:53 AM

Rishi Sunak to swerve questions in Parliament on Greensill, as lobbying row grows

Rishi Sunak will swerve a series of awkward questions in the Commons today, where he was to be grilled on his involvement in awarding Greensill Capital a Covid loan.

The Chancellor, who was sent private text messages by David Cameron last year to ask for help for the finance firm, had been expected to explain how it was accredited for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS).

It would have been the first time he had spoken in the chamber since March 9, more than a month ago. However, small business minister Paul Scully is appearing instead.

Labour sources noted that Mr Sunak had only appeared once between the end of November and the Budget, dodging three Treasury questions.

They added: "The Chancellor is happy to stand in front of a camera when it suits him, but won't answer questions about his involvement in the biggest lobbying scandal for a generation. What's he got to hide?"

But a Treasury source explained After a year of these schemes being in place and a very detailed letter last week setting out the difference between them, Labour still dont get that CLBILS is not a Treasury lead.

09:51 AM

Rishi Sunak's refusal to answer questions on Greensill 'laughable', says Labour

Rishi Sunak's insistence that he is not responsible for Covid lending schemes accessed by Greensill Capital is "laughable", Labour has said, highlighting the various times the Chancellor has claimed credit for their creation.

Mr Sunak has ducked an urgent question granted to shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds, stressing that the Business Department is responsible.

But Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "The Coronavirus Large Interruption Scheme literally had the Chancellors name all over it. He launched it and he took the headlines for it.

But today hes nowhere to be seen - missing in action and running scared of scrutiny for his decision to hand Greensill Capital access to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer-backed loans.

The Chancellor is happy to stand in front of a camera when it suits him and splash public cash on boosting his brand, but wont answer questions about his involvement in the biggest lobbying scandal for a generation."

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09:43 AM

Greensill 'numbers simply didn't add up' but boss was 'protected beast' says former minister

Ministers did not "want to look too closely" at problems emerging at Greensill because the boss Lex Greensill was "a protected beast", a former Labour frontbencher has claimed.

Lord Myners, City minster under Gordon Brown, said it would cost the taxpayer "up to a billion pounds", and result in the loss of 50,000 jobs globally, with another 250,000 support jobs on top. The scandal has also left the "incompetency of the British Business Bank fully exposed to public challenge".

The Labour politician, who has asked more than 40 questions in Parliament about the finance firm, said he did so because "the numbers simply didn't add up" but ministers "didn't want to look too closely".

Lord Myners told Sky: "You could not produce the returns Greensill was offering investors while having a prudently leveraged business and only writing high quality, risk-free business. It just wasn't possible.

"I saw that nearly two years ago and then I saw that Greensill wasn't regulated, so I was trying to draw attention to that but no one was interested. Lex Greensill was a protected beast."

09:33 AM

David Cameron went 'way beyond what is appropriate' in lobbying, says former minister

David Cameron has gone "way beyond what is appropriate" in his lobbying on behalf of Greensill Capital, a former City minister has said.

Lord Myners, who has raised questions about Greensill in Parliament multiple times, said the former prime minister had set the "legislation and rules which allowed him to do what he has done, and fall outside the scope of legislation".

He told Sky News: "In my view no former minister should be allowed to do any lobbying at all with a continuing government until at least five years have elapsed.

"David Cameron must have known sending those messages, including telling Rishi Sunak the existing scheme was nuts, was really going way beyond what is appropriate."

The current rules have "no force" and are "a complete waste of time and needs to be really toughened up", he added. "In public life, we must set examples of correct behaviour."

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09:25 AM

David Cameron did 'just about everything' wrong on Greensill, says former City minister

David Cameron did "just about everything" wrong in acting on behalf of Greensill Capital, a former City minister has said.

The former prime minister's defence is "rather a line you would expect from a drug dealer who says 'I don't know what is in those pills'," Lord Myners told Sky News.

"It was irresponsible to act as a spokesman for a business where he claims he knew next to nothing," he added.

"He knew he shouldn't be lobbying the Chancellor, he knew he shouldn't be using private cell phones and text messages, he knew he shouldn't be forcing the Treasury to arrange 10 meetings with senior civil servants, he knew he shouldn't be speaking to Matt Hancock given all the sensitivity around PPE procurement."

Lord Myners added: "At every point David Cameron made remarkably bad calls of judgement."

09:15 AM

Lawyer leading David Cameron review is 'compromised', claims former City minister

A former Treasury minister has attacked the probe into David Cameron's lobbying on behalf of Greensill, ordered by Boris Johnson yesterday, saying the man chosen to head it up is "compromised".

Lord Myners, the City minister under Gordon Brown, told Sky News: "It will probably embarrass David Cameron and that might suit Boris Johnson, but it is not an independent review into one of the most significant financial scandals in the UK over the last 20 years."

He noted that the terms of reference for the review have not been published, that evidence is not being taken in public and it is not clear if the review will be published.

He added: "Although Nigel Boardman is extremely decent and brilliant lawyer, he is compromised. He is a non executive director of the department of Business, which supervises the British Business Bank, which is very entity which lent money to Greensill.

"I don't mean any disrespect to Nigel, but this is not really an independent review."

09:00 AM

More than 151,000 Covid deaths registered in UK

A total of 151,313 deaths have now occurred in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, the ONS said.

The highest number of deaths to occur on a single day was 1,472 on January 19.

During the first wave of the virus, the daily death toll peaked at 1,461 deaths on April 8 2020.

08:57 AM

Covid deaths fall to lowest level since start of October

A total of 400 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending April 2 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - the lowest number since the week ending October 2.

The figure is down 44 per cent on the previous week's total, although the ONS said the number of deaths registered was affected by the Good Friday bank holiday.

Around one in 20 (4.9 per cent) of all deaths registered in England and Wales in the week to April 2 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate.

Meanwhile total deaths have fallen below the five-year average for the fourth consecutive week, the ONS said.

Some 8,201 deaths were registered in the week to April 2, 19 per cent below the average for the corresponding period in 2015-19. The last time deaths had been below average was in the week to September 4 2020.

Coronavirus excess deaths - by UK region

08:47 AM

'Big third wave' with up to 50,000 deaths still possible, despite vaccine success, warns JCVI member

Even with the UK's vaccination programme there could be a "big third wave" of Covid-19, with potentially tens of thousands of deaths, a member of the JCVI has warned.

"I feel mighty relieved that we are now in a position where a very high proportion of the vulnerable population have been vaccinated so, if control of the virus is lost, then the damage it can do will be relatively restricted," Professor Jeremy Brown told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"But when I say relatively restricted, what I mean is that a big third wave could still end up with 30,000 to 50,000 deaths, potentially, if it was a similar sort of size to the previous waves that we've had.

"So although the vaccines are important, there are the components to controlling this virus that are important and that is the social distancing measures that we have.

"Now, those will be less necessary the higher proportion of the population gets vaccinated, which is another reason why young people vaccination is important, is that for population control, the bigger the proportion of the population that the vaccinated, the less we will need in a way of social distancing."

08:30 AM

Have your say: Will the Greensill row tarnish Rishi Sunak?

The row over David Cameron's lobbying for Greensill Capital shows no sign of blowing over yet, despite the Prime Minister yesterday announcing a probe into how the lenders representatives, including Mr Cameron, "engaged with Government".

This morning Rishi Sunak is back in the spotlight, with Labour attacking him for swerving questions in the Commons about his involvement in the matter, instead sending junior minister Paul Scully.

The opposition is also making much of his own admission that he "pushed" his officials to see what could be done.

The Chancellor has ridden high in the polls throughout the pandemic - but there are signs that his popularity is starting to wane. Could Greensill be about to tarnish his once bright star?

Have your say in the poll below.

08:18 AM

Duke of Edinburgh 'spanned the generations' of MPs, says Speaker

Sir Lindsay Hoyle said MPs had been motivated to join in a day of tributes for the Duke of Edinburgh because his life had "spanned all the generations" in the Commons.

The Speaker told Times Radio: "It was a great reflection. People wanted to reflect their encounters, their meetings and how they had come across the Duke of Edinburgh.

"I think it was so important for people to express their views and their opinions in a very nice way.

"And it was a great reflection of his life, wasn't it?

"Whether it was the older generation who served in the armed forces or whether (it was) the younger generation of MPs who had actually done the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

"So he spanned all the generations and that's why I think so many people feel this real attachment and wanted to be part of yesterday."

08:13 AM

Treasury hits back against Labour's Rishi Sunak claims

Treasury sources are pushing back quite strongly against claims made by Anneliese Dodds this morning.

First is the explanation for why Rishi Sunak is not answering her urgent question - junior business minister Paul Scully is being sent because "Cbils and Clibils is not a Treasury lead - they are a Beis lead".

A source adds: "If they [Labour] had asked about CCFF [Covid Corporate Financing Facility] that would have been HMT policy lead. This was made explicitly clear in the Chancellor's response to Dodds last week in his letter, by the way."

Speaking to the Today programme this morning, Ms Dodds said there were still questions about the text messages David Cameron sent to the Chancellor, and that Treasury officials held "far more meetings" with Greensill "than any other lender seeking access."

Rishi Sunak: Treasury has rejected Labour's claims - PA

But the Treasury source told the Telegraph the texts are "already public knowledge because we published the two text messages Rishi sent back to Cameron, both of which were just reflecting official progress already ongoing".

"And yes, officials met with Greensill. They also met with dozens of other financial companies/regulators/trade bodies at the time because we were trying to find ways of getting money to businesses".

"It's not true of [Dodds] to say that Greensill got any special treatment or access. It's also very important to highlight that the proposals Greensill and Cameron were lobbying for were ultimately rejected by the Chancellor."

07:56 AM

Boris Johnson dons Grimsby Town hat for morning jog

Boris Johnson Runs in St James Park this morning - Splash News

Boris Johnson might have had a haircut yesterday - but he's also got a new running hat.

The Prime Minister was spotted running in a Grimsby Town FC hat during his morning jog through St James' Park with Dilyn the dog.

07:53 AM

Gmail 'more secure' than Parliament's email system, claims Tory MP

Tom Tugendhat has been sanctioned by China and faced cyber attacks - AFP

Gmail is more secure than the Parliamentary email system, a senior Tory has said.

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs committee, has been subjected to several cyber attacks including last week an email being sent purporting to be from him, announcing his resignation from the committee.

He told Radio 4's Today programme: "When I was told by friends at GCHQ - not formally I admit - but friends at GCHQ - that I was better of sticking to gmail rather than using the Parliamentary system because it was more secure, frankly that tells you the level of security and priority we are giving to democracy in the UK."

Asked about what the UK should do, he said: "One way is to simply refuse to trade, that is true, although I would suggest that was a more extreme version. There are other ways of dealing with it."

07:47 AM

UK not taking China's attack on democracy seriously enough, says Tory MP

China's decision to impose sanctions on British MPs is "an attack on UK democracy... and frankly we are not taking it seriously enough", a senior Tory has said.

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs committee, is one of nine individuals to have been sanctioned in tit-for-tat measures announced last month.

He told Radio 4's Today programme that while the UK's sanctions addressed "violations of human rights - actions in other words... actually murdering people", the Chinese retaliation was for "speaking - for calling out the violation of Chinese citizens".

"Last week emails were sent around claiming to be from me claiming it had resigned from the foreign affairs committee, which of course I haven't and many other cyber attacks have been perpetrated on me and others," he added.

These actions were "undermining one of the basic freedoms of the British people - the right to elect representatives and express the views of those people they represent", he noted.

07:36 AM

Phase two reached: Under-50s can now book Covid vaccine

The vaccine programme is reaching younger people - Getty

People over the age of 45 can now book their Covid-19 jab.

The NHS booking website has updated to say that people aged 45 and over can now book a vaccine.

It signals the start of 'Phase 2' of the vaccination programme - which involves offering vaccines to healthy adults under the age of 50.

Until now the NHS in England had been focusing on offering vaccines to those at highest risk including people over the age of 50 and people deemed to be "clinically extremely vulnerable".

07:31 AM

US might never use AstraZeneca jab, says Dr Fauci

AstraZeneca vaccine benefits outweigh the risk for most age groups

The top US infectious disease expert has said the US might never use the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, although he stressed it was "a good vaccine".

Dr Anthony Fauci told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I think the AstraZeneca vaccine, from a standpoint of efficacy, is a good vaccine and if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union - which I understand is still in a bit of controversy about how to use it and when to use and what age groups to use it - the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good.

"The way the United States has made contractual relationships with a number of companies, we clearly have enough vaccine - or will get enough vaccine - that does not include AstraZeneca, which would be enough quantitatively to vaccinate everybody in the United States.

"Whether or not we ever use AZ is unclear but it looks right now at this point in time that we will not need it.

"It is not a negative indictment of AZ - it just possible that, given the supply we have from other companies, that we may not need to use an AZ vaccine."

07:28 AM

JCVI member hails 'culmination of phase one' as under-50s start getting the jab

Latest UK vaccine numbers: rollout figures

A member of the JCVI has hailed the "culmination of phase one" as the vaccination programme shifts to the under-50s.

Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, told Sky News we are "halfway up the hill - we can look back and pleased with what we have achieved but need to look forward to the summit to really finish this off."

He stressed the need for younger people who "perhaps have less fear of this disease" to come forward in similar numbers to older cohorts, saying "the ultimate exit to this catastrophe involves building up immunity in population".

But with surge testing taking place in London yet again, he noted the ever-present concern that variants could still undermine the hard work.

"We can't now relax and assume the problem is finished," he said, pointing to the situation unfolding in Chile.

07:25 AM

Labour frontbencher's Greensill plea 'very, very different', says colleague

Labour MP John Healey urged a minister to approve Greensill's Covid loan "without delay" - Andrew Crowley

Labour's Anneliese Dodds has defended the party's shadow defence secretary, who also has been dragged into the Greensill Capital scandal.

Last May John Healey wrote to then-business minister Nadhim Zahawi urging him to grant 200million in Covid-19 loans "without delay".

But while attacking David Cameron and the Government, Ms Dodds insisted her colleague was acting "very much from the point of view of a constituency MP".

She told Radio 4's Today programme it was "a very, very different case", adding: "John Healey was doing what we would expect any constituency MP to do - standing up for jobs in his constituency. It was a very different approach, it appears potentially in the Treasury, where a Conservative politician were able to leapfrog over others who were seeking meetings with the Treasury and potentially the Chancellor."

Rishi Sunak was "not constituency MP for those working in the steel industry - he is custodian of public money", she added.

07:20 AM

New lobbying legislation required to address 'big gaps' in system, says Labour

Anneliese Dodds has called for new laws to tackle lobbying - Getty

Labour's Anneliese Dodds has said there "certainly" needs to be legislation to address lobbying brought forward in the Queen's Speech - due to take place next month.

"We have seen the numerous holes in the system around lobbying," she told Radio 4's Today programme.

There are "big gaps" for large firms such as Greensill, who employ lobbyists directly rather than using a dedicated firm, the shadow chancellor added.

07:08 AM

Labour questions Rishi Sunak's 'objectivity' on Greensill

Rishi Sunak had been expected to answer an urgent question in the Commons today - but instead it will be taken by Paul Scully - AFP

The investigation into lobbying ordered by Boris Johnson yesterday "may be an attempt to kick the issue into the long grass", Labour's Anneliese Dodds has said, as she raised questions over whether Rishi Sunak broke the ministerial code.

She told Radio 4's Today programme Rishi Sunak had released "only two text messages and it appears there may well have been phone calls - we don't understand what he was pushing his team to do".

The ministerial code calls for ministers "to act with objectivity - to treat lobbyists the same regardless of whether they have personal or political connections", she added.

Mr Sunak appeared to be "open to have repeated" conversations with David Cameron and Greensill, while others were "shut out of Government support", the shadow chancellor said.

"Why did there seem to be one rule for Conservative politicians and a different rule for those who desperately needed help?"

06:59 AM

Labour calls for more widespread inquiry into Greensill's influence 'right across Government'

Labour's shadow chancellor has said she is "very concerned" about the possible involvement of Rishi Sunak in the Greensill scandal, as she calls for "a completely independent inquiry".

Anneliese Dodds told Radio 4's Today programme the probe ordered by Boris Johnson "seems to predominately focus just on the conduct of David Cameron himself, but we know that Treasury officials met with the company at centre of this scandal 10 times - far more meetings than any other lender seeking access."

She added: "We also know that the Chancellor in his own words 'pushed' his team to explore an alternative that might have worked for Greensill."

As a result the inquiry must "look at the influence of Greensill right across Government and doesn't just restrict this purely to a few instances of lobbying". u

06:42 AM

'Extremist' Salmond mocked for enlisting Robert the Bruce

Alex Salmond has been accused of pandering to extreme Scottish nationalists after his new party released a campaign video which spoke of breaking "the spine of English superiority and he claimed the support of a King who died nearly seven centuries ago.

The former First Ministers Alba Party on Monday broadcast a supposed endorsement from Robert the Bruce, who successfully led Scotland during the first War of Independence against England in the fourteenth century.

In the clip, 'The Bruce', who actually died in 1329, predicts that Mr Salmonds new rival party to the SNP would unite the clans.

The bizarre video was in fact voiced by Angus Macfadyen, an actor who played the Scottish King in the 1995 blockbuster Braveheart, and is a supporter of Mr Salmonds party.
BURLINGTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / On April 6, 2021, the Air Force Test Center (AFTC) Advisory and Assistance Technical Services Division located at Eglin Air Force Base, FL awarded Oasis Systems, LLC the Technical and Management Advisory Services (TMAS 2) 96 Cyberspace Test Group (96 CTG) contract.

Under the 5-year award valued at $543M, Oasis will provide expertise in support of the 96 CTG, which is the lead Air Force organization for directing Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)/Cyber Systems Developmental Test and Evaluation (DT&E). The 96 CTG is comprised of three Test Squadrons (TS). The 45 TS is responsible for software functionality of command and control, mission planning, and business enterprise systems. The 46 TS is responsible for interoperability or "kill chain" testing for ground and airborne sensors, digital communications/datalink, and electronic warfare. The 47 TS is responsible for testing of offensive and defensive cyber warfare programs as well as cybersecurity for information technology and aircraft/weapons.

The locations where Oasis will provide expertise to the 96 CTG include the headquarters at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), FL and various other locations including Beale AFB, CA; Edwards AFB, CA; Fort Worth, TX; Gunter Annex, AL; Hanscom AFB, MA; Hill AFB, UT; Hurlburt Field, FL; Langley AFB, VA; Melbourne, FL; Offutt AFB, NE; Patrick AFB, FL; Peterson AFB, CO; Robins AFB, GA; San Antonio, TX; Scott AFB, IL; Wright Patterson AFB, OH; and other locations as determined.

The 96 CTG program will report under Oasis DoD Division President, Greg Esses, who said, "Oasis has been providing high quality A&AS support services to the USAF at Eglin AFB for over 15 years; and we are honored by the confidence the Air Force has demonstrated in selecting Oasis for this critical Cyber developmental test and evaluation work. Oasis is well-equipped to provide exceptional support to the 96 Cyberspace Test Group along with our subcontractor partners, Colsa Corporation and Torch Technologies."

This significant award for Oasis was made possible with the commitment and expertise of the Business Development Team under the leadership of SVP Mike McElwain; the Contracts and Compliance Team under the leadership of SVP Maggie Wetzell; and the dedicated and professional support of the Finance and Human Resources Teams under the leadership of SVP David Markuson and SVP Laura Evans, respectively.

Oasis CEO, Tom Colatosti, commented, "This is a wonderful and strategic cyber award for Oasis, and it gives us the opportunity to continue to serve our Air Force customer at Eglin AFB and at over 15 other locations, where C4ISR and Cyber Systems penetration testing will ensure continued availability of warfighter mission critical systems in cyber-contested environments."

About Oasis Systems

Oasis Systems is a premier provider of customer-driven, cost-effective and quality Engineering Services; Enterprise Systems and Applications; Human Factors Engineering; Information Technology and Cyber Security; Professional Services; and Specialized Engineering Solutions to the Department of Defense, Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other federal agencies.

Contact Information:

Oasis Systems

(781) 676-7333

Oasis@OasisSystems.com

 Copyright 2020 by Oasis Systems LLC

SOURCE: Oasis Systems LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640253/Oasis-Systems-Awarded-543-Million-Contract-to-Support-USAF-Cyber-Testing
Hawa Moya, brand and communications manager at Werksmans Attorneys, chats to us about the responsibility and creativity required to manage a brand in the legal space, and the importance of keeping it authentic.

Hawa Moya

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Werksmans Attorneys

Do you feel branding in the legal sector comes with a different level of responsibility to say, consumer brands, given the nature of the business?

What is it you love about the legal industry and your role in it?

What are some of the biggest lessons you've learned from your experience in the sector?

Which channels do you find the most successful for brand communication and why?

Message delivery and connecting with stakeholders can often be a challenge. What is your strategy when delivering the intended message?

Whats on your wish-list for brand objectives for 2021?

How do you plan on building the Werksmans brand going forward?

I studied Marketing Management at the Institute of Marketing Management (IMM), and have over 10 years of holistic marketing, brand management and communications experience in various B2B industries. [In my role at Werksmans Attorneys] I wear various hats in managing marketing and advertising, brand, PR as well as all communications for the firm.The legal sector definitely magnifies the level of responsibility in terms of it being highly detailed-orientated and dealing with complex subject matter. In that, ensuring that brand messaging across all mediums of communications are aligned and relatable to specific audiences, ensuring creative thinking is at the forefront.What makes me wake up each morning is knowing that I am in for a different day. The legal industry is ever-changing, which thoroughly challenges me daily in dealing with cutting-edge legal matters so relevant to our economy and country. Juggling between my various roles at Werksmans in finding new and better ways to position the firm is what I find most exhilarating.The importance of precision and timeous communications in all that you do really matters. It is a highly competitive academic environment and creativity plays a huge role in ensuring that your brand does not become lost and monotonous.LinkedIn has shown much success in terms of our holistic B2B objectives as it also allows for specific targeting when one looks at digital platforms. PR is of utmost importance in terms of content being authentically recognised by mainstream media and allows for our lawyers to be positioned as thought leaders in their relevant areas of law. I also believe that direct marketing will always have its place in terms of maintaining successful relationships with clients.I think it is most important to understand who these stakeholders are and to segment communications and its mediums around this. Effective data collection is a core role of this process in terms identifying who and how to communicate effectively.Given the current Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a big shift in the way we communicate and needs of clients. With this in mind, one of the primary objectives is to continue and consistently improve our standing as thought leaders across our areas of law with purpose-driven content creation that resonates with relevant existing and new audiences, aligning always to overall business objectives.The evolution of digitalisation and the consumption of information is rapidly changing, and strategically applying these to our overall objectives will be key in building and growing the brand. In addition, what is most important is to ensure that our brand promise remains authentic to actual firm service.
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in line with the Police Act of 2020, a good place to start is the development of an Annual Policing Plan as provided for in Section 9(a) of the Act. The Annual Policing Plan, developed with inputs from the Headquarters and all police formations and commands nationwide, sets out the priorities, objectives, cost implications and expected outcomes of policing

President Muhammadu Buhari has officially appointed a new Acting Inspector General of Police to replace the erstwhile IGP, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, as the number one cop in the country. Mr. Adamu, whose tenure formally ended on February 1 had this extended despite public outcry, in view of public service rules and the provisions of the Police Act of 2020. That extension ended on April 7, with the handover to the new Acting IGP Usman Alkali Baba.

While welcoming the Acting IGP and wishing him a successful tenure, the state of insecurity in the country has thrown up several policing challenges that he should prioritise. Re-positioning the Nigeria Police Force for improved performance in addressing these security challenges should essentially seek to fulfil governments mandate to make the security and welfare of citizens its primary business and restore citizens confidence in the ability of the state to protect the people and properties within its geographical space. From banditry to kidnapping and insurgency, the Nigeria Police needs to recalibrate and deploy its personnel and resources in an effective operational manner to address these concerns.

First, and in line with the Police Act of 2020, a good place to start is the development of an Annual Policing Plan as provided for in Section 9(a) of the Act. The Annual Policing Plan, developed with inputs from the Headquarters and all police formations and commands nationwide, sets out the priorities, objectives, cost implications and expected outcomes of policing for the next financial year, in consideration of the security situation across the country. As it is, policing cannot be business as usual, given that crime and criminals are constantly evolving new ways of unleashing violence on the populace. Each Command, working alongside its host communities, will bring into the Annual Policing Plan the contextual policing priorities peculiar to their regions/states to engender a template for responsive police service delivery to the public. The IGP needs to sit with his team to develop the short, medium and long-term policing needs of the public on the basis of emerging security trends. Accordingly, a framework for monitoring, evaluating, and drawing lessons from the implementation of the Plan at strategic periods should be set and implemented. This will ensure that policing services are results-driven and responsive to the policing needs of the public.

The role of the Police Public Relations Committee, which is a mechanism for building trust relationships between the police and the public needs to be looked at. One must underscore the fact that one of the underlying drivers of the #EndSARS protest was the pent-up public resentment against police brutality and weak oversight mechanisms that are poor in holding errant police officers to account.

Police public relations is currently at its lowest in Nigeria. While there seem to be some efforts at community policing by the Federal Government, it is obvious that these programmes need to be amplified and sustained. The role of the Police Public Relations Committee, which is a mechanism for building trust relationships between the police and the public needs to be looked at. One must underscore the fact that one of the underlying drivers of the #EndSARS protest was the pent-up public resentment against police brutality and weak oversight mechanisms that are poor in holding errant police officers to account. It is therefore pivotal for the police to empower its internal accountability mechanisms with such strategic powers to fully achieve their mandates without bottlenecks.

A close collaboration should be forged between the Police and the Police Service Commission, and the newly inaugurated Police Public Complaints Committee under the Ministry of Police Affairs, to enhance the accountability of its personnel and uphold zero tolerance for police misconduct under the new Acting IGPs tenure. Again, the recent targeted killing of police officers and burning of police stations across the country should be investigated with the findings addressed, as a matter of urgency. As one of the banes of our current police system is the shortage of manpower, the country cannot afford to overlook this ugly trend that portends dire consequences and further exposes citizens to criminal elements. The community policing committees and boards to be set up across the states and divisional levels, as provided for in the Act, should be a top priority for the new IGP and the Commissioners of Police across the states, to nip security threats in the bud and support participatory policing.

we cannot over-emphasise the need for better welfare packages and improved working conditions for the Police. Both the Police Act of 2020 and the 2019 Police Trust Fund detail beautiful provisions that touch upon improved welfare, salaries, periodic training, and equipping of police training institutions.

One of the demands of the #EndSARS protest was improved welfare packages for the members of the police. Thankfully, while other demands are being addressed by the government, we cannot over-emphasise the need for better welfare packages and improved working conditions for the Police. Both the Police Act of 2020 and the 2019 Police Trust Fund detail beautiful provisions that touch upon improved welfare, salaries, periodic training, and equipping of police training institutions. The Acting IGP, through the Trust Fund Committee and the Federal Government, should work assiduously to sustain and achieve this demand under his leadership. As a people, we cannot provide meagre resources to the Police and expect it to perform wonders or pay lip-service to recommendations for police reforms. The necessary working conditions and tools, through appropriate budget releases, which will capacitate it to effectively fulfil its core functions in securing the nation, should be provided to the Police.

In conclusion, the quality of recruitment is a matter of national importance that both the Police Service Commission and the Police need to address systematically. The Police Act of 2020, which makes provisions for specialists to be recruited into the Police, essentially seeks to provoke improved and specialised police service delivery to the public. It might also be necessary to look at the possibilities of upgrading entry requirements into the Police Force and introduce computer-based technologies that enhances transparency of the recruitment process. Those recruited into the Police must be trainable and able to imbibe and demonstrate the underlying principles of various police capacity building programmes, without resorting to brutality or harassment. These suggestions are considered necessary and timely to break the vicious cycle of police-citizen resentment and nurture a climate of partnership, professionalism, and accountability of the police in Nigeria.

Ruth Eguono Olofin is a scholar-practitioner in security sector reforms and gender. She writes from Abuja and tweets via @OkugbeniRuth
ROME, APR 13 - A group of Italian restaurateurs on Tuesday blocked the A1 motorway near Orte saying "we want to reopen" after long COVID-linked closures. The protesters complained about the difficulties caused by COVID lockdowns. They walked between cars blocked by the impromptu protest and shouted slogans including "Freedom against the dictatorship". Market traders blocked the same motorway, Italy's main north-south artery, in a 'reopening' demo near Caserta last week. (ANSA).
One of San Antonios top bar developers is teaming up with a noted fish and chips purveyor to launch a new pub and restaurant late this spring in the Inspire Downtown apartment complex, formerly The Vistana.

Benjamin Krick, the mind behind noted San Antonio bars Jet-Setter downtown and Pastiche on the near East Side plans to open an English-inspired pub called The Dandy inside the former Hoppin John space on the ground level of the massive 14-story, nearly 250-unit building.
Police bodycam footage played at police conference shows the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by a police officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota (AFP via Getty Images)

The police officer who shot dead 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop at a Minneapolis suburb on Sunday has been identified as Kimberly Potter, a veteran of 26 years of the force.

The identity of the 48-year-old woman officer, who accidentally shot the Black man, was released on Monday night by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Ms Potter is currently on administrative leave following the fatal shooting.

The officer got her Minnesota police officers license in 1995 when she was 22 and was later inducted into the Brooklyn Center Police Department, serving on the forces negotiation team, reported Star Tribune.

Protests erupted and anger flared once again over the killing of the unarmed Black man, about 10 miles away from where George Floyd was pinned down by former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who was charged with murdering Floyd.

Authorities were forced to impose a curfew overnight in the Twin Cities area and fired rubber bullets and teargas at angry protesters.

The 20-year-old father of a two-year-old son was driving with his girlfriend when he was pulled over by officers for having an air freshener dangling from his rear-view mirror. It is an offence in Minnesota to have anything attached to the driving mirror.

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Brooklyn Center Police Department released the body cam footage from the incident that showed Wright being questioned and shot dead amid the struggle as he re-entered the vehicle while officers asked him to stop.

Police chief Tim Gannon said she mistook her gun for a taser.

The footage showed the officer, warning as Taser, Taser, as police are trained to do when using the non-lethal device. But ended up firing with a gun and heard instantly saying: Holy s***, I just shot him.

Ms Potter is married to a former Fridley police officer and has two adult sons.

In August 2019, she was among the first responders to arrive at the fatal shooting of Kobe Dimock-Heisler, who died after he allegedly ran at officers with a knife.

Story continues

She instructed the two officers involved in the to "exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other," reported the newspaper. The officers were not charged and their actions were found to be justified.

The head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said she was on duty on Sunday to field train a new officer.

Its completely devastating," he said. "She [is] just a good person, always willing to help out."

The killing has been condemned by activists and politicians, including Minnesota governor Tim Walz, who said that it was like George Floyds death had repeated itself.

The Hennepin County medical examiner on Monday evening said Wrights death was caused by a gunshot wound in the chest and ruled out homicide. However, the examiner did not determine intent or criminality.

Less than 24 hours after his death, Wrights mother Katie Wright delivered a striking eulogy for her slain child and she praised him as father and son.

My heart is literally broken in 1,000 pieces. I miss him so much, and its only been a day, she said.

She added: He was my life, he was my son and I can never get that back. Because of a mistake? Because of an accident?
Water supply will be affected in large parts of the capital as the government is not supplying enough clean water to the city, (DJB) Vice-Chairman said on Tuesday.

On Tuesday itself, the incoming supply of clean water from to three major water treatment plants in Delhi - Wazirabad, Chandrayal and Okhla - reduced by 85 mdg (million gallons daily), he said.

"Water supply in large part of Delhi will be affected because the government has chosen to remain oblivious to the water needs of Delhiites. It is not honouring the legal commitments to supply water to Delhi. This is criminal negligence on part of the Haryana government. It is wilfully violating Delhiites' right to life," Chadha said.

At Wazirabad, the supply has come down to 82 mgd from 135 mgd, at Chandrawal, it has dipped from 92 mgd to 72 mgd, and at Okhla from 21 mgd to 10 mgd, he added.

"Water supply will be affected in central, south, north and west Delhi," the DJB vice-chairman further said.

Being a landlocked state, Delhi has four major sources of water the Yamuna, Ganga and the Beas rives and groundwater.

"Forty per cent of Delhi's daily water production comes from Yamuna via Haryana, but currently the water that is coming is high in ammonia content, making it untreatable," Chadha said.

He explained that Delhi water treatment plants are equipped to treat water that has up to 1 PPM ammonia, after which the water becomes untreatable.

Currently, the ammonia contamination levels are at 7.36 PPM, he said.

Barring East Delhi, water supply in localities in the remaining part of the capital will be affected, Chadha 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.)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for the development of military and defense cooperation with Russia, Tasnim reported.

At a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Tehran, Rouhani noted the need to expand military and defense cooperation between Iran and Russia, taking into account the lifting of the UN embargo on arms supplies to Iran in October 2020.

He also highlighted the need to maintain peace and stability in the region, stating that the security of the region should be ensured by the states of the region themselves. Noting Iran's readiness to intensify regional cooperation in order to ensure peace and stability, the Iranian President called this a strategic step against the unilateral approach of the United States and interference in regional affairs.

He also called for efforts to expand economic and trade ties between Tehran and Moscow, saying that bilateral relations should develop without any foreign pressure.

For his part, Lavrov noted that there are no restrictions on the development of cooperation with Iran, including defense and technical cooperation.

According to him, Russia and Iran have common goals in regional and international cooperation. Pointing to the latest round of meetings on the Vienna JCPOA and the United States' readiness to return to a nuclear deal, the Russian diplomat said Moscow believed that the only solution would be Washington's unconditional return to the JCPOA through the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
U.S. colleges are partial in their decision whether to require their students to get COVID vaccines in efforts to return to normalcy.

Some universities, including Rutgers, Brown, Cornell, and Northeastern, recently announced that they will require their student to be vaccinated before returning to campus.

These U.S. colleges say they hoped to achieve herd immunity on their respective campuses, which would allow them to loosen some COVID restrictions, according to an Associated Press report.

However, some U.S. colleges are reluctant to impose the same requirement on their students, while others believe they cannot legally require vaccinations.

Such is the case at Virginia Tech. The campus said that U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only approved the use of emergency use of vaccines but has not entirely given its full permit.

Meanwhile, legal experts say that institutions are within their legal rights to require COVID vaccines to their students before returning.

However, schools are required by law to exempt students from medical and religious beliefs, according to a CBS News report.

Harvard Law professor Glenn Cohen said that there is no legal reason that college institutions would not be allowed to impose COVID vaccination requirements.

Cohen teaches health law and bioethics at Harvard Law.

READ MORE: White House Working on the Development of Vaccine Passports

U.S. Colleges Requiring COVID Vaccines

Some college institutions that will be requiring their students to be immunized are Cornell and Northeastern. Both institutions said their students will be asked to show proof of vaccination.

Cornell's students would be provided the card at their vaccination site. Northeastern officials are still deliberating whether students will have to provide a medical record proving they were vaccinated, or students would be allowed to attest if they are immunized.

"We would expect students to be honest and forthright about any attestation they make to the university," Kenneth Henderson, the chancellor of Northeastern University, was quoted in a report.

Brown University has already announced intentions to require students the vaccine. Dr. Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, announced the decision in a tweet.

Rutgers University, Fort Lewis College, Nova Southeastern University, and St. Edward's University are following the steps of Brown.

Some institutions, such as Dartmouth College, are waiting for vaccines to become more widely available before issuing a decision regarding the matter.

The spokesperson for Darthmouth, Diana Lawrence, said they cannot require it until doses are available for all students.

However, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have both issued executive orders prohibiting vaccine passports in the two states, according to an Independent report.

"Government should not require any Texan to show proof of vaccination and reveal private health information just to go about their daily lives," Abbott was quoted in a report.

Abbott noted that they will continue vaccination efforts in the state, but they will do so without affecting the public's personal freedoms.

Meanwhile, DeSantis said last week that the state will not force anyone to receive a vaccine.

Vaccine passports have become a partisan issue, with Republicans noting that they were against requiring a dose of the vaccine, as it affects someone's personal freedoms.

READ MORE: Fauci on Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine: "I Seriously Doubt That It Is Safe and Effective"

WATCH: Universities Debating Whether to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines - from NBC Bay Area






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The United States is closely watching events in Zimbabwe, following what U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price called troubling moves.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Photo via Getty

For Greg Gutfeld, the transition from irreverent satirist to true believer has been lucrative, to be sure, but alsolike much of the vast reshaping of the conservative media landscape over the past four yearsdefined by Donald Trump.

During the eight years Gutfeld presided over Red Eyethe freewheeling, absurdist, often uproarious show that attracted fans like legendary Saturday Night Live writer Jim Downey and aired between the witching hour and dawnGutfeld, along with his former friends Bill Schulz and Andy Levy (who both declined to comment for this story), pioneered a transgressive sort of television that could only have occurred while most aging Fox News viewers along with Roger Ailes and other top executives were fast asleep.

It wasnt like anything else on TV, Downey told The Daily Beast, adding that he began watching Red Eye in its early days, around 2007 or 2008, during 3 a.m. bouts of insomnia. I was impressed by the originality of the whole operation, and I thought it was a nice mix with those three [Gutfeld, Schulz and Levy]. It was sophomoric, and I mean that as a compliment. Schulz, who made no secret on the air of his fondness for adult beverages, was fired from the show in 2013.

These days the 56-year-old Gutfeld, whose eponymous 11 p.m. weeknight program Gutfeld! debuted on Fox News last week to largely hostile reviews but robust ratings, has, by some appraisals, morphed from zany rebel to company man, and from rule-breaking joker to handsomely compensated ideologue (at a rumored $4 million a year).

The second Fox News offering with his name in the titlethe first aired on Saturday nights for six years starting in 2015Gutfelds latest show thus far has largely consisted of crude parodies of rival personalities on other networks, sneering attacks on Joe and Hunter Biden, repeated warnings about the lying mainstream media, and an amen corner of familiar Fox News panelists, including new hire and former Trump mouthpiece Kayleigh McEnany, attempting variations on owning the libs.

Story continues

All of which has been enough for Gutfeld! to hammer not only MSNBCs Brian Williams and CNNs Don Lemon in the Nielsens (an average of 1.57 million total viewers to Williams 1.323 million and Lemons 668,000), but also every late-night comic with the exception of CBS Stephen Colbert.

He has also managed to hold much of The Ingraham Angles audience (although namesake Laura Ingraham was off last week), and improve significantly on the ratings of his predecessor in the time slot, news anchor Shannon Bream.

Gutfeld, not surprisingly, has a reputation among some Fox News employees as demanding, remote, and difficult to work with, although possessed of nowhere near the megalomania that characterizes what a current staffer called anchorzillas.

He just doesnt come off as approachable, said a current Fox News staffer. So many anchors like Dana Perino and Harris Faulkner are lovely in the elevator and in the lobby, even if they dont know you. Greg doesnt even make eye contact. Judge Jeanine, who people would peg as intimidating, is way more friendly and takes time to talk to you. Greg, I feel like, is the person who you could meet 15 times and he still wouldnt remember your name.

The more he started succeeding, the less he started talking, the less he started socializing, said a former Red Eye guest who frequently attended the raucous post-show wrap parties at a nearby bar. I never thought it was originally intentional and then it seemed or appeared that it was. Ultimately, it was intentional.

This person added: No ifs ands or buts, Gutfeld had no appreciation for Bill and Andy, nor did the network. It was the three of them that made Red Eye a successWhen youre talking about friends and colleagues, loyalty is a human thing, its not a Fox News thing.

On his premiere, Gutfeld was hardly burdened by humility.

As for those late-night shows were supposed to compete against, why bother? he crowed to his viewers during his opening monologue. Who do they offend? The only time Stephen Colbert ruffles feathers is in a pillow fight. The definition of risk to Kimmel is dehydration from crying too much. Fallon, that guy fawns more than a herd of deer. And I heard Seth Meyers and Trevor Noah ran off to be obscure together.

Red Eye was funny, former Fox News anchor Juliet Huddy, an erstwhile regular in Red Eyes leg chair, told The Daily Beast. This is not funny.

A second leg chair veteran from Gutfelds Red Eye days, who asked not to be further identified, described his metamorphosis with a pop-music analogy: Hes gone from being Eric Clapton to Pat Boone.

Another frequent Red Eye guest, Reason magazine editor-at-large and libertarian Nick Gillespie, told The Daily Beast: I do think hes more conservative than he used to befor instance, continuing to favor the legalization of controlled substances but becoming increasingly disapproving of the folks who abuse them, Gillespie said. He still delights in making fun of sanctimonious media and culture and political figures.

A fourth Red Eye alum told The Daily Beast: Hes gotten meaner. Greg always had a kind of a dark side when he was coming up and hungry, but now hes meaner and smugger. I cant tell if it comes out in his television commentary, but it certainly comes out in his personal interactions.

Former Fox News digital journalist Diana Falzone, a co-author of this story, also appeared on Red Eye from time to time and left the network in 2018. Gutfeld and Fox News declined to comment.

An ex-Fox News employee described Gutfelds rise this way: I think hes talented and an insanely good writer, although his delivery is a little too angry for my taste. But I think hes a hypocrite because he tried to always play himself off as anti-establishmentIm not one of themand then ratings came and his name on a show came, and now hes staying within the script. Hell be successful because anything you put up at 11 oclock on Fox is gonna work.

This person added: He was pretty nasty and mean when it came to Trump early on, but when he realized pro-Trump worked, he flipped to pro-Trump and he got his audience Leading up to the 2016 election, he was wrecking Trump nightly on The Five. A little while into it he realized that thats not what the audience wanted to hear. So he softened his tone and assumed a pseudo pro-Trump stance.

Former Democratic Party operative Bob Beckel, a designated liberal on The Five until he went on leave to address substance abuse problems in 2016 and then was fired in 2017 (allegedly for making a racially insensitive quip to a Black computer technician), told The Daily Beast: The Trump thing was a real switch for Greg. He has always been very ambitious, but hes earned his jobs. What changed him in terms of his politics on Trump? Ive got to think that to be against Trump in that building was not a very safe place to be. Self-preservation kicks in at some point.

Indeed, there was a time when Fox News resident comedian was one of Trumps harshest critics instead of what he later became during the reality-show billionaires divisive presidencyan often-obsequious cheerleader who once claimed that Trump had purposely exposed himself to COVID-19 as an act of courage, heroism, and patriotism.

Six weeks after the election that the 45th president lost decisively to Joe Biden, Gutfeld rationalized the violent and lethal Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol by explaining that what were seeing here is a lot of people with no hope and you have millions of people who do not trust their institutions, and you know what? They are justified. You cant trust the media, because they lie to you. You cant trust the elections, because there is fraud! (Former colleagues of Gutfelds are often quick to note that he was a huge early booster of Gavin McInnes, a Vice co-founder and Red Eye regular who went on to create the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group that played a key role in Januarys violence.)

Fox News Host Greg Gutfeld: Trump Put Himself on the Line and Got COVID For Us

That was a far cry from Gutfelds drumbeat of disapproval during the 2016 campaign, when he accused Trumps media acolytes, especially Fox News colleagues like Eric Bolling, of Trumpsplaining away the Republican frontrunners making fun of a disability, making fun of John McCain, making fun of women, a womans faceBecause it never ends. No one will ever stop defending the crass stuff he saysIm sick of hearing people defend this stuff."

In his Dec. 23, 2015 appearance on The Five, Gutfeld even bit the hand that feeds him: But somehow were gonna have him [Trump] on our network all the timeWhen you are surrounded by toadies that cheer you on, youre like a comedian and you like the laughterInstead of thinking about what he says, hes impulsive and it makes you wonder, do you want an impulsive leader or do want a leader that thinks?

Keenly aware of how his whiplash-inducing conversion would inevitably be perceived, Gutfeld tried to frame his previous fear and loathing, during an August 2018 onstage interview at the Commonwealth Club of California, as an unwarranted obsession with the words that came out of Trumps mouthbasically arguing that the statements of a top-tier candidate for president should count for nothing.

I was hypercritical of him, he was driving me crazy, Gutfeld confided to his interviewer, Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams. I was, like, more obsessed with his words, because there were no deeds yet because he wasnt president. But I had becomearrghemotionally invested in his behavior, which was kind of a waste of time I look back now and I go, I got tied up in his language. Once he became president, I could get tied up on his deeds When you look at his deeds, theres not a lot to complain about.

Gutfeld likes to call himself a former liberal who switched brands while in college after his fellow lefties at the University of California at Berkeley annoyed him with what he perceived as their sanctimony and hypocrisyunattractive traits he had previously ascribed to right-wingers.

Greg was a Berkeley kid, said a frequent Red Eye guest. He went to a super-liberal school and his being conservative was a response to that Hes a Gen X conservative, so he thinks punk rock. They misinterpret what punk was, conservative men in their mid to late forties and early fifties. They think its shit-talking hippies. Punk rock was a reaction to conservative politics and its ridiculous for those men like Greg to compare themselves. Greg has more in common with Margaret Thatcher than with the Sex Pistols.

Occasional Red Eye guest and Gutfeld pal Buzz Osborne, founder and lead guitarist of the grunge and sludge metal band The Melvins, begged to differ.

I dont think this person understands anything about what punk rock is, said Osborne, adding that he never watches cable or broadcast television, much less Fox News. Its not against conservative politics. Its against all politics. Of any kind. Its a reaction to normalism, whatever that may be. I also think that it celebrates the individual.

Greg Gutfeld Proves, Yet Again, That Conservative Comedys Just Stuff Your Drunk Aunt Yells at a Wedding

As for Gutfeld, I think people underestimate him, and I think its a mistake, Osborne told The Daily Beast. Theres a lot to be said for guys like him, if people will just have an open mind and listen to him. I think Gregs extremely funny, and thats lost on a lot of people.

Gutfeld joined Fox News in 2007 after a checkered career writing for and editing magazines such as Rodale Presss Prevention and Mens Health, and two of the late Felix Dennis lad mags, Stuff and Maxim U.K.

He managed to get fired from all three magazines. The 5-foot-5 Gutfeldwhose repertoire of short jokes is not as prolific as it used to belost the Stuff editorship in 2003 after hiring three dwarves to disrupt an American Society of Magazine Editors seminar on What Gives a Magazine Buzz. The dwarf-actors were ejected from the seminar for chomping noisily on fistfuls of potato chips and engaging in ear-splitting conversations after letting their cellphones ring and ring.

Greg was let go from virtually every high-profile job he ever had prior to Fox, so when he got to Fox News he did whatever it took to stay in [Fox News Media CEO] Suzanne Scotts good graces, said a former insider at the network. He doesnt care what colleagues or friends he steps on as long it protects his own position.

Bob Beckel, who had been friendly with his former The Five co-host, said that instinct might have been behind Gutfelds decision to flame him on Twitter in October 2019 after Beckel characterized his Fox News firing as a Trump-inspired setup.

Shepard Smith is leaving Fox News, Beckel had tweeted. I worked at Fox for six years. Shep was a REAL reporter. I attacked Trump daily. My firing was a setup up by people inside & outside Fox. With Shep gone Fox Is no longer a News network. Its run by Trump. Sadly it will go down with him.

Taking on the role of corporate flack, Gutfeld retorted: Bob, trump had nothing to do with your firing. In fact Fnc blessed you with many second chances. Using Sheps classy exit to take this dishonest swipe at a bunch of good hardworking people is disappointing.

I was really surprised, Beckel said about Gutfelds slam.

With additional reporting by Justin Baragona.

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Officials in northern China have unveiled what they claim to be the world's first camel traffic signal.

Camel Crossing

The signal was activated on Sunday in a tourist hotspot near Dunhuang City, Gansu province, according to the Chinese state media outlet ECNS.

According to ECNS, camel-riding tours are a major draw for tourists to the region.

Visitors to Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring, on the other hand, would no longer be at risk of colliding with camels, thanks to a new traffic signal that turns green to allow the animals to pass and red to make them hesitate.

In the Gansu-Xinjiang desert area, Dunhuang City was the first Chinese-controlled settlement encountered by travelers traveling east on the ancient Silk Road.

The Mingsha Mountain, the Mogao Caves temple complex, and the Yumen and Yangguan passes, which are the Great Wall's westernmost entrances, have all boosted tourism in recent years.

Related Article: World's Toughest Animals: From Whales to Insects



Camel Caravan

A camel train, also known as a caravan, is a group of camels that transport passengers and goods between points on a daily or semi-regular basis.

Camels' ability to survive harsh conditions made them perfect for contact and commerce in the desert areas of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula for decades, even though they barely traveled faster than a human. Camel trains were also used on a limited basis in other parts of the world. They have been gradually replaced by motorized automobiles or air traffic since the early twentieth century.

The Tuareg, Shuwa, and Hassaniyya, as well as culturally affiliated communities like the Toubou, Hausa, and Songhay, use camel trains the most between North and West Africa. These camel trains transport goods across the Sahara Desert and the Sahel. Trains run as far south as central Nigeria in the west and northern Cameroon in the east, and as far north as northern Kenya in the middle. The Arabian Peninsula was a vital trading route between India and Abyssinia in antiquity.

Chinese Caravans

Camel trains have long been used in trans-Asian trading routes, such as the Silk Road. Camels caravans connected the Beijing/Shanxi area of eastern China with Mongolian centers (Urga, Uliastai, Kobdo) and Xinjiang as late as the early twentieth century.

The roads crossed Mongolia's interior and exterior.

In 1926 a camel caravan crossed northern China for five months with a caravan from Hohhot to Gucheng via Inner Mongolia. The arrival of foreign steamships and the construction of the first railways in eastern China increased demand for caravan trade as they improved access to the world market for such western Chinese products.

Caravan Inns

Caravanserai were inns that dotted the path of a long caravan journey. These roadside inns catered to travelers traveling along well-traveled trading routes like the Silk Path and the Royal Road. Without caravanserai to provide necessary provisions and assistance to traders and passengers, lengthy trading routes would be difficult to achieve effectively and profitably.

Also Read: Scorching Earth: 5 Hottest Places on the Planet

For the latest news from the animal kingdom, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
President Joe Biden will announce plans Wednesday to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan no later than Sept. 11, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The Washington Post was the first to report the administration's plans.

In a conference call with reporters, a senior administration official confirmed plans to pull all troops from Afghanistan no later than Sept. 11 -- perhaps even earlier -- and said the withdrawal will begin this month.

Read Next: Biden Predicts Full US Military Withdrawal from Afghanistan by 2022

"President Biden has decided to draw down the remaining U.S. troops from Afghanistan and finally end the U.S. war there after 20 years," the official said. "We will begin an orderly drawdown of the remaining forces before May 1 and plan to have all U.S. troops out of the country before the 20th anniversary of 9/11."

The withdrawal will bring the nation's longest war to a close.

Under a peace agreement the Trump administration negotiated with the Taliban, the U.S. was supposed to withdraw its remaining forces -- estimated at between 2,500 and 3,500 troops -- from Afghanistan by May 1. However, the Biden administration has been signaling for some time that it was unlikely to make that deadline.

The Pentagon declined to comment Tuesday.

The official said Biden is "deeply grateful for the honor, courage and determination of U.S. men and women who served in Afghanistan for almost two decades, as well as the sacrifices made not just by those troops, but also by their families."

But now, the official said, the Biden administration believes any threats to the U.S. homeland coming from Afghanistan are at a level that can be addressed without keeping a military footprint in that country, and without continuing America's war with the Taliban.

"We went to Afghanistan to deliver justice to those who attacked us on September 11, and to disrupt terrorists seeking to use Afghanistan as a safe haven to attack the United States," the official said. "We believe we achieved that objective some years ago."

NATO allies and partners will draw down their troops in the same time frame, he said, while consulting with the U.S.

"We will remain in lockstep with them as we undergo this operation," he said. "We went in together, adjusted together, and now we will prepare to leave together. We're deeply grateful for the sacrifices so many of them made along the way, and we'll never forget the ultimate show of allied support when NATO invoked Article 5 on Sept. 12, 2001, after our country was attacked."

When invoked, Article 5 of the NATO charter treats an attack on one NATO member as an attack on all.

The official said the plan to draw all troops down over the next five months is a firm commitment that will not be based on conditions on the ground, as past withdrawal goals have been.

"The president has judged that a conditions-based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever," he said.

Depending on how operational and logistical issues go, he added, the withdrawal could be finished well before the Sept. 11 deadline.

The only troops remaining in Afghanistan will be the force needed to protect the U.S. diplomatic presence there, the official said. The U.S. government is working to determine what force will be needed to protect its embassy in Kabul, and is consulting with the Afghan government during that process.

As the United States wraps up military operations, the official said, it will turn its attention to helping solve Afghanistan's internal conflicts diplomatically and to maintaining the gains achieved by Afghan women.

"We have long known that there is no military solution to the problems plaguing Afghanistan," he said. "We will focus our efforts on supporting the ongoing peace process, and that means putting the full weight of our government behind diplomatic efforts to reach a peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. But what we will not do is use our troops as bargaining chips in that process."

The official said the U.S. will encourage "any future government in Afghanistan" to offer more help to refugees and other people displaced within Afghanistan.

And the administration will work with Congress to expand and speed up the process for issuing Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans and their families who supported America in Afghanistan, such as by serving as interpreters. This troubled visa program has long been plagued by bureaucratic delays and short-staffing, meaning it sometimes takes years for endangered Afghans to work their way through the byzantine process.

The U.S. has made it clear to the Taliban "in no uncertain terms" that if it attacks American troops during the withdrawal process, "we will hit back hard," the official said, adding that the U.S. will continue watching for terrorist threats or signs of al-Qaida's resurgence in years to come.

The U.S. will reposition counterterrorism capabilities in the region and keep "significant assets" there "to ensure al-Qaida does not once again threaten the United States or our interests, or our allies," he said.

After taking office, the official said, Biden requested a review of "genuine, realistic options" in Afghanistan that would advance and protect U.S. interests. The president consulted with Cabinet officials, lawmakers, the Afghan government, NATO allies and partners still serving in Afghanistan, along with other nations donating to Afghanistan; regional powers; and others.

Lawmakers' reactions to the administration's plans were mixed.

"It is far more difficult to end a war than to start one," said Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a former Marine officer who deployed to Iraq and now sits on the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement. "Almost 20 years on, it is clear we won't win the war in Afghanistan, but there are still devastating ways we could lose."

He added that the United States needs to consider several factors for a withdrawal as September draws closer, including maintaining a presence in the area to counter terrorist threats.

It also needs to support the Afghan government to maintain the rights Afghan people have won since the Taliban was pushed from power after the 9/11 attacks, Moulton said. And it needs to make sure the future situation in Afghanistan doesn't contribute to instability in the region, particularly with Pakistan possessing nuclear weapons and Iran seeking greater influence.

"If we have learned anything in the last 20 years it is that there is nothing worse for America's service members than leaving positions and returning the next year with more troops to fight and die for the same goals we failed to achieve the last time we were there," Moulton said. "I want to bring home our troops, but we must bring them home for good."

But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said that the reported withdrawal plans would be "insane" and an irresponsible "disaster in the making."

"A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous," he said. "President Biden will have, in essence, canceled an insurance policy against another 9/11."

Graham said a residual counterterrorism force there would be necessary to prevent a potential future terrorist attack against the U.S. or its allies.

He added that a full withdrawal would be dire and likely would result in civil war and the reversal of gains made by Afghan women and children.

"The void created by this fight benefits ISIS and al-Qaida, who still reside in Afghanistan," Graham said. "I know people are frustrated, but wars don't end because you're frustrated. Wars end when the threat is eliminated.

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted Bidens plan for withdrawal as reckless and dangerous and urged him to change course.

Inhofe said timing the withdrawal to the 20th anniversary of 9/11 shows Bidens decision was political and not based on conditions in Afghanistan.

No one wants a forever war, but Ive consistently said any withdrawal must be conditions-based, Inhofe said. Arbitrary deadlines would likely put our troops in danger, jeopardize all the progress weve made, and lead to civil war in Afghanistan, and create a breeding ground for international terrorists.

But veterans groups were more supportive of the decision.

"Words cannot adequately express how huge this is for troops and military families, who have weathered deployment after deployment, with no end in sight, for the better part of two decades," Jon Soltz, chairman of the progressive veterans group VoteVets, said in a statement.

"America has more pressing priorities at home and elsewhere, and President Biden must keep his promise to end our endless war in Afghanistan," Dan Caldwell, senior adviser for Concerned Veterans of America, said in a release.

In a press conference last month, Biden suggested he would likely end the war in Afghanistan by next year.

"I can't picture that being the case," Biden told reporters March 25 when asked whether U.S. troops would be in Afghanistan in 2022. "We will leave; the question is when we leave."

During the same press conference, Biden indicated that the May 1 troop withdrawal deadline would not be met "for tactical reasons."

"We've been meeting with our allies, other nations who have troops in Afghanistan as well," he said. "If we leave, we're doing so in a safe and orderly way."

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

Related Video:

Related: As Troop Pullout Looms, Afghanistan 'Fighting for its Very Survival,' IG Says
Refugees fleeing recent violence in Sudan's Darfur region sit in shade near the town of Adre, Chad.  UNHCR

Recent intercommunal clashes in El Geneina, in Sudans West Darfur State, have forced 1,860 refugees to cross into neighbouring Chad in the past week.

The refugees, mostly women, children and the elderly, have fled homes in villages near the border, in the aftermath of deadly clashes that started on 3 April. The resurging violence has reportedly left 144 people dead and more than 230 injured. In the meantime, humanitarian agencies are trying to establish the exact number of newly displaced people within West Darfur, which is estimated to be in the thousands.

Refugees arriving in Chad speak of houses and properties being destroyed, and of sites hosting displaced people being targeted. Some of the new arrivals had already been displaced by earlier clashes last year and in January this year.

El Geneina is only 20 kilometers away from the Sudan-Chad border. Refugees have crossed near the town of Adre, in Ouaddai province and are currently being hosted just 200 metres away from the volatile border.

UNHCR teams from our nearby office in Farchana have rushed to receive refugees. Our staff report conditions on the ground being dire with displaced families staying in the open or under the little shade of trees or makeshift shelters, with barely any protection from the elements in an area where temperature can rise to 40 degrees Celsius during the day. Food and water are also urgently needed.

UNHCR, with our government counterpart and humanitarian partners are on the ground and coordinating the humanitarian response. The priority is to relocate the refugees to a safer location where essential assistance and access to health can be provided, and quarantine measures against COVID-19 implemented.

Ouaddai province where the new arrivals are crossing already hosts 145,000 Darfurian refugees and UNHCR expects the influx to continue if security is not quickly restored in Darfur.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
An invention from Purdue University innovators may provide a new option to use directed energy for biomedical and defense applications. (Stock image)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  An invention from Purdue University innovators may provide a new option to use directed energy for biomedical and defense applications.

The Purdue invention uses composite based nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) for a complete high-power microwave system, eliminating the need for multiple auxiliary systems. The interest in NLTLs has increased in the past few decades because they offer an effective solid-state alternative to conventional vacuum-based, high-power microwave generators that require large and expensive external systems, such as cryogenic electromagnets and high-voltage nanosecond pulse generators.

NLTLs have proven effective for applications in the defense and biomedical fields. They create directed high-power microwaves that can be used to disrupt or destroy adversary electronic equipment at a distance. The same technology also can be used for biomedical devices for sterilization and noninvasive medical treatments.

We created a new NLTL device that reduces the bulkiness of current options and offers new opportunities to protect our country and help patients in a man-portable form factor, said Andrew Fairbanks, a Ph.D. student and graduate research assistant in Purdues College of Engineering. In engineering, we are concerned about size, weight, power and cost. Our invention helps address all of these.

Allen Garner, an associate professor of nuclear engineering, led the Purdue team. The researchers created a novel device using composite-based NLTLs as complete high-power microwave systems, encompassing high-voltage pulse and high-power microwave formation. The Purdue device combines the elements of traditional NLTLs into a composite-based system and eliminates typical bulky auxiliary equipment.

The system is charged using a DC high-voltage supply and discharged using a high-voltage, gas-based switch. The system eliminates the need for external pulse generation and is more rugged due to the solid-state construction.

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research (Grant No. N00014-18-1-2341).

Fairbanks presented the Purdue technology in March at the Directed Energy Professional Society annual Science and Technology Symposium.

The innovators worked with the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization to patent their technology.

It has been very beneficial to our team and our advancement of this technology to have OTC here at Purdue, Fairbanks said. OTC and other resources from Purdue Research Foundation provide support to take our technology and push it out to the world through patenting and commercialization.

The innovators and OTC are looking for partners to continue developing their technology. For more information on licensing and other opportunities, contact Matthew Halladay of OTC at mrhalladay@prf.org and mention track code 69397.

About Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities through commercializing, licensing and protecting Purdue intellectual property. The office is located in the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration in Discovery Park District, adjacent to the Purdue campus. In fiscal year 2020, the office reported 148 deals finalized with 225 technologies signed, 408 disclosures received and 180 issued U.S. patents. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. In 2020, IPWatchdog Institute ranked Purdue third nationally in startup creation and in the top 20 for patents. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Contact otcip@prf.org for more information.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.

Writer: Chris Adam, cladam@prf.org



Source: Andrew Fairbanks, ajfairba@purdue.edu
The Green Tribunal does not have the powers to examine validity of laws or strike them down, the said on Tuesday.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde made the observation while hearing an appeal challenging Section 40 of the Biodiversity Act.

In the meantime, there shall be an ad interim stay of further proceedings in O.A. No.10/2014 pending before the Green Tribunal, Chennai, said the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Balasubramanian.

The appeal was filed by Environment Support Group challenging Section 40 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. It was filed before the Karnataka High Court and was later transferred to NGT.

The group challenged the high court order which transferred the matter to the NGT, contending that the tribunal does not have the power to decide on validity of laws.
The 500 additional Army personnel the Pentagon ordered to Europe on Tuesday will make up two new units designed to bolster the long-range offensive capabilities of U.S. forces on the continent.

The additional soldiers, who are scheduled to be in place by this fall, will form a Theater Fires Command and a new Army Multi-Domain Task Force, or MDTF, at U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Germany, according to a Tuesday news release from U.S. Army Europe and Africa, or USAREUR-AF.

In early February, USAREUR-AF commander Gen. Chistopher Cavoli said that creating a Theater Fires Command in Europe would bring an "enormous capability" to keep track of potential targets in the region and be ready to destroy them if a conflict arises.

Read Next: Biden to Withdraw Last US Troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11: Report

The new fires command, which is in line with Army's top modernization priority of long-range precision fires, would also improve multinational interoperability by coordinating joint and multinational fires in exercises and operations, according to the release.

In addition, the force plus-up will create an MDTF -- also a hope of Cavoli's -- that will feature field artillery; composite air and missile defense; intelligence, cyberspace, electronic warfare, and space capabilities; and aviation assets designed to help commanders attack an enemy with long-range effects more effectively, according to the release.

The Army's first MDTF -- which emerged out of a pilot program -- is based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and is focused on the Pacific region.

"The Theater Fires Command and Multi-Domain Task Force in Europe will enable U.S. Army Europe and Africa to synchronize joint fires and effects, control future long-range fires across all domains and will create more space, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities in Europe," Col. Joe Scrocca, the spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, said in the release.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that he is sending the additional 500 soldiers and has no plans to plan to follow through with a Trump administration plan for a large withdrawal of forces from Europe.

Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of 12,000 troops from Germany as retribution for what he considered Germany's refusal to spend more on its own defense. Austin suspended that move shortly after taking office. He said decisions on troop levels would be made as part of a comprehensive review of the U.S. military presence around the world, including in Europe.

The U.S. currently has about 35,000 troops in Germany.

The MDTF is expected to activate on Sept. 16, and the Theater Fires Command a month later, according to the release.

In addition to the 500 soldiers, roughly 750 family members will also be relocating to Army Garrison Wiesbaden, which creates a challenge since "operational requirements are outpacing facility construction and renovations as we continue to work through setting facility conditions for the new units," according to the release.

"New strategies and a continuously changing operations environment requires more capacity to ensure we have the necessary infrastructure for increased capabilities to support our allies and partners," Maj. Gen. Chris Mohan, commanding general for 21st Theater Sustainment Command, said in the release.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Related: Austin: US Adds 500 Troops in Germany, Despite Trump Pledge
By Andrew Bagala

Security agencies have arrested six people, including three who reportedly impersonated National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) workers and attacked two people at a residence in Kyambogo, Nakawa Division, Kampala City.

The suspects are accused of tying up with ropes a Chinese chef and a maid, at a home in Kampala before robbing Shs100m two weeks ago.

A female suspect seen in a video during the attack was arrested in Ntungamo District where she was constructing a house for her parents, reportedly using part of the robbed money.

Read more: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/police-arrest-six-over-robbery-at-home-of-chinese-3360118
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13) One Philippine destination made it to a renowned travel magazines list of the worlds most beautiful beaches.

The Saud Beach in Ilocos Norte was featured by New-York based Travel + Leisure as one of the 25 Most Beautiful Beaches in the world, a list of which was published on its website on Monday.

It was the only Philippine beach that made the cut.

If you're searching for Southeast Asian beach bliss, super-mellow Saud Beach on the island of Luzon is a sure thing, according to Travel + Leisure.

The magazine noted the island's white sand and clear-as-glass water  which it further described as a real-world example of a zero-entry swimming pool.

Swim in the peaceful waves, lunch under a thatch-roof cabana under the palms, or hire an outrigger for excursions on the water, it added.

The beach in Pagudpud joins other renowned landmarks  including beaches in Hawaii, Bahamas, French Polynesia, Australia, Greece, and Brazil.

Read the full list here.
Dow had initially dismissed the lawsuit after Farner failed to file the proper paperwork waiving costs and fees, records show. In March 2016, just weeks before the letter allegedly threatening to murder the judge was sent, Farner filed a motion to reopen the case, claiming that hed never been given notice of the judges dismissal order, records show.
Migratory birds are leaving HK, green group warns

Migratory birds are leaving HK, green group warns

Conservationists are calling on the government to do more to preserve wetlands, after a study found that fewer and fewer migratory birds are returning to Hong Kong.



The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society made the call on Tuesday as it published its annual Black-faced Spoonbill Census, which showed a record-breaking high population of the birds worldwide this year but a drop in the number in Hong Kong by 5-8 percent every year since 2019.



The society's researcher, Yu Yat-tung, attributed the decrease in the local population of black-face spoonbills to rapid urban development, especially in the northern part of the territory.



He said the ecosystem in the wetland in the Deep Bay area near the Shenzhen border is being destroyed.



"The Deep Bay area will get more and more shallow, it will dry up easily, then we could not have more better quality coastal fringe wetland in our area," he said.



"If we have more development along the coastal edge, the smaller the wetland area."



With the help of more than 200 experienced researchers around Asia, the society recorded over 5,000 Black-faced Spoonbills in the region, but only 336 were found in Deep Bay.



Yu said they found that some of the birds that were rescued and healed by local conservationist during the winter in 2018 never returned.



"One of the birds we tracked has spent two consecutive winters in Taiwan after being rescued by environmentalist in Hong Kong." Yu said.



Sixty percent of the total number of the migratory birds were found in Taiwan, the highest among the ten Asian regions covered in the research, which also included Japan, Korea and Vietnam.



Yu noted that local developers have repeatedly proposed development plans in wetland areas and their buffer zones, asking for a relaxation of restrictions on building height and density which discourage migratory birds from wintering in Hong Kong.



He urged the government to be proactive in conserving coastal ecology.



"We cannot always say we have space so we can develop, but we need to think, we need to see how to manage the wetland in a good way to provide more food and better shelter for our birds as well." he said.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) on Tuesday said it expects over 50 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine to be manufactured in India by this summer.

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Monday registered the vaccine under the emergency use authorisation procedure, based on results of clinical trials in Russia, as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev in a virtual press conference said besides five drug companies that the Russian firm had ties ups with, they are looking for a couple of more firms for the possible production pacts.

"We almost think sputnik V is an Indian-Russian vaccine, because lots of production of sputnik V will be done in India.

We publicly announced five production partnerships in India with some of the largest Indianpharmaceutical companies," Dmitriev said.

"We believe more than 50 million doses a month (to be manufactured) in the summer (in a couple of months). This is our plan.

By summer we expect to manufacture 50 million doses or more of sputnik V a month in India, he said.

Replying to a query, he said some of the Indian firms have started production of the vaccine under the strict quality checks.

In September 2020, Dr. Reddys andRDIFentered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of the Sputnik V, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the rights for distribution of the first 100 million doses in India.

Later it was enhanced to 125 million.
Im very disappointed that theres no political will to change the condition our state is in, Brannigan said Tuesday. She ran on a platform of reducing taxes and cutting costs for health care, pensions and other benefits enjoyed by people on the public payroll, she said.
Authorities in Hong Kong have warned that anyone who calls for the casting of blank protest votes in China-controlled elections slated for Dec. 19 will be breaking the law, as officials revealed plans to offer seats on the powerful Election Committee to losing, pro-China candidates in the last District Council election.



"We are required to act in accordance with the law to prevent any acts that are amounting to manipulating or obstructing elections," chief executive Carrie Lam told a news conference on Tuesday.



That included "certain activities by certain people, which are intended to incite people not to cast a vote or to do something strange in the elections, then it will be an offense," she said.



Earlier this year, police arrested 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists for "subversion" under a draconian national security law, after they took part in a democratic primary last summer that was designed to win enough opposition seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) to block government budgets and other proposals.



Lam and her officials said that some 200 pro-China, losing candidates in the November 2019 District Council elections -- which returned a landslide victory for pro-democracy candidates after several months of mass protests -- would be given seats on the pro-Beijing Election Committee, which was recently given expanded powers to approve prospective election candidates and select 40 members of LegCo under sweeping changes imposed on the city by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).



The changes mean that anyone closely associated with the pro-democracy camp is highly unlikely to be allowed to run in elections, presenting the city's five million voters with a slate of candidates pre-approved by a China-backed vetting committee working from opinions submitted by the national security police.

Marches, military drills



The moves came as public institutions in Hong Kong prepared to mark National Security Law Education Day on Thursday, with the city's law enforcement agencies promising a display of "goose-stepping" military drills based on those typically carried out by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).



The Immigration Department said it wanted to use the display to highlight the fact that Hong Kong "is an inalienable part of China," saying that it had been training its officers in the new style of marching since last year, government broadcaster RTHK reported.



Customs and correctional services officers are also learning to goose-step, while the fire and rescue services have no plans to do so, the report said.



Moves are also afoot to revise school textbooks to bolster the CCP's claim over the democratic island of Taiwan, which has never formed part of the People's Republic of China.



Current affairs commentator Camoes Tam said recent changes to Hong Kong's education system brought in since the national security law took effect on July 1, 2020 closely track those brought in by the CCP across mainland China after it took power in 1949, and in Macau after social unrest in 1967.



Jailed democracy activist Joshua Wong was back in court on Tuesday, where he was sentenced to a further four months in prison after pleading guilty to joining an "illegal assembly" during the 2019 protest movement, as well as violating an anti-mask law imposed by Lam to stop protesters from hiding their identities on security camera footage.



Veteran pro-democracy campaigner Koo Sze-yiu -- who has stage-four cancer -- was also jailed for five months, after being found guilty of taking part in an "illegal assembly" at his trial.

Textbooks revised



In mainland China, textbooks were rewritten to erase the former Kuomintang regime's version of history, while schoolchildren were required to memorize the CCP version instead, he said.



"We think this is brainwashing," Tam said. "If you look at what happened in Macau, they actually started brainwashing schoolchildren after the clashes of 1967, which is why people in Macau are relatively docile and not many [protests] have taken place."



School textbooks are submitted voluntarily by educational publishers to the education department for review.



Meanwhile, unidentified men wielding sledgehammers broke into the Hong Kong printing press of a newspaper run by the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been designated an "evil cult" by Beijing, the paper reported on its website.



"Four intruders barged into the printing plant of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times in the early hours of April 12, damaging computers and printing equipment," the paper reported, adding that it believed the CCP to be behind the attack.



CCTV screenshots showing intruders dressed in black using sledgehammers to damage printing press equipment at the facility, according to the report.



Cheryl Ng, a spokeswoman for the Hong Kong edition of the paper, said the attack bore the hallmarks of a CCP-backed attack, and had the aim of "silencing an independent outlet from reporting on topics that are taboo to the communist regime," the paper said.



"These thugs moved very fast, coming in and smashing up the machines, and leaving again within two minutes," Ng said.



The attack was the latest in a string of attacks on Epoch Times property in Hong Kong, culminating in an arson attack in November 2019 by black-clad attackers apparently trying to mimic the appearance of pro-democracy protesters.



Reported by Fong Tak Ho, Poon Ka Ching, Leung Kiu Fok and Malik Wang for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A partner of Matthew ODonnell  the Morristown tax attorney who cooperated in a years-long corruption sting operation involving thousands he allegedly paid out to elected officials  pleaded guilty Tuesday to filing false reports regarding some of those contributions.

The plea will require Elizabeth Valandingham, 48, to forfeit her law license in connection with the scheme, which authorities said was orchestrated by ODonnell in a massive pay-to-play effort aimed at securing millions in lucrative legal work.

According to recently filed court records, ODonnell has already agreed to a plea agreement in the case, but has yet to be formally charged.

Valandingham admitted that she certified her law firm had not made any political donations to candidates in Bloomfield and Mount Arlington, when she knew that was not true. She acknowledged that donors to campaigns in both municipalities had been reimbursed in cash by the firm, which had been seeking contracts for tax work.

Such donations are illegal.

Crying often and dabbing her eyes during the virtual court proceeding as she entered her plea, Valandingham told Superior Court Judge Robert Hanna in Morris County, Its probably the worst day of my life.

In addition to her disbarment and a $75,000 fine, she could receive up to 364 days in county jail, but likely will not face any time there over the charges  which represented a significant downgrade from the original accusations leveled against her. Charged initially with the second-degree crimes of false representation for government contracts and second-degree misconduct by a corporate official, she pled to a single third-degree count of tampering with public records.

Five of Valandinghams relatives and friends have separately been charged as straw donors for writing checks to campaign committees secretly on behalf of her law firm, ODonnell McCord, to evade state campaign finance laws, according to the Attorneys General office.

Deputy Attorney General John Nicodemo said Valandingham has been cooperating with the state in its investigation that began with ODonnell, who has been publicly identified as the key player inside a choreographed sting operation that led to criminal charges in December 2019 against five elected and former officials or candidates for office.

Those individuals were accused of taking more than $70,000 in bribes disguised as campaign contributions including cash stuffed into envelopes, paper bags and even a paper coffee cup  in return for steering work to ODonnells law firm.

Valandinghams plea marks the second case in the high-profile criminal matter to end with downgraded charges. Earlier this year, Mary Dougherty, a freeholder candidate who had been charged with bribery, instead pleaded guilty to falsifying a campaign finance report. Last month she was sentenced to probation.

Dougherty, a Democrat and the wife of the mayor of Morristown, received $10,000 in cash that ODonnell gave her in a take-out coffee cup, according to prosecutors. In court, her attorney said she had not immediately realized what it contained. She subsequently returned the money and was given four $2,500 checks from several of the straw donors within the states individual legal campaign contribution limit  that were made out in the names of different individuals, according to prosecutors.

As part of her plea, she was required to forfeit the $10,000.

According to the state Division of Criminal Justice, three of the straw donors associated with the case have been admitted into a Pre-Trial Intervention program, which allows first-time offenders to avoid a trial by performing some sort of rehabilitation. Once completed, the charges are wiped from the accuseds record.

Nicodemo said the state would not agree to PTI for Valandingham.

Still awaiting trial is Sudhan Thomas, a Democrat and the former Jersey City school board president. He is also facing separate federal charges of embezzling $45,000 from the Jersey City Employment and Training Program he headed.

Also charged with taking bribes was Jason ODonnell, a former Democratic state Assemblyman and a former Bayonne mayoral candidate (and no relation to Matthew ODonnell); John Cesaro, a former Republican Morris County freeholder, and John Windish, a former Republican Mount Arlington council member.

Valandingham was never charged with bribery, but rather with knowingly making a false material representation in connection with the negotiation or award of a government contract. Essentially, she was accused of lying about political contributions that were allegedly tied to the awarding of legal contracts in Bloomfield and Mt. Arlington between 2012 and 2017.

In Bloomfield, where ODonnell McCord was then vying to provide legal services, the firm was required to disclose any political contributions made to local political candidates and party committees. Prosecutors said Valandingham certified that there had been no such contributions and the township awarded the firm annual legal service contracts valued at $120,000, prosecutors said.

In Mount Arlington, the law firm was similarly required to certify it had made no political contributions in the year preceding the award of a $470,000 contract for legal work. Prosecutors said Valandigham again certified that no contributions had been made, when in fact her straw donors gave $7,500 to candidates there.

Under her plea to a single third-degree count, she acknowledged preparing proposals in anticipation of public contracts in both municipalities while knowing that her firm was reimbursing donors to make political campaign contributions on its behalf.

When asked by the judge if there was anything else she wanted him to know, she responded, Just that Im really sorry.

Sentencing was scheduled for June 25.

Her attorney, Anthony J. Iacullo of Nutley, said Valandigham sincerely and unequivocally accepted responsibility for her actions.

We are now preparing to address factors which we hope will establish the necessary mitigation for Elizabeth to maintain her freedom at the time of sentencing, he said. She has agreed to pay a steep price for those actions and looks ahead to the conclusion of this matter and moving on to the next chapter of her life which will undoubtedly entail continuing to help those people less fortunate than her.

ODonnell, who began cooperating with the state Attorney Generals office in 2018, has yet to be charged. However, documents filed in court show that the lawyer secretly agreed in June of that year to plead to one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct by a corporate official. He agreed to be disbarred and forever disqualified from holding any office or position of trust in New Jersey.

He could face up to eight years in prison.

__

Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL
Bengaluru, April 13 : An all-party meeting would be held here on April 18 to contain the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Karnataka, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Tuesday.

"I have convened an all-party meeting on April 18 to draw more measures to contain the Covid spread in the state," Yediyurappa told reporters earlier in the day at Bidar.

Former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and H.D. Kumaraswamy, Congress state unit president D.K. Shivakumar and leaders of other political parties will be invited to participate in the meeting and give their suggestions to tackle the pandemic.

Ruling out another lockdown to contain the pandemic, the Chief Minister said the state's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of health experts had not recommended it (lockdown) so far.

"A Corona curfew is in force between 10 pm and 5 am from April 10-20 in eight cities across the state, including Bengaluru, to prevent people from staying out or going out in the night," Yediyurappa pointed out.

Urging the people to observe all Covid appropriate behaviours by wearing face mask, maintaining physical distancing and washing hands regularly, the Chief Minister said that there is no other way to prevent the infection from spreading.

"With folded hands, I appeal to the people to cooperate with the state government by strictly following the guidelines to remain safe and defeat Covid," he noted.

Returning to the city from Bidar in the evening, Yediyurappa held a meeting with the concerned officials at his home-office and reviewed the Covid situation in the state.

"Measures have been taken to ensure sufficient beds, medicines, oxygen and ventilators in all state-run and private hospitals across the state to treat Covid patients," the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement later.

The Chief Minister also directed the healthcare workers and frontline warriors to intensify testing, tracing and treating positive cases besides focusing on micro-containment zones to contain the spread of the virus.

"Civic marshals and the police have been told to fine violators of Covid norms and detain those defying the night curfew in the eight cities," said the statement.

The state health department has been told to ensure sufficient supply of vaccines in all the 31 districts across the state to inoculate more eligible citizens.

State Chief Secretary P. Ravikumar, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant and top officials of the state's revenue, health and home departments attended the meeting.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Posted Monday, April 12, 2021 6:52 am

A controversial statewide cap on carbon emissions scraped through the Legislature in a 25-24 vote late April 8 after lawmakers passed a Climate Commitment Act that majority Democrats say will boost the states economy and address a looming climate problem.

Its good for our grandchildrens children, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, the bills sponsor, told the Senate during a six-hour debate on the bill.

The program is estimated to cost $27.3 million and will likely bring in $228.5 million for the state to partly fund the Working Families Tax Credit.

Under the law, covered agencies must buy allowances from the state to continue production if they exceed the cap on carbon emissions. The money from selling those allowances would instead go into public transit, climate adaptation and reducing carbon pollution, according to the bill.

Many Republicans took issue with what they called possible hidden taxes, saying the proposal includes ways for oil companies to get out of the fees by raising prices at gas stations.

The types of gas increases included are extraordinarily regressive, Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, said.

Supporters pointed to states like California and Oregon as examples of successful cap-and-trade systems like SB 5126. Data from Californias Air Resources Board found transportation accounted for 37 percent of carbon emissions statewide.

The bill is part of an overarching effort by lawmakers to reduce state carbon emissions 50 percent by 2050, with smaller milestones set every 10 years until then.

Supporters said the bill would not only address this goal, but offset the disproportionate effect of climate change on historically underserved communities, such as people of color and low-income families.

This is about planning for the future and trying to do something about a problem were creating, Sen. Jesse Salomon, D-Seattle, said.

Opponents of the bill also saw a negative impact on rural communities and businesses who would decide to leave the state if they had to meet carbon caps.

This policy would make zero impact on overall world greenhouse gas emissions, Sen. Doug Erickson, R-Ferndale, said. What youre going to do with this policy is place every manufacturer in Washington at competitive disadvantages to someone overseas.

Gov. Jay Inslee has attempted to pass green energy and transportation legislation before, though this is the first time the bills garnered enough support to pass.

Inslee told reporters April 8 the Climate Commitment Act prioritizes the transition to clean energy and requires corporations who contribute to pollution to pay the bill.

It supports resilient communities by requiring air pollution monitoring in overburdened communities and a requirement to reduce it, Inslee said.

Lawmakers also passed the Low Carbon Fuel Standard in another partisan 27-20 vote April 8, with supporters saying the bill would limit the carbon intensity in fuel and invest more in green transportation.

Together, the bills represent a larger package that will set standards to limit pollution and address groups who are more likely to experience environmental injustice.

Weve known for some time that weve needed to make substantial investments in clean transportation, carbon reduction and mitigation, and air quality improvements, Carlyle said. But we also know that these investments must be made in ways that address long standing economic and racial inequities. Environmental progress cannot be pursued with a blind eye to environmental justice.

---

The Washington State Journal is a non-profit news website managed by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation. Learn more at wastatejournal.org.
Lawmakers Divided Over Bidens Plan to Withdraw All Troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 Republicans and some Democrats say it could embolden the Taliban, while others in his party say it is time to end the Forever War. The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, according to a scathing new report.

Washington is divided over Bidens Afghanistan withdrawal plan. President Biden is expected to announce that he plans to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11. Credit... Pete Marovich for The New York Times The news that the Biden administration plans to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks elicited a wide range of reactions in Washington  fitting for a conflict that has divided and befuddled the nation. With a few exceptions, the response to the move was relatively muted, reflecting a war that over time evolved from searing, front-page news into a lower-grade, if always deadly, war that many Americans forgot was being waged. The decision will keep more than 3,000 American troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 withdrawal deadline announced by the administration of former President Donald J. Trump. But it signals what Mr. Biden plans to present as a definitive end to Americas Forever War. Administration officials said that since Mr. Biden was fixing a definite date on an American troop withdrawal, he hoped to avoid an increase in violence  which the Taliban have threatened if the United States kept troops beyond May 1. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a moderate New Hampshire Democrat who backed the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq nearly two decades ago, criticized President Biden, arguing his decision could embolden the Taliban to further destabilize the country. Im very disappointed in @POTUS decision to set a Sept. deadline to walk away from Afghanistan. Although this decision was made in coordination w/our allies, the U.S. has sacrificed too much to bring stability to Afghanistan to leave w/o verifiable assurances of a secure future, Ms. Shaheen wrote on Twitter shortly after the president announced he would withdraw all troops by Sept. 11, 2021. A new intelligence report released Tuesday offered a grim assessment of Afghanistan and the prospects for peace. The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support, the report said. Other Democrats, who were more critical of the war, applauded the announcement. President Biden recognizes the reality that our continued presence there does not make the U.S. or the world safer, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote in a statement. Year after year, military leaders told Congress and the American people that we were finally turning the corner in Afghanistan, but ultimately we were only turning in a vicious circle. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, applauded Mr. Biden on Twitter for what he described as the brave and right decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan and bring an end to the longest war in our countrys history. Conspicuously quiet, however, were some of the highest-ranking Democrats on congressional committees overseeing the deployment of troops and policy in the region. Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, has not yet commented on the announcement because he is waiting for an official administration briefing on the details, his office said. Representative Adam Smith, Democrat of Washington and the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has also yet to comment, although he recently told an interviewer that his concerns were purely logistical, rather than opposing the idea of a total drawdown. Early on in the Obama administration, Mr. Biden unsuccessfully lobbied President Barack Obama to reject the advice of generals who convinced him to increase troop deployments to deal with the insurgency. Among the most striking similarities between former President Donald J. Trump and Mr. Biden is their shared commitment  expressed in vastly different ways  to withdrawing U.S. troops as quickly as possible. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have sharply divided the Republican Party in recent years. A substantial number of Republicans bucked Mr. Trump on the issue, and still believe a robust presence in the region is needed to preserve stability. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking Republican in the House and the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, blasted the policy shift as a capitulation. Wars dont end when one side abandons the fight, she said in a statement that echoed her fathers hawkish rhetoric in selling the wars at the start. Withdrawing our forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 will only embolden the very jihadists who attacked our homeland on that day 20 years ago.

The Capitol Police were told to hold back in their response to the Jan. 6 riot, according to a new report. Protestors stormed the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol. The inspector general for the Capitol Police, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the agencys preparation for potential violence on Jan. 6 in a new report. Credit... Jason Andrew for The New York Times The Capitol Police had clearer advance warnings about the Jan. 6 attack than were previously known, including the potential for violence in which Congress itself is the target. But officers were instructed by their leaders not to use their most aggressive tactics to hold off the mob, according to a scathing new report by the agencys internal investigator. In a 104-page report, the inspector general, Michael A. Bolton, criticized the way the Capitol Police prepared for and responded to the mob violence on Jan. 6. The report was reviewed by The New York Times and will be the subject of a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday. Mr. Bolton found that the agencys leaders failed to adequately prepare despite explicit warnings that pro-Trump extremists posed a threat to law enforcement and civilians and that the police used defective protective equipment. He also found that the leaders ordered their Civil Disturbance Unit to refrain from using its most powerful crowd-control tools  like stun grenades  to put down the onslaught. The report offers the most devastating account to date of the lapses and miscalculations around the most violent attack on the Capitol in two centuries. Three days before the siege, a Capitol Police intelligence assessment warned of violence from supporters of President Donald J. Trump who believed his false claims that the election had been stolen. Some had even posted a map of the Capitol complexs tunnel system on pro-Trump message boards. Unlike previous postelection protests, the targets of the pro-Trump supporters are not necessarily the counterprotesters as they were previously, but rather Congress itself is the target on the 6th, the threat assessment said, according to the inspector generals report. But on Jan. 5, the agency wrote in a plan for the protest that there were no specific known threats related to the joint session of Congress. And the former chief of the Capitol Police has testified that the force had determined that the likelihood of violence was improbable. Mr. Bolton concluded such intelligence breakdowns stemmed from dysfunction within the agency. That failure conspired with other lapses inside the Capitol Police force to create a dangerous situation on Jan. 6, according to his account. The agencys Civil Disturbance Unit, which specializes in handling large groups of protesters, was not allowed to use some of its most powerful tools and techniques against the crowd, on the orders of supervisors. Heavier, less-lethal weapons, including stun grenades, were not used that day because of orders from leadership, Mr. Bolton wrote. Officials on duty on Jan. 6 told him that such equipment could have helped the force to push back the rioters. Mr. Boltons findings are scheduled to be discussed on Thursday afternoon, when he is scheduled to testify before the House Administration Committee. CNN first reported on a summary of the latest findings.

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Indicted Matt Gaetz associate is said to be cooperating with the Justice Department. The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of Representative Matt Gaetz, center, and Joel Greenberg with multiple women who were recruited online for sex. Officials are also investigating whether the two men had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Credit... Erin Schaff/The New York Times A former local official in Florida indicted in the Justice Department investigation that is also focused on Representative Matt Gaetz has been providing investigators with information since last year about an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetzs activities, according to two people briefed on the matter. Joel Greenberg, a onetime county tax collector, disclosed to investigators that he and Mr. Gaetz had encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex, the people said. The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of the men with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments and whether the men had sex with a 17-year-old in violation of sex trafficking statutes, people familiar with the inquiry have said. Mr. Greenberg, said to have met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances and introduced them to Mr. Gaetz, could provide investigators with firsthand accounts of their activities. Mr. Greenberg began speaking with investigators once he realized that the government had overwhelming evidence against him and that his only path to leniency lay in cooperation, the people said. He has met several times with investigators to try to establish his trustworthiness, though the range of criminal charges against him  including fraud  could undermine his credibility as a witness. Mr. Greenberg faces dozens of other counts, including sex trafficking of a minor, stalking a political rival and corruption. He was first indicted in June. The Justice Department inquiry drew national attention in recent weeks when investigators focus on Mr. Gaetz, a high-profile supporter of President Donald J. Trump who knew Mr. Greenberg through Republican political circles in Florida, came to light. Speculation about Mr. Greenbergs cooperation began mounting last week, after his lawyer and a federal prosecutor both said in court that he was likely to plead guilty in the coming weeks. Im sure Matt Gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today, Fritz Scheller, Mr. Greenbergs lawyer, told reporters afterward. Michael S. Schmidt and

Officer William F. Evans is the second Capitol Police officer to lie in honor this year after dying in the line of duty. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:29 - 0:00 transcript Biden Honors Capitol Police Officer Killed in the Line of Duty Officer William F. Evans was the second Capitol Police officer to lie in honor this year. Officer Evans was killed in the line of duty when a vehicle rammed into him and another officer at a barricade near the U.S. Capitol. My prayer for all of you is that the day will come when you have that memory. And I said, just smile before you bring a tear to your eyes. I promise you its going to come. Just takes a while. Takes a while, but when it comes, youll know because hes still with you. Hes still in your heart. Your husband, your brother, your dad was a hero. And hes part of you, its in your blood. My prayer for you is that moment when the smile comes. Before the tear, quicker and longer. Officer William F. Evans was the second Capitol Police officer to lie in honor this year. Officer Evans was killed in the line of duty when a vehicle rammed into him and another officer at a barricade near the U.S. Capitol. Credit Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times Officer William F. Evans of the Capitol Police, who was killed when a car rammed into him outside the Capitol this month, lay in honor on Tuesday in the building he gave his life protecting, the latest tragedy for a police force still reeling from the mob violence of Jan. 6. In a ceremony beneath the soaring Capitol Dome, President Biden, grief-stricken fellow officers and leaders of Congress remembered Officer Evans as an unflappable 18-year veteran of the force, whose service was shaped as much by laughter as steadfast loyalty, and a doting father who loved Legos and Harry Potter. He was defined by his dignity, his decency, his loyalty and his courage, said Mr. Biden, who summoned the tragedies that have shaped his own life to speak directly to Officer Evanss family and fellow officers. Never has there been more strain, the president said, on the shoulders of Capitol Police. Officer Evans, 41, was the second member of the Capitol Police force killed in the line of duty to be honored in the Rotunda in just over two months. Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who was attacked by the rioters who stormed the Capitol in January, lay in honor in February. Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Pool photo by Drew Angerer slide 1 slide 2 slide 3 slide 4 slide 5 The Capitol Police have named Noah R. Green, 25, as the man who rammed his car into two officers outside the Capitol on Good Friday, killing Officer Evans. The second officer, Ken Shaver, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and lay a wreath beside Officer Evanss coffin. Other officers who frequently manned the Senate security checkpoint where he was struck stood together, saluting him. His death has left a gaping void in our lives that will never be filled, Officer Evanss family said in a statement released last week. On Tuesday, Officer Evanss wife wiped away tears as the nations top leaders paid tribute. When his daughter Abigail, 7, dropped a toy version of the Capitol Dome, the president crossed the aisle and picked it up for her. Mr. Biden also gave a challenge coin to the fallen officers son, Logan, 9, who wore a police cap and clutched a stuffed bear. Speaking directly to the children, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told them their father now lay where Abraham Lincoln once had in death. He, too, she said was a martyr for our democracy. And Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader, described Officer Evans as famous within the Senate for his friendly spirit and easy manner. For the Capitol Police force, hundreds of whom were on hand to witness Officer Evans last trip into the Capitol, it was yet another painful chapter in an excruciating year. The agency has been struggling since Jan. 6, when hundreds of pro-Trump rioters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop the formalization of Mr. Bidens victory and keep former President Donald J. Trump in power. The rampage injured nearly 140 police officers. Two Capitol Police officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, have sued Mr. Trump for the injuries they sustained. These past few months have been devastating. Just as the scars of Jan. 6 had begun to heal, another wound was opened, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, said on Tuesday. I say to you now, our dear Capitol Police force that protects us: There is no shame in grief and sorrow and shock. Luke Broadwater and

Pelosi invites Biden to address a joint session of Congress on April 28. Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the ceremony honoring slain U.S. Capitol Police officer William Billy Evans at the Capitol on Tuesday. Credit... Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday invited President Biden to speak at a joint session of Congress on April 28, which the president accepted, according to a White House official. Ms. Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said in the letter addressed to the White House that the invitation would allow Mr. Biden to talk about the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment. Presidents traditionally address a joint session of Congress, not an official State of the Union, in their inauguration year. Mr. Biden took office on Jan. 20 pledging to unite a divided America and begin to heal the social and economic devastation wrought by the spread of the coronavirus. After signing a $1.9 trillion stimulus package last month, he is now trying to build support for his $2 trillion infrastructure plan that is intended to bolster the U.S. economy by funding the construction of everything from roads to high-speed internet networks, while also addressing climate change and racial inequities. But other challenges remain, including a surge of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and the spread of dangerous new variants of the virus throughout the United States. Ms. Pelosi said the invitation to speak to both chambers of Congress would be an opportunity for Mr. Biden to lay out his vision for the U.S. three months into office. Earlier this month, Pelosi said that the coronavirus pandemic had forced officials, including medical personnel at the Capitol, to assess safety precautions for attendees before moving forward with the address.

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Biden plans to name Robert Santos to lead the Census Bureau, which is racing to complete its 2020 count. Robert Santos, who President Biden intends to nominate to lead the U.S. Census Bureau, is a statistician who has studied U.S. demographics for decades. Credit... Matt Rourke/Associated Press President Biden on Tuesday announced plans to nominate statistician Robert L. Santos to serve as director of the Census Bureau, according to a memo from the White House. If confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Santos would be the first person of color to serve as permanent head of the beleaguered agency as it struggles to complete its once-in-a-decade counting of the nations population needed for drawing new districts for state legislatures and the House of Representatives. The position, traditionally a straightforward role, was thrust into the political spotlight over the last two years, largely over the Trump administrations efforts to add a citizenship question to the census. After the Supreme Court rejected the administrations reasoning for adding the questions as contrived, the administration dropped the effort. If confirmed, Mr. Santos would take over the position from Steven Dillingham who held the position from 2019 until January, but resigned after questions surfaced about the accuracy of the count. Mr. Dillingham was to serve through the end of the year. A trained statistician, Mr. Santos has studied U.S. demographics for decades, most recently as a vice president and chief methodologist at the Urban Institute. He also currently serves as president of the American Statistical Association. In addition to laying plans for the 2030 census, Mr. Santos would also be faced with unscrambling the survey conducted amid a pandemic last year. Without a complete tally, the Census Bureau announced in February that it had pushed back its deadline for releasing the population figures six months to Sept. 30. The delay has the potential to wreak havoc with the 2022 elections, as some states may need to push back candidate filing deadlines and reschedule primaries.

The U.S. and NATO signal strong concern about a Russian troop buildup at the Ukrainian border. A Ukrainian soldier patrolled near the frontline with Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region on Monday. Credit... Agence France-Presse  Getty Images BRUSSELS  The United States and NATO, anxious about a major Russian troop buildup on Ukraines border, signaled strong support for the Kyiv government on Tuesday. And in what was considered another message to Moscow, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said in Germany on Tuesday that the United States would increase its military presence there by about 500 personnel and that it was scuttling plans introduced under President Donald J. Trump for a large troop reduction in Europe. The moves come as American and European officials have grown increasingly concerned about Moscows deployment of additional troops near the Ukraine border, more than at any time since Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, in violation of international law. Since then, Russian troops have been engaged in fomenting a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine and consolidating their hold on Crimea. The message regarding Kyiv was delivered in separate meetings in Brussels with Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:33 - 0:00 transcript NATO Chief Criticizes Russian Military Buildup Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, expressed concern over Russias increasing military presence along the border with Ukraine, calling it unexplained and unjustified. Russias considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning. Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately. We regret Russias decision not to participate in the recent meeting at the O.C. to dispel concerns about its unusual military activities. Russia must respect its international commitments. We have also increased the presence in the Black Sea region in the Black Sea with more naval presence and more ships, more port visits. And we are constantly looking into how we can continue to step up and provide more practical support to Ukraine to help them defend themselves. When you ask me how far Russia can go, my answer to you: I cannot exclude anything. But I do believe that we have all tools available not only to prevent Russia from making a step for a single step forward but also to make it withdraw from the occupied territories of Ukraine. Ukraine will re-establish its sovereignty and the entire security space in that part of the Euro-Atlantic region will therefore be strengthened. Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, expressed concern over Russias increasing military presence along the border with Ukraine, calling it unexplained and unjustified. Credit Credit... Pool photo by Francisco Seco The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told Mr. Kuleba. Mr. Blinken and Mr. Austin will appear at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday for an emergency gathering of all NATO foreign and defense ministers  partly virtual  to discuss how to further support Ukraine. Coupled with President Bidens harsh words about President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last month, the expansion of United States troops and the reversal of Mr. Trumps plans to withdraw up to 12,000 of the roughly 36,000 stationed in Germany will not go unnoticed in the Kremlin. On Tuesday, Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin spoke on the phone for the first time since Mr. Biden assented to a description of Mr. Putin as a killer during an interview, which sparked a furious reaction in Russia. According to a White House summary of the call, Mr. Biden expressed concern over the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and called on Mr. Putin to de-escalate tensions. A more terse Kremlin summary of the conversation referred to an internal Ukrainian crisis, without mentioning a troop buildup. Russia is widely seen as testing Mr. Biden and keeping the pressure on Ukraines President, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has moved against some of the Kremlins favorite oligarchs. Steven Erlanger, Melissa Eddy and

Federal agencies call for a pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccine use after rare blood clot issues. Nearly seven million people in the United States have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so far. Use of the shot was paused after six U.S. recipients developed a rare disorder involving blood clots. Credit... Mary Altaffer/Associated Press Federal health agencies on Tuesday called for an immediate pause in use of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose coronavirus vaccine after six recipients in the United States developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination. All six recipients were women between the ages of 18 and 48. One woman died and a second woman in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition. Nearly seven million people in the United States have received Johnson & Johnson shots so far, and roughly nine million more doses have been shipped out to the states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the C.D.C., said in a joint statement. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. At a news conference later on Tuesday morning, Dr. Marks said that on an individual basis, a provider and patient can make a determination whether or not to receive the vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. While the move was framed as a recommendation to health practitioners in the states, the impact was immediate. The federal government temporarily halted administration of the Johnson & Johnson shots by the U.S. military, providers at federally run sites and CVS and Walgreens, two pharmacy giants that participate in a federal vaccination program. The authorities in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and numerous other states also paused the vaccinations. Scientists with the F.D.A. and C.D.C. will jointly examine possible links between the vaccine and the disorder and determine whether the F.D.A. should continue to authorize use of the vaccine for all adults or limit the authorization. An emergency meeting of the C.D.C.s outside advisory committee has been scheduled for Wednesday. The move could substantially complicate the nations vaccination efforts at a time when many states are confronting a surge in new cases and seeking to address vaccine hesitancy. Regulators in Europe and elsewhere are concerned about a similar issue with another coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University researchers. That concern has driven up some resistance to all vaccines, even though the AstraZeneca version has not been authorized for emergency use in the United States. The vast majority of the nations vaccine supply comes from two other manufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which together deliver more than 23 million doses a week of their two-shot vaccines. There have been no significant safety concerns about either of those vaccines. But while shipments of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been much more limited, the Biden administration had still been counting on using hundreds of thousands of doses every week. In addition to requiring only a single dose, the vaccine is easier to ship and store than the other two, which must be stored at extremely low temperatures. The development also throws a wrench into the Biden administrations plans to deliver enough vaccine to be able to inoculate all 260 million adults in the United States by the end of May. Now federal officials expect there will only be enough to cover fewer than 230 million adults. But a certain percentage of the population is expected to refuse shots, so the supply may cover all the demand. Noah Weiland, Sharon LaFraniere and

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Republicans in two rural Georgia counties censure Gov. Brian Kemp and others. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia at a news conference in December. Two rural counties are censuring Mr. Kemp and others for being disloyal to Trump. Credit... Dustin Chambers for The New York Times Republican Party officials in two deeply conservative counties voted to censure Gov. Brian Kemp and two other top party leaders in recent days, a sign that the Georgia governor continues to face grass-roots opposition from loyalists to former President Donald J. Trump, and the possibility of a primary challenge next year. In Whitfield county, in the northwest corner of the state, Republican officials unanimously voted to condemn Mr. Kemp, saying he did nothing to help Mr. Trump after the November election. Because of Kemps betrayal of President Trump and his high unpopularity with the Trump G.O.P. base, Kemp could end up costing the GOP the governors mansion because many Trump supporters have pledged not to vote for Kemp under any circumstances, reads the resolution. A similar resolution was adopted in Murray County, also in northern Georgia, by a nearly unanimous vote. It was opposed by only three of the dozens of members in attendance. Both counties also voted to censure Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The resolutions hold no binding power over elected officials. Rather, party officials say their resolutions were intended to send a message to Mr. Kemp and other Republican lawmakers that their jobs may be in jeopardy. Id vote for Mickey Mouse before I would Kemp, said Tony Abernathy, chairman of the Murray County Republican Party. I know what Ive got with Mickey Mouse. A RINO is useless. RINO is the dismissive acronym for Republican in Name Only. After infuriating Mr. Trump by resisting his demands to overturn the states election results, Mr. Kemp has faced months of attacks, protests and opposition from his partys base. Conservatives like Mr. Abernathy were particularly frustrated by Mr. Kemps refusal to call an election-focused special session of the state House to further probe the results. Mr. Trump has encouraged Republicans to retaliate by sending a hard-right loyalist to oppose Mr. Kemp in the primary next year. Mr. Kemp and his aides saw a path to redemption within the party in the controversial election bill that the legislature passed last month, which the governor has forcefully defended in dozens of public appearances even as the new law adds new limits to the right to vote in Georgia. Other resolutions adopted by the counties supported a bill passed in the Republican-controlled Statehouse stripping Delta of a $35 million jet fuel tax break and urged Georgians to boycott Major League Baseball and woke companies that criticized the election law. The Republican grass roots are angry, said Debbie Dooley, a conservative activist, who helped distribute drafts of the resolutions and encouraged Trump supporters to attend the local meetings. These resolutions will let Gov. Kemp, Lt. Gov. Duncan and Secretary of State Raffensperger know were going to work against them in the Republican primary next year.

China poses the biggest threat to the U.S., a new intelligence report says. Visitors looking at artificial intelligence security cameras with facial recognition technology at the China International Exhibition on Public Safety and Security in Beijing in 2018. Credit... Nicolas Asfouri/Agence France-Presse  Getty Images Chinas effort to expand its growing influence represents one of the largest threats to the United States, according to a major annual intelligence report released on Tuesday, which also warned of the broad national security challenges posed by Moscow and Beijing. The report does not predict a military confrontation with either Russia or China, but it suggests that so-called gray-zone battles for power, which are meant to fall short of inciting all-out war, will intensify with intelligence operations, cyberattacks and global drives for influence. The assessment highlights the opportunities and challenges for the Biden administration. Iran, for instance, has not advanced its work on a nuclear weapon, potentially giving President Biden some room to maneuver. But it paints a grim prognosis for a peace deal in Afghanistan, a day before Mr. Biden is set to announce that he will withdraw American forces by September. Critics could use the report to suggest that the president is ignoring intelligence agencies predictions as he pushes forward with the drawdown. While much of the report describes traditional national security challenges, it also gives far more attention to climate change and global health than previous threat assessments have done. That shift reflects a pledge by the Biden administrations top intelligence officials to focus more on such nontraditional challenges. The report puts Chinas push for global power first on the list of threats, followed by Russia, Iran and North Korea. There are typically few broad revelations in the annual reports, which are a collection of declassified assessments, although the intelligence agencies ranking of threats and how they change over time can be telling. U.S. Threat Assessment Report Here is the 2021 threat assessment report from the United States intelligence agencies. Read Document Chinas strategy, according to the report, is to drive wedges between the United States and its allies. Beijing has also used its success in combating the coronavirus pandemic to promote the superiority of its system. The report also foresees China at least doubling its nuclear stockpile over the next decade. Beijing is not interested in arms-control agreements that restrict its modernization plans and will not agree to substantive negotiations that lock in U.S. or Russian nuclear advantage, the report said. Typically, the director of national intelligence delivers the threat assessment to Congress and releases a written report alongside it. But no declassified assessment was issued last year, as the Trump administrations intelligence agencies sought to avoid angering the White House. In 2019, Dan Coats, then the director of national intelligence, delivered an analysis of threats from Iran, North Korea and the Islamic State that was at odds with President Donald J. Trumps views. The testimony prompted Mr. Trump to lash out on Twitter, admonishing his intelligence chiefs to go back to school. Avril D. Haines, the director of national intelligence; William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director; and other top intelligence officials will testify about the report on Wednesday and Thursday.

John Kerry Heads To China for First High-Level Talks Under Biden John Kerry, President Bidens climate envoy, during a news conference in January. Credit... Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times President Bidens climate envoy, John Kerry, arrived in China on Wednesday, the first Biden administration official to visit the country at a moment of high diplomatic tensions. In its formal announcement of the trip, the State Department said that Mr. Kerry would discuss raising global climate ambition ahead of a virtual climate summit that President Biden plans to host for dozens of world leaders later this month. The summits goal is to prod countries to do more to reduce carbon emissions and limit planetary warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius, a threshold scientists argue is needed to avert catastrophic changes to life on the planet. President Biden has invited Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, to the summit, but Mr. Xi has not yet accepted the invitation. His participation in an American diplomatic initiative, were it to happen, would be a significant sign of Chinas willingness to work with the United States despite rising tensions over sanctions and other measures the new administration has taken in coordination with its allies. Mr. Kerrys visit to China underscores the Biden administrations intent to cooperate with China on shared challenges, including climate, the coronavirus and nuclear proliferation even as the countries are locked in an increasingly fraught political, technological and military competition. There have so far been few outward signs of cooperation as the two countries spar over Chinas crackdowns in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, and its military operations near Taiwan and in the South China Sea. In a move likely to anger Beijing, the State Department also announced on Tuesday that a delegation of former American officials, including two former deputy secretaries of state, would visit Taiwan as a personal signal of Mr. Bidens commitment to the island democracy, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. Chinese officials have sharply criticized the administrations signals of support for Taiwan. Mr. Biden has made clear that he sees China as a leading strategic threat to America. At a testy diplomatic summit in Anchorage last month, senior Chinese and American officials traded sharply critical assessments of each others policies. The visit by Mr. Kerry comes after the release of a major annual intelligence report on Tuesday that warned Chinas effort to expand its growing influence represents one of the largest threats to the United States. Chinas strategy, according to the report, is to drive wedges between the United States and its allies. The report also identified climate change as a growing threat to the United States. Biden officials understand that effectively tackling climate change requires cooperation from China, the worlds top emitter of greenhouse gas. As secretary of state in the Obama administration, Mr. Kerry himself helped to secure Chinas agreement to join the 2015 Paris Climate accords. Mr. Kerry has already visited multiple nations in his role as Mr. Bidens envoy for climate matters. In March, Mr. Kerry met with European officials in London, Brussels and Paris. This month, he visited the United Arab Emirates, India and Bangladesh. While in New Delhi, Mr. Kerry met with Russias foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, whose country, among the worlds top emitters of greenhouse gases, is also a strategic rival of the United States. In China, he will meet Xie Zhenhua, the chief Chinese negotiator in the talks that led to the Paris agreement. Mr. Xi called him out of retirement in February to reprise his role as chief climate envoy in what was viewed as a response to Mr. Kerrys appointment. Mr. Xie and Mr. Kerry met during those earlier rounds of climate negotiations and have been in touch since taking on their new roles. They also appeared together during a virtual conference last month known as the Ministerial on Climate Action. Mr. Xi has highlighted the need for action on climate change, committing China to specific new targets for reducing emissions. He pledged last year to speed up the point when emissions peak in China, which had previously been in 2030, and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060  meaning that the country would emit no more emissions than it takes from the atmosphere by planting forests or engineering. Environmentalists cheered those goals, but later expressed disappointment that the Chinese government did not detail how to reach them when they unveiled a new five-year economic plan in March. At the same time, China has continued to approve new coal plants, one of the leading sources of carbon emissions, prioritizing social stability and economic development of an important industry at home. Thom Woodroofe, an analyst at the Asia Society Policy Institute who is studying Chinese-American climate cooperation, said at a talk last month that both countries seemed to want to insulate the issue of climate change from their other disputes. From Chinas perspective, theres a recognition that they have more to gain than lose from finding a way to cooperate with the United States on climate, he said. While President Trump was in the White House, China raised its profile as a leading player in climate change policy. With Bidens inauguration, they dont simply want that position to be swept aside, he said. Chris Buckley contributed reporting and Claire Fu contributed research. Steven Lee Myers and

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Iran vows to increase uranium enrichment after an Israeli attack on a nuclear facility. Iran blamed Israel for the explosion at Natanz on Sunday, an assessment confirmed by American and Israeli intelligence officials. Credit... Maxar Technologies, via Reuters Iran said Tuesday that it would begin enriching uranium to a level of 60 percent purity, three times the current level and much closer to that needed to make a bomb, though American officials doubt the country has the ability to produce a weapon in the near future. Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Irans top nuclear negotiator, did not give a reason for the shift, but it appeared to be retaliation for an Israeli attack on Irans primary nuclear fuel production plant as well as a move to strengthen Irans hand in nuclear talks in Vienna. Mr. Araghchi said that Iran had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of its decision in a letter on Tuesday. Iran also attacked an Israeli-owned cargo ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, officials said, the latest clash in its maritime shadow war with Israel. The attack was reported to have caused little to no damage. The uranium enrichment announcement came as American intelligence agencies said that while Iran had gradually resumed production of nuclear material since President Donald J. Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord, there was no evidence it had resumed the work needed to fashion that material into a nuclear weapon. We continue to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that we judge would be necessary to produce a nuclear device, the agencies said in their annual threat assessment report released on Tuesday. The report said, however, that if Tehran does not receive sanctions relief  as Iran has demanded  Iranian officials probably will consider options ranging from further enriching uranium up to 60 percent to designing and building a new nuclear reactor that could, over the long term, produce bomb-grade material. That would take years. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, called Irans announcement on Tuesday provocative, and said it calls into question Irans seriousness in regards to the nuclear talks underway in Vienna, which are aimed restoring some form of the 2015 deal. The talks have been delayed because a member of the European Union delegation tested positive for the coronavirus. The talks could resume as early as Thursday if the member tests negative. Farnaz Fassihi, David E. Sanger and

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Senate Democrats resumed their in-person lunchtime meeting  but without the food. A view of the Kennedy Caucus Room on Capitol Hill in March, 2020, set up for a Republican policy lunch that was attended by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky. Credit... Susan Walsh/Associated Press Senate Democrats gathered in person for their lunchtime caucus meeting on Tuesday for the first time in more than a year, as Capitol Hill slowly begins to loosen some restrictions implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But because of continued concerns about the virus, it was a lunch in name only; a Democratic aide said no food was being served. Senators in both parties have long gathered for weekly luncheons in the Capitol to discuss upcoming legislation and issues over a midday meal. But the confabs abruptly ceased in March of 2020 after Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky tested positive for the coronavirus, sending multiple lawmakers and staff members into quarantine. Senate Republicans eventually returned to hosting in-person luncheons in a larger room during the final months of 2020, but Democrats have stuck with virtual meetings. Now that all members of Congress and a growing number of staff members have access to the coronavirus vaccine, Democrats opted to resume their in-person gathering on Tuesday, although they held it in a larger room than usual and without the customary lunch spread. The in-person gathering was the latest indication that Capitol Hill is returning to its normal routines as the vaccine becomes more widely available. The meeting also comes as Democrats are weighing a number of policy and strategy decisions over how to pass legislation  including President Bidens infrastructure plan and voting rights legislation  that would fulfill the campaign promises that delivered them control of the chamber.

The White House issues its first-ever proclamation on Black maternal health. Video transcript Back bars 0:00 / 1:11 - 0:00 transcript Harris Commemorates Black Maternal Health Week As part of the first presidential proclamation for Black Maternal Health Week, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a round table focused on racial disparities in child care and pregnancy-related deaths. This week is Black Maternal Health Week, and make no mistake, Black women in our country are facing a maternal health crisis. Black women are two to three times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women. And it is important to note that Native women are 2.3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. And over the years, Ive heard many stories, stories of women who are experiencing postpartum depression, only to be dismissed. Stories of women telling their doctors they were experiencing pain, only to be ignored. Stories of women who could not hold their newborn baby because that child had to be on life support. Or receive a blood transfusion after blood transfusion after blood transfusion. Black women deserve to be heard. Their voices deserve to be respected. And like all people, they must be treated with dignity. As part of the first presidential proclamation for Black Maternal Health Week, Vice President Kamala Harris hosted a round table focused on racial disparities in child care and pregnancy-related deaths. Credit Credit... Kevin Lamarque/Reuters The White House on Tuesday issued its first-ever presidential proclamation marking Black Maternal Health Week as part of the administrations broader efforts to draw attention to and address the vast racial gaps in pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths and complications in the United States. Black women in our country are facing a maternal health crisis, said Vice President Kamala Harris, who hosted a round table on the issue alongside Susan Rice, director of the Domestic Policy Council. We know the primary reasons why: systemic racial inequities and implicit bias, Ms. Harris added. The U.S. continues to have the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world, driven in large part by the high mortality rates among Black mothers. Approximately 700 women die each year as a result of pregnancy or its complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women. Maternal health discrepancies are intertwined with infant mortality: Black infants are more than twice as likely to die than white infants  10.8 per 1,000 Black babies, compared with 4.6 per 1,000 white babies. In an often emotional discussion, three Black women shared their birth experiences, highlighting how structural racism led to stillbirths and near-death experiences. Often, they said, doctors simply didnt take their health concerns and symptoms seriously until it was too late. The number one thing I hear is, Theyre not listening to me, said Heather Wilson, who lost her own child and became a bereavement doula to help other families navigate their loss. There were times that I felt that way, too. We just need to be listened to and heard, especially when it comes to pain throughout the reproductive system, said Erica McAfee, founder and chief executive of Sisters in Loss, a podcast that features mothers who have experienced loss. Maternal and infant mortality is also just one part of maternal health, noted Elizabeth Howell, chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, who also participated in the round table. For every maternal death, over 100 women experience a severe complication related to pregnancy and childbirth  something we call severe maternal morbidity, and it impacts over 50,000 women in the United States every year, she said. Similar to maternal mortality, Black and brown women have elevated rates of maternal morbidity, Dr. Howell added. In addition to the presidential proclamation, the administration outlined several actions to specifically address the maternal health issues through the American Rescue Plan, which passed in March, including earmarking $30 million for implicit bias training for health care providers and a provision that allows states to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a full year. On Monday, Illinois became the first state to do just that, and it is expected to improve health outcomes for Black mothers.

A Senate panel will vote on the nomination of Samantha Power to lead U.S.A.I.D. If confirmed by the Senate, Samantha Power will rejoin the government as an administrator of soft power with the United States Agency for International Development. Credit... Pool photo by Greg Nash Near the end of the 2014 documentary Watchers of the Sky, which chronicles the origins of the legal definition of genocide, Samantha Power grows emotional. At the time, Ms. Power was President Barack Obamas ambassador to the United Nations, and, she said, had great visibility into a lot of the pain in the world. From that perch, preventing mass atrocities abroad required thinking through what we can do about it, to exhaust the tools at your disposal, Ms. Power said in the film. And I always think about the privilege of, you know, of getting to try  just to try. Few doubt Ms. Powers zeal  given her career as a war correspondent, human rights activist, academic expert and foreign policy adviser  even if it has meant advocating military force to stop widespread killings. Now, as President Bidens nominee to lead the United States Agency for International Development, she is preparing to rejoin the government as an administrator of soft power, and resist using weapons as a means of deterrence and punishment that she has pushed for in the past. A Senate committee is expected to vote Thursday on her nomination to lead one of the worlds largest distributors of humanitarian aid. If she is confirmed, Mr. Biden will also seat her on the National Security Council, where during the Obama administration she pressed for military invention to protect civilians from state-sponsored attacks in Libya in 2011 and Syria in 2013. That she will be back at the table at the council  and again almost certain to be debating whether to entangle American forces in enduring conflicts  has concerned some officials, analysts and think tank experts who demand military restraint from the Biden administration. If youre talking about humanitarianism, famine, the wars  really, other than natural causes, war is the No. 1 cause of famine around the world, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, told Ms. Power last month during her Senate confirmation hearing. Are you willing to admit that the Libyan and Syrian interventions that you advocated for were a mistake? Ms. Power did not. When these situations arise, its a question almost of lesser evils  that the choices are very challenging, she said.

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The Biden administration is quietly keeping tabs on inflation. An outdoor mall in Los Angeles. Critics have warned that that a stimulus-fueled surge in consumer spending could revive a 1970s-style escalation in wages and prices that could cripple the economy. Credit... Philip Cheung for The New York Times Even before President Biden took office, some of his closest aides were focused on a question that risked derailing his economic agenda: Would his plans for a $1.9 trillion economic rescue package and additional government spending overheat the economy and fuel runaway inflation? To find the answer, a close circle of advisers now working at the White House and the Treasury Department projected the behaviors of shoppers, employers, stock traders and others, if Mr. Bidens plans succeeded. Officials as senior as Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, pored over the analyses in video calls and in-person meetings, looking for any hint that Mr. Bidens plans could generate sustained price increases that could hamstring family budgets. It never appeared. Those efforts convinced Mr. Bidens team that there is little risk of inflation spiraling out of the Federal Reserves control  an outcome that Wall Street analysts, a few prominent Republicans and even liberal economists like Lawrence H. Summers, the former Treasury secretary, have said could flow from the trillions being pumped into the economy. Traditional readings of price increases are beginning to turn upward as the recovery accelerates. On Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent, its fastest monthly increase in more than a decade, while a less volatile index excluding food and energy rose a more muted 0.3 percent. But Mr. Bidens advisers believe any price spike is likely to be temporary and not harmful, essentially a one-time event stemming from the unique nature of a pandemic recession that ruptured supply chains and continues to depress activity in key economic sectors like restaurant dining and tourism.
One of the big trends today is to colorize black and white images, a technique that brings them to life in an extraordinary way. Matt Loughrey has long been a leader in the field. However, Loughrey found himself in a minefield when he added smiles to colorized images he made from photos that the Khmer Rouge, which executed a quarter of Cambodia's population in the mid-1970s, took of the people it intended to murder.

Colorizing old photos is all the rage, so much so that there's even an app for it, which produces surprisingly sophisticated and accurate results. The best use I've seen of the colorizing technique was in Peter Jackson's truly extraordinary They Shall Not Grow Old. I can't recommend this movie highly enough, especially considering that most of the ills in the modern world can be traced back to World War I.

One of the best colorizers around is an Irish resident named Matt Loughrey. He has a business called My Colorful Past. In addition to colorizing family photographs that people commission, he also meticulously colorizes photos of famous people, a process that sees him make personal artistic choices rather than following a computer algorithm. The Daily Mail periodically showcases his photographs. If you follow the links, you can see examples of movie and Broadway stars from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, famous people from Jesse James to Mary Queen of Scots (whose death mask Loughrey colorized), and Australian convicts. Loughrey is talented.

At some point, Loughrey was commissioned to do some work with a tragic backstory. As you may recall, one of the things that the Khmer Rouge did at the infamous S-21 prison in Phnom Penh was to photograph its prisoners before murdering them. All told, Khmer Rouge agents tortured and executed an estimated 17,000 people. These photos are incredibly haunting, as ordinary people look to the camera knowing they soon will be executed.

Some of the relatives of the victims asked that Loughrey colorize their photographs. He did so, and often had the people shown smiling. This was an artistic choice, and the family members apparently did not object, perhaps preferring to see their relative looking happy:

In his interview with Vice [which Vice has since withdrawn], Loughrey said he had been hired by family members of some of the S-21 victims to colorize photos of their loved ones, and he then on his own worked on more images from the prison, which today is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The Associated Press was unable to reach him Monday for comment. Several colorized photos accompanying the article showed S-21 prisoners smiling for the camera, and Loughrey volunteered his thoughts to Vice's interviewer about why they might have been smiling. "The women tended to have a smile on their face more so than the men," he told Vice. "I think a lot of that has to do with nervousness."

Having done those commissioned pictures, Loughrey got fascinated by the subject and continued working with photos from the S-21 prison camp. Unfortunately, he kept showing those smiles.

Vice News didn't think anything of those smiles when it wrote an article about Loughrey's work bringing those black-and-white photos to life. However, as the AP article about the story explains:

The article set off alarms bells with people familiar with the collection of the original black and white photos, including professional photographer John Vink, who has worked in Cambodia. They pointed out that in at least some of the original photos, the subjects were not smiling, and Loughrey not only colorized the photos but retouched them to alter their expressions[.] "Matt Loughrey in Vice is not colourising S21 photographs. He is falsifying history," Vink commented Saturday on Twitter, showing examples of the originals and Loughrey's altered versions with smiles.

Matt Loughrey in Vice is not colourising S21 photographs. He is falsifying history: pic.twitter.com/z6J99J7BOE  John Vink (@vinkjohn) April 10, 2021

So @VICE ran an article with photo retoucher Matt Loughrey about images he colorized of victims of genocide in Cambodia. Not only did he colorize the images, he changed the expressions of the victims are created a bullshit narrative around it. Stunningly irresponsible stuff. pic.twitter.com/0gadODy5xN  rob hoffman (@Rob_Hoffman) April 10, 2021

As noted, Vice has since removed the offending article, and Loughrey must now try to live down the scandal. Because I've admired his work for a long time, I'm loath to believe that he was intentionally trying to whitewash the Khmer Rouge. I'd like to think it's more likely that his artistic sensibilities, which he's brought to all his hand-done colorizations, severely impeded his good sense. Indeed, I hope that's the case and would be disappointed to learn otherwise.

Image: Matt Loughrey's Cambodian prison photo manipulation. Twitter screen grab.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
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).
GID, a leading integrated real estate company, was honored by the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) in its inaugural Real Estate Investment Management Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Awards. The awards recognize real estate firms and institutional investors that demonstrate leadership in sustainable and socially responsible practices. GIDs closed-end fund, Institutional Multifamily Partners, earned top honors for its innovative, data-driven ESG practices throughout the portfolio.

ESG has been a priority and passion for GID throughout our 60-year history and we have made a concentrated effort to incorporate socially responsible practices across the organization. This long-standing commitment, along with support from our investment partners like CalPERS, has allowed to us make tangible progress and achieve new milestones, says Phil Carmody, director of ESG and corporate programs at GID.

GIDs sustainability and social programs are designed to engage, educate, and inspire the companys key stakeholders, from employees and residents to investors and suppliers. Last year, the company developed a 10-Year ESG Strategic Plan to ensure continued progress toward its long-term goals for sustainability within the fund and the property levels. The Strategic Plan outlines the criteria and benchmarking practices, including program management, policies, efficiency measures, data management, stakeholder engagement, and resilience.

In addition to GIDs green initiatives, the company continues to make strides with its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. GID offers a 10-week Diversity Internship Program that considers candidates who identify as members of underrepresented groups in the real estate industry. The company was also the first firm to sign on as a founder of the National Multifamily Housing Councils DEI Initiative.

About PREA

Founded in 1979, the Pension Real Estate Association (PREA) is a non-profit trade association for the global institutional real estate investment industry. PREA currently lists over 700 corporate member firms across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. To learn more, visit http://www.prea.org.

About GID

GID is a privately held and fully integrated real estate company that develops, owns, and operates a premier portfolio of multi-family, industrial, and mixed-use development space. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, GID is an experienced real estate private equity investor and fund manager supported by a vertically-integrated operating platform and has deep expertise across multiple asset classes. GIDs existing and under-development properties are valued at $19 billion.

During its 60-year history, GID has acquired or developed over 79,000 residential units and 16.8 million square feet of commercial space in twenty-four states. The current portfolio includes 37,000 residential units, 1 million square feet of retail and office space, and 18.8 million square feet of industrial space. More information is available at gid.com.
Special school teachers receive their first shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine at a vaccination site in Gwangju, Monday. Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



As Korea's COVID-19 vaccination timeline is facing multiple uncertainties, the country may not be able to reach its goal of achieving herd immunity by November considering the low inoculation rate so far.



According to data collected by the University of Oxford-based Our World in Data, during the 45 days since the Feb.26 nationwide vaccination rollout, 2.26 percent of the population had been given at least one shot of the vaccine as of April 11.



The data show that other countries had vaccinated a larger percentage of their populations during the first 45 days of their COVID-19 inoculation programs.



Israel, which began public vaccinations Dec. 19, marked a rate of 37.57 percent, Feb. 25, the 45th day since it started vaccinating people. The inoculation rate in the United Kingdom, the first country to begin vaccinations, stood at 7.93 percent Jan. 21; while The Maldives and Serbia recorded 39.93 percent and 13.59 percent, respectively, on their 45th days.











The Bloomberg vaccine tracker showed that Korea's daily rate of doses administered stood at an average of 32,500, a significantly low figure compared to 3.2 million in the U.S. and 400,000 in the U.K. Bloomberg predicted that, at this speed, it will take six years and four months for Korea to create herd immunity.



Prof. Kim Woo-joo at Korea University's Infectious Disease Department viewed that the low number is attributable to a lack of vaccines in the country. According to Kim, seasonal flu vaccination drives in the past have shown that the country's medical capacity can cover up to around 300,000 people a day.



"The government's failure to preemptively secure a vaccine supply has resulted in such a situation. It is impossible to speed up inoculations without drastically increasing the supply," he told The Korea Times.



Amid a continuous unstable vaccine supply worldwide, the government announced all-out efforts Monday to deliver enough doses in order to meet the vaccination timeline, but uncertainties lie ahead.



According to the health authorities, 3.37 million doses from AstraZeneca and Pfizer have arrived in the country so far, which accounts for 18 percent of the planned amount for the first half of the year.





People wait for 15 minutes after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine in case of allergic reactions at a vaccination site in Gwangju, Monday. Yonhap
Senior Political Science Lecturer, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante has supported the appeal by the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu to members and supporters regarding the partys 2024 flagbearership contest.



It's only three months into the second term of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and already the governing NPP members and supporters are gunning for certain persons to become the party's flagbearer for the 2024 elections.



But in reaction to the party's Presidential candidate's pitch, the Chief Scribe has called on the rank and file to halt all activities and campaigns stressing it's "way too early for anybody having ambition to contest in the 2024 flagbearership race to make public such ambitions, because time is just not rife".



During the NPP National Executives engagement sessions with party grassroots in the Savanna Regional Capital, Damango, on Friday, April 9, 2021, which formed part of their nationwide ''Thank You'' tour, John Boadu said; ''We have not even reached the stage where the party is considering guidelines or rules and regulations for the 2024 flagbearership contest, which is three years away per the party constitution.



"We just won the 2020 elections, and the President is still in the process of forming his government with the appointment of Ministers, Deputies, CEOs and governing Boards of the various State Institution, for us to start implementing our campaign promises. Our victory in 2024 will, by all means, be dependent on how this yet to be constituted second-term Akufo Addo led government performs.



"So, why are we rushing to look for a successor for the President when he hasnt even finished forming his government? We, as leaders of the party, wont allow such backwardness and distractions."



Responding to the current developments in the NPP, Dr. Asah Asante equally believed it is too early for the party to engage in a campaign for flagbearer.



According to him, what is important is for the party to support the President to execute his vision to develop the economy.



He outlined some promises of the President to Ghanaians for which he has been given the nod to head the State for the second time, therefore advising the NPP to see to it that the President's vision and mission becomes fruitful because the party's chances for victory in the next elections is contingent on the performance of the President.



Dr. Asah Asante urged the NPP to heed the counsel given by their General Secretary.



"I side with Mr. John Boadu that they should listen and exercise patience . . . I plead with the party to expedite measures to put things in the right order," he told Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo'.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP-led central government's strategy to control the spread of COVID-19 was a "monumental failure" and said while people are dying across the country the saffron party's leadership is busy campaigning for elections.

Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said people of the country will not pardon the BJP for such a dangerous situation and called for scaling up the COVID-19 vaccination drive.

"The country wants to know, what did the prime minister do for the past 385 days, apart from politics? Patients are suffering, patients are dying, what is the prime minister planning for the weaker sections of this country? Is there any kind of a safety net, he is going to provide," Kumar asked.

The country will never pardon the BJP for its "monumental failure in controlling the spread of COVID, which is taking a dangerous turn", he told reporters. Kumar asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the health minister will stop "trolling" chief ministers of opposition-ruled states for asking for vaccine.

He said the government should approve more vaccines and increase the vaccine manufacturing capacity. The Congress leader said India has broken fresh records in terms of COVID-19 cases and has become the second highest country with coronavirus infected patients.

"I hoped to see the photo of my prime minster having a war room meeting with all health experts on how to fight COVID, but I saw a big news saying he is campaigning today in three places of West Bengal. This is the BJP's model of governance,"he alleged. Assembly elections in West Bengal began on March 27 and four of the eight phases of the polls have been completed.

Kumar said lakhs of children are to appear in the CBSE exams and their parents are also under a lot of stress due to the present situation, but there is no response from this government.

Also read: India's vaccination drive may limit economic impact of second COVID-19 wave: Barclays

Also read: COVID-19: Haryana imposes night curfew amid surge in cases
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev answered the question of an expert at the International Crisis Group Nigar Goksel about the restoration of Turkey-Armenia relations, speaking at the the "New vision for South Caucasus: Post-conflict development and cooperation" international conference, which was held at ADA University.

"We see some signs, we hear some low voices in the Armenian establishment about reconsidering their policy towards Turkey. Even during the conflict on several occasions I was talking about that, saying that it is absolutely unacceptable and strange that such a small, impoverished and weak country as Armenia has territorial claims to such a great and powerful country as Turkey. There are so much ideological dogmas and turkophobia has become their national policy, that they have even lost their sense of reality," Ilham Aliyev explained.



The head of state noted that the Turkish government is planning the steps in a very constructive way, but of course, they need an adequate response from the Armenian side. The President explained that Yerevan should abandon its territorial claims to Turkey, excluding them from the Constitution, and stop exploiting the so-called topic. "genocide" and stop resorting to fake stories.

"Today we are discussing the unblocking of communication channels, in particular, the Zangezur corridor. The Zangezur corridor cannot be unblocked without Turkish agreement and participation... If Armenia wants to put an end to difficulties with communications, if they want to get the opportunity to become a transit country, it's only Turkey which can provide that. As far as I know, the Turkish government is ready. Again, the ball is now on the Armenian side," the Azerbaijani leader stressed.

According to him, Armenia needs good doctors to cure it from poison coming from the diaspora, which sits in very quiet and nice places in southern France, California, Krasnodar Territory, in some other capitals. "The Diaspora wants the Armenians in Karabakh and Armenia to be their hostages and tools for them to pursue some ambitious and chauvinistic ideas. The Armenian society needs to destroy the iron curtain behind which it lives under the influence of poisonous ideas. We are ready to help them with that," the Azerbaijani leader concluded.
Dexus and property group HomeCo have extended their reach with new assets and a $1 billion equity raise into the fast-growing healthcare and wellness sector.

The David Di Pilla-backed HomeCo has bolstered its planned $1 billion equity raising for the HealthCo with industry heavyweights including former Ramsay Health Care Australia boss Danny Sims who join an advisory board to advise the business on strategy for its planned healthcare investment vehicles.

HealthCo will use the cash raised to target assets such as private hospitals, primary care, child care, aged care, and life sciences in combined listed and unlisted vehicles. It will be established with $350 million in proposed seed assets currently owned by HomeCo and there is an additional $450 million in assets under due diligence.

Dexus North Shore Health Hub building at St Leonards, Sydney has reached practical completion

The $1 billion raise target is double what HomeCo had flagged back in February when it first told investors of plans to expand its reach beyond retail assets into the health sector.
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:49 am

Several organizations in southwest Washington and Oregon will host a virtual hiring event from 2 to 5 p.m. on Wednedsay, April 21.

Nearly 40 health care companies across the region are looking for new employees to fill current openings, stated a news release. Opportunities vary from entry-level to licensed, certified and experienced health care professionals, as well as patient and non-patient roles.

Recruiters for health systems, clinics, dental, behavorial health, pharmancy and long-term care will be available to speak or video chat directly with job seekers.

The free event will be hosted on a platform called Brazen. A brief video on the technology is available on the registration page at https://bit.ly/3fxzSLs. Job seekers are encouraged to upload their resume.

WorkSource will also hold workshops prior to the event to provide guidance on how to use the system. Those will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. on April 14 online at https://bit.ly/39uylle

and from 1 to 2 p.m. on April 19 at https://bit.ly/3ma8yE9.

Job seekers are encouraged to prepare for the event the same as they would for an in-person interview and be ready to speak with hiring representatives, stated the release.

For more information, contact Rebecca Budahl at rbudahl@esd.wa.gov or call 360-735-4955.
The United States sent its personnel to Taiwan a few days ago to survey its tank maintenance and training capabilities. This comes after Taiwan's military earmarked a budget of USD 1.42 billion to purchase 109 M1A2T tanks from the US. The deal had been approved in the year 2019, news agency ANI reported quoting Taiwan News.

Tanks delivery in Taiwan

The tanks will be delivered to Taiwan in four batches from 2023 to 2026 and they are expected to get assigned to the Sixth Army Corps. Before the delivery of the tanks, the US had sent its military officials to Taiwan to monitor Taiwan's defensive position, tank driving simulator and guidelines for the tanks. Around 84 Taiwan army personnel will be sent to the US in 2023, Taiwan news reported citing CNA. After the US inspection, Taiwan will set up a training centre for M1A2T tank driving and shooting exercise at the Kengzikou training ground in Hsinchu Country's Xinfeng Township.

The military pointed out that after the US survey, it will set up a training center for M1A3T tank driving and shooting exercise at Kengzikou training ground in Hsinchu Country's Xinfeng Township. The proposed facility will take four years to build and will include areas for fixed and moving target practice.

The Taiwan Army presently has approximately 1000 tanks including CM-11 Bravo Tiger and M6OA3. The M1A2T 120mm smoothbore gun can penetrate 850 mm armour and is equipped with a battlefield management system to enhance digital battlefield management, Taiwan News cited Ministry of National Defense.

The tank uses AGT-1500 gas turbine engine that can generate 1500 horsepower. The Ministry of National Defence emphasised that China 99A tank can only pierce armor up to 780 mm thick and has a top speed of 60 km per hour. Meanwhile, its armor is 700 mm thick, it further said.

(Inputs from ANI)

(Image Credits: PTI)
Tokyo, April 13 : The Japanese government on Tuesday announced its decision to start releasing radioactive water accumulated at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea after treatment, amid domestic and international opposition.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's cabinet made the decision on Tuesday morning, which comes a decade after the nation's worst-ever atomic disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, reports dpa news agency.

Tokyo Electric Power is expected to start discharging the water into the sea in two years after it has been treated, the operator and the government said.

The operator has stored over 1.2 million tonnes of water in more than 1,000 huge tanks at the site.

The operator said the space for tanks will be running out in 2022, though local officials and some experts say otherwise.

The plant suffered meltdowns at three of its six reactors after it was hit by a powerful earthquake and ensuing tsunami in March 2011.

Since then, the operator has continued to inject water into the three reactors to keep cooling melted atomic fuel there.

Radiation-contaminated water at the site has been treated through an advanced liquid processing system, but tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, cannot be removed.

The government and the operator say tritium is not harmful to humans in low concentration.

However, the Tokyo-based Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy said in a statement that the government "should strictly avoid releasing tritium into the environment as tritium is still radioactive material".

The group, which includes a number of experts, rejected the government's plan to release radioactive water into the ocean and instead proposed mortar solidification technology and a land-based storage system, using large tanks.

The group submitted the proposals to the Industry Ministry and held news conferences repeatedly.

However, the Ministry and Japanese media downplayed and ignored them, it said.

The government's plan has also invited criticism and strong opposition at home and abroad.

Hiroshi Kishi, head of the Japan Fisheries Cooperatives, said the release is "totally unacceptable. We lodge a strong protest".

Greenpeace Japan said the group "strongly condemns" the government's decision as it "completely disregards the human rights and interests of the people in Fukushima, wider Japan and the Asia-Pacific region".

South Korea's Foreign Ministry called in Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi and lodged a protest over Tokyo's decision, Japan's Kyodo News reported.

Koo Yun Cheol, South Korea's minister for government policy coordination, said Seoul "firmly opposes" the move, according to Kyodo.

China expressed concerns on Monday in anticipation of the decision.

"China has expressed grave concern to the Japanese side through the diplomatic channel, urging Japan to handle the issue of wastewater disposal from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in a prudent and responsible manner," Beijing's Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said.

The US State Department, however, issued a statement saying Japan "has been transparent about its decision, and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards".

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has described the choice of Ghana as headquarters for Twitters Africa operations as excellent news. Nana Akufo-Addo noted that this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghanas hugely important tech sector.



According to him, these are exciting times to be in and to do business in Ghana.



The President said these in a tweet in reaction to Twitters announcement that it intends establishing its headquarters in Ghana.



Making the announcement on its website, Twitter said its mission is to serve the public conversation, and its essential, for the world and for them to increase the number of people who feel comfortable participating in it.



To do this, we need to make it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.



Today, in line with our growth strategy, were excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent, the statement said.



Twitter said it is looking for specialists to join several teams including product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.



Explaining why the company chose Ghana as its destination, Twitter noted as a champion for democracy, Ghana is a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the open internet, of which Twitter is also an advocate.



Furthermore, Ghanas recent appointment to host the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.



Twitter said when it enters a new market, it works hard to ensure that it is not just investing in the talent that it hires, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them.















As I indicated to @Jack in our virtual meeting of 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the devt of Ghanas hugely important tech sector. 2/3#TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana

 Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021









The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitters Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Govt and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x





 Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021









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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri House Representative Rick Roeber, R-Lee's Summit, has resigned from his elected position as officials investigate claims he abused his children. The newly-elected lawmaker's adult children told The Kansas City Star Roeber sexually and physically abused them around 1990. They made those claims during Roeber's 2020 campaign and after he won his race.
COOS BAY, Ore.  A Coos Bay man is in jail after reportedly trying to meet with an underage teenager for sex, but the "teen" was actually a detective, police say.

Robert Clifford, 65, allegedly agreed to meet with a 15-year-old girl on April 9. Police said he agreed to meet with the girl at a location for sex with pizza and alcohol to share.

A detective with the Eugene Police Department had been investigating online crimes against children and posing as a teen, police said.

Officers contacted Clifford and took him to the Lane County Jail on a charge of online sexual corruption of a child.
Last week, as I waited at a local pharmacy, I found myself watching the mix of people streaming out of the in-pharmacy discount GP clinic. They were poor. Agitated. Unwell looking. Chaotic, undernourished kids. Frazzled parents. One was hearing voices. Two didnt appear to speak any English. Most appeared to have prescriptions in hand.

They were in and out of there within a few minutes.

We need to find ways of making quality healthcare more accessible to those who need it most.

I felt a bit sad watching this stream. They were the cohort of my communitys most vulnerable people. They were seeking accessible care, and here it was: a bulk-billing clinic at the back of a large pharmacy, providing quick, curt consultations. So many missed opportunities to provide support, engagement and care to the people who needed it most. I also felt sad for the GPs who were working in this way.

Australia has an enviable healthcare system. For those who need emergency care, for the most part, Australia provides it. But, Australia, we need to lift our game in general practice. We need to find ways of making quality healthcare more accessible to those who need it most. For the mother wanting to discuss escaping domestic violence. For the teenager who needs to talk about their suicidal thoughts. For the baby who isnt gaining enough weight. For the young man who wants to clean up his drug-habit as he seeks care for his PTSD. For the new refugee who doesnt understand the scary media stories about COVID-19 vaccination.
ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax  (NYSE: EFX) continues to expand its leadership in alternative data solutions with the introduction of Payment Insights. Developed in partnership with Urjanet , the cloud-based Payment Insights solution promotes greater financial inclusion, regardless of the consumer's traditional credit score, by empowering consumers to share utility and telecom payment history with banks or lenders when applying for loans and other services.

According to the Federal Reserve , 63 million American adults are either unbanked or underbanked. These individuals may rely on high-cost alternative financial products and services such as check cashing services or pawn shop loans to meet their day-to-day financial needs. Helping more of these consumers obtain access to mainstream financial services and products requires new insights into individual financial history.

"Urjanet data has shown that more than 90 percent of U.S. adults have at least one household utility service in their name," said Mark Luber, Chief Product Officer for Equifax United States Information Solutions (USIS). "The Payment Insights product was designed with the understanding that utility payment information is a powerful source of data when traditional credit insights may not be available. Broader visibility into a person's ability to pay has the potential to positively impact a person's financial profile. We are giving lenders smarter insights that improve the consumer experience, by uncovering qualified applicants who may have otherwise been hidden from view."

Payment Insights makes it easy for consumers to share utility payment history. The cloud-based, API-driven product allows lenders to seamlessly integrate the data into review processes, while meeting industry-leading standards for protection of consumer data security, confidentiality and integrity. Individuals simply provide consent to connect their utility accounts from a lender's branded experience, and up to 12 months of data is immediately delivered directly from the utility provider to the lender in tradeline format. The report pulls account information, obligation details and payment histories to give lenders a more holistic view of the applicant.

"Urjanet and Equifax share the belief that consumer-permissioned data will play an increasingly important role in the financial profiles of consumers worldwide," said Shannon Johnson, Head of Financial Services and Chief Strategy Officer at Urjanet. "With Payment Insights, consumers can share information from a network of thousands of utility providers covering almost 90 percent of the U.S. population to create a more complete financial portrait. We're enabling lenders to better reach underserved markets and quickly qualify more borrowers. "

Payment Insights is available now and joins a powerful suite of consumer-permissioned alternative data offerings, including Cashflow Insights , a solution designed to expand access to credit with bank transaction data. Equifax advanced analytic capabilities and differentiated data assets also include The Work Number database, The Kount Identity Trust Global Network, The Equifax Commercial Financial Network (CFN), DataX, the IXI Network, PayNet and Ansonia Credit Data. For more information, please visit: equifax.com .

ABOUT EQUIFAX INC.

At Equifax (NYSE: EFX), we believe knowledge drives progress. As a global data, analytics, and technology company, we play an essential role in the global economy by helping financial institutions, companies, employees, and government agencies make critical decisions with greater confidence. Our unique blend of differentiated data, analytics, and cloud technology drives insights to power decisions to move people forward. Headquartered in Atlanta and supported by more than 11,000 employees worldwide, Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit Equifax.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Kate Walker for Equifax USIS

[email protected]

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

Related Links

http://www.equifax.com


NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Effective May 3, 2021, Mike McKenna formerly of The Hartford, will join Falvey Insurance Group as Chief Underwriting Officer and will oversee the underwriting for all the Group companies: Falvey Cargo Underwriting, Falvey Shippers Insurance and Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance. Prior to joining Falvey, McKenna oversaw underwriting at The Hartford Global Specialty (formerly Navigators Management Company, Inc.) for 11 years.

As Falvey plans for the future, the Chief Underwriting role is essential. The underwriting philosophy and appetite will remain the same, however this role will allow for a dedicated focus on the efficiency and quality of underwriting, and exploration of new opportunities that fit Falvey's operational capabilities and address the needs of the market.

When choosing a CUO, Mike Falvey, President & CEO of Falvey Insurance Group explains McKenna was the obvious choice, "As I considered appointing a Chief Underwriting Officer to our executive team, there was really only one person who came to mind; and that was Mike. His experience in reinsurance, program structuring, and managing complex books is a perfect fit to support Falvey's growth, which we expect to continue in the coming years. Mike not only has the utmost respect from the industry, but our employees as well. They are all familiar with his expertise in the marine and broader Property & Casualty marketplace.

I want to ensure we have the right staff, the right mindset, and a solid foundation for growth. Our Mission has always been to make a profit for our underwriters and by investing in Mike, we feel confidently we will continue to do so."

Mike McKenna comments, "I'm extremely excited to be joining the Falvey Insurance Group. The organization is full of talented underwriters who are complemented by a world class executive team. I am looking forward to bringing my career experiences to assist in helping this organization achieve their overall strategic objectives including profitability, growing the existing portfolio, and diversifying the specialty products available to our distribution partners."

McKenna will join the existing executive team at Falvey: Jack Falvey, Chief Operating Officer, Daryl McKay, Chief Relationship Officer, Mike Edwards, Chief Financial Officer, and Mike Falvey, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Group.

McKenna will be based in New Jersey, and joins 28 new hires who were added to Falvey's staff since January 2020  including underwriters Kathleen Creedon also formerly of The Hartford, Will Frohne and Yasu Saegusa formerly of Brit US, and Danielle Jackson formerly of Intact Insurance Company in Canada. Graeme Schultz and Jason Gomez formerly of Swiss Re also joined Falvey in late 2019.

About Falvey Insurance Group

Falvey Insurance Group began as a single division, Falvey Cargo Underwriting, opening its first office in 1995 in Wakefield, RI by the company's founder: Mike Falvey. After 25 years, the company has evolved into Falvey Insurance Group, comprised of three divisions: Falvey Cargo Underwriting, Falvey Shippers Insurance and Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance. "The Specialized Insurance Experts" underwrite on behalf of Lloyd's of London, C.V. Starr, Nationwide, Beazley Insurance Company, Hiscox, Ascot Group and State National. The flexibility, World-Class customer service, claims processing excellence, and comprehensive knowledge and expertise that Falvey companies are known for is unparalleled in the insurance industry. Falvey was also named Insurance Insider's MGA of the Year in 2020.

www.falveyinsurancegroup.com

Media Contact:

Megan Bell

(401) 214-5600

[email protected]

SOURCE Falvey Insurance Group

Related Links

http://www.falveyinsurancegroup.com


[April 13, 2021] Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Slams Lack of Transparency and Clear Conflicts of Interest in Recent Chancery Court Nominations

Yet again, Governor John Carney disregarded pleas for racial diversity in the Chancery Court through the recent nomination of former Skadden Arps lawyer Lori Will to join the Court as a Vice Chancellor, replacing outgoing Chancellor Andre Bouchard, while picking current Vice Chancellor Kathleen McCormick to rise to Chancellor. On April 9, 2021, Governor John Carney nominated Lori Will, a white woman, to replace the open seat left by Chancellor Andre Bouchard. Despite pastors and community leaders calling for a Black justice on the court, Governor Carney once again nominated an elite white lawyer to a court whose decisions affect thousands of Black workers. Lori Will's background includes a stint as a litigation associate at Skadden Arps, a firm which has charged tens of millions of dollars in egregious, non-itemized bills to TransPerfect despite the unprecedented forced TransPerfect sale being finalized years ago. Will also clerked for then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine Jr., who upheld contentious decisions in the case. In the same slate of nominations, Carney nominated current Vice Chancellor Kathleen McCormick, former Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP partner, to become the new Chancellor of the Court of Chancery. This comes despite the fact that Vice Chancellor McCormick's former firm, Young Conaway, represented H.I.G. capital, the financial backer of Lionsgate, which hoped to acquire TransPerfect during the public auctio forced by the Chancery in 2016. Given ongoing litigation involving TransPerfect in the Chancery Court, this presents a clear conflict of interest for McCormick, who will be charged with overseeing the TransPerfect case.



The nomination process lacked even basic oversight and transparency measures such as a public judicial nominating commission or public list of final candidates. In the face of such a rigged process and yet another failure of diversity, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is calling on the Delaware Senate to specifically question how Will plans to deliver justice to Delaware's communities of color, who comprise nearly 40% of the state's population. Said Chris Coffey, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager, "This is another embarrassing example of Delaware's Black community being left in the lurch by Governor Carney in a decision that affects thousands of Delawareans of color across the state. Rather than listening to community leaders, Carney continues to perpetuate the 'old boys' club' in Delaware which leads to lawyers from the same firms and elite circles being selected for prestigious positions over and over again, despite the numerous Black candidates qualified for such positions.

"Unfortunately, Governor Carney has proven his fealty to the status quo even when it contradicts racial justice and transparency. By choosing a former Skadden lawyer, Carney is offering his approval to a firm mired in conflicts of interest that has clearly over-billed TransPerfect to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. And promoting Vice Chancellor McCormick to Chancellor after her former firm worked with H.I.G. capital in hopes of having Lionsgate purchase TransPerfect during the company's unprecedented forced sale reeks of the same conflict we saw with Bouchard and his former Skadden colleagues. It is shameful that this closed-door process has led to such a disastrous outcome for Delaware's Black community and all Delawareans who support transparency, racial justice, and good government. We hope the Delaware Senate does the right thing and demands real, substantive answers from Lori Will and Kathleen McCormick on how they plan to help Black Delawareans." Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives, and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005953/en/

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ALBANY  New York will follow recommendations from federal health agencies to pause the use of Johnson & Johnson's coronavirus vaccine while reports of an extremely rare blood clotting disorder in six vaccine recipients are investigated.

State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said on Tuesday the pause would occur immediately statewide, and all appointments at state-run mass vaccination sites that use the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be honored with the two-dose Pfizer vaccine.

The directive comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration issued the recommendation early Tuesday morning. While the clotting disorder has not been directly linked to the vaccine, it occurred within two weeks of the six recipients getting the shot and mirror a rare side effect seen from the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet authorized in the U.S. but relies on the same technology to stimulate an immune response.

The six cases are out of 7 million Johnson & Johnson shots administered in the U.S. to date. A majority of the nearly 190 million vaccinations given in the U.S. so far have come from Pfizer and Moderna.

"As the CDC and FDA have said, any adverse events related to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine 'appear to be extremely rare' and, 'People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider,'" a statement from Zucker said.

"I am in constant contact with the federal government and we will update New Yorkers as more information becomes available," he said.

State-run sites that were administering Johnson & Johnson shots include Queensbury's Aviation Mall, State Fair Expo Center in Syracuse and the Javits Center in Manhattan.

The abrupt announcement caught many vaccine providers off guard Tuesday and prompted a scramble to reallocate Pfizer and Moderna shots to sites reliant only on Johnson & Johnson. Some clinics have been canceled or postponed this week as a result.

The Capital Region Vaccine Network said clinics that were offering Johnson & Johnson would switch to Moderna or Pfizer vaccines if they had them.

The State University of New York system, which launched a program last week to vaccinate students before they head home for summer break, said it would also be pausing administration of the Johnson & Johnson shot.

"We are working with New York state to locate and receive alternative COVID-19 vaccines for our students," SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras said. "We urge all students with appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to contact their campus or vaccination site because alternatives have already been found in some instances."

Indeed, the University at Albany urged students, faculty and staff who had appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the SEFCU Arena on Tuesday not to cancel them. The university said Pfizer vaccines would be given in their place, and asked anyone who had made an appointment to monitor their email for more details.

"Out of an abundance of caution for our students, faculty and staff, we have alternatively secured the Pfizer vaccine for today's POD," the university said in a tweet.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy confirmed that the county was reallocating some of its own Pfizer doses toward the clinic scheduled for Tuesday, which was expected to serve over 1,000 students from UAlbany, the College of Saint Rose and Russell Sage. Students were encouraged to keep their appointments, but to arrive 15 minutes later than previously scheduled, he said. Second doses will be given May 4.

UAlbany has been a strong partner throughout the pandemic and its critical that we continue to vaccinate this age group that is far more likely to contract the virus and spread it, McCoy said.

Warren County announced that a clinic planned for Friday in Queensbury has been postponed, and those who planned to attend can instead sign up for a Moderna clinic in Queensbury on Wednesday.

Major retail pharmacies and a number of small neighborhood pharmacies announced they would be canceling or postponing appointments in response to the news.

Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens said they would pause Johnson & Johnson shots and send out links to people who had signed up with information on how to get a Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Lincoln Pharmacy in Albany said it would be canceling all appointments for the Johnson & Johnson shot this week but noted it has doses of the other vaccines available. Kelly's Pharmacy in Greenville and Coxsackie announced it was canceling all vaccine appointments for the remainder of the week as it had only had access to Johnson & Johnson.

"At this time, Kellys pharmacy does not have other COVID-19 vaccines available," a statement on the pharmacy's website read. "We do not know when more will be available."

Hudson Headwaters, which has been vaccinating people in the North Country and Glens Falls area, said it was working to get Pfizer and Moderna replacements for the Johnson & Johnson doses it had intended to give out.

The one-dose vaccine has been particularly attractive to providers trying to reach transient and mobile populations, such as college students, homeless individuals and the homebound.
Threat of militant attack on police-Police deployed installing light machine gun posts in Dhaka Image Source: IANS News

Threat of militant attack on police-Police deployed installing light machine gun posts in Dhaka Image Source: IANS News

Threat of militant attack on police-Police deployed installing light machine gun posts in Dhaka Image Source: IANS News

Threat of militant attack on police-Police deployed installing light machine gun posts in Dhaka Image Source: IANS News

Dhaka, April 13 : Additional police have been deployed, while light machine gun posts were also installed following an order by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) following a militant attack threat, a top official said on Tuesday.

Harun-Ur-Rashid, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dhaka's Tejgaon Zone, told IANS that any attack either carried out by the Hefazat-e-Islami militant outfit or other extreme communal forces on the country's police will not be spared.

He said that special security measures were put in place at police stations in Dhaka on Monday.

Also on Monday, a number of Hefazat leaders and activists were arrested as a precautionary measure against the threat, Rashid added.

Meanwhile, the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) on Monday submitted its investigation report in the case filed over the death of Hefazat's former chief (amir) Shah Ahmad Shafi, accusing 43 members of the militant outfit, including the organisation's incumbent chief (amir) Junaid Babunagari.

Last week, additional security measures were taken at police outposts and stations in Sylhet.

The militant outfit carried out unprecedented violence across the country late last month against the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Dhaka.

On Sunday night, three militants accused of attacking the Aruail Police camp in Brahmanbaria's Sarail upazil on March 27, were arrested.

Brahmanbaria Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (Sarail Circle) Anisur Rahman confirmed that the three militants were involved in a procession and subsequent violence in Brahmanbaria's Sarail upazila where 25 policemen, including Sarail Police Inspector and some members of Armed Police Battalion (APBn), were injured in the attack.

Rahman said that an operation is underway to arrest others involved in the incident.

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Sunday night also arrested Azizul Haque Islamabadi, central organising secretary of Hefazat.

Haque was arrested from Chattogram's Hathazari area in connection with his involvement in Hefazat's nationwide clashes, Joint Commissioner of Detective Branch of police, Mahbubur Rahman told IANS on Tuesday.
The richest one per cent of the world's population produces double the carbon emission of the poorest 50 per cent combined, according to the UN.

And the so-called 'polluter elite' of the wealthiest 5 per cent have contributed to 37 per cent of the growth in emissions from 19902015, experts have calculated.

This disparity in pollution is highlighted by a recent report from the UK-based Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Scaling Behaviour Change.

The document was compiled by 31 environmental impact experts tasked with exploring ways to best scale up actions to tackle carbon emissions.

Actions suggested by the panel include deterring people from frequent flying and driving SUVs  as well as convincing the wealthy to better insulate their homes.

To this end, the report has urged the UK Government to reinstate air passenger duty on UK return flights and the recently-scrapped Green Homes Grant scheme.

The report adds to the on-going debate about 'equality' in tackling climate change.

Poorer nations with smaller emissions budgets  such have India  have long argued that they should be allowed to pollute more on the scale of wealthier nations.

The richest one per cent of the population produces twice the carbon emission of the poorest 50 per cent , according to the UN. A new report wants to tackle frequent fliers, pictured

Critics of the report's findings have suggested that emissions would be better cut by means of technological advances  not unpopular restrictions.

'Its right to emphasise the importance of fairness in delivering [emissions cuts]', Conservative Environment Network director Sam Hall told BBC News.

'Policy could make it easier for people and businesses to go green  through incentives, targeted regulation and nudges.'

'But encouraging clean technologies is likely to be more effective, and more likely to enjoy public consent, than hefty penalties or lifestyle restrictions.'

'We are totally in favour of technology improvements and more efficient products but its clear that more drastic action is needed because emissions keep going up,' report lead author Peter Newell told BBC News.

'We have got to cut over-consumption and the best place to start is over-consumption among the polluting elites who contribute by far more than their share of carbon emissions,' the University of Sussex international relations expert added.

'These are people who fly most, drive the biggest cars most and live in the biggest homes which they can easily afford to heat, so they tend not to worry if theyre well insulated or not.'

'Theyre also the sort of people who could really afford good insulation and solar panels if they wanted to.'

Actions suggested by the panel include deterring people from frequent flying and driving SUVs (as pictured)  as well as convincing the wealthy to better insulate their homes

To effectively combat climate change, Professor Newell said, people need to feel that they are part of a collective effort  meaning that the rich and super-rich need to consume less in order to set an example to those who are less well-off.

'Rich people who fly a lot may think they can offset their emissions by tree-planting schemes or projects to capture carbon from the air,' Professor Newell told the BBC.

'But these schemes are highly contentious and theyre not proven over time.'

According to Professor Newell, wealthy individuals and firms are presently well-placed to lobby against any action to combat climate change that might impinge on the lifestyles of the rich.

However, he added, the wealthy, he added, 'simply must fly less and drive less.'

'Even if they own an electric SUV thats still a drain on the energy system and all the emissions created making the vehicle in the first place.'

The full report was published on the Rapid Transition Alliance website.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, discussed by phone the situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Russian-US relations, the office of the Finnish president said on Tuesday

HELSINKI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2021) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, discussed by phone the situation on the border between Russia and Ukraine, as well as Russian-US relations, the office of the Finnish president said on Tuesday.

"The Presidents spoke about the tense situation on the Crimean peninsula and at the border between Russia and Ukraine. President Niinisto expressed his serious concern over an escalation of the situation due to the troop movements and raised the need for dialogue and actions to reduce tensions," the statement says.

Putin told his Finnish colleague about his conversation with US President Joe Biden, as well as about the planned meeting of the two leaders, it said.

"President Niinisto informed of his initiative to strengthen the 50-year-old Helsinki Spirit in 2025, and it was discussed in a positive tone," the Finnish president's office said.

It added that prison conditions of Alexey Navalny had also been discussed as well.
(CNN)  The world has joined Queen Elizabeth II in sorrow over the loss Friday of her husband of seven decades, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, just two months shy of his 100th birthday.

The duo was a loving and close-knit couple. The Queen told guests at a luncheon on their 50th wedding anniversary that Phillip had "quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years."

With the loss of what the Queen called her husband's "constant love and help," attention has now turned to the Queen's well-being. The death of a loved one is a blow at any time, but losing a spouse after many years of togetherness can be especially difficult.

Studies have shown that surviving spouses can suffer from sleep disruption, depressive episodes, anxiety, impaired immune function, and overall poorer physical health.

For those concerned about the Queen in her time of great personal loss, many may be wondering if there is medical evidence of grief impacting one's health.

Broken heart syndrome is real

Known as stress-induced cardiomyopathy, "broken heart" syndrome is a documented medical condition.

Broken heart syndrome occurs when the heart is stunned by sudden, acute stress and its left ventricle weakens. Instead of contracting into its normal arrowlike shape, the left ventricle fails to function, creating a more rounded, potlike shape.

First described in 1990 in Japan, a broken heart looks so much like a Japanese octopus trap called a takotsubo that doctors began calling the condition Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.

"The heart actually changes shape in response to acute emotional disruption, such as after the breakup of a romantic relationship or the death of a loved one," New York cardiologist and author Dr. Sandeep Jauhar told CNN in a prior interview.

In most cases, however, when the acute emotional stress dissipates, the heart recovers and goes back to its normal shape, Jauhar said.

"But I've had patients who have developed acute congestive heart failure, life-threatening arrhythmias, even death from this condition," Jauhar said. "I think it's the clearest example of how our emotional lives directly affect our hearts."

The syndrome is most commonly experienced by women (90% of cases are in women), by people with a history of neurological problems, such as seizures, and by people with a history of mental health problems.

'Widowhood effect'

There is another medical reality that can occur when a long relationship ends, studies have shown.

"The increased likelihood for a recently widowed person to die -- often called the "widowhood effect" -- is one of the best documented examples of the effect of social relations on health," wrote Dr. Nicholas Christakis, who runs the Human Nature Lab at Yale University and coauthor Felix Elwert, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in a seminal 2008 study.

The risk of an elderly man or woman dying from any cause increases between 30% and 90% in the first three months after a spouse's death, then drops to about 15% in the months that follow. The widowhood effect has been documented in all ages and races around the world.

Christakis and Elwert followed a representative sample of 373,189 older married couples in the United States from 1993 to 2002 and found that "widowhood does not raise the risk of all causes of death uniformly."

When a partner died a sudden death, from say an accident or infection, the risk of death by the surviving spouse rose, the study found. The same was true for chronic diseases such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung or colon cancer that required careful patient management to treat or prevent.

However, if a spouse died from Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, there was no impact on the surviving partner's health -- possibly because the spouse had adequate time to prepare for the loss of their partner.

Regardless, "the death of a spouse, for whatever reason, is a significant threat to health and poses a substantial risk of death by whatever cause," Christakis and Elwert wrote.

What can be done

Support is key to how well someone may cope with the death of a spouse. Many people find that grief counseling can help, according to the US National Institute on Aging.

In the United Kingdom, people can obtain psychological therapy without a referral from a general practitioner. The UK's National Health Service suggests reaching out if you have had a low mood for more than two weeks or the methods you're trying yourself are not helping.

The AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) also has these suggestions for survivors.

Don't put on a brave front: Surround yourself with people for whom you don't have to pretend to be OK. "Grieving is an act of great courage and strength; it is not for the weak," the AARP said.

Be kind to yourself: Try to get enough rest. "The more significant the loss, the more profound it is and the longer the recovery process," the AARP said.

Expect a range of emotions, not just grief: According to the AARP, "your feelings may run the gamut from sad to mad to despair to occasional glimpses of happiness  and back again. If you are able to feel only sad, you will get stuck in perpetual despair."

Don't hide from people: "Grief is a lonely enough process without also isolating yourself," the AARP said. Try your best to connect to friends and family and let them help. "When caregivers embrace the idea that seeing friends makes them hardier, then they no longer suffer guilt over having fun," the association said.

This story was first published on CNN.com Losing a long-term spouse can be deadly, studies show
Chinese embassy in Sweden hits back as politicians demand ambassador be sent home

Global Times) 09:55, April 13, 2021

The Chinese embassy in Sweden on Sunday hit back at Swedish politicians from the countrys opposition parties after they demanded that China's ambassador be sent home for threatening a Swedish journalist for "writing critical reports about Beijing".

In the eyes of a few Swedish politicians, the so-called freedom of speech means that only they have the freedom to lie about, discredit and attack China, while we Chinese have no room for correction or telling the truth, a spokesperson from the embassy fired back at the smearing remarks on Sunday, according to the latest statement on the embassys official website.

This is far from freedom of speech; this is their dictatorship of speech! read the statement.

It came following the latest claims by politicians from two Swedish opposition parties, the Christian Democrats and the Sweden Democrats, who asked the Chinese ambassador Gui Congyou to be sent home after threats against Jojje Olsson, a freelance journalist with his latest articles on Chinas actions against H&M.

The Swedish journalist wrote in late March on the local media, Expressen, that the boycott of H&M over the brands refusal to use Xinjiang cotton is part of a political game, which is beginning to degenerate into a new Cold War. Adding to such rhetoric, Olsson blasted the Chinese government, accusing it of setting up concentration camps and engaging in human rights violations in the region.

China respects others as long as they respect China in return, the statement noted, while reminding that When smashing mud onto others, ones hand would get dirty first.

The embassy stressed that China maintains an open attitude to dialogue with Swedish people who have different views and opinions, and believes that consensus and cooperation between the two countries greatly outweigh disputes and differences.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
Radio presenter Ash London has announced she is expecting her first child, a son.

The 32-year-old, who hosts Ash London LIVE on the Hit Network, revealed the happy news via Instagram on Monday.

She shared a photos of herself displaying her bump alongside her husband Adrian Brine and their pet dog Honey, by The First Hello.

Baby joy! Radio presenter Ash London has announced she is pregnant with her first child, three years after marrying her husband Adrian Brine on Monday. She shared a photo of herself displaying her bump alongside her husband and their pet dog Honey

She drew a smiling face on her burgeoning bump while lifting up her shirt.

The mother-to-be proudly wrote in the caption: 'And then we were four!

'I always dreamed of being a mama... and this October our little man will bring that dream to life.

'Life is pure and utter magic. We are overjoyed and so grateful. Here's to another of life's most wonderful adventures.'

Exciting news: The mother-to-be wrote on Instagram, 'I always dreamed of being a mama... and this October our little man will bring that dream to life. Life is pure and utter magic. We are overjoyed and so grateful. Here's to another of life's most wonderful adventures'

Parents-to-be: Ash is pictured with her husband Adrian Brine, whom she married in 2018

Ash later shared a heartfelt 'thank you' message with her followers on Instagram Stories, after being inundated with well-wishes.

'Hundreds and hundreds of beautiful lovely messages. Thank you so so much,' she wrote.

'It doesn't escape me how lucky we are to be in this position. I have never felt so grateful in my entire life. And so in awe of women.'

'I have never felt so grateful in my entire life': Ash later shared a heartfelt 'thank you' message with her followers on Instagram Stories, after being inundated with well-wishes

She added: 'For all those who are hoping for something in life - whether it's a baby or something else - I am sending all my hope your way and looking forward to your time of celebration!'

Ash married Adrian in 2018 at a gorgeous outdoor ceremony in Melbourne, Victoria, in front of 250 guests.

Their nuptials featured teepee-style marquee tents and a long, red Persian rug as the wedding aisle.

Loved up: Ash married Adrian three years ago at a gorgeous outdoor ceremony in Melbourne, Victoria, in front of 250 guests

Ash had announced her engagement to Adrian in late 2017.

She tweeted a photo of herself kissing her partner and showing off her dazzling engagement ring.

'Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Loving this man is my greatest joy and now I get to do it forever,' she wrote at the time.
Ray Lambert, a much-decorated former Army medic who survived multiple wounds on D-Day in aiding his comrades and was saluted in Normandy on the 75th anniversary of that most pivotal battle of World War II, died on Friday at his home in Seven Lakes, N.C. He was 100.

His neighbor and friend Dr. Darrell Simpkins confirmed the death. Dr. Simpkins had accompanied Mr. Lambert to the anniversary ceremony in June 2019 in France, where President Donald J. Trump paid tribute to him.

A native of Alabama, Staff Sgt. Lambert was leading a unit of medics with the Second Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, part of the Armys First Division. He had taken part in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and had already earned three Purple Hearts and two Silver Stars before his war came to an end on the morning of June 6, 1944, on Omaha Beach.

He was in the first wave of Allied forces as they crossed the English Channel and stormed German defenses strung along the coast of northern France, beginning the long offensive that would culminate in Germanys defeat. His brother Bill, also a medic, was with him.
Strict production discipline by OPEC and its partners is the #1 reason why oil prices have managed to stage a remarkable recovery and stay relatively high after plunging to historical lows in 2020. Early this month, oil prices reacted positively after OPEC and its non-OPEC partners, aka OPEC+, reached a favorable agreement to start gradually curbing production cuts beginning in May.

Oil Price reports that starting next month, OPEC+ will allow an additional 350,000 barrels per day to join the markets, with another 350,000 coming in June and June and 450,000 barrels per day slated for July. Currently, OPEC is holding back just over 7 million barrels per day, with Saudi Arabia voluntarily cutting an additional 1 million barrels per day. Indeed, the OPEC kingpin has since taken on voluntary cuts of 1 million barrels per day from the beginning of February.

That marks a sharp turnaround from the Kingdoms stance just a year ago when Riyadh and Moscow failed to agree to deep supply cutbacks in a bid to cope with falling oil demand leading to a supply glut and oil prices descending into negative territory for the first time in history. And it certainly appears like overkill bearing in mind that Saudi Arabia has some of the lowest production costs anywhere in the world. However, Saudi Arabia could be eyeing an even bigger prize with its generous cuts.

Diversifying the economy

Whereas Saudi Arabia, the regions largest economy of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) boasts the largest economy and the lowest production costs of any Arab nation, the harsh reality is that the country needs significantly higher oil prices than the current WTI price of $59.50 per barrel to balance its books. Indeed, Saudi Arabias fiscal breakeven price of $76.10 per barrel means that it remains heavily in the red, with only Qatar being able to record a surplus thanks to its low breakeven point of $39.90 per barrel.

Budget deficit

Saudi Arabia desperately needs higher oil prices not only to balance its books but also to lower its dependence on crude. That goal is even more critical now that Saudi Arabia is pushing a 7.2 trillion-dollar plan to diversify its economy, essentially requiring state companies to cut dividends they pay the government in order to boost spending.

For a company like Saudi Aramco--whose $75 billion dividends last year were the highest for state revenues--any reduction in dividends would need to be compensated by higher oil prices to boost transfers to the sovereign through taxes and royalties instead.

Saudi Arabia has a target to boost domestic spending to 27 trillion riyals ($7.2 trillion) by 2030 as the worlds biggest oil exporter seeks to tame a huge deficit caused by lower oil revenues and weak demand due to the pandemic.

To achieve its goal, Saudi Arabia needs to curb supply over the coming years in a bid to boost oil prices. The fiscal benefits of higher oil prices can easily outweigh the impact of lower oil production on the economy.

Whereas Saudi companies participating in the new programme have the liberty to decide how to fund their investments, the most likely avenues are dividends, soft loans, debt, and other financial instruments. Further, Saudi Arabia desperately needs to boost investments coming into the country (FDI) by nearly 100x, from $5.5 billion last year to FDI flows of over $500 billion over the next decade.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent sits in a vehicle along a border wall near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Ysidro Port of Entry at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego, Calif., on Feb. 19, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Border Agents Arrest Convicted Sex Offenders and MS-13 Gang Member In Rio Grande Valley

While intercepting illegal border crossers, Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley recently arrested three convicted sex offenders and a gang member, the agency said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in an April 12 statement that, within a period of 72 hours last week, agents carrying out enforcement duties along the border arrested an MS-13 gang member and three sexual predators, including one who had been convicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14.

On Friday morning, Border Patrol agents arrested a man from El Salvador near Brownsville, Texas, later identified as Nelson Guzman-Gomez. A record check revealed a conviction in Harris County, Texas, for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years old, a crime for which he had been sentenced to five years in prison.

Later that same day, agents apprehended a group of 14 illegal immigrants near Hidalgo, Texas. One of the individuals in the group, a man from Honduras, had a prior arrest in New York in 2018, on charges of criminal sexual conduct, for which he received a sentence of 15 months behind bars. CBP noted that traveling with group was an unaccompanied child.

On Saturday, agents encountered an individual trying to circumvent the checkpoint on a ranch near Falfurrias, Texas, and took him into custody. Records later revealed the individual had been arrested for aggravated sexual assault in New Jersey, for which he received a sentence of nine years in jail.

Agents also encountered an individual from El Salvador along the border, with records showing he is a member of the MS-13 gang.

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.

Border encountersa widely used but imperfect gauge that tells how many times U.S. authorities came across people crossing the border into the United States illegallyhave soared during President Joe Bidens first months in office. Encounters totaled more than 172,000 in March, up from about 100,000 the previous month and the highest since March 2001.

In another alarming statistic, nearly 19,000 children traveling alone were stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, smashing previous highs set during periods of heavy child migration in 2014 and 2019.

Encounters dont tell the full story, however, as they dont reflect the number of people who manage to cross the border without getting caught. A Customs and Border Protection official said on April 5 that well over 100,000 illegal border crossers have evaded capture by Border Patrol agents this year, adding to the alarm already raised around the growing number of monthly apprehensions.

Deputy Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told Fox News Channels Americas Newsroom that the agency has resources at its disposal allowing estimates of how many people are actually getting away from us, adding that so far in 2021, this figure stands at way over 100,000 people.

Separately, Ortiz earlier estimated that more than a million illegal immigrants would arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021.

Were already starting to see some higher days of 6,000-plus apprehensions, Ortiz told reporters on March 30. So I fully expect our Border Patrol agents to encounter over a million people this year.

While the Biden administration has said the border isnt open, Biden reversed or altered a number of key Trump era provisions, which contributed to the surge, experts have told The Epoch Times.

In dozens of interviews with The Associated Press over the past two weeks, migrants generally said circumstances in Central America drove them to leave their homes and set out for the United States. When asked about Biden, nearly all said his relatively pro-immigration positions influenced their thinking.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Julio Cortez, Staff / Houston Chronicle

An investigator for the Waller County district attorneys office was charged in federal court with attempting to possess with the intent to distribute heroin and with attempting to launder drug proceeds, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Authorities arrested Mohamed Ahmed Kassem, 46, of Houston, on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Texas. Kassem is expected to make his initial court appearance on Wednesday afternoon.
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Dozens of migrants arrived at Dover today after being brought to shore by Border Force officials as they crossed the English Channel in small boats - with the total number so far this year now closing in on 1,500.

Some 42 people, including five in a small dinghy, another 18 in a larger craft and a further set of 19 in a third boat, crossed the Channel in calm conditions overnight and were wearing face masks as they were brought ashore.

The first and second group, who all appeared to be young men and were all wearing orange lifejackets, walked onto the marina at the port town in Kent with one wearing flip flops as they were accompanied by officials.

The third group of arrivals at Dover today included a young girl wearing a blanket and a bobble hat along with a woman being pushed in a wheelchair.

Today's arrivals mean 1,483 migrants have now crossed the Channel so far in 2021 in small boats - including 223 in 15 boats in January, 308 in 18 boats in February, 831 in 42 boats in March and 121 in six boats so far this month.

It comes after five migrants arrived in Dover on Saturday, a day after 44 others made the journey. Authorities in France intercepted at least 49 who attempted to cross last Friday, and then another 98 on six boats on Saturday.

A group of migrants are brought ashore at Dover Marina in Kent this morning after crossing the English Channel

Migrants sit on a Border Force vessel this morning after crossing the English Channel in calm conditions overnight

One man is seen wearing flip flops as he walks onto Dover Marina in Kent this morning after crossing the English Channel

A migrant sits in a Border Force boat this morning after crossing the Channel in a small boat during the calm conditions

The number of migrants who have reached the UK by illegally crossing the Channel has risen 192 per cent year-on-year

Some 1,362 people made the perilous journey from France between January 1 and the end of March, before today's arrivals

Migrants are taken ashore by Border Force officials this morning as they arrive at Dover Marina in Kent

The group, who all appeared to be young men and were all wearing orange lifejackets, walked onto the marina in Kent today

The larger of the two vessels which an 18-strong group of the 23 migrants crossed the Channel in overnight

The smaller of the two dinghies which was carrying five migrants across the Channel is pictured this morning

The number of migrants who have reached the UK by illegally crossing the Channel has risen 192 per cent year-on-year

The number of migrants who have reached the UK by illegally crossing the Channel has risen 192 per cent year-on-year, with 1,362 people making the perilous journey from France between January 1 and the end of March.

This is compared with just 466 over the same period last year. If the increase is replicated across the whole year, almost 25,000 would traverse the Channel in small boats  smashing last years record of 8,410.

The total number for March was 831  more than four times the 187 seen in the same month last year. Home Secretary Priti Patel has unveiled a series of reforms to stop smuggling gangs sending migrants across the water.

Overall numbers of asylum seekers making new claims in the UK fell to 29,456 last year, excluding dependants, down 18 per cent on the previous year.

The group of migrants are led ashore by Border Force officials this morning after crossing the English Channel

Migrants sit on board the Border Force vessel after crossing the England Channel in two small boats overnight

A group of migrants are brought ashore to Dover by Border Force officers today after crossing the Channel in a small boat

The migrants are brought into Dover this morning by Border Force officers after crossing the Channel in a small boat

One of the migrants is watched as they are brought ashore in Dover this morning following a Channel crossing

One of the migrants is supervised as they are brought onto dry land at Dover this morning after crossing the Channel

A migrant arrives at Dover this morning after being brought to shore in Kent by Border Force officers

The migrants are brought into Dover this morning by Border Force officers after crossing the Channel in a small boat

Migrants arrive at Dover this morning as they are brought to shore by Border Force officers after crossing the Channel

Items left on board the dinghy this morning which some of the migrants used to cross the English Channel overnight

But a greater proportion of the claims are now being made by migrants who arrived by the Channel route. Others come here clandestinely in lorries, for example, or through official Home Office schemes.

Last month Miss Patel announced that border guards patrolling the Channel will be given powers to turn back migrant boats. The crackdown will be dependent on France and other countries accepting the return of migrants.

The planned shake-up includes other controversial steps such as stripping failed asylum seekers of support and accommodation.

A third group of migrants arrive at Dover today as 19 people are brought ashore by Border Force officials

A woman is pushed in a wheelchair after arriving at Dover Marina in Kent today following a Channel crossing

A young girl wearing a hat and covered in a blanket is escorted to shore after arriving at Dover in Kent today

A young girl is helped ashore at Dover today after making a crossing over the English Channel

The third group of migrants to arrive at Dover today are helped ashore by Border Force officials

One of the migrants in the third group of arrivals at Dover today who made the crossing over the English Channel

Foreign nationals could also be refused UK visas if their governments do not accept deportations of their own immigration rule-breakers from Britain.

France struck a deal with the UK in November to tackle illegal Channel crossings but has so far resisted the idea of having dinghies sent back to its northern beaches.

The Governments new plan for immigration, published in full on March 24, revealed the bill for the asylum system is set to rise to more than 1.3billion this year, from just under 1billion in 2019-20.
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Digital Battlefield Market by Solution (Hardware, Software, Service) Platform (Airborne, Naval, Land, Space), Application, Technology (Artificial Intelligence, IOT, Big Data, 5G, Cloud Computing and Master Data Management), Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated at USD 32.9 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 68.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 15.9% from 2020 to 2025. Demand among defense forces remains high due to military upgrades as well as new procurement programs, particularly in developed and developing economies such as the US, India, and China, among others. Some of the major factors driving this market include increasing inclination towards cloud services in military & defense, rising modernization and investments in the defense sector for developing military equipment and foreign intelligence platforms, high demand for devices supporting 5G technology for high-speed data transfer, and rapid advancement in artificial intelligence, Big Data analytics and robotics technologies.

Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=73234342

Next generation digital battlefield products are among the vital requirements of defense and intelligence agencies across countries. Hence, military and intelligence agencies are the key end users, showcasing more demand for such equipment. Some industry experts have noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has not majorly affected the demand for digital battlefield products. Companies such as Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), and General Dynamics Corporation (US) received contracts for the supply of digital battlefield products to the defense forces of various countries in 2020, showcasing continuous demand during the COVID-19 crisis. Below are some important developments that showcase the increase in demand for digital battlefield in the defense sector during the COVID-19 crisis in the North American region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant damage to the economic activities of countries across the world. The manufacture of digital battlefield products including systems, subsystems, and components has also been impacted. Although next generation digital battlefield products for defense applications are of prime importance, disruptions in the supply chain have halted their manufacturing processes for the time being. Resuming manufacturing activities depends on the level of COVID-19 exposure, the level at which manufacturing operations are running, and import-export regulations, among other factors.

Some important developments below showcase the increase in demand for digital battlefield in the defense sector during the COVID-19 crisis in the European region. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected deliveries of major platforms in India, such as HAL's supply to the Indian Armed Forces of Tejas combat aircraft and Dhruv helicopters. The delivery schedules of other platforms are also likely to be pushed back, particularly if lockdowns are extended. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has extended procurement deadlines due to the COVID-19 outbreak that will in turn affect the growth of digital battlefield product which are required in such aircrafts and helicopters.

Rising modernization of military equipment to strengthen defense forces is driving the growth of the digital battlefield products in defense applications

The rising focus of defense forces across the globe on modernizing their military equipment including digital battlefield products will propel market growth. For instance, in 2020, according to International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), defense spending across the globe was estimated to be over USD 1,830 billion, an increase of 3.9% over 2019. This could be attributed to the growing conflicts between countries, leading to efforts to strengthen their defense forces. In recent years, over nine major international conflicts have taken place, including the Syrian Civil War, the Saudi Arabia-Yemen conflict, US-Iran tensions, and India-China tensions. Such conflicts can lead to high procurement of innovative AI-enabled battlefield products and the incorporation of advanced technologies into existing military systems to make them highly efficient and reliable.



Several governments are establishing special departments or agencies to integrate AI capabilities into the existing equipment and focus on developing new capabilities in the digital battlefield. Initiatives by such agencies, including the Strategic Council for AI Technologies (Japan), The National Science and Technology Council (US), and the AI Council (UK), will in turn support the growth of the digital battlefield market over the projected timeframe.

Based on platform, the space segment of the digital battlefield market is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

In terms of platform, the market is segregated into airborne, land, naval and space. Based on CAGR, the space segment is projected to witness highest CAGR from 2020 to 2025. Digital battlefield systems deployed in the space platform enable real-time mapping of objects across Earth and aid in satellite communication networks. This will substantially support the space segment growth. Based on platform, the airborne segment is projected to lead the digital battlefield market from 2020 to 2025. The growth in the airborne segment is attributed to the rising inclination of defense forces towards digital battlefield products & systems.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Digital Battlefield Market"

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New procurement sub segment of the digital battlefield market by installation is projected to witness the highest CAGR owing to increasing focus on defence equipment installation across the globe

Based on installation, the new procurement segment is projected to lead the digital battlefield market from 2020 to 2025. The growth in the new procurement segment is due to the rising installation of advanced defense systems and increasing procurement of next generation digital battlefield products for battle troops. The upgrades segment will register substantial growth owing to the increasing modification & modernization activities of old military electronic systems by defense forces to gain an edge over incoming threats and enemy attacks.

The North America market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2020 to 2025 in the digital battlefield market

North America is estimated to account for the largest share (41.5%) of the digital battlefield market in 2020. In the North America region, the US, with its strong defense and economic policies, is recognized as one of the key manufacturers, exporters, and users of next generation digital battlefield technologies. The new defense strategy of the US indicates an increase in military spending to include advanced capabilities in existing defense systems of the US Army to counter incoming threats. Key manufacturers and developers of AI systems in the US include Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), L3Harris Technologies, Inc (US), and Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US).

The digital battlefield market is dominated by a few globally established players such as BAE Systems (UK), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Raytheon Technologies Corporation (US), Lockheed Martin Corporation (US), and Thales Group (US), among others.

Related Reports:

Electronic Warfare Market by Capability (Support, Attack, Protection), Platform (Airborne, Naval, Ground, Space), Product (EW Equipment, EW Operational Support), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025

Command and Control Systems Market by Application (Government & Defense, and Commercial), Solution (Hardware, Software, Services), Platform (Land, Airborne, Maritime, and Space), Installation Type, Installation Base, and Region-Global Forecast to 2025

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The restrictions and partial lockdowns in several states and cities amid rising Covid-19 cases are likely to impact economic activities in the current quarter (April-June), according to a Goldman Sachs report.

It said that the containment restrictions are likely to be more targeted with impact on specific services such as food and beverages, leisure and recreation, and transport, but with limited spillovers into other sectors such as construction and manufacturing.

"While these restrictions are likely to hit activity in Q2, we think activity is likely to rebound sharply from Q3 onwards as containment policies normalise," it said.

"Consequently, our economists have revised down their overall CY21 real GDP growth forecast to 10.5 per cent (from 10.9 per cent previously) but remain above the consensus forecast of 9.4 per cent."

It also said that the domestic fiscal policy and government spending are likely to continue supporting growth in the coming months.

Globally, Goldman Sachs' economists remain optimistic about a rebound in the global economy and expect very strong GDP growth in 2021. A strong recovery in global growth provides a supportive backdrop for India's macro and cyclical recovery too, it said.

--IANS

rrb/sn/vd

(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 Birmingham man is behind bars following a deadly shooting in eastern Jefferson County.

Tarrell Reishon McCarter-Craig was booked into the Jefferson County Jail early Tuesday. He is charged with murder in the Monday afternoon slaying of 31-year-old Andre Lawrence.

The shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. in the 1100 block of Florentine Circle, which is Country Park Apartments. Jefferson County Sheriffs Deputies were dispatched to the complex in eastern Jefferson County to investigate reports of shots being fired.

Moments later, said sheriffs Sgt. Joni Money, deputies were alerted that the driver of a Cadillac sedan had flagged down Birmingham police on Wear Drive across the street from Huffman High School. The driver told authorities they had been the target of the shooting at Florentine Circle and a passenger - Lawrence - had been struck.

Andre Lawrence was fatally shot April 12, 2021, in eastern Jefferson County. (GoFundMe)

According to witnesses, Lawrence was at the apartment complex waiting for a ride when the suspect arrived at the location. The victim and the suspect were acquainted through their relationships with a female, who was also on the scene. When the suspect saw Lawrence, Money said, he pulled a gun and fired at the Cadillac as the victim and two other people tried to leave.

Lawrence was sitting in the back seat when he was shot. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Family members have started a GoFundMe to help with his burial expenses. Donations can be made here.

McCarter-Craig was booked into the jail at 12:01 a.m. and remains held on $50,000 bond.

Lawrences slaying is the 58th so far in 2021 in all of Jefferson County. As of April 12, 2020, there had been 48 homicides countywide.
Following the DCGI's (Drugs Controller General of India) approval of the emergency use authorisation of Russia's Sputnik V, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said that the coronavirus vaccine's roll out in small quantities will likely begin as early as May 2021.

Dmitriev added that production on a larger scale will start by July 2021 with plans to produce 500 million doses.

He further stated that Sputnik V is safer than Moderna and Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccines, adding that Mexican data has also shown "very less serious adverse events" for Russia's jab.

Regarding the pricing of Sputnik V, Dmitriev said, "we are in talks with the Indian government on the pricing of the vaccine for private and govt rollout - it will be more affordable than the existing vaccines of the world."

Also Read: DCGI approves emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V; 3rd vaccine to get nod in India

Meanwhile, the RDIF has said that India has become the 60th country to approve the use of Sputnik V against coronavirus and more than 850 million doses of the vaccine are going to be produced in the country annually.

The vaccine's approval by DCGI was based on results of clinical trials in Russia as well as positive data of additional Phase III local clinical trials in India conducted in partnership with Dr Reddy's Laboratories.

Sputnik V has been approved for use in countries with a total population of 3 billion people, or about 40 per cent of the global population, and India has become the 60th country to approve Sputnik V, RDIF, Russia's sovereign wealth fund, said in a statement.

India is the most populated country to register the vaccine and is also the leading production hub for Sputnik V, it added.

Dmitriev said the approval of the vaccine is a major milestone as both countries have been developing extensive cooperation on clinical trials of Sputnik V in India and its local production.

Also Read: India badly needs Sputnik V in fight against COVID-19

"The Russian vaccine has efficacy of 91.6 per cent and provides full protection against severe cases of COVID-19 as demonstrated by the data published in one of the leading medical journals -- The Lancet," he added.

Noting that India is a vaccine-manufacturing hub and a strategic partner for the production of Sputnik V, he said RDIF has created partnerships with a number of India's leading pharmaceutical companies for the production of Sputnik V, which will provide for both vaccination of the population in India and global distribution of the vaccine.

"Over 850 million doses of Sputnik V are going to be produced in India annually, sufficient to vaccinate more than 425 million people around the world," he said.

According to the release, RDIF has agreements with India's Gland Pharma, Hetero Biopharma, Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, and Virchow Biotech aimed at producing more than 850 million doses per year.

Also Read: Five COVID-19 vaccines likely by end of Q3; Sputnik V, Novavax, J&J in line

Sputnik will be the third vaccine to be used in India against coronavirus. In January, DCGI granted approval for emergency use authorisation of two COVID-19 vaccines -- Covaxin of Bharat Biotech and Covishield of Oxford-AstraZeneca manufactured by Serum Institute of India in Pune.

As per RDIF, Sputnik V has a number of key advantages, including that there are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.

The price of the vaccine is less than $10 per shot and it uses two different vectors for the two shots in a course of vaccination, providing immunity with a longer duration than vaccines using the same delivery mechanism for both shots, it added.

Other countries that have approved the use of Sputnik V include Argentina, Bolivia, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Mexico, Pakistan, Bahrain, and Sri Lanka.(With inputs from PTI.)
The footprint of a 175million-year-old dinosaur described as being a 'real Jurassic giant' was spotted on the Yorkshire coast by a woman collecting shellfish for dinner.

Archaeologist Marie Woods was 'shocked' to stumble across the roughly three feet long trace fossil  the largest ever found in Yorkshire  on a beach near Filey.

Now she is hoping it will be possible to save the footprint, which is at risk from the sea, before it is washed away and lost for good.

Experts believe that the print was made by a large, 2630 feet-long meat-eating dinosaur, probably a Megalosaurus, which lived 175164 million years ago.

The footprint of a 175million-year-old dinosaur described as being a 'real Jurassic giant' was spotted on the Yorkshire coast by a woman collecting shellfish for dinner. Pictured: Archaeologist Marie Woods poses with the trace fossil on a beach near Filey

'I was grabbing some shellfish for dinner. I didn't collect much after seeing that,' Ms Woods explained.

The fossilised footprint, she explained, is 'in a fragile state and sits close to the water level, meaning it could be lost to the sea.'

'John Oxley [the former city archaeologist of York] came to take a series photographs so that we could create a 3D model if collection isn't possible.'

Following her discovery, Ms Woods contacted specialists including palaeontologist Dr Dean Lomax, the author of the book 'Dinosaurs of the British Isles'.

Dr Lomax said Ms Woods's discovery turned out to be a rediscovery, as the print had been partially spotted by fossil collector Rob Taylor back in November last year.

Despite Mr Taylor posting pictures of his find in a Facebook group dedicated to fossils from Yorkshire, the fossil was not yet fully exposed  and so nobody realised its true importance.

'This is the largest theropod footprint ever found in Yorkshire, made by a large meat-eating dinosaur,' said palaeontologist Dean Lomax. 'We know this because the shape and three-toed track, along with the impression of the claws.'

Pictured: The cover of Dr Lomax's book 'Dinosaurs of the British Isles'

'This is the largest theropod footprint ever found in Yorkshire, made by a large meat-eating dinosaur,' said Dr Lomax, who grew up hunting for fossils on the Yorkshire coast.

'We know this because the shape and three-toed track, along with the impression of the claws, are absolutely spot-on for having been made by a large theropod.'

The dinosaur, he added, 'probably had a hip height of about 2.4 metres [7.9 feet] and possible body length approaching eight to nine metres  so a real Jurassic giant.'

'We can never be certain of exactly what species made it, but the footprint type would match the likes of a dinosaur found in Britain called Megalosaurus, which lived at roughly the same time this footprint was created, during the Middle Jurassic.'

'Yorkshire's coast is world renowned for its dinosaur tracks, primarily through research by Dr Mike Romano and Dr Martin Whyte, who spent around 20 years researching and discovering hundreds [to] thousands of tracks.'

Experts believe the print was made by a 2630 foot long meat-eating dinosaur  probably a Megalosaurus (pictured in this artist's impression), which lived 175164 million years ago

'I'm very grateful that [Rob Taylor] and Marie have made this discovery, and hope that the specimen can be rescued for science,' Dr Lomax added.

'It will definitely make for a wonderful study and would look amazing on display, for the public to enjoy.'

Local fossil specialist John Hudson  who found the previous largest specimen in 2006  helped Ms Woods in taking measurements of her find.

Archaeologist Marie Woods said she was 'shocked' to stumble across the roughly three feet long trace fossil  the largest ever found in Yorkshire  on a beach near Filey, pictured
New Delhi, April 13 : A third world country that is on the brink of economic implosion, living on IMF loans and unable to guarantee the necessities of life to its people is still procuring military equipment from some of the most advanced nations in the world! A country which has been kept on the FATF grey list yet again and regularly signs dubious deals with proscribed organisations and faces strictures by the UK High Court with millions being debited from the bankrupt nations accounts due to the aforementioned shady deals. A country whose foreign exchange reserves stand as on date at only $13 billion- barely adequate for two months imports.

No prizes to guess the right answer, it's a state where the Army has a nation, Pakistan. The situation has been further exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ayesha Siddiqa, a noted Pakistani author and defence expert states, "before the pandemic, Pakistan was already burdened by an external debt of about $112 billion. Today it is facing the additional challenge of feeding some 25 million poor families that can no longer make a living due to Covid-19. Moreover, the country saw a 30 per cent reduction in tax revenue, due to the government's incompetence and decreased spending caused by the coronavirus lockdown". Or as Tara Kartha a former Indian National Security Council member blithely states, "An Army that drives its posh SUVs oiled by Chinese money is bad news, whether in Mandarin, Punjabi or English".

In such a situation, the leaders of Pakistan should have focussed on the economy and growth. However, Ayesha Siddiqa brings out, in comparison with the spending on the pandemic caused by the pandemic, the Government did not focus on the economy "Islamabad allocated $7.85 billion for defence and merely $151 million for health in the budget for the financial year 2020-2021. This represents a 12 per cent rise in Pakistan's defence spending compared with the last financial year." Should we be surprised? Actually, no.

Adm Zafar Mahmood Abassi, Pakistan's Chief of Naval Staff till October 2020, had painted his 'vision' to transform the Pakistan Navy. Ina televised address to the nation on October 7, 2020, he spoke about three pillars of his approach - (a) enhancing combat readiness, (b) jumpstarting the maritime economy and (c) reinvigorating the ideological domain. Whilst the third facet of his address should worry the 'friends' of Pakistan, and, the new Biden administration, the recent steps to procure state-of-the-art military hardware indicates the operationalisation of Admiral Abassi's plan.

So, buy high-end military equipment it does. The Pakistan Navy buys passenger aircraft from Brazil through a third party deal and then gets them modified for military purposes in another EU country; it is attempting to procure German engines for its new Chinese submarines as it finds the Chinese engines too noisy; it is procuring ten low-level air search radars from Italy; it is also buying Italian torpedoes once again for its Chinese built submarines. Obviously, it finds the Chinese torpedoes unreliable. According to a report by the Italian Government - Pakistan has become the second largest arms importer from Italy.

This by itself is quite normal as the Pakistan Armed Forces have always looked at key procurements, especially of force multipliers, to retain their edge over the vastly superior Indian forces. The list is quite endless and begets the question -how does a country which is mired in debt and whose friends including the UAE are seeking a return of their loan - buying such equipment? Another important facet is that - as the larger comity of nations is now coming together against a Revisionist China, the Chinese are using their rentier state - Pakistan to procure high-end technology from across the world in order to reverse engineer the same and induct it for the PLA forces. Otherwise, there is no way to explain these costly procurements in foreign exchange from Western sources without any financial aid. Tara Kartha alludes, "all of this is being powered by Chinese money. Which means that Beijing has just bought itself an army, with a State attached". It is also within the realm of possibility that, the Chinese soft loans amounting to over $5 billion given ostensibly to fund the four Type054A and eight submarines purchased from Chinese shipyards, also includes a covert tranche for foreign purchases. Was this also a part of the MoU that was signed in December 2020 by the Chinese and the Pakistanis amidst tensions with India? To convince the diehard fans of Pakistan, let me provide some more examples of the Pakistani dedication for sharing sensitive Western technology and intellectual property with the Chinese. The recent report by HI Sutton in Forbes, based on satellite imagery of an Agosta-90B berthed between two CCP Navy ships during their visit to Karachi in January 2020, and he states (sic) "This (berth of Agosta-90B) was not in the Pakistani Navy's usual berths, but in a cordoned-off part of the commercial docks. The placement of the Pakistani Navy submarine cannot be viewed as coincidental". Readers may also recall the admission by the former PM Nawaz Sharif who, in Oct 2020 stated that the Pakistanis had shared a Tomahawk missile found in Balochistan with their iron-brother, China, in 1990s which in turn assisted Pakistan to develop the Babur cruise missile.

Thus, the Biden administration and other governments in the EU should remember that a hand of friendship extended to the Pakistanis along with Aid and an assurance to take Pakistan of the FATF grey List in June 2021, may lead to key defence technologies being delivered on a platter to the Xi Jingping and the CCP Armed Forces.

(Binay Kumar Singh is an author and columnist. He can be reached at Twitter: @BinayBharat. The views expressed are personal)
Defence Minister Rejects Claims Ottawa Withholding Funds From Conference Over Award for Taiwan President

Sajjan speaks against China's military extensions into the South China Sea

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan rejected claims that the federal government has threatened to cancel funding to a major defence conference held yearly in Halifax if the organizer decides to award Taiwan president its John McCain Prize.

Thats actually absolutely false, Sajjan told the parliamentary committee on Canada-China relations on April 12.

The Halifax Security Forum is an independent organization, and they make their own choices with regards to the award.

The Washington-based Halifax Security Forum holds its high profile defence conference annually in Halifax. The event is attended by senior-level politicians and military officials discussing global security issues.

Citing multiple sources, Politico said in an April 11 report that the Forum had decided late last year to give its John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen for standing strong against Chinas relentless pressure. But Canadian officials warned that if the award is given to Tsai, Ottawa would cut funding to the Forum, Politico reported.

The Forum received $3.1 million from the Department of National Defence for its 2019-2020 event.

Opposition criticized the Liberal government over the allegations reported by Politico.

The governments attempt to silence those critical of China is shamefuland its counter productive because it plays right into Chinas hand, Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said during Question Period in the House of Commons on April 12.

He asked Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau if the federal government will reverse its position.

Garneau, without answering directly, said the government will always be there to defend human rights.

We have been there in the case of China and very recently, we have imposed sanctions on the individuals that were identified with respect to the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, Garneau said.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims Taiwan is a breakaway province that should be under its control. CCP has warned other countries against recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign state and has increased its military activities near the island in recent months. A Chinese defence ministry spokesperson in January reiterated that Taiwan is a part of China, and warned that independence means war.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on April 11 that it would be a serious mistake for the CCP to attack Taiwan, and said theres real concern about the communist regimes threats against the island.

Tsai, who was re-elected in a landslide election in January 2020, has maintained that Taiwan is independent and that her government will not give in to threats and intimidation from China.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan on Oct. 10, 2020. (Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo)

The Forum has so far not announced a winner for the award.

We look forward to making the announcement, and conducting a presentation event at an appropriate time, given the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents, Robin Shepherd, vice president of the forum, told Politico in a statement.

Shepherd said that Tsai would certainly be an ideal fit for this award.

President Tsai of Taiwan is a well respected international leader, the first female president of Taiwan, and a strong global advocate for democracy.

During his address to the Canada-China committee, Sajjan also spoke against Chinas recent military extensions into the South China Sea.

Canada opposes land reclamation projects and building outposts in disputed areas for military purposes, Sajjan said in reference to Chinas construction of military facilities on several islands and atolls.

And we will continue supporting our allies and partners in the Asia Pacific region, especially in the face of unilateral actions that undermine peace and stability.

A Canadian warship that sailed through the South China Sea last month while travelling from Brunei to Vietnam was shadowed for at least part of the voyage as it passed near the disputed Spratly Islands claimed by both China and the Philippines. The Chinese military has set up facilities and equipment in the territory.

With files from Cathy He and The Canadian Press.
Chief Minister on Tuesday announced 15-day curfew in the state and sought central help in airlifting medical oxygen as Covid-19 cases continue to spike in the state, putting a burden on its health infrastructure.

Public transport will continue but travel in suburban trains and buses will be only for people giving essential services. The tightening of curbs comes into effect on Wednesday night.

On Tuesday a record 60,212 cases were reported in the state and the number of active cases has increased to over 500,000.





ALSO READ: Covid LIVE: Not happy about curbs, but have to break the chain, says Uddhav

While the state is getting oxygen by road, Thackeray has requested the help to airlift supplies. If we do not break the chain now we will get strangled by the chain, he said while announcing the new measures.

Last week the state government had closed cinema halls, malls, multiplexes, and places of religious worship. These restrictions will continue. Restaurants and bars will continue to function for takeaway services only.

Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which deals with unlawful assembly, will continue to remain in force and no one will be allowed to move in a public place without valid reason.



Banks, the stock exchanges, e-commerce, cargo services, etc have been categorised as essential services. Groceries, dairies, vegetable vendors, etc will have staggered operations.

Some non-permanent structures could even be shifted to open spaces.





ALSO READ: Govt slams states: No Covid-19 vaccine shortage, only poor planning

All manufacturing units producing essential goods will function at full capacity. Export-oriented units can work to meet their obligations. Other industries can function with a 50 per cent capacity. Industries have also been asked to arrange for accommodation for its staff either on the campus or in an isolated facility.

Thackeray announced a relief package of over Rs 5,400 crore consisting of free rations and free meals for the underprivileged and also financial help for labourers, rickshaw drivers, etc.

More than 50,000 cases are being reported every day in the state and this is causing a shortage of hospital beds, medical oxygen, and ventilators.





ALSO READ: Second Covid-19 wave poses threat to India's economic recovery: Moody's
IP Survey at Mutum Target, Apiacas Gold Project, Brazil, to Commence in April

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) -Altamira Gold Corp.'s (TSXV: ALTA) (FSE: T6UP) (OTC PINK: EQTRF), ("Altamira" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Dr. Quinton Hennigh has joined the Company as a Geological Advisor and the commencement of Induced Polarization Geophysical ("IP") survey at Mutum target, Apiacas gold project, Brazil.

Highlights

Dr. Quinton Hennigh, a world-renowned economic geologist with over 25 years of exploration experience has joined the Company as a Geological Advisor

Altamira has engaged AFC Geofisica Ltda to conduct an IP survey at the Mutum target where the presence of four high-grade vein structures were recently confirmed in addition to extensive disseminated gold mineralization over an area of 4 square kilometers within the Apiacas project area

The IP survey will better define the limits of altered and mineralized intrusive rock with disseminated pyrite and gold and help refine and prioritize drill targets

Michael Bennett, President & CEO commented "We are delighted to have Dr. Hennigh join Altamira as an advisor. Quinton has an impressive track record in gold exploration and his extensive knowledge of the capital markets will be instrumental in strengthening and complementing our team. The IP survey takes us one step closer to advancing the Apiacas gold project to the drill ready stage. 2021 will be an exciting year for Altamira as we look forward to drill testing several targets at our main projects with the valued technical input from Dr. Hennigh as we continue to unlock the mineral potential of the Alta Floresta belt".

"It's a great pleasure to become technical advisor to Altamira," commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh. "Seldom does one see multiple high-quality projects in one junior exploration company. Each of the Apiacas, Cajueiro and Santa Helena projects has one or more drill targets, and our upcoming geophysical program will help refine these in preparation for an aggressive multi-property drill campaign to begin later this year."

Dr. Quinton Hennigh's Appointment

Altamira is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Hennigh to the advisory board as a Geological Advisor.

Dr. Hennigh is an economic geologist with 25 years of exploration experience, and is a founder and current Chairman and President of Novo Resources Corp., which is exploring and developing gold projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including its Beatons Creek, Karratha and Egina gold projects, the latter of which is under a joint venture with Japan's Sumitomo Corporation.

Early in his career, Dr. Hennigh explored for major mining firms including Homestake Mining Company, Newcrest Mining Ltd and Newmont Mining Corporation. He then joined the junior mining sector in 2007 and has been involved with a number of Canadian listed gold companies, including Gold Canyon Resources Inc., where he led exploration at the Springpole alkaline gold project near Red Lake Ontario, a 5 million ounce gold asset that was sold in 2015 to First Mining Gold Corp. Dr. Hennigh was also instrumental in Kirkland Lake Gold's acquisition of the Fosterville gold mine, which is located in Australia and was previously owned by Newmarket Gold Inc. Dr. Hennigh obtained a Ph.D. in Geology/Geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines in 1996.

IP Survey

The Company has engaged AFC Geofisica Ltda to conduct an IP survey at Mutum target, Apiacas Project, Brazil. The IP survey will consist of 14 lines, 38.5 line-kilometers, dipole-dipole array.

IP surveys are an important mineral exploration tool in the identification of economically important mineral deposits, including gold, copper, and silver. The induced polarization method makes use of the electrical conductivity of the subsurface to locate zones where chargeable minerals (sulphides) are located within the host rock. Disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite are conductive and hence have a significant IP signature. This is expected to assist with the definition of the limits to the altered and mineralized intrusive rock carrying disseminated pyrite and gold and therefore, better refine and prioritize targets in advance of drilling.

Mutum Target

The Mutum target is part of the Apiacas project area and is located 50km west of Altamira's Cajueiro gold project which hosts 43-101 compliant indicated resources of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz and inferred resources of 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz.

In 2019, a total of 93 surface rock samples of disseminated and altered rocks collected on surface over this area returned gold values of up to 406.6 g/t gold (see news release dated September 11, 2019).

Recent geological mapping and surface rock sampling by the Altamira geological team has confirmed the presence of four high-grade vein structures and further defined the limits of pervasive disseminated-style gold mineralization over at least 4 km2 (Figure 1). An estimated 1Moz of colluvial gold was historically recovered from the Mutum target, suggesting the presence of a significant underlying hard-rock deposit.

Last month, surface grab samples of the high-grade veins at Mutum returned values up to 403.5 g/t gold and channel samples included values up to 3m @ 10.39 g/t gold. Silver assays have also returned high grade values up to 871 g/t silver (see March 8, 2021 news release for more information).



Figure 1 Detailed map of the Mutum target showing the limits to quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration and disseminated gold mineralization associated with an altered intrusive. Historic surface workings which recovered an estimated 1Moz of gold, and location of high-grade veins are also shown

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/80255_803af12d84074974_001full.jpg

Stock Options

Altamira announces that it has granted 3,245,000 stock options to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company. The stock options are exercisable for a term of 5 years at an exercise price of C$0.275 per common share under the terms of the Company's Stock Option Plan.

Qualified Person

Guillermo Hughes, P. Geo., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor it's 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.

About Altamira Gold Corp.

The Company is focused on the exploration and development of gold projects within western central Brazil. The Company holds 8 projects comprising approximately 190,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated 7 to 10Moz of placer gold. The Company's advanced Cajueiro project has NI 43-101 resources of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz in the Inferred Resource category.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

ALTAMIRA GOLD CORP.

"Michael Bennett"

Michael Bennett

President & CEO

Tel: 604.676.5660

Toll-Free: 1-833-606-6271

info@altamiragold.com

www.altamiragold.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80255


PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French telecommunications operator Orange SA (ORAN) Tuesday said it has offered a final price of 22 euros per Orange Belgium SA share. In the morning trading, Orange Belgium shares were trading at 22.15 euros, down 5 percent.



In a statement, Orange said it launched its public takeover bid on April 8 for the shares of Orange Belgium at a price of 22 euros per share.



The company said the price reflects premiums of 36 percent, 48 percent, 49 percent and 38 percent respectively on the last closing price and volume weighted average prices over the last 3 months, 6 months and 12 months preceding the announcement of the deal.



The final price was determined on the basis of a multi-criteria valuation detailed in the prospectus relating to the offer approved by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority or FSMA on March 31.



In accordance with applicable regulations, Degroof Petercam Corporate Finance SA was mandated as independent expert and concluded that the offer price does not disregard the interests of minority shareholders.



With regard to tower infrastructure assets, Orange reaffirms that there is no hidden value. A sale of towers would be assimilated to a simple financial sale-and-lease-back transaction which would reduce Orange Belgium's capacity to create value.



Orange said it neither considers the integration of the consolidated assets of Orange Belgium into its European TowerCo TOTEM nor a sale to a third party.



Orange said it does not intend to change the price of its offer and considers that deal offers all shareholders of Orange Belgium a unique opportunity to monetize their equity interest on attractive terms.



In France, Orange shares were losing around 1.2 percent to trade at 10.22 euros.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

ORANGE BELGIUM-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
On Tuesday night's episode of Married At First Sight, Georgia Fairweather's mother appeared to offer her daughter some sage advice ahead of the final commitment ceremony.

Donning a ferocious leopard-print kaftan, teamed with colourful glasses, it was clear she meant business - and fans were loving every minute of it.

'You've told me that there's 5 per cent of you that [Liam's] not comfortable with. He said you're too glamorous,' she began, sitting at a cafe with Georgia.

'She's the woman we need in every household!' Georgia Fairweather's mother won Married At First Sight viewers over with her sage advice and striking fashion sense on Tuesday night

'You won't fit in with his life and his family will hate you. Do you understand that that is demeaning?' her mother explained.

'I have never known you in all my life to be inadequate or insecure, so something's going on, and I want you to really think about the way that you inter-relate, and if there's things that he's doing that's actually taking away your confidence.'

Understandably, the straight-talking tirade lit up social media with many demanding Georgia's mum join the Married At First Sight panel of experts next year, alongside John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla.

'Petition to bring Georgia's mum on as an expert next season #MAFSAU,' wrote one viewer.

Supportive: She appeared to offer her daughter Georgia (pictured) some sage advice ahead of the final commitment ceremony

Hear her roar: Donning a ferocious leopard-print kaftan, teamed with colourful glasses, it was clear she meant business - and fans were loving every minute of it

'The best advice from any episode this season or any other season was handed down by Georgia's mum,' echoed another.

'Georgia's mum is a woman we need in every household!' wrote a third.

'Every girl and boy needs to learn from her. Gender inequality would end the next day! Standup for yourself and people,' they continued.

Fan frenzy: Understandably, the straight-talking tirade lit up social media with many demanding Georgia's mum join the Married At First Sight panel of experts next year, alongside John Aiken, Mel Schilling and Alessandra Rampolla

As the episode played out, Liam brutally dumped Georgia after she turned on him during a dramatic commitment ceremony on Tuesday night.

After confessing his love for her, Georgia described Liam as 'manipulative and insecure' in her final vows.

Despite expressing her desire to continue their relationship, Liam dumped his wife and claimed she 'doesn't know the real me'.

Cheque please: 'Georgia's mum is a woman we need in every household!' wrote one viewer

As a result, the groom opted to 'just call it quits.'

After he left the room, Georgia pulled off her wedding band and tossed it on the floor before bursting into tears.

Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Nine

Over: Liam brutally dumped Georgia after she turned on him during a dramatic commitment ceremony on Tuesday night. After confessing his love for her, Georgia, 25, described Liam, 29, as 'manipulative and insecure' in her final vows
Wavestone confirms that it complies with all of the PEA-PME eligibility criteria* in accordance with the

L.221-32-2 article of the French Monetary and Financial Code.

Accordingly, Wavestone shares remain eligible for incorporation into PEA-PME accounts which benefit from the same tax benefits as traditional equity savings plans (PEA).

* To be eligible for the PEA-PME scheme (equity savings plan for the financing of SMEs and ETIs), shares must have been issued by a company whose market capitalization is less than 1 billion euros, of which no legal person holds more than 25% of its capital, which employs less than 5,000 employees with revenue of less than 1.5 billion euros or a total balance sheet of less than 2 billion euros. These eligibility-threshold criteria must be assessed on the basis that the Company may eventually become part of a Group.



About Wavestone

In a world where knowing how to drive transformation is the key to success, Wavestone's mission is to inform and guide large companies and organizations in their most critical transformations, with the ambition of a positive outcome for all stakeholders. That's what we call "The Positive Way."

Wavestone draws on some 3,000 employees across 8 countries. It is a leading independent player in the European consulting market.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext Paris.

Wavestone

Pascal IMBERT

Chief Executive Officer

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00

Benjamin CLEMENT

Financial communication

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Actus

Financial news

Mathieu OMNES

Analyst & investor relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92

Nicolas BOUCHEZ

Press relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74

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Market Research Future has published a Half-Cooked Research Report on the Global Aerospace Foams Market.

Market Synopsis

According to MRFR analysis, Aerospace Foams Market was valued at USD 5.42 Billion in 2018 and is projected to register a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period, 20192025.

The growth in the number of passenger traffic due to the rising per-capita income and emergence of low-cost airlines are fueling the growth of the commercial aircraft segment, which in turn, is expected to contribute to the growth of the global Aerospace Foams Market Share in the coming years.

Pricing and Regulatory Analysis

In 2018, the aerospace foams were priced between USD 2.5 and USD 5 per square meter across the globe.

Several aviation-based international governing authorities such as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), National Qualifications Authority (NQA), and Aircraft Information Management Systems (AIMS) have framed safety requirements for airlines and aircraft structures.

By Application

Aircraft Seats: The segment accounted for the largest share of the global market in 2018 and is expected to continue the similar trend during the forecast period. The growth in the number of passenger traffic across the world is boosting the manufacturing of new commercial aircraft. Also, the growing safety regulations and standards for aircraft seating are propelling the growth of the segment.

Interior Panel Structures: The segment held the second-largest share of the global market in 2018. Aerospace foams help in dampening the sound & vibration and also in thermal & electrical insulation of the interior panel structures.

Floor Coverings: Foams help to meet mechanical performance requirements and the stringent aviation regulatory standards in floor coverings

Flight Deck Pads: Flight deck pads are largely used for general aviation and military aircraft applications.

Electrical Components: Foams play the role of preventing the electrical components from entangling and keeping in place, while at the same time protecting the electrical components from thunderstorms, and lightning shocks.

By End-Use

Commercial Aircraft: The segment held the largest share of the global aerospace foam market in 2018 and is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. An increasing number of air passengers in the developing countries of Asia-Pacific due to rising per-capita income and the surge in low-cost carriers in the regions are propelling the growth of the segment and thus boosting the growth of the global commercial aircraft market.

General Aviation: The segment held the second-largest share of the global aerospace foams market in 2018. It includes two-seat training aircraft, utility helicopters, intercontinental business jets. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), there were more than 446,000 general aviation aircraft across the globe as of 2018, of which over 211,000 aircraft were in the US and over 136,000 aircraft in Europe. The fuselage, bulkheads, and wings of the general aircraft are made with light-weight composites, manufactured using polymer foams.

Military Aircraft: The rise in military expenditure is likely to drive the demand for aerospace foams for military aircraft manufacturing in the coming years. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the military expenditure across the globe rose to USD 1.822 trillion in 2018, representing an increase of 2.6% from 2017. The five major countries in 2018 were the US, China, Saudi Arabia, India, and France, which together accounted for around 60% of global military spending. As per the report published by SIPRI, the military expenditure in the US was USD 649 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 799 billion by 2022. Chinas military expenditure in 2018 was USD 250 billion, and Indias military spending was USD 66.5 billion in2018.

SEGMENTATION

By Type

Polyurethane Foam: The segment held the largest share of the global aerospace foams market in 2018 owing to its low cost and superior performance characteristics over other types of foams such as closed-cell structure, high rigidity, resistance to water and fire, and excellent durability. Polyurethane foam is finding increasing demand in the manufacturing of aircraft seating, floor covering, flight deck pads; passenger cabin walls; aircraft ceilings; overhead stowage; interior aircraft class dividers; aircraft galleys; and lavatories. It is also preferred in the manufacturing of Boeing BMS 8-133.

Polyethylene Foam: Polyethylene foams also finds applications in aircraft manufacturing due to its excellent thermal and chemical resistance properties.

Melamine Foam: Melamine foam is generally used for its excellent thermal and acoustic insulation property in the interior sidewall panels of aircraft.

Metal Foam: Metal foams are largely preferred for military aircraft due to its excellent mechanical strength on account of its configuration that includes hollow metal spheres.

Polyimide Foam: Polyimide foams are extreme temperature resistant and non-flammable, along with being light-weight and durable. This led to its widespread use in F110 engines, F135 engines, B-2 engine, F-117 engine, F-22 engine, missile structures, and fifth- & sixth-generation engines.

Others: The others segment includes PET Foam, PVC Foam, Specialty High-Performance Foam, Polymethacrylimide (PMI) Foam, Polyetherimide (PEI) Foam, Polyethersulfone Foam (PES) Foam, Polyphenylsulfone (PPSU) Foam, and Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) Foam

Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/aerospace-foams-market-8492

By Region

North America: The expanding aerospace industry in the US due to increasing passenger traffic and the presence of major aircraft manufacturers are driving the demand for aerospace foam in the region.

Europe: The presence of leading airline manufacturers such as Airbus, AltiGator, ArianeGroup, and United Aircraft Corporation, among others in the region are contributing to the demand for aerospace foams.

Asia-Pacific: The most opportunistic market, owing to rising per-capita income and emergence of low-cost aircraft.

Middle East & Africa: The favorable geographic location is boosting the growth of the aerospace industry, which in turn is expected to drive the demand for aerospace foams.

Latin America: The region is expected to register positive growth in the coming years owing to the growing aerospace industry.
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Back in January, at a meeting held at the Royal Society in London, a team of scientists and investors announced the largest prize ever offered to solve a scientific mystery. Organized by engineer and business consultant Perry Marshall, the whopping prize of $10 million (ten times the Nobel Prize payout) will be given to any person or team who can arrange for a digital communication system to emerge or self-evolve withoutexplicitly designing the system. The point of the contest is to learn where the genetic code came from and how it became the basis for all life.

The winning experiment, according to their website, must generate an encoder that sends digital code to a decoder, and transmit at least five bits of information, or roughly half as much as a comparable segment of DNA. In other words, to claim the prize, you must bring into existence the functional equivalent of the first living cell, without intelligently designing the system.

Judges include Oxford and Royal Society biologist Denis Noble, Harvard Geneticist George Church, and philosopher of science Michael Ruse. According to Noble, a scientist whose work led to the first pacemaker. The prize is so big because evolution leaves two things completely unexplained: How did life get going in the first place, and what is the origin of the genetic code.

With refreshing honesty, he continued, I cannot see personally how DNA could have been there at the beginning. After all, it requires the cell to enable it and to reproduce, and it requires the cell also to correct errors in that reproduction and replication process.

Perry Marshall explained why he organized the prize by recalling a debate about the origin of life he once had with his brother. Sons of a pastor, Marshall offered a standard argument from design, but his brother retorted that natural processes were sufficient to explain all of lifes complexity.

Marshall wasnt convinced. As he was writing what would later become his bestselling book on computer networks, he realized that mathematically [DNA and ethernet] are identical. Its encoding and decoding. It is a communication systemGenetics is digital communication.

Intelligent design theorists have been making this point for decades. From a variety of angles, authors such as Michael Behe, William Dembski, and Steven Meyer have argued that information, like what is stored and communicated in DNA, has only one known source  an intelligent agent. To produce a system like DNA through unguided processes would not only be to do something thats never been done; it would be to do something never before observed in the history of science.

But, it gets even worse for those hoping to snag that $10 million. As Dr. Noble reminded press and colleagues, DNA requires a cell to functionand cells, as far as we know, require DNA. To get one, you need the other. In other words, to win the money, competitors must not only put together the equivalent of functioning genetic code without cheating, they have to create the molecular machines that use, replicate, and edit that code.

How difficult is it to produce a living cell from scratch? A while back, my colleague Shane Morris asked synthetic-organic chemist James Tour this very question on the BreakPoint Podcast. Dr. Tour replied that anyone who claims were close to building a cell, even in the most ideal of circumstances, has no idea what theyre talking about. In fact, he said, ask them for details, and you see them start to sweat.

The bottom line? The origin of life and of the information that makes it possible remain the most significant challenge to a naturalistic worldview. The only plausible explanation for how these incredible systems came into being is intelligent design, precisely what those competing for this prize are forbidden from using.

Dont get me wrong. $10 million is a lot of money, but, its still not enough to make the impossible possible.
First paragraph, second sentence of release should read: Illumina was second in Health Care and Equipment Services and placed 27th on the overall list.

The updated release reads:

ILLUMINA NAMED ONE OF SINGAPORES BEST EMPLOYERS

Continues regional expansion with a focus on employees

Illumina, Inc., today announced, for the second consecutive year, Illumina is honored as one of Singapores Best Employers in a survey sponsored by The Straits Timesand the marketing firm Statista. Illumina was second in Health Care and Equipment Services and placed 27th on the overall list. Conducted in late 2020, the survey queried around 9,000 people employed in all different industries, giving them the opportunity to express their support for 1,700 local companies with more than 200 employees.

It is heartwarming to be recognized once again as one of Singapores Best Employers, says Derric Lee, Vice President and General Manager of Illumina Singapore. This award means a great deal and gives recognition for our efforts to create a conducive, inclusive and rewarding environment for employees at any level.

The survey results are based on employee perceptions from companies in the region. Respondents were asked whether they would recommend their employer to a friend or family member, and if they would make the same recommendation for other companies.

Headquartered in San Diego, California, Illuminas first Singapore facility opened in 2008 with ten employees and a 38,000 square foot facility. Today, Illumina Singapore has increased the number of employees to more than 1,300 and grown to three buildings, occupying ten times the original spacenow totaling 385,000 square feet. The momentum continues with an additional facility for research and development which is expected to open in the first quarter of 2022.

We plan to create a complete ecosystem for employees to develop, grow and thrive, says Lee. This ethos means focusing on every aspect of an employees time with the company from the first moment they walk in the door. We are always assessing the totality of the workplace experience, including onboarding, office ambience, maintaining an open and collaborative culture, training and development, and care and support. Our goal is to provide employees with the best possible end-to-end experience when they work for Illumina.

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit www.illumina.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412006017/en/
He is known as one of the nicest guy in Hollywood.

And Matt Damon was winning hearts again on Monday night while enjoying an evening meal with his family in Sydney.

The 50-year-od Good Will Hunting star, who is currently in Australia to film Thor: Love and Thunder, was spotted shaking hands with a waiter at popular Italian eatery Totti's in Bondi Beach.

The nicest guy in Hollywood! Hollywood actor Matt Damon, 50, (pictured) showcased his muscular physique in a tight top as he shook the hand of a waiter at Totti's Bondi in Sydney on Monday night

Matt, who arrived in the city alongside co-star Chris Hemsworth via private jet on Sunday, beamed at the man as he thanked him for looking after his clan during the meal.

The waiter looked somewhat starstruck by the American actor as the two men shook hands.

Matt showcased his muscular physique during the outing by wearing a tight-fitting, long-sleeve T-shirt out to dinner.

Put it there! Matt, who arrived in the city alongside co-star Chris Hemsworth via private jet on Sunday, beamed at the man as he thanked him for looking after his family during the meal

The Hollywood heartthrob paired the revealing top with a pair of loose-fitting tight jeans, along with a pair of runners.

The actor was later seen strolling up busy Bondi Road following his dinner at the restaurant.

Matt proved his nice guy credentials once again on Sunday after giving an airport employee a bear hug after disembarking a private jet.

Dashing: The Hollywood heartthrob paired the revealing top with a pair of loose-fitting tight jeans, along with a pair of runners

Earlier this month, Matt enjoyed a well-deserved holiday to surf haven Noosa alongside his family and friends - including Chris' younger brother, Liam, 31.

Noosa is a regular haunt for both the Hemsworth brothers and Matt, who have all been spotted spending time at Double Island Point and Rainbow Beach in the area years prior.

Chris and Matt first holidayed at the tourist hotspot together in 2018, while the siblings enjoyed a trip there last July alongside Chris' wife Elsa Pataky and their children; India, Sasha and Tristan.

Casual cool: The 50-year-od Good Will Hunting star is currently in Australia filming Thor: Love and Thunder

Matt had made a brief cameo in Thor: Ragnarok, where he played Thor's brother Loki in a short skit.

In the 2017 film, the play was called 'The Tragedy Of Loki' and featured four celebrity cameos.

Matt Damon as Loki, Luke as Thor, Sam Neill as Odin, and Cate Blanchett as Thor's evil sister Hela.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Mitchell Kukulka.

Saturday, April 10

10:45 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Mount Haley Township residence regarding a domestic assault. A 35-year-old Mount Haley Township woman was assaulted by her 30-year-old husband during an argument. The man was arrest for domestic assault.

9:29 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Jerome Township residence for a 40-year-old woman who was feeling suicidal and requesting to go to ER for mental health treatment. Upon arrival, the woman was found to be highly intoxicated and believed she was having a stroke. MidMichigan EMS and Jerome Township Fire Department were dispatched and EMS subsequently transported the woman to ER for treatment.

7:40 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to an Ingersoll Township residence regarding a domestic assault. A 29-year-old Ingersoll Township woman assaulted her 30-year-old husband during an argument, but left the scene prior to deputies arriving.

4:24 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Lee Township residence in reference a to a runaway. It was reported a 14-year-old girl cut off her tether and ran away from her home. The incident is being investigated, the girl was put in to Law Enforcement Information network as a runaway and an area-wide lookout alert was put out. The girl was located later in the night down in Flint, and was lodged at the Juvenile Care Center.

12:39 p.m.  Deputies responded to a vehicle crash in Warren Township.

11:59 a.m.  A 32-year-old Warren Township woman called the sheriff's office because someone let the air out of all four tires on her vehicle. Her 49-year-old estranged husband claimed no knowledge of the event. While inspecting the vehicle, a GPS tracking device was discovered. A report was forwarded to the courts.

3:48 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Geneva Township residence regarding a 29-year-old man who inappropriately touched a 29-year-old woman's chest and buttocks during a party. The man was then assaulted by his 31-year-old male cousin. An axe was allegedly brandished during the assault. All parties involved were intoxicated during the incident and minor injuries were reported.

1:15 a.m.  Deputies, MidMichigan EMS, and the Edenville Township Fire Department were dispatched to an Edenville Township residence for a 25-year-old woman who overdosed on suspected methamphetamine and heroin. Deputies arrived and administered Narcan to the woman. She was later transported by EMS to the ER for treatment.

12:47 a.m.  Deputies were dispatched to state land in Jerome Township regarding a larceny. On the scene, deputies spoke with an 18-year-old man who said he left his disabled pickup truck on state land for several days and when he returned, his LED light bar was stolen from the front grill. The light bar was valued at $200, and no suspects were known at the time of report.

Friday, April 9

11:57 p.m.  A deputy assisted a Coleman Police officer with an operating-while-intoxicated arrest and search warrant in the City of Coleman.

11:18 p.m.  A 47-year-old Lincoln Township man was slapped once in the face by a 66-year-old man. The 47-year-old declined to press charges, and the 66-year-old was educated on potential consequences for assaultive behavior. Both parties remained separate.

9:36 p.m.  Deputies were dispatched to a Lee Township residence for a report of a 31-year-old man who had possibly cut himself. Deputies located the man uninjured. The man was wanted on a warrant out of Bay County, and was arrested.

8:32 p.m.  Deputies responded to Larkin Township regarding an unknown person throwing a piece of cheese from a moving brown pickup truck. The piece of cheese landed on the windshield of another passing vehicle. Deputies checked the area and were unable to locate the responsible party.

7:17 p.m.  A deputy responded to a two-vehicle accident that occurred on a Homer Township roadway. There were no injuries, and the at-fault driver was issued a citation.

3:58 p.m.  An Animal Control deputy received information from the health department that a woman had been bitten by a dog. The victim was uncooperative and refused to identify the dog or its owner. The health department will follow up with the victim to provide rabies protocol recommendations.

3:03 p.m.  A deputy was dispatched to a Midland Township residence in reference to a possible larceny. The deputy made contact with a 31-year-old woman who reported various items missing. The deputy investigated and determined the woman's 16-year-old stepson and his uncle entered the residence to pick up family property. The woman's husband  the 16-year-old's father  gave both individuals permission to enter the residence and remove the property. The woman reported some items missing that have not been accounted for.

8:54 a.m.  A 54-year-old Warren Township man notified the Sheriff's Office that an unknown suspect attempted to enter his pole barn. The suspect(s) damaged the door in the attempt, but did not gain entry. It is estimated to cost $250 to repair the door. This report is inactive pending additional information.
A Memorial Celebration of Life will be held for Judy Thornbloom of Osakis who passed away at the age of 59 in April of 2020. It will be held on Friday, June 11, 2021 from 1 - 5 pm at the Osakis VFW Post #7902 in Osakis.
An 82-year-old grandmother has been fined 60 for attending a seven-person lockdown-breaching 70th birthday bash - even though every person there was fully vaccinated.

Maureen Hogg, from Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, was given the notice for antisocial behaviour after police broke up the celebration.

All seven attendees received a fine for 60, even though each one of them had both doses of the Covid-19 jab.

Ms Hogg's granddaughter Daisy Hogg, 17, said her grandmother questioned 'why she needs to shield if she has the vaccine'.

Scotland's current lockdown rules say gatherings of up to four people can only happen outside.

Indoor gatherings are banned even if every attendee is full protected from Covid-19 with two doses of the vaccine.

Maureen Hogg, 82, (pictured) from Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, has been fined 60 for attending a lockdown-breaching 70th birthday party

Daisy told MailOnline: 'She's been shielding for over a year. Now he's got her vaccine she was sick of shielding for no reason.

'She's quite a social person, she's got lots of friends. She took the funny side of it. I think they might have been having drinks.'

She earlier shared a picture of her grandmother's fine to Twitter, writing: 'Howling that my 82-year-old Gran got a Covid fine cause she got caught at a gaff for someone's 70th.

'Taken home by the police and everything, she is who I aspire to be like at 82.'

Daisy later added: 'I hope I'm partying like her at that age.'

'I thought it was funny, my Mum and Dad did too.'

When police came to disperse the party, Mrs Hogg was handed a notice under the Antisocial Behaviour Act of 2004.

Mrs Hogg, from Eaglesham, East Renfrewshire, was given the notice (pictured) for antisocial behaviour after police broke up the celebration

Ms Hogg's granddaughter Daisy Hogg (pictured) shared a picture of her grandmother's fine to Twitter, writing: 'Howling that my 82-year-old Gran got a covid fine cause she got caught at a gaff for someone's 70th

Alongside her tweet, Daisy attached a picture of her family group chat which shows a message from her mother, saying: 'Gran has been charged with antisocial behaviour by Police Scotland'

Alongside her tweet, Daisy attached a picture of her family group chat which shows a message from her mother, saying: 'Gran has been charged with antisocial behaviour by Police Scotland.'

A shocked Daisy replied to the message saying: 'Seriously.'

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'We were called around 9pm on Sunday, 11 April, 2021 following a reported breach of coronavirus regulations at a property on Kirkton Drive, Eaglesham.

'Officers attended, spoke to those involved and seven fixed penalty notices were issued.'
As the Rhode Island legislature considers designating the Northern Star Coral an official state emblem, researchers are finding that studying this local creature's recovery from a laboratory-induced stressor could help better understand how to protect endangered tropical corals.

A new study published today in mSystems, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, investigates antibiotic-induced disturbance of the coral (Astrangia poculata) and shows that antibiotic exposure significantly altered the composition of the coral's mucus bacterial microbiome, but that all the treated corals recovered in two weeks in ambient seawater.

The stony Northern Star Coral naturally occurs off the coast of Rhode Island and other New England states in brown colonies with high (symbiotic) densities and in white colonies with low (aposymbiotic) densities of a symbiotic dinoflagellate alga. The study found that those corals with algal symbionts - organisms that are embedded within the coral's tissue and are required by tropical corals to survive - recovered their mucus microbiomes more consistently and more quickly.

The study also identified six bacterial taxa that played a prominent role in reassembling the coral back to its healthy microbiome. This is the first microbiome manipulation study on this coral.

"The work is important because it suggests that this coral may be able to recover its mucus microbiome following disturbance, it identifies specific microbes that may be important to assembly, and it demonstrates that algal symbionts may play a previously undocumented role in the microbial recovery and resilience to environmental change," the paper states.

With thermal bleaching and disease posing major threats to tropical corals, this research, along with other work on tropical corals, "provides a major step toward identifying the microbiome's roles in maintaining coral resilience," the paper notes.

"We think that the algae are helping the coral select the microbes that live with it, and this suggestion of symbiont-microbe coordination following disturbance is a new concept for corals," said paper co-author Amy Apprill, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

"Worldwide, coral reefs are in crisis. Any time we see corals recover, that's always good news. It shows that they can combat a stressor and figure out how to become healthy again," said Apprill. "What we found here is translatable to tropical corals which are faced with different stressors, such as warming water, disease, and pollution. This paper suggests that the symbiotic algae play a major role in providing consistency and resilience to the coral microbiome."

"When we think about corals, it's usually assumed that we're thinking about the tropics and the bright blue water and where it's warm, sunny, and sandy. However, the Northern Star Coral lives in murkier and much colder waters, yet it can still teach us a lot about expanding our understanding of corals," said lead author Shavonna Bent, a student in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.

The Northern Star Coral is an ideal emblem for Rhode Island, said co-author Koty Sharp. The coral is small like the state; it's New England-tough in dealing with large temperature fluctuations; and it's a local, offering plenty of insight that can help address global problems, said paper co-author Koty Sharp, an associate professor at Roger Williams University who is leading the effort for official designation of the coral.

Committees from both the Rhode Island House and Senate have held hearings on the proposed legislation. The Senate has approved the bill, and the House could vote on it in the coming month. Assuming the House also approves the bill, it will be sent to Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee for signing into law.

Sharp said the designation effort has a big educational component. "If designating this as a state emblem allows us to teach more people about the power of basic research to support conservation, or if this allows us to teach a generation of school children about the local animals that live around them, then this state coral will have a great deal of value," she said.

###

About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment. WHOI's pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering--one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in basic and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide--both above and below the waves--pushing the boundaries of knowledge and possibility. For more information, please visit http://www. whoi. edu

About Roger Williams University

Roger Williams University, located on the coast of Bristol, RI, is a forward-thinking private university with 45 undergraduate majors and more than a dozen graduate programs spanning the liberal arts and the professions, where students become community-minded citizens through project-based, experiential learning. With small classes, direct access to faculty and boundless opportunities for real-world projects, RWU students develop the ability to think critically while simultaneously building the practical skills that today's employers demand. In addition to its 4,000 undergraduates and 300 graduate students, RWU is home to a thriving University College based in Providence as well as Rhode Island's only law school. Roger Williams University is committed to creating and supporting an intellectual community devoted to teaching and learning and providing the opportunity for personal and intellectual growth for students, faculty and staff. For more information, please visit http://www. rwu. edu .

Authors: Shavonna M. Bent1,2, Carolyn A. Miller1, Koty H. Sharp3, Colleen M. Hansel1, and Amy Apprill1

Affiliations:

1 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA

2 Johnson State College, Johnson, VT, USA

3 Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, USA
Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, speaks during a press conference at the Government Complex Seoul, Tuesday, over Japan's decision to release radioactive water into the sea. Yonhap



Washington defends Tokyo's decision amid controversy



By Kang Seung-woo



Korea expressed deep regret Tuesday over Japan's decision to dump water contaminated with radioactive material into the Pacific Ocean.



The Japanese government announced earlier in the day that it will release the radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea in 2023 despite protests from Korea and China. The water was contaminated after the nuclear plant was destroyed by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011.



"The administration expresses strong regret over the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean," Koo Yoon-cheol, head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, said in a press conference after an emergency vice-ministerial meeting at the Government Complex Seoul to discuss the government's position and measures on Tokyo's announcement.



"The government will take every necessary measure in line with the principle of keeping the Korean people safe from the contaminated water from the Fukushima plant."



The administration also called on Japan to ensure transparent disclosure and verification of information related to the release of the contaminated water.



"In regard to Japan's decision, we will clearly deliver our people's protest to the Japanese government. We will demand specific measures from Japan to ensure the safety of our people and prevent damage to the marine environment," Koo said.









"The government will refer its concerns to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and request the international community to objectively review safety issues related to the Fukushima water release."



The foreign ministry also called in Japanese Ambassador to Seoul Koichi Aiboshi later in the day to express grave concerns over the decision.



Along with Korea, the Chinese government also expressed its disapproval, saying that despite doubts and opposition from home and abroad, Japan had unilaterally decided to release the Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea before exhausting all other possible safe methods of disposal and without fully consulting neighboring countries and the international community.



"This is highly irresponsible and will severely affect human health and the immediate interests of people in neighboring countries," the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that the leak of large amounts of radioactive material to date has had far-reaching implications on the marine environment, food safety and human health.



It also said a review report by an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team pointed out that if the wastewater containing tritium from the Fukushima nuclear plant was discharged into the sea, it would affect the marine environment and people's health in neighboring countries and that the "treated" wastewater, as claimed by Japan, needs to be further purified to remove other radionuclides.



"We strongly urge the Japanese side to face up to its responsibility, follow the science, fulfill its international obligations and duly respond to the serious concerns of the international community, neighboring countries and its own people. It should reevaluate the issue and refrain from wantonly discharging the wastewater before reaching a consensus with all stakeholders and the IAEA through full consultations," the Chinese ministry said.





A member of an environmental group wearing a mask depicting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga simulates the disposal of radioactive water into the ocean during a rally in front of the former Japanese Embassy building in Seoul, Tuesday, following the Japanese government's decision to release stored water containing radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
The FDA and the CDC are requesting that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be halted in the United States after six women developed rare blood clots and one died after receiving the vaccine.

FDA, CDC recommends pause on using J&J COVID-19 vaccine

The one-shot COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to seven million people in the US. The percentafe of people who have had blood clots as a result of that is 0.00008. The two authorities are not revoking the emergency authorization, but they request that it be put on hold until further information is gathered. Specific states must now decide if to follow their advice and halt the rollout or continue.

"As of 4/12, 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine had been sent out in the US." The CDC and the FDA are analyzing evidence from 6 confirmed cases of a rare and severe form of a blood clot in people who received the vaccine in the country, Daily Mail reported.

"At the moment, these side effects happen to be exceedingly unusual." The CDC and FDA said in a joint statement that the treatment for this particular form of blood clot is different from what is usually given.

WHO, Others, Warn Using Ivermectin as Treatment to COVID-19

A press conference will be held at 10 AM EST on Wednesday to address the topic. Following the announcement, the company's stock fell 3% in early Tuesday trading.

The COVID19 -vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson was approved in the United States on February 27 and by the World Health Organization in March, but it is yet to be approved by individual European countries such as the United Kingdom. The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has also been halted in Europe due to related fears over blood clots.

Thirty individuals out of a total of 5 million who received J&J's COVId-19 vaccine developed blood clots, a rate of 0.0006. The European Medicines Agency, on the other hand, stated that the vaccine's benefits greatly outweighed the risks.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which includes vaccination guidance, will meet on Wednesday, as per NBC News. The committee will further examine these cases and determine their possible relevance, according to the statement, while the FDA will also look into it. "We suggest this delay before the process is completed," the joint statement said.

China Admits Its COVID-19 Vaccines Are Only 50 Percent Effective Against the Virus

Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine caused rare severe blood clots

The rare blood clots accompanied by reduced platelet numbers were first discovered in people in Europe who had acquired the AstraZeneca-University of Oxford vaccine. European officials said it was "possible" that the clots were due to the vaccines. They're still looking at four other clotting cases since receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which uses similar technologies.

Johnson & Johnson spokesman Jake Sargent said in a statement that the company files all adverse case information about vaccine recipients with health officials.

"At this time, no clear causal association between these rare events and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine has been established," Sargent added. "We will continue to collaborate closely with analysts and regulators to review the data and promote transparent communication of this data to healthcare providers and the general public," says the company.

Officials advise anyone who has had the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and has severe headaches, abdominal or leg pain, and shortness of breath within three weeks of receiving the shot to call their health care provider. They also want to inform vaccine providers and health practitioners of the "special care" that this sort of clot needs, as per ABC7.

With much fanfare, the FDA granted emergency use authorization to the J&J vaccine in late February in the hopes that its single-dose and easy storage requirements would accelerate vaccinations across the US. Despite this, the shot only allows for a limited portion of the doses provided in the United States, as J&J has been afflicted with development problems and manufacturing failures at a contractor's Baltimore plant. The drugmaker took over the facility last week to ramp up demand and promise the US government of 100 million doses by the end of May.

Health Official Admits Having No Idea AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Causes Blood Clots

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
WASHINGTON  Near the end of the 2014 documentary Watchers of the Sky, which chronicles the origins of the legal definition of genocide, Samantha Power grows emotional. At the time, Ms. Power was President Barack Obamas ambassador to the United Nations, and, she said, had great visibility into a lot of the pain in the world.

From that perch, preventing mass atrocities abroad required thinking through what we can do about it, to exhaust the tools at your disposal, Ms. Power said in the film. And I always think about the privilege of, you know, of getting to try  just to try.

Few doubt Ms. Powers zeal  given her career as a war correspondent, human rights activist, academic expert and foreign policy adviser  even if it has meant advocating military force to stop widespread killings.

Now, as President Bidens nominee to lead the United States Agency for International Development, she is preparing to rejoin the government as an administrator of soft power, and resist using weapons as a means of deterrence and punishment that she has pushed for in the past.
(Natural News) Officials have declared that racist graffiti found in Albion College was done by a black student, according to Michigan Live.

(Article republished from ThePostMillennial.com)

On April 5, Albion College students tweeted that there have been more than 12 racist incidents within the past week at the educational institution.

This graffiti, which included messages such as white lives matter and white power, turned out to have been allegedly created by a 21-year-old black male.

This person also is said to have written such messages as 666 on top of a Star of David, alongside lets kill all N*****.

The Albion police brought said male into questioning, where he admitted to doing most of the graffiti. This student was released after questioning. It is unclear whether any charges will be brought against this student.

Images of the racist graffiti quickly went viral across social media platforms, with one local outlet posting the story accompanied with pictures that they censored due to it being so offensive.

HAPPENING NOW: Albion College students are hosting a campus boycott. Some students say they dont feel safe on campus over recent racial incidents. @wwmtnews pic.twitter.com/OURDp0DEOf  Trisha McCauley (@TrishaWWMT) April 5, 2021

College officials have stated on Twitter that the student had been acting alone. As a result of this incident, the student has been suspended by the college and removed from their property pending an investigation.

The college didnt address the nature of this incident directly on Twitter, instead saying that they know the acts of racism that have occurred this week are not about one particular person or one particular incident. We know that there is a significant history of racial pain and trauma on campus and we are taking action to repair our community.

Day 3: Albion College students are boycotting class, fighting for injustices they say are happening on campus. Full story tonight on @wwmtnews pic.twitter.com/t6RD4FATh4  Trisha McCauley (@TrishaWWMT) April 8, 2021

Some Albion College students even went so far as to boycott classes.

We will change and heal together as a community, because we are committed to doing the work, they added.

Read more at: ThePostMillennial.com and RaceRelations.news.
By Shi Hong

The US Department of the Navy recently released the Unmanned Campaign Framework, putting forward an ambitious plan. The documentpoints out that the Navy and Marine Corps will seek to achievea seamlesslyintegrated manned-unmanned force across alldomains to cope with the central challengeposed by the so-called major-power competition.

Last year the US military proposed to invest USD 2.7 billion in the next five years to build an unmanned fleet of 10 large surface vessels that would either operate independently or in conjunction with surface forces. The CNO NAVPLAN released on January 11 also called for building an integrated fleet comprising large warships, unmanned vessels of various types, underwater vehicles, and airstrike devices to get ready for all-domain combat in a so-called environment of new threats over the coming decades.

Unmanned systems have notable advantages in combat, such as adapting to complicated and dangerous combat environments, lessening the burden on key combat personnel, increasing troop agility, and reducing casualties. Thats precisely why the US Navy and Marine Corps have purchased and deployed such a staggering amount of unmanned systems over the years.

Regarding unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), the US Navy has the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter and MQ-4C Triton fixed-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and is developing the new MQ-25A Stingraycarrier-based, unmanned refueling aircraft; while the US Marine Corps has the MQ-9A Reaper for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), and attack missions.

Above water, the US Navy has already deployed the first Sea HunterAnti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vesseland is developing large unmanned ships capable of carrying weapons. Underwater, it is equipped with a raft of unmanned vehicles and gliders that can be launched and recovered by surface vessels and submarines.

Over the ground, the US Marine Corps is validating the Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary Fires (ROGUE-Fires) that is mainly used to launch Naval Strike Missile (NSM) for remote assaults with UAVs positioning the targets for it.

Still, these are not enough for the Department of the Navy. In addition to the new unmanned fleet and UAV development plan, commandant of the Marine CorpsGen. David H. Berger also said most logistics missions for future expeditions would be carried out by unmanned systems.

But whether these ambitious plans will come through is to be seen. Rob Wittman, a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces at US House of Representatives, said recently that he recognized the growing importance of unmanned systems, but the goals for their development must be substantial rather than swift. He said America has eaten enough bitter fruits hurrying into the R&D and manufacturing of new weapons and equipment without solid and substantiated demonstration.

Rob asked the US Department of the Navy to validate the maturity of relevant technologies before making any input to unmanned systems and to fully understand what future warfare will be like. Obviously, there are many barriers to putting the Unmanned Campaign Framework into practice, especially to persuade Congress to appropriate funds for the Navy and Marine Corps unmanned system development.

Rob Wittmans doubts make sense, and the report admits that the biggest challenge to unmanned system development now is how to quickly and synchronously develop a complete unmanned combat system with limited resources. Unmanned systems cannot fully exert themselves unless they are matched with corresponding manned systems, autonomous operation technologies, communication systems, loads, and general interfaces.

Besides, despite the eloquence of the Department of the Navy eager to secure the funding, there is no feasible solution yet to the moral and ethical controversy over granting unmanned systems the right to kill. After all, airstrikes executed by American UAVs in Afghanistan and Iraq that caused immense civilian casualties are still being condemned. The Unmanned Campaign Framework, which proposes such an ambitious plan for unmanned systems, will definitely aggravate the worries of both the American public and the international community.
Berlin, April 13 : The Presidium or executive body of Germany's governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has decided to back party leader Armin Laschet's bid to succeed Angela Merkel as Chancellor, Volker Bouffier, Minister President of Hesse state, said.

However, the final decision on the candidacy has not yet been made, Xinhua news agency quoted Bouffier as saying on Monday.

There were "two excellent candidates", Bouffier said, referring to Laschet's contender Markus Soeder, leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the CDU's sister party, and Minister President of Bavaria.

Bouffier said he expected a final decision within a week.

Five months before the federal elections in Germany in September, the CDU/CSU is widely expected to remain the strongest political force and would most likely also provide the country's next chancellor.

According to a survey published by Kantar Emnid on Sunday, the CDU/CSU would win 27 per cent of the vote, followed by the Green Party (22 per cent) and the Social Democratic Party (15 per cent).

Laschet said was pleased with the CDU Presidium's support.

However, "this was not a preliminary decision today, it was an opinion poll of the CDU and its 15 state associations".

The stage is now set for a showdown between Laschet and Soeder, who on Sunday confirmed his claim to the candidacy.

According to a recent INSA survey, 37 per cent of German voters favoUred Soeder against Laschet's 14 per cent.
Apr. 13Dr. Randall F. Holcombe, director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, will leave in August to take a similar position at the University of Vermont after helping renew and rebuild the research institute.

"This is a significant loss for the cancer center, the university and the entire state, " said UH Manoa Provost Michael Bruno. "Randy has done a tremendous job since coming to Hawaii five years ago and quickly became a leader in the local medical research and patient care community."

"When he arrived, he inherited a center in crisis and today it is thriving and poised for great success in the years to come, " Bruno said.

The UH Cancer Center had been in turmoil with significant turnover of top faculty and sagging morale under a previous leader, Dr. Michele Carbone, who resigned as director amid controversy in November 2014.

Holcombe helped renew the center's National Cancer Institute designation and is credited with helping bring in "more than $47 million in extramural research, education and infrastructure funding during his tenure, " the university said in a news release.

He also began an effort that will allow local residents to take part in Phase One clinical research trials through development of an Early Phase Clinical Research Center. That will also include the Organoid Generation Facility, to further biological study of cancers in minority populations most affected.

"This was a difficult decision because I have really enjoyed my time here facilitating Hawaii-relevant research at the center and working with our partners to provide access to the best options for care through the clinical trials network, " Holcombe said. "The UH Cancer Center is on strong footing, and I am incredibly optimistic about its path forward. I am confident the exceptional progress that has been achieved over these past several years will continue."

Holcombe, who took the position in October 2016, will step down on Aug. 1 and move on to become director of the University of Vermont Cancer Center in Burlington.

Bruno plans to recommend Deputy Director Joe W. Ramos to replace Holcombe, following a succession plan submitted to the National Cancer Institute.
TOKYO, Apr 13, 2021 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced the renewal of three critical systems for the Japan Meteorological Agency to allow them to operate on the "JMA Information System Infrastructure," which serves as the new central virtualization platform for all agency-managed meteorological systems. The systems successfully integrated onto the platform since its inception include the JMA's regional meteorological observation system, "AMeDAS"(1), weather information transmission system, "ADESS"(2), and Ocean Information Processing System(3). The JMA initiated operations of the new platform system in March 2021.By shifting key systems to the platform, the JMA plans to reduce operational load and costs and improve the speed of system development, while further strengthening its meteorological services by accelerating the use of data for disaster prevention and mitigation, and improving the accuracy of weather forecasts.Fujitsu's central role in the digital transformation of the JMA's systems represents an important contribution to the accurate and rapid provision of vital meteorological and disaster prevention information, and ultimately the realization of a safer, more sustainable society.BackgroundThe Japan Meteorological Agency not only collects and analyzes observational data on weather, but also earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and oceans from meteorological organizations both domestically and internationally. The JMA leverages this data to offer important disaster prevention and weather information to the media, the public, and disaster prevention organizations allowing it to contribute to areas like traffic safety and to disaster mitigation measures.In addition to the AMeDAS, ADESS, and Ocean Information Processing System built by Fujitsu, the JMA has established systems for individual operations. In anticipation of possible large-scale disasters, the JMA has divided and operated its systems between two stations in the East and West of Japan (4). With the growing sophistication of the technology and data-collection capabilities, however, the JMA has faced issues including increased operating costs, more complex operational management, longer development periods for new systems, and delays in adapting to the latest technologies.To help address these challenges, the JMA introduced the central Information System Infrastructure in March 2020 to consolidate and integrate the various business systems that Fujitsu has built onto a virtualized platform. Since October 2020, each business system has been gradually shifted onto this platform, and with the completion of work to shift the three large scale systems, operations of the platform have commenced.System Overview and Benefits of MigrationThe JMA Information System Infrastructure makes it possible to integrate the operation and management system of individual systems, reduce costs, implement upgrades, and standardize security criteria to stably deliver 24 hour, non-stop operations. Because the systems are operated on the same platform, the development period for new functions and systems can be shortened considerably, and individual systems can be easily linked with others to accelerate data utilization.1. AMeDASAMeDAS automatically receives meteorological observation data such as precipitation, wind direction and wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity at least every minute from about 1,300 AMeDAS stations nationwide including Meteorological Offices and Weather Stations, and uses the processed meteorological observation data for issuing disaster prevention meteorological information. Shifting AMeDAS to the new platform makes it possible to flexibly add system resources in response to the increase in the amount of weather observation data due to the localization and severity of disasters in recent years, contributing to the prompt and accurate announcement of disaster prevention weather information to stakeholders throughout society.2. ADESSADESS is a system that plays a central role in the network that exchanges data with meteorological institutions in Japan and internationally, and distributes disaster prevention weather information including a variety of forecasts, advisories, warnings, and seismic intensity bulletins created by the JMA to administrative agencies and media organizations domestically. Shifting ADESS to the new platform will greatly improve the system's data processing capacity, which is needed to increase the amount of weather observation data it can collect from AMeDAS, the tide level data general processing system, weather satellites, etc., and to improve the computing capacity of supercomputer systems, enabling accurate and flexible delivery of updated weather information.3. Ocean Information Processing SystemThe Ocean Information Processing System collects and processes observed data, distributes real-time information on storm surges and tsunamis, and exchanges data with external organizations. Shifting the system to the new platform will contribute to the safe and real-time delivery of data essential for generating warnings and advisories of high tides that accompany earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons.(1) JMA's regional meteorological observation system, "AMeDAS":Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System. A system that automatically observes precipitation, wind direction and velocity, air temperature, and relative humidity from about 1,300 AMeDAS stations nationwide including Meteorological Offices and Weather Stations throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in order to closely monitor weather conditions in terms of time and area, and collects, calculates, and distributes observed data.(2) ADESS:Automatic Data Editing and Switching System. A core system that functions as the center of a network that exchanges data with meteorological institutions in Japan and overseas, and distributes disaster prevention weather information such as various forecasts, advisories, warnings, and seismic intensity bulletins created by the Japan Meteorological Agency to administrative agencies and media organizations in Japan.(3) Ocean Information Processing System:A system for collecting and processing observed tide level data, distributing real-time information on storm surges and tsunamis, and exchanging data with external organizations.(4) East and West of Japan:Located in Tokyo and OsakaAbout 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.
Myanmar: Dams along Mekong by China threatening farmers and fish in Southeast Asia: Report

April 13,2021 | Source: ANI News

China's construction of large hydropower dams along the river to feed country's growing energy needs is causing problems downriver -- having devastating impacts on water availability and the fertile soil that feeds hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia.The Mekong River flows some 5,000 kilometers from the Himalayas to China's Yunnan province and then to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia and then reaches to sea through Vietnam's Mekong Delta.In a detailed report by DW News, it has been revealed that rapid construction of dams over the Mekong is causing problems for fish stock and farms in the country's downriver."Upriver China has been constructing a number of large hydropower dams to beat the country's rapidly increasing energy needs but it is causing problems for fish stock and farms in the country's downriver. It also has a dire impact on the fertile soil on the river and Mekong Delta which feeds hundreds and millions of people," said a report."With more dams under construction upriver, the future of the region is at stake", it said.DW journalist visited farmers and fishermen in the countries along with the Mekong River and talked to experts for a possible solution.In late November 2019, the TV station of Cambodia's Phnom Penh Post reported on a drought that gripped the lower Mekong since the middle of the year. For the first time since the records are being kept, the river bed has almost completely dried up all across Cambodia. That's despite the fact that it's the monsoon season when the mighty Mekong River is flowing swiftly teeming with fish. Instead, fish catches which provide three-quarters of Cambodia's protein requirements dropped by 80 to 90 per cent till 2019.A fisherman in Cambodia said that his family's survival is under threat. "I used to catch 30-40 kg of fish but not anymore. It's not even enough to feed our family," he said. DW report said that the estimated economic damage in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos amounts to several billion Euros.The Mekong typically swells in the rainy season where it converges with the Tonle Sap River, causing an unusual reversed flow into the Tonle Sap Lake, filling it up and providing bountiful fish stocks.



But in recent years, the flow to Southeast Asia's largest lake has at times been delayed, a factor blamed on drought and hydropower dams upstream on the Mekong.Whether or not China's 11 dams are harming downstream nations' dependency on the river has become a geopolitical issue, with the United States urging Lower Mekong governments to demand answers.China's Mekong River dams held back large amounts of water during a damaging drought in downstream countries in 2019 despite China having higher-than-average water levels upstream, a US research company said in a study.The findings by Eyes on Earth Inc, a research and consulting company specialising in water, published in a US-government funded study, could complicate tricky discussions between China and other Mekong countries on how to manage the river that supports 60 million people as it flows past Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and through Cambodia and Vietnam.The 2019 drought, which saw the Lower Mekong at its lowest levels in more than 50 years, devastated farmers and fishermen and saw the massive river recede to expose sandbanks along some stretches and at others turned from its usual murky brown to bright blue here because waters were so shallow and lacking in sediment."If the Chinese are stating that they were not contributing to the drought, the data does not support that position," said Alan Basist, a meteorologist and president of Eyes on Earth, which conducted the study with funding from the US State Department's Lower Mekong Initiative.



According to Alan Basist, the upper part of the Mekong basin in China did not suffer from a drought in 2019 and on the contrary there had actually been considerably more rain and meltwater compared to other years but China held back the lion's share of this water with its huge dams on the upper reaches of the Mekong.If China had not blocked the flow of the Mekong, the water levels in Thailand and Cambodia would have been four meters higher in 2019 and the lower reaches of the river had most likely not suffered a catastrophic drought.Basist told DW, "What had happened that the China Southern Power Grid Company was releasing an unprecedented amount of water during the dry season to basically sponsor hydroelectric production to the grid. They drain the reservoirs at the beginning of 2019 producing hydroelectric energy and then they refilled the reservoirs in 2019"Mekong River is the lifeline of South East Asia. 60 million people from almost 100 ethnic groups live along the river's banks. The Mekong provides them water, fish and fertile soil for rice production. It serves as a transport and trading route and sustains biodiversity. It is home to some 800 mammals. 2,800 species of birds, 1300 species of fish at the same time the region is highly endangered by climate change.The riverbeds dropped almost 5000 meters over its 4,300 km course. All Mekong countries are building an increasing number of hydro-electric power plants since the early 1990s. China, in particular, is pushing the construction of dams.
When Princess Diana joined the Royal Family in 1981, Prince Philip, who died on Friday at the age of 99, went out of his way to make her feel welcome.

Prince Philip and Princess Diana's bond

Over the years, the two became close and often interacted, with the Duke signing off letters to his daughter-in-law "with fondest love, Pa." Philip used to give Diana love advice. He worked hard to help the royal recover her marriage to Prince Charles.

After courting for less than a year, Diana married Prince Charles in 1981. The Duke of Edinburgh is said to have pushed for the marriage because he wanted his eldest son and heir to have a stable life.

Prince Philip enthralled Diana, and the two often conversed and sat next to each other at formal dinners and events. Prior to Diana and Charles' split in December of that year, the two exchanged a series of letters in 1992.

The letters reveal Diana's strong relationship with her father-in-law, with the Duke providing frank advice and concluding each letter with a touching note, as per Daily Express via MSN. "Ma and Pa" was how Philip and his wife, the Queen, addressed themselves.

Meghan Markle Advised Not to Return to the UK; Prince Harry Risks Royal Divorce If He Returns Unapologetic

Prince Philip helped Princess Diana during her rocky marriage

According to Fox News, another "outsider" soon became Princess Diana's ally as she joined the British royal family. Her father-in-law, Prince Philip, was taken with the Princess of Wales at first and was eager to help her adjust to her new role.

Diana married Prince Charles, the British heir to the throne, in 1981. "Philip spent seven decades literally and metaphorically walking behind the queen," British author Tom Quinn told Fox News. "Still he was the pillar of the royals' private life, helping Diana through her most painful times. When he thought his sons' conduct was not up to par, he reprimanded them, including Prince Charles."

As Prince Philip heard that Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles was on the rocks, he promised to lend a listening ear, according to letters discovered after Diana's death in 1997 at 36. Diana has long accused Charles of having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, his ex-girlfriend.

Their bond, however, is said to have taken a turn when Diana took matters into her own hands. Andrew Morton published "Diana: Her True Story - In Her Own Words" in 1992, a shocking book based on tapes the Princess of Wales secretly made and sent to him. Diana spoke up about her rocky marriage to Charles.

Prince Philip Gets Wish Of 'No-Fuss' Funeral, Brings William and Harry Face To Face Since Rift

According to Ingrid Seward, Philip was reportedly "incensed" by the revelations, royal author, and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, who later told the UK's DailyMail that Queen Elizabeth II was "procrastinating" on the matter of whether Charles and Diana should divorce.

According to Seward, after the publication, Queen Elizabeth II convened a family meeting with Charles and Diana to help them work out their problems. "Try to think about their children, the monarchy, and the country instead of their personal troubles," Philip said in the private sitting.

"He sought to get her to face the truth and live with the issues of her life, stating that he had firsthand experience with the challenges of marrying into the royal family," Seward said. Philip signed some of the letters he wrote for his daughter-in-law as "Pa" and expressed his sympathy to Diana after his son became engaged in an extramarital affair with his ex-girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles, as per The News.

The prince made stern remarks to Diana, saying he wanted her to realize that becoming the wife of the heir to the throne "involved far more than merely becoming a hero of the British people." Diana was said to be enraged by the response. In 1996, Diana and Charles officially divorced.

Prince Philip Gets Wish Of 'No-Fuss' Funeral, Brings William and Harry Face To Face Since Rift

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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The parents of 20-year-old black man Daunte Wright who was shot dead by a veteran police officer during a traffic stop in Minneapolis say they are refusing to accept that the cop, who was training a rookie at the time, accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser.

Wright was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags.

Police said a struggle broke out when they tried to arrest Wright after running his name and realizing he had an outstanding warrant.

Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the warrant but court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court last month on misdemeanor charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police last June.

His aunt has said the warrant was for marijuana possession.

The city's police chief on Monday described the shooting as 'an accidental discharge' and said the veteran officer, who is a married mother-of-two, had mistakenly fired her gun instead of a taser.

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake.

'I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he's never coming back. I can't accept a mistake, that doesn't even sound right,' Aubrey said.

'This officer has been on the force for 26 years.'

Potter tendered her resignation on Tuesday afternoon, two days after the shooting.

Daunte Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake after police revealed Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser

Daunte Wright (left with his son) was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter (right) on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags

Cop who 'accidentally' shot dead Daunte Wright is a 25-year veteran who trained rookies Kimberly Potter, 48, has worked with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 25 years. She was training a new officer on Sunday when the fatal shooting occurred. Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune. She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home. Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed. Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association. Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported. She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018. Advertisement

Wright's mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for 'everything she's taken from us'.

During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called his death 'murder' and dismissed claims it was an accident.

'They murdered my nephew. She killed my nephew,' Naisha said at the press conference, which was held alongside members of George Floyd's family.

'Every pistol, every Taser, it has a safety on it. She saw that she had to release that. That woman held that gun in front of her for a long damn time.'

Naisha has previously denied that her nephew's license plate tag was expired, as police have said. She also said a misdemeanor warrant that was out for her nephew was 'just for some weed'.

Meanwhile, Potter is believed to have left her home overnight and is currently staying outside the area, police sources told DailyMail.com.

When DailyMail.com visited Potter's five bedroom $435,000 home on Tuesday morning, the property appeared deserted.

Police were seen circling the area but said they had no word of any protests planned in the neighborhood.

They had also erected a series of no parking signs in the immediate vicinity of her home.

Potter is understood to be with her ex-cop husband Jeffrey, 54, and their two adult sons: Samuel and Nicholas.

Wright's shooting death has sparked violent protests and unrest in the city that is already on edge because of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd's death.

Protests also broke out overnight in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland and Seattle.

The unrest continued for a second night just hours after the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled Wright's death as a homicide and said the cause was a gunshot wound to the chest.

It came after Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon held a tense press conference on Monday afternoon where he said 'an accidental discharge' appeared to be the cause of Wright's death.

Wright was shot dead on Sunday afternoon after he and his girlfriend were pulled over during a traffic stop for what police say was an expired car registration.

The officers then learned Wright, who has a toddler son, had the outstanding warrant against him.

Gannon released footage of the incident from Potter's bodycam that showed her and two other officers approaching Wright's car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop.

The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.

A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.

Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'.

Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Wright's mother Katie Wright (center) is comforted by her sister-in-law Naisha Wright during a press conference on Tuesday

During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called his death 'murder' and dismissed claims it was an accident

Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright's car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop

Potter could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, she can be heard saying: 'I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath

'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' Gannon said.

'As I watch the video and listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet.

'For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you're right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left. This is done purposefully, and it's trained.'

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright's death.

Potter has been placed on administrative duty.

Brooklyn City Mayor Mike Elliott said during the press conference that the officer should be fired.

'My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,' Elliott said, adding he fully supported relieving the officer of her duties.

His comments were in contrast to City Manager Curt Boganey, who was in charge of the police department, after he said he wanted due process to play out before passing judgment on the officer's actions.

Boganey was fired by the town's City Council in an emergency meeting on Monday.

Elliott now oversees the police department.

Brian Peters, head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said Potter was working Sunday as a field training officer, training a rookie officer.

'She's just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It's completely devastating,' he said. 'In a very tense moment, she made a mistake. It's not her character.'

Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune.

Police clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as 'an accidental discharge.' It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday

Protesters throw fireworks towards police as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department a day after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Monday

A Dollar Tree store that was looted has its sprinklers turned on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul. But hundreds of protesters defied that order and were seen gathered in the city Monday evening

She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home.

Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed.

Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association.

Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported.

She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family, is also representing the Wrights.

In a tweet, Crump said he believed that Potter 'knew exactly what she was doing' in a previous case which he said she told officers how to 'obscure accountability'.

He wrote about the previous incident involving Dimock-Heisler and Potter, saying she 'taught officers who fatally shot Kobe Dimock-Heisler how to protect themselves & obscure accountability'.

Crump, quoting a Hennepin County Attorney's Office report, wrote that Potter had previously instructed two police officers in the previous case to 'exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn camera, and to not talk to ech other.

'Of course Kim Potter knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to obscure the truth. In that instance, her actions were clearly intentional,' he wrote.

Police clear a strip mall of demonstrators after issuing orders to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday, April 12

Protesters are arrested as law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021. Protests continue in the wake of the fatal shooting of Duante Wright

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

Protesters advance towards officers using umbrellas as shields outside Brooklyn Center Police Department

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

Brooklyn Center city manager FIRED after calling for 'due process' for cop Brooklyn Center City Manager, Curt Boganey, was fired Monday night after publicly disagreeing with Mayor Mike Elliott's assertion that the police officer who fatally shot Duante Wright should immediately be fired. Boganey, who controlled the police department as city manager, told a press conference that Kim Potter would get 'due process' after the shooting. 'All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline,' he said. Soon after, the mayor and the Brooklyn Center City Council voted to fire Boganey, a longtime city employee, during an emergency meeting. 'Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward,' Elliott tweeted. 'I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government.' Mayor Elliott said city council had voted to give his office 'command authority' over law enforcement. Elliott called the shooting 'deeply tragic' and said the officer should be fired. 'We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people,' he said. 'Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole.' Advertisement

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall on Monday hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

A drum beat incessantly and the crowd broke into frequent chants of 'Daunte Wright!'

When the protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.

A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

'Move back!' the police chanted. 'Hands up! Don't shoot!' the crowd chanted back.

Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after Sunday night violence.

The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.

A curfew was in place, but the protesters were determined to ignore it.

The police repeatedly tried to drive protesters away from the police headquarters, only for the crowd to scatter, then regroup.

By late Monday, only a few dozen protesters remained.

At a press conference at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said that 40 people had been arrested on Monday night at the Brooklyn Center protest, with some people being booked into the Hennepin County jail, while some were cited and released.

He added several officers suffered minor injuries from debris.

Wright's mother Katie Wright has previously described her son calling her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror.

It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror.

Katie Wright (left), the mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was shot and killed yesterday by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop

Pictured: A man blows smoke in the face of an officer outside Brooklyn Center Police Station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Riot police stand in the middle of a crowd of protesters demonstrating after the death of Wright, outside the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Tension was high as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear faced off with protesters gathered outside of the police station

Police officers stand guard as they face off with demonstrators outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021

Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul

Biden says there's 'absolutely no justification for violence' in wake of protests President Joe Biden on Monday addressed the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright and called for calm in the wake of violent protests. Biden says he watched the 'fairly graphic' body camera footage from the officer who killed Wright. 'The question is whether it was an accident or intentional? That remains to be determined,' he said. Biden said there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' regarding protests. 'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence... 'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm.' When asked if he expects the country is on a 'razor's edge' Biden says he is 'not going to speculate now. I hopeful that there will be an outcome that will be supported by a vast majority of people in the region and that is my expectation.' Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright's death. 'Prayers are not enough,' she tweeted. 'Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte's family needs to know why their child is deadthey deserve answers.' Advertisement

She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him.

Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information.

'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.''

'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon.

'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat.

Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright's mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son.

'All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,' she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center.

'We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.'

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement.

'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm,' Biden said.

Biden then stressed that there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' in protest or otherwise.

'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence...'

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright's death.

'Prayers are not enough,' she tweeted. 'Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte's family needs to know why their child is deadthey deserve answers.'
DALLAS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After closing out the second half of last year with 12.2% sales growth, Smoothie King announced today it continued its impressive pace during the first quarter of 2021. The world leader in healthy smoothies experienced a record-breaking 18% same-store sales increase year-over-year for the first quarter, received 24 signed franchise agreements to develop 71 stores and welcomed nine franchisees into the system.

Additionally, Smoothie King opened 32 total locations in Q1. Fourteen of those newly-opened stores were inside the United States, while another 18 opened internationally. A few markets Smoothie King has already expanded further into this year include Philadelphia, Cleveland, Phoenix and St. Louis.

Following the outstanding return this past quarter, Smoothie King now boasts 1,319 total stores worldwide.

"As this past quarter demonstrated, our purpose-driven mission of inspiring people to live healthy and active lifestyles continues to translate into success on the franchise development side of the business," said Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King. "Coming off 2020, despite everything that happened, we still opened a record number of stores and achieved our ninth-straight year of same-store sales growth. We are very pleased to see this momentum has carried over into 2021 so far, and we look forward to growing even more this year with current and new franchisees."

INSPIRING INVESTMENT INTEREST

Innovation is a value Smoothie King is constantly prioritizing, and in the last 12 months alone, the company: introduced curbside pickup; delivery; a full-fledged, online-ordering platform; and most recently, tablet-ordering capabilities at participating drive-thru locations nationwide.

These initiatives are all in an effort to better reach today's guest in the current environment and continue providing them with a convenient, healthy option. As a result, Smoothie King's digital platforms  which the company only introduced in February 2020  now account for a whopping 21% of the franchise's total sales.

"For our digital sales to account for nearly a quarter of our overall sales when not 14 months ago that number was at 0% says a lot about our innovations team and the likeability of our digital platforms," said Kim. "It's also a number that will continue to grow as more of today's consumers gravitate toward convenient, online-ordering platforms."

Also creating investment interest are a couple exciting partnerships the brand announced in Q1, both of which underscore Smoothie King's health focus and create an even deeper alignment with today's consumers.

In January, Smoothie King began providing loyalty guests with a free two-month subscription to Daily Burn: a digital health and fitness company with at-home workout content. A couple months later, the franchise announced a major partnership with U.S. Olympian and five-time, gold-medal winner Gabby Douglas to promote the brand's newest menu innovation: a line of collagen-containing Stretch & Flex smoothies.

Like Kim mentioned, these efforts on the consumer side have positively impacted the business side of things for Smoothie King and will continue to do so. As the economy gradually opens up again and more consumers make purchasing decisions with their health and wellness in mind, initiatives like these will continue to set existing Smoothie King owners and their local small-businesses up for success.

Reinforcing the recent strength of the brand, Entrepreneur magazine tabbed Smoothie King as one of the fastest-growing franchises and ranked them as No. 19 in its 2021 Franchise 500 List: a prestigious ranking of the strongest and most well-performing franchises around the world over the past year.

LEADERSHIP ADDITIONS

Smoothie King's franchise system wasn't the only thing that grew in Q1, as the company also announced a new addition to its executive leadership team.

Josh Nicosia was welcomed aboard as the chief legal officer in March, where he's responsible for compliance, mergers and acquisitions, data privacy and all legal matters pertaining to Smoothie King's franchise business. Most recently, Nicosia held the title of North American general counsel for IWG plc, the world's largest coworking provider, and served as the general counsel & head of franchise development for Jamba Juice.

With over a decade of experience working in legal departments at various franchise companies, both privately- and publicly-held, Nicosia is happy to be back in a familiar industry with a popular, growing franchise.

"I am excited to join the experienced leadership team here at Smoothie King and be back in the restaurant industry," said Nicosia. "The energy among our team members and franchisees in pursuing Smoothie King's mission to inspire people to live active and healthy lifestyles will continue to drive our business forward and set us apart as the best-in-class franchisor in our industry."

2021 VISION

Looking toward the remaining three quarters of 2021, Smoothie King is looking for qualified franchise candidates to expand in markets like Denver, Cleveland, New York and Philadelphia.

If you are ready to join an outstanding and innovative brand that's making an impactful and healthy difference in the lives of its guests, please visit www.smoothiekingfranchise.com for more information.

ABOUT SMOOTHIE KING FRANCHISES, INC.

Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., the original U.S. smoothie franchise, is a privately-held, Dallas-based franchise company with over 1,300 locations worldwide. Founded in 1973, Smoothie King has evolved into a lifestyle brand inspiring people to live healthy and active lifestyles via nutritious, great-tasting smoothies. The franchise earned the No. 1 ranking in the smoothie/juice bar category, and No. 19 overall, on Entrepreneur's prestigious Franchise 500 list in 2021. The company also debuted on the "Inc. 5000" list in 2018.

Media Contact: Brian Campbell Jr., Fishman PR, 847-945-1300 or [email protected]

SOURCE Smoothie King

Related Links

https://www.smoothiekingfranchise.com/


"Hot in Herre" rapper Nelly hosting a party at a spot called "Smoke" just makes sense.

Owner Adrian Martinez confirmed the rapper will host the six-year anniversary bash on April 20. Nelly will emcee the event for 2 to 3 hours and perform a couple of his hits.

RELATED: Concerts are back! All the shows heading to Texas arenas in 2021

Local entertainers like Finding Friday and DJ Ammunition are scheduled to perform. Martinez said he's working on bringing in two more musicians.

Along with having the chance to rap along to early 2000s hits, guests will also experience champagne showers, giveaways, money drops and maybe even a meet-and-greet with Nelly, Martinez said.

READ MORE FROM MADALYN: 'We can't wait': Big Texas Comicon is returning to San Antonio this fall

Capacity at the outdoor venue will be limited to 1,500 people. Seven hundred early bird tickets were available online for $20 each, but sold out. The day of the event, 600 tickets will be sold for $40 each. Martinez said VIP tables will also be offered.

The original Smoke was located at St. Paul Square. That location closed in July and Martinez reopened the new concept, an outdoor patio with downtown skyline views, in November.
Here's what you need to know: Tuesday, April 13
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ODA in 2010

In 2010, net official development assistance (ODA) flows from members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD reached USD 128.7 billion, representing an increase of +6.5 % over 2009. This is the highest real ODA level ever, surpassing even the volume provided in 2005 which was boosted by exceptional debt relief. Net ODA as a share of gross national income (GNI) was 0.32%, equal to 2005, and higher than any other year since 1992 (see Table 1 and Chart 1). Bilateral aid for core development programmes and projects (i.e. excluding debt relief grants and humanitarian aid) rose by +5.9% over 2009 (see Chart 2). New lending (+13.2%) increased faster than grants (+6.8%). Online dynamic graphics Net ODA - ODA/GNI

in 2010

Bilateral ODA to Africa was USD 29.3 billion, of which USD 26.5 billion was for sub-Saharan Africa. These amounts represent an increase in real terms of +3.6% and +6.4% respectively over 2009. However, excluding debt relief grants, bilateral ODA fell very slightly (-0.1%) for Africa but rose (+1.7%) for sub-Saharan Africa.

Donor performance

In 2010, the largest donors by volume were the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden continued to exceed to United Nations ODA target of 0.7% of GNI. The largest increases in real terms in ODA between 2009 and 2010 were recorded by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Korea, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

The United States continued to be the largest single donor with net ODA disbursements of USD 30.2 billion, representing an increase of +3.5% in real terms over 2009. This is the highest real level of ODA ever recorded by a single donor country, except for 2005, when the US gave exceptional debt relief to Iraq. US ODA as a per cent of GNI remained unchanged at 0.21%. Its bilateral ODA to the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) rose to a record USD 9.4 billion, representing an increase of +16.2% over 2009. Much of this increase was accounted for by the US response to the 2010 Haitian earthquake (aid to Haiti rose +241% to USD 1.1 billion). Among non-LDCs, aid to Pakistan rose especially sharply (+126% to USD 1.4 billion), reflecting increased disbursements across many sectors.

ODA from the fifteen EU countries that are members of the DAC rose by +6.7% in 2010 to reach USD 70.2 billion, representing 54% of total net ODA provided by DAC donors. It also represented 0.46% of DAC-EU GNI, up from 0.44% in 2009. This was well above the overall DAC average of 0.32%. ODA rose or fell in DAC-EU members as follows:

Austria (+8.8%), due mainly to grants for debt forgiveness;

Belgium (+19.1%), due to debt forgiveness grants and an increase in bilateral grants;

Denmark (+4.3%), as it increased its bilateral grants;

Finland (+6.9%), due to an increase in bilateral grants;

France (+7.3%), mostly due to an increase in bilateral lending;

Germany (+9.9%), as it increased its bilateral lending;

Greece (-16.2%), due to unprecedented fiscal constraints;

Ireland (-4.9%), due to fiscal constraints;

Italy (-1.5%);

Luxembourg (-0.3%);

Netherlands (+2.2%);

Portugal (+31.5%), mainly due to increased bilateral lending;

Spain (-5.9%), due to budgetary pressures;

Sweden (-7.1%), though Sweden continues to allocate approximately 1 % of its GNI to ODA;

United Kingdom (+19.4%), reflecting the continuing scaling up of its aid programme.

Grants to developing countries and multilateral organisations from EU Institutions rose by +0.8% to USD 13.0 billion.

ODA by Japan was USD 11.0 billion, representing an increase in real terms of +11.8% over 2009. Japans ODA as a share of GNI rose from 0.18% in 2009 to 0.20% in 2010. The increase was mainly due to larger bilateral grants to LDCs as well as a major contribution to the World Bank.

Net ODA rose or fell in other DAC countries as follows:

Australia (+12.1%), due to an increase in grants to Least Developed Countries;

Canada (+12.7%), due to an increase in bilateral grants and larger contributions to the World Bank;

Korea (+25.7%), as it further scaled up its aid programme;

New Zealand (-3.9%), however the under-spent budget from 2009-10 is being rolled forward and will be available to be spent up until June 2012;

Norway (+3.6%), mainly due to increasing efforts to promote clean energy and reduce deforestation;

Switzerland (-4.5%), due to reduced debt relief; however, Switzerland now has a firm ODA target of 0.5% of GNI by 2015.

In 2010, gross ODA (i.e. without deducting loan repayments) amounted to USD 141.3 billion, representing an increase in real terms of 6.3% over 2009. The largest donors were the United States, Japan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom (see Table 2).

Non-DAC OECD economies provided net ODA flows as follows:

Czech Republic (+4.6%);

Estonia (+4.7);

Hungary (-2.2%);

Iceland (-22.6%);

Israel (+12.4%);

Poland (-4.1%);

Slovak Republic (+2.7%);

Slovenia (-7.4%);

Turkey (+23.8%), as it scaled up its aid programme.

How well were the pledges made in 2005 kept?

In 2005, at the Gleneagles (G8) Summit and other fora , donors made specific commitments to increase their ODA. When quantified by the OECD Secretariat, the pledges implied raising DAC ODA from about USD 80 billion to nearly USD 130 billion (in 2004 prices).

Also, in 2005, the fifteen members of the EU that are DAC members committed to reach an ambitious minimum ODA target of 0.51% of their GNI in 2010. The following countries surpassed that goal: Belgium (0.64%), Denmark (0.90%), Finland (0.55%), Ireland (0.53%), Luxembourg (1.09%), the Netherlands (0.81%), Sweden (0.97%) and the United Kingdom (0.56%). France nearly met the goal with an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.50% while others fell short: Austria (0.32%), Germany (0.38%), Greece (0.17%), Italy (0.15%), Portugal (0.29%) and Spain (0.43%).

Other DAC members made various promises for 2010 that were met. The United States pledged to double its aid to sub-Saharan Africa between 2004 and 2010 and surpassed this goal in 2009, a year early. Canada aimed to double its International Assistance Envelope compared to 2001, and did so. Australia aimed to reach $A 4 billion and achieved this. Norway surpassed its commitment to maintain ODA as a per cent of GNI at 1%, and Switzerland met its commitment to meet an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.41%.

At the G8 Gleneagles Summit in 2005, Japan pledged to increase aid related to the period from 2005 to 2009. Japans performance against this pledge was covered in last years report. It is noted that Japans ODA rose significantly in 2010.

New Zealand plans to achieve an ODA level of $NZ 600 million by 2012-13 and appears on track to meet this.

Korea was not a DAC donor in 2005 and made no promises then to increase its aid; however, since 2005 its aid programme has increased in real terms by +56%.

The combined effect of the increases has been to raise ODA by 37 per cent in real terms since 2004, or about USD 30 billion (in 2004 dollars). However, when comparing the 2010 ODA outcome with the promises made in 2005, this still represented a shortfall of about USD 19 billion. Only a little over USD 1 billion of the shortfall can be attributed to lower than expected GNI levels due to the economic crisis. The remaining gap of USD 18 billion was due to donors that that did not meet their ODA commitments.

At Gleneagles, G8 donors also envisaged an increase in total ODA to Africa of USD 25 billion. However, preliminary estimates show that Africa only received an additional USD 11 billion. This shortfall is larger in percentage terms than the shortfall in total ODA. The main reason is the poor performance of several of the donors that provide large shares of their aid to Africa.

In an effort to ensure that future aid targets and pledges are clear, realistic and attainable, the DAC has recently approved a Recommendation on Good Pledging Practice. This is designed to help all donors improve their pledging practice and enhance accountability and transparency.

Aid beyond 2010

The OECD has just completed the fourth comprehensive survey of donors future spending plans which provides an indication of the collective forward programming of bilateral and multilateral donors through 2013.

Preliminary findings based on DAC members returns to the forward spending survey suggest slower aid growth ahead. Global country programmable aid (CPA - see note) is planned to grow at a real rate of 2% per year from 2011 to 2013, compared to 8% per year on average over the past three years. For DAC countries bilateral aid only, the projected increase is slightly lower at 1.3% per year.

The deceleration is likely to be more marked for low income countries and for Africa, where CPA is projected to increase at about 1% per year in real terms, compared to a 13% annual growth rate in the past three years. Thus, additional aid to these countries is likely to be outpaced by population increases.

The DAC is developing illustrative aid scenarios for the next few years as a number of donors do have aid targets, notably the EU target of at least 0.7% of GNI for the 15 EU members of the DAC and 0.33% for other EU members in 2015, along with the commitment of the EU and its member states to reach a collective target of 0.7% in 2015.

This document is based on OECD members' responses to an advanced questionnaire on main ODA aggregates. Data may be subject to revision.



For further information, please contact dac.contact@oecd.org

---

Note: CPA is a core subset of ODA and excludes non-programmable items such as humanitarian aid, debt relief, and in-donor costs like administrative costs and refugees in donor countries.
The homeowners association petitioned Glenview in 2007 to landscape the ponds to enhance the native landscaping, to improve the esthetic quality of the area and to provide an increased natural traffic noise barrier for the neighborhood, according a letter from the board, sent over the weekend. The homeowners association is responsible for maintenance of the ponds, according to the letter, and is required to replace damaged or deteriorating landscaping.
The boat rental market in the US is projected to surpass a valuation of U$19.7bn by 20301 as interest in leisure boating continues to increase. Borrow A Boat's US launch means that even more Americans can enjoy domestic boating holidays, plus foreign visitors to the US can enjoy a unique experience on the water once Covid travel restrictions are lifted.

Founded in 2017 by UK entrepreneur, Matt Ovenden, Borrow A Boat has experienced phenomenal growth since its inception and currently has access to over 35,000 vessels in 65+ countries.

Matt Ovenden, CEO and founder of Borrow A Boat said: "Our expansion into the US is a key milestone in the growth of the business and brand. The US is one of the world's biggest boating markets but remains largely untapped in terms of peer-to-peer charter.

"Not only does the US boast fantastic coastlines, but it also has some of the most picturesque lakes in the world and a wide variety of different waterways to suit all boating needs.

"Marine tourism is expected to fuel demand for boat rentals which provide an easy and convenient way to use a boat without the expense of owning it outright. Borrow A Boat offers boats as customers require, at competitive prices, with or without crew or a skipper, along with additional facilities such as hot tubs or jet skis."

The US site has access to over 35,000 vessels, with more boats being added each week. Borrow A Boat has boats in popular sailing regions such as New York, Chesapeake Bay, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, plus numerous well-known lakes across the country.

Customers can choose from a variety of vessels, including sailboats, motorboats, riverboats, RIBs, catamarans, gulets, luxury yachts and superyachts. Thanks to peer-to-peer lending and the wide variety of boats available, customers can be reassured they are receiving the best selection at the most competitive prices. Prices for day boats start from $60 per day and sailing yachts from $150 per day.

Ovenden continues: "As the US domestic travel market continues to grow, and with the promising news of US-UK travel routes reopening, Borrow A Boat is perfectly positioned to meet the needs of customers from both sides of the Pond. The US launch is further evidence of our ethos: to make boating more accessible, affordable, flexible, and inclusive for all, and to get more people to experience the positive benefits from being on the water."

For more information on Borrow A Boat US, visit www.borrowaboat.com/en-US.

Notes to Editors:

Borrow A Boat CEO, Matt Ovenden, is available for interview or comment upon request.

For further press information contact:

Jo Kendall | Elsa Findlay

Rooster PR

T: +44 (0) 20 3440 8930

E: [email protected]

W: www.rooster.co.uk

About Borrow A Boat:

Launched by boating enthusiasts in 2017, Borrow A Boat is on a mission to make boating more accessible, affordable, flexible, and inclusive for all through both traditional yacht charter companies and peer-to-peer yacht charter. Peer-to-peer charter enabling boat owners to offset the high costs of boat ownership by reducing maintenance costs and marina fees, whilst offering consumers more affordable and flexible boating experiences.

With over 35,000 boat rentals and yacht charters available in 65+ countries including the UK, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, North America, and South East Asia, Borrow A Boat is the leading yacht charter platform.

Borrow A Boat facilitates boat rental from just 40 per day, sailing yachts from 1,000 per week and luxury motorboats and superyachts, under Borrow A Boat Plus, from approximately 10,000 per week.

Boats of all types are available for rental, including sailboats, motorboats, riverboats, RIBs, catamarans, gulets, superyachts and luxury yacht charters. Customers can choose a boat with or without a skipper, depending on their sailing experience.

All boats meet the stringent safety and insurance codes, standards, and regulations for yacht chartering in their respective locations.

For more information, or to make a booking, visit the website www.borrowaboat.com.

1 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-boat-rental-market-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-to-2027-301002069.html

SOURCE Borrow A Boat

Related Links

http://www.borrowaboat.com


Local

Local Folks

'An awesome responsibility': WTVA chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan on tornadoes, fame and faith

Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM WTVA's chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan grew up terrified of severe weather, but gradually turned that fear into his passion. The longtime weatherman, who's lived and worked in Tupelo for a decade, said he appreciates and respects the bond he has with his viewers. Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM WTVA's chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan in the weather studio. Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM WTVA's chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan in the weather studio. Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM Meteorologist John Dolusic and Matt Laubhan, WTVA's chief meteorologist, look over weather maps for the upcoming forecast inside the WTVA studio in early April.

TUPELO  Growing up in the middle of Tornado Alley, WTVAs chief meteorologist Matt Laubhan was terrified of severe weather.

His childhood home in Russell, Kansas, was across the street from a tornado siren. When the city tested them every Monday, Laubhans stay-at-home mom would run down to the basement with him and his brother in tow.

His mother was hyper conscious of the weather. A day or so before predicted severe weather was expected to arrive, she'd take pictures off the walls and move anything of value to the basement.

Over time, Laubhan fed his fear with information; eventually, it turned into a passion.

Being scared to death means there are conversations, Laubhan said. Its kind of like how you sometimes have a child that has a defeatable cancer as a kid, beats it, and becomes a doctor. You find yourself exposed to it extensively because of that.

Laubhan has now worked 17 years as a meteorologist  seven years in Lubbock, Texas, and 10 in Tupelo, as of April 4.

The blur of tornado season

Tornado season in Northeast Mississippi typically ramps up in March, peaks in mid-April and slumps off quickly going into May, according to Laubhan.

On paper, Laubhan is scheduled to work weekdays from 2:30 p.m. until around 11, but that changes during tornado season. As severe weather events become more frequent, the station is often forced to cut into scheduled programming with hours-long radar-scanning marathons.

Unsurprisingly, the typical day during tornado season is a blur for Laubhan.

I can enjoy nice springlike days in February, but by the time they arrive in March and April, theyre usually a day or two before storms, and Im busy coordinating the plan on who were going to have out, whos working, how were going to approach this from social media and discussing what could happen with everybody, Laubhan said.

Adam Robison | BUY AT PHOTOS.DJOURNAL.COM Matt Laubhan, WTVA's chief meteorologist, and meteorologist John Dolusic, look over weather maps for the upcoming forecast inside the WTVA studio in early April.

Attempting to strike a balance between underwarning and overwarning viewers before a severe weather event, and dealing with the fatigue that can set in when threats dont pan out, is a challenge. The goal is to avoid having people become complacent when the next round of storms rolls through.

Its just like if youre talking about the recruiting game for college athletes, Laubhan said. How many times have you had the 5-star, best quarterback that doesnt pan out? Theres a difference between what all of the metrics say and the X-factor of reality.

Laubhan and his wife, WTVA anchor Emily Leonard, have two children, 7-year-old Penny and 5-year-old Leo. Combining their personal and professional partnerships helps things run more smoothly during tornado season.

When we get into these severe weather situations where Im here at weird hours, all hours of the night, what people dont realize is because we do work together, that means Emily is at home taking care of the kids, Laubhan said. She goes full-on single mom, and then when I get home and I get a day off to rest and relax from all that stuff, shes had all that plus then she has to come in to work.

"My wife is a saint and when people give me credit for all of the hard work, my wife is pulling double, triple duty at home and then comes in and doesnt get the days off," Laubhan added.

Life in the public eye: My best is good enough

During his first decade with WTVA, Laubhan has had his share of viral moments, and has developed a large, devoted following on social media.

He said theres a degree of pressure that exists because people have a tendency to give meteorologists more credit than they deserve.

The reality is that we are human beings, and while we do a good job, and I would like to think were right way more often than were not, were far from perfect, Laubhan said. And were one day closer to making a big mistake, frankly.

Still, every time the wind picks up, local social media is filled with funny hashtags like #ListenToLaubhan, #MattSaidGoToBed and other Laubhan memes.

The longtime meteorologist knows there's a bond between the local weatherman and the audience, and he feels that pressure every time storm clouds fill the sky.

There have been times in the past where I felt like I had to live up to some kind of standard that I had built, but Ive realized over time that God has given me everything I need to do the best I can this time, Laubhan said. And my best is good enough."

At the end of the day, were predicting the future, Laubhan added. Were not actually making this come true.

For viewers at home, Laubhan said, as long as they know how theyre going to find out if theyre in danger and where to seek shelter, everything else we do is performance theater.

Meant to be in Tupelo

Laubhans most memorable day on the job came less than a month into his tenure at the station, when an EF-5 tornado devastated Smithville and left 16 dead on April 27, 2011.

After a full night of tracking tornadoes on April 26, Laubhan had gone to bed for a couple of hours before waking up to death, doom and gloom on a level hed never forecasted in his career.

I remember being in the shower that morning and just racking my brain trying to think of any way that this wasnt going to happen, Laubhan said. I got out of the shower, I called my boss and Im like I cannot see a way that this doesnt turn into just an absolutely awful day.

Thomas Wells An aerial view of Smithville, from south to north along Highway 25, after the EF-5 tornado devastated the town and killed 16 people.

After getting to the station, it was guns blazing, every storm you look at is just awful. Most of the fragments he remembers from the day are from clips he watched afterward because it was such a whirlwind.

But it was the day Laubhan felt he was meant to be in Tupelo.

I went home that night and I just cried because I felt like God moved us here for a reason, Laubhan said. And whether that was truly it or not I cant say, but in my mind it was like So this is why you wanted us here. I was going to be a part of this with these people, and its going to change all of us together.

An awesome responsibility

Its impossible for Laubhan to look at everything that happens with the weather as a series of random events.

Thats not to say weather events cant be explained through physical properties, but in every single terrible thing thats ever happened, Ive been able to see amazing ways in which God has used that to improve the lives of people around them, he said.

Most people dont see the stories of redemption after deadly storms or the amount of near-death close calls that change lives in profound ways  instances of people who slept through a storm and narrowly missed being crushed by a tree.

Thats part of the reason Laubhan will occasionally pray on social media after a bad storm or share that he feels blessed when our area has been spared.

Some people think science and religion are opposite one another, Laubhan said. For me, I believe that science has strengthened my faith because its hard to believe that so many things could happen just by chance. I feel like thats a bigger jump than the opposite.

Knowing he is there for people at an intensely stressful time in their life is where he draws the most fulfillment.

One of the crazy things about my job is that I have the opportunity to speak to people at what is a very God-centric moment, Laubhan said. Theres something act of God about weather. There just is. And to hopefully, without excessively worrying somebody, leading them through that time is an awesome responsibility.

Related
[April 13, 2021] Mo-DV Announces Orbit to the Last-Mile Delivery for High Bandwidth Data Distribution through Mo2Go

"We are excited to announce Mo-DV's last-mile innovation, Mo2Go, to meet the accelerating demand for video to mobile devices, truly revolutionary for digital content delivery," said Jessica Fullmer, Mo-DV CEO and Founder. "At the Washington DC, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space Operations & Support Technical Committee (SOSTC) Improving Space Operations Workshop 2021 on April 8, 2021, we demonstrated how Mo2Go works with satellites for fast content delivery. Mo2Go can deliver 2 hours of high-definition video in less than one minute without the internet." COVID-19 has resulted in a significant strain on the internet, accelerating the global need for reliable, high-speed video delivery. Mo-DV, a prominent Silicon Valley digital media technology company, addresses the challenge of getting the rapidly growing amount of data to the end-user. One application for delivering media with Mo2Go is with tens of thousands of planned satellites from the U.S. and worldwide. With limited bandwidth, the challenge of getting the downlinked megabits, gigabits, and terabits of data to the end-user is real. The downlink daa from these satellites include internet and non-internet data involving video, data from cloud computing centers in other parts of the world and on-orbit cloud computing, medical records, financial data, real-time on-orbit imaging, disaster monitoring, etc.



Mo-DV's game-changing Mo2Go technology offers the best combination of security and speed for the last mile of content delivery. Mo2Go is a unique video content delivery architecture that quickly and securely delivers large content to end-users without the need for an active Internet connection. Mo2Go provides convenient caching for large content coming directly from satellites, limiting the need to deliver the content to end-users in a single link. The content will only need to be delivered once to the Mo2Go SpeedSpots, thus saving precious bandwidth. They are low-cost and easily installed in locations such as disaster areas, hospitals, airports, and shopping centers. Combining Mo2Go with Mo-DV's new MeshStash technology will take the world even closer to ubiquitous access to low-cost, fast-high quality video delivery. MeshStash is a highly secure interconnected network for local area caching of content. Think of it as a Content Delivery Network (CDN) in the neighborhood. These neighborhood networks can reduce bandwidth demand on the ISPs, and minimize latency.

With either Mo2Go or MeshStash, the result is a better, high-quality viewing experience for users and lower costs for those doing Video Delivery, ISPs, and content providers. For further information, visit www.mo-dv.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413006068/en/

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The leader of Georgia's United National Movement opposition party (UNM) Nika Melia was refused bail today.

The Judge of Tbilisi City Court Nino Chakhnashvili dismissed Melia from the courtroom because Melia called her a slave (of the current government).

The opposition parties which have been demanding Melias release for about two months have stated earlier today that the government is not willing to ease the current political tension and that Melia remains a political prisoner.

Melia was arrested on February 23, 2021 for his refusal to pay bail. His release was among top demands of the opposition in the EU-mediated talks last month. However, the mediation efforts ended without the result.

Melia is charged with incitement to violence during the June protests in Tbilisi back in 2019 which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament. He was released on 30,000 GEL bail on June 27, 2020. However, Melia violated the conditions of his bail by publicly removing his surveillance bracelet and 40,000 GEL was added to his bail in November 2020.

Melia has refused to pay the 40,000 GEL bail and on February 5, 2021 the Georgian Chief Prosecutors Office warned him of the possibility of his bail conditions being reversed to detention.
Last week investors received a welcome boost as Britains FTSE 250 reached a new all-time high, boosting many Isas, pensions and other investment portfolios.

The high-performing index comprises the 250 biggest companies listed in London, after those on the larger FTSE 100. Following a rollercoaster year, the index now finds itself 3 per cent higher than its pre-Covid record - set just after the 2019 general election.

Unlike the multinational dominated FTSE 100, the FTSE 250 is regarded as more representative of the UK economy, making the news of its success particularly welcome.

Bounce back: Following a rollercoaster year, the FTSE 250 index now finds itself 3 per cent higher than its pre-Covid record - set just after the 2019 general election

The FTSE 250's performance in the decade since the financial crisis years has been strong but it fell off a cliff last March as coronavirus hit - before regaining lost ground

Its performance suggests the markets have high hopes for Britains economic fight back, and the end of lockdowns for good.

Which shares are driving the bounce back, will the recovery boost your portfolio and how can you grab some of that success for your Isa or other investments? We take a look and get some investing ideas.

The UK-focussed stock market index that's on a roll

The FTSE 250 has been on a roll of late, gaining 8 per cent since markets re-opened in January.

The index isnt short on strong performers, with more than 100 of its members growing by more than 10 per cent in that time.

The biggest winners this year include Cineworld (up 60 per cent), virtual bingo titan Gamesys (up 60 per cent) and services company Mitie (up 55 per cent).

Its all a long way from last year, when the FTSE 250 suffered a stomach-turning 37 per cent loss during the Covid crash.

With a larger share of customer-facing businesses than the FTSE 100, the index looked set for a tough year  and many investors were braced for the worst.

While the FTSE 250 enjoyed a modest recovery in the spring, it was the news of the successful vaccine trials that finally changed its fortunes.

Four months later, and with Britains Covid cases down 96 per cent since January, the index is finally pushing into positive gains.

It suggests that markets can finally see an end to the Covid nightmare  even if ministers dont always seem to share their confidence.

With UK households sitting on an estimated 180 billion of lockdown savings, investors will be hoping that a summer spending splurge will propel the FTSE to new highs. If theyre right, it could lead to the FTSE 250s strongest year on record.

Tread carefully when picking shares

With a diverse spread of sectors, the FTSE 250 has long been popular with both retail investors and fund managers.

The attraction of investing in medium-sized companies is plain to see in the long-term performance figures, says Laith Khalaf of investment platform AJ Bell.

They are small enough that they still have room to grow, but large enough that they are established businesses with existing customer bases.

Before choosing any stock, its essential to do your research. Even companies you think you know well can turn out to have a very different business model.

Delivering: In 2019 Royal Mail was one of the FTSE's least-loved stocks, with a 60% drop in value in a year. Two years on it is a 'must have' stock, with a 246% rise in one year

Look at Royal Mail, which, back in the spring 2019, had become one of the FTSEs least-loved stocks, with a 60 per cent drop in value in a year.

Yet the company was championed by influential fund managers who pointed to its growing continental trade as evidence that the markets pessimism was undue.

Two years on and Royal Mail has become one of the FTSE 250s must have stocks, with a 246 per cent rise in one year.

However, its important to remember that a stocks short-term performance is not the best indicator of future growth.

Many of the fastest risers this year are the same companies that were hit hardest by the Covid crash.

They may have risen sharply in recent months, but from a very low baseline and not always without difficulty.

Take Cineworld, which teetered close to bankruptcy at the height of the Covid crisis.

Speculation about a Chinese takeover offer has revived its share price in recent months, but analysts remain wary of its large corporate debts.

The FTSE 250's top risers over the past three months is dominated by firms that were hammered in the pandemic, investors need to be wary this rebound may not last

The UK-focused funds and trusts that could profit

Investors looking for funds that focus on the UK to ride the recovery may find themselves spoilt for choice.

The relatively weak performance of FTSE stocks in recent years has fuelled a rise in funds hunting for British bargains.

Temple Bar Investment Trust, one of the first funds to back Royal Mail, is a well-known proponent of value investing.

As is Nick Train, the fund manager who currently runs the Finsbury Growth & Income Trust.

Interestingly, both trusts are also backing companies from the struggling FTSE 100, whose low valuations have been called ridiculous by Train.

The trusts five-year records are very different, with a 10,000 investment now worth 11,400 with Temple Bar, and 15,000 with Finsbury.

Temple Bar has accelerated rapidly in recent months, with many hoping the trust can return to its glory days of the early 2010s.

Mr Khalaf, meanwhile, picks Franklin UK Mid Cap, which holds a concentrated portfolio of 30 to 40 medium-sized companies.

Larger holdings include manufacturer Bodycote and housebuilder Redrow.

A 10,000 investment five years ago would now be worth 15,600.

He also suggests the Vanguard FTSE 250 ETF as a cheaper option for investors looking to gain exposure to the wider market.

As an index tracker, the fund mirrors the composition of the FTSE 250 itself, meaning that investors money grows in line with the overall index.

If markets keep pushing towards record highs, it could be a valuable addition to any portfolio.
New Delhi, April 13 : National Award-winning director Neeraj Ghaywan, who shot to fame helming "Masaan", is wielding the megaphone back in the upcoming anthology "Ajeeb Daastaans". He has directed the segment titled "Geeli Pucchi" starring Aditi Rao Hydari and Konkona Sen Sharma.

The story traces a lesbian romance between its two female protagonists, but goes beyond its relationship plot to look at the complexity of patriarchy, class, gender and sexuality, which he feels is good to explore.

This is not the first time that Ghaywan has brought forward these elements in his work. His globally-feted 2015 release "Masaan" showcased all these, too.

So much is said lately about inclusivity and yet sections of society continue to suffer, and remain marginalised. The issue, of course, is more complicated than it seems, feels Ghaywan.

"If you are talking about the marginalised communities and the subaltern, there is never a single identity. They are fused identities. There's intersection specifically with women. For instance, both of them (Aditi and Konkana) are subject to patriarchy, even though they come from different sections of society (and) different communities," Ghayan told IANS.

He said just like the characters suffer in the film, it happens in real life, too.

"They are both victims but at the same time pursuing a job, a career. They experience different treatment and this is true in all of India. I am more interested not just about a particular community or, of course, nobody talks about it as much as we should and that has been my penchant to bring out these stories," he added.

Ghaywan's intent with "Geeli Pucchi" was to get into the "complexity of intersection, which we don't talk much about in the industry"."See, patriarchy or class or gender or sexuality -- or all of these things -- are good to explore, and that is what my intent was," he told IANS.

Talking about the interesting title he reserved for "Geeli Pucchi", Ghaywan said: "It was a part of a dialogue, and I felt it was a key point of inflection between the two characters. I think it is a click-bait title, too." He started out directing with the 2013 anthology "Shorts", and in an eight-year run has made only one full-length feature film -- "Masaan". He says he is having the "second film syndrome" and hence has not come out with a full-fledged film yet."I think it is called the second film syndrome. I am grappling with it and I am still dealing with it. It is kind of complex, but I hope I will make a film this year. I have been badly wanting to. Right now, I am working on 'Made In Heaven' but after this I will start off with my second film," he said.

(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Due to the cost of spraying to suppress gypsy moth damage, it is eating into budgets.

To try to offset the cost, two Huron County townships approved a partnership to share costs to try to minimize the damages of the pesky insect. Because of the cost of spraying for gypsy moths, the Hume Township Board of Trustees is joining with Lake Townships board to explore going out for bids for spraying for the moths in order to get a better price.

A combined acreage of the two townships to be sprayed totals about 4,000 acres. Hume Township has about 2,300 acres it would like to have sprayed for gypsy moths.

The tentative cost for spraying is about $33 per acre.

Gypsy moths are an invasive species, which is a term for non-native pests that can cause harm to native species and ecosystems.

In its caterpillar life stage, the insect caused widespread defoliation in Michigan from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.

In the 1980s, Huron County was especially hard hit with the moth's devastation, with several trees killed because of them.

The leaf-eating caterpillars are hairy, up to 2 inches long and have a pattern of blue and dark red spots. Male moths are dark buff in color and fly; females are white with black, wavy markings and they do not fly.

The number one thing people can do to reduce the effects of pests like gypsy moths is to promote tree health.

To do that, water trees regularly and avoid damaging the roots and bark.

Doing those simple things can go a long way in helping trees fend off the effects of defoliation, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

In other matters, Hume Township officials approved hiring Brad Strozeski to do lawn service again this year. For grass cutting at the hall, the charge will be $40 per cut, for the cemetery four cuttings at $500 each, and doing spring cleanup will cost $550.
Government says waste water, used to cool reactors after March 2011 Tsunami, no longer poses danger. Local fishermen, environmental groups, neighboring states and the Catholic Church are opposed. The US and the International Atomic Energy Agency support the disposal plan.

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Japanese government today announced its intention to dump the radioactive waters of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged 10 years ago by a tsunami, into the sea.

Authorities claim that the millions of tons of liquids used to cool the atomic reactors during no longer pose a safety and health hazard. However, the decision has been met with firm opposition from local fishermen, environmental groups, neighboring states and the Japanese Bishops' Conference.

On 11 March 2011, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan devastated the northeastern coast of the country. The tsunami caused by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake killed 18 thousand people and destroyed entire cities. The catastrophe forced half a million residents to flee their homes.

The Fukushima disaster is rated 7th in severity levels by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the highest ever observed along with the 1986 Chernobyl (Soviet Union) disaster. Official estimates say it will take 40 years to rebuild and reclaim the land, at a cost of trillions of yen.

The disposal process will begin in two years; the released waters will be significantly diluted through an advanced system called Alps. It allows the most radioactive elements, such as strontium and cesium, to be removed from contaminated liquids.

Premier Yoshihide Suga said the operation will be conducted in a way that protects the local fishing industry. Tepco, the company that manages the Fukushima plant, will be obliged to pay compensation if Japanese fishermen suffer damage. However, for the national fisheries federation maintain that disposal at sea is unacceptable.

Tokyo also faces opposition from neighboring countries. China said Suga's move was "irresponsible"; Taiwan and South Korea also say they are against it. The Japanese executive has received the support of the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to which the plan for the release of contaminated water "has a solid scientific basis and is in line with the standard practices followed by the atomic industry in all the world".
Press Release

April 13, 2021 De Lima chides Duterte for his recent tirade vs her Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has chided Mr. Duterte for verbally attacking her anew, following her criticisms of his administration's incompetence and failed pandemic response. De Lima, the most prominent political prisoner under the Duterte regime, said Duterte should focus on doing his job as a President amid the rising COVID-19 infections and death toll in the country instead of attacking her. "Mr. President, maawa ka naman sa taumbayan. Namamatay na mga mahal nila sa buhay ako pa rin ang problema mo?" she said. "Magtrabaho ka na lang Duterte. Kung nagtrabaho ka lang sana hindi tayo umabot sa ganito. Huwag ka na lang puro ngawngaw," she added. In a pre-recorded briefing last April 12, Duterte released an expletive-laced statement against De Lima as he brought up the trumped-up drug charges against her anew. Duterte's verbal attack against De Lima came on the heels of her recent statements about Duterte's failure of leadership, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It may be recalled that recently, De Lima appealed to Senator Bong Go to "stop covering up for your boss and misleading us on his true capacity to lead" after Go released undated photos of Duterte walking and on a bike, and a short clip showing the President jogging. Likewise, De Lima has recently demanded justice and accountability for the Filipinos who succumbed to COVID-19, saying "we ought to seek justice for all the Filipino lives lost due to this administration's deplorable incompetence, negligence and botched pandemic response." Prior to this, De Lima also took a swipe at Duterte after he called her a "bitch" saying that he is merely using her as another diversionary tactic to cover up for his failure of leadership. As the staunchest critic of the Duterte regime, De Lima has been unjustly detained for over four years now based mostly on false testimonies of convicted criminals and other shady characters as a result of her courage in speaking out against the excesses of the government. She was recently acquitted in one of her three trumped-up drug cases, and has consistently and firmly maintained her innocence of all these cases.
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A former Governor of the South-East state of Imo, Rochas Okorocha, has been arrested, PREMIUM TIMES can authoritatively report.

Mr Okorocha was arrested by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at about 4 P.M. Tuesday at his Unity House private office in Abuja, sources familiar with the matter told this medium.

The former governor was arrested after a five-hour standoff with EFCC operatives who trailed him to the location.

Our sources said the anti-graft agency had repeatedly invited the former governor to its Abuja headquarters in connection with multiple corruption allegations against him.

Mr Okorocha, who is now senator, reportedly declined to honour the invitation, a development that infuriated detectives who fanned out to get him.

The politician is currently being interrogated at the EFCC headquarters and it is unclear if he would be allowed to go home today.

Details of the allegations against the senator are sketchy but our sources said they are related to suspected monumental graft during his eight-year reign as governor.

Mr Okorochas spokesperson, Sam Onwuemeodo, could not be reached Tuesday evening to comment for this report.

When contacted, EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed the former governor is in his agencys custody.

He declined further comments when pressed for details of the allegations against the politician.

Since he left office as governor in 2019, Mr Okorocha has been having a running battle with his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma, who accused him of misgovernance and corruption during his tenure. Both men are members of Nigerias ruling party, APC.

On February 21, the former governor was arrested by the police for unsealing a hotel owned by his wife but which was shut by the Imo State government. He was later released.

In November 2020, the EFCCs zonal office in Enugu arraigned Lasberry Anyanwu, a former commissioner who served under Mr Okorocha. He was charged with stealing and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N180 million.
Have you discovered a great source for finding vaccine appointments? Email agraff@sfgate.com.

California will open up vaccine eligibility to individuals 16 and over on Thursday, and a rush of millions of residents will be jumping online to find vaccine appointments.

There will likely not be enough appointments immediately available for those who want a shot, and public health officials are asking people to be patient. While you won't have to wait until fall for your vaccine, it make take you days, weeks, even a month or two to get an appointment.

To put this in perspective: There are about 18.7 million Californians age 16 to 49, and while some of those people have likely already been vaccinated because they're health care workers or fell into another category that made them eligible earlier in the rollout, there were still be millions and millions of people who can get inoculated for the first time. Meanwhile, this week the state expects to receive only about 2 million doses from the federal government. Next week, the state is slated to receive 1.9 million doses from the federal government. This number doesn't include doses the federal government distributes directly to pharmacies and other entities, which account for about 30% of available doses in California.

It's also important to know that vaccine appointment websites have generally been slow to update when eligibility expands. In other words, you may jump onto a pharmacy website in search of a slot and find it tells you that only those 50 and over are permitted to get vaccinated. Don't be alarmed: It could take some entities days to update with the latest guidelines.

The MyTurn website is the state's central hub for finding vaccine appointments, but it offers appointments at a limited number of sites and you may need to use several sites if you want the best chance at snagging an appointment in coming weeks.

Here's a rundown of other places to look for appointments online.

Vaccine finder websites, Twitter accounts and more

A smattering of websites, Twitter accounts and other social media ventures have emerged as one-stop sources that pull from a range of entities to help people find vaccine appointments. Except for VaccineFinder, which is government-run, these are all third-party sites.

Bay Area vaccine hunters Facebook page: This group that you can join by request is a hub for sharing vaccine information and appointment availability in the Bay Area.

California COVID-19 Vaccine Spotter (www.vaccinespotter.org/CA): This tool tracks down appointment openings at California pharmacies.

California Vaccine Bot: The Twitter bot @CovidVaccineCA reports when new appointments become available through MyTurn.

CVS & Rite Aid Vaccine Finder CA: The Twitter bot @VaccineCA specifically scans for appointments at CVS and Rite Aid pharmacies in California.

Find a Shot (findashot.org): Search for appointments near you or scroll down to search by zip code or state.

Solv. (solvhealth.com/covid-vaccine): See where you can book a vaccine near you.

VaccinateCA (www.vaccinateca.com): This site is run by a group of volunteers who call hospitals and pharmacies for vaccine availability and post what they learn online.

VaccineFinder (vaccinefinder.org): This site works with partners such as clinics, pharmacies and health departments to provide accurate and up-to-date information about vaccination services. It's operated by Boston Children's Hospital and is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Digital Service.

VaxxMax (www.vaxxmax.com/riteaid): This site finds vaccine slots at CVS, Health Mart, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart across the country.

Health care providers and companies

You don't need to be a member to book appointments through health care providers, but you may be required to register with their service.

Curative: Book appointments at Bay Area sites here and here.

Kaiser Permanente: Find information on vaccine eligibility and book an appointment here.

Sutter Health: Find information on vaccine eligibility and book an appointment here.

Pharmacies and grocery stores

Many pharmacies are offering vaccines; you can go directly to their websites to look for appointments. All pharmacies listed are part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program and you can learn more about this on the California Department of Public Health website.

Albertsons : www.mhealthappointments.com/covidappt

Costco: www.costco.com/covid-vaccine.html (membership not required)

CVS: www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

Kroger: www.kroger.com/rx/guest/get-vaccinated

Health Mart: scrcxp.pdhi.com/Portal/Member

Rite Aid: www.riteaid.com/pharmacy/covid-qualifier

Safeway: www.safeway.com/pharmacy/covid-19.html

Walgreens: www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19

Walmart: www.walmart.com/cp/1228302

County sites

You can check in with your county public health department for information on getting vaccinated at community clinics. While the state's MyTurn site captures many county sites, it doesn't feature appointments at all of them. Some counties also have drop-in vaccine clinics that don't require appointments.

Alameda: covid-19.acgov.org

Contra Costa: coronavirus.cchealth.org/get-vaccinated

Marin: coronavirus.marinhhs.org/vaccine/status

Napa: countyofnapa.org/3096/COVID-19-Vaccines

San Francisco: sf.gov/covid-19-vaccine-san-francisco

San Mateo: www.smchealth.org/covid-19-vaccination-program-overview

Santa Clara: sccfreevax.org

Solano: solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/covid_19_vaccines.asp

Sonoma: socoemergency.org/emergency/novel-coronavirus/vaccine-information

Do you have a question you want answered about the vaccine rollout in the Bay Area? Email agraff@sfgate.com.
No one enjoys being wrong. Yet some diehards in the Remain camp take the natural human propensity for wanting to be right to the extreme.

They are so desperate to be proved correct in their view that Brexit is a disaster, they seize on every negative number with lip-licking relish and trot it out as 'evidence' the UK economy is already withering away outside the EU.

The Schadenfreude, the sheer delight with which they pounce on any sign of a setback, comes perilously close to wishing failure on this country.

Never mind that it would mean misery, impoverishment and the dole queue for one's fellow citizens: at least they would have proved their point.

Resilience

No wonder, then, that some arch-Remainers leapt on the seemingly dreadful January trade figures, the first after the UK finally left the EU.

The numbers, which showed a fall in exports to the bloc of 42 per cent equivalent to 5.7bn were 'cataclysmic' in the eyes of Left-wing Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee.

According to her, the data showed that trade was not merely dwindling away like a 'slow puncture'. No, it had been totally torpedoed by a Brexit 'big bang'. The January figures should 'shake the Government to the core', she wrote.

As it turns out, there was no need for Boris Johnson to quake in his boots. A mere month later, exports to the EU rebounded with a 46.6 per cent rise  or 3.7bn  in February.

People queue to take a Covid-19 test at a mobile novel coronavirus testing centre on Clapham Common in south London, on April 13

So, to the chagrin of the Toynbee tendency, the latest data are in fact a testament to the resilience of British exporters, not the herald of their terminal decline.

Far from exports plunging off a Brexit cliff-edge, they have rallied impressively, despite the frictions of leaving the EU and the little matter of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

True, we have not made any great advances and are more or less where we were before the January plunge. But the fact that the slide has been reversed so rapidly is in itself grounds for optimism.

By now, Remainers will no doubt be scoffing that I am just another mouthpiece of the pro-Brexit Press.

Not so. This newspaper backed Brexit but I personally voted Remain  and I don't regret it, as I still believe the UK economy would have done better inside the EU than out.

I also, however, believe in democracy; and in the futility of continuing to fight battles that have already been lost. The shape of the UK economy will be different because of Brexit, but we can still prosper.

Sadly, Left-wing commentators are not the only ones to lard on the gloom.

Even the intelligent and humane Matthew Parris, a former Conservative MP turned columnist for The Times, complained after the January figures that Brexit is failing to deliver the great boost to exports we were promised.

'Where,' Parris demands to know, 'are the great new trade deals?'

He should ask Liz Truss, the International Trade Secretary, who also voted Remain: her officials have done deals with 65 countries. Some people are unimpressed that the tally does not yet include big economic fish such as the U.S., but she is just getting on with the job.

Anyone taking a dispassionate view of the situation, shorn of glib Remainer or Brexiteer rhetoric, would acknowledge that it is too soon to form a definitive judgment.

Only two sets of monthly trade figures have been produced since the transitional arrangements ended. Both are subject to distortions that make it impossible to draw sweeping conclusions.

The Office for National Statistics warns explicitly that the recent monthly data are erratic and volatile.

Some of this is down to the short-term upheaval of leaving the EU. Businesses in the UK and on the Continent stockpiled goods in November and December, in case of glitches.

They then ran down those stockpiles, rather than ordering new supplies. As a result, the trade figures for January were depressed and looked significantly worse than the underlying reality.

No wonder, then, that some arch-Remainers leapt on the seemingly dreadful January trade figures, the first after the UK finally left the EU. The numbers, which showed a fall in exports to the bloc of 42 per cent  equivalent to 5.7bn  were 'cataclysmic' in the eyes of Left-wing Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

By the same token, the figures for February, when they began ordering again, may have been flattered.

Meanwhile, Covid has had an enormous effect on trade, independent of Brexit.

The agreement signed with the EU over Christmas on the trade in goods was a big positive. Unfortunately, it pretty much coincided with the discovery of the 'Kent strain' of the virus and the temporary closure of the border with France. Then in January, the country was flung back into lockdown.

Against that backdrop, the revival of exports in February looks pretty robust.

As several leading City economists point out, it indicates that companies are adapting to lockdown conditions and have been quick to overcome Brexit disruptions.

Doubts

It is also worth noting that the total trade deficit  the amount by which our imports exceed our exports  was largely the result of a fall in exports to non-EU countries and a corresponding rise in imports. Brexit, of course, has no bearing on this.

I certainly don't deny that leaving the EU has created problems for exporters, particularly smaller firms. Many of these companies have only ever traded with Europe and so have had to get to grips with swathes of complex red tape for the first time.

The trade rules for Northern Ireland always threatened to be a nightmare and so it has proved, with violence erupting on the streets of Belfast.

And while the agreement on goods was a major breakthrough, we still do not have one for financial services.

These difficulties  along with my doubts about the competence of politicians to deliver a satisfactory deal were among the reasons why I voted Remain.

The one episode that has made me doubt my choice to vote Remain was the threat by Ursula von der Leyen to block vaccine exports to the UK

Some of these problems, we can now see, were glossed over by Brexiteers. There is a great deal of work still to be done.

But one thing firms have proved through Covid is their resilience  backed by inventiveness and flexibility. These qualities mean they will thrive in the long term post-Brexit.

Futile

The economy overall has stood up well to the lockdowns. Our recovery is likely to be stronger than that in the Eurozone, thanks to our faster rollout of vaccines.

And there is a bigger picture which we ignore at our peril. Spats between the Leave and Remain camps look parochial set against the huge damage inflicted by Covid on the world economy and global trade.

Even before the pandemic, the spectre of protectionism was starting to reappear.

Among the many dangers of the coronavirus is that it will create a witches' brew of fear, blame and the narrow-minded nationalism that is the enemy of trade. On which subject, the one episode that has made me doubt my choice to vote Remain was the threat by Ursula von der Leyen to block vaccine exports to the UK.

Ours has always been an outward-looking nation that enjoyed the fruits of open trade. This has brought benefits to consumers: cheaper prices and more choice. Our companies have been able to sell into overseas markets and attract investment from around the world.

The Government should strain every sinew to help our exporters; and the UK should take the lead in supporting open trade around the world.

As for Remainers, we need to stop wallowing in futile old arguments at a time when the economy needs every ounce of energy we can muster.

This article has been amended since first publication to refer to the value of the change in UK exports in January and February.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- International advocacy organization Global Citizen today announced VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, a global broadcast and streaming special that aims to inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and help get the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere. During the special, Global Citizen, will call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough "dollars-for-doses" to vaccinate more than 27 million heroic health workers, that are serving on the global frontlines, in the world's poorest countries everyday. The special will also encourage global development advocates and changemakers to call on world leaders to prioritize the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines for everyone, everywhere.

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World will be pre-taped at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Airing and live streaming on Saturday, May 8, 2021 on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube, iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations and the iHeartRadio App, VAX LIVE will start at 8:00 PM ET/7:00 PM CT. The concert will also air on FOX at 11:00 PM ET/PT. With support from the World Health Organization (WHO), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Prime Minister of Italy and G20 Chair Mario Draghi, and President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez, and the State of California, the special, hosted by multi-platinum recording artist, actress and producer Selena Gomez, will include a night of musical performances by Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, Foo Fighters, J Balvin and H.E.R.

As the exclusive global streaming partner, YouTube will stream an extended version of VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World on the Global Citizen channel for a full run-time of 90 minutes, which will include additional performances and appearances by NCT 127 and YouTube creators Daniel El Travieso, Kati Morton, ShootforLove, Thembe Mahlaba and The Try Guys.

"As a global community, we are in a race against time and the key to coming back together is the vaccine. We need to build vaccine confidence in the U.S. and globally, and encourage people to take the vaccine as quickly as possible," said HUGH EVANS, Global Citizen Co-Founder & CEO. "There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but getting vaccines to everyone, everywhere regardless of who they are or where they are from, is key to ensuring the end of this pandemic around the world. We must all unite to get back on track to eradicating extreme poverty."

As part of VAX LIVE, Global Citizen is campaigning to support the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator initiative  including COVAX  a vaccine-sharing program co-led by the World Health Organization (WHO), to ensure that low-income countries can access COVID-19 vaccines. VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World aims to inspire Global Citizens to call on governments, asking them to pledge $22.1 billion, the outstanding balance needed by the ACT-Accelerator to get two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, tests and treatments to the world's poorest countries by the end of 2021.

"The World Health Organization is pleased to be partnering with Global Citizen in the fight against COVID-19," said DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO Director-General. "Throughout the response to the pandemic, we have been grateful for the efforts and commitment shown by global citizens, health advocates and changemakers around the world to advocate for vaccine equity to protect the most vulnerable people, everywhere. WHO will continue to work closely with all nations and partners to help manage potential risks and use science and data to drive a targeted global response."

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World is part of Global Citizen's overall 2021 Recovery Plan for the World , a year-long campaign and series of events that aims to help end COVID-19 for all, end the hunger crisis, resume learning everywhere, protect the planet, and advance equity for all.

To achieve global vaccine access and confidence, VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World aims to:

Increase donations of vaccine doses to low income nations, build vaccine confidence and promote vaccine uptake, helping to ensure access for everyone, everywhere;

Call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough "dollars-for-doses" to help vaccinate the more than 27 million heroic health workers, that are on the front lines, in the poorest countries that need access to vaccines most;

Call on governments, corporations and philanthropists to invest an additional $22.1 billion to get two billion vaccine doses and other medical tools to the poorest countries;

to get two billion vaccine doses and other medical tools to the poorest countries; Disseminate financial commitments to regional responders supporting health, education, hunger, equity and climate efforts;

Encourage pharmaceutical companies to commit to selling COVID-19 vaccines at a production price  earning profits at the expense of human lives will impede progress; and

Build vaccine confidence by educating and empowering audiences to get answers to their top questions about the COVID-19 vaccines.

"I'm honored to be hosting 'VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World'," said SELENA GOMEZ. "This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasn't felt possible in the past year. I can't wait to be a part of it."

Global Citizen today is also launching VAX BECAUSE, to drive candid conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic, provide people with ranging perspectives about vaccine confidence, and arm people with facts about personal health and immunization options. With the aim of ensuring that individuals, families and communities can make the right decisions for themselves, the campaign will live on a multi-media HUB, where visitors can both ask questions they have about the vaccine, and find fact-based information about the coronavirus epidemic. Global Citizens are encouraged to ask questions and find answers at http://VaxBecause.org .

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World is hosted by the State of California, and supported by the LA County Health Department, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Inglewood, and E. Stanley Kroenke, SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park Developer, and Los Angeles Rams Owner/Chairman. Additionally, VAX LIVE will highlight the large-scale vaccination site on the grounds of SoFi Stadium. The Hollywood Park vaccination site, which has been designated to serve public and private school teachers, administrators and Los Angeles County staff, leverages technology and data systems to register individuals, schedule vaccination appointments and share the data with appropriate local health authorities. A collaboration between Los Angeles Unified, the Los Angeles Rams and Hollywood Park, the vaccination site serves as another critical step to keep citizens safe and healthy in the fight against COVID-19.

"The State of California is thankful to Global Citizen for demonstrating what's possible when we embrace getting vaccinated and encourage others to get immunized as well," said GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of California. "Music and the arts have long brought us together to celebrate moments of hope and happiness. This concert is no exception to that. We are excited to showcase the best of California reopening in compliance with the best standards of health and safety."

BARBARA FERRER, PhD, MPH, MEd, Director, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health continued, "COVID-19 vaccines are proving to be the most powerful tool in our fight to end the pandemic, so far saving the lives of millions of people in Los Angeles County alone. Global Citizen and 'VAX LIVE' is showing us all what is possible when vaccinations are combined with strict safety measures. I am grateful for their commitment to this effort and appreciate the many partners from across the world coming together to raise awareness about the importance of getting vaccinated."

ERIC GARCETTI, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles added, "Global Citizen is giving voice to a core message to Angelenos, Americans, and citizens of the world: every time someone gets vaccinated, we move another step closer to ending this pandemic. 'VAX Live' will open our eyes to the future we can forge if we all do our part, follow health guidelines, and get our shots as soon as we're eligible  a return to concerts with our fellow fans, gatherings with loved ones, and the embrace of family and friends."

JAMES THURMAN BUTTS, JR., Mayor of the City of Inglewood concluded, "It is an honor for the City of Inglewood to host Global Citizen's vaccination concert, combining music and the arts with hope for a new future. The City of Inglewood has long been known as the 'City of Champions,' former home of the Lakers, Kings and Hollywood Race Track where Triple Crown Winners have run. We're now the home of the Rams, Chargers, LA Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Girls Scouts of Greater Los Angeles and the future home of the Clippers. Global Citizen is our latest 'Champion' and I applaud and join Global Citizen in encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19."

In partnership with Declan Kelly and Teneo, the global CEO advisory firm, VAX LIVE and Global Citizen's Recovery Plan for the World are supported by a coalition of Global Partners including: Cisco, Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, Google, Live Nation, P&G and Verizon. As leaders of many of the world's top companies, co-chairs Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco; Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi; James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company; Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines; Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation; Marc Pritchard, CBO of P&G; and Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon will work together to engage the private sector to help achieve the campaign's priority policy goals. Lorraine Twohill, CMO of Google and Mindy Grossman, CEO of WW International are also supporting leaders of Global Citizen's Recovery Plan for the World.

The VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World campaign includes policy partners: The World Health Organization (WHO), The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI), Gavi - The Vaccine Alliance, The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, The Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and UNITAID, and philanthropic partners: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy.

VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World is executive produced by Global Citizen, the Ad Council & COVID Collaborative, YouTube Originals, iHeartMedia, Teneo and Live Nation. The VAX LIVE broadcast will be executive produced by Casey Patterson and Casey Patterson Entertainment, and Ken Ehrlich. Producers of VAX LIVE, include: Michele Anthony, for Universal Music Group, Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation, John Sykes, President, Entertainment Enterprises at iHeartMedia, Tom Poleman, Chief Programming Officer & President at iHeartMedia, Declan Kelly, CEO of Teneo, Rob Light, for CAA, Amanda Silverman of The Lede Company, Shawn Sachs & Keleigh Thomas Morgan of Sunshine Sachs, and Diversified Production Services (DPS).

For more information about VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, visit globalcitizen.org/vaxlive and follow @glblctzn on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

ABOUT GLOBAL CITIZEN :

Global Citizen is the world's largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2030. With over 10 million monthly advocates, our voices have the power to drive lasting change around sustainability, equality, and humanity. We post, tweet, message, vote, sign, and call to inspire those who can make things happen to act  government leaders, businesses, philanthropists, artists, and citizens  together improving lives. By downloading our app, Global Citizens learn about the systemic causes of extreme poverty, take action on those issues, and earn rewards with tickets to concerts, events, and experiences all over the world. To date, the actions of our community, along with high-level advocacy efforts and work with partners, has resulted in commitments and policy announcements from leaders valued at $48.4 billion, affecting the lives of more than 880 million people. During last year's Global Citizen hosted campaigns, One World: Together at Home and Global Goal: Unite for Our Future, we mobilized over $1.5 billion in cash grants, with over $1.1 billion being already disbursed. For more information, visit GlobalCitizen.org .

CONTACT :

Global Citizen Inquiries: [email protected]

Media Inquiries: Sunshine Sachs on Behalf of Global Citizen, [email protected]

SOURCE Global Citizen
ITHACA, N.Y. - The muon is a tiny particle, but it has the giant potential to upend our understanding of the subatomic world and reveal an undiscovered type of fundamental physics.

That possibility is looking more and more likely, according to the initial results of an international collaboration - hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory - that involved key contributions by a Cornell team led by Lawrence Gibbons, professor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The collaboration, which brought together 200 scientists from 35 institutions in seven countries, set out to confirm the findings of a 1998 experiment that startled physicists by indicating that muons' magnetic field deviates significantly from the Standard Model, which is used to explain the laws that govern fundamental particles.

Digitizer modules undergo testing in the lab of Lawrence Gibbons, professor of physics, before being shipped to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Twenty-eight crates of these modules were installed around the muon g-2 ring.

"The question was, what's going on? Was the experiment wrong? Or is the theory incomplete?" Gibbons said. "And if the theory is incomplete, then confirming what's going on becomes the first terrestrial evidence of a totally new kind of fundamental particle or force that we don't know about. It would be the first experiment on Earth that is sort of the equivalent of the discovery of dark matter in space."

On April 7, the team confirmed that the original findings were correct, which means there must be more to the physics surrounding the muon than previously known.

Muons are like electrons but are more than 200 times more massive. Both are essentially tiny magnets with their own magnetic field. Muons are far more unstable, though, and decay in a few millionths of a second. They are also notoriously difficult to observe at the quantum mechanical level because the vacuum in which they exist is not a big empty cavity, but rather a bubbling, frothing, dynamic environment.

"It's your cappuccino foam version of the vacuum, where there's virtual particles winking in and out of existence all the time," Gibbons said. "And that turns out to affect the strength of the magnetic field of a muon."

To figure out why, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory 20 years ago set out to measure the absolute strength of muon's magnetic field. They did this by firing a beam of muons into a 14-meter-diameter magnetic ring at nearly the speed of light while a series of detectors captured data. The scientists discovered a major discrepancy in the muon's magnetic field: It was more than 3.5 standard deviations from the Standard Model predicted by theoretical physicists.

A plan was eventually hatched to repeat the Brookhaven experiment with higher precision. In 2013, the Brookhaven magnetic ring was transported to the Fermilab facility in Batavia, Illinois, where it was coupled with an even stronger particle accelerator that could produce more than 20 times the amount of muons. In 2018, the first of several experiment runs was launched.

This muon g-2 experiment - "g" refers to the value of the magnet's strength caused by its intrinsic spin, which is slightly larger than two - was successful thanks to a system of detectors developed through a joint partnership between Cornell and the University of Washington.

The University of Washington group built a set of 24 calorimeters out of lead fluoride crystals and silicon photomultipliers that measure a blue light, known as Cherenkov radiation, that results when the positrons from muon decay strike the crystals. By measuring the time and amount of light for each of about 8 billion positrons, the researchers can pinpoint the muon's precession rate, which is the frequency of its rotational wobble. The rate is directly related to the value of g-2.

The Cornell team built the digitizers that could look at the electronic signal coming out of the detectors and create a digitized version of the waveform that could be analyzed offline. The researchers were supported in the effort by the Laboratory for Elementary-Particle Physics (LEPP), and their digitizers incorporated $200,000 worth of specialized analog-to-digital converter chips donated by Texas Instruments.

Gibbons' group also built one of the pair of reconstruction packages that helped their collaborators parse and analyze the collected data, and they were assisted in getting the most precise measurements by David Rubin, the Boyce D. McDaniel Emeritus Professor of Physics (A&S), who helped correct for the spread of muon momenta in the stored beam and for the small vertical motion as the beam speeds around the magnetic ring. Two other Cornell faculty, Toichiro "Tom" Kinoshita, professor emeritus of physics, and G. Peter Lepage, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Physics, both in A&S, contributed to the Standard Model prediction of g-2, to which the project compared its results.

As a fitting final touch, Gibbons chose to make the digitizer faceplate Cornell red.

With so much subatomic information to be sifted through, six different groups worked to separately confirm the muon's precession frequency. Gibbons helped design blinding software that would ensure the groups made their calculations independently.

Then the time came to compare results.

"I have to say, it was nerve-racking. You go into the room, and there's all these points scattered all over the place from all the offsets, and you have to decide, OK, are we going to compare results now? And will they agree?" Gibbons said. "We were trying to measure something to 500 parts per billion. The range that we had was plus or minus 25 parts per million on the frequencies that we're trying to measure. There was a huge sigh of relief when we found everything agreed beautifully."

And when all the international collaborators came together online for the final unblinding of the magnetic field measurement and checked it against the original Brookhaven result?

"Oh man. It was like hats flying in the air," Gibbons said. "It was a combination of elation and relief."

The results from this first experimental run represent only 6% of the data the researchers hope to eventually collect. Additional analysis has already begun on a second and third run, which will generate three to four times as much data. It will be 10 years before all the analysis is complete.

"We landed right on top of this result that really could indicate that there's something totally new going on. We really want to push the uncertainty, the precision, to make the strongest possible statement that we can experimentally," said Gibbons, who began work on the project in 2011. "We may be onto something really profound, something we don't understand. And we still have to figure out what it is."

###
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Clement Beaune says the European Union has prepared a number of measures, including sanctions against Turkey that may be imposed, if Ankara continues with its aggressive stance, RIA Novosti reports.

We dont want escalation, but we protect our interests. Turkey has to say whether it is ready to give a signal for de-escalation. You recalled a number of situations where the influence is manifested (Turkey-ed.), in the Mediterranean, Libya and Syria, and over the past weeks, we also saw other operations around the Caucasus, Beaune said in response to questions from deputies of the National Assembly.

At the same time, he stated that recently there have been positive signals from Turkey, including the pullout of Turkish ships from the territorial waters of Greece and Turkey and resumption of talks with Greece for the first time in the last five years, as well as the upcoming talks over the Cypriot issue. He also said President of France Emmanuel Macron has offered to reassess the situation with Turkey during the next session of the European Council to be held in June.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao receives on August 31, 2016, a portrait of Phalguna and her cubs from her first litter in the Kadamba forest of Komaram Bheem-Asifabad district in this file picture.  DC

Hyderabad: The battle for rights over podu farmlands has moved deep into the heart of tiger territory in the reserve forest in Komaram Bheem-Asifabad district where Phalguna, a tigress who migrated from Maharashtra, led to revival of the fortune of its species in Telangana state.

A protest by villagers led by BJP leader Dr Palvai Harish Babu on April 8, demanding that people who occupied forest land illegally in the Kadamba reserve forest block of the Penchikalpet forest range, epitomises the conflict between people demanding pattas over illegally occupied forest land and wildlife in the state.

It was in the Kadamba area that Phalguna, the tigress, gave birth to four cubs in 2016, the first to be born in the unified Adilabad district in many years. Phalguna gave birth to another litter of three cubs, making her the poster-girl among tiger conservationists for revival of her species fortunes in Telangana state.

In fact, such was the enthusiasm that Phalgunas first litter evoked that then forests minister Jogu Ramanna, along with Sirpur-Kagaznagar MLA from the TRS, Koneru Konappa, Mudhole MLA G. Vittal Reddy, and D.S. Redya Naik from Dornakal, on August 31, 2016, presenting Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao with a framed picture of Phalguna with her cubs near her den.

Even more significantly, India Post in 2018 issued a postage stamp with a picture of Phalguna with her first litter to mark her significant contribution to Telanganas and Indias tiger population. The department also issued a picture postcard of Phalguna.

Before Phalgunas arrival in 2015 from the Tadoba-Andhari tiger range in Maharashtra and her settling down in the forest corridor connecting the Kawal tiger reserve in Adilabad and Maharashtra, there were barely any tigers in the district, save for the odd or occasional migrant from Maharashtra. While some presumably made their way back into Maharashtra, some were killed in the unified Adilabad district by local poachers.

According to wildlife experts, all the tigers in northern Telangana, over the years, were picked off one by one by poachers who left Kawal tiger reserve without a single tiger for some years. It was only last year that presence of tigers, who moved in from Maharashtra, were found in the Eturunagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in the former Warangal district. This sanctuary too was once home to tigers but over the years, they were wiped out by poachers.

It is into this tiger heartland of Telangana state, in what is now the Asifabad district, that the latest battle over Podu land rights has moved into with the BJP leaders leading people from Kondapally and a few others, moved into grab forest land into the reserve forest areas in Kondapally North, Kondapally West, Kondapally South and Bombaiguda beats on April 8. The attempt to forcibly occupy forest land ended with the police removing the protesters from the forest areas and the BJP accusing the police of beating up the occupiers and its leaders.

At least two women police officials suffered bleeding injuries in the attacks by the villagers on the security detail that sought to evict the encroachers from the forest land in this episode. It may be recalled that the state government has been repeatedly promising those practicing Podu or shifting cultivation will be given pattas and this is believed to have emboldened people, as well as leaders of political parties, including the ruling TRS, to force the issue and keep the state forest department out of the forest areas that have been illegally occupied.
USAID International Disaster Relief Design Competition Winners Announced

The USAID Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) is pleased to announce that Arizona State University swept the 15th annual Public Service Announcements for International Disasters contest (PSAid), taking first, second and third places in all three categories.

The nationwide contest calls on college students to create public service announcements (PSAs) that demonstrate why monetary donations are the most effective way to support international disaster relief efforts. Most people don't realize that material donations-like food, water, and clothing-are expensive to ship, are sometimes culturally inappropriate, and can actually hinder relief efforts. Cash donations, on the other hand, allow humanitarian organizations to directly purchase what is needed on the ground to help people affected by disasters, while also helping to stimulate the local economy.

All 2021 winners hail from Arizona State University (ASU), making this the first clean sweep in PSAid contest history. Several ASU professors have incorporated the contest into their lesson plans for a number of years, including Lisa Pena, Ph.D., lecturer with the visual communication design program at ASU's The Design School.

"My fellow ASU colleagues and I are extremely proud of our students," said Pena. "The visual work they produced encourages kindness, giving, and supporting people during their time of need. We believe their work demonstrates how design can have a positive impact on society."

Over the last year, back-to-back hurricanes in Central America, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and Ethiopia have increased the need for international aid. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's PSAid contest provided students with the real-world experience of working with a client in the classroom, whether college classes were in-person or virtual. USAID remains committed to giving college students the opportunity to design the 'Cash is Best' campaign as a way to empower a younger generation to give effectively and help spread this critical message more broadly.

USAID is proud to announce the 2021 PSAid winners:

Digital Image:

Print:







1 st : Cash Can Be, Lindsay Prester, Arizona State University

: Cash Can Be, Lindsay Prester, Arizona State University 2 nd : Piggy Bank Builder, Emily Van Camp and Nghi Tran, Arizona State University

: Piggy Bank Builder, Emily Van Camp and Nghi Tran, Arizona State University 3rd: Donate Efficiently, Donate Cash, Thom Kim and Connor Wodynski, Arizona State University

"The opportunity to participate in this competition has allowed me to internalize the impact my designs can make nationwide," said Amber Blain, second place winner in the print image category. "The biggest takeaway was learning how essential monetary donations are for communities after a disaster."

The contest entries were judged by a panel of five experts from the humanitarian and communications fields, two of which are previous PSAid contest winners. This year's judges were Mia Beers, Acting Director, Office of Global Policy, Partnerships, Programs and Communications, USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance; Lauren Herchert, Manager, Employee and Executive Communications, Nestle USA; Lara McDougall Reed, President and Partner, Pan Galactic Digital; Sara Suzuki, Designer, Union Design and 2016 PSAid contest winner; and Abby Cronin, Media Planner, Gimbal and 2018 PSAid contest winner.

This year's winning entries were selected from nearly 90 submissions, spanning 11 universities, in the categories of video, print, and digital image. University educators played a key role in PSAid, incorporating the contest into their curricula and participating in webinars with CIDI staff. The winning PSAs could be featured in prominent magazines or aired during popular television programs, and will be used in CIDI's 'Cash is Best' education efforts.

Additionally, three entries were selected as the winners of the People's Choice competition, an opportunity for the general public to vote on their favorite contest entry in each category on the PSAid website.

People's Choice:

Digital: Cash Machine, Kelsey Yin and Shawn Chang, University of Southern California

Print: Bingo!, Janice Yoo, Arizona State University

Video: Go Green, Molly Gaffey, University of Michigan

The winning entries may be viewed on the contest website at www.PSAid.org.

About USAID CIDI

USAID CIDI was created in 1988 by the former USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance to inform the public about the advantages of giving monetary donations to relief organizations and warn about the risks of donating unsolicited material goods. Through its "Cash is Best" messaging, CIDI's goal is to support donors and relief agencies as they work to provide quick, effective, and efficient relief to people affected by disasters. CIDI provides donations guidance to individuals, groups, embassies, businesses, and corporations. For more information about USAID CIDI and helping international disaster survivors, please visit USAID CIDI at www.cidi.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005305/en/
COVID-19 testing information for west-central Illinois counties:

Morgan County

Jacksonville

Days and times: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Location: Drive-through testing site located at Dunlap Court and Morgan Street.

Details: No appointment necessary. Photo ID and insurance card requested but not required.



Brown County

Mount Sterling

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Brown County Health Department, 120 E. Main St. 217-773-2714

Details: Testing eligibility determined by telephone screening.



Cass County

Beardstown

Days and times: Monday-Friday 9-11:20 a.m.

Location: Cass County Health Department, 8590 St. Lukes Drive. 217-323-2182

Virginia

Days and times: Monday-Friday 1-3 p.m.

Location: Cass County Health Department, 331 S. Main St. 217-452-3057

Details: Testing by appointment only and is limited to those who live or work in Cass County. Schedules subject to change.



Greene County

Carrollton

Days and times: By appointment. Open seven days a week.

Location: Boyd Rural Health Clinic, 800 School St. 217-942-3600

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated, pre-op with doctors order, or return to work. Must call and leave message with name and callback number.



Jersey County

Jerseyville

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Jerseyville Community Hospital Walk-in Clinic, 903 S. State St. 618-498-2273

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated.



Macoupin County

Gillespie

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Maple Street Clinic, 109 E. Maple St. 217-313-5078

Details: Drive-through free testing. Register by phone or online at mcphd.net.



Pike County

Pittsfield

Days and times: By appointment.

Location: Quincy Medical Group, 320 N. Madison St. 217-277-4001

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated.

.

Days and times: Monday-Saturday 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Location: Illini Express Clinic, 101 E. Washington St. 217-277-3504

Details: Testing performed if medically indicated. Register upon arrival.



Scott County

Winchester:

Days and times: Mondays and Fridays 9-11 a.m.

Location: Scott County Health Department, 335 W. Cherry St.

Details: Schedule subject to change. See Facebook page for updates.
By Sidhant Sibal/ Ravinder Singh Robin

New Delhi: Amid rising violence in Pakistan, the government is concerned about the safety of Indian Sikh Pilgrims in the neighbouring country for Baisakhi celebrations.

Top sources in Delhi told Zee News that the Indian govt is continuously monitoring the situation and is in touch with the Pakistani authorities for the safety and well-being of its citizens.

Two people have died in Pakistan after massive protests in the backdrop of Pakistani authorities detaining Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi.

TLP chief has been detained ahead of the 20th April deadline to implement group demands, which includes expelling of French envoy, cutting ties with France.

Currently, around 900 Indian Sikh pilgrims are in Pakistan who were to go to Panja Sahib Gurdwara for Baisakhi celebrations. Due to protests in Pakistan, they were taken to Gurdwara in Lahore.

Pakistani authorities have rescheduled their visits. Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committees (PSGPC) Satwant Singh said, "security arrangements are being reviewed by the authorities. arrangements being made to facilitate the Jatha".

As per the earlier prepared schedule, they were to reach Panja Sahib between April 12 to April 14 to celebrate Baisakhi. But now authorities are rescheduling the itinerary.

Lahore to Punjab Sahib is 6 hours away by road, but main roads are closed as of now due to violence. High Commission for Pakistan in India had issued over 1100 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to participate in the annual Baisakhi celebrations from 12-22 April.

Under the framework of the Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974, a large number of Sikh Yatris from India visit Pakistan to observe various religious festivals/occasions every year.

Live TV
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 06:54:41|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday paid in full all assessed contributions to the UN regular budget and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals for the year 2021, said the Chinese Mission to the United Nations.

Prior to this, China had paid the remaining assessments for seven peacekeeping operations during the authorized period of 2020/2021. China has thus paid the annual contributions and various assessments in full at this stage, it said.

As the largest developing country, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and the second-largest contributor to UN regular budget and peacekeeping assessments, China has always actively supported the work of the United Nations, firmly safeguarded the international system, and upheld multilateralism with concrete actions, it said.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the restoration of China's legitimate rights in the United Nations. Over the past 50 years, China has always been a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order. China has greatly advanced multilateralism. Facing the challenges brought by unilateralism, protectionism and bullying practice in the past few years, China has given firm support to multilateralism and the United Nations, it said.

China became the second-largest contributor to the assessments of UN peacekeeping operations in 2016 and the second-largest contributor to the UN regular budget in 2019.

China has fulfilled its financial obligations in full, on time, and without conditions in accordance with the UN Charter, demonstrating the role it plays as a responsible major country, said the mission.

The global economy has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The liquidity crisis and worrisome financial situation that the United Nations faces have seriously affected its work and the implementation of its mandates. Finance serves as a foundation of and an important element underpinning the United Nations governance. Member states should fulfill their legal obligations, actively respond to the secretary-general's appeal, and pay all assessments as soon as possible to improve the liquidity situation of the United Nations, it said.

China will continue to honor its responsibilities, work with all parties to build a community of shared future for mankind, and firmly support multilateralism and the United Nations. Meanwhile, the UN Secretariat should continue to strengthen budget performance management, improve internal control, and ensure that every penny of taxpayers of the member states is put to good use, said the Chinese mission. Enditem
Low cattle supplies, higher prices, an appreciating Australian dollar and trade tensions with China continue to create headwinds for the national beef industry, an agribusiness banking specialist says.

But the steady recovery of breeding cattle numbers places the industry in a 'unique position' to assess its current trajectory and correct course.

Rabobank's beef seasonal outlook found Australia's 30-year low for breeding cattle inventories was gradually correcting itself.

However limited cattle supplies would remain a problem for the industry in 2021, supporting prices but also complicating restocking and fattening and forcing plants and feedlots to operate below capacity.

Ongoing trade tensions with China have caused issues for the Australian beef industry. Pictured are cattle on a farm in Dubbo in central-west NSW

Smaller herds would also limit Australian cattle slaughter.

Slaughter rates are expected to fall six per cent in 2021 compared to 2020, while beef exports and overall beef production will drop five per cent.

Rabobank senior animal proteins analyst and report author Angus Gidley-Baird said Australia should take the opportunity to ponder its position in the global beef supply chain.

He said the Australian beef industry could take multiple paths, from being a supplier into high-quality niche markets to a lean beef commodity supplier, major live cattle exporter or value-added beef exporter.

'Decisions taken this year are not just about whether to restock at high prices,' Mr Gidley-Baird said in a statement on Tuesday.

'(They're) also about which genetics, productions system attributes, feeding regimes, supply chains and end customers are needed to build a sustainable basis for the business in the future.'

Low cattle supplies and ongoing tensions with China have seen meat prices soar (stock image)

The conclusion of drought had also in 2020 prompted a six per cent rise in the average weight of cattle carcasses to 305 kilograms, Rabobank found.

Mr Gidley-Baird said the high prices for cattle would slowly decline throughout 2021, falling to about $7 per kilogram by the end of the year.

The domestic market is expected to account for almost 30 per cent of Australian beef production in 2021, and export volumes to China are likely to decline faster than exports to Japan, South Korea or the United States.

China has targeted Australian beef, barley, coal, copper, cotton, seafood, sugar, timber and wine in its trade sanctions on Australian goods in the past 12 months.

At least six Australian beef suppliers were in 2020 blocked from exporting into China.
COVID cases in Michigan are surging to their highest heights since last year, which is concerning for Illinois and Chicago health officials who know so many state and city residents vacation on the east side of the lake.

Video Transcript

- The COVID crisis in Michigan raising concerns among health experts in Chicago.

EMILY LANDON: I'm very alarmed about what we're seeing in Michigan. First of all, there's not really very much different about the way Michigan is handling COVID and the way that we're handling COVID.

CRAIG WALL: The surge in Michigan pushing the seven-day test positivity rate to 16.6%, the highest it's been in a year, up 348% since February. The governor asking for more vaccine and for people to do their part.

GRETCHEN WHITMER: That means not eating indoors, all right? Go out to dinner or lunch. But sit outside or get takeout. It means, hopefully, voluntarily curtailing children's sports.

CRAIG WALL: Those activities driving the spike in Michigan with the majority of new cases the more contagious UK variant. Chicago experiencing its own smaller spike in two zip codes near Lakeview and Lincoln Park. Some Chicagoans who vacation in Michigan now even more cautious than ever.

MERCEDES HENNESSY: I still don't go to those restaurants even though the capacity is minimal. I usually do curbside pickup if I do it.

CRAIG WALL: Experts say it's good that Illinois is opening up vaccine eligibility to everyone over 16 starting today and that Chicago will follow suit in one week. But vaccinations alone won't be enough to prevent a possible surge here.

EMILY LANDON: We are going to need people to change their behavior in order for us to avoid being in the same situation as Michigan. We need to face facts. Just because bars and restaurants are open doesn't mean that they are COVID free or safe.

CRAIG WALL: Dr. Landon says the UK variant is very easily transmitted inside restaurants and bars. The concerns about Michigan giving Mercedes Hennesy reason to reconsider her summer plans.

MERCEDES HENNESSY: Coming back up here, if it does get worse, maybe I would step back in the city next time I go back.

CRAIG WALL: Michigan is on Chicago's emergency travel order with the highest daily infection rate of any state in the country. Craig Wall, ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
U.S. President Joe Biden has urged his Russian counterpart to take measures to ease mounting tensions with Ukraine and proposed a summit between the two leaders in a third country as Washington and NATO reaffirmed their support for Kyiv.

In a phone call with Vladimir Putin on April 13, Biden "voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military buildup in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions," a White House statement said.

Recent photographs, video, and other data suggest major movements of Russian armed units toward or near Ukraine's borders and into Crimea, seized by Moscow in 2014, fueling concerns that Russia is preparing to send forces into Ukraine.

Some analysts have suggested that Russia's recent actions may be meant to test the new Biden administration and its commitment to Ukraine.

"President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia," the statement said.

The Kremlin confirmed in a statement that Biden had proposed a summit between the two leaders "in the near future," but did not say whether Putin had agreed.

"Both sides expressed their readiness to continue dialogue on the most important areas of ensuring global security," the Kremlin statement said.

The summit would be the first between Putin and Biden, who took office vowing a tougher stance toward Moscow than that of his predecessor, Donald Trump.



The call came as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on April 13 held talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, voicing grave concern about the buildup of Russian troops.

Blinken, who rushed back to Brussels after a visit last month to discuss the topic with top European allies, accused Russia of taking "very provocative" actions that have alarmed Ukraine and the West.

Blinken affirmed the United States' "unwavering support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia's ongoing aggression" and added that Kyiv's "Euro-Atlantic aspirations" would be discussed in the alliance.

Ukraine aspires to join NATO, and obtained the status of a NATO "enhanced opportunities partner" in June 2020.



"The secretary expressed concern about Russia's deliberate actions to escalate tensions with Ukraine, including through its aggressive rhetoric and disinformation, increasing cease-fire violations, and movement of troops in occupied Crimea and near Ukraine's borders," the State Department said in a statement.

Stoltenberg, meanwhile, called the Russian movements "unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning."

Kuleba said Kyiv welcomed the support and urged Western countries to make clear to Moscow that it would pay a price for its "aggression."



At a joint news conference with Stoltenberg, Kuleba said that "at an operational level," Ukraine "needs measures which will deter Russia and which will contain its aggressive intentions."

'40,000 Troops'

During the news conference, Stoltenberg called on Moscow to end "the largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014."

"Russia's considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning -- Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately," he said ahead of an emergency meeting of allied foreign and defense ministers.

According to Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy's office, Russia has massed more than 40,000 troops, both on Ukraine's eastern border and in occupied Crimea.

Kyiv and the West blame Moscow-backed separatists holding parts of Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for a recent spike in hostilities, while Moscow has pointed the finger at Kyiv.

The Kremlin on April 13 accused the United States of "deliberately" turning the region into a "powder keg."

The Kremlin said recently that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in Ukraine's east.

"If there is any aggravation, we of course will do everything to ensure our security and the safety of our citizens, wherever they are," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

"But Kyiv and its allies in the West will be entirely responsible for the consequences of a hypothetical exacerbation," he added.

Separately, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on April 13 that Moscow had deployed troops to its western borders for "combat training exercises" in answer to NATO military moves.

"In response to the alliance's military activities that threaten Russia, we took appropriate measures," Shoigu said in televised remarks.

He said the troops "have shown full readiness" and that the exercises would be completed within two weeks.

It was not clear which moves Shoigu was referring to.

The Western security alliance denied making any military moves. Shoigu could have been referencing the DEFENDER-Europe 21 military exercises taking place in Europe and Africa, which began in March and involve almost 30,000 troops from 26 nations.

The exercises, which will run into June, will take place in various countries, including Estonia -- which shares a border with Russia -- Bulgaria and Romania.

The Kremlin said recently that Moscow "will not remain indifferent" to the fate of Russian speakers who live in Ukraines east.

Zelenskiy's office has said it made a request to speak directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine says that call has gone unanswered, though Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on April 13 that in recent days, there have been no requests. Maybe they havent reached us through diplomatic channels yet."

The Kremlin has rejected Western calls to pull back its troops from the border region, denying they are a threat and adding that military movements within Russia are a sovereign, internal issue.

Ukraine's push to join the Western security alliance has irked Russia, but Stoltenberg said on April 13 that the 30 NATO allies, and not Moscow, would decide whether Ukraine joins in the future.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven group of industrialized countries, including the United States, Britain, and France, said in a statement on April 13 that they were "deeply concerned by the large ongoing buildup of Russian military forces on Ukraine's borders and in illegally annexed Crimea."

"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities," the ministers said in the statement, released by the German Foreign Ministry.

"We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations. In particular, we call on Russia to uphold the OSCE principles and commitments that it has signed up to on transparency of military movements and to respond to the procedure established under Chapter III of the Vienna Document," the statement said.

The Vienna Document is an agreement between the OSCE member states intended to implement confidence and security building measures.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host Ukrainian President Zelenskiy at the Elysee palace in Paris on April 16 for a working lunch, Macron's office said on April 13.

France is part of the so-called Normandy Format set up to try to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on April 13, Moscow said it had suspended flights to and from Turkey due to the coronavirus pandemic, rejecting accusations the move was tied to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced late on April 12 that flights to and from Turkey -- with the exception of two flights per week to Istanbul -- will be suspended from April 15 until June 1.

The decision to sharply cut the number of flights to Turkey, which is heavily reliant on revenue from tourism, was announced two days after Erdogan during talks with Zelenskiy expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and reiterated Turkey's stance of not recognizing Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Erdogan also called Russia's increasing numbers of military personnel and equipment close to the Ukrainian border a "worrying escalation" and called on Moscow and Kyiv to preserve a cease-fire in the Donbas region, some parts of which have been under separatist control for seven years.

"The situation is solely epidemiological in nature and is related to a quite sharp outbreak of the incidence in Turkey," Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.

With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, TASS, and AP
Nearly 88 firefighters are still battling the wildfire that erupted in Big Bend National Park last Thursday in the Chisos Mountains South Rim.

Active burning continues in lower Boot Canyon (near Book Rock and the Toll Mountain area), according to a Facebook post from the national park Tuesday morning. Big Bend told MySA.com the current fire area is estimated to be across 873 acres with 13 percent contained.

The Chisos Mountains are home to a variety of plants and animals, many of which are found nowhere else in the United States, according to a news release from NPS. These high-elevation desert woodlands have been shaped by wildfire for thousands of years and depend upon fire to keep them healthy and resilient. Many of the areas currently burning have not seen fire for 70 years or more, the release noted.

READ ALSO: Ten acres of sunflowers preparing to bloom in San Antonio for a month's worth of floral fun

Officials first received reports of a column of smoke on the southern edge of the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, according to a news release from National Park Service. By late Friday morning, authorities said the fire had spread across 250 acres of the West Texas national park. Over the weekend, the fire reached over 600 acres.

The cause of the South Rim Fire remains unknown, however, it appears to have started near popular backcountry campsite, NPS stated.

The Chisos Mountains area of the park remains closed until further notice. This includes the Basin Road, the campground, Chisos Mountains Lodge, and hiking trails.

Big Bend is one of the country's most popular national parks, with February, March, and April traditionally the height of its busy tourist season. It's also a frequent stop for tourists heading to nearby Terlingua and to Marfa, which is about 90 miles away.
Former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has left an indelible mark on the socio-economic development of the country. The newly-elected Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will continue that strong reform thinking.

With the goal of "building a tectonic, integrated, dynamic Government to serve the people", under the direction of former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the most impressive success of the Government in the past five years is shown through three important points: building favorable business environment, administrative reform; macroeconomic management; and effectively controlling the Covid-19 pandemic.

Newly-elected Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his predecesor Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is now the State President.

As commented by Professor Le Dang Doanh, "the head of the Government of the previous term had a very new approach". It is estimated that in the past term, the government chief made 570 working trips. Indeed, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc was an energetic, hard-working and close-to-the-people Prime Minister.

He had a very high working intensity, left a strong impression and lessons in approaching reality, and solving real-life problems in a practical way.

In particular, he has listened to opinions from experts, scientists, public opinion, and the media.

Personally, I was a retired journalist, but whenever I texted him on some hot issues, he always responded, even at midnight. He texted me very carefully. For example, I have asked relevant agencies to immediately check the issue you mentioned.

Another assertive "captain"

Mr. Phucs successor is Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, who used to hold the following positions: Head of the Central Party Committees Organization Commission, Secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, and Deputy Minister of Public Security.

Experiencing various positions over the past decade, he has proven himself to be a leader with a vision and one who dares to think and dare to do. In terms of working methods, he is very methodical, strong and also very drastic in supervising and speeding up subordinates to implement assigned tasks with the spirit of "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today".

Once in 2018, during an interview with Mr. Chinh in his living room to write an article about the streamlining of state apparatus, I accidentally heard his phone call. This surprised me very much because when he talked to me, he was very gentle and delicate.

He asked the person on the phone about the results of a project that he had submitted to officials of the Party Central Committees Organization Commission for consultation. I did not know how that person answered, but I realized the dissatisfaction of the head of the Central Organizing Committee. He said on the phone: You are the department leader, but why have you waited for such a long time? If you did not receive feedback from your superiors, you should have called them to ask directly why they did not have feedback. You must change working methods if you want to perform your tasks efficiently and smoothly...".

That was the working style of Mr. Pham Minh Chinh.

Quang Ninhs Party Secretary Pham Minh Chinh visits families in Phinh Ho village, Bac Son commune, Mong Cai city in January 2012.

In 2014, I had the chance to talk with Quang Ninh Party Secretary Pham Minh Chinh to listen carefully to his thoughts.

I found him openly handling tasks, especially for the leader of a very complicated border province with 1.2 million people like Quang Ninh, the only province to have both land and sea border with China.

Quang Ninh's border line with China is quite long. According to Mr. Chinh, protecting the border does not mean no exchange, no relationship. In a border province, when the two sides are only separated by a small stream, if in the process of exchanging and doing business, dealing with border-related issues must be flexible to avoid collision in order to maintain solidarity and friendship.

Mr. Chinh saw the limitations that made it difficult for Quang Ninh to get rich even though it is rich in natural resources and has great potential for tourism development.

He proposed to change the growth model of Quang Ninh from "brown to green". Even though coal mining is the province's advantage, Quang Ninh should think of other plans to develop its economy in a sustainable way.

Under Mr. Chinhs leadership, Quang Ninh has been a bright spot for other provinces to learn in streamlining the administrative apparatus and the political system in general.

The most common thing about the former Prime Minister and newly-elected President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and the newly-elected Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, former Head of the Central Party Committees Organization Commission, is that they all have a strong desire for institutional reform and for taking action, being creative for the prosperous development and longevity of the country. All for the happiness of the people!

Quoc Phong

The issues of the new government term Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's government has inherited many legacies, but also faces many challenges, especially in institutional reform, to realize the aspirations of taking the country to new heights of development.
Also, it is highly praised by Japan's top sommelier Shinya Tasaki as an excellent match for French cuisine!

The Japan Awasake Association (Representative Director: Noriyoshi Nagai, President of Nagai Sake Inc.), an association established by brewers of sparkling Japanese sake "Awasake," which is produced by combining traditional sake production methods with advanced technologies such as secondary fermentation in the bottle, held a press conference at the Kanze Noh Theater, a sanctuary of Japanese traditional culture, in Ginza, Tokyo, on Tuesday, March 9.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005529/en/

Brewers and others who participated in the press conference (Photo: Business Wire)

There are currently 27 brands of Awasake that have been certified through a strict screening process and comply with standards such as being clearly transparent, and having a ray of beautiful and fine bubbles through maturation. Of these, 20 varieties are exported to over 25 countries and regions throughout the world, including the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In recent years, Awasake has attracted much attention for the rapid increase in the number of sake-related awards it has received overseas.

March 9, media video of the Certification Ceremony and Appointment Ceremony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nit7UW1vibg&t=2700s

List of exported Awasake and history of their awards throughout the world:

http://greencreate.boo.jp/PR/awa.pdf

Online shopping website of Japanese sake for overseas:

https://japanpage.jp/en/awasake

At this press conference, Mr. Shinya Tasaki, President of the Japan Sommelier Association, highly praised the great compatibility between 'Awasake' and French cuisine. Also this year, Mr. Xavier Thuizat and Mr. Philippe Jamesse, both famous French sommeliers, were appointed as Awasake Ambassadors. Furthermore, an original Association Awasake glass supervised by Philippe Jamesse was also unveiled.

"We would like to promote the appeal of sparkling Japanese sake, which has a unique value distinct from champagne and is a world-class, high-value-added product. We would like to make Awasake the toast of the world," said the Association.

Japan Awasake Association official website:

https://awasake.or.jp/en/

Japan Awasake Association youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMFNdgRoattkORlFCE2SHQ

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005529/en/

Contacts:

Japan Awasake Association

Public Relations: Tomoko Takiguchi

+81-80-8422-5844

info@greencreate.jp
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sat on a dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission's "unconstitutional" decision to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours.

Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained last month, arrived at Mayo road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the venue.

Kolkata: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sits on dharna at Gandhi Murti, as a mark of protest after the Election Commission of India (ECI) imposed a ban on her for 24 hours from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm of April 12 till 8 pm of April 13#WestBengalElections pic.twitter.com/BQR0NIIgkT  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2021

No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby. A senior TMC leader, when approached, said, "No party leaders are allowed near the site of the protest. She is sitting there alone."

The Election Commission has barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours from Monday 8 pm for her remarks against central forces and a statement that had alleged religious overtones.

Banerjee, lashing out at the poll panel, had said on Twitter that she would hold a protest against the poll panel's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" decision.

The TMC boss is scheduled to address two rallies after 8 pm on Tuesday -- one at Barasat and the other at Bidhanangar. Meanwhile, a defence official here said that the area where Banerjee is staging a protest belongs to the army, and the TMC was yet to receive permission for the programme.

"Just to keep everyone informed, we have received an application from the TMC for a no-objection certificate at 9:40 am today. It is still under process," the defence spokesperson said.

Live TV
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:22:58|Editor: huaxia

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LUSAKA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Zambia will launch the COVID-19 vaccination program on Wednesday, following the arrival of the first batch of the vaccines, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said health workers will be the first group to receive the vaccine followed by priority populations most at risk.

"The frontline health workers must be protected so that they can manage those who have fallen prey to the Coronavirus disease," he said during a COVID-19 update press briefing.

He said the ministry will ensure that all the frontline workers were safe to strengthen the country's preparedness ahead of a possible third wave of the pandemic in the cold season.

The ministry will also vaccinate people in charge of core societal functions such as security personnel, teachers, immigration officials, traditional leaders, cross-border drivers as well as public transport staff, in the first phase of the program, he added.

Zambia received a consignment of 228,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine under the COVAX Facility on Monday.

The country recorded 154 new cases in the last 24 hours out of 6,134 tests done. This brings the cumulative figures to 90,218. A total of 67 patients were discharged during the same period bringing the total recoveries to 88,144. Two more patients died, bringing the total deaths to 1,229. Enditem
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Some of musics top stars will come together in harmony for a special concert in support of COVID-19 vaccines.

Selena Gomez is set to host Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, with the Foo Fighters, Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R., J Balvin and Eddie Vedder slated to perform, organizers announced Tuesday.

The event, which will air May 8 across numerous networks and platforms, is being put together by the advocacy group Global Citizen.

Organizers hope the concert will inspire vaccine confidence worldwide and help get the COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere, a press release says.

They are also urging philanthropists and corporations to make donations in order for front-line health care workers to be vaccinated.

Gomez, 28, said shes honored to host the special event.

This is a historic moment to encourage people around the world to take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them, call on world leaders to share vaccine doses equitably and to bring people together for a night of music in a way that hasnt felt possible in the past year, Gomez said in a statement. I cant wait to be a part of it.

Networks that will broadcast the concert  which is being taped at SoFi Stadium, home of the NFLs Los Angeles Rams and Chargers  include CBS and ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

The event will also stream on ABC News Live, iHeartRadio and YouTube.

Fox, meanwhile, will air the event at 11 p.m. ET that day.


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An iconic south London shopping centre built in 1965 on a bomb-damaged 1890s estate is being torn down to pave the way for a 1billion town centre regeneration.

It was initially hoped that the three-storey Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre in Southwark, which was named after a former 18th century pub in the area, would become a commercial hub for south London, with its 115 shops taken on mostly by local traders.

But, as the capital boomed and swanky indoor shopping malls sprung up city-wide, the 55-year-old shopping arcade which swiftly became redundant - before later falling into disrepair.

Now, Keltbray, a specialist construction and engineering firm, is set to demolish the 2.5 acre site entirely, and replace it with a 1billion development, including nearly 1,000 new flats - 116 of which are social rental homes, a new tube station for the Northern Line, and a new university building.

One of the site's best-known features an elephant with a castle on its back - was taken away to be restored, but is set to be put back once construction begins.

When the development is complete, the statue will take pride and place in the new town centre - along with old signage and relics from the shopping centre.

 Slide me  An iconic south London shopping centre built in 1965 (pictured right) on a bomb-damaged 1890s estate is being torn down to pave the way for a 1billion town centre regeneration. Pictured left, today

 Slide me  The brutish building was first erected in 1965 (right) and not much about its appearance has changed until now - when it is demolished

Diggers demolish the side of the shopping centre to make way for an incoming redevelopment project of flats

Mangled wiring sprouts from the building's wreckage in Elephant and Castle, south London, where builders work today

Now, developer Keltbray is set to demolish the 2.5 acre site entirely, and replace it with a 1billion development (an artist's impression of the site, pictured), including nearly 1,000 new flats - 116 of which are social rental homes, a new tube station for the Northern Line, and a new university building

One of the site's best-known features an elephant with a castle on its back (pictured in the 1960s, left, and in 2018, right) - was taken away to be restored, but is set to be put back once construction begins

If youre from the ends you know that this one was rough, elephant and castle really is no more  pic.twitter.com/0bN1XAyO5D  El Rose  (@AaronBSM) January 7, 2021

When the development is complete, the statue (pictured in 2012)will take pride and place in the new town centre - along with old signage and relics from the shopping centre

Campaigners have blasted the lack of affordable homes, inexpensive retail space and council housing in the new plans.

In November, a judge granted permission to appeal Southwark Council's decision to grant planning permission to tear it down.

Pictures taken at the site show walls pulled down as the demolition begins, with the area blocked off to the public.

The shopping centre was opened in 1965. The building was constructed on the sight of the Elephant and Castle Estate, built in 1898, which was later damaged by bombs in the Second World War.

The 21million shopping centre was designed to bring Londoners away from the busy roundabout below to carry out their shopping.

Ray Gunter, then-minster of labour, unveiled the iconic statue of an elephant carrying a castle on its back which was taken from a since-demolished pub.

The shopping centre was constructed on the bomb damaged site of the former Elephant and Castle Estate - which was originally built in 1898. Pictured: The scene at Gurney Street, New Kent Road after air raids during the Second World War

Once an eyesore... pictures lay bare the demolition work being done on the Elephant and Castle shopping centre

But, as the capital boomed and swanky indoor shopping malls sprung up city-wide, the 55-year-old shopping arcade (pictured now) swiftly became redundant - before later falling into disrepair

Campaigners have blasted the new plans. Pictured: Shoppers browsing wares in the centre last year

In November, a judge granted permission to appeal Southwark Council's decision to grant Keltbray planning permission to tear it down. Pictured: A shop inside the centre

The shopping centre was opened in 1965 (a shopper in 1979). The building was constructed on the sight of the Elephant and Castle Estate, built in 1898, which was later damaged by bombs in the Second World War

The 21million shopping centre (pictured in 1965) was designed to bring Londoners away from the busy roundabout below to carry out their shopping

Ray Gunter, then-minster of labour, unveiled the iconic statue of an elephant carrying a castle on its back which was taken from a since-demolished pub. Pictured: Inside the centre when it opened

The new plans - which were granted planning permission in 2019 - aim to keep noise and disruption to a minimum throughout construction. Pictured: The centre in 2017

Pictures taken at the site show walls pulled down as the demolition begins, with the area blocked off to the public (pictured)

Workmen put up fencing around Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre in London on September 24, 2020

A worker cleans the original Elephant and Castle statue, which formerly stood on the public house of the same name, in 1965

The shopping centre aimed to get Londoners away from the busy road below while carrying out their shopping

The shopping centre (pictured) was opened in 1965. Developers hoped it would become a hub for London shoppers

Reza, who has been working at Magic Carpet for 18 years, stands inside his shop at Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre last year

Paul Boissevain, architect for the Willett group of Companies with a model of the Group's plan for the Elephant and Castle shopping centre in 1960

The demolition process is set to end in the summer of 2021, with construction beginning that year. Pictured: A shop inside the centre

Shoppers are seen wandering around the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre in 1966. Its 115 shops were taken on mostly by local traders

Campaigners (some pictured) have blasted the lack of affordable homes, inexpensive retail space and council housing in the new plans

Scenes after the explosion near Elephant and Castle in London after the Blitz air raids during the Second World War

The area began life as two villages, Walworth and Newington, but the name 'Elephant and Castle' came about from a former coaching inn which was established in the area. Pictured: Horse drawn carriages outside the Elephant and Castle inn during the 19th century

The new plans - which were granted planning permission in 2019 - aim to keep noise and disruption to a minimum throughout construction.

The demolition process is set to end in the summer of 2021, with construction beginning that year.

The new Northern line station to be built on the demolished zone is 'future-proofed for the Bakerloo line extension with significantly enhanced capacity', local media reports.

A building for the University of the Arts' College of Communication will be also be built.

Keltbray say the project will bring substantial employment opportunities to the area.

Skills and communities director Holly Price said: 'As part of our commitment to the community, we will be offering employment opportunities to people living in the local area.

'During the demolition phase we have explored ways to provide new roles to local people and are pleased to offer vacancies including demolition labourers, welfare officers, traffic marshals and site administrators.

'We have also secured funding to deliver training  making it an excellent opportunity for those who are looking for a role within the local area.'
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Baking Powder market will register an incremental spend of about USD 1.02 Billion, growing at a CAGR of 5.39% during the five-year forecast period. A targeted strategic approach to Baking Powder 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:

Baking Powder 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 Baking Powder market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Baking Powder 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 Baking Powder 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 Baking Powder suppliers listed in this report:

This Baking Powder procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Associated British Foods Plc

Blue Bird Foods India Pvt. Ltd.

Clabber Girl Corp.

WEIKFIELD FOODS PVT. LTD.

The Kraft Heinz Co.

Corbion NV

Ward McKenzie Pty Ltd (McKenzies)

Keliff's

Kudos Blends Ltd.

The Oetker Group

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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DGAP-News: Atriva Therapeutics GmbH / Key word(s): Personnel

Atriva Therapeutics Announces Changes to Management



13.04.2021 / 09:30

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Atriva Therapeutics Announces Changes to Management

- Olaf Althaus appointed Chief Financial Officer

- Stephan Stenglein, M.D., recently joined as Chief Medical Officer

- Proven track record and 20+ years of experience in their respective fields of expertise

Tubingen (Germany), April 13, 2021 - Atriva Therapeutics GmbH, a biopharmaceutical company that is pioneering the development of host-targeting antiviral therapies, today announced two changes to its management team. Olaf Althaus was appointed Chief Financial Officer, effective May 2020, while Stephan Stenglein, M.D., was named Chief Medical Officer, effective February 2021.

"We are very pleased to have gained two outstanding specialists to complete our management team - each appointee has vast experience in their respective fields of expertise. Both have worked in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries for the past 20 years at least," said Dr. Rainer Lichtenberger, CEO of Atriva Therapeutics.

The timing is perfect for Atriva as it is aiming to define and expand the management team's specific areas of responsibility: "Olaf and Stephan have joined us at an important time as we are currently entering a critical stage in the clinical testing of our lead candidate, ATR-002," noted Dr. Lichtenberger.

"Besides this, we are honing our financial and organizational strategy to ensure the successful development of ATR-002. Olaf brings a wealth of financial acumen and leadership experience to Atriva. Stephan brings years of expertise in the late-stage clinical development of respiratory drugs. He will play a crucial role in managing our clinical Phase II trial which is key to Atriva's valuation and success. We warmly welcome Olaf and Stephan to the team," added Dr. Lichtenberger.

Olaf Althaus is an experienced biotech entrepreneur and manager with a proven track record of more than 20 years in the life science industry. He was co-founder, CEO and CFO at CellMed AG for 12 years and Managing Director at AEterna Zentaris GmbH. Before entering the pharmaceutical industry, he worked in private equity and investment banking for several financial institutes in Frankfurt and London. Olaf holds a degree in industrial engineering, business administration and applied mathematics from Karlsruhe University (Diplom Wirtschaftsingenieurwesen).

Stephan Stenglein, M.D., is a physician trained in clinical and molecular virology with more than 20 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including in medical device and vaccine development. Stephan was previously VP & Head Late-Stage Development Respiratory at AstraZeneca from March 2018. Prior to that his posts included Global Program Clinical Head and Global Program Medical Director, both in the respiratory field, at Novartis AG; VP Clinical Sciences at Glenmark Pharmaceuticals and Global Medical Director at Shire Plc. Stephan holds an M.D. from the Faculty of Medicine at Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU).

Atriva Therapeutics has recently started a clinical Phase II trial of their lead candidate ATR-002 in the treatment of moderate to severe COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. RESPIRE[1] - led by Prof. Gernot Rohde, M.D., Head of Pneumology and Professor for Respiratory Medicine and Allergology at the Goethe University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany - is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study currently being conducted at national and international study centers, including the Berlin-based Charite. ATR-002 is a small molecule developed against respiratory infection caused by RNA viruses.

About ATR-002's mode of action with dual benefit

Atriva's lead product ATR-002 is being developed specifically to treat diseases such as influenza and COVID-19, caused by RNA viruses. ATR-002 is a clinical stage MEK inhibitor drug candidate targeting the intracellular Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. This pathway is central for replication of many RNA viruses, including the influenza virus, hantavirus or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and also SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In influenza virus infected cells, the interaction of ATR-002 with MEK (MAPK/ERK kinase) prevents the export of the viral genome protein complexes (ribonucleoprotein, RNP) from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, thus blocking the formation of functional new viral particles. This ultimately reduces the viral load in the body.[2] In addition, ATR-002 has the potential to modulate the pro-inflammatory cytokine response of the body, avoiding an overshooting cytokine response that can be caused by such viral infections. MEK inhibition can reduce the gene expression of some of the cytokines involved, such as TNF-a, IL-1, IP-10, IL-8, MCP-1 and MIP-1a, and thus mitigate the overactive inflammatory response in the lungs of patients who are severely ill with influenza or COVID-19.[3]

About Atriva Therapeutics GmbH

Atriva Therapeutics, founded in 2015, is a biopharmaceutical company that is pioneering the development of host-targeting antiviral therapies. It was set up by a team of leading scientists in viral research as well as proven industry experts. The company aims to develop a therapy platform to treat severe respiratory diseases induced by RNA viruses with a high unmet medical need, such as influenza and COVID-19. The Atriva lead product ATR-002 is a first-in-class, host-targeting agent that aims to inhibit viral replication in influenza and to favorably modulate the body's immune response. ATR-002 is under clinical development and has successfully completed a Phase I trial to demonstrate safety and tolerability in healthy subjects. The Company has started a Phase II study to evaluate efficacy in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.[1] A Phase II study in influenza is due to start later in 2021. The Company owns 11 patent families with broad international coverage related to the use of MEK inhibitors and other kinase inhibitors for antiviral therapies. The patent life runs through 2041. Atriva Therapeutics is based in Tubingen and Frankfurt, Germany.

Atriva is a founding member of the BEAT-COV initiative. www.beat-cov.de

For further information, please visit www.atriva-therapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Contact:



Atriva Therapeutics GmbH

Dr. Rainer Lichtenberger, CEO

phone: +49 6196 56 11 698

mobile: +49 151 7443 3175

lichtenberger@atriva-therapeutics.com Media and Investor Relations:



MC Services AG

Eva Bauer / Raimund Gabriel

phone: +49 89 210 228 80

atriva-therapeutics@mc-services.eu

[1]RESPIRE - A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multi-Centre Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of ATR-002 in Adult Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19.

[2]Pleschka S et al. Nat Cell Biol 2001 Feb 3:301-5; Planz O Antiviral Res 2013 Jun 98(3):457-68; Haasbach E et al. Antiviral Res 2017 Jun 142:178-4; Laure M et al. Antiviral Res 2020 Jun 178:104806.

[3]Pinto R et al. Antiviral Res 2011 Oct 92(1):45-56; Planz O Antiviral Res 2013 Jun 98(3):457-68; Schrader T et al. Antiviral Res 2018 Sep 157:80-92.
Information technology gives a leg up to China's spring farming

09:22, April 13, 2021 By Bi Jingjin, Yang Yanfei ( People's Daily

Drones are spraying pesticides in a wheat field in Shenqiao village, Tongling, east China's Anhui Province, April 2, 2021. (People's Daily Online/Mei Jianguang)

As spring farming of this year kicks off, high-tech machines are being employed at a high-yield rice demonstration field, both in the air and on the ground, in Duhu Township, Taishan, Jiangmen, south China's Guangdong Province, making the farm work much easier during the busy season.

Farmer Li Shengye, who contracted 800 mu (53 hectares) of land at the demonstration field, is freed this year from the tiring tillage that always tied him up in the previous years, thanks to the new agricultural machines.

"It took four people and one tractor eight days to spray the pesticide in the past, but now a drone does it all in just two days, which can be operated by only one single person," Li told People's Daily.

The secret to the improved efficiency lies in several "cuboids" in the field - a smart system that can identify pests, Li introduced.

These cuboids are lighted up at night to attract pests, and then take photos of the bugs and upload them to a cloud platform which gives recognition results in seconds, said Lin Xiaojun, project director of Greenagri, the developer of the smart system. The system can recognize around 20 kinds of common pests, as well as their amount, Lin introduced, adding that the system can reach 90 percent accurate.

"It analyzes the identification results and makes predictions. Once the results hit alarm value, the system would notify relevant management departments and farmers," Lin said.

"For example, once the alarm value for rice planthoppers hits 100, notification is pushed to my mobile phone," Li said.

"I'd always follow the suggestions of the others in the past and spray pesticides whenever there were bugs in the field. Now, with the help of the system, I know exactly when, how much and which pesticides shall be used, which not only reduces the total use, but also ensures food safety," he noted.

In fact, the smart system is not the only high technology applied there. For instance, a small climate monitoring system is installed to check the illumination, temperature and wind velocity in the patty fields.

To monitor the growth of plants, agricultural microclimate, soil moisture content, and plant diseases and insect pests through an internet of things enabled by big data and cloud computing is like doing a physical examination for the rice and quantifying all the indexes, Lin said. The monitor results, combined together, are able to reflect the overall situation of the fields and offer a basis for farmers to make decisions, he added.

The No.1 central document of China issued this year proposed to develop smart agriculture, establish a big data system for agriculture and rural affairs, and advance the in-depth integration of a new-gen information technology and agricultural production and operation.

"We have satellites up in the sky, drones in the air, meteorological stations on the ground, and cameras in the fields, which offers us all-round and all-weather monitoring services. We can check the growth of the crops sitting at home instead of placing our feet in the muddy fields," said farmers.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Ambassador Duong Van Quang, former director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam

What is the significance of Vietnams current role as non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for 2020-2021, as well as council chair for April?

Vietnam made a great success as chair of the UNSC in January 2020 for the first time during the tenure, with many initiatives. One of the most prominent achievements was the construction and adoption of its resolution at the UN General Assembly on International Day of Epidemic Preparedness. All member states in the UN gave the thumbs-up to this significant resolution.

I think Vietnams significant activities at the UNSC will continue to help lift the countrys international prestige. Words made by Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, have shown that the international community is pinning great hopes on what Vietnam has and will do effectively as UNSC chair this month.

I do believe that the countrys status in the international arena in general and within the UN in particular will change. This also can prove that if Vietnam becomes a member or a leader of any international organisation, it will also be able to enhance its role and prestige within such an organisation as a reliable and responsible member.

How do you think Vietnam would have fared, and what would it have offered, if there was no COVID-19?

On December 27, the world for the first time in its history organised activities to boost anti-epidemic efforts. Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is now the state president, also delivered a message on the importance and measures for fighting epidemics. This was the UN General Assemblys first-ever resolution of the type, and also the first hosted and advanced by Vietnam. This resolution was supported by all UN member states, with Canada, Niger, Senegal, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines becoming co-authors with Vietnam. Moreover, over 100 UN member states worldwide sponsored the resolution.

I would say that any initiative advanced at any international organisation must be of great significance, and Vietnam must have made thorough studies on all initiatives proposed by other nations at the UN. However, after the pandemic emerged, Vietnam had to consider and propose important initiatives at just the right time. The International Day of Epidemic Preparedness initiative has even become more significant as Vietnam has been generally very successful in controlling COVID-19. This has also enriched the countrys prestige.

If there had been no COVID-19, Vietnam would have still been able to select and propose another significant initiative depending on the global situation and suitable to the shared interests, concerns, and expectations of the international community.

How important is Vietnams successful macroeconomic monitoring to elevating the countrys prestige and decisions at the UNSC?

Vietnams economy grew 2.91 per cent last year, making it among the few with positive growth and helping the country draw more attention from the international community. In the first three months of 2021, the growth rate was nearly 4.5 per cent, which is also relatively optimistic.

This success has contributed to Vietnams activities at the UNSC. One of the most important principles in diplomacy is that any nation wanting to perform well in the diplomatic front must have real national strength. The strength can be seen in many factors in which one of the most basic factors is economic development.

Since the countrys doi moi initiated in 1986, Vietnam has achieved relatively high economic growth. However, the growth rate in 2020 was of bigger significance especially given many nations suffered from negative growth. This has created very big momentum for Vietnams external relations.

In the past President Ho Chi Minh employed diplomacy as a means of projecting power, and argued that a countrys diplomatic strength depended on its internal strength. Thus in order to further enhance its prestige, Vietnam must continue developing its strengths in economics, population, securit,y and defence, including its contributions to the international community  especially in the current context of globalisation becoming a major trend.

In April, Vietnam is holding three key events on mine action and sustaining peace; protection of objects essential to the survival of civilians in armed conflicts; and on enhancing cooperation between the UN and others to prevent conflicts. What is your assessment on these priorities?

In fact, Vietnam has formulated an agenda for the whole of 2021. Two key factors must be carefully considered. Firstly, in order to well perform the role as UNSC chair, Vietnam has to satisfy its own national interests. Secondly it has to ensure the suitability with the global trend as under this role, Vietnam must act as a referee who must harmonise all benefits of all parties.

To do this, Vietnam must advance its crucial initiatives which must be accepted by the five major nations in the UN Security Council. These priorities and initiatives will contribute to helping ensure Vietnams national interests and having some possible positive impacts on the settlement of related global issues.

These priorities are also suitable to the worlds common trend in international relations and to the expectations of the nations within the council, first and foremost the five major ones at the UNSC.
Our hearts are heavy over yet another shooting of a Black man, Daunte Wright, at the hands of police. The fact that this could happen even as the city of Minneapolis is going through the trial of Derek Chauvin and reliving the heart-wrenching murder of George Floyd indicates not just how important it is to conduct a full and transparent investigation, but also just how badly we need to reimagine policing and public safety in this country, the Obamas said in a statement.
(Natural News) Tensions in Eastern Europe have been escalating, as Ukraine and Russia prepare for the possibility of war. Religious scholars have cited this potential conflict as a sign that the coming of the Jewish Messiah is near.

The protracted conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been going on since 2014 and centers around the regions of Crimea and the Donbas. These regions are legally a part of Ukraine, but were invaded and occupied by the Russian Army and pro-Russian separatists who wanted these areas to be part of the Russian Federation. (Related: Coronavirus, African locust plague and Iran-US conflict heralds the Second Coming of Christ, warn biblical scholars.)

The conflict in Crimea and the Donbas has never escalated into open warfare, but there are signs that Ukraine and Russia might be heading towards that. This escalation is being cited by religious scholars as the fulfillment of a prophecy made by Rabbi Elijah of Vilna, an 18th-century Polish-Lithuanian and Jewish academic.

Elijah of Vilna once reportedly handed down a prophecy to his son regarding the coming of the Jewish Messiah and the end of days. He said:

When you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople [Istanbul], you should put on your Shabbat clothes and dont take them off, because it means that the Messiah is about to come any minute.

While Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the prophesied Messiah, Jews believe their savior has yet to show himself.

This prophecy was revealed to the public by Elijahs great-grandson.

Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a Jewish theologian and author known for his theories regarding the end of days, said the situation between Ukraine and Russia seems to very heavily parallel the War of Gog and Magog. Gog is a person mentioned in the Bible who rules over the land of Magog.

It is known that Gog and Magog will come from the north,' explained Winston. The Hebrew word for north also implies hidden.' Before the War of Gog and Magog can erupt, Winston explained that a war between Turkey and Russia needs to erupt first.

The two nations have faced off before, explained Winston. Each time is like the building of a tower of explosives. It may seem like small events set off major conflicts, but in every case, the conditions were all in place, waiting for a spark to set them off.

Tensions between Ukraine and Russia only escalating further

The recent escalation of tensions between Ukraine and Russia began on March 24, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 117/2021. This decree has been interpreted as essentially a declaration of war against Russia, since it is calling for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

Since the decree was issued, both the Russians and Ukrainians have been building up their forces near potential conflict zones in Crimea and the Donbas.

Ukrainian tanks and other military hardware have been spotted near the separatist-held Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the Donbas. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has reported spotting an unusually large number of Russian military aircraft flying over the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and, most importantly, over the Black Sea, which borders Ukraines southern coasts.

In response, Ukraine officially opened its airspace for the use of NATO aircraft. This has led to NATO scrambling its jets multiple times to shadow the Russian military aircraft. At one point they intercepted six different groups of military aircraft flying near NATO airspace within less than six hours.

NATO has even raised its concerns regarding the buildup of Russian forces in the Donbas region. President Joe Biden had a phone conversation with Zelensky and pledged to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, while the alert status of the U.S. Eastern European Command was raised to its highest level.

Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded by warning NATO against deploying ground forces in Ukraine, arguing that such a move would force Russia to respond, further escalating tensions in the region.

Zelensky has called on NATO to fast-track his countrys membership into the military alliance. This is part of Ukraines diplomatic offensive to shore up support from Western nations in the event that conflict breaks out between it and Russia.

NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbas, Zelensky said during a phone call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. A Membership Action Plan to smooth out Ukraines entry into the alliance will be a real signal for Russia, said the president.

If Ukraine joins NATO and war between it and Russia suddenly breaks out, the U.S. could be forced to join given the countrys commitment to the military alliance.

Learn more about the potential conflicts America may have to deal with in the near future by reading the latest articles at WWIII.news.

Sources include:

DailyStar.co.uk

Israel365News.com

Crosswalk.com

Reuters.com
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A woman was busted April 9 at JFK Airport when authorities found she attempted to smuggle pellets of cocaine in her purse past U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, only to find she had more of the drug stashed inside her, the agency alleges.

The woman, U.S. resident Yerlina Lantigua Hernandez DeNova, arrived at the airport from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and was inspected by CBP agents.

After three pellets of a white powder were found in her purse, CBP officers escorted DeNova to a private room where a physical search was conducted, the agency said.

Authorities found more pellets hidden in her bra, and she admitted to CBP officers that she also inserted pellets vaginally and anally, according to a release by the agency.

CBP officers tested the pellets and they returned positive results for cocaine, the release said.

There were 100 pellets discovered on and in the woman with an estimated street value of more than $94,000, authorities said.

She was charged with importing a controlled substance in the U.S., the CBP said in a release.

This seizure is another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs, said Marty Rabon, acting director of CBPs New York Field Operations.

DeNovas lawyer did not immediately respond for a request to comment. She will be prosecuted in Brooklyn federal court.
DEAR DR. ROACH: With all the masks, hand-washing, sanitizing and social distancing for COVID-19, will we all have weak immune systems when life goes back to normal? -- J.D.H.

ANSWER: No. The immune system remembers pathogens for life, and constant exposure to germs is not necessary for the immune system to function correctly.

The hygiene hypothesis suggests that excess cleanliness is responsible for immune system dysregulation, leading to conditions such as asthma and autoimmune disease. While it may be true that exposure to friendly bacteria is beneficial in reducing the risk of asthma and other conditions, exposure to dangerous bacteria increases the risk of infection and probably does not have any benefit. Exposure to some viruses, such as rhinovirus, seems to increase the risk of asthma.

I do wonder what normal is going to look like after the pandemic is under control. Judging from the experience in other countries with viral pandemics, I expect to see more people wearing masks to prevent sickness during flu season. I do not think that this will have adverse effects on the immune system, but it will be a societal change.

DEAR DR. ROACH: I am 75 years old and was planning to get the COVID vaccine when I can. I have been taking anastrozole for almost five years and have had a few people tell me that I should not get the vaccine because of this. Your thoughts? -- W.N.S.

ANSWER: Beware of what some people tell you. The people who matter are your regular doctor and your oncologist.

Many people with autoimmune diseases or serious immune system problems, such as cancer and its treatment, are concerned about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Some vaccines are made with live but weakened strains. These can be dangerous when used by people with very weakened immune systems. However, the vaccines available for use at the time of this writing are mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. These are not risky, as none are live vaccines. They may not work quite as well, especially immediately after some types of chemotherapy. While I can say from what you have told me that the vaccine should be OK, you need to check with your doctors for confirmation.

DEAR DR. ROACH: Conflicting advice is circulating about whether taking NSAIDs after the vaccine will reduce immunity. For those who want the anti-inflammatory action of NSAIDs for muscle and joint pain, is it safe to take them? If not, how long after the second shot should one wait before taking them again? -- R.J.

ANSWER: Many people are concerned that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen will reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine. Previous studies have shown that pretreatment with these medications can reduce the antibodies induced by the vaccine.

It is not clear that this will make the vaccine significantly less effective. However, to be safe, dont take Tylenol or an anti-inflammatory BEFORE vaccination. If symptoms develop after vaccination, it is OK to take these medicines to relieve your symptoms. It is safe to restart your anti-inflammatories hours after the vaccine.

* * *

Dr. Roach regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but will incorporate them in the column whenever possible. Readers may email questions to ToYourGoodHealth@med.cornell.edu or send mail to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.

(c) 2021 North America Syndicate Inc.
An assistant headteacher has been banned from teaching for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old pupil.

Spencer Radford, 49, was reported to Cheshire police in 2018 by one of his former pupils, who claimed to have had an ongoing sexual relationship with her teacher for more than a year.

The investigation was dropped by Cheshire police, but a subsequent investigation by the government's Teacher Regulation Agency found the allegations to be proven.

Radford had the young schoolgirl stay over at his house, and told another pupil that he was in love with the girl.

She told the investigation that outside of school 'they would be a couple', but that they were 'always looking over their shoulders'.

A Cheshire Police spokesman told MailOnline there are no plans to reopen the case, and the victim involved 'did not support prosecution'.

The teacher of 26 years had worked at Thomas Adams School in Wem, Shropshire, since 2006 and was most recently employed there assistant headteacher.

Radford had the young schoolgirl stay over at his house, and told another pupil that he was in love with the girl (stock image)

However, the relationship with the pupil took place while employed at his previous school, believed to be in Cheshire, where he worked between 1995 and 2006.

The relationship had begun in the late 1990s, starting when the girl was 14.

The former pupil, referred to by the Teacher Misconduct Panel as Pupil A, said the relationship 'fizzled out' before her 16th birthday.

The report from the panel states: 'Pupil A in her written evidence said that when she was at Mr Radford's house she spent time snuggled on the sofa with him watching films. As the relationship progressed Pupil A said that they progressed to kissing.'

They then moved on to sexual activity, the report says.

'Pupil A told the panel that it ''took a long time, like any normal relationship would, the only thing not normal was the teacher and pupil part and the age gap, everything else was normal everything progressed really slowly - I was young, it was all firsts it probably took a long time''.

'Pupil A in her evidence said she and Mr Radford thought that when she left school ''they would be a couple''.'

The pupil, who reported Radford three years ago when in her 30s, said at the time as a schoolgirl it 'felt normal' but after looking back she 'realised it wasn't normal'.

Radford admitted to the allegations of exchanging text messages with the pupil, giving lifts to her and entering the girl's home with her.

Allegations of sexual activity, staying overnight with the pupil and commenting that he was in love with her were denied by Radford but found proven by the Teaching Regulation Agency misconduct panel.

As a result he has been banned from teaching indefinitely at any school, sixth form, relevant youth accommodation or children's home in England.
GBP/AUD Exchange Rate Advances Again after Last Weeks Plunge

Despite the sharp losses seen last week, the British Pound to Australian Dollar (GBP/AUD) exchange rate has been attempting to advance once again this week. A combination of strong UK data and UK coronavirus recovery hopes are keeping the Pound well-supported, while mixed market sentiment around the global coronavirus situation are limiting market demand for currencies more correlated to risk and trade like the Australian Dollar.

At the beginning of the month, GBP/AUD touched on a best level of 1.8257. This was the best level for the pair all year so far, but GBP/AUD has been unable to hold those highs since then.

Last week saw GBP/AUD plummet from the level of 1.8173 to 1.7980 throughout the week. This huge drop of almost two cents was caused by a big Pound selloff.

However, since markets opened this week, GBP/AUD has been attempting to advance once again. Investors are buying the Pound on UK coronavirus recovery hopes, while the Australian Dollars appeal is weighed by its own coronavirus pandemic woes.

Yesterday, investors bought the Pound in rebound as more of Britains economy reopened. More shops including bars and hairdressers reopened, and high consumer activity yesterday boosted hopes that activity would recover strongly from the third lockdown.

While the reopening was expected, signs that it was still going smoothly so far only boosted the Pounds appeal.

Today, investors continued to buy the Pound amid hopes for a strong UK recovery from the pandemic. Despite February being the first full month of the third coronavirus lockdown, Februarys UK economic activity reports all came in stronger than expected today.

In particular, Britains latest growth rate result came in at 1.6% rather than 1.9% in the three months into February. Februarys monthly growth of 0.4% was a little weaker than expected, but stronger than expected year-on-year.

Analysts believe that businesses have adapted better to restrictions since last year, which helped keep economic activity afloat.

According to Jon Hudson, Fund Manager at Premier Miton UK Growth Fund:

The UK economy is still almost 8% lower than where it was last year but a strong bounce back is likely in the second part of this year as restrictions ease and households begin spending the huge level of forced savings they have accumulated over the past year.

Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates Struggle as Australias Vaccine Rollout Sees Complications

Investors remain hesitant to buy the Australian Dollar this week, due to various factors affecting sentiment for the relatively risky currency.

The global coronavirus outlook has been more mixed, amid concerns that many nations could be hit by a third wave of infections soon.

This has been weighing on risk-sentiment, dampening market appetite for currencies correlated to risk and trade like the Australian Dollar.

On top of this, Australias own coronavirus situation has seen complications. Australias vaccination rollout has been delayed somewhat due to concerns around the AstraZeneca vaccine, which Australia had been heavily relying on.

Innes Willox, Chief Executive at AI Group, expressed concern that some workers will go overseas to find work if Australias recovery is slower than other major economies. He said:

This is where our relatively slow vaccine rollout may hurt us. Skilled workers, students and tourists will not wait and choose to go where borders are open and where they are welcomed.

Pound Australian Dollar Forecast

For now, the Pound outlook remains strong and may have more room to advance as well, depending on continued optimism around Britains economic recovery hopes.

With the UK economic calendar quiet until next week, GBP/AUD is more likely to be driven by global coronavirus developments as well as movement in the Australian Dollar.

Market demand for AUD is limited due to concerns around Australias coronavirus situation. However, major Australian job market data is due for publication later in the week.

Australian job market data from March will be published during Thursdays Asian session. It is likely to be one of the most influential datasets of the week.

As Australias job market is a key economic indicator, it has the potential to have a big impact on the Australian Dollar if it surprises investors.

That aside, tomorrows Australian consumer confidence data and of course any notable global coronavirus developments will continue to influence the Pound to Australian Dollar exchange rate as well.
Mask mandates are coming down across the country, even as COVID cases are rising in most states. But the Biden administration appears poised to reinstate masking and other social distancing rules for recalcitrant governors  at least in the workplace. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is preparing to issue new short-term regulations to protect workers from catching COVID-19 on the job, according to lawyers tracking the agencys efforts.

They could be made public as early as this week, these lawyers say, and take effect soon after that.

Related: OSHA to Review COVID-19 Workplace Safety Enforcement Under Trump Employment Practices Insurance in Age of COVID, Vaccines, Shutdowns and Hard Market

Most private-sector employers in the U.S. must follow rules for workplace safety set either by OSHA or by state-run versions of the agency. OSHA and its state counterparts have received over 60,000 complaints about COVID-19 safety issues, according to the agency, but under the Trump administration, the agency refused to issue virus-specific safety regulations, known as an Emergency Temporary Standard.

Instead, a handful of states, led by Virginia, established their own temporary standards. (In 2020, OSHA did conduct inspections of 369 private workplaces for COVID-19 practices under the Occupational Safety and Health Acts general duty clause, and levied $4.2 million in fines.)

The federal standard is going to look a lot like the Virginia plan, predicts Travis Vance, a Charlotte-based lawyer who co-leads the national workplace safety practice at Fisher Phillips. Virginias standard is less aggressive than Californias workplace COVID rules, Vance says, but stiffer than Oregon and Michigans.

One coalition of businesses and trade groups, organized by the Washington employment law firm Conn Maciel Carey, is advocating that the U.S. generally take Virginia as a model. If there is going to be rule, says partner Eric Conn, who chairs the firms workplace safety group, Virginia OSHA has promulgated a flexible rule that allows employers to adjust with the evolving guidance from the C.D.C. and the scientific community, which is just as effective as the California rule, which is generally inflexible and much more onerous.

Organized labor, for its part, pushed Virginia to adopt its rule in the first place. They did lay out a decent standard, says Rebecca Reindel, safety and health director for the AFL-CIO, but it could be strengthened in many respects. Last spring, the AFL-CIO sued the Trump Administration, unsuccessfully, to force it to issue a federal workplace safety standard for COVID.

Virginia requires employers to assess and categorize each job for the risk of exposing a worker to the disease. If you have people on a poultry line who are standing three feet apart, that risk is higher than if you have a receptionist who has a screen in front of her and is 20 feet from anyone else, says Vance.

Virginias risk categories are very high (such as performing certain medical procedures, handing lab samples from or performing autopsies on COVID patients), high (typically providing other care to COVID patients), medium (any job where a worker might come into close contact with other people), and lower (jobs with very little close contact with other people  including after physical barriers or administrative procedures are put in place to limit contact).

Employers with jobs that are medium or higher risk must follow specific policies to ensure social distancing and clean air. They must also develop written plans for how theyll respond to an infectious disease outbreak and provide training to employees on COVID-19. Other requirements apply to all employers. For example, they have to report to the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry when three employees are infected with the virus within two weeks. And they must follow specific procedures for when infected employees can return to work.

The question now is what the details of the federal version of this scheme will look like. Vance and Conn anticipate a stringent face-covering requirement, particularly indoors. According to Conn, that will create an interesting tension with these states like Texas, which have ended their mask mandates. The conflicting rules will likely sow confusion, he says. I think theyre going to have a lot of employee misconduct in places where you have mixed signals.

One provision that will likely find its way into the U.S. OSHA standard, say Vance and Conn, thats not in Virginias is a requirement to make sure employees have free access to the vaccine, by paying for their time and reimbursing their expenses. That could conflict with what seems to be the current thinking at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, OSHAs sister agency in the Labor Department. EEOC recently proposed then pulled a rule that prohibited employers from offering anything but a modest incentive, like a gift card, to participate in a wellness program. Conn anticipates that President Biden and his newly confirmed labor secretary, Marty Walsh, will push the EEOC to clarify its rules to accommodate OSHA.

An OSHA spokesperson wouldnt say whether the agency is planning to issue a standard or what it would contain. OSHA has been working diligently, as appropriate, to consider what standards may be necessary, the spokesperson said, and is taking the time to get this right. Last Tuesday, Bloomberg Law reported that Walsh told OSHA to update its analysis of the risk the disease poses to employees, but Vance and Conn believe this will not derail the standard, only delay it.

With or without a standard, OSHA has already promised invigorated enforcement of safe COVID practices  at least 1,600 inspections nationwide this year. Most of these will take place in health care, animal processing plants, restaurants, and grocers and discount retailers.

But nearly half the states have their own OSHAs, and its unclear what will happen in those. Both Vance and Conn believe the states among those that havent come up with temporary emergency standards will face pressure from the Biden administration to do so. Conn would like Washington to force those states, even Virginia, to adopt the federal standard. But it would still be up to those states to then enforce it, and several states have not made enforcing workplace safety around COVID a priority.

For example, Vance says in North Carolina, they dont think COVID even falls under the general duty standard. So if they adopted a standard, I dont think theyll aggressively enforce it. Arizona, South Carolina, and Tennessee are similarly disinclined to enforce COVID safety protocols, he says.

A standard would likely have to stand up in court, too. Conn says his coalition could end up suing if the standard is too onerous. But even if Conn is satisfied, other interests wont be. Last year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce lined up business groups in opposition to the AFL-CIOs suit.

I do think there will be a challenge in court, says Baruch Fellner, a longtime occupational safety lawyer in Washington who believes the standard is just an attempt by the Biden administration to curry favor with organized labor. Fellner argues that the science around COVID is not certain enough to justify a mandatory standard. Other lawyers say that if the risk of COVID to employees recedes, the emergency standard would be illegal.

Courts have not been hospitable to such rule makings, Fellner says. There has never been an instance, to the best of my recollection, of an emergency temporary standard that has been approved by a court.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics COVID-19 Legislation Workers' Compensation
New Delhi: The auspicious occasion of Gudi Padwa is being celebrated this year on April 13. As per the Hindu calendar, New Year is marked during the Chaitra months (March-April) and different regions of the country have different names and rituals for it. Like in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana it is called Ugadi, in Jammu and Kashmir, it is known as Navreh.

In Maharashtra, Gudi Padwa marks the New Year. The Konkani community refers to this day as Samwatsara.

GUDI - A WOODEN STICK

A wooden stick is covered with a piece of bright red or yellow coloured cloth. Then a Kalash made of silver, copper or bronze is placed upside down on one end of the stick. A dash of vermillion (kumkum) and turmeric (haldi) are applied on the outer surface of the Kalash. This ensemble is called Gudi and its placed outside the door or the window so that everyone in the vicinity gets to see it. A garland made of sugar candy (saakhar gaathi) and neem leaves are hung along with the Gudi. This ritual signifies the bittersweet experiences of life.

HOW MAHARASHTRIANS CELEBRATE GUDI PADWA:

Days before the festival, people start cleaning their homes and courtyards to start preparations for the actual day. On the day of the festival, people decorate their doorsteps with Rangoli. Flowers are used for decorating the house and a toran made of mango leaves is hung across the top of the door.

People take bath and wear new clothes and dress up in traditional style. Women drape the Navari and the men wear Kurta teamed up with Dhoti or Pyjama. People offer their prayers to the Gudi after placing it on the window or door. They offer flowers, perform the aarti and put Akshat on the Gudi.

The families get together to celebrate their New Year by consuming a preparation made of neem leaves, jaggery to symbolise the diverse aspects of life. Shrikhand and Puran Poli are also prepared on this day.

SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GUDI PADWA:

On this day, Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya along with his consort Sita and brother Lakshmana after defeating demon King Ravana in Lanka.
In the midst of all of this high-voltage political drama, 14 crude explosives were discovered in the Shamsherganj neighbourhood of West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Monday. The bombs were later detonated by the Bomb Disposal Squad.

Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister, has announced to stage a dharna in the city today to protest the Election Commissions unconstitutional decision to prohibit her from campaigning for 24 hours. For her remarks against central powers and comment with reported religious overtones, she has been barred from campaigning in any capacity for 24 hours, from 8 p.m on April 12 to 8 p.m on April 13.

To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata from 12 noon.  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 12, 2021

According to a TMC leader Mamata Banerjee will hold a sit-in protest near the Gandhi statue in central Kolkata around 12noon. As soon as the ban period ends at 8 pm, she would hold two public rallies in North 24 Parganas. The first rally would be held at 8.15 pm at Barasat, and the second one would start at 9 pm in Bidhannagar.

The first four phases of voting in West Bengal have been completed. On April 17 and 22, the fifth and sixth phases of the ongoing elections will take place. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, will hold another roadshow and address public meetings in West Bengal ahead of the fifth phase of the assembly elections, as part of the states outreach strategy. Today, Shah will speak at potho sabhas in the assembly constituencies of Dum Dum and Baranagar at 7 p.m. and 8.15 p.m., respectively.

Read More: Symbolism of Swastika ruined by Nazis: US Hindu Body flags Marylands Hinduphobic bill

In the midst of all of this high-voltage political drama, 14 crude explosives were discovered in the Shamsherganj neighbourhood of West Bengals Murshidabad district on Monday. The bombs were later detonated by the Bomb Disposal Squad. The incident came to light just days before the states fifth phase of assembly elections, which will be held on April 17. On April 10, during the fourth round of voting, violence erupted at a polling booth in Cooch Behar. The ruling TMC said that central forces opened fire twice at polling booths in Cooch Behar, killing four party workers in the process.
She's relishing in the laid-back Aussie lifestyle since relocating to Australia from the US with her family last year.

And on Tuesday, Isla Fisher looked relaxed as she stepped out for a coffee in Sydney.

The 45-year-old actress showed off her eclectic sense of style by dressing in a double denim ensemble.

Denim delight! Isla Fisher rocked a double denim ensemble as she stepped out for coffee in Sydney on Tuesday

She teamed a button down shirt featuring an undone pussy bow tie and statement puffy sleeves with a pair of high waisted ankle crop jeans, which complemented her petite frame.

She accentuated her height with a pair of $1240 platform shoes by Stella McCartney, a $7,100 Fendi Peekaboo handbag and a chic pair of black sunglasses by Le Specs.

Just jeans: She teamed a button down shirt featuring an undone pussy bow tie and statement puffy sleeves with a pair of high waisted ankle crop jeans, which complemented her petite frame

Stunning: The redheaded beauty wore her luscious tresses out, and her perfectly coiffed tresses bounced around her shoulders as she walked across the street with a coffee in one hand

The redheaded beauty wore her luscious tresses out, and her perfectly coiffed tresses bounced around her shoulders as she walked across the street with a coffee in one hand.

Isla recently discussed making the move across the Pacific from Los Angeles with her family to Stellar magazine.

The Perth-raised actress told the publication: 'I just feel so safe, I suppose the word is cosy, when I'm in Australia. It's where I grew up.'

Expensive taste: She accentuated her height with a pair of $1240 platform shoes by Stella McCartney, a $7,100 Fendi handbag and a chic pair of black sunglasses

Happy: Isla recently discussed making the move across the Pacific from Los Angeles with her family in an interview with Stellar magazine

'I'm the happiest when I'm home. I miss it when I'm not here. I don't feel any pressure when I'm in Australia. I don't have to say or do or be anything. I mean, I don't even have to wear shoes,' the Godmothered star added.

She also briefly touched on motherhood in the interview, a topic which she loves dearly but rarely discusses to protect her children's privacy.

Isla shares three children with her comedian husband Sacha Baron Cohen, 49.

Safe: The Perth-raised actress told the publication: 'I just feel so safe, I suppose the word is cosy, when I'm in Australia. It's where I grew up'

She told the publication: 'All parents are just trying to protect their kids. And I feel like if they wanted to be in the public eye that's up to them. If I give any quotes about them, that would haunt them. They will be teenagers one day!'

Isla and Sacha first met at a party in Sydney back in 2002, they tied the knot in Paris in 2010 after she converted to the Jewish faith.

The couple initially relocated temporarily to escape 'Trump's America' at the end of last year.
Amazon India has said it will bear the COVID-19 vaccination cost of over 10 lakh of its employees, associates, sellers, and others in its partner network system.

The e-commerce giant will also cover its delivery service partner associates, comprising Amazon Flex drivers, 'I Have Space' store partners, trucking partners, and their eligible dependents.

The benefit will also be extended to all sellers on Amazon India's platform with active listings since last year.

The coronavirus vaccination programme is open to all people above 45 years of age and the company is encouraging those eligible to get themselves inoculated.

Also Read: Amazon India launches 'Mentor Connect' for start-ups, emerging brands

"As COVID-19 vaccines become available to individuals above 45 years of age in India, Amazon India is encouraging its employees, associates, sellers on Amazon.in and partners to get vaccinated at the earliest appropriate time to protect themselves, their families, and their communities," Amazon India said in a statement on Monday.

The company has also set up comprehensive support mechanisms for employees and associates working with Amazon and hired through staffing agencies, it added.

Amazon India supports cost coverage for COVID-19 treatment, hospital search, and coverage of prescribed COVID-19 tests. Initiatives have been scaled and evolved to address the prevailing situation.

"These new benefits are on top of the $2.5 billion Amazon has invested in special bonuses and incentives for teams globally over the last year, and the $11.5 billion the company has invested in COVID-19-related measures overall," the statement said.

This investment has enabled the company to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and extensive safety measures for employees and partners throughout the global network along with other financial support initiatives, it stated.

Also Read: 70,000 Indian sellers export goods worth $3 billion on Amazon

The Amazon Relief Fund (ARF) was launched in India in April 2020 with a $25 million relief fund for partners and continues to provide support to all eligible individuals. ARF can be utilised by qualifying individuals who have been quarantined or diagnosed with COVID-19.

Several companies, including Flipkart, Infosys, Cure.fit, Accenture, Capgemini, Cognizant, Mobile Premier League, Reliance Industries, TVS Motor Company, ReNew Power, Mindtree, and Sify Technologies, have committed to covering vaccine costs for their employees and their family members.

People above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities are being immunised in the second phase of the nationwide vaccination that started on March 1. Under the third phase, which started on April 1, everyone over 45 years can get vaccinated.

(With inputs from PTI.)
Alabama is pausing use of the Johnson &Johnson COVID-19 vaccine for further investigation after a handful of reports of blood clotting in other states.

I hope people will just be reassured that safety is being taken very seriously, said Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris at a press conference Tuesday morning.

The CDC is reviewing the vaccine after six women reported cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare blood clotting condition that tends to occur more in women of child-bearing age.

COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey said in a press release Tuesday.

It is important to know that the adverse effects potentially stemming from the Johnson & Johnson shot have been extremely rare in the country, but out of an abundance of caution, Alabama is temporarily pausing these shots until we know more.

In Alabama 71,297 one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been administered so far. There have been no reported blood clot issues in the state.

Dr. Harris advised Alabamians who received Johnson & Johnson to monitor themselves if they feel concerned. If its been more than 3 weeks since you received J&J, we dont think theres any problem, he said.

There are roughly 329 COVID-19 vaccine providers who exclusively administer Johnson & Johnson out of about 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine providers in Alabama.

Dr. Harris said the number of blood clot cases identified represent about one in a million relative to the number of doses administered. He said it remains unclear whether the blood clot cases were associated with the administration of the vaccine.

The state is pausing use of the vaccine out of extreme caution, he said.

If it turns out this isnt a safe vaccine, obviously well be able to say that. Hopefully that isnt the case.
Editor: I was shocked to see negativity aimed at the Wright Center for Community Health regarding its policy of providing patients with an appointment to get COVID-19 vaccines. I am alarmed at the decision to stop providing the center with vaccines.

I have long known Wright Center CEO Linda Thomas-Hemak, M.D. I am a licensed psychologist and when our psychoanalytic peer consultation group paid for meeting space, she offered the Wright Center conference room at no charge. She is also my physician. I consider her ethics, empathy and medical expertise to be among the finest I have experienced.

Hence, my shock reading comments that attributed appointments accompanying vaccines to be financially motivated or unnecessary. I am lucky that my vaccine appointment accompanied an office visit, as it turned out to be medically necessary.

I have reached old age and qualified for the first round of vaccinations. So, when I showed up at my vaccination appointment with Thomas-Hemak, which lasted over an hour, instead of taking a shot, I received counseling to have several issues checked prior to being vaccinated. I needed medical clearance from my cardiologist and a consult with my endocrinologist. Had I gone to a drive-through vaccination site, I might have found that out the hard way.

Now I am in a quandary. Having had serious allergic reactions in the past, coupled with medical conditions that require monitoring, if the vaccine is not provided to the Wright Center, I cannot get my vaccination under the supervision of my doctor? I hope the powers recognize that at-risk medical populations, closely monitored under Thomas-Hemaks care, still need appointments and vaccinations at the Wright Center. Given that this is a brand new technology, I feel her approach for all populations was very responsible and reasonable. They were doing it right at the Wright Center.

SHEILA CARLUCCIO

DICKSON CITY

Editor: Former President Donald Trumps penchant for mendacity apparently has permeated all layers of the Republican Party. Politicians always have been known to embellish the truth but not lie at such a garish level.

In February, when the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, discussed the status of his states extreme winter weather, he blamed windmill failure for shutting down the Texas electric grid that left millions of people freezing in the dark. This is so wrong.

Wind accounts for only 7% of Texas wintertime power capacity. Natural gas provides about 80% and gas plants could not function due to frozen pipelines. Some windmills did shut down from frozen turbines because, to save money and increase profits, they were not winterized. Canadian windmills, with more extreme cold, function fine with winterization.

The frozen natural gas lines, which put gas plants out of order, like the windmills, had not been winterized as recommended following the 2011 severe winter weather that led to grid failure in Texas. The failure to winterize windmills and pipelines is due to the Texas grid not being part of the national grid. Texas does not have strong grid regulation. The west Texas city of El Paso, which is part of the regional grid with strong regulation, had the same extreme winter weather but did not suffer severe power outages.

Abbott is a conservative Republican and climate change denier and he did not want to blame natural gas plant closures, part of the fossil fuel industry. So he willfully lied. He needs to understand that dealing with a natural disaster, a pandemic or extreme weather, it is imperative to be honest. Tilting at windmills is foolish.

GEORGE J. MOTSAY, M.D.

UPPER MACUNGIE TWP.,

LEHIGH COUNTY

Editor: Republicans in dozens of states are trying to pass laws like Georgia just did to make it harder for minorities, including Black and brown people, to vote and doing it all on the basis of lies by former President Trump.

It is every Americans right to vote. The Georgia bill makes it a crime to give water to people standing in line to vote, changes control of the Georgia Election Board and lets lawmakers replace local election administrators.

Everyone should be concerned that Republicans in power might someday change more voting rights to keep them in power.

Republicans who are Trumpsters, along with Trump himself, ruined our country in four short years. Trump and Republicans in Congress have blood on their hands for the 560,000-plus Americans who have died so far during the pandemic by saying originally that COVID-19 was a hoax, the flu was worse and that it would be gone in a few days.

Now, they dont even want to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by getting vaccinated and wearing masks. So they just follow what Trump tells them to do, without any mind of their own. He only wanted to open up the country at any cost and didnt care how many people died.

FERN OLIVERI

CARBONDALE

Editor: Voters will head to the polls again on May 18.

At that time, we will be asked to vote yes or no to three amendments to our Pennsylvania Constitution. Two of those amendment changes are of great concern to me. They seek to strip the governor of his power to manage emergency declarations and give that control to the state General Assembly. When we have an emergency, immediate action is important.

Think of a time when the Legislature ever acted quickly. When a hurricane, flood or any disaster happens, you cant wait for a bunch of politicians to argue for several weeks before you can get results. You need one person, a governor, who can cut through the red tape and get things done.

Vote no to Constitution Amendment Article III and Article IV.

PATRICIA HANCOCK

MILL HALL, CLINTON COUNTY
Bong Joon-ho / Korea Times file





By Kwak Yeon-soo







Director Bong Joon-ho, whose film "Parasite" won four awards at last year's Academy Awards  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best International Feature Film  will take part in the 93rd Oscars ceremony as a presenter.







The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday a number of this year's presenters, which also included Halle Berry, Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Additional presenters will be announced at a later date. It is still unclear which category Bong will present, but U.S. outlets such as Deadline predicted he will give the Best Director Award.







He will likely meet the cast of "Minari," which has earned six nominations  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Score.







Bong has shown continuous support for "Minari," hosting talks with director Lee Isaac Chung and actress Youn Yuh-jung. He previously worked with Steven Yeun, who starts in the film, for "Okja" (2017). Youn and Han Ye-ri will fly to the U.S. to join the cast attending the awards ceremony in person.







The family drama tells the story of a Korean immigrant family that moves to rural Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s. In 2020, the dark comedy thriller "Parasite" was the first foreign-language movie to win the Best Picture award, while Bong was the first Korean filmmaker to take home the Best Director prize.







The 93rd Oscars will be held April 25 (local time).


New York, US (PANA) - Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries in Africas Great Lakes region are on the right track, with leaders pushing forward on political, security and economic cooperation, UN Special Envoy Huang Xia told the Security Council on Monday
Hong Kong authorities reportedly pushed the Chinese Communist Party-created National Security Law into students' education.

Radio Free Asia reported on Monday that Hong Authorities ruled by the Chinese Communist Party have implemented the integration of the "draconian" law into the students' curriculum through a circular letter instructing schools to do so. The circular directed the use of the slogan, "uphold national security," and "safeguard our home" as part of the revised teaching materials cascaded in schools across Hong Kong.

Secondary school children physically returning to school were given a set of bookmarks containing an introduction about the new law that, as per Radio Free Asia, claimed that Hong Kong residents "still enjoy freedom" setting aside the reality that those who spoke publicly against the authorities were put behind bars and were criminalized.

As reported previously, Hong Kong authorities have been arresting anyone who oppose against the new security law including Christians especially in terms of its effects on religious freedom and liberties and against those who are pro-democracy. Hong Kong authorities even threatened countries who would provide asylum to what it calls pro-democracy criminals.

RFA said the circular mandated schools as the ones responsible to educate the children on the new law and detailed that class registration sessions and morning assemblies referred to the phrase "upholding national security is the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

Besides the bookmarks that contained the overview on the new law, a cartoon summarizing it were included in the teaching materials distributed to the schools. The cartoons present, as per RFA, that citizens continue to experience "the various rights and freedoms" such as freedom of the press and of association. A poster making competition has also been launched in schools, which are also expected to celebrate the National Security Law Education Day on April 15.

Amnesty International reported last February that the Hong Kong Education Bureau released new guidelines for the integration of the national security law in the curriculum.

The said new guidelines are coupled with the "establishment of taskforces to monitor student behaviour and activities" in school campuses. The guidelines also ban students and teachers from "participating in political activities expressing political views on campus" including books and teaching materials on these are to be removed.

"The new measures on school management and national security education, including the establishment of taskforces to monitor student behaviour and activities, would significantly curb freedom of expression on campus in Hong Kong. Banning expression of political opinion on campus is not a national security issue; it is a sweeping restriction and a blatant human rights violation. National security must not be used to deny students the right to express different political views," said Amnesty international Hong Kong's Programme Manager Lam Cho Ming in their report.

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Free Press added that children as young as aged six are required to be taught the National Security Law, which is directly inserted in Hong Kong's mini-constitution and gives police "sweeping new powers."

An animated video was released in February by the Education Bureau to explain to easily explain to children what the new law is about, as reported by Global Voices.

In the copy of the video uploaded by the Hong Kong Free Press in its channel, the colorful "audio picture book" entitled "Let's Learn About National Security" defines what it is in the language of children and one in English. It explains what "defense" is in terms of computer hacking and the coronavirus pandemic.

"National security affairs are of utmost imortance to the whole country, so it is the right and duty of the Central Autorities to enact the National Security law to safeguard national security and the people's interest," the video said.
Mabb grabbed screaming girl and took her to his ute where he drove to a beach

He took the five-year-old while she was riding her bike with a friend

Mabb took the child from Montagu Campground in Tasmania on January 24

A self-confessed paedophile who took a five-year-old girl from a campground in Tasmania allegedly told prison staff his intention was to 'eat' the child.

Cecil Maurice Mabb, 42, pleaded guilty to assault and attempted abduction of the young girl in Montagu on January 24.

Mabb allegedly told staff at Ridson Prison that he confessed to being a paedophile because it was better than 'what he really was', Crown Prosecutor Yolanda Prence told the court, according to The Mercury.

'He told staff he had taken the little girl so he could eat her.'

But defence counsel Hannah Phillips told the court there was no evidence Mabb ever said he wanted to eat the girl.

She said her client claimed he was encouraged by other inmates to make up a ridiculous story in order to get more serious medication behind bars.

Cecil Maurice Mabb (pictured), 42, pleaded guilty to assault and attempted abduction of the young girl in Montagu on January 24

Mabb snatched the five-year-old while she was riding her bike at Montagu Campground in the state's north-west at around 4:30pm with a friend.

The childrens' parents had been setting up their tents while the pair rode towards a boat ramp.

Mabb was parked in bushland nearby in his ute before he grabbed the screaming young girl and threw her in his car.

He had his hands around the girls neck choking her as he drove towards the beach while her four-year-old friend ran back to their parents.

'That man scared me,' he told his parents according to The Mercury.'

'The man got '

The parents and other campers at the site launched a desperate search for the child.

With the help of police the girl was found under an hour later about one kilometre away on a beach.

The girl told the man who found her that 'someone brought me here and I don't know how to get back', court heard. She was heavily dazed and confused following the incident.

The girl told her parents she couldn't breathe or talk when the man was choking her.

She was taken to North West Regional Hospital to be treated.

Mabb was parked in bushland nearby in his ute before he grabbed the screaming young girl at Montagu Campground

Mabb snatched the five-year-old while she was riding her bike at Montagu Campground in the state's north-west at around 4:30pm with a friend

Mabb then rang police who told them he'd attempted to kidnap a young child and was returning home. Police set up a road block at his house in Roseberry.

He was not found there, but police located him from his phone service after he called again. He was eventually found by rangers, who he ran at holding a hammer screaming 'run, run you can run, you need to get out of here and ring the police.'

Mabb eventually gave himself in and told police at Burnie Police Station he 'needed to do this to get help and to be locked up.'

He cried in court as the impact he'd inflicted on the young girl was revealed.

The hearing continues.
There is a need to roll out incentives for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to help them ramp up production in a bid to cater to the rising demand across the country, industry body said on Tuesday.

The government also needs to give provisions for immediate and sufficient grants and subsidies, through its COVID funds, for those manufacturers that are already developing or manufacturing COVID vaccines in the country, it noted.

"There is an urgent and critical need to encourage vaccine manufacturers to substantially augment their capacities for production. Since the cost of vaccines have been capped by the government, the vaccine manufacturers need to be provided with appropriate incentives for ramping up the production," said in a statement.

The industry body has recommended financing under the PLI-type scheme to support vaccine manufacturers, it added.

While welcoming approval of Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, the industry body said that vaccines that are proven and successful in other markets should be encouraged to be brought into India at the earliest, in order to maintain supply chains.

"This should be considered for import and sale of international vaccines as well as initiate manufacturing of such vaccines in the country. Given that most of these vaccines have extensive dossiers and data on their safety and efficacy for large populations, including for Indians living abroad, we should waive off the need for Indian clinical trial data," it added.

noted that many states have been facing the shortage of COVID vaccines over the past few days, including locations in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, compelling state governments to scale down their daily vaccination targets.

"India intends to vaccinate a priority population of 30 crore by August 2021. Given that 10.85 crore people have received at least the first dose of COVID vaccination and going with the current rate of 30 lakh vaccinations per day, we would need more than 38 crore doses (of two dose vaccines) to fully vaccinate this priority group," it said.

According to reports, Indian government has 2.04 crore doses in pipeline for next few days, FICCI stated.

"With the current strategy and vaccination rate, we would be missing vaccinating our super-spreaders of the age group 18-45 years, who also form the majority of our workforce needed for sustaining economic activities," it noted.

Besides, since the length of immunity provided by the vaccines is yet not known, need for repeat vaccination needs to be factored in, FICCI said.

There is a need to maintain the momentum of manufacturing such vaccines for at least next couple of years, it added.

"FICCI, on behalf of the industry, has assured its complete support to the government for battling together against this unprecedented crisis and keeping the economy from being adversely impacted," it 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.)
A Missouri man has been arrested on transportation of child pornography charges after flying to Chattanooga to have sex with a child.

It turns out that Jimmy Dewayne Brock, 51, had been corresponding with an undercover FBI agent.

Brock, who is from Lone Jack, Mo., questioned whether he was dealing with an undercover officer. He said, "And stupid question you're not a cop and going to bust me for coming right?" The agent replied, "Hahahaha."

Brock answered, "Good lol."

The agent said, "I don't think a cop would buy someone a plane ticket."

The agent said in February he observed a user on Kik with a display name of Jay Rock openly trading child sexual abuse materials.

He said he began corresponding with "Jay Rock", who sent him images of male children in sexual poses.

The agent said he learned that Jay Rock was actually Jimmy Dewayne Brock and that he was from Missouri.

He also found that Brock was a Tier Level 3 Sex Offender convicted in 2001 for sexual assault on an 11-year-old male child. This conviction was in Kansas City, Mo.

The agent said Brock was briefly banned from Kik, but was able to change his user name and get back on.

The agent talked about having an eight-year-old nephew and asked if Brock would like to have sex with him. Brock said he was disabled and unable to afford an airplane ticket to Chattanooga. Then the agent said he would buy Brock the plane ticket.

After he arrived, Brock was taken into custody and is being held at the Hamilton County Jail.

Magistrate Judge Chris Steger has ordered that he remain detained.
Before state Rep. Gary Gates was elected to the Texas House, the Republican real estate executive launched a petition drive to disband the Southwest Management District, one of 39 special districts across Houston that collect taxes from commercial property owners to fund extra police patrols, sidewalk improvements and other hyper-local services.

Gates, who also has taken aim at a management district in the Hobby area where he owns apartment properties, has continued his efforts to dissolve the special districts since taking office early last year. In January, he filed a bill that would make it easier to dissolve most management districts, including the two he has targeted, then weeks later circulated petition forms to business owners in the Sharpstown area.

Under state law, a management district must disband if its board receives dissolution petitions from property owners who own at least two-thirds of the districts assessed property value. Gates legislation, House Bill 1219, would lower the threshold from 67 to 55 percent for districts created before September 2017, meaning it would apply to the Hobby Area District and Southwest Management District that Gates has sought to dissolve.

The bill passed out of the House Committee on Urban Affairs last week.

Houston Councilman Robert Gallegos, whose council district includes the Hobby Area District, has urged lawmakers to reject the bill and, in written testimony to the Urban Affairs Committee, highlighted the convergence of Gates roles as a property management owner and state representative.

House Bill 1219 is misguided at best and may present a potentially serious conflict of interest at worst, Gallegos wrote.

Gates, R-Richmond, acknowledged his business stands to benefit from the legislation, but he insisted the bill is needed because the current threshold to disband management districts is too high. Property owners often are reluctant to sign petitions because they fear retaliation from the district board or are board members themselves, Gates said, adding that many property owners are difficult to track down because they live in other states or countries, or are large multinational corporations that have little desire to meddle in local politics.

What it's about is, in the event that the people that are subject to this tax, if they feel that that management district is not doing a good enough job, then it gives them the way to get out, Gates said. Reducing the bar to 55 percent seems reasonable. And if you are doing a good job, then you have nothing to worry about.

Members of the Texas Legislature earn $7,200 per year and convene for only 140 days every two years, a system that fills state government with part-time lawmakers who hold other jobs as lawyers, consultants and, in some cases, business owners. Legislators commonly have a hand in bills that affect their livelihoods, but they rarely are reprimanded for doing so, said Andrew Cates, an expert in Texas campaign finance and ethics laws.

Overall, its impossible to remove all conflicts of interest from these legislators, Cates said. They have to have employment or be independently wealthy in order to serve. They only make about $7,000 a year, so they have to make their money somewhere.

State law bars lawmakers from voting on  but not authoring  bills that directly would benefit their businesses unless the measure affects an entire class of business entities.

Gates said he does not want to disband all management districts in Texas, noting he owns apartment properties in numerous other districts he is not targeting through petition drives. He said management district boards generally lack accountability because they are difficult to disband and their members are appointed by mayors, city councils or commissioners courts instead of direct elections  which he argues leads some boards to spend tax revenue wastefully or on services that disproportionately benefit board members. He also has filed a bill that would make management district board members publicly elected.

I'm responsible to my constituents because they can vote me out, but in this case, you can't do anything to get rid of them, and so over time, you warp into something that is not accountable to anyone, Gates said.

Management district officials dispute Gates charge that they lack accountability or wastefully spend tax dollars, and argue their services complement those provided by the city and county. Alice Lee, executive director of the Southwest Management District, said about 37 percent of the districts roughly $2 million budget goes toward public safety measures, including extra Houston Police Department patrols, private security teams and graffiti abatement efforts.

The management district assessed Gates company, Gatesco Inc., about $21,000 in 2019 on the $26.4 million worth of apartment units it owns at four properties in the district, according to a district spokesman.

The district has spent about $29,000 to operate a surveillance camera at one of those properties, Whispering Oaks Apartments, since December 2018, according to Lee. She said Gates company also uses a district-funded service that provides background screenings on tenants who apply to live at apartment units in the district. Management at Gates four properties also have called the district-funded private security team many times, a district spokesman said.

Lee said Gates has sought for almost two years to dissolve the Southwest Management District.

We thought that once he won a full term in office that he would focus more on his constituents in the Fort Bend County area, Lee said.

Gates said the district does not fund background checks on potential tenants at his apartments. And he argued that his apartment complexes cannot use private security teams because doing so would violate insurance clauses.

He also said the amount the district spends on public safety is immaterial and really for show, arguing it is not enough to meaningfully reduce crime in the area. He pointed to the hundreds of business owners who have signed petitions to dissolve the district as evidence that those within the district generally agree with his efforts.

If all that money, 100 percent, went to the police department to hire nothing but officers, to crime, I'm telling you, every one of us would enjoy that, Gates said. But we can't force that because we can't ever have a voice on these boards.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
ISLAMABAD  A Taliban spokesman said Monday the religious militia wont attend a peace conference tentatively planned for later this week in Turkey, putting U.S. efforts to get a peace plan anytime soon in jeopardy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously said he wanted to see a peace agreement between Afghanistans warring sides finalized at a conference hosted by Turkey and attended by top officials from both the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Afghan government, U.S. and Turkish officials had said they intended to begin the conference Friday. It was to last 10 days.

No new date for the Turkey conference was set but time is running out on a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in keeping with a deal the Trump administration made with the Taliban more than a year ago.

President Joe Biden has said he is committed to ending America's longest war but the U.S. is reportedly looking for a three- to six-month extension.

Until now the Taliban have refused, warning of consequences if Washington reneges on the deal and the withdrawal timeline.

Last month, Blinken gave both the Taliban and the Afghan government an eight-page proposed peace plan, which they were to discuss, revise and review and come to Turkey ready to cobble together an agreement.

In an audio message to The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said the Islamic Emirate  the name the Taliban gave their government  was not ready to attend this weeks planned meeting in Turkey. He said the insurgent group was still discussing the U.S.-proffered peace agreement. He later shared his audio recording on a What's App group.

Naeem said attendance at the conference and the Blinken peace proposal were being discussed and whenever the discussion is completed we will share our final decision.

Blinken's peace plan called for protection of the rights of women and minorities and allowed for constitutional reform. It also called for the establishment of an interim administration, to be known as a "Peace Government." There would also be an Islamic Advisory Council which would advise on all laws to ensure they are kept within Islamic tenets, an apparent concession to the Taliban.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has grown increasingly isolated in Kabul as his political opponents accuse him of clinging to power, offered an alternative to Blinken's proposal. Ghani supported an interim government that he would head until elections could be held within months.

The Taliban have made it clear they would not accept a government headed by Ghani, but they have yet to offer an alternative to Binken's proposal.

Blinken announced the Turkey meeting in a sharply worded letter to Ghani and other Afghan leaders. In that letter Blinken warned that a U.S. withdrawal without a political settlement would leave Ghani's government vulnerable to Taliban gains.

I am concerned that the security situation will worsen and the Taliban will make rapid territorial gains, Blinken said in the letter.

Washington's peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, the man who negotiated the U.S. troop withdrawal under President Trump, has been shuttling between Doha, where the Taliban maintain a political office, and Kabul.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Monday said Khalilzad had spent four days in the Afghan capital meeting with government officials and civil society leaders, underscoring why it is important that both sides accelerate the peace process.

In all his meetings Ambassador Khalilzad was encouraged by the shared vision for an Istanbul conference that advances prospects for a just and durable peace to in Afghanistan, said the statement, even as the Taliban made it clear they were not ready to attend.

This article was written by KATHY GANNON from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
Omnie Integrated Services Inc., an innovative, industry-leading omni-channel customer service platform, has partnered with Suit Suit Company, a Toronto based technology company that is changing the way South Asian women buy and sell their ethnic wear.

Omnies leading platform which focuses on an integrated customer experience and delighting users is well positioned to elevate the way Suit Suit communicates with its customers. Followed by careful due diligence and deep brand integration, Omnie customized and integrated its solution throughout each contact channel, which included a full integration into the Suit Suit mobile app.

By utilizing Omnie's comprehensive platform and Omnies highly skilled local agents, the Suit Suit Company is able to re-distribute resources to focus on growth and further developing the companys overall experience provided to guests to further strengthening the brand.

Suit Suit Company is extremely excited to be partnering with Omnies integrated services. After meeting with them, they immediately understood our needs and expectations for our growing marketplace for South Asian women. Omnie has created a special team for us that will be able to assist our customers in multiple languages quickly and effectively. We look forward to working with the Omnie team and growing our partnership, said Amitt Saini, Founder of Suit Suit Company.

Suit Suit Company is an exciting new way for South Asian women across North America to share their closets, through a unique and easy-to-use app, said Jordan Brown, Founder of Omnie. Its key that we create a customer service experience that feels like an extension of their brand, while providing leading response times and top-tier customer satisfaction. We are thrilled to be partnering with Suit Suit Company as they positively impact the fashion industry.

About Suit Suit Company:

Brampton fashion designer Kiran Singh founded the Suit Suit Company in 2018, with her husband Amitt Singh, the founder of Destawed North Americas largest destination wedding powerhouse. The app allows users to create closets to sell their pre-loved Suits and purchase from other users like themselves. The Suit Suit App also enables women to buy from well-renowned South Asian boutiques across North America on the Boutiques Page. The app makes it easy to find different styles and conveniently post pictures of the suits that are sitting in the back of closets after being worn once or twice.

About Omnie:

Omnie is driven by a mission to make premier customer service and leading technologies available to businesses of all sizes. Changing the way brands communicate with their customers, the Omnie platform supports voice, SMS, email, contact form, live chat and social media. For digital communications, Omnie offers both live chat and automated customer support via its proprietary software, Omniebot. With clients in the United States, Canada, and Europe, Omnie provides customer service to brands all verticals including eCommerce, health & wellness and hospitality.
The glossary, informed by leading industry experts, serves to replace outdated terms and equip people with new terminology that reflects the modern fertility, pregnancy and motherhood experiences

Peanut, the first social network to connect women throughout all stages of motherhood, today released a glossary of modernized terms as part of its Renaming Revolution to change the stigmatized discourse associated with fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood. The glossary can be found on Peanut's site and will be available as a reference for anyone to use when talking to women about their experiences, with the aim of creating a stigma-free future that empowers women.

Since announcing the Renaming Revolution in March, Peanut asked their community to share the outdated and hurtful terms that they have experienced first-hand to create a new glossary of updated terms. The glossary was created with expert panelists including Amanda Montell, celebrated author and language scholar; Dr. Viviana Coles, Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Houston Relationship Therapy; Dr. Jessica Zucker, psychologist and author specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health; and Dr. Somi Javaid, OB/GYN doctor, surgeon, and Founder of HerMD.

"Terms like 'inhospitable womb,' 'geriatric pregnancy,' 'spontaneous abortion,' or 'advanced maternal age' have traditionally been used to designate a woman's reproductive standing. However, this terminology is outdated," said Dr. Somi Javaid. "The goal with medical terminology should be to educate women and to shift away from blame or hurtful labels. This new glossary will include terms that serve the same purpose while empowering women rather than shaming them."

The Renaming Revolution was inspired by a gut-wrenching video posted on Peanut where a user recounts her experience with a doctor who used the term "geriatric" to describe her medical standing. This video led to an outpouring of support from women on the app and shone a light on the many stigmas associated with the language used around fertility and motherhood.

In an effort to destigmatize this language, Peanut asked its community to weigh in and share other hurtful terms they had experienced throughout fertility and motherhood. This post garnered over 200,000 interactions of women sharing stories and urging Peanut to take action. Below are just a few of the terms submitted by Peanut's community along with the new suggestions in the glossary:

Geriatric pregnancy 35+ pregnancy

Inhospitable womb Uterine lining challenges

Spontaneous abortion Miscarriage or pregnancy loss

Failure to progress Slowed labor

"Words matter. Changing the harmful discourse and verbiage that's become so normalized as a way to describe women's bodies is long overdue," said Michelle Kennedy, Founder CEO of Peanut. "Peanut's glossary is the first step in transforming some of the negatively-charged terms that are too often used during the most sensitive and vulnerable times in women's lives. At Peanut, our mission has always been to facilitate a safe and positive environment for women to share their thoughts and experiences freely and without fear of being judged. With the launch of this glossary, our hope is to take that mission even further and create even more safe spaces for women to connect using language that reflects their experiences without shaming or dehumanizing them.

Reforming outdated and shameful terms is long overdue. According to Peanut, over the last year, more than half of its users (55%) were struggling with their mental wellness. Some of the stress of being or becoming a mother can be alleviated by changing the way we talk about the process to be more supportive. And, with Maternal Mental Health Month kicking off in May, now is the time to reshape conversations about motherhood and create a more supportive narrative that resonates with women today.

The complete Renaming Revolution glossary can be found at https://www.peanut-app.io/blog/renaming-revolution-glossary, with printed copies being circulated to clinics, classes, and more so that everyone can use these terms in all discussions of fertility and motherhood moving forward.

ABOUT PEANUT

Peanut is the first online community to connect women throughout all stages of motherhood. Whether you're a mother, pregnant, or trying to conceive, the app provides access to a community who are there to listen, share information and offer valuable advice. Created for and by women, Peanut is a safe space to meet women nearby and have conversations across meaningful topics from sex and feminine health to IVF, pregnancy, first years and beyond. With over 2M+ women using the app, Peanut has become a coveted destination for women looking to connect, ask questions and find support. Peanut's vision is to serve women at every life stage-from puberty through to menopause-so that three women in the same family at different stages of womanhood can all find community, conversation and support on Peanut.

To learn more about Peanut's community, please visit: https://www.peanut-app.io/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005275/en/

Contacts:

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES

Moxie Communications Group

Vanessa Moore

Peanut@moxiegrouppr.com


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Some recent diplomatic events, many of them flowing from shifting global power equations, hold much significance for India

Some recent diplomatic events, many of them flowing from shifting global power equations, hold much significance for India. The overlapping visits by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and US special presidential climate envoy John Kerry raised eyebrows. India frets over the growing Russian proximity to the China-Pakistan axis. Mr Kerry met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss Indias Paris Agreement commitments. But Mr Lavrov could not, either due to Mr Modis preoccupation with the Assembly elections or India conveying a subtle snub as Mr Lavrov, unmindful of Indian sentiments, combined his Indian trip with one to Pakistan. Also, when Russia hosted an intra-Afghan meeting, India was not invited. To shape events in post-transition Afghanistan, Russia has now repositioned.

Russian President Vladimir Putins India visit later this year will be against this background. India wants to retain Russian goodwill while enhancing Americas role as arms supplier and strategic partner. Thus, India retains its order for Russias S-400 air defence system, despite US warnings about the inevitable US sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). External affairs minister S. Jaishankar termed India-Russia ties as time-tested and warm. Mr Lavrov listed areas of cooperation ranging from combating the Covid-19 pandemic, to nuclear energy, peaceful uses of space and infrastructure projects, in the Far East and the Arctic. Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and the Gulf were also discussed.

Russia strongly supported the Russia-India-China grouping (RIC), besides the East Asia Summit. A Russian role in the Sino-Indian de-escalation in Ladakh has been speculated about. Russia realises that India-Russia ties will get impacted if Russias burgeoning engagement with China is accompanied by China-India tensions. Both ministers emphasised the centrality of Asean in developing cooperative ventures in East Asia. This addressed Russian concerns, which China shares, about the Quad, of which India is a member alongside Australia, Japan and the United States.

During his media interaction, Mr Lavrov spoke on many issues. Asked about a possible military alliance between Russia and China, he said though their relations have reached the best level ever, such an alliance was not envisaged. In turn, he asked if a Middle Eastern or Asian Nato was possible, thus indirectly raising Indias membership of the Quad. Russias primary preoccupation is with the European theatre and Nato, with Ukraine as the friction point. Chinas focus is on the Indo-Pacific, including South and East China Seas, Taiwan and the shoals and islands that its neighbours control or claim. In Central Asia, their interests diverge, as Russia will resent any Chinese consolidation of its influence via Belt and Road Initiative projects. India cannot veto Russias outreach to Pakistan but must have warned it against defence cooperation. On Afghanistan, Mr Lavrov argued that he Taliban members are a part of Afghan society, and thus any settlement must include all groups. This mirrors the Pakistan-China approach. India views the Taliban with suspicion, if not hostility.

Then news broke about USS John Paul Jones sailing 130 nautical miles west of Indias Lakshadweep Islands, without New Delhis permission. Being within 200 nautical miles of the island baseline, it fell in Indias Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The US is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS) and asserts its freedom of navigation through such zones, unilaterally declared by some nations, under customary international law. UNCLOS Articles 55-75 outline EEZs and the rights and obligations of coastal states. But Article 51 allows other legitimate activities of non-coastal states in the EEZ. Indian law prescribes prior approval for military exercises and manoeuvres in its zone. Its not clear why the US publicised the issue at this stage, but it also underscores the contradiction in India joining its Quad partners in asserting that right in the Indo-Pacific while, like two score other nations, restricting it in its own EEZ. The US objects to any unilateral delimitation of the high seas as it impacts its naval operations. For India, the interpretation is important as otherwise the naval vessels of China and Pakistan can manoeuvre near Indias mainland and islands, the territorial waters, where UNCLOS allows full sovereignty, extending to just 12 nautical miles.

Two other important developments are underway in Indias western neighbourhood. The intra-Afghan dialogue to be hosted by Turkey, tentatively on April 16, faces uncertainty. The Taliban demands issues like the withdrawal of American troops by May 1 be settled before they name their delegation. The Kabul governments vision, as spelt out by President Ashraf Ghani at the Heart of Asia conference in Tajikistan, calls for a negotiated political settlement and ceasefire before a presidential election and establishment of a government of peace.

Simultaneously Iran and P-5+1 prepared to meet in Vienna to restore Iranian conformity with the nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Programme of Action. Negotiated during Barack Obamas presidency, it was abandoned by the Trump administration. Israel, stumbling through more post-election uncertainty, took credit for a cyber-attack on Irans nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz, causing a power failure. It may have set back the plant by a year. It was intended to undermine the Vienna talks and may do so as the Iranians favouring talks are isolated by such attacks.

In both these developments, India is just a spectator. On March 26, the China-Iran 20-year $400-600 billion comprehensive partnership was announced. Typical of Iranian tactics, a foreign ministry official later called it a non-binding agreement. Iran was using the China deal to lure the US and European interlocutors to the dialogue table, preferably with sanctions relief in hand. Iran realises that an India unwilling to defy Washington is of marginal use to its strategy of retaining its strategic gains in West Asia and advancements in its nuclear programme while normalising relations with Europe, if not also the US.

Similarly, in Afghanistan, India cant help Ghani government retain power or even negotiating influence when the Taliban are gaining on the ground and the US keen to cut and run. Iran and Russia, Indias steadfast allies during the 1990s to counter the Talibans rise, are now positioned differently, with one leg in Taliban camp. India is perceived to be in the Saudi-Emirati-US corner, with marginal gains like calibrated de-escalation with Pakistan. The fragility of that and the trios ineffectiveness in restoring even partial trade between India and Pakistan indicates that Pakistan is recovering its mojo as the master of serial diplomatic blackmail. If India cannot quickly get on top of the pandemic re-spike, its diplomatic isolation in the neighbourhood will only grow.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The NYPD seeks the publics assistance in locating three people sought for questioning after a pizza deliveryman was attacked and robbed in New Brighton.

The 62-year-old victim was in front of the Richmond Terrace Houses at 151 Jersey St. around 6:15 p.m. Feb. 10 when he was approached by five males who knocked him to the ground and punched him in the head before taking $100 and pizza, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The victim suffered cuts to his hands and swelling and pain to his head, the statement said. He was treated at the scene by EMS.

The NYPD arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection to the incident and charged him with robbery, grand larceny, petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, police said.

Police also arrested Lamont Almon, 18, a resident of the 100 block of Jersey Street. Almon was charged with robbery, police said.

His lawyer, Marion Campbell, said in a written statement that her client is fighting the charges against him and maintains his innocence.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are kept strictly confidential.
Over the last few years, actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has worked to establish her name among Hollywoods A-listers. After she starred on ABCs Quantico, the star got mainstream recognition, which made her the first actor of South Asian descent to lead in an American series. When Quantico debuted, most people didnt know that Chopra Jonas was a huge deal in India. She had contested in the Miss India pageant and won Miss World. She followed her modeling success with an acting career in Bollywood.

Aside from being a highly sought-after actor, Chopra Jonas is also an activist and advocates for equal rights for women, hunger, and education. Although most people like knowing about Chopra Jonas, one question she gets asked often is whether she is related to renowned author Deepak Chopra. So are Chopra Jonas and Deepak related?

Priyanka Chopra Jonas | Rich Polk/Getty Images

Chopra Jonas won Miss World because of her mother

RELATED: Priyanka Chopras Mom Said the Stupidest Thing to Her Daughter When She Won Miss World

Chopra Jonas was born in July 1982 to Madhu and Ashok Chopra. As a child, Chopra Jonas moved around a lot because of her parents professions. Both her mother and father were doctors, which forced them to move around very often. The actor attended her 10th grade in Boston, where she recalled being bullied and heartbroken and wondering why it was so uncool being Indian. The Chopra family later moved back to India, where Chopra Jonas began transforming from a carefree tomboy to a gorgeous female who attracted many boys.

Chopra Jonas change in appearance led to her father putting bars on their homes windows to keep the boys out. In 2000, Chopra Jonas mother entered her into a beauty pageant called Femina Miss India. She placed in second but went on to win the Miss World pageant. The model had enrolled in college, but her Miss World win led to her deciding otherwise. In 2003, Chopra Jonas appeared in her first Bollywood movie called The Hero: Love Story of a Spy.

Later that year, the former Miss World appeared in Andaaz, playing a cheerful young girl who falls in love with Akshay Kumars character. Since then, Chopra appeared in 50 more Bollywood films before appearing in Quantico, where she played the lead Alex Parrish. Chopra Jonas recent projects include We Can Be Heroes, Isnt It Romantic, and The White Tiger.

Who is Deepak Chopra?

RELATED: Priyanka Chopra Acknowledges the privilege She Has During Pandemic

Deepak was born in New Delhi to Pushpa and Krishan Lal Chopra. Deepak attended St. Columbas school and graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Science. He spent his first six months working in rural India as a doctor. During his time, he developed an interest in studying endocrinology. He married in 1970 before moving to the US with his wife. During that time, India had banned its doctors from taking the exam that would allow them to practice in the US.

Deepak, therefore, moved with his wife to Sri Lanka and later to the US. Deepak completed his residencies in internal medicine at the VA Medical Center, Lahey Clinic, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and St Elizabeths Medical Center. In 1973, Deepak earned his license to practice medicine in the state of Massachusetts. Deepak is a prominent figure in the New Age movement. His videos and books have established him as one of the wealthiest and famous figures in alternative medicine.

Is Priyanka Chopra related to Deepak Chopra?

RELATED: Priyanka Chopra Defends Beauty Pageants Despite its Problematic Influence

Although they share the name Chopra, Deepak and Chopra Jonas are in no way related. In a promotional interview for the movie Isnt It Romantic alongside actors Rebel Wilson and Adam Devine, Chopra Jonas admitted that she gets asked if she is related to Deepak a lot. The star, however, explained that Chopra is like the name Smith in India, meaning that it is a very common surname. She said she and Deepak dont know each other at all.
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said Baku had sent an official letter to Moscow regarding the Iskander-M missiles.

"Nothing was hidden from the Azerbaijani people. I think that the Azerbaijani people must know everything. We discussed the issue of the Iskander-M missile with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense sent an official letter with photographs and evidence upon my instructions. But so far we have not received an answer," President Aliyev said.

"When the Armenian prime minister said they used Iskander, but it exploded only by 10%, everybody was laughing. Probably he couldn't properly deliver the message he wanted to say. We are waiting for an official response from Armenia, President Aliyev said. I can say that we have enough information, but we are waiting for the official clarification," he added.
A Louisiana man has been freed after spending 20 years in prison for stealing two shirts.

Guy Frank, 67, was released on Thursday after The Innocence Project New Orleans became involved in his case through its Unjust Punishment Project, which 'works to free people serving life or equivalent sentences for non-violent offenses'.

Frank received a lengthy sentence after being arrested in September 2000 partially because the crime - theft under $500 - was a felony at the time. It has been classed as a misdemeanor since 2010.

The other reason can be traced to Louisiana's controversial habitual offender laws - sometimes known as three-strikes laws - which enable prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for defendants with previous convictions.

Prior to stealing the shirts from Saks Fifth Avenue in New Orleans, Frank had been arrested 36 times and had been convicted of at least three felonies.

Guy Frank, 67, was released on Thursday after spending 20 years in prison for stealing two shirts

The three-strikes laws have come under heavy scrutiny for contributing to mass incarceration and exacerbating racial inequality in Louisiana, which has the highest number of incarcerations of any US state.

'His case shows how poor Black people are disproportionately affected by these extreme sentences. It is hard to imagine a White person with resources receiving this sentence for this crime,' the Innocence Project New Orleans said in a statement.

The habitual offender laws have also been criticised for focusing solely on punishment, rather than rehabilitation or crime prevention.

Major legislation scrapped some provisions of the habitual offender laws in 2017, but stark racial inequities remain in Louisiana's criminal justice legislation.

Black people make up roughly one-third of the state's population but account for nearly three-quarters of all state prisoners serving life sentences, The Washington Post reported.

Frank, a waiter who was struggling with drug addiction, had been arrested 36 times starting in 1975, according to a state court decision from 2002.

He was convicted several times for theft and for cocaine possession. He has never committed a violent crime, according to The Innocence Project New Orleans.

In the 1990s, he served a three-year sentence though it is not clear what the charges were in that case, The Post reported.

His conviction in October 2000 for the theft of the shirts was his fourth felony offense, meaning the court could sentence him to 23 years in prison.

'He received this egregious sentence despite the fact that he was never a threat to anyone,' The Innocence Project New Orleans said in a statement.

Frank received a lengthy sentence after being arrested in September 2000 partially because the crime - theft under $500 - was a felony at the time. It has been classed as a misdemeanor since 2010. The other reason can be traced to Louisiana's controversial habitual offender laws - sometimes known as three-strikes laws - which enable prosecutors to seek harsher sentences for defendants with previous convictions

After becoming involved in Frank's case, the group contacted the office of Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Rogers Williams, The Washington Post reported.

Williams, a former city councilman seen as a 'progressive prosecutor' was first elected last fall.

He appears to have cut the last three years off Frank's term, according to the Post.

Williams has not commented on Frank's release.

During his incarceration, Frank's wife, son, mother and two of his brothers died, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support him after release.

As of Tuesday morning, the page had raised $70,555, exceeding its goal of $50,000.

Frank 'dreams of becoming an Assistant Deacon and helping and advising others who are struggling,' the page said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday greeted people on the beginning of Navaratri, and offered his best wishes to various regions and communities celebrating their new year as per the traditional Hindu calendar.

"Over the next few days, people across India are going to be marking various festivals. These festivals showcase India's diversity and the spirit of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.' May these special occasions spread happiness, prosperity and brotherhood across the nation," he tweeted.

Navreh greetings to you all! On the special occassion of Navreh, praying for a year filled with joy and success. I also pray for the good health and well-being of everyone.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2021

PM Modi wished people on Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Sajibu Cheiraoba, Navreh and Cheti Chand -- new year festivals celebrated by people of different regions.

"Greetings on Cheti Chand, particularly to the Sindhi Community. May the special blessings of Lord Jhulelal always remain upon us. I pray that everyone's wishes be fulfilled in the coming year.

Wishing everyone on the special occasion of Ugadi. pic.twitter.com/ePkdzxr3FX  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2021

"Navreh greetings to you all! On the special occasion of Navreh, praying for a year filled with joy and success. I also pray for the good health and well-being of everyone," he said.

He also extended his best wishes to people on Baishakhi, the harvest festival celebrated in Punjab.

Best wishes on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi. pic.twitter.com/lTyDDFcX4i  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 13, 2021

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US State Department Denounces Attack on Hong Kong Epoch Times Printing Press

The State Department on April 13 denounced the assault by masked intruders on the printing facility of the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times and is urging officials in the city to investigate the incident.

We condemn the attack on the Epoch Times printing plant and urge the Hong Kong authorities to thoroughly investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice, a State Department spokesperson said.

The United States is concerned by increased efforts to silence independent media and otherwise suppress freedom of expression, including the politically-motivated targeting of journalists. We are committed to standing up for press freedom and freer and wider access to information and ideas around the world. Freedom of expression, including for members of the press, is critical to transparency, the spokesperson added.

On April 12, four masked men barged into the printing facility, smashing equipment with sledgehammers and spreading construction debris from a bag. The extensive damage on printing equipment, among them multiple computers and a transmitter, forced the Hong Kong edition to temporarily halt operations.

Press freedom in Hong Kong has been in steady decline in the years since the former British territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Once hailed a beacon of freedom of expression, the citys ranking on the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index has plunged to 80th place, from 18th in 2002.

During the coverage of the pro-democracy movement that started around June 2019, at least 141 journalists reported being subject to verbal or physical violence by police, and dozens more recalled rough treatment by people with opposing viewpoints, according to a survey from the Hong Kong Journalist Association.

Beijing has drastically tightened its grip over the city in the past year, which critics say reflects its ambitions to control the territory, despite a promise to preserve Hong Kongs autonomy and freedoms until 2047. Last year, it passed a broadly defined national security law that has been used to decimate the citys once-thriving pro-democracy movement, while sweeping electoral reforms introduced in March ensure that Beijing loyalists rule the city.

In addition, authorities have prosecuted dozens of pro-democracy activists, including a prominent local newspaper publisher.

Construction debris on top of printing press equipment at the print shop that prints the Hong Kong edition of The Epoch Times in Hong Kong, on April 12, 2021. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

The attack on the printing pressthe second on the facility in 18 monthstook place just days before a court is set to announce the sentencing of key pro-democracy activists.

The timing of the sabotage is fueling suspicion that it was orchestrated to thwart the papers coverage of the event, Guo Jun, the director of the Hong Kong edition, said at an April 13 press conference.

In recent months, the Hong Kong papers journalists have described being followed, and printing press employees have seen unknown vehicles tailing them, according to Guo.

In 2019, the local franchise of a popular convenience store chain terminated a contract with the Hong Kong edition with little explanation. Cedric Alviani, East Asia bureau director at Reporters Without Borders, told The Epoch Times at the time that they cant see any reason but the pressure from the Chinese authorities for this withdrawal.

Damaged computers and construction debris on the floor of The Epoch Times Hong Kong editions printing press in Hong Kong, on April 12, 2021. (Adrian Yu/The Epoch Times)

The freedom of press is an absolute requirement in any state that respects the rule of law, said a spokesperson for Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, an international cross-party group of legislators, in a statement to The Epoch Times.

If the Hong Kong authorities really were independent champions of their democratic system, theyd defend the Epoch Times, the spokesperson added. That they wont tells you all you need to know: Hong Kong has slipped into the grips of an authoritarian communist party that will tolerate no criticism.

Anders Corr, the publisher of the New York-based Journal of Political Risk, saw the attack as a badge of honor for Epoch Times, albeit an expensive one.

It shows that they are producing hard-hitting journalism against the CCP at a time when exposing the CCP is critically important to freedom not only today, but into the foreseeable future, he told The Epoch Times.

The use of sledgehammers against a press shows what kind of thuggish future the world can look forward to if the CCP is not stopped, he said, adding that the time in which to do this without great global harm is growing short.
New Delhi, April 13 : Virtual ways to find a life partner is now a reality, or better yet, the new normal, suggests a new survey.

With the second wave of Covid-19, Jeevansathi.com, a matrimony platform, rolled out a survey to understand how this impacts the search for a life partner.

Results show that half of the respondents feel that virtual meetings will become the norm very soon; completely replacing physical meetings during one's search for a life partner. In contrast, in August 2020, only 40 per cent respondents confirmed the same. When digital transformation is the in-thing across industries, finding soulmates has also found its safe haven online.

Rohan Mathur, Business Head, Jeevansathi.com said, "Pandemic has changed the way people search for a life partner. We have witnessed the increasing affinity among our users towards virtual ways of connecting with prospective matches. While we saw a spike in usage of voice and video-calling on our platform as soon as Covid hit, the trend has continued even after relaxations in government restrictions and a drop in cases. At the onset of the Covid pandemic, we had seen the volume of calls on the platform go up 1.6X. This year, the number of voice/video calls is a whopping 11X of what it was pre-Covid. Total time spent on calls has also gone up 10 times." As many as 38 per cent of the respondents are comfortable taking a decision based on virtual meetings alone! While digital has its own ease, it has not completely banished the importance of in-person meetings. 44 per cent respondents are happy to connect over video calls to know each other but meeting in-person is still required for the final decision. Only 18 per cent said that they still prefer meeting matches face-to-face over virtually.

It is interesting to see the newfound appreciation for small weddings with limited guest lists. While it was understandably the most popular choice when cases in the country had peaked, even after the vaccine rollout, 55 per cent of respondents have expressed their preference for smaller weddings. The second wave of Covid-19 could be one of the reasons for the same. However, in this wave, people are relatively more relaxed and want to go back to a world where big fat Indian weddings were common. Twenty seven per cent respondents said they would readily have a regular wedding now, albeit with safety precautions vs only 11 per cent respondents willing in August '20. While searching for a partner has moved online in the wake of the lockdown, virtual weddings are completely eliminated. No respondent opted for a virtual wedding in the survey, as compared to 11 per cent who did in August '20.

That said, safety and sanitisation have become the top priority in Indian weddings since the pandemic hit. Over 50 per cent respondents chose a Covid-safe wedding over the perfect outfits, pictures, food, etc. Sixty nine per cent respondents said they are now comfortable attending a pandemic wedding with the requisite precautions.

(Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in)
[April 13, 2021] DMI provides infrastructure behind COVID-19 contact center, partners with Atento and NTT Data to aide Maryland residents

BETHESDA, Md., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DMI, a global digital transformation company, played a vital role in building the infrastructure for state of Maryland COVID-19 vaccination support center, which allows citizens to preregister for the state's mass vaccination sites, schedule their vaccine appointments, modify their existing appointment and communicate with a support center agent with any COVID-19 related questions. DMI partnered with two industry leaders for executing communication with residentsAtento, one of the world's top five providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing, and NTT Data, a global digital business and IT service provider. In a matter of days, we were able to develop an overall plan and solution for the infrastructure. The new COVID-19 vaccination support center utilizes digital solutions and human resources to meet citizens' needs and preferences. Users of the new service are first triaged for vaccination eligibility and then given options to self-schedule; request a phone call back; request an text back; or send questions via an auto bot or live representative. "Our priority was establishing a statewide support center and hotline that would be easy to use and efficient in handling massive volume of calls and inquiries," said DMI President, Managed Mobility Services, DJ Oreb. "In a matter of days, we were able to develop an overall plan and solution for the infrastructure and bring in Atento and NTT as reputable partners to assist with implementation." The logistical challenges presented through the high transmission of the pandemic and social distancing norms meant that public administrations needed to find workable solutions to protect all people, especially the most vulnerable, while trying to work as quickly as possible to avoid slowing down the roll-out efforts. "The hybrid ofdigital and human offerings allows residents to get their questions answered in a more efficient manner while opening up phone lines and live agents for those needing more assistance," said Oreb. "With our partners, we're also conducting multiple outbound campaigns to prioritize delivering educational information and equitable access to schedule their vaccine appointments."



The supportcenter solution enables government institutions to easily manage the increased incoming call volume associated with the current pandemic environment. It also conducts proactive outreach to provide equitable vaccine distribution and set appointment schedules to all residents in the state. 1.4 million residents served

Since March, the vaccination support center has served 1.4 million Maryland residents. The support center solution has the capabilities to handle more than 70,000 calls per day. "The success of the contact center solution was a team effort across all partners," says Wesley O'Brien, Atento's Commercial Vice President. "The program's success was made possible by an extraordinary team attitude from all partners." DMI also developed robust dashboards that allow the state of Maryland to monitor real-time analytics such as number of calls answered, average hold time and number of outbound calls. The call center is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information about Maryland's COVID-19 resources and vaccination scheduling, visit covidlink.maryland.gov or call 1-855-MDGOVAX (1-855-634-6829). About DMI DMI is a global technology solutions company that specializes in digital strategy, design, transformation and support. Utilizing expertise from six unique DMI Groups, in the areas of AI & Analytics, Commerce, Experience, Managed Services, Transformation, and Government, DMI delivers intelligent digital transformation solutions that meet organizations where they are. Born digital, DMI has been delivering mission-critical, enterprise grade solutions since 2002 for more than a hundred Fortune 1,000 enterprises and all fifteen U.S. Federal Departments. DMI has grown to 2,500+ employees globally and has been continually recognized by top industry analysts as market leader as well as a Top Place to Work by the Washington Post. www.DMInc.com About Atento Atento is one of the five largest global providers for client relationship management and business process outsourcing services nearshoring for companies that carry out their activities in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 13 countries with a workforce of 150,000 employees. Atento has over 400 clients for which it provides a wide range of CRM/BPO services through multiple channels. Its clients are leading multinational companies in the technology, digital, telecommunications, finance, health, consumer and public administration sectors, amongst others. Atento trades under ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2019 Atento was recognized by Great Place to Work as one of the 25 World's Best Multinational Workplaces and as one of the Best Places to Work in Latin America. For more information www.atento.com About NTT DATA NTT DATA a part of NTT Group  is a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, digital & IT modernization, and managed services. NTT DATA enables them, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients' long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries around the globe. Media contact: Lara Plathe, 515-453-2042, lplathe@strategicamerica.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dmi-provides-infrastructure-behind-covid-19-contact-center-partners-with-atento-and-ntt-data-to-aide-maryland-residents-301267952.html SOURCE DMI

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ALBANY  A bill in the state Senate that would impose a carbon tax to help the state meet its green energy goals could cost New York motorists an extra 55 cents per gallon at the pump, according to testimony Tuesday on the proposed measure.

The idea of an industry wide carbon fee is still an open issue, said Ken Pokalsky, vice president at the state Business Council, who said the gas hike would generate an estimated $2.3 billion in revenue but would come at a cost for consumers and industry.

Lawmakers, including several Democrats from suburban Long Island, said a 55-cent-per-gallon gasoline price hike would be a hard sell for constituents.

What do we say to those people who are just trying to get by? asked Long Island Democrat Todd Kaminsky, who chairs the Senate environmental committee. That would seem to be a very scary number, he later added.

Others, though, including a number of climate activists, said they believe the increase could be offset by energy efficiency in other areas and that the exigencies of climate change justify the increase.

Its not just about the short term cost impacts but the long term impacts, said Annel Hernandez, of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. Higher gas prices could spur more electric vehicle sales and mass transit which, she said, would reduce greenhouses gases.

The back-and-forth over a potential gas hike was emblematic of the hard choices that decision-makers and New Yorkers will need to make in coming years if the state is to meet the greenhouse gas reduction goals set out in the landmark 2019 bill, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

That law calls for cutting carbon, or greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 1990 levels by 2050. It also calls for the state to have 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and zero emission electricity by 2040.

But it doesnt explain how to pay for that goal, which most agree will require large upfront investments to shift from fossil fuels such as diesel, gasoline and natural gas to renewables like wind and solar.

To help meet the goal, Brooklyn Democratic Sen. Kevin S. Parker, who chairs the energy and telecommunications committee, has proposed a wide ranging carbon tax on manufacturers as well as providers of fossil fuels such as motor oil. The Climate and Community Investment Act, or CCIA, would in 2022 levy a charge of $55 per ton of fossil fuel emissions from all sources, which would include factories, schools, and on the use of gasoline.

Pokalsky said the 55-cent-per-gallon was extrapolated from the amount of motor fuel consumed in the state, with the tax passed along to consumers. He added that he believes the actual cost could be higher.

No one during Tuesdays hearing disputed the potential for higher prices at the pump but they noted that the CCIA also calls for a rebate that could help low and moderate-income consumers offset the cost. The rebate, along with collection of the carbon tax, would be administered by a newly created special authority.

We recognize there is going to be funding necessary to reach the CLCPA goals, Pokalsky added, but noted that the tax would apply only in New York State, which could also make it less competitive to business as well as more expensive to drive in.

John Bartow, executive director of Empire State Forest Products Association, added that it would cost his industry, which includes paper mills, an additional $1 billion.

Others, though, said the carbon tax would spur more renewable energy solutions such as cleaner electric vehicles.

The transition to electric vehicles is going to enable new Yorkers to buy in to cheaper energy, said Robert Pollin, an economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Still, lawmakers were worried about the impact at the pump, saying that relatively few of their constituents were able to afford electric vehicles at this time.

Part of the gas tax discussion revealed the perennial split in New York politics between New York City and suburban and upstate voters. Many city residents dont own cars and dont buy gasoline, while suburbanites and upstaters view their cars as a necessity.

Either way, all of those who spoke on Tuesday agreed that the state will need to find a way to fund the shift to green energy.

The states Independent System Operator, or NYISO, is looking at a wholesale carbon fee for power generation, which could be offset with credits to consumers for the lower emissions. And the state Department of Environmental Conservation can set emission standards or limits which could also push industries toward greener alternatives.

Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy, a green energy trade group, said she hopes the state can work out an overall policy rather than a bureaucratic patchwork. Simple is better, she said.
New York, April 13 : Federal health agencies in the US on Tuesday recommended a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's Covid vaccine in the country "out of an abundance of caution" after six recipients developed a rare and severe type of blood clot.

All six cases occurred among women between the age group of 18 and 48, and the symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have urged the states across the country to pause the use of the single-dose vaccine while they investigate cases of blood clots.

The US CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance while the FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.

"Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," the CDC and the FDA said in a joint statement.

"This is important, in part, to ensure that the healthcare provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required for this type of blood clot," it said.

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the US.

In the six reported cases in the US, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets.

Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.

Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given, the CDC and FDA joint statement said.

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," said the statement.
Pelican Institute: We can't afford not to have a pro-growth tax reform from Legislature
Six Vietnamese businesspeople have been named in Forbes list of the worlds richest billionaires.

FPT President Truong Gia Binh

The richest dollar billionaire was Pham Nhat Vuong, in the 344th position in the world with $7.3 billion. This is the ninth consecutive year that Vuong has been listed on Forbes list of wealthiest people. He ranked 286th last year with asset value of $5.6 billion.

The second and third positions belonged to CEO Vietjet Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao with $2.8 billion and President of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long with $2.2 billion.

The three other billionaires are President of Techcombank Ho Hung Anh with $1.6 billion, President of Thaco Tran Ba Duong with $1.6 billion, and President of Masan Group Nguyen Dang Quang with $1.2 billion.

Of the six Vietnamese billionaires, four started their business in Eastern Europe, namely Vuong, Thao, Quang and Anh. Only Tran Ba Duongs enterprise has not listed shares on the bourse.

The total assets of the six billionaires amount to $17 billion, and their average age is 55.

FPT creates 200 dollar millionaires

Truong Gia Binh, President of FPT, the largest Vietnamese IT corporation, said at the 2021 shareholders meeting that FPT created 200 dollar millionaires when listing its shares on the bourse.

He said employees at FPT all have comfortable lives, drive cars, and can fund their childrens overseas study. Most of the managers of technology firms in Vietnam come from FPT, he said.

The richest dollar billionaire was Pham Nhat Vuong, in the 344th position in the world with $7.3 billion. This is the ninth consecutive year that Vuong has been listed on Forbes list of wealthiest people. He ranked 286th last year with asset value of $5.6 billion.

In 2020, FPT attracted global leading technology engineers in AI and Cloud Computing to create added value for projects in the long term. It has been supplementing and rotating key personnel that has led the group to overcome difficulties and maintain growth.

FPT targets a 16.4 percent turnover growth rate in 2021 and pre-tax profit growth rate of 18 percent. The technology division will continue to be the major driving force of the corporation with a focus on digital transformation services and Made-by-FPT products and solutions.

Big bank plans to make profit of $1 billion

Techcombank, the commercial bank owned by dollar billionaire Ho Hung Anh, has released documents for the 2021 shareholders meeting with the ambitious plan of making a pre-tax profit of VND20 trillion this year, up by 25 percent over the last year.

If succeeding, Techcombank will be the second bank in Vietnam and the first joint stock bank to make a profit of $1 billion.

The plan will be implemented on the basis of tentative credit growth rate of 12 percent and capital mobilization capital growth rate of 14.7 percent.

Despite the high profit in 2020, Techcombank intends not to pay dividend to shareholders

Shark Hungs business sets $1 billion goal

Cen Lands President Nguyen Trung Vu said at the 2021 shareholders meeting that there have been a lot of positive signs so far this year, si the board of management has proposed increasing the business targets.

Cen Lands HCM City Branch will begin distributing Vingroups projects. The commission it can expect from distributing products for large investors such as Vinhomes and Novaland is just 3 percent, but this will help Cen Land approach high-end customers. The profit will mostly come from exclusive and low-profile projects.

Vu said Cen Lands net revenue may reach VND8.5-10 trillion in 2022, including VND2 trillion from brokerage service. Cen Land wants to become the largest distributor of Vinhomes in 2021-2022 with revenue of up to $1 billion.

Targets for 2021 are VND5 trillion in revenue, up by 136 percent and VND408 billion in post-tax profit, up by 36 percent.

KBC President promises high growth at shareholders' meeting

Dang Thanh Tam, President of KBC, an industrial real estate developer, speaking at the companys 2021 shareholders meeting, said that KBC has never been so happy, but it will be even happier in upcoming days.

He went on to say that provincial authorities now welcome KBC and that anyone leaving KBC today will regret their decision tomorrow.

KBC plans to obtain consolidated revenue of VND6.6 trillion this year and post-tax profit of VND2 trillion, which is 3 times and 6.25 times higher than 2020.

The group plans to speed up investments in industrial zone projects of Quang Chau, Nam Son Hap Linh, Tan Phu Trung and Trang Due 3, and urban area projects of Phuc Ninh, Trang Due and Trang Cat.

It also plans to increase capital and make private offering this year. However, a detailed plan has not been released.

Bao Anh

Owner of US$7 billion system, billionaire Nguyen Dang Quang takes new step After Masan Group's acquisition of Vingroups retail chain, Masans Nguyen Dang Quang took great steps to master the $7 billion system and form an ecosystem for Vietnamese people.
Vodafone Ukraine (PrJSC VF Ukraine) at the end of 2020 cut its net profit by 52.4% compared to 2019, to UAH 1.2 billion.

Vodafone Ukraine CEO Olha Ustynova said that the drop in net profit was due to the exchange rate difference.

"The only and main factor why this happened is the exchange rate difference on our loan. The U.S. dollar exchange rate has changed, the $500 million loan, which is more than [UAH] 1 billion of loss as a result to our net profit," she said during the presentation last year's results on Tuesday.

According to her, the company's revenue last year increased 14% and amounted to UAH 18 billion, and the OIBDA (operating income before depreciation of fixed assets and intangible assets) grew by 18% year-over-year, reaching UAH 9.8 billion.

The number of Vodafone Ukraine customers in the country at the end of the year amounted to 19 million. The operator's 4G network covers 81% of the country's territory, which is 12% higher than the previous indicator for 2019.

At the end of 2020, the number of Vodafone Ukraine data users was 12.2 million, and the number of 4G users was 7.3 million.

Over the past year, the use of data traffic grew by 26%.

Vodafone Ukraine is the second largest mobile network operator in Ukraine.
John Walker already wore the same outfit Steve Rogers once donned. But he just showed the biggest difference between them.

"The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" is getting more exciting as it nears the end of its journey. While telling the world the new Captain America's story, the MCU series also determined how distinct the two characters are.

John Walker is Not Captain America?

In episode 4 of the Disney+ series, Walker brought out a pair of handcuffs while he was on his way to Mama Donya's funeral. He used them to arrest Daniel Bruhl's Baron Zemo.

For what it's worth, the comics and the toy versions of Walker also have the same handcuffs. The creators made it to add a difference between him and Rogers as they work on the field.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, Captain America's handcuffs were also popular. Still, Chris Evans' Rogers never carried the tool regularly.

In addition, Walker's comic version acted as a U.S. agent instead of a pure superhero.

The character's promotion as the superhero by the U.S. government also explained that he was hired to fight crimes surrounding the federal government.

He also uses Captain America's name to easily arrest people. To recall, he encountered Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and asked if she knows who he is.

Steve Rogers Does Not Want to be Under Government

In comparison, Rogers - unlike Walker - did not want to work for the government.

In the comics and flicks versions, government officials often got angry with Rogers for not following their orders. As a man of people, Roger's Captain America continuously followed his own ideals in pursuit of finding freedom.

Despite this difference, Rogers and Walker both have the "whatever it takes mantra."

Although Walker is under the officials, later, he said that the government does not care about how he would do the job as long as he could finish it.

The "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" serves as the second series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4. It comes after the stint of "WandaVision." It debuted on March 19 and is expected to run until April 23.

It will be followed by "Loki" season 1, "'What If...?" Season 1, "Ms. Marvel," "Hawkeye," and "Moon Knight," among others.

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
Britain has now offered vaccinations to everyone in the country age 50 and older, the government announced late on Monday, and is extending its program to another age group, the latest sign that the national rollout is continuing at pace.

On Tuesday, the authorities opened vaccinations to anyone 45 or older, yet the announcement came with a small hiccup: The website for the countrys National Health Service crashed for a short time after the younger cohort was invited to book appointments online.

The new step in the countrys vaccine rollout comes as the authorities eased several restrictions in England on Monday after months of stringent lockdowns, with pubs and restaurants opened for drinks and dining outside, and nonessential shops once again opening their doors.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the moment a hugely significant milestone and in a statement thanked those involved with the vaccine rollout. Mr. Johnson said the country was on track to offer all adults a vaccination by the end of July. More than 32 million people across Britain have received their first dose of one of the vaccines, according to government data.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 06:37:22|Editor: huaxia

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SANTIAGO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 7.4 million people in Chile have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus disease, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

The government's goal is to vaccinate 15 million people, or 80 percent of the population, in the first half of 2021 in a bid to achieve herd immunity.

Amid a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Chile, Health Minister Enrique Paris told reporters at a press conference that 7,444,769 inhabitants had received at least one dose of vaccine, including 4,815,079 who had received both doses.

The voluntary vaccination campaign launched in December by the government initially targeted those in the healthcare sector and other essential workers, in addition to the elderly and people with chronic ailments or medical conditions.

Cases of COVID-19 have been on the rise in recent weeks, following the austral summer season and the return to in-person classes at schools in March, among other things.

In response, the government imposed lockdown measures on more than 80 percent of the country's population, including the entire Metropolitan region, where the capital Santiago is located. Among the measures are closing borders and non-essential businesses.

To date, Chile has registered over one million infections and 24,518 deaths from the virus. Enditem
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Armenian water resources come under Azerbaijani control, more on COVID-19 in Armenia, Jun. 4 digest

Armenia acting PM: Health insurance is inevitable

Armenia Investigative Committee launches criminal case regarding keeping of bodies and remains of deceased servicemen

Opposition "Armenia" bloc representative: Authorities are actually busy bribing voters

Armenia legislature passes law to help ease requirements for future teachers

Russia ambassador visits Meghri, Armenia border checkpoint (PHOTOS)

Armenia ruling party's candidate for anti-corruption commission member not elected

Armenia acting premier: There will be statement in coming days about exposure of high treason

Dollar loses value in Armenia

Armenia acting PM: Our task is to support our farmers so that engaging in agriculture is planned activity

China Daily: Water tribe prospers ashore in Fujian

China calls for closer security, economic cooperation with Afghanistan

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: There was proposal from Azerbaijans Aliyev on Meghri issue

CIS Observation Mission continues to monitor snap parliamentary elections in Armenia

Nepal reports first death from 'black fungus'

Armenian analyst: High-ranking US delegation's visit to Armenia can't be viewed as support to incumbent authorities

"Armenia" bloc: Things can't get any worse in the country from the perspective of censure

Edmon Marukyan calls on people to vote for Bright Armenia Party to establish unity in the country

Armenia Ararat Province deputy governor sacked

Russian Ambassador says Russia makes significant contributions to ensuring of Armenia's security

Azerbaijan reports 3 deaths from mine explosion in Karvachar

Sarkissian to Nigmatulin: Armenia, Kazakhstan have lot in common

ECHR fails to accept Azerbaijan's application against Armenia Government as new and separate case

Head of Armenia's Verin Shorzha: Azerbaijanis operating equipment to move from one military post to the other

Iran produces trial batches of Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

President welcomes Catholicos of All Armenians who has arrived in Artsakh

Armenia PM chief of staff: Possibility of full-scale war still exists in region

Alaska offers free COVID-19 vaccines to everyone

Two Azerbaijan reporters die in landmine explosion in Artsakhs Karvachar

Over 120 Nobel laureates urge G7 countries to step up efforts to tackle climate change

Downtown Yerevan murder solved, murder suspect is foreigner

Armenia former President Kocharyan: These authorities really have nothing to say

Armenia parliament holding 2nd special session in one day

Armenia ruling party MP unexpectedly admits that member candidate for anti-corruption commission is his wife

Court fines 12 Australian media outlets 1.1 million for reporting on Cardinal George Pell

Armenia MFA: Azerbaijan instrumentalizes captured people as political hostages, tools to pursue other goals

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan: These authorities have not kept any of their promises in 3 years

UN Security Council will make a recommendation on the next Secretary-General on June 8

Armenia ombudsman: Water resources have come under Azerbaijan army control

Turkish actress faces 2 years in prison for 'insulting' rapist

US lawmakers call for Turkey to be held accountable for repeated religious freedom violations

72 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan: Candidate for post of Head of State must undergo psychiatric evaluation

Armenia legislature continues special sitting

Israel defense minister changes tone over Iran nuclear deal during US visit

Armenia parliament to convene 2 special sessions Friday

University of Nevada new School of Medicine to be named after Kirk Kerkorian

World food prices reach highest level in 10 years

Newspaper: Armenia ruling party to hold fundraiser Saturday

Newspaper: Russia does not manifest very active efforts in trilateral talks with Armenia, Azerbaijan

US to donate 25mn doses of coronavirus vaccine

Armenia is elected UN World Tourism Organization Executive Council member for period of 2021-2025

Armenia 2nd President meets with leaders and officers of Police, MOD and National Security Service of various years

Opposition "Armenia" bloc's representative: Incumbent authorities' mistakes are irreversible

Armenia ombudsman: Any persecution, trial of captives is gross violation of international law

Europe sees progress in latest rounds of Iran nuclear talks

Armenian analyst: Turkey wants to push Russia out of the South Caucasus

Young Armenian says brawl with Azerbaijanis in front of Azerbaijan Embassy in Moscow might have been organized

Catholicos of All Armenians leaves for Armenia's Syunik Province and Artsakh on pontifical visit

Armenian and Russian Prosecutors General meet in St. Petersburg

Armenian acting minister: EU allocated EUR 68,700,000 to Armenia for budget support in 2020

Armenia Finance Ministry: MFA's budget grew by AMD 1,600,000,000 in 2020

Bodies and remains of Armenian soldiers are kept in morgue in Armenia's Martuni

White House confirms Biden-Erdogan meeting in Brussels

Armenia acting MOD touches upon priority directions for development of Armed Forces

Diaspora Armenian writer, publicist Toros Toranian dies

2 Armenian soldiers injured in scuffle with Azerbaijan, Armenian POW is hospitalized, Jun. 3 digest

Wedding held in Armenia's Shurnukh for first time since the war ended

EEU member states to finish preparing for negotiations over free trade zone in Iran in late June

Armenia Central Bank: Economic downfall in 2020 was due to decline in service and construction sectors

Armenia legislature adopts several bills in first reading

Armenia President meets with Nursultan Nazarbayev

Dejavu: Armenia ruling party distributes money for votes at Yerevan district election office

Chief Advisor to Karabakh President sacked
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Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed ROSINBOMB (OTC Pink: ROSN) ("the Company"), a company with over five years of operating history developing and producing the ROSINBOMB line of rosin presses and accessories for extracting organic concentrates. CEO of the Company, Fred Angelopoulos, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly.

The interview began with the Company's successes and challenges during 2020. "We have done a lot of exciting things in the last year," shared Angelopoulos. "2020 was challenging for everyone, but we did have pretty good growth. We grew at 50% in revenue and net income," he continued. "We're still a small company; we have a small team of diverse and incredible people."

"We started building an eCommerce platform, and began targeting directly to the community," explained Angelopoulos. "We put together a bundle of this end-to-end solution," he added. "We basically provided people with everything they needed to create their own extractor concentrate," said Angelopoulos. "That was very successful."

"As far as challenges during the pandemic, we grew significantly but we did leave a lot of revenue on the table," shared Angelopoulos. "The biggest challenge for us was our supply chain."

"What are the company's newest developments?", asked Jolly. "The M60 has been wildly successful," said Angelopoulos. "One of the things that is different about ROSINBOMB is that there are no solvents, it's heat and pressure. Once solvents get added in there, whether it's flavoring or to actually extract the terpenes and cannabinoids off the plant, you're bringing a level of toxicity to the consumers," he explained. "We're seeing people starting to use it with different cannabinoids, like CBG, which is a real breakthrough."

"We just announced a collaboration with Tommy Chong, and we're doing the Tommy Chong Rocket," shared Angelopoulos. "He hand signs these, it's a limited edition, and it's $549. It's a real collectors item, but it's also an incredible press," shared Angelopoulos. "To have Tommy Chong partner with us and collaborate on this product is pretty special."

"Where do you see the market going in the next one to two years, legality-wise?", asked Jolly. "I don't see how federal legality happens in the next year or two, right now," said Angelopoulos. "I think New York going green is a big step," he added. "We would love for cannabis to be accessible to everyone easily. We believe in it so much both recreationally and particularly from a medicinal and health standpoint."

"What are the obstacles your company is facing over the next two to three quarters?", asked Jolly. "I think one of the biggest challenges for us was our supply chain," said Angelopoulos. "When our demand started to grow it was a challenge for us and we needed to find a way to get through that," he continued. "Another challenge for us has been to really get broad distribution; we're very select with who we work with," said Angelopoulos. "We recently joined forces with Mastermind, which offers incredible distribution in North America," he shared. "Those are two of the biggest challenges that we have overcome, and we're continuing to pursue our efficiency in bringing products to market."

"We also have a big product that we are working on," said Angelopoulos. "We're launching in the summer and it is such an amazing, mainstream, consumer product that we are very excited about," he explained. "We're continuing to advance our intellectual property," added Angelopoulos, before elaborating on the Company's patent portfolio. "It's a big part of what differentiates us," he added.

"We have also announced a lifetime warranty on our products, we are the only company in the market that does that, as well as a True Force warranty," said Angelopoulos. "So, whatever we state on our press, we guarantee that you will get that force at least, if not more, for the lifetime of the product," he shared. "We are really drawing a line in the sand that we believe we have the best technology, we believe it is the best quality, and we stand behind it with these initiatives."

To hear the entire interview with Fred Angelopoulos, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7843222-rosinbomb-discusses-significant-2020-growth-and-2021-goals-with-the-stock-day-podcast.

Investors Hangout is a proud sponsor of "Stock Day," and Stock Day Media encourages listeners to visit the company's message board at https://investorshangout.com/.

About ROSINBOMB

Rosinbomb (OTC Pink: ROSN) has over five years of operating history developing and producing the ROSINBOMB line of rosin presses and accessories for extracting organic concentrates. Founded as a family company with deep roots in creating press technology for the organic fruit and vegetable juice market, ROSINBOMB presses require no chemicals or additional hardware to operate. The presses are plug-and-press out of the box. The technology uses patent pending techniques to optimize extraction potential and allow the user the ability to easily produce naturally-extracted, organic concentrates. Additional information can be found at rosinbomb.com.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "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. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are predictions only and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include the uncertainty regarding viability and market acceptance of the company's products and services.

Media Contact:

Farley Cahen

Elevated Agency

(818) 810-7282

press@rosinbomb.com

investor.relations@rosinbomb.com

About The "Stock Day" Podcast

Founded in 2013, Stock Day is the fastest growing media outlet for Nano-Cap and Micro-Cap companies. It educates investors while simultaneously working with penny stock and OTC companies, providing transparency and clarification of under-valued, under-sold Micro-Cap stocks of the market. Stock Day provides companies with customized solutions to their news distribution in both national and international media outlets. The Stock Day Podcast is the number one radio show of its kind in America.

SOURCE:

Stock Day Media

(602) 821-1102

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80271
Vox Media acquires Cafe Studios, the podcast-focused publisher co-founded by former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara. Cafe Studios is Vox Medias fourth recent merger or acquisition. It has picked up film, television, audio and production studio Epic and commenting platform Coral, as well as merging with the publisher of New York magazine. Bharara and Tamara Sepper, who serves as the executive producer and head of content, will join Vox Media along with a team of podcast hosts, producers and product developers. Cafe will operate as a division of the Vox Media Podcast Network, continuing to produce its active slate of shows, with new shows in development this year. Bringing Cafe into the Vox Media Podcast Network is aligned with our goal of delivering high-quality editorial content at scale and providing audiences highly relevant voices and insights, said Vox Media chairman, CEO and co-founder Jim Bankoff.

Alessandra Galloni

Reuters names Alessandra Galloni editor-in-chief, the first female leader in the companys 170-year history. Galloni, who has been global managing editor at Reuters since 2015, succeeds Stephen Adler, who is retiring. She will work from the companys London office. After beginning her career at Reuters Italian-language news service, Galloni was a reporter and editor at the Wall Street Journal for 13 years. She takes the helm as parent corporation Thomson Reuters searches for ways to lower costs and raise revenues. Though Reuters News made $73 million in pretax profits in 2020, it was deemed a drag on the growth of the company by Bank of America analyst Gary Bisbee. The division accounted for about 10 percent of Thomson Reuters total $5.9 billion in revenues.

Subha Barry

Bonnier Corp., which publishes magazines including Working Mother, Yachting and Sailing World, launches Seramount, a diversity, equity and inclusion platform. The platform, which currently provides DE&I services to more than 400 corporate brands, is the result of the merger of Working Mother Media, Diversity Best Practices, Culture@Work and the Working Mother Research Institute. It is led by Subha V. Barry, who was previously president of Working Mother Media and has also served as global head of diversity at Merrill Lynch. By leveraging all of our capabilities, we will help our clients as they lead the way to a new bottom-line driving business priorityto make belonging a baseline at every stakeholder touchpoint, said Barry.
San Francisco, April 13 : Google is hiring people who use Android devices to give feedback for a new medical records tool for patients.

According to Stat News, Google is back after 13 years for such a tool for digitally documenting patient health records.

"The tech giant has launched an early user feedback programme aimed at exploring how patients might want to see, organise, and share their own medical record data," the report mentioned.

Google is currently recruiting about 300 patients for its health records study in the US.

A company spokesperson said that it was "running a user feedback programme to test features that give users the ability to collect health information from their provider patient portals".

In 2008, the company launched Google Health aimed to give people a way to see their health information online.

Google had to shut it down in 2012.

"We haven't found a way to translate that limited usage into widespread adoption in the daily health routines of millions of people," Google had said in a blog post.

This time, Google is also working on the 'Care Studio' programme that gives clinicians a way to search through patient records easily.

Other health efforts include a research app that lets Android users participate in medical studies and a Nest Hub feature that tracks sleep.
Two county school board members got into a shouting match on Monday afternoon over the issue of the possibility of a large number of unattended migrant children possibly being enrolled in county schools.

Board member Karitsa Mosley Jones advised board members "to be careful of saying anything that may at some point appear to be biased, discriminatory or prejudiced even if that wasn't our intent." She said the schools "have a moral obligation" to take care of all children regardless of their "race or ethnicity."

Board member Rhonda Thurman responded, "I will not apologize for putting the kids of Hamilton County first. These schools were built by taxpayers and they are the ones who pay to operate the schools."

She added, "I will never apologize for putting the children of Hamilton County first, and I will not be called a racist."

Ms. Jones became irate and interjected, "I'm not going to sit here and be lied on. I didn't call you a racist, but hit dogs do holler."

Ms. Thurman, "Yes, you did."

Ms. Jones, "I never said that. I'm not going to sit here and be lied on."

Ms. Thurman, "I'm tired of being lectured."

Ms. Jones, "She better get that together or she'll have some papers on her desk in the morning for defamation of character."

Ms. Thurman, "Oh, please."

Interim Board Chairman Steve Highlander and Supt. Bryan Johnson tried to no avail to get the meeting back to order and Ms. Jones continued to speak in a high tone and Ms. Thurman answered.

Finally, Ms. Jones walked out of the budget/agenda session, saying, "I will excuse myself before this gets to be a bigger situation."

Marsha Drake, chief equity officer, said a school official earlier in the day went to a former Tennessee Temple dorm in Highland Park where unattended migrant children are being taken, according to neighbors. A black tarp has been placed on the fence at the location, and the Baptiste Group is advertising for a large number of bilingual positions.

She said the school official met with the executive director, who did not provide any information but agreed to meet with Dr. Drake on Tuesday.

Supt. Johnson said he had little information about the situation, saying he had first heard about it from news reports. He said it is possible that the group would have its own school and that the students would not go to the county schools. The group is advertising for bilingual teachers.

Dr. Highlander said, "My first concern is for the health and safety of these students and for the students in our schools."

Board member Joe Smith asked, "Where are these children going to live?"

Ms. Thurman said, "Who is going to tell us what is going on? The mayor doesn't know anything. The governor doesn't know anything."

She said, "The number could get up to 5,000 and overwhelm our school system. Who says, 'No mas.' "

Scott Bennett, school board attorney, said the situation is not new, saying the schools picked up many refugee students from a previous Gulf Coast hurricane.

He said the schools are obligated "to provide an education for all students. Kids are kids. While they are here they are our kids same as students born on Signal Mountain, Ooltewah or anywhere else."
Self-service analytics a game changer for the Air Force

The Air Forces cross-domain platform that lets service members use cloud-based tools to work on data has been a game-changer, the Air Forces chief data officer said.

2020 Winner AF VAULT holds decision-making toolkit The Air Forces Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked and Trustworthy platform gives personnel secure, cloud-based tools for connecting with data that is essential to mission and readiness success. Read more.

Speaking at on self-service analytics at the April 7 Wrangle Summit presented by Trifacta, a data preparation company, Air Force CDO Eileen Vidrine highlighted two ways that the Visible, Accessible, Understandable, Linked and Trustworthy data platform has improved operations.

First off, VAULT proved crucial when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

The platform enabled our airmen and guardians to do the work at the lowest classification possible and then push it up into a classified environment if necessary, Vidrine said. That was game-changing once COVID happened because once we had to really be conscientious about physical distancing  it allowed our people to work remotely and then push stuff up into a classified environment, she said. Additionally, it helped the Air Force and Space Force safely manage our workforce so that we brought them in at the point of readiness, she added.

Plus, because VAULT is hosted in the Amazon Web Services cloud accredited at the highest security impact levels, the Air Force had a capability that grew tenfold in 12 months, she said. Organizations that may not have been in the cloud could use VAULT to easily access a self-service tool to do their jobs.

Everything in VAULT is scripted using its infrastructure-as-code architecture, and a new, virtual private cloud instantiation can be deployed with the press of a button. Through VAULT, members of the Air and Space forces can access current datasets and a catalog of data and metadata.

Second, Vidrine highlighted the importance of strong partnerships in getting VAULT going in 2018 and maintaining and growing it today. Those partners include people within the service, within the military and in the public sector.

I like to say data is a team sport, and we cant do this without our partners out in the field, she said of the solution that won a Government Innovation Award in 2020. We need our functional experts to really be part of the conversation. So, not only did we build a self-service platform in the cloud, but we also established a small enterprise-focused data lab based out of Andrews Air Force Base, where any airman or guardian can make a recommendation to look at a data opportunity that has an enterprise focus.

To date, her office has considered nearly four dozen solutions.

Another critical partnership is with the departments CIO -- specifically a reciprocity agreement that allows a tool approved for an Impact Level 5 platform to be deployed on equivalent platforms. Were working smart to do that security boundary work one time, do it well and continue to maintain it, Vidrine said. I think that is also game-changing for us.

Part of working smart is bringing in open source tools that have no licensing requirements in addition to commercial products. The department works with any Air or Space Force organization that needs or expects to need licenses for a commercial product to get through the security gates to safely and securely bring that tool onto the platform, she said.

One way theyre doing that faster is by asking industry partners for evaluation copies to kick off security conversations. Thats what happened when Vidrines team brought Trifacta into VAULT last year. The security paperwork was finished before the acquisition, so when it went through, they were able to include it in their next weekend push. That enabled the department to maximize the licensing and show value, she said.

Other commercial partners include Tableau, Databricks, Spark, Python and Informatica. For instance, VAULT has supported Tableaus visualization tool for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Centers health assessments, saving months of labor and providing more accurate data analysis.

One use case that illustrates VAULT is work with the Air Force Materiel Commands financial management community. The projects goal is to provide data insights into cash balances by understanding underlying business events, forecasting and visualizing the impact of operating scenarios.

When we use these types of tools in our platforms, empowering our airmen to solve their own problems, they are optimizing performance every single iteration so that we can work smart, Vidrine said. I think that is part of the real data story.

VAULTs foundational capability has three cornerstones, according to Vidrine. One is the Defense Department Data Strategy, published last year in concert with CDOs across military departments. The seven strategic goals it sets -- visible, accessible, understandable, linked, trustworthy, interoperable and secure, or VAULT-IS -- fit what she and her counterparts are doing, she said. The Air Force was the first department to adopt VAULT-IS with the VAULT Data Platform.

Were looking at increasing that visibility and accessibility, at pushing analytics down so that each airman and guardian have that capability through self-service to really drive data into actionable decision-making processes, she said.

The Air Force CDO Offices first Data Service Reference Architecture is the second cornerstone. Published on Airforce.mil, it allowed department and industry stakeholders to understand the baseline VAULT uses.

We are actually now finishing up Version 2.0 of the Data Service Reference Architecture, which we plan to publish later this year, Vidrine said. This is an emerging field and there are new capabilities, and were trying to make sure that we continue with that communication, she said.

The final foundational piece is the first Air Force instruction on data management policy, coming out later this year, she said.
"Savills is continuing its strategic advancement throughout North America and the opening in Edmonton increases our presence in Western Canada," said Vice Chairman and Market Lead for the Mountain-Northwest region Rick Schuham . "Alberta remains the center for a multitude of industries and Edmonton is home to a well-diversified industrial base, which has proven to be a resilient sector throughout the pandemic. Adding Alex and Kyle to Savills extends our global industrial services platform and our ability to deliver local expertise throughout Alberta."

Heintz and Bartkus will work from a new space located in the 124th Street submarket at 10406 124 St. NW. The two bring 20 years of combined experience in commercial sales and leasing in the Alberta region. The team has executed transactions on behalf of prominent companies including Above and Beyond Compression, Allied Fitting Canada, Ampak, Bird Construction, HESCO, OK Tire, Parkland Fuel, The Brick, and Wood Wyant Canada.

Heintz is a noted perennial top performer having successfully completed more than $200 million in transactions, totaling over 2 million square feet. His in-depth knowledge of the market and commitment to innovative thinking has enabled him to provide clients with insightful solutions to build and execute their real estate strategy.

Bartkus focuses on both the industrial and investment markets and he has completed sale and lease transactions in multiple asset classes. Over his career, Bartkus has executed over 1.2 million square feet of commercial leases, with values totaling more than $125 million.

The Edmonton office will work closely with Savills Calgary location led by Senior Managing Director Josh Hamill and Vice President Adam Stewart. Since its September 2019 opening, the Calgary office has relocated to a new, downtown space and steadily increased its staffing, most recently adding tenant representation expert Steve Berman as managing director. Hamill and Stewart will also oversee the Western Canada operations and drive growth for Edmonton.

"Alberta features a thriving tech sector and burgeoning industries in life sciences, petrochemical, and agriculture," said Hamill. "Many of the leading energy, service, logistics, and manufacturing companies currently reside in Edmonton, making it an ideal extension to our growing practice in Calgary. We are looking forward to collaborating with Alex and Kyle's team as we continue to build Savills' services and solutions throughout Canada."

With more than 35 offices and over 900 employees in North America, Savills provides local and international clients with a comprehensive and cohesive suite of services and solutions encompassing tenant representation, workplace strategy, capital markets, workforce and incentives strategy, labor analytics, and project management and additional areas of commercial real estate.

About Savills Inc.

Savills helps organizations find the right solutions that ensure employee success. Sharply skilled and fiercely dedicated, the firm's integrated teams of consultants and brokers are experts in better real estate. With services in tenant representation, workforce and incentives strategy, workplace strategy and occupant experience, project management, and capital markets, Savills has elevated the potential of workplaces around the corner, and around the world, for 160 years and counting.

For more information, please visit Savills.us and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

SOURCE Savills

Related Links

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[April 13, 2021] Informatica Unveils Industry's First Intelligent Data Management Cloud, the Foundation of Digital Transformation

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at Informatica World, the company's annual conference, the Silicon Valley company that has been at the forefront of the data revolution for the last two decades, unveiled the industry's first Intelligent Data Management Cloud, designed to help businesses truly innovate with their data on any platform, any cloud, multi-cloud and multi-hybrid for all users across the enterprise, beyond just IT. In the next five years, businesses will have to increasingly grapple with the challenges of dispersed and fragmented data across a multitude of platforms, clouds and siloed systems throughout the enterprise, making it extremely complex to connect the right data with the right consumer for true digital transformation to take effect. Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud is the industry's most comprehensive, AI-powered, end-to-end data management platform offering 200-plus intelligent cloud services to help an organization reimagine and redefine how they innovate every single business function from customer experience, e-commerce, supply chain, manufacturing to analytics and data science, with a mission to create a world where every organization's data is poised for greatness and empowered to deliver outcomes of unprecedented brilliance at a scale never imagined. "As the heterogeneity of cloud increasesfrom applications to analytics to infrastructurewhat really matters is the data, not what surrounds the data," said Amit Walia, CEO, Informatica. "Data proliferation, fragmentation and decentralization across multiple clouds and hybrid environments is the new normal. Those who can connect the right data to the right consumers, with ease and trust will move from digital modernization to true digital transformation. Informatica's Intelligent Data Management Cloud is the future of enterprise cloud data management and we are excited to bring this to our customers." "As data proliferation rises, companies will need an end-to-end platform that is capable of managing data regardless of where it is housed and more importantly powered by AI to offer real-time data intelligence," said Scott Holcomb, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "As Informatica's 2020 Global Partner of the Year, we look forward to collaborating with Informatica to bring the power of the Intelligent Data Management Cloud to our joint clients." Informatica's new Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is the industry's most comprehensive, modern and holistic enterprise cloud data management platform, designed to be a game-changer with the following industry-firsts: Cloud Native at Scale To Meet the Accelerating Demands of Modern Business: Data is growing exponentially as organizations shift to the cloud. IDMC is micro-services based and API-driven, scaling for all enterprise workloads with elastic and serverless processing. IDMC takes cloud native to the next level, offering all services in a single cloud-native platform for data integration, app and API integration and data management. Organizations have the flexibility to elastically scale up processing as the business demands and benefits from the ability to ingest data in any form at any latency to further the democratization of data and empower business users with data-led nsights.

Data is growing exponentially as organizations shift to the cloud. IDMC is micro-services based and API-driven, scaling for all enterprise workloads with elastic and serverless processing. IDMC takes cloud native to the next level, offering all services in a single cloud-native platform for data integration, app and API integration and data management. Organizations have the flexibility to elastically scale up processing as the business demands and benefits from the ability to ingest data in any form at any latency to further the democratization of data and empower business users with data-led nsights. AI-Powered, Metadata-Driven Intelligence To Turn Data Into Insights at Massive Scale: For organizations that process petabytes of data a day in a highly fragmented and dispersed data landscape, it is mission critical to have a metadata-driven system of record that is also powered by AI to enable them with valuable insights in real time to make smart decisions. Informatica's AI engine, CLAIRE, is at the core of the Intelligent Data Management Cloud, enabling customers with AI and ML capabilities to derive insights from troves of data in minutes as opposed to several months with intelligence and automation, to substantially increase productivity.

For organizations that process petabytes of data a day in a highly fragmented and dispersed data landscape, it is mission critical to have a metadata-driven system of record that is also powered by AI to enable them with valuable insights in real time to make smart decisions. Informatica's AI engine, CLAIRE, is at the core of the Intelligent Data Management Cloud, enabling customers with AI and ML capabilities to derive insights from troves of data in minutes as opposed to several months with intelligence and automation, to substantially increase productivity. Industry's First Enterprise-Scale Data Management on Any Cloud, Any Platform: The new Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is the foundation for true digital transformation, enabling enterprises to visualize, analyze and collaborate with their data regardless of location or platform. It is a single cloud-native platform enabling data integration, app integration, API and data management at scale, all in one place. Built for hybrid, multi-cloud environments, IDMC runs all workloads at enterprise-scale in the cloud and currently processes more than 17 trillion transactions each month. Organizations will be able to connect, access, consume and govern data wherever it flows, be that in the cloud, cloud-to-on-premises environments or on-premises-to-on-premises environments.

The new Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is the foundation for true digital transformation, enabling enterprises to visualize, analyze and collaborate with their data regardless of location or platform. It is a single cloud-native platform enabling data integration, app integration, API and data management at scale, all in one place. Built for hybrid, multi-cloud environments, IDMC runs all workloads at enterprise-scale in the cloud and currently processes more than 17 trillion transactions each month. Organizations will be able to connect, access, consume and govern data wherever it flows, be that in the cloud, cloud-to-on-premises environments or on-premises-to-on-premises environments. Agile Innovation at Speed With Low-Code, No-Code Cloud Data Management : The pace of business requires extreme agility to meet dynamic and ever-changing needs. IDMC maximizes agility and collaboration with a low-code or no-code experience allowing customers to go directly from idea to implementation, responding to dynamic business requirements and changes in real time without the overhead of developing and maintaining code. By democratizing data and empowering more users across the business with trusted, timely and actionable data insights at-scale, organizations can digitally transform business initiatives from customer experience, to e-commerce, to financial transformation and supply chain management.

: The pace of business requires extreme agility to meet dynamic and ever-changing needs. IDMC maximizes agility and collaboration with a low-code or no-code experience allowing customers to go directly from idea to implementation, responding to dynamic business requirements and changes in real time without the overhead of developing and maintaining code. By democratizing data and empowering more users across the business with trusted, timely and actionable data insights at-scale, organizations can digitally transform business initiatives from customer experience, to e-commerce, to financial transformation and supply chain management. Security and Trust by Design With Best-in-Class Data Governance: IDMC has security and trust as a design principle, not an afterthought. Data is the most valuable asset to organizations today and its protection is mission critical. IDMC offers some of the highest industry standards of data security and governance to define and enforce policies that ensure that appropriate teams can quickly access and understand data and other artifacts such as AI models and pipelines. It ensures trust with consistent enterprise-wide data quality and protects data to minimize privacy risks and manage regulatory compliance.



Alexander Izaguirre , chief data officer, New York City Health + Hospitals. "Informatica has been our trusted partner to help us manage data as part of our cloud modernization, data governance and data integration strategy. It's this platform approach to data that helps us accelerate healthcare innovation." The Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud is available in a consumption-based pricing model, which gives customers and partners the flexibility to scale up their cloud journey at a pace that suits their business. Informatica is now offering a free service model on Microsoft Azure to allow streamlined access and a simple testing opportunity.

About Informatica

Informatica, the Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, accelerates data-driven digital transformation. Informatica enables companies to fuel innovation, become more agile, and realize new growth opportunities, resulting in intelligent market disruptions. Over the last 25 years, Informatica has helped more than 9,000 customers unleash the power of data. For more information, call +1 650-385-5000 (1-800-653-3871 in the U.S.), or visit www.informatica.com. Connect with Informatica on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. The information provided herein is subject to change without notice. In addition, the development, release and timing of any product or functionality described today remain at the sole discretion of Informatica and should not be relied upon in making a purchasing decision, nor as a representation, warranty, or commitment to deliver specific products or functionality in the future. See https://www.informatica.com/trademarks.html for a list of Informatica trademarks. Contact:

Informatica Public Relations

prteam@informatica.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/informatica-unveils-industrys-first-intelligent-data-management-cloud-the-foundation-of-digital-transformation-301267932.html SOURCE Informatica

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The development of the Covid-19 vaccines happened with great urgency, for obvious reasons.

One of the timesaving techniques by Moderna and Pfizer involved scheduling the two vaccine doses fairly close together  just three or four weeks apart  during the research trials. The companies did not test multiple gaps between the two shots to see which was the most effective. They each chose a short gap to finish the trials as quickly as possible.

The decision made a lot of sense. It allowed the U.S. mass vaccination program to start in December, rather than pushing it back a few months. Many lives have been saved as a result.

But the approach means that nobody knows what is the most effective gap between the two shots. Maybe it really is three to four weeks. Maybe a longer delay is just as effective (or, for that matter, even more effective).

And the short delay does come with a large downside.

The U.S. is choosing to give millions of people a second shot while making millions of others wait for their first. Thats happening even though a single shot provides a high degree of protection and even as a more severe, contagious coronavirus variant is sweeping the country. Both cases and hospitalizations have risen in recent days, and deaths have stopped declining.
During a hearing in north Alabama today a judge ruled that prosecutors will be allowed to present evidence of the drinking and gambling habits of the top law enforcement official in Limestone County.

Sheriff Mike Blakely, the 10-term sheriff of Limestone County, is scheduled to go on trial this summer on charges of theft and using his position for personal gain. The 70-year-old is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his office and campaign accounts, and prosecutors contend he was in casinos from Biloxi to Las Vegas when he solicited, received, or spent the public money.

Specially appointed Judge Pam Baschab during a status hearing this afternoon denied a request from Blakelys attorneys to exclude such evidence.

Robert Tuten, one of the sheriffs attorneys, said the defense was concerned that evidence of drinking and gambling  which are perfectly legal activities could be used as character assassination and prejudice the jury against Blakely.

Tuten said such evidence should only be allowed if it is relevant to the charges.

Kyle Beckman, an assistant attorney general, said the evidence would only be used when necessary to prove the criminal charges against Blakely.

We are not trying to do any character assassination, Beckman said. We arent trying to disparage his character outside the case.

In a recent court filing, state prosecutors wrote that they do not expect Blakelys drinking to be a significant factor in the case. But, prosecutors said, evidence of Blakelys gambling is necessary to prove 5 of the 11 crimes with which the sheriff is charged.

Blakely once was in a casino in Mississippi when he was supposed to be attending a sheriffs conference in Alabama  a trip that was paid for by his office funds, Beckman wrote in the court filing.

The state expects to elicit specific relevant evidence that Blakely was in casinos in Las Vegas, Biloxi, Mississippi, and Atmore, Alabama, Beckman wrote. The state further expects to elicit specific evidence that during these visits Blakely solicited, received, or spent cash belonging to the Limestone County Sheriffs Office or one of his subordinates.

During todays hearing the judge also heard arguments about whether Blakelys attorneys can present evidence that state audits of the sheriffs office did not find any evidence of theft.

Tuten said excluding that evidence would be unfair to the defense.

Beckman said the audits are irrelevant to the charges against the sheriff and would be a distraction to the jury. He said some of the transactions in question were outside the audit timeframe and that other transactions wouldnt be subject to scrutiny by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts.

Judge Baschab said she would rule later if the issue is raised at trial.

The trial is scheduled for July 12 at the Limestone County Courthouse in Athens. Because of improving COVID-19 case numbers and rising vaccination rates, Baschab said she expects to be able to conduct the trial without social distancing or other COVID protocols.

Blakely was indicted in August of 2019. His trial has been delayed multiple times because of the pandemic. Alabama doesnt have a law to remove elected officials from office once indicted. Unless he is convicted, Blakley can stay in office.

[Read more: What is wrong with Alabamas fastest growing county?]
Ninth-grade students at a Texas high school were disciplined for 'slave-trading' their black classmates in a group chat called Slave Trade, N***a Farm and N***a Auction.

Students at the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus, part of the Aledo Independent School District, had been communicating in a chat they made on Snapchat.

The ninth graders would play a 'game' where they listed prices for the black classmates, 'trading' them with each other, NBC DFW reports.

One student was deemed to be worth $100, while another was given a value of just $1, because his peers didn't like his hair.

Students at the Daniel Ninth Grade Campus, part of the Aledo Independent School District, had been communicating in a chat they made on Snapchat

In the chat, the ninth graders would play a 'game' where they listed prices for the black classmates, 'trading' them with each other (stock image)

According to a statement from Superintendent Dr Susan Bohn, the district learned of the incident more than two weeks ago. They said the students who took part in the 'auction' cyberbullied and harassed the students. The Aledo Independent School District would not specify what the disciplined entailed for the students, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

'There is no room for racism or hatred in the Aledo ISD, period,' Bohn said in the statement. 'Using inappropriate, offensive and racially charged language and conduct is completely unacceptable and is prohibited by district policy.'

The superintendent later added: 'This incident has caused tremendous pain for the victims, their families, and other students of color and their families, and for that we are deeply saddened.'

In a letter to students on April 5th, Principal Carolyn Ansley said that the incident 'led to conversations how inappropriate and hurtful language can have a profound and lasting impact on the students and classmates involved.'

Parents and activist in the community described the incident as the norm for the district, irate at the handling by administrators.

'Calling it cyberbullying rather than calling it racism... that is the piece that really gets under my skin,' said Mark Grubbs, a father to three former Aledo ISD students. Things were so bad for the father's kids, he pulled them out of the district.

In a letter to students on April 5th, Principal Carolyn Ansley said that the incident 'led to conversations how inappropriate and hurtful language can have a profound and lasting impact on the students and classmates involved

'A lot of racism. My son being called out of his name and what not and it got to the point he didn't mind fighting and that didn't sit right with me and my wife,' Grubbs said. 'My son was never a fighter.'

Tony Crawford, an activist and leader with Parker County Progressives, described the incident as 'another in a long line of incidents that are swept under the rug.'

'Can you imagine what it's like for somebody to put a price on your head? I cannot imagine the embarrassment and hurt that people you might be friends with are having that conversation,' Crawford said of the teased students.

Eddie Burnett, president of Parker County NAACP, shared that he learned of the incident on Sunday. He, along with other members of the community, plan to attend the Aledo school board meeting on April 19.
New Delhi: Only recently it seemed like we were close to victory in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic as the number of infections had reduced significantly. But all that has changed in a matter of few days as the second wave of the pandemic struck India and other countries around the world.

This wave appears to be even deadlier than its predecessor as the country is recording an unprecedented number of cases since the start of the pandemic. What makes the second wave more dangerous is the appearance of new variants of the original virus.

Zee News Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary on Tuesday (April 13) explained the threat that has emerged in form of new COVID-19 variants, which are capable of deceiving even the RT-PCR technique of testing.

By December 2020, about 12 thousand variants of coronavirus have been detected. In just the last few days, more than 100 new variants have been identified. The new variant that is spreading rapidly in India this time is quite dangerous.

This new variant can also cheat the usual methods of testing for COVID-19. This means even after one starts showing symptoms and subsequently gets tested, the report could turn up negative. But the report might not be true.

Experts have consistently said that there is only one way to tackle coronavirus and that is through testing and then by using medicines to treat the symptoms. But the question now arises that how would one begin treatment if the test cannot be relied upon.

The new strain of coronavirus does not appear to be causing too much discomfort to the patients in the early days. The patient usually suffers from mild fever and slight cough. The oxygen level of the body appears to be normal. But all of a sudden, the situation deteriorates and the need to hospitalize the patient arises.

The most dangerous thing about the new strain of coronavirus is that it is causing very severe damage to the lungs. The strain infects the lungs about 50% to 70% in just 2 to 3 days, whereas in the first wave it took about 7 days.

Due to this, the number of deaths of patients due to the new strain has increased rapidly. By the time the infection is detected, the patient's body is already severely damaged. It takes from 24 to 36 hours for RT-PCR results. Till then the infection causes great damage to the lungs.

How to detect the new COVID-19 strain?

The new strain can be detected using two techniques.

The first way is through a high-resolution CT scan of the lungs. The second way is through a Bronchoalveolar lavage test i.e. BAL test. The BAL test identifies the virus by testing lung fluid.

According to doctors, the new variant can be identified by these procedures.

Entry of new vaccines

After the Government of India approved the Sputnik V vaccine of Russia, it has further paved the way to bring more vaccine candidates from outside the country.

The recommendation for approving more vaccines for emergency use in the country was made by the National Expert Group of Vaccine made, which the government has accepted. This will allay the fear of scarcity of vaccine doses and speed up the vaccination process in the country.

Apart from Sputnik V, the three foreign vaccine candidates which could soon be brought into use in India are the ones made by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson and Johnson.

Live TV
Now, I know that the left and all the little gatekeepers on Twitter become literally hysterical if you use the term replacement, if you suggest that the Democratic Party is trying to replace the current electorate, the voters now casting ballots, with new people, more obedient voters from the Third World, Carlson said, as a guest on Fox News Tonight. But they become hysterical because thats whats happening actually. Lets just say it: Thats true.
It would be wrong to blame Premier Brian Pallister and his Progressive Conservative government for the arrival of a third wave of COVID-19.

It would be wrong to blame Premier Brian Pallister and his Progressive Conservative government for the arrival of a third wave of COVID-19.

When you take a close look at all of the epidemiological evidence available, some that goes back more than a century to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, a third wave of infections from this deadly virus was as predictable as death, taxes and April snowstorms in Manitoba.

However, from an epidemiological perspective, there was no reason this wave had to be worse than the previous two. If it does turn out to be worse  and there are worrisome signs that we're heading into the most miserable outbreak yet  then you can fairly assign blame to the Pallister government.

Changes to public health orders over the last six weeks paint a portrait of a government that consistently makes the worst possible decisions on easing restrictions  particularly those that allow increasing numbers of people to gather without masks  at the worst possible times.

... With the number of confirmed variant cases steadily climbing, Pallister eased restrictions once again and suggested, rather remarkably, that the majority of the province could actually be moved into code orange on the pandemic warning system.

We start on March 2, when the province introduced new measures that included increasing limits for outdoor public gatherings to 10 people and increased attendance at places of worship to 25 per cent of normal capacity. These changes were introduced even as public health officials here and in neighbouring provinces watched as COVID-19 variants multiplied.

Ten days later, with the number of confirmed variant cases steadily climbing, Pallister eased restrictions once again and suggested, rather remarkably, that the majority of the province could actually be moved into code orange on the pandemic warning system.

Pallister decided that people at faith-based services could go maskless as long as they were seated and socially distanced, and that up to six people from different households could share the same table in an outdoor bar or restaurant patio. Social gatherings were expanded to allow households to host an unlimited number of people from another designated household.

On March 23, again with variants increasing on a daily basis, Pallister increased the number of people who could gather outdoors in public spaces to 25, increased limits for indoor funerals and weddings, and increased capacity at larger retail stores to a maximum of 500 people.

Manitoba chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin recommended Manitobans begin wearing masks even when gathering with people outside. THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES/John Woods

Now, let's assess those decisions with recent comments by Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief medical officer of health.

Last week, as cases involving COVID-19 variants multiplied at an alarming rate, Roussin actually recommended Manitobans begin wearing masks even when gathering with people outside.

It was an astonishing suggestion, if only for the fact that it ran completely contrary to the actual letter of the current public health orders, which allow people to gather maskless for outdoor social gatherings, in restaurants and bars including patios, and indoor faith-based services.

And then on Monday of this week, as Roussin confirmed a steady escalation in the number of cases involving COVID-19 variants, he said contact tracing had identified large house parties, play dates, sleepovers and faith-based services as the source of new infection clusters.

Roussin attempted to shift the blame for these new clusters to individuals ignoring the finer details of public health orders. But when you look at the scenarios Roussin highlighted, it's pretty easy to see that most if not all fit within the province's current pandemic rules.

Roussin attempted to shift the blame for these new clusters to individuals ignoring the finer details of public health orders. But when you look at the scenarios Roussin highlighted, it's pretty easy to see that most if not all fit within the province's current pandemic rules.

Yes, there are still problems with travellers who refuse to isolate for 14 days after returning to Manitoba. Roussin complained that there are still symptomatic individuals going out and circulating in public. Those are deliberate violations of public health orders and as such, are unjustifiable in any context.

But in all the other scenarios that Roussin mentioned, Manitobans are getting sick not because they broke the rules, but because they followed them.

We didn't get to hear from Pallister on Monday but it will be interesting to see what kind of defence he tries to mount later this week. And make no mistake, at some point this week he will appear before reporters to deny any culpability for the gravity of the third wave, both for himself and for his government.

And yet, it's pretty easy to see the mistakes he has made in the last six weeks are identical to those he authored last summer when he tried to fully reopen the economy in the face of worrisome epidemiological data.

The only saving grace for Pallister is that many other premiers in this country have made the same tragic mistakes, with the same tragic results. But if pointing out that he's no worse than other premiers is his only defence, Pallister is going to find that his political legacy in what is expected to be his last year as first minister is pretty tarnished.

Roussin more or less confirmed on Monday that some sort of enhanced restrictions were on the way later this week. One can only hope Pallister responds with the urgency the situation deserves; no meaningless online surveys, no political posturing.

Nobody, including Pallister, could avoid the reality of a third wave of COVID-19. But had the premier somehow been able to park his political proclivities, and finally pay attention to the advice from his public health officials, Manitoba might have been able to escape the worst of what the third wave has to offer.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Egnyte, the leader in cloud content collaboration and governance, today announced it has been recognized with a 2021 Comparably Award for Best Engineering Teams. The Comparably Awards are based on anonymous employee sentiment rankings across nearly 20 different workplace culture categories, from compensation, leadership, and co-workers to work-life balance, professional development opportunities, perks and benefits.

Rated by Comparably as having built one of the top 50 engineering teams in the country, Egnyte prioritizes a culture where commitment to technical excellence and innovation is matched by a workplace environment that values teamwork, wellbeing and career development. Comparably Award ratings were given during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 through March 2021).

Being recognized with a Comparably award is very important for our engineering team but also to the wider Egnyte organization as a whole, who all work extremely hard to bring our shared values to life, commented Tal Broner, executive vice president of engineering at Egnyte. As a business, we believe that a supportive, positive workplace culture is central to our ability to innovate and to help our customers succeed, and well continue to invest time and energy to strengthen it further.

The recognition that comes from a Comparably Award is important because it relies on the experiences and insight of a key set of stakeholders - the employees themselves, said Jason Nazar, CEO of Comparably. Appearing in the top 50 list for engineering teams underlines the collective commitment required to build a group motivated to deliver on its values and is an achievement to be proud of.

About Comparably

Comparably is a leading workplace culture and compensation monitoring site that provides the most comprehensive and fair representation of what its like to work at companies. Employees can anonymously rate their employers in nearly 20 different workplace categories, providing the public a transparent and in-depth look at the experiences workers have based on their gender, ethnicity, age, department, experience, location, education, and company size. Since launching in 2016, Comparably has accumulated 10 million ratings across 60,000 North American companies. The platform has become one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding and a trusted third-party site for workplace and salary data, including its annual Best Places to Work series that publishes 16 different workplace culture categories per year.

About Egnyte

Egnyte provides the only unified cloud content governance platform for content collaboration, data security, compliance, and threat prevention. More than 16,000 organizations trust Egnyte to reduce risks and IT complexity, prevent ransomware and IP theft and boost employee productivity on any app, any cloud, anywhere. Investors include GV (formerly Google Ventures), Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers, and Goldman Sachs. For more information, visit http://www.egnyte.com
[April 13, 2021] Amazon Posts Management Now Offered by E-commerce Virtual Assistant Agency VAA Philippines

HADERA, Israel, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- VAA Philippines, the world's only company specializing in virtual assistant services for Amazon sellers, has recently expanded its service to include managing Amazon Posts. This Philippines-based company specializes in locating, screening, training and supporting high-quality Amazon virtual assistants and matching them with Amazon sellers all over the world. In addition to Amazon Posts, which is handled by social media VAs, its virtual assistant service also includes Amazon PPC, Amazon Seller Central and graphic designing. To find out more, please visit https://www.vaaphilippines.com/va-services/social-media/ . Amazon Posts is a recently introduced browse-and-discovery experience on Amazon focused on brand-shopping. Posts help shoppers discover new products and see what's new from brands by browsing feeds of brand-curated content. It functions similarly to a social media feed. Each brand can publish a stream of posts that are curated and controlled by the brand itself. "Amazon Posts allow brands to duplicate what they're doing on social media channels like Instagram within the Amazon Marketplace. It can also help your brand stand out from competitors and draw the attention of shoppers," said a spokesperson from VA Philippines. "In a way, it's even better than traditional social media because you'll be able to share branded, product-focused content on a platform specifically built for commerce."



Some of the benefits for brands utilizing Amazon Posts are Increased brand awareness

Competitor conquesting (showing up on competitor product detail pages)

Defending product detail pages

Driving traffic to product detail pages at no cost "You can use Amazon Posts to differentiate your brand. You can also use it to publish the existing brand and product content you're already sharing on social media. You can get access to a wide range of engagement metrics, including views, clicks, and clickthrough rates," the spokesperson added.

In addition to their regular services, the social media VAs from VAA Philippines are now handling Amazon Posts for numerous clients. These virtual assistants have completed VAA's one-month Amazon training course followed by extra training to qualify as a specialist in Amazon Posts. With specialized knowledge in social media marketing and community management for Amazon sellers, they assist Amazon sellers in running their social media pages and activities daily. They also handle editing of graphics and images for Amazon, Facebook and Instagram posts. Successful private label Amazon business owners Gilad and Hila Freimann established VAA Philippines in 2017. The company invests significantly in a thorough screening and selection process, intensive month-long Amazon training for accepted candidates, and ongoing professional development. VAs from VAA Philippines are always up-to-date with the latest tools, features and trends in Amazon. Please visit VAA Philippines's official website to find out more about its social media virtual assistant Amazon Posts service. About VAA Philippines VAA specializes in locating, screening, training and supporting high quality Amazon VAs in the Philippines, and matching them after with Amazon sellers all over the world. VAA has Amazon trained VA's, PPC Specialists VA's, Social Media and Graphic Designers. Contact Name: Gilad Freimann Contact Email: service@vaaphilippines.com Contact Phone: 972526919934 View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amazon-posts-management-now-offered-by-e-commerce-virtual-assistant-agency-vaa-philippines-301267770.html SOURCE VAA Philippines

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THE Manitoba Metis Federation has received a small shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the province, some three months after Manitoba rolled out shots to First Nations.

THE Manitoba Metis Federation has received a small shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the province, some three months after Manitoba rolled out shots to First Nations.

The MMFs pharmacy, MEDOCare, received 100 shots of AstraZeneca on April 6, which the pharmacists will allocated to the most vulnerable patients at the 150 Henry Avenue location in Winnipeg.

The shots come as part of the rollout of pharmacy doses, and not part of any allocation for Metis people.

The Trudeau government has urged Manitoba to allocate specific doses to Metis people, but the MMF and the Pallister government have accused each other of cutting off communication.

Meanwhile, the province has put First Nations in charge of administering tens of thousands of vaccine doses, starting from the January rollout.

The MMFs pharmacy applied through the general process, got final approval March 19, and said the shots suddenly showed up April 6.

"In spite of the lack of notice, the Manitoba Metis government jumped into action and was able to begin administering the vaccines to identified elders and vulnerable citizens," reads a news release.

The MMF says it should be able to administer all 100 doses by April 17, through a process that will include transporting people who cant easily access the clinic.

MMF president David Chartrand said Long Plain First Nation also plans to donate doses to the MMF.

Officials at the Long Plain reserve, which borders Portage la Prairie, have reportedly had difficulty drumming up enough interest from band members to use their full vaccine allocation.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Prince Harry and Prince William should have a 'damn good row and make up' like the Queen and Princess Margaret did throughout their relationship, a royal expert has claimed.

Princess Diana's biographer Andrew Morton likened the 'salt and pepper' brothers to Her Majesty and her late sister, adding that the comparisons are 'many and obvious'.

He added that while everyone watching Prince Philip's funeral will be looking for 'some sort of reconciliation' between William, 38, and Harry, 36, he hopes this will not 'overshadow' tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking on Steph's Packed Lunch yesterday, Morton said: 'This isn't the first time there's been a Cain and Abel relationship inside the Royal Family. Elizabeth and Margaret were sort of the salt and pepper of the royals in their day.

Prince Harry and Prince William should have a 'damn good row and make up' like the Queen and Princess Margaret did throughout their relationship, royal expert Andrew Morton has claimed. Pictured: the pair with their wives in March 2020

'They were a unique double act and the comparisons with William and Harry are many and obvious.

'The Queen is a very similar character to William, cautious, even-handed and calm, Margaret and Harry are a couple who kick over the traitors. Margaret used to say, "disobedience is my job".'

Morton told host Steph McGovern that the monarch and her sister regularly had their ups and downs, adding: 'You'd hope that William and Harry would have a damn good row, then make up as the Queen and Margaret did throughout their relationship.'

He went on: 'Everybody watching the funeral will want to see some sort of reconciliation between William and Harry, and Harry and his father The one thing you hope is that it doesn't overshadow tributes to Prince Philip.

'If everybody's looking at what the lipreaders are saying about the interaction between Harry and William, it will undercut the tributes to Prince Philip.'

Princess Diana's biographer Andrew Morton likened the 'salt and pepper' brothers to Her Majesty and her late sister, adding that the comparisons are 'many and obvious'

Both brothers issued very different statements yesterday paying tribute to their grandfather.

Prince William's more formal approach saw him describe the Duke as an 'extraordinary man', while Prince Harry, who has returned to the UK from California, said he was 'a man of service, honour and great humour', the 'master of the barbecue' and 'legend of banter'.

Reflecting on the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9 at Windsor Castle aged 99, Morton said: 'Prince Philip was progressive, he was proactive as we all know, and he was a moderniser in a pretty crusty institution.

'I remember one of my first royal tours was in 1983 to California, the Queen and Prince Philip went to Yosemite, you could tell he had no time for journalists and he had no time for the Secret Service either.'

Discussing Philip's legacy, Morton said he helped to bring the monarchy into the 21st century and was very much head of the Firm.

Speaking on Steph's Packed Lunch yesterday, Morton said: 'This isn't the first time there's been a Cain and Abel relationship inside the Royal Family. Elizabeth and Margaret (pictured together in June 1996) were sort of the salt and pepper of the royals in their day'

'He's the one who, against the wishes of Winston Churchill and his wife, the Queen, got the coronation televised,' he observed.

'He's the one behind the Royal Family film of 1969. He was the head of the family, the head of the firm. His rule was law.'

Morton, who has been acting as an advisor on series five of The Crown, said the Netflix drama 'got it wrong' when it came to its portrayal of the Group Captain Peter Townsend saga.

'Princess Margaret had all the cards and the Queen gave her those cards and was prepared to have some criticism of the monarchy in order for her sister to be happy,' he claimed.

Morton, who has been acting as an advisor on series five of The Crown, said the Netflix drama 'got it wrong' when it came to its portrayal of the Group Captain Peter Townsend saga

Morton previously admitted that he was 'baffled' by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in which the Duchess of Sussex claimed concerns about her mental health were ignored.

He said the Royal Family has a 'history' of seeking help from professional bodies for psychological issues, explaining that the Queen herself received help with 'breathing and relaxing' during her Annus horribilis in 1992.

He also pointed to Princess Margaret, who reportedly sought the help of a Harley Street psychologist for depression during her ailing marriage to Antony Armstrong Jones in the 1970s.

Steph's Packed Lunch airs weekdays at 12.30pm on Channel 4.
Prince Philip persuaded Queen Elizabeth to talk about her Christian faith in public broadcasts The Duke of Edinburgh was extremely interested in theology

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Britains Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh who died on Friday at the age of 99, "persuaded" Queen Elizabeth II, his wife, to talk more about her Christian faith ahead of her Christmas broadcast in 2000, a church leader close to the Duke revealed in a media interview.

[Prince Philip] was the person really who encouraged the queen to talk about her own faith in her Christmas broadcasts, the Rev. Prof. Ian Bradley, the author of God Save the Queen, told Premier Christian News.

He recalled that in the old days, they really used to be more like travelogues, and they would just say where the royal family had been.

The duke, the father of Prince Charles, died peacefully on Friday at Windsor Castle in England.

Bradley, who preached for the duke and the queen as a visiting preacher at the Parish of Braemar and Crathie, said that in her 2000 broadcast, the "queen spoke very movingly and powerfully about her own Christian faith and the impact it had on her."

"And there was a very positive response from viewers," he said. "And ... it was Philip who really persuaded the queen to make more of her own Christian faith. And he said, You should be talking about this.

Bradley also shared that Prince Philip was interested in theology.

He would note down all the details of the sermon. He was extremely interested  in theology. He had a wonderful knowledge of the Bible, and then he would sort of quiz you at lunchtime, ask you about your sermon and really put you on your mettle. And I was amazed at his biblical knowledge.

In her 2016 book ahead of her 90th birthday, the queen reflected on Jesus central role in her life.

I have been  and remain  very grateful to you for your prayers and to God for his steadfast love, the British monarch wrote in the foreword to The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. I have indeed seen His faithfulness.

Mark Greene, the executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity who is the co-author of the book, said at the time that the queen has shown a "clear dependence on Christ."

As Ive been writing this book and talking about it to friends, to family who dont know Jesus, to my Jewish barber, Ive been struck how very interested they are to discover more about the Queens faith, Greene stated.

The Queen has served us all her adult life, with amazing consistency of character, concern for others and a clear dependence on Christ. The more Ive read what shes written and talked to people who know her, the clearer that is.
With but minor changes adapting it to the situation, the Derek Chauvin trial is reprising the George Zimmerman dramatic production trial. Chauvin plugs in as Zimmerman, while George Floyd takes Trayvon Martin's place. We're wearily familiar with the script; there will be riots no matter what's decided, with the same people rioting. The lamestream media will pronounce Chauvin guilty with minimal regard for evidence, law, or common sense. In the court of public opinion, Chauvin will ultimately be judged not on what he actually did, but on the narrative that somebody white has to pay for George Floyd's death.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis police shot and killed another black lawbreaker Sunday, bringing BLM rioters into the streets again. These had been waiting for a spark to ignite another conflagration. They probably were anticipating the decision in the Chauvin case, but pretty much any old spark would have served the purpose. Neither justice nor black lives matter to these thugs; they won't get paid if they don't break some windows or hurt a few people. After all, it's something to do. It's fun.

Lest we oldsters confuse "social justice" with "wilding," BLM is doing here what the Reds did in the years leading up to the 1917 Russian rebolooshun and what the Brownshirts did in the years leading up to Hitler. Comparisons to today are instructive. In Russia and Germany, many non-rioters sympathized with the rioters. Many in the media in Russia and later Germany played stooge for the string-pullers. In Germany, major corporations would throw in on the side of the thugs. BLM leadership today even seems to be going out of its way to mimic the behavior of communists everywhere once they think themselves untouchable, enjoying luxuries denied the rabble in ruined Communist economies.

Hey, it worked for Barack.

The parallels are so striking that one can wonder if there really is an unseen force guiding history along. Was there no one who might have stopped Hitler's rise or the Russian revolution? Germany had no such person. Russia did. Pyotr Stolypin, though, was assassinated in 1911, and things just muddled along until Lenin and the communists took charge. Donald Trump in America tried heroically to stop the communists but failed. The left, controlling nearly all that matters in America, didn't have to assassinate Trump to attain its goal.

Another interesting parallel works in reverse. Joe Biden best matches the pathetic Tsar Nicholas II, whom a coalition of liberals and socialists overthrew (before the Bolsheviks then overthrew them) to seize power and whose legacy is that of an uncomprehending fool. Biden came after the seizure of power by the Reds in Washington, but that hasn't stopped him from modeling Tsar Nicholas's foolishness. In fewer than three months, Joe's incompetence has become legendary, bordering on comical.

Comical, only nobody's laughing.

Ordinary people in 1917 Russia and 1933 Germany generally went about their business after monsters ascended to power. Perhaps they dreaded the future but had no way to change it or any idea of where things would go. It was probably best for them that they did not know. And so with us today.

UPDATE: This article originally stated that the Reds (i.e., Bolsheviks) overthrew the Tsar. We have corrected that error.

Image via Pexels.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
301 INC, the venture capital arm of General Mills, is leading a multistage investment of up to $20 million in Pots Co, in partnership with other investors. Pots Co, the London-based food company best known for its range of hand-crafted potted desserts available in UK supermarkets, will leverage the investment to propel its growth strategy, expanding its product range and distribution in the US.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005126/en/

301 INC, General Mills venture capital arm, leads multimillion dollar investment in London-based Pots Co, to expand brand's US presence. (Photo: Business Wire)

The investment into Pots Co is supported by increased retail distribution in the US focused on the West Coast and Rocky Mountain region. Pots Co will initially supply both its range of unique potted desserts and has longer-term plans to also offer its new savory, Mezze style dips range.

The expanded retail distribution of select Pots Co products marks a major expansion effort in the US. All products distributed in the US are currently handmade in Pots Co's London-based factory. This investment will also enable the business to explore manufacturing capabilities in the US as well as invest further into marketing and distributing the brand.

Julian Dyer, Founder of Pots Co, said, "We want to create one of the world's leading food brands and we are thrilled that General Mills has invested in Pots Co, enabling us to speed up the growth of our business and creating fabulous products for the American consumer. We continue to focus on exceptional quality and taste, using only the finest natural ingredients to deliver top quality desserts and savory food to supermarket aisles in both the UK and the US."

John Haugen, Founder and Managing Director of 301 INC, the venture capital arm of General Mills, said, "Our mission is to discover new and emerging food brands with a remarkable offering. Pots Co fulfils that mission with its focus on natural ingredients to create desserts of restaurant quality. As our first overseas investment and first investment in a UK company, we believe Pots Co will deliver substantial growth with an increasing range of desserts and with its move into savory products. We're excited to partner as the brand expands its presence in the US market."

General Mills is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. Its largest brands include Haagen Dazs, Old El Paso and Nature Valley. Its 301 INC investment arm seeks emerging food brands with compelling products for direct investment, leveraging the skill and capability of General Mills.

Pots Co has generated rapid growth since it was founded in London in 2012. It produced sales of nearly $2.8 million in 2014 which increased to $19.5 million in 2020, a 700% increase over six years. Pots Co currently produces 16 million handmade desserts a year and is also famous for its signature ceramic pots spun by a family business in Valencia, Spain.

About Pots Co

Pots Co is obsessed with food. Every pot is hand-crafted in small batches with uncompromising care, with only the best ingredients, with absolutely nothing artificial and presented in beautiful reusable ceramic pots. The company, established in 2012, is on a mission to rescue people from bland, uninspiring mass-market foods one product at a time.

The UK-based culinary team is raising the bar in the prepared foods segment by completely reinventing it for discerning foodies who crave more memorable, restaurant-quality food experience in the comfort of their own home.

For more information on 301 INC, visit www.301inc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005126/en/

Contacts:

Mike Siemienas

Media.line@genmills.com

763-764-6364
If Scott Morrisons government had hoped the dire days of strong women producing evidence of appalling treatment at the hands of powerful men were over, or even moderating, Christine Holgate wearing suffragette white is here to provide a reality check.

Ms Holgates evidence that she had become suicidal in the days after the Prime Minister called for her to go as Australia Post boss from the floor of Parliament will surely resonate across Australias currently fractured political landscape.

Christine Holgate takes her seat at the start of a hearing on Australia Post on Tuesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Who among those who feel let down by a political system would not empathise with Ms Holgates narrative of begging for a hearing from two cabinet ministers - Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher - of being told such a meeting would be arranged, only to hear nothing further at all?

Her assertions that she was illegally bullied out of her job and humiliated by the chairman of a board stacked with Liberal Party-connected appointees are about as damaging as could be at any time, let alone in todays climate.
The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo)

General Motors Co's marketing and promotional spending will return to normal levels after the COVID-19 pandemic caused that budget to drop last year, the U.S. automaker's top marketing officer said on Monday.



"What we went through in the pandemic was certainly severe and we should be moving back up to our normalized levels," GM Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Wahl said in an online appearance at a Reuters Events conference.



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Wahl declined to discuss how much GM will spend this year, but GM cut its advertising and promotional spending last year by about $1 billion to $2.7 billion according to the Detroit company's annual report.



The pandemic forced the shutdown of the U.S. auto sector for two months last year, and the subsequent global chip shortage has led to further idling of plants, causing vehicle inventories to shrink. That has led to higher prices for both new and used cars, dealers said at the conference.



"The inventories are working for us," AutoNation Inc executive vice president Marc Cannon said, adding that pricing has risen as supply has shrunk.



Cannon, who heads customer service at the largest public U.S. dealer, also cited a "whole new attitude" for consumers as they accept the higher prices and they are willing to make compromises or wait longer for vehicles.



Carvana Chief Executive Ernie Garcia said his company, which sells used vehicles online, has unlocked a different business model that allows lower cost and more availability and diversity of vehicle models compared to traditional dealers with brick-and-mortar operations.



Carvana's online model and technology could enable it to expand into other services, Garcia said, but for now the company remains focused on its core business.



CarMax Inc CEO Bill Nash said digital sales are a growing business with about 75% of its customers doing some of the deal online, but the used-car dealer is finding consumers coming back to the stores as the pandemic eases.



In a separate appearance at the conference, Ford Motor Co's chief customer experience officer, Elena Ford, said the No. 2 U.S. automaker has pushed to deepen relationships with its retail and commercial customers post COVID-19.



"As people venture back out, we have a real opportunity to re-imagine the entire experience our customers have," she said.



Sonic Automotive Inc President Jeff Dyke and other dealers said the key will be using technology and better online tools to offer both the in-dealer and online shopping experience consumers want.



"Customers want individualized experiences and technology is going to lead to that," Dyke said.



GM's Wahl also said the No. 1 U.S. automaker will offer a third-party app that delivers in-vehicle navigation capability to about 900,000 vehicles that lack the feature.



The Maps+ app, from Mapbox, will begin the rollout on certain 2018 and newer models on April 30 to customers with select connected services plans, GM said.


Singapore -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- The field of quantitative analysis is a fast evolving one and has had a big impact on investing strategies, business models and the structure of markets in recent years. The past decade has seen quants change the stock trading game and there is more to come if the predictions from some of the top quants are right. For example, we are likely to see advanced data science and systematic techniques come to play a much more embedded role in private market investing after witnessing the way in which they can be successfully applied to publicly traded securities. Machine learning in strategy development is forecasted to become much more commonplace while markets that are currently less populated by quants are going to be invaded in the coming years as enthusiasm increases. Models are also likely to evolve from being based mostly on historical data to a more fundamental and data-driven understanding of human behaviour. Instead of purely analysing past behaviours there will be more opportunity to measure and gain insight into human biases in a whole range of circumstances and this is likely to result in a whole suite of fresh models. These exciting predictions show that the future looks bright for quants - in Singapore and beyond.



For the financial services industry in 2021, talent remains one of the critical challenges - this is something Selby Jennings can attest to as a quant recruiter in Singapore. The past 12 months has ushered in great change in terms of options for recruitment and created a new swathe of operational and hiring risk.The outlook for many organisations is going to depend on the strength of the team and the ability of individuals to be flexible and resilient throughout recovery. The banking and financial services sector has undergone many periods of change in recent years, whether as a result of the impact of technology, competition or regulation. Finding opportunities to advance even during challenging times is something that businesses in this industry thrive at - made possible by having the right business-critical talent in place.



Selby Jennings brings an extensive range of resources to the table as a leading specialist recruiter for banking and financial services. This includes a network of one million mid to senior practitioners across more than 60 countries and contacts with the full spectrum of sector enterprises, from agile start-ups to internationally renowned finance companies. Located across 12 offices worldwide, Selby Jennings has a strong international reputation, as a quant recruiter and for the broader financial sector, which is combined with consultants' deep knowledge of the local market in Singapore. A range of permanent, contract and multi-hire solutions can be created to serve the deeply individual requirements of businesses within this dynamic industry.



Selby Jennings' team of passionate and committed consultants is continuously trained and supported by best-in-class technology and strategies. As part of the award winning Phaidon International group the team is now a go to recruitment partner of choice for 70+ world-leading companies. This global perspective is combined with a unique understanding of the local market in Singapore, acquired over the 15 years since the firm was first established. Areas of expertise extend across the entire banking and financial services sector in Singapore - Selby Jennings is a well-known quant recruiter and the team also specialise in corporate investment and banking, risk management, financial technology, investment management, sales and trading, commodities, legal & compliance and private wealth management. A swathe of opportunities is available through Selby Jennings in Singapore, such as C++ Programming Specialist [EFT Switches/Banking Payment], Senior Network Security Ops Specialist [Financial Services], Derivative Trader, SVP/VP [Cash Management Sales], Crypto Account Manager, Head of Distribution, Energy Trading Desk Assistant, Polymer Trader, Senior Accountant, Senior Philanthropy Advisor [Private Bank] and Crude Trading Analyst. For individuals keen to make a career-defining next move - and enterprises looking to recruit for the next phase of recovery and growth - the well resourced and specialist team at Selby Jennings in Singapore is an obvious recruitment partner of choice.



"The recruitment sector - like many others - has faced key challenges during the pandemic. Uncertainty and a more remote way of working and hiring have demanded creative and resourceful problem solving and an unwavering commitment from our team to ensuring our clients and candidates remain supported at all times," commented Luis Rolim, Global Marketing Director at Selby Jennings. He went onto say, "the agility and positivity of our team and their achievements in continuing to virtually secure and retain talent for clients on a global scale is something to reflect back on with pride."



To find out more information about quant recruiter in Singapore visit https://www.selbyjennings.sg



For any media enquiries please contact Gary Elliott at Iconic Digital  020 7100 0726.



For all other enquiries please contact Selby Jennings: +65 3165 1400.



For more information about Selby Jennings SG services, please go to https://www.selbyjennings.sg.



About Selby Jennings

Selby Jennings creates a range of recruitment solutions that are designed to support the growth of organisations across the financial services sector. Transforming the way that hiring is handled is a tool that any business can use to build in resilience and potential even in challenging times.
Mary McKenna is a tech entrepreneur and angel investor based in the North West. She co-founded successful online learning company Learning Pool in Derry in 2006. Today, she works extensively with start-ups and scaling tech companies. She is one of the co-founders of cross-border social enterprise and female founder community AwakenHub and she is part of the EUs flagship EIC Accelerator innovation team.

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A few weeks ago Digital DNAs Simon Bailie asked me to write a short piece about Derry for DDNAs 100 Top Tech Companies in NI report.

Simon asked me to cover the Derry tech scene  how its altered in the almost 20 years Ive been working in the city and perhaps more importantly, what the missing ingredients are that would make the Maiden Citys tech scene really sing.

I enjoyed writing it and was surprised to find that no-one else has written about this. Heres what I had to say in full.

How much has the Derry tech scene changed?

I began working in Derry in 2004. I moved from Belfast where Id been global CFO in one of QUBs semiconductor IP spinouts.

Id spent a good bit of my time in the early noughties in Silicon Valley and Derry in 2004 couldnt have been further from San Jose. The only similarity was that the streets were completely deserted by 5.30pm.

When I told my friends in Belfast that I was taking a job in Derry they all tried to talk me out of it.

I remember trying to recruit a team in 2004 and talent was very thin on the ground. Most of the local workforce were lifers in one of the FDIs or they commuted to tech jobs in either Belfast or Letterkenny.

The local 'tech scene' back then was dominated by the prominent FDIs Seagate & Allstate (or Northbrook as it was then known), big fish Singularity (bought out by Kofax in 2011) and a never-ending raft of call centres and it was populated by revered avuncular middle-aged men like Bro McFerran and Dr Alan McClure.

Anyone calling the HP or Expedia customer help lines back in the day wouldve been greeted by a Derry accent, way before it was trendy.

We started Learning Pool in London in 2006 and quickly moved the company to Derry because it was bootstrap-affordable and because of the ready talent graduating from Magee.

We couldnt afford to hire an experienced team so we recruited new graduates with the right attitude and trained them.

We didnt have an office so we took a few desks in the (by todays standards) shockingly haphazard co-working space at the university.

Even though the space was supposed to be reserved for new startups, a few companies had been renting in there forever so we ended up with desks dotted here and there in random parts of the floor.

No-one in our team could sit together and the co-working space manager constantly shushed us whenever we took phone calls and harped on forever about the washing-up.

We had a desktop PC in the corner with a paper notice sellotaped to the top of it which read DO NOT SWITCH OFF (we didnt have a server either!)

Today theres a stable of promising scaling tech companies choosing to base themselves in Derry.

Established companies like Elemental Software (made the Top 10 in Tech Nations Rising Stars 3.0 last month, and Foods Connected - No 5 on the Deloitte Fast 50 across Ireland in 2020.

Newer entrants like medtech company Respiratory Analytics (just raised a pre-seed from an interesting bunch of investors and have an eye firmly on the US market), cyber security company ITUS and caretech challenger startup InCharge.

Many companies keep one foot in Derry and the other in Donegal, thus preserving their EU status for access to customers and funding.

Catalyst Inc (formerly known as the NI Science Park) opened its doors in 2014 on the historic Fort George site just outside the city and has been a great formal addition to the fabric of the local ecosystem.

Other active startup supports like Startacus and new island of Ireland female founder community AwakenHub are anchored in Derry.

Today, the local tech scene is younger, more female, less formal, more global, well educated and informed and definitely ambitious.

A lot of newer founders have lived away from Ireland for a while but are electing to return home and settle down, build a business. Catalysts Co-Founders programme has uncovered some interesting nascent companies.

Some of those new graduates that I recruited back in 2006 or 2007 have gone on to found their own startups. Thats how ecosystems work.

The FDIs are still present but theyre less dominant today.

They dont have a lot of employee churn and just tick along in the background, largely behind closed doors.

They bring employment to an area of Northern Ireland that badly needs it and they sponsor the odd event and programme.

Many of the call centres seem to have been bought over and have disappeared.

Innovation and all the interesting stuff happens in the smaller, agile companies around the edges and this is what we need more of.

As well as the FDIs we now have the presence of indigenous scaleups like Kainos (one of Northern Irelands two unicorns) and FinTru.

It would be great to see a few more like these moving in but high quality office space is an issue.

Maybe not so important in the future were facing post-COVID. The traditional talent pool has extended from the Bann well into Donegal and in Derry Ive worked beside people whove commuted daily from as far afield as Ballycastle and Creeslough.

Missing Ingredients

If it was Christmas morning and I could have three wishes to improve the tech sector ecosystem in the North West this is what I would wish for:

- An ambitious cross-border university named after the late John Hume with campuses in both Derry and Donegal (and perhaps even further away) and strong links into the powerful North West diaspora that stretches from Philadelphia to London to Singapore. Im always impressed by the vibrant startup scene that exists in Letterkenny as a result of the numerous overseas students and researchers who come to LYIT for academic reasons and end up staying. This new university to be fastened at the hip to a well funded and well resourced startup, student and alumni accelerator regime like Oxford University has with Oxford Foundry which in turn connects firmly into sources of venture finance, a bit like EDEM in the marina in Valencia;

- A Derry-Letterkenny- Sligo-Galway Economic Corridor along the Wild Atlantic Way to mirror the Belfast-Dublin corridor that was formally announced in the east of the island last month. This to connect the opportunities that will naturally flow from the new Magee Medical School to the vibrant medtech cluster of companies and investors in Galway and to link in with the newly reinvigorated Western Development Commission and the string of Atlantic hubs the Irish State has invested in over recent years. I am encouraged by news of a new cross-border scaling hub led by Catalyst Inc & LYIT which will be built in the image of the Portershed Galway model;

- A focus placed on determining how Derry and indeed all of Northern Ireland can tangibly and quickly benefit from being so close to an EU border in the post-Brexit world.

Can Derry compete with Belfast?

This was a provocative question posed by Simon in his brief to me.

In my view, this is not the right question and shouldnt be part of anyones ambition.

Any venture starting out in the new world should instead think about opportunities presented as a result of global changes that the past 12 months have fast tracked.

Its now genuinely possible to be a global company from Day 1 and utilise talent from any part of the globe. Barriers no longer exist. Cities and regions need to start thinking this way too.

To ask Derry to compete only with Belfast would not be setting a big enough challenge.

So, in conclusion, if youre looking for a friendly and affordable university city to start your tech business, where its possible to be in both the UK and the EU, an hour from London by air, where 1/3 of the population is aged 16-39 and is well educated, where government startup funding is readily available, close to some of Europes finest beaches, with top class local state schools and a long history and culture  then maybe you should take a look at Derry.

And my final call to action, on 1 April 2020 Jayne Brady started in a brand new post at Belfast City Council as Belfasts Digital Innovation Commissioner.

An engineer and former Venture Capital Partner, in the 12 months since Jayne started shes made a massive difference and she represents Belfast at the digital and innovation negotiating tables in both Westminster and Dublin.

In truth, although she works for Belfast City Council she does her very best to represent all of Northern Ireland.

Isnt it time we appointed a Digital Innovation Commissioner to do the same and really 'own' this agenda for the NW region of Ireland and its citizens, present and future?
CHICO, Calif.  The homeless can keep their tents up at Comanche Creek, for now, after a Federal Judge ordered the City of Chico to stop homeless evictions.

"I'm really happy for everybody here it's a good thing, Rebecca George, a Chico resident said.

Rebecca George was expecting to get kicked out of Comanche Creek Monday morning. This order gives the homeless like George a reprieve, however small it may be.

"It's keeping it in one area and it's not in Bidwell Park, George said. People here are good, and they help each other out."

Kent Needham makes cabinets for a living. His shop is few blocks away from the homeless camp at Comanche Creek.

"I'm frustrated, Needham explained to Action News Now. I mean there's no easy answer obviously."

Needham said the homeless need to move out so businesses, like his own, do not become targets for them. Needham explained he sees a lot of homeless people walking near his business at night. So he turns on his three security cameras to make sure he captures any illegal activity.

"At midnight it's like mid-afternoon here, Needham said. With all the homeless going through dumpsters, charging their phones on the outdoor outlets."

Action News Now reached out to every Chico City Councilmember regarding the judges ruling.

"I'm disappointed that a federal judge would say, hey you guys can't follow the laws you've written for your own community, Council Member, Sean Morgan said.

"This is the court sort of agreeing with my own opinion that these actions were morally and ethically incorrect, Council Member, Scott Huber said.

Judge Morrison England Junior of the Eastern District of California based his decision in part that there are not enough available emergency beds for the homeless.

Action News Now reached out to Council Member Kasey Reynolds, Chico City Manager and Attorney, however, they all said they could not talk due to the lawsuit. Read Judge Morrisons ruling below.
Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Cloudy early with peeks of sunshine expected late. High near 70F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 45F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
AUSTIN, Texas, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) (the "Company") today announced Ms. Amina Belouizdad will be appointed to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") effective May 13, 2021 following the annual meeting of the Company's stockholders. With the appointment, the Company's Board will increase to eight members, six of whom being independent, including Ms. Belouizdad. Ms. Belouizdad will sit on the Board's Nominating and Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Summit executive management team, we are thrilled to welcome Amina to our Board," said Jonathan Stanner, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Amina's vast and unique experience will bring important additional expertise to the Board at an exciting time for the Company as we enter into a favorable post-pandemic operating environment well positioned to pursue opportunistic growth," added Mr. Stanner.

"I am thrilled to be joining the dynamic Board of Summit Hotel Properties and look forward to the opportunity to work with the Board and management team as the Company enters an exciting phase of further differentiating itself in the industry by anticipating and meeting future consumer trends," commented Ms. Belouizdad.

Ms. Belouizdad is currently the Co-CEO of PS (formerly The Private Suite), a high growth private equity backed company that operates private airport terminals for commercial flights. In the twelve months after she joined PS, the company doubled revenues through an overhaul of commercial strategy including marketing, pricing, product and partnerships. Prior to joining PS, she was a Senior Director at Lionstone Investments, where she executed on over $1 billion in transactions in multiple real estate classes across the United States. Previously, she spent six years living and working in China where she was Director at China's first boutique hotel brand, overseeing its development and growth.

Mr. Belouizdad is originally from Algeria and has lived in the UAE, Canada, China and the United States. She speaks five languages and graduated from McGill University (Montreal, QC) with a Bachelor of Commerce, Major in Finance and received her MBA, Major in Finance and Real Estate from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

About Summit Hotel Properties

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on owning premium-branded hotels with efficient operating models primarily in the upscale segment of the lodging industry. As of April 13, 2021, the Company's portfolio consisted of 72 hotels, 67 of which are wholly owned, with a total of 11,288 guestrooms located in 23 states.

For additional information, please visit the Company's website, www.shpreit.com, and follow on Twitter at @SummitHotel_INN.

SOURCE Summit Hotel Properties, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.shpreit.com


(Katy Kildee/kkildee@mdn.net)

The Midland City Planning Commission will discuss Center City zoning and a new credit union during its meeting on Tuesday, April 13.

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. over Zoom and can be viewed through the citys website. The meeting will feature discussion on zoning changes for Center City, and approval of a site plan for a Health Advantage Credit Union.
[April 12, 2021] GEODIS invests in a new multi-user facility in Icheon, South Korea

SINGAPORE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the recent surge in demand for supply chain services in South Korea brought about by dynamic changes in consumer buying habits through ecommerce channels, the new facility will provide additional warehousing and value-added contract logistics resources. Located just 25 kilometres from central Seoul and a 90-minute drive from both Incheon International Airport and Port of Incheon, the new multi-user warehousing facility is strategically located in Icheon. Completed in March 2021, the new premises provide a variable ambient environment with temperatures ranging from 5 to 34 degrees Celsius. It will be maintaining a maximum humidity of 87% with ventilation system support and is compiant with the Korea Fire Safety Standards. This additional location brings GEODIS logistics footprint in South Korea to 65,000 square meters.



Sub-Regional Managing Director, North Asia, Chris Cahill said, "In line with our vision of being the growth partner of our customers, this investment in additional warehousing resource is just another step in GEODIS' commitment to support our Korean customers' development ambitions and our own expansion into strategic markets. From inventory management of raw materials to finished goods, valued added services and end to end solutions, our across the board provision logistics platforms facilitates faster speed to market for our customers' products by being perfectly located to serve their target markets." Managing Director for GEODIS in South Korea, Benoit Brule comments, "Our Icheon amenity is built to state-of-the-art specifications of a Grade A standard at a strategic location. The warehouse is open to all new business offering customers an all-in-one service, increased efficiency, full visibility and total control. Above all, we have a truly professional team of supply chain experts ready to support our clients in all their Contract Logistics requirements."

GEODIS -- www.geodis.com GEODIS is a top-rated, global supply chain operator recognized for its commitment to helping clients overcome their logistical constraints. GEODIS' growth-focused offerings (Supply Chain Optimization, Freight Forwarding, Contract Logistics, Distribution & Express, and Road Transport) coupled with the company's truly global reach thanks to a direct presence in 67 countries, and a global network spanning 120 countries, translates in top business rankings, #1 in France, #6 in Europe and #7 worldwide. In 2020, GEODIS accounted for over 41,000 employees globally and generated 8.3 billion Euros in sales. SOURCE GEODIS

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Youanmi Gold and Base Metals Projects Update

Perth, April 12, 2021 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Venus Metals Corporation Limited ( ASX:VMC ) is pleased to announce changes to the management of three joint ventures ("JV") at the Youanmi Gold Project (Figure 1*). Importantly, these changes will not affect the ownership structure of the JVs (Venus contributing) and in the case of the regional exploration JVs - YOUANMI JV and VMC JV, will only relate to gold exploration; all other commodities remain with Venus.In accordance with the settlement of the JV formations (refer ASX release 10 April 2019) and following fulfillment of its expenditure commitments, Rox Resources Limited ("Rox") has earned 45 to 50% interest in the regional JVs and will assume management of the regional JVs.The JVs affected by the change in management are:- YOUANMI JV - Venus 45% and Rox 45% - gold rights only- VMC JV - Venus 50% and Rox 50% - gold rights only- CURRANS JV - Venus 45% and Rox 45% - all rightsThe OYG JV (30% Venus and 70% Rox; all rights) will continue to be managed by Rox. The funding of Venus' exploration contribution in the OYG Joint Venture up until a decision mine is by way of a limited-recourse interest free loan provided by Rox for Venus's share of the ongoing costs. The loan is secured against Oz Youanmi Gold Pty Ltd's interest in the OYG JV (refer ASX release 16 June 2020) and is only repayable from the proceeds of sale of any property of the OYG JV including gold produced and the sale of all or part of VMC' interest in the OYG JV or the tenements of the OYG JV.In addition, Venus also remains entitled to a 0.7% Net Smelter Royalty on all gold and other minerals produced from tenements of the OYG Joint Venture.All regional exploration activities and budgets for the above JVs will be assessed and potentially approved by the Venus-Rox Joint Venture Committee.Venus' exploration team will be focussing on its PGE and Base Metals Projects and other Gold Projects (90% and 100% Venus) at Youanmi (Figure 1*) and the Company remains well funded to complete the following exploration programs:o Gold Exploration on Venus' 100% owned tenements- Geochemical surveys and geophysical modelling ongoingo PGE-Base Metals Project (Vidure, Vidure South and Merlot Prospects) (refer ASX release 25 January 2021).- Review of recent ground geophysical survey results; Reverse Circulation (RC) and Diamond Drilling (DD) plannedo Inky Copper-Nickel Prospect (refer ASX release 29 January 2021) and Manindi North Prospect- RC pre-collars completed and DD drilling planned.o Pincher Well Zinc Prospect (refer ASX releases 30 March 2017 and 16 May 2017)- Geological assessment and further infill drilling plannedo Stone Tank & Estonia Nickel-Cobalt Prospects (refer ASX release 30 April 2018)- Follow-up RC drilling planned for Inferred Resource Estimationo Vanadium Oxide Resource (refer ASX release 20 March 2019)- Hydro-metallurgical studies ongoing at Murdoch University- Mining Lease application for Vanadium Resource in progress*To view the Project Ownership Structure, please visit:About Venus Metals Corporation Limited

Venus Metals Corporation Limited (ASX:VMC) is a West Australian based Company with a focus on gold and base metals exploration. The Company aims to increase shareholder value through targeted exploration success on its projects.

The Company's major gold project is the Youanmi Gold Mine, located 500km north east of Perth. The Youanmi Gold Mine is now jointly owned by Venus Metals (30%) and Rox Resources Limited (70%) (OYG JV); Indicated and Inferred Resources of the mine exceed 1.2 million ounces of gold.

Exciting new discoveries at the Youanmi Gold Mine have been made at the Grace prospect in footwall granites where very high grades of free milling gold have been intersected, including 25m @34.7g/t Au from 143m (RXRC 287) and 13m @60.49 g/t from 181m (RXRC 239). The Grace Prospect may substantially add to the Youanmi Gold Mine resources.
In a new paper published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, an international team of researchers presents the results from a long-term collection of extraterrestrial particles performed during the last two decades near the French-Italian CONCORDIA station in Antarctica.

More than a century after the discovery of cosmic spherules in deep-sea sediments, the origin, composition and magnitude of the cosmic dust accretion on Earth is still a matter of debate, said lead author Julien Rojas from the Universite Paris-Saclay and colleagues.

Extraterrestrial dust flux studies have been performed before atmospheric entry, while collections at the Earths surface of both melted and unmelted micrometeorites were achieved in numerous locations such as the deep sea, deserts, sedimentary rocks and the polar ice caps.

Although all these studies demonstrated that the annual extraterrestrial mass input on Earth is essentially carried by sub-millimeter particles, the precise mass distribution of particles down to a few tens of m and its integrated value at the Earth surface remain uncertain.

The researchers performed several independent collections of micrometeorites from ultra-clean snow samples in the CONCORDIA station located at Dome C, in the central regions of Antarctica.

Dome C is an ideal collection spot due to the low accumulation rate of snow and the near absence of terrestrial dust, they said.

They identified a total of 1,280 unmelted micrometeorites and 808 cosmic spherules with diameters between 30 and 350 m and analyzed them using conventional scanning electron microscopy techniques.

Within that size range, we measured mass fluxes of 3.0 g/m2*yr for micrometeorites and 5.6 g/m2*yr for cosmic spherules.

Extrapolated to the global flux of particles in the 12-700 m diameter range, the mass flux of dust at Earths surface is 5,200 tons/yr (1,600 and 3,600 tons/yr of micrometeorites and cosmic spherules, respectively).

This total mass flux of extraterrestrial particles at the Earths surface is important for many astrophysical and geophysical issues, the authors said.

Our numerical simulations suggest that most of micrometeorites and cosmic spherules originate from Jupiter family comets and a minor part from the main asteroid belt.

The total dust mass input before atmospheric entry is estimated at 15,000 tons/yr.

_____

J. Rojas et al. 2021. The micrometeorite flux at Dome C (Antarctica), monitoring the accretion of extraterrestrial dust on Earth. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 560: 116794; doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116794
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he thinks that Russia is massing troops along its border with Ukraine to frighten the West by demonstrating its strength.

He said this in an interview with the Time magazine, according to Ukrinform.

"What they want to do is raise the temperature just enough to show that the West will waver in its support for Ukraine, that they do not really see us as a partner," Zelensky said, adding that "it's a kind of test."

According to the magazine, the motive for intimidation might help explain some of Moscow's actions. "Had the Kremlin really set out to invade its neighbor, its troops might have tried a little harder (as they did during their last invasion of Ukraine, in 2014) to maintain some element of surprise. Instead the Russians have done the opposite. They have spread footage of their military build-up on social media. They have sent warships to menace Ukraine from the sea and gathered tens of thousands of troops at the borderthe most since Russia's annexation of Crimea seven years ago," the article reads.

The level of the military threat from Russia has been steadily rising in the past few weeks. This is due to a Russian military build-up on the border with Ukraine, which was last observed seven years ago, when Russia launched its direct aggression. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate said that the massing of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine would probably last until the end of April.

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FILE - In this Thursday, April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine sits on a table at a pop up vaccinations site the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center, in the Staten Island borough of New York. The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 07:44:32|Editor: huaxia

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Researchers monitor the soil condition at water level fluctuation zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir in Zhongxian County, southwest China's Chongqing, April 10, 2021. The Three Gorges project is a vast multi-functional water-control system on the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, with a 2,309-meter-long and 185-meter-high dam. The water levels of the reservoir area inevitably fluctuate on an annual discharge-storage cycle between 145m to 175m at the dam. The water level fluctuation zone also encounters some eco-environmental problems, including soil erosion and non-point source pollution. Researchers of the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) have conducted comprehensive investigations on soil, plants, hydrology, water quality and sediment in the area. Their study has important implications on better running the function of the Three Gorges Reservoir and the safety of local ecological environment. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)
BUENOS AIRES (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2021) At least 20 people died and over a dozen others were injured in a bus accident in central Peru, Parobamba District authorities said.

The accident occurred on Monday when a bus drove off a road and overturned in Parobamba, one of the four districts in the Peruvian province of the same name located in the Ancash Region.

"As a result of the accident, 18 people died on the spot, another two - while being transported to the hospital," Parobamba municipal authorities said on Facebook.

According to the release, another 14 people were injured in the bus accident.

According to local media reports, the bus belonged to the Fama Tour company and was headed to Lima, carrying people returning from voting in the Sunday elections.
BERLIN  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday ordered an Army review of an investigation into a January 2020 militant assault on the Manda Bay military base in Kenya that killed three Americans and wounded three others.

In a written statement announcing Austin's decision, his press secretary, John Kirby, did not pinpoint what Austin found lacking in the initial investigation, which was conducted by U.S. Africa Command. By apparent coincidence, Austin plans to meet with Africa Command officials Tuesday in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of a broader tour of Europe to consult with allies and talk to U.S. commanders. He also will meet separately with officials at U.S. European Command, also in Stuttgart.

An independent review will provide added insight, perspective, and the ability to assess the totality of this tragic event involving multiple military services and Department of Defense components, Kirby said.

Kirby said that after considering the results of Africa Command's investigation, which have not been released publicly, Austin decided to order the Army to pick a four-star general to conduct the review. The Army chose Gen. Paul Funk, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command. Funk is an experienced combat veteran who served six deployments in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is the secretarys desire to ensure there is a full examination and consideration of the contributing factors that led to this tragic event and that appropriate action is taken to reduce the risk of future occurrence, Kirby said. The families impacted deserve nothing less.

The attack by al-Shabab militants at the Manda Bay base destroyed six aircraft in addition to killing three Americans and wounding three others.

The base, in the Kenyan seaside resort, was overrun by 30 to 40 of the al-Qaida-linked insurgents on Jan. 5, 2020, marking al-Shababs first attack against U.S. forces in the East African country. The predawn assault triggered a lengthy firefight and daylong struggle for U.S. and Kenyan forces to search and secure the base.

The base at Manda Bay has been used for years by the U.S. military, but it only became a full-time airfield in 2016, with increased personnel, aircraft and operations.

The initial phase of the assault came near dawn, when 20 to 30 al-Shabab militants slipped through the forest and fired rocket-propelled grenades onto the airfield at the base. The opening rounds of grenades quickly killed a soldier in a truck and wounded another, and killed two contractors in an aircraft and wounded one other. About a mile down the road, other militants fired on Camp Simba, a section of the base where U.S. forces are stationed.

Marines from Camp Simba initially responded to the attack site and begin to fight back against the militants, who had made it onto the airfield and into buildings. But it took all day for Kenyan and U.S. security forces to finally quash the attack, search the airfield and secure the area.

Air Force Col. Chris Karns, spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command, said a great deal of rigor was put into the investigation, resulting in a number of immediate improvements. He said the goal has been to reassure the families and the American public that we did everything possible to understand the situation and take appropriate action.

The investigation team made findings and recommendations that fall outside U.S. Africa Command purview and ability to effect, therefore we fully support the additional independent review directed by the Secretary of Defense, Karns said. We are confident in the reports findings and remain committed to ensuring fixes and improvements in Kenya and across the continent.

Kenya has been a key base for fighting al-Shabab, which is based in Somalia and is one of the worlds most resilient extremist organizations. Al-Shabab has launched a number of attacks inside Kenya, including against civilian targets on buses, at schools and at shopping malls.

Al-Shabab had been the target of a growing number of U.S. airstrikes inside Somalia during President Donald Trumps administration. But Trump late last year ordered the withdrawal of the roughly 700 American forces there, and the bulk of those troops were pulled out of the country by mid-January. According to officials, there are well below 100 U.S. troops in Somalia now.

Austin has launched a review of Americas military posture around the world.

This article was written by ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
A Metairie man who was shot to death by Jefferson Parish deputies this weekend had confessed to sexually abusing a child, threatened to kill his girlfriend and pointed a gun at deputies, according to a statement from authorities Monday.

The statement identified the slain man as 30-year-old Joshua Mitchell and provided the most complete account yet of the standoff that unfolded in the 6600 block of Park Manor Drive over several hours Saturday evening.

According to the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, deputies encountered Mitchell after his girlfriend called 911 at about 6:40 p.m. and reported that he had admitted to molesting a child and had threatened to kill her. The agency didnt elaborate on the childs relationship to Mitchell or the girlfriend, who purportedly warned deputies that her boyfriend was armed and had previously had confrontations with law enforcement.

Deputies found Mitchell in the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, and they were trying to convince him to come out when he emerged and pointed a gun at a patrolman. That deputy fired a gun at Mitchell, who retreated into the apartment, according to the JPSO statement.

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The SWAT team and a crisis negotiator then arrived to the scene, and Mitchell again came out of the apartment and pointed a gun at one of the SWAT officers. That deputy fired at Mitchell, who again sought cover inside the apartment, the Sheriff's Office said.

The SWAT team then forced its way into the apartment, where they found Mitchell dead from multiple bullet wounds and recovered a gun near his body. The results of an autopsy on Monday revealed that all of the bullet wounds were caused by the deputies, the Sheriff's Office said.

After New Orleans Police Department officers shoot people in the line of duty, their agency typically releases any video captured by officers body-worn cameras within about 10 days. The Sheriffs Office in Jefferson Parish does not equip its deputies with body-worn cameras and does not have such a policy.

A family member of Mitchell declined comment on the Sheriff's Office's statement when contacted by telephone Monday afternoon.
New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump accused Iran of not keeping with a deal to curb its nuclear program, 10 days before the US President has to report to Congress whether or not Tehran is complying with the 2015 accord.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of the agreement," said Trump during a meeting with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday.

Since the Trump came into power, he desperately wants to remove the nuclear pact and get rid of the limits it imposes on the US ability to exert more hostile policies against Iran.

According to the Trump, the Iranian regime has been indulging in the terrorist activity and exporting violence which is creating wreck in the whole Middle East. Due to this, we have to put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambition, he added.

"You will be hearing about Iran very shortly."

October 15 is the deadline for certifying that Iran is strictly following the deal and under the Joint Comprehensive Point of Action (JCPOA) and in every 90 days US law will give the certification to the Iran on whether the Iran is complying the deal or not. And if Trump argues that Iran is not in compliance, that could cause an American withdrawal from the international pact.

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Four San Antonio partnerships sought refuge in bankruptcy two years ago to stop foreclosure actions on their apartment complexes.

The partnerships, Terravista Corp. affiliates, werent able to hang on to the properties through the bankruptcy process. They ended up selling them to a Los Angeles nonprofit for what Terravista says was a fire sale price  almost $42 million combined in a deal the court approved last year.

Now, Terravista and the partnerships are accusing a New York finance company of fraud over its alleged failure to secure a Housing and Urban Development loan that the partnerships were counting on in a refinancing so they could retain ownership.

Dwight Capitals actions were part of a loan to own scheme to cause the partnerships to default on their loans and allow Dwight to wrest control of the apartment complexes in foreclosure at a steep discount, Terravista alleges in recently filed lawsuit.

When you start connecting the dots, it doesnt pass the smell test, said Kyle Watson, a San Antonio attorney representing Terravista in the litigation. Dwight principals had made comments about wanting to own the properties, he added.

On ExpressNews.com: Bankruptcy judge approves sale of San Antonio apartments to Los Angeles nonprofit

Michael Hofer, Dwights general counsel, denied the allegations.

The claims alleged by Terravista are without merit and we anticipate the legal system will resolve them accordingly, Hofer said Tuesday.

Losses to Terravistas business due to the acts of Dwight and others may exceed $50 million, the suit says. Thats largely the future earnings of the apartments had they not been sold, Watson said.

Terravista says it has owned apartment complexes in Bexar County for more than 20 years. Its owned by San Antonio attorney and developer Philip Stewart and William Gregory.

The four Terravista apartment complexes  totaling 652 units  that landed in bankruptcy in May 2019 were:

Westwood Plaza Apartments, 2600 Westward Drive, 308 units.

Spanish Spur Apartments, 6835 Pecan Valley Drive, 160 units.

The Villas of Pecan Manor, 6840 Pecan Valley Drive, 96 units.

Roselawn Apartments, 3346 Roselawn Road, 88 units.

Another property that Terravista sought to refinance  but did not put in bankruptcy  was the 120-unit Winston Square Apartments at 2506 S. General McMullen Drive. The Terravista partnership that owned Winston also is a plaintiff.

Dwight calls itself one of the largest Federal Housing Administration/Housing and Urban Development lenders for multifamily and health care properties in the country.

Terravista hired Dwight to line up a low-interest HUD loan for the five properties in 2017.

Dwight delayed and mishandled the HUD application process, causing the partnerships existing loans to mature, Watson said.

Dwight Capital took advantage of their control over the HUD process to coerce Terravista into accepting bridge financing from an affiliate, Dwight Bridge Fund, on terms it knew Terravista would not be able to meet, the lawsuit alleges.

A bridge loan is short-term financing used until permanent financing can be secured.

The loan terms required Terravista to turn over management of the five complexes to San Antonios United Apartment Group Management Inc., the suit says.

Terravista alleges United mismanaged and neglected the properties, causing them to rapidly deteriorate. Among the problems that allegedly arose: rising vacancies (as much as 40 percent at some properties), overflowing trash bins and unsanitary swimming pools.

Dwight worked in collusion with United, Terravista adds. Stewart and Gregory were completely frozen out of the operations, Watson said.

Thats a bunch of bull, United President Carrie Girgus said. The only colluding I did with Dwight was to keep the utilities on, the water on, because when we took over the property all the utilities were set for disconnect because he (Stewart) was so far behind on payment.

I managed that deal because he needed me in order to get that HUD loan, she added. United also is a defendant in the lawsuit.

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Girgus described Stewart as a really smart lawyer, but she thought some of the documents he signed with Dwight were crazy.

He didnt want to sell them, and he had plenty of offers, Girgus said of the apartments. His big deal was he had to dilute his percentage of ownership in order to not have to pay the IRS  he had so much equity built up in those deals he was going to pay taxes. I tried to help the guy out at every turn.

A loan on Westwood went into default in April 2019, triggering a default on the other loans. The properties were posted for foreclosure for the following month.

On May 6, the day before the scheduled foreclosure sales, the Terravista partnerships filed for bankruptcy protection, putting a halt to the sales.

Ultimately, we decided to place these properties into Chapter 11 bankruptcy in order to protect themand then go forward with obtaining permanent financing, Gregory said at the time.

That never happened. Nor did Dwight end up gaining control of the apartments.

Terravista sold the four apartment complexes to Pico Union Housing Corp. in a deal arranged in bankruptcy court. The Los Angeles nonprofit bought the apartments as part of its mission to develop and preserve affordable housing.

Pico also bought the Winston Square Apartments for $6.3 million.

Terravistas claims in its lawsuit include civil conspiracy to commit fraud and breach of contract. The complaint was filed last month in state District Court in San Antonio.

pdanner@express-news.net
Say cheese to #ZooGlamourShots, the Awkward Family Photos of the animal kingdom that are now dominating the San Antonio Zoos social media.

Since launching the hashtag late last month, the San Antonio Zoo has posted more than a dozen photos of its resident animals with backgrounds reminiscent of the ones used by the Glamour Shots mall photo studios that were all the rage for senior pics and awkward big-hair headshots in the 90s.
The head of Libyas new interim government, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday for talks aimed at boosting cooperation between their nations.

Turkish media reports said the two countries will aim to increase cooperation in energy and health and will also the discuss the return of Turkish companies to complete stalled projects in the oil-rich North African nation.

Dbeibah thanked Turkey for its support and its pledge to support to Libya's unity and reconstruction.

Dbeibah and Erdogan also reaffirmed their commitment to a controversial maritime demarcation agreement that has angered Greece and Cyprus.

Turkey signed an agreement with the Tripoli-based government in 2019 to delineate the maritime boundaries between the two countries.

Both Greece and Cyprus have denounced the agreement, which they said amounts to a serious breach of international law in disregard of the rights of other eastern Mediterranean countries.

Dbeibah, who was paying his first official visit to Ankara, has been trying to strike a balance between Turkey and Greece, following Athens' concerns over the maritime deal.

Dbeibah has said his government is willing to establish a joint Libyan-Greek committee to resume negotiations to set the sea boundary between the two countries and demarcate an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights.

Libya's interim government, which took power last month, is meant to bring together a country that has been torn apart by civil war for nearly a decade. It is also aims to steer through a general election on Dec. 24.

Turkey has been closely involved in Libya, backing the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), based in the capital Tripoli that controlled the west, against the Libyan National Army (LNA), based in Benghazi that controlled the east.

Turkey sent military supplies and fighters to Libya, helping to tilt the balance of power in favour of the Tripoli government.

Libya was plunged into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
The acting FDA commissioner expected the pause to last only a matter of days. But the decision triggered swift action in Europe and elsewhere as the drugmaker and regulators moved to halt the use of the J&J vaccine, at least for now. Hundreds of thousands of doses were due to arrive in European countries, where vaccinations have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over blood clots in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet cleared for use in the U.S.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is standing by his intention to let the state of alarm expire on May 9 even as several regions are calling for it to be extended. For the past six months, the emergency measure has given the countrys regional governments the power to introduce coronavirus restrictions that limit fundamental rights  such as nighttime curfews and perimetral lockdowns  without facing legal challenges in the courts.

Health and legal experts now fear that without the state of alarm, the regions  which are in charge of managing the pandemic in their territories  will be thrown into a legal limbo that will hurt efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.

These concerns were shared by Inigo Urkullu, the premier of Spains Basque Country, who on Monday asked Sanchez to extend the state of alarm. According to the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) leader, without the legal framework of the emergency situation, the regions will not have the working capacity or legal guarantees to adopt the measures needed to curb the pandemic, such as the curfew, restrictions on mobility and the ban on social gatherings between members of different households, as they restrict fundamental rights.

Basque leader Inigo Urkullu (l) with regional health chief Gotzone Sagardui. Luis Tejido / EL PAIS

Having the legal backing to implement such measures is of particular importance to the Basque Country, which has seen a recent surge in coronavirus cases. According to the latest figures, the 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the region is 411, compared to the national average of 149. On Sunday, 125 Covid-19 patients were in intensive care units (ICUs), the worst figure since the beginning of March. In a bid to control the rising number of infections, 50 cities, including Bilbao and Vitoria, are now under a perimetral lockdown, meaning no one can enter or leave without a justified reason, such as to go to work.

The Basque government also has first-hand experience of the legal rigmarole that can result without the state of alarm. In August last year, the Basque High Court suspended the regions order that forced nighttime venues to close at 1.30am, then two months later it refused to authorize a six-person limit on social gatherings.

But it is not just the Basque government that has asked Sanchez to extend the state of alarm. The same request has also been made by the regional governments of Andalusia, Galicia, Murcia and Cantabria.

There are still months to go before we reach herd immunity Inigo Urkullu, premier of Spains Basque Country

Despite this pressure, the Spanish government  which is headed by a coalition of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and junior partner Unidas Podemos  does not intend to extend the state of alarm beyond May 9. Although a final decision has not been made, given that this will depend on the epidemiological data, the executive is sticking by its plan to let the emergency measure expire. The goal is to allow the regions to apply the measures they see fit, such as closing down bars and restaurants and setting earlier opening hours for businesses, but not to impose a curfew or restrict movement between the regions. Finance Minister and government spokesperson Maria Jesus Montero said that if the executive did decide to ask for the extension to the state of alarm it would do so on the recommendation of health experts, not because the regions are putting pressure on or not.

The government is convinced that the epidemiological data will improve in the coming weeks as the Covid-19 vaccination drive takes effect. According to La Moncloa, the seat of government in Spain, more than five million people will have had at least their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine by May 9, and the country will be racing toward the goal of immunizing 33 million people (70% of the adult population) by the end of August. With this context in mind, the government believes it is better not to extend the state of alarm again.

But Basque leader Urkullu is arguing that it is important for the regions to have the legal backing of the emergency measure while the vaccination drive takes place. There are still months to go before we reach herd immunity, he said Monday in a radio interview.

For La Moncloa, it is also important to send the message that the state of alarm is coming to an end as this will help reactivate the economy, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. Although the central government is continuing to call for prudence, it wants Spain to gradually move to a new phase that, while not a full return to normality, is more open. Indeed, the regions most dependent on tourism, the Canary and Balearic islands, are already beginning to accept visitors from the rest of Spain.

Political implications

In order for the state of alarm to be extended, the measure would have to be voted through Spains lower house, the Congress of Deputies. As a minority government, the executive does not have enough votes to approve the extension by itself, meaning it needs the support of other parties.

This may be a challenge if the conservative Popular Party (PP) votes against the extension, as it did twice last year. However, it is more likely that the group would abstain from the vote, which is what it did when the six-month extension to the emergency measure came before Congress in October last year.

The debate over the state of alarm also threatens to create tensions with the Basque Nationalist Party, whose votes the government depends on to pass key legislation.

Whats more, the countdown to the end of the state of alarm comes as Madrid prepares to vote in an early regional election. The response to the pandemic is a key campaign issue, with Madrid premier Isabel Diaz Ayuso (PP) staking her claim on her decision not to introduce tough restrictions on the hospitality industry despite the rise in coronavirus cases. She will face former deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias of Unidas Podemos at the poll on May 4  just days before the emergency measure is set to expire.

English version by Melissa Kitson.
In defending his controversial voting bill on CNN on Sunday, Texas state Sen. Bryan Hughes claimed half a dozen times that the attorney general's office had 400 open voter fraud cases.

That's the fact, Hughes, R-Mineola, said in an interview with CNN host Pamela Brown. It's documented. There's no question about that.

Yet that number is almost 10 times larger than the number of people with pending voter fraud charges in Texas, which is 43, according to data from the attorney generals office. Only one of those pending cases stems from the 2020 election, in which more than 11 million Texans cast ballots.

WATCH THE INTERVIEW: CNN anchor pushes back on Texas state lawmaker's defense of voting bill

Hughes, who is the author of the Senate Bill 7, which would ban drive-thru and overnight voting among other provisions, said in an interview that he was referring to the offices 386 ongoing investigations of voter fraud as of April 5.

Investigations, or unproven allegations that have not yet been taken to court, are different than filed criminal cases in which there has been some evidence of wrongdoing found.

There have been no arrests in any of those cases, and because of the way Attorney General Ken Paxtons office defines them, its unclear how many people are under investigation or how many offenses each of them may have committed.

Its also unclear how long those investigations have been ongoing. A spokeswoman for Paxton did not respond to a request for clarification on Monday.

Texas Republicans, including Paxton, were among former President Donald Trumps staunchest supporters as he falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him.

But even as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick offered up a $1 million reward for evidence of voter fraud and Paxton doubled the resources for his election integrity unit in 2020, none have come up with evidence of widespread voter fraud in Texas or anywhere else.

That hasnt stopped them from pushing legislation like SB 7 that will reduce early voting opportunities in the name of preventing fraud, as Democrats and voting rights groups rail against it as voter suppression.

IN-DEPTH: Ken Paxton's beefed-up 2020 voter fraud unit closed 16 minor cases, all in Harris County

As the Houston Chronicle reported in December, the attorney generals office last year spent 22,000 hours  nearly double what it did in 2018  working on voter fraud cases but only closed half as many: 16 cases in which Harris County residents who used a false address on their voter registration applications. Most of those cases date back to the 2018 election.

CNN anchor Pamela Brown on Sunday pushed Hughes to explain why those closed cases were cause for concern.

To what end does a state that already has some of the strictest voting laws on the books put restrictions in place on voting in the name of voter fraud? Brown asked.

There are over 400 open cases of investigations of voter fraud by the Attorney General right now. Because of COVID-19 protocols, courts were not open last year, Hughes said.

Brown asked again how 16 minor cases justify taking away access to voting, and five more times throughout their conversation, Hughes repeated that there were 400 open cases without clarifying that he meant investigations.

TEXAS TAKE: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

It was not the first time a Texas official has cited wrong or imprecise statistics on the prevalence of fraud as the Legislature moves to adopt more voting restrictions.

In March, the American Civil Liberties Union pointed out a discrepancy in testimony provided by Josh Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice, who repeatedly and falsely told members of the House elections committee that the office had 500 voter fraud cases pending. The cases pending against 43 defendants involve about 500 counts, to which Reno may have been referring.

The attorney generals office did not respond to a request for comment by Hearst Newspapers on why Reno used that number, even after he took time to explain to members the difference between counts and cases. Counts refer to each instance in which an individual is accused of breaking a law. A case against a single defendant can include many counts.

Counts isnt really a great metric for what is actually happening, ACLU senior staff attorney Tommy Buser-Clancy said at the time. Its possible for prosecutors to rack up the number of counts, saying that same action violated four different laws, five different laws, and thereby inflate the number of total offenses charged.

taylor.goldenstein@chron.com
STATE COLLEGE, Pa., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- AccuWeather today announced the integration of its weather data on Microsoft Azure Maps, making it Azure Maps exclusive weather provider. The partnership signifies a recognition by Microsoft of AccuWeather's proven superiority in weather forecast accuracy to benefit its enterprise customers.

The integration of AccuWeather's data, current conditions and weather forecasts and warnings into the Azure Maps platform complements and broadens the current offering of other types of mapping data, such as traffic and public transportation. Now, Microsoft customers have access to the most accurate weather forecast data, as validated by many independent studies, including by industry tracker ForecastWatch, as well as proprietary features and advantages, such as the patented AccuWeather MinuteCast minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts, daily forecast, daily indices, current conditions, and global coverage.

In addition, Azure Maps includes AccuWeather severe weather alerts delivered by AccuWeather to provide people and businesses with critical, timely, notifications when dangerous weather threatens for the protection of life and property and to help ensure enhanced safety and business continuity. AccuWeather's industry-leading radar and satellite map tiles integrate all available sources of radar information, which Includes all ground-based radars around the globe as well as satellite-derived radar for areas not covered by ground-based radars, and they bring data to life, allowing clients to view conditions in distinctive high resolution and detail.

Weather Along a Route is another proprietary feature integrated into the platform by AccuWeather. Working in conjunction with the patented AccuWeather MinuteCast, this feature provides up-to-the minute weather forecasts giving clients access to weather conditions at every point along a journey.

This added intelligence offers a new dimension to Azure Maps and is vital to transportation and logistics companies for supply chain and ground operations and across numerous industries, including, energy production, insurance, retail and restaurants, empowering Microsoft clients the convenience and ability to make better weather-impacted decisions for greater safety, situational awareness, operational efficiency, and increased profits as well as reduced losses.

AccuWeather President, Steven R. Smith said AccuWeather is very pleased to partner with Microsoft to offer its world-class technical capabilities within its global-scale Microsoft Azure Maps geospatial data analytics platform supporting businesses around the world.

"Weather impacts everything we do, and businesses require location and mapping analytics capabilities to power their decision-making," said Smith.

"This collaboration will enable Microsoft customers with access to our critical weather data to make optimal decisions for their operations, supply chain and marketing - from route-planning, to inventory, to energy production capacity to consumer demand - that will undoubtedly affect their bottom line. From restaurant chains forecasting menu demand or drive-through traffic to pharmaceutical companies shipping life-saving vaccines across the country - businesses can trust that the data driving their decisions originated from the weather source that is most known, accessed and trusted worldwide."

"Microsoft Azure Maps provides Microsoft enterprise customers with geospatial solutions through micro-services, benefitting from Azure cloud advancements and a micro-service architecture," said Chris Pendleton, Azure Maps Group Program Manager, Microsoft. "In order to move fast and focus on the future, we chose AccuWeather as our trusted partner to power Azure Maps Weather Services because of their rich, dynamic data, extensive global coverage and continued innovation and expertise in the field."

To access AccuWeather's data in the Azure Maps platform, simply go the Azure Maps documentation and create an Azure Maps account.

About AccuWeather and accuweather.com - AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved tens of thousands of lives, prevented hundreds of thousands of injuries and tens of billions of dollars in property damage. With global headquarters in State College, PA and other offices around the world, AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day through digital media properties, such as AccuWeather.com and mobile, as well as radio, television, newspapers, and the 24/7 AccuWeather Network channel. Additionally, AccuWeather produces and distributes news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. Among AccuWeather's many innovative and award-winning features available free to the public are MinuteCast Minute by Minute forecasts with Superior Accuracy. Furthermore, AccuWeather serves more than half of Fortune 500 companies and thousands of businesses globally. Dr. Joel N. Myers, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, established AccuWeather in 1962 and is considered the "father of modern commercial meteorology." Dr. Myers, a leading creative thinker and visionary, has been named "the most accurate man in weather" by The New York Times and one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur's Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs.

AccuWeather, RealFeel and MinuteCast are all registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature, AccuWeather RealImpact, AccuWeather RI, AccuWeather MinuteCast, AccuWeather Network, Minute by Minute and Superior Accuracy are all trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All other trademarks, product names and logos are the property of their respective owners.

The AccuWeather app for Android phone and tablet users is free at the Google Play store . The AccuWeather iOS app is free at apps.apple.com . Visit accuweather.com for additional information.

AccuWeather :

Rhonda Seaton

814.235.8555 (P)

310.508.0799 (M)

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SOURCE AccuWeather

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The pediment of the Supreme Court building. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

The Supreme Court is set to decide soon whether conservative Christians have a constitutional right to refuse to work with same-sex couples while participating in a city-funded foster care program that forbids such discrimination.

It is the latest and possibly most significant culture-wars clash between the 1st Amendment's right to the free exercise of religion  which has been bolstered of late by the court's conservatives  and the right to marriage equality that was upheld in a 5-4 liberal decision in 2015.

With the exception of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., the court has shown no sign it will retreat from the principle of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. And last year, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote a 6-3 opinion joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. that protected LGBTQ employees from workplace discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

However, the justices have been willing to consider whether the Constitution provides special exemptions based on religion for the "many Americans who believe that marriage is a sacred institution between one man and one woman," as Thomas wrote in October.

Now the challenge will be agreeing on who is entitled to such an exemption and the constitutional basis for it.

Three years ago, it was thought that conservative justices would find that basis in the freedom of speech and expression. Wedding photographers, florists and, most famously, a cake maker in Colorado argued it violated their free speech rights to be forced to "create expression" for the celebration of a same-sex marriage. They objected to state civil rights laws that required providing equal service to all customers, without regard to race, religion or sexual orientation.

But the free speech claim was shown to be confusing and uncertain. Did it apply to baking a very large cake or only to the message in the icing? And who else could invoke this exemption? An attorney told the court that while a cake maker's work was expressive, an architect's was not.

Story continues

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, a champion of both religious liberty and gay rights, wrote the court's opinion in Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and found a way to rule narrowly for Jack Phillips, the cake maker, without setting a clear constitutional rule. He said one or two members of the state civil rights commission had displayed "impermissible hostility" toward the cake maker and his religious beliefs.

Three weeks later, Kennedy announced his retirement, leaving the issue unresolved.

Now the clash of rights is squarely posed by Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia, which sued after it was suspended from the city's foster care program because it refused to consider same-sex couples. The Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia argues that its right to freely practice its faith outweighs the city's authority to forbid discrimination by its contractors.

"This claim is far more extreme than in Masterpiece Cakeshop," said David Cole, national legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "There, the baker argued that he could not be compelled to make a cake to celebrate a gay couples wedding. Here, by contrast, CSS is not compelled to do anything. They argue that they have a constitutional right to get millions of dollars from the city to perform a government function, but to do so while violating the terms of the contract."

If the court were to uphold a religious right to discriminate in public programs, the ruling would have a significant nationwide impact. It could even shield public employees who refuse to work with same-sex couples. Thomas and Alito dissented in part when the court turned down an appeal from Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. They faulted the majority for "choosing to privilege a novel constitutional right" to same-sex marriages "over the religious liberty interests protected in the 1st Amendment."

Mary Bonauto, the Boston-based lawyer who led the legal fight for same-sex marriage, said she would be alarmed by a broad ruling that endorses a right to discriminate based on religion. "If the court were to allow exemptions from laws that are supposed to apply to everyone and for the benefit of everyone in accessing goods and services, then there will be more discrimination against many people," she said. "There is a real danger of widespread refusals that goes back to treating LGBTQ people and couples as second class."

It could have a particularly strong impact on fostering. The Williams Institute at UCLA has shown that same-sex couples are seven times more likely to serve as foster parents or raise adopted children than heterosexual couples.

Those affected may not be limited to LGBTQ persons. Lawyers said Jews, Muslims or others could be excluded from public programs if sponsors were free to exclude others based on their religious beliefs.

But it is not certain that the court's conservative majority will go that far. Rather, they could decide that the Catholic foster care agency was treated unfairly because of its religious beliefs. Like with the cake maker's case, such a ruling could be narrow and limited.

Lawyers for the Philadelphia Archdiocese devoted much of its effort to portraying the city and its officials as rigid and intolerant. They said that for more than 200 years, the church has provided shelter and found homes for orphaned and neglected children. Since the city took control of the child welfare programs in the 1950s, Catholic Social Services has had an annual contract to recruit and screen families that will take in foster children. And because as many as 30 other agencies in Philadelphia are involved in foster care, same-sex couples who want to be foster parents will have other options, they said.

"CSS is making a modest request here, which is to step aside and be able to allow diverse religious agencies to serve the city of Philadelphia, as they have done successfully for many years," attorney Lori Windham told the justices when Fulton vs. Philadelphia was argued Nov. 4, the morning after the presidential election. Windham works for Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public interest law firm that has represented many religious rights cases before the Supreme Court.

Alito echoed her theme. "Look, if we are honest about what's really going on here, it's not about ensuring that same-sex couples in Philadelphia have the opportunity to be foster parents. It's the fact that the city can't stand the message that Catholic Social Services and the Archdiocese are sending by continuing to adhere to the old-fashioned view about marriage," he told an attorney for the city.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said he too thought the city had gone "looking for a fight," and was now taking an "absolutist and extreme position that ... would require us to go back on the promise of respect for religious believers."

The case began in March 2018 when the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bethany Christian Services, one of the foster care agencies, had turned away a same-sex couple. The story reported that CSS also said it too would not work with same-sex couples.

When city officials inquired, Bethany Christian agreed to change its position, but the Catholic agency refused. CSS then filed a suit when the city said it would not renew its $17-million-a-year contract to screen and certify people to serve as foster parents.

A federal judge and U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Philadelphia's decision. "The city stands on firm ground in requiring its contractors to abide by its nondiscrimination policies when administering public services," the appeals court said.

But early last year, the Supreme Court voted to hear CSS' claim that it is a violation of the 1st Amendment to "exclude a religious agency from the city's foster care system" because it insists on abiding by "its sincere religious beliefs about marriage."

In recent years, claims of religious liberty have been steady winners in the high court.

Sometimes, the court has said churches and their affiliates have a right to be treated the same as other groups when it comes to receiving tax money.

For example, the court ruled that a Lutheran church in Missouri was entitled to receive a grant to pay for a preschool playground, even though the state constitution had prohibited sending tax money to churches (in Trinity Lutheran Church vs. Comer).

Last year, the court by a 5-4 vote ruled that parents who send their children to a church school were entitled to a state tuition subsidy on the same basis as those in public schools (in Espinoza vs. Montana).

In other cases, the courts had said churches and religious people have a right to be treated differently. Last year, the court ruled for the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and said two of its elementary teachers who were fired may not sue for illegal discrimination under federal or state civil rights laws. In Our Lady of Guadalupe School vs. Morrissey-Berru, one teacher was dismissed shortly after she revealed she had breast cancer. In several rulings, the court has said employers may cite their religious beliefs as a basis for refusing to provide contraceptives to women employees as required under Obamacare, notably in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores.

The Philadelphia case combines both themes. CSS says it has an equal right to participate in the city's foster care program and also a right not to comply with its nondiscrimination policy.

The final briefs were filed in mid-September, the same week Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died. When the case was heard in November, her seat had been filled by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Liu Xiongma and Zhuang Xiaohao

Bai Yingfei, Li Kunlin, Ke Jing, and Wang Jingting are the four female soldiers of the 19th Chinese peacekeeping construction engineer contingent to Lebanon. They are the battlefield roses on the Mediterranean Sea with heroic brilliance of Chinese female peacekeepers.

Bai Yingfei is a female soldier enlisted in 2019. As a medical peacekeeper, she is greatly trusted by her fellows. When peacekeepers feel something is wrong with them, Bai Yingfei can always treat them in a timely and effective manner. She often writes the precautions on a small note and provides it for the sick peacekeepers along with the medicine.

Unlike Bai Yingfei, who has a gentle personality, Li Kunlin usually shows more fortitude. In the mission area where the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading and social conditions are complicated, Li, as a construction operator, has eliminated potential risks many times with strong capabilities when performing tasks. She looked proud when speaking of those experiences: "As a soldier, you have to stand up to challenges and constantly improve yourself in accomplishing designated tasks."

Ke Jing, who likes to sing and dance, is diligent and eager to learn during her work. To be qualified for the post of "backup translator" in the foreign affairs team, after finishing her daily work and training, she usually translated and studied the foreign affairs materials of the peacekeeping team in previous years and memorized key content repeatedly. To practice her spoken English, she often ran to the foreign affairs office to assist translators with their work. She took the initiative to participate in the translation work when receiving a surprise inspection by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Her excellent performance was praised by foreign parties.

Wang Jingting, a careful female peacekeeper, is responsible for checking the network and repairing communication equipment. The wire disconnection during heavy rainfall in the Chinese camp sometimes hinders the connection between peacekeepers and their families. Wang would always check and repair the network as soon as possible.

The situation in the mission area has always been very severe. In addition to being prepared to respond to emergencies such as terrorist attacks, some potential risks around the camp are also security risks that cannot be underestimated. It is necessary to ensure that the surveillance cameras are in a normal state 24 hours a day. For this reason, Wang has always treated her work patiently and meticulously. When she encounters a problem, she will write it down in a notebook and carefully seek the solution by herself. She has become an expert on network technology in the camp.

The four Chinese "battlefield roses" in the peacekeeping contingent are safeguarding peace with their practical actions and writing a new chapter of youth with their dedication.
HOUSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A native Houstonian is set to take command of the International Space Station for the first time in its 20-plus-year history.

Shannon Walker, a veteran astronaut who was born, raised, and earned all three of her science degrees in Houston, will accept command of the space station on Thursday, April 15, in a ceremony that will be broadcast live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website beginning at 2:45 p.m. CDT.

"Having the Johnson Space Center here in my backyard growing up, I was always aware of what NASA was doing in the space program," Walker said. "I'm so proud to represent my hometown on the International Space Station where we conduct scientific research that can benefit all of humankind."

With operations led from the Mission Control Center at NASA'S Johnson Space Center in Houston, which is also home to the astronaut corps, the space station has continuously hosted international teams of astronauts since 2000.

"We like to call Johnson Space Center the home of the astronauts, and all of them live here while they're training and supporting human spaceflight," said Johnson Director Mark Geyer. "But in Shannon's case, she's a homegrown Houstonian, and we couldn't be prouder for our community to have her representing Space City as commander of the space station."

Walker is a member of NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 mission that flew to the space station on the Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft, the first commercial human spacecraft system. She and her fellow Crew-1 astronauts joined Expedition 64 upon their arrival and are nearing completion of a six-month science mission that included science and research investigations. Walker and the Expedition 64 crew worked on a number of experiments, including tissue chips that mimic the structure and function of human organs to understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases and translate those findings to improve human health on Earth. Astronauts also grew radishes in different types of light and soils as part of ongoing efforts to produce food in space, and tested a new system to remove heat from spacesuits.

Walker attended Westbury High School (formerly Westbury Senior High), Meyerland Visual and Performing Arts Middle School (formerly Johnston Junior High and later Johnston Middle School), and Parker Elementary, all in Houston Independent School District. Walker said that she had engaging teachers whose high expectations fueled her space ambitions. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in physics from Rice University in 1987 and later returned to complete her master of science in 1992 and a PhD in space physics in 1993.

She joined NASA in 1987 as a Robotics Flight Controller for the Space Shuttle Program. She began work on the International Space Station Program in 1995, and was selected to become an astronaut in 2004. Walker completed her first spaceflight in 2010 for Expeditions 24 and 25 to the International Space Station.

Command will officially transfer to her when the off-going commander, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, departs the station. Ryzhikov and fellow cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, along with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, will begin the journey back to Earth in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on April 16.

Walker is scheduled to join Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Soichi Noguchi aboard Resilience on Wednesday, April 28, and depart the station for return to Earth.

For more than 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration to the Moon and Mars. The orbiting laboratory has been a destination for 243 people from 19 countries and has hosted nearly 3,000 research investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


Yuma News

San Luis, Arizona - Arizona Western College will be holding a RegFest event at the San Luis Learning Center (SLLC) on Wednesday, April 21, for prospective students interested in enrolling for the Summer or Fall 2021 semester.

Attendees will have the opportunity to start the admission process, join a quick advisement session, apply for support resources, and walk away registered for classes. Parents will also have an opportunity to go to an informational session.



Representatives from Admissions, Financial Aid, and Registration will be available during the event to assist students. More information will also be on hand about the High School Finish Line program, the Yuma Promise, KEYS Student Support Services, CAMP (College Assistance Migrant Program), the Informatics Program, and the YES Program.



The event will be held from 2:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the SLLC, 1340 8th Ave. Click here to resister for RegFest and sign up for a timeslot, which will be offered every 30 minutes. The online registration form allows for students to pre-select which services they need and what programs they are interested in.



Summer session starts on June 1, with short-term 4-week and 8-week course offerings. Additional short-term 4-week classes begin July 5.



Fall session starts on August 16, with 16-week and short-term 8-week courses. Also during the fall semester, short-term 12-week classes will be offered starting Sept. 13, and short-term 8-week classes will begin October 11.


Many of the problems that threaten our nation today can be traced to years of misplaced priorities in our public schools. Radical leftist groups are indoctrinating our children according to their own values. Organizations like the pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and the 1619 Project produce materials that are currently used in many schools.

Who can stop them? The school boards can. They are the gatekeepers of our schools, largely responsible for the content they allow to enter and influence our children.

Our children are not learning how to become citizens who appreciate, defend, and cultivate the values and principles our nation was founded upon. This responsibility and power rests with our school boards  positions largely overlooked by the general public but captured by leftist organizations and special interest groups who have exercised their influence over our children for far too long.

The good news is, with relatively few votes compared to higher office elections, the trajectory of school boards and the nation can start to change when principled candidates are elected. This is why iVoterGuide is launching a trial program to equip Christian and conservative voters to engage in these high-impact elections.

A recent study by the American Enterprise Institute stated that one of the biggest factors in the growing departure of Americans from religion appears to be government spending on education and its control over curricula taught from a secular and scholar-deficient perspective. In short, the secularization of our culture can largely be traced to the content taught in our public schools, paid for by our tax dollars.

For example:

Forty-five hundred classrooms nationwide are incorporating elements of the 1619 Project in their teaching, which asserts that America's founding is rooted in slavery and racism.

Last year, Austin ISD in Texas voted to adopt sex education curriculum created by a Canadian abortion-provider but backed down after parents spoke out against it.

The Fairfax County School District in Virginia has had regulations in place since 2016 that require their schools to allow students to access bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers based on their gender identity rather than biological sex.

Many school board trustees continue their cultural impact by being elected to higher office and broader influence. For example, former president Jimmy Carter began his political career when he was elected to his county school board and left us with the unfortunate legacy of the U.S. Department of Education. As our friend Ken Mercer, who formerly served on the Texas State Board of Education, says, "School Board members are the 'farm team' of candidates who progress from the schoolhouse, to the statehouse, to the U.S. House."

While these elections see very low voter turnout  often 10% or less  they may affect America's future more than any other.

What can concerned Americans do? Commit to vote and stay engaged in these high-impact elections.

iVoterGuide is researching and evaluating over 160 school board candidates in 20 Texas districts this May as part of our exploratory initiative. The goal is to equip voters with the knowledge and motivation to make a difference and start positively influencing schools. This initiative will expand to additional states as resources and local engagement allow.

Debbie Wuthnow is the president of iVoterGuide and a member of the Board of Directors. iVoterGuide has the information needed to vote wisely and to identify candidates on the ballot that share one's values, and will help restore the principles of limited government, free enterprise and traditional American values. For more information, visit ivoterguide.com.

Image: Wen Shi.

To comment, you can find the MeWe post for this article here.
TOKYO - Japan's government announced Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. It's a move that's fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbours.

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government said Tuesday it has decided to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in two years after treatment. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO - Japan's government announced Tuesday it would start releasing treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years. It's a move that's fiercely opposed by fishermen, residents and Japan's neighbours.

The decision, long speculated at but delayed for years because of safety worries and protests, came during a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking. The plant's storage capacity will be full late next year.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is needed to complete the decades-long decommissioning of the Fukushima plant. He said the government would work to make sure the water is safe and to help local agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

This Feb. 13, 2021, aerial photo shows Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, Tuesday, April 13, 2021, Japan's government said Tuesday, April 13, 2021 it has decided to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in two years after treatment. (Kyodo News via AP)

The plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to releasable levels. Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

The government stresses the water's safety, calling it "treated" not "radioactive," even though radionuclides can only be reduced to disposable levels, not to zero. The amount of radioactive material that would remain in the water is unknown.

Releasing the water into the ocean was described as the most realistic solution by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water. The report last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.

Under the basic plan adopted Tuesday by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility and compiling release plans that follow safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

Residents, fisheries officials and environmental groups issued statements denouncing the decision as ignoring environmental safety and health, and further hurting Fukushima's image and economy.

People hold a banner that partially reads "Don't dump into the sea" during a rally outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Japan's government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years, an option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan Fisheries Cooperatives chairman Hiroshi Kishi said the decision less than a week after he met with Suga "trampled on" all Japanese fisheries operators.

Local fisheries have just returned to full operation after a decade in which their catch was only for testing purposes, and they are struggling because of dwindling demand.

Protestors gathered outside the Prime Minister's Office to demand the plan be scrapped.

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around fall of 2022. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks needs to be used for new buildings needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors and for other decommissioning work in coming years.

In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water.

Those tanks, which occupy a large space at the plant, interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said.

About 70% of the water in the tanks is contaminated beyond discharge limits but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual release of the water will take nearly 40 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority chairman Toyoshi Fuketa has repeatedly called for a ocean discharge, saying a controlled release of the adequately treated water would pose no human or environmental harm.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, in a video message, said the ocean discharge was in line with international practice, though "the large amount of water at the Fukushima plant makes it a unique and complex case."

He said IAEA will fully support Japan in environmental monitoring to ensure the safety of the water release, its transparency and confidence in and outside the country.

China and South Korea reacted strongly to Tuesday's decision.

Koo Yun-cheol, minister of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, said the plan was "absolutely unacceptable" and urged Japan to disclose how the water is treated and its safety is verified. South Korea has banned seafood imports from parts of Japan since 2013 and could increase those steps.

China criticized Japan's decision as "extremely irresponsible," saying it had not considered the health concerns of neighbouring countries.

Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
James Norton has addressed casting a BAME actor as the next James Bond in a new interview.

The screen star, 35, who has been tipped to replace Daniel Craig in the role, insisted that while having a 'Bond of colour' is important, executives should focus on 'treating the cause rather than the symptom'.

Alongside an edgy cover shoot for this week's GQ HYPE, the Grantchester hunk also stressed the importance of feeling 'comfortable' in sex scenes and defended the balance between seeing female nudity and 'c**ks' in film.

'We need to treat the cause': James Norton has addressed casting a BAME actor as the next James Bond in this week's GQ Hype

The War & Peace star has been long reported to be Daniel's successor following his outing as the spy in No Time To Die, with bookmaker Ladbrokes even temporarily suspending betting on the character.

Bridgerton heart-throb Rege-Jean Page and Luther star Idris Elba were also rumoured as potential 007s, as well as Tom Hardy, Sam Heughan and Richard Madden.

On calls to choose a black performer to take on the position, James highlighted the significance of diversity and representation in the industry as a whole.

The TV star said: 'That, I think, is more important. Obviously, casting a Bond of colour is important if handled in a sensitive way, but there's a bigger picture: we need to treat the cause rather than the symptom.

'There's a bigger picture': The screen star, 35, who has been tipped to replace Daniel Craig in the role, insisted executives should focus on 'treating the cause rather than the symptom'

Next in line? The War & Peace star has been long reported to be Daniel's successor following his outing as the spy in No Time To Die (pictured) - set for release in September

In conversation: Bridgerton heart-throb Rege-Jean Page and Luther star Idris Elba were also rumoured as potential 007s, as well as Tom Hardy, Sam Heughan and Richard Madden

'There is an argument, that, rather than make Bond a person of colour, why not create a new story that is authentically representative and isn't repurposed?

'But, then, you're never going to create a franchise that will compete with the power of Bond from the off. It has to be a bit of everything, doesn't it? I realise I'm talking in platitudes.'

Available now: Read the full feature online at GQ Hype

The Cambridge alum went on to discuss 'constantly making an effort' to avoid being 'pigeonholed', adding: 'I'm very aware of it.

'We love our labels, so I do see people's careers limited by pigeonholing. People think they know you because of your school or how you sound.'

Elsewhere in the chat, James spoke about on allowing actors to have a say when ti comes to shooting intimate scenes.

The McMafia star said: 'There is so much potential for trauma. Everyone is sensitive about their naked body, so if you are going to have a sex scene, write 'sex scene' and have actors say what they're comfortable with.

'We're so used to seeing female nudity that when you see a c**k you go, ''This is so explicit!' But it's just balanced.'

Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.
A 26-year-old Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of a 75-year-old man in the Rogers Park neighborhood last month during a robbery, police said.

Cash Johnson was arrested Monday morning in the 6900 block of South Ashland Boulevard after being identified as the person who fatally stabbed a 75-year-old man on March 19 in the area of 1700 block of West Farwell Avenue, officials said. Johnson appeared before Judge Susana Ortiz, who ordered that he will be held without bail via a livestreamed hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Nanda Bhattarai, of the 1700 block of West Farwell Avenue, was pronounced dead at 2:54 p.m. March 31 at Amita St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, after being attacked about 6 p.m. March 19, according to the Cook County medical examiners office. After an autopsy, the office determined Bhattarai died from complications of multiple sharp force injuries in a homicide.

Police had said after Bhattarais death that he was attacked and stabbed in the abdomen during a robbery in an alley in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

The day of the killing, Johnson left his apartment in the 1600 block of West Morse Avenue and walked through a series of alleys to a McDonalds, 6740 N. Clark St., about two blocks away, said Assistant States Attorney James Murphy. He then walked with his bag of food back toward his apartment.

In surveillance footage, Bhattarai is seen walking the same way as Johnson, Murphy said. Johnson can be seen looking back at Bhattarai multiple times, and at one point, Johnson gestures to Bhattarai, who gestures back.

About 5:40 p.m. in the 1700 block of West Farwell Avenue, Johnson then is seen turning in to a gangway in an alley, Murphy said. Bhattarai is then seen following Johnson into a gangway while holding a cane in his left arm. The gangway cannot be seen in the video.

About one minute later, Bhattarai enters back into frame holding his stomach and bleeding, Murphy said. He was stabbed eight times: five in the stomach, one to the hip or buttocks and two to the back.

Story continues

Johnson left the opposite end of the gangway and jogged through the alleys back to his apartment, Murphy said.

A search warrant was executed on Bhattarais apartment on April 12, Murphy said.

In statements to police, Johnson first said that he was being followed by an older man and two other people, and the two other people chased him and Bhattarai, Murphy said. One of the men had a knife and tried to rob Bhattarai.

When police told Johnson that they had video of him, he then changed his story and said that Bhattarai was following him and he went into the gangway to see if he was still being followed. He said Bhattarai then took out a knife, so he took the knife and stabbed Bhattarai with it.

Johnson changed his story again and said that Bhattarai did not have a knife. According to Murphy, Johnson now said hed a knife, which he carries for protection. Johnson said he called the man over because he thought that the man wanted to buy marijuana from him, Murphy said.

Johnsons public defender said Johnson is a lifelong Chicago resident, lives with his girlfriend and does not have any children. He attended high school but has not graduated or received a high school equivalency diploma. He receives supplemental security income for mental health disability because he is diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and is on medication for them.

Police originally said Bhattarai was attacked by three people who demanded his property. Bhattarai declined and was stabbed in the abdomen, according to police.

A community alert had been issued six days after Bhattarais attack, detailing it and at least one additional attack that happened in the 7000 block of North Clark Street on March 21.

kcullotta@chicagotribune.com

pfry@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kcullotta

Twitter @paigexfry
When Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgias new restrictive voting provisions into law, he claimed the controversial changesincluding making it harder to request mail ballots and use drop boxesare necessary to improve election security. These bills, of course, spring from the Big Lie about our elections, but there is another irony here. Much of the election integrity legislation in Georgia and around the country would actually weaken our election systems and reduce their capacity to recover from a technological problem, whether a malfunction or an attack.

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During the 2020 election, the increased variety in voting methods and the longer time frame for voting meant that, in many states, election officials were handling smaller groups of voters and ballots at once than they were in past elections. If a technological problem arose, the reduced crowds made it easier to diagnose and solve the problem and get voters voting again.

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For example, during early voting in 2020, Georgias statewide voter registration database was having trouble handling the logins of election staff across the state. The problem caused extremely long lines. Georgia officials werent able to fix it immediately, but within a few days the issue was addressed, lines improved, and voters who might have not been able to stand in long lines because of work or other obligations still had opportunities to cast their ballot. If there had only been one or two days for in-person voting, those voters might not have had another chance. And the lines would have been even longer, with many more voters showing up to cast their ballot at once.

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Many of the so-called election integrity bills would reduce the availability of ballot drop boxesone bill in Florida would eliminate them entirely. During the 2020 election, drop boxes were a convenient voting option for many people who might have been concerned about the reliability of the post office: Voters could drop their absentee ballot into a nearby box instead of showing up to polling places on Election Day. This helped reduce the lines at polling places for those voters who preferred or needed the in-person option instead. Drop boxes helped all votersabsentee and in-personby making sure they didnt all show up to the polling place on Election Day, which would have made it harder for poll workers to deal with inevitable technical problems or cyberattacks. Even if fears of delays with the postal system subside in the future, cyberattacks or staffing cuts could result in slow mail service, or election officials could have trouble processing ballot requests quickly, leading to delays in voters receiving their ballots in time to mail them back. Drop boxes will help ensure the resiliency of the system.

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And finally, bills being introduced attacking same-day voter registration undermine the recovery capabilities these systems provide for two of the biggest vulnerabilities in U.S. elections: voter registration databases and electronic poll books. Many of themincluding in Georgiaare not formally certified to any security standards. This makes them more vulnerable to cyberattacks or breakdowns. When registration is required in order to be eligible to vote, attacks on the registration lists can have a devastating effect, impeding the ability of election workers to check in voters at polling places or process their mail ballots. Same-day registration is a fail-safeeven if the list is compromised, voters can register on the day they show up to vote and cast their ballots.

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While the push to restrict voting and undermine election security is disheartening, the crush of new billsas of March 24, legislators had introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 stateshas pushed Congress to take action. The House passed the For the People Act, which includes crucial election reforms, and the bill has been introduced in the Senate. The For the People Act would create a national standard for voting access and security by, among other things, ensuring minimum requirements for early voting, voting by mail, drop boxes, and same-day registration. The bill would have other election security benefits, including replacing insecure paperless voting machines (which are still used in seven states) and promoting postelection audits to build confidence in results. The For the People Act would cancel out many of the worst restrictions on voting access that have been introduced or become law.

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But can it pass through the Senate and reverse these regressive efforts? There are certainly real challenges. Senate Democratic leaders are on record saying the filibuster cannot be an impediment to its passage. But even before they figure that out, they must get Democratic holdout Sen. Joe Manchin on board. He says he supports many of the bills provisions but would prefer to find a bipartisan solution. Given how far apart the two sides are, a major compromise seems dubious.

None of this means the bill cant pass. Indeed, the brazen attempts by state lawmakers to undermine voting rightsand consequently election securityjust might force the hands of both Manchin and Congress into passing For the People Act, resulting in a long overdue national baseline for voter access and election security.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:13:41|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. officials should understand that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage on Iran's nuclear facility will work in their favor at the ongoing nuclear talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.

"We have no problem with returning to nuclear deal commitments ... but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage will give them the means to negotiate, and that these actions will only make the situation more difficult for them," Zarif said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Israeli media widely reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident. The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack.

Zarif noted despite the sabotage, Iran will run even more advanced centrifuges for enrichment at the Natanz facility.

He was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency that when former U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office, Iran used only the IR-1 centrifuge, while today the IR-6 chains are working.

Sunday's development has complicated efforts to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Nuclear talks were held in Vienna this month, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures on top of the agenda.

Iran has gradually stopped implementing its commitments since May 2019, one year after the Trump administration unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

If the United States wants to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, it must remove all the sanctions against Iran, Zarif said.

It is also necessary for the United States to return to its commitments, he added.

The Iranian foreign minister also lauded Russia's stance against the recent sabotage against the Natanz nuclear site, stressing the need for continued cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, Lavrov said Russia's position is clear and all sanctions against Iran should be lifted unconditionally. "I hope that by lifting sanctions on Iran, more cooperation environment will be created," Lavrov was quoted by IRNA as saying.

The only way to revive the JCPOA is Washington's full implementation of its commitments and acting in accordance with the UN Security Council and UN resolutions, he said, warning if Washington fails to do so, it might be a dangerous act with dire consequences.

"We are trying to help the Americans and the Iranians return to their commitments," Lavrov said.

Also on Tuesday, Iran and Russia signed an agreement for the establishment of cultural centers between the two countries, IRNA reported.

Lavrov, who arrived in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday, discussed regional and international, and economic cooperation with Zarif. The Russian foreign minister also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Enditem
Dublin, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Text Analytics: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The report provides an overview of the global market for text analytics and analyzes market trends. Using 2019 as the base year, the report provides estimated market data for the forecast period 2020 through 2025. Revenue forecasts for this period are segmented based on deployment, application, end-user, and geography. Market values have been estimated based on the total revenues of software and services.

The report also focuses on the major driving trends and challenges that will affect the market and the vendor landscape. The report explains the competitive landscape and current trends in the text analytics market. The report concludes with an analysis of the text analytics vendor landscape and includes detailed profiles of the major players in the global text analytics market.

Report Includes:

68 tables

An overview of the global market for text analytics within the industry

Analyses of the global market trends, with data from 2019-2020, estimates for 2021 and 2023, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2025

Assessment of the value chain of the text analytics industry ecosystem

Highlights of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the text analytics industry

Estimation of market size and revenue forecasts for the text analytics industry, and corresponding market share analysis by deployment type, application, end-user, and geographical region

Understanding of upcoming market opportunities and areas of focus to forecasting the market into various segments

Identification of major stakeholders in the text analytics market and analysis of competitive landscape for the market leaders

Insight into market dynamics featuring drivers and restraints, and other macroeconomic factors affecting the text analytics industry

Detailed profiles of the major players including Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com, Basis Technology, IBM, Microsoft, SAS, and Texifter LLC

Text analytics is a subset of natural language processing (NLP). Both terms are often used interchangeably by industry vendors. Text analytics falls under the artificial intelligence (AI) family. Technology advances within AI have enabled more accurate and contextual analysis of highly dimensional, multilingual textual data. Text analytics is the process of deriving business insight from textual sources. Text analytics scenarios cover not only a wide set of functional requirements, such as enterprise content management and advanced search engines, but also functions such as social media analytics, email/document analysis and free-form analysis. Simply put, text analytics is the practice of using technology to gather, store and mine textual information to translate large volumes of unstructured text into quantitative data in order to uncover insights, trends and patterns that can be used to inform smarter business decisions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further propelled the market for text analytics, especially in industries such as life sciences and healthcare, where there is a need to analyze research documents from all over the world and across different languages to come up with new drugs or courses of treatment. At the same time, governments and public health departments are trying to leverage data from social media and other sources to monitor citizen response to COVID measures such as social distancing. Many other industries, such as banking and financial services (that need to process large numbers of documents) are focusing on handling customer complaints and keeping the lights on for their back-office applications as they struggle with reduced staff (as most business process outsourcing (BPO) operations have been affected). These and other organizations are trying to leverage natural language technologies (NLTs), from text analytics to chatbots to document processing, to optimize their operations and move towards digital transformation.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1 Introduction

Study Goals and Objectives

Reasons for Doing This Study

Scope of Report

Information Sources

Methodology

Intended Audience

Geographic Breakdown

Analyst's Credentials

Custom Research

Related Reports

Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights

Chapter 3 Market and Technology Background

Technology Overview

Text Analytics Process

Text Sources

Text Analytics Processing Technologies

Types of Text Analytics

Sentiment Analysis

Text Classification

Semantic Search

Market Drivers

Rise in Adoption of Predictive Analytics and Sentiment Analytics by Various Industries

Continuous Improvements in the Language Processing Algorithms

Increasing Attractiveness of Social Media Analytics

Market Restraints

Dearth of Technical Expertise and Technological Awareness

Data Security and Privacy Issues

COVID-19 Impact on Text Analytics Market

Chapter 4 Market Breakdown by Deployment

Introduction

Cloud

On-premises

Chapter 5 Market Breakdown by Application

Introduction

Business Intelligence

Customer Relationship Management

Fraud Detection

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance

Others

Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by End User

Introduction

Banking, Financial Services and Insurance

Government & Defense

Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences

IT and Telecom

Media and Advertising

Retail and E-commerce

Travel and Hospitality

Others

Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by Region

Introduction

Americas

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

Brazil

Rest of the Americas

Europe

Germany

U.K.

France

Italy

Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

Rest of APAC

The Middle East and Africa

Middle East

Africa

Chapter 8 Competitive Landscape

Market Ranking

Vendor Landscape

Text Analytics Pricing Models

Pricing Models of Vendors

Strategic Analysis

Product Launches

Collaborations and Partnerships

Expansions and Investments

Chapter 9 Company Profiles

Major Players

Alphabet Inc. (Google)

Amazon.Com Inc.

Basis Technology Corp.

Bitext Innovations S.L.

Clarabridge Inc.

Expert.Ai (Formerly Expert System Group)

International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.

Lexalytics Inc.

Luminoso Technologies Inc.

Meaningcloud Llc

Megaputer Intelligence Inc.

Micro Focus International Plc

Microsoft Corp.

Open Text Corp.

Sas Institute Inc.

Key Innovators

Amenity Analytics Ltd.

Cortical.IO Ag

Digital Reasoning Systems Inc.

Indico Data Solutions Inc.

Kingland Systems

Knime Ag

Linguamatics

Proxem

Rapidminer Inc.

Texifter Llc.

Chapter 10 Appendix: List of Acronyms

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/m8t0cy
Russia announced Monday that it will halt charter flights with Turkey this week on the back of rising infection rates in the country.

The flights will be halted starting on April 15 and will last until June 1, Russian deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said at a briefing Monday.

Russian Health Minister Anna Popova added that the number of virus strain mutations being brought from abroad had raised concerns.

"The epidemiological situation in Turkey has continued to worsen since the first ten days of March and unfortunately we don't see a stop in the growth (in cases)," she said.

The officials said that measures would be drawn up to help tour operators during the halting of flights.

Meanwhile, charter flights would continue to operate for Russian tourists who are currently in Turkey, and two Moscow-Istanbul flights would be retained per week.

Russia has recorded 59,633 new cases of the coronavirus in the past week, and officials say the fall in the number of new cases recorded in previous weeks is slowing.

A total of 4,597,400 people have been infected with the virus in total.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Wall Street brokerage has flagged a slew of concerns on the surging COVID-19 caseload that has been hitting new records everyday, coupled with the rising lockdowns, forcing it to downgrade India's GDP growth forecast for the full year to 10.5 per cent from 10.9 per cent, apart from pegging down stock indices valuation and earnings.

In a detailed note on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs' house economists led by Sunil Koul said these record number of pandemic cases and a host of key states announcing stricter lockdowns of late have fuelled serious growth concerns, leaving investors worried about the risks to macro and earnings recovery.

It revised down its 2021 real GDP growth forecast to 10.5 per cent, from 10.9 per cent previously, but it still remained above consensus. It also expects the June quarter growth to be impacted.

Accordingly, it has lowered the 2021 earnings growth forecast to 24 per cent from 27 per cent previously and expects the recovery to resume from July as restrictions normalise, vaccination pace accelerates and the global growth backdrop remains supportive.

The crisis of confidence was very clear in the equity markets, which has come under tremendous pressure and selling off 3.5 per cent on Monday alone. The index is down 7 per cent from its year-to-date high.

Lowering the Q2 (June quarter) growth forecast without quantifying it though, the economists said they still expect all these to have only moderate impact overall as the restrictions have been targeted at specific sectors without broad spillovers so far.

On the valuation compression, they now expect only low-teen returns this year and have pencilled in a 10 per cent PE compression.

expects to reach 16,300 by December, down from the earlier forecast of16,500, which implies only about 14 per cent upside in rupee terms.

After the record spike in infections to over 1.68 lakh a day, major states including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Bihar have announced stricter lockdown restrictions, which are likely to broaden out in coming weeks.

The brokerage said the containment restrictions are likely to be more targeted with hits to specific services such as food and beverages, leisure and recreation, and transport, but with limited spillovers into other sectors like construction and manufacturing.

While these restrictions are likely to hit activity in June quarter, activity is likely to rebound sharply from July as containment policies normalise, it added.

On the impact of the lockdowns, it said while near-term risks remain if restrictions and shutdowns broaden, more downside risks can be contained if market sensitivity to lockdowns comes down.

Yet, Goldman Sachs is overweight on India and favours targeted cyclical exposure, saying it remains constructive on domestic equities.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a normal year, Leigh Anne and Nick Lester would be spending the day of Fiestas King William Fair the way they usually do: skedaddling to their hometown of New Orleans to attend the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

But this is far from a normal year, with the King William Fair and King William Parade both canceled due to COVID-19. So theyre staying in town and have gone all-out decorating their home for the King William House Float Parade. The free, socially distant event encourages homeowners to festoon their homes Fiesta-style, so visitors can come and enjoy the spectacle, which runs Thursday through April 25.

We live in the neighborhood, and the Fiesta crowds have just gotten to be too much, said Leigh Anne, an artist whose work riffs on genetic modification in plants. Thats why we leave town each year. This year Ive gotten so excited to be decorating on my yard that I havent been working in my art studio.

This years Fiesta San Antonio, which traditionally runs in April, has been rescheduled for June 17 to 27. Several events, such as the King William Fair and Fiesta Oyster Bake, will not be happening until 2022.

Robin Jerstad / Contributor

Soon after the parade was scrapped, several local neighborhood associations got together and decided to throw a different kind of parade of homes, borrowing an idea that originated in New Orleans in February when neighbors there decorated their front yards and porches to celebrate Mardi Gras after the celebration was canceled.

Its our way of celebrating Fiesta safely, said Lisa Lynde, the executive director of the King William Association. People can drive through the neighborhoods and enjoy the decorations, or they can park and walk.

Now Playing: Video: San Antonio Express-News

On ExpressNews.com: Fiesta in Flux: Cancellations and postponements so far

As of Monday morning, 80 officially registered home floats were located throughout King William, Lavaca, Roosevelt Park and other nearby neighborhoods. A map of participating houses is available on the King William Association website at ourkwa.org/housefloatparade.

Participants can decorate their homes any way they want.

One recent morning, the Lesters were putting the finishing touches on their Mission Street house, themed Viva Vaccine!

They decorated caulking guns to look like giant syringes and recycled political lawn signs to promote the various vaccines available  complete with fine print reading, Microchips not included, a cheeky reference to debunked conspiracy theories about nefarious ingredients added to the vaccines.

Leigh Anne said she spent several months noodling out how she was going to decorate her house and that once she decided on her theme, it took about three days to install.

Robin Jerstad /Contributor

She already had a lot of the materials but said she and her husband spent $200 to $300 for additional decorations.

With so much uncertainty in the COVID times, it was great to have a project with a deadline, she said. It was fun!

On ExpressNews.com: Fond memories and frog legs: Book recalls life at the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo

To decorate her Lavaca home, Penny Boyer used many of the objects she collected during her pre-pandemic travels through Southeast Asia. The items, including lanterns and festive banners, adorn her front lawn and porch, along with a 7-foot reclining Buddha and two apsaras (Asian female spirits) made by her artist friend Michelle Humphreys Burk.

Boyer said that while the event is a positive alternative to Fiestas canceled parades and fairs, she also hopes her house will do something more.

Just as the floats were brought about as a result of COVID, so has the rise of anti-Asian violence, she said. I aim to shine a light on both byproducts of the coronavirus: the bitter and the better.

In addition to the decorations, Boyer is attaching about 150 small gift bags to her front fence, each containing a sand dollar she collected in the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Myanmar. The bags will also contain tiny posters opposing discrimination against Asians.

Derek and Lauren Gisriels home on Matagorda Street was built in 1891, which was also the year of the inaugural Fiesta. So the couple are decorating their house float to celebrate the 130th anniversary of both.

So much has happened here over the years: weddings, funerals, births, said Derek, who, along with Lauren, works for a San Antonio solar energy company. Every year we celebrate the birthday of the house, so this year were celebrating the house and Fiesta.

Happy birthday to both.

rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini
MCLA To Present Info Session on State Employee Tuition Waiver

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  MCLA's Division of Graduate and Continuing Education (DGCE) and the Office of Student Financial Services will hold a virtual info session at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, providing overviews of DGCE's programs and sharing information about the tuition waiver available for Massachusetts state employees and their spouses.

Barbara Emanuel, director of DGCE programs, will provide an overview of MCLA's Master of Business Administration, Master of Education including teacher licensure programs, bachelor's degree completion, and certificates in accounting and cyber security.

Bonnie Howland, MCLA director of student financial services, will provide information on tuition waivers for state employees and their spouses. She will also present information on other resources for financial aid. Those eligible for the state tuition waiver also receive a substantial discount in MCLA's undergraduate summer classes.
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.
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden vowed Monday that the size and scope of his $2.25 trillion jobs plan - as well as how to pay for it - is up for negotiation, setting the stage for what probably will be months of congressional wrangling on one of the White House's chief legislative priorities.

Whether a bipartisan deal materializes is far from clear, however, as a top GOP senator told Biden in a private Oval Office meeting Monday that it would be "almost impossible" to win over Republicans if the plan envisions boosting the corporate tax rate, as it currently does. There is also widespread private skepticism among congressional Republicans that the White House is genuinely open to a cross-party agreement that might significantly scale back Biden's ambitions.

But the president, as well as White House officials, insisted that his overtures at bipartisanship were earnest and that he would not have been spending hours meeting with Republicans otherwise.

"I'm not big on window-dressing, as you've observed," Biden said as he prepared to convene the meeting with lawmakers of both parties.

The session, which a White House official said was the first of several Biden will host this month, marked the informal beginning of months of arm-twisting and vote haggling on Capitol Hill to line up support behind the administration's American Jobs Plan, a proposal that stretches beyond the traditional definitions of infrastructure.

The plan forms the cornerstone of Biden's economic agenda and includes Democratic priorities that the White House and hope to enact before the 2022 midterms. Despite the president's stated appetite for bipartisanship, the infrastructure bill has received little interest from Republicans so far, particularly with Biden's proposal to finance it by raising taxes on corporations from the current 21% to 28%.

Under President Donald Trump, Republicans passed a bill cutting the corporate taxes from the then-rate of 35% to 21%, and few are willing to consider reversing that, even in part.

"I view the 2017 tax bill as one of my signature achievements in my entire career," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss, said. "It would be an almost impossible sell for the president to come to a bipartisan agreement that included the undoing of that signature."

Biden gathered with lawmakers including Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, and Wicker, the top GOP senator on the panel that plays a critical role in congressional debates on railroads and broadband Internet access, major elements of the Biden infrastructure plan.

Reps. Garret Graves, R-La., and Donald Payne, D-N.J., who also took part in the meeting, belong to a panel of House lawmakers considering legislation to fund and improve the nation's highways while implementing new programs to reduce carbon emissions.

Other attendees at the meeting included Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Rep. David Price, D-N.C., and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. Young is the longest-serving member of the House, and Biden affectionately dubbed him the "dean."

"The president made a compelling case for acting big and broadly when it comes to the definition of infrastructure," Padilla said. The freshman senator, who took Kamala Harris's Senate seat when she was elevated to the vice presidency, said Biden's message was that simply catching up on deferred maintenance on roads and bridges would be a significant lost opportunity.

Biden was attuned to the particulars of his plan, attendees said, with Padilla saying the president was particularly animated in his support for the billions of dollars outlined in his proposal that would pay for upgrades to medical centers run by Veterans Affairs.

Padilla also made a case that the administration could consider not paying for parts of the infrastructure and jobs plan - echoing the view of some other Democrats - although other attendees and people briefed on the meeting said Biden did not appear too keen on deficit financing. The president also said he opposed raising gasoline taxes to finance parts of the plan, the White House later confirmed, despite suggestions from some Republicans that he consider doing so.

Speaking with reporters after the session, Payne said Republicans raised many issues "with parts of the bill," including the size of the package, its policy scope and the White House's preferred means of paying for it.

"The president was much more flexible than I was," Payne added. "I believe that the American Jobs Plan is a once-in-a-lifetime generational opportunity for us to modernize our airports, our roadways, our rail stations and our water infrastructure, and it's long overdue."

Wicker confirmed that he and other Republicans wanted to stick with what they have described as traditional infrastructure - such as ports, rails and roads - and noted that there is $40 billion in unspent federal dollars to upgrade the nation's broadband system.

Young agreed that lawmakers have to be cognizant about the "very definition of infrastructure," Young, adding that he told Biden that the White House should reconsider implementing an increase in the gasoline tax.

"Roads, bridges, and ports are undoubtedly infrastructure, and I believe that energy grids, broadband, and clean water can fit the definition as well," Young said. "But I have concern that moving too far beyond this could sink the bill."

The president has insisted that his outreach to Republicans is genuine, given the broad political appeal of addressing the country's infrastructure needs. But the administration has also signaled that if negotiations drag on, Democrats may decide to act on their own, as they did in approving a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in March.

"I'm confident everything is going to work out for us perfectly," Biden said Monday.

The pathway to passage has become more complicated since the White House formally unveiled its plan March 31. Republican lawmakers have argued that certain elements, including those that tackle climate change and $400 billion in elder care, do not belong in an infrastructure package.

Senior Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also took issue with the price tag and the tax increases Biden has put forward to pay for it. Some Democrats, including centrist Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have raised their own objections to the tax hikes.

Manchin also warned the Biden administration and Democratic leaders last week that the party should not repeatedly rely on an arcane legislative maneuver known as reconciliation to advance an infrastructure package with 51 votes.

But other Democratic senators are pushing for prompt, ambitious action, saying Republicans in the Obama years clearly showed that they have no real interest in bipartisanship or compromise.

"This country faces enormous crises," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee who is crafting the party's reconciliation strategy. "I think the American people are not staying up nights worrying about the process. They want results."

Before Monday's meeting, the White House sought to pressure lawmakers by providing data showing how years of underfunded initiatives in all 50 states have resulted in poor roads, bridges, waterways and broadband connections. In Manchin's home state of West Virginia, the White House pointed to more than 1,500 bridges and 3,200 miles of highway in "poor condition," adding that "The need for action is clear."

- - -

The Washington Post's Jeff Stein contributed to this report.
After marking a pared-down Ramadan last year, Richmond West resident Asra Waleed plans to enjoy the small things during the upcoming Muslim holy month, including special meals with her family and attending mosque for community prayer when theres room for her.

After marking a pared-down Ramadan last year, Richmond West resident Asra Waleed plans to enjoy the small things during the upcoming Muslim holy month, including special meals with her family and attending mosque for community prayer when theres room for her.

"The biggest thing in Islam is to always be thankful and grateful, whatever the situation is," said Waleed, an English language instructor at University of Winnipeg.

"These values carry forward in relationship to the pandemic."

Ramadan begins at sundown Tuesday, and continues for 30 days until May 12. During that time, adult Muslims fast from food or drink during daylight hours, pray five times a day, read and recite the Quran and donate to charity.

DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Asra Waleeds family, including grandparents who also live in the home, sit around a table as they demonstrate breaking the ramadan fast.

Manitoba Muslims eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination during Ramadan should proceed with their appointments, since getting vaccinated is not considered breaking the fast, said Urooj Danish of the Manitoba Islamic Association.

"A Muslim person cannot harm any other person in his/her surroundings," she said regarding vaccination.

"This is one way of protecting others around us."

She said Manitoba Islamic Association takes direction from the Canadian Muslim COVID-19 task force, an ad hoc group of medical professionals, religious leaders and community organizations. It recommends Muslims follow public health guidelines in their region during Ramadan, connect virtually instead of in person and get the vaccine when they are able.

The citys two largest mosques will open for community prayers each evening with a 100-person maximum as laid out in current provincial guidelines, said Danish. Muslims who plan to attend the Grand Mosque on Waverley Street must sign up for a ticket, but Winnipeg Central Mosque on Ellice Avenue will accommodate walk-up traffic.

DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Waleed adjusts the ramadan corner her family setup in their home.

"We will be streaming the prayers (online) so people can listen to that and pray at home," said Danish of alternatives for the Taraweeh prayer, the community prayer after breaking the fast.

Instead of community meals, the association has asked for donations from the Muslim community to run a 7 to 8 p.m. weekday drive-thru meal service for students and people who live alone, as well as for the hundreds of food hampers and grocery cards they plan to distribute to people in need.

This years Ramadan may be easier for families compared to the complete lockdown during the 2020 holy month, which prevented holding any in-person events or even eating with people outside immediate households, said Idris Knapp, executive director of Winnipeg Central Mosque.

"We had a chance to stay at home (last year) with our families and had a chance to look within," he said about the time of introspection and spiritual growth associated with Ramadan.

"This year, well try to keep it as low-key as possible."

DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Waleed sets out dates on the table. Each evening when the sun sets the family will break their ramadan fast by first eating a date.

Knapp will monitor daily cases and provincial health guidelines throughout Ramadan and will close the mosque, if required.

Danish said plans for Eid depend on public health guidelines in place in mid-May. Before 2020, about 10,000 Muslims gathered at the downtown convention centre for a celebration at the end of Ramadan.

Continuing restrictions means Rubina Atif is preparing for another at-home Ramadan with special food and family routines. Last year, she fasted alongside her husband and their three young adult children and turned a basement room in their Normand Park home into a prayer space. This year, most of the family will attend community prayers at Grand Mosque when they can get tickets, but they will continue their home-based practices as part of the spiritual discipline of Ramadan.

"The meaning of Ramadan is to think of others who are less fortunate than us," said Atif, program coordinator at SSCOPE, a non-profit organization that provides employment and housing to vulnerable people.

"When we are fasting, we can feel what people who do not have food feel, (people) who have an empty stomach."

Despite pandemic restrictions, Ramadan remains a spiritual highlight of the year for Waleed, but she regrets her young daughters, ages 4 and 7 will miss a second year of experiencing the community aspect of Ramadan. With vaccination campaigns underway, she has faith 2022 will be different.

"We hope next Ramadan we can all get together in peoples houses and things will get better," said Waleed.

faith@freepress.mb.ca
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar is the greatest exemplar of the belief that education enables a man to overcome all obstacles in life, be they social, cultural or economic in nature.

Born on April 14, 1891, Ambedkar, whose 130th birth anniversary we are celebrating today, was the 14th and last child of soldier Subedar Ramji Maloji Sakpal and Bhimabai Sakpal, daughter of Laxman Murbadkar. Born into the Mahar (dalit) caste, he experienced caste discrimination and humiliations early in life. But his revolutionary resolve was to put faith in education as a means to achieve social and economic equality.

His life is an inspiration to everyone, especially the subaltern wishing to rise in life. With 26 degrees and titles, including PhDs, associated with his name, Ambedkar believed education can alone pave the way for change in society. Cultivation of the mind should be the ultimate aim of human existence, Ambedkar said.

Ambedkar holds the distinction of being the first Indian to pursue a doctoral degree in economics abroad. He was the first PhD in economics and the first double doctorate holder in economics in South Asia. He was also among the most highly educated Indians of his generation.

During his three years at Columbia University, Ambedkar took 29 courses in economics, 11 in history, six in sociology, five in philosophy, four in anthropology, three in politics and one each in elementary French and German, thus optimising the fellowship granted by Sayaji Rao Gaikwad, ruler of Baroda, who powered his educational pursuits. Ambedkar graduated with Persian as his medium of instruction because he was forbidden to study Sanskrit.

Ambedkar experienced discrimination since he was a child. Two incidents had a huge impact on him.

Once, while returning home with a maternal cousin after school, they alighted at the railway station in scorching heat and found no one had come to receive them from their village. They managed to hire a bullock cart to travel to their village but on learning the boys were Mahars, the driver forced them to get down from the cart. Babasaheb offered to double the price and even offered to drive the cart himself but the owner refused. On the way, no one allowed them even to drink water. In another incident, Ambedkar went to drink water from a roadside tap. He was beaten up.

Despite the Bole Resolution passed by the Bombay legislature in 1923 called for opening of public places and public water reservoirs to untouchables, there was no change in the plight of the dalits. Ambedkar conceived the Mahad Satyagraha in 1927 to highlight the issue of untouchability and caste discrimination. We are not going to Chavadar tank to merely drink water. We are going to assert that we, too, are human beings, he declared.

Surendranath Tipnis, president of Mahad municipality declared public spaces open to dalits and invited Ambedkar to hold a meeting in 1927. After the meeting, they proceeded to Chavadar tank, where Ambedkar drank water along with thousands of untouchables. A riot broke out following a rumour that Ambedkar and his followers were planning to enter a Hindu temple in town.

In December 1937, the Bombay high court ruled that untouchables have the right to drink and use water from the tank.

With the Kalaram temple entry movement, Ambedkar led a protest outside the temple on March 2, 1930, asserting the right of dalits to enter temples. It was a nonviolent movement attended by over 15,000 people, who squatted before the temple and sang bhajans.

It was the reaction of upper caste Hindus who made Ambedkar contemplate religious conversion. At one point of time, he decided to convert to Sikhism but to give shock treatment to Hindu society he later chose Buddhism.

Throughout his life, Ambedkar fought for securing human rights for the downtrodden and the oppressed. He was the first labour minister of India and also our first law minister. On August 29, 1947, he was appointed chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution. He studied the salient features of constitutions of over 60 countries and distilled the best features that suited the Indian context. He is recognised worldwide as the maker of the Indian Constitution.

The Constitution drafted by Ambedkar ensures justice and equality to each and every citizen of India. Civil liberties, freedom of religion, abolition of untouchability, reservation and prohibition of all forms of discrimination are the gifts of Ambedkar to Indians. Ambedkar championed economic and social rights for women and advocated affirmative action for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Not many people are aware that Ambedkar refused to draft Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir on grounds that it was discriminatory and against the principles of unity and integrity of the nation. The article was finally drafted by Gopalswamy Ayyangar, former Diwan to Maharaja Hari Singh.

Ambedkars commitment to equality and justice is best established by his resignation as law minister when the Hindu Code Bill was dropped by Parliament. He had introduced the bill to elevate the social status of Hindu women. Most labour laws protecting the interests of workers are his contribution. He made provisions for maternity benefits for working women.

In 1990, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, Indias highest civilian honour. His birth anniversary is celebrated as a day to reflect upon the progress made in achieving social equity and ending oppression.

As a nation, we are going to celebrate the 75th anniversary of our Independence in 2022. But even today, all evils against which Ambedkar fought have not been eradicated. The worst of these is communal hatred. The real tribute to Babasaheb would be to establish social and economic justice.
The parents of the 20-year-old black man shot dead by a veteran police officer during a traffic stop in Minneapolis say they are refusing to accept that the cop accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser.

Daunte Wright was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags.

Police said a struggle broke out when they tried to arrest Wright after running his name and realizing he had an outstanding warrant.

Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the warrant but court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court last month on misdemeanor charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police last June.

Daunte Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake after police revealed Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser

Daunte Wright (left with his son) was fatally shot by Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter (right) on Sunday after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags

His aunt has said the warrant was for marijuana possession.

The city's police chief on Monday described the shooting as 'an accidental discharge' and said the veteran officer had mistakenly fired her gun instead of a taser.

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake.

'I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he's never coming back. I can't accept a mistake, that doesn't even sound right,' Aubrey said.

'This officer has been on the force for 26 years.'

Wright's mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for 'everything she's taken from us'.

His aunt, Naisha Wright, had earlier called for Potter to be jailed for 'not knowing the difference between a fully loaded pistol and a taser'.

Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright's car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop

Potter could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, she can be heard saying: 'I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath

'Accident? An accident? No, come on now! I own a 20,000 volt taser. They don't feel nothing like a gun,' she told CNN. 'My family's blood is on their hands.'

Naisha has denied that her nephew's license plate tag was expired, as police have said. She also said a misdemeanor warrant that was out for her nephew was 'just for some weed'.

Wright's shooting death has sparked violent protests and unrest in the city that is already on edge because of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd's death.

Protests also broke out overnight in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland and Seattle.

The unrest continued for a second night just hours after the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled Wright's death as a homicide and said the cause was a gunshot wound to the chest.

It came after Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon held a tense press conference on Monday afternoon where he said 'an accidental discharge' appeared to be the cause of Wright's death.

Wright was shot dead on Sunday afternoon after he and his girlfriend were pulled over during a traffic stop for what police say was an expired car registration.

Police clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as 'an accidental discharge.' It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday

Protesters throw fireworks towards police as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department a day after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Monday

A Dollar Tree store that was looted has its sprinklers turned on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul. But hundreds of protesters defied that order and were seen gathered in the city Monday evening

The officers then learned Wright, who has a toddler son, had the outstanding warrant against him.

Gannon released footage of the incident from Potter's bodycam that showed her and two other officers approaching Wright's car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop.

The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.

A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.

Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'.

Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' Gannon said.

'As I watch the video and listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet.

Police clear a strip mall of demonstrators after issuing orders to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday, April 12

Protesters are arrested as law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021. Protests continue in the wake of the fatal shooting of Duante Wright

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

Protesters advance towards officers using umbrellas as shields outside Brooklyn Center Police Department

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

'For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you're right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left. This is done purposefully, and it's trained.'

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright's death.

Potter has been placed on administrative duty.

Brooklyn City Mayor Mike Elliott said during the press conference that the officer should be fired.

'My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,' Elliott said, adding he fully supported relieving the officer of her duties.

His comments were in contrast to City Manager Curt Boganey, who was in charge of the police department, after he said he wanted due process to play out before passing judgment on the officer's actions.

Boganey was fired by the town's City Council in an emergency meeting on Monday.

Elliott now oversees the police department.

Brian Peters, head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said Potter was working Sunday as a field training officer, training a new officer.

'She's just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It's completely devastating,' he said. 'In a very tense moment, she made a mistake. It's not her character.'

Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune.

She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home.

Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed.

Katie Wright (left), the mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was shot and killed yesterday by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop

Pictured: A man blows smoke in the face of an officer outside Brooklyn Center Police Station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Riot police stand in the middle of a crowd of protesters demonstrating after the death of Wright, outside the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Tension was high as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear faced off with protesters gathered outside of the police station

Police officers stand guard as they face off with demonstrators outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021

Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association.

Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported.

She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family, is also representing the Wrights.

In a tweet, Crump said he believed that Potter 'knew exactly what she was doing' in a previous case which he said she told officers how to 'obscure accountability'.

He wrote about the previous incident involving Dimock-Heisler and Potter, saying she 'taught officers who fatally shot Kobe Dimock-Heisler how to protect themselves & obscure accountability'.

Crump, quoting a Hennepin County Attorney's Office report, wrote that Potter had previously instructed two police officers in the previous case to 'exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn camera, and to not talk to ech other.

'Of course Kim Potter knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to obscure the truth. In that instance, her actions were clearly intentional,' he wrote.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall on Monday hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

A drum beat incessantly and the crowd broke into frequent chants of 'Daunte Wright!'

When the protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.

A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

'Move back!' the police chanted. 'Hands up! Don't shoot!' the crowd chanted back.

Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after Sunday night violence.

The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.

A curfew was in place, but the protesters were determined to ignore it.

The police repeatedly tried to drive protesters away from the police headquarters, only for the crowd to scatter, then regroup.

By late Monday, only a few dozen protesters remained.

At a press conference at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said that 40 people had been arrested on Monday night at the Brooklyn Center protest, with some people being booked into the Hennepin County jail, while some were cited and released.

He added several officers suffered minor injuries from debris.

Wright's mother Katie Wright has previously described her son calling her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror.

It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror.

She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him.

Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information.

'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.''

Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul

'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon.

'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, "Daunte, don't run,"' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat.

Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright's mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son.

'All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,' she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center.

'We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.'

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement.

'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm,' Biden said.

Biden then stressed that there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' in protest or otherwise.

'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence...'

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright's death.

'Prayers are not enough,' she tweeted. 'Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Dauntes family needs to know why their child is deadthey deserve answers.'
8 Christians kidnapped from Nigerian church bus released: 'Glory be to Jesus'

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Eight members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God who were abducted by gunmen last month while traveling on a bus to a church program in the Kaduna state of northwest Nigeria have been freed.

Today I got the exciting news that our brethren who were in captivity of kidnappers have all been released and taken to the hospital for check-up and tests, RCCG General Overseer Pastor Enoch Adeboye announced on Twitter.

Glory be to Jesus. We pray for lasting peace in all troubled regions of the country in Jesus name.

On March 26, the Christians were traveling to prepare for the churchs Lets Go a Fishing Easter program in the Kafanchan area when gunmen removed them from their bus and took them away in a vehicle, a church spokesperson told The Punch after the abduction.

A user reportedly posted a picture on Facebook of the victims empty church bus and reported that all passengers were kidnapped along Kachia Road.

The church bus features a banner that states, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Region 30, Trinity Sanctuary, Kaduna.

Vanguard daily newspaper reported at the time that the abductors demanded a ransom payment from the church.

It is unknown whether a ransom was paid for their release, the U.S.-based persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reports.

It is also unclear who abducted the church members.

According to ICC, the Kaduna state government had recently given a statement forbidding citizens to negotiate with bandits on the governments behalf.

The position of the Kaduna State Government remains the same: the Government will not negotiate with or pay ransoms to bandits, The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan said in a statement.

The abduction of the eight Christians was the latest in a series of mass abductions committed in Nigeria.

In February, gunmen kidnapped about 279 girls between the ages of 11 and 17 from Government Girls Science School in the Jangebe area of Zamfara state. They were released days later. One of the girls who was released reported that a ransom had been paid for their release.

I am elated. We thank God. We thank God, Habib Abdullahi, whose three daughters were kidnapped, was quoted as saying at the time.

On Dec. 11, gunmen captured hundreds of boarding school students from Kankara Government Science Secondary School in Katsina state. Boko Haram, one of the worlds deadliest Islamic terror groups based in northeast Nigeria, claimed responsibility.

The terrorists released a six-minute ransom video featuring Boko Haram's black-and-white flag. The footage showed a large crowd of boys surrounded by gunmen. Later that month, security forces rescued 344 of the kidnapped students.

In 2014, 276 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted from a school in Chibok. The abduction gained international attention and sparked the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. About 112 of the Chibok schoolgirls remain missing.

Nigeria ranks as the ninth-worst country globally for Christian persecution on Open Doors USAs 2021 World Watch List.

In addition to the rise of Islamic extremist violence in the northeast and the rise of attacks by Fulani radicals in the Middle Belt, kidnapping for ransom has become lucrative for criminal outfits in Nigeria.

The U.S. State Department recognizes Nigeria as a "country of particular concern" for engaging in or tolerating egregious religious liberty violations.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/12/2021



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star Matt James has been accused of lying about his romantic relationship with Rachael Kirkconnell being over and downplaying the seriousness of his relationship with another woman.After 's Season 25 star and Rachael -- who split in February over Rachael's racism scandal -- were spotted together in New York City last week, reports suddenly swirled Matt had no desire to date Rachael again and was just looking to remain friendly with her.A source told E! News on Friday that a love-stricken Rachael pushed Matt to hang out, and another insider told Us Weekly that Rachael hoped to resume a serious relationship with Matt and he was the one "hesitant to take her back."But according to Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone, those sources were actually just spinning Matt's narrative and star actually had every intention of reconciling with Rachael until she discovered Matt had attempted to hook up with another woman only two days earlier."[Matt] has been up Rachael's ass for three weeks," Carbone argued in a Friday Instagram Live video, adding, "[He's] been telling Rachael he wants to be back together with her and he wants to have a relationship with her."Carbone insisted reports Matt was hanging out with Rachael in New York as friends "couldn't be further from the truth" and he has text-message "evidence" to show Matt's camp has been lying."One side is trying to cover their ass, and that's Matt's side, clearly," Carbone claimed."The narrative him and his camp are spinning in the media right now is gaslighting, it's manipulative and it's bullsh-t... He's trying to cover his ass."According to Carbone, Matt kept "talking and FaceTiming every single day" with Rachael after : After the Final Rose finale aired on ABC in March.Matt, who allegedly paid for Rachael's ticket to visit him in New York and stay at his place, "has told Rachael specifically over and over and over again he's in love with her, he wants to be with her, and he wants to make it work out," Carbone reported.But just two days before Matt and Rachael reunited in New York on Tuesday, April 6, Matt allegedly spent time in Miami, FL, and reached out to a girl he had previously dated on Sunday, April 4."[Matt] was trying to hook up with a girl named Grace," Carbone revealed.Matt reportedly texted Grace to come see him before he left Florida allegedly knowing Rachael would be visiting him in New York "not as friends" about 48 hours later."He has a past with Grace. That past, once he was with Rachael, never overlapped because he basically ghosted Grace once he got on [ ]... But after Matt and Rachael broke up around Valentine's Day, he immediately hit Grace back up... [for a booty call]. Let's call it what it is," Carbone said.Grace, however, reportedly turned down Matt's invitation to hang out and potentially hook up.Once Grace heard about Matt and Rachael's reunion in New York, she reportedly texted Matt to confirm the news on Wednesday night.Matt allegedly called Grace on the phone when he left his apartment alone to pick up sushi and firmly denied that Rachael was staying with him."Matt was flat out lying to [Grace's] face... He called Grace back and said, 'I would never try and get with you Sunday night if that were the case,'" Carbone claimed.In attempt to protect Rachael, Carbone said he contacted a source close to bachelorette to share his surprising findings about Matt and Grace.The source informed Rachael of Matt's alleged secrecy on Thursday, April 8, according to Carbone, and then Rachael confronted Matt.Matt allegedly promised that Grace didn't mean anything to him and he had just contacted Grace because he needed another person to fill out his table during a night out in Miami."Not true, because when Grace told him, 'I'm not going to see you,' on Sunday night [and] 'I don't want to go to a party,' [Matt] said, 'Well, maybe we can have time to ourselves,'" Carbone recalled."So it was clear Matt wanted to be with her on Sunday night, but she never did."The spoiler blogger added, "I just want to applaud Matt on the effort he's putting into playing two women at the same time."Despite Matt's denial about Grace, "Rachael essentially walked out on Matt and [said], 'We're done,'" according to Carbone."Matt got caught with his pants down and she left and called her [ ] girls and hung out with them... She left Matt's apartment in a huff very upset and crying," Carbone said.Rachael also reportedly contacted Grace directly to compare stories and the two women ultimately determined Matt had been playing them both.Since the scandal broke, Matt allegedly unfollowed and blocked Grace on social media, and Carbone acknowledged it would be "hard to believe" that Rachael could trust Matt again because he had "lied directly to her face" multiple times about his intentions with Grace.Carbone also conducted a subsequent Instagram Live session on Friday in which Grace joined him for a chat and verified all of the information he had reported about her and Matt was accurate."I saw that Matt was trying to get back together with Rachael and it just didn't sit right with me. Like, Rachael was so in love with him, and for him trying to contact me and hang out with me -- someone who has had past romantic relationships with -- two days prior in Miami, it just didn't sit right with me," Grace explained.Grace said Rachael deserved to be made aware of Matt's actions and so she reached out to Carbone to share her story."I feel like Rachael is really the victim here. I'm completely fine... [but] when guys are two-timing you, it's just not okay," Grace noted."It's just not okay... I hope [Rachael] finds someone better... At a certain point when you start changing your character and lying and gaslighting and doing all of these things to protect your image and your fame, that's sort of when I have an issue. All power to you if you go on the show for fame, but in Matt's case, it got to a point where it was a little too much."Matt announced on : After the Final Rose special last month that he had decided to break up with Rachael shortly after she publicly apologized in February for her racially-ignorant and racially-insensitive actions in the last several years.Matt previously said he wanted to give Rachael some time and space for her to educate herself and "put in the work" to become better.Matt said during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast last month, "You hear people harping on forgiveness and I forgave her when she told me [about her mistakes], but that doesn't mean I'm not disappointed and I don't want her to do better."According to an Us source, Matt believed that Rachael isn't a racist but he thought it "wasn't a good look for him to stay with her."Matt had suggested in multiple interviews, however, he wasn't necessarily permanently closing the door on his relationship with Rachael, who has called Matt " the love of my life " and previously defended star against bullying and harassment.Interested in more news? Join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  An Omaha police officer has been charged with felony counts and placed on leave after being accused of using a gun to threaten teens who pounded on doors in the officer's neighborhood late at night.
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Some legislative aides to federal lawmakers staged a peaceful protest on Tuesday to demand unpaid salaries and allowances.

The lawmakers had just resumed plenary after a three-week Easter break.

The aides, positioned at the lobby between both chambers of the National Assembly, held placards and chanted words asking lawmakers and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Olatunde Ojo, to pay salaries and allowances.

The Clerk, they said, have failed to pay salary arrears, minimum wage, implement Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS), Duty Tour Allowances (DTA), among others.

The protest comes barely 24 hours after another group of National Assembly workers called the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) threatened to commence an indefinite industrial action if the management fails to meet their demands  which also includes unpaid salaries.

A recurring act

Tuesdays protest will not be the first in the Ahmad Lawan-led ninth assembly.

A similar protest with the same demands was held by the aides in December 2019. They had not only accused the National Assembly management of refusing to pay them for over six months, the management was also accused of short-changing the few who were paid.

That protest came about two weeks after Mr Lawan and the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, met with relevant agencies of government led by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to discuss the non-payment of severance allowances for legislative aides who served in the National Assembly between 2015 and 2019.

It is only fair that we give them what is due to them (aides). We realise there was need to bring on board for this discussion the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the National Assembly Service Commission as well, so that in this meeting we are able to discuss and finalise where the source of the severance allowance for the legislative aides will be, Mr Lawan had said.

The demands by these set of ex-legislative aides for salaries and allowances due to them lingered all through the eighth assembly.

The aides had in October 2018, staged a protest at the National Assembly Complex to demand allowances  an act which the former Chairperson of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, described as uncalled for.

The aides had also written a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission demanding an investigation into criminal diversion of their budgeted legitimate entitlements.

Resolution

Mr Gbajabiamila, who was somewhat ambushed by the protesting aides when he made his way to the chambers, said it is inexcusable not to pay workers their wages.

He thereafter promised that the National Assembly management will look into it while he asked that the protesters exercise patience.

We know there are financial constraints but one thing I know is this will be resolved amicably and your arrears will be paid, he said.

Meanwhile, as is their tradition, the Senate adjourned plenary and all other legislative activities to mourn two members of the House who dies during the break  Haruna Maitala, who represented Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency of Plateau State, died on April 2 in a fatal motor accident and Suleiman Aliyu Lere, who represented Lere Federal Constituency, Kaduna State and died on April 6.

Motion to suspend all activities for the day and adjourn was moved by the Senate Leader, Abdulahi Yahaya and seconded by the Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe.
The Moderna headquarters is seen in Cambridge, Mass., on Nov. 30, 2020. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

FDA: Problem With J&J Vaccine Not Seen in Patients Who Got Moderna, Pfizer Shots

The post-vaccination blood clotting and low blood platelet levels seen in a small number of people who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has not been seen in any Americans who got shots from Pfizer or Moderna, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters on a call that at this time, weve not found any reports of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis combined with thrombocytopenia among those who received a Pfizer or Moderna shot.

U.S. health officials and drug regulators earlier in the day recommended a pause in the administration of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 shot because of six reported post-vaccination cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a rare type of blood clotting that requires an atypical treatment.

Moderna said that they performed an assessment of people who got their shot found no association with the blood clots.

A comprehensive assessment of the totality of the available safety data for mRNA-1273 after over 64.5 million doses administered globally does not suggest an association with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) or thrombotic events, the Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology company said in a statement.

The analyses were performed using data through March 22, with numbers derived from U.S. and European health agency websites.

Figures for other countries were inferred based on distribution and the proportion of doses distributed and administered, the company added.

Only three COVID-19 vaccines are currently authorized for use in the United States.

The third is a shot from Pfizer-BioNTech.

Nurse practitioner Sarah Gonzalez gives a dose of the COVID-19 Moderna vaccine to Claudia Zain, 47, of New York, at a mass vaccination site at Brooklyn Army Terminal in New York City on Jan. 10, 2021. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A Pfizer spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email that the company conducted a comprehensive assessment of ongoing aggregate safety data for its shot.

The assessment provided no evidence to conclude that arterial or venous thromboembolic events, with or without thrombocytopenia, are a risk associated with the use of our COVID-19 vaccine, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The analysis included a review of all post-vaccination adverse events through March 27.

Regulators authorized the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in December 2020. So far, the vast majority of shots administered in the United States have been from one of the companies.

As of April 12, 97.9 million of the vaccines administered were from Pfizer, while 84.6 million were from Moderna.

Just 6.8 million, in comparison, were from Johnson & Johnson.

About 160,000 were not identified, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Both the Pfizer and Moderna shots are built on messenger RNA technology while Johnson & Johnsons uses an adenovirus vector, similar to one from the UKs AstraZeneca that is being considered for authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.

But a small number of people who got AstraZenecas vaccine have also experienced blood clots.

The European Medicines Agency concluded last week that there was a possible link between the vaccine and clots but recommended countries still use the jab, ruling the benefits outweigh the risks. However, the agency advised AstraZeneca to include rare blood clots as a possible side effect for those getting the vaccine.
The BOSON "Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Card" brings an affordable new solution to the UK's rapid testing strategy

GRAZ, Austria, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Technomed, a provider of medical technology solutions and products, has released the world's first COVID-19 antigen-rapid self-test for use throughout the UK. This new product will directly support the UK government's strategy for all UK adults to receive two rapid COVID-19 tests twice a week and help to open-up foreign travel.

The test, which has been awarded the EC certificate and approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has been cleared for use in the UK. The importance of this test to the UK Government's coronavirus strategy is bolstered by its competitive price point, up to 50% cheaper than other offerings - placing an affordable product at the core of the UK's mass testing strategy.

"We are very proud to be able to supply the UK with the BOSON 'Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Test Card' self-test, a high-quality product for containing and combating the pandemic," says Dr. Moritz Bubik, CEO of Technomed. "Products that contribute to pandemic containment must also offer proven quality, reliability, availability and affordability. Only with the full certification process can the quality and reliability that end users expects and deserves be demonstrated."

Sales planning in the UK is already underway, with availability of the self-test already in place. Around 20 million tests are already being produced each week in various types of packaging: the single pack, the 5-pack and a 20-pack. Technomed will continue to diversify its distribution channels, supplying public agencies, specialty and pharmaceutical distributors, as well as retailers.

The Corona antigen self-test is performed via a swab in the anterior nasal region. The result is available after approximately 15 minutes - all currently known mutations of the virus are detected. The product consists of test cassettes, swabs, vial with extraction solution, tube with dropper cap and instructions for private use. The COVID-19-antigen self-test has already received special approval from the German Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on 24.02.2021. This served to bridge the time until the full approval.

About Technomed

Technomed GmbH, based in Graz, Austria has around 40 years of experience in the development and sale of medical technology products. www.technomed.at

Press Contact:

Dr. Moritz Bubik

technomed Service, Planung, Handel mit medizinischen, technischen Geraten und Anlagen Gesellschaft m.b.H.

Stattegger Strae 31b, A- 8045 Graz

Tel: +43 316 71 68 60

E-Mail: pr@technomed.at

Photo material: https://technomed.at/files/technomed_pr_antigen_ce_01042021.zip

https://technomed.at/files/technomed_antigen_pressefotos.zip

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484653/Dr__Moritz_Bubik.jpg

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A quiet Bristol park served as the unlikely setting for a star-studded new drama on Tuesday as filming commenced on the set of forthcoming BBC series The Offenders.

Eleanor Tomlinson, best known for her role as Demelza in raunchy period romp Poldark, led the way - but the petticoats and corsets were traded for a high-visibility vest as she prepared to carry out community service as Gabby, one of the show's central characters.

Clutching a takeaway coffee and a hot water bottle, the actress, 28, appeared to be in high spirits as she relaxed on set with American star Christopher Walken - who takes on his first British TV role after decades of Hollywood success.

Here we go: Eleanor Tomlinson was in high spirits as she prepared to film her scenes on the set of new Amazon Prime series The Offenders in Bristol on Tuesday

The celebrated actor, 78, will play morally questionable Frank, an ageing rogue who desperately attempts to make amends with his family.

Making his way across the exterior set, Walken ensured he stayed safe by concealing his mouth and nose behind a protective face covering.

Stephen Merchant, who serves as writer and director on the new show, was also seen taking precautionary measures by wearing a plastic visor.

She's pleased: Clutching a takeaway coffee and a hot water bottle, the actress appeared to be in high spirits as she relaxed on set with her co-stars

There she is: Eleanor is perhaps more familiar with the corset and gowns worn by the feisty Demelza in BBC period romp Poldark

Main man: Christopher Walken was also seen on set as he prepared to shoot his scenes. The actor is taking on his first British TV role after decades of Hollywood success

Definitely not one of the Extras: Stephen Merchant idled with crew-members between takes

The Extras star takes an added role his new show as Greg, a lonely lawyer who is struggling to deal with a messy divorce, workplace bullying and "scary men with knives".

Discussing his forthcoming series, Merchant - who comes from Bristol, where the show is based - admitted production was initially hampered by the spread of coronavirus in 2020.

He told The Sun: 'Like so many other productions, we'd just begun filming when COVID-19 struck and we had to shut-down.

Main man: Merchant writes and directs the new series, while taking an added role as lonely lawyer Greg

Getting involved: Eleanor wore a high-visibility vest as she prepared to carry out community service as Gabby, one of the show's central characters

Feeling fruity: Walken grabbed a banana from a catering trolley as he waited for his next scene

'I'm delighted that we're now finally able to resume filming with this incredible cast and finish this long-standing passion project.

'This is the first series I've made in my hometown of Bristol and I'm so excited to showcase the city and utilise the amazing local talent.'

Filming ground to a halt after just 12 days due to health concerns, but work has since continued in earnest as Britain's third national lockdown starts to ease.

All change: Eleanor later traded her high-visibility vest for a comfortable grey dressing gown

Upbeat: Sporting comfortable jeans and Ugg boots, the actress kept herself entertained during a quiet moment on set

Plenty to smile about: Actor Darren Boyd grinned as he chatted with members of the production team on Tuesday

It's understood that the BBC has already commissioned a second series of the show - - before the first has even finished post-production.

The broadcaster's demand means both series' one and two are being filmed back-to-back in Merchant's native Somerset, with award winning production company Big Talk charged with putting it together. The show is being pr

Reflecting on the BBC's unorthodox decision to commission a second series before gauging the popularity of the first, Big Talk boss Kenton Allen told Deadline: We said, "Well write Season 2 if you commission Season 2".

We were able to rewrite Season 1 to reflect what we know is going to happen to the characters in Season 2. We were able to deepen it and layer it.

The new show will also star Darren Boyd, Gamba Cole, Rhianne Barreto and Clare Perkins.

Side by side: Show stars Clare Perkins (L) and Rhianne Barreto (R) chatted as they made thir way across the busy set

Here come the boys: Gamba Cole (L) and Darren Boyd (R) enjoyed a quiet moment between scenes on the Bristol set
New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath clarified that a lockdown will not be imposed in the state, Law Minister Brijesh Pathak on Tuesday stated that a lockdown could be imposed in Lucknow if COVID-19 cases continued to rise.

In a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary Health and Principal Secretary Health, Pathak said that he is getting calls for help from hospitals due to lack of resources but he is "unable" to provide any aide.

The Minister stated in his letter, which has gone viral, he urged that strict measures be implemented to bring the situation under control and that a lockdown cannot be ruled out if the scenario does not improve.

"It is unfortunate that private hospitals have reduced testing. There is a need of 17,000 testing kits, whereas only 10,000 are available," Pathak said in the letter. He added that hospitals should ramp up testing as well.

Meanwhile, a slew of measures and restrictions and issued new guidelines to curb the spread of the deadly virus was announced on recently. Authorities also imposed night curfews in major cities of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi, with effect from April 8.

Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a fresh and a very severe wave of the pandemic with as many as 18,021 new cases in the past 24 hours. Lucknow alone reported 5,382 new COVID-19 cases.
Are you a current print subscriber? You qualify for online access to the Omak Chronicle. To receive your access, create a website account and then verify your print subscription or e-edition subscription with your subscriber number, which may be found on your bill or mailing label.
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a joint operation with the Tripura police busted a hawala racket based in Tripura.

The officials conducted searches at 7 places spread across west Agartala and Sonamura area of Tripura and recovered cash amounting to Rs 80 Lakh and 30 Lakh Bangladeshi Taka during searches.

The searches were conducted under the provisions of (Foreign Exchange Management Act) FEMA based on the intelligence inputs of foreign Hawala transactions provided by the Tripura police.

Apart from cash, other incriminating documents relating to Hawala transactions were also seized and then sent for scrutiny and examination.

Earlier this month, ED attached immovable assets to the tune of Rs 165.86 crore owned by Anup Majee who is accused in illegal coal mining case.

Live TV
TORONTO, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF FSE: P2QM) (Eloro, or the Company) is pleased to provide an update on its Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in Potosi Department, southern Bolivia. To date, the Company has completed 28 diamond drill holes totalling 10,677 metres to test the Huayra Kasa Mine area, Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe (SBBP) and Central Breccia Pipe (CBP) targets. This press release reports further drilling results from five additional holes (DSB-02 to DSB-06) on SBBP and detailed continuous channel sampling in the Santa Barbara adit. Two new holes (DCN-01 and DCN-02) have been completed on the CBP with results pending. Figure 1 is a geological plan map showing locations of the drill holes and updated geological interpretation. Figure 2 is a geological cross section along the axis of the SBBP showing location of the main mineralized zone. Figure 3 is a N-S cross section through the SBBP. Figure 4 is map of the continuous channel sampling at the Santa Barbara adit. Tables 1 gives significant drilling results, Table 2 gives complete continuous channel sampling results for the Santa Barbara Adit and Table 3 lists holes completed with assays pending. Highlights are as follows:



Highlights

442 g Ag eq/t (165 g Ag/t, 3.46% Pb and 0.46% Sn) over 166m including 1,092 g Ag eq/t (including 446 g Ag/t, 9.03% Pb and 1.16% Sn) over 56.19m in continuous channel sampling of the Santa Barbara adit. This high-grade interval includes two exceptional sections with 2,445.88 g Ag eq/t (1,024 g Ag/t, 25.0% Pb and 1.16% Sn) over 8.11m and 1.941 g Ag eq/t (870 g Ag/t, 7.58% Pb and 2.43% Sn) over 12.3m.

in continuous channel sampling of the Santa Barbara adit. This high-grade interval includes two exceptional sections with and 155.15 g Ag eq/t including notably high Sn, 0.43 %Sn over 73.29m in drill hole DSB-06

in drill hole DSB-06 115.76 g Ag eq/t over 84.0m and 66.44 g Ag eq/t over 217.9m in Hole DSB-03

in Hole DSB-03 96.71 g Ag eq/t over 29.4m and 120.03 g Ag eq/t over 13.57m in Hole DSB-05

in Hole DSB-05 65.72 g Ag eq/t over 83.3m including 120.91 g Ag eq/t over 25.0m in Hole DSB-02



Major Mineralized Zone Delineated at Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe

As shown in the geological cross section along the longitudinal axis of the SBBP (Figure 2) and the updated N-S geological cross section (Figure 3), first pass drilling has outlined a major mineralized zone which extends for at least 800m across the full long axis of the SBBP and is at least 400m wide with thickness ranging from approximately 200m to 400m. Recent drilling has doubled the extent of the breccia pipe from 400m to at least 800m in a northwest direction. The grade and intensity of mineralization appears to be increasing to the east, with the Santa Barbara adit returning the highest grades yet discovered at Iska Iska. The mineralized zone appears to be controlled by a major structure that dips shallowly westward and that cuts across both the breccia pipe and the surrounding fractured and altered dacitic dome. The higher-grade mineralization, which is more prevalent in the eastern half of the SBBP including discovery hole DHK-15 which returned 129.6 g Ag eq/t over 257.5m (see press release January 26, 2021), appears to be related to structural overprinting of an earlier epithermal stage of mineralization. Additional drilling under the adit and to the east is planned to further test this highly prospective area.

Drilling Central Breccia Pipe

Drill hole DSB-02 drilled at -60 degrees south from the radial setup at SBBP, intersected 332m of mineralized breccia in the northeast corner of the CBP as previously reported (see press release dated February 23, 2021) This hole returned a number of significant intersections including 65.72 g Ag eq/t over 83.3m including 120.03 g Ag eq/t over 25.0m. The host rocks at CBP are primarily granodioritic intrusion breccias, in contrast to the SBBP, which is dominated by dacitic fragments. Notably, the chemistry of the CBP is different with mineralization dominantly Sn and Ag with low values of Pb and Zn in contrast to the adjacent SBBP. This indicates that the CBP was probably originally formed at a deeper level. Two additional holes (DCN-01 and DCN-02) from the northern radial setup have been completed as shown in Figure 1 with a third hole (DCN-03) in progress. Results for these holes are pending.

Tom Larsen, Chairman & CEO commented: These new drilling and continuous channel sampling results are demonstrating some very high metal values; especially silver and tin, within this immense mineralized system at Iska Iska. We continue to encounter mineralization in every drill hole to date, showing potential for a world-class bulk mineable deposit, blending higher grade metal values within the lower grade wide-spread mineralization at Iska Iska. We are well financed to continue pursuing an aggressive exploration program.

Mr. Larsen, continued: The technical team will shortly be commencing geophysical surveys, utilizing magnetic surveys to outline potential structures/breccia pipes and down hole Induced Polarization (IP) that will assist in pinpointing higher grade metal sections of the Iska Iska polymetallic-epithermal mineralized complex. The Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe has almost doubled in potential size from our radial drilling program demonstrating large tonnage potential. The Company believes along with the Santa Barbara and Central Breccia Pipes so far outlined, that the Porco (South) target has similar size potential and that there could be other comparable-size breccia pipes obscured by cover within the Iska Iska Caldera Complex.

Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Eloros Executive Vice President Exploration, commented: We continue to intersect widespread silver-tin polymetallic mineralization in all our holes and have now doubled the extent of the SBBP. Our understanding of this remarkable mineralizing system continues to advance; however, we are still at a very early stage in the exploration. Following completion of our first pass drilling on SBBP, we will move the drill to test below the Santa Barbara adit and complete a section of holes to test east of the breccia pipe into the centre of the caldera complex. We will be working with Micon International to design further follow-up drilling on SBBP in order to define a National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource. Drilling will continue to test the CBP from both the north and south setups. As previously announced, we will be bringing in a third drill in early May to begin testing the very prospective Porco (South) target (see press release February 29, 2021).

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., General Manager of Eloros Bolivian subsidiary, Minera Tupiza SRL, and an expert on Bolivian geology, stated: The polymetallic mineralization at Iska Iska likely formed in three stages: an early high temperature tin mineralization-stage that is overprinted by a second-stage lower temperature epithermal silver, zinc, lead and gold mineralizing event; and finally, a third stage of redeposition and remobilization/upgrading during Andean tectonism.

Dr. Arce further commented: The first stage of mineralization comprising principally tin appears to be related to intrusion breccias such as those seen in the CBP. This style of mineralization is comparable to other known tin deposits such as Chorolque 25km to the northwest which is hosted in an intrusion breccia. The second stage epithermal mineralization is hosted in phreatomagmatic and phreatic breccia pipes in volcanic and sedimentary rocks. The brecciation of all rocks during this phase generated veins, veinlets, disseminations and multidirectional stockworks, generally enriched in several metals. All the rocks were also commonly pervasively silicified, sericitized, argillized and propylitized during this time. The remarkable tin and/or silver-polymetallic enriched zones such as in the Santa Barbara adit likely formed in the third phase due to faulting and fracturing during major Andean deformation, which led to development of favourable sites for redeposition and remobilization/upgrading of the pre-existing tin and silver-polymetallic mineralization. This last stage was likely a prolonged multi-stage event with considerable telescoping of mineralization."

Table 1: Significant Diamond Drilling Results, Iska Iska as at April 13, 2021

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c9d6580a-b689-4b71-bfa0-8712cbc9a5c5

Note: True width of the mineralization is not known at the present time, but based on the current understanding of the relationship between drill orientation/inclination and the mineralization within the breccia pipes and the host rocks such as sandstones and dacites, is estimated that true width ranges between 70% and 90% of the down hole interval length but this will be confirmed by further drilling.

Metal prices and conversion factors used for calculation of g Ag eq/t (grams Ag per grams x metal) are as follows:

Element Price (per kg) Ratio to Ag Ag $875.00 1.00000 Sn $28.00 0.03200 Zn $2.80 0.00320 Pb $2.10 0.00240 Au $57,400.00 65.60000 Cu $8.80 0.01006 Bi $12.76 0.01458 In $305.00 0.34857 Cd $5.50 0.00629

In calculating the intersections reported in this press release a sample cutoff of 30 g Ag eq/t was used with generally a maximum dilution of 3 continuous samples below cutoff included within a mineralized section unless more dilution is justified geologically.



Table 2: Continuous Channel Sampling Results, Santa Barbara Adit

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8a274f6b-50e7-4268-b230-5ce0af5d97e8

Table 3: Summary of Diamond Drill Holes at Iska Iska from press release of April 13, 2021 with assays pending.

Hole No. Type Collar Easting Collar Northing Elev Azimuth Angle Hole Length m Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe - Surface Radial Drilling from Centre DSB-07 S 205118.9 7656205.7 4356.0 135 -60 683.4 DSB-08 S 205118.9 7656205.7 4356.0 45 -60 614.4 DSB-09 S 205118.9 7656205.7 4356.0 315 -60 692.4 Subtotal 1990.2 DSB-10 S 205118.9 7656205.7 4356.0 225 -60 In progress Central Breccia Pipe  Surface Radial Drill Program  North Setup DCN-01 S 204902.0 7655860.0 4420.0 45 -60 590.5 DCN-02 S 204902.0 7655860.0 4420.0 225 -60 623.5 Subtotal 1,214.0 DCN-03 S 204902.0 7655860.0 4420.0 225 -60 In progress TOTAL 3,204.2

S = Surface; collar coordinates in metres; azimuth and dip in degrees

Total drilling completed since the start of the program on September 13, 2020 is 10,677m m in 12 underground holes and 16 surface holes with two surface holes in progress.

Qualified Person

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P. Geo., General Manager of Minera Tupiza S.R.L., and a Qualified Person in the context of National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101), has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice President Exploration Eloro, and who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience including extensive work in South America, manages the overall technical program in consultation with Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley Murahwi P. Geo., FAusIMM of Micon International Limited.

Drill and channel samples are prepared in ALS Bolivia Ltdas preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia with pulps sent to the main ALS Global laboratory in Lima for analysis, As announced in the press release of February 26, 2021, Eloro has changed the assay protocol to utilizing X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to more accurately analyze higher Sn. Tin in the CBP is suspected to occur as cassiterite which is insoluble in acid digestion, and therefore not suited for wet chemical techniques. In addition, other assay protocols have been changed to provide for a more accurate measurement of the wide-ranging suite of polymetallic metals at Iska Iska. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of samples analyzed with selected check samples sent to a separate accredited laboratory.

Unfortunately, the ALS Global laboratory in Lima where the Iska Iska samples are being analyzed has had major delays in turnaround time due the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown of Lima by the Peruvian government. This has restricted availability of critical supplies necessary to carry out analytical work. As a result, there will be delays in reporting of assay results.

About Iska Iska

Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly-controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi. The property can be classified as a silver-tin polymetallic (Ag, Zn, Pb, Au, Cu, Bi, Sn, In) and porphyry-epithermal complex. This is an important mineral deposit type in the prolific South Mineral Belt of Bolivia.

Silver-tin polymetallic mineralization at Iska Iska occurs within a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera that consists of granodioritic stocks and five (5) dacitic domes which are each about 500m in diameter. These rocks intrude/extrude an intensely deformed sequence of Ordovician shales, siltstones, and sandstones, which are partially covered by Miocene pyroclastic rocks. The silver polymetallic mineralization occurs mainly as veins, vein swarms, veinlets, stockworks, disseminations and in breccias associated with intense hydrothermal alteration. The Iska Iska dome complex has several major phases of igneous breccias, quartz porphyries, dikes and dacitic syn-kinematic flows.

On November 18, 2020 Eloro announced the discovery of a significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. Diamond drilling intersected a number of extensive mineralized intersections within the major breccia pipe including 54.48 g Ag/t, 1.45% Zinc (Zn) and 1.60% Lead (Pb) over 16.39m (140.91 g Ag eq/t) within a broader interval of 122.74m grading 14.29 g Ag/t, 0.81% Zn and 0.41% Pb (53.67 g Ag/t eq) in Hole DHK-04 (see press release November 18, 2020).

The high-grade gold-bismuth zone outlined in channel samples in the underground working averaged 7.1 g Au/t and 0.2% Bi (8.29 g Au eq/t) over 3.04m width for strike length of 47m. Hole DHK-05 on the strike extension of the high-grade Au-Bi zone intersected 6.51g Au/t, 0.07% Bi and 31.96 g Ag/t (7.68 g Au eq/t) over 11.85m grading including 29.56 g Au/t, 0.26% Bi/t and 63.69 g Ag/t (31.94 g Au eq/t) over 2.31m in this high-grade zone.

On January 26, 2021, Eloro announced significant results from drilling at the Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe. Highlights are as follows:

129.60 g Ag eq/t over 257.5m (29.53g Ag/t, 0.078g Au/t, 1.45%Zn, 0.59%Pb, 0.080%Cu, 0.056%Sn, 0.0022%In, 0.0064%Bi and 0.0083%Cd) from 0.0m to 257.5m in hole DHK-15, the deepest of the three holes reported within the SBBP;

79.00 g Ag eq/t over 121.33m (21.77g Ag/t, 0.034g Au/t, 0.35%Zn, 0.23%Pb, 0.18%Cu, 0.056%Sn, 0.0011%In, 0.004%Bi and 0.0055%Cd) from 0.0m to 121.33m in Hole DHK-14 within the SBBP;

74.16 g Ag eq/t over 40.88m (33.43g Ag/t, 0.032g Au/t, 0.04%Zn, 0.33%Pb, 0.13%Cu, 0.045%Sn, 0.0010%In and 0.0012%Bi) from 30.40m to 71.28m in Hole DHK-13 which is within the approximately 100m wide mineralized envelope that surrounds the breccia pipe.



Silver-tin polymetallic mineralization within the Iska Iska system occurs over a potential strike length of more than 2.5km along major ring structures in the caldera complex. A synchrotron study of the underground channel samples (see press release dated June 25, 2020) concluded that the mineral cluster analysis identified four mineralogical domains that cover the entire sampling area suggesting they are related and represent a single, large mineralizing system. Furthermore, the mineralogy of the domains is consistent with minerals identified in hand specimen and are likely related to a telescoped porphyry/epithermal style of mineralization.

About Eloro Resources Ltd.

Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. Eloro commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloros website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barricks Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silvers La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. La Victoria has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 m to 4,400 m above sea level.

For further information please contact either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa, Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.

Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Companys plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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.

Figure 1: Geological Plan Map of the Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe area

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/15a644ea-dbcb-4674-bf0d-d01a10abe1fb

Figure 2: Geological Cross Section on the Longitudinal Axis of the Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe, Iska Iska Project

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0a48d35f-2ae6-4a3d-912a-8578eaeb20c8

Figure 3: North-South Geological Cross Section, Santa Barbara Breccia Pipe and Northern Central Breccia Pipe, Iska Iska Project

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/553642e2-26be-4a68-951f-5db7c947417f

Figure 4: Plan Map of Channel Sampling at Santa Barbara Adit, Iska Iska Project

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c5eb94cf-fda9-48bd-8794-4e27c93d6feb




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 12, 2021 / Searchlight Resources Inc. ("Searchlight" or the "Company") (TSXV:SCLT)(OTC PINK:CNYCF)(FSE:2CC2) is pleased to announce additional staking on the Kulyk Lake Rare Earth Project, located approximately 165 kilometres north of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 65 km south of the Key Lake Uranium Mine.

Kulyk Lake Claim Block increased by 36.4 sq km, to 61.1 sq km

Searchlight has staked an additional 36.4 square kilometres of claims, increasing the total claim area of the Kulyk Lake project to 61.1 sq km. The claim blocks now cover a total of 19 rare earth showings and sample locations (Map 1), including the Kulyk Lake rare earth element (REE) target with the high-grade total rare earth oxide (TREO) and critical rare earth oxide (CREO) values shown below.

Kulyk Lake High Grade Samples include:

56.18% TREO, including 12.49% CREO in historic grab sample,

including 9.61% Neodymium Oxide (Nd2O3), and 1,194 ppm Dysprosium Oxide (Dy2O3)[1]

45.10% TREO, including 10.08% CREO in historic 0.6 m trench sample,

including 7.64% Neodymium Oxide (Nd2O3), and 1,114 ppm Dysprosium Oxide (Dy2O3)

"The Kulyk Lake high-grade rare earth target represents a significant opportunity for Searchlight, with the increased interest by Canadian Federal and Provincial governments in rare earth elements, particularly the critical elements Neodymium and Dysprosium. Saskatchewan is also developing Canada's first Rare Earth Processing Facility at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, which further advances rare earth development in Canada", stated Stephen Wallace, President and CEO of Searchlight.

Searchlight acquired the project by staking as part of the Company's systematic evaluation of exploration targets in Saskatchewan. Historically, the Kulyk Lake area had been explored for uranium, followed by preliminary rare earth exploration in 2009 and 2010.

Map 1. Searchlight Resources Kulyk Lake REE Project Claim Blocks

In 2009, grab and channel samples were collected from Kulyk Lake area and analysed with a REE analytical package at the Saskatchewan Research Council Laboratory. The results included; 56.18% TREO including 12.49% CREO in selected grab sample AGKJR001, 30.6% TREO including 6.82% CREO in selected grab sample AGKJR002, and 19.04% TREO including 4.21% CREO in channel sample AGKJR003. Selected rare earth oxide results are presented in Table 1.

This work was followed up in 2010 with a series of trench samples, similarly analysed at the Saskatchewan Research Council Laboratory. Selected results included; trench samples DFKJR026 with 45.1% TREO and 10.08% CREO over 0.6 metres, DFKJR025 with 24.44% TREO and 5.49% CREO over 0.7 metres, and DFKJR013 with 19.75% TREO and 4.41% CREO over 0.7 metres.

Geologically, the showings consist of multiple fractures containing brown to red monazite running parallel to and enclosed by the surrounding Wollaston Group metasedimentary gneisses. A zone of deep pink to red coarse-grained granite encloses the mineralized fractures.

The results presented are historical in nature, and Searchlight has not undertaken any independent investigation of the sampling, nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the results. Searchlight considers these sample results relevant as the Company uses historical reports to evaluate historic sample results as a guide to plan future exploration programs.

Qualified Person

Stephen Wallace, P.Geo., is Searchlight's Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.
The Massachusetts RMV on Tuesday announced it is extending the vehicle inspection grace period it implemented after the states inspection sticker software went offline on March 30.

Owners with stickers set to expire in March and April of 2021 now have through the end of May to have their vehicle inspected. Originally, the RMV said motorists had until the end of April to renew the inspection.

The state has been unable to issue new inspection stickers since March 30 after a malware attack on the states vendor, Applus Technologies, caused nationwide outages.

The grace period extends to vehicles with expired stickers from March or April 2021. Newly purchased vehicles registered on or after Tuesday, March 23, 2021, will be granted until April 30, 2021 to obtain an inspection.

Motorists who recently had an inspection rejection and are in the 60-day free retest window will be afforded one extra day for each day Appluss system remains unavailable but should plan to facilitate their inspection as soon as possible once the system is restored and stations are online.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said to the best of his knowledge peoples personal information has not appeared anywhere in the public forum and the state continues to remain in contact daily with Applus.

Its also Bakers expectation that Applus compensate dealers and service stations, who have dealt with the ramifications of the outage.

Baker expected the service to be back online by the end of the week.

Baker said that law enforcement has told his administration they will not be ticketing motorists for expired March inspections.

Related Content:


Today on April 13, there are several festivals that are celebrated nationwide. Its Ugadi, Vishu and Gudi Padwa that falls on the same day, an auspicious day for a new beginning. No wonder on this occasion the makers of Radhe Shyam gave us some visual treat as they released a brand new poster from their romance period drama.



Prabhas took to his social media and shared a new poster. In this poster we see Prabhas in a total retro avatar and giving us some major Hollywood vibes. His checked pants, his hairdo remind one of Marlon Brando. The actor captioned the poster with some thoughtful lines, One binding factor of the celebrations of these beautiful festivals is LOVE. Feel it. Cherish it. Spread it. Wishing you and your loved ones a very Happy Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Baisakhi, Vishu, Puthandu, Jur Sital, Cheti Chand, Bohag Bihu, Navreh & Poila Boishakh.

Now thats one sweet wish for the netizens with a lovely treat.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Prabhas (@actorprabhas)



The makers had released a small glimpse of Radhe Shyam on Valentines Day this year, where we see Prabhas vocalizing his love amidst a crowded station to Pooja Hegde in French. The teaser video was enough to tell us about the periodic setting which has dollops of romance between PRabhas and Pooja. The two team up together for the first time and we love their chemistry in the posters and the teaser.

Prabhas meanwhile has some other major projects too in the pipeline. He has started shooting for Adipurush which is helmed by Om Raut and where the actor plays Lord Ram and Kriti Sanon will play the role of Sita in this adaptation of Ramayana.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenias foreign ministry has issued a statement on the opening of the park dedicated to Artsakh war in Azerbaijan, the ministry told Armenpress.

On April 12, with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan a park dedicated to Artsakh war was opened in Baku, where along with the Armenian military equipment the mannequins of the servicemen of the Armenian armed forces, personal belongings of the soldiers of Armenia and Artsakh and the helmets of killed Armenian servicemen were displayed. The opening ceremony of the park and the remarks of the President of Azerbaijan demonstrate that the above-mentioned action is aimed at publicly degrading the memory of the victims of the war, missing persons and prisoners of war, violating the rights and dignity of their families.

At a time when the consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh havent been fully addressed, when numerous Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijani captivity, with the organization of such an "exhibition" wrapped in the elements of marauding, Azerbaijan is finally consolidating its position as a global center of intolerance and xenophobia. Such anti-human behavior of the Azerbaijani high-ranking leadership is more vocal than any statement or PR-campaign on peace, tolerance and multiculturalism.

On one hand, the Azerbaijani leadership is making observations about possible revanchisme on the part of Armenia, and on the other hand, with such exhibition, attempts to perpetuate the revanchisme, inhumanity and interethnic hatred. Such steps manifest how far the Azerbaijani leadership stands from its own declarative statements on the post-conflict situation, regional peace and reconciliation, the statement says.
A Dallas man threatened to kill his girlfriend and chased her through a home in Taylor while holding a knife, borough police charged.

Jonathan Santiago, 34, 3958 Route 309, faces counts of terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, possessing an instrument of crime and criminal mischief, according to a criminal complaint filed by Taylor police Officers Cole Surridge and Brandon Bell.

Santiago had been drinking Wednesday when he and his girlfriend, Keilly Basil, got into an argument that ended with Santiago holding her at her home on Roosevelt Drive against her will at knifepoint for three to four hours.

Police learned of it Thursday morning when Basil called 911. A dispatcher could hear a man threatening to stab or shoot a woman.

Santiago had already left by the time officers arrived. Police filed a warrant.

On Friday, Santiago arrived at Taylor police headquarters to turn himself in.

Police also learned that Santiago owned a firearm, which Basil tried to hide from him in an iced-tea container. Police charged him with illegal possession of a gun because Santiago was also wanted in Georgia, which means he is not allowed a firearm.

Santiago was in Lackawanna County Prison on Monday in lieu of $150,000 bail between the two cases. He has preliminary hearings scheduled Monday and April 22.
A new manufacturing company will soon be coming to Aiken County.

Central States Manufacturing Inc., a metal building components company, announced plans to establish operations in Aiken County. The $13 million investment will create 70 new jobs.

Located at 1041 Sage Mill Parkway in Graniteville, Central States new facility will increase the companys capacity to meet growing demand and better support customers in the southeastern region of the United States. The new facility is expected to be completed by September 2021.

"I am pleased that Central States Manufacturing Inc. will invest in Aiken Countys Sage Mill Industrial Park," said Gary Bunker, Aiken County Council chairman. "Once again, our combination of superior workforce, strong manufacturing infrastructure and business-friendly environment paved the way for a significant industrial project. Aiken County is not only a great place to live, work and play, but also an outstanding location to invest, build and dream."

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits related to this project. The council also awarded Aiken County a $250,000 set-aside grant to assist with related project costs.

Weve worked hard to create a pro-business environment in South Carolina, and this new announcement from Central States is an incredible accomplishment," said S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster. "We welcome them to our top-notch business community and look forward to watching them find success in the Palmetto State.

Founded in 1988, Central States is an employee-owned company that manufactures and distributes a wide range of metal building products suited for various construction needs. The company services residential, recreational, commercial and architectural projects.

We are pleased that Central States Manufacturing Inc. has chosen to locate its newest facility in Aiken County," said Gary Stooksbury, Economic Development Board Partnership chairman. "Its a great win for the county and a great addition to the robust and diverse group of companies that call it home. Just another sign that the countys best days are ahead.

"(Central States Manufacturing is) a fantastic company and were looking forward to them being extremely successful in the county," said Will Williams, president and CEO of the Economic Development Partnership.

Individuals interested in applying for transportation, operations or professional opportunities should visit centralstatesmfg.com/careers or email a resume to gvresume@centralstatesmfg.com. Central States also will be hiring for production and maintenance roles. Individuals interested in applying for these opportunities should visit scworks.com.
OPEC raised its forecast for global oil demand growth this year in hopes that the pandemic will subside, helping the organization and its allies in their efforts to support the market.

Demand will grow by 5.95 million barrels per day in 2021, or 6.6%, predicts the OPEC, which is 70,000 barrels per day more than last month.

However, OPEC downgraded its forecast for the second quarter.

As the spread and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to decrease with the ongoing roll-out of vaccination programs, social distancing requirements and travel restrictions are likely to be reduced, allowing for increased mobility, the OPEC report said.

Further recovery could strengthen the position of OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC +, to further ease the record cut in oil production last year.

Oil was trading at around $ 64 a barrel before the report was released. Prices have climbed to pre-pandemic highs this year and surpassed $ 70, boosted by hopes for economic recovery and limited OPEC + supply.

OPEC has raised its forecast for global economic growth for 2021 from 5.1% to 5.4%, suggesting that the impact of the pandemic will significantly decrease by the beginning of the second half of the year.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  A North Macedonian court on Tuesday convicted the countrys former intelligence chief and three more ex-officials of abuse of power over a surveillance equipment procurement deal, and sentenced them to between five and 15 years in prison.

The three-year trial had looked into the purchase of the British-made equipment in 2010 under conservative former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled the country to avoid serving a prison sentence for corruption.

The former intelligence chief Sasho Mijalkov, a first cousin of Gruevski's, was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison.

Former Interior Ministry official Goran Grujevski was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison, while another two former officials each received five-year sentences. Judges ruled that the purchase of the equipment was handled through an intermediary company and cost the state much more than if it had been done direct from the manufacturer.

The court decision also ordered the defendants to jointly pay a total of 813,000 euros ($969,000) in damages.

In February, Mijalkov was also sentenced to 12 years in prison as a lead organizer of a wiretapping scandal that broke in 2016 after it emerged that 20,000 people  including opposition politicians, judges, and journalists  were targeted.

Gruevski fled to Hungary in 2018 to avoid serving a two-year jail sentence for involvement in a corruption scandal.
Were talking a middle school that has 7th and 8th grade kids, she said in the video. Some of the kids already know their sexuality. So now, being mom of the year, Im taking my kids and were going to go buy up as much gay Pride (stuff) that we can find so we can hand it out to every kid that would like it.
Make no mistake. There were generous and inappropriate gifts handed out at Australia Post, but they werent the Cartier watches awarded to senior executives by Christine Holgate.

Instead, they were the Australia Post directorships handed to the federal governments friends. In a governance sense, making politically motivated board appointments is a recipe for disaster.

When you look at this Australian government enterprise through a governance lens - like the one that applies to privately listed companies - its clearly dysfunctional.

Christine Holgates biggest mistake was taking the job without a proper appreciation that having only one shareholder meant the normal rules of corporate governance wouldnt protect her. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

There are factions within the board, there was an obvious discord between the chief executive Holgate and the chairman, Lucio Di Bartolomeo.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 14)  Around 240 Chinese maritime militia vessels are still roaming in Philippine waters, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea. The vessels were spotted around Pagkakaisa Banks and Pag-asa Islands, areas within the country's exclusive economic zone.

"The continuous swarming of Chinese vessels poses a threat to the safety of navigation, safety of life at sea, and impedes the exclusive right of Filipinos to benefit from the marine wealth in the EEZ," the task force said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Command patrolled the area on Sunday and said it saw about 136 Chinese maritime militia vessels at Burgos Reef.

Another 65 vessels were spotted at Chigua Reef, 11 at Ayungin Shoal, nine at Julian Felipe Reef, six at Panganiban Reef, five at Kota Island, four at Pag-Asa Islands, and one at Likas Island. These areas fall within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

The NTF-WPS said the vessels are about 60 meters in length and can each carry an estimated 240,000 kilos of fish.

The Philippine Coast Guard also conducted its own patrol where it saw Chinese poachers collecting giant clams in the vicinity of Pag-asa Islands.

"This act is a blatant violation of Philippine fisheries and wildlife laws, and the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora," the NTF-WPS said.

The PCG also spotted some People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels in the disputed areas. Two Houbei class missile warships were found at Panganiban Reef, while one Corvette class warship was seen at Kagitingan Reef and one Navy Tugboat was spotted at Zamora Reef.

Two more Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels were seen in the waters off Pag-asa Islands. At Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, the AFP reported two PLAN, three CCG, and ten Chinese maritime militia vessels swarming the area.

"All these warships of the PLA Navy contribute to the militarization of the area," the NTF-WPS added.

An arbitral tribunal in 2016 ruled that China's island-building activities on these reefs and four others violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and "have caused devastating and long-lasting damage to the marine environment."

China rejects the ruling, which also recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights to parts of its EEZ which Beijing contests. The East Asian giant claims almost the entire South China Sea, including areas Manila claims as the West Philippine Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said it has summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian over the prolonged presence of Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef. It also reiterated its demand for the immediate departure of other Chinese vessels in other maritime zones of the Philippines.
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Company updates operational and strategic model to empower its consumer-centric DNA



CAMPBELL, California, April 13, 2021  Malwee Group, one of Brazils leading companies in sustainable fashion, has selected Centric Software and its Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution to enhance product design and manufacturing across its six distinct brands: Malwee, Malwee Kids, Malwee Liberta, Enfim, Carinhoso and Zig Zig Zaa.

Centric Software offers the most innovative enterprise solutions for retailers, brands and manufacturers looking to achieve strategic or operational goals through digital transformation. Its innovative PLM software empowers users to plan, source, design and develop a range of products, from apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home decor, cosmetics, luxury goods and food and beverage, all while minimizing costs, speeding time to market and driving innovation and efficiency across the product development chain.

Founded in 1968, Malwee Group employs nearly 4,500 employees who manage more than 25,000 multi-brand points of sale and 82 specialty brand stores throughout Brazil. The company balances style, innovation and sustainability to produce more than 35 million pieces of clothing each year. Faced with the challenges of a quickly shifting fashion market, the company realized a critical need to scale operations, moving beyond inefficient processes with fragmented and disconnected systemsdigital transformation became a priority.

A lot is said about digital transformation of manufacturing operations, like 3D modeling and computerized systems, but if the various systems are not integrated to allow data to flow in conjunction with business processes, and in line with business priorities, the organization as a whole will still be fragmented. By building bridges between these siloed systems, were able to eliminate a significant amount of rework, save time and resources, deflate costs, and mitigate errors in the process. We need a tool with a powerful enough scope to serve as the backbone of our digital architecture, where we can connect all the other systems. And we found the solution in Centric PLM, explains Jose Isaias Cunha, Manager of Engineering and Industrial Intelligence at Malwee Group.

Today we are mature enough to realize that just having digital systems in place doesnt make the company digital," reinforces Jose. "It is necessary to have the mindset and a tool to accelerate transformation. With our product teams located in several cities across the country, including Sao Paulo City and Jaragua do Sul, it was becoming a big challenge to establish a working connection between remote teams. So with Centric, we see a great opportunity to have one integrated workflow where information is unique, correct and shared between teams.

The company is now at a critical point in the digital transformation process and much closer to achieving its goal of bringing product creation closer to the consumer. Malwee Group aims to optimize all stages of product ideation and development with consumer input so consumers can bring their insights and validate concepts. We will leverage Centric PLM throughout the entire value chain, because the more we maximize the product lifecycle, the more adapted the product will be to consumers wishes and needs, which makes for a happier customer. We want to invert the relationship between products and consumers today, not just bring products to market and see if they work. Instead, we want to create products with consumers in mind, showing we offer what he or she really wants or needs, says Cunha.

This partnership with Centric is significant and strategic on several levels, as it provides a greater guarantee of product quality, remote collaboration between teams and suppliers, less waste of raw materials for a much more sustainable process, optimization of the intellectual capital of our talents and the high availability of product data to quickly and consistently feed our digital sales channels. With all of this, the consumer will be able to see a product's features according to his or her preferences, enabling them to make the best decision at the time of purchase, continues Cunha.

"We are very excited about this new partnership and honored to work with Malwee," says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. We are sure that Centric PLM will prove valuable to Malwee Groups digital transformation strategy, as it will allow us to get closerand stay closerto the consumer.

Learn more about Centric Fashion PLM

Request a Demo

Malwee Group (www.grupomalwee.com.br)

The Malwee Group is one of the main fashion companies in Brazil and owner of renowned brands in the national market: Malwee, Malwee Kids, Enfim, Carinhoso and Zig Zig Zaa. The company stands out for its pioneering spirit and notorious performance in the field of sustainability, incorporating innovative technologies and processes that range from the use of more sustainable raw materials to the preservation of 4.2 million square meters of green area. For its ethical and responsible performance, the company ranks among the 20 most transparent fashion brands in the world, according to the Fashion Transparency Index (ITM). The Malwee Group has 3 manufacturing units, 4,500 employees and is present in more than 25,000 stores throughout Brazil.

Centric Software (www.centricsoftware.com)

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a Digital Transformation Platform for the most prestigious names in fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor and consumer goods including cosmetics, beauty, food and beverage. Centrics flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric 8, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and collection management functionality tailored for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric SMB provides innovative PLM technology and key industry learnings for emerging brands. Centric Visual Innovation Platform (VIP) offers a new fully visual and digital experience for collaboration and decision-making and includes the Centric Buying Board to transform internal buying sessions and maximize retail value and the Centric Concept Board for driving creativity and evolving product concepts. All Centric innovations shorten time to market, boost product innovation and reduce costs.

Centric Software is majority-owned by Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Centric also received various excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan in 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2021.

Centric is a registered trademark of Centric Software. All other brands and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Centric Software



Americas: Jennifer Forsythe, jforsythe@centricsoftware.com

EMEA: Kristen Salaun-Batby, ksalaun-batby@centricsoftware.com

APAC: Lily Dong, lily.dong@centricsoftware.com
SANDUSKY, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PAO Group, Inc. (USOTC: PAOG) today released a management update on the company's ongoing CBD Pharmaceutical Development Program.

Last year, PAOG acquired RespRx from Kali-Extracts, Inc. (OTC Pink: KALY). RespRx is a CBD treatment under development for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) derived from a patented cannabis extraction method - U.S. Patent No. 9,199,960 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING HERBACEOUS PLANT MATERIALS INCLUDING THE CANNABIS PLANT."

Since the acquisition, PAOG engaged Veristat, a contract research organization (CRO), dedicated to the clinical advance of therapies and treatments through regulatory approval. PAOG reports Veristat is making substantial progress in validating and supplementing the underlying research behind RespRx.

PAOG Expects New Research Funding And 25% Interest In Cannabis Extraction Patent

PAOG is in final negotiations to enter into a partnership to conduct a CBD In Vivo Histological Research Study advancing RespRx further through regulatory approval. The partnership would include PAOG gaining a 25% interest in the underlying Patented Cannabis Extraction technology through which the RespRx formula is derived and could result in PAOG owning the Patent outright. PAOG has secured an investment commitment to fund the research and partnership interest in the Patented Cannabis Extraction technology.

The partnership interest in the underlying Cannabis Extraction process would expand PAOG's pharmaceutical development reach potential beyond RespRx.

For more background on PAOG's other CBD therapy developments, view a comprehensive PAOG update recently released on the company's CBD Nutraceutical Development Program with the first PAOG CBD Nutraceutical products, packaged by Alkame Holdings, Inc. (USOTC: ALKM), expected to come to market before the end of this year marketed through North American Cannabis Holdings, Inc. (USOTC: USMJ).

Learn more about PAOG at www.paogroupinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve 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. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Contact Us:

Jim DiPrima

888-272-6472

[email protected]

SOURCE PAO Group, Inc.
Loomis, Sayles & Company, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, announced today that Susan Sieker has joined Loomis Sayles as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO). She also joins the Loomis Sayles Board of Directors. Susan reports to Kevin Charleston, chairman and chief executive officer of Loomis Sayles, and will oversee the finance organization.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005613/en/

Susan joins Loomis Sayles from Cambridge Associates, where she was the chief financial officer and oversaw financial planning and analysis, treasury, accounting operations, financial reporting, payroll and taxes. Prior to joining Cambridge Associates in 2012, Susan served in a variety of finance and risk leadership roles at Brinker International, including vice president and treasurer, vice president of global infrastructure, vice president of benefits, vice president of business assurance (enterprise risk management) and as director of internal audit. She began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she specialized in financial services and completed a two-year international secondment in Brazil. Susan earned a BBA in accounting from Southern Methodist University and holds her certification in public accountancy (CPA).

It is a privilege to welcome Susan to Loomis Sayles. Her extensive experience helping drive success for a service-based company in our industry during a challenging environment will be invaluable as Loomis Sayles continues growing its increasingly complex global business, said Kevin Charleston. She has already proven herself to be a thoughtful and collaborative partner and I am confident she will be a great addition to the firm.

Susan succeeds Paul Sherba, an executive vice president, member of the board of directors and chief financial officer, who retired on March 31, 2021, after 34 years with Loomis Sayles. Paul joined the company in 1987 as assistant controller, and was later promoted to controller, and then to treasurer before assuming the CFO role in 2015.

ABOUT LOOMIS SAYLES

Since 1926, Loomis, Sayles & Company has helped fulfill the investment needs of institutional and mutual fund clients worldwide. The firms performance-driven investors integrate deep proprietary research and integrated risk analysis to make informed, judicious decisions. Teams of portfolio managers, strategists, research analysts and traders collaborate to assess market sectors and identify investment opportunities wherever they may lie, within traditional asset classes or among a range of alternative investments. Loomis Sayles has the resources, foresight and the flexibility to look far and wide for value in broad and narrow markets in its commitment to deliver attractive sustainable returns for clients. This rich tradition has earned Loomis Sayles the trust and respect of clients worldwide, for whom it manages $345.7 billion ** in assets (as of March 31, 2020).

** Includes the assets of Loomis, Sayles & Co., LP, and Loomis Sayles Trust Company, LLC. Loomis Sayles Trust Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Loomis, Sayles & Company, LP.

ABOUT NATIXIS INVESTMENT MANAGERS

Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of more than 20 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis Investment Managers ranks among the worlds largest asset management firms1 with nearly $1.1 trillion assets under management2 (910.0 billion).

Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is a subsidiary of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Investment Managers affiliated investment management firms include AEW; Alliance Entreprendre; AlphaSimplex Group; DNCA Investments;3 Dorval Asset Management; Flexstone Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Harris Associates; Investors Mutual Limited; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Mirova; MV Credit; Naxicap Partners; Ossiam; Ostrum Asset Management; Seeyond; Seventure Partners; Thematics Asset Management; Vauban Infrastructure Partners;Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; Vega Investment Managers;4 and WCM Investment Management. Additionally, investment solutions are offered through Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, and Natixis Advisors offers other investment services through its AIA and MPA division. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers website at im.natixis.com| LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers.

Natixis Investment Managers distribution and service groups include Natixis Distribution, L.P., a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various U.S. registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliated firms of Natixis Investment Managers, Natixis Investment Managers S.A. (Luxembourg), Natixis Investment Managers International (France), and their affiliated distribution and service entities in Europe and Asia.

1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2020 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 17th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2019.

2 Assets under management (AUM) as of December 31, 2020 is $1,389.7 billion. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers.

3 A brand of DNCA Finance.

4 A wholly-owned subsidiary of Natixis Wealth Management.

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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005613/en/
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 19:30:19|Editor: huaxia

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File photo shows bags of contaminated soil at Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. (Xinhua/Hua Yi)

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday urged the United States to treat Japan's decision to dump contaminated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea according to the facts, rather than according to the country that would make the move.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a press briefing in Beijing when commenting on the United State's recently declared stance that Japan's decision has been "transparent," and "appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards."

"International authorities and experts have clearly pointed out that the discharge of tritium-contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean will affect the marine environment and the public health of neighboring countries," said Zhao, adding that at the same time, the existing treated wastewater contains other radionuclides and needs to be further purified and treated.

"The disposal of nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant accident in Japan is related to the international marine environment, food safety and human health," he said.

Zhao stressed that China hopes the U.S. side will treat the real environmental issue without reflecting on any particular country. 
Governor Bill Lee on Tuesday announced an amendment to the proposed Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget that will include a two-week sales tax holiday on all grocery sales, purchases at restaurants, and all prepared food.

Governor Lee said, "The amendment includes $580 million in available funds as a result of fiscal prudence. These funds will be invested in strategic long-term projects that focus on a return to pre-pandemic priorities and deliver critical services while not growing government. The budget amendment also includes nearly $100 million for the sales tax holiday.

This proposal supports Tennesseans by strategically investing in long-term initiatives that will move our state forward. Im especially proud to provide tax cuts to get money back to Tennesseans to encourage them to frequent industries that have been disproportionately and negatively impacted this year.

He said the amendment reflects his priorities and includes record investments in broadband, economic development, safety and law enforcement, increasing reserves, and education.

Commissioner of Finance and Administration Butch Eley said, Due to Tennessees strong financial leadership, Tennessee has been ranked number one in fiscal stability by US World News & Report in both 2019 and 2020. Our prudent and cautious approach has established Tennessee as a leader in fiscal conservatism, and we thank the General Assembly for their partnership in these efforts.

Notable investments in the FY 21-22 budget amendment include:

Tax Cuts

 $25M for a two-week sales tax holiday for groceries

 $75M for a two-week sales tax holiday for restaurants and all prepared food

 $16M to reduce the professional privilege tax by 25 percent

K-12 Education and Mental Health

 $250M trust fund to assist K-12 families who are facing significant mental health issues in the wake of COVID-19

 $18.5M to transportation to students for summer learning

 $2M to provide an additional four high quality, grade aligned books and resources over the summer for the 88,000 rising first graders in Tennessee

Higher Education

 $79M to eliminate current TCAT waitlists statewide, currently at 11,400 students

 $25M to Tennessee Promise to permit increases in the Hope Scholarship

 $4M to increase Agriculture Extension Agents at University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University

Rural & Agriculture

 $50K to support the state fair (in addition to the $250,000 recurring in originally proposed budget for total of $300K and $5M non-recurring)

 $3M to provide additional funding for rural projects as part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Fund (in addition to $21M in originally proposed budget for total of $24M)

Safety

 $500K to provide gun safety programming for children

 $17M to replace radios for state troopers

 $18M to improve the statewide disaster communications system

 $680K to add 4 new Homeland Security Agents

Economic Development

 $5M to provide grants to restore and preserve historic downtowns across the state

 $3M to increase employment in Tennessee through the Small Business Innovation program

Transportation

$3M recurring and an additional $10M nonrecurring to provide additional direct funding to airports across Tennessee through the Transportation Equity Fund (total $50M investment in air infrastructure)

To view the full budget amendment, click here.
With millions of adults vaccinated, and the worlds of work and play becoming increasingly accessible, Americans are quickly gaining control over the yearlong pandemic. It is time to reassess the needs of our country.

Infrastructure repair and replacement seems to be a priority for both political parties, so I would expect a $2.3 trillion federal infrastructure bill to address primarily roads and bridges.

Unfortunately, it seems only about 10% of the bill does that, while 90% is to be used on social and other issues, such as broadband, water systems and home weatherization.

The cost of purchasing anything increases dramatically after monthly interest is added to borrowed money.

What is the advantage of buying everything today with huge interest payments, when the nation could make thoughtful, purposeful annual spending on prioritized, shovel-ready needs?

President Joe Biden acknowledges that he wants a legacy in the league of FDRs New Deal spending, but is this the wisest use of taxpayer money?

The American economy will recover on its own as citizens work and spend increasingly, and as our post-pandemic lifestyle gains strength.

Is this $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill necessary now?

JOAN CHARD

Swinton Court

Mount Pleasant

Whose money is it?

South Carolina recently announced that because of better-than-expected revenue there is $1.7 billion in extra state funds.

Thats in addition to the $2.1 billion in federal aid coming from the last COVID-19 relief package.

The state already had allocated $550 million in reserves to cover disasters.

This highlights the wasted funds put in the $2 trillion federal program.

The dilemma for the state is to figure out how to spend it.

What a challenge for our overpaid and underworked legislators.

I have a recommendation: Return the money to the taxpayers and then go home.

ROGER STEEL

Marsh Hen Drive

Seabrook Island

GOP values are faulty

Its striking that state Rep. Jonathon Hill, R-Townville, feels so strongly about inserting his values into the bodies and rights of women who are state employees, as reported in a March 28 Post and Courier article by Seanna Adcox.

In the past 10 years, he says 16 abortions have been covered by exceptions in the state health plan.

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Yet he and most of the Republican Legislature remain intransigent on the place of weapons in the state.

Apparently, he is unconcerned about the 1,012 gun deaths in South Carolina in 2019, of which more than 500 were gun-involved suicides.

And South Carolina remains a leading state for violence against women, ranked No. 11 nationally in 2019 after being fifth or sixth for the previous five years, including 52 female victims in 2017. I recommend reading The Post and Couriers 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning series Till Death Do Us Part.

Now, after more than 8,000 COVID-19 deaths in the state, expanding Medicaid to 190,000 state residents is not even on the table.

What is the tax-related cost of providing health services to these citizens, in addition to the toll in untreated illness and deaths, by not expanding Medicaid?

The values and illogic of the Republican-dominated South Carolina Legislature defy imagination.

GORDON E. DEHLER

Faber Place Drive

North Charleston

US voting act needed

Sen. Lindsey Grahams recent comments about H.R.1, the For the People Act, made clear he was opposed to the legislation. He said: It is an attempt by the radical left to take over every election system in the country. They would be demolishing the Constitution, in my view. The contents of this bill should scare everybody in South Carolina and throughout the nation who believe in robust voting integrity at the ballot box.

On the contrary, it seems to me that this is what Republican-dominated legislatures across the country are attempting to do because they are not happy with the results of a free and fair election that didnt go their way.

The For the People Act would:

Protect every Americans right to vote.

Ensure that people, not Big Money, set the agenda.

End partisan and racial gerrymandering.

Clean up our government.

Make democracy work for everyone.

This country desperately needs this act to pass in the Senate.

FAYE DAVIS

Planters Pointe Boulevard

Mount Pleasant

Happy retirement

Recently, Dr. Walter Leventhal retired from practice as a family physician.

He has served the Summerville community since 1982. His retirement is well-deserved and will be great for his family, but he will be missed.

His care for patients and their families have been exceptional.

We wish Dr. Leventhal many happy retirement years with his family.

JENNIFER BAILEY

Gaillard Lane

Summerville
During the past year I have joined the daily online streaming of the Anglican Service of Morning Prayer. The informal 20-minute service with psalms and readings for the day plus discussion and prayer, is a helpful way to start the day and to direct my focus. My favourite part of the liturgy from A Prayer Book for Australia is the prayer:

The night has passed and the day lies open before us;

let us pray with one heart and mind:

(Silence may be kept)

It makes me think about how we usually start the day.

Norman Shanks of the Iona Community wrote in the book This Is the Day: Readings and meditations from the Iona Community by Neil Paynter:

We are either pilgrims or planners.

Planners spend their time trying to fit into their lifestyle and priorities set by others, and measure the value of social achievements in terms of material success. Pilgrims on the other hand cope with the unpredictability of life, accept human vulnerability and see lifes ups and downs in terms of opportunities for human growth.

Goals

Planners are probably those of us whose day begins with a too-early alarm that sets in train a well-worn schedule of school and work and appointments and meetings. There are goals to be achieved and bills to be paid. The ladder of social and financial success looms large. The days schedule rolls with its own momentum and urgency with not a minute to spare.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

Routine can be comfortable. We dont need to stop and think. The next task just pops up and we engage with it. Filling the days time and space until it is time to slump in front of a screen and then try to catch some sleep before it starts all over again the next day. Theres little time left to nurture relationships or find opportunities for human growth; to relax and enjoy smelling the roses.

Unpredictability

Pilgrims are probably the ones who get up with the sun or whenever they wake, ready to accept whatever the day may bring. They may live alone or with a big family but are not really fussed about having more than the necessities of living. Theyre doing OK. They are unfazed by unpredictability.

Pilgrims take life one day at a time and may seem quite chilled about it all. (Sometimes that can be irritating!)

Pilgrims have time for spontaneous chats and a meal with friends and strangers. They may feel moved to sit on the verandah and read a book, or walk in the mountains, or volunteer to help in their local community.

I knew of one 95 year-old who sometimes expressed surprise at waking up to a new morning. Ah! Im still here. Another day.

Disruption

Bushfires, droughts and floods have been major disruptions in the last couple of years, and of course theres COVID. Lives have been turned upside down, plans and routines are in disarray. Many of us are still stressed by uncertainty, by lockdowns and the loss of jobs and opportunities. Social life, overseas travel, restaurants, theatres  all off limits.

Online meetings are useful but they dont quite fill the need for social life and real connection; well be dealing with mental health issues for a long time to come.

Such disruption could be a serious, perhaps mortal wound for some.

The Planner might take a long time to adapt to different ways of doing things, to recover, if at all. The Planner will certainly be wounded.

But the Pilgrim is flexible, goes with the flow and while the wound will heal, the scar it leaves will be a gentle reminder of lifes journey, like a worn patch on a favourite garment.

As Pilgrims, Christians can allow God to set the pace and priorities and so gladly say the prayer:

The night has passed and the day lies open before us;

let us pray with one heart and mind:

(Silence may be kept)

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,

so may the light of your presence, O God,

set our hearts on fire with love for you;

now and for ever. Amen.
Two brothers who aggressively pressurised an elderly woman to write cheques for almost 25,000 to buy a range of tools and equipment have withdrawn their appeal against the severity of the sentences imposed on them.

Thomas ODriscoll, aged 40, of Boherbuoi, Rathkeale and Patrick ODriscoll, aged 39, of Wolfburgess East, Rathkeale had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of deception relating to an incident at Goleen, County Cork in November 2018.

Cork Circuit Court heard they targeted a woman, aged in her 70s, at a jewellery shop in Skibbereen and persuaded her to give them her phone number after showing her a machinery brochure.

They subsequently called to her home in Goleen and aggressively pushed her to buy machinery and tools and to write cheques to a value of almost 25,000.

The woman later contacted her bank to cancel the cheques but not before sums totalling 6,500 had been cashed.

The brothers have paid 6,000 in compensation the woman and each also offered 4,000 of their bail money to her.

Lawyers representing the two men were due to begin an appeal at the Court of Appeal this Monday against the two-year jail sentence which was handed down by Judge Sean O Donnabhain last November.

However, the pair withdrew their appeal after the president of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham observed that it was open to the court to also increase the term of imprisonment.

Following an adjournment, Eileen OLeary SC for the ODriscolls, informed the court that they wished to withdraw their appeal.

Mr Justice Birmingham remarked that it was a wise decision and noted the case had involved the brothers identifying a victim who was vulnerable.

He sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.
Thousands of Victorians are on high alert after fragments of Covid-19 were found in the sewage of 16 suburbs.

State health authorities issued an urgent warning for residents in the Ringwood area, east of Melbourne, on Tuesday evening.

People in suburbs such as Bayswater, Croydon, The Basin, Montrose, Healthmonth, Boronia, Kilsyth, Tremont and Wantirna have been urged to monitor for cold or flu-like symptoms.

Anyone with symptoms, however mild, who has visited or lives in these areas has been told to get a test immediately and isolate.

Health workers are seen testing people for Covid-19 at Royal Melbourne Showgrounds on February 8 - with locals now put on alert after the virus was discovered in sewage

'Locals and visitors who have any symptoms, no matter how mild, are urged to get tested,' a statement read

'Locals and visitors who have any symptoms, no matter how mild, are urged to get tested,' a statement read.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton previously said positive wastewater samples could come from previously infected residents who are no longer contagious, but continue to shed the virus for months afterwards.

Victoria recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 again on Monday.

A total of 2,426 Covid-19 vaccination doses were administered in the state on Monday, bringing the total number of vaccine doses administered to 147,798.

Pictured: An elderly woman being tested at a pop-up clinic during a Covid-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows

The government has been widely criticised for its vaccine rollout, which has only jabbed 1.6 million people so far, as opposed to the four million people it pledged to inoculate by March.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheap and easy to transport, was the backbone of the government's $7billion program with almost four million doses ordered from overseas and a further 50 million to be produced in Melbourne.

But the plan fell flat on Thursday when health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting.

Late last week health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting.

The government has since secured an additional 40 million Pfizer vaccine doses that will be shipped from abroad later in the year.
New Delhi:

Bangladesh on Thursday said that Myanmar has pushed one million Rohingyas onto its soil and it will make efforts to resolve the issue peacefully despite provocations.

While participating in the India Economic Summit (IES), Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said Recently Myanmar has pushed one million Rohingyas, their own nationals, onto our soil. We are still struggling. We havent got into a fight with them despite provocations.

We are trying to resolve it peacefully.... The Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) thinks that it is something we will solve in a peaceful manner, Haque added.

Following ethnic violence in Myanmar, Bangladesh is facing a big influx of Rohingyas from the Buddhist-majority nation. Last month, India had rushed relief material to Bangladesh pledging all help to Dhaka in tackling the humanitarian crisis.

The issue of One Belt-One Road was raised by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor at the IES. China will have to do more if it wants India to join the proposed project, he said.

ALSO READ: Supreme Court asks Centre, Rohingya petitioners not to make emotional plea

If the Chinese really feel that for the overall credibility and viability of the Belt and Road Initiative they want India to play an active part, they have to do more of a selling job. They have to come and market to us here on why this is actually in our interest, the former Union minister said.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in May this year due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC, a flagship project of Chinas prestigious Silk Road initiative, officially called One Belt One Road (OBOR).

Differences emerged between the two countries over the USD 50-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) which is part of the Chinas mega Belt and Road initiative.

The India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being attended by over 500 business and political leaders.

(With PTI inputs)

ALSO READ | Rohingya issue: Hostility towards Muslim minority refuses to die, 10,000 more trying to flee

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Social media has changed how we communicate with friends and family, keep up with everything from fitness trends to news, and share our thoughts and talents with the world. Now, it is changing how and where we shop.

Social commerce -- selling products or services on social media platforms -- is catching on fast. Social shopping grew 35 percent in 2020, with U.S. sales reaching about $38 billion. That number is expected to hit $50 billion by 2023, according to eMarketer.

As impressive as those numbers are, they still pale in comparison to China (suggesting an untapped growth potential), where the live stream commerce market reached $170 billion in 2020, up from $66 billion the prior year.

For brands that haven't yet tried social selling, 2021 is the time to start. Social commerce offers brands the ability to reach new audiences on platforms consumers already use and trust.

Moreover, because it streamlines the sales process by allowing people to discover your brand and make purchases without leaving the platform, social commerce can boost revenue.

Driving the Rise in Social Commerce

Social commerce has been around for more than a decade. Facebook, for example, launched Marketplace for peer-to-peer selling in 2007.

However, several factors are now coming together to fuel a new wave of growth. The pandemic has helped drive a boom in e-commerce, which grew about 40 percent last year, with U.S. sales reaching nearly $210 billion by the third quarter of 2020, according to Statista. The rise in mobile shopping, expected to reach about $3.5 trillion in sales this year, is also having an impact.

These shifts in buying habits reflect a change in mindset as well. For many years, consumers have used social media for window shopping. Brands used social platforms to build awareness, community, trust, and influence; and used e-commerce sites such as Amazon, Walmart, or Shopify to sell.

But the launch of visual-first social platform Pinterest, followed by Instagram, began to blur those boundaries. Instagram's popularity led to the phenomenon of "Instagram brands" that exist only through their presence on the platform. It also gave rise to influencer marketing, with brands partnering with people with a large number of followers to promote their products and services.

Consumers have grown used to seeing product placements and promotions on social media, so it is a natural next step for them to want to shop without going to another platform or branded website. Social media platforms are responding with a slew of features that make social commerce possible, with more on the way.

How to Start Selling on Social Media

Brands that are getting started for the first time with social commerce have more options than they did even a year ago. Choosing which platform is best for your brand's social commerce efforts depends on your existing digital marketing and sales strategies.

You'll want to enable shopping features on platforms where you're already connecting to customers as well as on those where you're most likely to find new ones. Here are some highlights of each to help you get started with social commerce.

Instagram

Instagram's visual nature makes it an excellent tool for featuring products, and the platform is the gold standard when it comes to shoppable posts.

With Instagram Shopping, you can showcase products in organic posts and Instagram Stories. When a user taps on a product sticker in Stories or a tag on your post, they're sent to a product page where you can add information about your product -- images, price, description -- as well as a link that takes them directly to your site to make the purchase.

Last but not least, Instagram Checkout allows users to purchase your products without even leaving Instagram -- just like they do when they make an in-app purchase inside a mobile game.

As more people use Instagram to browse for categories of products, such as when they want to buy a new pair of boots or the perfect lamp for their new apartment, they can discover your products through the Search & Explore feature.

Facebook

Instagram is part of the Facebook ecosystem, and that relationship lets brands benefit from the synergies between the platforms when posting.

Facebook offers similar capabilities through product tags that you can add to your photos and videos. People can select a tag to access the information on the product you've posted and start shopping.

Pinterest

For brands that frequently make changes to their product line, Pinterest can be a great place to start selling.

Pinterest makes it possible to sync information between your website and organic posts with Rich Pins, which comes in handy if you frequently update data such as the prices and descriptions of products. The feature automatically keeps all your pins up-to-date and relevant.

YouTube

This platform may not immediately come to mind when you think of shopping, but it is an exceptional way to highlight products through your videos.

Brands can use cards with links and information that pop up during the video or, as influencers like to say, use "links in the description below." Those sections below a video are also a great spot to include affiliate links.

TikTok

The platform many brands are paying close attention to now is TikTok, and it is rapidly becoming a place for social commerce. TikTok tested shoppable posts in 2019 and rolled out shoppable ads in 2020, allowing users to make purchases without leaving the app.

TikTok's livestream shopping has been a massive success in China, and the platform is now looking to expand the feature in the U.S.

Shopify

The e-commerce boom has been great for Shopify, and the platform has thrown its hat into the social commerce ring as well.

Last month, Shopify announced that it was enabling ShopPay, its secure payments process, for Shopify merchants selling on Facebook and Instagram.

Conclusion

Social media and e-commerce have become ever-growing parts of our lives, and the lines between the two are beginning to blur. Through the vertical integration of commerce on social platforms, customers can purchase the products they discover without leaving the platform.

For brands, social commerce offers the opportunity to engage customers on well-established platforms they trust and streamline the sales process, which can mean a revenue boost.

As social media continues to add features that make it easy for customers to shop in the places they spend time with their family and friends, social media is moving closer to becoming the new shopping mall.

Thibaud Clement is cofounder and CEO of Loomly.


Containers are stacked at the Port of Felixstowe, Britain, on Jan. 28, 2021. (Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

Drifting Apart? European Firms Battle to Reach UK Clients

ROME/STOCKHOLMPost-Brexit trade rules mean prosecco supplier Serena Wines 1881 must store bottles destined for Britain on costlier, fumigated pallets in their own corner of its warehouse in the northeast Italian town of Conegliano.

The new shipment requirement is one example of the extra cost and complexity that firms across continental Europe face serving British customers since Jan. 1, adding to disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic to drive UK-EU trade volumes lower.

These first months have been hectic, hellish for everyone, said export manager Nicola Piovesana. Delivery times are now longer, now it takes 2 weeks to get to the (UK) client, while before it took one week at the most.

The Dec. 24 deal reached between Britain and the EU after years of wrangling over post-Brexit trade terms at least meant goods traderoughly half the total $900 billion of annual EU-UK commercewas spared from tariffs and quotas.

UK import statistics 2019-2021. (Source: Office for National Statistics)

UK export statistics 2019-2021. (Source: Office for National Statistics)

But January trade volumes crashed as difficulties with the new rules combined with a hit from pandemic restrictions and substantial stockpiling by firms on both sides of the English channel in late-2020 in anticipation of trouble.

UK data released on Tuesday showed only a partial recovery in February, with British goods exports to the EU 12.5 percent below year-ago levels and imports 11.5 percent down. Data from Italy, France, and GermanyBritains biggest EU trading partnerhave all shown falls in the volume of UK trade in February.

With Britain its second-largest export market after Germany, Serena Wines has bent over backwards to secure business with UK hotels, restaurants, and caterers by revamping internal customs processes and dedicating one staff member to Britain alone.

But the pallet issue is typical of the type of knock-on impacts that companies are now having to deal with: in this case, trade with any non-EU country means international rules on anti-pest treatment of wood packaging apply.

Piovesana says the fumigated pallets cost about 9.50 euros (8.23 sterling) each, almost 20 percent more than the regular ones. UK guidance is for firms to consider switching from wooden to plastic pallets.

Easier to Ship to Asia

High Quality Foods, a Rome-based food supplier to high-end outlets from artisanal bakers to West End eateries, struggles most with documentation on specialty meat products like beef from Black Angus cattle crossed with an Italian breed.

There seems to be a trap in every corner, lamented managing director Simone Cozzi, adding the companys hygiene officera trained veterinariannow needed to spend extra time with them when filling in the necessary paperwork.

Cozzi said delays at customs points had also added to transport costs because drivers want more money to compensate for wasted time, while air shipments can be held in a UK airport for 24-plus hours compared to only 3045 minutes in Hong Kong.

At the moment it is actually easier to ship things to Asia, he said.

Italian farmers association Coldiretti cites such hurdles as endangering 3.4 billion euros of Italian agri-food exports, pointing to a 38 percent drop in exports of foodstuffs to the UK in January and almost 14 percent in February.

Some firms have found work-aroundsalbeit at a cost.

Swedish wood products supplier Vida Wood, riding the wave of lockdown-induced booms in DIY home improvement activity, had an existing UK subsidiary that now takes care of all the customs hassle and bills for the British end-customer from there.

So there is more administration for us, said CEO Karl-Johan Lowenadler, acknowledging that solution would not be available to smaller companies with no UK presence like its 11-person operation in Billericay, 25 miles (40 km) east of London.

More Checks to Come

While stories of major disruption are common among goods exporters across different sectors in Europe, the unanswered question remains what the long-term impact on trade will be.

A UK government spokesperson said the February data showed welcome growth in the value of trade with the EU from January, suggesting most traders and hauliers were now adapting.

Its premature to make any firm judgments on the long-term impacts of our new trading relationship with the EU, especially with the pandemic still ongoing, the spokesperson added.

The Bank of England expects UK-EU trade in goods and services to fall by more than 10 percent in the long term due to post-Brexit restrictions.

Moreover, exporters to Britain face added complications in the coming months, with extra paperwork for UK food imports such as meat, fish, and cheese needed from October and a further raft of checks to take effect from January 2022.

A group of lawmakers and heads of business will hold a first evidence session on Brexits trade impact on Thursday with a view to making recommendations on possible improvements.

Yet even before Brexit, the EUs share of Britains trade had already been declining for years, with figures quoted in a UK parliament report last year showing UK exports to the EU made up 43 percent of all its exports in 2019, down from 54 percent in 2006.

Some major European exporters are resigned to the idea that, while the early disruption will eventually settle down, the logic of a Brexit deal that spurned closer ties will inevitably lead to a further drift southwards of UK-EU trade volumes.

It could already be happening: A December 2020 survey of members of Germanys BGA trade association showed one out of five companies were reorganizing supply chains to swap out British suppliers in favor of those in the EU single market.

By Giulia Segreti and Simon Johnson
THE PASSENGER

By Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz

Translated by Philip Boehm

Sometimes an authors story and the story of the authors fate jump up to greet us simultaneously, and we dont know which has more power to move us. Especially when both, in a sense, are outlines  rushed, unfinished or barely finished sketches.

Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, a young writer and Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, drowned in 1942 when the ocean liner MV Abosso was torpedoed by a German submarine in the North Atlantic. Along with the ships 362 passengers and crew members, the waters took the revised manuscript of Der Reisende, Boschwitzs bold second novel, which had previously appeared in English as The Man Who Took Trains in Britain, and The Fugitive in the United States. On publication, it received middling reviews. Boschwitz kept working on it, writing to his mother: I really believe there is something in the book that may make it a success.

Though the revision is gone, the original manuscript turned up in a German archive more than 70 years after the authors death. It was edited by Peter Graf  who makes a specialty of these things  and translations have been published in many languages. The novel is now called THE PASSENGER (Metropolitan/Holt, $24.99) and has been efficiently translated into English by Philip Boehm (who has done much harder things much better). It tells the story of Otto Silbermann, a Jewish businessman, and his panicked movements in the days immediately after Kristallnacht, the campaign of murder and mayhem unleashed upon German Jews in November 1938.

Boschwitz wrote his book in a few weeks after Kristallnacht. It begins, a little opaquely, with some negotiations between Silbermann, who runs a marine scrapping firm, and Becker, his Aryan No. 2, though now, as the goy of record, the titular head. (The Nazis passed laws that made it impossible for Jews to own businesses.) Silbermann goes home to deal with the scuzzy Theo Findler, who is offering to take his house off his hands for a fraction of its value. Silbermann and Elfriede, his (Aryan) wife, have an adult son in Paris, who is trying to secure them a visa. There is a knock on the door, a bunch of Nazi hoodlums make their way in, and, as luck would have it, administer a beating to Findler, who happens to answer the door. Silbermann slips out the back.
An NHS worker is suing for racial discrimination after her boss called her 'Nanook of the North' for wrapping up in cold weather.

Tinuola Akinyosoye-Rodney claims Rosalyne Howie repeatedly made the 'derogatory' comment when she arrived at work wearing gloves and a fur-lined cap.

The project manager alleges the jibe was made in front of colleagues to 'undermine' and 'embarrass' her and is now demanding compensation from the health service.

The phrase 'Nanook of the North' comes from the 1922 silent documentary which tells the story of indigenous Inuit people surviving in the harsh climate of northern Quebec, Canada.

Though American filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty received praise for creating one of the first ever documentaries, the film has attracted criticism in recent years over race-related controversies.

Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney, who worked for Nottingham City Clinical Commissioning Group from April 2017 to April 2019, alleges Ms Howie's comments amounted to racial discrimination.

Tinuola Akinyosoye-Rodney (left) is suing her former NHS employers for racial discrimination after claiming her line manager Roz Howie (right) called her 'Nanook of the North' for wrapping up in cold weather, in reference to 1922 documentary about Eskimos, a tribunal has heard

In a statement to an employment tribunal she said: 'Over the course of my employment on several occasions, Roz Howie referred to me as 'Nanook from the North' in reference to me wearing gloves and a fur-lined cap during inclement weather.

'On at least three occasions she 'joked' 'it's Nanook from the North' as I walked in and I found it annoying and derogatory.

'The fact that [Ms Howie] used the term on several occasions was intended, in my view, to demean and embarrass me.'

A preliminary hearing in Nottingham heard it was 'usually said in the mornings when other people were present and it made her feel undermined'.

Ms Howie - who no longer works for the CCG - was also alleged to have made Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney feel 'uncomfortable' by telling her that she could not spell her name.

Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney even alleges Ms Howie asked her if she was 'aggressive because of her culture', which she argues amounted to 'subconscious discrimination'.

Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney told a tribunal that Ms Howie's comments comparing her to Nanook from the 1922 documentary Nanook of the North were intended to 'demean and embarrass'

The tribunal heard that a CCG investigation revealed that Ms Howie 'could not recall' making comments about Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney's name but 'it would be something she could say'.

The investigation also found that 'even if Ms Howie genuinely believed she was being supportive', her repeated comments 'could have lent themselves to painting a picture that Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney interpreted as racial profiling, harassment and even bullying'.

It added 'the impact of low level jibes or jokes, would build up over time into a situation that was very uncomfortable to the subject of such comments' and that 'highlighting the foreignness of a name' would have caused offence regardless of intent.

Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney claims she was the target of a 'witch hunt' at the CCG, was 'forced out' and didn't apply for the role of head of personalised care due to her discrimination.

Employment Judge Rachel Broughton ruled that the Nanook of the North comment can form part of Ms Akinyosoye-Rodney's racial discrimination claim at a full tribunal.

Nottingham City CCG disputes the claims which will be aired in more detail at a later hearing.
[April 13, 2021] Dizzion Announces New Managed Desktop Offering on IBM Cloud to Help Enterprises Manage Their Remote Workforce

DENVER, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Dizzion, Inc., an industry leader in Managed Desktop as a Service (DaaS), today announced a new managed desktop offering on IBM Cloud designed to assist enterprises in managing their workforce by making it easier for employees to work remotely in a secured and collaborative environment. Dizzion's new managed desktop offering on IBM Cloud has been designed to leverage VMware Horizon and other technologies to deliver applications, files, corporate network access, security and settings to an end-user's computer from network-accessed cloud resources, as opposed to the end-user device itself. The process will offer an optimized experience for employees who work remotely and will enable access from internet-connected devices. The new offering will leverage IBM Cloud as the underlying cloud architecture, including servers, storage, networking, and security, with Dizzion as the managed cloud desktop service. "Dizzion's managed desktop offering for IBM Cloud can help address a high-priority IT challenge facing a wide range of organizations in 2021," says Steve Prather, CEO at Dizzion. "Customers will receive the enterprise-level performance and protection they demand. Employees working with media-intense software from home will find their heavy applications optimized for maximum productivity. In-the-know users will have their confidential data secured when working from remote locations. Plus, with IBM Cloud as the delivery engine and VMware Horizon as the desktop virtualization platform, customers will be able to effectively respond to unexpected change."



"The Arise Platform is a premier provider of virtual-first customer support BPO solutions that enable brands to be there for their customers. Leveraging an expansive network of gig-economy service partners, Arise uses innovation to change the way brands think about customer care," said Ken Braatz, Vice President of Technology Operations at Arise Virtual Solutions. "With the resulting agility, performance and compliance of the new Dizzion Managed DaaS, we proved another level of capability to our clients, which led to increased demand and corresponding expansion. Our clients and service partners depend on us to deliver the optimal customer experience solution while securing their sensitive data. With Dizzion Managed DaaS, we are able to do both."

Dizzion is leveraging IBM's Cloud Engagement Fund, established as part of IBM's $1B investment into its partner ecosystem, to accelerate the company's global expansion through access to technical resources and cloud credits that support the migration of client workloads to hybrid cloud environments, including IBM Cloud. "By working with Hybrid Cloud Ecosystem partners like Dizzion, we can help to develop and offer new solutions that address evolving customer and partner challenges. Dizzion's managed desktop offering for IBM Cloud is engineered to help enterprises address the need to manage more complex remote work environments," said Willie M. Tejada, IBM Chief Developer Advocate and GM ISV/Build Ecosystem. "Supported by IBM's Cloud Engagement Fund, Dizzion will be able to scale their offering to help expand operations to help enterprises globally." Dizzion's managed desktop offering on IBM Cloud is available immediately and will replace the Horizon Cloud on IBM Cloud Service, with current customers transitioning to the new offering without having to alter their desktop images, protocols or endpoint devices. Dizzion Managed DaaS offers HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR and SOC 2 Type II-compliant services with a zLink BYOD option that extends compliance to personal end-user device use cases. The offering will be available in the United States, Europe and Asia, with plans to expand globally in 2021. Dizzion is part of IBM's Hybrid Cloud Ecosystem, an initiative to support partners of all types -- whether they build on, service or resell IBM technologies and platforms -- to help clients manage and modernize workloads with Red Hat OpenShift for any cloud environment, including the IBM public cloud. The IBM public cloud is the industry's most secure and open public cloud for business. With its security leadership, enterprise-grade capabilities and support for open source technologies, the IBM public cloud is designed to differentiate and extend on hybrid cloud capabilities for enterprise workloads. For more information visit https://www.dizzion.com/managed-daas-on-ibm-cloud/. VMware and VMware Horizon are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. About IBM Cloud:

https://www.ibm.com/cloud About Dizzion

Dizzion, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance managed Desktop as a Service (DaaS) to the global remote workforce. Founded in 2011, Dizzion's proven end-user cloud platform enables maximum work from home success while protecting business process outsourcers (BPO), enterprise contact centers, healthcare, financial services, and insurance companies with real HIPAA, PCI-DSS and SOC 2 Type II compliance. Customers further digital transformation with AnyCloud global delivery, seamless hybrid IT integration, zLink secure endpoints, and COSMOS orchestration and analytics. Visit dizzion.com for more information. Dizzion | Work from Home. Business as Usual. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dizzion-announces-new-managed-desktop-offering-on-ibm-cloud-to-help-enterprises-manage-their-remote-workforce-301267319.html SOURCE Dizzion, Inc.

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The Biocon Group is the 1st Corporate entity to kickstart this vaccination centre in Bengaluru

The Biocon Group of Companies has inaugurated a Vaccination Centre at the Bengaluru campus of Syngene International Limited as part of the nationwide drive for mass vaccination of individuals above 45 years of age to protect them against COVID-19.

The group has started vaccinating all eligible employees in keeping with its commitment to ensure the health and safety of its workforce. As a responsible corporate citizen, it will also work closely and in partnership with the Government of Karnataka to create awareness and offer this service to all people who are eligible in the Electronic City area of Bengaluru.

The Biocon Group is the 1st Corporate entity to kickstart this vaccination centre in Bengaluru.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon, said, We feel proud and privileged that the Government of Karnataka has given us the first permission as a corporate to initiate vaccination drive for our employees. We will be working closely and in partnership with the government to roll out this vaccination drive, create awareness and offer this service to all people who are eligible in the Electronic City area of Bengaluru, apart from our own employees.

Dr Mahesh Bhalgat, Chief Operating Officer, Syngene International Limited, said, "The Biocon Group is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of its workforce. Since July 2020, we are proactively testing our employees to identify infection cases and immediately quarantine them and provide necessary medical support. We are now happy to provide free vaccination for our employees and their family. This is an extension of our commitment to safeguarding our employees' health as well as a reflection of our commitment to support the government's efforts to combat and contain the pandemic."

As a part of its commitment to address the novel coronavirus pandemic in India, the Biocon Group is also offering a comprehensive portfolio of products for treating mild to severely ill COVID-19 patients. They have introduced ARAFLU (Favipiravir) in addition to Cytosorb and ALZUMAB-L, and Syngene is manufacturing Remdesivir under a voluntary licensing agreement with Gilead.
Beshear Sets Goal to Lift Capacity Restrictions

By West Kentucky Star Staff

FRANKFORT - On Monday Gov. Andy Beshear offered an incentive for accelerating the pace for COVID-19 vaccinations in Kentucky.He says he'll lift capacity restrictions at most venues and businesses once 2.5 million Kentuckians have received at least their first shot.The Democratic governors announcement came on the opening day of a massive vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. The goal is to vaccine 200,000 Kentuckians at that drive-through location in the next seven weeks.More than 1.5 million Kentuckians have received at least their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. But the governor has stressed that many vaccination sites have available openings.Beshear also announced COVID-19 funeral assistance provided by FEMA."We have lost more than 6,000 Kentuckians to this horrible virus, leaving many grieving families with unanticipated funeral costs," said Gov. Beshear. "To help ease some of the stress and burden caused by the pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has opened a COVID-19 funeral assistance program that provides financial support for funeral expenses incurred due to COVID-19 related deaths."To apply, Kentuckians can call the toll-free funeral assistance helpline at 844-684-6333, or 800-462-7585 for those that are hearing impaired.You can find more information at the link below.The governor reported 270 new cases of the virus and 7 deaths. There are currently 380 Kentuckians hospitalized, with 104 in the ICU. At least 54 Kentuckians are on a ventilator.Kentucky's positivity rate currently stands at 3.16 percent.You can see Beshear's full update below.
The Ministry of Information and Culture has recalled the Head, Press and Public Relations of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Ibraheem Al-Hassan, over the blundering statement he recently issued in the aftermath of the assault incident involving the tribunals chairman, Danladi Umar.

Mr Al-Hassan, who was deployed to the CCT as his place of primary assignment in 2013, had his last day at the tribunal at Jabi, Abuja, on Friday, following the ministrys directive recalling him.

He handed over to the Chief Registrar of the CCT, Abdumalik Shaibu, while departing on Friday.

He was recalled as the head of media unit of the CCT on Friday and asked to hand over to the Chief Registrar of the tribunal. We understand that he will still remain at the Ministry of Information to await fresh posting, that is if the ministry is inclined towards sending him out again, a source earlier told PREMIUM TIMES.

The CCTs Chief Registrar, Mr Shaibu, on Tuesday, confirmed to our reporter that Mr Al-Hassan had been recalled by the Ministry of Information.

He was posted to us to the CCT by the Ministry of Information and he has been with us (CCT) for a very long time.

He is not our member of staff, he was posted here, but they recalled him on Friday and, they have posted somebody else here, Mr Shaibu said.

Asked if the new person has resumed duties, the official said, the new person has not resumed because of some personal reasons. The person would likely resume this week.

Controversial statement

Mr Al-Hassan had drawn public outrage not only for the numerous errors contained in his March 30 statement, but also for the ethnic slur that was inferred from his claim in the statement that Mr Umar, who was captured in a video clip assaulting a security guard at an Abuja plaza, was the one that was mobbed by Biafran boys.

Mr Al-Hassan had issued the controversial statement in defence of Mr Umar who was seen in the viral video footage kicking and slapping Clement Sagwak, a security guard at Banex Plaza, Wuse 2, Abuja, on March 29.

In an attempt to justify Mr Umars act, the statement issued on March 30, accused Mr Sargwak of being rude during his encounter with the public official on the premises of the plaza.

The statement which was filled with grammatical blunders also alleged that the CCT chairman was mobbed by Biafran boys, a characterisation that was widely condemned as a slur on an ethnic group.

Mr Al-Hassans statement, which has since gone viral, was filled with grammatical blunders such as, video cliff instead of video clip; packing lot instead of parking lot; rode instead of rude; fixe instead of fix. He also wrote had went instead of had gone.

Nigerians took to the social media to express their dismay at what they described as offensive about the content of the release.

Mr Al-Hassan later said he issued the statement under pressure.

Tendering a public apology in a later statement, he said he was under pressure while issuing the statement, adding that the statement was an unedited draft that slipped into the public space through a colleague.

However, Mr Umar, in whose defence, Mr Al-Hassan had issued the statement, appeared to have doubled down on his earlier claim by insisting that he was mobbed at the scene of assault by people chanting secessionist, sectional slogans.

Assault

This newspaper had reported how Mr Umar was caught on camera assaulting the security guard, Mr Sargwak an employee of Jul Reliable Guards Services Limited.

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In the five minutes video footage that went viral, the tribunal chairman was seen slapping and kicking the 22-year-old, on March 29.

According to witnesses who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, the altercation was over the space where the CCT chairman parked his car on the premises of the mall.

Despite video evidence, the CCT chairman denied the assault allegation.

Mr Umars denial was faulted by witnesses who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES.

The CCT chairman, who accused Mr Sargwak of being rude, also reportedly ordered the arrest of a phone repairer, Peter Onyiuke, with an outlet at the plaza.

Mr Onyiuke was detained without charge for one week allegedly on Mr Umars instruction.

He was arrested on March 29 and was only released from the custody of a police station in Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, April 6.
Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke will revisit the drama of The O.C. as they launch a podcast all about the mid-2000s teen drama.

And on Tuesday, the LA-based actresses revealed to Today Extra the co-stars they have kept in touch with since the show's finale in 2007.

Melinda, who played Julie Cooper, said she was still in contact with Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen), Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) and Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper).

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Famous friends: Melinda Clarke, who played the glamorous Julie Cooper on The O.C., revealed on Tuesday which co-stars she has kept in touch with since the show's finale in 2007

She sees Adam Brody (Seth Cohen) and Olivia Wilde (Alex Kelly) less often, but they're still on good terms.

She told Today Extra hosts David Campbell and Belinda Russell via Zoom: 'I've stayed in touch with, well, Kelly mostly, Peter, Tate...

'I've run into Adam a few times, I ran into Olivia Wilde... I ran into - well, no, I haven't seen Shailene Woodley [who played Kaitlin Cooper] for quite a while,'

'Rachel, we ran into each other, maybe 10 years ago actually, so we are just reacquainting ourselves!' she then said of her podcast co-host.

The O.C. focused on the life of troubled teenager Ryan Atwood, played by Ben McKenzie, as he navigated growing up in an affluent neighborhood of Orange County, California (cast pictured)

Pals: Melinda, who played Julie Cooper, said she was still in contact with Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen), Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) and Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper). Pictured (left to right): Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Melinda and Kelly Rowan

The O.C. focused on the life of troubled teenager Ryan Atwood, played by Ben McKenzie, as he navigated growing up in an affluent neighborhood of Orange County, California.

Melinda played the glamorous Julie Cooper, the mother of privileged yet rebellious teen Marissa Cooper, portrayed by Mischa Barton.

Elsewhere in their interview with Today Extra, Rachel, who played Marissa's best friend Summer Roberts, was asked which guests they'd have on their podcast.

Special guests: Elsewhere in their interview with Today Extra, Rachel Bilson (pictured) said she and Melinda would be interviewing 'lovely cast members' on their new podcast about The O.C.

'Well, we are definitely going to have some of our lovely cast members stop on by. And writers and hopefully producers and other people behind the scenes,' she said.

'It's going to be a real mixed bag, but it will be really fun to hear everyone's different opinions and perspectives. But for sure, there will be some fun surprises with cast.'

Notably, there was no mention in the interview of Mischa Barton, who abruptly left the series at the end of season three.

The O.C. was a ratings smash at the time, but Mischa wanted to focus on other projects and her exit eventually led to the show's cancellation in 2007.

Going her own way: Notably, there was no mention in the interview of Mischa Barton (pictured), who played privileged yet rebellious teen Marissa Cooper. She abruptly left The O.C. at the end of season three because she wanted to pursue other projects

'I just had a lot in my career that I wanted to do and accomplish... I felt like things were really heavily reliant upon me, and I was getting no time to do any of the other offers that were out there,' she told the New York Times in 2019.

However, it's possible Rachel and Melinda are keeping Mischa's appearance on the podcast under wraps, hence why they didn't mention her.

Deadline reported the podcast launched through Kast media and will produce 100 episodes 'and feature a variety of guests  from former cast members like Peter Gallagher, to series creator Josh Schwartz'.

Coming soon: Welcome to the OC, B*tches! is a Kast media production and launches on audio streaming services on April 27. Pictured: hosts Rachel and Melinda

'Im so excited to be doing this podcast with Mindy,' Bilson said. 'I think everyone could use a little light and laughter after the year we have endured.

'Going back and watching all of these episodes has been so fun and I cant wait to talk about it all, my own personal experiences as well as others involved with the show.

Welcome to the OC, B*tches! is a Kast media production and launches on audio streaming services on April 27
The attorney general of Virginia said on Monday that he was investigating whether there was an unlawful pattern or practice of conduct at the Windsor Police Department after a uniformed Black U.S. Army medic was held at gunpoint and doused with pepper spray by its officers.

Two members of the Police Department conducted a traffic stop on Caron Nazario, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, in December, during which one of the officers, Joe Gutierrez, threatened Lieutenant Nazario before dousing him with pepper spray and pushing him to the ground, according to body camera footage of the episode.

Mr. Gutierrezs actions were appalling and dangerous, Mark Herring, the attorney general, said in an interview on CNN on Monday night.

His office has requested records from the Windsor Police Department from as far back as a decade as part of its investigation into whether there might have been a pattern of police misconduct either by these officers specifically or more broadly within the department, Mr. Herring said.
Ramadan is a month of fasting, sacrifices, prayers and reflecting on our innate sense of giving back. It emphasises the necessity to be sentimental with others needs. So this year, Samaara Tea is back with a kadak campaign #NekiHarRoz that sheds light on the need to show kindness to others not only during Ramadan but throughout the year.

Samaara Tea has released an emotional video campaign that exemplifies the need to be understanding and compassionate. It is all about people coming together to celebrate this month of Eid together. It outlines the simple fact that no matter your culture, it is kindness that brings people together in times of need.

#NekiHarRoz is a narrative between two families - The Chopras and the Sheikhs. It commences with the Sheikhs talking about their coming Eid celebrations, which will be impacted because of their hectic work schedules. Mr Chopra stood listening to it all when the Sheikhs returned in the evening, they had a surprise in store. Not only had Mr Chopra made their Eid memorable with a heart-touching gesture, but he had welcomed them into his family with open arms. Made with a strong message and skillfully curated narrative, Samaara Tea wants to bring a positive shift with this campaign.

Apart from India, Samaara Tea has a strong foothold in countries like UAE, Dubai, South Africa, Bahrain, and Oman. Given its large audience, the video is to be made live in all the above countries. To further amplify the reach and engagement of the campaign, they will also introduce a contest. Its core purpose being, to express gratitude towards people who believe in the spirit and action of doing good deeds.

Mr. Dheer Shah, Director, Samaara Tea, says," As a large part of our patrons celebrate the festival of Ramadan. So it felt only appropriate to commemorate this holy month with our take on doing good deeds. With this campaign, Samaara Tea aims to reunite families, irrespective of their background and upbringing. We hope that our message resonates with people, and they share our excitement towards this. We also hope to bring many more such kadak campaigns in the future for our audience."
A leading think tank for science and technology policy has said as Washington seeks to counter a rising China, no nation is more important than with its abundance of highly skilled technical professionals and strong political and cultural ties with the United States.

It however cautioned that "overreliance" on as an IT services provider could become a strategic problem if major disagreements emerge between the two nations on issues such as intellectual property, data governance, tariffs, taxation, local content requirements or individual privacy.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) think-tank in a report released on Monday describes the worst and best-case scenarios.

In one, tensions between and are reduced and the many business synergies between these two neighbouring nations come to the fore. In this case, the heart of the global economy would shift to the east, and there would be little the United States could do about it, the report stated.

In the second scenario, the interests of India and the United States become increasingly aligned, as the economic, military, and relations challenges from grow. In such a case, democratic norms could prevail across most of the developed world, as developing nations start looking to a 'Delhi model' instead of a 'Beijing model', it stated.

"As America seeks to counter a rising China, no nation is more important than India, with its vast size, an abundance of highly skilled technical professionals, and strong political and cultural ties with the United States.

"But the parallels between America's dependency on for manufacturing and its dependency on India for IT services are striking," said the think-tank.

According to David Moschella, a non-resident senior fellow at ITIF and co-author of the report, the same forces that increasingly divide the United States and China are now pushing the US and India closer together.

"The interplay between the United States, India, and China will shape global competition and digital innovation for years to come. While there is a wide range of possible scenarios, two things are clear: India should be an essential part of US efforts to compete with and reduce its dependence on China, and this will inevitably expand America's global dependencies from manufacturing to services, he said.

"America's technology dependencies on India in the 2020s seem certain to rise. Yet it is important to know whether the United States will be dependent on a strategic partner with strong mutual interests, or on an increasingly neutral rival," said ITIF president Robert D. Atkinson, who co-authored the report with Moschella.

Much will depend on the strategic choices that the Joe Biden administration and Indian government make in the next several years. One thing is clear that economic and geopolitical stakes could not be higher, he said.

The report describes how India is making important progress in research and development, innovation centres, machine learning, analytics, product design and testing, and other areas, especially in IT and life sciences.

While leading US tech companies are well-positioned in India's booming Internet and e-commerce marketplaces, strong local competitors are now emerging. Outside the technology sector, US companies operating in India face stiff competition from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and other firms.

Although doing business in India is still often difficult, most large US companies have expanded significantly to having IT service providers, large operations, or their own India-based capability centres, the report stated.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a letter that surfaced on social media, the law minister has lashed out at his state's health authorities, complaining that beds for patients are falling short and ambulances take hours to arrive in the UP capital, which he said could face a lockdown again.

Law Minister Brajesh Pathak's purported letter on the situation in his constituency also blamed the recent death of a scholar on the lack of an ambulance, though Padma Shri-winner Yogesh Praveen's family has denied making this charge.

When contacted Pathak did not reject the existence of a letter, which also appears to challenge the UP government's claim that it is on top of the fight against

"I had written a confidential letter to the government," he told PTI, refusing to elaborate further.

"The beds for COVID-19 patients in hospitals should be increased, testing should be increased and enough testing kits should be made available, said the letter written Monday to Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health) and Additional Chief Secretary (Medical Education).

If COVID-related circumstances are not controlled soon, we will have to impose a lockdown in to prevent its spread," it added. The letter surfaced Tuesday on social media.

"It is with extreme pain that I am informing that currently in district, the condition of health services is extremely worrying. For the past one week, I have been getting hundreds of phone calls from the entire district, he said.

"No reply is given when the office of the Chief Medical Officer is dialled. After complaining about this to the medical and health minister and to the Additional Chief Secretary-Health, the phone is picked up, but no positive work is done, he charged, seemingly referring to his own experience.

It is taking four to seven days to get test reports. The patients don't get the ambulance in time, the minister wrote.

The ambulances take five or six hours to arrive, the letter in Hindi alleged.

"Today, the condition of Padma Shri awardee Dr Yogesh Praveen deteriorated and I myself informed the chief medical officer on phone, and requested him to make an ambulance available immediately. But, sadly, despite the passage of some hours, he did not get an ambulance and died as he could not get treatment in time," Pathak said.

"In the current COVID-related circumstances, when every day 4,000 to 5,000 coronavirus patients are detected in the district, the number of beds in COVID hospitals is very less, Pathak said.

He claimed COVID tests are not being conducted at private pathology centres in Lucknow and the process takes days in government hospitals.

Pathak claimed he recently spoke to a senior medical department official who told him that 17,000 test kits are needed every day but only 10,000 are available.

He said the situation is worse for non-COVID patients such as those suffering from diseases like cancer and heart ailments, or those who require dialysis.

Such patients are not getting treated in time due to the pandemic, he said. We have to seriously look into the provisions for admitting such patients."



He said the number of beds in COVID hospitals should be increased and testing stepped up.

Reacting to the letter, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Anurag Bhadauria said, "Health facilities in have completely crumbled, and this is being said not by us, but by the law minister of the state.

When officials don't take phone calls from a minister, the condition of the common public can be imagined.

(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 National Transportation Safety Board investigation found that the erratic steering of a supply vessel led to a 2019 collision resulting in more than 6,000 gallons of diesel oil being dumped into the Sabine Pass, a busy waterway between Texas and Louisiana.

The NTSBs Marine Accident Brief 21/08 details its investigation of the collision between offshore supply vessel Cheramie Bo Truc No 22 and the Mariya Moran/Texas on Nov. 14, 2019, in the Sabine Pass Jetty Channel, Port Arthur, Texas.

The NTSB said the probable cause of the collision was the Cheramie Bo Truc No 22 turning into the path of the Mariya Moran/Texas. Damages from the collision exceeded $1.8 million, and the waterway was closed for a time for the diesel oil spill cleanup.

During the accident sequence, the on-watch AB and engineer expressed concern to the mate of the Cheramie Bo Truc No 22 regarding his erratic steering. The mate ignored them, yet neither the on-watch AB nor the engineer notified the captain.

A post-collision alcohol test administered by the captain indicated the mate had drank recently but did not demonstrate conclusively that the mate was impaired by alcohol.

However, attempting to use the autopilot in a channel, nearly colliding with stationary jack-ups, weaving across the channel, ignoring the warnings from the on-watch AB and engineer in the wheelhouse, and suddenly turning in front of the [Mariya Moran/Texas] all indicate a degree of misjudgment, impairment, and/or incompetence, the NTSBs report said.

Contributing to the collision was a lack of early communication from both vessels.

Safe and effective navigation is not one persons job, the NTSBs report said. Bridge resource management includes the concept of teamwork, which is an essential defense against human error. A good team should anticipate dangerous situations and recognize the development of an error chain. If in doubt, team members should speak up or notify a higher authority. Vessel operators should train their crews on and enforce their safety policies.

The full report, Marine Accident Brief 21/08 can be found at https://go.usa.gov/xHgwf.

Topics Transportation
Apple and Google have been forced to reject the UKs latest COVID-19 Test and Trace app update because it failed to follow privacy rules the nation had already agreed to follow in order to use the frameworks the tech firms provide.

Keeping deals

In line with World Health Organization (WHO) advice to test widely and act fast in the event of COVID-19 outbreaks, Apple and Google moved quickly at the beginning of the pandemic to develop a private-by-design Exposure Notifications system the worlds health authorities could use to build digital track-and-trace systems.

Both firms explained the need to prevent these systems from eroding privacy, built privacy safeguards inside the system, and insisted nations using it respect peoples privacy. These requirements are crystal clear in the terms and conditions of the software.

The companies recognized that the state of emergency should not be used as a way to sneak surveillance technologies in through the back door. Both Apple and Google are paying increasing attention to the consequences of that.

In the UK, at least, the government chose instead to try  and fail  to build a less private system. Now, the UK is back with a second attempt to use track and trace in a manner that erodes privacy. At the same time, many other nations now have functional systems built using the Apple/Google foundation that have cost less to develop and are now in use. The UKs system cost billions, but has made little difference.

Why the ban?

Apple and Google have rejected the latest NHS app update because it includes functions that have been banned from the start. That means UK users seeking the governments own contact-tracing app can only download an older version.

The updated version included a tool that required users to check-in to venues they visited using a QR code and the app. If they subsequently tested positive for the virus, the app would upload logs of those check-ins and warn others.

While this almost sounds reasonable, it actually isnt, because it effectively means authorities collect personally identifiable location data in direct contravention of the conditions of use Apple and Google have always required their contact tracing framework.

Its also a little unnecessary, given the system already includes ways in which others who may have been exposed to infection can be warned in a way that protects the privacy of all parties.

It is interesting that this problem does not affect users in Scotland, which uses a different Check In Scotland app in conjunction with its contact-tracing effort. The UK Department of Health has not explained why it chose to indulge in yet another failure in this important tool at a time of crisis.

In tech, all for one is also all for all

The terms of use of the Apple/Google system are clear:

The goal of this project is to assist public health authorities in their efforts to fight COVID-19 by enabling exposure notification in a privacy-preserving manner, and the system is designed so that the identities of the people a device comes in contact with are protected. Access to the technology will be granted only to public health authorities. If they create an app, it must meet specific criteria around privacy, security, and data control. The public health authority will be able to access a list of beacons provided by users confirmed as positive for COVID-19 who have consented to sharing them. The system was also designed so that Apple and Google do not have access to information related to any identifiable individual.

Given that many less democratic governments may otherwise choose to exploit the need for such apps, its a protection that makes sense.

The tech firms cannot make an exception for one government, or they would be required to make an exception for all. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently observed that, Once you have a back door, you have a back door for everybody.

A battle for our times

Critics argue that this is another misuse of tech industry power. Thats not correct.

This is an illustration of tech firms taking a stance against mission creep, working to prevent governments and private data firms eroding privacy. It is also precisely in line with the arguments coming primarily from Apple and increasingly from Google and other tech firms that recognize mobile devices are woven into every part of life, making it essential to ensure those devices are secure.

Coronavirus has already deeply impacted global society and exposed systemic inequalities. Abandoning personal digital privacy in response to that existential threat will only extend deeper damage to our ways of life.

"In terms of privacy, I think it is one of the top issues of the century," Cook has said. "We've got climate change, that is huge. We've got privacy, that is huge. And they should be weighted like that and we should put our deep thinking into that and to decide how can we make these things better and how do we leave something for the next generation that is a lot better than the current situation.

Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolics bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.
QUEBEC, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Waga Energy, the European leader in landfill gas-to- renewable natural gas (RNG) technology, has been enlisted by The Mauricie Residual Materials Management Board (RGMRM) to deploy its innovative gas upgrading solution at the Saint-Etienne-des-Gres landfill, in Quebec. The green gas produced will be purchased by Energir, the largest gas distribution company in the province, and injected into its gas grid onsite. This landfill gas-to-RNG project will be the first in Canada to use the WAGABOX technology, developed by Waga Energy to recover landfill gas in the form of RNG.

Under the agreement signed in March, Waga Energy will buy the landfill gas from RGMRM for a period of at least 20 years. The landfill gas will then be transformed into grid-compliant RNG by a WAGABOX gas treatment unit built onsite. Waga Energy will generate income by selling its RNG production to Energir. Until now, the landfill gas at Saint-Etienne-des-Gres was captured and burned in a flare.

Designed to process 3,400 cubic meters of biogas per hour (2,000 scfm), the WAGABOX unit in Saint-Etienne-des-Gres will produce 468,000 GJ (444,000 mmBtus) of renewable gas per year, corresponding to the annual consumption of 8,000 local households. The WAGABOX unit will be built by a local company under the supervision of Waga Energy's Canadian subsidiary, except for the cryogenic distillation module which will be imported from France. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

The project will improve the environmental record of Mauricie and will contribute to Quebec's energy transition. It will prevent the release of 23,000 tons of CO 2 per year into the atmosphere by substituting renewable gas for fossil natural gas.

Mathieu Lefebvre, president and co-founder of Waga Energy: "Thanks to the WAGABOX solution, hundreds of landfill sites across the United States and Canada will be able to produce renewable natural gas, contribute to the energy transition, and generate a new revenue stream, without the need for investment, and free from additional operating constraints."

Michel Angers, President of RGMRM: "This contract is the result of an initiative undertaken several months ago to identify the best technology to enable us to use our landfill gas to its full potential. Thanks to the WAGABOX technology, treating our gas is no longer an expense, it is a new income stream, and more importantly, it is yet another step towards a more sustainable approach to landfill management. The project fits perfectly with the government's greenhouse gas reduction objectives and we are proud to contribute to Quebec's energy transition."

Renault Lortie, Vice-President, Customers and Gas Supply, at Energir: "The development of the green gas industry in Quebec is one of the cornerstones of our efforts to decarbonize our economy. Energir aims to inject an ever-increasing amount of renewable gas into its network, corresponding to a volume of at least 10% that of the annual volume it distributes by 2030. This fantastic project brings us a step closer to this objective, demonstrates the value of smart circular economy, and allows more and more of our customers to benefit from clean and local energy".

WAGABOX: a breakthrough technology for the recovery of landfill biogas

WAGABOX is a breakthrough technology for the recovery of landfill gas in the form of RNG injected into gas grids. This innovative technology is the result of 10 years of research & development and benefitted from the active support of French industry giant Air Liquide. Combining membrane filtration and cryogenic distillation, it guarantees a higher energy yield than solutions based on electricity production, and optimum use of the resource, without operational constraints for the landfill operator.

Contact

Waga Energy

Laurent Barbotin

Tel : +33 772 771 185

[email protected]

SOURCE Waga Energy
H&M sent fashion fans into a frenzy by announcing a new collaboration with cult beachwear label lemlem.

The collection, launching on April 22, will bring the Ethiopian brand's signature bikinis, swimwear and cover-ups to British shoppers for a fraction of the usual price.

Lemlem bikini bottoms start from 82 a pair but H&M's range will have pieces from just 9.99.

The pieces range from easy to wear shorts and tops in pastel to caftans, sundresses, trousers and cover-up as well as colourful swimwear.

Sweden high street giant H&M is released a collaborative collection with sustainable brand lemlem on April 22. Models are wearing pieces from the collection. From left to right: Shirt, 19.99, shirt, 19.99, bikini top, 17.99, bikini bottoms, 9.99, dress, 29.99, crop top, 12.99 shorts, 17.99

Supermodel Lyia Kebede, 43, pictured, imagined both the clothes and the campaign for the collection. She is wearing a blue-striped shirt,(29.99) and bikini bottoms (14.99)

Lemlem founder Liya Kebede kept the signature pastel stripes look of her brand for this H&M collaboration, and the garments are made of pleasing pastel blues, pink, yellow and green as well as white.

And for the first time, lemlem tried its hand at crafty unforgettable and affordable jewellery pieces for the collection as well.

Liya said: 'I love that H&M has always been at the forefront of doing really cool collaborations. So for lemlem, its really exciting to be part of that group of collaborating brands.

'Its also a first for us to add jewellery as part of this collection and create a whole lemlem look.

This collection marks lemlem's first foray into jewellery making. The brand is known for promoting sustainable fashion and Ethiopian craftsmanship (Dress, 19.99)

The collection is versatile and includes swimwear, left and trousers and caftans, left, as well as cover ups and sundresses

Pictured: Liya with her daughter Raee, who posed for the H&M x lemlem campaign. All items in the collection are made of traditionally handwoven materials (From left to right: Crop top, 12.99 shorts, 17.99, shirt 19.99, crop top, 12.99 shorts, 17.99)

Liya in a loose pink, white and blue sundress included in the summer-ready collaborative collection (34.99)

Liya also explained she was also the creative director of the collection's campaign, which 'was so much fun and special because I got to shoot with my daughter.'

Raee, Liya's daughter, can be seen rocking the H&M x lemlem frocks with her mother in pictures that were taken on the beach at sunset.

Maria Ostblom, Head of Deisgn at h&M praised lemlem's 'elegance and ease.'

'With lemlem, you cant help but notice its ease and elegance, which Liya Kebede obviously and beautifully embodies, too,' she said.

'It was wonderful to have Liyas creative input at every step in this collaboration.

'We were also really happy to include more sustainable materials throughout the collection and just cant wait to launch it around the world.'

A model wears a shirt and swimsuit included in the collection. Prices range from 9.99 to 34.99 (Shirt, 19.99)

Liya in a H&M x lemlem shirt and with statement jewellery. Each piece is crafted from more sustainable materials including organic linen, recycled polyester and Tencel Lyocell (Tencel Shirt, 24.99)
Bob joined CopperPoint in 2017 with more than 30 years of experience in the property and casualty industry. His responsibilities include Claims and related processes, Data Management and Analytics, Corporate Development, Internal Audit, Information Technology, Program Management, Pay as you Go and the integration of alternative growth and acquisitions.

In addition, Rachel Davis-Schultz, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, is assuming an expanded role to include responsibility for Enterprise Operations. Prior to joining CopperPoint in 2019, Rachel served as Senior Director Human Resources  PBM Operations for Express Scripts. In that role, she supported all enterprise operations including pharmacy, call center and the operations strategy team. As Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer & Enterprise Operations, Rachel is responsible for all operational divisions for the CopperPoint Family of Companies including the Operational Resource Center, Claims and Policy Contact Center, Premium Audit and Billing & Collections.

"On behalf of the entire CopperPoint family, we would like to thank Scott for his tremendous leadership and contributions to the success of CopperPoint," said Marc Schmittlein, President and CEO, CopperPoint Insurance Companies. "Scott has been instrumental in charting our strategic expansion by developing the operational infrastructure and innovation needed to scale and grow the company. I would like to wish Scott the very best on his well-deserved retirement and also congratulate both Bob and Rachel on their expanded roles."

About CopperPoint Insurance Companies

Founded in 1925, CopperPoint Insurance Companies, www.copperpoint.com, is a western-based super regional commercial insurance company and a leading provider of workers' compensation and commercial insurance solutions. With an expanded line of insurance products and a growing 10 state footprint in the western United States, CopperPoint is in a strong position to meet the evolving needs of our brokers, agents and customers. It has $5 billion in total assets and an enterprise surplus of over $1.5 billion.

CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Company is the corporate parent of CopperPoint Insurance Companies, Pacific Compensation Insurance Company and Alaska National Insurance Company. All companies are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best.

SOURCE CopperPoint Insurance Companies

Related Links

www.copperpoint.com


New Delhi, April 13 : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to address his first election rally in West Bengal on Wednesday ahead of the fifth phase of polling scheduled for April 17.

The Congress is contesting 12 seats in the fifth phase out of the 44 Assembly constituencies that will go to the polls on April 17, including three seats where it had won in 2016.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address his first public meeting at the Lodhan school ground in Goalpokhar in Uttar Dinajpur district. The second public meeting will be held at the Sarojini ground in Darjeeling district, which is part of the Naxalbari Assembly constituency.

While Rahul Gandhi is a late entrant in the poll arena of West Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led the BJP campaign so far in the state.

While the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are involved in a direct contest in Bengal, the Left is trying to win back its rural support, and the Congress is looking to retain its tally of 44 seats it won in the 2016 elections.

The Congress' vote share had declined to 4 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but it still remains an important factor in some districts such as Purulia, Malda and Murshidabad.
A group of County Court judges is urging the states law reform body to give judges more discretion over who is placed on the sex offenders register.

In a submission to the Victorian Law Reform Commission, the County Court of Victoria said judges should have more powers to decide whether a convicted sex offender should be placed on the register and to expunge the registration of criminals who have previously been registered.

Some County Court judges have concerns with the sex offenders register scheme. Credit:Vince Caligiuri

The only current exemption is for offenders under 19, who can apply to be kept off the register if they were 18 or 19 when they committed the crime. The County Court wants this exemption to be extended to older offenders.

Under current laws, adults convicted of sexual offences are automatically listed for a minimum of eight years while minors face a minimum registration of four years.
There has been much grief and fury over the death of the beloved 51-year-old elephant, Ambalappuzha Vijayakrishnan. If he had been truly beloved, though, there should have been grief and fury over his life. He did not belong with the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). He belonged with his mother and his herd. Elephants do not belong in temples. They do not belong in captivity.

And not just the TDB, but every single temple board and every single individual who owns or trains an elephant is ill-treating the animalif by nothing else, by keeping him or her out of his or her natural habitat. But there is far more damage than that. Elephants are wild animals, and cannot be domesticated except by a brutal process, which involves premature separation from their motherstraumatising both the mothers and the babiesand beating of the calves into submission. Which is why a 10-foot tall animal weighing between 4000 and 6000 kilograms doesnt trample and kill a creature about an tenth its size. That is why mahouts can tie them up and beat them. That is why mahouts can blind them. That is why devotees can worship them. That is why temples can hire or buy them.

The problem is not with the fitness certificate issued to Vijayakrishnan. No animal should be paraded at a temple festival. There should be no captive elephant management committee because there should be no captive elephant. It is an unnatural state of being. It is alleged that Vijayakrishnan had been poked with a sharp metal object by his mahout, leading to the swelling in his leg which could have caused his death.

In February this year, a mahout and his assistant were caught on camera beating up an elephant that screams and trumpets, after tying her to a tree atof all placesthe annual rejuvenation camp for temple and mutt elephants near Mettupalayam. The men were arrested by the Coimbatore Forest Department, but will be replaced by two other brutes. Jayamalyatha, who must have been separated in her infancy from her mother and herd, will continue to live in captivity and run the risk of being beaten every time she fails to obey the commands of those brutes. She is all of 18 and has decades to go before she is brutalised to death.

Another beloved elephant, Ramachandran was brought from Bihar to the premises of the Thechikottukavu Peramangalthu Devaswom in Thrissur in 1983. He had been in captivity in Bihar too. He was 18 when he had to switch captors and languages and names. Ramachandran was paraded at temple festivals, and called a superstar. He lost his left eye to a mahout. The Forest Department has booked several of his mahouts for cruelty after noticing his swollen legs at various times. His killing ten people between 1988 and 2018 was not seen as a symptom of misery in captivity, and he continued to be paraded.

Domesticated elephants exist entirely to serve human needs and pander to human vanity. They are used for hard labour, even by the forest departmentwhich has its kumkis, elephants trained to subdue other elephants. Privately-owned elephants are hired out at festivals for between Rs. 35,000 and Rs. 1,00,000 a day. When they are not the subjects of transactions, they are chaineda fine fate for the divineand walked along hot tar roads unsuited to their feet in order to earn their keep by blessing people who call themselves devotees. They are given palm leaves for fodder, which could block their intestines. Free elephants roam forests for most of the day, covering between 25 and 195 kilometres a day, choosing which leaves and which grass they consume.

Punathur Kota, near Guruvayur, was pulled up in 2018 for holding more than 60 elephants in a space of 18.5 acres. Typically, a wild elephant has for its home range about 75,000 acres.

Although riding atop elephants is technically forbidden according to the law, this is rarely enforced.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests set up an Elephant Task Force in 2010, which recommended the phasing out of captivity and sale of elephants. But the largest elephant fair, Sonepur Mela, continues to find a special mention on the Incredible India website. It is referred to as cattle fair on the website.

Elephants are used for safaris in national parks, a euphemism for zoos, across the world. In China, Germany and Thailand, captive elephants have tried to killand sometimes succeeded in killingtheir new-born calves, perhaps from a maternal instinct to protect them from this terrible life; perhaps from post-partum or perennial depression; perhaps from insanity caused by the conditions in which they live.

Most Indian epics feature gods having some connection to animals. None of them remove these animals from their natural habitats. And yet, our interpretation is that these animals should be pulled out of where they belong so we can see our gods in them. We destroy their homes and then accuse them of encroaching into our cities.

Animals dont belong in chains any more than godsor humansdo. It is absurd that the law doesnt forbid their captivity, in temples as much as in zoos.

More Columns by Nandini Krishnan:

Of celibates, temples, and kisses

Covid 19: The paranoia is important

Hathras: The power of silence

How could we not lose Kashmir?

SPB: A personal loss



Nandini is the author of Invisible Men: Inside India's Transmasculine Networks (2018) and Hitched: The Modern Woman and Arranged Marriage (2013). She tweets @k_nandini. Her website is: www.nandinikrishnan.com
NORWALK  A crowd of about 20 people gathered outside a local auto body shop Tuesday to protest the owners alleged racially charged remarks toward a tenant in a building he manages.

The tenant, 29-year-old Norwalk resident Laura Garcia, said she moved with her husband and two children in November 2019 into a multifamily home on Flax Hill Road, of which Fedor Auto Body Works owner Allen Fedor is the landlord. But in March, when Garcia and her family left the home, a dispute allegedly ensued when Fedor said he planned to retain some of the security deposit to fix hole in a wall that Garcia said was not caused by her family.

The argument led to remarks via text from Fedor regarding Garcias Latin American background, Garcia claims. Garcia is originally from Guatemala and moved to the U.S. seven years ago.

During the text exchanges regarding the wall repairs, Garcia listed the issues the family previously had with the apartment including a faulty smoke alarm and mice, to which Fedor responded, Its ok, I guess you illegals are just dirty like in Mexico.

On Tuesday, Fedor confirmed he made the comments.

They were screaming at me that white people are landlords because theyre money hungry and Im like, well that has nothing to do with it this, he told Hearst Connecticut Media. I apologize for calling them that but again I kind of feel discriminated against because I happen to be white and a landlord.

The comments prompted Garcia to seek help in her dispute with Fedor and led to the first protest outside the auto body shop on March 31. The second protest was organized in part by community activism groups Chapinas Manos Unidas, Unidad Latina en Accion, and Black & Brown United in Action.

The shop closed early in preparation for the protest, Fedor said.

Norwalk is home to a significant number of migrants and people of color, the protest description read. Diversity and respect are essential for this vibrant community. Migrants and activists denounced Fedor for the comments and his attacks on the Norwalk migrant community.

Garcia said she reached out to local housing officials and intends to file a lawsuit against Fedor for the security deposit if he does not return the funds. Fedor said he will return the funds, but has 30 days from the familys departure from the home to do so.

Norwalk Fair Housing Officer Margaret K. Suib did not respond to request for comment on the status of Garcias complaint.

People are afraid and dont speak out until someone else does, Garcia said.

abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com




Haiti - Economy : New building for the Customs at Port-au-Prince Airport





The President of the Republic, Jovenel Moise proceeded Monday to the inauguration of the new building of the Customs of the Airport of Port-au-Prince.



"Thanks to the commitment of the various actors involved in this process, we have seen this beautiful building rise which will henceforth house the administrative staff of the Customs."



"This new building testifies to my determination to create a friendly working environment where our officials are forced to support taxpayers who have come to fulfill their tax duties while respecting their rights and with dignity [...] I ardently encourage our customs officials to continue their efforts to ensure a continuous increase in the level of revenue for the purpose of improving the living conditions of our fellow citizens," the President told the audience, adding "I also invite the customs officers to stay firm in the post, to stay away from corruption and not to give up in the face of the onslaught of smuggling and transnational crime.



I call on customs officials to keep the level of tax revenue up, to control the movement of goods across our borders, to protect our country from international crime and terrorism that is destabilizing many Sates around the world."



The construction of this building was made possible thanks to funding from the World Bank, valued at over 3 million dollars, an amount of 472,346 dollars was also granted to the public treasury for additional works.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Click here to read the full article.

Global Citizen, which was synonymous with advocacy-themed entertainment specials in the early months of the pandemic, will return in May with Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World, a special that will be shot at L.A.s new So-Fi Stadium to run on major TV networks as well as streaming platforms.

Selena Gomez will host the event, which will film at the stadium in May just prior to the broadcast and feature performances from Jennifer Lopez, H.E.R., Eddie Vedder, J Balvin and Foo Fighters.

The show will run Saturday, May 8 at 8 p.m. ET as an hour-long prime-time special on CBS and ABC and in an 11 p.m. time slot on Fox. YouTube, iHeartMedia radio stations and the iHeartRadio app will also air the show. YouTubes version will run to 90 minutes and include additional performances, including a number by the K-pop group NCT 127 and content from some of the platforms more prominent video creators.

The purpose of the special is (at least) two-fold: to encourage corporations and philanthropists to use their money to help get vaccines to 27 million frontline workers in countries where vaccinations are not yet available even to those most in danger, and to overcome vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. and countries where it is readily available.

Global Citizen isnt yet announcing the exact date for the filming or how much of a live audience will be on hand for the shoot at So-Fi Stadium in Inglewood, as the size of a possible crowd for the concert is still very much in flux, although whatever audience is allowed is likely to consist of vaccinated frontline workers.

Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans tells Variety: Frankly, to pull off something as ambitious as this, that wouldnt be possible without the full support of the state of California. And weve working with the LA. County health department, the city of Los Angeles, the city of Inglewood, and obviously So-Fi Stadium to make sure that we can conduct this to the highest levels of COVID compliance, because we want to demonstrate the power of what happens when people have access to the vaccine. and when those healthcare heroes are recognized as they should be.

Of the lineup, Evans says, It is a very diverse cast. Almost all of the artists to say that they want to collaborate in one way, shape or form with other artists, so we are going to have a ton of additional announcements over the next few weeks to share with you as all of those collaborations lock in. We also have a couple of other big host announcements coming up that are equally exciting over the next few weeks.  Most artists will, for the sake of the broadcast, only be able to perform a couple of songs, because ts a very tight hour and then an hour and a half for the YouTube special.  I can tell you that J.Lo has a huge surprise in store, and I can tell you that H.E.R. is planning something super, super cool, involving hundreds of other people as well, which is really exciting.

For the special, Global Citizen is again teaming with the World Health Organization, as it did on the Lady Gaga-co-curated One World: Together at Home and other specials.

The filming will mark Global Citizens first in-person event since its annual Central Park concerts went on pause for the pandemic and led to the org doing largely Zoom-ed in television specials.

There are 27 million frontline healthcare workers that havent received a single dose of the vaccine. These are teachers, doctors, nurses all around the world. Because as you know, all of the vaccine doses have gone to a very small number of nations. And so there are literally 27 million healthcare heroes on the planet that havent received the doses they urgently need, and we believe that its not right that I, a 38-year-old male here in the United States, could have access to a vaccine before a heroic healthcare worker in Haiti or the Dominican Republic or Uganda for that matter. And so thats why were focused on this effort.

Vaccine hesitancy is being addressed via a website, Vax Because, and an ad campaign Global Citizen is developing with the Ad Council.

The Ad Council is actually one of our main executive producers on this whole campaign to overcome vaccine hesitancy. And many of the artists that are on board are also reaching out to specific target communities to overcome vaccine hesitancy. We know that the best way to overcome vaccine hesitancy is not to preach to people, to tell them they have to take the vaccine. that just doesnt work. The best way to do it is if they see their friends and family taking it, or they feel they have answers to the questions that they need. So obviously hesitancy is a key part of it.

But by June, the U.S, will have enough doses to be able to vaccinate every citizen in the United States and still have 45 million doses left over just sitting in cold storage in warehouses not going to anyone. And its not ethically right, from my view. Youve probably already seen that theyve already got 20 million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine that have not even been authorized in the United States that are already sitting just in cold storage in the U.S. So this is a global message. And by the way, this is not just a U.S. challenge. This is also an EU challenge. This is also a challenge for really all of the advanced economies.

Says Evans: Our key calls to action are firstly to call on philanthropists and corporations to donate enough dollars for doses to help vaccinate those 27 million heroic healthcare workers that are on the front line in the poorest countries that need access to the vaccine most, because theyre the ones that are most susceptible of contracting COVID right now. But we also want to call on governments and philanthropists to invest the additional $22.1 billion needed to actually get the 2 billion vaccine doses and other medical tools to the poorest countries. And we want to encourage the pharmaceutical companies to commit to selling their vaccines at a production price. Focusing on earning profits at the expense of human lives will impede that progress.

So this is not a story of equitable vaccine rollout globally. And I think for a nation like the U.S. that has just spent the last two years grappling with this question of equity with all the major social movements that have happened in the last few years here in the US, the question of vaccine equity, leads directly to all the other equity movements, because its always women and girls, and its always people of color who are the least likely to have access to the vaccine. So this question of access, I think, is a reckoning for us morally here in the United States. And I think its (related to) the other social movements have caused the nation to ask citizens, what does the U.S. want to be to the world?

I think that question is more prevalent now through the pandemic, because this cant be allowed to become the next HIV/AIDS, where in a few years time, celebrities have to remind us that we shouldnt have forgotten Africa. I mean, for goodness sake, we already know that vaccine rollout. Thats the benefit of modern journalism in that we already have the data around the world about how vaccine rollout is taking place globally. And you can see that theres a disproportionate number of vaccines that are entering only into the wealthiest economies right now. It doesnt take any form of rocket science to deduce the fact that we need to move faster.

And this cant be a 2022 challenge. We cant assume that we can just let other economies falter because then we wont be allowed to, or able to, properly engage in global trade. And it will actually have a long-term reverberating negative impact on the U.S. economy as well. So even if we dont care about this from altruistic reasons, we should care about it from a self-interested perspective, because we can ensure that that the global economy can restart.

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ATLANTA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- XS Brokers (XSB), a leading independent insurance underwriting and wholesale brokerage group, has expanded Brian A. Dunn's role to advance the company's growth and development as Southeast Regional Leader. In line with XS Brokers focus on creating strong partnerships with their independent agent clients, Dunn's experience, customer service strengths, and a commitment to relationship-building, made him a natural fit for this position.

"We knew when we hired him that he was a well-respected, third generation insurance professional with proven independent agency relationships. What we've quickly come to learn is how impactful and skilled he is at building relationships with clients and staff," said Adam Devine, CEO. "Brian's leadership qualities, business acumen and understanding of the greater Southeast insurance marketplace make him a natural to lead our brand expansion efforts throughout the entire Southeast region."

While Dunn is relatively new to XS Brokers, joining the firm in November 2020, "It is very clear Brian understands what it will take to get retail agents' attention and commitment to work with XS Brokers as a new wholesaler partner in the entire Southeast. He and his team have been relentless in their execution of the plan," said Eric Wirkus, President.

"Joining XS Brokers made complete sense to me because of their 40+ years of unwavering support in helping retail agencies solve client challenges. We have an opportunity in the Southeast region to earn our fair share of the excess and surplus insurance marketplace by building and fostering true relationships with retail agents," stated Dunn. "It comes down to listening and communicating, offering relevant solutions, and bringing speed and accuracy to everything we do in support of their business."

Dunn is a graduate of American Intercontinental University with a BS degree in criminal justice with an emphasis on homeland security and crisis planning. Brian also served in the U.S. Navy.

XS Brokers Insurance Agency (www.xsbrokers.com) is an independent binding authority and wholesale brokerage group headquartered in Massachusetts. With offices throughout the Northeast and Southeast, XSB is a full-service insurance group providing leading-edge coverage solutions exclusively to retail agents and brokers. Since 1978, XSB focuses on providing a broad range of personal and commercial lines solutions, service excellence, and market agility to help retail agents drive growth. Licensed in 50 states and with well over 30 binding authority facilities and strategic carrier appointments, XSB continues to achieve double-digit growth and profit.

SOURCE XS Brokers Insurance Agency

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'Captured alive on May 8, killed on May 17 in alleged clash with Sabah police' FIVE ABU Sayyaf terrorists were killed following an a...
A Samsung Phone

Help for Smaller Utilities

(TNS)  Wyatt Travnichek was just entering his 20s, but he had a vital job.After residents across eight central Kansas counties headed home for the night, Travnichek would keep watch  virtually  over the utility that supplied them with clean drinking water.As a worker at the Post Rock Rural Water District, headquartered in Ellsworth, he was periodically responsible for monitoring the plant after hours by remotely logging into its computer system. His duties lasted until he resigned in January 2019, the circumstances of which are unclear.Two months later, an unauthorized person gained remote access to the Post Rock system and shut down the facility's cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors unveiled a grand jury indictment accusing Travnichek, now 22, of tampering with the Post Rock system. The indictment alleges he logged in remotely with the intent of harming the water district."By illegally tampering with a public drinking water system, the defendant threatened the safety and health of an entire community," said Lance Ehrig, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency's criminal investigation division in Kansas.But the Post Rock case isn't a bizarre fluke.In February, the Florida city of Oldsmar, population 15,000, reported a hacker attempted to poison its water supply by remotely accessing its system and changing chemical levels. An employee was able to quickly reverse the hacker's actions, but the incident triggered a new wave of national concern over water security.A growing number of high-profile electronic break-ins and attempted hacks of water systems around the country are exposing the vulnerabilities of one of our most basic services  clean water. As water and other critical infrastructure become more plugged into the internet, their security shortcomings are drawing more attention from those who fear hackers and others will seize opportunities to wreak havoc.The Board of Public Utilities, a city-owned electric and water utility serving most of Wyandotte County, frequently faces attempted hacks from outside, often coming from Asian countries, said spokesman David Melhaff."That's kind of widely known among electric utilities," he said.No centralized database of attacks exists, but the Department of Homeland Security responded to 25 water cybersecurity incidents in 2015, according to a 2016 report prepared for the Department of Energy. The true number of attacks is almost certainly higher and growing.Yet even as the cyberthreat looms, small water systems like Post Rock face daunting challenges in securing their computers,found.These small utilities often don't have the resources to hire dedicated information technology staff. Employees juggle multiple roles, with cybersecurity just one in a long list of items to check on. And any significant financial investment  including for cybersecurity  may raise the prospect of higher rates."As far as cities having an IT person, I just don't know of any our size," said Bill Shroyer, assistant city administrator in Sabetha, in northern Kansas, and president of the Kansas Rural Water Association. "And if we did have an IT person, they better know how to repair pot holes, fix water leaks, pick up snow and everything else that we do."Kansas is home to nearly 1,000 water systems, ranging from tiny multi-family setups to sprawling metropolitan utilities. Post Rock, created in 1979 by a group of farmers, has grown into one of the largest rural water districts in the state by geographic size.The district serves more than 1,500 customers and can deliver 1.1 million gallons of water a day  all of it drawn from Kanopolis Lake, an artificial lake spread across more than five square miles in Ellsworth County, just west of Salina.The district was one of only four systems in the state with chlorine dioxide and chlorite monitoring breaches in 2019, according to the latest annual report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Chlorine dioxide is used to disinfect water, and chlorite is a byproduct of that process.Travnichek worked for Post Rock for a year  from January 2018 until January 2019. His tampering allegedly took place in March 2019. Travnichek's attorney, a federal public defender, didn't respond to a request for comment."There's a lot of turnover in the people who are operating these systems," said Elmer Ronnebaum, general manager of the Kansas Rural Water Association.On March 27, 2019, Travnichek remotely logged into Post Rock's computer system and "performed activities that shut down processes at the facility which affect the facility's cleaning and disinfecting procedures," according to the indictment.The indictment indicates Travnichek used a Samsung phone "to commit or to facilitate the commission" of the offense. If convicted, he must turn over the phone.While the incident took place more than two years ago, it's become public at a time of heightened anxiety over water security. But almost no details have emerged beyond the indictment, leaving unanswered questions about how, exactly, an ex-employee was able to shut down cleaning and disinfecting at Post Rock's plant.Kayla Errebo, chair of Post Rock's board, declined to comment. None of the board's seven other members responded to requests for comment.Supervisors at the utility also didn't respond to requests for comment. According to the district's website, Post Rock is currently searching for a general manager.Security experts indicated the explanation could be as simple as Post Rock not revoking Travnichek's electronic access after he quit, but the indictment doesn't say."If this is indeed a case with an insider, of course an insider could possess the methods to use that remote access if you don't have good policies," said Marty Edwards, an expert on critical infrastructure at the cybersecurity firm Tenable. "When the individual is terminated, for example, from a job, you want to make sure you remove their credentialed access from these systems."Remote access can be a powerful tool for utility operators, allowing employees to keep an eye on systems as they go about other tasks. For departments stretched thin, the ability to check key data from a phone or laptop can prove invaluable to productivity."Of course, these days with COVID, the ability to work remotely ... is very important. You can't always send personnel to the facility," Edwards said.But remote access is also among the top five security gaps identified in water systems, according to the 2016 report for the Department of Energy. The report, produced by government officials and security consultants, also listed documented procedures and trained staff as shortfalls.The vast number of water systems and their range in size have resulted in a hodgepodge of rules and policies on cybersecurity across the industry.The largest operators may have sophisticated approaches. Melhaff said employees of the Wyandotte County BPU face restrictions for the internet sites and utility facilities they can access."It's very limited and controlled where people badge in and out," he said.Regulators may struggle to get cybersecurity on the radar of some smaller utilities, however.A 2018 water cybersecurity briefing document from the EPA spells out the challenge, noting that many water utilities, especially small systems, lack the resources for IT and security specialists to help them start a cybersecurity program."Utility personnel may believe that cyber-attacks do not present a risk to their systems or feel that they lack the technical capability to improve their cybersecurity," the document says.Mike Keegan, a regulatory analyst at the National Rural Water Association, said the federal government needs to measure what water systems are doing to secure themselves. The government doesn't have a true assessment of what steps utilities are taking, he said.Some of that is already happening. A 2018 federal law requires water systems that serve more than 3,300 people to complete a risk assessment and develop an emergency response plan. The plan must include strategies to improve cybersecurity.Keegan called the assessment a "good exercise" because it gives systems leeway to use their own standards and encourages community involvement in cybersecurity. He warned against a flat federal standard on cybersecurity, saying there are thousands of regulations covering drinking water utilities, and more are coming out all the time."So to think you can just publish a Federal Register regulation and it can be metabolized at the local level is just missing what's happening," Keegan said. "People are busy and they need to know exactly what they need to do in their community."Katie Miller, director of technical services at Kansas Municipal Utilities, a statewide association of city-owned utilities, said there's varying degrees of interest and understanding on cybersecurity issues among utilities. While smaller utilities don't typically have dedicated security staff, the association can walk them through how to get in touch with experts who can help, she said.Her group is also providing cybersecurity curriculum to its members and has held a couple training workshops with plans to hold more."They've focused on ... like 'What is cybersecurity? What do data breaches look like?'" Miller said.The training, geared toward smaller utilities, focuses on cybersecurity basics, she said and includes a self-assessment component."Once they have that framework," Miller said, "then it allows them to start to potentially prioritize, "OK, what is something manageable we can work toward in strengthening our cybersecurity?"
WESTERVILLE, Ohio  A man who was taken to a hospital Monday after he was found unconscious in a vehicle was shot and killed by police during an altercation in the emergency room, reports say.

The identity of the man killed had not been released Monday night. WCMH Channel 4 reports six officers with Columbus and Westerville police, and security officers with Mount Carmel St. Anns Hospital were involved in the incident. WCMH reports that Columbus officers and hospital security officers fired their weapons.

Its unclear how the suspect obtained a weapon while in the hospital. However, police said Monday that an additional weapon was found at the scene and that the suspect might have been armed with a handgun when he was taken to the hospital, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

Multiple rounds were fired, but no officers were hurt and no other injuries were reported. Its unclear if the suspect fired his weapon.

The shooting occurred around 2:15 p.m. Monday, police tell WBNS Channel 10. The suspect had been taken to the hospital after he was found passed out in a vehicle in Westerville, the Dispatch reports.

While at the hospital, police discovered the suspect had outstanding warrants for domestic violence and weapons under disability. Westerville police then initiated a transfer of custody, but during that transfer an altercation ensued at about 2:15 p.m. Monday which resulted in the discharge of firearms from the Columbus Division of Police and St. Anns security officers, according to police statement.

The Dispatch reports that around 2:22 p.m., Columbus dispatchers received a call for an officer in trouble and that shooting had occurred.

Medical workers at the hospital tried to help the suspect after he was shot but he died of his wounds, reports say.

These officers did an outstanding job ... to protect the public and themselves, Keith Ferrell, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capitol City Lodge No. 9, tells the Dispatch. This level of violence were seeing should be concerning to everybody.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a statement saying the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will investigate the shooting.

In the early hours of this investigation, it is not clear what occurred, Yost says in the statement. I appeal to everyone to let us gather the facts and complete the record. That cannot happen overnight.

We will find the truth and we will fully reveal it.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  The head of the government's vaccine expert panel said there was nothing to fear from the Sinovac vaccine because it is safe across all age groups.

Speaking at a Department of Health forum on Tuesday. Dr. Nina Gloriani said data from several studies have shown that Sinovac is effective even for the elderly.

In her presentation, Gloriani said, "The safety of Sinovac is remarkable across all age groups, including the elderly. Clinical trial findings showed that the Sinovac CoronaVac is well tolerated among older individuals."

The recommendations were based on the summary of findings from technical data sets submitted to the VEP.

Based on all evidence, VEP said the likely benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, but still recommend that all who receive the vaccine should be monitored.

Earlier, the Food and Drug Administration said Sinovac was approved for use on senior citizens.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said the approval was based on reports from other countries shared by the vaccine expert panel, "but all factors were considered."

However, in a joint statement, the FDA and the Department of Health said that the health status of senior citizens must be evaluated first before getting inoculated with the vaccine.

Local government units already started vaccinating senior citizens and people with comorbidities late March following the rollout for the country's 1.7 million healthcare workers.

The government aims to vaccinate up to 70 million Filipinos by the end of 2021.
The PA Department of Education recently announced that it would allow individual districts to decide whether to administer Pennsylvania System School Assessment (PSSA) and Keystone Exams this spring, as would be typical, or to postpone these tests until the fall. While the Biden administration is imploring schools to stick with the usual plan of spring standardized testing, we commend the Pennsylvania Department of Education for this flexibility.

Now it is time for citizens and parents to ask their local school districts to suspend standardized testing for the 20-21 school year. There are numerous reasons suspending standardized testing is the right thing to do.

Here are a few we think are important to consider. This school year has been dramatically disrupted with late school year starts, changes in school day schedules, the combination of in-person and remote instruction, disconnects in the curriculum and e-school.

There has been the inability to find qualified substitutes and an increase in the e-school population. Student mental health concerns as national data suggests, such as depression, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness in the future are all on the rise. Significant differences exist in students self-regulation abilities and their abilities to shift between remote and in-person instruction.

Negative effects on teacher and in some cases, these tests are linked to teacher evaluations and pay.

Teachers are already managing the effects of interrupted instruction and in some cases teaching from home while caring and educating their own children.

Lori A. Dira, Lewisburg, Pa.
Jesinta Franklin took a cheeky swipe at Kim Kardashian on Monday, after Kim's daughter North West sent social media into a frenzy with her impressive painting.

The model, 29, shared a photo to Instagram of a drawing her one-year-old daughter, Tullulah, had scrawled on a notebook.

'First colouring book and pencils... she's no North West, but it's a start,' she captioned the post, referencing the debate over whether North was really able to create an impressive Bob Ross-style landscape on her own.

'She's no North West!' Jesinta Franklin took a dig at Kim Kardashian on Monday as she shared a picture of her daughter Tullulah's artwork

Fellow model Ksenija Lukich commented below the post that it was a 'masterpiece'.

Sunrise newsreader Edwina Bartholomew added: 'Everything we have tried gets eaten.'

Jesinta replied that her daughter has also tried nibbling on her pencils, saying: 'Oh yes, we now have a rainbow tongue. Tomorrow's nappy should be interesting.'

Reference: The model, 29, shared this photo to Instagram of a drawing her one-year-old daughter, Tullulah, had scrawled on a notebook. 'First colouring book and pencils... she's no North West, but it's a start,' she captioned the post, referencing the debate over whether North was really able to create an impressive Bob Ross-style landscape on her own

Having their say: Ksenija Lukich commented below the post that it was a 'masterpiece'. Sunrise newsreader Edwina Bartholomew added: 'Everything we have tried gets eaten'

In February, Kim, 40, posted her daughter North West's incredible landscape painting, sparking a furious debate online.

'Just had to post this on my main feed bc it's a North West Classic!' she captioned it.

The painting of snow-capped mountains overlooking a lake drew more than a million 'likes', but also became the subject of scrutiny.

Did a child really paint this? In February, Kim, 40, posted her daughter North West's incredible landscape painting, sparking a furious debate online

The controversy prompted Kim to share more evidence of her daughter's artistic prowess in the days to follow, including a video of the Hermes bag North, seven, painted for her as a baby.

North's impressive artwork subsequently made headlines after fans expressed their disbelief that a young child could paint so well.

As skepticism grew, Kim furiously came to the defence of her daughter.

Making headlines: North's impressive artwork subsequently made headlines after fans expressed their disbelief that a young child could paint so well

'My daughter and her best friend have been taking a serious oil painting class where their talents and creativity are being encouraged and nurtured,' Kim wrote on Instagram Stories.

'How dare you see children doing awesome things and then try to accuse them of NOT being awesome!?!?!

'Please stop embarrassing yourselves with the negativity and allow every child to be GREAT!!! NORTH WEST PAINTED THAT PERIOTDDDDDABCDEFGZFDT!!!!!!!'
After a two-year battle, California now has a model ethnic studies curriculum for its elementary and high schools.

But no one knows how many schools will actually use the 700-plus page study plan, as there is no state mandate forcing anyone graduating from high school to pass such a course.

Thats because Gov. Gavin Newsom unexpectedly vetoed AB 331 last fall, killing a bill to impose just such a requirement even though he okayed a similar condition for graduation from California State University campuses.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

Newsom explained that he didnt sign the bill because conflicts over the K-12 ethnic studies program were still playing out. But the plan was okayed unanimously last month by the state Board of Education. Yet, the controversies it spurred remain strong.

All this means the battle now shifts from the state level to local school boards, which will decide what parts of the model curriculum to use, what to ignore, and what to leave up to individual teachers.
Students, faculty and alumni of the University of South Alabama might get their first look at the schools fourth president next fall, based on discussions held Tuesday by the USA board of trustees executive committee.

The board announced in February that Tony Waldrop will retire in 2021. His plans are to relocate to North Carolina where his wife, Julee Briscoe Waldrop, has become assistant dean for the school of nursing at Duke University. That announcement said that Waldrop would remain in office at USA at least through the end of the current academic year but did not set a firm end date.

The trustee executive committee, led by trustee chair pro tempore James H. Shumock, met Tuesday to review progress so far by a committee overseeing the search process, and to review the steps ahead.

The most significant action of the day was to ratify the search committees selection of R. William Funk and Associates to produce a slate of finalists for the job. Shumock said the firm had previously conducted the search that ended with Waldrops selection. Shumock said the company was the consensus choice of the search committee, and the executive committee approved the pick unanimously.

Shumock said he expected the search to cost about the same as the previous search, $175,000 to $180,000. The executive committee approved his request for a $200,000 budget. I would think that would be plenty to get us to completion, he said.

Shumock said the names of applicants would be kept confidential until a slate of three to five finalists is presented to the board of trustees, at which point it will become public. If that slate is approved by the board, the people on it will be invited to campus for interviews. Shumock said he expects all that to happen in the fall.

Openness in the search process means that the campus community stays informed and the whole process is done in a manner that all the constituent groups of campus and the community are able to help us work through and evaluate what we want in a candidate and how we want to proceed in that regard, Shumock said.

He said his tentative expectation is that the shortlist of finalists will be ready by the fall timeframe when were back in school so that the entire campus community will have an opportunity to participate fully in the process. So a lot of work will get done over the summer and then the process will be fully engaged on campus in the fall when were back in school.

While there was little discussion during the meeting, which ended with an executive session, one suggestion was made by Abe Mitchell, an honorary trustee and a major donor to USA. Mitchell suggested that when the qualifications for presidential candidates are publicized, it be specified that a Ph.D. was not mandatory. He also suggested that it would be a plus for candidates to have some experience with health care leadership because when you look at our operations now, the medical side of it dwarfs most everything else.

As they currently stand, USAs presidential search guidelines include a section on preferred credentials that includes an earned doctorate in an appropriate discipline. However, thats followed by the caveat that In lieu of an earned doctorate, [a candidate] must possess outstanding training and exemplary record of success in the administration of a large educational organization.

Following Shumocks guidance, the executive committee deferred some significant questions until later in the process. Among these were setting the pay scale for Waldrops successor and determining Waldrops role in the process.

While Funk and Associates did not appear to be represented at the meeting, supplemental materials did include a March letter from R. William Funk expressing his eagerness to conduct the search.

Among other points, the letter said that the company had received American Council on Education (ACE) recognition for our work in recruiting women and minorities to senior-level positions in higher education. We have broken the color and/or gender line in President and Chancellor searches at nearly 50 institutions around the country. In the past three years, 40 percent of all of our placements have been women and/or minority candidates.

USA was led by its founding president, Frederick Whiddon, from 1963 to 1998; successor V. Gordon Moulton held the position until 2013.
KALAMAZOO, MI  The Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department is expanding vaccination clinics being held at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center to three days per week starting April 20.

Ascension Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department and WMed Health will combine efforts with staffing and supply resources to accommodate more vaccine appointments per week.

The expansion will allow over 10,000 vaccines doses to be administered weekly, the health department said in a news release.

Expanding vaccination clinics at the Expo Center allows us to serve more people. As we are seeing cases rise across the state and in Kalamazoo County, it is in our best interest to vaccinate as many people as we can, as quickly as we can. By combining our resources, we are able to accomplish that, said Jim Rutherford, Health Officer of Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department.

All Michiganders age 16 years and older are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department along with healthcare system partners, Ascension Borgess Hospital, Bronson Healthcare, Family Health Center, and WMed Health have partnered together throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response, the health department said in a news release.

Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccine is the focus of the joint vaccination strategy in Kalamazoo County. The health department said organizations are collaborating to ensure vaccinations are provided in a variety ways to residents and will focus vaccination efforts in the following ways:

 Ascension Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo County Health & Community Services Department and WMed Health will combine efforts to expand mass vaccination clinics held at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center. People 16 years and older may schedule a vaccination appointment online through the countys self-scheduling system. Appointments are released on Mondays at 7am, 12pm and 5pm at www.kalcounty.com/covid19vaccine. New appointments may be added after Monday and throughout the week as residents may cancel existing appointments. Residents with limited internet access are encouraged to call the COVID-19 Call Center at 269-373-5200 for assistance in scheduling appointments. Please note, those under the age of 18 may only schedule a Pfizer vaccine appointment. A parent or guardian must also accompany minors at the vaccination clinic.

 Bronson Healthcare will continue to register people 16+ through its MyChart online system at mychart.bronsonhealth.com. Those unable to use MyChart can call Bronsons COVID-19 Vaccine Call Center at (269) 220-3970. Once on the registry, Bronson will notify individuals when it is their turn to schedule a vaccine appointment based on prioritization criteria. For details visit bronsonhealth.com/covid19vaccine.

 Family Health Center (FHC) continues to ensure access to vaccines for Kalamazoo County residents focusing on equitable and inclusive services. Community outreach clinics will continue in specific geographic locations including churches, homeless shelters, shared housing and schools. Through an ongoing partnership, Family Health Center and Bronson Healthcare will combine efforts to bring large-scale drive-through vaccination clinics to various neighborhoods of Kalamazoo. For people looking to register for a community clinic, call the FHC COVID-19 Hotline at 269-488-0804.

 Select local pharmacies also have opportunities to schedule a vaccine appointment with them. People are encouraged to check with their local pharmacies and join their waitlist. You can find more information at www.vaccinefinder.org.

In Kalamazoo County we are fortunate to have great healthcare systems and strong partnerships, Rutherford said. Throughout the pandemic we have worked closely together to collaborate in ways that best serve our residents. This announcement demonstrates how we continue to streamline vaccination efforts in Kalamazoo County so we are efficient and most importantly, equitable.

To date, 161,525 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to Kalamazoo County residents through healthcare partners such as hospitals, federally qualified health centers, pharmacies, and local public health departments.

This represents about 46% of residents over the age of 16 who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to date and over 29% have completed the vaccination series. COVID-19 positive cases continue to rise for the state and Kalamazoo County, the health department said. Health Officials continue to strongly urge residents to adhere to public health recommendations: wear a facemask, socially distance, avoid gatherings and wash your hands frequently.

 The most up-to-date information is at www.kalcounty.com/covid19 and www.facebook.com/KalamazooCountyHCS. The health department will notify the public via press releases, social media and website updates as information changes.

 If you schedule an appointment but find another option or cannot make it, please remember to cancel your appointment so someone else can schedule. You may cancel through the appointment reminder email you received from the health departments scheduling system or by calling the health departments COVID-19 Call Center at 269-373-5200.

 Vaccination is by appointment only. Do NOT show up at the health department or any vaccination site without an appointment.

 Kalamazoo County Governments website can be converted to Spanish, Arabic and French. On any county website, in the top right-hand corner under the social media icons, you will see Translate. Click on this and select the language you wish to translate the page to. The pre-registration waitlist form will also translate to this language.

 Please reserve phone calls for those who cannot easily access online information. The health departments COVID-19 Call Center is 269-373-5200.

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The central highlands Gia Lai Province, in co-operation with Man and the Biosphere Programme, an intergovernmental scientific programme of UNESCO, has completed a dossier for the World Biosphere Reserve recognition of Kon Ha Nung Highlands.

Two gray-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea)  the world's largest troop living in the central region of Vietnam -- are found living in the national Kon Ka Kinh Park in Gia Lai Province. The province has sent a dossier for the World Biosphere Reserve recognition of Kon Ha Nung Highlands in the province. Photo courtesy of Frankfurt Zoological Society

A total area of 413,511ha of Kon Ka Kinh National Park and Kon Chu Rang natural reserve is discussed in the dossier.

The central provincial sub-department of forest protection confirmed to Viet Nam News the preparatory works, which had been built in 2018-20, was sent to UNESCO last September for approval.

It said the UNESCO recognition of the reserve would help protect and preserve the rich biodiversity of the unique site, boosting eco-tourism and community livelihoods as well as attract international scientific research.

The world reserve will include two core zones of Kon Ka Kinh National Park and Kon Chu Rang natural reserve on 57,493ha, and a 152,693ha buffer zone covering districts and communes of ak oa, Mang Yang, KBang, Chu Pah, ak Po and An Khe township of the province.

Dr. Ha Thang Long, head of the representative office of the Frankfurt Zoological Society in Vietnam said the site will be a key centre of natural scenery protection helping critically endangered species and precious gene conservation.

Ethnic Ba Na group preserve their culture and lifestyle in connection with the protection of forests in Gia Lai Province. Photo courtesy Le Van Canh

He said Kon Ka Kinh National Park had been a safe haven for about 250 gray-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea)  the world's largest troop living in the central region of Vietnam.

These animals are among the world's 25 critically endangered primates according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC) Red List.

"The park is also home to three kinds of monkey (Macaca leonia, Macaca artoides and Macara mulatta), two species of loris (Nycticebus bengalensis and Nycticebus pygmaeus) and gibbons (Nomascus leucogienys leucogienys), he said.

Conservationists also found and recorded the existence of chestnut-eared laughing thrush (Garrulax konkakinhensis), a rare species of bird, in the park.

Some endangered species were recorded in the area including agarwood (Aquilaria crassna); Giant Muntjac (Megamuntiacus vuquangensis), Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), Northern buffered-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus annamensis), Austens brown hornbill (Anorrhinus austeni); Crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata), Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera).

Dr Ha Thang Long (left) gives a lecture to a group of students during a field study trip in the jungle of the central highlands region. VNS Photo Cong Thanh

Kon Ka Kinh, which was one of five national parks in Vietnam, and one of 27 national parks being recognised as ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003, plays an important role in the protection of the area upstream the Ba River and the Dak Pne River, which supply water for crops in Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces.

The Frankfurt Zoological Society's Vietnam Primate Conservation Programme have pursued a long-term conservation, protection and education programme on the gray-shanked douc langur in the park since 2006.

Vietnam has eight world biosphere reserves, but no natural forest in the central highlands region has been awarded the world recognition by UNESCO.

VNS

Gia Lai, a lesser known gem in the Central Highlands If you are looking for a place with lakes, waterfalls and an inactive volcano, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai will meet your expectations.
In a significant move, the Union government on Tuesday allowed emergency use of foreign Covid-19 vaccines through a fast-track route, striking off the need for a prior local trial. In line with the recommendations of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC), vaccines which have been developed and are being manufactured in foreign countries, with approval from health regulators in the US, UK, and Japan, would now be permitted for emergency use in India. Those in the World Health Organisation (WHO) emergency use list will also be allowed.

Instead of prior local clinical trials, companies must do parallel clinical trials after vaccine enters the India market. Also, the first 100 beneficiaries of such foreign vaccines shall be assessed for seven days for safety outcomes before an expansion of the immunization programme, the said in a statement.





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So far, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZenecas vaccines have approvals from these agencies. In the case of Janssen, a Johnson and Johnson (J&J) arm, vaccine use was paused by the after incidents of blood clots were reported.



J&J had initiated talks with India to start clinical trials here. The company could not be reached for comment. The WHO list does not mention the Chinese vaccine from Sinovac.

Addressing the media, member and chairman of the vaccine expert group V K Paul said, We hope and invite vaccine makers such as Pfizer, Moderna and and others to be ready to come to India as early as possible.

On Tuesday, the Indian regulator also granted emergency use approval to Russias Sputnik V, a day after the expert panel gave its nod.





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Preparing for the next stage of the inoculation drive, Pune-based Serum Institute has started stock-piling the Novavax vaccine, which is awaiting USFDAs nod. In about a months time, Serum will have a stockpile of close to 20 million doses of the Novavax vaccine candidate. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute, said the company could manufacture only half of what was planned due to shortage of raw materials from the US. SII has also started clinical trials in India.

As for US major Pfizer, the company had applied earlier and withdrawn the application after Indias drug regulator insisted on the need for local clinical trials as a pre-condition to enter the market. A spokesperson said, We have noted the recent announcement with regard to the regulatory pathway for global vaccines. We remain committed to continuing our engagement with the government towards making the and BioNTech vaccine available for use in the governments immunization programme in the country. In the case of the other American player Moderna, Indian Immunologicals and Wockhardt were in partnership talks to bring the vaccine to the Indian market. These talks could revive now, according to industry sources.





Health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, With the streamlining and fast-tracking of the regulatory system by doing away with the precondition for local clinical trials, the availability of foreign vaccines becomes that much faster. He also added that this would eventually open up imports of drug substances and finished vaccines, as well as lead to fill-and-finish opportunities in India.





ALSO READ: Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V gets DCGI nod; may be available by May
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The White House gave Ohios infrastructure a C- grade describing 1,377 bridges in the state and more than 4,925 miles of its highways as being in poor condition. It also said drivers here spend more than $500 a year fixing their cars because of bad roads.

But how do they come up with that figure? Were asking on This Week in the CLE.

Listen online here.

Editor Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Leila Atassi, Jane Kahoun and me.

Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802.

Here are the questions were answering today:

What does Joe Bidens infrastructure plan propose in Ohio, and does that mean our infrastructure is in shabby shape?

What did we learn from the much-awaited showdown in court Monday between University hospitals and the former director of its embryo lab, where thousands of embryos became non-viable in a freezer failure three years ago?

Whats the latest in a long line of proposals for building a bridge from the downtown malls to the Cleveland lakefront?

How does the ACLU say the state prison system has been sticking it to inmates when they receive COVID-19 relief checks?

Why is the Cleveland police disciplinary system so confusing? Two officers received disciplinary letters for a chase that killed 13-year-old Tamia Chapman, seeming to say the investigation is over, but there could be more discipline?

How are a bunch of suburbs east of Cleveland working together to protect the Lake Erie shoreline, and does this mean more public access?

How far have coronavirus hospitalizations dropped for older Ohioans?

Why are people waiting as long as a year for delivery of furniture during the pandemic?

Want more? You can find all our past episodes here.

We have an Apple podcasts channel exclusively for this podcast. Subscribe here.

Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here.

If you use Stitcher, we are here.

RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here.

On Google Podcasts, we are here.

On PodParadise, find us here.

And on PlayerFM, we are here.
(Newser)  Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it is delaying the rollout of its coronavirus vaccine in Europe amid a US probe into reports of rare blood clots in some recipients. The announcement came after regulators in the United States said they were recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose shot to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities, Johnson & Johnson said. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe. The delay is a further blow to vaccination drives in the European Union, which have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems, and concerns over unusual blood clots in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

story continues below

The blood clot reports prompted several countries in the 27-nation bloc to limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to older age groups, which are more at risk from serious illness when infected with COVID-19. The Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines are made with the same technology. Many leading COVID-19 vaccines train the body to recognize the spike protein that coats the outer surface of the coronavirus. But the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the spike gene into the body. Johnson & Johnson uses a human adenovirus to create its vaccine, while AstraZeneca uses a chimpanzee version. The EU ordered 200 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson in 2021. Britain ordered 30 million doses of the J& J vaccine, though UK regulators have not yet approved its use.

(Read more Johnson & Johnson stories.)
KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2021 - 20:41 | All, World, Japan

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday it supports Japan's decision to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea and stands ready to provide technical assistance in monitoring the discharge.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog reiterated that the water release is in line with international practice and technically feasible, after the Japanese government the same day made the decision on the grounds the plan should pose no safety concerns despite opposition from local fishermen and neighbor nations.

"I'm confident that the (Japanese) government will continue to interact with all parties in a transparent and open way as it works to implement today's decision," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a press release.

The organization is ready to provide technical support in monitoring and reviewing the safe and transparent implementation of the plan, he added.

According to the IAEA, controlled water discharges into the sea are methods routinely used by nuclear power plant operators around the world under specific regulatory authorizations based on safety and environmental impact assessment.

At the Fukushima plant, which was damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, water pumped into the reactors to cool the melted fuel, mixed with rain and groundwater, is treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS. But the treated water still contains tritium, which will be reduced to safe levels for release.

Over 1.25 million tons of contaminated water is stored in tanks, which occupy large areas of the site, and the storage capacity is expected to run out from around fall next year.

Japan has asked the IAEA to dispatch international expert missions to review the country's plans and activities based on its safety standards, according to the agency.

"We will work closely with Japan before, during and after the discharge of the water," said Grossi, who visited Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year.

Grossi also added the government's decision is "a milestone" and will help the power company make progress in the decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima plant.

Related coverage:

Japan decides to release water from Fukushima nuclear plant into sea

Q&A: Release of Fukushima nuclear plant treated water into sea

Japan's neighbors react strongly to Fukushima water release decision
San Francisco, April 13 : Organisations in the business and professional services, retail and hospitality, financial, healthcare and high technology were the top targets of cybercriminals in 2020, said a new report on Tuesday.

According to the "FireEye Mandiant M-Trends 2021" report, organisations in the retail and hospitality industry were targeted more heavily in 2020 -- coming in as the second most targeted industry compared to 11th in last year's report.

Healthcare also rose significantly, becoming the third most targeted industry in 2020, compared to eighth in last year's report.

This increased focus by threat actors can most likely be explained by the vital role the healthcare sector played during the global pandemic.

While last year's report noted a drop in internal detections of intrusions compared to the previous year, Mandiant experts observed a return of organisations independently detecting most of their own incidents.

Internal incident detection rose to 59 per cent in 2020 -- a 12-point increase compared to 2019.

This return to organisations detecting the majority of intrusions within their environments is in line with the overall trend observed over the last five years, said the report.

"Multifaceted extortion and ransomware are the most prevalent threats to organisations. In this year's report, direct financial gain was the likely motive for at least 36 per cent of the intrusions we investigated," said Charles Carmakal, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Mandiant, a part of cybersecurity company FireEye.

"Data theft and reselling of unauthorised access to victim organisations remain high as multifaceted extortion and ransomware actors have trended away from purely opportunistic campaigns in favour of targeting organisations that are more likely to pay large extortion demands. Given this surge, organisations must take proactive action to mitigate the potential impact." Over the past decade, there has been a trending reduction in global median dwell time - defined as the duration between the start of a cyber intrusion and when it is identified, according to Mandiant.

This measure went from over one year in 2011 to just 24 days in 2020 - that is more than twice as quickly identified in comparison to last year's report with a median dwell time of 56 days.

Mandiant attributes this reduction to continued development and improvement of organisational detection and response capabilities, along with the surge of multifaceted extortion and ransomware intrusions.

"This year's M-Trends report identified the three most frequently used initial vectors of compromise as exploits (29 per cent), phishing emails (23 per cent) and stolen credentials or brute force (19 per cent)," said Jurgen Kutscher, Executive Vice President, Service Delivery, Mandiant.
Forecasters predict an above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2021

Posted on 13 April 2021 by Guest Author

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD

An above-average Atlantic hurricane season is likely in 2021, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecasting team says in its latest seasonal forecast issued April 8.

Led by Dr. Phil Klotzbach, with coauthors Dr. Michael Bell and Jhordanne Jones, the CSU team is calling for an Atlantic hurricane season with 17 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 intense hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of 150. In comparison, the long-term averages for the period 1981-2010 were 12.1 named storms, 6.4 hurricanes, 2.7 intense hurricanes, and an ACE of 106.

The CSU outlook predicts the odds of a major hurricane hitting the U.S. to be 69% (long-term average: 52%). It gives a 45% chance for a major hurricane to hit the East Coast or Florida Peninsula (long-term average: 31%), and a 44% chance for the Gulf Coast (long-term average: 30%). The Caribbean is forecast to have a 58% chance of seeing at least one major hurricane (long-term average: 42%).

The CSU forecast uses a statistical model honed from 38 years of past Atlantic hurricane statistics, plus output from the ECMWF (European) model to augment the statistical technique.

Figure 1. Departure of sea surface temperature (SST) from average for April 7, 2021. SSTs were well above-average in the subtropical Atlantic. In the hurricane Main Development Region (MDR) between Africa and Central America, SSTs were average or above average in the Caribbean, and below average in the eastern Atlantic. Virtually all African tropical waves originate in the MDR, and these tropical waves account for 85% of all Atlantic major hurricanes and 60% of all named storms. Much above average SSTs in the MDRR during hurricane season generally lead to a very active season in the absence of an El Nino event. Conversely, when MDR SSTs are cooler than average, a below-average Atlantic hurricane season is more likely. (Image credit: tropicaltidbits.com).

Analogue years

Five years with similar pre-season January, February, and March atmospheric and oceanic conditions were selected as analogue years that the 2021 hurricane season may resemble. These years had La Nina conditions the previous winter, and then neutral or weak La Nina conditions during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season (August-October). The CSU team also selected years that had near- to above-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Atlantic. The five analogue years were:

1996 (13 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 6 intense hurricanes);

2001 (15 named storms, 9 hurricanes, and 4 intense hurricanes);

2008 (16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 5 intense hurricanes);

2011 (19 named storms, 7 hurricanes, and 4 intense hurricanes); and

2017 (17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 6 intense hurricanes).

The average activity for these years was 16 named storms, 9 hurricanes, 5 major hurricanes, and an ACE of 155  well above the long-term average. (Lets hope that 2021 does not resemble one of those analogue years chosen, 2017: That year featured three incredibly destructive major hurricanes  Harvey, Irma, and Maria.)

Neutral or weak La Nina conditions 

The CSU team cited two main reasons, addressed below, that 2021 may be an above-average hurricane season:

1) A significant El Nino seems unlikely. El Nino conditions favor a slower-than-usual Atlantic hurricane season as a result of an increase in the upper-level winds over the tropical Atlantic that can tear storms apart (higher vertical wind shear). If neutral or La Nina conditions are present, instead, an active hurricane season would be more likely.

The current weak La Nina event in the Eastern Pacific appears likely to transition to neutral conditions this summer, and NOAAs Climate Prediction Center (CPC) predicts in its latest April 8 monthly advisory an 80% chance of neutral conditions during the May-July period. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which uses a more stringent threshold than NOAA for defining La Nina, says that neutral conditions have already begun.

For September-November, NOAA gives a 40-50% chance that La Nina conditions might redevelop, a 40-50% chance that neutral conditions will prevail, and only a small chance that El Nino conditions might develop.

Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were about 0.3 degrees Celsius below average during the past month in the so-called Nino 3.4 region (5S-5N, 120W-170W), where SSTs must be at least 0.5 degrees Celsius below average to qualify as weak La Nina conditions.

Reviewing the latest predictions from a large number of statistical and dynamical El Nino models for the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season in August-October, more than half call for neutral conditions, two predict El Nino conditions, and four predict La Nina conditions.

 and above-average tropical Atlantic SSTs predicted

2) Anomalously warm SSTs are expected in the tropical Atlantic for the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. SSTs averaged across the tropical Atlantic have been near average over the past month, and subtropical Atlantic SSTs were warmer than average. The current pattern of SSTs and the output from the European model suggest that SSTs will be above average during the peak of hurricane season, favoring an active season.

As is its practice, the CSU team included this standard disclaimer:

Coastal residents are reminded that it only takes one hurricane making landfall to make it an active season for them, and they need to prepare the same for every season, regardless of how much activity is predicted.

Figure 2. Comparison of the percent improvement in mean square error over climatology for seasonal hurricane forecasts for the Atlantic from NOAA, CSU and Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) from 2003-2020, using the Mean Square Skill Score (MSSS). Values less than zero indicate that pure climatology does a better job than the forecast. The figure shows the results using two different climatologies: a fixed 50-year (1951-2000) climatology, and a 10-year 2011-2020 climatology. Skill for forecasts issued in April is close to or below zero, is modest for June forecasts, and is moderate-to-good for August forecasts. Using this methodology, TSR has had the best seasonal forecasts. (Image credit: Tropical Storm Risk, Inc. (TSR))

April hurricane season forecasts have little or no skill

On average, April forecasts of hurricane season activity have had no skill, or even negative skill when computed using the Mean Square Skill Score (Figure 2). A negative skill means that a forecast simply using climatology would do better. April forecasts must deal with the so-called spring predictability barrier. In April, the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon commonly undergoes a rapid change from one state to another, making it difficult to predict whether there will be El Nino, La Nina, or neutral conditions in place for the coming hurricane season.

Last years CSU April forecast predicted an above-average Atlantic hurricane season for 2020, with 16 named storms, 8 hurricanes, 4 intense hurricanes, and an Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) of 150. The 2020 season ended up with record to near-record activity, with 30 named storms, 13 hurricanes, 6 major hurricanes, and an ACE of 180.

The next CSU forecast, due on June 3, is worth paying more attention to, as late May/early June forecasts have shown considerable skill over the years. NOAA issues its first seasonal hurricane forecast for 2021 in late May. The British private forecasting firm Tropical Storm Risk, Inc. (TSR) is to issue its first 2021 Atlantic hurricane season forecast on April 13.
American Idol is continuing with the 13th episode of its 19th season on Monday, April 12 at 8 p.m.

The series features host Ryan Seacrest, as well as recurring judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. Bobby Bones will also return as the in-house mentor for the shows contestants.

Heres the information youll need to watch a free live stream of American Idol online without cable.

When is American Idol on?

American Idol begins its 19th seasons 13th episode on Monday, April 12 at 8 p.m. on ABC. It will be followed by a repeat episode of Rebel at 10 p.m.

How to watch American Idol without cable

If youre a cord-cutter or dont have cable, its easy to live stream American Idol on Fubo TV (free trial).

What channel is ABC?

You can use the channel finder on your providers website to locate it: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish.

How to watch American Idol online on-demand

If you missed an episode of American Idol or want to binge watch the series online as it becomes available, look for it on Fubo TV (free trial).

What is American Idol about?

According to the official ABC website: The gold standard of all music competition series, American Idol returns for a new season as superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie set out on a journey across the nation to discover a new crop of inspiring talent with a touch of Disney magic on The ABC Television Network... The groundbreaking series launched the careers of superstars Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Katharine McPhee, Jordin Sparks, Adam Lambert and Chris Daughtry among many others. Idol alumni are responsible for 13 Grammys, over 61 million album sales, 47 Platinum records, 95 Gold records, 444 Billboard No. 1 hits, 257 million digital downloads, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. Now, the search is on for the next American Idol.

Heres a look at American Idol, courtesy of the ABC official YouTube channel:

Related stories about streaming TV services

How to get a free month of horror movie streaming service Shudder  and what to watch with it

How do I watch Soul on Disney Plus?

How to watch HBO Max: What is it? How much does it cost? What movies and TV shows does it have?

What is Philo? Price, TV channels, how to get a free trial

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Joseph Rejent may be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com.
Labour today accused Chancellor Rishi Sunak of 'running scared' of scrutiny over the David Cameron Greensill lobbying row.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was granted an urgent question on the issue in the House of Commons and wanted to grill Mr Sunak.

But the Chancellor did not attend and Small Business Minister Paul Scully answered for the Government instead.

Mr Sunak's failure to show up prompted Ms Dodds to claim that he was 'frit' to face MPs.

Downing Street yesterday announced the Cabinet Office had commissioned an independent inquiry into 'the development and use of supply chain finance and associated activities in Government, and the role Greensill played in those'.

The review will look at how contracts were secured and 'how business representatives engaged with Government' amid a furore over text messages sent between Mr Cameron and Mr Sunak.

In response to one message, the Chancellor said he had 'pushed' officials to consider proposals which could have helped Greensill.

Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds was granted an urgent question in the House of Commons on the lobbying row and wanted to grill Rishi Sunak

But Mr Sunak did not turn up as the Government sent Small Business Minister Paul Scully to answer questions

Downing Street yesterday announced an independent investigation into the David Cameron Greensill lobbying row. Lex Greensill, the founder of Greensill Capital, is pictured on the right.

Ms Dodds today demanded a statement from the Chancellor 'on the process by which Greensill Capital was approved as a lender for the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme'.

Responding to Mr Sunak's absence, the Labour frontbencher said: 'I welcome the minister's presence, but it was the Chancellor who needed to come to the House today.

'The Chancellor who told David Cameron he would push his team to amend emergency loan schemes to suit Cameron's new employer.

'The Chancellor whose officials met with Greensill ten times. The Chancellor who took the credit for Government business loans schemes when they were in the headlines, indeed who personally announced those scheme.

'Yet the Chancellor is frit of putting his name to those loan schemes today.'

She added: 'The Chancellor said he would level with the public. Why is he running scared of levelling with them on the Greensill scandal?'

Mr Scully hit back and said Mr Sunak had written to Ms Dodds last week with a 'comprehensive response' on the questions she had raised.

He also said it was not for Mr Sunak to answer questions on the scheme because it is ultimately the responsibility of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Mr Scully said: 'The reason that the Chancellor isn't here is because the question that we have been asked, we have talked about CBILS.

'I would suggest to the right honourable lady that she may ask in a different form or ask a different question because the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan scheme to which the question pertains is administered by the British Business Bank.

'The Secretary of State for BEIS is the sole shareholder of the bank and as such responsibility for the delivery of the scheme sits with BEIS.'

Boris Johnson today said there are questions that need to be 'satisfied' over the lobbying row as he insisted the independent probe will be given 'carte blanche' to ask anybody anything.

The Prime Minister said he wants the review led by Nigel Boardman to be 'done quickly', with the legal expert to be given 'maximum possible access so we can all understand exactly what has happened'.

However, Downing Street admitted at lunchtime that the probe will not be underpinned with legal powers and it will only be able to make recommendations.

Mr Cameron has welcomed the review and said he is prepared to give evidence to it.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron said: 'David Cameron welcomes the inquiry and will be glad to take part.'

The review will examine how Greensill Capital  founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill  was able to secure Government contracts.

It follows a series of reports on Mr Cameron's lobbying on behalf of the firm  including sending text messages to Mr Sunak's personal phone number.

Mr Cameron finally broke his silence on the row at the weekend with a statement in which he insisted he had not broken any rules, but accepted there were 'lessons to be learned'.

As a former prime minister, he said that any contacts with government should be through 'only the most formal of channels, so there can be no room for misinterpretation'.
In the aftermath of the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in a suburb of Minneapolis on Sunday, mourners have continued to demand justice, and the citys leadership has scrambled to reorganize and respond to growing outrage over the handling of protests.

Some of the calls for justice have already led to action. The police officer who shot and killed Wright during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, resigned Tuesday following two days of unrest. The citys police chief resigned later in the day.

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Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the police force, was placed on administrative leave after the incident. In a body camera video played at a news conference on Monday, Potter is heard shouting that she would use her Taser on Wright before firing her gun instead, in what the police chief attributed to a moment of confusion.

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Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said in a Tuesday press conference that Potter had resigned without being asked and that he had not yet accepted her resignation. Washington County Attorney Pete Orput also said that his office planned to announce a decision about criminal charges by Wednesday, but Elliott said that he had asked for the governor to have the Attorney Generals office take over the case, according to the Star Tribune.

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The citys police chief, Tim Gannon, tendered his resignation before he could be fired. On Monday afternoon, the city council held an emergency meeting and voted to grant the mayor command authority over the police department. The mayor would then have been able to fire Gannon, according to the Washington Post.

The city council also voted to fire the city manager at the Monday meeting. According to the Post, the city manager had told reporters that Potter was entitled to due process with respect to discipline. Elliott, a Black man, had said that Potter should be fired. He also later clarified that the city manager had been fired over the citys response to the protests.

Protests had started on Sunday soon after the shooting. By the evening, mourners had gathered peacefully near the site of the killing. Hundreds joined Wrights family in a vigil to express their grief. In the evening, protesters marched to the police headquarters, where they were met by police in riot gear. Officers dispersed the chanting crowd with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bang grenades, infuriating the crowd.

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Afterward, some people turned to rioting and looting, and damage to buildings was reported around the city. The states governor activated the National Guard, which had deployed 500 people by Monday morning, according to the Star Tribune. On Monday afternoon, as protesters gathered again, President Joe Biden called for peace and calm.

Wrights killing occurred just 10 miles from downtown Minneapolis, where Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on George Floyds neck for nine minutes before he died, is on trial for the killing that sparked a summer of mass protests. Many predicted that the trial, which is nearing closing arguments and which has for days dredged up feelings of grief and anger, would lead to more unrest around the Twin Cities. The state plans to increase the number of National Guard personnel deployed on the ground in preparation for the trials end.
Property company Land Sec is still owed around a third of rent due at the end of March as central London renters remained especially behind on their bills.

The company said it had 33 million of rent outstanding five days after it was due for the last three-month period.

Land Sec, which rents to businesses, said it had agreements with companies that owe it 10 million which might see it recoup a majority of that money.

In that event the level of collections for the quarterly rent will go from 67% to around 77%, the company told shareholders on Tuesday.

Land Sec splits its rent collection into five areas, and measures the proportion of rent collected in the five days after it was due.

The companys offices, regional retail, urban opportunities and subscale sectors units all collected a larger portion of rent than during the same period last year.

Its rest of central London category was the only one with a worse collection rate five days after rent day this March compared with last year.

Only 29% of rent due from the rest of central London had been gathered, compared with 47% a year earlier.

Office rent has been the least impacted by the pandemic, as companies based in offices were largely able to continue business, albeit with staff working from home.

Land Sec said its collections rose from 86% to 87% compared with March last year, but it is still down on March 2019 when collection reached 98%.

Separately, landlord Derwent on Tuesday revealed it had gathered 87% of total rent due in the quarter ending in March.

The companys strong performance was helped by office space, which forms a majority of its rent base. It collected 91% of office rents but only 24% of retail and hospitality rent.
The report, released in previous years as the Acunetix Web Vulnerability Report, was developed through an examination of anonymized data collected via Acunetix, an Invicti DAST and IAST product used by thousands of companies and government organizations to discover and scan web assets for vulnerabilities and prioritize them for remediation. The large dataset includes data from more than 188,000 web scans, 173,000 network scans, and more than 290 million monthly HTTP requests provided the basis for the analysis.

Between 2016 and 2019, the number of high-severity and medium-severity vulnerabilities decreased steadily every year, with an average reduction rate of 22% in high-severity vulnerabilities year over year. If that trend had continued, the overall incidence of high-severity vulnerabilities would have decreased from 26% to about 20%. However, progress came to an abrupt halt in 2020, probably as a result of resource reallocation to address Covid-19 business impacts and enable remote work worldwide.

Among the 2020 report's findings:

The overall prevalence of high-severity vulnerabilities such as remote code execution, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting, increased slightly from 26% to 27% of the targets scanned

slightly from 26% to 27% of the targets scanned Medium-severity vulnerabilities such as denial-of-service, host header injection, and directory listing, remained present in 63% of web apps in 2020, holding flat from 2019

from 2019 Several high-severity vulnerabilities are well-understood, but did not show improvement in 2020. One example: the incidence of remote code execution, both well-known and damaging, increased by one percentage point last year.

Also of note: the incidence of server-side request forgery (SSRF), the primary vulnerability behind the recent Microsoft Exchange breach in 2021, as well as Capital One in 2019, has not improved year over year.

With many of the Covid-related changes to consumer and business behaviors expected to endure beyond the end of the pandemic, web application security is more critical than ever. From growing usage of business tools such as chat, web conferencing, and collaboration environments, to increased consumer adoption of e-commerce, attack surfaces continue to expand. Recent research indicates that the largest percentage of breaches in 2020 began with a web application, yet at the same time, the number and severity of a variety of other types of attacks reached new highs in 2020, diverting the time and resources of security organizations away from web application security.

"It's very troubling to see this loss of momentum due to reduced attention to web application security," said Invicti president and COO Mark Ralls. "As we look ahead, we hope to see organizations adopt best practices and invest in security, so that they can continue to advance their web security posture, protect their customers, and avoid being the next big security breach headline."

The full report is available here .

Related:

2020 Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Report

2019 Acunetix Web Application Vulnerability Report

About Invicti Security

Invicti Security is changing the way web applications are secured. A global leader in web application security for more than 15 years, Invicti's dynamic and interactive application security products help organizations in every industry scale their overall security operations, make the best use of their security resources, and engage developers in helping to improve their overall security posture. Invicti's product Netsparker delivers industry-leading enterprise web application security, while Acunetix is designed for small and medium-sized companies. Invicti is backed by Turn/River Capital, and is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with offices in London, Malta, and Istanbul.

SOURCE Invicti Security

Related Links

https://www.netsparker.com/


By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

The jury is still out on whether President Bidens American Jobs Plan will turn out to be underpowered, or not. My guess is that it will be; the Obama Alumni Association, for all its protestations, has form. Further, looking at the plan, you notice headlines with goals like Rebuild clean drinking water infrastructure, to be achieved by eliminating all lead pipes and service lines. Thats good, but not the same thing as providing a clean drinking water infrastructure as such; that would require cleaning ground water polluted by nutrients, for example. (I also attempted to penetrate the wildly prolix and entirely evidence-free Fact Sheet, but its even worse.) Of course, the real test, I would suppose, is not whether the Jobs Plan fulfills whatever promises it has made, if any, but whether the funding doled out to the local gentry  in this instance, the contractors  has a sufficiently sweetening effect, and whether enough jobs are created or well in sight, all by the mid-terms in 2020. The Democrats better get cracking!

One of the most prominent features of the Jobs Plan rollout was the continued comparison of Biden to FDR. (Now that the rollout is over with, those comparisons have vanished, as if a switch had been thrown; now we are arguing about what infrastructure really means, because what could be more attractive to symbol manipulators than semantics?) In any case, heres small sample of the headlines, the New York Times being lead hagiographer:

These pieces compare Bidens American Rescue Plan and American Jobs Plan to the New Deal, based on their putative scale (which as we have seen is equivocal, and in any case the test of a plan isnt whether its big or bold, but whether its equal to the times). I would like to compare Biden to FDR based on three characteristics of FDRs administration which the Biden administration does not emulate: Fireside chats, relentless experimentation, and the class diversity of his advisors.

First, FDRs fireside chats. The National Archives describes them well in FDRs Fireside Chat on the Recovery Program. First, for background, the first 100 days of the New Deal:

The New Deal focused on three general goals: relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform. During the One Hundred Days, Congress enacted 15 major pieces of legislation establishing New Deal agencies and programs. Among these was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which was established to protect depositors from losing their savings in the event of bank failure. Another program was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which put thousands of men to work on projects in national forests, parks, and public lands. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) was created to ease the desperate plight of the farmer during the Depression by establishing a program of production limits and federal subsidies. To address the problems of industry and workers, Congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in June 1933. The NIRA established codes of fair practice for individual industries in order to promote industrial growth. It also created the National Recovery Administration (NRA). The NRA was perhaps one of the most sweeping and controversial of the early New Deal programs. Its purposes were twofold: first, to stabilize business with codes of fair competitive practice and, second, to generate more purchasing power by providing jobs, defining labor standards, and raising wages. The NRA also reflected trade union hopes for protection of basic hour and wage standards and liberal hopes for comprehensive planning.

(Its been 83 days since Bidens inaugural, so he has 17 days to go to make his 100 days, but to me it seems so ridiculous as to approach bad faith to compare the scope of the FDR administrations New Deal with Bidens Plans.) FDR used his fireside chats to address the American people directly:

While developing programs to help America emerge from the Great Depression, Roosevelt also needed to calm the fears and restore the confidence of Americans and to gain their support for the programs of the New Deal, including the NRA. One of the ways FDR chose to accomplish this was through the radio, the most direct means of access to the American people. During the 1930s almost every home had a radio, and families typically spent several hours a day gathered together, listening to their favorite programs. Roosevelt called his radio talks about issues of public concern Fireside Chats. Informal and relaxed, the talks made Americans feel as if President Roosevelt was talking directly to them. Roosevelt continued to use fireside chats throughout his presidency to address the fears and concerns of the American people as well as to inform them of the positions and actions taken by the U.S. government.

Here is an extract from FDRs first fireside chat. Unfortunately, he adopts the loanable funds fallacy and opposes fiat currency, but that is not my focus; FDR is dealing with a bank run and the banking crisis. His peroration:

We had a bad banking situation. Some of our bankers had shown themselves either incompetent or dishonest in their handling of the peoples funds. They had used the money entrusted to them in speculations and unwise loans. This was of course not true in the vast majority of our banks but it was true in enough of them to shock the people for a time into a sense of insecurity and to put them into a frame of mind where they did not differentiate, but seemed to assume that the acts of a comparative few had tainted them all. It was the Governments job to straighten out this situation and do it as quickly as possible  and the job is being performed. I do not promise you that every bank will be reopened or that individual losses will not be suffered, but there will be no losses that possibly could be avoided; and there would have been more and greater losses had we continued to drift. I can even promise you salvation for some at least of the sorely pressed banks. We shall be engaged not merely in reopening sound banks but in the creation of sound banks through reorganization. It has been wonderful to me to catch the note of confidence from all over the country. I can never be sufficiently grateful to the people After all there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people . Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear . We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work. It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail .

(Certainly a touch of the Hyde Park aristocrat in You people!) Wikipedia (sorry) describes the result:

The result, according to economic historian William L. Silber, was a remarkable turnaround in the publics confidenceThe contemporary press confirms that the public recognized the implicit guarantee and, as a result, believed that the reopened banks would be safe, as the President explained in his first Fireside Chat. Within two weeks people returned more than half of the cash they had been hoarding, and the first stock-trading day after the bank holiday marked the largest-ever one-day percentage price increase.

So, whatever you may think of the economics, the speech was what we call today a heavy lift. Who can imagine a President today making it? Note also the parallels to the pandemic in our own day: Not only fear, enormous fear, but rumors and guesses. FDR addressed the American people and their fears directly. But who can imagine Biden making the same attempt and having the effect that FDR achieved? And then going on to have Fireside Chats for the remainder of his administration? I cant.[1]

Second, relentless experimentation. This whole speech is worth a read, but the underlined part is my favorite FDR quote, from his Oglethorpe University Address, May 22, 1932[2]:

Do not confuse objectives with methods. When the nation becomes substantially united in favor of planning the broad objectives of civilization, then true leadership must unite thought behind definite methods. The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach. We need enthusiasm, imagination and the ability to face facts, even unpleasant ones, bravely. We need to correct, by drastic means if necessary, the faults in our economic system from which we now suffer. We need the courage of the young. Yours is not the task of making your way in the world, but the task of remaking the world which you will find before you. May every one of us be granted the courage, the faith and the vision to give the best that is in us to that remaking!

Here again, we see FDR doing things I cannot imagine Biden doing. Its hard to imagine Biden delivering such a commencement address in the first place (the whole thing is worth a read). Its also hard to imagine Biden saying anything like It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.[3] FDR said it, and did it. From The Nation in 2008, when some liberal goodthinkers thought Obama was the next FDR:

Historian Richard Hofstadter once characterized the New Deal as a chaos of experimentation. Fresh ideas were constantly tossed on the wall to see what stuck. They didnt always work, but this spirit of experimentation was an attempt to address the central problems plaguing Americans at the time. The National Industrial Recovery Act led to higher prices and ultimately overstretched the bounds of federal authority, but it set a minimum wage and forced big businesses to collaborate with one another to get out of the Depression. The WPA didnt cure unemployment, but it was an ambitious experiment that allowed 3.3 million people to put food on their tables. Contrast this effort with our recent Congressional debates over whether we should extend unemployment insurance an additional thirteen weeks (a proven solution) or pass any kind of stimulus package quickly.

As in 2008, so in 2020. Fundmentally, nothing will change. But not in 1932!

Third, the class diversity of his advisors. FDRs advisors were called the Brain Trust. The membership of the Brain Trust changed over administrations. Here is the collective list, with the university of each member, in alphabetical order:

Harvard, then as now, dominates. But we also have two advisors  Howe, a newspaper man, and Taussig, in the family molasses business  who dont even have undergraduate degrees. Its impossible to imagine that  prove me wrong!  for Presidential advisors in any Democrat administration since Clinton. Further, the dominance of the Ivy League axis is far reduced, compared to our own day. We have Packard Business College, City College of New York, and Grinnell, and even  gasp!  Columbia. Now, it is true that the Brain Trust has a paucity of ascriptive identity-based diversity. But reading the biographies of each member, the Brain Trust did have a diversity of class background and life experience. Not a Rhodes Scholar among them! We can contrast this with recent Democrat administrations, where looks like America means that the non-millionaire is an exception, and while theres a diversity of ascriptive identity, everybodys gone through the identical degree-granting meat-grinder and credentialed in the same plastic wrap.

* * *

Dammit, now I have to find and read a book about FDR[4]. The Google results were just horrid, implying that no research has been done on the man, which cant possibly be true.

NOTES

[1] Amazingly, theres still a Weekly address of the President of the United States, but few radio stations carry it. Biden has revived the brand, but not the practice, since he speaks with handpicked citizens not the whole country.

[2] FDRs view of the university: I hope that you, who have spent four years in an institution whose fundamental purpose, I take it, is to train us to pursue truths relentlessly and to look at them courageously , will face the unfortunate state of the world about you with greater clarity of vision than many of your elders.

[3] Im wrong, but not wrong. From NPR, Fauci On The Biden Administrations COVID-19 Strategy

So what Im saying right now is when the president  in this case, Biden  sat down with us literally a few minutes before I got on the podium in the White House press room and reiterated something he had already told us. He said, right now everything we do is going to be based on science and truth, and if things go wrong and we make mistakes, we admit them, and we try and fix them.

So, heres how far Faucis quote got:

Thats it. Those are the three hits. If this had been a message the Biden administration wished to propagate, it would have propagated.

[4] Yes, redlining and the Southern Democrats. Its quite telling thats the only material on FDR thats gotten any traction at all in the last twenty years or so.
Press Release

April 13, 2021 Villanueva pushes for inclusion of media workers in gov't priority list of essential workers to be vaccinated; 'They are our information frontliners' Senator Joel Villanueva has sought the inclusion of workers in the media sector to be included in the government's list of priority recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine, citing their indispensable work of providing "timely and truthful information" in the midst of the pandemic. Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, was commenting on the government's priority list of essential workers who comprise the A4 cluster which was made public on Monday. "Press freedom and timely access to truthful information are a must in times of pandemic. Media should be included in the A4 list," Villanueva said. "Ang media workers po natin ay ang ating information frontliners. Bukod sa peligroso ang kanilang trabaho, napakahalaga po ng kanilang ambag na kaalaman at impormasyon laban sa pandemya." Villanueva cited the dangers faced by media workers who need to move around to gather news and essential information for the public's consumption. He pointed out that aside from field reporters, newsrooms are staffed by various individuals such as photographers and videographers, editors, production crew, among others, to provide content to various platforms such as television, radio, print, and online. Given their role in society as "information frontliners," Villanueva urged authorities to include media workers in their A4 priority list, which clusters workers categorized as essential. Villanueva has been in the forefront of pushing for the inclusion of essential workers in the vaccine priority list. In January, he pressed on the leadership of the IATF at the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing to prioritize essential workers into the government's vaccination program. Aside from media workers, Villanueva said the priority list must include vendors in public and private markets, staff in groceries and places where essential goods are sold, drivers of public utility vehicles, delivery riders, security guards, sanitation personnel like garbage collectors, workers in electricity, water, and telecommunication services, and construction workers in public and private projects among others. "While most of our suggestions have been adopted, we continue to press our authorities to take a second glance at their initial list. Umaasa po tayo na pakikinggan ng ating mga kasamahan sa gobyerno, at tiwala tayong mauunawaan nila ang ating isinusulong," Villanueva said.
A Kremlin statement further called the new US deployment into the Black Sea a serious "provocation" which serves no other purpose but to test Russia's "strength" and "nerves".

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov issued the Tuesday warning as follows: "There is absolutely nothing for American ships to be doing near our shores, this is purely a provocative action. Provocative in the direct sense of the word: they are testing our strength, playing on our nerves. They will not succeed."

"We warn the United States that it will be better for them to stay far away from Crimea and our Black Sea coast. It will be for their own good," he added.

It was late last week that Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed that it's granted permission for US warships to use the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits to enter the Black Sea. The Pentagon has downplayed the deployment by keeping mostly mum about it, only saying that it's "routine" for US warships to patrol the Black Sea.

The Kremlin has warned that it's Kiev's own actions and initial troop build-up in and near Donbass that is risking "broader war" in the region. Days ago Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "The trend in the behavior of the Ukrainian side creates the risk of a resumption of full-scale military action."

Russia's newest warning that US ships better not come near Crimea likely also have in mind Joe Biden's first words addressing the long-simmering Ukraine crisis issued early in his presidency. He said in a February 26 statement that the US "will never" recognize Russia's claims over Crimea:

The United States does not and will never recognize Russias purported annexation of the peninsula, and we will stand with Ukraine against Russias aggressive acts. We will continue to work to hold Russia accountable for its abuses and aggression in Ukraine.

He had underscored in the statement that "we reaffirm a simple truth: Crimea is Ukraine."

Meanwhile the Russian rouble continues it's decline as the rhetoric and uncertainty grows hotter...

Russias rouble sinks as mounting Ukraine tensions add to jitters https://t.co/TcAK3zPzhL  Financial Times (@FT) April 13, 2021

Russia has held Crimea since 2014 after a popular referendum wherein an overwhelming some 95% of voters backed official union with Russia, however which was deemed 'illegitimate' by the EU, the US, and Western allies - which they continue to call a hostile "annexation".
New Delhi, April 13 : Industry body FICCI has suggested that the government should provide incentives to vaccine manufacturers to increase the production of Covid-19 vaccines in the country.

In a statement, it recommended financing vaccine makers under a production linked incentive (PLI) type scheme to support the vaccine manufacturers.

Noting that there is an urgent and critical need to encourage vaccine manufacturers to substantially augment their capacities for production, it said: "Since the cost of vaccines has been capped by the government, the vaccine manufacturers need to be provided with appropriate incentives for ramping up the production." It also said that many states have been facing the shortage of Covid vaccines over the past few days, including locations in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, compelling state governments to scale down their daily vaccination targets.

India intends to vaccinate the priority population of 30 crore by August 2021. Given that 10.85 crore people have received at least the first dose of Covid vaccination and going with the current rate of 30 lakh vaccinations per day, there is a need for more than 38 crore doses, of two dose vaccines, to fully vaccinate this priority group, FICCI said.

It further said that the government also needs to make provision for immediate and sufficient grants and subsidies, through the Government of India's Covid Funds, for those manufacturers that are already developing or manufacturing Covid vaccines in the country.

FICCI, on behalf of the industry, has assured its complete support to the government for battling together against this unprecedented crisis and keeping the economy from being adversely impacted, the statement said.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com. His book, "The Burzynski Breakthrough, The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It" is now available in a soft cover fourth edition. For more Elias columns, visit www.californiafocus.net
Plaintiffs in Homelessness Lawsuit Ask Judge to Order L.A. Skid Row Clean-Up

The plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit seeking to force the city and county of Los Angeles to effectively deal with the homelessness crisis filed a motion for a preliminary injunction today that would require housing to be offered to thousands of indigent people in downtowns skid row area by August.

It is a first step toward placing the city and county into a court- supervised receivership in the matter, according to the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a coalition of downtown businesses and residents that are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

If approved, the motion would require that within 90 days of a scheduled hearing in May, the city and county would provide shelter or housing immediately to all persons experiencing homelessness living in and around the skid row area, a 50-block warren of streets in downtown Los Angeles containing one of the largest populations of indigent people in the nation.

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In addition:

 the city and county would be required to offer all individuals suffering from mental illness within the skid row area appropriate emergency, interim, or permanent housing and treatment;

 the city and county would adopt a plan within 30 days of approval to ensure that the housing provided not just be concentrated in the so-called containment area, and at least 50% of the housing offered must be within an area to be defined by the court;

 the city and county must adopt mandatory, expedited time frames for the review and processing of all applications and approvals for new housing built specifically for the skid row population;

 land for housing shall be made available in all council and supervisorial districts, including unincorporated areas;

 the county will provide, or fund third parties to provide, support services to homeless residents who accept the offer of housing, and the city and county shall evenly split the cost of providing operational services;

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 within five days, the city and county would identify land owned by each entity respectively, totaling a minimum of 20 acres per entity, that may be utilized to support shelter or housing designated to satisfy obligations;

 the court will consider land parcels in any seizure of property necessary to accomplish the goal if city and county are unable or unwilling to comply; and  after adequate alternative shelter is offered, city would clear sidewalks, public streets, and public places in the designated areas, and camping within the area shall be prohibited.

The 36-page motion, filed in Los Angeles federal court late Monday, opens with a jarring description of the events of Wednesday, when a 60-year-old disabled man  who was confined to a wheelchair and took fentanyl to manage his chronic pain  burned to death, unable to escape the fire that engulfed his tent on Towne Avenue in skid row.

His charred corpse remained on the sidewalk for hours, a testament to decades of intentional actions and deliberate indifference by the city and county.

The introduction goes on to say that today, five more human beings on the streets of Los Angeles will die. Tomorrow, five more. From the time this motion is filed until the hearing takes place, 140 more unsheltered persons will perish. This is no accident, no act of God. This is a consequence of choices  choices made by the city and county, which have admitted repeatedly that they have caused this crisis and are unable to fix it.

According to the L.A. Alliance, the skid row catastrophe created by the city and county traces its roots to 1976, when the city formally adopted a policy of `Physical Containment whereby poor, disabled, mentally ill and other marginalized people who were suffering or at risk of suffering homelessness would be `contained inside the delineated borders of skid row.

A hearing to discuss the motion is set before U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on May 10 in Santa Ana federal court, where the judge is based.

Over the past year, with federal courthouses closed or not fully operational due to the coronavirus pandemic, Carter has held emergency hearings in such places as Los Angeles City Hall and a skid row womens shelter.

Undoubtedly, both the city and county will feel that such an order is diminishing their powers, the L.A. Alliance said in a statement when it recently signaled its intent to seek a preliminary injunction.

Yet, in the absence of a consensual agreement by the parties, court intervention becomes necessary.

The L.A. Alliance is seeking action similar to the type of court intervention used in Brown vs. Board of Education, in which the U.S. Supreme Court issued a mandate to enforce school desegregation in 1954.

Once it is clear that the local governments are unable/unwilling to address the problem adequately, the courts must take a more active role, according to the coalition.

The plaintiffs wrote that despite several settlement conferences and discussions, no agreement has been reached in the year-old lawsuit, and the county appears intent on denying its role in causing this crisis in the first place.

The crisis on the streets is more desperate than ever, according to the coalition. Immediate and sweeping action is needed, yet defendants drown in politicking and bureaucracy.

Nine days after the lawsuit was filed in March 2020, the parties suspended litigation with the intent to explore settlement and set the stage for a comprehensive solution in the city and county of L.A., the plaintiffs stated.

Any proposed solutions have become bogged down in bureaucratic snarls between the city and county, prompting Carter to begin considering how he might deploy the power of the federal court to speed up efforts to get city sidewalks cleared and place homeless people into housing of some sort.

While about 8,000 beds are reportedly already in place for the needy, bureaucratic tangles and neighborhood resistance to interim or supportive housing have continually blocked the path forward, according to the L.A. Alliance.

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin has suggested city officials are not nimble or forceful enough to adequately respond to the homelessness crisis, and called for a judicial consent decree under Carters supervision to compel immediate action.

If the parties agree, such a decree would end the lawsuit with a settlement giving Carter power to order the city and county to build shelters and provide services.

A proposed settlement is expected to be discussed by the Los Angeles City Council behind closed doors this week.
Kylie Jenner shared three photos to her Instagram account on Tuesday where she looked every inch a powerful mogul.

The Kylie Cosmetics founder, 23, was in a power suit in a soft cream color as she was seated on her private jet which has monogrammed seats.

In her caption the star reminded her 225M followers that she is a successful makeup company founder as she said, 'It's business baby!'

Power lady: Kylie Jenner shared three photos to her Instagram account on Tuesday where she looked every inch a powerful mogul

The Calabasas, California native wore her long raven hair down in soft waves with heavy plum-covered makeup.

Large hoop earrings added a flash of Jennifer Lopez level glamour as did her high heels that were made from a woven fabric.

Her nails stood out too as they were long and a sheer white color.

In the background was a pink Kylie Skin product, and a small black crocodile Hermes with a gold clasp.

Suits her: The Kylie Cosmetics founder, 23, was in a power suit in a soft cream color as she was seated on her private jet which has monogrammed seats

Sitting pretty: The Calabasas, California native wore her long raven hair down in soft waves with heavy plum-covered makeup. Large hoop earrings added a flash of Jennifer Lopez level glamour as did her high heels that were made from a woven fabric

The star was last seen at True Thompson's third birthday party hosted by Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson.

There were hundreds of light pink balloons and women dressed as Disney princesses. Kylie brought her mini-me daughter Stormi that she had with rapper Travis Scott.

Earlier this month Kylie's sister Kim thinks 'all' of her family will be billionaires one day.

The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was included in Forbes magazine's World's Billionaires list for the first time earlier this week and she's expecting her relatives to follow her onto the prestigious chart in the years to come.

Party time: The star was last seen at True Thompson's third birthday party hosted by Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson. There were hundreds of light pink balloons and women dressed as Disney princesses. Kylie brought her mini-me daughter Stormi that she had with rapper Travis Scott

The birthday girl: Khloe in a lavender dress with her child Stormi, also in lavender

Asked which member of her family she thinks could be the next billionaire, she told TMZ: 'All of us.'

And Kim - who has children North, seven, Saint, five, Chicago, three, and Psalm, 23 months, with estranged husband Kanye West - feels lucky to have passed the monetary milestone.

Asked how it feels to be a billionaire, she said: 'It feels blessed'.

According to Forbes, Kim's wealth came from her businesses, KKW Beauty and SKIMS, as well as cash from reality TV and endorsement deals,

Jet life: Jenner seen last month on her jet as she had on a pink orange outfit

The 40-year-old star's worth increased from $780 million last October to $1 billion after she cashed in on KKW Beauty by selling 20 per cent of the business to Coty for $200 million.

Kylie had been given the title of the world's youngest self-made billionaire by Forbes in 2019 but had the title removed after the publication claimed that she 'inflated' figures about her business affairs.

Kim previously defended her half-sister on the issue, claiming that Kylie hasn't had any of her success 'handed' to her after her appearance on the cover of Forbes' America's Richest Self-Made Women issue prompted ridicule from some of her critics.

The Billionaire Girls Club: Earlier this month Kylie's sister Kim thinks 'all' of her family will be billionaires one day. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star was included in Forbes magazine's World's Billionaires list for the first time earlier this week and she's expecting her relatives to follow her onto the prestigious chart in the years to come

She said: 'You know, everyone has a team, I don't care who you are. But when you don't get it from someone else, that's 'self-made.'

'She made her own money for over a decade, she put it in the bank, she saved every nickel.

'And then, when she decided on what she wanted to do, she spent her money on a venture that could have gone south or north, and it did really well.'
"With significant experience overseeing and trying major cybersecurity, export controls and trade sanctions, trade secrets, and complex fraud cases, Shoba complements our leading investigations, compliance, and white collar defense team," said Jenner & Block Co-Managing Partners Katya Jestin and Randy Mehrberg . "Her expertise also broadens our growing cybersecurity and national security teams, as we offer an increasingly robust suite of services to clients."

While serving in the US Attorney's Office's National Security and Cybercrime Section, Ms. Pillay led complex investigations and prosecutions involving export control issues and international sanctions violations. She has experience with matters involving cybercrimes and electronic evidence collection, and has served as a subject matter expert in cybercrime prosecutions.

"Shoba strikes the right balance of substantive experience in complex fraud, cyber, data privacy, and sanctions that is needed for clients confronting a broad range of compliance risks and government-facing investigations," said Erin R. Schrantz, a co-chair of the Investigations, Compliance, and Defense Practice. "As well as being an accomplished and well-respected prosecutor, Shoba shares our values of collaboration, diversity and inclusion, service to the bar, and mentorship."

Ms. Pillay's government experience includes managing large teams of agents and junior AUSAs across various units. As an AUSA, she has taken 18 federal criminal trials to verdict, argued nine appeals in the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and first-chaired complex investigations and jury trials. Among her significant prosecutions, Ms. Pillay first-chaired a trade secrets case involving a Chinese company, prosecuted a computer intrusion of a Fortune 500 company, and prosecuted a federal defense contractor for illegally exporting technical data to China.

"Shoba has been first chair in many large investigations during her time in the government and has managed multi-disciplinary teams of varying ages, personalities, and work styles  a skill that will serve her, and our clients, well in private practice," said Reid J. Schar, a co-chair of the firm's Litigation Department who is also a former prosecutor in the Northern District of Illinois. "Her commitment to mentoring junior lawyers is clear," he added.

Ms. Pillay has also been active in criminal justice reform. Working with a group of federal judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, and pretrial services officers, she helped form and operate the Sentencing Options that Achieve Results (SOAR) Court in the Northern District of Illinois  which provides an alternative to incarceration for non-violent federal pretrial defendants.

"Cyber investigations and cyber compliance issues are on the rise, and I'm excited to bring my government experience and skill set to Jenner & Block. They have a stellar reputation in the investigations sector and are a litigation powerhouse; I'm eager to dig in, collaborate, and lend my expertise to the firm's clients, both current and future," said Ms. Pillay.

Ms. Pillay is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she teaches cybercrime investigations and cybersecurity, and at the Northwestern University School of Law, where she teaches trial advocacy. She received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and received her JD from Boston College Law School.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK'S INVESTIGATIONS, COMPLIANCE, AND DEFENSE PRACTICE

For more than 60 years, Jenner & Block has represented corporations and individuals in complex internal investigations, criminal prosecutions, grand jury investigations, extradition proceedings, and civil enforcement actions brought by government agencies, including the US Department of Justice, US Securities Exchange Commission, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, and UK Serious Fraud Office. Known for handling some of the largest internal investigations in history, Jenner & Block's lawyers are called upon by companies, boards of directors, and audit and special committees to conduct investigations and provide counsel in the most demanding and complex government, regulatory and investigatory matters. The practice also has significant experience in advising clients on compliance with relevant laws and regulations, ranging from advising on establishing appropriate anti-bribery, anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, to advising on ensuring an entity is not involved in the facilitation of tax evasion or in breach of regulations concerning modern slavery.

The team includes lawyers who have moved between public service and private practice, including Neil M. Barofsky, former Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Recovery Program; David Bitkower, former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ's Criminal Division; Thomas J. Perrelli, former US Associate Attorney General; Charles Riely, former assistant regional director for the Division of Enforcement for the SEC; Anton R. Valukas, former US Attorney; and Andrew Weissmann, former lead prosecutor in the Special Counsel investigation, former Chief of the Fraud Section in the DOJ's Criminal Division, former General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Director of the Enron Task Force, and the Chief of the Criminal Division in the US Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York, as well as former federal prosecutors Reid J. Schar (Northern District of Illinois), Katya Jestin (Eastern District of New York), Anthony S. Barkow (Southern District of New York, District of Columbia and Main Justice) and many others.

About Jenner & Block's Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice

In the face of today's proliferation of legal regimes governing data processing and threat actors targeting the data itself, Jenner & Block's Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice provides holistic, proactive advice to clients. Organizations turn to Jenner & Block for counseling on a variety of privacy and data security issues. The group helps organizations develop a secure and practical legal framework for the data that they collect, use, analyze, and share, and we help defend that framework from legal challenge. The team also works with clients to investigate and respond to threats targeting their data. The lawyers in the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice represent an interdisciplinary roster of lawyers who counsel, investigate, and litigate on behalf of clients across a wide array of privacy and data security issues in the United States and Europe.

ABOUT JENNER & BLOCK

Jenner & Block LLP is a law firm with global reach, with offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The firm is known for its prominent and successful litigation practice, global investigations, and experience handling sophisticated and high-profile corporate transactions. Its clients include Fortune 100 companies, technology companies, large privately held corporations, emerging companies, Native American tribes, and venture capital and private equity investors. In 2020, The American Lawyer recognized the firm for the fourth consecutive year as the #1 pro bono firm in the United States, marking the 10th time in 13 years the firm has received this recognition. In 2020, the publication also recognized the firm as the #3 international pro bono firm, and in 2018, named the firm as its first "Pro Bono Champion." In 2020, Reuters Legal named the firm its inaugural "Pro Bono Hero."

SOURCE Jenner & Block LLP
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 02:23:02|Editor: huaxia

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RABAT, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's navy coast guards have rescued a total of 100 illegal migrants since April 10 in the Mediterranean, state news agency reported on Monday.

The rescued, mostly sub-Saharans, including women and children, were brought safely to the neighbouring Moroccan ports, after receiving first aid on board the Navy units, it said.

Morocco has become a transit country for African migrants seeking to reach Europe for better living conditions. Enditem
South Africa: SANDF intercepts 81 vehicles from illegally crossing the border

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has intercepted 81 vehicles over the past three months during Operation Corona, an initiative to safeguard the borders of South Africa.

SANDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Mafi Mgobhozi, confirmed that 49 vehicles were stopped in their tracks between KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique border during January and March this year.

Also, 15 vehicles were intercepted before they could illegally leave the border between Limpopo and Zimbabwe, while the other 15 vehicles stopped in Mpumalanga and Eswatini/Mozambique border and two between Free State and Lesotho.

The SANDF has also seized narcotics valued at R21 473 511.

The undocumented persons apprehended by the SANDF are handed over to the South African Police Service. After being processed, they are deported back to their countries, Mgobhozi explained.

Speaking to Pretoria News, Lieutenant Colonel Seitebatso Pearl Block said the SANDF troops have broken their record with regards to confiscating contraband goods, narcotics and intercepting stolen vehicles.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the troops deployed at our borders continued to apprehend undocumented persons, prevented livestock theft and seized people guiding livestock towards the borderline, she told the newspaper, adding that 12 500 undocumented people were apprehended.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
ZURICH and BOSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BC Platforms, a global leader in healthcare data management, analytics and access announced that it has formed a new data partnership with the Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank (ABCTB) for its BCRQUEST.com Global Data Partner Network. The collaboration will support the ACBTB's mission to improve the treatment outcomes of patients with breast cancer. The ABCTB tissue bank is hosted at the University of Sydney's Westmead Institute for Medical Research.

ABCTB has a substantial collection of tissue samples going back to 2006, including over 10,000 samples from 5,000 participants as well as their linked associated treatment and clinical data. The collection includes cancerous and normal tissue samples supporting studies ranging from the identification of common gene variants in breast cancer, to using machine-learning algorithms to distinguish subtypes and polygenic risk scores to predict breast cancer.

Jennifer Cubino, COO, Customer Success and Data Sciences at BC Platforms, commented, "Our global footprint of the Global Data Partner Network BCRQUEST.com is rapidly growing as organisations recognise the value of rapid access to expertly curated and carefully governed patient data which is otherwise difficult to obtain. We welcome ABCTB to our global coalition of data partners, enabling deep data access that can improve outcomes for affected patients."

Professor Christine Clarke, Emeritus Professor, The University of Sydney, Distinguished Scientist, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, and Chair, the Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank, said, "Our collaboration with BC Platforms is a new pathway to facilitate worldwide access to the ABCTB resource. We are excited about the potential to translate current research knowledge into clinical practice, including investigating the molecular basis of disease and gaining a deeper understanding of the genomic predictors of response to drugs and potential new therapeutics."

The Global Data Partner Network BCRQUEST.com is an integrated healthcare network that provides a streamlined solution for researchers to efficiently access harmonized data, driving improved sharing and faster research insight generation. The platform and its supporting framework enable collaboration between pharmaceutical institutions, healthcare and academic researchers while strictly adhering to global and local data privacy and security regulations.

The partnership with ACBTB is the latest in a series that has brought together data representing 20 million patient lives from leading healthcare data custodians across the globe. Last October, BC Platforms announced a new data partnership with the Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine (CCPM) at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus incorporating clinical and genomic-consented records and biobank samples. In April 2020, BC Platforms announced that it has added three new leading biobanks to BCRQUEST.com, including Generation Scotland, UK, Bialystok Biobank, Poland, and Biobank Graz Austria.

About BC Platforms

BC Platforms is a global leader in providing a powerful data and technology platform for personalized medicine, accelerating the translation of insights into clinical practice. Our technology drives the infinite loop between personalized care and research discoveries, leveraging latest science, deep technical expertise, strategic partnerships, and harmonized, diverse data collections. Our high performing genomic data discovery and analytics platform enables flexible data integration, secure analysis and interpretation of molecular and clinical information. Additionally, BC Platforms has developed a Global Data Partner Network BCRQUEST.com, which provides genomic and clinical cohort data for pharmaceutical and medical research and development. BC Platforms' vision is to build the world's leading analytics platform for healthcare and industry, providing access to diverse genomic and clinical data and samples from more than 5 million subjects, consolidated from a global network of Data Partners.

Founded in 1997 from an MIT Whitehead project spinoff, the Company has a strong scientific heritage underpinned by over 20 years of working in close collaboration with a network of leading researchers, developers, and industry partners. BC Platforms has global operations with its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, research and development in Espoo, Finland, and presence in London, Boston and in Singapore. For more information, please visit www.bcplatforms.com or follow us on Linkedin @BC Platforms.

About the Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank (ABCTB)

The Australian Breast Cancer Tissue Bank (ABCTB) was created to provide an open-access resource of breast cancer biospecimens and clinical data to support breast cancer research.

This was achieved through the support of women with breast cancer, who consented for ABCTB to securely store their samples and data; and through the participation of a collaborative network of cancer clinicians and researchers. Establishment of the ABCTB was facilitated by funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Cancer Institute New South Wales and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The ABCTB consists of a large collection of breast cancer and normal breast tissue samples, as well as blood samples which are taken from women diagnosed with breast cancer together with information about the health and breast cancer treatment and outcome of donors. Researchers with ethically approved projects from Australia and internationally can apply for materials and data.

About The Westmead Institute for Medical Research WIMR

The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) is making breakthroughs in medical research and applying these discoveries to some of the world's most serious diseases. These include illnesses like COVID-19; cancers; HIV; diabetes; heart, kidney and liver issues and deadly viruses.

The world-leading researchers at WIMR work collaboratively. They are passionate, dedicated and brilliant, with a personal connection that is second to none. WIMR researchers are driven and thrive on solving medical challenges.

WIMR's work is changing and saving lives. www.westmeadinstitute.org.au

About the Faculty of Medicine and Health, at the University of Sydney

As the first medical school in Australia, the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney is both steeped in history and a pioneer in the future of healthcare. We are focused on reimagining the way we deliver wellness and health through innovative, life-long education, world-class research, technology and facilities and partnerships with change makers.

The University of Sydney was founded in 1850 on the principle of providing people from all backgrounds with the opportunity to realise their potential to make a positive impact in the world through education. We're a world-renowned teaching and research institution  our research combines the expertise and talents of scholars from many disciplines. In creating Australia's first university, our founders recognised the power of education to change society. We hold that belief just as strongly today.

Contact information:

Tero Silvola

BC Platforms AG

[email protected]

Katja Stout

Scius Communications

[email protected]

Vivienne Reiner

University of Sydney

[email protected]

SOURCE BC Platforms
(CNN)  They've been dubbed China's "Little Blue Men," an allegedly Beijing-controlled maritime militia that analysts say could be hundreds of boats and thousands of crew members strong.

China doesn't acknowledge their existence and when questioned, refers to them as a "so-called maritime militia."

But Western experts say the alleged militia is an integral part of Beijing's efforts to exert its territorial claims in the South China Sea and beyond. They claim its blue-painted vessels and their crews -- allegedly funded and controlled by the People's Liberation Army -- can quickly bring a Chinese presence so large around disputed reefs and islands they are almost impossible to challenge without triggering a military confrontation.

The apparent militia made headlines last month when more than 200 Chinese fishing boats crowded around Whitsun Reef, a Philippine possession in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea.

Analysts at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore say they've never seen a Chinese operation of this size before.

"The Whitsun Reef incident is unprecedented in scale and notable for its duration: the largest numbers of Chinese fishing vessels gathered at any time at one Spratly reef, and staying there for several weeks," Samir Puri and Greg Austin, both senior fellows at the IISS, wrote last week on the organizaton's blog.

The Philippines protested the Whitsun incident to Beijing, calling the boats a "swarming and threatening presence" and saying the flotilla was infringing on Philippine territory and fishing grounds. Manila demanded the Chinese boats leave the area, which it maintains is in exclusive economic zone.

Beijing countered that the boats, which numbered 220 at one point, according to the Philippine government, were simply escaping rough seas by moving within a lagoon formed by the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, which Beijing calls Niu'e Jiao and claims as part of its territory.

"Due to maritime situation, some fishing boats have been taking shelter from the wind near Niu'e Jiao, which is quite normal. We hope relevant sides can view this in an rational light," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila was more blunt. "There is no Chinese Maritime Militia as alleged," it said.

The diplomatic back and forth between Philippine and Chinese officials continued last week, with the Chinese Embassy in Manila calling remarks by the Philippine defense secretary regarding the Chinese boats as "wanton" and "perplexing." The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs fired back, deploring the Chinese Embassy's statement, reminding China its diplomats are "guests" in Manila and pledging to issue daily diplomatic protests while Chinese vessels are in the Philippines' maritime zones.

How does the Chinese Maritime Militia allegedly work?

Despite Chinese government denials, there is little ambiguity in Western circles about what the Pentagon calls the People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM).

"The People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia don't fish," Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, told CNN. "They have automatic weapons aboard and reinforced hulls, making them very dangerous at close range. Also, they have a top speed of around 18-22 knots, making them faster than 90% of the world's fishing boats."

Some experts have taken to referring to the militia as "Little Blue Men," a reference to the color of their boats' hulls and to Russia's "Little Green Men," soldiers in unmarked green uniforms who infiltrated Crimea before Moscow annexed it from Ukraine in 2014.

"The Maritime Militia is used by Beijing 'to subvert other nations' sovereignty and enforce unlawful claims,'" a December report from the heads of the US Navy, Marines and Coast Guard said.

"The Militia is a key component of China's Armed Forces and a part of what it calls the 'People's Armed Forces System,'" Conor Kennedy and Andrew Erickson, two leading American experts on the subject, wrote for the US Naval War College in 2017.

It is "a state-organized, -developed, and -controlled force operating under a direct military chain of command to conduct Chinese state-sponsored activities," they added.

The alleged militia is integrated with China's fishing fleet, the world's largest with more than 187,000 boats, Erickson told CNN, but the actual number of armed boats remains unclear to Western experts.

Whatever their ranks, experts say they can lead large flotillas of actual fishing boats in actions to further Chinese government policies and territorial claims -- including those in the South China Sea.

"China is typically secretive about its Third Sea Force (behind the PLA Navy and coast guard), which might conceivably number in the thousands of vessels and in the tens of thousands of personnel. Possibly more," Erickson told CNN.

A 2020 US Defense Department report on the Chinese military mentions only 84 actual maritime militia boats, all assigned to a unit operating out of Sansha City on Hainan island, in the northern reaches of the South China Sea. The unit, established in 2016, gets frequent subsidies to operate in the Spratly Islands, the report said.

"This particular PAFMM unit is also China's most professional. Its forces are paid salaries independent of any clear commercial fishing responsibilities and recruited from recently separated veterans," it said.

But Erickson told CNN the boats seen around Whitsun Reef in recent weeks looked different from those in the Hainan unit, suggesting full-time militia boats are greater in number than previously thought.

Erickson and colleague Ryan Martinson, writing in the journal Foreign Policy late last month, said tracking of some of the Chinese boats at Whitsun using open-source intelligence shows they came from Taishan in China's southern Guangdong province.

At least seven "enormous" trawlers that were in the Whitsun lagoon could be part of "the most advanced PAFMM unit yet developed and deployed," Erickson and Martinson wrote.

Using automatic identification system data, they said the boats at Whitsun had patrolled the Union Banks, where Whitsun Reef is, as well as other Spratly Islands features like the Subi and Mischief reefs, both of which have been built up and militarized by the Chinese armed forces.

"There is no evidence of fishing whatsoever during these laser-focused operations, but every indication of trolling for territorial claims," the pair wrote.

Data that Erickson and Martinson compiled from MarineTraffic.com shows just how frequently the unit has been in the Spratly Islands chain over the past year.

As of March 29, only 44 boats remained in the Whitsun Reef lagoon, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported, citing a statement from the Philippine government's National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea.

The rest had scattered to other contested reefs and islands in nearby waters, the statement added.

What is the purpose of a maritime militia?

The concept of a maritime militia, or an irregular naval force, allows China to make territorial claims in huge numbers without ever involving the People's Liberation Army proper, Western experts say.

Even if lead boats like those mentioned by Erickson and Martinson are relatively small in number, they can spearhead flotillas in the hundreds -- as seen in Whitsun Reef.

"These classic 'gray zone' operations are designed to 'win without fighting" by overwhelming the adversary with swarms of fishing vessels," Derek Grossman, a RAND Corp defense analyst, wrote last year.

Jay Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs at the University of the Philippines, summed up what Beijing has done in recent weeks at Whitsun Reef and recent years across the South China Sea -- 1.3 million square miles of water, almost all of which Beijing claims as Chinese territory.

"They are now essentially occupying Whitsun Reef by the mere presence of their vessels," Batongbacal said in an interview with National Public Radio.

"That's actually the objective of the Chinese strategy, to establish de facto control and dominance over the entire South China Sea through these incremental moves."

From a tactical standpoint, the fishing boats represent hundreds of obstacles an adversary like the US Navy would have to work around. And the US Navy could likely only deploy a few destroyers at any one time to challenge them.

That puts huge numbers in China's favor.

"Because they are cheap, fishing vessels will always outnumber warships," Johns Hopkins University researcher Shuxian Luo and Columbia Univeresity researcher Jonathan Panter wrote in the US Army's Military Review journal earlier this year.

So even real, unarmed fishing boats acting under the leadership of maritime militia vessels can be an effective military force.

"Instead of a kinetic threat, Chinese fishing vessels present more of a disruptive one. Deployed in even limited numbers, fishing boats can inhibit, if not prohibit altogether, a warship's ability to conduct" anti-submarine warfare and flight operations with its helicopters, Luo and Panter wrote.

From a strategic standpoint, "challenging these vessels is dangerous," they wrote -- especially for other Southeast Asian nations that have claims to features in the South China Sea but don't have the military might to stand up to China.

"Weaker states, aware of Chinese fishing vessels' possible government affiliation, might hesitate to engage with them in a way that could provoke a PRC (Beijing central government) response," they said.

Because China says they are not military vessels, it can claim any action against them by foreign navies or coast guards would constitute an attack on Chinese civilians.

"The strength of the maritime militia is its deniability, which allows its vessels to harass and intimidate foreign civilian craft and warships while leaving China room to deescalate by denying its affiliation with these activities," Luo and Panter wrote.

But with those overwhelming numbers for China comes risk as well, the analysts said.

"The same factors that make the maritime militia a deniable force (its civilian crews and dual-use technology) also raise the risk of accidents and escalations," Luo and Panter wrote.

"This is a toxic mix: due to the maritime militia's deniability and the core interests at stake, the PRC (People's Republic of China) has a high incentive to employ it, but the more frequent its operations, the greater the likelihood of interactions with US vessels that could spin out of control."

And it's not just interactions with US ships that could spark wider conflict.

A statement from the White House said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his Filipino counterpart and said the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty applies in this case.

That would mean any hostile action against Philippine forces or territory by China could bring a US military response.

The US kept up the dialogue with Manila last Thursday, when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted he had a substantive conversation with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teddy Locsin "discussing our concerns with People's Republic of China militia vessels in the South China Sea."

China, for its part, has said it is the United States that is at the root of tensions in the South China Sea -- on the military level by sending its warships and warplanes on exercises there, and on the diplomatic level with bellicose statements.

When then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last summer accused China of "bullying" its Southeast Asian neighbor, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said the US State Department "deliberately distorted facts, exaggerated the situation in the region and attempted to sow discord between China and other littoral countries," the state-run Global Times reported.

Where has this activity been seen before?

The concept of a Chinese maritime militia traces its roots back to the days just after the Communist revolution in 1949 as the government of Mao Zedong looked for coastal defense, Grossman, the RAND analyst, wrote.

Without any navy to speak of, Beijing pumped money and training into a maritime militia left over from the nationalist regime it ousted. A few years later, collectivization of local fisheries added a new layer of Communist Party control to the militias, Grossman said.

In the 1960s, as the PLA Navy developed, it trained the militias in military tactics and operations and used them in more PLA Navy missions, he added.

But in 1974, as China fought with then-US ally South Vietnam over control of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the use of fishing vessels in combat operations proved their worth, Grossman wrote.

The PLA Navy used two fishing trawlers to deliver 500 Chinese troops to the disputed islands as the presence of civilian Chinese fishing boats around them slowed South Vietnamese military decision making, the RAND analyst said.

Once the Chinese troops were in place, the South Vietnamese garrison surrendered.

"A key lesson learned for Beijing was that leveraging fishing militia forces was far less likely to trigger US intervention in the matter even when the threatened neighbor was a US ally," Grossman said.

In the South China Sea, the Philippines is one of those US allies -- and China has used the maritime militia in operations to gain control of territory recognized by a United Nations tribunal as belonging to Manila, experts and officials say.

Grossman and others note the presence of a maritime militia in Chinese operations that led to Beijing's control of Mischief Reef and Scarborough Shoal in 1995 and 2012, respectively.

A 2016 ruling by the UN Tribunal said both Mischief and Scarborough are in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, but China does not recognize the ruling and in fact has built one of its largest South China Sea fortifications on Mischief.

Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday said what China is doing now is a repeat of 1995 and 2012.

"The utter disregard by the Chinese Embassy in Manila of international law, especially the UNCLOS to which China is a party, is appalling," Lorenzana said in statement.

"The continued presence of Chinese maritime militias in the area reveals their intent to further occupy features in the West Philippine Sea."

China has also used fishing boats to take on the US Navy directly, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

On March 9, 2009, two fishing boats -- operating with Chinese naval and fisheries ships -- allegedly attempted to target the towed sonar array of the USNS Impeccable, a civilian-crewed survey ship, in the South China Sea. The Chinese trawlers also stopped in front of the US ship, forcing it to perform an emergency stop to avoid collision, according to the AMTI report.

Meanwhile, another US survey ship, USNS Victorious, was being harassed in the Yellow Sea, the report said.

China claimed the US ships were operating illegally in its exclusive economic zone. Washington said its ships were in international waters and well within their rights to be there.

A precarious future

The 2009 incident showed how close the US and China could come to an actual confrontation because of Beijing's alleged use of fishing boats for military purposes. But Grossman said, given neither the Impeccable incident or any of its island occupations have blunted Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea, more deployments are likely.

"If history is a good indication of what to expect in the future, then Beijing is likely to double down on the PAFMM in virtually any scenario imaginable. That means it should be a force to be reckoned in the years to come," he said.

Puri and Austin, the IISS analysts, said Beijing is already taking stock of reactions to Whitsun Reef.

"The Whitsun Reef incident is a powerful demonstration of China's willingness to run risks by assembling such a large concentration of vessels in a highly contested area," they wrote.

"If these analytic assumptions are accurate, China's military leadership will be evaluating the performance of its most recent maritime militia foray and the responses it has elicited from others," they said.

Robert Williams, executive director of the Paul Tsai China Center at Yale Law School, said China would likely try to keep the intentions of any maritime militia -- and the rules it adheres to -- murky.

"China is highly effective in utilizing non-militarized coercion tools. Beijing has not been keen to give up these tools, which it sees as incurring limited escalation risks with neighboring countries," Williams wrote on the Lawfare blog of the Brookings Institution.

Essentially, Beijing wants to keep Washington -- and its South China Sea neighbors -- guessing.

"It would be an overstatement ... to claim that the Chinese military establishment relishes crises. Many PLA thinkers are highly sensitive to the destabilizing risks of military crises," Williams wrote.

But China, he said, sees "ambiguous signaling as a source of ... deterrence."

Essentially, if an adversary is constantly trying to assess intentions, it isn't taking action.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Beijing has a navy it doesn't even admit exists, experts say. And it's swarming parts of the South China Sea"
Multimedia Specialist

Anthony Zilis is a multimedia specialist at The News-Gazette. His email is azilis@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@adzilis).
TCS reported a 6.3% growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 9,246 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q3 December 2020. Consolidated revenue grew by 4% to Rs 43,705 crore in Q4 March 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

TCS' order book at $9.2 billion in Q4 March 2021, was the highest ever total contract value (TCV) in a quarter, taking the total yearly order book at $31.6 billion, a 17.1% growth compared to previous financial year.

For the financial year ended March 2021, the company's consolidated revenues grew 4.6% to Rs 1,64,177 crore and net profit rose 0.28% to Rs 32,430 crore. The company's board has proposed a final dividend of Rs 15 per share.

NBCC (India) said it has been awarded the work order for engagement as Project Management Consultant (PMC) for Construction of FCIL office building at Noida, Sector -1 on April 9, 2021. NBCC is the Project Management Consultant for this project value of Rs. 65.10 crore at PMC fee of 7%.

Yes Bank said that Sebi vide its Order dated April 12, 2021 has imposed a penalty of Rs. 25 crore against the Bank under Section 15 HA of SEBI Act, 1992 for the alleged mis-selling of AT-1 Bonds in the secondary market. The bank shall be preferring an appeal before the Securities Appellate Tribunal, it said.

Hindustan Copper closed its qualified institutional placement issue and approved the issue price of Rs 119.60 per equity share for the issue.

Satin Creditcare Network said that the company's AUM stood at Rs 7,274 crores as on 31st March 2021, a growth of 5.3% QoQ.

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[April 13, 2021] Mediacom Communications Recognized as a US Best Managed Company

Mediacom Communications Corporation is proud to announce it has been selected as a 2021 US Best Managed Company. Sponsored by Deloitte (News - Alert) Private and The Wall Street Journal, the program recognizes outstanding U.S. private companies and the achievements of their management teams. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005442/en/ The 2021 designees are U.S. private companies that have demonstrated excellence in strategic planning and execution, a commitment to their people and fostering a dynamic, resilient culture, as well as strong financials, all while facing the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite major challenges and immense pressure, they continued to lead with purpose and the vision to make significant contributions to their industries, communities, workforces and the economy. "For over a quarter of a century, the dedicated men and women of Mediacom have worked tirelessly to ensure the smaller markets we serve receive the same or better telecommunications services as America's largest cities," said Rocco B. Commisso, Mediacom's founder, Chairman and CEO. "During this past year, the team at Mediacom has gone above and beyond for our communities by rapidly connecting thousands of homes with low-cost internet services, supporting local food banks and preparing our advnced broadband network to meet the demands of more people than ever before working and studying from home. To be recognized as a 2021 US Best Managed Company in the midst of the economic and operating challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic is a testament to our employees' steadfast commitment to the core tenets of our business, and I thank them for making this honor possible."



Applicants are evaluated and selected by a panel of external judges focused on assessing hallmarks of excellence in four key areas: strategy, ability to execute, corporate culture and financial performance. They join a global ecosystem of honorees from more than 30 countries recognized by the Best Managed Companies program. About the Best Managed Companies Program

The Best Managed Companies program is a mark of excellence for private companies. U.S. designees have revenues of at least $250 million. Hundreds of private companies around the world have competed for this designation in a rigorous and independent process that evaluates four key criteria in their management skills and practices - strategy, execution, culture and financials. U.S. program sponsors are Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal. For more information, visit www.usbestmanagedcompanies.com.

About Mediacom Communications

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the 5th largest cable operator in the United States and the leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Through its fiber-rich network, Mediacom provides high-speed data, video and phone services to over 1.4 million households and businesses across 22 states. The company delivers scalable broadband solutions to commercial and public-sector customers of all sizes through Mediacom Business, and sells advertising and production services under the OnMedia brand. More information about Mediacom is available at www.mediacomcable.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005442/en/

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[April 13, 2021] Alation Increases Operational Insight and Agility for Global Insurers with Snowflake

Alation Inc., the leader in enterprise data intelligence solutions, today announced its participation in Snowcase, a joint program featuring industry-specific solutions with Snowflake, the Data Cloud company. The joint Snowcase outlines challenges that global insurance providers face and can overcome by using Alation and Snowflake together to break down silos, accelerate data governance success, and improve business performance. Alation is one of the first five featured Snowcases, debuting with its Active Data Governance Capability for Snowflake. Alation's people-first approach to data governance puts governance, collaboration, and communication capabilities directly into the day-to-day workflows of business users to encourage accurate, compliant data-driven decision making. Snowflake provides a low-maintenance, cost-effective way for organizations to consolidate their data on Snowflake's single, integrated platform. Together, Alation and Snowflake provide joint customers with the ability to solve business problems with trusted, governed data, equip insurance organizations to break down silos, and accelerate strategic decision-making leading to reduced risk and greater business agility. Texas Mutual Insurance Company (TXM), Texas' leading provider of worker's compensation insurance, serves more than 40% of the Texas market. More than 72,000 Texas businesses rely on TXM to keep more than 1.5 million employees safe. Using Alation's Active Data Governance Capability for Snowflake, TXM provides trusted, reliable data across multiple business domains and processes. With Alation and Snowflake, TXM has a conolidated and consistent view of data across the lifecycle of the business, which drastically reduces the time needed to validate and cross-check information to support decision-making. This allows business leaders to make business decisions faster and with more confidence.



"The combination of Alation's Active Data Governance, and Snowflake's Data Cloud is game-changing. It provides a trusted view of our most important business metrics allowing our executives to use data to take immediate and confident action. This results in reduced risk, improved financial health, and greater business agility," said Anthony Seraphim, Vice President of Data Governance, Texas Mutual Insurance Company. "We're seeing a shift in the insurance industry where new, digitally-born insurers have created an innate pressure on traditional insurers to utilize data to better manage their business," said Kiran Narsu, Vice President, Business Development, Alation. "Alation and Snowflake share a strong track record for helping the insurance industry embrace data governance and the cloud. Together we help organizations build thriving data cultures where anyone can find, understand, and trust data to make more informed decisions and propel their business forward."

"Our most influential customers frequently highlight the importance of data governance when attempting to mobilize data across their organizations. Alation is a fantastic example of how the Snowflake Data Cloud open partner ecosystem gives customers the flexibility to choose offerings which best suit their needs," said Chris Atkinson, Global Partner CTO, Snowflake. "Alation is particularly attractive to many, combining governance and democratisation capabilities in a single unified solution. We are excited to jointly launch this Snowcase for global insurers and look forward to building additional solutions for our joint customers in the future." Learn more: Read the Snowcase Solution Brief

Read our blog, Snowcase Study: How Data Governance Gives Texas Mutual Insurance Company a Competitive Edge

Read about Alation's partnership with Snowflake on our partner page About Alation Alation pioneered the data catalog market and today is leading its evolution into a platform for a broad range of data intelligence solutions including data search & discovery, data governance, data stewardship, analytics, and digital transformation. Thanks to its powerful Behavioral Analysis Engine, inbuilt collaboration capabilities, and open interfaces, Alation combines machine learning with human insight to successfully tackle even the most demanding challenges in data and metadata management. More than 240 enterprises drive data culture, improve decision making, and realize business outcomes with Alation, including AbbVie, American Family Insurance, Cisco (News - Alert) , Exelon, Finnair, Munich Re, New Balance, Pfizer, Scandinavian Airlines, and US Foods. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Alation is backed by leading venture capitalists including Costanoa, Data Collective, Icon, Sapphire, and Salesforce Ventures. For more information, visit alation.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005481/en/

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[April 13, 2021] Cogniac provides Doosan Bobcat with AI Visual Operations Intelligence Platform

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cogniac Corporation (Cogniac), a San Jose, California-based provider of enterprise-class Artificial Intelligence (AI) image and video analysis, has partnered with Doosan Bobcat North America (Bobcat). Bobcat, a global compact equipment leader, is implementing Cogniacs proprietary visual data processing platform within the manufacturing warehouse kitting inspection process. This move will increase operational efficiencies, boost productivity and reduce material handling times, all part of Bobcats commitment to quality and drive for innovation. Were excited about this partnership as it demonstrates the efficacy of the Cogniac systems, said Chuck Myers, CEO of Cogniac. Our technology is designed to be additive to the manufacturing processes, offering companies the ability to increase the safety and standards of their products. Bobcat was a great choice for a partnership because they are pushing to innovate and adopt technology as a core pillar of their growth strategy.



Companies are often already collecting useful visual data, making the Cogniac technology virtually plug-and-play. Cogniacs Visual Operations Intelligence Platform offers customers the ability to process, in real time, large amounts of visual data collected for inspection, flagging them to a human operator for review. The system also allows for more strategic distribution of employees to projects requiring the human touch which maximizes workforce productivity. Cogniac has built their platform to be a no-code solution designed for non-technical users and eminently user-friendly to allow for quick adoption and integration into existing workflows.



Bobcat leverages visual data in their warehouse to inspect bulk materials and parts for any potential inconsistencies to create precise kits to be used for downstream manufacturing processes. Ensuring a high level of accuracy on the assembly line is a key factor in work efficiency and commitment to quality at Bobcat. The company is committed to adopting the next evolution in advaning manufacturing technology to make operations smarter and eliminate production downtime.







Cogniac has produced a world class technology platform, said Russ Honeyman, vice president of Quality Management at Doosan Bobcat North America. Given our long history of innovation and focus on technology at Bobcat, the Cogniac system provides significant benefits for us, leading to higher efficiencies and optimized quality control in our processes.



The partnership currently serves the Bobcat operations and warehouse in Otsego, Minnesota.



About Cogniac Corporation Cogniac offers the most advanced enterprise Visual Operations Intelligence Platform. Cogniac enables businesses to realize superhuman levels of accuracy and efficiency in complex environments, from manufacturing to industrial, government to marine. Cogniacs technology maximizes the value of the newest and most abundant form of data  visual data. By deploying Convolutional Neural Networks and Hyper Parameter Optimization, Cogniacs platform achieves process performance optimization with very little technical knowledge required from human subject matter experts. For more information, visit Cogniac.ai About Doosan Bobcat North America



Doosan Bobcat North America, headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota, is a leading global manufacturer of construction, agriculture, landscaping and grounds maintenance equipment, attachments and services. The company is committed to empowering people to accomplish more. Doosan Bobcat North America is home to world-renowned brands, including Bobcat compact equipment, Doosan portable power products, Ryan and Steiner grounds maintenance equipment and Geith attachments. Doosan Bobcat North America is a tradename of Clark Equipment Company. About Bobcat Company Bobcat Company is a worldwide leader in the manufacturing and distribution of compact equipment. Headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota, Bobcat offers a complete line of compact equipment including: skid-steer, mini track and compact track loaders; excavators; VersaHANDLER telescopic tool carriers; utility vehicles; Toolcat utility work machines; compact tractors; small articulated loaders; zero-turn mowers; attachments and implements. As a global brand with a worldwide network of dealers and distributors, Bobcat is the industrys original innovator, beginning in 1958 with the first compact machine and predecessor to the skid-steer loader. Bobcat continues to lead the industry by offering quality product solutions and technologies to empower people to accomplish more. For more information, visit Bobcat.com

Cogniac Press Contact:

Jordan Schmidt

Gateway Group

Jordan@gatewayir.com

949-386-6332



Doosan Bobcat North America PR Contact:

Adrienne Olson

Sr. Manager Public Relations and Corporate Communication

adrienne.olson@doosan.com

701-371-5579



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A man and a women walk into the Reserve Bank of Australia headquarters on May 5, 2015, in Sydney, Australia. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Banks Should Not Let Lending Practices Slip: RBA

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has warned banks not to let lending standards fall as the financial sector could be shaken from any debt blow out under a housing price correction.

In its biannual financial stability review (pdf), the central bank stressed the importance of the financial sector avoiding excessive risk-taking in the form of looser lending standards or relaxation of internal limits.

Even if lenders do not weaken their own settings, increased risk-taking by optimistic borrowers could see a deterioration in the average quality of new lending, the review said. This would weaken the resilience of businesses and households, and so the financial system, to future shocks.

It warned that a sustained period of rising prices could lead to over-exuberance and extrapolative expectations which could cause a weakening of lending standards could weaken, causing prices to be pushed above their actual values.

A correction in asset prices, if borrowers income were to fall, and so they defaulted on debt repayments, would expose lenders to large losses on the increased debt, particularly if the quality of that debt had been eroded, the report wrote.

This, the RBA warned, could lead the financial regulators to consider responses if risk-taking in the financial sector were to increase. However, they also noted that lending standards in Australia had remained largely unchanged at present.

Minister of Housing Michael Sukkar reacts during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House on March 22, 2021, in Canberra, Australia. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

In response to the RBA warning, the federal government has said they are keeping a close eye on the situation, with Housing Minister Michael Sukkar saying that the government was very pleased that owner-occupiers were still currently in a dominant position in the market.

On average, were looking at affordability being at 20-year highs, which is why first home buyers are at such high levels, and why owner-occupiers are nearly three-quarters of the market, Sukkar told Sky News Australia. Owner-occupiers, or people purchasing a home for themselves, are in an absolutely dominant position.

But of course, we keep a very close eye on these things. We want as many Australians as is possible to be able to purchase their first home if thats what they aspire to do, he said.

The review also warned that there would likely be an increase in short-term financial stress as several financial support measures, including JobKeeper and the home loan deferral scheme, have ended. But noted that despite this situation, the vast majority of households and businesses who were on deferred payments were back on full repayments.
Reporters from multiple local organizations were denied entry to a news conference on Monday about the shooting of Daunte Wright, whose death at the hands of a police officer in Minnesota has set off protests.

Mr. Wright, 20-year-old Black man, was killed by the officer on Sunday during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. As national and international media flooded in, Brooklyn Center officials organized a news conference for Monday to address the shooting and release body-camera video.

Andy Mannix, a federal courts reporter for The Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota, said on Twitter that he and his colleagues were denied access to the news conference while he watched national and international media be let in.

Suki Dardarian, a senior managing editor of The Star Tribune, said in an email that the paper had sent three journalists to the news conference. Two were denied entry, while one, a videojournalist, was able to get in, she said.
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Latin America

Private-sector health care workers continued their protests in Mexico City last week to demand that they receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Doctors, nurses, dentists and other health workers congregated at a train station in Mexico City on April 5 to protest the failure by Mexico Citys Health Secretariat (Sedesa) head Olivia Lopez to hold a meeting that morning to discuss a national plan for vaccinating private-sector health workers.

Instead of showing up for the meeting to be held in Mexico City at the Naval Medical Schoolwhere they had protested the week beforeLopez sent a mid-level functionary to receive their petition with no intention to engage in discussions. Sedesa claims that Lopez made no promise to meet, that she knew nothing about it, and that it is an issue for the federal level.

At that level, President Andres Manuel Lopez ObradorAMLOdeclared April 9 that the vaccination program had to prioritize people over 60 and claimed that the protests were part of a campaign to discredit him. Next in line per AMLOs agenda are those between 50 and 60, to be followed by public and private schoolteachers.

Mexican health care staff works under protest as they demand vaccinations

Health care personnel in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato have announced that they will work under protest as long as they do not get vaccinations against COVID-19. So far, about 58 percent of the over 60,000 health sector workers in Mexicos sixth most populous state have not been vaccinated.

At last count, 153 health sector workers in the state have succumbed to the pandemic.

The health workers, who include stretcher bearers, lab workers, doctors and nurses among their ranks, have made pleas to the state Health Secretariat, which so far has been slow at responding outside of taking a census and having talks with union officials. The workers, who are wearing black ribbons as a sign of their protest, have expressed themselves in favor of staggered strikes if delays continue.

Mexican university students strike, protest in solidarity with professors striking for overdue pay

Students of the Higher Education Faculty (FES) Acatlan in the state of Mexico blocked a major boulevard near a National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) campus April 7 in solidarity with professors demanding payment of their salaries. About 60 students marched to the boulevard with signs saying, The strike is not lifted and partially blocked traffic for about an hour. On April 9, the students announced that they were on strike to demand the end of delays and deductions from the professors paychecks.

In February, about 600 UNAM FES science professors issued a public statement denouncing the nonpayment of their salaries for the September to January semester. When they were paid on February 10, the checks were for one third of the amount owed.

In March, professors of science, architecture, chemistry, engineering, economics, nursing, obstetrics and other departments strucksome for indefinite periods, others in designated time framesto demand their full salaries. At least 22 campuses joined the walkouts.

At some UNAM campuses, striking faculty members and students have presented petitions with additional demands, including cessation of intimidation and harassment and measures to counter violence against women.

Salvadoran municipal workers protest withholding of benefits, privatization, firings

Salvadoran Municipal Workers Association (ASTRAM) members carried out a protest in El Salvadors capital San Salvador on April 8. It was the latest in a number of actions to press their demands, including the payment of labor deductions of the Social Security Institute, the AFP pension fund and bank loans, rehiring of some 500 municipal workers sacked during the term of mayor Ernesto Muyshondt and the end of privatization of city services.

ASTRAM has held numerous protests against Muyshondt, who is a member of the right-wing ARENA party, since his election in 2018. He has been accused of misappropriation of six million dollars of government funds and was filmed offering bribes to gang members in 2014. He lost his reelection bid in the February legislative elections and will leave office on May 1.

Puerto Rican electrical workers vote for strike against privatization scheme

On April 6, members of Puerto Ricos Utier electrical workers union voted unanimously in favor of a strike against the Electrical Energy Authoritys 15-year contract with LUMA Energy to provide electricity to the island. A one-day strike was called in order to convene a general assembly in San Juans Roberto Clemente Stadium to discuss and vote on the strike proposal.

At the meeting, union spokespersons denounced the deal as illegal and said that it would lead to higher electricity bills, privatization, job losses and attacks on labor rights.

The overwhelming result does not mean that Utier will immediately call a strike. As union head Angel Figueroa Jaramillo told El Vocero shortly after the vote, The strike isnt the aim. Were going to be evaluating the entire process and we reiterate the request that the governor [Pedro Pierluisi] attend to the complaint, and that the walkout would only be put into effect if necessary. He added, We are hoping that the secretary of state summons us. So far we havent had any reaction.

Utier organized a Truth Route caravan that wended its way through various municipalities to, in the words of Utier spokesman Carlos Lopez, disseminate the correct information that clearly makes evident that the contract with LUMA is a terrible business for our people.

Chilean port terminal workers end strike over pandemic demands

Workers at the Sin Vicente International Terminal (SVTI) in Talcahuano, a port city in Chiles Central Zone, returned to work on the second shift of April 8. The workers had walked out on the third shift of April 6 over the lack of adequate measures to assure their safety from COVID-19.

Coverage of the issues in the stoppage was sparse, but one complaint involved a problem with a company that sanitizes equipment on the premises. As talks continued between management and the union, portalportuario.cl reported, Sources have indicated that the port workers have also brought other points into the conversation through a petition; nonetheless, the meetings have proceeded without major details being made known.

In announcing the end of the strike, SVTI said that it had established more than 30 anti-coronavirus initiatives, such as digital temperature measurement; installation of automatic porticos for sanitizing trucks and trains; a plan for sanitization of mobile equipment, common areas, dining areas, bathrooms and offices; the formation of a COVID monitors group; and the acquisition of masks, gloves and alcohol gel, among other actions.

United States

Workers strike Texas fiber cable plant over wages, benefits and excessive overtime

About 200 workers walked out on strike March 27 at the Prysmian Group factory in Scottsville, Texas after negotiations failed to meet workers expectations on wages and benefits. Members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 3057 were offered a five-cent raise while the company sought to increase workers portion of benefit costs.

The contract originally expired a year ago and the union extended the old agreement until it expired one day before the strike began. Workers are seeking additional compensation for having worked excessive hours through the pandemic.

One of the issues in the contract struggle is a company demand to reduce the number of refusals workers are given to reject overtime from the current five per year. The company has been running the plant 24/7, with added overtime including all holidays.

UAW chairman Earl Roberts told the Marshall News Messenger, With the amount of overtime that they are scheduling for us, those [refusal] days never last the whole year.

The Scottsville plant was originally owned by General Cable Corporation, a multi-national company headquartered in Kentucky, which manufactured copper, aluminum, and optical fiber cables. In 2017, the Prysmian Group, headquartered in Milan, Italy, purchased General Cable. Today, Prysmian is the worlds largest cable maker by revenue.

California Kaiser Permanente workers protest companys cutting of bonuses

Kaiser Permanente health care workers held protests March 30 at some 30 company locations across California after the company announced they would cut workers performance-sharing bonuses by 15 percent in February. The cut comes on the heels of Kaisers $6.4 billion in profits in 2020.

Gabriel Montoya, an executive board member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) called the cut a slap in the face. Montoya, an emergency room technician who contracted COVID-19 added, From Kaiser not filling open positions, to limiting the distribution of masks and other (personal protective equipment), to being forced to care for our patients without enough staff, we have been pushed to the brink. We were on board with improving attendance before the pandemic, but weve gotten exposed and sick from COVID because we came to work. Some workers were hospitalized and even died. And for that, theyre going to cut our bonus? Its unbelievable.

The SEIU represents some 58,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente facilities in California.

Canada

Montreal dockworkers move to re-start 2020 strike

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) gave official notice that it intends to imminently re-start partial strike activity on the Montreal docks after another provocation by the Association of Maritime Employers last week. Immediately after workers rejected the latest concessions final offer by an overwhelming 99.7 percent last month, the union, which negotiates for over 1,000 dockworkers, issued a cowardly statement saying it would not move toward strike action. However, despite this, the employers association last week gave notice that it intends to suspend certain pay conditions of the workers beginning April 13.

Management clearly feels empowered to press the initiative after the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaked information that just hours after last months rejection of the final contract offer, a draft for a back-to-work order was presented to the cabinet. The developments come after the union demobilized a militant 12-day strike on the docks last summer and agreed to a seven-month truce with management as part of its sell-out maneuvering.

The dockworkers have been waging a determined struggle for three years to secure a contract in the face of continuous provocations by the two major shipping operators, Termont Montreal and Montreal Gateway Terminal. They three times voted overwhelmingly for strike action between late 2018 and the summer of 2020. But no work stoppage occurred until last July, due to a combination of management interference, delaying tactics imposed by the Canada Industrial Relations Board, and the refusal of the union to press the matter.

A series of brief work stoppages beginning in early July culminated in the 12-day strike that was ultimately sabotaged by CUPE in mid-August. The general work stoppage was prompted by managements unilateral decision to slash weekend and night shift wages by 50 percent, and reroute some cargo shipments to other ports, including Halifax and New York.

At the center of the current dispute is the employers Associations push for regressive changes to the current grueling work regime, which compels dockers to work 19 out of 21 days. It is demanding a three-fold increase in the amount of work performed on weekend shifts, and the elimination of jobs, even as the pace of work increases. The conditions of brutal exploitation at the Port of Montreal are enforced by a ruthless disciplinary regime. Since the last contract was negotiated in 2013, workers who have sought to resist the port operators work regime have been the subject to scores of firings and more than 1,000 days of work suspensions.
An Arkansas woman has been sentenced to 36 years in prison after admitting to killing her sleeping grandmother with hammer blows to the head because she said God ordered her to make a sacrifice so she would not be sent to hell.

Andrea Wilson, 28, pleaded guilty on Monday to first-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery in connection with the May 2018 bludgeoning death of 81-year-old Ruby Ross.

Wilson was initially charged with capital murder, but she agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge to avoid the death penalty, or a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Andrea Wilson, 28 (left), was sentenced to 36 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault and battery in connection with the May 2018 killing of her 81-year-old grandmother, Ruby Ross (right)

Under the conditions of the plea agreement, Wilson would become eligible for a release on parole after serving 19 years in prison, reported Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Wilson's defense attorney argued that her case includes mitigating circumstances which have not been fully acknowledged, including her history of mental illness and difficult childhood that was marred by her parents' drug addiction.

Prosecutors said Wilson was out to kill someone on May 15, 2018, when she first struck a cyclist with her car.

The man, Jonathan Hampton, said in court on Monday that Wilson appeared angry and was screaming.

Later that day, Wilson headed to her grandmother's home in the 11000 block of Blue Jay Road in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and had dinner with her.

According to the prosecutors, Wilson waited for her grandmother to fall asleep, then entered her room and struck her on the head with a hammer four times, killing her.

Wilson then wrapped the bloody hammer and other items in a garbage bag, and hid them in a shed on the property.

Following her arrest, Wilson underwent mental health evaluations, the results of which were inconclusive.

Prosecutors said Wilson struck her grandmother with a hammer four times as she slept, killing her, inside the woman's home in Pea Ridge, Arkansas (pictured)

Wilson said she was not taking her prescribed lithium at the time of the attack.

During Monday's sentencing hearing, Wilson's aunt, LeAnn Ross, asked for a more lenient sentence for her niece, saying that her grandmother would have wanted it that way.

'Actually, if she could manifest herself in court today she would tell you to let her go because of her complete and utter love of Andrea,' LeAnn said. 'I want Andrea to know that I forgive her. She is valuable and we still love her.'

The aunt said Andrea and her brother, Gregory Wilson, suffered from neglect and abuse as children, and lost their father in 2007.

Echoing his aunt's words, Gregory Wilson told the court that his grandmother was known for her empathy and her ability to forgive.

When given a chance to speak, Andrea apologized for her actions and expressed remorse for her crimes. She said she is not the same person who was arrested three years ago.
Actor Sonu Sood has been made the brand ambassador for Punjab's anti-coronavirus vaccination programme.

During the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year, the actor had helped migrants reach their home states.

Sood catapulted to the national spotlight for feeding thousands of underprivileged people amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was viewed as a messiah of sorts for migrants.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday made the announcement, a day after his meeting with the actor who called on him at his residence.

"Happy to share that actor & philanthropist @SonuSood will be the Brand Ambassador of our #Covid19 vaccination drive. I thank him for supporting our campaign to reach out to, and protect every Punjabi, and appeal to all to get vaccinated at the earliest," the chief minister tweeted.

Happy to share that actor & philanthropist @SonuSood will be the Brand Ambassador of our #Covid19 vaccination drive. I thank him for supporting our campaign to reach out to, and protect, every Punjabi, and appeal to all to get vaccinated at the earliest. pic.twitter.com/1083v6M0FP  Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 11, 2021

Singh said there is no one more ideally suited to inspire and influence people to take the vaccine.

"There is a lot of hesitancy among people here in Punjab. Sonu's popularity among them, and his exemplary role in helping tens of thousands of migrants reach safely home since the pandemic broke out last year, will help counter their reservations," he said in an official statement here.

"When people hear this 'Punjab da puttar' talk about the benefits of the vaccine, and how safe and essential it is, they will believe him. Because they trust him, he added.

Sood said he was happy and honoured to be appointed the brand ambassador for the vaccination programme.

"I feel blessed to be playing any part in this huge campaign of the Punjab government to protect the lives of the people of my home state," he added.

On the occasion, the actor presented to the chief minister his book 'I am no Messiah', which he says captures his experiences of his journey from Moga to Mumbai.

"I truly believe I am no saviour. I am just a human being playing my own small part in the big plans of God. If I can, in the process, touch any lives in any manner, I can only say  God has blessed me, he is guiding me to fulfil my duty," Sood said in another statement.
High demand: Newquay in Cornwall has been named the hottest sellers' market in Britain

Newquay in Cornwall has been named the hottest sellers market in Britain, with 82 per cent of properties put up for sale this year already sold subject to contract, Rightmove is reporting.

The greatest excess of demand over supply for a decade means almost two-thirds of properties on estate agents books nationwide have sales agreed, the property website said.

Cornwall recently overtook London as its most searched-for location.

The second hottest market for sellers is Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside, where almost 82 per cent of homes have sales agreed, followed by Plymstock, Devon with 81 per cent.

The top ten seller markets have seen asking prices hit record highs since the market reopened last May.

But city centres are moving much more slowly, with Birmingham the best market for buyers - as only 18 per cent of listings have had sales agreed.

m.dilworth@dailymail.co.uk
Michigans Clean Slate laws that make it easier for convicted criminals to erase past felonies from public records took effect Sunday, April 11.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel during an online informational session Monday said several hundred thousand to a million Michigan residents may be eligible under the new expungement rules and will no longer have to deal with the stigma and barriers posed by having a criminal conviction on their public record.

Most violent crimes, criminal sexual conduct and alcohol-related driving offenses are not eligible for expungement, other than certain low-level assaults. The state Legislature is considering expanding expungement laws to make first-offense drunken driving convictions eligible.

Components of the law that call for automatic expungement of nonviolent misdemeanors after seven years and felonies after 10 years -- if the resident has no additional convictions -- wont take effect until late 2022 at the earliest, and possibly not until 2023, Nessel said.

Under previous law, Michigan residents with up to two misdemeanors or one felony conviction for certain crimes were eligible to ask a judge to clear their record if they havent committed other offenses for five years or more.

The changes made by Clean Slate legislation include:

The implementation of an automatic process for scrubbing certain misdemeanors after seven years and certain felonies - not including those involving assault - after 10 years. Automatic expungement isnt likely to be implemented until late 2022 or early 2023.

The law expands eligibility to up to three felony convictions and an unlimited number of misdemeanors; however, no more than two assaultive convictions can be expunged. Multiple convictions for the same crime, if they have a maximum penalty of more than 10 years in prison, are also ineligible.

The added ability to combine multiple felonies or misdemeanor offenses arising from the same transaction as a single felony or misdemeanor conviction, as long as the offenses happened within 24 hours of one another and are not crimes involving assault, possession or use of a dangerous weapon, or an offense that requires more than 10 years in prison.

The expansion of expungement eligibility for lesser traffic offenses, not including operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

The added ability for a person to request that a judge expunge one or more marijuana offenses if the violation occurred after Michigan legalized recreational use in December 2018.

The waiting period prior to applying for expungement begins at the completion of a persons sentence, probation or parole and if someone applies and is denied expungement, they must wait three years to reapply.

Expungements can be and will still be a complicated legal process, said Shannon Lucas, a director of legal services with the nonprofit Michigan Advocacy Group that is compiling pro bono attorney services and tool kits that the public may access to start the expungement process.

Nessel said her office is eager to assist the public with the process and applicants dont need to hire an attorney.

My office is also working to plan a series of expungement fairs once its safe for people to gather in person, Nessel said.

It remains unclear if conviction-related travel restrictions, including to Canada, or gun rights will be restored with a successful expungement, since the agencies authorizing those activities access separate criminal databases.

I believe this is a historic day in Michigan because this is the day that reality comes to bear that Michigan is a leader in the country regarding expungement, said Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. Our administration new we had to take a new approach to criminal justice to reduce peoples contact with that system in the first place ... and ultimately to prepare people for a chance at success after their contact was finished.

Research conducted by the University of Michigan law school, recently published by the Harvard Law Review, found that people who receive expungements see a 23% increase in income within a year.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the package of expungement bills with bipartisan support in October 2020.

Some available expungement resources include:

More on MLive:

Drunk driving expungements under consideration

Whitmer signs expungement bills

More Michigan residents could get criminal records expunged under House bills

Attorney General Dana Nessel has serious concerns with House expungement bills, suggests changes

235K people could have their records expunged of marijuana charges under proposed bill
Napoli, herself a reporter for print and radio who has written three other books, illuminates the terrifying, thrilling energy of NPR as start-up: Not a day would go by without a tape reel being hurled like a Frisbee into the control room at the last minute, or breaking during playback, and it was never quite clear whod show up for work or whether thered be enough stories to fill the time.

The book is a lesson in how the fringe project of one generation becomes the mainstream of the next. Many of us have grown up thinking of NPR as the veteran newsroom, trying to keep up with its shiny podcast rivals, but Napoli portrays the networks endearingly experimental, chaotic beginning. (The first staff of All Things Considered discussed stories sitting on the floor, because they had no furniture.) Refreshingly, she also reminds us that some of the debates that have roiled the media in recent years  such as the fear that clickbait will engulf serious journalism  are not new, though the culprit used to be network television, not BuzzFeed.

Napoli clearly admires her subjects, and they come across as trailblazers, but they remain somewhat one-dimensional in the book, never reaching the intimacy of first-name basis that the title promises. We learn the most about Totenberg and Roberts, including an illuminating look at the Democratic political dynasty in which Roberts grew up.

Image

But over all, Napoli takes a nevertheless, she persisted approach with the women, largely skimming over their doubts and contradictions in favor of tidy, triumphant narrative arcs. When Stambergs husband gets a job in India, forcing her to leave her beloved job in public radio, its an exciting twist. When two years later her husband decides to transfer back to Washington, she couldnt wait to get there. Wasnt she annoyed she had to keep picking up her life to follow her husband to his next prestigious job, when she could barely get paid for anything beyond secretarial work?
Biden, in his talk with Putin, calls on Russia to reduce tension in relations with Kyiv - White House

U.S. President Joe Biden, during a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressed concern over the transfer of Russian forces to the border with Ukraine and called on the Russian Federation to reduce tensions in relations with Kyiv, the White House said.

"The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions," the White House's statement reads.

"President Biden emphasized the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the document reads.
Our second project with Buffalo Trace was something they had never allowed for a private client. The original barrel we purchased was so special that we were able to ship it to Jalisco Mexico to have a second life aging a fine anejo from Corazon Tequila  another exquisite Buffalo Trace brand. Through this first of its kind partnership between Society Awards and Buffalo Trace, we innovated this idea, which is now offered to all Single Barrel Select clients.

In 2020 we selected a barrel of EH Taylor, one of Buffalo Trace's most exclusive whiskeys. This is the first time they have ever allowed a private purchase of EH Taylor. We are incredibly proud to partner with Buffalo Trace in this project.

The selected barrel  crafted of hearty, new American oak  was filled in fall 2010 with a proprietary rye mash formula. Over the course of the last decade, the skilled artisans at Buffalo Trace Distillery identified this barrel as having the unique character to yield a truly exceptional bourbon deserving of the EH Taylor name. In January 2021, the barrel was finally moved from its home of 10 years on the 8th floor of warehouse i and bottled exclusively for Society Awards.

Our EH Taylor Single Barrel Bourbon is an incredible spirit that we are excited to share with friends and clients.

About Society Awards

Society Awards is the premier designer and manufacturer of luxury, custom and limited-edition awards. We make more famous, prestigious and televised awards than any brand in history. Our awards and recognition products are crafted with an artistry and mastery that has propelled us to industry leader. Our clients include NATAS Emmy, Academy of Country Music, Billboard, MTV, YouTube Creator Awards, NAACP, NBC's The Voice, American Music Awards, BET, CFDA, ABC's Dancing with the Stars, the Recording Academy, and many others. Learn more about the world's best awards maker at https://societyawards.com/

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery's rich tradition dates back to 1775. Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site. Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 1,000 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.

SOURCE Society Awards

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In the fall, a group of students will leave their public middle school and head to Arlington Catholic High School for the first time. Theyre not considered freshmen. But theyre also not in eighth grade anymore.

Theyre in-between.

The program, which the school is referring to as a bridge program, was created out of need due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of students in Catholic and private schools in Massachusetts have been in-person learning since September, while some public school students have yet to step foot back in a classroom in more than a year.

The parents are worried because [students] missed out so much on the academics, said John Graceffa, principal at Arlington Catholic High School. So were tailoring a program for them. Its going to be a little different than a normal eighth-grade program.

The program will be tailored to the groups needs. As they have technically completed their eighth-grade year, the Boston Catholic school isnt trying to reteach them math or reading they already know but fill in the gaps they missed. In fact, most of their learning isnt actually about the typical subjects.

Were really looking to develop their skills and study methods in how to read critically, pay attention, take notes in the class, Vice Principal Nathaniel Naughton said. Things that they havent had to do that they would normally build on in the seventh and eighth grade.

The class will be made up of about 12 to 15 students. They will be hosted at the high school and continue to their freshmen year the following year.

At first, the parents came to the parochial school requesting their child repeat the eighth grade, something that has happened on occasion at St. Agnes, which offers kindergarten through eighth grade across the street from the high school.

The school began thinking about how they could help students over the summer. But after multiple similar requests from parents, the school had another idea.

They felt wasnt the right spot to have them, Graceffa said. So, we said what about having a bridge program here that bridges that year where, especially [during the] pandemic, many of them were missing out on their educational experience.

The school is also hoping to combat some of the stigma of being held back by creating this program. Naughton added that it helps that many of these students are changing schools with similar peers, rather than repeating a grade at their same school.

Were being very sensitive to the needs of these kids but certainly not to stigmatize them in any way, Graceffa said. This is a special time for them and its a special time of preparation.

One parent was maybe a little hesitant that hes not moving on with his peers, Naughton said but that the parent was more excited that he has this opportunity to get ready to move on to the next level.

Even the students are excited about it, he said.

The program comes as another wave of parents are interested in enrolling their students in public school. Schools in Boston and Worcester have confirmed to MassLive that they are seeing increased enrollments for the fall.

The schools saw a similar increase last fall. In Boston, there were more than 4,000 new students at Catholic schools and about 700 new students in Springfield.

Families were attracted to the in-person learning and small class sizes, which allowed for social distancing.

I think that theres something that we have here that is just simply not available in public schools, because they cant do it, David Perda, superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Worcester, previously told MassLive. And if they havent [had] an experience of Catholic education before, I think theyre gonna realize that theres something unique here.

Another unique aspect is their ability to tailor their classes and add programs like this one, something that isnt possible at most public schools.

Youre not going to see the repeats in a public school, you wont see it, Graceffa said. Theyre going to move them on and try to figure it out and how they can make it work.

It was important to host the program in the high school so that they can create opportunities among the freshmen class.

Many of them had some taste of algebra, Naughton said. So, we may be mixing and having a hybrid math course thats going to move them on a little quicker to whether its geometry or algebra two.

Other students might be in a class full of freshmen.

They could have a strong Spanish background language-wise. They may be in a Spanish one class with a freshman, its very possible, Graceffa said. Thats all going to be tailored to their needs. And that wont hold them back in the future because theyll still be able to carry on with Spanish two up to wherever, if they stay here or somewhere else.

While the school feels this will be a fantastic opportunity for the families involved, Thomas Carroll, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Boston, is worried about all the families they might not be able to reach.

The parents all came in explicitly expressing to the school that their view was, in so many words, that their children are in the middle of losing the entire year of education, Carroll said. Were glad to have them in our schools but thats very discouraging in terms of if you think of how many people might be in that situation.

Some education experts are using hurricanes or other disasters to compare the type of trauma students are dealing with and how itll impact them.

Recovery from Katrina wasnt a one-year recovery. We didnt just bring the kids back and everything fell into place. And this will be the same, Betheny Gross, the associate director at the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, told NBC. She has studied New Orleans schools after the 2005 hurricane and is now tracking COVID-19s impact.

This too might not be a one-year program. Although they are preparing it for just this group of students now, they understand it might be a larger problem.

It might very well turn into a three- or four-year issue, Naughton said.

Related Content:
The New Jersey Supreme Court dealt medical marijuana patients a big victory Tuesday, ruling unanimously that a construction company must pay for an injured employers medical cannabis bills.

The decision upheld an Appellate Division ruling from January 2020. That court said Vincent Hagers former employer, M&K Construction, must foot the monthly bill for medical marijuana he uses to treat injuries he sustained on the job in 2001. As of early 2020, those costs were about $616 a month, according to court documents.

Private health insurers and government aid programs do not have to cover medical cannabis costs under the state law. But the court found the law does not exempt a private company in such workers compensation cases.

Hager, 28 at the time of the accident, sustained a herniated disc that caused back and leg pain when a truck dumped cement on him. He had multiple surgeries and took prescribed opioids, but ultimately became dependent on the painkillers, according to the court documents. A doctor diagnosed him with post-laminectomy syndrome with chronic pain as the result of spinal nerve injury and also noted he qualified for medical marijuana in 2016.

Hager reported that his pain eased with cannabis use, and he stopped taking opioids.

M&K Construction appealed a workers compensation judges decision, arguing it was not responsible for his medical marijuana use because the drug is illegal federally. The reimbursement could constitute aiding and abetting illegal activity, the company argued.

The appellate court disagreed with M&Ks argument, and the state Supreme Court affirmed that judgement. Because the company is not directly purchasing or giving Hager marijuana  and because it is only covering the costs when compelled by a court  it could not be found guilty of aiding and abetting.

Reimbursing Hager under court mandate can hardly be interpreted as M&K elect[ing] to aid in Hagers possession of marijuana, contrary to federal law, the court wrote in its decision. Rather, it is being compelled to do so by the Order.

New Jerseys medical marijuana patients have long complained of high costs. Prices have averaged between $350 to $500 an ounce. The law allows them to purchase up to 3 ounces each month, though most use less.

State lawmakers are working on a bill that would require workers compensation and personal injury protection auto insurance benefits to cover medical marijuana costs, but it has moved slowly so far.

Hagers attorney was not immediately available to comment. An attorney representing M&K Construction declined to comment on the ruling.

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Amanda Hoover may be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 16:02:07|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has mourned the nation's first coronavirus death this year.

Authorities said on Tuesday that an 80-year-old Queensland man who tested positive for COVID-19 in hotel quarantine after returning from the Philippines died late on Monday.

It takes Australia's coronavirus death toll to 910.

Hunt said the death was a reminder of the importance of the vaccine rollout.

"Vaccinations are a fundamental part of the capacity for each individual to protect themselves but also to play their part in protecting everyone else in Australia and today's news just reinforces that," he said.

As of Tuesday there had been 1.23 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in Australia.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) on Tuesday confirmed that a woman in her 40s in Western Australia (WA) has been hospitalized with blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

It is the second case of blood clots linked to the vaccine in Australia.

"We have a second case of this syndrome that we call thrombosis clotting, a short and low level of platelets that is unusual," TGA Deputy Secretary John Skerritt said.

"Now to put this in perspective, of the over 1.2 million doses of vaccine, 700,000 or more have been AstraZeneca.

"That means that two from 700,000, one in 350,000 ... That is an extremely remote and unlikely event."

Australian adults under 50 are advised to avoid the AstraZeneca vaccine. Enditem
People wearing face masks are reflected as a medical worker wearing protective gear prepares to take a sample at a temporary screening clinic for coronavirus in Seoul, April 10. AP



South Korea has recently experienced a flare-up in virus cases, with outbreaks occuring at schools that opened in early March for the spring semester, putting to test the ability of health and education authorities to keep schools safely open.



Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae visited a high school in Anyang, south of Seoul, on Monday to inspect efforts to contain the virus in and out of classrooms.



She had originally planned to visit an elementary school, but changed the plan at the last minute, the ministry said, because "high school students have more activities outside school and there was a need to check the overall situation."



Since the new school year started in March, middle and high schools have reported more infection cases than elementary schools.






The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) member states, as well as High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, urged Russia on Monday to cease "provocations" near the borders with Ukraine.

"These largescale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities. We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations," the G7 said in a statement released by the United Kingdom, which is currently chairing the group.

The G7 and the EU "are deeply concerned by the large ongoing build-up of Russian military forces" on Ukraine's borders and in Crimea, the statement said.

The G7 member states pointed out that they support "Ukraine's posture of restraint."

They reiterated their support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, as well as France and Germany's efforts as part of the Normandy Four aimed at securing the implementation of the Minsk Agreements.

An escalation in tensions began in Donbas in early 2021, despite the open-ended ceasefire deal concluded earlier. Both parties to the conflict have been reporting a growth in casualties.
The fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic is advancing in Spain. While it is moving at different speeds from region to region, the curve of infections is growing in nearly all of the countrys territories  apart from in the Balearic Islands  and the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants now stands at 199, according to the latest Health Ministry report, which was released on Monday. This key data point has risen 21.8% in a week.

Pressure on Spanish hospitals is also rising once more, with more than 10,200 Covid-19 patients currently receiving treatment. Whats more, one in five intensive care unit (ICU) beds is occupied by a coronavirus patient, accounting for a total of 2,161 people. The Health Ministry report also added 197 deaths to the official toll, which now stands at 76,525.

The Madrid region currently has a 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants of 336, but yet has not introduced any tougher measures for restaurants or bars

Most of the countrys regions  which are in charge of the local measures to deal with the epidemic  are combatting this new spike in cases with perimetral lockdowns and social restrictions, but this new rise in the epidemiological curve has once again raised questions about the lax measures. For example, the Madrid region currently has a 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants of 336, but yet has not introduced any tougher measures for restaurants or bars. This is in spite of the Health Ministrys recommendations that the interior of such establishments should be closed when this indicator exceeds the 150-mark. The experts consulted by EL PAIS are emphatic: stricter measures are needed.

One element that is making it harder to control the spread of the coronavirus, and that requires more restrictions, is the presence of the more contagious strain that was first detected in the United Kingdom. This variant is now predominant in Spain and accounts for between 60% and 90% of infections, depending on the region. Daniel Lopez-Acuna, a former director of emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO), warns that due to this strain the speed of contagions and saturation of hospitals will rise. The variant has been circulating in Spain for months and is also predominant in the UK, where tough restrictions have been in place for months to control its spread.

In its report, the Health Ministry details that there are other variants circulating in Spain  the one identified in South Africa, two from Brazil and another from California  but that the British strain has been dominant for more than a month. It is more contagious, according to the ministry, but has a low effect on immunity with a small reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine.

According to the Health Ministrys alert system, 11 regions have registered an incidence above the high or very high risk level, which starts at 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants

The curve of infections is going up faster in Andalusia, Aragon and Castilla-La Mancha, where it has grown more than 40% in a week; while in Castilla y Leon, the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants has reached 196, which is 27% up on the previous Monday. Meanwhile, Madrid, Navarre, Cantabria, the Basque Country and La Rioja have seen the incidence rise by about 20%. In the remaining Spanish regions, the rise is slower.

Physicist Clara Prats, who is an expert in computational models of infectious diseases and a member of the BIOCOM-SC computational biology and complex systems group at Catalonias Polytechnic University, explains that it is normal for there to be different velocities, because they depend on the measures in place in each area, how people are sticking to those restrictions, the history of each place and its level of natural immunity, the way that people interact

A road sign in Barcelona reminds motorists that Catalonia's 'comarcas' have been locked down. Toni Albir / EFE

According to the Health Ministrys alert system, 11 regions have registered an incidence above the high or very high risk level, which starts at 150 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The situation looks like it is going to get worse, at least over the coming days. The effect of the Easter vacation, when there were greater mobility and social interaction, is now starting to be registered in the epidemiological curve. This week and the next will be key to determining the dimensions of the first wave.

Fernando Simon, the director of the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts (CCAES), said on Monday that we are now seeing the transmission that took place in Easter week. We cant stop what has already happened. But we can stop what will come from here onward. We can avoid reaching 300 cases per 100,000 [inhabitants]. The measures that the regions have put in place and vaccination will help us to control the epidemic.

Easter restrictions

In order to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the majority of the countrys regions have opted to keep the social restrictions that were agreed for Easter week in place, such as the perimetral lockdowns (only the Madrid region and the Balearic and Canary islands have reopened for now). The nighttime curfew  starting at 10 or 11pm, depending on the region  and the limitations on social meetings have also been kept in place in all regions, but the rest of the restrictions vary from place to place, even on a municipal level.

But the areas that are being worst hit by this fourth wave are not necessarily the ones that are taking the strictest measures. While Madrid has opted for very lax restrictions, the Valencia region  which was particularly hard hit during the third wave  is sticking with the tough limitations, despite having the lowest incidence in Spain (36.34): the capacity of bars is limited to 30% inside and they must close at 6pm (in Madrid, the capacity is 50% and they shut at 11pm).

The root of the problem came before Easter week, Lopez-Acuna explains. They were minimal measures that should have been ramped up as the incidence increased. We were too confident that the perimetral lockdowns and curfew were going to help us. These two measures can bring contagions down by 50%, but the rest depends on what happens within those perimeters. A more restrictive attitude is needed in the inside of bars and in terms of the capacity of gyms and shopping malls.

Some regions have toughened up the restrictions given the rise in infections: Catalonia, with 227 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, has locked down its comarcas  a traditional administrative division in the territory. In Cantabria, with an incidence of 161, bars and restaurants have had to close their indoor areas. In Castilla y Leon, bars and restaurants have been closed in a number of cities, such as Salamanca.

The measures need to be more aggressive, says Jesus Molina Cabrillana, an epidemiologist from the Spanish Society of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Hygiene. As well as limiting mobility, the key is to close the interior of bars. Juan Pablo Horcajada, the head of infectious diseases at the Mar de Barcelona Hospital, agrees: To avoid disaster, we have to increase social distancing. The virus still has a lot of gasoline left, with which it can burn millions of people.

English version by Simon Hunter.
As panicked shoppers overwhelmed grocery stores in the early days of the pandemic last year, Angela McMillers brother, a Walmart worker in Chicago, called to say he was so sick he couldnt stand.

Phillip Thomas, 48, had been working at the store for nine years, most recently in the meat department. He hadnt been to work in two weeks because he was so ill, she said.

McMiller told her brother that shed bring over some food after work. But when she called that evening, he didnt answer. The next day, she received a call that Thomas had tested positive for Covid-19 and died.

I almost fell to the floor, she said. We dont have deaths like this in our family.

More than one year after the pandemic first swept across the country, the plight of grocery workers who risked death to keep the country fed has raised questions about retail labor conditions and the responsibility of corporations in worker deaths from the coronavirus. At least 158 grocery workers have died from the virus, with at least 35,100 workers infected or exposed, according to data from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Walmart has seen at least 22 store workers die from Covid-19, according to worker-sourced data provided to United For Respect, a nonprofit labor advocacy group. Walmart declined to comment on the number of coronavirus cases among its 1.5 million U.S.-based workers.

Im not going to say Walmart killed my brother, McMiller said. But did they help him? No, not at all.

Image: Angela McMiller holds her phone displaying a photo of her late brother Phillip Thomas. (Eddie Quinones / for NBC News)

Walmart reduced store hours and temporarily suspended or reduced some services, such as food demos, so associates can clean and sanitize, according to the companys website. The company also checks temperatures as people clock in for work and requires masks to shoppers. It has also distributed four separate cash bonuses to associates between March and December of last year.

The company declined to comment on Thomas case. But Randy Hargrove, a spokesperson for Walmart, said in an emailed statement that Walmart is not immune to the impact of Covid-19.

Story continues

While it may be impossible to track the source of anyones infection, what we have seen is that the health of our associates tends to track the health of the country as a whole, he said.

For those hundreds of families like McMillers who continue on after the loss of a loved one, there is little recourse across companies to seek monetary damages under current labor laws, according to Steven Levin, senior partner with the Chicago-based personal injury law firm Levin & Perconti. States such as Alaska to Connecticut are considering additional immunity laws that would make it harder to sue businesses for civil damages related to coronavirus cases.

Many of these cases are going to be challenging even if the employer was screwing up and didnt have the right procedures, Levin said. But how do we know how you got Covid? How do we know you didnt get it at home or at a party? Where the infection came from  that is a factual legal challenge.

Since the early days of the pandemic, grocery workers have been at the center of the countrys battle against the coronavirus. Like health care workers, they come into close contact with customers, raising their likelihood of becoming infected with the virus. But while Walmart, Kroger and Amazon, which owns Whole Foods Market, all offer paid sick leave, 55 percent of grocery workers say they do not have paid sick leave benefits, according to the Shift Project at the Harvard Kennedy School.

We started to see retail workers get sick and put themselves on self-quarantine, said Kim Cordova, president of the UFCW Local 7 in Colorado, which represents more than 17,000 private sector grocery workers in the state. They had to use personal time to take time off or go to work sick.

With restaurants closing their doors, droves of people rushed grocery stores for food and essentials, boosting grocery sales across the board. At Kroger, total company sales were about $132 billion last year, compared to $122.3 billion the year before. Walmart, the countrys largest grocer, reported its sales grew to $341 billion in 2020 from $331 billion the year before.

We experienced unprecedented demand in categories like paper goods, surface cleaners and grocery staples, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors in May. For many of these items, we were selling in 2 or 3 hours what we normally sell in 2 or 3 days.

Image: The Walmart store where Phillip Thomas worked in Evergreen Park, Ill. (Eddie Quinones / for NBC News)

But while sales skyrocketed, many grocers were slow to roll out mask mandates and social distancing guidelines, Cordova said. Costco was the first national grocery chain to require masks, beginning in May last year. It wasnt until July  four months into the pandemic  that nearly all major grocers required customers to wear a mask. And while Kroger, Walmart and Amazon all offered additional hazard pay to workers, many of those benefits expired in May.

Workers felt [hazard pay] was just like a carrot to keep you working during this dangerous health crisis, she said.

Nicole Trujillo believes Kroger could have done more to protect workers at a King Soopers store in Denver, where her brother, Randy Narvaez, worked for 30 years before he died of Covid-19 last May. The Kroger Co. operates the King Soopers chain.

Narvaez was working overtime in the thick of the pandemic well before the company required employees and shoppers to wear masks, Trujillo said. It was only after Trujillo lost her brother, whom she calls one of my very best friends in life, that she learned there had been previous coronavirus cases at the same store where he worked. Since March 2020, there have been 28 coronavirus cases and two deaths at the store, according to UCFW.

I get you cant say, So and so is in the hospital, she said of company privacy laws. But there are other things you can do to ensure the safety of people. If you knew this person is in the hospital and they have Covid, why wouldnt you do something to ensure my brother wasnt exposed?

Kristal Howard, a spokesperson for Kroger, said that the company has taken extraordinary steps, investing more than $1.5 billion to both reward associates and to implement dozens of safety measures at every store to protect our workforce and provide our customers with a safe environment in which to shop. The company did not respond to a request for comment on Narvaezs case or the number of coronavirus cases it has had across its stores.

Grocery Stores Stock Toys As Holiday Shopping Season Begins (Scotty Perry / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Coronavirus case disclosures have largely been a volunteer effort by companies and workers who crowdsource the data, said Debbie Berkowitz, worker safety and health program director with the National Employment Law Project. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only allows people to list their occupation on coronavirus tests if they are in the health care field.

After repeatedly resisting calls to disclose coronavirus cases, Amazon, which has 1.3 million front-line employees in the United States, reported in October it had recorded almost 20,000 cases across its Whole Foods Market and Amazon locations. Amazon directed a request for comment to Brian McGuigan, a Whole Foods Market spokesman, who said the company has invested $300 million toward temporary pay increases and bonuses for Whole Foods Market employees, along with enhanced safety procedures at its stores. It is also offering Whole Foods Market and Amazon workers time off and a $40 benefit for each vaccination dose they receive, he said.

Walmarts coronavirus case disclosures are nonexistent, said Bianca Agustin, research director with United For Respect, who has been leading crowdsourced submissions of positive cases and deaths at the company. Walmart did not respond to a request for comment on its coronavirus case disclosures.

Walmart and, to a larger extent, the Trump administrations OSHA, was unwilling to admit that these huge retailers could be potential Covid hot spots, she said, referring to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Image: Angela McMiller holds her late brother Phillip Thomas' Walmart employee badge. (Eddie Quinones / for NBC News)

Under former President Donald Trump, OSHA was slow to hire and replace investigators, even as coronavirus cases rose. Between March 2020 and April 4, OSHA received about 14,000 coronavirus-related complaints in 2020 and opened only about 1,900 for inspection, Jesse Lawder, a spokesperson for the agency, said in an emailed statement. Supermarkets and grocery stores made up about 17 percent of coronavirus-related inspections between March 2020 and April 8.

All these retail workers filed complaints and OSHA didnt respond with an inspection, Berkowitz said. They told retailers to do what they can. It was a real abdication of responsibility.

Lawder said that the agency "will work to ensure all businesses are operating responsibly and safely."

"The agency is working to re-affirm its commitment to worker safety and re-establish trust that it is advocating for workers," he added.

In January, President Joe Biden issued an executive order for OSHA to come up with an emergency coronavirus labor standard that would create a path to enforce more stringent worker safety protocols. But that move was delayed this week, after Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh requested the addition of newer analysis. OSHA has yet to respond to a request for comment.

McMiller said her 75-year-old mother still cries over the loss of her youngest son. McMillers older brother also has bouts of pain over losing someone she called his twin.

Thomas' funeral offered little peace for the family. The funeral home wore hazmat suits to carry her brothers casket to the gravesite. It was traumatic, she said.

Dozens of Thomas friends from work reached out to the family to offer their condolences and share memories of her hardworking and playful brother. But she has yet to hear from Walmart.

Image: Angela McMiller outside her home in Chicago (Eddie Quinones / for NBC News)

She said she would have liked to receive a sympathy call and some compensation for the family. She blames Walmart for not taking the proper protocols to protect my brother.

He died at the beginning of the pandemic and it was like [news of] five people and 10 people [in the state] died and I kept thinking, My brother is a number,' she said. But I want people to know hes more than a number.
While Real Madrid were celebrating their second Clasico win of the season over Barcelona on Saturday, Zinedine Zidane made a striking remark.

The Real Madrid boss indicated that his players are already their limit physically, and he is still unsure as to how they will finish the season.

The players' fatigue has been visible in recent games, and Vinicius Junior recently commented on just how tired he felt as well. But Real Madrid still have eight games to play in LaLiga Santander, and could have as many as four more to play in the Champions League as well.

Zidane, more than anyone, knows how important it is for this to be managed. In 2004, he was involved as Real Madrid collapsed while aiming for a treble under Carlos Queiroz. Then, Los Blancos had a 4-2 lead over Monaco in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, not dissimilar to the 3-1 lead they now have over Liverpool, but fell apart in the away leg.

His words to Giuly

On that day, April 6, 2004, Zidane's conversation with Ludovic Giuly made headlines.

"Ludo, can't you see that we're done," he said, after the Monaco player had jokingly suggested that Real Madrid should let them win that game, not believing they had a chance of overturning the deficit.

Parallels

Real Madrid lost the Copa del Rey final to Real Zaragoza that year, but the Monaco loss dug their graves. Then came a series of results that saw Valencia win the LaLiga title.

Then, eight players passed the 4,000-minute barrier, and two others went over 3,000 minutes.

This season, injuries have plagued Zidane's team. They've played 41 games, giving a maximum of 3,720 minutes, and four players have played over 3,000. Ten more have over 2,000, and Nacho is just 22 minutes away from 2,000.

Mental strength

Real Madrid are tired as the season has reached its decisive stage. But, unlike then, this team have a winning mentality. They showed it last season, and they're showing it again this term.

They hit rock bottom in January, but have come roaring back since. Zidane knows what is needed to get over the line again, but he's not sure if his players have enough in the tank to see things through.
After election complaints about Rudds nominating petitions surfaced, but before he was indicted, Rudd voluntarily withdrew his petitions, and sought to run as an independent candidate. Following a court ruling that he could not run as an independent because he had already filed to run as a Democrat, Rudd mounted an unsuccessful bid as a write-in candidate and lost his seat as coroner.
NAGOYA, Japan -- Leading Japanese ketchup producer Kagome has stopped importing tomatoes from China's Xinjiang, Nikkei learned Tuesday, joining the growing ranks of Western brands that have ceased sourcing materials from the region over reported abuses against Uyghur Muslims.

Kagome, which also makes pasta sauce and tomato juice, halted the import of Xinjiang-grown tomatoes last year. Tomatoes that have already been imported will no longer be used in processed products this year.

Along with costs and quality, "human rights problems have become a factor in making decisions," said a Kagome representative.

Kagome is believed to be the first major Japanese corporation to stop doing business with the region over the Uyghur issue. A host of popular Western brands, including H&M and Nike, have stopped buying materials made in the region, which in turn spurred a backlash from Chinese consumers.

The impact on Kagome's operations appears minimal. The procurement of Xinjiang tomatoes, which is shipped in paste form, has been declining over the past few years. Xinjiang tomatoes currently represent less than 1% of the tomatoes used by the group. The produce will be replaced by tomatoes from other nations, and there will be no impact on production.

Kagome has always disclosed on its website that it produces raw ingredients in Xinjiang. The company performs regular visits to the factories and fields and has "confirmed that the tomatoes used in the past were not produced in an environment that violated human rights," said a Kagome representative.

China was the world's top producer of tomatoes in 2019, providing 62.76 million tons, or roughly 35% of global production, according to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. At China occupies.

The Xinjiang region in particular is ideal for growing tomatoes given ample amounts of sunlight in the summer and the difference in temperature between day and night.
Observer commentary: American pastors and Christians should pay attention to what is happening in Canada as they use Covid as an excuse to trample on religious freedom. It should be noted that there has not been a single reported Covid case among the congregation at this church. If they get by with this, it will happen again and again.

Paul Sacca, at The Blaze.com reports:

Hundreds of Canadian Christians gathered on Sunday at the GraceLife Church in Edmonton, Alberta. Government officials shut down the church for allegedly violating public COVID-19 health orders. Authorities erected a chain-link fence to prevent the house of worship from reopening last week. On Sunday, worshippers tore down the barricade, but were quickly met by a large contingent of riot police.

Alberta Health Services physically closed the GraceLife Church, preventing access to the building. AHS said the church would remain closed until the GraceLife Church "can demonstrate the ability to comply with Alberta's chief medical officer of health's restrictions." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police even closed off the access roads in front of the church to the public.

Approximately 400 people gathered outside the church on Sunday, according to the Edmonton Journal. The Christians were not able to get inside the church, so they sang hymns and listened to Bible readings outside the building.

Some of the people outside of the building began to tear down the fence, despite pleas from the crowd to "leave the fence alone!"

There were reports of 200 police officers in riot gear sent to disperse the crowd outside of the GraceLife Church.

The AHS claimed it had received 105 complaints from the public about the GraceLife Church between July 10 and April 6. The church was shut down in January for breaching public health guidelines that limit worship services to 15% of capacity. The church was also accused of not ensuring that people wore face masks during religious services and for not practicing proper physical distancing.

In February, GraceLife's Pastor James Coates was charged violating COVID-19 public health orders. Coates spent 35 days in custody before pleading guilty to a charge of breaching bail and was fined $1,500. He returned to the pulpit on March 28.

Coates' attorney, John Carpay, said the government's enforcement was excessive.

"I'm very disappointed to see this kind of draconian and aggressive enforcement of health orders when these health orders themselves are being challenged in court," Carpay told CBC News. "It shows a very aggressive government that is not answering questions about its policies, but wants to push its weight around and try and make an example out of GraceLife Church."

Original source, which contains multiple video clips: Video: Christians tear down fence around GraceLife Church - TheBlaze

Hat tip to Carole Gunn for sending us this link.
City Editor

Tom Roeder is the Gazette's City Editor. In Colorado Springs since 2003, Tom has covered the military at home and overseas and has cover statehouses in Denver and Olympia, Wash. His main job, though, is being dad to two great kids.
SANDY CITY, Utah, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Realty Organization Co. (SRO), a company specializing in commercial real estate in the Seattle and Salt Lake City markets, has broken ground on two high-performance, 8,000 square foot retail buildings in Sandy City's Cairns district, both of which are targeting Net Zero construction.

Utah-based Beans & Brews Coffee House will serve as a retail anchor tenant for the new structures, called Towne Ridge Retail. In addition to targeting Net Zero performance, SRO is constructing Towne Ridge Retail using cross-laminated timber roof panels and shear walls. These "mass timber" structural elements have a negative carbon footprint and will provide tenants a higher level of finish within each premises.

Located in Sandy's Cairns district, an 1,100 acre master-planned town center, Towne Ridge Retail is adjacent to Towne Ridge Center, a two-building, class-A office complex that SRO acquired in 2019. Constructed in 2017, Towne Ridge Center has 250,964 square feet of rentable space on State Street, boasting convenient access to TRAX Light Rail and the I-15.

In addition to starting construction on the retail project, SRO has completed commissioning of a 406-kilowatt renewable energy system on the roofs of the office buildings. Besides environmental benefits, the 1,128 SunPower panels will provide about 40% of the office buildings' power needs and also serve as a hedge against future electricity price increases.

"Our goal with these new buildings is to provide the City and all that live, work or play in the area access to beautiful buildings and additional retail choice," said Will Daniels, Vice President for SRO. "From the high-profile location to the work we've done to make these buildings as sustainable as possible, we are excited about the growth opportunities this location will offer  not just to local businesses seeking state-of-the-art new space, but to the Sandy area and its residents."

Construction on the buildings is expected to last through September 2021. For information on leasing space at this new location, please contact Tony Coop at Newmark Knight Frank or Jesse Raddon at Raddon Development.

Media Contact

Kyle Wall, Fearey

[email protected] / (570) 575-3405

About SRO

SRO is a Bellevue, WA, company specializing in commercial property investment. We acquire, own, manage and develop high quality properties for long-term hold periods. SRO manages more than 2.3 Million SF of primarily retail, office and office park space in Washington, Utah and Oregon. SRO was founded in 1912 by John Danz, a pioneer motion picture exhibitor. To learn more about SRO, please visit www.sterlingrealty.com.

SOURCE Sterling Realty Organization Co. (SRO)

Related Links

http://www.sterlingrealty.com/


Technical Airborne Components ("TAC", "the Company"), a leading designer and manufacturer of rods and struts for the aerospace industry, is pleased to announce that Searchlight Capital Partners ("Searchlight"), a leading global private investment firm, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Company from TransDigm Group Incorporated ("TransDigm Group") (NYSE: TDG).

TAC is one of the leading European players in the rods and struts market with a presence in commercial aircraft, regional and business jets, helicopters, as well as military and space programs. The Company benefits from long-standing relationships with key aircraft manufacturers including Airbus, Leonardo and Pilatus, among others, as well as differentiated design-to-build capabilities. This results in an attractive sole-source portfolio underpinned by long-term contracts, as well as exposure to growing platforms like the A320. TAC is based in Belgium (Liege), with approximately 170 employees.

Ralf Ackermann, Partner at Searchlight, commented: "We are delighted to be partnering with TAC and its management team and look forward to drawing upon our industry and operational expertise, as well as our transatlantic presence to accelerate its growth. This investment further demonstrates our belief in the long-term recovery of the Aerospace sector."

Dirk Dhooge, President of TAC, commented: "This is an exciting opportunity for the entire TAC team, we look forward to working with Searchlight to expand our business and gain new opportunities. We believe that this transaction keeps TAC well-positioned for the impending Aerospace recovery."

About Searchlight Capital Partners

Searchlight is a global private investment firm with over $9 billion in assets under management and offices in New York, London and Toronto. Searchlight seeks to invest in businesses where its long-term capital and strategic support accelerate value creation for all stakeholders.

About TransDigm Group

TransDigm Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a leading global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components for use on nearly all commercial and military aircraft in service today. Major product offerings, substantially all of which are ultimately provided to end-users in the aerospace industry, include mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, engineered latching and locking devices, engineered rods, engineered connectors and elastomer sealing solutions, databus and power controls, cockpit security components and systems, specialized and advanced cockpit displays, aircraft audio systems, specialized lavatory components, seat belts and safety restraints, engineered and customized interior surfaces and related components, advanced sensor products, switches and relay panels, thermal protection and insulation, lighting and control technology, parachutes, high performance hoists, winches and lifting devices, and cargo loading, handling and delivery systems.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005587/en/

Contacts:

Searchlight Capital Partners Media relations

Pierre-Jean Le Mauff (Taddeo)

+33 (0)7 77 78 58 67 pierre-jean.lemauff@taddeo.fr
My colleague Evelyn Forget has argued forcefully that the time is right for a basic income (Canada can afford a basic income, March 3) and draws a parallel with our universal health-care plan developed a half-century ago.

Opinion

My colleague Evelyn Forget has argued forcefully that the time is right for a basic income ("Canada can afford a basic income," March 3) and draws a parallel with our universal health-care plan developed a half-century ago.

Medicare is a popular but distinctly different social policy, however, and there is a more recent popular initiative that provides a better model to build on when the time is right: the National Child Benefit Initiative.

The NCBI grew out of Ed Broadbents final parliamentary motion in 1989 to eradicate child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. The 1992 budget of the second Mulroney government introduced the refundable Child Tax Benefit to replace the existing patchwork of support programs for families with children, and the Chretien Liberals formed a NCBI working group of federal, provincial and territorial representatives that was charged with three objectives  decreasing childhood poverty, encouraging labour market participation and improving the efficiency of the federal and provincial/territorial child benefit programs, especially monetary and administrative barriers to work that constituted a "welfare wall."

In 1997, the governments agreed in principle to a series of design features which would effectively replace provincial and territorial child-welfare benefits with a national platform of income-tested child benefits, while allowing provinces to reinvest any savings in social assistance in complementary programs targeted at improving work incentives, benefits and services for low-income families with children.

Ensuing budgets increased the benefit levels and income eligibility thresholds for both the child tax benefit and the National Child Benefit Supplement, an earnings supplement program also directed to low-income families with children.

Evaluations of the NCBI were positive. It had reduced the incidence and depth of poverty among both lone-parent and dual-parent families with children, although the parliamentary goal of eradication of child poverty had not been achieved. The NCBI design had made work more financially attractive than social assistance for families with children, and dependency on social assistance among families with children had declined.

And the OECD had singled out the NCBI for improving efficiency and co-ordination in federal, provincial and territorial programming. Provinces used surplus social-assistance funds to design income-tested child benefits that were combined with federal child benefits into a single monthly payment from the Canada Revenue Agency. Clientele surveys and focus groups lauded the administrative simplicity of the NCBI payments.

The Trudeau government elected in 2015 extended the principles of earlier refundable child tax credits to introduce the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) as a simple, more generous and income-tested benefit that would assist both low-income and middle-class families with children with additional assistance in certified cases of disability. The CCB lifted 300,000 children out of poverty during the Liberals first term, provided emergency COVID-19 relief to the lowest-income families in 2020, and is consistent with the basic income principles of universal and regular income payments to allow recipients to meet basic needs without work conditions.

The time may soon come to extend the framework established by the NCBI to a universal basic-income program. The Poverty Reduction Act commits the federal government to cut the poverty rate from 12 per cent in 2015 to six per cent in 2030, which will be more challenging and virtually impossible unless single individuals and families without children receive additional assistance.

The provinces should welcome discussions that address social-assistance caseloads if they are accompanied by federal funding directed at reducing poverty, enhancing employment incentives and harmonizing income support programs in the spirit of the successful NCBI.

The pandemic has exposed glaring gaps in income support for Canadians, and a proposal for a federal-provincial conference on poverty reduction in its aftermath should be well received. The objective would be to reach agreement on the basic principles of a national basic-income plan to reduce poverty and barriers to employment that would also allow a degree of provincial autonomy consistent with these agreed-upon principles.

Provisions for provinces to opt out of the plan, provided that their plan adhered to the national standards to be eligible for federal funding, would likely be necessary as it has been in the past. The 2019 Poverty Reduction Act provides an opening template for the measurement of poverty, the establishment of poverty-reduction goals and the assessment of progress, but it would be subject to provincial agreement and possibly refinement during this process.

Although discussions would likely be complex, the lesson from the NCBI is that significant new basic-income support for Canadians can be achieved. Agreement should be possible for an integrated income-conditioned transfer delivered through the tax system, even if its design is left to the separate provincial governments and their federal counterpart, or a federal-provincial-territorial working group.

It would supplement, not replace, provincial social assistance to directly address income poverty and welfare dependency and their harsh social impacts.

Wayne Simpson is a professor of economics at the University of Manitoba, a research fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy and author of Is Basic Income Within Reach?: Building the Case Amidst Progress and Poverty.
The move came hours after US President Joe Biden urged more spending in the chipmaking sector to resolve the chip shortage and build up a stable supply chain, Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul, April 13 (IANS) Huawei on Tuesday blamed the US for a global chip shortage as it called for cooperation with South Korea, Japan and Europe to form a new semiconductor supply chain.

A recent shortage of semiconductors has stalled production across manufacturing industries, especially in the auto sector.

Karl Song, Huawei's Vice President of Corporate Communications, called for the lifting of US sanctions, which the Chinese network equipment maker claimed has led to the recent chip crisis.

Currently, the Chinese telecom equipment giant is being cut off from semiconductors made with US equipment, software and designs due to US sanctions over national security concerns.

"The current global chipset shortage is due to the sanctions (Huawei) faces and its impact on the companies that we cooperate with," Song said in a press conference.

"We hope to cooperate with advanced semiconductor countries, such as South Korea, Japan and Europe, to form a global supply chain again," he said.

Eric Xu, Huawei's Rotating Chairman, said on Monday that US sanctions against the company have hurt the broader semiconductor industry as they have created supply uncertainties.

The US has long alleged that Huawei's equipment is used to spy on foreign networks, a claim repeatedly rejected by the Chinese company.

The US sanctions have hurt the Chinese tech giant, which requires semiconductors for its telecom equipment and electronic devices.

Huawei said it still plans to further strengthen its presence in South Korea by collaborating with South Korean companies, adding that it has made purchases worth $37 billion from South Korea over the past five years.

LG Uplus, the smallest of South Korea's three major mobile carriers, currently uses equipment manufactured by Huawei for its 5G network.

In Washington, Biden said on Monday that the US will increase its investment in infrastructure to protect its supply chains, including the supply chain of semiconductors.

His remarks came in a meeting with the top executive officers of 19 global firms, including South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics, to discuss ways to address the ongoing shortage of semiconductors.

--IANS

gb/bg
The new grant scheme for the tourism and hospitality sector to assist with outdoor dining is now officially open.

Failte Ireland and local authorities, through the Outdoor Seating and Accessories Scheme, are looking to encourage life back into cities and towns. Through this scheme the aim is to support jobs and to transform and open up appropriate spaces within our cities and towns for outdoor dining, as safe, welcoming, vibrant places in order to help support economic recovery.

This scheme is open to attractions, hotels, restaurants, cafes, public houses or other establishments where food is sold for consumption on the premises. Applicants can apply to Kilkenny County Council for a grant of up to 4,000 (for up to 75% of the ex-VAT cost of equipment purchased/installed).

Eligible expenditure includes: Tables, chairs, umbrellas, electric heaters, screens/windbreaks, plant stands, and wooden platforms. All applicants will be required to comply with planning codes, legislative requirements and other compliance requirements.

This a great initiative for Kilkennys tourism and hospitality providers," says Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Andrew McGuinness. "The funding will be very welcome by the sector as they prepare to reopen their business and avail of the local tourist trade for the summer of 2021."

The scheme is open since yesterday for applications and will close on September 30. Expenditure must be incurred between the April 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021.

Applicants can apply through Kilkenny County Councils website at the following address: https://leokilkenny.submit. com/show/102. Alternatively, you can contact (056) 7752662 for further information.

The focus of the scheme is to provide a level of financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses, in County Kilkenny, to purchase or upgrade equipment to provide additional outdoor seating and, therefore, increase their outdoor dining capacity for the summer of 2021. This scheme will financially assist and support independent tourism and hospitality business owners to create outdoor dining experiences in a regulated and accessible manner. Funding under the scheme is only available to existing businesses.

The purpose of the scheme is to enable the rethinking of spaces, allowing for greater use and enjoyment and making them more about people. The government says this will contribute to the short, medium and longer term survival and sustainable growth of our towns and cities.

Tourism and hospitality have been among the worst affected sectors by the pandemic, with tourism and hospitality businesses closed for lengthy periods. Consumer research undertaken by Failte Ireland during the pandemic has shown that the public and visitors remain interested in our key urban centres, but anxieties regarding personal safety continue.

Destination case studies from a number of other destinations including Copenhagen, Lisbon, Melbourne and Somerset & Devon shows a shift to public space and placemaking and a growing trend for additional outdoor dining options. Through the administration of this funding scheme, Kilkenny County Council continues to support businesses in 2021.
ezPaycheck Handles Mid-Year Payroll Processing For Contractors and Hourly Team Members New ezPaycheck payroll software for small businesses is available with differential pay options for customers who pay contractors or hourly employees.

Latest 2021 ezPaycheck software from Halfpricesoft.com supports mid-year payroll processing for contractors and hourly employees with differential rates, inexpensively. Customers new to business ownership or just new to paycheck processing will find this innovative payroll software as a simple solution to paying staff in house. See instructions below on how to handle both employee and contractors:

https://www.halfpricesoft.com/business-blog/post/2012/04/18/How-to-Handle-Payroll-Tasks-for-Both-W2-Employee-and-1099-Contractors.aspx

New ezPaycheck payroll software for small businesses is available with differential pay options for customers who pay contractors or hourly employees.  said Dr. Ge, the Founder of halfpricesoft.com.

Customers seeking a way to simplify payroll processing with more accuracy can go online to https://www.halfpricesoft.com/index.asp and download the payroll software. The download includes the full version of the paycheck software along with a sample database. The sample database allows new customers to try all of ezPaychecks unique features, including the intuitive graphical interface.

Small Businesses are always looking for ways to save money on payroll processing and tax reporting. Customers can try out this new ezPaycheck payroll solution for either MAC or Windows for 30 days at https://www.halfpricesoft.com/index.asp with no obligation or risk.

The main features include:



Supports multiple differential pay rates such as: hourly, salary, night shift, by piece, by load, or by mileage rates for employees and contractors

Supports multiple accounts at no additional charge

Supports network access for 2-10 users (additional cost)

Supports daily, weekly, biweekly, semimonthly and monthly payroll periods. Features report functions, print functions, and pay stub functions

Prints miscellaneous checks as well as payroll calculation checks

Prints payroll checks on blank computer checks or preprinted checks

Automatically calculates federal withholding tax, social security, medicare tax and employer unemployment taxes

Includes built-in tax tables for all 50 states and the District of Columbia

Creates and maintains payroll for multiple companies, and does it simultaneously

Prints Tax Forms 940, 941, W2 and W3 (Copy A preprinted form required)

ezPaycheck is compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7 and other Windows systems. We also sell a MAC version, separately.

Priced at $109 per calendar year for a single user version, (network version available for additional cost) ezPaycheck payroll software is affordable for any size business. Customers seeking a way to simplify payroll processing with more accuracy to start the no obligation 30-day test drive today at https://www.halfpricesoft.com/index.asp.

About halfpricesoft.com

Halfpricesoft.com is a leading provider of small business software,

including online and desktop payroll software, online employee attendance tracking software, accounting software, in-house business and personal check printing software, W2, software, 1099 software, Accounting software, 1095 form software and ezACH direct deposit software. Software from halfpricesoft.com is trusted by thousands of customers and will help small business owners simplify payroll processing and streamline business management.
With extensive enagagement in the legal industry, providing services to 49 firms of the AmLaw100, Kastle Systems , the country's largest managed security services provider to commercial businesses, is sharing anonymized aggregated access data from Kastle-secured businesses in the legal industry to better understand office occupancy patterns following COVID-19.

Compared to the ten-city average on the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, the legal industry is returning to the office sooner than other businesses, with occupancy rates 10 percentage points higher than the average.

"In talking with our law firm clients, we are hearing many factors that have made remote work more challenging for this sector, including paper heavy office systems and generally being slower to adopt new technologies," Kastle CEO Haniel Lynn said. "In looking at a return to the office, these and other workplace or cultural factors could also come into play for greater in person activity."

Association of Legal Administrators Executive Director, April Campbell, JD, agrees and adds "For many of our members, some firms never closed at the beginning of the pandemic. Different local government guidance on what workers were deemed essential meant that in some cities, that sometimes included law firms. There have also been concerns about the ability to onboard new employees and conduct new associate training remotely, so we're seeing law firms in the office at higher rates."

Kastle has combined decades of security experience with best practices around managing the novel coronavirus to introduce KastleSafeSpaces, which helps workplaces re-open by making their spaces smarter and safer, while maintaining a level of convenience that's enabled by technology.

Like the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, Kastle will be releasing updates to the legal industry data weekly on its website and LinkedIn. Through the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, Kastle has been tracking the anonymized activity of 341,000 unique office credential holders in major cities, 31,582 of which are in the legal industry and featured in this analysis.

About Kastle Systems

Kastle Systems has been leading the security industry since 1972 with advanced managed security solutions and services, protecting commercial real estate, multi-family residential, global enterprises, educational institutions, and critical government facilities. Kastle's state-of-the-art security solutions include access control, video surveillance, visitor management and identity management, as well as a suite of mobile security applications, all integrated on an open, standards-based platform and supported by a team of experts 24x7x365. Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, Kastle is on CIOViews's 2021 List of Top 10 Security Providers.

For more information about KastleSafeSpaces, KastleAccess or any of the other advanced security innovations from Kastle Systems, contact Jake Heinz, Chief Marketing Officer at [email protected] or visit https://www.kastle.com.

Media Inquiries

Jake Heinz

703-247-0278

[email protected]

SOURCE Kastle Systems

Related Links

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Marukian said that the LHK, which is one of the two opposition parties represented in Armenias current parliament, would also not join a coalition government headed by former President Robert Kocharian, another major election contender.

During the election campaign we will be telling our people that we agreed to these elections  not for the sake of Nikol Pashinians reelection, he told RFE/RLs Armenian Service. Whats the point of holding the elections if he is to get reelected?

Asked whether his party could strike a post-election coalition deal with Pashinian, Marukian said: We rule out any coalition under the premiership of Nikol Pashinian or Robert Kocharian.

Marukian said that his party is open to other compromise solutions that would not lead to Pashinians reelection as prime minister or Kocharians return to power.

We need to ensure that no political force has an outright majority in the new parliament, he stressed. Thats the only way to ensure that nobody can be single-handedly elected as prime minister.

Pashinian has pledged to hold the elections in June to resolve a continuing political crisis sparked by last years war in Nagorno-Karabakh. He has dismissed calls for his resignation made by virtually all opposition groups.

Kocharian said last week that he will lead an electoral alliance comprising at least two opposition parties. The ex-president, who had ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, predicted earlier this year a bipolar parliamentary race, implying that he will be Pashinians main challenger.

Marukian last week urged both Kocharian and Pashinian to drop out of the unfolding race. He said Armenia needs to follow a third path represented by his party.
More details are emerging ahead of Saturday's funeral for Prince Philip, who died aged 99 last Friday following a month-long hospital stay.

The Duke of Edinburgh's coffin will be followed by his son, Prince Charles and his grandsons, Princes Harry and William as it processes from Windsor Castle to nearby St George's Chapel for the afternoon service.

More details have emerged about the funeral for Prince Philip. Photo: Getty Images.

At Philip's personal request, there will also be six non-royals accompanying Charles, Harry and Will on the day.

They are, according to HELLO!, all members of the late prince's household staff: his personal protection officer, his private secretary, two pages and two valets.

RELATED:

Prince Philip's funeral: the details

Prince Philip was reportedly very involved in planning his funeral and wanted minimal fuss. To respect his wishes, he will be given a ceremonial rather than a state funeral which is typically given for monarchs.

Ahead of a state funeral, the body will 'lie in state' for the public to view whereas Philip will instead lie at rest in private at a family chapel in Windsor Castle until Saturday's event.

At around 2.40pm UK time (midnight AEST in Australia), Philip's coffin will leave the chapel via the State Entrance of Windsor Castle where it will be placed aboard a specially modified Land Rover of his own design.

The coffin, draped in Philip's personal flag, will exit the Quadrangle and move west down Chapel Hill to the Horseshoe Cloister at the far end of St George's Chapel. Members of the military will line the route.

Princes William and Harry, along with their father, Prince Charles, grandfather, Prince Philip and Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, follow the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales at her 1997 funeral. Photo: Getty Images.

Charles, Harry and William and Philip's six staff members will make the eight-minute journey on foot while the Queen will travel separately by car.

More than 20 years earlier, Prince Charles and his sons were joined by Philip to walk behind the coffin of Diana, Princess of Wales who was also given a ceremonial funeral.

Story continues

Once the coffin reaches St George's Chapel at 3pm it will be carried inside by military pallbearers and the service will begin with a minute's silence.

In line with Britain's current COVID-19 restrictions, only members of the royal family and the duke's private secretary will enter the chapel. The funeral procession is also closed to the public but will be broadcast live on the BBC.

After the service concludes, Prince Philip will be interred in the royal vault. The Queen will remain in mourning, carrying out duties behind closed doors, for about 22 days after his funeral.

The British Royal Family follows the Queen Mother's coffin in 2002. Photo: Getty Images.

Who will attend?

With the guest list capped at 30 due to the pandemic, many are wondering which royals will attend Prince Philip's funeral. His widow, the Queen will attend along with their four children, selected grandchildren and close family members.

The biggest question mark was hanging over the heads of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, who now call the US home after stepping back from royal duties in early 2020. Would the pair return to the UK for the very first time following their tell-all interview with Oprah in March?

Royal watchers had their answer when the Duke of Sussex arrived from Los Angeles on a British Airways flight into Heathrow over the weekend. He was, however, alone as the heavily pregnant duchess had been advised not to travel according to a statement from Buckingham Palace.

Meghan's friends have since claimed that she preferred to remain in California as she "doesn't want to be the centre of attention" on a day dedicated to the Queen's late husband.

Harry will be able to leave quarantine after five days rather than 10 if he provides a negative coronavirus test, however, he will be able to attend Philip's funeral regardless as official guidelines state those coming from abroad can leave isolation "on compassionate grounds".
Willemstad/Philipsburg:--- As part of its efforts to strengthen the resilience of the financial sector, the Centrale Bank van Curacao en Sint-Maarten (CBCS) has developed a comprehensive reform package. In the analysis and design of the reform program the authorities benefited from technical assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund.

The reform plan cuts across multiple functional areas of the CBCS, and seeks to further strengthen its analytical capacity in the area of financial stability and systemic risk analysis; enhance supervisory scrutiny, and buttress the financial sector safety net, said CBCS President Richard Doornbosch. To strengthen prudential supervision, at the outset mainly in the areas of liquidity and credit risk management, the CBCS is conducting thematic investigations into the liquidity-position monitoring practices and quality of liquidity-risk management of the financial institutions. Furthermore, the CBCS has planned investigations into the quality of the institutions loans and investments, to be carried out once the long-term economic and financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic can be more reliably estimated.

The analysis has also revealed the need for legislative and regulatory reforms in the areas of intervention, enforcement, and resolution. Mr. Doornbosch emphasized that such changes are essential to expanding the instruments available to the CBCS, but also to improve the efficacy of its interventions. In addition, the IMF underlines the importance of having a more data-driven and intrusive approach to supervision together with stronger efforts to improve the formal governance structures of the supervised institutions and greater attention to the long-term viability of certain business models. One key issue among these is the quality of the data the CBCS receives to carry out its supervisory role, which, as a matter of priority, requires improvement in a number of areas.

Finally, also considered as the initiation and institutionalization of a structured dialogue between the CBCS and the Ministry of Finance, which would enable more effective coordination on issues pertaining to financial stability and, more specifically, crisis management. A formalized dialogue is to be preferred, as it would ensure that both parties are informed about any (potential) financial stability risks. Such a regular dialogue would also provide for informing the government about policy (change) proposals and mobilize support for necessary financial sector reforms, with the aim to minimize potential losses to taxpayers should stress in the financial sector materialize. The establishment of a financial stability committee is therefore strongly recommended, said Mr. Doornbosch.

The CBCSs financial sector reform program can be found on the CBCS website via: https://www.centralbank.cw/functions/financial-stability/reports.

Willemstad, April 13, 2021

CENTRALE BANK VAN CURACAO EN SINT MAARTEN
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday slammed Iran for its 'provocative' move to increase its uranium enrichment to 60 percent purity and said President Joe Biden's administration is now questioning whether Tehran is taking the nuclear talks seriously.

'We are certainly concerned about these provocative announcements,' she said at her daily White House press briefing, saying it 'calls into question Irans seriousness with regard to the nuclear talks and underscores the imperative of returning to mutual compliance' with the deal.

'But our goal remains seeing through diplomatic process, which we expect to resume in Vienna later this week,' she noted.

She reiterated the administration's commitment to diplomacy.

'We believe that the diplomatic path is the only path forward here. And that having a discussion, even indirect, is the best way to come to resolution. It doesn't mean that we hold back on concerns we have,' she said.

Her comments came after an announcement that Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility, pushing its program to higher levels than ever before though still remaining short of weapons-grade.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki slammed Iran for its 'provocative' move to increase its uranium enrichment

Iran will begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity after an attack on its Natanz nuclear facility - seen above in 2020

The announcement marks a significant escalation after the sabotage that damaged centrifuges, suspected of having been carried out by Israel - and could inspire a further response from Israel amid a long-running shadow war between the nations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to allow Tehran to obtain a nuclear weapon and his country has twice preemptively bombed Mideast nations to stop their atomic programs.

Already earlier in the day, Irans foreign minister had warned that the weekend assault at Natanz could hurt ongoing negotiations over its tattered atomic deal with world powers. Those talks are aimed at finding a way for the United States to re-enter the agreement, the goal of which is to limit Irans uranium enrichment in exchange for relief on sanctions.

Nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi, in Vienna to begin informal talks Tuesday night, made a point to make his announcement in English.

'We believe this round of negotiations is the time for the U.S. to present a list and I hope that I can go back to Tehran with the list of sanctions which should be lifted,' Araghchi told Iranian state television's English-language arm Press TV. 'Otherwise, I dont believe we can continue like this. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time.'

He said authorities would add another 1,000 centrifuges to Natanz as well.

'The damaged centrifuges in Natanz ... would be replaced with more-advanced centrifuges and more-capable centrifuges,' he said. 'We insist on what we have asked. All sanctions should be lifted, we verify and then we go back to full compliance if we are satisfied with the verification process.'

Iran had been enriching up to 20% - even that was a short technical step to weapons-grade levels of 90%.

A picture of the centrifuge machines in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in 2019 - Iran's move to upgrade its uranium will not raise it to weapon grade levels

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported an Israeli-owned ship had been attacked by Iran in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near the port city of Fujairah. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an organization monitoring Mideast waterways run by the British navy, described it as 'a possible incident,' without elaborating. U.S. military officials declined to immediately comment and Emirati officials did not acknowledge any incident there.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, though the West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Tehran had an organized military nuclear program up until the end of 2003. However, the nuclear deal prevented it from having enough of a uranium stockpile to be able to pursue a nuclear weapon.

The talks in Vienna are aimed at reviving Americas role in that agreement, which former President Donald Trump abandoned, and lifting the sanctions he imposed.

The Vienna-based IAEA told The Associated Press that Iran had informed the agency it planned to begin enriching uranium up to 60% purity at its Natanz facility. IAEA inspectors have been closely monitoring Tehran's program since the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russias ambassador to the IAEA, said that 'those who undertook an act of sabotage against the nuclear facility in Natanz probably wanted to undermine the process of' reviving the nuclear accord. Russia is a member of the nuclear deal.

The move to 60% had been hinted at in the past. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had threatened to go to that level in February if the country needed.

'We are determined to develop our nuclear capabilities in line with the needs of the country,' Khamenei said then. 'For this reason, Irans enrichment will not be limited to 20%, and we will take whatever action is necessary for the country.'

Iran previously had said it could use uranium enriched up to 60% for nuclear-powered ships. However, the Islamic Republic currently has no such ships in its navy.

Details remained scarce about the weekend attack at Natanz. The event was initially described only as a blackout in the electrical grid feeding above-ground workshops and underground enrichment halls - but later Iranian officials began referring to it as an attack.

The U.S. has insisted it had nothing to do with Sundays sabotage. Instead, Israel is widely believed to have carried out the assault that damaged centrifuges, though it has not claimed it.

But earlier Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif still issued a warning to Washington.

'Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage actions would provide them with an instrument for talks,' Zarif said in Tehran alongside visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 'They should know that these actions would only make the situation difficult for them.'

Zarif separately renewed his earlier warning to Israel over the sabotage, saying that if Iran determines its archenemy was behind it, 'then Israel will get its response and will see what a stupid thing it has done.'

Kayhan, the hard-line Tehran newspaper, urged Iran to 'walk out of the Vienna talks, suspend all nuclear commitments, retaliate against Israel and identify and dismantle the domestic infiltration network behind the sabotage.'

Iran's withdrawal from the talks remains unlikely as the administration of President Hassan Rouhani, whose main diplomatic achievement was the 2015 accord, hopes to get the U.S. to rejoin it and provide desperately needed sanctions relief. But the announcement that it would enrich uranium further shows how pressure has been growing within Iran's theocracy over how to respond to the attack.

Rouhani met later Tuesday with Lavrov and stressed the importance of all parties returning to the deal.

'We are neither ready to accept less than that, nor are we after achieving more than that,' he said.
Were thrilled to safely welcome everyone to our warehouse for this event and we hope everyone will consider donating to the Salvation Army, said Sam Boak. This will be a fantastic time and a great way for all of us to help someone in need.

This time of year, spring cleaning is a popular theme among homeowners. Clearing out items that are no longer used can be therapeutic for many but can also create an opportunity to help someone else in need. Thats exactly what Sam Boak, president and founder of Boak & Sons, Inc. reached out to the Canfield Rotary Club to hold the Boak Garage Sale Giveaway. On May 22 from 9am to 4pm, the Boak & Sons warehouse will be full of gently used items, including anything from household appliances and clothing to tools and some furniture (no cushions).

Boak & Sons employees have been clearing their homes of these items in preparation for this event. While the initial idea was to hold a large garage sale in the warehouse, Sam Boak decided that every single item at the event will be completely free of charge. The only money spent will be optional donations that will go to the Youngstown Salvation Army, Red Kettle or Beatitude House.

We all have things we dont use in our homes that others could benefit from, said Sam Boak. I pride myself in knowing how passionate the employees here are about helping the community and giving back, and this gives us an opportunity to do so.

Each individual who attends the event will be allowed to bring one box and have 30 minutes to fill with items of their choosing. Whether you have one person in your party or ten, everyone gets one box. Not all items will be out at once to prevent over-crowding, but items will be restocked throughout the day. Restocking throughout the day will give everyone the opportunity to find great items and prevent over-crowding.

Were thrilled to safely welcome everyone to our warehouse for this event and we hope everyone will consider donating to the Salvation Army, said Sam Boak. This will be a fantastic time and a great way for all of us to help someone in need.

To ensure the safety of all attendees, masks and social distancing will be enforced during the entire event. The companys large warehouse provides more than enough room for social distancing and comfort. For extra precaution, attendees will be sent inside in small groups and only given 30 minutes to shop. Attendees are welcome to bring their own box, but boxes will also be available at the event.

All of our friends who have been so greatly impacted need the public to drop off any items theyd like to donate to the Boak & Sons warehouse at 75 Victoria Road in Youngstown, Ohio. We want to have as much as possible to help as many as we can. Items must be clean and in working condition and can be dropped off any weekday from 9am to 4pm.

For more information about this event, interested attendees are encouraged to reach out to Sam Boak or any of the employees of Boak & Sons by calling 330-793-5646. For more information about Boak & Sons and their services, visit http://www.boakandsons.com.


The meeting was originally expected in April, but the Biden administration is still reviewing its North Korea policy and the coronavirus epidemic takes precedence.

South Korean and U.S. officials are discussing a first summit between presidents Moon Jae-in and Joe Biden in Washington around mid-May.

"The summit will highly likely be held in May, though the schedule has not been fixed yet," a government official here said on Monday. "It was discussed when national security adviser Suh Hoon visited Washington."

On returning home on April 5, Suh only said Seoul and Washington agreed to hold the summit in Washington "at an early date."

The U.S. has also suggested a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga immediately afterwards.

Biden meets Suga in Washington this Friday.
By Jeff Mason and Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. climate envoy John Kerry will travel to China this week to discuss international efforts to tackle global warming, seeking to press his counterparts to make ambitious emissions reduction targets despite tension in the U.S.-China relationship.

The U.S. State Department said Kerry would travel to Shanghai and Seoul, South Korea, for talks on April 14-17, ahead of President Joe Biden's virtual summit with world leaders on climate change next week.

Kerry will "discuss raising global climate ambition," during his visits, the State Department said.

A source familiar with the plans said Kerry was due to arrive in Shanghai late on Wednesday and hold meetings on Thursday and Friday.

Kerry's trip comes after an earlier summit in Alaska between U.S. and Chinese officials led to fiery interactions that illustrated the depth of tension between the world's two largest economies at the beginning of Biden's tenure in office.

"He'll be focused on discussing climate and how we can work with leaders around the region to get control of ... the climate crisis," White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Monday about Kerry.

The former secretary of state, who Biden selected to represent the United States in international climate talks, will seek to find common ground on climate change with China's Xie Zhenhua. Kerry referred to his Chinese counterpart as a "leader" and capable advocate in an interview with Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climate-kerry/u-s-climate-envoy-kerry-calls-new-chinese-counterpart-leader-and-believer-idUSKBN2A42ZZ earlier this year.

Kerry has been urging countries around the world to set ambitious targets for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. The United States is set to announce its own new target for emissions cuts by 2030 in the coming week.

Biden's Earth Day summit, scheduled for April 22-23, will be a chance for the White House to reassert U.S. leadership on climate change. Biden, a Democrat, brought the United States back into the Paris climate accord after his predecessor, Republican President Donald Trump, withdrew in 2017.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Valerie Volcivici; Editing by Heather Timmons, Nick Macfie and Marguerita Choy)
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Retinal Vascular Occlusion (RVO) is the build-up of blood or other fluids in the retina of the eye, which prevents it from properly filtering light caused by the blood clot. RVO may result in a sudden loss of vision, which can be permanent if not treated urgently. RVO is a common vascular disorder and one of the most common causes of vision loss worldwide. Taking into consideration other eye diseases RVO is the second most common cause of blindness after diabetic retinopathy. RVO affects one eye. However, approximately 6%-14% of cases it can also affect both eyes. RVO has an incidence rate of 2.2 cases per 1000 of general population older than 40 years and 5.4 cases per 1000 of general population older than 64 years.

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The global retinal vascular occlusion market is experiencing growing demand due to increasing older population, increasing screening, greater emphasis on restorative procedures, the urgency of the RVO treatment, and others. The market restraints are the complications such as the risk of bleeding, infections, pain, especially during surgery, the high cost of retinal vascular occlusion treatment, lack of eye care infrastructure, and lack of focus on other diseases by developing regions, and others.

The global retinal vascular occlusion market is expected to reach USD 20.7 billion by 2023, and the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of ~ 9.5 % during the forecast period 2017-2023.

Segments

Retinal vein occlusion Market Share has been segmented on the basis of types, condition, diagnosis, drugs, surgery, and end user.

Based on the types, the market has been segmented as retinal artery occlusion & retinal vascular occlusion.

Based on the condition, the market has been segmented as non-ischemic and ischemic.

Based on the diagnosis, the market has been segmented as fundoscopic examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescein angiography, and others.

Based on the drugs, the market has been segmented as an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), corticosteroid, anticoagulants, fibrinolytic, and others.

Based on the surgery, the market has been segmented as laser retinal photocoagulation, chorioretinal venous anastomosis, radial optic neurotomy, and others.

Based on the end user, the market has been segmented as hospitals and clinics, research and academics, and others.

Key Players

Some of the key players profiled in the report are Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals LLC, Novartis AG, Pfizer, Inc., AstraZeneca PLC, GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Johnson & Johnson, Teva pharmaceutical industries, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and others.

Regional Analysis

The Americas account for a significant market share owing to high expenditure on the health care, especially, of the U.S. and Canada. Additionally, the greater number of ophthalmology procedures due to greater healthcare penetration in the U.S. and Canada drives the retinal vascular occlusion market. The high concentration of the major hospitals in the developed countries of this region coupled with good reimbursement rates is adding fuel to the market growth. Moreover, the large share of ophthalmology procedures, especially, the retinal vascular occlusion surgery treatment in the returns of hospitals favors the market. The large number of pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. is also a cause for the faster development of retinal vascular occlusion market in the US. The high development of the microsurgery field in developed regions such as the U.S. and Europe is a strong driver of the market.

Europe is the second largest market in the world due to growing pharmaceutical industry and healthcare penetration. The European market growth is led by countries such as Germany and France. Germany is expected to be the fastest growing market over the assessment period due to its large pharmaceutical and microsurgery devices industry.

Asia Pacific region is expected to grow rapidly; China and India are likely to lead this market due to fast-growing healthcare sector and large unmet needs over the forecast period. South East Asian countries such as China, India, and Malaysia are projected to contribute highly to the market growth. The growing penetration of healthcare industry in the Asia Pacific region is expected to drive the future retinal vascular occlusion market in the region. However, the low expenditure on ophthalmology and eye care coupled with the lack of insurance penetration in the developing regions is a dent in the market.

Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are estimated to drive the Middle East & African market. Other Middle East nations to watch out for are Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and Iran. The African region is expected to witness a poor growth owing to poor economic and political conditions, and poor healthcare development. Other regions are expected to be laggards due to the poor social development and tribal identities such as sub-Saharan Africa. The focus of the governments of poor countries on fulfilling basic healthcare relegates the retinal vascular occlusion market to the background, which hampers the development of the market.

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Ho Chi Minh City authorities have given the nod to piloting a public bicycle project in District 1 for 12 months, with bicycles to be placed on sidewalks for everybody to rent from August.

The approval of the pilot project, called Mobike, was announced by the Peoples Committee Office in a notice on Monday.

Accordingly, the project investor, Tri Nam Group Joint Stock Company, will be entitled to use sidewalks at 43 locations in District 1 for placing bicycles for rent, said the office.

The investor is not allowed to use such places for any other purposes, the office added.

Local media quoted the investor as saying that the service will be on stream from August.

Municipal Peoples Committee chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong assigned the local transport department to coordinate with relevant agencies in implementing the pilot project, evaluating its implementation results, and making recommendations to the local government.

Under the project, the investor will pay all operating costs in relation to this service, which offers bicycles for rent on the sidewalks of such downtown streets as Ham Nghi, Nguyen Hue, Vo Van Kiet, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Pham Hong Thai, Nguyen Thi Nghia, Pham Ngu Lao, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Duan, Ton Duc Thang, Le Thanh Ton, and others.

Each of the renting points will have 10-20 bicycles equipped with a smart lock and a GPS positioning device.

Bicycle renters are required to use the Mobike app on their cellphones to identify the nearest renting point where bicycles are available for rent.

Clients then use the code-scanning app to unlock the vehicle at that renting point.

Before using this service, renters may pay the charge directly or via their bank accounts or credit cards.

As proposed by the investor, bicycle rent rates will be based on service use time, such as VND5,000 and VND10,000 tickets for every 30 minutes and 60 minutes of use, respectively.

The above rates are for reference only and the official prices will be announced after being approved by the city government.

The types of monthly, quarterly, and annually tickets will be issued soon, the investor said without specifying a date.

Service users in the projects initial stage, ranging from one to three months, will be given free-of-charge tickets for their first 15 minutes of bicycle use, the investor added.

For anti-theft purposes, service users are required to provide their personal information for verification.

Each bicycle for rent is equipped with an identification card, and the service operators will use a central software system to identify where the rented bicycles are as well as who are using them.

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The City of Chicago owns the statue and worked with the Chicago Park District to remove and store the monument for public safety reasons, her statement reads in part. The agreement calls for the District to maintain the statue and obtain approval from the JCCIA before making any substantial changes to the statue or plaza. No substantial changes were made to the statue or plaza therefore the Chicago Park District is not in violation of the agreement.
PHILADELPHIA, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech Impact, a 501(c)(3) that empowers communities and nonprofits to use technology to better serve our world, today announced Francis Johnson, Managing Director, Technology Services at the nonprofit, has been named Nonprofit Technology Fellow for the Okta for Good Nonprofit Technology Initiative. The inaugural fellowship program, which received 340 applications from across the globe, aims to amplify the voices of leaders across the nonprofit sector advocating for a movement toward better use and implementation of technology. Johnson, one of eight Fellows, was awarded (via Tech Impact) a $25,000 grant to advance Tech for Good thought leadership throughout the six-month program.

headshot of Francis Johnson

"We are thrilled to name Francis Johnson a Nonprofit Technology Fellow," said Victor Cordon, senior program manager, philanthropy at Okta. "Francis is a proven thought leader who is building the future of technology, innovation, and social impact. By directly supporting Francis and other Fellows as nonprofit technology leaders, we are advancing the thought leadership of experts in the field who share Okta for Good's vision for a paradigm shift in the way that nonprofits are funded and enabled to leverage technology. We are excited for Francis to further our understanding in his area of focusprotecting critical data and vulnerable identities that nonprofits hold."

Francis hails from The Gambia in West Africa where he managed an Internet cafe before moving to the U.S. to study computer science at Eastern Mennonite University. He has more than 14 years of nonprofit experience and is passionate about helping nonprofits build their technology and operational capacity to serve more constituents and communities efficiently and securely.

"I'm honored to be named a Nonprofit Technology Fellow by Okta for Good," shared Francis Johnson. "There is a huge need in the nonprofit sector for cybersecurity support and education. Tech Impact's goal is to help nonprofits thrive and in order for them to thrive, they must prioritize cybersecurity. I'm grateful to the Okta team for providing additional resources to help us increase capacity and help nonprofits implement proper cybersecurity measures."

Okta for Good also named Tech Impact a grantee for its Ecosystems and Capacity Building grant stream as Okta continues to double down on proven partnerships advancing nonprofit technology through access, implementation and use. The grant will support Tech Impact's work providing wraparound technology services to nonprofit organizations without in-house technology expertise, with a focus on cybersecurity for nonprofits.

For more information, visit Okta for Good and its Nonprofit Technology Initiative.

Contact: Caitlin Wolf, 401-935-2363, [email protected]

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Francis Johnson

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SOURCE Tech Impact
Americas adversaries are on the march. China has suppressed Hong Kong and threatens Taiwan, along with Japan and other Asian allies of America. ISIS is rearing its head again in the Middle East. And Russia is once again threatening Ukraine.

Russia now has more troops along its border with Ukraine than at any time since 2014, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has little hope that war can be avoided. Moscows demands are impossible to meet. A diplomatic solutionrequires a radical change in the position of the Kyiv authorities, said Konstantin Sivkov, a Moscow-based military analyst. If the Kyiv authorities agree to the recognition of the federal structure of Ukraine, if the authorities agree to the equal status of the Russian language in Ukraine along with the Ukrainian language, then the whole problem in [Donbas] will be removed, he said. The Ukrainians fear that giving Russia further opportunity to undermine the government in Kyiv will only result in the slow erosion of their independence.

In the end, it seems that the Ukrainians will have to fight. CNN has a surprisingly intelligent report:

[A]mid growing tensions with the United States and its Western allies, Russian forces have again been spotted on the move across the border sparking concerns the war may be reignited. Cell phone video has emerged of Russian armored columns driving towards the Ukrainian frontier. Tanks and artillery guns have been seen being transported by rail. Theres also been a build-up reported in Crimea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was briefly famous in the U.S. because President Trump called to congratulate him on his election, the occasion for an insane impeachment effort by the Democrats. But Zelenskys duties are ongoing:

Ankle-deep in thick black sludge, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moves stealthily with his troops in single file through the warren of trenches and tunnels that form the tense front lines in the east of his country. It feels more like the early 20th century than a modern conflict, with tired, nervous soldiers gripping their rifles around him as they reach open ground, scanning the area for movement across no-mans-land. They know snipers, likely trained by Russians, say Ukrainian officials are looking for a chance to fire. More than 20 of their comrades have been gunned down already this year.

More at the link. Ukraine is trying to prevent being dismembered by Putins Russia. Putin, of course, will deny any such intent up until the moment when the dismemberment occurs. One fact you will not see reported by CNN or any mainstream news outlet is that the Russians, like the Chinese, are well aware that we have a senile presidentand, worse, a president whose administration is anti-American. That means that there is no time like the present for aggressive actions. Sadly, we can expect more hostile moves by our enemies in the months and years to come.
MP on



Tuesday alleged that the Election Commission's decision to bar Chief Minister from campaigning for 24 hours was taken at the behest of the BJP.

This was a "direct attack on democracy" and sovereignty of independent institutions of the country, Raut claimed in a tweet.

The Sena's chief spokesperson expressed solidarity with Banerjee, while terming as the "Bengal Tigress".

Assembly elections are currently underway in

The Shiv Sena, which is not contesting the polls, has extended its support to Banerjee, who heads the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The (EC) on Monday barred Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours over her remarks against central forces and a statement which had alleged religious overtones.

Reacting to it, Raut in a tweet said, "ECI has imposed a ban on Mamta didi for 24 hours. This is clearly done at the behest of BJP, ruling party in India."



"It is a direct attack on democracy and sovereignty of independent institutions of India. solidarity with Bengal Tigress, @MamataOfficial @derekobrienmp," the Rajya Sabha member added.

Banerjee on Monday said she would stage a dharna in Kolkata on Tuesday to protest against the poll panel's "unconstitutional decision".

(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.)
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- The proliferation of smart device usage and the growing trend of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) in several leading telecom and IT companies have greatly influenced the IT asset management (ITAM) software market. ITAM software was initially preferred by large enterprises for the maintenance and reduction of risks associated with IT compliance and licensing management. Over time, these solutions have gained recognition among SMEs across the globe as an effective solution to balance spending with return on investments.



The ITAM software market is projected to reach a value of US$1.3 bn by 2024, rising from US$708.9 mn in 2015. The market is estimated to expand at a steady CAGR of 6.9% during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024.



Cloud-based ITAM Software Services Highly Lucrative Segment



By size of enterprise, ITAM software finds application in large enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Large enterprises currently hold the majority in terms of revenue, while SMEs are likely to register the fastest growth over the course of the forecast period.



Request for a sample:



https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=11480



By type of deployment, the ITAM software market is segmented into on-premise, cloud, and hybrid. Cloud-based services are the key contributors to the revenue of the ITAM software market, accounting for an almost 50% share in the market by 2024.



ITAM software is used in a number of end-use industries, including banking, financial services, and insurance, transportation, manufacturing, telecom and IT, government, healthcare, and energy and utilities. Among these, the telecom and IT sector leads the ITAM software market, while the energy and utilities sector is projected to expand at the fastest pace over the coming years.



Growing Demand for Centralization and Automation Driving Adoption of ITAM Software in North America



The global ITAM software market comprises North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America presently leads the global ITAM software market owing to the enormous growth of the IT industry and growing awareness regarding the advantages of ITAM. North America is anticipated to retain its lead in the ITAM software market during the forecast period thanks to the surge in government regulations and strict software audit policies. The increasing demand for centralization and automation is also influencing the growth of the ITAM software market in this region. Organizations have been emphasizing on the reduction of operational expenditure by cutting down expenses in IT asset management through the deployment of ITAM software.



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https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11480



At present, the ITAM software market in Asia Pacific is driven by countries such as India, China, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. This region is anticipated to record the fastest growth in the coming years due to the rising interest of investors in this region and the growing establishment of SMEs. As the adoption of cloud-based solutions in Asia Pacific rapidly increases, the number of smart devices is expected to rise, aided by improved communication technologies such as 4G LTE. Unlike larger corporations that adopt cloud technologies to save cost and improve efficiency, SMEs in this region seek a wider reach, enhanced agility, and the flexibility and ability to serve larger customer bases at a lower investment. ITAM software has been aiding SMEs in this very task.



Some of the key players operating in the global ITAM software market are IBM Corporation, Oracle Corp., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, BMC Software Inc., ServiceNow Inc., BDNA Corporation, LANDESK Software, Aspera Technologies Inc., Cherwell Software, Flexera Software LLC, CA Technology Inc., and Snow Software.



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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rapid-adoption-of-cloud-based-platforms-to-benefit-companies-in-the-global-tax-software-market-whilst-outbreak-of-covid-19-to-accelerate-use-of-digital-platforms-for-tax-filing-processes-tmr-301249303.html
Hong Kong: Vaccination centre workflow improved

The Government has strengthened the checking steps and displayed clear signage at community vaccination centres (CVCs) to prevent people from receiving the COVID-19 jab at a centre they did not select during booking.

It conducted a review of the relevant procedures at CVCs in response to earlier incidents in which some citizens received jabs at CVCs that were different from the ones they had selected during booking.



The Government noted that its COVID-19 Vaccination Programme has a set of stringent procedures, adding that the type of vaccine is mentioned throughout the vaccination process including online registration, as well as during the reception, information provision and consent-seeking stages at the CVCs.

It said cases of citizens being vaccinated at a venue different from that of their own booking and going unnoticed by CVC staff should not have happened.

Although those are isolated cases, the Government said it is highly concerned and needs to handle them seriously.



After a comprehensive check of the centres' vaccination records by government bureaus and departments and the relevant operators, together with the incidents discovered earlier, the Government noticed that a total of 24 people had been vaccinated at a CVC different from the one they had booked.



Among them, some had changed their mind after making an appointment and went to another CVC, while some went to another CVC by mistake and received a vaccine not of their choice.

On learning about the cases, the Government has taken expeditious follow-up action to ensure that the citizens concerned will receive a second dose vaccine of the same make.

To prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in future, the Government has implemented a host of improvement measures, including enhancing staff training and requiring all CVCs to raise their level of vigilance. CVC supervisors are to strengthen their monitoring of centre management and the work of staff.



To facilitate the public's identification of the correct venue for vaccination, each of the CVCs and designated Hospital Authority general outpatient clinics have been assigned a unique code number.

The code number for venues administering the Sinovac jab will start with the prefix "S", while those for the BioNTech one will start with the prefix "B".

The SMS messages for people to be vaccinated will start with the code number of the vaccination venue chosen. The CVCs will also display their code number at prominent positions at the venue entrance.

Additionally, the public will receive an A5 folder with the name of the vaccine being clearly shown and a leaflet on the vaccine to be administered at the venue.

The Government urged members of the public to check, prior to getting vaccinated, the location of the CVC and the vaccine they booked to avoid going to the wrong venue.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The company has demonstrated, through the first phase underground PFS, excellent project economics for what it believes to be only a small portion of the underground resource.

The underground operations have a peak funding requirement of US$36.1 million and a payback period from start of mining of 22 months.

's ( ) maiden underground pre-feasibility study (PFS) for the TGME Underground Project in South Africa shows that the extensive flat high-grade narrow reef systems of East Transvaal Goldfield can be mined economically.

The company's chairman Bill Guy said that the PFS demonstrated that the use of modern mechanised mining and metallurgy could deliver strong project economics.

This maiden PFS covers the Beta, Frankfort and CDM underground (UG) mines, which form part of the Central Northern area and are collectively referred to as TGME Underground Project.

The TGME Phase 1 Underground Project, which excludes the open pits, has compelling financials based on a forecast gold price average of US$1,570/ounce and a ZAR/USD exchange rate of 15.9. These include:

Pay-back period from first gold 13 months;

Pay-back period from start of mining 22 months;

419,000 ounces gold delivered to plant over initial Life of Mine (7.67 years);

By the third year, production over 60,000 ounces gold/year (recovered);

US$241.2 million EBITDA over LoM;

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 82%;

US$91.2 million Net Present Value (NPV); and

US$905/ounce gold all-in sustaining cost (AISC) over LoM, bottom quartile for South Africa producers.

It estimates total LoM capital expenditure of US$79 million including:

Peak capex for first three years of US$37 million (oxide and backfill plant and beta mine development);

Year 4 of US$27 million sulphide circuit and Frankfort and CDM mine development; and

US$15 million of remaining capital to develop and sustain operations.

Economical mining clearly demonstrated

The PFS shows that the narrow high-grade reef system can be mined with modern mechanised mining techniques (safer, increased productivity and minimum dilution), and that the gold can be recovered utilising modern metallurgical technologies (Ultrafine grinding and Intense CIL).

This proof of concept is part of de-risking the underground projects.

Chairman Bill Guy said: Now that the company has generated a PFS for the TGME Underground Project, we can optimise our development strategy based on confident numbers.

ASIC cost on yearly basis for TGME Underground Project.

Process plant operations

The UG plant will be able to accommodate a variety of ore sources incorporating different streams that require different treatment solutions while sharing front-end (crushing) and back-end (CIL, elution, gold room, tailings) infrastructure.

It will also be further expandable with modular additions and the CIL section will also be shared with the 50kt/m Theta Open Pit plant (oxide ore plant).

The existing process plant will be upgraded and refurbished to treat ore from Beta and will follow a conventional Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) configuration at a rate up to 30ktp/m.

Frankfort ore will be concentrated via Dense Media Separation (DMS) at the shaft and only the concentrate will be trucked to the process plant  the ore from CDM mines will also follow the same process route.

The DMS will process up to 15,000tp/m and discards will be stockpiled at the shaft.

The existing tailings facility will be re-commissioned for the first phase, while for subsequent phases the CIL Tailings will be pumped into the mined-out workings of the Beta mine adjacent to the process plant as backfill.

Potential upgrading of mined ore from Beta and CDM via XRT or DMS is under investigation and not factored in but it could potentially further increase gold production.

Bottom quartile of costs

Guy said: At a 63% conversion ratio, Theta Gold still has 3.5 million ounces of gold in underground resources to develop in order to extend LoM and increase production into the future.

Due to the shallow, high grade and on-reef development characteristics of the ore, our AISC of US$905 per ounce of gold sits in the bottom quartile of costs for South Africa.

At a forecasted average US$1,570 gold price, EBITA is US$241 million from revenue of US$545 million and the NPV is US$91 million; all based on a very small proportion of the overall project area.

The capex is modest and staged and production peaks at 70,000 ounces gold per annum.

This PFS clearly demonstrates very strong project economics for the underground mines.

In real terms, we have only completed the study on 16% of the total of 4.5 million ounces of gold in the underground mineral resource.

3D view of refurbished process plant superimposed on current plant footprint.

Resource growth potential

The maiden underground PFS is based on only 16% of the 4.5 million ounce gold underground gold resource and incorporates only three mines out of a total 43 historical mines across the project area.

This initial study focused on the easy access of 684,000 ounces of gold in the measured and indicated categories of the TGME underground resource for the Beta, Frankfort and CDM areas.

A further 3.5 million ounces gold of inferred resources is available to be upgraded to the measured and indicated resource category and potentially a portion could be converted into mining reserves.

Rietfontein PFS in Q3

Previously the company announced a five-year plan, which targets four mine developments - Theta open-pit Starter Project (MR83 only), Theta open pit extension (MR341) and the Rietfontein and Beta underground mines.

This four-mine strategy provided the company with a clear growth plan with a combined open pit and underground resource of over 2.75 million ounces.

The company will continue to build up its mining reserves during the year by progressing Rietfontein and other mines through to PFS level, while concluding detailed designs for the Phase 1 UG Project.

Guy said: The team will complete the Rietfontein PFS in quarter three of this year.

The mining reserve from Rietfontein can then be brought into the updated PFS to further increase the production profile."

The AISC costs for the UG PFS continue to reflect a project that is at the bottom quartile when compared to South African peer mines.

Key player in South Africa

Guy added: At Theta Gold, the resource pipeline into the future is strong, and the scale of the potential resources and the geology in South Africa should not be underestimated.

The company will soon be a key player in the South African mining industry, a sector that has produced more tonnes of gold than any other country when measuring gold bullion tonnage.

Over 40% of the worlds gold has come from the small corner of South Africa that we call home.
A top Republican Senator has said that imposing CAATSA sanctions on for buying the multi-billion-dollar S-400 missile system from would be a geostrategic victory for Moscow.

Senator Todd Young, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in the Foreign Policy magazine that if the Joe Biden administration imposes sanctions on India, it would weaken two strategic fronts at a critical time -- undermine Washington's relationship with and also affect the QUAD's ability to counter China.

Quad -- comprising Japan, India, Australia and the United States -- aims at developing a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

Yong said on Monday that in recent weeks, the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Bob Menendez called for to be threatened with sanctions under Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if it moves forward with the purchase of the Russian missile system.

Section 231 imposes sanctions on entities that "operate for or on behalf of" Russian defense or intelligence sectors.

"It would not deter India's purchase of the S-400 (missile) system. Given India's historical skepticism of international cooperation and long-standing ties with Russia, any sanctions would be amplified and leveraged by those within India who remain trepidatious about deeper engagement with the West, such as the Non-Aligned Movement, Young wrote in the magazine.

"Moreover, could take advantage of the sanctions to reclaim its role as India's military partner of choice. Paradoxically then, sanctioning New Delhi over its Russian-made defence system would actually prove to be a geostrategic victory for Moscow," Young wrote in the magazine.

Alternatively, he urged the Biden Administration to give CAATSA waiver to India. The waiver is intended at preventing US sanctions on countries like India.

"By invoking the waiver authority and allowing India's purchase of Russian weaponry, the Biden administration can make clear that China is the primary geostrategic threat to the United States.

"As the United States acknowledges that fact, the White House must then prioritize -- in word and deed -- relationships with those countries critical to meeting that threat head-on. By doing so, all Quad countries will benefit," Young 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.)
A student midwife took her own life after she had to quit her expat life in Spain following her detention by police over an argument with her husband.

Mother-of-eight Debra Cull, 55, who suffered from bipolar was handcuffed and left shackled to a hospital bed in the country's Murcia region after salesman husband Mathew rang police calling for his wife to be sectioned.

She later arrived back in Britain in March last year without Mr Cull following an intervention from the British consulate.

But although she enrolled on a university midwifery degree and made plans for her future, an inquest heard Mrs Cull's mental condition deteriorated after her husband moved back to the UK the following August.

On September 4 the telesales assistant who lived alone in Brinnington, Stockport, Greater Manchester sent him a text message saying: 'Sorry, I can't live with myself' then vanished sparking a police manhunt.

Mother-of-eight Debra Cull, 55, was found dead in a ravine near her Brinnington, Stockport home eight days after she texted her husband 'Sorry, I can't live with myself' and disappeared

Her body was found eight days later by a dog walker in a deep ravine in nearby Reddish Vale Country Park. Test showed she had taken a fatal overdose of painkilling tablets.

An inquest heard the couple had moved to Spain last year but had been rowing over her ailing mental health.

Her mother Maureen Toon told the Stockport hearing: 'I know she was suffering but the trouble was she was not taking her medication properly.

'Her husband told her not to take it because he said the chemicals in it could harm or kill her. She had become very unwell when living in Spain and must have had a bipolar episode.

'One night he went out to a local establishment to play pool and she was in the apartment when the police came. He had called the police because he wanted her to be sectioned as they had been arguing quite a lot.

An inquest heard the couple had moved to Spain last year but rowed over her ailing mental health, forcing her to move back to the UK months later

'She was handcuffed by the police and the ambulance also came to the flat. They took her to the police station and then the psychiatric hospital.

'Her brother David and her daughter Sharon flew out to Spain to speak to the British Consul as we wanted her back to the UK for treatment but they were told no. Debbie was screaming and crying and they shackled her to a bed when David and Sharon had to leave her. Eventually the authorities let her go and she flew home.

'Because of Covid I could not travel to see her but I regularly kept in touch with her by text and FaceTime. It is hard to say whether her mental health had improved when she got home.'

Mrs Toon added: 'She went missing and we were on our way to Cornwall for a holiday. The night before, I was speaking to her and she seemed like normal Debbie. She said "You have a good holiday, forget everything, just go and relax. I will see you when I come back." It was terrible when I found out she'd gone missing.

'As far as I know she was taking her medication and her husband had come back in August. She was a lot better after she came out of hospital in March until then.

'Debbie was kind and loving and would do anything to help anyone who needed it. She was very generous and family was very important to her.

'She studied midwifery and she had about nine months left before she graduated and this is why what happened is totally out of character.

'She had so many plans for the future. She was going to give her daughter a 30th birthday party and finish her midwifery degree. She loved delivering babies and was excellent at it.

In a statement read to the hearing Mr Cull said: 'In August 2020, we had a chat and she was in denial about her illness. She was often depressed, she knew she was really unwell.

'She told me she had an infection and on the day she disappeared she said via WhatsApp at 10:57 "I cannot live with myself." But she then said on WhatsApp at 11:47 "I will be back soon, I love you."

He said on the he day before her disappearance they had gone with their young son James to the viewing area of Manchester Airport, where they 'had a great time taking selfies and photos.'

Det Ch Insp Gina Brennan, Senior Investigating Officer at GMP who was overseeing the enquiry said: 'Debra was first reported missing and first was assessed as being at a medium risk but that risk was later raised to high within 48 hours. Mr Cull had reported the WhatsApp messages saying she was sorry and she could not live with herself because she thought she had an infection.

'She said: "I will be back soon, I love you." There was no suggestion of any disagreement.

'A lot of people go missing for a variety of different reasons. Mr Cull was checked as we have to consider if there were any issues with the relationship when someone goes missing.

'I was concerned about the relationship with Debra and Mr Cull and I was concerned about his behaviour. However, he had done nothing criminally wrong. There was nothing suspicious regarding her tragic death.'

Gemma Downs, a mental health social worker for Pennine Care, said: 'Debra had been through turbulent times as far as her mental health was concerned but things were falling back into place and she was looking forward to the future and making plans.

'I talked to her about the traumatic experience she had had in Spain and suggested therapy but she did not feel she needed it as she was very supported by her family.'

Recording a conclusion of suicide coroner Christopher Morris said: 'This is a really tragic case. It's very clear from the evidence before me that Debra was a much loved person who was big hearted and generous of spirit.

'It is clear her family was very important to her and she cared deeply about her children and her grandchildren. Despite having a lot of family support, she had clearly gone through a lot of traumatic times with both her health and personal circumstances.

'She was clearly a very special person indeed, she was deeply caring and you supported her as much as you all could. She has clearly left a big hole in all of your lives for what was a very special lady indeed.'
The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance and the Tennessee State Fire Marshals Office recognize the heroism displayed by Chattanooga Fire Department Captain Brad Petty (Engine 9, Green Shift), his daughter, Hannah Petty, and his son, Kanan Petty, on March 6, while providing medical assistance to a motorist who had been severely injured during a roadway shooting incident along Interstate 24.



TDCI Assistant Commissioner for Fire Prevention Gary Farley presented a plaque along with recognition from Governor Bill Lee to Captain Petty and his family during a ceremony on Monday April 12 in Chattanooga.



On March 6, Captain Petty was off duty and traveling near Murfreesboro while returning home to Chattanooga from a wrestling tournament with Kanan and Hannah when they witnessed a car ahead of them swerve off the interstate. A male motorist got out of the car and frantically waved for help from motorists. Captain Petty stopped his car and provided immediate medical attention to a young woman he found in the car who had been struck by a bullet fired from another car. While Captain Petty used a shirt to apply pressure to the girls wounds and keep her airway open, Hannah Petty relayed important information about their whereabouts on Interstate 24 to emergency dispatchers who could provide additional medical attention.



Many know the parable of the Good Samaritan who stopped to help a stranger in need, said Asst. Comm. Farley. As a lifelong firefighter and Rutherford County resident, I know that the men and women of the Tennessee fire service practice the story of the Good Samaritan every day by putting their lives on the line to provide assistance to strangers. I was moved by Captain Petty and his familys heroism, but I was not surprised to learn that a firefighter would rush to help someone in need. Captain Petty, his daughter and his son displayed the bravery that helps save lives and that Tennessee firefighters show every day.



Chattanooga Fire Department Chief Phil Hyman said, I have worked personally with Captain Petty over his career and I know that his character and his passion to serve is exactly what the Chattanooga Fire Department stands for. He is a compassionate and caring person, and honestly his heroic actions do not surprise me at all. His actions in his daily life have molded a wonderful family and also an outstanding crew on Engine 9 Green. Captain Petty is the ideal example of what a professional firefighter should be, and I can't say enough of how proud I am of him and his family.



Captain Petty added, I did what any first responder would do when coming across a situation where someone needs help. Our department prepares us to react efficiently and effectively in emergencies and Im glad I could be there in that moment to assist the young woman with her injuries. Im proud of how calm my children remained through a very scary situation on a busy interstate. We continue to pray for the victim as she recovers.
Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday said high persists in the country despite being a food-surplus nation, and the situation can only improve through "behavioural change" among people.

Launching thePoshan Gyan, a national digital repository on health and nutrition, Kumar further said thatPoshan Gyan is an extremely important initiative and can help make nutrition a 'Jan Andolan', as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Real change can be brought about only through changing behaviours on the ground. High persists despite India being a food-surplus nation, which points towards a clear need for behavioural change," he said.

Also speaking at the event, CEO Amitabh Kant saidthe challenge of nutrition in India should be solved by targeting those especially vulnerable, such as pregnant women, and children below the age of 6 years, through the application of behavioural insights.

Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) secretary Ram Mohan Mishra lauded the establishment of the Poshan Gyan portal, stating that knowledge is most useful when it aids in the betterment of society.

The crowd sourcing feature of the site, he said, can be used to disseminate nationwide solutions that have proved successful in local contexts, such as the use of a traditional grape-based concoction that was recently found to be efficacious in combating anaemia in Tamil Nadu.

According to an official statement,the Poshan Gyan repository was conceptualised as a resource, enabling search of communication materials on 14 thematic areas of health and nutrition across diverse languages, media types, target audiences and sources.

Content for the repository was sourced from the Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and Women and Child Development and developmental organizations, it added.
To the Editor:

Re Minnesota Police Kill Another Man as Tensions Build (front page, April 13):

President Biden is right to call for an investigation into the policing crisis. It should be done at the federal level. Whether the crisis is rooted in poor training, poor hiring practices, systemic racism or police paranoia, we, the citizens, have had enough.

None of us are safe. Especially people of color. The police over the last few decades seem to have developed an us-against-the-world mentality, overly aggressive to the point of occasional brutality. The militarization of the police is partly to blame.

Citizens are not the enemy. We should not be treated as if we are in an occupied country. Whether by executive order or rapid emergency legislation, immediate action is required.

David Olson

Portland, Ore.

To the Editor:

Lets put an end to traffic stops. Traffic stops seem to be one of the most challenging jobs for the police and seemingly the most deadly for Black men. End these stops, unless the police are chasing violent criminals or dangerous driving moves.
The food delivery group reported that it had processed 200mln orders in the period, a 79% increase on the same period last year, with its UK segment expanding by 96% after processing 64mln orders

NV ( ) reported a surge in orders in the first quarter of 2021 as its core UK market almost doubled in size.

In an update for the period, the food delivery group reported it processed 200mln orders, a 79% increase on the same period last year, while gross merchandise value (GMV) jumped 89% to 4.5bn.

The UK was the firms fastest-growing segment during the period, processing 64mln orders, 96% higher than a year ago as the company signed new partnerships with brands such as Leon, Tortilla and Chipotle, as well as coffee chains and Costa. Delivery order growth, meanwhile, boomed 695% in the quarter.

Elsewhere, Just Eat said it has accelerated the rollout of its employed delivery model, Scoober, throughout Europe, with expanded coverage in London and a rollout of the model in Birmingham. It added that it will continue to invest heavily in the business and prioritise market share over earnings and expects further order growth acceleration for 2021.

"The first quarter of 2021 marks our fourth consecutive quarter of order growth acceleration. Our fastest growing segment was the United Kingdom, and we are especially pleased with the roll-out of our UK Delivery network, which has reached an impressive 695% order growth rate year-on-year. We are also very proud of the acceleration in two of our highly profitable markets, with 77% order growth in Germany and 53% in the Netherlands. is in excellent shape and the start of 2021 has been very strong", Just Eat chief executive Jitse Groen said in a statement.

Shares in the company jumped 2.1% to 7,508p in early trading on Tuesday.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSXV:PX)(OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further evaluation and interpretation of data from the Dome West project has been completed in preparation for a planned drill program to commence in June or July, 2021. Permitting is well under way and no further delays are anticipated with respect to access to the project.

Highlights:

Highly prospective Vipond stratigraphy hosts a substantial portion of the gold mineralization at the Dome Mine and Paymaster Mine and crosses the Dome West property boundary from the Paymaster at the 1000-foot (304.8 meter) level;

This is a significant target horizon that is untested on the Dome West project;

Newly obtained historical data from underground drill intercepts grading 0.63 oz/ton gold over 6 feet ( 21.6 g/t gold over 1.82 meter ("m")) and 1.74 oz/ton gold over 6.5 ft (59.6 g/t gold over 1.98 m) from the adjoining Paymaster Mine along with government data was reviewed;

from the adjoining Paymaster Mine along with government data was reviewed; This data demonstrates gold bearing feldspar porphyry intrusives potentially strike and dip on to the Dome West Property. (See Figures 1, 2, 3 & 4)

Ingrid Hibbard President and CEO commented, "In light of the promising data, we are looking forward to drilling these exciting targets at the Dome West project in Timmins. Within our strategic portfolio of gold projects, Dome West holds significant discovery potential for our shareholders."

Dome West Property

The Dome West property is located in the main portion of the Timmins mining camp. It is comprised of 10 mining cells or 56 hectares of mineral rights located approximately 800 meters west of Newmont's Dome Mine and 450 meters northwest of the former Paymaster Mine. In March 2021, a more thorough review and compilation of data was completed. This review compiled historical level plan data from government reports and underground drill hole data from the adjoining former Paymaster Mine to plan future drilling on the Dome West project. The salient points from this review are as follows:

Underground Paymaster Mine drill holes collared at the 1000-foot level (304.8 meter) of the mine to the east of the Dome West property boundary (See Figures 1 & 2) demonstrated the existence of a series of gold-bearing felsic porphyritic ("FP") intrusive bodies and sills. The better gold values from these FP intrusives returned 21.6 g/t gold over 1.82 meter and 59.6 g/t gold over 1.98 meters. The FP intrusives also contained numerous anomalous intercepts ranging from 0.342 to 1.03 g/t gold. (See Figure 3). Due to the proximity of these intrusives to the Dome West property boundary, interpretation suggests that the strike and dip projections of the FP intrusives might extend into the Dome West property. These FP intrusives are representative of very high-quality targets which are untested on the Dome West property. It can be noted that substantial amounts of gold and copper ore have been mined from FP intrusives in the various mines in Timmins, such as the former McIntyre Mine and Preston East Dome. (References: Historical Paymaster Drill Holes PM10155 & PM10156; and Gold 86 International Symposium Proceedings, A.J. Macdonald,1986)

The FP intrusives also contained numerous anomalous intercepts ranging from (See Figure 3). Due to the proximity of these intrusives to the Dome West property boundary, interpretation suggests that the strike and dip projections of the FP intrusives might extend into the Dome West property. These FP intrusives are representative of very high-quality targets which are untested on the Dome West property. It can be noted that substantial amounts of gold and copper ore have been mined from FP intrusives in the various mines in Timmins, such as the former McIntyre Mine and Preston East Dome. (References: Historical Paymaster Drill Holes PM10155 & PM10156; and Gold 86 International Symposium Proceedings, A.J. Macdonald,1986) The review of composite level plan data (Figure 4) from OGS Report 58 (Ferguson, S.1968) and a recent Pelangio drill hole, DW1901, demonstrated that the prospective Vipond stratigraphy which hosted a substantial portion of the ore at the Dome and Paymaster mines crosses the Dome West boundary from the Paymaster Mine at the 1000-foot level (304.8 m). (See Figures 2, 3, & 4) This is a second significant target horizon that is untested on the Dome West Property.

The Company is formulating drilling plans for the Dome West project, to include:

A deep hole to cross both the FP intrusives and the Vipond stratigraphy as seen in Figure 3; and Shallow holes to test the FP intrusive targets on two section lines.

Figure 1: Dome West Area Location Map

For an enhanced view of map, click the link: https://storage.googleapis.com/accesswire/media/640092/PELANGIO-MAPONE-041321.jpg

Figure 2: Dome West Composite Schematic Plan Map

For an enhanced view of map, click the link: https://storage.googleapis.com/accesswire/media/640092/PELANGIO-MAPTWO-041321.jpg

Figure 3: Dome West Composite Schematic Section

For an enhanced view of map, click the link: https://storage.googleapis.com/accesswire/media/640092/PELANGIO-MAPTHREE-041321.jpg

Figure 4: Historical Composite Level Plan with Geology

For an enhanced view of map, click the link: https://storage.googleapis.com/accesswire/media/640092/PELANGIO-MAPFOUR-041321.jpg

Qualified Person

Mr. Kevin Filo, P.Geo. (Ontario), is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Filo approved the technical data disclosed in this release.

About Pelangio

Pelangio acquires and explores world-class gold belt land packages Ghana, West Africa and Canada. In Ghana, the Company is exploring its two 100% owned camp-sized properties: the 100 km2 Manfo property, the site of seven near-surface gold discoveries, and the 284 km2 Obuasi property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine, as well as the newly optioned Dankran property located adjacent to its Obuasi property. In Canada, the Company is currently focused in Ontario on its Grenfell property, located 10 km from Kirkland Lake, at its Dome West property, situated some 800 meters from the Dome Mine in Timmins and is advancing its Hailstone property in Saskatchewan. See www.pelangio.com for further detail on all Pelangio's properties.

For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com, or contact:

Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO

Tel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@pelangio.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information include statements regarding the Company's strategy of acquiring large land packages in areas of sizeable gold mineralization, and the Company's ability to complete the planned exploration programs. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, political developments in Ghana, and Canada, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration, including the risk that favourable exploration results may not be obtained, delays due to COVID-19 safety protocols, and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and information herein are qualified by this 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.

SOURCE: Pelangio Exploration Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640092/Pelangio-Exploration-Plans-Drill-Program-for-Dome-West-Project-Timmins-Ontario
2021-04-13

Maeci

Minister Luigi Di Maio is in Washington where, today, he will participate in an event celebrating the 160 years of diplomatic relations between Italy and the Usa.

Watch the video
NEWLY-elected Limerick IFA chairman, Sean Lavery has raised "serious concerns" regarding the proposed and unfolding deal between Kerry Co-op and Kerry Group.

Kerry milk suppliers who have not engaged with this proposal to date need to make their voices heard, he said.

"It is not acceptable that a co-op board should take decisions of this magnitude without shareholder / supplier approval and buy in.

"For example, a deduction of 2 cent per litre to finance this proposal for 0.5 million litres of milk per annum will amount to 50,000 reduction in gross farm income over five years for an average milk supplier.

"It is total unacceptable that Kerry milk suppliers have not been kept informed and their approval required for such a deal which will seriously impact their incomes over the next few years.

"Ordinary Kerry milk suppliers need to be aware of this threat to milk price arising from the proposed Kerry Co-op/ Kerry Plc joint venture," said Mr Lavery in a statement to the Limerick Leader.

THE PROPOSAL

The Shanagolden man said Kerry Co-op has proposed to acquire 60% of the shares in a new joint venture with Kerry Group PLC to purchase the assets of Kerrys existing milk processing, food production factories, the milling and agri-business stores.

"This will initially cost up to 700 million for the 60% plus a binding legal obligation to purchase the remaining 40% within five years. There are substantial risks for current Kerry milk supplier with this transaction."

FUNDING

Mr Lavery said funding of 700m must be raised in the short term by means of a combination of loans, converting some of the co-ops PLC share to cash and "asking current suppliers to agree to a per litre deduction for several years".

"Furthermore, within five years the remaining 40% owned by Kerry Group plc must be purchased by the co-op as the plc wishes to exit primary processing of milk as it no longer fits with its long-term strategy.

"To fulfil both requirements means that for the foreseeable future milk price will be under pressure. This is because of the substantial loan requirements plus the need to create cash surplus to acquire the remaining 40% within five years.

"If the co-op fails to buy out the 40% within five years, Kerry plc has the option of liquidating the joint venture with the co-op and selling the entire to the highest bidder."

MANAGEMENT

Mr Lavery said the new business will be valued at approximately 1.2 billion, employing many thousands of people, processing 1.2 billion litres of milk.

"It will operate in many international markets for milk powders and ingredients plus a consumer foods business selling to all the major supermarkets in Ireland, UK and Europe. Managing a business of this size and diversity is a challenge any day, no more so than when it is a new company.

"There is no certainty that suitable management is in place from day one to manage all aspects of this business in many different locations. The correct operational management must be in place to manage all aspects of the business from production to sales, marketing and finance from day one."

In conclusion, Mr Lavery said too much uncertainty remains regarding this deal and the "livelihoods of individual farmer suppliers is being put at risk".

"It is totally unacceptable that a farmer co-op board does not consult with its suppliers."
Srinagar, April 13 : Ramesh Kumar, the owner of Srinagar city's famous vegetarian restaurant 'Krishna Dhaba' resumed business on Tuesday, nearly two months after his son was killed by terrorists.

Akash Mehra, son of Ramesh Kumar, was attending to customers during the busy evening hours on February 17 when motorcycle borne assassins fired at him from close range.

Akash battled for life for 11 days at the city's S.M.H.S. Hospital where he succumbed on February 28.

Within 48 hours, police arrested all 3 assassins and also recovered the motorcycle used to carry out the attack.

After nearly 2 months, Krishna Dhaba again started serving food to its clients on Tuesday which was chosen by the owner, Ramesh Kumar since the holy Navratri festival started today.

Talking to reporters, Ramesh said he was born and brought up in Srinagar and it was his city and birthplace.

"I have no complaint against those who killed my son. If the government wants to release them, I will not object.

"But, this is my city and birthplace which I cannot leave at any cost", he said adding that he counts heavily on the goodwill of the local people who have always stood by him.

The place is usually thronged by vegetarian food lovers for its fresh, tasty and reasonably priced food.
Strict production discipline by OPEC and its partners is the #1 reason why oil prices have managed to stage a remarkable recovery and stay relatively high after plunging to historical lows in 2020. Early this month, oil prices reacted positively after OPEC and its non-OPEC partners, aka OPEC+, reached a favorable agreement to start gradually curbing production cuts beginning in May. Starting next month, OPEC+ will allow an additional 350,000 barrels per day to join the markets, with another 350,000 coming in June and June and 450,000 barrels per day slated for July. Currently, OPEC is holding back just over 7 million barrels per day, with Saudi Arabia voluntarily cutting an additional 1 million barrels per day.

Indeed, the OPEC kingpin has since taken on voluntary cuts of 1 million barrels per day from the beginning of February.

That marks a sharp turnaround from the Kingdoms stance just a year ago when Riyadh and Moscow failed to agree to deep supply cutbacks in a bid to cope with falling oil demand leading to a supply glut and oil prices descending into negative territory for the first time in history.

And it certainly appears like overkill bearing in mind that Saudi Arabia has some of the lowest production costs anywhere in the world.

However, Saudi Arabia could be eyeing an even bigger prize with its generous cuts.

Affected by Saudi Arabia cut petroleum production is 7 trillion US dollars, the 32038 bearing market is changing rapidly. These changes are indicators of market rising. Bearings are an important part of modern machinery and equipment, and its downstream is widely used in industrial automation, high-end equipment, robotics, automobile manufacturing and other fields. In recent years, due to the decline in demand from downstream industries such as automobiles and machine tools, as well as the adjustment of industrial structure, the phase of transformation and upgrading, the phasing out of backward production capacity has changed the relationship between supply and demand. If you are looking for 32038 bearing or get more information about 32038 bearing, please send an email to sales@spark-bearing.com.

The price of 32038 bearing continues to be affected by some kind of factors such as market rising momentum, various opportunities and challenges. However, during the forecast period from 2022 to 2027, the global 32038 bearing sales market is expected to continue to be above average. The growth rate will continue to increase. It is expected that In the second half of this year, the price of 32038 bearing will increase to a certain extent.

Due to changes in the raw material price of bearings rising, consumer demand, import and export conditions, and various investigations on the development of 32038 bearing, the cost of 32038 bearing is constantly changing. Taking into account the current market macroeconomic parameters, value chain analysis, channel partners, demand and supply, the cost of 32038 bearing will also be affected to a certain extent. It is estimated that the cost of 32038 bearing will increase slightly from next year.

The market trend of 32038 bearing?

The cost of raw materials is still the biggest concern for manufacturers. Raw materials account for approximately 60-62% of bearing manufacturers revenue. The price of raw materials for bearings fluctuates continuously according to market economic conditions. Such fluctuations in raw material prices are becoming a real challenge for companies to maintain competitiveness and ensure sustainable profits. As high-grade steel and alloy steel are the main raw materials used to manufacture 32038 bearing, bearing prices are highly correlated with global steel price trends. Therefore, fluctuations in the price of raw materials have brought challenges for bearing manufacturers to compare prices and quality to manufacture bearings. In addition, the bearings require regular maintenance to avoid failures and extend their service life, which further increases maintenance costs. Therefore, factors such as raw material price fluctuations and regular maintenance costs are expected to hinder the growth of the bearing market.

The market demand for 32038 bearing?

The global bearing market value in 2020 is 123.34 billion U.S. dollars and is expected to reach 153.62 billion U.S. dollars by 2027, and the compound annual growth rate will also increase steadily.

A bearing is a mechanical element that supports relative movement and helps reduce friction caused between moving parts. Bearings are widely used in various industries such as automobiles, wind turbines, construction machinery, mining machinery, agricultural equipment, and machine tools. It is used in automobiles to ensure smooth driving of automobiles, electric vehicles (EV) and other types of vehicles (such as light commercial vehicles and heavy vehicles such as trucks). Due to the increasing utilization of bearing 32038 bearing in various end-use industries, rolling mills and electric vehicles, the global 32038 bearing market has become more and more important. The development of technology has improved the overall efficiency of bearing products in the field and extended the product shelf life.

About WSBC bearing

Wuxi Spark Bearing Co., Ltd is a complete, one-stop 32038 bearing supplier and manufacturer. All bearings products are qualified and have passed the ISO 9001 certification. We have more than 12 years of experience in bearings, is a modern high-tech professional high-quality roller bearing manufacturer specializing in R&D, manufacturing, sales and service. In order to keep WSBC bearings in sync with the world, we have invested in many advanced CNC equipment and a complete set of precision testing equipment committed to building a high-quality workforce and introducing advanced manufacturing and management technologies. We have strict quality control and environmental protection. If you are looking for 32038 bearing or get more information about bearings, please send an email to sales@spark-bearing.com

Or visit the following website: https://www.spark-bearing.com/
The Regeneron Pharmaceuticals company logo is seen on a building at the company's Westchester campus in Tarrytown, New York, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

Regeneron to Seek FDA Approval for Its COVID-19 Antibody Cocktail to Be Used for Prevention

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is pursuing FDA approval for its antibody cocktail to be used as a preventative treatment for COVID-19 after its latest study showed positive results.

The company announced in a release that its phase three prevention trial for REGEN-COVa combination of casirivimab and imdevimabshowed that the drug reduced the risk of symptomatic infections by 81 percent.

The findings are drawn from the 1,505 people who were not infected when they entered the trial.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial also found that the drug cocktail rapidly protected people from exposure to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in households where someone else has the virus. It provided 72 percent protection against symptomatic infections in the first week and 93 percent after that, the company announced.

Among people who developed symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, those who were treated with REGEN-COV cleared the virus faster and their symptoms were resolved fasterwithin one week compared to three weeks with a placebo, according to trial data.

The drugmaker said that it will share data with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and request an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the combo therapy to include COVID prevention for appropriate populations, using a 1,200 mg subcutaneous dose.

These data suggest that REGEN-COV can complement widespread vaccination strategies, particularly for those at high risk of infection, Myron Cohen, who leads monoclonal antibody efforts for the U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored COVID Prevention Network, said in a statement.

Despite standard precautions to reduce transmission, nearly 10 percent of unvaccinated individuals living with an infected person developed symptomatic infections if they did not receive REGEN-COV, he said, adding that if authorized, the therapy could help control outbreaks in high-risk settings where individuals have not yet been vaccinated, including individual households and group living settings.

A scientist works in Regeneron Pharmaceuticalss Infectious Disease Lab in New York state, for efforts on an experimental CCP virus antibody cocktail, in this undated image from video provided by the company on Oct. 2, 2020. (Regeneron via AP)

The company noted that after 29 days in the study, 11 people developed COVID-19 symptoms in the group that received a single 1,200 mg dose of the REGEN-COV treatment, compared to 59 people who received a placebo.

In the study, adverse events occurred in 20 percent of people who received the combo therapy, compared to 29 percent of those who got the placebo. Serious adverse events occurred in one percent of either group. In the 29 days, four placebo participants were either hospitalized or went to the ER because of COVID-19, compared to zero in the treatment group. No deaths in the trialtwo in the treatment and two in the placebo groupswere due to COVID-19 or the drug.

REGEN-COV is currently FDA-approved for EUA to treat non-hospitalized people at least 12 years old who have contracted COVID-19 with mild or moderate symptoms and are at high risk for developing severe symptoms. The currently authorized dosage is a 2,400 mg dose composed of 1,200 mg of casirivimab and 1,200 mg of imdevimab, to be administered in a single infusion within 10 days of becoming symptomatic.

Former President Donald Trump previously described the drug as key to his recovery from having been infected with the CCP virus last year.

Regeneron also announced on Monday that a separate trial showed that REGEN-COV reduced the overall risk of progressing from asymptomatic to symptomatic COVID-19 by 31 percent, and by 76 percent after the third day. This trial involved 204 people who had the CCP virus but did not show any symptoms.

The combo therapy also nearly cut in half the total number of weeks that patients experienced COVID-19 symptomsa reduction of 45 percent. The viral burdenthe amount of virus presentwas also reduced by more than 90 percent.

Six placebo participants were either hospitalized or went to the ER because of COVID-19, compared to zero in the treatment group.

These phase three data provide even more evidence that REGEN-COV, this time given to asymptomatic patients via convenient injections, can change the course of COVID-19 infection in non-hospitalized patients, George Yancopoulos, president and chief scientific officer at Regeneron, said in a statement.
A nurse fills a syringe with a dose of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose COVID-19 vaccine at the Vaxmobile, at the Uniondale Hempstead Senior Center, in Uniondale, N.Y., on March 31, 2021. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

US Advises Pause for J&J COVID-19 Vaccine After Reports of Blood Clots

U.S. health officials are recommending Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine not be used until an investigation into cases of post-vaccination blood clots is finished.

The six cases, all among women, involve a rare and severe type of clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in combination with low levels of blood platelets, officials told reporters in a call on April 13. One of the patients died while a second is in critical condition at a hospital.

The patients are between the ages of 18 and 48 and experienced the symptoms between six and 13 days after getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare, Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said on the call.

More than 6.8 million doses of Johnson & Johnsons shot have been administered in the United States as of April 12.

In response to the cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is convening a meeting of its vaccination advisory committee on April 14 to review and assess their potential significance. The Food and Drug Administration, along with an investigation into the cases themselves, will review that analysis.

Until the probe is complete, health officials and drug regulators are recommending a pause in the use of the vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

While these events are very rare, were recommending a pause in the use of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine in order to prepare the health care system, to recognize and treat patients appropriately, and to report severe events they may be seeing in people whove received the J&J vaccine, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC.

Treatment of the specific type of blood clot is different from treatments that might be typically administered. Usually, clots are treated with heparin, an anticoagulant drug, but using the drug to treat cerebral venous sinus thrombosis may be dangerous.

While the definitive cause of the clots hasnt been identified, Marks speculated that the incidents stem from an immune response to the vaccine.

The person being vaccinated makes an immune response potentially, that actually involves their own platelets or other parts of the coagulation system, and can cause this problem. And thats the sort of leading theory or hypothesis about whats going on here, said Janet Woodcock, another FDA official.

CVS, Walgreens, and a number of states, including Massachusetts and New York, said they would stop giving Johnson & Johnsons vaccine in light of the federally recommended pause. The Pentagon also is halting the use of the J&J shot.

The pause is appropriate, and its obviously being done to be very careful, to be very prudent, to carefully examine these cases for a possible association with the vaccine, Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers Division of Infectious Diseases, told reporters in a Zoom call. Its a demonstration that the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System really is working.

One of the six cases happened at the medical center. Rupp declined to give an update on her status.

Johnson & Johnson told The Epoch Times in a recent statement that the company was aware that thromboembolic events including those with thrombocytopenia have been reported with all COVID-19 vaccines.

Our close tracking of side effects has revealed a small number of very rare events following vaccination. At present, no clear causal relationship has been established between these rare events and the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. Janssen is a J&J unit.

The PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., on Feb. 12, 2014. (Lance King/file/Getty Images)

In an update on April 13, the company said that in light of the federal recommendation, the company is delaying the rollout of its vaccine in Europe.

We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public, Johnson & Johnson stated.

Johnson & Johnsons vaccine hasnt yet been administered in Europe. The United States was one of the first countries in the world to authorize the vaccine.

While health officials are raising concerns about blood clots, drug regulators havent revoked the emergency use authorization (EUA), former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said on CNBCs Squawk Box.

They didnt revoke the EUA, they didnt order this off the market. This was a requested pause which is an awkward regulatory step but it reflects a level of caution not to appear too forcefully here, he said.

White House officials said the pause wouldnt affect the governments vaccination plan.

At least four mass vaccination sites have suspended administering vaccines in recent days because of sets of adverse reactions following shots from the New Jersey-based company, including Cumming Fairgrounds in Georgia and PNC Arena in North Carolina. Other smaller sites have also suspended injections because of similar reactions.

Adverse reactions included dizziness, lightheadedness, and sweating symptoms, among others, a CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

In an April 12 statement, the agency said it analyzed the vaccine lots that were used at the sites and has not found any reason for concern. At the time, the CDC said it and Food and Drug Administration officials werent recommending a pause in the administration of J&J injections.

The European Medicines Agency announced last week it was probing cases of blood clots forming in people who had received the shots in the United States.
Company has received UK Continuing Professional Development ("CPD") accreditation for its global education platform, Khiron Academy

UK medical professionals may now earn CPD credits through Khiron's medical cannabis education program

The Company has entered into a strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, a leader in digital healthcare in the UK, to increase patient access via medical cannabis education

As a leading international medical cannabis educator, nearly 1,000 medical professionals in Latin America and the United Kingdom have registered for, or completed, Khiron Academy training

TORONTO, April 13, 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, is pleased to announce it has received UK Continuing Professional Development ("CPD") accreditation for Khiron Academy, the Company's global medical cannabis education platform.

Additionally, following its accreditation, the Company has entered into a strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, a leader in digital healthcare in the UK and fellow founding member of Project Twenty21, to increase patient access through medical cannabis education initially. Khiron Academy will be made available to prescribers in the UK that have registered with Cellen's MedCanHub, an emerging education portal. Cellen is market leader, widely recognized for also launching the UK's first digital pain clinic, Leva.

Tejinder Virk, President of Khiron Europe, commented, "Over the last year, Khiron has seen a direct correlation between physician education and patient access. With Khiron Academy's CPD accreditation and through our strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, we are positioned to reach a growing number of medical professionals, and in turn, provide patients with greater access to medical cannabis products."

Eric Bystrom, CEO of Cellen commented, "We are pleased to be joining forces with Khiron on educating prescribing specialists in the UK. Khiron is a clear global leader in medical cannabis education. We share common values in improving patient lives by educating doctors and optimizing the standard of medical care. Our aim is to create a practical guide for responsibly prescribing patients with safe and efficacious medical cannabis products."

In the UK, Khiron continues to leverage educational materials developed by the Company to train medical professionals in Latin America, along with clinical data from thousands of Khiron patients. In addition to Cellen's MedCanHub (accessible to medical professionals at https://medcanhub.cellenhealth.com/), Khiron Academy is available to members of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) and core to the training of prescribing specialists for Project Twenty21, a 20,000-patient observational study backed Drug Science in UK.

To date, the Company has trained nearly 1000 medical professionals in Latin America and the UK. Over the last year, physicians trained by Khiron in Latin America have issued over 13,000 prescriptions, with a compound monthly growth rate of nearly 50%. Khiron Academy will be a platform for sharing the Company's clinical expertise, in conjunction with clinical data arising from Khiron's wholly-owned clinics in LatAm.

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, Germany and the United Kingdom, and is positioned to commence sales in Mexico, Germany and Brazil in 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 United Kingdom. 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 (647) 556-5750



Media Contact:

Peter Leis

Europe Communications Manager

E: pleis.ext@khiron.ca

Khiron Europe:

Tejinder Virk

Europe President

E: tvirk@khiron.ca
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The White House tried to smooth over the sudden halt of the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, claiming it would not affect their goals to vaccinate the US despite health experts saying it clearly sets back the country's rollout.

President Biden said in the Oval Office on Tuesday: 'I made sure we have 600 million doses of the mRNA -- not of either Johnson & Johnson and or AstraZeneca.

'So, there is enough vaccine that is basically 100% unquestionable for every single solitary American,' he said.

Pfizer said it was ramping up production by 10 percent in light of the J&J halt. Now, it says it will deliver 220million doses by the end of May, sooner than expected, and 300million

The CDC and FDA said on Tuesday in a shock announcement that it was recommending a pause on the vaccine - the newest and most efficient in America - after six women out of the 7million people who have had it developed blood clots, and one died.

It is still too early to tell whether or not the vaccine even caused the blood clots and it is a one in a million side effect. Five times as many people have died from COVID-19 in the US as they do from blood clots ever year.

The agencies however say they want to do more tests and studies and that it could take days for them decide on whether or not to resume it. They may impose a restriction on the vaccine based on the demographic of people who have developed blood clots - all of them are women under 50.

The US has only fully vaccinated 28 percent of its population. It is behind Israel, Bahrain and Chile, all of which have considerably smaller economies and populations. When counting just how many first vaccine doses have been given out, the UK is third in the world after Israel and Chile and the US is fifth rather than fourth.

Around 1million people a week (142,857 a day) are receiving the J&J vaccine. It is considerably less than the number receiving Pfizer and Moderna doses (5million a week, 714,285 a day).

President Biden said in the Oval Office on Tuesday: 'I made sure we have 600 million doses of the mRNA -- not of either Johnson & Johnson and or AstraZeneca. 'So, there is enough vaccine that is basically 100% unquestionable for every single solitary American,' he said

At a White House press briefing on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci was among health experts who claimed the pause would not affect the country's goal of reaching 200million vaccinated Americans by April 30, despite doctors saying it is inevitable

The J&J vaccine makes up around 5 percent of the total number of vaccines administered in the US. Slightly fewer than 7million people have had it so far. Another 10million doses of the J&J vaccine are currently in the US that have not yet been given out yet and in total, the US has ordered 200million

US VACCINE SPLIT Pfizer (available from December 14) 5.7million per week Moderna (available December 21) 5million per week J&J (available March 1) 1million per week *Numbers given for how many doses of each vaccine have been administered since they became available Advertisement

Now, everyone who had a J&J appointment has been told they'll get one of the other doses instead - which suddenly eats into the country's stock pile of each, and sets future appointments back even further.

At a White House press conference on Tuesday, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said: 'We have more than enough supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to continue the current pace of about 3 million shots per day, and that puts us well on pace to meet the Presidents goal of 200 million shots by his first 100 days in office.'

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading COVID expert, added: 'If someone recently within days, I'd tell them - don't get an anxiety reaction. It's less than 1 in a million however pay attention, do you have symptoms?'

The announcement sent Johnson and Johnson shares plummeting by three percent and prompted health industry experts to ask what will now be done to keep the vaccine plan on course.

Experts said that the delay will inevitably set the vaccine effort back.

'This is a devastating blow to this J&J vaccine effort in the United States. Johnson and Johnson was incredibly useful for mobile vaccination. You could just do one shot...this is definitely going to cause a ripple effect in our attempt in the United States. In the next one to three weeks, we just cant substitute it.

'This will delay our vaccination efforts,' Dr. Kavita Patel told CNBC, saying Pfizer and Moderna could not be expected to just 'pick up the slack' as the FDA and CDC says they will.

While it has a lower efficacy rate than the other two vaccines, the J&J vaccine was considerably more efficient because it required just one dose, instead of two over 21 days.

A DOCTOR SAYS RISK OF BLOOD CLOTS FROM COVID IS HIGHER THAN RISK FROM VACCINE A doctor who worked on the J&J clinical trial said on Tuesday that people have a higher risk of developing a blood clot from COVID-19 than the do from getting the J&J vaccine. 'For now, I would be careful with any of these conspiracy theories and again with the panic. 'Youre much more likely to clot from the real Covid-19 virus, which is about 1 in 20 people hospitalized or even 1 in 100 recovering at home. 'Thats far more likely,' Dr. Purvi Parikh told CNBC. BLOOD CLOTS 900,000 Americans a year suffer blood clots

100,000 die (0.03% of US population)

6 women out of 7million vaccine recipients have developed them after J&J vaccine (0.00008%)

1 of those women has died (a death rate of 0.00001%) COVID 31.3million Americans have had COVID

562,000 COVID deaths (0.16% of US population)

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It became available much later than Pfizer and Moderna, but 6.8million have had it since it March 1, when it was first dished out.

The US has ten million doses of it currently that have not yet been administered, and it ordered a total stockpile of 200million.

Former president Donald Trump led criticism of the announcement which he said would send people 'up in arms'.

Health experts also said it delivers a 'devastating blow' to the vaccine program.

Critics, including Trump, say the decision to halt the vaccine was made hastily and unfairly.

The women who developed blood clots are all aged between 18 and 48.

One of them - who has not been identified - died and another, who also hasn't been identified but officials say is in Nebraska, is in a critical condition.

The experts do not yet know if the six women affected have other underlying illnesses - including if they take the oral contraceptive pill which is known to increase a woman's chances of developing blood clots - and they also do not know how long the pause will last.

One of the biggest problems is not the blood clotting itself, but that traditional treatments like heparin can cause 'tremendous harm' or be 'fatal' if the patient recently had the J&J vaccine.

There is now criticism over the pause which has sparked fear among those who have already had the vaccine, confusion among people who are yet to get it (since it has not been completely banned), and increased hesitancy among those who were already skeptical.

Former President Donald Trump said it was a 'disservice' to the country and the world that the FDA and CDC are being allowed to pause it but not ban the vaccine saying it clouds the entire vaccine effort with confusion and hurts J&J's brand.

'The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a 'pause' in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The results of this vaccine have been extraordinary but now it's reputation will be permanently challenged,' he said in a statement, adding that it could be a 'political' decision driven by the FDA's 'love for Pfizer'.

Now, it's down to individual states, cities, healthcare centers and even doctors to decide whether or not to give it to someone or what to offer them instead.

The FDA and CDC says people who received the vaccine more than a month ago do not need to worry but people who received it within the last 'few weeks' should 'look for symptoms including sudden pain, shortness of breath, severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath, should seek medical treatment.'

These are the vaccines being used around the world to treat COVID-19. Not all of them have been approved in every country. J&J and AstraZeneca have been linked to blood clotting

The two authorities are not revoking emergency authorization of it, but say they are recommending a pause in the administering of it until more data is collected.

'It is is a recommendation - it is not a mandate. However, if an individual healthcare provider has a conversation with a patient and they determine the benefit risk for that patient is appropriate, we're not going to stop that provider from administering the vaccine.

'It could be the benefit risk would be beneficial. We're recommending a pause but on an individual basis, a provider and patient can make a determination on whether or not to receive the vaccine,' Peter Marks, Director of the FDA Evaluation and Research, said on a call with reporters.

Anne Shuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC said: 'I know the information we're providing is going to be very concerning.

'I want to let you know what were doing to learn more and protect people in the meantime, there has been six reports of a severe, stroke-like illness linked to low platelet counts. More than 6million doses have been administered so far.

While these events are very rare, we're recommending a pause in order to prepare the healthcare system to recognize and treat patients appropriately.

TRUMP: GET J&J BACK ONLINE NOW! Former President Donald Trump said it was a 'disservice' to the country and the world that the FDA and CDC are being allowed to pause it but not ban the vaccine saying it clouds the entire vaccine effort with confusion and hurts J&J's brand. 'The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a 'pause' in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The results of this vaccine have been extraordinary but now it's reputation will be permanently challenged, ' he said in a statement, adding that it could be a 'political' decision driven by the FDA's 'love for Pfizer'. 'The FDA, especially with long time bureaucrats within, has to be controlled. They should not be able to do such damage for possibly political reasons, or maybe because their friends at Pfizer have suggested it. 'They'll do things like this to make themselves look important. 'Remember, it was the FDA working with Pfizer, who announced the vaccine approval two days after the 2020 Presidential Election,' he said. 'They didn't like me very much because I pushed them extremely hard. But if I didn't, you wouldn't have a vaccine for 3-5 years, or maybe not at all. It takes them years to act! 'Do your testing, clean up the record and get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine back online quickly. 'The only way we defeat the China Virus is with our great vaccines,' he said. Advertisement

'This pause will also allow the CDC's expert committee to review the situation. The safety of the American people is of the utmost importance to us.'

'These symptoms are different from the flu-like symptoms that many people experienced in the days after the vaccine,' she said.

After the US pause on Tuesday, J&J announced it was halting its roll-out in Europe, where it was due to become widely available in the summer.

The UK has ordered 30million doses of the vaccine already.

Jeff Zients, counselor to the president, said it 'will not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan: Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms' in the country.

Shuchat said on Tuesday morning that there were none of these problems with Pfizer or Moderna, and that the agency is now working to reschedule appointments for people who received the J&J vaccine to get one of the alternatives.

'This may be a bit bumpy,' she admitted.

In the state of New York, people with a vaccine appointment for J&J will instead receive the first dose of Pfizer. All J&J appointments in Washington DC have been canceled between April 13 and 17.

Rhode Island has halted giving out new J&J appointments. It's unclear if people with existing appointments can still get it. Indiana is canceling all J&J appointments, as is the District of Columbia.

Nashville's Metro Health department has announced that people with J&J appointments at a drive-thru site at K-Mart will instead receive a first-dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

A North Carolina medical group - Cape Fear Valley Health - has also cancelled all of its J&J appointments at clinics on Wednesday and Friday.

Doctors have been told they can offer people with J&J appointments the Pfizer vaccine instead, but only if they have enough of it.

Ohio Gov. Mark DeWine is also telling all vaccine sites to stop giving out the vaccine. J&J said it was aware of the blood clots but that there was 'no clear relationship' between its vaccine and the people who had developed them.

In their joint statement, the CDC and FDA said: 'As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen ) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine.

'In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

J&J shares dropped by almost 3 percent after the announcement from the two federal agencies on Tuesday

'Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.'

They added the events appear to be 'extremely rare' but 'we take all reports of health problems very seriously'.

'People who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.'

An HHS official told CBS News on Tuesday morning that the government was waiting to hear more from the FDA and CDC.

'We're going to let the FDA review the cases in question here over the next few days.

J&J HALTS EUROPE ROLLOUT AFTER ANNOUNCEMENT Johnson and Johnson today revealed it would pause the roll-out of its single-dose Covid vaccine in Europe over blood clot fears. The US pharmaceutical giant promised to deliver 50million doses to the continent by the end of June, with the first batch of supplies expected in the coming weeks. But the firm has now taken the decision to 'proactively delay' the roll-out in Europe while experts review six cases of an extremely rare clotting disorder in the US. American regulators today called for the jab to be temporarily suspended while they investigate the complication  also linked to AstraZeneca's similar vaccine. Advertisement

'They're going to make a determination, and we'll go from there.

'[FDA is] going to look at these cases & determine whether any changes need to be made to the recommendations for use...do they need to update labeling to note the adverse reaction? Who should receive it, who shouldn't? If there are any concerns like that.'

The two agencies will hold a press conference at 10am EST to discuss the issue and a panel will convene on Wednesday too.

In October, the company paused its vaccine trial after a male participant developed a blood clot.

Experts are urging caution, telling people not to 'freak out' but to pay attention to any unexplained pain they may be feeling.

'The first take away is that it's a very rare event. You're talking about one per million. You will see events like this that you couldn't see in the clinical trial just because you have millions of people involved.

'It probably is related. It's rare. But I want to congratulate the CDC and FDA for very quickly jumping on it - halting the vaccination until we know more. This is exactly the right move until we know more.

'You're likely going to be OK. You think about a 1 in a million event...You cross the street every day, you have a much higher chance of getting run over by a car.

'I think, what people need to be is, don't freak out. I would be going on with my life, but I'd be in tune with my body.

'If I develop shortness of breath, if I develop leg pain, a headache within two to three weeks of having had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, I would immediately notify my healthcare provider,' Dr. Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean at Emory University School of Medicine, told CNN on Tuesday morning.

Former President Donald Trump released a statement saying people would be understandably 'up in arms' after the announcement.

'The Biden Administration did a terrible disservice to people throughout the world by allowing the FDA and CDC to call a 'pause' in the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The results of this vaccine have been extraordinary but now it's reputation will be permanently challenged.

'The people who have already taken the vaccine will be up in arms, and perhaps all of this was done for politics or perhaps it's the FDA's love for Pfizer.

'The FDA, especially with long time bureaucrats within, has to be controlled. They should not be able to do such damage for possibly political reasons, or maybe because their friends at Pfizer have suggested it.

'They'll do things like this to make themselves look important.

'Remember, it was the FDA working with Pfizer, who announced the vaccine approval two days after the 2020 Presidential Election,' he said.

'They didn't like me very much because I pushed them extremely hard.

But if I didn't, you wouldn't have a vaccine for 3-5 years, or maybe not at all. It takes them years to act!

'Do your testing, clean up the record and get the Johnson and Johnson vaccine back online quickly.

'The only way we defeat the China Virus is with our great vaccines,' he said.

The vaccine was approved in the US on February 27 and it was given the greenlight by the World Health Organization in March, but it has not yet been approved by individual European countries like the UK.

In Europe, the roll-out of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has also been paused in some countries over similar concerns over blood clots.

Thirty people out of the 5million who received it developed the blood clots - a higher percentage of 0.0006.

Austria, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, Norway and Iceland, the Netherlands and Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus, Sweden all paused the vaccine.

The European Medicines Agency however said the rewards of the vaccine far outweighed the risk.

The vaccine has not been paused in the UK.

The shot has still not yet received FDA approval but Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's leading infectious diseases expert, said it seems safe, and that it has not yet been rolled out in the US because there are so many other shots available.

'I think that the AstraZeneca vaccine from a standpoint of efficacy is a good vaccine, and if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union... the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good,' he told BBC radio on Tuesday.

'Whether or not we ever use AZ is unclear but it looks right now at this point in time that we will not need it.

'Its not a negative indictment of AZ, it is just possible that given the supply that we have from other companies that we may not need to use an AZ vaccine,' he said.

There is no information about the woman who died after receiving the J&J vaccine who developed blood clots.

Another woman died after receiving the vaccine but from a stroke, according to her daughter.

Virginia Ellington, 63, died within days of receiving the vaccine. While there is no official link yet between her death and the vaccine, her daughter insists she was otherwise healthy.

No government body has linked any of the vaccines to any deaths yet, but relatives have anecdotally.

A Miami doctor's wife died of a stroke after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. A Utah mother also died within days of receiving the second dose of the Moderna vaccine. Their families insist that it was the vaccine that killed them.

This is how the vaccine effort in the US is ramping up. Around 20 percent of the population has now been vaccinated
Opening ceremony for the Songkran Festival, one of the activities to celebrate 45 years of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic relations held recently by MM Mega Market Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam and Thailand are strategic partners with long-term and good economic co-operation over the past 45 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1976. In the recent decade, foreign direct investment in Vietnam surged 13 per cent per year on average. Thailand is the ninth-largest investor of the 132 countries and territories having investment in Vietnam, with 588 projects and a total registered capital of $12.5 billion.

Vietnam is the second-largest trade partner of Thailand, whereas Thailand is the largest trade partner of Vietnam in ASEAN. The total export-import turnover of Vietnam and Thailand in the 2015-2020 period increased some 7.3 per cent per year on average. In 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to nearly $16 billion, accounting for 30 per cent of the total trade value between Vietnam and ASEAN member nations.

Given its long-term commitment to Vietnam, MM continues to maintain its position as a pioneer in developing a safe agricultural product supply chain in order to improve the value for Vietnamese farm produce and supply the safest food for the people.

Economically, Vietnam and Thailand are committed to boosting the value of their agricultural products as well as participating in the value chains in the region. For years, some Thai retailers investing in the Vietnamese market have carried out many programmes to introduce Vietnamese farm produce to Thai consumers. One of them is the wholesaler/retailer MM Mega Market, one of the strategic investments of TCC Group in Vietnam.

Recently, speaking at the opening ceremony for the Songkran Festival, one of the activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Thai-Vietnamese diplomatic relations held by MM Mega Market Vietnam on April 8 in Ho Chi Minh City, Bruno Jousselin, managing director of MM Mega Market Vietnam (MM), said, As one of the modern, leading distributors of the country, we always look forward to becoming a two-way trade bridge between Vietnam and Thailand, linking supply chains and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Over the past years, the leading Thai wholesaler/retailer in Vietnam has hosted diverse activities to promote Vietnamese goods in the Thai market and to bring Thai enterprises to Vietnam to study Vietnamese farm produce.

In 2019, MM teamed up with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade in organising the Vietnamese Goods Week in Thailand at Big C Supercentre in Bangkok, Thailand, creating a link for Vietnamese businesses to promote their products, expand market, and study consumer demand and purchasing power of distributors in Thailand.

Since 2018, MM has begun to export Vietnams farm produce to Thailand, which are distributed by Thailands Big C chain of some 1,000 big and small supermarkets with strongly increasing quantity every year.

Connecting supply chains and cultural exchange of two countries

In addition to the programmes to become Vietnam-Thailand two-way trade bridge, MM has also organised important events over the years to connect supply chains and cultural exchange of the two countries. Recently, the company has organised the Songkran Festival and the Shopping Week at MM Mega Market An Phu in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

During the two weeks of the Songkran Festival, Vietnamese consumers can experience 1,000 items imported from Thailand

With COVID-19 hindering tourism activities, the Songkran Festival is a chance for Vietnamese consumers loving Thai culture to experience Thai dishes right in Vietnam. Especially, during the two weeks of the Songkran Festival, Vietnamese consumers can buy some 1,000 items imported from Thailand.

This is the second year that MM has organised a cultural exchange and a Thai Goods Week in Vietnam, following the Colours of Thailand in Vietnam held in 2020, attracting the support of quite a few Vietnamese consumers.

With a network of 21 supermarkets nationwide, MM is distributing more than 60,000 items for some one million corporate customers and millions of individual customers. Given its sustainable development strategy and long-term commitment to Vietnam, MM continues to maintain its position as a pioneer in building and developing a safe agricultural product supply chain in order to improve the value for Vietnamese farm produce and supply the safest food for the people. In addition, the leading wholesaler/retailer will continue its strategy to diversify items, hoping to become a unique shopping venue for the Thai community in Vietnam and the Vietnamese who love Thai goods.

Also at the opening ceremony for the Songkran Festival, Apirat Sugondhabhirom, Thai consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, affirmed their support for MM Mega Market, the Thai private sector, and businesses in Vietnam to accelerate the economy, two-way trade, and investment between Thailand and Vietnam, helping the two countries to overcome challenges due to the pandemic and attain import-export revenue amounting to $20 billion per year as set by the leaders of the two countries.
New Delhi:

Border Security Forces (BSF) troopers gunned down a Pakistani woman along the International Border in the Dera Baba Nanak sector after she trespassed into Indian territory at Punjabs Gurdaspur on Thursday.

The patrolling team of the BSF detected suspicious movement along the barbed wire fence at the border outpost in Ghania Ke last night, the official said.

He added that the killed woman is yet to be identified.

The official added that BSF troopers opened fire at her after she ignored the repeated warnings to surrender and kept moving towards the fence.

BSF officials contacted the Pakistani Rangers to hand over the killed womans dead body.

The Pakistani Ranger denied to accept the killed womans body.

The BSF officials later handed over the womans body to Dera Baba Nanak police station for last rites.

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A former employee of a West Virginia nonprofit organization has been accused of embezzling more than $4.7 million in federal funds, according to court documents.

Ruth Marie Phillips, 68, of Chesapeake, Ohio, was charged last week with stealing funds from River Valley Child Development Services in Huntington, news outlets reported, citing an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court.

The nonprofit organization receives federal and state funding to provide programs, services and support to children and families.

Phillips worked as the director of business and finance at the agency for more than 30 years and was responsible for all financial operations, according to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint.

The criminal complaint alleges Phillips opened a bank account under the organizations name in 2002 without permission. She used the account to convert approximately $4.72 million of funding for River Valley Child Development Services to her own account, the complaint said.

River Valley Child Development Services Director Susan Brodof said a new bookkeeping employee noticed a few red flags, which prompted a full review and led the agency to contact federal authorities.

It wasnt immediately clear whether Phillips has an attorney.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud Abuse Molestation Virginia
New Delhi: The United States annual intelligence report has said that India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "more likely" to respond with force to Pakistan provocation. The annual threat assessment of the US intelligence community report 2021 said, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations"

Notably, in the past after the Pulwama terror attack in February 2019, India responded with "Balakot airstrikes" deep inside Pakistani territory. Planes of the Indian Air Force had struck terror camps in the vicinity of Balakot town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In 2016, after the Uri attack, Indian forces conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

The report highlighted that "tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan remain a concern for the world." The US intel report released by the Director of National Intelligence further, pointed out, "although a general war between India and Pakistan is unlikely, crises between the two are likely to become more intense, risking an escalatory cycle."

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to take action against the terror groups under its territories. The issue has been raised at many multilateral forums such as United Nations, United Nations Human rights council.

The report also mentioned the ongoing situation between India and China stating: "China-India border tensions remain high, despite some force pullbacks this year." The year 2020 was the worst in decades for India and China due to aggressive action by Chinese forces that killed 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan, at the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh.

The report said, "Chinas occupation since May 2020 of contested border areas is the most serious escalation in decades and led to the first lethal border clash between the two countries since 1975." In February, troops from both sides de-escalated at Pangong lake pulling back forces and equipment but Chinese forces have made no move at areas like Hot Springs, Depsang, and Gogra.

The report warned, "Interstate conflicts will also flare, ranging from border sparring, such as that between China and India, to potentially more sustained violent confrontations."
Berlin, April 13 : US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has arrived in Berlin on Tuesday, during which he will meet his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, with the aim of settling defence ties after a tumultuous four years under the previous American administration.

Former US President Donald Trump repeatedly criticised Germany for not spending enough on defence, and late in his term announced the withdrawal of thousands of American troops from the country, dpa news agency reported.

President Joe Biden's policies have changed little from Trump's, however, with the US still demanding that NATO countries spend 2 per cent of their GDP on defence.

Germany in 2020 spent 1.56 per cent on defence, but has promised to increase it.

A key sticking point likely to arise in Tuesday's discussions is the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a mega-project that also has security implications.

Washington believes the undersea gas pipeline between Russia and Germany will make Berlin and Europe too dependent on Russian energy.

The pipeline is almost complete, and the German government has refused to call a halt to the scheme.

Germany and Washington are also looking to find a common position on international troops in Afghanistan.

Berlin wants to make the withdrawal of troops dependent on the progress in peace negotiations between Taliban militants and the Afghan government,- but it is not clear whether the US will agree to this.

After meeting Kramp-Karrenbauer, Austin is due to visit US troops in Stuttgart.

He will continue his European trip with talks in Brussels.

Austin arrived in Germany from Israel.
The World Health Organization has called for a ban on the sale of live wild mammals in food markets to help protect against future pandemics.

It comes after a joint WHO-Chinese study into the origins of Covid published last month said that markets in Wuhan selling both live and dead animals, including wild mammals, were a likely source of the current pandemic.

The WHO had previously recommended that so-called 'wet markets' remain fully open to secure food supplies and jobs, but that conditions should be improved.

The WHO has called for a ban on food markets selling both live and dead animals in order to prevent the spread of disease, including Covid (file image)

'The guidance calls on countries to suspend the sale of captured live wild mammals in food markets as an emergency measure,' the WHO said.

'Animals, particularly wild animals, are the source of more than 70 percent of all emerging infectious diseases in humans, many of which are caused by novel viruses,'

'Wild mammals, in particular, pose a risk for the emergence of new diseases,' it said.

'Traditional markets, where live animals are held, slaughtered and dressed, pose a particular risk for pathogen transmission to workers and customers alike,' said the guidance.

It also called on governments to close sections of food markets selling live wild mammals unless adequate risk assessments were in place.

The WHO has focused on food markets as a likely source of the pandemic following a visit by its experts to Wuhan last year, where they all-but ruled out the possibility the disease escaped from a lab based on data given to them by the Chinese.

Instead, they concluded that an animal were Covid originated - most likely a bat - passed the disease on to an intermediary species.

While that process may have taken place in China, the report's authors refused to rule out the possibility that the infection took place overseas and the infected animal was then imported into the country.

The intermediary animal then likely infected humans, the authors say, with a probable first site of infection being the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan where an early cluster of cases was reported.

Researchers said the market did not officially sell live mammals, but that media reports and undercover footage from 2014 suggests there may have been an illicit trade in them taking place there.

The WHO's report has proved highly controversial, not least because it has been used by Beijing to push the narrative that Covid started elsewhere - at least partially absolving it of responsibility for a pandemic that has crippled the globe.

Comes after WHO researchers zeroed in on food markets in the city of Wuhan (pictured) as a likely source of Covid, all-but dismissing the theory the virus came from a lab

Washington has been particularly vocal in its criticisms, with members of the old Trump administration giving full-throated support to the lab leak theory.

The Biden administration has been less vocal in saying what they think the source of the virus was, but have pushed for further study into its origins.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday accused China of not being transparent enough with information on Covid, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic, and called for a 'more thorough' investigation of the virus's origins.

'We need to get to the bottom of this,' he said.

'We need to do that precisely so we fully understand what happened, in order to have the best shot possible preventing it from happening again.'

Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director general of WHO who was not involved with the report, also criticised its lack of investigation into the lab-leak theory - saying he does not 'believe that this assessment was extensive enough.'

'This [theory] requires further investigation, potentially with additional missions involving specialist experts, which I am ready to deploy,' he said.

Most experts believe that Covid emerged in Hubei province, China, some time between November and December 2019 before spreading to the rest of the world - where it has since caused more than 137million infections.

But intriguing evidence from Italy suggests the virus could have been circulating there as early as September 2019, while wastewater samples collected in Spain suggest the presence of the virus even earlier - in March that year.

While scientists are skeptical of those findings, the WHO report also does not rule out the possibility that Covid was circulating in China earlier than the first official cases in December 2019 and either went undetected or unreported.

So far, no study has managed to uncover so-called 'patient zero' - the first person to have caught Covid - meaning the true origins of the pandemic remain a mystery.
A man is fighting for life while two others have been rushed to hospital after a head-on crash on the Sunshine Coast.

Emergency services were called just after 6.30am on Tuesday to Connection Road at Glenview after a ute and a 4WD collided.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said firefighters freed a driver and a passenger with the use of cutting gear about 7am.

One woman, believed to be in her 20s, has been taken to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a serious condition with lower limb and pelvic injuries.
Kathmandu, April 13

The government of Nepal fears the daily Covid-19 case count in Nepal might reach as many as 11,000 by mid-June.

Speaking with journalists in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi says the number of active cases might be around 600,000 by then.

Lets wish it would not happen, Tripathi said, But, this projection is based on the existing trend.

Nonetheless, the government is preparing to face the situation, he maintained.

Meanwhile, the minister said the new variant of the coronavirus had attacked youth and children more than adults, and it was more worrisome.

Tripathi informed the ministry had recommended closing all schools in the Kathmandu valley for at least one month to break the chain of the infection.

Saying the government directed all hospitals in the Kathmandu valley to stay ready for the possible crisis, he said efforts were underway to avoid another round of lockdown in the country.
She topped the leaderboard during her debut on Dancing With The Stars on Sunday night.

And Kyly Clarke wowed once again on Monday evening as she watched her fellow co-stars perform.

The 38-year-old showed off her incredibly toned figure in a black sparkly Rachael Gilbert mini dress.

Legs eleven... out of ten! Kyly Clarke showed off her very toned pins in a sparkly mini dress on the set of Dancing With The Stars on Monday night as she watched her fellow co-stars, including Tom Williams (pictured), perform

The frock fitted the former WAG like a glove, accentuating her slender muscular legs.

Kyly accessorised on the night with a pair of chic Jimmy Choo stilettos and a cute pair of pearl heart earrings.

She wore her brunette locks out in natural waves and was made up with a smokey eye and nude lip combination.

Sexy: Kyly accessorised on the night with a pair of chic Jimmy Choo stilettos

Kyle posed up for photos with fellow DWTS co-star Tom Williams, the husband of the designer of her dress.

The mother-of-one later cheered him on from the crowd from the set's Sky Box.

Meanwhile on Monday night, Kyly thrilled the judges with her Candyman routine with hunky Italian dance partner Gustavo Viglio.

Judge Todd McKenney described her jive performance as 'incredible', however it was her daughter Kelsey Lee's sweet gesture afterwards that had the crowd in awe.

Wearing a pink Barbie dress and with her hair in pigtails, Kelsey Lee ran over to her mother on the dance floor, presenting her with a rose.

Cute: She also wore a cute pair of pearl heart earrings

Kyly warmly embraced her adorable daughter, planting a kiss on her cheek.

When asked by the hosts whether she knew she would perform well with Kelsey Lee in the audience, the Channel Seven star admitted she was 'extremely nervous'.

'I was extremely nervous and I pretended she wasn't there, even though I knew she was. I just feel privileged [that she was there].'

Kyly debuted on Dancing With The Stars back in 2014, and returned for the All Stars special with her hunky Italian dance partner Gustavo Viglio.

Last month, Kyly revealed painful injuries she's suffered to her arms and legs as a result of the gruelling five-hour rehearsals.

In a series of Instagram posts, the interior designer documented extensive purple bruises.

Meanwhile, Kyly's ex husband Michael Clarke recently rekindled his romance with former flame, P.E Nation designer Pip Edwards.

Over the weekend, the pair enjoyed a cosy tanning session aboard a speedboat on Sydney Harbour.

Unfortunately, the apparently romantic interlude went pear-shaped when Michael realised the speedboat had broken down




"Let's talk about proposals, about what the people need," he said in statements to the press made from his hometown region of Cajamarca.





"Let's sit down and talk," he stressed, adding that "there will be no aggression coming from our part."





Concerning the statements made about him by other candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, the teacher pointed out that these may respond to their concern about what will happen in Peru.





"Who knows if (Rafael) Lopez Aliaga and other candidates are convinced of the huge problems that the country faces and want to raise a voice in favor of the people," he said.





Likewise, Castillo stated that "Peru needs a structural change to stop polarizing the country." Nonetheless, he warned that in a runoff there could be a competition scenario "between rich and poor, between the boss and the pawn."





In this sense, he made "an open call to the people, the Police, who are also awaiting our actions, to the Armed Forces of the country, and the business community" to dialogue.





In addition, 51-year-old Castillo announced that this morning he would meet with representatives of his party to determine which cities he will visit as part of the campaign for the second round.
Cybersecurity

Microsoft patches new Exchange CVEs, credits NSA with discovery

Microsoft on Tuesday released patches for two newly discovered vulnerabilities in on-premise Exchange servers, separate from zero-day exploits found in March, and the company is crediting the National Security Agency with identifying the flaws.

These new vulnerabilities were reported by a security partner through standard coordinated vulnerability disclosure and found internally by Microsoft, according to a company blog post. We have not seen the vulnerabilities used in attacks against our customers. However, given recent adversary focus on Exchange, we recommend customers install the updates as soon as possible to ensure they remain protected from these and other threats.

The two flaws -- CVE-2021-28480 and CVE-2021-28481 -- are both remote code execution vulnerabilities.

NSA recently discovered a series of critical vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange and disclosed them to Microsoft, an NSA spokesperson said. Once we discovered the vulnerabilities, we initiated the disclosure process to secure the nation and our allies.

NSA urges immediate patching of the new vulnerabilities using Microsoft's April 13 patch Tuesday guidance, the spokesperson said, and noted that the new CVEs are separate and distinct from four zero-day exploits found in March.

Microsoft in March announced that four zero-day exploits were found in its Exchange product and that the vulnerabilities were being actively exploited by a China-based threat actor dubbed Hafnium. The discovery prompted the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to issue an emergency directive ordering all federal civilian agencies to update or disconnect Microsoft Exchange products running on-premises.

Taken together with the campaign against SolarWinds, the two incidents have since become the primary subject for federal security officials and lawmakers at cybersecurity-focused public events and during congressional hearings.
Striking yet another controversy, the Eastern Command on Tuesday confirmed that they had received an application from the ruling TMC for NOC for Gandhi statue at 9:40 am on Tuesday. However, the Eastern Command further clarified that they have not yet issued NOC to the TMC and the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to protest at Gandhi Murti in Kolkata without any permission.

This latest development came after the Election Commission (EC) on Monday barred the TMC supremo for 24 hours from campaigning for West Bengal elections from 8 pm on April 12 to 8 pm on April 13.

EC issues ban on CM Mamata Banerjee for 24 hours

The EC's action was in reference to the notices issued to the WB CM pertaining to her minority vote appeal and repeated accusations against the Central Armed Police Forces. The poll body ruled that she had violated the Model Code of Conduct by making "highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with a serious breakdown of law and order and thereby affecting the election process". Moreover, it advised her to desist from making such statements during the period when the Model Code of Conduct is in force. Terming it as a "black day" for democracy, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien claimed on Twitter that the "EC stands for Extremely Compromised". Banerjee announced that she will sit on a dharna at the Gandhi Murti in Kolkata on Tuesday from noon in protest of the campaign ban.

Here are some of Banerjee's remarks which attracted the EC's ire:

Minority vote appeal- Speech at Tarakeswar dated April 3

"I am requesting my minority brothers and sisters with folded hands don't divide the minority votes after listening to the devil who had taken money from BJP. He passes many communal comments and initiates clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims. He is one of the apostles of BJP, a comrade. The comrades of CPM and BJP is roaming around with the money given by BJP to divide minority votes. Please don't allow them to do so. Keep in mind that if the BJP comes into the government then you will be in severe danger".

Allegations against Central Armed Police Forces: Speech at Cooch Behar dated April 7

"And if CAPF creates disturbances, I tell you ladies, a group of you go and gherao them while another group will go to cast their votes. Don't waste your waste. If you engage yourself only in restraining them they will be happy that you did not cast your vote. This is their plan. It is the plan of the BJP. And your plan will be that you are not scared if they try to intimidate you coming to your village on one hand, on the other hand, you just talk to them. Talking to them will be tantamount to restrain them. You don't have to gherao them literally."

(Image: Twitter- ANI, PTI)
FCC COVID19 Telehealth Program This is yet another once in a lifetime opportunity for qualified healthcare providers to accelerate the rollout of Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) connected solutions to their surrounding and remote communities.

Life365, a leading virtual care platform provider, announced its intention to participate in offering a comprehensive suite of solutions to healthcare providers in the relaunched $250M COVID-19 Telehealth program appropriated by Congress and offered by the FCC to qualified applicants.

The FCC announced that Congress has approved an additional $249.95M in funding as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021. This is in addition to the $200M in funding provided by Congress last year under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act which was distributed to nearly 540 healthcare providers and qualified recipients. The COVID-19 Telehealth Program is designed to help healthcare providers provide connected care services to patients at their homes or mobile locations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Telehealth Program provides immediate support to eligible healthcare providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing funding for telecommunications services, information services and devices necessary to provide critical connected care services.

This is yet another once in a lifetime opportunity for qualified healthcare providers to accelerate the rollout of Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) connected solutions to their surrounding and remote communities, said Kent Dicks, CEO of Life365. Before COVID-19, Telehealth and RPM were slowly increasing in adoption, with numerous pilots and limited rollouts. Telehealth had an approximately 13% market penetration in the US prior to COVID-19, but with the pandemic, utilization shot to over 70%  It was the only way patients could safely see their doctors. The first round of FCC funding helped stimulate and accelerate adoption during the pandemic. This second round will help facilitate building a permanent bridge to remote care services, normalizing remote care as an everyday experience.

Life365 offers a comprehensive RPM and telehealth platform that qualifies under the programs eligible expenses. Their goal is to help qualified applicants quickly supply the necessary information in order to receive the much-needed Telehealth and RPM resources to service their patients and communities. Life365 has launched an easy-to-use website http://www.covid19-telehealth-program.com to provide applicants with information regarding the program and help facilitate the submission of their applications with a comprehensive listing of key resources.

Weve learned a lot from the COVID-19 pandemic regarding Telehealth and RPM adoption, said Dicks. Remote Patient Monitoring can no longer be just devices and connected data. Programs, and the solutions they use, must take a comprehensive, personalized approach to engage individual patients and drive efficiency. To that end, Life365 has prepared a suite of solutions in which RPM and Telehealth are just part of the tool set. Life365 also offers other needed services including health assessments, decision support tools, behavioral health, clinical support and nutrition as Food is Medicine to provide a more Whole Person personalized solution.

This additional funding provided by Congress and the FCC is very timely and designed to help address access to care. FCC acting Chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, noted that [t]his past year has proven, without a doubt, that telehealth technology is critical to helping address inequities in access to health care services.

For more information regarding the FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program, please visit http://www.covid19-telehealth-program.com.

About Life365

The Life365 Virtual Care platform integrates health systems with healthcare solution/service providers and logistics companies to deliver a one-stop, integrated platform for engaging a growing patient population at home  and beyond. The platform enables health professionals to remotely manage patients with a variety of disease states and offers consumer apps for self-managing their health and wellness. Life365 is headed by an experienced, industry recognized team, recently selected as a Finalist for a 2021 Edison Award for their work in addressing COVID-19. The teams previous Connected Health Company was acquired by Alere (now Abbott). Life365 is the major patent holder of the next generation of Wearables, Sensors and Patches driven by Machine Learning / AI, driving the next generation of Remote Patient Monitoring to scale.

For more information regarding Life365, please visit http://www.life365.health.
NATO has called on Russia to immediately de-escalate tensions on its borders with Ukraine and to immediately end its military build-up, which is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, April 13, following an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council, which was convened at Ukraine's initiative, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"In recent weeks, Russia has moved thousands of combat-ready troops to Ukraine's borders. The largest massing of Russian troops since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. [] Russia's considerable military build-up is unjustified, unexplained, and deeply concerning. Russia must end this military build-up in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations, and de-escalate immediately," Stoltenberg said.

"We regret Russia's decision not to participate in the recent meeting at the OSCE to dispel concerns about its unusual military activities. Russia must respect its international commitments," he added.

Stoltenberg noted that several Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in eastern Ukraine over the last days and expressed his condolences for the recent losses suffered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

He recalled that NATO's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering. The Allies do not, and will not recognize Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. NATO continues to call on Russia to end its support for the militants in eastern Ukraine and withdraw its forces from Ukrainian territory.

"NATO stands with Ukraine. Allies continue to provide significant practical support so that Ukraine can better provide for its own security. Ukraine's new status as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner demonstrates how both sides benefit from our long-standing partnership," Stoltenberg said.

According to him, such cooperation helps Ukraine to develop its own defense capabilities, in particular, through the training of military units and participation in joint exercises with NATO. NATO has stepped up its cooperation in the Black Sea region with more exercises and port visits, he said.

"We support Ukraine's wide-ranging reform agenda, which will make Ukraine more resilient, and help advance Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Allies stand by the decisions taken at the Bucharest summit. Reforms will bring Ukraine closer to NATO. We want to see Ukraine succeed. We are committed to helping you to do so," Stoltenberg said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is on a working visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 13. He took part in an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission initiated by Ukraine under Article 15 of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO to implement the April 6 agreement between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Russia's military build-up along borders with Ukraine will be discussed at the meeting.

op
Kristin Smart, a San Luis Obispo student from the California Polytechnic State University, who disappeared in 1996. (FBI via AP)

Prime Suspect Arrested in Students 1996 Disappearance

LOS ANGELESThe prime suspect in the 25-year-old disappearance of a California college student was taken into custody Tuesday and the San Luis Obispo sheriff planned to announce major developments in the case.

Paul Flores, 44, who was the last person seen with Kristin Smart before she vanished in 1996, was taken into custody in the Los Angeles area. His father, Ruben Flores, 80, was arrested as an accessory at his Arroyo Grande home, where sheriffs investigators conducted another search.

San Luis Obispo Sheriffs Office personnel dig in an area in the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., on March 16, 2021. (Daniel Dreifuss/AP Photo)

An investigator uses ground-penetrating radar to search the backyard of the home of Ruben Flores, in Arroyo Grande, Calif., on March 16, 2021. (Daniel Dreifuss/AP Photo)

Defense attorney Robert Sanger confirmed that Paul Flores was arrested in the Smart case, though no details were immediately available on the charges he faces. His father was booked on suspicion of accessory after a felony, according to jail records.

Smart, 19, of Stockton, vanished in May 1996 while returning to a dorm at Cal Poly after a party. She was seen with Flores, who also was a student at the time.

Smarts mother did not return a phone message left for comment but a family spokesman said they would issue a statement later in the day.

Sheriff Ian Parkinson scheduled a news conference at 2 p.m. at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where Smart was a student, to discuss major developments in the investigation into her disappearance.

Sanger said he would not comment on a pending case.

By Brian Melley
Southeast Asia's biggest ride-hailing and food delivery firm Holdings will announce as early as Tuesday a with U.S.-based Altimeter that will value at nearly $40 billion and lead to a public listing, four people told Reuters.

The merger, which will be the biggest blank-check company deal ever, underscores the frenzy on Wall Street as shell firms have raised $99 billion in the United States so far this year after a record $83 billion fundraising in 2020.

Singapore-based Grab's agreement with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) backed by Altimeter Capital includes a $4 billion private investment in public equity (PIPE) from a group of Asian and global investors including Fidelity and Janus Henderson, the sources said.

declined to comment on the SPAC deal.

There was no response from Silicon Valley-based Altimeter, Fidelity and Janus Henderson to emailed requests seeking comment.

The sources declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The deal for Grab, which was valued at just over $16 billion last year, will be a big win for its early backers such as SoftBank Group Corp and China's Didi Chuxing.

Last year, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc and IT services firm TIS Inc invested $856 million in Grab as it expanded into financial services.

The bumper valuation validates Grab's co-founder Anthony Tan's strategy to aggressively tap growth in new sectors and ramp up market share by pumping billions of dollars to localise its services and invest in high-growth economies.

"Institutional investors looking for Asian consumer internet exposure are keen to diversify their allocation beyond a handful of companies," said Varun Mittal, head of emerging markets fintech business at consultancy EY.

Grab attracted global attention in 2018 when it acquired Uber's Southeast Asia business after a costly five-year battle and in return took a stake in the company.

Reuters reported in January that Grab, which has so far raised about $12 billion, was exploring a U.S. listing. [L1N2JT0HC]

Grab's agreed transaction will surpass electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors' $24 billion deal struck with a SPAC in February. [L4N2KS4YJ]

BATTLEGROUND INDONESIA

With operations in eight countries and 398 cities, Grab is already Southeast Asia's most valuable start-up.

Leveraging its ride-hailing business started in 2012, the firm has moved into food and grocery deliveries, courier services, digital payments, and is now making a push into insurance and lending in a region of 650 million people.

The listing will give Grab extra firepower in its main market, Indonesia, where local rival Gojek is close to sealing a with the country's leading e-commerce business Tokopedia.

Grab, whose net revenue surged 70% last year, is yet to turn profitable, but it expects its biggest segment - the food delivery business - to break even by end-2021, as more consumers shift to online food delivery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cash-rich, U.S.-listed Sea is also muscling into food delivery and financial services in Indonesia. Both Grab and Sea won digital bank licences in Singapore last year.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Mike Harrison)
Case summary

On the evening of Jan. 7, 2020, Emily Race convened Jaden Staples and Antonio Ogburn at a Woodstock fast-food restaurant to plan an armed robbery of the Warrenton apartment, according to the proffer of facts signed by the four defendants who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Alexander Golden later agreed to participate in the robbery, bringing with him a pellet gun that looks like a real handgun.

When another occupant of the Woodstock townhouse declined to drive them to Warrenton, Race arranged after midnight a ride through a dating app, telling the man from the app she needed a ride to move things out of an apartment in Warrenton. When she, Golden, Staples and Ogburn arrived at the Jackson Street apartment in the mans car, Race went in first, having texted the younger Sosa brother earlier she wanted to come over.

After Race unlocked the door, Golden, Ogburn and Staples rushed in. Ogburn and Staples each armed with a handgun the group had stolen from drug dealers in Woodstock a few weeks earlier. Ogburn entered Fabian Sosas bedroom, shooting him twice in the back as he slept. Staples stayed in the living area, shooting the younger Sosa brother seven times while demanding money.

Golden entered the bedroom of the third resident of the apartment with a pellet gun that looked like a real handgun. Golden and the man got into a physical altercation that spilled out into the hallway, where the resident was shot four times by Ogburn and Staples.
The IP study will better define the geology and help prioritize drill targets at Mutum, which lies 50 kilometres west of Altamira's Cajueiro gold project

Dr Hennigh has a quarter of a century of exploration experience, and is founder and current chairman and president of Novo Resources Corp

Altamira Gold Corp ( ) (OTCPINK:EQTRF) ( ) said it has hired world-renowned economic geologist Dr Quinton Hennigh as its geological advisor and has engaged AFC Geofisica to carry out an induced polarization (IP) survey at its Mutum target at its Apiacas project in Brazil.

The study will better define the geology and help prioritize drill targets at Mutum, which lies 50 kilometres (km) west of Altamira's Cajueiro gold project and where four high-grade vein structures have been confirmed as well as extensive disseminated gold mineralization over a 4 square kilometre area.

"Quinton has an impressive track record in gold exploration and his extensive knowledge of the capital markets will be instrumental in strengthening and complementing our team," said Michael Bennett, CEO at Altamira in a statement.

"The IP survey takes us one step closer to advancing the Apiacas gold project to the drill-ready stage. 2021 will be an exciting year for Altamira as we look forward to drill testing several targets at our main projects with the valued technical input from Dr Hennigh as we continue to unlock the mineral potential of the Alta Floresta belt".

Dr Hennigh has a quarter of a century of exploration experience, and is founder and current chairman and president of (TSE:NVO), which is exploring and developing gold projects in the famous Pilbara region, Western Australia. Novo's assets include its Beatons Creek, Karratha and Egina gold projects, the latter being under joint venture with Japan's giant Sumitomo Corp.

His CV includes such names as Homestake Mining Company, Newcrest Mining Ltd and Newmont Mining. He has also been involved with a number of Canadian listed gold companies, including Gold Canyon Resources Inc, where he led exploration at the Springpole alkaline gold project near Red Lake, Ontario, a 5 million ounce gold asset sold in 2015 to First Mining Gold Corp ( ). Dr Hennigh was also instrumental in Kirkland Lake Gold's acquisition of the Fosterville gold mine in Australia.

At the Mutum target at Apiacas, an estimated 1 million ounces (Moz) of colluvial gold was historically recovered, suggesting the presence of a significant underlying hard-rock deposit. Last month, surface grab samples of the high-grade veins at Mutum returned values up to 403.5 grams per ton (g/t) gold and channel samples included values up to 3m at 10.39 g/t gold. Silver assays have also returned high-grade values up to 871 g/t silver, noted Altamira.

Altamira Gold holds eight projects in Brazil comprising around 190,000 hectares, within the prolific Juruena gold belt which historically produced an estimated 7 to 10 Moz of placer gold. Its advanced Cajueiro project has NI 43-101 resources of 5.66 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 ounces in the indicated category and 12.66 Mt at a grade of 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000 ounces in the inferred category.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
- Neisserial OMV based Lyme vaccine elicit high antibody titers in mice

- Further evidence for Intravacc's versatile multi-disease OMV platform

- Data are published in peer reviewed journal Vaccine

BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Intravacc, a world leader in translational research and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines, today announced positive preclinical data for its OMV based Lyme disease vaccine. Publication of this study in the peer reviewed scientific journal Vaccine titled "Vaccination with meningococcal outer membrane vesicles carrying Borrelia OspA protects against experimental Lyme borreliosis" describes the pre-clinical data of the candidate Lyme vaccine based on Intravacc's OMV platform. This study shows that OMV's expressing Borrelia (lipo)proteins is a promising vaccine concept that might lead to protect humans against Lyme disease.

Currently, no vaccine against Lyme disease, the fastest growing and most common tick-borne illness in North America and Europe, is available for humans. If untreated, symptoms may include loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains, severe headaches with neck stiffness, or heart palpitations. Antibiotics are the primary treatment and are usually successful, but only when given in time. A vaccine would limit the use of antibiotics and the potential rise of antibiotic resistance.

Safety evidence of OMV's

Vaccination of animals has shown that Intravacc's OMV-based vaccines can protect against various pathogens. Toxicology studies with various OMV-based vaccines showed no tissue and organ damage in the animals. OMV based meningococcal vaccine phase I and II studies have shown that they are safe in both children and adults. Today one OMV-based vaccine has been approved by the EMA and is on the market.

The Study

The study conducted in collaboration with the Amsterdam Medical Center in the Netherlands evaluated Intravacc's genetically modified meningococci, resulting in bacteria producing immunogenic vesicles (OMV) expressing Lyme lipoprotein OspA on the surface of these vesicles. Groups of eight mice were vaccinated at day zero, 14 and 28 with either 40 g OMVs, expressing OspA and the control group received the same amount of empty OMV's.

To measure the protection after vaccination, animals were infected with live Borrelia burgdorferi by needle injection on day 42 and on day 62 all mice were sacrificed, and blood and organs were collected and tested for the presence of borrelia by culture and DNA testing. At the same time points, blood samples were collected from all the animals. Strong antibody responses were induced in animals that received OMV-OspA. Whereas in the control group no borrelia specific antibodies were detected. In the skin of one of the eight animals, life bacteria were detected. Traces of Borrelia specific DNA were detected in one to two animals.

This study shows that OMV-based vaccines expressing Borrelia (lipo)proteins are an easy and feasible vaccination method protecting against Lyme disease, and could result in a promising prophylactic vaccine for humans.

Dr. Jan Groen, Intravacc's CEO, said:

"This is yet another proof that our OMV platform is versatile and effective in addressing a variety of diseases. We show that it is possible to couple OMV to external antigens and that the bacterium can also be modified to express the antigens. In addition to the great results shown for Lyme disease, the platform can be utilized for vaccine development for virtually any disease."

About Lyme disease

Lyme disease is present in over 80 countries world-wide. According to a survey by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) the number of patients that have been infected every year has more than quadrupled in the past 20 years. Lyme disease, also called Lyme borreliosis, is the fastest growing and most common tick-borne illness in North America and Europe. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi is spread by ticks during a blood feed. Clinical manifestations occur usually weeks to months after the tick bite. Most frequent symptoms are red circular rash (Erythema migraine), fatigue, fever, headache, mild stiff neck, arthralgia and myalgia. When the tick is removed rapidly, the chance of contracting Lyme disease is slim. Once infected antibiotics can be successful in treating the disease. However, timing of treatment is critical and 5-10% of the patients do not respond to treatment. When the bite has not been noted or treatment is too late or not effective, the disease can cause more serious complications affecting the joints, heart or nervous system. Severe cases amount annually to approximately 85.000 in the EU.

About Intravacc's OMV platform technology

For the development of vaccines, Intravacc has designed and developed a platform based on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) - spherical particles with intrinsic adjuvant properties. The OMVs can be rigged with immunogenic peptides and/or proteins that stimulate effective adaptive immunity. The OMV carrier has been optimized to induce a more effective immune response against these newly introduced antigens. Intravacc has also developed genetic tools to increase the yield of OMVs, reduce the toxicity and achieve the desired antigenic composition. Intravacc's OMV platform is fully scalable and allows rapid and efficient modification of the antigen composition, either through genetic modification of the bacterial host or by associating antigens with stored OMVs.

About Intravacc

Intravacc, located at Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven in the Netherlands, is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization of innovative vaccines against infectious diseases. As an established independent CDMO with over 100 years of experience in the development and optimization of vaccines and vaccine technologies, Intravacc has transferred its technology related to polio vaccines, measles vaccines, DPT vaccines, Hib vaccines and influenza vaccines around the world. Around 40% of childhood disease vaccines are based on Intravacc's proprietary technology. Intravacc offers a wide range of expertise for independent vaccine development, from concept to Phase I/II clinical studies for partners around the world, including universities, public health organizations (WHO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), biotech and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.intravacc.nl.

Contacts:

Intravacc

Dr. Jan Groen, CEO

P: +31 30 7920 454

Mirjam Hartman, Media relations

P: +31 6 115 969 94

E: [email protected]

LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam

Leon Melens

P: +31 6 538 16427

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Intravacc
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Ijeoma Okereke, a project officer at the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), last Tuesday tied the knot with her husband, Michael Adagba, in Nenwe, Enugu State.

The wedding which came under the motif, #TheAdagbas21, was a twin event that opened with the solemnisation at All Saints Anglican Church at the brides hometown in Nenwe, Enugu State.

A fascinatingly attractive reception followed, a mix of gold, green, and lilac; a mix of several genres of music ushered the newlyweds in as the crowd cheered.

The atmosphere soon brightened as the crowd of well-wishers were invited to join the traditional marriage rites as the bride came out in a beautiful dress to greet her inlaws.

This was followed by the selling of eggs by the bride and her bride maids showcasing her entrepreneurial spirit, which Igbos are generally known for.

How they met

Ijeoma and Michael met in 2019 at their local church in Abuja during weekly evangelism.

According to Mrs Adagba, her husband approached her during this exercise and asked her to a cinema date which she agreed to. Although he was persistent, I did not take him seriously until mid-2020 when he proposed to me and met my dad.

ALSO READ: PTCIJ staffer ties knot with heartthrob

Mrs Adagba describes her husband as a man of action rather than words, as he acted more than he spoke.

My first encounter with my love was in a home cell fellowship, and her sight captivated my desire in the first instance.

After that day I got a job that took me away to Lagos for 8 months, I left Lagos to Abuja to see her again at our regular evangelism ground and I took the bold step to ask her for her phone number and the rest was history that led to the wedding, Mr Adagba told PREMIUM TIMES.

She is very sociable to my liking and this aroused my interest in her for a life time. I also needed a peaceful home and Loveleen exudes this quality perfectly, shes so elegant and charming.

Mr Michael Adagba works with Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
STOCKHOLM, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Europe's pellet industry is the largest in the world and is expected to continue to grow strongly, at least until 2025. The key factors driving this increase include:

EU has ambitious and rising targets for renewable energy supply,

Biomass will play an important role in meeting those targets,

Pellets offer several advantages over other forms of biomass in many applications.

Pellet demand is likely to grow by 30-40% over the next five years, and depending on how imports develop, European production might need to increase by up to ten million tons.

Europe represents about 75% of global pellet demand and is more diverse in its pellet usage than are other regions. In Europe pellets are used for residential heating (40%), power plants (36%), commercial heating (14%), and combined heat and power plants (10%). Demand is strong in both the industrial and residential sectors and is likely to continue even beyond 2025. According to a just-released study, European Wood Pellets - Where will the raw-material come from?(LINK), the rise in wood pellet consumption will put significant pressure on raw material markets in Europe and require new sources such as forest residues, recovered wood, and energy crops. Raw material prices and availability vary widely by geography but increased competition for wood fiber, including sawmill byproducts, will impact pulp and wood panel industries throughout Europe.

The most crucial feedstock for the wood pellet sector is currently sawmill residues (85% of the mix), roundwood (13%), and recovered wood (2%). This mix is likely to change in the coming years with the forecasted expansion of the wood pellet industry.

Although wood residues will remain an important feedstock, especially in northern and western Europe, they will not be sufficient to meet the future fiber demand from the growing wood pellet sector. New fiber sources are needed, and the greatest potential for increased supply is forest residues and energy crops.

Experience from North America shows that it is possible to use more forest residues as fiber furnish. Although it yields pellets with higher ash content, it is often a lower-cost raw material than, for example, roundwood and wood chips. This practice is increasingly common in both the US South (mainly for pellets exported to Europe) and Canada (mainly exported to Europe and Asia). In Western Canada, the sawmill residue share of the total feedstock has fallen from 97% in 2010 to 72% in 2020, with the balance being forest residues and roundwood.

The above-mentioned Focus Report provides viewpoints on how the European pellet industry can source sufficient raw materials, what the costs and potential alternative materials are, and what the implications will be for raw material suppliers, pellet consumers, and the pulp and wood-based panels industry.

The excerpt above is from the just-released Focus Report "European Wood Pellet Outlook - Where will the raw-material come from?" published by Wood Resources International LLC and O'Kelly Acumen. For more information about the study or to inquire about purchasing the 75-page report in easy-to-read slide format, please contact either Hakan Ekstrom ([email protected]) or Glen O'Kelly ([email protected]). A Table of Contents of the report is available on our website. Click here!

Wood Resources International LLC

Hakan Ekstrom

[email protected]

www.woodprices.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/wood-resources-international-llc/r/the-forecasted-growth-in-wood-pellet-production-in-europe-will-increase-competition-for-wood-fiber-a,c3324071

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/1902/3324071/1400449.pdf European Wood Pellet Market Outlook

SOURCE Wood Resources International LLC
Omaha, Nebraska  Graduate assistants play an active role in enabling the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC) to deliver a wide array of programs to small businesses across the state, while the students obtain real-world experience.

NBDC offers graduate students opportunities that are unique due to our involvement in the community and our work with small businesses, says NBDC Associate State Director Aretha Boex. At the same time, the small businesses they serve gain fresh ideas and insight from the graduate assistants perspective, and NBDC is able to serve a wider number of clients in fulfilling its statewide mission. Its a win-win-win situation.

Beyond the classroom, the NBDC Graduate Assistant (GA) program affords opportunities for engagement with small businesses and experiencing the challenges they face on a regular basis.

Our GAs either work directly with business clients, assisting them in various ways, or perform administrative tasks that support the professional consultants working with clients, says Jerry Parriott, NBDC business manager. They are part of a robust program that helps support and build Nebraskas economy.

NBDC routinely employs from nine to 11 GAs each academic year, depending on program needs and funding, with most of them also working through the summer. They are hired in a staggered fashion as they do not all graduate at the same time.

The NBDC program includes GAs at UNO and at NBDC centers at Chadron State College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Depending on when they start, they work for NBDC from one to three years, until they receive their graduate degree, Parriott says.

The opportunities dont always end with graduation. Weve had a number of GAs graduate and then apply for full-time positions at NBDC, he says. In the past 12 years, weve hired a total of nine former GAs. Of those, seven are still full-time employees.

The GAs participate in several NBDC programs, including the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), which offers consulting, workshops and networking events at no cost to Nebraska businesses positioning their companies to bid, win and fulfill federal, state and local government contracts.

Tony Schultz, Omaha Center Director for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program, leads a team of UNO College of Business Administration GAs assisting business owners who, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, contact NBDC by phone or through the centers website.

NBDC GAs also serve the centers Innovation & Technology program and the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership program.Currently, our three GAs are industrial/organizational psychology students, says Josh Nichol-Caddy, NBDC's Technology Commercialization Director. One is currently conducting an assessment of our program to identify opportunities and redundancies, so we can better serve our partner organizations. The other two are working in the FAST program, applying their training to clients who want to learn more about the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant program, and finding ways to help inventors who have cool ideas but lack a clear path toward commercializing them, he says. We want to help them identify either the next steps forward, or whether they need to take a step back and conduct more research.

Nichol-Caddy says the GA program is a valuable resource for NBDC clients. The GAs combine an academic background often with considerable work experience and offer a different perspective, he says. They not only ask great questions, but they also pose the hard questions because their goal is to learn from the process.

Any graduate student interested in being a GA with NBDC should access the UNO job board Handshake to watch for openings.
More than 83,000 Tibetans living in 26 countries around the world went to the polls on Sunday to cast their ballots in a third and final round of voting for political leader, or Sikyong, of Tibets Dharamsala-based exile government the Central Tibetan Administration, with final results to be announced on May 14.

Penpa Tsering, a former speaker of Tibets exile parliament, and Aukatsang Kelsang Dorjee, a former representative of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, are the frontrunners in the current race after prevailing in two rounds of earlier voting.

In exit polls conducted by RFA with 961 voters in India, the U.S., Canada, and Europe, 547 said they had voted for Penpa Tsering, with 414 saying they had voted for Aukatsang Kelsang Dorjee, suggesting the race is close.

Lobsang Sangay, a Harvard-trained scholar of law, has served two consecutive five-year terms as Sikyong, an office filled by candidates elected since 2011 by popular vote, and will leave that post when his present term expires in May.

The May 14 election results will also seat 45 members of the exile Tibetan parliament in its new, seventeenth session, with 10 candidates representing each of Tibets three traditional provincesU-tsang, Kham, and Amdoand two representatives from each of Tibets four major schools of Buddhism and the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.

Two members will also be voted in to represent each of the exile Tibetan communities in North and South America and Europe, and one from Australia and Asia, excluding India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The Tibetan diaspora is estimated to include about 150,000 people living in 40 countries, mainly India, Nepal, North America, and in Europe.

Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tibetans turned out in large numbers to register and vote. But in Nepala country politically and economically close to China where Tibetan issues are sensitivepolice were deployed at around 30 Tibetan monasteries and two schools to discourage participation.

The Nepalese government has always tried to sabotage Tibetan elections, a Tibetan resident of Nepals capital Kathmandu told RFAs Tibetan Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In addition to uniformed police, there were also many officials in plainclothes deployed around the city, which made it difficult to carry out the voting smoothly, he added.

Tibetans are forbidden by Nepal to vote in exile elections, but residents in remote areas of the country conducted their own polling in secret a week before, sources told RFA.

Tibetans go to the polls in Strasbourg, France, April 11, 2021. Photo sent to RFA

In France, where a nationwide COVID lockdown is in effect, the countrys Tibetan community nevertheless secured special permission to hold elections on April 11, Paris resident Lobsang Khedup said.

Because of the lockdown here in France, people need a valid reason to travel more than 10 kilometers from their home, but our local Tibetan Election Commission was able to get a special letter permitting us to conduct the election anyway, Khedup said.

In Dharamsala, India, the seat of Tibets exile government, voters cast their ballots in 16 different polling booths, while in northwestern Indias region of Ladakh, voter turnout was higher in the final round than in previous rounds, Tsetan Wangchuk, the local election commissioner in Ladakhs city of Leh, said.

Weve seen a greater number of voters turn out for this final election, so I feel that when there is more participation like this from the public, it means people are taking more responsibility, Wangchuk said.

Voters are very observant, and there seems to be a remarkable level of alertness among the public now about their choices of candidates, which wasnt the case in earlier days, said Lobsang Jinpa, a former private secretary in the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, now living in Virginia in the United States.

Meanwhile, in New York, 101-year-old Gyaltsen Choden, a retired civil servant in the exile government, was escorted to the polls by his son.

My father, who has devoted his entire life to the service of the Tibetan government in exile, insisted on voting today, as Tibetans inside Tibet dont have the freedom to vote, the younger man said. It is a privilege to be able to elect our own leaders, so we escorted him here today.

Commenting on the days voting, the outgoing Sikyong Lobsang Sangay said that Tibets exercise of democracy in exile reflects the true aspirations of our brothers and sisters in Tibet.

In this way, we are sending a message directly to Beijing that while they do not have democracy themselves or grant freedom to Tibetans in Tibet, we Tibetans living in exile have been given the gift of democracy under the great leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Formerly an independent nation, Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago, following which the Dalai Lama and thousands of his followers fled into exile in India and other countries around the world.

Divisions persist in the Tibetan exile community over how best to advance the rights and freedoms of Tibetans living in China, with some calling for a restoration of the independence lost when Chinese troops marched into Tibet in 1950.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and the Dalai Lama have instead adopted a policy approach called the Middle Way, which accepts Tibets status as a part of China but urges greater cultural and religious freedom, including strengthened language rights, for Tibetans living under Beijings rule.

Both frontrunners in the current contest for Sikyong support the Middle Way.

Reported by RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Mumbai, April 13 : Bollywood actors Arjun Kapoor and Tara Sutaria are all set to start shooting for the second schedule of their upcoming film "Ek Villain Returns" in Goa.

The first schedule of the Mohit Suri thriller was wrapped up in Mumbai recently, and the makers are all set for the second schedule, to be shot in scenic locales of Goa.

"Shooting during these times is hard on the cast and crew, but they have shown fantastic resilience and team work. We are ready to roll this week. The scale and mounting of the film calls for live, scenic locales. Also, Goa has always been a character in itself in Mohit's films. So, I am excited to see how Mohit will showcase Goa in Ek Villain Returns," said producer Ekta Kapoor.

"Mohit and his team scouted some good locations in Goa where the team shoots next. The protocols laid down by our governments will be followed," producer Bhushan Kumar added.

"Ek Villain Returns" stars John Abraham, Disha Patani, Tara Sutaria and Arjun Kapoor. The film is slated to release on February 11, 2022.
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The United States is concerned about the recent disbarment of Azerbaijani human rights defender Shahla Humbatova, a 2020 International Women of Courage honoree.
HOUSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexitas, a leading provider of technology-enabled litigation services and a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax, announced its acquisition of Alaris. Headquartered in St. Louis, with seven additional regional offices, Alaris is a litigation support company providing court reporting, trial support and alternative dispute resolution services. It is one of the largest and most successful firms in the Midwest, with market-leading clients and some of the best independent contractors in the industry.

"As a growing company, we are extremely pleased to have Debbie Weaver and her outstanding team join the Lexitas family. Alaris represents a key acquisition for us. Their strong presence in the highly attractive St. Louis, Kansas City, and Little Rock markets will accelerate our growth plans in the Midwest. Their culture, talent and passionate customer service fit perfectly with Lexitas' core values," said Gary Buckland, Chief Executive Officer at Lexitas.

Debbie Weaver, CEO of Alaris, said "This acquisition is an important milestone for Alaris. Lexitas shares our vision, our values, and has a similar culture and customer-service focus. Lexitas is the right partner to accelerate the growth journey of Alaris and will create enhanced opportunities for our employees and more services for our clients. I couldn't be more excited to lead Alaris through this new chapter in the company's history."

Founded in 1987, Lexitas is a leading national provider of legal support services to law firms, corporations, and insurance companies. Services include record retrieval, court reporting, process service, registered agent, legal staffing, document review and commercial contracts outsourcing. For more information visit https://lexitaslegal.com and https://alaris.us/.

SOURCE Lexitas

Related Links

www.lexitaslegal.com


Community broadcasters C31 Melbourne and C44 Adelaide are calling on the Communications Minister to include community television in its proposed re-stack of Australian TV spectrum and keep C31 Melbourne and C44 Adelaide on-air until their broadcast spectrum is repurposed.

Since 2014, the Federal Government has provided seven last-minute broadcast licence extensions, insisting that community TV stations transition to an online-only model. During that time community broadcasters have folded in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, but Melbourne & Adelaide have endured, including through a last minute reprieve announced by Paul Fletcher on Q+A, just 26 hours before they were due to lose broadcast spectrum.

Last October Richard Windeyer  Deputy Secretary Communications and Media confirmed, ..there is no immediate plan for the use of the spectrum used by C31 and C44.

Both C31 and C44 have been invited by the Federal Government to provide a submission to the current consultation on the Media Reform Green Paper, which closes on 23 May just over a month before both stations broadcast licences expire on 30 June 2021.

We have written to Minister Fletcher asking for an opportunity to discuss our broadcast licence deadline and our upcoming submission as part of the Green Paper process, C31 General Manager Shane Dunlop said. We believe May will be too late as one month is not enough time to undertake a thorough and proper review of our response. To switch us off before this consultation process is completed would deny the Australian public an outcome that works towards their overall best interests.

As stated in the Green Paper, the broadcast spectrum we currently occupy is not scheduled to be repurposed until 2024, possibly later. A digital re-stack is then slated to occur sometime around 2026. So turning us off now is completely unnecessary.

We would also strongly suggest that community TV deserves a place within the longer-term framework of free-to-air TV, added C44 General Manager Lauren Hillman. The Green Paper sees all free-to-air broadcasters converting to more efficient broadcast technology after the re-stack, which would allow for more channels using much less space. There is a pathway forward for community TV and were urging Minister Fletcher to consider it.

Minister Fletcher previously also assured viewers that the Federal Government would work with both stations to effect a successful transition.

C31 and C44 maintain they are committed to a digital future but to replace broadcast revenue and achieve a successful transition to an online-only model by June 2021 is not possible.

The Australian Community Television Alliance contends that free-to-air community TV should continue for the same reasons the Green Paper argues that the Federal Governments proposed reforms are necessary to protect commercial broadcasters: because older Australians, the less affluent  are less likely to use alternatives to free-to-air television ; to keep Australian stories available on our television screens; and because, without community TV, the volume, variety and quality of Australian content available is likely to decline; audiences will have access to few Australian voices and stories.

In May, a new ACTA video-on-demand streaming platform and app will be launched, coinciding with the tenth Antenna Awards on 29 May.

Related
YEREVAN.  Gevorg Baghdasaryan, one of the prosecutors in the trial against Armenias second President Robert Kocharyan and several other former senior officials, is convinced that the recent acquittal verdict has nothing to do with justice. He stated about this to reporters after Tuesdays court session.

As reported earlier, the trial in Kocharyan's case continues, but there are two defendants left: Kocharyan, and former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan.

The two other defendantsformer Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and former CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturovare no longer involved in this court process.

During the previous session, the court terminatedbased on the decision of the Constitutional Courtall defendants prosecution under Article 300.1overthrowing the constitutional orderof the Criminal Code, and Kocharyan, Gevorgyan, Ohanyan, and Khachaturov were acquitted under this article.

However, Kocharyan and Gevorgyan are accused not only of overthrowing the constitutional order.

The former president is charged with taking a bribe of $3 million, while the former deputy PM is accused of taking bribe and money laundering.

The prosecutor said that he did not have time to get acquainted with the court's aforesaid decision in detail, as he had just received it. "I am familiar with the publications of the [defense] attorneys; the arguments are not convincing. Moreover, the current situation is incompatible with justice. As a result of declaring the applied norm unconstitutional, there is a corpus delicti, whereas the person has been acquitted," the prosecutor said.

As for the bribe and the fact that the courts have admitted the absence of a reasonable doubt, the prosecutor stated that these were subjective assessments and the final decision should be made by the court.

Baghdasaryan did not agree with the opinion that if the judge had applied to the Constitutional Court through their motion, it would have violated the presumption of innocence.

"Is it justice when we are being deprived of the right to re-qualify the accusation? If the general norm is abolished but the private one remains and we are not allowed to use it, is that justice?" Baghdasaryan asked.

To note, the Constitutional Court had declared Article 300.1 of the Criminal Code imprecise and contradictory to Articles 78 and 79 of the Constitution.

In this regard, the Prosecutor Generals Office decided to challenge the existing legal regulations which do not allow re-qualifying the accusation under Article 309abuse of official positionof the Criminal Code. Prosecutor Baghdasaryan admitted that Article 309 provides for a statute of limitations, but this provision could be applied only with the consent of the accused; that is, by choice: either continue the process with the hope of acquittal, or agree to be convicted under this article.

The Prosecutor General has already applied to the Constitutional Court, and the prosecutors have tried to motion to the same in court, but the latter denied.

In fact, it turned out that the prosecution did not propose to stop the criminal proceedings against the four defendants under an already non-existent article of the Criminal Code, but to wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court.

Baghdasaryan clarified that he does not consider Article 300.1 imprecise. According to the prosecutor, it turned out that in order to understand this article, it is necessary to read more books and expand ones horizon. In his opinion, the Venice Commission also does not consider this article problematic.
Married At First Sight's Johnny Balbuziente and Kerry Knight confessed their love for each other during their final commitment ceremony on Monday night.

And just days before filming the episode, the 30-year-old professional actor was spotted catching up with his co-star Jake Edwards during a break from production.

In photos exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Johnny was seen happily greeting the former Carlton player, 32, at a Sydney CBD cafe after picking up his morning coffee.

Who knew they were friends? Married At First Sights' Johnny Balbuziente, 30, [R] was spotted catching up with his co-star Jake Edwards [L] during a break from filming in November

The pair were seen chatting for several minutes as Jake worked on his laptop.

After the brief catch up, Johnny was seen giving Jake the thumbs up as he left him on his own and headed out for a solo outing.

Johnny flaunted his bulging biceps in a well-fitted white T-shirt which he paired with matching shorts.

Sighting: In photos exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Johnny was seen greeting the former Carlton player, 32, at a Sydney CBD cafe after picking up his morning coffee

Stylish: Johnny flaunted his bulging biceps in a well-fitted white T-shirt which he paired with matching shorts

Casual: The Brisbane based theater star completed his stylish look by wrapping a denim jacket around his waist

He completed his stylish look wrapping a denim jacket around his waist.

Meanwhile, Jake was dressed in a light grey T-shirt which he paired with black denim jeans and flip flops.

He attempted to keep a low-profile by wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses.

Casual: Meanwhile, Jake (pictured) was dressed in a light grey T-shirt which he paired with black denim jeans and flip flops

It comes as Johnny and his occupational therapist bride Kerry Knight agreed to continue their relationship once the show was over during Monday night's episode.

An emotional Johnny confessed his love for Kerry at their final commitment ceremony.

Perfect match! It comes as Johnny and his occupational therapist bride, Kerry Knight, agreed to continue their relationship once the show was over during Monday night's episode

'I began this journey not knowing if I could ever be in a serious relationship again after a long period of dark times,' he began.

'My heart had been ripped out of my chest and my world was turned on its head. But I worked hard to get back on track and that I did.'

He confessed that although he was initially hesitant going into the experiment, Kerry helped bring down his walls.

Heartwarming: An emotional Johnny confessed his love for Kerry at their final commitment ceremony

'I was happy, but not truly happy. I was avoiding finding love because I was scared of the heartache. I threw myself into this crazy experiment and this was one of the biggest leaps of faith in my life.'

'And I can safely say I have found so much more out of this than I could have ever hoped for. Kerry you literally took my breath away. Our eyes met and yours sparkled.'

'You are such a great listener and I could talk underwater. I'm frantic, you're calm. I'm often late, and you're always on time. I just really think we make a perfect double act.'

Johnny also confessed that he had concerns about their relationship but was willing to make it work.
Syracuse, N.Y.  All Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution at the New York State Fairgrounds will be halted Tuesday after federal officials raised concerns about a possible link to blood clots.

If you had an appointment today for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, you can still go to the fairgrounds and you will be given a Pfizer shot instead, according to Fair Director Troy Waffner.

The Pfizer shot requires two doses three weeks apart, while the J&J is a single dose.

Johnson & Johnson appointments scheduled for today at the Onondaga County facility at the Oncenter are also canceled, according to County Executive Ryan McMahon. Anyone with an appointment there today can still show up and instead receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

Federal officials paused distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Tuesday after six recipients reported a rare blood clot after vaccination, according to a report from The New York Times.

The vaccine will be discontinued at federal vaccination sites pending an investigation into the side effects. State and local sites are expected to follow suit.

Nearly 7 million people in the United States have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so far.

The six people who developed the blood clot were all women between the ages of 18 and 48. One of those women died and another is hospitalized in critical condition, according to The Times.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba has met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels.

Good to be meeting my colleague and friend [U.S. Secretary of State Antony] Blinken in Brussels as Russia continues its dangerous buildup and belligerent rhetoric, Kuleba posted on Twitter.

He pointed out the need to discourage the Russian Federation from further escalation.

We need to discourage Moscow from further escalation, including by making clear that the cost of any new military adventure would be too high, the Ukrainian minister noted.

As reported, Kuleba makes a working visit to the NATO Headquarters in Brussels on April 13. He took part in an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission initiated by Ukraine within the framework of Article 15 of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Ukraine to implement the agreement between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reached on April 6.

ol
TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) - One CVS team member said getting a coronavirus vaccine is quick and easy, but individuals should register before stopping by.

District Leader Christopher Cunningham said CVS is now at more than 10 million vaccinations nationwide.

CVS pharmacy location in Tupelo. Photo Date: April 12, 2021. CVS pharmacy location in Tupelo. Photo Date: April 12, 2021.

"Here in Mississippi, we are currently using the Pfizer and the Janssen [Johnson & Johnson]."

He said there are more than 35 locations in Mississippi giving coronavirus vaccinations.

As more vaccine doses become available, Cunningham said leaders at CVS will make the vaccine available in more locations.

Cunningham said generally anyone can get their shot within 10-15 minutes after arriving.

He explained that after the shot, they do ask that you wait inside for an additional 15 minutes to make sure you have no allergic reactions.

Cunningham added their registration system is also quite convenient.

"And that's another great thing about our scheduling tool," he said. "Once you go online and you schedule your first shot, you are actually gonna be scheduled for your second shot as well."

Cunningham said customers can go online [see link below] or text COVID to 287-898 to make an appointment.

Open this link to schedule online.
A man was fatally shot Monday in Newark, less than two hours after a 2-year-old girl was struck by a bullet in an unrelated incident in New Jerseys largest city, officials said.

The man was shot at 4:23 p.m. in the 100 block of Prince Street, Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly told NJ Advance Media.

No other details were released late Monday night as the shooting remained under investigation.

In an unrelated incident, a child was shot around 2 p.m. on 14th Avenue and South 6th Street, police said. She was rushed to University Hospital where she remained in stable condition late Monday afternoon. The child was not the intended target of that shooting, police said.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe D. Gonzales released a 32-page midterm report Tuesday on his first two years in office, giving himself high marks for reorganizing his 500-plus staff to pursue criminal justice reforms, creating new divisions and programs and revamping old ones.

He also touted his commitment to transparency, posting the report on his offices web page and pointing to the availability of prosecution statistics updated regularly on online dashboards to show the community the work underway.

Despite COVID-19 putting many court proceedings on hold for more than a year, Gonzales said he has accomplished much of what he promised while campaigning in 2018.

The reason we have implemented these reforms is to focus on what we should be concerned with, and thats violent crime, Gonzales said Monday after making a preview of the report available. The large majority of what I set out to do we have at least started, if not completed.

On ExpressNews.com: Starting Monday, people caught with small amounts of pot in San Antonio won't have to go to jail

As grand juries have continued to hand down hundreds of indictments since last year, Gonzales said, he has tried to get as much information out as he could. He said elected officials in Bexar County will get copies of his report, and as soon as the pandemic numbers improve, he will consider talking about it in community forums.

I realized members of the community are not clear about what the DAs Office does, he said Monday. In the interest of transparency, its important for me to report to the citizens of Bexar County.

The pandemic has forced the the suspension of jury service, which put many trials on hold. Some cases were able to be resolved through plea agreements or bench trials, but the backlog of criminal cases continues to grow.

As courts resume their normal work, the oldest cases will need to be tried first, he said.

On ExpressNews.com: D.A. in San Antonio vows more careful scrutiny of police use-of-force cases

Gonzales says he is equally proud of expanding the offices cite and release program for low-level, non-violent misdemeanors and creating a civil rights division to review law enforcement use-of-force incidents.

Both of them are very important to this community, he said.

In July 2019, the DAs Office, working with San Antonio police and the Bexar County Sheriffs Office, revamped an existing cite and release policy to avoid arresting people charged with misdemeanor theft, driving with an invalid license or possessing small amounts of marijuana, among other offenses.

Jessica Phelps /San Antonio Express-News

On ExpressNews.com: 'We will always seek to do the harder right': Bexar DA names longtime prosecutor to lead civil rights division

People cited under the program who successfully complete associated programs can avoid a criminal record. It also frees up law enforcement and prosecutors to concentrate on more serious and violent offenses, Gonzales said.

Cite and release is an important component to the reform we brought here, Gonzales said. Over 3,500 people have avoided being arrested in a year and a half.

The programs success would have been impossible without the partnership with law enforcement, he said, which allows officers to make arguments on a case-by-case basis if they believe a suspect should be arrested, even with a small amount of drugs.

The only way that this works is to give the arresting officer the discretion, Gonzales said.

The year before he took office, there were 4,500 case filings for possession of marijuana under two ounces, the report shows. That number decreased to 1,700 in 2019. For 2020 and under a policy not to prosecute over an amount less than an ounce, only 16 cases were filed.

That is a drastic reduction, Gonzales said. A large part has been because they are participating in a diversion program.

He noted other statistics. From July 2019 to Dec. 31, 2020, the office received 3,530 citations from law enforcement involving marijuana or drugs. It declined 2,261 of them, sent 643 into the court system, accepted 659 into the Cite and Release Diversion program and signed 404 program agreements.

The DAs Office said 308 were successfully completed; 55 were not.

The implementation of dashboards on the district attorneys web page has allowed law enforcement officers to upload their reports and lets the community see statistics on arrests and court cases.

Michael Young, the countys chief public defender, said the reforms under Gonzales, especially regarding pretrial diversion, have had a positive effect on his clients.

The DAs Offices expanded use of pretrial diversion has been used by all classes of attorneys, he said. Cite and release has grown to the point that it is having a real impact on the jail population, pending court cases, and has had a bottom-line impact on the Bexar County budget.

Another source of pride for the office, Gonzales said, is the creation of the Civil Rights Division in October and the naming of longtime prosecutor Daryl Harris as its director earlier this year.

The division reviews use-of-force cases that result in deaths or injuries and pledges greater scrutiny and more transparency. Gonzales said he was moved to form the unit following the killing of George Floyd by officers in Minneapolis in May last year.

The report highlighted Gonzales bail reform efforts, starting in 2019, when he unveiled a policy requiring prosecutors to recommend release without cash bail for all defendants charged with misdemeanor and state jail felonies, unless theyre a flight risk or a danger to the community or their victim.

That change followed deaths in the Bexar County jail of two homeless people who had mental health issues and could not afford to post bail.

Gonzales said one goal he has not implemented because of the pandemic is the formation of a community panel whose priorities he could listen to. He said he hopes in the next few months the COVID-19 numbers will allow a group to meet.

ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
Thousands of Australians rallied across the country on Saturday to protest the continuing scourge of Aboriginal deaths in custody.

This Thursday marks 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down its report. Since that time, 474 indigenous people have died in police custody, including 5 since the beginning of last month.

Protesters gathered outside Victorian parliament on Saturday. (Credit: Facebook/Charandev Singh)

The rallies featured emotional speeches by the families of the deceased, punctuated by frantic appeals to racialism and identity politics by entertainers and activist politicians. This narrative was at odds with the multi-racial composition of the protests, which demonstrated mass outrage and opposition to the mounting death toll of the most oppressed section of the working class.

The insistence that only Aboriginal voices should be heard at such protests has become standard practice, but Victorian Greens MP Lidia Thorpe put forward an even more divisive perspective. She told the Melbourne rally: Its black women that keep black women strong to continue the fight for justice in this country.

Thorpe said the government was carrying out sophisticated genocide to continue to annihilate the first people of this country, and told the crowd, you all need to help decolonise this place.

Despite these radical claims, Thorpe guided protesters back to the parliamentary road, saying: You have to support the ten demands from these families, not just rock up for a rally.

The ten demands, compiled by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, centre around a call for governments to sit down with us in transparent, open and honest conversations about solutions and proactive measures to effectively eradicate Black deaths in custody for future generations.

Some of the demands pointed to broader issues confronting Aboriginal people, including poverty-level welfare, a lack of funding for public education and healthcare, punitive policing and homelessness.

But the futility of such appeals to official channels is demonstrated by the fact that the first demand is for governments to implement all recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

At the Melbourne rally, co-organiser Sue-Anne Hunter repeated the common refrain: If we had implemented the recommendations from the Royal Commission, we wouldnt be talking about these things now.

In fact, around two-thirds of the recommendations have been followed. Claims to the contrary can only be understood as an effort to restore confidence in the ability of the bourgeois legal system to bring an end to the disgraceful situation.

Since the Royal Commission, the number of Aboriginal deaths in custody each year has increased by more than 50 percent. This growth is a product of a massive increase in the indigenous incarceration rate, which has more than doubled since 1995. In 2020, 2,333 out of every 100,000 Aboriginal people were incarcerated, higher than the rate of African Americans in the US.

The number and rate of non-Aboriginal deaths in custody is no better. Of 2,608 deaths analysed by the Australian Institute of Criminology in 2018, 2,104 were of non-indigenous people. Aboriginal prisoners died at a rate of 0.13 percent compared to the overall rate of 0.21 for the whole prison population.

The difference lies in the fact that indigenous people make up 28 percent of prisoners but only 3 percent of Australias population.

This cannot be understood primarily as an issue of racism within the police or judicial system, but is a product of the fact that Aboriginal people are among the most oppressed members of the Australian working class. The 2011 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey found that 19.3 percent of indigenous people were living in poverty, compared to 12.4 percent of other Australians.

While the Royal Commission handed down 339 recommendations, it did not result in a single charge against a police or prison officer, and none have been laid in the three decades since.

In a sharp example of the dead end presented by these official inquiries, the Northern Territory Labor government last month announced that it would reverse changes to bail laws made in response to the 2017 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory.

Part of a 2019 protest in Alice Springs following the death in custody of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendemu. (Credit: WSWS)

At the time, Labor Minister for Territory Families Dale Wakefield described the report as possibly the most important document that our government has received.

But now, young people in the Territory will no longer be entitled to a presumption in favour of bail for offences including unlawful entry, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and assaulting police.

Under the proposed laws, children as young as 10 will face automatic bail revocation for serious breaches including failure to attend court, failure to complete youth diversion programs and alleged violations of certain electronic monitoring conditions and curfew. This last point is significant as the government also announced its intention to expand police powers to fit children with electronic monitoring devices.

Aboriginal youth are overwhelmingly the target of such tough on crime measures, at times making up 100 percent of the Territorys youth detention population.

The most recent Aboriginal person to die in custody was a 45-year-old inmate at Perths maximum security Casuarina Prison. He died in the Intensive Care Unit of Fiona Stanley Hospital on April 3 after undergoing a medical procedure.

The prison is currently the subject of legal action, with two indigenous prisoners claiming in the Western Australian Supreme Court that they have been held in solitary confinement more than 20 hours per day for months on end and denied recreation time.

Just over two weeks earlier, a 37-year-old man was killed in a police pursuit in the western New South Wales town of Broken Hill. Police claim that the victim, Anzac Sullivan, suffered a medical episode after attempting to flee and could not be resuscitated.

The young age of the two latest victims is a reflection of the much broader health crisis confronting Aboriginal people. Life expectancy for Aboriginal people is 8-9 years shorter than for the general population, and the rates of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease for indigenous Australians are among the highest in the world.

The fight to prevent further deaths in custody, regardless of race, can only be carried out on the basis of a broader struggle to end the appalling social conditions that lead to the high rate of imprisonment for Australias most vulnerable layers. This requires the unified struggle of the entire working class which, under the pretext of the pandemic, is experiencing a sustained assault on working and living conditions.

Saturdays rallies, and the massive protests that took place last year despite a campaign of suppression by governments and police, demonstrate that there is support for such change among broad layers of the population.

While the latest round of protests are rooted in the genuine and justified outrage of the ordinary people, the racialist narrative promoted by the organisers will only serve to divide and suppress a genuine movement of the working class against all forms of class oppression.
Suspicious Vehicle Complaint Leads to DUI Charge

By West Kentucky Star Staff

MARSHALL COUNTY - A call about a suspicious vehicle Monday afternoon led to a woman's arrest.Marshall County deputies responded to Dees Cemetery after someone reported seeing a vehicle pulling in and parking.Deputies say the driver, Aimee Smith, showed signs of impairment.Following a field sobriety test, Smith was arrested and charged with first-degree DUI.She was lodged in the Marshall County Jail.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Syracuse University and the State University of New York have temporarily stopped giving Johnson & Johnson vaccinations to students because of federal safety concerns surrounding the one-shot vaccine.

SU and SUNY announced today they suspended distribution of the vaccine based on guidance issued this morning by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA recommended distribution be temporarily halted while experts review six cases involving individuals who developed a rare blood clot after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

SU had been giving the vaccine to students in the Barnes Center.

SU said it will get a a supply of Pfizer vaccine from Onondaga County so the school can continue to provide on-campus vaccinations to students, faculty and staff.

Students who had appointments today to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be contacted by SU to reschedule their appointments. Students who have appointments scheduled for Wednesday should show up at their appointed times to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

SUNY said it is working with the state to obtain alternative Covid-19 vaccines.

SUNY advised students with appointments for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to contact their campus or vaccination site because alternatives have already been found in some instances.

James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are scheduled to end their mission on the International Space Station Friday, April 16. Coverage of departure from the station and landing on Earth will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

Rubins, along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, will close the hatch to the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft at 6:10 p.m. EDT to begin the journey back to Earth. The trio will undock from the space-facing port of the station's Poisk module at 9:34 p.m., heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 12:56 a.m. (10:56 a.m. Kazakhstan time) Saturday, April 17, on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.

The three crew members will wrap up a 185-day mission spanning 2,960 orbits of Earth and 78.4 million miles. Rubins is completing her second flight, with 300 cumulative days in space. Ryzhikov is completing his second spaceflight, with 358 cumulative days. This was Kud-Sverchkov's first spaceflight.

In advance of Soyuz departure coverage, station commander Ryzhikov will hand over command of the station to NASA astronaut Shannon Walker during a change of command ceremony. The event will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website beginning at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, April 15.

On Friday, April 16, coverage of the farewells and hatch closure for the departing crew members will begin at 5:45 p.m., followed by undocking coverage at 9:15 p.m., with coverage of the Soyuz deorbit burn and landing beginning at 11:30 p.m.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 65 will formally begin aboard the station, with new station commander Walker, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, and Mark Vande Hei, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.

Later this month, NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 members  NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet  will join the Expedition 65 members aboard the station.

After landing, the Soyuz MS-17 crew will split up, with Rubins returning to her home in Houston, while the cosmonauts fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia.

Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


The COVID-19 pandemic may finally be waning as increasing numbers of people get vaccinated, but in the meantime its pushing a lot of surveillance technologies to the forefront  whether for contact tracing or for counting the number of people in a building. Were also learning more about how algorithms might be shaping the course of our lives, such as by way of automated resume scanning services or software that determines who gets (or doesnt get) bail.

But we dont always have to sacrifice privacy in exchange for protection, or to gain transparency about why some AI acted the way it did. Thanks to a conversation with Thijs Turel, who both heads up the Responsible Sensing Lab and manages the Responsible Urban Digitization program at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, Ive encountered two concepts Id like to see implemented in more places to help make our reliance on digital data more private and more transparent.

The first concept is what Turel calls a provokotype, a prototype designed to show the user how an AI might behave and then explain why it made the decision(s) it did. The goal is twofold: transparency for the model, and education for the citizen encountering the model.

The first provokotype built for the lab is an electric car charger that tries to optimize car charging times based on the type of vehicle and the person driving it. For example, it might be obvious to people that an ambulance or police vehicle gets priority charging speeds, but less obvious that a car owned by someone who lives farther away might charge faster as well.

The goal with the electric car provokotype is to put one on city streets and let citizens see how the electric car-charging algorithm decides whose car gets charged first. While using it, they will not only see their rate of charge, but will learn how other vehicles or driving needs might factor into the time it takes for them to fill up.

The speed of charging might depend on the amount of renewable energy available, planned trips, the occupation of the cars owner, and much more. By explaining how these things work, the Dutch hope to avoid people getting frustrated when, say, their neighbors car is fully charged and theirs isnt.

The idea that explaining the tradeoffs to people might make a world governed by algorithms a little less scary is somewhat charming. For as were discovering with the rollout of vaccines, what many people want isnt transparency, but that their needs be met. We may pay lip service to equity or a set of ideals about who is at most risk, but when push comes to shove, the U.S. is embracing more of a free-for-all.

I expect the same will be true of electric car charging. However, trying to make policy decisions transparent is great, because that transparency helps us align our stated goals for society with actual results. It also ensures that when were talking about setting policy we understand how difficult it can be to make decisions and what tradeoffs the decisions we make will require.

The second concept the Responsible Sensing Lab is working to implement is reducing the surveillance associated with public cameras. As Turel points out, with many smart city implementations the focus is on cutting costs and optimizing for efficiency, but if cities only focus on those two areas, the people who live in those cities lose out. That was part of the rationale for creating the ethical sensing lab earlier this year, to ensure that as technology gets deployed in Amsterdam the city can also use values-based design instead of simply choosing the cheapest or easiest option.

To that end, the lab is looking at using millimeter-wave cameras as a way to count people in public spaces as opposed to cameras. With mmWave sensors, people register as disruptions in an RF field; an algorithm then figures out which disruptions are people as opposed to dogs, delivery robots, or whatever else might be moving along a public street. This approach preserves the privacy of citizens but still lets the city understand how many people are in a given place, so can help with public safety.

Another privacy-centric project is dedicated to camera shutters for CCTV. In the pilot project, researchers outfitted a single camera with a privacy shutter (like you might have on a webcam). When the camera was recording, the shutter was opened; and when it wasnt, the shutter was closed to cover the lens. The idea is that public cameras might not need to constantly record during daylight hours when people are around, but could be opened only at night instead. And when they are recording, the shutters are kept open so that people have a way to know that they are being recorded.

When it comes to smarter cities, we have choices. Projects like these are trying to help us make good choices by making clear the tradeoffs associated with pulling in more municipal data and automating city services. Others are challenging the very notion that a smart city is automatically a surveilled city. Id love to see Amsterdams approach mirrored in other cities around the world.

Source: https://staceyoniot.com/amsterdams-ethical-sensing-plan-is-a-model-for-smart-cities/
Delhis Tihar jail is on high alert after at least 52 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, of which 35 are admitted in three different hospitals, senior prison officers said, adding that seven jail officers, including the prison doctor, have also contracted the infection.

The jail had only 19 cases of prisoners infected with coronavirus and no jail staff was affected by the deadly disease. Prison officers said the coronavirus infection has spread swiftly as the administration was trying to create isolation spaces inside the countrys most populated prison complex. Currently, the jail has over 20,000 prisoners, double its capacity of a little over 10,000.

A prison officer who did not wish to be named said, Three prisoners were critical and had to be admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital; 32 prisoners have been admitted as a precautionary measure at two different hospitals; 17 others are in self isolation in the jail. The seven jail employees are isolating outside.
Have you already subscribed to the Oilprice.com youtube channel? If not, sign up today to make sure you don't miss out on any of the breaking news and educational videos produced every week.

Chart of the Week

- U.S. CO2 emissions declined by 11% last year.

- Within the power sector, coal emissions dropped by 19%, and natural gas emissions declined by 3%.

- Power generation from wind and solar increased by 17%.

Market Movers

- Jeffries upgraded ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) to hold from underperform and upgraded Eni (NYSE: E) to buy from hold, both due to an improving oil price environment.

- BP (NYSE: BP) discovered oil near its Mad Dog deepwater field in the Gulf of Mexico.

- Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) said its first-quarter production was roughly 6,000 boe/d lower than expected due to the Texas grid crisis.

Tuesday Aril 13, 2021

Oil prices are still bouncing around depending on the news cycle, but with little definitive direction. In the words of Rystad Energy, Prices are still locked in a sideways limbo, as bearish Covid-19 developments in some countries compete against bullish economic data and spending projections going forward in US and China,. Related: Many Drilled U.S. Wells Will Never Be Completed

300 corporations call for 50% GHG cut. In a letter to President Biden, more than 300 companies called on the U.S. to double its greenhouse gas reduction target to 50% by 2030. I think this signals a major shift in the corporate communitys understanding of the urgency of climate change as a systemic financial risk, Anne Kelly of Ceres told the NYT. The Biden administration is expected to announce an emissions target before a climate summit next week.

Permian pipeline glut. Nearly half of the Permian pipeline capacity could be unused by the end of the year, the result of a building spree from several years ago that assumed pre-pandemic levels of oil production. Wood Mackenzie sees utilization rates falling to 57% - the prior low point during the 2016 bust was 70%.

Falling oil reserves a big IOC problem. In the coming years, the power structure of global oil markets is set for a major shakeup if the reserve life of International Oil Companies (IOCs) continues to decline.

Morgan Stanley: Oil prices stuck at $60. Oil prices will likely be stuck in the $65-$70 range this summer, Morgan Stanley says in a new note, tempering its previous forecast for $70 oil with temporary overshoots because of rising U.S. drilling activity and the potential return of Iranian exports.

LG Chem and SKI reach an 11th-hour deal. LG Chem had sued SK Innovation for theft of trade secrets, and the suit endangered a $2.6 billion battery plant in the state of Georgia from moving forward. But the two South Korean companies reached a last-minute deal that paves the way for more battery production in the U.S.

Iran Natanz facility attacked. Iran accused Israel of sabotaging its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz over the weekend.

Dakota Access decision delayed by 10 days. The Army Corps of Engineers  now under President Biden  declined to take a stance on the Dakota Access pipeline in federal court on Friday, despite the pipeline operating without a federal permit. The judge gave Dakota Access 10 days to come up with new information, after which the court may take action.

Exxon considers shutting Norway refinery. ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is considering closing its 116,000-bpd Slagen refinery in Norway, converting the site into an import terminal.

Total signs Uganda deal for $3.5 billion. Total (NYSE: TOT) and CNOOC signed deals with Uganda and Tanzania for the construction of a $3.5 billion oil pipeline to ship crude from Uganda to the coast in Tanzania.

California considers setback distances, fracking ban. The California legislature is considering a bill that would eliminate fracking statewide and implement mandatory 2,500-foot setback distances for drilling.

New York pension fund divests from oil sands. New York states pensions fund is restricting investment in six Canadian oil sands companies over their lack of an energy transition plan. The companies include Imperial Oil (TSE: IMO), Canadian Natural Resources (TSE: CNQ), MEG Energy Corp. (TSE: MEG), Athabasca Oil Corp. (TSE: ATH), Japan Petroleum Exploration (TYO: 1662), and Cenovus Energy (TSE: CVE), along with Husky Energy, which was recently acquired by Cenovus.

DUCs may never be completed. The big backlog of drilled but uncompleted wells might be overstated. The United States true DUC count could be much lower, given that many of the wells included in the EIAs DUC count are dead in the water and many years old, likely never to be completed.

Investors see growing risks from Big Oils bet on plastics. A new report finds that the oil industrys big foray into petrochemicals carries financial risks. Investors are likely to find that companies reliance on plastics to recoup lost demand for fossil-based energy is problematic, the report said.

Will shale trigger another price crash? A year after the pandemic and the disagreement within OPEC+ over supply management crushed oil prices, the industry finds itself at an all-too-familiar crossroads: Will OPECs bet that U.S. shales drill, baby, drill is gone forever be right this time? Related: Saudi Oil Minister: OPEC+ Strategy Is Not Set In Stone

TC Energy eyes wind for its pipelines. TC Energy (NYSE: TRP) said it may invest as much as $1 billion in wind power to help decarbonize its oil pipeline system in the U.S.

Oil buyers look to Asia. Brents premium to Dubai is at its highest level in 16 months. Theres much cheaper crude, and a lot of it coming from the Middle East, Grayson Lim, a senior oil analyst at FGE told Bloomberg. Those Brent-linked cargoes will need to be offered at a huge discount for buyers in the region to snap up the barrels.

Indias oil demand in question with quiet streets. Visuals of empty streets in normally teeming Indian cities has raised doubts about the countrys oil demand.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
needs to vaccinate more than a billion people in order to build an immune protection barrier against the COVID-19, a senior Chinese immunologist has said.

China, the world's most populous country, currently has five COVID-19 vaccines approved for conditional marketing or emergency use, and are free for the public use.

The higher the vaccination rate is, the stronger the immune barrier will be, Wang Huaqing, the chief immunologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with state-run Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

The novel emerged at China's central Wuhan city in December 2019 and became a pandemic, upending the life across the globe.

The country has set itself a vaccination target of covering about 40 per cent of the population by around June, or about 560 million people and 1.1 billion doses.

As of Saturday, 164 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday.

According to past experiences, setting up a protection barrier requires 70 to 80 per cent of the population to be vaccinated, Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based vaccine expert, told the state-run Global Times.

Feng Duojia, president of the Vaccine Industry Association, said time is an important factor for setting up an immune protection barrier.

If the vaccination campaign lasts too long and is outpaced by the virus' transmission speed, the immune barrier will be compromised, Feng said.

Wang appealed to more people to get vaccinated as soon as possible so that the protection barrier could arrive earlier, noting that vaccines are now the best option for an early return to normal life.

The continuous spread of the novel will allow it to mutate quickly, he noted.

The best way to stop the virus from mutating faster is to cut its infection source, which means getting people vaccinated and building up an against the virus.

About the concern of people that they would still get infected after receiving the vaccine, Wang said that the Phase III clinical trials showed that protection has occurred among the majority of the people, and the vaccine mainly protects people from severe illness or death.

In China, about one in a million people have adverse reactions or severe allergic reactions after vaccination, while the death rate from COVID-19 is two per cent," Wang said adding that vaccines will minimise the risk of infection.

According to John Hopkins tracker, China has so far reported 102,091 cases and 4,843 deaths. Globally the contagion has infected 136,829,561 people and killed 2,948,943, it said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The reported $20 billion bid to take Toshiba private from U.K.-based private equity fund CVC Capital Partners has the investment community abuzz: Will CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani actually be allowed to pull it off and escape the nets that are encircling him?

There is no way the timing of CVC's offer, on the heels of a shareholder vote to appoint independent investigators to review alleged vote tampering at last year's annual general meeting, is a coincidence.

A going private transaction -- if it can be accomplished quickly enough -- will effectively shut down the investigation and leave the world forever guessing at whether Kurumatani and other members of Toshiba senior management engaged in misconduct. It will also relieve Kurumatani from having to face reelection at the coming AGM in June, after having eked out a slim 57% margin at last year's contested AGM.

The identity of the bidder is a further reason for raised eyebrows. CEO Kurumatani served as President of CVC's Japan unit immediately prior to assuming office at Toshiba. Kurumatani's confidant and former Lixil CEO, Yoshiaki Fujimori, currently serves as a Toshiba director and special adviser to CVC.

Given the context and relationships, it seems unlikely that CVC's bid came out of the blue. The more plausible scenario is that it was solicited by Kurumatani to save his own skin. At one end of the spectrum of possibilities, one can imagine a tacit quid pro quo between Kurumatani and his former employer: a senior management role and equity in the privatized entity for Kurumatani in exchange for his help steering the deal in CVC's direction at a favorable buyout price.

The conflicts of interest between Toshiba management and shareholders are palpable. Yet Toshiba has shown itself remarkably tone-deaf to conflicts. To take the most recent example, Toshiba's shareholders voted for an independent investigation of last year's AGM in large part because the internal review by audit committee members who themselves were candidates in the contested election raised more questions than it answered.

How Toshiba addresses the obvious conflicts will be a fascinating test of the current condition of corporate governance in Japan. As a threshold issue, will Kurumatani and Fujimori be required to recuse themselves from negotiating with CVC? Will the terms of any compensation or equity participation for them in a privatized Toshiba be fully disclosed and vetted for fairness by a reliably objective process?

Even more significant and complex, will Toshiba take the CVC bid as the occasion to put itself up for auction to the highest bidder, one that may not be interested in Kuramatani's services post-acquisition? The conventional corporate law answer, echoed in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's own fair M&A guidelines, is that competing bids should be invited to ensure shareholders get the best price possible.

But whether Toshiba should be put on the block for auction is complicated by the fact that it is a designated national security asset. Sale to a foreign fund like CVC will require METI's approval under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade ACT (FEFTA).

That METI itself will necessarily play a deciding role in Toshiba's fate puts in the headlights METI's split personality as it relates to corporate governance generally and to Toshiba in particular.
Its been almost 50 years since Richard North and Chris Vogel were married, surrounded by friends and family, in a Winnipeg church.

Its been almost 50 years since Richard North and Chris Vogel were married, surrounded by friends and family, in a Winnipeg church.

However, the couple is still waiting on the courts to have their union recognized by the province.

Vogel and North were married in a Unitarian church in 1974, decades before Manitoba eventually legalized gay marriage in 2004.

When they attempted to register their marriage with the Vital Statistics Agency in the 70s, a judge denied it, declaring it a "nullity."

That declaration has continued to follow the spouses through the years; the pair attempted again to register the marriage in 2004 and 2015, but both attempts were unsuccessful.

North filed a human rights complaint in 2015, which ended three years later, when an adjudicator decided the Manitoba Human Rights Commission could not overturn the 1974 nullity ruling, and the province had not discriminated against the pair in refusing to certify the union.

"We are used to this; weve being doing it for 50 years," Vogel said in a phone interview outside of court Monday.

"It is nightmarish, but after a while you get used to it. Youre not going to stand for it, but youre not surprised when it happens."

In what Vogel hopes is the "last" battle, the commission is hoping to see the marriage registered, and is asking the court to find the adjudicator was wrong to decide the province did not discriminate against North by refusing to certify the marriage in 2015.

Both the province and commission presented arguments at an all-day hearing before Manitoba Court of Queens Bench Justice Gerald Chartier.

The provinces lawyer, Charles Murray, argued the adjudicator was simply "following the rule of law," and did not have the authority to overrule the original 1974 nullity, adding he believes the couple deserves to have their marriage registered.

"Manitoba acknowledges Mr. North and Mr. Vogel, and recognizes that they were pioneers in the same-sex marriage movement in Canada," Murray said in court Monday.

"Manitoba believes and continues to believe that Mr. Norths union to Mr. Vogel is worthy of being recognized as a marriage. We want to recognize it as a marriage."

Murray argued because the adjudicator did not have the power to reverse the 1974 legal decision, the couples sexual orientation was not a factor in the decision to deny the marriage registration decades later.

"Everyone has to follow court orders until theyre declared wrong," Murray told the judge. "Was Manitoba discriminating based on sexual orientation or was it following the rule of law?"

Miranda Grayson, speaking on behalf of the human rights commission, responded previous court rulings need not be followed in situations where the rule of law is unfair or unjust.

"What were talking about is an outdated version of the law that continues to prohibit two men from having their completely legal marriage registered," Grayson said.

"The reason that this marriage has been declared a nullity is because it was two men who were married in 1974."

Grayson countered the province was continuing to rely on a decision that would be considered "wrong today in law," as it was based in a legal definition of marriage that has since changed.

For his part, Vogel remains hopeful things will change this time around, and the province will recognize the couple has been subject to ongoing discrimination through the years.

"Were doing the right thing, it makes no difference to anybody else. Altogether theres very little reason except theyve got this stuck in their heads and I think the province theyre embarrassed by it, theyre trying to pretend they never did it," Vogel said.

"They start off all their presentations saying the province of Manitoba doesnt discriminate, well maybe it doesnt now, but it sure did then  and they continue to do it in this respect, every single day."

The judge is expected to present a decision in the coming days.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jsrutgers
FDA lifts ban on abortion pill by mail during pandemic; pro-lifers say move 'prioritizes' profits

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The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will not enforce the requirement that abortion pills be administered in person, easing restrictions on mailing abortion pills for the coronavirus pandemics duration.

In a letter Monday, Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs Dr. Janet Woodcock responded to two doctors who had expressed concerns about the in-person dispensing requirements for certain prescription drugs during the public health emergency.

The in-person dispensing requirements are part of the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies implemented to protect women from the adverse effects that the abortion pill, referred to as mifepristone in the letter, may cause.

Woodcock told the doctors that the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Drug Evaluation and Research was evaluating the issues you raised by analyzing studies pertinent to the in-person dispensing requirement in the Mifepristone REMS program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The evaluation concluded that there were no significant increases in serious safety concerns (such as hemorrhage, ectopic pregnancy, or surgical interventions) occurring with medical abortion as a result of modifying the in-person dispensing requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Provided the other requirements of the Mifepristone REMS Program are met, and given that the in-person dispensing of mifepristone for medical pregnancy may present additional COVID-related risks to patients and healthcare personnel because it may involve a visit to a clinic solely for this purpose, CDER intends to exercise enforcement discretion during the COVID-19 PHE with respect to the in-person dispensing requirement of the Mifepristone REMS Program, she wrote.

The dispensing of the abortion pill can now either take place through the mail either by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber, or through a mail-order pharmacy when such dispensing is done under the supervision of a certified prescriber.

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life grassroots organization Susan B. Anthony List, described the FDAs decision to suspend the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion pill as the latest example of how pro-abortion activists have exploited the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Dannenfelser, this decision prioritizes abortion industry profits over the health and safety of women and puts the abortion extremism of the Biden-Harris administration on full display.

This decision is pure politics, she added. The Biden-Harris FDA is acting in the financial interest of the big abortion lobby. This is [a] flagrant and dangerous disregard for the health and safety of American women and girls.

Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said in a statement that suspending this basic requirement places the lives of an untold number of women at risk.

Telemedicine abortions and abortions by mail fit in with the plans of abortion groups to have women essentially self-abort at home. Sadly, women and their unborn babies will be the ones to suffer, Tobias said.

Abortion groups now argue that, during the pandemic, it is safer not to evaluate and monitor a woman taking abortion drugs than to have her come to the office. An office visit would confirm that she is not too far along for the pills to work or that she does not have an ectopic pregnancy, which these pills do not treat and can prove deadly to a woman if it goes undetected.

The activist further added that the FDAs changes place women at greater risk because they may not be able to distinguish the signs of an incomplete abortion, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, or a deadly infection from the ordinary pain and bleeding of completed chemical abortion.

None of these changes make this process safer for the woman, she asserted. What these changes do is make the process easier and cheaper for the abortion industry.

The FDAs announcement was celebrated by abortion-rights proponents, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

ACOG has for years advocated for the FDA to remove the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, given that there is no safety reason for the restrictions and that the restrictions were more burdensome than those placed on medications with similar safety profiles, or even those with greater risks, a statement from ACOG leaders reads.

Moreover, mifepristone itself has demonstrated, through both clinical study and decades of use, to be a safe, effective medication. Requiring the medicine to be dispensed in person, then taken elsewhere at the patients discretion, is arbitrary and does nothing to bolster the safety of an already-safe medicine.

On Monday night, before the FDAs decision became public, the national pro-life group Students for Life of America hosted a webinar outlining the efforts to eliminate the REMS.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., participated in the panel discussion. He was joined by Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins and Kristi Hamrick, the organizations chief media and policy strategist.

The conversation focused on the side effects that chemical abortions can cause and the effort by pro-abortion activists to enable women to obtain the abortion pill by mail without seeing a doctor.

Daines accused Democrats of hypocrisy for mandating measures to protect the American people from coronavirus while working to gut measures that protect women from dangers that chemical abortions can cause.

Daines mentioned that he had recently taken two two-hour flights on his way from Montana to Washington, D.C., noting that he and all other passengers were asked to wear a mask to protect the fellow passengers from possible exposure to coronavirus.

And yet, at the same time, under the guise of COVID, theyre saying  we can remove these protections and [a young woman] can just receive these  drugs here to take a life, he argued.

The mortality rates 100% in that situation.

Stressing that he is not arguing about whether masks are right or wrong, he lamented that the administration mandated wearing masks on airplanes to protect your fellow passenger as a precaution while supporting the idea that a young woman doesnt have to have  a face-to-face discussion with a doctor and can get a mail-order drug to take a life.

Hawkins suggested that the abortion industry was looking to skirt safety standards that all companies that make products that may have adverse effects have to abide by, asking, In what other industry would you allow to do that?

She likened the abortion industrys push to eliminate the REMS to the tobacco industry going up to Capitol Hill, telling Senator Daines and the other senators that they dont need warnings anymore, they can regulate themselves.

Hamrick also raised allegations of hypocrisy. She asked, What other procedure is going to be DIY? I mean, do-it-yourself appendectomies, or I think I have cancer, so Im going to mail out for some chemotherapy?

While that sounds like a joke, it really isnt because some of these drugs are dangerous, deadly drugs that have been used in cancer and ulcer treatments, she said.

At the beginning of the conversation, Daines described chemical abortions as lethal for women, citing high complications for the mothers, including infections, severe bleeding and in some cases, even death.

And due to this danger, the FDA has clearly articulated, imposed this REMS, this risk evaluation and mitigation strategy on the abortion pill to ensure that the mother is seen in person by a doctor who dispenses the drug and informs her of the risk, Daines contended.

None of us on this livecast support abortion. But even if you supported abortion, you dont have to kill babies with these pills, you dont have to mail them into homes, you dont have to risk womens lives with RU-46 chemical abortion pills, Hamrick argued. To kill women with these pills in the name of making it easier to sell them makes no public policy sense, and its dangerous. Its not healthcare. Its politics.

Students for Life launched a petition asking President Joe Biden to ensure that the REMS remain in place. Daines signed on to support the Save Moms and Babies Act, which he said would preserve and strengthen these requirements.

Referring to chemical abortions are a two-step regimen, Daines explained that the first step is taking mifepristone, which he says causes the mothers body to stop nourishing an unborn baby and therefore, it kills the little baby.

And then its followed by another drug thats taken in to expel the dead child, he added.

Hawkins warned that the push to enable women to obtain the abortion pill without seeing a doctor is part of an overarching goal of the pro-abortion lobby to make abortion available everywhere.

They want to make abortion happen in your home. They want abortions on college campuses. They want  a woman to be able to walk into a CVS, get the drug or  get her Amazon package and be able to start an abortion immediately.

The pro-life group Live Action compiled an investigative report last summer called Abortion Pill Kills, which expands on the dangers of chemical abortions.

The report noted that 8% of women who take the abortion pill could experience heavy bleeding for more than 30 days. Additionally, since its approval by the FDA in 2000, chemical abortions have caused 24 maternal deaths as well as 1,000 hospitalizations and more than 4,000 adverse events.
Adapt2 Solutions, a leading provider of AI-enabled multi-market operations and trading software, today announced a new partnership with Uniper, an international energy company with trading and related activities in North America, enabling the company to scale operations in all North American ISO markets. With access to the cloud-native technology infrastructure provided by Adapt2, Uniper will combine industry expertise with a best-in-class technology solution to support asset management, trading, and renewable portfolio management with strategic insights provided by Adapt2s Tahoe data lake.

The implementation includes Adapt2s flagship Bid-to-Bill (B2B), Adapt2 Trade-to-Tag (T2T), and Adapt2 Green solutions to create comprehensive and seamless market operations across the front, mid and back-office. As Uniper plans for accelerated growth in the U.S. energy market, all three solutions combine to deliver full ISO market, trade, and renewable management functionality.

As we continue to build out and enhance our North American platform, Adapt2 will be a key partner for Uniper by providing a flexible, state-of-the-art market interface solution, said Tina Bradshaw, Managing Director, Energy Management at Uniper North America.

The partnership between Adapt2 and Uniper furthers forward-looking and sustainable transformation concepts for the energy supply of tomorrow. The dynamics of a growing renewable base and keeping up with the changing market demands requires system flexibility to adapt and scale with transparent data.

Uniper is at the forefront of global power transformation with a strong vision to evolve services around power generation portfolios including low- or no-carbon emitting assets with a cloud-native platform, said Jason Kram, Executive Vice President at Adapt2 Solutions. We view Uniper as a strategic partner and are looking forward to collaborating on new initiatives and adapting to a changing market landscape.

To learn more about how Adapt2 is accelerating power and gas market operations, visit https://www.adapt2solutions.com/ or follow Adapt2 on Linkedin (@Adapt2 Solutions) for more information on upcoming energy management webinars.

About Adapt2 Solutions:

Adapt2 Solutions (Adapt2) is the leading provider of AI-enabled multi-market operations software designed to help market participants streamline all of their front and back-office operations. Founded in 2008, Adapt2 delivers market-based solutions on the latest and most current technologies providing customers with fast, intuitive, and stable user experience and performance. With over 165 market implementations representing over 2500 market participants, Adapt2 is a leading solution provider in the energy industry. Adapt2 Solutions is a privately held company based in Houston, Texas. To learn more about Adapt2, please visit http://www.adapt2solutions.com.

About Uniper

Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries. The company plans to make its power generation CO2-neutral in Europe by 2035. With about 35 GW of installed generation capacity, Uniper is among the largest global power generators. Its main activities include power generation in Europe and Russia as well as global energy trading, including a diversified gas portfolio that makes Uniper one of Europes leading gas companies. In 2020, Uniper had a gas turnover of more than 220 bcm. Uniper is also a reliable partner for municipalities, public utilities, and industrial companies for developing and implementing innovative, CO2-reducing solutions on their way to decarbonizing their activities. As a pioneer in the field of hydrogen, Uniper is active worldwide along the entire value chain and is implementing projects to make hydrogen usable as a mainstay of energy supply.

The company is headquartered in Dusseldorf and currently the third-largest listed German utility. Together with its main shareholder Fortum, Uniper is also the third-largest producer of CO2-free energy in Europe.

Uniper in North America

In North America, Uniper conducts energy trading activities across a range of commodities. It also provides energy transportation, storage, and related solutions for customers in the United States and Canada. Unipers North American operations are located in Houston, Chicago and Calgary.
SPRINGFIELD  Saying that he is truly sorry for the Roman Catholic Churchs failure to protect children, Springfield Bishop William Byrne is calling on church members to join him in prayer and action as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month.

I ask you this month to join me in prayer and action as we work together as a Catholic Church and a wider community to continue to create safe environments for all children and implement best practices to prevent abuse of anyone, Byrne says in a video message on the diocesan website. We will protect Gods children.

Byrne was installed in December as bishop of the four counties of Western Massachusetts, and has met with clergy abuse survivors whose input is being sought to improve diocesan outreach to them. He is scheduled to attend a 1 p.m. flag raising Wednesday, April 14, at St. Michaels Cathedral to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month.

When I came to the Diocese of Springfield I made a commitment to not only transparency, but to healing, Byrne says in his message. I am grateful to the survivors who have courageously helped us in this effort.

He said the church both locally and universally has failed to protect Gods children, to protect their dignity and innocence, to protect them from a small number of priests and employees of the church who have committed heinous crimes, crimes that are evil and contrary to everything the church stands for and for that I am truly sorry.

We are working to rebuild trust because that is what Jesus commands of us, Byrne said.

A former altar boy filed a lawsuit in February seeking compensation for physical harm and continued emotional distress. His allegations of rape and abuse by a now deceased diocesan Bishop Christopher Weldon were found credible last June in a detailed year-long report by a retired judge. The diocese tapped retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis to investigate the allegations and the dioceses handling of them.

The diocese has implemented a number of changes over the last 24 months in its handling of such allegations, and has formed an independent task force to review input from survivors on further recommendations. Byrne announced he would add the names of deceased priests to the list the diocese publishes of those credibly accused.

A 2019 report indicates the diocese, in settling more than 147 claims since 1992, has paid out at least $15 million to survivors with allegations of clergy sexual abuse.

Others scheduled to be present for the flag raising include Jeffrey J. Trant, director of the diocesan Office of Safe Environment and Victim Assistance; Irene Woods, vice-chair of the diocesan independent task force and founding executive director of the Childrens Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin; and James Stankiewicz, interim chair of the Diocesan Review Board and clergy abuse survivor.

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2. Public safety. The crime rate is too high. Police pay and resources come first.

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4. Comprehensive plan. The city needs to focus on rebuilding and rebranding.

5. Cut city spending. City officials must get serious about trimming the budget.

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Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna says Ukraine expects international partners to strengthen sanctions and counter hybrid attacks from Russia.

"We adequately assess the threats, but we are not paralyzed by the intimidation policy used by the Kremlin to stop the course of reforms. Moreover, we are mobilizing international support to counterbalance the hybrid threats from Russia. [...] Therefore, we expect support through clear actions: strengthened sanctions, halt to the construction of Nord Stream 2, and counteraction to hybrid attacks by the aggressor," Stefanishyna wrote on Facebook.

According to her, the Russian leadership is stubbornly following the path of international isolation.

"Threats to use military force against Ukraine are nothing more than another way to raise Putin's ratings on the eve of the Duma elections," she saidd.

Stefanishyna said that despite this, Ukraine, with the support of international partners, has consistently held a clear course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
These scenes are framed by interjections from a griot, or traditional Black storyteller. This character, whom Dickerson-Despenza added for the audio version, speaks even more lushly than the others, a choice that may seem like linguistic icing or overkill depending on your tolerance for lines like stars bedazzle a sprained black sky as the City untangles its raw limbs.

Still, as delivered by the New Orleans poet Sunni Patterson, the largeness of the wording comes to seem like the precise correlative for the largeness of the disaster.

The balance of naturalism and otherworldliness is more complicated for the other two actors, but just as successfully achieved. As Magalee, Lizan Mitchell is wonderfully salty in her maternal mode and heartbreakingly childlike in her delusions. And as Ruth, Michelle Wilson (a star of Sweat at the Public and on Broadway) manages to create a fully rounded human character  with a husband, a lover, and a daughter to think of  while also serving as the plays eyewitness to the terrible things happening outside the window.

If thats too much for a 70-minute play to wrangle, the problem is a better one for a playwright to take on than too little. In [hieroglyph], the second installment in Dickerson-Despenzas Katrina Cycle  which I saw last month, in a filmed production from the San Francisco Playhouse and the Lorraine Hansberry Theater  the mechanism by which mere events were turned into drama was also noticeably clunky. Its characters, including a 13-year-old girl and her father, survivors of Katrina who wind up in Chicago with secrets to unpack, often seem to be serving the authors needs instead of their own.

There are times when shadow/land suffers from the same condition, one sign of which is the tendency of Ruth and Magalee to provide back story by telling each other (and thus us) things they would both already know.

But this play is saved  and, more than that, lifted  by its tragic vision. The production also makes an enormous difference. Delfeayo Marsaliss haunting music, bent and blurred through memory and, thanks to Palmer Heffernans immersive sound design, often morphing into the sound of the storm itself, helps us understand that whats at stake is not just a building but an entire cultural history.

Thats a big project, even before you multiply it by 10. Nor are the aftereffects of Katrina the limit of Dickerson-Despenzas current theatrical interests. Her play cullud wattah, set against the backdrop of the Flint water crisis, last week won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for playwriting; the Public, which originally planned to produce it last summer, hopes to try again as soon as it is safe to do so.

An astonishing start for a 29-year-old writer. Though Dickerson-Despenza says she does not consider herself primarily a theater artist but a cultural worker making space for Black women, she may, like her shadow/land characters, find that the emergencies of our day have a different fate in mind for her.

shadow/land

Available at publictheater.org and on major podcast platforms.
Photo: Glacier Media

Vancouver Island's Pacheedaht First Nation says it will determine what will be logged and preserved in its territory through a resource stewardship plan, and it does not support third-party activism taking place in the disputed Fairy Creek area near Port Renfrew.

In a statement signed by Pacheedaht Hereditary Chief Frank Queesto Jones and Chief Councillor Jeff Jones, the nation said it has always harvested and managed forestry resources, including old-growth cedar, for cultural, ceremonial, domestic and economic purposes.

Our constitutional right to make decisions about forestry resources in our Territory, as governing authority in our Territory, must be respected, the statement said.

The Fairy Creek area has been blockaded for eight months in a bid to protect what protesters say are some of the last old-growth stands of cedar on South Vancouver Island.

Teal-Jones Group, which holds the tree farm licence and approved cut-blocks and has the support of First Nations, wants to begin logging about 200 hectares along a ridge line above the Fairy Creek watershed and has a court injunction to remove the protesters.

There has been a tense standoff since the B.C. Supreme Court granted the injunction April 1, with the Rainforest Flying Squad saying they are willing to be arrested. So far, RCMP have not moved in on the blockade.

The Pacheedaht said the nations ownership and management of forest resources within its territory need to be acknowledged.

We do not welcome or support unsolicited involvement or interference by others in our territory, including third-party activism, the statement said. Pacheedaht needs to be left in peace to engage in our community-led stewardship planning process.

The First Nation said its Integrated Resource Stewardship Plan will include the identification of special sites, traditional-use areas and places where conservation measures will be in place.

The statement said its has secured commitments from tenure holders such as Teal-Jones and the province to suspend and defer third-party forestry activities within specific areas identified by Pacheedaht. This will result in the implementation of an immediate interim conservation measure.

No specific sites were revealed by the Pacheedaht, who said we have inherent governance rights and sacred responsibilities to manage the human use of resources in our territory.

The Pacheedaht and province agreed on a forestry revenue agreement in 2017.

The Rainforest Flying Squad referred comment on Monday to Pacheedaht elder Bill Jones, who has supported the protest movement and disagrees with both the hereditary and elected chiefs.

Jones said the statement was made without calling a meeting to discuss it with members of the community.
The U.S. cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 11 percent last year, but that trend could reverse in 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes and economic activity gains momentum.

Even if the U.S. experiences an increase in CO2 emissions this year, however, data show the long-term shift to renewable energy in Texas is likely to pick up speed in the near future.

The reduction in CO2 emissions last year was the largest one-year decline on record, according to the Energy Information Administration.

The drop-off in emissions was largely the result of people flying and driving less during the pandemic. And less energy went into to heating and cooling offices, schools and other buildings out of use during the pandemic.

On ExpressNews.com: More solar power was generated in Texas last month than in all of 2015

Most of what we saw last year was really a one-time fluke driven by the pandemic, said Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University. The pandemic drove down emissions in every sector of the economy.

Cohan said other quirks in 2020 also led to lower carbon emissions, including mild summer and winter weather.

Also, natural gas prices were under $2 for much of 2020, the lowest sustained price for the fossil fuel since the 1990s. The historically low prices led some power producers to favor burning less carbon-intense natural gas over coal to generate electricity, Cohan said.

Carbon dioxide emissions from coal declined by 19 percent last year, according to the EIA. Natural gas emissions, meanwhile, increased by 3 percent.

Natural gas has become the dominant fuel for electricity generation in the United States largely because of the fracking boom in the early 2010s. But natural gas prices have ticked up so far this year, including a spell during the February winter storm when natural gas prices skyrocketed amid scarce supply.

Coal has declined significantly as a power source in Texas over the last decade. Last year, 18 percent of electricity generated in Texas came from coal, down from nearly 40 percent in 2010, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

But the upswing in natural gas prices so far in 2021 could lead to a small rebound in coal-fired electric generation this year, Cohan said.

We have an ongoing transition from coal to natural gas and renewables, but that got heightened in 2020 by the conditions in the natural gas markets, Cohan said. In the short-term, I would expect most of those swings to swing back this year.

As air travel picks up and workers return to the office, Cohan said he expects to see an overall increase in carbon dioxide emissions this year.

However, the long-term growth of renewable energy in Texas is poised to accelerate this year.

William Luther /Staff photographer

Last month, wind turbines generated more electricity in Texas than in any month prior. Through the first three months of this year, solar and wind produced 30 percent of all the electricity generated in Texas, according to ERCOT.

And by the end of this year, ERCOT projects there will be 12,000 megawatts of solar power capacity in Texas. Currently, the state has 5,000 megawatts of solar capacity.

There are numerous new battery storage projects in Texas, too. ERCOT expects there to be 1,650 megawatts of battery storage by December, more than quadruple the current 366 megawatts of battery capacity.

On ExpressNews.com: Tomlinson: Texas should boost clean energy innovation, not discourage investors

Electricity in this country is cleaning up with remarkable speed, Cohan said.

But he said adoption of renewable energy technology in Texas could slow if some efforts by state lawmakers to stymie the growth of wind and solar are successful.

State legislators have sought to reform Texas electricity system in the wake of the deadly winter storm in February. Many Republican lawmakers have proposed subsidizing the development of more fossil-fuel power plants, which arent as dependent on weather as wind and solar power.

One amendment to Senate Bill 3, the electric grid reform measure, would pass on to wind and solar producers the cost of ancillary services, which are backup resources such as quick-start generators meant to keep supply and demand on the grid balanced at all times.

Under the amendment, no other companies would have to reimburse ERCOT for ancillary services. Such a provision could lead companies to reconsider investments in green energy in Texas, making fossil fuels more attractive by comparison, Cohan said.

However, the lengthy backlog of solar and battery projects means the expansion of renewable energy is likely to continue in Texas, at least for now, Cohan said.

Theres some very harmful provisions being considered by the Legislature that could have a chilling effect on wind and solar development in Texas, he said. This will be a pivotal year for the future of electricity in Texas, because theres never been a year when our energy systems have been so front and center.

diego.mendoza-moyers@

express-news.net
External Article

13 April 2021

While the success of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the U.S. has fueled optimism about a strong summer travel rebound, tourism officials in Europe say that slower progress on vaccines there coupled with new surges likely means any widespread return of Americans won't happen until late summer.

"I don't see anything happening in terms of Europe as a whole [opening] before late July," said Tom Jenkins, CEO of the European Tourism Association. "There's a possibility that July may yield something, but most people are looking at August, September."

Jenkins said one exception could be the U.K., which is much further ahead of the region in vaccinations.

Officially, the EU's more than yearlong ban on inbound travel from the U.S. and most countries outside the region remains in effect, but its members are not bound by that.
Dear Next Generation: A Person of Excellence

Our home recently went through some remodeling. We have had quite a few workmen in and out of the house over the past few months. There were painters, plumbers, roofers, carpenters, carpet layers, electricians, etc. It was interesting to watch the transformation that came over our home as each of these tradesmen completed their work.

As our family inspected the improvements at the end of each job, we appreciated the fine craftsmanship and attention to detail that most of the workers displayed. It was apparent that they carefully finished their work to leave a good impression of their skills. Because of the fine reputations they establish, I am sure they enjoy continued success. And we continue to enjoy their beautiful handiwork as we live amidst the finished productwith one exception.

One of the groups of tradesmen has long since left our home, but the handiwork they left behind is careless, hurried, and messy. We live with it every day. Every day we admire the mark of excellence of the careful craftsmen and every day we lament the labors of those who didnt care.

I am sure at the time, the careless workers were more concerned with what they had done the night before and what they were going to do that night. They did not worry about a little misstep here or a slight mistake there. Shortcuts in their quality were not considered. They just seemed to want to get in and out fast and get paid for the job. Well, obviously, the last group of tradesmen has left a lasting impression on me. Although they were nice people, I doubt I would recommend their work to anyone else.

This led me to consider myself. I put myself in the place of these sloppy workers and realized that there have been times in my life when I have been just like them. I have hurriedly finished (or even half-finished) a job just to be rid of it. I have not lived up to my best ability, so the impression that some people have of me is inaccurate. They will think my lackluster work was all that I was capable of doing. They will know me for a different person than I really am. It is disappointing to me that I have fallen short at times, but I have tried to be more careful as I have grown older. I know that the work I do and the image I portray leave a lasting impression on those around me.

An author named Katherine Porter said, All our lives we are preparing to be something or someone, even if we dont know it.

I would ask the youth of today: Who are you becoming? Will you be the respected craftsman or the careless worker? It is really up to you to decide. But the world needs those who are willing to work a little harder, be a little better, and set a standard of excellence and goodness for others to follow.

I have learned it is not in one grandiose attempt that we become a craftsman, it is in our day-to-day efforts to learn and improve. For example, to achieve higher school grades, never miss a class, schedule time to study, invest special attention to assignments, and prepare for tests. When you do the daily tasks, the big end goals are accomplished. Work on the small things and great things come to pass.

Do your best in your classes, in your kindness, in your honest walk with others, in carrying out the responsibilities of your job, and in the things you enjoymusic, sports, art, science, dance, etc.

Strive to be excellent (see The Quest for Excellence by Gordon B. Hinckley). It will require some extra work and it will engage your mind. It will take persistence and a can-do attitude, and it will even require patience with yourself as you occasionally stumble. But, through these efforts, you will realize you have become someonea person of quality and great worth, a craftsman to whom people will look as an example of goodness, excellence, and honor. Who do you choose to become?

Deanne Kuhni, Utah

_______________

Born in 1939, I was never taught right from wrong as a scholarly topic. I was taught it as the way to live my life by everyday examples from my middle-class parents, and I had one of each for over 50 years (mother and father). My mother was the eldest of nine children and she was educated to the 10th grade in a tiny town in Utah, having to leave school early to help raise her siblings when her father died from the flu. My father did not complete 6th grade, because he was forced to work for his fathers small company that built concrete bridges on roads over little creeks in the Texas county in which he was born. At 16, my father left Texas, and everything he knew, for the land of opportunity in California. Both my parents learned, and taught me, that working for what we wanted was the surest way to reach our objectives and to treasure what we got. Mom did menial jobs for a hat maker and she became a milliner making very decorative hats for wealthier women. Dad learned carpentry on the job at various construction sites. He slept in fields surrounded by orange trees where he found his morning breakfast. He quickly figured out that the more he learned, the more valuable he became to future employers, and he always looked for additional things to do on the job site. Often, when a new job was available to more than one man, he was selected because the bosses knew his value. Mom and Dad met and married in Los Angeles. Two years after I was born, my father was hired for a contract in Pearl Harbor. We got to Hawaii in time to be bombed by the Japanese! Dad was quickly hired by the Navy Civil Service to help rebuild the demolished Navy base. In spite of his lack of education, his practical knowledge and experience moved him up the ladder to supervisor. My parents agreed on one thing about education: I would go to college! After spending five years in college with no real objective, I was drafted by the Army but quickly joined the Navy before I had to start digging foxholes in some foreign land. The lessons I learned from my parents served me well in the Navy. Be honest, work for what I wanted, look for ways to be valuable, volunteer for things I wanted to do, make friends and be a friend. After 20 years in the Navy, I retired as a U.S. Navy chief photographers mate, a fantastic career as well as a life-long hobby. For the past seven years, I have volunteered as a docent and ships photographer aboard the USS Midway Museum in San Diego.

David Harper, California
An umbrella organisation of traders



in on Monday said it will extend support to the government if it imposes a "full lockdown" in the state to curb the rising cases of

The Federation of Association (FTA), Pune, took the decision after a detailed meeting of its representatives with senior government officials from district as well as the civic administration, its president said.

The decision was taken after considering the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the city and rural parts of the district, one of the worst-hit in the country, federation president Fatehchand Ranka said.

"After our meetings with the authorities and our own members, we unanimously took a decision to extend our support if the state government takes a decision to impose a full lockdown," said Ranka.

He said it has been learnt that the state government is going to take a decision about the lockdown in the next two days.

"If the state government imposes a full lockdown, on behalf of 40,000 in the city (represented by the federation), I want to assure the state government that to solve this crisis, we are with you.

"However, if the government imposes a half lockdown we will have to take a different decision," Ranka said.

He said imposition of a "mini lockdown" did not lead to reduction in movement of people and crowding in the city.

Ranka appealed to other traders' bodies to keep their establishments closed till the government takes a decision about the lockdown.

The federation earlier took a stand that the state government should roll back the fresh curbs, put in place since last week to stem the COVID-19 spread.

were miffed over closure of non-essential shops as part of the curbs.

A police case was registered against Ranka and 55 other traders for forming a 'human chain' in to protest the lockdown-like restrictions, which they said, adversely affected their businesses.

(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.)
Officer Who Shot Daunte Wright Identified, Medical Examiners Point to Homicide

Brooklyn Center Police officer Kim Potter has been identified as responsible for the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright, whose death has been ruled as homicide by medical examiners.

Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center Police Department, was identified Monday by Minnesotas Department of Public Safety as the officer who shot Wright during a traffic stop near Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon.

The 48-year-old officer has since been placed on administrative leave while investigators consider what disciplinary action, or potential criminal charges, should be imposed, Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Monday.

According to state records obtained by the Star Tribune, Potter became a licensed police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at the age of 22.

Police earlier released body camera footage of 20-year-old Wright being fatally shot by Potter at a traffic stop where police were attempting to arrest him for an outstanding warrant.

People watch as the body camera footage of the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright is played during a press conference at the Brooklyn Center police headquarters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on April 12, 2021. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

According to court records, Wright was charged in March with two misdemeanors for carrying a handgun in a public place without a permit and fleeing from a police officer by a means other than a motor vehicle. He was issued a warrant after failing to appear at a hearing on April 2.

Gannon said that Potter, who shot Wright as he was resisting arrest, had meant to pull a Tasernot her handgun.

It appeared to me, from the video, that the individual was trying to get back into his car to leave, Gannon said. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.

Gannon said that based on his experience and training, it appeared as though it was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.

Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! Potter is heard shouting on on body camera footage, adding moments later: Holy [expletive]. I just shot him.

After Wright was shot, Wright and his girlfriend in the vehicle then traveled several blocks in their car before before crashing into another vehicle.

Medical personnel attempted to perform life saving measures at the scene but Wright was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed Monday (pdf) that Wright died of a gunshot wound of the chest and manner of death is homicide.

According to the Tribune, Potter was involved in another fatal shooting of a man, named Kobe Dimock-Heisler, in Brooklyn Center in August 2019. He allegedly charged at officers with a knife inside a home.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been asked to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 16:49:09|Editor: huaxia

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CANBERRA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Australia's top business groups have warned that the country "risks losing the economic war" as a result of its interrupted coronavirus vaccine rollout.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), Australian Industry (AI) Group and Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) warned that Australia's economic recovery from the pandemic could be derailed by the delayed rollout.

As of Tuesday there had been 1.23 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out setting targets for when the rollout will be completed after abandoned his promise to vaccinate the population by October.

Innes Willox, the chief executive of the AI Group, said that without an updated timeline for vaccines Australia would miss out on economic opportunities to countries that started vaccinations earlier.

"We may have won a health battle but we risk losing the economic war," he was quoted by The Australian. "The United Kingdom (Britain) expects to reopen in June and the U.S. in October. We should expect the U.S. and broader Europe to be fully re-engaged by the end of the year."

"This is where our relatively slow vaccine rollout may hurt us. Skilled workers, students and tourists will not wait and choose to go where borders are open and where they are welcomed."

A survey published by The Guardian on Tuesday found that more than half of Australians think the vaccine rollout has been too slow.

Bill Shorten, shadow minister from the opposition Labor Party for government services, said the country was being "held hostage" by the rollout.

"A lot of people are saying well, if there's a problem with one vaccine or if there's a cloud over it, maybe I just shouldn't get vaccinated at all. That has really undermined the whole process," he told Nine Network TV.

"The reality is that Australians are being held hostage to a botched vaccine rollout." Enditem
JERSEYVILLE  Police have identified a man sought in connection with a St. Louis homicide who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Sunday night when Jerseyville Police initiated a traffic stop.

Emmanuel Ross, 22, of St. Louis, was airlifted late Sunday to a St. Louis area hospital where he was pronounced dead. At the time of his death, Ross was under investigation for a homicide late Sunday afternoon in St. Louis.

On Tuesday Jerseyville Police Chief Brad Blackorby said the investigation has been turned over to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

The incident began at about 11 p.m. Sunday in Jerseyville when officers  who had been alerted that a vehicle with Missouri plates was wanted for an investigation out of St. Louis  initiated a traffic stop on Spruce Street.

According to Blackorby, as officers attempted to stop the vehicle they heard a single gunshot from inside of the passenger compartment. The vehicle rolled through a stop sign before jumping a curb and coming to a halt, he said.

Inside they found the victim, later identified as Ross, with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was airlifted to St. Louis.

Blackorby said it was later determined that Ross was under investigation for a homicide in St. Louis earlier that day.

According to Evita Caldwell, a public information officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, at about 5 p.m. on Sunday police responded to the 3600 block of Virginia Avenue and discovered Destiny Davenport, 21, suffering from puncture wounds. Davenport was taken to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican convention in Washington on Aug. 24, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Nikki Haley Says She Will Not Run for President in 2024 If Trump Does

A top potential Republican 2024 president candidate said Monday she will not launch a bid if former President Donald Trump decides to run again.

I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told The Associated Press.

Thats something that well have a conversation about at some point, if that decision is something that has to be made, she added.

Haley, 46, is perhaps the most prominent female Republican considered a potential 2024 candidate.

Other potential GOP nominees include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Like Pompeo, Haley served in the Trump administration, holding the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. She left the role in 2018, saying she wanted to leave the public sector after spending nearly eight years there.

Then-President Donald Trump and then-U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speak during a meeting on United Nations Reform at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 18, 2017. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Haley said Monday that she would back Trump if he runs in 2024. She said the actions by President Joe Biden and the new administration are serving to unite Republicans.

I think former President Trumps always been opinionated, she said, when asked about Trumps recent criticism of former Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Just because he left being president, thats not going to stop. But I think what he also talked about were all the successes that he had in the administration. And I think thats what Republicans are uniting on.  Every day Biden and [Vice President] Kamala Harris are in office unites the Republicans, she said.

Trump has declined so far to commit to a third presidential bid. Late last month, he told daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview that she could have hope that he will.

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows last week pegged the chances of Trump running again at better than 50-50.

Im feeling great about President Trumps willingness to serve once again in the Oval Office, he said.

Trump is making all the necessary preparations and is being encouraged by many people to try to become president for a second term, he added.
Unplugged Performance (UP) used modified Tesla Model 3 in the All Japan EV Grand Prix and won against a Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Although the Taycan Turbo S was running on semi-slick tires, which are expected to make it faster, the modified Tesla Model 3 still proved that it is better than its competitor.

Also Read: Tesla 'Double Charges' EV Purchases on Debit and Credit Card Transactions with Customers Unable to Refund

According to Electrek's latest report, the yearly All Japan EV Grand Prix is conducted to promote the development of electric vehicles. The event does this by allowing some of the best electric cars in the world to compete with one another.

Most of the participants use Tesla models. However, the new All Japan EV Grand Prix, which took place at Fuji Speedway, showcased a Taycan Turbo S.

The Porsche EV shows that it can reach 0 to 100 kilometers in less than three seconds. Tesla's competitor also demonstrated that it has the power to become one of the viable models in the popular race.

Why the modified Tesla Model 3 won the race

In the first part of the race, Porsche Taycan Turbo S has the upper hand, thanks to its speed.

However, UP's modified Tesla Model 3 is more consistent every lap, allowing it to beat Team Taisa's Porsche EV. Here are the changes that Unplugged Performance made in the popular Tesla Model 3:

Tesla Model 3 modified by UP wins race against Porsche Taycan Turbo S: A Tesla Model 3 modified by Unplugged Performance (UP) has won a race in the All Japan EV Grand Prix against a Porsche Taycan Turbo S. To top it off, the top performance electric https://t.co/hxm5uDzSa8 pic.twitter.com/qKKC7EJksx  Daniel Aharonoff (@broadscaler) April 12, 2021

3 Way Adjustable Sway Bar Set

Adjustable billet rear camber arms

Steel braided brake lines

Adjustable billet rear toe arms

Race Spec Coilovers

Billet Height-Adjustable Rear Spring Arms

Billet Rear Trailing Arms

Billet Rear Traction Arms

The BFB Kit - 6 Piston Carbon Ceramic Big Brakes (with competition pads)

Enduro Drive Unit Oil Cooler and Magnetic Filter for Front and Rear Drive Units

Rear competition brake pads

Ascension Front Fascia

Yokohama Advan Wheels 18" Advan GT

Yokohama Advan Tires 18" Advan A052

Adjustable Billet Front Upper Control Arms

UP said that the changes it made to the Tesla Model 3 cost around $20,000.

Other companies that modify Tesla Model 3

Aside from Unplugged Performance, there are also other companies that modify the famous Tesla Model 3. Motor Trend previously reported that the Evasive Motorsports also modified the Tesla EV, which is expected to compete in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb event. If you want to know additional details, all you need to do is click here.

For more news updates about Tesla Model 3 and its upcoming modified versions, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Elon Musk Says Tesla FSD is Ready for Beta v. 9.0 to Improve on Cornering and Bad Weather, Self-Driving Coming to Boring Loop Tunnel EVs

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Giuliano de Leon

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
MINNEAPOLIS - Half of the children who developed the serious condition associated with COVID-19 called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) had neurologic symptoms or signs when they entered the hospital, according to preliminary research released today, April 13, 2021, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 73rd Annual Meeting being held virtually April 17 to 22, 2021. Those symptoms included headaches, encephalopathy and hallucinations.

"With this new inflammatory syndrome that develops after children are infected with the coronavirus, we are still learning how the syndrome affects children and what we need to watch out for," said study author Omar Abdel-Mannan, MD, of University College London in the United Kingdom and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "We found that many children experienced neurologic symptoms involving both the central and peripheral nervous systems."

For the study, researchers reviewed the records of all children under age 18 admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London between April 4, 2020, and September 1, 2020, who met the criteria for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

There were 46 children with an average age of 10. Of those, 24 children had neurologic symptoms or signs that they had not experienced previously. Twenty-four had headaches, 14 had encephalopathy, six had voice abnormalities or hoarseness, six had hallucinations and five had ataxia, or impaired coordination. In addition, three children had problems with their peripheral nerves and one child had seizures.

The children with neurologic symptoms were more likely to need a ventilator and drugs to help stabilize their blood circulation than the children without neurologic symptoms. However, there were no differences in terms of demographics, inflammatory markers, management or short-term outcomes between the two groups.

"Children who develop this condition should definitely be evaluated for neurologic symptoms and longer- term cognitive outcomes," said Abdel-Mannan. "More studies are needed involving more children and following children to see how this condition changes over time and if there are any longer-term neurocognitive effects."

###

Learn more about COVID-19 at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting hashtag #AANAM.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 36,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Dr. Abdel-Mannan will present his findings at 3 p.m. ET, Sunday, April 18, during the 2021 AAN Annual Meeting Emerging Science Session.

Please contact AAN Media and Public Relations at media@aan.com to schedule an advance interview with the author.

Emerging Science abstracts are embargoed until 12:01 a.m., ET, Friday, April 16, 2021, unless otherwise noted by the AAN's Media and Public Relations Department.

To view non-Emerging Science abstracts to be presented at the 2021 AAN Annual Meeting, visit the AAN Annual Meeting Abstracts & Awards page.
Urging American lawmakers to pass a legislation that ends the archaic per country quota for legal permanent residency in the US, a group of frontline Indian-American professionals, stuck in the 150-plus-year Green Card backlog, held a peaceful demonstration in front of the Capitol.

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.

In a joint statement on Monday, the Indian-American doctors said that they are in a 150-plus-year Green Card backlog due to archaic country caps that allows no nation to get more than seven per cent of employment-based green cards.

India is a land of a billion plus people but the number of green cards it gets is the same as a country as small as Iceland. There is no cap on H-1B visa though and Indians make 50 per cent of the H-1B work force. This discrepancy between H-1B and green cards has created an inhuman backlog that is adversely affecting our professional and personal lives, they said.

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.

The protesters said that the fairness bill removes country caps and allots green cards as a first come first serve basis. It passed in the House of Representatives by 365 votes in 2019 and its Senate equivalent S386 passed the Senate in 2020. Now the bill is back to the House as a modified version.

They urged Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to bring it to vote as a bipartisan solution to end the suffering of skilled professionals.

The Green Card backlog is taking a toll on the frontline health care workers and their families. They are living in fear and anxiety, Dr Namita Dhiman, a child and adolescent psychiatrist said.

US President Joe Biden should end the Green Card backlog by allowing USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) to utilise unused green cards from the past years for the frontline workers in the backlog, she said.

COVID-19 has been brutal to frontline workers and the green card backlog makes it miserable. This is leading to serious mental health issues in this group, Dhiman added.

Baltimore-based Dr Santanu Samanta, a radiation oncologist, said he feels threatened about the consequences to his family and his job, if there is no change brought in the Green Card system.

I would desperately want to see changes that would help us become permanent green holders to serve people in this country, he said.

Due to being stuck in the Green Card backlog, I couldn't get fellowship training for four years despite being the most worthy candidate. After training is finished, I couldn't find an appropriate job. My wife and daughter got so scared during COVID Pandemic that they wanted to go back to India, said Dr Saurabh Ranjan, an interventional cardiologist.

If I die while on H-1B visa, I don't get any benefits and my family will be deported. After serving the last 10 years as a physician, I still am alien and feel so desperate and hopeless how we have been treated in regard to green cards and citizenship, Dr Ranjan said.

Infectious disease and critical care physician from Wisconsin Dr Raj Karnatak said that they are fighting to save lives on the frontline knowing that if they get sick or die serving on the frontline, their families will get deported.

We need immediate relief from the miserable Green Card backlog, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US Food and Drug Administration has called for an immediate pause in the use of Johnson & Johnsons single-dose Jansen vaccine for COVID-19 after six recipients in the US have developed blood clots in just two weeks after administering the vaccine.

Reuters

Reported first by the New York Times, The six individuals who got the J&J Covid-19 vaccine were women aged between 18 to 48 years. Out of the six, one has died, whereas another is in critical condition in the hospital.



Also Read: Johnson & Johnson In Talks With Indian Govt For One-Shot Covid-19 Vaccine Trial

The women developed an extremely rare condition -- cerebral venous sinus thrombosis -- between six and 16 days of vaccination. Authorities fear that this could have been an immune system response triggered by the vaccine.

Cases of blood clots with AstraZeneca vaccine

This isnt the first time cases of blood clotting have emerged after administering COVID-19 vaccinations -- some individuals who were administered Oxford-AstraZenecas vaccine have also reported rare cases of blood clotting.

Blood clots were seen in the brain, abdomen and arteries, linked with low levels of blood platelets. Up until the end of March 2021, as many as 79 individuals have reported blood clotting cases after the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Also Read: US Questions Efficacy And Data Of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Trials

Out of these, 19 have died. Surprisingly, from these, 11 were under the age of 50 years, whereas three were younger than 30.

Out of 34 million people who got the AstraZeneca jab till now, 222 experienced blood clots linked to low levels of platelets. Most experienced this within 14 days after vaccination, with most being women under the age of 60.

Getty Images

Covid vaccine and blood clots cause for concern?

While it might seem scary, seeing the vaccine that was actually supposed to protect you put you in harm's way, but experts have highlighted that the odds of experiencing blood clots are extremely low.

Around 10,000 people develop blood clots in the European Union every month, around 3,000 in the UK. In the US, CDC data highlighted by the New York Times report reveals 300,000 to 600,000 people every year develop blood clots. However, the blood clot caused by the J&J vaccine called venous sinus thrombosis is extremely rare.

Also Read: Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Is 68% Effective On COVID-19 Strains, Seeks FDA Approval

The European Medicines Agency, the regulatory agency stated that the blood clots were an extremely rare side effect of the vaccine, while also claiming that the benefit of the vaccine that enables people to be safe from infection against the novel coronavirus outweighs the small risk it entails.

Reuters

Common drugs and habits may cause blood clots too

According to Mayo Clinic, common medications, such as oral contraceptives and hormone therapy drugs are known to cause blood clots too. In fact, according to Keir Shiels, consultant paediatrician at Great Ormond Street in London, the oral contraceptive pill has a 0.6 percent chance of causing blood clots.

The incidence of serious blood clots from:



The Contraceptive Pill: 0.6%



The AZ vaccine: 0.00017%



How much time did you spend wracking your brain about the first one?



I really hope that the media are proportionate in their reporting.  Keir Shiels (@keirshiels) April 7, 2021

The AstraZeneca vaccine on the other hand has a 0.00017 percent chance of causing blood clots. Also, in case you didn't know, smoking also can cause blood clots. Moreover, COVID-19 (just the disease, not the vaccine) too is known to cause blood clots in severe cases.
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

The widow of the New Mexico State Police officer killed in the line of duty outside Deming earlier this year is alleging her husband was told to do a dangerous traffic stop but wasnt informed of the suspects violent history or of the details of the investigation.

Gabriella Jarrott has sent a tort claim notice to the state, one of the first steps in filing a wrongful death lawsuit.

State Police released lapel and dashboard video Friday showing Officer Darian Jarrott pulling over 39-year-old Omar Felix Cueva on Interstate 10. Minutes later, Cueva  armed with a rifle  shoots an unsuspecting Jarrott multiple times, including once almost point blank. Officials said Jarrott had been assisting Homeland Security Investigation agents on an operation when he pulled Cueva over, but they have not released additional details about that investigation or Jarrotts role.

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Attorney Sam Bregman, who is representing Gabriella Jarrott, said his understanding is Jarrott wasnt told anything other than to pull Cueva over and ID him.

State Police and Homeland Security have some questions that they need to answer, Bregman said. They knew this monster was a violent felon  why didnt they tell that to Officer Jarrott? Why didnt they have backup? Why did they ask him to do a stop when they know (Cueva) has semi-automatic weapons and drugs in large quantities in the vehicle?

Cueva, who had a history of drug trafficking charges, was on his way to Las Cruces to do a drug deal, officials have said. He was killed in a shoot out with officers shortly after he killed Jarrott.

Bregman has sent a tort claims notice to the state but has not yet filed the lawsuit.

He said he plans to send an additional tort claims notice to Homeland Security by the end of the week.

In response to questions from the Journal  including what Jarrott was told about the investigation and what steps were taken to prepare him to contact Cueva  spokespersons from both the State Police and HSI said they do not comment on pending litigation.

This investigation is active and ongoing, said State Police spokesman Mark Soriano.

The investigation is being led by the New Mexico State Police Investigations Bureau.

HSI spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said the fact that the agency isnt commenting should not be construed as agreement with or stipulation to any of the allegations.

As part of the Department of Homeland Securitys homeland security mission, our trained law enforcement professionals adhere to the Departments mission and values, and uphold our laws while continuing to provide the nation with safety and security, Zamarripa said.

Bregman pointed out that in the videos released by State Police, HSI agents wearing tactical gear are seen arriving just seconds after Cueva speeds away from the scene. He questioned why Jarrott, 28, wasnt provided the same equipment.

They knew how dangerous (Cueva) was, Bregman said. They were willing to put on tactical gear to protect themselves, but they werent even willing to give the courtesy to the State Police officer to tell him what he was about to walk into.

Jarrott left behind three children, and has a fourth on the way.

This is such a tragic loss and so many people were hurt by this, Bregman said. The kids are going to grow up with no father and there are very few things worse than that.
A megaship which blocked Egypt's Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week has been 'seized' on court orders until the vessel's owners pay $900 million, canal authorities said Tuesday.

The MV Ever Given was seized due to its failure to pay $900 million in compensation, Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by Al-Ahram, a state-run newspaper.

The Japanese-owned, Taiwanese operated and Panama flagged vessel got diagonally stuck in the narrow but crucial global trade artery in a sandstorm on March 23, setting in motion a mammoth six-day-long effort by Egyptian personnel and international salvage specialists to dislodge it.

A megaship which blocked Egypt's Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week has been 'seized' on court orders until the vessel's owners pay $900 million, canal authorities said Tuesday

The MV Ever Given was seized due to its failure to pay $900 million in compensation, Suez Canal Authority chief Osama Rabie was quoted as saying by Al-Ahram, a state-run newspaper

Maritime data company Lloyd's List said the blockage had held up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.

The canal is economically vital to Egypt, which lost between $12 and $15 million in revenues for each day the waterway was closed, according to the canal authority.

The $900 million compensation figure was calculated based on 'the losses incurred by the grounded vessel as well as the flotation and maintenance costs, according to a court ruling handed down by the Ismailia Economic Court,' Rabie added.

He did not explicitly cite the Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha, but a different source at the SCA said Tuesday that negotiations over damages between that company, insurance firms and the canal authority were ongoing.

The compensation sum includes the costs of the salvage operation, transit fees that were lost and the costs associated with stopping all traffic in the canal

The Ever Given is now about halfway in a holding lake called Bitter Lake as the SCA investigates. All of the ship's crew are reportedly cooperating and have offered all of the logs or information that has been asked of them

In its court filing, the SCA referred to Articles 59 and 60 of Egypt's maritime trade law which stipulates that the ship would remain seized until the amount is paid in full, Al-Ahram said.

The MV Ever Given was moved to unobstructive anchorage in Bitter Lake after it was freed on March 29, and tailbacks totalling 420 vessels at the northern and southern entrances to the canal were cleared in early April.

The Suez Canal earned Egypt just over $5.7 billion in the 2019/20 fiscal year, according to official figures.

The ship was trapped for six days before authorities finally managed to set it free in an oepration involving tug boats and diggers

On Thursday, the ship's technical managers, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said in an email that the ship's crew was cooperating with authorities in their investigation into what led to the vessel running aground.

They said that Suez Canal Authority investigators have been given access to the Voyage Data Recorder, also known as a vessel's black box.

The news was announced by Rabei in a phone interview with government-run broadcaster Sada Elbalad on March 31.

He said the Canal Authority would demand the $1 billion (722 million) sum in compensation for the six-day delay.

'It's the country's right,' Rabei said, without specifying who would be responsible for paying the compensation.

The Suez Canal is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world as it creates the shortest distance for vessels to cross from the Indian Oceans into the Atlantic taking roughly 16 hours

It is expected either Japanese company Shoei Kisen Kaisha, who own the Panama-flagged Ever Given, or the Taiwanese firm Evergreen Marine Corp, who had charted the ship, will be liable for the compensation.

But Evergreen Marine Corp have said the accident was not their responsibility and doubt they will be sought for compensation.

Rabei said that in the past, canal authorities and the ship's owners have had a good relationship.

Two Egyptian canal pilots were aboard when the ship got stuck.

Such an arrangement is customary to guide vessels through the narrow waterway, but the ship's captain retains ultimate authority, according to experts.

The ship was trapped for six days before authorities finally managed to set it free on Monday.

The Ever Given is now about halfway through the canal in a holding lake called Bitter Lake as the SCA investigates.

All of the ship's crew are reportedly cooperating and have offered all of the logs or information that has been asked of them.

The other options would have been to sail around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a voyage that could take around 24 days to complete, or to use the Arctic shipping root, which would add 35 days to the trip

On the move: The Ever Given was back on its way in the Suez Canal on Monday, March 29 being pulled by tugboats towards a wide stretch of water nearly a week after it got jammed in the Egyptian shore in a blockage that strangled global trade

The compensation sum includes the costs of the salvage operation, transit fees that were lost and the costs associated with stopping all traffic in the canal.

The Suez Canal is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world as it creates the shortest distance for vessels to cross from the Indian Oceans into the Atlantic taking roughly 16 hours.

The other options would be to sail around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, a voyage that could take around 24 days to complete, or to use the Arctic shipping root, which would add 35 days to the trip.

The Ever Given had become jammed diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early Tuesday, March 23, halting traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The bow of the Ever Given was finally dislodged from the channel's bank on Monday, March 29 and towed up the waterway after tugboats had straightened the vessel in an early-morning operation and dredgers had vacuumed away large chunks of sand.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 02:50:53|Editor: huaxia

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A medical worker administers a dose of China's Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine to a resident in Mohammedia, Morocco, on April 13, 2021. Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 502,277 on Monday as 175 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua)

RABAT, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Morocco's COVID-19 tally rose to 502,277 on Monday as 175 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the death toll rose to 8,909 with nine new fatalities during the last 24 hours, while 424 people are in intensive care units.

The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 488,632 after 271 new ones were added, the statement said.

The COVID-19 fatality rate in Morocco stands at 1.8 percent while the recovery rate is 97.3 percent.

Meanwhile, 4,486,628 people have received so far the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 4,148,610 people have received the second dose.

The North African country launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China's Sinopharm vaccines. Enditem
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and AVENTURA, Fla., April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing allogeneic off-the-shelf gene-edited Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-NK cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies, announced today that it has filed two provisional composition of matter patent applications for its FLEX-NK platform, consisting of NKp46-based NK cell engager multifunctional antibodies targeting GPC3 for the treatment of solid tumors, including Hepatocellular carcinoma, and CD38 for the treatment of hematological malignancies, including Multiple Myeloma.

Cytovia is the first company to offer optionality to clinicians to use NK engagers either to activate the patients own innate cells or in combination with Universal off-the-shelf iPSC-derived NK cells. We are excited about the potential of our NK engagers and believe that they will offer a safe and effective outpatient alternative for those not responding to first-line cancer therapies, said Dr. Daniel Teper, CEO of Cytovia Therapeutics. Cytovia is committed to building a strong intellectual property portfolio to support further development of our first-in-class NK engager candidates, with clinical trials starting in the first half 2022.

Cytovia had signed an exclusive worldwide license in 2020 with Yissum, the Technology Transfer company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, for its NKp46 antibodies which activate Natural Killer cells. Yissum filed an international patent application (PCT) for the Nkp46 antibody on April 5th, 2021.

NKp46 is uniquely expressed in NK cells including solid tumor infiltrating NK cells. Targeting NKp46 has been shown to activate NK cytotoxic activity, regulate the tumor micro-environment, and prevent metastasis (as published in Immunity). Cytovia has a worldwide exclusive license of anti-NKp46 antibodies developed by Professor Mandelboim at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

CYT 303 is a FLEX-NK tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody targeting GPC3, a glycoprotein highly expressed on solid tumors, including Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but not on adult healthy cells. CYT303 is being developed to treat solid tumors expressing GPC3, including HCC.

CYT 338 is a FLEX-NK tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody targeting CD38. The anti-CD38 antibody has been shown to kill CD38-expressing myeloma cells while preserving immune cells in a bispecific T-cell engager setting (as published in Haematologica). CYT338 is being developed to treat hematologic malignancies, including Multiple Myeloma.

About FLEX-NK FLEX-NK is a novel tetravalent bispecific trifunctional antibody platform designed to induce targeted killing of tumor cells by redirecting NK cells. FLEX-NK antibodies bind to both NKp46 on NK cells and a tumor specific antigen on cancer cells.

The FLEX tetravalent platform is highly potent and behaves like an IgG antibody with high affinity/ avidity, long half-life, and low immunogenicity. The platform has excellent manufacturability and been validated preclinically with in vitro and in vivo data published in J. Immunology.

The FLEX platform was originally developed under the leadership of Dr. Kadouche, a scientific co-founder of Cytovia. Dr. Kadouche is developing additional novel multi-functional formats with intellectual property assigned to Cytovia.

About Cytovia TherapeuticsCytovia Therapeutics aims to accelerate patient access to transformational cell therapies and immunotherapies, addressing several of the most challenging unmet medical needs in cancer. Cytovia focuses on Natural Killer (NK) cell biology and applies precision engineering to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to develop the safest, most effective, most broadly-available off-the-shelf Natural Killer cell therapy as a first line of defense against cancer. Cytovias proprietary multi-specific antibody platform has been customized to engage and activate NK Cells at the tumor site. Both platforms offer optionality to clinicians and can also be used synergistically. Cytovias R&D laboratories and GMP manufacturing facility are augmented by scientific partnerships with Cellectis, CytoImmune, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, INSERM, the New York Stem Cell Foundation, STC Biologics, and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

For further information, please contact:

Cytovia Investor Relations contact: Anna Baran-Djokovic VP of Investor Relations646-355-1787anna@cytoviatx.com

Cytovia Media contact: Chris MaggosLifeSci Advisors+41 79 367 6254chris@lifesciadvisors.com

Source: Cytovia Therapeutics
The HPV vaccine is a proven defense against the 6 types of cancer that can be caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) later in life  cancers of the cervix, throat, vulva, and anus in girls and cancers of the throat, penis, and anus in boys.

The ACS recommends that boys and girls start the vaccine series between the ages of 9 and 12. But, not all kids get vaccinated during these ages when the vaccine is most effective.

Vaccination rates among adolescents are lower than those of younger children. And teens who live in rural areas have much lower vaccination rates compared to kids who live in urban and suburban cities.

Geographic disparities in Oregon affect vaccination rates

That geographic disparity affects a states that are mostly rural, like Oregon, where rural areas that cover more than 85% of the state and where 1 in 3 residents lives.

Overall, most kids get their childhood immunizations, but the adolescent population is less likely to be up to date with their immunizations compared to younger children for a variety of reasons, said Lyle Fagnan, MD, a family doctor and professor at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and an American Cancer Society (ACS) grantee.

One reason, Fagnan said, is lack of a school requirement to get an HPV vaccine. Here in Oregon, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular, pertussis) vaccinations, are required for school, and about 90% of kids are up to date with them. But only about 50% of teens are up to date with the HPV vaccine. In rural Oregon, only about 30% of teens get all the recommended HPV vaccine.

In his experience, Fagnan said, people who live in rural areas are more likely to be hesitant about getting vaccines than those who live in a more urban area. For whatever reason, they're concerned that vaccines arent safe. They believe that natural immunity is better, and they say, I just dont think that we want our children to get the shot.

Some parents, he adds, dont think that vaccines against sexually transmitted infections, like the HPV vaccine, are appropriate for children.

RAVE (Rural Adolescent Vaccine Enterprise) study is uncovering vaccine barriers and solutions

Fagnan wants to close the gaps in HPV immunization rates between rural and urban adolescents. The ACS research scholar grant is helping him carry out his 4-step plan to do so.

Fagnan and his co-researcher Patricia Carney, PhD, have completed the first step of RAVE (the Rural Adolescent Vaccine Enterprise), an Oregon-based study, designed to uncover why rural vaccination rates lag behind urban and suburban ones.

Theyve assessed 12 rural clinics to learn why some achieve higher HPV vaccination rates than others. A few tactics that seem to make a difference include offering the vaccine every time an adolescent has an appointment at the clinic and having a staff person dedicated to maintaining the clinics supply of vaccine.

Next, Fagnan will lead 46 rural Oregon clinics in implementing strategies learned from the initial 12 clinics to improve HPV vaccination rates. Over the course of 18 months, research coordinators will follow up with the clinics regularly to check on their progress.

After theyve nailed down effective strategies, the clinics will team up with a local partner, such as a community pharmacist or a school, to help them further their mission. A school nurse, for example, might help reinforce the recommendations for the HPV vaccine. Based on what Fagnan and his team learn from their research, he said, theyll create a toolkit that rural clinics across North America can use to increase HPV vaccination rates.

Rural practices need help improving quality of care for adolescents, and this grant is making that happen, said Fagnan. Weve already seen  and I would not have predicted this  a real surge in the amount of interest in HPV from rural citizens. It seems like everyone wants to talk to us about it.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control halted the rollout of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in South Carolina at the recommendation of federal health officials investigating reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating unusual clots in six women that occurred six to 13 days after vaccination.

The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets. All six cases were in women between the ages of 18 and 48. One person died, and all of the cases remain under investigation.

Given millions of people have taken the vaccines and the clots are known to happen naturally in the population, a cause-and-effect relationship between the clots and the vaccines hasn't been established.

But the reports appear similar to a rare type of clotting disorder that European authorities say is possibly linked to another COVID-19 vaccine not yet cleared in the U.S. from AstraZeneca.

As of April 10, about 87,000 South Carolinians had received the J&J vaccine. Another 35,000 doses are in the state's inventory but yet to be delivered to people, according to DHEC. The vast majority of people who have already gotten the shot have had either no or mild side effects.

The South Carolina health agency announced in an April 13 statement it is calling providers who are giving out the J&J vaccine to stop for the moment and is working on reshuffling upcoming events that featured the manufacturer's doses.

"Our top priority is protecting the health and safety of the public," DHEC said in a statement. "This pause is evidence of very close safety monitoring as part of the strict quality assurance that is in place to ensure patient safety."

Dr. Edward Simmer, DHEC's director, said during a media briefing he thinks "the impact will be minimal, and we're working to minimize it even further." Simmer added that the doses are in storage and could be deployed if the FDA and CDC lift their recommendation to pause distribution.

The other two authorized vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer, make up the vast share of COVID-19 shots administered in the U.S. and are not affected by the pause. In South Carolina, just 3 percent of all doses that have been given were made by J&J.

In its response to the news, J&J said it would also delay the rollout of its single-dose vaccine in Europe.

"We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to health care professionals and the public," the firm said in its statement.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet April 14 to discuss the cases, and the FDA has also launched an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts.

"Right now, I'd like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However, COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority," acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said at a news conference April 13. "We take all reports of adverse events following vaccination very seriously."

Recommendations call for people given the J&J vaccine who are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the shot contact their health care provider.

Dr. Helmut Albrecht, an infectious disease physician at Prisma Health, the largest provider of COVID-19 vaccines in South Carolina, said blood clotting is not necessarily a rare event in and of itself, though it can be a serious problem for patients.

He noted the chances of getting a blood clot from COVID-19 are higher than getting one from the J&J vaccine.

"Out of an abundance of caution this was halted to see if this is truly related," Albrecht said. "This will cost a lot more lives than continuing it."

Asked if the government was overreacting to six cases out of more than 6 million vaccinations, the CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said recommendations will come quickly.

Because these unusual clots require special treatment, "it was of the utmost importance to us to get the word out," she said. "That said, the pandemic is quite severe and cases are increasing in lots of places and vaccination's critical."

Until now, concern about the unusual blood clots has centered on the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which has not yet received authorization in the United States. Last week, European regulators said they found a possible link between the shots and rare blood clots.

The J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines are built on similar technology, Albrecht said, whereas the Pfizer and Moderna options have completely different building blocks.

As part of its recommendations April 13, U.S. health authorities cautioned doctors against using a typical clot treatment, the blood-thinner heparin.

"In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous and alternative treatments need to be given," the FDA and CDC said.

European authorities investigating the AstraZeneca cases have concluded clots appear to be similar to a very rare abnormal immune response that sometimes strikes people treated with heparin, leading to a temporary clotting disorder.

Doctors would treat these kinds of unusual clots like they treat people who have the heparin reaction  with different kinds of blood thinners and sometimes an antibody infusion, said Dr. Geoffrey Barnes, a clot expert at the University of Michigan.

Even without J&J's vaccine, White House officials said they remain on track to have enough supplies to vaccinate most American adults by the summer.

"We believe there's enough vaccine in the system  Moderna and Pfizer  for all Americans who want to get vaccinated by May 31 to do so," said Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator.

The J&J vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late February with great fanfare, with hopes that its single-dose and relatively simple storage requirements would speed vaccinations across the country. Yet the shot only makes up a small fraction of the doses administered in the U.S. as J&J has been plagued by production delays and manufacturing errors at the Baltimore plant of a contractor.

Last week, the drugmaker took over the facility to scale up production in hopes of meeting its commitment to the U.S. government of providing about 100 million doses by the end of May.

U.S. stock markets initially dropped on the J&J news, but some indices were up slightly by late morning. Johnson & Johnson shares were down nearly 3 percent, an unusually big drop for the drug giant, with more shares changing hands in the first two hours than on an average day.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Enterprises will go through the Response, Recovery, and Renew phases.

Download a FREE Sample Report

The personal luxury goods market will witness a positive impact during the forecast period owing to the widespread growth of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per Technavio's pandemic-focused market research, market growth is likely to increase as compared to increase in 2021 as compared to 2020.

With the continuing spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, organizations across the globe are gradually flattening their recessionary curve by leveraging technology. Many businesses will go through response, recovery, and renewal phases. Building business resilience and enabling agility will aid organizations to move forward in their journey out of the COVID-19 crisis towards the Next Normal.

This post-pandemic business planning research will aid clients to:

Adjust their strategic planning to move ahead once business stability kicks in.

to move ahead once business stability kicks in. Build resilience by making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines.

making effective resource and investment choices for individual business units, products, and service lines. Conceptualize scenario-based planning to mitigate future crisis situations.

Download the Post-Pandemic Business Planning Structure

Key Considerations for Market Forecast:

Impact of lockdowns, supply chain disruptions, demand destruction, and change in customer behavior.

Optimistic, probable, and pessimistic scenarios for all markets as the impact of pandemic unfolds.

Pre- as well as post-COVID-19 market estimates.

Quarterly impact analysis and updates on market estimates.

Major Three Personal Luxury Goods Market Participants:

Coty Inc.

Coty Inc. offers business through various segments such as Americas, EMEA, Asia Pacific, and Other segments. The company offers personal luxury goods under various brands.

Hermes International

Hermes International operates business through various segments such as Leather goods and saddlery, Ready to wear accessories, Silk and Textiles, Perfumes, and Watches. The company offers luxury goods such as leather goods, fashion jewelry, shoes, fragrances, watches, and ready-to-wear.

Kering SA

Kering SA operates business through various segments such as Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Other Houses segment. The company offers a wide range of personal luxury goods such as handbags, shoes, apparel, and accessories through brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, Ulysse Nardin, Bottega Veneta, and Saint Laurent.

If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extract FREE! Get a report snapshot here to get a detailed market share analysis of market participants during COVID-19 lockdown:

More Details: https://www.technavio.com/report/personal-luxury-goods-market-industry-analysis

Personal Luxury Goods Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

The personal luxury goods market is segmented as below

Product

Accessories



Apparel



Hard Luxury



Cosmetics



Others

Geography

APAC



North America



Europe



MEA



South America

The personal luxury goods market is driven by increased demand for premium beauty products and cosmetics. In addition, the adoption of omnichannel retailing is expected to trigger the personal luxury goods market toward witnessing a CAGR of almost 3% during the forecast period.

Get more insights about the global trends impacting the future of the personal luxury goods market, Request Free Sample @

https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR70417

Related Report on Consumer Staples Include:

Global Nail Care Products Market- The nail care products market is segmented by product (nail polish, nail accessories and implements, nail strengthener, nail polish remover, and others), distribution channel (offline and online), and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and MEA).

To get extensive research insights: Download FREE Sample Report

Global Anti-acne Cosmetics Market- The anti-acne cosmetics market is segmented by product (cleansers, emulsions, and masks) and geography (Europe, APAC, North America, South America, and MEA).

To get extensive research insights: Download FREE Sample Report

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

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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.

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Famed Egyptian Archaeologist Reveals Details of Ancient City

Egypts best-known archaeologist on Saturday revealed further details on a Pharaonic city recently found in the southern province of Luxor.

Zahi Hawass said that archaeologists found brick houses, artifacts, and tools from pharaonic times at the site of the 3,000-year-old lost city. It dates back to Amenhotep III of the 18th dynasty, whose reign is considered a golden era for ancient Egypt.

This is really a large city that was lost The inscription that found inside here says that this city was called: `The dazzling Aten, Hawass told reporters at the site.

Archeologists started excavating in the area last year, searching for the mortuary temple of boy King Tutankhamun. However, within weeks they found mud brick formations that eventually turned out to be a well-preserved large city.

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City walls and even rooms filled with ovens, storage pottery, and utensils used in daily life are said to be present. Archeologists also found human remains that were visible to reporters and visitors on Saturday.

We found three major districts, one for administration, one for the workmen to sleep, one for the industry and (an) area for dried meat, said Hawass, who spoke to reporters at the site while wearing his iconic Indiana Jones hat.

He said he believes that the city was the most important discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun was unearthed in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor nearly fully intact in 1922.

Hawass also rejected the notion that the citys remains had already been discovered previously, as has been suggested in posts circulating on social media. Its impossible that I discover something that was previously discovered, he said.

Betsy Brian, professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University, agreed that the find was new, calling it exceptional in scale and organization.

Theres no indication that I am aware of that this town section had been found before, although clearly it represents a new part of an enormous royal city, that we can appreciate far more now, she said.

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The newly unearthed city is located between the temple of King Rameses III and the colossi of Amenhotep III on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor. The city continued to be used by Amenhotep IIIs grandson Tutankhamun, and then his successor King Ay.

Some mud bricks bear the seal of King Amenhotep IIIs cartouche, or name insignia.

Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt between 1391 B.C. and 1353 B.C., built the main portions of the Luxor and Karnak temples in the ancient town of Thebes.

Egypt has sought publicity for its archaeological discoveries in the hopes of reviving its tourism sector, which was badly hit by the turmoil following the 2011 uprising, and now the coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement came a few days after Egypt moved 22 of its prized royal mummies in a gala parade to their new resting place _ the newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo.
Other municipalities have lowered their Maple Leaf flags to mark the passing of Prince Philip but the City of Kelowna's remains in its normal position. It will be lowered on Saturday for Philip's funeral, Mayor Colin Basran said Monday.
Chinese tech giant Huawei will optimize its portfolio to boost business resilience among five strategic initiatives in a bid to navigate a challenging environment, Huawei's rotating chairman Eric Xu said Monday.



Huawei will particularly strengthen its software engineering capabilities and reduce the demand of and dependence on chips. So said Xu at Huawei's 18th Global Analyst Summit in Shenzhen, held on Monday.

Among the other four strategic initiatives, Huawei will maximize 5G value and define 5.5G with industry peers to drive the evolution of mobile communications. It will provide a seamless, user-centric, and intelligent experience across all user scenarios.

The Shenzhen-headquartered company will also innovate to reduce energy consumption for a low-carbon world and address supply continuity challenges, Xu said.

Xu also urged the rebuilding of trust in the global semiconductor industry. He warned that the current global chips shortage, a result of chip-stockpiling by many companies over factors including U.S. sanctions on Huawei, may trigger a bigger global crisis in the future.

"Rebuilding trust and restoring collaboration across the global semiconductor supply chain is crucial to bringing the industry back on track," said Xu.

Huawei posted slower earnings growth over the U.S. export restrictions. In 2020, its global sales revenue rose by 3.8 percent, year on year, to 891.4 billion yuan (about 136 billion U.S. dollars), while net profit gained 3.2 percent, year on year, to 64.6 billion yuan. So said the company's 2020 financial report.

More than 400 guests joined the event on-site. They included industry and financial analysts, key opinion leaders, and media representatives, along with analysts and media representatives from around the world who attended online.
The Biden administration has struck a deal with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala to control the surge of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.

According to The Guardian, the agreement between the United States and the three countries will temporarily put more troops on their own border to halt migrants from reaching the southern border.

White Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the deal between the U.S., Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala during her daily briefing with reporters.

President Joe Biden's reversal of the Trump administration's border policies has flooded the U.S. borders with Central American and Mexican illegal migrants, New York Post reported.

READ NEXT: Roberta Jacobson, Biden's Border Czar, Steps Down Amid Migrant Crisis

Biden Administration and the International Deal

The agreement between the countries follows the record number of unaccompanied migrant children attempting to cross the borders in March, witnessed by the United States. The record is also considered the largest number of Border Patrol encounters with migrants in the southern border since March of 2001.

"Mexico decided to maintain 10,000 troops at its southern border, resulting in twice as many daily migrant introductions," said Psaki.

Psaki further noted that Guatemala had deployed about 1,500 law enforcement authorities to its southern border. Guatemala also agreed to set up 12 checkpoints along the pathways migrants are taking.

On the other hand, Honduras has deployed about 7,000 law enforcement officers to disperse a large group of migrants in the country.

Psaki noted that the agreement was the product of series of "bilateral discussions" between the U.S. officials and the government of the Central American nations.

President Biden publicly discouraged migrants from traveling to the United States during his inauguration in January, according to a Newsweek report. However, his friendlier tone towards immigrants during his campaign reportedly signaled migrants from Latin American countries that he will be more welcoming once he took office.

Biden administration's new agreement echoes the former administration's 2019 deal with Mexico, which is different from the signature "Remain in Mexico" policy where national guards were deployed to the Guatemalan borders hoping to stop the migrants headed to the U.S. borders.

Troops on Borders

Psaki noted that the law enforcement troops' goal on borders is to make it more difficult for migrants and discourage them from fleeing their country.

However, some immigration advocates are cynical about the new agreement the Biden administration had with Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.

"We shouldn't be talking about troops stationed on a border to stop families and children from their right under international law to seek protection," said Daniella Burgi-Palomino.

Burgi-Palomino, who is the co-director of the non-profit Latin America Working Group, noted that the move is a "militarized action" for families and children, who are in dire need of protection.

Corruption, organized crime, and hunger because of failing crops are factors, which according to The Guardian affect the decision of the migrants to leave their homeland and seek asylum with the United States, leading to migrant surge.

The migrant surge the Biden administration is facing is composed of Mexicans as the lead proportion of migrants faced by the Border Patrol agents. People from Honduras and Guatemala rank second and third, respectively.

READ MORE: Pelosi Says Surge of Migrant Children At U.S.-Mexico Border Is a 'Humanitarian Crisis'

WATCH: Mexico and Guatemala Move Troops to Southern Borders to Make Journey to U.S. "More Difficult": Psaki - From The Hill
I was hunting for a new home and had my heart set on a new build. Having been on several viewings, I found a two-bedroom house on a new development being built by a big household name firm which I wanted to make an offer on.

The price of this home was advertised as 320,000, and I confirmed this with the developer's representative at the viewing and in a subsequent conversation.

Shortly afterwards, when the day came to pay a reservation fee to secure the home, the person I then spoke to informed me the price had risen 5,000.

When I queried this, they said that I could afford the increase based on a financial qualification check that I had done. Later in the conversation, they told me that another buyer was about to reserve the home anyway.

New build: Can the price change before you reserve a home on a new development? (Stock image)

Although the increase in price was small, this is money that could have been spent on furniture for my new home.

I also feel that the way the price increase was sprung on me at the last minute was underhand, and am unhappy that I was not informed earlier about the other buyer.

Is this something that developers are allowed to do, and is it common practice? I have contacted the Advertising Standards Authority but have not had a reply. Via email

Helen Crane, This is Money replies: I am sorry to hear about your problems trying to secure your new home.

The property market is incredibly competitive at the moment, thanks to people's increased appetite to move and the Government's stamp duty holiday, which will now continue in its current form until the end of June.

Unfortunately for buyers, this increased competition in many areas means it is a sellers' market. Bidding wars are not uncommon, and it can often mean the asking price is surpassed.

But what are the rules about price increases when you are buying a new-build directly from the developer?

Housebuilders advertise the price of their homes in brochures and other marketing materials. Are they allowed to increase them as and when they like and what are the buyer's rights if that happens? I asked two estate agents and two property lawyers to explain.

Martin Bikhit, managing director of estate agent Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Kay & Co replies: Unfortunately, as immoral at it may seem, prices of new-build homes do tend to fluctuate and prices usually go up when there are fewer homes left.

It's very much a case of supply and demand and developers will revise their prices regularly in order to accommodate this.

You can argue that it's immoral but if it says in the small print that prices are 'subject to change' then your agreement sadly isn't binding.

Housebuilders reserve the right to increase the price of a new-build until a contract is signed (stock image)

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, replies: There is probably not much you can do in this situation, although it does show the kind of developer you are dealing with.

You should be careful, not just about the price, but other terms which may also change.

We deal with a lot of brand-new homes, and it is not something we have seen happen frequently, but it can be market-driven.

Developers are often obliged to reduce prices as markets are softening, so conversely I can appreciate the desire to increase prices when the market is moving in the opposite direction, even though you have already agreed a price.

Usually the developer would not be so blatant, and rather than the price changing, you may see an adjustment in the specification.

That is why a buyer should be very careful to see if something has been removed.

Things like wardrobes or floor coverings are sometimes swapped out for cheaper models because the developer wants to get a better deal.

Zara Banday, partner and head of the residential property team at law firm Slater Heelis replies: At this point you have only expressed an interest in purchasing this plot, and there is no binding agreement on either party's side.

The developer should have carried out a detailed fact-finding exercise before pricing their development plots and publishing brochures, based on a pre-determined specification of what will be included as standard.

Lawyer Zara Banday says it should be unusual for developers to increase prices after they have started marketing a development

It should be unusual for a developer to suddenly increase the actual cost of the plot once they have prepared the plots for marketing and sale.

In advance of a formal reservation, the developer could be free to make price changes as there is no formal contract in place.

The developer may be reacting to a recent increase in market demand, but they should be transparent and explain why there is a proposed price increase.

Your personal financial position should not determine the value of the property or the price at which the developer will sell it to you for.

Clearly this last-minute price change has taken you by surprise and is not good for their customer relations.

You should pursue a formal complaint with them and/or their professional regulatory body about how they have handled the pre-reservation negotiations.

Whether the developer's actions have breached any consumer law codes or trading or advertising standards is a more detailed area, upon which you would need to seek further legal advice.

James Hollingsworth, chief executive of law firm Laurus, replies: Facing a last-minute price increase is bad form, but it can happen when the property market is hot or when another buyer appears on the scene, particularly where the reservation form has not been completed or reservation fee paid.

The advertised price is likely to be deemed as an invitation to treat rather than an offer to sell to you at the advertised price.

This means that the advertised price is an invitation for you to make an offer, to which the developer can either accept or reject.

Although it is unusual for a developer to request a higher price than the one that has been advertised, there is nothing a buyer can do to prevent this from happening and it can happen at the last minute.

Unfortunately, there is no agreement between you until the reservation form has been completed and fee paid, and the seller is not legally bound to sell the property to you until contracts have been exchanged.

Nothing is certain, including the price, until this point.

Indeed, sometimes it is the buyer that lowers the price at the last minute, just before contracts are exchanged.

You understandably feel aggrieved by how the sale process has been managed and you may wish to raise a complaint to the developer and make your feelings known publicly if you don't receive a satisfactory response.

Most major developers will want to avoid looking unscrupulous and acting in a way that might damage their reputation.

Many sign up to the Consumer Code for New Homes, which is approved by Trading Standards and requires them to adhere to certain best practices form the initial sales process to after sales customer care.

It also provides for a consumer complaints process and dispute resolution scheme. You can check if a developer is registered on the code members section of the Consumer Code for New Homes website.

Your seller might have second thoughts and decide to act fairly and transparently in their negotiations in order to avoid negative PR.

The housing market is hot at the moment, so there is intense competition to secure a home (stock image)

Helen Crane, This is Money, adds: The housebuilder you have been dealing with has not covered itself in glory here.

The way it communicated the price increase and the approach from a new buyer to you was unprofessional, and represented poor customer service.

You have since told me that you enquired about another home on the same development that you saw advertised online, and that you were told on a phone call that the price of that had also increased - just days after it was first posted.

You suspect that the company is drawing in buyers with lower advertised prices and then persuading them to pay 'just' a few thousand more pounds, and you may well be right.

However, although it is not particularly good practice, the firm is within its rights to increase the price between you viewing the home and reserving it. This is because no contract had been signed or fee paid.

If your dealings with the company had been more positive, you might have paid the extra 5,000 to secure the home - but you now say that you will probably take your business elsewhere.
San Antonio police discovered a grisly scene Tuesday morning at a North Side motel when responding to a call, authorities say.

At around 5:30 a.m., officers responded to reports of multiple shots fired at the Budget Suites, located at 7880 Fredericksburg Road, to find the two men dead near the parking lot. Police believe the men were in their 20s or 30s.

Both men had head trauma, likely from a gunshot wound, said SAPD spokesman Chris Ramos.

As of Tuesday morning, police said they dont have suspects or witnesses.

We have a lot of people who heard the shots, but no one who actually saw the shooting, Ramos said.

Police didnt say how many shots were fired, but said the motel was also hit. Some people in the area said they heard as many as five shots, police said.

No other information was provided.

Taylor.pettaway@express-news.net
The covid crisis in Formula 1 is "much more complicated" in 2021 compared with last year, according to the sport's CEO Stefano Domenicali.

He told Auto Motor und Sport that while 2020 was all about surviving the sudden crisis, F1 must now navigate a world with highly complex new rules.

"The situation this year is much more complicated than in 2020," said the Italian.

"Last year everyone first had to find a way through the pandemic and learn. Now every country has its own rules and conditions. That is why we have to decide from day to day and remain flexible in case something changes at the last moment."

There are concerns about the viability of several races on the 23-strong 2021 calendar, with Domenicali revealing he is in "daily contact" with promoters.

"You can't imagine how much interest there is and how many tickets the promoters could sell if only they could," he said. "But of course they are dependent on the regulations of the respective governments.

"The first races are all confirmed, the question now is whether and how many spectators they can let in. At the moment we are definitely only racing in front of empty grandstands at two races - Imola and Baku.

"For all the others, the current status is about how many people are allowed to be admitted and which controls are necessary for this."

Liberty Media is only paying about 70 percent of F1's pre-covid income to teams this year, with Domenicali admitting that some of the promoters may need financial help.

"This year, a certain amount of flexibility will also be necessary," he said.

"In individual cases there may be organisers who will ask us for support. We have to find solutions for such emergencies."

(GMM)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami held a meeting with the medical experts, where they have decided to ensure at least 90,000 RT-PCR tests daily to detect covid-19 cases, aggressive testing in Covid-hit areas, tracing 25-30 contacts of infected persons and holding of 'fever camps'.



In a statement issued here, the government said the number of RT-PCR tests done per day should not be less than 90,000.

Tamil Nadu state government has stressed that people should wear masks while coming out of their homes and maintain social distance to stop the spread of the virus.





The other decisions were that a person should be admitted in a Covid Care Centre or in a hospital, based on the severity of the infection, levying penalties by officials of Health/Police/Revenue Departments or local bodies on those who do not follow the standard operating procedure (SOP), and all those who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination to be vaccinated.



It was also decided that all government and private hospitals must follow the government announced SOPs to reduce the mortality rate, while arrangements have been made to vaccinate all frontline workers employed in Health/Revenue/Police departments and local bodies.



The state government has also asked those who work in theatres, fruits and vegetable markets, and commercial complexes to get vaccinated.



People should wear masks while coming out of their homes, and maintain social distance, it stressed.







Source: IANS The meeting also decided to declare streets/residential apartments as micro- containment zones, if three persons were infected with coronavirus.The other decisions were that a person should be admitted in a Covid Care Centre or in a hospital, based on the severity of the infection, levying penalties by officials of Health/Police/Revenue Departments or local bodies on those who do not follow the standard operating procedure (SOP), and all those who are eligible for Covid-19 vaccination to be vaccinated.It was also decided that all government and private hospitals must follow the government announced SOPs to reduce the mortality rate, while arrangements have been made to vaccinate all frontline workers employed in Health/Revenue/Police departments and local bodies.The state government has also asked those who work in theatres, fruits and vegetable markets, and commercial complexes to get vaccinated.People should wear masks while coming out of their homes, and maintain social distance, it stressed.Source: IANS

The government also said about 25-30 persons who were in contact with the corona infected person should be traced and tested.
New Delhi, April 13 : To develop young children and set up family-friendly neighbourhoods within the cities of the country, the Infant, Toddler and Caregiver-Friendly Neighbourhoods (ITCN) training and capacity building programme was launched on Tuesday.

Launched by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in partnership with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), the programme is designed to help build capacities of city officials and young professionals for developing young children and family-friendly neighbourhoods.

The programme was virtually launched by Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director (Smart Cities), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

"A city designed for children is a city for everyone. Capacity building of cities to ensure data smart, infant toddlers and caregiver-friendly neighbourhoods is an investment into a future productive economy," Kumar said.

According to the ministry, the programme is a continuation of the long-term partnership between the NIUA and the BvLF to scale up the efforts and embed the lessons of ITC needs at the neighbourhood level within the cities.

"Under the programme, city officials and young professionals are proposed to be skilled through certified training and capacity building modules. The training is proposed to be delivered through well-structured training modules, provided online through the National Urban Learning Platform (NULP), which has been developed for knowledge dissemination by the MoHUA and NIUA," the ministry said.

The ministry highlighted that the programme is envisioned with the twin objectives: First, embedding the learnings from the inventory of knowledge developed by the NIUA and the BvLF within the on-going and proposed urban development initiatives at neighbourhood and city level; Second, handholding participants to embed learnings into the various initiatives of the cities which take into account the everyday needs of young children and caregivers.

In addition, an academic certified course for young professionals has been planned to sensitise them about the needs of young citizens (0-5 years) in the cities and to equip them with adequate tools for the purpose, the ministry said.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) is pleased to announce that J. Gmerice Hammond, MD, MPH, a cardiology fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) in St. Louis, has been chosen to receive one of three American College of Cardiology (ACC) / ABC Merck Research Fellowship Awards, intended to support the training and development of young cardiovascular investigators. Awardees will be recognized during the virtual ACC Convocation Ceremony on May 17 at the ACC's 70th Annual Scientific Session .

J. Gmerice Hammond, MD, MPH, a cardiology fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM) in St. Louis, selected to receive one of three ACC/ABC Merck Research Fellowship Awards.

This year to celebrate 40 years of partnership, the ACC and Merck joined forces with the ABC to offer three Research Fellowships in the amount of $100,000 each. The Merck Research Fellowship Awards are awarded to those who support research in adult cardiology and are currently in an adult cardiology fellowship training program. One award was exclusively granted to a physician who is a current member of the ABC, with preference given to an applicant focusing on disparities of cardiovascular care in the areas of gender, race, geographic, and economic inequalities.

Recipients are expected to pursue a full-time project in clinical research during their year of supported training. Dr. Hammond's research will focus on "The Impact of Bundled Payments for Care Improvement-Advanced (BPCI-A) on Racial Inequities in Heart Failure and Stroke."

As a cardiovascular research fellow, Dr. Hammond currently studies the impact of inequities in health care policy on vulnerable populations challenged by social determinants of health. She explores how health care policies, particularly value-based payment models positively or negatively influence how health care systems address the needs of socially high-risk populations. Dr. Hammond completed an internal medicine residency at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, followed by a preventive cardiology fellowship and an MPH degree in epidemiology at Columbia University, and then a general clinical and nuclear cardiology fellowship at WUSM.

About the Association of Black Cardiologists

Founded in 1974, the ABC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating the disparities related to cardiovascular disease and achieving health equity such that all people can live long healthy lives. Membership is open to all interested in the care of people with or at risk for cardiovascular disease, including health professionals, lay members of the community (Community Health Advocates), corporate and institutional members. Today, the ABC's public and private partnerships continue to increase its impact in communities across the nation. For more information, visit www.abcardio.org and connect with ABC on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and lead in the formation of health policy, standards, and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org .

Contact:

ABC Media Relations

[email protected]

646-689-0659

SOURCE Association of Black Cardiologists
Protecting the Bay Area from sea level rise may all come down to mud.

Thats the finding of a new report from San Francisco Estuary Institute that tries to address a two-part problem related to the looming threat of sea level rise: the lack of natural sediment coming into the bay and the need to reinforce its shorelines to protect the region from rising seas.

Theres a fairly straightforward solution, the nonprofit research organization proposes: Take the sediment thats dredged from the bays shipping channels and barged out to sea or to deep parts of the bay  2 to 3 million cubic yards of mud a year  and use it to restore wetlands on the perimeter. The estimated cost is $25 million to $35 million a year, which the authors say is far less expensive than building seawalls or making emergency fixes to flooded highways and airports.

Sea level rise is just a big challenge, but really because of the power of mud we can put our ecosystems back together and make them still resilient, said Letitia Grenier, a co-author of the report. Its just that we have to undo some of our former practices that dont end up being sustainable.

One of those practices is widespread damming of rivers and streams that empty into the bay, which prevents natural sediment from trickling down as it used to. The amount of sediment needed to protect the bay from sea level rise by 2100 is more than 450 million cubic yards  more than twice the volume excavated to build the Panama Canal  according to the report.

Sea level is expected to rise by at least 1 foot by 2050, according to several models, though storms and surges could cause it to go higher. The California Ocean Protection Council recommends coastal communities make their shorelines sufficiently resilient to handle 3 feet of sea level rise by 2050 and predicts the California coast could face sea level rise of 7.6 feet by 2100.

By 2100, 600,000 people and $150 billion in property could be at risk in the Bay Area if nothing is done to stop carbon dioxide emissions, the U.S. Geological Survey says. Threats include flooding to residential areas and to infrastructure like airports and water treatment plants.

Plenty of sediment used to wash into the bay, especially during the Gold Rush, when whole mountainsides were blasted for mining. That natural sediment has long since worked its way through the system, but dams were built that blocked sediment from coming into the bay.

Amy Hutzel, deputy executive officer at California State Coastal Conservancy, an agency that works on wetlands restoration and wasnt involved in the report, said government agencies have long recognized that there isnt enough sediment in the bay.

That, along with sea level rise, is going to create challenges for wetlands in the future, she said. But also, there are things we can do. This is not happening tomorrow or next year. But there are things we need to be doing this decade to prepare for this.

The states goal is to have a total of 100,000 acres of marshlands in the San Francisco Bay, which means restoring an additional 60,000 acres to add to the existing 40,000 acres. Hutzel said that is a lofty goal, but there are already plans and funding in place to restore at least 36,000 acres by 2030.

The longer it takes to get these projects into place, the less chance the wetlands have of keeping up with sea level rise, she said. We need to restore them now so they can accumulate sediment and start to vegetate and then keep pace with sea level rise.

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Some wetlands restoration projects have used the mud that gets scooped up from the bottom of the bay, including sites at Sonoma Baylands near Sears Point and Hamilton Field in Novato. Sediment was pumped behind existing levees put up for agriculture or military uses and then the levees were breached. Eventually plants took root and marshland returned.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for dredging most of the main shipping channels around the ports of Oakland, Redwood City and Richmond, the latter used mostly for oil refineries. It also dredges San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay, which allows ships to head up to Stockton and Sacramento.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

The federal government, which funds the dredging at around $50 million to $80 million annually, requires it be done in the most low-cost and ecological way possible. The least expensive disposal options are shipping the sediment 50 miles out to sea or dumping it at a deep site near Alcatraz Island, where some of it may eventually drift back into shipping channels and need to be dredged again.

The sediment sent for beneficial reuse or wetlands restoration, requires specialized equipment that adds to the cost. It also has to be tested for heavy metals or other contaminants. State bonds and parcel taxes have funded some of these projects.

In my opinion the SFEI is correct, that sediment is going to be an increasingly valuable resource for the bay, said Edwin S. Townsley, deputy district engineer for project management at the Army Corps. The big question, as it often is for government programs, is who pays.

In addition to buffering the coast against sea level rise, the ecological benefits of wetlands restoration include providing habitat for migratory birds and fish. Natural bay lands are also places where urban residents can easily get in touch with nature, unlike massive sea walls that separate them from the bay, report author Grenier said.

At Bedwell Bayfront Park in Menlo Park, visitors can see a mature marshland on one side and an old salt pond on the other that will be restored to its original state, thanks to wetlands restoration projects being done to prepare for sea level rise.

It is expensive to move mud around, Hutzel said, but in the long run I think its worth the investment.

Tara Duggan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan
MOSHI, Tanzania , April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC) held their annual Tanzania Women Industrial awards ceremony and book launch in Mlimani City, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.

TWCC was founded in 2005 to raise the voices of female entrepreneurs by providing opportunities, innovation, networking, capacity-building, and influence.

Zara Tours, founded in 1986 by Mrs. Zainab Ansell, aka Mama Zara, was honored as the Best Tourism Company 2021. She was also featured in the book 100 Women Dared, which shares the stories of female entrepreneurs who inspire and positively impact others. The strength of Mrs. Zainab Ansell was celebrated as one who has created a foundation of sustainable tourism and community-giveback through Zara Charity.

Zara Tours is the regions largest safari operator, boasting nearly 350 safari and climbing guides, a fleet of vehicles, two hotels, three lodges, and four tented wild camps in the northern circuit of Tanzania. Over 10% of the company revenues are reinvested in local environmental, educational, and vocational programs and projects.

Mrs. Zainab Ansell thanked the Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce, the staff at Zara Tours, their clients from all over the world, and everyone who has been involved in Zaras successful company journey over the last 35 years.

They can be found online at zaratours.com .





Press Contact

Godwin

Publicity and Marketing Department

zara@zaratours.com

1-866-550-4447





Attachments
People need to keep their eye on the prize of winning the war against Covid-19, Deputy Ruairi O Murchu has said, as figures show that Louth continues to push down the 14-day incidence rate.

The figures, published by the HSE on Friday, show that Louths 14-day incidence rate has fallen to 131.1. The State-wide rate is 144.9 and Louth has now the tenth highest level of Covid-19.

With all primary and second level students back to school on Monday, the Sinn Fein TD said that Louth people need to continue what theyre doing  social distancing and minimising contacts.

He said: Louth has shown how, with perseverance and a lot of sacrifice over the last few months, that the incident rate can be reduced dramatically. We need to keep our eyes on the prize of winning the war against Covid-19.

We are getting there, but people need to remain vigilant, particularly now that the schools are returning, there is a slight easing of restrictions. People are allowed to travel within their county and 20kms from their home.

But, he added, the government needs to move quicker and be clearer about changes to mandatory hotel quarantine.

Deputy O Murchu said: There are a number of questions that need dealt with including what happens to fully vaccinated people who are coming in, what constitutes essential travel and how Erasmus students and others will be facilitated.

This has to be done taking into public health expertise.

We are coming late to mandatory hotel quarantine as a policy and had we done this earlier there would have been greater benefits and we would be in a better place.

The whole point is that it reduces the numbers travelling into Ireland, but the government needs to be better at dealing with the inevitable anomalies that happen, through engagement with public health experts.

And he revealed that the EUs vaccine hunter Thierry Breton is to appear before the Oireachtas European Affairs committee on April 20, following a suggestion from Deputy O Murchu.

Above all, the TD said, the health service needs to ensure that there is the capacity and the personnel to ramp up vaccinations as more doses flood into State in the coming weeks.

About 929,000 doses are expected into the State this month, with 1.25 million in May and 1.75 million in June.
London, April 14 : Rafael Nadal and other leading players at the Monte-Carlo Masters face a nervous wait on Tuesday after world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev tested positive for Covid-19.

The announcement came ahead of the third day of play at one of the ATP's biggest events, with Medvedev replaced in the draw by Argentinian lucky loser Juan Ignacio Londero, reports DPA.

Medvedev said in a statement: "It's a big disappointment not to play in Monte-Carlo. My focus is now on recovery and I look forward to getting back out on Tour as soon and as safely as possible." The ATP said the 25-year-old had been moved into isolation and was being monitored by the tournament doctor and the tour's medical team. Medvedev lives in the principality and his positive test will call into question the wisdom of the tournament allowing players to stay at home rather than in a strict bubble.

The Russian practiced with Nadal on Monday and was also pictured talking to Novak Djokovic.

There is no suggestion that Medvedev broke any protocols but it will undoubtedly be a worrying time as players who had any contact with him wait to see whether there are any more positive cases.

Britain's Dan Evans, who beat 2019 runner-up Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-7 (11-13), 6-2 for his first tour-level victory on clay for four years, said: "It's definitely in mind. I'm very eager to get vaccinated, if I can. It would be heart-breaking if I tested positive for Wimbledon." "It's very important to stick to the protocols in place. If some people are being blase, then it ruins it for everybody else because if one person tests positive, this virus, it can go round very quickly. So, seeing scenes in England yesterday, I won't be socialising any time soon."
Genetically modifying mosquitoes to express antimalarial genes and pass them on to their offspring is being tested as a new strategy to eliminate malaria

Altering a mosquito's gut genes to make them spread antimalarial genes to the next generation of their species shows promise as an approach to curb malaria, suggests a preliminary study published today in eLife.

The study is the latest in a series of steps toward using CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology to make changes in mosquito genes that could reduce their ability to spread malaria. If further studies support this approach, it could provide a new way to reduce illnesses and deaths caused by malaria.

Growing mosquito resistance to pesticides, as well as malaria parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs, has created an urgent need for new ways to fight the disease. Gene drives are being tested as a new approach. They work by creating genetically modified mosquitoes that, when released into the environment, would spread genes that either reduce mosquito populations or make the insects less likely to spread the malaria parasite. But scientists must prove that this approach is safe and effective before releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the wild.

"Gene drives are promising tools for malaria control," says first author Astrid Hoermann, Research Associate at Imperial College London, UK. "But we wanted a clear pathway for safely testing such tools in countries where the disease most commonly occurs."

In the study, Hoermann and colleagues genetically modified the malaria-transmitting mosquito Anopheles gambiae. They used the CRISPR-Cas9 technology to insert a gene that encodes an antimalarial protein amidst genes that are turned on after the mosquito eats a blood meal. The team did this in a manner that allowed the whole section of DNA to also function as a gene drive that could be passed on to most of the mosquitoes' offspring. They initially inserted the gene along with a fluorescent marker to help them track it in three different spots in the DNA, and then later removed the marker, leaving only a minor genetic modification behind.

Next, the team bred the mosquitoes to see if they were able to successfully reproduce and remain healthy. They also tested how well the malaria parasite developed in the mosquitoes' guts. Their experiments provide preliminary evidence that this approach to genetic modifications could create successful gene drives.

"These genetic modifications are passive, and could be tested in the field and undergo a stringent regulatory process to ensure they are safe and effective in blocking the parasite without raising concerns of accidental spread in the environment," explains senior author Nikolai Windbichler, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London. "However, once we combine them with other mosquitoes with an active gene drive, they turn into gene drives themselves without the need for any further changes. Our approach thus brings gene drives one step closer to being tested in the field as a malaria elimination strategy."

###

This study was originally posted as a preprint on bioRxiv and reviewed using eLife's Public Review service, which provides public peer reviews of preprints for the benefit of the authors, readers and others interested in our assessment of the work. To view the preprint and accompanying peer reviews, visit https:/ / www. biorxiv. org/ content/ 10. 1101/ 2020. 05. 09. 086157v1 .

Media contacts

Emily Packer, Media Relations Manager

eLife

e.packer@elifesciences.org

+44 (0)1223 855373

Hayley Dunning, Media Manager (Natural Sciences)

Imperial College London

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About Imperial College London

Imperial College London is one of the world's leading universities. The College's 20,000 students and 8,000 staff are working to solve the biggest challenges in science, medicine, engineering and business.

Imperial is the world's fifth most international university, according to Times Higher Education, with academic ties to more than 150 countries. Reuters named the College as the UK's most innovative university because of its exceptional entrepreneurial culture and ties to industry.
UPDATE: Missing Flint 4-year-old found safe, police say

FLINT, MI -- Flint police are asking for help locating a missing and endangered four-year-old girl who was last seen with her father.

Italy Dior Turner, 4, was last seen with her father in the 1500 block of Avenue A in Flint around 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 13.

Police believe Turners father fled with his daughter in a silver Buick Century after he shot his mothers boyfriend, Flint Police Chief Terence Green told MLive-The Flint Journal.

The childs grandmothers boyfriend was taken to the hospital and is in good condition, Green said.

Italy is 3-foot-2 inches tall and weighs 38 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a copper-colored coat, a Lilo & Stitch T-shirt and turquoise and white tie-dyed pants. She had orange, green and pink barrettes in her hair.

Police believe Turner witnessed the shooting, Green said.

Its believed he was holding her at the time he shot his moms boyfriend, Green said.

No additional details on the case are available at this time, Green said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or, to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245).

Read more on MLive:

Man who exchanged gunfire with Flint police charged with 18 felonies

Man accused of taking upskirt video of 14-year-old girl on Easter Sunday

Man dies after truck hits tree in Flint, police say

Two suspects being investigated after alleged postal worker assault in Flint

Gunman shot after firing assault rifle at Flint officers, police say

Arrest made after postal worker assaulted in Flint, police say

Saginaw teen killed in Flint I-75 crash loved family, music

Teen who took plea in 2018 case involving 2 bodies found in Flint River granted new attorney

I have to tell my grandchildren about their father in the past tense: Mother calls for end to gun violence in Flint
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The Ebonyi State government has said that the attack on the people of Umuogudu Akpu-Ngbo Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the State, in the early hours of Monday, was not carried out by Fulani herdsmen.

This clarification is contained in a statement issued to reporters on Monday, in Abakaliki, by Monday Uzor, the spokesperson to the Deputy Governor, Kelechi Igwe.

Ebonyi State Government has received with dismay a violent attack on the people of Umuogudu Akpu-Ngbo Community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the State in the early hours of Monday.

The general public is hereby informed that preliminary investigations have indicated as follows:

One, the attack was not carried out by Fulani herdsmen as being speculated in different quarters.

Two, the Government of Ebonyi State is in touch with the leadership of the Fulani herdsmen (Miyetti Allah) who denied involvement in the attack.

Three, the leadership of the Fulani herdsmen has assured the Government and people of Ebonyi State that they will not on any account perpetrate attack on any part of the state.

Four, the recent attack on Ngbo is linked to the age-long crisis between the community and their Agila neighbours of Benue State, the statement said.

The state government, according to the statement, had directed the military and the police to move into the community to repel any further attacks and restore peace.

The general public, and in particular the people of Ngbo, are requested to remain law abiding and avoid reprisals as the government is working hard to restore normalcy to the affected community, the statement added.

(NAN)
New Delhi:

Pallavi Vikamsey, daughter of ICAI president Nilesh Vikamsey who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Mumbai on Thursday had sent no one is responsible text before her phone was switched off, the Mumbai Police said.

The parents told us that Vikamsey had sent them the message no one is responsible before her phone was switched off, The Hindustan Times quoted Sukhlal Varpe, senior inspector of MRA Marg police station as saying.

21-year-old Pallavi Vikamsey, who recently completed her Law degree, went missing on Wednesday. She was last seen boarding a train from platform no. 5 at Mumbais CSMT station.

Also Read | Mumbai: ICAI president Nilesh Vikamsey's daughter found dead

The sources said that Dadar GRP Police has traced an eyewitness and a statement shall be recorded on Friday.

It is not clear whether Vikamsey fell from the running train on the opposite tracks or whether she jumped off in front of an oncoming train, said Nitin Bbade, senior police inspector of Dadar GRP.

The parents of the deceased had not alleged any foul play and police is investigating the case to find out the reasons behind her mysterious death.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging Kyiv to repatriate dozens of Ukrainian women and children it says are being held in "horrific" conditions in Syrian camps.

An estimated 40 Ukrainian women and children are "unlawfully" detained in two camps in northeastern Syria, the New York-based human rights watchdog said in a statement on April 13. The majority of them are children, some as young as 2 years old, it added.

The group is among nearly 43,000 foreigners linked to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group who are being held by regional authorities.

HRW said it had sent letters to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba requesting the government take prompt action to assist and repatriate the Ukrainian women and children.

"Ukrainian women and children are being held in horrific and appalling conditions while their government chooses to look the other way," said Yulia Gorbunova, senior Ukraine researcher at HRW.

Kyiv "should comply with the regional authorities' repeated calls for countries to bring home their nationals, prioritizing the most vulnerable," Gorbunova added.

Ukraine's government, as well as administrations in several other countries with similar situations, have been reluctant to repatriate such cases, contending that it poses too high a security risk.

None of the 40 Ukrainian women and children detained at the Al-Hol and Roj camps have been brought before a court or investigated or prosecuted for any crime, and their "arbitrary" detention by the armed forces of the Kurdish-led autonomous administration of northeastern Syria violates international law, according to HRW.

The group said that the conditions in the camps were "often inhumane and life-threatening, with growing insecurity and shortages of vital aid."

The coronavirus pandemic "presents another threat to the lives of these detainees," with the United Nations reporting at least 8,537 coronavirus cases in northeastern Syria as of February.

The watchdog quoted Children in Syria and Iraq, a group of independent Ukrainian investigative journalists and activists that monitors the issue, as saying that the detainees "live in constant fear and are terrified for their health and safety."

Three of the detained women and one child were said to have disabilities, while one woman has an acute kidney disease, one child and one woman shrapnel injuries, and one child a severe gum infection.

HRW called on the Ukrainian government, which has already repatriated two women and seven children from northeastern Syria, to bring home its remaining nationals and their children.

The government should also increase consular assistance to its citizens and humanitarian aid to the camps and prisons in northeastern Syria "to complement -- not replace -- repatriations."

Citizens of dozens of countries are being held as IS suspects and family members in northeastern Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Turkey. Many countries cite the potential security risks posed by their nationals as a reason for not bringing them home.

"Detaining people in such inhuman and degrading conditions is clearly prohibited under international law," Gorbunova said, adding that countries whose nationals are being held as IS suspects had "a responsibility to protect its citizens and uphold their rights."
The U.S. administration is discussing whether the impending sanctions against the Russian Federation can adversely affect the situation near the borders of Russia with Ukraine, CNN said, citing its own sources.

"Officials now are weighing how the potential new sanctions and other punishments might provoke further escalation," CNN said in the statement.

CNN recalls that last week the U.S. administration held meetings at which possible future measures against Russia were discussed. "These discussions were complicated by the fact that Russia was concentrating troops along the eastern borders of Ukraine, which also increased tensions between the Russian Federation and the United States," CNN said.

Earlier in April, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said that the United States intends to impose a package of measures in the coming weeks in response to alleged malicious actions by Russia.

These steps by the U.S. administration will be the result of a review that President Joe Biden ordered to be held on his first day in office. The analysis was carried out in four areas: alleged Russian interference in the U.S. elections, reports of awards attributed to Russia for attacks on the U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, a cyberattack on SolarWinds, and the situation with opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The U.S. announced sanctions against Russian officials over the Navalny situation last month, but has so far refrained from action on three other counts.
Digital Wellbeing add "Heads Up", a feature that warns you to stop using your phone while you're walking. @xdadevelopers @thetymonbay @XDA_Forum_Admin @thetymonbay pic.twitter.com/5pEEgwuTMp  Jay Prakash Kamat (@jay__kamat) April 11, 2021

Of course, it all depends on how long and when you do it, as some people apparently dont care enough to take their eyes off the phone even when crossing the street.On the other hand, while users are fully responsible for the whole thing, tech companies want to fight this dangerous trend, and the first to take action against it is none other than Google.Last year, the company was spotted working on a new feature called Heads Up, integrated into the Digital Wellbeing app. As you could easily guess by simply reading its name, this feature is supposed to warn users to keep their eyes off the phone when walking on the street.The good news is this feature has now arrived in the beta stage and is available for testing as part of the latest Digital Wellbeing beta release. However, worth knowing is that it only shows up on Pixel devices and requires access to physical activity data, while location permissions are optional.Watch your step with Heads Up. If youre walking while using your phone, get a reminder to focus on whats around you. Use with caution. Heads Up doesnt replace paying attention, the app explains.The Heads Up notifications need to be enabled manually from the app on each Android device. It's not yet known when Google plans to release this feature to everybody, but without a doubt, its a welcome update that should help prevent accidents.Expect other companies to follow suit and build similar warnings for their own devices, including the fruity-shaped firm making the iPhone.
County in E China gears up to build international land port

09:13, April 13, 2021 By Dong Siyu ( People's Daily

A China-Europe freight train leaves the Xiangtang international land port in Nanchang county, east China's Jiangxi province, for Moscow, Russia, June 8, 2020. (People's Daily Online/Hu Guolin)

As a train whistle blew, a China-Europe freight train left an international land port hub in Xiangtang township, Nanchang county, east China's Jiangxi province, bringing 96 containers of Jiangxi-produced commodities, including all-in-one desktops, tapes and printer cartridges, to Moscow, Russia.

Over the past several years, Nanchang county has continuously opened the international land port by building it into a major platform and passage for foreign trade and advancing the development of industries.

The international land port has developed 13 routes for international freight trains and rail-sea combined transport.

Last year, China-Europe freight trains made 127 trips to and from the international land port, transporting a total of 11,454 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of loaded containers, a year-on-year increase of 5.83 percent and 8.04 percent, respectively.

A total of 640 trips were made for rail-sea combined transport, exchanging 34,918 TEUs of loaded containers, up 19.85 percent and 61.94 percent year on year, respectively.

Last year, 1,328 vehicles produced by Jiangxi automaker Jiangling Motors Co., Ltd. were exported through a newly opened route dedicated to shipping the vehicles of the company. More than 160,000 vehicles were transported by railway, growing 49.61 percent compared with those in the previous year.

Xiangtang, as an inland township located neither close to the sea nor rivers, faces high logistics cost and low logistics efficiency in developing export-oriented economy. However, it now made tremendous success in this regard.

Fu Xiangyu, deputy mayor of Nanchang county gave two reasons behind the success: the advantages the township enjoys as becoming a traffic hub, and the favorable price and efficiency of shipping.

Xiangtang township is home to China's second largest westward freight transportation station, and serves as a key logistics stop and cargo distribution center for Jiangxi and even central China at large. More than 70 percent of the goods from southern Jiangxi are shipped via the township.

To cut logistics costs for enterprises, the Xiangtang international land port provides companies with whole-trip railway freight subsidies and is pushing forward with the construction of a more intelligent port. It offers same shipment rate with that offered in coastal areas, and the efficiency of customs clearance is also similar to that in coastal areas.

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has opened in Xiangtang township a smart logistics park enpowered by robots, which can greatly improve the efficiency of warehousing. It mirrors the trend of optimizing and upgrading modern logistics in the international land port.

The international land port has actively learnt from the experience and wisdom of other areas, and mapped out its development route in a science-based manner.

The port has deepened its relationship with industries and the city, created a comprehensive industrial service ecosystem, and pooled various production factors such as logistics, industries, talents and capital with its transportation advantages.

As a result, the Xiangtang international land port has established an industrial system with modern logistics industry as the pillar, and supplemented by advanced manufacturing and high-end services.

Nanchang county has also introduced various policies to support the development of the international land port, including rent cut, tax incentives, and financial support for companies.

Last year, a batch of projects were signed at the land port, with a total investment of 12.33 billion yuan ($1.88 billion).

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
HOLLAND, MI  The owner of Marlenas Bistro & Pizzeria in Holland has asked a judge to void a contempt-of-court finding and allow her to re-open under the states coronavirus rules.

Marlena Pavlos-Hackney also asked that $15,000 in fines be returned.

Pavlos-Hackney, 55, whose defiance of COVID-19 health orders is viewed by supporters as a fight for freedom, was jailed four days last month until she closed her restaurant and paid the fine.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes in late February issued a temporary-restraining order prohibiting Pavlos-Hackney from providing food service. The judge later issued a bench warrant for Pavlos-Hackneys arrest for ignoring the states suspension of the restaurants food license.

Pavlos-Hackney was arrested 15 days later and jailed.

Her attorney, Robert Baker of Allegan, has filed multiple motions alleging that his clients state and federal constitutional rights were violated during a March 19 contempt-of-court hearing that resulted in his clients jailing.

He also criticized Judge Rosemarie Aquilina  who was sitting in for Stokes -- for failing to set bond or allow his client to address the allegations. At one point, Aquilina used a Burger King catchphrase to silence her.

Maam, mam, stop. I know you want to control this room, but this isnt Burger King. When the sign changes to Burger King, you can have it your way.

Baker wrote: The Court, specifically stand-in Judge Aquilina, with these statements, apparently changed this Ingham County Circuit Courtroom to Burger King  the Judge had it her way. Not the U.S. or Michigan Constitutional way, not the Michigan Statutory or Court Rule way but her way  .

He said that Aquilina then proceeded to threaten, berate, and ignore Marlenas repeated request for counsel, assertions of her Constitutional Rights, denial of bond, denial of any argument on bond, denial of any hearing on the merits or testing of the proofs of the underlying contempt allegations.

Baker, hired the morning of his clients arrest, said he had only a brief conversation with her via Zoom during a break in the court hearing.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, or MDARD, filed the complaint. It said Pavlos-Hackney ignored orders in November that restaurants cease indoor dining. Health officials also determined that she did not require customers and workers to socially distance or wear masks to slow the spread of the pandemic.

A customer tested positive for the coronavirus after eating at Marlenas Bistro on Feb. 27, the Allegan County Health Department reported.

Baker contended that the alleged contempt violations in the complaint were based on suspicious emergency health rules promulgated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. He said that the rules were surprisingly similar to previous orders by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The state Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision found that allowing the governor to extend emergencies without legislative input is unconstitutional. But the state health director can - and did - establish emergency procedures during a pandemic, legal experts say.

Baker asked that Stokes invalidate Aquilinas orders or re-instate the restaurants food license, subject to conforming with coronavirus orders. He also asked the judge to reschedule a proper arraignment.

He said that a transcript of the previous hearing was incomplete and erroneous.

Pavlos-Hackney was arrested March 19 by state police shortly after she left her home on Hollands northside for work. She had been told to turn herself in by March 18 but refused.

The restaurant opened that day in her absence  it was full of customers  but was boarded up the next day.

No hearings have been set.

Supporters have pledged $317,000 on a GoFundMe page for Pavlos-Hackney.

Read more:

Michigan restaurants would be shut down under GOP bill that sought to tie COVID-19 restrictions to metrics

Jailed Michigan restaurant owner wins freedom

Michigan restaurant owner who defied COVID-19 rules: Does fight hurt other businesses?

How a fake lawyer and conservative outrage made Marlenas Bistro a national symbol of pandemic freedom
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's campaign has paid $62,500 to settle sexual mistreatment claims from a male ex-staffer who said she poured water on his crotch then grabbed it.

Lujan Grisham's gubernatorial campaign made five payments of $12,500 every month from November through March to an Atlanta-based law firm representing James Hallinan.

Hallinan first accused the Democratic governor in late 2019 of pouring a bottle of water on his crotch while laughing and then grabbing his crotch through his clothes in front of other campaign staffers.

The alleged incident took place during a meeting in 2018 when Lujan Grisham was running for governor and Hallinan was working as her campaign spokesman.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's (pictured in March) campaign has paid $62,500 to settle sexual mistreatment claims from a male ex-staffer who said she poured water on his crotch then grabbed it

It is not clear when the settlement was agreed upon, with the payout only coming to light as part of a campaign finance report filed Monday with the Secretary of State's Office.

The five monthly payments are listed as legal expenses in the report and it is not clear if further payments will be made in upcoming months, according to the Albuquerque Journal which first reported on the deal.

Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the governor, confirmed to the paper that the payments were part of a settlement agreement resolving 'numerous dubious and disputed potential claims made by Mr. Hallinan arising from his employment in 2018 with the campaign organization and his subsequent search for employment.'

Leopold insisted that Lujan Grisham and her campaign team continue to 'strenously deny' Hallinan's allegations but said a settlement was reached to prevent distraction and litigation costs.

'[The governor, Senior Adviser Gabello and the campaign organization] strenuously deny that there is any merit or truth to Mr. Hallinan's claims, including his claims about difficulty finding or keeping work after the campaign,' Leopold said.

'They reached a settlement in order to avoid the continuing distraction and significant expense of possible litigation and allow them to concentrate on working for the people of New Mexico during this pandemic.'

Lujan Grisham's gubernatorial campaign made five payments of $12,500 every month from November through March to an Atlanta-based law firm representing James Hallinan (above)

Hallinan first accused the Democratic governor in a tweet in late 2019 (above)

Rachel Berlin Benjamin, an attorney for Buckley Beal law firm, where the payments were sent and which represents Hallinan told DailyMail.com the two parties 'have resolved any differences or issues to their satisfaction.'

'I am not able to provide any further information,' she said.

Hallinan first accused the governor of unwanted sexual behavior in late 2019 in a series of cryptic tweets posted on Christmas Day.

'A governor @GovMLG is not above the law for her sexual and physical abuse of employees including (me!!!) I'll talk more when I return to the country,' he tweeted on December 25 2019, around one year after he stopped working for the governor.

His tweet did not offer any details of the allegation and sparked an instant denial from the governor's office which released a statement calling the accusations 'bizarre and slanderous'.

Days later, Hallinan revealed details of the alleged incident during a senior staff meeting at Representative Deborah Armstrong's home in the summer of 2018.

Lujan Grisham meeting President Joe Biden in February in the Oval Office to discuss a COVID-19 relief package

Hallinan claimed Lujan Grisham had taken a bottle of water and poured it onto his crotch before slapping him and grabbing his crotch.

He said he was speaking out more than a year later after being convinced by Dominic Gabello not to quit and not to report the incident to police.

Gabello, who now works as the governor's senior adviser, was Lujan Grisham's campaign manager at the time.

Lujan Grisham's office said the allegations were 'categorically false' and said others present in the meeting have also said the accusations are untrue.

The office also said Hallinan's work during her campaign had been 'marked by frequent and repeated incidents of inappropriate and unprofessional behavior' and said he had 'played no role whatsoever in the governor's administration'.

Hallinan, who now runs his own communications firm, worked for Democratic Attorney General Hector Balderas prior to joining Lujan Grisham's campaign.

Last month, Lujan Grisham waded into the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo (above)

News of the settlement comes one year after the governor signed a bill into state law limiting the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in sexual misconduct cases.

The law, signed in March and going into effect in May 2020, bans employers from requiring employees to sign NDAs about sexual harassment, assault, discrimination or retaliation claims.

Last month, Lujan Grisham also waded into the sexual harassment allegations made against another Democratic governor.

Multiple women have come forward to accuse New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior and he is under investigation by the state attorney general.

Cuomo denies touching anyone inappropriately.

Lujan Grisham, leader of the Democratic Governors Association, told the Washington Post the allegations against Cuomo were 'troubling'.

'I'm, frankly, in that group of elected leaders, that you believe the individual, you give real credit and credibility there, if you don't, we are revictimizing brave men and women who come forward,' she said.

However the governor has not joined bipartisan calls for Cuomo to resign.
By Arthur I. Cyr





Once again, North Korea is engaging in disturbing provocation. On March 25, the totalitarian regime in Pyongyang launched two missiles off the east coast. They flew 373 miles, according to the official news agency. Monitors in Japan put the range of the tests at 400 miles.



This is the first such test in nearly a year. The last one took place on March 29, 2020. The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution prohibiting such tests. Separately, the UN Human Rights Commission has condemned the regime, a welcome move from that group.



North Korea has had at least rudimentary nuclear weapons since 2006. From time to time, Pyongyang makes threats to use them, including against the United States, as well as Japan and South Korea.



This latest incident occurs as the Biden administration re-evaluates its North Korea policies. A natural assumption is that North Korea leader Kim Jong-un is returning to rigid hostility, after some flexibility over the past four years, including high-profile meetings with President Donald Trump.



In moving forward, U.S. government officials should keep in mind three basic realities about dealing with North Korea. First, for many years North Korea has been inconsistent. In 2013, Pyongyang declared a "state of war" with South Korea and abruptly abrogated the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War.



Yet, accommodating moves followed. In short, unpredictability is normal. This implies considerable factional infighting.



Second, we must demonstrate commitment to defense of South Korea and our own readiness, and willingness, to use a range of forces. The Obama administration rightly deployed the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Air Defense) anti-missile system for this purpose.



In 2013, the Pentagon expanded anti-ballistic missile defenses on the U.S. West Coast. Simultaneously, THAAD was sent to Guam, a potential target. In 2009, THAAD was sent to Hawaii for the same reason.



On cue, China expressed indignation about anti-missile deployments. That was predictable, also understandable given potential use of the system's radars for information gathering. At the same time, Beijing worked to restrain Pyongyang, including suspending airline flights between the two cities.



Third, we should emphasize coordination with other nations. This ideally should include China and Russia, but always our durable friend and close ally South Korea.



South Korea's substantial investment in and trade with China grows, while North Korea remains a costly dependent, though ideologically important. China's President Xi Jinping visited Seoul in 2014. He finally visited North Korea in 2019.



China's foreign policy reflects self-interest, and traditional caution regarding military force. North Korea is a drain, and over time a source of growing well-founded anxiety.



The COVID-19 pandemic has brought North Korea's long-growing economic deterioration to a crisis point. Trade and wider interchange with China contracted. Long-term economic sanctions stymie recovery.



The frustrating Korean War from 1950 to 1953 devastated the Korean Peninsula, and made the Cold War global. President Harry Truman's courageous decision to support the United Nations in defending the South against invasion from the North laid the foundation for today's remarkably successful Republic of Korea.



Democratic change culminated with election in 1998 of President Kim Dae-jung, heroic opponent of dictatorship. In 2000, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. During the earlier dictatorship, Kim survived imprisonment and at least one attempt to kill him. Occasional political turmoil since 1998 confirms South Korea's democracy.



As in the past, U.S. leaders should work with allies, underscore military commitment, and pursue negotiation. The Biden administrations deployment of traditional diplomacy is encouraging.





Arthur I. Cyr (acyr@carthage.edu) is Clausen distinguished professor at Carthage College and author of "After the Cold War."


Nearly 60 per cent of the



total COVID-19 cases in were reported from eight major cities, Chief Minister said on Tuesday and called for better coordination between officials and office-bearers of civic bodies.

The CM held a virtual review meeting with senior officials, mayors and other office-bearers of municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Junagadh.

"A total of 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases in are reported from the eight major cities. I am confident that we could stem the spread of the virus if office-bearers (elected wing) of municipal corporations play a key role in that exercise," Rupani is quoted as saying in an official release.

Gujarat's overall case tally stood at 3,53,516 and the death toll at 4,855 as of April 12, the health department had said.

The chief minister said cooperation and people's participation is a must to tackle the pandemic.

"It is the responsibility of the elected representatives to ensure that people follow rules prescribed by the government to control the spread of the virus," the CM said.

Rupani further stated that his government has arranged more than 18,000 beds during the last 15 days to ensure that no patient is left without proper treatment, the release said.

Since Remdesivir, a crucial drug for coronavirus patients, is produced by only some companies in Gujarat, the state government is procuring around 20,000 injections of the drug from states such as Assam and Maharashtra, it 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.)
Insurance broker Aon plc has introduced a new solution, through broad industry collaboration, that will provide supply chain protection for global COVID-19 vaccine shipments.

The solution provides transparent cargo insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines by combining sensor data and analytics. The offering enhances all risk marine cargo insurance with timely payment for doses that fall outside of the agreed-upon temperature range while being transported or stored, enabling more effective risk management and claims support.

An Aon representative said there are no geographical restrictions for the product, which can cover shipments originating in any location and headed to any location.

Lloyds, Insurtech Parsyl Launch Insurance Facility for COVID-19 Vaccine Shipments

Real-time reporting of any temperature deviation will also provide for the mitigation of losses and help maximize the number of doses that are administered to the public.

The offering is made possible through a collaboration with Denver, Colo.-based insurtech firm Parsyl, which will serve as the dedicated data platform for the solution on behalf of the insurers on the risk. Specialist underwriter Ascot Group is the lead underwriter and binding insurers are Chubb European Group SE and American International Group (AIG), with reinsurance support from Munich Re.

Other participating insurers include AEGIS London, Antares Managing Agency Ltd. (a QIC Global company), AXA XL, AXIS Insurance, Beazley, Fidelis, MS Amlin and Talbot.

Aon will donate 100 percent of all revenues earned from this new solution in 2021 to a charity dedicated to eradicating the global human and economic toll of the pandemic.

Aon has been working on client solutions utilizing sensor technology in the supply chain for several years, said Lee Meyrick, chief executive officer, Global Marine, Commercial Risk Solutions at Aon.

Recognizing the concerns faced with the global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, we explored the development of a new solution to provide financial protection to the companies involved in the distribution process. Working with leaders in the industry, we were quickly able to build out a group of like-minded insurers that are willing to underwrite the risks using verifiable and effective sensor technologies, Meyrick said.

Powering better risk management and claims support, the solution is available to qualified parties in the vaccine supply chain, including pharmaceutical firms, government bodies, transportation and logistics companies, distributors, health systems, pharmacy chains and inoculation centers.

Were pleased to be part of another collaboration of market leaders coming together to address the biggest global health crisis of our time, said Andrew Brooks, CEO of Ascot Group. This collaboration will make available more capacity and bring to market additional products that will enable effective vaccine distribution at a global scale.

Its critical that we deliver potent COVID-19 vaccines to everyone, everywhere. To do that, we must collect data to understand what happens to these sensitive shipments as they make their journey from factory to syringe, said Ben Hubbard, CEO, Parsyl.

ChronosCloud, Intel, Mastercard and Sensitech, a part of Carrier Global Corp., have agreed to donate access to certain platforms, blockchain technology or devices as part of the risk management solution.

ChronosCloud is proud to collaborate with Aon in the fight against COVID-19. Our cloud-based platform connects all partners of the supply chain with real-time Internet of Things sensors for active condition monitoring, said John Hoyt, managing director of ChronosCloud. ChronosCloud actively responds to any temperature fluctuations, so shippers can ensure continuous quality. This powerful platform plays an important role as a part of Aons vaccine delivery initiative.

Intel has been working closely with Aon, Mastercard and ChronosCloud to provide secure computing platforms to address the challenges in the safe and accurate global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, said Christine Boles, VP/general manager of Intels Industrial Solutions Division. Technology used to its full potential can save lives and change lives.

Our collaboration with Aon and ChronosCloud comes at an important time when modern supply chains are becoming increasingly complex, and end-to-end visibility is essential, said Carlos Menendez, president, Enterprise Partnerships at Mastercard. Mastercard Provenance Solution enables the technical foundation to track the journey in real time, leveraging the immutability of blockchain, ultimately providing better risk management and minimizing disputes through a trusted, shared record of shipments.

We are pleased to be a part of this global collaboration with Aon and the other industry leaders. As the COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts continue to expand to reach all populations, Sensitechs real-time temperature and location data will help to reduce problem escalations and enable nimble decision making with facts, said Mike Hurton, vice president and general manager, Sensitech.

Source: Aon

Topics COVID-19 Mergers Carriers Aon
[April 13, 2021] AttackIQ Appoints New General Manager and Vice President of EMEA and APJ Regions

AttackIQ, the leading independent vendor of Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) systems, today announced that Ross Brewer has been promoted to General Manager and Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) regions. In his new role, Brewer will be responsible for developing the strategy to expand AttackIQ's presence in the regions, including delivering IT security and risk management leaders with solutions to identify gaps in their security posture more effectively and prioritize security initiatives more efficiently. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005210/en/ Ross Brewer, General Manager and Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) regions. (Photo: Business Wire) Brewer brings more than 35 years of sales and management experience with technology organizations across the globe. He previously served as strategic advisor for EMEA at AttackIQ, where he played a pivotal role in shaping the messaging and selling strategies over the last year to deliver strong growth in the financial and insurance services, oil and gas, healthcare, government, higher education, and technology sectors. Additionally, he helped launch AttackIQ's Academy in EMEA and APJ to provide advanced cybersecurity training, modularized curriculum, and cyberrange labs to security practitioners free of charge, in these markets. Today, more than 9,000 students in 100 countries across EMEA and APJ are continuing their cybersecurity education with AttackIQ Academy. "CISOs around the globe recognize the importance of being adequately prepared for breaches, as the cost, complexity and frequency of cybersecurity attacks continues to exponentially increase," said Carl Wright, Chief Commercial Officer, AttackIQ. "Ros has a proven track record of helping organizations in EMEA and APJ invest strategically in cybersecurity technology, partnerships, and practice enablement. We look forward to continuing to help security and risk leaders validate their investments and gain confidence with a threat-informed defense."



In addition to large private and public customers throughout EMEA and APJ, including Bupa, BT (News - Alert) , and a number of Government Ministries including Finance, Energy, Health and Sovereign Investment funds, AttackIQ has seen significant growth in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region as governments in countries like The United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain look for cybersecurity solutions to protect their digital transformation initiatives. As part of AttackIQ's strategic expansion in these regions, the company signed a distribution agreement in November 2020 with Westcon- Comstor (News - Alert) , a leading global technology distributor in the EMEA and APAC regions. Today, AttackIQ is building a presence and teams in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"AttackIQ's strong international growth is a direct result of its industry-leading platform, and I am excited to be joining the executive management team to continue helping organizations in these regions drive toward cybersecurity excellence," said Brewer. "As recently noted by Gartner, breach and attack simulation is in the list of top security and risk management trends of 2021 due to its ability to help proactively identify and resolve gaps in security postures. The acceleration of c-suite leaders adopting a threat-informed defense and purple team construct with the help of AttackIQ is a direct result of leaders needing a higher level of confidence in their defensive posture." About AttackIQ AttackIQ, the leading independent vendor of breach and attack simulation solutions, built the industry's first Security Optimization Platform for continuous security control validation and improving security program effectiveness and efficiency. AttackIQ is trusted by leading organizations worldwide to plan security improvements and verify that cyberdefenses work as expected, aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The Company is committed to giving back to the cybersecurity community through its free AttackIQ Academy, open Preactive Security Exchange, and partnership with the MITRE Engenuity. For more information, visit www.attackiq.com. Follow AttackIQ on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005210/en/

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NEW YORK  A federal judge on Friday ruled against Amazon.com Inc as the company defends against New York Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit claiming it prioritized profit over worker safety during the COVID-19 pandemic at two New York City warehouses.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan granted James request to return her lawsuit to a New York state court, and rejected Amazons bid to move it to Brooklyn federal court, where the online retailer had sued James to stop her from suing.

James accused Amazon of ignoring its duty to take reasonable steps to protect workers from the coronavirus at a Staten Island and a Queens distribution center, and retaliating against workers who complained.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment. Rakoff said he will explain the reasoning behind his two-paragraph order later.

Amazon has forced its employees to work in unsafe conditions throughout this pandemic, James said in welcoming her lawsuits move back to state court, where it belongs.

While the ruling did not address the disputes merits, it is a setback for Seattle-based Amazon, which accused James of overstepping her authority and said federal laws rather than New Yorks should govern workplace safety.

Amazon said both lawsuits belonged in the Brooklyn court because Queens and Staten Island are in that jurisdiction, and suing in different courts was wasteful.

James said Amazon had cut corners in protecting workers because doing more could threaten productivity, sales volume and profitability.

She said she had authority to enforce New York state law to promote proper business conduct and ensure that current and future Amazon employees have a safe and honest workplace.

Her lawsuit seeks improved worker protections, and damages for two Amazon workers who allegedly faced retaliation.

One, Christian Smalls, was fired one year ago, purportedly for violating a paid quarantine when leading a protest over conditions at the Staten Island warehouse.

James sued Amazon on Feb. 16, four days after Amazon sued her. Amazon then moved James lawsuit to federal court.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The trial of former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan on charges of bribery was set to begin on April 13 at a Yerevan courthouse.

Kocharyan is accused in accepting a 3,000,000 dollar bribe from a businesswoman in early 2008, his final months as president. Then-Secretary of the Security Council Armen Gevorgyan is also facing bribery charges under the same criminal case. They both deny the accusations.

The businesswoman allegedly involved is Silva Hambardzumyan. She is said to have allegedly bribed Kocharyan and Gevorgyan for not obstructing a business deal.

The trial was adjourned because Kocharyan was absent from the courthouse. His lawyer told the judge that the ex-president is in self-isolation after being exposed to COVID-19 through a direct contact.

The trial will resume on May 4.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
New Delhi, April 13 : After Covishield and Covaxin, India on Tuesday granted permission to inject the third Covid-19 vaccine 'Gam-COVID-Vac' combined vector vaccine, popularly called Sputnik-V, in emergency situations.

The Drugs Controller General India (DCGI) gave its nod for the emergency use of the vaccine based on recommendations of the the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) and careful consideration, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHF) said on Tuesday.

"After detailed deliberation the SEC recommended for grant of permission for restricted use of Sputnik-V in emergency situations subject to various regulatory provisions," the MoHF said.

The vaccine is indicated for active immunisation to prevent Covid-19 disease in individuals of 18 years and above, said the Ministry, adding "the vaccine should be administered intramuscularly in two doses of 0.5 ml each with interval of 21 days.

"The vaccine has to be stored at -18 degrees Celsius. The vaccine comprises of two components I & II, which are not interchangeable." The Ministry said that the recommendations of the SEC have been accepted by the Drugs Controller General (India) after careful consideration, and that "Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. (DRL) will import the vaccine for use in the country".

The countrywide vaccination drive started from January 16. Two vaccines have been approved for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) by the National Regulator-- Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). These are "Covishield" manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) and "Covaxin" manufactured by Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL).

DRL had applied for the grant of permission to import and market Gam-COVID-Vac, developed by Gamaleya Institute, Russia for Emergency Use Authorisation. The Gam-COVID-Vac combined vector vaccine (Component I and Component II) has been developed by National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia and is approved in 30 countries across the world.

DRL has collaborated with National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for obtaining regulatory approval for import for marketing in India. The interim results of Safety immunogenicity and efficacy from Russian Phase III clinical trial have been published in the journal Lancet.

"DRL was permitted to conduct a Phase-II and III clinical trial in the country. The firm has submitted interim data from the ongoing Phase-II and III clinical trial in the country.

"The data from the clinical trial is being continuously assessed by the CDSCO in consultation with the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) as a rapid regulatory response. The SEC consists of domain knowledge experts from the fields of pulmonology, immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, paediatrics, internal medicine," the Ministry said.

"The SEC deliberated on various critical areas for consideration including safety, immunogenicity, efficacy data from overseas clinical studies, indication, age group, dosing schedule, precautions, storage, warnings, adverse effects of special interest, risk benefit evaluation, proposed factsheet, PI, SmPC etc," it said.

The approval of the vaccine in Russia along with its conditions and restrictions was also reviewed by the SEC, said the Ministry, adding the SEC noted that the safety and immunogenicity data presented by the firm from the Indian study is comparable with that of the Phase III clinical trial interim data from Russia.

Further, the Ministry noted that the Central government has been leading the fight against Covid-19 with a proactive and "whole of government" approach, with focus on containment, surveillance, testing, Covid appropriate behaviour and vaccination.

"Several other vaccines are at various stages of clinical development within the country."

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Chlorinated swimming pool water can inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19 in just 30 seconds, a study found as indoor pools re-open across England this week.

Virologists from Imperial College London studied the impact of varying concentrations of chlorine in water on the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The findings suggest that the risk of COVID-19 transmission via swimming pool water is 'incredibly' low, the researchers reported.

The investigation was commissioned by Swim England and the Water Babies swim school, with support from the Royal Life Saving Society.

Chlorinated swimming pool water can inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19 in just 30 seconds, a study found as indoor pools re-open across England this week (stock image)

'We performed these experiments at our high containment laboratories in London,' explained study author Wendy Barclay, of the Imperial College London.

'Under these safe conditions we are able to measure the ability of the virus to infect cells, which is the first step in its transmission.

'By mixing the virus with swimming pool water that was delivered to us by the Water Babies team, we could show that the virus does not survive in swimming pool water  it was no longer infectious.

'That, coupled with the huge dilution factor of virus that might find its way into a swimming pool from an infected person, suggests the chance of contracting COVID-19 from swimming pool water is negligible.'

In the study, Professor Barclay and colleagues found that a concentration of free chlorine of 1.5 milligrams per litre and a pH of between 77.2 reduced the infectivity of the SARS-CoV-2 more than 1,000 fold within just 30 seconds.

Further tests using different chlorine concentrations and pH levels concluded that the chlorine in swimming pool waster is more effective with a low pH level.

This, the team said, is inline with current guidance for swimming pool operation  which recommends a free chlorine concentration of 1.5 milligrams per litre and a pH level of 7.0.

The findings suggest that the risk of COVID-19 transmission via swimming pool water is 'incredibly' low, the researchers reported

'These findings suggest the risk of transmission from swimming pool water is low,' said Swim England chief executive Jane Nickerson.

The study, she continued, 'adds to the evidence that swimming pools can be safe and secure environments if appropriate measures are taken.

'Its fantastic news for the operators, our members and clubs who take part in all our amazing sports, recreational swimmers and those who rely on the water to stay physically active.

'The findings confirm the guidance we have issued to operators is correct and will give everyone returning to the water from Monday [April 12] peace of mind that they are doing so safely.'

'We are excited about these findings as we prepare to restart our classes and plan to welcome back families, littles ones and customers to indoor swimming pools across the country,' said Water Babies founder Paul Thompson.

'It has been fantastic to work closely with Professor Barclay and her team at Imperial College and collaborate with leading bodies Swim England and RLSS on this world-leading research.'

'We know swimming has multiple benefits for physical and mental health for both children and adults of all ages and were looking forward to our lessons restarting.'

The full findings of the study have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Last month the SEC said it would seek input on how companies might report on their greenhouse gas emissions and other climate factors. Today, Apple called for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to disclose far-reading emissions information such as how customers use their products, according to a tweet from Apple Vice President Lisa Jackson. The message in the Tweet is presented below:

(Click on image to Enlarge)

The Reuters report noted tht "The comments by the iPhone maker mark the most specific prescription to date from a large public company about what disclosures are needed, said Veena Ramani, senior program director for Ceres, a Boston-based climate advocacy group.

An Apple spokeswoman confirmed the phrasing referred to so-called Scope 3 emissions like those resulting from the use of a companys products by other parties. While that can be simple for technology or finance companies to provide, calls to publish the data can be controversial for other industries."
The first Shahi Snan was held on March 11 on the occasion of Mahashivratri, while the second is being held on Monday and on Wednesday. The third Shahi Snan will be taken by 13 akhadas.
OnScene

A woman who no longer wished to live at a Harris County residential care facility was arrested after lighting a mattress on fire, forcing other residents to evacuate, authorities said.

There were no injuries reported following the small blaze around 9:30 p.m. Monday in the 14200 block of Berrington Drive.
All eyes are on Midtown Manhattan as everyone anxiously waits to see if and when office workers and tourists will return to what have been eerily empty streets and whether the businesses that line them will regain customers lost during the pandemic.

But other retail corridors across New York are also important barometers of the citys economy, as well as key to its recovery; a survey of five of them, one in each borough, showed signs of resilience.

On the whole, business districts outside Manhattan are holding up better and some are really thriving, said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future.

This is not to gloss over the hardship experienced practically everywhere.

Corridors outside Midtown that have much in common with it  commuter hubs drawing 9-to-5 workers  have also experienced a dramatic falloff in foot traffic and, therefore, customers for stores and restaurants. The same goes for areas reliant on leisure activities that Covid restrictions shut down.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 04/12/2021



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

star Andrew Kenton has accused Amira Lollysa of lying about the reason for their breakup, insisting Amira's claim that they had opposing views on having children wasn't the real problem.Andrew unleashed a series of nearly 20 screenshots Saturday on his Instagram Story of alleged text-messages he had exchanged with Amira before and during her 14-day quarantine in Serbia, which was intended to allow Amira to then travel to the United States and marry Andrew before her K-1 visa's expiration date.During his April 10 Instagram Story postings, Andrew insisted the argument viewers saw on the show's eighth season "was not about kids AT ALL" and he and Amira broke up because Amira had suddenly "acquired an agent and was demanding money."Andrew had allegedly texted Amira, "Good luck to you Amira! I thought we could be a team but I was obviously wrong. Go get whatever [you're] looking for!"Andrew captioned the alleged texts, "Not my proudest moment, I could have and should have done better. I apologize to all who were triggered by that scene."Although Andrew was clearly upset, he apparently still offered to help Amira "sort out a ticket" to fly back home to France from Serbia."I was very angry, surrounded by the children at work, and my fiancee was pulling a confusing last minute money play. Paying for her ticket was a kindness, I was upset but still wanted her to get home safe," Andrew wrote on one of the screenshots.Andrew also posted screenshots that appeared to show him texting a field producer and attempting to suddenly cancel that day's filming plans after Amira "got some agent in Serbia" and had emailed him demanding "payment.""It's all madness to me," Andrew allegedly texted the field producer.However, the field producer allegedly replied back telling him the film crew was already assembled and urged him to still proceed with the filming plans given Amira was set to arrive in America the very next day.If not, the field producer appeared to warn, the show would have to instead shoot staged scenes at a later date."Look whatever this all is I'm sure they will figure it out. I don't have anything to do with payment and nor do I know what anyone gets paid that's not got producers to know," the producer allegedly replied."We just have crew here and everyone is ready to shoot. When things get worked [out] we still need to shoot this stuff and we can't do this any other day as she comes tomorrow. Then we fake things which I know you don't like [nor] do we :)"Andrew also wrote in the caption of the text-message exchange, "Guess what we ended up doing?"In addition to screenshots of texts, Andrew also posted what appeared to be ticket receipts showing he had also originally purchased an airline ticket that would have allowed Amira's father Hamdi to fly to Serbia with her and stay there with her before her eventual flight to America.Andrew apparently paid for both Amira and Hamdi's nonstop flights on July 13, 2020 as well as a checked bag for Amira, which Andrew claimed cost an additional $100.Andrew also claimed to have booked a returning flight for Hamdi from Belgrade, Serbia back to Paris, France on July 29, 2020.However, according Andrew's postings, Amira texted Andrew on July 7, 2020 revealing that Hamdi would no longer be able to accompany her to Serbia because he had been hospitalized with hypertension and diabetes issues.Amira allegedly told Andrew to "just pretend like [you] don't know anything" and act like they hadn't already been chatting before an upcoming videochat session that was going to be filmed by 's producers."She was playing me to her narrative," Andrew wrote on one of his screenshots.According to the alleged text messages, Andrew ultimately canceled Hamdi's flights due to his poor health."I looked into the ticket and I don't think I will get refund but it's okay. I just want your dad to be healthy," Andrew allegedly texted Amira, adding that money was not important given the circumstances and Hamdi's tickets were "not the most expensive."Amira then allegedly said she still wanted to travel to Serbia and asked Andrew if it would be possible to transfer Hamdi's ticket to her Paris-based friend Lisa so she would have company during her stay in Serbia.However, Amira apparently later insisted she'd be comfortable traveling to Serbia alone."I offered multiple times to come [to Serbia] but was refused," Andrew claimed.In addition, the alleged texts also showed Amira gushing about the "amazing" four-star hotel and the surrounding area after arriving in Serbia.On 's eighth season, Amira was shown complaining about how there was no room service at her hotel and food was limited nearby considering businesses and grocery stores shut down early amid the coronavirus pandemic."She insisted on this hotel!" Andrew wrote on a screenshot of their alleged text exchanges. "It was well reviewed... highly rated, centrally located, and steps away from a Sephora."Amira also allegedly gushed about her food options nearby and pointed out her hotel was "well located."In turn, Andrew appeared to text Amira sweet messages such as, "Our love is strong and unbreakable. Soon we will be together and our love will grow infinitely... We will be so happy baby. You are my other half and I am missing part of me with you so far away.""I love you," Andrew allegedly added, "and I admire [you] for the amazing person you [are]."This weekend wasn't the first time Andrew has lashed out at Amira on social media.In January, Andrew called Amira a "fame hungry liar" on Instagram after footage aired of Amira being detained in Mexico City for several days when she was trying to meet with Andrew.'s eighth season ended with Amira telling Andrew that she had "a panic attack" before her scheduled flight to the United States.Amira said Andrew had called her and picked a fight just a few hours before she was supposed to board her plane to America to finally reunite with Andrew.Amira claimed Andrew had pressured her to have children "right away" and "that's not love" in her mind."He's telling me, 'It's not working out between us. We are not on the same page about having children.' I am so hurt right now because Andrew is the man I want to spend my whole life with," Amira said, adding that Andrew had been yelling at her and sending "mean" text messages, which left her feeling "in shock.""I'm telling him, 'I love you and you know that,' and he's not stopping. And then he texted me a ticket to go to Paris," Amira claimed.Amira lamented on the show about how she had given up everything for Andrew and did everything in her power to make it work. Amira ultimately decided to fly back home to France and focus on becoming "an independent woman" with more self-love.On Part 1 of 's Season 8 Tell-All event that aired on Sunday night, Andrew joined his fellow cast members in-studio with Shaun Robinson and was asked to leave when Amira was going to join the conversation via videochat from France."I will only do this if I don't have to see or talk to Andrew," Amira said. "Honestly, I cannot handle him. I will not let him control me ever again."Andrew said it was "unacceptable" and "unfair" that he couldn't engage with Amira as she told her side of the story, and so he decided to not participate in the Tell-All.The broadcast ended with a frustrated Andrew trying to secure a ride back to his hotel outside of the studio.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. 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 Online Marketing Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 149 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 60 making it to the final list for Online Marketing Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-marketing-degree-programs/

2021 Online Marketing Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

American Intercontinental University

Arizona State University

Assumption University

Baker College

Bellevue University

Bemidji State University

Brenau University

California Baptist University, Online

Campbellsville University

Clayton State University

Colorado State University

Colorado State University Global

Colorado Technical University

Concordia University, St. Paul

East Tennessee State University

Eastern New Mexico University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida International University

Franklin University

Full Sail University

Georgia Southwestern State University

Golden Gate University

Grand Canyon University

Huntington University

Indiana University

Indiana Wesleyan University

Kennesaw State University

Liberty University

Linfield College

Louisiana State University Shreveport

New England College

New Mexico State University

Northern Illinois University

Ohio Christian University

Old Dominion University

Penn State World Campus

Regent University

Regis University

Saint Leo University

Southern New Hampshire University

University of Houston

University of Maryland Global Campus

University of Massachusetts Amherst

University of Minnesota Twin Cities

University of Minnesota, Crookston

University of North Texas

University of Northwestern Ohio

University of South Dakota

University of Texas at Dallas

University of Texas Permian Basin

University of West Alabama

University of West Georgia

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Walden University

Washington State University

Webster University

West Texas A&M University

Western Governors University

Wilmington 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/.
TORONTO, April 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northland Power Inc. (Northland) (TSX: NPI) announces it will release its 2021 first quarter financial results after market close on Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Northland's management will hold an investor conference call and webcast at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Thursday, May 13, 2021, followed by a question and answer period.



Conference call details:

Date: Thursday, May 13, 2021

Start Time: 10:00 a.m. ET

Phone Number: Toll free (North America): (833) 693-0550 Toll free (International): (661) 407-1589

The call will also be broadcast live on the internet, in listen-only mode and may be accessed on northlandpower.com .



For those unable to attend the live call, an audio recording will be available on Northlands website at northlandpower.com on May 14, 2021.

ABOUT NORTHLAND POWER

Northland Power is a global power producer dedicated to helping the clean energy transition by producing electricity from clean renewable resources. Founded in 1987, Northland has a long history of developing, building, owning and operating clean and green power infrastructure assets and is a global leader in offshore wind. In addition, Northland owns and manages a diversified generation mix including onshore renewables, solar and efficient natural gas energy, as well as supplying energy through a regulated utility.

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with global offices in eight countries, Northland owns or has an economic interest in 2.7 GW (net 2.3 GW) of operating generating capacity and a significant inventory of early to mid-stage development opportunities encompassing approximately 4 to 5 GW of potential capacity.

Publicly traded since 1997, Northland's common shares, Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3 preferred shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols NPI, NPI.PR.A, NPI.PR.B and NPI.PR.C, respectively.

For further information contact:

Wassem Khalil, Senior Director, Investor Relations, (647) 288-1019

investorrelations@northlandpower.com

northlandpower.com
Dueling Demonstrations Lead to Arrests in Huntington Beach

The Huntington Beach Pier area was quiet this morning, the day after an unlawful assembly was declared when anti-racism protesters squared off with supporters of a planned White Lives Matter demonstration.



Those arrested were issued citations and released or bailed out of jail, according to the Huntington Beach police.



The Huntington Beach Police Department declared an unlawful assembly in the area of Fifth Street and Walnut Avenue shortly before 3 p.m., in order to disperse an unruly crowd, according to police Lt. Brian Smith.



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The crowd was estimated at 500, Smith said. Some with the Black Lives Matter movement had assembled at the citys pier beginning at 11 a.m. Sunday, two hours before the scheduled WLM rally at 1 p.m.



The Black Lives Matter protesters occupied Pier Plaza to prevent any demonstrations by the WLM group, KNX reported.

The WLM rally was part of a nationwide group of protests planned in a handful of cities across the country to combat what organizers see as the threat to the white race from multiculturalism and what they term as the anti-white bias in media, government and education.



The group was promoting the events though the social media platform Telegram. Attendees were encouraged to wear masks for anonymity.



Three arrests were reported in the early going Sunday. One was for the municipal code violation of amplified sound at the beach, Smith told the Los Angeles Times. A second person was arrested for allegedly obstructing police and had a metal baton, two cans of pepper spray and a knife in his backpack, Smith said.



Things began to grow heated after 1 p.m., with many people carrying American flags and signs supporting former President Donald Trump getting into profane verbal exchanges with the BLM supporters.



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Many counter demonstrators chanted Nazis go home! At least one WLM supporter was surrounded and violently pushed by several anti-racism demonstrators, according to video posted on Twitter.

In all, 12 people were arrested for suspicion of various charges ranging from municipal code violations to fighting in public, and various weapons offenses, Smith said. Huntington Beach was prepared for the event, he said.



The Huntington Beach Police Department deployed significant resources throughout Downtown Huntington Beach, Smith said. This included uniformed officers and mounted officers from the Orange County Regional Mounted Enforcement Unit, who were supported by the Huntington Beach Police Department helicopter, unmanned arial surveillance drones, and various support personnel.



The planned events came at a time when anti-Asian bigotry is on the rise during the pandemic and local communities including Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Villa Park have been papered with fliers advertising the Ku Klux Klan.



On Monday, April 5, the Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to condemn violence and hate crimes against Asian Americans and to condemn white supremacy. Another called for city-sponsored events to counter the planned white lives matter rally on Sunday. Those events are scheduled to be held April 18 at Central Park.



Sens. Dave Min, D-Irvine, and Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana, and Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Newport Beach, on Friday released a statement condemning the Sunday rally organized by the Loyal White Knights.



We unequivocally condemn white nationalism and the racist ideology promoted by the Ku Klux Klan, the statement reads. While we acknowledge the rights of all Americans  even the vilest racists out there  to express their opinions, we want to loudly and clearly state that the views expressed by the KKK and other white nationalist groups do not reflect the views of Orange Countys residents or elected officials.



Our rich diversity makes Orange County and Huntington Beach stronger and better. We join the Huntington Beach City Council in condemning white supremacy and applaud it for planning a series of pro-diversity events to counter the disgusting message being promoted by the KKK and other organizers of the White Lives Matter rally this weekend.



Huntington Beach Interim Police Chief Julian Harvey posted the following statement on Facebook Wednesday:



The Huntington Beach Police Department is aware of the planned events in Huntington Beach on April 11, 2021, and is taking measures to ensure public safety while preserving the participants ability to exercise their Constitutional rights regardless of the message or ideology.

We hope events such as this will serve as an opportunity for unity rather than a platform to spread hate, bigotry and division. The City of Huntington Beach proudly stands by the values of diversity, equity and inclusion.



Toward this end, the men and women of the Huntington Beach Police Department will professionally and impartially perform their duties. I can assure you, we will not tolerate any acts of violence or criminal behavior meant to intimidate others.



The OC Human Relations Council held a virtual workshop on Zoom at 1 p.m. Sunday to help residents confront public acts of racism. It will provide tools for how to stand up and interrupt when you see hate and bigotry, the groups Alison Edwards said.



If you can be reasonably sure you can be safe, there are a series of things people can do when they encounter a racist act in public, like creating a distraction like just asking what time is it to break up the interaction, Edwards said.



Since January, the organization has logged 14 anti-Asian hate incidents, Edwards said. One of those targeted was U.S. Olympic karate athlete Sakura Kokumai, who recently chronicled how she was subjected to racist insults while she was working out at a park in Orange.



Edwards said the HRC is also working on efforts to provide a forum for residents when verdicts come down in the trial of Derek Chauvin for the in- custody killing of George Floyd in Minnesota last year.



In response to the KKK fliers, the Huntington Beach City Council on a 6-0 vote Monday, with one abstention, passed a resolution reaffirming the citys commitment to inclusivity and two others denouncing hate speech, and specifically white supremacy.



Peter Levi, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in Orange County, said the White Lives Matter phrase dates back to 2015. It was a racist response to the racial justice issues going on in our country at the time, Levi said.



The amount of racist propaganda doubled last year compared with 2019, Levi said. There were about 5,000 pieces of propaganda circulated in communities and on campuses, he said.



On Saturday, the Orange County NAACP issued a statement clarifying its opposition to the counter protest planned by Black Lives Matter, with some of its supporters citing concerns about potential violence.



The Orange County NAACP does NOT support the upcoming Huntington Beach Counter-Protest to the White Lives Matter Rally on Sunday, April 11, 2021, the statement said.



While the OC NAACP applauds the efforts of peaceful protestnnationwide, we do not sanction this particular event and seek to make our position clear on this issue. Our prayers are for the safety of all individuals, and we would never impede on anyones right to freedom of speech. The recent articles linking our organization to this event are factually incorrect.
South Africa's ex-president Jacob Zuma has until Wednesday to suggest what sentence he should be given if found guilty of contempt of court, in a marked deviation from the standard rule book.

Zuma, who turned 79 on Monday, repeatedly snubbed a judicial panel investigating the plunder of state coffers during his nine-year rule, claiming bias on the part of its chair and political interference in the judiciary.

The former head of state testified only once in July 2019 before staging a walkout days later.

On January 28, the Constitutional Court ordered Zuma to appear before the commission -- led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo -- but he ignored the order.

Zondo then petitioned the country's top court to jail the scandal-tainted former leader for two years for contempt.

A defiant Zuma skipped the hearing last month and did not file required affidavits.

The court now wants Zuma to determine "what constitutes the appropriate sanction" if he is found guilty.

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng last Friday directed Zuma to file an affidavit of no longer than 15 pages on or before Wednesday explaining "the nature and magnitude of sentence that should be imposed" on him.

It is still unclear if the former president will honour the directive.

Neither his lawyer nor his foundation -- the two avenues for his communications -- replied to repeated requests for comment.

Experts say it was uncommon for the court to issue such a directive.

 'Mafia state' 

The decision creates an impression of special treatment, said James Grant, a constitutional lawyer, but he added that a soft landing could also spell bad news for Zuma.

The court's judges are "bending over backwards to accommodate him... and are preparing to give him a harsh sentence.

"They want to show themselves as having taken every possible opportunity to hear from him," Grant explained.

Law professor Omphemetse Sibanda of the University of Limpopo warned that the court's actions could spell disaster for the country.

Story continues

In the long term, courts risk being abused by a "clique of rogue powerful elite and politicians as if South Africa is a mafia state where the judiciary is responsible to the politicians," he wrote in a column on the News24 website.

Zuma had earlier this year compared the courts to the apartheid judiciary functioning under white minority rule.

While highlighting his own anti-apartheid exploits, Zuma said in a statement that he was ready for "the law to take its course" and did not fear being arrested, convicted or incarcerated.

"The wrath visited upon me as an individual knows no bounds," he said.

Zuma's defiance has split his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party with one faction, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, vowing to stamp out corruption.

The country's highest court will make its ruling at an undecided later date.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday declined to set aside a 2018 ruling stripping Zuma of state-funded legal costs incurred by him in his personal capacity.

The court said it was "egregious" to award the former leader a blank cheque to pay private lawyers and that "a web of maladministration" had enabled them.

Zuma has been ordered to return the funds that had been advanced to him.

The embattled leader, who came to power in 2009, was forced to resign in 2018 over graft scandals involving an Indian business family, the Guptas -- who won lucrative contracts with state companies and were allegedly even allowed to choose cabinet ministers.

ho/sn/mgu/nrh
[April 13, 2021] Air Lease Corporation Announces Delivery of One New Airbus A321-200neo LR Aircraft to Air Arabia

Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) announced the delivery of one new Airbus A321-200neo LR aircraft on long-term lease to Air Arabia. This aircraft, featuring CFM International LEAP-1A32 engines, is the sixth of six new A321-200neo LRs to deliver to Air Arabia from ALC's order book with Airbus. "We are pleased to deliver our sixth new Airbus A321-200neo LR aircraft to Air Arabia," said Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. "ALC's very first Airbus long-range A321neo delivered in April 2019 to Air Arabia and we have been delighted to see our new-technology A321neos contribute to the airline's excellent service and growing operations." Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number f factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



About Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) ALC is a leading aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. ALC routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the "Investors" section of ALC's website at www.airleasecorp.com. Investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult the ALC website regularly for important information about ALC. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, ALC's website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.

About Air Arabia Air Arabia (PJSC), listed on the Dubai Financial Market, is the Middle East and North Africa's leading low-cost carrier (LCC). Air Arabia commenced operations in October 2003 and currently operates a total fleet of 58 new Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, serving some 170 routes from five hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. Air Arabia is an award-winning airline that focuses on offering comfort, reliability, and value-for-money air travel. For further information, please visit www.airarabia.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413006042/en/

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Simon Cowells extensive use of Botox and fillers has left him with a permanently 'sad' facial expression, while Madonnas creasing eyelids show her age, cosmetic surgery experts have claimed in a new Channel 5 show.

The A-listers' years of cosmetic work will be examined during Celebrities: What's Happened to Your Face? on Thursday, with experts comparing photographs from the past two decades and weighing up the impact of natural ageing versus enhancement.

Music mogul Simon, 61, who previously joked about 'using too much Botox', is said to have suffered some 'volume loss in his forehead', which has caused his appearance to change.

Dr Sarah Tonks, from The Lovely Clinic, says on the show: 'Now it looks like an attempt has been made to soften the wrinkles and lines around his eyes. The two things together here have given this really sad appearance.'

The experts also suggest Madonna, 62, has used 'too much' filler in her cheeks to help maintain a 'youthful lift' - although cosmetic surgeon Mr Alex Karidis insists the pop princess 'crepey eyelids unfortunately portray her actual age'.

Examination: Simon Cowell's extensive use of Botox and fillers has left him with a permanently sad facial expression, surgery experts have claimed in a new show (pictured left in 2001 and right in 2019)

Meanwhile Madonnas creasing eyelids show her age, cosmetic surgery experts claimed. Pictured, the singer in 1985, left, and in 2018, right

Mr Karidis explained: 'You can see that the skin at the top of the eyelid is very, very crepey like.

'You can fill up the cheeks, you can lift up the jawline, you can fill up the neckline but if the skin around the eyes is looking a little crepey and creasing that's going to portray your age unfortunately.

'The likelihood and probability that Madonna has had some surgery is very high because unquestionably once you get over 50, no amount of non surgical treatments is actually going to reverse some of the sagging and laxity that comes on naturally.'

Several of the experts interviewed commented on the singer's wrinkle-free forehead, claiming that it couldn't have happened naturally - despite Madonna previously saying she isn't keen on cosmetic procedures.

Cosmetic doctor Dr Zoya Diwan of Trikwan Aesthetics Mayfair commented on Madonna's 2018 appearance to the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, compared to her earlier looks.

Madonnas extremely youthful appearance at the 2008 (pictured) Cannes Film Festival, when she was aged 50, was also highlighted by the experts

'She's putting more and more filler in her cheek to help maintain that lift,' claimed the doctor. 'But you can see actually that these folds are getting deeper and she's trying to fill that more to prevent them sagging down.

'And I think that essentially is making her look a little too filled in that region.'

Madonnas extremely youthful appearance at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, when she was aged 50, was also highlighted by the experts.

They praised the contouring of her face and suggested that her flawless skin couldve been down to cosmetic surgeons at the top of their field.

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell's looks were also called into question, with Dr Sarah Tonks suggesting his 'tweakments' have given him a 'permanently sad' look.

The experts suggest Madonna (pictured in 1986, left, and right, in 2011), 62, has used 'too much' filler in her cheeks to help maintain a 'youthful lift' - although cosmetic surgeon Mr Alex Karidis insists the pop princess 'crepey eyelids unfortunately portray her actual age'

'He's got some volume loss in his forehead on both sides which is not helping his brow position because the bigger your volume loss in your forehead, the lower your brows will be. At 46 there's not a line on his forehead. Not one line,' she said.

'He's either had a very stress-free life or there's some Botox in there. Maybe he's had filler in the jawline, maybe he's had his face lifted at this point. After keeping up the Botox jabs, by 2012 his eyebrows have started drooping.'

Leading surgeon Dr Alex Karidis claims the X Factor star began to age naturally in his mid-thirties, before suspecting he 'overdid' his treatments to combat 'natural sagging in his cheeks'. MailOnline has contacted Simon's representatives for further comment.

Cowell is also estimated to have spent up to 50,000 on his 'ultra bright' Hollywood smile, with veneers that one expert are 'probably off the whitening scale'.

Dr Guy Barwell, a dental surgeon at The Implant Centre Hove & Haywards Heath previously told Express.co.uk: 'When you look back at the earlier photos his teeth were a far more natural shade of white... Simon has certainly had veneers, one key tell-tale sign is that in earlier photos his upper right lateral incisor is missing.

Cowell is also estimated to have spent up to 50,000 on his 'ultra bright' Hollywood smile, with veneers that one expert are 'probably off the whitening scale' (pictured left in 1994 and right in 2020)

'On average veneers tend to only last seven to 10 years as they are susceptible to damage and discolouration, and I suspect he may have had several sets over the years, costing anything from 650 to 1000 per tooth.

'So he could have spent upwards of 50,000 on his teeth over the years, depending on how many sets he's had.'

Dr Nyla Raja, leading cosmetic doctor who has treated Simon's friend Mel B, echoed the comments as she previously told MailOnline she believes the businessman has been left with a 'drooping face'.

The health expert said: 'Men also go through hormonal changes leading to a lack of collagenesis in the skin. Unfortunately when we lose weight the fatty tissue is also depleted from the face, leading one to look more drawn.

'It looks like an attempt has been made to soften the wrinkles and lines around his eyes': His work will be examined on Celebrities: What's Happened to Your Face? (pictured left in 2004 and right in 2019)

'He's not got the right people around him saying that's enough. I often refuse clients if they want to go overboard with cosmetic treatments  I just want clients to look and feel like the best version of themselves in the safest possible way.'

She added: 'Simon's fallen face and "sunken" eyes are a result of treatments being advised to him, leading to the facial muscles starting to drop around the eye area.

'I believe Simon should step away from cosmetic treatments for a while and try focusing on non-surgical treatments to lift and tighten the sagging skin.

'I am a huge advocate of using a combination of non-invasive treatments such as ultrasound technology to lift the skin at its deepest level and radiofrequency to tighten the skin.

'I did have too much Botox a couple of years ago': The talent previously previously touched on claims he and his BGT co-star Amanda Holden went too far during the so-called 'Botox Years' (pictured together in 2012)

'To revitalise the entire face I recommend an Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial as it is an effective, non-invasive way to enhance and restore the quality of your skin which may be affected by your lifestyle or as you age  or in Simon's case  too many procedures!

WHAT THE PLASTIC SURGEON SAYS... Dr Alex Karidis, Plastic Surgeon at Karidis Clinic told MailOnline: 'As we get older, gravity takes hold, the skin thins and we get what is called the deflation effect. 'When we lose fat from our faces, the skin starts to sag, like a deflating balloon and the supporting muscles weaken. 'The neck sags, as do the brows and upper and lower eyelids which can result in a droopy face. There is a truth to the saying, "fat don't crack" and having a little extra fat on the face can result in the appearance of fewer wrinkles. 'Because Simon has lost weight recently, his skin has started to droop. This can be remedied with weight gain, fat injected from other parts of the body or hyaluronic acid.' Advertisement

'Intraceutical facials use hyperbaric oxygen to enhance the delivery of serums used in treatments. Oxygen is a natural bacteria which helps keep the skin cool and calm during treatment.'

Pictures taken throughout the years suggest the media personality started having Botox injections from 2009 onwards.

In 2018, the father-of-one admitted to having a facelift, but didn't confirm when the procedure - which 'hurt like hell' - took place.

The Britain's Got Talent judge previously told The Sun that he visited cosmetic surgeon Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh, known as the 'Picasso of dermatology', for a Silhouette Soft Lift.

Simon, who has also adopted a vegan lifestyle in recent years, underwent a non-surgical 'sewing bioplastic-infused thread' facelift that set him back 2000.

The TV executive explained at the time: 'For me now, its all about having clean skin. If you have clean skin, you look better. But you have to be very careful with some of this stuff.'

'There's lots of things you can do now. You don't just have to stuff your face with filler and Botox. It hurts like hell but it gets rid of sun damage and unplugs all the cr*p.'

On rumours that he and his BGT co-star Amanda Holden have gone too far during the so-called 'Botox Years', the talent manager previously told The Mirror: 'All of us are like, "We had a lot that year. Not much that year maybe a too much that year".

'You know, the old clips of us are hysterical, Amanda's always like, "What was I thinking?" I said, "Well, I don't look a lot better." I look all right now, but certain years it was like, "Wow', I don't know what was going on".'

Simon once claimed using Botox 'added 10 years' to his TV career, but that he regrets going overboard with the procedure.

He said: 'Hopefully I look better now  I probably did have a little too much Botox a couple of years ago, because everyone on TV has it.

'Now I have facials, but nothing too extravagant at the moment. I have a girl who comes here and does a great face massage  it's very relaxing. I also had a sheep placenta facial once, which was quite out there.'

Celebrities: What's Happened to Your Face? airs on Channel 5 on Thursday at 10pm.
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Isatoic acid anhydride also known as o-amino-benzoic acid, 2-aminobenzoic acid, N-carboxylic acid anhydride, and anthranilic acid, is the organic compound with the linear formula C6H4(NH2)CO2H. In appearance, Isatoic acid anhydride is a white solid when pure, although commercial samples may appear yellow. By the structure, isatoic acid anhydride contains a benzene ring with two adjacent functional groups, a carboxylic acid and an amine. Industrially, Isatoic acid anhydride is used as an intermediate for production of dyes chemicals and in medical product. Isatoic acid anhydride and its esters are used in preparing perfumes to imitate jasmine and orange, pharmaceuticals, and UV-absorber as well as corrosion inhibitors for metals and mold inhibitors in soy sauce. In addition, isatoic acid anhydride can be used in organic synthesis to generate the benzyne intermediate. It is sometimes considered as vitamin L1.





Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific is the largest market of isatoic acid anhydride due to huge consumption in dye & pigments, and agrochemicals-market-1267'>agrochemical-market-749'>agrochemical industry, in China region followed by India, Thailand, and Japan. Increasing demand for agrochemical industry in China, India, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea has made Asia Pacific largest consumer of the global Isatoic acid anhydride market followed by increasing in the consumption of Isatoic acid anhydride market in Europe region. In Europe region, Isatoic acid anhydride market is drive by perfume, pharmaceutical, and food & beverages industry. In addition, the third largest market of Isatoic acid anhydride is North America region due to large consumption in agricultural, pharmaceutical, and others industry. Moreover, Latin America and Middle East also observed in growth of Isatoic acid anhydride market due to various application such as pharmaceutical, dye & pigments, perfume, agrochemicals, and others.

Segmentation

The global isatoic acid anhydride market is majorly segmented on the basis of application, end use and region. Based on application of isatoic acid anhydride the market is segmented into dye & pigments, pesticides, herbicides, saccharin, flavors, and others. On the other hand, Based on end use industry of isatoic acid anhydride the market is segmented into pharmaceutical, agrochemicals, perfume, food & beverages, and others. Furthermore, based on region global isatoic acid anhydride market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.

Key Players

Key players of the global Isatoic acid anhydride market are BASF SE (Germany), The Dow Chemical Company (US), Alfa Aesar (India), Crystal Quinone Pvt. Ltd. (India), Taj Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (India), Wujiang New Sunlion Chemical Co., Ltd. (China), HIMALAYA CHEMICALS (India), ISHITA INDUSTRIES (India), KESHAR EMULSION PVT LTD (India), TCI (Shanghai) Development Co., Ltd (China), and others.





Geographic Analysis

The report covers brief analysis of geographical region such as North America, Europe, APAC, and RoW.

The report about Global Isatoic acid anhydride Market by Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with detail analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts and key opinion leaders to gain a deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes past and estimated future market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report further provides detail information about strategies used by top key players in the industry. It also gives a broad study about different market segments and regions.

ACCESS REPORT DETAILS @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/isatoic-acid-anhydride-market-3325

Study Objectives of Isatoic acid anhydride Market:

To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 7 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Isatoic acid anhydride Market

To understand the supply and demand dynamics including supply and consumption concentration mapping

To provide region level market analysis and future outlook for North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) and their countries

To provide competitor positioning of the market

To provide company profiling of major players in the market along with their production and capacity

To provide regional trade analysis

To evaluate historical market trends, patents and technologies, and current government regulatory requirements that are relevant to the market

Intended Audience

Isatoic acid anhydride manufacturers

Traders and distributors of Isatoic acid anhydride

Production Process industries

Potential investors

Raw material suppliers

Nationalized laboratory
India is witnessing a massive second wave as the daily Covid-19 cases in the country remained more than 1,50,000 for the third consecutive day. With that surge, India has overtaken Brazil as the second worst-infected country behind the United States.



Meanwhile, the government has ramped up the vaccination program and cleared another vaccine for emergency use. But with cases rising, its imperative that people follow social distancing norms and more and more get tested.

Reuters

What is an RT-PCR test?

RT-PCR or Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction tests were the first to be developed and widely deployed since the onset of the pandemic and it remains the primary tool for Covid-19 diagnosis.

ALSO READ: Indias Double Mutant B.1.617 Coronavirus: Everything You Should Know

The Covid-19 RT-PCR detects viral RNA in host samples like nasal or oral swabs, saliva, etc and gives either a positive or a negative result based on the presence of the virus. Yes, it isnt cent percent accurate, but currently its considered the gold standard for Covid-19 detection.

AFP

But even as the test can detect the acute infection of coronavirus, it does come with limitations, such as it cant tell whether a person has recovered from Covid-19 or if they had been infected with the virus in the past.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 Second Wave Infecting Children: Over 79,000 In Top 5 Indian States

In this test, a small amount of DNA is taken via a cotton swab from the back of the throat or nose of the test candidate. This sample is then sent for the RT-PCR test, which includes many steps to convert the RNA into viral DNA.

How much does an RT-PCR test cost?

Both the private labs and government facilities process the samples and share the reports with clients and within 24 hours of collecting the samples. And although the cost of this test has plummeted over the time, it differs from state to state.

AFP

The Maharashtra government, for example, has fixed the price of an RT-PCR test at 500 for giving samples at the collection centre and 800 for people opting to get their swab test done at home. Delhi, Bihar and Gujarat have slashed the cost of an RT-PCR test to 800 at private labs; West Bengal has capped it at 950; Assam at 1,200; and Haryana at 499.

Who should get tested for RT-PCR?

The ICMR guidelines recommend that individuals who have undertaken international travel in the last 14 days and have symptoms such as fever, cough, difficulty in breathing need to be tested.

ALSO READ: COVID-19 Second Wave Symptoms: Beyond Fever Or Cold, Watch Out For These Signs

Apart from this, all symptomatic contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases; all symptomatic health care workers; all returnees and migrants within 7 days of illness; all hospitalised patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness should be tested.

Reuters

All asymptomatic direct and high-risk contacts--contacts in family and workplace, elderly above 65 years of age and those with comorbidities--of a confirmed case should be tested once between day 5 and day 14 of coming in his/her contact.

How to find labs for Covid-19 test?

Tests for the novel coronavirus can only be conducted in specialised labs that are certified to do so. India has done exceedingly well to increase the number of Covid-19 testing laboratories in the country from 52 to 2,452 in exactly one year. Out of these, 1,230 are government labs, while 1,222 others are private facilities. A total of 1,415 of these laboratories carry out Real-Time RT PCR tests for Covid-19.

Reuters

For those who need to reach out to Covid-19 facilities, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has put out state-wise lists along with their dedicated website. But I personally found this interactive map put out by the ICMR particularly informative. All testing centres across the country are mapped out in a searchable database along with their address. You can even search for your state name to check out all the laboratories that test for Covid-19.

Google has also introduced a feature where its Search, Assistant, and Maps apps let users locate the Covid-19 testing centres. Just go to your browser and type in Covid test or Coronavirus testing, and youll get a dashboard containing the Covid-19 testing laboratories near you.

Working closely with @ICMRDELHI & @mygovindia, Google Maps, Google Assistant and Search are now beginning to surface testing centres in Hindi, English & 7 regional languages. Before going to a testing centre, call the Govt. of India helpline - 1075 & get a doctors prescription. pic.twitter.com/VOichzCLH9  Google India (@GoogleIndia) June 12, 2020

Apart from this, people can also call the central helpline number for Covid-19 at +91-11-23978046, and at the toll free number 1075.



Other tests for Covid-19

TruNat is a chip-based and battery-operated automated test that detects SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA within half an hour. It is a cheaper and quicker version of the RT-PCR test, but the portable machine requires a continuous power supply and air conditioning which might be a limiting factor in certain areas.



ANI

Rapid antigen test (RAT), also known as diagnostic or rapid tests, is a cheaper and quicker method of testing for the novel coronavirus. These isolate proteins called antigens that are unique to the virus, and can give a result in 15 to 20 minutes.



But these tests are less reliable, with an accuracy rate in some cases as low as 50 per cent, and were originally meant to be used in virus hotspots and healthcare settings only. Therefore, ICMR recommends all symptomatic people who tested RAT negative to take a RT-PCR test.


Commentary: Digital yuan trial heralds inclusive tech future

Xinhua) 11:05, April 13, 2021

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 11, 2020 shows the city view of Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

-- China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019.

-- The digital yuan will be positioned as legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation such as coins and banknotes.

-- It will be issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to designated commercial banks which will then distribute the currency to the public.

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- As China is testing the water before launching central bank digital currency, the country's southern tech hub Shenzhen has taken a further step by conducting another trial run and enlarging its test population by 500,000.

The trial, from April 10 to April 23, aims to cultivate user habits as China is set to use the technology to benefit more people in the long term.

China began piloting its digital currency in select regions across the country at the end of 2019. The digital yuan will be positioned as legal tender, designed to be treated as M0, meaning cash in circulation such as coins and banknotes. It will be issued by the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, to designated commercial banks which will then distribute the currency to the public.

The rapid development of mobile payment requires the government to provide stable and secure retail payment infrastructure. The trials reflect the central bank's prudence in advancing the digital currency to ensure domestic financial stability.

The digital yuan has its uses in the digital era. It will help advance financial inclusion in China, bringing tangible benefits to the Chinese people and the economy.

Photo taken on Oct. 12, 2020 shows a sign reminding customers that digital yuan is accepted at a supermarket in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Wu Yanting)

Unlike non-bank payment platforms that require users to link their bank accounts, a digital wallet can be opened with more personal identification options such as a driver's license or a mobile phone number. That means China's unbanked population and foreign visitors will be included to benefit from the new currency.

The digital yuan can also increase the efficiency of financial operations and lower the costs of financial transactions. It can be transferred freely among commercial bank accounts and non-bank payment platforms, breaking barriers in the industry.

Moreover, the digital currency will ensure that user privacy will be protected from infringement. During a summit at the China Development Forum 2021, Mu Changchun, head of the central bank's digital currency research institute, said China's digital currency has the highest level of privacy protection among existing payment tools.

China is not the only country planning to launch a digital currency. Japan has started experimenting with a digital currency, while Thailand has unveiled a timeline for the testing of its own retail digital currency.

It's worth mentioning that, despite the positive feedback China's recent pilot programs on digital currency have received, it still takes time for the digital yuan to be issued officially, and even longer to be used on a large scale.

(Web editor: Shi Xi, Liang Jun)
We were looking for a partner that not only has an exceptional product, but that can integrate smoothly with both Gallups systems and our clients infrastructure whilst having the consultancy capabilities to ensure every mandate is meeting our gold standard.

Explorance, the leading Employee Experience Management (EXM) solution provider, announces a partnership with Gallup, the global analytics and advisory firm. This partnership provides Gallups clients with services from the two best-of-breed vendors. With a focus on society, organizations, and individuals, Gallups analytics and advisory services understand the human condition, leverage peoples untapped strengths, and galvanize corporate cultures. Explorance executes the process with an automated solution that streamlines the 360-degree assessment implementation, making the deployment robust, smooth, and worry-free for the end user.

Gallup empowers organizations by enhancing employee development and engagement while boosting the overall business outcome. We deliver strong employee development programs, knowing that the supporting technology strengthens these development experiences and provides deep data insights, says Ben Wigert, Ph.D., MBA, Director of Research and Strategy, Workplace Management at Gallup. We were looking for a partner that not only has an exceptional product, but that can integrate smoothly with both Gallups systems and our clients infrastructure whilst having the consultancy capabilities to ensure every mandate is meeting our gold standard, adds Wigert.

The Blue solutions blend direct, indirect, and inferred employee feedback into a single process of continuous listening through machine learning. This process generates metrics to support focal-point HR decision-making and actions, leading to improved employee success and business growth. With swift and unified integration between Blue modules (including 360 assessments) and other vital HR platforms (e.g., HRMS/HRIS, Performance, Recruitment, Onboarding, Learning and Development, Benefits, Employee Engagement, and Surveys), valuable metadata is shared, and a comprehensive experience synthesis is achieved. Blue is designed to easily adapt to a wide range of client framework methodologies. Gallups CliftonStrengths methodology together with the Blue solution highlights the strengths of each employee and encourages gradual employee development/learning to achieve personal and business goals, says Justin Taylor, Ph.D., Head of Global Alliances and Solutions at Explorance.

Learning is at the heart of every employee development path. Continuous improvement ensures that gradual learning is achieved toward the expected goals. Learn more about Blue capabilities and its 360 assessment features.

About Explorance

Explorance develops solutions that continuously assist you in enhancing your overall experience, gaining organizational agility and acceleration. At the foundation of every adjustment, there is a meaningful action or learning activity. Whether you seek to acquire new skills, competencies, or knowledge, the use of machine learning, continuous listening, and validated analytics benchmark results in both individual and collective experience improvements that in turn exceed your key stakeholders' expectations, meet your peoples goals, and achieve organizational growth.

Founded in 2003, Explorance is headquartered in Montreal and has seven business units across the globe. Through a Culture of Freewill, the company was ranked as a top employer by the Great Places to Work Institute for seven consecutive years. Explorance is partnered with one-third of the Fortune 100 companies and one-fourth of the QS 100 higher education institutions to achieve organizational agility, acceleration, and student success.
Actor Will Smith attends 'Bad Boys For Life' photocall at the Villamagna Hotel on Jan. 08, 2020 in Madrid, Spain. (Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Will Smith Pulls Production of Emancipation From Georgia Over Recent Voting Reforms

Grammy-winning actor and film producer Will Smith has pulled the production of his new movie Emancipation from Georgia over recent election reforms in the state.

At this moment in time, the Nation is coming to terms with its history and is attempting to eliminate vestiges of institutional racism to achieve true racial justice, Smith said in a joint statement with the movies co-director, Antoine Fuqua.

We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access, they added. The new Georgia voting laws are reminiscent of voting impediments that were passed at the end of Reconstruction to prevent many Americans from voting. Regrettably, we feel compelled to move our film production work from Georgia to another state.

The 95-page bill (pdf) was signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in late March after passing the state House via a 100-75 vote and the state Senate via a 34-20 vote, with Republicans in full support. Republicans currently hold a majority in both chambers. No Democrats voted for the reform measures.

I was proud to sign S.B. 202 to ensure elections in Georgia are secure, fair, and accessible, Kemp said on Twitter after signing the bill into law. I appreciate the hard work of members of the General Assembly to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a news conference about the states new Election Integrity Law that passed this week at AJs Famous Seafood and Poboys in Marietta, Ga., on April 10, 2021. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Opponents of the bill have said the law is designed to reduce the impact of minority voters.

According to a recent Rasmussen Reports poll, 75 percent of Americans support requiring ID for voting. Other surveys have found more than 80 percent of voters favor voter ID laws.

The new law, the Election Integrity Act of 2021, requires a Georgia drivers license or a state-issued or state-approved ID in order to vote absentee by mail. This replaces the current signature match process that was in place, which Kemp called time consuming, labor-intensive, and at times arbitrary.

Also, under the new law, secure drop boxes are to be placed inside early voting locations. There should also be constant surveillance of the boxes by an election official or their designee, a law enforcement official, or a licensed security guard.

The law will mandate two Saturdays of early voting across the state, a measure Kemp said makes voting more accessible. Counties can also retain the option of having two Sundays of early voting.

For runoffs, the law shortens the election cycle from nine weeks to four weeks and requires a minimum of one week of early voting before election day.

The law also limits absentee ballot requests to no later than 11 days before election day. State Rep. Jan Jones, a Republican, said the provision is meant to increase the likelihood of a voters vote being cast successfully, after concerns were raised in 2020 about mail ballots not being received by counties in time to be counted.

Emancipation is the largest and most high-profile Hollywood production to depart the state to date since state officials passed the voting reforms.

Will Smith (L) attends the premiere of Gemini Man in Los Angeles, Calif., on Oct. 6, 2019, and director Antoine Fuqua (R) appears during a photo session in Los Angeles, Calif., on July 12, 2015. (AP Photo)

The movie had been scheduled to begin shooting in June. Apple Studios acquired the film last year in a deal reportedly worth $130 million. Based on a true story, the film stars Smith as a slave who flees a Louisiana plantation and joins the Union Army.

Other film producers have responded to the new law by saying they will boycott, including Ford v. Ferrari director James Mangold. But major studios have so far been largely quiet.

In 2019, a Georgia anti-abortion law also prompted movie studios to threaten to cease production in the state.

Mimi Nguyen Ly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From NTD News
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The World War I Centennial Commission will host First Colors, a 90-minute virtual commemoration to mark the opening of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. The event will be live streamed on Friday, April 16, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. EDT/ 7:00 a.m. PDT at www.ww1cc.org/firstcolors. The memorial will open on April 17 under the administration of the National Park Service.

President Joe Biden will offer pre-recorded remarks as part of the program, hosted by actor Gary Sinise. The program will also include Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). Celebrity appearances will include Lee Greenwood performing "God Bless the U.S.A" with acapella group Home Free and members of the United States Air Force Band.

The ceremony's live elements at the memorial will include a Color Guard raising the inaugural flag, which was previously raised over the U.S. Capitol; nine World War I cemeteries administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission in France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom; and the World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. A flyover will be performed by the 94th Fighter Squadron, formerly the 94th Aero Squadron, the most victorious air warfare unit of World War I. The United States Army Band Pershing's Own will also perform, featuring a bugle owned by Gen. John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War I.

'First Colors' will feature special tributes to World War I service members, including:

A performance by the 369th Regiment "Hellfighters Band," a tribute to the all-Black band in World War l's segregated Army that helped bring jazz to Europe .

a tribute to the all-Black band in World War l's segregated Army that helped bring jazz to . A performance from the musical "Hello Girls, The Musical" that portrays the first women to actively serve in the Army, performing as heroic telephone operators on the front lines.

"As our nation's flag is raised for the first time over this hallowed ground that honors those who served in the Great War, we can take pride in the legacy of service and sacrifice by those who wear the uniform of our great country," said Terry Hamby, Chairman of the World War I Centennial Commission. "We invite Americans across the country to view this momentous occasion and reflect on this significant generation's place in our country's history."

The program will also include insight about the design of the memorial from lead designer Joe Weishaar and sculptor Sabin Howard.

First Colors is presented by the World War l Centennial Commission in cooperation with the Doughboy Foundation, the National Park Service, and the American Battle Monuments Commission. For more information and to watch the commemoration, visit www.ww1cc.org/firstcolors. First Colors is not an in-person event.

About World War I Centennial Commission

The U.S. World War I Centennial Commission established by Public Law 112-272, passed by the 112th Congress on January 14, 2013 and signed by the President on January 16, 2013, and further refined by Public Law 113-291, Subtitle J, Section 3091. The Commission's responsibilities included: planning, developing, and executing programs, projects, and activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I; encouraging private organizations and State and local governments to organize and participate in activities commemorating the centennial of World War I; facilitating and coordinating activities throughout the United States relating to the centennial of World War I; serving as a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of information about events and plans for the centennial of World War I; and developing recommendations for Congress and the President for commemorating the centennial of World War I. The Commission is building the National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C., with private donations, in partnership with the Doughboy Foundation. The Commission will sunset after the memorial is dedicated.

About 94th Fighter Squadron

The 94th Fighter Squadron is one of the oldest and most decorated fighter squadrons in America's history. It is tasked to provide Air Superiority for the United States and allied forces by engaging and destroying enemy forces, equipment, defenses or installations. The squadron operates the world's most advanced Air Dominance fighter, the F-22A Raptor, and is ready for global deployment as part of the 1st Fighter Wing.

About the Doughboy Foundation

The Doughboy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supports and encourages planning and execution of programs, projects, and activities commemorating and educating the public on America's role in World War I, "The War that Changed the World." The Foundation encourages private & educational organizations, Federal, State, and local governments, and all individual Americans to Keep Faith with the American Doughboys and every American who served in World War I. The Foundation's three-fold mission: Commemorate the experience of those Americans who served; Honor the 4.7 million Americans who put on the uniform to answer the call of their country; Inspire 21st-century Americans and all future generations to learn about, remember, and understand how WWI transformed our country and the world. The Doughboy Foundation has worked in partnership with the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission to build the new National World War I Memorial in Washington, D.C. When the Centennial Commission sunsets after the memorial is dedicated, the Doughboy Foundation will continue its mission of stewardship for the National World War I Memorial, and the remembrance of all those who served and sacrificed in World War I.

About Gary Sinise

For 40 years, award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise has stood as an advocate on behalf of America's defenders. He began in the early '80s, supporting local Vietnam veterans' groups in the Chicago area, and continued into the '90s, when his portrayal of "Lt. Dan" in Forrest Gump formed an enduring connection with service members throughout the military community. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, Sinise's dedication to our nation's active-duty service members, veterans, first-responders and their families who sacrificed alongside them, became a tireless crusade of support and gratitude for all those who protect our freedom and serve our country. In 2011, to expand upon his individual efforts, he established the Gary Sinise Foundation with the mission to "always do a little more" for our those who serve. Its programsdesigned to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communitiesserve America's heroes and their loved ones 365 days a year. Learn more: www.garysinisefoundation.org.

Contact: Abigail Kelly at [email protected]

SOURCE World War One Centennial Commission
The Japanese government has approved a plan to release millions of tons of radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The plan was approved Tuesday during a meeting of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's Cabinet. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, will begin emptying 1.3 million tons of contaminated water into the ocean in 2022, when the plant's storage tanks will be full.

Prime Minister Suga said the plan to release the water in the sea is an "unavoidable" part of decommissioning the Fukushima facility. TEPCO will filter the water to remove harmful nuclear isotopes and further dilute it before disposing of the water.


TV shepherdess Amanda Owen reflected on giving birth to her eighth child alone, after the mum-of-nine blasted 'today's snowflake generation'.

The Our Yorkshire Farm star, 46, recalled welcoming her daughter Clementine, now five, by the fire at her home while her husband Clive, 67, was sleeping as she appeared on Tuesday's This Morning.

Amanda and her spouse raise their children Raven, 20, Reuben, 17, Miles, 15, Edith, 12, Violet, ten, Sidney, nine, Annas, seven, Clementine (known as Clemmie or Tilly), five, and four-year-old Nancy on their farm in Upper Swaledale.

What a task! TV shepherdess Amanda Owen reflected on giving birth to her eighth child alone on Tuesday's This Morning, after the mum-of-nine blasted 'today's snowflake generation'

On her unique birthing experience, the former model told hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary: 'The thought of just staying at home was a really good option.

'I got fed up of ruining people's picnics, so I put the kettle on, stoked up the fire and just had her by the fire with my terrier as a birthing partner.

'I woke up my husband, but the matter of fact is quite simply he's seen me give birth to seven children before.'

In season four of her show, set to premiere on Channel 5 on Tuesday, the reality star becomes emotional as she reveals her eldest son Reuben has left the farm for a mechanic apprenticeship.

Full house! The writer, 46, and her husband Clive, 67, share Raven, 20, Reuben, 17, Miles, 15, Edith, 12, Violet, ten, Sidney, nine, Annas, seven, Clementine, five, and four-year-old Nancy

'Staying at home was a really good option': The Our Yorkshire Farm star recalled welcoming her daughter Clementine by the fire at her home while her spouse was sleeping

Unique! On her unique birthing experience, the former model said: 'I put the kettle on, stoked up the fire and just had her by the fire with my terrier as a birthing partner'

Earlier this month, the writer blamed parents for today's 'snowflake' generation of children who cannot look after themselves.

The sheepherder suggested today's youngsters had 'no sense of independence' or work ethic.

'The snowflake generation, they can't do anything,' a harsh Amanda told the Radio Times.

'They don't know anything about how to look after themselves, or a work ethic, all of that has gone out of the window. It's our fault as parents.

Leaving the nest: In season four of her show, set to premiere on Channel 5 on Tuesday, the reality star becomes emotional as she reveals Reuben has leaves for an apprenticeship

'If you put your child on a pedestal, with no sense of independence, and think you have got to entertain them the whole time, what can you expect?

'I rebuff swaddling children, because I want to see them go on and do well and be themselves, whatever that is. I feel like it is their life and all I do is prepare them.

'What we do on the farm, hopefully, is preparation for the big world. The lessons they get here will stand them in good stead.'

The Channel 5 star added that she had wanted her children to make the most of the independence she has allowed, including when it comes to home-schooling.

She detailed: 'We logged in for about a week. Then I threw it back to them. Children have to be independent. I can't be a helicopter parent.

Following in mummy's footsteps: Clemmie (pictured L) rehomes a lost chick and the girls find a brood of fledgling kestrels nesting in one of their traditional stone hayloft

'We read the papers and they show me some of their projects, but I have yet to be at a single parents' evening. I did pretty poorly at my exams, but look at what I have achieved since then.'

Amanda met her husband in 1996 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess.

By the time she came to deliver daughter Clemmie, she had already decided she could handle the incredible task on her own.

The animal enthusiast said: 'Our local maternity hospital is in Middlesbrough, which is 69 miles away, and on these roads, that takes a long time. So by baby number eight, I thought sod it, I'll do it myself.

'I knew the baby was in the right position, so when I felt the familiar feelings I went downstairs and had the baby in front of the fire with my terrier as a birthing partner.

'Clive wasn't desperate to be at the birth, he was asleep upstairs. I went and woke him up with the baby. Of all the births I've had this one has to have been the best - it was the most relaxing, the most quiet, the most peaceful.'

Amanda grew up in a traditional three-bed house with her parents and one sibling in the large market town of Huddersfield.

At 6ft 2in, the blonde was encouraged to follow the same career path as her model mother, but she hated the clothes and make-up that she had to wear.

Harsh: Earlier this month, the sheepherder blamed parents for today's 'snowflake' generation of children who cannot look after themselves

Going strong: Amanda met her husband in 1996 when he was already divorced with two children, after she arrived at his farm as a 21-year-old trainee shepherdess

She left her comfortable town life to work on farms around the country, but it's when she knocked on the door of Ravenseat Farm that she found her calling.

Many of her children help out on the farm when they are not at school - or travelling to and from as the journey takes one-and-a-half hours each way.

'In order to make a big family work they all need to tow the line. It's not about child labour - it's about pulling together,' Amanda told the Daily Mail in an article in 2018.

With the nearest shop so far away - and the risk during winter that they could be snowed in for weeks - the TV star buys food in bulk, and manages to feed her large family for just 130 a week.

Their water is free, channelled from the stream on the moor, and they heat the house and water with a roaring fire, which burns every day no matter what the weather.
LYNCHBURG, Tenn., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A little sunshine will soon be in your next glass of whiskey as Jack Daniel's partners with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Duck River Electric Membership Corporation, and Nashville-based solar power producer Silicon Ranch to provide the iconic Tennessee whiskey maker's Lynchburg distillery with 20 megawatts of solar energy.

TVA signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Silicon Ranch to build, own, and operate the solar facility just a few miles from the world-famous distillery in Moore County, Tennessee, pending environmental reviews.

This Middle-Tennessee solar project is another win for TVA's nationally-recognized Green Invest program, which has already secured solar farms to help meet the renewable energy goals of auto manufacturers, data centers, local power companies, cities, and universities.

"Our commitment to making great whiskey is only matched by our commitment to preserving the world we call home through sustainable practices," said Jack Daniel's Vice President and Assistant General Manager Melvin Keebler. "We're excited to be the first distillery to sign a Green Invest deal that will provide nearly three-quarters of our electricity needs. Now the world's most iconic whiskey is even greener."

Jack Daniel's runs its distillery with a zero-waste to landfill policy and has programs to protect the water and wood used to make its whiskey.

"This announcement demonstrates the environmental leadership of Jack Daniel's and Duck River, fueled by our shared long-term commitment to renewable energy and community engagement," said Chris Hansen, TVA vice president, Origination and Renewables. "TVA's Green Invest program is the nexus for any organization interested in making renewable energy a part of their business."

Since 2018, Green Invest has attracted nearly $2.7 billion in solar investment and procured over 2,100 megawatts of solar on behalf of its customers  maintaining TVA's green energy leadership as the energy provider with the greatest amount of renewable generation in the Southeast.

"TVA, Jack Daniel's and Duck River are excellent neighbors who are valuable assets to our community," said Mayor Bonnie Lewis, Metro Lynchburg, Moore County, Tennessee. "Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world tour the distillery, and this solar farm from our newest corporate citizen Silicon Ranch will be another attraction as they provide additional construction jobs and tax revenue to Moore County."

Silicon Ranch collaborated with local landowners Cumberland Springs Land Company, the leadership at Motlow State Community College, and officials in Moore County to develop the solar project.

"The Tennessee Valley is our home, and Silicon Ranch is honored to be part of this compelling story that demonstrates what's possible when partners work together with a shared commitment to our local communities," said Reagan Farr, Silicon Ranch Co-Founder and CEO. "Thanks to the leadership of our friends at TVA, local power companies such as DREMC, and visionary companies such as Jack Daniel's, Silicon Ranch is on pace to invest more than $1 billion across the Valley, and we are proud to expand this legacy to Moore County."

TVA sees a bright future for solar fueling the region's economy and has increased its contracted solar capacity by 60% since October 2020.

"Duck River is honored to serve as Jack Daniel's trusted energy provider," said Scott Spence, DREMC president and CEO. "We have witnessed great things happen over the years through Jack Daniel's investment in the Metro Lynchburg, Moore County community, and this is no exception. Duck River is thrilled to be a part of this project."

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system, and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

Editor's Note: Click here for high-resolution image.

Cut Line: Jack Daniel's Visitor Center: Every year about 300,000 people tour the distillery and visit the small town of Lynchburg, Tenn.

Media Contact: Scott Fiedler, Chattanooga, 901-414-6964 TVA Public Relations, Knoxville, 865-632-6000 www.tva.com/newsroom Follow TVA news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Svend Jansen Global Public Relations Director Jack Daniels502-774-7825 svend_jansen@b-f.com Elisabeth Thompson Communications Manager DREMC 931-680-5884 ethompson@dremc.com Matt BeasleySilicon Ranchmatt.beasley@siliconranch.com

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tennessee-sunshine-to-power-jack-daniels-301268101.html

SOURCE Tennessee Valley Authority
The assessment would seem to give President Biden some breathing room as he enters negotiations in Vienna aimed at restoring some form of the nuclear agreement.

But there are still risks: Iran has a long relationship with North Korea, with which it has exchanged missile technology, and officials have for years been concerned that Iran might seek to buy proven nuclear-weapons technology from the North.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, called Irans announcement on Tuesday provocative, and said it calls into question Irans seriousness in regards to the nuclear talks.

Mr. Araghchi, who was deeply involved in negotiating the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and the United States, also said Tuesday that Iran would replace the centrifuges damaged by the attack on Sunday on the nuclear plant at Natanz, where an explosion knocked the facility offline. He said that Iran would install an additional 1,000 centrifuges there to increase the plants capacity by 50 percent.

An Iranian official also provided a new estimate of the damage caused by the attack, saying that several thousand centrifuges were completely destroyed. That level of destruction takes out a large portion of Irans ability to enrich uranium.

But the full extent of the damage is unknown, and Iran presumably is vulnerable to continued attacks on its nuclear infrastructure. Until the electric power systems are rebuilt at Natanz, it would be impossible to make new centrifuges spin.

Iran is expected to replace the first-generation centrifuges damaged in the Israeli attack with more advanced, more efficient models.
An 11-month-old baby was killed and her two young cousins injured during a family outing to the grocery store in upstate New York.

Dior Harris, due to celebrate her first birthday on April 29, was shot several times in in a volley of gunfire while traveling in the backseat of the car in Syracuse at 7pm Sunday night.

Dior's cousins, sisters aged 3 and 8 were also hit; the older sibling is due to undergo surgery for a gunshot wound to her pelvic area that authorities say nearly killed her.

They are both in a stable condition.

Dior's mother Desiree Seymour and the mother of the injured girls, Shakema Buckmon, who were in the front seat and escaped injury, took the children to Upstate University Hospital, where Dior died.

Buckmon told CNY Central they'd done everything they could to save the baby.

'I tried to get to the hospital as fast as I could, I tried, I tried but she had already passed before we could make it down the street.'

A distraught Seymour took to social media to pay tribute to her daughter.

'There so many things that you had to do and couldnt all because a f***ing coward came and took you from me. Lord why, why me is all I keep asking my baby was innocent. She didnt deserve this.'

Chavez R. Ocasio, 23, has appeared in court charged with Dior's murder.

Dior Harris was killed and her two young cousins were wounded after being shot in the back seat of a car as they drove to the grocery store with their mothers

Desiree Seymour, right, was in the car when her daughter Dior, left was shot and killed. 'Lord why, why me is all I keep asking my baby was innocent. She didnt deserve this' she wrote

The three girls were in the backseat while their mothers were in the front of the car driving through the Strathmore neighborhood when shots were fired into the vehicle from a passing car. Crime scene pictured

Buckmon told NewsChannel 9 that they had been on their way to the grocery store on Sunday evening when the shooting took place in the 300 block of Grant Avenue, Syracuse.

The three girls were in the backseat while their mothers were in the front of the car driving through the Strathmore neighborhood when shots were fired into the vehicle from a passing car.

Buckmon, the driver and mother of two of the injured, drove away and made it a mile further to a relative's home when they realized the children had been hurt.

'They drove away as they were being shot at. After she realized the children were injured, she stopped and called 911,' Investigative Bureau Chief Derek McGork said.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital, where she died of her injuries, CNY Central reported.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital where she died of her injuries

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh described the incident as an 'unimaginable tragedy'.

'This tragedy is the definition of senseless. How could anyone in their right mind point a gun at a vehicle in broad daylight with children in it?'

At a news conference Monday morning, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said they had not identified a suspect and appealed for information from the public.

By 8pm that evening, police had arrested Chavez R. Ocasio, 23, and booked him on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and violation of parole, according to Onondaga County Justice Center records.

Ocasio pleaded not guilty at a court appearance on Tuesday morning.

Judge Erica Clarke agreed to a rare request from prosecutors to seal the file, as revealing too much information about their evidence could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.

State parole records show Ocasio was released in 2019 after serving several years for burglary.

A vigil was held in honor of Dior on Monday evening. Residents of Syracuse carrying candles and pictures of Dior wept and prayed as they came out to pay tribute to Dior.

Police tape blocks off the scene of the drive-by shooting in Syracuse. A 23 year old man named Chavez Ocasio has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder

The murder continues an alarming spike in homicides beginning in 2020.

FBI statistics for 2020, show there was a 25 percent increase in homicides compared to the previous year, after a surge in gun violence.

The nearly 4,000 additional murders recorded throughout 2020 is believed to be their biggest single year increase on record.

That trend carried over into 2021. Already in 2021, there has been more than 130 mass shootings: defined as having more than four victims.

These have included the March 16 spree in Atlanta, in which a gunman killed eight people and wounded six at three massage parlors in the Georgia city.

Six days later in in Boulder, Colorado, ten people were killed, including a local on-duty police officer.


MUFG Investor Services, the global asset servicing arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, today announced the launch of its private markets ESG reporting solution, the second announcement in a series of ESG developments. The solution will allow data to be collected in an automated way, with an overlay of ESG expertise from analysts, while being tailored to industry, investment, and client requirements.

MUFG Investor Services will provide a comprehensive array of services catering to investor needs, starting at the pre-investment stage, in partnership with ESG and sustainability consultancy, MJ Hudson. These include services pertaining to policy creation and investment strategy integration, SFDR consultancy and due diligence, as well as ESGIQ (a proprietary digital platform for the monitoring of and reporting on ESG factors) and supporting marketing services. The services will be available to institutional investors, fund of fund managers and general partners investing in or operating any private market strategies, including private equity, venture capital, private debt, infrastructure and real estate.

"As EU ESG regulatory requirements continue to evolve, and private markets are increasingly faced with a lack of available ESG data, our new solution will support fund managers by ensuring they can navigate these changes, and have access to robust, customized ESG data and assessments, that uncover red flags and identify value-creation opportunities. The solution will also help fund managers to assess the ESG governance and sustainability profile of underlying assets, as well as evaluate exposures to exclusion industries, and is an important step towards ESG transparency across private markets," said John Sergides, CEO at MUFG Investor Services.

"ESG and sustainability are difficult disciplines to master and properly integrate into an investment strategy," said Matthew Hudson, CEO of MJ Hudson. "It is encouraging for the whole industry that MUFG Investor Services, has made this aspect of its service offering such a high priority. We are delighted to be a partner in this endeavor."

The announcement highlights MUFG Investor Services' commitment to providing ESG services that solve the growing regulatory and stakeholder challenges faced by their clients. It follows the firm's launch of its ESG Transparency Reporting solution last month.

About MUFG Investor Services:

MUFG Investor Services provides asset servicing solutions to clients globally. Leveraging the financial and intellectual capital of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc one of the largest banks in the world with $3.2 trillion in assets we provide clients access to a range of leading solutions across all investment strategies, asset types and fund structures. Services include fund administration, fund accounting, global custody, transfer agency, trustee, depositary, middle-office services, securities lending, FX, banking and fund finance.

MUFG Investor Services currently provides administration services for over 2,614 funds across all investment strategies, asset types and fund structures with over $705 billion in assets under administration.

www.mufg-investorservices.com

About MJ Hudson ESG Sustainability:

MJ Hudson's ESG Sustainability practice provides ESG consultancy, monitoring and reporting to a diverse range of top-tier fund managers and investors. With more than 10 years of experience in ESG and responsible investment, our Amsterdam and London-based team has outstanding analytical skills and a deep knowledge of the ESG domain. By leveraging our market intelligence, proprietary tools and solutions repository, we help our clients deliver the transparency demanded by their stakeholders, as well as mitigating ESG risks and capturing the opportunities afforded by an integrated ESG investment approach.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005711/en/

Contacts:

Prosek Partners

Mark LaVoie

(646) 818-9233

MLaVoie@Prosek.com

MUFG Investor Services

Jenny Redlin

JRedlin@mfsadmin.com

646-761-0566
The Independent Beauty Association (IBA) has issued a statement in support of eliminating animal testing to establish the safety of cosmetics and personal care products.

Related: China Finalizes Animal Test Exemptions, CSAR Requirements for Cosmetics

In a press release, IBA stated the following.

The highest priority for its industry is the creation of products that are safe for the consumer.

It applauds and supports the 50 years of scientific investigation into alternative methods that has resulted in modern validated methodologies, eliminating the need to use animals to establish a cosmetics safety.

It pledges to continue to work with the industry and regulators, nationwide and abroad, to make animal testing a thing of the past.

IBA's stance comes in response to the Humane Society International (HSI) producing a social media video on the topic of animal testing for cosmetics called "Save Ralph." In it, Ralph is the spokes-bunny for HSI's global campaign to ban cosmetic testing on animals.
Turkey's daily count of coronavirus cases reached over 54,500 on Monday, said the Health Ministry.

A total of 54,562 cases, including 2,671 symptomatic patients, were confirmed across the country, the data showed.

The daily total inched down from over 55,000 in recent days.

Turkey's overall case tally is over 3.9 million, while the nationwide death toll has reached 34,182, with 243 fatalities over the past day.

As many as 41,218 more patients in the country won the battle against the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to over 3.37 million.

More than 41.89 million coronavirus tests have been done in Turkey to date, with 301,068 done since Sunday.

The latest figures show that the number of COVID-19 patients in critical condition has risen to 2,891, Anadolu Agency reported.
The Mark of the Beast Warning from the Third Angel

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Evangelical Outreach

April 13, 2021



WASHINGTON, Penn., April 13, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach:

A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be TORMENTED WITH BURNING SULFUR IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS AND OF THE LAMB. AND THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT RISES FOR EVER AND EVER. THERE IS NO REST DAY OR NIGHT for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." This calls for PATIENT ENDURANCE on the part of THE SAINTS who OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS AND REMAIN FAITHFUL TO JESUS. (Rev 14:9-12)



Observations Disproving Four Major False Teachings:

The word "angel" means MESSENGER and could refer to Christians worldwide, who are warning people not to receive the mark of the beast needed to "buy or sell" (Rev. 14:9-12).



Also, the Greek word translated "worship," as some will give to the beast and his image, is PROSKUNEO. That Greek word means: kiss like a dog licking his master's hand; to fawn or crouch to; prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore).



The "WORSHIP" connected with the Mark of the Beast can be very SUBTLE as shown by the meaning of the actual word itself. It does NOT necessarily mean swearing to follow a false god or making a public declaration or pledge of allegiance, as the deceitful movies might have shown. To take the microneedle "smart patch" vaccine, which places a mark on the body at the same time, that is needed to "buy or sell," is to take the Mark of the Beast.

SOURCE Evangelical Outreach



CONTACT: Dan Corner, 724-632-3210


London: The owners of Scrabble have banned players from using offensive words, sparking a furious backlash from players who have accused the company of virtue signalling.

The toy company Mattel, which owns the rights to the board game outside North America, has removed 400 derogatory terms from its official list of playable words.

Scrabble pieces.

Although Mattel has refused to publish the list, the games official word checker reveals that it includes racial slurs against those of black, Pakistani and Irish origin.

However, David Webb, a British Scrabble grandmaster, accused Mattel of pandering to wokeness.
A class-action lawsuit brought against the Washington D.C. Department of Corrections (DoC) demonstrates the horrendous conditions facing the prison population in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit, Edward Banks, et al v. Quincy Booth, et al,was filed last year as the pandemic first surged throughout the United States. The plaintiffs, four inmates at the Washington D.C. Jail in the southeast of the city, allege that the DoC is engaging in violat[ions of] their constitutional rights under the Fifth and Eighth Amendments by failing to ensure safe conditions in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Central Detention Facility in Washington, D.C. (source: dc.gov)

The lawsuits affidavit states inmates and staff have no masks, insufficient gloves, no gowns, no disinfectants, and [that] no comprehensive cleaning occurs regularly. Residents coming into the Jails are not screened for Symptoms of COVID-19 and are not required to engage in any of the behaviors which the Mayor recommends for the general population, such as social distancing, repeated hand-washing, and health monitoring.

The affidavit details the shocking treatment received when an inmate reports being sick: These inmates were not quarantined in any meaningful manner. They were housed two to a cell, and the corrections officers on the unit were not provided with any [personal protective equipment] or other means for protection against infections.

It explains further that, [r]esidents perceive quarantine as punitive because the conditions of the quarantine are even worse than conditions of punitive solitary confinement Residents are thus deterred from self-reporting COVID-19 symptoms. The prison has remained in a state of lockdown for over a year.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs included an exhibit on the conditions at the D.C. Jail which further explained that the DoC was dangerously under-equipped and ill-prepared to manage a COVID-19 outbreak.

Dr. Jaime Meyer, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale, notes that D.C. inmates are dipping their hands and cups into a communal cooler of juice and that there are 40-50 men sleeping in a single unit, many of whom have respiratory symptoms consistent with COVID-19 infection. Further, the doctor notes that the current HVAC system has significant design problems that inhibit proper airflow.

The D.C. jail remains under an imposed medical lockdown. In January, a Washington D.C. court denied the Department of Corrections appeal to stop an injunction on its practices during the pandemic. A July court injunction demanded that the jail provide inmates with access to medical care and that other basic public health measures be instituted. As of this reporting it is unclear if any of these measures have been taken.

The D.C. Jail houses approximately 1,600 inmates and has two large, connected facilities with people constantly moving between both buildings at all times leaving everyone at an increased risk. During the pandemic, no attempts were made either to downsize the buildings populations by moving them out or granting parole, as had been done elsewhere in the country.

There were additional allegations of jail officials acting indifferent towards unreasonably risking the safety of everyone in these facilities. The union of the facilitys correctional officers had unanimously voted no confidence in the D.C. Jails leadership for guaranteeing and accelerating the rampant spread of COVID-19.

Two professors from George Mason University declared in an opinion in the Washington Post last month that [i]t is urgent that we end the coronavirus lockdown in the D.C. Jail. Authors Shannon Elizabeth Fyfe, an adjunct professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law and Andrew Peterson of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, declare that to continue the policy is inhumane and inconsistent with public health guidance.

According to a 2018 report by Prison Policy Initiative, D.C. is one of the most incarcerated cities in the world. Local jails have an annual incarceration of at least 12,000 different people and with a rate of about 1,153 people per 100,000 residents for both prisons and jails in a city of a little over 700,000 people.
Former Trump Homeland Security officials say they are 'glad' Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a hands off approach at the border, claiming if she got involved she would make the crisis worse.

'I'm glad she's nowhere near the border,' Trump-era acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commissioner Mark Morgan told DailyMail.com during a panel discussion with the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday.

'Quite frankly,' he continued, 'I think if she does do what she should do as the anointed border czar, she's just going to make the crisis even worse.'

Along with Morgan, former deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli and former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf joined the discussion with the conservative think tank where all three are visiting fellows.

Vice President Harris has received a slew of criticism for not yet visiting the southern border despite being put in charge of the crisis 20 days ago. President Biden has also not gone to the U.S.-Mexico border as he nears his third month in office.

Morgan pointed to Harris' lax immigration policies as a reason why it's better she remain as uninvolved as possible. He noted she helped make California a so-called 'sanctuary state' when she was attorney general by refusing to work with federal authorities to turn over illegal immigrants in the state.

'This is a former Senator Harris who during a congressional testimony referred to ICE as the KKK, she basically called ICE agents racists,' Morgan bashed the vice president. 'She's gone further to say that ICE should be dismantled and start from scratch.'

The Heritage Foundation hosted a panel with with former Trump's Homeland Security officials on Tuesday. Former Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf (upper right), Former acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli (bottom left) and former Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan (bottom right)

Morgan said of Vice President Kamala Harris not yet visiting the border: 'I'm glad she's nowhere near the border.... Quite frankly, I think if she does do what she should do as the anointed border czar, she's just going to make the crisis even worse'

Harris was named border czar 20 days ago, and has received a slew of criticism for doing virtually nothing in her capacity in that role

Thousands of migrants continue to arrive at the border as the Biden administration see recording breaking number of illegal arrivals. Here Guatemalan immigrants are pictured at the border in Roma, Texas on April 12

Cuccinelli told DailyMail.com during the panel talk that no one in the administration wants to take ownership of the massive failure at the southern border.

'This is a political hot potato within the administration,' Cuccinelli said.

'None of them want it,' he added. 'That's why the president tossed it to the vice president, that's why he hasn't visited the border even though he has caused the problem. That's why she won't touch it, she won't talk about it, she won't go to the border, she won't go anywhere near it.

Cuccinelli said those in the White House are 'all more afraid of the radical left base than they are committed to solving the problem.'

'By a longshot  it's not even close,' he insisted.

Biden has taken on a much more lax immigration approach than his predecessor  evident by a slew of Trump-critic DHS nominees the president announced Monday.

Cuccinelli told DailyMail.com during the panel talk that no one wants to take ownership of the massive failure at the southern border: 'This is a political hot potato within the administration'

Romanian immigrants are apprehended after arriving in La Joya, Texas on April 13 after crossing the Rio Grande River

These policies, however, have quickly led to a humanitarian crisis as a record number of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador arrive at the border every day  this includes nearly 20,000 unaccompanied minors in U.S. custody.

'We told you so,' Morgan said.

Wolf added that although Harris was put in charge of the border, the White House's messaging as been all wrong, leading to concussion among the public and DHS and border officials and agents.

'The administration needs to clear up who's in charge,' Wolf insisted. 'Is it the DHS secretary, is it the White House, is it the vice president? Because I can tell you that the men and women in the field are also confused.'

'I can't tell you how many people that I've talked to at the department that has no idea who's in charge,' he said. 'Who should they be listening to, who should they be taking direction from? They don't know  and if they don't know that is a problem.'

Biden announced he is nominating anti-Trump Tucson, Arizona police chief Chris Magnus to lead Customs and Border Protection. Magnus pictured here in December 2014 holding a 'Black Lives Matter' sign at a BLM protest

In the three weeks since Kamala Harris was named 'border czar', she hasn't visited or held a press conference

Biden announced Monday a series of new nominees who will lead the border and immigration effort. This includes tapping Tucson, Arizona police chief Chris Magnus to lead the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP).

Magnus has been vocal in his criticism of Trump and how he and one-time Attorney General Jeff Sessions handled immigration.

'The harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and Mr. Sessions's reckless policies ignore a basic reality known by most good cops and prosecutors,' Magnus wrote in a 2017 op/ed. 'If people are afraid of the police, if they fear they may become separated from their families or harshly interrogated based on their immigration status, they won't report crimes or come forward as witnesses.'

Another appointee includes fellow anti-Trumper Ur Jaddou to head up the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

President Joe Biden released a sudden tweet on Monday defending Harris amid mounting criticism over her failure to visit the border and after GOP Senator John Cornyn questioned who was in charge in the White House.

'When I served as Vice President, I asked to be the last person with the President before big decisions were made  and @VP is providing the same counsel to me,' Biden wrote. 'Shes the last voice in the room and never fails to speak the truth as we work to build our nation back better.'

He included a picture of the pair in discussion inside the Oval Office.
 Flash

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Tuesday reiterated China's firm opposition against any form of official ties between the United States and Taiwan.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks at a press conference when commenting on the U.S. revision of its so-called "rules" regarding its contacts with Taiwan, which lifts several previously-imposed restrictions on this matter.

The three China-U.S. joint communiques are the U.S. government's solid commitment to the Chinese side on adherence to the one-China principle, Ma said, urging the U.S. side to live up to its commitments, stop sending wrong signals to separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence," and safeguard the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait through its actions.

The plot of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority to rely on the United States to seek "Taiwan independence" is doomed to fail, Ma added.




Nicola Sturgeon was tonight blasted by her political rivals over plans to pull Scotland out of the United Kingdom, as she stood firm on her pledge for a fresh independence vote.

The First Minister was accused of attempting to 'reopen old wounds' by opposition leaders in a lively television debate ahead of next month's Scottish election.

The SNP leader has pledged to hold a new independence referendum if her party wins the election - with or without the consent of the UK parliament.

But the leaders of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour tonight took aim at her plans, branding them as 'divisive'.

Nicola Sturgeon was tonight blasted by her political rivals over plans to pull Scotland out of the United Kingdom, as she stood firm on her pledge for a fresh independence vote

The First Minister was accused of attempting to 'reopen old wounds' by opposition leaders in a lively television debate ahead of next month's Scottish election.

All three of the leaders instead insisted the focus should remain on the country's recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic

All three of the leaders instead insisted the focus should remain on the country's recovery efforts in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.

More than 7,000 people in Scotland have died of the virus, while more than 220,000 cases have been recorded.

However the nationalist leader hit back at the suggestions, as she urged Scots to back its independence bid with their votes.

Taking a swipe at Westminster politicians, she said she wanted the country to build back 'in its own image', rather than 'that of Boris Johnson and his band of Brexiteers'.

The Green party meanwhile backed Ms Sturgeon's referendum calls - as it stood firm on its desires to return Scotland to the EU.

However there was no mention from the leaders of Alex Salmond - whose Alba party will contest Holyrood seats at the upcoming election.

Despite facing criticism from the majority of her rival leaders, Ms Sturgeon remained firm on her pledge to hold a new independence referendum.

She led with her offer of 'continued strong leadership to steer the country through the pandemic', adding that 'when the crisis is over' Scots should have 'the choice of a better future with independence'.

But she was accused of spreading division by Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie, who said: 'You are determined to open the wounds of the country.

'This is reckless. What you should do is focus on making people's lives better.'

Conservative leader Douglas Ross also hit out at the plans, which he described as 'reckless' and 'divisive'.

Labour's Anas Sarwar meanwhile showed his opposition to the independence vote, as he urged a focus on recovery in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

The Labour leader also joined Mr Rennie in taking a swipe at Ms Strugeon's seven years as First Minister.

Mr Rennie said Ms Sturgeon had been in charge as the country's drug death rate soared to the highest in Europe, as he tackled her on her healthcare record.

Ms Sturgeon admitted taking her 'eye off the ball' over Scotland's drugs deaths.

In 2019, 1,264 people died of drug misuse - taking the drugs death toll to its highest level on record in Scotland for a sixth year in a row.

The figure was double of that in 2014, and means Scotland now has the worst drugs death rate in Europe and is about three and a half that in England in Wales.

She said: 'I think we took our eye off the ball on drugs deaths, and I've said as much to the Scottish Parliament.

'I've set out what we will do to try to turn that around.

'I set out at the start of this year a 250million investment programme to build up rehabilitation services, including residential rehabilitation to make sure we give more support to community services, to make sure we provide faster access to treatment and we have a taskforce working on all of that.'

Mr Ross meanwhile accused the First Minster of failing to meet promises made in key areas.

The Tory leader told her: 'You have made promises on the attainment gap, victims' rights, broadband, ferries, income tax and the treatment time guarantee.

'You have delivered your promises on none of them. You have let down Scotland for the last 14 years.'

He continued his attack by saying: 'Now in an economic crisis, you want to wreck Scotland's recovery.'

Ms Sturgeon said 'progress' had been made in tackling the attainment gap in schools and NHS waiting times had been reducing before Covid-19 hit.

Defending her record, she added: 'I am proud of the record of the Government I have led.'

'Like all governments we make mistakes, and we get things wrong and we do not shy away from putting it right and learning the lessons.'

Mr Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, pressed her on her record on education - noting she had previously said closing the attainment gap in schools would be her top priority.

'We haven't done that yet,' Ms Sturgeon conceded.

However there was no mention from the leaders of Alex Salmond - whose Alba party will contest Holyrood seats at the upcoming election

She said this was linked to the pandemic, stating that 'Covid has upended almost every aspect of life here in Scotland'.

She accepted there was 'more to do', urging people to 'elect me to be First Minister to continue to build on the progress we are making'.

The Green Party's co-leader Patrick Harvie kept his focus on environmental issues, as he urged voters to side with his party.

He warned that the election could be the 'last chance' to make a difference before it is 'too late' to fix the climate emergency.

During a segment in which leaders were allowed to quiz each other, Mr Harvie, also challenged Labour's Mr Sarwar on his views on the North Sea gas and oil industry.

Mr Harvie, whose party wants to move away industry, worth around 650million a year to the UK government, asked Mr Sarwar if he too wanted to end licences for further exploration.

But Mr Sarwar said the focus should be on working with the industry to create new green opportunities - in order to protect jobs.

Meanwhile, there was just a brief mention for former SNP leader Alex Salmond on the night.

The politician is leading the Alba party at the election - which will run on an independence manifesto.

Mr Salmond received no mention from his political rivals during the debate.

But he received a brief mention from host STV political editor Colin Mackay, ahead of an interview with Mr Salmond which is set to air tomorrow night.
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As Zimbabwe approaches its 41st Independence Anniversary on April 18th, host Mike Hove of VOA's LiveTalk - The Connection, seeks reflections from youth, and also speaks with Zimbabwean poet, VaChikepe the Poet, a 2021 Int'l Reggae & World Music Awards nominee. Also featured: pilot Precious Sibalo.
Twelve people have gone on trial in Germany over a far-right terror plot to overthrow the government by carrying out attacks on politicians, Muslims and asylum seekers.

Eleven defendants are accused of founding or belonging to 'Group S', which prosecutors say was a far-right terror group, and of plotting the attacks.

Another defendant is accused of providing support to the group, while a 13th defendant died in custody last year of a suspected suicide.

The group is accused of hoarding weapons such as guns, axes and swords that were to be used in attacks starting in March last year, a month after they were arrested.

Twelve members of an alleged far-right terrorist organisation called Group S have gone on trial in Germany accused of plotting to overthrow the government

Prosecutors say the group planned to target Muslims, Jews and left-wing politicians in the hopes of creating 'civil-war' conditions that would topple the state

Prosecutors say the goal was to create anarchy and civil-war-like conditions that the group hoped would lead to the overthrow of the German government.

Their intended targets including two pro-migration Green MPs, according to German news site SWR.

Mosques, Jews, and other asylum seekers were also to be targeted.

At one point, a member of the group bragged in a chat message that they could assemble 2,500 armed people at any time, Spiegel reported.

The group was founded in a popular barbecue spot in the small southern municipality of Alfdorf in September 2019, prosecutors allege.

The accused two men - identified only as Werner S and Tony E - of leading efforts to found the group, along with six other initial members.

Prosecutors say the group eventually expanded to include people in the town of Minden and in Berlin.

An armed policeman stands guard outside the courthouse in Stuttgart where the alleged right-wing terrorists went on trial today

The men largely communicated by phone and via messaging apps to plan their attacks, but also met in person several times, prosecutors said.

But the plan was rumbled after one group member turned informant, and police swooped in to arrest the group.

Much of the evidence to be presented at trial was handed to authorities by that person.

The court was told that the informant is now in witness protection after Werner S allegedly tried to hire a hitman to kill them while in custody.

The trial before the regional court in the south-western city of Stuttgart is expected to last several months.
VANCOUVER, BC, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - PayByPhone, the world's leading mobile parking payment company, celebrated unprecedented success in 2020, launching in 9 new locations across North America. In addition, PayByPhone Maps, an important technological improvement, was introduced to 22 locations. The parking guidance tool allows drivers to use the app to find available parking spaces. The maps are interactive and allow users to determine hours of operation and parking restrictions, making parking that much faster, safer and more convenient.

"I am very proud of how PayByPhone and our people have continued to excel as true partners in the communities that we serve," said Roamy Valera, CEO North America. "Through our focus on partnership, we have worked closely with the municipalities, universities, and private lot operators to address their unique needs and create programming that truly benefits people in those communities."

During the first quarter of 2021 some of PayByPhone's most important programs have revolved around promoting public health, as well as the economic health of the communities the company serves. To that end, PayByPhone introduced specialized programming to help communities reopen safely after Covid-19 outbreaks forced city-wide shutdowns and programs such as recent "Spring into Seattle" sweepstakes, which supported local businesses that were impacted by the pandemic.

The PayByPhone app is NOW available to drivers in:

Portland State University

Delta Grand Hotel - Kelowna

Kelowna International Airport

International Airport NJ Transit, New Jersey

City of Denver, Colorado

City of Carolina Beach, North Carolina

City of Martinsburg, West Virginia

LoanDepot Park, Miami (Formerly Marlins Park)

(Formerly Marlins Park) Epic Parking, Toronto

As a result of PayByPhone's expansion, hundreds of thousands more drivers across North America can now pay for parking with their personal mobile devices from the comfort and safety of their own vehicles, using the most convenient app available.

For more information, visit paybyphone.com.

About PayByPhone

PayByPhone is one of the fastest growing mobile payment companies in the world, processing over 125 million transactions annually, totaling more than $550 million USD in payments. Through the company's mobile web, smartphone and smartwatch applications, PayByPhone helps millions of consumers easily and securely pay for parking without the hassles of waiting in line, having to carry change or risking costly fines. A subsidiary of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, PayByPhone is leading the way in the creation of the mobile future.

SOURCE PayByPhone Technologies Inc.

Related Links

paybyphone.com


Anyone who has ever brought a drone knows that after it comes out of the box, the first thing you do is install a ton of software updates. It turns out that things work similarly when youre NASA, and the drone is a helicopter preparing to take flight on Mars, 174 million miles away from you.

Issues during a rotor test alerted the Ingenuity team to a problem with the command sequence, and to address it, theyll put together a patch and upload it to the craft over the next few days. That means more waiting before its eventual first test flight, but given the stakes, it makes sense to do everything necessary to avoid any type of crash.

 Richard Lawler

Its next-gen car chip is coming in 2025.

NVIDIA

NVIDIA's GTC conference revealed the sexiest of all graphics announcements: data center CPUs. Grace integrates NVIDIA's latest GPUs with ARM's Neoverse cores, and while I might be kidding around, its the companys very own ARM-based solution, sidestepping any need for Intel.

NVIDIA also announced it's working with MediaTek to bring RTX graphics to ARM-based chips and detailed pro-level versions of its Ampere video cards for workstations. Finally, the company teased Atlan, its next-generation Drive chip for cars. Slated for 2025, the chip, NVIDIA claims, will deliver 1,000 trillion operations per second of performance. Continue reading.

And a smart speaker with an iPad screen.

Getty

Apple recently killed its original HomePod speaker, and Apple TV is due an update. Now, according to a Bloomberg rumor, the company is considering combining the two products to create an Apple TV box with a HomePod speaker and camera for making video calls.

Judging by the description, the device sounds like a soundbar that straddles the line between a Roku Streambar (for cord-cutters who crave better audio) and Facebook's Portal TV, which effectively turns your set into a huge video-chat screen. Meanwhile, another product reportedly in development is a high-end speaker with an iPad for a display, Echo Show 10-style. Continue reading.

Crowdsourced data can tell regulators where things are fast and where theyre slow.

The FCC has had a speed-test app since 2013, but under Acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, it's asking that more Americans download and use the software (which you can get on Android and iOS). By doing so, the agency says you'll help it collect more accurate information on the speed and availability of broadband internet throughout the US. In turn, that information will help guide its policies. Continue reading.

It announced the project two years ago.

Domino's

Dominos says this R2 transport is the first fully self-driving, on-road delivery vehicle to receive regulatory approval from the Department of Transportation. On certain days and times, folks who order from a Domino's location in Houstons Woodland Heights neighborhood can choose to have R2 deliver their food. They can track R2s location via text alerts or on the order confirmation page. Dominos will provide customers with a PIN, which they can punch in on R2s touchscreen to retrieve their order. Continue reading.

Microsoft will acquire speech-tech giant Nuance for $19.7 billion

The company says this deal will push its AI and healthcare efforts forward.

The rumors were true  on Monday, Microsoft announced it has entered into an agreement to buy Nuance Communications for around $19.7 billion. In the announcement, Microsoft specifically singled out Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare as one segment that will benefit, as well as other cloud and AI-linked operations.

In a statement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Nuance provides the AI layer at the healthcare point of delivery and is a pioneer in the real-world application of enterprise AI. Nuance has a long history of developing voice controls and previously provided the speech-recognition engine for Siri. Continue reading.

But wait, theres more...

Siri says Apple will hold a special event on April 20th

Watch NVIDIA's GTC keynote in 17 minutes

Engadget Deals: Apple's 512GB MacBook Air M1 falls to an all-time low on Amazon

Oculus will host its first games showcase on April 21st

The Google Play video app will leave Roku, Vizio, LG and Samsung's TV platforms

Engadget Deals: Google's Nest Audio smart speaker is 20 percent off across the web

Engadget Deals: Apple's iPad mini drops to $345 at Amazon

Apple ditches its 'far beyond HDR' claim for the Pro Display XDR in the UK

Netflix is working on a live-action Gundam movie

Uber says March was its biggest month ever

Topps debuts its first NFT baseball card collection
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Wednesday announced the appointment of Brigadier General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck to Arizonas Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs.

General Muehlenbeck succeeds Major General Michael T. McGuire, who announced his retirement on March 5, 2021. McGuire served as Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Adjutant General since 2013, and will officially retire on April 10, 2021.



Im eager to announce the appointment of Brigadier General Kerry Muehlenbeck as Arizonas newest Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, said Governor Ducey. General Muehlenbecks impressive military experience and continued leadership are amplified by her legal and teaching background. She joined the Arizona Air National Guard in 1997 and served in many roles until she became Arizonas Deputy Adjutant General in 2018. I look forward to working with General Muehlenbeck on protecting Arizonans, supporting our communities, and tackling the challenges ahead.



General McGuire has served Arizona and our nation honorably, the Governor continued. Im especially grateful for his support this past year as weve navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. He and his team have been instrumental in providing support to our communities and our border, and I am grateful for his leadership.



General Muehlenbeck served as the Deputy Adjutant General and the Director of Administrative Services. She was responsible for oversight of: the United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO); the State Risk Management Office; State Purchasing and Contracting; the State and Federal Human Resource Offices; the Public Affairs Office; the Office of the Inspector General; the General Counsel, the Tribal Liaison; the Legislative Liaison; the Sexual Assault Response Coordinator; the State Equal Employment Manager; and the Ordnance and Industrial operations within the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. She also served as the Adjutant Generals delegate.



Im proud to have the opportunity to serve our great state as Adjutant General and Director of the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, said General Muehlenbeck. Having served and taught for years, I look forward to leading Arizona DEMA and the Arizona National Guard to help protect and support Arizona communities. It is an honor to succeed General McGuire after his years of admirable service, and Im grateful to Governor Ducey for this tremendous opportunity.

General Muehlenbeck received her commission by direct appointment in 1993. She remained on active duty for four years where she served as an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona until her separation in 1997. General Muehlenbeck then joined the Arizona Air National Guard from 1997 to 2019 and served as both a wing-level and headquarters staff judge advocate.



In addition, she held various national level judge advocate billets, including: Director of the Contemporary Base Issues Course; State Headquarters Liaison to The Judge Advocate Generals Air National Guard Council; and Air National Guard Assistant to the Command Staff Judge Advocate, Pacific Air Forces. She has contributed articles for the Air National Guard Commanders Legal Deskbook and lectured at various Air Force and Air National Guard courses.



"Command is a unique privilege that I've been humbled and honored to have for the past seven and a half years serving shoulder to shoulder with the greatest soldiers and airmen in the state and nation who truly exemplify our motto 'always ready, always there,'" said General McGuire.



General Muehlenbeck is currently a professor at Mesa Community Colleges Administration of Justice Studies Department, where she also serves as Department Chair. She taught at Arizona State University between 2002 and 2014, specializing in crime, criminology, justice and social inquiry. General Muehlenbeck was also an adjunct professor for the Criminal Justice Department at American Military University in West Virginia from 2009 to 2013 and for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from 1995 to 2001.



Prior to teaching, General Muehlenbeck served as deputy county attorney at the Pima County Attorneys Office from 1998 to 2001. In this role, she prosecuted felony offenders in superior court. She also served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for the Saginaw County Prosecutors Office from 1992 to 1993 and Assistant Staff Judge Advocate at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base from 1993 to 1997.



General Muehlenbeck earned a B.S. in Education and Social Policy from Northwestern University, a J.D. from Indiana School of Law, a Master of Laws in Criminal Law from the University of San Diego School of Law, and a Ph.D. in Justice Studies from Arizona State University. Her military education includes Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.
Since the beginning of the day, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been killed in a grenade explosion in the Donbas, and two more servicemen have been wounded, the Joint Force Operation (JFO) press center said.

As of 07:00, April 13, Russian-occupation forces violated the ceasefire three times, of which one shelling of the positions of the Ukrainian defenders and two of the enemy UAV crossing the contact line [...] One soldier was injured incompatible with life. Another two JFO servicemen were wounded," the JFO said on Facebook.

It is noted that the wounded soldiers were promptly provided with medical assistance and taken to a military hospital.

Thus, not far from the village of Pivdenne, the enemy opened fire from 82-caliber mortars.

The headquarters said that in the area of the settlement of Mayorske, the enemy UAVs, crossing the contact line, dropped grenades at the positions of Ukrainian units, as a result of which one soldier was wounded incompatible with life.

"The command expresses sincere and deep condolences to the family and friends of the deceased defender," the headquarters said.

The headquarters also reported an increase in the number of shelling over the past day.

"Over the past day, on April 12, in the area of the Joint Force Operation, the Russian armed formations violated the ceasefire 17 times, among which 15 were shelling of the positions of Ukrainian defenders and two were remote mining with POM-2 mines," the JFO said.
VATICAN CITY, APR 13 - Pope Francis on Tuesday removed a US bishop accused of covering up clerical sexual abuse of children. The pope accepted the resignation of the bishop of Crookston in Minnesota, Michael J. Hoeppner. He named Des Moines Emeritus Bishop Richard Edmund Pates as temporary replacement. Hoeppner, 71, in 2017 became the first bishop to be individually charged with coercion after allegedly pressuring a candidate for the deaconate to withdraw a past accusation of sexual abuse by a priest. The victim reportedly said that Hoeppner's alleged coercion had been like "being subjected to the abuse once more". Francis has pledged a zero tolerance approach to sex abuse and has vowed to do more than his predecessors to stamp out abuse and cover-ups. Some victims say he has not yet done enough. (ANSA).
Recent reports of Russian military activity in and around Ukraine as well as ceasefire violations have sparked international concern that the seven-year conflict between the two nations could escalate again,reports dpa news agency.

Washington, April 13 (IANS) G7 member countries have said they were deeply concerned about the build-up of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine and the annexed Crimea region.

The latest ceasefire was announced on July 27, 2020.

"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilising activities," the Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK said in a joint statement on Monday.

"We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations."

The Ministers reaffirmed their "unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders" in the statement.

Russia was booted out of what was at the time the G8 after its annexation of the Crimean peninsula after a controversial referendum in 2014.

The international community still considers Crimea to be part of Ukrainian territory.

The ongoing conflict in Donbas, which comprises the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and began in April 2014, has claimed some 14,000 lives and left as many as 40,000 wounded.

This year, the conflict has claimed the lives of 26 Ukrainian servicemen and injured 57 others so far.

Insurgents have controlled parts of Donbas along the Russian border for almost seven years.

--IANS

ksk/
Wood exporters face array of obstructions, photo Le Toan

Data from associations like VIFOREST, FPA Binh Dinh, HAWA, BIFA, and Forest Trends shows that Vietnams import value of timber and its products reached about $2.55 billion in 2020, with a turnover similar to 2019. Logs, sawn timber, and artificial boards were the main groups imported into Vietnam to serve the processing needs of domestic consumption and for exports. The five main supply markets for Vietnam are China, the United States, Cameroon, Thailand, and Chile. The import value from these five markets reached $1.57 billion, accounting for over 61 per cent of the total import value into Vietnam. Chinas import turnover reached $846 million, accounting for 33 per cent of total imports into Vietnam, up 28 per cent compared to 2019. In 2020, Vietnam imported over 214,000 cubic metres of timber worth $71.6 million and 597,500cu.m of sawn timber worth $221.8 million from the US. Meanwhile, imports from Cameroon reached $215.96 million, down 24 per cent compared to 2019. Vietnams imports from Thailand reached $120.43 million, up 9 per cent compared to 2019. Imports from Chile meanwhile reached $66.78 million, down 17 per cent compared to 2019. One of the most important timber policies to be issued by the government in 2020 was the decree regulating the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS). Imported timber control is one of the central parts of the decree, where the management of imported timber is carried out according to criteria that identify whether a country is in a positive or negative geographic area, and which type of timber is risky. To realise the provisions of this decree, in November, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced a list of wood types imported into Vietnam and another list of active geographical regions for wood exports to Vietnam. Accordingly, 322 species of wood were identified for import into Vietnam and 51 countries were identified in active geographical areas. Timber species and supplying countries not on this list will be considered as risky. According to the VNTLAS, enterprises importing risky timber into Vietnam need to perform due diligence, with legal evidence proving the legality of imported timber.

Thanh Hoa Co., Ltd., one of the largest wood material suppliers in Vietnam, has no way of purchasing timber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)  an international non-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the worlds forests  from northern provinces due to problems with regulations and high freight rates.

Vietnam owns nearly 300,000 hectares of FSC wood, but the surplus of such wood is a big problem, commented Tran Thien, director of Thanh Hoa. He calculated that the export of outdoor wood products accounts only for about $300 million, about 12,000 FSC wood blocks, equivalent to about 100,000ha of plantation. Meanwhile, most wood furniture processors do not buy FSC wood.

For many years, Vietnam has been developing a certified wood material zone with international support. However, FSC afforestation is losing its sense of sustainability as forest owners cannot get any money from their FSC timber. The actual value of FSC timber is falling sharply, down to 5 per cent of previous prices, and even continues its downward trend to a lower level, with half of forest owners only getting about 3 per cent.

Thien said that for FSC, the evaluation cost for foreign organisations is very high, with cost for initial evaluations coming close to $100,000, and the annual assessment also amounting to over $5,000  a huge expense for forest growers in the context of a shrinking income.

In the central province of Quang Ngai, the FSC reforestation area has been following the World Banks international standards since 2005, and many growers have dropped the annual FSC assessment to save money.

Thien commented. Forest owners are often too small in the whole chain to profit from FSC timber.

Meanwhile, the sustainability of the wood production, processing, and export chain only functions when processors prioritise FSC timber. However, they have to pay at least 2-3 per cent of the product value upfront. Afterwards, FSC growers have to also afford the rest of the cost, such as assessing and transporting the timber to factories.

The waste of FSC raw materials is occurring while Vietnam has been warned about issues in legal timber supply from countries that import wood products. Meanwhile, FSC timber is believed to be an effective solution to deal with risks of wood origin.

The right mechanism

Vietnams major goal is to manage forests sustainably and harmonise international regulations on legal timber sourcing. Do Quang Tung, head of the Forestry Project Management Unit under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, admitted that area fragmentation is one of the reasons that the country faces difficulties in applying international experience for greater benefits and to reduce the cost of the FSC assessment for growers.

Tung realised that for years Vietnam has been moving towards sustainable forest management, but still mainly relies on the support of international organisations. Planted forests in several provinces, including in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, were abandoned after their funding ended. The lack of a master plan for the development of certified raw materials, as well as the intensification of large timber material afforestation, has caused unmet demand for raw materials for the wood processing and export industry.

Global environmental pressure forces large corporations to spend money on FSC, though without much economic significance. In Vietnam, the value is declining, but Tung said FSC is still one of the criteria to determine legality in Vietnams wood import markets, including the European Union and the United States.

Hoang Thanh, agricultural programme manager for the EU Delegation to Vietnam, said that the EUs timber regulations recognise the legality of timber and its products with Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade licences that have been verified through control systems of several partner countries who agreed upon the same standards with the EU. Thanh said, Licensed timber and products thereof are not subject to the accountability under the EU timber regulations.

Outside support

To counter some of the issues, the German government is supporting Vietnam with around $47 million, including commercial loans and grants, for certified afforestation. The Vietnam Administration of Forestry, which is profiting from the support, is now expected to operate in the four central provinces of Binh Dinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, and Quang Ngai, which are all supplying wood and timber materials.

Similar to other international support, the German government can help Vietnam expand the area of certified forests, but several issues need to be addressed.

This time, it is advisable to choose a province surrounding the wood consuming provinces, such as Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Long An, and Ca Mau, which are reasonable for timber transportation to Ho Chi Minh City, Thien of Thanh Hoa commented.

Tung said, The hardest thing right now is to decide which province borrows and has to pay following the new official development assistance mechanism.

Provinces can borrow about $12 million from this source to improve the capacity of FSC growers through appropriate mechanisms, something that all provinces want to do but many remain concerned about.
(ANSAmed) - ROME, 13 APR - The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday strongly condemned Turkey for the detention of noted Turkish journalist and writer Ahmet Altan, persecuted for his alleged involvement in the failed coup of 2016.



"The Court found in particular that there was no evidence that the actions of the applicant had been part of a plan to overthrow the government," said the ECHR ruling, which also found a violation of freedom of expression according to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Turkey violated the rights of journalists Ahmet Altan and Murat Aksoy because their pre-trial detention was based on elements insufficient to prove a tie with those responsible for organising the attempted coup in July 2016, according to a ruling Tuesday by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

In two rulings, ECHR ruled that Turkey must pay damages of 16,000 euros to Altan and 11,500 euros to Aksoy.

In the rulings, the Strasbourg justices also established that Turkey violated both journalists' right to freedom of expression.

Ahmet Altan was arrested on 9 September 2016 on charges of belonging to a criminal organisation and of having - through a series of articles - disseminated subliminal messages calling for a coup.

The charge was then changed to external backing of a criminal organisation. Murat Aksoy was arrested at the end of August 2016 on the charge of intentionally aiding a criminal organisation. The charge was later changed in his case as well, to attempted government overthrow by force.

The two rulings issued on Tuesday will become final in three months if the parties do not ask for and obtain a second judgment.



Meanwhile, all 10 of the retired Turkish admirals who were arrested and taken to jail on charges of threatening the constitutional order have been released.



They were arrested after releasing a public statement, signed by 104 former admirals in all, in which they criticised President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's plan for an artificial canal in Istanbul and the risks of a subsequent withdrawal by Turkey from the 1936 Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits.



The convention regulates the passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean from the Turkish straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.



Erdogan reacted by accusing the retired high officials of being "coupists" and evoking past coups in Turkey that were tied to warnings by members of the military in the form of public statements.



The judges in Ankara released the suspects after questioning and an initial four-day extension of their pre-trial detention.



The prosecutor's office requested house arrest for nine of them, and a new arrest for the 10th.



Another four suspects were not taken into custody due to their advanced age.



One of the former admirals who was incarcerated was Cem Gurdeniz, the theorist behind the controversial "Blue Homeland" doctrine, cited more than once by Erdogan as a model for Turkish expansionist ambitions in the Mediterranean. (ANSAmed).


BRUSSELS, April 13 (Reuters) - NATO and the West must act quickly to prevent an escalation of violence between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday, saying further sanctions against Moscow and more military help to Kyiv could help.

"At the operational level, we need measures which will deter Russia and which will contain its aggressive intentions. This could be ... a new round of sanctions which would raise the price of Russian aggression," Kuleba told a news conference at NATO alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

"This could be direct support aimed at strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities. Because we do know that Russia spares no effort to prevent third countries from cooperating with Ukraine in the defence sector. Russia is working hard to undermine our defence capabilities." (Reporting by Robin Emmott and Sabine Siebold, Editing by Gabriela Baczynska)
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackrey addresses the state to issue SOPs for the state in order to deal with the second wave of covid-19. Section 144 has been imposed in the state and public transports will be used for essential and emergency services for the general public.

The Maharashtra state government has begun its preparation in the run-up of an anticipated lockdown. Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackrey held a meeting to discuss SOPs and to further delegate the financial power to the local authorities in order to deal with the second wave of covid-19. Section 144 has been imposed in the state but public transports are not shut down completely and will be used for essential workers and during the essential and emergency services for the general public. Around 281 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the state today and the case fatality rate of the state of Maharashtra stands at 1.66%. Currently, 32,94,398 people in the state are under home quarantine and 30,399 people are in institutional quarantine.



India recorded 1,61,736 new cases in the last 24 hours on Tuesday, breaking yet another single-day mark, bringing the total number of cases to 1,36,89,453 so far. While India overtook Brazil as the worlds second-worst-affected nation, an expert panel of Indias central drug authority has recommended that the Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V be approved for emergency use in the country under certain conditions.

As per the health ministry, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala accounted for 70.82 percent of Indias active Covid-19 cases on Sunday. Haryana has imposed a night curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., effective immediately. In the last 11 days, the number of active cases in Haryana has more than doubled, from 10,300 on April 1 to over 20,000 on April 11.

#BreakingNews | Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray announces section 144 for the next 15 days, only essential shops to remain open from 7am to 8pm and local buses to be used only by essential workers. pic.twitter.com/XP4fA8ddQJ  NewsX (@NewsX) April 13, 2021

India reports 1,61,736 new #COVID19 cases, 97,168 discharges and 879 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per Union Health Ministry Total cases: 1,36,89,453

Total recoveries: 1,22,53,697

Active cases: 12,64,698

Death toll: 1,71,058 Total vaccination: 10,85,33,085 pic.twitter.com/ndxnchFoIp  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2021

Read More: Protect Indian scientists: SC to hear ISRO espionage case tomorrow, time for Dr Nambis vindication?

On Monday, Maharashtra witnessed a small decrease in new cases, with 51,751 more people testing positive. In addition, the state confirmed 258 more deaths. However, Mumbai reduced its daily test count from 50,000 to 39,398 on Sunday. Lower test results were due to the weekend lockdown and to enable laboratories to clear their pending sample backlog, according to city officials.

To combat the spread of Covid, the Civil Aviation Ministry has announced that no meals will be served on domestic flights lasting less than two hours. Meanwhile, several states have imposed strict curbs to contain the spread of the virus.
They are parents to son John Shepherd, 18 months.

And Duck Dynasty star John Luke Robertson and his wife Mary Kate Robertson have welcomed a new addition to their family - daughter Ella Kathryn Robertson.

They announced their daughter's arrival on Monday via Instagram, revealing that she was born on Thursday, April 8, 2021.

Bundle of joy: They are parents to son John Shepherd, 18 months. And Duck Dynasty star John Luke Robertson and his wife Mary Kate Robertson have welcomed a new addition to their family - daughter Ella Kathryn Robertson

Mary Kate wrote on Instagram on Monday: 'Our precious Ella Kathryn! She was born Thursday morning, 4/8/21, and it was just the sweetest, most peaceful, joy-filled delivery and day. We are so thankful for this little blessing!'

She shared two photos of their newborn as she wore a bow on her head with a pink and white sweater.

Mary Kate, 23, also shared a snap of her, John Luke and baby Ella, with the caption: 'Baby Ella.'

John Luke, 25, also took to his Instagram with the amazing news, sharing two photos as well.

So cute: They announced their daughter's arrival on Monday via Instagram, revealing that she was born on Thursday, April 8, 2021

John Luke wrote: 'Welcome to the world baby Ella! You are sooo cute!! Good to have a child that looks like me!'

John Luke and Mary Kate revealed their pregnancy news in November 2020.

Mary Kate wrote: 'We are so incredibly excited to be welcoming another sweet baby into our family!!! This new life is such a gift we are so thankful for! Sheps going to be the sweetest big brother.'

John Luke simply said 'Round 2.'

Blessing! Mary Kate wrote on Instagram on Monday: 'Our precious Ella Kathryn! She was born Thursday morning, 4/8/21, and it was just the sweetest, most peaceful, joy-filled delivery and day. We are so thankful for this little blessing!'

So sweet: She shared two photos of their newborn as she wore a bow on her head with a pink and white sweater

One month prior, the couple celebrated John Shepherd's first birthday with Mary Kate writing: 'The most beautiful, previous gift God has ever given us. It's been so fun watching you grow this year into a smiley, curious, happy, snuggly little boy!'

The couple married on June 27, 2015 after they got engaged in October 2014.

The baby news comes almost one year after Daniel King Jr., 38, was booked on a charge of aggravated assault by drive-by shooting after two homes were struck by gunfire on the West Monroe property belonging to John Luke's father, Willie.

Soon to be family of four: John Luke and Mary Kate revealed their pregnancy news in November 2020

So cute: One month prior, the couple celebrated John Shepherd's first birthday with Mary Kate writing: 'The most beautiful, previous gift God has ever given us. It's been so fun watching you grow this year into a smiley, curious, happy, snuggly little boy!'

John Luke, Mary Kate and their son received protective orders against the man soon after the incident.

King has since been ordered to stay at least 1000 feet away from John Luke, Mary Kate Robertson and John Shepherd, who was eight months old at the time, The News-Star reported.

The order was set to run through April 2022.

King was accused of pointing a handgun from the window of a Ford F-250 and firing shots toward the homes, the newspaper reported, citing an arrest warrant from the Ouachita Parish Sheriffs Office.

Nobody was hurt but one bullet went through the bedroom window of the home where John Luke lives with his family, authorities said.
[April 13, 2021] UnionPay Announces Partnership with Splitit to Bring Flexibility and Simplicity to Payments

SYDNEY, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- UnionPay International (UPI) has announced its partnership with Splitit, a leading global monthly installment payments solution provider, bringing the industry-leading Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services to 8.1 billion UnionPay cardholders with a flexible, interest-and fee-free payments option. BNPL has emerged as an innovative payment option among online consumers and Splitit has developed as the main BNPL provider with the largest market share in Australia. Splitit's network of global merchants covers over 30 countries, which allows UPI to meet the increasingly diversified demands of its existing cardholders. "The cooperation with Splitit is a remarkable milestone for UnionPay to further deepen its cooperation with local partners in the SouthPacific region," said Jiangtao Jian, General Manager of UnionPay International South Pacific Branch. "By extending partnerships with local market leaders, we will continue to optimize our business and provide better and more localized services to our customers.



"We are absolutely delighted to partner with UnionPay. By leveraging our merchant network and global reach, we are happy to provide a more accessible and flexible payments option for consumers who hold UnionPay cards," commented Brad Paterson, CEO of Splitit. The BNPL option is added inside the merchants' website as an integrated payments gateway, where customers will be able to choose a BNPL payment option at the checkout with their existing UnionPay Cards.

About UnionPay International UnionPay International (UPI) is focused on the growth and support of UnionPay's global business. In partnership with more than 2400 institutions worldwide, UnionPay International has enabled card acceptance in 180 countries and regions with issuance in 68 countries and regions. UnionPay International provides high-quality, cost-effective, and secure cross-border payment services to the world's most extensive cardholder base. It ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants. Related Links www.unionpayintl.com SOURCE UnionPay International

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Prime Minister will address the Association of Indian Universities' 95th annual meet and a seminar of vice-chancellors on Wednesday through video conferencing.

The PMO said in a statement that Modi will also release four books related to Bhim Rao Ambedkar, whose birth anniversary falls on Wednesday.

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad, is hosting the event.

Association of (AIU), an apex body of higher education in the country, is conducting its 95th annual meet on April 14 and 15.

This an occasion for the AIU to showcase its past year's achievements, present its financial statement and delineate the scheme of activities for the forthcoming year.

The meet will commemorate and celebrate the 96th Foundation day of AIU, established in 1925 under the patronage of stalwarts like Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the PMO noted.

A seminar of vice-chancellors on the theme "Implementing Educational Policy-2020 to Transform Higher Education in India" is also being organised during the meet.

It aims to work out strategies for the recently launched National Education Policy- 2020 with a clear-cut action plan for its effective implementation in the interest of its primary stakeholders, the students, the statement 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.)
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Rain showers this morning with numerous thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. High around 80F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 69F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
New Delhi:

A 29-year-old Delhi Police constable committed suicide by shooting himself by his service pistol at Daryaganj police station premises on Wednesday.

Police said that the constable shot himself with his pistol inside the barracks within the police station premises.

The deceased has been identified as Amit Khokhar.

A senior police officer said, police personnel rushed to his barrack as they heard bullet sound.

On seeing the injured constable they rushed him to the hospital for treatment but doctors declared him brought dead, a senior police personnel not willing to be identified said.

Also read| Delhi: Kerala nurse fired, attempts suicide by cutting



He added no suicide note was found from the barrack.

The officer further said that the deceased was doing good and showed no signs of depression.

The deceased had joined the Delhi Police in 2009 and hailed from Baghpat.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
One place where that could be discussed is a new overdose task force in Cayuga County. Ray Bizzari, the county's director of community services, told The Citizen the task force would be a continuation of the work of the HEALing Communities Study, a multi-year, multi-state opioid research study funded by the National Institute of Health. Columbia University is the county's research partner in the study.

"We've learned a lot over the course of the study," Bizzari said. "It's led us to really understand what we have to do to make help more accessible and scientific, meeting people where they are."

Still, Bizzari acknowledged that drug abuse and addiction, and overdose deaths in particular, continue to be a "frightening" problem in Cayuga County. Using the data and resources of the HEALing Communities Study, the task force would address that problem by regularly assembling stakeholders and people on the frontlines for informed conversation and action, he said.
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday reversed lower court rulings and found that Farmers Insurance was within its rights when it decided 19 years ago not to renew homeowners policies that it feared would have forced it to cover mold damage.

The 7-0 decision overturns rulings that required the carrier to renew 400,000 insurance policies that were thought to include coverage for all risks to dwellings, not just named perils. The high court also reversed orders by the 13th Court of Appeals that would have brought a $4 million payday to class-action attorneys who shepherded the case through two decades of litigation, as well as a second group of attorneys who represented plaintiffs in a separate but related class-action lawsuit.

The opinion, written by Justice James D. Blacklock, explains that the case arose after Farmers and other insurers decided to stop using the HO-B policy form in 2001 because of numerous court rulings that found coverage was owed on claims for mold damage caused by leaking pipes. Insurers began using the HO-A policy form, which covered only named perils. The state Department of Insurance and attorney general approved the use of the new forms.

Homeowner Sandra Geter filed suit, however, asserting that her policy stated that Farmers was not allowed to refuse to renew her policy because of claims for losses resulting from natural causes. She said that she and all other policyholders with the same policy language had a contractual right to renew their policies because Farmers had admitted it was refusing to do so because of all the mold claims it had to cover statewide.

The trial court in Jefferson County and the Court of Appeals agreed. The Supreme Court, however, said both courts erred.

The opinion notes that in 2002 the Texas Department of Insurance issued a bulletin that said insurers could change the terms of their policies by notifying the policyholder that they had decided not to renew coverage no later than 30 days before policy expiration.

Geters position is that Farmers bound itself by contract to perpetually renew all its HO-B policies regardless of its statewide financial results and regardless of whether TDI approved statewide changes to its policy forms, the high courts opinion says. While courts will enforce contracts according to their plain meaning, we also cannot be blind to the commercial realities of the context in which the parties were operating.

The court said the language in Geters policy does not mean Farmers cannot change its terms for coverage because of underwriting losses suffered statewide. The Supreme Court said claims for losses resulting from natural causes means claims made by the individual policyholder against a single policy.

Likewise, references throughout the policy to losses are references to losses of the individual policyholder, not to Farmers losses on a statewide scale, the court said.

The flood of mold claims that prompted Texas insurers to change policy forms turned out to be less of a concern than initially feared. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in Fiess v. State Farm Lloyds that the HO-B policy form unambiguously excluded losses caused by mold.

The trial court had awarded the plaintiffs attorneys $3,046,246 in fees and costs of $486,789. The Court of Appeals had also ruled in favor of attorneys who intervened to assert a claim to collect fees for work they did that they said helped the plaintiffs. The Supreme Court reversed those judgments and remanded the case to the trial court to reconsider the issue of attorney fees.

The high court said that its usual practice is to allow trial courts to determine what attorney fees are equitable, but it also noted that Geter and the class have not prevailed in any regard and have obtained no favorable results.
Kamloops, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Advance Gold Corp. (TSXV: AAX) ("Advance Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to announce results from an auger drilling sampling program at all 13 salars it recently acquired in central Mexico. A series of samples from auger holes were taken from a depth of 1/2m to 1m to test grades at surface. Highlight grades included 1.91% potassium, 650ppm boron and 620ppm lithium. A total of 39 auger drill samples were taken across the 13 salars with the average grade of potassium at 1.17%, boron at 247ppm and lithium at 215ppm.

Allan Barry Laboucan, President and CEO of Advance Gold Corp. commented: "We are off to an excellent start at our lithium projects. Our auger drilling was to show that the lithium-boron-potassium mineralization starts at the surface, with widespread mineralization across our various salars. It is rare to be able to use an auger drill to test the mineralized zone on an exploration project and sample high-grade material. This gives us a unique opportunity to move our projects forward in order to establish the potential for near term lithium production. We have surface lithium mineralization, drilling underway to better understand the near surface lithium grade distribution, a test plant to run material through to assess the small sized fraction mineral separation, magnetic separation and leaching characteristics. When we acquired the group of salars in Mexico, we also purchased a proprietary and patented extraction method that can be used to separate out 80% of the material leaving a high-grade concentrate which can be rapidly leached."

Table 1: Sample results from Advance's 13 salars

B K Li Salar Sample No. ppm % ppm Chapala 101965 180 1.39 306 Chapala 101966 260 1.2 355 Chapala 101967 80 0.79 620 El Salitral 101968 130 0.52 93.3 El Salitral 101969 80 0.56 70.6 Hernandez 101970 190 0.87 112.5 Hernandez 101971 320 0.91 530 El Barril 101972 60 0.88 104.5 El Barril 101973 50 0.96 108 Las Casas 101976 250 1.49 266 Las Casas 101977 320 1.45 209 Las Casas 101978 340 1.57 219 Agrito 101979 400 1.49 229 Agrito 101980 490 1.65 225 Agrito 101981 650 1.9 350 Saldivar 101982 230 1.12 118.5 Saldivar 101983 200 1.24 166.5 Saldivar 101984 200 1.23 173.5 Saldivar 101985 130 0.8 97.8 Saldivar 101986 140 1.13 170.5 Colorada 101987 460 1.72 216 Colorada 101988 280 1.28 382 Colorada 101989 370 1.91 234 Colorada 101990 530 1.71 239 Colorada 101991 420 1.49 190 El Perdido 101992 180 0.83 271 El Perdido 101993 320 1.32 251 El Perdido 101994 130 1.02 59.6 Maxy 101995 260 1.42 114 Maxy 101996 260 1.26 380 Maxy 101997 280 1.35 261 Maxy 101998 250 1.05 262 Maxy 101999 280 1.38 259 Cristallilo 615401 80 1.23 107.5 Cristallilo 615402 120 0.67 115 La Prieta 615403 50 0.54 171 La Prieta 615404 20 0.44 105 Doncella 615405 270 0.85 112 Doncella 615406 390 1.11 143.5

Sampling Protocol

The samples were taken at 1/2m to 1m intervals using an auger drill, approximately 1kg of material was taken from each sample location. They were bagged and secured, then taken to a secure location and when all were completed they were delivered to ALS Global's lab in Zacatecas, Mexico for assay preparation, they were then sent to ALS Global's lab in Vancouver, Canada for assaying.

Julio Pinto Linares is a qualified person, doctor in geological sciences with specialty in economic geology and qualified professional No. 01365 by MMSA for Advance Gold and is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the accuracy of technical information contained in this news release.

About Advance Gold Corp.

Advance Gold is a junior exploration company focused on acquiring and exploring mineral properties containing precious metals, battery metals and fertilizer minerals. The company acquired a 100-per-cent interest in the Tabasquena silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, in 2017, and the Venaditas project, also in Zacatecas state, in April, 2018. In addition, Advance Gold holds an 11.45% interest in strategic claims in the Liranda Corridor in Kenya, East Africa. The remaining 88.55% of the Kakamega project is held by Shanta Gold Limited (project previously owned by Barrick Gold Corporation, for details see Advance Gold News Release dated 2020-08-26). In March 2020, the Company moved into the lithium space with a purchase agreement to acquire 13 lithium-potassium boron prospective salars in central Mexico, which also includes a test plant and exclusive rights to a patented proprietary lithium extraction method.

For further information, please contact:

Allan Barry Laboucan,

President and CEO

Mexico Cellular Phone: 492-238-5282

Email: allan@advancegold.ca

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "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 materially from those in forward based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change, except as required by law.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80145
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has cancelled all of tomorrow's planned AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination clinics.

The move follows the National Immunisation Advisory Committee's (NIAC) recommendation that the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to people under the age of 60.

Professor Karina Butler, Chair of National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) issued the updated advice. Picture: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

The independent medical expert group said that because "the benefits versus the risks of this vaccine may vary by age" and other Covid-19 vaccines are available it has revised its recommendations for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

It follows concerns the vaccine is linked to cases of very rare blood clots, with a number of European Union (EU) countries limiting its use.

The HSE said anyone due to attend an AstraZeneca clinic is advised not to do so and that the health agency will be in contact with patients to rearrange their appointment.

The HSE said it will advise "further in terms of wider implications for the administration of the vaccination programme" after full consideration of the updated guidance.

The NIAC recommendation has been made to the Government this evening, and also includes new advice for people who have had their first dose of AstraZeneca.

NIAC met today to devise new advice on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Picture: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin

It says the 12-week gap for receiving the second dose should remain for those over 60 and anyone under 60 considered high risk.

However, it says the timeframe should be extended to 16 weeks for those who are under 60 and not considered at high risk, to allow further assessments to take place.

If the NIAC recommendation is accepted, major changes will have to be made to the country's planned vaccine rollout.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last week confirmed a link between the vaccine and very rare blood clots but stressed the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

Speaking this evening about NIAC's recommendation, Professor Karina Butler, Chair of NIAC, said every authorised vaccine is effective at preventing hospitalisation and severe Covid-19 infection.

"Vaccination with Vaxzevria Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective and substantially reduces the risk of severe Covid-19 disease across all age groups.

NIAC realises the need to balance the significant benefits of a national vaccination programme with the very rare risk of these reported events.

"While this is an extremely rare condition, consideration must be given to the fact that it has a very high risk of death or severe outcome.

"As the risk/benefits of Vaxzevria Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine may vary by age and as alternative Covid-19 vaccines are available NIAC has revised the recommendations for use of this vaccine," said Prof Butler.

The Chair of NIAC said all available scientific evidence is considered when devising the recommendations and any new evidence will be reviewed and future advice will be given to the Department of Health.

We strongly encourage everyone to accept the Covid-19 vaccine they are offered.

"A high uptake of vaccine in every age group is needed if Covid-19 is to be controlled, so that public health restrictions may be safely removed, said Prof Butler.

In summary, NIAC's revised advice for the AstraZeneca vaccine states:

The AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended for those aged 60 years and older including those with medical conditions with a very high or high risk of severe Covid-19 disease.

AstraZeneca is not recommended for those aged under 60 years including those with medical conditions with a very high or high risk of severe Covid-19 disease.

A second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine should not be given to anyone who developed unusual blood clots with low platelets after the first dose.

For those who have received their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine, NIAC has said:

People aged 60 and older should receive their second dose 12 weeks later as normal.

Those aged under 60 years with very high risk or high-risk medical condition should receive their second dose 12 weeks later as scheduled.

AstraZeneca recipients aged under 60 years without very high risk or high-risk medical condition should have the scheduled interval between doses extended to 16 weeks. This is to allow further assessment of the benefits and risks of the vaccine as more evidence becomes available.

In a statement this evening, Acting Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Ronan Glynn said the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has been notified of roughly 2,800 reports of suspected side effects associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, in the context of 204,270 doses administered.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) said it is also received notice of a case of special interest and is continuing to follow up on this to see if it fits the profile of the very rare blood clots which were the subject of the EMA review.

"We will continue to monitor the roll-out of Vaxzevria/AstraZeneca in Ireland and internationally in collaboration with the HPRA and the NIAC," said Dr Glynn.

"The Department of Health, the HSE and the High-Level Taskforce will now work together to ensure that these updated recommendations are incorporated into the ongoing implementation of the vaccination programme," he added.

The updated advice follows the confirmation of 394 further cases of Covid-19 this evening as well as no new Covid-related deaths.

The total number of Covid-related fatalities since the outbreak began remains at 4,785.

As well as this, 241,330 cases of the coronavirus have been reported.

A breakdown of the latest case data shows:

179 cases are men and 214 are women

75% of cases are under 45 years of age

The median age of today's confirmed is 33 years old

Dublin reported the most cases at 175 followed by Kildare with 34. Galway and Mayo both confirmed 21 cases each while Limerick reported 20 cases.

The remaining 123 cases are spread across 18 other counties

Acting Chief Medical Dr Ronan Glynn said Nphet will work with the HSE on any changes need to the vaccination rollout. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

As of 8am today, 227 Covid-19 patients receiving treatment in hospital.

50 of these patients are in intensive care, with one admission to ICU in the past 24 hours and four people discharged.

22 additional hospitalisations happened in the past 24 hours while two people were discharged.

In total, more than one million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Ireland since the rollout began.

As of Saturday, April 10, 745,363 firsts doses have been issued while 313,031 second doses have been administered.

Meanwhile, health experts say Irelands walk-in test centres are helping to drive down Covid-19 case numbers.

It comes after the country reported just 303 new virus cases yesterday, the lowest daily number this year.

Since March, walk-in test centres have been popping up in areas across Ireland with high Covid case numbers.

The centres are open for those who are asymptomatic, with the hope being they will help stop people who have no Covid symptoms from unknowingly spreading the virus.
Spain has announced plans to stop administering the Covid-19 vaccine made by Oxford-AstraZeneca to people who are under 60 years old.

The change in criteria comes after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) found a possible link between this vaccine and very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets.

Up until now, the vast majority of the 2.1 million AstraZeneca doses administered in Spain have gone to essential workers  mostly teachers and members of law enforcement agencies and emergency services  as well as to healthcare workers who were not immunized during the first phase, and to the general population between 60 and 65 years of age.

Spain has changed its age limit for the AstraZeneca vaccine repeatedly. First, it set an upper threshold of 55, then raised it to 65 after temporarily suspending its use over a European health scare. Now, those under 60 will no longer be eligible for the shot.

This latest change of tack poses new challenges for Spains vaccination drive. There are thousands of essential workers, most of whom are under 60, who do not know which vaccine they will receive or when. And individuals who have already had their first dose may find themselves without the second one.

Experts warn about a risk of creating a widespread perception that there are good vaccines and bad vaccines

Health Minister Carolina Darias said that in the coming days a decision will be made regarding people under 60 who have already had their first AstraZeneca shot. Speaking at a news conference, she said there were two options on the table for now: either use a different vaccine brand for the second dose, or not provide a second dose at all. Darias said that the first dose is 70% effective against Covid-19.

The Health Ministry said it will also consider how to proceed with the 65-and-over group, which until now had only been receiving the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

While Spain has speeded up its vaccination drive, the current pace of around 600,000 people a week will not be enough to hit the central governments target of immunizing 70% of the adult population by September.

This will inevitably delay the vaccination calendar, and create more pressure to use the scarce amounts of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, said Daniel Lopez-Acuna, a former official at the World Health Organization (WHO), about the latest decision.

Experts also worry that the constant strategy changes will further erode the publics confidence in vaccines. Trust will be significantly undermined, said Lopez-Acuna. And Amos Garcia, president of the Spanish Vaccinology Association, warning that it risks creating a widespread perception that there are good vaccines and bad vaccines.

Strategy changes across Europe

Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias at a news conference on Wednesday. Fernando Calvo / EFE

In recent weeks other European countries such as the Netherlands and Germany had already restricted use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to older adults only. This decision followed a scare in March over several reports of blood clots and deaths that led to a temporary suspension of the Anglo-Swedish drug across Europe while the EMA conducted an investigation.

Vaccination resumed in Spain following the EMAs first report in mid-March. But on Wednesday morning the Spanish region of Castilla y Leon unilaterally halted immunization with AstraZeneca, saying it was waiting for a new EMA report on the vaccines safety.

The unexpected move prompted Spains central government to underscore that vaccination decisions are not in the hands of regional officials. After the EMA report came out later in the day, the Health Ministry said that the target age group would be changed to 60 and over following the principle of precaution, in light of the fact that most reported cases of thrombosis have occurred in women under 60.

Other countries have also adjusted their vaccination strategies after the EMA said on Wednesday that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of the vaccine. Britains vaccine advisory committee now says that people under 30 should be given an alternative vaccine whenever possible, while Belgium has proposed limiting it to over-55s. Italy has said it will administer the second dose to those who have had the first, but will otherwise focus on the 60-and-over population.

At a meeting of central and regional health officials held on Wednesday, Health Minister Carolina Darias proposed stopping the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine on individuals under 60. According to people familiar with the meeting, most regional governments agreed with this measure, although Madrid opposed it, saying that the under-60s should not be excluded.

With reporting by Daniel Verdu, Isabel Valdes and Juan Jose Mateo.

English version by Susana Urra.




One-fifth of adult Manitobans have received a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of Monday, after the province reported fewer than 4,000 were administered Sunday.

One-fifth of adult Manitobans have received a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as of Monday, after the province reported fewer than 4,000 were administered Sunday.

As of Sunday, 216,275 adult Manitobans  or 20.24 per cent of the adult population  had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine since the provincial immunization campaign began Dec. 16.

In total, 68,368 people have been fully immunized with two doses of the vaccine; and 284,643 doses have been administered to date.

In a statement Monday recognizing the milestone, Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson thanked the thousands of people who have so far contributed to the COVID-19 immunization campaign.

However, the ministers statement erroneously equated the number of people who have been vaccinated with the total number of vaccines administered. The province later issued a correction.

"As Manitoba receives more vaccine, weve been able to ramp up our efforts to get needles into arms," Stefanson said.

The Manitoba government had planned nearly 4,500 immunizations to take place at the provinces five mass vaccination clinics Sunday. However, based on provincial COVID-19 immunization data, 3,846 vaccinations happened that day.

Provincial immunization teams and pop-up clinics were not delivering shots Sunday. Data from immunizations provided by pharmacists and physicians are also captured in the total daily vaccination rates.

On Friday, officials with the COVID-19 vaccine task force said data entry delays affecting the reporting of immunizations performed at mass clinics had been cleared.

By Monday, a provincial spokesman confirmed the province had again fallen behind on data entry, skewing the number of doses administered on the weekend.

Additional follow-up questions about the size of the backlog were not answered Monday.

Age eligibility criteria immunization remained unchanged Monday, with members of the general population at least 60 years of age and First Nations individuals at least 40 years of age eligible to book a vaccine.

People between the ages of 55 and 64 with select health conditions, and those 65 and over, are currently eligible for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine through their local pharmacist or medical clinic.

As of Monday morning, the province had used 68 per cent of the 409,470 doses it had received from the federal government, the second-worst rate of immunization among the 10 provinces.

However, all doses Manitoba is responsible for administering is tied to an appointment in the next six days. Another 54,600 doses were sent out to doctors and pharmacists early last week and 26,500 are being delivered on First Nations.

This week, the province expects to receive 77,340 more doses of vaccine, including a delayed shipment of Moderna and 11,500 doses of AstraZeneca from the United States.

Provincial data also shows that 79.56 per cent of people between the ages of 80 and 89 have received at least one dose of vaccine. For people between the ages of 70 and 79, the population coverage with one dose is 63.5 per cent.

Only 25 per cent of people age 60 to 69 have been immunized with one dose, as of Monday.

On Monday, 5,264 immunizations were scheduled at provincial mass vaccination clinics and focused immunization teams. The province does not report immunizations scheduled each day at doctors, pharmacists or through clinics operated by First Nations.

According to the provincial data, the highest single day for vaccine administration was on March 31, with 9,412 doses given to Manitobans.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi once mocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by talking to her in a child-like voice and hit out at The Squad of progressive women representatives, according to a soon-to-be-out book.

Ms Pelosi gave blunt advice to New York representative Ocasio-Cortez by adopting the child-like voice and saying: Youre not a one-person show. This is the Congress of the United States.

Veteran award-winning journalist Susan Page of USA Today would be releasing the biography of Ms Pelosi called Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power.

According to the books excerpt released in Axios, Ms Page recalled an interview conducted with Ms Pelosi in July 2019 for the book following her dispute with the Squad  a group consisting of Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaiba and Ms Ocasio-Cortez.

Ms Pelosi and the Squad were at odds and exchanged barbs over a number of issues, including the issue of the women lawmakers criticising Democrats in public.

Ms Pelosis anger at the four new progressive congresswomen was palpable, Ms Page wrote after one of the 10 interviews of her with the House Speaker for the new biography.

The House Speaker also expressed the pain she felt when she came to know former president Donald Trump would lead America after winning the elections.

She was horrified after Mr Trump won the election and "saw him as unfit for the White House," according to the upcoming book.

"The election of Donald Trump was stunningly scary, and it was justified to be scared," she had said to Ms Page in an interview.

The book would also talk about the first phone call between her and Mr Trump when the former president allegedly asked Ms Pelosi to talk to his daughter about bipartisan Congressional Caucus for Womens Issues.
It is one thing to dream about something, growing up listening and dreaming to be a prince or a princess, make castles on the cloud, and it is another thing to convert them (or attempt to) into reality with force. In a case of what seems like Sisyphus pushing a rock up a hill, a lawyer in Punjab, advocate Palwinder Kaur, filed a petition against prince Harry to be arrested for not marrying her after promising her lifetime happiness. The advocate urged action against Prince Harry Middleton, son of Prince Charles Middleton, resident of the United Kingdom and ushered a court order to the "United Kingdom Police Cell".

 Twitter

She wanted the court to issue a warrant against the prince so that there was no delay in their wedding. After several virtual hearings, after multiple requests, a live hearing was arranged for her. The judge enquired for proof if she ever visited him in the UK and whether these promises were made in person. Ms. Palwinder insisted that she was in contact with him via social media and was in constant touch with his father, Prince Charles. The judge exclaimed that with no concrete proofs in place, it was a chance of mistaken identity and these chats were clearly with a fake ID or an impostor. Bursting the dream bubble decorated by this khwab nagar ki shehzadi', Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan declared that "I find that this petition is nothing, but just a day-dreamer's fantasy about marrying Prince Harry. This petition, though very poorly drafted, both grammatically and lacking the knowledge of pleadings, speaks about some emails between the petitioner and Prince Harry, in which the person, sending the email, has stated that he promises to marry soon. There is every possibility that the so-called Prince Harry may be sitting in a cyber cafe of a village in Punjab, looking for greener pastures for himself," he further added. It was eventually ruled out to be a daydreamers fantasy which didnt end well. The only compensation offered to the lawyer in love was sympathy. One would wonder if the woman in question followed social media and if she was aware that not only he is a married man, but is soon to be a father to his second child with wife Meghan Markle.


BANGALORE, India, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electrolyzer Market is Segmented by Product (Alkaline Electrolyzer, PEM Electrolyzer, and Solid Oxide Electrolyzer), Capacity (Less Than 500 Kw, 500 Kw to 2 MW, and Above 2 MW), and Application (Power Generation, Transportation, Industry Energy, Industry Feedstock, Building Heat & Power, and Others). The report covers global opportunity analysis and industry forecast from 2020 to 2027. It is published on Valuates Reports in the Renewable & Alternative Energy Category.

The global electrolyzer market size was valued at USD 0.2 Billion in 2019 and is anticipated to generate USD 0.9 Billion by 2027. The market is projected to experience a growth at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2020 to 2027.

Major factors driving the growth of electrolyzer market size are

Favorable regulatory policies toward the development of hydrogen infrastructure coupled with increasing use as an industrial feedstock. Automobile sector is also contributing to the growth. Continuous technology development along with declining product cost and accelerating investments toward renewable energy technologies will favor the product adoption.

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TRENDS INFLUENCING ELECTROLYZER MARKET SIZE

Increasing the use of hydrogen in the automotive industry is expected to drive electrolyzer market size. Since hydrogen is a green fuel, many governments around the world are concentrating their efforts on developing a sustainable hydrogen economy, which is expected to propel the global electrolyzer market size during the forecast period.

Electrolyzer produces hydrogen that is ideal for use in hydrogen fuel cells. Fuel cells work similarly to batteries but do not run out of power or require charging and can produce electricity and heat as long as fuel is supplied. Fuel cells produce energy with zero emissions at the point of use. This factor is expected to drive the electrolyzer market size during the forecast period.

The increasing demand for on-site electrolyzer installation from the industrial sector owing to decarbonization is expected to further fuel the growth of electrolyzer market size.

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ELECTROLYZER MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

Based on product, Alkaline electrolyzer dominated the market share for 2019 as it has been the oldest form of electrolysis method.

Based on capacity, capacities ranging from 1 kW to 2MW dominated the market in 2019 due to the industry's limited stability and development. However, due to increased demand from automotive and industrial applications, electrolyzers with a capacity greater than 2 MW are expected to expand at a faster rate during the forecast period.

Due to demand from the industrial sector for on-site electrolyzer setup, the power generation segment dominated the market share in 2019. However, due to increased investment in electrolyzer technology for fuel cells to be used in electric vehicles, the transportation application is expected to expand at a faster CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on region, Europe dominated the market share in 2019. This is due to the multiple measures taken by the European government to encourage decarbonization. However, due to increased electric vehicle markets in China, Japan, South Korea, and India, Asia-Pacific is projected to rise at the fastest rate during the forecast period.

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Top Major Players in the Electrolyzer Market

The key players operating in the market are Hydrogenics, Nel ASA, Siemens Energy Global GmbH, Co. KG. AG, Toshiba, Air Liquide, Plug Power, McPhy Energy, ITM Power, Idroenergy, and Next Hydrogen. The players in the market have adopted several strategies, such as product launch and business expansion, to sustain the market competition.

Electrolyzer Market Segments

Electrolyzer Market By Product

Alkaline Electrolyzer

PEM Electrolyzer

Solid Oxide Electrolyzer

Electrolyzer Market By Capacity

Less than 500 kW

500 kW to 2 MW

Above 2 MW

Electrolyzer Market By Application

Power Generation

Transportation

Industry Energy

Industry Feedstock

Building Heat & Power

Others

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SIMILAR REPORTS :

- The global Hydrogen Generation market size was valued at USD 206.9 Million in 2019 and it is expected to reach USD 262 Million by the end of 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2021-2026.

- Hydrogen Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM). Electrolyzer Alkaline Electrolyzer, Solid Oxide Electrolyzer), By Application (Ammonia, Methanol, Refinery/Hydrocarbon Processing, Electronics, Energy. Power to Gas, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

- Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Traditional Alkaline Electrolyzer, PEM Electrolyzer), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plants, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Power to Gas, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

- PEM Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Small Scale Type, Middle Scale Type, Large Scale Type), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plant, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

- Alkaline Water Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Small Scale Type, Middle Scale Type, Large Scale Type), By Application (Power Plants, Steel Plant, Electronics and Photovoltaics, Industrial Gases, Energy Storage or Fueling for FCEV's, Others) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

- Ion-exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Market Report contains segmentation By Type (Type I, Type II), By Application (Chlor-alkali Plant0,s Other) and Regional Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast.

To see the full list of related reports on the Electrolyzer

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As we reimagine how we approach and accelerate social, emotional, and cognitive growth for students, the commissions report provides a great conceptual framework and model for schools and districts.

MetaMetrics Co-founder and CEO Malbert Smith recently completed serving on Learning 2025: A National Commission on Student-Centered Equity-Focused Education, launched by AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The commissions report, An American Imperative: A New Vision of Public Schools, released on April 8, 2021, recommends a holistic redesign of our nations schools aimed at capturing a new vision of future-focused, rigorous, energetic and culturally-vibrant learning through the empowerment of districts to enact change on behalf of learners, families and communities.

According to the report, We, as a nation, are painfully divided and face a series of existential and systemic crises. The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare profound issues that we have known about for decades but have addressed with only minimal success. Confronting and overcoming long-brewing racial, economic and social injustices and disparities so that we may promote and safeguard healthy civic participation for all is the imperative of our day.

Smith, who served on the commission with other thought leaders in education, business, community and philanthropy said, Im proud to have served on this commission. The events of the past yearwhile challenging illuminated the inequities in our education system as well as the possibilities for improving learning. Personalizing and customizing learning to meet the needs of all learners are key to transforming education over the next four years. As we reimagine how we approach and accelerate social, emotional, and cognitive growth for students, the commissions report provides a great conceptual framework and model for schools and districts.

Returning to the past following the end of this pandemic is not an option for our schools, said Daniel A. Domenech, executive director, AASA, and co-chair of the commission. What makes this report stand out and what gives us hope is that it will impact practice at the classroom and school levels. Its a call to action comprised of recommendations, coupled with specific action steps. Everyone associated with a school districtsuperintendents, principals, teachers, school boards, teachers unions, and community and business leadersmust take bold steps to work together as systems on behalf of the well-being, self-sufficiency and success of our students.

The report outlines critical functionsleading, teaching and learningfor realizing systemic change. If we are to deliver learner-centered, equity-focused education to all learners, then we must experience a paradigm shift in how these positions function, said Kristi Wilson, 2020-21 president of AASA and superintendent, Buckeye Elementary School District, Buckeye, Ariz. As a commission, we believe that the one-size-fits-all approach must no longer be tolerated. Now is the time to raise the voices of our superintendents on behalf of the students they serve.

The report affirms that leaders, teachers and learners play a role in redesigning systems, reengineering instruction and co-authoring the learning journey. Further, core component areas are essential and must be present to address any school system and community to meet the commissions vision. These core areas include resources; culture; and social, emotional and cognitive growth.

AASA, in partnership with other national collaborative organizations, will identify demonstration school districts, a collection of forward-leaning urban, suburban and rural districts that exemplify the actions expressed in the report to serve as national models. Each demonstration site will be the subject of a case study designed to guide schools, districts and regions in realizing the vision articulated in the commissions recommendations. Policy support from local, state and national leaders will be integral to the overall effectiveness and success set forth by the reports vision.

To access An American Imperative: A New Vision of Public Schools, visit the AASA website.

About AASA

AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASAs mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit http://www.aasa.org.

About MetaMetrics

MetaMetrics is an award-winning education technology organization that offers the only scientifically valid, universal scales for measuring silent and oral reading and listening (Lexile) and math (Quantile) with plans to develop measures for writing. The Lexile and Quantile Frameworks measure student ability and the complexity of the content they encounter. Lexile and Quantile measures and related technologies link assessment to instruction and provide next steps for students of all ages and abilities. The measures also provide valuable insights about students potential for growth. MetaMetrics measures, products and services are licensed to dozens of education product companies to help achieve that growth. For 35 years, MetaMetrics work has been increasingly recognized for its research-based approach to improving learning. For more information, visit metametricsinc.com.


DHAKA (PTI): Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane on Monday attended the closing ceremony of the 10-day-long multilateral UN-mandated counterterrorism exercise held in Bangladesh and praised the members of the Indian Army contingent that participated in the drills.



"General MM Naravane #COAS attended the #ClosingCeremony of Multinational Exercise #ShantirOgrosena2021 and addressed the participants of the exercise," the Indian Army's Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) tweeted.



During the Shantir Ogrosena 2021 (Frontrunners of Peace) exercise, he also interacted with the members of the Indian Army contingent and lauded them for their high standards of training and professionalism, according to another tweet.



There were 30 personnel in the Indian Army contingent.



Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was the Chief Guest of the ceremony, ADG PI said.



The counterterrorism exercise, which commenced on April 4, was participated by the Armed Forces of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka along with observers from the US, UK, Turkey, Kuwait, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.



The aim of the exercise was to strengthen the procedures and enhance interoperability amongst neighbourhood countries to ensure robust peacekeeping operations in the region.



The armies of all the participating nations shared their valuable experiences and refined their drills and procedures in peacekeeping operations.



The exercise culminated with a validation phase and closing ceremony organised on the theme of Robust Peacekeeping Operations jointly undertaken by contingents of Indian Army, Royal Bhutanese Army, Sri Lankan Army and Bangladesh Army, preceded by an Army Chiefs Conclave, a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence said in New Delhi on Monday.



The contingents displayed highest standards of professionalism during the exercise and also displayed their skills in volleyball, firing and cultural activities, it said.



Gen Naravane witnessed the validation phase of the exercise.



The Indian Army chief also visited the Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT). He interacted with the members of BIPSOT and appreciated their contribution in imparting training to the peacekeepers.



He is on the concluding day of his five-day Bangladesh visit, which started on Thursday last, to further strengthen the close and fraternal ties existing between the Armed Forces of the two nations.



The visit of the Army chief, who is in Dhaka at the invitation of his Bangladeshi counterpart Gen Aziz Ahmed, comes less than two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to the neighbouring country and met the countrys top leadership to strengthen strategic ties.



The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh, the liberation of Bangladesh from Pakistan and the birth centenary of 'Bangabandhu' Mujibur Rahman.


Contributed Photo / Stamford Police Department

STAMFORD  Police arrested a Stamford man who they said is suspected of distributing methamphetamine throughout the region.

Ronald Buquet, 42, was charged with operating a drug factory, possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to sell following a weeks-long investigation by Stamfords Narcotics and Organized Crime Unit.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Cabral Gold Inc. (TSXV: CBR) (OTC PINK: CBGZF) ("Cabral" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Rodney Cooper, P.Eng., to Cabral's Board of Directors, with immediate effect.

Rodney Cooper is a mining engineer with a degree in Applied Science (Mining) from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and also holds an MBA from the University of Toronto.

Mr. Cooper worked in various capacities with Echo Bay Mines for 12 years from 1985 onwards, and was Mine Superintendent at Homestake's high-grade Eskay Creek Mine from 1997 to 2000. He joined Kinross Gold Corporation in 2000 and was VP Technical Services for Kinross from 2002 to 2006. During this time, he made numerous trips to Brazil evaluating gold opportunities, and worked on Kinross' world-class Paracatu gold mine and the Gurupi project.

From 2006 to 2009 he joined Baffinland Iron Mines as Vice President Operations and Chief Operating Officer, before being appointed a Vice President and senior mining analyst with Dundee Securities in Toronto from 2009 to 2011. While with Dundee, Mr. Cooper covered several companies with Brazilian assets. From the period 2011 to 2017, Mr. Cooper was President and COO of Labrador Iron Mines, prior to establishing his own consulting firm.

Mr. Cooper is Principal at Cooper Mine Management and Valuation Consulting and is a director of Moneta Porcupine Mines Inc. which has a number of gold exploration projects in Ontario, including a 50% JV with Kirkland Lake Gold. He was formerly a director at Klondex Gold until the company was acquired by Hecla.

The Company also announces that Dennis Moore has resigned from the Board of Directors as part of his retirement process. The Board would like to thank Dennis for his significant contributions to both the Cuiu Cuiu gold project and the Company, and wishes him well in his retirement.

Alan Carter, Cabral's President and CEO commented, "We are delighted that Rod has agreed to join our Board of Directors. His education and wide experience as a mining engineer, analyst and mining executive brings a diverse set of skills and expertise to Cabral's Board. His experience with Kinross Gold and its Paracatu gold mine in Brazil in particular, should prove invaluable to Cabral as we continue to advance towards unlocking the high-grade potential of the Cuiu Cuiu gold project".

Issuance of Stock Options and RSU's

Cabral's Board of Directors has approved the granting of restricted share units ("RSUs") pursuant to the Company's RSU plan. Subject to any necessary or required approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the RSUs entitle the holders to acquire a total of 584,374 common shares in the capital stock of the Company. In respect of the 126,041 RSUs granted to three independent directors, fifty percent of the RSUs will vest 18 months after the date of grant with the remainder vesting after 36 months. In respect of 435,416 RSUs granted to non-independent directors, officers and employees (five recipients), one hundred percent of the RSUs will vest 36 months after the date of grant. In respect of the remaining 22,917 RSUs granted to a consultant, one hundred percent of the RSUs will vest 18 months after the date of grant.

Cabral's Board of Directors has approved the granting of stock options pursuant to the Company's stock option plan. The stock options entitle the holders to purchase a total of 600,000 common shares in the capital stock of the Company at a price of $0.49 per common share. The grant includes 300,000 stock options granted to a director of the Company. The stock options are exercisable for five years and are subject to vesting over 24 months.

About Cabral Gold Inc.

The Company is a junior resource company engaged in the identification, exploration and development of mineral properties, with a primary focus on gold properties located in Brazil. The Company has a 100% interest in the Cuiu Cuiu gold district located in the Tapajos Region, within the state of Para in northern Brazil. Two gold deposits have so far been defined at Cuiu Cuiu and contain 43-101 compliant Indicated resources of 5.9Mt @ 0.90g/t (200,000 oz) and Inferred resources of 19.5Mt @ 1.24g/t (800,000 oz).

The Tapajos Gold Province is the site of the largest gold rush in Brazil's history producing an estimated 30 to 50 million ounces of placer gold between 1978 and 1995. Cuiu Cuiu was the largest garimpo in the Tapajos and produced an estimated 2Moz of placer gold historically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

"Alan Carter"



President and Chief Executive Officer

Cabral Gold Inc.



Tel: 604.676.5660

Dr Adrian McArthur, B.Sc. Hons, PhD. FAusIMM., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will", "expected" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon. This news release contains forward-looking statements and assumptions pertaining to the following: strategic plans and future operations, and results of exploration. Actual results achieved may vary from the information provided herein as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors. The Company believes the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80258
(Newser)  A surprise development on the vaccine front Tuesday, and not a welcome one: US health authorities are recommending a temporary halt to vaccinations with the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine amid reports of rare clotting, reports the AP. The move by the FDA and the CDC falls short of an order to stop the shots, notes STAT News, but states are expected to abide by the recommendation. The federal agencies want time to investigate six reports of clotting in women between the ages of 18 and 48 who developed symptoms within a week or two after receiving the single-dose vaccine. The issue is similar to the one that has plagued the AstraZeneca vaccine overseas, as well as to one that surfaced in the J&J vaccine trials. The six cases are out of 6.8 million doses administered.

story continues below

Both the CDC and the FDA have launched investigations. Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC and Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA in a joint statement. They said anyone who has recently received the vaccine and is experiencing symptoms such as headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath should contact their doctor. The clot in question is called a cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), and all six women also experienced low levels of blood platelets, per STAT News. (The development comes as cases are spiking in part of the US, particularly Michigan.)
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:14 am

As state lawmakers enter the final weeks of the 2021 legislative session  and the start of the second year of the pandemic  the condition of the state budget is nothing short of amazing.

At this time last year, the economy was in lockdown and unemployment was surging. Almost overnight, thousands of businesses were forced to close their doors to slow the spread of the virus. More than 332,000 people lost their jobs  roughly one-tenth of Washingtons workforce. Unemployment skyrocketed to nearly 16 percent. By June 2020, the states chief economist was projecting a nearly $9 billion state budget shortfall.

A year later, the unemployment rate has fallen dramatically, and Washingtons tax collections are surging. So much so that state tax collections are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels even though restaurants, travel and other parts of the economy continue to struggle, and the state remained down more than 200,000 jobs as of February.

And yet, some lawmakers are still debating whether to raise taxes or introduce new taxes such as a tax on capital gains, a move that would put the state on a path toward an income tax.

Its time for the debate to end. If it wasnt already clear, last months state revenue forecast  combined with passage of the American Rescue Plan that will send a firehose of federal relief funds to state and local governments and school districts  show new taxes just arent necessary.

At last months quarterly revenue forecast, the states chief economist told lawmakers Washington is now expected to collect an additional $5 billion over the next five years.

As a result of all the extra money, Washington state is not facing a budget crisis. Lawmakers dont need to raise existing taxes or create any new taxes to balance the budget.

The states record of uninterrupted growth in tax revenue dating back to the end of the Great Recession remains uninterrupted, despite the worst pandemic in a century.

Thats an incredible turnaround from last April and no doubt the result of many factors including unprecedented federal stimulus that injected trillions of dollars into the U.S. economy. It also shows that, while not perfect, Washingtons tax system is remarkably stable.

The latest round of federal coronavirus relief, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, will send an additional $11 billion into Washingtons economy on top of previous federal relief efforts, including $4.25 billion for state government, $1.47 billion for counties, $1.18 billion for cities, and $1.9 billion for schools.

Local governments and school districts are well taken care of too, with most every jurisdiction in line to receive anywhere from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars. Its true these are one-time funds and elected officials will need to avoid using the money to start new programs with ongoing costs, but the fact remains: Money is pouring into Washingtons economy.

Unfortunately, all this unexpected good financial news does not mean that Washingtons economy has recovered from the pandemic.

While some parts of the economy are doing well, other segments remain battered by the coronavirus and far too many people remain out of work. As of February, Washington was still down 232,000 jobs compared to the previous February. Rather than looking for ways to raise taxes on employers, they should be doing everything possible to help them recover.

As lawmakers close out the remaining weeks of the legislative session and work toward adoption of a new two-year budget, they should be pleasantly surprised by the condition of the states finances. They have enough money to do what they need to do.

Rather than searching for ways to pad an already flush budget, they should be focusing their efforts on economic recovery and job creation.



Kris Johnson is president of the Association of Washington Business, the states chamber of commerce and manufacturers association.
As of Monday, 42.4% of all New Hampshire residents have received at least one dose, one of the highest rates in the U.S., and Gov Chris Sununu said at least 200,000 appointments are available before Memorial Day

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New Hampshire and Oklahoma have become the latest U.S. states to open up coronavirus vaccines to all Americans regardless of residency.

On Thursday, Oklahoma expanded eligibility to all residents while New Hampshire officials announced on the same say that the requirement would be lifted on April 19.

'Whether you live in Boston, Maine, Vermont, New York, doesn't matter, come on in, get your vaccine,' New Hampshire Gov Chris Sununu said during a news briefing.

'We're open for business.'

Last month, Indiana became the first state to allow everyone aged 18 and older to receive the Moderna vaccine and those aged 16 and older to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 120.8 million Americans - or 36.4 percent of the population - have received at least one dose and 74 million Americans - or 22.4 percent - are fully immunized.

It comes on the heels of news that the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended officials halt using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine 'out of an abundance of caution' after six women developed rare blood clots.

New Hampshire is opening up coronavirus vaccine appointments to out-of-state residents as 42.4% have received at least one dose, one of the highest rates in the U.S. Pictured: A first responder vaccinates a woman in her car at a vaccination center in Londonderry, New Hampshire, February 4

Oklahoma, the other state opening eligibility, has given just 27.4% of residents an initial dose so far, but health officials say both supply and capacity are increasing enough to welcome Americans from neighboring states. Pictured: A healthcare worker receives the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, December 2020

Currently, 120.8 million Americans - or 36.4% of the population - have received at least one dose and 74 million Americans - or 22.4% - are fully immunized

In New Hampshire, the announcement came after Gov Sununu was criticized for not allowing out-of-state college students to get vaccinated.

Sununu fired back, however, and said New Hampshirites had to 'come first,' adding that college-aged students were at lower risk of infection and severe disease in comparison with other age groups.

According to state data, 42.4 percent of all residents have received at least one dose with about 72,000 doses per 100,000, one of the highest rates in the state.

However, the Granite State falls behind some other states in fully vaccinating its population with about 22 percent of residents completing their series.

At the press conference on Thursday, Sununu said officials determined the state had enough vaccines for all residents, which is why the requirement is being lifted.

He added that there are at least 200,000 vaccine appointments available across the state between now and Memorial Day, May 31.

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, officials announced the less than two weeks after eligibility was expanded to all state residents 16 or older.

'We have always known there would be a point at which supply and increasing capacity would allow us to welcome residents from neighboring states into Oklahoma to get vaccinated,' said Keith Reed, deputy commissioner at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, in a statement.

'We are now reaching that point and are happy to extend a welcome to our neighbors as part of our efforts to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the region.

'This virus does not adhere to boundaries drawn on a map, so by ensuring high vaccination rates across the region - not just Oklahoma - we are providing an extra layer of protection for our residents.'

In the Sooner State, 27.4 percent of residents have received at least one dose and 17.8 percent are fully immunized.

Dr Jennifer Kates, a senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, told The New York Times she believes more states will likely abandon residency requirements as vaccine production accelerates.

'If a state does feel more secure in its supply and is not feeling a crunch, then the ability to help the national effort to vaccinate more people and remove barriers becomes important' she said.

On Monday, White House senior COVID-19 advisor Andy Slavitt (center) noted that 46.6% of U.S. adults and 78.9% of those aged 65 and older have been given at least one dose of the inoculation

An average of three million people are being vaccinated every with a record 4.6 million receiving the jab on Saturday, April 10

During a press conference on Monday, White House senior COVID-19 advisor Andy Slavitt lauded the progress that the Biden administration has made in rolling out vaccines.

CDC data show that 46.6 percent of adults aged 18 and older have had least an initial shot and 28.6 percent are fully vaccinated.

In addition, more than three-quarters of Americans aged 65 and older - or 78.9 percent - have been given at least one dose of the inoculation.

What's more, Slavitt noted that in the last week, the U.S. administered 22 million shots in a single week, equivalent to eight percent of the adult population.

'By this time next week, all adults across the country will be eligible for their vaccine,' he said.

'This means there has never been a better time than now for seniors and those eligible to get their shots. Make an appointment today.'

On Monday, the FDA and CDC recommended a pause of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. after six women developed rare blood clots. Pictured: Registered nurse Florisa Lingad holds a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Chicago, Illinois, March 5

It comes as the FDA and CDC recommended a pause of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. after six women developed rare blood clots.

Several states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa - and even the military - have suspended use.

The women who developed blood clots were between the ages of 18 and 48. One has died and another, who is in Nebraska, is in critical condition.

Experts say the pause of the one-dose shot was out of an 'abundance of caution but noted that cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) - in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia) - are extremely rate.

Seven million people in the U.S. have had the one-shot vaccine, meaning that so far just 0.00008 percent have developed blood clots.

This is far less common than the percentage seen in the general population, about 0.27 percent.

In a statement, J&J said it was aware of the roll-out pause but they said there is 'no clear causal link' between its shot and the blood clots.
Arizona Governor allowed a bill that keeps private donations out of electoral operations in the state. This comes after the 2020 election that was the most controversial that ended with President Biden winning the electoral college.

Arizona Governor takes the first step to cleansing election procedures

Last Friday, the Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, signed a bill from legislation in preparation for the 2022 midterm elections, reported the Epoch Times. The bill will not allow donations of any kind for the election process under any circumstances.

Ducey wrote in a letter when he signed the election integrity bill, "With public confidence in our elections in peril, it's clear our elections must be pristine and above reproach-and the sole purview of government."

He added that the Republicans of Arizona approved the bill unanimously in the state Senate and House. They passed legislation then signed by the governor last Friday.



Last year in September 2020, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife donated $300 million to two nonprofit organizations that will endorse safe and reliable voting in states during the CCP virus pandemic last year. The Zuckerbergs mentioned on September 1 that the amount would be used for local and state-run election offices. Other than that, no discussion was made on what or how it would be used.

In a statement they released, these are the contents. "These contributions will help to provide local and state officials around the state with the tools, training, and facilities they need to ensure that every voter who wants to cast a ballot is able to do so, and, in the end, to protect the integrity of our elections."

Senator Lankford Says HR1 Bill Will Allow Democrats to Rig Elections

According to the source which says the nonprofit organizations are non-partisan, neither Republican nor Democrat-aligned. The majority of the endowment ($250 million) was received by the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), whose specialty is gathering data on candidates and races all over the US, and another is to train poll workers.

The organization was begun by managers and staff from the New Organizing Institute; it is a progressive nonprofit which trained Democrat digital organizers.

The money the state received last year from organizations with support from Zuckerberg's foundation, according to Arizona Governor Ducey, a Republican, was helpful and used with "integrity."

He cautioned that election officials must not expect private grants to do voter outreach for its staff or as a way to pay all expenses. He added that election officials should not be forced to rely on private grants for voter outreach, staffing, or other expenses in the future. Although he mentioned the new law could be considered a sign that the state is ungrateful, he added that the bill is necessary to maintain election integrity and voter trust.



According to Logan Churchwell of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, the amount of money is legal but unprecedented, a conservative election watchdog said at the time, where he is the communications and research director.

Democrats in the state tried to blame Republicans for the underfunding of the election administration. Republican Arizona Governor Ducey said that passing the bill on private donations is essential for election integrity that is crucial now. At the same time, funds are needed by Arizona for other counties requiring the money for election expenses.

Arizona Attorney General to Senators: Vote Against H.R. 1

Greg Abbott Supports Election Integrity Bill

Miller-Meeks Calls Out the Democrats' Dirty Methods

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Company has received UK Continuing Professional Development ("CPD") accreditation for its global education platform, Khiron Academy

UK medical professionals may now earn CPD credits through Khiron's medical cannabis education program

The Company has entered into a strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, a leader in digital healthcare in the UK, to increase patient access via medical cannabis education

As a leading international medical cannabis educator, nearly 1,000 medical professionals in Latin America and the United Kingdom have registered for, or completed, Khiron Academy training

TORONTO, April 13, 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, is pleased to announce it has received UK Continuing Professional Development ("CPD") accreditation for Khiron Academy, the Company's global medical cannabis education platform.

Additionally, following its accreditation, the Company has entered into a strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, a leader in digital healthcare in the UK and fellow founding member of Project Twenty21, to increase patient access through medical cannabis education initially. Khiron Academy will be made available to prescribers in the UK that have registered with Cellen's MedCanHub, an emerging education portal. Cellen is market leader, widely recognized for also launching the UK's first digital pain clinic, Leva.

Tejinder Virk, President of Khiron Europe, commented, "Over the last year, Khiron has seen a direct correlation between physician education and patient access. With Khiron Academy's CPD accreditation and through our strategic partnership with Cellen Therapeutics, we are positioned to reach a growing number of medical professionals, and in turn, provide patients with greater access to medical cannabis products."

Eric Bystrom, CEO of Cellen commented, "We are pleased to be joining forces with Khiron on educating prescribing specialists in the UK. Khiron is a clear global leader in medical cannabis education. We share common values in improving patient lives by educating doctors and optimizing the standard of medical care. Our aim is to create a practical guide for responsibly prescribing patients with safe and efficacious medical cannabis products."

In the UK, Khiron continues to leverage educational materials developed by the Company to train medical professionals in Latin America, along with clinical data from thousands of Khiron patients. In addition to Cellen's MedCanHub (accessible to medical professionals at https://medcanhub.cellenhealth.com/), Khiron Academy is available to members of the Medical Cannabis Clinicians Society (MCCS) and core to the training of prescribing specialists for Project Twenty21, a 20,000-patient observational study backed Drug Science in UK.

To date, the Company has trained nearly 1000 medical professionals in Latin America and the UK. Over the last year, physicians trained by Khiron in Latin America have issued over 13,000 prescriptions, with a compound monthly growth rate of nearly 50%. Khiron Academy will be a platform for sharing the Company's clinical expertise, in conjunction with clinical data arising from Khiron's wholly-owned clinics in LatAm.

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, Germany and the United Kingdom, and is positioned to commence sales in Mexico, Germany and Brazil in 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 United Kingdom. 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 (647) 556-5750



Media Contact:

Peter Leis

Europe Communications Manager

E: [email protected]

Khiron Europe:

Tejinder Virk

Europe President

E: [email protected]

Weitere Links

https://khiron.ca/



SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp.
HOLYOKE  Behavioral Health Network has canceled its COVID-19 vaccine clinic scheduled for Tuesday at the Flats Community Building on Canal Street, in line with state and federal orders to pause the administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control recommended the temporary suspension as the federal agencies review six cases of a rare and severe blood clot reported in women who received the shot. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health followed suit, directing all providers to immediately pause the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Out of an abundance of caution, we are pausing the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pending additional guidance from the Department of Public Health, Behavioral Health Network said on its web site.

The organization will hold a vaccine clinic Wednesday at 417 Liberty St. in Springfield offering doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Jessica Deflumer-Trapp, the organizations executive vice-president, said a clinic scheduled for Friday is up in the air because it will use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

She estimated that the health network has provided 1,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses at its Springfield and Holyoke clinics. The organization had hoped to administer another 200 doses at Tuesdays clinic in Holyoke.

Those who had appointments Tuesday to receive the J&J vaccine in Holyoke have been contacted.

In Springfield, city health commissioner Helen R. Caulton-Harris said the citys neighborhood clinics have not yet been affected.

But Caulton-Harris said Springfield was prepared to provide 300 Johnson & Johnson doses today to Behavioral Health Network. That distribution has been delayed due to the pause.

There are Springfield clinics scheduled at the Raymond Jordan Senior Center and the Boland Elementary School, Both have the Moderna vaccine.

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Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. 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 Online Masters in Adult Education/Learning Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 171 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 41 making it to the final list for Online Masters in Adult Education/Learning Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-adult-education-learning-degree-programs/

2021 Online Masters in Adult Education/Learning Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Appalachian State University

Capella University

City University of Seattle

Cleveland State University

Colorado State University

East Carolina University

Eastern Washington University

Florida Atlantic University

Georgia Southern University

Indiana University Bloomington

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

James Madison University

Kansas State University

Marshall University

Michigan State University

Mississippi State University

Morehead State University

North Carolina State University

Northern Arizona University

Northwestern State University

Park University

Penn State World Campus

Point Park University

Portland State University

Seattle University

Southern Arkansas University

SUNY Buffalo State College

SUNY Empire State College

Texas A&M University Kingsville

Texas A&M University, College Station

Troy University

University of Arkansas

University of Georgia

University of Houston-Victoria

University of Idaho

University of Missouri-St. Louis

University of South Florida

University of Southern Maine

University of West Alabama

Valdosta State University

Western Kentucky 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/.
President Jair Bolsonaros sudden firing of his defense minister and the entire command of the armed forces has unleashed an unprecedented military and political crisis in Brazil.

That the fascistic Brazilian presidents action coincided with the anniversary of the 1964 US-backed military coup was no coincidence. Bolsonaro is an unabashed defender of the military overthrow of President Joao Goulart, which ushered in two decades of blood-soaked dictatorship against the working class and the youth in Brazil and a wave of similar coups across South America.

President Jair Bolsonao and sacked Army commander Gen. Edson Pujol (Credit: AgenciaBrasil)

Today, 57 years after that terrible historical event, the Brazilian working class once again confronts imminent dictatorial threats and the reemergence of the military at the center of political power.

Bolsonaros efforts to consolidate authoritiarian rule, which he has advanced since assuming the presidency, have escalated sharply since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brazil has now passed the grim milestone of 350,000 COVID-19 deaths, and the pandemic remains absolutely out of control. Each week the country breaks new terrible records, with the daily death toll rising above 4,100 twice in the last week

An unprecedented social crisis is ravaging working class homes. Unemployment has reached record levels, and tens of millions of Brazilians have been thrown into poverty since the pandemic began. Recent studies indicate that half of Brazils population is suffering from food insecurity.

But from the point of view of the capitalist class, we live in a golden age. The number of billionaires in Brazil has increased from 45 to 65 over the last year of mass death, according to the new Forbes list. The wealth accumulated by this parasitic oligarchy had an extraordinary growth, from $127 billion in 2020 to $219 billion in 2021.

Such grotesque levels of social inequality, as well as the imposition of mass killing by COVID-19, are radically incompatible with democratic forms of government. These objective trends are behind the remarkable political events of recent weeks.

The unprecedented replacement of the military commandtraditionally changed only in the transition between governmentswas carried out by Bolsonaro amid demands that the armed forces subordinate themselves fully to his governments political agenda, in particular his declared war on coronavirus lockdowns.

Bolsonaros most immediate goal is to establish total control over the repressive apparatus and to nullify the power of local authorities. Acting in coordination toward this end, Bolsonaros closest allies (including his son Eduardo Bolsonaro) have openly incited uprisings by the Military Police against orders by state governors to restrict social movement. In the House of Representatives, Bolsonaros allies tried to push through a law allowing the president to mobilize local police during a pandemic.

This conspiracy to establish a de facto presidential dictatorship in Brazil is still in full swing.

Bolsonaro made this clear in a speech against shutting down economic activities during an event in Santa Catarina on April 7. Pointing to the imminent threat of a nationwide social explosion, he stated that he is already asking the armed forces: If this breaks out across Brazil what are we going to do? Do we have the manpower to contain the amount of problems we may have ahead?

Bolsonaro reviewing Brazilian paratroopers (Credit:Fernando Frazao/Agencia Brasil)

Bolsonaros speech exposes the real dilemma of the armed forces and the Brazilian ruling class. Even though they are aware of the explosive social situation, the fired commanders and the bourgeois opposition consider Bolsonaros coup incitement itself to be a contributing factor for social instability, which may precipitate an uncontrollable reaction by the working class. The president, for his part, warns that if the military does not support his preventive authoritarian measures today, it may not have the strength to repress a mass uprising tomorrow.

A fraudulent bourgeois opposition

Although growing sectors of the Brazilian ruling class are seeking to distance themselves from the Bolsonaro government, they are incapable of offering any alternative perspective to its policy of mass misery and death and the drive toward authoritarian rule in Brazil

This corrupted capitalist opposition presented itself in a letter signed last month by five hundred economists and businessmen, including bank directors and CEOs of large corporations, in opposition to the catastrophic pandemic policy adopted by Bolsonaro.

The dissident factions of the Brazilian bourgeoisie, as well as its counterparts and governments internationally, see the explosive spread of COVID-19 in Brazil as a threat to their profits. This is reflected in worried editorials about the Brazilian crisis published by leading newspapers around the world.

World-renowned Brazilian physician and neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis has defined the situation in the country as a biological Fukushima: the uncontrolled contagion provokes a chain reaction in that it increases the potential for the emergence of new variants, which are themselves more contagious. Such uncontrolled spread is a direct threat to Brazils impoverished neighbors in South America, and has the potential to bring the already insufficient global efforts against the pandemic back to square one.

Unable to adopt effective measures against the pandemic, and supporting Bolsonaros criminal herd immunity policy, the dissident factions within the Brazilian bourgeoisie limit themselves to pleading with the government for the acceleration of vaccinations, adoption of low-cost measures by the state to contain the transmission of the virus, and the forging of a coalition of bourgeois parties to face the health crisis. This cowardly program finds political expression in the unified opposition to Bolsonaro by the governors of the Workers Party (PT) and the traditional parties of the Brazilian right, such as the PSDB. In every case, the social distancing measures adopted in their states are absolutely insufficient to put an end to the COVID-19 nightmare.

At the same time, these forces of the bourgeois political establishment, especially the PT, work tirelessly to dispel the concerns of workers and youth about the sword that is hanging over their heads. They are unanimous in pointing to the generals (those who wield this sword!) as the main guarantor against the threat of another dictatorship in Brazil.

Bolsonaros sacking of his defense minister and the entire high command is portrayed by the PT-led opposition not as a serious threat to democracy in Brazil, but as its opposite: a sign that everything remains in place. It is a message that the armed forces are not at the service of a coup attempt, said Bohn Gass, the PT leader in the House.

A note signed by all the parties that falsely pose as a left opposition to the governmentamong them the PT, the pseudo-left PSOL, and the Maoist PCdoBcharacterized the presidents actions as authoritarian delusions. Opposing Bolsonaro to the military, the note stated that while the former still has not overcome the 1964 coup, the armed forces and their main leaderships have stuck to the institutional role that the Federal Constitution assigned to them.

The fraudulentand insistentpromotion of the military as Bolsonaros constitutionalist opponents inevitably fuels sympathy for a deposition of the president by the armed forces themselves. Advocating a transfer of power to the vice president, Gen. Hamilton Mourao, PCdoB leader and Maranhao governor Flavio Dino declared, Mourao in Bolsonaros place is exchanging barbarism for civilization.

The fact that the military has once again been elevated to the role of the arbiter of the nations political future is proof of the profound deterioration of democratic forms of rule in Brazil, far beyond the authoritarian delusions of the fascist Jair Bolsonaro. Only 35 years since the launching of its re-democratization process, how is it possible that Brazil has sunk so deeply into this crisis?

The militarys path to power

The immense dangers that the Brazilian working class confronts today have their roots in the historical betrayals by its trade unionist, Pabloite and Stalinist leaderships in the 1980s. When the downfall of the Brazilian military regime, in the face of mass strikes and student protests threatened capitalism itself, these political forces, unified in the treacherous project of building the Workers Party, acted to divert a revolutionary uprising of the Brazilian working class behind illusions in a bourgeois-democratic regime.

These treacherous leaderships promoted the lie that it was possible to guarantee the political and social rights of the Brazilian working class without abolishing the capitalist state itself, and without settling accounts with the military and civilian politicians who commanded that brutal regime of torture and mass murder. With the support of the PT, the criminals of the ruling class were granted amnesty and were able to keep their positions behind the facade of the new regime.

During the 14 years that it ruled Brazil, the PT defended the interests of the ruling class while presiding over the highest levels of social inequality among the major economies of the world. At the same time, it more and more consistently brought the military back to the center of the national political arena.

In the initial years of his administration, former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sent the armed forces into a criminal peace-keeping operation in Haiti, while fostering public confidence in a series of reactionary generals who became the advisers of Bolsonaros coup plots. Chief among them is Gen. Augusto Heleno, the commander of the Haiti intervention, who is now Bolsonaros intelligence chief.

The PT governments also made increasing use of the armed forces in Guarantee Law and Order operations against the Brazilian working class. In 2010, Lula celebrated the military occupation of the Alemao favela complex in Rio de Janeiro. In the face of a wave of violence against Alemaos poor residents, he said, The people saw the armed forces serving the Brazilian people. His hand-picked successor, Dilma Rousseff, turned the militarys apparatus of repression ever more openly against political protests.

Bolsonaros coming to power was not a political accident. It was the direct product of the historical betrayals of the Brazilian working class committed by the PT and its promoters among the pseudo-left.

For the independent political mobilization of the working class

Just as in the coup 57 years ago, the dictatorial turn by the Brazilian ruling class today has profound international implications. The 1964 coup in Brazil was used as a model and operational platform for even more brutal coups against the working class in countries like Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. The Brazilian dictatorship acted as an instrument for organizing counterrevolution throughout the continent, in close coordination with US imperialism.

Bolsonaros coup threats unfold as US imperialism is struggling to reestablish its hegemony over Latin America and transform the region into a front line in its great power conflict with China.

These efforts, which involve reckless and desperate regime change operations in countries like Venezuela, continue in full swing under Democratic President Joe Biden. Those who claim that the fact that Bolsonaros ally Donald Trump has left the White House is a further guarantee against a coup in Brazil are criminally misleading the working class, promoting illusions in the democratic role of US imperialism.

The lessons of history show that the only progressive way out of the current political crisis is to build a mass political movement of the Brazilian working class, unified with its class brothers in Latin America and internationally in the fight for socialism.

All the fundamental problems faced by Brazilian workersthe threats against democracy, the COVID-19 pandemic and spiraling social inequalityhave a universal character: They can only be solved by expropriating the capitalist elite and destroying its state, and establishing the political power of the working class.

The first step in this direction is the construction of an internationalist and socialist political leadership in the Brazilian working class, a section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.
What started out as a second-year physics project is making its way into Amazon Web Service's (AWS) quantum computing program.

University of Sydney science undergraduate Pablo Bonilla Ataides has tweaked some computing code to effectively double its capacity to correct errors in the quantum machines being designed in the emerging technology sector.

The simple but ingenious change to quantum error correcting code has grabbed the attention of quantum researchers at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing in Pasadena, California, and the quantum technology programs at Yale University and Duke University in the United States.

"Quantum technology is in its infancy, partly because we haven't been able to overcome the inherent instability in the machines that produce so many errors," 21-year-old Mr Bonilla said.

"In second-year physics I was asked to look at some commonly used error correcting code to see if we could improve it. By flipping half of the quantum switches, or qubits, in our design, we found we could effectively double our ability to suppress errors."

The research is published today in Nature Communications.

The results of the study, co-authored by Dr Steve Flammia who has recently moved from the University of Sydney to AWS's quantum computing effort, are to feature in the tech company's arsenal of error correction techniques as it develops its quantum hardware.

Dr Earl Campbell is a senior quantum research scientist at AWS. He said: "We have considerable work ahead of us as an industry before anyone sees real, practical benefits from quantum computers.

"This research surprised me. I was amazed that such a slight change to a quantum error correction code could lead to such a big impact in predicted performance.

"The AWS Center for Quantum Computing team looks forward to collaborating further as we explore other promising alternatives to bring new, more powerful computing technologies one step closer to reality."

QUANTUM ERRORS

Errors are extremely rare in the digital transistors, or switches, that classical computers use to run our phones, laptops and even the fastest supercomputers.

However, the 'switches' in quantum computers, known as qubits, are particularly sensitive to interference, or 'noise', from the external environment.

In order to make quantum machines work, scientists need to produce a large number of high-quality qubits. This can be done by improving the machines so they are less noisy and by using some capacity of the machines to suppress qubit errors below a certain threshold in order for them to be useful.

That is where quantum error correction comes in.

Quantum errors can occur when the qubit flips on its axis. This is dubbed an X-error. Or errors can occur in its wave phase, known as a Z-error. A Y-error is a combination of flip (X) and phase (Z) errors.

An expert in quantum error correction from Duke University, who was not involved with the study, Professor Kenneth Brown, said: "Typically in quantum error correction, we assume that X, Y and Z errors are equally likely. However, this is not the case in real experiments where the errors are biased."

What Mr Bonilla has done is realign every second part of the error code. The code is designed to work across a two-dimensional network of connected qubits and is called a surface code.

QUANTUM CHESSBOARD

You can imagine the surface code like a chessboard. In its original design, the black squares were designated to detect Z-errors and the white squares designated to detect X-errors. But Z-errors are far more common, so much of the error correcting power was wasted looking for less common X-errors.

Rather than have the 'chess squares' alternate ZZZZ to XXXX, the new code flips half of the quantum switches so that each square looks for both types of errors. This new code is referred to as XZZX code, reflecting the redesign of the surface code.

Professor Brown from Duke said: "The XZZX code is remarkable because it performs optimally for any bias by making a simple local transformation on half the qubits that changes X for Z and Z for X."

Assistant Professor Shruti Puri from the quantum research program at Yale University said her team is interested in using the new code for its work.

"What amazes me about this new code is its sheer elegance. It's remarkable error-correcting properties are coming from a simple modification to a code that has been studied extensively for almost two decades," Assistant Professor Puri said.

"It is extremely relevant for a new generation of quantum technology being developed at Yale and elsewhere. With this new code, I believe, we have considerably shortened the timeline to achieve scalable quantum computation."

Co-author Dr David Tuckett from the School of Physics said: "It's a bit like playing battleships with a quantum opponent. Theoretically, they could place their ships anywhere on the board. But after playing millions of games, we know that certain moves are more likely.

"From experiment we know that Z-errors are much more common than X-errors. Pablo has redesigned the code to take this into account and produced a much more powerful result to suppress errors."

RETROFIT FOR INDUSTRY

Co-author and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science Professor Stephen Bartlett said: "What's great about this design is that we can effectively retrofit it to the surface codes being developed across the industry.

"Having the code work on a two-dimensional surface is ideal for application in an industry that has historically produced 2D chip designs. We are optimistic that this work will help the industry build better experimental devices."

Co-author Dr Ben Brown from the University of Sydney Nano Institute and School of Physics worked closely with Mr Bonilla on the project. He said: "Building a functional quantum computer is a bit like trying to build the Wright Brothers' plane, and we haven't even gotten off the ground yet.

"Experimentalists are producing the strong, light-weight materials to build the plane, and we've just come up with a more aerodynamic design for the wings that have more lift. We might have just come up with the design that will help large-scale quantum computing take off."

###

Mr Bonilla, a Dalyell Scholar at the University of Sydney, has started his honours year in quantum computing in the School of Physics.

DOWNLOAD photos of Pablo Bonilla Ataides and Ben Brown at this link.

INTERVIEWS

Dr Ben Brown | b.brown@sydney.edu.au | +61 401 860 369

Mr Pablo Bonilla Ataides | via Dr Brown or media adviser

Professor Stephen Bartlett | stephen.bartlett@sydney.edu.au

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

Marcus Strom | marcus.strom@sydney.edu.au | +61 423 982 485

DECLARATION

This work is supported by the Australian Research Council via the Centre of Excellence in Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS). Ben Brown received support from the University of Sydney Fellowship Program. Access to high-performance computing resources was provided by the National Computational Infrastructure) and the Sydney Informatics Hub, a Core Research Facility of the University of Sydney.
Smart payments provider will afford leading web hosting provider and internet domain registrar streamlined payment process for global users

Today, leading smart payments provider and merchant acquiring bank, Credorax, and Lithuania-based leading web hosting provider and internet domain registrar, Hostinger, announced a partnership that will enable Hostinger to accept and process cross-border payments globally in more than 120 currencies and facilitate convenient and simple payment requests. Hostinger joins Credorax's impressive roster of leading web hosting services and digital SaaS partners, including SEMRush and NordVPN.

Hostinger will have access to Credorax's tailor-made acquiring solution including smooth onboarding, approval rate optimisation and analysis, FX conversion optimisation, and proactive 24/7 merchant account monitoring. The web hosting provider will also benefit from Credorax's 3DSecure solution, ensuring compliance with the PSD2 requirements for Strong Consumer Authentication. This is in addition to Credorax's telecom-grade (99.999%) availability for processing payments designed to maximise business growth and enhance operational processes. Credorax's services will enable Hostinger to accept and process cross-border payments in over 120 currencies, including Indian rupee and South African rand.

"We're excited to partner with web hosting provider, Hostinger, and expand our footprint in Lithuania, a region that continues to grow as a hub for fintech," said Igal Rotem, CEO of Credorax. "Using our services, Hostinger will be able to accept and process payments in widely and thinly traded currencies alike -- including those from the Asia and Africa regions allowing them to cater to their entire customer base, confident they can accept the local currencies. As we build our own presence in the region, we look forward helping Hostinger grow and provide their services globally."

The ability to accept cross-border payments is essential to any e-commerce business. B2B cross-border payments are expected to grow 30% from 2020 to 2022. As companies turn to digitalising their businesses, it is vital they find a payment provider with the ability to process and accept more exotic currencies for customers outside the European Union and other dominant countries.

"Credorax's capabilities in streamlining the payments process made it the clear choice for us when looking for an acquiring partner," said Daugirdas Jankus, CMO of Hostinger. "We strive to provide our customers with as easy and frictionless an experience as possible when setting up their online presence. It was important that we find a payment provider that enables us to accept payments seamlessly and in local currencies, to eliminate any barriers to our services. We look forward to working with Credorax, a partner we can count on to support us as we grow and evolve our payment solutions."

About Credorax

Credorax is a smart payments provider and fully licensed merchant acquiring bank providing cross-border processing for eCommerce and omni-channel payments. Our gateway technology, SourceTM, has been developed in-house to provide a streamlined payment experience so smart and secure, that merchants can reach their full business potential simply by better managing their payments. Credorax merchants can accept more than one hundred cards and local payment methods and get paid in their currency of choice. Our merchants also enjoy best-in-class approval rate optimisation, advanced anti-fraud protection, business intelligence and a host of other value-added services and products adding up to a payments experience unlike any other. To learn more, contact us at grow@credorax.com or visit www.credorax.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005514/en/

Contacts:

Press Contact Credorax

Marisa Rijpkema

Head of Marketing, Credorax

Marisa.rijpkema@credorax.com

+31-6-42140533
Iran has warned that it will start enriching uranium up to 60 percent purity, two days after an alleged sabotage attack on the country's main Natanz nuclear site that it blamed on archenemy Israel.

The warning came hours after Iran's top diplomat said the alleged attack on Natanz was a "very bad gamble" that would strengthen Tehran's hand in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of its intention to "start 60 percent enrichment," the state-run IRNA news agency reported on April 13.

The IAEA's director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, later confirmed that "Iran had informed the agency that the country intends to start producing UF6 enriched up to 60 percent."

Press TV, state television's English-language arm, said the enrichment would begin as of April 14.

Enriching uranium to 60 percent would be the highest level achieved by Iran's nuclear program, although it still short of the 90 percent purity needed for military use.

Under the nuclear deal, Iran had committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 percent. Recently it has been enriching up to 20 percent, saying the deal was no longer enforceable.

The White House said it remained committed to talks with Iran despite Tehran's "provocative" statement that it will ramp up uranium enrichment.

"We are certainly concerned about these provocative announcements," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "We believe that the diplomatic path is the only path forward here and that having a discussion, even indirect, is the best way to come to a resolution."

Tehran's announcement comes after Iranian officials said an April 11 explosion caused a power failure at Natanz that affected Iran's first generation of centrifuges, and vowed it would take "revenge" and ramp up its nuclear activities.

While not claiming the attack, Israel is widely believed to have carried out the still-unexplained assault, which came a day after new uranium-enrichment equipment was unveiled at the site south of Tehran.

It also occurred amid diplomatic efforts to revive the nuclear agreement, abandoned by the United States under former President Donald Trump, and which Israel fiercely opposes.

"Israel played a very bad gamble if it thought that the attack will weaken Iran's hand in the nuclear talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a joint news conference on April 13 with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Tehran.

"On the contrary, it will strengthen our position."

Last week in Vienna, Iran and the global powers held what they described as constructive EU-hosted talks centering on overcoming an impasse between Washington and Tehran to bring both parties into full compliance with the 2015 nuclear accord.

Further discussions were scheduled for April 14, but Russia's ambassador to the UN, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on April 13 that the talks in Vienna had been postponed for one day and would take place in the Austrian capital on April 15 in a physical format.

The pact lifted international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on Iran's nuclear program. But the Trump administration imposed a raft of sanctions on Tehran under a "maximum pressure" campaign after it withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018.

Iran responded by gradually breaching many of the nuclear restrictions.

U.S. and Iranian officials have publicly clashed over the sequencing of possible U.S. sanctions relief and Iran reversing its breaches of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The reported incident at Natanz cast additional uncertainty over the talks in Vienna. It occurred a day after Iran launched new advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility with the potential to accelerate uranium enrichment, in another breach of the country's undertakings in the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers.

Iran has "no problem with returning to implementing our JCPOA commitments," Zarif said on April 13. "But the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage will give them negotiation tools and these acts will only make the situation more difficult for them."

The foreign minister also said that "in the near future more advanced uranium enrichment centrifuges will be placed in Natanz, an underground site key to Iran's uranium-enrichment program and monitored by inspectors of the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog.

Multiple Israeli media outlets quoted unnamed intelligence sources as saying that the country's Mossad spy service carried out a successful sabotage operation at the Natanz site, potentially setting back enrichment work there by months.

Israel is suspected of carrying out sabotage against Iran in the past, including cyberattacks and assassinations of nuclear scientists.

The IAEA said it was aware of the reports of an incident but would not comment.

The White House said the United States was "not involved in any manner" in the Natanz incident and had no comment on speculation about its cause.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it was "alarming how this situation" could impact on the talks to revive the deal, while the EU warned against attempts to derail talks to return Washington to the Iran nuclear accord.

Speaking alongside Zarif, Lavrov said Moscow expected the Iranian nuclear deal to be saved and criticized recent EU sanctions on Iran, saying they raised "a huge number of questions" while talks aimed at reviving the agreement were ongoing.

The previous day, the EU added eight Iranian security officials, including the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and three notorious prisons to a sanctions blacklist over a 2019 protest crackdown.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and AP
The PetSafe CozyUp Steps & Ramp Combo adjusts from 1620 inches in height and its heavy-duty carpet cover keeps pets from slipping or tripping. Whether it is an older dog with aging joints or smaller dog breeds who should avoid jumping down from the couch or bed, this newest access product is perfect for all pets in the home.

"Sometimes our pets need a helping hand to access their favorite spot right next to us, and all our PetSafe ramps and stairs are designed to provide pet parents with the comfort in knowing their best friend can safely move around the house," says Mandie Sweetnam, PetSafe Category Manager for Travel and Access. "The great thing about the CozyUp Steps & Ramp Combo is that we can offer that peace of mind through any stage of a pet's life and in most locations without having to purchase multiple items."

The CozyUp Steps & Ramp Combo folds down flat to easily store under the furniture or in the back seat of a car and is independently tested to support pets up to 200 pounds.

The PetSafe CozyUp Steps & Ramp Combo is available for purchase online at petsafe.com and amazon.com.

About PetSafe

PetSafe is dedicated to keeping pets healthy, safe and happy through innovative product solutions. As an industry leader, PetSafe brand offers behavioral, containment and lifestyle solutions. PetSafe brand is owned by Radio Systems Corporation, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and services over 50 countries globally. For more information, visit petsafe.net.

Media Contact:

Rachel Worley

Senior PR Specialist

615.417.9870

[email protected]

SOURCE PetSafe
(Natural News) Its something straight out of a science fiction movie, and a bad one at that, but its absolutely true: Big Tech oligarchs in the U.S. and abroad are pouring billions into research that will enable them to live and govern eternally by literally discovering the once-fictional fountain of youth, even if they have to harvest the blood of the young to achieve it.

In fact, the elite arent even hiding what theyre trying to do: No less than Newsweek recently published an expose regarding this ghoulish research.

The Spanish firm Grifols helped set off a kerfuffle last year when it, along with other firms, offered nearly double the going price for blood donations for a COVID-19 treatment trial, the magazine reported. Brigham Young University in Idaho had to threaten some enterprising students with suspension to keep them from intentionally trying to contract COVID-19. The trial failed, however, and now the Barcelona-based firm is hoping to extract something far more valuable from the plasma of young volunteers: a set of microscopic molecules that could reverse the process of aging itself.

Grifols closed a $146 million deal earlier this year to purchase Alkahest, a firm launched by Tony Wyss-Coray, a Stanford University neuroscientist, who, with Saul Villeda, disclosed in research papers published in 2011 and 2014 that blood from young mice could help restore functionality of the brains of aged mice.

The discovery then led to a new field of study called geroscience which seeks to understand molecular and cellular mechanisms that make aging a major risk factor and driver of common chronic conditions and diseases of older adulthood, the National Institutes of Health said.

Over the past six years, Alkahest has found more than 8,000 proteins in blood that show some potential in terms of slowing or reversing signs of aging. (Related: Biden regime now working with big tech to stifle all dissent to COVID-19 vaccine.)

Its efforts and those of Grifols have resulted in at least six phase 2 trials completed or underway to treat a wide range of age-related diseases, including Alzheimers and Parkinsons, Newsweek reported.

You can already see where this is headed: The objective, of course, is to use the blood of the young to help unlock the secrets of aging so that the process can be arrested and even reversed. Whats more, Newsweek is blatant and open about the objective of these companies and their research.

Their goal is to hack the process of aging itself and, in the process, delay or stave off the onset of many of the diseases most associated with growing old, the magazine reports.

But heres the thing: How expensive will this process be? Will only the super-wealthy, the top couple of percent of earners, be able to afford it? Will it remain classified if the researchers unlock the secret because of the tens of billions of dollars generated each year by the healthcare and cosmetic industries to keep looking young and treat age-related illnesses?

And finally: Will this treatment only be available to those who are in power?

The answers to those questions and others are vital because, apparently, researchers are on the cusp of discoveries.

Previously, people working on diseases did not think that aging was modifiable, Felipe Sierra, a now-retired director of the Division of Aging Biology at the National Institute on Aging, told Newsweek. That is actually what many medical books say: The main risk factor for cardiovascular disease is aging, but we cannot change aging so lets talk about cholesterol and obesity. For Alzheimers, aging is the main risk factorbut lets talk about the buildup in the brain of beta-amyloid proteins. Now that is beginning to change.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, investors were putting up billions to fund these biotech firms. And now, the payoff is close.

You have no idea how many people are interested to investing money in longevity, Nir Barzilai, founding director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, as well as the founder of one of the biotech firms, told Newsweek. There are billions of dollars.

See more reporting like this at Biotech.news.

Sources include:

Newsweek.com

NaturalNews.com
A Syrian refugee in Germany who stabbed one man to death and seriously injured his partner because he saw them holding hands has gone on trial today.

The man, identified only as 21-year-old Abdullah AHH due to German privacy laws, is charged with one count of murder for fatally stabbing tourist Thomas L, 55, to death on the streets of Dresden in October last year.

He is also facing one count of attempted murder for attacking Thomas's partner Oliver L, 53, with a different knife but failing to kill him.

Abdullah has already admitted carrying out the attack - telling a court psychologist that his only regret is not killing both men - but his lawyers are arguing that he should be sentenced using juvenile law because he is immature.

Federal prosecutors allege that the defendant used kitchen knives to attack the two men in their 50s from behind because they were holding hands and he believed they were a gay couple, which he considered to be a 'grave sin.'

Abdullah AHH (pictured) stabbed one man to death and seriously injured his partner after he saw them holding hands in Dresden last year

The 21-year-old was arrested almost three weeks after the crime and has been in custody since then.

The defendant had been released from prison a month before the attack after serving a three-year juvenile sentence for promoting the extremist Islamic State group and subsequently attacking a prison guard.

Prosecutors alleged that the defendant, a native of Aleppo who came to Germany as a refugee in 2015 as an unaccompanied minor, had planned to carry out a further attack, details of which weren't immediately known.

It was revealed in October that the Syrian ISIS terrorist, who was granted refugee status in May 2016, admitted he wanted to cut out Christians' tongues.

While living in asylum, the terrorist began recruiting for ISIS and threatened Christians, reported BILD.

Writing to a Christian, he said: 'I will slaughter you today. You have a big mouth and I'll cut off your tongue, you Christian.'

He was arrested in 2017 and categorised as likely to pose a threat to public safety, said Saxony state's head of police, Petric Kleine.

Syrian ISIS supporter Abdullah AHH (pictured in court in 2018), 20, was arrested after a tourist was stabbed to death and another seriously injured in the eastern German city of Dresden on October 4

Some 600 suspected Islamists are in this category in Germany, according to authorities.

AHH lost this status because of his criminal record in 2019, but could not be deported due to the civil war in his home country.

In the 2018 trial, AHH was shown to have used ISIS symbols in his Facebook profile and also propagated jihad via social networks and called on like-minded people to fight as martyrs against so-called infidels.

A statement on the court's judgment read: 'The accused had been advocating a jihadist ideology since early summer 2017, increasingly turning to ISIS and finally, as its supporter, worried about carrying out an assassination attempt.'

AHH also searched the Internet for instructions on how to build an explosives belt, the court heard at the time.

He reportedly planned to bomb folk festivals including the Dresden bird meadow or the film nights on the banks of the Elbe in 2017.

The Syrian was released from prison, where he had served more than two years for recruiting members to a terrorist organisation, only days before the attack.

The victims of the attack in downtown Dresden were German men from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia on vacation, according to the police.

A kitchen knife that investigators believe is linked to the attack was found at the scene with traces of DNA on it.

The victims, one aged 53 and the other 55, were German men from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia on vacation in Dresden (pictured). The 55-year-old died later in hospital

In an assessment months before the attack, authorities had said it was highly likely the man would commit more crimes once released, Kleine said.

He was under observation on the day of the attack and the two preceding days, said the head of the Saxony branch of the domestic intelligence agency, Dirk-Martin Christian.

Mr Christian added that people just released from prison were not normally monitored 24 hours a day.

He said: 'We are talking about an intelligence service that does not aim to avert danger, but to observe whether the person is moving in a radicalising environment.

'The following could have happened. The observers sit in the car and watch the person. And suddenly he takes up his gun.

'You're in the car and, as bitter as it is, have to take note of it. Observation is not the appropriate tool to prevent such acts. It doesn't matter whether we watch him for 24 or six hours.'

Abdullah AHH is charged with murder, attempted murder and dangerous physical harm for the Dresden attack.
New Delhi: In a setback for Islamabad, the United Kingdom in its new amended regulations on money laundering and terror financing, has listed Pakistan under high-risk states. Pakistan is listed under 21 'high-risk third countries', which also includes North Korea, Syria, Zimbabwe, Syria and Yemen.

It is in the 'Amendment of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017' which came into effect on March 26.

The new regulation is a post-Brexit regime and mentioned that replacement of a country which has been identified by the European Commission as a high-risk third country in delegated acts adopted under Article 9.2 of the fourth money laundering directive with a new substitute - 'a high-risk third country'.

Pakistan strongly reacted to the development and said, "UK's assessment leading to the subject regulation is not based on facts." It also asked London to review its regulations and avoid politically motivated and misplaced measures.

The development comes even as the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) sword continues to hang on Pakistan. The country has been on the financial watch dog's grey list since June 2018, which has also impacted its economy.

In the February meeting, the body decided to keep Pakistan on the grey list and gave more time to implement its 27 point action plan. It called on Pakistan to address deficiencies, including demonstrating effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all 1267 and 1373 designated terrorists, specifically those acting for or on their behalf.
Studio SWEAT onDemand (SSoD) may be a small business, but its revolutionizing the virtual fitness industry. Cat Kom, SSoDs CEO and Founder, has not only created a safe space for members to get a judgement-free workout, shes also inspired a supportive and close-knit online community, offering members around the world some much-needed social interaction throughout the pandemic.

Cat told us that one of her missions for 2021 was to make the already-inclusive fitness platform even more accessible. In addition to the special population exercise routines they offer (such as seated workouts for those with mobility issues, as well as classes designed for people living with M.S.), Studio SWEAT onDemand is now offering closed captioning on many of their workout videos!

This new feature gives members with hearing impairments the same immersive fitness experience SSoD is known for. These workouts can be sorted in the class menu, toggled on and off, and accessed from most devices and apps. The company has already produced a variety of workouts with closed captioning, and are committed to adding more each month.

Unlike the many other virtual platforms that feature aspiring actors and fitness models, Studio SWEAT onDemand is a place for real people, getting real results. No matter members age, fitness level, ability or body type  they can always open their SSoD app, and get the workout of a lifetime.

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Studio SWEAT onDemand is a way for everyone to get those fat-torching Spinning (use any bike you like), TRX, Body Toning, Yoga, and other amazing workouts, which you can stream to your favorite mobile device or TV. And, the best part is that youre working out with real people, that look and feel like you. Its fitness for everyday people every day. So, whether youre in San Diego or Spain, our body-sculpting classes have new releases all the time, and can be done wherever and whenever. For more information visit https://www.studiosweatondemand.com/.
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Sam Onwuemeodo, the media aide to the former governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has confirmed that Mr Okorocha was being quizzed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported Tuesdays arrest of Mr Okorocha by the EFCC operatives over multiple corruption allegations.

Mr Okorocha, who is now a senator, was arrested at about 4 p.m. at his Unity House private office in Abuja, sources familiar with the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.

Why he was arrested- Aide

Mr Okorochas media aide, Mr Onwuemeodo, said the senators arrest was based on an old petition written by the Imo State Government.

I dont think EFCC has a new matter with Okorocha, Mr Onwuemeodo told PREMIUM TIMES, Tuesday night.

Remember that after he left as governor, the (Imo) state government wrote petitions against him, the EFCC came and investigated this matter.

The matter between Okorocha and EFCC has been pending in various courts, it is not a new matter, he said.

Unless they must have invited him to come and clarify one or two issues, he added.

The senator was still being quizzed by the EFCC, as of 8:24 p.m.

Everybody is here, including his lawyers, his media aide said.

At the end of the day, when they finish talking with him, we can now know what to do.

Unending conflict

Since he left office as governor in 2019, Mr Okorocha has been having a running battle with his successor, Governor Hope Uzodinma, who accused him of misgovernance and corruption during his tenure.

Both men are members of Nigerias ruling party, APC.

On February 21, the former governor was arrested by the police for unsealing a hotel owned by his wife but which was shut by the Imo State government. He was later released.

In November 2020, the EFCCs zonal office in Enugu arraigned Lasberry Anyanwu, a former commissioner who served under Mr Okorocha.

He was charged with stealing and misappropriation of public funds to the tune of N180 million.
"This is an exciting time for Coro Energy," said chief executive Mark Hood.

( ) updated investors following its recent acquisition of Global Energy Partnership Limited and its portfolio of operated renewables projects.

According to the statement, work is underway to progress its new flagship wind and solar projects in the Philippines which will each have some 100 megawatts of capacity.

Progress has included talks over energy service contracts (ESCs), local landlord engagement, environmental impact assessment, grid impact assessment and the negotiation of power purchase agreements. A comprehensive data gathering campaign has begun for a 100MW onshore Philippine wind project.

Coro said these activities are advancing with a view to position the company to have both projects at a construction-ready state by mid-2022, allowing maiden revenues potentially twelve months later.

"This is an exciting time for Coro Energy as it looks to build on its recent acquisition and the resulting opportunities in SE Asia's rapidly growing renewable energy sector, said Mark Hood, chief executive.

Coro Energy is proud to be supporting the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in SE Asia and we have a large number of important commercial and operational milestones approaching over the next 6-12 months.

I am confident that we will rapidly develop our platform of operated assets, with a view to creating a variety of revenue streams that will add material value to the business.

ESCs define the scale, technology and location of the projects and significantly will provide the company with approval to act as developer and as such will be a key milestone for Coro which are anticipated by the end of the current quarter.

The company also anticipates it will finalise landlord agreements by the end of the quarter.

It aims to have secured power purchase agreements for the projects by the end of November 2021, and, the full environmental impact assessment for both projects is planned by mid-July. Grid assessment is slated by August.

The wind data gathering programme will last for twelve months and is due to commence in mid-June  whereas data is already in place for the solar project.

Mark Hood also noted that Coro also looks forward to commercial progress at the Duyung gas project with operator Conrad Petroleum expected to update its plan of development in due course.

This is expected to be a significant step towards commercialisation to be followed by Pre-FEED work, concept selection and a gas sales agreement.

Talks meanwhile continue with third parties over the over a prioritised divestment of the company's portfolio of Italian assets.
ROME, APR 13 - The 5-Star Movement's (M5S) joining the Socialist and Democrat (S&D) caucus at the European parliament is a natural outcome of its political evolution, M5S deputy EP whip Fabio Massimo Castaldo told an ANSA Forum Tuesday. "I think it is the right path to boost the progressive alliance and focus on sustainable growth," he said. With S&D, Castaldo said, there is "a broad sharing of ideas and objectives to reach". He said the M5S would be happy to join the caucus after consulting with its ally the Democratic Party (PD). (ANSA).
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 23:06:28|Editor: huaxia

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by Keren Setton, Gao Wencheng

JERUSALEM/TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Tensions between Israel and Iran have reached a new high in the past few days, as Iran vows retaliation for an alleged Israeli cyberattack that caused a blackout at the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning.

Iranian officials and Israeli media have claimed that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind the sabotage, despite no official confirmation from Israel yet.

This would not be the first cyberattack against an Iranian nuclear facility attributed to Israel. In 2010, both the United States and Israel were believed to be behind a malicious cyber offensive against the same facility. This time, the White House has categorically denied American involvement in the incident.

The heightened tensions come as the new U.S. government under Joe Biden has signalled a potential major change in the U.S. policy toward Iran and the 2015 nuclear agreement. In an attempt to reverse the unilateral withdrawal from the agreement by the administration of former President Donald Trump, and much to Israel's dismay, Biden has expressed Washington's desire to rejoin, or at least renegotiate the deal.

Negotiations began last week in Vienna, capital of Austria, to seek a formula that would enable Washington to re-enter the pact. Israel, probably Iran's arch-enemy, has long been a vociferous opponent to the Iran nuclear deal, citing it contains numerous loopholes which allow Iran to continue its nuclear program.

"We are entering a more dangerous period," said Eran Lerman, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. "They (Iranians) think they can use the acceleration of the (uranium) enrichment as leverage, but this will be a grave mistake."

Throughout the years, Israel has vowed to take all steps necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear power. The country is believed to be behind scores of attacks against targets and officials it believed involved in the Iranian nuclear program, including an attack last week on an Iranian cargo ship in the Red Sea.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at Northwest University of China, told Xinhua that Israel's recent actions against Iran are aimed at exerting strategic pressure on Iran's regional influence and Vienna nuclear meetings.

"At a time when the international community hopes to put the Iran nuclear deal back on track, Israel tried to deteriorate regional relations, block the return to the Iran nuclear deal, and create a favorable regional landscape for Israel," he said.

After his meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a remark that even singled out Iran as Israel's greatest threat.

"In the Middle East, there is no threat more serious, more dangerous, more pressing than that posed by the fanatical regime in Iran. I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its goal of eliminating Israel. And Israel will continue to defend itself against Iran's aggression and terrorism," the right-wing Israeli leader said.

Iran, all the while, has maintained that its nuclear program is not for military purposes.

"The premise among Israeli defense officials is that there may come a time when Israel will enter a major war. This is a risk Israel is willing to take if there will be no other way to stop Iran," Lerman warned. Enditem
[April 13, 2021] Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions, Inc. Announces Compensation Plan for Chief Executive Officer Steve Reinharz

Artificial Intelligence Solutions, Inc. (OTCPK:AITX) announces the entry into an Employment Agreement ("Agreement") between the Company and its founder and recently appointed CEO, Steven Reinharz. The Agreement intends to reward Mr. Reinharz with a Base Salary as well as Incentive and Bonus Compensation. The specific highlights of the Agreement are as follows: An award of 10 million cashless AITX stock options, with an exercise price of $0.15 per share that are exercisable when the stock price reaches $0.30 per share.

An award of 30 million cashless AITX stock options, with an exercise price of $0.25 per share that are exercisable when the stock price reaches $0.50 per share.

Base salary of $20K per month beginning April 9, 2021. Note that Mr. Reinharz has not received any salary since forming the company in July 2016. This new salary will be deferred until at least the beginning of FY 2023 although Mr. Reinharz may draw upon previously accrued salary. "Growing RAD from an idea to three operating subsidiaries under AITX has been the role of a lifetime," said Reinharz. "This Employment Agreement illustrates not only my commitment to AITX in the capacity of a fiduciary responsibility to the corporation and its stockholders, but also incentive and bonus compensation that will reward me for achieving results that benefit us all," Reinharz concluded. It was announced March 2, 2021 that Reinharz had been appointed CEO at AITX, while continuing his role as President of AITX's three subsidiaries where he oversees the development, sales and marketing, and strategic vision for each subsidiary. Reinharz has more than 20 years of experience in various facets of the high-tech industry - as the founder of security integration firm Security Zone, Inc., and a strategic leader at various global enterprises, one of which ended in a eight-figure sale to Securitas. Reinharz has extensive knowledge of a diverse portfolio of technologies, developing practical, effective solutions for end-user customers. Reinharz leverages his extensive knowledge and interest in robotics and artificial intelligence to design and develop robotic solutions that increase business efficiency and deliver cost savings to users. Reinharz is a native of Toronto, Ontario, and attended the University of Western Ontario, where he earned dual Bachelor of Arts degrees. Follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter (News - Alert) @SteveReinharz for AITX updates.



Robotic Assistance Devices (RAD) is a high-tech start-up that delivers robotics and artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex security challenges, and fuel new business ideas at reduced costs. RAD developed its advanced security robot technology from the ground up including circuit board design, and base code development. This allows RAD to have complete control over all of design elements, performance, quality and the user's experience of all security robots whether SCOT, ROSA, Wally, Wally HSO, AVA, or ROAMEO. Read about how RAD is reinventing the security services industry by downloading the Autonomous Remote Services Industry Manifesto. CAUTIONARY DISCLOSURE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements" that are based on current expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements, including, but not limited to, the following: the ability of Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (News - Alert) to provide for its obligations, to provide working capital needs from operating revenues, to obtain additional financing needed for any future acquisitions, to meet competitive challenges and technological changes, to meet business and financial goals including projections and forecasts, and other risks. Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement(s) and/or to confirm the statement(s) to actual results or changes in Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions expectations. About Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions (AITX) AITX is an innovator in the delivery of artificial intelligence-based solutions that empower organizations to gain new insight, solve complex challenges and fuel new business ideas. Through its next-generation robotic product offerings, AITX's RAD and RAD-M companies help organizations streamline operations, increase ROI and strengthen business. AITX technology improves the simplicity and economics of patrolling and guard services, and allows experienced personnel to focus on more strategic tasks. Customers augment the capabilities of existing staffs and gain higher levels of situational awareness, all at drastically reduced cost. AITX solutions are well suited for use in multiple industries such as enterprises, government, transportation, critical infrastructure, education and healthcare. To learn more, visit www.aitx.ai and www.roboticassistancedevices.com, or follow Steve Reinharz on Twitter @SteveReinharz. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005366/en/

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(The Center Square)  A provision in the recently passed $212 billion New York state budget will give thousands of dollars to undocumented immigrants and others excluded from COVID-19 assistance programs. Billed as the Excluded Worker Program, the $2.1 billion measure is seen as an important economic development initiative by some, but others see it as just a wasteful handout.

The program provides assistance for individuals who were residents before March 27, 2020, but did not meet eligibility requirements for unemployment measures in federal stimulus packages to replace a total or partial loss of wages. It also includes a provision for those who lost household income due to the head of household dying or becoming disabled during the pandemic.

Its the first time a state has taken on such an initiative.

We're actually revitalizing several local communities across the state, including in both your and my districts, said state Sen. Jessica Ramos, D-Queens, on the Senate floor, early Wednesday morning in response to a question from state Sen. Phil Boyle, R-Bay Shore. So through this, what we're doing is recognizing the labor of those excluded workers.  They'll have to prove identity. They'll have to prove residency, and they'll have to prove loss of income as well.

Excluded workers can qualify for one of two tiers. Workers who can provide a tax return from a year between 2018 to 2020, show paystubs or other proof of employment can qualify to receive up to $15,600. Thats $300 per week for a year, which advocates say is about a third less than what the average unemployed worker received.

The second tier provides $3,200 to those who cannot prove loss of work but can prove identity and residency.

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Ramos said the money will help undocumented workers pay rent or buy needed staples. Itll also provide them with disposable income that they can spend in their local communities in the state.

Republicans though have criticized the measure. In his response to the budget proposal, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, slammed it as a $2.1 billion giveaway to illegal immigrants.

The initiative comes in the same budget that features higher taxes on millionaires and businesses. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state expects to receive $3.5 billion from the tax hikes in the first year and $4.3 billion in the following year.

Its proof that one-party government has run amok in Albany, Ortt said.

Instead of giving people a reason to remain here in our state, this budget drives evermore families, seniors, and young New Yorkers away, Ortt said. Instead of helping main street businesses recover from the pandemic. This budget increases taxes on our small businesses and makes it even more difficult for them to survive for hardworking law-abiding citizens of New York.
More than half of rural residents in the US have received a Covid-19 vaccine or plan to, but one in five still say they will definitely not get vaccinated, according to an analysis released Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

KFF researchers surveyed 1,001 adults living in rural America and found that 54% said they have received a Covid-19 vaccine or plan to.

One in five rural residents said they definitely won't get vaccinated. About 73% of these respondents lean Republican and 41% identify as White Evangelical Christians.

"There's nothing inherently unique about living in a rural area that makes people balk at getting vaccinated," KFF President and CEO Drew Altman said in a statement. "It's just that rural areas have a larger share of people in the most vaccine-resistant groups: Republicans and White Evangelical Christians."

The report suggests that access to vaccines is not the major problem for rural communities. About 11% of the rural residents surveyed who have yet to receive a vaccine said they have tried to get an appointment, compared to 21% of those in urban areas and 22% in suburban areas. About 68% of rural residents said there are enough vaccine sites in their area, compared to 52% of urban and 55% of suburban residents.

The KFF team did note a gap in access among Black rural residents. Black respondents were less likely than their White or Hispanic counterparts to report adequate supply of vaccine or vaccine sites in their communities.

Alan Morgan, president of the National Rural Health Association (NRHA), told CNN that rural communities can't rely solely on pharmacies -- which aren't always accessible for residents -- for vaccine distribution.

"You've got to have vaccination sites there in those small towns, because there's no way they're going to get people to take a day off work, to get on a commuter bus to drive an hour to a site."

The researchers expressed concern that the large number of rural residents who say they are set on not getting vaccinated could mean that rural communities will lag behind the rest of the population in vaccination coverage.

Morgan said that while the number of rural residents who have already been vaccinated is cause for hope, he is also concerned.

"I'm concerned, because at the heart of this you've got a population that's most at risk, with the highest chronic health issues, communities that've been slow to adopt public health measures and at the finish line, we have a vaccine hesitancy concern," he said. "There's a lot of headwinds here."

Addressing vaccine hesitancy

While the KFF researchers say there was no message that was effective across the board at swaying those who say they will definitely not get vaccinated, those who plan to "wait and see" whether they want to get the shot appear to be more open to messaging and education.

About 64% said that hearing the vaccines are 100% effective at preventing hospitalization and death would make them more likely to get vaccinated. Over half said that hearing that scientists have been working on this vaccine technology for 20 years would make them more likely to get vaccinated.

Morgan said their members have observed that "wait and see" group come around in real-time.

"I just keep hearing the same thing," he said. "Once people in the community get it, they see that there's no adverse reactions, then they join."

NRHA is surveying its own members to get a sense of vaccine uptake among rural health care workers -- a group Morgan views as being critical to addressing vaccine hesitancy in these communities.

"Let's be honest, if your own doctor or nurse doesn't want to take the vaccine, there's no national campaign that's going to overcome that," he said. "It takes local leadership."
 Flash

Thirteen containers of semi-finished LED televisions produced by Admiral Overseas Corporation's factory in Xiamen, Fujian Province, got trapped in the logjam of the Suez Canal in late March.





The televisions were scheduled to arrive in Istanbul by mid-April but the blockage made their arrival date uncertain. Even though the canal was cleared on March 29, it was estimated it would take about two weeks for the traffic to go back to normal. On April 6, traffic slowed down again as an oil tanker faced engine trouble.





"We had no idea how long the goods would be delayed and we are planning to ship our subsequent goods, around 200 containers, by rail transport or via sea routes around the Cape of Good Hope," Wang Weidi, logistics manager of the factory, told China Central Television.





The fragility of the sea-based shipping in this case made many traders reconsider the transport methods they will use in future. "As the cost of airfreight is too high, freight trains are the optimal choice for traders between Asia and Europe, with shorter shipping times and acceptable pricing," Yu Feng, an import and export agent from Zhejiang Province, told Beijing Review. "For a long time, the Suez Canal has dominated the sea trade route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Now, about 20 percent of my clients have said they would like to switch to freight trains in the future."





A 10-year move





Many other traders took action earlier as the pandemic last year impeded sea and air transport, causing unprecedented delays and higher costs. These emergencies demonstrate the advantages of China-Europe cargo trains in ensuring the stability of supply chains.





"By switching to the freight train service, we saved about 50 days of transport time and avoided potential breakdowns of the supply chain," said Zhuang Changbo, Director of logistics at Chinese automaker Changan Ford. "With the China-Europe freight train service, we no longer worry about any disruption of maritime traffic."





A salesperson surnamed Feng from a gym equipment company in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, said that the skyrocketing price of sea transport and unpredictable shipping times led her to switch to rail transport.





It has been 10 years since the first China-Europe freight train left Chongqing Municipality in March 2011. Zhang Xin, who has been working at the Tuanjiecun Railway Station in Chongqing, gave the departure signal of the first Yuxinou (Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe) freight train on March 19, 2011.





Located in southwest China, Chongqing is over 2,000 km from both the closest sea port and land border port. Key to Chongqing's plan to transform itself into the trade hub of southwest China was exploring new methods for the transportation of goods. Transport could neither go by sea, because of time, nor by air because of the cost. The government of Chongqing settled on a plan to build a rail route to Europe via Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China's northwest and neighboring Kazakhstan.





Those working on the launch of the rail transport network encountered many challenges. Smooth operation requires the trains to endure low temperatures of the countries they pass through, and the sharp fluctuations in temperature along the route present challenges for the goods themselves. The inspections undertaken by each country the trains pass through, including Kazakhstan, Russia and Germany, also impacted the efficiency of the trains.





Throughout 2011, only 17 freight trains departed from Chongqing. "At that time, we set the future goal of having one train depart each day, and back then we thought that goal was too ambitious," Zhang said.





Things sped up as China announced the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. The surging trade volume between China and countries involved boosted the development of the trains. A growing number of cities in China joined the freight rail network and by November 2020, the network had linked over 60 cities in China with 92 cities across 21 European countries.





When the world was in the claws of the pandemic in 2020, the trains played a role in transporting pandemic prevention and control supplies between China and Europe. Figures from the National Development and Reform Commission show that in 2020, the freight railway delivered 7.6 tons of pandemic prevention supplies to European countries. When the schedule was very tight, medical supplies including face masks were given priority, making it a reliable transportation channel during the pandemic.





In 2020, the trains conducted 12,400 trips between China and Europe, up 50 percent from 2019 and equivalent to sevenfold that of 2016. A manager from computer manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer Inc. told Xinhua News Agency that in 2020, the company shipped 1,000 containers of goods using China-Europe freight trains, doubling the volume of 2019.





"We received a sharp increase of orders in 2020, with more people working and learning online at home," the manager said. "The delay in sea and air shipping put us at a high risk of default. Finally, it was the China-Europe freight train that helped to relieve the pressure."





The busy lines





The China-Europe railway lines became busier this year. In the first two months of 2021, over 2,000 freight train services ran from China to Europe, twice the number of last year. "Now there are over 10 trains departing and arriving at the Tuanjiecun Station in Chongqing," Zhang said. "This is a scene we could hardly imagine 10 years ago." No accident or unexpected delay has been reported in the 10 years of operation.





Qi Dan, General Manager of Yuxinou Logistics, based in Chongqing, said the number of inquiries on rail shipping services to the company has almost doubled since late March. YQNLink, a Shanghai-based global intelligent logistics platform, revealed that the demand in Shanghai is even greater, with daily inquiries almost tripling since the Suez Canal first became blocked.





Wang Jun, Director General of the Department of Port Control at the General Administration of Customs of China, revealed that the time it takes for trains to pass through customs at land ports in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been cut from 3.5 hours to half an hour. A new paperless system has also been put in place to further improve the efficiency of the China-Europe freight train service.





"In terms of the volume they can carry, freight trains are dwarfed by cargo ships," said Zhao Juan, a research fellow with China Railway Economic and Planning Research Institute. A large cargo ship can carry about 20,000 standard containers. It would take 50 trips for a cargo train to transport that volume of goods.





"But for those in value-added businesses like electronic devices and pandemic prevention items, it is a viable option," Zhao said.
A federal grand jury in San Antonio has indicted a Mexican businessman, his wife and two others in a scheme to defraud business investors out of $1 million in franchising deals, U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff said Tuesday.

San Antonio residents Juan Enrique Kramer, 45, his wife, Adriana Pastor, 46, and two associates  Noel Olguin, 41, of Victoria and Karina Hernandez, 41, of Mexico, are accused of bilking Mexican investors to contribute money toward a chain of Mexican restaurants called Las Quesadillas.

The indictment alleges that from December 2015 to January 2019, the defendants conspired to promote the restaurants throughout Texas.

Olguin and Hernandez marketed the operation to potential buyers and were paid between $20,000 and $25,000 for each contract they secured, the indictment alleges.

Kramer and Pastor charged buyers a set fee ranging from $105,000 to $250,000, and promised to perform all tasks necessary for establishing a fully functional restaurant, the indictment said. That included finding and renting a suitable location, obtaining all permits, assistance in obtaining visas for buyers, completing construction, training employees, and handling all legal fees and incorporation issues.

Instead, the defendants used the funds for personal gain or to provide partial payments to previous customers demanded their money back, prosecutors allege. Besides offering partial refunds, Kramer would also offer stakes in other businesses as an alternative to repayment, the indictment said.

If buyers refused, the indictment alleges that Kramer and Pastor would threaten to sue them for breach of contract. In a news release, prosecutors said the defendants scammed at least eight victims, for a total of $1 million.

Jay Hulings, a lawyer for Kramer and Pastor, declined comment. An attorney for Olguin could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Hernandezs lawyer, Mike McCrum, said his client intends to plead not guilty at her arraignment next week.

She trusted (Kramer and Pastor) too, and feels betrayed, McCrum said.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The Terre Haute Fire Department has a new leader. Mayor Duke Bennett announced Bill Berry will serve as the new fire chief during a press conference Tuesday.

Chief Berry started with the department in 1993. He has experience as an emergency medical technician and paramedic. He has served as emergency medical services operations chief and hazmat chief.

"I'm honored, Berry said after the announcement, I mean, there's no doubt I'm honored to lead the best fire department in the state. We've got some fantastic men and women on this fire department and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Berry is a United States Army veteran, an Indiana State University graduate and graduate of Terre Haute North High School.

He replaces Jeff Fisher who retired as chief Monday. The men have worked together for many years.

Berry said, "We'll always be friends. I've learned a lot from him as fire chief. I want to continue his legacy and just expand on that."

Mayor Bennett and Chief Berry thanked former Chief Fisher for his years of service during their remarks.
Based on a recent study, human activity has resulted in a global plastic cycle, which is similar to natural cycles like the carbon cycle, in which plastic moves through the atmosphere, seas, and soil. According to one physicist, the result is the planet's "plastification."

Plastic Waste

According to the report, plastic waste is one of the most critical environmental problems of the twenty-first century. It suggests that the billions of tons of plastic dumped in the oceans and on land and broken down into small fragments are being hurled back into the air by road traffic and winds passing overseas and farmland.

Exposure to Microplastics

People are now breathing, drinking, and eating microplastics, and other evidence indicates that pollution levels will begin to increase exponentially. "This raises concerns about the effect of accumulated plastics in the environment on human health," the scientists said. Inhalation of particles can irritate lung tissue and cause severe illnesses."

"What we see right now is the accumulation of mismanaged plastics just going up," said Prof Natalie Mahowald of Cornell University in the United States, who was part of the study team. Some predict a tenfold rise [over the next ten years].

"However, if we treat our plastics properly before they collect in the ocean and swirl about everywhere, we might be able to fix this before it becomes a major issue."

She believes that removing ocean plastic will help minimize the amount of plastic that ends up in the atmosphere and that more biodegradable plastics could be part of the solution.

The study, which was presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at airborne microplastics, which have received much less attention than plastic found in oceans and waterways.

Related Article: Seafood's Secret Ingredient: Microplastic



Experimental Process

The team had more than 300 airborne microplastics samples from 11 sites across the western United States, making it the finest dataset available worldwide. These served as the foundation for the first research of its kind, which used atmospheric modeling to quantify various contributions.

The scientists discovered that almost none of the floating microplastics originated from plastic being dumped in cities and towns, but rather from road traffic and winds whipping up plastic fragments already in the atmosphere around oceans and agriculture.

"Obviously, we figured urban centers would be a much safer source, but that didn't work out," Mahowald said. "With this collection of results, resuspension [of microplastics] makes the most sense."

Findings

They discovered that highways were the most critical influence in the western United States, accounting for around 85% of the microplastics in the air. They are likely to contain tire and brake pad debris from cars, as well as ground-down litter plastics. The seas are estimated to cause 10% of airborne plastics in the western United States, and soils accounted for 5%.

Although roads are likely to be the primary driver of airborne plastics in Europe, South America, and Australia, plastic particles blown up from fields could be a far bigger force in Africa and Asia, according to the researchers' global modeling work.

According to the research, smaller microplastics will last in the atmosphere for a week, long enough to be blown around continents. It also revealed that plastic waste would enter Antarctica.

The scientists admitted that the estimates were subject to considerable uncertainty due to a lack of observations in parts of the planet. Their research reveals a scarcity of evidence on plastics in the atmosphere above the oceans. They said that research into the causes and effects of microplastics in the environment should be prioritized.

"Everything humans have been doing for decades now is what I call a 'plastification' of the landscape and oceans," said Prof Andreas Stohl of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, who was not part of the study team.

"The analysis supports the global-scale existence of microplastic transport in the atmosphere and does a decent job of outlining highly important and worrying possibilities, but more measurement evidence is required to get a clearer understanding of the sources," according to the researchers.

Worrying Truth

"People should be worried about airborne microplastics," Stohl said. For one, they will inhale it, which will almost certainly have health consequences. Second, since the environment is an excellent dealer. It transports plastic particles to places we don't want them, including farm areas, national parks, lakes, the Arctic, and even Antarctica. We would eventually have incredibly high concentrations of plastics all over the place."

From the summit of Mount Everest to the deepest seas, microplastic waste has been discovered. Scientists characterized the discovery of tiny plastic particles in human placentas in December as "a matter of great concern."

Also Read: Chemical Recycling Technology: Can This Eliminate the Single-Use Plastic Problem?

For more environmental news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
ST represents an engineering group devoted to projects that can have applications in a number of domains, from the aerospace and marine industries, to defense and public security, digital technologies and, not least, environmental engineering solutions. The company's roots can be traced back decades ago, to 1967.The company was set up in response to the demand to support Singapores national defense. It started out by producing M16 rifle ammunition, building and repairing vessels, providing electric and electronic services for their Armed Forces, and building missile gun boats. ST also earned the rights to take over and manage aerospace services. Furthermore, it succeeded in launching what is to this day considered to be one of the worlds lightest and lowest recoil light machine guns, the Ultimax 100.Since its inception, the company had an upward trajectory, building a reputation for itself in regard to both the military and commercial areas of its business. In 1997, all these branches of manufacturing prowess merged into a single entity named ST Engineering, forming a $2 billion listed entity at that time.One of the products currently in its portfolio is the Bronco. We're talking about a menacing-looking machine, designed to be an amphibious all-terrain armored vehicle. It comes with serious off-road capabilities, being able to feel at ease during the most adverse conditions, while conquering the most demanding trails.Being in service for almost 20 years now, it can be customized to fit any needs, from being the ultimate assault machine equipped with the latest firepower available, to a carrier king supporting a payload of 13,227 pounds (6 metric tons). It can also be a heavy patrol vehicle due to its and V-shaped hull and the armored protection.This role is currently being demonstrated by the British Warthog. This one, a customized version of the Bronco for the British Army, was deployed in Afganistan and encountered more than 30 IED attacks in the four years it had been in royal service there, all with absolutely no fatalities.Also, the British Warthog variant, the one that is currently operating in a war zone, has recently reached an important milestone: more than 300,000 miles on the clock in the most demanding conditions.Although tipping the scale at over 16 tons, the Bronco is quite an agile vehicle, being able to sustain a 65 kph (40 mph) steady pace while traversing swamps, desert, snow or even rivers and water bodies. It can survive a wide range of weather conditions or environmental temperature, its makers guaranteeing optimal operation between -45C and 49C.The new variant of the Bronco All Terrain Tracked Carrier is a modernized vehicle, gaining amenities such as a digital vehicle architecture, and new redesigned interiors with ergonomics being the top priority. Customization is key when it comes to the Bronco and ST Engineering has a wide range of packages, suited to the most specific needs of the Bronco operators.The Bronco established itself as one of the most versatile and capable vehicles on the market, which can successfully carry out a wide range of tasks even when faced with adverse settings. It is a machine with modular design, can be deployed by air, land or sea, as it is compatible with most military transport aircrafts or containers. Most recently , we learned it will even be converted into the Army's new Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicle.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:47:42|Editor: huaxia

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BEIRUT, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Caretaker Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe on Tuesday handed an official request to Syria for negotiations on maritime borders demarcation between the two countries.

The memorandum, which was handed to Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali, confirmed Lebanon's position on the demarcation of its territorial waters and called on the Syrian authorities to negotiate demarcation on the basis of brotherly ties and the international maritime laws, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Following his meeting with Wehbe, Ali promised to convey "the desire of the leadership of Lebanon to negotiate all common issues between the two countries including the demarcation of maritime borders."

"Syria always welcomes any coordination between the two countries," he said.

Wehbe's meeting with the Syrian ambassador came after the Syrian government signed last month with a Russian company a contract for oil exploration in a 2,250-square-km zone off the Syrian coast.

Around 33 percent or 750 square km of this zone is claimed by Lebanon as part of its exclusive economic zone. Enditem
Bond traders searching for a chink in the armour of central banks are starting to look to Australia, where a likely showdown over yield-curve control is set to test the power of policy makers to contain the next wave of reflation bets.

The global trading day for bonds begins in earnest in Sydney each morning, giving developments in Australias $US600 billion ($787 billion) sovereign debt market an outsized impact on sentiment. It was the scene of a dramatic flash crash last year when the yield program was announced, illustrating the potential for turmoil.

Philip Lowe has indicated that the RBA expected to maintain highly supportive monetary conditions until at least 2024, even though the number of Australians with a job has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

While the Reserve Bank of Australia has largely tamed markets since then, as the economys recovery strengthens, wagers against the RBAs ability to keep yields lower look poised to rise.

If inflation expectations do start to un-anchor, then I think the RBA will be one of the first central banks to be tested by bond traders, said Shaun Roache, an economist at S&P Global Ratings in Singapore. The RBA is a canary in the coalmine for central banks as it is ahead in its labour market recovery.
HOUSTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Level Urgent Care, LLC launches an innovative new podcast channel, "Health Xplained," to facilitate access to emerging health trends and medical information.

The weekly podcasts spotlight healthcare professionals and subject-matter experts in a variety of areas to inform patients and healthcare partners alike on topics of the day, including how vaccinations work, antibiotic resistance, African Americans in medicine, emergency preparedness, and more.

Next Level Urgent Care, LLC

According to Next Level Urgent Care founder and CEO Juliet Breeze, MD, the podcast channel features the organization's associate medical directors and provider leads in an educational interview format.

"We are excited to add our Health Xplained podcast channel as an additional resource to patients and providers," said Breeze.

"It not only gives our health providers and partners an opportunity to elaborate on topics of particular interest to them and within our communities but also provides patients with insight into complex topics presented in a comfortable-yet-concise conversation," she added.

The Health Xplained podcast producer and host Alexis Smith engages health professionals each week on a wide range of health-related topics. The podcast channel is currently available through the Next Level Urgent Care social media platforms and newsletter publications, with subscription options through Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music.

According to Smith, the new health podcast channel underscores the organization's commitment to comprehensive, transparent healthcare that meets the needs of the communities it serves while improving accessibility to timely, educational healthcare information available to the broader population.

The most recent Health Xplained podcasts include Communication Amongst Patients and Providers, COVID-19 Vaccine Update, and Why Wear Masks? Upcoming podcasts will focus on pediatric fever, pregnancy during the pandemic, and what's new on the healthcare horizon.

Next Level Urgent Care is part of a comprehensive network of physicians, professional healthcare providers and community partnerships, through which they are able to provide cohesive healthcare services for all ages and stages of life. Every clinic provides onsite X-ray, as well as a broad range of urgent and primary care services, seven days a week until 9 p.m.

Contact Next Level Urgent Care for more information on services and programs, or call 281.783.8162.

About Next Level Urgent Care

The largest and fastest-growing woman-owned Urgent Care organization in Houston, Next Level Urgent Care, LLC and its family of urgent care and onsite employee health and wellness clinics throughout the Greater Houston area are the vision of Juliet Breeze, MD, a primary care physician and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in healthcare. One of the few physician-owned urgent care organizations in Houston, Next Level Urgent Care represents a new type of urgent care organization.

Media Contact

Cheryl Bertrand

Director of Business Development & Marketing

Office: 281.201.0657 x 108

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SOURCE Next Level Urgent Care, LLC
The rare combination of conditions that has caused federal authorities to halt use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine includes a type of stroke that occurs when a clot blocks a vein that drains blood from the brain, and can affect people of all ages who are otherwise healthy.

The cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, which can be fatal, combined with a low platelet condition that can cause excessive bleeding, have not been directly linked to the vaccine. Six cases have been reported in the United States out of roughly 7 million doses of Johnson & Johnson administered so far.

But the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention early Tuesday urged all providers to temporarily stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution. The cases were all in women under age 50 who had recently received the vaccine. One of the women died.

Its an exceedingly rare side effect. But a very concerning one, said Dr. Warner Greene, a senior investigator with the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. The CDC and FDA pausing use of Johnson & Johnson to look at it, thats reasonable. This is a potentially lethal condition.

Greene and other vaccine experts added that the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson shot almost certainly still outweigh the rare risk of a blood clot or stroke. Indeed, the disease COVID-19 itself is much more likely to cause clotting and life-threatening strokes than vaccination, even in fairly young adults. The risk-benefit is on the side of giving the vaccine, Greene said.

The cases among people given the Johnson & Johnson shots are similar to those associated with the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, which has not been authorized for use in the United States. Distribution of that vaccine in other countries has been hobbled by concerns over blood clots, especially in young people with no underlying health conditions that would put them at risk.

Several countries in Europe have stopped giving AstraZeneca shots to younger adults for that reason, and Bay Area scientists said Tuesday that U.S. authorities may come up with a similar plan for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The CDCs advisory committee on immunizations is scheduled to review the six cases on Wednesday and assess how the vaccine should be used going forward.

The FDA and the CDC are taking the appropriate precaution to make sure that the vaccine is fully evaluated, said Dr. Stephen Parodi, associate executive director of the Permanente Medical Group with Kaiser Permanente. The events are rare. But they are seeing a pattern. So theyre making an appropriate pause, to make sure if there is something that needs to be done differently, that we can take the appropriate medical actions.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is a rare form of stroke that affects about 5 in 1 million people each year. The six new cases in the U.S. were in women ages 18 to 48. Symptoms occurred six to 13 days after they got the Johnson & Johnson shot.

People vaccinated with Johnson & Johnsons shot more than three weeks ago should not worry about a bad outcome, federal officials said Tuesday. However, anyone who received the shot within the past three weeks and experiences symptoms of a clot or stroke should seek immediate care. Symptoms include severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath.

Typically, blood clots are treated with an anticoagulant drug called heparin, but that could be fatal for this specific condition, federal authorities warned. They advised doctors to consider alternative treatments for patients who develop symptoms after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The connection between vaccination and the clotting condition isnt yet clear, assuming there is a connection at all, vaccine experts said. With the AstraZeneca vaccine, early studies in Europe suggest that an immune reaction can produce antibodies that activate platelets and cause clots.

Both the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines use a similar mechanism  specifically, a modified adenovirus, which is a common cause of cold symptoms  to deliver viral DNA into human cells and trigger an immune response. Its not yet known if the mechanism itself plays a role in the clotting, or if some other aspect of the vaccine is involved.

Its possible there might be people with clotting disorders in this group; we just dont know, said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an infectious disease and vaccine expert with Stanford.

She and several peers said they were concerned that the sudden halt of the vaccine would shake peoples confidence not only with the Johnson & Johnson shot but other coronavirus vaccines. Similar issues have not been reported with either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, the most widely used shots in the United States.

The discovery of six cases after Johnson & Johnson vaccination should reassure people that the federal systems in place to quickly identify serious side effects and protect vaccine recipients are working, Maldonado said.

Ideally the risk of any side effects of a vaccine would be zero, but we know thats not true. So if you can limit the risk to a really, really low number, like less than 1 in a million, thats great, Maldonado said. But you wont even find those people until you vaccinate millions and millions. This is the system that we have constructed over the decades, and it really does work well.

Dr. Tiffany Lucas, a hematologist at UCSF, said she remains far more concerned about patients with COVID-19 developing blood clots than the very rare chance of someone having a stroke after being vaccinated. Its critical, she said, that as many people as possible get vaccinated, as soon as possible.

There is a very high rate of blood clots with people who have COVID and are hospitalized. If we can prevent COVID and hospitalizations, then we will have a much lower number of blood clots across the board, Lucas said.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
My name is Jose Remigio Leonarte Maradiegue. I am 74-years old. People call me "Pepe."

This is my University of Dayton VLCFF online story.

I was born and raised in a humble, lower middle class neighborhood of Lima, Peru. I completed my elementary and high school at the Catholic School, Our Lady of Mercy. (Nuestra Senora de la Merced ) It was the desire of my parents for me to study at a Catholic School despite it being very expensive as it is today.

In 1996 I made my first trip to Boston in order to explore my emigration to the United States, preferably Boston, because of family who lived there.

I became an American citizen by naturalization in 2004.

Today, I live with my wife Irene in Malden, Massachusetts. We have two children, Miguel and Lucila, and two grandchildren. My favorite anecdote is when I attended Mass with my grandchildren who were very young, we prayed the Lord's Prayer aloud together, my grandchildren in English and I in Spanish. This meant a lot to me.

I found out about the online courses at the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation by accident while searching the internet. I completed my first course with Dayton when I was 68 years old, and did so while still working at the New England coffee company.

It was a five week course! From my perspective, motivation and self-discipline are keys to the online learning success at VLCFF.

I confess, I enjoyed the experience and would recommend many courses. For those who have ministerial roles, I suggest taking Our Hearts were Burning.

I like to express, there is a notable difference between virtual and face-to-face. Despite my old school academic training, thanks to God, my adaptability was strong. Together with my values and modestly connected ideas, I did not miss this opportunity to complete virtual courses with Dayton.

The experience has been remarkable and enriching.

En paz (in peace)

Pepe

VLCFF Online offers year-round classes with start dates: May 16, July 4, August 22, and Oct. 10 in 2021.

UD alumni pay the reduced fee of $40 for a 3-week e-seminar and $50 for a 5-week e-course. UD Human Resources covers the cost for faculty & staff. You can learn more about VLCFF online classes at VLCFF.UDayton.edu
Scores of abandoned British Gas customers say they have paid the price of blind loyalty to costly boiler cover plans.

Money Mail has now received around 100 letters and emails from fed-up policyholders who are spending hundreds of pounds a year on boiler and heating insurance but still can't get an appointment for repairs in good time.

We have compiled a dossier of your letters and today sent them to British Gas boss Chris O'Shea, asking that he investigates and pays refunds where necessary.

The stories include that of a 97-year-old woman who was told to wait three weeks for her boiler to be fixed; and a pensioner who was left without heating in winter.

Fuming: We have now received around 100 letters and emails from fed-up policyholders who are paying for boiler and heating insurance but still can't get an appointment for repairs

Last week, we told how 170,000 HomeCare customers were facing long delays for routine services and repairs. Today we reveal that:

British Gas's services arm  which includes HomeCare  made a 256million profit last year.

The bumper profit came despite this section of the business losing 122,000 customers in the same year.

Loyal customers are also being hit with spiralling premiums, with new policyholders paying as little as a quarter of the amount paid by those who have been with British Gas for more than a decade.

Boiler cover might not be worth the money for nine in ten households.

HomeCare customers who can only afford to pay monthly are charged more than those who pay for a year upfront.

Complaints about British Gas services soared by 64 per cent in 12 months.

British Gas has more than 3.5million HomeCare customers, who pay for insurance to cover the cost of boiler repairs and annual services.

They can also choose to spend more to cover extras such as home electrics, drains and plumbing.

Yet lockdown restrictions and recent strike action by engineers have meant many customers are being told they must wait weeks for an appointment, leaving some elderly and vulnerable people without hot water or heating for days.

Money Mail has heard from scores of fed-up customers who cannot get through to the utility giant on the phone, or who have been let down by engineers failing to show up. Some have even had to wait two years for their annual boiler service.

British Gas, which disputes union GMB's claim that more than 170,000 homes are waiting for repairs, says it hopes to clear its backlog of service delays shortly, now that it has resumed non-essential jobs.

Trust: British Gas has more than 3.5million HomeCare customers, who pay for insurance to cover the cost of boiler repairs and annual services

I was left talking to a robot Elizabeth Douton with husband Carlos Elizabeth Douton, 79, says it is almost impossible to speak to a fellow human being when she telephones British Gas. The retired receptionist and her husband, Carlos, 82, recently spent two months trying to have their faulty boiler repaired. They have been HomeCare customers for more than three decades and paid 273 when they renewed for this year's cover. But it took three visits by engineers to fix the problem  and each time, Elizabeth had to do battle with British Gas's dreaded automated phone system. Elizabeth, who lives in Birmingham, submitted a formal complaint to British Gas but was told that it would take eight weeks before she would receive a reply. 'I have had to ring up HomeCare on multiple occasions but most of the time it is impossible to speak to someone,' says Elizabeth, a great-grandmother of seven. 'You just don't feel you are getting the service you deserve.'

Cost does not always add up

Recent research from consumer group Which? found that nine out of ten households would be better off if they ditched boiler cover and instead paid for repairs and services as and when they needed them.

Half of the customers surveyed said they had needed their boiler fixed at some point in the past five years, paying an average of 107.

But with a typical annual service costing about 80, the combined cost was still 101 cheaper than the average boiler cover premium of 288.

More than a third said their boiler hadn't broken down at all in the past five years  meaning they could save a total of 3,000 if it survived for a further five.

The basic HomeCare One package, which includes an annual boiler service and repairs, now costs a new customer 14 a month if they are willing to pay a 60 excess on claims.

The full HomeCare Four deal, which includes cover for drains, heating and plumbing, costs 23 a month  or 38 if you want to avoid excess charges. But if you can afford to pay for the whole year upfront, the overall cost is cheaper by 12.

Some HomeCare customers have also told Money Mail that delays and problems in booking an appointment mean they cannot get an annual service every year.

Told to wait in the cold at 97 Three week wait: Beryl Farnsworth with her son Graham and family Beryl Farnsworth, 97, lives on her own and has a heart condition. When her boiler broke down, British Gas said she would have to wait three weeks for an engineer. Beryl's son, Graham, had signed the widow up to HomeCare 15 years ago and she pays 360 a year for cover. However, when Graham, 75, called the British Gas helpline, an automated message could only offer an appointment for April 22. He waited for 15 minutes to speak to an adviser, who at first said the visit could not be pushed forward. But eventually the employee spoke to his manager, and an appointment was arranged for the next day. Graham, who lives near Beryl in Lincoln, believes his vulnerable mother would not have been able to argue her own case without his help. Last week, British Gas informed the great-great-grandmother that it would be hiking her fees by 20  but she will not be renewing her cover. 'I just couldn't believe that they thought it was acceptable to leave a 97-year-old for three weeks in a cold home,' says Graham.

The 'loyalty penalty' trap

And while new customers can pay as little as 264 for the HomeCare Four package, Money Mail has spoken to some households now paying more than 1,100.

New customers are also currently being offered gift cards worth up to 75 if they sign up before May 10.

City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority wants to put a stop to the so-called 'loyalty penalty' that means long-term customers pay far more than new ones.

Under the regulator's proposals, firms will be free to set prices for new customers but banned from raising fees over time  other than in line with changes to a customer's risk.

However, these changes are largely aimed at the car and home insurance markets, and it is understood that boiler cover policies will not be affected.

It took 15 months to fix radiators Abandoned: Jill Attfield has been a Homecare customer for 20 years When faulty radiators left the first floor of her guesthouse without heating in January last year, Jill Attfield called British Gas. The widow, 74, from Dorking, pays the firm 1,111 a year for its most expensive HomeCare plan. But it would be 15 months before British Gas resolved the radiator blockage. In that time, four appointments were cancelled and rescheduled, while on other occasions engineers would arrive with the wrong equipment. Her floorboards have been pulled up seven times and she has spent 1,000 on fan heaters for her guests. Jill, who has had HomeCare for 20 years, says: 'I feel totally let down. 'I just couldn't believe it when I saw the HomeCare adverts on television. Why are they trying to get more customers when they can't look after the ones they already have?'

But firms enjoy bumper profits

Accounts for Centrica, which owns British Gas, show that services such as HomeCare made the company a 256million profit last year  up 4million on 2019.

The report reveals that British Gas lost 122,000 services customers in 2020  3 per cent of its total. In the past decade, the firm has lost a million customers.

Mr O'Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, earned 659,000 last year, up from 620,000.

Company accounts say his salary is 250,000 less than his predecessor's, though  and Mr O'Shea also waived 100,000 of his annual salary in 2020 'in the context of the difficult choices he made to safeguard the business and colleagues'.

The report also claimed the company managed to fulfil more than 97 per cent of essential breakdown appointments, 'despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic'.

The energy giant said it had to cancel all but essential jobs in the third national lockdown, including most boiler services.

A message on the HomeCare website now reads: 'As restrictions start to ease, we're able to help customers with non-essential jobs again.

'However, please bear with us whilst we get back to normal - we're also working really hard to catch up on appointments we had to cancel over the winter due to the pandemic.'

But homeowners turning their backs on British Gas have told Money Mail they are tired of the pandemic being used as an excuse for delays.

Ongoing strike action from engineers over pay and conditions is also understood to have played a part in the chaos.

You have YOUR say We have had a HomeCare plan since 1986 and until two years ago, we were very happy with it. However, our boiler now hasn't been serviced since June 2019. We had an appointment booked for October 2020, but it was cancelled. K. H., by email. Thank you for highlighting the inefficiency of British Gas's HomeCare cover. The energy giant should pay compensation to customers it has been taking money from over the past year. C. N., Radstock, Somerset. I took out HomeCare in 2010 when my husband died. In 11 years, I've only had to call British Gas once - in January this year. I was plunged into such chaos and inefficiency, I wish I hadn't. R.W., by email. My aunt, 99, pays 28 a month for the service, but when her boiler failed on Easter Sunday she was told she'd have to wait until Tuesday for an appointment. Eventually, British Gas said we could book a local engineer and it would pay the bill. P. B., Lincolnshire. We normally have to wait 15 months for our boiler to be serviced through HomeCare. This means that over a four-year period, we lose one service. If this is the case with all customers, it must amount to a large saving for British Gas. M. C., Aylesbury, Bucks. The firm blames Covid-19 for delays. But I have had to fight for an engineer to visit me for several years now. G. B., Romsey, Hants. I pay about 90 a month for HomeCare. My boiler was last serviced in 2019, but when I rang to book an appointment last week, I was told non-essential services were not available. O. F., Newport. My husband and I are pensioners. When we needed an engineer, we were told we would have to wait three weeks for an appointment. P. K., by email. British Gas takes 35 a month from my account, even though it does not provide the promised service. I first contacted the firm in February when a radiator wasn't working. In the end I phoned a local company yesterday, and they came out today. M. D., Solihull.

Complaints are mounting

Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service about British Gas Services Ltd have risen by 64 per cent in a year, from 263 in the 2019/20 financial year to 432 in 2020/21.

One couple took British Gas to the ombudsman last year after the firm took 36 days to fix their fridge and 78 days to repair their dishwasher.

The ombudsman ruled in the customers' favour and ordered the energy firm to pay them 150 in compensation.

British Gas was also ordered to pay 100 compensation to one customer who had no heating or hot water but was told to wait nine days for a repair.

The homeowner, who had been paying 340 a year for HomeCare cover, cancelled his policy and hired a local tradesman - yet British Gas only offered him a 16 refund.

British Gas says it has now carried out appointments for all customers featured in our case studies in the panel to the right.

A spokesman adds: 'We're sorry we've had to rearrange some appointments, such as annual service visits, primarily driven by our response to the Covid-19 lockdown  this is in order to safeguard the health and safety of our staff and customers  but we aim to do these as soon as we can.

'During the lockdown we have focused on emergencies with immediate threat to health, life or safety, including heating breakdowns and uncontrollable water leaks.'

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
Touchstone founders possess in-depth knowledge about startup and investment

Touchstone is founded by Khanh Tran, former founding partner of VinaCapital Ventures  one of Vietnams leading investment management firms  and successful serial entrepreneur Tu Ngo, co-founder and chairwoman of YOLA Education.

Touchstone aims to be a leading early-stage VC investor in Vietnams fast-growing technology ecosystem. With a young population of nearly 98 million and with 75 per cent of people of a working age, Vietnam is uniquely poised to capitalise on a demographic and digital dividend in a post-COVID world.

Touchstone aims to be a leading early-stage VC investor in Vietnams fast-growing technology ecosystem.

The country is teeming with entrepreneurial energy, fuelled by a large base of local technical, engineering, and corporate resources, as well as a healthy surge of returnees after years of education and work abroad, eager to chart their own destinies and build the future of Vietnam.

With more than $2 billion in startup funding in the past five years, Vietnams technology ecosystem is now at an important inflection point, with a large, growing, and internet-savvy middle-income population, a conducive environment for innovation and technology adoption, and stable government policy coming together at the right time.

The first steps of the entrepreneurial journey can often be the hardest and Touchstone is well-positioned to be the local go-to partner for founders in Vietnam.

The fund supports founders through local insights and access, coupled with a global network and reach that resonates with the founders needs and aspirations. Sectors of interest include fintech, real estate, healthcare, edtech, and technology that enhances efficiency in major Vietnamese value chains like manufacturing and agriculture.

Khanh Tran and Tu Ngo, Touchstone founders

Khanh Tran graduated from Nottingham University with a BEng and MSc degree in Electronic Communication and Computer Engineering. He was among the pioneering founders of VinaCapital Ventures and stints at Goldman Sachs and Grab.

Tu Ngo, a Stanford alumna, is a well-respected serial entrepreneur in Vietnam's startup community. Tu founded and built YOLA into a market leader in hybrid online and offline English training in Vietnam.

She also helped found ELSA, an edtech startup building an award-winning AI app that teaches pronunciation. Khanh and Tu met during their MBA programmes at INSEAD where they shared a common vision of leveraging their investment, operations, and founder experiences to back the next generation of founders in Vietnam.

With Touchstone, we want to be a force for positive social development and to set high standards for venture investing in Vietnam, said Khanh Tran, managing partner of Touchstone. We will play a key role in supporting startups, prioritising long-term co-operation, fairness, transparency, and mutual respect. Were grateful to be supported by a group of prestigious institutional investors and financial institutions such as Pavilion Capital and Vulcan Capital who believe in the potential of Vietnam and of Touchstone.

Tu Ngo, general partner, added: Having been a founder for more than 10 years, I understand how hard yet meaningful it is to turn ideas into reality. There are gaps in Vietnam that when addressed, we can help founders to go faster while focusing on the right things. Khanh and I have a bias for product-driven teams and were deeply passionate about supporting our founders to succeed. Touchstone is our way to show the world that scalable innovation and real impact can happen in Vietnam and can be built by our very own.

The Touchstone team is rounded out by several key executives with vast experience in the local and international markets. Nam Le, principal, has previous experience at McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, Galaxy Studio, YOLA and Bobby Liu, director of EIR, was the founder of Hanoi incubator-led co-working space HubIT and Founders Institute Vietnam.

Every member of the Touchstone team not only possesses an in-depth understanding of the Vietnamese market and technology ecosystem but also brings a great amount of empathy and respect for founders and their teams. Touchstone is excited to unleash the next wave of Vietnamese technology startups and to help founders on their journey to build world-class companies that will serve Vietnam and beyond.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Napatech (OSLO: NAPA.OL), the leading provider of programmable Smart Network Interface Cards (SmartNICs), today announced that it has joined the Kinetic Edge Alliance (KEA), the edge computing ecosystem hosted by Vapor IO. Vapor IO's Kinetic Edge platform is the first fully-integrated hardware and software system for edge co-location, exchange and networking services.

Click to Tweet: @Napatech Brings Industry-Leading Compute Density and Workload Acceleration to @KineticEdge_ Alliance: https://tinyurl.com/xeh2jjdp #edgecomputing #SmartNIC @VaporIO

Napatech will work with other members of the KEA ecosystem to define, integrate, validate and promote multi-vendor, end-to-end solutions that result in the delivery of higher-performance edge applications and services, deployed at higher density on small-footprint edge servers while meeting aggressive Quality of Service (QoS) commitments.

Today's service providers are deploying real-time applications and services at the edge of the network to minimize latency, improve security and mitigate backhaul costs. They must also maximize compute density, performance and QoS within edge data centers that have significant space and power constraints.

Napatech's SmartNICs offload compute-intensive networking and security functions from the Central Processing Units (CPUs) in edge servers, enabling those servers to maximize the compute resources available for running applications and services while accelerating the performance of the networking infrastructure.

High-performance network monitoring and analytics, accelerated by the SmartNICs, ensure that QoS objectives are met. Service providers can host more revenue-generating applications and services within the space and power budgets of their edge data centers, while ensuring they meet the service quality levels committed to their customers.

Working with the rest of the KEA, Napatech will help deliver edge computing solutions that better serve data center operators and application software vendors, enabling enterprise and consumer end-users to achieve benefits that include improved return-on-investment, higher throughput and lower latency.

Aaron Hinkle, principal solutions architect, Vapor IO, said "We welcome Napatech to the Kinetic Edge Alliance, our industry initiative to bring together technology leaders delivering the next-generation internet infrastructure required by edge applications and 5G. SmartNIC technology is a key enabler for edge computing, especially where space and power are at a premium, and Napatech is a key provider of SmartNIC capabilities that enables high throughput, low latency workloads at the edge. Napatech expands the technology scope of the KEA ecosystem, and we are glad to support their leadership in edge computing."

Charlie Ashton, senior director of business development, Napatech, said: "As we expand our market strategy, it's important to align ourselves with organizations that understand the value of our unique offerings. The KEA business community is working together to construct the next generation of the internet, and our solutions help accelerate network performance within the KEA ecosystem. We look forward to this opportunity to help members and their customers meet their quality-of-service objectives."

About Napatech

Napatech helps companies to reimagine their business by bringing hyperscale computing benefits to IT organizations of every size. We enhance open and standard virtualized servers to boost innovation and release valuable computing resources that improve services and increase revenue. Our reconfigurable computing platform is based on a broad set of FPGA software for leading IT compute, network and security applications that are supported on a wide array of FPGA hardware designs. Additional information is available at: www.napatech.com

No Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements which are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to, business conditions, trends in the industry and markets, global economic and geopolitical conditions, macro-economic factors, and other risks and uncertainties set forth in Napatech's reports. The matter discussed in this release is based on current expectations and maybe subject to change. Napatech will not necessarily update this information. For details, visit us at www.napatech.com.

Media Investor Relations Shannon Van Every, Nadel Phelan Heine Thorsgaard +1.831.440.2406 +45.2241.8090 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Napatech
U.N. agencies warn northern Mozambique is facing a long-lasting humanitarian and protection crisis as conflict, hunger and disease grip hundreds of thousands of people in the region.



People are still fleeing in droves from the impact of the violence that erupted in northern Mozambiques coastal town of Palma. Many of the thousands of people who have fled to Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado, tell stories of the horrific attacks by Islamist militants, who reportedly killed dozens of people and committed other atrocities.

Speaking on a video link from Pemba, director of emergencies for the U.N. childrens fund Manuel Fontaine says people relate how they have had to flee in the middle of the night. They speak in sorrow of families being separated while running for their lives.

I heard about this young woman who was pregnant and her husband was just killed in front of her. And these are constant stories. Stories of people being kidnapped and stories of gender-based violence, horrific stories of lots of people walking for days and days, kids arriving with their feet swollen and injured and having to be taken care of, he said.

FILE - Families wait outside the port of Pemba for a boat to be evacuated from Palma, April 1, 2021.

UNICEF says malnutrition rates among displaced children in Cabo Delgado are alarmingly high, with at least 33,000 in need of lifesaving specialized nutritional feeding. It says cholera and COVID-19 are of growing concern.

The agency has appealed for $52.8 million for Mozambique this year, $30 million of that amount targeted for Cabo Delgado. It says only 37 percent of the appeal is funded and international support for its humanitarian operation is urgently needed.

In a separate appeal, the World Food Program is seeking $82 million to ramp up food aid in northern Mozambique. WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says in the wake of the heinous attacks in Palma, families and individuals have had to abandon their homes, their belongings and livelihoods to flee for safety.

WFP teams on the ground have spoken to these families that are on the move  their stories illustrate horrific violence and deepening despair As the security situation continues to deteriorate, more than 950,000 people in the north of Mozambique are now facing severe hunger, he said.

Phiri say the WFP plans to assist 750,000 internally displaced people and vulnerable members of the host communities in Cabo Delgado and three other northern provinces. He says WFP is organizing emergency food distribution for families who have fled the violence in Palma.
BRUSSELS  The United States and NATO, anxious about a major Russian troop buildup on Ukraines border, signaled strong support for the Kyiv government on Tuesday.

And in what was considered another message to Moscow, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said on Tuesday that the United States would increase its military presence in Germany by about 500 personnel and that it was scuttling plans introduced under President Donald J. Trump for a large troop reduction in Europe.

The moves come as American and European officials have grown increasingly concerned about Moscows deployment of additional troops near the Ukraine border, more than at any time since Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, in violation of international law. Since then, Russian troops have been engaged in fomenting a separatist movement in eastern Ukraine and consolidating their hold on Crimea.

The message regarding Kyiv was delivered in separate meetings in Brussels with Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Following guidance from the federal government, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday advised providers to pause using the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine.

The move comes after six women developed rare blood clots within two weeks of receiving the single-dose vaccine shot. Federal officials said they recommended pausing use of the vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

In a news release, DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff advised vaccine providers in Ohio to hold off while officials investigate.

Johnson & Johnson developed one of three coronavirus vaccines currently in use in the United States, with the other two coming from Pfizer and Moderna. Both the Pfizer and Moderna require two doses, were developed with different technology and are in wider use in Ohios vaccination program.

But the potential shortage caused by the pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccines could seriously hinder the states vaccination efforts. That vaccine was scheduled to be used in the final weeks of the mass vaccination site at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland as well as for the states program to vaccinate college students.

DeWines news release did not address the Wolstein Center or the plan for colleges. A DeWine spokesman did not respond to a question about any backup plans they had.

Cuyahoga County Board of Health spokesman Kevin Brennan said while CCBH isnt intimately involved with the day-to-day operations at the Wolstein Center, the county has used Johnson & Johnson vaccines, primarily in congregate living settings where it made more sense to go into facilities with a single dose. CCBH vaccination sites have primarily used Pfizer and Moderna, he said.

I dont know that it will really affect us in the short term, Brennan said. Obviously well keep an eye on it, but in the short term were so heavily using Pfizer and Moderna and well keep using those at our mass vaccination clinics.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Department of Public Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As of Monday, more than 4 million people  roughly 35% of the Ohio population  had received at least their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

A statement from White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said pausing the vaccines use will not have a significant impact on federal vaccination plans, and observed that fewer than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date, were from Johnson & Johnson. He said state and federal agencies are working to get anyone scheduled to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine rescheduled for vaccination with shots from Pfizer or Moderna.

Based on actions taken by the President earlier this year, the United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans, Zients statement said. Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines. This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the Presidents goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in officeand continue on to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated.

Acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Bob Fenton said his agency will immediately stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at its pilot community vaccination clinics and mobile vaccine units.

We are working with our state partners to determine the path forward and find alternative vaccine options for these sites, said a statement from Fenton.
The small town of Donna, near the Texas-Mexico border, is receiving media attention in the recent immigration debate because its also where many migrant children and families are being processed. VOAs Elizabeth Lee shows how the attention has affected the towns residents. VOA Khmer's Sisovann Pin narrates the story in Khmer.
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Global Compressor Valves Market was valued US$ XX Bn in 2017 and is expected to reach US$ XX Bn by 2026, at a CAGR of 4.84% during a forecast period.

The Compressor Valve Market report is based on type, compressor valve is expected to hold the largest share of the market thanks to rising economies and continued non-viability of alternative energy sources are expected to drive the demand for power and energy across the globe. These factors are increased usage of compressor valves in various industries.

Investment is rising in oil & gas industry is boosting the market of compressor valves in this industries. The oil and gas segment is expected to hold the largest share of the market during the forecast period. The report covers an in depth applications and drivers for the market based on application segment.

The report study helps to understand the various drivers and restraints impacting Compressor Valve market during the forecast period. Additionally the report covers expected opportunities in Compressor Valve. Major driving factors of the market are the revival of stalled infrastructure projects, the demand for eco-friendly products is increasing, rising investments in R&D, growth of the oil and gas industry, metal and mining industry, and power industry, and technological innovations.

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Major factors driving the growth of the compressor valves market in Asia Pacific are rapid urbanization and increased industrialization. Industries such as oil and gas, power plants, food and beverage, and pharmaceuticals are in the process of expanding and renovating their facilities in this region. Asia Pacific is estimated to hold the largest share of the market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific is witnessing rapid growth in China, India, and Japan. The report covers in detail study of market by region and country.

Key playeras studies, analyzed, profiled and benchmarked in Compressor Valves Market are HOERBIGE, Cook Compression, Burckhardt Compression, CPI, H&S Valve Compressor, Dresser-Rand, CECO, Cozzani, KB Delta, Associated Spring, GoetzeKG, Huantian Industrial, Wenfa, Zhejiang Zheou Pneumatic, and SYM.

The Scope of the Report Compressor Valves Market

Global Compressor Valves Market, by Type

Ring Valves

Plate Valves

Poppet Valves

Channel Valves

High-Speed Valves

Other

Global Compressor Valves Market, by Application

Oil and Gas

Mechanical Field

Ships

Metallurgy

Other

Global Compressor Valves Market, By Geography

North America

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Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

South America

Key Players Global Compressor Valves Market ,

HOERBIGE

Cook Compression

Burckhardt Compression

CPI

H&S Valve Compressor

Dresser-Rand

CECO

Cozzani

KB Delta

Associated Spring

GoetzeKG

Huantian Industrial

Wenfa

Zhejiang Zheou Pneumatic

SYM

Request for Report Discount: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/6145
New Delhi: French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday (April 12) arrived in New Delhi for his official visit, said the Ministry of External Affairs.

The French minister would be in India for a four-day visit during which he would be meeting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and would be expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well.

"During his stay in New Delhi, Mr. Le Drian will hold talks with Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar on April 13, 2021, on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. He will also meet the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar at a panel discussion on Climate Change," according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.

It will be the first high-level physical interaction between India and France since the outbreak of the COVID19 pandemic.

As per ANI reports, Indo-Pacific will be the key focus of discussions between the two ministers and Minister Drian is set to announce France joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans initiative launched by PM Modi.

Sources further said that France will push for the EU Indo-Pacific strategy during the talks. India and France will discuss joint initiatives that have come to fruition including the new trilateral with Australia. The trilateral panel is also part of Raisina dialogue.

The multi-lateral maritime exercise La Perouse involving navies of India, France, Japan and the US ended last week. The bilateral Varuna exercise involving a French aircraft carrier will be held in two weeks.

According to diplomatic sources, another priority during the talks will be leveraging the exceptional bilateral relationship to tackle the main challenges of 2021 like defending multilateralism (with India in UNSC), universal access to vaccines and boosting global action on climate.

Sources said the French Minister will take up the climate issue during his meeting with PM Modi and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar. They said the visiting minister will also be taking forward civilian nuclear cooperation and he is expected to make announcements on new joint endeavours during his visit to the ISRO centre in Bengaluru and also start a dialogue on emerging security challenges in space.

The French Minister and Jaishankar will also discuss the main regional and international issues including Myanmar, Iran and the peace process in Afghanistan.

The visiting leader will also have some segments around youth mobility and cinema cooperation, the main idea being that the two countries should strengthen these human ties against the backdrop of the pandemic that has the opposite effect of creating distances, sources said.

The visit of the French Foreign Minister is taking place at a time when the second wave of COVID-19 is at its peak. The sources said the visit is a reflection of how the leadership of France and India stand together in these difficult times.

Live TV
BURLINGTON, Vt., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced that the company was selected as the number one internet provider by Vermont Business Magazine readers. The recognition is part of the magazine's 2021 Best of Business (BOB) Awards program. Comcast Business was recognized for its innovative service offerings designed to meet the ever-changing needs of today's businesses, backed by local employees who are instrumental in supporting Comcast Business offerings.

The annual Vermont Business Magazine BOB awards celebrate the best Vermont companies across 100 business-to-business categories. The program recognizes the stand-out businesses in Vermont and those that offer the best customer service, are willing to go above and beyond and pay attention to detail. This year, more than 47,000 readers cast their votes for who they trust to provide services across the various categories. The publication unveiled the winners across all categories on Thursday, April 1.

"We are grateful that Vermont Biz and its readers have named Comcast Business Vermont's best internet provider. It is truly an honor for our company to be recognized for its outstanding products and services by other business leaders in our state," said Paul Savas, Vice President of Comcast Business for Comcast's Western New England Region, which includes Vermont. "This recognition wouldn't be possible without the support from our customers who continue to give their vote of confidence in us. While this past year has presented challenging circumstances for businesses of all sizes, we're committed to continuing to help our customers succeed in today's digital world."

Vermont Business Magazine has spent nearly 50 years forging its relationship with Vermont's business community. The BOB Awards provide an opportunity to tell readers and the rest of the state which companies in Vermont have the best products and services for businesses. The magazine also hosts several events throughout the year honoring Vermont businesses and is known for its Vermont Manufacturers and Business Directory, which is published annually. To view a full list of the 2021 winning businesses, visit vermontbiz.com.

For more information on Comcast Business, visit https://business.comcast.com/.

About Comcast Business

Comcast Business offers Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, Voice, TV and Managed Enterprise Solutions to help organizations of all sizes transform their business. Powered by an advanced network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is one of the largest contributors to the growth of Comcast Cable. Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and has emerged as a force in the Enterprise market; recognized over the last two years by leading industry associations as one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.

For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @Comcast Business and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social .

SOURCE Comcast Business

Related Links

http://business.comcast.com


Ukraine has said Russia has 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday the military buildup of the past three weeks was part of readiness drills in response to what he described as threats from NATO. He added the maneuvers in western Russia would last for two more weeks.
Discover the elements that launched the new line of Kenmore vacuums to immediate success. In the webinar, Dan will share his expertise highlighting how putting to use what worked magnificently for a longtime brand winner for a new similar product is a recipe for success.

In the latest in a series of #ThoughtLeaderThursday webinars hosted by integrated Direct Response agency and infomercial production company Script to Screen, its Co-Founder and Executive Creative Director Ken Kerry will join with Dan Bilger, VP Marketing/Product Development, Cleva North America, to highlight how to use a legacy brand, like Kenmore, to launch a new product.

What is the best way to launch a completely new product into a crowded housewares product category? Would it help if you had a venerable and trusted name brand to back up that product up with? That is the question Cleva North America was asking when they were looking to launch the Kenmore line of floorcare products.

In this webinar, to be held on April 22, 2021 at 11:00 AM PT/ 2:00 PM ET, attendees will learn:



How to use a legacy brand to launch a new product

Which DTC current marketing channels and techniques are being used today?

What sales strategies should houseware brands be deploying

To register for this complimentary event: https://www.scripttoscreen.com/kenmore-webinar/

Kerry said: Discover the elements that launched the new line of Kenmore vacuums to immediate success. In the webinar, Dan will share his expertise highlighting how putting to use what worked magnificently for a longtime brand winner for a new similar product is a recipe for success.

Kerry serves as Executive Creative Director and Executive Producer at Script to Screen, and his hands-on involvement ensures the highest production values are combined with solid Direct Response principles. He co-founded Script to Screen in 1986, along with his wife, Barbara, CEO.

With more than 20 years of experience in consumer durable goods marketing and product development, Bilger is an executive with a proven track record of leading well-known brands to category dominance through disruptive product innovation, creative messaging and trendsetting go-to-market strategies. At Cleva, he is responsible for managing their Kenmore portfolio of floorcare products. Last year, Bilger oversaw the launch of the Kenmore Intuition, which has broad distribution across all major retailers, driven by a Direct Response TV and digital campaign to drive awareness of the exciting new technology.

About Script to Screen

Established in 1986, Script to Screen is an industry-leading Integrated Direct Response Agency, delivering a single, end-to-end solution for Direct-to-Consumer sales, lead generation, web traffic and conversions, and retail lift. Specializing in a strategic combination of cost-effective customer acquisition and brand building, Script to Screen has successfully collaborated with entrepreneurs and big brands alike to expand revenue channels and build businesses. Clients such as AAA, Amazon, Bare Escentuals, Beachbody, Blink, Bose, Church & Dwight, Cleva, Comcast, Conair, Ehealthinsurance, Estee Lauder, Generac, Guthy-Renker, Hoover, Keurig, LifeLock, LOreal, Nescafe, Netspend, Nugenix, Nutrisystem, Omaha Steaks, philosophy, SharkNinja, Snow Joe, SoClean, Tria Beauty, Pfizer, and Wahl are among the major companies that have turned to Script to Screen for creative strategy, messaging and production in all channels in both offline and online of their DRTV campaigns.
In this image from video, Barry Brodd, a use of force expert, testifies during the trial of Derek Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 13, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Chauvins Force Against George Floyd Was Not Deadly, Court Hears

An expert testifying in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told the court on Tuesday that Chauvins knee restraint of George Floyd was justified and not deadly.

I felt that Derek Chauvin was justified, was acting with objective reasonableness, following Minneapolis Police Department policy and current standards of law enforcement in his interactions with Mr. Floyd, Barry Brodd, a use-of-force expert brought in by Chauvins lawyer Eric Nelson, said in the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minnesota.

Asked if Chauvins force was deadly, Brodd said it was not.

Ill give you an example that I used to teach my academy classes. So, officers respond to a domestic violence situation, and the suspect is still there, and he fights with the officers and the officers are justified in using a taser to overcome this persons non-compliance. They tase the individual and [the] individual falls to the ground, strikes their head, and dies. So that isnt an incident of deadly force. Thats an incident of an accidental death, Brodd added. In my review, I would look to see whether the suspects resistance to justify the use of the taser was objectively reasonable.

Police officers are allowed to overcome resistance on the part of subjects by resorting to an escalating level of use of force options, the former officer, who is a certified defensive tactics instructor, said.

Once a subject is controlled, officers should reduce their force but need to maintain control.

Brodd also said that possible drug influence has quite a large impact on how officers analyze how much force to use.

In this screengrab from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, speaks as defendant, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, listens, as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over motions in the trial of Chauvin at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn., on April 13, 2021. (Court TV via AP/Pool)

Brodd was one of Nelsons first witnesses as the prosecution rested its case near the beginning of proceedings on Tuesday after questioning over a dozen witnesses.

Chauvin knelt on Floyds back and neck on May 25, 2020, after officers got a 911 call concerning a possible counterfeit bill in Cup Foods in Minneapolis. Floyd had resisted being placed into a patrol car and asked to be placed on the ground.

Prosecutors allege the force utilized by Chauvin and other officers led to Floyds death while the defense maintains the drugs Floyd ingested, as well as his heart conditions, were the reason he died.

Use-of-force experts and officers testifying for the prosecution earlier in the trial have said that Chauvins force was unreasonable and totally unnecessary.

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said last week that Chauvins actions violated the departments policies.

Additionally, Dr. Andrew Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, testified that Floyds death was caused by law enforcement restraint. Baker did say that drugs and the enlarged heart were contributing factors.

Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and third-degree murder. The three other officers involved in Floyds arrest will go on trial for aiding and abetting murder charges later this year.
Occupied Aaiun, Apr 12, 2021 (SPS) The Association for the Control of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment of Western Sahara on Sunday affirmed its determination to continue to expose the criminal acts perpetrated by the regime of Moroccan occupation and its partners involved in the looting of Sahrawi natural resources.

The Association held its second General Assembly on Sunday under the theme "the Saharawi people sovereign over their wealth" in the occupied city of Aaiun, in the presence of members of the association and Saharawi militants.SPS

125/090/TRA
California is expanding COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 16 and older on April 15, and while this next step in the state's vaccine rollout is exciting, it will be hindered by a limited, even shrinking, supply of shots.

With a huge surge in demand for appointments expected later this week, public health officials are advising residents to be patient as there will not be enough vaccine appointments for everyone who is newly eligible.

If you find yourself struggling to be patient as you look for an appointment and don't find one, here's a rundown of the supply-and-demand numbers in California that might help you better understand the situation.

There are about 18.7 million people ages 16 to 49 living in California, according to the state. This marks the largest age group to become eligible for the vaccine, with 6.5 million Californians in the age 65 and over age group and 7.2 million Californians in the age 50 to 64 one.

While some of the people in the newest age group have likely already been vaccinated because they're health care workers or fell into another category that made them eligible earlier in the rollout, there will still be millions and millions of individuals who can get inoculated for the first time beginning Thursday.

This week (April 11) the state expects to receive 15% fewer vaccines from the federal government, and 5% less than that next week (April 18), mainly the result of a manufacturing mishap that ruined 15 million doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine late last month.

Last week, the state received 2.4 million doses from the federal government, and of those, 1.5 million doses were allocated for first shots (Pfizer or Moderna) or the one-dose J&J shot. This week, the projection for the state allocation is 2 million doses, with 1 million of those for first-time vaccine recipients. Next week, the state is expecting to receive 1.9 million doses, and only 956,000 doses will be available for people wanting to get their first shot.

"To put this into perspective, the supply projections for this week and next week are approximately what the state received in the second half of March," Darrel Ng, a spokesperson for the state's COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force, wrote in an email.

It's also important to remember that there are multiple vaccine supply streams coming into the state, Ng said. The numbers above don't include doses the federal government distributes directly to pharmacies and other entities, which account for about 30% of available doses in California.

While the vaccine supply may sound discouraging, and it could take days, weeks or even a month or two for newly eligible residents to get an appointment, it's likely most people will be able to find a time slot to get a shot by the end of May.

President Joe Biden assured the American public in a press briefing last Tuesday that by the end of May, the vast majority of adult Americans will have gotten at least their first shot.

The White House COVID-19 Response Team said Friday both Pfizer and Moderna are on track to meet their commitment of each delivering a total of 200 million doses by the end of May. Officials said Friday Johnson & Johnson promised nearly 100 million vaccine doses by the end of May. It's unknown whether this allocation will be impacted with the new development on Tuesday. The U.S. is recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine "out of an abundance of caution) to investigate reports of rare and potentially dangerous blood clots.

While Ng said he couldn't provide an official projection on the state's total vaccine allocation between now and May 31, he offered some back-of-the-envelope math.



"CA is 12% of the nations population," Ng wrote in an email. "With 200M Pfizer + 200M Moderna +100M J&J doses by the end of May, CA should have enough supply to fully vaccinate 36M people (assuming a proportional allocation). There are 32.6M people 16+ in the state."
Chandigarh, April 13 : Devotees across Punjab and Haryana on Tuesday thronged gurdwaras, including the Harmandir Sahib popularly known as Golden Temple in Amritsar, to mark the festival of Baisakhi.

The festival marks the foundation day of the 'Khalsa Panth' (Sikh order) by the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.

It also marks the start of the harvest season.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh greeted Punjabis across the world on the sacred occasion of the Sajna Divas of the Khalsa Panth and Baisakhi, which symbolises the spirit of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat.

In a message, he reminded the people of the centuries-old rich cultural heritage of Punjab, and exhorted them to uphold those traditions.

He recalled that on this auspicious day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh created the 'Order of Khalsa' at the holy city of Sri Anandpur Sahib by baptising 'Panj Pyaras' (beloved ones) belonging to different castes.

The establishment of the Khalsa Panth marked the creation of an egalitarian society, while preaching the wisdom of compassion for mankind, along with communal harmony, he said.

Amarinder Singh said this festival also marked the onset of the harvest season and the ripening of crops.

The Chief Minister called upon the people to celebrate the historic festival in a spirit of brotherhood but with strict adherence to the Covid-19 safety norms as this is a different Baisakhi.

"Let us pray to Akalpurkh to keep us, and our Punjab, in the Charhdi Kala, to keep us safe and happy always," said the Chief Minister.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Colorado Springs, CO (80903)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 88F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Partly cloudy skies. Low 57F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Europe must end the silence, not leaving Armenia alone against Turkey and Azerbaijan, Francois Xavier Bellamy, a member of the European Parliament, who recently visited Armenia, wrote in his column on Le Figaro.

Due to the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression, Armenia had thousands of victims and people injured in the 2020 war, Francois Xavier Bellamy noted.

He drew attention to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war being held in Azerbaijan, noting that such inhuman blackmail by the Azerbaijani side should not continue for a long time, and Europe must show that it has not completely lost its principles.

Earlier, while being in Armenia, Francois-Xavier Bellamy visited Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan, where most soldiers who died in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh war have been buried.

The MEP took to his Facebook to share photos from there.

"Under each of these thousands of flags is buried a soldier who died last year defending Armenia from the military aggression. Most of them were barely 20 years old. The whole of Europe must open its eyes and finally break the silence," the French politician wrote.
We are thrilled that Harbor East has put their faith in Aeroturn over the years to deliver quality turnstile solutions and will continue to exceed all expectations on future projects and never let them down, states Michael Stoll, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing at Aeroturn.

Aeroturn LLC, a leading turnstile manufacturer that offers 100% Made in The USA turnstiles, today announced that it has forged a strategic partnership with Harbor East over the years and installed its X-Wing turnstiles at various multi-tenant buildings in the prestigious Harbor East Community. Harbor East is a $1.67 billion mixed-use development on Baltimores waterfront and has become one of Baltimores most visible, rapidly emerging neighborhoods  one that has become a premier destination for national employers, local residents and visitors seeking a dynamic metropolitan experience. Harbor East is home to 5.5 million square feet of office, retail, restaurant, and hotel space, including the luxury Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore. Among the neighborhoods most distinctive characteristics are 1.6 million square feet of Class A office space  home to Franklin Templeton, Morgan Stanley, Hogan Lovells, OneMain Financial, Medifast Inc., Brown Advisory, and Deutsche Bank, as well as Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Aeroturns relationship with Harbor East Management Group started six years ago when the company teamed up with MidPoint Technology Group, a MD-based technical services company that provides integration of system solutions that includes AV, Electronic Security, Structured Cabling and IT-Wireless Services.Over the years, Aeroturns turnstiles were deployed at numerous Class A building locations at Harbor East which includes 650 South Exeter Street with 4 lanes of X-Wing turnstiles installed and 1001 Fleet Street with 3 lanes of X-Wing turnstiles deployed. Both projects were a huge success due to the collaboration and impeccable teamwork of Aeroturn, Harbor East Management Group, and MidPoint Technologies. In the past six years we have not had a single issue with any of the Aeroturn turnstiles installed throughout Harbor East, states Gerben Van Dorpe, RPA, Senior Property Manager at Harbor East Management Group, LLC. We have been extremely happy with our decision to implement Aeroturns turnstile solutions and based our decision on their stellar reputation in the industry in addition to great pricing and the ability to customize the turnstile solution to meet our needs.

During each project, Aeroturn went the extra mile and was on hand to take measurements and come back with templates to ensure a successful implementation. Recently, when Harbor East was looking to replace its existing turnstiles at another building; Aeroturn was ready to lend a helping hand and provide first-class support and service once again. Based on its turnstiles past performance, Harbor East quickly turned to Aeroturn for advice on how to handle the upgrade. We are thrilled that Harbor East has put their faith in Aeroturn over the years to deliver quality turnstile solutions and will continue to exceed all expectations on future projects and never let them down, states Michael Stoll, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing at Aeroturn.

For further information on Aeroturn turnstile solutions, visit http://www.aeroturn.com or send an email to sales@aeroturn.com.

About Aeroturn LLC

Based out of our 100% Made in USA Oxford, CT location, Aeroturn has been offering integrators and end users this centurys turnstiles that include a comprehensive range of turnstile products. With an engineering team that is second to none; the team has been together for over two and a half decades in the product design, development and manufacturing field and continues to lead the way in the security industry. Since its inception in 2001, Aeroturn offers every customer a 5-year warranty, zero maintenance mechanisms, 10 million passages guaranteed, site specific cabinets, 10,000 cycle factory burn-in, and industry unique-factory direct delivery & installation. The company installed its first turnstiles in 2003 and 2004 and has not stopped delivering quality turnstiles and services over the years to its high-profile customers in a wide variety of vertical markets that includes commercial, private, government, industrial, bio-pharma and education. Working closely with the architect, consultant & engineering community, Aeroturn understands the specific needs of its customers and continues to exceed expectations on each and every project. For further information on Aeroturns turnkey turnstile solutions, visit http://www.aeroturn.com.

About Harbor East

Since 1996, Harbor East has become one of Baltimores most visible, rapidly emerging neighborhoods  one that has become a premier destination for national employers, local residents and visitors seeking a dynamic metropolitan experience. The Harbor East community consists of approximately 1,000 apartments and condominiums and 1,800 hotel rooms. The Four Seasons Private Residences, perched atop the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore, consists of more than 60 condominium units and boasts club level amenities such as an infinity pool, masonry fire pit and grill areas, and a dog walking park. Liberty Harbor East, which opened Summer 2019, offers 282 luxury apartment units and 35 condominiums and features a new flagship Whole Foods Market at the street level. The 50,000 square foot grocery store includes a second-floor mezzanine with balconies for seating overlooking the water. Baltimore City residents and visitors are served by more than 350,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and can presently enjoy a seven-screen movie theatre, 50,000 square foot fitness facility, and a 200-slip marina  located along a scenic stretch of the 8-mile long Harbor Promenade. There are 5,800 structural parking spaces within Harbor East.

Harbor East has become widely known as Baltimores destination shopping district. The neighborhood offers renowned national brands including but not limited to Allen Edmonds, J.Crew, Anthropologie, Warby Parker, lululemon, Madewell, Under Armour Brand House, South Moon Under, Free People, and MAC Cosmetics, as well as the best of local and regional operators. Restaurants in Harbor East are consistently rated as some of Baltimores, and the regions, best as well. For further information on Harbor East, visit http://www.harboreast.com.

Company Contact:

Michael Stoll, VP of Technical Sales & Marketing

Phone:203-262-8309

mike.stoll@aeroturn.com

PR Contact:

Monique Merhige, President

Infusion Direct Marketing Inc.

Phone: 772-380-4845

Email: monique@infusiondirect.com


Chinese monks attend a ceremony at Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan Province, China, on Jan. 28, 2017. In an unprecedented move, the Chinese regime has required the temple to display a national flag in a show of loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese Regime Pushes for Buddhist Diplomacy With New Tactics

In recent years, the Chinese communist regime has been pushing for Buddhist diplomacy in its quest for global domination, especially after international backlash against its Confucius Institutes. Experts held a symposium in Taiwan to reveal the regimes new tactics of Buddhist diplomacy.

On April 1, mainland Chinese Buddhist scholar Liu Yuguang gave a speech at the symposium called Chinas Buddhist Diplomacy, held at Taiwans National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of East Asia Studies.

Liu stated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is actively developing the concept of Buddhist New Motherland to promote Chinese nationalism, according to a report by Radio France Internationale (RFI). He said the Chinese regime has turned Buddhism into a tool of its diplomacy because there are many Buddhist believers in the world, and this move could make up for problems such as the backlash against Chinas Confucius Institute (CI) in recent years due to concerns over its ties with the Chinese regime.

CIs are operated under the Chinese government agency Hanban, under its Ministry of Education. It promotes the communist ideology and the CCPs agenda, including censoring topics the regime deems sensitive such as the persecution of Falun Gong adherents, Uyghurs and Tibetan Buddhists, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Liu pointed out that the atheist CCP has cracked down on Chinese traditional religious beliefs and undermined ethnic minorities and traditional culture since it took power in China. The Party views religion as a national security issue of subversion, secession, and terrorism.

Tseng Chien-yuan, associate professor at Taiwans National Central University echoed Lius point in an interview with The Epoch Times. He said that the CCP has brutally suppressed religious beliefs and destroyed ethnic minority cultures in mainland China. It upholds atheism and materialism, and uses material benefits to deny the importance of spiritual civilization.

Tseng said that this type of Buddhist diplomacy with communist characteristics has no substance at all and it is a jokethe CCP has persecuted Buddhism in the past, but now it uses Buddhist diplomacy to cultivate closer relations with the Southeast Asian countries that have practiced Buddhism since antiquity.

A Tibetan monk walks past ruins at the Gedan Songzan Monastery at Zhongdian, in Chinas Yunnan Province, on April 23, 1998. Much of the 300 year-old monastery was destroyed by radical communists during Chinas Cultural Revolution, but is now being rebuilt. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Tseng pointed out that the Buddhist diplomacy is part of the Chinese regimes United Front strategy, dubbed by CCP leaders as a magic weapon in supporting the regimes global ambitions. Its through non-violent means, such as propagating a good image, that the CCP can gain the publics trust and support, he said.

The United Front work involves the efforts of thousands of overseas groups that carry out political influence operations, suppress dissident movements, gather intelligence, and facilitate the transfer of technology to China. Many of the groups are coordinated by the Party agency the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

Tseng said, How the CCP has treated religious beliefs in the country has been observed by the international community.

He named a few of the Partys atrocities against religions since it took over mainland China in 1949, including smashing Buddha statues and burning down temples, forcing monks and nuns to return to the secular world and to get married, and continue persecuting religious groups. He added that the CCP has turned many Buddhist temples into tourist attractions and makes a lot of money from them. The regime monitors the templesit has set up police stations inside Tibetan Buddhist monasteries. The CCP also runs temples like a political organization by installing Party branches and appointing its Party members as abbots.

Chinese paramilitary police officers watch over a crowd at a Lunar New Year temple fair in Beijing on Feb. 19, 2018. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

According to mainland Chinese media reports, during the Tomb-Sweeping Festival (Chinas Memorial Day) on April 4, Buddhist temples in various places across the country sent monks to cemeteries to pay homage to communist martyrs as part of the series of events for the CCPs centenary this year.

At the symposium, Liu Yuguang talked about Nanhai Buddhist Academy in Chinas Hainan Provincewhich consists of various islands in the South China Seaas an example of the regimes Buddhist diplomacy.

Liu pointed out that the purpose of the CCPs establishment of the religious education institution in this location is not to cultivate domestic religious talents, but to attract monks from Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Laos. By doing so, the Chinese regime intends to promote cooperation with these countries through religious exchanges.

Furthermore, the CCPs Buddhist diplomacy is related to its strategic deployment in the South China Sea, its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as One Belt, One Road) and its United Front work, he said.

Tseng said Buddhist diplomacy allows the CCP to infiltrate the Southeast Asian countries and to buy off the local politicians and religious leaders so they can advance the Chinese regimes interests in their countries and international community.

He added that in particular, Buddhism is an important belief of overseas Chinese. There is a large population of Chinese nationals in Southeast Asia and there are many Chinese-language media outlets in the region. Driven by interests, some of them have become part of the CCPs foreign propaganda machine. The CCP uses interpersonal connections and donations to Buddhist temples in those countries in an attempt to gain trust and support from the Buddhist believers.

Li Yi-hsin contributed to this report.
Something to look forward to: Samsungs Odyssey G9 is a 49-inch behemoth that we love, and it looks like the upgraded model will be even better. According to a new listing, the next Odyssey will be the first gaming monitor to support DisplayHDR 2000, which, at 2,000 nits, would make it the brightest available today.

We gave the Odyssey G9 a score of 90 in December, praising its 5120 x 1440 resolution, 240 Hz refresh rate, and good color performance for a VA panel. Samsung recently said the next version would be another tech product to use a Quantum Mini LED display. The OLED-like tech is becoming more popular in TVs, and is expected to feature in Apples next iPad Proand rumored to be causing production problems.

What Samsung didnt mention, however, is that the monitor could be the brightest ever to hit the market. Chinese website Taobao (via VideoCardz) has it listed with VESA DisplayHDR 2000 certification. The current Odyssey is an already bright 1,000 nits, enough to support the HDR10 Standard, and its successor could double that number.

That level of brightness should make HDR content sparkle and let users play in even the brightest of rooms without worrying about glare. And while that 2,000 nits spec hasnt been officially confirmed, rumors that the monitor would be DisplayHDR 2000 certified have been around for a while.

Elsewhere, the new Odyssey shares many of its predecessors features: 49-inch VA panel, 1000R curvature, 240 Hz refresh rate, a 1 ms response time, 5,120 x 1,440 resolution, 10-bit color depth, 95% DCI-P3 color coverage, and support for G-Sync and Freesync Pro. Another improvement in this model is its 2,048 local dimming zones, a feature commonly found in high-end TVs.

All this tech doesnt come cheap, naturally. The current Odyssey G9 has an MSRP of $1,700, which is about the price of a beefy PCin normal times, anyway. The upgraded version is listed at 29,999 RMB, which is about $4,600, though that could be a placeholder. Its set to launch in Asia this June. No word on when the monitor will arrive in other regions.
WHAT:

A joint media briefing with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss six reported cases of a rare type of blood clot in individuals who received the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.

This media briefing will be live streamed over the FDAs YouTube page.

WHO:

Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research

Anne Schuchat, M.D., principal deputy director, CDC

WHEN:

Tues., Apr. 13 at 10:00 a.m. ET

HOW:

Callers in the United States or Canada may call 800-857-9789. International callers will need to dial 1-517-308-9484. The passcode for all participants is 7809201.

Following the media briefing, a replay will be available on the FDAs YouTube page.

For other questions about the media briefing, please contact the FDAs Office of Media Affairs at fdaoma@fda.hhs.gov.
Africa is lagging in vaccinating its people against the COVID-19 disease, and continental heads of state and international health officials say vaccine manufacturing must come to Africa in earnest to combat both the illness and future health emergencies.

These experts, alongside African heads of state and international finance figures, are meeting virtually this week to hash out an ambitious plan to bring more manufacturing capability to the continent. South Africa only recently started to make the COVID-19 vaccine, but is the main producer on the continent.

While Africa has reported a relatively low number of cases compared to other regions, it has seen the world's slowest rollout of vaccination campaigns.

FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, speaks in Geneva, Jan. 21, 2021.

One-quarter of the world's vaccines has gone into the arms of Americans. The developing world has been far less fortunate, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization.

"There remains a shocking imbalance in the global distribution of vaccines, as I have said many times," he said. "More than 700 million vaccine doses have been administered globally, but over 87 percent have gone to high-income or upper-middle-income countries, while low-income countries have received just 0.2 percent. The pandemic has shown that global manufacturing capacity and supply chains are not sufficient to deliver vaccines and other essential health products quickly and equitably to where they are needed most. That's why building up vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa is so important."

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the continent  which is home to nearly 1.3 billion people  has just a handful of vaccine manufacturing and that 99 percent of vaccines are imported. He praised African leaders, notably South African President Cyril Rampahopsa, for fighting for institutions like the COVAX facility and the African Union's vaccine acquisition task force, to make sure that African nations get a fair share of the foreign-manufactured shots.

COVAX is a global initiative set up to ensure that poorer nations aren't left out of the worldwide scramble for vaccine access.

FILE - Boxes of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by the Serum Institute of India and provided through the global COVAX initiative arrive at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia, March 15, 2021.

Economist Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, estimated that the pandemic has caused 100 million Africans to fall into poverty, and led to the loss of 30 million jobs. If the continent can seize on medical manufacturing, she predicted 6 million jobs can be created.

However, she said the continent shouldn't stop there.

"We have about 80 different variables that get into the vaccine production," she said. "So yes, Africa should produce vaccine, but the whole vaccine supply chain  syringes, plastics, containers for the vaccines  also can and should be produced on the continent. This is the very essence of the African continental free trade area agreement, as we build global supply chains and regional supply chains that allow us to do this. So let us not only focus on vaccine production itself; we must focus on all the other inputs into the vaccine production supply chain."

Although experts are still hashing out how to do this, there is one thing they seem to agree on: It won't be quick or cheap. To that end, Songwe said, the African continent is asking for 25 percent of the International Monetary Fund's international reserve asset, a fund that gives countries access to major currency reserves. That's a far larger share than that program allocates to the continent.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who last month became the first African and the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, said a plan to manufacture vaccines in Africa requires much more than time, care and money. It requires changes to intellectual property laws, trade agreements, transport networks, research capabilities and more.

Having stepped into her new job amid the economic and social devastation of this pandemic, Okonjo-Iweala said she's determined to prepare for the next disaster, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it makes fiscal sense.

"We were not prepared for this pandemic globally," she said. "Spending billions of dollars for preparedness would have saved us trillions of dollars in response. The world is now learning how to do this better for the next time, and putting in place a framework to manage the next pandemic. Africa must also prepare and think of how to do better for future crises."


A plane is seen through the window on the tarmac of Vancouver International Airport as the waiting room is empty Tuesday, June 9, 2020. Canadians are awaiting details on Air Canada's plans for ticket refunds after the airline reached a deal for $5.9B in federal aid. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Last year, India and China faced off with each other at the Galwan Valley which caused an uproar in the country. There was a strong movement online to boycott Chinese products in India, however the reality was far from it. Though the Indian Government banned many Chinese apps in the country due to national security reasons, it did not stop Indians from buying Chinese products.

 Reuters

In a recent report by CounterPoint Research, Indian bought more Chinese smartphones in 2020 than ever before. In fact, Xiaomi led the market with a 26% shipment share that was followed by Samsung at 21%. However, whats intriguing is that out of the top six smartphones brands in India, the list was dominated by five Chinese companies. Realme saw the highest growth with a rate of 22% YoY. Apple also witnessed its best-ever quarter in Q4 2020, selling more than 1.5 million units.



This isnt where the story ends though, Chinese brands dominated the Indian smartphone market in every quarter of 2020. The only reason why Xiaomi saw a slight dip in market share was due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the early half of 2020.

 MensXP/Akshay Bhalla

It is estimated that the Indian smartphone market crossed 100 million units in the second half of 2020 for the first time ever. Xiaomi led the market with its dominant budget-friendly smartphones, however it seems like the company will be shifting gears to mid-budget and premium devices in 2021.



Its not spurring to see Chinese smartphone brands dominate the Indian market as these companies offer the most value for money products. We predicted last year that the trend would continue and thats exactly what happened, regardless of the anti-China sentiment in the country. It would be surprising to see whether Samsung or other brands would overtake Xiaomi and other Chinese smartphone brands in the near future as tensions between the two countries have calmed down since then.

Source: CounterPoint Research
St Lucifer Spirits has taken its hyper-oxygenated Dirty Devil Vodka brand to the US.

Dirty Devil Vodka will be available in off-premise locations in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania from May at an SRP of US$ 27.99 per 75cl bottle. Launched in 2019, the 42% abv vodka is a blend of non-GMO corn and water that, according to the company, contains five times as much oxygen as regular water.

The Canadian company will employ national importer Trinity Beverage Groups Verity Wines division to handle the brand in the three states.

Encouraged by our success, we decided to enter one of the worlds largest vodka markets and have partnered with an outstanding team to help navigate the complex US market, said St Lucifer Spirits CEO, Murray Merkley.

Trinity CEO Hill Flynn added: We are confident that this brand  with its ultra-smooth finish, higher proof and value for price point  has a unique role to play in the vodka category.



Last week, Oregon-based Hood River Distillers unveiled its new Timberline Vodka brand, made with 14 varieties of US apples.

How to win in vodka in the US  A history lesson  Click here for a just-drinks comment
Pakistan Ambassador Moin ul Haque paid a visit to the Three Gorges Dam, world's largest hydroelectric dam built on the Yangtze River in the city of Yichang in China

BEIJING, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :Pakistan Ambassador Moin ul Haque paid a visit to the Three Gorges Dam, world's largest hydroelectric dam built on the Yangtze River in the city of Yichang in China.

During the visit, the ambassador was briefed by the administration of Three Gorges Dam about its role in water-management, flood control and energy generation in China.

Later on, Ambassador Haque held a meeting with Executive Vice President of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), Zheng Dingming.

Zheng informed that during COVID-19 pandemic, the CTGC sent a medical team to Pakistan for solidarity with Pakistan in May 2020. This medical team provided medical services not only to the Chinese officials working on Karrot Hydropower Project, but also Pakistani staff and local community there.

He expressed his satisfaction on the government's support and vowed to complete the Project on time despite COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Haque thanked the CTGC's generous support to Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic and greatly appreciated the professionalism and commitment of the engineers and workers of the CTGC working on the Karrot Hydropower Project.

He expressed his confidence that with its dedication and strong commitment, the CTGC would be able to complete the Project by April 2022.

During the visit to the First People's Hospital of Yichang, Ambassador Haque met. Secretary of CPC Committee of the Hospital, Cui Xiangjun and paid tribute to heroic efforts of the Solidarity Medical Team working in Pakistan.

Ambassador Haque also presented a Letter of Appreciation in recognition of great services rendered by the Medical Team in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the ambassador attended the 64th Chinese Sturgeon Release Ceremony in Yichang and appreciated the Chinese government and the CTGC for their continued efforts for protection of the Yangtze River and conservation of Chinese sturgeon.

He expressed his confidence that after establishment of Sister-City relationship between Haripur and Yichang, the bilateral cooperation between the two cities would further strengthen in the field of environment protection and ecological conservation.
Police in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai have rescued eight women from a local karaoke shop who were forced to become sex workers.

The provincial Department of Public Security confirmed on Monday they had freed the victims being held at the Hoang Gia karaoke parlor in Nghia Thuong Commune, Tu Nghia District.

Officers initiated their investigation into the case after receiving a report from Ho Van L. in Tra Bong District, who said his daughter  Ho Thi N.  and her female friend had headed to Tu Nghia District to find a job.

The two girls landed a job at Hoang Gia but were forced to sexually serve customers.

N.s friend managed to escape, but N. was still detained by her employer.

On April 9, police raided the karaoke parlor, which was run by 27-year-old Pham Ngoc Tien.

Another man named Pham Cong Dat was in charge of managing the shops female employees.

Pham Ngoc Tien is held at the police station in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam in this supplied photo.

Officers found eight girls who were held in custody at the venue. Many bruises and injuries were discovered on their bodies.

According to the victims statements, Tien tasked Dat with supervising them and transporting them to local hotels to have sex with customers.

All money from the prostitution activities was collected by Tien.

The girls were beaten and threatened if they refused to work as prostitutes.

Preliminary information showed that Tien had been operating his illegal racket since February.

The victims have been brought to the local medical center for a health check and injury evaluation.

Tien has been arrested to facilitate police investigation.

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The Ukrainian delegation visited the State of Israel and held talks on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination, trade, and the situation in eastern Ukraine.

The delegation consisted of Deputy Prime Minister - Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, Deputy Head of the Presidents Office Ihor Zhovkva, and Deputy Minister of Health - Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko, the press service of the Head of State informs.

During the visit, they met with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Adviser and Head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat, Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Political Director, Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel Alon Bar and Deputy Minister of Health of Israel Yoav Kisch.

The participants discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation, in particular cooperation in the field of trade and investment. The parties agreed to continue cooperation between Ukraine and Israel in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, reads the statement.

The parties also discussed possible cooperation in the production of vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, and exchanged experience in organizing vaccination with vaccines that require ultra-low storage temperatures. In addition, the parties discussed professional epidemiological issues to facilitate the crossing of borders between the states and the already started preparations for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah.

In addition, particular attention was paid to countering Russian aggression and the situation in eastern Ukraine. The Israeli side stressed the unwavering support for Ukraine in the pursuit of peace and the preservation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.

The parties agreed to maintain the current dynamics of contacts at the highest level during the year.

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TORONTO, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Caldwell Partners (TSX: CWL) and PwC Canada today announced their new sponsorship collaboration on Canada's Top 40 Under 40 Award Program.

Canadas Top 40 Under 40 is an annual recognition of the exceptional achievements of 40 outstanding Canadians under the age of 40. Honourees have a remarkable track record of achievement after their win; the ranks of Top 40 alumni include hundreds of nationally and internationally prominent CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, public sector and social economy leaders. (CNW Group/Canada's Top 40 Under 40)

Caldwell is delighted to welcome PwC Canada as Presenting Partner of the program, joining several other prominent organizations that are enthusiastically committed to Top 40's success.

"PwC is a highly-respected organization and we are excited for the insight and expertise they will bring to the program," said Jeff Freeborough, Managing Partner for Toronto at Caldwell, Top 40's Founding Partner. "Like Caldwell, PwC recognizes the importance of identifying and recognizing business and community leaders. By honouring these young, ambitious individuals we promote unity in Canada. We look forward to working with the PwC team."

"Canada's Top 40 Under 40 is the country's most coveted award for young leaders. PwC Canada is honoured to collaborate with Caldwell on a program that champions outstanding young achievers in the Canadian business and public sectors," said Matthew Wetmore, National Managing Partner  Industries & Regions, PwC Canada. "As a new member to the Advisory Board, I look forward to putting a well-deserved spotlight on the leaders who have an impact in Canada, and are helping define our nation's future."

The Top 40 Advisory Board meets annually to select the 40 honourees. The independent board comprises more than 25 respected and experienced individuals from across Canada, including past Top 40 honourees who are leaders in their industries, professions and communities. The Board reflects the diversity and leadership excellence in Canadian business and broader public sector.

Also joining the Board this year are The Hon. Brian V. Tobin, P.C., O.C., Vice Chair with BMO Financial Group and Dr. David Granville, PhD, FAHA, Executive Director, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Professor and Associate Dean, Research Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia.

Story continues

The board will meet on September 30, 2021 to select the 2021 honourees, who will then be announced in National Post and on BNN Bloomberg in November.

For the full list of members and profiles, please visit: https://canadastop40under40.com/top-40-advisory-board.html

Canada's Top 40 Under 40 is an annual recognition of the exceptional achievements of 40 outstanding Canadians under the age of 40. In addition to Caldwell and PwC, the program is supported by several prominent organizations: National Partner Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc.; Media Partners BNN Bloomberg and National Post; Travel Partner Air Canada; Event Partner ergocentric Seating Systems; with fact checking and verification carried out by Inline Reference Check.

Founded in 1995 by Caldwell, Top 40 has recognized more than 800 outstanding Canadians and is the country's most coveted award for young leaders. Honourees have a remarkable track record of achievement after their win; the ranks of Top 40 alumni include hundreds of nationally and internationally prominent CEOs, executives, entrepreneurs, public sector and social economy leaders. Visit the website www.canadastop40under40.com for nomination details and timelines.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. More than 7,000 partners and staff in offices across the country are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax, consulting and deals services. PwC Canada is a member of the PwC network of firms with more than 284,000 people in 155 countries. Find out more by visiting us at: www.pwc.com/ca.

 2021 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership. All rights reserved.

PwC refers to the Canadian member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

About Caldwell Partners

Caldwell Partners is a technology-powered talent acquisition firm specializing in recruitment at all levels. Through two distinct brands  Caldwell and IQTalent Partners  the firm leverages the latest innovations in AI to offer an integrated spectrum of services delivered by teams with deep knowledge in their respective areas. Services include candidate research and sourcing through to full recruitment at the professional, executive and board levels, as well as a suite of talent strategy and assessment tools that can help clients hire the right people, then manage and inspire them to achieve maximum business results.

Caldwell's Common shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: CWL). Please visit our website at www.caldwellpartners.com for further information.

SOURCE Canada's Top 40 Under 40

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/12/c0978.html
The dreaded 'Easter effect' appears to have hit Spain and unleashed the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic following the increase in mobility and social contacts during the Holy Week holiday, despite the restrictions agreed by all the regions, according to data issued by the Ministry of Health this Monday (12 April).

As the department, headed by Carolina Darias feared, 14 days after the start of Easter, daily cases shot up to 22,744 positives over the weekend, figures that have not been seen since Monday, 15 February, when the regions reported 30,251 new infections in just 48 hours.

Also, the national cumulative incidence rate saw a jump from 182.09 positives per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days to 199 cases this Monday. Spain has not registered such a level of incidence since Thursday, 25 February, when the country was in decline from the peak of the third wave.

The coronavirus incidence rate has increased in 17 of the 19 territories compared to last Friday's data. The rate only fell in the Balearic Islands, from 65 to 57 and in Murcia, where it fell slightly from 68 to 67.

Extreme risk

Five regions are in the "extreme risk" category for exceeding the 250 incidence rate. They are Melilla with 537, Ceuta with 498, Navarra with 425, Madrid with 336 and the Basque Country with 320. The only region in the "low risk" category was Valencia with 36 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest jumps after the weekend were in Melilla (+42), Andalucia (+35), Ceuta (+33), Navarra (+31).

Fernando Simon, director of the Alert Coordination Centre and Health Emergencies committee (CCAES) acknowledged this Monday, The data gives us clues about what happened at Easter.

The transmission that we are seeing and that we will see this week took place during Holy Week. We cannot stop what has already happened. Yes, we can stop what happens from now on, we can avoid reaching a cumulative incidence rate of 250 or 300, although the rate will continue to rise little by little in the coming days, he said.

Hospital pressure increase

For the first time since 4 March, Spain has once again exceeded 10,000 patients admitted with Covid-19. The percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with coronavirus went from 7.48 to 8.19 per cent in 48 hours. The occupancy of intensive care unit beds also increased over the weekend from 20.48 to 21.57 per cent.

Additionally, over the weekend the Ministry of Health reported 197 deaths in 48 hours.
A father-of-two asked emergency services to tell his children he loved them after his neighbour shot and fatally wounded him with a crossbow, an inquest today heard.

Shane Gilmer, 30, called 999 and stayed on the phone for 30 minutes as he bled out after Anthony Lawrence, 55, attacked him and his pregnant partner Laura Sugden in their home in Southburn, East Yorkshire.

Lawrence broke into their house through the loft and waited in a bedroom for them to return home from a meal at Gino D'Acampo's Italian restaurant on January 12, 2018, Hull Coroner's Court heard.

Just before 9.30pm he shot Mr Gilmer through the arm and torso - where the bolt broke his arm and a rib, damaged his liver and kidney and became embedded in his spine.

Lawrence shot Ms Sugden, who was 27 at the time, in the head and then drove the crossbow bolt into her neck after she removed it, the inquest heard.

Shane Gilmer (above, with Laura), 30, died after a crossbow bolt fired by their neighbour Anthony Lawrence broke his arm and a rib, damaged his liver and kidney and became embedded in his spine, court heard

She escaped and ran, covered in blood and with a gaping wound in her neck, to a nearby house after Mr Gilmer told her to keep herself and their baby safe, the inquest was told.

Today, the inquest jury heard transcripts of 999 calls made by Ms Sugden and Mr Gilmer.

Lawrence was allegedly angry with the couple because he was served with an eviction notice after they complained to his landlord about a smell of cannabis coming from his house.

During the call to emergency services Mr Gilmer said: 'I need to say something. I love my children.'

He said he could not move and there was 'blood everywhere' and could be heard breathing heavily and crying and screaming with pain during the half-hour call, the inquest was told.

Lawrence (above) attacked his neighbours with a crossbow

Later in the call, he said: 'I need to tell my mum and dad I love them. I've fallen out with them last week but I really love them. I love Laura, I hope they are all OK.'

He repeatedly asked where the emergency services were and said they were taking 'too long', the inquest heard.

Towards the end of the phone call, Mr Gilmer said: 'I feel like I'm fading, I've lost so much blood. She sounded so scared. I can't believe this has happened.'

The call ended shortly after police arrived at the house and told Mr Gilmer that Ms Sugden was safe.

The couple were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary but Mr Gilmer suffered a cardiac arrest and died on arrival.

Ms Sugden survived after 'life-saving treatment', the inquest heard.

Mr Gilmer, who had two daughters from a previous marriage, was expecting a baby with Ms Sugden, who was around 20 weeks pregnant.

During the call to emergency services he repeatedly told the call handler that he thought he was going to die, the inquest heard.

The inquest heard that he also spoke about his unborn child and told the call handler that he and Ms Sugden were going for a scan soon to find out the sex.

He said: 'I really, really wanted this baby, I really wanted it.'

The homes of Lawrence (believed to be the house to the left) and Mr Gilmer (believed to be the house to the right)

Ms Sugden told the inquest Mr Gilmer's final words to her were to tell her to get out of the house to safety (couple pictured above)

Mr Gilmer told the call handler that he and Ms Sugden had been attacked by their neighbour - who he described as 'really dangerous' - and that he believed Lawrence had taken his girlfriend.

Yesterday, Ms Sugden told the inquest she begged Lawrence not to kill her because she was pregnant, but he told her he already knew because he had been 'listening to their conversations for a year'.

Mr Gilmer said: 'He's pissed off with us because the landlord's evicted him because of the complaints we made.'

The inquest heard that Mr Gilmer told the call handler he had been shot with a crossbow and that the arrow had 'ripped through' his arm and was stuck about 10 inches into his body.

Appearing as a witness at Hull Coroners' Court, Ms Sugden (pictured) said she was shot in the head by Lawrence and also cut her throat with the arrow after she managed to remove it

When the couple arrived home from their meal out in Hull, Laura said she noticed a dark stain on the cream carpet underneath the loft hatch.

She told the court she opened her daughter's bedroom door to find Lawrence stood with the crossbow. She said Lawrence accused the couple of 'cooking up a plan' with the letting agent to get him evicted.

Ms Sugden yesterday told the court Lawrence had previously threatened to kill Shane with an axe when the father asked him to turn his music down in the autumn of 2016.

The hearing continues.
Australia has rejected calls to buy the highly-regarded, one-shot Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine to replace the scrapped AstraZeneca rollout.

The country's vaccination plan was thrown into chaos when a link to a rare blood clotting was discovered in the AstraZeneca jab.

Anyone under 50 is now advised against getting it and states are refusing to administer it unless the patient already had their first shot.

The government was in talks last week with Johnson & Johnson and manufacturer Janssen, which asked for approval for its vaccine from Australia's medicine regulator.

Federal Health minister Greg Hunt has ruled out proceeding with the purchase at this stage because it is too similar to the AstraZeneca drug - which raised fears over blood clotting in a small number of cases

A registered nurse delivers a member of the public, Kacey Johnson (pictured) her one dose of the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Covid vaccine this week in the United States

Aside from the convenience of needing only one dose, the vaccine fared well in the results of tests with 40,000 volunteers.

It offered 66 per cent protection against moderate Covid-19 disease and 85 per cent protection against severe disease.

But Health Minister Greg Hunt ruled out proceeding with the purchase at this stage because it is too similar to the AstraZeneca drug.

'The Janssen vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine, the same type of vaccine as the AstraZeneca vaccine,' he said through a spokesperson.

'The government does not intend to purchase any further adenovirus vaccines at this time.'

Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine has the advantage of needing only one dose, but like the AstraZeneca jab it is an adenovirus vaccine and carries similar blood clotting risks

But there is another reason the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine won't be added to Australia's vaccine stocks at present.

Johnson & Johnson also required a no-fault compensation scheme before it would sell vaccines to Australia, which the government was not committed to introducing.

A no-fault compensation scheme allows patients to receive redress from the government, in the event of harm caused by a vaccine, without going to court.

A Janssen spokeswoman said the company had a consistent approach to advance purchase agreements for vaccines, The Age reported.

'The availability of our vaccine candidate is subject to successful development, regulatory approval as well as the existence of an efficient, effective no-fault compensation system and robust liability protection,' she said.

The US, which is rolling out the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, has a no-fault compensation system, as does the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada.

Peak medical bodies said Australia is overdue for a no-fault compensation scheme, especially with high rates of vaccination considered important to win the fight against Covid-19.

Registered nurse Rebecca DeJong receives the Pfizer jab from colleague Morgan Sleader at Townsville University Hospital

Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said it was not good enough for the minister to announce his decision through a spokesperson.

Mr Butler wants to know the reasons behind the decision, and greater accountability from the whole government on the vaccine rollout.

'This is the problem Australians and Australian businesses are having right now - the communication channels from the government have shut down,' he told the ABC on Tuesday.

'We've got a prime minister that's retreated to Facebook and a minister who's making announcements through a spokesperson without clear background information.'

Labor spent months calling on the government to secure more vaccine deals, arguing most countries have five or six different options.

Scott Morrison has taken to Facebook to reassure Australians about the vaccine rollout.

Mr Morrison has abandoned all vaccine timelines and targets after medical authorities recommended people aged under 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of the AstraZeneca jab, which was the country's mainstay.

At present, an order of an additional 20 million Pfizer vaccines appear to be the answer to Australia's vaccine woes.

Johnson & Johnson has said it will only sell its vaccines to countries that have 'no-fault' compensation schemes

Scott Morrison (pictured right) announced the government was not recommending the AstraZeneca vaccnie for people under 50 at a press conference last week

Mr Morrison claimed targets were not possible as Covid 'writes its own rules'.

'You don't get to set the agenda,' he said.

'Rather than set targets that can get knocked about by every to and fro of international supply chains and other disruptions that can occur, we are just getting on with it.'

Mr Morrison said Australia's current rate of 1.2 million vaccinations to date was comparable to other major countries.

But government figures show Australia's rollout, compared to 12 other nations, is running behind the UK, US, Singapore, Belgium, Italy and Germany.

Business groups have warned the strength of the country's economic recovery depends on the vaccine rollout.

They argue if the Morrison government is no longer willing to set timetables, it should at least set major vaccine milestones, so that businesses can plan for the future.
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The first clinical trial administration of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine took place over a year ago, on March 16. An annus horribilis of masks, remote schooling, unemployment, loneliness, and depression ensued, leaving in its wake more than a half-million deaths in the U.S.  2.9 million globally. Will vaccines save us? We have ample reason to hope sounless we derail our deliverance by adopting a wait and see approach.

A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicates that about one in five people will still delay getting the COVID-19 vaccine to see how it works for other people first. This is decreased from prior polls, but when combined with the 20% who say that they will definitely not get the vaccine or only do so if required, this more than a third of adults.

I admit to entertaining similar thoughts last spring, even while treating patients with COVID-19 in one of the nations hardest-hit communities. Among my friends and medical colleagues, I feigned enthusiasm, but in truth, I worried how safe and effective the new vaccines would be. By the end of 2020, I had not fallen ill  perhaps I could afford to wait and see before getting vaccinated.

The data from randomized clinical trials, or RCTs, were published on the two mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna). RCTs are large human studies conducted in a manner that minimizes bias. Such trials provide important evidence that determines how we practice medicine. The data were impressive: Vaccinated individuals were 95% less likely to get COVID-19 disease than the unvaccinated. More recently, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine RCTs demonstrated the capability of preventing 85% of severe disease and 100% of hospitalization or deaths due to COVID-19.

Since real-world data, or performance of the vaccine outside of RCTs, have since shown similar strong performance. Israel, which has vaccinated more than half its population, reported a 97% reduction in disease, hospitalization, and death in those vaccinated, as well as a 94% reduction in asymptomatic transmission, that is, the spread of the virus from people who appear well. Similarly, the U.S. has shown mRNA vaccine real-world data of 90% reduction in infection regardless of symptoms.

As of April 8, 2021, more than 175 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been given in the U.S., with 112 million people receiving at least one dose (1/3 of the total population). No deaths have been linked to the vaccines; the deaths reported after vaccine administration (~2,800) do not follow any pattern to suggest they were due to the vaccine.

So, what are these vaccines downsides? Despite the fears of some, it is impossible to get COVID-19 from any of these vaccines. The most common  fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headache, and pain and swelling at the injection site  can be quite uncomfortable but last only a few days. Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, has occurred at a rate of 2 to 5 cases for every million mRNA vaccine doses administered, usually within the first 30 minutes. These rare reactions are treatable, and no one has died. To protect yourself, check with your doctor if you have a history of anaphylaxis or a history of allergy to polyethylene glycol, also known as PEG, used in some products such as laxatives and intravenous medications. Also, let your doctor know if youve had an allergic reaction to polysorbate, which has a similar structure to PEG.

Long-term side effects from COVID-19 vaccines are exceedingly unlikely based on the science and on the history of vaccines. In general, most vaccine complications occur within a few days to a few weeks of administration. All our COVID-19 vaccines use technology that has been studied for over 10 years and has shown no significant complications.

Fears of the COVID-19 vaccine should be weighed against the known outcomes of COVID-19 disease. In addition to the staggering tragedy of millions of deaths, roughly 30% of survivors of the disease become long-haulers  patients who suffer from long-lasting symptoms after COVID-19, now known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2, or PASC.

Perhaps these facts convince you that the COVID-19 vaccine is infinitely less risky than the disease, and there is no need to wait and see. However, the wait and see approach is worse than unjustified. Its dangerous.

To begin, its unclear how long protection lasts after either the vaccines or contracting COVID-19. Some survivors evidence of immunity flags within a few months, and some have even contracted the disease again. This is consequential because we need protection through immunity at the same time as each other (herd immunity) so that the virus cannot find susceptible hosts in which to replicate. Estimates are that we need around 70 to 90% of the population in the immune herd to thwart the virus. Delays in getting vaccinated may mean that we stagger our immunity lowering the proportion of those protected at any point in time. This allows the virus to find a host more easily and thus survive and spread. Moreover, this survival lends to mutated variants against which the vaccines may be less effective.

You might think, if everyone else gets the vaccine, then I wont have to. That could be true except that many other people are thinking the same thing, in which case our herd will remain too small. More than ever, our society needs to work together.

Coordinating vaccine delivery in an efficient, fair manner is a difficult logistical challenge, but soon the U.S. will have enough vaccine for nearly everyone. Though there are unanswered questions  the duration of immunity, optimal timing of vaccine doses  we are learning. How we manage this disease will constantly be refined. Scientists are already working on vaccines to address the variants. But waiting for perfection is a dangerous game.

For my part, when I was offered the vaccine, I chose to be guided by the facts, not my fears, and I took it gratefully. I hope you will, too.

Lets not miss this train.

Wynne Armand is an internal medicine physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar, and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria

Geneva, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Apr, 2021 ) :The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar, and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria.

"I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Lucknow, April 13 : The bodies of a man and a woman were found inside a car parked in the Baniya Mohal locality in the high-security Cantonment police station area, The bodies were found late on Monday night.

Senior police officials reached the spot for investigations after the Military Police patrolling the area spotted the car parked near the NCC mess.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), East, Qasim Abidi, who was at the spot told reporters, "The military policemen spotted the grey Tata Indica car and thought some persons were consuming alcohol in it. They tapped but got no response so they opened the door and saw a man with a gunshot wound on his forehead lying dead on the driver's seat. A woman was also lying dead on the other front seat with a bullet wound in her right side of chest." Prima facie, it appears that the man shot the woman and then shot himself inside the car as he was holding a licensed revolver, the ADCP said.

He further said that the man had been identified as Sanjay Nigam of Sadar Bazaar area. He owned an eatery in the Cantonment area and had purchased the car from a retired army man Santosh Kumar.

Sanjay had separated with his wife who has been living in Indira Nagar with her son.

The dead woman in the car was identified as Asha Agarwal, 35.

"We are yet to establish how the two were related to each other," he said.

The forensic team also reached the spot and collected evidence and said there were no signs of struggle in the car.

"The car was on hand brake and its engine and lights were switched off. The mobile phone of Sanjay Nigam was on while that of Asha was switched off. Further probe is on," said ADCP Abidi.

A two-page suicide note was also found in the car in which Sanjay accuses a woman Anju of trying to forcefully take away his shop and held her solely responsible for his condition.

"The suicide note has been given to the forensic experts for analysis," said Abidi.
GREENSBORO, N.C., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Volvo Trucks North America customer Quality Custom Distribution (QCD), a national food service logistics supplier, will deploy 14 Volvo VNR Electric models in its Southern California last-mile delivery routes over the next two years. The trucks, manufactured at Volvo Trucks' New River Valley plant in Virginia, represent the largest single purchasing commitment of Volvo VNR Electric trucks to date. Volvo Trucks will begin delivering the Class 8 battery-electric trucks to QCD this fall to operate out of its distribution center in Fontana, California.

Volvo Trucks North America customer Quality Custom Distribution (QCD) will deploy 14 Volvo VNR Electric models in its Southern California last-mile delivery routes by the end of 2022. The trucks represent the largest single purchasing commitment of Volvo VNR Electric trucks to date. Volvo Trucks will begin delivering the Class 8 battery-electric trucks to QCD this fall to operate out of its distribution center in Fontana, California.

"Earlier this month, we delivered QCD's first VNR Electric to be used in its first-class distribution and logistics services," said Peter Voorhoeve, president, Volvo Trucks North America. "With this exceptional commitment to deploy an additional 14 Volvo VNR Electric trucks, we are pleased that QCD has chosen to continue its longtime partnership with our organization to achieve its sustainable freight transportation goals."

The 14 leased Volvo VNR Electric trucks and supporting charging equipment are assisted with funding by a $3.9 million grant awarded to Volvo Financial Services (VFS) from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee's (MSRC) Inland Port Program. Combined with MSRC grant funds, the VFS leases provided through the program will reduce QCD's total cost of operating the electric vehicles, making the trucks cost-competitive with existing diesel technology. The MSRC is a committee of California's largest transportation and clean air agencies and stakeholders.

Through the Volvo LIGHTS project, QCD recently took delivery of its first Volvo VNR Electric. With this additional order, QCD's total fleet of VNR Electric trucks will reach 15 by the end of 2022. QCD, a Golden State Foods (GSF) company, provides custom distribution services to thousands of America's most iconic restaurants and currently operates a fleet of 700 Class 8 tractors, more than half of which are Volvo VNR and VNL models. GSF is one of the world's largest diversified suppliers to the food service and retail industries.

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"The experience gained from this program will help accelerate battery-electric truck adoption in QCD's fleet, as well as other last-mile delivery fleets," said Mike Douglas, senior director of strategic procurement, QCD. "We are excited to partner with Volvo Trucks and VFS to put these VNR Electrics to work and begin reducing emissions throughout the region."

Volvo Trucks North America is among the first major truck manufacturers in the U.S. to commercialize and sell battery-electric Class 8 trucks. The company began taking customer orders for its VNR Electric model last December and has multiple customer deliveries scheduled throughout 2021. With this purchase from QCD, Volvo Trucks now has orders for more than 100 VNR Electric models scheduled to be delivered and deployed in fleet operations throughout California over the next two years.

Delivered by Volvo Trucks' dealership Gateway Truck & Refrigeration, QCD's 14 Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be operating various delivery distribution routes within Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

"Gateway Truck & Refrigeration is proud to be a part of this landmark project," said Zach Wagner, principal for Gateway Truck & Refrigeration. "The real-world insights gained from these vehicles operating in QCD's daily routes will help us continue to offer the Volvo VNR Electric to fleet customers nationwide."

Through the Inland Port Program, a total of $37.2 million in MSRC funding is available to assist fleet owners in the Inland Empire in their transition to zero- or near-zero emission goods movement helping to improve air quality for the region. Since 1990, the MSRC has invested more than $400 million in hundreds of clean transportation initiatives that reduce air pollution from motor vehicles throughout the South Coast basin. By providing valuable insights into the trucks' operational performance and charging requirements, the Inland Ports Program will lay out a roadmap and valuable lessons learned for how regional-haul and distribution fleets can successfully invest in and scale battery-electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

"The funding the MSRC is providing is an essential investment in the air quality and health of all residents in the South Coast basin, and specifically for Inland Empire residents," said Larry McCallon, MSRC chair. "Now that the technology exists to help green our local goods movement, we are thrilled to be able to help QCD, through Volvo Trucks and VFS, make this historic transition to cleaner vehicles."

Along with project partners Volvo Trucks North America, VFS and QCD, industry-leading electric vehicle charging infrastructure provider Greenlots will design and install eight high-power charging stations at QCD's Fontana distribution center to power the electric trucks. Learnings from the deployment of the first VNR Electric model and charging infrastructure will provide QCD the valuable information needed to expand its fleet of zero-emission trucks.

"Volvo Trucks and VFS continue to pave the way for truck electrification," said Andreas Lips, chief executive officer of Greenlots. "Greenlots is proud to support these efforts with fast-charging solutions and data services that continue to innovate and improve electric vehicle charging for the fleet industry."

For more information on how fleets and dealerships in North America can apply for other funding and incentive opportunities for the Volvo VNR Electric, please email support.VNRElectric@volvo.com.

Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of dealers with 2,300 service points in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 13 countries across the globe. In 2020 approximately 94,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Edwards, Volvo Trucks, phone 336-392-9396, email Jennifer.Edwards@volvo.com

www.volvotrucks.us www.volvotrucks.ca www.volvotrucks.mx

Cision

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SOURCE Volvo Trucks North America
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - American Aires Inc. (CSE: WIFI) (the "Company" or "Aires"), is pleased to share an update on the implementation of its drop shipping program.

As previously announced, Aires is in the process of launching a drop shipping initiative that consists of onboarding online stores based in North America (USA and Canada), which will sell the new LIFETUNE line of products (refer news release dated 17 February 2021, here).

This new strategy, which the Company is implementing alongside its other successful marketing initiatives (Airestech Ecommerce Platform, Subscription Program, Affiliates/Influencer Marketing Program, etc.) will enable third-party eCommerce retailers (partners) to effortlessly integrate Aires products into their existing stores without having to physically hold Aires inventory. When an order is placed on a partner's website it will be fulfilled and serviced by Aires.

The drop shipping program provides numerous benefits for Aires, including:

Reaching new customers and increasing sales;

Improving exposure and brand reach;

Seamlessly integrating into a large ecosystem of platforms hosted globally;

Leveraging the marketing dollars invested by affiliates into their online stores;

Driving new revenue streams to our affiliates which leads to a win-win; and

Immediate worldwide sales penetration.

Aires is extremely happy with the initial response, as more than 30 online stores have already agreed to be onboarded. As a result of this strong start, Aires can expect to fully implement this program immediately, with additional revenue being generated for the Company starting in April 2021.

From this point forward, the goal is to add a minimum of 20 online stores every month, with a target of 200 partners by the end of the calendar year. After seeing such a high level of interest this early in the program's implementation, it is clear that this marketing initiative will significantly increase global revenue for the Company in 2021.

Aires' CEO Dimitry Serov commented, "We are very pleased with the amount of interest this drop shipping program has already received. Aires will continue to aggressively pursue creative and effective marketing avenues that will allow the Company to attain the fastest possible growth globally and we are excited to see the significant increase in revenue that this initiative will provide to Aires in the immediate future. We look forward to reporting to stakeholders on our continued progress."

About American Aires Inc.

American Aires Inc. ("Aires") is Canadian-based nanotechnology company which has developed proprietary silicon-based microprocessors that reduce the harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). The technology was developed by a team of highly credited scientists and confirmed by independent third-party validation including peer reviewed studies and publications in scientific journals. Aires' Lifetune products specifically target EMR emitted by consumer electronic devices such as cellphones, computers, baby monitors, Wi-Fi radiation, including the rapidly expanding next-generation high-speed 5G networks. Aires is listed on the CSE under ticker 'WIFI'. Learn more at www.airestech.com.

On behalf of the board of directors

Company Contact:

Dimitry Serov, CEO

Email: dimitry@airestech.com

Telephone: (905) 482-4667

Website: www.airestech.com

For further information please contact:

Investor Cubed Inc.:

Neil Simon, CEO

Email: wifi@airestech.com

Telephone: (647) 258-3310

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. 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, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements may be discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at www.sedar.com. 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. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Shares have not been, nor will they be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of any person in the United States, absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any common shares in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. We seek safe harbour.

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 news release.

Not intended for distribution to United States Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of United States Securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80121
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - GoviEx Uranium Inc. (TSXV: GXU) (OTCQB: GVXXF) ("GoviEx or the Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed drilling contracts with ESAFOR and FORACO to undertake drilling programs related to a Feasibility Study for the Company's Madaouela Uranium Project (the "Project") in Niger.

"Following the positive results of the updated pre-feasibility study ("Updated PFS")(1) announced February 18, 2021, and based on our view that the uranium market fundamentals are demonstrating continued improvement, we have decided to move straight on to the completion of the Feasibility Study required to secure project financing. A key benefit from the Updated PFS was the simplification and optimisation of the Project - which has also simplified the scope of the remaining test work expected to be completed in support of a Feasibility Study. As a result, our priorities for the advancement of Madaouela include a drilling program designed to further our understanding of the molybdenum mineralization of the Project and confirmatory metallurgical test work." stated Daniel Major, Chief Executive Officer.

GoviEx has planned a 13,000 metre drilling program, with a combination of rotary mud and diamond core drilling, to an average depth of 100 metres. This drilling program, located at the Miriam deposit, will focus three main objectives:

Drilling a 50 metre grid within the planned open pit shape to confirm an indicated mineral resource for molybdenum mineralisation. The process flowsheet has been designed to recover molybdenum as a by-product based on the molybdenum content reported in the previous test work. Final corroboration of the geotechnical slope design for Miriam, which was steepened from 51 degrees to 53 degrees in the Update PFS. Verification of whether Miriam dewatering is sufficient to support process water requirements rather than developing a standalone well field as is currently assumed given the reduced water usage defined in the Updated PFS. Positive results, if they are achieved, will potentially permit reduced operating and capital costs associated with water supply, and could also lower the potential environmental impact.

The planned drilling program will be performed by l'Entreprise Sidi Abdoul Aziz de Forage ("ESAFOR"), and FORACO NIGER S.A. ("FORACO"). ESAFOR, a Nigerien drilling company, has completed substantial previous drilling for GoviEx, having completed over 620,000 metres of exploration and resource drilling on the Project area. FORACO, a Nigerien subsidiary of Foraco International SA, a French drilling company, has concluded extensive exploration work on a number of nearby uranium deposits in Niger. The first drill rig is expected on site by May 1, 2021, and it is anticipated that the total program will last approximately five months.

Additionally, the Company has prepared one tonne of ore samples, which are due to be sent to South Africa, for Feasibility Study metallurgical test work. Due to the simplification of the process flowsheet, the required test work necessary to meet the technical requirements for a Feasibility Study is also simplified and will focus on verification and optimisation, including comminution, acid leach and ion exchange.

1) Note: See technical report titled, "An Updated Pre-Feasibility Study for the Madaouela Project, Niger", dated effective April 5, 2021, prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited ("SRK") in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and is available on the Company's website (www.goviex.com) and under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Figure 1: ESAFOR drilling at Miriam in 2017





To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5017/80253_fdb4b25be4aeb958_001full.jpg

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by

Dr. Rob Bowell, a chartered chemist of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a chartered geologist of the Geological Society of London, and a Fellow of the Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Materials, who is an independent Qualified Person under the terms of NI 43-101 for uranium deposits. Mr. Bowell has verified the data disclosed in this news release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About GoviEx Uranium

GoviEx is a mineral resource company focused on the exploration and development of uranium properties in Africa. GoviEx's principal objective is to become a significant uranium producer through the continued exploration and development of its flagship mine-permitted Madaouela Project in Niger, its mine-permitted Mutanga Project in Zambia, and its multi-element Falea Project in Mali.

Contact Information

Govind Friedland, Executive Chairman

Daniel Major, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +1-604-681-5529

Email: info@goviex.com

Web: www.goviex.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All information and statements other than statements of current or historical facts contained in this news release are forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in GoviEx's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will", "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should," and similar expressions, are forward- looking statements. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information.

Forward-looking statements include those in relation to, (i) the timing for completion of the Feasibility Study required to secure project financing; and (ii) the method and timing of any test work, exploration, development or mining operations in relation to the Project by FORACO and/or ESAFOR or any other party including the Company itself.

Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurances that its expectations will be achieved. Such assumptions, which may prove incorrect, include the following: (i) that the drilling program and test work contemplated in this release will advance the Project towards Project financing and development; (ii) that ESAFOR and FORACO will be able to successfully completed the bulk if not all the planned drilling programs; (iii) the current uranium upcycle will continue and expand; (iv) that the integration of nuclear power into power grids world-wide will continue as a clean energy alternative; and (v) that the price of uranium will remain sufficiently high and the costs of advancing the Company's mining projects will remain sufficiently low so as to permit GoviEx to implement its business plans in a profitable manner.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include (i) the inability or unwillingness of FORACO and/or ESAFOR to complete the planned drill programs; (ii) results of the metallurgical test work and drilling programs will not produce the anticipated positive results for whatever reason; (iii) a regression in the uranium market price; (iv) inability or unwillingness of include or increase nuclear power generation by major markets; (v) potential delays due to COVID-19 restrictions; (vi) the failure of the Company's projects, for technical, logistical, labour-relations, or other reasons; (vii) a decrease in the price of uranium below what is necessary to sustain the Company's operations; (viii) an increase in the Company's operating costs above what is necessary to sustain its operations; (ix) accidents, labour disputes, or the materialization of similar risks; (x) a deterioration in capital market conditions that prevents the Company from raising the funds it requires on a timely basis; and (xi) generally, the Company's inability to develop and implement a successful business plan for any reason.

In addition, the factors described or referred to in the section entitled "Financial Risks and Management Objectives" in the MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2019, of GoviEx, which is available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, should be reviewed in conjunction with the information found in this news release.

Although GoviEx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward- looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance, or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances, or results will materialize. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking information in this news release will transpire or occur, or, if any of them do so, what benefits that GoviEx will derive therefrom. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and GoviEx disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80253
Hosted by Zaiba Hasan and Uzma Jafri, the mothers behind the Mommying While Muslim podcast, the Ramadan event begins at 6 p.m. ET and features such poignant moments as a keynote from St. Jude mom Sarah, who will share the story of how her family found hope at St. Jude after their baby daughter's cancer diagnosis.

The virtual Iftar celebration, which encourages the Muslim faith generosity pillar by embracing sadaqah, marks the first-ever influencer collaboration during Ramadan for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. Mommying While Muslim, the popular podcast that delves into the topics that matter most to Muslim American moms, recently shed a light on childhood cancer by sharing the stories of strong mothers like Sarah.

In 2019, first-time parents Khurram and Sarah received the unimaginable news that their 5-week-old baby girl, Imani, had a cancerous brain tumor. Surgery was able to remove most of the tumor, and Imani received chemotherapy at St. Jude that allowed a second surgery to remove her tumor completely. Imani is now back home, celebrating her second Ramadan with her family.

"St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is dedicated to the simple yet profound idea that no child die in the dawn of life," said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "I am grateful to be able to share that rich legacy of inclusion as we celebrate this special Iftar with our Muslim friends. Together we can help ensure that children throughout the world can receive the treatment they need, and get the chance to grow up and live life to its fullest."

The Iftar celebration also will introduce the St. Jude-inspired hijab now available in the St. Jude Gift Shop. Joining the Mommying While Muslim hosts will be the kids of the ADAMS Beat Choir, Reem Shaikh giving a prayer dua, and a testimonial from entrepreneur and influencer Layla Shaikley.

While Imani's treatment took her from her home in New York to St. Jude in Tennessee, Farouk's journey began halfway around the world. His parents, Hussam and Linda, Syrian refugees who had fled to Jordan, learned in 2013 that Farouk, then just 6 months old, had eye cancer. He began his cancer treatment in Jordan before his family moved countries once more, this time as refugees to the United States.

There, Farouk received treatment at St. Jude, which helps families from around the globe facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, giving kids like Imani and Farouk a chance to celebrate birthdays and other milestones like and the birth of a sibling. For Farouk, now 6 years old and cancer-free, that included welcoming a baby brother, Jude, named after the place that became a lifeline for his family.

At St. Jude, patient families find a home away from home and never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. That also includes translation assistance for families who do not speak English as a first language.

More than 90 percent of children with cancer live in low and middle-income countries, many of them lacking access to adequate diagnosis and treatment. St. Jude is working with global partners to bring advanced medical care to children in every corner of the world. Because St. Jude freely shares its discoveries, every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.

Visit stjude.org/give/ramadan to give sadaqah this month of Ramadan, and join Mommying While Muslim for New Moon, a free virtual Iftar celebration this Sunday, April 18.

Additional links:

New Moon Iftar celebration

Mommying While Muslim

About St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.

It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude won't stop until no child dies from cancer.

St. Jude freely shares the discoveries it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food  because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

SOURCE ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Related Links

http://www.stjude.org


Country star Jana Kramer is said to be currently involved a top-secret TV project that already has rumors swirling about it being the 'country' version of the Real Housewives franchise.

Jason Aldean's sister Kasi Wicks, Tyler Rich's wife Sabina Gadecki, and Dee Jay Silver's wife Jenna Perdue are also rumored to be a part of the project, according to a report by TMZ.

Some of the ladies have been teasing the project on their social media profiles, pushing the rumor mill into overdrive that they could be working on a series that will be something akin to The Real Housewives of Nashville, though it is not a Bravo network production.

Real Housewives of Nashville? Jana Kramer (pictured above in 2019) and other stars spark rumors about country music-style reality show

Sources tell TMZ that NBC is in charge of the secret project which is currently being filmed in Nashville, and that it may end up on either E! or Peacock.

However, it is all said to be in the very early stages with no contracts being signed yet, suggesting it could be just a pilot, or a bit of fun between the group of Country stars.

On Monday, Kasie posted a group shot of herself with Sabina, Jenna, and country star Jimmie Allen's fiancee Alexis Gale with the caption: 'The pony sitters club.'

Part of the club? On Monday, Jason Aldean's sister Kasi Wicks posted a group shot of herself with Sabina, Jenna, and country star Jimmie Allen's fiancee Alexis Gale

Potential cast members: Jenna Perdue (left) and Kasi Wicks (right) are rumored to be involved

Last week, Jana sent fans into a guessing frenzy as she posted a picture of herself posed up with her son, teasing the caption: 'About today....any guesses?!'

It looked as though Jana and her two-year-old boy Jace where about to film a 'confessional'-style piece for camera, promoting fans to guess that she was filming a reality show.

The rumors come after Jana revealed earlier this year that she once auditioned for The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

'I never heard anything. I mean, once Teddi [Mellencamp] got let go, that was pretty much [it], because I was going to come on as her friend,' Jana told UsWeekly.

'I feel so bad for Teddi because I love Teddi. I didn't know all the drama that went down but I do love her.'
Taofeeq Arapaja, a former deputy governor of Oyo State, has emerged the National Vice-chairman (South-west) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Arapaja, backed by Governor Seyi Makinde, scored 343 votes to emerge the winner at PDP South-west delegates congress held on Monday in Osogbo.

He defeated his rival, Eddy Olafeso, who scored 330 votes during the election. Mr Olafeso is the immediate past national vice-chairman (south-west) and candidate of former Ekiti governor, Ayo Fayose.

NAN reports that 675 votes were cast out of which 10 were voided.

Benson Abounu, Benue deputy governor, who represented his principal, Governor Samuel Ortom, as Chairman of the Electoral Panel, announced the result of the election.

Mr Abounu commended the spirit of sportsmanship exhibited by the contestants and the delegates for making the process free, fair and peaceful.

While Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State supported Mr Arapaja for the chairmanship position, Ayo Fayose, a former Ekiti governor, supported Mr Olafeso.

Reacting to his victory, Mr Arapaja said both camps would work together to move the party forward.

We thank Governor Seyi Makinde and Mr Ayo Fayose.

PDP is our party. We will work together to move the party forward.

We want to reposition the party and I will work with my brother Olafeso to achieve our aims, Mr Arapaja said.

On his part, Mr Olafeso promised to work with Mr Arapaja to move the party forward.

The storm is over, there is a new beginning for our party.

We have to thank God almighty that despite odds, there is a new beginning for our party.

The time is now. I thank everybody who supported me, Mr Olafeso said.

Earlier, Messrs Makinde and Fayose, in their opening speeches, promised to accept whoever emerges as the South-West PDP Chairman.

In his remarks, Mr Makinde described the congress as a family affair and also an attempt to reposition the PDP in the South-west.

The governor said that whatever the outcome of the election, he would take it as a family affair.

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On his part, Mr Fayose said the issue of the congress was circumstantial, adding that Makinde is our leader.

He also said that he would accept the outcome of the election but appealed to his supporters and those of Mr Makinde to sheath their swords.

Although Governor Makinde waited till the results of the zonal congress were announced, Mr Fayose left before the result was announced.

(NAN)
The ex-girlfriend of a Melbourne woman who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend has told a court she saw a body in a bathtub almost six months before police discovered the remains.

Sarah Gatt, a 40-year-old mother of four, went missing in April 2017. Police found her remains in her Kensington flat on January 3, 2018.

Sarah Gatt was found dead in her Kensington bathtub in January 2018. Credit:Victoria Police

Police allege Ms Gatts then-partner, Andrew Baker, 53, murdered her some time between April 19 and April 23, 2017. Mr Baker is this week facing a hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court that will determine whether he stands trial.

Over Monday and Tuesday, Leona Rei-Paku told the court she was in a relationship with Ms Gatt after the pair met in 2016. Ms Gatt continued seeing Mr Baker while in the relationship with the other woman.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:31:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily news briefing here Tuesday that China firmly opposes the so-called new rules for U.S. government contacts with Taiwan and has lodged solemn representations with the United States.

The U.S. State Department on April 9 unveiled new rules for U.S. government contacts with Taiwan in a statement, saying that the Biden administration intends to "liberalize" the rules to reflect the "deepening unofficial relationship" between the United States and Taiwan. "These new guidelines will continue the U.S. government's longstanding practice of providing clarity throughout the U.S. executive branch of how to implement our 'one-China' policy," the department said.

In response, spokesperson Zhao Lijian said the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-U.S. relations. The Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and the United States clearly states that the U.S. people will maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with Taiwan people, and it has been the prerequisite for the development of China-U.S. relations over the past 40-odd years, he said.

Zhao said the so-called new rules for U.S. government contacts with Taiwan openly encourage the U.S. government to engage in cooperation with Taiwan, which seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, the serious political commitment made by the United States on the Taiwan question and sent the wrong signals to separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence."

Noting that the Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests, Zhao urged the United States to recognize the situation, strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, immediately stop any form of official exchanges with Taiwan, handle Taiwan-related issues carefully and properly, and refrain from sending any wrong signals to separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence" to avoid subversive damage to China-U.S. relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Enditem
I dont know why they didnt do it the way they have set it up for other healthcare workers where you are authorised to go to a vaccine hub or a mass vaccine centre, he said. He was also concerned for his clients, none of whom had been vaccinated. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video If COVID gets into one of these homes it will spread like wildfire and these residents will die, he said. Kate Marshall, assistant state secretary of Health and Community Services Union, estimates 98 per cent of disability workers who were meant to be in Australias first wave of vaccinations  group 1a  had not yet got the shot. Some members have been told by GPs they would have to be put on vaccine waiting lists for three or four months to receive their first jab, she said.

In contrast, almost all of the residents in the approximately 200 aged care homes that are run by the Victorian government have received their first dose (some residents in these homes received AstraZeneca while others got Pfizer). A number of private companies  including Aspen Medical, Healthcare Australia and Sonic Healthcare  have been contracted by Canberra to conduct the vaccination rollout for aged and disability care workers. Mr Hunt said the aged care program was being reassessed in the light of the decision to preference the Pfizer vaccine for Australians aged under 50 after the AstraZeneca jab was linked to rare cases of a clotting syndrome. The average age of the workforce is 46, he said. Right now we will redo that assessment and thats in fact what were meeting with the states and territories about, he said.

Acting Premier James Merlino said the Victorian government wanted to step up its involvement in the vaccine rollout to assist in immunising aged care staff. We are calling for a sense of urgency, he said. We are willing and able to do more. Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen There have been more than 148,000 vaccine doses administered by the Commonwealth in private aged and disability care. It is not clear how many staff have been vaccinated and how many people from the disability sector, as the federal government would not provide a breakdown. Executive officer of disability provider Aruma, Andrew Richardson, said thousands of staff at the company were still awaiting their first dose of vaccine, along with just under 1500 people living in the services 350 specialist disability accommodation homes.

Many residents had underlying and complex health conditions putting them at heightened risk of severe illness or death if they contracted coronavirus. The process is unacceptably slow, Mr Richardson said. Its shameful. It is completely unacceptable. If we had another wave these people could very probably die. By Easter, 86 per cent of more than 11,000 surveyed Victorian private aged care nurses and personal care workers had not been vaccinated, according to the Victorian branch of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. State secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said the few that had got the jab received it through their GP or doses that were leftover from vaccinating nursing home residents. She called for the rollout to be taken over by the Victorian government and said a promise by the federal government to open dedicated aged care worker clinics by early April had not yet eventuated.

I think there is a disbelief they have been disregarded by the Commonwealth, she said. Health Services Union national secretary Lloyd Williams said disability providers were now considering bypassing the government contractors and organising their own vaccination clinics with GPs to provide vaccinations to staff and clients with a disability. Another provider was investigating issuing letters to staff, residents and their families certifying they were in the phase 1a group, in an attempt to fast-track vaccinations through GPs. They are just frustrated with nothing happening on the ground with the Commonwealth, Mr Williams said.

Loading The chief executive of Leading Age Services Australia, a group representing aged care and retirement homes across Australia, Sean Rooney said the vaccine rollout had been too slow. He said aged care operators appreciated the logistical challenges but the rollout had seen disappointment, frustration and confusion. Joseph Ibrahim, head of Monash Universitys Health Law and Ageing Research Unit, said Australia had 2700 aged care homes and 800 different providers. It meant getting staff and residents vaccinated was a huge logistical challenge. But he said some major questions about the vaccine rollout had not yet been answered. These include how consent will be dealt with (about half the residents in aged care have dementia), how new residents to homes would get vaccinated if those already there had got their jabs, and whether those in palliative care were vaccinated.
Chennai, April 13 : India's Elgi Equipments Ltd on Tuesday said that its European subsidiary was privileged to support the Italian Red Cross with an urgent compress air requirement.

According to Elgi Equipments, its European arm, ELGi Europe when approached by Red Cross responded comprehensively with a charitable contribution of an air compressor package one of Italy's Red Cross logistic hubs serving the Turin area.

"The Covid emergency has placed pressure on all people and equipment. We contacted ELGi and other companies asking if they could support us with a new air compressor to enhance our operational capacity at the logistics centre. ELGi responded immediately, visited our Centre, analysed our compressed air needs and within days, provided not just an air compressor, but a complete system including a tank and dryer," Michele Belmondo, Site Manager at the Red Cross Bussoleno, Italy said.

The Red Cross Polo Logistica Valle di Susa site is a critical logistics hub that serves the Greater Turin area with emergency services, medicine delivery, transport and meal support, for vulnerable people.

The compressed air system provided by ELGi is used to power tools, support the maintenance of Red Cross vehicles as they support the Italian Health and Emergency services and make critical medical deliveries as part of the country's Covid-19 response.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Italian Red Cross in its tireless efforts with caring for the local community during these challenging times," said Chris Ringlstetter, President at ELGi Europe.
Quito, April 13 : Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) will take a few days to officially announce the winner of the presidential runoff due to procedural requirements, a top official said here In a statement on Monday, President of the election body, Diana Atamaint, said preliminary results issued late Sunday by the CNE indicated an "irreversible" trend, Xinhua news agency reported.

But political parties "have the right" to file complaints and have them addressed before the definitive results are published, she added.

In addition, each of the 24 provincial electoral boards must review ballots that presented inconsistencies.

With 99 per cent of the ballots tabulated by noon on Monday, former banker Guillermo Lasso maintained his lead with 52.52 per cent of the valid votes (4,563,430), according to the CNE.

Meanwhile, his progressive rival Andres Arauz, a left-leaning economist endorsed by former President Rafael Correa, garnered 47.48 per cent of the votes (4,125,896).

Voter turnout in Sunday's elections was high, with 82.72 per cent of the country's more than 13 million eligible voters going to the polls, though protest votes in the form of null ballots accounted for 16.33 per cent.

Lasso's victory came as somewhat of a surprise since Arauz won the first round of the elections with a sizable lead over the ex-banker, albeit in a crowded field of candidates, and weeks before the runoff, several polls gave Arauz a minimum 7-point advantage.

However, more recent polls showed growing support for Lasso.
Moody Bridge in Williamstown, which carries Route 7 over the Hoosac River, will be the subject of three weekend closures in 2022 according to a plan from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Williamstown Looking at Four Candidates for Interim Police Chief

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The town has received four applicants to serve as its interim police chief, the Select Board learned on Monday night.

Anne O'Connor, who is a non-voting member of the interim chief advisory committee, told her colleagues on the Select Board that the search group has interviewed three applicants and is hoping to arrange a fourth interview.

Outgoing Town Manager Jason Hoch asked the Select Board to form a search committee to make a recommendation to his office for the interim post after then-Chief Kyle Johnson resigned in December.

After some initial uncertainty about the level of community interest in serving on the search committee, the town received 22 applications and appointed eight residents to the panel. O'Connor said its work so far has been heartening.

"For me, it's been a beacon of hope," O'Connor said. "There are many different viewpoints represented on the committee, but folks have been working collaboratively, working through differences.

"For me, as an observer, because I'm a non-voting member and there to facilitate the process, it's been encouraging to see their work."

It is unclear at Monday's meeting whether the search committee will be making a recommendation to Hoch, who has said he will stay through the end of the month to smooth the transition to an interim town manager, or to incoming Interim Town Manager Charles Blanchard, who was offered the post last week.

On Monday, the Select Board voted 5-0 to approve a contract with Blanchard to serve in the corner office through Oct. 8 at a salary of $1,750 per week for at least 25 hours per week.

Andrew Hogeland said Blanchard was ready to start in the position on Tuesday and planned to be in town on Wednesday.

As for Blanchard's replacement, that will be a matter for the next iteration of the Select Board to decide.

On Monday, the board looked at a projected schedule for the search process put together by GovHR, the head-hunting firm the town hired to do a nationwide search.

The proposed timeline would have the position posted in mid-May with a yet-to-be-named search committee of town residents reviewing resumes in mid June. The Select Board would in early August conduct interviews with the finalists the committee recommends and hire a full-time town manager in mid-August with hopes that the successful candidate could be on board in mid September, according to the draft timeline.

Current Select Board Chair Jane Patton said she and Hugh Daley will chair the search committee, which will have up to 12 community members, including members from other town committees, like the Finance Committee.

"We cannot have a bigger community than this," Patton said. "It becomes unwieldy and impossible to get a quorum."

Any resident interested in serving on the Town Manager Search Committee should email a letter of interest to tmsearch@williamtownma.gov by April 21, Patton said. Interested residents should include some information about themselves and why they want to serve, and they can include a resume.

Patton said that the town will keep that email address open throughout the search process to continue taking feedback, and that she and Daley will host the first listening session related to the search on Wednesday, April 14, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom

"We really want to hear from folks," Patton said. "We know there are voices out there that want to be heard, and we're working at creating platforms to be able to do that."

Monday's Select Board meeting covered a wide range of topics  from the board's annual Arbor Day Proclamation to a review of the draft warrant for June's annual town meeting.

On the latter note, Hoch informed the board and the viewing audience for Monday's meeting that the deadline to submit warrant articles for the town meeting via citizens' petition is Monday, April 19. Articles brought by citizen's petition need 10 certified signatures from residents to get on the warrant.

Hoch used Monday's meeting to inform the board and the town that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is planning work on Moody Bridge, which carries Simonds Road (Route 7) over the Hoosic River and a railroad line, for the spring and summer of 2022.

MassDOT anticipates that the work will require closure of the bridge on three weekends but has not determined which three weekends, he said. The state agency is asking for input from the town about which weekends would be least disruptive; Hoch mentioned that the town likely would want to avoid events like Williams College's graduation and reunion weekend as well as the move-in period for the college's Fall 2022 semester.

Hoch said MassDOT chose weekends for the work because traffic counts and, in particular, truck traffic counts, are significantly lower on Saturday and Sunday. The bridge closure likely will mean detouring traffic over Bridges and North Hoosac Road to Cole Avenue and back to Main Street (Route 2).

"We're bringing this up now, one to provide some awareness and two, to get it on people's radar screens over the next week so if there are particular weekends to avoid in the May-to-September time frame, email me," Hoch said.
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Temescal Wellness is planning to open a cannabis cultivation facility in the Crane building in Hardman Industrial Park.

Cannabis Cultivator Plans to Open in Former Crane Building

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Temescal Wellness is planning to turn the Crane & Co. factory into a cannabis cultivation facility with about 80 jobs to start.

Temescal, which has marijuana dispensaries in New Hampshire and Massachusetts including one in Pittsfield, has a purchase-and-sale agreement for the nearly 10-acre property inside Hardman Industrial Park on Curran Highway.

"This is something that I think is is an opportunity for both sides really," said the company's representative, attorney Joshua Lee Smith of Bowditch & Dewey LLP. "This is a great opportunity for Temescal. This is a gem of a property. They've been searching for a property for a long time and this is it.

"At the same time I think this is a great opportunity for the city."

Smith told the Planning Board on Monday that the company had been "welcomed with open arms" from the mayor on down.

The 80,000-square-foot building would be renovated into a greenhouse facility with all growing and processing done inside. There would be some exterior changes to accommodate seven loading areas but the major changes would be inside the structure as the open space for producing stationery is sectioned off for stages of plant growth. The 179 parking spaces would be slightly reduced because of the changed loading areas but total will now include three new accessible parking spots.

The stationery plant closed last year, putting more than 200 people out of work. Mohawk Fine Papers blamed the pandemic and the bankruptcy a major distributor for the closure; some employees shifted to the company's New York plant.

"I did quite a bit of research in terms of what happened, what transpired with respect to Crane and I don't want to dwell on that, it was, unfortunate," Smith said. "But I do want to emphasize that there are going to be new jobs created. So, I think that the timing couldn't be better. You're going to have an operator coming in here who is entrepreneurial in spirit, sophisticated as far as this type of an operation goes ... and [has] a terrific track record."

Temescal has agreed to an impact fee of $60,000 in its first year of operation, to $100,000 and $180,000 in its second and third year, and to $200,000 in the fourth and fifth years of the community host agreement, or 3 percent of its gross sales, whichever is smaller. It also agrees to do its best to use city vendors and hire city employees, and to participate in drug education programs.

He told the planners that Temescal has complied with local and state requirements in the communities in which it operates and benefits communities not only through host agreements but in supporting local charitable endeavors.

"They want to continue that in this community, as well. Not because they have to but because it's just part of them being a good corporate citizen," Smith said.

The security system would include cameras inside and outside, with alarmed access to interior areas, and lighting will be brought up to the state Cannabis Control Commission standards.

Vice President of Production Tom Haffly said there would be four levels of odor control.

"The first level that we have the greatest success with is carbon filtration, which we'll place in all of our air handling and air factor equipment, as well as on all exhaust equipment," he said. The others are plasma, filtration and scrubbing, and finally to a Falco odor management system.

In response to question of how far the odor could travel, Haffly said, "without treatment a couple 100 feet, you will be able to smell from the perimeter of the building, but with treatment I mean you can get pretty close to the building before you experience any kind of odor.

"When we started to put on the the final layers, you can't smell anything when we put Falco on ... It smells like, like peppermint, almost, instead of cannabis."

The facility would be open seven days a week with workers doing 10-hour shifts four days a week.

The Planning Board on Monday approved the project. The city has a right of first refusal for the property that it will act on Tuesday.

In other business, the planners:

 Approved the siting of a 121-foot cell tower for Pittsfield Cellular Co., doing business as Verizon, on land owned by Holland Co. on South State Street. The tower would be near the solar array behind Mohawk Auto Sales. Company representatives said the tower will aid in 4G coverage along Route 8.

 Approved Heather Jones to operate a training, grooming and day care facility for dogs at 96 Union St., the former location of plumbing distributor Torrco that moved to 50 Roberts Drive. Jones said she is moving to North Adams because the space she had in Williamstown is no longer adequate to her needs. The building is owned by Scarafoni & Associates.

 Approved Brendan Bullett and Matthew Tatro to operate a gift and variety store 20 Marshall St., in the former Men's World barber shop. The store will be called Pop's Variety, after the longtime Union Street package and convenience store demolished nearly 20 years ago.

 Approved Jennifer Stevens and Gregory Howard to operate an independent bookstore at 28 Holden St. to be called the Bear and the Bee Bookshop. It will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 11-7, Friday and Saturday from 11 to 8, and Sunday from noon to 6. Stevens said the store would be a carefully curated collection of used (80 percent) and new books, and a resource for health, environment, feminism, social justice and science fiction.

 Approved Continued to the next meeting a request by Blackinton Operating LLC to renovate the former church at 1288 Massachusetts Ave. as an event space for the Tourists hotel. The board had previously OKed a restaurant there but plans changed during the pandemic. The group that owns the property has also requested an adjacent plot be rezoned as Business 2, the same as the former church property. This has been recommended to the City Council.

 Allowed to be withdrawn without prejudice an application by Elizabeth Young and Jose Gonzales to sell clothing and records at 117 Union St.

 Voted against a request by Ed's Variety to put two 4-foot by 5-foot signs on the building to advertise new products. The manager, Vijaykumar Sukhdiya, was asked to work with the building inspector on signs that comply with ordinance.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Extraordinary times during a pandemic call for innovative ways to connect with potential employees. As Columbus State prepares for upcoming academic semesters, it will expand outreach to new instructor talent with a virtual event for qualified professionals to consider adjunct teaching, even if they have never taught at the college level.

Columbus State Community College Virtual Adjunct Hiring Event

Recruiting for the event, previewing online now at www.cscc.edu/adjuncts, will also emphasize outreach to candidates from diverse cultural backgrounds as Columbus State continues efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion both in and outside of the classroom. Prospective candidates can register and submit a resume prior to and during the job fair dates.

Prospective adjunct professors participating in the experience will have the opportunity to talk with department chairpersons and recruiters at Columbus State. The goal is to display the many options available and show why the College is a great place to work for both longtime adjuncts with experience at other institutions, and those just considering becoming adjuncts for the first time to leverage expertise from related professional fields.

Current adjunct professor opportunities include the academic areas of:

Biological and Physical Sciences

Business Programs

Design, Construction and Trades

Digital Photography

English

Health and Human Services

Humanities

Information Systems Technology

Justice, Safety and Legal Studies

Mathematics

Languages and Communication

Nursing

Psychology and Education

Social Sciences

Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts

Veterinary Imaging and Surgical Technology

The virtual hiring event will take place 9 a.m.-5 p.m. E.S.T. daily, Monday, April 26 through Friday, April 30, with live chat opportunities to connect with academic leadership and human resources professionals responsive dialogue and informational interviews.

About Columbus State

Columbus State Community College (cscc.edu) is one of the largest colleges in Ohio, serving approximately 45,000 students annually. Committed to equity and accessibility, and driven to innovate on behalf of our students and our community at large, Columbus State is positioned as Central Ohio's front door to higher education and economic prosperity: We create new paths to meaningful careers for students and fuel the talent pipeline for regional employers. Embracing a partnership mindset, Columbus State collaborates with university partners to provide affordable bachelor's degree options, and with the region's major employers to develop relevant, real-world educational offerings that produce in-demand workforce talent.

Columbus State's commitment to diverse, equitable and inclusive outcomes for our students and a better society is reflected in our recognition as the 2019 Leah Meyer Austin Award winner by Achieving the Dream, a national network dedicated to eliminating equity gaps in community college education. Columbus State is an Achieving the Dream Leader College of Distinction and a 2021 member of its Racial Equity Leadership Academy initiative to further institutional racial equity change.

Contact: David Wayne, Communications Coordinator

614-203-4956

[email protected]

SOURCE Columbus State Community College
"Were happy to be joining forces with such a respected tree company as Advanced Arboriculture, says SavATree CEO Carmine Schiavone. We look forward to offering current and new customers our broad range of science-based, environmentally responsible services in the care of their properties.

SavATree, the industry leader in professional tree, shrub and lawn care, has announced the acquisition of Advanced Arboriculture by Arbor-Olin of Rochester, Michigan, a full-service tree care company that has been serving a loyal customer base for more than forty years.

Advanced Arboriculture founder, Terry Jenkinson, an arborist with decades of experience in the industry, will be joining the SavATree team along with members of his staff, to ensure a seamless transition for clients. This union further strengthens SavATrees service at its Troy and Orion branches to customers throughout the Detroit Tri-County.

Im very pleased to be joining such a successful and well-run company as SavATree, says Jenkinson. In addition to the excellent arboriculture customers have received, we will now offer the following additional services: professional lawn care, deer deterrents, organic options, and holiday decor.

Were happy to be joining forces with such a respected tree company as Advanced Arboriculture, says SavATree CEO Carmine Schiavone. We look forward to offering current and new customers in the Tri-County region our broad range of science-based, environmentally responsible services in the care of their properties.

About SavATree

SavATree provides environmentally sensible tree, shrub and lawn care to residential and commercial properties throughout the country. Property programs feature organic and hybrid plant health care, lawn care and general tree careall highly customized to meet the needs of each landscape and steward.


China's Long March-7 Y3 rocket, which will launch the cargo craft of China's space station, has arrived at its launch site in southern China's Hainan Province.

The rocket, alongside the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft that has already been transported to the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, will be assembled and tested at the launch site, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said on Monday.

The CMSEO said the facilities and equipment at the launch site are in good condition and preparations are being carried out as scheduled.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is establishing itself more and more openly as a fascist force. This was made clear at the AfDs conference in Dresden last weekend, held to affirm the partys programme for this years general election. For two days, party leaders agitated against socialism, indulged in racist diatribes and demanded the end of all coronavirus protections and the massive rearmament of Germany.

The floor was taken by the Thuringia state and parliamentary group leader Bjorn Hocke, the leader of the now officially disbanded fascist Flugel (Wing) grouping in the AfD. Hocke, like hardly any other top German politician, stands for the filth of Hitlers Third Reich long thought to have been overcome: volkisch nationalism, racialist thinking and aggressive militarism.

Bjorn Hocke, leader of the the now officially disbanded fascist "Flugel" (Wing) grouping in the AfD (AP Photo/Jens Meyer)

In his infamous Dresden speech, Hocke had already called for a 180-degree turnaround in remembrance policy in 2017 and, referring to the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, had railed that the Germans were the only people in the world who have planted a monument of shame in the heart of their capital city.

His 2018 book Never in the Same River Twice is a modern version of Hitlers Mein Kampf. It warns of a death of the people through population exchange and calls for the deportation of culturally alien people from Germany in a large-scale remigration project. In doing so, there will be no getting around a policy of well-tempered cruelty.

While the supposedly moderate sections of the party around co-chairman Jorg Meuthen have in the past tried to keep a certain distance from Hocke, mainly for tactical reasons, his fascist positions have now found their way into the AfD election programme almost word for word.

The adoption of an almost complete immigration moratorium, for example, can be traced back to Hockes intervention. After the fascist warned in a diatribe of a cultural meltdown in Germany through immigration, the delegates stiffened the party programme. As a result, the right to asylum is to be de facto abolished and asylum seekers turned back at the border as a matter of principle. The text even mentions the possibility of a border fence to protect the German borders.

The election manifesto envisages Germanys withdrawal from the European Union, with the aim of establishing a new European economic and interest community, which was also pushed by the extreme right. The EU must die if Germany wants to live! bawled Karsten Hilse, a member of the Bundestag (federal parliament), to the delegates in a variation of the Nazi slogan Germany must live, even if we must die.

The influence of the Flugel also became particularly clear in its pandemic policy. In addition to its election programme, the AfD adopted a so-called Coronavirus Resolution. It calls for an immediate end to the state-imposed lockdown, criticises masks and tests, raises anti-vaccine sentiments and expresses solidarity with the demonstrations of far-right coronavirus deniers. Hocke himself repeatedly ranted to media representatives about a pandemic through testing.

The AfD is hated by the vast majority of the population. Current polls put it at 10 percent of the vote, far below its result in the last federal elections four years ago, when it won 12.6 percent. The fascists can only raise their heads so aggressively because they have the support of the ruling class.

All the establishment parties, from the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) to the Left Party, have systematically created the social, ideological and political conditions for the rise of the AfD in recent years, integrating the far-right party into the political system and adopting large parts of its programme themselves.

This can currently be seen in the pandemic. For example, the murderous profits before lives policy, which is being implemented by all ruling parties in the federal and state governments, and which has already cost more than 77,000 lives in Germany, bore the AfDs signature from the very beginning.

A year ago, when Bundestag President Wolfgang Schauble (CDU) justified the unsafe return to workplaces and schools by claiming that the right to life was not absolutely protected by the constitution, AfD Honorary Chairman Alexander Gauland agreed with him, saying, Bundestag President Schauble is absolutely right here. If the treatment of a disease begins to cause more harm than the disease itself, then this treatment must be stopped.

With this, he summed up the agenda of the governing parties. The first lockdown was ended to squeeze out of the working class the astronomical sums handed out to the financial oligarchy in the form of the so-called coronavirus emergency measures. To push through the policy of reopening businesses and schools against the will of the vast majority of the population, representatives of all Bundestag parties supported the far-right coronavirus demonstrations demanding the immediate end of all restrictions and social distancing measures.

Currently, the grand coalition of the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats (SPD) is discussing a new infection protection law with all parliamentary factions, including the AfD, which further centralises and pushes the reopening policy. Among other things, it stipulates keeping schools open even when infection rates are very high. According to the draft, schools are only to close after an incidence rate of 200 (!) for three consecutive daysand even then not without restrictions.

In many other areas, too, the establishment parties have long been putting the AfDs programme into practice. They are hermetically sealing off the EUs external borders, letting thousands of refugees drown in the Mediterranean, building inhumane camps for refugees, carrying out mass deportations, establishing a police state and organising the most comprehensive military buildup since the Nazis.

Just a few days before the start of the AfD party conference, the grand coalition gave the go-ahead for a Voluntary Military Service in Homeland Security. It is aimed directly at AfD supporters and other right-wing extremists, who are already forming extensive networks in the Bundeswehr. The new service is also a first step towards the return of general conscription, which the AfD demands in its election manifesto.

In this context, all partieseven the nominally left onessupport the goal of rearming Germany and turning it into a veritable war power. This was recently shown by the party congresses of the Greens and the Left Party. In their election manifesto, the Greens advocate massive rearmament of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) and NATO. And the new leadership of the Left Party has also made clear it would support the aggressive foreign policy course in a possible SPD-Left Party-Green federal government.

To suppress growing social and political opposition among workers and youth and to steer it in a reactionary direction, the left bourgeois parties also rely on xenophobia and racism. The latest example is the new book by former Left Party leader Sahra Wagenknecht. In it, she rails against immigrants and systematically belittles fascist forces and the AfD.

At one point, she describes the right-wing extremist demonstrators who stormed the Bundestag steps in Berlin last September waving imperial war flags as a large number of relatively apolitical, but just discontented ordinary citizens.

She writes about AfD leader Meuthen, who joined forces with Hocke at the Dresden party conference: Its right to resist the beginnings. But anyone who suspects the economic liberal professor at an administrative university, Jorg Meuthen, of wanting to introduce a new fascism in Germany, only ensures that [such] perceptions, even where they are justified, are no longer taken seriously. In doing so, she adopts the position of the fascists themselves, who denounce and attack anyone who calls them by name and confronts the fascist danger.

There are objective driving forces behind the sharp turn to the right by the Left Party and the entire political establishment. In the final analysis, it involves the same questions that drove all bourgeois parties into the camp of fascism in the 1930s. The ruling class is reacting to the historical crisis of European and international capitalism, the global development of war, growing tensions between the great powers and, above all, the return of the class struggle.

To prevent the ruling class from once again imposing its reactionary policies through fascist methods, it is necessary to build an international, socialist movement that links the struggle against capitalism with the growing opposition to social inequality, militarism and the herd immunity policy of allowing the pandemic to continue. This requires building the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) and the International Committee of the Fourth International as the new mass revolutionary party of the international working class.
Minister of Health Vlad Voiculescu informed, on Tuesday, that he requested from the Bucharest Public Health Directorate the operating permit of the Mobile Intensive Care Unit from the "Victor Babes" Hospital, and it shows that the unit complies with the hygiene and public health regulations.

He announced that representatives of the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices will be part of the investigation team, coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating the incident that occurred on Monday at the "Victor Babes" Hospital, agerpres.ro confirms.

"We already know that the health system is overworked, that people are certainly tired, the equipment is at the limit, but none of them justifies a tragedy. Today I requested the operating permit of the Mobile Intensive Care Unit from the Public Health Directorate of Bucharest. The Public Health Directorate issued the temporary operating permit on April 9, for the state of alert, as in other cases. As far as the DSP report is concerned, the Mobile Intensive Care Unit complies with the hygiene and public health regulations," said Voiculescu.

The Minister specified that he requested the Public Health Directorates to present all the operating permits of the Mobile Intensive Care Units.

Three of the eight patients that were being treated at the 'Victor Babes' Hospital's mobile Intensive Care Unit died on Monday of cardio-respiratory arrest following the failure of the system.
Hong Kong: Vaccination required for travel bubble

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said for the sake of enhanced safety, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is proposing to the Singaporean government that it would like all Hong Kong travellers to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before engaging in the travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore.

Ahead of todays Executive Council meeting, Mrs Lam explained that the Singaporean government has no objection to such a vaccination requirement.

She said: We actually had a very concrete scheme, the Hong Kong-Singapore Air Travel Bubble, in place before the fourth wave hit us.

So what we need to do is to dig out that plan to revisit that plan. For example, in October-November, when we had that plan with Singapore, there was no reference whatsoever to vaccination.

But now we are proposing to the Singaporean government that we would like our Hong Kong travellers to be fully vaccinated before they take on this air travel bubble. So this is our suggestion to the Singaporean government which, of course, they have no objection to.

Its actually enhanced safety. But they would not impose such a requirement on travellers from Hong Kong within this air travel bubble.

I expect an early indication of agreement between the two sides so that we can tell the people of Hong Kong that its time to travel to Singapore again.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said that there is no question of imposing right now while urging the people to adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour.

The chief minister also called an all-party meeting on April 18 to discuss the COVID situation in the state.

"I have called an all-party meeting on April 18 regarding the COVID situation here. There is no question of right now. The technical advisory committee has suggested that positive cases will increase here till May 2. Hence, people must abide by COVID appropriate behaviour," said Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa

Meanwhile, the government has imposed 'corona curfew' (night curfew) between 10 pm to 5 am in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkuru, Udupi and Manipal till April 20 in view of the surge in cases.

The Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday said if the number of positive cases does not come down soon, a night curfew will be imposed in other districts in the state where it has not yet been imposed.

Karnataka reported 9,579 new COVID-19 cases, 2,767 discharges, and 52 deaths on Monday. With this, the tally reached 10,74,869 in the state. Currently, there are 75,985 active cases in the state.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Natural News) Saudi Arabian authorities have announced that they will only be allowing pilgrims who have immunity to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) to visit the holy city of Mecca.

This new rule was announced on Tuesday, April 13, at the start of Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims. This is the month when they are known to devote the entirety of their days to prayer and abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset.

The rule currently applies to the umrah pilgrimage, a short and non-compulsory pilgrimage that can take place any time of the year.

According to the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, the Saudi Arabian executive department in charge of handling pilgrimage issues, there will be three categories of people who the state will consider to be immunized. These are people who have received at least two doses of a coronavirus vaccine, people who have received a single dose of the vaccine at least 14 days prior to arriving in the country and people who have recovered from the virus.

The ministry said the policy will come into effect at the beginning of Ramadan, but it did not say how long it would last. The holy month lasts for 29 or 30 days.

Only those who can prove they are immune can receive the proper permits to perform the umrah pilgrimage, as well as attend prayers in the Great Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in the world for Muslims. Similar rules will also apply to The Prophets Mosque in the city of Medina, the second holiest site in Islam.

Saudi authorities said the new policy would raise the operational capacity of the Great Mosque during Ramadan. The tail-end of the holy month is usually when most umrah pilgrimages occur.

Along with requiring immunization from COVID-19, Saudi authorities have also begun implementing strict social distancing measures for pilgrims with approval. The countrys holy sites will be regularly disinfected.

Saudi Arabia has reported more than 393,000 cases of COVID-19, including 6,700 deaths, since the start of the pandemic last year. (Related: Coronavirus comes for Saudi royal family: Elite hospital scrambles to accommodate members of royal familys inner sanctum.)

Saudi government unclear on whether rule applies to hajj pilgrimage

It is not clear if the new rule regarding immunization applies to pilgrims who want to participate in the hajj. The hajj is the compulsory pilgrimage every Muslim must take at least once in their lifetime if they are able to visit Mecca. It can only be done during a certain time every year. This years hajj will be from July 17 to 22.

During last years hajj, only 10,000 Sunni Muslim residents of Saudi Arabia were allowed to participate, which is a significant decrease from the approximately 2.5 million Muslims from around the world who participated in the hajj in 2019.

It is still unclear how many pilgrims will be allowed to participate in the hajj this year. According to Okaz, a pro-government daily newspaper, the government may permit vaccinated pilgrims to do the hajj this year.

The country began relaxing its coronavirus lockdown restrictions in Oct. 2020, when the government opened the Great Mosque for prayers for the first time in seven months, and certain visitors were allowed to visit the holy city for the umrah pilgrimage.

Before the pandemic, the umrah pilgrimage attracted millions of Muslims from across the globe each year. Umrah or hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina are key revenue earners for Saudi Arabia, whose kingdom was badly hit by the pandemic.

The country is looking for ways to reopen its economy, and it believes that allowing vaccinated individuals to conduct pilgrimages will help with that goal.

Saudi authorities have stated that the umrah will be allowed to return to full capacity once the threat of the pandemic has passed.

The country also believes it can reopen its economy once it has vaccinated its population. As of press time, Saudi Arabia has administered nearly 6.3 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine to its population of around 35 million.

Learn more about how other countries around the world are dealing with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic by reading the latest articles at Pandemic.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Mirror.co.uk

TheGuardian.com
The Bethlehem Area School District doesnt want seniors to have to add prom to the list of things the coronavirus pandemics stolen from them.

Thats why the district worked with the Bethlehem Health Bureau and ArtsQuest to design an outdoor, socially-distant prom for students Friday, May 14, on the SteelStacks campus, Superintendent Joseph Roy said.

There will be one prom for Liberty and Freedom high school students due to decreased student interest, Roy said.

And, like so many things in the last year, the 2021 prom will be different.

Students can stroll the Hoover Mason Trestle in their prom finery and take photos with a blast furnace backdrop as music plays.

But theyll be wearing masks and they wont sit down for dinner or hit the dance floor.

Roy reached out to the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce and Southside Arts District to see if merchants will offer students special prom night meals, he said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com.
WADSWORTH, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nothing is more important than your health. When you are seriously ill, nothing else matters. I know this firsthand. I was born with 1 kidney (about 1 in 10,000 people have this affliction). Normally, people can live a normal life. However, in my case, my high blood pressure wore the kidney out and I developed End Stage Renal Failure when I was 45 years old. I was in and out of the ICU and receiving hemodialysis 5 times per week.

Unfortunately, with kidney failure you develop all kinds of other problems like anemia, lethargy, bone brittleness, itching, and chills. The last 5 years I was constantly sleeping from exhaustion. At one point I had hypoxia and double pneumonia. A very scary combination. I was on my death bed. I was no longer making red blood cells, which resulted in needing a blood transfusion every 3 months. My quality of life was terrible. My life became meaningless. That's a hard pill to swallow as the CEO of a fast-growing logistics company.

During my sickness I was on the transplant list with Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals in Northeast Ohio. I was patiently waiting for a cadaver that matched my blood type, but I knew the waiting list was 3-5 years. Late last year, Steve Fracasso, a friend and co-worker, unbeknownst to me, got tested and was a match! He told me on Christmas, the best gift I've ever received.

Steve has been a friend for nearly 10 years. Not only is he one of our most dedicated and hardworking team members, but he is magnanimous and courageous. What he did is beyond words. He saved my life.

We scheduled the surgery for St. Patrick's Day, taking advantage of the Luck of the Irish. The surgery went off without a hitch at University Hospitals in Cleveland. The quality of care we received was outstanding. The team was not just experts in the field, but highly coordinated. We had everyone from the surgeons to the nephrologists to the nurses and technicians visiting us every hour. The hardest part for me was not eating for 48 hours while I was on Prednisone, a steroid that makes you ravenous.

The amazing part is Steve broke the hospital record on being released. He was home in just over 24 hours after surgery. Probably because he's an athlete and in his 30's. I was released from the Hospital on Monday night and at work Tuesday morning. The medical team could not have performed any better. We were both ecstatic with the results.

Even Steve's parents were onboard and supportive. His father is a doctor and explained all the risks to Steve, so he went in with complete knowledge. Even better, Steve's mother is an excellent cook and made me 10 home cooked meals. I ate like a king for a week.

After 3 weeks we both feel great. It's the best I've felt in more than 20 years. I'm on a lot of anti-rejection drugs, but that is a small price to pay, and nothing compares to dialysis. I do blood work every Monday and Thursday and my numbers continue to improve. I'm a new man with a second chance at life. I'm now ready to conquer the world. Where once my dreams were dead, I now value every day, hour, and minute of my life.

Thank you, Steve! From James.

For more information, contact James Adams, Chief Executive Officer, Revolution Trucking, LLC

Media Contact:

James Adams, CEO

Revolution Trucking, LLC

[email protected]

SOURCE Revolution Trucking

Related Links

http://www.revolutiontrucking.com


The first Southwest Airlines flight from Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport in 16 years was a stone's throw to New Orleans.

If Monday's inaugural flight was any indication of the Texas-based airline's efficiency, flyers will be delighted: The plane departed Bush a whole five minutes early, according to FlightAware.

BACK TO NORMAL? What the CDC says you can do now that you're vaccinated

The flight was part of the airline's expansion to the busy international airport north of downtown Houston. Southwest flights from Bush will travel to New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Nashville and Chicago.

Southwest Airlines flew out of Bush up until 2005, when the company decided to base its Houston operations out of Hobby Airport south of town. The airline will still fly out of Hobby but hopes to reach more people with flights out of Bush, too.

"People north of (Interstate) 10 will drive down to Hobby because they love our service," Vice President Dave Harvey told the Houston Chronicle. "But there are a lot of customers that we havent been able to win over because theyre not going to make that drive and kind of cut around downtown."

With more folks vaccinated, Southwest hopes to see more customers flying their airline.

Do you plan on flying Southwest Airlines out of Bush? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan.
The Australian Federal Police is launching a fresh probe into Australias most decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, as an investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes revealed new evidence.

The media investigation found Roberts-Smith had buried USBs containing incriminating photos in a lunch box in his backyard, that he had been in possession of five burner phones and that hed prepared letters threatening other soldiers who were preparing to testify about his alleged actions in Afghanistan.

And this morning we reported Roberts-Smiths employer Seven West Media had bankrolled his legal defence.

Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire is joined by deputy editor of The Age, Michael Bachelard to discuss the investigations into Ben Roberts-Smith.
A former local official in Florida indicted in the Justice Department investigation that is also focused on Representative Matt Gaetz has been providing investigators with information since last year about an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetzs activities, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Joel Greenberg, a onetime county tax collector, disclosed to investigators that he and Mr. Gaetz had encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex, the people said. The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of the men with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments and whether the men had sex with a 17-year-old in violation of sex trafficking statutes, people familiar with the inquiry have said.

Mr. Greenberg, who is said to have met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances and introduced them to Mr. Gaetz, could provide investigators with firsthand accounts of their activities.

Mr. Greenberg began speaking with investigators once he realized that the government had overwhelming evidence against him and that his only path to leniency lay in cooperation, the people said. He has met several times with investigators to try to establish his trustworthiness, though the range of criminal charges against him  including fraud  could undermine his credibility as a witness.
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa has not yet taken a decision on how to proceed with Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, a top government adviser said, after U.S. health agencies recommended pausing use of the vaccine because of rare cases of blood clots.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee on vaccines would "be looking at all the issues shortly," the committee's chair Barry Schoub told Reuters. South Africa has vaccinated almost 290,000 healthcare workers with the J&J vaccine in an ongoing research study.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)
ILION, NY - Once again Ilion residents attended a village board meeting looking for answers about the Ilion fire department. And once again Ilion Mayor Brian Lamica and the village board told them they were unable to provide those answers.

What they were able to provide them with, however, was a new budget.

The village board voted unanimously Monday to approve Ilions 2021-2022 fiscal budget. This year's budget comes in at just under $7.3 million which is a 1% decrease from the previous year.

The village also saw an estimated 17% decrease in revenues, but mayor Lamica says the village was able to offset most of those losses due to the retirement of village employees. The rest will be made up with a slight 2% increase in taxes.

"Fortunately a lot of the things that we're doing, like our water infrastructure, are all grant-funded, said Lamica. As we move forward we're able to budget a lot of that in and still try to keep and maintain the services that we've got."

The mayor said this year's budget was particularly difficult due to the uncertainties surrounding Remington Arms and of course the covid situation.

The next village board meeting will be held on April 26th at 6:30 in the Ilion municipal building.
Academics / Advising

Screaming Eagles Orientation - Virtual

Come learn more about resources at USI as you begin your academic journey with us!

Screaming Eagles Orientation will be provided virtually using the Zoom platform. These virtual orientations will last around 90 minutes and will provide a great opportunity for new students to meet staff, faculty, current and other new students; to ask questions; and to learn about resources available to help them be successful at USI.

We offere a separate Virtual Parent and Family Orientation session at the same time. This session will focus on meeting staff and faculty and answering parent and family members' questions.

Students will need to make a reservation for these session in myUSI. Students just need to look for the Screaming Eagles Orientation app. When students are making their reservation, they will have the opportunity to sign up parents and family members for their own virtual orientation session.

The Zoom links for these programs will be sent in the confirmation.

More information and additional resources are available at USI.edu/orientation.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES



TORONTO, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ion Energy Ltd. (ION, or the Company) (TSXV:ION) (OTCQB: IONGF) (FSE: 5YB) announces that it has completed its public offering of 11,500,000 units of the Company (the Units) at a price of $0.50 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of $5,750,000, which amounts included the full exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option (the Offering). Each Unit comprises one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a Common Share) and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a Warrant). Each Warrant is exercisable to acquire one Common Share (a Warrant Share) for 36 months from the date hereof at an exercise price of $0.70 per Warrant Share.

The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of underwriters led by PI Financial Corp. and which included Stifel GMP.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund exploration at its Mongolian lithium brine projects and for general working capital purposes.

The listing of the Common Shares and Warrant Shares, which has been conditionally approved, remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV).

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of 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.

About ION Energy Ltd.

ION Energy Ltd. (TSXV: ION) (OTCQB: IONGF) (FRA: 5YB) is committed to exploring and developing Mongolias lithium salars. IONs flagship, 81,000+ hectare Baavhai Uul lithium brine project, represents the largest and first lithium brine exploration licence award in Mongolia. ION also holds the 19,000+ hectare Urgakh Naran highly prospective Lithium Brine licence in Dornogovi Province in Mongolia. ION is well-poised to be a key player in the clean energy revolution, positioned well to service the worlds increased demand for lithium. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.ionenergy.ca, or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

For further information:

COMPANY CONTACT: Ali Haji, ali@ionenergy.ca, 647-871-4571

MEDIA CONTACT: Siloni Waraich, siloni@ionenergy.ca, 416-432-4920

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 press release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or 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 the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements 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 Companys anticipated use of the net proceeds of the Offering and listing of the Common Shares and Warrant Shares. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include, among others, results of exploration programs, acquisition opportunities, the ability to conduct exploration programs in Mongolia due to, among other factors, COVID-19, and the failure to obtain TSXV approval for listing for any reason. 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
After watching the unfortunate shooting of the 20-year-old in Minnesota, I am convinced that police reform recommendations should include a role for either counselors, social workers, or better yet, a position called interventionist. This persons training would include a combination of traditional certification in those areas along with a level of police training. The main purpose of this person would be to intervene when necessary and apply de-escalation techniques. This is not totally new. We use a similar process during hostage incidents. The policewoman and the young man and his family will now have to deal with a tragedy that could have been prevented. Implementation will require additional funding, good training and clear guidelines. But what is a life worth? Also, police stress levels matter!
April 13 : Actor and TV presenter Mandira Bedi came out strongly and called out trolls who mocked her daughter. The actress lashed out at the netizens who abused the little girl and ask the actress from which slumdog centre did she adopt her daughter?

Mandira and her husband Raj Kaushal adopted Tara as their daughter in July last year. The actress often shares photos of her son Vir and daughter Tara. She recently posted a couple of pictures of them on her Instagram stories, where she can be seen having fun with them. However, the actress fumed when she received some unpleasant comments on her daughter.

One internet user commented, Madam from which slumdog centre did you adopt your prop daughter? Another person wrote, The adopted street kid looks completely out of place...u greedy narcissists are scarring the slumdog for life.

Image Source: Instagram/mandirabedi Mandira Bedi slams netizens who mock her daughter

Sharing a screenshot of the first message, Mandira wrote, People like this need to be given a special mention @bollywoodforevaa. You got my attention, you piece of s**t. To the second person, she wrote, More from the model citizen. He calls himself Rajesh Tripathi, which definitely isn't his name, because sickos like this are the biggest cowards too, who only know how to wag their tongues behind the shield of anonymity.

Image Source: Instagram/mandirabedi Mandira Bedi shared on her Instagram story

In October last year, after their daughters adoption, Mandira introduced her and said in an Instagram post, She has come to us, Like a blessing from above, Our little girl, Tara. Four years and a bit, With eyes that sparkle like stars, Sister to her Vir. Welcoming her home, With open arms and pure love, Grateful, thankful, blessed. Tara Bedi Kaushal became a part of our family on 28th July 2020.
ROME, APR 13 - There were major clashes between protestors against the Lyon-Turin high-speed rail project and the police at San Didero in Piedmont's Susa Valley overnight. Police were pelted with stones and flares as work got under way for a new lorry park linked to the A32 Turin-Bardonecchia motorway. The police responded with tear gas and the clashes lasted a couple of hours. The protestors had rushed to the scene due to fears a NO-TAV base was set to be demolished, sources said. A number of police officers, workers and protestors were injured, the sources said. Protestors in the Susa Valley has staged a long and sometimes violent battle to try to stop the Lyon-Turin high-speed rail due to its impact on the environment. (ANSA).
BUDAPEST, Hungary, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Between the 10-13th April 2021, during the 29th Annual Meeting of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) - which was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation - new analysis of cariprazine studies with patients experiencing acute or predominant negative symptoms (PNS) of schizophrenia was presented by Gedeon Richter Plc. According to the scientific posters, cariprazine significantly improved patient engagement in individuals suffering from PNS compared to risperidone, and the co-administration of cariprazine with other antipsychotic medications did not show an unexpected safety profile nor overlapping toxicities. It was also shown that cariprazine was well-tolerated in the early stage of the illness (first five years) and the discontinuation rates due to unbearable side effects were also low.

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder comprising positive, negative, and affective symptoms, as well as cognitive impairment. Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the population; an estimated 5 million people struggle with this disorder in the EU. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia affect up to 60% of patients and have a significant impact on their daily functioning. Antipsychotics have been proven to be an effective treatment of positive symptoms, nonetheless the management of negative symptoms remains a considerable clinical challenge.

Based on evidence from a double-blind clinical trial, cariprazine has been proven to significantly improve engagement, defined as the patient's desire and capability to re-engage with life, in individuals with PNS compared to risperidone based on the post-hoc analysis of 11 items of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-11). The improvement (in favor of cariprazine) was statistically significant from week 14 onwards. In addition, greater change from baseline was showed in almost all investigated PANSS items compared to risperidone. The importance of these results - highlighted in one of our scientific posters - is that cariprazine can not only alleviate symptoms and improve everyday functioning of PNS patients, but also has a positive impact on their engagement with their life and treatment, which is undeniably one of the most important issues for patients and their caregivers too.

The tolerability and safety of antipsychotics is also an important question, especially when it comes to polypharmacy, the administration of two or more medications at the same time. Although recommendations favor antipsychotic monotherapy for schizophrenia, polypharmacy is common in everyday clinical practice. This especially true in the case of switching medications, where during the cross-titration phase, the patient receives two or even more drugs for a certain amount of time, hence increasing the chance of experiencing side effects. Based on the results of the post-hoc analysis of a randomized, double blind, parallel group, active controlled study in adult patients with PNS, the co-administration of cariprazine with other antipsychotic medications did not show an unexpected safety profile, nor overlapping toxicities. Given the fact that during the treatment of the disorder switching of medication is fairly common, this can be considered as a great advantage for cariprazine.

Early discontinuation of antipsychotic medication due to intolerable side effects is one of the most common causes of relapse. As each relapse significantly decreases the possibility of preferable long-term outcomes, relapse prevention represents an important clinical target in the early stage of schizophrenia. The third scientific poster of Gedeon Richter shown at EPA 2021 Virtual concentrated on this issue by analyzing and pooling 4 phase II/III double blind placebo-controlled trials post-hoc. According to the results, cariprazine was well tolerated in the early stage of schizophrenia, and discontinuation rates due to unbearable side effects were low. Relapse occurred in only a low percentage of patients. Weight gain and sexual problems, two of the most important side effects for patients in the early stage of schizophrenia, affected less than 2% of patients who took cariprazine.

About Cariprazine

Cariprazine, a potent dopamine D3/D2 receptor partial agonist with preferential binding to D3 receptors, is approved in the EU for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults under the brand name Reagila and in the US for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic, mixed or depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder under the Brand Name Vraylar. In addition, cariprazine is being investigated as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder in adults. Cariprazine is protected by a composition-of-matter patent that expires in 2029. Cariprazine was discovered by Gedeon Richter Plc. and is licensed to Allergan (AbbVie) in America and to Recordati SpA in Western European Countries.

About Richter

Gedeon Richter Plc. (www.gedeonrichter.com), headquartered in Budapest/Hungary, is a major pharmaceutical company in Central Eastern Europe, with an expanding direct presence in Western Europe, in China and in Latin America. Having reached a market capitalization of EUR 3.8 billion (USD 4.5 billion) by the end of 2020, Richter's consolidated sales were approximately EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.8 billion) during the same year. The product portfolio of Richter covers many important therapeutic areas, including Women's Healthcare, Central Nervous System and Cardiovascular areas. Having the largest R&D unit in Central Eastern Europe, Richter's original research activity focuses on CNS disorders. With its widely acknowledged steroid chemistry expertise, Richter is a significant player in the Women's Healthcare field worldwide. Richter is also active in biosimilar product development.

About Recordati

Recordati, established in 1926, is an international pharmaceutical group, listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (Reuters RECI.MI, Bloomberg REC IM, ISIN IT 0003828271), with a total staff of more than 4,300, dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Recordati has operations in Europe, Russia and the other C.I.S. countries, Ukraine, Turkey, North Africa, the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, some South American countries, Japan and Australia. An efficient field force of medical representatives promotes a wide range of innovative pharmaceuticals, both proprietary and under license, in several therapeutic areas including a specialized business dedicated to treatments for rare diseases. Recordati is a partner of choice for new product licenses for its territories. Recordati is committed to the research and development of new specialties with a focus on treatments for rare diseases. Consolidated revenue for 2020 was  1,448.9 million.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/872464/Gedeon_Richter_Logo.jpg
The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has shot down claims that elections in Ghana are won through money and gifts to party delegates and voters.



According to Mr Ayariga, It is just a myth, resources as in using money to buy the conscience of voters has never been true. It is a myth.



He made this known when he appeared on GhToday on GHOne TV on Monday, April 12, 2021, while campaigning for younger persons to attempt flagbearership positions in their various parties without intimidation from "old names" in the political scene.



Young people across the country have the energy, the capacity and now, the technology exists. Someone can win the presidency without putting up a single billboard today because of social media. You can just design a social media billboard, If the young people are excited about it, it will catch fire and by the next morning, every young person would have seen it without that candidate really spending lots of money, it just takes young people in alliance across the country determined that they want a change.



I can assure you that those billboards out there are not done by the candidates themselves people make them and put it out there. When people are convinced by the candidate, they will put in the efforts if they are committed. Trust me, the flagbearers dont have those resources to fund all those activities.



If the delegates feel strongly about a particular person, you can bring the whole world to come share with them, they will take it and still vote for the person they know will be the best option for the party, he asserted.



Mr Ayariga has therefore called on young people with presidential ambitions to take the bold step adding that their good deeds will follow them as delegates will reward them by voting in their favour even in cases where they are competing with a candidate who has a financial advantage.



They (delegates) are on the ground and they know whats best for the party. The issue of resources helps but it is a myth. Any young person in this country should be intimated by the question of resource if they are confident of offering leadership I dont want the older generation to bully us, said Mr Ayariga.



However, Ghanas former Attorney General, Ayikoi Otoo, also mentioned that some delegates are easy to have a change of mind when influenced by something during elections.



At the end of the day, it is the delegates that will have to take the decision. Things can change rapidly getting to the time of elections, things will be thrown out there. That somehow resonates with the delegates and before you say jack, theyve changed their mind. They might be going for an individual and then 'something' is thrown out there just about a week and before you see, everything has changed to the other side, said the former Attorney General.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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BRIDGEPORT - Hours before being sworn in as the city's permanent police chief in November 2018, Armando Perez in an interview asked critics of his promotion to that powerful position for a chance.

He also sought their understanding if and when he fell short: "I'm human and I make mistakes like everybody else."

On Monday Perez was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cheating to become top cop. And some community leaders were not understanding how he got what some considered a lenient sentence.
A grieving family has slammed a care home after staff allegedly threw their great-grandfather's ashes in a skip when his widow died of coronavirus.

Samuel Dunnett's relatives blasted Marnel Lodge in Basingstoke, Hampshire, after it is believed his remains were mistakenly chucked out when his wife Rita died.

Mrs Dunnett, 83, had his ashes in an urn she stored in her wardrobe and had wanted them scattered with her's near where they first met.

But the widow, who died from coronavirus three months ago, will not get her final wish as the urn was believed to have been lobbed in a skip.

Her family noticed it was missing when her room at the care home was emptied without them knowing and her possession boxed up.

Marnel Lodge bosses then offered them 500 to donate to charity as an apology for losing the great-grandfather.

Rita Dunnett kept the urn containing her spouse of 55 years Samuel's (pictured together) remains in her wardrobe

Her family noticed it was missing when her room at Marnel Lodge (pictured) in Basingstoke, Hampshire, was emptied without them knowing and her possession boxed up

Mrs Dunnett's son-in-law Peter Brickell said: 'It shows a complete lack of compassion for what her possessions were. It's totally disrespectful.

'It's appalling that someone who did not know her could go into her room by themselves and throw out things that they had no right to do.'

Mr Brickell, married to Mr and Mrs Dunnett's daughter Kelly, added: 'She had set her own funeral plan up about four years ago.

'She said she wanted both sets of ashes scattered together in the River Thames near Greenwich Park in London.

'Because that is where she and Samuel did their courting. She has had her dying wish taken away from her. The ashes are irreplaceable.'

Her dying wish was that her ashes could be scattered with his, close to where they met. Pictured: A similar urn

Mrs Dunnett moved to the care home three years ago, five years after her husband died.

The great-grandmother who had underlying illnesses fell ill on January 17. She was taken to hospital and she tested positive for Covid-19.

She died three days later with the cause of death given as coronavirus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart problems.

Father-of-three Mr Brickell added: 'Straight away she called the home and notified the care home that she had died.

'They said don't worry her room would be locked up and it might be a long time before they could go in there to retrieve the positions.

'The day she had moved in my wife took the ashes in the urn in and they went straight into the wardrobe and there they remained.

'At no stage were we contacted again by the home until February 22.

'We were phoned by the home and told all of Rita's possessions from the room had been boxed up and cleared up and could we come and collect them.

'We went up the following morning very surprised that we'd cleared the room without asking us to be present.'

Mrs Dunnett (pictured with her husband on their wedding day), 83, died from Covid-19 three months ago but the 30cm high, maroon urn was believed to have been chucked in a skip by mistake

Carpenter Mr Brickell, from Old Basing, continued: 'They promptly brought out cardboard boxes.

'We brought them home and my wife and one of my daughters realised there were lots of things missing, a Christmas hamper, a brand new bottle of perfume

'When I came home from work I said what the ashes? My wife got on the phone to the manager and he left and went searching. We were quizzing him.'

Other items were also missing, including perfume and a Christmas hamper but the care home said they had been held due to Covid-19.

He added: 'They told us they contacted relatives of people who had received boxes and questioned as to whether they got a box they shouldn't have.'

The care home also asked for the skip to be searched but the urn was not found. An incentive - believed to be 600 - was offered for workers to hunt for it but to no avail.

Mr Brickell said: 'We then had lots of conflict with the manager, he tried to say the urn was not on an inventory when she came in.

'But it was their duty of care to look after her possessions.' He escalated it with their head office and said he finally got an apology.

It was then that Barchester Healthcare - which runs the home - offered them 500.

A Barchester Healthcare spokesman said: 'We are sorry for this loss during an already difficult time for the family.' Pictured: Mrs Dunnett

In a letter regional director Duncan Edwards told the family: 'I am incredibly sorry again that your late father-in-law's ashes have gone missing.

'Sadly little can be put in place for an irreplaceable item that is so important to you and your family, and for this I am very truly sorry.

'There were evident shortfalls in our processes and communication with you and your family, and I do acknowledge that these items went missing whilst in our care.

'I also do accept communication could most definitely have been improved. In light of this, I would like to offer you 500 to a charity of your choice as a gesture of goodwill.

'I do acknowledge this will not make up for the sentimental value this holds for you and your family.

'However, I do hope this gesture relays how truly sorry we are and for the distress this has caused.'

But Mr Brickell said the offer was an 'insult', added: 'We thought they are taking the mickey out of us now.'

A Barchester Healthcare spokesman said: 'We are sorry for this loss during an already difficult time for the family.

'We have clear processes in place regarding the handling of personal possessions, which in this instance unfortunately fell short of our standards.

'Staff have been working exceptionally hard and this was a mistake that should not have happened.

'We have investigated thoroughly and spoken to those involved to ensure this does not happen again.'
LA MALBAIE, Que. - The case of a 46-year-old Quebec man who was charged with murder on Tuesday in connection with his partner's death is raising concerns once again about domestic violence in the province.

A Surete du Quebec police car is seen in Montreal on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

LA MALBAIE, Que. - The case of a 46-year-old Quebec man who was charged with murder on Tuesday in connection with his partner's death is raising concerns once again about domestic violence in the province.

Eric Levasseur was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his partner, Carolyne Labonte, who died in Quebec's Charlevoix region last month.

Provincial police say the 40-year-old woman was found dead on March 18 at her home in Notre-Dame-des-Monts, 130 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

"Expertise at the scene, combined with the result of the autopsy and the result of the ballistics analysis, led to the conclusion that Carolyne Labonte was the victim of a homicide," provincial police said in a news release.

Crown prosecutor Jimmy Simard confirmed Levasseur appeared in court in La Malbaie, Que., Tuesday morning via videoconference. The case returns to court May 5.

Simard said the suspect was arrested at a Montreal prison, where he was being detained on a weapons charge stemming from the same police investigation. A lawyer representing Levasseur declined to comment.

Provincial police spokeswoman Beatrice Dorsainville confirmed Labonte and Levasseur were a couple who lived at the same address.

Victims' advocates as well as Quebec's deputy premier have raised the alarm about a spate of killings this year linked to domestic violence. Labonte is at least the ninth woman to be killed in an alleged case of domestic violence in the province since the beginning of 2021.

Diane Neron, the director of a women's shelter in La Malbaie, near where the victim lived, said she's feeling "sadness and indignation" over Labonte's death and the deaths of the other women. Like many advocates, she believes the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened a pre-existing problem.

"Domestic violence is always there, but the pandemic exacerbated the characteristics associated with violence, such as isolation," she said in a phone interview Tuesday. Neron said victims who live in smaller communities, such as the one where Labonte lived, may also be reluctant to come forward out of fear of being recognized in a place where everyone knows each other.

She said her shelter, La Maison La Montee, is available 24 hours a day for women who need help and offers a wide array of services. But while help for victims is available, she said she believes the government still needs to provide more funding for outreach and education programs that could help prevent future tragedies.

"This is a societal problem," she said.

Quebecs highest court weighed in on the issue of domestic violence this month, as it partially overturned the sentence of a man who had previously pleaded guilty to breaking and entering his girlfriends apartment and violently assaulting her in 2017.

The Court of Appeal chose to double his one-year sentence, partly on the basis that the original judge had not adequately weighed the importance of handing down sentences that reflect the seriousness of domestic violence.

The court has emphasized on several occasions the added weight that must be given to the objectives of denunciation and deterrence in the context of domestic violence, the three-judge panel said in an April 1 decision written by Justice Stephen W. Hamilton.

Indeed, sentencing in these matters pursues two main imperatives: to denounce the unacceptable and criminal character of domestic violence and to enhance the confidence of the victims and the public in the administration of justice.

The court also concluded the trial judge had placed too much emphasis on the accuseds rehabilitation and not enough on the victims injuries, including a broken nose, or the fact that the accused had a long criminal record and was violating a previous agreement not to drink alcohol.

The court extended the mans sentence to 24 months less a day from 12 months and extended probation to three years from two. But because he had already been released almost 18 months earlier, the judges chose to stay the extra months of the sentence, meaning he was not returned to jail but was subjected to the extra year of probation.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2021.

 By Morgan Lowrie in Montreal
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.
Denton, TX (76205)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High 77F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early with scattered thunderstorms arriving overnight. Low 67F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Burma Myanmar Students to Hold Fundraiser for CDM in Bangkok

An anti-coup protester raises a decorated Easter egg along with the three-fingered symbol of resistance during a protest against the military coup on April 4, 2021 in Yangon. / AP
Consumer identity management expert Infutor today announced that its Total Consumer Insights, a robust third-party dataset with privacy-compliant behavioral and household attributes, scored among the top providers for age in a Q1 2021 Data Quality Truthscore Report of consumer data quality by Truthset.

As one of 11 data providers ranked in Truthsets Q1 2021 Data Quality Truthscore Report, Infutors record-level consumer data scored in the top tier for age+gender, age, gender, relationship status and renters. Infutor's Total Consumer Insights data accuracy ranked especially high in identifying the elusive young adult, scoring 34 percent better than the average of all providers in correctly identifying 18 to 24-year-olds. Infutors data accuracy also excelled in Relationship Status, placing third among all the data providers, and ranked second for identifying Single audiences with an index of 129 against the average score.

At Infutor, we take pride in our datas accuracy and were proud to be able to validate its quality with Truthsets independent assessment, said Kevin Dean, COO of Infutor. Marketers and brands rely on Infutors market-leading data accuracy to ensure they can effectively segment their customers and prospects, improve predictive models and better target campaigns.

Truthset, the first company to measure the accuracy of record-level consumer data, scores datasets across critical demographic attributes and their quarterly assessments are independent, agnostic and transparent.

We commend Infutor for their impressive data quality and for demonstrating their commitment to transparency by stepping up to have their data scored, said Scott McKinley, CEO and founder of Truthset. Data accuracy is critical for the advertising ecosystem to be able to leverage the power of data-driven marketing.

A multi-sourced, large-scale deterministic dataset, Infutors Total Consumer Insights provides privacy-compliant demographic attributes on 266 million US consumers across 120 million households. Marketers use this rich data to drive online and offline segmentation and predictive models.

About Truthset

Founded in 2019, Truthset is a data intelligence company focused exclusively on validating the accuracy of consumer data. The company helps brands build trust in data and improve the performance of any data-driven decision. Truthset does not sell data and is not a data broker; it compiles a likelihood of truth for any individual record that can be used to validate the accuracy of data and power more accurate consumer interactions. To learn more about Truthset, visit http://www.truthset.io.

About Infutor

Infutor is the expert in data-driven consumer identity management and identity resolution. The company is solely focused on enabling brands to instantly gain access to the most complete and accurate information about consumers, exactly when they need it, to make informed marketing and risk mitigation decisions. Infutor is regularly named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies and recognized by Crains Chicago and Built In Chicago as a Best Place to Work. A privately held company founded in 2003 with strategic investments from Norwest Venture Partners, Infutor is headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. For more information, visit http://www.infutor.com.
The family of an Arizona congressional staffer who died while camping in Death Valley National Park in California have revealed that his SUV had gotten stranded with two flat tires, and his wife suffered a severe injury to her foot during the ill-fated trip last week.

Alexander Lofgren, 32, and Emily Henkel, 27, were found on Friday on a steep ledge near Willow Creek, California, but Lofgren did not survive.

Henkel was rescued and flown to Lemoore Naval Air Station for treatment. Her brother, Chris Henkel, wrote in the description of a GoFundMe campaign that his sister required surgery.

Alexander Lofgren, 32 (left), an Army veteran working on the staff of Congressman Raul Grijalva in Arizona, died last week trying to cross a canyon in California's Death Valley National Park with his wife, Emily Henkel (right)

The Sheriff's Office posted a picture of the their white 2018 Subaru Forester with Yakima roof rack and several dogs near what is believed to be Tucson. The vehicle became stranded after getting two flat tires

The brother provided a detailed account of the incident beginning on April 4, when Emily and her husband's Subaru SUV became disabled in 'a very remote' part of Death Valley National Park.

Lofgren, an Army veteran, and Henkel, a photographer, who were described by the authorities as experienced campers, were scheduled to return home that day but never made it.

Two days later, authorities began searching for the missing couple with helicopters.

On April 8, Henkel and Lofgren's vehicle was finally located with a note inside, which read 'two flat tires, headed to Mormon point, have three days' worth of water,' Chris Henkel wrote.

He stated that his sister and brother-in-law were spotted later that same day from the air, but rescue teams were unable to immediately reach them because of the remoteness of their location.

The Tucson couple are pictured in an image released by Inyo Creek Sheriff's Office. They were supposed to return from their camping trip on April 4 but never made it back

According to Henkel's brother, his photographer sister suffered a serious injury to her foot while trying to cross a canyon. After she was rescued on April 9, Henkel underwent a surgery

It was not until 11.30am the following day, April 9, after a failed aerial rescue attempt, that a search party finally made contact with Emily and learned that her husband had died.

The cause of Lofgrens death is under investigation.

'Rescuers, family, and friends were devastated to discover that Alex had suffered fatal injuries trying to make it through Willow Creek Canyon to the nearest road for help, and that Emily had suffered a severe foot injury requiring surgery,' the brother wrote.

Chris wrote that the money raised through the GoFundMe campaign, currently totaling more than $31,000, would help the family cover the costs of the multi-agency search and rescue operation, Emily's medical expenses and Lofgren's memorial services.

'I would like to honor Alexander Lofgren for being such a loving, strong soul,' Chris wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. 'For serving his country, and protecting my sister to the end. I will forever be grateful to him with all my heart and soul.'

Lofgren (left) previously served in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan.

Lofgren worked as a caseworker in the district office of Congressman Raul Grijalva and lived in Tucson, KGUN reported. He previously served in the military and was deployed to Afghanistan.

Grijalva, a Democrat, released a statement about Lofgren's death on Twitter.

'To know Alex was to know someone who loved life, loved his family, and loved helping others. Words cannot begin to describe the void this immeasurable loss leaves in the hearts of his colleagues and his family,' Grijalva wrote.

'Alex lived a life of service and always put the needs of others first. After serving our country in Afghanistan, he came home to Arizona to serve veterans right here in Southern Arizona as a caseworker in my office.'

He continued: 'The passion he dedicated to work each day touched countless lives. No matter the situation, Alex met those he helped with a smiling face, a caring heart, and unrivaled empathy.'

Rep Grijalva released a statement last week, mourning Lofgren's death

'Alex will forever be a part of our family, and my heart is with his family, his loving partner Emily, and his colleagues who mourn him today,' he added.

Death Valley, in the Mojave Desert in eastern California, is one of the hottest and driest places in the world. It had highs in the 90s this week.

The rugged park has claimed several lives over the years. In January, an experienced climber who was descending a canyon plunged to his death when he was caught in a rockslide.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High near 80F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 65F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph.
Ghanaian entrepreneur and CEO of the EMY Award, Kojo Soboh has revealed that he was attacked and robbed by some armed robbers at gunpoint.



He made this revelation whilst giving his speech after he was officially unveiled as the cover face for the latest Event Guide magazine Accra, captured by Nkonkonsa.com.



Kojo Soboh disclosed the armed robbers disabled the alarm system at his home and robbed him and his brother carting away with some valuable items and this harrowing incident happened exactly a month ago.



According to the former member of defunct music group, Rana it was the worst experience he ever had in his life as he thought that was going to be his final moments on earth as he recounted how the robbers threatened to shoot them at the slighted provocation.



He, however, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to God for sparing his life taking him out of that dangerous moment and disclosed that the incident taught him a lesson to live life and do what he can do today as tomorrow is not promised.



Watch the video below:



Source: Eugene Osafo-Nkansah/Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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MADAWASKA MALISEET FIRST NATION, NB, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Honouring Canada's legal obligations to First Nations and working collaboratively to renew relationships are key to righting historical wrongs to advance reconciliation with First Nations in Canada.

Chief Patricia Bernard of the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation and the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, announced a major step forward on the path of reconciliation and renewal. The Madawaska Maliseet First Nation and the Government of Canada have concluded a negotiated settlement that resolves the First Nation's Alienation of Reserve Lands Specific Claim. Canada has provided the First Nation with $145 million in total compensation.

The specific claim concerns the illegal transfer of lands that were originally reserved for the First Nation in 1787, approximately 1,935 acres of land located in northwestern New Brunswick. The settlement also provides the option for the First Nation to acquire up to the same amount of land and apply to have that land added to reserve in accordance with Canada's Additions to Reserve and Reserve Creation Policy.

Achieved through dialogue and cooperation, this historic settlement agreement will help address the wrongs of the past. The Government of Canada will continue to advance reconciliation with the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation and working in partnership on their priorities.

Quotes

"Our sincere congratulations to Chief Bernard and the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation on the successful conclusion of this historic settlement. Achieved through the unwavering dedication, determination and hard work of Chief Bernard and the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation, this settlement will stand as a major step forward on the path of renewal and reconciliation between our two nations."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett, M.D., P.C., M.P.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations

"Every member of our band will be helped by this settlement, leading to great economic opportunity  not only on an individual scale for each of our members, but also for the First Nation's community as a whole and the Madawaska region. This is a new beginning for us, and it provides major economic stimulus to New Brunswick's economy in these difficult and uncertain times."

Chief Patricia Bernard, Madawaska Maliseet First Nation

Quick facts

This land claim settlement with the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation represents the largest federal land claim settlement in the Maritimes.

The First Nation filed this claim with the Specific Claims Tribunal and, in November 2017 , the Tribunal found this claim to be valid. Subsequently, the First Nation and Canada agreed to seek a negotiated solution on the issue of compensation.

, the Tribunal found this claim to be valid. Subsequently, the First Nation and agreed to seek a negotiated solution on the issue of compensation. From April 1, 2020 , to March 31, 2021 , 36 claims were resolved for over $1.7 billion in compensation.

, to , 36 claims were resolved for over in compensation. From April 1, 2020 , to March 31, 2021 , 51 claims were accepted for negotiation, including 4 claims currently filed with the Specific Claims Tribunal.

Stay connected

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You can subscribe to receive our news releases and speeches via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit www.cirnac.gc.ca/RSS

SOURCE Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

For further information: media may contact: Ani Dergalstanian, Press Secretary and Communications Advisor, Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett,Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, 819-997-0002; Media Relations, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 819-934-2302, [email protected]
Only 30 allies can decide when Ukraine can be ready for NATO membership, and no third country, including Russia, has any right to veto Ukraine's decision to choose its sovereign path, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

He said this at a briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, April 13, following an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council, which was convened at Ukraine's initiative, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"It's a sovereign right of every nation like Ukraine to apply for membership, but that is the right for the 30 allies to decide when membership is going to be offered. This is an important principle because Russia is now trying to reestablish some kind of sphere of influence, where they try to decide what neighbors can do. That is a world we really try to leave behind. Those were big powers could decide what the small neighbors could do. So therefore we strongly support the sovereign right of Ukraine to apply, and to decide its own path, and then for the 30 allies, and only the 30 allies, to decide when the standards are met," Stoltenberg said.

He stressed that NATO has consistently supported Ukraine's efforts to reform and modernize.

"Reform is the only path, the best way towards further Euro Atlantic integration, and we strongly reject the idea that we hear from Moscow that Russia has a kind of veto, a right to deny other countries, the sovereign right to decide its own path, including what kind of security arrangements they want to be part of, including a membership of NATO," Stoltenberg added.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is on a working visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 13. He took part in an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission initiated by Ukraine under Article 15 of the Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between Ukraine and NATO to implement the April 6 agreement between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Ukraine's strategic course towards full-scale membership in NATO is enshrined in the Constitution.

Zelensky said in a phone call with Stoltenberg on April 6 that the Membership Action Plan was the most pressing issue for Kyiv and a real signal for Russia. "NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbas," Zelensky said.

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Australians face being trapped for years on a 'prison island', with promises about opening the borders once millions are vaccinated now seemingly abandoned - while the rest of the world begins to move on from the pandemic.

Travel-starved Australians had been patient when they were told the borders will reopen when vulnerable groups had all been vaccinated, only for the federal government to then warn that may not be enough, due to the unpredictability of the virus.

Australia had prided itself on effectively eradicating local transmission of the virus after swiftly shutting the borders in March 2020 and introducing a series of Covid-safe restrictions.

There have been 29,437 just Covid infections across the country and 910 total deaths - a tiny fraction of the death rate in other nations.

Among those tough stances taken to control the virus spread was a ban on almost all outward travel, with special permission required and rarely granted.

Australians have been locked in their own country for 13 months and counting - with the government unwilling or unable to provide a timeline for reopening and experts saying it may be 2024 before travel gets back to the pre-Covid norm.

The cancellation of travel rights has been slammed by experts, business leaders and commentators, as well as those Australians still stranded abroad with no flights to come home, all of whom accuse the government of constantly 'shifting the goal posts'.

Part of the reason for the delayed re-opening is the glacial pace of Australia's vaccine rollout, with a meagre 1.2 million doses administered so far or 4.7 for every 100 people; compare that to 58 per 100 people in the US or an average 10 per 100 worldwide.

While those countries with a better-managed rollout are already opening up to overseas travel and trade, Australians face many more months and perhaps years of isolation.

Not only does the closure stop Australians from going abroad for holidays or to visit loved ones, it has also left a multi-billion dollar hole in the economy and the tourism industry in ruins.

Although the federal government has described vaccines as the 'best hope' to restoring Australia's connection to the outside world, and getting the economy 'moving and connected' - on Tuesday it admitted that even mass vaccination may not be enough.

There's no guarantee borders will reopen after Australia's Covid vaccine rollout is complete, the federal government has admitted (pictured, passengers at Sydney Domestic Airport)

Health care workers leave the vaccination hub at Westmead Hospital in Sydney on March 1

'Vaccination alone is no guarantee that you can open up,' health minister Greg Hunt said on Tuesday.

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders.

'We still have to look at a series of different factors: transmission, longevity [of vaccine protection] and the global impact - and those are factors which the world is learning about.'

The government's endless lockdown warning was quickly lashed by business leaders and media commentators who said Australia has turned into a 'prison island'.

'It's a terrible message to be sending out because it discourages people from getting the vaccine,' outspoken Sky News host Rita Panahi said.

'It's basically saying we're still going to be closed off from the rest of the world.

'It's a terrible policy. How much longer can we remain a prison island? At some point we have to rejoin the rest of the world.'

In the UK, travellers could be allowed to jet off overseas through a traffic-light system come May 17.

The government's cautious approach has been lashed by many business leaders and media commentators who say Australia has turned into a 'prison island' (pictured, arrivals at Ballina Airport)

About 1.1million Australians have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, as Australia's rollout falls behind the rest of the world

Poll Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up No - keep borders closed Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up 854 votes

No - keep borders closed 374 votes Now share your opinion





The UK will assess countries according to their vaccination programmes, infection rates and prevalence of known variants and ability to identify them.

It comes as the 32 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, compared to about 1.1 million in Australia.

On Tuesday, there were an additional 2,472 infections and 23 deaths in the UK. There have been more than 127,000 deaths in the UK since the pandemic started.

Israel announced it will reopen its borders to groups of foreign tourists who have had both doses of a Covid vaccine from May 23.

There is speculation that Israel - which is home to some of the world's most visited religious tourist attractions - will be on the UK Government's 'green' list when it unveils details of its traffic light system for international travel.

Other countries that have said they will reopen their borders for UK visitors in the coming months include Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Turkey.

By comparison, Australians will be allowed to travel to New Zealand for a holiday from April 19, without the need to quarantine in either country.

Interstate travel is encouraged but Australians are otherwise locked Down Under. Pictured: A woman greets a quokka

Australia was once the envy of the world due to the way it 'flattened the curve' to reduce infection rates.

Sensible travel bans and quarantine restrictions were imposed reasonably quickly and the populace was generally content to abide by initial stay-at-home requests and basic social distancing measures.

While other countries around the globe found themselves in and out of lockdowns over the past year, life in Australia remained generally relaxed and normal after containing the initial outbreak.

Victorians were forced to endure a four-month lockdown last winter due to a catastrophic failure of the state's hotel quarantine system which led to 800 deaths and 20,000 cases.

There have been a few short snap lockdowns in the past few months but restrictions have quickly eased with revellers allowed to hit the dance floor, mandatory masks a thing of the past and inter-state travel encouraged.

Passengers from Adelaide are greeted by family members after arriving at Perth domestic Airport during the pandemic

An international traveler carries their luggage into the Intercontinental Hotel on April 8 in Melbourne (pictured) - with harsh restrictions meaning most Aussies can't head abroad

Lawyer Liz Hicks accused the Australian government of 'shifting the goal posts' by previously touting vaccines as Australians' ticket to the outside world.

Fears are growing highly infectious 'mutant strains' seen in the UK, South Africa and Brazil could also make vaccines less effective in years to come, after an Israeli study this week found 'breakthrough infections' are possible after receiving the dose.

Such mutant variants are among the reasons why Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have warned that widespread use of current vaccines may not be enough to open borders.

No coronavirus vaccines, including the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs Australia is relying on, are 100 per cent effective against the deadly virus.

A passenger wearing a facemask arrives at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport from New Zealand (pictured) - the only country in the world Australians can travel to

With over 23million cases still active across the world, Mr Morrison has made no apologies for playing it safe.

'It's not safe right now to open up our international borders. Around the world, COVID-19 is still rife,' he said on Monday.

'We are still seeing increases in daily cases, particularly in the developing world... but around the world, it is still a very dangerous situation because of Covid.'

Back in January, the prime minister said vaccination in 2021 was 'a key component' in Australia's handling of the pandemic, and previously said it would be as 'mandatory as possible'.

He even said that if the vaccines were effective at preventing transmission, borders could open sooner than expected - but that is no longer the case.

'The key thing I think is going to impact on that decision, is going to be whether the evidence emerges about transmissibility, and how the vaccine protects against that,' Mr Morrison said in February 2021.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visits a vaccine manufacturing facility in Melbourne (pictured) but health minister Greg Hunt has since admitted jabs won't be enough to open borders

Australia's top doctor professor Brendan Murphy also said vaccine efficacy would help relax borders as soon as the second half of 2021.

'In all likelihood they will have a significant effect on transmission,' he said in February.

'If that's the case they should allow progressively over the second half of this year, some relaxation of border measures and other measures.'

Innes Willox, from employer association AI Group, urged Australia to keep soldiering on with its vaccine rollout for the sake of the economy, saying the nation risks being trapped in a 'gilded cage' with indefinitely shut borders.

'Without an effective vaccine program our states would continue their lazy approach of needlessly shutting their borders to cover the inadequacies of their tracking and tracing systems,' Mr Willox told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'Vaccines at least gives us a chance of reconnecting with what will still be a very different world.

'Without it, we risk being trapped in our gilded cage for many years to come.'

Passengers arrive on a Qantas flight from Melbourne at Sydney Airport to be met by health officials taking their temperature (pictured) with domestic travel back on across the country - but there's no end in sight for international border closures

The decision to bunker down for longer comes as stranded Australians accused the government of leaving them at the wayside overseas, with foreign nationals now outnumbering them for new arrivals Down Under.

Foreign nationals can get into Australia, but must still quarantine for the mandatory two weeks in hotels, by getting exemptions - usually for essential work such as doctors and nurses, or for compassionate family reasons.

In February, just 44 per cent of arrivals from overseas were Australian citizens, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

Lucy Morrell from strandedaussies.com - a website set up during the pandemic to advocate for the 36,000 stuck overseas and unable to return home - said Mr Hunt's statements mean citizens and permanent residents will essentially become stateless.

She said as Anzac Day approaches its important to remember we're 'leaving Australians behind' in a crisis.

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders,' Greg Hunt (pictured) said on Tuesday

Nurse Jen Ives receives a Covid-19 vaccination in Tasmania at the North West Regional Hospital (pictured) as the rollout continues slower than planned

Australia has not recorded a single case of community transmission within the last week, with all new infections tucked away in mandatory hotel quarantine.

Deloitte economist Chris Richardson anticipates there will be some sort of quarantine remaining for incoming travellers for some time.

'That keeps international travel - both inbound and outbound - pretty weak in 2022, and it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024,' he said.

Last week health authorities recommended the AstraZeneca vaccine should only be given to people above 50 due to the risk of blood clotting, sending the rollout into chaos.

Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine, administered by Registered Nurse Morgan Sleader at Townsville University Hospital on March 5, 2021

It was the vaccine the Australian government was relying heavily on, but it has since ordered an additional 20 million Pfizer vaccine doses that will be shipped from abroad later in the year.

That means Australia's vaccination program may not be complete until well into 2022 - far behind many other developed nations and even worse than the likes of Rwanda, Indonesia and Bermuda.

On Friday, 88,500 new vaccine doses were administered, bringing the total number inoculated to 1.16 million - well short of the four million Mr Morrison originally promised by the end of March.

Mr Morrison dumped the target on Sunday due to 'uncertainties' surrounding vaccine imports.

Trade Minister Dan Tehan will travel to Europe on Wednesday to urge his German, Belgian and French counterparts to do what they can to increase vaccine production.

Many of the world's vaccines, including AstraZeneca and Pfizer, are manufactured in Europe.

But because of the continent's export controls, it has effectively blocked contracted supplies to countries including Australia.

Passengers at Sydney International Airport arrive after flying in from Auckland, New Zealand on September 18, 2020

Australia has rapidly fallen behind other nations for its Covid-19 vaccine rollout leaving it 102th in the world, as doctors call for state governments to take over.

The federal Government had originally planned to have four million doses administered by April 1, but was 3.4 million doses short of meeting its target.

So far, the rollout has been plagued by delivery delays and complications, with many GP clinics simply unable to give out the desired number of jabs.

The Australian Medical Association slammed the rollout delays as 'unnecessary'.
TEL AVIV, Israel, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nasus Pharma Ltd, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing needle-free, powder-based Intranasal (PBI) specialized product portfolio to address acute medical conditions & public health threats, announced positive results from a pivotal trial of intranasal powder-based Naloxone.

The results of this single-dose, bioequivalence study of FMXIN001 4 mg microspheres powder and Narcan 4 mg/0.1 ml nasal spray showed that FMXIN001- Nasus Pharma powder-based Naloxone was absorbed significantly faster into the blood. Most notably in the first minutes and up to one hour, FMXIN001 created significantly higher blood levels of Naloxone during the critical time frame for life-saving treatment of opioid overdose.

Area Under Curve (AUC) measured after nasal inhalation of FMXIN001 in the first 4 minutes was 163% compared to solution-based Narcan ( p=0.005), 125% after 10 minutes ( p=0.047), and AUC between 10-30 minutes was 113% compared to Narcan ( p=0.01) whereas Cmax was 113% ( p=0.003). 42 health volunteers participated in the study. All side effects were minor and self-resolving, representing an excellent safety profile.

The immediate timeframe for treating victims of the opioid overdose by public health emergency is extremely short and getting Naloxone quickly into the blood stream could have a critical influence on patient's condition and mortality risk. The rapid rise in Naloxone levels in the blood may be advantageous for reversing respiratory depression in opioid overdose. The superior absorption profile and the superb safety can position FMXIN001 as the leading overdose reversing drug.

Because Naloxone is a competitive opiate receptor antagonist, its efficacy in reversing overdose depends on both the quantity of opioids used and their relative affinities for opiate receptors. This information is rarely available to first responders (or bystanders) attempting to resuscitate a suspected overdose, therefore immediate and effective treatment is critical.

Over 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020, the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to recent provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)[i]. This is especially relevant because of the dramatic rise in the abuse of high-potency opioids such as fentanyl that requires higher concentrations of Naloxone to treat overdose. Indeed, field studies show that about a third of opioid overdose victims will need a second dose within the first few minutes and about 16% will need a third dose.

"The results announced today demonstrate the impressive advantages of Nasus Pharma powder-based intranasal technology combined with the tested reliability of Aptar Pharma's Unidose Powder device," said Dr. Dalia Megiddo, Nasus Pharma co-founder and CEO. "The advantages of intranasal administration of Naloxone in the treatment of opioid overdose are well established, and absorption of our powder-based Naloxone to the blood in the first few minutes could signify higher lifesaving effect especially in patients with serious respiratory depression. We are focused on our NDA submission later this year with an objective to commercialized FMXIN001 in 2022."

Udi Gilboa, Nasus Executive Chairman and Nasus Pharma co-founder added: "The current COVID pandemic masked the ongoing pandemic of opioid overdose in the public eye, despite the fact that it contributed to the alarmingly increased use of high potency opioids and the rising mortality from overdose. We believe FMXIN001, with its very well differentiated IP protection, can be a more effective way to deal with this critical public-health threat, and to better treat victims of opioids overdose non-invasively and safely. We are working toward commercial readiness during 2022."

About FMXIN001

Nasus Pharma IP protected powder-based composition for intranasal delivery is comprised of uniform spherical API's and a carrier approved for inhalations. The active compound's shape, size, and morphology in combination with a device provides rapid and precise delivery of the drug to the blood stream. FMXIN001 is a combination drug device using Aptar Pharma's Unidose Powder device. Each single use device contains 4 mg of Naloxone powder. More details can be found on the Nasus Pharma website.



About Nasus Pharma

Based on its unique microsphere technology, Nasus Pharma is developing a number of intranasal powder products aimed at assisting patients in several acute emergency situations such as opioid overdose and anaphylactic shock.

Intranasal administration is most suitable for those situations in which rapid drug delivery is required and offers multiple advantages such as rapid drug delivery, ease of use, non-invasiveness, and safety. Nasus's portfolio comprises a number of programs: Intranasal Naloxone completed pivotal study and Intranasal Epinephrine (phase 2) as well as a number of preclinical POC programs.

[i] https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2020/han00438.asp

Contact:

[email protected]

Nasus Pharma Ltd. Israel

https://www.nasuspharma.com

SOURCE Nasus Pharma

Related Links

https://www.nasuspharma.com/


Analysis: Mississippi Unlikely to Ease its Election laws

Mississippi legislators imposed no new limits on the election process during their recently ended session, but this state already had some of the strictest voting laws in the U.S.

Widespread early voting? Not in Mississippi. This state has a limited number of reasons for people to cast absentee ballots.

Some states have drop boxes where early voters can leave their ballots. Mississippi does not have drop boxes, which means people mailing back absentee ballots have to deal with the uncertainties of the U.S. Postal Service.

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Mississippi requires absentee ballot applications to be notarized. Critics say this is burdensome for college students and others who will be out of town on Election Day, because they have to find a notary.

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who spent three terms as secretary of state, said in interview at the end of the legislative session that he would oppose any effort to remove the notary requirement for absentee ballot applications.

One of the things it is not burdensome on is ballot harvesting, Hosemann said. That is the practice of collecting and returning absentee ballots for multiple people.

Some states emphasize voting by mail, automatically sending ballots to people who put themselves on a list of permanent absentee voters. Mississippi does not, and Republicans who control the Legislature are unlikely to change that.

The current secretary of state, Republican Michael Watson, said during a March 26 interview on WLOX-TV that he opposes any move by the federal government to set new rules about voter registration or mail-in voting.

Think about all these `woke college university students now who would automatically be registered to vote, whether they wanted to or not, Watson said. Again, if they didnt know to opt out, they would be automatically registered to vote. And then they receive this mail-in ballot that they didnt even know was coming because they didnt know they registered to vote. You have an uninformed citizen who may not be prepared and ready to vote, automatically its forced on them, `Hey, go and make a choice. And our countrys going to pay for those choices.

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Watsons comments have come under broad criticism, including from Democratic former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus, who responded on Twitter: His talking points are from 1950s. Slightly updated. Literacy tests anyone?

Literacy tests were outlawed by the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. The tests could include impossible questions like how many bubbles are in a bar of soap, and they were among the discriminatory measures that Mississippi and other Southern states used to suppress Black voting.

A Democratic state lawmaker, Rep. Hester Jackson McCray of Horn Lake, announced as the legislative session ended that she is leading an effort to let Mississippi voters decide whether they want early voting. She is sponsoring an initiative that would allow people to vote at least 10 days before an election at the offices of circuit clerks or municipal clerks and at other qualifying polling sites.

Current Mississippi law says absentee voting is available for anyone 65 or older, or for voters of any age who are permanently disabled or will be out of their home county on Election Day. People who have to work on Election Day when polls are open also are allowed to vote absentee.

Legislators tweaked the law in 2020 with temporary provisions to allow absentee voting by someone with a temporary or permanent disability that may include a physician-imposed quarantine due to COVID-19 or by a person caring for someone in that circumstance.

Getting an initiative on a statewide ballot is challenging. Petitioners must gather more than 100,000 signatures from registered voters. Its worth noting that most initiative organizers fail to get enough signatures. And even if the petition effort is successful and an initiative gets on a ballot, theres another big pitfall. Legislators are allowed to put another proposal dealing with the same issue on the same ballot _ and that can lead to confusion among voters.
Burmese Australians have urged the Morrison government to reach out to members of the deposed Myanmar government and to allow more than 3000 citizens of the country to stay in Australia once their visas expire.

Australian officials on Tuesday revealed the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttawa (CRPH), a group of elected lawmakers from the ousted government, had reached out to Australia, but it has not yet responded.

Anti-coup protesters holding pictures of those who died during a protest offer prayers for them. Credit:AP

Melinda Tun, an Australian lawyer who is an expert in the Myanmar legal system, on Tuesday told a parliamentary hearing that Australias response so far has been weak, slow and ineffective.

She said other countries had already engaged with the CRPH, adding it was not time for quiet diplomacy.
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Jason Kenney May Be in Some Trouble, but Dont Count Him Out

Commentary

If polls are to be believed, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is in some trouble. A recent opinion survey, for what its worth, put Rachel Notleys NDP opposition slightly ahead of the United Conservative Party (UCP), within reach of forming a majority if a vote were held now.

Kenneys popularity has eroded during the COVID-19 crisis despite the factor perhaps because of itthat Alberta has had some of the least restrictive confinement rules adopted by provincial governments to shield failing health-care systems.

Canadian voters love the secure feeling of being in the charge of lockdown enthusiasts. Thats where Kenney started. He was stampeded into panic in March 2020. Already in a dispute with doctors at the time, he gave in to the takeover of medical bureaucrats and set aside the existing provincial emergency pandemic plan.

He came close to veering into a new direction when he apologized for the mistake his government made in distinguishing between essential and non-essential retail businessesa mistake that greatly hurt his baseonly to jump right back into that harmful dichotomy a few weeks later. And just as Albertans expected to exit the second wave confinement, Kenney took the province right back into greater restrictions in fear of virus mutations.

To his opponents, Kenney has been either slow or callous, and some say both. They are often from liberal professions, academics, teachers, or unionized government workers who are happy to stay home, receive full pay, and get busy advocating for more draconian lockdowns on social media. No depth of locking down will turn this crew into Kenney voters.

A large swath of his once-faithful supporters feels abandoned or betrayed: They are small and medium entrepreneurs, farmers and ranchers, shopkeepers, blue-collar and service industry workers. Health bureaucrats have closed their shops and businesses, barricaded their churches, and pushed them into bankruptcy or unemployment, vapourizing their savings in a province that was already in recession before the virus arrived.

Kenney fights for these supporters against the harmful federal policies that are undermining the provinces economic engines, but enabled medicalized local orders to hurt their ability to support families. They are an important part of the coalition Kenney assembled from the fractured conservatives in the province. They are now bailing out of his party in search of new political vessels, and it might be difficult to get them back.

Last week, a quarter of the UCP caucus fired a shot across Kenneys bow, expressing displeasure with the continuation of crippling health restrictions. This threat from within exposes the rift between rural and urban party members that may endanger his coalition. On the left and on the right, from within and from without, Kenney is threatened.

Accordingly, eager pundits are announcing a crisis of governance and some of Kenneys opponents are sounding victory trumpets, but the gloating may be premature. Though the sands of Kenneys popularity may be shifting, three things must be kept in mind.

First, its a common mistake in human affairs to assume that tomorrow will be the same as today. Shifting sands can reverse direction. There are two years to the next Alberta election and there may be plenty of opportunities for Kenney to change his fortunes. (He might, for instance, unexpectedly summon the apparent humility of his hero, Ralph Klein. Or he could apologize for the multiple COVID-19 crisis blunders and reverse policy course.) Without the COVID-19 distractions, he might get back on track.

Second, Kenneys low popularity comes from his own miscalculations and not from his opponents abilities. Its always unwise to rely on the blunders of opponents to reach victory. That strategy did not work for the federal Conservatives in 2015, for instance. Justin Trudeau was unwilling to fall on his sword as expected and campaigned brilliantly. Kenneys opponents will have to work harder and expand their circle of persuasion. The NDP still lacks depth and sufficient talent, and they remain quite short on attractive policies to Albertans. The smaller challengers have unrealized potential: They are short on imaginative leadership and some lack resources, policy depth, and organizational abilities.

Third, Kenney remains, his recent mistakes notwithstanding, one of the most capable politicians in the country and has a tireless work ethic. A Trudeau Liberal hat trick in Ottawa may present him with new challenges but may also offer unique opportunities. Crucially, Jason Kenney is a persuasive communicator capable of charming even hostile gatherings, and he is a formidable political campaigner who rarely backs down from challenges.

The die for Albertas next election is far from cast. Kenney is down, but dont count him out.

Marco Navarro-Genie is senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and President of the Haultain Research Institute. He is co-author, with Barry Cooper, of COVID-19: The Politics of a Pandemic Moral Panic (2020).

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The new digital regulator must have tough legal powers to force tech giants like Google and Facebook to pay news organisations fairly for content, the competition watchdog said today.

Daniel Gordon, from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), told peers that a planned code of conduct for online platforms was 'necessary' to protect the interests of newspapers, websites and advertisers due to Google and Facebook's online dominance.

Facing the Lords' Communications and Digital Committee this afternoon he said that the UK needed a beefed-up version of a code introduced in Australia earlier this year, and could also look at examples from other countries including Germany.

A code of conduct introduced Down Under sparked a furious row as Facebook cut access to websites including MailOnline rather than pay fairly for content.

It prompted accusations of bullying, before the Australian government backed down and softened the law.

The UK's new regulator, the Digital Markets Unit, is expected to get legal power to suspend, block or reverse anti-competitive action by tech giants in a bid to create a level playing field for news publishers and other digital businesses.

It was launched last week and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden revealed it could also investigate Google's algorithms.

This was confirmed today by CMA director Simeon Thornton, who told peers: 'It is understandable news media organisations, to whom Google is a very important source of traffic, will want to be able to plan and want to have confidence that when Google makes changes to its algorithm it is not motivated by nefarious commercial considerations.

Daniel Gordon, from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) told peers that a planned code of conduct for online platforms was 'necessary'

He said it would protect the interests of newspapers, websites and advertisers from the impact of Google and Facebook's online dominance

Mark Zuckerberg's actions in Australia were called 'deeply disturbing' by UK politicians

'Clearly algorithms are going to change, it is the nature of those algorithms that they must change over time. But I think the position we have reached in relation to algorithms is that they may merit in the DMU being able to scrutinise those algorithms to see whether there are considerations being taken into account that shouldnt be taken into account, for example financial considerations.'

Mr Gordon, who who is senior director of markets at the CMA, told peers this afternoon: 'The Australian experience is a good place to start, we would agree with another sort of important feature with it.

'The first is that the code is statutory, that is something we have said, that the code of conduct needs to be enforceable, it needs to be in law.

'That relates not just to newspaper groups but to the interactions with other businesses and all the other terms that would be in the code of conduct.'

The Government will consult this year on the final design of the new regime and the powers the DMU will have, with the aim of bringing in legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

One focus of the DMU will be to work with media regulator Ofcom to establish the codes of conduct governing the relationship between the Press and online platforms.

As the DMU was launched the Culture Secretary told the Daily Mail that measures aimed at pushing online platforms to take down harmful content will not give them licence to remove legitimate news content.

CMA director Simeon Thornton told peers: 'It is understandable news media organisations, to whom Google is a very important source of traffic, will want to be able to plan and want to have confidence that when Google makes changes to its algorithm, it is not motivated by nefarious commercial considerations.'

He said that tech companies could potentially face 'very significant fines' if they failed to protect 'freedom of expression' and proper journalistic content.

Facebook was condemned by politicians and users around the world after it blocked 25million Australians from viewing and sharing news articles in February.

The 'arrogant and disgraceful' move - which also banned charity, health authority and emergency services pages - came after Australia's ground-breaking news media bargaining code passed the lower house of Parliament on February 17.

But following talks with Mr Zuckerberg, the government made some last-minute changes to the law which appeased the tech giant and convinced it to undo the ban.

Mr Gordon told peers this afternoon: 'We would have broad agreement with the objectives, the general objectives of the Australian approach.

'The code is necessary, the code is in place to ensure there are fair and reasonable terms between the platforms and the businesses they interact with.

'It is not just newspapers of course, its advertisers, it is other content providers and obviously newspapers are particularly prominent in the discussion as we have seen in Australia.

'I think we would definitely agree with that. The essential question is what sort of approach do you take to implementing, to reaching that outcome, to getting those fair and reasonable terms.'
Romgaz is ready to take over ExxonMobil's share in the Neptun Deep Black Sea offshore natural gas project, and funding that will be a mix of equity and raised money, Romgaz Director General Aristotle Jude told a news conference on Tuesday.

"On March 31, we submitted an offer to take over ExxonMobil's share in the Neptun Deep block. The procedure is carried out by an intermediary bank and we are waiting for the answer as soon as possible. If our bid is considered attractive, we will negotiate the contract to take over," Jude said.

"Romgaz is ready to provide, through a consortium of banks, the necessary funds for this project. So, we will provide both our own sources and raised funds, conditional of course, upon our bid being accepted," added Jude.He said that he had also talked with OMV Petrom and that there were no problems with the collaboration between the two companies.Currently, ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom are equal partners in the deepwater Neptun Deep project, where exploration has revealed deposits estimated at 42-84 billion cubic metres. For comparison, Romania produced 9.2 billion cubic metres in 2020.ExxonMobil has announced weighing an exit from Romania, and Romgaz has submitted an offer to take over the US company's stake. In their turn, OMV Petrom executives announced that next year they will take the decision to invest or not in this project, depending on legislative changes.
GREENWICH  Throughout the debate over new state zoning reform bills, Greenwich has insisted that a local solution can better handle the need for more affordable housing than a Hartford mandate.

And on Saturday, that argument seemingly got an endorsement from a prominent hometown voice: Gov. Ned Lamont.

Speaking at a plaque dedication for new townhouses in the Armstrong Court affordable housing complex, Lamont, a town resident, gave a thumbs up to Greenwichs local efforts.

We dont need the state government to tell us what to do if were doing the right thing and taking the lead on this, Lamont said in a video taken at the event, after praising First Selectman Fred Camillo and others who have worked to upgrade the towns affordable housing stock. Thats what I really want to salute. ... Weve got to continue to take the lead or else folks do step in.

The debate over who determines where affordable housing is built has taken on new urgency with the announcement Monday of close to $50 million in investment in affordable housing projects across the state, including in Stamford and New Haven. The funding will need the approval of the Bond Commission.

Camillo, Greenwich Communities Board of Commissioners Chair Sam Romeo, Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Margarita Alban and others have voiced their opposition to several bills aimed at increasing the states affordable housing offerings now before the legislature, including Senate Bill 1024 and House Bill 6107.

The bills have been criticized for putting in place new state mandates to create affordable housing that, local officials said, would not work in Greenwich and ignore the towns existing efforts to create more housing stock.

On Monday, Camillo said Lamonts remarks show there is no need for anybody to dictate to Greenwich, where, he said, there is already a concerted effort to address a lack of affordable housing.

Lamont was strongly in support of what were doing here in Greenwich and in support of local control, Camillo said. What weve been saying all along is that weve been doing things through local initiative, not state mandate. Were doing pretty well now but we want to do better. As the governor said, you want people who work here to live here.

Lamont, a past member of the towns Board of Selectmen and of the Board of Estimate and Taxation, spoke briefly at Saturdays event.

The work done by Greenwich Communities, he said, demonstrates that our towns, starting with my town, Greenwich, made a commitment to affordable housing.

DesegregateCT, an advocacy coalition pushing for the creation of more affordable housing in the state, has endorsed SB 1024, which it says will enable more diverse types of housing to be developed and will improve zoning processes that have historically restricted housing opportunity, thereby making Connecticut more equitable, inclusively prosperous, and sustainable.

In response to Lamonts comments, a spokesman for DesegregateCT said on Monday that, While the nation built 17 percent more housing units over the last year, Connecticut produced 30 percent fewer units, which means skyrocketing prices and more housing insecurity for many families already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. We expect Gov. Lamont to make good on his past statements that Black Lives Matter and We must take action to reach the goal of a more equal and just society by supporting common-sense zoning reforms this legislative session.

The Saturday plaque unveiling was designed to honor the people involved in the planning and construction of upgrades at Armstrong Court and completion of Phase 1s 18 new townhouses.

Last week, Greenwich Communities announced construction would start on the second phase of the project: remodeling existing one- and two-bedroom units at Armstrong Court into three-bedroom apartments with new appliances and other improvements.

In addition to the work on Armstrong Court, Romeo has said there are plans to break ground on another 300 units of affordable housing in town. The towns Planning and Zoning Commission is also working on establishing a housing trust fund that would allow private money to be used to help developers like Greenwich Communities.

On Monday, state Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, R-149, who attended Saturdays unveiling, told Greenwich Time that it was such a validation to have Gov. Lamont not only recognize, but value and celebrate, the importance of local people being intimately involved in creating affordable housing solutions.

State Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-150, who also attended, said Lamont has shown he thinks a carrot is better than a stick. ... The trouble with moving zoning control and incentivizing builders is that you have non-community participants deciding what, how and where to build. That inevitably leads to conflict, whereas empowering the Planning and Zoning and encouraging them to build affordable and workforce housing is a more constructive way to go.

Max Reiss, Lamonts director of communications, said Saturdays remarks were consistent with past statements from the governor about his support for affordable housing in the state: We believe incentives work when it comes to development.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
Last year, HighGold sunk over 16,000m in 32 holes at the Alaska asset

The JT deposit has now been expanded to a total strike of 500m and a down-plunge distance of 575m

Mining Inc ( ) ( ) told investors it will mobilize for this year's fully-funded drill program at its flagship Johnson Tract (JT) polymetallic gold project in mid-May as it revealed all assays had now been received for 2020's work.

Last year, sunk over 16,000 metres (m) in 32 holes at the Alaska asset and notably, the gold, copper, zinc, silver, lead mineralization associated with the JT deposit has now been expanded to a total strike of 500m and a down-plunge distance of 575m.

It remains open along strike to the northeast and southwest and at depth.

Highlights in 2020 also included the discovery of VMS mineralization 600m northeast and on trend from the JT deposit, which opens up the potential for a new style of mineralization.

There was also the discovery of strongly mineralized copper, gold, zinc boulders, 200m up-valley from the deposit, known as the Gap target, highlighting the potential along a newly defined mineralized corridor, said .

"We are very pleased to see that the extent of the JT mineralized system is growing as we continue to step out northeast and down-plunge of the deposit, said CEO Darwin Green.

"Focus will now turn to the upcoming 2021 field season in which we will be targeting both larger step-outs to the northeast and down-plunge with wide-spaced drilling for additional zones of high-grade gold and continued expansion of the JT Deposit."

Green added that outside of the JT Deposit, the company was also set to drill the highly prospective DC target and rank a series of large areas of gold and silver mineralization (rock and soil geochemistry), which are prime targets for follow-up.

HighGold also highlighted the emergence last year at Johnson Tract of the Footwall Copper Zone, a new zone of copper-silver rich mineralization now hit in seven drill holes.

At the main JT deposit area this year, the drill focus will include systematic step-outs along strike and down-plunge from the current modeled resource testing the 600-meter long Gap target.

The company also aims to examine the sparsely-drilled northeast-trending prospective corridor between the JT Deposit and the original Northeast Offset (NEO) target.

The program and budget for the 2021 program will be announced in detail in late April, it added.

Highlight assays from the final nine 2020 holes reported today included a length of 1.10m at 10.9 g/t gold-equivalent and 9m at 2.3 g/t gold-equivalent at JT Deposit expansion drilling.

Johnson Tract lies near tidewater in south-central Alaska. It hosts the high-grade JT deposit, which has a resource of 750,000 indicated ounces of 10.9 g/t gold equivalent and at least nine other prospects over a 12km strike.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
A Montgomery father has been charged in the weekend death of his infant son.

Police on Tuesday announced the arrest of Ricardo Ocana. The 20-year-old is charged with capital murder in the death of 5-month-old Austin Diaz Flora.

On Wednesday, April 7, police responded about 11:30 a.m. to a Montgomery hospital after receiving a report of an infant with life-threatening injuries, said Lt. Jarrett Williams. The infant boy was taken to Childrens of Alabama in Birmingham where he was pronounced dead Saturday.

Few details have been released but Williams said a forensic exam of the child resulted in the death being ruled a homicide.

Ocana was taken into custody Tuesday. He is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Facility.
As a little girl in Phnom Penh in the early 1990s, Rotanak Ros would sell fresh vegetables with her mother. Cambodia was emerging from years of colonial rule, civil war and genocide, and life in its capital city was booming. Her mother, busy at the market, didnt cook every day. But Ms. Ros fondly remembers the meals she prepared.

Every single time she made something, it didnt matter how simple it was, the flavors stayed with me, Ms. Ros said.

Ms. Ros, a professional cook who has become something of a celebrity in Cambodia, where she is known as Chef Nak, grew up in a country trying to find its footing. She was born six years after the fall of the Khmer Rouge, a brutal Communist regime that, from 1975 to 1979, killed at least 1.7 million people, devastating the countrys communities and its intellectual and cultural institutions.
Having established leadership in the consumer market for home energy monitors, Sense has achieved momentum by moving quickly over the past year to a solution that's built into AMI meters and electrical panels, ready to scale to mass markets. Rather than relying on traditional AMI utility meters and infrastructure, which are optimized for billing, Sense is working with its partners to include high-resolution data with machine learning and instantaneous consumer feedback as a core capability of the home, significantly expanding what's possible with HEM. These capabilities will be increasingly critical as residential customers are asked to take a more active role in utilities' efforts to optimize the grid.

Said Sense Vice President, Energy Services, Colin Gibbs: "Sense is poised to disrupt the HEM market through an exceptional focus on consumer engagement combined with real-time, detailed behind-the-meter insights. Sense has delivered tremendous value directly to consumers with its HEM product and is now able to scale its groundbreaking solution by building the technology directly into electric load centers and utility meters, through partnerships with Schneider Electric and Landis+Gyr."

Today's residential customer is facing significant change and complexity as they think about and manage their home's energy resources. They expect their utility to understand their unique needs and apply that understanding to communicating with and supporting them. As a result, utilities can no longer afford to be blind to what is happening behind the meter. Utilities need a real-time, holistic view of the home to both reliably serve those customers and to be viewed as a trusted partner in guiding them to the best choices for a low-cost, sustainable future.

Demands on the grid edge are changing, too, as utilities aim to decrease reliance on traditional thermal generation and integrate more intermittent renewables. Utilities can use Sense's high resolution, behind-the-meter data to support their decarbonization and grid modernization plans. Sense's uniquely detailed data supports demand side management (DSM), demand response (DR), and grid management. Sense's capabilities will be featured in the next generation of advanced AMI from Landis+Gyr.

Sense's highly engaging mobile app and data-rich API's provide energy insights that can be integrated into the utility's broader customer engagement strategy to create a more personal experience. Sense helps consumers:

Understand what appliances and devices are consuming the most energy

Gain insights into their home's activity

Take actions to reduce their bills

Detect faulty appliances and issues in the home

Discover utility programs that meet their goals

For utilities, Sense's ultra-high-resolution consumption data can:

Improve energy efficiency program design and customer segmentation

Uncover hidden loads that could impact grid reliability

Enable cost-effective behavior change programs

Increase meaningful participation in demand response events

Optimize distributed energy resources

About Sense

Sense's mission is to reduce global carbon emissions by making homes smart and efficient. We empower people to care for their homes and families while contributing to a cleaner, more resilient future. Founded in 2013 by pioneers in speech recognition, Sense uses machine learning technology to provide real-time insights on device behavior, even for those devices that are not "smart." Customers rely on Sense for a wide range of uses including monitoring their home appliances, determining whether they left appliances running and identifying how to reduce their energy costs. Sense has received investments from two of the world's largest energy technology companies, Schneider Electric and Landis + Gyr. Sense is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. To make sense of your energy, visit: https://sense.com .

Media contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Sense

Related Links

www.sense.com


She recently discussed how hard she works to maintain her slim physique.

And Catherine Tyldesley illustrated just this as she made her way to a Manchester gym on Tuesday, while sporting a stylish workout ensemble in what was no doubt a delightful turn of events given the reopening of gyms.

The Coronation Street star, 37, looked stylish in all-black workout gear teamed with an edgy leather biker jacket and a pair of chic over-sized sunglasses.

Chic: Catherine Tyldesley, 37, cut a sharp figure in a leather jacket and leggings on Tuesday when she made her way to a Manchester gym

Catherine teamed her leggings and top with a pair of black trainers while keeping all the essentials in a summer-suited straw bag.

She later took to Twitter to discuss her morning workout, telling social media users she'd had a 'good sesh' before reflecting on the 'busy' day ahead.

She wrote: 'Great sesh this morning. Busy day ahead. Next stop Zoooooms.'

It comes weeks after the soap star hit back at trolls who accused her of editing her Instagram pictures amid her strive to stay fit.

Gym time: The former Strictly competitor  whose nails were painted a crisp shade of white - teamed her leggings and top with a pair of black trainers

In March, Catherine said that she has to 'graft' to stay the size that she is and that she would never use Photoshop as it would be bad for her own and other people's mental health.

In an interview with The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, she said she was 'gutted' when she was accused of editing her waist back in January when she posted a throwback snap from a cover shoot.

She told the publication: 'I was gutted, because it is something I'd never, ever do...

'Not only is Photoshopping bad for that person's mental health in terms of body dysmorphia, but it also impacts on the mental health of the people seeing that image and comparing themselves.'

She added that she has to work 'really hard' to stay a 'smaller size' and that staying healthy 'doesn't come easy'.

Update: Catherine later took to Twitter to discus her morning workout, telling social media users she'd had a 'good sesh' before reflecting on the 'busy' day ahead

She also discussed how because influencers so often use filters and apps to change their bodies and faces that sometimes people assume that everyone is doing it.

The star said she has always been self-conscious about her jaw as she thinks it is 'manly' and so it upsets her when people accuse her of having filler in it as it has taken her a lot time to feel comfortable with that part of her face.

She said: 'You just don't know the inner battle I've had to get to where I am now.'

Around 10 years ago Catherine lost a staggering six stone before joining the cast of Coronation Street.

Dropping from a size 22 to a size 8-10, the soap star previously said that she struggled to control her weight as a teenager, and said in 2013 she was motivated to shift the pounds after being told by a director she was too fat for play a leading lady.

Catherine went onto drop another two stone after giving birth to her son Alfie in 2015, and in 2018 unveiled her transformation after a 12-week fitness regime.

Speaking about what motivated her to drop the pounds in a Q&A on Instagram in January said: 'I couldn't walk up the stairs without gasping for breath.

'I had zero energy and my skin was terrible. Educating myself on nutrition was the best thing I ever did.'

Setting the record straight: Last month, Catherine hit back at trolls who accused her of editing her Instagram pictures

Catherine shared a throwback snap of herself as a teenager, where she was a dress size 22 alongside a photo of her following her staggering weight loss in a bikini on the beach.

Earlier that month, the actress yet again slammed trolls who accused her of Photoshopping her figure on Instagram.

She shared a snap from a vintage shoot but was inundated with comments from followers who claimed she had airbrushed her waist to make herself slimmer.

Catherine said she 'always had a tiny waist' as she took to her stories to share a snap in a white corset from her Coronation Street's character Eva Price's wedding in 2017.

Alongside the photo in the corset and suspenders, Catherine wrote: 'Taken while filming Eva's wedding - exhibit A- tiny waist- ZERO airbrushing- to those negative few telling me waist isn't real. I work b***y hard to have a waist. B****r off'.

Honest: The former Coronation Street star said that she has to 'graft' to stay the size that she is and that she would never use Photoshop

Catherine also recently urged the government to tackle the UK's 'obesity crisis' in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, she accused the government of not 'giving two hoots' about obesity, and expressed dismay at Krispy Kreme's decision last month to offer free doughnuts to Americans that can prove they've been vaccinated against coronavirus.

'I swear to god Boris, if you follow suit and start reducing fast food again knowing how severely obesity affects this virus, I will lose my marbles,' Catherine said in an impassioned Instagram video.

The soap star suggested slashing prices on fruit and vegetables instead, saying: 'Why not reduce fruit and vegetables? Why not send out fruit and vegetables to families that can't afford it.'

Before: Around 10 years ago Catherine lost staggering six stone before joining the cast of Coronation Street

Catherine said in full: 'We all know that for years now the UK has been in an obesity crisis, an obesity epidemic. The government don't seem to give two hoots.

'We also know that if you contract COVID and you are obese or you are overweight the struggle is much worse. But in America, if you wiggle around your vaccine passport you get a free Krispy Kreme doughnut.'

She continued: 'Do outreach: free, educational programmes for families that need to know more about nutrition.

'Leaving gyms until the last minute when statistically they are one of the lowest places that you can catch COVID. My mind is blown.'
Cavendish takes second stage win

Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish has won his second stage at the Tour of Turkey.

The 35-year-old powered his way around the outside of rivals in the race's third stage into Konya.

The Deceuninck-Quick Step rider paid tribute to his team-mates, including Fabio Jakobsen, who was seriously injured last year during a post-race interview.

Cavendish has struggled with illness and injury in recent years.

He's only second on the list of record stage wins at the Tour de France, with 30 in total.
Albany, N.Y.  New York will stop administering the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine statewide, state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement today.

The move comes after federal officials recommended a pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson shot after six recipients developed a rare disorder involving blood clots, according to The New York Times. The disorder developed within about two weeks after the people had been vaccinated.

People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and get a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their doctor, according to the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials are expected to stop using the vaccine at all federal sites while agencies investigate the matter and are recommending states do the same.

Anyone with Johnson & Johnson appointments at New York mass vaccination sites today can still go and get the Pfizer vaccine instead. That includes the vaccine site at the New York State Fairgrounds near Syracuse.

The Pfizer shot requires two doses several weeks apart, instead of just one for the Johnson & Johnson shot.

Onondaga County officials also announced they would stop using the Johnson & Johnson shot. Anyone already scheduled to get that vaccine from the county will be switched to Pfizer or Moderna instead.

The Moderna shot also requires two doses.

The blood clot disorder appears to be extremely rare, FDA and CDC officials said in a joint statement, according to the Times.

The six people who developed the condition represent a tiny fraction of the nearly 7 million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson shot in the U.S. so far. Officials said they were recommending a pause in use of the vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

The recipients who developed the disorder were all women between the ages of 18 and 48, the Times said. One woman died and another in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have both been in use in the U.S for months and tens of millions of people have received them. No safety issues involving the shots have emerged.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Covid-19 fuels explosion of student interest in public health at Central New York colleges

Some Syracuse University students with Covid-19 refusing to identify who they exposed

Rileys is back: Inside the 13-month journey to popular Syracuse restaurants reopening

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AB International Group Corp. (OTCQB: ABQQ), an intellectual property (IP) and movie investment and licensing firm announces the International operation offices in Singapore located in 24 Raffles Place, Level 28, Clifford Centre, Singapore 048621 is opening today. The International operation offices will be headed by the CEO directly, operating the company's international business: film copyrights sales & marketing; the video streaming services international market development through www.ABQQ.tv promotion.



About AB International Group Corp.

AB International Group Corp. is an intellectual property (IP) and movie investment and licensing firm, focused on acquisitions and development of various intellectual property. We are engaged to acquisition and distribution of movies. The Company has a Patent License to a video synthesis and release system for mobile communications equipment, in which the technology is the subject of a utility model patent in the People's Republic of China. The Company engages highly anticipated video streaming service targeting global multi-billion dollar and growing video streaming industry. The online service will be marketed and distributed in the world under the brand name ABQQ.tv. ABQQ.tv is expected to generate a new and profitable revenue stream immediately following its launch derived from its hybrid subscription and advertising business model.



For additional information visit www.abqqs.com and www.ABQQ.tv



Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to changes to the Company's management team and statements relating to the Company's transformation, financial and operational performance including the acceleration of revenue and margins, and the Company's overall strategy. Because forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties, actual future results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the possibility of business disruption, competitive uncertainties, and general economic and business conditions in AB International Groups markets as well as the other risks detailed in company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AB International Group undertakes no obligation to update any statements in this press release for changes that happen after the date of this release.



Investor Relations Contact:

Jeff Deng

(212) 918-4519

corp@abqqs.com




Global competition seeks to identify the most innovative solutions and collaborations in the banking and insurance industries

Capgemini and Efma have launched the global Financial NewTech Challenge 2021 today, which offers NewTechs and financial institutions an opportunity to showcase their collaborative business solutions to an elite panel of experts and industry influencers. This is the Challenge's third year and the first time that it is open to NewTechs in the insurance space. Also new to this year's challenge is the theme of sustainable finance.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005944/en/

The challenge hosted on the FinTechVisor portal recognizes the most innovative financial NewTech solutions alongside the most inspiring collaborative projects between NewTechs and financial institutions. Financial NewTechs are startup and scaleup1 firms providing B2B solutions for financial institutions.

To participate in the challenge, financial NewTechs can complete submissions across four business categories (Retail Banking, Payments, Wealth Management, and Insurance). A fifth category focuses on financial NewTech collaboration,where NewTechs and financial institutions jointly submit their successful collaborative projects devoted to sustainable finance.

The competition starts April 13 and runs until June 9, which is the deadline for submissions. A nominee shortlist will be selected by Efma and Capgemini experts based on the originality, business potential, impact, and "wow" factor of their solutions. Focus will be placed on business enablement, customer experience, front, middle, or back-office improvement, regulatory environment, cybersecurity and data, green finance, sustainability, and inclusion.

"The Financial NewTech Challenge is back again offering NewTechs a chance to demonstrate their innovation. What's unique about this challenge is not the actual competition itself but the opportunity for NewTechs to present their vision and what they can do with an eye towards finding collaboration. This challenge provides a platform for NewTechs to be seen, heard, and explored. There is nothing else like it," said Elias Ghanem, Global Head of Market Intelligence for Capgemini's Financial Services. "At Capgemini, we strongly believe that the future of financial services relies on effective collaboration with an eye on sustainable finance to offer the best customer experience and meet customers' rising ESG expectations."

A shortlist of 10 StartUps and 10 ScaleUps in each of the four NewTech categories plus the 10 NewTech/financial institution collaborations will be revealed on the FinTechVisor portal on July 1, 2021. From the shortlisted entrants, the winners will be selected by a jury of experts (75% weighting of the vote) and online voting accessible to both financial institutions and NewTechs (25% weighting of the vote).

"The Financial NewTech Challenge, hosted by Efma and Capgemini for the third consecutive year, is dedicated to rewarding the hard work, creativity and excellence of financial institutions and NewTechs cooperation, offering them great opportunities for recognition, exposure, and benchmarking against their peers," said John Berry, CEO of Efma. "Last year, there were 164 submissions from FinTech solutions and banks, including NewTech collaborations worldwide. We are glad to continue showcasing technological innovations that enable the financial sector to respond to the pressing global challenges of today."

The winners of the Financial NewTech Challenge will be announced at an online ceremony on September 28th, where they will present their inspiring initiatives to an audience of key decision-makers, senior executives, and major sector players within the industry. Moreover, the Capgemini-Efma Financial NewTech Watchlist 2021 will also be unveiled presenting the best StartUps and ScaleUps based on their potential to reshape the financial industry landscape in the years to come.

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

About Efma

A global non-profit organization established in 1971 by banks and insurance companies, Efma facilitates networking between decision-makers. It provides quality insights to help banks and insurance companies make the right decisions to foster innovation and drive their transformation. 120 financial groups in 133 countries are Efma members. Headquartered in Paris. Offices in London, Brussels, Andorra, Milan, Stockholm, Bratislava, Warsaw, Moscow, Istanbul, Beirut, Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and Montreal. Learn more: www.efma.com.

______________________________

1 A StartUp is a firm that has raised less than 5M EUR/GBP/USD, with a revenue below 500k in the last fiscal year and that has a B2B live solution already sold and deployed for at least two financial institutions.

A ScaleUp is a firm that has raised more than 5M EUR/GBP/USD, a revenue over 500k in the last fiscal year, have full-time employed management team and a sustainable business traction.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005944/en/

Contacts:

Capgemini Press Contacts:

Mary Sacchi (North America)

WE Communications for Capgemini

Tel.: +1 (212) 551 4818

E-mail: msacchi@we-worldwide.com

Bartu Sezer (EMEA)

WE Communications for Capgemini

Tel.: +44 (0)20 7632 3861

E-mail: bsezer@we-worldwide.com

Efma Press Contact:

Jana Lednarova

Tel.: +421 915 225 611

E-mail: jana@efma.com
Cemex to acquire Eqiom Granulats assets

13 April 2021

Cemex has signed an agreement to expand its French network with the acquisition of aggregate assets in the northern Paris metropolitan area.

Cemex will acquire some assets of Eqiom Granulats, including two strategically-located aggregate quarries and a rail-enabled platform that will improve customer service in Paris and surrounding areas.

"This acquisition will allow us to better serve our customers by integrating and complementing our portfolio to provide a comprehensive and sustainable offering, directly aimed at the rapidly growing needs of the North Paris Metropolitan area," said Sergio Menendez, president of Cemex Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia. "This is a clear example of the efforts that we are doing to foster EBITDA growth by investing in key high-growth urban centres worldwide."

Subject to customary closing conditions, Cemex currently expects to finalise this transaction during the 2Q21.

Published under
Capturing a life accurately and sympathetically is a challenge, more so if it is one that lasts nearly a century.

So when a notable person like the Duke of Edinburgh dies, obituary writers face a quandary: What should be highlighted, softened or even ignored?

News organizations were quick to remember Prince Philips long marriage to Queen Elizabeth II and decades of public service. But any character flaws or mistakes, including past public racist comments, were diminished. CNNs coverage on April 9 provides a good example of this softened approach. The duke, it noted, was known for off-the-cuff remarks that often displayed a quick wit but occasionally missed the mark, sometimes in spectacular fashion.

The Associated Press made more direct mention of Philips racist comments  but found itself under attack online and from other parts of the media as a result. It later modified the language in the obit, changing occasionally racist and sexist remarks to occasionally deeply offensive remarks.

Obituaries for former presidents, entertainers and athletes offer example after example of selective memory. Negativity is taboo, even in obits written by journalists about public figures. Most people dont like to speak ill of the dead.

As a scholar of journalism history and public memory, I examined more than 8,000 newspaper obituaries from 1818 to 1930 to see what they reveal about American culture. An obit is a news report of a death, but it also offers a tiny summary of what people want to remember about a life.

For most of us that memory usually represents an ideal  we tend to filter out unpleasant aspects or episodes. Taken collectively and over time, obituaries tell us much about what  and who  society values.

A life in print

Occasionally one can be brutally honest, such as the obituary published in 2018 in the Redwood Falls Gazette for a Minnesota woman who evidently was not well loved by members of her own family. According to the memorial, the woman would face judgment for abandoning her children. The newspaper removed the obituary from its website after public criticism that it went too far.

But for the most part, they focus on the positive.

Nineteenth-century obituaries celebrated people for attributes of character. Men were remembered for patriotism, gallantry, vigilance, boldness and honesty. Womens obits recorded entirely different qualities: patience, resignation, obedience, affection, amiability and piety.

Sarah English, a wife and mother who died in 1818, was as intelligent as she was good. Not at all ambitious of worldly show, she chose to be useful rather than gay. Her domestic concerns were managed with the most admirable economy exhibiting at the same time a degree of comfort and neatness not to be surpassed, according to 19th-century newspaper The National Intelligencer.

The 1838 obituary for 50-year-old Virginian William P. Custis told readers of the same newspaper, There is in the life of a noble, independent and honest man, something so worthy of imitation, something that so strongly commends itself to the approbation of a virtuous mind, that his name should not be left in oblivion, nor his influence be lost.

Not everyone was remembered. Silences on obituary pages can be as telling as what was published. The few obituaries for African Americans or Native Americans in the obits I looked at were included mostly when they died in an unusual or mysterious way, lived to be 100 or served the dominant culture.

For example, a respectable colored man named Thomas Henry Songan, a 32-year-old ship steward, fell to the floor a corpse, the New York Daily Times wrote in 1855. The obit for Chocktaw Chief Minto Mushulatubbee, who died in 1838, assured readers that he was a strong friend of the whites until the day of his death.

Obituaries in the early 20th century tended not to focus on attributes of character. Rather, they reflected an industrial society that valued profit and production. Men were noted for professional accomplishments, wealth, long years at work, university education or being well known and prominent. Women were remembered for their associations with successful men, social prominence and wealth.

The New York Times in 1910 recorded one womans death this way: Mrs. Albert E. Plant, whose husband is the first cousin of the late Henry B. Plant, the railroad and steamship owner, was killed this morning by the express train from New York City. Headline after headline in news reports of someones death and in the obituary pages mourned a mans Career Cut Short, even for deceased male children.

Portraits of grief

Obituaries also revealed what Americans thought about death. In the early 19th century, illnesses were endured with Christian patience, the deceased ready and willing to obey the summons of her God.

By the 1850s, the language became more sensational. The deceased were removed by the Omnipotent Author, scathed by the wing of the destroying angel, or paled by the mighty Death King. That language all but disappeared after the Civil War. After so much death, it became unpatriotic to dwell on it.

[Over 100,000 readers rely on The Conversations newsletter to understand the world. Sign up today.\

Obituaries offer a window into what we value. The New York Times beautiful Portraits of Grief tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, portrayed active people in the prime of life, with robust careers and family lives.

COVID-19 brings a new collective focus on death, and obituaries for its victims, I believe, will be just as revealing. But be it a royal dying of old age or a grocery worker whose life was cut short by disease, one thing is likely: The words accompanying the death will focus more on the positive.

Janice Hume, Professor of Journalism, University of Georgia

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.




South Korea on Tuesday expressed strong regret over Japan's decision to release contaminated water into the sea from its wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant.



Tokyo announced earlier in the day that it plans to start releasing massive amounts of radioactive water, which has been stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, in two years.



Koo Yoon-cheol, head of South Korea's Office for Government Policy Coordination, gathered an emergency vice-ministerial meeting at 10 a.m. at the Seoul government complex to discuss Seoul's position and measures on Japan's announcement.



"The government expresses strong regret over the Japanese government's decision to release contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean," Koo said during a press conference held after the meeting.



He added that the government will take every necessary measures in line with the principle of keeping the South Korean people safe from the contaminated water from the Fukushima plant.



Seoul also "strongly urged" Tokyo to ensure the transparent disclosure and verification of information related to the overall treatment process of the contaminated water.



"In regard to (Tokyo's) latest decision, we will clearly deliver our people's protest to the Japanese government. We will demand specific measures from Japan to ensure the safety of our people and prevent damage to the marine environment," Koo added.



Koo also said the government will refer its concerns to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and request the international community to objectively review safety issues related to the Fukushima water release.













Seoul also plans to strengthen radiation checks on imported foods and inspections of origins for food imports, Koo said.

In response to what appears to be Washington's consent towards Tokyo's decision, Koo said he believes that the U.S. State Department's statement leaned more towards emphasizing the need for IAEA verification.



"We have delivered our concerns to the U.S., but the U.S. may react that way, since South Korea is a state neighor (of Japan) and the U.S. is located for more distant (than South Korea)," Koo said.



The U.S. State Department said in a website that Japan "has been transparent about its decision" on the Fukushima water release and that it "appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards."



Tokyo had been widely expected to announce its plan to gradually release into the Pacific Ocean more than 1.2 million tons of radioactive water stored in tanks since the 2011 meltdowns following an earthquake and tsunami.



Japan argues that it is the most realistic and relatively harmless disposal method, but the plan has sparked strong opposition and worries among the public in both Korea and Japan.



In a virtual press briefing for local media in March, a Japanese government official said Tokyo cannot continue to delay the disposal of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant due to tank storage limits. (Yonhap)
The G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the High Representative of the European Union have expressed deep concern about the large ongoing build-up of Russian military forces on Ukraine's borders and in illegally-annexed Crimea.

"These large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilizing activities," G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative said in a statement about the situation near Ukraine's borders and illegally annexed Crimea, released on the website of the EU Delegation to Ukraine on Tuesday.

According to the statement, the officials call on Russia "to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations." "In particular, we call on Russia to uphold the OSCE principles and commitments that it has signed up to on transparency of military movements and to respond to the procedure established under Chapter III of the Vienna Document," the officials said in the document.

The G7 Ambassadors and the EU High Representative also expressed support for Ukraine's actions in the current situation. "Recalling our last statement of 18 March, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. We support Ukraine's posture of restraint," they said in the statement.

The diplomats expressed gratitude and support to the efforts of France and Germany through the Normandy Process to secure the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, "which is the only way forward for a lasting political solution to the conflict," and called on all sides to engage constructively in the Trilateral Contact Group on the OSCE's proposals to confirm and consolidate the ceasefire.
April 13 : The shooting for Ek Villain Returns, which went on floors in the first week of March this year, is all set to enter its second schedule in Goa. The second instalment of the 2014 action-romantic flick stars John Abraham, Disha Patani, Arjun Kapoor, and Tara Sutaria in lead roles. The film will hit the theatres in 2022.

The first schedule was recently wrapped up in Mumbai, where it was shot in multiple locations in the city. After scanning the current COVID situation in Mumbai, the makers of the film have decided to kickstart the second schedule in Goa. With the possibility of a lockdown in Mumbai looming large, the makers found it more feasible to shift the shoot location out of Mumbai.

Director Mohit Suri visited Goa recently to recce the shoot location. He took to social media and revealed this. After he was satisfied with the situation there, he gave a green signal for the second schedule to be shot in the beach destination. Goa seems to be one of Mohits favourite shoot locations as Ek Villain, Malang, Aashiqui 2 and others were all shot in Goa.

Arjun and Tara will reportedly kickstart the second schedule on April 16. John Abraham is currently shooting for Pathan along with Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbais Yash Raj Studios.

Despite the current COVID situation in Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, the makers of the film have decided to shoot in Goa as the scale of the film demands live, scenic locations and cannot be shot inside studios. The producers have ensured strict precautions at the shoot sites, and all protocols laid down by the state government, will be followed.

Ek Villain Returns, which is jointly backed by T-Series and Balaji Telefilms, will release on February 11, 2022. After Aditya Roy Kapur walked out of the film owning to creative differences with Mohit Suri, the makers roped in Arjun Kapoor to replace him.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research on the lithium-ion battery market for the forecast period of 20192027, the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach ~ US$ 41.5 Bn by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of ~ 9% from 2019 to 2027. In terms of volume, the global lithium-ion battery market is expected to reach 15,764.89 million units by 2027, at a CAGR of ~ 11% during the forecast period of 2019 to 2027. Asia Pacific held a prominent share of the global lithium-ion battery market in 2018.



Lithium-ion batteries power mobile phones, tablets, laptops, wearable devices, power banks, and other consumer electronic devices. Asia Pacific is the largest lithium-ion battery market in the world. The region has the largest consumer electronics and EV market, globally. Demand from these sectors is driving the sales of lithium-ion batteries in the region. In Asia Pacific, the value chain of the lithium-ion battery market is highly developed. Manufacturers in China, Japan, and South Korea, such as LG Chem, Samsung SDI, Panasonic Corporation, and BYD Group, are the dominant players manufacturing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Governments of China, Japan, and South Korea are investing heavily in lithium-ion battery technologies to maintain their lead.



China leads the lithium-ion market in the region. The large consumer electronics, EVs, and energy storage markets are driving the sale of lithium-ion batteries. Japan is a pioneer in the electronics industry. The Japanese automotive industry is an early adopter of EVs due to scarcity of oil. Rise in the sales of consumer electronic devices and EVs are increasing the demand for lithium-ion batteries. South Korea is a leader in the smartphone industry, and the rise in the sales of smartphones in the country is increasing the demand for lithium-ion batteries.



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North America has one of the largest consumer electronics and EV markets, and is the second-largest lithium-ion battery market in the world. The North America consumer electronics market was valued at ~ US$ 85 Bn in 2018, and is forecast to reach ~ US$ 108 Bn by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of ~ 6%. The rising consumer electronics market is driving the demand for lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are the heart of EVs. The region has opportunity for growth of EVs, as the penetration of EVs in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is 2.4%, 2.3%, and 0.1%, respectively. The U.S. is the largest and the most prominent lithium-ion market in North America, followed by Canada.



Lithium-ion batteries are used in various energy storage applications, ranging from small capacity batteries used in residential systems with rooftop photovoltaic arrays to large capacity batteries used in complex energy grid systems. Rise in the demand for energy storage systems in the U.S. is driving the overall demand for lithium-ion batteries in the energy storage market in North America.



Europe is the third-largest market. Rise in the sales of consumer electronic devices and EVs is increasing the demand for lithium-ion batteries. The penetration of EVs in Germany, the U.K., and France is 2.0%, 2.1%, and 2.1%, respectively. Lithium-ion batteries are required to power all consumer electronic devices. The consumer electronics market in Europe was valued at ~ US$ 68 Bn in 2018, and is anticipated to reach US$ 89.5 Bn by 2023, increasing at a CAGR of ~ 7%. The sales of smartphones, tablets, and other consumer electronic devices are increasing the demand for lithium-ion batteries in Europe.



MEA and South America are the smallest markets among all the regions.



Company profiles of the players operating in the lithium-ion battery market include company overview, major business strategies, and key developments. Companies profiled in the global lithium-ion battery market include BYD Company Limited, A123 Systems LLC, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd, Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), LG Chem, Ltd., Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, Clarios Power Solutions, and Maxell Holdings, Ltd.



Want to know the obstructions to your company's growth in future? Request a PDF sample here



Lithium-ion Battery Market by Product



Cells/ Modules

Battery Packs

Energy Storage Systems (ESS)



Lithium-ion Battery Market by End-user Industry



Consumer Electronics

Automotive

Grid Energy & Industrial



Lithium-ion Battery Market by Geography



North America

U.S.

Canada

Rest of North America

Europe

Germany

U.K.

France

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

South Korea

Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

South Africa

GCC

Rest of Middle East & Africa

South America

Brazil

Rest of South America



Looking for exclusive market insights from business experts? Request a Custom Report here https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=251



About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.



Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.
Emilee Hembrow has celebrated her wedding anniversary in style.

On Monday, the Australian Influencer and her husband of six years, Emre, commemorated their big day by spending it in a flower-filled room at the luxurious Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

'6 years married, a lifetime to go... Last night was so romantic,' the 28-year-old began her caption.

Celebrating in style! On Monday, Emilee Hembrow and her husband of six years, Emre, commemorated their wedding anniversary by spending it in a flower-filled room at the Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast

'Thank you @nextevent.com.au for helping my man with this gorgeous set up,' she added.

Posting to her Instagram, the brunette beauty shared a photograph of herself surrounded by stunning floral arrangements in a candle-lit room.

She also shared a video of their romantic dinner setting surrounded by petals.

Closer look: She also shared a video of their romantic dinner setting surrounded by petals

This post comes after Emilee opened up about her relationship with her notoriously private hubby, who she rarely shares photos of on social media.

In October, sharing a picture of the couple at dinner, the mother-of-two wrote in the caption: 'My other half  Grateful for this man every single day. I honestly didn't believe in soulmates until I met you.

She continued: 'Fun fact, he asked me to marry him after knowing him 3 weeks.'

'He said he knew he was going to be with me the day we met,' she added, along with hashtags 'when you know you know' and 'soulmate.'

'I honestly didn't believe in soulmates until I met you': Tammy Hembrow's sister Emilee revealed her notoriously private husband (pictured behind her) proposed to her after just three weeks of knowing each other

True love: Emilee wrote, 'He said he knew he was going to be with me the day we met'. The couple are parents to daughter Aaliyah Snow, three, and Gabriel Storm, one. Pictured is Emilee with her husband and their children

The couple, who are believed to have married in Greece, share two young children, three-year-old daughter Aaliyah Snow and one-year-old son, Gabriel Storm.

Back in June, Emilee shared the heartbreaking news that she had lost her son Jamal Reign Ada while 30 weeks pregnant.

She wrote in her Instagram post at the time: 'There is really no test harder that a person can face, than a loss of their child. God loves those who are patient through hardship.'

'This world is short, and we believe our angel Jamal Reign Ada is waiting at the gates of paradise for mum and dad with open arms. Rest In Peace our little angel.'

For support about stillbirths visit www.sands.org.au.

Sad loss: Back in June, Emilee shared the heartbreaking news that she had lost her son Jamal Reign Ada while 30 weeks pregnant. Pictured is Emilee at her son Jamal's grave
An approval will be sought to give the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) the authority to move ahead with the divestment process, as banks fall under the purview of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), said a senior government official. Dipam cannot move forward with the divestment process until an approval from the Cabinet is received, given that banks come under work allocation ...

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Now Children is a unique learning environment designed to support personal, professional, and collective growth. The organization brings together educators, therapists, mindfulness trainers, social workers, and school administrators inspired to bring mindfulness to children. This online environment includes a year-long curriculum, training, mentorship, monthly webinars, a community hub, and continued professional development opportunities.

Mindfulness training can help educators make a peaceful transition back to the classroom or sustain distanced learning.

"The course contains over 100 teaching videos divided into five learning modules delivered as short lesson sets. Each lesson is offered in bite-sized, easy-to-follow instructions to learn and deepen your understanding of the studies," said Co-Founder Kate Munding. She has extensive training in mindfulness and education. Now Children is an international partnership with a Netherlands-based company SeeTrue, that has been providing mindfulness training since 2008.

On May 8, Now Children co-founder and lead instructor Kate Munding will host a free webinar, Creating a Resilient Classroom: 7 Simple Skills to Help Students, sharing simple ways to build students' resilience and emotional wellness. This experiential webinar will include classroom-friendly physical regulation techniques, simple tips for working with difficult emotions, and gentle ways to combat stress. A recording of this free webinar will be available after the live event.

Register here: https://www.nowchildren.com/the-community-hub/#webinar

More information is available at www.nowchildren.com .

*Source: Schwartz, S. (2020, November 16). Survey: Teachers and students are struggling with online learning. https://www.edweek.org

Contact: Heather Mickley

Phone: (415) 787-9534

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Now Children

Related Links

http://www.nowchildren.com




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A man looks at handguns at a shooting range in Randolph, N.J., on Dec. 9, 2015. (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)

Colorado Legislature Sends Two Gun Control Bills to Governors Office

Two gun-control bills passed by Colorados Legislature were sent to Gov. Jared Polis who is planning to sign them into law.

One bill, known as Senate Bill 78, would require state residents to report a lost or stolen firearm within five days of realizing it went missing. If not, owners would be punished via a $25 fine and a subsequent offense would be a Class 3 misdemeanor which would require jail time.

The second bill, known as House Bill 1106, would require firearms owners to use a trigger lock or would have to store their guns in a safe if they know a child or someone who cant possess a firearm could get access to the gun. If not, owners could face a Class 2 misdemeanor, including jail time and a fine.

A spokesperson for Polis said the governor intends to sign them, according to the Colorado Sun.

The bills were introduced before a mass shooting at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket that left 10 people dead.

Meanwhile, a major push to ban assault-style weapons in Colorado hit a snag this week as a top state Democratic lawmaker said it doesnt look possible.

It diverts all of the attention, Democratic Rep. Tom Sullivan told NPR. Sullivan said that after the mass shooting in Boulder in March, other gun-control initiatives are needed including bans on so-called ghost guns and 3D printed guns.

They work around it, with printers at home, or ordering piece by piece, that has no serial number on it, he told the broadcaster. And they manufacture something that could be deemed an assault weapon.

President Joe Biden announced an executive order on banning ghost guns, or firearms that can be manufactured with kits at home, and orders on other measures last week.

Sullivan said that if Democrats try to push assault weapons ban bills too quickly, they might not receive support.

Its a slow process, again, like all of the major changing legislation that is gripping our country, from voters rights and womens rights  those all take a lot of time. And, you know, I believe that were on the right path, he said.

Gun Owners of America (GOA), a top gun-rights group, wrote on April 8 that it will fight against Bidens orders, asserting the president is seeking to unilaterally regulate firearms that gun owners currently own. And hes doing this via executive actionbypassing the constitutional requirements which give Congress the authority to pass legislation.
It's one of the raciest trends of the year, but the cut-out dare-to-bear dress is firmly in the fashion spotlight this spring.

Instagram influencers and celebrities including Alexa Chung and actress Jeanne Damas have been snapped wearing the French brand Marcia's TchikiBoum dress in recent months, which buttons up down the side leaving sexy cut-outs running the full length.

The garment, which costs 276, comes in several different styles and colours, including a black cocktail dress with snakeskin detailing and a fuscia pink version with crystal buttons.

But how do the models and influencers pull off the style and make it appear fashionable? Celebrity stylist Rochelle White has told FEMAIL how everyday women can embrace the look 'without appearing trashy'.

It's one of the raciest trends of the year, but the cut-out dare-to-bear dress is firmly in the fashion spotlight this spring

Among those who have dared to wear the racy style include French fashionista Camille Charriere, who paired a skirt from the brand with a skimpy nude top and pair of white boots

Instagram influencers and celebrities including Alexa Chung (left) have been snapping up French brand Marcia's TchikiBoum dress in recent months (right, Laurianne Me)

The style may remind many of the Elizabeth Hurley's iconic cut-out Versace evening gown, which the star wore to the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Similarly to the TchikiBoum style, the gown featured large slashes across the bodice and up the leg, leaving little to the imagination.

Among those who have dared to wear the racy style include French fashionista Camille Charriere, who paired a skirt from the brand with a skimpy nude top and pair of white boots.

Model Elodie Russell wowed her 100k followers as she posed in the gown, while influencer Emna Sellimi also snapped up the dress.

The style may remind many of the Elizabeth Hurley's iconic cut-out Versace evening gown, which the star wore to the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral

Similarly to Liz Hurley's style, the TchikiBoum dress, features cut-out detailing up the sides of the dress and comes in a selection of colours

Stylist Rochelle suggested women may be wanting to feel a little sexier as the UK eases its way out of lockdown after the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: 'It's time to ditch the loungewear and comfies with lockdown easing.

'The daring look is not only eye catching but stylish. The dress and similar styles are proving to be a cult fashion favourite.'

She continued: 'The open sides are for those who could be daring to go commando or stand out.'

Celebrity stylist Rochelle suggested women may be wanting to feel a little sexier as the UK eases its way out of lockdown after the Covid-19 pandemic

Many of those modelling the dress online appear to have ditched their underwear to bare their skin in the gown

Meanwhile Rochelle said despite the daring style, it could still be a favourite for women looking for 'comfort'.

She explained: 'Some of the styles come in jersey material, which makes them easy to wear and while providing comfort.'

Emma Reynaud, the stylist turned designer behind Marcia, said women want to dress up again' after months of lockdown.

Emma Reynaud, the stylist turned designer behind Marcia, said women want to dress up again' after months of lockdown (left and right, the black style)

She told The Times: 'Women want to feel sexy again, but still natural and not over-the-top or vulgar, so I wanted to come up with a new decolletage that wasnt about the male gaze.'

Calling the style 'very French', she added: 'While I find it incredibly liberating to go nude under this dress, you can of course wear underwear with it too.

'The point is that women should feel empowered by that decision.'
It was the type of windfall that investors pine for with every rally on Wall Street: $1,205,619.56 had inexplicably ended up in the brokerage account of a 911 dispatcher in Louisiana in February.

But the next day, when Charles Schwab tried to recover the money it had deposited in error into the account of Kelyn Spadoni, the authorities said, about a quarter of the funds were already gone. For about a month, the company said, calls, emails and text messages to Ms. Spadoni went unanswered.

The funds had been transferred to another account and used by Ms. Spadoni to buy a house and a Hyundai Genesis S.U.V., according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office. She was arrested on fraud and theft charges on April 7 and fired as a dispatcher the same day, the Sheriffs Office said.

In a lawsuit filed against Ms. Spadoni in federal court in New Orleans, Charles Schwab said that it was supposed to have moved only $82.56 into Ms. Spadonis Fidelity Brokerage Services account, but that a software glitch had caused it to mistakenly transfer the seven-figure sum.
Points of presence, simply put, are physical, public cloud data centers located all over the world, providing access and public cloud hosting services. Weve seen these pop up on our cloud dashboards as we select regions to host public cloud compute or storage.

Typically, we go for the ones closest to the companys location to reduce latency and provide more resiliency in case of network issues. For instance, Washington, D.C.-based businesses would typically select cloud centers in northern Virginia, whereas those in Los Angeles would pick centers nearby or in the Bay Area. A few things are driving the need to change this model.

First, since the pandemic, remote work has become more the norm rather than the exception. Although some people will return to the office at some point, businesses now understand that remote work means more productive employees, better employee retention, and reduced office overhead. Its a win/win that means well still be at our kitchen tables for some time, but out of our cars.

Second, employees working remotely are not geographically constrained. Many are escaping the overheated metropolitan housing markets for the cheaper and slower life of the (almost) now 5G-connected rural America. This is even causing a shortage of houses for sale in rural housing markets.

Keep in mind that the resources of public cloud computing providers (compute and storage) are hosted in multiple locations worldwide. These locations are composed of regions and zones. A region, as mentioned above, is a specific geographic location where you can host your resources. Regions are broken down into zones. For example, the us-westX region on the West Coast of the United States may have three or more zones: us-westX-aw, us-westX-bw, and us-westX-cw.

Compute, storage, and other cloud resources that live in zones are known as zonal resources. Other resources, such as standing up a static IP address, are regional. They can only be utilized by resources within that region, and by any zone in that region. Zonal resources can only be leveraged by resources in the same zone.

If youre thinking that this is pretty limiting for globally distributed companies, youre right. Part of the challenge of designing and deploying cloud-based applications and databases is picking the right regions and zones. Of course, anybody on the open internet can access resources within any region and/or zone. However, with the more distributed use of cloud-based resources (based on changes in demographics), a good many could suffer from latency and reliability issues they did not have a year or so ago when they worked in an office in a major city.

The answer to this problem is to provide more compute regions and zones closer to those who are accessing the resources running within them. Thus, the rise of edge cloud centers or local regions (Ive heard many different names). The public cloud providers are trying to offer fast access to key cloud services by locating them closer to users.

You can think of edge cloud centers as sort of a convenience store for cloud computing. They dont offer everything that a cloud provider provides, meaning access to all cloud services, but youll find the basics, which can be mixed with the larger catalog of services found within full-blown regions when needed.

These edge centers are not likely to be the huge data centers you see dotting the landscape now, but perhaps rooms in existing buildings that are underutilized since employees are now working at home.

This development is good for a few reasons. Public cloud providers often get pushback for not providing points of presence in more rural states or even smaller countries. These emerging markets will now gain access. Small businesses located outside of major metropolitan areas now have a workable public cloud option that leverages an intrastate data center. Finally, a new and emerging remote workforce who chooses to have no commute, more time with loved ones, and more land will be supported.

Perhaps buying the farm will now be a good thingas long as there is a new edge cloud center just down the street.
2 1 of 2 Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Brittany Hosea-Small / Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less



More than half of Californias local health departments have opened up coronavirus vaccinations to people 16 or older, or in some cases 18 and older, ahead of the states Thursday open season target date to do so.

At least 32 of the 60 local health jurisdictions  which are mostly counties, plus a couple cities that have their own health departments, like Berkeley  have taken the early step, expanding vaccine eligibility to people as young as either 16 or 18, according to the California Department of Public Health and research by The Chronicle.
[April 12, 2021] Gemini Earn is now available for Singapore Customers

SINGAPORE, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Gemini, a crypto exchange and custodian, today announced the launch of its new interest-earning program Gemini Earn in Singapore. With Gemini Earn, customers can transfer existing crypto holdings, or easily purchase crypto to transfer into Gemini Earn and earn up to 7.4% interest on 28 cryptocurrencies available on Gemini. Gemini Earn customers can also redeem their crypto at any time. "We're excited to bring Gemini Earn to Singapore. Gemini Earn was specially designed to allow users to invest in the long term while still generating real returns on their crypto holdings. As Gemini grows in Asia, my team and I are glad to be introducing some of the best Gemini products and programmes to our customers in Singapore," says Jeremy Ng, Head of Asia Pacific t Gemini.



The launch of Gemini Earn in Singapore follows recent news that Gemini Earn has been launched in all 50 states in the US and that Gemini customers are now collectively earning interest on more than $1 billion in loans originated through Gemini Earn. Visit gemini.com/earn to learn more. About Gemini in Singapore

Gemini Digital Payments Pte Ltd, an affiliate of Gemini Trust Company LLC, is a Digital Payment Token exchange and custodian business in Singapore, allowing customers to trade and store Digital Payment Tokens and to exchange such tokens with fiat currencies, including Singapore Dollars. Gemini Digital Payments operates under the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and has applied for a Major Payment Institution License pursuant to the regulations set forth in the Payment Services Act 2019. Media contact Hanna Tantoco

Marketing Communications - APAC

Hanna.Tantoco@gemini.com SOURCE Gemini

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Red Bull Racing may not have won the Bahrain Grand Prix, but the speed of the RB16B was satisfactory. Max Verstappen was the fastest man on the track all weekend and is also the favourite in Imola according to the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher.

Verstappen the favourite

Red Bull Racing has taken a while to build a car that will truly take on Mercedes in 2021. Verstappen was fastest in qualifying and looked set to be the fastest in the race, but a strategic move by Mercedes meant he had to let Hamilton go ahead of him.

Imola will be Verstappen's next chance to take a win in 2021, and Schumacher thinks Verstappen has a good chance. ''Imola should be a good circuit for Red Bull. Verstappen was very strong here last year, only he had a technical problem. Otherwise, we would have seen him at the front,'' Schumacher told Sky Germany.

Excitement in Imola

The Dutchman did indeed have a strong weekend at Imola last year, but a sudden tyre blowout put an end to his race. The Red Bull driver was in second place at the time, having passed Valtteri Bottas. Lewis Hamilton took advantage of pitting under the Virtual Safety Car.

''I see Red Bull narrowly out in front again in Imola, but Mercedes haven't been sleeping either. Bottas was also very strong in the race, so it will clearly be an interesting battle between the two drivers from Red Bull Racing and Mercedes'', concludes the former Formula One driver.
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Pre-Stabilisation Notice

Berlin Hyp AG (BHH)

DZ BANK AG (contact: Christian Klocke; telephone: +49 69 7447 43841) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014).

The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Berlin Hyp AG Aggregate nominal amount: EUR 500 mm Description: 0.375%, due 21. April 2031 Offer price: 99.648% Other offer terms: Payment 21. April 2021, denoms 100k/100k Stabilisation: DZ BANK AG Stabilisation Coordinator:

Stabilising Managers:





DZ BANK AG

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft

Credit Agricole CIB

DZ BANK AG

HSBC

Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg Stabilisation period expected to start on: 13.04.2021 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: Luxembourg Stock Exchange (Regulated Market)

In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilisation Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, there is no assurance that the Stabilisation Manager(s) will take any stabilisation action and any stabilisation action, if begun, may be ended at any time. Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction.

In addition, if and to the extent that this announcement is communicated in, or the offer of the securities to which it relates is made in, any EEA Member State that has implemented Directive 2003/71/EC, as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State, the "Prospectus Directive") before the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive (or which has been approved by a competent authority in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State in accordance with the Prospectus Directive), this announcement and the offer are only addressed to and directed at persons in that Member State who are qualified investors within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive (or who are other persons to whom the offer may lawfully be addressed) and must not be acted on or relied on by other persons in that Member State.
[April 13, 2021] Canada and FCM Combat Climate Change by Investing in Retrofits for Community Buildings

OTTAWA, ON, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - In communities across the country, Canadians are feeling the impacts of climate change. By investing in existing and new initiatives that lower emissions and enhance the resiliency of communities, we can create good, middle-class jobs and advance Canada's clean energy future. The Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, on behalf of the Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr., and Garth Frizzell, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), today launched the Community Buildings Retrofit initiative to help communities of all sizes overcome the barriers of limited budgets and expertise when undertaking greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects. Funded by a $167-million federal investment in FCM's Green Municipal Fund, the new initiative supports Canadian municipalities, big and small, and not-for-profit organizations in undertaking retrofits and other upgrades to lower emissions by improving energy performance, lowering operating costs and extending the life of community assets. These investments will help communities decrease emissions generated by existing community buildings such as arenas, pools, libraries and recreation and cultural centres. The Community Buildings Retrofit initiative will provide grants and loans to fund a portion of each project and expects to disburse the full funding envelope over the next six years. FCM will fund the most innovative projects identified through their peer and staff review of proposals received through this open call, expecting to see the first capital projects approved before the end of 202122.



$950-million federal investment in the Green Municipal Fund designed to scale up energy efficiency and lower emissions across Canada . It is complemented by new measures in Canada's strengthened climate plan to support green and inclusive community buildings through retrofits, repairs, upgrades and new builds. By supporting municipalities in pursuing these projects, this initiative will help create jobs in communities and create retrofit models that can be replicated across Canada to ramp up local employment while reducing GHG emissions at the local level. Investing in innovative solutions to lower emissions and improve energy efficiency is key to creating cleaner, healthier communities and sustainable economic growth for all Canadians.

Quotes "Improvements in energy efficiency will get us a third of the way to our Paris targets. With today's announcement, we're working to lower our emissions and creating good jobs. This is how we get to net zero by 2050." Seamus O'Regan Jr.

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "Community buildings, such as libraries and arenas, are at the centre of our communities from coast to coast to coast. Upgrading these important public spaces is a critical part of our plan to cut pollution and fight climate change while creating jobs across the country. Through programs like the Community Buildings Retrofit initiative, we are building a cleaner, healthier future for our children and grandchildren." Jonathan Wilkinson

Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change "Community centres from pools and libraries to cultural and recreation centres are critical to the lives of Canadians. Working with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, we're funding retrofits across the country to make these buildings more energy-efficient, reducing costs and tackling emissions. This initiative will create jobs, help us tackle climate change and build cleaner, more inclusive communities." Catherine McKenna

Canada's Minister of Infrastructure and Communities "Whether big or small, local governments are at the heart of climate action. With community buildings like arenas, pools and recreation centres emitting some of the highest levels of municipal GHGs, successful retrofit projects can have a significant impact on climate change efforts. Together, we can improve our community infrastructure and work to meet Canada's climate change goals." Garth Frizzell

President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities Associated Links Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)

Green Municipal Fund (GMF)

Community Buildings Retrofit initiative

Canada's Climate Plan SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
Since 1982, the Capital Impact team has dedicated itself to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with communities. Tweet this

"Since 1982, the mission-driven team at Capital Impact has dedicated itself to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with communities to foster good health, economic opportunity, and interconnectedness," said Kim Dorsett, Chief Human Resources Officer at Capital Impact Partners. "We are humbled that the NonProfit Times has recognized the strong culture and passionate team I get to work with every day."

Nonprofits from across the United States entered a two-part survey process to determine Best Nonprofits To Work For. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated organization's workplace policies, practices, and demographics. The second part consisted of a survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation.

Participating nonprofits go through a battery of surveys, including employees, managers, and outside vendors. There are 78 questions within eight categories that make up the Employee Benchmark Report (EBR). The medium-sized company category was the most competitive, representing nearly half of the entire list.

Key categories used to choose the leading organizations included Leadership and Planning, Pay and Benefits, Culture and Communications, Work Environment, and Overall Engagement.

A Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In particular, Capital Impact was recognized for its work to include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) into its lending and program strategy, as well as the very framework of the organization.

"We're on a journey that has neither a beginning nor an end," said Dorsett. "We have facilitated formal training in regards to unconscious bias, emotional intelligence, and race relations, and we're developing a glossary to assist employees."

Capital Impact's DEI economic and racial justice efforts are centered around the company's Equity Vision Statement .

The company holds itself accountable by publicly tracking progress in several ways as seen in their Annual Report , as well as in this table illustrating staff diversity.

A Strong Culture Focused on Personal Wellness

Capital Impact incorporates inclusion-based metrics alongside other considerations when evaluating organizational culture.

"We embrace the theory of eight dimensions of personal wellness, which usually include emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual, and vocational wellness," noted Dorsett.

The physical threat of the coronavirus pandemic during the past year, alongside the frustration of isolation, have brought emotional wellness to the forefront. Capital Impact Partners responded by offering online yoga and organization-wide virtual meditation classes, as well as physical fitness offerings. The organization also provided ergonomic assessments of home offices.

"We did [the meditation classes] first together so employees know this was a priority supported by the organization, so they would then feel comfortable later when they felt they needed to take advantage of that benefit," Dorsett said.

A Passion for Investing in Communities That Begins with Its Own Team



"'Bring our whole selves to work' is a constant refrain you will hear me saying," said Ellis Carr, President and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance (the organization that Capital Impact just formed its newest enterprise with). "This includes all of our backgrounds, all of our experiences, the things that make us who we are every day. This is what creates our unique culture and imbues a sense of pride in everything that we do."

Learn more about Ellis' vision in this video .

The company offers a suite of benefits to support its employees and their families through life's various stages. This includes:

Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance

Paid Holiday and Time Off

Retirement and Pension

Health Spending Accounts and Flexible Spending Accounts

Sick and Personal Leave

Employer-paid Insurance Coverage

Summer Hours

Tuition Reimbursement

Transportation Subsidy

Telecommuting

ABOUT CAPITAL IMPACT PARTNERS

Through capital and commitment, Capital Impact Partners helps people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. Through mission-driven financing, social innovation programs, capacity building, and impact investing, we work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice. Our commitment to community focuses on ensuring that individuals have access to quality health care and education, healthy foods, affordable housing, cooperative development, and the ability to age with dignity.

A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, Capital Impact has disbursed more than $2.5 billion since 1982. Our leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in Capital Impact being rated by S&P Global and recognized by Aeris for our performance. The organization has also been named to the 2021 Best Nonprofits to Work For list by the Nonprofit Times. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, Capital Impact Partners operates nationally, with local offices in Austin, TX, Detroit, MI, New York, NY, and Oakland, CA. Learn more at www.capitalimpact.org .

SOURCE Capital Impact Partners

Related Links

http://www.capitalimpact.org


This Jan. 23 photo shows the National Archives in the Sand Point neighborhood of Seattle that has about a million boxes of generally unique, original source documents and public records. In an announcement made April 8 by the Biden administration has halted the sale of the federal archives building in Seattle, following months of opposition from people across the Pacific Northwest and a lawsuit by the Washington Attorney Generals Office. Among the records at the center are tribal, military, land, court, tax and census documents.
Ohio horsemen are mourning the death of Dr. Albert Gabel. Gabel, a former president of the Ohio Harness Horsemens Association passed away April 12 at the age of 91.

Gabel graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1954. After a two-year stint in the Air Force, Gabel returned to Ohio State where he earned a masters degree in veterinary anesthesia. He served on the faculty at Ohio States College of Veterinary Medicine for 33 years. He served as head of the Clinical Equine Section from 1971 until he retired in 1989.

Dr. Gabel trained and drove Standardbred racehorses for 11 years and was named the United States Amateur Driver of the Year in 1995. He was elected president of the Ohio Standardbred Owners and Breeders Association in 1992 and was instrumental in initiating its merger with the Ohio Harness Horsemens Association.

Dr. Gabel passed peacefully at his home with his beloved wife Lucille by his side.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Dr. Albert Gabel.

(OHHA / Ohio Harness Horsemens Association)
 Flash

China has expressed its grave concerns through diplomatic channels about Japan's decision to dispose of radioactive water at Fukushima by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.





Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks while answering a relevant question. He said that China urged the Japanese side to take a responsible attitude and treat the issue of nuclear waste disposal with caution.





Noting that the Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the most serious ones in the world so far, Zhao said that the accident caused a large amount of radioactive material to leak, which has had a profound impact on the marine environment, food safety and human health.





Zhao stressed that proper disposal of nuclear waste is related to international public interests and the vital interests of neighboring countries. It should be handled carefully and properly to avoid further damaging the marine environment, food safety and human health.





The world is watching with deep concern the upcoming decision by the Japanese side on the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the ocean, raising doubts and expressing opposition. There is also strong opposition in Japan. It cannot turn a deaf ear to this, said Zhao.





"The Japanese side should act in a responsible manner for global public interests and the interests of its own people," Zhao added.
Vaccination of adults living with individuals who are immunosuppressed

The Island's Covid-19 Vaccination Programme will be prioritising jabs for people aged 16 and over who live with adults who have weakened immune systems.

It follows guidance from the UKs Joint Committee on Vaccinations & Immunisations (JCVI).

This includes conditions such as blood cancer, HIV and those on immunosuppressive treatment including chemotherapy.

Currently, individuals who have a weakened immune system and those on immunosuppressive treatment are receiving their vaccination through the Priority Four (clinically extremely vulnerable) or Priority Six (adults with underlying conditions making them susceptible to COVID) groups; however, the vaccinations havent been extended to those who live in the same household until now - unless they have been invited by age already.

The new guidance is based on evidence that susceptibility to infection is reduced in those who have been vaccinated, and so vaccinating individuals aged 16+ living with an adult who is immunocompromised is considered to be a beneficial approach by increasing protection.

Minister for Health and Social Care, David Ashford said: It is important that we follow the JCVI guidelines on this to provide increased protection for Manx residents who are more vulnerable to catching Covid-19. I am asking anyone who fits this criteria to contact 111 and identify themselves as living with, even if they havent received a letter yet, in order to arrange their vaccination.

The team at 111 will then arrange two appointments for these individuals under the Priority Six category to ensure they are prioritised in the booking schedule. Additionally, our GPs are working hard to ensure everyone in this group is identified and included.

Alongside this, letters are in the process of being sent out to individuals aged between 40-49 and 30-39, marking the start of Phase Two of the vaccination programme. Manx residents in any of the age categories above 30 years or Phase One priority groups, should register for their vaccination through the online booking system or by calling 111  even if they are yet to receive their letter. Appointments will be issued either via email or phone as soon as vaccine supplies allow.
Judge Pondering Diversion for Former DAs Husband in Gun Case

A judge said today that he would consider whether to allow former Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Laceys husband to enter a diversion program for a misdemeanor case in which he is charged with pointing a gun out his door while ordering a group of Black Lives Matter protesters to leave the couples Granada Hills property.

Judge David W. Stuart ordered attorneys to return to a San Fernando courtroom May 13, when he is set to announce whether David Allan Lacey, 67, can enroll in the program that would include 100 hours of community service, anger management and firearms safety courses and a ban on possession of firearms during the 12- to 18-month diversionary term.

One of the groups members, Melina Abdullah, who is listed as one of the victims in the complaint, told the judge, So, what I experienced at the hands of David Lacey was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life Hes getting special treatment because hes the husband of the former district attorney.

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Attorney Carl Douglas, who is representing Abdullah and the other two victims listed in the complaint, said protesters had been outside the Laceys

house for 40 minutes before the run-in. This is not a circumstance of a distraught husband protecting his family, Douglas told the judge.

Laceys attorney said he needed time to discuss the proposed diversionary program with his client and noted that the gun is in the Los Angeles Police Departments custody.

Lacey  who was not in the San Fernando courtroom  was charged last August with three misdemeanor counts of assault with a firearm by the California Attorney Generals Office involving the March 2, 2020, early morning run-in with demonstrators.

The protest occurred before sunrise. David Lacey was seen on video pointing a handgun out the front door of the couples home and ordering the protesters to leave the property. No arrests or injuries were reported. Protesters can be heard asking to see his wife, prompting him to again order the group off the property.

Members of Black Lives Matter who took part in the protest immediately condemned David Laceys actions. Activist Jasmyne Cannick posted the video online and sent links to local media outlets.

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Black Lives Matter repeatedly protested against Jackie Lacey, criticizing her for what they saw as a failure to hold law enforcement officers accountable for shootings of minority suspects, and accusing her of failing to meet with them to discuss the issue.

Abdullah  who has said the protesters were off the Laceys porch in less than 60 seconds  insisted Laceys house was not off-limits given that the district attorney is a public official and BLM has never threatened her.

On Twitter, Abdullah alleged David Lacey pointed a gun at my chest and said `I will shoot you. She noted last year that the counts filed against him are misdemeanors, but charges nonetheless. Jackie Lacey lost her bid for a third term as the countys top prosecutor to former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon.

In a statement released by her re-election campaign last year, she said, The events that took place earlier this year have caused my family immense pain. My husband acted in fear for my safety after we were subjected to months of harassment that included a death threat no less than a week earlier.

Protesters arrived at my house shortly after 5 a.m. while I was upstairs. My husband felt that we were in danger and acted out of genuine concern for our well being.

Shortly after the charges were filed, David Laceys attorney, Samuel Tyre, said he and his clientare disappointed that the Attorney Generals Office felt that the conduct at issue amounted to criminal behavior.

We disagree entirely with their assessment, but we have the utmost faith in the justice system, and we are confident that the correct result will be reached, Tyre said in the statement last August.

At this time, we are not going to comment on the facts of the case except to say that my clients human instinct is forever and always to protect his wife and his family and to keep them safe from physical harm. We look forward to all relevant facts coming to light.
April 13, 2021 U.S., NATO Give Up - Will Leave Afghanistan By September 11 This from the Washington Post is surprisingly good news: Biden will withdraw all U.S. forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 2021 President Biden will withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan over the coming months, people familiar with the plans said, completing the military exit by the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that first drew the United States into its longest war. The decision, which Biden is expected to announce on Wednesday, will keep thousands of U.S. forces in the country beyond the May 1 exit deadline that the Trump administration negotiated last year with the Taliban, according to one person familiar with the matter, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to describe plans that are not yet public. While the Taliban has vowed to renew attacks on U.S. and NATO personnel if foreign troops are not out by the deadline, it is not clear if the militants will follow through with those threats given Bidens plan for a phased withdrawal between now and September. The decision comes after a U.S. initiative to press for a unity government in Afghanistan only created more dead end proposals and was likely to fail. The initiative was to include Turkey, India and others to create a complicate plan of power sharing in Kabul. The larger strategic thought behind that plan was to keep Afghanistan as a base from where the U.S. could harass China. Turkey's role under the plan was to organize jihadist Uighur fighters which would be trained in Afghanistan and elsewhere to then get inserted into Xinjiang to interrupt the Belt and Road Initiative projects that run through that area: Pentagon and CIA are reluctant to vacate Afghanistan by May 1. Turkey will be overseeing an open-ended US-NATO presence. The US hopes to retain a strong intelligence presence backed by special operations forces. A report Friday in the CNN disclosed that CIA, which has had a significant say in US decision-making in Afghanistan, has staked out some clear positions during recent deliberations, arguing in favour of continuing US involvement. The scale of the CIA activities in Afghanistan are not in public domain  especially, whether its regional mandate extends beyond the borders of Afghanistan. The CNN report cited above lifted the veil on one of the most heavily guarded bases of the CIA  Forward Operating Base Chapman, a classified US military installation in eastern Afghanistan. Suffice to say, given the presence of the ISIS fighters (including those transferred from Syria to Afghanistan  allegedly in US aircraft, according to Russia and Iran)  the nexus between the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and above all, the presence of Uighur, Central Asian and Chechen terrorists, Turkeys induction as the US buddy in Afghanistan is indeed worrisome for regional states. Turkey has transferred jihadi fighters from Idlib to Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh to fight hybrid wars. Significantly, Turkey has abruptly shifted its stance on the Uighur issue after years of passivity and hyped it up as a diplomatic issue between Ankara and Beijing. Chinas ambassador to Ankara was summoned to Turkeys Foreign Ministry last Tuesday.

...

China and Russia are vigilant about the US intentions in Afghanistan. (See my blog China resents US presence in Afghanistan.) And both have problematic relations with Erdogan. Turkeys ascendance on the Afghan-Central Asian landscape cannot be to their comfort. During his recent visit to Tehran, Chinas State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced support for Irans membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to visit Tehran on April 14. This week Turkey was supposed to host a meeting between the Afghan government and the Taliban. But yesterday the Taliban announced that they would not take part in it: Afghanistans Taliban said it cant participate in a peace conference in Istanbul slated for April 16 that had been aimed at reaching a political agreement between the country and the Taliban militants. Our current position is that we cant participate in the conference during that date, although the Istanbul conference is still under our consideration, the Islamic groups spokesman Mohammad Naeem said in a text message, without providing further details. Behind the Taliban stands Pakistan. It is there where Russia and China pulled strings to sabotage the U.S. plans: When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov landed this month in Pakistan, marking Moscows first high-level ministerial visit to Islamabad in nearly a decade, the diplomats presence was laden with geopolitical intrigue. While Lavrovs overt mission was to court Pakistans support for Russias new bid to promote a political settlement in war-torn Afghanistan, his unspoken agenda focused on indications the US will delay its avowed withdrawal from the war-torn nation. Lavrov arrived in Islamabad with a bag of promises ranging from possible defense, energy and infrastructure development cooperation. While the offers were warmly received by Pakistan, the two sides are still far from developing any type of strategic partnership. Pakistan currently depends on IMF loans the distribution of which is under U.S. control. But with Russia and China chipping in Pakistan may not lose too much. The main reason why Pakistan did not agree with Biden's initiative is that it included India as one of the nations involved in the scheme. That was an amateur mistake from the get go. As we wrote at that time: In [his letter] Blinken announced that he would ask the UN to convene the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, India and the United States to discuss a unified approach for supporting peace in Afghanistan. Pakistan, which supports the Taliban, is likely to reject any inclusion of its arch enemy India into such a process.

bigger For obvious strategic reasons Pakistan can never allow its enemy India to gain a foothold in Afghanistan. Nor can China and Russia allow the U.S. to stay in Afghanistan: Both Russia and China are opposed to an open-ended US military presence in Afghanistan, a country where both have grand infrastructure development designs and security concerns. Specifically, Americas military presence in Afghanistan is seen as a stumbling block for the completion of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Russias Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) trade and integration schemes. Chinese diplomatic officials have recently claimed in press briefings that the US is using its military and intelligence presence in Afghanistan to stir trouble in Chinas far-western Xinjiang region, where as many as one million ethnic minority Uighurs have been interned in so-called vocational camps. With Biden announcing a final day for the retreat the Taliban are likely to prolong their ceasefire with the U.S. until that day but will continue their fight against Afghan government forces and ISIS. They will probably wait with overrunning the cities the government forces currently still hold until the last foreign soldier has left. Then the government forces are likely to fall apart and the warlords who currently rule in Kabul will fight with each other and the Taliban. A year or two later the Taliban will have the whole country under control. As the Annual Thread Assessment released today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence notes about Afghanistan: We assess that prospects for a peace deal will remain low during the next year. The Taliban is likely to make gains on the battlefield, and the Afghan Government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support. Kabul continues to face setbacks on the battlefield, and the Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory.

Afghan forces continue to secure major cities and other government strongholds, but they remain tied down in defensive missions and have struggled to hold recaptured territory or reestablish a presence in areas abandoned in 2020. Leaving Afghanistan and dumping those great plans of using it as a Uighur base against China is the right thing to do. This lets me hope that Biden will stick to it: Lara Seligman @laraseligman 16:28 UTC  13 Apr 2021 BREAKING: Senior administration official says the withdrawal from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 is NOT conditions based. Biden has judged that "a conditions based approach, which has been the approach of the past two decades, is a recipe for staying in Afghanistan forever." Then again - the CIA and the Pentagon have ways and means to change such presidential decisions. We will know on 9/11 if they let Biden get away with this one. Posted by b on April 13, 2021 at 17:11 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
The O. swinhoana frog species is the first vertebrate known to retain descendant genes that now determine sex in mammals, birds, and fishes inherited from a common ancestor

Scientists found six sex chromosomes in the Odorrana swinhoana frog species endemic in Taiwan, giving new insights into how complex XY systems evolve.

The discovery was a surprise to the international research team led by Associate Professor Ikuo Miura of Hiroshima University's Amphibian Research Center. In 1980, the first reported instance of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians was found in the Taiwanese brown frog Raina narina -- a synonym for O. swinhoana -- which had a male-specific translocation between two chromosomes. Its sex chromosomes could be described as ?X1Y1X2Y2-?X1X1X2X2.

The finding suggested that translocation -- a chromosomal abnormality that happens when a chromosome breaks and its fragment fuses to another -- occurred between two potential sex-determining chromosomes. At that time, however, the identification of the chromosomes involved in the translocation was uncertain.

So when the researchers set out to precisely identify the chromosomes involved, they were expecting only one translocation and not three. The three male-specific translocations created a system of six sex chromosomes, ?X1Y1X2Y2X3Y3-?X1X1X2X2X3X3. Their findings were published in the journal Cells last March 16, 2021.

A first among vertebrates

Cases of multiple chromosomes in amphibians are rare and their karyotypes, or collection of chromosomes, are generally highly conserved with little rearrangement among species. A majority are also homomorphic with undifferentiated sex chromosomes, unlike mammals and birds which have heteromorphic XY and ZW sex-determination systems. So far, there are only 10 known cases of multiple sex chromosome systems in amphibians.

What's more, the research team uncovered that the potential sex-chromosomes involved in the translocations contained orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes. Orthologs are genes that evolved from an ancestral gene found in the shared ancestor of those species.

The researchers found the Dmrt1, the male determining gene in birds, and Amh, the male determining gene in fish and platypus, on the Y1 chromosome; the Sox3, the ancestral gene of SRY in therian mammals and the male determining gene in medaka fish, on the Y3 chromosome; and an unidentified sex-determining gene on the Y2 chromosome.

This is the first time that sex chromosomes containing orthologs of the sex-determining genes in mammals, birds, and fishes are found together in a vertebrate species.

Chance vs choice

Sex chromosomes evolve from an ordinary autosomal pair after acquiring a sex-determining gene. But the team has yet to figure out which of the three pairs is the original sex chromosome and which is the major sex-determining gene of the three candidates: Dmrt1, Amh, and Sox3.

Miura explained that up to now sex chromosome-autosome fusion has been documented as a chance occurrence.

"In fact, it was like that in this frog, too. The break and fusion of the chromosomes may have occurred by chance," he said.

But the researchers believe that the chromosome members involved in the fusions were selected non-randomly or inevitably chosen as they probably share a common genomic region.

"To be so, the three may share a common DNA sequence on each of them, which makes them closely localized to each other, and this makes it possible to join the simultaneously occurring breakages and translocations."

"This rare case suggests sex-specific, nonrandom translocations and thus provides a new viewpoint for the evolutionary meaning of the multiple sex chromosome system."

Miura said identifying the genomic sequence common to the potential sex chromosomes would improve understanding of the mechanisms of its evolution and turnover.

###

About Hiroshima University
The Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei. [Photo/Xinhua]

China resolutely opposes the United States developing any formal relations with China's Taiwan region, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Ma made the comment in response to the US Department of State recently issuing new guidelines to encourage interactions between the US government and the island.

Upholding the one-China principle and provisions of the three China-US joint communiques is a serious promise made by the US to China, he said.

We urge the US side to take concrete actions to honor its promise, refrain from sending the wrong message to Taiwan separatists, and take solid measures to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, he said, adding the attempt to lean on the US for secession perpetrated by the Democratic Progressive Party, the island's ruling party, is doomed to fail.
Burma's Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during an event at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York City, on Sept. 21, 2016. (Bria Webb/Reuters)

Burmas Suu Kyi Asks Court to Let Her Meet Lawyers, Activists Urge New Year Defiance

Burmas (also known as Myanmar) detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked a court on Monday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years.

As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people to show their opposition to the Feb. 1 coup during this weeks traditional new year holiday in the largely Buddhist country.

Suu Kyi, 75, who has led Burmas struggle against military rule for decades and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been detained since the coup and charged with various offenses. These include violating a colonial-era official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years.

She has only been allowed to talk with her lawyers via video link in the presence of security officials and it is not known if she is even aware of the turmoil that has engulfed the country since the military seized power.

No, we havent, we could only talk about legal matters, lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters when asked if her legal team had been able to talk to her about the protests in which more than 700 people have been killed.

The lawyer said Suu Kyi looked healthy as she repeated a request to meet her lawyers face-to-face. The next hearing is on April 26.

As well as the official secrets charge, Suu Kyi has been charged with illegally possessing two-way radios and violating coronavirus protocols. She has also been accused by the ruling military council of bribery.

Her lawyers say the charges were trumped up and they dismiss the accusation of bribery as a joke.

An additional complaint against her was filed on Monday related to the coronavirus rules, Min Min Soe said.

The coup has plunged Burma into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps towards democracy as the military stepped back from politics and allowed Suu Kyi to form a government after her party swept a 2015 election.

The military says it had to overthrow her government because a November election again won by her National League for Democracy was rigged. The election commission dismissed the accusation.

The coup has triggered relentless protests by those opposed to military rule, and unyielding suppression by the generals who say that only they can save the country from disintegration.

Silent Protests

Security forces have killed 710 protesters since the coup, according to a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group.

That included 82 people killed in the town of Bago, about 70 km (45 miles) northeast of Yangon, on Friday.

Despite the violence, people return to the streets day after day, demanding an end to military rule and the release of the leader of Suu Kyi.

Activists cancelled traditional new year festivities on Tuesday and instead showed their anger through silent displays of defiance and small protests across the country.

The five-day New Year holiday, known as Thingyan, is usually celebrated with prayers, ritual cleaning of Buddha images in temples and high-spirited water-dousing on the streets.

We do not celebrate Myanmar Thingyan this year since over 700 of our innocent brave souls have been killed, said one Twitter user named Shwe Ei.

Women wearing fine clothes for the most important holiday of the year protested on Tuesday holding traditional pots containing seven flowers and sprigs that are displayed at this time.

Many people painted the protesters three-finger salute on their Thingyan pots.

Small protests were held in numerous towns, according to images posted by media. In some places, people set out dozens of Thingyan pots daubed with messages such as Save Myanmar in silent shows of opposition to the military.

There were no immediate reports of violence but information has become scarce because of the juntas curbs on broadband internet and mobile data services.

A spokesman for the junta could not be reached for comment.
Epic sunsets. Breathtaking views of the Bay of Banderas. If a trip to a coastal paradise is on your bucket list, you've just lucked out.

Houstonians will soon be able to fly out of George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Puerto Vallarta nonstop thanks to Spirit Airlines.

Launching on July 1, Spirit Airlines will offer daily flights to one of the most popular beach destinations in Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, from Houston's George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Dallas Fort-Worth International (DFW) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Look for the flights to be scheduled three days a week, including Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Beginning May 5, Spirit Airlines will also add nonstop service between LAX and Los Cabos, Mexico.

AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images

"Passengers are looking for destinations that offer the characteristics of Mexican beaches, such as Puerto Vallarta, and that are relatively close to their destination of origin," Spirit's collaborating partner, Grupo Aeropotuario del Pacifico CEO Raul Revuelta said in a release.

GET AWAY FROM IT ALL: Here are the countries now allowing U.S. travelers to visit

Here's a breakdown of the new service to Puerto Vallarta:

Houston (IAH): 3X weekly

Dallas, Fort Worth (DFW): 3X weekly

Los Angeles (LAX): Daily

Puerto Vallarta has become a highly sought-after beach destination for Houstonians amid the pandemic, according to River Oaks Travel Founder Dasha Westerfield.

Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty

"Even during the pandemic, we've been sending a lot of Houston travelers to Puerto Vallarta," Westerfield told Chron. "If you go to Punta Mita, it's more remote and secluded, which is a better option for people who would like to social distance."

Whether it's taking a stroll along the cobblestone streets of Old Vallarta or indulging in the sun-soaked Playa Las Animas beach, Puerto Vallarta offers a peaceful spot to simply unwind away from the hustle and bustle of Houston.

"Our Houston travelers go to Puerto Vallarta to simply relax. Families can rent a villa there. Price-wise, it's pretty friendly for what you're paying," Westerfield added.
Pershing Terminates Previously Announced Earn-in Joint Venture Agreement, Negotiates New Agreement, and Expands West Bolo Gold Project 100% Mineral Rights Claim Package.

RENO, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / Pershing Resources Company, Inc. ("Pershing Resources" or the "Company") (OTC PINK:PSGR) today announced that it has finalized negotiations to terminate its previously announced Earn-In Joint Venture Agreement with Americas Gold Exploration Inc. ("AGEI") of Reno, Nevada. replacing it with a 100% mineral rights agreement with AGEI for the Company's West Bolo Gold Project. Pershing also announced a 100% mineral rights agreement with Mountain Gold Claims LLC. ("MGC"), also of Reno, Nevada, for two unpatented mineral claims that had overlapped, but not included within, the Company's original West Bolo Gold Project area. Accompanying these negotiations is the additional staking of 29 unpatented mining claims or an additional area of 599 acres, This brings the total number of Pershing's 100% mineral rights ownership of unpatented mining claims for the West Bolo Project to 113, or a total of 2334 acres. The additional staked 29 unpatented mining claims are within the area of influence for both the AGEI and MGC agreements as discussed below.

The West Bolo Gold Project is located within the Hot Creek Range, within Nye County, approximately 10 miles north of the Tybo mining district and 65 miles northeast of Tonopah, within central Nevada. Based on work completed by previous exploration companies and yet to be confirmed by Pershing, the West Bolo Project includes four north trending gold-bearing structures that may be comparable to Carlin-style gold mineralization. As of the date hereof, the eastern boundary of the West Bolo Project is within one mile of New Placer Dome Gold Corp.'s Bolo Project that has been reported to include Carlin-style gold mineralization in north trending structures. by New Placer Dome Gold Corp. recently reported reverse circulation drilling results for its Bolo Project that included 25.9 meters of 0.92 grams/tonne gold within a zone of 97.5 meters averaging 0.41 grams/tonne gold. Barrian Mining Corp., a predecessor to New Placer Dome Gold Corp., reported reverse circulation drill results in 2019 for the Bolo Project of 1.2 grams/tonne gold across 122 meters and 148 grams/tonne gold across 4.6 meters. The West Bolo Gold Project is in the early stages of mineral exploration and will require a significant amount of initial fieldwork to better characterize and define any potential gold-bearing structures and to determine possible locations for drill testing. As yet, no drilling results comparable to those in the nearby Bolo Project have been reported within the West Bolo Project area.

The new agreement with AEGI has a term of 20 years and includes a lease purchase option for a one-time advance royalty payment of 5,000,000 restricted shares of the Company's common stock which AEGI had previously received under the original earn-in agreement, along with a four percent (4%) Net Smelters Return Royalty ("NSR Royalties") on any production achieved during the life of the project. Pershing has the right, but not the obligation, to buy back one percent (1%) of the NSR within the first five years of the agreement at a purchase price of one million dollars ($1,000,000), plus an additional one percent (1%) of the NSR at a purchase price of two million dollars ($2,000,000) within the first 10 years of the agreement, thereby potentially reducing the four percent (4%) NSR to two percent (2%). The agreement also includes a one mile area of interest surrounding the original 82 unpatented mining claims.

Under terms of the original West Bolo Project earn-in agreement with AEGI, Pershing had previously issued a total of 10,000,000 restricted shares of its common stock to AGEI as consideration for exclusive earn-in rights on the West Bolo Project. Under the new terms, AGEI retains 5,000,000 of the restricted shares of the Company's common stock as an advance royalty payment on the West Bolo Project, the other 5,000,000 restricted shares have been awarded as an advance royalty payment for a newly acquired property for Pershing from AGEI in Arizona, referred to as the Cello property. The Cello property is located three miles east of Pershing's New Enterprise Project and approximately 0.5 miles south of the Bell Copper's Perseverance Project. The terms of the Cello property with AEGI are the same as, discussed above for the West Bolo Project's new agreement with AGEI. Further details regarding the Cello property will be released once they are available for public disclosure.

The second West Bolo Project 100% mineral rights agreement (the "MGC Agreement")with Mountain Gold Claims LLC. ("MGC"), which became effective as of November 21, 2019, includes a 20-year term lease/purchase option agreement for two unpatented mining claims within the West Bolo Project area.

About Pershing Resources Company Inc

Pershing Resources is a precious and base metals exploration company with a growing portfolio of exploration projects in Arizona and Nevada. The Company is based in Reno, Nevada and is currently focused on the exploration and development of its 100% owned New Enterprise and Mohave-Standard properties, collectively referred to as the New Enterprise project. The New Enterprise Project is located between the Mineral Park Porphyry Cu-Mo mine (approximately 20 miles to the northwest) and the Baghdad Cu-Mo mine (approximately 45 miles to the southeast). The Company's other assets are comprised of mining properties in various early stages of development located in Arizona and Nevada. Pershing Resources is committed to responsible exploration and mining practices.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information contained in this press release, as well as the information on the Company's website, is provided solely for the reader's general knowledge. Such information is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all matters pertaining to the Company. Certain statements included herein and on the Company's website constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current knowledge, assumptions, judgment, and expectations regarding future performance or events. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, these forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of, assumptions made by, and information currently available to the Company's management. When used in this press release and on the Company's website, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possibility," "potential," "predict," "project," "should,' "target," "will," "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance, and/or achievements of the Company or of the mining industry, in general, to be materially different from future results, performance, and/or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties related to fluctuations in gold, silver, copper, and other precious and base metals commodity prices, uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology of the Company's properties, uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, the need for cooperation of government agencies in the development of the Company's mineral projects, the need to obtain additional financing to develop the Company's mineral projects, the possibility of delay in development programs or in construction projects, uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company's mineral projects and the risks associated with the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. The Company has no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation, to update, revise, or correct any of the forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact:

Pershing Resources

200 South Virginia Street, 8th Floor

Reno, NV 89501

Phone: 775-398-3124

Email: j.adams@pershingpm.com

http://www.pershingpm.com/

SOURCE: Pershing Resources Company, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/640151/Pershing-Resources-Negotiates-New-Terms-of-Ownership-and-Expands-the-West-Bolo-Gold-Project-in-Central-Nevada
Health Minister Greg Hunt has refused to guarantee Australias borders will open even if the whole country has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Australias borders have been shut since March 2020 and will remain closed until at least the middle of June, leaving more than 36,000 Australians trapped overseas, unable to return due to caps on the number of quarantine spaces.

Health Minister Greg Hunt suggested Australias international border closures could stay in place even if the entire population had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The closure also bans citizens from leaving the country unless they have an exemption or are travelling to New Zealand.

Mr Hunt suggested at a news conference in Canberra on Tuesday the international border closures could last much longer and stay in place even if the entire population had been vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Pigmeat producer margins are under pressure despite a recent increase in prices, according to new analysis by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).

Global farmgate prices for pig meat have performed strongly over the first quarter of this year.

Despite the recent increase, UK and European prices continue to struggle to match last years levels, QMS says in its latest market commentary.

Stuart Ashworth, Director of Economic Services for QMS, said that farmgate prices for the EU and UK remain 13% and 17% lower than a year ago:

Average prices in the EU for example have increased by over 12% since the beginning of February," he said.

"In the USA and Canada farmgate prices climbed some 35% over the same period.

"Recovery in farmgate prices in GB is a more modest 2% although they remain higher than the EU average.

"Despite recent increase European and UK farmgate prices remain 13% and 17% lower than a year ago.

Equally though, historic price trends would suggest modest seasonal increases in farmgate pig prices through the first half of the calendar year."

Amid recent rises in farmgate prices, producers are also seeing growth in feed prices; an input that accounts for over three-quarters of the cost of producing pigmeat.

Mr Ashworth said: With cereals and oilseed meal prices some 15-20% higher than twelve months ago, the fact that farmgate prices are lower than this time last year clearly indicates lower margins for pig meat producers in Scotland."

Strong European and North American prices are being helped by continued firm demand from China with international trade heavily influenced by the presence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in national pig herds.

It has been well documented that the impact of ASF in China has inflated their imports of pigmeat," Mr Ashworth added.

"It had been thought that China had ASF under control but recent reports from China indicate that ASF is still circulating and there has been some regional increases in incidence.

"As a consequence, China is expected to continue as a major player in international pig meat trade through out 2021, he said.

As a result of this, the EU reported during January 2021 an increase in exports to China during 2020 of 45% although growth was a more modest 16% during January 2021.

This growth has been achieved despite several EU member states, including Germany, having cases of ASF preventing export to China.

UK trade data indicates that the UK has also benefited from increased trade with China in 2020 but were less successful during January 2021.

Mr Ashworth said: The reasons for this decline in UK trade with China are complex but include Chinas removal of export approval from some processing sites including a major site in Scotland, because of concerns over the presence of Covid among the staff of these sites.

Not only do these Covid implications reduce market opportunities internationally for these sites they have also led to limited slaughter capacity resulting in pigs being held back on farms leading to these pigs falling out of premium specifications and suffering price penalties."

Recovering export approval is proving time consuming and geopolitical tensions over Chinas treatment of the Uighar communities is an added hinderance.

This may be a contributing factor to more modest farmgate price recovery in the UK compared with EU or North America.

Mr Ashworth notes that the recent publication of December census results for Scotland and England indicates little change in pig numbers on farm compared to 2019.

A similar profile of slaughter numbers and continued opportunities to trade with China not withstanding the current challenges and historic precedent would suggest modest growth in farmgate price will continue.

"Nevertheless, current UK prices remain 17% lower than last year matching last years prices in the medium term may be over ambitious, he concluded.
Emirates has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) to strengthen and expand the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the UAE.

The agreement makes Emirates an official Strategic Partner of Sheraa, offering discounted fares to and from its network of over 90 destinations for the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival and startups relocating to the UAE through Sheraa's global soft-landing offering that provides an incentive package to facilitate entry for tech startups.

The MoU was signed by Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia and Najla Al Midfa, Sheraa's Chief Executive Officer.

Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer for Emirates Airline, elaborated on the new partnership: "Emirates has long been an avid supporter of innovative start-ups and initiatives within the travel and aviation ecosystem, and we are pleased to partner with Sheraa to support Sharjah and the broader UAE's efforts to create a vibrant environment for start-ups across a wide range of industries. The UAE has clearly established itself as a hub for innovation and ideas and the launchpad for high-potential start-ups, drawing in the brightest minds and talent from around the world to come and live and do business here, as well as scale their businesses to regional and global markets. We will be contributing to those efforts through attracting and connecting start-ups to the UAE with Sheraa across our network with the end goal of fostering innovation and stimulating valuable economic activity."

Speaking on the significance of the partnership, Najla Al Midfa, CEO of Sheraa, said: "We are pleased to welcome Emirates Airline as a Strategic Partner, opening up new avenues for collaboration across UAE's entrepreneurial ecosystem. This partnership reflects our belief that corporate stakeholders play a critical role in establishing Sharjah as a thriving entrepreneurship hub, by enabling innovation and supporting tech startups that can accelerate economic growth and diversification. Sheraa's community of enterprising founders will be able to capitalise on this exciting partnership to unlock access to global opportunities and scale their businesses to new heights."

As a part of the understanding between both organisations, Emirates will work alongside Sheraa as a Strategic Partner, both locally and across its international roadshows and events that aim to attract startups from across the world to the UAE. The partnership will also enable greater access to market opportunities for startups through supplier day engagements.

Emirates has been supporting Dubai and the wider UAE's innovation ecosystem to support young entrepreneurs and students since 2016, when it partnered with GE with and Etisalat to launch Intelak. Today Intelak includes a joint incubator, and Intelak hub, and both have served to create an innovative pipeline of ideas and initiatives for the travel and aviation industry in Dubai.

Since its inception, Sheraa has successfully supported 114 startups that have gone on to generate over $125 million in revenue, raise over $74 million in investment and create over 1,300 jobs. Sheraa recently launched the UAE's first government-backed startup studio, Sharjah Startup Studio (S3), to support ventures that are profitable, sustainable and solving real problems in the world. S3 goes beyond the traditional method of education-based programs, dedicating a team of experienced experts to work alongside founders and getting actively and operationally involved in the co-creation of their startups. - TradeArabia News Service
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Big Idea Ventures , the global leader in early-stage alternative protein investing, recently announced the launch of the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund with NC State as the inaugural collaborator. GFRP is a $125 million target fund that will fuel economic development in rural communities through the commercialization of university-developed intellectual property. Today, BIV is announcing nine additional university collaborators to the fund:



Louisiana State University  Louisiana State University AgCenters research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university.





 research and extension efforts help power the states $12 billion agricultural industry. AgCenter faculty continue to bring scientific discoveries to the world marketplace through Intellectual Property. Since 2000, 12 new companies have been started based on licensing from the AgCenter. Royalties from these companies and from other licensing agreements have generated more than $70 million since 1999. Louisiana State University serves as Louisianas flagship university and has the unique distinction of being a land-, sea-, and space-grant university. Oregon State University  Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. OSUs College of Agricultural Sciences accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment.





 Research funding at Oregon State University reached $449 million for fiscal year 2020, setting a university record. accounted for $62.6 million of that total and will use the funding to aid industries, create new jobs and improve agricultural production to feed more people  while reducing the impact on climate and the environment. Penn State University  Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with annual research expenditures exceeding $1 billion . Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been notably successful at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the Invent Penn State initiative , a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies.





 Penn State is a top-ranked research university with more than 18 research areas with . Penn States university-level interdisciplinary institutes have been at breaking down traditional research silos to tackle the toughest challenges for broader societal impact. As Pennsylvania's sole land-grant institution, Penn State has an extensive history of translating agricultural and human health discoveries through the Penn State Agricultural Extension, pilot facilities, and clinics. These efforts are supported by the , a university-wide program that advances tech transfer, industry partnerships, and startup companies. Purdue University  Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. The Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S.





 Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Tufts University - Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering.





- Tufts University is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States and enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence. at Tufts generates trusted science, educates future leaders, and produces real world impact in nutrition science and policy. The Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging is the largest research institution in the world devoted to investigating the relationship between nutrition and aging. The only school of veterinary medicine in New England is located at Tufts. Tufts is engaged in impactful research in the cellular agriculture space in its School of Engineering. University of Hawaii  The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. The University of Hawaii at Manoa , the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more.





 The University of Hawaii (UH), the states major research university, plays a prominent role in Hawaiis economic growth and development through its diverse and world-renowned research programs -- receiving a total of $456.6 million in extramural funding in FY2020. , the flagship campus of UHs ten campus system, is one of an elite handful of land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant universities in the nation. As a Carnegie R1 institution, it is known for its pioneering research and innovation in tropical agriculture, sustainable energy, astronomy, ocean and earth sciences, cancer, engineering, data visualization, microbiomes and more. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign  As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at aces.illinois.edu .



 As one of the nations leading research universities, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been shaping the future since 1867. Illinois consistently leads the nation in NSF-funded research, and the Universitys total annual research funding exceeds $680 million. That research drives student experiences and community engagement, powering innovation and driving positive change locally, nationally, and globally. The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at Illinois provides solutions to the worlds most critical challenges to create abundant food and energy, a healthy environment, and successful families and communities. Although proudly ranked among the top 30 agricultural schools worldwide, ACES is a diverse college with top-rated programs in engineering, finance and economics, nutritional science, and so much more. While our faculty and students choose a host of specialties and areas of interest, we all work toward the common goal of improving daily life for people close to home and around the world. Learn more at . University of Massachusetts Amherst  UMass Amherst is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the 2020 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects .





 is among the nations top universities for research as measured by national and international rankings, academic citations and research funding. The campus spends more than $200 million on research each year and is home to more than 60 campus-based research centers. Established in 2014 with a $150 million investment, the (IALS) translates fundamental research into innovative product candidates, technologies and services that deliver benefits to human health and well-being. IALS draws on the interdisciplinary expertise of more than 200 faculty-led research groups from 29 departments, including food science. UMass Amherst has the oldest academic food science program in the country, ranked #1 in the U.S. for the past three years, according to the . Worcester Polytechnic Institute  Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a long history of intellectual property creation across a number of cutting-edge technologies. Innovations span biotechnology, tissue engineering, bioreactor design, sensing technologies, advanced materials, machine learning, and scale-up manufacturing processes. Recognizing WPIs strong interdisciplinary approach connecting life sciences and manufacturing engineering, WPIs NSF Industry University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), a research center focused in part on the industrial drying of food products, is leading to the development of technologies that support companies in the food industry worldwide.

Were honored to welcome these universities to the GFRP consortium, said Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer for Big Idea Ventures. The research being conducted at each of these institutions spans our three areas of focus: breakthroughs in food, protein and agriculture innovation. Our team is excited to start building new companies based on technology being developed by some of the worlds best and brightest.

The GFRP fund will establish venture centers to facilitate collaboration with multiple leading U.S. universities. BIV will staff the venture centers with team members experienced in evaluating intellectual property to work with the universities to identify and evaluate new developments with the strongest commercialization potential and the fund will then invest in new companies formed around the groundbreaking research. These new companies will be headquartered in rural communities near the collaborating universities. The GRRP team expects the first of these to open in conjunction with the initial closing of capital commitments.

We believe GFRP will drive additional research and encourage entrepreneurs to establish their companies near our venture centers in rural America, added Andrew D. Ive, founder and managing general partner of BIV. Our rural communities have always been the center of our countrys food production and this is one way to help those communities continue to grow economically into the future.

About Big Idea Ventures



Big Idea Ventures (BIV) is solving the world's greatest challenges by supporting the worlds best entrepreneurs. Big Idea Ventures develops the most globally strategic funds delivering significant investor returns while addressing real world challenges. BIV is focused on alternative protein with its New Protein Fund, innovations in the food industry to solve challenges in waste, water use, plastic use and CO2 with its Generation Food Fund and commercialization of university intellectual property with its Generation Food Rural Partners fund. www.bigideaventures.com
Sputnik V, the Russian Covid-19 vaccine with close to 92 per cent efficacy, is likely to be available in India by the first half of May.

Speaking to reporters, Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), the countrys sovereign wealth fund working with Indian manufacturers to bring Sputnik V here, said we believe by the end of April or first part of May Sputnik V will be available in some quantities here.

He said the ramp-up at Indian manufacturing sites would take a couple of months to reach peak capacity and by the end of July, it was expected tens of millions of doses of Sputnik V would be available in India.

Calling Sputnik V an Indian-Russian vaccine, Dimitriev said they had been working with Indian players and expected the production of Sputnik V to be more than 500 million doses or so per year. We have partnerships with five companies here and we are looking for more, Dimitriev added.

Sputnik V is likely to have two different prices -- one for the Indian governments procurement and one for private or commercial sales.

It is one of the most affordable vaccines globally. Over the next two weeks, we will have discussion with the Indian government on pricing, he added. In any country that we have been to, we do say that we want to be 25-30 per cent of the market. Each country should have a portfolio of Covid-19 vaccines, the RDIF CEO pointed out.





chart

Indias drug regulator approved Sputnik V for restricted use in emergency situations in India a day after the expert panel gave its clearance. Hyderabad-based Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) has collaborated with the Russian health ministry for obtaining regulatory approval for importing the vaccine here in India.

The Subject Expert Committee (SEC) had given its nod on Monday.

DRL has collaborated with the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation for obtaining regulatory approval for import for marketing in India.

The vaccine prevents Covid-19 in individuals of over 18. It should be administered intramuscularly in two doses of 0.5 ml each with an interval of 21 days, and has to be stored at -18C. The vaccine comprises two components I & II, which are not interchangeable.

After careful consideration, the recommendations of the SEC have been accepted by the Drugs Control General (India). DRL will import the vaccine for use in the country, the Union health ministry said.
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In-depth analysis and data-driven insights on the impact of COVID-19 included in this global condom market report.

The global condom market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 9% during the period 2020-2026.

Key Highlights Offered in the Report:

APAC dominated the global condom market with a share of around 33% in terms of revenue and over 36% in terms of volume in 2020. The region is expected to witness significant CAGR of over 8% both by revenue and volume. APAC will continue to be the largest market for condoms during the forecast period. Male condoms accounted for over 98% of the global condom market in terms of both revenue and volume. However, the female condom segment is expected to witness significant CAGR of over 19%. International vendors with their huge infrastructure and R&D support are rapidly expanding their footprint in the market. Thus, regional vendors find it increasingly difficult to compete in terms of reliability, technology, and price. Manufacturers are creating marketing strategies based on the durability of the equipment. The competitive environment in this market is likely to intensify further with the increase in product/service extensions, technological innovations, and M&As. The most important and immediate need for condoms exits among women and girls. Female condoms account for less than 2% share in the global condom market and there is a huge growth opportunity in the market of female condoms. Vendors who can increase their ability to reach female population and are expected to enjoy competitive advantage in the market. The sale of condoms has been drastically affected in 2020 especially in the H1 of 2020. The first half of 2020 saw a massive fall in the sales of condoms with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, the impact of COVID-19 on condom market was witnessed majorly during Q1 and Q2 when lockdown was strict. With reducing restrictions and with restarting production, condom market started recovering. In 2020, latex condoms dominated the global condom market. Unlike latex that remains to be the predominantly used raw material for the manufacture of male condoms driven by their versatility of use, female condoms are majorly made of non-latex/synthetic materials.

Key Offerings:

Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 2020-2026

Market Dynamics - Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities

Market Segmentation - A detailed analysis by product type, material type, distribution channel type, end-user, and geography

Competitive Landscape - 4 key vendors and 31 other vendors

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/global-condom-market-2024

Condom Market - Segmentation

In 2020, the male condom segment dominated the market with a share of over 98% and 99% by revenue and unit shipments, respectively. The significant factors that influence the growth of the male contraceptives industry are high sexual activeness among males, ease of use and high availability, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, and cost-efficiency. Moreover, these protective devices have evolved to improve their functionalities over the decades.

In terms of unit shipments, the institutional condoms segment dominated the global market in 2020. As governments in the Middle East & Africa and North America are highly concerned about reducing the prevalence of HIV, the demand for condoms as a preventive measure expects to boost the market.

& and are highly concerned about reducing the prevalence of HIV, the demand for condoms as a preventive measure expects to boost the market. Condoms are mainly sold via retail distribution channels such as specialty stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, mass-market players, drug stores, and grocery stores. While institutional condoms are sourced or procured directly through manufacturers via tenders, branded condoms are sold via several distribution channels.

Condom Market by Product Type

Male Condoms

Female Condoms

Condom Market by Distribution Channel Type

Retail

Specialty Stores



Mass-market Players



Drug Stores



Grocery Stores

Online

Condom Market by Material Type

Latex

Non-latex

Polyurethane



Lambskin



Polyisoprene



Nitrile

Condom Market by End-user

Branded

Institutional

Condom Market - Dynamics

Durex Partnering with RED, 2018-2020 - The campaign adopted by Durex involves the brand partnering with RED (HIV Charity) in a three-year tie-up intending to raise awareness among young consumers on AIDS. The company released a new product called (DUREX)RED in more than 25 global markets during this time. Such campaigns have remained successful in attracting significant attention throughout the countries and regions. Such campaigns are helpful in creating a crucial impact on condom buyers and are even crucial for the launch of exclusive product extensions in the existing or new markets. Vendors can consider using such campaigns for efficiently branding their products in the market. Keeping into consideration that condoms are often treated as products to be sold under secrecy or products associated with cultural shame or taboo across societies, most vendors strategize their marketing and branding campaigns to portray a correct public image.

Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth:

Internet Shaping Purchasing Behavior

Innovative Condom Designs

Government Initiatives for Free Condom Distribution

Growing Prevalence of STIs

Condom Market - Geography

APAC is led by China, where condoms are witnessing a surge in demand owing to the presence of a large population base, awareness of condom usage, and affordability. The condom market in APAC is witnessing high growth in India, China, Japan, and South Korea, and these devices are also gaining popularity among end-users. APAC is also witnessing rapid urbanization. According to the World Bank Group, the number of urban households in the region is likely to rise by about 68% from 2010 to 2030. The high urbanization rate in developing APAC countries will bolster the demand for condoms as people are aware of the products and will have access to them in retail stores or drug stores. This is expected to develop the demand for condoms in the region during the forecast period.

Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/global-condom-market-2024

Condom Market by Geography

North America

US



Canada

Europe

UK



Germany



Russia



France



Spain



Italy



Turkey



Netherlands



Portugal



Poland



Sweden



Denmark



Norway

APAC

China



Japan



India



Australia



South Korea



Indonesia



Philippines



Malaysia



Singapore



New Zealand



Taiwan



Thailand



Vietnam



Cambodia



Sri Lanka



Myanmar

Latin America

Brazil



Mexico



Argentina



Colombia



Peru



Chile



Others

Middle East & Africa

Nigeria



South Africa



Algeria



Ethiopia



Kenya

Major Vendors

Church & Dwight

LifeStyles Healthcare

Okamoto Industries

Reckitt Benckiser Group

Other Prominent Vendors

BILLY BOY (MAPA)

Bally

Caution Wear

Convex Latex

Cupid Limited

Dongkuk Techno

Double One

Fuji Latex

HBM Group

HLL Lifecare Ltd

Innova Quality

Innolatex Limited

IXu

Japan Long-Tie

Karex Berhad

LELO

Mankind Pharma

Mayer Laboratories

MTLC Latex

Nulatex SDN. BHD.

Ritex

Sagami Rubber Industries

Shandong Ming Yuan Latex Co.

Shanghai Dahua Medical Apparatus Co.

Silk Parasol

StaySafe Condoms (AdvaCare Pharma)

STRATA Various Product Design

Thai Nippon Rubber Industry

Tianjin Condombao

Tianjin Human Care Latex Corporation

The Female Health Company (VERU)

Explore our health & wellness profile to know more about the industry.

Read some of the top-selling reports:

US Corporate Wellness Market - Industry Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

Erectile Dysfunction Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026

Sexual Wellness Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025

Premature Ejaculation Therapeutics Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025

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Dumsor is a pure political term and, so, the Akufo-Addo government cannot defer to engineers to explain the political term it benefitted from while in opposition, the General Secretary of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said.



The country has been experiencing intermitted power outages in the past few weeks, which the Energy Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has attributed to ongoing system upgrades.



Dr Prempeh, who recently announced that there would be systematic power outages in May, also refuted claims that dumsor was back during a recent tour of some ongoing upgrade projects in Accra.



The upgrades are being undertaken by state power transmitter Ghana Grid Company Limited.



We should all be truthful in our communication. In 2016, the whole country, they gave us periods that we were off and on. In 2016, the government of the day told us that it was a generation problem. In 2016, even the opposition talked about the government not having money to buy fuel. This is not a generation problem, this is not about fuel, so, how could it be dumsor?



Dumsor is planned and a timetable is rolled out and it affected the whole country for four years. Is that what we are seeing? No, he asserted, insisting: Some of the systems, because of the challenges, the reason the system upgrades are being done is what we are feeling.



So, we have to bear with the contractors to finish in time so that we can enjoy the improvement we so desire, he pleaded.



Pressed further by the journalists if he was being categorical that there is no dumsor, Dr Prempeh retorted: Is there dumsor? I would ask you.



Is it the dumsor that you have known and come to live with that is happening in the country? he wondered.



We have systems where lines are flickering, voltages are low and, sometimes, like it happened over the weekend, a line is down because a conductor has broken. And that is exactly why we are here today  the system upgrade that is ongoing  and, so, the challenges are what we are dealing with and all I can say is to plead with Ghanaians to be forbearing and well coming out of the problem, he noted.



Dr Prempeh also dismissed rumours festering on social media that the intermittent outages were deliberate so as to justify intended tariff hikes.



Some of these claims need not be responded to in the sense that in the light of the obvious fact, this was not started today, this project has been ongoing for some time, the project the engineer just told you about, so, I can simply say it is not true.



However, Mr Asiedu Nketia told Kofi Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FMs Class Morning Show that: Dumsor is not an engineering term, its a political term, so, if in 2016, we were not interested in listening to the causes of the dumsor, why should we be listening to the causes of the dumsor from the engineering standpoint now.



At that time, even when we were explaining that: Look, part of the problem has to do with generation, part of the problem has to do with the gas that was not flowing from Nigerian and all that, they said it was all incompetence. So, the politician should not go and hide, he noted.



They should come and explain their own term dumsor and the explanation they gave was that, dumsor means light going on, light coming off and, so, now they cannot call the engineers who did not study dumsor in any of their textbooks, to come and explain to us what dumsor means.









Source: classfmonline.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 Korean research team succeeded in developing a technology generating various vibration using LED light signals. The technology allows various tactile sensations by area and reduction in size by considerably lowering the cost of light source, and these are expected to be applied to many industries including automobile and electronics.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, or ETRI for short, announced that it succeeded in developing a technology to implement various vibrations using LED. This technology was widely recognized as published on the cover of the February 10 issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces1), a leading scientific journal.

* Glossary description 1) ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, a scientific journal ranking among the top 14%; impact factor at 8.758 / on the supplementary cover.

Haptic technology refers to an interface that can create an experience of touch to the user. As applications of touch-screen devices and remotely controlled tasks have increased via smartphone, home appliance, medical equipment, and virtual game, demand for technology requiring accuracy and safety is also on the rise.

Representative applications using haptic technology include vibrations made on the smartphone and tablet screen. The currently commercialized technology offers vibrations felt on the entire device like a mono speaker. The user feels the consistently same vibration regardless of where he or she touches.

The technology realized by ETRI allows the user to experience varying tactile sensations by area where his/her finger touches. The technology is expected to be optimized for the environment where the user's fingers can feel varying textures of different products while shopping online.

At present, the vibration made on the smartphone or game pad is created by the movement of a pendulum attached to the motor. Drawbacks includes the inability to deliver delicate tactile sensations by part, since the consistently same vibration effect spreads to an entire device.

Another technology was recently developed to create vibrations using shock waves per momentary temperature change using laser; due to the price2) of the laser used for the technology at tens of thousands of USD, however, it is known to be difficult to reduce in size and commercialize.

* Glossary description 2) Nanosecond Pulse Laser: Laser radiates amplified light in pulse in nanosecond (one billionth of a second).

The research team at ETRI succeeded in developing a technology that transformed light signals at low outcome into vibration. This technology can allow productions of display screens making independent vibrations by part using multiple LEDs in small size, whose price range is 1/10,000 of the extremely expensive laser light source.

This technology is based on the principle that absorbs light energy and turns it into thermal energy. When the film coated with special photothermal layer3) is applied with light energy, the film goes through bending and restoration depending on the thermal expandability of the material as it is heated and cooled, creating vibration.

* Glossary description 3) PEDOT-Tos (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-tosylate): A conductive polymer material efficiently absorbs near infrared light.

The research team utilized this technology to prove the possibility of making precise vibrations with a wide frequency bandwidth4) by creating a 3x3 LED sequence made of nine 1cm2 units. The team believes the size will be easily applied to a much larger area.

* Glossary description 4) "Frequency bandwidth" refers to the range that can control the vibration per second (Hz). Humans are known to react most sensitively to vibrations in the range of 100-200 Hz, gentle to high frequencies and rough to lower frequencies. The wider the range, the more varied the frequency can express vibration. Currently the new technology can express 125-300 Hz.

The latest trend in the automobile industry includes the use of one touch-screen integrated with various control functions including navigation, media, and mutual assistance systems in place of traditional operative devices, such as buttons or dials. Currently, feedback per touch input is simple; through this new technology, however, tactile sensations to turn a dial, press a button, slide and the like can be simultaneously added.

The technology offers durability in particular as it does not include an electric structure in the film for easy application to a thin and flexible display screen. As it can integrate well with the currently active field of flexible devices, it is expected to be applied to various researches.

The research team also expects to utilize the new technology as an alternative to supplement Braille by grafting it with information devices for the visually challenged. It plans to make an effort to commercialize the technology for automobiles, touch-screen devices, electronic displays, smartphones and more.

"The technology is expected to be used widely to support people who are vulnerable with information, such as the visually challenged, by practically applying the original technology designed to deliver information through tactile sensation," said Shin Hyung-cheol, head of the Human Enhancement & Assistive Technology Research Section at ETRI.

The research team is currently engaged in follow-up studies to create vibrations that are strong enough for users to feel the sensation by increasing the efficiency of light-to-vibration energy conversion and to reduce the consumption of electric energy.

This performance was part of the project titled "Research on the Original Technology of Human-centered Autonomous Intelligent Systems" supported by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). The research team at ETRI has published 10 academic theses and applied for 7 patents related to this technology.

###

About Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute(ETRI)

ETRI is a non-profit government-funded research institute. Since its foundation in 1976, ETRI, a global ICT research institute, has been making its immense effort to provide Korea a remarkable growth in the field of ICT industry. ETRI delivers Korea as one of the top ICT nations in the World, by unceasingly developing world's first and best technologies.

This demonstration technology was developed with the assistance of the Ministry of Science and ICT. The technology was published on the cover of the February 10 issue of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (OTCQB:CLSH)(CSE:CLSH), the 'Company' or 'CLS', a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences, today announced the financial and operational results for its Nevada wholly owned subsidiaries for the month of March 2021 with net revenues of over $2M for the first time in the Company's history, and a Gross Margin of 48%. These results represent the highest single-month revenue total to date, with marked increases in revenue at both the retail and wholesale level. This total represents a 92% increase in revenue over March 2020, and an 89.4% increase in revenue over March 2019. The Company achieved this historic increase in net revenue while also improving Gross Margin, which was 45% for March 2020 and 37% for March 2019.

CLS Nevada March 2021 Financial and Operational Highlights

Retail subsidiary, Oasis Cannabis, achieved a 100.3% increase in net revenue year-over-year, alongside a 51.2% increase in the number of transactions and a 31.2% increase in average order size.

Branded wholesale division, City Trees, recorded a 70.5% increase in year-over-year net revenue and its highest volume of wholesale orders to date.

The number of orders placed through City Trees increased by 150% compared to March 2020.

The Company's Nevada retail and wholesale subsidiaries both achieved their highest revenue month to date in March 2021. At the Company's dispensary, Oasis Cannabis, net revenue increased by more than 100% year over year. While the economic effects of COVID-19 impacted the Company more directly in March 2020, and contributed to notably lower revenue for the month, results in March 2021 outpaced the store's trajectory without this factor. This achievement was driven by a 51.2% increase in the number of transactions processed and a 31.2% increase in average order size as new modes of service introduced in 2020, including curbside and expanded delivery, became more efficient. Construction also began on a new express in-store pickup window, slated to become fully operational in April to increase the flow of traffic through the dispensary. Oasis achieved both its highest and second highest total sales days in March, reaching over $90,358 and $90,215 respectively.

"Vegas is beginning to feel like Vegas again," noted Company President and COO Andrew Glashow. "We are still operating under many of the constraints mandated last year, but our team has become more efficient with these processes, allowing us to dramatically increase revenue in spite of these restrictions. Seeing that we can perform at this level given these limitations leaves us beyond excited to see what we can accomplish when we're able to return to 24 hour service and higher in-store capacity. Our team has a lot to be proud of."

In its advertising for the dispensary, Oasis has begun releasing a series of employee features, including new billboard designs, social media highlights, interviews with team members featured on the store's website, and a series of videos. This campaign, encompassed by the message 'Real People, Real Cannabis', was created to show genuine appreciation for the Company's dedicated team members who persevered through the previous year of challenges. Interested parties can watch this video series by clicking the link here.

At the Company's wholesale division, City Trees, the brand also achieved its highest revenue month, with a 150% increase in the number of orders compared to March 2020, and a 23.2% increase in orders over February 2021. The total revenue for the brand in March 2021 was $502,140. Not included in the brand's March revenue was a backlog of additional orders to be delivered in April driven by rapidly increasing demand for the brand's products. With five new product formulations introduced in February, retail sell-through of these products has increased. Along with new products in its vape line, City Trees released a new limited edition live resin concentrate, Glow, to mark Earth Hour - an annual event created to drive awareness of environmental issues facing the planet. In total, Oasis Cannabis sold 3,664 units of City Trees live resin concentrate in March, beating the dispensary's previous record number of live resin concentrate sold in one month by 56.6%. As Las Vegas begins to return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism and activity, the Company is confident that its foothold among local consumers with its brands and retail platform will maintain these high levels of performance going forward.

About CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) is a diversified cannabis company that acts as an integrated cannabis producer and retailer through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries in Nevada and plans to expand to other states. CLS stands for "Cannabis Life Sciences," in recognition of the Company's patented proprietary method of extracting various cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and converting them into products with a higher level of quality and consistency. The Company's business model includes licensing operations, processing operations, processing facilities, sale of products, brand creation and consulting services. https://www.clsholdingsinc.com/

Twitter: @CLSHoldingsUSA

Oasis Cannabis has operated a cannabis dispensary in the Las Vegas market since dispensaries first opened in Nevada in 2015 and has been recognized as one of the top marijuana retailers in the state. Its location within walking distance to the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in combination with its delivery service to residents allows it to efficiently serve both locals and tourists in the Las Vegas area. In February 2019, it was named "Best Dispensary for Pot Pros" by Desert Companion Magazine. In August 2017, the company commenced wholesale offerings of cannabis in Nevada with the launch of its City Trees brand of cannabis concentrates and cannabis-infused products. http://oasiscannabis.com

Founded in 2017, City Trees is a Nevada-based cannabis cultivation, production and distribution company. Offering a wide variety of products with consistent results, City Trees products are available in numerous dispensaries throughout the state of Nevada. https://citytrees.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and 'forward-looking statements' as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, the 'forward-looking statements'). These statements relate to, among other things, the impact of the COVID-19 virus on our business, the results of our initiatives to retain our employees and strengthen our relationships with our customers and community during the pandemic, the effect of our initiatives to expand market share and achieve growth during and following the pandemic, results of operations and financial performance, anticipated future events, and the effectiveness of our business practices during the pandemic. The continued spread of COVID-19 could have, and in some cases already has had, an adverse impact on our business, operations and financial results, including through disruptions in our cultivation and processing activities, supply chains and sales channels, and retail dispensary operations as well as a deterioration of general economic conditions including a possible national or global recession. Due to the uncertainties associated with the continued spread of COVID-19 and the timing of vaccinations, it is not possible to estimate its impact on our business, operations or financial results; however, the impact could be material. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements by terminology such as 'may,' 'might,' 'will,' 'should,' 'intends,' 'expects,' 'plans,' 'goals,' 'projects,' 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'estimates,' 'predicts,' 'potential,' or 'continue' or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered together with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See CLS Holdings USA filings with the SEC and on its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com for additional details.

Contact Information:

Corporate:

Chairman and CEO

Jeff Binder

President and COO

Andrew Glashow

888-438-9132

Investor Relations:

investors@clsholdingsinc.com

SOURCE: CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639954/CLS-Holdings-USA-Inc-Reports-Record-March-Financial-Results-As-Nevada-Tourism-Begins-Recovery
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Cannabis Applications Corp. ("GCAC" or the "Company") (CSE: APP, FSE: 2FA, OTCQB: FUAPF), a leading medical cannabis chain-of-custody compliance, efficacy and data platform, today announced a definitive three-year software licensing agreement with Herb Industries Ltd. (Herb), a Malta based medical cannabis cultivator. Grams cultivated are forecast as 44M in 2022 and 66M in 2023.



GCAC is licensing its Citizen Green Efixii platform as part of Herbs technology farm for use in its cannabis compliance and consumer transparency. Herbs advanced-growth-method handles all production lifecycles from genetics, cannabis nursery, onsite ISO laboratory and extraction. Licensed by the Maltese government, Herbs 12,000 SQM facilitys manufacturing lines will export to other EU members markets for pharmaceutical, solids, semi solids, liquids, flowers, cosmetics and edibles.

GCACs Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) license model meets the needs of cultivators as they scale. Cannabis lifecycle steps are represented by GCACs Efixii QR-code which can be scanned by customs officials, regulators, medical professionals and consumers alike to ensure that products are what they claim to be. GCAC charges a one-time configuration fee of $12,500 (USD), $50 per registered employee per month for KYC/AML, an export fee of $75 per cannabis batch and a consumer Efficacy-QR-code fee of $75 per retail product; in total, these fees generate CDN$.20/gram with a further potential yield of CDN$.18/gram in future data sales.

44M grams in 2022 and 66M grams every year thereafter is an absolutely massive revenue opportunity for us on a per gram basis states GCACs CEO Brad Moore. And, just as important is knowing that tens of thousands of EU consumers trust Efixiis QR-codes to give them, and their families, comfort knowing what they are ingesting is the safest and best product for them, thereby cementing our efficacy commitment of better outcomes for all medical cannabis patients.

The European cannabis market is the largest in the world, with a forecast CAGR of 67.4% set to value the market at 3.2 billion by 2025 [1]. The growth of the EU market since 2019 is attributed to consumer demand for CBD and the upgrading of regulations for medical cannabis. Key to meeting those regulations and building consumer confidence will be Herbs use of the Efixii compliance platform. Efixii enables growers staff to record all events for cannabis cultivations, including mother plant, laboratory tests, shipment, processing and customs.

All of Efixiis cannabis data is the intellectual property (IP) of GCAC. This IP creates an inherent difficulty in replicating or competing with GCACs medical cannabis datasets. GCAC defined their protocols in a provisional U.S. patent application, System of Process and Tracking Cannabis Products and Associated Method Using Blockchain filed with the USPTO on Dec. 17, 2020.

[1] https://www.canadianpackaging.com/general/legal-cannabis-market-in-europe-set-to-be-worth-e3-2-billion-by-2025-168895/

About Global Cannabis Applications Corp.

Global Cannabis Applications Corp. is a global leader in designing, developing, marketing and acquiring innovative data technologies for the medical cannabis industry. The Citizen Green platform is the world's first end-to-end - from patient to regulator - medical cannabis data solution. It uses six core technologies: mobile applications, artificial intelligence, regtech, smart databases, blockchain and GCAC smart rewards to qualify candidates for clinical studies. These technologies facilitate the proliferation of digital conversations by like-minded people in the medical cannabis community. Driven by digital and cannabis industry experts, GCAC is focused on viral global expansion by providing the best digital experience in the cannabis market.

For more Company information, please visit www.cannappscorp.com, or review its profiles on www.sedar.com and on the Canadian Securities Exchange's website (www.thecse.com ) .



To schedule an interview, please contact: For more information, please contact: Bradley Moore Corporate Communications Chief Executive Officer Telephone: +1 (800) 409-5679 Email: bmoore@cannappscorp.com Email: info@cannappscorp.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of GCAC. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of GCAC. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because GCAC can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. GCAC disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of this information.
Syracuse, N.Y.  City code inspectors have been at the Skyline Apartment building every day for the last three weeks.

Theyve found ongoing violations and a sluggish pace on promised repairs, despite a crush of attention and enforcement meant to compel the owners to clean the place up.

Code Enforcement Director Jake DiShaw said the elevators still arent all working, contrary to assurances from owners that they would be fixed. And there are still 18 unresolved code violations at the building.

He said the codes division has cited the building for not having its certificate of compliance, which would involve an inspection of every single apartment in the building.

Were aggressively seeking ownership to not only apply and pay for that inspection, but schedule it and start to get our team in there in the individual units, he said. Our efforts arent going to stop until we get a change from ownership and management.

The building is owned by Green Skyline Apartments LLC, a single-asset real estate company operated by Tim and Troy Green. The Greens own 10 more apartment buildings in Central New York and others in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Theyre trying to sell the Skyline.

Last month, an elderly woman was murdered in her apartment at Skyline.

The city has started legal action against Green Skyline, aiming to hit them in the wallet for the busted elevators. Theyre seeking a judgment for the unfixed code violations on the elevator, which would amount to $100 a day, at least, for each day its open.

In the court claim, city attorneys say code inspectors visited the building six times in February and March. Each time, at least one elevator was out of service.

All three elevators in the building failed an inspection on Dec. 29, 2020, according to the legal claim.

Troy Green said on March 31 that the elevators were being repaired last Monday. DiShaw said they still havent been fixed.

The broken elevators at the 12-story building arent a new issue.

In 2018, the city sought, and received, a similar judgment against the owners for failing to keep the elevators in working shape. The elevators were fixed 302 days after the filing of that judgment, several weeks after a syracuse.com story detailing tenant frustrations at the building.

The owners, however, never paid the $4,600 judgment, according to court papers. The court eventually allowed the Onondaga County Sheriffs department to garnish rent being paid by a restaurant on the buildings first floor so the city could get what it was owed, according to Syracuses Corporation Counsel Kristen Smith.

In a Common Council committee meeting Monday, officials from the citys police, fire, law and codes departments answered questions from lawmakers and offered a timeline of action theyve taken at Skyline, culminating with the legal action and a slew of daily inspections.

Those officials said theyve been doing everything within their power to improve conditions and respond to problems at the Skyline, despite legal obstacles, complex housing issues and obstinate owners. Many of those officials noted that Skyline is not the only problematic building in the city -- its a symptom of a shortage of affordable housing and a glut of uncooperative landlords.

Some councilors, however, were unmoved. They took aim at the courts, administration officials, the federal government and local non-for-profits as they sought answers and accountability on how Skyline was able to stoop to the crumbling condition its in.

Councilor Pat Hogan balked at the piddling fines courts levied against the owners in the past. When a water heater was broken for months in 2019, the city sought a judgment similar to the one for the elevators.

A judge, however, waived the $100 per day fine the city had requested for ignoring a code violation for so long. Instead, the owners were fined a total of $200 because they eventually fixed the heater. Tenants, meanwhile, had gone months without hot water while the city urged the owners to fix the problem.

What I find appalling is the abysmal action of our court system, Hogan said. When you continually bring cases and violations to them...where the penalties are ridiculous.

Hogan wanted to know if continuously ignoring code violations could constitute a criminal violation.

Corporation Counsel Kristen Smith said the city is looking into that.

Its got to be the right case and you make a good point that if theres ever a case, its this one, she said. Were definitely looking closely at that.

Councilor Ronnie White asked why it took the death of a 90-year-old white lady to convince the city to take serious action against the landlord, like declaring the building unfit for occupancy and filing a nuisance abatement order.

Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens challenged the premise and pointed to the laundry list of actions taken by the city. She said the city didnt want to shut down the building because it would mean displacing hundreds of people with no good plan for somewhere else to put them.

In no way shape or form did this administration in this office or me in particular ignore or not take seriously what I was being told about the conditions or what was going on toward the end of last year, she said.

Councilor Joe Carni asked city lawyers whether they could levy bigger fines against bigger properties, since the size of current fines isnt always enough to gain code compliance.

Thats been the only way we actually get the attention and get things addressed, Carni said.

The legality of that, Smith said, isnt exactly clear.

The 90-minute virtual meeting ended with just a few minutes for the public to offer input.

Sharon Sherman, executive director of the Greater Syracuse Tenants Network, spoke briefly on behalf of the tenants at Skyline. She called the Greens company the most difficult landlord shes ever dealt with. Shes been advocating for tenants for more than 30 years.

This is one of the most difficult owners to ever deal with, because they give you a ton of answers and dont follow through, and I question their competency, she said.
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Digital inks are utilized to print digital images on packaging materials, newspapers, textiles, and industrial products. In recent years, the application of these inks has increased significantly, as these inks take less time for on-demand printing, thereby, reducing the cost of printing. Moreover, digital printing does not need replacement of printing plates, unlike traditional methods like lithography, gravure, letterpress, and flexography. Owing to these advantages, the adoption of these inks has surged in sectors like packaging, publication, textiles, and industrial.

Pre-Purchase Inquiry at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=digital-inks-market

Owing to these reasons, the market for digital inks is projected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.4% during 20172023. According to P&S Intelligence, the market was valued at $1,147.4 million in 2016, due to the expansion in the packaging industry and technological advancement in the publication sector.

In recent years, application of ultraviolet (UV)-cured inks has increased significantly, as they offer advantages such as enhanced durability, optimum-print quality, and high-curing speed. These inks coupled with flexible ink films have minimum volatile organic compound (VOC) levels and offer enhanced resistance to scratches and wear and tear. Owing to these benefits, UV-cured inks are being adopted in sectors like food and pharmaceutical packaging and printing and publication. Moreover, these inks consume less energy, have high durability, and lead to zero ozone generation that will add to their popularity in future.

Browse full report at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/digital-inks-market

Geographically, North America consumes the highest volume of digital inks, due to surging demand from the office and commercial printing industry and the expanding electronics sector. Moreover, the region is expected to increase the consumption of eco-friendly digital inks in coming years, on account of stringent regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the utilization of inks containing VOCs in large quantities.

Thus, the benefits offered by digital printing over traditional printing will boost the adoption of digital inks in foreseeable future.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  A Floyd County man is pleading not guilty to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine.

Christopher Todd Tusler, 51 of Charles City, was arrested after a traffic stop on Highway 218 on March 24. Law enforcement says Tusler was pulled over for an equipment violation and a search of his vehicle found three plastic baggies containing a total of around three ounces of meth.

Tusler is also charged with failure to use a drug tax stamp and driving without a valid license.

A trial is scheduled to start on June 8.
KIMT-TV 3 NEWS  The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) are advising a temporary halt to the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The move comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in administering the single dose J&J vaccine after reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. Federal authorities are investigating the cases of six women who developed unusual blood clots within two weeks of getting the J&J vaccine. The woman were between the ages of 18 and 48 and the clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets

IDPH says such serious adverse effects with this particular COVID vaccine appear to be extremely rare. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. and only six such instances of blood clots have been reported so far.

While MDH says it is not aware of any cases occurring among the more than 184,000 Minnesotans who have received this vaccine, Minnesotans who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination are urged to contact their health care provider.

While this issue appears to be extremely rare, CDC and FDA are acting in a very cautious manner that underscores our commitment to vaccine safety, says Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. We will be closely monitoring the federal review process and use that information to help guide our efforts here in Minnesota in the days ahead.

Mitchell County Home Health & Public Health says it has cancelled a scheduled COVID vaccination clinic for Tuesday because it would have used the J&J vaccine.

For more information, click here.
Examine, a weekly science newsletter written by national science reporter Liam Mannix, is sent every Tuesday. The 10th instalment is below. You can sign up to receive it from The Age here and from The Sydney Morning Herald here.

The almost-total absence of criticism for Australias decision to preference Pfizers vaccine over AstraZenecas for people under 50 is remarkable.

In a single stroke, it throws Australias vaccine strategy into chaos. That sense of chaos will probably harm our vaccine confidence.

And the decision seems to prioritise individual risks over risks to public health.

And yet, in public comments, there has been almost universal support for this decision from vaccine experts.
Vietnam-based VinFast has announced that it has selected NVIDIA DRIVE Orin for its new generation of autonomous electric vehicles.

VinFast recently announced it is developing and preparing to start mass production of smart electric cars in all segments, including: the VF e34 mid-size SUV (Segment C), the VF e35 mid-size SUV (Segment D), and the VF e36 full-size SUV (Segment E). All three models have Level 2  3 autonomous capabilities, with 30 smart features, the company says.

VinFast says its EVs will first ship with the NVIDIA DRIVE Xavier system-on-a-chip (SoC) starting in 2022. The automaker will upgrade to NVIDIA DRIVE Orin across its entire range of upcoming premium EV models.

NVIDIA DRIVE Orin is described as a high performing AV processor. Built with more than 21 billion transistors, it features NVIDIA Ampere GPU architecture, 12 Cortex-A78 ARM64 CPUs?, along with programmable vision and deep learning accelerators. It is claimed the SoC is capable of processing more than 254 trillion operations per second to handle the large number of applications and deep neural networks running simultaneously to support special vehicle features. This includes capabilities such as cruise planning, locating charging stations and dealerships, theft-risk warning, user habit preferences, self-driving on highways, parking and more.

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As a result, VinFast claims its electric cars will "offer increased safety and enhanced autonomy to outperform existing models on the market; and deliver these safe, intelligent EVs at large scale". In addition, the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system is designed to ISO 26262 ASIL-D safety standards to ensure the highest level of automotive electronics safety.

"VinFast's strategy is focused on cooperating with global technology companies to pair their latest advancements with our products," said Ms. Thai Thi Thanh Hai, Vice Chairwoman of Vingroup and CEO of VinFast. "Enabled by NVIDIA, our new fleet of EVs will have the latest AI capabilities and features essential for safe self-driving and over-the-air software updates."

"VinFast's selection of NVIDIA DRIVE will accelerate development of the automaker's intelligent EVsdelivering new levels of safety and convenience that will help shape the future of transportation in Vietnam, throughout Southeast Asia and the world," said Rishi Dhall, Vice President of Autonomous Vehicles at NVIDIA.

In early 2021, VinFast announced three electric SUVs with autonomous features up to Level 3, in which, VF e34 is the first model to be launched in Vietnam first by the end of 2021. All three models are using artificial intelligence technology with many outstanding smart features; VF e35 and VF e36 are expected to export to the US, Canada and Europe in the year 2022, according to VinFast.
San Francisco is halting the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, after federal health agencies urged local governments to do so due to reports of rare blood clots in six recipients.

The citys announcement came shortly before Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday morning that California would also temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine.

Both Newsom and San Franciscos Department of Public Health said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution until health officials know more about the potential side effects. Local and state health officials said the pause would not have a significant impact on this weeks vaccination efforts, as Johnson & Johnson only made up a small portion of the entire supply.

As this adverse event is reported to be extremely rare with just over six reported cases nationwide, we do not believe there is cause for immediate alarm, San Franciscos Department of Public Health said in a statement.

Only 500 out of 10,000 vaccine doses received in San Francisco this week were from Johnson & Johnson. Still, the city was hoping that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine  which only requires one shot, as opposed to two from Pfizer and Moderna  would help it vaccinate vulnerable populations like the homeless.

It was not immediately clear how this pause would impact those efforts.

Meanwhile, Contra Costa County health officials also said they would pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. But since Johnson & Johnson doses make up a small fraction of the countys overall vaccine allocation, officials did not expect anyone to have to cancel vaccination appointments.

California joined many other states around the country like New York, Texas and Oregon  in pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Tuesday. It was a dramatic and sudden move, which could complicate efforts to protect people from infectious COVID-19 variants.

Susan Philip, San Franciscos health officer, said this news should not deter people from getting vaccinated, especially with the other two vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.

To date, San Francisco has administered 31,831 doses of the J&J vaccine to residents. No cases of blood clotting have been reported, she said.

As San Francisco prepares to open vaccine appointments to everyone above 16-years-old Thursday, the city was already bracing for a tighter supply. The state told the city last week that it should expect a 33-35% decrease in supply for April caused by near-term challenges at the national level, according to the department.

If people have an opportunity to get Moderna or Pfizer now they should not delay that, Philip said. They shouldnt be concerned about this news about Johnson & Johnson. We are pausing any further use of that.

Chronicle Staff Writer Erin Allday contributed to this report.

This story will be updated.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Rep. Cuellar Says Border Surge Not Seasonal, Proposes Push and Pull Policy Mix as Solution

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said on Monday that he does not believe the border surge is a seasonal phenomenon, in contrast to the notion put forward by the White House that the recent spike in illegal immigration was part of a regular pattern.

In March, a sharp rise in illegal border crossings accounted for the number of apprehensions totaling more than 172,000, up from about 100,000 the previous month and the highest since March 2001.

Its not seasonal, Cuellar told MSNBC. Now, we do have the months of March, April, May, June that are peak months, but this is not seasonal, he added.

President Joe Biden, at a March 25 press conference, sought to portray the border surge as a seasonal spike and not, as critics have said, a result of decisions such as halting construction of border wall projects started under former President Donald Trump, or his support for immigration reform that would, if it clears the divided Senate, give a pathway to citizenship for millions of people living in the United States illegally.

It happens every year, Biden said of the surge in illegal border crossings. Does anybody suggest that there was a 31 percent increase under Trump because he was a nice guy and he was doing good things at the border? Thats not the reason theyre coming.

Its because of earthquakes, floods. Its because of lack of food. Its because of gang violence. Its because of a whole range of things, Biden said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked the following day about Bidens remarks, with a reporter asking: President Biden made it seem like this is not too unusual compared to other previous years; that, in terms of the number of people trying to cross the border, its about average. But those dont seem to square.

How does the administration view this, in terms of whether this is precedented or whether this is an increase?

Psaki replied by saying that Biden sought to make the point that, we have seen increases at the border: in 2014, when he was the Vice President; 2018 and 2019, adding that, the point is, weve dealt with this before. It is often seasonal. It is often cyclical.

Republicans have blamed Biden for the surge, in particular for his rollback of Trumps cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, or Remain in Mexico program, under which asylum seekers were directed to stay in Mexico while their asylum claims were processed.

While the Biden administration has said the border isnt open and that most asylum-seekers are being turned away at the border, the administration is allowing unaccompanied minors into the country, a policy that may be contributing to the sharp rise in children traveling alone at the border. In March, border agents encountered nearly 19,000 unaccompanied minors, the largest number recorded in a single month since U.S. Customs and Border Protection started publishing the figures in 2009.

Psaki, at the March 26 briefing, said Bidens focus is on actions and solutions.

We certainly know this is a challenge. Its something he is briefed on regularly and  is pushing his team to take more rapid action, she added.

One of the measures the Biden administration has proposed is a conditional cash transfer program to help address economic woes that lead migrants from certain Central American countries to trek north.

Roberta Jacobson, the White Houses southern border coordinator, said the potential program would be targeted at people in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Were looking at all of the productive options to address both the economic reasons people may be migrating, as well as the protection and security reasons, she said.

Biden has called for $4 billion in development aid to Central America over four years to address the underlying causes of migration.

Republicans have lashed out at the idea, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) saying Friday that the proposal was insulting to millions of Americans out of work.

Cuellar, in his interview on MSNBC, called for a combination of push and pull factors to fix the crisis.

One of the things we have to keep in mind is that we do have to look at the push factors and the pull factors. Democrats, if you notice, usually talk about the push factors. Republicans usually talk about the pull factors. You have to lock at both the push factors and pull factors and the long-term and the short-term goals that you want to do, he said.

The pull factors presumably refer to border and immigration policies, which may be seen as encouraging illegal immigration.

Reuters interviews with nearly two dozen migrants and more than a dozen people identifying themselves as smugglers, as well as an examination of hundreds of posts in closed Facebook groups where smugglers advertise their services, shows that many would-be migrants believe that they are welcome to cross the border.

Theres 100 days of free passage across the border, a Guatemalan smuggler told Reuters, referring to one prevailing perception. Supposedly the president is letting children in, another told the outlet.

The push factors, on the other hand, refer to conditions that drive people in Central America from their homes.

I was here in the appropriations when the first big wave we saw in 2014. We added the first $750 million for Central America and the vice president was the lead pointJoe Biden was the lead point at that time for President Obama, Cuellar said.

We worked on long-term and short-term. Long-term is investment, he said.

In dozens of interviews with The Associated Press over the past two weeks, migrants generally said circumstances in Central America drove them to leave their homes and set out for the United States. When asked about Biden, nearly all said his relatively pro-immigration positions influenced their thinking.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[April 13, 2021] Global payment solution provider Reach supports its rapid growth with new CTO

CALGARY, Alberta, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Reach, the global payment localization provider, has appointed Tyler Barry as Chief Technical Officer to support the business' continued success throughout 2021 and beyond. Barry, a twenty-year veteran of the technology industry, has been appointed to develop and execute the company's strategic technology action plan and position the brand as it demonstrates explosive growth. A vastly experienced and talented leader, Barry has a proven record of success, and brings a wide range of expertise in areas such as scalable systems, distributed transaction settlement, mobile banking, and payment method integration. Tyler Barry joins Reach after a decade of consulting directly with banks and fintechs in the North American and European markets. Over that period, Tyler led the overall design and work of the technical teams to conduct the first international blockchain-based currency transfer for a Canadian financial institution; delivered the solution design and delivery of numerous mobile payments solutions such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Interac Etransfer for multiple financial institutions; leveraged open banking standards to deliver forward-looking solutions; and drove the design of software architecture for real-time fraud systems and highly scalable service-based environments. Tyler will now turn his wealth of experience toward developing the Reach Platform, suppoting improvements in transaction performance, dynamic processing, scalability, insight, security, and user experience.



Barry commented: "Reach is at an inflection point. We have an exceptional management team, a phenomenal customer base, and a market leading solution for merchants going global. I am energized to be part of the Reach team and to be able to serve the entire organization in propelling the growth of our services and platform for our customers." The Reach platform is designed to allow merchants to take advantage of the benefits of selling locally in a global marketplace, using its innovative service model to deliver higher conversion rates, lower costs, and a better end user experience for customers across the world.

Localised payment processing is a potential gold mine for global merchants, who are often saddled with higher fees and lower approval rates when processing foreign payments. For many businesses outside of the major multinationals, this has previously been unachievable due to requiring an 'in-country' business presence. However, by working through Reach's platform, merchants can utilise Reach's core connections and corporate structure to process localised payments from any country across the globe. Thanks to Reach's innovative platform and corporate relationships, businesses can take advantage of the best wholesale FX rates, along with presenting costs in local rates across more than 100 geographies worldwide, to deliver better service and increased value. Sam Ranieri, CEO at Reach, said: "After a period of exceptional growth for our business, we're thrilled to be welcoming Tyler as our new CTO. Tyler brings a wealth of invaluable experience to our senior team, with his track record of success speaking for itself. With his knowledge and support, we are well placed to continue disrupting the global ecommerce space through 2021 and the years ahead." "We saw a seismic shift in the commercial landscape in 2020, with the pandemic forcing businesses to rapidly refocus on ecommerce as their essential business model. This move exposed a huge number of businesses to new challenges, including volatile exchange rates and cross-border commerce risks. By adding talented individuals such as Tyler to our team, we're ensuring that our solution will be ready to support merchants worldwide as they look to take advantage of cross-border ecommerce opportunities." About Reach: Founded in Alberta, Canada, in 2010, Reach is the premier partner for ambitious, forward-thinking online brands that want to connect with consumers around the world, expand their businesses, and increase global sales. Reach's 'in-country' solution takes advantage of its 20+ local acquirers, 80 payment methods, and 100+ currencies to deliver the local experience consumers expect. Bringing consistency to cross-border currency conversions with its guaranteed localized pricing solution, Reach has relationships with banks worldwide to enable local credit card processing, offers consumers alternative payment methods where they are accustomed to using them, and provides best-in-class fraud detection and prevention services. For more information, visit www.withreach.com.

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A coalition of high school social studies teachers in Jefferson Parish has urged the School Board to reconsider its March rejection of a bid to study whether some school names should be changed.

The Board voted 6-2 to reject a proposal from board member Simeon Dickerson to form a committee to determine which schools have names that may be offensive to racial or ethnic communities, similar to efforts in neighboring New Orleans. Certain schools in Jefferson Parish bear the names of devout segregationists, slave owners or supporters of the Confederacy. Others have mascots that have been called offensive.

"As social studies teachers, we intimately understand our nation's history and recognize the irreparable harm that racism has caused generations of families and students in Jefferson Parish," the group said in a letter bearing the names of 21 high school teachers. "Now is the time for us to honor figures in our district that uplift our students and families, and share our values."

The group plans to distribute the letter to school board members at the Thursday meeting and read it into the record. The letter calls for the "immediate change of all school names and mascots which have caused mental anguish for members of our community."

The signatories include teachers from West Jefferson High School, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy, John Ehret High School, Grace King High School and others.

Meanwhile, Dickerson said he plans to raise the issue again at the April 15 meeting, though he said he is unsure if it will fare any better.

Push to form task force to rename Jefferson Parish schools with Confederate ties rejected The Jefferson Parish School Board on Wednesday rejected a move by one of its members to create a committee to determine if some school names, 

"Hopefully some people will realize that these names are offensive," Dickerson said.

Some of the district's biggest schools would likely be targeted in any push for name changes. Alfred Bonnabel High School in Kenner is named for a major figure in Jefferson Parish public education's early days, but one who owed slaves and supported the Confederacy. The school serves approximately 1,400 students, of whom about 1,100 are Black or Hispanic, state records show.

Similarly, Allen Ellender School in Marrero, where more than half of the attendees are minority students, bears the name of a U.S. Senator from Terrebonne Parish who was a staunch segregationist and voted against anti-lynching legislation in 1938 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. East Jefferson High School's mascot is the Warriors, and the logo is an image of a Native American.

Because his measure failed last month, board rules prevent Dickerson from bringing up the same resolution for consideration for one year, according to board attorney Mike Fanning. Any new motion would have to be substantially new, he said.

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Dickerson said Monday that his new measure would be different from the one that failed last month. At that March meeting, some speakers from the audience questioned how committee members would be named and especially whether Hispanic voices would be included. How those concerns would be addressed in the new proposal remained unclear as of Monday afternoon.

But at least two board members  both of whom voted against the measure last month  seemed skeptical of a board-driven approach.

"I think this is a hot topic nationally and has been for sure," said Board President Chad Nugent, who says he would rather see efforts bubble up from the schools themselves. "I think these communities need to be more involved here."

School system leaders remain focused on trying to navigate the pandemic, he said. "We are dealing with so much," Nugent said.

Board Member Billy North also said any initiative should start with the schools themselves.

"If a school community comes to us and wants to talk about changing any mascot or school name, I'm open to that," he said. "I think it should be initiated within the school community."

For example, North said, the former Henry Ford School in Westwego was renamed Emmett Gilbert School of Excellence at Ford after the community members wanted to honor Gilbert, an educator in Jefferson Parish.

Dickerson said he plans to keep pushing. He likened the board to the Russian crowd in the Sylvester Stallone film Rocky IV, which started off supporting native son Ivan Drago but ended up cheering for the lionhearted boxer from Philadelphia.

"I am always optimistic," he said. "I am going to keep on."
Bengaluru/Hyderabad, April 13 : Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Tuesday welcomed Bharat Biotech's move to start manufacturing Covaxin coronavirus vaccine at its Bengaluru plant, amid reports it plans to double production to 12 mn by July.

In a tweet, the minister said that Bharat Biotech's decision to augment Covaxin production "will surely help India's massive Covid vaccination efforts".

Sources said that the Hyderabad-based company is ready to raise Covaxin production to 12 million doses a month from July from the current 5 million doses, through bulk production at its Bengaluru facility.

The company received approval to start bulk production at its Bengaluru facility recently.

According to official sources, Bharat Biotech has sought Rs 150 crore funding to be used in its Hyderabad and Bengaluru plants and thereby, propel vaccine production to 500 million doses eventually.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:44:26|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN -- U.S. officials should understand that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage on Iran's nuclear facility will work in their favor at the ongoing nuclear talks, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.

"We have no problem returning to nuclear deal commitments ... but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage will give them the means to negotiate, and that these actions will only make the situation more difficult for them," Zarif said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. (Iran-US-Sanctions)

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ISTANBUL -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 84 suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police launched simultaneous operations in 49 provinces to arrest the suspects, upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu agency reported. (Turkey-Detention)

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ULAN BATOR -- Six people aged 22 to 46 were killed in a suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in northern Mongolia, the country's national police agency reported on Tuesday.

On Monday afternoon, local police received a report that six people lost their lives in Mandal soum (administrative subdivision) of Selenge province. (Mongolia-Poisoning)

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JOHANNESBURG -- South Africa's University of Johannesburg (UJ) on Monday launched the Acupuncture Centre and Museum in collaboration with Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The Acupuncture Centre and Museum was first conceptualised a few years ago, with renovations and design commencing in 2019. (S.Africa-Chinese medicine) Enditem
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SEATTLE  The owner of a currently residential property, at 4519 S. Henderson St., filed an early plan to redevelop with a mixed-use apartment building.

The plan from MBA architects and HHJ Architects, both of Tacoma, doesn't specify the number of units in a possibly six-story building with some retail/office space and underground parking. They say the property has split zoning. The commercial space could total 8,889 square feet.





. . .
FILE PHOTO: A truck is loaded with a container at the Port of Montreal

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Canada's manufacturers on Monday asked the federal government to curb a brewing labor dispute after dockworkers at the country's second largest port said they will work less this week.

Unionized dockworkers, who are in talks for a new contract since 2018, will hold a partial strike starting Tuesday, by refusing all overtime outside of their normal day shifts, along with weekend work, they said in a statement on Monday.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Quebec's 1,125 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal rejected a March offer from the Maritime Employers Association.

The uncertainty caused by the labour dispute has led to an 11% drop in March container volume at the Montreal port on an annual basis, even as other eastern ports in North America made gains, the Maritime Employers Association said.

The move will cause delays in a 24-hour industry, the association said.

"Some manufacturers have had to redirect their containers to the Port of Halifax, incurring millions in additional costs every week," said Dennis Darby, chief executive of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME).

While the government strongly believes a negotiated agreement is the best option for all parties, "we are actively examining all options as the situation evolves," a spokesman for Federal Labor Minister Filomena Tassi said.

Last summer's stoppage of work cost wholesalers C$600 million ($478 million) in sales over a two-month period, Statistics Canada estimates.

($1 = 1.2563 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal. Additional reporting by Julie Gordon in Ottawa; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Apple has officially revealed April 20 as the date of its next unveiling event.

The date was first revealed by the firm's digital assistant Siri, before it was confirmed to MailOnline by Apple later on Tuesday.

Upon being asked 'When is the next Apple Event?', Siri says 'The special event is on Tuesday, April 20, at Apple Park in Cupertino, CA. You can get all the details on Apple.com.'

Later on Tuesday, Apple confirmed the date with a press invite entitled 'Spring Loaded', with a time of 10:00 PDT (18:00 BST).

Apple is expected to unveil the new fifth-generation iPad Pro, AirPods and AirTags  its long-rumoured high-tech tag device for tracking everyday items.

It's expected to livestream the unveiling event online without an in-person audience, like its recent events, due to the current pandemic.

Upon being asked 'When is the next Apple Event,' Siri says 'The special event is on Tuesday, April 20, at Apple Park in Cupertino, CA

Apple has since confirmed the date and time (April 20, 18:00 BST) in a press invite entitled 'Spring Loaded'

WHAT ARE MINI-LED DISPLAYS? LEDs are small light sources in TVs that illuminates pixels to make an image. Mini-LEDs are much smaller than ordinary LEDs and create a brighter picture with more saturation and richer black levels. Because Mini-LEDs are so much smaller than normal LEDs they are difficult to manufacture and place precisely into screens, which means they are much more expensive than traditional LED displays. Advertisement

The premature announcement from Siri was noticed by MacRumors, whose staff and readers had found it 'across Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and HomePod'.

It's unknown whether it was an accidental slip or a deliberate reveal on behalf of the US tech giant.

According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to showcase two new iPad Pro models  one larger model measuring 12.9 inches and featuring new mini-LED display technology.

Mini-LEDs are like ordinary LEDs, but much smaller, which makes it possible to pack in thousands more of them into a display.

The extra light sources makes screens substantially brighter and creates more vibrant and nuanced colours, thanks to the greater combination of lights made possible by the higher LED count.

But Bloomberg has also reported possible supply issues for the larger iPad Pro, citing 'people familiar with the matter', meaning it will initially be available in 'constrained quantities'.

According to Japanese site Mac Otakara, citing Chinese supply chain sources, new fifth-generation iPad Pro will be available in the same sizes as its predecessor  11-inch and 12.9-inch.

But only the 12.9-inch model will come with Apple's new mini-LED display technology, according to Bloomberg.

Mac Otakara has also previously said the fifth-generation will have a 'significantly improved' processor from the Apple A12Z in the fourth generation.

Apple is expected to livestream the April 20 unveiling event online without an in-person audience, like its recent events, due to the current pandemic

Other sources cited by MacRumors have also suggested Apple will also release new iPad Pro models with mini-LED displays and faster processors.

Several respected leakers had previously marked March 23 in the diary for the Apple event  but this date came and went with no trace of any announcements.

As well as the iPad Pro models, Apple is also expected to unveil AirTags and third-generation AirPods.

AirTags are expected to be small, circular devices with an Apple logo in the centre, possibly equipped with Bluetooth connectivity.

The small circular tracking tags would help users find any personal item that has an AirTag attached  such as wallets, keys, luggage or even a stolen bicycle  by using a map on the 'Find My' app.

Apple is expected to unveil a new iPad Pro, AirPods and AirTags on March 23. AirTags are Apple's rumoured tracking system for the 'Find My' app. Each will be small, circular and made to be attached to everyday items (pictured here in supposed leak previously published by MacRumors)

Find My lets people track the whereabouts of their Apple devices, such as iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods, in case they get lost  but AirTags will extend this to other everyday, non-electronic items.

If the lost item is in the vicinity, such as around the house somewhere, users would be able to click an option for the AirTag to emit a noise to help them locate it, just like items already supported by the Find My app.

If the lost item with an AirTag attached was further afield  for example, if it were accidentally left in a bar in the next town  users could find it on the map.

If the item was stolen, the owner could potentially find out the address of the person who took it, as long as it still had the AirTag attached.

Rumours that Apple is developing item tracking tags first surfaced in September 2019 when MacRumors released leaked screenshots of a new 'Items' tab in the 'Find My' app.

Rumours that Apple is developing item tracking tags first surfaced in September 2019 when MacRumors released leaked screenshots of an item-tracking sub menu being developed for the 'Find My' app

The product was reportedly given the code-name 'B389' during its development but is expected to be sold under the name 'AirTags'

It's believed personal items like keys and wallets that have AirTags attached to them will show up under the 'Items' tab on the app.

In April last year, Apple mistakenly uploaded a support video to YouTube that revealed the existence of AirTags, which was quickly removed.

The video, entitled 'How to erase your iPhone', mentioned AirTags in a shot of Settings for the Find My app.

In April last year, Apple mistakenly uploaded a support video to YouTube that revealed the existence of AirTags, which was quickly removed

Apple is also expected to reveal its third-generation AirPods  the wireless Bluetooth headphones that come with their own charging case.

The second-gen AirPods, which were unveiled two years ago, start at 159. AirPods Pro, with additional noise cancellation technology and water resistance, cost 249.

According to MacRumors, Apple is working on more affordable 'entry-level' AirPods  albeit with a lack of higher-end features like active noise cancellation.

Apple is already pushing consumers towards AirPods. iPhone 12, released last October, didn't include a pair of standard wired headphones (EarPods) in the box, unlike its predecessors, prompting outrage from some buyers.

Cheaper AirPods will therefore come as good news for iPhone fans  although consumers can still buy EarPods for an extra 19.

The decision not to include wired EarPods in the box of the iPhone 12 should turn consumers towards its 250 AirPods Pro (left) and AirPods (right)

Apple is not expected to unveil any phones at the April 20 event.

Even though the iPhone 13 is not due until the autumn, analysts have already been trading rumours about what it will look like.

In January, it was reported by the Twitter tipster Mauri QHD that Apple has created a prototype iPhone without the black 'notch'.

The rectangular black notch, which has featured on flagship iPhone models since 2017, conceals the phone's front-facing camera components and sensors.
Convicted murderer John Crerar, who killed Kildare town woman Phyllis Murphy over 40 years ago, would not be welcome in the local area when he is released, friends of the victims family have said.

Popular Kildare town native Phyllis (23) was last seen at a bus stop in Newbridge on December 22, 1979  after spending a day Christmas shopping.

Her body was found near the Wicklow Gap 28 days later after a massive search involving teams of gardai, the army and the Civil Defence.

Justice

After a gap of over 20 years, killer Crerar was finally brought to justice in 2002 after advances in DNA testing.

Crerar was given a mandatory life sentence and the average length of a life sentence in Ireland is approximately 18 years which is around the length of time the murderer has been in prison since his conviction.



No release date

However there is no release date yet for the killer.

But because of the aggravating circumstances of the case, including the fact that Crerar evaded justice for over 20 years, he is expected to serve longer in prison.

A friend of Phyllis family said at the weekend: The family accept he is going to get out of prison at some point.

But they dont want to see him around the place and wouldnt want to meet him on the street.

He would not be welcome back around here.

He would be very brazen to come back to Kildare town after everything he did.



Traumatised

The source also said that the Crerar family has also been traumatised by the crime and the subsequent 20 year cover-up before he was arrested.

The friend added: The Murphy family bear no ill will towards the Crerar family whatsoever because they are victims too in all this and have also been suffering all these years.

So it wouldnt do anybody any good if he were to come back around Kildare.

At present, the Parole Board reviews the cases of prisoners who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and makes any recommendations on their release to the Minister for Justice.

Whether a prisoner on a life sentence is released is a final decision for the Minister for Justice.



Documentary

A new documentary on the tragic murder of Phyllis Murphy will be screened on TG4 later in the summer.

Midas Productions is producing the programme as part of a series.

A TV camera crew recorded interviews with family and friends of Phyllis as well as retired gardai who worked on the case.

The 42nd anniversary of the death of Phyllis is approaching later this year.

A poignant roadside memorial close to where Phyllis was found remains a lasting tribute to her.

The memorial, which is regularly adorned by floral tributes, reads: In Memory of Phyllis Murphy, Aged 23 Years, Found at this spot on the 18th January, 1980. May she rest in peace.



Search

During the search continued, several items of her clothing as well as the Christmas presents she had bought were later found at various locations in the Curragh, Brannockstown and Lockstown Upper in Co Wicklow.

But it was not until 28 days later that her body was found when gardai found Phyllis under spruce trees at Ballinagee on the Hollywood to Glendalough road near the Wicklow Gap on January 18, 1980. DNA was found on the deceased and later led to the breakthrough in the murder investigation.

The young quietly-spoken woman was known for her bubbly personality and loved children.

Family and friends keep Phyllis very close in their thoughts and fondly remember her every year on the anniversary of her death as well as on her birthday.
Lebong, Apr 13 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday assured

the people Darjeeling Hills that the BJP is keen

for a permanent political solution for the GTA, and promised that once

the double engine government was voted to power in Bengal

a Rs 600 crore drinking water project to be taken up for the hills and

minimum wages for the tea workers to he raised Rs 350 a day.

Addressing electioneering at Lebong Race Course Mr Shah also

assured that no Gorkha or Nepali to be evicted from this region

as they have the right to stay as much as he has the right to live in India.

Listing a series of development schemes to be taken up immediately in

the hills after the " Double Engine" government was voted to

power in Bengal under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr

Shah besides taking up of Rs 600 crore drinking water project

and minimum wages for tea workers to be raised to Rs 350 a day, a

medicinal hub ( park) to be set up with much emphasis onto

rejuvenation

of the existing cinchona plantation on the hills.

The Union minister also said that if the BJP government was to convert

the Darjeeling municipality into a corporation.

Attention to be given to reorganise the world-class educational hub as

students from overseas, including Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh

come to study in Darjeeling hills and setting up of a central

university in the gateway of North Bengal, Mr Shah said.

Mr Shah alleged TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was only interested in

making her nephew to be chief minister and

deprived the people of having fruits of development for ten years.

Mr Shah also lambasted the TMC chief saying the Didi

has divided the hill for vested interests.

He also ruled out any possibility to implement the NRC.

" The TMC government is lying about the possible fallout of NRC on the

Gorkhas/Nepali in order to create fear among them," Mr Shah

reiterated.

He said under the leadership of Narendra Modi, " No Gorkha or Nepali to

be evicted from their land as they are frontline soldiers guarding

the Indian borders."

Mr Shah said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will have no

impact on the Gorkhas/Nepali in the hills.

" As long as the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is there at the

Centre, no Gorkha will be harmed. NRC has not yet been implemented,

but whenever it is done, not a single Gorkha will be asked to leave,"

Mr Shah clarified amid cheers from the listeners.

The people of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, Kurserong have suffered

atrocities for so long, Mr Shah said that in 1986, over 1,200 Gorkhas

lost their lives, but they did not get justice yet.

Mr Shah alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government has also been

responsible for the death of many Gorkhas in recent times

for her divisive policy.

He called upon the Gorkha to remain united saying the BJP has a

natural alliance with the Gorkhas in the hills.

He also appealed to the voters to elect all three BJP candidates from

this hills and consolidate the organisation.

UNI PC RN
Texas officials are asking health care providers to stop administering Johnson & Johnsons single-dose COVID-19 vaccine while federal officials investigate an extremely rare blood clotting disorder experienced by six recipients in the U.S.

The announcement came hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended a pause in usage of the vaccine early Tuesday.

The blood clotting disorder, experienced by six women between the ages of 18 and 48, is not directly linked to the J&J shot. But all of the recipients developed the illness within two weeks of receiving a dose.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare and are being further evaluated to ensure vaccine safety, the Texas Department of State Health Services said. People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

Nearly 7 million people in the United States have received the J&J shot  a small fraction of overall COVID-19 vaccinations. The six cases of the clotting disorder represent 0.0001 percent of all J&J vaccine recipients in the U.S.

None of the six reported cases was in Texas, where more than 500,000 people have received the J&J vaccine.

Still, the pause is likely to cause a hiccup in vaccination efforts in Texas, which as of Tuesday had fully vaccinated 20 percent of its population, one of the lowest per-capita vaccination rates in the country.

Experts expressed concern that news of the blood clotting disorder could encourage vaccine skepticism, which remains high in many parts of the country, including in rural Texas counties.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine was key to the Biden administrations effort to ramp up vaccinations in coming months because it requires just one dose. In contrast, the two other FDA-authorized vaccines, made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, each require two shots administered several weeks apart.

J&J doses accounted for most of the vaccines sent this week to Texas three vaccine megasites operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Some 42,000 doses were sent to NRG Stadium in Houston, and 21,000 doses were each sent to AT&T Stadium in Arlington and Fair Park in Dallas. San Antonio does not have a megasite.

Effective immediately, FEMA will stop administering this vaccine at our pilot community vaccination clinics, as well as via our mobile vaccine units, said acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton. We are working with our state partners to determine the path forward and find alternative vaccine options for these sites.

San Antonios Metropolitan Health District received 7,000 J&J doses over the last two weeks and has administered 4,668 of them  about two-thirds. The agency said it will hold on to the remaining doses while it awaits further guidance from state and federal health officials.

Officials of UT Health San Antonio and University Health, Bexar Countys public hospital system, said they will stop administering J&J shots, but that vaccination appointments will continue as scheduled using other vaccines.

WellMed, which operates vaccination sites around San Antonio, received 600 J&J doses this week. It said people with vaccination appointments will be given the Moderna vaccine instead. The majority of shots administered at the WellMed sites have been either the Moderna or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

J&J doses also were sent to 15 smaller providers in the city. Some 1,500 were distributed to Conviva clinics, 600 to Trinity University, 600 to University of the Incarnate Word and 100 to Fresenius dialysis clinics.

UIW held a vaccination clinic on Tuesday at a church on the East Side, intending to administer doses of the J&J vaccine. Upon learning that its use had been suspended, university officials reached out to Metro Health and obtained doses of Pfizer-BioNTech to use instead.

To date, the J&J vaccine has played a relatively small role in vaccination efforts in Bexar County. More than 600,000 residents have received doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. As of Tuesday, just 25,512 had been given the J&J vaccine.

If you got the J&J shot more than two weeks ago, you dont have to be concerned based on what we know right now, said Dr. Junda Woo, Metro Healths medical director. Dont fret too much because we know that this is exceedingly rare.

Woo said those who received the J&J vaccine more recently should watch for symptoms such as a sudden headache or pains in the chest, abdomen or legs. Those who experience such symptoms should contact a doctor, she said.

The CDC said the six women who became ill were diagnosed with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), along with low levels of blood platelets.

Dr. George Williams, associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, said CVST is a brain-based blood clot with symptoms similar to those of a stroke. The clot affects the brains ability to drain blood, which can lead to brain swelling and a possible hemorrhage.

Its a blood clot occurring in the brain, but its not a stroke, Williams said. The blood is trying to leave the brain, but the exits are blocked.

The CDC and FDA will review possible connections between the vaccine and the clotting disorder and determine whether to permit continued use of the J&J vaccine. The FDA granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine on Feb. 27.

Staff reporters Robert Downen and Julie Garcia contributed to this story.

cayla.harris@express-news.net
NORTHVALE, N.J., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympia Lighting received a Virus Reduction Efficacy Test Report on its UVC Linear LED Strip testing. Tested by an independent lab, Microbac, the technology was found to provide over 99.9% reduction of the COVID-19 Virus (SARS-CoV-2). Microbac Laboratories, Inc. conducted testing at a standard distance of one meter and exposed the virus-cell culture plates (Petri Dishes) to Olympia UVC devices for one minute, four minutes, and eight minutes. In the testing, the eight-minute exposure resulted in the highest percentage of reduction of over 99.9 percent. Moreover, a Virus reduction of 99.4 percent in just one minute showed Olympia's UVC device is highly effective.

Microbac UV LED STRIP for HVAC UVS-4FT-120W-UVC-480V with Swirls

Olympia Lighting's UVC Linear LED Strip uses Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) LED technology. The ultraviolet light disintegrates and inactivates infectious germs, viruses, and pathogens circulating within an air system.

The state-of-the-art UVC disinfection LED light is powerful inside HVAC systems to clean air between the return and supply, opposite the coils, or inside the Air Handler Unit (AHU). The UVC Linear LED Strip is lightweight and slim to fit into any high CFM HVAC ductwork effectively.

Olympia's patent-pending UVC disinfection LED lighting solution is revolutionary considering the past year's challenges and destined to bring further success.

Specializing in commercial lighting, Olympia is making great strides as a UVC LED irradiation company. Olympia's series of commercial UVC light sanitizer devices address the need to decontaminate and purify business environments. UVC light disinfection for rooms is an excellent way to produce a clean, germ-free environment in offices, stores, hospitals, schools, libraries, warehouses, churches, event venues, and more.

Olympia Lighting produces industrial-grade LED lights and fixtures. With warehouses and sales offices in California and New Jersey, the company serves electricians, electrical and lighting wholesalers. As a member of the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA), Olympia's manufacturing and design meet all USA safety standards. Competitively priced, Olympia Lighting's LED lights come with up to 100,000 hours, 10-year manufacturer warranty. With the future of safety hanging in the balance, commercial contractors and wholesalers can count on Olympia for a full line of commercial UV light sanitizer solutions.

Website: https://olympialighting.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/olympialighting

Media Contact:

Jonathan Shalvi

+1 (201) 812-7880

[email protected]

SOURCE Olympia Lighting

Related Links

https://olympialighting.com/


SAN JOSE, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Retail investors have struck a chord in 2021. Members of the popular Reddit sub r/Wallstreetbets brought retail investors out of the shadows and into the limelight in late January as GameStop, AMC and other stocks popular within r/Wallstreetbets skyrocketed. They have since been the catalyst for multiple congressional hearings and even some regulatory changes.

"It's all grassroots," said Chad Minnis who started the Political Action Committee. "A Super PAC by and for Retail Investors. No ulterior motives. No political angle. Just a massive national megaphone to be handed over to r/Wallstreetbets." It seems to be catching on. Welikethestockwtf just passed $10,000 in donations.

Welikethestockwtf wants to "Run a full-page ad in The New York Times with content created and chosen by members of r/Wallstreetbets." When questioned about the audacious goal, Christian Freed, the PAC treasurer said, "We picked it because it would be impossible to ignore, plus anyone involved could pick up a copy as a memento."

Late January marked an explosion of new users as r/Wallstreetbets skyrocketed from about 2.5 million users to over 9 million. By the time Welikethestockwtf launched their Super PAC from California a collective of decentralized grassroots efforts began to spring up across the country in support of "Meme Stocks" and their investors.

On the South Side of Chicago, a person that wishes to remain anonymous created this website https://bit.ly/3dUaPj8 in one night as a sort of digital scrapbook to compile some of the best memes associated with the movement. It has since evolved to showcase and promote other content and grassroots projects as its creator said, "What started off as a silly website began to not be so silly anymore after I saw the web traffic it was generating."

In the Pacific Northwest, twin brothers Finley and Quinn Henry Mulligan noticed a half dozen movies in the works about the meme stock saga and realized an important perspective was missing. The perspective of the people that started this all, known to each other as Apes within the Reddit community. The brothers figured their background in film along with their unique perspective was the perfect fit to tell this story. Their website apestogetherstrongdoc.com goes on to state, "By creating this film from within the community, using our own resources, we are not beholden to anyone else's money. We can say what we want, how we want, when we want."

While nobody knows exactly how or when the meme stock saga will come to an end, one thing has been made abundantly clear. Retail investors aren't waiting around for things to change; they are spearheading the movement themselves.

About Welikethestockwtf LLC

Welikethestockwtf LLC is the world's first Super PAC created by and for Retail Investors. Our goal is to amplify the voice of the retail investor. For additional information visit www.welikethestock.wtf or e-mail us at [email protected] FEC Committee ID: C00769851

Media Contact:

Chad Minnis

951-324-4316

[email protected]

SOURCE Welikethestockwtf LLC
Shanghais New Registration Rules Reveal CCPs Major Crises Amid Public Outrage: Expert

Shanghais new regulations, which require visitors to register their personal information if they stay in the city for more than 24 hours, caused backlash on Chinese social media. One expert believes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will implement the same rules throughout China in the near future because it is confronted by four major crises that threaten its rule.

On April 1, Shanghai began to enforce the newly revised Shanghai Real Population Services and Management Regulations, demanding visitors who stay in the financial hub for more than 24 hours to register or face a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($750).

Shanghais New Rules Spark Public Outrage Online

On March 31, when Chinese social media gave advance notice of Shanghais new regulations, it immediately caused backlash, with 160 million views on Weibo and 22,000 people mostly venting their anger or discontent over the news. The following are a few comments from netizens.

Shanghai is becoming more and more like a perfect Foucaults panopticon [in reference to a form of surveillance].

A Chinese citizen cant travel freely in his own country?  Shanghai is within the border of China, but as a Chinese citizen, I have to register to go to another place in my own country  its a big city. Shanghai visaits so funny!

The Shanghai Republic was founded today! Beijing has an entry permit, while Shanghai has visa-on-arrival.

I think Shanghai should build its own border wall, and then establish a border military defense position, and any visitors who come to Shanghai must first apply for a visa at a Shanghai embassy!

What is the basis for Shanghais new rules? For foreign visitors, yes. But for domestic visitors, what is the point??????

Shanghai-Xinjiang Model May Be Extended to the Entire Country

U.S.-based China affairs commentator Li Yanming told the Chinese-language Epoch Times, The CCP has begun to roll out the Xinjiang control model in Shanghai, and it is likely to be extended to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and even the whole country in the future, to control every move of the public at any time and any place.

In response to the Shanghai governments statement that this is only a voluntary registration for individuals, Li said that it is a lie. Authorities have other administrative and legal means to exert control and monitor people, so it doesnt really matter whether individuals get registered or not.

New Registration Rules Reveal the CCPs Four Major Crises

The reason for the tightened control is related to the great challenges that the CCP encounters both at home and abroad, Li said. He mentioned four major crises.

First, a new surge of COVID-19 has started to intensify across the country. Recently, Ruili city in Yunnan Province has entered lockdown again, with over 100 cases reported by local officials. The new tightened control implemented in Shanghai is likely to be related to the epidemic situation, Li said.

Second, the diplomatic and military confrontation between China and its neighbors has escalated. The United States and its allies are working together to contain the CCP, as tensions escalate in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the Diaoyu Islands, and the Korean Peninsula.

Li said that if a war breaks out in the Indo-Pacific region, Shanghai will be the first to bear the brunt due to its geographic location, and the CCP must strengthen its defenses. The new registration rules for visitors may be a prelude and preview of Shanghais state of emergency preparedness.

Third, the social and economic crises in the mainland have reached a critical point, Li said. Shanghai, as the national economic and financial center, has become the focal point and major challenge for Beijing and local authorities.

Fourth, conflict among political rivals has significantly intensified as the 20th National Congress is set to take place next year. Shanghai is part of a power struggle between Xi Jinping and former Party leader Jiang Zemin. Jiang established his political power in Shanghai as mayor and subsequently secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee in the 1980s.

The city is now taken over by Li Qiang, the incumbent secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, and he is considered to be Xis crony. Li Yanming said that Xis tightened grip over Shanghai is very significant because it determines the outcome of the political clash between Xi and Jiang. And if Li Qiang advances smoothly to the Politburo Standing Committee (Chinas top decision-making body) at the 20th National Congress, then it would enable Xi to consolidate his power.
(TNS)  The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to consider extending its temporary rules allowing for senators to participate remotely during the COVID-19 emergency when they return to session next week.The chambers temporary rules that allowed senators to cast votes on legislation in committee meetings and on the Senate floor expired on March 31. Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, said on Monday an extension of those rules to the end of May will be considered next week and she will support that extension.Wards spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright said, This will give the Senate employees and members the time and opportunity to get vaccinated as we reopen.Wright also indicated that as recently as within the last two weeks at least one Senate employee tested positive for COVID-19. Neither she nor a spokeswoman for the Democratic caucus could provide any further details about that.Like the state House of Representatives, the Senate first put in place a remote participation rule in March 2020 following the first presumed cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. It allowed members to cast votes from a location other than the House or Senate floor either by proxy in the House or with the help of interactive technology in the Senate.Both chambers renewed their remote participation rules when the new legislative session started in January. The Houses temporary rule on remote voting extends to Aug. 1 unless revoked or amended.But with the Senate rules expiration at the end of last month, a memo went out to senators last Tuesday from Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre County, advising them they had to be at the Capitol to have their vote count.The memo stated, With the expiration of the emergency rule, physical presence will be required to establish a quorum at all voting committee meetings and session, as well as for the purpose of voting by a member who is not on approved legislative, military or Capitol leave.The day after that memo was issued, Wards spokeswoman said Gov. Tom Wolfs decision to open the Capitol to the public on March 22 signaled to the General Assembly that it was safe to return to do the peoples business.There are important decisions that need to be made on behalf of the commonwealth throughout the next few months, and as elected officials it is important that we lead by example, Wright said. Just as businesses are reopening across the Commonwealth so should we.But a Friday conversation between Ward and Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa of Allegheny County led to the informal agreement to seek an extension of the remote participation rules. Costa declined comment for this story.But two younger members of the Senate Democratic Caucus  Sens. Lindsey Williams of Allegheny County and Amanda Cappelletti of Delaware County  made it clear Cormans memo was disturbing to them.They found it disappointing that he would want to return to in-person sessions before all senators and staffers were eligible to schedule their COVID-19 vaccination. (On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf and the vaccine task force announced starting on Tuesday, all Pennsylvania adults were eligible to schedule an appointment. Williams and Cappelletti, a public health professional, are among the senators who have mostly steered clear of the Capitol this year. Both indicated it is because of the refusal of some senators to wear masks on the Senate floor and as of last week, both were still waiting to get shots in their arms.They are hopeful that Costa and Wards informal agreement wins the full Senate approval. In some states, remote participation has become as political as mask wearing. The Arkansas Senate, for one, voted in February to end remote participation after a heated exchange between lawmakers.I will be pleased if we extend the rules regarding remote session until the end of May, Williams said. That gives members and staff more time to get vaccinated and helps keep them safe. I hope that all members will wear masks while inside the Capitol complex.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 13, 2021 - 22:55 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima, World

China, South Korea and Taiwan on Tuesday expressed opposition to Japan's decision to release into the Pacific treated radioactive water that has accumulated at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in two years' time, with Beijing calling the move "extremely irresponsible."

But Japanese government officials pointed out some other countries with nuclear power plants, including South Korea, have released treated radioactive water from the plants into the environment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China urged Japan not to release the treated radioactive water at the Fukushima plant "without permission" from other countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

"China will reserve the right to make further responses" to Japan's decision, Zhao told reporters in Beijing.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador Koichi Aiboshi and lodged a protest after Koo Yun Cheol, minister for government policy coordination, said Seoul "firmly opposes" the Japanese decision announced earlier in the day.

"The decision...was a unilateral move made without enough discussion or understanding from us, South Korea, which is the closest country geographically," Koo said at a press briefing.

"The government will never tolerate any actions that could be harmful to our people's health," Koo added.

In the capital Seoul, several civic groups held a rally protesting Japan's decision, calling on Tokyo to scrap the plan. "The sea is not a trash can. The Japanese government has no right at all to dirty the waters," said one member of a group at the rally.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Atomic Energy Council called Japan's decision regrettable, noting that legislators and others on the self-ruled island have opposed such a move.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the Japanese government should provide more detailed information on the treated water, maintaining the issue concerns the marine environment and health of the Taiwanese public.

But Ou told reporters the Taiwanese government has received a notice from the Japanese government that said the water will be treated in accordance with the standard of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, or ICRP.

The decision by the government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had followed years of discussions on how to dispose of the water used to cool melted fuel at the plant in northeastern Japan, which was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

China, South Korea and Taiwan have all kept restrictions on some food imports from Japan in the wake of the nuclear disaster. The latest decision is likely to delay the lifting of those restrictions still in place.

In contrast to South Korea and China, the United States showed understanding of the Japanese plan, saying shortly after the Japanese announcement that Tokyo's decision-making process was "transparent."

"We thank Japan for its transparent efforts in its decision to dispose of the treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi site," Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted, adding that the United States looks forward to Japan's continued coordination with the IAEA.

State Department spokesman Ned Price emphasized in a press release that Japan has worked closely with the U.N. nuclear watchdog to manage the aftermath of the accident 10 years ago, including over cleanup efforts.

Noting that the United States is aware that the Japanese government examined several options related to the management of the processed water, Price said Japan has been "transparent about its decision" and "appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards."

While some of Japan's neighbors reacted harshly on the release of the treated water from which radioactive materials have been removed except tritium, which is related to hydrogen and said to pose little health risk in low concentrations, Japanese government officials said other nations have discharged tritium into the sea and into the air.

According to the officials, South Korea releases tritium into the environment from about 20 nuclear reactors, many of them located on its coast facing the Sea of Japan.

Tritium released from the South Korean nuclear plants amounted to 360 trillion becquerels in 2018, according to the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. In the water accumulated at the Fukushima plant, tritium totaled some 860 trillion becquerels as of March 2020, according to the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.

Japan's trade ministry said Britain's Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant released some 1,620 trillion becquerels in 2015. In France, La Hague plant, which Japanese utilities commission reprocessing of spent nuclear fuels, discharged tritium of 13.78 quadrillion becquerels in 2015.

The concentration standard for releasing tritium into the environment is decided by each country, following the limitation of radiation exposure per year set by the ICRP.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered core meltdowns in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters. Massive amounts of radioactive water have been generated in the process of cooling melted reactor fuel.

The water is treated at a processing facility on the premises to remove most contaminants but the process cannot remove tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors. The treated water, stored in tanks, has been building up, with storage capacity expected to run out from around fall next year.

Related coverage:

Japan decides to release water from Fukushima nuclear plant into sea

Q&A: Release of Fukushima nuclear plant treated water into sea
WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 13, 2021 / National engineering design and professional services firm WGI, Inc. is pleased to announce it established a strategic partnership with Jacksonville, Florida-based Urban SDK. Headquartered in West Palm Beach, WGI is a nationwide leader in providing technology based solutions for the planning and design of public infrastructure and private land development projects.

Founded in 2018, Urban SDK is led by co-founders Drew Messer and Justin Dennis. The firm is recognized for its data analytics and predictive-intelligence platforms used to improve data sourcing, reporting, and analysis - contributing to increased safety and traffic flow on its clients' roadway networks. Urban SDK's clients include the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), and the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency (TPA).

This strategic partnership will work with cities, Municipal Planning Organizations (MPOs), and state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to streamline data, decision-making, and planning for mobility improvements by applying predictive analytics tools to known data sets. Together, WGI and Urban SDK offer clients the ability to enhance safety, improve mobility, and realize cost savings - using data analytics combined with WGI's robust infrastructure capabilities.

WGI Ventures (the investment and innovation arm of WGI) is a participant in Urban SDK's seed investment round. Messer and Dennis are partnering with an integrated firm leveraging tomorrow's technology, today. WGI's significant and forward-thinking investments in national thought leaders and tools supporting its work across the spectrum - from placemaking and new mobility to heavy infrastructure - are part of a strategic corporate plan for continued growth and success.

WGI's President Gregory Sauter, architect of the WGI-Urban SDK alliance, said, "I am thrilled to announce our strategic partnership with Urban SDK. Today's mobility challenges demand that we provide our clients with flexible, data-derived engineering solutions for their transportation and mobility networks.

"The data-analytics platform developed by Urban SDK will allow our partnership to provide public-service agencies and urban planners rapid insights for decision making, real-time dashboards, and analytic tools with automated data indexing, predictive analytics, and automated reporting of key policy and performance indicators. The result is a more efficient mobility ecosystem."

The combination of WGI and Urban SDK also factors into multiple facets of WGI's wide range of services and markets - beyond the initially obvious roadway and transportation operations. As the partnership develops further, Urban SDK's technologies will enhance WGI's complete streets, placemaking, land planning, civil engineering, community digitization, and transportation planning service areas.

Also welcoming the partnership is WGI Vice President Lisa Nisenson, responsible for its New Mobility and Connected Communities practice. "The WGI mobility team looks forward to very meaningful collaboration with the professionals at Urban SDK, delivering totally complete and smart solutions to our mutual client base."

For Urban SDK's part, the excitement is also unmistakable. Urban SDK co-founder Messer stated, "Partnering with a multi-disciplinary engineering and professional services firm of six hundred associates, spread across a national footprint, is a blessing. The partnership grants us access to more potential clients, in addition to technical design and engineering expertise, allowing us faster growth, while enhancing product delivery and product effectiveness for our clients."

WGI's rapid and continued ascent made significant news with the acquisition and integration of Austin, Texas-based BIG RED DOG Engineering in 2019. The WGI - BIG RED DOG combination joined the fastest-growing professional services firm in Florida with the fastest-growing firm in Texas since 2013. The result is a diverse organization of 600 talented professionals serving an active client base in over 30 states. More recently, WGI welcomed Team Better Block into the fold, with the Dallas-based firm joining WGI in 2020.

ABOUT WGI

As a multidisciplinary solutions-providing consulting firm, WGI has 18 offices in eight states, serving an active client base in over 30 states, specializing in the following disciplines: mobility planning, transportation engineering, land development/municipal engineering, traffic and transportation engineering, parking solutions, geospatial and land surveying, subsurface utility engineering, restoration and structural engineering, landscape architecture, environmental sciences and water resources, architecture, land planning, and MEP engineering. In 2020, ENR ranked WGI #187 - up 37 places - on its list of the Top 500 Design Firms, #43 on its 2020 Top Southeast Design Firms, and #18 in the Florida market. South Florida Business Journal ranked WGI in the top 4 on its 2020 Top 25 Engineering Firms - for the fourth consecutive year, and #59 on its 2020 list of Top 100 Private Companies. For more information, please visit www.wginc.com.

ABOUT URBAN SDK

Urban SDK is a next-generation, smart-mobility platform connecting city and transportation planners to the reliable data sources they need to accelerate mobility intelligence, improve decision quality, and unlock a higher quality of life for communities.

The platform enables unlimited data integrations of real-time data sources, geo-spatial analytics, workflow automation, and predictive intelligence on a singular, manageable platform. It also combines leading data-collection practices with performance-measurement analytics to better inform decisionmakers within local and state governments as they evaluate policy and projects to improve infrastructure.

WGI Company Contacts:

Gregory Sauter, P.E./president

Gregory.Sauter@wginc.com

561.687.2220

Will Schnier, P.E./chief marketing officer

Will.Schnier@wginc.com

512.669.5560

Media Contact:

Kelly Owens

Alchemy Communications Group

ko@alchemycommgroup.com

561.222.4958 (mobile)

561.935.9953 x101 (office)

SOURCE: WGI Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/639555/WGI-Announces-Strategic-Partnership-with-Data-Analytics-Provider-Urban-SDK
Ousted Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has slammed Scott Morrison for 'humiliating her' in public after she gifted Cartier watches to executives and revealed she was 'suicidal' after being forced out of the company.

Wearing suffragette white for a senate hearing on Tuesday, Ms Holgate said she was 'thrown under the bus' and 'driven to despair' when she offered to resign in November.

She revealed she was 'going through hell' in the days after Mr Morrison demanded her resignation, saying: 'I was seriously ill, I was on [insomnia medication] temazepam. I was suicidal.'

Ms Holgate also claimed she was treated so poorly because she is a woman.

'I have never seen any male public servant depicted in that way. So do I believe it's partially a gender issue? You're absolutely right I do,' she said.

'I think it would be fair to say I've never seen a media article comment about a male politician's watch and yet I was depicted as a prostitute,' she added, referring to media scrutiny over her gifts.

The prime minister last year roasted Ms Holgate for giving four executives luxury Cartier watches worth $20,000 in October 2018 as a reward for securing a $66 million deal with three big banks.

On hearing about the reward, a furious Mr Morrison told Parliament the Cartier gifts were disgraceful and appalling.

'She's been instructed to stand aside and if she doesn't do that, she can go,' he said.

Ms Holgate, who was born in Cheshire, north England, claims she offered to go on annual leave pending an investigation and later offered to resign.

But she said her contract has never been resolved and claims on LinkedIn that she is still CEO, despite the board appointing a new boss, former Woolworths executive Paul Graham.

Ms Holgate said she would be willing to return as CEO but only if chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo - aka Lucho - left the company, something he refused to do.

She said she was treated 'like a criminal', 'abandoned to a media firestorm' and wrongfully ousted against her will.

In her opening statement to a senate inquiry on Tuesday, Ms Holgate said: 'I was humiliated by our prime minister for committing no offence and then bullied by my chairman.

Christine Holgate in the senate hearing

She added: 'Lucho unlawfully stood me down under public direction of the Prime Minister. This made my leadership at Australia Post untenable and seriously threatened my health.

'I have done no wrong. Their bullying of me was far from over.

'The simple truth is I was bullied out of my job. I was humiliated and driven to despair. I was thrown under the bus by the chairman of Australia Post, to curry favour with his political masters. But I'm still here and I'm stronger for surviving it,' she said.

Chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo has hit back at Ms Holgate's accusations, insisting that he never wanted her to step down.

'I view the purchase of the watches as an error of judgement made in good faith by an otherwise highly effective CEO,' he said.

The chair said he did not believe she was owed an apology by the board but implied she was treated badly by the media and the government.

'Christine Holgate has been treated abysmally, but I believe the board and management did the right things by her,' he said.

Mr Di Bartolomeo revealed that Communications Minister Paul Fletcher called him at 1.09pm and 1.30pm on 22 October - hours after the watch scandal broke - to tell him that he wanted Ms Holgate to stand aside.

The chair said he called a board meeting at 4pm that afternoon and the board agreed to ask Ms Holgate to stand aside and to take further action if she refused.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said Mr Fletcher did not direct him to stand Ms Holgate aside but made his desires clear.

In her statement to the inquiry which contained emails, photos of cards and a letter to her lawyers, Ms Holgate blamed Mr Di Bartolomeo for her being forced out of the top job.

The former Blackmores executive said the watches were bought legally and signed off by then-chairman John Stanhope, auditors, and Australia Post's chief financial officer.

An independent investigation later cleared Ms Holgate of any dishonesty, fraud, corruption, or intentional misuse of taxpayer funds.

She insisted the gift of the watches was signed off and no-one raised any eyebrows.

'[It was] widely celebrated within the organisation, and presented at a morning tea by the previous chairman and me with a thank you card signed by both of us,' she wrote.

'It was then found to be legal by the 'review' which was clearly intended to find it otherwise.'

Pictured: Australia Post Chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo appears before a Senate estimates hearing at Parliament House in Canberra on November 9

Mr Di Bartolomeo told an inquiry last November he would have blocked the purchase of the luxury watches if he was in charge when the gifts were handed out.

'He lied repeatedly to the Australian people and to their parliament about his actions,' she claimed in the submission.

'Time after time he has made statements that I had agreed to stand down when I had done no such thing.

'He then abandoned me to a media firestorm that he and others had created and cut me off from resources, despite knowing that these events had caused me to seek mental health care and medication.'

Last Wednesday Mr Di Bartolomeo hit back with a 1,000-word statement and said Ms Holgate was a 'very good chief executive' but accused her of making a series of incorrect claims in her submission.

'Ms Holgate agreed with me to stand aside from her role pending the outcome of the shareholder departments' investigation and any further actions taken by Australia Post,' he said.

'The board's intent was to ensure that both Ms Holgate and the organisation could focus their attentions on full co-operation with the investigation.

Ms Holgate said the watches were given as a reward to four executives who worked hard over a deal with Australia's big banks. Pictured: An Australia Post store in Sydney

'The board did not stand down, or suspend, Ms Holgate from her role - that being an unnecessary consideration given her agreement to stand aside.'

He claimed the agreement was reached in telephone conversations, which go against Ms Holgate's claim that the pair communicated in two emails on the same afternoon that Mr Morrison demanded she step aside.

Mr Di Bartolomeo said he and Ms Holgate did not speak after the Question Time comments, 'however, phone records support my recollection - including that we had conversations at 4.27pm and 5.50pm on that day'.

In response to Ms Holgate's comment that she only 'offered to resign' and never signed the deed of release, the chairman said she wrote to Australia Post at 10.46am on November 2 advising her immediate resignation.

'We understand that Ms Holgate then released the statement at 2pm and subsequently advised the Australia Post Executive Team at 2.29pm that she had done so,' he said.

Ms Holgate said she had two witnesses who could support her version of events, including Australia Post's human resources boss Sue Davies who joined her on the three-hour trip to Sydney from Canberra after Mr Morrison's comments.

It was within those three hours that Ms Holgate and Mr Di Bartolomeo exchanged emails, according to her statement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the gifts were as unacceptable and ordered her to step down

In his lengthy statement, Mr Di Bartolomeo also said he did not try to restrict Ms Holgate from working elsewhere for 12 months.

'Ms Holgate claims that I made a counteroffer which would have prevented her from working for 12 months without pay. That is not correct.

'The existing provisions of Ms Holgate's contract of employment contained non-compete provisions, as is common for such senior executive roles. These provisions apply only to working for a competitor for a period of six months from the end of Ms Holgate's employment - and therefore expire on May 2, 2021.

'Regarding payment, Ms Holgate had already advised the Board and stated publicly that she was not seeking any financial compensation.'

The ex CEO also said she asked Australia Post for support but was met with 'continuous requests to examine credit card expense records, on the disguise that they must be made public, presumably to cause me even greater harm'.

But Mr Di Bartolemo said he was complying with a freedom of information request.

'She also claims there were leaks of misleading reports regarding the management of expenses. This is not correct,' he added.

'Australia Post was obligated to disclose information regarding credit card transactions and other expenses, in response to Senate Committee questions and Freedom of Information requests.'
Victorias front-line anti-gangland unit, the Purana taskforce, will be disbanded under a proposed shake-up in the way police tackle serious, organised and cyber crime.

A three-month review of crime command by Victoria Police has recommended closing the operation, which was established in 2003 and tasked with investigating Melbournes gangland war.

Nicola Gobbo with Tony Mokbel. Credit:ninevms

Police will concentrate on three key priorities: serious and organised crime; cyber and technology enabled crime; and illicit firearms.

While the recommendations of the review ordered by Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Bob Hill have yet to be formally ratified, they are expected to be adopted next month.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of BlackBerry Limited ("BlackBerry" or the "Company") (NYSE: BB). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether BlackBerry 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 March 30, 2021, BlackBerry reported fourth-quarter 2020 losses of $315 million, or $0.56 per share, on revenue of $210 million, down from $282 million in the same period last year. The Company attributed part of its revenue shortfall to negotiations to limited patent-licensing, explaining that the Company was in negotiations with an unnamed "North American party for the sale of a portion of the company's portfolio, primarily related to mobile-devices messaging and wireless networking."

On this news, BlackBerry's stock price fell $0.91 per share, or 9.74%, to close at $8.43 per share on March 31, 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]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

www.pomerantzlaw.com


Raise your hand if you're ready to chill out with your quarantine pod, friends, and family and send out 2020 with a safe holiday season filled with only pleasant surprises. (We are!)

Bay Area artists, makers, and businesses need our support more than everand, we promise, their halls are stacked with unexpected and delightful gifts at every budget and for all your loved ones near and far. Whether you're looking for affordable stocking stuffers, artisanal host gifts, or splurge-worthy items like private concerts and wellness escapes, we have something for absolutely everyone on your list. Shop local, and tag your perfect presents #7x7shopslocal on Instagram. Happy holidays, friends.

Gifts for Foodies and Drink Connoisseurs (Courtesy of The Xocolate Bar) The Xocolate Bar's 24-piece bonbon box is packed with 12 seasonal flavors (two of each) of bite-sized organic, fair trade, Berkeley-made chocolates. Opt for the variety box with flavors ranging from matcha sesame to coconut toffee macadamiaor please chocolate-loving vegans with the all dark box. // $49, thexocolatebar.com

Gifts for Arts and Music Lovers (Courtesy of @raredevice) Windy Chien's book, The Year of Knots, will have knot and macrame experts and novices alike creating everything from dog leashes to necklaces to room dividers for 365 days in a row. // $28, sfmoma.org

Gifts for Wellness Warriors (Courtesy of Molly Jones) In flavors such as sparkling wine, pomegranate, and Grand Marnier, Molly Jones' Cocktail CBD Gumdrops are the perfect New Yearsfriendly gift. Featuring American-grown hemp and CBD, the festive candies are available in 25mg and 50mg doses. // $45 for standard dose and $65 for high dose, mollyjones.com

Gifts for Fashionable Guys and Gals (Courtesy of Freda Salvador) Boot-stomping Freda girls will love the Sausalito-based brand's new Italian leather Lou bag, handcrafted in Spain. With space for a phone, keys, lip gloss, hand sanitizer, and more, the black embossed croc bag can be worn in three waysas a belt bag, shoulder bag, or crossbody. // $395, fredasalvador.com

Gifts for Design Enthusiasts (Courtesy of Sonson) Sustainable Black-owned bow tie brand Sonson's Tremayne bow tie lumbar pillow will instantly jazz up an armchairand it reduces back pressure to boot. The pillow is made in Oakland with African Mali-inspired cotton fabric and naturally harvested organic kapok fiber filling. // $40, sonson.com

Gifts for Adventurers (Courtesy of @unsettleco) Perfect for a biker or hiker, creative studio Unsettle's Rover belt crossbody bag has plenty of pockets and a lanyardand thanks to a water-resistant 100D nylon exterior and AquadGuard YKK zipperswill protect from the elements to boot. The compact bag can be worn as a sling or belt bagand the buckle strap can even be removed and transformed into a belt. // $55, unsettleco.com
Mayor London Breed will revive an effort to open a drug sobering center in San Francisco on Tuesday, more than a year after the pandemic forced the city to halt its plans for such a site in the Tenderloin.

Breed wants to turn an empty office space at 1076 Howard St. into a clinic where people can ride out a painful or dangerous high in a safe and calm environment. The hope is that the 24/7 site would help make a dent in the citys raging drug epidemic, which claimed more than three times as many people in 2020 than COVID-19.

Its a way we can intervene, address the immediate issue, and then also get them connected to the longer-term services and support they need, Breed said in a statement.

The mayor plans to propose the lease agreement to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. If approved, the 30-bed site would be among the first of its kind in the country. Its a similar model to the citys alcohol sobering center, which has served tens of thousands of people since it opened in 2003.

The project would cost $2 million in one-time expenses and $4.2 million to operate annually.

While anyone struggling with addiction could come to the site, it would be geared toward those experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis. Such episodes can lead to destructive and manic behavior on the citys streets, especially when a mental illness is also involved.

The sobering center would give emergency responders, like the citys new Crisis Response Team, another place to bring people aside from the psychiatric emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital, which is often at capacity.

It would also have on-site social workers who could help connect people to other services, like drug treatment or withdrawal management. Users of the center would be able to rest and get food, water and basic medical attention.

It will definitely be a resource for folks, especially on weekends when many other resources are closed, said Kathleen Silk, managing director of behavioral services for HealthRight 360, the proposed nonprofit operator for the site. I hope it becomes a place where people feel genuinely comfortable.

But the proposed 30 beds  only 20 of which would initially open due to the pandemic  would only serve a fraction of those in need. The Department of Public Health counted more than 4,000 people on its streets struggling with homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction in 2019, a number that likely increased over the past year.

Connecting people at the sobering center with long-term treatment services may also prove difficult, as the citys network of drug treatment services is often overwhelmed by demand. The Department of Public Health is working on a plan to overhaul the citys behavioral health care system, which has long fallen short in helping the citys most vulnerable. That plan will likely take years to fully implement.

We have much greater need than for 30 individuals at any given moment, said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who co-chaired the citys meth task force, which recommended opening such a site in 2019. Im glad that were gong to move forward and get this done, although Im sure were going to find that we need more than just one.

People wont be able to use drugs inside the sobering center, although they will not be kicked out if they are caught doing so.

The city is still waiting for the state to pass legislation that would allow it to open a safe injection site, where people could use drugs in a supervised setting. Silk said the city is not planning for the sobering center to double up as a safe injection site, but said that would be wonderful if the state allows it.

Silk said the mayors proposal is intended to make sure that people are connected to services as seamlessly as possible.

The city first tried opening a temporary 15-bed drug sobering center early last year on an empty, city-owned parking lot at 180 Jones St. in the Tenderloin. But those plans were abandoned after the pandemic redirected much of the citys attention to the emergency response.

The new lease would be for 8 years. The city would have the option to extend it for another five.

The mayors office hopes to open the site by the fall. But such projects often take longer than expected in San Francisco: A planned psychiatric respite center on Valencia Street has taken over a year to open, as the pandemic and myriad construction issues have delayed the project.

That site, which was supposed to open in spring 2020, is now not expected to open until May.

Mandelman, whose district includes that psychiatric respite site, hopes the drug sobering center does not hit the same snags.

We needed this yesterday, he said of the sobering site. Every day that we delay ... is a lost opportunity to help people in need.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
Jake Paul is facing new allegations from the TikTok personality Justine Paradise, who says he forced her to perform oral sex on him. Ethan Miller / Getty Images

The TikTok star Justine Paradise, 24, has accused Jake Paul of assaulting her.

She said Paul forced her to give him oral sex at his home in 2019 and did not ask for consent.

Paradise said she was made to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which made her hesitant to talk.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

The TikTok star Justine Paradise, 24, says the YouTuber Jake Paul sexually assaulted her at his home in Los Angeles.

Paradise - who has more than 524,000 followers on TikTok - said she met Paul, who is also 24, in July 2019 at the Team 10 house in California, where he and several friends lived.

In a 20-minute YouTube video posted Friday, she said she went to the Team 10 house with friends several times after first being invited there in June 2019. She said she spent time with Paul and his friends while they recorded videos in his studio.

Her story focused on events she said happened in June and July of that year, during which she said she exchanged text messages with Paul.

Paradise said Paul acted awkwardly around her and would even text her when they were in the same room.

"I'm just assuming he always got what he wanted and never had to build social skills and talking to people, like girls just basically throw themselves at him," she said. "He would go to his room with a different girl, multiple different girls every day."

Paradise displayed in her video screenshots of several text messages that she said she received from Paul. Screengrab/ YouTube

She described one time at the Team 10 house in which she said Paul pulled her into a corner and began "making out" with her in front of his friends, which she said did not make her feel uncomfortable at first.

But she began feeling uncomfortable, she said, when Paul led her upstairs, "took it to his bed," and got on top of her.

She quoted Paul as saying, "If nothing is going to happen, what's the point?"

"Sex is very special and very important to me," Paradise said.

"Normally, everybody respects me when I don't want to do sexual things, so I thought that it was fine if I went in his room," she added. "I thought it would be fine to kiss him, because I thought he would stop if I didn't want to do anything else."

Story continues

She said Paul grabbed her face and forced her to perform oral sex and continued to touch her in "places" despite her saying no multiple times.

"I couldn't tell him to stop," she said. "He just shoved himself in me, he didn't ask for consent or anything. That's not OK. On no level at all is that OK."

Paradise said that Paul then did a "180" and became cold after the incident and that he'd never apologized to her.

On Tuesday, Paul released a statement through his lawyer Daniel E. Gardenswartz denying the allegations.

"Our client is aware of the recent allegation against him. While others have already begun to debunk the claim alleged against him, our client categorically denies the allegation and has every intention of aggressively disproving it and pursuing legal action against those responsible for the defamation of his character," Gardenswartz said.

"Our client believes that any false allegations diminish the credibility of those who have truly been victims of misconduct."

While discussing the timing of when she came out with her story, Paradise said she wasn't sure whether she was even allowed to talk about it after she signed a nondisclosure agreement - which she said was required of all guests who enter Paul's home.

"I thought that if you sign an NDA, you're signing away your rights to talk about anything basically," she said.

Paul was seen in a video outside his Calabasas, California, mansion, dubbed the Team 10 house, which he shares with other YouTubers. Jake Paul / YouTube

She added that she came forward publicly in the hope that Paul would realize he "needs to ask people for consent," adding that she had "thought about this literally every single day since it happened."

"The more and more I think about it, the more I realize, no one can be doing that and think that it's something right to do," Paradise said.

Insider has reached out to both Paul and Paradise for further comment.

Paul has been active on social media this week, as he is promoting his coming UFC fight against the former MMA world champion Ben Askren.

Read the original article on Insider
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Copyright  2021 Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico will have a quiet weather week, but forecasters are looking ahead to a system that could bring thunderstorms, rain and mountain snow this weekend.

Andy Church, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque, said a slow-moving air mass will result in cooler temperatures for eastern New Mexico and slightly warmer temperatures for the states western portion.

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Were expecting close to carbon copy each day, with cooler conditions across the eastern portion of the state, higher humidities, then slight chances for showers and a couple of thunderstorms across the northern quarter of the state, Church said.

On Tuesday, Albuquerque will be mostly sunny, with a high temperature of 68 degrees and a 10% chance of precipitation.

Wind gusts could reach up to 35 mph.

Very light snow is possible for mountain passes in northern New Mexico on Tuesday morning.

Albuquerque is expected to hit a high of 75 degrees and a low of 44 on Wednesday.

Church said rain showers are possible east of the Sangre de Cristo mountains on Wednesday.

The metro area will cool down this weekend and many parts of New Mexico could even see some rain.

Albuquerque is forecast to hit a high of 69 degrees on Friday.

Another backdoor front could bring strong winds to central New Mexico from Friday night into Saturday morning.

The models are trending toward much wetter with this system, Church said. Saturday night looks like the best shot for (precipitation for) the Middle Rio Grande Valley westward.

Albuquerque is forecast to have a 20% chance of precipitation on both Saturday and Sunday.

Metro area temperatures will reach the low 60s this weekend.
Connecticut Innovations (CI), Connecticuts strategic venture capital arm and the leading source of financing and ongoing support for innovative, growing companies, today announced that its portfolio company, Greenworks Lending, the nations preeminent C-PACE capital provider, has been acquired by Nuveen, the global investment manager of TIAA.

Based in Darien, Connecticut, Greenworks is dedicated to funding energy performance-enhancing commercial, multi-family, and nonprofit real estate projects. The acquisition marks a milestone for the rapidly growing Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) industry, as Greenworks joins an organization with $1.2 trillion in assets under management.

Greenworks was started in 2015 by co-founders Jessica Bailey, CEO, and Ali Cooley, CIO, who met at the Connecticut Green Bank while developing and launching the Connecticut C-PACE Program  the first successful C-PACE program in the country. In just a few years, Greenworks scaled to more than 50 employees, bringing its innovative financing to commercial property owners and developers in more than two dozen states. To date, Greenworks has financed 138 projects in Connecticut, and more than 400 nationwide.

This announcement is an amazing accomplishment for Greenworks and Connecticut, said Governor Ned Lamont. Jessica and Ali have grown their team in a short time and have identified a partner that will help Greenworks expand its global footprint. This is yet another example of a company growing and thriving in Connecticut, and this should make our state proud. I applaud the entire team and look forward to its continued success in the future.

Greenworks is a pioneer in developing and scaling C-PACE as a cost-efficient marketplace solution for property owners and municipalities to pursue energy-efficiency solutions for their commercial buildings, says Jose Minaya, CEO of Nuveen. The company is a triple-win demonstration of doing well by doing right: Investors get access to attractive yields, borrowers get a net reduction in operating costs through the utility savings, and the environment benefits too.

Greenworks was established with the mission to mitigate climate change by providing attractive capital to property owners to promote clean energy. C-PACE brings benefits to local businesses, energy security, and the environment, said Jessica Bailey, CEO of Greenworks. In Nuveen, weve found the ideal partner with a shared philosophy who will allow us to expand access to C-PACE financing for more property owners in more states. Nuveens diversified investment expertise in private credit, real estate and municipal finance, global reach, and 50-year heritage of responsible investing will allow us to accelerate and amplify our mission.

Jessica, Ali, and their team built Greenworks from an idea into a global leader in the cleantech finance marketplace, said Matt McCooe, CEO of Connecticut Innovations. Their leadership was exemplary, unwavering in their commitment to change the world, create great jobs in Connecticut, and generate a positive outcome for CI that will be reinvested in the next wave of cleantech entrepreneurs in the state. We could not be prouder to have played a very small role in their story.

The acquisition provides Greenworks the capital stability and springboard to further scale its business, as well as access to additional markets through Nuveens extensive real estate portfolio, municipal expertise, and overall strong brand. The acquisition also provides Nuveen a foothold in this nascent and rapidly growing C-PACE market, addressing an ever-increasing demand from investors for alternative ESG income.

About Connecticut Innovations:

Connecticut Innovations (CI) is Connecticuts strategic venture capital arm and the leading source of financing and ongoing support for Connecticuts innovative, growing companies. CI provides venture capital and strategic support for early-stage technology companies, financial support for innovation and collaboration, and connections to its well-established network of partners and professionals. For more information, please visit http://www.ctinnovations.com.

About Greenworks Lending:

Greenworks Lending, a Nuveen affiliate, is the largest provider of Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing in the country. Led by several of the industrys founding policy developers and standard-setters, Greenworks Lending is a private capital provider uniquely dedicated to funding commercial real estate through C-PACE. Greenworks has provided financing to hundreds of commercial properties and is active in more than 25 states, making clean energy a smart financial decision for commercial property owners and developers nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.greenworkslending.com.

About Nuveen:

Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $1.2 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31, 2020, and operations in 27 countries. Its investment specialists offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit http://www.nuveen.com.


A mother who allegedly killed her three young children struggled with postpartum depression and talked about suicide, according to the children's father, who said he pleaded with police and child services to remove them from her home.

Liliana Carrillo, 30, was arrested on Saturday hours after police said she killed her children three-year-old Joanna, two-year-old Terry and six-month-old Sierra, at her apartment in Los Angeles.

The children's grandmother discovered the grisly scene that morning and Carrillo fled the home in a stolen car, sparking an hours-long manhunt that ended with her being taken into custody in Ponderosa, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Erick Denton, the children's father, revealed to the Los Angeles Times that in the months leading up to the killings he told a Tulare County judge in a petition that Carrillo struggled with postpartum depression for years.

He also said that she expressed suicidal ideations and would self-medicate with marijuana. Denton noted in one petition that he believed Carrillo had 'lost touch with reality'.

Dr Teri Miller, Denton's cousin and an emergency room physician, also revealed that they both 'kept bringing up all the right red flags about her behavior,' adding that the 'system failed' Denton's children.

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Liliana Carrillo, 30, who allegedly killed her three young kids struggled with postpartum depression and talked about suicide, according to the children's father, Erick Denton (all pictured) who said he pleaded with police and child services to remove them from her home

Carrillo (left and right) was arrested on Saturday hours after police said she killed her children three-year-old Joanna, two-year-old Terry and six-month-old Sierra, at her apartment in Los Angeles

Denton (pictured with his children) revealed that in the months leading up to the killings he told a Tulare County judge in a petition that Carrillo struggled with postpartum depression for years

Dr Teri Miller (pictured), Denton's cousin, also revealed that they both 'kept bringing up all the right red flags' about Carrillo's behavior'

Video courtesy of KTLA

'The judge in Porterville listened and read all the information, but everyone in LA kept pushing it off on someone else,' Miller told the Times.

Miller said that Denton had repeatedly contacted the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) because he felt that Carrillo needed help.

Denton told the Times that in February Carrillo accused him of participating in a pedophile ring in Porterville and allowing someone to molest one of their daughters.

Around February 26, Carrillo is said to have threatened to 'got to Mexico' with the kids. She also reportedly refused to share their whereabouts.

Miller said that Denton eventually received an emergency order granting him custody of the kids in March, but suggested that no one helped enforce it so the kids remained living with their mother and grandmother.

Denton and Miller told the Times that they went to speak with DCFS and notified the LAPD that Carrillo had taken the children and was hiding in LA.

A social worker is said to have made contact with Carrillo but was reportedly disinclined to view Carrillo as a threat despite pleas from Denton and Miller.

'The social worker talked to Erik and said, "I dont believe Liliana will harm these children,"' Miller told the Times.

On March 12, Carrillo received the order to hand over all three children to Denton; however, she declined.

Denton (pictured with Carrillo and two of their children) said that he repeatedly contacted the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) because he felt that Carrillo needed help

Police were seen outside the apartment building where Carrillo allegedly killed her children on Saturday

Denton and Miller said they kept trying and at one point begged police to take her to a mental health facility, according to the Times.

But Miller says the 'system failed' Denton and his children when the youngsters were found dead by their grandmother who had returned home from work around 9.30am Saturday and found the children dead inside Carrillo's apartment in the Reseda neighborhood of Los Angeles.

A spokesperson from the LAPD said the department typically follows direction from DCFS when it comes to child custody matters, adding that if they needed help 'we would have been there'.

A DailyMail.com request for comment to DCFS was not immediately returned Tuesday morning.

Carrillo had apparently already fled the scene in her own car before ditching it for a stolen silver Toyota pickup truck in Bakersfield.

She was apprehended in a Tulare County after the LAPD received reports she was driving north on Interstate 5, a spokesperson for the LAPD confirmed to DailyMail.com.

Before her arrest LAPD Lt Raul Jovel had said that Carrillo was considered a suspect in the killings, but police hadn't ruled out other possible perpetrators. After her arrest the LAPD confirmed that Carrillo was the sole suspect.

Police said initial reports suggested the children had been stabbed to death, but no official cause of death has been released.

According to the Times, two of the children showed signs of being drowned, and all three had injuries that indicated they were bludgeoned.

Neighbors said they had assumed that the children's grandmother was their primary guardian after seeing them around the Reseda neighborhood.

Los Angeles police officers at the crime scene where the three children were killed in Reseda, California

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore exits an apartment complex as police investigate in Reseda

'At this point, she is a suspect in this incident but that doesn't exclude other people,' Jovel said.

He added: 'We're trying to figure out what ties she has up north.'

Lupe Cuevas, a neighbor of Carrillo and her children, told the San Bernardino Sun that she interacted with the three children and their grandmother during afternoon walks around the neighborhood.

One of the children, a girl, was drawn to her Chihuahua, Rosie, Cuevas told the newspaper.

'She wasn't shy. She was sweet,' Cuevas said. 'An angel shouldn't have to go that way.

'Those babies were such sweet little ones. It hurts.'

Loved ones set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Denton cover the costs of their funerals.

The campaign raised more than $35,000 as of Tuesday morning.
He was originally charged in Lake County in 2019, but those charges were dropped when he was indicted in federal court, a spokesman said. He was acquitted in the federal case on March 26. A county warrant was served Monday and he was ordered to be held without bond, filings show.
It also foresees China at least doubling its nuclear stockpile over the next decade. Beijing is not interested in arms-control agreements that restrict its modernization plans and will not agree to substantive negotiations that lock in U.S. or Russian nuclear advantage, the report said.

China uses its electronic surveillance and hacking abilities to not only repress dissent domestically but also to conduct intrusions that affect people beyond its borders, the report said. The country also represents a growing threat of cyberattacks against the United States, and the intelligence agencies assess that Beijing at a minimum, can cause localized, temporary disruptions to critical infrastructure within the United States.

There are few surprises in the reports assessment of Russia. It makes clear that although many view Moscow as a declining power, American spy agencies still consider it a pre-eminent threat, pointing to a Russian supply chain hacking that created vulnerabilities in some 18,000 computer networks worldwide. The assessment said that while Russia would avoid direct conflict with the United States, it would use influence campaigns, mercenary operations and military exercises to advance its interests and undermine those of its rival.

Mr. Biden spoke to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday. While Mr. Biden raised the prospect of a summit with Mr. Putin, he pressed him on the recent buildup of Russian troops on Ukraines border and in Crimea. The report said that Russia would seek opportunities for pragmatic cooperation but that it would also press the United States not to interfere in the domestic concerns of Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

While cyberthreats have traditionally been a separate section of the report, this years assessment made more of an effort to weave such attacks into the broader threat picture, examining both Chinas and Russias record of intrusions against the United States.

The intelligence agencies are right to refocus the threat assessment on Russia and China, said Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Chinas a rising power and a rising challenge, said Mr. Schiff, a Democrat, whose committee drafted a report last year calling for more resources to be devoted to China. Russia is a dying power. It poses the threat of a kind of wounded animal that is dangerous because its wounded and backed into a corner.
Scott Morrison will recall National Cabinet twice a week as he attempts to speed up the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

The prime minister is under increasing pressure over the slow rollout which has seen only 1,234,681 vaccines administered as of April 12.

That is well short of the government's previous target to vaccinate 4 million by April 1.

The prime minister is under increasing pressure over the slow rollout which has seen only 1,234,681 vaccines administered as of April 12. Pictured: A nurse gets vaccinated in Melbourne

The rollout has been hampered by supply delays due to a European export ban which resulted in 3million doses not arriving.

The operation then took a heavy blow last week when scientists recommended under 50s should have the Pfizer vaccine instead of the AstraZeneca jab which causes blood clots in extremely rare cases.

The news forced Mr Morrison to order 20million more Pfizer doses and scrap his aim of vaccinating all Australians by October because they won't arrive by then.

There are also concerns that states are not administering the jabs fast enough, with South Australia rating the worst having only handed out 57 per cent of its doses.

Mr Morrison is going to recall National Cabinet every two weeks to keep a closer eye on how the rollout is progressing.

'There are serious challenges we need to overcome caused by patchy international vaccine supplies, changing medical advice and a global environment of need caused by millions of Covid-19 cases and deaths,' he said.

Scott Morrison will recall National Cabinet every two weeks as he attempts to speed up the Covid-19 vaccine rollout

'This is a complex task and there are problems with the programme that we need to solve to ensure more Australians can be vaccinated safely and more quickly.

'I have requested that National Cabinet and our health ministers move back to an operational footing  to work together, closely, to tackle, head on, the challenges we are all facing with making our vaccination programme as good as it can be.'

National Cabinet will meet on Monday 19 April and every two weeks after that.

It comes after the boss of the medicines regulator said Australians have more chance of winning the lotto than suffering a blood clot after taking the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

Professor John Skerritt, head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, said only two people in Australia have suffered the rare clotting event after about 700,000 received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

That's a rate of one in 350,000. Oz Lotto says one in 55 players win a lotto prize, although only one in 45 million win the jackpot.

Talking about the chance of getting a blood clot caused by the vaccine, Prof Skerritt said: 'It is an extremely remote and unlikely event. It is a very rare finding. As I said before, your chances of winning Lotto are much higher.'

Australians have more chance of winning the lotto than suffering a blood clot after taking the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Pictured: SA's Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier (right) gets the jab

This week a woman in her 40s in Western Australia was hospitalised with blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The woman is receiving treatment for 'thrombosis with thrombocytopenia' and is in a stable condition with a good chance of recovery, said Professor Skerritt.

The Federal Government has recommended anyone under 50 to have the Pfizer vaccine instead due to concerns surrounding blood clots with AstraZeneca.

The UK and several European countries have also issued similar advice due to the very rare clotting incidents.

The government had been planning on opening borders before the end of October but the recent scuppering of the AstraZeneca vaccine roll-out means that is in doubt.

The prime minster has encouraged Australians over 50 to have the AstraZeneca jab because they are less at risk of the clotting events and more at risk of getting seriously sick from Covid-19.
Sundays attack on Irans main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz has been widely attributed to Israel. It threatens to derail talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Tehran that the Trump administration unilaterally abandoned in 2018, while escalating the years-long shadow war between Iran and Israel.

The incident, at first believed to be caused by a cyberattack, later attributed to an explosion, destroyed the specially protected power system supplying electricity to thousands of underground centrifuges at the Ahmadi Roshan nuclear enrichment facility, Irans main enrichment program.

In this April 10, 2021, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, second from right, listens to the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi while visiting an exhibition of Iran's new nuclear achievements in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Located at Natanz, in the desert in the central province of Isfahan, Iran's uranium enrichment program is subject to monitoring by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only. It has said that while it intends to steadily resume nuclear activities prohibited under the dealsince January, Iran has acquired 55kg of uranium enriched to 20 percent purityit will immediately reverse course once sanctions are rescinded.

Iranian news sources reported that intelligence sources had identified the person who had caused the power outage at the site, implying physical infiltration, and were taking action to arrest him.

While Israel has refused to comment on its involvement, American and Israeli officials told the New York Times that Israel had played a role and Israeli news outlets, citing intelligence sources, attributed the attack to the Mossad, Israels spy agency.

Tehran has called the incident nuclear terrorism, indicating that it believes Israel was behind it, and claimed that those responsible are seeking to derail efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear accord, which President Joe Biden has said the US is conditionally prepared to rejoin.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, said that the explosion was not an accident but an act of sabotage. Salehi rebutted reports that the explosion would set back Irans nuclear program at Natanz by nine months, claiming it would operate at 50 percent capacity.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday said the Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions .... They have publicly said that they will not allow this. But we will take our revenge from the Zionists, according to Iranian state TV.

In addition to its geopolitical ramifications, the blast was incredibly reckless from an environmental standpoint. The loss of electrical power could have led to the release of toxic and highly corrosive uranium hexafluoride gas and the deaths of many workers at the plant. And if there were any large scale nuclear operations conducted at Natanz, the loss of electrical power for any length of time could have had serious consequences. In the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, the earthquake and subsequent tsunami knocked out all the electrical power at the nuclear power station, including the emergency generators that keep the cooling systems running. The result was the second worst nuclear meltdown in history, rivaling Chernobyl.

Irans foreign office spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said, All of the centrifuges that went out of circuit at Natanz site were of the IR-1 type, Iran's first generation of enrichment machines that are more vulnerable to outages, and insisted they would be replaced with more advanced ones. The day before the explosion, Iran marked its National Nuclear Technology Day by turning on a chain of 164 advanced IR-6 centrifuges and testing IR-9 centrifuges that are 50 times faster than the old IR-1s that make up most of the capacity at Natanz.

Khatibzadeh stated that the incident had caused no contamination or injuries but could be considered as an act against humanity, adding that Iran would take revenge at the appropriate time. He said, The answer for Natanz is to take revenge against Israel, and Israel will receive its answer through its own path.

The explosion took place the same day that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met Israels Defense Minister Benny Gantz and later held a private meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first official visit to Israel by a member of the Biden administration.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Gantz pledged to cooperate with the Biden administration on Iran, promising that Israeli security would be safeguarded under any renewed Iranian nuclear deal that Washington reaches. He said, We will work closely with our American allies to ensure that any new agreement with Iran will secure the vital interests of the world and the United States, prevent a dangerous arms race in our region and protect the State of Israel.

Although Austin said nothing about Iran, he reassured Israel that the Biden administration would continue to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East as part of a strong commitment to Israel and the Israeli people. He insisted that Our bilateral relationship with Israel in particular is central to regional stability and security in the Middle East. During our meeting I reaffirmed to Minister Gantz our commitment to Israel is enduring and it is ironclad.

While Israeli and American officials would not say whether the US government had been warned of the attack in advance, or whether the attack had been timed to coincide with Austins visit, it is inconceivable that the attack on Natanz was mounted without Washingtons knowledge and approval. Indeed, Tel Avivs role is to carry out Washingtons dirty work in the region, thereby enabling Washington to deny responsibility.

On Monday, as if on cue, a White House spokesperson refrained from condemning the attack while denying any US involvement saying, The US was not involved in any manner and we have nothing to add to speculation about the causes.

This is Israels second attack on Natanz in recent months, following an explosion and fire at the facility last July aimed at disrupting uranium enrichment and research. In 2010, the US and Israel stymied Irans nuclear program with the Stuxnet virus that reportedly destroyed a fifth of Irans centrifuges, while Israel orchestrated a string of assassinations of Irans nuclear scientists in 2010 and 2011, and then in November last year murdered Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a leading Iranian scientist who set up the countrys nuclear programme two decades ago.

Israel has for years been carrying out a covert war against Iran, launching hundreds of strikes on Iranian-linked targets, including Lebanons Hezbollah, in neighbouring Syria since the start of the US-led proxy war to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

This has now extended to a naval offensive, with an attack last week on the cargo ship MV Saviz, owned by the state-linked Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, in the Red Sea. It follows revelations by the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, that Israel had attacked at least a dozen ships bound for Syria in the past two and a half years, most of which were carrying Iranian oil, while some were carrying weaponry to Tehrans allies, including Hezbollah, in Syria.

The New York Times  revelations of Israels involvement in the Natanz explosion serves escalate the likelihood of Iran retaliating, especially since presidential elections are due in June. The faction around President Hassan Rouhani, who signed the JCPOA agreement, faces defeat at the hands of the so-called hardline conservative faction that was and remains opposed to the deal.

While Israel and Mossad calculate that Rouhani is keen to secure relief from US sanctions that have wrecked Irans economy and will therefore avoid any major escalation, Danny Yatom, a former head of the Mossad, told the radio station run by the Israeli army, Once Israeli officials are quoted, it requires the Iranians to take revenge, adding, There are actions that must remain in the dark.

Netanyahu for his part has insisted that there should be no return to the dangerous 2015 nuclear accord, saying on Sunday, The fight against Iran and its proxies and the Iranian armament is a giant mission. The situation that exists today doesnt say anything about the situation that will exist tomorrow.

With talks on the nuclear deal set to resume Wednesday in Vienna, Netanyahu is determined to prevent the Biden administration rejoining the JCPOA and lifting sanctions against Iran, or failing that, to force Tehran to agree to tougher and longer curbs on its nuclear ambitions along with restrictions on its ballistic missile program and its support for regional militias.

Furthermore, Netanyahu, who is desperately trying to cobble together a coalition government after a fourth inconclusive election in two years that will save him from an almost certain jail term for corruption, may be gambling that the threat of a major conflict with Iran will persuade his potential partners to join an emergency government.
A top Republican Senator has said that imposing CAATSA sanctions on India for buying the multi-billion-dollar S-400 missile system from Russia would be a geostrategic victory for Moscow.

Senator Todd Young, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in the Foreign Policy magazine that if the Joe Biden administration imposes sanctions on India, it would weaken two strategic fronts at a critical time -- undermine Washington's relationship with India and also affect the QUAD's ability to counter China.

Quad -- comprising Japan, India, Australia and the United States -- aims at developing a new strategy to keep the critical sea routes in the Indo-Pacific free of any influence.

Yong said on Monday that in recent weeks, the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Bob Menendez called for India to be threatened with sanctions under Section 231 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if it moves forward with the purchase of the Russian missile system.

Section 231 imposes sanctions on entities that "operate for or on behalf of" Russian defense or intelligence sectors.

"It would not deter India's purchase of the S-400 (missile) system. Given India's historical skepticism of international cooperation and long-standing ties with Russia, any sanctions would be amplified and leveraged by those within India who remain trepidatious about deeper engagement with the West, such as the Non-Aligned Movement," Young wrote in the magazine.

"Moreover, Russia could take advantage of the sanctions to reclaim its role as India's military partner of choice. Paradoxically then, sanctioning New Delhi over its Russian-made defence system would actually prove to be a geostrategic victory for Moscow," Young wrote in the magazine.

Alternatively, he urged the Biden Administration to give CAATSA waiver to India. The waiver is intended at preventing US sanctions on countries like India.

"By invoking the waiver authority and allowing India's purchase of Russian weaponry, the Biden administration can make clear that China is the primary geostrategic threat to the United States.

"As the United States acknowledges that fact, the White House must then prioritize -- in word and deed -- relationships with those countries critical to meeting that threat head-on. By doing so, all Quad countries will benefit," Young said.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. The session of the Security Council of Armenia was held today chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

Issues relating to the formation and strengthening of security environment around Armenia and Artsakh, the ongoing developments and prospects in the region were discussed during the meeting.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
A Texas man has killed his mother and her dog after he reportedly told his sister what he was going to do.

Police were in a standoff with Gerald Wayne Powell, 45, for seven hours before he surrendered peacefully, according to a Crime Online report. Van Zandt County deputies headed to the scene outside Wills Point, east of Dallas, and arrived at about 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Police had spoken with a family member and learned that Gerald Wayne Powell was inside with several firearms. The suspect allegedly told his sister that he had already killed the dog and his mother was next.

"He also stated he would shoot any law enforcement personnel who attempted to enter onto the property," the sheriff's office said in a report.

The sheriff's office called Powell by telephone. The Texas man answered and again said that he would kill officers who would try to arrest him.

Police said Gerald Wayne Powell surrendered after a SWAT team entered the property on early Monday, KLTV reported. The deputies then found his mother, identified as Billie Powell, dead inside their home, along with the dog.

Van Zandt County Sheriff Steve Hendrix commented on the incident and said that it was a sad and senseless death.

READ NEXT: Texas Man Charged in Crash That Killed 8 Mexican Migrants

Texas Man Is Suffering From PTSD

One commenter on social media claimed to have known the suspect since school, saying that Gerald Wayne Powell was a classmate from K-12.

The commenter noted that Powell served 20 years in the U.S. military forces with several deployments.

"He's suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) since 2013 and was honorably discharged in 2015," the commenter added as reported by Scallywag & Vagabond.

An autopsy will be performed on Powell's mother to identify the cause of death. Gerald Wayne Powell was booked into the Van Zandt County jail for murder charges and is currently waiting for arraignment.

Texas Crime

Texas crime rates are higher than national averages. However, the state prides itself on the lowest crime rates in the West South-Central region.

Sixty percent of Texans think crime is increasing in the state compared to 11 percent who believe it is decreasing. On a nationwide scale, 66 percent think the crime in the area is increasing, while eight percent said it is declining.

According to a Safe Wise report, Texas's most experienced crime was package theft, with 21 percent falling victim in the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, Texans expressed the second-highest overall concern about gun violence, with 61 percent saying they worry about gun violence every day.

Fifty-three percent are most worried about a gun violence incident happening to them. In 2020, Texas encountered 34 mass shooting occurrences, as compared to 30 in 2019.

Forty-eight of the survey participants say they use some form of personal protection, which is higher than the national average of 34 percent.

Despite the number, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has dismissed President Joe Biden's gun control measures, saying it was just for show.

Abbott said there is no acceptable way that a president by executive order can alter the Second Amendment rights, Independent reported.

Abbott noted that Texans need their Second Amendment rights to defend themselves, especially when the government is doing less to protect the public.

READ MORE: Armed Texas Man Arrested Near VP Kamala Harris' Home

WATCH: FOX 7 Discussion: Violent Crime Increases in Large Texas Cities - From FOX 7 Austin






A landmark study recently found that an inhaled drug commonly used for asthma shortens the recovery time of COVID-19 sufferers who do need hospital treatment. According to the result from the Principle trial, British scientists from Oxford University found that budesonide, which is an anti-inflammatory medicine, can help accelerate recovery in the over 50s by an average of three days. The researchers said that the readily available drug, administered via a cheap inhaler twice a day for up to 14 days, can be prescribed through general practitioners, raising hope that doctors will be able to start treating COVID-19 patients at home early in their illness.

Joint chief investigator Chris Butler, a south Wales GP and professor of primary care at Oxford University, said, PRINCIPLE, the worlds largest platform trial of community-based treatments for COVID-19, has found evidence that a relatively cheap, widely available drug with very few side effects helps people at higher risk of worse outcomes from COVID-19 recover quicker, stay better once they feel recovered, and improves their wellbeing.

In the trials in people over 65 and over 50 with underlying health conditions, the researchers found that inhaling budesonide shortened their recovery time and helped them stay well and feel better than those who were not given the drug in subsequent weeks. The researchers said that the latest study can now change clinical practice around the globe. They said that as fewer hospital beds are available for COVID patients, the study, which they described as a significant milestone, is a major breakthrough in treating COVID-19 outside of hospitals.

According to the research, fewer people in the trial were admitted to the hospital among those given the inhaled corticosteroid drug. However, the researchers said that that was at a time of falling hospital admissions so the effect is not clear. It worth noting that the paper is published as a pre-print, which means that it has not yet been through peer review, but experts have hailed the interim findings and the NHS has also issued new guidance saying that the medicine should be considered for patients on a case-by-case basis.

Butler said, We anticipate that medical practitioners around the world caring for people with Covid-19 in the community may wish to consider this evidence when making treatment decisions, as it should help people with Covid-19 recover quicker.

Significant research

While speaking a media briefing, Oxfords Professor Gail Hayward, who is a co-principal investigator in the trial, said that she thinks the latest findings have significant implications for the world as this is the first time a treatment has been shown to be beneficial for patients in their community. Hayward said that the majority of patients who get COVID are in the community. She added the something that can help them feel better three days sooner is significant.

The scientists involved in the study have said that they now intend to continue assessing patients to determine whether budesonide also prevents the development of long COVID in those who have been infected with the deadly virus. Butler said that his team is only presenting data for 28 days of follow-up. He added that in due course, the researchers will be following these people for longer and will be able to talk about long COVID more comprehensively in due course.

(Rep image: Pixabay/AP)


More Japanese lawmakers and businesses are throwing their support behind shorter workweeks to give families more time to take care of children and older family members, as well as to adapt to a world where remote work is increasingly common.

The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy will cover the issue in a discussion Tuesday of measures to encourage the movement of workers into higher-growth fields. Shorter weeks will give employees more time to attend school to gain new knowledge and skills, the thinking goes.

This follows a draft proposal from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in January calling for three days off a week to be made widely available as an option for workers who want them.

These moves are particularly notable in a country with a corporate culture that has traditionally focused more on time spent at work than results achieved.

The discussion is being driven by concern over a chronically shrinking workforce. Japan's working-age population -- those aged 15 to 64 -- peaked in 1995 at about 87 million and is projected to fall to less than 70 million in 2030, making productivity-boosting measures essential to enable economic growth.

It is also a response to changes to employment brought by the coronavirus pandemic, particularly the rise in telecommuting, that allow for work to be less strictly bound to particular times and places.

The idea of a shorter workweek has gained some traction abroad. In a 2019 survey by the University of Reading, 64% of U.K. companies that had adopted a four-day workweek said their employees were more productive.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern floated the idea of a four-day week last May. The local arm of consumer-goods titan Unilever there adopted such a policy on a trial basis in December, letting employees work one day less per week for a year with no changes to salary. The multinational will consider adopting the system elsewhere if productivity improves.

Some Japanese companies have already begun taking steps in this direction.

Mizuho Financial Group in December began giving employees at five group companies, including the core Mizuho Bank, the option to work three or four days a week at proportionally reduced pay. The policy, which covers about 45,000 people, aims to offer workers more flexibility to care for family members or go to graduate school, for instance.
I havent lived in New York City since I graduated Archbishop Molloy High School in 1992, but with my parents and much of my family still there, I will always be a New Yorker in my heart. So, its with this bloodline dating back pre-Civil War that Im watching the Mayoral race with great interest. In two terms, Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NY) has plunged New York City back into crime and decay. The year 2020 saw double the shootings of 2019. Murder was up 40%. Car thefts up 67%. Burglaries up 42%. Transit crimes have doubled, and for young people born and raised in the city, like a then 17 year old me in 1992 deciding on college, its that statistic which ultimately drives you away.

With this misery index looming over the election, I do not begrudge any candidate from any party proposing big ideas. New York needs big ideas if its to overcome its current state of decline, for in addition to the crime, the COVID lockdowns have wiped out one third of its businesses and disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomos (D-NY) tax plan will impose an additional $4 billion in new taxes. Someone, please, for the love of God, try to make New York City great again.

But Democrat candidate Eric Adams wind power proposal is not that plan, and its with great respect and an open invite to sit down with the candidate, and any candidate of any party, to explain why.

Mr. Adams noted Rhode Islands wind farm as an example of a state committed to the technology. In the last few years it added Block Island Wind Farm to its electricity production. How has it been thus far? Lets explore.

The promises were great. The wind farm promised to cut electricity rates on Block Island by 40%. Rates have gone up, from 47 cents per kilowatt hour in 2011 to 54 cents per kWh in 2020 (as a comparison, the national average in 2020 was 13.19 cents per kWh). It promised to create 800 new jobs. It actually created just 300. And all of the costs, like the mislaid cable and the turbine damaged from a forgotten drill bit, are being passed onto the rate payers.

Whats the incentive to build things properly when the costly errors are paid by someone else?

Then there was the promise of future savings. In order to pay for the $300 million project, the construction company received an electricity purchase pricing from the national grid of 24.4 cents per kWh with an automatic annual increase of 3.5%, a price so outlandishly high it required special law from Rhode Islands legislature.

The environmentalists were giddy with this plan. Inside Climate News, the Pulitzer Prize winning non-partisan green blog penned a 2017 article breathlessly praising republican converts and proclaiming the end of fossil fuel economics.

All this for a wind farm which generates 300 megawatts of power. Thats enough to power 17,000 homes scream all the enthusiasts, it never says as what cost, financial cost, for the people of Rhode Island.

Is New York City going to do this throughout its entire coast? For 300 megawatts? When the city, at its peak, requires over 12,000 megawatts of power? How much of New York harbor, Coney Island, the Rockaway coastline, needs to be inundated with wind turbines to even make a dent into the citys energy needs? And at what cost?

Someone benefitted from Block Island Wind Farm, just not the people. DeepWater Wind, the construction company which has now sold the wind farm to Danish Orsted for $510 million, benefitted quite a bit.

Finally, Mr. Adams hopes that New York City can be a manufacturer of wind turbines thus creating jobs for the city. As my organization has pointed out in past studies, China dominates the green manufacturing sector making upwards of 70 of all renewable energy technology and controlling 95% of the rare earth elements necessary for their functioning. Any effort to change that requires some serious federal strong arming of the Chinese. Based on how the Biden Administrations first sit down with China went in Alaska last month, tougher actions are unlikely.

Big ideas are good, and New York City needs something to keep it from sinking further into economic and cultural decay, but wind isnt the answer as Block Island Wind Farm shows. Wind is never cost effective and never the job producer advocates claim. Its a pet project of the well connected where the taxpayers foot the construction bill and the ratepayers are on the hook in perpetuity. Such fraud on any other business would lead to criminal inquiries, but do it in the name of climate change, and there are no consequences.

Daniel Turner is the founder and executive director of Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates for American energy jobs. Contact him at daniel@powerthefuture.com and follow him on Twitter @DanielTurnerPTF
President Joe Biden is hosting a virtual world leaders summit to address the climate emergency, beginning on Earth Day next week.

Its hoped that the event will spark more ambitious targets to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, which are rapidly heating the planet and bringing more extreme and unpredictable events.

When is Biden holding the climate talks?

The talks will take place on 22 and 23 April. The entire event is being held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be live-streamed to the public.

Who is attending?

The Biden administration has invited 40 world leaders including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, a signal that the US is willing to put the climate crisis above even its most strained international relations.

President Xi is expected to attend, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday.

Invitations have gone out to leaders of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, which total about 80 per cent of global emissions. Nations on the frontlines of the climate crisis, already facing more extreme weather and rising sea levels, have also been asked to attend.

The US climate summit is being viewed as a key milestone ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow this November.

Climate scientists warn that global heating needs to be kept well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an aim for an increasingly ambitious 1.5C goal, to avoid the worst of climate breakdown.

The Leaders Summit and COP26 are aimed at catalysing efforts that keep that 1.5C goal within reach, the White House said last month.

The Biden administration intentionally looked beyond its international partners for the talks, an administration official said last month.

Its a list of the key players and its about having some of the tough conversations and the important conversations, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP.

Given how important  this issue is to the entire world, we have to be willing to talk about it and we have to be willing to talk about it at the high levels.

What do the talks hope to achieve?

The US is expected to announce a tougher 2030 emissions-reduction target ahead of the climate summit.

The target, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC), is each nations short-term pledge on cutting emissions and a required part of the Paris Agreement.

The US has been urged to slash emissions between 57-63 per cent below 2005 levels this decade, in order to stay in line with the target of net-zero emissions no later than 2050, according to analysis by Climate Action Tracker.

This would be a significant jump on previous goals. Barack Obama committed to reducing emissions 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025, when 200 nations signed the Paris Agreement in 2015.

President Biden hopes a renewed US commitment, following four years of inertia by the Trump administration, will be enough to convince other major emitters to up the ante, and turn the tide on global emissions which continue to rise.
New Delhi:

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, saying that they want to "ruin his family."

Lalu had appeared before CBI for questioning in connection with the land-for-hotels scam. The RJD supremo said it is a fraud case.

He said, I will uproot communalism & fascism even if I'm hanged.

Earlier in the day, Yadav, who arrived at the headquarters at 11 am, was accompanied by his daughter Misa and did not speak to the media. He was taken to the investigation officer while Misa was asked to wait in the lobby, CBI sources said.

It is a fraud case. BJP, Amit Shah & Narendra Modi are a party to this. They want to ruin my family: Lalu Yadav on railway hotel tender case pic.twitter.com/XgkYIe1I7A  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2017

His son Tejashwi Yadav, the former deputy chief minister of Bihar, is scheduled to appear before the agency on Friday.

Also Read | Benami assets case: I-T issues final attachment order to Lalu and family

It is alleged that Yadav, as railway minister in 2006, handed over maintenance of two Railway hotels -- BNR Ranchi and Puri -- to Sujata Hotel (a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar) after receiving a bribe in the form of three acres of prime land through a 'benami' (shell) company.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Wednesday signed legislation to ensure Arizonans wont have their drivers license suspended if they cant afford to pay for traffic fines or fees.

Taking away an Arizonans drivers license when they cant pay for a traffic ticket just doesnt make sense, said Governor Ducey. People need to drive to places like medical appointments, school and work to earn a living. Theres no sense in getting in the way of that when they cant afford the fine, especially when there are other steps the courts can take to collect fees. My thanks goes to Senator Paul Boyer for leading on legislation that will protect working families and Arizonans in need.



After Senate Bill 1551 passed the Arizona House and Senate with unanimous support, Reason published an article stating this is a move that advocates say will affect roughly 30,000 people in the state.



Approximately 31,000 driver licenses are currently suspended for failure to pay alone.



The legislation ends the practice of suspending or restricting a persons drivers license for failure to pay a civil penalty, surcharge, or assessment alone. The bill also reinstates the driving privileges of Arizona drivers whose licenses had been suspended or restricted for failure to pay civil traffic violations alone.



In addition, the legislation gives judges the discretion to waive or mitigate mandatory fines if the penalty would be an undue hardship on the person responsible for the violation. However, judges may not mitigate fines related to driving under the influence. Drivers will continue to be responsible for paying any traffic fines and fees imposed by the courts, and courts may continue to pursue payment through collections programs that do not involve suspending drivers licenses.



Working families and Arizonans who are struggling financially need support  not barriers, said Senator Boyer. Senate Bill 1551 helps Arizonans who have been stripped of their driving privileges, and it will protect those who face fines they cannot immediately pay. Thanks to my fellow legislators for the unanimous support, and to Governor Ducey for signing legislation that supports Arizonans of various economic backgrounds.



The signing of this bill represents another example of the criminal justice reform efforts led by Governor Ducey. Yesterday, he signed legislation to extend Arizonas Prison Transition Program and continue offering help to those who have served time.



Additionally, Governor Ducey on March 24 signed three bills as part of responsible criminal justice policy in the state, ensuring Arizona continues to focus on public safety, while taking a responsible approach to sentencing reform and expanding opportunities for offenders after serving their time. He also signed on March 9 legislation to equip inmates with new skills as part of the Arizona Healthy Forest Initiative.



Groups supporting Senate Bill 1551 include the Justice Action Network, Americans For Prosperity Arizona, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
Open feedback by Novartis associates contributed to coveted Canadian employer recognition

Novartis ranked among the companies with the highest levels of trust and most inclusive cultures in the country

DORVAL, QC, April 13, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. is thrilled to be recognized as a Great Place to Work and announce that Novartis in Canada has earned a spot on the "Top 50 Best Workplaces" in the country. Novartis has also been proudly named on the 2021 list of Best Workplaces for Women, a designation that speaks to the organization's inclusive and equitable work environment. These rankings were made possible thanks to feedback provided directly from Novartis associates about their workplace experience.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada (CNW Group/Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.)

All associates were given the opportunity to voice their opinion through an anonymous and independent analysis conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute with Novartis associates across the Novartis businesses: Novartis Innovative Medicines Division (Pharmaceuticals and Oncology business units), as well as Sandoz Canada.

The Top 50 Best Workplaces list is curated based on analyzed responses from thousands of individuals from organizations in Canada with more than 1,000 employees working in Canada or worldwide.

"What makes me very proud about these designations is that it is our associates who provide their feedback and they are telling us that our 'care in leadership' approach is appreciated. Our leaders didn't underestimate the challenges that were faced in 2020 and focused on prioritizing the wellbeing of our associates to ensure, among other things, work-life balance. I would like to express my gratitude to the team for their steadfast dedication to reimagining medicine and continuing to deliver for patients no matter what," said Christian Macher, Country President, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.

Novartis fosters a work environment and culture that brings out the best in people to fulfil the purpose of reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's live. The company operates with the understanding that associates are its greatest asset and they are encouraged to live the values and behaviors that underpin the Novartis culture.

Story continues

The company prides itself on its commitment to diversity and to nurturing an inclusive environment all around. Novartis is also committed to be an ethical and responsible corporate citizen in Canada through its employment practices, as well as through its research programs and commercial activities and by always showing respect for the environment.

The highly respected recognition program run by the Great Place to Work Institute gathers and evaluates employee feedback and acknowledges companies who have built high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. The list evaluates like-sized companies from across Canada that are measured against criteria designed to identify those that are exceptional places to work. Novartis associates were surveyed and gave feedback on the following five areas: credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie.

About Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., a leader in the healthcare field, is committed to the discovery, development and marketing of innovative products to improve the well-being of all Canadians. In 2020, the company invested $45 million in research and development in Canada. Located in Dorval, Quebec, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. employs approximately 1,000 people in Canada and is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. For further information, please consult www.novartis.ca .

About Sandoz

Sandoz is a world leader in generics and biosimilars and a division of the Swiss multinational Novartis. A true leader in its field, Sandoz Canada markets and distributes a wide range of generics, biosimilars and specialty products. www.sandoz.ca

Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sandoz-canada/

About Novartis

Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com.

SOURCE Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2021/13/c7333.html
Wine lovers will have the opportunity to get their hands on some rare gems at the Cape Fine & Rare Wine Auction on May 22.

It will take place in a hybrid format for the first time, meaning that buyers from across the world can tune in and bid for the wines online.

Some of the rarest wines that will go under the gavel of Christies auctioneer Charlie Foley include Chateau Libertas 1970, Kanonkop Paul Sauer 2009, Le Lude Rose Agrafe 2012, Nederburg Private Bin Eminence 1999, Uva Mira O.T.V 2015, Vilafonte Series C 2005, and Zonnebloem Cabernet Sauvignon 1970.

The wines for the auction were selected by a panel of respected South African wine insiders, including Cathy van Zyl MW, Michael Fridjhon and Francois Rautenbach.

Older bottles of well-preserved South African wine are becoming increasingly rare due to a dearth of temperature-controlled cellars in the past.

Cape Fine & Rare has sourced several pristine bottles for the hybrid auction, which will see 50 bidders attend in-person. Some go back as far as the 1960s.

Foley, who worked in Constantia before joining Christies, expects it to be a popular event. Weve had more bidders and buyers in the last year than weve ever had before, he told Drinks International. Christies clients want anything thats rare really. Our clientele have dinner with friends and they want to bring out something that wows. In the case of these rare South African wines  David & Nadia, Eben Sadie and the early Kanonkop wines  you just cant find them anywhere else.

A 1999 Kanonkop was selling in 2019 for something like 50 a bottle, but the only place I can find it is in Japan at 150. Bidding at auction allows you to get things at an amazing price that no one else has.

Some of South Africas leading brands emerged in the 1990s, and there were some gems of the era, which have been preserved over the past two decades. These wines could represent a strong investment opportunity due to their rarity.

Wine Cellar SA predicts that annual long-term returns of 10% to 20% are achievable on fine South African wine.

South African fine wines present a real opportunity for both experienced collectors and those taking their first steps towards building a collection, said Foley, who is renowned for wearing colourful jackets during auctions. Fine wines from the country are of exceptional quality but are the lowest priced worldwide. This makes them excellent value for money. Now is definitely the time to be trying South Africas fine and rare wines.

He appreciates the potential of South African fine wine to increase in value and preserve the holder's wealth in the years ahead, but Foley expects most bidders to drink the wine they secure.

You always hope that the clients are drinking the wine. Some cases we see coming back of Henri Jayer and those sort of things. Thats just the nature of the blue chip market. In the case of wines at a certain price point, our clients are probably drinking them.

South Africa has always had that place between Old World and New World. Its got that ripeness of the New World style wines, but then also that elegant restraint of Old World wines. For the last few years, South Africa has really hit the nail on the head, offering both ripeness and restraint at the same time. You can find wines that you want to drink. I always say with investment thats the key thing, because if you are investing in something and you want to resell it, with Bordeaux and Burgundy thats all good  or it has been in the past  but if fails then you want to be able to drink it.

The South African wine trade has endured a very challenging year, as production, domestic sales and exports have all been significantly hampered by strict measures designed to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Its terrible really, because theyve had five restricted periods and it has been more difficult to find volume wines from South Africa on shelves, because of export issues, said Foley. That has been a problem. South Africa in the past few years has been trying to premiumise away from its traditional [position] alongside Chile and Australia of vast swathes of ripe wine for the supermarkets. It has interrupted the premiumisation process, which is a bit sad, but were going to come roaring back and that should be great.

The whole scheme of selling wine in South Africa has changed, and this particular auction is about a panel of expert judges taking a panel of excellent wine from the trendiest producers and offering it mainly now South African privates, but the aim of Christies involvement is obviously international privates, because you want to get bang for your buck. They are happy to sell in rand, but would rather sell in pounds or Swiss francs or dollars.

The thing thats grown up in the New World thats quite interesting, in Napa and now in South Africa, is allocation. David & Nadia is a good example of these beautiful Chenins from Swartland, made in tiny quantities from old bush vines, and you can only get them when they release their vintages to their agents. Its the same way you can only get DRC at Corney & Barrow. If youre not on the allocation, youre not getting it, so the auction is a way for people to explore those wines, to get hold of an allocation, which is the future of collectible New World wine.

The auction will feature all manner of rare wines, including Zonnebloem Cabernet Sauvignon 1961, Graham Beck Brut 1994, Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 1994, David & Nadia Hoe  Steen Chenin Blanc 2017, Lammershoek Die Ounooi 2018 Chardonnay, Sadie Family Vineyards Soldaat 2017, David & Nadia Skaliekop Chenin Blanc 2015, Delaire Graff Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, and Kanonkop Paul Sauer Bordeaux Blend 2009.

Foley is particularly excited about the Chenin and Cabernet. Im always blown away by South African Chenin. The Loire is all well and good, but its hit and miss on various different sweetness levels, but dry Chenin from the Swartland is just amazing. I would just stock up on all of those. Cabernet has really found its way in Stellenbosch, from the Cabernet Collective. Older things from Kanonkop are good. Look out for rare things in larger formats from old vintages.
Authorities are still investigating a disturbance that took place at an Idaho prison over the weekend.

The H Block, Tier One housing unit of the Idaho State Correctional Center remained closed Tuesday as the Ada County Sheriffs Office continued an investigation, according to a news release Monday evening from the Idaho Department of Correction. Four people were taken to a Boise hospital after the incident, and a fifth was evaluated at a hospital Monday. No staff members were injured.

IDOC says the incident began at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday after an assault in H Block.

Residents on the tier began destroying property and ignited a fire in a trash can, according to the IDOC release.

Officials say in the release that the tier was evacuated, along with two adjacent tiers that each have 96 beds. The Correctional Emergency Response Team, which is the prisons version of a SWAT team, was later activated.

Officials said in the release that order was restored by Saturday night. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the prison while correction staff cleared the unit.

Those living in H Block, Tier One were relocated to other facilities in the prison complex south of Boise. IDOC said in the release that those individuals will be given opportunities to contact their families soon. Those living in the adjacent two tiers returned to their living areas later that night.
A federal lawsuit targets the city of Athens, former Athens City Schools superintendent Trey Holladay and three police officers over a 2019 arrest.

Teri Williams filed the lawsuit on behalf of her child, Kirby, along with two 19-year-old former students. It is over a video-taped arrest after some students were disciplined for talking in class.

The lawsuit accuses the officers of violating the students' constitutional rights. It demands a trial by jury, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

The complaint names the City of Athens, former Athens City Schools superintendent Trey Holladay and Interim Principal Rick Carter, along with Athens police officers Randy Vickers, Bobby Hand and Terry Hand.

This is in regard to an incident on Apr. 10, 2019, which was the day after five students were suspended for being disruptive in class. All students were seniors and African American.

Three students and a parent were arrested after a fight that caused a lockdown at Athens High School. Kirby sustained a dislocated shoulder in the incident.

You can read our previous stories about this here, here and here.
A new study verifies the age and origin of one of the oldest specimens of Homo erectus--a very successful early human who roamed the world for nearly 2 million years. In doing so, the researchers also found two new specimens at the site--likely the earliest pieces of the Homo erectus skeleton yet discovered. Details are published today in the journal Nature Communications.

"Homo erectus is the first hominin that we know about that has a body plan more like our own and seemed to be on its way to being more human-like," said Ashley Hammond, an assistant curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Division of Anthropology and the lead author of the new study. "It had longer lower limbs than upper limbs, a torso shaped more like ours, a larger cranial capacity than earlier hominins, and is associated with a tool industry--it's a faster, smarter hominin than Australopithecus and earliest Homo."

In 1974, scientists at the East Turkana site in Kenya found one of the oldest pieces of evidence for H. erectus: a small skull fragment that dates to 1.9 million years. The East Turkana specimen is only surpassed in age by a 2-million-year-old skull specimen in South Africa. But there was pushback within the field, with some researchers arguing that the East Turkana specimen could have come from a younger fossil deposit and was possibly moved by water or wind to the spot where it was found. To pinpoint the locality, the researchers relied on archival materials and geological surveys.

"It was 100 percent detective work," said Dan Palcu, a geoscientist at the University of Sao Paulo and Utrecht University who coordinated the geological work. "Imagine the reinvestigation of a 'cold case' in a detective movie. We had to go through hundreds of pages from old reports and published research, reassessing the initial evidence and searching for new clues. We also had to use satellite data and aerial imagery to find out where the fossils were discovered, recreate the 'scene,' and place it in a larger context to find the right clues for determining the age of the fossils."

Although located in a different East Turkana collection area than initially reported, the skull specimen was found in a location that had no evidence of a younger fossil outcrop that may have washed there. This supports the original age given to the fossil.

Within 50 meters of this reconstructed location, the researchers found two new hominin specimens: a partial pelvis and a foot bone. Although the researchers say they could be from the same individual, there's no way to prove that after the fossils have been separated for so long. But they might be the earliest postcrania--"below the head"--specimens yet discovered for H. erectus.

The scientists also collected fossilized teeth from other kinds of vertebrates, mostly mammals, from the area. From the enamel, they collected and analyzed isotope data to paint a better picture of the environment in which the H. erectus individual lived.

"Our new carbon isotope data from fossil enamel tell us that the mammals found in association with the Homo fossils in the area were all grazing on grasses," said Kevin Uno, a paleoecologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "The enamel oxygen isotope data suggest it was a relatively arid habitat based on comparisons to other enamel data from this area."

The work suggests that this early H. erectus was found in a paleoenvironment that included primarily grazers that prefer open environments to forest areas and was near a stable body of water, as documented by freshwater sponges preserved in the rocks.

Key to the field work driving this study were the students and staff from the Koobi Fora Field School, which provides undergraduate and graduate students with on-the-ground experience in paleoanthropology. The school is run through a collaboration between The George Washington University and the National Museums of Kenya, and with instructors from institutions from around North America, Europe, and Africa. "This kind of renewed collaboration not only sheds new light on verifing the age and origin of Homo erectus but also promotes the National Museums of Kenya's heritage stewardship in research and training," said Emmanuel Ndiema, the head of archaeology at the National Museums of Kenya.

###

Other authors include Silindokuhle S. Mavuso and Zubair Jinnah from the University of the Witwatersrand, Maryse Biernat from Arizona State University and the Institute of Human Origins, David R. Braun from The George Washington University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Sharon Kuo from Pennsylvania State University, Sahleselasie Melaku from the National Museum of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa University, Sylvia N. Wemanya from the National Museums of Kenya and the University of Nairobi, and David B. Patterson from the University of North Georgia.

Support for this study was provided in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, grant no.s REU 1852441, 1358178, and 1624398, Fundac?a?o de Amparo a? Pesquisa do Estado de Sa?o Paulo (FAPESP grant no. 2018/208733-6), and the American Museum of Natural History.

Study DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22208-x

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.
Ryan Gosling's new film project has found a new studio home, with Neon picking up his film The Actor.

Neon has picked up North American distribution rights for The Actor, which Duke Johnson (Anomalisa) will co-write and direct, via Deadline.

Johnson's co-writer and co-director on Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, has also joined the project as an executive producer.

New project: Ryan Gosling's new film project has found a new studio home, with Neon picking up his film The Actor

Director: Neon has picked up North American distribution rights for The Actor, which Duke Johnson (Anomalisa) will co-write and direct, via Deadline

Producer: Johnson's co-writer and co-director on Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, has also joined the project as an executive producer

Gosling will portray Paul Cole, an actor who becomes stranded in 1950s rural Ohio after suffering a brutal attack.

Cole suffers from memory loss as he struggles to make it back to New York City and reclaim the life he had lost.

The film is based on the Donald E. Westlake novel Memory, which was written in the 1960s and published posthumously in 2010, two years after Westlake died at 75.

Actor: Gosling will portray Paul Cole, an actor who becomes stranded in 1950s rural Ohio after suffering a brutal attack

Johnson wrote the screenplay adaptation alongside Stephen Cooney, with the project currently being sold virtually at the European Film Market.

Gosling is also producing the film with Ken Kao, who both formed the production company Arcana back in 2007.

Johnson will also produce alongside his Innerlight Films producing partner and actress Abigail Spencer.

Duke: Johnson (above) wrote the screenplay adaptation alongside Stephen Cooney, with the project currently being sold virtually at the European Film Market

The producing team is rounded out by Paul Young, who is producing through his Make Good company.

Gosling and Kao have been quite busy as of late, setting up Project Hail Mary from The Martian author Andy Weir and filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

They also are attached to Leigh Whannell's The Wolfman for Universal, with Gosling playing the title character.

Producer: Gosling and Kao have been quite busy as of late, setting up Project Hail Mary from The Martian author Andy Weir and filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Gosling has currently been filming The Gray Man in Los Angeles, alongside Ana de Armas, Rege-Jean Page and Chris Evans.

He hasn't been seen on the big screen in a few years, with his last movie 2018's First Man, and 2017's Blade Runner 2049.

Kaufman most recently wrote and directed the Netflix film I'm Thinking of Ending Things.


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Workplace ergonomics enhancements can simultaneously help reduce risk factors that lead to musculoskeletal injuries while providing better human performance and productivity.

Now that so many people work from home, ergonomic workspaces, furniture, and design have become a key concern when setting up a home workplace or company offices of the future.

Alongside this demand is an escalation of online sales in the home furnishings industry.

The E-Commerce Times spoke with several ergonomic and e-commerce experts to get their perspective on this trend.

"I think the interest stems from the changes everybody has had to make during COVID," Karen Loesing, a certified ergonomic assessment specialist and owner of The Ergonomic Expert, told the E-Commerce Times. "Many people had never worked from home before and were ill-equipped."

People are, essentially, having to rethink how and where they work.

"Many have only a laptop or pad at home," explained Loesing. "When the average employee is going from two large monitors at work and suddenly finds themselves on the dining table with a laptop, it's a shock.

"While some businesses have allowed employees to take home some of their computer set up, some have not been so generous. Many companies have given a stipend, which can often include getting a remote ergonomic evaluation, which has been helpful."

Demand for New Products

With a new awareness of the importance of ergonomic furniture and design, there has been an increased demand for new ergonomic products.

"The most popular product has to be the height-adjustable desk," said Loesing. "Although, it may have seemed trendy at one time, I would say it's a rarity for someone not requesting to have the chance to work standing. Everybody is suddenly in the height-adjustable desk business.

"Prior to COVID, finding a height-adjustable desk under $500 wasn't really an option. Furniture dealers are coming up with all shapes, sizes and a range of prices to attract customers they might previously not have had."

In addition to adopting standing desks, people are also reconsidering other office essentials.

"Another hot product is probably the vertical mouse," said Loesing. "A vertical mouse places your arm in a handshake position, which is much easier on your entire upper extremity, especially if you have a painful shoulder. This position also alleviates compression to the carpal tunnel region in the wrist, which has always been an issue for intensive computer work."

Rethinking Business Environments

Businesses, too, are rethinking the design and layout of their spaces in an attempt to make them more ergonomic as well as more easily sanitized.

"Creating a work environment that is comfortable for all promotes healthier and happier employees and consumers, as well as making them feel that the environment isn't one size fits most," Kate Orara, marketing engagement manager for SpacePole, told the E-Commerce Times.

Some of these changes involve accounting for the extra demands placed by social distancing and other COVID-19 mitigation guidelines.

"With the current status and overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, store operators are looking for solutions that protect their employees as well as their customers," explained Orara. "[One of] our most popular solutions is the social-distancing payment paddle arm, which mounts a payment device to a lightweight extension arm that is great to use for payment at a drive-through or other curbside checkout."

Ergonomic Offices

Though many of the changes afoot have been prompted by the pandemic, increased attention to and awareness of the importance of ergonomic design will likely remain even after the pandemic is over.

"I hope future offices have spaces designed by function -- how people work," ergonomics expert Deborah Read, president of ErgoFit Consulting, told the E-Commerce Times.

"This would include quiet private spaces for head-down work at dedicated height-adjustable desks, sound-proofed collaboration rooms with write-on walls/screens that aren't wrap-around see-through glass, and sound-dampened rooms for sales teams or others who are on phone and video calls frequently."

It's important, however, for consumers and businesses to understand what counts as truly ergonomic -- and what does not.

"Consumers are interested in ergonomic products because those products are more comfortable and easier to use -- if they actually are ergonomic," explained Read. "Often that term is used in marketing falsely, so buyer should beware, which is unfortunate. I would advise consumers to ask themselves, is this ergonomic for me?"

With increased attention to ergonomic office design, there is likely to be more attention paid to the need for individual spaces in the business environment, as well.

"COVID-19 reintroduced panels between people, and frankly I think people like that sense of individual space," said Read. "So I predict that trend will continue and that most people prefer not to feel like they're being watched all the time, so solid panels may start showing up."

Working Safely

With increased demand, ergonomic products and design strategies will continue to evolve.

"I think the future of ergonomic products will continue to improve," predicted Loesing. "There are still some products that I look at and think, 'if only it did this and this,' I'd love it.

"Although ergonomics is all about working safely, there will be more emphasis in the near future on partitions, smaller meetings, and there could be an end to the open-office concept that has been so popular the last few years.

"I also believe that 'hot desking' will become a thing of the past. It's possible that many businesses will go back to a hybrid style of working -- maybe two or three days in the office. The future of workstations might become more portable, compact and lightweight, but ergonomic, of course."

Home offices themselves -- and the ergonomic redesigns they require, are likely to also remain even after the pandemic is over.

"The combination of the shift to work from home and interest in health and wellness will accelerate the infusion of ergonomic design into many product categories," Josh Walter, CEO of BrandJump, an e-commerce marketing and merchandising company in Los Angeles, told the E-Commerce Times.

"Comfort and well-being are top priorities today, and people have a renewed interest in this due to work-from-home conditions as a result of the pandemic. Even in a post-COVID era, the home office, for many, is here to stay," Walter concluded.

Vivian Wagner has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. Her main areas of focus are technology, business, CRM, e-commerce, privacy, security, arts, culture and diversity. She has extensive experience reporting on business and technology for a variety of outlets, including The Atlantic, The Establishment and O, The Oprah Magazine. She holds a PhD in English with a specialty in modern American literature and culture. She received a first-place feature reporting award from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists, and is the author of Women in Tech: 20 Trailblazers Share Their Journeys, published by ECT News Network in May 2020. Email Vivian.


Assistant superintendent search

The Brandon School Division is now hiring for two assistant superintendents. Just what our broken public school system needs, more top-heavy, top-salaried administrators. The joke is on the taxpayer when the trustees are approving these positions instead of putting more resources into front-line teachers to actually teach our children. Oh, the outrage toward the Manitoba PC government for wanting to overhaul our education system. Clearly, there is a need to hold those who possess the taxation power accountable. Kindly explain, BSD: how many "higher-ups" do you require?

Kindness

To the very kind lady who paid for our order at the Canadian Tire Tims drive-through at about 6:15 p.m. on April 8: Thank you! We were the older couple in the black Traverse. You cannot know what your thoughtful gesture meant to us. We had just received devastating news and had stopped at the drive-thru to get coffee and a snack while we composed ourselves before driving the 110 kilometres to our home. Your kindness touched us deeply at a raw moment. Thank you. God bless you.

BSD budget concerns

I find it amusing that BSD board chair Linda Ross has so many concerns for finances in the school division, but yet a few pages later in the paper they are advertising for more administration  assistant superintendent.
By integrating its Trax system with the Aeroxchange platform, Air Astana will drive operational efficiencies, including eliminating the need to manage multiple connections with hundreds of suppliers, said Albert Koszarek, President and CEO of Aeroxchange.

Aeroxchange announced today that Air Astana has gone live on AeroBuy with plans to later implement AeroRepair. According to an agreement between the two companies, Air Astana will gain access to both AeroBuy and AeroRepair, enabling the airline to automate its parts procurement and repair management processes.

Air Astana will utilize AeroBuy and AeroRepair to accelerate parts procurement and repair order management, improve sourcing opportunities and pricing, increase supply chain transparency and streamline communication with its trading partners.

By integrating its Trax system with the Aeroxchange platform, Air Astana will drive operational efficiencies, including eliminating the need to manage multiple connections with hundreds of suppliers, said Albert Koszarek, President and CEO of Aeroxchange. We are excited to bring Air Astana onto our network and look forward to expanding our presence in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

With the implementation of Aeroxchange, we believe we have the best solution to alleviate the traditional administrative burdens through automation and optimization of processes. We are confident that the efficiencies and effectiveness of the Aeroxchange platform come at the right time, as Air Astana continues to utilize technology and innovation to drive optimization in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Yerbol Baimbekov, Vice President Procurement and Supply of Air Astana.

About Aeroxchange:

Founded by 13 major global airlines in July 2000, Aeroxchange is a privately owned company providing software solutions that maximize efficiency across the aviation supply chain. Aeroxchanges tailored solutions offer a seamless e-commerce experience between aerospace companies and their trading partners.

About Air Astana:

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, commenced its operations in May 2002 as a joint venture between Kazakhstans national wealth fund, Samruk Kazyna, and BAE Systems (UK), with respective shares of 51% and 49%.

Air Astana is a full-service international carrier. Air Astana operates Boeing 767, Airbus A320/A320neo, Airbus A321/A321neo/ A321LR and Embraer E190-E2. Air Astana became the first carrier from Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eastern Europe to be awarded a prestigious 4-Star rating by SkyTrax at its World Airline Awards 2012 and was also named The Best Airline in Central Asia and India that year. Both achievements were repeated in consecutive years through until 2019. Air Astana received a Travellers' Choice Awards, and 5-Star in Major regional airlines category at APEX Awards for the three years in a row between 2018 and 2020. Air Astana also has the Airline Market Leadership Award by Air Transport World.
Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidents Office Roman Mashovets and Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine Tobias Thyberg have discussed the deteriorating situation in eastern Ukraine and near its border and possible ways to deter Russian aggression.

During the meeting, Mashovets drew attention to Russia's military build-up along Ukraine's borders, as well as Russia's escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine and its violation of the ceasefire, Ukrinform reports with reference to the presidents press service.

He stressed the importance of coordinated actions at the international level to prevent the situation from escalating and bring Russia to justice for its military actions.

"If Russia refuses to offer reasonable solutions, we and the entire international community will clearly see who is to blame for the destabilization of the situation," said Mashovets.

In turn, the Swedish Ambassador drew attention to the efforts of Sweden, in particular in the context of the countrys OSCE presidency, aimed to ensure the transparency of Russia's military action in accordance with its commitments under the 2011 Vienna Document. He praised the Ukrainian side's efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully and return to the ceasefire.

"Ukraine adheres to the rules of international law and international humanitarian law," he said.

The Ambassador assured that Sweden will continue to pay great attention to the situation in eastern Ukraine and near its eastern borders and will support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.

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Photo: pixabay

The province appears to be striking the right chord with the West Coast music sector, offering up $22.5 million in funding for venues, artists and skills development over the next three years.

The provinces music fund, known as Amplify BC, was due to dry up at the end of 2021.

But Victoria revealed Tuesday it was locking in additional dollars in the coming years for the hard-hit sector.

The grant program provides support for B.C.-based live events, artist sound recordings and training programs for music industry professionals.

The funding is also meant to keep the local recording sector competitive with Ontario, following concerns in previous years that West Coast recording artists were being lured away by that provinces music grants.

Lindsay MacPherson, executive director of the Music BC Industry Association, told BIV in January her organization had been urging the province to re-up the funding for a three-year period with annual support of $7.5 million.

She said at the time the sector was resilient but challenges remain ahead for local musicians whose livelihood depends on touring and live gigs.

Music BC has been able to facilitate online performances (some with small, in-person audiences prior to the current slate of pandemic-induced restrictions) and music festivals.

But MacPherson said many artists have turned to recording studios to create new music as they bide their time while awaiting the return of touring. The local studios have in turn benefitted from this trend, with some drawing recording artists from outside B.C.

"The province has heard and understood the challenges our sector is facing, MacPherson said in a statement.

At a time when our industry is still struggling, this is a vote of confidence in our recovery.

Music Canadas 2016 report raised concerns that Ontarios music fund, which was offering $15 million annually, had been luring B.C. artists and engineers to Central Canada.

The industry association called on the B.C. government to implement 26 recommendations to stimulate the provinces music industry, including updating liquor laws and event licences to make it easier to support live shows.

Over the last year, Amplify BC has provided support to 95 festivals and venues, 99 music companies and 113 individual artists.

The grant program is being administered by Creative BC, the non-profit agency charged with promoting the provinces music, film and publishing industries.
[April 13, 2021] Charles Taylor Adjusting Grows U.S. Footprint Through Acquisition of Syndicate Claim Services, Inc.

Charles Taylor, a provider of insurance services, claims solutions and technology platforms to the global insurance market, announced today that it has acquired Syndicate Claim Services, Inc. (Syndicate), an independent adjusting and claims services business, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Syndicate is a trusted service provider to insurance clients looking for high quality loss adjusting, claims, and catastrophe services throughout the United States. "Charles Taylor Adjusting is a global leader in adjusting large, complex losses for property and casualty, natural resources, marine, and aviation insurance clients," said Rob Brown (News - Alert) , Group CEO, Charles Taylor. "The addition of Syndicate aligns with Charles Taylor's U.S. growth strategy, by enhancing our capabilities and reach, and expanding our ability to service a broader client base spanning global, U.S. nationwide, and U.S. regional Property, Casualty and Specialty insurers." Syndicate began as a family-owned business in 2006, and now provides tailored claims services and appraisal, umpire, dispute resolution, and litigation support services to a variety of commercial and residential property and liability/casualty insurers, TPAs, and self-insured entities. The company provides both daily claim and catastrophe services for commercial, industrial, retail, and specialty commercial markets, as well as residential insurance markets, including condominium, farm, and ranch properties. "The acquisition of Syndicate significantly expands our footprint to many mre locations throughout the U.S., giving us the opportunity to better service our existing clients, as well as support new clients who have asked for nationwide coverage," said Vince Cole, CEO of Charles Taylor Adjusting and Technical Services, US. "Syndicate's team of experienced independent adjusters, combined with their expansive network of contract field adjusters, firmly positions us to handle more middle market claims, large, complex losses, and more CAT work, and gives us the boots on the ground where and when our clients need us."



Syndicate joins the more than 3,000-strong team of professionals at Charles Taylor globally. Syndicate clients will enjoy access to Charles Taylor's full suite of global claims, insurance management, and technology solutions. "The Syndicate family is thrilled to become a part of the Charles Taylor Group to bring best-in-class property and casualty adjusting services to clients in the U.S.," said Josh Morgan, President, CEO and Founder of Syndicate. "The combination of Syndicate's capabilities and Charles Taylor's technical expertise, commitment to clients and growth ambitions in the U.S. represents a compelling proposition that will bring real benefit to our combined current and prospective clients."

This acquisition comes shortly after the acquisitions in the U.S. of Aegis Corporation in January 2021 and SBSA in September 2020; and the acquisition of the Cosulich Group in March 2021. About Charles Taylor: Charles Taylor provides insurance services, claims solutions and technology platforms to all parties across the global insurance market. Its technical expertise, technological tools and breadth of solutions enable its clients to outperform, by addressing complexities and challenges across every stage and aspect of the insurance lifecycle and operating model. Charles Taylor employs approximately 3,100 staff in more than 120 locations spread across 30 countries in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. It has earned the trust of a diversified, blue-chip international customer base that includes national and international insurance companies, mutuals, captives, MGAs, Lloyd's syndicates and reinsurers, along with brokers, distributors and corporate insureds. www.charlestaylor.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005299/en/

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Faced with complaints, Army pulls HR app solicitation

The Army has pulled back its solicitation for a $161.1 million human resources application development contract to rework the bid after getting complaints from several bidders including the incumbent.

Incumbent Science Applications International Corp. and two potential rivals for the contract all filed objections with the Government Accountability Office, which then led the Army HR Command to cancel the request for quotes and make fixes. Exeter Government Services and Data Systems Analysts Inc. were the other protestors.

The contract is called Data and Applications Support Task Order Services, or DATSO.

The Army plans to rework two evaluation factors and open new discussions with bidders. All competitors will also be able to submit revisions to their proposals.

The Army will conducte new evaluations and a best-value tradeoff analysis before naming a winner.

It's not quite a complete do-over for the Army, but is restart of the proposal and evaluation process to give all bidders a new opportunity.

The Army HR Command is using the ITES vehicle to award the contract, which will help it develop and sustain applications. Some of the services they want include integrated product team leads, compliance efforts, business intelligence support, and activities for data warehouse support and system analysis.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 21:29:52|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on Nov. 18, 2020 shows a ship loaded with reef-like artificial coral reef nurseries heading for designated areas in Yazhou Bay of Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. The ecological restoration demonstration in Yazhou Bay has achieved initial effects. The project is proposed based on the urgent need for the restoration of Hainan coastal ecosystem. Researchers carry out systematic ecological restoration activities for the coral reef ecosystem around Dongluo Island. Thanks to researchers' work, the survival rate of coral has reached more than 70 percent. And the coral coverage rate has increased by 10 percent. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
Lucy Liu wowed in a series of incredible outfits as she graced May's Women's Health cover on Tuesday and said she has embraced her body flaws.

The actress, 52, had her youthful figure on display as she posed up a storm in a plunging black one-piece for one of the radiant snaps.

The swimsuit which had a cut-out design and long sleeves highlighted her toned frame and ample assets.

Stunning: Lucy Lui wowed in a series of incredible outfits as she graced May's Womens Health cover and vowed that you can be confident at any age

In the accompanying interview Lucy encouraged people to embrace their body flaws, saying: 'You don't have to be 20 to wear a bathing suit.

'With all the flaws and all the life that a body experiences, it's still something that you should carry with confidence.'

In another stunning shot Lucy flaunted her taut abs as she slipped into a black bralette and high-waisted grey trousers.

Wow: The actress, 52, had her youthful figure on display as she posed up a storm in a black bra let and high-waisted trousers

Radiant: She also wowed in a mesh black bralette and black trousers in another of the snaps from the photoshoot

She also wowed in a mesh black bralette and black trousers before before posing in a white dress that was teamed with a statement rope-style belt.

Speaking to the publication, Charlie's Angels star Lucy also discussed how she had a desire to not live her life to please others.

She said: 'People are going to see you however they're going to see you. If I kept doing only action movies, I would probably wake up one day and not even know who I was.'

Strong: In the accompanying interview Lucy encouraged people to embrace their body flaws, saying: 'You don't have to be 20 to wear a bathing suit'

Then speaking about why she decided to encourage people to vote she said: 'If I have a voice and I can use it for the better, and if it can help influence people to go out and vote'

Lucy Liu is Womens Healths May 2021 cover star

She added that Asian Americans historically haven't voted at the same rate as white Americans, saying: 'We don't think our voices matter, and they do.'

Lucy also touched on being one of very few Asian American household names in Hollywood and how unaware she was about the rest of the world's perception of her.

She said: 'When people started to label it as 'dragon lady' or 'geisha' or whateverI had to look up 'dragon lady,' she says. 'I literally was like, 'What is this? I don't even know what that means!' '

On listening to what is true for her in the moment she said: 'I do what I want according to how I feel. I don't have to fall into a social norm of 'now you're going to get married.' No!

'Not because I'm rebelling against it. When it's right, it's going to be right. But I'm not going to do it for the sake of doing it. Marriage is not on my bucket list. I don't have a bucket list.'

Fashionista: Lucy also looked great posing in a white dress that was teamed with a statement rope-style belt

It comes after Lucy joined the cast of Shazam! Fury Of The Gods as a villain in the DC comic book adaptation.

This big budget studio sequel already stars Zachary Levi, Adam Brody, Jack Dylan Grazer and Oscar winner Helen Mirren.

As reported by Variety, Lucy will play a character named Kalypso, the villainous sister of Helens supervillain character Hespera.

Brave: Speaking to the publication Charlie's Angels star Lucy also discussed how she had a desire to not live her life to please others

The film will be a sequel to 2019s Shazam! and in the same universe as Black Adam, currently filming and starring Dwayne Johnson.

Shazam! follows the adventures of a kid who is bestowed magical powers upon the utterance of the word Shazam, which turns him into a hulking musclebound superhero played by Zachary Levi.

Like Mirrens Hespera, Lius Kalypso is not exactly found in the DC comic books, and should not be confused with a difference baddie named Eclipso.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

The sewage network and conveyance line construction project on Al Fateh Street from Juffair to Al Ghuraifa has reached 16% completion rate.

According to the Assistant Undersecretary for Sanitation in the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Engineer Ibrahim Hassan Al Hawaj, the target date of completion is in November. Eng. Al Hawaj said the sanitation project is currently being carried out on Al Fateh Street as part of the preparatory work for the street development project.

About 150 metres have been completed using tunnelling, and 230 metres have been excavated by a drilling method in the open trench, in addition to completing the excavation work of the lift station and pouring the concrete foundations in it

He noted that the Ministry has put in place the necessary traffic diversion works to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Eng. Al Hawaj added that the project includes the construction of the main deep sewage line (Deep Trunk Sewer) and lines connecting to sewage in the areas of Juffair and Adliya.

The total length of these lines is 2.6 kilometres where 1.6 kilometres will be implemented in a digging method in an open trench. The remaining distance will be dug using Micro Tunneling machines, and one deep lift station will be constructed, and in return, five lift stations will be cancelled from service. The implementation phase will take 20 months.

The sewage network construction project aims to develop the main sewage line extending from Juffair to Al Ghuraifa and increase the capacity by building a new main conveyor line that is larger and deeper to accommodate the current and future flows that will be pumped into it from both regions.

It will contribute to relieving pressure on the existing sewage network in Juffair, in addition to connecting unserved areas to the sewage network in the area and part of Umm Al Hassam and Adliya for each of the blocks 324, 340, 341, 342, 338 and 339. The project was awarded by the Tender Board to the alliance of Nass and Nasser Hazaa Al Subaie Contracting with a value of BD2,283,274 funded by the Saudi Fund for Development.
CNN reporter Sara Sidner was confronted by a Minnesota demonstrator who accused her and the camera crew of 'twisting up the story' as they covered a crowd that gathered to protest the killing of Daunte Wright by a white police officer.

Wright, 20, an unarmed black man, was shot dead on Sunday by Brooklyn Center Officer Kimberly A. Potter who claimed she accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser during a traffic stop.

Protesters took to the street to demonstrate against yet another death of a black man at the hands of white police officers ahead of the one-year anniversary of George Floyd's murder and amid Derek Chauvin's trial. Chauvin is one of four police officers charged in Floyd's death.

Sidner, who has been with CNN since 2008, was speaking to the scene that showed police clashing with protesters and fireworks being set off behind her when the man came up and said: 'Yall be twisting up the story.'

In the clip, which now has more than 1 million views, Sidner asks the man: 'Tell me what you think about whats going on here.'

'What I think about this? Its all the press and all the extra sh*t yall do, makes this worse,' he responded.

CNN reporter Sara Sidner (right) was confronted by a Minnesota demonstrator (left) who accused her and the camera crew of 'twisting up the story' as they covered a crowd that gathered to protest the killing of Daunte Wright by a white police officer

In the clip, which now has more than 1 million views, Sidner asks the man: 'Tell me what you think about whats going on here.' 'What I think about this? Its all the press and all the extra sh*t yall do, makes this worse,' he responded

Sidner tweeted about the interaction Tuesday morning, saying: 'These interactions happen to me OFF camera regularly'

Sidner (pictured) was covering the second night of protests in Brooklyn Center following Wright's death

He then accused them of trying to 'make people look all crazier than what the f**k they are'.

As the conversation continued, at one point the man asked: 'Do I look like Im scared? Yall need to get up out of here with all that twisting up the media.'

Sidner then suggested that they continue their conversation and even pulled out her phone to exchange numbers.

'You dont know me, but we are going to get to know each other,' she said.

But he suggested they may edit his comments out, saying they aren't being 'real'.

'We are live,' Sidner responded, to which the man said: 'You are not f**king live.'

He continued: 'I dont care if youre live or not. Get away from here.'

Sidner tweeted about the interaction Tuesday morning, saying: 'These interactions happen to me OFF camera regularly. I'm used to it. It just so happened this was on live TV. I also have interactions w people all the time who thank us for being here and telling their truth. It is okay to question us.'

She also told The Washington Post in an interview that she understands the man's frustration with reporters.

'People have valid concerns about that, especially if youre just showing up to show the negative side of something, or not making an effort to get to know people in the community,' she said.

Sidner was covering the second night of protests in Brooklyn Center following Wright's death.

According to a tweet from Operation Safety Net, a group of local entities tasked with ensuring the safety of the public during Chauvin's trial, protesters were launching projectiles at police Monday night.

'Crowds are launching bottles, fireworks, bricks and other projectiles at public safety officials at the Brooklyn Center Police Department. They are also trying to shine lasers into officers and troopers eyes,' OSN tweeted late Monday night.

Daunte Wright (left), 20, an unarmed black man, was shot dead on Sunday by Brooklyn Center Officer Kimberly A. Potter (right) who claimed she accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser during a traffic stop

According to a tweet from Operation Safety Net, a group of local entities tasked with ensuring the safety of the public during Chauvin's trial, protesters were launching projectiles at police (pictured) Monday night

By the end of the night, police had arrested at least 40 demonstrators.

The pressure built Tuesday to fire Officer Potter for shooting Wright during an altercation after a traffic stop, an incident that authorities said was a tragic mistake.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting in his city 'deeply tragic' and called for the officer to be fired.

Elliott, the city's first black mayor, announced Monday night that the City Council had fired the city manager and voted to give his office 'command authority' over the police force.

'We're going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole,' Elliott said.

The city's police chief has said he believes Potter, a 26-year-veteran, mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body-camera video shouting 'Taser! Taser!'

Wright's father, Aubrey Wright, told ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday that he rejects the explanation that the officer accidentally fired her handgun instead of her Taser.

'I cannot accept that. I lost my son. He's never coming back. I can't accept that. A mistake? That doesn't even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I can't accept that,' he said.

Wright's family planned to speak out again Tuesday alongside the family of George Floyd at the courthouse where the trial is being held for Chauvin.

Protests erupted for a second night following Sunday's shooting, heightening anxiety in an area already on edge as the Chauvin trial progresses. Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck.

A demonstrator heckles authorities who advanced into a gas station after issuing orders for crowds to disperse during a protest in Brooklyn Center Monday night

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest in Brooklyn Center Monday night

A demonstrator raises their hand while facing off against a perimeter of police as they defy an order to disperse during a protest in Brooklyn Center on Monday

Chauvin and three other officers were fired the day after Floyd's death. Potter was placed on administrative leave while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates Wright's death.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon on Monday would not say whether she would be fired, saying she was entitled to due process.

'I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning,' the chief said.

Now-former City Manager Curt Boganey, speaking to reporters before he was fired, declined to say whether he believed the officer should be fired and that she would get 'due process.'

Gannon released body camera footage of the shooting, less than 24 hours after it happened.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter can be heard saying. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying: 'Holy (expletive)! I shot him.'

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Brooklyn Center after nightfall Monday, and hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor.

When the protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.

A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

Forty people arrested at Monday night's protest, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said at a news conference early Tuesday. In Minneapolis, 13 arrests were made, including for burglaries and curfew violations, police said.

Daunte Wright's mother, Katie, eulogizes her son at his vigil, on Monday as the community responded to the police killing of 20-year-old Wright, with hundreds joining his family

A display of candles and flowers spells the name of Daunte Wright at a protest over his death in Seattle, Washington

A Washington state resident lights a candle during a vigil following the fatal police shooting of Wright

About 40 people gathered Monday at Mill Creek Park in Kansas City, Missouri, to protest the death of Daunte Wright

Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years.

In 2000, more than 70 per cent of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino.

Elliott, the mayor, immigrated from Liberia as a child. On Monday night, he was joined by Keith Ellison, the states first Black attorney general, in addressing protesters not far from police headquarters - telling the demonstrators to use their voices but remain safe.

'We are going to get to the bottom of this, we are going to make sure that theres justice, that there's officers held accountable,' Elliott can be heard telling protesters on video posted by a reporter for Minneapolis television station KARE.

The body camera footage showed three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When another officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins, followed by the shooting. Then the car travels several blocks before striking another vehicle.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office said in a statement.

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars.

Wright's death prompted protests in other US cities, including in Portland, Oregon, where police said a demonstration turned into a riot Monday night, with some in the crowd throwing rocks and other projectiles at officers.
A private equity firm plans to acquire Enverus, the Austin-based global energy research firm.

After the deal closes this year, San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman will have majority ownership of Enverus, which has been majority-owned by San Francisco-based Genstar Capital since 2018. Genstar will remain a significant shareholder after the transaction.

The investment from H&F and continued partnership with Genstar will enable Enverus to accelerate our development of market-leading software and analytics solutions for companies that serve the energy industry, Enverus CEO Jeff Hughes said in a statement. The investment is a strong signal in support of Enverus growth in predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. We will continue helping our oil and gas customers break new ground with these technologies while also aggressively expanding them into renewable energy, power and ESG Analytics.

RECOVERY: Rig count rises slightly as oil prices dip

Enverus has more than 1,400 employees serving 6,000 customers in the energy industry, including 21 of the largest energy companies. The company provides data analytics and other software technologies to energy clients, including partnering with oil-field services firm Baker Hughes to provide the weekly rig count.

Goldman Sachs & Co. served as financial adviser to Enverus and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as legal advisor to Enverus. Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to H&F.
April 13 : Ugadi 2021, the beginning of a new age is on April 13 Tuesday. Ugadi - traditional new year of Telugu people and Kannadigas is celebrated on the first day of the Shukla paksha of the Indian month of Chaitra. In Maharashtra, this day is celebrated as Gudi Padwa or the Marathi New Year and is celebrated with a lot of gusto. Sindhis celebrate the day as Cheti Chand. Welcome Ugadi and the new year by sharing these Ugadi greetings, wishes and Whatsapp status.

Welcome Ugadi with hope, and positive minds

Look forward to making your dreams true

Happy Yugadi to you

Watch Ugadi 2021 WhatsApp Status Video!

Wishing that abundant love and luck fill your life

Wishing you a Happy Ugadi

Image Source: Prokerala.com Auspicious Ugadi celebration images

Image Source: Prokerala.com Happy Telugu New Year greetings

As we begin a New Year of life

I wish that you are blessed with success and happiness

Happy Ugadi

Image Source: Prokerala.com Wishing you a Happy Ugadi 2021

May Ugadi bring in peace and fortune into your homes

Have a blessed Yugadi

Image Source: Prokerala.com Ugadi Stickers for WhatsApp

Image Source: Prokerala.com Happy Yugadi 2021

Image Source: Prokerala.com Celebrate Yugadi digitally

Image Source: Prokerala.com Ugadi Facebook posts

Let happiness stay in your homes

Let good health be a part of you

Praying that your life be blessed this year

Happy Ugadi

May your darkness wipe away

May the light shine in your life

Wishing that you have a splendid Ugadi
Vietnams biggest city has become an increasingly important hub for drug smugglers who are resorting to extremely sophisticated and cunning tricks, a senior drug crime investigator says.

The factors that make the city an attractive transit point in drug trafficking were repeated at a Tuesday meeting by Major General Nguyen Van Vien, head of the Ministry of Public Security's Drug Crime Investigation Department (C04).

He said the distance to transport drugs from the border to the city was short and it was convenient to send it to other places, both in Vietnam and abroad.

The result has been that drug crime has developed most complicatedly in southern Vietnam, particularly HCMC and the area along the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

Drugs typically enter Vietnam via three main routes: from the "Golden Triangle" through the Vietnam-Cambodia border into southern localities, including HCMC; from the triangle into Laos and north-central localities; and from Cambodia into the Central Highlands.

The area where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers is called the "Golden Triangle." But the term is more commonly used to refer to an area of approximately 950,000 square kilometers (367,000 square miles) of mountains straddling the three countries. For almost a century the "Golden Triangle" was the biggest source of heroin in the world until its position was recently usurped by Afghanistans "Golden Crescent."

"Once gathered in HCMC, the drugs are transferred via air routes, sea routes or simply through the post office to other nations," Vien said, adding that Eastern Europe has emerged among the most popular destinations via flights.

Drug lords never get directly involved in the trafficking but recruit and guide traffickers from afar via different social media platforms, using code language and other signals to communicate, he added.

Investigations have confirmed that cartels are connected across nations and well armed.

They also deploy tricks that are "extremely sophisticated and cunning," including hiding drugs in food, granite blocks and car engines.

Most recently, police detected narcotics being transported in an auto with a logo of the Vietnam Television channel.

Last November, the C04 launched an operation to work with police forces in 18 cities and provinces, including HCMC and those in the south and central and Central Highlands regions, to tighten control over drug crimes.

After three months, the operation identified 106 major drug smuggling routes and 169 areas that are "most complicated" in drug trading and transporting.

More than 590 kg of synthetic drugs, 65 kg of heroin, 3.4 kg of cocaine were seized and more than 1,660 suspects were arrested in HCMC and along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, the meeting heard.

In the coming time, the C04 will strengthen cooperation with other units under the Public Security Ministry, border guards, customs and coast guard forces to further tighten control on drug crimes towards ensuring that Vietnam will not become an international drug transit hub at any cost, Vien said.

Investigators will also focus on hotspots where drugs are normally consumed and traded, like bars, pubs and karaoke parlors as well as locations that dealers stay in, like resorts and apartment buildings.
The UN rights chief warned Tuesday Myanmar could be spiralling towards a "full-blown" Syrian-style conflict, after a two-month crackdown that a local monitoring group says has already claimed more than 700 lives.

Myanmar is in chaos and its economy has been paralysed since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Warning of possible crimes against humanity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday urged countries to take immediate action to push Myanmar's military to stop its "campaign of repression and slaughter of its people."

Daily rallies across Myanmar have been met with live rounds.

At least 710 civilians have been killed as of late Monday, including 50 children, according to a local monitoring group.

"I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict," Bachelet said in a statement.

"There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011," she warned, referring to the start of a civil war that over the past decade has killed nearly 400,000 people and forced more than six million to flee the country.

In recent weeks, several of Myanmar's ethnic rebel groups in some lawless border territories have stepped up attacks on the military and police, raising fears of a broader civil conflict.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said Myanmar's conflict could spiral into one like Syria's /  AFP/File

The military has retaliated with air strikes, which the Free Burma Rangers -- a Christian aid group working in the area -- said have displaced more than 24,000 civilians in Karen state by Saturday.

The Rangers, which runs a health clinic in the state, said air strikes had killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 40.

The area is remote and communications are difficult, and AFP has not been able to independently verify the deaths.

Villagers in some areas were unable to prepare their rice crops because of fears the military would shell them in their fields, the aid group said.

"They are afraid they will have no rice harvest next fall," it said in a statement.

Military attacks sent a few thousand people fleeing into neighbouring Thailand in recent weeks, but most have returned to the Myanmar side of the border.

In Yangon, authorities are hunting those responsible for an underground newsletter titled "Molotov".

The publication was started by a group of young activists to fight ongoing internet outages and information suppression.

"The Molotov journal is illegally published," the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said, adding that legal action would be taken against those involved.

At a military tribunal in the city, seven protesters accused over the murder of a suspected informer were sentenced to death, state media said Tuesday. Three of the demonstrators were tried in absentia.

Anti-coup protesters have adopted the three-finger salute from the dystopian "Hunger Games" movies /  DAWEI WATCH/AFP

The junta also announced Tuesday that dozens more people had been added to an arrest warrant list of 260 celebrities, doctors and ordinary citizens.

Many are accused of spreading dissent against the military, while medical professionals are wanted over their work at private clinics, which have taken in injured protesters, according to state media.

Meanwhile, in northwestern Sagaing region, a couple were shot dead while delivering milk after junta troops stormed the town of Tamu, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a local monitoring organisation.

- Cancelled water fights -

With violence raging, many in coup-hit Myanmar are vowing to mark this week's Buddhist New Year festival with protests rather than the traditional water fights.

Some protesters say it would be disrespectful to enjoy the Thingyan holiday period when so many have lost their lives and around 3,000 people are detained.

Last year's festivities were also called off because of pandemic restrictions.

Protesters march with flower pots in Dawei, Myanmar /  DAWEI WATCH/AFP

In parts of Yangon, Monywa and Bago, protesters observed Thingyan Tuesday by painting pots with pro-democracy messages and placing them on streets with flowers inside.

"Fight for democracy," a sign sticking out of a line of pots said in one Yangon township.

Others said, "Never give up".

"We are not having normal celebrations. Even though it is festival time right now, we cannot have fun. We will not be happy until this dictator is overthrown and we will revolt until then," a university student in Mandalay told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the danger of arrest.

Another protester named Ray in Yangon said the pots were a way to welcome the new year and "honour fallen heroes".

In Mandalay, people placed the pots and flowers on a golden stupa, with signs showing the three-fingered salute that has become a symbol of resistance.

Young people in cities nationwide continued to take to streets Tuesday, some marching with flowerpots.
Washington: The Morrison government hopes to use a summit next week organised by US President Joe Biden to repair the damage caused to Australias global reputation by a decade of infighting over climate policy.

Australias ambassador to the United States Arthur Sinodinos said he had spoken to John Kerry in recent days and told the US climate envoy that Australia wants to work closely with the US to promote global investment in low-carbon technologies.

Arthur Sinodinos, Australias Ambassador to the United States of America, at his residence in Washington, DC.

Asked whether Australia has an image problem on climate among Democrats in Washington, Sinodinos said: Its true to say that because weve had the climate wars  with three or four prime ministers losing their jobs  they see this has been a politically fraught issue for us.

But we use that fact as a chance to explain why weve taken the approach we have to climate change and why policies such as carbon pricing and carbon taxation have fallen by the wayside.
Chadwick Boseman is honored by his peers in Netflix's Portrait of an Artist, a documentary about the venerated actor in the wake of his death last summer from colon cancer.

Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Spike Lee and Danai Gurira are among the actor's peers who appear in the doc and remember the legacy he left in his career on the silver screen.

In the trailer, Boseman is heard speaking about how he looked at his craft: 'I'm Chadwick Boseman. I'm an artist - people call me an actor. I wouldn't necessarily call myself an actor. I would call myself an artist.'

The latest: Chadwick Boseman is honored by his peers in Netflix's Portrait of an Artist, a documentary about the venerated actor in the wake of his death last summer from colon cancer. The late actor was snapped in LA in 2019

Davis, who worked with Boseman in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - which they both received Oscar nods for - opened up about the intensity the late actor brought to his scenes.

'You know you have to step up when you're in his presence,' Davis said. 'He's looking at your work and he's really hyperfocused, on the craft, on the process. That's Chad.'

Phylicia Rashad, who taught Boseman acting at Howard University, said the late actor 'was not going to limit his experience of growth and learning because of cultural differences.'

Lee, who directed Boseman in Da 5 Bloods, said that the actor brought 'this weight' and 'aura' to his roles.

Also appearing in the special are 42 director Brian Helgeland, Marshall director Reginald Hudlin, New Federal Theater Director Woodie King Jr., and Ma Raineys Black Bottom collaborators Branford Marsalis, Andile Nebulane, Taylour Paige, Tate Taylor, Glynn Turman and George C. Wolfe.

Viola Davis said of the late actor, 'He's looking at your work and he's really hyperfocused, on the craft, on the process - that's Chad'

Boseman's Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira is among the ensemble of artists who participated in the doc

Lee, who directed Boseman in Da 5 Bloods, said that the actor brought 'this weight' and 'aura' to his roles.

Boseman, best known for his role as King TChalla in Black Panther, also starred in movies like 42, Marshall, Get on Up and Draft Day.

The actor, who died August 28, 2020, was diagnosed with stage three cancer in 2016, and underwent 'countless surgeries and chemotherapy' in his battle with the disease, his family said, adding that he 'died in his home, with his wife and family by his side,' adding that 'it was the honor of his career to bring King TChalla to life in Black Panther.'

Phylicia Rashad, who taught Boseman acting at Howard University, said the late actor 'was not going to limit his experience of growth and learning because of cultural differences'

Signature role: Boseman, best known for his role as King TChalla in Black Panther, also starred in movies like 42, Marshall, Get on Up and Draft Day

Boseman is posthumously nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards April 25 for his performance as Levee.

His work in the motion picture has already garnered him a Golden Globe Award, Critics Choice Award, Gotham Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Portrait of an Artist is set to debut on Netflix April 17 at 3 a.m. ET/12 a.m. PT, and stay on the streaming service for 30 days.
Key Highlights Offered in the 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.

Request 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 Wireline Logging Services market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Wireline Logging Services 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.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers.

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 Wireline Logging Services 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 Wireline Logging Services suppliers listed in this report:

This Wireline Logging Services procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Schlumberger Ltd.

Halliburton Energy Services Inc.

Saipem Spa

Transocean Ltd.

Baker Hughes Co.

Fluor Corp.

Weatherford International Plc

Petrofac Ltd.

Seadrill Ltd.

China Oilfield Services Ltd.

Related Report on Professional Services Include:

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

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Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

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SOURCE SpendEdge
5 Things to Ask a Car Insurance Agent

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(Photo : 5 Things to Ask a Car Insurance Agent)

You've got your new (or new-to-you) car picked out, and you're ready to hit the road for your inaugural drive. But wait! First you need to get the car insured.

While shopping around for insurance tends to be less fun than shopping for your new set of wheels, investing in the best car insurance is worth the time and energy.

Taking the time to find the best plan will help you protect your car and your bank account.

It's a smart move to study for a meeting with a car insurance agent the way you would a test. Essentially, that means the more prepared you are, the better results you'll get. Use this guide as a reference the next time you connect with a car insurance agent so you can make the most informed choice.

What is car insurance?

When you buy auto insurance from an insurance agency, you're entering into an agreement with them to protect your vehicle. On your end, you pay a monthly premium. On their end, they provide financial coverage.

Auto insurance typically covers medical, property and liability costs in the event of accidents, theft and other events that damage your vehicle.

Different Types of Car Insurance

Car insurance comes in many forms, and most insurance plans include a combination of various types of coverage.

Liability insurance - legally required insurance that covers your legal obligation to others for property damage or bodily injury

Property coverage - covers costs associated with property damage, whether yours or someone else's, that occurs as a result of an accident

Medical coverage - covers medical expenses related to a car accident

Other types of coverage include collision coverage, comprehensive or full coverage insurance, uninsured or underinsured driver coverage, and personal injury insurance.

How to Get Car Insurance

The start-to-finish process of finalizing an insurance contract will depend on which company you go with, but you can't go wrong if you follow this general outline:

Research how much liability coverage is mandated by government guidelines where you live. Different states require different coverage limits.

Figure out how much coverage you need -- it may be beyond the minimum required by law. You may have a brand new, expensive car that should have more coverage.

Shop around for plans in your area using a car insurance quote comparison service. You can easily compare insurance rates online.

Get in touch with an insurance agent at the company offering the plan that looks best to you. Find out what discounts you're eligible for and which companies offer those discounts.

Connect with multiple agents at multiple companies if you have your eye on more than one plan. Compare the same plan to make sure the price is actually comparable.

What to Ask When Talking to a Car Insurance Agent

There are a million questions you could ask a car insurance agent. But these are some basic questions that will help you understand exactly which plan you need and what you're getting out of the plans you're being quoted for.

Be sure to ask any questions that come across your mind throughout the conversation, of course. It's best to have the utmost clarity on what you're signing up for before you agree to any contract.

Question 1 - Do I have the right amount of coverage?

Most states in America set a minimum liability coverage requirement. Minimums vary by state, but liability coverage typically includes damage to vehicles, injuries from car accidents, death, property damage and any legal fees incurred from an accident.

Once you've determined which plan covers the bare minimum, your agent can help you decide if you want or need additional coverage. For example, if you're a college student, you may need different coverage than if you're an older, retired driver.

If you finance or lease your car, the lender or dealership may require a certain type or amount of coverage. Ask your agent to give an estimate of how your add-ons, like collision, comprehensive or personal liability insurance, will look tacked on to your premium.

Make sure you clear up what you'll pay out-of-pocket with each option as well.

Question 2 - Why is my premium so high?

Car insurance can definitely be expensive. There are some factors affecting your premium that you may not be able to or want to change, like where you live or the type of vehicle you drive.

But whether or not you think your premium is too high, or you already have an understanding of what's affecting it, it's still worth knowing the specific details that factor into your premium quote.

Ask your agent to explain exactly what determines your premium. You never know; perhaps there's something on your driving record you can take a step to fix. Or there may be specials on certain plans that fit better into your budget. For example, college students can save on car insurance by asking for specific discounts.

Question 3 - What discounts do I qualify for?

You want adequate coverage without having to skimp on any necessities, but you probably also have a specific budget in mind. Be sure to ask your car insurance agent what types of discounts they offer. Maybe your employer or university works with certain insurance agencies, or you go with the insurance plan that offers a good grades discount.

As always, the best way to get the lowest price is to maintain an impeccable driving record by driving cautiously and obeying traffic laws, keeping an eye on your credit and researching which insurance agencies provide the cheapest coverage where you live.

Question 4 - What does my plan cover?

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it's perhaps the most important question to ask. Having clarity here is important for those times when you actually have to use your insurance. Does your plan come with roadside assistance if you get a flat tire or locked out of your car?

What happens when you get into an accident? How much will you pay out of pocket for your deductible? If your car needs to be repaired, does your insurance company pay for a rental? Are there limits on coverage and if so, what are they?

It's also worthwhile to know how to file an auto insurance claim with your insurance provider before you ever actually have to. Knowing your policy inside and out will ensure you're prepared in times of stress, like if you get into a fender bender or experience a car theft.

Question 5 - Does the policy cover gap coverage?

Gap coverage refers to insurance that will pay for the whole value of the car, even if your car is worth less than what you owe on it. This is standard for leased vehicles, but you may want to consider it if you have a car loan as well, which is fairly common.

This type of coverage ensures you're not stuck with the bill if something happens to a vehicle you owe more on than it's actually worth.

See Now: Facebook will use AI to detect users with suicidal thoughts and prevent suicide

 2017 University Herald, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TN Woman Stopped in Caldwell Co. In Stolen Truck

By West Kentucky Star Staff

A Tennessee woman was arrested on multiple charges in Caldwell County Friday.



The Caldwell County Sheriff's Office said deputies received information from the Gallatin, TN Police Department about a woman possibly in the area driving a stolen pickup truck. A deputy spotted the stolen vehicle Friday afternoon and conducted a traffic stop.



During the stop the deputy confirmed that the truck was stolen out of Gallatin, TN, and the suspect's operator's license was suspended. Twenty-year-old Shelby Ray of Portland, TN was arrested and charged with receiving stolen property $10,000 or more, fugitive from another state and operating on a suspended or revoked operator's license.



Ray was also served a Hopkins County District Court complaint warrant for forgery, two counts of theft by deception under $500 and theft by unlawful taking or disposition gasoline under $500. She was lodged in the Caldwell County Jail.

CALDWELL COUNTY -
The Albany County Health Department in New York said it would provide Pfizer doses for a Johnson & Johnson clinic on Tuesday at a local university. The chief public health officer in Detroit said people who had appointments for a Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a city-run site would be allowed to keep their times and receive a Pfizer or Moderna shot. And officials in New Hampshire, who had planned to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday at clinics and for homebound patients, said they were working to find Pfizer or Moderna doses to use instead.

This news will not slow down New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. While the federal government has directed a brief pause in the J&J vaccine, the state is already working with our partners to ensure that they have an alternative supply of Pfizer or Moderna to help continue their efforts today.

But in some places, there was no immediate alternative. In Aurora, Ill., a mass vaccination clinic planned for Tuesday was called off, leaving 1,000 patients without appointments. In Riverside County, Calif., mobile clinics that had planned to vaccinate about 400 people in less populous areas on Tuesday were canceled. And in rural Jefferson County, in southeast Iowa, a Johnson & Johnson clinic targeting manufacturing workers was scrapped at the last minute.

It was so heartbreaking to me, said Christine Estle, the countys public health nurse administrator, who said she and her colleagues had encouraged the roughly 140 people scheduled to attend to make appointments at local pharmacies or hospitals.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine had long been seen as a key to the countrys vaccination effort because it requires only one shot, unlike the two-dose Moderna and Pfizer regimens, and because it can be stored more easily. In cities around the country, public health experts had begun using the vaccine in places where hesitancy about one shot  much less two  is high.

I just want to do everything we can to have those people who signed up for appointments still come for them with Pfizer or Moderna, said Dr. Allison Arwady, the Chicago public health commissioner, who said she worried that the pause would undermine vaccine confidence and that she had already heard of skeptical patients asking whether the other shots were safe.

Dr. Arwady said her department had been using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to reach people who might otherwise be unlikely to seek one out by offering it at workplaces, churches and even along bus lines.
Hong Kong: LegCo poll changes explained

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today said 20 seats in the Legislative Council will be returned from 10 geographical constituencies under the new electoral system.

Mrs Lam unveiled the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 at a press conference this afternoon.

According to the amended Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law which were adopted by the National People's Congress Standing Committee, LegCo will consist of 40 members from the Election Committee constituency, 30 from the functional constituencies and 20 from the geographical constituencies.

The 20 geographical constituency members will be returned by the double seats and single vote method from 10 geographical constituencies across the city, with five in the New Territories, three in Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island.

Mrs Lam explained: When the number of directly elected geographical constituency members in the Legislative Council is down to 20, we are required to look at how we organise district-based elections in Hong Kong and try to come up with these 10 districts, each to return two members into the Legislative Council.

So an easy way to do it is to merge the much smaller constituencies that made up the District Council elections and also (to) take into account the size of the population.

We are following the established rule that is within a range, it will not have a district which is too huge, too large (or) another one which is too small. So that is the basis.

The seventh term LegCo elections will take place on December 19, the Chief Executive added.

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Overcast with showers at times. High near 80F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
BARCELONA, SpainAdvertising packager ExoClick has released what it describes as a "comprehensive guide" for those looking for success in the world of online dating sites, "The Advertisers Ultimate Guide to Dating Traffic."

Available as a downloadable PDF, the guide contains network business intelligence statistics, ad format CTRs, ideas for clickable creatives, optimization techniques and tips from dating industry experts. The guide covers:

 Why is dating big business? Industry statistics, different types of dating offers and payout types

 Getting creative to seduce the audience: Tips from ExoClick account managers

 Campaign Optimisation explained: A dating offer case study using Native that generated an ROI of 33.25 percent using only ExoClicks automation tools

ExoClick is also offering the following traffic sources:

 Email Clicks: Email marketing to dating site members explained; volumes; top GEOs; and an optimisation tutorial: 5 steps to a successful Email Clicks campaign

 Members Area traffic: How to reach active members of dating sites, dating site user profiles, Members Area specific ad formats: Menu Tabs and Back Button Offers and optimization tips.

 Free content sites (RON/Premium traffic): Various free content traffic sources explained; tips for reaching younger audiences through manga/anime and hentai sites; best performing ad formats: Fullpage Interstitial, Native, Video and Push; creative tips to generate higher CTRs and optimization techniques.

ExoClick's head of communication Giles Hirst stated, ExoClick's Ultimate Guide to Dating is filled with creative and optimization tips from dating industry experts to help advertisers find the right traffic source, right ad formats and right approach to generate significant revenues for their dating offers. The guide is designed to help both newbies and mid- to experienced advertisers maximize the effectiveness of their budgets.

Monetizing dating offers is big business because connecting with others is a basic human need, whether it is for friendship to a romantic hook up, to finding true love," Hirst added. "During the pandemic, the dating vertical has shown exceptional growth because of its ability to introduce people who can then go on to date virtually. This has opened up additional opportunities for advertisers to convert their dating offers.

The Advertisers Ultimate Guide to Dating Traffic can be downloaded here.
SmartBug assists its diverse portfolio of more than 140 clients in generating leads, increasing awareness, and building brand loyalty through inbound marketing, digital strategy, design, marketing automation, revenue operations and public relations. The company is consistently recognized for its high-caliber marketing work, earning it many prestigious accolades such as being named to the Adweek 100 twice, holding the most five-star HubSpot reviews and earning hundreds of Marcom Awards.

"We are incredibly proud that our marketing team has received this amazing recognition and humbled that we are the only agency on the list. This validates our approach to providing smart, data-driven marketing strategies that drive revenue growth," says SmartBug Founder and CEO Ryan Malone. "As a marketer, staying competitive requires agility, innovation and resilience, and the SmartBug team embodies all of these core traits when delivering some of the highest-quality full-service campaigns in the world."

Since Malone founded SmartBug as an innovative, fully remote agency in 2008, the company has experienced sustained growth  even through the global pandemic  expanding to more than 120 full-time employees across 40 states and in several countries. SmartBug invests in its people through programs and initiatives that promote professional development and a positive company culture , such as its quarterly Certification Days and annual SmartBugapalooza.

"I believe in the need to protect, nurture and develop employees in the same way I would my family," adds Malone. "We empower our employees from the bottom up to solve real challenges, become invested and ultimately have a positive impact on our company, which is why they are confident about the future success of SmartBug and are eager to recommend us to friends and peers as a great place to work."

Comparably's Best Marketing Teams list is based on sentiment ratings provided by current employees in marketing departments who anonymously rated their employers on Comparably.com within the past 12 months. Winners were determined based on employee feedback to a combination of workplace culture questions in nearly 20 categories, from compensation, leadership and co-workers to professional development opportunities, work-life balance and perks and benefits.

"SmartBug proves once again that it is one of the best companies to work for with a top-rated marketing team," said Comparably CEO Jason Nazar. "Employees have remained optimistic about the future success of the business, even amid the pandemic, which is a testament to the organization's leadership and strong all-remote culture prior to the global crisis."

The top 100 highest-rated organizations for Best Company Outlook in 2021 (segmented by top 50 large and top 50 small/medium businesses) are derived from sentiment ratings provided by current employees about how confident they feel about the future success of their company and how likely they are to recommend working at their company to a friend. All ratings were given during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 through March 2021), making the lists especially relevant for job seekers looking to find their next great place to work.

Comparably Awards are compiled from 10 million ratings across 60,000 U.S. companies. There are no fees or costs associated with participating, nor is nomination required. To see the full list of award-winning companies and to learn more about the methodology used to determine winners, visit Comparably's blog .

ABOUT COMPARABLY

Comparably (www.comparably.com) is a leading workplace culture and compensation monitoring site that provides the most comprehensive and accurate representation of what it's like to work at companies. Employees can anonymously rate their employers in 20 different workplace culture categories, providing the public a transparent and in-depth look at the experiences workers have based on their gender, ethnicity, age, department, experience, location, education, and company size. Since launching in 2016, Comparably has accumulated 10 million ratings across 60,000 U.S. companies. The platform has become one of the fastest-growing SaaS solutions for employer branding and a trusted third-party site for workplace and salary data, including its annual Best Places to Work series.

ABOUT SMARTBUG MEDIA

SmartBug Media is a globally recognized Intelligent Inbound marketing agency assisting businesses in growing revenue by generating leads, increasing brand awareness and building customer loyalty through content marketing, sales enablement, revenue operations, web development, marketing automation and public relations.

As HubSpot's 2018 Global Partner of the Year, SmartBug is the highest-rated HubSpot partner in the world today. The company has not only been named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies four years in a row, but it has also been named to the Adweek 100: Fastest Growing list twice and won a number of Great Place to Work and Comparably awards. With hundreds of awards for client work  and a team holding a combined 650 marketing certifications  SmartBug is fully dedicated to delivering client success and an unparalleled agency experience. For more information about SmartBug Media, visit smartbugmedia.com .

For SmartBug Media Inquiries, Contact:

Jennifer Tolkachev

SmartBug Media

949-236-6448 x865

jtolkachev@smartbugmedia.com

SOURCE SmartBug Media

Related Links

www.smartbugmedia.com


White House issues statement on J&J vaccine suspension: it will not have "significant impact" on vaccine rollout

The White House says that the FDA/CDC announcement calling for the temporary pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine "will not have not have a significant impact on our vaccination plan."

"Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date," said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator on the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, in a statement.

"Based on actions taken by the President earlier this year, the United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans. Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines.

"This is more than enough supply to continue the current pace of vaccinations of 3 million shots per day, and meet the Presidents goal of 200 million shots by his 100th day in officeand continue on to reach every adult who wants to be vaccinated. We are working now with our state and federal partners to get anyone scheduled for a J&J vaccine quickly rescheduled for a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine."

Form more on what is happening with the vaccination rollout follow out dedicated Covid-19 and vaccine in the US: live updates
Demi Rawling: An Interview + Review

First Fragrances

Demi Rawling, of YouTube perfume vlogging fame, launched her first perfume last autumn, a collaboration with the luxury niche brand, Fragrance du Bois, called MINUIT ET DEMI. The perfumer is Stephane Bengana.

I will freely disclose that I had never heard of Demi Rawling when I took this assignment because I do not watch any YouTube fragrance reviewers as a rule (although I did so as background research for this interview!); I prefer to read reviews, not view them. That said, after "meeting" with Demi via Zoom, I couldn't stop fangirling about her to my family and friends! Who she is on her videos is also who she is in person: an engaging, sincere, lovely young woman who is passionate about her subject area. Creating her own fragrance has made her even more knowledgeable not only about perfumes, but about the industry, ingredients, and perfumery in general.

BETH: Demi! I'm so glad to "meet" you! I know you're from Perth, Australia, so what are you doing, living in Dubai?! It sounds so exotic!

DEMI: Hey Beth! I was out of the country when the Covid-19 lockdown happened, and I couldn't get back home again. Flights were canceled and later restricted, and now it's hard to book anything because they are flying at lower capacity, and I don't get booked before the available seats fill up. So, for now, I'm living in Dubai with my boyfriend, Pierre.



BETH: How did you get started doing perfume reviews on YouTube?

DEMI: I originally began vlogging about cosmetics and lifestyle topics, but makeup was already oversaturated then. About three years ago, I discovered a few perfume vloggers such as Jeremy and Steven. I liked the perfume community, and it was natural for me to begin reviewing perfumes because I grew up with a broad exposure to fragrances because both of my parents wore them. It just worked out like that, and the perfume reviewing community wasn't as saturated then.

BETH: Tell me about your first fragrance, Minuit et Demi! Are there more to follow?

DEMI: [laughs] No, there are no more to follow. At least, I have no plans for that right now!

I'm a sucker for gourmands, and so I wanted something gourmand, but not just any gourmand: I wanted a refined, unisex, borderline gourmand. I didn't want it to be too sweet, but still addictive, soft, smooth, and with a close-to-the-body projection. I also didn't want anything too heavy, cloying, or synthetic. I love my fragrance! It has many of my favorite notes such as vanilla, caramel, coffee, tonka, cinnamon... I feel that I achieved what I set out to do: It is not punchy and in-your-face; it wears closely to the body, making it an intimate scent. On my skin, I get excellent longevity  about eight to ten hours. It's also a parfum, at 25% concentration, and contains lots of natural essences, which accounts for the cost...Besides the fact that Fragrance du Bois is a high-end, established luxury brand.

All of the bottles manufactured for the first release sold out in three days. My own mother still doesn't have one! [laughs] I was so pleased that it was well-received, which is why we did a limited first run: We just didn't know what to expect, especially with the global pandemic, etc.



BETH: Those are some of my favorite notes, too! I am excited to try it! What's next for you?

DEMI: While here in Dubai, I've been busy! I am in the process of launching a perfume business, but beyond revealing that, I can't say more right now! More details to come! But I can reveal that Minuit et Demi will be re-released on April 29, 2021!



********



Demi, thank you so much for speaking with me! I wish you all the best in your new and existing endeavors, and we look forward to more details on your forthcoming business announcement!

A few days after our hour-long conversation, the awaited perfume arrived, and I dug in earnestly! The packaging was beautifully presented: The top of the black velvet box (which came inside of another black box with a black sleeve on the outside of that) flips up to reveal the bottle resting in red satin. The bottle is a heavy black cube with black "gemstone" and gold accents. It feels nice in the hand  and that sprayer....!!! It sends out a fine cloud of mist, and it easily covers a broad surface. It might be my favorite spray mechanism in my entire collection.

The packaging is somewhat "goth" and "vampiric," and, in my opinion, all that black and bright cherry red does not match the scent. Even though I already knew the notes, I nevertheless expected a dark, incense-y, and moody-oudy rose fragrance to come out of that flacon. Instead, a warm, spicy, and lightly sweet fragrance filled my nostrils. However, this is not a concern in my mind because most of us would recognize that the vast majority of "regular" perfume wearers (not freaks like us) choose a perfume for how it smells, not for the look of the bottle. I'm merely noting the discordance I felt as one of the aforementioned "perfume freaks." (Put another way: People in our daily sphere will smell the perfume, likely without ever viewing the bottle.)

My view of the "mood" of the packaging!





To my mind, Minuit et Demi smells rather like the Danish concept of "hygge"  warm, cozy, comforting, homey... My head conjures pictures of candles, snuggling before a fire during a winter storm, and romance. (I am not sure I'd wear this in the summer heat, although I'll note that it has worn well in 70-degree temperatures.) I envision the fragrance with cream and cinnamon-brown tones, along with an autumnal red and light gold:

My vision of "Demi-hygge"! (Well, sorta.)

Enough about that  let's talk about the scent! I genuinely like Minuit et Demi! It smells good! Like, really good! Fantastic, even. It will easily be on my top shelf come fall and winter. I found myself reaching for it quite often on these cool and rainy spring days, and it is my belief that Demi achieved her stated objectives for her first fragrance: It is absolutely addictive and more!

The top and heart notes are clearly defined. The caramel keeps the spices from becoming overbearing, but boy, is it still plenty spicy! The cardamom wears the loudest, of course, but it doesn't bother me here (and it usually does precisely because it is so loud). There are more things going on besides the cardamom. The caramel and vanilla and a general muskiness are prominent, along with a pinch of tobacco and a splash of coffee. It's not particularly woodsy to me. I'm not sure if it's wishful thinking on my part or not because cinnamon is my favorite spice, but I do so want to fool myself that I can smell a bit of its heavenly goodness layered in the caramel and vanilla!

Despite the spiciness, this is a delicate scent. By that, I mean that it does not fill up a room, nor does it screech out "Look at me! I'm here!" It is intimate and personal and cozy, and I am drawn to those qualities about it. I'm amazed that something so spicy can simultaneously smell so light and airy! It is smooth and high-quality and decidedly not goth at all! I can also visually see its high concentration of oils: Every time I spray it, I am left with oily smears on the shoulders of the bottle, so (pro tip alert!) I apply that to my fingers with a dab of fragrance-free lotion and scrunch it into the tips of my curly hair!

NOTES

cardamom, pimento, bergamot

caramel, coffee

vetiver, cedarwood, cashmeran, vanilla, musk, Bourbon De Laire*



Now, in case you were wondering, dear reader, "Does it lean masculine or feminine?!" Let's face it: Some of us care about that; some of us don't. For those who want it addressed  I will classify it as a true unisex because it carries all elements that both men and women seem to "prefer" in their "own" fragrances. If I must delineate, then the beginning of the perfume is masculine-leaning, due to the spicy, aromatic elements. (Bergamot is a common top note in all scents, seemingly, and so can go either direction.) Further, over the course of the drydown (and the scent wears all day, progressively moving closer and closer to the skin), it becomes more feminine-leaning due to the caramel and vanilla, which stay dominant throughout.

That said, I polled my family and friends (none of whom knew who Demi was prior, nor are they perfume freaks), and to a person, they all deemed it feminine-leaning. Their commonly used descriptors were "sweet," "spicy," "yummy," "creamy," "light," and "kinda powdery." My car guy elaborated that, to him, it is a tiny bit too feminine, and he prefers to smell it on me, but he also recognized that among the below-40 age groups, gender is a bit more "fluid" (sorry if that's cliche; I lack a better term), and so it could be more accepted and worn across the board. (I will elaborate that it smelled drop-down gorgeous on his manly skin, and I wouldn't mind it at all if he wore it regularly! Perhaps men in my late-40's age group would appreciate it more on females rather than on their own skin, but this is a presumption on my part based solely on my car guy's comments.)

At any rate, Minuit et Demi was well-liked across the spectrum of those I polled; not one person was repelled by it or even said, "Meh, it's okay." My 78-year-old mother liked it, and she pretty much only wears florals. No one said it was too sweet or too powdery or too spicy or too anything, for that matter! If perhaps it feels a bit familiar and "not unique enough," therein lies its charm: It's universally liked and you won't offend anyone (if that matters to you) while wearing this friendly unisex gourmand. And in today's world, those traits can be elusive. Plus, you'll smell really, really good, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that! Isn't that why we wear perfume, after all?!



Minuit et Demi is currently sold out, but it can be purchased beginning April 29, 2021, on the Fragrance du Bois brand website.

*Bourbon De Laire is a proprietary Symrise base accord called "Tabac Bourbon," featuring notes of tobacco, vanilla, and cinnamon with a dash of liquor, which is how it has been entered into the database.


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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Two opposing evolutionary forces explain the presence of the two different colors of spotted salamander egg masses at ponds in Pennsylvania, according to a new study led by a Penn State biologist. Understanding the processes that maintain biological diversity in wild populations is a central question in biology and may allow researchers to predict how species will respond to global change.

Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are a widespread species that occur across the eastern United States and return to temporary ponds in the spring to reproduce. Female salamanders lay their eggs in clumps called egg masses, which are either opaque white or completely clear. Females lay the same color egg masses throughout their life, but it is unclear what causes the different coloration, or if either of these colors confers an advantage to the eggs--for example if one color is less obvious to predators.

"We usually think of evolution operating over hundreds or thousands of years, but in reality, the evolutionary processes at play in a system can influence each generation of animals," said Sean Giery, Eberly Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Penn State and leader of the research team. "In this study, we resurveyed ponds that were originally studied in the early 1990s, which gave us a unique opportunity to explore the evolutionary processes that shape the frequencies of the two egg mass color types, or morphs, that we see today."

Giery resurveyed a network of 31 ponds in central Pennsylvania, noting the color of salamander egg masses as well as environmental characteristics at each pond. The ponds were originally surveyed in 1990 and 1991 by then Penn State Professor of Biology Bill Dunson and his students. The new study appears April 14 in the journal Biology Letters.

The research team found that salamander population sizes and pond chemistry remained stable over the last three decades. When averaged across the region, the overall frequency of each egg color morph also remained the same--about 70% white egg masses in both 1990 and 2020--but in many cases the frequency within individual ponds changed drastically.

"At the scale of individual ponds, it's an extremely dynamic system," said Giery. "They don't just reach one frequency and stay there. By focusing on individual ponds rather than just the region as a whole, we could tease apart what is driving these changes in population frequencies. In this case, we found two opposing evolutionary processes--selection and drift."

The researchers uncovered strong signatures of an evolutionary process called genetic drift, which can result in morph frequencies changing due to chance. In small populations, drift is more likely to have a major effect, for example with one of the morphs disappearing entirely. As expected due to drift, the researchers found that the frequencies of each morph changed more dramatically in ponds with fewer egg masses.

"However, none of the ponds completely shifted to one morph or the other, which suggests something else might also be going on," said Giery. "We found that ponds at the extremes in the 1990s--with a high frequency of clear or a high frequency of white egg masses--became less extreme, shifting toward the overall mean for the region. This supports the idea that 'balancing selection' is operating in this system."

Balancing selection is a type of natural selection that can help preserve multiple traits or morphs in a population. According to Giery, one possible explanation for balancing selection in egg mass color is that the rare morph in a pond--regardless of the actual color--has an advantage, which would lead to the rare morph becoming more common. Another possibility is that the white morph has an advantage in some ponds while the clear morph has an advantage in others, and movement of salamanders between the ponds leads to the persistence of both morphs.

"Ultimately we found a tension between these two evolutionary processes, with genetic drift potentially leading to a reduction of diversity in this system, and balancing selection working to maintain it," said Giery.

The researchers are currently surveying egg masses in ponds outside of Pennsylvania to explore if morph frequencies differ in other regions and whether these evolutionary processes operate in the same way over a larger scale.

"Although we did not see a relationship between egg mass color and environmental characteristics in this study, it's possible that environmental characteristics at a larger scale might drive an optimal frequency for each region," said Giery. "By looking at a much larger scale, we can get a better idea of whether there are regional optimums and how they are maintained. Understanding the processes that maintain biological diversity may ultimately help us predict how wild animals will adapt in our changing world."

###

In addition to Giery, the research team includes Marketa Zimova at the University of Michigan and Dana Drake and Mark Urban at the University of Connecticut. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the University of Michigan Institute for Global Change Biology, and the Penn State Eberly College of Science.
A federal Canadian court in Ottawa, Ontario, has affirmed the decision of the Immigration Department to deny a former operative of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force entry into the North American country.

In what highlights how far the ripples of the atrocities of the defunct notorious police unit have travelled globally, the foreign government had rejected Olushola Popoola solely on the grounds that he used to be an operative of SARS.

Revealing the foreign governments damning position on SARS that may smear all its former operatives intending to travel to Canada, the court upheld the findings of the immigration department to the effect that the Nigerian Police Force, and the SARS in particular, have committed crimes against humanity from 2002 to 2015.

The judge, Sebastien Grammond, delivering judgment on Mr Popoolas case, held that by merely handing over suspects to the criminal investigation department despite knowing that they would be subject to human rights violations, the applicant without necessarily participating directly in the SARS crimes had made a significant contribution to the units atrocities.

The judge ruled, The main part of the IDs decision is devoted to the issue of whether Mr Popoola made a knowing and significant contribution to the SARSs criminal activity.

A finding that Mr Popoola engaged in crimes against humanity does not require proof that he personally tortured detainees  which he denies. Rather, his contribution to the organizations crimes must be assessed according to the test laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada in Ezokola v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 SCC 40, [2013] 2 SCR 678 [Ezokola].

In this regard, the ID considered that Mr Popoola voluntarily joined the Nigerian Police Force; that he spent five years with the SARS, a unit known for being especially brutal; that he admitted knowing about the prevalence of torture and mistreatment of detainees in the organization, although he tried to minimise its scope in his testimony; and that he resigned for personal reasons, not because he learned of human rights abuses. As to his contribution to the organisations crimes, the ID concluded as follows:

Since Mr Popoola reasonably knew that when he was a member of the SARS the suspects he handed over to the criminal investigation department would be subject to human rights violations, the tribunal finds this to be a significant contribution to the criminal purpose of the organization since he had the knowledge of what could befall the individual subject to investigation.

The court in the judgment delivered on April 8 and seen by PREMIUM TIMES, on Tuesday, dismissed Mr Popoolas application for a review of the Immigration Departments decision to deny him entry into Canada.

He sued the Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, as the sole defendant.

Popoolas case dismissed

But dismissing the suit, the court ruled that the Immigration Department had found him to be inadmissible to Canada because there are reasonable grounds to believe that he engaged in crimes against humanity while serving as a police officer in Nigeria.

He now seeks judicial review of his determination of inadmissibility. I am dismissing his application, because the decision-maker reasonably assessed the relevant factors for deciding whether Mr. Popoola made a knowing and significant contribution to the crimes committed by the Nigerian Police Force, the judge added

Ex-SARS operatives profile

The judgment, which gave the highlights of Mr Popoolas background, stated the applicant had completed his training and became a member of the Nigeria Police Force in 2002.

From 2002 to 2005, he was a member of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad [SARS] in Abuja. He was then transferred to the anti-robbery unit (not to be confused with the SARS) in Lagos until 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he returned to the SARS, this time, in Lagos.

In 2011, following the death of his father, Mr Popoola resigned from the Nigeria Police Force.

In his testimony, however, the police force never formally accepted his resignation and he had to continue reporting to work.

From 2011, he was deployed to Iju as an ordinary police officer. He was then promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 2015 after which he left the Force the same year.

In 2016, he left Nigeria for the United States.

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He then travelled to Canada, where he claimed refugee status.

His claim was suspended while his case was referred to the Immigration Division [ID] of the Immigration and Refugee Board for a determination of his inadmissibility.

IDs decision

On October 15, 2019, the ID found Mr Popoola inadmissible pursuant to section 35(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [the Act].

The ID reviewed the documentary evidence and found that the Nigerian Police Force, and the SARS in particular, have committed crimes against humanity from 2002 to 2015, the judge, Grammond, wrote.

The findings of the ID, according to the judge, is because mistreatment and torture of police detainees is endemic in Nigeria, for a number of reasons including corruption and impunity.

Extrajudicial killings are frequent. The SARS, in particular, is singled out in the documentary evidence as one of the most brutal units of the Force, the judge added.

Mr Popoola had approached the court after the Immigration Department (ID) of Canada, on October 15, 2019, found him inadmissible pursuant to section 35(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [the Act].

Personal participation in toture in crimes against humanity, requires no proof

The court observed that the main part of the IDs decision is devoted to the issue of whether Mr Popoola made a knowing and significant contribution to the SARSs criminal activity.

It also upheld the IDs finding that his personal involvement in the atrocities of SARS required no proof.

A finding that Mr Popoola engaged in crimes against humanity does not require proof that he personally tortured detainees  which he denies.

Rather, his contribution to the organisations crimes must be assessed according to the test laid out by the Supreme Court of Canada in Ezokola v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013 SCC 40, [2013] 2 SCR 678 [Ezokola].

In this regard, the ID considered that Mr Popoola voluntarily joined the Nigerian Police Force; that he spent five years with the SARS, a unit known for being especially brutal; that he admitted knowing about the prevalence of torture and mistreatment of detainees in the organization, although he tried to minimize its scope in his testimony; and that he resigned for personal reasons, not because he learned of human rights abuses.

In this regard, the ID considered that Mr. Popoola voluntarily joined the Nigerian Police Force; that he spent five years with the SARS, a unit known for being especially brutal; that he admitted knowing about the prevalence of torture and mistreatment of detainees in the organization, although he tried to minimise its scope in his testimony; and that he resigned for personal reasons, not because he learned of human rights abuses.

The court said it reviewed the IDs decision on a standard of reasonableness and noted that When performing such review, the court does not reweigh the relevant factors; this is the IDs role. 

To succeed, an applicant must show that the decision-maker made a significant error in the treatment of the evidence. It is not enough for an applicant to reiterate arguments rejected by the decision-maker,the judge added.

It said Mr Popoola was merely asking the court to give more weight to factors favouring him and to prefer his testimony to the documentary evidence.

Thus, he insists on the fact that he intended to leave the force in 2011, but that his resignation was never accepted and that, given Nigerias specific context, this meant that he has to continue reporting to work.

 He emphases his relatively low rank in the organisation. He argues that he spent most of his time with the Force in units other than the SARS, and that his five years with the SARS is a relatively short time. Lastly, he asserts that his contribution to the organizations crimes was not significant.

The judge noted that Mr Popoola had canvassed the same arguments before the ID, which rejected them.

Before me, Mr Popoola does not point to any serious mistake that would render the IDs decision unreasonable.

Moreover, according to section 33 of the Act, the ID was only required to find reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Popoola contributed to crimes against humanity. In my view, the ID reasonably applied the Ezokola test to Mr. Popoolas situation, the judge noted.

The court also dismissed the applicants argument that the ID breached procedural fairness by rejecting his testimony without providing adequate reasons.

As I mentioned above, the IDs reasons for preferring the documentary evidence to certain aspects of Mr. Popoolas testimony were adequate. Mr. Popoola also invokes the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres v Larocque, [1993] 1 SCR 471. That case involved a situation where an arbitrator refused to hear relevant evidence. This is quite different from the present case, where the ID heard Mr. Popoolas testimony, weighed it, and gave more weight to documentary evidence with respect to certain issues. This is not a breach of procedural fairness.

For these reasons, Mr. Popoolas application for judicial review will be dismissed, the court held.

SARS

SARS was disbanded in October last year following the popular #EndSARS protests against the police unit.

During the protests that went on for almost two weeks, Nigerians, mainly the youth, trooped to the streets demanding an end to police brutality perpetrated by the notorious police unit.

The unit was dreaded for extra-judicial killings and various inhuman treatments carried out by its operatives.

Following the #EndSARS protests, the police authorities proscribed the unit, while the government at both the federal and state levels subsequently set up judicial commissions of enquiry to investigate various cases of human rights violations and acts of brutality the men of SARS and other police units had been involved in.

The panels, which are expected to award compensation to victims and recommend erring police officers for disciplinary actions or criminal prosecution are still conducting hearing in most parts of the country.
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar took part in an online event of the British think tank The Henry Jackson Society and presented the Crimean platform.

Ukrinform reports this with reference to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

"The participants discussed the challenges amid Russia's aggression and the temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories, ways to support Ukraine by foreign partners. During the discussion, special attention was paid to the issue of Russia's escalation of the security situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border and in temporarily occupied Crimea," reads the report.

Bodnar noted that Russia concentrated a significant number of troops and equipment on Ukraines border, as well as increased its military presence in temporarily occupied Crimea.

The deputy minister thanked the foreign partners, in particular the Government of the United Kingdom, for clear signals of support for Ukraine.

"Ukraine remains committed to a political and diplomatic settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. At the same time, we will resolutely defend our sovereignty and territorial integrity in case of Russian invasion," Bodnar said.

Presenting the Crimean Platform, the Deputy Minister noted that it is a tool of the international component of the national strategy of de-occupation and reintegration of Crimea, which should be strengthened internally through the adoption of important legislative initiatives, implementation of social and economic development projects.

Bodnar also informed the participants about the main activities of the Crimean Platform: strengthening the international policy of non-recognition of the annexation attempt, maintaining and strengthening international sanctions against Russia, protection of human rights and freedoms, mitigation of other negative consequences of Russian occupation, including militarization of Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov for regional and global security and stability, including freedom of navigation, as well as economic and environmental threats.

iy
"A traditional private school might sit on a sprawling, leafy campus with hundreds, if not thousands, of kids separated into grade levels. The 'micro school' model turns this on its head, bringing students of all ages into the same classroom and using technology to cater the curriculum to each child's needs. Teachers serve as facilitators, rather than lecturers, and kids learn through projects, not memorization."

This movement into integrated, interdisciplinary learning is building momentum. The revolutionary High Tech High collective from California operate within this model, as does the San Francisco Bay-based network, Altitude School (previously AltSchool).

Tutors International has stated before that their approach to residential private tutoring incorporates elements of tradition and modernisation. Tutors International's residential private tutoring aims to promote all the best things about long-standing educational traditions  that is, the personal attention, the stability, and the academic excellence. They combine these features with more modern approaches, like highly personalised matches, the integration of mainstream resources where desired or appropriate, and a commitment to supporting each student's individual talents, hobbies and character. This combination of modern and traditional approaches to education is something that both residential private tutoring and the schoolhouse format can accommodate well.

Vanity Fair said the following of Tutors International's specialism:

"Bespoke tutoring is a kind of refurbished version of the 19th-century modelacademic enlightenment courtesy of erudite tutors. Among people with means, who live by the ethos that there's no problem that shouldn't be fixed if it can be, that education is just one more system that can be tinkered with, tailored, and fully optimized."

Although what Tutors International does may initially seem traditional, it is in fact cutting edge. The Puerto Rican job that requires a tutor to spearhead a micro school was listed by Tutors International two months before The Insider's article about the emerging micro school trend.

Tutors International is currently recruiting for a full-time residential private tutor for a family based north of Ponce in Puerto Rico.

The Client is seeking a tutor for their 9-year-old daughter. The family is also pioneering the idea of a local neighbourhood schoolhouse. The COVID-19 pandemic cut the child's Second Grade short, thus the family were inspired to establish a small-scale school. The micro school will need to be facilitated with the help of a high-quality experienced tutor. The complexity and responsibility of this residential private tutoring position requires a superbly organised individual with impeccable record keeping. The ideal candidate will seamlessly juggle a range of ages, levels of attainment and bilingual resources (English and Spanish), and must, therefore, have a keen eye for detail and an unrivalled dedication to the role.

Tutors International specialise in specific, tailored, and all-encompassing residential private tutoring, making this exciting position the perfect recruitment search for them. The uniqueness of this particular job is a testament to Tutors International's commitment to client needs, and their experience conducting global searches for the perfect tutor.

More information about the position and application process can be found at www.tutorsinternational.net.

Tutors International is getting more and more requests for private tutors who can provide highly individualised education, whether that be a neighbourhood micro school, or an educator who can integrate horse riding into the core curriculum. Ultimately, families are becoming increasingly disillusioned with traditional schooling, especially over the last year or so. Any families that would include themselves in that category, or are even just beginning to consider alternatives to full-time mainstream schooling, should get in touch with Tutors International.

About Tutors International

Tutors International provides an unparalleled tutoring service that matches the right tutor with the right child, in order for the student to fully reach their personal potential and academic excellence. Providing residential private tutoring for children of all ages at different points in their educational journeys, Tutors International is founded on a commitment to finding the perfect tutor to realise the specific goals and aspirations of each student. Tutors are available for full-time positions, after-school assistance, and homeschooling.

Founded in 1999 by Adam Caller, Tutors International is a private company based in Oxford, a city renowned for academic excellence. Our select clientele receives a personally tailored service, with discretion and confidentiality guaranteed.

Contact Details

Web: www.tutors-international.com

Email:[email protected]

Phone: +44 (0) 1865 435 135

Tutors International

Clarendon House

52 Cornmarket Street

Oxford

OX1 3HJ

UK

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1486514/Tutors_International_micro_school.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/699064/Tutors_International_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Tutors International
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The mayor of a small community in Arizonas copper corridor likes to think of Superior as a town with a mine, not a mining town.

Neither can be a reality if Congress passes a bill to rescind a land exchange for what would be one of the largest copper mining operations in the U.S.

Superior Mayor Mila Besich pushed members of Congress on Tuesday to oppose the bill, saying residents cannot fully realize plans for a community center, economic development and tourism that draws on its mountainous surroundings without the mine and its financial support.

Our strategy has always been that ore body is going to be mined at some point, and we need to be as smart as possible, and we need to actively participate in these very large and complex federal processes, she recently told The Associated Press. We are who we are, and mining belongs in this part of the state, whether we like it or not.

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Resolution Copper, a joint venture of global mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, was set to receive a parcel of land in the Tonto National Forest in mid-March. Then, the Biden administration pulled back an environmental review that triggered a 60-day clock for the land exchange so it can consult further with Native American tribes that hold the land sacred.

At least three lawsuits also are challenging the land exchange, approved as part of a must-pass defense bill in 2014. Democratic U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is sponsoring the bill to rescind the land exchange. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Democrat, has introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and the United Steelworkers union are among those who have touted the jobs that mining could bring and the revenue. The union also saw it as part of a solution to climate change in written testimony to the House Subcommittee for Indigenous People of the United States.

Copper is an important material that will play a key role in technologies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve efficiency in ways that are necessary for a future that mitigates the worst impacts of climate change, said the groups legislative director, Roy Houseman Jr.

Others are concerned about the amount of water the mine would use at a time when Arizona and the broader Southwest region are locked in a drought, potentially impacting aquifers and waterways.

How can this fit in Arizonas long-term future? said Shan Lewis, president of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona and vice chairman of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. The answer is it cant. Perhaps the mine can bring short-term jobs to the area but at what cost?

For Fawn Sharp, president of the National Congress of American Indians, there is no compromise that would allow mining and protect a site known as Oak Flat thats central to the spiritual and cultural wellbeing of Apaches. She said its unconscionable to suggest balance.

If we can monetize our spiritual health, if we can monetize that which the creator gifted us, if we can monetize our very identity, clearly that would create a path where Indigenous peoples would risk even surviving another generation, said Sharp, who also is president of the Quinault Indian Nation.

Besich said she cant refute what tribes hold sacred, just as tribes cant speak for Superior. She and several other mayors and elected officials wrote to President Joe Biden last month, saying theyre gravely concerned that delaying the copper mine will cause irreparable harm to the region and their way of life.

She said shes aware of the risks associated with mining, and the boom-and-bust nature of the industry, hence the focus on diversifying the towns economy.

So far, Resolution Copper has invested in the towns school, a community and business center, and advertising, Besich said. Without the financial boost from the mine, Superior will have a harder time building its reputation as a tourist spot, buying property, restoring buildings and keeping its residents at home.

This would really set us back probably two decades at this point if we had to start all over again, Besich said.
Around 45,000 investors in the now-defunct peer-to-peer lender RateSetter have had their accounts closed and their money returned after it was taken over by Metro Bank last August.

Customers began receiving emails from last Tuesday after the High Street lender in February gave investors two months' notice that it had bought 384million worth of loans in early February, said to be earning around 8 per cent a year.

However, some of the emails detailing the closure of investors' accounts only came through on Monday, with 19,000 withdrawal requests delayed last week.

RateSetter was snapped up by Metro Bank last August

One of these, seen by This is Money, said: 'On 2 April 2021, the investing side of RateSetter closed. Your money has been returned in full to your holding account.'

The closure of 45,000 accounts over the last week came as Metro Bank on Monday began offering RateSetter loans through its 77 branches for the first time since the 12million takeover last summer.

Consumers can borrow between 1,000 and 25,000 over a period of between one and five years.

Loans have been available online through RateSetter's website since last summer, with Metro Bank's own loans page still redirecting applicants to the website, but the announcement and the purchase of the 384million back book represent the next steps in the bank's integration of the platform.

Applicants need to be over 21 and be earning 12,000 a year or more. Personal loans have a representative APR of 4.9 per cent while loan rates start at 3.9 per cent. Borrowing 10,000 over five years through RateSetter would see borrowers back 11,004.60.

The best rate on the market is available through Cahoot, which charges a representative APR of 2.8 per cent. At that rate, a 10,000 loan would incur 718.40 in interest, costing 286.20 less over the five-year period.

While online borrowers will see little difference, the fact personal loans will now be funded from Metro Bank's balance sheet represents another nail in the coffin for the idea of lending funded by everyday investors.

RateSetter was the UK's largest peer-to-peer lending platform. It allowed everyday investors to earn returns by funding personal loans to individuals

RateSetter was the UK's largest peer-to-peer lending platform with more than 750,000 investors and borrowers, and was one of the few to be primarily funded by everyday investors.

However, as a result of the pandemic, it slashed the returns it paid investors in half last year before being snapped up by the bank, which was seeking to diversify its lending beyond mortgages.

Neil Faulkner, the chief executive of P2P comparison site 4thWay, told This is Money last year that 'the more closely a loan book matches that of typical bank lending, the more likely it is that the P2P lending business is going to be sold to a bank.'

He added: 'RateSetter arranged a lot of standardised, automated, unsecured personal lending, so it fits that bill.'

But the move represented the end of an era, particularly as RateSetter's chief executive, Rhydian Lewis, was one of the most bullish about the future prospects of retail peer-to-peer investing.

Of the other 'big three' UK lending platforms, Zopa has stepped back from its peer-to-peer roots after it launched its own bank, while Funding Circle closed its doors to everyday investors in order to be eligible to participate in government-backed coronavirus loan schemes.

Ravi Anand, the managing director of business lender ThinCats, told This is Money last year: 'For years RateSetter has been claiming it had a better funding model than banks, clearly it doesn't.

'P2P was a moment in time response following the financial crisis.

For years RateSetter has been claiming it had a better funding model than banks, clearly it doesn't. Ravi Anand, ThinCats

'The current coronavirus crisis is showing that alternative finance is relevant to those borrowers that the banks don't properly address, but lending capital needs to be at scale and stable which means sourced via a bank or through institutional capital.'

Metro Bank then bought loans funded by 45,000 investors this February for up to 384million, with those purchases completing from the start of this month.

Investors began to get access to their funds from 2 April, with sales completing as recently as Monday.

The email to 45,000 investors said: 'RateSetter launched over ten years ago and grew to be the UK's most popular P2P platform, attracting over three quarters of a million investors and borrowers.

'We are proud to have delivered an average annual return of 4.4 per cent, while our credit management and pioneering provision fund ensured nobody lost a penny of capital  a unique track record that we maintained throughout the current time of economic uncertainty and through to today.

'We wish our investors all the best for the future.'
Songs were a popular way to document the Civil War. Part of the lithograph cover of sheet music to Hymn of the Freedman." (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Listening to History: Songs of the Civil War and What We Can Learn

Throughout American history, our wars have either popularized or produced songs that remain familiar to us today.

The American Revolution brought us many songs, but only Yankee Doodle has stood the test of time. Sung to an old tune and written originally as a song of English derision aimed at Americans during the French and Indian War, patriots of the Revolution took the song for their own, changed the words, and proudly played and sang it in their encampments. Yankee Doodle remains the state song of Connecticut.

The Spirit of 76, as Archibald MacNeal Willards painting came to be known, is one of the most famous images relating to the American Revolutionary Warand therefore shows the important link between music and the American fighting spirit. (Public Domain)

The War of 1812 gave us our national anthem. World War I brought hits like Over There and Pack Up Your Troubles. American soldiers, sailors, and airmen in World War II knew the lyrics to such hits as Ill Be Home for Christmas, Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, Lili Marleen, and The White Cliffs of Dover.

The Vietnam War found more soldiers listening to music than singing it, but even then they had their favorites, like Barry Sadlers The Ballad of the Green Berets and protest songs like I-Feel-Like-Im-Fixin-to-Die Rag and We Gotta Get Out of This Place.

But surely the songs of the American Civil War top the playlist of titles still remembered today.

July 1863: The Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. The battle took place from July 1 to July 3, 1863. (Photo by MPI/Getty Images)

Music Goes to War

The commanders and generals of the Union and Confederate armies valued music. Most regiments sported brass bands, and singing around the fires in the camps was a favorite pastime of the soldiers of both North and South. Several times, when their lines were close together, the bands struck up tunes for men on both sides to enjoy.

Music woke the soldiers in the morning, called them to mess, and put them to sleep at night. Taps, for example, became popular after Union General Daniel Butterfield took an old version of the tune and shaped it into its present form. Taps was adapted by both the Union and Confederate armies, and it is played today at various military funerals and ceremonies honoring the dead.

Music woke the soldiers in the morning, called them to mess, and put them to sleep at night. A postcard showing a musician of the U.S. Army Cavalry during the Civil War, circa 1861. (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Abraham Lincoln once wrote to George Root, who composed more than 30 songs about the war, You have done more than a hundred generals and a thousand orators. Union General Phil Sheridan once said, Music has done its share, and more than its share, in winning this war, and was seconded in this opinion by Robert E. Lee, who stated, I dont believe we can have an army without music.

And much of that Civil War music became an enduring part of our cultural heritage.

An illustration of American composer George Frederick Root (circa 1870), who is most remembered for his Civil War songs The Battle Cry of Freedom (1862) and Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1865). (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Songs From My Childhood

When we were kids, my brother and I played Civil War along with some friends in the woods and fields near our house. Wed charge each other, shooting toy guns and throwing dirt clods and sticks at each other as bombs. Inside the house, wed line up armies of the Blue and the Gray, and have our plastic soldiers do battle by throwing some small objecta wadded-up piece of paper, a broken pencilat the enemy force, with the winner being the guy with the last soldier standing.

The cover of Songs of the War, circa 1865, written by Private Miles OReilly. (MPI/Getty Images)

One Christmas, our parents gave us two record albums: The Union and The Confederacy. Over and over again, we listened to these albums, learning the words not just to popular songs like the Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dixie but also to pieces unfamiliar to us, like The Invalid Corps and The Conquered Banner.

These albums also contained General Lees Farewell Address to his army and Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address. Repetition put both speeches into my mind, and I can still stumble through these addresses 60 years later.

Some have criticized these albums and the man who arranged the music, Richard Bales, as being inauthentic with their cantatas and orchestral pieces, but for my brother and me the songs on these records were platinum gold.

A Sad Story of War

We can see the enormous impact of music on those soldiers of long ago in an incident that took place in the winter of 18621863 at Fredericksburg, Virginia. In a booklet accompanying The ConfederacyI bought this boxed CD years ago at a library book salehistorian Bruce Catton describes the gathering one evening of some Federal bands on the banks of the Rappahannock River just across from the Confederate army: The Northern bands played Northern war songs, of courseJohn Browns Body, Rally Round the Flag, and the favorite tear-jerker of the sentimental Yankee soldier, Tenting Tonight.

Catton then describes how the Confederates called across the river, Play some of ours, and the Northern bands obliged by giving their adversaries Dixie, The Bonnie Blue Flag, and other Southern favorites.

But heres the part of this concert that always breaks my heart.

At the end of the evening, Catton tells us, all these bands broke into Home, Sweet Home.

Federals and Confederates tried to sing the song, which spoke of everything that they had left behindof everything that so many of them would never see againwhile the smoke of the campfires scented the winter dark and all the guns were cold. They tried to sing but they could not do it, because they all choked up and sat there with tears running down their tanned cheeks while the trumpets reminded them of what lay on the other side of war.

Tenderness

Like their Victorian counterparts in England, Americans in the mid-19th century were unabashedly sentimental. Home, motherhood, and children were celebrated in their poetry, stories, and songs. Because death was more familiar in that era when young and old often took their last breath at home, poems and songs about that subject, particularly about the passing away of a child, were also favorites.

The soldiers of the North and South were no different from their contemporaries. These roughened soldiers were touched not only by Home, Sweet Home but also by many other songs that bore them in their imaginations away from the battlefield and carried them home to loved ones.

Here, for example, is the beginning of a song particularly popular with Northern troops, George Roots Just Before the Battle, Mother:

Just before the battle, mother,

I am thinking most of you,

While upon the field were watching

With the enemy in view.

And heres the chorus:

Farewell, mother, you may never

Press me to your heart again,

But, oh, youll not forget me, mother,

If Im numbered with the slain.

Popular with Northern troops was Just Before the Battle, Mother. (Public Domain)

A Southern favorite was Somebodys Darling:

Somebodys darling, so young and so brave,

Wearing still on his sweet, yet pale face

Soon to be laid in the dust of the grave,

The lingering light of his boyhoods grace.

Somebodys darling, somebodys pride.

Wholl tell his mother where her boy died?

One of the themes used by both the North and South was that of a mothers love. The cover of the sheet music to The Conscript Mothers Song, 1861. (MPI/Getty Images)

Fusion

American blacks added to this rich exchange of music. Many former slaves fled during the war to what were called contraband camps in Washington, D.C. We have accounts of Abraham Lincoln visiting those camps, joining in their prayer services, and singing such spirituals with them as Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Free at Last, and Go Down Moses. Lincoln wiped tears from his eyes at the singing of Nobody Knows the Troubles Ive Seen.

Lithograph cover of sheet music to Hymn of the Freedman depicting African American soldiers of the Union 8th U.S. Colored Troops and their commanding officer, Colonel Charles W. Fribley, killed in the Battle of Olustee, Florida, on Feb. 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

In addition, by the end of the Civil War, nearly 200,000 African Americans had served in the Northern army and navy. They too sang these songs of freedom, introducing them to the white soldiers in other regiments.

One of the more popular songs among black and white troops of the Union armies was Kingdom Coming, or The Year of Jubilo as it was also called. Though rarely sung today because it was written in dialect, the song mocked Southern slave owners and celebrated freedom for slaves.

From the war there was born, I believe, the merging of black and white musical culture.

Learning From Our Musical Heritage

When I used to teach American history to seminars of homeschooling students, I had the students learn some of these songs as well as others from different periods of our past. I even considered teaching a course that would approach American history through song by listening, for example, to Sweet Betsy From Pike to study the movement of settlers westward or Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? as a kickoff to learning about the Depression. Kids love music, and it seemed a great way to approach the story of our nation, but I never followed through on this ambition.

Some more contemporary writers and performers have also given us marvelous songs about our past. Of these, Johnny Horton first comes to mind. His songs about our historyThe Battle of New Orleans, Johnny Reb, North to Alaska, Comanche, and otherscould be brought into the classroom and would help students understand and remember people, places, and events.

And the marvelous thing is that we live in an era when we can find all this music online. A few taps on the keyboard, and we can travel back in time to the War Between the States and listen to the Battle Hymn of the Republic, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, or Im a Good Ol Rebel.

Whether you want to help your young people deepen their knowledge of our American past or whether you yourself just want to go exploring our history, I can think of few better ways to accomplish these goals than by using music. Listen to the songs, read about them, their composers, and the times in which they were written and performed, and youll be off on a special American adventure.

Jeff Minick has four children and a growing platoon of grandchildren. For 20 years, he taught history, literature, and Latin to seminars of homeschooling students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author of two novels, Amanda Bell and Dust On Their Wings, and two works of non-fiction, Learning As I Go and Movies Make The Man. Today, he lives and writes in Front Royal, Va. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog.
LONDON  Darktrace, the British cyber security firm backed by tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, fired the gun on its $4 billion London listing on Monday, aiming to raise new funds to accelerate product development and strengthen its balance sheet.

The technology company, founded in 2013 in the university city of Cambridge, uses AI to understand IT networks and detect attacks by identifying unusual behavior.

We are in a new era of attacksits going to be these little pieces of code fighting it out in the background of our businesses, said Chief Executive Poppy Gustafsson in an interview with Reuters, calling the planned listing a major milestone for the company.

Darktrace, which counts Rolls-Royce and Coca-Cola among its customers, was the first company to apply AI to the challenge of cyber security, she said, and its technology currently interrupts a threat once every second.

A source familiar with the transaction told Reuters earlier this year the company would target a 3 billion pound ($4.1 billion) valuation.

Darktrace was an early investment by Lynchs venture fund Invoke Capital, established after software company Autonomy was sold to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.

Lynch, Autonomys founder and former CEO, is fighting a U.S. extradition request to face fraud charges related to the sale, and is waiting for the verdict of a multi-billion dollar civil claim by HP at Londons High Court. He denies the charges.

He stepped down from Darktraces board in 2018 after the U.S. filed charges related to Autonomy.

Gustafsson said Lynch was a visionary technologist, but he was not involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

Investment bank UBS, however, resigned from working on the IPO in February in the context of the extradition proceedings, Sky News reported at the time.

Gustafsson said other issues were in play. UBS did not immediately comment.

Growth Focus

Darktraces revenue grew from $79.4 million to $199.1 million between its 2018 and 2020 fiscal years, although it is loss-making on the operating and pretax levels.

Our focus is on growth, Gustafsson said. But due to our operating leverage, weve got a fantastic high gross margin and the fundamental foundations of the business are demonstrably sustainable.

Darktrace joins a flurry of deals, with Madrid-based Allfunds targeting an Amsterdam IPO and Swedens Trustly on Monday announcing its bid for a Stockholm listing.

The European IPO market recorded its strongest quarter since 2015 in the first three months of 2021, but a poor debut for Deliveroo  its shares dropped 30% on the first day of trading  cast doubts on whether the momentum could last.

Deliveroo was a great way to get a burrito delivered on a bicycle, Gustafsson said, but a completely different proposition to Darktraces fundamental technology.

Darktrace expects to have a free float of at least 20% of issued share capital. As well as the primary offer, it said there would be a secondary sell-down of shares by existing shareholders.

Jefferies, Berenberg and KKR Capital Markets are the global coordinators.

($1 = 0.7277 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle and Abhinav Ramnarayan; editing by Kate Holton/Guy Faulconbridge/Kirsten Donovan)

Topics Cyber London
Eminent Human rights activist and journalist Ibn Abdur Rehman (I.A. Rehman) passed away at the age of 90 in his home in Lahore, his family confirmed on Monday

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Apr, 2021 ) :Eminent Human rights activist and journalist Ibn Abdur Rehman (I.A. Rehman) passed away at the age of 90 in his home in Lahore, his family confirmed on Monday.

I.A. Rehman was born on September 1930 in Haryana, British India which is now part of India.

I.A. Rehman left behind three sons and two daughters. His wife had passed away earlier in 2015.

He was a columnist for the daily Dawn and was actively involved with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

I.A. Rehman practiced journalism for more than 65 years. During his career, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of prestigious English newspaper The Pakistan Times from 1988-1990.

Apart from publishing hundreds of articles and papers, he authored three books: Jinnah as a Parliamentarian (co-editor), Arts and Crafts of Pakistan, and Pakistan under Siege.

I.A. Rehman worked as director of HRCP for two decades and was also group's secretary general till 31 December, 2016.

As news of his death was announced, social media users paid rich tributes to the human rights defender.

Human rights activist Ali Dayan Hasan remembered I.A. Rehman as a "human rights warrior, and a visionary leader".

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in his tweet "Pakistan has lost a 'true icon' today with the passing away of I.A. Rehman. A staunch advocate and activist for Human Rights and an intellectual, I.A. Rehman sahib leaves behind a rich legacy that speaks of tolerance, equality and dignity".

Senator Sherry Rehman called I.A. Rehman an icon of integrity, "standing steadfast for every single fundamental right, every single democratic value in the worst of times".
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi explained Monday that the company could start delivering cannabis once federal regulations are in place.

While several states have legalized marijuana, including Virginia, New York and New Jersey, cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

During an interview with TechCheck, Khosrowshahi said: 'When the road is clear for cannabis, when federal laws come into play, we're absolutely going to take a look at it.'

A total of 17 states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized marijuana, with New Mexico being the latest state to do so. A legal cannabis industry could generate $318million and more than 11,000 jobs in the state.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi (right) explained Monday that the company could start delivering cannabis once federal regulations are in place

In New York, Gov Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on March 31 that legalized marijuana.

It's estimated that New York could become the East Coast's largest recreational marijuana market  generating a potential $2.3billion in annual sales by its fourth year.

Cuomo said annual tax revenues could eventually total $300million, though Republicans are skeptical. California was forced to cut $223million from state budget projections in 2019 due to slower-than-expected pot sales.

Cannabis products are allowed to be delivered in New York, California, Nevada and Oregon for people who are 21 and over.

The 17 States and DC that legalized recreational marijuana 1. Alaska 2. Arizona 3. California 4. Colorado 5. District of Columbia 6. Illinois 7. Maine 8. Massachusetts 9. Michigan 10. Montana 11. New Jersey 12. New Mexico 13. New York 14. Nevada 15. Oregon 16. Vermont 17. Virginia 18. Washington Advertisement

And while there aren't restrictions in those states, Uber says it's going to focus on other categories like food and alcohol for now.

'We see so much opportunity out there, and we're going to focus on the opportunity at hand,' Khosrowshahi said.

The company is currently offering sign-up bonuses and other incentives for drivers as it faces record demand for rides and meal delivery.

The San Francisco ride-hailing company said that total monthly bookings, including food delivery and passenger service, reached an all-time high in March.

In a government filing, the company said demand for ride-hailing, which plunged during coronavirus lockdowns last year, has recovered more quickly than expected as daily COVID-19 vaccinations exceed 3 million per day in the US.

Some people are still avoiding public transportation out of infection fears, potentially boosting demand for services like Uber and Lyft further.

Passenger bookings last month reached the highest level since last March, when spiking infection rates began to shut the country down.

Bookings last month hit an annual run rate of $30billion. Last year, Uber's passenger business recorded $26.4 billion in gross bookings.

Food delivery, of course, has surged over the past year and in March Uber Eats deliveries hit an all-time high.

With more regions opening restaurants to at least partial capacity, that could be a positive sign for Uber as it could signal that some habits acquired during the pandemic may stick.

Food delivery jumped 150 per cent from last March to an annual run rate of $52billion, the company said.

Last week, Uber announced $250million in sign-up bonuses and other perks to lure more drivers. Many drivers gave up last year when demand dried up, the company said. But demand now exceeds the supply of Uber drivers on call, the company said.

In New York (pictured), Gov Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on March 31 that legalized marijuana. It's estimated that New York could become the East Coast's largest recreational marijuana market  generating a potential $2.3billion in annual sales by its fourth year

In another perk, Uber has partnered with Walgreens to make it easier for drivers to get vaccinated.

Drivers may still be holding out to see if Uber will sweeten pay and benefits. Uber was forced to classify its drivers in the United Kingdom as workers last month -- not self-employed -- after a Supreme Court ruling there.

The company said Monday it has begun a historical claims settlement for its U.K. drivers.

Uber's shares rose nearly 5 per cent to $60.40 on Monday.
TORRINGTON  A local developer and property owner has joined the effort to install a Martin Luther King Jr. mural in the city, by pledging the use of his 42 Water St. building for the installation.

Matt Conway, director of the Hartford-based RiseUp group, which is organizing a mural tour and wants to have 39 murals completed in Connecticut by 2022, said Torringtons mural would be unveiled at Steve Temkins 42 Water St. building, home of WAPJ, the citys independent radio station.

Steve Temkin has given us permission to use the building, he said.

An online fundraiser for the Torrington mural project has been started, with a goal of $7,500. Sustainable CT will match every dollar raised to install the mural. The fundraiser was created by RiseUP, which has partnered with Our Culture is Beautiful, a local resident group, and the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council. As of April 12, $615 had been raised.

(We) want to complete a large-scale mural that will depict messages and symbols of diversity, equality and equity along with local and national civil rights leaders, said Conway.

Temkin said Monday that using the WAPJ building made sense.

Its kind of funny, he said. I did a Facetime tour with Matt of downtown Torrington, and we were looking at different spots that might work. The (Water Street site) is best for visibility.

If theyre going to do a mural, theyve got to have it visible from all of downtown, and people will be able to see it very well from there, he said.

Temkin said Conway is making progress with the project.

Hes moving along very rapidly, he said. Hes been in touch with Tim Moore from the Blue Haus Group, and also Stephanie Burr from the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, so its a good collaboration. Matts a state guy  hes all over Connecticut with his work, but hes really working very closely with Torrington. He really wants it to be seen by people who arent going out of their way to see it. This way, you cant help but see it.

Angaza Mwando, who with his wife, Effie, is leading the local effort for the mural, said he was encouraged by Temkins participation.

I think its awesome, he said. That we have access to people to work with, and that its coming from the private sector; were just ecstatic. It means people are open and willing to help us, and that they want to see a change. Thats just incredible in itself. Thats a beautiful thing.

The Mwandos are asking local people for donations and spreading the word about the project. There are a lot of ways for people to help, Angaza Mwando said. Work from volunteers can be part of the matching funds (from Sustainable CT).
Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan takes part in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020. Sajjan took aim at recent Chinese military expansions into the South China Sea this evening even as he faced questions about the Liberal government's ties to Beijing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan took aim at recent Chinese military expansions into the South China Sea on Monday, even as he pushed back against Conservative allegations that the Liberal government has been pandering to Beijing.

The defence minister was appearing before the House of Commons special committee on China, where he used his opening statement to voice Canadas opposition to Chinese claims over what much of the world considers international waters.

Canada opposes land reclamation projects and building outposts in disputed areas for military purposes, he added in reference to Chinas construction of military facilities on several islands and atolls.

And we will continue supporting our allies and partners in the Asia Pacific region, especially in the face of unilateral actions that undermine peace and stability.

The Department of National Defence confirmed two weeks ago that a Canadian warship sailed through the South China Sea at the end of March while travelling from Brunei to Vietnam.

The Defence Department says HMCS Calgary was shadowed for at least part of the voyage as it passed near the disputed Spratly Islands, which both China and the Philippines claim and where the Chinese military has set up facilities and equipment.

Conservative committee members, however, were more interested in pressing Sajjan on a media report that the Liberal government threatened to cut the funding of a major defence conference held each year in Halifax because of China.

Politico reported over the weekend that the threat revolved around the Halifax International Security Forums move last year to give an award to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen.

Beijing does not recognize Taiwan as a country, but instead considers the island off Chinas east coast to be a rogue province. The Chinese government has long warned other countries against recognizing Taiwan or establishing diplomatic ties with it.

Sajjan said the Halifax International Security Forum chooses who to award, but he otherwise sidestepped questions about whether the government had threatened to cut off the security forums funding if it went to Tsai.

We have supported this forum since the time that we came into government, he said. And as I stated, it is not our decision to award this. It is the decision by the forum itself in the organization to make that decision on their own.

The organization received $3.3 million in federal funding each year in 2018 and 2019, which was an increase from earlier contributions.

Halifax International Security Forum vice-president Robin Shepherd confirmed in an email Monday that last years winner of the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service has yet to be announced.

But Conservative member John Williamson suggested the Liberal government was looking for an excuse to cancel the conference when Sajjan at one point noted the forum was headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employed former Conservative staffers.

This award that is being proposed ... gives you an excuse to do just that, Williamson said. To cut its funding while maintaining your close relations with Beijing.

Sajjan insisted he supported the forum.

The minister and Conservative members also traded barbs over a previous Canadian Armed Forces training exercise that included observers from the Chinese military, the Peoples Liberation Army.

Media reports late last year based on internal government documents showed then-defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance caused a furor at Global Affairs Canada after he cancelled the exercise in 2019.

Canadian diplomats were worried the decision would aggravate China or endanger Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been held by China for more than two years in apparent retaliation for Canadas arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

The committee heard the exercise in February involved five Chinese military observers ranging in rank from sergeant to major-general, and Sajjan suggested he was responsible for cancelling the exercise after the two Michaels were arrested.

Sajjan went on to accuse Stephen Harpers Conservative government of having initially approved the Chinese militarys involvement, and that he didnt know about the exercise until it was brought to his attention.
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[April 12, 2021] SHAREHOLDER ACTION ALERT: The Schall Law Firm Reminds Investors of a Class Action Lawsuit Against Champignon Brands Inc. and Encourages Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 to Contact the Firm

The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against Champignon Brands Inc. ("Champignon" or "the Company") (OTC: SHRMF) for violations of 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors who purchased the Company's securities between March 27, 2020 and February 17, 2021, inclusive (the ''Class Period''), are encouraged to contact the firm before June 9, 2021. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.



We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com. The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.

According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Champignon failed to maintain sufficient internal controls over financials. The Company's issued financial statements were false and could not be relied upon, and required restatement. The Company engaged in acquisitions with undisclosed third parties. As a result, the British Columbia Securities Commission would suspend the Company from trading. Based on these facts, the Company's public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about Champignon, investors suffered damages. Join the case to recover your losses. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412006003/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
The judiciary and defence committees of the Chamber of Deputies okayed on Tuesday a report on a bill on electronic monitoring in judicial and criminal proceedings.

The bill, to which the committees brought technical amendments to the form adopted by the Senate in 2020, regulates the establishment, organisation and operation of the Electronic Monitoring Information System, or SIME in short, the use of electronic monitoring devices and action in case of generating alarms, as well as data protection measures under SIME.

Under the bill, the electronic monitoring carried out under as provided for in the bill regards exclusively electronic monitoring devices located on the Romanian soil.The development, administration and operation of SIME are done by the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police and the National Administration of Penitentiaries.The bill also stipulates that the mobile electronic monitoring devices be mounted on the ankle of the supervised persons. As an exception, the device is mounted on the person's arm when mounting on the ankle is not physically possible or is medically contraindicated.The fixed electronic monitoring devices shall be installed in the building where home arrest is being carried out or in the building where the supervised person is not allowed to approach.In the case of a protected person, he/she will be provided with an electronic monitoring device designed to generate alerts on approach under a preset distance of the mobile electronic monitoring devices carried by the supervised person.The report of the specialist committee will be submitted for debate at a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this case. A
New York will follow a federal recommendation and pause the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at its state-run sites, including the New York State Fairgrounds in Onondaga County.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration suggested the pause as the agencies investigate a "rare and severe type of blood clot" that affected six women out of more than 6.8 million people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

According to the CDC and FDA, the six women are between the ages of 18 and 48. Symptoms of the blood clot occurred six to 13 days after they were vaccinated.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to review the cases and the FDA will examine the analysis, the agencies said.

"Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's principal deputy director. "This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot."
Global warming is causing difficulty for American farmers who grow the potatoes which make the best chips, an expert has warned.

The Russet Burbank is a potato variety grown in North America which is widely used to make French fries, and is believed to be the spud of choice for McDonald's.

But farmers in the potato growing state of Idaho rely on water from melting snow in the mountains to irrigate the crop, and climate change is leading to less snow which melts quicker than in past years, affecting the growth of the tubers.

Scroll down for video

The Russet Burbank (pictured) is a potato variety grown in North America which is widely used to make French fries, and is believed to be the spud of choice for McDonald's

WHY ARE RUSSET BURBANKS SO GOOD FOR CHIPS? Russet Burbanks are revered for their tastiness when fried due to their high starch content. But the key is to keep as much starch in the potato for as long as possible, and warmer temperatures speed up the conversion of starch to sugar. In potatoes, higher temperatures can cause an uneven starch-to-sugar conversion which sees some parts of the potato having higher sugar content. Russet Burbanks are particularly prone to this, which poses a commercial issue for farmers because when the potato is fried, the sugary parts go a dark colour while the starch-laden portions stay the usual beige. Advertisement

Richard Novy is a potato breeder and plant geneticist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Idaho, a US state with a close relationship to the humble spud.

In 2019, the last year where annual statistics are available, Idaho grew more potatoes than any other US state, producing a whopping 14.6billion pounds.

Washington state was the second biggest producer with 11.8billion pounds, and Wisconsin was third with 3.2billion pounds  4.5 times less than Idaho's output.

Idaho is also the state that provides more potato farmland than anywhere else in the US, with around 300,000 acres dedicated to the plants.

Dr Novy told the Yale Climate Communications website that mountain snowpack was an essential resource for the cultivation of the Russet Burbank variety in Idaho.

Traditionally, the snowpack is well established by the start of April, and it melts slowly throughout the summer, providing a source of water.

But a 2018 study found the amount of snow atop the mountains has dropped by between 15 and 30 per cent since the middle of the 20th century.

Idaho has also suffered some of the most extreme warming in the contiguous US, with temperatures in potato-producing parts of the state soaring by more than 1.5F per decade.

In July, at the height of potato season, temperatures were more than two degrees Fahrenheit warmer than they were in 1990.

'If we have less snowfall up in the mountains or earlier melting of that snowpack, that can impact our irrigation going into the future,' Dr Novy said.

Hot, dry weather can influence the way the potato grows and ultimately how it tastes and looks when served up.

Russet Burbanks are revered for their tastiness when fried due to their high starch content.

Fast food chains, like McDonald's are thought to prefer the Russet Burbank potato variety due to its high starch content which makes it a good spud to fry. But it is prone to 'sugar ends' which result in undesirable black pats of fries

But the key is to keep as much starch in the potato for as long as possible, and warmer temperatures speed up the conversion of starch to sugar.

In potatoes, higher temperatures can cause an uneven starch-to-sugar conversion which sees some parts of the potato having higher sugar content.

Russet Burbanks are particularly prone to this, which poses a commercial issue for farmers because when the potato is fried, the sugary parts go a dark colour while the starch-laden portions stay the usual beige.

Farmer and retailers want to avoid these so-called 'sugar ends' because the black parts are 'not desirable by most consumers,' Dr Novy says.

To combat the swelling issue, Dr Novy and other plant experts are working on creating hybrid potato varieties which are more resistant to climate change.

In Russet Burbank potatoes, higher temperatures can cause an uneven starch-to-sugar conversion which sees some parts of the potato having higher sugar content. When the potato is fried the sugary parts go a dark colour while the starch-laden portions stay the usual beige. Farmer and retailers want to avoid these so-called 'sugar ends' (pictured)

The Burbank Russet, held up as America's favourite potato, is the focal point of many of these hybrid attempts, including the Blazer Russet, which has been in development as hybrid A8893-1 since 1988.

It was released in 2005 and is seen as a replacement for the Shepody variety which is resistant to tuber external defects, sugar ends and some disease while also producing a higher percentage of premium potatoes.

The Blazer Russet and the Clearwater Russet are hybrids descended from the Burbank variety and were accepted for use by McDonald's in 2016, the first new varieties the fast food giant had accepted into its supply chain since 2000.

To combat climate change, scientists are working on creating hybrid potato varieties which are more resistant to fluctuating conditions. The Burbank Russet, held up as America's favourite potato, is the focal point of many of these hybrid attempts, including the Blazer Russet (left) and the Clearwater Russet (right) varieties which have been accepted by McDonald's into their supply chain

Washington State University (WSU) potato researchers Rick Knowles and Mark Pavek were involved in the production of these two varieties.

Professor Knowles, horticulture professor at WSU, said: 'McDonald's has expert tasters, kind of like with fine wine.

'Their gold standard potato for french fries is a Russet Burbank, which makes a great fry but is really inefficient from a production standpoint.'

Dr Pavek, an associate professor and potato specialist at WSU, adds: 'Burbank has disease issues and requires high soil fertility and water.

'And it has a lower yield of the highest-grade tubers because it's susceptible to so many stress-related disorders.

'We need something to replace it that still makes fries McDonald's will accept.'

Clearwater Russet, also known as AOA95154-1 variety, is also resistant to sugar ends and has a third more protein than the traditional Russet Burbank.
The rainy season in southern Vietnam may begin early this year due to the effect of La Nina phenomenon but will be shorter, resulting in a lower volume of rainfall compared to previous years.

The regions rainy season usually starts between May 10 and 15, according to Le Dinh Quyet, an official of the southern hydro-meteorological station.

However, the rainy season in 2021 is expected to begin in late April or early May due to the La Nina phenomenon, Quyet continued.

From mid-April to late June, the lowest temperature in southern localities will be at 23-24 degrees Celsius.

It will be chilly in the early morning and sunny during the day, while torrential rain will mainly occur in the evening and potentially cause inundation in multiple areas.

The effect of La Nina will weaken in August, but strong gusts and thunderstorms will occur more often.

Unseasonal rains have been in the forecast since the beginning of April, with precipitation having recently increased in intensity, lowering the regions average temperature.

Experts attributed this weather pattern to La Nina, which has returned to Vietnam after one decade.

The effect has yet to be serious, but is expected to be unpredictable, requiring certain measures to be taken to ensure safety for local residents and protect their property.

The southern region has gone through a very pleasant dry season this year, with the highest temperature dropping to 35-37 degrees Celsius in mid-April from 38-39 degrees Celsius in early March, according to Le Thi Xuan Lan, a weather pundit based in southern Vietnam.

UV Index readings in Ho Chi Minh City have been lower, while air quality has become slightly better compared to previous years, Lan continued.

Although the rainy season may come earlier this year, it will likely get shorter, resulting in a lower volume of rainfall compared to preceding years, the expert warned.

She suggested that local authorities start taking measures to store fresh water to cope with drought and saltwater intrusion.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will address the people of the state at 8:30 pm on Tuesday. Amidst a surge in COVID-19 cases, the Chief Minister is likely to announce new guidelines and lockdown-like curbs in the state.

The state government had asked officials to prepare guidelines for the lockdown in view of the rising infections. However, sources said the measures would not be as strict as the nationwide lockdown imposed in March last year. The fresh restrictions are likely to be in place from midnight of April 14 till April 30.

      .     . CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray will address the state at 8:30pm tonight (13th April 2021). Link: https://t.co/2xokOe3bwupic.twitter.com/BSu01oIX5Q - CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) April 13, 2021

While transport services are likely to be operational during the period, private offices, schools and colleges will remain shut. Restaurants are likely to remain open only for takeaways, while Thackeray is also expected to announce restrictions on public gatherings.

The state government may also come out with an economic package to support the weaker sections of the society.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state by the second wave of coronavirus infections in the country. India reported over 1.61 lakh new cases in the preceding 24 hours as on Tuesday morning, of which Maharashtra contributed the most with 51,751 new cases. The state accounts for 44.78 per cent of the total active caseload of the country.

Also read: COVID-19 pandemic 'a long way from over': WHO chief

Also read: Maharashtra witnesses slight decline in cases after weekend lockdown
A student in a bathroom at Austin-East Magnet High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, opened fire on officers Monday afternoon when police responded to a report of a possible shooter on campus, authorities said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said during a Monday night news conference that officers ordered the student to leave the bathroom, but he refused and reportedly opened fire. Police returned fire, killing the student.

An officer was shot in the upper leg and was rushed into surgery, authorities said; he is expected to recover. There were no other injuries reported. "It's a sad day for Knoxville, and it's tough for Austin-East," Rausch said. It is not clear why the student brought a gun to school or fired it at officers.

There has been an increase in gun violence affecting Austin-East students, with three being shot and killed less than three weeks apart earlier this year, The Associated Press reports. State Rep. Sam McKenzie (D) represents the district where Austin-East is located and also attended the school, and released a statement saying he is "at a loss to describe my sadness as yet another horrific act of gun violence has happened in my community." He called on neighbors to "make sure we take every step and make every effort to prevent these tragedies from continuing to occur."

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Regulatory News:

Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM) will host a live audio webcast at www.pmi.com/2021Q1earnings on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss its 2021 First-Quarter results, which will be issued at approximately 7:00 a.m. ET the same day.

During the webcast, Emmanuel Babeau, Chief Financial Officer, will discuss PMI's results and answer questions from the investment community and news media. The webcast will be in a listen-only mode

The audio webcast may also be accessed on iOS or Android devices by downloading PMI's free Investor Relations Mobile Application at www.pmi.com/irapp.

An archived copy of the webcast will be available until 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at www.pmi.com/2021Q1earnings.

Slides and script will also be available at www.pmi.com/2021Q1earnings.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products, associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. In addition, PMI ships versions of its IQOS Platform 1 device and consumables to Altria Group, Inc. for sale under license in the U.S., where these products have received marketing authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway; the FDA has also authorized the marketing of a version of IQOS and its consumables as a Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP), finding that an exposure modification order for these products is appropriate to promote the public health. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI's smoke-free product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of December 31, 2020, IQOS is available for sale in 64 markets in key cities or nationwide, and PMI estimates that approximately 12.7 million adults around the world have already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005864/en/

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Email: Iro.Antoniadou@pmi.com
The Bakersfield City Council said no to a housing project for women and children; the state said not so fast
Steel exports touched a record high in FY21, saving the day for companies, as domestic consumption dragged due to Covid-related disruptions in the first half of the year.

Data compiled by Joint Plant Committee (JPC) shows that finished steel exports between April-March 2020-2021 (provisional) stood at 10.785 million tonnes, an increase of 29.1 per cent; exports of semi-finished steel during the period were at 6.6 million tonnes, an increase of 133 per cent.



JPC officials said that the data showed that this was an all-time high. The previous high was in 2017-18 at 11.614 million tonnes.

SteelMint data pegged finished steel exports in FY21 at 11.65 million tonnes and semi-finished at 7.25 million tonnes, an increase of 31 per cent and 153 per cent over the previous year. SteelMint said that exports in FY21 was an all-time high.

Industry sources said that the previous high was in 2017-18 at 11.614 million tonnes.

Jayant Acharya, director  commercial & marketing, JSW Steel, said, exports of 17-plus million tonne in FY21 is the highest. Of this, about 11 million tonne was in the first half. China was importing large quantities during this period, he explained.

Sushim Banerjee, former director general, Institute for Steel Development & Growth (INSDAG), too, said that this was a record for exports.

In the first half of the year, when India imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain Covid-19, companies resorted to exports.

Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL) managing director, V R Sharma, said that the company had recorded its highest exports. Exports accounted for 35 per cent of sales in FY21 for the company compared to 13 per cent in the prior year. However, it now stands at 25 per cent of sales, pointed out Sharma.



Explaining the backdrop, Acharya, said, In H1, domestic consumption was down by 28 per cent due to strict Covid related restrictions and lockdown. Exports was the main outlet in H1. With gradual opening up, domestic business started picking up from July/August 20 and consumption improved in Q3 21 and Q4 21. In H2, consumption was up by 15-16 per cent, he added.

Overall, the year ended with a drop in consumption of 6.7 per cent and production to the tune of 7.8 per cent. However, it was still better than the projections made in April last year for FY21 as demand picked up over Q3 and Q4.

The intensity with which the recovery happened surprised everyone. Demand was led by automotive, appliances, and followed by renewable energy. Infrastructure and construction, Roads and highways, yellow goods, followed next, said Acharya.

However, even as domestic demand has picked up, exports are expected to be robust on the back of higher realisations.

Export realisations are now higher than domestic as prices in China, Europe and US have surged, said Acharya.

A Crisil report said that while exports of finished steel in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 were driven by lackluster domestic demand, the surge in the last quarter was led by higher export realisation.

Crisil expects the momentum to continue and push finished steel exports another 12-16 per cent higher this fiscal.

However, the dampener for the industry could be rising Covid cases. Acharya said, As of now, production was not impacted, but we are watching the situation.

He added, stricter implementation of Covid appropriate norms and localised restrictions to contain the spread of the infection was required rather than a lockdown.
RALEIGH, N.C., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- About 50 percent of the low-skill work population worldwide will be supplanted by the AI industry in the next 5-7 years, says Beroe Inc.

One-fifth of the workers will rely on AI by 2022. By 2030, robots will be the preferred workforce for more than three million jobs globally. The global AI market size is valued at $52.8 billion in 2020, which is expected to grow between 2019 and 2022 at a CAGR of close to 45.7 percent. The estimated growth will be $112.2 billion by 2022. Machine learning, image recognition, predictive analysis, and natural language processing will be the prevalent technologies in this market

Beroe, which is based in North Carolina, further stated that procurement experts can access this report on its recently launched market intelligence platform Beroe LiVE.Ai: https://www.beroeinc.com/beroe-live-ai/

In North America, the government and the defense sectors made for the largest share of the artificial intelligence industry in 2018. They will continue to dominate till 2022 and will grow at an expected CAGR of 41 percent. In the U.S., the market is fragmented because several startups have come up. However, it is expected that the market will consolidate itself in the next few years, with tech giants pushing for inorganic artificial intelligence growth. Video surveillance is being integrated rapidly with AI, prompting the government to spend on cybersecurity solutions integrated with AI and real-time analytics. This will also boost the AI market in the U.S. in the next five years.

The European artificial intelligence market growth has been forecasted at a CAGR of 42-45 percent from 2019 to 2022. The segment of machine learning is a significant contributor to the revenue share of the artificial intelligence market in Europe. It will also be dominant until 2022. The CAGR is expected at 40 percent in terms of growth. Germany contributes to the majority of revenue in the AI market of Europe.

The APAC AI size will grow at a CAGR of 45-48 percent between 2019 and 2022. The Chinese market for AI has been a major contributor to the growth of the sector. Japan is also a major player and is expected to reach the $1,119.7 million mark by 2022. The Indian market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 49.7 percent during 2019-2022.

Since the start of the pandemic, most sectors are increasingly adopting digital services to achieve optimal operational efficiency and automation. Companies are evolving to meet end-users' expectations. AI helps increase the value by augmenting human skills and extend their capability across verticals. AI ensures a smart R&D, higher customer engagement, production, and efficient maintenance with sales and marketing campaigns. This gives it an edge that allows human jobs to be taken up by AI. With augmented intelligence and chatbots, data labeling, and AI annotation, human intervention's scope is limited.

Key findings:

The world's AI arena will grow at a CAGR of about 45.7 percent for 2019-2022, quickly scaling to reach a market value of $112.2 billion in 2022

in 2022 North America has the highest use of AI currently, and therefore, contributes to the largest share of revenue in the global market - approximately 35 percent. The Asia-Pacific and Europe follow it.

has the highest use of AI currently, and therefore, contributes to the largest share of revenue in the global market - approximately 35 percent. The and follow it. A lucrative market for AI will be APAC in the next five to seven years. AI technology startups and cloud-based services will be the driver of this growth.

When it comes to the U.S., China , India , Japan , and Germany , AI has an advent growth because process automation is high. This is adopted in various industries.

, , , and , AI has an advent growth because process automation is high. This is adopted in various industries. Several tier-2 suppliers are coming up in the market and have specialized services in agriculture, BFSI, healthcare, and gaming fields. The advent of COVID has hastened digitization that is contributing to an extended dependence on AI and machine learning.

There could be a marginal increase in prices owing to the increased demand for AI services and projected future growth.

The report from Beroe includes:

Market analysis

AI industry maturity and application

Market monitoring insights

Supplier analysis

Impact of COVID-19

About Beroe

Beroe is a North Carolina-based provider of procurement intelligence and supplier compliance solutions. It is one of the world's foremost industry-names, working with over 10,000 companies, including 400 out of Fortune 500 companies. Covering a wide range of industries - from healthcare and food to chemical, oil, banking, and more - Beroe offers real-time intelligence, predictive insights, and rich resources. For more information about Beroe Inc., please visit https://www.beroeinc.com/ .

Media Contact:
OPEC has revised its 2021 oil demand upward to stand 190,000 bpd higher than last month's estimates, on the back of an economic rebound that surpasses last month's outlook.

Global 2021 oil demand is now expected to average 96.46 million bpd for the full year, according to OPEC's latest projects included in its April Monthly Oil Market Report. That figure is up from 96.27 million bpd in last month's report, and up from the newly estimated 2020 oil demand figure of 90.51 million bpd.

In last month's report, OPEC had estimated 2020 global oil demand at 90.39 million bpd.

Behind the Curtain

This upward revision comes after the group's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, told the group at the last OPEC meeting that the oil demand figures they were using were too low and that actual global oil demand would be higher.

As the only true swing producer in the group, Saudi Arabia still has enormous sway within OPEC.

The group ultimately decided to gradually lift oil production starting in May 2021 based on these figures, which it did not disclose at the time.

Whatever spark, an optimistic oil demand projection by OPEC is bound to have a positive effect on prices.

For its April MOMR, OPEC cited a "stronger economic rebound than assumed last month." Supporting this economic rebound, OPEC said, were stimulus programs, easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures, and accelerated vaccine rollout, particularly in the OECD region.

Related Video: Irans Oil Exports Render Sanctions Irrelevant



On the vaccine front, which OPEC cites as cause for oil demand optimism, an estimated 20% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated. In Israel, a whopping 57% of the population has been fully vaccinated. But overall, less than 10% of the world has received a single dose. Some countries are not expected to reach the 20% threshold by the end of 2021.

The Sad Truth About H12021

While OPEC has adjusted up its oil demand projections for the whole yearand adjusted its production to matchit revised downward its oil demand projections for the first half of this year.

Its reasons for lowering its H12021 projections seem to mimic the reasons it raised its full-year oil demand projections: Covid-19 measures in OECD Europe, and sluggishactualQ1 2021 demand data in the non-OECD region.

And OPEC raised another caution flag in its report: "Risk will remain high during 2021, subject to COVID-19 developments, and the pace of reaching heard immunity targets." OPEC also pointed out additional risks that included new energy policies and the "effectiveness of the large scale monetary and fiscal stimulus measures"all of which will impact oil demand in the short-term.

OPEC production

While the data for the first part of 2021 showed worse oil demand than previously expected, OPEC's actual Q1 production for 2021 increased. OPEC's first-quarter production this year was 25.138 million bpd, compared to the previous quarter's 24.941 based on OPEC's secondary source figures. Related: Oxford Institute: Don't Expect A Supercycle In Oil

The countries showing increases in production of more than 100,000 bpd quarter on quarter are all the countries that are currently exempt from OPEC's production cut agreement. Iran, Libya, and Venezuela produced a combined average of 558,000 barrels per day more in Q1 2021 than they did in the last quarter of 2020.

The UAE also increased production by 96,000 bpd quarter over quarter. Iraq represented the fifth-largest increase at 64,000 bpd, while it was supposed to be producing under its quota to make up for previous overages as spelled out in the production cut agreement.

Thankfully for OPEC, swing producer Saudi Arabia produced an average of 522,000 barrels per day less in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020.

For the month of March, Iran, Angola, Iraq, and Libya saw the largest increase in crude production, while Saudi Arabia was, again, saw the largest decrease, bringing its March production to 8.090 million bpd. Overall, OPECs March production was 201,000 bpd higher than February, at 25.042 million bpd.

This compares to an average 25.645 million bpd across all of 2020.

OPECs production is expected to increase in the coming months after the last OPEC+ meeting agreed to ease up on the production cut quotas. In the first tranche of increases, an additional 500,000 bpd is expectedhalf from OPEC+ and half from Saudi Arabias voluntary cuts. Saudi Arabia, however, has signaled to the market that the group will be flexible with its production quotas to meet demand, wherever it may be.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Secunderabad, April 13 : For the first time, mangoes from Telangana are being transported to Delhi by Kisan Rail. On Tuesday, a total of 476 tons of mangoes were loaded in 20 parcel van units from Lingampet Jagityal for dispatch to Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi.

The Jagityal area in Telangana is well known for the cultivation of export quality mangoes. Till now, during the mango season the traders, cargo aggregators and farmers were transporting these superior quality mangoes by road to different parts of the country, which is expensive, time taking and prone to relatively more enroute damages and losses.

Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, South Central Railway said, "Introduction of Kisan Rail concept by Indian Railways along with 50 per cent tariff concession provided by the Union Ministry of Food processing Industries under the scheme "Operation Greens - TOP to Total" was extensively publicised by the newly formed Business Development Unit (BDU) team of Secunderabad Division across all segments of freight customers including traders, cargo operators, bulk transporters and farmers in and around Jagityal region. The BDU also explained to the freight customers of this area about various schemes and concessions being offered by the Railways." To facilitate freight customers and assist loading at Lingampet Jagityal station, several improvements were completed on war footing which includes levelling of mud heaps to improve loading platforms, provision of temporary shelter with GI sheets, lighting arrangements with enhanced illumination and provision of weighing scales, etc.

Generally, Kisan Rails consist of 15 to 20 parcel vans (VPs) and each VP has a carrying capacity of 23 tonnes. Also, with the commodities being loaded in Parcel Vans, where the requirement is only 23 tonnes/van, this has helped the farmers/traders with small to medium quantities also to avail the facility.

Introduction of Kisan Rail from Lingampet Jagityal has immensely helped the farming sector of this area in finding new avenues for marketing their farming produce across the country. Further, it provides a smooth, hassle-free and economical transportation facility with least enroute damages to the farmers, traders and cargo operators.
Tests on non-magnetic tails from two large samples of fresh massive magnetite composites have confirmed a quality Yarrabubba Ilmenite Product with low levels of a range of deleterious elements.

Gravity Separation Table with the dark, heavy material concentrated to the left containing titanium feed.

( ) (FRA:TN6) is trading higher after industry experts confirmed the scope to generate additional revenue by way of a high-value titanium by-product from the Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project in Western Australia.

The company is encouraged by the results of test-work on the tails stream of the magnetic concentrate which generated a Yarrabubba Ilmenite (titanium) Product (YIP1).

Two large sample masses of fresh massive magnetite composites from the Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project were tested.

Independent assessment

Simple gravity separation followed by magnetic separation (WHIMS) confirmed the opportunity to produce a titanium by-product containing 46 to 47% (YIP1) titanium dioxide.

Assessment by independent titanium industry leading consultants TZMI confirms YIP1 as an attractive blend feedstock for sulphate pigment producers due to its low levels of generally common deleterious elements, including very low iron oxide.

The YIP1 revenue is expected to contribute positively to the Yarrabubba DFS outcome, adding to the ironvanadium revenue stream.

Shares have been as much as 11% higher to 41 cents intra-day with TMT's market capitalisation sitting at approximately $55.6 million.

Unique by-product opportunity

TMT managing director Ian Prentice said: Confirmation of the ability to produce an attractive titanium by-product at Yarrabubba, as confirmed by industry leading consultants TZMI, in a period of high demand further underscores the unique opportunity we have with the range of products anticipated to be generated from Yarrabubba.

The titanium by-product produced from the tails stream indicates that this should be a very low cost and potentially very profitable product.

Optimising product and flowsheet

Test-work is continuing to optimise the Yarrabubba titanium by-product and refine the flowsheet for the titanium separation circuit.

The non-magnetic tails stream contains elevated base metals, cobalt, copper and nickel.

Sighter flotation test-work has been completed on a range of composite 2 cleaner table gravity concentrates, indicating the potential to remove between 57.5 and 97.7% of the sulphur from these concentrates without significant titanium dioxide loss (0.2 to 0.8%).

The titanium-rich tails stream from the flotation circuit has been put through WHIMS to produce a final coarse titanium product  with assays pending.

Yarrabubba metallurgical test-work flowsheet and mass balance.

YIP1 ilmenite product pricing

TZMI determined that the YIP1 ilmenite product has a titanium content typical of hard rock ilmenite deposits and falls within the typical range of commercial sulphate ilmenite for sulphate pigment manufacture.

It indicated that the iron oxide, phosphorus pentoxide, silicon dioxide and uranium+thorium contents are generally well below comparable products and would be considered favourably by some customers, particularly the very low iron oxide.

TZMI noted the elevated chromium oxide and vanadium oxide content, which somewhat offset the low levels of other impurities, indicating that YIP1 would be suitable as a blending feedstock for sulphate pigment manufacture, complementing ilmenite feedstock with elevated iron oxide.

Most sulphate pigment producers do not rely on a single feedstock product, instead taking in a blend of feedstocks, which provides an opportunity for YIP1 to be an attractive blend feedstock due its low levels of generally common deleterious elements.

On this basis TZMI estimates that YIP1 will achieve a price of US$140 to US$180/tonne FOB (real 2020 dollars) in the medium term, taking into consideration the elevated chromium oxide and vanadium oxide content that may be present, offset by the very low iron oxide.

TZMI believes that the saleability of the YIP1 product will not be an issue for indicative volumes of 150,000 to 250,000 tonnes per annum, with global consumption of sulphate ilmenite into the sulphate pigment market in 2020 estimated at 3.6 million titanium dioxide units (or around 7.5 million tonnes).

Chinese target market

The assessment of the YIP1 ilmenite product completed by TZMI indicates that China would be the preferential market for the product given its large scale of sulphate pigment production, with sulphate ilmenite demand for sulphate pigment end-use estimated at 2.9 million titanium dioxide units in 2020.

Target customers are the large pigment producers along the Chinese eastern seaboard who currently use a blend of domestic Chinese ilmenite and imported ilmenite feedstock.

The YIP1 ilmenite product is considered an ideal blend feedstock for some of these pigment producers and representative samples of the Yarrabubba titanium by-product will be provided to a range of prospective customers (when available) to facilitate the commencement of discussions regarding product offtake.
Dr. Lily Espinoza Our nation is on the cusp of the Golden Age of Latinos in U.S. Higher Education. For far too long Latinos were left out of the highest levels of education. No more!

It was 5 years ago that Lily first set out to publish her book about Latina community college success. Community college alumna Lily (Espinoza) Ploski, Ed.D, author of the book Not Getting Stuck: Success stories of being Latina and transferring from a California community college reflects on the tremendous sea change that has transpired since the publication of her book.

Lily recalls, In 2016, anti-Latino sentiment was strong. The Trump Administration openly condemned the Latino community. In one instance Trump claimed, When Mexico sends people, theyre not sending their best.

On top of reinforcing racist stereotypes about Latinos, the Trump administration added to the discontent over the rising costs of higher education by selecting Cabinet members opposed to college affordability programs. Trumps Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos refused to honor student loan forgiveness programs and criticized the free-college movement.

Then in 2020, the pandemic made the world come to a standstill. Latino communities were hit hardest first by the economic downturn and then by higher than average rates of infection and COVID deaths.

Coinciding with the public health and economic disasters, intense social unrest arrived in the summer of 2020 with the death of George Floyd. Global protests broke out against police violence and systemic racism in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Now in 2021, the social climate is shifting again with the newly elected President Joe Biden. Latinos face an uphill battle to recover from economic loss, fortunately Bidens infrastructure plan to build back better addresses systemic barriers for those impacted by the pandemic.

Bidens administration also tackles a major barrier to Latinos on the path to higher education which is a lack of representation of people of color at the highest level of government. Vice President Kamala Harris is the first women of color to serve in US history. As well, in his first 100 days, Biden has already appointed the most socially diverse Cabinet in our nations history.

Another powerful message to the Latino community is representation of English language learners in the Cabinet. The new Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, a Latino former teacher and lifelong educator is an English language learner of Puerto Rican decent. These changes mean new hope for Latinos in higher education.

College affordability is another barrier that the Biden administration is addressing head-on. Now, there is gaining momentum to cancel college debt with each passing day. What a change from 2016!

Now, there is the expansion to make community college tuition-free with programs like College Promise across the nation. Education leaders, like the illustrious Dr. Martha Kanter, are helping to tear down economic barriers that once kept Latinos and other low income groups from accessing higher education. Dr. Kanter said this about the book Not Getting Stuck:

Lily's stories bring home the urgency of providing every student with a promise that an education beyond high school

is possible for success in the workforce and throughout one's life. College Promise continues to make this goal a

reality for our nation's students in hundreds of communities across the country. But we cannot rest. Too many students -- low-income, first generation, students of color -- are left behind. That's our collective fault.

Navigating the ins and outs of college pathways and the barriers to student success is an outcome of this book and

what we all can do to open more doors to, through, and beyond college for every student to advance toward the

American Dream. -- Martha Kanter, CEO, College Promise; U.S. Under Secretary of Education (2009-2013)

Author Dr. Ploski agrees with Dr. Kanter that we can all do more. Dr. Ploski sees her book as a way to help with the recovery from the pandemic and to help the Latino community. Lily observes The tide is turning on the value and interest in supporting Latino achievement in higher education. Higher education must make up for lost time!

Californias Chancellor Eloy Oakley, himself a Latino of Mexican decent agrees colleges must do better. In 2017, the Chancellors Office set new standards with a Vision of Success Plan for all 116 college campuses, with over 2.1 million students that puts the student learning experience at the center for innovation. Chancellor Oakley confirms the importance of Latinos for economic prosperity With Latinos accounting for more than 40% of California community college enrollments, their success is critical to the future of California. In the aftermath of the pandemic equity must be at the center of a recovery.

Another barrier for Latinos has been a lack of support services on the college campus specifically for Latino students. Now, more college campuses are opening Latinx Resource Centers to support Latinx student retention. As well, funding is available as a result of colleges becoming Hispanic Serving Institutions as the Latino student population continues to grow on college campuses. With more Latinos on college campuses, there is a new sense of urgency to support Latino retention and success.

This growth of Latinos at our nations colleges means a new era of Latino contributions to our nation. Dr. Ploski makes a prediction, Our nation is on the cusp of the Golden Age of Latinos in U.S. Higher Education. For far too long Latinos were left out of the highest levels of education. No more!

In Not Getting Stuck: Success stories on being Latina and transferring from a California community college, students discuss the factors that lead to their personal and academic success. A key factor is building social connections with mentors to make their dreams come true.

Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, President of Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley in California agrees with Dr. Ploskis research that mentoring for Latinas is the key to success, If you can see it, you can achieve it! Mentors not only serve as positive role models but as examples of what one can achieve no matter the circumstances and/or perceived barriers. This insight and guidance is particularly important for Latinas as they navigate -- in many instances uncharted waters for themselves, their families, and even their own communities.

Dr. Ploski views the pandemic as a turning point for Latino student success. She notes, For the first time in our nations history, there is a critical mass of Latino students, staff, faculty and administration in higher education. Latinos are making positive change from the inside out, ground up, and by building a pipeline for more to follow. Families, students, faculty, and education leaders alike are seeking out culturally relevant resources such as Dr. Ploskis Latina-themed book on college success.

Dr. Ploski concludes, In 2016, when I saw the negative perceptions of Latinos in the media and in education circles, I knew I needed to bring Latina student success stories front and center to disrupt the narrative that Latinas did not belong in college. Not only do Latinas belong in college, but we have powerful chingona Latina leaders soaring to new heights every day. There are Latina college presidents, faculty, researchers, campus leaders, star athletes, and scholars at the highest level. Now in 2021, I see my book as providing a ray of light for students and families who have suffered so much throughout this pandemic.

With the hope of a brighter tomorrow, the stories from Not Getting Stuck: Success stories on being Latina and transferring from a California community college are just what the doctor ordered to motivate and inspire future leaders.

Dr. Lily Ploski is a nationally recognized keynote speaker on college choice and overcoming barriers to education. In 2017, her book was featured on the KPFA radio program La Raza Chronicles. In 2018, Lily came in third when she ran for political office as State Superintendent of Public Instruction in California. Then in 2019, Dr. Ploski was elected Vice Chair for the City of Benicia Arts and Culture Commission. Last year, Dr. Ploski was selected as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for My New Red Shoes and currently serves as Education Advisor to the board. As well, Dr. Ploski served with the 2020 Solano County Women and Girls Commission. At the end of last year, Dr. Ploski took on the position as Director of the Latinx Retention Initiative at University of California, Davis.
Millions of Americans are hoping to get vaccinated. So much so, they are willing to travel to Fresno just to ensure they get that shot.

Video Transcript

- Well, people across the nation are on the hunt for vaccines, driving from different counties and cities to find their shot. Action News anchor Brittany Jacob is live at Fresno City College with the latest on these vaccine hunters. Brittany?

BRITTANY: Graciella, a percentage of the people who come to get vaccinated right here at the UCSF COVID-19 equity vaccination site are coming from outside of the county, and Dr. Kenny Banh says, they are not turning people away.

Millions of Americans are hoping to get vaccinated as soon as possible. So much so, they are willing to travel hundreds of miles to Fresno just to ensure they get that shot.

KENNY BANH: A large percentage of those out of county are really from the San Joaquin Valley down from about Bakersfield up Madera. A fair bit are coming in that are out of county. They just know about us, know we're a walk in site. Just come on in.

- UCSF Dr. Kenny Bahn says, they are not turning anyone away. The COVID-19 equity project was created to provide health care services for underserved areas in Fresno County. If people come in and are qualified, Dr. Bahn says, they are vaccinating them, just not recruiting them.

- There's a lot of people, who want to get vaccinated in the Bay Area, who can't get into appointments, and there's no walk in sites. So we've had people drive all the way in just to get vaccinated from the Bay.

- Lauren Donahue traveled more than two hours from the Bay Area for her shot. Dr. Bahn says, he believes the vaccination access is harder and bigger cities. Plus most vaccine sites in those bigger cities require you to have an appointment. UCSF Fresno does not require one.

- There's more people who are willing, and anxious, and hunting for vaccines than there are in this region.

- Right now, the UCSF vaccination site at Fresno City College is vaccinating all individuals, 16 and older. It's a first come, first serve clinic. About 40% of people 16 and older in Fresno County have already received their first dose, but Dr. Bahn says, that's still not enough to reach herd immunity.

Now, today, the vaccination site administered 449 shots, but the site is able to administer a couple of thousand every day. Live in central Fresno, Brittany Jacob, ABC 30, Action News.
Methane gas monitors will be installed on two Chesapeake Energy Corp. well pads in northern Pennsylvania as part of a pilot program aimed at eliminating direct greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

The pads, one each in Bradford and Wyoming counties, have a total of nine wells, a Chesapeake spokesman said.

Chesapeake, the states third-largest natural gas producer, is partnering with Denver-based Project Canary, a climate tech start-up company, to install the monitoring technology on the wells in Pennsylvania and in the Haynesville shale in Louisiana.

The initiative is in response to environmental social governance expectations on oil and gas companies to have methane emissions minimized and gas produced in the most environmentally responsible manner, they say.

The monitors are part of its pledge to eliminate routine flaring on all new wells completed beginning this year and reduce methane intensity to .09 percent by 2025, Chesapeake says.

The partnership between Chesapeake and Project Canary could be expanded based on initial findings and market conditions, the two firms say.

Chesapeake has drilled 65 wells in the Marcellus Shale in northcentral and northeastern Pennsylvania and has three active rigs there.

A restructured Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February after cutting employees and shedding millions of dollars of debt.

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Haiti - News : Zapping...





Jovenel Moise calls for everyone in the fight against insecurity

"All components of Haitian society, branches of civil society, chambers of commerce, all religious denominations, political parties, are called to provide their help and support in the fight against insecurity," said Monday Joseph Jouthe during a press conference, inviting each and everyone to sit down with him to talk about security, announcing that instructions have been given to the national police to identify the place of sequestration of the religious and put the bandits out of harm's way.



Religions For Peace announces its withdrawal from the dialogue process

On Monday, the Religions for Peace platform in correspondence announced its withdrawal from the dialogue and peace process, following the assessment of the situation as it has developed in recent days, the platform considers that the lesser evil for it is to withdraw from this process while keeping the hope of being able to continue to serve the country otherwise, however it remains ready to encourage any other initiative of dialogue which tends towards a peaceful solution of this crisis.



Reward for the fight against Covid-19 in Haiti

During the celebration of World Health Day which took place around the theme "For a fairer and healthier world" in the presence among others of the First Lady Martine Moise, the Prime Minister, Joseph Jouthe, the Minister of Public Health Marie Greta Roy Clement, PAHO/WHO Representative in Haiti, Maureen Birmingham and several other partners, Minister Clement took the opportunity to award certificates, medals and plaques of honor to certain professionals health, personalities and institutions who have distinguished themselves so far, in the fight against Covid-19 in Haiti.



PM Joseph Jouthe presents his sympathies

Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe presents his sympathies to all the people from different sectors who have been victims of the kidnapping acts. He promises to put public action in motion in the concern of tracking down bandits and that justice be served.



Jovenel Moise congratulates the President-elect of Ecuador

On Monday, President Jovenel Moise had a very fruitful telephone conversation with the newly elected President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso. It was an opportunity for the President of the Republic of Haiti to congratulate him on his victory and to remind him that Haiti is ready to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with Ecuador. "On behalf of the Haitian people and on my own behalf, I would like to congratulate the President-elect of Ecuador Guillermo Lasso on his victory in the last elections. I wish him every success in his new functions."



Virtual meeting on constitutional reform

This Tuesday, April 13, 2021, a virtual information meeting will be held on the constitutional reform project, the speakers of which will be, among others, Ambassador Bocchit Edmond and the Minister Delegate in charge of electoral matters Mr. Mathias Pierre.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ankura Consulting Group, LLC ("Ankura"), a global provider of a broad range of consulting services, today unveiled the results of its inaugural Ankura Joint Venture Index (AJVI). This first edition of the AJVI, which was created by Ankura's Joint Venture and Partnership Practice, is a rigorous analysis that provides a snapshot of what happened during 2020 in the joint venture transaction class and the drivers shaping the global business landscape.

Joint ventures (JVs) and partnerships are used by companies, organizations and governments to stimulate growth and serve as key drivers of innovation. Measuring JV and partnership activity highlights new technologies, products, and markets to anticipate future growth or innovation, and also signals which technologies and markets are experiencing consolidation, stagnation, or decline. The development of an objective tracking system enables companies, organizations and governments to utilize, evaluate and review JVs and partnerships in a manner similar to the way they and the broader market are currently able to evaluate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity and debt placement transactions.

"Trends that have been building for a decade accelerated in the last 15 months," said James Bamford, Head of the Joint Venture and Partnership Practice at Ankura and one of the authors of the AJVI. "Responding to the pandemic and other societal and market forces, it's clear companies have had to move swiftly to reduce costs, shed assets and raise capital to remain competitive, while also seizing opportunities to ensure long-term growth, access to new markets and technologies and to meet intensifying demands for more sustainable operations. Increasingly, companies and executives are realizing the strategic value of JVs and partnerships  whether bilateral ventures or broad business ecosystems  and the results of our inaugural AJVI demonstrate this dynamic."

The inaugural AJVI includes several indicators such as: (1) an analysis of material JV and partnership announcements related to a deal formation, restructuring or exit as an indicator of JV and partnership activity, and (2) an analysis of the impact of JV and partnership transaction activity on stock price performance as an indicator of partnership performance potential.

Key findings of the first-ever AJVI include:

JVs and partnerships are central to the ongoing de-carbonization energy transition. The number of new renewable energy partnerships increased in 2020 as oil and gas companies, power and utility players, pure-play renewable companies and investors continued to form JVs and partnerships to enhance their competitive positioning.

JVs and partnerships help drive new technologies. In 2020, JVs were critical for rapid innovation in healthcare and mobility. Prominent examples include the Pfizer-BioNTech partnership and AstraZeneca- Oxford University partnership to develop and bring to market their respective COVID-19 vaccines.

partnership to develop and bring to market their respective COVID-19 vaccines. There is clear correlation between partnership announcements and stock price. According to the AJVI, the stock market rewarded companies in 2020 for executing new JVs and other partnerships, reflecting investors' growing appreciation for the potential of this asset class.

The inaugural AJVI can be viewed and downloaded here.

About Ankura's Joint Venture and Partnership Practice

Ankura is the world's leading advisor on joint ventures and partnerships. Over the last decade, we have advised clients on JV transactions valued at more than $700 billion. We help our clients succeed by drawing on a highly experienced team, proprietary tools, benchmarks, and analysis. We advise across the venture lifecycle, from deal strategy, partner due diligence, valuation and economics to deal structuring, negotiation, launch, governance, and restructuring.

About Ankura

Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is a global provider of a broad range of consulting services in the areas of strategy and performance; transactions, finance and governance; data and technology; risk, forensics and compliance; disputes and economics; and turnaround and restructuring. We help clients protect, create, and recover value. Ankura has over 1,500 employees and more than 30 offices worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.ankura.com.

SOURCE Ankura

Related Links

http://www.ankura.com


Malwee Group Selects Centric PLM as The Foundation of Their New Digital Architecture This partnership with Centric is significant and strategic on several levels, as it provides a greater guarantee of product quality, remote collaboration between teams and suppliers, less waste of raw materials for a much more sustainable process.

Malwee Group, one of Brazils leading companies in sustainable fashion, has selected Centric Software and its Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution to enhance product design and manufacturing across its six distinct brands: Malwee, Malwee Kids, Malwee Liberta, Enfim, Carinhoso and Zig Zig Zaa.

Centric Software offers the most innovative enterprise solutions for retailers, brands and manufacturers looking to achieve strategic or operational goals through digital transformation. Its innovative PLM software empowers users to plan, source, design and develop a range of products, from apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home decor, cosmetics, luxury goods and food and beverage, all while minimizing costs, speeding time to market and driving innovation and efficiency across the product development chain.

Founded in 1968, Malwee Group employs nearly 4,500 employees who manage more than 25,000 multi-brand points of sale and 82 specialty brand stores throughout Brazil. The company balances style, innovation and sustainability to produce more than 35 million pieces of clothing each year. Faced with the challenges of a quickly shifting fashion market, the company realized a critical need to scale operations, moving beyond inefficient processes with fragmented and disconnected systemsdigital transformation became a priority.

A lot is said about digital transformation of manufacturing operations, like 3D modeling and computerized systems, but if the various systems are not integrated to allow data to flow in conjunction with business processes, and in line with business priorities, the organization as a whole will still be fragmented. By building bridges between these siloed systems, were able to eliminate a significant amount of rework, save time and resources, deflate costs, and mitigate errors in the process. We need a tool with a powerful enough scope to serve as the backbone of our digital architecture, where we can connect all the other systems. And we found the solution in Centric PLM, explains Jose Isaias Cunha, Manager of Engineering and Industrial Intelligence at Malwee Group.

Today we are mature enough to realize that just having digital systems in place doesnt make the company digital," reinforces Jose. "It is necessary to have the mindset and a tool to accelerate transformation. With our product teams located in several cities across the country, including Sao Paulo City and Jaragua do Sul, it was becoming a big challenge to establish a working connection between remote teams. So with Centric, we see a great opportunity to have one integrated workflow where information is unique, correct and shared between teams.

The company is now at a critical point in the digital transformation process and much closer to achieving its goal of bringing product creation closer to the consumer. Malwee Group aims to optimize all stages of product ideation and development with consumer input so consumers can bring their insights and validate concepts. We will leverage Centric PLM throughout the entire value chain, because the more we maximize the product lifecycle, the more adapted the product will be to consumers wishes and needs, which makes for a happier customer. We want to invert the relationship between products and consumers today, not just bring products to market and see if they work. Instead, we want to create products with consumers in mind, showing we offer what he or she really wants or needs, says Cunha.

This partnership with Centric is significant and strategic on several levels, as it provides a greater guarantee of product quality, remote collaboration between teams and suppliers, less waste of raw materials for a much more sustainable process, optimization of the intellectual capital of our talents and the high availability of product data to quickly and consistently feed our digital sales channels. With all of this, the consumer will be able to see a product's features according to his or her preferences, enabling them to make the best decision at the time of purchase, continues Cunha.

"We are very excited about this new partnership and honored to work with Malwee," says Chris Groves, President and CEO of Centric Software. We are sure that Centric PLM will prove valuable to Malwee Groups digital transformation strategy, as it will allow us to get closerand stay closerto the consumer.

Learn more about Centric Fashion PLM

Request a Demo
News Around the Republic of Mexico



Mexico Marijuana Legalization Hits a Snag in Senate



Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal said last week that he wants politicians to pick up the debate over the terms of the cannabis legalization bill in the legislative session that starts in September.



Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal said last week that he prefers to seek an extension to the Supreme Court's April deadline to change the current prohibitory law, making it unclear whether the bill might be submitted for another vote in the coming weeks.



At stake is the potential for a market comprising one of the world's largest pool of eligible consumers of cannabis. Lawmakers proposed that individuals be able to have plants at home and businesses be able to request licenses to operate as soon as 2022, which piqued the interest of international and local investors who are eager to jump on the "green rush" in Latin America.



"What's best for everyone is for this to be a good law, not a law that is approved too swiftly and that will later be difficult to put into effect," Monreal said in press conference last Thursday.



Lawmakers have been dithering about the terms of the bill since the Supreme Court declared the current ban



'Two Goals'



But the ruling Morena party, which had largely supposed the initiative, released a statement this week critiquing revisions made by lower house lawmakers, throwing the bill's future into uncertainty.



"The law should meets two goals, reducing criminality and eliminating the prohibition that has led to thousands of people being imprisoned for having a few grams of marijuana. It should be an instrument for social justice," Ricardo Monreal said.



He and other high-ranking members of Morena published a statement raising concerns about changes in the latest version of the bill that include the regulatory body, permits for individuals growing for personal use, businesses' ability to request multiple licenses, the ambiguity of advantages given to small-scale farmers, and research opportunities for hemp.



Senator Monreal said he wants politicians to pick up the debate in the legislative session that will start in September.



The lead-up to the vote had created buzz both because of fierce backlash from activists who said lawmakers did not include enough human rights protections, and because Mexico would be only the third country, after Canada and Uruguay, to have a nationwide market for the plant, though it would maintain restrictions on the number of grams that any one person could possess.



Original article Mexico's proposal to legalize cannabis has hit a snag in the Senate, where a revised version of the bill is under consideration.Senate Majority Leader Ricardo Monreal said last week that he prefers to seek an extension to the Supreme Court's April deadline to change the current prohibitory law, making it unclear whether the bill might be submitted for another vote in the coming weeks.At stake is the potential for a market comprising one of the world's largest pool of eligible consumers of cannabis. Lawmakers proposed that individuals be able to have plants at home and businesses be able to request licenses to operate as soon as 2022, which piqued the interest of international and local investors who are eager to jump on the "green rush" in Latin America."What's best for everyone is for this to be a good law, not a law that is approved too swiftly and that will later be difficult to put into effect," Monreal said in press conference last Thursday.Lawmakers have been dithering about the terms of the bill since the Supreme Court declared the current ban unconstitutional in 2018. The Senate in November had approved a previous version of the bill, which would legalize the use, sale, and production of cannabis. The lower house of Congress, known as the Chamber of Deputies, voted for its own version of the proposal in March. But the ruling Morena party, which had largely supposed the initiative, released a statement this week critiquing revisions made by lower house lawmakers, throwing the bill's future into uncertainty."The law should meets two goals, reducing criminality and eliminating the prohibition that has led to thousands of people being imprisoned for having a few grams of marijuana. It should be an instrument for social justice," Ricardo Monreal said.He and other high-ranking members of Morena published a statement raising concerns about changes in the latest version of the bill that include the regulatory body, permits for individuals growing for personal use, businesses' ability to request multiple licenses, the ambiguity of advantages given to small-scale farmers, and research opportunities for hemp.Senator Monreal said he wants politicians to pick up the debate in the legislative session that will start in September.The lead-up to the vote had created buzz both because of fierce backlash from activists who said lawmakers did not include enough human rights protections, and because Mexico would be only the third country, after Canada and Uruguay, to have a nationwide market for the plant, though it would maintain restrictions on the number of grams that any one person could possess.



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Prof Asta Pundziene, KTU School of Economics and Business Credit: KTU

After interviewing various stakeholders from public and private healthcare systems (in Lithuania and the US), researchers Dr. Agne Gadeikiene, Prof Asta Pundziene, Dr. Aiste Dovaliene from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania designed a detailed structure revealing added value of remote healthcare services, i.e. telehealth. Adopting the concept of value co-creation common in business research to healthcare, the scientists claim that this is the first comprehensive analysis of this kind in the healthcare field involving two different healthcare systems.

According to the researchers, although in the US the consultations via phone with physician have been available for more than fifty years, the technological development of recent years has radically changed the concept of telehealth. Using artificial intelligence for automated diagnostics, big-data analytics, virtual visits, real-time communication with data exchange, 5G, and blockchain can make a significant impact in the prediction and prevention of various health conditions, and personalisation of healthcare services.

"Despite the increased usage of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemics, these services are still limited. Without any doubt, telehealth usage will increase in the future as it is considered one of the very important healthcare service trends. However, partly due to the inertia of the healthcare system, which is slow to adopt technology innovations, telehealth development is insufficient," says Dr. Agne Gadeikiene, a researcher at KTU School of Economics and Business.

According to her, the acknowledgement of the telehealth added value would allow developing more precise value propositions for different stakeholders of telehealthpatients, physicians, healthcare providers, and the government.

During their research, the scientists interviewed healthcare institutions managers, heads of telehealth programs and physicians from different clinical areas where telehealth is applied, e.g. radiology, endocrinology, pediatrics and family medicine. In total, 15 interviews were conducted in Lithuania and 10 in California, U.S..

"There is clear evidence that telehealth enhances patient and physician experience. It saves time as there is no need to travel, you have a shorter waiting time to access the physician, timeless help at a better price, and more. The issue is with measuring the clinical outcomes of telehealth, but also patient and doctors experience and one of the major issues is exactly what we explorethe added value created by telehealth," Prof Asta Pundziene says.

The research revealed that among the most commonly expressed added values for healthcare system specialists both in the US and Lithuania were: accessibility of care, convenience, timely diagnosis, cost-saving, warmer and closer relationships between the patient and physician, focus on a patient. Remote patient monitoring and monitoring after disease were indicated as added values of telehealth only among the US health service system practitioners, and patient engagement into their illness control, better quality service, convenience, learning and avoidance of mistakes, a second opinion from colleagues were among the added value dimensions indicated by healthcare system representatives in Lithuania.

"The U.S. can be characterized as an innovative, and Lithuaniaas a conservative culture. In the United States, the healthcare system is more of collaborative nature, and private insurance companies and healthcare providers search for ways to improve, save resources and satisfy their customers better. However, both research participants from Lithuania and the U.S. acknowledge the added value of telehealth, and it is only a matter of time until it will become a common practice in both countries," says Dr. Gadeikiene.

Among the inhibitions to the expansion of telehealth, the researchers indicate such organizational-level obstacles as the insufficient managerial shift towards remote patient care, lack of digital training in medical schools. Adoption of digital healthcare technologies incurs additional costs. Also, there are some inhibitions towards it on the individual level, including a lack of competence in using digital technologies both from the patient and from the physician point of view.

Another cluster of obstacles is connected to reimbursement, security and liability issues. It is very difficult to bill for telehealth services, especially when they are administered at the patient's home, which is not affiliated with the hospital. Security of connection between different patient databases, systems, platforms, and information exchange, and the trust issues between patient and physician where the latter has to rely on the patients' provided information further complicates the telehealth advance.

"To fully realize the potential of telehealth, the deployment and transformation part is missing. This entails orchestrating the resources, establishing new processes, capturing the value of telehealth, and transforming institutions to fit the need for the new strategies, resources, processes, and more. To do this, strong leadership is needed. The case of the US demonstrates that they are more advanced due to the stronger leadership to deploy the telehealth services," Prof Pundziene is convinced.

The scientists argue that their research is especially important for healthcare policymakers and healthcare providers' executives, who seek to clearly understand what aspects should be emphasized for patients, physicians, and health insurance companies while promoting telehealth as a new way of achieving value-based healthcare. Also, the research can be very useful for telehealth platform developers as it provides a detailed structure of the telehealth added value that could be applied for a telehealth platform architecture. Additionally, the results of the research could be valuable for public policymakers as a source of information to justify the need and to promote the benefits of telehealth services. In this mission, the intermediary function could be passed on to the governmental organizations responsible for legal regulations.

The scientists emphasize that a strategic approach to telehealth guarantees that the investments in the development of these services are worth spending, as their outcomes are tremendous. However, they acknowledge that this should not compromise traditional service development, as it is of no less importance.

Explore further AMA pushes for widespread telehealth adoption

More information: Agne Gadeikiene et al, How does telehealth shape new ways of co-creating value?, International Journal of Organizational Analysis (2021). Agne Gadeikiene et al, How does telehealth shape new ways of co-creating value?,(2021). DOI: 10.1108/IJOA-07-2020-2355
AKRON, Ohio -- The University of Akron will pause its on-campus coronavirus vaccination clinics which had administered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following advisories from the FDA and Ohio Department of Health regarding blood-clotting concerns with the one-dose shot.

Students who were scheduled to receive the vaccine at the April 14 or 15 clinics will receive an email with more information, UA said in a news release.

Federal officials on Tuesday morning recommended a pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a precaution after six women developed rare blood clots within two weeks of receiving the single-dose vaccine shot. More than six million people have received the J&J shot.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff issued a news release advising vaccine providers in Ohio to hold off on J&J vaccinations while officials investigate.

UA students, faculty or staff who received the J&J vaccine in the past three weeks and develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath are encouraged to contact their health provider, UA said. Counseling services are available to students at 330-972-7082.

DeWine had decided to use the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the states effort to vaccinate all willing college students before the end of the semester because it was one shot as opposed to Pfizer and Moderna, which require two doses administered about three weeks apart.

State health officials are now evaluating whether J&J shots should be used on college campuses and in the final weeks of the mass vaccination clinic at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Kent State University has postponed its clinics that administered the J&J vaccine, and the Summit County Public Health Departments drive-thru clinic at the Summit County Fairgrounds is switching to the Pfizer vaccine after weeks of J&J.
It quickly became obvious in Anchorage, Alaska, last month that Chinese President Xi Jinpings diplomatic envoys hadnt come carrying olive branches. Instead they brought a new world view.

As Biden administration officials expected in their first meeting with Chinese counterparts, Yang Jiechi, Mr. Xis top foreign-policy aide, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi asked them to roll back Trump-era policies targeting China. Beijing wanted to restore the kind of recurring dialogue Washington sees as a waste of time, say U.S. and Chinese officials briefed on the Alaska meeting.

Mr. Yang also delivered a surprise: a 16-minute lecture about Americas racial problems and democratic failings. The objective, say Chinese officials, was to make clear that Beijing sees itself as an equal of the U.S. He also warned Washington against challenging China over a mission Beijing views as sacredthe eventual reunification with Taiwan.

That is a big shift for Chinese leaders, who for decades took care not to challenge the U.S. as the worlds leader and followed the dictum Deng Xiaoping set decades ago: Keep a low profile and bide your time. Some senior Chinese officials privatelyoften sarcasticallycalled the U.S. Lao Da, or Big Boss. Now Mr. Xi is reshaping the relationship. As far as he is concerned, Chinas time has arrived. China can already look at the world on an equal level, he told the annual legislative sessions in Beijing in early March, a remark widely interpreted in Chinese media as a declaration that China no longer looks up to the U.S.

The U.S. routinely describes China as a strategic rival, but Beijing has rarely if ever used such terms, emphasizing terms like win-win and cooperation. One of the more obvious changes in Chinas attitude is that China now recognizes the existence of competition, which was never expressed in the past, says Wang Huiyao, an adviser to Chinas State Council and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank.

The increasingly contentious relationship has created competition for allies, with American diplomats jetting to Japan, South Korea and Western Europe, while Chinese equivalents sew up deals in Southeast Asia, Russia and Iran.

Competitive relationship

Mr. Yangs warning in Alaska on Taiwan reunification is an ominous inkling of how a competitive relationship between the world powers could lead to conflict.

The U.S. is committed to helping Taiwan preserve its autonomy under pledges including the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, and the Biden team trumpets its plans to strengthen economic and political links to Taipei. Mr. Xi has made reunification with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province, a big part of his China Dream of national revival.

Chinas Foreign Ministry says of Mr. Yangs Anchorage warning: The Chinese side pointed out that the Taiwan issue is related to Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity and Chinas core interests. It adds that There is no room for compromise.

There is little sign of imminent Chinese actions to take back the island, though there have been plenty of symbolic gestures. Soon after the Alaska meetings, Mr. Xi inspected Fujian province, across the strait from Taiwan. Chinese airplanes in recent weeks have stepped up incursions into Taiwans air-defense zone.

Days after the Alaska encounter, the White Houses China coordinator, Kurt Campbell, told a private conference hosted by the University of California at San Diego that Beijing had become impatient at the pace of reunification, according to participants.

Adm. Phil Davidson, who heads the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, warned the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier in March that China could try to take control of Taiwan by decades end, perhaps in as little as six years. China might act rashly, says a senior U.S. official, because of an exaggerated belief that the U.S. is a declining power.

Relations between the countries plummeted during the Trump administration. After both sides fought a two-year trade war to a wary truce, the U.S. president blamed Beijing for unleashing the coronavirus. China rejected the charges and labeled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a doomsday clown.

After President Bidens election, academics and officials in Beijing reached out to American contacts to try to figure out whether the new administration would change course. They were quickly discouraged.

Even before Mr. Biden took office, Chinese diplomats sought to schedule a high-level meeting between the two sides, people close to the matter say. Biden officials never approved the request and instead repeatedly talked about working with allies to confront China.

Chinas concerns were reinforced in January, when Mr. Bidens choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, used his confirmation hearing to declare that China had committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. China has called the charge the lie of the century.

The Biden team shares its predecessors view of China as Americas greatest military, technological and economic challenger. From the new administrations perspective, Chinese provocations never ceased. Beijing cut off imports from Australia over its call for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, skirmished with India over the countries Himalayan border and sought to intimidate Philippines and Vietnam ships in the South China Sea.

Beijing, as Chinese officials put it, sought to duo hui hua yu quan, or take back the narrative. Chinas diplomats and state-media outlets aggressively denounced Western meddling in its domestic affairs and heralded Chinas rise.

Before the Alaska meeting on March 18 and 19, the U.S. signaled a muscular approach. President Biden met online with the leaders of India, Australia and Japan. Mr. Blinken and Jake Sullivan, the national-security adviser, flew to Tokyo and Seoul to confer with security counterparts and insisted that Messrs. Yang and Wang fly to Alaska for the U.S.-China session rather than meeting in Asia. A day before the Anchorage meeting, the U.S. expanded sanctions against two dozen Chinese officials over the repression of Hong Kongs pro-democracy protesters.

Some U.S. foreign-policy experts thought the Americans went overboard, including Jeffrey Bader, a senior China official in the Clinton and Obama administrations, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. The more you assert youre not a declining power, he says, the less convincing you are.

With cameras rolling in Anchorage, Mr. Blinken briefly criticized Chinas actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang and threats against Taiwan. Mr. Yang, a member of the Communist Partys ruling Politburo, gave his blistering 16-minute rejoinder, which the Chinese officials say was meant to show Chinas new world view. After rattling off his countrys achievements under Mr. Xi, he said China wouldnt follow what is advocated by a small number of countries as the so-called rule-based international order. He criticized the U.S. as having deep-seated human-rights problems and declared that the U.S. itself doesnt represent international public opinion.

After the doors closed, say the officials briefed on the meeting, the Chinese laid out the differences between the nations in three categories. The first category was what could be dealt with fairly easily. The second would require more negotiations. Issues involving both sides relaxing restrictions on diplomats and journalists belong to the first two groups. The third category, largely concerning Chinas sovereignty, was off limits.

On the second day, the diplomats addressed Taiwan. Control of the island has been a Communist Party goal since Mao Zedongs forces drove Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalist government there in 1949.

As he turned to the West after Maos death, Deng made clear that reunification could wait while China focused on developing its economy. For Mr. Xi, the wait is wearing thin. As Mr. Xi heads for an unprecedented third term as Chinas leader late next year, his talk of national revival has broad support. There is little that would cement his legacy more forcefully than bringing the island back into Beijings fold, China watchers say.

In Anchorage, the U.S. reaffirmed its adherence to the One China policy, under which Washington agrees not to recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, but also reiterated pledges to help Taiwan economically and militarily. The Chinese are concerned about a slippery slope of Biden doing more and more on Taiwan, says Bonnie Glaser, a China analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They are using their ever-expanding tool kit to put pressure on Taiwan and signal the U.S. it better be careful.

Sharp departure

Beamed back to China, Mr. Yangs lecturing made him a national hero. It also represented a sharp departure from the policy of cooperation with the U.S. that Deng had adopted shortly after the two countries established diplomatic ties. As we look back, we find that all of those countries that are with the U.S. have become rich, Deng told aides in 1979, according to official accounts, while all of those against the U.S. have remained poor. We should be with the U.S.

That principle guided his successors. Jiang Zemin pushed through Beijings negotiations with Washington to get China into the global trading system in 2001. He wooed American and other CEOs to showcase the countrys greater opening to the world. The next leader, Hu Jintao, went further in following the U.S. lead. During the 2008 financial crisis, Mr. Hu signed up to a plan laid out by President George W. Bush to stimulate the Chinese economy to help lift the world from recession.

Mr. Xi started his reign on a similar path. His China Dream slogan nodded to the appeal of the American Dream. In late 2017, he entertained President Donald Trump at a private dinner in the Forbidden City, despite Mr. Trumps threats to punish China. We have a thousand reasons to get the China-U.S. relationship right, he regularly told Chinese underlings and foreign visitors, and not one reason to spoil it.

But as the Trump administration piled tariffs on Chinese imports and blacklisted major Chinese companies, which it argued were stealing U.S. intellectual property and helping to build up the Chinese military, Mr. Xi soured. From his perspective, the U.S. had become an unreliable partner, and he worked to make China less reliant on America, especially on technology. In Beijings corridors of power, Mr. Trump was derisively known as a great unifierAmericas aggressive actions were unifying support in China for the party and Mr. Xi.

Americas chaotic pandemic response, followed by a summer of racial upheaval and the Jan. 6 Capitol storming, solidified his faith in the Chinese systems superiority, Chinese officials say. In internal meetings, they say, he compares American democracy to a sheet of loose sand and declares that the one-party system allows him to get things done.

With Mr. Biden in the White House, China has continued a hard-line approach, signaling that companies not following Beijings rules will lose access to the Chinese market. Swedish clothing brand Hennes & Mauritz AB recently met with a strong social-media rage and consumer boycott in China over its stance against sourcing cotton from Xinjiang.

Chinese authorities have restricted military personnel and employees of certain state-owned companies from using electric vehicles made by Americas Tesla Inc., citing national-security risks including concerns about the cars cameras. H&M declined to comment. Tesla, which didnt respond to requests for comment, said last week that its cameras arent activated outside North America. Nobody has forced them to stay in China, Mr. Yang said in Anchorage, regarding U.S. companies doing business in China.

Search for allies

Since the Alaska meeting, the competition has played out in a search for allies. Within a week, Mr. Blinken organized joint condemnation of Chinas Xinjiang policy with Canada, the European Union and the U.K., which included the first EU human-rights sanctions on China since the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters.

Even Japan, typically wary of angering China, its largest trading partner, appears to be tying itself more tightly to the U.S. Last week ahead of a trip by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to Washington for an April 16 summit with Mr. Biden, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi called on Beijing to improve human-rights conditions for Uyghurs and stop the Hong Kong crackdown.

Mr. Wang, the foreign minister, met his Russian peer in late March, prompting the nationalist Chinese newspaper Global Times to headline, China, Russia to break US hold on world order.  Then he traveled to the Middle East and signed a wide-ranging economic and security agreement with Iran.

Countries like India are trying to avoid getting caught between the two sides. Mr. Bidens plan to hold a Summit for Democracy will sharpen the divide. China retaliated against the EU sanctions by blacklisting European lawmakers and think tanks, although that might make the EU parliaments ratification of a pending investment treaty with China more difficult.

Its a high-stakes gamble for the Chinese, says Daniel Russel, a former Obama China official, now a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank. But its not a gamble they are certain to lose.

Lingling Wei, Bob Davis

: wsj.com
ZURICH (dpa-AFX) - Asset management firm Blackstone Group Inc. (BX) said on Tuesday that private equity funds associated with the company have agreed to acquire energy and telecom infrastructure supplier Sabre Industries Inc. The terms of the deal, however, were not disclosed. The purchase of Sabre from Jordan Company is part of Blackstone Energy Partners plan to invest more in companies, which are focusing on cleaner and affordable energy options. Alvarado, Texas-based Sabre Industries designs and manufactures highly-engineered, mission-critical overhead steel poles, towers, battery storage solutions, and related services for electrical utility and telecom end markets. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. Following the closing of the deal, Ulrich Spiesshofer, former President and Chief Executive Officer of ABB Ltd. and a Blackstone Senior Advisor, will take over as Chairperson of Sabre's Board. Once the acquisition is complete, Sabre will retain its name and continue to function independently as a Blackstone portfolio company. The company's leadership team and employees will keep their current roles and have plans to invest alongside Blackstone in the transaction. 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.
Ministers have been accused of a disrespectful attitude towards students after it was confirmed they will not return to university in England until 17 May at the earliest.

Face-to-face teaching will continue to be limited, raising questions about how many students will take up the offer so close to the end of term.

Professor Charlie Jeffery, vice chancellor of the University of York, described the timing of the announcement as very late and disrespectful.

It makes it extraordinarily difficult for our students to know where they are going to be and what they are going to be doing.

I find it actually rather disrespectful that students dont have the certainty that other sectors of the economy, for example tattoo parlours do, Prof Jeffery told the BBC.

The 17 May date will coincide with the further easing of restrictions on social contact indoors in England, as long as coronavirus case numbers continue to go in the right direction.

Most students in England were told not to return to campus as part of the nationwide lockdown announced in January.

Some on practical courses, which require specialist equipment and facilities, began to return to face-to-face teaching on 8 March.

In a written ministerial statement, universities minister Michelle Donelan warned the movement of students across the country still posed a possible transmission risk.

Once they do return, students will be asked to take three supervised Covid-19 tests, three to five days apart, at testing sites on campus.

Students will also have access to home testing kits for the rest of the term, the Department for Education said.

Ms Donelan said ministers recognised how difficult and disruptive the last year had been for students.

"However, the roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions, to ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. By [mid-May] more of the population will be vaccinated, and there is also more time to increase testing to reduce risk further."

Professor Julia Buckingham, president of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, recently described it as "illogical" to open gyms and shops on 12 April and not allow students to return to campus.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, said: The governments announcement today means that around 1 million university students will be unable to resume in-person teaching until at least mid-May. This includes students on courses such as business, law, maths, accounting and languages.

Whilst we recognise the need for caution as lockdown measures are eased, the governments decision today is a major blow. It fails to take into account the data which shows the safety of teaching spaces, and the very low infection rates at universities right now, despite the majority of students being on campus. We urge the government to reconsider its decision to ensure these students are not forgotten and can resume in-person teaching as soon as possible.

A parliamentary petition calling for students to be allowed to return to university at the start of the summer term has also garnered more than 5,700 signatures.

Hillary Gyebi-Ababio, from the National Union of Students, said: We are pleased that the government has finally remembered that students exist and started to fill the information vacuum of its own making. Our priority has always been that students and staff go back to a safe campus, and this be led by scientific advice, but the silence has been galling.

But the University and College Union has called for university courses to remain online until September.

The DfE has said it will make an additional 15m of funding available for student hardship this academic year.
By Ashoke Raj

New Delhi [India], April 13 (ANI): The Government of India's plan to restart the schedule of international flights this summer is unlikely as various countries have started banning international flights in the wake of rising COVID cases. The latest among these is Bangladesh that has announced a ban on all its international flights, to and from Bangladesh, from April 14 to April 20.



"Following the government guidance and instruction, with effect from 0001 BST on 14 April 2021 until 2359BST on 20 April 2021, all international passenger flights to/from Bangladesh shall remain suspended," read the circular of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Bangladesh has made it very clear that only emergency and humanitarian flights are allowed in the country for the next seven days.

"Medevac, humanitarian/relief, cargo, technical landing (for refueling only) and the flights cleared under special consideration shall remain out of the purview of this suspension. Standard disinfection, sanitisation and social distancing procedure, published by CAAB or other competent authority of the government, for the passenger, crew, equipment and aircraft (inflight or on ground) shall strictly to be maintained followed for such flights," the CAAB circular said.

Many Indian carriers have stopped booking of flights for Dhaka and suspended their operations, "Vistara is operating three flights in a week and operation has been suspended to/from Bangladesh (Dhaka) and no booking of flights for April 14 to April 20. Vistara's team is in contact with the passengers for refund or rescheduling the tickets," said a Vistara spokesperson.

Meanwhile, India's low-cost carriers SpiceJet is also in contact with India's aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). As of now, SpiceJet is operating flights from Kolkata with around 22 weekly departures to and from Bangladesh,

"SpiceJet is in touch with aviation regulators and we are bound to follow the order," the Airline said.

National Carrier Air India is also in touch with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the regulator.

In the past, many countries have banned flight operations in view of a rise in the number of COVID cases. Saudi Arabia has banned international flights from 20 countries, including India, in an effort to curb the increasing cases of coronavirus cases in the country. (ANI)
OKLAHOMA CITY, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR) (the "Company") today provided an update on its first quarter 2021 production results.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95419/continental_resources_logo.jpg

February 2021 weather adversely impacted first quarter 2021 total production by approximately 6 MBoepd (60% oil). First quarter 2021 oil production is expected to average approximately 152 MBopd and first quarter 2021 natural gas production is expected to average approximately 935 MMcfpd. Additionally, the Company is providing preliminary production guidance for second quarter 2021 of 160 to 165 MBopd and 920 to 940 MMcfpd. The Company is on track to meet or exceed its annual production guidance for the year of 160 to 165 MBopd and 880 to 920 MMcfpd.

As of March 31, 2021, the Company has reduced its total debt to $4.97 billion, with a cash balance of $96 million, equating to net debt of $4.88 billion (non-GAAP), reflecting a significant reduction from year-end 2020. The Company's recent debt reduction demonstrates the continued commitment to shareholder capital returns. The Company expects to reduce total debt to approximately $4 billion or below by year-end 2021.

The Company plans to announce first quarter 2021 results on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company plans to host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2021 results on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. CT). Those wishing to listen to the conference call may do so via the Company's website at www.CLR.com or by phone:

Time and date: 12:00 p.m. ET, Thursday, April 29, 2021 Dial-in: 1-888-317-6003 Intl. dial-in: 1-412-317-6061 Conference ID: 8019515

A replay of the call will be available for 14 days on the Company's website or by dialing:

Replay number: 1-877-344-7529 Intl. replay: 1-412-317-0088 Conference ID: 10153636

The Company plans to publish a first quarter 2021 summary presentation to its website at www.CLR.com prior to the start of its conference call on Thursday, April 29, 2021.

About Continental Resources

Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) is a top 10 independent oil producer in the U.S. and a leader in America's energy renaissance. Based in Oklahoma City, Continental is the largest leaseholder and the largest producer in the nation's premier oil field, the Bakken play of North Dakota and Montana. The Company also has significant positions in Oklahoma, including its SCOOP Woodford and SCOOP Springer discoveries and the STACK plays. With a focus on the exploration and production of oil, Continental has unlocked the technology and resources vital to American energy independence and our nation's leadership in the new world oil market. In 2021, the Company will celebrate 54 years of operations. For more information, please visit www.CLR.com.

Cautionary Statement for the Purpose of the "Safe Harbor" Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release includes "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. All statements included in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, but not limited to, forecasts or expectations regarding the Company's business and statements or information concerning the Company's future operations, performance, financial condition, production and reserves, schedules, plans, timing of development, rates of return, budgets, costs, business strategy, objectives, and cash flows are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, the words "could," "may," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project," "budget," "target," "plan," "continue," "potential," "guidance," "strategy," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words.

Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and assumptions about future events and currently available information as to the outcome and timing of future events. Although the Company believes these assumptions and expectations are reasonable, they are inherently subject to numerous business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control. No assurance can be given that such expectations will be correct or achieved or that the assumptions are accurate. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, commodity price volatility; the geographic concentration of our operations; financial market and economic volatility; the effects of any national or international health crisis; the inability to access needed capital; the risks and potential liabilities inherent in crude oil and natural gas drilling and production and the availability of insurance to cover any losses resulting therefrom; difficulties in estimating proved reserves and other reserves-based measures; declines in the values of our crude oil and natural gas properties resulting in impairment charges; our ability to replace proved reserves and sustain production; our ability to pay future dividends or complete share repurchases; the availability or cost of equipment and oilfield services; leasehold terms expiring on undeveloped acreage before production can be established; our ability to project future production, achieve targeted results in drilling and well operations and predict the amount and timing of development expenditures; the availability and cost of transportation, processing and refining facilities; legislative and regulatory changes adversely affecting our industry and our business, including initiatives related to hydraulic fracturing and greenhouse gas emissions; increased market and industry competition, including from alternative fuels and other energy sources; and the other risks described under Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, registration statements and other reports filed from time to time with the SEC, and other announcements the Company makes from time to time.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which such statement is made. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties described in this press release occur, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the Company's actual results and plans could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as otherwise required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly correct or update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances after the date of this report, or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

Net Debt

Net debt is a non-GAAP measure. We define net debt as total debt less cash and cash equivalents as determined under U.S. GAAP. Net debt should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, total debt, the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Management uses net debt to determine the Company's outstanding debt obligations that would not be readily satisfied by its cash and cash equivalents on hand. We believe this metric is useful to analysts and investors in determining the Company's leverage position since the Company has the ability to, and may decide to, use a portion of its cash and cash equivalents to reduce debt.

Investor Contacts: Media Contact: Rory Sabino Kristin Thomas Vice President, Investor Relations Senior Vice President, Public Relations 405-234-9620 405-234-9480 [email protected] [email protected]



Lucy Spaay

Investor Relations Analyst

405-774-5878

[email protected]



SOURCE Continental Resources
OTTAWA  The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by Google Canada, saying its request would only delay a trial about a patent case filed against the search engine company.

The 3-0 decision written by Justice Yves de Montigny said it would be better to have the central issues go ahead and be considered by the trial judge, rather than be delayed by Google's appeal on a secondary matter.

Google Canada and its parent companies are defendants in an action brought to the Federal Court in 2018 by Paid Search Engine Tools LLC, which is seeking compensation for the use of intellectual property that is covered by a Canadian patent.

Paid Search Engine Tools, or PSET, claims that it has patent rights to some of the technology used by Google's search engine to manage online advertising.

PSET has also pursued similar patent cases against Google, Microsoft and Yahoo in U.S. courts.

The Federal Court is expected to conduct the trial by remote video, because of public health restrictions due to the pandemic.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021.

The Canadian Press
Back in 2015, Angela Antony predicted that big changes were coming to hiring. While working for the National Economic Council and writing a book about inefficiencies in the labor market, she learned that nearly half of all new hires fail within a year and a half, most often due to mismatches between their personalities and cognitive skills and those required of the job. "The whole premise of the book was that the job market was headed toward a reckoning," says Antony.

The events of 2020 helped bring about that reckoning. The pandemic-induced recession eliminated an estimated 30 million American jobs, and the death of George Floyd brought the issue of systemic racism to the forefront -- concurrent events that led countless companies to rethink their hiring practices. Antony, meanwhile, stands positioned to capitalize: She ended up abandoning her book and instead building a San Francisco-based hiring software company, Scoutible. The Mark Cuban-backed startup, which launched publicly this week, built a video game that companies can use to measure a job candidate's traits and determine whether they're a fit for a role.

Scoutible's platform is a 21st-century tool that Antony hopes will fix the many flaws inherent in traditional hiring practices, which various studies have found tend to discriminate against women and people of color.

"If a company is using resumes and interviews, they're basically accepting bias into their hiring practice," says Antony. "Technology is perhaps the only chance we have as a society to break these patterns at a systemic level and democratize the hiring process."

Hiring companies can screen candidates by having them play Scoutible's app-based adventure game for 15 minutes. The platform analyzes their in-game decision making and produces evaluations on qualities like learning style, creativity, grit, and leadership, as well as skills like pattern recognition and memory. Those results can be compared to the hiring company's internal testing of its employees or to Scoutible's database. The startup has had clients using the platform during a several-year pilot test, which Antony says has given it robust data on the kinds of qualities that correlate with many common roles.

"The data that we collect around personality and cognitive strengths are the single most predictive hiring selection criteria that exist," says Antony. "But they're not in today's hiring process at all."

Antony points out that the platform can help surface candidates who might get overlooked using traditional hiring practices. She cites the example of a tech company that recently used Scoutible's platform to hire for an engineering role. One of the top candidates identified by the platform was a man without a college degree who was working at an auto body shop and had taken a coding class on the side. He got the job and went on to excel in the role. "Think about the social mobility that the technology has enabled in that situation," says Antony. "I hope this is the catalyst for companies to stop talking about hiring bias and start changing it."

Scoutible's platform is currently free for companies to use to screen candidates. The startup will eventually make money by charging to connect companies with candidates, acting like a recruiting firm that screens based on skills rather than previous job experience.

The startup has about $6.5 million in funding from investors including Cuban, who Antony met while she was working for the NEC. It was Cuban who, upon hearing about her research, first encouraged Antony to stop writing her book and start building a startup. He's since served as an adviser to Antony as she founded and grew the company. Cuban's Dallas Mavericks are among Scoutible's early clients, as are Colonial Life Insurance and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.

Scoutible's nearly 20-person staff includes game designers, data scientists, economists, and psychologists. The company will release a consumer-facing game later this year that job seekers can play to produce a "strengths resume," which will highlight their Scoutible-certified skill ratings to potential employers. The startup will have competition in companies like Pymetrics and Jobflare, which both create gamified platforms for assessing potential hires.

While it's still early days for Scoutible, Antony is optimistic the startup's launch will be a success. She has reason to believe companies are approaching hiring differently today than they were just a few years ago, when several potential clients in the tech space advised her not to position her startup as a diversity solution if she wanted it to be taken seriously.
Texas Supreme Court Tosses Contempt Order Against Anti-Lockdown Activist

The Supreme Court of Texas threw out a contempt-of-court order against a small-business owner who was jailed last year for refusing to shutter her business to comply with pandemic-related restrictions.

The temporary restraining order that Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was said to have violated failed to set forth the conduct required and the legal basis for its issuance in clear, specific, and unambiguous terms, the April 9 court decision said.

A year ago, Luther became the face of the movement to resist the sometimes extreme pandemic lockdowns imposed by state and local governments.

Luthers case became a cause celebre among Texas Republicans who petitioned against her countys harsh lockdown provisions. She appeared on The View and at rallies as she took in half a million dollars in crowdfunding. The conservative support led her to an unsuccessful run for the state Senate, ABC13.com reported.

Conservatives likened her to civil rights figure Rosa Parks, who, in 1955, refused to yield her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Three other black passengers had already complied with the drivers order that they move.

When he asked Parks, Why dont you stand up? she answered, I dont think I should have to stand up. She was promptly arrested.

This act of defiance by Parks was the catalyst for the Montgomery bus boycott, which bolstered a nationwide push to end the racial segregation of public facilities.

Former U.S. Rep. Allen West, the states GOP chairman, had compared Luther to Rosa Parks.

Shelley Luther is our modern-day Rosa Parks, and she has sparked a movement, he wrote May 5, 2020, on Twitter.

Days before a court hearing last year, Luther had taken in $18,000 in refundable loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, a sum that would have helped cover costs throughout the pandemic. She later said she didnt know she was allowed to spend it and, at the same time, believed she couldnt risk closing her business.

I am not going to shut the salon, she said in court.

Separately, Luther said that if she had to go to jail to prove a point that what theyre doing is totally unconstitutional, then thats what happens.

Luther was jailed for ignoring a shutdown order by a judge.

In a Judgment of Contempt and Order of Confinement signed May 5, 2020, by 14th Judicial District Court Judge Eric Moye, an elected Democrat, the judge found that Luther and her business, S&B Hot Mess Enterprises LLC, doing business as Salon A La Mode, violated a temporary restraining order dated April 28 that directed the salon to cease operating.

The judge offered Luther leniency if she admitted she was wrong, saying:

If you would like to take this opportunity now to acknowledge: that your actions were selfish, putting your own interests ahead of those in the community in which you live; that they disrespected the executive orders of the state, the orders of the county, and this city; that you now see the error of your ways and understand that the society cannot function when ones own belief in the concept of liberty permits you to flaunt your disdain for the rulings of duly elected officials; that you owe an apology to the elected officials who you disrespected by flagrantly ignoring and, in one case, defiling their orders which you now know obviously regard to you.

Luther was sentenced to seven days imprisonment. Her business was ordered to pay $500 per day for criminal contempt for the seven days it operated contrary to pandemic restrictions. The business was also ordered to pay an additional $500 per day for civil contempt for each day from this day forward during which the Salon remains in operation from the date of the Temporary Restraining Order until May 7, 2020.

The order stated that any time the Defendants should wish to purge themselves of their Contempt, they may petition this Court for release from confinement, provided that they cease operating the salon and publicly express contrition.

Luther had previously ripped up a citation at a rally.

Im not anyone special, she reportedly said at the event. I just know that I have rights. You have rights to feed your children and make income, and anyone that wants to take away those rights is wrong.

Luther said she, along with several of her 19 stylists, had fallen behind on paying their mortgages.

Its either come in and make money to be able to feed your family, or stay home and freak out.

Luther was jailed a few days but then released May 7, 2020, after the Supreme Court of Texas ordered her released, pending final disposition of this case. The next day, Texas allowed hair salons to reopen with conditions.
DALLAS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- This year marks Service King's 45th anniversary, and its passion and drive to help others through the act of service remains steadfast.

Service King donates hand sanitizer, buckets and thermometers to DFW nonprofit Zane Gang.

Committed to giving back to the communities it serves, Service King recently donated around 5,600 33-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer, nearly 7,000 10-ounce bottles of hand sanitizer, 64 five-gallon buckets and 400 thermometers to local 501(c)(3) charity organization, Zane Gang. The nonprofit is a mobile van in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that aims to help those struggling with homelessness, hunger and access to basic needs.

"At Service King, one of our shared values is the calling to serve," said Service King President Jeff McFadden. "Service King was founded in DFW, so in celebration of our 45th anniversary, we are giving back to the community where it all began. Through our involvement with Zane Gang, we hope to make an impact across a local community that is affected by homelessness."

Service King chose to partner with Zane Gang because it is an organization that puts items directly into the hands of those who need them. Service King obtained the donated excess supplies from bulk orders during the height of the pandemic.

"We were thrilled when Service King came to us with a desire to provide these essential supplies," said Zane Gang President and Owner Kim Garrett. "The homeless community was greatly impacted during the pandemic, so Service King's donation was crucial in helping those struggling."

Zane Gang also supports homeless veterans, students and the elderly. Service King has shown its continuous commitment to the brave men and women who protect and serve our country, through initiatives such as its Hire Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program and Mission to Hire.

To learn more about Service King, visit serviceking.com.

About Service King Collision

Service King Collision, which is now celebrating 45 years of experience in the automotive repair industry, is a leading national operator of comprehensive, high-quality auto body collision repair facilities. The organization is consistently recognized for its commitment to customer satisfaction, quality workmanship and giving back to the industry through innovative training and recruiting initiatives. Service King traces its roots back to Dallas, Texas and founder Eddie Lennox who opened the very first Service King in 1976. Today, Service King operates locations in 24 states and the District of Columbia across the U.S.

For more information and to find a local Service King, visit serviceking.com and follow Service King on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Contact: Emily Ashmun, Service King Collision at 469-426-7657 or [email protected]

SOURCE Service King
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aiming to keep the best doctors in the Inland Empire (IE) while developing a new generation of physician leaders, Riverside County Medical Association (RCMA) and Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) have partnered to create a Population Health Fellowship Program for physicians who have just completed their primary care residency programs.

The new Fellowship Program focuses on retaining and training the best primary care residents in the IE by offering an unprecedented educational opportunity facilitated by physician leaders in the IEHP network. Photo Credit: Envato Elements

This first-of-its-kind program focuses on retaining and training the best primary care residents in the IE by offering an unprecedented educational opportunity facilitated by physician leaders in the IEHP network. The program also offers loan forgiveness incentives to help reduce the pressures of student debt and eliminate the strain of low-paying fellowship programs.

"Being a physician is not an easy career path," said Dolores Green, RCMA Executive Director. "However, by connecting physicians to the resources and support they need early on, we hope they will find more fulfilling and productive careers in the IE. We want them to reach their full potential as leaders and agents of change in the health care system."

To kick off the program in July-August 2021, two inaugural Fellows will work with two IE physicians from IEHP's network. Dr. Ashley Molina will join the Arrowhead Family Medical Group with Dr. David Lanum, and Dr. Kacie Paik will join Dr. Tarek Mahdi at Riverside Family Physicians.

Barry Bittman, MD, Inland Empire Foundation for Medical Care's Chief Population Health and Quality Officer and the fellowship's faculty chair, says the unique program provides a strategic path for physician-led transformation that is critical to advance our healthcare system into the future. "Our conceptual framework has been built upon the premise that acquiring and putting into practice key population health perspectives and insights early on in one's medical career is the best way to prepare physicians to become effective change agents," says Dr. Bittman. "What's truly unique about this fellowship is that our primary goal ultimately extends beyond physician practices  our aim is to positively transform the health of our communities."

The need for quality physicians has never been greater in the region, which continues to face an immense provider shortage. According to the California Health Care Foundation, the Inland Empire has one of the lowest ratios of Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) and specialty physicians per 100,000 people in California.

To help address the provider shortage, the health plan has also started a Healthcare Scholarship Fund for 50 medical students in the IE who, upon graduation, will commit to serving in the region for at least five years.

"This is an exciting opportunity for physicians in our region and the community we so passionately serve," said Jarrod McNaughton, IEHP's chief executive officer. "Building a support system around our physicians early on and working with them to fill in the personal and professional gaps they face, will ensure better care and health for Inland Empire residents. Our physicians deserve to be taken care of the way they are expected to care for our Members, and we're grateful to partner with such incredible organizations to do just that."

About IEHP

IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, is one of the top 10 largest Medicaid health plans and the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid plan in the country. With a network of more than 6,400 Providers and more than 2,000 employees, IEHP serves more than 1.3 million residents in Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in Medicaid or Cal MediConnect Plan (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Through a dynamic partnership with Providers and Community, award-winning service and innovative products, IEHP is fully committed to advocating for our Members and providing them with quality, accessible and wellness-based health care services. For more information, visit iehp.org.

SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)

Related Links

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Customers can now pay only for the hourly usage of Robin CNS when they run ephemeral workloads such as ETL processing, AI/ML data preprocessing and ad-hoc data analysis on Red Hat OpenShift.

Robin.io, the leader in Kubernetes storage and data management, today announced the availability of the pay-as-you-go pricing model for Robin Cloud Native Storage (CNS) on Red Hat Marketplace. Robin.io customers can now pay for hourly usage of Robin CNS when purchased on Red Hat Marketplace, giving them the flexibility to tie their project budgeting to consumption, rather than commit to fixed pricing up front.

Red Hat Marketplace is an open cloud marketplace that makes it easier to discover and access certified software for container-based environments across the hybrid cloud. Customers can find software solutions that have been tested and certified for Red Hat OpenShift and deploy with improved confidence.

Robin CNS is available on Red Hat Marketplace, here: https://marketplace.redhat.com/en-us/products/robin-storage/pricing

Robin CNS is a purpose-built, container-native storage solution designed to bring advanced data management capabilities to OpenShift. It is a high performance storage solution that installs natively on OpenShift and provides block and file storage for databases, data analytics, and AI/ML applications. Robin CNS was engineered to simplify storage and data management to enable developers to manage stateful applications.

The flexibility to pay for hourly consumption of Robin CNS provides Red Hat Marketplace customers the ability to quickly deploy our industry-leading storage solution for ephemeral workloads. said Ankur Desai, director of product, Robin.io, Customers can now pay only for the hourly usage of Robin CNS when they run ephemeral workloads such as ETL processing, AI/ML data preprocessing and ad-hoc data analysis on Red Hat OpenShift. This process can help our users with flexible licensing terms that can reduce costs and encourage experimentation with new features and innovation.

With partners like Robin.io, were evolving Red Hat Marketplace to meet the needs of our customers, said Kelly Hartman, vice president, ecosystem and business development, IBM Cloud and Cognitive Software. We launched the pay-as-you-go pricing model on Red Hat Marketplace to allow the developer community to tap into the benefits of Red Hat OpenShift in a cost-efficient way.

Robin CNS is the first offering on Red Hat Marketplace to enable hourly billing. Key capabilities of Robin CNS include:



High performance (2X faster than competition)

High availability with customizable failover domain

Application-consistent snapshots to recover easily from user errors

Application-consistent backups to recover easily from system failures

Thin clones to collaborate faster across teams

Multi-cloud portability to easily migrate entire applications across clouds

The collaboration with Red Hat Marketplace is the latest in an impressive list of achievements at Robin.io since late last year:



Launched Robin Express, a full-featured, free-for-life edition and announced enhancements to the platform

Named an IDC Innovator for containerized storage

Recognized as a leader and outperformer in GigaOm Radar reports for Kubernetes storage and Kubernetes data protection

Added multi-cloud portability for complex stateful applications

Added Jai Menon and Henri Richard to the Robin.io Advisory Board

Partnered with Quortus to provide next-gen, cloud-native solutions for 5G

Granted 12 new patents in storage, networking, orchestration and automation of applications on Kubernetes

About Robin.io

Robin.io provides an application and data management platform that enables enterprises and 5G service providers to deliver complex application pipelines as a service. Built on industry-standard Kubernetes, Robin allows developers and platform engineers to rapidly deploy and easily manage data- and network-centric applicationsincluding big data, NoSQL and 5Gindependent of underlying infrastructure resources. Robin.io technology is used globally by companies including BNP Paribas, Palo Alto Networks, Rakuten Mobile, SAP, Sabre and USAA. Robin.io is headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. More at http://www.robin.io and Twitter: @robin4K8S.

Robin.io, the Robin.io logo and Robin Cloud Native Storage are trademarks or registered trademarks of Robin.io and are protected by trademark laws of the United States and other jurisdictions.

Red Hat and OpenShift are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries.


According to a new report, around 400 students un-enrolled from Laramie County School District 1 over the last year.

The district released its annual report late last month, which detailed enrollment numbers, how the coronavirus pandemic affected the district, and additional information. The district makes up about 15% of the state's K-12 population.

During the 2019-2020 school year, the district had 14,261 students enrolled. However, as of the current school year, there are approximately 13,840 students enrolled. Superintendent Dr. Boyd Brown believed this enrollment decline was "mostly due" to the pandemic.

"Prior to this year, the district has seen consistent growth of 1-2%," Brown wrote in the report. "We believe we will continue to grow over the next few years at a similar rate."

This was the first enrollment decline in the district in many years.

District finance director Jed Cicarelli told The Cheyenne Post that there are always nominal impacts to enrollments, which also factors into the enrollment decline.

"Students may move in and out of the district, parents receive new military orders, etc.," he said. "However, the pandemic appears to be the largest impact on enrollments this year (parents opting for homeschooling, enrolling in online programs outside the district, etc.)."

Declines were seen at the elementary level, with 7,862 K-6 students enrolled during the 2019-2020 school year but only 7,355 during the current year.

Cicarelli said the district saw an increase in the number of homeschooled students and transfers, in and out of the state.

"Our records do not always indicate if the student is enrolling in an online program with other Wyoming school districts, but we have heard from some of the statewide programs that their enrollments are up significantly because of COVID-19," he said.

Graduation rates also declined during the 2019-2020 school year from the previous one, dropping from 81.6% in 2019 to 77.9% in 2020, with 777 students graduating last year.

Additionally, the district saw a $4.9 million budget reduction over the last two years. Student enrollments, as measured by the Average Daily Membership, is the primary factor in determining district funding, according to Cicarelli.

"Fewer students means less resources are generated for supplies, materials, and staff positions, such as teachers, student support positions, and administrators," he said. "To varying degrees, student counts also impact federal grant allocations, state construction, and maintenance funding and other revenue sources."
According to a press release published by the Finnish Navy on April 13, 2021, two Hamina-class fast-attack craft of the Finnish Navy will take part in the annual anti-submarine warfare exercise organised by the Swedish Navy on 15-20 April 2021 off the east coast of Sweden.

According to a press release published by the Finnish Navy on April 13, 2021, two Hamina-class fast-attack craft of the Finnish Navy will take part in the annual anti-submarine warfare exercise organised by the Swedish Navy on 15-20 April 2021 off the east coast of Sweden.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

FNS Pori 83 (Picture source: Finnish Navy)

The exercise will enhance the cooperation between Finland and Sweden in anti-submarine warfare.

- It is a versatile exercise which will allow to train the crews to operate the vessels and conduct submarine search and anti-submarine operations efficiently. Finnish Navy will get training in the use of the new underwater systems of the overhauled Hamina-class fast-attack craft against real submarines, says Chief of Staff of the Coastal Fleet, Commander Mikko Villikari.

The Finnish vessels will participate in the exercise on the invitation of the Swedish Navy. The exercise will the commanded by the Swedish Navys 4th Naval Warfare Flotilla. Finlands participation in the exercise has been approved by the Ministry of Defence in the Defence Forces exercise activities programme 2021.

The Hamina-class is a fast attack craft of the Finnish Navy that was built in the late 1990s, early 2000s, and are the fourth generation of Finnish missile craft. The first vessel was ordered in December 1996 and the fourth was handed over by the Finnish Navy on 19 June 2006.

The Hamina-class is armed with one Bofors 40 mm Mk.4 dual-purpose gun, one Saab Trackfire remote weapon station with a 12,7mm machine gun, Gabriel Mk.5 anti-ship missile and torpedos Torped 45/47. The ship is also fitted with Saab 9LV combat management system, Kongsberg ST2400 towed sonar (from Rauma class), new TRS-3D phased array C-band radar and Saab Ceros 200 radar and optronic tracking fire control director.
Regardless, mainstream media was quick to pounce and his comments were twisted as they echoed around the globe. Late night monologues were written, and memes flooded our social media feeds.

Almost a year later, Doctors Fauci and Birx continue to use their platform to ridicule President Trump's statements. However, an objective, scientific look back at his comments paint a different picture  one, that could have been a pivotal moment in the world's fight against the pandemic.

"And then I see the disinfectant that knocks [COVID] out in a minute, one minute."

A one minute disinfectant does exist. TK60 (which stands for Total Kill in 60 Seconds), is nontoxic and produced on site via a patented device. When disinfectant supply chains came to a grinding halt, hospitals that had the devices were able to produce ample supplies of TK60. They delivered excess supplies to outlying clinics and fire departments and provided nurses with bottles of it for their personal use.

In addition to surpassing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) requirements for healthcare-grade disinfection which tests pathogens more difficult to kill than COVID, it had been tested and shown to be effective against a non-enveloped viral surrogate in one-minute, before COVID-19 was labeled a pandemic.

Compare a one-minute contact time to the ten-minute contact time of most disinfectants on the market and you can understand why President Trump thought it was worthy of mentioning. It is aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation that products with the shortest contact time possible be used.

Former Texas Governor Mark White was aware of this advanced one-minute disinfectant in 2015 and recognized it as a key to reducing the 1.7 million healthcare-acquired infections that occur in the United States each year. These preventable infections claim the lives of over 100,000 Americans annually, an astounding 6% death rate.

In a June 18, 2015 email to Dr. Paul Klotman, President of Baylor College of Medicine, Governor White wrote, "This is a new product, manufactured in San Marcos, Texas. Should reduce/stop infections in hospital settings and dramatically cut cleaning costs."

Why does contact time matter?

Contact time is the period that a surface must remain wet for the product to be effective.

It is the difference between students losing ten minutes of learning time between classes while their desks are disinfected, diners waiting ten extra minutes to be safely seated in a restaurant, or an Emergency Department having to pause for ten minutes between caring for patients in critical condition. Simply put, people don't and can't wait ten minutes, and as such have been conditioned to "spray and wipe".

The "spray and wipe" method is dangerous. Harmful pathogens like COVID and MRSA live for relatively long periods of time on the surfaces that we touch and place our phones and masks on. If a product's contact time is not adhered to, pathogens are not eliminated properly, making them likely to spread.

"And is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning? It would be interesting to check that."

False reports misquoting President Trump as having said people should 'inject disinfectants' ran rampant. It cannot be overstated that injecting disinfectants is not safe, but again, that is not what he said.

TK60, the one-minute disinfectant is comprised of 99.98% water and .02% hypochlorous acid. President Trump's comments were not outlandish knowing that hypochlorous acid is what our white blood cells produce naturally to fight pathogens. Mammalian cells have constant low levels of oxidative chemicals such as hypochlorous acid and it is widely used in FDA-approved wound care products.

Now, with the one-minute disinfectant having been studied even further, an EPA-audited lab has confirmed its effectiveness against COVID in less than 20 seconds, 30 times faster than most products found on the EPA's List N.

Rather than focus on disinfection as a key to ending the pandemic, the dialogue has moved away from it.

The CDC is now saying it is not important, ignoring the millions of lives lost from improper disinfection.

Proper disinfection remains one of our most powerful weapons in the fight against COVID and other infectious diseases. Yet, when addressing the topic, Dr. Fauci, who has held the position of Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, only offered general rhetoric to "follow the manufacturer's instructions" which vary widely from product to product.

If reliance on science is the goal, a one-minute contact time surely trumps a ten-minute contact time, hypoallergenic trumps toxic, and the ability to produce on site trumps packaging and shipping. In a society where the improper spray and wipe method is our standard for using disinfectants, neglecting to educate the public, and not setting a practical global standard flamed the spread of COVID and other deaths caused by infectious diseases.

Several facilities have shared numerous advantages of replacing archaic ten-minute disinfectants. It is devastating to think how many businesses and schools could have remained open, how many essential workers could have been better supported on the frontlines, and most importantly, how many lives could have been saved if President Trump's curious comments were received with open minds.

Another punchline was not worth our current global reality. We could be in a vastly different place today had Doctors Fauci and Birx, scientists who are surely aware of hypochlorous acid, helped clarify President Trump's excited comments.

About R-Water

R-Water's computerized device gives hospitals, hotels, cruise ships, office buildings, restaurants, schools, and other facilities the power to produce cutting-edge cleaning and disinfecting solutions on-site. To learn more about how you can protect yourself against the threat of COVID-19, visit www.r-water.com or contact [email protected] .

SOURCE R-Water, LLC

Related Links

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BEIRUT (AP)  A 10-day curfew in areas controlled by U.S.-backed fighters in northeast Syria went into effect Tuesday in an attempt to try limit the spread of coronavirus in the region that borders Turkey and Iraq.

Northeast Syria witnessed a sharp increase of coronavirus cases in recent weeks overwhelming hospitals and clinics leading to the lockdown.

Residents in northeast Syria contacted by telephone said most people were abiding by the lockdown with few people on the streets amid patrols and checkpoints enforcing the curfew.

In addition to the curfew, all crossing points between areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with areas held by government forces and those with insurgent groups in northwest Syria will be closed as well.

The curfew went into effect as Muslims in Syria marked the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan during which many people abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Shop selling food products will be allowed to open between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m..

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said sectors not included in the curfew are bakeries, pharmacies, gas stations while restaurants will only be allowed to do takeaway.

The speed in which the virus is spreading is huge, said Jwan Mustafa who head the health department in northeast Syria. The region has reached a very critical period and we cannot stop the spread.

The region that is home to some 5 million people has registered 201 new cases and six deaths on Monday alone, bringing the total of cases to 12,437 including 428 deaths.

Mustafa added that the real numbers are believed to be much higher. Clinics that were set up to deal with coronavirus cases are all full.

The World Health Organization said in March that it will oversee a coronavirus vaccination campaign in Syria adding that the inoculation process is expected to start in April. It said the aim is to vaccinate 20% of the population by the end of 2021.
(Newser)  When Alena Wicker realized the racial and gender gaps in employment in the STEM fields, she went to work. The Texas 12-year-old told her mother, "I want to create this culture of Brown girls in STEM, because it's this whole gap, and I just want to do something," Good Morning America reports. In fact, the Pew Research Center has found that just 9% of STEM workers are Black people, and only 7% are Hispanic. The result of Alena's effort is a website, thebrownstemgirl, for girls of color. Her other efforts include writing a children's book and starting a podcast, which is a couple of weeks from its debut, that will feature "women and girls of STEM to ask and answer questions." She plans to lead by example, too.

story continues below

"I'm going to be the youngest Black girl to ever work for NASA," Alena would tell her mother. She'll start remote classes at Arizona State University in May, just as soon as she graduates from high school. Alena plans to double major in astronomical and planetary science and chemistry on her way to becoming an engineer. NASA honored its first Black female engineer, Mary Jackson, earlier this year by naming its Washington headquarters for her. Alena hopes one of her podcast guests will be another pioneer: Mae Jemison, NASA's first Black female astronaut. The prodigy is on her way to breaking ground herself; she and her mother, Daphne McQuarter, said NASA has contacted Alena. (Read more uplifting news stories.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 00:06:36|Editor: huaxia

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ADDIS ABABA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) disclosed on Tuesday that 80 percent of the rural parts in Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray regional state lack basic services.

Five months since the start of the conflict, the population in Tigray rural areas continue to lack access to basic services such as electricity, health, water and sanitation, and education, said a UNOCHA report.

The report said although there have been some improvements since March regarding humanitarian partners' access to Tigray, large areas of the region continue to be inaccessible.

"Despite these marked improvements, access to large areas of Tigray continues to be impeded by insecurity, and the humanitarian response remains limited, particularly in rural hard-to-reach areas," the report said.

Fighting that erupted in early November last year in Ethiopia's Tigray between the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which used to rule the regional state, and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces has left thousands of people killed and caused immense losses in the region.

According to Ethiopian government figures, the conflict in Tigray has displaced around 2.2 million people, while 4.5 million people are in need of emergency aid. Enditem
Lessons learned from the world's protected forests: Just declaring a plot of land protected isn't enough - conservation needs thoughtful selection and enforcement.

A group of scientists, many tied to Michigan State University, examined nearly 55,000 protected areas across the world to understand what it took to effectively protect their forests - a key benchmark to protecting habitat and preserving natural resources. They conclude that it's important to protect the forests exposed to the most threats in areas close to cities and be prepared to be strict in enforcing rules intended to stop deforestation.

In a recent issue of Science of the Total Environment, researchers noted that more than 4 million square kilometers have been designated as protected areas in the past decade, without documentation of how effective such areas across the globe are at protecting.

Preserving forests means more trees to suck up greenhouse gasses, as well as prevent erosion, mitigate flooding, purify water and quell sandstorms. The paper notes some high-profile protected areas have suffered a loss of wildlife meant to be protected.

"Protecting forests is crucial to achieve sustainability," said Jianguo "Jack" Liu, MSU Rachel Carson Chair in Sustainability and director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability. "To ensure we are directing our efforts to the right places, it's important to scrutinize protected areas across the globe."

In this comprehensive analysis, the study revealed:

About 71% of the protected areas worldwide contributed to preventing forest loss, but there is considerable room for improvement since only 30% of forest loss in protected areas has been prevented.

Protected areas in regions with higher pressure of forest loss prevented more forest loss.

Enforcement is important. At the global scale there is a trade-off between human uses of natural resources and the prevention of forest loss

Private reserves performed similarly to public PAs in preventing forest loss.

The group concluded that declaring an area as protected is not enough and that more attention needs to be given to improving the quality of forest protection and protecting the right forests. Currently, a global pattern of declaring remote areas as protected is missing the target, which instead is better focused on natural areas more in danger of being exploited.

###

In addition to Liu, "A global assessment of the impact of individual protected areas on preventing forest loss" was written by Hongbo Yang, Andres Vina, Julie Winkler, Min Gon Chung, Qiongyu Huang, Yue Dou and William McShea.

The work was supported by the Smithsonian Institution, the National Science Foundation, Michigan AgBioResearch, the Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
[April 13, 2021] Molina Healthcare Wins Ohio Medicaid Contracts

Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) today announced that its Ohio health plan subsidiary has been selected as an awardee in all three regions across the state pursuant to the Medicaid managed care RFA issued on September 30, 2020, by the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM). The new contract for Molina's Ohio health plan is expected to begin in early 2022, and will offer health care coverage to Medicaid beneficiaries through the State of Ohio's Covered Family and Children, Expansion, and Aged, Blind or Disabled programs which in total cover approximately 3.0 million members. "We are honored that ODM has selected Molina to continue to serve the state's most vulnerable citizens, as we have been proud to do for more than 15 years," said Ami Cole, president of Molina's Ohio health plan. "We are thrilled to be part of Ohio's implementation of exciting and forward-thinking approaches in its next generation of managed care." About Molina Healthcare Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, provides managed healthcare services under the Medcaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare served approximately 4.0 million members as of December 31, 2020. For more information about Molina Healthcare, please visit molinahealthcare.com.



Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This press release contains "forward-looking statements" regarding the provisional award of a Medicaid managed care contract to Molina's Ohio health plan by ODM. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations that are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks include, without limitation, the failure to finalize or formalize the provisional awards or to execute a final Medicaid managed care contract, changes incidental to a successful protest or legal action, a delay in the start date for the contract, or other supervening action by ODM or a court. Given these risks and uncertainties, Molina cannot give assurances that its forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. All forward-looking statements in this release represent Molina's judgment as of the date hereof, and it disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to changes in its expectations that occur after the date of this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005416/en/

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Bryan guides clients on their most complex fund sponsor matters in this dynamic and evolving market. He is a strong addition to Ropes & Gray's asset management practice, which is known for its market leadership on cutting-edge, novel and complex work. He was named a Law360 2020 Rising Star of Fund Formation, and is known for advising private equity sponsors in the structuring, formation, offering and ongoing operation of closed-end funds and alternative investment vehicles in the buyout, credit, energy, growth, impact, infrastructure, life sciences, real estate and venture capital sectors in North America, Europe and Asia.

Bryan recently advised a leading asset manager in raising $20 billion across three funds, each with a differing continental focus. While Bryan's practice has a focus on fund formation, he also represents large, institutional sponsors and alternative investment managers in the structuring and syndication of co-investment opportunities, including both direct co-investments and single asset fund products, GP-led secondaries and secondary transactions, the negotiation and establishment of separately managed accounts, funds-of-one, multi-strategy arrangements and platform agreements, fund reporting, and other ongoing compliance obligations of registered investment advisers.

He joins Ropes & Gray, a top-ranked law firm for asset management. With one of the largest and most sophisticated private funds practices in the industry, a hallmark of the firm is navigating the most complex issues for clients across the asset management industry. Ropes & Gray is the only firm ranked nationally by Chambers USA 2020 in the top two bands for each of private investment funds, hedge funds, registered funds, and investor representation. Chambers notes that "this group has up-to-date market knowledge at all times and receives accolades for its strong grasp of the key issues affecting its clients."

"Bryan Hunkele has seen and handled just about every type of complex sponsor side private fund issue. He is a fantastic fit for Ropes & Gray's leading asset management practice. His skills reinforce that our global private funds sponsor team is the counsel of choice for prestigious buyout fund sponsors, and asset managers," said Bryan Chegwidden, global head of the firm's asset management group.

"Private fundraising continues to explode and be a strategic priority for our global sponsor clients. Bryan's expertise will help our clients capitalize on the dynamic opportunities in the market," said managing partner David Djaha.

"Ropes & Gray is the best in the private funds space and has an exceptional collection of extraordinary PE fund lawyers. I am proud and excited to be joining the team," said Bryan Hunkele.

In addition to Law360's 2020 Rising Star of Fund Formation, The Legal 500's US 2020 guide of leading lawyers notes Bryan as being "an expert in fund formation" for Investment Funds: Private Equity Funds (Including Venture Capital).

The firm continues to aggressively expand its private equity fund formation practice. Bryan will be the third partner to join Ropes & Gray's private equity fund formation practice in the last year, following the arrival of Emily Brown and Tom Alabaster as asset management partners, as well as asset management counsel Chris Townsend , all in London.

About Ropes & Gray's Asset Management Practice

More than 300 Ropes & Gray lawyers in the United States, Asia and Europe focus on advising a global client base of asset management firms across the entire spectrum of private and registered fund structures, investment strategies, and asset classes. Our deep asset management experience enables Ropes & Gray to identify significant commercial, regulatory and economic issues, understand emerging trends, and craft innovative solutions that are unique to the concerns of clients throughout the industry and in jurisdictions around the world.

About Ropes & Gray

Ropes & Gray is a preeminent global law firm with approximately 1,400 lawyers and legal professionals serving clients in major centers of business, finance, technology and government. The firm has offices in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, and has consistently been recognized for its leading practices in many areas, including private equity, M&A, finance, asset management, real estate, tax, antitrust, life sciences, health care, intellectual property, litigation & enforcement, privacy & cybersecurity, and business restructuring.

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SOURCE Ropes & Gray

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MERIDEN  For 14 years, Maggie Bender, now a retired firefighter, has shaved her head for the St. Baldricks Foundation.

Normally, city firefighters host an event at the Dawg House Bar and Grill to raise money for St. Baldricks but due to COVID-19, they havent been able to hold the event.

Bender, however, has continued to shave her head to help children fighting cancer.

Last year we planned an event, obviously it didnt happen, so I shaved my head anyway in my driveway because my cousin can do that, Bender said. He came over, shaved my head and whatever money we raised still goes to St. Baldricks.

This year, firefighters may hold an in person event in the fall, but Bender decided to shave her head on Sunday, with her family and friends there lending support. She also plans to shave her head again in the fall.

My hair was way too long for me so I just figured it would be just like getting a regular haircut and St. Baldricks would make some money off of it, Bender said. ... I shave it like once a year and then it grows out and we go from there, but I just figured, What the hell,  It goes to childrens cancer research and what better place to put my money where my mouth is.

St. Baldricks is a not-for-profit that raises money to help and find cures for children with cancer. Before the pandemic, local organizations would hold fundraisers around St. Patricks Day, asking supporters to pledge money in return for

members shaving their heads.

For the past couple of years, Bender has raised over $3,000 for St. Baldricks. This year, she had raised $3,564 so far.

People would just donate because they know that she does it, said Christine Webster, Benders sister. Who doesnt want to help kids cancer?

Bender said the typical in-person event hosted by city firefighters is a family affair.

Tons of firefighters from surrounding towns  We get guys from Middletown, New Haven, Wallingford, Bender said. They raise money through their department  We put a bunch of people in (the Dawg House) to shave our heads and a drum band comes in from New Haven. We make quite an event out of it and its a good time to go sit, have something to eat and drink and watch everyone else get shaved.

Ellie Bender, Maggie Benders mother, said that some of Maggie Benders old classmates continue to donate every year.

Shes had a couple of people who were in her classes way back when and theyve been donating money to this ever since then, Ellie Bender said. She contacted them and they still wanted to do it.

But Ellie Bender said that for Maggie Bender, helping others is what matters.

If Maggie can help anybody, she does it, Ellie Bender said.

jsimms@record-journal.com203-317-2208Twitter: @jessica_simms99
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 11:31:25|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday accused Israel of plotting an incident at an Iranian nuclear facility to disrupt Iran's efforts to have U.S. sanctions lifted in the recent Vienna nuclear talks.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Media in Iran widely reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident.

"NUCLEAR TERRORISM"

Israel "wants to take revenge on the Iranian people for their success in lifting the unjust sanctions, but we will not allow it," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying on Monday.

Zarif said that the centrifuges damaged at the Natanz facility were the first generation, and will be replaced with more advanced devices, which will strengthen Iran's position in the negotiations aiming to have U.S. sanctions against Iran lifted.

Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will "take revenge on" Israel for the incident in Natanz.

Meanwhile, Sunday's incident was "a bold act of nuclear terrorism on the Iranian soil," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted by Press TV as saying on Monday.

Ali Akbar Saleh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), on Sunday also described the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism."

"Necessary measures are being taken to arrest the main element behind the disruption in the power system of Natanz complex," Iran's Nour News reported, citing a security source.

The incident at the nuclear facility came a day after 164 IR-6 semi-industrial centrifuges were injected with gas and became fully operational at a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, and 30 IR-6S centrifuges entered the first phase of gas injection at the same plant.

ISRAEL-IRAN TENSIONS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

"We both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability," Netanyahu said in joint statements with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In November 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by an armed attack on his car. At that time, Tehran held Israel accountable for the assassination.

In July 2020, Iran said an "incident" affected a shed under construction at the Natanz complex. Later, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi described the incident as "an act of sabotage."

A decade ago, the Stuxnet cyberattack, revealed in 2010, delivered a blow to the nuclear program of Iran. Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, the computer worm is widely believed to be a cyberweapon built jointly by the United States and Israel.

Earlier this month, Iran confirmed an explosion in the country's commercial ship Saviz in the Red Sea. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Friday that Israel and the United States are suspected to be behind the recent attack on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea.

The New York Times called the attack against the Iranian ship as "an escalation of the shadowy naval skirmishing" between Iran and Israel, which has gone on for two years and opened "a new maritime front in a regional shadow war that had previously played out by land and air."

PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR DEAL

These recent developments have also complicated efforts to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as nuclear talks have been held in Vienna this month, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures topping the agenda.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019, one year after the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

As the Biden administration has expressed its desire to rejoin the nuclear agreement, Israel, a staunch opponent of Iran, has repeatedly voiced against Washington returning to the JCPOA.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at Northwest University of China, told Xinhua that Israel's recent actions against Iran are aimed at exerting strategic pressure on Iran's regional influence and Vienna nuclear meetings.

"At a time when the international community hopes to put the Iran nuclear deal back on track, Israel tried to deteriorate regional relations, block the return to the Iran nuclear deal, and create a favorable regional landscape for Israel," he said.

The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

"The United States was not involved in any manner," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing, adding that Washington is focused on discussions scheduled this Wednesday in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

In Iran, voices asking the government to halt the Vienna talks were clear heard after the incident. In response, Zarif called on the Iranian people not to "fall in a trap" set up by Israel.

Similarly, Iranian Students News Agency on Monday published an opinion piece titled "Let us not walk into the trap set by Iran's enemies."

Their goal is "to block the normalization of Iran's relations with the world, the reduction of economic pressure and the continuation of the security-building project for Iran," it said. Enditem
Iran Nuclear Plant Hit By Cyber Attack

Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz has been hit by a cyber attack just after it announced its new uranium enrichment equipment. and the Iranian government is blaming on the Israeli spy agency, Mossad. A top nuclear official in Iran announced the attack, which caused a power failure at the Natanz complex south of Tehran on Sunday 11th April.

Israeli media has recently warned about Iran's nuclear programme and now says the cyber attack on the nuclear plant was the result of a secret Israeli operation.

Israeli intelligence sources were quoted in Hebrew-language media recently claiming credit for the attack. They said that a cyber attack by Mossad inflicted severe damage at the heart of Irans enrichment programme.

These events comes after diplomatic efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal, which had been abandoned by the Trump administration in 2018. Israel and US allies in the Gulf strongly oppose restoration of the deal in its current form, without also addressing Irans ballistic missile program and its regional meddling through proxy militias in Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after talks on Monday 12th April with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability to carry out its genocidal goal of eliminating Israel, and Israel will continue to defend itself against Irans aggression and terrorism.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated new centrifuges at the Natanz site in a ceremony that was broadcast live on national television. Centrifuges are devices needed to produce enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel as well as nuclear weapons. This nuclear development by Iran represented a breach of the country's undertakings in the 2015 deal, which only permits Iran to produce and store limited quantities of enriched uranium to be used to produce fuel for commercial power plants.

Both sides have already targeted Industrial Control Systems (ICS) which have emerged as a key weakness for countries across the globe. Sabotage was blamed for a fire at the Natanz site which hit a central centrifuge assembly workshopin July 2020. Likewise, an attempt by hackers to disrupt Israel's water distribution infrastructure is attributed to agents of Iran.

Iran's state TV network read out a statement by the head of the national Atomic Energy Agency which described this most recent incident as "nuclear terrorism" and calling on the international community and the IAEA to deal with it, saying " Iran reserves the right to take action against the perpetrators." The IAEA said it was aware of the reports of an incident at Natanz but would not comment.

Since the emergence of the Stuxnet virus a decade ago, attempts to hack and exploit ICS systems have emerged as one of the most dangerous and contested frontlines in cyber warfare around the world, with officials in the Biden administration last week revealing a planned executive order to beef up US defences.

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Almost 100 manufacturing workers at a McCormick Foods plant in Melbourne ended their six-week strike on April 7 after the United Workers Union (UWU) brokered what appears to be an in principle agreement with company management.

The UWU has claimed a major win for the workers. It has reported that the deal includes: Retaining ALL previous conditions the company wanted to remove including the four-day week roster; 9 percent pay rise across 3 years; $5,000 sign on bonus.

No other details have been made available. It remains unclear whether a full enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) has been drafted. If has, it has not been made public. McCormick workers who have spoken with the World Socialist Web Site indicated that they are not aware of the full details of the union-management agreement.

Workers should have no confidence in union assurances of a victory. The WSWS has learned of at least one concession on workplace conditions that was not included in the UWUs statement on the end of the strikethe introduction of a new night shift. This company demand was part of its drive to slash overtime wage payments.

What other concessions have been agreed to but not made public? In industrial agreements, it is very frequently the case that the devil lies in the details.

Workers must demand full access to the entire agreement and time to study its contents, and organise a mass meeting to discuss how to carry forward the fight for decent wages and working conditions, including the option of resuming the strike.

Even if one were to take the UWUs claims at face value, the purported agreement does not constitute a victory. The 3 percent annual wage rise is only marginally higher than the official annual cost of living increases. This follows a five-year period where workers received no wage rise at all. As the WSWS previously noted, this amounted to an effective wage cut of at least 10 percent based on cost-of-living increases over that periodthe equivalent of working one day each fortnight for free.

The $5,000 sign on bonus was evidently offered by the company in place of full back pay for lost wages endured by workers over the six-week strike.

As for retaining ALL conditions (union emphasis), this amounts to a tacit acknowledgement that not a single improvement in workplace conditions was secured by the UWU bureaucracy.

This follows a torrent of hot air blown by multiple trade union bureaucrats and Labor Party politicians on the McCormick picket.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus declared she was offering 100 percent solidarity. In reality the workers were kept isolated and subordinated to the anti-democratic Fair Work industrial laws that the unions helped the former federal Labor government to draft.

The picket maintained for six weeks would be more accurately described as a pseudo-picket, with no effort made to block the coming and going of stockpiled supplies at the plant. No other section of workers was organised to take industrial action in support of the striking workers, including warehouse workers at a nearby distribution centre owned by McCormick.

Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese appeared before the striking workers, falsely posturing as their champion. Albaneses real agenda has been made clear by his multiple public assurances to big business and finance capital that if he is made prime minister he will work to boost profits through a stepped up productivity and growth agenda.

Labor MP Tanya Plibersek (centre left) with a group of workers at the McCormick picket (Credit: Facebook/United Workers Union)

Senior Labor figure Tanya Plibersek likewise made an appearance on April 1, going to the McCormick plant immediately after the conclusion of a Labor Party conference that, as the WSWS reported, amounted to a rather anxious pitch to the corporate elite by the Labor leaders and their trade union partners presenting themselves as uniquely qualified to prosecute its agenda in the face of unprecedented geo-strategic and social tensions.

The UWUs promotion of the Labor Party contrasted with the bureaucracys aggressive and provocative interactions with World Socialist Web Site reporters during the McCormick strike.

Union officials were determined to make impossible a discussion with workers on the issues involved in the fight against McCormick management, including on the lessons of the Coles Smeaton Grange dispute. This involved 350 workers being locked out for more than three months at a Sydney warehouse, without receiving any strike pay from the UWU, only for the union to engineer a return to work on management terms while delivering every essential demand that had been issued by Coles (see Australian union rams through sell-out at Coles Smeaton Grange).

McCormick is a multi-national corporate giant, with a market capitalization of $US24 billion, and boasts over $5 billion in annual sales across 160 countries and territories. The companys wage-cutting drive at the Melbourne plant is part of an international restructuring offensive against its global workforce.

In 2009, in the midst of the global financial crisis, McCormick unveiled a so-called Comprehensive Continuous Improvement (CCI) program. Between 2009 and 2015, this involved cost-cutting totalling $US450 million and mass layoffs, including 8 percent of the companys workforce in North America. The restructuring has only intensified in the last six years. In 2020 alone, $100 million was slashed from the companys budget, with an equivalent figure expected for 2021.

In other words, more management attacks are on the agenda, at the Melbourne plant and elsewhere. McCormick Foods workers in Melbourne have to take their struggle out of the hands of the UWU bureaucracy.

A rank-and-file committee ought to be established, with the immediate and urgent task of securing every detail of the agreement struck between the union and company management, making this information accessible to the entire workforce, and organising a democratically run mass meeting to discuss the way forward.

We encourage McCormick Foods workers to contact the WSWS to discuss these important political issues.
The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) hosted its first virtual business opportunities seminar (BOS) of 2021 on 6 and 7 April.

The BOS seminars offer a one-stop shop for companies, civil contractors, manufacturers, consultants, and suppliers from the Bank Groups regional and non-regional members seeking to provide goods and services to projects or to the Bank.

Held virtually as a result of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, delegates were informed about the Banks strategy for supporting economic growth, its priority areas, rules and procedures for project and corporate procurement, and ongoing public and private sector operations.

During the sessions staff discussed the sectors that offer opportunities for partners and suppliers: climate change; infrastructure, cities and urban development; industries and trade; finance and SMEs; agriculture; health, human capital, youth, and skills development.

The Banks 2021 Business Opportunities Seminar was an impressive learning experience and an open door to interact virtually with different experts and gain insights into best practices and directions for conducting effective business approaches within the Bank, said David Andres Rojas Mejia, Senior Business Development Specialist at Catalonia Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

Private sector partners contributed richly to the discussion, sharing their experience around partnering and contracting with the Bank. They included Kwame Boate, country director of TechnoServe Inc., (Ghana) and Cletus Kayenwee of the Rural Enterprises Program at the Ghanaian Ministry of Trade, who shared their experience contracting with the Bank on Ghanas One District One Factory Enable Youth Program. The program aims to build the entrepreneurial capacity of graduate youth. Participants also heard from Abdelillah Zenjari, Deputy General Director of TEKCIM. He shared his experience partnering and obtaining a loan of 45 million to build a cement factory with a capacity of 1.4 million tons in the region of dEl Jadida in Morocco.

Over the years, the seminars have hosted approximately 2,500 delegates from 55 countries, with an average of 75% of delegates from non-regional member countries and 90% from the private sector.

For the Bank, the seminars increase interest in Bank-financed projects and enhance competition, thereby promoting higher-quality offers that deliver optimal value for money for its regional member countries.

The sessions have also helped me to understand how to find opportunities for my firm by being better able to navigate your procurement framework and processes, said Dede Watkin, Business Development Manager at Beale &Co, a participant.

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IDBI Bank share rose 8% today on report that Union Cabinet would consider a proposal to divest the government's 45.5 percent stake in the lender. The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), which holds 49.2 percent in IDBI Bank, will also be consulted before the stake sale process.

Buoyed by the stake sale report, share of IDBI Bank touched an intraday high of Rs 36.5, rising 7.99% against the previous close on BSE. The stock has gained after 6 days of consecutive fall. The share trades higher than 50 day and 100 day moving averages but lower than 5 day, 20 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has gained 72.29% in one year and risen 15% since the beginning of this year.

Adani Ports share slips 5% after firm removed from S&P index

Market cap of the lender rose to Rs 38,171 crore. According to a report in Business Standard , the cabinet approval will give the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) the authority to move ahead with the divestment process.

"DIPAM cannot move forward with the divestment process until approval from the cabinet is received, given that banks come under work allocation of the DFS. After the cabinet's approval, intermediaries can be appointed," the business news daily quoted an official as saying. The government's plan to sell its holding in the lender was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the report added.

In March this year, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) removed the lender from the prompt corrective action framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring.

On March 12, share of IDBI Bank opened 17 per cent higher at Rs 44.80 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the apex bank's removed lender from PCA framework. IDBI Bank was removed from the RBI's prompt corrective action (PCA) framework on March 10 after a gap of nearly four years on improved financial performance.

"Taking all the above into consideration, it has been decided that IDBI Bank Limited be taken out of the PCA framework, subject to certain conditions and continuous monitoring," the RBI said.

LIC-owned IDBI Bank was placed under prompt corrective action (PCA) framework in May 2017 after it had breached the threshold for capital adequacy, asset quality (net NPAs was over 13 per cent in March 2017), return on assets and the leverage ratio.

TCS share falls over 4% post Q4 earnings
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The white veteran police officer who shot dead Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Minneapolis after allegedly confusing her gun for a taser could reportedly faces charges as early as today after she and her police chief boss both resigned from the force.

It is not yet clear what charges Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter will face over the death of the 20-year-old black man but multiple sources told KSTP they could be filed on Wednesday.

Both Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned on Tuesday two days after Wright was shot dead after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags.

In her resignation letter, Potter - who has worked for the department for 26 years - did not address the deadly shooting that has sparked two days of violent protests and unrest across the city.

'I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department and my fellow officers if I resign immediately,' Potter said.

Potter, a married mother-of-two, has been on administrative leave since the shooting.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliot announced the resignation of Potter's police chief boss.

Gannon was the one who revealed during a tense press conference a day earlier that Wright's death was the result of 'accidental discharge' after Potter mistook her taser for a gun.

Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned on Tuesday two days after the 20-year-old black man was shot dead after he was pulled over for what police said were expired license plate tags

Potter, a white veteran police officer, shot dead 20-year-old Daunte Wright, during a traffic stop in Minneapolis on Sunday after allegedly confusing her gun for a taser

The resignations came as pressure mounted for Potter to be fired, including from Mayor Elliot.

Elliott said on Tuesday he was 'appreciative' that Potter submitted her resignation but that he had not asked for it. He said he wasn't sure if it was because she had heard that she would soon be fired.

It is not clear if Potter will be entitled to keep her pension.

Activists who attended the news conference called for sweeping changes to the Brooklyn Center Police Department and criticized acting police chief, Tony Gruenig, for not yet having a plan.

In her resignation letter, Potter - who has worked for the department for 26 years - did not address the deadly shooting that has sparked two days of violent protests and unrest across the city

Elliott said there were 49 police officers in the department but none of them lived in Brooklyn Center. He didn't immediately have information regarding racial diversity of those officers but said 'we have very few people of color in our department.'

He went on to say he hoped Potter's resignation would 'bring some calm to the community' but that he would keep working towards 'full accountability under the law.'

'That's what we're going to continue to work for,' Elliott said. 'We have to make sure that justice is served, justice is done. Daunte Wright deserves that, his family deserves that.'

Wright was shot as police were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. Police have said a struggle broke out as they tried to take him into custody after running his name and realizing he had the warrant.

Authorities have not confirmed the nature of the warrant but court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court last month on misdemeanor charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police last June.

His aunt has said the warrant was for marijuana possession.

Meanwhile, police started barricading Potter's home on Tuesday after her address was posted on social media, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Exclusive photos show the five-bedroom home surrounded by police and workmen unloading barricades. A police source told DailyMail.com that they anticipate protests later and said they are taking precautions to prevent the home being wrecked.

'We learned from [Derek] Chauvin. His house got totally smashed up in the protests,' the source said.

It is understood Potter left the property late last night with her 54-year-old husband Jeffrey and their sons Sam and Nick.

Jeffrey, a 26-year police veteran, retired from cop work with the Fridley Police Department in 2017 and now works as a corporate investigator at Allina Health. A relative was also spotted at the home on Tuesday morning, taking a series of cardboard boxes out of the property and loading it into their car.

Police sources told DailyMail.com that Potter and her family have left the area entirely.

Meanwhile, police started barricading Potter's home on Tuesday after her address was posted on social media, DailyMail.com can reveal. Exclusive photos show the five-bedroom home surrounded by police and workmen unloading barricades

A police source told DailyMail.com that they anticipate protests later and said they are taking precautions to prevent the home being wrecked

A protester gathered outside Potter's home on Tuesday after police and workers erected barricades

People were spotted retrieving belongings from Potter's home on Tuesday after the police officer left with her family last night

Daunte Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake after police revealed Brooklyn Center Police Officer Kimberly Potter accidentally fired her gun instead of her taser

During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called his death 'murder' and dismissed claims it was an accident

In an interview with Good Morning America on Tuesday, Wright's parents Katie and Aubrey said they could not accept their son's death was a mistake.

'I cannot accept that. I lost my son, he's never coming back. I can't accept a mistake, that doesn't even sound right,' Aubrey said.

'This officer has been on the force for 26 years.'

Wright's mother added that she wants Potter to be held accountable for 'everything she's taken from us'.

During a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Wright's aunt, Naisha Wright, called his death 'murder' and dismissed claims it was an accident.

'They murdered my nephew. She killed my nephew,' Naisha said at the press conference, which was held alongside members of George Floyd's family.

'Every pistol, every Taser, it has a safety on it. She saw that she had to release that. That woman held that gun in front of her for a long damn time.'

Naisha had earlier denied that her nephew's license plate tag was expired, as police have said. She also said a misdemeanor warrant that was out for her nephew was 'just for some weed'.

Wright's shooting death has sparked violent protests and unrest in the city that is already on edge because of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the first of four police officers charged in George Floyd's death.

Protests also broke out overnight in New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Portland and Seattle.

The unrest continued for a second night just hours after the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled Wright's death as a homicide and said the cause was a gunshot wound to the chest.

It came after Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon held a tense press conference on Monday afternoon where he said 'an accidental discharge' appeared to be the cause of Wright's death.

Wright was shot dead on Sunday afternoon after he and his girlfriend were pulled over during a traffic stop for what police say was an expired car registration.

The officers then learned Wright, who has a toddler son, had the outstanding warrant against him.

Gannon released footage of the incident from Potter's bodycam that showed her and two other officers approaching Wright's car after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop.

The footage showed one officer trying to handcuff Wright as a second officer told him he was being arrested on a warrant. Wright immediately jumped back into his car in an apparent attempt to flee.

A struggle then broke out between the officers and Wright, who was still sitting inside his car.

'I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser!' Potter could be heard shouting in her bodycam video.

Immediately after, Potter can be heard saying: 'Holy sh*t. I shot him'.

Wright managed to drive several blocks before coming to a stop when he hit another car. He was pronounced dead at the scene and his girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Police body cam footage of the fatal incident showed three officers approaching Daunte Wright's car in Brooklyn Center on Sunday after he had been pulled over for the traffic stop

Potter could be heard shouting 'Taser!' several times in the moments before she fired her gun. Immediately after, she can be heard saying: 'I shot him'. It appears she dropped her gun in the aftermath

'This was an accidental discharge that resulted in a tragic death of Mr Wright,' Gannon said.

'As I watch the video and listen to the officer's commands, it is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their taser, but instead shot Mr Wright with a single bullet.

'For informational purposes we train with our handguns on our dominant side, and our taser on our weak side. If you're right-handed you carry your firearm on your right side and your carry your taser on the left. This is done purposefully, and it's trained.'

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is the agency investigating Wright's death.

Potter has been placed on administrative duty.

Brooklyn City Mayor Mike Elliott said during the press conference that the officer should be fired.

'My position is that we cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people in our profession,' Elliott said, adding he fully supported relieving the officer of her duties.

His comments were in contrast to City Manager Curt Boganey, who was in charge of the police department, after he said he wanted due process to play out before passing judgment on the officer's actions.

Boganey was fired by the town's City Council in an emergency meeting on Monday.

Elliott now oversees the police department.

Brian Peters, head of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, said Potter was working Sunday as a field training officer, training a rookie officer.

'She's just a very dedicated, passionate, good person. It's completely devastating,' he said. 'In a very tense moment, she made a mistake. It's not her character.'

Potter is a married mother of two, who was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune.

Police clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department on Monday. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon described the shooting death Sunday of 20-year-old Daunte Wright as 'an accidental discharge.' It happened as police were trying to arrest Wright on an outstanding warrant

A demonstrator is arrested by police for violating curfew and an order to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday

Protesters throw fireworks towards police as they gather outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department a day after Daunte Wright was shot and killed by a police officer, in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota on Monday

A Dollar Tree store that was looted has its sprinklers turned on. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul. But hundreds of protesters defied that order and were seen gathered in the city Monday evening

Cop who 'accidentally' shot dead Daunte Wright is a 25-year veteran who trained rookies Kimberly Potter, 48, has worked with the Brooklyn Center Police Department for 25 years. She was training a new officer on Sunday when the fatal shooting occurred. Potter is a married to former police officer Jeffrey Potter and they have two sons. She was first licensed as a police officer in Minnesota in 1995 at age 22, according to state records obtained by the Star Tribune. She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home. Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed. Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association. Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported. She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018. Advertisement

She has served on the city's negotiation team, and was among the first to arrive at the scene of another officer-involved shooting, in August 2019. In that case, Kobe Dimock-Heisler died after he allegedly rushed at officers with a knife in a home.

Potter instructed the two officers involved in the 2019 incident 'to exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn cameras, and to not talk to each other,' according to an investigative report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, obtained by the paper. Both officers' actions were found to be justified and no charges were filed.

Potter has been a union president for her department's officers, the paper reported, and was a longtime member of the Law Enforcement Memorial Association.

Potter has two adult sons and lives with her husband, a former Fridley police officer, in a different Minneapolis suburb, the paper reported.

She had annual salary of $86,190, according to public records from 2018.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who helped win a $27 million legal settlement for the Floyd family, is also representing the Wrights.

In a tweet, Crump said he believed that Potter 'knew exactly what she was doing' in a previous case which he said she told officers how to 'obscure accountability'.

He wrote about the previous incident involving Dimock-Heisler and Potter, saying she 'taught officers who fatally shot Kobe Dimock-Heisler how to protect themselves & obscure accountability'.

Crump, quoting a Hennepin County Attorney's Office report, wrote that Potter had previously instructed two police officers in the previous case to 'exit the residence, get into separate squad cars, turn off their body worn camera, and to not talk to ech other.

'Of course Kim Potter knew exactly what she was doing. She knew how to obscure the truth. In that instance, her actions were clearly intentional,' he wrote.

Police clear a strip mall of demonstrators after issuing orders to disperse during a protest against the police shooting of Daunte Wright, late Monday, April 12

Protesters are arrested as law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021. Protests continue in the wake of the fatal shooting of Duante Wright

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

Protesters advance towards officers using umbrellas as shields outside Brooklyn Center Police Department

Law enforcement clear the streets near Brooklyn Center Police Department as a curfew remains in effect. Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. April 13 2021

Brooklyn Center city manager FIRED after calling for 'due process' for cop Brooklyn Center City Manager, Curt Boganey, was fired Monday night after publicly disagreeing with Mayor Mike Elliott's assertion that the police officer who fatally shot Duante Wright should immediately be fired. Boganey, who controlled the police department as city manager, told a press conference that Kim Potter would get 'due process' after the shooting. 'All employees working for the city of Brooklyn Center are entitled to due process with respect to discipline,' he said. Soon after, the mayor and the Brooklyn Center City Council voted to fire Boganey, a longtime city employee, during an emergency meeting. 'Effective immediately our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward,' Elliott tweeted. 'I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government.' Mayor Elliott said city council had voted to give his office 'command authority' over law enforcement. Elliott called the shooting 'deeply tragic' and said the officer should be fired. 'We cannot afford to make mistakes that lead to the loss of life of other people,' he said. 'Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole.' Advertisement

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters faced off against police in Brooklyn Center after nightfall on Monday hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

A drum beat incessantly and the crowd broke into frequent chants of 'Daunte Wright!'

When the protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away.

A long line of police in riot gear, rhythmically pushing their clubs in front of them, began slowly forcing back the remaining crowds.

'Move back!' the police chanted. 'Hands up! Don't shoot!' the crowd chanted back.

Law enforcement agencies had stepped up their presence across the Minneapolis area after Sunday night violence.

The number of Minnesota National Guard troops was expected to more than double to over 1,000 by Monday night.

A curfew was in place, but the protesters were determined to ignore it.

The police repeatedly tried to drive protesters away from the police headquarters, only for the crowd to scatter, then regroup.

By late Monday, only a few dozen protesters remained.

At a press conference at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said that 40 people had been arrested on Monday night at the Brooklyn Center protest, with some people being booked into the Hennepin County jail, while some were cited and released.

He added several officers suffered minor injuries from debris.

Wright's mother Katie Wright has previously described her son calling her in the moments before he was shot to say police had pulled him over for having air fresheners dangling from his rear-view mirror.

It is illegal in Minnesota to have anything hanging from a rear-view mirror.

Katie Wright (left), the mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Wright was shot and killed yesterday by Brooklyn Center police during a traffic stop

Pictured: A man blows smoke in the face of an officer outside Brooklyn Center Police Station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Riot police stand in the middle of a crowd of protesters demonstrating after the death of Wright, outside the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave

Tension was high as Brooklyn Center Police attempted to fortify the police station at 6645 N. Humboldt Ave. Heavily armed police officers in riot gear faced off with protesters gathered outside of the police station

Police officers stand guard as they face off with demonstrators outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021

Demonstrators face off with police outside of the Brooklyn Center police station on April 12, 2021 in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced a curfew from 7 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the three counties that include Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis and the capital of St. Paul

Biden says there's 'absolutely no justification for violence' in wake of protests President Joe Biden on Monday addressed the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright and called for calm in the wake of violent protests. Biden says he watched the 'fairly graphic' body camera footage from the officer who killed Wright. 'The question is whether it was an accident or intentional? That remains to be determined,' he said. Biden said there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' regarding protests. 'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence... 'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm.' When asked if he expects the country is on a 'razor's edge' Biden says he is 'not going to speculate now. I hopeful that there will be an outcome that will be supported by a vast majority of people in the region and that is my expectation.' Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright's death. 'Prayers are not enough,' she tweeted. 'Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte's family needs to know why their child is deadthey deserve answers.' Advertisement

She said he called her to get insurance information for the vehicle because she recently gave the car to him.

Describing the call, Wright's mother said: 'I said when the police officer comes back to the window, put him on the phone and I will give him the insurance information.

'Then I heard the police officer come to the window and say, 'Put the phone down and get out of the car.' And Wright said 'why'. He said, 'We'll explain to you when you get out of the car.''

'A minute later, I called and his girlfriend answered, who was the passenger in the car, and said that he'd been shot and she put it on the driver's side, and he was laying there lifeless,' Katie told gathered media on Sunday afternoon.

'I heard scuffling, and I heard police officers say, 'Daunte, don't run,'' she said through tears. The call ended, and she dialed his number again. His girlfriend answered and said he was dead in the driver's seat.

Speaking before the unrest broke out, Wright's mother had urged protesters to stay peaceful and remain focused on the loss of her son.

'All the violence, if it keeps going, it's only going to be about the violence. We need it to be about why my son got shot for no reason,' she said to a crowd near the shooting scene in Brooklyn Center.

'We need to make sure it's about him and not about smashing police cars, because that's not going to bring my son back.'

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and the White House has been in touch with the governor, mayor and local law enforcement.

'We should listen to Dante's mom who is calling for peace and calm,' Biden said.

Biden then stressed that there is 'absolutely no justification for violence' in protest or otherwise.

'Peaceful protest is understandable. And the fact is that we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in Black community in that environment is real, serious, and consequential. But that does not justify violence...'

On Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris also commented on the situation following Wright's death.

'Prayers are not enough,' she tweeted. 'Daunte Wright should still be with us. While an investigate is underway, our nation needs justice and healing, and Daunte's family needs to know why their child is deadthey deserve answers.'
Matilde Castiel, Worcesters Health and Human Services commissioner, said shes still confident in the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine despite a pause on administering the vaccine from the federal government.

That pause meant Worcester had to shift gears on Tuesday. Worcester health officials planned to administer the Johnson & Johnson shot at a clinic at Saint-Gobain. Instead, they held the clinic and issued doses of Pfizer, Castiel said. No clinics have been canceled and the city plans to instead issue shots of Pfizer until the CDC issues a determination on the Johnson & Johnson shot.

I think going forward well wait for further decision. I believe its a safe vaccine, Castiel said. I think its safe and effective. Its effective against the variants where it was tried ... we need to stop the variants from mutating and were only going to do that when everybody is vaccinated.

The federal government on Tuesday announced a pause on administering the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine following reports of extremely rare blood clotting in six women. Nearly 7 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States, meaning the known blood clot cases are less than one in 1 million.

Its definitely a bit of a setback, Worcester Medical Director Michael Hirsh said. We had been very happy with the utility of having a one-shot vaccine that also has a very good track record. Of course, the FDA reported out these six cases. But 6.8 million doses have been given to yield six cases, thats a very low percentage.

On Saturday, Worcester administered about 760 shots of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a walk-up mobile equity clinic. With Johnson & Johnson being just one shot rather than the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, it was seen by Worcester officials as an effective option for clinics that are not appointment-based.

Im still confident, Castiel said. I think that we need to figure out exactly what happened there ... I dont know the background of the six people that had the blood clots so I think thats why theyre stopping it, to look at what are some of the other things that are going on with that person. Do they have a history of cancer? Do they have a history of obesity? Any other things that can cause  birth control pills  that may be a predisposing factor to blood clots. Thats my concern.

Castiel and Hirsh said that while they are waiting to see what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration say about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the city will use the two-dose Pfizer shot. This week, the city is expecting to get a shipment of 1,100 Pfizer shots, Castiel said.

Its just sad that that had to happen, Castiel said. We all have been very confident, and will continue to be confident, about the J&J and I want to make sure that we dont disillusion people and we dont bring more questions to light that may not need to be there.

In Worcester, the city has administered 2,603 of the Johnson & Johnson shots, including those issued on Saturday.

Castiel and Hirsh said the city has not had any reports of severe side effects from the vaccine, just more common ones like a sore arm, fever, headache, muscle aches and fatigue.

I think that we will find the Pfizer and Moderna pretty easily accessible because those two companies have really cranked up their production, Hirsh said. I dont think were going to lose a lot of ground.

Vaccines distribution in the city of Worcester as of April 8 is 59% white residents, 13% Latinx, 9% Black, 6% Asian and 11% other/unknown. Statewide, those figures as of April 8 are 72% white, 6% Latinx, 5% Black, 5% Asian and 10% other/unknown, according to data from Castiel.

Castiel said it is a mission of the city to bring the vaccine out into the community.

I think that the response has been great, she said. Theres more of a demand from the community than the allotment [of vaccine] that we get.

Next week, Massachusetts is planning to open up vaccine eligibility to all people 16 and older.

I just want people to still feel confident that although Johnson & Johnson is in a moratorium status, the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines are terrific and if you can sign yourself up for preregistration and be ready for the total eligibility day next Monday, we can get to that herd immunity, Hirsh said.

The White House coronavirus response team said the Johnson & Johnson pause will not have a significant impact on the nations overall vaccination efforts. Officials said the pause is expected to last a matter of days.

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James Jordan shaved off his hair on Loose Women in honour of his father who passed away last month.

The former Strictly star, 43, got rid of his long locks with the help of wife and dance partner Ola, 38, and explained he didn't want to cut it while his father Allan, who died from a brain tumour, was ill.

He took part in the challenge to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity live on air on Tuesday and admitted he was honoured to take part.

Brave: James Jordan shaved off his hair live on Loose Women on Tuesday in honour of his father who passed away last month

James explained that he wanted to do 'something positive' in memory of his father, and that the sadness from losing him 'comes in waves'.

He said: 'It's been a month now and I say it kind of comes in waves, it's extremely upsetting for my family.

'The funeral is going to be next week on the 20th and I just wanted to try and do something positive from the whole thing in his memory.'

The ballroom dancer added that keeping his long tresses became a 'superstition' and that he didn't want to cut it because he 'thought something bad' would happen.

Family: Taking to Twitter on Saturday to share an emotional video, the former Strictly star, 42, said he was 'totally devastated' by the loss of his dad (left)

In memory: The former Strictly star, 43, got rid of his long locks with the help of wife Ola, and explained he didn't want to cut it while his father Allan, who died from a brain tumour, was ill

Speaking to presenters Nadia Sawalha, Kaye Adams, Jane Moore and Penny Lancaster, he added: 'It became a bit of a superstition that I kept my hair long all the time he was alive and doing well.

'I didn't want to cut my hair as I thought something bad was going to happen, so now I want to do it as a positive to raise awareness for brain rumours and the charity.

'He was a great husband, dad grandfather, a daredevil unlike his son who became a dancer, he is my hero and I'm going to miss him every day.

'What he went through at the end with my family was truly horrendous. It's an experience I wouldn't want anyone else to go through.'

Great hair: James explained that he wanted to do 'something positive' in memory of his father, and that the sadness from losing him 'comes in waves'

He added: 'I'm going to miss my hair!'

The couple's one-year-old daughter Ella was less than impressed with her father's new hairdo, as she appeared not to recognise him.

But she quickly came round and brought James a cake out to celebrate his 43rd birthday while on air.

Earlier this month, James returned to social media following the death of his father and shared an emotional video saying he was 'totally devastated' by the loss.

It's off! The ballroom dancer added that keeping his long tresses became a 'superstition' and that he didn't want to cut it because he 'thought something bad' would happen

He revealed he had previously tried to post a video but was 'too emotional'.

James said: 'I haven't been on social media for quite a long time now because my father unfortunately passed away on 13 March at 8.05am.

'I've been totally devastated. I did try and do this post before, but I wasn't able to because I was too upset.'

James added: 'This could potentially change your life or someone in your family's.

On air: Speaking to presenters Nadia Sawalha (top right), Kaye Adams (top left), Jane Moore (bottom right) and Penny Lancaster, James said: 'I'm going to miss my hair'

'My dad had a stage four brain tumour - a glioblastoma. He was diagnosed approximately one year ago and myself and my family watched him slowly disappear.

'It's an absolutely horrendous horrendous disease. Cancer is awful no matter which cancer it is but brain tumour in particular takes away that person's identity a lot.

'Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer in children and adults under 40. Out of 600million raised in the UK, less than three per cent goes to brain tumour funding for treatments.

'I want to change that because I don't want any of you guys to go through what I and my family went through.'
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Weather

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Local scores: Chicago White Sox 4, Indians 3

The headlines

Prisoners stimulus: A lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union argues Ohios prison system has been unconstitutionally garnishing inmates COVID-19 relief money to pay for fines, fees, and other debts to courts and state agencies. The suit claims that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction held inmates CARES Act checks for weeks while it manufactured a reason to extract part of the money, reports Jeremy Pelzer.

Land bridge: Cleveland is proposing to re-create a pedestrian land bridge that connected the downtown Malls to the Lake Erie lakefront during the 1936-37 Great Lakes Exposition. Steven Litt reports the city has applied for $6.5 million in state funding to design the span from Mall C to North Coast Harbor. The project could ultimately carry a cost of $229 million. The city plans to spend $1.6 million of its own money on the design and would seek $200 million in construction money from the state.

Biden infrastructure plan: The White House gave Ohios infrastructure a C- grade describing 1,377 bridges in the state and more than 4,925 miles of its highways as being in poor condition. Sabrina Eaton reports on a fact sheet for President Bidens American Jobs Plan, which would spend $600 billion on transportation infrastructure, including $115 billion to fix roads and bridges.

This Week in the CLE: Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate have been coordinating as they discuss introducing separate elections bills to codify how and when Ohioans can vote. Were discussing the possibilities, and the motivation behind them, on This Week in the CLE, cleveland.coms daily half-hour news podcast.

New numbers: Another 1,934 coronavirus cases were reported Monday in Ohio, bringing the total to 1.04 million cases since the pandemics beginning, Laura Hancock reports.

Police discipline: Cleveland police officials issued written discipline for two officers involved in the 2019 police chase that ended in the death of 13-year-old Tamia Chappman in East Cleveland, reports Adam Ferrise. Officers received the disciplinary letters on March 30 for self-dispatching during the December 2019 chase.

The number of coronavirus patients in Ohio hospitals is at its highest level since late February, though well below late fall and winter highs.Rich Exner, cleveland.com

Hospitalizations: Coronavirus hospitalizations have dropped sharply among older Ohioans, the same people who most likely have been vaccinated. Admissions for those at least 70 years old declined 70% over the last 45 days to 858, Rich Exner reports. More than 75% of Ohioans 70 and older have received at least one vaccine. In the same period, the drop in hospitalizations was much smaller for younger age groups - those where vaccinations are not nearly as extensive.

COVID trends: Both newly reported coronavirus cases over the last week and the current patient count in hospitals have edged up to their highest levels since late February as Ohio races to vaccinate enough people to head off a spring surge fueled by variants. Over the last week, Ohio has seen an average of 2,066 cases per day, Rich Exner reports. One-in-11 Ohioans is known to have had the virus.

Lake land: The City of Euclid and 12 Lake County communities recently incorporated Ohios first lakefront special-improvement district to help property owners finance expensive and urgently needed erosion control projects along the Lake Erie shoreline. Steven Litt reports that the district could become a vehicle to open new public trails along vast stretches of private lakefront land that limit access to one of Ohios greatest natural resources.

Hearing the public: The lack of a public speaking time at City Council meetings sets Cleveland apart from other cities, an advocate who wants that to change says. Jessica Trivisonno, a West Side resident who drafted legislation that would create a comment period, said she drew on practices used in Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Youngstown, Robert Higgs reports.

Furniture delays: Furniture stores in Northeast Ohio have been managing increased demand since last May, when they re-opened after the state-ordered COVID-19 business shutdown. But winter storms and power outages in Texas and Louisiana are still affecting the furniture industry. Cameron Fields reports customers have had to wait three to six months for furniture to arrive in store showrooms.

The owners of the site of a former Kmart in West Park are proposing a large redevelopment on the site.

Kmart: The owner of the site of a former Kmart store in Clevelands West Park neighborhood is planning a full overhaul of the space to accommodate national retailers who want to open new locations. Eric Heisig reports New York City-based TLM Realty plans to create spaces for three retailers and a new building for a possible coffee shop on the northwest corner of the property.

UH embryos: Lawyers on Monday clashed over the filing of a stinging affidavit from the former director of the fertility lab at University Hospitals, where a freezer malfunction rendered 4,000 eggs and embryos nonviable in 2018. Justin Herdman, an attorney representing UH, sharply criticized Subodh Chandra, who represents Dr. Andrew Bhatnager, for becoming a sideshow in a lawsuit, reports John Caniglia. The hospital has sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the release of other information that it deems confidential, but the judge decided not to rule on the order until at least April 23.

Cleveland aide: An aide to Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson jailed on charges including rape and sexual battery asked a judge Friday to reduce his bond. Cory Shaffer reports that attorneys for Alexander Lackey said he could not afford the $100,000 cash or property bond imposed the same day.

Statehouse break-in: A man could face charges after he broke into the Ohio Statehouse early Monday while under the influence of drugs and discharged a fire extinguisher inside, Andrew Tobias reports. The man called 911 after breaking into the Statehouse, later telling police he was attempting to get medical assistance for a reaction related to his use of illegal narcotics. He then left the building and was found by police on the buildings west lawn.

Murder dismissed: Prosecutors on Friday dismissed murder, involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault charges against a man charged after a fight inside a downtown Cleveland bathhouse led to another mans death. Cory Shaffer reports the move came just two days after prosecutors took the case to a grand jury.

Vaccine for kids: Pfizer on Friday asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to amend its emergency use authorization to allow children aged 12 to 15 to receive the vaccine it developed with BioNTech. Pfizer recently announced that a Phase 3 study showed its vaccine is safe and effective for children in that age range, Evan MacDonald reports.

Accessible housing: Akrons proposal to bar landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their lawful source of income could make housing accessible for hundreds of Summit County families who have a housing voucher but cant find a unit, Robin Goist reports.

Microwave game: What if we could play video games while we wait for our food to heat? YouTuber, engineer and maker-extraordinaire Allen Pan puts together a dream appliance, a video game microwave that only cooks while he plays, in this video from cleveland.coms sister site, Wired.

Immigrant Son: Andrew Revy aims to open Immigrant Son Brewery by June in the former Constantinos Market in Lakewood. Marc Bona reports the name is autobiographical for Revy, whose parents are Hungarian.

Other headlines

Suspect in Akron stabbing charged with murder after wounded man dies Read more

Bolden: Student performance in Solon City Schools remains at high level Read more

Solon City School District earns national award for music education Read more

Rocky River offers two virtual meetings for residents; tree lawns to have new trees Read more

Tree tips and advice regarding trees in the community of Bay Village Read more

Broadview Heights to bring back Home Days; Strongsville, Brecksville, North Royalton also planning summer events Read more

North Ridgeville water main and gas project update; register for annual Fishing Derby Read more

Medina School Board discusses updates to Ken Dukes Stadium Read more
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich meets the Ambassador of Iran

On April 13th, 2021, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus Mikalai Barysevich met with Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Belarus Saeed Yari.

The Sides discussed current situation in the Middle East, as well as topical issues of the development of Belarusian-Iranian trade and economic cooperation, interaction within the framework of international organizations.

The main focus of the discussion was laid on the organization of the 15th meeting of the Belarusian-Iranian Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation and regular meeting of the Joint Belarusian-Iranian Commission on cooperation in the field of education, science and technologies.

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The trial of Derek Chauvin, the police officer accused of killing George Floyd last year by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes, starts back up this week. The prosecution has put a historic number of resources behind this trial to try to get a conviction, with the Minnesota attorney general being joined by civil rights lawyers and experts who are working for free to bolster the case against Chauvin. The team has called eyewitnesses to George Floyds death, experts on the use of force by police, and doctors, and it will likely be resting its case this week after presenting spark of life evidence, including photos of George Floyds childhood and testimony from Floyds brother. Then, the defense is likely to try to chip away at the prosecution through whatever means it can. On Mondays episode of What Next, I spoke with Jon Collins, a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio, about how this high-stakes trial may turn out, and whether the effort to reform policing will get similar attention. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Jon Collins: My impression is that the prosecution is trying to inoculate the jurors against what the defenses main arguments are going to be, which is that George Floyd died from a medical condition, from a heart condition, or from the drugs that were in his system. A lot of the testimony has revolved around that. But public opinion is very strong in this case again Derek Chauvin, for obvious reasons. We saw that even during jury selection.

Mary Harris: How did you see that during jury selection?

Jurors were asked to fill out a really extensive survey. One of the questions was, whats your impression of Derek Chauvin? And also, whats your impression of George Floyd? So many jurors, even people who eventually got on the final jury, had negative impressions of Chauvin. I think thats for an obvious reason, which is, how do you watch that video and not have an impression?

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Doctors have come forward for the prosecution to testify against this idea that what happened to Floyd may have been the result of a fentanyl overdose or a heart condition. Tell me a little bit about these physicians and how theyre communicating.

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Weve seen a parade of medical experts come in. You can break him down into two camps: the toxicologists who can talk about drugs, and the doctors who can talk about Floyds underlying health conditions and breathing. I think the most notable expert witness was Dr. Martin Tobin. Hes a pulmonologist, and one of the worlds biggest experts on how we breathe. He testified to the jury in a way that was easy to understand. At one point he was explaining how the neck works and he told the members of the jury to feel back at this part of the body he was trying to explain. Thee members of the jury, according to our pool reporter in the room at the time, actually were doing it so much that the judge, after a complaint from the defense attorney, told the jurors, you dont need to do what the witness says on the stand. Even after that, Tobin was demonstrating it and most of jurors still doing it, because they wanted to understand. So I think his testimony has helped people understand the complex medical conditions that are at the heart of this case.

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Was there a moment where you felt like the physicians really made the case that Floyd simply wouldnt have died without Chauvin putting his knee on his neck?

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Weve seen four different medical experts testify to that, saying that, yes, he had underlying conditions including heart disease, but on May 25 he would have been alive and walking around if not for the law enforcement intervention. What the prosecution is trying to do is prove to the jurors that he would have had heart disease, and he would have had methemphatimes in his system, a small amount, but he still would have been alive and walking around.

There was one expert who said those are the levels of drugs you see in someone whos walking around, not someone who is on a table and deceased.

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Yeah, toxicologists said that. Even the testimony of the store clerk was that when Floyd originally came into the store, he felt like Floyd was high, but also it was Memorial Day and he looked like he was just going about his life. I think one of the broader issues for the prosecution has been to humanize drug dependency, especially that of a black man, as something thats actually a medical condition and not a criminal condition.

There were a couple of moments where Chauvins lawyers seemed to misfire when they were talking to these eyewitnesses. There was an interview of an EMT who was on the scene and she was really emotional. You can hear her on the tape talking to the police and explaining what she could do as someone whos trained. And in cross-examination, she spoke back to Chauvins lawyer. That was pretty striking to me.

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It felt like she was more antagonistic to the defense attorney, Erik Nelson, than any of the witnesses that weve seen. She got held after the jurors were dismissed and was reprimanded by the judge for being combative and argumentative. But I mean, were asking normal citizens and people serving in some sort of public capacity to come into court and leave everything behind. I think its a really big challenge, especially on a case where the community obviously feels strongly here. The people who witnessed it, its part of their life and maybe part of their trauma now too. Of course theyre going to manifest those things sometimes antagonistically.

So much of the pushback from Chauvins lawyers is about anger from these eyewitnesses, anger you could see or hear in the tape of Floyd being killed. The other witness who really stood out to me was a mixed martial arts fighter who was able to look at Chauvin and say, Youre doing something called a blood choke and this is dangerous, heres why. The defense attorney pressed him about whether Floyd was angry in that moment or being threatening to the cops and the fighter pushed back on that.

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The defense has repeatedly brought up an angry crowd. Thats one of their main arguments: that the crowd didnt allow them to aid or monitor Floyds condition because they were angry and theyre hostile. But calling it a crowd is generous, because at some of the times I counted, there were six or seven people standing on the sidewalk. Pretending like theyre a threat is going to be difficult for the defense to pull off, I think, but its just one of the ways theyre trying to poke holes in the prosecutions argument.

I feel like in this case you can see how the police force is trying to speak back to the community and now want to be trusted again: Youre seeing officer after officer step forward and basically say what happened here was not in line with what were trained to do. Can you talk a little bit about which police officers weve seen and why theyre important?

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I think the most notable would be police Chief Deira Arradondo, who from the start dismissed what Chauvin did and called it murder. He took the stand in this case, saying that Chauvin was not trained like this, that this is not what Minneapolis police represent. A number of other high-ranking officials in the police department, including the head of homicide, took the stand and said similar things.

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When the defense calls witnesses, well likely hear from more police officers and use-of-force experts. Those witnesses will likely complicate the narrative the prosecution is building. One trainer within the Minneapolis police has previously talked about a condition some officers observe among suspects called excited delirium. They will say, its when someone is acting erratically and sometimes they will develop superhuman strength, so they need to be restrained more than a normal person would be, since they represent a greater danger than a normal person. Its not recognized by mainstream medical associations.

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So its not a condition that a doctor would tell you about, but it is something that police officers are trained to respond to.

Its a little controversial. There are some doctors who do believe in it, including a police surgeon who testified here. But mainstream medical associations do not qualify it as a condition.

Looking at the first two weeks of testimony in Chauvins trial, it stood out to me that so many cops took the stand and said what happened was wrong. Some have called it the crumbling of the blue wallthe beginning of the end of unflinching solidarity between police officers.

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The inherent loyalty law enforcement officers have to one another over the public, maybe it is crumbling. But the other way to think about it is: The facts of this case are so damning that it has led police officers to come forward and actually speak out, whereas in many other cases they wouldnt.

I think the proof is going to be in what happens to the Minneapolis Police Department going forward. Is this just a tone change, or is there going to some substantial change to the Minneapolis Police Department apart from some policy shifts, like banning chokeholds? I think, in the city of Minneapolis, theres a lot of anxiety about how this is all going to turn out and what its going to mean for this city. Thats also why I question whether there will be actual implications for other criminal cases, because the facts of this are so different from most police killings, which tend to involve guns.
COLUMBIA  As she spoke in support of Democrat Krystle Matthews' nascent campaign for U.S. Senate on April 13, longtime state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter sought to confront the elephant in the room: cynicism.

After all, Democrats are fresh off an election cycle in which their U.S. Senate nominee Jaime Harrison generated unprecedented national attention and money for his bid to unseat Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham only to still fall short by double digits.

Why should they expect a different outcome two years later against U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who has coasted to victory every time he's been on a ballot, developed a national profile as the lone Black Republican in the Senate and tends to enjoy even higher approval ratings among South Carolina voters than his senior Senate colleague?

Despite all that, Cobb-Hunter insisted that Matthews is "the real deal," noting she ousted a Republican incumbent to win her Statehouse seat in 2018 and beat back another GOP challenger two years later.

Before Matthews ran, her district in the Ladson area had been represented by Republicans for years  including, before his ascension to Congress, Scott himself.

"That ought to tell you that it is at least possible," said Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg.

Matthews is not the first candidate to announce plans to challenge Scott and she may not be the last. Spartanburg County Democratic Party chairwoman Angela Geter also has declared her intention to run, and multiple other Democrats around the state are rumored to be considering it.

But whichever candidate becomes the party's nominee will face the same challenge: convincing voters and donors that Harrison's defeat was not the crushing setback for South Carolina Democrats that most pundits made it out to be but rather a small step forward in a long-term strategy to make the state more competitive.

Optimistic Democrats point to neighboring Georgia, where the party won the presidential election in November and flipped two U.S. Senate seats in January runoffs, as the model for what's possible.

Those victories, they note, took a sustained effort over many years that included several stinging defeats before Democrats were ultimately able to turn the tide.

"What happened in Georgia wasn't just one election cycle," said S.C. Democratic Party chairman Trav Robertson. "It was a culmination of consecutive, back-to-back election cycles over a decade."

One Georgia Democrat draws particular admiration from party officials who hope to replicate her success.

Stacey Abrams narrowly lost to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018 but went on to build a new voter registration and mobilization organization that many Democrats cited as a key factor in the party's victories two years later.

Matthews is hoping to tap in to some of those strategies, saying registering new voters will be critical for her chances of an upset.

"We're going to be mobilizing and registering voters like crazy," Matthews said. "Our ground game is going to be awesome. We're going to be out here touching folks, especially those in rural communities who have been forgotten that oftentimes don't hear or see from the people that represent them until it's election time."

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While national Democratic groups will likely view South Carolina more skeptically after their 2020 losses, the state party will have an influential ally in Harrison, who went on to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Still, S.C. GOP chairman Drew McKissick said the 2020 results showed that the problem for Democrats is not their resources or campaigns but their policy platform.

"No matter how much money they spend, no matter what Jaime makes available for them, loans them and resources he sends them, when it is all said and done, they will still have the very same problem and that is what they're selling," McKissick said.

"This is still South Carolina, which is a conservative state. That's not changing," he added. "So until they go back and retool what it is they believe to make themselves palatable to voters, I like our chances."

In Scott's last campaign in 2016, he cruised to victory by 23 percentage points over Thomas Dixon, a North Charleston pastor and activist. But Dixon said his long-shot bid that launched just months before the election cannot compare to Matthews, who is beginning to build a campaign more than a year and a half in advance.

"It actually turned out to be a lot better than I thought given that I had no staff and no experience whatsoever," Dixon said. "Krystle will have all of that in place. I believe that people want change, and even though this is not a hugely Democratic state, there could be a lot of crossover votes."

Then there's the question of laying out the argument against Scott.

Graham's polarizing reputation made him a magnet for national dollars both for and against him, a dynamic that may be difficult to duplicate against an incumbent who is not as much of an omnipresent figure on cable news.

In the closing weeks of that race, Harrison also accused Graham of being racially insensitive and disconnected from the experiences of South Carolina minorities. That would be a hard claim to make against Scott, a Black man who was raised by a poor single mother in North Charleston.

But Matthews said Scott's background will not shield him from harsh criticism.

"It is most certainly not hard to make the argument against somebody who made it through the door and closed it behind them," Matthews said.

Scott's reelection campaign declined to comment on Matthews' challenge.

But Graham sent out a fundraising email on Scott's behalf after Matthews announced her campaign, warning his supporters that "Democrats in Washington would like nothing better than to extend their victories from Georgia into South Carolina."

Robertson, the S.C. Democratic Party chairman, said he views that email as "a clear indication that they know we're going to be prepared."
KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Spyder Products, a leader in professional-grade power tool accessories, has expanded its line of STINGER wood-boring bits to include brand-new brad point bits, as well as additional sizes and single packs of its power, auger and spade bits. All new STINGER kits and individual bits can be found at Lowe's stores nationwide and on Lowes.com.

New Spyder STINGER Brad Point Bits are ideal for precision wood drilling. Spyder's new 18-inch STINGER Auger Bit excels in very deep drilling applications.

"In just a few short years, contractors, woodworkers and other professionals have come to rely on the quality of STINGER drilling and boring bits. This expansion ensures those users, and others who want to try Spyder for the first time, have access to the right tool at the right price," said Ryan Campbell, executive vice president of Spyder.

The updated STINGER line now includes:

Brad Point Bits  Brand-New Bits for Precision Wood Drilling

Spyder's new STINGER Brad Point Bits are available in a six-piece kit that includes 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" bits. They drill up to six times faster and last up to 10 times longer than standard bits.

Designed for wood, laminate and composite materials, STINGER Brad Point Bits feature a patented tip geometry that drills faster, virtually eliminating chip burn and producing exceptionally clean entry and exit holes. The dual-fluted design accurately guides the drill though deep holes, greatly reducing cutting friction and heat build-up.

Auger Bits  Deepest-Drilling/Toughest Boring Bit

Previously available only in a three-piece kit, Spyder STINGER Auger Bits are now available individually in diameters ranging from 3/8" to 1". Each bit is available in both 6-1/2" and 18" lengths.

Spade Bits  Best Value Boring Bit

Previously available in six- and 14-piece kits, STINGER Spade Bits are now available individually with diameters ranging from 1/4" to 1-", in 6" and 16" lengths. Additionally, Spyder now offers an eight-piece kit with a durable flip case.

Power Bits  Cleanest/Fastest Boring Bit

Previously available only in a four-piece kit, STINGER Power Bits are now available individually in diameters ranging from " to 1-", in 6-1/2" and 16" lengths. Additionally, Spyder now offers a six-piece Power Bit set.

Mach-Blue High-Speed Steel Bits  High-Performance Wood and Metal Drilling

STINGER Mach-Blue armor plated HSS drill bits are available in a 10-piece kit that includes 1/16", 5/64", 3/32", 1/8", 5/32", 3/16", 7/32", 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" bits, and a durable case. Individual bits in diameters from 1/16" to 1/2" are sold separately.

Spyder's new STINGER bits and kits can be found at Lowe's stores nationwide and Lowes.com.

About Spyder Products

Starting in 2007 with the Spyder Scraper and continuing with award-winning 3x3 reciprocating saw blades and jigsaw blades, hole saws, circular saw blades and more, Spyder Products has developed a reputation for making quality power tool attachments that make tough jobs easier for professional contractors. The company has also continued to innovate with features that make their products work harder, last longer and finish the job faster. For more information, visit www.spyderproducts.com.

View Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2ardwn0a36k1mmy/AAA5QXSzlslGmg_wW-oFjc4sa?dl=0

Media Contact:

Josh Kegley

(513) 733-1800

[email protected]

SOURCE Spyder Products
Extreme gratitude

Regarding Your call to duty as a COVID-19 ICU nurse, (A17, April 11): Thank you, Shelby Young Greengrass, for writing your passionate and heart-wrenching essay. Halfway through, already teary-eyed and not wanting to read the entirety of what your patients must endure, I thought how much can our compassionate health care professionals endure, hour by hour, day after day, weeks stretching into months, and then over a year? Ive read many national news articles, sometimes quoting health care workers concerns  just a statement here or there  but never to this gut-punching level that you and others might have had to resort to  just pick a spot on the floor and stare along with prayers, so as to continue stoically with your patients vital treatments. My extreme gratitude goes out to Greengrass and to all of the caring medical providers, soldiering on throughout the U.S.

Considering the articles Ive recently read regarding the alarmingly large percentages of COVID vaccine-resistant Americans, Greengrasss poignant one day in the life of essay should be read  word for word  to all of the followers of community and faith-based leaders throughout the U.S., along with accompanying fact-based medical explanation of herd immunity to stop this pandemic. Perhaps then (I can only hope), theyll do their patriotic duty to help all fellow Americans and, ultimately, our dedicated medical care providers  and get vaccinated.

Marilyn K., Houston

Shelby Young Greengrass essay in Sundays Houston Chronicle should be read by everyone who denies or downplays the seriousness of COVID, refuses to get vaccinated and wont wear a mask or practice social distancing even now.

And it should serve as a gut-wrenching testimonial to the dedication of and sacrifice by health care professionals in Houston and throughout the world.

Roy Lively, Kingwood

Protect trans kids

Regarding Dont make me leave Texas to support my child, (A15, April 11): Thanks for publishing the referenced story by the mother of a transgender child. As the father of a transgender son, I share Kimberly Shappleys concern and outrage at the current bills proposed in the Texas Legislature that would criminalize parents of transgender children for seeking care for them as well as medical personnel providing that care. Transgender children, their parents and the health car professionals treating them are no threat to anyone. Yet these bills would criminalize us for seeking scientifically validated care for our children as well as those providing that care.

That care literally saved our sons life as described in his story published by the Houston Chronicle.

These bills are the worst kind of demagogic, culture war political grandstanding seeking to address a non-existent threat. They are particularly offensive given the very real threats posed recently by the failure of the Texas electrical grid in the freeze (200 Texas lives lost) and the COVID pandemic (over 48,000 Texas lives lost).

Ballard Burgher, Houston
Hannah Manninen, a masters student in forestry at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, holds a mule deer fawn captured briefly for tracking purposes. A graduate student at SIU, Manninen is working with the Navajo Nation to unlock secrets of the mule deer migration to identify key habitats and arrest the species decline.

SIU forestry student tracks mule deer routes to protect habitats

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill.  A graduate student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is working with a western Native American tribe to unlock secrets of the mule deer migration to identify key habitat and arrest the species decline.

Hannah Manninen, a masters student in forestry at SIU, is nearing the end of her work on the species, using location data from mule deer captured by the Navajo Nation and fitted with GPS collars.

The aim of the project is to determine migration routes for mule deer populations on the Navajo Nation, as well as determine the start and end dates for migrations, Manninen said. Looking at the home ranges and seasonal ranges of GPS-collared individuals will help us to determine what habitat is being most used by mule deer. From our findings, we will be able to prioritize specific habitat and protect areas commonly used.

An important species in decline

Mule deer populations have been declining across the western United States for decades, with the decline being even more pronounced on the Navajo Nation, Manninen said. Scientists lay the blame on several factors, including habitat loss, overgrazing by livestock, disease and predation.

Declines are a cause of concern because mule deer are economically and traditionally important and can cause loss of hunting opportunities and revenue to the Navajo Nation, as well as other management agencies, Manninen said.

A varied approach

Manninen began working on the project in January 2019 and hopes to wrap it up by this August. She is advised by Clay Nielsen, professor in SIUs Forestry Program and Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory.

The work first took Manninen into the field, living on the Navajo Nation while searching for fawns to collar during birthing season. She also would visit sites where mule deer were found deceased to determine the cause of death.

The area in question remains quite wild, as trail cameras set up at the sites of such mortalities captured images of mountain lions and bears returning to feed.

Gathering data

Additional collaring rounds using helicopters to capture mule deer on the Navajo Nation; capture and collaring activities were conducted by biologists with the Navajo Nation Department of Fish and Wildlife. In all, the researchers managed to collar and track 99 mule deer.

All the mule deer we captured and collared have GPS collars, so I was able to switch gears in August of 2019 and work remotely from my computer in Carbondale, she said. With the collars, Im able to receive the mule deer locations information anywhere that I have an internet connection.

Working on research in the field was a thrill on many levels.

The area we were working is absolutely stunning, Manninen said. I was very happy to be able to spend at least one field season there capturing and tracking fawns.

Another SIU tie to the project is Jess Fort, who earned her masters degree at SIU working with Nielsen. She is now a wildlife biologist for the Navajo Nation and is collaborating on the project.

Shes another SIU grad whos gone on to do good things, Nielsen said.

Seeing it through

Manninen has worked in the field before this project, but she said this project is special because she will be in on it from start to finish. It will be her first time taking the information from the field work running the analysis that will actually guide conservation efforts for the important species.

Im especially excited because I am able to see the project through in its entirety, she said. Im very invested in each aspect of the project since my final results will depend on it. And Ive learned that I enjoy the analysis aspect and would like to continue this work into the future.

SIU opens doors

Nielsen said the work Manninen is doing is important because it will provide answers to an ongoing conservation problem.

Even in the vast American West, habitat protection is a major concern for several wildlife species, Nielsen said. Our research will provide critical information toward this goal while extending SIU's reach as a strong collaborator with natural resource management agencies across the globe.

Manninen said Nielsens expertise and guidance is invaluable to her efforts.

He made the whole project possible, Manninen said, He is always available to answer my questions and he makes sure my research is continuously headed in the right direction.

Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau, an assistant professor with SIUs Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, also is helping Manninen with the project. He is an ecologist specializing in understanding the drivers of species movement, habitat selection and how such factors interact among species living certain geographic regions on larger scales.

Having the synergy of wildlife professionals and students involved with the CWRL is a big advantage, Manninen said.

The SIU Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab has a cohort of students, including my lab, which have been very helpful with any questions about school and research life, she said.

The future

Manninen hopes to use the skills shes developing to forge a career as a research scientist after graduation.

Whether that be for a federal, state or nonprofit organization, that is my hope for the future, she said. In my ideal world, I would like to lead projects, while also being able to go in the field periodically.
Former House Speaker John Boehner on Monday kept up his harsh criticism of President Donald Trump's role in the Jan. 6 riots, saying he "abused" the trust voters placed in him.

Boehner, who resigned his post in 2015 citing turmoil in the Republican Party, has repeatedly criticized Trump and fellow Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in recent appearances promoting a new book, including Monday on ABC's "The View."

"I watched before the election, hearing the president talk about the election going to be stolen from him, then when we get into the post-election months and he kept talking about how the election was being stolen. I kept looking for facts," Boehner said. "Unfortunately I never saw any facts, I don't think the American people ever saw any facts. The saddest part is the president abused the loyalty and the trust that voters placed in him by perpetuating this noise. It was really one of the sadder things I've seen in the last 40 years in politics."

PHOTO: Former Speaker John Boehner spoke to 'The View' Monday. (ABC)

Boehner has not been silent about his dismay over the events on Jan. 6, as stated in a tweet the day after the riots.

"The invasion of our Capitol by a mob, incited by lies from some entrusted with power, is a disgrace to all who sacrificed to build our Republic," Boehner said at the time.

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A spokesman for Trump, Jason Miller, responded to attacks from Boehner in the New York Times saying, "Was he drinking when he made this statement? Just another RINO who couldnt do the job!"

Speaking on "The View" about his new book, "On the House: A Washington Memoir," which chronicles his four years as House speaker and shows him with his trademark glass of merlot wine on the cover, Boehner was asked about far-right factions growing in the Republican Party, with "The View" host Sunny Hostin citing Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

"I should say that 90% of the members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are really good decent people trying to do the right thing for the American people every day. There's a fringe in both parties that make it difficult for the leaders, frankly, to lead," Boehner said. "These days both parties are being held hostage by the loudest voices in their parties."

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Boehner also took swipes at Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, calling him "Lucifer in the flesh," and criticizing what he called Cruz's meddling with GOP House members during his time as speaker.

MORE: House Speaker John Boehner Resigns, Citing 'Turmoil Churning for Many Months'

"He's coming over to the House side of the Capitol stirring up some of my knuckleheads and pushing them to do things that were the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life. He was not even a member of our caucus," Boehner said. "Just a bit bizarre that I've never seen happen before or since like the activities of Ted Cruz."

Cruz has recently responded in their ongoing political feud, saying, "If you dont speak Swamp-creature, heres the translation: "stirring up some of the crazies of my own caucus to cause all kinds of problems" means, 'encouraging elected Members of Congress to actually honor the promises they made to the voters & DO WHAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD DO.'"

Boehner was also asked about President Joe Biden's willingness to work across the aisle, especially after Biden has faced criticism from Republicans for achieving his agenda without input from Republicans.

PHOTO: Former House Speaker John Boehner attends a ceremony to unveil a portrait of himself on Capitol Hill, Nov. 19, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Michael A. Mccoy/AP, FILE)

"He's a traditional Democrat, what he's trying to do is hold his party together. There's a skirmish going on between the progressive wing of the Democratic party and the traditional west wing of the Democratic party. Up to this point, President Biden has been keeping close to the progressive wing at the expense of working with Republicans to work in a bipartisan way. He's got a very difficult job in his party these days. He's got a very difficult job as it is being president. I'm hopeful that here in the coming weeks we'll see President Biden reaching out."

MORE: Transcript: Exclusive Interview With House Speaker John Boehner on NSA Leak, Immigration Reform And More

Boehner also said the book, which will be released Tuesday, is a reflection of his time in one of the nation's highest offices.

"After I retired, I thought I had a pretty interesting life, very interesting career. I have a few stories and people might find it interesting. Then you take a couple years to get around and then putting the book together, and we finally got there. There was no intent to delay or no intent to wait," Boehner said. "Once you get out of office, I've been out of office five years, you have a little time to reflect."

Boehner lashes out at Trump, saying he 'abused' voters' trust originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Learn these tunes before you learn any others, John Wesley wrote in his Directions for Singing. Afterwards, learn as many as you please.

The specified tunes were those included in the 1761 publication of the early Methodist hymnal, Selected Hymns. Wesleys seven directions for singing have long been included in the opening pages of the United Methodist Hymnal. They include exhortations like Sing lustily and with good courage, Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can, and Attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually.

Wesley wrote his Directions for Singing for a different time, for a church usually selecting congregational music from a confined set of songs in printed hymnbooks. But this centuries-old guide helps establish a theological framework for a new project designed to help worship leaders evaluate a growing catalog of contemporary worship music.

The United Methodist Churchs (UMC) Discipleship Ministries recently released CCLI Top 100+ Beyond, the latest iteration of a project begun in 2015, aiming to help leaders curate worship songs. CCLI stands for Christian Copyright Licensing International, which provides copyright licenses to use music from a vast library of artists; it ranks its most popular songs twice a year in the CCLI Top 100.

The UMC project offers a recommended song list, with a description of each songs lyrics, theological underpinnings, musical difficulty, and a list of recording artists and alternate arrangements.

The list includes seven titles by Hillsong Worship and Hillsong United, seven by Bethel Music, and five by Elevation Worship; the top-ranking CCLI song at the time was Pat Barretts Build My Life, and the team said it appreciated that this song petitions Jesus to lead us in Your love to those around us, which ties in to Wesleyan notions of cooperation with God in Christ Jesus.

Another resource developed by the UMC suggests issues worship pastors should consider, such as finding music from underrepresented regions, engaging global worship traditions with cultural competence, and shifting to more inclusive language without violating copyright law.

CCLI Top 100+ Beyond project is not prescriptive but a set of guidelines to help disciple congregations and leaders in a theology of worship consistent with Wesleyan thought. In the Methodist tradition, singing in worship should not exist for its own sake, writes Matthew Sigler, Congregational music for Methodists is understood to be catechetical.

But singing tenets of the faith is about both understanding and feeling. The Rev. Nelson Cowan, who manages the CCLI vetting project, says, This isnt just doctrine were reciting through song; its doctrine we are learning and inhabiting and feeling and processing through song.

Every congregation has a hymnal

The UMCs CCLI vetting project does in a more uniform, explicit way the work worship pastors and music directors are already doing across denominations.

Every congregation has a hymnal, says Jake Ferrell, worship director at Valley Church, an Evangelical Free congregation in West Des Moines, Iowa, whether they realize it or not.

As the worship music industry has grown, churches have had to evaluate the flood of contemporary worship music popularized on Christian radio, through Christian conferences, and now streaming online. The triumph of contemporary worship music in the worship wars of the 1990s brought an ever-widening music selection; the church hymnal became more fluid.

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Worship pastors say that evaluating and selecting new music is a central part of their job. They essentially revise the hymnal for their congregations every time they update Planning Center or whichever church management software they use.

Its a trusted position, says Elizabeth Jackson, worship pastor at Antioch Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, noting the authority and influence that comes with having the final say over which songs are sung by the congregation.

Worship leaders pay attention to singabilitywhether a new song has too many words, big vocal leaps, or an irregular rhythm. Personal taste also plays a factor. You hate to say it, says Ferrell, but a lot of it is just preference. Ideally, pastors tastes are shaped by musical training and the needs of their congregations in addition to the contents of their personal Spotify playlists.

The expansive worship music industry makes it easy to find new music but nearly impossible to avoid the influence of a few prominent artists and producers. Most worship pastors try to choose music thoughtfully, but they may not be aware of how much influence the industry has over those choices.

Adam Perez, a worship scholar at Duke Divinity School, finds that, in general, worship pastors are conscious of the theology. But he points out, Big brands [i.e. Hillsong, Bethel, Jesus Culture] have more power over congregational song choices than denominational identity.

In pulling from the CCLI Top 100, the UMC recognizes that most artists and churches in the ranking are charismatic, Pentecostal, Calvinist, or neo-Calvinist and therefore have not fully shared and sometimes have taken positions opposite to our core commitments.

Worship pastors in evangelical and nondenominational churches likewise look out for theological red flags as they select new songs, but as the selection process is almost completely internal, each church is left to articulate its own theology of worship or trust that the producers of the music they encounter share their core values and beliefs.

A generous theology of worship

Despite the unofficial affiliation between the network of producers and artists creating the music that lands on the CCLI Top 100, there is indeed a common theology of worship undergirding much of our popular worship music. Perez suggests that the underlying (often unspoken) belief is that through praise music we experience Gods presence. The foremost purpose of musical worship is to facilitate a felt encounter with God.

The Methodist emphasis on the balance of singing with feeling and understanding fights against a theology of worship that too often prioritizes congregants emotional response. Cowan suggests that emotionally resonant but lyrically minimal songs not be excluded from services but supplemented by Scripture readings or by a pairing with traditional hymns that have related, richer textual content: We recommend a principle of addition, not subtraction.

Elevation Worships Do It Again is described as a song that resoundingly articulates the faithfulness of God, though perhaps overly personal, and is best paired with other music or art that encourages a more corporate mindset.

The narrative accompanying Kerri Meyers Another World notes that although there is no explicit Christian language in this song, the flexibility of the song presents an opportunity to teach about the inbreaking reign of God.

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This inclusive, generous strategy allows for music that is poetic, personal, or lyrically minimal. It pushes against the exclusive use of such music, but it does not belittle or condemn it. This approach also discourages the exclusive use of obscure hymns to sing as much doctrine as possible. It welcomes the meditative and devotional as well as the intellectually engaging.

Worship pastors from across denominations may find that the Methodist resource helps them define and articulate the theology of worship that they want to practice and impart. Its a reflective guidetheres no list of rejected songs, nor any diatribes about the loss of the traditional hymnals or the dangers of contemporary music.

The first time I was put in charge of music selection for a worship team, I was a junior in high school. As a high school student, being allowed to help choose music for weekly worship felt like having real authority. And it was real authority. Even in my immaturity and selfish enthusiasm, I believed that music had an important role in spiritual formation, even if that idea was primarily formed by emotional experiences at conferences or concerts.

Music selection and worship leadership is teaching. To treat it with less weight than that is to miss the opportunity to use a powerful medium to teach, learn, and deepen faith. Through the music we sing together, we teach ourselves over and over what we as a congregation affirm about Gods identity, our identities, and our relationship with God personally and corporately.

Unlike the sermon preached each week during a service, the words we sing in congregational worship are words we all proclaim in agreement, in unison. It is a serious task to choose words that we all can sing in agreement, together.

A resource like the UMCs CCLI Top 100+ Beyond can help those looking for a way to evaluate their own worship practices to ask, Are we striving to sing together with both feeling and understanding? In both spirit and in truth?

Kelsey Kramer McGinnis is a musicologist, educator, and writer. She holds a PhD from the University of Iowa and researches music in Christian communities.
[April 13, 2021] Primis Earns TAG Anti-Fraud Certification for Fourth Year in a Row

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Primis (a part of Universal McCann and Interpublic Group), today announced it has earned the coveted TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) for the fourth consecutive year. TAG is an advertising initiative that aims to combat fraudulent and criminal activity in the digital advertising space.

TAG certification fits in with our core values that the advertising industry should be safe, fair, and provide true value to all parties involved, especially our publishers, Dan Sharon, Compliance Officer of Primis, said. We are honored to once again achieve the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal as we continue to support their anti-fraudulent efforts, and we are continually building trusted relationships with our partners to create a brand-safe environment. Primis is continually enhancing its IVT pre-bid verification tool to meet and address the needs of todays brand-safe marketers. The company also includes extensive brand safety examinations with the use of MRC-accredited vendor WhiteOps. The platform also integrates ads.txt in all publishers, which enables transparency while granting publishers a significant amount of controlover their inventory.



Success in tackling complex supply chain challenges like fraud in digital advertising requires broad collaboration, and we are pleased to recognize Primis for the high standards it continues to set to fight fraud in our industry, said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. Year after year, Primis has walked the walk by achieving the TAG Certified Against Fraud Seal, and we look forward to continuing to work with them on these issues going forward. TAG is recognized as the leading global standards program around criminal activity and brand safety, and an increasing number of companies have opted to certify their global operations. To secure its recertification, Primis underwent a rigorous audit from an independent third-party auditor.

About Primis, Video Discovery

Primis is a global Video Discovery platform that increases revenue for publishers by helping their users discover high-quality video content. Our video discovery technology is used by 100s of digital publishers, empowering 200M uniques with an engagement-based video experience that recommends video content they love, automatically skipping content they dont interact with. Primis is owned by Universal McCann and The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE: IPG) holding itself to the highest standards in digital advertising. Website: www.primis.tech

Twitter: @Primisltd

LinkedIn: Primis-UM

Facebook: Primis-UM Media Contact: Kyle Kuhnel

Broadsheet Communications for Primis

kyle@broadsheetcomms.com



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At 4:30 in the morning on April 12, 1861, the South Carolina militia lobbed a 10-inch mortar over Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. The first shot of the Civil War was a signal for a bombardment. After 33 hours and several thousand more shells, the beleaguered federal garrison at Fort Sumter surrendered to forces of the new slave republic, the Confederate States of America.

The Civil War raged on for four more years, until the surrender of Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. In between, some 750,000 Americans died in the fighting, according to the best estimates.

Bombardment of Fort Sumter (Currier and Ives)

No American in April 1861 foresaw that the war would be so violent and have such revolutionary consequences. Pressures building in American society since the revolution of 1776 were unleashed on the battlefields of the Civil War with terrible force. The society that emerged from the carnage was soon transformed beyond recognition. The war destroyed chattel slavery and the slaveholding class that had ruled the South for 250 years. In destroying slavery, the Civil War upheld the American Revolutions proposition that all men are created equal. For all his purported conservatism, in freeing the slaves, Lincoln initiated the expropriation of private property on a scale not equaled until the 1917 October Revolution.

Karl Marx, who followed the Civil War closely as a newspaper correspondent, predicted that it would usher in a new era of class struggle. Much like the American War of Independence initiated a new era of ascendancy for the middle class, Marx wrote Lincoln in congratulation on his 1864 reelection, so the American Antislavery War will do for the working classes. Marxs prognosis was quickly vindicated. Working class struggle soon ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from New England to California, with the seven-league boots of a locomotive, as he wrote in Capital.

That Fort Sumter should have been the trigger event for all of this was itself the outcome of an unpredicted chain of events. Located next to Charleston, the citadel of fire-eating, pro-slavery secessionism, Sumter was part of a constellation of lightly guarded federal bases and arsenals scattered across the South and the border states that had become the focal point of preparations for war. In the period before the war, secessionists concentrated on taking, by hook or crook, federal positions. This was the great hope of the South. Its cash crop agriculture was bound to the workshop of the world, British industrial capitalism. It did little manufacturing and could produce very little of its own war materiel.

The secessionists were all but openly aided by the outgoing American president, James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. During the long, four-month interregnum between Abraham Lincolns November 6, 1860 presidential victory and his March 4, 1861 inauguration, Buchanan scarcely lifted a finger while southern forces seized federal installationsand with them rifles, artillery, ordnance, and even naval vessels.

James Buchanan

Like his predecessor, Franklin Pierce of Vermont, Buchanan was a doughface, the derogatory term for northern Democrats subservient to southern interests. Together with their two-party system rivals, the so-called Cotton Whigs, the Democrats had for decades held the fulcrum of American politics, which teetered on the endless compromises designed to appease the slaveholding oligarchy. Yet all the concessions dating back to the Missouri Compromise of 1820 had only delayed the irrepressible conflict over slavery, which always returned at a more intense level.

With southern forces in open rebellion, Buchanan blamed the North for southern secession. In his State of the Union Address of December 1860, he demanded that the northerners contemplate seizing Cuba from Spain so slavery could grow, abandon personal liberty laws against the Fugitive Slave Act, and even stop criticizing slavery. If northerners did not do these things, the South would be justified in secession. As historian James McPherson dryly notes, Buchanan stopped short [only] of asking the Republican Party to dissolve. Buchanans abject groveling only emboldened the secessionists.

Lincoln and the new Republican Party represented something different from the compromising status quo anteeven, as the course of events proved, something truly revolutionary. Lincoln was intransigently opposed to the further extension of slavery. To be sure, in his First Inaugural address, he reiterated his position found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you [that] I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. But Lincoln refused to budge on the Republican Party platforms insistence that the Constitution did not allow the expansion of slavery into the territories.

Abraham Lincoln

This was a red line for the southern ruling class. It viewed as an existential threat the economic and population growth of northern capitalism and its legions of mudsills and greasy mechanics, as South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond derisively called northern workers. Hammond and his co-thinkers were not mistaken in their estimation that northern society posed a revolutionary threat. The Republican Party fused northern society through antislavery politics. Lincoln was an antislavery politician whose stated aim was the gradual withering away of human bondage, which he believed to have been the common position of the Founding Fathers. And had he not said in his famous House Divided speech:

I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolvedI do not expect the house to fallbut I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as newNorth as well as South.

It was indeed in response to Lincolns election that the deep southern states seceded one by one over the long winter of 1860-1861: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Their declarations of independence left no doubt as to their motives. They seceded rather than stay in this new union with Lincoln Black Republicans and in order to defend slavery under our old constitutional bond of union, as the delegates to Mississippis secession convention put it. And, whereas the Constitution of 1789 had studiously avoided the word slavery, the Confederate Constitution invoked it ten times in a bid to make the barbaric institution permanent. Thomas Jefferson and the other founders had been wrong, Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens explained in his inaugural address. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races, he said. This was an error. Stephens continued:

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.

Lincoln entered office in a complicated and explosive situation. Some in the North entertained desperate hopes of a last-ditch deal to avoid civil war. Among them was Lincolns own secretary of state, William Seward, who devised a secret plan, quickly rejected by Lincoln, to provoke war with France or Spain in order to promote national unity. But Southern demands had become extreme. Compromise now entailed Lincoln disavowing the entire platform on which he had been elected, and even supporting a revision to the Constitution that would guarantee slavery in perpetuity.

Alexander H Stephens

Lincoln held firm. He addressed the burning issue of federal property, enunciating a policy that he would hold, occupy, and possess it. But he studiously avoided any threat of military attack. The onus was on the South. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war, Lincoln said to the seceded states. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it.

The morning after giving this First Inaugural, on March 5, 1861, Lincoln entered his office for the first time to find waiting on his desk a dispatch from Major Robert Anderson, commander of the Union garrison at Fort Sumter, as McPherson observes. Anderson reported that his supplies would last only a few more weeks. Time was running out.

Major Robert Anderson

As was the case during several more key instances during the Civil War, Lincoln proved himself to be a master politician. He publicly announced his intention to resupply Fort Sumter in a letter to South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens. The Union flotilla would not fire unless fired upon, and reinforcements would remain aboard the ships. Lincoln had maneuvered Jefferson Davis into a corner. If Davis allowed resupply, Fort Sumter could hold out indefinitely. If he attacked, it would be the South that struck the first blow. Yet Davis constituency among the great slaveholders demanded war. Unless you sprinkle blood in the face of the people of Alabama, they will be back in the old Union in less than ten days! as one Mobile warmonger put it. Davis ordered the attack on April 12, and Sumter fell the next day. It would not be recaptured until Union General William Tecumseh Shermans Carolina Campaign forced the abandonment of Charleston in February 1865.

Lincoln responded on April 15 with a call for 75,000 volunteers for three-months service to put down what he called from that day forward a rebellion. Soldiers had to be provided by the governors. There was no standing army to speak of: a mere 16,000 soldiersmost at distant forts, a few men keeping watch on the Indians Engels later observedand certainly nothing to approach the dimensions of the military leviathan that devours over half the American discretionary budget today.

The volunteers flooded in response to Lincolns call. They mustered into regiments that were numbered by the order in which they filled. So the Minnesota 1st was the first to respond from that state. It saw action at Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and both battles of Bull Run, before suffering perhaps 80 percent casualties in a suicidal bid to preserve Union victory at Gettysburg in 1863. These early enlistees were some of the most politically minded soldiers. Many never returned home again.

Confederate flag raised at Fort Sumter, 1861

While Fort Sumter galvanized the Northeven Lincolns bitter Illinois rival, Steven Douglas, swore vengeance on the traitorsthe telegrams from the border state and upper South governors of states that had not yet seceded could not have cheered Lincoln. Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subduing her sister Southern States, its governor wrote. Tennessees governor said it will not furnish a single man but fifty thousand if necessary for the defense our rights and those of our Southern brothers. And Missouris governor insisted, Your requisition is illegal, unconstitutional, revolutionary, inhuman. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas followed the deep southern states out after Fort Sumter.

Lincolns slow embrace of wartime emancipation had been largely predicated on winning unionist support in the South and on holding the border states. But the course of the war proved to Lincoln that, as he later put it, we must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued. Lincolns intransigence, in the weeks leading up to Fort Sumter and onward, developed ever more clearly as the crisis deepened. Ultimately Lincoln joined Frederick Douglass conclusion that war for the destruction of liberty must be met with war for the destruction of slavery. He would strike directly at the roots of the southern oligarchyslaverytransforming the Civil War into the Second American Revolution.

Lincolns intransigence in the face of an implacable opponent is one of the key lessons offered by the Civil War.

Like Lincoln, we live in a time of irreconcilable conflict. This year saw the ranks of Americas billionaires swell to 660, and their unfathomable combined wealth grew to $4.1 trillion, an increase of 36 percent. The riches piled up proportionally to the dead among working class Americans whose lives were taken by the COVID-19 pandemic. This death toll is approaching 600,000a number reminiscent of the Civil War concentrated in one yearthough the real number of excess deaths, not to mention the incalculable suffering for those who have survived, is far higher. The American oligarchy brooks no limitation on its moneymaking, lives be damned.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise then that the 160th anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter has come and gone in the United States virtually without comment in the media, in spite ofor perhaps precisely becausethe last election was held under conditions eerily reminiscent of 1860.

The American ruling class of 2021 must look with discomfort on the fate of its forebears in the southern plantation oligarchy. It is said of those who lived through the astonishing changes brought on by the Civil War that they could not have imagined in 1861 the world of 1871. Given the crisis of present-day American capitalism, can it be assumed that the same wont be said of 2031 from the vantage point of 2021?
The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria.

In a statement, the UN rights office urged countries to take immediate and decisive action to push the military leaders behind a February 1 coup in Myanmar to stop their campaign of repression and slaughter of its people.

I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict, Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in the statement.

States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated.

Myanmar is in chaos and its economy paralysed since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

A junta crackdown against dissent has resulted in the civilian death toll reaching at least 710 as of late Monday including 50 children, according to a local monitoring group.

Ethnic armed rebel groups have meanwhile stepped up attacks on the military and police in recent weeks, raising fears of Myanmar spiralling into broader civil conflict.

And the military has retaliated with air strikes that have reportedly displaced thousands of civilians.

The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry, Bachelet said.

There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011, she warned, referring to the start of a civil war that over the past decade has killed nearly 400,000 people and forced more than six million to flee the country.

There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force, she said.

The states brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country.

 Horrific 

Bachelet pointed out that her predecessor Navanethem Pillay had warned in 2011 that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond.

The past 10 years have shown just how horrific the consequences have been for millions of civilians, she said.

Bachelet pointed to credible reports indicating that Myanmars Tatmadaw military forces opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades,fragmentation grenades and mortar fire in the southern city of Bago late last week.

At least 82 anti-coup protesters were reportedly killed in the brutal crackdown.

Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded and charged relatives a fine of around $90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed, the UN rights office said.

At the same time, it said, at least 3,080 people are currently detained across the country, while 23 people have reportedly been sentenced to death following secret trials, including four protesters and 19 others accused of political and criminal offences.

Bachelet urged the international community to take action.

Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough, the former Chilean president said.

States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity against the people.
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ALBERT LEA, Minnesota - Scooter rentals are sweeping the nation, including in Rochester. Now, Albert Lea is considering bringing a similar operation to town.

During their virtually held meeting Monday night, city council members heard a presentation from Mike Butler of Bird Scooters, who has setups in locations across four continents, and are working on developing similar agreements in other smaller Minnesota communities. Butler plans to launch a 50-75 scooter operation in Albert Lea that could begin as soon as this year. The company would find a local partner to operate and maintain the service.

City manager Ian Rigg believes the scooters are consistent with the city's mission of being a recreation destination, and can be a valuable community asset.

"We call it a recreation capital, with a lot of the outdoor activities. We want to promote people being outside, as well as promote alternate transport, fun things to do, and provide people ways to get from point A to point B."

He's optimistic the scooters would lead to other alternative transportation additions, like carsharing.

"Not everything's done overnight. Everything's done incrementally, so we're hoping that this is the first step of many."

Council is hoping to form a plan and launch the scooters as soon as possible, with a memorandum of understanding expected to be discussed at their April 26 meeting.
New Delhi: The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi on Monday (April 12) named 14 private hospitals including Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, St Stephens Hospital and Tis Hazari in the national capital as COVID-19 care hospitals.

The government further directed these hospitals not to admit any non-coronavirus patients till further orders from the authorities.

Additionally, as per the order issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the AAP government has also asked 19 more private hospitals to reserve at least 80% of their ICU beds for COVID-related treatment.

The order also stated that over 82 private hospitals in the city have been directed to set aside at least 60% of their ICU beds for COVID-19 patients.

"Furthermore, 101 private hospitals are directed to reserve at least 60% of their ward bed capacity for COVID-related treatment," the order said.

Heres the complete list of 14 COVID-19 care hospitals:

Indraprastha Apollo Hospital Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Holy Family Hospital Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, Punjabi Bagh Max SS Hospital Shalimar Bagh Fortis Hospital Shalimar Bagh Max Smart Super Specialty Hospital Venkateshwar Hospital Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute Jaipur Golden Hospital Mata Chanan Devi Hospital Pushpawati Singhania Research institute (PSRI) Manipal Hospital Delhi Saroj Super Specialty Hospital

Meanwhile, AAP leader and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday (April 12) called a meeting to take stock of the COVID-19 situation in the national capital.

Held review meeting. We are taking several steps to increase beds in both private and government sectors. Urge everyone to cooperate. Please follow COVID protocols. Dont rush to hospital unless necessary. Go and vaccinate if you are eligible, said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal after the review meeting.

Earlier on Monday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain told the media, "We added 5,000 more beds last week and will add more. At present, there are 5,525 beds in Delhi. 190 beds are occupied which amounts to 2%. We have also requested the central govt to increase beds to their current tally of 190."

On Monday, Delhi reported 11,491 new COVID-19 cases in a single day. 72 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The cumulative caseload of the city has risen to 7,36,688, as per the health departments notification.

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The shutdown of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Iran is impossible, Tehran continues to cooperate with Moscow on the construction of a second and third power units of the plant, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday.

"No, there is no way. Thats impossible, cooperation on Bushehr [Nuclear Power Plant] will continue, namely, construction work on the second and third units. They are at various stages, but they are not going to stop. We have no grounds to change anything here," he said, answering a question on the possible suspension of the power plants work.

Ryabkov described media reports of a possible suspension of the plants operations as speculation, TASS reported.
The National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) has refuted allegations that mackerel has replaced eggs in the national approved menu for students under the free Senior High School(SHS) policy.

"Mackerel and eggs have been part of the menu for students since September 2017 when the free SHS programme started and it remains same till date, the Chief Executive Officer of NAFCO, Alhaji Hanan Abdul-Wahab, said at a news briefing in Accra on Tuesday.



Africa Education Watch, had alleged that in January 2021, a company named Lamens Ventures was contracted by government to supply imported Chinese mackerel to all SHSs in Ghana.



It said since the Chinese company started supplying the mackerel, many schools have been giving students, an egg a week, instead of thrice a week.



But Alhaji Abdul-Wahab explained that the Chinese company had been one of the many licensed suppliers since the inception of the free SHS programme in September 2017 and not just emerging as being claimed by the Africa Education Watch.



Alhaji Abdul- Wahab said government decided that mackerel be supplied by NAFCO together with 17 other food items, which were described as non-perishable foods such as cocoa powder, vegetable oil, and local rice.



He said the schools were made to be in charge of the purchase of perishables, which included; eggs, fresh fish and vegetables.



Alhaji Abdul-Wahab said the schools were, therefore, to deal directly with poultry farmers and egg suppliers, not NAFCO.



The Chief Executive Officer explained further that purchases under the perishable items were strictly done by schools with the 30 percent grant for the procurement of perishable goods of, which eggs were included.



"There has not been any policy that compelled SHS not to buy eggs. The mackerel and eggs are not mutually exclusive. Schools can buy eggs if they so wish in addition to the mackerel supplied by NAFCO", he stated.

Source: graphiconline.com









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Protests erupted for the second night in a Minneapolis suburb after a police officer fatally shot a black man in a traffic stop.

Forty protesters were arrested, according to the Associated Press.

Police Chief Tim Gannon, of the city Brooklyn Center, said the officer intended to use a Taser, not a handgun and called the shooting Sunday an "accidental discharge."

Hundreds of protestors have demonstrated in the streets following the death of 20-year-old Dauante Wright, amid hundreds of police officers in tactical gear who reportedly have fired tear gas or smoke to disperse crowds.

According to body camera footage of the shooting, police were attempting to arrest Wright in a traffic stop when he appeared to try to get back into his vehicle. One of three officer, identified as 26-year-veteran Kim Potter, is seen firing a shot. Wright drove away, crashed a short distance away and died.

"I'll Tase you! I'll Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! Potter can be heard saying in the video.

The incident and the protests occur in the third week of the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the May 2020 death of George Floyd that spark a summer of protests around the world.
I love the new eight-week sessions at Midland College, Aimee Villarreal said. I get to complete four classes in just eight weeks, which means that within a regular, 16-week semester, I am able to take three more classes than I used to be able to do.

Its no wonder that Villarreal enjoys the accelerated Midland College offerings. She is driven to succeed, and her hard work has now proven rewarding.

The 25-year-old Rio Grande Valley native moved to Midland a little more than four years ago because of the oil and gas industry. She landed a job working at ProPetro Services, an oilfield services company providing hydraulic fracturing and other complementary services to the oil and gas industry. After settling in a new town and new job, she decided that she needed to complete the education she had begun at St. Edwards University in Austin.

When I graduated from high school in Weslaco, I moved to Austin and started taking classes part time at St. Edwards while also working there part-time, Villarreal explained. I was studying business administration but couldnt afford to continue. My husband and I were drawn to the job opportunities in the Permian Basin. After getting acclimated to a new town and job, I knew it was time to continue my studies, so I enrolled at Midland College.

For the past year, Villarreal has been completing her Associate of Applied Science degree in Office Systems Technology at Midland College (MC) and will graduate in May. She is currently taking her last course and has also begun to take classes toward MCs bachelors degree in Organizational Management. Thanks, to the combination of her associate degree, the ability to transfer courses from St. Edwards University and the opportunity to take advantage of the eight-week accelerated sessions at MC, she will graduate with her bachelors degree this coming December.

It hasnt been easy; my day starts early and ends late, but its definitely worth it, she said.

Approximately a year ago, Sand Revolution Inc. recruited Villarreal from her position at ProPetro to work as parts supervisor. Then, this past August, after just working at the company for only six months, Villarreal was promoted to manager. As such, she oversees three physical parts rooms in Midland and Kermit and various parts trailers in South Texas, Oklahoma, Kermit and Midland. She is quick to say that her promotion is contingent upon her completing her bachelors degree.

Sand Revolution is an oilfield service company that provides large capacity transportation trailers and on-site storage for sand delivery systems to the oil and gas industry, she explained. The parts manager position involves coordinating inventory, placing special orders and communicating with management, technicians and vendors. When I was first hired as parts supervisor, I studied for hours about the detailed parts. The position requires that I know about mechanics, various tractor/trailer parts and sand conveyors.

Even though I have a knack for inventory control, I dont think I would have been hired and promoted so quickly if I had not been going to school, Villarreal said. Management positions at Sand Revolution require bachelors degrees. Im thankful that I can attend Midland College and transition from an associate degree to a bachelors degree. The curriculum in both the Office Systems Technology associate degree as well as the Organizational Management bachelors degree is really helping me succeed in my job responsibilities.

Villarreal points to her recent MC Business Communications class taught by Sylvia Brown as a perfect example.

In one of the case studies for the class, I presented the pros of a new tire-changing machine that I really wanted Sand Revolution to purchase, Villareal said. I did my research on the machine and presented how the machine could cut down on technician time and reduce safety concerns. After I presented it to the class, I presented it to Sand Revolutions upper management and convinced them to purchase the machine. It is definitely paying for itself.

That was an amazing experience. The communications class helped instill confidence in me, not only making presentations to large audiences but also talking one-on-one to vendors and others, as well as proper business writing etiquette.

Besides working more than 40 hours each week and going to school full time, Villarreal also keeps busy with her family. She and her husband Justin Torres have two small boys: Justin Jr., age 5, and Mason, age 3. Villarreal said that she believes in teaching her boys to be socially responsible. The family has volunteered at Safe Place of the Permian Basin and the Midland Soup Kitchen.

They also enjoy travelling, especially places near the ocean. They have vacationed in Venice Beach, California, as well as Turkey and Istanbul, but Villarreal said its always nice to return home to Midland.

We love Midland! Villarreal exclaimed. We recently purchased a home, and were here to stay. However, we still plan to do a lot of travelling. Our next big trip will be to Greecemaybe to celebrate when I complete my bachelors degree!

Rebecca Bell is executive director of Institutional Advancement at Midland College.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-12 23:36:57|Editor: huaxia

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ABUJA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed on Monday as unknown gunmen laid siege to a village in Nigeria's northwestern state of Kaduna, said a government official.

During the attack in the Wawan Rafi II village in the Zangon Kataf local government area of the state, seven houses were also razed, said Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in Kaduna, in a statement.

Aruwan identified the victims as a male parent and his seven-year-old son, saying local security agencies were immediately mobilized to fully secure the area. Enditem
There's a risk of severe thunderstorms and excessive rainfall for New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the north shore on Tuesday, followed by a slightly lower risk for both again on Wednesday, according to meteorologists with the Slidell office of the National Weather Service.

Tuesday's threat will primarily be from the morning through the afternoon and evening hours for most of southeastern Louisiana and a small part of western coastal Mississippi. Wednesday's threat includes all of southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

"The primary threat will be damaging wind gusts in excess of 60 mph that can down trees and powerlines, and cause minor structural damage," forecasters told emergency managers in a Tuesday morning briefing message. There's also a chance of ping-pong ball sized hail, dangerous lightning and small tornadoes.

Storms approaching Baton Rouge Tuesday morning were accompanied by strong winds and hail.

"Plenty of short-lived hail cores pulsing up and down very quickly this morning," said weather service meteorologist Phil Grigsby in a message to forecasters and emergency managers. "It's a radar version of whack-a-mole. Best cores are currently near Ramah and White Castle. Also up by Centreville, Miss."

Nickel-size hail was reported by emergency managers in Gloster, in Amite County, Miss., at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect until 10:45 a.m. Tuesday for parts of Ascension, St. James, Livingston, Iberville and Assumption parishes, including a threat of 60-mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail.

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

The two days of storms are likely to be accompanied by 3 to 5 inches of rain through Thursday morning, with locally higher amounts possible, including in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

In New Orleans, officials announced that parking on neutral grounds would be allowed from noon Tuesday until further notice. Drivers should be sure they are not blocking intersections, streetcar tracks, sidewalks, or bike paths.

Forecasters expect the storms to begin just west of Interstate 55 late Tuesday morning, with more concentrated rainfall building in with strong to severe thunderstorms that are expected to move south and east along and south of the I-10/12 corridor through the afternoon, forecasters said.

Forecasters put the risk of severe weather Tuesday at "level 2" which corresponds to a "slight risk." On Wednesday, the risk of severe weather is at "level 1" or "marginal risk."

The risk of excessive rainfall on Wednesday will be most pronounced in an area including Baton Rouge, New Orleans and St. Tammany Parish, and southern Mississippi, with flash flooding possible throughout the area.

A flash flood watch for southeastern Louisiana goes into effect at noon Tuesday and lasts through Thursday morning. It will be extended to southern Mississippi late Tuesday.

Rainfall totals through Saturday morning could reach 4 to 6 inches in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and between 2 to 4 inches in St. Tammany.
Sainsbury's has expanded its Deliveroo home delivery trial to 100 stores across the UK.

Under the scheme, users of the Amazon-backed meals delivery service can get their supermarket shopping dropped off at their homes in as little as 20 minutes.

The food delivery group and the supermarket chain said around 30 per cent of people in Deliveroo zones can now access more than 1,000 products from Sainsbury's under the firms' new two-year contract.

The most-popular items ordered by customers as part of the trial so far are fair trade bananas, followed by semi-skimmed milk, the firms revealed.

Cucumbers, avocados and free range eggs come in third, fourth and fifth.

Earlier this month, Deliveroo riders went on strike over their rights - as the food transport company's disastrously performing shares begin unconditional trading.

Sainsbury's has expanded its Deliveroo home delivery trial (Sainsbto 100 stores across the UK (file image)

Under the scheme, users of Amazon-backed meals delivery service Deliveroo (pictured) can get their supermarket shopping dropped off at their homes in as little as 20 minutes

The action by the Independent Workers of Great Britain union could not come as a worse time as stock plummeted after they went on sale last week.

Deliveroo's shares originally estimated the company to be worth up to 8.8billion.

But when selling started they plummeted to more than 3billion shy of that sum.

Retail investors - including thousands of loyal customers - had bought in at 3.90 a share, but today the stock market opened with them worth just 2.80.

Placards made in Deliveroo's colours that list a set of 'demands' were seen being held by workers at the London strike.

It understood the riders want: To combat sexual harassment and discrimination at work; to introduce transparent human rider support; to introduce active bystander training; to allow riders to refuse on safe work without penalty.

Vice-chair of the courier's branch Wave Roberts, 24, said of their demands: 'They are very simple: pay, rights and safety.

Earlier this month, Deliveroo riders went on strike over their rights (pictured)- as the food transport company's disastrously performing shares begin unconditional trading

Placards made in Deliveroo's colours that list a set of 'demands' were seen being held by workers at the London strike. They range from a ban on discrimination at work to protections for refusing to carry out work

'Essentially riders want more security around their pay, at least minimum wage pay guarantee and the fees to increase dramatically. They want rights, they want an end to end fair terminations, they want to know they will be fairly treated.

'In some of our dense areas I am certain there will be a dense impact.

'We have members in the hundreds but I am not allowed to divulge exact numbers.

'Customers like to buy into an ethical story. If they know people behind the product, behind the service are treated well and looked after that's a way to buy in on its own,' he added to Radio 4.

Founder Will Shu, 41, who was the company's first rider and still does regular delivery shifts on his bike, was expected to make 500million from the biggest float for a decade.

It had been trumpeted as London's biggest listing for a decade, raising around 1billion to fund the company's expansion efforts.

And Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, had even hailed Deliveroo's decision to go public in London as a 'true British tech success story'.

Responding to the strike, a Deliveroo spokesperson said: 'This small self appointed union does not represent the vast majority of riders who tell us they value the total flexibility they enjoy while working with Deliveroo alongside the ability to earn over 13 an hour.

'Only last week we ran a survey and 89% of riders said that they were happy with the company and flexibility was their priority.

'We are proud that rider satisfaction is at an all-time high and that thousands of people are applying to be Deliveroo riders each and every week. Riders are at the heart of our business and today we are beginning a new consultation with riders about how we should invest our new 50 million community fund.'
Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has announced the top online programs for 2021. The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of 1,280 accredited colleges and universities in the nation. Each program is evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. 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 Online Human Services Degree Programs.

Intelligent.com analyzed 115 schools, on a scale of 0 to 100, with only 61 making it to the final list for Online Human Services Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, please visit: https://www.intelligent.com/best-online-human-services-degree-programs/

2021 Online Human Services Degree Programs featured on Intelligent.com (in alphabetical order):

Alfred State College

Anderson University

Antioch University

Ashford University

Bellevue University

Bethel University

Bluefield College

Brescia University

Buena Vista University

Central Christian College, Kansas

City University of Seattle

Colorado State University Global

Colorado Technical University

Columbia College

Columbia International University

Dominican University

Drury University

East Tennessee State University

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Franklin Pierce University

Grace Christian University

Grace College

Indiana Wesleyan University

Iowa Wesleyan University

Judson University

Lees-Mcrae College

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lesley University

Letourneau University

Liberty University

Lindsey Wilson College

Lubbock Christian University

Midwestern State University

Minot State University

New England College

Nova Southeastern University

Old Dominion University

Post University

Purdue University Global

Rasmussen University

Regent University

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Malta is keen to get British tourists back this summer (Getty)

Being paid to go on holiday is a dream for many, but those travelling to Malta this summer could see that dream become a reality.

The European island nation, plonked in the Mediterranean Sea, is looking to jumpstart its tourism economy by encouraging travellers to stay in its hotels from June.

The scheme, which was announced last Friday (9 April), has been introduced by the Malta Tourism Authority.

Visitors who book a three-night stay in select hotels will receive compensation on a scaled basis and the amounts will be matched by hotels.

For example, those who book into one of the select five star hotels will receive 100 (87) from Malta Tourism Authority and 100 (87) from the hotel for a total of 200 (173) per person, per booking.

Those at select four star hotels will receive 150 (130) per person, per booking and if you opt for a three star hotel, you can expect to receive 100 (87) per person, per booking.

Watch: How would a foreign travel traffic light system work?

Read more: Are day trips currently allowed in the UK? Rules for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Those who stay on Maltas smaller island of Gozo will also receive an additional 10% on top of their compensation.

Tourism accounts for more than 27% of Maltas economy, and the country attracted more than 2.7 million foreign visitors in 2019.

Since March 2020, when the pandemic spread to Europe, tourism numbers have dropped by 80%.

Malta is allocating 3.5 million (3 million) to the scheme and it hopes to attract over 35,000 visitors this year.

Tourism Minister Clayton Bartolo said in a statement: The scheme is aimed at putting Maltas hotels in a very competitive position as international tourism restarts.

Read more: These are the top trending UK staycation destinations for 2021, according to Airbnb

Fancy staying in a five star hotel? You could get paid 200 for that (Getty)

Bartolo added that he was having talks to encourage travel between Malta and the UK, as British tourists account for a third of tourists to Malta annually.

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Malta currently has the highest coronavirus vaccination rate in the European Union having given at least one dose to 42% of its adult population. It has also seen a sharp drop in COVID-19 cases and will officially open for tourism on 1 June.

For this reason, its likely that Malta will be placed on the green list in the governments recently-announced traffic light scheme.

Read more: Holiday traffic light system explained - what does it mean for your overseas trip?

The traffic light system will categorise countries based on risk. To assess this, the government will consider key factors including the percentage of the countrys population that has been vaccinated, the rate of infection, the prevalence of variants and other scientific data.

Countries will then be categorised into green, amber and red lists.

While the full list should be known in two to three weeks, its thought that Malta and some Caribbean nations will be on the green list - which means no isolating on return to the UK.

Watch: Follow-along easy veggie couscous recipe
Washington  Federal officials say the pause in use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine will last just days.

The federal Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for a temporary stop to use of the vaccine in the U.S. after reports that a small number of recipients developed a rare disorder involving blood clots. Federal vaccination sites are pausing use of the shot and multiple states, including New York, are following suit.

But the pause is likely to last a matter of days, not weeks or months, Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting FDA commissioner, said today, according to The Associated Press.

Agencies plan to investigate the clotting disorder. Regulators also want to educate patients and medical professionals about spotting and treating the clots, AP said.

People who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and get a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their doctor, according to the FDA and CDC.

White House officials said this morning that they do not expect the Johnson & Johnson pause to have a major effect on the nations plan to administer 200 million Covid shots by the end of April, according to CNN.

Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the recorded shots in arms in the United States to date, White House Covid coordinator Jeff Zients said in a statement, according to the network. Based on actions taken by the president earlier this year, the United States has secured enough Pfizer and Moderna doses for 300 million Americans. Over the last few weeks, we have made available more than 25 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna each week, and in fact this week we will make available 28 million doses of these vaccines.

The Pfizer and Moderna shots each require two doses. The J&J shot requires just one and is easier to ship and store.

Anyone with a J&J appointment scheduled for today at a vaccine site run by New York state can still go, including people with appointments at the New York State Fairgrounds. Individuals will receive the Pfizer vaccine instead.

Onondaga County officials also announced they will stop using the Johnson & Johnson shot. Anyone already scheduled to get that vaccine from the county will be switched to Pfizer or Moderna.

The six people who developed the clotting condition represent a tiny fraction of the nearly 7 million people who have received the Johnson & Johnson shot in the U.S. so far. Officials said they were recommending a pause in use of the vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

The recipients who developed the disorder were all women between the ages of 18 and 48, the Times said. One woman died and another in Nebraska has been hospitalized in critical condition.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have both been in use in the U.S for months and tens of millions of people have received them. No safety issues involving the shots have emerged.

Johnson & Johnson did say it will delay the rollout of its vaccine in Europe in the wake of the clotting reports, according to The New York Times.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

NYS Fairgrounds cancels Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution, will give out Pfizer instead

Syracuse Mets will require Covid-19 tests, vax info from fans, a new sign of summer

Cuomo details new rules for graduation ceremonies at New York schools, colleges

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598
Spain has broken another record in the coronavirus vaccination campaign when, over the weekend of 10 and 11 April, more than 553,172 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were administered.

This is the second time since the jabs began on 27 December that the national health system has exceeded half a million injections over a weekend. The previous occasion was on 27 and 28 March when the regions administered 504,068 doses.

The Ministry of Health, which has already delivered almost 12 million doses of vaccines to the regions, reported that there are already 3,108,437 people - some 6.6 per cent of the population - who have received both doses of the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines. To date 16.2 per cent of the population (7,676,560 people) have already received at least the first jab.
(Newser)  Protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn., continued for a second night Monday after the police chief said the officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop Sunday appeared to mistake her gun for her Taser. Gov. Tim Walz established a dusk-to-dawn curfew, after which hundreds of protesters were still confronting police, the AP reports. Gas canisters, flash-bang grenades, and other devices were used as police attempted to disperse the crowd. Some arrests were made before the area was cleared, KSTP reports. Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said the officer involved, identified as 26-year veteran of the force Kim Potter, should be fired. She has so far been placed on standard administrative leave, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

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She was engaged in field training the day Wright was killed, training a new officer. Elliott, the city's first Black mayor, also announced the city manager, who oversees the police department, had been terminated (it's not clear why) and that city council voted to give his office "command authority" over the PD. "You know the difference between plastic and metal. We all know it," said Wright's brother, Dallas Bryant, at a candlelight vigil Monday night where he wondered how a cop could mistake a gun for a Taser. But the New York Times reports that, while the mistake is uncommon, it has happened before. It cites examples from 2018 in Kansas, 2019 in Pennsylvania, and a fatal incident in Oklahoma in 2015, and notes that a previous article documented nine cases from 2001 to 2009including the 2009 death of Oscar Grant III in Oakland, Calif. (Read more Daunte Wright stories.)
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week revealed how shed like to see $18.8 billion in stimulus funding spent in Michigan.

Her office released a list of top priorities, including job creation, infrastructure, health care and education, and Michigans State Budget Office has released a detailed report on how the money will be divided.

The states stimulus money comes from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, which provided some Michiganders with another round of stimulus checks and canceled taxes on unemployment payments.

Governments are receiving stimulus funds to fill revenue gaps caused by the pandemic, with $5.7 million going to the state government and $4.4 billion directed to local municipalities. Additionally, $250 million is being put toward a state capital project fund.

In education funding, $3.9 billion will go to K-12 schools and $1 billion to higher education. Child care is also receiving $1.1 billion for both providers and families.

Housing relief comes in the form of $523 million for rental and utility assistance and $260 million in mortgage assistance.

The budget office has also allocated $1.2 billion to coronavirus testing and $92 million for vaccine administration.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest billions in Michigans families, communities, schools, and small businesses, Whitmer said. The American Rescue Plan will help us build back better, preparing our state for the future while creating thousands of jobs and uplifting working families. I look forward to working with the legislature to put these dollars to work in a strategic way that builds on our shared priorities. Lets get it done.

Whitmers office announced key priority areas including:

Grant programs for small businesses, support for Michigans community development financial institutions to compliment the traditional lenders supporting businesses through Paycheck Protection Program loans, and creation of a small business accelerator to provide startup capital and support for entrepreneurs. The small business credit initiative is receiving $176 million.

Business attraction efforts to invest in future technologies, mobility and advanced vehicle research and development.

Infrastructure improvements to support clean drinking water, broadband internet access, public green space and climate-resilient dams.

Public health capacity expansion, improved access to behavioral health support and additional services for the aging. This also includes expanding options to age in place and redesigning access to state benefits.

Broadening access to preschool and child care, addressing pandemic learning loss, creating out-of-school learning opportunities, providing wraparound supports for mental health and social-emotional wellbeing, creating safe learning environments and providing incentives to improve teacher recruitment and retention efforts.

The Biden Administrations American Jobs Plan also aims to provide financial support for Michigan infrastructure, including investments in manufacturing, clean energy jobs and affordable housing. The plan was released on March 31 and outlines money allotted for nationwide improvement as well as state specific needs.

Michigan has received a D+ on the Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers. There are 1,219 bridges and over 7,300 miles of highway in poor condition, according to the American Jobs Plan assessment.

Nationwide, the plan has set aside $600 million for transportation infrastructure, including $115 billion repairing roads and bridges.

Its estimated that Michigans drinking water infrastructure will require $13 billion over 20 years to fix. Bidens plan is allocating $111 billion to drinking water infrastructure across the country.

The American Jobs Plan also names education and childcare as infrastructure priorities. The plan estimates 44% of Michigan residents live in a childcare desert. Michigan schools also estimate a $1.29 billion gap in funding needed for maintenance and improvement.

The American Jobs Plan promises to modernize schools and early learning facilities as well as build new ones. The plan has dedicated $400 billion to help more people access care and improve the quality of caregiving jobs.

More on MLive:

See how much stimulus money your town gets; Michigan splits $10.3B in funding

Michigan communities anxiously await rules for spending billions in stimulus funds

See which businesses in your county got help from Michigans $55 million COVID-19 aid program
Federal health officials are asking U.S. providers to stop administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so they can investigate rare cases of blood clots that are potentially dangerous. What does that mean for you if you've already had the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine?

The first thing to know is that the reports of the clots are extremely rare. Nearly 7 million J&J doses have been administered in the U.S. So far, there have been reports of unusual clots in just six women after they received the vaccine.

If you've gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the only step you need to take right now, according to federal health officials, is to watch for certain symptoms like headache or shortness of breath within three weeks of receiving the shot.

Here's what we know Tuesday from health officials.

Why are the CDC and the FDA concerned?

The FDA and the CDC recommended the pause Tuesday to investigate unusual clots in six women that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination with the J&J vaccine. The clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain and occurred together with low platelets.

All cases were in women between the ages of 18 to 48.

It's not clear yet if the reports among J&J recipients are related.

Regulators say they want to educate patients and medical professionals about spotting and treating the clots. The clots were observed along with reduced platelet counts, making the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner heparin, potentially dangerous.

What symptoms should I look for?

People who were given the J&J vaccine who are experiencing severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the shot should contact their health care provider.

How widespread are the blood clots?

Id like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority, FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said at a news conference.

Louisiana providers should stop using Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, LDH says Louisiana providers should stop using Johnson & Johnson's COVID vaccine amid a new federal recommendation to "pause" the use of the single

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Asked if the government was overreacting to six cases out of more than 6 million vaccinations, CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said recommendations will come quickly.

Because these unusual clots require special treatment, it was of the utmost importance to us to get the word out, she said. That said, the pandemic is quite severe and cases are increasing in lots of places and vaccinations critical.

How long is the "pause" supposed to last?

We expect it to be a matter of days for this pause, Woodcock said.

A CDC committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation into the cause of the clots and low platelet counts.

FDA officials emphasized that Tuesdays action was not a mandate. Doctors and patients could still use J&Js vaccine if they decide its benefits outweigh its risks for individual cases, said Dr. Peter Marks.

+3 Louisiana COVID numbers: 100,000+ more vaccine doses administered; nearly 1 million fully vaccinated In Louisiana, 103,298 more doses of COVID vaccines have been administered, according to a noon update from the Louisiana Department of Health.

What does this mean for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines?

CDC's Dr. Anne Schuchat said authorities have not seen similar clots after use of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and that people should continue to get vaccinated with those shots.

Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said 28 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available for states this week, more than enough to keep up the nation's pace of 3 million shots a day despite the J&J pause.

What does Johnson & Johnson say about the recommendation?

J&J said in a statement it was aware of the reports of blood clots, but that no link to its vaccine had been established. The company also said it is delaying the rollout of its vaccine in Europe as a precaution.

How many people in Louisiana have gotten the Johnson & Johnson vaccine?

More than 85,000 Johnson & Johnson doses have been administered in Louisiana so far, which is about 3.6% of the total number of jabs and almost 9% of completed vaccinations.

According to data from the CDC, Louisiana has received a little over 200,000 J&J doses, which means that more than 100,000 doses will be kept in refrigerators across the state while federal officials investigate the rare side effect.

Compiled from staff and Associated Press reports.
(Newser)  A police chase of a speeding driver in Georgia early Monday ended with three officers wounded and a suspect killed. Another suspect was arrested, ABC reports. The chase began about 3:30am, after a state trooper clocked a car going 111mph on an interstate in Carroll County, about 50 miles west of Atlanta. The driver stopped but took off as the trooper walked up behind the car. The chase resumed, with the trooper trying to bump the car to get the driver to stop. The first time, the driver regained control, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. The second time, a passenger shot the trooper's car with a rifle, disabling it. When the driver went through Carrollton, local officers took up the chase. The next time a passenger shot at a police car, he hit the officer, who lost control and slammed into a pole. Other officers stopped to help him.

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Villa Rica officers started chasing the car when it reached their city. It left Interstate 20, went down a side road, and crashed. Two suspects then took off on foot. Almost two hours into the chase, shots were fired at officers searching for the men, police said, and the officers shot back. One suspect was found dead, and the other surrendered, after negotiating with police, and is jailed. Two officers were shot in the exchange, one of them twice, per NBC. All three wounded officers were treated at hospitals, with one later released. The seriousness of their conditions wasn't released. "It could have been a lot worse," the sheriff said. The state Bureau of Investigation is looking into the case. (Read more police chase stories.)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell listens to President Donald Trump talks to reporters while hosting Republican congressional leaders and members of Trump's cabinet in the Oval Office at the White House July 20, 2020, in Washington, DC. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

McConnell refused to respond to attacks from Trump, who called him a "dumb son of a b----."

Trump criticized his former ally in a lengthy speech on Saturday at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

McConnell, for his part, said his focus is on Biden's "totally left-wing administration."

See more stories on Insider's business page.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell declined to respond to attacks from former President Donald Trump, who called him a "dumb son of a b----" over the weekend.

Reporters pressed the Kentucky Republican on Tuesday for a reaction to Trump's lengthy criticism of him during an hour-long speech at a political event on Saturday at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. Besides the expletive-filled comment, Trump also slammed McConnell as a "stone-cold loser" for accepting the 2020 presidential election results, which the former president repeatedly sought to overturn based on false claims that the race was "rigged" and "stolen."

Yet McConnell did not appear fazed by Trump's rebuke. He dodged the question and pivoted to criticize President Joe Biden.

"What I'm concentrating on is the future," McConnell said Tuesday at a Senate Republican leadership news conference. "What we are confronting here is a totally left-wing administration."

"That's what I'm concentrating on," he added.

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McConnell also refused to weigh in on the National Republican Senatorial Committee's decision last weekend to give Trump the "Champion for Freedom Award" for working "tirelessly to create good jobs, protect the values that make our country great, and stop the Democrats' socialist agenda."

The NRSC Chairman, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of Florida, who presented the award to Trump was also in attendance at Tuesday's briefing.

McConnell similarly did not reply to Capitol Hill reporters who asked him about the topic on Monday.

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Once close allies, McConnell and Trump's relationship soured toward the end of his administration as the former president began to spread unsubstantiated claims that the 2020 election was rife with voter fraud.

Trump grew angry with the Republican leader when he acknowledged Biden's win in mid-December, and the feud worsened after the Capitol insurrection on January 6.

McConnell ripped into Trump on the day of the deadly attack, and later blamed him for feeding his supporters "lies" that "provoked" them to breach the Capitol. Ultimately, however, McConnell voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial in which he was charged with "incitement of insurrection."

Since leaving office, Trump has vowed to exact revenge on McConnell and other Republicans he has perceived as wrongfully turning against him.

Senate Republicans are concerned about the fractured ties between McConnell and Trump and want to see them mend their relationship, Politico reported on Monday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The report highlighted that one or two major contract wins within the body armour space could provide the catalyst for the companys shares to re-rate.

The companys inventory is up from $3.2 million in 1H20 to $11.1 million in 1H21.

( ) has secured a Speculative Buy rating from Taylor Collison off the back of its proprietary business lines in the defence sector for body armour (XTclave) and SUAS (XTatlas), which are now being monetised.

The report said the company was in the process of moving from a distributor of military equipment to a manufacturer of its own proprietary products.

This will have the effect of boosting profit margins and subject to uptake of the products globally, should result in higher and more consistent revenues," it said.

One or two major contract wins within the body armour space could provide the catalyst for XTEs shares to re-rate.

The business is profitable and large new markets are being opened due to past investment in body armour and the strategic purchase of HighCom.

Demand driven by defence spending

Underlying demand for XTEs products continues to be driven by defence spending, which has proven resilient to economic cycles despite the current COVID-19 environment.

The report stated: In order to continue to grow the business, XTE is required to win future defence contracts.

The purchase of HighCom enables XTE to sell its products to the US military as an American supplier with production from its new US facility.

Noting the risks associated with investing in XTE given its small size and sale win risks, it is now better positioned, and we consider it a Speculative Buy.

Contract and distribution agreements

The company recently announced the signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with KeyOptions Pty Ltd, a master agent for Virolens, which is a test that screens for SARS-CoV-2 in around 30 seconds.

The test has been approved by the UK Medical and Healthcare product Regulation Agency and an application for approval has been lodged with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia.

Taylor Collison said: With TGA sign-off VIrolens test may play a role when international borders reopen and larger scale testing is conducted."

In regard to other recent agreements, Taylor Collison said: HighCom has secured approval for a permanent export licence for ballistic products to Mexico City with current exports worth US $2.1 million.

The signing of a memorandum of understanding with Milrem Robotics (a leading robotics and autonomous systems developer) allows XTE to act as their representative in Australia and New Zealand.

Trading update and financials

The companys 1H 2021 inventory is up from $3.2 million in 1H20 to $11.1 million, with management confirming this relates to WIP of a yet to be commissioned manufacturing machine and not a build-up of saleable products.

The machine is expected to be moved over onto the fixed asset register by the end of FY21.

The report stated: XTE has continued to make progress towards its aim of 75% of units sold being XTE proprietary products and not distribution sales.

XTEs revenue and profit is heavily skewed towards the second half of the financial year with the lower sales figures in H1 not a cause for alarm.

The typical split of total revenue for XTEs H1 is between 20-35% of revenue.

Balance sheet and valuation

The companys balance sheet is well funded with net cash of $9.3 million at December 31, 2020.

The report stated: The key for XTE is its ability to sell more proprietary products enabling it to start generating positive operating cash flow and justifying a re-rate higher.
L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Marc Antrim pleaded guilty to robbing a legal marijuana warehouse. This image of Antrim is from a camera worn by a police officer who encountered the deputy during the heist, according to federal authorities. (U.S. attorney's office)

A former Los Angeles County sheriffs deputy who orchestrated a fake drug raid to steal more than half a ton of marijuana and $600,000 in cash from a downtown warehouse was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison.

Marc Antrim, who was assigned to the Temple City sheriffs station at the time of the scam, pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple crimes , including deprivation of rights under color of law and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, the U.S. attorneys office said in a news release.

"The seriousness of the crime could not be overstated, U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips said during a court hearing at which she handed down the sentence, according to the release. She added that the heist eroded the publics trust in law enforcement.

Antrim, 43, and several others carried out the brazen plot early one morning in October 2018. Antrim took a Ford Explorer from the sheriff's station and pulled up to the legal marijuana distribution business, where he flashed his badge and a bogus search warrant to get inside.

Antrim, who was off duty, and two others dressed as deputies  Kevin McBride, 45, and Matthew James Perez, 44  detained three warehouse security guards in the back of the sheriff's SUV. Another accomplice, Daniel Aguilera, arrived in a rental truck, which the group loaded with marijuana.

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department, which patrols the warehouse location, showed up during the heist. Antrim told them he was serving a search warrant at the warehouse and put one of the LAPD officers on the phone with a man who he claimed was his supervisor. The LAPD officers subsequently left, and the heist continued with the men hauling two large safes containing the $600,000 into the truck.

A few days later, an attorney for the business contacted the Sheriffs Department and presented security camera footage of the robbery.

A GPS device on the rented moving truck led authorities to McBride's house in Glendora, where they found two pounds of marijuana, a loaded Beretta handgun registered to Antrim, ammunition that is issued to law enforcement officers and a flashlight with Antrims name on it, court records show. They also recovered $150,000 to $200,000 in cash. Investigators found a similar amount of cash and four firearms in the home Antrim rented.

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McBride is serving a six-year federal prison sentence, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said several others were convicted in the scheme.

Christopher Myung Kim, 31, of Walnut is serving a 14-year federal prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of his role in planning the heist. The U.S. attorney's office said the disgruntled former warehouse employee made off with $1.5 million in stolen marijuana after the raid.

Perez, Aguilera and Eric Rodriguez, 35, are also serving time in federal prison. Jay Colby Sanford, 43, of Pomona, who was accused of serving as a lookout, was sentenced to five years of probation.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The death of a sailor of a self-inflicted gunshot after a barricade situation at the The Kahala Hotel & Resort was the third tied to Hawaii's submarine force in the past 16 months.

The Navy confirmed that the sailor was assigned to the Pacific Fleet submarine force. However, they did not release the sailor's identity, military assignment or rank.

The incident began before 6 p.m. Saturday when the 40-year-old man barricaded himself in a room at the hotel and communicated with family that he was suicidal, according to the Honolulu Police Department's Criminal Investigative Division.

Dozens of law enforcement officers, including HPD's Specialized Services Division, negotiators and military representatives responded.

During the incident, the man allegedly fired shots into the door of his fourth-floor room at the luxury resort.

No one was injured, but the hotel was put on lockdown, with more than 100 guests kept in a secure location. After more than seven hours, guests and staff were finally released.

The barricade situation ended around 3 a.m. Sunday when police made their entry into the room and found the man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

This latest sailor death comes as suicide rates in the military nationwide have been a growing concern. The suicide rate among active duty increased to a six-year high in 2019, according to data in a Department of Defense Annual Suicide Report released Oct. 1.

Some 498 troops died by suicide in 2019, bringing the rate among active-duty troops to 25.9 per 100, 000.

As recently as March 15 in Hawaii, a 23-year-old torpedoman's mate third class from California assigned to the submarine USS Charlotte died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on a nighttime watch as the sub was pierside at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

On Dec. 4, 2019, Machinist's Mate Auxiliary Fireman Gabriel Antonio Romero of San Antonio, 22, an armed watch-stander on the attack submarine USS Columbia, shot three civilian workers, killing two, at the Pearl Harbor shipyard and then turned a pistol on himself while the sub was in Dry Dock 2 for a major overhaul.

Vincent Kapoi Jr., 30, and Roldan Agustin, 49, were killed and Roger Nakamine, 36, was injured in the shooting, which resulted in a base lockdown and sent shock waves through the state's largest industrial employer, which has more than 6, 400 mainly civilian workers.

Suicide was the second -leading cause of death for people ages 10 to 34 last year in Hawaii, the fourth-leading cause for ages 35 to 44, fifth for ages 45 to 54, eighth for ages 55 to 64 and 17th for those 65 and older, the state said.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention ranked Hawaii 41st in the nation for suicide rates in 2020. An average of 190 Hawaii residents per year kill themselves, state data shows.

Suicide was also the fifth-leading cause of death among nonresidents in Hawaii from 2014 to 2018, according to DOH statistics.

Jessica Lani Rich, president and CEO of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, said the organization, which helps visitors in crisis, has reached out to the Kahala to provide assistance if needed.

"Normally in situations like this, even though no (hotel guest ) was injured physically, they are affected mentally and emotionally by this, " Rich said. "We want to offer comfort and support."

While the barricade situation at the Kahala was unique, Rich said suicides in hotels in Hawaii and elsewhere happen more frequently than some might realize.

"Sadly, we deal with a number of hotel suicides, " Rich said. "I just dealt with one 10 days ago at a major hotel. Suicides don't always make the news. In this situation it made the news because of what he did."

Rich said she's had cases were travelers came to Hawaii with the primary purpose of committing suicide away from family and friends.

"They don't want to be at home when they do it. They don't want family and friends to see them that way, " she said.

Star-Advertiser reporter William Cole and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (TALK ) or go to for additional information.

This article is written by Allison Schaefers from The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@industrydive.com.
First came the virus, which John Chan said cost his restaurant hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost sales. Then came the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes, which has made some people jittery and kept them at home and away from the restaurant, further hurting business.

Its like the heavens are playing tricks on us, said Mr. Chan, a community leader in Brooklyns Chinatown and the owner of the Golden Imperial Palace, a cavernous dining hall there.

More than a year after the pandemic first swept through New York, the streets of Sunset Park in southern Brooklyn reflect the pandemics deep and unhealed wounds intertwined with signs of a neighborhood trying to slowly edge back to life.

The sidewalks are filling with shoppers and vendors, and more businesses are open and welcoming customers. But owners still struggle to pay rent and keep their enterprises afloat, while many workers laid off after the city locked down last year are still without jobs.
IF YOU need evidence that the Democratic administration in Washington is hostile to the Granite State, look no further than its disposition toward our states lawsuit against Massachusetts over the Bay States bad faith policy of imposing its income tax on New Hampshire telecommuters who bot
The first lot of vaccines produced by Johnson&Johnson will enter Romania on Wednesday, announced the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu, Vice-President of the National Committee for the Coordination of Immunization Activities against SARS-CoV-2.

"Tomorrow, the first lot of vaccines produced by Johnson&Johnson, 60,000 doses, will enter the country and will be on April 15 at the Cantacuzino Institute. We're talking about the first tranches. In addition, in the last week of April, another 103,200 doses of vaccine produced by the same company will arrive, with a total of 163,200 doses. For May, we will receive 518,400 doses of the same vaccine, based on the estimates we currently have, and for June, 1,661,400 doses. These are the estimates we have at the moment," Baciu said Tuesday at a press conference at the Victoria Palace, agerpres.ro confirms.

Also in April, BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are due to deliver a total of 3,373,410 doses of COVID vaccine.

According to estimates, BioNTech-Pfizer will deliver 2,804,490 doses for May and 3,225,690 doses for June, Moderna will provide 620,700 doses in May and 620,700 in June, and AstraZeneca - 1,047,962 doses in May and 1,047,962 doses in June.

"In addition, if the signing of contracts with Novavax and Valneva is completed, the first doses are planned to arrive in July. (...) Romania ranks 4th at European level on two-dose vaccinations, which, according to the recommendations, represents maximum immunity, and globally we are talking about 14th place," said Andrei Baciu.

By April 13, Romania received 5,824,419 doses of COVID vaccine.

"With regard to lost doses, up to and including April 11, there were 6,080 lost doses, representing 0.16 pct of the total doses used, obviously, for unaccountable reasons," noted the Secretary of State.
Posted Tuesday, April 13, 2021 12:24 am

The Ever Givens grounding in one of the narrowest parts of the Suez Canal underscores the vulnerability of the worlds supply chain. The reverberations will be felt for months as consumer demand, suppressed by the COVID-19 pandemic, ramps up.

The canal, which was completed in 1869, is the main shipping artery between Asian and European seaports through which 10 percent of the global shipping traverses. Much of the 120-mile waterway is extremely narrow especially for ships as long as the Empire State Building (New York City) is tall (1,300 feet).

Nearly 19,000 ships navigated the canal in 2020. Without the Suez, ships must sail around the Cape of Good Hope at Africas southern tip. That alternative adds two weeks to the journey.

Before strong desert crosswinds jammed the 20,000 container ship crossways in the canal, nearly everyone was feeling supply shortages. The pressure was on suppliers to produce more components and accelerate shipping.

The six-day blockage not only impacted those awaiting Ever Givens containers, but the contents on board the 420 other ships stopped in the Mediterranean and Red seas.

Even though the vessel backlog was finally cleared on Easter Sunday, maritime data company Lloyds List said the blockage had held up an estimated $9.6 billion worth of cargo each day between Asia and Europe.

A key underlying problem is the fast-paced, high-tech, global economy hinges on efficient, timely and quality components deliveries. Modern manufacturing has morphed into a well-choreographed production much as a performance of a fine-tuned symphonic orchestra.

For example, before the COVID pandemic and the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeings 737 production was humming along, pumping out 52 airplanes per month. Approximately, a quarter of the commercial airplanes flying today are 737s assembled at the Renton plant.

Just enough, just in time and just the right part kept Boeing competitive. Fuselages are fabricated in Kansas and shipped by rail across the country to Renton. Their arrival is sequenced with containerized parts shipped by air, sea, rail and truck.

Boeing employs 12,000 workers at its 737 assembly plant and supports thousands of jobs across a network of 600 major suppliers. Production delays ripple across the supplier chain. Subcontractors face the same problems as Boeing as they struggle to recover from the pandemic.

Spirit AeroSystems, Boeings largest supplier, dramatically cut its production levels during the MAX grounding and pandemic. The downturn in demand resulted in Spirit AeroSystems cutting 8,000 employees from its commercial aviation programs  a 44 percent reduction  and the company closed one factory, SupplyChain.com reported.

While Boeing is starting to recover with the return to service of the 737 MAX and an uptick in airline bookings, a better example of supply chain choke point is the auto industry.

On board the Ever Given are containers of computer chips which are stalling auto production worldwide. For example, Ford is scrambling to find semiconductors for its high-tech F-150. The shortage has idled assembly lines at Volkswagen, Subaru, Toyota, Nissan and Fiat Chrysler.

Ford has warned that if the chip shortage continues through the first half of the year, its adjusted operating profit for the full year could decline by between $1 billion and $2.5 billion, The Motley Fool reported.

Even though semiconductor fabricators announced multi-billion dollar plant expansions, those facilities take years to construct. The shortages are today primarily because of an unexpected surge in demand for higher-end personal computers amid the pandemic.

As the COVID pandemic subsides, companies will have to modify their inventory strategies. While stockpiling key components and non-traditional shipping may be expensive, in the end they may turn out to be less costly than idling production and losing market share.



Don C. Brunell is a business analyst, writer and columnist. He retired as president of the Association of Washington Business, the states oldest and largest business organization, and now lives in Vancouver. He can be contacted at theBrunells@msn.com.
An Asian man has been violently attacked in broad daylight in New York as the city continues to struggle with soaring rates of violent crime.

Just hours after the horrific attack, 'soft-on-crime' Mayor Bill de Blasio was seen rubbing elbows with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in nearby Times Square.

The ugly incident occurred Monday afternoon on the Upper East Side, with the assailant allegedly targeting the man at random before body slamming him into the glass window of a store.

The store surveillance camera captured that shocking moment, and shows the attacker subsequently trying to flee before he was stopped by a Good Samaritan.

The assailant also allegedly sucker-punched the Asian victim, although that incident was not captured on the camera.

According to ABC 7, the attacker had been yelling at random pedestrian 'Don't look at me!' before he suddenly targeted and followed the Asian man.

Afterward, the man was seen yelling at the Good Samaritan who stopped him, saying: 'I'm gonna kill somebody! Get out of my face!'

An Asian man has been violently attacked in broad daylight in New York as the city continues to struggle with soaring rates of violent crime. The ugly incident occurred Monday afternoon on the Upper East Side, with the assailant allegedly targeting the man at random before body slamming him into the glass window of a store

Just hours after the horrific attack, 'soft-on-crime' Mayor Bill de Blasio was seen rubbing elbows with Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in nearby Times Square

Police arrived at the scene, but not before the offender had left on foot. As of Tuesday afternoon, he is still at large.

The NYPD told The New York Post that the attacker did not make any anti-Asian slurs, so the the incident has not been logged as a hate crime.

However, one eyewitness told ABC that the offender - who is black - was 'yelling about Chinese, Spanish and white people'.

Hate crimes are up 28.1 percent this year, while violent crime is also on the rise.

The Mayor appeared to be in high spirits and he hobnobbed with A-list celebrity Miranda as they opened a new vaccination center for Broadway workers in the area.

'We want to gather again, and we want to tell stories in the dark,' Miranda stated at a press conference to celebrate the center.

'We cannot do that if we don't feel safe and if you don't feel safe. So the first step in that process is getting our vaccination shots, and the next steps will follow.'

De Blasio also took to the podium to profess his love of Broadway.

'Yes, it's part of our economy. Much more importantly it's part of our identity,' he said.

'It's part of who we are, it's part of our hearts. What it means in this city, the theater, the music, the dance, the film and TV, it is our expression of everything that is New York City. It's our creativity, it's our heart and soul. We do something here that does not exist anywhere in the world quite like this.'

However, he made no mention of soaring crime rates, or of the increase in attacks on Asians.

'The theater, the music, the dance, the film and TV, it is our expression of everything that is New York City': de Blasio professed his love for Broadway, but made no mention of the nearby attack

'We want to gather again, and we want to tell stories in the dark,' Miranda stated at a press conference to celebrate the vaccination center

The Mayor appeared to be in high spirits and he hobnobbed with the A-list celebrity as they opened a new vaccination center for Broadway workers in the area

Lin-Manuel Miranda brought along his father, Luis, to the event

Late last month, a 65-year-old woman of Asian descent was attacked in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood while walking to church.

She was punched in the stomach and had her head stomped on several times by the assailant, who was later arrested and charged with a hate crime.

The sickening attack was captured on camera, sparking nationwide outrages.

Meanwhile, there have also been a slew of other disturbing incidents in which Asians have been targeted.

A man was filmed urinating on an Asian woman on a Queens-bound subway car.

And last week, another man was arrested and charged with hate crimes after allegedly hurling anti-Asian abuse and threats at an undercover cop.

'Go back to China before you wind up in the f***ing graveyard!', the offender allegedly told the undercover cop, the New York Post reported.

'I'm going to slap the holy piss out of you and stab you in the face,' he added.

The data shows crime in the city increasing from recent years

Meanwhile, last week, the NYPD released its latest crime data for March, showing that overall crime went up 2.4 per cent, compared with the same time last year, driven by a 36 per cent jump in murders and a 35 per cent increase in auto thefts.

There were 99 shooting incidents in March 2021, compared to 56 a year ago, representing an increase of nearly 77 per cent, even as police drastically stepped up their efforts to arrest suspects on weapons charges.

There were 492 gun arrests citywide last month, which is an increase of nearly 67 per cent compared to March 2020.
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The Growth Gap is a Yakima Herald-Republic reporting series and newsletter on how Washington states declining child care sector is edging out young learners. Were zeroing in on how this issue impacts children, families, providers and our economy in Central Washington, with an emphasis on long-term outcomes for early learners.

Virtual child care town hall

Join the Yakima Herald-Republic for a free virtual town hall exploring child care access in Central Washington and its impacts on families and young learners on Thursday, April 29 at 6 p.m.

As part of the Herald's ongoing series, The Growth Gap, education reporter Janelle Retka will be joined by Child Care Aware of Washington CEO Deeann Burtch Puffert to discuss the state of child care in our area, and what solutions are still needed.

Come to listen or ask questions, and we'll do our best to answer them either during the event or in follow-up reporting. Live captioning will be available in Spanish. Register here! Lets close the gap.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin launched a program in November 2019 to pardon people convicted of marijuana misdemeanors in city court, estimating it could help 6,000 people erase criminal convictions that could appear on employment background checks.

But almost a year-and-a-half later, just nine people have had those charges removed.

Birmingham officials are increasing efforts to publicize the program, but some experts say the process may be too complicated to help many of those who could benefit.

The program has received 56 applications, but many came from people arrested and charged outside the City of Birmingham. Another eight did not meet the criteria for a pardon and 11 are still under review, according to a report from the city.

We have not been able to really obtain a large group of applications that fit the level of people who we know are eligible, said Tiffanie Thompson, executive administrator for governmental affairs for the City of Birmingham. Maybe some of those people have moved away. Maybe they just dont know about it. For some reason, they may be a little afraid.

To help promote the program, city staff have used radio, newspaper ads, social media and direct mail. Still, they only reached 50 percent of the goal for the first quarter of 2021, Thompson said.

I think weve tried almost everything except for the news, Thompson said. Im not sure what else we can do.

The program requires applicants to mail in a form along with two copies of identification. City staff look for charges in municipal court, run background checks and submit qualifying applications to a committee that can recommend approval. No fee is required.

Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said the city process needs to be streamlined to help more people.

Progress is progress, Strekal said. If this makes it easier than it was before, then thats a step in the right direction. But seeing that it requires mailing in an application, including a copy of their social security card and an ID, and that it initiates a background check. This is a pretty onerous process.

Across the country, 17 states have created programs to expunge marijuana charges. Five of them have laws that allow the automatic reduction or expungement of charges. Many of those programs exist in states that have legalized or decriminalized marijuana possession.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML, said he is not aware of many other citywide or countywide program to pardon marijuana offenses, although some local governments have stopped making arrests for possession. Kansas City, Mo. allows misdemeanor offenders to apply for pardons.

Strekal said San Francisco has been a leader in pardoning misdemeanor marijuana offenders. After initially creating a program similar to Birminghams that required people to apply for a pardon, the city switched to an automatic system that dismissed and sealed thousands of cases. Strekal said the city worked with an organization that created an algorithm to identify eligible cases.

Automatic expungement at no cost to the individual is the most comprehensive, concrete and direct way to provide relief, Strekal said.

Thompson with Birmingham said the city has been frustrated at the slow pace of applications.

We had applications coming in, but it wasnt a high volume, Thompson said. Were just trying to see how we can ramp up the applications and just try to get as many people pardoned as we can during the time that we are here.

Possession of any amount of marijuana remains illegal in Alabama. State Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Birmingham, authored a bill this year that would reduce marijuana possession to a fine and erase charges after five years. But similar measures have failed in Alabama in the past.

Woodfin got the idea for the pardons program while serving as an attorney in municipal court, Thompson said. He encountered many people who had arrests for marijuana that prevented them from getting certain jobs. Pardons for Progress is designed to make it easier for low-level offenders to make a new start. Applicants must pay all fines and court fees before qualifying.

Thompson said the city used a state law that allows the mayor to remit fines and commute sentences imposed in municipal court to craft a program for low-level offenders. The application process is designed to exclude people charged with more serious offenses alongside marijuana possession.

Someone would not want to automatically pardon a person who may have been convicted of sexual molestation, Thompson said.

The Pardons for Progress program is not designed to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, but to help people get jobs, Thompson said.

We cant revitalize a neighborhood without helping the people first, Thompson said.

An ACLU report found that arrest rates in Alabama are more than four times higher for Blacks than whites, despite similar rates of marijuana use. Figures released by the city show that 53 of the 56 applicants have been Black.

When we see that overwhelmingly, marijuana criminalization is enforced against young poor Black men, the earnings potential over the course of their life can be dramatically swung in a negative trajectory if they have a criminal record and are prevented from being able to get access to more meaningful employment at such a young age, Strekal said. It tells them they are unworthy of participating in American society and they need not apply. Any step in the right direction is a step in the right direction.

Thompson said pardons are just part of the program. City workers have forged connections to local nonprofits and schools to provide job training and educational resources for applicants, Thompson said.

Once they have been pardoned, if they dont have a job, they have job opportunities at UAB and/or workforce development at Jefferson State, Thompson said. So we are just trying to connect people to where they need to go and just trying to impact lives.
A mother takes her daughter to the pediatrician to get vaccinated. (Getty Images)

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility has opened up to Americans over the age of 16 in many parts of the country, but clinical trials are ongoing to determine how safe and effective these vaccines are for younger children.

Pfizer just applied for an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its COVID-19 vaccine for kids between the ages of 12 and 15. Moderna is testing its vaccine on children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years, and Johnson & Johnson is testing its vaccine in 12- to 17-year-olds (though it was announced Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration recommended pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson's single-use COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots).

Data collected so far seems promising  Pfizer shared that its vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 in 12- to 15-year-olds  but a new Yahoo and YouGov poll finds that many parents are still hesitant to have their children vaccinated against the virus.

According to the survey of 1,606 U.S. adults, which was conducted from March 22 to 25, just 39 percent of parents say they will have their children vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as theyre eligible. Nearly the same amount  37 percent  say they wont have their children vaccinated against the virus, and 24 percent say theyre unsure.

There were clear divides across age, race, political affiliation and education level.

Only 27 percent of younger parents  that is, those who are 18 to 29  said they will get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, while 54 percent of parents between the ages of 45 and 54 plan to vaccinate their children.

Nearly 47 percent of Hispanic families plan to vaccinate their children, followed by 39 percent of white parents and 31 percent of Black parents.

The gap is the widest between political affiliations: 61 percent of Democrats plan to vaccinate their children, while just 36 percent of Republicans say the same. Independents were the least likely to say theyll vaccinate their children against COVID-19  just 25 percent plan to sign up when their kids are eligible.

Story continues

Money was also a big determinant  willingness to vaccinate children increased with a familys annual income. Just 29 percent of families who make $50,000 or less plan to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, compared to 63 percent of families who make $100,000 or more.

There is a lot of vaccine hesitancy, but experts say they hope  and expect  that will change. This reflects what we saw when we began to vaccinate adults, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. We have a lot of skepticism and hesitancy.

But, Schaffner says, Once vaccination programs begin, people see their neighbors children being vaccinated, people get their questions answered and are reassured that the vaccines are safe, many of those skeptical parents will change their minds.

Dr. Lawrence C. Kleinman, chief of the division of population health, quality and implementation science at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, agrees. I would expect those numbers to change toward more people getting the vaccine once there are data and federal authorizations, he tells Yahoo Life. We saw that with the adult vaccines. People deal with hypotheticals differently than when situations actually present themselves.

Kleinman says that COVID-19s risk to children has been falsely downplayed, which may have led to more parents not worrying as much about how the virus can affect their kids.

I just came off of clinical service, and we have had children in the ICU due to COVID-19, Dr. John Schreiber, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Connecticut Childrens, tells Yahoo Life. This virus is very strange and unpredictable. While the majority of children are OK after having COVID-19, a small number are getting very sick, Schreiber says. I dont want children to get this, he says. Weve been lured into this idea that young people dont get sick, but some do. Hes also seen children with long-haul COVID-19 who struggle with fatigue, a loss of taste and smell, and generally feeling unwell. The virus is unpredictable and may have long-lasting effects on young people, he says.

Doctors acknowledge, though, that many parents are just trying to make what they think is the right decision for their children. Im a parent, and parents always want to do whats best for their kids, Schreiber says.

Kleinman agrees. I can appreciate that folks are reluctant to give their children any kind of medication or substance that has not been proven over the long term, he says. While Im waiting to see the data, authorization will require that apparent benefits are much more than the apparent risks and, if that were to happen, I will not hesitate to immunize my 4-year-old daughter.

Divides in attitudes toward the vaccine based on race, political affiliation and income are exactly what were seeing in vaccine hesitancy in adults, Schaffner says.

Black communities have a historical reason to be suspicious of medical advances, Kleinman says, pointing to examples like the Tuskegee study, in which Black men with syphilis were deliberately not treated for their disease, despite being told they were, and monitored to see what would happen. The community has been historically abused by the medical community.

The memory is still there, Schreiber says. But, he points out, COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting minority communities, making it very important that they be vaccinated against COVID-19. Data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month showed that Black, American Indian or Alaska Native and Latinx people are up to 3.1 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 and up to 2.4 times more likely to die of the virus.

The political divide may simply be due to messaging from both parties, Dr. Schaffner says. Republican politicians have been more likely to refuse to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and have been less likely to see the virus as a threat  and Democrats have often done the opposite.

As for why older parents are more likely to vaccinate their children, Schaffner says it may be a matter of experience. As you get older, you get smarter, he jokes. Perceived risk is important too, Schaffner says: The younger you are, the less risk you feel the virus poses.

Schaffner urges people to respect one anothers decisions around the vaccine, but he says its important to have conversations about vaccine safety. Many children have died and have had to be admitted to the hospital, he says. Theres also the problem of long COVID  even if you get mild disease, you can have lingering symptoms that last for months. Vaccinating children will also make schools and day cares safer, he says.

Theres also this to consider, per Kleinman: Scientific panels to authorize the vaccine are more cautious when it comes to children.

Schreiber urges doctors to have candid, nonjudgmental conversations with families about the vaccines. I talk to families about this every day, he says. When you tune out Facebook and social media, and have an honest conversation about the risks and benefits, nine times out of 10, families will move ahead and choose vaccination.

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DETROIT - The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit is recommending that a federal judge name New York lawyer Neil Barofsky to monitor the United Auto Workers union's behaviour after a corruption scandal.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 22, 2010, file photo, Neil Barofsky, then-Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government on the Financial Crisis and TARP program on Capitol Hill in Washington. The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit is recommending that a federal judge name New York lawyer Barofsky to monitor the United Auto Workers union's behavior after a corruption scandal. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File)

DETROIT - The U.S. attorney's office in Detroit is recommending that a federal judge name New York lawyer Neil Barofsky to monitor the United Auto Workers union's behaviour after a corruption scandal.

Appointing an independent monitor is part of a settlement the union agreed to with federal prosecutors in December. He'll stay in place for six years unless both sides agree to a shorter term.

Barofsky leads the law firm Jenner & Block's monitorship practice. He monitored two units of Credit Suisse following multibillion-dollar settlements. He also was an assistant U.S. Attorney in Manhattan and served as Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which bailed out banks and two auto companies after the 2009 financial crisis.

After a monitor is appointed, the union has six months to hold a secret-ballot election to decide whether members will vote directly to pick the union's future leaders. Barofsky would monitor the election, as well as compliance with the settlement. Currently union leaders are picked by delegates to a national convention.

The monitor will administer the election, will have the power to approve hiring or discharges of union employees, and can end or approve contracts, the settlement agreement says.

Acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin made the motion to hire Barofsky on Monday, according to court records. The union submitted the names of three candidates, and the appointment still must be approved by Judge David Lawson.

The agreement came in the wake of a wide-ranging federal probe into corruption that reached into the upper ranks of the 400,000-member UAW. It held off a possible federal takeover of the union due to the bribery and embezzlement investigation that has lasted more than five years.

The probe has led to 11 convictions of union members, including two former presidents. The U.S. Attorney's office said it uncovered embezzlement of over $1.5 million in dues money, kickbacks to union officials from vendors, and $3.5 million in illegal payments from executives at Fiat Chrysler who wanted to corruptly influence contract talks.

UAW President Rory Gamble, who was not charged in the probe, has said the union is now clean and will have safeguards in place to prevent the scandal from happening again.
NEW YORK, April 13, 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 3D Systems Corporation ("3D Systems" or the "Company") (NYSE: DDD) from May 6, 2020, through March 1, 2021, (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

If you purchased 3D Systems securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit 3D Systems Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or [email protected]

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose to investors: (1) 3D Systems lacked proper internal controls over financial reporting; and (2) as a result, 3D Systems' public statements were materially false and/or misleading at all relevant times.

On March 2, 2021, 3D Systems filed a NT-10-K with the SEC, stating that their 10-K filing would be delayed for the reasons listed in their March 1, 2021 press release. On this news, 3D System's stock price fell $7.62 per share, or more than 19.6% form closing at $38.79 per share on March 1, 2021 to close at $31.17 per share on March 2, 2021.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than June 8, 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 3D Systems securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit https://www.bernlieb.com/cases/3dsystemscorporation-ddd-shareholder-class-action-lawsuit-stock-fraud-387/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.

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(CNN)  Jack Ma's business empire just suffered a one-two punch as China continues to tighten the screws on its tech champions.

Chinese regulators have ordered Ant Group, which owns the hugely popular Alipay app, to overhaul its operations and become a financial holding company supervised by the central bank. The announcement late on Monday came just days after Ma's online shopping giant Alibaba was hit with a record $2.8 billion antitrust fine.

Monday's news, which had been widely anticipated, means that the Alibaba-affiliated company will have to follow rules similar to those required of traditional Chinese banks. Ant Group's financial activities will be highly regulated, and it will likely have to follow new rules governing how much cash it keeps in reserve and how rapidly it can grow.

The overhaul marks a dramatic change from where the financial technology company stood just five months ago, when it was preparing for a record-breaking IPO. That offering was pulled by Chinese regulators days before Ant's public debut and its fate had been uncertain ever since.

Ant Group needs to face up to "serious problems" in its financial activities, said Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the People's Bank of China, in a statement on Monday that emphasized "the seriousness of its overhaul" and mentioned that company executives had been summoned to speak with financial regulators.

The meeting was the second time since December that Ant executives had been brought in to speak with Chinese authorities. At that time, Pan said that the company  which officials accused of having "defied" regulations  would be required to overhaul its operations.

Now those plans are starting to take shape. Pan said Monday that regulators have "pressed" Ant to restructure itself as a financial holding company, apparently confirming numerous media reports from earlier this year that suggested such an arrangement was on the table.

While Pan's statement didn't include a lot of specifics on what that distinction would mean, there are already some clues as to how Ant's operations may change. According to rules released last September, financial holding companies are required to hold "adequate capital" matching the amount of assets they have, among other measures. That likely means that the company will either have to significantly increase the amount of cash it holds, or slash the size of its consumer lending business.

The company said that it will comply with the regulators' requests.

"Ant Group, in its entirety, will apply to set up a financial holding company to ensure our financial-related businesses are fully regulated," it said in a statement.

Monday's announcement was "totally as expected," according to Ma Xiangyun, chief banking analyst at Soochow Securities. He added in a research note that Ant will likely face "even stricter" regulations on how much capital it is required to hold compared to "ordinary financial institutions," just like major banks in China.

Ant had about 2.15 trillion yuan ($333 billion) worth of outstanding consumer and small business loans as of last June, according to its IPO prospectus. Against that huge loan book, Ant held just 16 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) in authorized capital.

Beijing mandates that "systemically important" banks, or those deemed too big to fail, have enough money to cover at least 11.5% of their risk-weighted assets  a rule it adapted from a widely used international banking guideline called the Basel Accord. Ant's balance sheet falls far short of that ratio.

Pan, the central bank official, detailed other requirements for Ant's overhaul, too, including a need to stop its "information monopoly" by collecting only the smallest amount of personal information necessary about its consumers.

Ant said in its response Monday that it would "strengthen the protection of personal information and effectively prevent the abuse of data," adding that it will apply for a license for a personal credit scoring company.

Regulators are requiring Ant to overhaul its credit, insurance and wealth management services. They also want the company to sever ties between Alipay and its consumer lending services, such as Jiebei  its consumer credit loan service, and Huabei, its virtual credit card product. And they say Ant needs to reduce the size of Yu'e Bao, a wealth management product that allows users to invest money left over in their digital wallets.

Ant on Monday promised that its payments businesses will "return to its origins" by focusing on serving consumers and small businesses, while it will put Jiebei and Huabei in a consumer finance unit and operate them in compliance with the law.

The new rules will slow Ant's rate of expansion, wrote Yuan Zheqi, chief banking analyst for Ping An Securities, in a Tuesday research report.

Yuan pointed out that some of Ant's businesses, including Yu'e Bao, have expanded quickly over the years.

"But now they have been placed under the traditional financial regulatory system," Yuan said. "That means they will have to follow similar compliance rules as traditional financial services. Ant Group will need to adjust its business model."

Ma, from Soochow Securities, said the restrictions on Yu'e Bao came as a surprise. He said that scaling that product down could cause Ant's online wealth management services to take a hit.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Ant Group cut down to size in latest blow for Jack Ma's business empire."
54.8% of participants agreed that race should be considered a risk factor in diseases and 46.8% agreed race should be considered when diagnosing patients.

Study findings have implications for the future of medical education.

Not all medical students hold a clear understanding of race-based medicine and its role in medicine, new research suggests.

The research is being presented at the virtual conference of the Society of Behavioral Medicines (SBMs) 42nd Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions.

Researchers examined 438 medical students knowledge, attitudes, and experiences with race-based medicine via an electronic, anonymous survey. They found 50.5% of participating students had heard of the term race-based medicine, with participants self-identifying as racial minorities more likely to than their White counterparts. Of the participants who heard of the term, only 42.5% understood the true meaning of race-based medicine.

As defined by Dorothy Roberts in 20081, race-based medicine refers to the use of racial or ethnic groups as a means of diagnosing and treating patients. Lead author, Morgan Jivens, OMS-IV writes, In medical education, race tends to be portrayed as a biological factor, instead of a social construct. Race is self-identified and therefore cannot be biologically based. By using race as a biological factor in medicine, research, and education, we are continuing to create bias in medical systems.

Participants described several examples of race-based medicine in their education. Specific examples frequently included references to hypertension medication and screening for sickle cell, sarcoidosis, lupus, and type 2 diabetes. Of concern, 54.8% of participants agreed that race should be considered a risk factor in diseases and 46.8% agreed race should be considered when diagnosing patients. Participants self-identifying as racial minorities were more likely to disagree with the use of race as a risk factor or for diagnosis as compared to White participants.

I want professors and physicians to think about what they are teaching, says researcher Morgan Jivens, OMS-IV. In my personal experience, when I questioned a lecturer or physician on the basis of their statement about race, or how the statistical analysis takes into consideration race, they do not have the answers. For me, this shows as medical professionals we are not critically thinking about the information we are being taught or teaching. We need to know what we are teaching, where it came from, and if the research was done correctly when influencing future physicians. Medical school is the foundation from where we learn everything about patient care.

This descriptive, cross-sectional survey study is the first of its kind to explore medical students understanding of race-based medicine. In the last year, numerous organizations released statements opposing race-based medicine, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Other organizations and scientific journals, such as the Lancet, argued for anti-racist policies to work towards racial equity in patient care and research.

As this kind of research is the first of its kind, this data will be a type of steppingstone for other researchers looking to increase awareness of not only racial biases found in medicine, but to garner an understanding of how the teaching of race-based medicine to medical students can have a large impact, says author Ifeoma Okafor, OMS-IV. She continues, I feel that 2020, for some, was a year of introspection and reflection into many of our current practices all across the board, not excluding medicine. Now, we as a nation have had to have hard conversations especially within the medical community and are digging into the question why. Hopefully, this research opens up many more conversations about how race is taught in medical education.

This study highlights the need to define and combat race-based medicine in medical education, medicine, and research. As noted by their faculty mentor, Elizabeth A. Beverly, PhD, Had I not conducted this research study with these two amazing future physicians, Morgan Jivens and Ifeoma Okafor, I would not have learned perhaps the greatest lesson of my career to date. Change must start with me integrating anti-racist pedagogy in my teaching and research to combat racism in medicine. Then, collectively, as a society must denounce race-based medicine and adopt a race-conscious approach that defines race as a social and power construct that can be addressed through research on structural racism and medical care that provides support to overcome the barriers of structural racism.

The research will be presented in an on-demand format at the virtual SBM Annual Meeting. The research team will be available for questions at 5:00 p.m. every evening during the designated on-demand time.

Research was supported by the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Ralph S. Licklider, D.O. Endowed Faculty Fellow in Behavioral Diabetes awarded to Elizabeth A. Beverly, PhD, corresponding author.

About Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM)

OU-HCOM: Created by the Ohio Legislature in 1975, OU-HCOM has built a national reputation as a model for primary care medical education. OU-HCOM carries a single mission: to improve healthcare in Ohio's rural and underserved areas. The school graduates the highest percentage of primary care doctors of any medical school in Ohio. The college is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association, is one of 37 osteopathic medical schools in the United States and is the only osteopathic program in Ohio. About 52% of the practicing graduates serve as primary care providers in general/family practice, general internal medicine or general pediatrics. Sixty percent of graduates practice in Ohio. OU-HCOM opened extension campuses in Dublin, Ohio in 2014 and Cleveland, Ohio in 2015, making OU-HCOM the largest medical school in the state with 240 students per class year. These additional campuses have established partnerships with two large healthcare systems, OhioHealth and the Cleveland Clinic.

About SBM

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) is a 2,400-member organization of scientific researchers, clinicians and educators. They study interactions among behavior, biology and the environment, and translate findings into interventions that improve the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities (http://www.sbm.org).

References

1. Roberts DE. Is race-based medicine good for us?: African American approaches to race, biomedicine, and equality. J Law Med Ethics. 2008;36(3):537-545.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi asks court to let her meet lawyers, activists urge New Year defiance

Myanmar's Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during an event at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York City, U.S. (Photo : REUTERS/Bria Webb/File Photo)

Myanmar's detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked a court on Monday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years.



As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people to show their opposition to the Feb. 1 coup during this week's traditional new year holiday in the largely Buddhist country.



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Suu Kyi, 75, who has led Myanmar's struggle against military rule for decades and who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been detained since the coup and charged with various offences. These include violating a colonial-era official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years.



She has only been allowed to talk with her lawyers via video link in the presence of security officials and it is not known if she is even aware of the turmoil that has engulfed the country since the military seized power.



"No, we haven't, we could only talk about legal matters," lawyer Min Min Soe told Reuters when asked if her legal team had been able to talk to her about the protests in which more than 700 people have been killed.



The lawyer said Suu Kyi looked healthy as she repeated a request to meet her lawyers face-to-face. The next hearing is on April 26.



As well as the official secrets charge, Suu Kyi has been charged with illegally possessing two-way radios and violating coronavirus protocols. She has also been accused by the ruling military council of bribery.



Her lawyers say the charges were trumped up and they dismiss the accusation of bribery as a joke.



An additional complaint against her was filed on Monday related to the coronavirus rules, Min Min Soe said.



The coup has plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps towards democracy as the military stepped back from politics and allowed Suu Kyi to form a government after her party swept a 2015 election.



The military says it had to overthrow her government because a November election again won by her National League for Democracy was rigged. The election commission dismissed the accusation.



The coup has triggered relentless protests by those opposed to military rule, and unyielding suppression by the generals who say that only they can save the country from disintegration.



'POWER OF PEOPLE'



Security forces have killed 706 protesters, including 46 children, since the coup, according to a tally by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group.



That included 82 people killed in the town of Bago, about 70 km (45 miles) northeast of Yangon, on Friday.



Undaunted by the violence, activists called for defiance this week over the five-day traditional new year, known as Thingyan, which begins on Tuesday.



The most important holiday of the year is usually celebrated with prayers, ritual cleaning of Buddha images in temples, and high-spirited water-throwing on the streets.



"The military council doesn't own Thingyan. The power of people is in the hands of people," Ei Thinzar Maung, a leader of the General Strike Collaboration Committee protest group, wrote on Facebook.



Calling for a "people's Thingyan", Ei Thinzar Maung said Buddhists should wear certain religious attire and recite prayers together, for members of small Christian communities to wear white and read psalms, and for followers of other religions should to follow the lead of their leaders.



Reports on social media said security forces had opened fire in the northwestern town of Tamu on Monday and police had broken up a protest in the city of Mandalay.



Three civilians were killed in fighting between the army and ethnic minority Kachin insurgents in the north, the Irrawaddy online news service reported.



Details of the violence were difficult to obtain because of the junta's curbs on broadband internet and mobile data services.



A spokesman for the junta could not be reached for comment.


Syracuse, N.Y. -- Grow-NY is accepting applications for 2021, the third year of the food, beverage and agriculture business startup competition funded by the state.

One finalist will receive a top prize of $1 million. Two others will be awarded $500,000 prizes, and four will receive $250,000 prizes.

The competition seeks startups with the best ideas for food, beverage and agriculture businesses. Applicants are judged on criteria that includes the viability of their commercialization and business model, and their potential for creating high-quality jobs in the 22 counties in the Central New York, Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions.

Winners are required to operate in at least one of the 22 counties for at least one year. The prize money will be paid in stages based on milestones such as jobs created, partnerships formed and localized operations achievements.

In the first two years of the competition, 14 businesses were selected to share in $6 million in startup funding.

The competition is funded by Empire State Development, New Yorks economic development arm, and is run by the Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement.

Applications must be submitted online at the Grow-NY website by Thursday, July 15, 2021. In September, up to 20 finalists will be assigned mentors and enter the business development phase.

The finalists will present their business plans during the Grow-NY Summit Nov. 16-17, 2021, an in-person and virtual event that will be broadcast live from Syracuse.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Chief Minister on Tuesday went into self-isolation after coming into contact with a few officials who tested positive for COVID-19.

Adityanath informed this on his Twitter handle.

"A few officials in my office have contracted COVID-19. I had come into their contact. That is why, as a precautionary measure, I am self-isolating myself and will work virtually," the UP CM tweeted in Hindi.

This has come in the midst of West Bengal assembly polls, where Adityanath was one of the star campaigners for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The government has already announced restrictions on gatherings of five or more people in religious places for effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic during Navratri and Ramzan.

(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.)
Hank Azaria, the White actor who famously voiced the controversial Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on "The Simpsons," says he wants to apologize to "every single Indian person" for the character's racist portrayal.

The show, which has fueled racial stereotypes of Indian immigrants for decades through the Springfield Kwik-E-Mart owner, has faced backlash for years, heightened by the 2017 documentary, "The Problem with Apu." Azaria felt the brunt of the backlash for voicing a person of color with a fake Indian accent.

Speaking on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman's podcast "Armchair Expert" on Monday, Azaria said that he spent time listening and learning about the character and his role in perpetuating racism before ultimately stepping away from the role. He said he "really didn't know any better" before.

He credited getting sober as an important factor in recognizing the damaging nature of the character and having the tools to address it. He said he continues to educate himself.

"This was not a two-week process  I needed to educate myself a lot," he said. "If I had not gotten sober, I promise you it wouldn't have taken much wine for me to be in my feelings one night and fire off a tweet that I felt justified in firing off. Some kind of defensive, white-fragile tweet. Boy, was I glad I had a system in place where I could look at this thing."

In January of last year, Azaria officially said he would no longer voice Apu.

"I really do apologize," Azaria said, also personally apologizing to Padman, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants. "I know you weren't asking for that, but it's important. I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do."

Azaria spoke with many Indian Americans to learn more about his character's impacts, but one high school student left a particularly strong impact on him.

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"I was speaking at my son's school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input," Azaria said. "A 17-year-old  he's never even seen 'The Simpsons' but knows what Apu means. It's practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country."

"With tears in his eyes," the boy asked Azaria to tell the writers that their characters have impacts on people's lives. He said he would tell them.

Azaria said that he now supports people of color voicing characters of color, as well as more diverse writers' rooms.

"If it's an Indian character, or a Latinx character, or a Black character, please, let's have that person voice the character," he concludes. "It's more authentic, they'll bring their experience to it, and let's not take jobs away from people who don't have enough."

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Moscow, April 14 : Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden exchanged views on bilateral ties and explored areas of possible cooperation during a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.

Putin and Biden thoroughly discussed the current state of Russian-US relations and some international issues during the phone call at the initiative of the US side, the Kremlin said in a press release, Xinhua news agency reported.

Biden confirmed a previously sent invitation asking Putin to take part in a climate summit, which will be held via video link on April 22-23.

Both sides expressed their readiness to continue dialogue on the most important areas of ensuring global security, which would meet the interests of not only Russia and the US, but the whole world as well.

Biden voiced interest in normalizing relations with Russia and establishing stable and predictable interaction on such acute problems as ensuring strategic stability, arms control, the Iranian nuclear program, the situation in Afghanistan, and global climate change.

To that end, the US president suggested considering the possibility of holding a summit with Putin in the foreseeable future.

While discussing the internal Ukrainian crisis, Putin outlined approaches to a political settlement of the tensions in the Donbass region based on the Minsk agreements.

The leaders agreed to instruct relevant departments to work on the issues raised during the telephone conversation.
Jason Armstrong was recently named the National Nuclear Security Administrations manager at the Savannah River Site, a position in which he will lead a team of federal employees and oversee national defense and nonproliferation ventures at the reservation south of Aiken.

Armstrong  experienced with the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee, the Pantex Plant in Texas and the Richland Operations Office at the Hanford Site in Washington, among others  officially fills the void left by the departure of Nicole Nelson-Jean, who last year took a high-profile leadership job at the Department of Energys cleanup office.

His first day on the job was Monday.

Jeffrey Allison, who acted as the National Nuclear Security Administrations Savannah River Site manager in the interim, has returned to his post as deputy manager.

Armstrong arrives at a pivotal time for the Savannah River Site and its National Nuclear Security Administration missions, including the handling and packaging of tritium, a radioactive hydrogen isotope used in nuclear weapons, and the potential crafting of nuclear weapon cores, officially known as plutonium pits. The former has happened for years, and remains an anchor at the site. The latter, some say, would return the Savannah River Site to its Cold War roots and boost its international profile.

Armstrong has a science degree in radiation health physics from Oregon State University. He is a certified health physicist and attended the Energy Departments executive leadership training.
(Newser)  The FBI says a man arrested in Texas believed blowing up Amazon data centers would "kill off about 70% of the Internet"and he planned to start with one in Virginia. The agency says the suspect, 28-year-old Seth Aaron Pendley was arrested after he bought what he believed were explosive devices from an undercover agent, the BBC reports. The FBI says Pendley boasted about being present at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and was reported by a concerned citizen two days later after he posted on a militia forum about his plan to "conduct a little experiment." He used the name " Dionysus" online, but the FBI managed to uncover his email address and real-world identity.

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According to court papers, Pendley discussed his plan with an FBI informant, saying he believed the attack would anger the "oligarchy" by destroying servers used by the FBI and the CIA. He was arrested April 8 after taking boxes of what he thought were plastic explosives from the undercover agent and placing them in his vehicle, the FBI says. "We are indebted to the concerned citizen who came forward to report the defendants alarming online rhetoric," Prerak Shah, the acting US attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said in a statement, per the New York Times. "In flagging his posts to the FBI, this individual may have saved the lives of a number of tech workers." Pendley could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of malicious attempt to destroy a building with an explosive. (Read more FBI stories.)
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 3, more than four million Americans received a COVID-19 vaccine  the largest single-day vaccination event in human history. For innovators across the pharmaceutical industry, these moments make the years  sometimes decades  of painstaking trial and error worth it.

PhRMA's three-part approach to build a better health care system. Download the PDF here: https://phrma.org/Graphic/Building-a-Better-Health-Care-System-Print-Ad

I'm incredibly proud of our industry's role in combating this pandemic. At the same time, our battle against COVID-19 has driven home an important reality: We need to build a better health care system that ensures scientific advances are accessible and affordable to everyone who needs them.

To that end, today we are releasing a series of policies we believe will help our country reach that goal. Our plan is based on three key pillars: ending the pandemic and building a more resilient system, making medicines more affordable and building a more just, equitable health care system.

Ending the Pandemic and Building a More Resilient System

America's unique research and development ecosystem allowed our industry to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments at unprecedented speed. We need to preserve that ecosystem while enhancing our ability to quickly respond to future public health disasters.

That starts with collaboration among biopharmaceutical companies, government agencies and others in the public and private sector, which has been critical in our nation's COVID-19 response. Future policy should avoid measures that would impede this collaboration, such as the erosion of intellectual property protections and reduced incentives for research and development.

A policy framework guided by innovation and collaboration will allow our industry to expand R&D and manufacturing infrastructure as well as build more diverse, reliable supply chains. And we are calling on our elected leaders to tackle a growing public health threat we know exists and before it's too late: the spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Last summer, our companies stepped up with a major commitment to help develop new antibiotics, and it's time policymakers stepped up too.

While the development of new vaccines and treatments occurred in record time, the pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in our health care infrastructure, gaps that led to delays in testing, bottlenecks in the distribution of vaccines and other challenges. We are proposing a number of policies that will help address these weaknesses and ensure our health care system is more resilient in the face of future public health emergencies.

Making Medicines More Affordable

While biopharmaceutical companies make and set initial prices for medicines, middlemen, insurers, hospitals and others affect the prices that patients ultimately pay. In 2018, nearly half of the money spent on brand medicines went to someone other than the research companies that discover and manufacture medicines, like pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, hospitals and others in the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Meanwhile, a greater share of the cost of medicine has shifted onto patients. The system is working for everyone except patients, and we are ready to do our part to fix it.

Across the board, private insurance should work more like insurance is supposed to: spreading costs broadly and providing affordable coverage when people are sick. For example, insurers should cover more medicines from day one for patients with chronic illnesses who are often penalized by high costs.

Insurers should also pass on more savings to patients. When insurers don't pay full price, patients shouldn't either.

Additionally, insurance companies pocket rebates, while at the same time using tools like copay accumulator programs to punish patients who rely on copay assistance to help cover their out-of-pocket expenses. We need to prohibit insurance practices like this that are designed to trap patients in costly deductibles.

Changes to Medicare Part D, the Medicare prescription drug benefit program  such as capping annual out-of-pocket payments for prescription medicines, lowering cost sharing and making those costs more predictable  could dramatically reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors. And for the Medicare Part B program, which covers some of the most innovative medicines and more vulnerable patients, we support finding ways to reduce costs. That is why we are proposing a market-based adjustment that would allow the program to receive more of the benefits of the lower prices negotiated in the commercial market. This would help save seniors hundreds  if not thousands  of dollars a year, while protecting access to their medicines.

Building a More Just, Equitable Health Care System

COVID-19 has disproportionately affected communities of color. People of color were less likely to have quality health care when the pandemic hit, and were much more likely to work and live in conditions that made social distancing nearly impossible. The impact has been tragic  and largely preventable.

That's why, moving forward, we're making diversity, equity and inclusion part of our mission. And we are already making progress. Today, voluntary principles adopted by our industry to encourage greater clinical trial diversity will go into effect. The principles will help ensure future clinical trials better reflect the intended treatment population.

We're also supporting the collection of more robust data that will allow us to more quickly identify and address health disparities. Persistent disparities limit any gains we make in overall health and drive higher costs throughout the system. These steps are the beginning, not the end, of our equity efforts. We'll continue to explore structural changes in health care that would create more incentives for equitable access and outcomes.

In many respects, the idea of returning to a pre-pandemic life is exhilarating. As we continue our efforts to bring the pandemic to an end, we should not miss the opportunity to learn from it and use those lessons to build a stronger, more resilient, affordable and equitable health care system. To learn more about our plan to build that better health care system for all Americans, visit here.

This post originally appeared on PhRMA's Catalyst blog.

CONTACT: Brian Newell, [email protected], 202-835-3460

SOURCE Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
Chicken Salad Chicks entry into Mobiles Government Plaza came with much debate among county commissioners, who argued whether it was appropriate to allow a private entity to operate a restaurant business inside a public-owned complex.

But a new coffee shop isnt creating the same stir. With no debate on Monday, commissioners authorized moving $70,000 in capital money for renovations inside the downtown Mobile complex toward constructing a modern-day coffee shop in the same location where a snack bar once was located.

The difference, according to one county commissioner, isnt so much about the bureaucratic support of a coffee shop over a chicken salad company but has more to do with fairness in offering a bid to potential users of the newly renovated space.

Commissioner Merceria Ludgood, who opposed the Chicken Salad Chick entry into the building in 2019, said the coffee shop renovations will occur before bids are released for a potential user of the venue. Ludgood, in 2019, opposed a $35,000 renovation cost to the kitchen area to accommodate the eatery.

The county commission owns and operates the 26-year-old downtown Mobile building that houses city, county, and judicial services.

For us to identify a need we have in this building, and to put it out for all takers, in my judgement, is fair and consistent with how weve done it in the past, said Ludgood.

She said that renovating the former snack bar into a modern-day coffee shop is consistent and the original plans for Government Plaza, opened in 1995. The building was originally constructed to allow for a cafeteria, with the county commission then in charge of placing bids for an operator. The three-person commission would then award the bid to the end user.

Weve identified a use, then we put out a bid and those interested will be able to come in and make an offer with using this facility, Ludgood said. To me, that is consistent with how we started out this process.

She said with Chicken Salad Chick, we didnt decide that we wanted a restaurant in that space (originally). We put it out for a bid, but it was not a decision we made. It was a decision a vendor wanted to make and we accommodated that.

Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson, who backed the Chicken Salad Chick entry into the plaza, said there is a need for a coffee shop inside Mobiles largest government building.

The No. 1 question jurors have when they come (into the building) in the morning is, Where can I find a cup of coffee? and we have to send them down the street, said Hudson. Chicken Salad Chick has been a huge success. I think a coffee shop to compliment everything at Government Plaza will be equally (successful).

Hudson said the $70,000 renovation is needed to make the snack bar more modernized and attraction for a coffee shop that is selling specialty drinks like espresso and tea. She said that the renovations should begin soon.

To attract someone to come in and operate a coffee shop, they need better facilities, said Hudson. The $70,000 was moved within the capital budget from an earmarked amount that was set for a ceremonial room inside the building.

We have not started on the ceremonial courtroom, said Hudson. There was no reason not to move this over from that.

Misty Whitehead, owner of Chicken Salad Chick restaurants in Mobile and Baldwin counties including the Government Plaza site, said she is extremely thrilled to see a coffee shop open within a few hundred feet from her restaurant. She said a lease the restaurant has with the county prohibits the addition of an entity that directly competes with Chicken Salad Chick, but to me, adding coffee and baked goods and things we dont carry  if it brings more people in, the better for me and the coffee shop.

The Chicken Salad Chick at Government Plaza in downtown Mobile, Ala., was open for take out orders only on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. The eatery had asked for a rent deferral last year during the onset of hte coronavirus pandemic. But the company was able to make it through last year without needing one. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Chicken Salad Chick was the first restaurant to open inside Government Plaza in more than a decade, and business has been strong despite the coronavirus pandemic that shuttered courtrooms last year, Whitehead said.

Whitehead, during the onset of the pandemic last March, requested the commission to defer Chicken Salad Chicks rent payments for eight weeks while mass shutdowns were occurring throughout Alabama. But the commission, with a 2-1 vote, declined her request with then-Commissioner Jerry Carl saying it was unfair for a government entity to provide a rent deferral when other restaurants in Mobile were not being offered the same.

Carl, a few days after his vote, reversed his decision and said he would grant the rent deferral if it was brought up again. Carl, at the time, was running for the Republican nomination to Alabamas 1st congressional district seat. He won the GOP primary and the general election last year to replace former U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne.

Hudson and Whitehead said that Chicken Salad Chick did not need the rent deferral despite the initial concerns about plummeting foot traffic inside the government building.

We ended up not taking it because we didnt need to, said Whitehead. It was such an unprecedented time. No one knew what was happening. Would we even be able to keep the doors open?

She said a massive decline in sales did not materialize.

For a month, there was maybe a slight dip but we did not need to put off or pause the rent, said Whitehead. We have truly been blessed. Business is fantastic.
(Alliance News) - The UK National Health Service has invited people over the age of 45 to book their Covid-19 vaccine appointment.

It signals the start of "Phase 2" of the vaccination programme a which involves offering vaccines to healthy adults aged under 50.

The move comes as it was announced that the government has met its target of offering the vaccine to all adults over the age of 50.

In England it has been estimated that 19 in 20 of those who have already been offered the jab have taken up the offer.

One vaccination expert said that it was "vitally important" to vaccinate "the last few percent", or they could get infected and end up in hospital.

Jeremy Brown, from University College London Hospitals and member of the Joint Committee of Vaccination & Immunisation, told the Today programme: "The problem here is that 5% to 10% have not been vaccinated.

"When the virus re-circulates through the community they could get infected and end up in hospital.

"So it's vitally important that we get that last few percent."

Until now, the NHS had been focusing on offering vaccines to those deemed to be at highest risk a people over the age of 50, those deemed to be "clinically extremely vulnerable" and health and social care workers.

When its online booking system opened up to include people over the age of 45, the website crashed for many.

The announcement comes despite an earlier warning by the NHS in England of a "significant reduction in weekly supply" during April, meaning volumes for first doses would be "significantly constrained".

The prime minister hailed the "hugely significant milestone" in the vaccination programme of reaching the April 15 target.

In a statement, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the government remained on course to offer a first jab to all adults in the UK by the end of July.

"We have now passed another hugely significant milestone in our vaccine programme by offering jabs to everyone in the nine highest risk groups," he said.

"That means more than 32 million people have been given the precious protection vaccines provide against Covid 19.

"I want to thank everyone involved in the vaccine rollout which has already saved many thousands of lives.

"We will now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July."

The news comes as the Moderna vaccine was used for the first time in England.

The government has ordered 17 million doses of the jab a enough for 8.5 million people.

Meanwhile, Ireland became the latest country to restrict the use of the AstraZeneca PLC vaccine, saying it should not be given to people under the age of 60, amid concerns over possible links to rare blood clotting events.

In the UK, the advice is that it should not be administered to those aged under 30.

In all, the government said almost 40 million doses of the Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca vaccines have been delivered since the rollout began in the UK in December, including 32 million first jabs and more than seven million second doses.

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said 19 out of 20 over-50s had now received a first jab.

"Thanks to our NHS nurses, doctors, pharmacists, operational managers and thousands of other staff and volunteers, the NHS Covid vaccination programme is without a doubt the most successful in our history," he said.

"It's one of our tickets out of this pandemic and offers real hope for the future."

Throughout the current month, the health service has prioritised second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines with a record 475,230 people receiving their second jab on Saturday.

Meanwhile, there will be a surge in testing in the boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth in south London following the identification of a number of cases of a variant of the virus first found in South Africa.

Dozens of people were told to isolate after the Department for Health and Social Care said there had been 44 confirmed cases of the strain, with a further 30 suspected.

It came as scenes posted on social media showed revellers gathering in Soho, central London, following the latest easing of lockdown restrictions in England, prompting fears that social distancing guidelines were being ignored.

By Ella Pickover, PA Health Correspondent

source: PA

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Katie Wright, left, mother of Daunte Wright, is embraced during a vigil for her son Monday in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Wright was shot and killed Sunday by police during a traffic stop. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

The police shooting of a Black man in a Minneapolis suburb  a short drive from the courthouse where a former Minneapolis police officer is on trial, accused of murdering George Floyd  further devastated a community already facing persistent headlines about police brutality.

On Monday, the police chief of Brooklyn Center, Minn., north of Minneapolis, said the officer who shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop the day before may have intended to use a Taser, not a firearm.

It is my belief that the officer had their intention to deploy the Taser but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet, said Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon, adding that he believes this was an accidental discharge. The officer, Kim Potter, has been placed on administrative leave.

The shooting of Wright yet again ignited tensions in Minneapolis and a nation torn and rising in the streets in a call for racial justice and an end to police brutality.

Residents and activists quickly pushed back on police, calling for justice for Wright, who was unarmed, officials said.

Daunte Wright is yet another young Black man killed at the hands of those who have sworn to protect and serve all of us  not just the whitest among us," Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the Wright family, said. "What will it take for law enforcement to stop killing people of color? The growing number of Black men and women who have been killed or harmed by police is far too hefty a price for the equality we are seeking."

NAACP President and Chief Executive Derrick Johnson said Wright was killed "just north of where George Floyd was suffocated less than a year ago. Both were fathers, both were Black men, both died at the hands of police.

"Whether it be carelessness and negligence, or a blatant modern-day lynching, the result is the same. Another Black man has died at the hands of police," Johnson said.

During a press conference Monday, Gannon played a videoclip from Potter's body camera. The video shows police attempting to arrest Wright because of an outstanding warrant. Wright breaks free from the officers, hops back into his car and drives off after the officer fires. What appears to be a womans voice shouts, Taser, Taser, Taser, before a gun is fired.

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Potter was identified by Gannon as a female officer with a high level of seniority on the force.

People react after viewing body-camera footage of the killing of Daunte Wright, played during a press conference Monday at the Brooklyn Center Police headquarters. Police Chief Tim Gannon referred to the incident as an "accidental discharge" and said the officer who shot Wright meant to grab a Taser. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

Outside the police department headquarters on Monday, state troopers, local police and National Guardsmen lined up wearing helmets and face shields, holding batons.

People drove by honking support at the handful of protesters across the street, or yelling toward the officers. One man leaned out of the passenger seat of an orange Mustang for several seconds as it drove past the officers, repeatedly saying, "All Black lives matter."

I am a mother, activist Nelima Sitati Munene said. I have a son whos about the same age as Daunte who drives in the Twin Cities every day. That could easily have been my son. I dont know if my son is exempt from that treatment. The continuous actions of our police departments do not give me the confidence that my son or myself are exempt from those actions.

Late Monday, after a regional 7 p.m. curfew was in effect, hundreds of protesters remained on the streets around the area where Wright died. Police officers deployed tear gas in an effort to clear the area. Only a few dozen protesters remained by late Monday, the Associated Press reported, and 40 people were arrested, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer told reporters early Tuesday.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said he believes the officer who shot Wright should be fired. Activists at the press conference pressed Gannon and Brooklyn Center City Manager Curt Boganey to make a similar declaration, but they refused, citing an investigation. Elliott tweeted Monday night that Boganey had been fired.

Elliott spoke with President Biden on Monday about the events unfolding here.

"I think we got to wait and see what the investigation shows  and the entire investigation," Biden said from the Oval Office.

Biden said he watched the "fairly graphic" body-camera footage from the officer who killed Wright.

Body-camera footage of the killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright is played during a press conference at the Brooklyn Center Police headquarters. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

"The question is: Was it an accident? Was it intentional? That remains to be determined by a full-blown investigation."

Biden then stressed that there is absolutely no justification" for violence in protest or otherwise.

"Peaceful protest, understandable. And the fact is that, you know, we do know that the anger, pain and trauma that exists in the Black community in that environment is real, it's serious, and it's consequential. But it will not justify violence."

Some critics said Gannon's comment that the officer meant to grab a Taser was not reasonable.

"It doesnt stand to reason, because officers carry their service weapons on the same side as their dominant hand," Los Angeles civil rights attorney DeWitt Lacy said. "If youre right-handed, your gun is on your right hip. You carry your Taser on the opposite hip. You practice pulling out your firearm, and you practice pulling out your Taser, so ostensibly the muscle memory would be on her left side.

Its too early to say why that happened, but if it truly was a mistake, thats criminal negligence, and she should be charged," Lacy added.

The shooting of Wright is only the latest incident in which a Black motorist was killed by a police officer in the area. In a nearby suburb in 2016, Philando Castile, who had a licensed firearm, was killed by police during a traffic stop after he let an officer know that he had a legal weapon.

In downtown Minneapolis on Monday, the third week of testimony in the Derek Chauvin trial began in which the former officer is charged with the murder and manslaughter of Floyd. Barricades lined several streets as members of the National Guard stood outside the courthouse.

A defense attorney for Chauvin requested that, because of the shooting in Brooklyn Center, jurors in the case be sequestered. Judge Peter Cahill denied the request, and the trial proceeded Monday, with prosecutors calling a cardiologist to the stand who said Floyd died as a result of use of force by police.

It was also the first time a relative of Floyd offered testimony. Philonise Floyd said George was the ideal big brother.

"He was so much of a leader to us in the household. He would always make sure that we had our clothes for school," Philonise said. "He made sure that we all were going to be to school on time. And like I told you, George couldn't cook. But he will make sure you have a snack or something to get in the morning. But he  he was one of those people in the community that when they had church outside, people would attend church just because he was there."

Lee reported from Los Angeles. Ganguli, a special correspondent, reported from Brooklyn Center. Times staff writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A high-ranking military officer accused of threatening to kill the family dog and bury it in the woods during a campaign of domestic bullying has been cleared.

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Bloodworth, 48, was found not guilty of a year-long campaign of domestic coercion after a three day trial at Perth Sheriff Court, Scotland.

The officer - who was accused of tracking his wife Lisa and controlling her during their marriage - left the court with an unblemished record in the wake of the verdict.

Sheriff Neil Bowie said the Crown had failed to prove its case against the medical officer beyond a reasonable doubt.

Bloodworth had admitted telling the family Chihuahua he would 'take it to the woods and shoot it' after it annoyed him by repeatedly jumping on his laptop.

However, he told the court that it was the kind of off-hand comment many pet owners might make and was not an indication of any intention to harm the animal.

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Bloodworth, 48, was found not guilty of a year-long campaign of domestic coercion after a three day trial at Perth Sheriff Court

The trial heard that the couple are locked in an ongoing divorce action and Bloodworth said his wife's drinking had caused serious difficulty during the relationship.

Taking the witness stand at Perth Sheriff Court on day two of his trial, Mr Bloodworth told how he was at home in Invergordon, Highland, Scotland, when he suspected his wife was having an affair.

'I went online to look for a recipe for buttered chicken,' he said.

'I had used the recipe before so I went into the browser history and looked over the last 10 days.

'There were multiple searches for housing and jobs in Cheshire..

'I knew that she had a male friend in Cheshire and she had been searching for jobs and things in the area where he lived.'

Taking the witness stand at Perth Sheriff Court on day two of his trial, Mr Bloodworth told how he was at home in Invergordon when he suspected his wife was having an affair

A later argument with his wife led to the comment about the dog, he said: 'Our chihuahua was jumping up on me and jumping on to my iPad. I must admit I was getting frustrated.

'I said: "Oh for God's sake, would you stop it? I will take you out into the woods and shoot you". That was not a credible threat. I was on the edge at the time, because I had just had an argument with my wife.'

Under cross-examination by fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston, he said the comment was 'half in humour and half in frustration'.

He added: 'I think so many people threaten to kill their pets, without ever meaning to kill their pets.'

Bloodworth, who denies all charges, told the court how he had tracked down his wife after she fled the family home, using an app to locate an iPad in her car.

'I followed them. My only intention was to find out what was going on. I didn't have a firm plan,' he said.

He followed her to a supermarket car park and claims she said she would return home the next day, so he left.

Lieutenant was found not guilty after a three day trial at Perth Sheriff Court (pictured)

The following night, when she failed to return home, he went to her parents' home in Blairgowrie and said he knocked on the door several times then drove home, when the police phoned him and asked him to come in for questioning.

Former army nurse Lisa Bloodworth said her husband warned her he would 'press the nuclear button' on their relationship if she did not return home to live with him.

Bloodworth admitted using a computer tracker to find her in a supermarket car park after she initially left him with the couple's children in November 2019.

The army doctor told a court he suspected his wife was cheating on him when he looked for a buttered chicken recipe online - and found his wife had been searching the web for a new job and home.

The trial was told that Bloodworth sent his parents round to the family home while she was out to take photos so he could see how untidy the place was.

The 48-year-old was alleged to have carried out a year-long campaign of domestic coercion while he was posted in Scotland and Germany.

Mrs Bloodworth told Perth Sheriff Court: 'He was quite cross when I bought a puppy. He was very short-tempered with the dog.

'There was an occasion when he threatened to kill the dog and bury it in the woods. I was always being criticised.

'He would get very angry if certain things hadn't been done. He would throw things around and shout.

'When he was away his parents would come into the house and take photos. Messages would come up on his iPad and that's when I realised his parents had been coming in when I wasn't there.

'They would send them to Simon. I think he was away on exercise,' she said, adding that he complained about the house not being tidy.

'It just got to a point where I was scared all the time. I was broken, I had nothing left to give, no fight left in me.'

British Army officer Bloodworth was alleged to have threatened to kill a family pet while engaged in a course of abusive behaviour towards his wife from Scotland and Germany between 1 April 2019 and 6 April 2020.

He was alleged to have controlled her finances and purchased her car, mobile phone and laptop in his own name, as well as banning her from going back to work.

He was alleged to have had knowledge of the passwords to his wife's electronic devices, social media, email and bank accounts.

He was alleged to have obtained pictures of an untidy house from a third party and to have turned up uninvited at his mother-in-law's home.

Bloodworth was alleged to have turned up uninvited at the home of Matthew Skinner and knocked the door, as well as sending text messages to Mr Skinner to ask where Mrs Bloodworth was.

It was alleged he turned up out of the blue at the Macdonald Highland Resort in Aviemore and followed his wife in a car before approaching and shouting at her.

The army officer was alleged to have tracked his wife's movements and followed her in his vehicle as well as banging the door at her mother's home.

He was alleged to have threatened her in front of other people and demanded that she return to the matrimonial home.

Bloodworth, Heathfield Road, Invergordon, was alleged to have repeatedly driven past his mother-in-law's home and repeatedly telephoned Rooney Hall.

And It was alleged he sent an email to Rooney Hall stating that Mrs Bloodworth, who was in the Royal Army Nursing Corps, was an unfit mother.

The charge alleged that the offence took place in Coupar Angus, Blairgowrie, Aviemore and Invergordon, as well as in Gutersloh, Germany.

Bloodworth denied the charge and was found not guilty by Sheriff Neil Bowie today.
Hindustan Copper on Monday closed its qualified institutional placement issue and approved the issue price of Rs 119.60 per equity share for the issue.

The Board of Hindustan Copper at its meeting held on 12 April 2021 has approved the closure of the QIP issue on Monday, 12 April 2021. The issue had opened on 07 April 2021.

The Board determined and approved the issue price of Rs 119.60 per share (including a premium of Rs 114.60 per equity share) (which takes into account a discount of 4.92% (i.e. Rs 6.19 per equity share) to the floor price of Rs 125.79 per equity share to be allotted to the eligible qualified institutional buyers in the issue.

The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 April 2021. Shares of Hindustan Copper dropped 8.59% to settle at Rs 131.30 yesterday.

Hindustan Copper is engaged in exploration, exploitation, mining of copper and copper ore, including beneficiation of minerals, smelting and refining.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Recent visual books of interest:

PATENTED: 1,000 Design Patents, by Thomas Rinaldi. (Phaidon, $39.95.) From the vending machine to Elon Musk, Steve Jobs to the bicycle, an idiosyncratic history of America from 1900 to 2020 told through designs and the inventors who patented them.

THE EMPRESS AND I: How an Ancient Empire Collected, Rejected and Rediscovered Modern Art, by Donna Stein. (Skira, $45.) As an adviser to Queen Farah Pahlavi of Iran, Stein acquired works by Picasso, van Gogh and others for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, until revolution intervened.

MONK: Light and Shadow on the Philosophers Path, by Yoshihiro Imai. (Phaidon, $49.95.) Recipes, essays and photos tell the story of Imais 14-seat restaurant in Kyoto, and the omakase-style menu thats famous for including  among several Japanese courses  an unfussy, expertly fired personal pizza.

DAVID DRISKELL: Icons of Nature and History, contributions by Julie L. McGee, Jessica May, Thelma Golden et al. (Rizzoli Electa, $50.) The late painter, printmaker and scholar (1931-2020) charted the intersection of American landscapes and the African diaspora.
New Delhi, April 13 : The restrictions and partial lockdowns in several states and cities amid rising Covid-19 cases are likely to impact economic activities in the current quarter (April-June), according to a Goldman Sachs report.

It said that the containment restrictions are likely to be more targeted with impact on specific services such as food and beverages, leisure and recreation, and transport, but with limited spillovers into other sectors such as construction and manufacturing.

"While these restrictions are likely to hit activity in Q2, we think activity is likely to rebound sharply from Q3 onwards as containment policies normalise," it said.

"Consequently, our economists have revised down their overall CY21 real GDP growth forecast to 10.5 per cent (from 10.9 per cent previously) but remain above the consensus forecast of 9.4 per cent." It also said that the domestic fiscal policy and government spending are likely to continue supporting growth in the coming months.

Globally, Goldman Sachs' economists remain optimistic about a rebound in the global economy and expect very strong GDP growth in 2021. A strong recovery in global growth provides a supportive backdrop for India's macro and cyclical recovery too, it said.
[April 13, 2021] Waga Energy, A European Leader in Landfill Gas Recovery Launches Canada's First Renewable Gas Project

SHAWINIGAN, QC, April 13, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Waga Energy, the Mauricie Residual Materials Management Board (RGMRM) and Energir are joining forces to launch a renewable natural gas (RNG) injection project at the Saint-Etienne-des-Gres landfill site, the first project of its kind on Canadian soil. The WAGABOX technology that will be used for this project allows landfill site operators to recover the gas emanating from these sites in the form RNG, also known as biomethane. Energy Recovery at the Heart of This Project As part of this project, Waga Energy is committing to purchasing the gas produced by waste products from the RGMRM for a twenty-year period. To recover it, Waga Energy will build a treatment unit on the site, using its WAGABOX patented technology. Waga Energy will fund the unit's construction and operation, as well as the costs of connecting the site to the local gas network. Energir will purchase RNG production from Waga Energy, thus contributing to achieving the Quebec government's objective of introducing a 10% share of renewable gas into the network by 2030. Given that Saint-Etienne-des-Gres is the largest community-managed landfill site in Quebec, RGMRM will become the first North American waste treatment operator to benefit fro the WAGABOX solution, which combines breakthrough technology and an investor-operator model. This site receives 180,000 tons of waste each year.



WAGABOX Technology The WAGABOX unit in Saint-Etienne-des-Gres, which will be built in Quebec by the Canadian subsidiary of Waga Energy and will be operational as of 2022, will be able to treat up to 3,400 cubic meters of gas and produce 468,000 gigajoules of RNG per year, which is the equivalent to the annual consumption of 8,000 Quebec households. Its operationalization will prevent 23,000 tones of CO 2 e emissions each year.

A European leader in landfill gas recovery in the form of RNG, Waga Energy operates ten WAGABOX units in France. They supply close to 35,000 homes with renewable gas thereby preventing 45,000 tons of CO 2 e emissions each year. Quotes: Mathieu Lefebvre, President and Co-Founder of Waga Energy: "Thanks to the WAGABOX solution, hundreds of landfill sites across the United States and Canada will be able to produce renewable natural gas, contribute to the energy transition and generate a new revenue stream, without the need for investment or additional operating constraints." Michel Angers, President of RGMRM: "This contract is the result of an initiative undertaken several months ago to identify the best technology to enable us to use our landfill gas to its full potential. Thanks to the WAGABOX technology, treating our gas is no longer an expense, it is a new income stream, and more importantly, it is yet another step towards a more sustainable approach to landfill management. The project fits perfectly with the government's greenhouse gas reduction objectives and we are proud to contribute to Quebec's energy transition." Renault Lortie, Vice-President, Customers and Gas Supply, at Energir: "The development of the green gas industry in Quebec is one of the cornerstones of our efforts to decarbonize our economy. Energir aims to inject an ever-increasing amount of renewable gas into its network, corresponding to a volume of at least 10% that of the annual volume it distributes by 2030. This fantastic project brings us a step closer to this objective, demonstrates the value of smart circular economy and allows more and more of our customers to benefit from clean, local energy". SOURCE Waga Energy

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I didn't even have to roll up my sleeves. I just happened to be wearing a blouse that covered my shoulders but bared the side of my upper arm lol. I'll wear it again when I get my second shot.

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This is helpful but oop @ the timing with the news about the J&J vaccine.





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It's crazy because birth control has much higher rates of blood clots and nobody bats an eye.

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I get my 2nd Pfizer dose this week! I can't wait.

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I get Pfizer tomorrow and I'm nervous.. any side effects?

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I got my second a few weeks ago and had a headache, chills and a high fever and body aches but Im the only one out of all my friends who got Pfizer who had that kind of reaction. I felt better after about 12 hours. Worth it!

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For dose 1, I had a headache, was a bit tired and my arm hurt a lot the next day. It felt like I got punched. But it wasn't too different from my flu shot side effects. I've heard the second dose has stronger effects, though.

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I got my first Pfizer shot yesterday and it hurts to raise my arm to/above shoulder level at certain angles and my ears were ringing for a bit. I took the day off just in case but I've been more tired after a regular flu shot tbh.

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I felt off, slightly dizzy, and tired for like 3 days after mine. It wasn't bad. I feel phenomenal now. But I had Covid last year as well, and it's NOTHING like having that, so.

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I got it and my arm just hurt and a bit of a fatigue.

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I get my first Pfizer tomorrow!!

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I said this in Roundup but yesterday Illinois finally expanded vaccination eligibility to everyone 16 and older, so I got my 1st dose of the vaccine yesterday! Dolly Parton one / Moderna, at Walgreens. 

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It's nice to see black celebs do this.

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I got the J&J vaccine on Sunday.













Well the odds are very low for bloodclots so fingers crossed?

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You'll be fine bb! I definitely understand why they've paused it but 6 in 7 million are pretty good odds.

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I already mentioned this but Im supposed to have a Johnson & Johnson vax appt on Friday and california announced theyd be pausing and idk if that means my appointment is canceled. There are no more appointments now. Man.

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I think it's likely they'll just switch you to something else and keep your appt.

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Call your provider just to be safe. If you're in LA County they're supposed to reschedule you if they can't just switch out the vaccine and that's probably not going to go as smoothly as one would hope so I'd check in.



Edited at 2021-04-13 11:14 pm (UTC)

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I read that if you did it through the state website (like my turn I guess) youll get a different vaccine but I got mine through Safeway, although I did use my turn to get there so idk

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Jennifer Lopez booking all the vaccination concerts

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Celeb influence is pretty strong I saw this on IG regarding the polio vaccine



https://instagram.com/p/CNhLIEbnASX Good!Celeb influence is pretty strong I saw this on IG regarding the polio vaccine

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2nd dose of Moderna this morning. My arm hurts, but no other side effects so far.

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i'm getting dose 1 on thursday. nervous about the side effects.

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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I got J&J on Saturday and my arm is still super sore.

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I had my second Moderna on Saturday. I felt kind of hungover the next day so I took Tylenol and then I felt fine.

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Colleges and universities are still reeling from the most disruptive academic year in recent memory, but for educators especially, its never too soon to discuss what was learned. A webinar today featuring distinguished faculty from Columbia University and New York University explored new challenges in higher education, from hybrid learning to globalism to mental health, and the speakers agreed on this much: Transition to a new normal, whatever it may be, has only just begun.Tempting as it may be for colleges to want to resume all pre-COVID standards and operations, that was an idea that the webinars guest speakers unanimously dismissed. Safwan Masri, Columbias executive vice president of global development and Global Centers, said technology advances have created new tools as well as perceptions of what a college education can be and do, and some of those wont be reversed. He said they also further revealed the stakes of the digital divide, and the implications of unequal access to knowledge and technology.As schools have closed, moved to remote instruction or developed hybrid models, a panoply of pre-existing issues has emerged in a new light. The inequalities of resources, of expectations, of exposure and of access that have been so publicly revealed are troubling, driving protests and furthering political divisions, Masri said. New restrictions of international mobility, increased prejudice and nationalism, pressure from governments and governmental institutions to restrict academic freedoms, and economic downturns that impact regional job prospects are all going to be factors in these students lives, and therefore are going to shape the educational landscape.Pointing out that 250 people were tuning in to the webinar remotely, Mariet Westermann, an arts professor and vice chancellor at New York University Abu Dhabi, called the use of technology the great, great, silver or golden lining of the pandemic. She said online and hybrid learning models, to which higher ed institutions had to shift so abruptly, will play a critical role in connecting underserved populations with education in the future.We did it. We showed it could be done  and it wasnt perfect, but it got better very quickly, because we have multiple centers for teaching and learning that saved all of us, I think, she said. Hail to these incredible staffers, the academic technologists and these people in the centers for teaching and learning who were often undervalued  but not anymore.From the Institute of International Education, President Allan Goodman said universities wont be replaced, because campuses, labs and extracurriculars are as much a part of the learning process as anything students can do online. However, he predicted that students will be living in a hybrid learning environment for a long time.Goodman and the other speakers were also adamant about the need for colleges and universities, amidst a growing global campaign for inclusion and equity, to develop partnerships in other countries and continue recruiting international students. Goodman said COVID-19 was the 12th pandemic in the Institute of International Educations long history, and after each one, international involvement with the school increased. He said the ancient historian Thucydides wrote after the plague of Athens, more than 2,000 years ago, that some peoples first instinct after a pandemic is to exclude and build barriers.But that doesnt make people safer, Goodman said, and universities need to be on the front lines reminding people that academic doors and international partnerships must stay open. He added that any university that doesnt do that, and doesnt embrace technologys role, will not keep up with 21st century institutions.I think we have to make sure that were reaching out as equally and as best as we can to find all the students that want to get higher education, and a place for them, and there are enough universities, especially in the United States, that we could, he said. The moment you close your door, youre closing your mind, and it allows these isms  for which there seems to be no vaccine, no cure  to strengthen with terrible political consequences, and they last a long time. The isms today of fascism, populism, fundamentalism, xenophobism, are going to last a lot longer than COVID-19.Masri wrapped up the webinar with a summary on a note of optimism.The future of higher education is bright, but it is also one thats innovative, that is adaptable, that is relevant, and it is our responsibility to make sure that it is all of those things, he said.
The United Kingdom has completed the vaccination of people aged over 50 ahead of schedule, administering first shots of vaccines to millions of people, Downing Street said on Monday.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a statement said: "We have now passed another hugely significant milestone in our vaccine program by offering jabs to everyone in the nine highest risk groups. That means more than 32 million people have been given the precious protection vaccines provide against Covid-19."

"I want to thank everyone involved in the vaccine rollout which has already saved many thousands of lives. We will now move forward with completing essential second doses and making progress towards our target of offering all adults a vaccine by the end of July," he added.

According to the UK Government, all adults over 50, the clinically vulnerable and health and social care workers have now been offered vaccine shots.

"The target was reached ahead of schedule, with the government having pledged to offer a first dose to priority cohorts 1-9 by 15 April," Downing Street said, adding that "nearly 40 million vaccines have now been given in total, with adults under 50 expected to begin to be invited in the coming days."

Those in their late 40s are expected to be next in line to be invited for vaccine shots as the UK moves into the next phase of its mass vaccination campaign, according to Sputnik.

"Over 7 million second doses have now been given - with a record 475,230 given on Saturday - and we remain on track to offer a first vaccine to all adults by 31 July," Downing Street said.

The mass vaccination campaign started in the UK in December of last year.

The UK has now confirmed a total of over 4.3 million coronavirus cases and the country's COVID-19 death toll stands at more than 127,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, as reported by Sputnik.

(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.)
John Woodard

Most people are generally aware that the Chinese are attempting to take over the United States in a variety of different ways, most of which are economic and military. However, the point of view for many people is that taking over the election system of the United States is very difficult to accomplish and that the current system is too complex. The fact is that China has been working on flipping key southern states for a very long time and they are getting pretty good at it.People have been surprised in recent years to see the change in the Commonwealth of Virginia which has been a reliably Republican voting bloc. Now it has transformed from red to purple to all blue and is now more reliably Democrat than when it was a Republican state. This is been going on for at least 10 years in Virginia and people have been sitting back and watching this transformation and reconciling their thoughts around the population of Northern Virginia with all the federal employees that live in that part of the state. While the Chinese had the same demographics and they have spent the last 10 years building this new majority. Who would've thought that Terry McAuliffe would win the governorship of Virginia? The answer is no one that I know. He was a Democratic partisan who supported Bill Clinton through all of his trials and tribulations and then supported Hillary Clinton for President. Yet he won a reasonably comfortable victory which led us to Gov. Northam. Will Virginia see a Republican governor in its future, I guess were going to have to see about that. But let there be no mistake, the Democrats are far better at messaging than the Republicans are. The Republican Party hasn't had a good messenger that spoke to all people of all stripes, since the death of Lee Atwater. Someone once told me that Lee Atwater could tell you to go hell and make you look forward to the trip. The Republican messaging is all over the map while the Democrats all sing from the same sheet of music. So, did the Democrats just do a better job of electioneering or did the Chinese influence to flip various counties and districts make the difference, or was it a combination of all those things?We have written recently about the Pro-China communist from the Liberation Road group. We have been clear about what they are doing in North Carolina to change the institutions within the state which includes education of our children. The teacher's group, NCAE has as its President and Vice President, two extremists' leaders, Tamika Walker Kelly its President who is a member of the Marxist organization, Black Lives Matter and Bryan Profit it's Vice President who is a leader in the Liberation Road organization a Maoist group . How these people could get through a vetting procedure to qualify for the jobs that they hold is astonishing. The fact that many of our Legislators have never heard of these people is equally astonishing. These people have been operating in plain sight, under the nose of our legislators in both houses without being detected. That is going to change in the very near future. But back to the original question, I personally do not know how these people are hired, who does the hiring and what information they need to provide to be hired for an executive position anywhere in the education process of our state. But we are going to find out very soon.Liberation Road has already taken Virginia and now they have their sights on North Carolina, Florida and Tennessee.Until April 2020, Liberation Road had been known as the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). They are an amalgamation of several Maoist and anarchist factions, some dating back to the anti-Vietnam war of the 1960s.In 2016 FRSO made its first serious foray into electoral politics in response to the election of Pres. Trump and other federal election victories. Their typical emphasis is usually focused on racial and sexual minorities such as Black Lives Matter as a front group. Ending white privilege is a major part of Liberation Road and their strategy. According to Liberation Road, socialism will come to the United States by rallying minorities against white capitalism and minority voters against what they term The New Confederacy. These words are taken from their website:" The New Confederacy is the white United front that, building up over the past 40 years, has used white supremacy, patriarchy and austerity to rally sectors of the white middle class and white workers around the leadership of the most reactionary forces of capital. The Republican Party is its political instrument." Now after succeeding in Virginia, they are preparing to move into the states that I just mentioned and to influence elections and elect members and supporters to public office.Liberation Road blames the South for all that is wrong with America. They believe that without the South, the United States could soon become a non-racist, gender fluid, climate-change battling, non-patriarchal socialist paradise.According to the Liberation Road solution to the Republican stranglehold on the South must be broken County by County, state-by-state by mobilizing the large black and Latino populations in the South in alliance with the existing white progressive minorities. In response, some new efforts by progressive forces have emerged to bring together the multi-racial working-class with minority nationalities. They have a broad vision of contending for power. They work in the street and in the election booth, they work inside and outside the Democratic Party and they fight austerity and white supremacy.Liberation Road has learned from the mistakes of the past in order to form a flexible strategy in its relationship with the Democratic Party.If anybody is wondering about the incessant propaganda from the left against the Republican Party, conservatives and traditional Christians-all components of the New Confederacy-Liberation Road makes its purpose clear. "For there to be an us, there also has to be a them that we can define through relation to us. This is why it is critically important to have an enemy such as the racist-billionaires, the New Confederacy, and their political organization, the Republican Party. The naming of an enemy gives us the narrow target needed to direct the United front forces. This in turn sets the foundation to determine the lines of demarcation between the enemy and the People's United front."While they will never admit it, Liberation Road is working in the interest of China and the world revolutionary movement. They fully understand that the United States, must be taken down if the revolution is to succeed.There are many front organizations that are richly funded through several major foundations and the Democracy Alliance-a network of more than 150 leftist billionaires and multi-millionaires including presidential candidate Tom Stier, George Soros, socialist lawyer Steve Phillips and many others. Clearly, they do not lack for resources.It should be pointed out that the City of Durham has several City Council members who were endorsed by the Liberation Front which includes the Mayor. In Florida and Georgia, FRSO was a major part of the coalition that almost elected Andrew Gillum and Stacy Abrams. They lifted Democratic voting by around 40%, which normally would have guaranteed victory. Only because Pres. Trump ignored the Republican Party hierarchy and endorsed the strong insurgent conservative Ron DeSantis were the voters able to narrowly stave off a shocking Democratic victory.The work of the Republican Party that lies ahead to vet conservative candidates and stop electing rhinos is going to be a big part in the 2022 election. Pres. Biden is making the job a lot easier with his radical agenda which includes attempting to spend us into bankruptcy, but we cannot take for granted that the election is going to be won easily and that we are going to take back the house and improve our margins in the Senate and then elect a Republican President in 2024. This is an all hands on deck proposition and there's no room for anyone to sit on the sidelines and wait for the other guy to do the job.
Aggressive takeoff caused Hawaii plane crash that killed 11 View Photo

HONOLULU (AP)  A pilots aggressive takeoff led to an aerodynamic stall, causing the 2019 crash of a skydiving plane in Hawaii that killed all 11 people on board, government safety investigators have determined.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said the stall caused a loss of control at an altitude that was too low for the pilot to recover. The crash in Mokuleia, Hawaii, was one of the most deadly in U.S. civil aviation in recent memory.

The board also found that the Beech King Air 65-A-90 that crashed went into a stall and spin in 2016 while in California, twisting the left wing. The wing wasnt repaired, leaving the plane in an unairworthy condition.

The NTSB found that the damage reduced the margin for an aerodynamic stall and could cause the plane to roll left under certain conditions.

An aerodynamic stall happens when a plane loses lift under its wings due to a high angle of the nose and air speed thats too low.

The agency issued a report on the probable cause of the crash on Tuesday.

The NTSB said Tuesday that while the Federal Aviation Administration inspected the Oahu Parachute Centers planes, the inspections failed to identify the damaged left wing of the plane that crashed.

The company did not have the proper permits to take people skydiving at the time of the crash, according to documents released by the state.

The companys owner, George Rivera, was granted a permit in 2010 for a company under a different name  Hawaii Parachute Center  that allowed parachute repairs and rigging, but not skydiving operations. An attempt to reach Rivera was unsuccessful Tuesday.

The plane was operated by the Hawaii parachute company but owned by N80896 LLC, a California company.

The president of that company, William Garcia, confirmed to The Associated Press that he was the registered owner of the aircraft. His company also owned the airplane when it was in the previous skydiving accident in California in 2016.

Garcia said Tuesday he would review the NTSBs findings and had no further comment.

During an NTSB hearing last month, senior accident investigator David Lawrence said the FAA doesnt give tour operators and skydiving flights any more oversight than owners of other private planes even though they carry paying passengers. Typically, he said, the FAA just conducts periodic on-airport checks of the planes and the pilots license. Findings from the Hawaii crash found that the FAAs oversight and monitoring of such operations do not ensure that the operators are properly maintaining their aircraft and safely conducting their operations, Lawrence said.

NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said passengers on tour planes expect and deserve a safe ride. When theyre parachuting they are accepting a risk associated with jumping out of the airplane, but they are not expecting the airplane to crash due to poor maintenance.

In a statement emailed Tuesday, an FAA spokesman said the agency will develop a database tracking system to automatically alert field safety inspectors about certificated flight instructors (CFI) who have a substandard pass rate for their applicants.

The FAA will also establish guidance for inspectors on how to increase oversight of instructors, the statement said.

The crash was the most deadly civil aviation accident in the United States since a 2011 Reno Air Show wreck killed a pilot and 10 spectators in Nevada.

The victims included a young couple from Colorado celebrating their first wedding anniversary, several skydiving instructors, a Navy sailor and the pilot, Jerome Renck.

Renck  a French national  had a history of pushing the limits of his skills to give passengers an exciting ride, witnesses told investigators.

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Associated Press writers Tom Krisher and David Koenig contributed to this report.

By CALEB JONES

The Associated Press
The war of words between the two heavyweights of the nationalist movement intensified yesterday as Alex Salmond launched a blistering attack on Nicola Sturgeon's independence strategy.

The Alba Party leader claimed the First Minister's suggestion that a referendum will happen in 2023 or later depending on the battle against Covid has caused 'consternation' in the pro-independence movement.

He also accused her of a 'lack of urgency' in the bid to tear Scotland out of the UK.

Miss Sturgeon used a newspaper interview to launch new attacks on Mr Salmond and claim that Boris Johnson will grant a referendum if there is a pro-independence majority.

The Alba Party leader claimed the First Minister's suggestion that a referendum will happen in 2023 or later depending on the battle against Covid has caused 'consternation' in the pro-independence movement

Fears for homeowners in council tax revamp plan Middle-class families are facing the threat of more tax hikes under plans to overhaul council charges. The IPPR Left-wing think-tank yesterday called for the 'out-of-date' council tax to be scrapped and replaced with an alternative based on property valuations. If implemented, it would result in bills soaring for those in homes within bands F, G and H. Someone in a 350,000 property would pay 2,625 a year, rising to 3,750 for homes valued at 500,000 and 7,500 for those valued at 1million. Families investing in extensions or other improvements that boost value could also then see their bills soar. Responding to the report, an SNP spokesman said: 'Reforming council tax and local government is one of the issues we will look at... if re-elected.' The IPPR said council tax is out of date because it is based on home values that are 30 years old. Advertisement

Critics said the latest exchanges show nationalists will be 'fighting like ferrets in a sack' in the next term of parliament.

Calls also grew for a full judge-led inquiry into the Scottish Government's handling of harassment complaints after Miss Sturgeon admitted the various probes had not properly got to the bottom of the issue.

Scottish Conservative candidate Annie Wells said: 'Scotland deserves better than nationalists fighting like ferrets in a sack over who is trying to break up our United Kingdom quicker.

'At a time when we should all be focused on our post-Covid recovery, nationalists are only obsessed with their fresh drive for another independence referendum and trying to settle personal grievances.'

Mr Salmond's comments are the most direct attack on Miss Sturgeon's strategy since he launched his rival pro-independence party last month.

He was responding to Miss Sturgeon telling journalists last week that her 'preference' is to hold a referendum in the first half of the next term of parliament, a period that runs until the end of 2023, but that whether that will 'definitely happen' depends on the fight against coronavirus.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Salmond said Miss Sturgeon's comments about an independence referendum in 2023 or later had caused 'total consternation' in the nationalist movement.

He said: 'It seems to be that Scotland will not 'be free until after 2023'  more seriously, it seems to indicate a lack of urgency in bringing the independence question to a decision.'

Miss Sturgeon used a newspaper interview to launch new attacks on Mr Salmond and claim that Boris Johnson will grant a referendum if there is a pro-independence majority

Mr Salmond also claimed the Prime Minister would find it 'substantially more difficult' if there is a pro-independence 'super-majority' in Holyrood.

Risk of court challenge in battle over two Bills Two Holyrood Bills face a Supreme Court challenge amid claims they fall 'outwith the parliament's legislative competence'. Despite unanimous backing from MSPs, the UK Government has raised concerns with the Scottish Government about the legislation. UK ministers believe technical aspects of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill and European Charter of Local Self-Government (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill may place legal duties on them. Nicola Sturgeon described the prospect of a court challenge as 'morally repugnant'. But a UK Government source said: 'This delay to the legislation could easily have been avoided. Sadly, it appears the Scottish Government is more interested in stirring a constitutional row.' Advertisement

In an interview with the Guardian, Miss Sturgeon claimed Mr Johnson would not 'stand in the way' of a referendum if her party wins the election.

She hit out at Mr Salmond's tactics  which include support for street protests  saying they will put off voters, and again questioned whether he should be able to return to public office. Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chairman Alistair Carmichael said: 'Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond don't care about your job, your parent's operation or your child's schooling.

'Scotland deserves better than a nationalist movement that wants to spend the next five years arguing about the timeline for independence.'

Meanwhile, calls grew yesterday for a judge-led inquiry into the handling of complaints about Mr Salmond after Miss Sturgeon admitted various probes had not got to the bottom of the issue. Women who complained about Mr Salmond told MSPs a 'blind eye' was turned to his behaviour before they made their complaints.

Asked if the inquiry had discovered exactly what was going on in government prior to 2017, Miss Sturgeon told the Guardian: 'Have any of the inquiries properly done that? Probably not.' Murdo Fraser, one of the members of the Holyrood inquiry, said: 'At every turn during this inquiry, it was the SNP Government who obstructed our work and attempted to keep vital evidence secret from us.'

He insisted 'a judge-led inquiry is now necessary'.

STEPHEN DAISLEY SKETCH

Few things are more coveted at election time than a thumbs- up from stars of stage and screen. Mrs Thatcher secured the pivotal backing of Bob Monkhouse and Jimmy Tarbuck.

Tony Blair won over old Lefty Noel Gallagher and ex-Thatcherite Geri Halliwell. Gordon Brown had to settle for Ross Kemp, aka Grant Mitchell off EastEnders, which explains Labour's 2010 result.

Alex Salmond has trumped them all with the ultimate celebrity endorsement: Robert the Bruce. Having been dead for almost 700 years is no barrier to supporting Alba. If anything, it probably helps.

Salmond's last drain-circling attempt to cling to relevance released a video ahead of its manifesto launch yesterday in which the former King of Scots rather surprisingly backed Salmond's list vote campaign. William Wallace is understood to support tactical voting in constituencies, while John Comyn remains undecided.

The narration was provided by actor Angus Macfadyen, who played Bruce in Braveheart and 'Operating Assistant (uncredited)' in the 1989 horror classic Body Organ Replacement Network.

Macfadyen, an Asda Price Gerard Butler, has portrayed the Mormaer of Carrick in a number of projects and there is a chance he has come to believe he actually is the 14th century monarch.

Over drone shots of flag-waving throngs, Angus the Bruce supplied a summary of Bannockburn. Given Alba's target voters never left 1314, this seemed superfluous. 'People power by the small folk of Scotland,' he intoned, 'was the straw which broke the spine of English superiority.

'I should know,' he declared. 'I was there. I am the Bruce.' I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob. Separatists demand to be recognised as 'civic nationalists' but all their heroes are medieval aristos best known for killing lots of English people.

Scottish nationalism is like one long episode of Fawlty Towers except the wars they can't stop mentioning all took place before the invention of the printing press.

The tone of the production fell somewhere between McGlashan and McUkip, a pitch to the sort of Scot who gets their history from 'Wha's Like Us?' tea towels and believes in welcoming folk from all countries that don't begin in 'Eng', end in 'land' and have our whisky revenue hidden in their treasury. 'Alba will unite the Clans,' Angus Braveheart foretold. I assume it was being spelled with a 'C'.

Later in the afternoon, Salmond posed for photographers on Calton Hill holding a giant 'ALBA' placard beside one of his candidates, who brandished a saltire twice his size. In the background, a random bloke stood on the National Monument, peering at this scene, perhaps wondering whether the figures in the distance were very small or their patriotism just really, really big.

Scotland's Folly was a fitting backdrop for the latest wheeze to bring about independence. A hubristic endeavour left in ruins after the money ran out. Sounds about right.
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa suspended giving Johnson & Johnson vaccine shots Tuesday as a precautionary measure and the company delayed its European vaccine rollout following an FDA decision to pause the jabs while very rare blood clot cases are examined.

Boxes of Janssen vaccines sit at a warehouse of Hungaropharma, a Hungarian pharmaceutical wholesale company, in Budapest, Hungary, after the arrival of the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson, US, made one-dose vaccine against the new coronavirus in the country Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The first shopment contains 28 thousand doses of Janssen. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa suspended giving Johnson & Johnson vaccine shots Tuesday as a precautionary measure and the company delayed its European vaccine rollout following an FDA decision to pause the jabs while very rare blood clot cases are examined.

South Africa has given more than 289,000 doses of the J&J vaccine to the countrys health workers without any reports of rare blood clots, Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize told reporters.

He said South Africa was halting the use of J&J jabs out of an abundance of caution and expected that questions over the J&J vaccine should be cleared within a matter of days.

Mkhize said in the unlikely event that the J&J vaccines are permanently halted, South Africa would continue with its vaccination campaign in May using doses from Pfizer-BioNTech.

Earlier, Johnson & Johnson said it was delaying the rollout of its coronavirus vaccine across Europe amid the U.S. probe, a move that experts worried could further shake vaccine confidence and complicate worldwide COVID-19 immunization efforts.

The announcement came after regulators in the United States said they were recommending a pause in the single-dose shot to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots.

We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe, Johnson & Johnson said.

The delay is a further blow to vaccination efforts in the European Union, which have been plagued by supply shortages, logistical problems and concerns over unusual blood clots in a small number of people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

A box of Janssen vaccines is shown by pharmacist Zsolt Szenasi at a warehouse of Hungaropharma, a Hungarian pharmaceutical wholesale company, in Budapest, Hungary, after the arrival of the first batch of the Johnson & Johnson, US, made one-dose vaccine against the new coronavirus in the country Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The first shopment contains 28 thousand doses of Janssen. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)

The blood clot reports prompted several countries in the 27-nation bloc to limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to older people. The bloc's drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency, has authorized the AstraZeneca shot for all people 18 and over.

Both the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines use a cold virus, called an adenovirus, to carry the coronavirus' spike gene into the body, prompting an immune response. Johnson & Johnson uses a human adenovirus to create its vaccine, while AstraZeneca uses a chimpanzee version.

In a statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said they were investigating six cases of unusual clots, including one death, that occurred six to 13 days after vaccination with the J&J shot. The FDA commissioner said she expected the pause to last a matter of days.

The European Medicines Agency said it is currently not clear whether the J&J shot caused the rare clotting disorders.

Last week, the EU drug regulator said it found a possible link between the AstraZeneca shot and rare blood clots but said the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risks of COVID-19. It noted the risk of such clots is less than the blood clot risk that healthy women face from birth control pills.

Dr. Adam Finn, a professor of pediatrics at Britain's University of Bristol, said it was possible the way the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines were made may have contributed to the unusual clotting disorders in a very small proportion of people.

This may help give us a clue towards understanding the mechanism or a way to prevent this problem from occurring, Finn said. "Investigation of this phenomenon is now an extremely urgent international priority.

European regulators o n March 11 endorsed the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use in the EU, but the first supplies are only now arriving.

The EU ordered 200 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson in 2021. Britain ordered 30 million doses of the J& J vaccine, but has yet to authorize its use.

France had expected to receive 200,000 doses of the vaccine this week and was planning to start administering them next week to people aged 55 and over.

In Croatia, where one in four people have already refused to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, the state health service said panicky and hasty regulatory reactions should be avoided. The first of 900,000 J&J vaccines were to arrive Wednesday.

The head of Italys National Health Institute, Silvio Brusaferro, said it was too early to say how the J&J slowdown will affect immunization plans, as the first deliveries of 180,000 doses arrived Tuesday.

Officials in Germany, which was due to receive 232,800 J&J doses this week and 10.1 million doses by the end of June, said Tuesday there was no immediate change in plans..

In principle, we naturally always take such warnings in an international context seriously and investigate them, Health Ministry spokesman, Hanno Kautz, told reporters in Berlin.

Spain was expecting 300,000 doses of J&J on Wednesday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the benefits of taking the vaccine remain greater than the risks but that more information is needed.

In February, South Africa began vaccinating health workers with the J&J vaccine in a research trial after abandoning plans to use the AstraZeneca shot when a preliminary study suggested the AstraZeneca vaccine was only minimally effective against the variant of COVID-19 that first arose in the country.

Last month, the African Union announced it signed a deal to buy up to 400 million doses of the J&J vaccine. Johnson & Johnson also has a deal to supply up to 500 million doses to the U.N.-backed COVAX initiative that helps get vaccines to the world's poor.

Any concerns about the J&J vaccine would be another unwelcome complication for COVAX and for the billions of people in developing countries depending on the program. COVAX recently was hit by supply issues after its biggest supplier, the Serum Institute of India, announced it would delay exports of the AstraZeneca vaccine for several months due to a surge of cases on the subcontinent.

Jordans reported from Berlin and Cheng from London. Mike Corder in The Hague, Colleen Barry in Milan, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng faces a furious backlash from his own party after he moved to water down rules designed to prevent hostile foreign takeovers of British firms.

Kwarteng has caused tensions with fellow Conservative MPs after he quietly tabled an amendment to the National Security and Investment Bill  which aims to impose stringent safeguards on foreign ownership of UK companies  to cut the number of deals that are monitored.

The bill comes amid growing concern that Chinese companies, with close ties to the Communist regime in Beijing, have been able to buy up strategic assets in defence, energy, communications and technology to gain a 'back door' into the UK.

Security fears: Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has caused tensions with fellow Conservative MPs after he tabled an amendment to the National Security and Investment Bill

Kwarteng's change will see the threshold at which investors are required to notify the Government rise from 15 per cent to 25 per cent  bringing the UK into line with rules in the United States.

The minister hopes the change will make the system more 'proportionate' and avoid deterring foreign investors, but the decision produced an immediate backlash from MPs.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'I think the Government must take care not to dilute the effect of this bill.

'It was agreed in its present form to counter the threat from those who would seek to subvert our security as a country.'

South Thanet MP Craig MacKinlay, a Conservative member of the Commons public accounts committee, which oversees government expenditure, added: 'It does seem a bizarre and daft move. It doesn't make any great sense when there's no cost to the Government.'

The Henry Jackson Society, an international relations think-tank, said the change 'risks very real security risks being allowed to sail by without scrutiny'.

Last year Boris Johnson was forced to intervene to bar Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from running Britain's 5G network.

Warning: Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith voiced concerns over security urging the Government not to water down the bill

There were concerns about whether using its equipment would leave Britain vulnerable after the US alleged it could be used for spying, a claim the firm denied.

And last April the Government stepped in to stop an investor linked to the Chinese state from appointing more of its own directors to the board of British semiconductor and software design company, Imagination Technologies, based in Cambridge.

There were fears that China Reform Holdings, a 30billion Chinese government-controlled venture fund, could have moved Imagination Technologies and its cutting-edge intellectual property to the Far East.

The Government is undertaking a delicate balancing act post-Brexit, wanting to attract foreign investment but at the same time making sure security remains a number one priority.

Russ Mould, director at investment platform AJ Bell, said: 'The Government has a tricky balancing act here.

'The Prime Minister and his party have natural free-market, even libertarian instincts, so they will in many ways be reluctant to intervene.

'It comes at a time when the UK is looking to forge a fresh path in the wake of Brexit and the Government will be keen to encourage rather than discourage investment in the UK.'

The lower stake level would have led to around 1,800 notifications every year, or 35 per week. The proposed changes mean fewer deals will be notifiable, though the Department for Business did not publish new estimates.

The Secretary of State will still be able to ask for information about acquisitions below 25 per cent.

A Government spokesman said the bill 'will strengthen the UK's ability to investigate and intervene in mergers, acquisitions and other types of deals that could threaten our national security'.

The spokesman added: 'This change will ensure the new regime is proportionate and as transparent as possible without reducing the Government's intervention powers.'

The National Security and Investment Bill has already passed through the House of Commons and is in the later stages of its passage through the House of Lords. The latest amendments will be debated in the Lords this month.
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Market Research Future has published a Cooked Research Report on the Diphenylamine Industry Trends Research Report - Global Forecast till 2025

Market Definition and Growth Factors:

Also, the increasing application of DPA in nitrocellulose-based explosives pertaining to its antioxidizing property is also expected to fuel the growth of the global market. Lubricants are produced with the help of advanced additives that enhance the efficiency of the engine and exhibit properties such as high durability, cleanliness, and strength. The moving components are always in contact with air (oxygen), which results in degradation of the lubricants. Oxidation is a common process and arises when the lubricating oil chemically reacts with oxygen to form oxidized products, which result in sludge and deposit formation, corrosion of engine parts, and wear and tear of moving parts. To ensure easy functioning of vehicles and inhibit oxidation of lubrication oils, a class of chemicals known as antioxidants are used. Antioxidants control oxidation by preventing oil breakdown and thickening, which helps the engine to run smoothly for a long period. The most commonly used antioxidant is diphenylamine (DPA), which reacts with the free radicals generated by oxidation and prevents oxidative decomposition of the lubricating oil. Diphenylamine falls under a class of radical scavengers that stop chain propagation by blocking or reacting with free radicals created in the initiation step of oxidation. Diphenylamine is a viscous, lightweight hydrocarbon that is soluble in oil. Diphenylamine antioxidants are produced by reacting DPA with an olefin of the desired functional group. These antioxidants have low vapor pressure and water solubility, which are essential in protecting engines. Due to the superior antioxidant synergism of the antioxidants in the oil system, DPA and alkylated DPAs are considered as ideal solutions to enhance the durability and performance of engines. Also, they enhance the antioxidant efficiency and offer the required alkalinity.

Diphenylamine Industry Trends is estimated to be valued at USD 527.7 Million by 2025 and record a CAGR of over 4.06% during the forecast period. The growing demand for DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants is expected to be the primary factor driving the growth of the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends.

Furthermore, the antioxidant properties help to increase the shelf life of engine oils and provide maximum oil compatibility. Thus, the increasing demand for DPA in the lubricants used in automobiles owing its excellent antioxidant property is expected to boost the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Furthermore, single-base nitrocellulose propellants are hygroscopic in nature and are most susceptible to degradation. To avoid the accumulation of degradation products, stabilizers such as DPA are most commonly used in nitrocellulose-containing propellant powders and explosives. Due to the excellent antioxidizing property of DPA, it is used as a stabilizing compound in mono-, di-, and tri-base propellants of missiles and explosives. It has the potential to bind with the degradation products, which develop during long-term storage such as NO, NO2, and HNO3 to extend the storage time. Thus, due to the antioxidizing property of DPA and highly unstable nature of nitrocellulose-based materials, the demand for DPA to inhibit the degradation of explosives is increasing, which is projected to boost the growth of the market during the forecast period.

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However, diphenylamine is a chemical compound from the third European Union (EU) list of priority pollutants. In studies carried out on laboratory animals, DPA has proved to be slightly toxic by the dermal, oral, and inhalation routes and has been registered under the Toxicity Category III (second lowest of four categories). It can cause severe irritation to the eyes and affect the liver and kidneys on long exposure. It targets the red blood cells and can result in abnormal erythropoiesis in the spleen, and thus congestion of the spleen and hemosiderosis. It is not likely carcinogenic based on the evidence. However, an impurity of technical grade DPA, diphenyl nitrosamine is regarded as a probable human carcinogen. Diphenyl nitrosamine is produced when DPA comes in contact with high temperature. Moreover, there is a tolerance level set by the US EPA10 ppm for apples and 0 ppm for milk and meat. The DPA residue levels obtained were far below 10 ppm, and thus in 1997, the EPA approved the reregistration of DPA and determined that the assessed tolerances met the safety standards under the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). However, in 2012, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that the study has not provided authentic information to ensure safe consumption of DPA in apples and pears. Thus, the European Commission restricted the usage of DPA in the European Union. In March 2014, the European Commission reduced the allowable tolerance level of DPA on imports to 0.1 ppm. Thus, the health risks and stringent EPA regulations pertaining to DPA are likely to hamper the global market growth during the assessment period.

Kay Players:

Market Research Future (MRFR) recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends:

BASF SE (Germany),

Huntsman International LLC (US),

LANXESS (Germany),

The Lubrizol Corporation (US),

Merck KGaA (Germany),

Seiko Chemical Co. Ltd (Tokyo),

Eastman Chemical Company (US),

Duslo a.s. (Slovakia),

SONGWON (South Korea),

Nantong Xinbang Chemical Technology Chemical Co, Ltd (China),

Jiangsu Feiya Chemical Industry Co. Ltd (Austria).

Key Findings of the Study:

The Global Diphenylamine Industry Trends was valued at USD 397.6 million in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.06% to reach around USD 527.7 Million by the end of 2025 .

was valued at and is expected to register a to reach around . Based on application, the antioxidant segment held the largest share of 2% by value in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period.

and is expected to register a during the forecast period. By end use, the automotive segment is estimated to be the largest segment of the global aluminum oxide market, which accounted for 7% value share in 2018.

value share in 2018. The Asia Pacific market accounted for the largest share of 2% by value in 2018.

Segmental Analysis:

According to MRFR analysis, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented based on application, end use, and region.

Study Infographics @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/infographics

By application, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been categorized into antioxidants, fungicide, and chemical intermediates, and others. Among these, the antioxidant segment accounted for the largest share of over 59.2% by value in 2018, predominantly due to the large-scale adoption in nitrocellulose-based propellants, explosives, and gun powders, which are essentially unstable materials that decompose on aging with the evolution of oxides of nitrogen. The decomposition is autocatalytic and can lead to failure of the ammunition or untimed explosions. Antioxidants control the oxidation of lubricants and ensure smooth functioning of engines for a long period. The antioxidant property of DPA increases the operational life of engine oil by reducing breakdown that can result from the formation of sludge. The chemical intermediate segment is expected to register a CAGR of over 3.5% during the forecast period.

On the basis of end use, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been classified into automotive, agriculture, cosmetics & personal care, general industry, plastics and rubber, and others. The automotive segment accounted for the largest share by value in 2018 due to the use of DPA as an antioxidant in lubricants, and other functional fluids such as engine oil, hydraulic fluids, metalworking fluids, compressor oil, gear oil, refrigeration oil, transmission fluids, and turbine oil, among others. The growing production of automobiles is propelling the demand for lubricants for the efficient functioning of engines, which consequently is expected to drive the demand for DPA as an antioxidant.

Regional Analysis:

Geographically, the global Diphenylamine Industry Trends has been segmented into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. As per MRFR analysis, Asia-Pacific was the dominant regional market, accounting for the largest share of over 55% in 2018 and is expected to register a CAGR of over 4.5% during the forecast period. Asia-Pacific is followed by North America, which accounted for the second-largest share of the global foundry coke market in 2018. The North American market is expected to exhibit a share of around 20% in 2018. The Latin America and the Middle East & Africa markets are also likely to witness moderate growth during the forecast period, 20192025.

Browse key industry insights spread across 449 pages with 177 market data tables & 24 figures & charts from the report, Diphenylamine Industry Trends: Information by Application (Antioxidants, Chemical Intermediate, Fungicide and Others), End-Use (Automotive, General Industry, Agriculture, Plastics & Rubber, Cosmetics & Personal Care and others) and Region - Forecast till 2025 in detail along with the table of contents @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/diphenylamine-market-4550
Following the police killing of an unarmed Black man in Minnesota, Joe Biden met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss a range of issues  from voting rights and healthcare to reparations for the descendants of enslaved people  as the White House centres racial equity initiatives across federal agencies.

Caucus chair Joyce Beatty of Ohio said that all of this starts with voting rights.

If we dont stop voter suppression, if we dont put something in place protect this democracy, then we cant go beyond that, she told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday after the meeting.

Her remarks follow dozens of Republican-sponsored bills filed in at least 47 states to restrict ballot access in a range of proposals that would disproportionately target communities of colour.

The House of Representatives has passed the White House-backed For The People Act, a sweeping voting rights proposal that aims to be an antidote to nationwide voter suppression efforts, but it faces GOP roadblocks in the Senate.

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia said lawmakers told Mr Biden that we can work on both infrastructure and the infrastructure of our democracy at the same time as the group pressed Mr Biden on voting rights protections.

Lawmakers also focused their discussion with the president on racial disparities in infrastructure, wages, Covid-19 vaccination efforts and healthcare, as well as police reform following the killing of Daunte Wright in Minnesota, which has revived nationwide demands to curb police violence.

Rep Beatty said lawmakers feel the pain among protesters and the victims of police violence because many of us have witnessed the same pain, the same discrimination.

It is not by accident that we are here now, she said. We stand with them to use our power, and our message to bring about change, to bring about hope and were going to do that through voting, through jobs and the economy.

House Majority Whip James Clyburn said lawmakers started the meeting by certainly saying this has been a tough week for us.

We wanted to emphasise the fact that we see his programmes as being significant to this county to get back to a better place, he said. But we also want him to understand that we know the lessons of history.

He said lawmakers want to make sure that this time around we do not repeat historic inequities in recovery efforts, including pockets of poverty in the wake of the New Deal and the creation of food deserts in communities of colour.

US Rep Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas also said the president has renewed his support for the formation of a commission to study reparations for the families of enslaved people in the US. Her bill to create that commission will be discussed in the House Judiciary Committee this week. It is likely to receive a vote on the floor of the House.

Asked about vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans, Rep Beatty said that hesitancy is not the number one issue in the African American community.

We want to dispel this whole hesitancy narrative she said, pointing to the fact that the caucus members next to her are vaccinated. She stressed instead that equitable access to the vaccine must be a priority for the administration and nationwide inoculation efforts.

Caucus members announced plans to hold vaccine events in their districts to boost support for the shots.
Hayley Dodds killer, Francis Wark, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail after being convicted of manslaughter in March following a six-week trial.

Hayley, 17, vanished while hitchhiking in the Wheatbelt town of Badgingarra on July 29, 1999.

Hayley Dodd went missing near Badgingarra in 1999.

Wark, 65, lured Hayley into his car about 11am as he was driving home from his weekly shopping trip to Moora and then killed her and disposed of her body within a two-hour window.

More than 20 years later, Hayleys mother, Margaret Dodd, read aloud her victim impact statement during Warks sentencing on Tuesday morning, telling the Supreme Court of Western Australia she felt guilty she couldnt protect her daughter from a cruel world.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Grand Rapids students will have to wait a while longer before they can come back to the classroom in person four days a week.

Grand Rapids Public Schools has again delayed its in-person learning expansion for grades K-8 until Monday, April 26, citing recommendations from the Kent County Health Department to scale back face-to-face classes for two weeks after spring break to mitigate a surge in COVID-19 cases linked to travel.

Superintendent Leadriane Roby announced the delay at a Grand Rapids Board of Education meeting on Monday, April 12, which is the original date that students in grades K-8 were scheduled to start coming to class in-person four days a week.

The school board also tabled a vote to expand in-person learning for grades 9-12. Roby said high school students will remain in their current hybrid schedule of two days in-person a week until the district receives further guidance from health officials.

(Kent County health officials) have given us the recommendation that, based on what were seeing across our county and our state, it would be advised that we push that back and allow us to see if there is going to be a full uptick and surge that our data has demonstrated, that it is going in that direction, Roby said.

The delay by GRPS follows recommendations made last week by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that all high schools pause in-person learning in an effort to slow an ongoing surge in coronavirus cases.

RELATED: Whitmer asks high schools, youth sports to pause for two weeks  but doesnt order it

Over 200 students and staff at 48 K-12 school districts and three colleges have been infected by coronavirus in new school-related outbreaks, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services data released Monday.

GRPS is one of many school districts across West Michigan that committed to in-person learning despite the recommendations from state health officials.

All students who have opted for in-person learning are currently receiving two days of in-person instruction and three days of remote instruction each week.

Around two-thirds of GRPS families opted for the hybrid learning plan, which started in late January after the district only offered virtual instruction for the first half of the year.

This is the second time the district has delayed the expansion of in-person learning for grades K-8, citing a regional surge in COVID-19.

The hybrid learning expansion was applauded by some district parents during the March 22 board meeting when it was approved, but opposed by others who are fearful of increasing face-to-face contact amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The delay of the learning expansion will further limit the number of days GRPS students can spend in the classroom. The last day of school is scheduled for June 9.

More on MLive:

These West Michigan schools are staying in-person despite governors remote learning recommendation

After-school vaccine clinic will offer COVID-19 shots exclusively to 16- and 17-year-olds in West Michigan

Thousands of Michigan students will get free WiFi hotspots and internet for remote learning
How To Grow Mature In Your Christian Lifestyle: a comprehensive read that discusses Christianity's basic pillars and the tenets of the Christian identity. By laying these down, readers are subsequently ushered into their appropriate application as desired by God. How To Grow Mature In Your Christian Lifestyle is the creation of published author Olatunji Saheed and his daughter, Toyin Saheed. Both are Christians passionate about teaching fellow believers to live life fully under the guidance of the Lord.

Olatunji and Toyin share, Imagine living life knowing that you are doing all your best to do the will of God who is the life giver, ultimate supreme power, the magnificent, and the master of the day of judgment. You have faith in God and believe that God is the one in control of our life and he has the authority over everything. This is what the book is about. Our main goal is to help other Christians grow and mature in their Christian lifestyle and to help others who want to change their lives to be a Christian.

In the beginning of this book, we discuss Christianity as a religion and who we are as a Christian. What is the sense of our identity in life, which means who we are and what is the sense of our purpose, the reason why were here. We mention in the book that God created heaven, earth, ocean, and everything. God himself said that I have shown myself to them through what I created and do for them.

Majority of what is written in this book deals directly with the topic of this book. Its written to let the Christians know more about their duties and responsibilities in life. It covers all things we are dealing with in our everyday life. It also illustrates all the necessary things we need to know to have a successful marriage.

The book is written to help people know how they can deal with all the principalities of life that causes us problems. Principalities are unclean spirits. One of the most important things we need to know is to how to deal with people. Christians are expected to use their power to do good to people instead of using their power to manipulate others. If you want to be blessed, you have to be ready to serve. When you serve others, you are serving God. Our jobs in life is to make other peoples lives better. Always be a blessing to others is something we should all practice. It is very important to give God his glory because of what God has done for us in our lives. The only way our heart is alive and pumping is because we have a wonderful God.

Advice was giving to the young people to continue their education, if not they will assassinate their future. Christians are kind, loving people. God himself said that My sheep knows my voice. Above all, this book will help you gain knowledge about wisdom you need to grow and mature in your Christian lifestyle and spirituality. Therefore, you need to practice the steps mentioned in this book to successfully better your Christian life.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Olatunji Saheed and Toyin Saheeds new book is a helpful reference to Christians who wish to expand their understanding of faith and be more apt in its application.

View a synopsis of How To Grow Mature In Your Christian Lifestyle on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase How To Grow Mature In Your Christian Lifestyle at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about How To Grow Mature In Your Christian Lifestyle, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
The married City executive who failed to overturn his sacking after making a 'sleazy' drunken pass at a junior female colleague who he described as a 'seven out of 10' at a boozy work function has been pictured.

Tom Skinner also told Jessica Lennox she was in his 'top three' and asked her what would happen if they were the last people left alive and had to 'repopulate the Earth'.

When she then complained to their bosses at investment management company Smith & Williamson Corporate Services Ltd, the father tried to claim that he meant she would make a good number seven in rugby.

After he was fired for gross misconduct, Ms Skinner launched an unfair dismissal claim, alleging that he had been 'misunderstood' and had been discriminated against because he suffered from anxiety.

But an employment tribunal in central London rejected his version of events and ruled that he had been rightly sacked due to his 'inappropriate behaviour'.

Mr Skinner was employed as an associate director at the investment management company. In October 2018 the company held their annual financial services conference where there was a dinner followed by drinks.

After the meal, Mr Skinner approached junior colleague Ms Lennox while drunk and posed a 'hypothetical scenario' to her in which she was approached by a man on a dance floor, the tribunal was told.

City executive Tom Skinner told Jessica Lennox she was a 'seven out of 10' at a work function and also told her she was in his 'top three', an employment tribunal heard

He then went on to say he would like to get with 'the prettiest girl' before telling Ms Lennox that he thought she was a 'seven out of 10'.

When Ms Lennox asked him what he was talking about he was said to have replied that she would be in his 'top three'.

Later that same night, Mr Skinner again approached Ms Lennox, who worked as an office assistant, and asked her what would happen if they were the 'last two people on earth' and had to 'repopulate the earth'.

Throughout the evening, the tribunal heard Mr Skinner's behaviour got progressively worse and he later approached another woman, named only as 'Ms J' and made a number of inappropriate comments.

He said he used to attend sex parties in his younger years before telling her he helped pay her mortgage. Later on, he approached her at the bar, grabbed her face and told her she had 'marzipan cheeks'.

He also went up to another women and tried to give her his phone number but she rejected him saying it was 'a bit sleazy'.

Towards the end of the night, the Birmingham University graduate followed 'Ms J' into the toilet on two occasions and refused to leave until another woman walked in.

After the conference Mr Skinner was reported to his bosses and an investigation was launched. The tribunal heard that during the interview Mr Skinner denied all of the accusations and attempted to give a different explanation for the '7 out of 10' comment.

When she then complained to their bosses, the father tried to claim that he meant she would make a good number seven in rugby. He was fired, but an employment tribunal in central London (pictured) rejected his claim of unfair dismissal

He claimed that he remembered saying that, if the company had a work rugby team, he would play Ms Lennox at number seven and another colleague, at position ten.

He admitted he had drunk a lot and his memory was 'hazy' but denied talking about sex parties and claimed he only 'accidentally' walked into the women's bathroom.

Mr Skinner also confessed during the investigation to 'missing his old life pre-children' and said it was 'all a bit different from threesomes at uni'.

The tribunal heard his version of events was rejected by the company and other members of staff who confirmed what had happened and said Mr Skinner was 'particularly drunk'.

At the disciplinary meeting Mr Skinner 'appeared stressed and anxious' and even asked whether police were outside waiting for him.

He later claimed he experienced a period of 'extreme mental distress, paranoia, anxiety and psychosis' during the disciplinary process. Mr Skinner was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct.

Employment Judge Natasha Joffe concluded that Mr Skinner 'had a tendency at times to present the version of events which at a particular moment he felt would be most helpful or to edit facts which would be unhelpful'.

Judge Joffe concluded: 'It was within the band of reasonable responses to dismiss [Mr Skinner] for what was found to be a sequence of inappropriate behaviours, some of them with sexual content and much of the behaviour directed towards more junior female employees.'

She ruled that the claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination were both unfounded.
Pick up a book of contemporary poetry, and you are likely to find either personal recollections, observations of nature, a focus on race or sexuality or melancholy introspection. You are not likely to find references to councilmen on the take, polluted rivers, financial speculation and continuous war. Popular Longing, the third and latest book of poetry by Natalie Shapero, contains all these things. Its reflection of contemporary social reality, and of the effects that this reality has on our personal lives, is bracingly vivid.

Difficult to find in Popular Longing is any endorsement of identity politics. The universities (where most contemporary poets have careers) strongly promote this reactionary tendency as part of progressive politics. Although she teaches at Tufts University in the Boston area, Shapero does not follow this trend.

Popular Longing

It is a task of living in our world to be cognizant of the ways in which were invited, again and again, to feel like the real work of our lives is to take care of ourselves rather than to look outward, she said in an interview with National Public Radio. This comment suggests that Shapero understands that while engagement with the world is necessary, identity politics instead encourages self-absorption. Shaperos look outward is much more artistically productive than the orientation many of her peers adopt.

Shaperos style has affinities with that of the New York School of poets. This group, which was prominent in the 1950s and 60s, wrote lyric verse characterized by informal diction, wit and an interest in both pop culture and fine art. Shaperos poems share these qualities. Her conversational tone calls Frank OHara (19261966) to mind. Her humor, though, is often darker than OHaras, and sometimes even bitter. This difference no doubt reflects in part the distinct historical periods that the two poets inhabit.

A healthy revulsion at the relentless quest for profit pervades many of the poems in Popular Longing. One of Shaperos well-aimed barbs strikes the magnate hyping his new memoir of depression, / in interviews across a range of platforms. The afflicted soul knew he was ill / when he surveyed the unchecked magnitude of his / holdings and still felt numb. But the magnate did not need his holdings to help him diagnose himself. We already have that power, / to stare back at tycoons and have them feel nothing, Shapero concludes acidly.

She apparently understands in a general way that the existing social order is the source of the crisis she describes so pungently. The symphonys out of funding again, she observes. Elsewhere: The river is heavy with phosphorus and scum, and the poverty is mundane, the wealth outrageous. But the poet expresses little hope that this situation can be changed, even though she rhetorically rebels against it.

Shapero occasionally acknowledges the importance of human connection in times of crisis. In Green, she attempts to overcome her coworkers perception that she is inexperienced by affecting profound stoicism and intoning, Death is a part of life. Finally, she drops this act and calls the mother of a deceased friend to share reminiscences about him. Her self-parody thus changes into a touching acknowledgment of the value of mutual support, even if it cannot fully compensate for the loss of a loved one.

Natalie Shapero (Poetry Project)

However, Popular Longing shows disturbing trends, as well. A long poem called Dont Spend It All in One Place refers repeatedly to attacks on art. I cant / even view a painting anymore without picturing / its future: knife-marks, singes, punctures in the canvas, / patches of varnish half-eaten by splatters of lye, Shapero writes. What is this about? She mentions the vandalism of Michelangelos Pieta and imagines people lining up to throw projectiles at a painting. Theres no reason to believe that Shapero approves of these acts, but the imagery suggests intense frustration, rage and even self-destructiveness.

References to death abound, as well. In some poems, it is mentioned as a grim reality, but in others it becomes the object of a morbid fascination. In And Stay Out, Shapero describes holding still with the lights off and trying to live / as though dead, to satisfy / or at least dampen the inclination / to actually die. In another poem, Shapero mentions that if she ever submerged herself completely in the bathtub, she would

 ponder the woman

flooring it into the cinderblock

wall from fifty feet away. I dont think that image

comes from the movies. I think it comes

from the future. The future, with its color

palette of airport whites and its

unrushed glance, its involute

beckoning. I see it. I can see it. At least

somebody wants me.

These chilling lines equate the future with death and present both as simultaneously banal and seductive. Together with the books intermittent expressions of futility and misanthropy, they convey a serious demoralization.

The objective basis for such a sentiment is not hard to find. Shapero was born, in 1982, in Chester, Pennsylvania. By that point, the once-booming city had been deindustrialized through plant closures that began in the 1960s. Chester had become home to a new Superfund site: the Wade Dump, where industrial chemicals had been discarded illegally. Other undesirable facilities were established in Chester throughout the 1980s, such as the Westinghouse trash incinerator, a sewage treatment plant and a prison. In 1995, state officials named Chester a financially distressed municipality, one of those terms that does not begin to communicate the level of social misery.

More generally, Shapero and her generation have known nothing but continuous wars of plunder organized and led by the US in the Middle East and Central Asia, increased repression and a shift to the right by both major parties, the growth of a vast and malignant social divide, cultural decline and regression.

These developments have rightly distressed Shapero and left their imprint on her sensitive consciousness. They find expression in images of landfills and of beer bottles smashing into passing cars. Behind this debasement lurk the titans of finance, flipping on the money / channel, watching that arrow soar.

It is vital for contemporary poetry to face these issues. Many poets merely allude to them timidly, and Shaperos blunt, even provocative, approach is tonic. She is one step ahead of many of her peers.

Yet despite flashes of indignation and moments of humor, a sense of despair, as noted, hangs over these poems. Though this may be understandable, it is mistaken and needs to be overcome. The same world that produces such terrible ills also produces the basis of their solution. The poet must look actively for that, too. It is not impossible to find. Shaperos identification of the problems is salutary. Better still would be to inspire courage by revealing the reserves on which we can draw and the elements of modern life we can use to solve these problems.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 23:17:47|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda on Tuesday said a night curfew imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19 will be maintained despite pressure from parliament to have it revised.

Rugunda told parliament that the night curfew imposed in March last year will continue to be enforced between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily throughout the country.

"The issues of curfew hours will be looked into in the context of protecting the lives of Ugandans considering that the pandemic is still with us and it is still affecting and killing our people," Rugunda.

"Projections indicate that we should not relax our guard because the number of positive cases reported has started unfortunately to increase, especially in urban areas, border districts and trading centers," he said.

The premier said this is coupled with the reported cases of new fast-spreading and possibly more deadly variants of COVID-19.

"In the meantime, the guidelines issued by the president and ministry of health remain in place," he said.

Lawmakers last week directed the Prime Minister to table a government statement on the curfew. The lawmakers want the government to relax some of the COVID-19 measures and night curfew to start from 11 p.m. amid an earlier reported decline of new infections and deaths in the country. Enditem
Several advocacy groups across the state are criticizing the Lamont administrations perceived interest in the states former juvenile detention center as a location for housing unaccompanied migrant youth, with one saying it would be a warehousing of children in cages.

Gov. Ned Lamont has said a recent visit to the formerly state-run Connecticut Juvenile Training School, at 1225 River Road, Middletown, was made at the request of Vice President Kamala Harris during her March 26 visit to New Haven.

The states beleaguered facility for incarcerated male youths under the charge of the Department of Children and Families closed in April 2018.

No decision has been made at all, and nothing is imminent, Lamonts Communications Director Max Reiss said April 7, which he reaffirmed Tuesday.

But several groups are critical of the idea, as well as the possibility of using the former training school site.

We denounce the opening of the Middletown detention center for unaccompanied children/youth that the Lamont administration is doing irresponsibility and without accountability of the immigrant community, Make the Road Connecticut said in a statement. The organization advocates for immigrant and other rights.

CJTS was closed for many reasons, one of the most significant being it was not built to care for, support, or heal youth  especially youth already going through such significant trauma, Connecticut Justice Alliance Executive Director Christina Quaranta said in a statement. The organizations mission is to end the criminalization of youth.

Even if all evidence that CJTS is a maximum security, hardware secure facility is removed, it still remains a large, cinder-block building, with inadequate living space for young people, said Quaranta, asking that many individuals be included in any future discussions.

Lamonts team needs to bring together a group of culturally, linguistically, subject matter competent, non-governmental folks to look at this issue. Individuals who have experience working with and caring for children who are refugees or unaccompanied minors must be at the table with decision-making power, Quaranta said.

Stop Solitary CT, a program of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, also said in a statement it firmly opposes the idea. At CJTS, youth were forcibly restrained and left alone in solitary, the agency said.

Its mission is to end the use of solitary confinement statewide and replace isolation with humane, safe, and effective alternatives, according to its website. Stop Solitary CT firmly opposes warehousing children in cages  whether at the border or in Connecticut, the statement said.

Since the start of the pandemic, Stop Solitary CT has been advocating for the release of all inmates in Connecticut, saying you couldnt keep them safe in prison and had to let them all go free, Reiss said Tuesday.

The Lamont administration is trying to do the right thing, and make sure that kids have an adequate, safe, humane and supported experience in our state in the event the federal government asks for assistance, Reiss said.

Lamonts top officials, including DCF Commissioner Vannessa Dorantes, Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management Melissa McCaw and Chief of Staff Paul Mounds Jr. toured the facilities, his communications chief said.

Reiss paraphrased what Dorantes told reporters last week: People care for kids. Facilities dont care for kids.

Its been critical for us from the start to make sure that these kids have access to high-quality education, mental health care, general health care, and proper outdoor space so they can have a comfortable transition in the event of the need arising, Reiss said.

The governor said last week that CJTS has capacity for a few hundred kids depending on how the feds would want to arrange the cots and beds, so I think thats a good starting number.

Ultimately, there can be no long-term solution until we tackle the underlying issues, Quaranta said. Connecticut must hold the Biden Administration responsible for addressing the policies that force families to make an impossible decision at our border  go back to a location that is unsafe or leave their children behind.

Liz Ryan, president and CEO of the Youth First Initiative, a program of No Kids in Prison, reacted to the Biden-Harris administrations call to governors to consider placing these children in facilities in their states.

Youth prisons and juvenile detention centers are no place for children, and, while we appreciate the Biden/Harris administrations instinct to support migrant kids, incarcerating them is the totally wrong approach and is, in fact, a reckless and inhumane alternative to addressing the challenges at the southern border, Ryan said in a statement.

Reopening closed youth prisons or placing migrant children in youth detention or correctional facilities is a step backward, especially as advocates across the country continue the hard work to close youth prisons once and for all, as reports of abuse and negligence persist, Ryan said.

The Hartford-based Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice plans a Zoom session on the issue Friday from 1 to 2 p.m. To register, visit bit.ly/3tsmVGA.
Good morning, North State. Here's what you need to know to start your day on Tuesday, April 13.

Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign wildfire prevention plan in Butte County

Gov. Gavin Newsom will be in Butte County Tuesday raising awareness for fire preparedness. The Governor's office did not announce yet where exactly Gov. Newsom's Butte County visit will take place. At 11 a.m. Newsom is scheduled to sign a legislative package, providing $536 million to enhance and accelerate fire prevention projects. The Governor will also visit a Butte County project now underway.

Covered California enrollment reopens

Covered California enrollment has reopened. New federal subsidies are helping people lower monthly premiums. Legal U.S. citizens qualify for the program if they cannot afford health coverage and meet other low-income requirements. Click here to view their website.

FEMA accepting applications for up to $9,000 for COVID-19 funeral expenses

FEMA is asking applicants to be patient when applying to its funeral cost assistance program. The program launched on Monday, but the agency said it's facing issues from the high call volume. Applicants, not the person who died, must be U.S. citizens or legal immigrants. The program is set to pay out nearly 9,000 per burial.

US recommends pause for J&J vaccine over clot reports

The CDC and FDA are recommending a pause on the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The agencies said they want to investigate reports of potentially dangerous clots that developed in six women days after getting that vaccine. More than 6.8 million doses of the J & J vaccine have been administered in the United States.

Bodycam footage of Daunte Wright shooting released

Bodycam footage in the shooting death of Daunte Wright has been released. The footage shows officers beginning to handcuff Wright before a struggle. Wright tried to get back in the car and that is when the Brooklyn Center Police Department said Officer Kim Potters intended to pull her taser, but instead pulled out her gun and shot wright. Officer Potters is now on administrative leave.

Biden calls for 'peace and calm' in the wake of Daunte Wright's fatal encounter with police in Minnesota

President Joe Biden is set to meet with the congressional black caucus to discuss his infrastructure plan. Aides also said President Biden will discuss policing reform in the wake of Daunte Wright's death. The president sent out a tweet Monday mourning Wright's death. Biden addressed the pain, anger, and trauma of Black America and called for a full investigation.
Energy giant AGL has struck a partnership to assess developing huge hybrid power systems to help decarbonise some of Australias most emissions-intensive industrial operations such as mine sites, oil and gas facilities and refineries.

The venture, involving AGL and Finnish manufacturer Wartsila, comes as big changes rock the energy market and power suppliers seek to keep pace with customers efforts to slash greenhouse gases and target net-zero emissions.

AGL plans to close down its Liddell coal-fired power station in the NSW Hunter Valley by 2023. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

AGL chief operating officer Markus Brokhof said the hybrid systems, aimed at customers requiring more than 20 megawatts of power, would reduce remote, off-grid sites dependence on fossil fuels such as diesel. Hybrid systems would pair solar or wind generation and battery storage alongside decentralised gas or diesel generation to reduce emissions, while energy-management technology would lower usage and costs.

The mining industry, the oil and gas industry ... they are making commitments to be carbon-neutral by certain dates so they have to do something to reduce their carbon footprint, Mr Brokhof said.
She said she was a little concerned when she heard about the blood clotting issue, but she still would have gotten the shot if she could have, given that six people with blood clotting seemed to her like a small number out of all those in the U.S. who have received the vaccine. But she also appreciates that the government is just trying to make sure its safe.
Costs and Opportunities

The Roles Governments Can Play

Sad, vacant, derelict houses of worship at the hearts of our cities and towns will become more frequent sights as more of them shutter their doors. The next few years could see as many as 100,000 of the nations estimated 384,000 churches and other houses of worship close, too often deteriorating into neighborhood eyesores.For municipal governments, the wave of church closings is good news and bad news: good in hot real-estate markets where billions of dollars worth of now-tax-exempt property may be redeveloped and returned to the tax rolls; bad in cold real-estate markets, where thousands of closed churches will remain unused or underused and human services operations may lose their longtime homes. Either way, it will fall to cities and counties to lead and guide the process of finding new and better uses for buildings that have long anchored communities and neighborhoods.Why are so many of Americas houses of worship being abandoned? To begin with, as a March Gallup poll documented , for the first time ever, less than half of all Americans consider themselves to be church members, down from more than 70 percent in 2000. Contributions have dwindled accordingly.Second, with the popularization of the automobile in the 20th century and the Internet in the 21st, the need for every town, village and urban neighborhood to have its own house of worship of each faith and denomination has faded.Third, even with the property tax exemption that houses of worship enjoy, real estate has become more expensive to maintain, with hikes in the costs of utilities, insurance and capital repairs.And now, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it questionable whether worshipers will return to houses of worship they have been visiting online, if at all.A denomination in one state owns an estimated $1.4 billion in real estate to serve 50,000 weekly worshipers  a hefty $28,000 in property per attendee. Many churches have found themselves spending half or more of their operating budgets on real estate and owning assets that are 80 or 90 percent composed of illiquid real estate. Many congregations report being one new roof away from closing.Savvy houses of worship will look to stay alive and maybe even thrive by converting properties to mixed use. The real-estate community embraced mixed use a long time ago, but the faith community often has looked at it as a headache  sharingbuildings and grounds withpeople who useproperty forpurposes. But mixed use can not only bring congregations much-needed revenue, it also can broaden appeal to millennials and Generation Z, who may care more about a faith communitys active missions and partnerships than their familys history of baptisms, weddings and funerals.There are other opportunities to be found. The prime downtown locations that many struggling houses of worship occupy could make them attractive prospects for conversion to housing, for example. Orange, N.J., a city of 30,000 residents, has 16 churches (in various states of repair) in its small downtown, all of them located just blocks away from a New Jersey Transit station just a few stops away from Midtown Manhattan.To be sure, houses of worship can be difficult for municipalities to deal with. Change can be difficult as worshipers  increasingly senior citizens  are emotionally tied to remembrances of what has occurred in a beloved building. Debate among a congregation often revolves around issues perceived to be moral  the sacredness of a property, the worthiness of a buyer or user, the feelings of a longtime congregant  rather than on the pragmatics of the deal. Negotiations also require understanding how some religions and denominations are top-down in their decision-making; others are bottom-up; and many impose elaborate processes that involve some of each.To navigate these challenges, municipal governments and their redevelopment agencies should consider which among five roles  or which combination of the five  they need to play in church closings and redevelopment:Municipalities can gather data on the houses of worship in their community  not only size, value and condition, but also information on the health and well-being of the house of worships congregants, their desires, and the proclivities of their religions and denominations.Municipalities can put themselves in a position to be a matchmaker and mediator between and among the house of worship, real-estate brokers, consultants, and both for-profit and not-for-profit developers. The faith community and the development community speak different languages, but city administrators can be effective translators.Converting a house of worship to a new use or mixed use often can challenge outdated zoning regulations, test historic designations and stir up neighborhood opposition. Municipalities can act toward successfully resolving these and other difficult matters  or to inflame them.Many houses of worship have little cash on hand but up to millions of dollars tied up in property. If a municipality or its development agency can forward a relatively small amount of pre-development money to hire real-estate expertise, that action can pay off dividends down the road in getting a house of worship to head in the right direction. Later in the process, a municipality or its development agency can be one of several funders to make the project work.Sometimes, the only way to get a particularly key project done will be if the municipality or its development agency commit the ultimate intervention, purchasing the property and acting as project manager. If a city or county is in the market for a community center, an arts center, a library or a human-services hub, it should consider a church as a potential site.While many municipalities have participated in church redevelopment, only a small number have tackled the issue head-on. Most notable is the San Antonio, Texas, Neighborhood and Housing Services Departments Mission Oriented Development initiative . And the Montgomery County, Md., governments Faith Community Advisory Council has convened a Religious Land Use Working Group that has focused its efforts on assisting the countys many immigrant houses of worship.A number of not-for-profit development corporations also focus on redevelopment of houses of worship, including, nationally, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Enterprise Community Partners Faith-Based Development Initiative . Locally, and within denominations, many different kinds of not-for-profits are active in these kinds of redevelopments. Not surprisingly, much of the focus of these organizations is on developing low-income, affordable and workforce housing, though not every house of worship is suited for such uses.Ultimately, however, coordinating efforts like those will fall primarily to local governments. With the coming wave of closings and the potential for mixed-use projects, more municipalities should begin developing initiatives whose sole focus is on the care and feeding of the real estate of houses of worship.
Dancing With The Stars pro Lindsay Arnold has slammed speculation she edited her C-section scar out of recent photos, calling the mark her 'favorite part' of her body in a new Instagram post.

The ballroom dancer, 27, addressed the rumors while proudly revealing her abdominal scar in a sexy red swimsuit on Tuesday, saying while she usually wouldn't give such gossip 'the time of day,' she felt it was necessary to erase any lingering stigma about scars.

'I feel like this needs to be addressed as it's important to me that you all know that my c-section scar is now my favorite part of my body,' the Utah native wrote. 'It is the representation of the thing I am most proud of in my life and that is our sweet Sagey.'

Proud: Dancing With The Stars professional Lindsay Arnold dismissed accusations she photoshopped her C-section scar from her bikini photos, telling followers the mark is her 'favorite part' of her body

Marveling at the strength of her own body, she said: 'I seriously want to show my scar to everyone I see cause I think it's so insane and crazy cool that Sage came out of that little cut in my belly?! I mean come on how incredible is that?!

She also celebrated doctors for skillfully minimizing the marks, adding: 'What's also incredible are amazing doctors that make it possible to do a c-section and have the scar be so low it is not even visible in a bikini.'

Lindsay said her discreet scar wasn't even visible unless she pulled her suit down, saying that's 'why you all are not seeing it in my pics.'

Arnold made it clear she was against editing her figure, telling followers: 'I would never and have never photoshopped any part of my body and wanted a dedicated post to my beautiful scar that I truly love so much 

Getting the last word in she wrote: 'So hahaha for those who care or even read this far, no I am not photoshopping my scar out of anything and in case anyone forgot WOMENS BODIES ARE INCREDIBLE.'

Bodies are amazing! Marveling at the strength of her own body, she said 'I seriously want to show my scar to everyone I see cause I think it's so insane and crazy cool that Sage came out of that little cut in my belly?! I mean come on how incredible is that?!'

Special: Arnold welcomed baby girl Sage Jill last November, naming her after husband Samuel's late mother

Arnold welcomed baby girl Sage Jill last November and shortly after she opened up about her delivery experience.

'Baby girl was still breech and I was progressing very fast so we prepped right away for C-section delivery. I am so grateful for the incredible team of nurses and doctors who delivered our baby girl to us safe and sound,' she wrote on Instagram.

The TV talent and husband named their bundle of joy after husband Samuel's late mother.

Posting a sweet photo of her girl days after the baby's birth, Lindsay shared: 'She entered this world on the same day that we lost Sam's beautiful mother just one year ago.'

'We couldn't help but see God's hand in this and know that Sage was handed down to us by her beautiful angel grandmother, Jennifer Jill Gillette Cusick.'

Angelic: 'We couldn't help but see God's hand in this and know that Sage was handed down to us by her beautiful angel grandmother, Jennifer Jill Gillette Cusick,' she said while revealing her baby girl's name last fall

Surprise! In May 2020, the lovebirds revealed they were expecting by posing with a string of ultrasound images on Instagram

Lindsay and Samuel revealed they were expecting last May by posing with a string of ultrasound images on Instagram.

'Ohhhhhh baby! Mom and Dad love you already #November2020 #pregnant #pregnancyannouncement,' the DWTS pro wrote on Instagram.

Lindsay and husband Samuel got married in 2015, during a ceremony held into Salt Lake City, Utah. The couple got engaged in 2014 during a romantic vacation in Africa.

'I'm so excited to dance through life with Sam. I could never have imagined that when I was 16 years old I would have met the man I would marry and who would be my partner  yesterday, today and tomorrow,' said Arnold in a statement to People at the time.

High School Sweethearts: Lindsay and Samuel got married in 2015, during a ceremony held into Salt Lake City, Utah; Lindsay and Samuel pictured in 2019

A year after their marriage, the high school sweethearts told ET that they 'definitely [wanted] kids' but that, at the time, they were not ready to begin a family.

'We would like to wait. We both want to do everything that we want to do, so that when we have children, we can really be there for them. We're still enjoying just being newlyweds right now,' explained the professional dancer.

News of Arnold's pregnancy came just six-months after the tragic loss of her mother-in-law Jennifer.

Jennifer's unexpected passing forced Arnold to step away from her Dancing With The Stars duties, where she was actively competing with former White House press secretary Sean Spicer.

Lindsay began her career on Dancing With The Stars during season 16 of the competition show in 2013.
The headquarters of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen in Hague, Netherlands, on May 5, 2017. (Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

Investigation Finds Syria Likely Behind 2018 Chlorine Attack

THE HAGUE, NetherlandsAn investigation by the global chemical weapons watchdog found reasonable grounds to believe that a Syrian air force military helicopter dropped a chlorine cylinder on a Syrian town in 2018, sickening 12 people, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Monday.

It is the second time that the OPCWs Investigation and Identification Team has concluded that Syrian government armed forces likely were responsible for a gas attack. Last year, the team also found reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Force was responsible for attacks using chlorine and the nerve agent sarin in March 2017 in the town of Latamneh.

Syria has repeatedly been accused of using chemical weapons during the countrys grinding civil war. The government of President Bashar Assad denies the claims.

In the latest report, the OPCW investigation team said it found evidence that a military helicopter belonging to the Tiger Forces of the Syrian air force dropped at least one chlorine cylinder on the rebel-held northern Syrian town of Saraqeb on Feb. 4, 2018.

The cylinder ruptured and released chlorine over a large area, affecting 12 named individuals, the watchdog said in a statement. Those affected all survived, the report said.

As part of the investigation, experts interviewed witnesses, analyzed samples and remnants collected from the town as well reviewing symptoms reported by casualties and studying satellite imagery and modeling gas dispersion patterns.

The OPCW cant hold individuals criminally responsible for attacks. The report will be shared with the organizations member states and the United Nations. The report will likely be discussed at a meeting of the OPCW member states later this month.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the use of chemical weapons by Syria and said those responsible must be held accountable.

It is now up to the International Community to duly consider the reports and take appropriate action, Borrell said in a statement.

The investigative team was established after Russia blocked the extension of a joint investigation mechanism set up by the U.N. and OPCW in 2015. That team accused Syria of using chlorine in at least two attacks in 2014 and 2015 and of unleashing sarin in an aerial attack on Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017 that killed about 100 people.

By Mike Corder
(Photo : Pexels/Kate Trifo) Google Heads Up walking and texting

Google wants to help people avoid being in accidents due to them being glued to their screens. A new feature called Heads Up is set to roll out now to Google's Digital Wellbeing Android app.

Google's Heads Up

After downloading the Digital Wellbeing app and turning on Heads Up, your phone will periodically display an alert that reminds you to keep your head up when it detects that you are walking and using your phone at the same time.

According to XDA Developers, Heads Up is currently rolling out to Pixel phones. Google usually uses its own Pixel line as a test bed before sharing the feature more widely with other Android phones, so even if you do not have Heads Up now, you may be able to get it in the future.

Also Read: Google Introduces WifiNanScan, an Android App that Allows Phones to Connect at Greater Distances

How does Heads Up work?

According to Screen Rant, you need to open the Settings app on your Pixels phone, then scroll until you locate the Digital Wellbeing and parental controls option.

Tap on the option and scroll to the bottom of the various settings, where you should spot the new Heads Up option, just above the toggle switch to add an icon for Digital Wellbeing to your app drawer. Then Select Heads Up and follow the setup prompts.

After that, you will need to grant Digital Wellbeing permission to view your physical activity so it can identify when you are walking.

Optionally, you can give the app permission to view your current location at all times. Doing this will allow Heads Up to identify when you are inside, it is unclear if that means that it will be more or less proactive about reminding you to look up.

With the feature Heads Up enabled, you will get an alert whenever you use your phone and it detects when you are walking around, as per Android Headline.

You can get a good 20 minutes walking around the block, scrolling through your social media accounts, along with sending emails and text messages to check if it will trigger the alert.

However, there are reports stating that Heads Up won't alert you if you walk around your house, as the app will assume that you know your house well. But it does do very well in the streets.

The Digital Wellbeing beta

If you have a Pixel and you do not see the Heads Up feature yet, you can join the Digital Wellbeing beta program, which should trigger the new feature on your phone. You can join the beta by visiting the app's Play Store listing and installing it.

You can always leave the beta at any time by visiting the same Play Store page and removing yourself from it, but so far there have been no issues for users of beta and the Android apps runs smoothly. Pixel phone users can check out the features before they are widely rolled out by Google.

With Android 12 coming later this year, it is possible that Google will be adding the Heads Up feature during its launch. Google has not given the date as to when it will rollout the feature across all phones, but it is possible that it will happen in the next few weeks.

Related Article: Google Apps Android Server Down: Early Reports of YouTube, Gmail, and MORE Are Unresponsive-How to Fix?

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sieeka Khan

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Cairo, April 13 : The Arab Parliament (AP) has condemned the Yemeni Houthi militia attacks using explosive-laden drones and ballistic missiles on targets in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

"The continuing escalation and targeting of civilians in Saudi Arabia reflect the Houthis' challenge of the international law and rejection for all the political efforts to end the crisis in Yemen," the AP said in a statement on Monday.

It reiterated its support for Saudi Arabia in the measures taken to protect the safety and security of its lands, adding that "security of Saudi is a basic pillar in the Arab national security", reports Xinhua news agency.

The AP attributed the aggression of the Houthi militia to the reluctance of the international community to take a firm stand for deterring all the violating practices.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported on Sunday night that the Riyadh-led coalition had intercepted and destroyed six bomb-laden drones and a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi militia from Yemen toward Saudi southern border cities.

The attack came a day after the Houthi militia lost dozens of fighters in a battle with the Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in the oil-rich Marib province.

In February, the Houthis launched a major offensive to capture the province.

They have since stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks against Saudi cities and oil facilities.

Most of the attacks were reportedly foiled by the coalition.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of several northern Yemeni provinces and forced the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.
NEW YORK, April 12, 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 4 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

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SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

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Penn Museum has apologized for the skull collection assembled by Samuel George Morton (above), a 19th century scientist

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology has apologized for its controversial Morton Collection of more than 1,300 human skulls, including those of slaves, assembled by a race-obsessed 19th century scientist who used them to support his white superiority theories.

The prestigious museum in Philadelphia issued the apology on Monday, saying it would repatriate the collection assembled in the 1800s by Samuel George Morton for reburial around the world.

'The Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania apologize for the unethical possession of human remains in the Morton Collection,' said Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods in a statement.

'It is time for these individuals to be returned to their ancestral communities, wherever possible, as a step toward atonement and repair for the racist and colonial practices that were integral to the formation of these collections,' added Woods.

The prestigious museum in Philadelphia issued the apology on Monday, saying it would repatriate the Morton Collection of skulls for reburial around the world

The Morton Collection of more than 1,300 human skulls, including those of slaves, was assembled by a race-obsessed scientist who used them to support his racial theories

A curator is seen with skulls from the Morton Collection. 'The Penn Museum and the University of Pennsylvania apologize for the unethical possession of human remains in the Morton Collection,' said Penn Museum Director Christopher Woods

Woods said that the museum 'will also reassess our practices of collecting, stewarding, displaying, and researching human remains.'

The collection was assembled in the first half of the 19th century by Morton, a physician and natural scientist who attempted to show that white people have a larger cranial capacity than other races.

Morton believed that different races of humans were actually different species, and his dubious work was used to justify slavery and white supremacy.

Penn Museum's report follows a report issued last week by a committee assigned to study the issue, which prominently cited the in-custody death of George Floyd last May as a motivation for reassessing the collection.

The report recommended that the museum apologize for the collection and move to repatriate the remains.

'An initial phase of rigorous evaluation was critical for ensuring an ethical and respectful process around repair,' Woods explained on Monday.

'As we move into implementation, the museum will immediately begin the process of working with local communities to understand their wishes for repatriation,' he said.

Morton believed that different races of humans were actually different species, and his dubious work was used to justify slavery and white supremacy

In the 1800s, Morton obsessively measured the volume of the skulls, and claimed in his writings that people of European descent had the largest average skull volume

Morton used his data as evidence to support his racist theories. He described the white race as 'distinguished by the facility with which it attains the highest intellectual endowments'

The museum will now explore options for reburial of some of the remains in a historically black Philadelphia cemetery.

'There is no 'one size fits all' approach to handling repatriation and reburial in any circumstance,' Woods said. 'Each case is unique and deserves its own consideration. This is incredibly sensitive work.'

'And while we all desire to see the remains of these individuals reunited with their ancestral communities as quickly as possible, it is essential not to rush but to proceed with the utmost care and diligence. As we confront a legacy of racism and colonialism, it is our moral imperative to do so,' he added.

Penn Museum will also move to quickly hire a 'BIPOC bioanthropologist' for a new full-time faculty position. BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, or People Of Color.

The Morton Collection has generated controversy for decades. In the 1800s, Morton obsessively measured the volume of the skulls, and claimed in his writings that people of European descent had the largest average skull volume, which he believed was correlated with brain size and intelligence.

Morton used his data as evidence to support his racist theories. In his books, he described the white race as 'distinguished by the facility with which it attains the highest intellectual endowments'.

Native Americans he described as 'averse to cultivation, and slow in acquiring knowledge; restless, revengeful, and fond of war, and wholly destitute of maritime adventure.'

Morton's theories were wildly popular during his life, embraced by supporters of slavery, and went on to form the nucleus of many later 'scientific racism' theories

Author Stephen Jay Gould argued that Morton twisted his data collection to fit his theories, but other studies found that Morton's measurement data was essentially correct

The museum will now explore options for reburial of some of the remains in a historically black Philadelphia cemetery

People of African descent he described as 'joyous, flexible, and indolent' adding that 'the many nations which compose this race present a singular diversity of intellectual character, of which the far extreme is the lowest grade of humanity'.

His theories were wildly popular during his life, embraced by supporters of slavery, and went on to form the nucleus of many later 'scientific racism' theories.

In his 1981 book The Mismeasure Of Man, popular scientist Stephen Jay Gould argued that Morton's 'unconscious bias' had caused him to wildly distorted his data to fit his theories.

However later studies, including one in 2011 authored by six anthropologists, argued that Gould had himself misrepresented the facts, and that Morton's skull-measurement data was essentially correct.

The 2011 study has faced its own criticism, with some noting that several authors were connected to Penn Museum, and the matter has continued to draw controversy.

The Morton Collection is one of the largest skeletal collections in America, and had continued to draw interest from researchers even in modern times.
Three Columbia women are accused of stealing nearly a million dollars worth of property and services from a cable company.

Bria Chenial Watts, 28, Asia Michelle McCrory, 29, and Courtney Katerri Smith, 32, were each charged with first-degree violations of the computer crimes act, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said in a news release.

According to SLED, the trio worked together to create multiple fake customer accounts with Charter Communications, the cable and telecommunications company thats now known as Charter Spectrum.

The women provided fake identification and false payment information to the cable company, arrest warrants show.

Each Richland County woman was responsible for creating more than one fake account  much more.

Agents investigating the case would not reveal the exact number of phony accounts the women created, but said there were hundreds set up in the fraud, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby told The State.

Once the cable services were installed, Watts, McCrory, and Smith would get people to pay them directly for the service. But bills sent out by the cable company to the fake account addresses went unpaid.

Through these false accounts, the women were responsible for stealing more than $700,000 in goods and services from Charter Communications, according to the release.

Eventually, the cable company recognized something was wrong and contacted the South Carolina Attorney Generals office, which asked SLED to initiate an investigation.

McCrory and Smith were arrested in early March, while Watts was taken into custody Friday, according to Lexington County court records. All three were booked at the Lexington County Detention Center because the branch of Charter Communications that was affected is based in West Columbia, according to arrest warrants.

McCrory and Smith scammed the cable company from June 2018 to December 2019, arrest warrants show. Watts started at the same time as the others, but continued to commit the computer crimes until July 2020, an arrest warrant shows.

Story continues

Over the course of the fraud, McCrory ($22,564), Smith ($128,965), and Watts ($594,609) cost Charter Communications $746,138, according to arrest warrants.

After being locked up at the Lexington County Detention Center, McCrory and Watts were each released on $5,000 surety bonds, court records show. Smiths bond was set at $10,000.

Prior to the computer fraud charges, Smith was arrested for unrelated crimes on Dec. 21, 2019, court records show. There are 12 charges of financial identity fraud pending against Smith, according to court records.

If convicted on the felony computer fraud charges, Watts, McCrory, and Smith would each face a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.

The investigation was focused on Watts, McCrory, and Smith because they were considered the individuals at the center of the fraud ring. While nobody else is expected to face computer fraud charges, Crosby said more arrests are possible because it is still being investigated by SLED.

Charter Spectrum has 31 million customers in 41 states, making it the second-largest cable company in the U.S. behind Comcast.

It ranked No. 71 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue, raking in $45.8 billion last year. Residential customers paid an average of $112.60 per month for the cable companys services, according to Forbes.
But closing the plant could create a new ecological problem: Without the electricity it produces, more of the states power will come from natural gas plants, which emit pollution that contributes to climate change.

[Indian Point is shutting down. That means more fossil fuel.]

The possible spike in emissions seems to fly in the face of the Cuomo administrations push to have much of the states energy produced by renewable sources by 2030.

Heres what you need to know:

Why some say Indian Point should close

Indian Point is on the east bank of the Hudson River, just 25 miles away from New York City.

The plant has been the site of protests and occasional scary incidents, including a 2015 fire that knocked out one of its reactors, and some environmental groups have complained about its effect on groundwater and the Hudson.

The growing supply of cheap natural gas and increased prevalence of renewable energy sources have also made comparatively expensive nuclear plants less economically competitive.
SCRANTON A four-hour standoff in West Scranton ended peacefully Monday.

Police were called to a home at 1135 W. Locust St. around 2:44 p.m., Scranton Police Chief Leonard Namiotka said. There, they found a suicidal man facing multiple felony warrants who barricaded himself in the attic with a knife.

The 1100 block of West Locust Street was blocked off while officers from the Lackawanna County SWAT Team and Scranton police negotiated with the man. Police are not releasing the mans name at this time.

Neighbors peered from their porches while officers dressed in green SWAT gear held guns while waiting on the street and around the home. Scranton police vehicles also lined the street. Later, neighbors were asked to stay inside their homes as police worked.

Around 5:30 p.m. a woman spoke through a police loudspeaker and asked for the man to come outside and not to hurt himself.

Police took the man into custody around 7:30 p.m. without incident and no force was used, the chief said.
For nearly 60 years, Joan Watts had her milk delivered to her doorstep. As many Britons have done for decades, she ordered by leaving a note with the empty bottles and paid the milkman, in earlier years in cash, then later by direct debit.

But great-grandmother Joan, 90, is now one of thousands of older people whose milk delivery has been abruptly cancelled.

Customers of Milk & More, which is the biggest milk delivery service in the UK and serves around half a million households, have been told they must place all orders online and pay by debit or credit card using a website or smart phone app.

From April 24, anyone who isn't able or willing to use the internet will have their deliveries stopped.

Online only: Customers of Milk & More have been told they must place all orders online and pay by debit or credit card using a website or smart phone app

The move has triggered an angry reaction from elderly customers who feel they have been abandoned by an 'ageist' policy.

'I was happy to pay by direct debit but they said they won't allow it any more,' says Joan, who is widowed.

'I had to cancel because I can't use a computer and I worry about banking online because of scams.'

Although around one in five Milk & More customers buy their goods without the internet, the company made several attempts to change this since it was taken over by German dairy giant Muller in 2015.

In 2019, the firm announced it was banning payments by cash or cheque from January 2020. It still allowed customers to pay monthly by direct debit or by card over the phone  but raised prices by 4p per pint for offline customers.

Last September, it ran a trial in Essex of the new system which it said was 'really successful', with the 'vast majority of customers' moving online.

But it wasn't successful for everyone and Joan, who lives in Essex, was just one of the people left behind.

After next week, all customers nationwide will need to move online or their deliveries will be cancelled.

One Milk & More milkman, who had been serving the same area for 38 years, told his customers he was 'devastated' by the decision and extremely concerned for the vulnerable and isolated elderly.

We've had milk on our doorstep for 50 years Offline: Jean and John Salt will get their milk delivered for the last time next week Jean and John Salt will get their milk delivered for the last time next week, exactly 50 years since they got their first delivery on their wedding day. The pair, from Bexleyheath, Kent, have a computer but don't feel comfortable ordering milk online. With no other delivery services in their area, they must cancel. Jean, 78, says: 'We have always had milk delivered ever since we got married. 'It was lovely as our milkman knew everyone and would look out for people. 'Now we will have to buy milk from the supermarket. We are one of the lucky ones as we have a car. 'It's very unfair on people who don't have a computer and it seems to be the way the world is going now.'

With more than two million over-75s in England unable to use the internet, campaigners said this is another example of elderly people left without access to essential services.

'It is essential that those who cannot or do not want to use the internet are not excluded or not disadvantaged as a result,' says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK.

In the 1970s, around 99 per cent of milk was delivered to the doorstep, but this dwindled to just 3 per cent before the pandemic.

Before Covid-19, around 527,000 customers had milk delivered but this soared to 716,000 during 2020 and has since settled at 672,000, according to market analysts Kantar.

Milk & More has signed up 175,000 new customers in the past two years, driven both by lockdown and demand from eco-conscious shoppers who want reusable glass bottles.

The company confirmed to Money Mail the move to online-only was about 'cost-effectiveness', as it is more expensive to process direct debits.

It said it was providing help for customers to get online, but Money Mail found its instructions are only helpful if you already own a computer or a smartphone and understand the internet.

A Milk & More spokesman says the company 'invested in our business, to transform it from one that has been in decline for more than 40 years to one that is in growth'.

Online custom 'turned the business around' and stopping offline orders and payments would 'protect the jobs of hundreds of milkmen, milkwomen and small suppliers.

'We understand not everyone will agree with our decision and we appreciate there will be people who can't or don't want to make the change.

'In these cases, we are very willing to help them, where possible, find an alternative supplier,' he adds.

moneymail@dailymail.co.uk
[April 13, 2021] CoreLogic Reports US Mortgage Delinquency Rates Fall for Fifth Consecutive Month; The Lowest Levels Seen Since the Start of the Pandemic

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for January 2021. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005320/en/ CoreLogic National Overview of Mortgage Loan Performance, featuring January 2021 Data (Graphic: Business Wire) For the month of January, 5.6% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 2.1-percentage point increase in the overall delinquency rates compared to January 2020. Nationally, the overall delinquency has been declining month to month since August 2020. To gain an accurate view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency, including the share that transitions from current to 30 days past due. In January 2021, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates, and their year-over-year changes, were as follows: Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.3%, down from 1.7% in January 2020.

(30 to 59 days past due): 1.3%, down from 1.7% in January 2020. Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.5%, down from 0.6% in January 2020.

(60 to 89 days past due): 0.5%, down from 0.6% in January 2020. Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 3.8%, up from 1.2% in January 2020 but 0.5 percentage points below the August 2020 peak.

(90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 3.8%, up from 1.2% in January 2020 but 0.5 percentage points below the August 2020 peak. Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, down from 0.4% in January 2020.

(the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, down from 0.4% in January 2020. Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 0.7%, up from 0.6% in January 2020. For families experiencing financial distress, the year began on an encouraging note with delinquencies the lowest they've been since the onset of the pandemic. However, millions of homeowners remain in mortgage forbearance plans that were originally scheduled to begin expiring in March 2021. To proide additional time for owners to regain their financial footing and support during the recovery, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced a six-month extension of forbearance for Government-Sponsored Enterprise loans.



"While delinquency rates are higher than we would like to see, they continue to decline," said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "At the same time, foreclosure rates remain at historic lows. This is a good sign, and considering the improving picture regarding the pandemic and climbing employment rates, we are looking at the potential for a strong year of recovery." "The transition rate from current to delinquent this January was the lowest in twelve months, which is another hopeful sign that family finances are beginning to improve," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist at CoreLogic. "Further, the transition from 30- to 60-day delinquency was the lowest since last March and is likely to decline further with strong job growth. The consensus view among economists is that the 2021 economy will expand at the fastest rate since 1984."

State and Metro Takeaways: All U.S. states and nearly all metro areas logged increases in annual overall delinquency rates in January.

Hawaii and Nevada (up 4.2 and 4.1 percentage points, respectively) logged the largest annual increase in overall delinquency rates, as these states are dependent on tourism, which has been slow to recover.

Among metros, Odessa, Texas, experienced the largest annual increase with 9.7 percentage points as the area is still recovering from significant job loss in the oil industry.

Other metro areas with significant overall delinquency increases included Midland, Texas (up 7.7 percentage points) and Kahului, Hawaii (up 7 percentage points). The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on May 11, 2021, featuring data for February 2021. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Insights Blog: www.corelogic.com/insights. Methodology The data in The CoreLogic LPI (News - Alert) report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through January 2021. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data. Source (News - Alert) : CoreLogic The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient's publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient's parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Amy Brennan at newsmedia@corelogic.com. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources. About CoreLogic CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), the leading provider of property insights and solutions, promotes a healthy housing market and thriving communities. Through its enhanced property data solutions, services and technologies, CoreLogic enables real estate professionals, financial institutions, insurance carriers, government agencies and other housing market participants to help millions of people find, buy and protect their homes. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005320/en/

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Haiti - COVID-19: There is no crisis between the WHO and Haiti





Friday, April 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed that there was no crisis between the institution and Haiti after the rejection by Haiti of the 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that the WHO had offered free of charge via the COVAX mechanism.



"There is no crisis between PAHO/WHO and Haiti. Our mission is to provide technical support and recommendations to the Haitian government, which makes its own decisions independently," said a spokesperson at WHO office in Haiti.



Haiti is one of only four countries in the world not to have started vaccinating against Covid-19.



WHO recalls that the distribution of the vaccine, according to the plans of the Haitian Government, will be done in two successive phases : a first delivery of doses to immunize 3% of the population, followed by a distribution of vaccines to be administered to 17% of the population.



As part of this plan, "756,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines, corresponding to the first allocation of 3%, were to be delivered by the end of May to populations identified as priorities by the Haitian government," specified the office of the WHO.



Recall that Haiti is one of the 92 low-income countries that has obtained FREE access to Covid-19 vaccines through Gavi's COVAX AMC mechanism, which, like the rest of the participating countries, has awarded a number of doses Haiti to vaccinate 20% of its population by the end of 2021.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33448-haiti-health-the-minister-of-health-wants-another-vaccine-than-astrazeneca.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-33423-haiti-flash-haiti-refuses-a-donation-of-756-000-doses-of-the-who-astrazeneca-vaccine.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Celebrity musician Samuel Muchoki who is popularly known as Samidoh says his quest to become part of Kenyas disciplined services started at the National Youth Service(NYS).

Narrating his journey to Daniel Churchill Ndambuki, the vernacular musician said he was expelled from the NYS while trying to become a police officer.

Samidoh told Churchill that he snuck out of the NYS Training School in Gilgil to participate in a police recruitment drive.

I jumped out of the fence to participate in an Administration Police recruitment drive in Ol Joro Orok, Nyandarua County. Unfortunately, I was not selected to join and had to go back to NYS. I found out they had already noticed my disappearance but they did not make a big deal out of it, I was just expelled, he narrated.

Samidoh then went back home and found employment at a flower farm with the assistance of the local District Commissioner.

Fortunately, he was computer savvy and was appointed a data entry clerk. He said he used his earnings from the job to enroll in a diploma course.

Samidoh, however, still harbored dreams of joining the disciplined services. He tried his luck in a Kenya Defence Forces recruitment drive but was turned down due to his slim physical appearance.

He would later try his luck to join the Administration Police service where he has been serving to date.

Samidoh joined the service in 2013 and went through 15 months of training before graduating in 2014. His first operation was in Eastleigh, Nairobi after which he was posted to Mpeketoni in Lamu, County.

After serving in the Coast region, he was transferred to Dadaab in Garissa County. It was during his posting to Daadab that he reawakened his singing talent.

I was off duty in October 2016 when I composed the first song that brought me to the limelight. I never knew it would become an instant hit until I heard it being requested and played on the mainstream media repeatedly, he said.

The track dubbed Ndiri mutwe mwega, which translates to I dont have a straight mind was inspired by the anger Samidoh had.

Ninety percent of the song is a true story, while the rest is art, he explained.

On his recent infidelity scandal with Karen Nyamu, Samidoh said his wife of 10 years helped him overcome the tough times through prayer.

I had to own up to my mistakes so I could start healing. I would have pretended that I dont care but deep down I felt I needed to do the right thing.
"When I accepted this, I never thought this would be history-making and that it would gain traction from the Filipino people, says oceanographer Deo Florence Onda over a call, referring to the invite to descend into Emden Deep with Caladan Oceanic  the private company who has shattered records with their deep sea explorations.

The surreal life of the microbial oceanographer  from studying epiphytic microalgae interactions (which, in part, control available resources for their host seaweed) and how microplastics and pollution affect marine microbial communities to advocacies like defending the sovereignty of the West Philippine Sea and even driving frontliners to work during the pandemic  are themselves the product of serendipity: A missed application into medical school led him to enroll in the Marine Science Institute, where he fell in love with fieldwork and research, a chance encounter enabled him to enroll in a Ph.D. and become an expedition scientist in the Arctic, an email out of nowhere from an expedition hed been following digitally enabled him to take the kind of dive scientists only dream of: the record-setting descent into the third deepest spot on Earth, Emden Deep.

Now a decade since his graduation from the institute, Deo has found his way back as an assistant professor, the deputy director of research at the U.P. Marine Science Institute (MSI), and the head of his own laboratory: the Microbial Oceanography Laboratory.

Deo Onda and explorer Victor Vescovo inside the full-ocean-depth rated submersible, Limiting Factor as part of Caladan Oceanic's 2021 "Ring of Fire Pt II" Expeditions. Screencap from CALADAN OCEANIC/YOUTUBE

Onda spoke to CNN Philippines Life about the promises of deep sea exploration, what has changed about marine research since the pandemic, and why microbial oceanography matters to the Philippine community.

How did you start out with your career as a microbial oceanographer?

The goal was really to go to med school. I never thought to be an oceanographer. But early on, andoon na yung marine science. I grew up in Palawan. The nurturing [environment] and being out by the sea prepared me to go where I am now. After a year [in MSI], I gave up the thought of the med school even if there were possibilities and opportunities. But my parents were very supportive.

When I was in MSI, I was introduced to Dr. Arturo Lluisma  hes a molecular biologist  and I fell in love with genetics. My thesis adviser at the time was Dr. Rhodora Azanza, and I got involved in a program that allowed me to combine the best of both worlds: the microbiology with Dr. Azanza and then genetics and molecular methods with Dr. Lluisma.

Through international conferences, I met my eventual thesis adviser: Dr. Connie Lovejoy. Nagkaroon siya ng opening sa Quebec, sa Canada. Hindi ko pa alam yung field ng microbial oceanography at the time, actually. Ang alam ko lang marine microbiology. Parang crossroads yun at the time  do I go to Germany or Canada? Pero when I went to Canada, ang tinanong lang niya sa akin: Gusto mo bang mag-Arctic? Eh my dream in life before was to see the aurora borealis. So I closed the deal and went to Canada. (Laughs)

I got to go to the Arctic a couple of times  andoon yung field work, yung molecular methods, yung microbiology, but now Im looking at it on this larger scale, which is the ocean. It was in Canada that I found out about the emerging field of microbial oceanography  looking at how microbial communities vary and are affected by the physical environment, which is the ocean, and how the biology is affected by functions and processes within the ocean.

Onda spoke to CNN Philippines Life about the promises of deep sea exploration, what has changed about marine research since the pandemic, and why microbial oceanography matters to the Philippine community.

What made you return to the Philippines?

In 2017, I went home for a few months for a vacation. The plan was to continue to a postdoc in Germany for three to five years. I was debating whether or not to accept the invitation [from MSI], at least for a presentation because theyve been asking me to present for over a year. But it was too early. I still needed to train myself and get more experience since my field is still in its infancy so alam kong mahihirapan ako.

Nung nagbabakasyon ako sa Palawan, yung bahay namin nasa harap ng dagat at naglalakad ako tuwing umaga. One day, I saw a couple of children playing by the shore. Medyo melodramatic, pero totoo kasi ito. Naglalakad ako at nagbabatuhan sila ng seaweed. Tapos nabato ako. Sabi nung mga bata: Sorry at sabi ko na Okay lang.

Tapos sinabi niya: Kuya, ano kaya ito? Hawak niya yung seaweed [Sargassum] at pinakita niya sa akin. Syempre, biologist ako. So nag-explain ako ng todo and then, the conversation went on: from one question, naging dalawa. Nag-expand yung topic namin: from seaweed to corals to fisheries and kung ano-ano.

Siguro we were talking for an hour and tuwang-tuwa ako. Then towards the end, sabi niya: Bakit ang dami mong alam? Ano bang trabaho mo? Ano ka ba? Syempre may konting kilig at the time kasi kakatapos lang ng Ph.D. ko. Sinabi ko para akong doktor pero mas nagpakadalubhasa ako para sa dagat. Before we ended the conversation, sinabi niya sa akin: Alam mo kuya, may bago akong pangalan para sa iyo: Doktor ka ng dagat.

"One thing that we really need to acknowledge is that some research, especially siguro with field research, is essential work."

The following day, nandoon ako sa palengke at may mga matatandang sumusunod sa akin. Sabi nila: Kuya, ikaw ba yung kausap nung anak ko kahapon? Yung kalaro nila sa dagat? So tinanong ko kung may problema ba at sabi lang nila: Hindi! Pag-uwi kasi sa bahay, kung anu-ano yung kinukwento. Sabi niya nalaman daw niya dahil sa iyo.

Alam mo, yung anak ko, gusto na ring maging doktor ng dagat. Mahirap ba iyon? So kwinento ko naman sa kanya na may mga scholarships naman: mula high school hanggang maging doktor; in-explain ko na mayroon namang pupuntahan.

That conversation hit me hard after. If I can inspire one person or one child to pursue something na mahirap intindihin for their age, I think thats enough reason to stay. It changed my perspective: baka mas kailangan ako sa Pilipinas.

Sa ibang bansa, a biologist or a scientist, Filipino or not, youre just one of the many. If I stayed in Germany, I would probably be one of hundreds of microbial oceanographers. Pero sa Pilipinas, at least at that time, by degree  walang microbial oceanographer. Doon ako napaisip: Saan ba ako mas kailangan?

What prompted you to explore the depths of the Emden Deep? What was the preparation process like, especially considering the pandemic?

Caladan Oceanic has been doing expeditions since 2013 or 2015. I first followed their story around 2019, about the Five Deeps expedition: five deepest trenches in five different continents. Victor Vescovo is an accomplished explorer in terms of summiting the seven summits of the world. What he then did was he wanted to explore the deepest oceans. He worked with Triton Submarines in the US to develop a submersible that could repeatedly go to the depths of the ocean. If you look into the deep sea expeditions, most of the submersibles before he entered the scene were used only once and never nang nagamit ulit.

In 2020, around March, I received an email from Eyos Expedition inviting me to the Emden Deep. So it wasnt an active decision on my part. I just randomly received that email inviting me to collaborate and go with them to the Emden Deep. But because of the pandemic, the initial plan (which was August) was moved to November.

In November, we were trying to get a marine scientific research permit from the Philippine government. But after bureaucracy, administrative delays, hindi nagawa yung MOA [Memorandum of Agreement]... by November 2020, na-cancel na siya. They decided na hindi na siya kayang habulin because the entire expedition shouldve been done by 2020 and funding was ending. It was a missed opportunity, pero okay lang.

Then they emailed me again in January this year. Pero hindi na kayang gawin yung science. So this was classified as non-marine scientific research. They just wanted to dive, visit the Emden Deep, set the record, and they wanted me to be the Filipino. Akala ko yung invitation nila was to just go to the trench on the surface to observe. It was just around February or March, nung paalis na ako, when I realized na I was going to be in the submersible and I was going 10,000 meters down.

Part of Caladan Oceanics advocacy is to invite a local from the country where the trench is located. I guess the more appropriate question would be: Why was I invited?

I dont know. There was no explanation. I didnt know the process of how they came up with a name. I tried asking this question because no one explained to me kung bakit ako. It was during the ascent after the dive. We talked about a lot of things, but then I asked: Actually Victor, Im still wondering: Why am I here? Why was I invited? Of all the people and of all the Filipino scientists whove done greater things compared to me, and I think a lot of other personalities, why did I receive that email?

And sinabi lang niya: Thats how it happens, Deo. One day, youll just receive an email. Theres no clear process on how they do it. He said: We went through a couple of names, Filipino names, and we decided to invite you. Think of it as an acknowledgement of what youve done  of your advocacies, of your achievements. The reason why youre here is because youre acknowledged and that youve done things that deserve to be acknowledged.

The last time we spoke, we talked about how difficult it is to continue with marine science research given the lockdowns. How has the marine science research community adapted to these changes in fieldwork protocols? What more do you think we can do to support marine scientists?

I think in general, nakabalik na paunti-unti but then again, you have this lockdown so affected talaga kami. Marami talaga sa amin ang hindi pa nakapag-deliver kasi we are a field-based and lab-based institute. So hindi kami makakagawa ng kahit ano kung restricted kami.

One thing that we really need to acknowledge is that some research, especially siguro with field research, is essential work. There are certain scientific activities that we cannot abruptly stop kasi, halimbawa yung giant clams namin, kung hindi namin yung binisita... anong mangyayari? Halimbawa, yung mga cultures namin sa lab, pag pinabayaan namin yun, years and years of hard work would actually just go to waste kasi mamatay yung mga yun, and bread and butter siya nung iba naming activities. So I hope that some of the research activities will be recognized as essential work during this period.

Siguro, another support would be the admin part. Yun lang talaga. The administration, especially the U.P. administration, needs to come up with more innovative and drastic changes in how we run systems, especially accounting. Kasi kailangan na kailangan talaga.

Whats one thing as a marine microbial oceanographer that you wish more people knew about? Or a common misconception that youd immediately like to dispel?

I think a common misconception is that lahat marunong lumangoy. (Laughs) Ako, laki ako sa dagat. I know how to swim. Pero not all marine scientists are actually good swimmers. Thats one thing.

I think we know how to enjoy ourselves. We get drunk when we want and yet we accomplish things the following day.

Marine science is not equal to marine biology. There are a lot of interesting fields in the marine sciences. Youve got the physical oceanography, marine biotechnology, molecular ecology, transdisciplinary research, etc. So yun. There are lots of subspecialties in the marine sciences.

What are your hopes for the future marine scientists and future marine science researchers?

We are a country made up of 80-82% water and yet we only have a couple of oceanographers, and only a few marine scientists. I think it is high time to build more capacity and build more expertise in these fields. Primarily because there is no other way for development but to actually go to the blue oceans and thats blue economy. I hope that as a maritime nation, as a Filipino, as an archipelagic country, we will be reminded that we are actually maritime people: mga taong dagat tayo.

However, I think, at some point, we lost that connection, that we are actually connected to the oceans. Sana we can remind ourselves of that. I think that by reminding ourselves that we are very much dependent on the oceans, we would also care more about it  wed put more emphasis on policies for its preservation, conservation, and sustainable management.

The other thing is that, you dont need to be a marine scientist to contribute to the protection and the development of the marine environment. We need more law experts on the seas. We need more engineers. We need more policymakers. We need more environmental managers. So theres actually a lot of opportunities for Filipinos, especially the young Filipinos, to go on a career that is related to the oceans but not necessarily being a marine scientist and we need more trans- and interdisciplinary research.

Its the Decade of Ocean Science from 2021-2030 and I hope in our own little way, well be able to contribute to the protection and preservation of our marine environment and marine heritage. From the vastness of the West Philippine sea to the new wonders in the northeastern Philippines and even to the undiscovered regions in the Philippine trench.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
US Embassy warns of 'high' terror threat in Indonesia after church bombing

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The U.S. Embassy in Indonesia has issued a security alert for American citizens, asking them to maintain increased security awareness and heightened vigilance at places of worship following a slew of terrorist attacks, including a church bombing on Palm Sunday.

The U.S. Embassy encourages American citizens in Indonesia to maintain increased security awareness, reads the notice issued last Wednesday. Indonesian authorities warn that the terrorism threat level remains high.

The warning comes after two suspected terrorists attacked a church in Makassar, Sulawesi, on March 28 and after an assailant with an Airsoft gun attacked the Indonesian National Police headquarters in South Jakarta on March 31.

According to the alert, national police may visibly increase its presence at Indonesian government buildings, tourist sites, churches, malls and other venues.

The U.S. Embassy advises heightened personal security awareness, particularly in public areas.

The embassy also asks American citizens to exercise additional vigilance, especially in places of worship, crowded streets, shopping areas and locations with large crowds.

People are also advised to avoid demonstrations and large gatherings. People should also refrain from displaying signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive jewelry or watches.

Persecution watchdog International Christian Concern reports that the two terror attacks in recent weeks, along with the arrest of nearly 100 suspects, reveals that terrorism is a significant concern for the government.

The U.S.-based nonprofit notes that pro-Islamic State cells and lone wolves still pose severe threats in the country, though they are not as powerful as before, thanks to anti-terrorism efforts.

At least 20 people were injured in the March church attack, and the perpetrators  a newly-married couple in their 20s  were killed. The pair are believed to have been affiliated with Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), a local extremist group that pledged its allegiance to the Islamic State.

The JAD, Indonesias most active terror cell for the last two years, was also behind coordinated attacks on three churches on May 13, 2018, in Surabaya that killed at least 13 people. Those churches include Immaculate Saint Mary Catholic Church, Indonesia Christian Church and Surabaya Central Pentecost Church.

JAD "participates in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities" in conjunction with groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida, according to the United Nations Security Council.

Muhammad Syauqillah, head of the University of Indonesias terrorism studies program, told The Australian that many terrorists believed they would receive religious rewards twofold if they carried out an attack in the holy month of Ramadan, which this year runs from April 12 to May 12.

Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.

President Joko Widodo condemned last month's bombing and instructed security forces to unearth the terror networks down to their roots.

Terrorism is a crime against humanity and is not at all related to any religion, he said. I ask every member of the public to fight terrorism and radicalism that go against the values of religion and our culture as a country that respects multiculturalism.

Indonesia, where Christians form about 10% of the population, is ranked No. 47 on Open Doors USAs World Watch List of countries where Christians face the greatest levels of persecution.
The United States on Monday (local time) extended support to in its decision to release contaminated water from the wrecked atomic power station into the sea, stating that Tokyo appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards.

Ned Price, US Department of State spokesperson in a press statement said, "The United States is aware that the Government of (GOJ) examined several options related to the management of the treated water currently being stored onsite at the Daiichi site. In this unique and challenging situation, has weighed the options and effects, has been transparent about its decision, and appears to have adopted an approach in accordance with globally accepted nuclear safety standards. We look forward to the GOJ's continued coordination and communication as it monitors the effectiveness of this approach."

Japan, in close coordination with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has taken measures to manage the aftermath of the Daiichi nuclear accident in March 2011, including radiation monitoring, remediation, waste management, and decommissioning, the US State Department said.

The Fukushima Daiichi has been generating massive amount of radiation-water since the accident triggered by the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami as it needs water to cool the reactors.

Japan announced its decision on the Basic Policy on Handling of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) Treated Water to dispose of the treated water by discharging it into the sea.

(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 crisis has had a huge impact on jobs and may have changed the labour market forever. John Martin, OECD Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, explains the challenges facing policymakers in the years and decades ahead.

What impact has the crisis had on unemployment? John Martin: The crisis is unlike anything we 've experienced before. The oil crisis of the early 1970s led to massive hikes in unemployment in almost all OECD countries . This time the impact has been very different from country to country . At one end of the spectrum, there's been almost no increase in unemployment in countries like t he Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Switzerland and Korea where joblessness is still at 3 to 4%. In Germany, unemployment has actually fallen. At the other end, more than one in five Spaniards in the labour force are out of work. Countries have also reacted in very different ways. In some, firms have carried out massive layoffs, like in Ireland, Spain and the United States. In others, firms have kept workers on the payroll but put them on shorter working hours . We've seen that in Belgium, Germany, France and Italy , and also outside Europe , in Japan and Korea. Have labour laws been found wanting in any way? The crisis has definitely raised a debate around labour laws that protect workers rather than jobs. The best illustration is Spain. It has traditionally had very high protection for workers on permanent contracts and much less for people on temporary contracts. This led to a growing dualisation of the labour market, also found in some other European countries like Italy, France and Greece. The OECD has been arguing for many years that it's desirable to shift that balance: on the one hand there ought to be less protection for permanent workers and more for temporary workers-backed at the same time by a much more effective activation strategy. The Spanish government did not grasp this nettle before the crisis, but now it has moved significantly in that direction with its most recent reforms. In a sense the crisis highlighted the problem, and the markets and public opinion forced a change. Some people are saying that European countries with less flexible labour markets, like Germany, seem to have come out better than more flexible countries like the US. Would you agree? That comparison is overdrawn. There's no doubt that the way in which collective bargaining, unions and employers responded to the crisis in Germany was very different than in the US. That's due a lot to history, and the strengths of unions and employer associations and their ability to work together. But at the same time the German labour market became much more flexible in the years leading up to the crisis, and in particular the reforms by the Schroeder government, the so-called Hartz reforms, really did make a difference in making the labour market more flexible, and encouraging unions and employers to be more consensual in their negotiations when the crisis hit the economy in 2008. With regard to the US, there are very few short-time working schemes in place so it's not surprising that when the crisis hit, firms laid off workers in large numbers. A key issue is how quickly they will start to rehire. The economy has been in recovery for over a year, but the private sector has yet to start rehiring in anything like sufficient numbers to make inroads into the unemployment rate, which is stuck around 9.5%. The real worry is that many of those people have been out of work for a long time: currently over 40% have been unemployed for over 6 months, close to a post-war high. There are two sides in this debate: one school of thought exemplified by Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, says the main problem is that there has been a mismatch in the US economy between the skills that firms want and the skills that unemployed people have. On the other hand, economists like Paul Krugman are saying that there's always been some degree of skills mismatch but in the current circumstances it's the drop in demand which has been the main cause of high unemployment. I have more sympathy with the Krugman school, at least in the short run. But the more entrenched high unemployment remains, the more the skills of those unemployed people atrophy and the more difficult it is for them to be competitive in the labour market once firms start hiring again. And then you have high unemployment becoming structural, meaning that even an upturn won't make rapid inroads into reducing unemployment, and that's the real risk in the US at the moment. When do you think the jobs situation will start to improve? We really need to see when, as we all hope, the recovery becomes more robust. That's going to depend to some extent on resolving several problems in financial markets, government budgets, global trade issues and so on. But let's assume the world economy recovers more strongly than at present. The countries that have seen the biggest rises in unemployment will face a new challenge in trying to bring it down to more acceptable levels. Past experience tells us that when you have big, sudden jumps in unemployment, it usually takes five to ten years to unwind much of that jump. And even when you do, in some cases you never get back to pre-crisis levels of unemployment. You actually come out of a crisis with a higher underlying rate of unemployment, and that's a big risk for countries like the US, Ireland, Spain and Iceland right now. In the US even the most optimistic commentators are talking about five years or more to get back to an unemployment rate of 5%. Many of these workers will find another job but some could end up unemployed for years to come. If we look further ahead, what other issues in the job market need to be tackled? Skills. Over the medium term, this is going to become very important. It's been overshadowed by the immediate effects of the crisis but looking ahead, particularly in the context of ageing populations and workforces and the rise of emerging economies, the OECD countries must continue investing in developing their skills. They are going to have to sort out mismatches in skills embodied in the workforce and the skills firms are demanding. That means putting more emphasis on skill formation and taking lifelong learning much more seriously as a policy goal. The sad fact is that most investment in skilling ends by the time people are in their late 30s. In the future OECD countries will need to invest much more in mid-career, say in the 40-55 age bracket. That's going to be a big challenge for OECD countries for the next decade or two, and governments need to get the message across to workers that they need to be thinking constantly about upgrading the value of their skills.
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An explosion of cases of the Brazilian coronavirus variant in Canada shows how even strict quarantine hotels cannot completely block troubling strains from crossing borders, experts warned today.

Scientists told MailOnline it was 'inevitable' when dealing with highly infectious new variants that they find a way to 'leak' out of the isolation scheme  which is also being used in Britain. This usually happens via a staff member or a lapse in infection control practices.

Despite having one of the strictest isolation rules for arrivals in the West, Canada has suffered the largest outbreak of the P.1 variant outside of Brazil itself and has reported large flare-ups in several provinces in recent days.

Officials in British Columbia closed the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort after 877 cases of the highly infectious P.1 strain were found in the province, with a quarter linked to world-famous resort. It's still a mystery to health officials how the variant arrived to the resort.

More than 100 people have caught the strain in both Alberta and in Ontario in the past week, many of which had no international travel links, suggesting the variant is spreading in the community.

Professor Lawrence Young, a microbiologist at the University of Warwick, claimed it was impossible to pinpoint exactly how the Brazilian strain was imported. But he said with Canada's ultra-strict hotel quarantine rules in place, it likely was likely introduced to the community via a staff member.

Professor Young told MailOnline: 'The point with restricting contacts and containing variants is you have to be mega, mega strict or it is inevitable with a very, very infectious virus [that it will be passed on].

'There have been other cases leaking from strict hotel quarantines in Australia  it could be that hotel workers are being too liberal and interacting with patients while giving them food. Transmission in quarantine hotels is well documented in staff.'

Canada's quarantine system is stricter than the one in Britain, with every citizen arriving in the North American nation for 'non-essential' reasons required to isolate in a Government-approved hotel, no matter which country they came from. They must isolate for 14 days regardless of whether they test negative in that time.

In Britain, only UK nationals who have visited or passed through 40 'red countries', where troublesome variants are widespread and infection rates are high, are required to go into a quarantine hotel for 10 days. Exemptions include emergencies, visiting critically ill relatives or attending a funeral.

Cases are on the rise again in Canada, which has struggled to get its vaccination programme up and running. A lack of jabs and explosion of cases of new variants has been blamed for the surge

Deaths, which lag three weeks behind infection trends, have not started to rise significantly yet, shows this chart by the Oxford University-led Our World in Data

Canada has vaccinated just 15 per cent of its population with one dose so far, compared to more than 60 per cent in the UK and a third of Americans

Rising: This graphic reveals the rising number of COVID cases in British Columbia in Canada - since March almost 900 cases of the more infectious and deadly Brazilian P.1 variant have been reported in the province

The Whistler Blackcomb ski resort (file image) was forced to shut down after officials confirmed more than 800 cases of the highly contagious Brazil COVID-19 variant in British Columbia

Canadian health officials are now concerned about the spread of the variant to British Columbia's largest city Vancouver which is around 60 Miles from Whistler

The variants spotted in the UK so far: The South African strain (B1351) has been spotted 544 times, second only to the dominant Kent variant (B117). There have been just 36 detections of the Brazilian strain (P1)

Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, holds up his laptop to the window of his room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near London Heathrow Airport in February, protesting against the mandatory isolation rules

Professor Lawrence said that while the hotels will catch the majority of variant cases, there were always going to be some that slip through the cracks.

He said: 'There are so many variables when it comes to these variants, they are much more transmissible and infectious so they don't need as much social contact to spread around.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN P1 VARIANT? What is the P1 Brazilian variant and why are scientists worried? The P1 variant is one of two that have been discovered in Brazil and is the more worrying of the two because of a key mutation called E484K. E484K has been found on the South African variant and studies suggest it changes the shape of the virus in a way that alters how the immune system recognises it. The body uses highly specific proteins called antibodies to tackle the virus when it gets into the body, and antibodies made to fit one virus generally won't fit another. If the coronavirus mutates too much it can start to look like a different virus and antibodies made in response to an older variant might not recognise the new one as well. This can lower the success rate they have when attacking the new strain. This appears to be happening with the South African variant and the P1 Brazilian strain, making reinfections and, in theory, infection after vaccination more likely. However, the virus is still recognised by most of the immune system and scientists are confident immunity will work across the board at preventing death and severe illness. Antibodies are only one part of the immune system  an easily measured part, which is why they are useful in studies  and other substances such as white blood cells can boost people's immunity but may be harder to measure in studies. Where is the variant in the UK? Thirty-six cases of positive tests caused by the P1 variant have been detected in the UK. There has been a ban on travellers coming into the country from Brazil since mid-January  even if they come through another country  but it does not apply to UK citizens or people with residence visas. The six people arrived before the hotel quarantine policy started on February 15. Will vaccines still work against it? Scientists expect the current vaccines to prevent death and serious illness caused by the P1 variant, but they may be less effective than they were in trials. This is because of its ability to dodge some of the immune cells made in response to other strains of the virus, explained above. This may mean that the body makes fewer antibodies to tackle the virus, but studies on the South African variant have shown people still appear to make enough of the antibodies to make themselves immune. Will the variant become dominant here? It is very unlikely that the P1 variant will become dominant in the UK in the near future. It carries the same mutation that makes the Kent strain spread so much faster than its predecessor  a change named N501Y  which means it is quick to transmit. But this means it is probably equally fast-spreading as the Kent variant, and the UK variant is already dominant and widespread. For another strain to knock it off the top spot it must be even faster to transmit, which does not appear to be the case. The possibility of it becoming dominant later, however, lies in its ability to 'escape' some people's immune systems, as explained above. If Britain gets herd immunity from a vaccine that stops the Kent variant spreading  which the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs appear to do  then a variant that is able to escape this immunity could have an advantage and become more common, potentially taking over as the dominant strain. Advertisement

'By the time you first identify them they're already out there already and have spread in several countries which makes it impossible to monitor everyone.'

Latest figures from the Government's Test and Trace programme show about 1,600 Brits are quarantining in the facilities every week.

But the Department of Health does not reveal how many arrivals test positive for new variants, which makes it difficult to judge the scheme's success.

Critics, including several backbench Tory MPs, have branded the hotels a breach of people's human rights and claim there is no proof they are working. Travellers are also forced to cover their own expenses.

Countries in Europe and North America introduced the policy after its success in Australia and New Zealand, where daily infections have been limited to double-digits for most of the pandemic.

But there have been a number of instances of the virus leaking out of hotels since the mandatory order was introduced for international arrivals in March last year.

A review into Australia's second wave of coronavirus in Melbourne in summer last year found that 90 per cent of cases were linked to a single family that quarantined in a hotel.

It led to the banning of outdoor exercise, limiting movement to hotel rooms only and ensuring all staff wore personal protective equipment at all times.

Yet even with the heightened measures there have still been several cases of infections of cleaners and security guards at hotels in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, particularly since the emergence of new, more transmissible variants of the virus.

Public Health England data shows there have been 544 cases of the South African variant, the one that is causing scientists the most concern, in the UK and 36 P.1 infections, despite the scheme being in place since January.

UK Government scientists believe the South African strain, known officially as B1351, makes the current vaccines 30 per cent less effective at stopping symptomatic infections.

A review by SAGE found the variant was able to infect patients who had survived older strains and data suggested some vaccinated patients will still catch it. But the expert group stressed it is still not clear 'what the implications are for protection from severe disease'.

B1351 has three key mutations on its spike protein which help it 'hide' from the immune system, known as E484K, N501Y and K417N. Covid uses its spike to latch onto human cells and the current crop of vaccines have been designed to train people's bodies to recognise that protein.

The Brazilian version appears less vaccine-resistant than B1351, but is still more contagious and more capable of reinfecting people than older strains.

In Canada, a slow vaccine rollout and rise in new variants has caused parts of the country to retreat back into lockdown, just as US states start to loosen curbs.

In the most populous province of Ontario all schools will be shut down and move to online learning because of a record number of coronavirus infections fueled by more-contagious virus variants, Ontario's premier announced yesterday.

Doug Ford said his government is moving schools to online-only after the April break this week. Schools in Canada's largest city of Toronto  which is in the province  were already shut since last Wednesday. Ontario is now seeing more than 4,000 new infections a day in recent days and record intensive care numbers.

Canada has vaccinated just 15 per cent of its population with one dose so far, compared to more than 60 per cent in the UK and a third of Americans.

A failure to secure early deals with pharmaceutical companies or fund research into its own vaccine trials has been blamed for the sluggish rollout.

The Government, faced with soaring infection rates and a wave of cases of new variants, has had to pivot its roll-out strategy to utilise its scarce doses.

Like the UK, Canada initially prioritised long-term care home residents and staff for the vaccines, as well as the very elderly, and health and care workers.

But now school staff, bus drivers and meatpackers will be targeted ahead of the middle-aged and senior citizens, who are more likely to die from the virus, in a bid to clamp down on Covid transmission at its core.

Vaccine advisors in the UK previously warned against this strategy, claiming that it would complicate and slow down the distribution of jabs.


Two New York state senators describe working in Albany as a toxic environment for women.

NY State Sen. Julia Salazar (D-Brooklyn) told The New York Times on Monday that an older state senator once told her she looked like a Bond girl while in the legislative chamber.

It seemed odd for my male colleague to say that, she told the newspaper.

Salazar, 30, only identified the senator as a Republican who has since retired, but said shes also experienced other encounters that made her uncomfortable since being elected in 2018. During a 2019 fundraiser outside the Capitol, another legislators staffer allegedly told her you should be on a calendar and she described feeling so embarrassed that she left the event.

The Times interviewed more than 30 women and men, including aides, lobbyists, government officials and elected leaders, who described a predatory and misogynistic culture. One described a male aide squeezing a female colleagues leg so hard he left bruise marks, and another said a photo of a staffer in a bikini was displayed during a meeting she was in.

Fellow State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (D-Bronx/Westchester) suggested they were emboldened by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is currently facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Theres a whole community of very smart people who are jaded by the abusive behavior and accept it as normal and dont do anything about it, Biaggi told the Times. If they see the person at the highest level get away with it, and they align themselves with that person, then theyll get away with it too.

Update: A senior advisor for Cuomo responded to Biaggis comments.

Alessandra Biaggi has chronically misrepresented her role during her brief time in the governors office. The governor did not substantively interact with her when she worked there  further, the majority of the senior staff never knew who she was or that she worked in the office until she left and ran for office, Richard Azzopardi said.

The New York Post reports Biaggi, who worked in the governors office before she was elected in 2018, and Salazar have both called for Cuomos resignation.

Cuomo, whos also facing questions about his handling of data on Covid-19 deaths in state nursing homes, has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including current and former staffers. He has denied touching anyone inappropriately but said hes sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable. An impeachment investigation began last month in the New York State Assembly.

On Twitter, Salazar said shes experienced both sexual harassment and gender-based harassment in Albany. She thanked others who have supported her and others who have spoken out against inappropriate behavior.

Things are changing in Albany because courageous people are standing up and saying NO, she tweeted. No to gender-based harassment. No to sexual harassment. No to powerful men abusing their staff. Thank you to every person whos stood up. You are helping us defeat these hideous things.
Cotswold based couple James and Katie Allen have been able to pursue their farming dream through conservation grazing.

James and Katie Allen have grown their conservation grazing business, Heritage Graziers, despite having no farm and no existing ties to agriculture.

They balance the running of the business alongside looking after five children and Jamess full-time day job in education software.

James grew up a long way from the world of agriculture in South East London: Farming was something that had never occurred to me as a career, he noted.

Once a year we would go to visit some distant family members who had a farm and we would help out with lambing, but beyond that I had no involvement in agriculture.

After finishing school, James went to the University of Nottingham where he studied civil engineering, before becoming a specialist in oceanography.

At 27 he used the data analysis skills gained from his degree to train in computer programming. None of this seemed to be leading to a future in farming.

Then around 15 years ago I was living with my first wife and for no real reason I really fancied keeping pigs, James said.

I found a family in our village and together we kept a few pigs at a time for five years, until I went through a divorce and moved away.

He later met Katie who was living in Cornwall running a smallholding and a couple of years later they moved in together in the Cotswolds, where James was living.

Katie owned a small flock of sheep at the time, bought with the intention of setting up a wool enterprise, and she really did not want to be leaving them behind.

I told her she should bring the sheep up to the Cotswolds with her. So, she rented a piece of land for them and brought them with her," James said.

"After a few years looking after the sheep, we decided we wanted to grow the livestock and get some cattle as well.

I began looking into it and I came across conservation grazing. There was the possibility of getting paid to graze your animals, which made us realise that perhaps this was something that could work more seriously, and it set the ball rolling.

Conservation grazing

Conservation grazing uses grazing as a tool to maintain species rich grasslands and ancient wildflower meadows with the focus being on the grazing site not the livestock.

This often involves grazing overwinter to clear off any dead vegetation, then taking the stock off at the end of April for the flowering season, before grazing again at the end of summer.

Rather than it being about rearing cattle to be as productive as possible, conservation grazing is about creating wildflower meadows and species rich habitats that are in the best possible natural condition, James explained.

The couple got their break into farming grazing their sheep on wildflower meadows for private landowners

What is unusual about it is that the grazier is often paid for the grazing services they provide for landowners.

"The livestock do not put on the same condition as they would on typical grassland and you cannot provide supplementary feed, so without a payment it would not be viable.

Ancient wildflower meadows are now extremely rare in the UK, but the Cotswolds is home to an unusually high concentration of them.

James said: A standard ryegrass field is a monoculture, but these meadows are incredibly species rich, sometimes in a 4 metre square you can find 100 orchids.

The couple got their break into farming grazing their cattle and sheep on wildflower meadows for private landowners.

In the summer, they rented pasture from a local semi-retired farmer, where they kept their stock during the flowering season.

Challenges

It has not been plain sailing for the couple since they made their move into farming: Not having our own land makes it really tough," James said.

"The fencing we are dealing with is often poor, as is the access to water and equipment.

"We usually cannot set things up as we would choose to, making it hard work.

For years we had to move the cattle between different sites and none of them had easy access, I have had plenty of scares nearly losing trailers down steep slopes.

"If we were moving 15 cows it would usually take three or four trips, and then there was also the sheep and the large, heavy handling equipment as well.

James and Katie said that balancing the running of the business alongside the rest of their lives is a real challenge.

I also have a full-time day job, James explained. Katie does all the stock checking during the week, then in the evening we get the paperwork done.

"On the weekend we do bigger jobs like putting up electric fencing and moving livestock. That is alongside the usual pressures of dealing with five kids.

Around two years ago the couple were approached by a large estate that wanted them to graze their wildflower meadows and cover crops on their arable land.

There they have focused on helping create and maintain the wildflower meadows on the estate and also improve soil health on floodplain meadows and arable fields by employing regenerative grazing practices.

Conservation grazing uses grazing as a tool to maintain species rich grasslands and ancient wildflower meadows

James said: With that additional work, as well as the birth of our son, I now take one day a fortnight off the day job to devote to the livestock.

"That is making it a bit easier to manage things day to day.

There are other aspects to James and Katies business too; they sell their own meat boxes and Katie has set up a knitwear business, Loopy Ewes, working with the wool from the flock.

Not owning land shuts off other diversification opportunities, so it is important that we make the most of everything we do, James explained.

The meat we are selling is high quality, slow grown, native meat, and so it is a premium product. We put a QR code on it so people can see the exact history of each animal, and we are seeing a strong market for it.

Katie previously worked in marketing which has helped with promoting the meat boxes, as well as with developing her knitwear business, which has proven extremely popular.

Katie originally got the sheep with a view to doing something with the wool, James added.

It is an amazing material, but so much of it goes to waste. Like with the meat boxes, Katie is selling a premium product, with a strong provenance, direct to the consumer.

"It has done extraordinarily well, considering that when she began the venture she knew nothing about textiles.

The future

James and Katie are hoping that they can bring more stability to their business in the future.

James said: What we really dream of is longer term security from a farm tenancy.

"A tenancy would give us the reassurance to invest time and money in setting up systems on farm that would support our grazing methods and enable us to be more efficient and productive.

"We would love to be able to monitor over a long period how land could evolve and flourish under our pasture-based regenerative approach, he added.

Tenancies are incredibly rare, but if we were going to apply for one I think with the experience and stock we now have behind us, we would stand a far better chance than we would have done a few years ago.

The dream is to be in a position where I could give up the day job and look out of my window and see the cows grazing.

James said that he would like to be in a position where he could do more to promote conservation grazing as an opportunity for the younger generation to get into agriculture.

The industry knows it has a problem with the average age of farmers, and it would benefit from having young, enthusiastic new entrants who are not restricted by old habits.

Everyone within the industry has a roll to play in supporting new entrants. It is hard going into agriculture as a new entrant, but if you have confidence and belief it can be done.
KONNOR PERRIN, Chariho boys lacrosse, freshman: Perrin established a school record for assists in a game with nine in the Chargers 22-0 win over Ponaganset. Perrin leads the team with 21 assists to go with 14 goals.

LILA RICH, Stonington girls track, senior: Rich won two events at the ECC Division I track meet. Rich was first in the high jump (5-0) and the pole vault (10-0) as the Bears finished third at the meet.

MADIGAN HILTZ, Westerly boys lacrosse, senior: Hiltz scored seven goals and had three assists in pair of victories for the Bulldogs. Hiltz has 17 goals and seven assists for the season.

ADDIE HAUPTMANN, Wheeler softball, junior: Hauptmann was 4 for 9 with a home run and six RBIs in two games. For the season, Hauptmann is hitting .617 with eight homers and 42 RBIs. She has 50 hits.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP)  Former Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he wasnt sure that he and former President Donald Trump would ever see eye to eye over what happened on Jan. 6 but that he would always be proud of what we accomplished for the American people over the last four years.
The Old Mans Tale by Ian Curwood [The Old Mans Tale] is about failure to appreciate what is really valuable in life, about greed and lust, the betrayal of youth by selfish old age, loneliness, but finally, redemption.

Ian Curwood's The Old Mans Tale opens with George in his old age, lying in bed thinking about his past romantic encounters, their successes and failures, the mistakes he has made, and how he could have done things better. While imagining these encounters, he discovers he has the power to travel back to his youthful years, to relive his life with his mature mind and knowledge. Such a move would be irrevocable, erasing his current life and wiping out his children, but gradually the temptation becomes irresistible. He adores his wife Eleanor, and plans to meet her again, but only once he has had affairs with numerous women. He also intends to become rich by using his knowledge of sporting fixtures which have occurred, betting on them and investing the winnings.

George successfully time-travels back to his university days in a small Welsh town. He is determined to take chances, to live life to the full, and so begins a series of romantic and sexual encounters. He fulfills all his fantasies and becomes rich and successful. Then things begin to go wrong. The scene shifts to London, where he meets his wife Eleanor anew, with unforeseen consequences. Finally, we meet him, an old man again in a hospice, at the end of his second life, plotting to go back yet again, to construct a perfect life. This would erase the children of his second life, but George has become totally self-centered, monstrous.

Ian Curwoods novel includes sexual encounters and is not for children. It is about failure to appreciate what is really valuable in life, about greed and lust, the betrayal of youth by selfish old age, loneliness, but finally, redemption. Apart from time travel, a supernatural thread runs through the novel, focused on the dangers of over-reaching and violating the natural order. It has echoes of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dracula, and Dr Faustus.

The Old Mans Tale is available as an e-book from eBookIt.com, Amazon.com, BN.com, Apple iBooks, and other outlets.

Author Ian Curwood is available for interviews.

About Ian Curwood

Ian Curwood is a psychologist living in the North of England. He is interested in the way people come to terms with their past lives, their successes and regrets, and how they maintain their self respect.

Contact:

Ian Curwood

hassallian@gmail.com

Tel: 00 44 191 266 4990
Threatened species in Gippsland under pressure after vast swaths of their habitat were destroyed in last years catastrophic bushfires are facing a series of planned burns that conservation groups say will deepen the crisis.

With the onset of cooler autumn weather, Victorias planned burn season has begun.

Derek Hayes at the site of a recent planned burn at the Mitchell River National Park, in Gippsland. Credit:Lisa Roberts

Over the next three years Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV)  an agency within the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning  is planning 133 burns in greater Gippsland, covering 62,808 hectares.

Dr Jenny Lau, who manages the extinction program at national bird conservation organisation BirdLife Australia, became aware at the 11th hour of two planned burns that would affect the habitat of the critically endangered glossy black cockatoo at Wombat Track and Tostaree, east of Orbost.
BOISE  After a three day jury trial, a federal jury sitting in Boise found Jordan Michael Drake, 33 of Boise, guilty of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye presided over the trial, which began on April 5th, and concluded with the guilty

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Drake communicated online with an undercover detective posing as a 15-year-old girl. During the communications, Drake attempted to persuade, induce, and entice the minor into engaging in sexual activity with him and requested the minors address so that he could meet with the minor for sexual activity. Drake traveled to an address where he believed the minor resided, where law enforcement officers arrested him.

Online predators who attempt to entice minors take advantage of our most precious resource, our children, said Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez. We are committed to prosecuting dangerous offenders who troll the internet looking to sexually exploit children, and we will continue to work together with our partners to identify these predators and their victims.

The charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor carries aminimum of ten years and up to life in federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and at least five years and up to lifetime of supervised release. The charge of attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor carries a term of up to five years of federal prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and at least five years and up to lifetime of supervised release. Drake will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.

Sentencing is set for July 27, 2021, before Judge Nye at the federal courthouse in Boise.

The investigation was part of Operation Butterball, a joint state and federal undercover operation conducted in Ada County in November 2019 to identify individuals predisposed to meet minors for sexual contact. Participating agencies included Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Idaho Attorney Generals Office, Idaho State Police, Meridian Police Department, United States Postal Inspection Service, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Rupert Police Department, Jerome County Sheriffs Office, Ada County Prosecutors Office, and the United States Attorneys Office.

The collaboration between ICAC and our federal law enforcement partners continues to yield results that help protect Idaho children from online predators, Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said. This conviction and the previous sentences stemming from this operation highlight the partnerships in place between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies that continue to put dangerous individuals in prison and keep them away from our young people.

Drake is among five defendants arrested and charged in federal court as a result of Operation Butterball. Previously, the following defendants were sentenced in federal court:
OPPOSITION big shots say their fight for a better Zimbabwe for all is being slowed down by fear, as authorities continue to crack down on people who stand accused of breaching the countrys laws.

In addition, they are worried that last weeks jailing of MDC Alliance activist, Makomborero Haruzivishe, may be a precursor of worse things to come  especially for prominent opposition politicians who are currently facing various charges at the courts.

Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume and Job Sikhala were among those who told the Daily News at the weekend that they feared that authorities would hammer them in the coming weeks.

This comes as political analysts have warned that the countrys ever bickering opposition faces a heavy shellacking at the 2023 polls, unless it puts its act together quickly.

What is scary is that anyone with a pending case of standing up against (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa is in danger. Its not only me.

There are many in the same position, including Jacob Ngarivhume, Joana Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, Netsai Marowa, Allan Moyo, Takudzwa Ngadziore and many other prominent citizens.

The conviction of Haruzivishe testifies to the absolute extinction of any space for criticism directed at the Mnangagwa regime.

The most hazardous occupation today is criticising the regime. They have turned to terrorism against citizens, Sikhala told the Daily News.

This comes after Haruzivishe was slapped with an effective 14 months in prison for inciting public violence and resisting arrest.

The fearful Sikhala, who is facing charges of inciting public violence together with Ngarivhume, added that opposition figures and other government critics were facing difficult times ahead.

Those with giraffe sight have been giving red alerts to everyone on the dangers posed to the advocates of a free society and of equal opportunities.

The endgame by Mnangagwas regime is to make sure that all his vocal opponents are in prison, to clear the road for his free continued reign against the wishes of our people.

The law is now the most lethal and dangerous weapon against the people of Zimbabwe, Sikhala also said.

The Zengeza West MP was nabbed by police in August last year, having been in hiding for nearly a month, after authorities went on the hunt for some of the leaders of the foiled July 31 anti-government mass protests.

Upon his arrest, police claimed that he had been found hiding in a ceiling at a house in Tynwald North  claims which Sikhala refuted, saying he had a huge frame which made it impossible for him to hide there.

His arrest also sent tongues wagging at the time within opposition ranks, where accusations flew around furiously as to how he ended up being nabbed by authorities.

This comes as MDC Alliance leadership has been accused of calling for protests but failing to lead from the front  like what the much-loved late MDC founding father Morgan Tsvangirai used to do, including when he participated in the Save Zimbabwe march in Harare in 2007.

Then, Tsvangirai and his colleagues such as Tendai Biti, Arthur Mutambara, Grace Kwinjeh, Sekai Holland and Lovemore Madhuku were bludgeoned by heavily-armed police during brutal attacks which saw a shoe cobbler, Gift Tandare, being shot dead.

Meanwhile, Ngarivhume  who is also facing the rap at the courts for calling for protests in 2020  has also warned that the writing is on the wall for pro-democracy activists.

What is more frightening is that we are all in the pipeline to go to jail. While our worry is not necessarily what will befall us, we are concerned about what will happen to our country when all those who have the courage to speak truth to power are sent to jail.

There will be no resistance and the government will plunder resources willy-nilly. That is why the punishment meted out on Haruzivishe is a serious cause for concern and disappointment, Ngarivhume said.

Haruzivishes sentencing witnessed rowdy scenes involving MDC Alliance supporters who had thronged Harare Magistrates Courts in solidarity with the youthful activist  leading to clashes with police.

Five activists, including Vongai Tome and Ngoni Dzapfumba, were subsequently arrested by authorities.

All this also comes as political analysts have once again warned that the opposition risks being annihilated by Zanu PF ahead of the 2023 polls, unless they change strategy and pursue national dialogue.

In addition, the analysts also recently told the Daily News that MDC Alliance leaders needed to ditch their student politics and stop dithering about whether to stick with the current name or come up with a completely new outfit.

Renowned Professor of World Politics at the University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (OAS), Stephen Chan, said Nelson Chamisa needed to reinvent both himself and his party and pursue dialogue to enhance his chances in the countrys fast-approaching next elections.

You cannot confront Zanu PF and at the same time confront the other MDC, complaining that you are the real MDC  a situation of circular futility arises.

He (Chamisa) needs to rebrand his party, ensure that there is national dialogue along the issue of reforms by engaging Zanu PF without necessarily being combative.

I hate to say this, especially as many people think I am overly critical of him but, in fact, I extend my admiration to him, for he has great courage.

However, it seems he uses exactly the same confrontational strategy that he used as a student leader, Chan told the Daily News.
Business owners in Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, spent Monday repairing damaged property after a night of unrest. Protesters clashed with the police on Sunday, after an officer fatally shot a 20-year-old Black driver during a traffic stop. The shooting occurred not far from the courthouse where Derek Chauvin is on trial for the death of George Floyd.
New Delhi, April 13 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed state governments to apprise it on the condition of migrant children and also data on their numbers, on a petition seeking protection of fundamental rights of children in the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde asked all state governments, which have been party in the case, to submit their response. Senior advocate Jayna Kothari appeared for the petitioners before the bench also comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian. After a brief hearing in the matter, the bench gave two weeks to the state governments to file their replies.

On March 8, the top court had agreed to examine agreed to examine a plea by Child Rights Trust and a resident of Bengaluru and issued notice.

The top court had said: "Application for impleadment is allowed. Issue notice to the newly added party respondents returnable two weeks. As prayed for, the petitioner is allowed to take steps to serve the Standing Counsel of the States/UTs in the meantime." The plea, filed through advocate Rukhsana Choudhury, argued that children of migrants and migrating children remain invisible and are the most vulnerable, and are denied access to healthcare and proper nutrition, and they are living in unhygienic and testing conditions.

"Migrant children affected due to Covid-19 are still working in brick kilns, stone crusher units, construction sites, rice mills, plantations and other sectors where children as young as 5 years lend a hand to help their parents earn their daily sustenance", said the plea.

The plea contended that though there has been marked efforts by governments to provide migrant workers with welfare measures, no report has come from either the Centre or state governments citing the details of relief measures implemented.

The counsel for the petitioners had requested the court to issue directions on prayers regarding sharing data on out of school migrant children and a plan to provide their temporary education to get back when schools reopen.

The petitioners submitted that lockdown had resulted in tremendous hardship for migrant children and till date there has been no assessment of the exact numbers of migrant children, infants, and pregnant or lactating migrant women and their needs.
Meyersdale takes down Shade for fifth district title in six seasons

Meyersdale took down Shade in the District 5 Class A softball championship on Friday, marking its fifth overall title win in the last six years.
LOS ANGELES, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arcview Group has formed strategic alliances with AlphaRoot to deliver custom-tailored insurance solutions and with Duane Morris LLP to bring innovative legal services to cannabis companies. AlphaRoot is a tech-enabled insurance brokerage and Duane Morris LLP is a distinguished business law firm.

Arcview Strategic Alliance: AlphaRoot, Duane Morris

"After more than eleven years in business, Arcview has quadrupled in size with an expansive ecosystem. We entered 2021 embarking on a new strategy to align ourselves deeper with the best and promising cannabis and CBD operators across the country," said Kim Kovacs, Arcview's Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of the Board. "Our standards of excellence are of the highest caliber and partnering with those that service our industry to provide elevated access is why we launched the Alliance Program and hand selected companies, such as Duane Morris and AlphaRoot to join us."

From seed to dispensary, and everything in between, the alliance with AlphaRoot enables Arcview to further advise clients about potential market opportunities while mitigating risk. AlphaRoot offers cannabis companies fully customizable coverage packages for everything from crime insurance to general liability insurance, workers compensation and more. The broad range of verticals support businesses who cultivate, dispense, and need software to scale.

"We believe that cannabis, agriculture, and the supporting technology ecosystem is a critical part of American society" says Isaac Bock, Managing Director at AlphaRoot. "It's an honor to be the exclusive insurance brokerage and risk management solutions provider for The Arcview Group, Alliance Partnership. In the year ahead, we look forward to participating in Arcview's broad array of both digital and physical content and events."

Serving a variety of clients, Duane Morris LLP will work with The Arcview Group on an international level to help cannabis entrepreneurs navigate the ever-changing industry regulations. Being one of the first Am Law 100 firms to join the cannabis space more than seven years ago, Duane Morris LLP has extensive industry experience and has built a large multi-practice industry group that is well-versed on cannabis clients' needs. Duane Morris strives to treat their clients like business partners and assists them with not only the particular issue that Duane Morris was retained for, but also learns their operations to understand their goals and help them in other ways.

"Bringing legal representation to the cannabis industry will be crucial as companies expand production throughout the United States and globally," says Michael Schwamm, Partner and Co-Chair of Family Practice Office of Duane Morris LLP. "We look forward to working alongside The Arcview Group to educate and prepare our cannabis clients on all new and upcoming legislation that will inevitably affect their business' success. A strategic alliance with Arcview to provide services to the cannabis industry helps Duane Morris' Cannabis Industry Group achieve its goals in helping our clients achieve their goals."

Duane Morris' national platform offers The Arcview Group's clients services in more than 20 states where cannabis is legal and provides full-service offerings for clients to choose Duane Morris for additional legal needs. Some of their firm's practices include corporate finance, health law, life sciences, and medical technologies, intellectual property and real estate.

If interested in connecting with a Strategic Alliance Partner or becoming one, please contact [email protected].

About The Arcview Group:

The Arcview Group is a vertically integrated investment firm servicing the cannabis and hemp industry, built with social justice and responsibility at its core. Arcview has been a trusted global leader for over ten years and a nexus for investors, companies, entrepreneurs, money-managers, and community, providing a broad spectrum of programs and services to the industry. The Arcview Group's ecosystem of companies includes Arcview Capital, Arcview Consulting & Research, Arcview Ventures, and Collective Fund. Connect with us: Website |LinkedIn |Instagram

About AlphaRoot:

AlphaRoot is a full service tech-enabled insurance brokerage, leveraging technology to provide white glove insurance broking services to the Cannabis Industry. Our goal is to educate cannabis companies about the risks associated with their business and take the stress out of buying insurance. We partner with the leading insurance carriers to craft tailored risk management programs for VC & PE firms and their portfolios. To learn more about AlphaRoot, visit https://alpharoot.co.

About Duane Morris LLP:

Duane Morris LLP, a law firm with more than 800 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally, is asked by a broad array of clients to provide innovative solutions to today's legal and business challenges. For more information, please visit https://www.duanemorris.com/index.html

Media Contact:

Christia Brockman, Sunday Brunch Agency

[email protected]

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Arcview Strategic Alliance: AlphaRoot, Duane Morris

Arcview Strategic Alliance: AlphaRoot, Duane Morris

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When running against an incumbent, a challenger must make a compelling case to voters that a change in office is warranted. Voters need to believe they will benefit by exchanging experience and institutional knowledge for a new vision or direction.

In City Council Districts 8, 7, 6 and 4, the challengers fail to clear this bar. We recommend Manny Pelaez, Ana Sandoval, Melissa Cabello Havrda and Adriana Rocha Garcia for another term.

The District 8 recommendation was the most difficult of this group. There is much to like about challenger Rob Rodriguez, a businessman who has been active throughout the community. Rodriguez served on the city of San Antonios Planning Commission for four years and has been an advocate for small businesses. We think he would make a fine councilman, but we paused at his opposition to Proposition A, which would allow for bond dollars to be spent on affordable housing, and resistance to so-called equity budgeting, instead focusing on restoring District 8s fair share. This type of outlook  District 8 spans the wealthier Northwest Side  has helped fuel the citys economic segregation. Broader vision is required.

District 8 incumbent Pelaez, a labor attorney, has brought much-needed legal expertise to the council. He would likely agree he has a tendency to shoot from the lip, which can create headwinds (think of Chick-fil-A several years ago) and unnecessary distractions. He would do well to play nicer and be less reactive.

But the upside to this is that Pelaez has been responsive to his constituents and is passionate about city issues, big and small; and while he is often in alignment with Mayor Ron Nirenberg, he is no rubber stamp, sometimes disagreeing or expressing policy concerns. He supports Proposition A but opposes Proposition B, citing the need to preserve workforce protections and address disciplinary concerns for officers in the police contract. District 8 voters have backed Pelaez the past four years, and we see no reason for a change midstream, especially as we come out of the pandemic.

In District 7, we once again recommend Sandoval. Like Pelaez, Sandoval is seeking a third term, and this is a no-brainer for District 7 voters. Sandoval has bachelors and masters engineering degrees from MIT and Stanford, and a masters in public health from Harvard. She is an expert on environmental issues, air quality and public health. Her opponent, Patricia Varela, declined our interview request. We would have asked Varela about her Dec. 31 Facebook post to take back the Texas Capitol over the presidential election, complete with rhetoric about overthrowing the government.

Sandoval supported propositions this fall to invest sales tax dollars in workforce development, VIA Metropolitan Transit and Pre-K 4 SA. She also has advocated for completing the citys Howard W. Peak Greenway Trails system.

Given her expertise, we expect Sandoval to be a crucial community voice on power sources for CPS Energy, as the utility weighs closing the Spruce power plants early and considers how to move forward from Februarys devastating freeze.

In District 6 on the far West Side, we recommend Havrda for a second term. Havrda was relatively quiet in her first term, but she was also responsive, having grown up in the district. She recently spoke out about the handling of a police report involving Fire Chief Charles Hoods son, saying, My concern is the perception of a government that isnt open to the people, the people that I represent. Its detrimental to all of us  its detrimental to me, to the people that I represent, and its detrimental to the city.

Havrda has a handful of challengers, but none of the ones we spoke with offered a compelling reason to make a change. Her opponents also cant match her background and expertise. She practices disability law, holding a law degree and an MBA from St. Marys University, and she worked for former Mayor Ed Garza and has served on many community boards.

In District 4, we recommend Garcia, a lifelong resident of this Southwest Side district and professor in marketing at Our Lady of the Lake University. Garcia had an excellent first term, speaking passionately and elegantly about the devastating impact of COVID-19 on her district and in her family. She also was a strong advocate for the citys burgeoning workforce development program, and we think her political future is bright.
The Honolulu Medical Examiner's office identified Monday the U.S. Navy sailor who shot and killed himself at a luxury resort in Hawaii after a 10-hour standoff with police over the weekend.

The Navy sailor was identified as Russell Cruz, 40, of Kailua, Hawaii, who died of a gunshot wound to the head inside a Kahala Hotel & Resort's room in Honolulu, Hawaii early Sunday morning.

ABC News Go reported the Navy was still notifying the relatives on Monday. Cmdr. Cindy Fields, a spokesperson for the U.S. Pacific Fleet submarine force, confirmed that a Sailor assigned to the Pacific Submarine Force has died.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of a shipmate. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the Sailor's family and friends," Fields said in a statement. The recent suicide of Russell Cruz made him the state's second submariner to kill himself in the past month.

READ NEXT: Military Suicides Rise Up to 20 Percent During Pandemic

The Suicide Incident in Hawaii

Honolulu Police Department Captain Brian Lynch said that a 911 call came at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, reporting that shots were fired at The Kahala Hotel & Resort.

Lynch noted that about five shots were fired from a fourth-floor guest room. He said that 18 officers responded and immediately started evacuating the adjoining rooms and guests on the fourth floor, according to a KITV report.

A SWAT team eventually entered the room and found the Navy sailor dead. Lynch said no one outside the room was hurt.

Meanwhile, a civilian said that he had just parked at the hotel to meet up with friends when an officer started yelling from a balcony to get inside. Corey Funai feared that there was a mass shooting.

"With everything in the news on the mainland, I thought it might be something like that," he said in a report. Funai added that that does not happen in Hawaii very often.

Honolulu police spokeswoman Sarah Yoro did not release further details on Monday and only said that police already gave an initial statement at the scene.

Suicides of Navy Sailors

Recently, Torpedoman's Mate 3rd Class Petty Officer Manuel Hernandez Julian Jr., 23, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. Julian's death was just three weeks before Russell Cruz's death.

The Navy was rethinking how it addresses suicides after two years of rising rates in the service, according to a USNI News 2019 report.

In December 2019, U.S. Navy sailor Gabriel Antonio Romero shot three civilian shipyard workers. He killed them at the Pearl Harbor military base before killing himself.

Romero was from San Antonio, Texas, and his job at the time was to stand watch and provide security for the submarine USS Columbia, according to a Daily Mail report.

Romero was reportedly unhappy with his commanders and had been undergoing counseling and anger management sessions.

Capt. Tara Smith, a subject matter expert assigned to the Navy's Suicide Prevention Branch, said that preventing suicide is not just about providing more mental health services.

"The primary prevention is really about changing the culture in the Navy. It's about seeking help and it's ok to have problems," Smith said in a report.

Smith added that the main reason that sailors do not seek help is that there is a desire in the fleet to handle it themselves and figure it out on their own.

READ MORE: 2 US Marine Corps Officers Dead After Helicopter Crashes in California During Training Exercise

WATCH: Navy Suicide Prevention Month: It's About Being There for "Every Sailor, Every Day" - From U.S. Navy






The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that there is still no evidence to indicate that Remdesivir is beneficial in treating hospitalised coronavirus patients.

WHO's Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan and its Technical Lead on COVID, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, on Monday told India Today TV that findings from five clinical trials in the past show that the use of the anti-viral drug has not helped in curtailing mortality or reducing the need for mechanical ventilation among hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

Talking about the prior clinical trials of Remdesivir, Dr. Swaminathan said, "Based on available evidence, there were about five trials... which essentially showed that Remdesivir given to hospitalised patients, didn't reduce mortality, it didn't reduce the duration of hospitalisation and it didn't affect the progression of the disease".

Also Read: Covid-19 update: Two arrested for Remdesivir black marketing in Mumbai

WHO guidelines on Remdesivir

Predicated on the clinical trials, the WHO had issued guidelines against the use of Remdesivir in hospitalised COVID-19 patients last year.

"We currently have made a conditional recommendation against the use of Remdesivir for hospitalised Covid patients, regardless of the disease's severity, because of lack of evidence showing that it improves survival and other outcomes, but we are constantly looking at clinical trials that are underway," WHO Technical Lead De Van Kerkhove said.

The global health body's guidelines development group publishes guidance on possible treatments of coronavirus, which is a working paper that can change with more data from clinical tests.

"We are looking at any emerging data that will be used to update the guidelines," Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove stated.

Also Read: Ahmedabad-based Zydus Hospitals introduces rules for buying Remdesivir

Remdesivir: What's the silver lining?

Highlighting the only potential silver lining in the case of Remdesivir, Dr. Swaminathan said, "there are smaller studies that have shown, in some small subgroups, perhaps some marginal benefits, like some patients who need low flow oxygen, the NIH trial showed that there was perhaps a marginal mortality benefit but that is a very small subgroup of patients."

She further stated that WHO was still awaiting results from a larger clinical study to ascertain if Remdesivir could be helpful in the treatment of coronavirus cases at all. The data of the trial is expected to come out in a few weeks' time.

Simultaneously, several cases of hoarding and black-marketing of the anti-viral drug have come to light.

Govt bans Remdesivir's export amid spike in demand

The Centre recently banned the export of Remdesivir and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in the wake of a sudden spike in its demand. Remdesivir injections are usually prescribed by doctors for the treatment of coronavirus patients in India.
LKCS did an amazing job of transforming our brand into a modern and appealing look that has resonated with our members. The new brand improves our overall appearance, increases appeal to a younger demographic and professionally represents Financial Plus Credit Union.

LKCS (https://www.lk-cs.com/), a marketing services provider focused on the financial industry, was honored with a 2021 CUNA Diamond Award for Re-Brand and New Corporate Identity. Their logo, branding standards, and website redesign for Financial Plus Credit Union (Ottawa, IL) was recognized for creative excellence and outstanding results.

The CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, a member-led professional development group serving the needs of credit union marketing leaders nationwide, sponsors the Diamond Awards. The annual Diamond Awards recognizes outstanding marketing and business development achievements in the credit union industry. Judges select from over 1,200 entries to award the best of the credit union industry.

We recognize the prestige a Diamond Award brings in the industry, said Karl Ribas, Director of Digital Services at LKCS. CUNA is well-recognized in the credit union industry, so were really happy and proud to have our work awarded by their judges this year.

Financial Plus Credit Union (https://www.financialplus.org/) is an Illinois-based credit union with over 37,000 members and five branch locations. LKCS created a new logo and complete branding standards along with a website redesign. The rebrand included an update to the credit unions color scheme, logo, typography, and supplemental design elements. The credit union is in the process of updating and re-constructing branch locations as part of the rebrand.

The website is built on the Sitefinity content management system which is integrated with LKCS Tool Suite. The Tool Suite provides additional web tools designed for the needs of credit unions that makes site management more efficient and industry compliant.

LKCS did an amazing job of transforming our brand into a modern and appealing look that has resonated with our members, says Lee Wilkins, Director of Marketing at Financial Plus Credit Union. The new brand has been modernized to improve our overall appearance, increase appeal to a younger demographic and provide an identifiable mark that professionally represents Financial Plus Credit Union. Beyond the overall look, flexible options were provided to ensure a consistent look with all electronic, print and environmental signage needs. We couldnt be happier with the end result and our decision to utilize LKCS for our rebranding.

About LKCS:

Based in Peru, Illinois, LKCS is the leader in providing omni-channel marketing, graphic design, commercial printing, direct mail, web development, and statement processing services to financial institutions nationwide. Combined with over 60 years of financial marketing expertise, LKCS leverages the latest technologies and techniques to improve marketing results and return on investment for our clients. We do that. Additional information about LKCS can be found at https://www.lk-cs.com.
New Delhi: People who arrived at Mumbai's Rajwadi vaccine center on Tuesday for getting the COVID-19 Jab are facing a very unique trouble. This pertains to the linking of Aadhaar Card with PAN Card. As per the new rule, vaccines are being given to those people who have Aadhar card and PAN card linked. While a few people got their Aadhaar linked with PAN Card on the spot, some are still facing trouble.

With the rise in coronavirus cases, the Maharashtra government has been working to increase the bed capacity at treatment facilities and has announced the setting up of three jumbo field hospitals in Mumbai in the next five-six weeks. Mumbai's COVID-19 tally stands at 5,27,119, including 12,060 casualties. According to the official data, there are 90,267 active cases in the financial capital.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, beneficiaries need to register themselves on Co-WIN portal to get jabs. Those who do not have access to the Co-WIN portal can go to the centre and take COVID-19 vaccines. Only registered beneficiaries will be given vaccine shots between 9 am and 3 pm. The unregistered ones can take the jabs from 3 pm to 9 pm. They just need to carry their Aadhaar card or any other valid identity proof.

India is overtaking Brazil to become the second-most affected country globally by the coronavirus. India`s overall tally reached 13.53 million, surpassing Brazil`s 13.45 million cases, according to data compiled by Reuters. The death toll in India stood at 904, taking the total to 170,179, as per the data.

(With inputs from Prashant Ankushrao. This is a developing story, further details are awaited).

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A High Court summons, seen by MyBroadband, has been issued to three people involved with BTC Global  Clynton Marks, Cheri Marks, and Andrew Caw.

This followed a civil claim lodged by eighteen plaintiffs demanding compensation of R2.5 million plus 7% interest per annum from the date of demand for the losses they suffered in 2018.

They also asked the court for further and alternative relief and for the court to order the three defendants to cover the legal costs of the plaintiffs.

The defendants have since approximately 4 September 2017 until approximately March 2018 conducted business under the names and style of BTC Global or BTC, the plaintiffs alleged.

BTC Global was a Bitcoin investment scam that ran from mid-2017 to early 2018. It claimed to offer clients a way to invest in a trading pool managed by a master trader, Steven Twain.

There is no evidence that Twain ever existed, but when investors started struggling to withdraw their funds from the scheme they were informed that Twain was attacked in his home and his equipment stolen.

The collapse of BTC Global was blamed on Twains disappearance at the start of 2018.

According to reports, over 27,000 people were scammed by BTC Global, including South Africans, Americans, and Australians.

This prompted an investigation by the Hawks, but three years later the elite investigation unit has yet to show any results.

In a legal notice signed by Selzer Law attorneys, which MyBroadband has seen, Caw and the Marks state their intention to defend against the BTC Global allegations.

Two people named in the summons over BTC Global  Clynton Marks and Cheri Marks  are closely linked to the multitlevel marketing Bitcoin investment scam Mirror Trading International (MTI).

Chainalysis declared MTI the biggest cryptocurrency scam of 2020 in its latest Crypto Crime Report, released earlier this year.

Clynton Marks is a 50% shareholder in MTI. His partner, Cheri Marks, was the schemes head of communications.

Aside from the Marks involvement, along with other people who were also involved in both MTI and BTC Global, the two schemes share striking similarities.

Much like MTI, BTC Global promised too-good-to-be-true returns on investment. It also used a multilevel marketing scheme to rapidly recruit new members.

BTC Global had a master trader managing the pooled funds, while MTI claimed to have a magical AI-powered trading bot that could deliver consistent returns of 0.5% to 1.5% per day.

When the money finally dried up, MTIs purported founder and CEO Johann Steynberg vanished, apparently while travelling in South America.

Steynberg last communicated with MTI members from Brazil and he is currently suspected to be in Panama, though his whereabouts are unknown.

MyBroadband contacted the Marks and Caw for comment, but the three defendants did not respond by the time of publication.

However, Caw previously told MyBroadband that he invested in BTC Global and lost a significant sum when it collapsed.

I was, however, neither a founder nor leader in BTC Global, although I was later accused of being both, Caw stated.

After the collapse of BTC Global I revisited all of the investments, businesses, and opportunities I had seen and after considering the feasibility of all programs it became obvious that the best investment anyone I knew had ever made was simply buying and holding Bitcoin, Caw stated.

Caw said that he was not involved in MTI, except for offering a single proposal early on that he said would enable MTI to deliver cryptographic proof of its Bitcoin holdings.

Cheri Marks has denied owning or being in control of BTC Global, stealing funds through the scheme, setting up fake profiles for Steven Twain, or knowingly promoting anything illegal.

Steven Twain is a real person and his disappearance was a shock, Marks said via her lawyer in a response to questions from Carte Blanche.

It is denied that Cheri was/is Steven Twain, the statement continued.

In January 2018, before BTC Global stopped operating, the bitcoin price fell dramatically and there was a well-documented market crash, Marks lawyer stated.

It is suspected that this led to its demise. Cheri was linked to BTC Global in the public domain and that destroyed her reputation in the industry. She decided to pursue a conventional business like MTI which had a visible and present CEO and where one could witness actual trades. BTC Global and MTI are thus erroneously being linked.

Marks also said that Steynberg was never involved in BTC Global.

He did, like many networkers, come from a list of network marketing companies, some legitimate, some later proved to be scams. The two opportunities were completely different and trying to draw similarities is a stretch.

Information from others who were involved with BTC Global contradicts Marks statement that Steynberg was not involved with the scheme.

MyBroadband spoke to a witness who said that although Steynberg was not a leader in BTC Global, he had invested in the scheme.

The witness provided MyBroadband with Steynbergs BTC Global membership numbers.
UPDATE: This story was updated at 3 p.m. after Grand Valley State University announced that its student-only COVID-19 vaccine clinic is back on after it was initially canceled by health officials.

The Kent and Ottawa County health departments have halted all use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following reports by federal regulators of extremely rare adverse side effects to the single-dose vaccine in a handful of cases.

The pause will impact fewer than 100 people in Kent County who were scheduled to get the Johnson & Johnson vaccine through the health department, spokesperson Steve Kelso told MLive Tuesday, April 13. Those individuals will be contacted to receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead.

In Ottawa County, 1,700 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that were scheduled to be used at a student-only clinic at Grand Valley State University will be substituted for Pfizer vaccines provided by Metro Health, university officials said Tuesday. The clinic is planned for Friday, April 16 on the Allendale campus.

Local health officials announced the pause on Tuesday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a statement recommending a pause in use of the one-shot vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred six to 13 days after vaccination, health officials said.

More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson have been administered in the U.S. to date.

Michigan is also temporarily halting its use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution, according to a statement by Gov. Gretchen Whitmers office.

RELATED: Michigan will pause use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine, following CDC guidance

As of Monday, Michigan had administered 199,075 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which received emergency use authorization in late February. Its not yet clear if any adverse reactions to the shot were reported in Michigan.

The Ottawa County health department currently has 1,925 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on hand, which expire on June 21 and June 23. Health officials said the doses can be stored and saved until the vaccine is deemed safe by the FDA.

Most of those doses were scheduled to be used at GVSUs campus vaccine clinic, Ottawa County health department spokesperson Kristina Wieghmink said.

The health department canceled the clinic on Tuesday afternoon, but GVSU officials announced a few hours later that the clinic was back on after Metro Health offered 1,700 doses for the clinic.

Students who participate in the April 16 clinic will be scheduled to get their second dose May 7, according to a GVSU spokesperson.

Ottawa County health officials also had planned to administer 225 Johnson & Johnson vaccines this week to residents with barriers to accessing vaccines, which include people who are in jail or experiencing homelessness, and others who might not have transportation such as people in migrant camps.

Health officials are still evaluating whether or not to replace those doses with Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The populations with barriers to accessing vaccines tend to find it more difficult to go to two-dose vaccination clinics, Wieghmink said.

Wieghmink said the health department is not aware of any other clinics besides the GVSU site that will be impacted by the pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine use.

Lisa Stefanovsky, Ottawa Countys health officer, said the department still encourages residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Ottawa County COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing, so we encourage everyone to continue to pursue COVID-19 vaccination opportunities of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine that are still available, Stefanovsky said in a prepared statement.

More on MLive:

6 things you need to know about new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

Among 1.7 million fully vaccinated Michiganders, state identifies small number of COVID-19 infections and deaths

Feds recommend pausing use of Johnson & Johnsons COVID-19 vaccine following reports of severe reaction

As COVID-19 cases rise in kids, parents should watch for rare complication

Michigan to extend COVID restrictions in offices for six more months
BRANFORD  A person involved in a standoff that lasted most of the day and involved multiple instances of gunfire was found dead, according to police.

In a Facebook post around 7:15 p.m., Branford police said The barricaded suspect has been founded deceased within the building.

They added that Main Street near Cherry Hill would remain closed until further notice.

Residents also were being allowed back to their homes after some were evacuated earlier in the day.

Police Chief Jonathan Mulhern said he did not yet know whether the shooter, who was not yet being identified, was shot during one of at least two volleys of gunfire between him and police or whether he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

When officers arrived, Ill tell you, they met some heavy gunfire, Mulhern said.

There was an initial report of shots fired at 12:03 p.m., beginning at Pepes Service Station at 177 Main St. The shooter later was holed-up for several hours in a second-floor apartment of a house at 241 Main St., above the Leon James International Hair Studio, and at one point, there was a second volley of gunfire, Mulhern said.

During it, there was return fire from responding officers.

The shooter later was found deceased inside the building there, he said.

Investigators from the Branford Police Department were working with the Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad and the New Haven States Attorneys Office. The Major Crime Squad was expected to spend much of the night processing evidence from multiple crime scenes, Mulhern said.

He said its unlikely that the shooters identity will be released before the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determines his cause of death.

Other agencies on the scene Tuesday included the Branford Fire Department, the New Haven Police Department Bomb Squad, and officers from the New Haven, Madison, Guilford and East Haven police departments, Mulhern said.

We want to thank all our area partners, Mulhern said. The Branford Fire Department provided crucial assistance, he said.

The public had been asked to avoid Main Street in Branford because of an active threat that began Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

Police said they received a reports of shots fired in the area of Main Street and Cherry Hill Road just after noon. Responding officers encountered heavy gunfire coming from the upper floors of a business/apartment building, police said.

Additional 911 calls reported a gunshot victim nearby, the department posted on social media. This victim was later transported to the hospital with reported non-life threatening injuries.

Trista Milici, executive assistant to First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove, also said one person had been wounded and transported from the scene by the Branford Fire Department. She also said the individuals injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening.

John Chambers, who owns Shelleys Garden Center 217 Main St., said he got caught in the middle of the incident shortly after he heard shots around noon.

Chambers heard gunfire and came out of the store into the driveway, across from the building next door, where he said the shots were being fired from a second-floor window.

Chambers was sheltering in an apartment above the garden center when he spoke, as was a customer.

I went out to see where all those shots were coming from. It was so loud, it was like, thats really close, Chambers said.

I knew it was some kind of gunfire, Chambers said. I was in the middle of our driveway  thats where I saw him. I eyeballed him.

Chambers said he said he saw shots fired in the driveway and just walked out into the driveway and saw a window shot out on the side of a house and gunfire aimed at other places.

I had all kinds of stuff in my driveway to hide behind, he said.

Chambers said he saw the person who was injured by the gunfire about 300 feet from him. He said that as soon as he got out of the shooters sight-line, he ran back to the store.

Chambers said he believes he heard as many as 50 shots since noon.

At about 5 p.m. Branford police said the incident was still active and asked the public to avoid the area and not livestream video for the safety of officers.

Cyndi Puccio, a West Haven resident, and another woman were parked outside the Branford Townhouse Restaurant on North Main Street, watching the response.

Doug Shaw, a Branford resident, said he and his daughter, Brianna, had come over to see what was happening. Briannas friend lives in the area and had reported SWAT members were in their home.

Things like this dont happen in our small town of Branford, said Shaw. Im worried about the police and any of the neighbors. I just hope everybodys all right.

Puccio, speaking around 2:15 p.m., said they had been there for about two hours. They had come to get something to eat; the restaurant was closed while they were there.

She said she had never seen a scene like this, considering the number of responding agencies and vehicles.

Its sad that somebody would do this, said Puccio.

Shane Miller, a Guilford resident, was standing with a group of people near the intersection of Russell Street and Main Street, where police blocked the road, soon before 3 p.m.

Miller said he had been on his way to work when he heard about what happened. It was symptomatic of the pandemic, he said.

Its just COVID-19, Miller said. People are boiling up inside.

Luciana Camarda, owner of Lucys Tailor on Main Street, said she had heard five shots around noon and then, by the time she went inside, heard another five. She said she had never dealt with anything like this before, describing the situation as very scary.

Im very shocked, said Camarda. Its a very disturbing situation.

Her daughter, Michelle Maturo, also was in the shop when shots were fired. She said she looked out the window and saw officers come up the street.

Its said that this is what its come to, said Maturo.

Shoreline Times Editor Sue Braden Hull contributed to this story.

william.lambert@ hearstmediact.com
Baffled by Taiwan's rejection of One China policy, China is trying every trick to gain control over Taiwanese territory. On Monday, 25 Chinese military jets breached Taiwans southwest air defence identification zone, which is touted as one of the largest breaches of Taiwanese airspace in last one year.

In one of the largest breaches of Taiwanese airspace in last one year, 25 Chinese military jets entered Taiwans southwest air defence identification zone on Monday. The Defence Ministry of Taiwan has stated that Chinese military jets included 14 J-16 fighter jets, four J-10 fighter jets, four H-6K bombers, two anti-submarine warfare plans and an airborne early warning and control plane.

In response, Taiwan scrambled a combat aircraft, alerted missile defence systems and issued radio warnings to the Chinese that the planes have entered Taiwans air defence identification zone. Taiwans Defence Ministry has also issued a graphic tracking the movement of the Chinese jets.

The incursion came a day after Antony Blinken, US secretary of State, reprimanded Beijing for its aggression and warned against attempting to change the status quo around Taiwan, as it would be a serious mistake. Speaking to NBC, Blinken said that Beijings increasingly aggressive actions directed towards Taiwan are a real concern for US. He added that it would be a serious mistake for anyone to try and change the existing status quo.

Relations between China and Taiwan have soared after Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen rejected the notion of One-China. Upon being sworn in for her second term, Tsai said, Both sides have a duty to find a way to coexist over the long term and prevent the intensification of antagonism and differences.
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Some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom State have rejected the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, as their political leader in the state.

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the APC in Akwa Ibom has been divided into two camps; one for Mr Akpabio, the other for John Akpanudoedehe, a former senator and current secretary of the partys caretaker committee at the national level.

Mr Akpanudoedehe is planning to run for governor of Akwa Ibom in 2023, and it appears Mr Akpabio, a former governor of the state, may not support his ambition.

The APC faction that is loyal to Mr Akpabio met last month in Uyo and announced that the minister was the political leader of the party in the state.

But some party chieftains in the state convened another meeting on Sunday where they adopted a decision of the State Executive Council (SEC) of the party to nullify the declaration that Mr Akpabio was the partys political leader in the state.

The Sunday meeting was attended by Mr Akpanudoedehe, the Managing Director, Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone Authority, Umana Umana, President Muhammadu Buharis aide on Niger Delta Affairs, Ita Enang, and the Sole Administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa.

Interestingly, Sam Ewang, a former military governor of Ogun State, who heads the faction that is loyal to Mr Akpabio, was also in the meeting.

Mr Akpabio sent in his apology for not being able to attend the meeting.

The stakeholders endorse the decision of the State Executive Committee (SEC) to declare as a nullity the unilateral proclamation and announcement of Senator Godswill Akpabio, as the State Party Leader of APC in gross violation of the Partys Constitution in the unauthorised and illegal Stakeholders meeting of Sunday, March 28, 2021, the party chieftains said in the communique issued after the meeting.

The Party hereby reminds every member and the general public that the State Chairman (or Caretaker Chairman as applicable here) is the Chairman of the State Caucus as provided for in Article 12.9 Sub (i) of the party Constitution (October 2014 As Amended) and remains the Party Leader in the State until further notice.

Mr Ewang, in the meeting of their faction, said Mr Akpabio, being the highest political office holder from the state, should naturally assume the position of the political leader of the party in the state, in the absence of an elected governor.

Mr Akpabio, before now, had said he would not impose a governorship candidate on the party for the 2023 election in Akwa Ibom State.
EV

Based on Uber 's announcement that it plans to become a zero-emission mobility platform by 2030, the partnership is intended to promoteadoption and the expansion of EV charging infrastructure in major cities in countries such as the U.K., France, and the Netherlands.Uber intends for EVs to account for 50 percent of the total of miles traveled throughout seven European capitals - Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, Madrid, London and Paris. The cities will account for 80 percent of Uber's European business by the end of 2021. For that to happen, customers will be given the option to order an EV when booking their ride."Through this exciting partnership, we will utilize our leadership in electro-mobility to help Uber's partner drivers make the switch to BEVs and help electrify their customers' journeys in Europe," said Michael Cole, CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe."This agreement also gives Hyundai the opportunity to showcase the benefits of our IONIQ Electric and Kona Electric models to an even wider range of people, as well as contribute to decarbonisation efforts in major cities across Europe.", he added.In addition to Uber's zero-emission strategy, the company already started its jouney to electrification last year when it launched Uber Green in more than 15 U.S. and Canadian cities.As for Hyundai, its goal is to become one of the largest EV manufacturers globally by selling more than 670,000 EVs until 2025.The two companies intend to strengthen their partnership by initiating education programs to promote EVs across Europe. The plan includes benefits for Uber drivers, and test drives to allow drivers to experience rides with zero-emissions cars.
Tech. Sgt. Charles Coolidge, who fought the Nazis throughout Europe and North Africa with the Army's 36th Infantry Division, earned the Medal of Honor for his courage during a fierce forest battle in France in 1944.

As the nation mourns the loss of Coolidge, who died last week at the age of 99, you can now see the moment he received the nation's highest honor for valor.

The Defense Department on Sunday reposted archival video of the June 18, 1945, award ceremony near Dornstadt, Germany. The video shows then-Lt. Gen. Wade Haislip, who commanded the Army's XV Corps in Western Europe and after the war served as vice chief of staff of the Army, presenting the Medal of Honor to Coolidge.

Read Next: Officer Accused of Force in Stop of Black Army Officer Fired

In October 1944, Coolidge took command of a small group of men when they encountered a German force, estimated to be a company, in the woods near the French village of Belmont-sur-Battant. For four days, through the rain and cold, Coolidge rallied his men and beat back one German attack after another.

When the Germans made a final assault, with two tanks in tow, Coolidge tried to take them out with a bazooka. When the bazooka malfunctioned, he threw it away, grabbed as many grenades as he could carry, and hurled them at the German infantry. When it became clear the Germans would overrun their position, Coolidge organized his men in an orderly withdrawal and was the last to leave.

Until his April 6 death in Chattanooga, Tenn., Coolidge was the oldest living Medal of Honor recipient.

-- Stephen Losey can be reached at stephen.losey@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StephenLosey.

Related: Charles Coolidge, Medal of Honor Recipient Who Fought Boldly in WWII, Dead at 99
A new study by Israeli researchers tested the hypothesis that certain SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern can overcome protection conferred by Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccine and found evidence of increased breakthrough rates in vaccinated individuals. The research paper is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

The detrimental coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has spread worldwide for over a year. Consequently, mass vaccination that is currently underway on a global scale is our first ray of hope that we will soon mitigate this threat.

The Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccine has demonstrated relatively high protection levels; nevertheless, there is a worry that several SARS-CoV-2 variants of concerns can overcome vaccine-generated immune defenses.

Moreover, laboratory studies have found a reduction in neutralization properties against the UK (B.1.1.7) and South African (B.1.351) variants. However, the pertinence of these assays in real-life circumstances is still unclear.

On the other hand, T-cell responses not captured by neutralization studies were shown to be relatively stable after vaccination against these variants. Hence, it remains unknown whether variants of concern can cause vaccine breakthroughs in real-world scenarios, where the vaccine gives rise to robust antibody and T-cell responses.

This is why a research group from Israel, led by Dr. Talia Kustin from Tel Aviv University, conducted a case-control study that appraised whether individuals that received Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine and had a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection were more likely to become infected with the UK and South African variants in comparison with unvaccinated individuals.

A combination of real-world and case-control approach

In this study, the researchers have identified symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection among members of the Clalit Health Services, i.e., the largest health care organization in Israel. Each vaccinee was matched with an unvaccinated control with similar demographic traits in order to reduce bias associated with differential exposure.

This was followed by RNA collection from the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) samples and performed complete viral genome sequencing. Subsequently, the paired set of vaccinated and non-vaccinated carriers has been analyzed using a stringent technique of lineage assignment for every viral sequence.

The power of such an approach emanates from the mixture of real-world evaluation and stringent case-control matching strategy, which allowed ruling out a confounding effect as a cause for a high proportion of any given variant.

Variant frequencies of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples. (A) Variant frequencies are shown across the time of the study, including the number of samples collected throughout the study. All values were calculated by averaging over a sliding window of seven days. (B) Breakdown of variant frequencies based on the four groups of this study: pie charts displays the proportion of each variant (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, WT) for paired vaccinated cases versus non-vaccinated controls separated by effectiveness (full effectiveness and partial effectiveness, as defined in the main text), with cases on the left and their associated control on the right.

Variants of concern and vaccine effectiveness

In a nutshell, the results reveal an increased incidence of South African SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in vaccine breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated individuals and an increased incidence of UK SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in partially vaccinated ones.

More specifically, in vaccinees infected at least one week following the second dose, there was a disproportionally higher infection rate with the South African variant. In comparison, those infected between two weeks after the first dose and one week after the second dose were disproportionally infected by the UK variant.

This suggests diminished vaccine effectiveness against both variants of concern under different timing and dosage conditions. However, the incidence of South African variant in Israel remains low to date, and vaccine effectiveness is still high against the UK strain in fully vaccinated individuals.

Lessons learned

From a biological point of view, the breakthrough cases observed in this study might either be due to immune evasion of both strains, or the ability of B.1.17 to create higher viral loads, say study authors in this medRxiv paper. Given the low frequency of B.1.351 across time, our results overall suggest that selection does not strongly favor the B.1.351 variant in the particular conditions in Israel, they further emphasize.

Taking into account the low frequency of South African variant, the researchers suggest that vaccine effectiveness in combination with authorized non-pharmaceutical interventions may be sufficient to prevent its spread and that the UK variant may outcompete the South African one  perhaps due to its established high transmission rate.

In any case, this study underscores the significance of tracking viral variants in a meticulous framework, but also the importance of vaccination which is currently the safest and most efficacious way of preventing the ongoing spread of current (and possible future) SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.

*Important Notice

medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
A bill that would do away with mandatory minimum sentences for all crimes except murder in Oregon remains alive in the Legislature but is likely to undergo revisions that could include winnowing the list of applicable crimes.

Chief sponsor Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, said Tuesday that Senate Bill 401 has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee while a committee comprised of lawmakers, prosecutors, crime victims and others discusses potential changes.

Prozanski has said he is open to keeping mandatory sentences for sex offenses.

At this point, it appears SB 401 is the leading Measure 11 reform bill this session.

Another bill, Senate Bill 191, would have allowed Measure 11 offenders the chance to get out on early release credits. The bill was the work of a grassroots organization, Time Does Not Fit the Crime, made up of people with Measure 11 convictions and their families.

Prozanski, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a prosecutor, said the proposal lacked the broader political support it needed to remain in play this session.

SB 401 would allow prisoners to earn credit for early release through participating in prison programs, but it would apply only to offenders going forward.

Prozanski said the Measure 11 reform that had been part of a larger bill, House Bill 2002, have been removed from that proposal.

A fourth bill, House Bill 2172, had been put forth by Gov. Kate Brown. Prozanski said the governors office agreed that SB 401 would be the main vehicle this session for mandatory minimum sentencing changes.

He said he remains hopeful that SB 401 will advance.

The bill is the most significant Legislative challenge since the passage of Measure 11 in 1994.

Proponents of the change say mandatory minimum sentences are outdated and disproportionately impact people of color. Prosecutors and some crime victims argue that mandatory minimums ensure defendants are treated consistency and serve every day of their sentences.

Any reduction to voter-approved sentencing requirements requires a two-thirds supermajority vote of each chamber.

That means proponents of changing the law will need all 37 Democrats and three Republicans in the House and all Democrats and two Republicans in the Senate to enact reform.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 11:22:03|Editor: huaxia

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QUITO, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Guillermo Lasso, a right-of-center ex-banker, declared victory in his third try at the presidential election on Sunday, showing Ecuadorians have opted for a new vision of the nation, political analysts and observers said on Monday.

This new vision turns the page on nearly a decade and a half of "correismo," the progressive governing style of former President Rafael Correa, which has dominated the political landscape in the country for around 14 years.

With over 97 percent of the ballots counted, Lasso declared victory after garnering 52.51 percent of the valid votes in Sunday's presidential runoff, defeating rival Andres Arauz, a left-leaning economist whose candidacy was endorsed by Correa. Arauz, who trailed with 47.49 percent of the votes, promptly conceded defeat.

According to political scientist Arianna Tanca, Lasso won thanks to his "strategic" campaign before the runoff, where "he placed much more emphasis on agendas that are outside the debate between correismo and anti-correismo," which has polarized Ecuador in recent years.

"Lasso succeeded in supporting this narrative of ... a more democratic Ecuador, where tolerance and diversity are respected," Tanca said.

Political scientist and university professor Arturo Moscoso agreed, saying Lasso's "message of change got through" to the electorate.

"What you can see is that the majority of citizens have opted for a more democratic vision of politics," said Moscoso.

Lasso's victory handed the Alianza PAIS (PAIS Alliance) party founded by Correa in 2006 its first presidential election defeat.

Lasso, 65, lost his 2013 presidential bid to Correa by a wide margin. In 2017, he lost by a small margin to current President Lenin Moreno, who was Correa's then vice president, but led a more conservative government once in office.

While Lasso won with a solid lead over Arauz, experts recommend he make forging consensus between the different political and social sectors a key part of his agenda, especially since correismo holds a majority of seats in the National Assembly (Congress).

Lasso has to be open to negotiating with everyone to make agreements and pass the legislations needed to run the country, political scientist Santiago Basabe told Xinhua.

"No one can have any doubt that the followers of former President Rafael Correa constitute the largest political force in the country. To refuse to debate with them would be to start the government in a hostile setting that could degenerate into an unnecessary escalation of political and social conflict," Basabe said.

A professor and researcher at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, Basabe said Lasso should take advantage of the democratic gesture of correismo candidate Arauz, who quickly acknowledged his defeat and invited the new government to dialogue.

"There is an opportunity for Guillermo Lasso to take firm steps to reduce tension and polarization in the country: in short, a lot of room for political negotiation and an open mind to accept and tackle differences," said Basabe.

Observers say Lasso faces challenges on multiple fronts: the economy, the political scenario, healthcare and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to rising unemployment and poverty.

"It will take profound leadership from the new president. The first battle was won, but the most important one is coming: governing," said Maria-Paz Jervis, a political scientist and dean of the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences at SEK International University.

With that in mind, she said Lasso should "consolidate the openness he showed during the campaign to people who think differently, open himself up to other possibilities and resolve the major issues that concern citizens." Enditem
Rocket Software:

News summary

Rocket  announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ASG Technologies

announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ASG Technologies Acquisition furthers Rockets commitment to its customers and partners to continue to grow its portfolio of enterprise software solutions

The combination of portfolios will drive a more holistic approach to generating value



Full story

Rocket Software (Rocket), a global technology leader that develops enterprise modernization and optimization solutions for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire ASG Technologies (ASG), a leading provider of solutions for the information-powered enterprise.

This acquisition furthers Rockets commitment to its customers and partners to continue to grow its portfolio of enterprise software solutions that increase the value of legacy platforms across the technology domains of core infrastructure, security, data & AI, application development, open source, and hybrid cloud.

We know ASG well and are pleased to add their competencies and expertise in and around structured and unstructured data, content management, and systems management to our combined company, said Andy Youniss, CEO, Rocket Software. This is an important milestone in our journey of investing in global enterprise IT solutions and in our ongoing commitment to our customers. We will continue to enable our customers to evolve their core applications, take advantage of the power of their data, and operate their IT environments.

The combination of these portfolios will drive a more holistic approach to generating value from the vast data capabilities of extensive applications at the core of their business. Decades of innovation in the content management space from ASG will continue under Rocket leadership to address the shifting challenges of integration and transparency across legacy, cloud, and SaaS environments. The systems management solutions will continue to support the efficient operation of these critical environments.

Digital transformation has taken on a new level of priority for organizations across industries and geographies in the past year, and the urgency with which it has been embraced in the enterprise has further solidified ASGs mission to improve the way people, information processes and systems work together to deliver business outcomes, said Charles Sansbury, President and CEO, ASG. "With our combined expertise and shared vision, together Rocket and ASG will bring industry-leading innovation to our customer base worldwide."

The deal is expected to close later this calendar quarter, subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed at this time.

Bank of America Securities and Barclays are acting as joint financial advisors to ASG. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is acting as legal counsel to ASG.

About Rocket Software

Rocket Software empowers organizations to create legendary impact in the world through innovation in legacy technologies. With deep expertise in IBM Z, IBM Power, and database and connectivity solutions, Rocket provides solutions that power tens of thousands of global businesses, solving real problems and making real-world impact. Rocket is a privately held U.S. corporation headquartered in the Boston area with centers of excellence strategically located throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Rocket is a portfolio company of Bain Capital Private Equity.

Legacy Powers Legendary

About ASG Technologies

ASG Technologiesis an award-winning, industry-recognized, and analyst-verified global software company providing the only integrated platform and flexible end-to-end solution for the information-powered enterprise. ASGs Information Management solutions capture, manage, govern, and enable companies to understand and support all types of information assets (structured and unstructured) and stay compliant. ASGs IT Systems Management solutions ensure that the systems and infrastructure supporting that information lifecycle are always available and performing as expected. ASG has over 3,500 customers worldwide in top vertical markets including Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance and Government. Visit ASG on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. ASG is a portfolio company of Evergreen Coast Capital, Elliott Investment Managements technology-focused Menlo Park affiliate.

Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements represent managements current expectations and are based upon information available to the Company at the time of this release. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the Companys control, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 2021 Rocket Software, Inc. Rocket is a registered trademark of Rocket Software, Inc. All other trademarks cited herein are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005292/en/
There are no immediate plans to decrease the noise levels coming from motorways passing through County Kildare.

Two councillors - Peggy ODwyer and Tim Durkan - tabled a motion at a Kildare

County Council seeking information about any plans to tackle the issues though noise reducing tarmac, noise reduction barrier or trees.

Cllr ODwyer told the meeting that the issue was affecting people living in Walshestown Abbey, Newbridge, where traffic is visible on the M4.

Cllr Tim Durkan said a similar problem is apparent on the M7.

He said there are two different surfaces along the route between Kilcock and Leixlip.

He said near Maynooth the surface changes to one that is 22 years old and people living in Maynooth are constantly complaining about motorway noise.

Cllr Durkan said the surface should be consistently good adding weve been inundated with complaints."

He pointed out there is a population of 18,000 in Maynooth with 13,000 students on top of that.

He said that Transport Infrastructure Ireland, which manages the motorway system should be invited to send a representative to the KCC meeting to address the issue.

However KCC Director of Serviced Celina Barrett said there are no specific plans to introduce noise reduction measures.

She said TII has an ongoing programme of pavement renewals which typically involves the replacement of the existing pavement material with a surface course material that has noise reducing properties. But KCC is not aware of any plan or programme to implement the measures as set out in the motion.

According to Cllr Fintan Brett the answer lies with stone mastic asphalt - a dense wearing course material which was developed on the continent.

He said it was used on the M7 near Johnstown and means that residents experience much less noise.
Peninsula Energy (ASX:PEN) is an emerging ASX listed Uranium producer with assets in the USA and South Africa. The company is focused on advancing the Lance ISR Projects, located in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming USA through to production, and to take the Karoo Projects in South Africa further up the development curve.

Peninsula Energy's low-pH field demonstration test adjustments for Lance Project deliver encouraging results

Peninsula Energy Ltd's (ASX:PEN) (OTCMKTS:PENMF) (FRA:P1M) MU1A low-pH field demonstration test modifications for the flagship Lance Project in Wyoming, USA, have delivered favourable results including an increase in uranium recovery solution and improved response time in modified test patterns.

The company has implemented several test modifications to the field demonstration of low-pH In-Situ Recovery (ISR) since the previous update in late February designed to provide key data on pattern configurations, pH adjustment, acid consumption and oxidants ahead of a decision to restart production at the project.

Results indicate that Peninsula is closer to achieving target pH levels and that the new oxidant is beginning to deliver results.



"Happy with progress"

Managing director and CEO Wayne Heili said: "We are currently eight months into the field demonstration and are happy with how it is progressing.

"Adjustments made since our February update have delivered positive results.

"We will continue to run the field demonstration through the first half of 2022 and the information gained will be invaluable as the company progresses the Lance Project toward a return to commercial production."
Chennai, April 13 : With the elections over on April 6 and the long wait to continue till the declaration of results on May 2, the main political parties in Tamil Nadu are leaving no stone unturned to keep a watch on the strongrooms housing the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at the counting centres.

Accordingly, each political party has appointed agents in turn to watch the CCTV footages which show the doors of the strongrooms where EVMs are kept.

The agents are working on an eight-hour shift and have been allocated a room in each in the counting centres. While the DMK has been proactive in appointing agents to monitor the counting centres, all political parties of Tamil Nadu, including the ruling AIADMK, have appointed agents to watch the CCTV screens.

Kokilavarnan, an agent of DMK who is in-charge of a counting centre in Chennai, told IANS, "We have agents who are registered with the Election Commission and they are employed in three shifts starting from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. We provide them food, snacks and tea for the job. These are hard-core party workers who are deputed as agents." The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Congress have also deployed agents to monitor the counting centres.

Abdul Latheef, a leader of the IUML at Vaniyambadi, the party's stronghold, told IANS, "We have many workers who are ready to be vigilant round the clock. So our agents are there in the counting centres watching the CCTV footages of the strongrooms just to be sure that no manipulation is taking place." Tamil Nadu Congress chief and senior leader K.S. Alagiri also confirmed that the party has posted agents to monitor the counting stations.
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Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to transform the growth of various industries, however, the immediate impact of the outbreak is varied. While a few industries will register a drop in demand, numerous others will continue to remain unscathed and show promising growth opportunities. COVID-19 will have a low impact on the automotive digital key market.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the major trends in the market?

Use of digital keys for all connected systems is a major trend driving the growth of the market.



Use of digital keys for all connected systems is a major trend driving the growth of the market. At what rate is the market projected to grow?

The market will accelerate at a CAGR of over 7% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be 1034.84 th units.



The market will accelerate at a CAGR of over 7% and the incremental growth of the market is anticipated to be 1034.84 th units. Who are the top players in the market?

BMW AG, Continental AG, Daimler AG, DENSO Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tesla Inc., Valeo SA, and Volkswagen AG are some of the major market participants.



BMW AG, Continental AG, Daimler AG, DENSO Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tesla Inc., Valeo SA, and Volkswagen AG are some of the major market participants. What is the key market driver?

The increasing demand for car-sharing and car rental services is one of the major factors driving the market.



The increasing demand for car-sharing and car rental services is one of the major factors driving the market. How big is the North America market?

The Europe region will contribute to 48% of the market share.

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The wealth management market size has the potential to grow by during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 7.61%. Education Market in UAE by Ownership and End-user - Forecast and Analysis 2021-2025- The education market size in UAE has the potential to grow by USD 97.12 thousand during 2021-2025, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 1.58%.



The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. BMW AG, Continental AG, Daimler AG, DENSO Corp., Hyundai Motor Co., Robert Bosch GmbH, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Tesla Inc., Valeo SA, and Volkswagen AG are some of the major market participants. The increasing demand for car-sharing and car rental services will offer immense growth opportunities. In a bid to help players strengthen their market foothold, this automotive digital key market forecast report provides a detailed analysis of the leading market vendors. The report also empowers industry honchos with information on the competitive landscape and insights into the different product offerings offered by various companies.

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Automotive Digital Key Market 2021-2025: Segmentation

Automotive Digital Key Market is segmented as below:

Application

Personal Use



Car Sharing and Car Rental

Geography

Europe



North America



APAC



South America



MEA

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Automotive Digital Key Market 2021-2025: Scope

Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. The automotive digital key market report covers the following areas:

Automotive Digital Key Market Size

Automotive Digital Key Market Trends

Automotive Digital Key Market Industry Analysis

This study identifies use of digital keys for all connected systems as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive digital key market growth during the next few years. Also, digital key accessibility when smart device runs out of charge and use of smart wearables as digital keys will lead to a sizeable demand of the market.

Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Technavio's in-depth research has direct and indirect COVID-19 impacted market research reports.

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Automotive Digital Key Market 2021-2025: Key Highlights

CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2021-2025

Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive digital key market growth during the next five years.

Estimation of the automotive digital key market size and its contribution to the parent market

Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behaviour

The growth of the automotive digital key market across Europe , North America , APAC, South America , and MEA

, , APAC, , and MEA Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive digital key market vendors

Table of Contents:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market ecosystem

Value chain analysis

Market Sizing

Market definition

Market segment analysis

Market size 2020

Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Five Forces Analysis

Five forces summary

Bargaining power of buyers

Bargaining power of suppliers

Threat of new entrants

Threat of substitutes

Threat of rivalry

Market condition

Market Segmentation by Application

Market segments

Comparison by Application

Personal use - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Car sharing and car rental - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Market opportunity by Application

Customer landscape

Geographic Landscape

Geographic segmentation

Geographic comparison

Europe - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 North America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 APAC - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

South America - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by geography

Market drivers

Market challenges

Market trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendor Landscape

Landscape disruption

Vendor Analysis

Vendors covered

Market positioning of vendors

BMW AG

Continental AG

Daimler AG

DENSO Corp.

Hyundai Motor Co.

Robert Bosch GmbH

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Tesla Inc.

Valeo SA

Volkswagen AG

Appendix

Scope of the report

Currency conversion rates for US$

Research methodology

List of abbreviations

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.

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SOURCE Technavio

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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, studies established a firm connection between housing instability and mental health problems. Now, more than a year after the virus began snuffing out lives and livelihoods, the link between a sound mind and a sound home is more evident than ever.

Having a safe and comfortable place to live is fundamental to mental health, experts say. A home provides a refuge from the storms of everyday life that grate on our nerves. For just about everyone, the pandemic made dwellings an essential element for our well-being. In essence, home is where the health is  both mental and physical health.

So, when the economy began to groan under the weight of the pandemics lockdowns and the related unemployment crisis, countless Americans faced the soul-crushing possibility of not being able to pay rent or house notes, a situation that threatened to turn the unemployed into the unhoused.

This slow-motion train wreck of a housing crisis unfolded before the eyes of Marguerite Oestreicher, the executive director of the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. While New Orleans was not alone in dealing with housing distress, its chronic shortage of affordable housing and the city economys reliance on tourism-related jobs made it especially vulnerable.

When shelter is jeopardized, the anxiety, depression and levels of stress people in this situation face are through the roof, Oestreicher said. It was easy to detect the housing pulse in the area. Housing is such a fundamental need.

As first timers join food bank lines, psychologists want to erase the stigma of asking for help A few months ago, a woman who had been waiting in a long line at the Northshore Food Bank in Covington finally made her way to the front, pull

Oestreicher said she knows of one case in which a New Orleans family had to move in with a relative who was already short of living space. The result was four family members living in a laundry room.

With the pandemic going on, people in this situation are stressed to the absolute limit, she said. We only have so much mental bandwidth.

The Mental Health Foundation says research indicates those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, are much more likely to experience mental distress, and a significant number do not get the support they need.

The foundation also reports that compared with the general population, people with mental health conditions are:

1 times more likely to live in rented housing

More likely to experience instability with regards to tenancy agreements

Twice as likely as those without mental health problems to be unhappy with their housing

Four times as likely to say it makes their health worse.

The pandemic-generated housing catastrophe fell into the wheelhouse of the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity. Its mission is to establish partnerships with hardworking, low-income families in New Orleans to build and finance affordable homes. The program provides an avenue to homeownership for people who are unable to qualify for traditional home loans but have a stable job and the willingness to contribute 350 hours of sweat equity to help build Habitat homes.

+2 College students struggle with depression and anxiety while COVID turns life upside down When introducing herself to parents of incoming freshmen at Loyola University, Asia Wong used to explain her role on campus in a straightforwa

Since its inception in 1983, more than 600 homes have been built under the auspices of the local Habitat branch. The pandemic forced the organization to curtail its building efforts, but it hopes to resume taking applicants for the program within the next month.

We have not been able to safely host volunteers on our build sites, and that will have longer-term impacts than this past year, Oestreicher said. Friendships and relationships forged through the crucible of shared work is what allows disparate groups to come together. Its how we connect and find new long-term supporters, too.

Although building has suffered, Habitat was able to blunt the pandemics impact for some homeowners by offering mortgage deferments to all of its partner families.

We made phone calls, sent emails and hard copy letters explaining how to secure the deferments to make it as painless as we could, Oestreicher said. Fidelity Bank, who services our loans, was an incredible partner throughout and readily agreed to support us in this effort.

"Our deferments made sure people weren't hit with one massive payment at the end of the deferment period; we extended the term of the entire mortgage.

As of last month, 251 of the 440 Habitat homebuyers who still had mortgages requested and were able to secure deferments with the help of the nonprofit organization, Oestreicher said.

Our families worked really hard to buy their homes in the first place, so the last thing we wanted was for them to be at risk of losing them, she said. With so many of our buyers working in hospitality or as culture-bearers, we knew many would be anxious, so we moved quickly to address the problem.

New Orleans-area residents in need of housing assistance can find a list of agencies that can provide support by reaching out to the Renaudin Foundation at renaudinfoundation.org.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan met with families of the Armenian prisoners of war who are still being held in Azerbaijan in gross violation of international law. The meeting took place in Gyumri.

Issues of the protection of rights of both the captive servicemen and their families were discussed, as well as the steps taken within the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Defender.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
TOLEDO, Ohio, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its ongoing efforts to protect nesting birds, Toledo Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to donate and install a 55-foot wooden pole with a nesting platform atop at the Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge, which is part of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. This proactive work will provide a safe nesting location for the growing osprey population and promote osprey conservation efforts in the area.

"With the significant spike in the osprey population over recent years, we have been fortunate to experience minimal nesting activity on our utility poles and equipment in the Toledo area," said Amy Ruszala, an environmental scientist and avian expert at FirstEnergy. "Partnering with the Ottawa Refuge allows us to proactively complete work to further discourage birds from nesting on or near our electrical equipment, so that it doesn't become an issue in our area."

The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex is located in northwest Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie. The refuge was established in 1961 to provide habitat for waterfowl and other migratory birds, resident wildlife and endangered and threatened species. Because ospreys prefer to nest near large bodies of water, the 5-square-foot wooden nesting platform was installed on top of a new wooden pole along the lakeshore. Toledo Edison donated the materials and labor needed to complete the three-hour installation.

Birds of prey, like ospreys, often seek out tall structures including electric transmission towers and poles to build their nests, which can measure up to three feet in width. These nesting habits often place the birds near energized electrical equipment  jeopardizing their well-being and potentially causing power outages. The newly installed platform will help discourage the birds from nesting on poles with energized equipment.

The work builds upon the company's efforts in recent years to protect nesting birds. Toledo Edison has worked closely with FirstEnergy's environmentalists and state wildlife officials to install nesting deterrents on utility poles and electrical equipment in the region. Large, bright line markers also have been installed on power lines to provide visual warnings of energized equipment to birds and low-flying aircraft.

Additionally, FirstEnergy deployed an app last spring that allows utility personnel to report avian issues in real time, streamlining the process to protect nesting birds and enhance electric service reliability. The app arms field workers with the ability to submit photos and answer key questions using a drop-down menu to report the locations of bird nests or other bird-related issues along the company's power lines, all from their mobile devices.

Toledo Edison serves more than 300,000 customers in northwest Ohio. Follow Toledo Edison on Twitter @ToledoEdison or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy utility personnel building and installing the nesting platforms are available for download on Flickr.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.

Related Links

http://www.firstenergycorp.com


TRAVERSE CITY, MI  A Michigan woman who was speaking out about gun violence during a public meeting when an elected official brought an assault rifle into view has filed First Amendment lawsuit in federal court.

Patricia Kelly MacIntosh, 74, of Grand Traverse County, was requesting that elected officials make a public statement denouncing the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, specifically actions by the Proud Boys organization, during the Jan. 20 Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners virtual meeting when Vice Chair Ron Clous got up, disappeared off screen and then returned holding an assault rifle.

RELATED: Northern Michigan official holds rifle during public comment about gun violence concerns

The complaint filed Monday, April 12, in the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan focuses on the First Amendment right of citizens to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Clous and Grand Traverse County are named as defendants.

If we do nothing to combat this clear abuse of power, our constitution wont be worth the paper its written on, attorney Blake Ringsmuth, of Ringsmuth Wuori in Traverse City, said during a news conference on Tuesday.

Since the incident, MacIntosh is never without a cloud of fear, she told reporters at the news conference. She has been the subject of late-night threatening phone calls. Other constituents she has spoken to have expressed fear to speak out during the countys public meetings, MacIntosh said.

The goal of the suit is for the court to declare that Clous actions were unconstitutional, and then to proceed to a jury trial in the pursuit of punitive damages, he said.

On Jan. 20, MacIntosh was speaking during the public comment portion of a county board meeting. Her concerns about gun violence were related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the attempted kidnapping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Grand Traverse Countys status as a Second Amendment sanctuary and the board allegedly allowing the Proud Boys group to give a presentation at a previous meeting. After acknowledging gun rights, she asked the board to make a public statement denouncing the Proud Boys and the recent violence that she saw as a threat to democracy.

As she spoke, Clous got up, disappeared off screen and then returned holding a rifle. Clous set the weapon on the floor after earning a chuckle from Chair Rob Hentschel. The woman speaking did not react and continued with her statement until her time was up.

Dozens of people spoke out to condemn Clous actions during a virtual meeting on Jan. 28; many of them declined to provide their names. Clous also had supporters in the virtual crowd.

RELATED: Northern Michigan official who held rifle during meeting sparks public outcry

View the full Jan. 20 meeting here; the incident occurred about 1 hour and 31 minutes into the meeting. View the full Jan. 28 meeting here.

READ MORE:

Michigan man accidentally shot himself in the leg, saved by DNR officer

Woman claims bomb in stolen vehicle after fleeing police in Northern Michigan

Man accused of sexual assault, torturing teen sisters with a hammer takes plea deal
Supreme Court orders California to lift restrictions on at-home worship gatherings

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued an order blocking California from enforcing restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, including prayer meetings and Bible studies.

Californias rule that limits at-home religious gatherings to three households violates the First Amendments protection of religious exercise, the court ruled in a 5-4 unsigned order chiding the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for its failure to grant an injunction.

California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time, the majority opinion stated.

The Rev. Jeremy Wong and Karen Busch in Santa Clara County filed a motion seeking an injunction to the states rules. Before the pandemic, Wong and Busch regularly held Bible studies, prayer meetings and worship services at their homes as they believe in the vital importance of assembling for small group house church.

Forming the majority were Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. The latter three are appointees of former President Donald Trump.

The courts liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer dissented. Kagan, an Obama-appointee, wrote the dissent and cited lower-court findings that argued the risk of infection is lower while shopping or visiting a barber than when people gather in private homes, where the interaction generally lasts longer with less ventilation and social distancing is more difficult.

California limits religious gatherings in homes to three households. If the State also limits all secular gatherings in homes to three households, it has complied with the First Amendment, she wrote. And the State does exactly that: It has adopted a blanket restriction on at-home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike. California need not  treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons.

The order noted that this is the fifth time the Court has summarily rejected the Ninth Circuits analysis of Californias COVID restrictions on religious exercise.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, sided with the three Democratic appointees. However, he did not join their dissenting opinion.

Numerous churches have challenged state and local COVID-19 restrictions on worship services and gatherings during the pandemic. The Supreme Court had earlier issued rulings against coronavirus-related restrictions in California and New York.

Before the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the nations high court appeared to side with authorities on pandemic gathering restriction questions. But Barretts nomination in October has cemented a conservative majority on the court.

In their plea for emergency intervention, the petitioners said they sincerely believe assembling for small-group, house church fellowship is just as indispensable to their faith as attending Mass is for a Catholic.

Yet for over a year now, California has completely prohibited or substantially restricted those 'gatherings' and many others, the motion argues.

By contrast, the State allows countless other activities to take place outdoors without any numerical limitations, from weddings and funerals to secular cultural events and political rallies. It also permits more than three households to congregate inside buses, trains, universities, airports, barber shops, government offices, movie studios, tattoo parlors, salons, and other commercial venues.

California is set to ease restrictions this week, as residents are receiving vaccines.

[A]lthough California officials changed the challenged policy shortly after this application was filed, the previous restrictions remain in place until April 15th, and officials with a track record of moving the goalposts retain authority to reinstate those heightened restrictions at any time, the Supreme Court order stated.
Essex Minerals (CVE: ESX- OTCQB: ESXMF) CEO Paul Loudon joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share details the company is spinning out a new royalty and streaming company with a focus on Renewable Energy. The new company will be funded separately to Essex with the founding shares in the new venture to be distributed pro-rata to Essex shareholders.

Loudon telling Proactive, Essex is forming a new subsidiary called Optegra Capital Corp and will assign its rights under a previously announced Framework Financing Agreement with Zola Minerals.

Optegra plans to raise up to $50 million to fund the initial streams and will also have the rights to acquire Zola's current and future rights to other streams being negotiated in the renewable energy, battery and precious metals sectors.
Converse, Indiana, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Farmers Financial Corp. (OTCQX:FFMR), announced that the Board of Directors has approved a plan to repurchase up to $2 million in the Corporations outstanding common stock on the open market.

The timing, price, and quantity of purchases under the stock repurchase plan will be at the discretion of management and may be discontinued, suspended, or restarted at any time. The program will be funded from current available working capital. The board feels the stock repurchase plan will provide capital management opportunities and add value for the Companys shareholders depending upon market and business conditions. This announcement represents the 14th Corporate Stock Buyback initiated since October 2017

First Farmers Financial Corp is a $2.3 billion financial holding company headquartered in Converse, Indiana. First Farmers Bank & Trust has offices throughout Carroll, Cass, Clay, Grant, Hamilton, Howard, Huntington, Madison, Marshall, Miami, Starke, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vigo and Wabash counties in Indiana and offices in Coles, Edgar and Vermilion counties in Illinois. As of March 31, 2021, the Corporation had 7,079,351 common shares outstanding.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In advance of Earth Day, the Walton Family Foundation today announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening the field of environmental journalism. #HeresWhy seeks to explore the challenges facing environmental journalism, expand the audience for environmental news, and determine what role philanthropy can play in bolstering the field.

"Quality journalism is critical to having an informed public who can hold decision-makers accountable on many different issues, including public health, the economy, and racial justice. The health of the environment is intimately connected to all of these issues," explains Moira Mcdonald, director of the Walton Family Foundation Environment Program. "With so much environmental and climate news happening right now, we must ensure reporters, editors, and the public who rely on them understand how and why these issues connect and define some of the most important challenges before us."

With shrinking news budgets, competing interests for print space and airtime, and an increased reliance on advertising sales already stretching newsrooms thin and significantly altering the environmental journalism field, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges. Fewer reporters covering more news is forcing journalists to write about issues beyond their regular beats, leaving less time and space for environmental news. Even as climate change emerges as the most critical issue of the era, climate-related news coverage is decreasing. A recent poll shows television is people's most common news source for information about climate change. Yet climate made up just 0.4 percent of morning, nightly, and Sunday morning broadcast television news shows in 2020.

To address this challenge, Walton Family Foundation, one of the nation's top journalism funders, is planning a series of listening sessions, research projects, and financial commitments, starting with a $785,000 grant to The Associated Press (AP) to develop three new water and environment beats.

"Water quality and allocation are fundamental issues of climate change and impact communities far and wide," said Sarah Nordgren, AP deputy managing editor. "This grant will enable AP to increase coverage in video, text, and photos of water issues in the West, along the Mississippi River, and, from a policy perspective, in Washington, D.C. Whether you're coming from a health standpoint, an economic standpoint, or an equity standpointyou can't tell the whole story of water if you don't include the environmental piece."

In addition to this grant, Walton Family Foundation is planning several virtual roundtable discussions with journalists, nonprofits, NGOs, academics, philanthropies, and other partners to explore the state of environmental journalism today, where people get their environmental news, how to expand and diversify the field, and what role philanthropy should play.

The first listening session of the series will be on May 19 when Walton Family Foundation joins Media Impact Funders at its annual Media Impact Forum, which brings funders and media makers together to share insights about influential projects and trends. This Media Impact Forum session will feature media experts discussing where consumers get environmental news, who they trust, and how they filter the environmental content they receive, and will also explore the connection between media narratives and public opinion.

"The public has a right to know what's happening to the water they drink, the food they eat, and the air they breathe," said Meaghan Parker, executive director for the Society of Environmental Journalists. "We applaud the Walton Family Foundation for supporting more and better news coverage of these critical environmental challenges, especially at a time when thousands of journalists are out of work. This effort highlights the need for innovative investments that can transform environmental journalism into a sustainable career, including support for training, convening, and mentoring to build the pipeline of future environmental journalists."

#HeresWhy will culminate later this year when Walton Family Foundation shares its findings and recommendations. As the effort progresses, the Foundation hopes that other foundations will join the effort.

"From health to business to culture, many news stories have environmental angles that directly connect to our lives and livelihoods," said Mcdonald. "We're certainly not the first foundation to explore this issue. But our hope is that by elevating this critical need and creating space for this discussion, other philanthropies will join in so that we can coordinate our funding efforts and ensure all of our grant dollars go farther."

To learn more about the initiative, follow #HeresWhy on Twitter.

About the Walton Family Foundation

The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. In 2019, the foundation awarded more than $525 million in grants in support of these initiatives. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

SOURCE Walton Family Foundation

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It's spring in Houston, a time for rebirth, rejuvenation and ... cleaning.

Like street drains before a storm, Houston's infrastructure sometimes needs a little TLC. That includes our bike lanes, where cyclists sometimes encounter litter, street debris and overgrowth.

READY FOR TAKE-OFF: Southwest Airlines takes flight from Bush IAH, again

Volunteers (that means you!) will help sweep clean bike lanes in Northside Village near Cavalcade and Edison streets on the morning of Earth Day, April 22.

Here's what they look like now:

"This debris isnt merely an inconvenience  its a safety hazard," BikeHouston Executive Director Joe Cutrufo told Chron. "Every time someone has to navigate around debris in the bike lanes, theyre potentially mixing with cars and trucks, which defeats the purpose of protected bike lanes."

Houston is putting in more and more bike lanes, a welcome addition to the city's vast infrastructure. But keeping up with them should be as important and installing them, Cutrufo said.

"Weve built some great bike infrastructure in the last few years, but its a lot less useful when it isnt maintained," he said.

Volunteers can meet at the corner of Cavalcade and Edison at 10 a.m., or bike to the location with a group of cyclists who are meeting at downtown's Market Square at 9:30 a.m.

Here's where to sign up.

Are you joining? Let me know on Twitter: @jayrjordan.
Xanana Gusmao, famed icon of East Timor, is letting his people down. Once placed by many of his Australian supporters in the same pantheon as Nelson Mandela, on Monday he was filmed assaulting two women in the street. Having taken it upon himself to demand the body of their deceased kin be released from the morgue in a flagrant violation of his countrys public health measures, he then apparently took exception to their speaking  repeatedly bellowing nonok (shut up!) and slapping them, one with significant force. In video footage, the sickening sound of his hand hitting her face is clearly audible.

In a country that is struggling with not just devastating floods and a looming COVID-19 outbreak but also endemic violence against women and children, this is particularly cutting.

Ubiquitous for decades as a guerrilla leader, political prisoner and statesman, last year Gusmao was outplayed by his rivals and found himself bereft of formal power. Yet he remains the most influential person in his country. That country needs him more than ever, but his recent conduct is not helping.

Last week saw devastating flooding throughout the region, with bridges washed away, homes destroyed and dozens of lives lost. The images have been stark, but the efforts of young Timorese in Timor and among the thousands working abroad in Britain and Australia, who have organised money and muscles for the recovery effort, are a cause for hope.
MILPITAS, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronic System Design (ESD) industry revenue increased by over $1 billion in 2020, marking a new milestone for the industry, the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community, announced today in the Q4 2020 Electronic Design Market Data report. Revenue increased 15.4% in Q4 2020 to $3,031.5 million, compared to $2,626.3 million in Q4 2019, representing only the fourth time since 2011 that year-over-year growth exceeded 15%. The four-quarter moving average, which compares the most recent four quarters to the prior four quarters, rose by 11.6%, the highest annual growth since 2011 and the second highest in the last 14 years.

"The industry reported a substantial double-digit year-over-year revenue increase for Q4 2020," said Walden C. Rhines, Executive Sponsor, SEMI Electronic Design Market Data report. "Overall industry revenue surpassed $3 billion for Q4, with increases in all geographic regions. The Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), IC Physical Design and Verification, Semiconductor IP (SIP), and Services categories also reported fourth-quarter growth."

The companies tracked in the EDMD report employed 48,478 people in Q4 2020, a 6.7% increase over the Q4 2019 headcount of 45,416 and up 3% compared to Q3 2020.

The quarterly EDMD report containing detailed revenue information with the following category and geographic breakdowns.

Revenue by Product and Application Category in Q4 2020

CAE revenue increased 9.4% to $956.9 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter CAE moving average also increased 9.4%.

revenue increased 9.4% to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter CAE moving average also increased 9.4%. IC Physical Design and Verification revenue increased 36.6% to $637.1 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for the category rose 12.3%.

revenue increased 36.6% to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for the category rose 12.3%. Printed Circuit Board and Multi-Chip Module (PCB and MCM) revenue decreased 0.8% to $292.9 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for PCB and MCM increased 4.3%.

revenue decreased 0.8% to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for PCB and MCM increased 4.3%. SIP revenue increased 16.9% to $1,052.9 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter SIP moving average grew 17.1%.

revenue increased 16.9% to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter SIP moving average grew 17.1%. Services revenue increased 2.2% to $91.6 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter Services moving average decreased 2.4%.

Revenue by Region in Q4 2020

The Americas , the largest reporting region by revenue, purchased $1,304 million of Electronic System Design products and services in Q4 2020, a 15.8% increase compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for the Americas increased 9.9%.

, the largest reporting region by revenue, purchased of Electronic System Design products and services in Q4 2020, a 15.8% increase compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for the Americas increased 9.9%. Europe , the Middle East , and Africa (EMEA) revenue increased 2.7%, to $457.2 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for EMEA grew 6.3%.

(EMEA) revenue increased 2.7%, to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for EMEA grew 6.3%. Japan revenue increased 8% to $228.2 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for Japan rose 8.2%.

revenue increased 8% to compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for rose 8.2%. Asia Pacific (APAC) revenue increased 23.4% to $1,042 million compared to Q4 2019. The four-quarter moving average for APAC increased 17.1%.

About the EDMD Report

The ESD Alliance Electronic Design Market Data (formerly the Market Statistics Service) reports EDA, IP and services industry revenue data quarterly and is available from SEMI. Both public and private companies contribute data to the report. Each quarterly report is published approximately three months after quarter close. EDMD report data is segmented as follows:

Revenue by product category (CAE, IC Physical Design and Verification, Semiconductor IP, PCB/MCM Layout, and Services) including numerous detailed sub-categories

Revenue by geographic region (the Americas, Europe Middle East and Africa , Japan , and Asia Pacific )

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A Western Australian woman who suffered a rare blood clot after receiving the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine remains in a stable condition following a short stint in intensive care.

The woman in her 40s presented at the emergency department of a regional hospital about a fortnight after receiving the jab in mid-March.

She was flown to Royal Darwin Hospital where she was admitted to intensive care.

She is now in a stable condition.

'Her family has authorised us to say that her progress has been very positive and that she is recovering well,' WA health minister Roger Cook told reporters on Tuesday.

Two Australians have developed blood clots after receiving their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Pictured is a Darwin nurse preparing a AstraZeneca dose for a patient

A 44-year-old Melbourne man also developed the condition following his AstraZeneca vaccination last month.

People who have received the vaccine have been asked to look out for symptoms including severe or persistent headaches, blurred vision, shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling, abdominal pain or unusual bruising.

About 700,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in Australia, so the two cases equate to a frequency of one in every 350,000 people.

The Pfizer jab is now the preferred option for people under the age of 50.

But Mr Cook said anyone under 50 in WA will still be able to request the more widely available AstraZeneca vaccine once informed consent arrangements are finalised.

'We can't continue to believe that we are immune from this global pandemic,' he said.

'We have to make sure that we can step forward in this vaccination program as part of a global effort to make everyone safe. Otherwise we're just sitting ducks.'

A Western Australian woman developed blood clots two weeks after receiving AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. Pictured is a dose of the vaccine in Perth

A crew member from a bulk iron ore carrier docked off the coast of WA is meanwhile in a stable condition after being hospitalised in Perth.

The man in his 50s became unwell last week while aboard the AquaGenie vessel in Commonwealth waters off the coast of Karratha.

A boat was sent to retrieve the man, who is now in a negative pressure room at Royal Perth Hospital after initially being taken to Karratha Health Campus.

Mr Cook said there were no reports of illness among the remaining 23 crew.

A legal direction has been issued blocking the ship from entering WA waters and it is expected to return to the Philippines in coming days.

The use of the Pfizer vaccine is now preferred over AstraZeneca in Australians aged under-50s. Pictured is a woman receives a coronavirus vaccine in a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia's Kimberley region
A new poll has shown nearly 75 per cent of Australians believe the federal government should follow through on plans to open the nation's borders once the country is vaccinated against Covid-19.

Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday said vaccinations alone was 'no guarantee you can open up' - meaning it could take years for Australia to fully re-open to the rest of the world.

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders,' he said.

The announcement followed months of promises the country would open up once millions of Australians had been vaccinated against the deadly virus.

The cautious approach has been lashed by both business leaders and political commentators for turning Australia into a 'prison island'.

A poll of Daily Mail Australia readers in the wake of Mr Hunt's admission found only 26 per cent wanted to keep the borders closed once Australians have had the jab.

Passengers at Sydney International Airport arrive after flying in from Auckland, New Zealand on September 18, 2020

By contrast, 74 per cent thought it was best to open up when the country's population had built up an immunity against Covid-19.

Poll Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up No - keep borders closed Do you think Australia should open its borders when people are vaccinated against Covid? Yes - we need to open up 854 votes

No - keep borders closed 374 votes Now share your opinion





The results follow outspoken Sky News host Rita Panahi saying the move would actually be a disincentive to get the vaccine.

'It's a terrible message to be sending out because it discourages people from getting the vaccine,' outspoken Sky News host Rita Panahi said.

'It's basically saying we're still going to be closed off from the rest of the world.

'It's a terrible policy. How much longer can we remain a prison island? At some point we have to rejoin the rest of the world.'

Lawyer Liz Hicks accused the government of 'shifting the goal posts' by previously touting vaccines as Australians' ticket to the outside world.

Registered Nurse Rebecca DeJong receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine, administered by Registered Nurse Morgan Sleader at Townsville University Hospital on March 5, 2021

An international traveler carries their luggage into the Intercontinental Hotel on April 8 in Melbourne (pictured) - with harsh restrictions meaning most Aussies can't head abroad

Fears are growing highly infectious 'mutant strains' seen in the UK, South Africa and Brazil could also make vaccines less effective in years to come, after an Israeli study this week found 'breakthrough infections' are possible after receiving the dose.

Such mutant variants are among the reasons why Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have warned that widespread use of current vaccines may not be enough to open borders.

No coronavirus vaccines, including the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs Australia is relying on, are 100 per cent effective against the deadly virus.

A passenger wearing a facemask arrives at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport from New Zealand (pictured) - the only country in the world Australians can travel to

'If the whole country were vaccinated, you couldn't just open the borders,' Greg Hunt (pictured) said on Tuesday

With over 23million cases still active across the world, Mr Morrison has made no apologies for playing it safe.

'It's not safe right now to open up our international borders. Around the world, COVID-19 is still rife,' he said on Monday.

'We are still seeing increases in daily cases, particularly in the developing world... but around the world, it is still a very dangerous situation because of Covid.'

Back in January, the prime minister said vaccination in 2021 was 'a key component' in Australia's handling of the pandemic, and previously said it would be as 'mandatory as possible'.

He even said that if the vaccines were effective at preventing transmission, borders could open sooner than expected - but that is no longer the case.

'The key thing I think is going to impact on that decision, is going to be whether the evidence emerges about transmissibility, and how the vaccine protects against that,' Mr Morrison said in February 2021.
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.
Arizona News

Flagstaff, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) announced a partnership with Coconino County, Northern Arizona University (NAU), and Northern Arizona Healthcare to open a state COVID-19 vaccination site in Flagstaff.

Launching Monday, April 19 at NAUs University Union Fieldhouse, this indoor vaccination site will operate seven days a week from 7 a.m.-5 p.m., with the potential to expand hours to 7 p.m. It will offer around 1,000 appointments per day to start but will be able to administer more than 4,000 doses daily.



We will continue to expand vaccination opportunities throughout the entire state as vaccine supply increases, said Governor Ducey. These safe and effective vaccines are the way back to normal life and protecting everyone, especially our most vulnerable.



Other partners include the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs. Premier Medical Group is the primary site operator and will be responsible for the pharmacy and staffing. The site will offer the Pfizer vaccine, which is available to those age 16 and older. The county currently offers the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines, which are approved for those 18 and older.



Coconino County has been a leader at vaccinating its residents, with a higher percentage of its population vaccinated than any other Arizona county, and we are excited to complement these efforts by opening this site, said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ. Together, we are expanding Arizonas success getting vaccines into the community as widely and equitably as possible.



Coconino County is excited to welcome the Northern Region Vaccination Site to our community and to expand vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and over, said Kim Musselman, Coconino County health and human services director and COVID-19 incident commander. Vaccination remains the single best step we can take towards slowing the spread of COVID-19 and stopping this pandemic. Coconino County is committed to ensuring vaccinations are accessible to all eligible individuals, and we appreciate the partnership with Arizona Department of Health Services, Northern Arizona University, Northern Arizona Healthcare, Premier Medical Group, and the many community health professionals and volunteers who have come together to make this happen.



NAUs University Union Fieldhouse, at 1050 Knoles Drive, has also been used to provide COVID-19 testing for the Flagstaff community.



From COVID testing to critical research to vaccine distribution, NAU is proud of its efforts over the past year and enthusiastic about this expanded partnership with the State of Arizona, Coconino County, Northern Arizona Healthcare and Premier Medical Group to broaden vaccine access in Flagstaff, said NAU President Rita Hartung Cheng. We look forward to continuing to reduce the spread of this virus together and re-opening our community safely.



Northern Arizona Healthcare, operator of Flagstaff Medical Center, will provide additional support for clinical staffing.



Our fight against COVID-19 depends on vaccinations. Easier access to vaccines helps our communities reach the goal of herd immunity  significantly reducing the risk of COVID-19 to our families and friends as well as the distress to our counties and hospitals as a whole, said Dr. John Mougin, chief quality officer for Northern Arizona Healthcare. We appreciate the work of our state and county partners and Northern Arizona University in creating a POD to benefit the families of northern Arizona. Northern Arizona Healthcare is grateful to see this POD constructed as it will allow access to the vaccine for Coconino and surrounding counties.



The states expansion of mass-vaccination beyond the Phoenix area also includes converting a University of Arizona site in Tucson to a state operation and also converting a site at the Yuma Civic Center in Yuma. The University of Arizona site has administered 123,582 doses and the Yuma site 9,705, while all state-run sites have administered a total of 1,128,006 doses.



To date, 3,962,537 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to 2,493,123 individuals in Arizona, including 1,615,029 who are fully vaccinated.



Appointments for the week of April 19 will be available starting at 11 a.m. Friday, April 16, by visiting podvaccine.azdhs.gov or calling 1-844-542-8201. Both have resources available in English and Spanish.



Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona, including pharmacies, Federally Qualified Health Centers, pop-up events in specific communities, and healthcare providers offering vaccination, can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine.



To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19Vaccines.
The Ukrainian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during which a range of meetings were held regarding the future cooperation of both states.

According to the ministry's press service, the delegation included Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak; Deputy Head of the President's Office Ihor Zhovkva and Deputy Health Minister, Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.

It is noted that among others, the members of the delegation held a separate meeting with CEO of G42 Healthcare Ashish Koshy and his team.

"The priority for Ukraine is the issue of vaccine supplies, because in order to fulfill the presidential decree on the vaccination of the majority of the adult population of Ukraine by the end of 2021, it is necessary to provide free access to the vaccine for all Ukrainians over 18 years old. The G42 company, along with the Sinopharm Chinese vaccine manufacturer, is involved in the production of an inactivated vaccine against COVID-19 and is already producing this vaccine called Hayat-Vax COVID-19 in the UAE," the ministry said.

They discussed the possibility of supplying at least 5 million doses of vaccine to Ukraine at the meeting.

"Today the plant in the UAE has a production capacity of about 2 million doses per month. In order to increase capacity, it is planned to construct a new plant, which will be operational by the end of 2021, and due to the phased development, it will reach a capacity of 200 million doses per year on three filling lines and five automated packaging lines. By comparison, Sinopharm itself has delivered 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine worldwide since its launch last autumn," the Reintegration Ministry said.

According to it, chief state sanitary doctor of Ukraine suggested that the G42 leadership consider the possibility of localizing the production of a vaccine against COVID-19 in Ukraine. We agreed to work out this issue in the near future and make a decision by the end of May 2021.

It is noted that Ukraine is interested in the UAE's experience in vaccination and expanded cooperation in the medicine industry.

"During this meeting, the key points of cooperation in the development of the Ukrainian healthcare system, in terms of improving e-health and concession issues in the medical sector, were discussed. G42 Healthcare is ready to consider the possibility of managing selected Ukrainian hospitals and ensure the appropriate level of investment and supply of the latest medical equipment," the ministry said.

The ministry said that CEO Koshy responded to the proposal of Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Reznikov and expressed his readiness to work out the possibility of investment construction of modern analogues of our regional hospitals on the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"In addition, a meeting was held with the UAE Minister of Food Security Mariam Al Mheiri, who is responsible from the Arab side for the Joint Cooperation Council, which was created after the visit of the President of Ukraine to the UAE. Mariam Al Mheiri is coordinating contacts and processing project concepts between the two countries that have set a goal to increase trade turnover by ten times within five years. During the meeting, the sides discussed current projects, and also agreed on the minister's visit to Ukraine in June-July this year," the press service said.

It is noted that they also talked about the progress on the previously reached agreements on direct investments, which may be of interest to UAE sovereign funds in Ukraine.

In particular, the Mubadala Sovereign Fund is now considering for further investments Ukrainian companies that are on the list for privatization.
Australian Minister for Health Greg Hunt discusses the COVID-19 vaccination program at press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, on April 9, 2021. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

Australia Rules Out Buying Johnson & Johnson Vaccine

The federal government has decided against buying the one-dose Johnson and Johnson coronavirus vaccine to boost the nations immunisation stocks.

The government was in talks with the pharmaceutical giant, which had asked for initial approval for its vaccine from Australias medicine regulator.

But Health Minister Greg Hunt has ruled out proceeding with the purchase at this stage because it is too similar to the AstraZeneca drug.

The Janssen vaccine is an adenovirus vaccine, the same type of vaccine as the AstraZeneca vaccine, he said through a spokesperson.

The government does not intend to purchase any further adenovirus vaccines at this time.

Johnson and Johnson also required a no-fault compensation scheme before it would sell vaccines to Australia, which the government was not committed to introducing.

Labor health spokesman Mark Butler said it was not good enough for the minister to announce his decision through a spokesperson.

Butler wants to know the reasons behind the decision, saying Australia needs to secure more vaccine deals.

With this very important vaccine thats rolling out through the US, will start to roll out through the United Kingdom very soon, if there is a decision not to go with it, what are the reasons for that? he told the ABC.

I think this is the problem Australians and Australian businesses are having right nowthe communication channels from the government have shut down.

Weve got a prime minister thats retreated to Facebook and a minister whos making announcements through a spokesperson without clear background information.

Labor has spent months calling on the government to secure more vaccine deals, arguing most countries have five or six different options.

Scott Morrison has taken to Facebook to reassure Australians about the vaccine rollout.

Morrison has abandoned all vaccine timelines and targets after medical authorities recommended people aged under 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of the AstraZeneca jab, which was the countrys mainstay.

He claimed targets were not possible as COVID writes its own rules.

Rather than set targets that can get knocked about by every to and fro of international supply chains and other disruptions that can occur, we are just getting on with it, he said.

Morrison said Australias current rate of 1.2 million vaccinations to date was comparable to other major countries.

But government figures show Australias rollout, compared to 12 other nations, is running behind the UK, US, Singapore, Belgium, Italy and Germany.

Business groups have warned the strength of the countrys economic recovery depends on the vaccine rollout.

They argue if the government is no longer willing to set timetables, it should at least set milestones, so businesses can plan for the future.

By Daniel McCulloch
The new privacy policy of would lead to excessive data collection and "stalking" of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore, an alleged abuse of dominant position, competition regulator told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.

The submission was made before Justice Navin Chawla by senior advocate Aman Lekhi on behalf of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in defence of its order directing an investigation into the new privacy policy of messaging platform

The was looking into the competition aspect and not the alleged violation of individuals' privacy which was being looked into by the Supreme Court, Lekhi said.

"There is no question of jurisdictional error," he said and added that and Facebook's pleas challenging the CCI's decision were "incompetent and misconceived".

WhatsApp and Facebook, represented by senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, have challenged the CCI's March 24 order directing a probe into the new privacy policy.

The high court which reserved its order in the matter was told by Lekhi that whether the data collection by WhatsApp and sharing it with Facebook would amount to an anti-competitive practice or abuse of dominant position can be determined only after the investigation.

He argued that the data collected, which would include an individual's location, the kind of device used, their internet service provider and whom they are conversing with, would lead to creation of a customer profile and preference which would be monetised by way of targeted advertising and all this amounts to "stalking".

He also said that the investigation ordered was only an administrative proceeding which did not have any civil consequence at this stage.

The two social media platforms have contended that when the top court and the Delhi High Court were looking into the privacy policy, then ought not to have "jumped the gun" and intervened in the issue.

They contended that CCI's decision was an abuse of the commission's suo motu jurisdiction.

They said the issue of the policy being unfair to consumers was being considered by the apex court and therefore, CCI ought not to have taken up the issue.

In January, the CCI on its own decided to look into WhatsApp's new privacy policy on the basis of news reports regarding the same.
 Flash

A book entitled "Garlands of Love" was released on Monday at the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, marking one of a series of events to be held this year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan.

The book, written by Lu Shulin, who served as Chinese ambassador to Pakistan between January 1999 and April 2002, is a collection of Chinese anecdotal poems concerning the two countries' diplomatic activities. It also includes figures who helped cement the ironclad friendship between the two sides and showcases Pakistan's unique features in geography, history, and culture.

The 82-year-old was also among one of the first Chinese scholars to study English and Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, upon the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

As well as a review of the author's work and experiences from over two decades ago, the book also seeks to offer China's younger generation a glimpse of the time-honored history of the China-Pakistan friendship, said Lu during the book's launch ceremony in Beijing on April 12.

Moin ul Haque, the ambassador of Pakistan to China, spoke highly of the book and the passions underlying the "iron brotherhood" of China and Pakistan. He reinforced the five pillars upon which China-Pakistan diplomatic relations have long been built, which are mutual respect, trust, understanding, support, and cooperation.

The well-established diplomatic ties between the two countries have helped foster numerous major collaborative economic projects over the years. Last December, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects, a flagship of the Belt and Road Initiative, moved into their second phase as scheduled despite the global economic setback due to COVID-19.

Last week, the two countries also renewed their pledges to safeguard the vital role of the UN, support multilateralism, the use of political and peaceful means to resolve global and regional issues, strengthen cooperation on anti-terrorism, and consolidate strategic coordination on human rights issues.
Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop 4 on Tuesday, offering a potent combination of performance upgrades and battery life improvements in the familiar 13.5-inch and 15-inch clamshell sizes, for prices as low as $999.

Unlike its predecessor, Microsofts Surface Laptop 4 now offers choices in both sizes between AMDs Ryzen 4000 Mobile processors or Intels 11th-gen Tiger Lake Core chips. Microsoft promises up to 70 percent more performance versus the Surface Laptop 3, and even up to twice the performance of its predecessor under certain testing scenarios.

Another major upgrade users will see is battery life. Microsoft claims (according to its own metrics) that the Surface Laptop 4 will offer up to 19 hours of battery life, 7.5 hours more than the Surface Laptop 3. That would be the longest battery life of any Surface product Microsoft has shipped, according to the company.

Physically, the Surface Laptop 4 looks nearly identical to previous generations, in both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch versions. One external addition over the prior generation is a removable SSD port, though its not technically user-serviceable. [The] hard drive is only removable by an authorized technician following Microsoft provided instructions, Microsoft says. As for external materials, Microsoft will offer both the Alcantara fabric as well as the aluminum metal options we saw in the Surface Laptop 3, in color choices of Platinum, Matte Black, Sandstone, and Ice Blue.

All told, there are many combinations of Surface Laptop 4 options, from display size to color, memory, and storage. Prices range from $999 to $2,399. (Use our table of contents to skip ahead and see them all.) Most of the configurations (with a couple of exceptions) will begin shipping April 15. Microsoft will also provide a free pair of Surface Earbuds for everyone in the United States and Canada who preorders a Surface Laptop 4 before the 15th.

Microsoft launched several peripherals alongside the Surface Laptop 4, including a new webcam, the Surface Headphones 2+, and more.

Microsoft Microsofts Surface Laptop 4, in Matte Black

Surface Laptop 4: Internal specs give an edge to Intels Core

Early leaks suggesting that the Surface Laptop 4 would continue its tradition of offering both AMD Ryzen and Intel Core processors were spot on. Somewhat unfortunately, those reports also correctly predicted that AMDs older Ryzen Mobile 4000 parts (reworked as part of Microsofts Surface Edition program) would take on Intels latest 11th-gen Core processors. Microsoft executives told us thats because AMDs Ryzen 5000 Mobile chips are being released now, while AMD and Microsoft began work on the Surface Edition version of the Ryzen Mobile 4000 chips a year ago.

Microsoft has worked before with AMD to custom-design Surface Edition chips. The Surface Laptop 4 includes both the Ryzen 5 4680U as well as the Ryzen 7 4980Utwo chips that AMD hasnt even announced. Microsoft hasnt defined the spec of either chip, besides noting that the 4680U contains six cores, and that the 4980U contains eight cores. Its likely, however, that the 4680U is an upclocked version of AMDs 4600U (6 cores/12 threads, 2.3GHz base/4.0GHz boost), and the 4980U is an upclocked version of the 4800U (8 cores/16 threads, 1.8GHz core/4.2GHz boost). In part, that will explain some of the performance gains that Microsoft is making, as the Surface Laptop 3 used the Ryzen 5 3580U Radeon Vega 9 Surface Edition and the Ryzen 7 3780U Radeon RX Vega 11 Surface Editionboth quad-core chips.

The Intel versions of the Surface Laptop 4 offer another advantage: LPDDR4X (3,733MHz) memory, versus DDR4 (2,400MHz) for at least some of the Ryzen offerings. (The 32GB memory option is exclusive to the Core notebooks.) That faster memory could make Intels Core-powered Surface Laptop 4s the Surface Laptop to beat; however, AMDs Ryzen 4000 Mobile chips demonstrated enormous performance gains over their predecessors, too. Also, in both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch models of the Surface Laptop 4, Microsoft estimates that Ryzen will now outlast Core in battery life: 19 hours versus 17 hours in the 13.5-inch model.

Microsoft Microsofts Surface Laptop 4 comes in Matte Black, Platinum, Sandstone and Cobalt Blue.

The Surface Laptop 4 should otherwise seem very familiar. The dimensions of the 13.5-inch (2256x1504) and 15-inch (2496x1664) models are identical to those of the Surface Laptop 3 generation. The displays are much higher-resolution compared to many other notebooks in their class, which tend to stick to 1080p. In the 15-inch space, the Surface Laptop 4s resolution is lower than the 4K (3840x2160) offerings available. The Surface Laptop 4 weighs the same as the Surface Laptop 3, down to the gram. The physical dimensions are essentially identical.

Some things we disliked about the Surface Laptop 3 remain. The webcam is still rated at a ho-hum 720p resolution. Key travel is still 1.3mm, versus the 1.5mm of Laptops past. The USB-C port is still USB-C, not Thunderbolt. Microsoft executives told us that the company will continue to invest in universal connectors, whether USB-C or something else, but that theyre quite proud of the solid, magnetic Surface Connector, which has been a staple of the Surface lineup since the Surface Pro 3.

The battery life claims are stunning. The Surface Laptop 3 offered up to 11.5 hours of battery life. With the Surface Laptop 4, Microsofts claiming as much as 7.5 hours additional, all within a chassis thats the same dimensions and weight as its predecessor. Microsoft promises over 17 hours from the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 4, and 19 hours from the 15-inch version.

No matter which processor Microsofts Surface Laptop 4 has within it, a massive performance boost and battery life increase could make Microsofts latest laptop a contender. Were eager to see what it can do.

Microsoft

Surface Laptop 4: Basic features

Processor: Core i5-1135G7, Core i5-1145G7, Core i7-1185G7; Ryzen 5 4680U Surace Edition, Ryzen 7 4980U Surface Edition

Core i5-1135G7, Core i5-1145G7, Core i7-1185G7; Ryzen 5 4680U Surace Edition, Ryzen 7 4980U Surface Edition Display: 13.5-inch (2256x1250, 201 ppi); 15-inch (2496x1664, 201 ppi) PixelSense

13.5-inch (2256x1250, 201 ppi); 15-inch (2496x1664, 201 ppi) PixelSense Memory: 8GB/16GB/32GB LPDDR4X (3,733MHz); 8GB/16GB/32GB DDR4 (2,400MHz)

8GB/16GB/32GB LPDDR4X (3,733MHz); 8GB/16GB/32GB DDR4 (2,400MHz) Storage: 256GB/512GB/1TB M.2 NVMe SSD

256GB/512GB/1TB M.2 NVMe SSD Graphics: Iris Xe/AMD Radeon Graphics

Iris Xe/AMD Radeon Graphics Ports: 1 USB Type C, 1 USB Type A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm jack

1 USB Type C, 1 USB Type A, Surface Connect, 3.5mm jack Security: Windows Hello camera

Windows Hello camera Camera: 720p (user-facing)

720p (user-facing) Battery: 13.5-inch: 19 hours (Ryzen 5), 17 hours (Core i5); 15-inch: 17.5 hours (Ryzen 7), 16.5 hours (Core i7)

13.5-inch: 19 hours (Ryzen 5), 17 hours (Core i5); 15-inch: 17.5 hours (Ryzen 7), 16.5 hours (Core i7) Wireless: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0

Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0 Operating system: Windows 10 Home (consumer) / Windows 10 Pro (commercial)

Windows 10 Home (consumer) / Windows 10 Pro (commercial) Dimensions: 13.5-inch: 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches (14.5mm); 15-inch: 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.57 inches (14.7mm)

13.5-inch: 12.1 x 8.8 x 0.57 inches (14.5mm); 15-inch: 13.4 x 9.6 x 0.57 inches (14.7mm) Weight: 13.5-inch: 2.79 pounds (Cobalt Blue, Platinum) to 2.84 pounds (Sandstone, Matte Black); 15-inch: 3.4 pounds (Platinum, Matte Black)

13.5-inch: 2.79 pounds (Cobalt Blue, Platinum) to 2.84 pounds (Sandstone, Matte Black); 15-inch: 3.4 pounds (Platinum, Matte Black) Colors: Matte Black, Platinum, Cobalt Blue, Sandstone

Matte Black, Platinum, Cobalt Blue, Sandstone Prices: $999 to $2,499

Surface Laptop 4: What you can buy

Microsoft isnt scrimping in its lowest-end configurations. There arent any Core i3 offerings, or versions with skimpy memory or SSD capacities. Every single configuration Microsoft is offering should provide enough performance and storage space for everyday work.

Previously, Microsoft divvied up various Ryzen-powered Surface Laptop 3 models between the Surface Laptop 3 for consumers, and left Intels 10th-gen Core Ice Lake chip for the Surface Laptop 3 for Business lineup. This time around, Microsofts offering Ryzen and Core chips in both of its consumer and Business lineups, in both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch sizes. Note this fundamental difference: The consumer offerings include Windows 10 Home, while the Business offerings include Windows 10 Pro.

Microsoft If you want a higher-resolution webcam, you can buy the new Microsoft Modern Webcam, which ships with a 1080p sensor.

Surface Laptop 4 (Consumer) available configurations

13.5-inch:

Ryzen 5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $999 (Platinum)

Ryzen 5/16GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,199 (Platinum), available in two weeks

Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,299 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i5/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,499 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,699 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i7/32GB RAM/1TB SSD: $2,299 (Matte Black)

15-inch:

Ryzen 7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,299 (Platinum)

Ryzen 7/8GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,499 (Platinum, Matte Black)

Ryzen 7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,699 (Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,799 (Platinum, Matte Black)

Core i7/32GB RAM/1 TB SSD: $2,399 (Matte Black)

Surface Laptop 4 (Commercial) available configurations

13.5-inch:

Ryzen 5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,099 (Platinum)

Ryzen 5/16GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,299 (Platinum), available in eight weeks

Ryzen 5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,699 (Matte Black)

Core i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,199 (Platinum)

Core i5/8GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,399 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i5/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,599 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,499 (Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,799 (Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone, Matte Black)

Core i7/32GB RAM/1TB SSD: $2,399 (Matte Black)

15-inch:

Ryzen 5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,399 (Platinum)

Ryzen 7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,799 (Matte Black)

Core i7/8GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,499 (Platinum)

Core i7/8GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,699 (Platinum, Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/256GB SSD: $1,699 (Platinum, Matte Black)

Core i7/16GB RAM/512GB SSD: $1,899 (Platinum, Matte Black)

Core i7/32GB RAM/1TB SSD: $2,499 (Matte Black)

Updated at 8:04 AM with additional details.
Local border police in Botosani used guns on a mission to catch cigarette smugglers at Santa Mare, at Romania's border with Moldova, the spokesperson for the Botosani Border Police (STPF) reported on Tuesday.

Border guards on the Romanian side and STPF Botosani officers noticed, with the aid of a thermal imaging device, four people loading bulky packages in a car.

At the sight of the border police, the smugglers fled into Moldova by boat."Because the people in question did not submit to the legal summons by voice, the border police had to use their guns, firing two shots vertically, without any casualties or material damage," according to the spokesman.In the abandoned packages, which were impounded by the officers, there were 2,000 packs of cigarettes worth 19,796 lei.The border police officers are now carrying out investigations into smuggling and illegal border crossing in order to detect and name all the persons involved.
External Article

13 April 2021

The retail market faced challenges before COVID-19 hit. The office market was solid before the pandemic sent employees working from home in droves. But the hospitality market? It was thriving in many parts of the country before March of 2020.

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But when COVID hit? This sector took an immediate nosedive. Business travel disappeared in March and April of last year. And leisure travel was all but nonexistent, too.

Consider these numbers from researcher STR: In March of 2020, the U.S. hotel occupancy rate fell 42.3 percent from the same month one year earlier, plummeting to 39.4 percent. The average daily rate fell 16.5 percent when compared to a year earlier, dipping to $110.66. And revenue per available room  better known as RevPAR, dropped 51.9 percent from March of 2019, falling to $43.54 during the same month last year.

Things got even worse for hotels one month later. STR said that the occupancy rate for U.S. hotels fell to 24.5 percent in April of 2020, a dip of 63.9 percent from the same month in 2019. The average daily rate fell to $73.23, while RevPAR dropped to $17.93.

But what about today? The industry, maybe thanks to the optimism generated by the country's vaccine rollout, is slowly recovering. STR reported that as of the week ending April 3 of this year, the U.S. hotel occupancy rate was 57.9 percent. The average daily rate had climbed back to $112.76, while RevPAR stood at $65.33.
Mark Scott, a fifty-four-year-old medical courier from rural southern Illinois, has completed his new book He Fell from the Stars: a gripping and potent story about how one alien creature arrived on Earth for passive research, then eventually changes his mission to the annihilation of humans.

Mark writes, The creature decides to tell them the true story about how life was created on Earth. I was created by my race two billion years ago. I am a researcher, and when I first came to this planet, it was barren and lifeless. We created life on this planet. We terraformed this planet so that life could sustain itself. We created the ozone, the plants, the water, even the weather. We still control these factors to this day. Sixty-five million years ago, we brought a life-form of low intelligence here to inhabit this planet. At first, we thought it was a success, but we soon realized it wasnt.

Youre talking about the dinosaurs, right? asks the presidents adviser.

Yes, replies the creature. At first they were a peaceful creature. But soon they started to turn violent. Instead of treating each other with kindness and respect, they started attacking each other causing death and damage to their own race. Eventually they started to damage the planet. We had to rid Earth of this problem before it went any further.

Published by Page Publishing, Mark Scotts fast-paced cataclysmic tale follows an alien creature that travels within a meteor, lands in rural Illinois, and plans to study the Earth. Although this mysterious creature began its journey as a passive researcher, during this expedition, as circumstances changed, it now ponders the Earth population's role in the greater universe.

This suspenseful and captivating book will take readers on an action-packed adventure between humans and aliens. One stormy night, a strange creature crashes into a farmers field in Illinois. The farmer, who witnesses the creature crawling out of the meteor, is shocked and accidentally shoots the creature. Surprisingly, it leaves the farmer alone and lets him live. However, after a chance encounter while on a hunting trip, two military soldiers find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. As the mysterious life-form attempts to continue on its path of research, several violent encounters lead to the inevitable. The extra terrestrial has now turned sadistic towards humans. After the creature eradicates an entire major city, it then meets with America's leaders and announces its races plans of completely obliterating all of humankind. Humans must now come together and fight in order to avoid being exterminated.

Readers who wish to experience this enthralling work can purchase He Fell from the Stars at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 13)  President Rodrigo Duterte fired back at detained Senator Leila De Lima in his national address on the government's pandemic response.

Duterte revived allegations against De Lima, one of his administration's staunchest critics, on her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade in the New Bilibid Prison that supposedly funded her senatorial campaign in 2016.

"Tama 'yan sa'yo. Magtiis ka, p******** mo. Binastos mo ang Pilipinas ng droga diyan mismo sa national penitentiary," Duterte mocked De Lima in his address on Monday.

[Translation: That's right for you. You should suffer. You insulted the Philippines with your involvement in the drug trade there in the national penitentiary.]

The President's statement was an apparent rebuttal to De Lima's earlier tweet on Monday, which urged Duterte's former aide Senator Bong Go to not cover up the government's incompetence on its pandemic response.

Duterte was not visible to the public for two weeks since his national address on March 29, amid rising COVID-19 infections in the country and the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

"Stop covering up for your boss and misleading us on his true capacity to lead. No one is really in charge," the senator said in her tweet.

After Duterte's speech, De Lima tweeted her response on Monday night where she called out the President to just work on handling the country's pandemic woes.

"Mr. President, maawa ka naman sa taumbayan. Namamatay na mga mahal nila sa buhay ako pa rin ang problema mo?" said De Lima. "Huwag ka rin sinungaling. Alam naman ng lahat na ikaw ang ayaw mag-ban sa mainland Chinese noong kumakalat na ang virus dahil tuta ka nila."

[Translation: Mr. President, have mercy on the people. Their loved ones are dying and I'm still your problem? Do not be a liar. Everybody knows that you don't want to ban mainland Chinese people when the virus started to spread because you are their puppy.]

Since she was a Justice Secretary during the Benigno Aquino III administration, De Lima has been very critical of Duterte's involvement in alleged extrajudicial killings of persons involved in illegal drugs when he was still Davao City mayor.

De Lima has been in jail since 2017 on allegations she used drug money for her senatorial campaign in 2016, but the senator and human rights groups believe the drug charges against her were fabricated to silence her in investigating the administration's bloody war on drugs. Malacanang has repeatedly denied De Lima's allegations, saying the charges against her are being tried by the country's independent courts.

The Muntinlupa RTC Branch 2015 junked De Lima's drug case with co-accused Jose Adrian Dera.

READ: TIMELINE: De Lima's four-year struggle in prison
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:55:24|Editor: huaxia

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Aerial photo taken on Jan. 14, 2021 shows the container terminal of the Lianyungang Port in Lianyungang City, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Geng Yuhe/Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhua) -- China's foreign trade surged in the first quarter of 2021, as the country made continuous progress in COVID-19 prevention and control, as well as economic and social development.

The country's total imports and exports of goods surged 29.2 percent year on year to 8.47 trillion yuan (about 1.29 trillion U.S. dollars) in the reporting period, said the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

Exports jumped 38.7 percent from a year earlier and imports climbed 19.3 percent in yuan terms. The trade surplus expanded 690.6 percent to reach 759.29 billion yuan.

General trade, involving longer production chains and better reflecting the country's manufacturing strength, rose 32 percent year on year to 5.19 trillion yuan, taking a larger share in the total trade of goods.

Private enterprises are now more vibrant and have become the main driving force behind China's foreign trade growth. Their foreign trade expanded by 42.7 percent to 3.95 trillion yuan in the first quarter.

Mechanical and electrical products took the lion's share of the country's exports, with their export value hitting 2.78 trillion yuan, up 43 percent year on year.

Imports of major commodities including iron ore, crude oil, natural gas, soybean, corn and wheat all increased in the first quarter.

Foreign trade in the country's comprehensive bonded zones and pilot free trade zones respectively increased 41.1 percent and 28.4 percent year on year.

Cross-border e-commerce, an emerging form of trade, has maintained the growth momentum of last year to become one of the main forces pushing the steady growth of China's foreign trade, according to the GAC.

The country's foreign trade from cross-border e-commerce hiked 46.5 percent to 419.5 billion yuan year on year in the first quarter.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained China's largest trading partner during the period, followed by the European Union and the United States, the GAC data showed.

In the first quarter, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 21.4 percent year on year to reach 2.5 trillion yuan. The country's imports and exports to Vietnam, Indonesia and Poland achieved relatively rapid growth.

China's trade with the 14 other members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership amounted to 2.67 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 22.9 percent year on year and accounting for 31.5 percent of its total imports and exports during the period.

Since the third quarter of last year, China's foreign trade has witnessed positive year-on-year growth for three consecutive quarters, and this trend is expected to continue for some time to come, GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen told a news conference.

But he cautioned that foreign trade still faces instability and uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage worldwide and the international economic landscape remains grim and complicated.

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said earlier this month that the country will go all out to stabilize imports and exports.

The MOC will improve the country's trade policies and continue supporting enterprises by reducing their costs and improving efficiency.

It will also actively cooperate with relevant departments to increase high-quality product and service imports, said the MOC. 
Sri Lankas regulator is introducing new legislation aimed at boosting mobile coverage and service quality across the island nation.

As reported by TeleGeography, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has identified over 2000 dark spots across Sri Lanka with weak signal. Additionally, the commission claims that 122 of 152 Grama Niladari Divisions (GND) do not currently receive mobile broadband coverage.

The new legislation is aimed at improving coverage as well as preparing for the planned  and long-delayed - introduction of fixed and mobile number portability (FNP/MNP). Currently slated for October 2021, the TRCSLs technical planning for the implementation is underway.

The regulators Director General Oshada Senanayake told the Business Times: We updated the quality of service (QoS) gazette after 18 years, noting that these cover issues such as how long a customer can be on hold by a telephone operator, the quality of the call, bill resolutions etc. He noted that QoS covering broadband/data would be addressed in the near future.

The official noted that voice service QoS was being affected by the high number of court cases on spectrum allocation in which operators face legal action for failing to utilize mobile airwaves. Senanayake stated that many cases were now being resolved and refarming of spectrums has started now in a bid to overcome interference propagated by signals in neighbouring countries.

Senanayake added that the Radio Telecommunications Terminal (RTT) rules had also been updated, noting that any products that had not been approved for sale prior to 16th December 2020 must now clear the new RTT Type Approval Rules. Additionally, all approval certificates issued before this date will expire on 17th June 2021. The goal is to safeguard quality, ensuring that Sri Lanka will not be a dumping ground for fake and substandard devices.

Last week, Airtel Lanka announced that it was deploying 37 new cell sites to boost its coverage as part of the governments initiative to improve the dark spots in Sri Lankas connectivity.
WILLINGTON, England, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bionical Solutions, a leading provider of technology enabled engagement and healthcare services to global pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare companies and the NHS, is delighted to announce that the 'You First' patient support programme, commissioned and funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited, and managed by Bionical Solutions has been shortlisted for "The Best Pharmaceutical Partnership with the NHS" category at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2021, recognising both companies' effective collaboration with the NHS and outstanding dedication to improving healthcare outcomes.

Following the most testing period for the healthcare sector in recent history, this year's HSJ awards reinstate the essential role of private and third sector organisations in strengthening the healthcare system. The Bionical Solutions team are infinitely proud of the You First programme having seen and heard the positive impact that its dedicated nurse team have on patients across the UK. Bionical strive to ensure that the service grows in line with increasing NHS demand whilst maintaining a gold standard level of care for all involved.

The You First patient support programme is a national service that provides, at no cost to the NHS or patients, a range of holistic support to patients suffering from Plaque Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis and Axial Spondylarthritis in the community. The programme, designed by Novartis using insights from patients and healthcare professionals on which services would most benefit patients and the NHS, is extremely flexible and can be tailored to the needs of each individual patient and the requirements of the clinical team managing their care.

The programme offers the NHS an opportunity to deliver specialist care and support to patients. With the increased demand and pressure on outpatient services, You First allows the clinician to remotely manage their patients, ensuring patients are kept out of hospitals and within the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Bionical's ultimate goal is to improve patient outcomes by educating and supporting patients to understand the importance of adherence and compliance to treatment. Their clinical teams encourage patients to be engaged in their health whilst promoting a positive outlook on their condition, thus reducing the impact on NHS services and enabling the patient to have a fuller and more independent standard of living.

Helen Miles, joint CEO at Bionical Solutions, commented: "We are delighted to have been shortlisted with Novartis for HSJ's award for 'The Best Pharmaceutical Partnership with the NHS', which recognises the collaborative efforts and dedication of our team in implementing the You First patient support programme. This service offers the NHS an opportunity to deliver specialist care and support to patients, freeing up essential outpatient appointments by bringing healthcare closer to home. By educating and supporting patients to understand their treatments, we empower them to engage with their health in an independent way, reducing the impact on NHS services and significantly improving patient outcomes. To be chosen among such an impressive group of nominees is a wonderful achievement."

HSJ editor, Alastair McLellan, commented: "We would like to congratulate Bionical Solutions on being nominated in the category of 'The Best Pharmaceutical Partnership with the NHS' ahead of HSJ Partnership Awards 2021. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the ceremony in June, to join us in recognising the very best collaborations and innovations in the healthcare sector. This year's finalists are of an outstanding calibre and all of them are exceptionally dedicated to enhancing healthcare across the UK."

The HSJ judging panel comprises a diverse range of highly regarded figures across the NHS and wider healthcare sector. The You First patient support programme has been selected based on the positive impact that the project has had on both practitioners and patients within the healthcare industry.

The winners will be selected following a rigorous judging stage ahead of the HSJ Partnership Awards 2021 stage 2 live presentations on Tuesday 27 April 2021, and awards ceremony on 29 June 2021. The awards evening is expected to be attended by leaders and professionals from both the NHS and private sector as well as figures from non-clinical backgrounds to celebrate innovation and collaboration in healthcare.

The full list of finalists for the 2021 HSJ Partnership awards can be found on https://partnership.hsj.co.uk/finalists-2021https://partnership.hsj



About Bionical Solutions

Bionical Solutions is a leading provider of technology enabled engagement and healthcare services to global pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare companies and the NHS. As a rapidly growing international integrated healthcare services provider, Bionical's solutions provide education and support to Healthcare professionals and patients and deliver personalised experiences through the optimal blend of human interactions and technology.

Bionical Solutions Health Outcomes team provides customers with technology enabled healthcare services, providing education, training, support and clinical care to Healthcare professionals and patients, both in hospital and in the community. Data collection and reporting from these services informs future strategy and evolution.

Bionical Solutions Digital and Commercial Communications team provides customers with technology enabled healthcare services, providing software solutions, commercial communications and support to Healthcare professionals (HCPS) and patients.

For more information please visit https://www.bionical.com/home

About HSJ Partnership Awards:

The HSJ Partnership Awards recognise the most effective collaborations with the NHS highlight the benefits which working with the private and third sectors can bring to patients and NHS organisations.

About HSJ:

Health Services Journal is the only title to cover all aspects of publicly funded healthcare, providing news, analysis, best practise information from some of the most powerful and respected figures in health. The HSJ audience is formed of healthcare leaders from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds and both public and private sectors.

HSJ is published by Wilmington PLC, a company dedicated to providing information and training to professional business markets. Its publications across the Health, Risk and Compliance, Finance, Legal and Insight sectors are united by one common aim - to turn knowledge into advantage. Wilmington PLC enables professionals to enhance performance and innovation by providing high quality, relevant and reliable information, education and knowledge.

SOURCE Bionical Solutions
The Illinois Department of Public Health, Cook County Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health have suspended distributing the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine following recommendations from the FDA and CDC after reports of six people experiencing blood clots about two weeks after vaccination, officials said Tuesday.

Suburban counties also are pausing Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution because of the federal recommendations.

Walgreens, which has the largest pharmacy vaccination program in Illinois, said in a statement that it, too, would suspend use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution. The pharmacy chain said it would reach out to patients with appointments and reschedule them for vaccinations from other manufacturers as supply allows.

Jewel-Osco said Tuesday it will also pause giving the vaccine. People with scheduled appointments will be notified that their appointments are canceled and will be directed to a link to reschedule for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, Jewel-Osco said in a statement. Appointments for those vaccines will be added to the chains online scheduler as they become available.

Also on Tuesday, an additional 100,729 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered in Illinois, while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 for the first time since mid-February, public health officials reported.

Illinois public health officials Tuesday reported 3,193 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths. That brings the states totals to 1,285,398 cases and 21,540 deaths overall.

Heres whats happening Tuesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area:

4:20 p.m.: Cook County offers other vaccines to people who signed up for Johnson & Johnson

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Tuesday said she was confident local residents wont be deterred from getting vaccinated against COVID-19 because theyre worried about the few people who experienced blood clots after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Cook County halted Johnson & Johnson vaccinations, following recommendations from the FDA and CDC after reports of six people experiencing blood clots about two weeks after vaccination.

The county was set to offer 8,000 upcoming Johnson & Johnson vaccine appointments Tuesday, among a batch of 35,000 new appointments for first doses at county-run clinics. Instead, the county will offer 27,000 appointments for either Pfizer or Moderna first-dose shots.

Meanwhile, county officials said another 3,000 people who already had signed up to get Johnson & Johnson shots this week at a county-run site will have the option of keeping their appointments and instead getting one of the other vaccines that are available, or canceling and trying to get Johnson & Johnson at a later date.

Though local officials are constantly fighting to overcome vaccine hesitancy, Preckwinkle noted just six cases of the blood clots have been identified after people receive Johnson & Johnson.

Theyre looking into six people out of almost seven million people vaccinated, Preckwinkle said. Six people. That means one chance in a million that youll have a negative response. I like those odds.

She acknowledged its possible the Johnson & Johnson situation will add to the anxiety some people are experiencing about getting the shots.

But Im hopeful that the CDC will decide that we can continue using the vaccine, given the extraordinarily small pool of people who have possibly had a negative reaction to the vaccine, Preckwinkle said.

Preckwinkle was joined by officials from the Cook County Health Department Tuesday to open a new community vaccination site in Matteson. Officials said they had received no reports of anyone locally suffering blood clots after getting the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Read more here. John Byrne

4 p.m.: Member of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welchs staff tests positive for COVID-19

A member of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welchs staff tested positive for the coronavirus Monday, one day before lawmakers returned to Springfield for the final stretch of the spring legislative session.

The staff member, who was not identified, tested positive as part of the required screening for returning to work in the Capitol, Welch spokeswoman Jaclyn Driscoll said in a statement.

Welch was not in contact with the staff member, Driscoll said.

Contact tracing was performed, and those who were in contact with the staff member are now quarantining, pending negative tests, she said.

The House and Senate have been in session only sporadically since the pandemic took hold last spring but returned on Tuesday with just under seven weeks to go until their scheduled May 31 adjournment.

The legislature is using the saliva test developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to regularly test lawmakers, staff and others at the Capitol.

In January, just after Welch was elected speaker at the start of the new session, his chief of staff, Jessica Basham, tested positive. Welch had been diagnosed with COVID-19 last year.

A staff member in Pritzkers office also tested positive for COVID-19 Monday. The governor had not been in contact with the staffer and was not required to quarantine.

Dan Petrella

3:30 p.m.: COVID-19 vaccination 7-day average at another new high in Illinois, but hospitalizations highest since mid-February

An additional 100,729 coronavirus vaccine doses were administered in Illinois Monday, while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 surpassed 2,000 for the first time since mid-February, public health officials reported.

The statewide total of doses administered reached 7,344,112 Tuesday. Over the last seven days, a record daily average of 132,979 vaccinations were administered.

The number of residents who have been fully vaccinated  receiving both of the required shots, or Johnson & Johnsons single shot  reached 2,952,843, or 23.18% of the total population.

As of Tuesday, 45.81% of residents 16 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

As of Monday night, 2,028 people in Illinois were hospitalized with COVID-19, with 466 patients in intensive care units and 185 patients on ventilators. Thats the first time the total number of hospitalizations has been over 2,000 since Feb. 9, when the count was 2,082. Its also far higher than a month ago, when 1,082 hospitalizations were reported on March 12.

The seven-day average of total hospitalizations is 1,858, the highest since an average of 1,876 was recorded Feb. 15.

Read more here. Jenny Whidden

2:10 p.m.: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccinations at Aurora, Elgin sites postponed

After the Illinois Department of Public Health paused the use of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, the Kane County Health Department canceled its Tuesday appointments for the vaccine at the state-supported sites in Elgin and Aurora.

Tuesdays vaccination appointments at the two sites have been rescheduled for next Tuesday, April 20, with a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine to be administered.

The state-supported Kane Vax Hub site in Batavia remained open Tuesday since it was administering the Pfizer vaccine.

Read more here. Megan Jones, Aurora Beacon-News

1:50 p.m.: Chicago employers could face fines for not letting workers take time off to get vaccinated

Chicago businesses would face fines up to $5,000 for not allowing workers to take time off to get COVID-19 vaccines under a proposal by Mayor Lori Lightfoot that moved closer to passage on Tuesday.

Lightfoots ordinance would prohibit employers from firing or disciplining employees who leave work to get the vaccine.

In addition to the fine of $1,000 to $5,000 for each instance, workers who got fired for leaving work to get vaccinated would be entitled to their jobs back, plus damages up to three times the wages they would have earned had they not been fired.

Workers who have paid sick leave would be allowed to use it to get paid for the time they take to get shots.

Employers that mandate their workers get vaccinated would be required to allow them to do so during work hours and pay wages up to four hours each time an employee has to leave work to get a vaccine shot under the ordinance that cleared the Committee on Workforce Development Tuesday.

This ordinance will ensure that no worker has to choose between keeping their job and getting the COVID-19 vaccine, said Rosa Escareno, commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.

In spring 2020 the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting businesses from retaliating against employees who stayed home from work because they had COVID-19 symptoms, had been exposed to someone who had tested positive for the virus, or whose job was deemed nonessential by the state during coronavirus lockdowns.

The full City Council will consider Lightfoots proposal next week.

Read more here. John Byrne

1:10 p.m.: Without a high school vaccine plan, Chicago Teachers Union plans remote work action Wednesday

Vaccine hunting for students and families was the next logical step in the mutual aid efforts of Mueze Bawany and his colleagues at Roberto Clemente Community Academy in Humboldt Park. Theyve already distributed $50,000 in cash assistance and helped families facing eviction, Bawany said.

Although theyre happy to help, Chicago Teachers Union members like Bawany want Chicago Public Schools to have a broader vaccination plan before welcoming high school students back in person for the first time since last March. The union is preparing for a remote work action Wednesday if the parties dont reach an agreement on reopening.

We need to extend our moral imagination and say what about public health? How big of a deal would it be if we can get our students and our family members vaccinated and we can work as a district, as one, to kind of do something that is incredible ... but also can at this moment keep our city protected and safe? Bawany asked.

While some schools have been making their own efforts, a citywide initiative is needed to ensure equitable access throughout the district, Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said during an early morning news conference Tuesday.

CPS officials have said theyre working with the city health department on a plan to offer vaccines to students 16 and older but have not yet released details. They are now on a tight deadline. Though the CTU doesnt expect everyone to have the shots before they return, members will refuse in-person work in high schools starting Wednesday if they arent close enough to an agreement.

Read more here. Hannah Leone

12:40 p.m.: Chicago had expected fewer than 5,000 J&J doses this week, Arwady says

Allison Arwady, Chicagos health commissioner, said the city received 40,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson last week but expected fewer than 5,000 this week. The city had plans for Johnson & Johnson single-dose shots, but those are on hold, she said.

The citys been using the vaccine at Chicago State University, OHare International Airport and the Chicago Federation of Labor. An event with the Illinois Restaurant Association scheduled for Tuesday is also on hold, Arwady said.

Arwady said the decision to put Johnson & Johnson on pause is a nod to the federal governments high safety standards. She said she supports the pause but noted the blood clots were rare and occurred in a low number of people. None of the cases are in Illinois, she said. The city has seen nothing to draw concern about blood clots in its data, Arwady said.

The pause will encourage physicians to look out for this as a potential side effect, she said.

Arwady also discouraged vaccine hesitancy, especially as it relates to Moderna or Pfizer vaccines, which she noted havent had the same issues.

She also said she expects vaccine rates to drop in the city and across the country over the pause. Gregory Pratt

12:11 p.m.: Rogers Park woman who got the Johnson & Johnson shot says shes not too worried. Its infinitesimal, the percentage of people whove been affected by it.

Carolyn Minor, 41 of Rogers Park, got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine Saturday. She, her husband and two friends drove about five hours, each way, to Quincy to get the shots.

Despite her recent vaccination, Minor wasnt too concerned about the news of blood clots Tuesday.

Its infinitesimal, the percentage of people whove been affected by it, Minor said.

Still, she said, she checked in with her two friends Tuesday morning who were also vaccinated Saturday. She said theyll continue to check in with one another and will go to the emergency room if they experience any of the problematic symptoms described by the CDC.

Just be aware, dont spend too much time dwelling on this, she said. Lisa Schencker

12:09 p.m.: Jewel-Osco to pause administration of Johnson & Johnson vaccines

Jewel-Osco said Tuesday it will also pause giving the vaccines. People with scheduled appointments for the vaccines will be notified that their appointments are canceled and will be directed to a link to reschedule for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, Jewel-Osco said in a statement.

Appointments for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be added to the chains online scheduler as they become available. Lisa Schencker

12:05 p.m.: 100,729 vaccine doses, 3,193 cases and 17 deaths reported

Illinois public health officials Tuesday reported 3,193 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths. That brings the states totals to 1,285,398 cases and 21,540 deaths overall.

There were 58,248 tests reported in the previous 24 hours. The seven-day statewide positivity rate as a percent of total test is 4.3%.

There were 100,729 does of the coronavirus vaccine administered Monday and the seven-day rolling average of daily doses is 132,979.

11:36 a.m.: Yorkville resident who was scheduled for a Johnson & Johnson shot says shell search for other vaccines

Olivia Fonesca, 31 of Yorkville, was among those whose appointments for Johnson & Johnson vaccines were canceled.

She was supposed to get the shot at her local Jewel-Osco Tuesday. She had specifically sought out the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine because of a fear of needles.

She said she was a little concerned when she heard about the blood clotting issue, but said she still would have gotten it if she could have, given that six people with blood clotting seems like a small number out of all those in the U.S. who have received the vaccine.

But she also appreciates that the government is just trying to make sure its safe.

I hope, one way or another, we find out soon so if theyre going to stop giving the vaccine or going to resume, Fonesca said.

She said shell search for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in the meantime. Lisa Schencker

11:10 a.m.: Blood clots can be life-threatening, but are treatable, Northwestern doctor says

Blood clots can be life-threatening, though they are treatable, said Dr. Khalilah Gates, an assistant professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

People experiencing symptoms such as severe headaches, abdominal pain, leg pain or shortness of breath within three weeks after receiving the Johnson & Johnson shot should contact their health care provider, according to the state health department.

If youre a month or more out (from the shot) then the likelihood of you having a reaction is low, and you dont need to worry, Gates said.

The blood clots reported to the CDC seem different than other blood clots, in that they were accompanied by low levels of blood platelets, Gates said. Blood platelets are fragments of cells necessary for normal blood clotting. Someone with a low level of blood platelets would have a decreased ability to stop bleeding, she said.

Often, blood clots are treated with blood-thinning medication, but that wouldnt be good for someone who also has low levels of blood platelets, she said. In that case, a person would need a different type of treatment.

Gates said shes concerned that the news about Johnson & Johnson might increase COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in general. She said people should continue to get the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

The stakes are really, really high now, Gates said. You cant lump all vaccines together.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work through different mechanisms than the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and have stood the test of time so far, she said.

We are up to 560,000 deaths from COVID-19, and we need to keep that in perspective, she said. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has not gone anywhere so we still have to figure out how to maneuver and protect from COVID while we sort out what is actually going on with this Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Lisa Schencker

10:54 a.m.: Walgreens suspends use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Walgreens, which has the largest pharmacy vaccination program in Illinois, said in a statement that it would suspend use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

The pharmacy chain said it would reach out to patients with appointments and reschedule them for vaccinations from other manufacturers as supply allows.Lisa Schencker

10:45 a.m.: McHenry County cancels vaccine clinic at Willow Creek Church in Crystal Lake amid pause on J&J vaccine

The McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH), in a news release, has announced that Tuesdays vaccination clinic at Willow Creek Community Church, 100 S. Main Street in Crystal Lake, is being canceled after the Illinois Department of Health issued a notice that it is requiring a pause on the use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation released today.

According to the statement: Future J&J clinics will be replaced with either Moderna or Pfizer until further guidance is received from the CDC and the IDPH.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we appreciate everyones patience and cooperation, said Public Health Administrator Melissa Adamson. We know that there are many residents who wanted this vaccine in particular, and we will resume administering the J&J vaccine when and if its safe to do so. Chicago Tribune staff

10:42 a.m.: Indiana health officials halting use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Indiana health officials are halting the use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine around the state after federal officials recommended a pause in its use to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

The agency said Tuesday it was switching the mass vaccination clinic being held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the two-shot Moderna vaccine. The department said it was working with other clinics around the state that planned to give the Johnson & Johnson vaccine so they could provide alternative vaccines.

Read more here. Associated Press

9:52: Illinois health officials advise providers to use Pfizer, Moderna vaccines instead of Johnson & Johnson

The Illinois Department of Public Health is pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, following a recommendation from federal officials Tuesday.The vaccine has been linked to rare but serious blood clots in six women, federal officials said.

The state has notified all providers to discontinue use of the vaccine and is strongly advising them to use the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead, the Department of Public Health said Tuesday.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker in recent weeks has hailed the arrival of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as a key part of the states effort to vaccinate people as quickly as possible to stay ahead of the faster spreading variants of COVID-19 that are circulating in Illinois.

As the manufacturer has run into supply problems, however, Pritzker has downplayed its importance at the current stage of the vaccination effort. But just Monday, the state announced that it was deploying rapid response teams equipped with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to counties in north-central Illinois where the virus is surging and putting a strain on intensive care units.

Nonetheless, state health officials say the Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up a small share of Illinois total allocation from the federal government. This week, for example, the state was allocated 17,000 doses of the J&J vaccine, and next week, Johnson & Johnson is expected to account for just 5,800 doses out of the states total allocation of 483,720 doses.

Dan Petrella

9:47 a.m.: State of Illinois and Cook County Health pause distribution of Johnson & Johnson vaccine after blood clotting cases

The Illinois Department of Public Health and Cook County Health have paused distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following recommendations from the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after reports of six people experiencing blood clots about two weeks after vaccination.

The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot that people have experienced after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to a statement from both federal agencies.

The blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets in these cases, the federal agencies said. All six cases were women between the ages of 18 and 48, and they all started experiencing symptoms six to 13 days after vaccination.

Those who scheduled an appointment at a Cook County Health location for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will receive Moderna or Pfizer instead, according to a statement from the health department. Those who do not want the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine should call 833-308-1988 to cancel or reschedule their appointment.

Read more here. Paige Fry, Madeline Buckley, Joe Mahr

7:30: Illinois VA sued by estate of Korean War vet who died in coronavirus outbreak at state home in LaSalle

The Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a $2 million wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of one of 36 residents who died at the state-run veterans home in LaSalle during a fall coronavirus outbreak.

The lawsuit, the first tied to the deadly outbreak in LaSalle, was filed April 5 in the Illinois Court of Claims by the estate of Richard Cieski, a 90-year-old Korean War veteran who died Nov. 15  10 days after his family was notified that he tested positive for the coronavirus and two days after officials from the state Department of Public Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs inspected the facility.

Officials identified a number of lapses during that visit, including wall-mounted dispensers filled with an alcohol-free hand sanitizer that has been found ineffective against the new coronavirus and staff members who were not following property sanitation and social distancing procedures. The inspection also documented improper use of personal protective equipment.

The lawsuit alleges that the appropriate measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were well-known by the time the outbreak in LaSalle began at the start of November.

Richard Cieskis death could have been avoided had LaSalle taken appropriate precautions, Michael Bonamarte, an attorney for his estate, said in a statement.

Read more here. Dan Petrella

7 a.m.: ArcLight Cinemas, including Chicago and Glenview, to close for good

ArcLight Cinemas - closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic -- will not reopen, the company announced late Monday, a victim of a pandemic that brought moviegoing to a standstill. ArcLight operated two Chicago-area complexes, on N. Clybourn Avenue in Chicago and in the Glen Town Center in Glenview.

The news follows other movie theater closings in Chicago elsewhere, including Navy Piers IMAX and downtown Evanstons 18-screen Century complex.

In Illinois, under Gov. J.B. Pritzker COVID capacity restrictions for indoor movie theaters, performance venues and museums with fixed-seating venues with capacities under 200, the limit increased to 50% capacity or 50 seats, whichever is fewer and for venues seating 200 or more, it allows for 25% fixed seating capacity.

Read more here. Lindsey Bahr

6:25 a.m.: CDC, FDA recommend pause for Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of blood clots

WASHINGTON  Federal regulators are recommending a pause in administration of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said it was investigating clots in six women in the days after vaccination, in combination with reduced platelet counts. More than 6.8 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S.

U.S. federal distribution channels, including mass vaccination sites, will pause the use of the J&J shot, and states and other providers are expected to follow.

Chicagos mass-vaccination site at the United Center had been scheduled to switch to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on April 20. Officials had not made an announcement about plans for the United Center site yet early Tuesday.

The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and the FDA has also launched an investigation of the cases.

Read more here.  Associated Press

6 a.m.: Lightfoot to announce winners of a new Mayors Medal of Honor award

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Tuesday will announce winners of a new mayoral award  the Mayors Medal of Honor  for people and organizations who have made extraordinary contributions to Chicagos residents throughout 2020 and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city said.

The award will be given annually. A ceremony honoring this years selections will be livestreamed by the city on April 20.

Chicago Tribune staff

6 a.m.: Black Ink Crew: Chicago star talks COVID-19 symptoms and plans for his Pilsen tattoo shop

Black Ink Crew: Chicago star Ryan Henry recalled losing his ability to smell and taste while he battled COVID-19 last year. He suspected he contracted the virus at a birthday party he attended around May 2020.

Tattoo shop owner Ryan Henry stars on "Black Ink Crew: Chicago." (VH1/Handout)

I had it in the time where you couldnt tell nobody. We had been practicing safely the entire time, and then I think I went to a birthday for one of my best friends that had passed, ran into somebody who was sick, Henry said. I think losing my smell and my taste was the worst. ... That whole feeling was like something that you aint really understand.

Henrys comments were made in December at a Los Angeles studio used for a Black Ink Crew: Chicago reunion special that aired Monday on VH1. Since 2015, the series has followed Chicago tattoo artists as they work and play. Cast members were filming Season 6 when Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order in March 2020.

Henry temporarily closed his 9Mag tattoo shop in Pilsen, where much of the shows drama takes place. Star Charmaine Bey was preparing to give birth to her first child at the time. It was the scariest thing any new mom could ever go through. I was so paranoid, she said on a video call from her 2nd City Ink shop before introducing her daughter, Nola.

Read more here. Tracy Swartz

6 a.m.: Second pandemic Ramadan for Chicagoland Muslims means finding purpose, indulging in nostalgia

Like most things derailed by the coronaviruss many restrictions on regular life, Ramadan 2021 is no different. No large prayer crowds at the mosque, no visiting with friends and family, no iftar parties or potlucks and no anticipating that triple hug combo on Eid.

Yet as Muslims everywhere embark on a second pandemic Ramadan, many are hoping to make the most of another opportunity to focus on the real purpose of the Islamic holy month, which can get buried beneath the deep-fried food and weekly get-togethers.

Saba Khan, a periodontal surgeon and newly elected village trustee for Morton Grove, is looking forward to spending the month with her family without distractions. Instead of going to the mosque for taraweeh, which involves reading long portions of the Quran each night, shes setting up space for a small prayer congregation in her basement.

We usually see Ramadan as a time of celebration with prayers, but its a lot about, What are we going to cook for iftar? Wheres the next party? What am I going to wear?' Khan said. Now with the pandemic, it feels like OK, lets get our act together and be grateful that we dont have to be somewhere during it. Down the road, I really hope we all remember what the true essence of Ramadan is.

Read more here. Zareen Syed

In case you missed it
A male has been convicted of rape after he removed a condom during intercourse without the woman's consent, in a process known as 'stealthing'.

The man in question is from Wellington, New Zealand and is reportedly the first case of this type in the country.

Stealthing is an act where a condom is removed without consent during intercourse, specifically when the partner only consented to intercourse with a condom.

Stealthing happens when a man takes off a condom during intercourse when intercourse was only consensual due to the condom (stock image)

The male is due to appear in court for sentencing later this month in a case that is expected to set a precedent for future trials.

Victoria University of Wellington's Dr Samantha Keene said that the conviction acknowledges that consent to have intercourse with someone with a condom does not mean consent is given to have intercourse without one, the NZ Herald reported.

'Removing a condom during sex exposes the people involved in that activity to health risks, so sexually transmitted infections, HIV and in heterosexual encounters, unintentional pregnancies.'

If you or anyone you know has been affected please reach out to: 1800 RESPECT (stock image)

The conviction comes following a report by the NZ Herald that revealed the number of sexual assaults in Wellington had surged by almost 50 per cent in the last five years.

Reports of sexual assaults and related offences have gone from 157 in 2015 to 230 in 2020, overall a 46 per cent increase inside the Wellington police boundary.

The conviction comes at a time just after former Australian private schoolgirl Chanel Contos released a petition that received hundreds of signatures about young women's struggles with sexual abuse and other stories of rape.

If you or someone you know is or has struggled with sexual abuse, contact: 1800 RESPECT
Quang Nam, Laos southern localities promote cooperation

Secretary of the Party Committee of the central province of Quang Nam Phan Viet Cuong received Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Sengphet Houngboungnuang on April 12, during which they hoped to enhance collaboration between the Vietnamese locality and Laos southern provinces.













At the reception. (Photo: VNA)

At the event, Cuong informed his guest of Quang Nams socio-economic development in the past time, the Quang Nam - Sekong cooperative ties, and the two localities collaboration across border security, entry-exit management, and COVID-19 prevention and combat, among others.



He expressed his hope that Quang Nam, which shares 157 km of borderline with Laos, will branch out intensive cooperation with the neighbouring countrys southern localities.



He wished both sides will develop more effective cooperative models in various fields.



Cuong and the Lao diplomat believed that the bilateral cooperative ties will bring in practical benefits.



Sengphet Houngboungnuang congratulated Quang Nam for its recent achievements, speaking highly of the localitys support for twining Sekong and several Lao localities in the fight against COVID-19, infrastructure development, and training for Lao officials and students.



Besides hoping to receive socio-economic development projects from Quang Nam investors, the ambassador wished the Vietnamese locality will continue support for Sekong in building essential infrastructure, and using the Dak Ta Ook - Nam Giang international border gates effectively, helping promoting trade exchange between Vietnamese central provinces and Laos southern localities.



Additionally, he wants Quang Nam to back Laos recommendation to construct a highway connecting the two nations with a view to concretising the East-West Economic Corridor strategy.



Earlier, Sengphet Houngboungnuang had a meeting with Lao students who are pursuing study at universities and colleges in Quang Nam province.
Effective Monday, April 12, Doug Murtha, who most recently served as group vice president, Corporate Strategy and Planning, TMNA, has transitioned to group vice president, chief business information officer, Information Technology (IT) Division, TMNA. In this newly created position, Murtha will work closely with teams across the organization to support planning, prioritization, and realization of new value opportunities. His responsibilities include driving critical change management activity at the intersection of IT and business. He will report to Holly Walters, chief information officer, IT Division, TMNA. Murtha joined Toyota in 1992 and has held numerous positions in service and parts operations, product planning, and served as vice president of the Scion brand, the company's former vehicle division.

Tim Ingle, who most recently served as vice president, Finance, TMNA, has been promoted to group vice president, Enterprise Strategy, TMNA. Ingle will lead this reorganized function, formerly Corporate Strategy and Planning, and has responsibilities in key areas of mobility  connected, autonomous, shared and electrified (CASE)  a critical role in TMNA's future product plans, competitiveness and profitability. He will report to Tracey Doi, chief financial officer, TMNA. Ingle joined Toyota in 2002 and has held numerous positions leading product planning for passenger cars, global manufacturing strategy and production strategy in North America.

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands plus our 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota has created a tremendous value chain and directly employs more than 47,000 in North America. The company has contributed world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama that begins production in 2021.

Through its Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.

Contact:

Victor Vanov

[email protected]

469.292.1318

SOURCE Toyota Motor North America

Related Links

www.toyota.com


Shen Yueyue (2nd, R), President of the All-China Women's Federation, makes an inspection tour in Beijing and Tianjin Municipality. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

Shen Yueyue, President of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), made an inspection tour in Beijing and Tianjin Municipality to study and discuss methods of implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches with women and staff members of the grassroots women's federations in residential community and high-tech enterprises.

Shen called for efforts to promote the learning and education of Party history, guide women to follow the Party, unite and guide women to strive for a good start in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), contribute to fully building a modern socialist China, and welcome the Party's centenary with outstanding achievements.

During her inspection tour, Shen visited two high-tech enterprises with many women scientific and technical workers. She discussed with them how to put their talents to good use and achieve self-reliance in science and technology.

Shen highly praised a Beijing-based high-tech enterprise for serving the overall interests through its sci-tech support for epidemic containment, and for taking up its corporate responsibility and seizing a good opportunity for development.

Shen urged women scientific and technical workers to work hard, strengthen fundamental research, and make great contributions to fully building a modern socialist country. She urged women's federations to cooperate with relevant departments to build platforms, create conditions and provide services for women scientific and technological workers.

Shen also inspected a Tianjin-based medical laboratory where nearly 70 percent of the employees are women. Shen spoke highly of the women employees' efforts in researching nucleic acid testing, and encouraged them to carry forward the spirit of cooperation and innovation, target science frontiers, and contribute to achieving the second centenary goal.

Shen Yueyue (3rd, L), President of the All-China Women's Federation, makes an inspection tour in Beijing and Tianjin Municipality. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

In a community in Tianjin, Shen learned about local women's work concerning civilized families, primary-level governance and voluntary services from local residents, grid-based community workers and heads of women's teams.

Knowing that the community's parent school has been available online and offline, Shen urged its better use to satisfy families' needs and provide targeted guidance, especially for families with elementary and middle school students.

Shen Yueyue (C), President of the All-China Women's Federation, visits a revolutionary memorial hall during her inspection tour in Beijing and Tianjin. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

Shen learned about Party history at some revolutionary memorial halls in Beijing and Tianjin. She urged giving play to the role of women guides in mobilizing women to learn from Party history and to make contributions at their posts.

Shen also visited 81-year-old Party member Xing Yanzi, hoping her stories of working hard at the grassroots level would inspire more women to bravely pursue their dreams.

Shen Yueyue (2nd, R), President of the All-China Women's Federation, visits 81-year-old Party member Xing Yanzi (R) during her inspection tour in Beijing and Tianjin. [China Women's News/Yang Rui]

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on Japanese Government Decision to Discharge Nuclear Wastewater from Fukushima Nuclear Plant into the Sea

2021/04/13

On April 13, the Japanese government decided to dispose of the nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant accident by discharging it into the sea. As a close neighbor and stakeholder, the Chinese side expresses grave concern over this.

The Fukushima nuclear accident is one of the most serious in world history. The leak of large amounts of radioactive materials has had far-reaching implications on the marine environment, food safety and human health. A review report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team points out that if the wastewater containing tritium from the Fukushima nuclear plant is discharged into the sea, it will affect the marine environment and people's health of neighboring countries and that the treated wastewater needs to be further purified to remove other radionuclides. A report by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) also believes that the impact of the wastewater on the marine ecological environment requires continued monitoring. According to a German marine scientific research institute, with the world's strongest currents along the coast of Fukushima, radioactive materials could spread to most of the Pacific Ocean within 57 days from the date of discharge, and reach all oceans of the globe in a decade. Greenpeace nuclear experts say the level of the radioactive isotope carbon-14 in the wastewater will remain hazardous for thousands of years with the potential to cause genetic damage.

Despite doubts and opposition from home and abroad, Japan has unilaterally decided to release the Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the sea before exhausting all safe ways of disposal and without fully consulting with neighboring countries and the international community. This is highly irresponsible and will severely affect human health and the immediate interests of people in neighboring countries.

The oceans are mankind's shared property. How the wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant is handled is not merely a domestic issue for Japan. We strongly urge the Japanese side to face up to its responsibility, follow the science, fulfill its international obligations and duly respond to the serious concerns of the international community, neighboring countries and its own people. It should reevaluate the issue and refrain from wantonly discharging the wastewater before reaching consensus with all stakeholders and the IAEA through full consultations. China will continue to watch closely the developments of the matter together with the international community and reserves the right to make further reactions.
The Canadian Association of Medical Mask Manufacturers (CAMMM) will provide key insights and subject matter expertise to support the establishment of medical mask manufacturing standards in Canada.

KELOWNA, BC and WATERLOO, ON, April 12, 2021 /CNW/ - Founded by two of the largest medical mask manufacturers in the country, the Canadian Association of Medical Mask Manufacturers (CAMMM) was created with the intent of supporting government and industry in establishing standards and regulations for this newly formed Canadian industry.

CAMMM, founded by Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd. located in Kelowna, British Columbia and The Canadian Shield of Waterloo, Ontario, believes the trade association will play a key role in supporting Canada's mask manufacturing industry. CAMMM's group of subject-matter experts will help to communicate with legislators and regulators, as well as support new methodologies and technologies emerging in the industry.

The association has two main goals: 1) to help enhance the economic health of the medical mask manufacturing industry in Canada, and 2) to help build an established standards and regulatory system to protect Canadians.

CAMMM plans on working closely with the federal and provincial-territorial governments, health professionals, member companies, suppliers, and other stakeholders to deliver safe, accessible, innovative and sustainable medical masks for Canadians and export markets. Canadian companies, organizations, individuals, and suppliers within the industry are welcome and encouraged to join the association.

Commenting on founding CAMMM, Jeremy Hedges, CEO of The Canadian Shield, said: "On behalf of The Canadian Shield and its employees and suppliers, we're pleased to be joining Breathe Medical as a founding member of CAMMM, and we look forward to building a strong industry. Everyone in the Canadian industry is highly focused on achieving safety and security for Canadians in many different walks of life and industries, and an industry association is a key avenue for all of us to work cooperatively with governments and industry to reach those important goals."

Commenting on the founding of CAMMM, Robert Balazs, CAMMM's Chairperson, said: "Our industry is growing rapidly, and leading companies such as The Canadian Shield, Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd. and others form the backbone of a secure and safe supply of protective equipment and masks for all Canadians."

Over the coming months, CAMMM will work directly with key stakeholders and various levels of government to establish standards and regulations for the medical mask manufacturing industry.

Members of the industry interested in learning more about joining the Canadian Association of Medical Mask Manufacturers can obtain more information at www.CAMMM.ca.

About The Canadian Shield

Based in Waterloo, Ontario, The Canadian Shield is on a mission to build a sustainable future for medical device manufacturing in North America in order to achieve safety and security for Canada, and to help build a future in which our country is a global leader of medical device manufacturing, product sustainability and innovation. For more information, visit: www.canadianshieldppe.ca

About Breathe Medical Manufacturing Ltd.

Breathe Medical Manufacturing designs, manufactures and distributes disposable surgical/procedure masks and N95 particulate respirators. Breathe Medical services multiple global markets, including medical, health and beauty, industrial, and food and beverage processing plants. Headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, the company produces ASTM medical levels 1, 2 and 3 and N95 respirator masks for the Canadian and United States markets. For more information, visit: www.breathemedicalmanufacturing.com

SOURCE Canadian Association of Medical Mask Manufacturers

For further information: For more media information: Steve Campbell, Campbell & Company Strategies Inc., 604 888-5267, [email protected]
HealthyChildren.org, the official parenting website of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), celebrates moms everywhere with a 7-day Mother's Day Sweepstakes event. Fourteen lucky winners will receive a $200 gift card. The contest begins May 3 and ends on Mother's Day, May 9, 2021. Registered users may enter once each day during the event. Winners will be drawn daily and announced on Facebook as they are confirmed. Full rules and more information can be found here.

About HealthyChildren.org

The only parenting website backed by 67,000 AAP member pediatricians, HealthyChildren.org offers trustworthy, up-to-the-minute health advice and guidance for parents and caregivers, along with interactive tools and personalized content. Registered users enjoy a customized home page that features articles geared to the ages of their children. The site also offers a Find a Pediatrician service, an Ask the Pediatrician tool, the KidsDoc Symptom Checker, and more than 5,000 articles on childrens health and safety in English and Spanish.
[April 13, 2021] RS Components Chooses Orange Business Services as Sole Managed Service Provider to Improve Business Agility Globally

RS Components (RS), a global omni-channel solutions partner for industrial customers and suppliers, has chosen Orange (News - Alert) Business Services as its single end-to-end managed services provider. Orange will carry out a major transformation of RS' entire global infrastructure, digitise its sales processes and move its contact centre activities to the cloud. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005115/en/ Orange will carry out a major transformation of RS' entire global infrastructure, digitise its sales processes and move its contact centre activities to the cloud. (image Orange Business Services (News - Alert) ) These projects are a central part of RS' digital transformation, which is designed to reduce costs, modernise its network capabilities and bring on board new technologies. They include SD-WAN and telephony upgrades to future proof its business. With a fully integrated ecosystem that integrates connectivity, cybersecurity, collaboration and customer experience within a single managed platform, RS can run its business online remotely across thirty-two countries. It also allows the company to create new services and maintain its position in a highly competitive marketplace. The solution increases business agility, meets PCI (News - Alert) DSS regulatory compliance mandates, and simplifies RS' business processes. Importantly, it ensures that customers and partners have a consistent experience through multiple channels of engagement, both telephony and online. Orange has upgraded the company's workspace capabilities through the integration with Microsoft (News - Alert) Teams, which enables contact centre agents to work remotely. This has been invaluable to RS during the pandemic to keep their contact centre fully functional. A future-proof workspace providing an enhanced customer experience

Orange Business Services is providing RS with a fully integrated cloud-based collaboration and contact centre platform, bringing convergence and seamless communications between front and back-office business functions. This is in addition to RS choosing Orange Business Services as its single managed services provider, covering Flexible SD-WAN, LAN, security, conferencing, video, voice and contact centre services and support. "The transformation journey with Orange has so far been very effectve. It is one of true collaboration and partnership. The new Orange Business Services infrastructure supports a secure, resilient, futureproofed omni-channel offering, while supporting our remote working strategy," said Jes Riley, vice president IT Operations, RS Components.



"With their contact centre solution providing a significant revenue stream and vital to their future business success alongside their network infrastructure, it was important that RS chose a partner that could support them to achieve their digital ambitions. Orange, through its flexible approach, has helped provide the answers to the business challenges they were looking for," said Kristof Symons, executive vice president, International, Orange Business Services. About RS Components

RS Components is a trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, a global omni-channel solutions partner for industrial customers and suppliers who are involved in designing, building or maintaining industrial equipment and facilities. We aim to offer our customers unrivalled choice of product technologies, solve problems with innovative solutions and deliver a world-class customer experience, making it easy to do business with us.

We stock more than 500,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers. We solve problems and provide a wide range of value-added solutions to over one million customers. With operations in 32 countries, we trade through multiple channels and ship over 50,000 parcels a day. Electrocomponents plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2020 reported revenue of 1.95 billion. Electrocomponents plc has six operating brands; RS Components, Allied Electronics & Automation, RS PRO, OKdo, DesignSpark, IESA, Synovos, Needlers and Liscombe. For more information, please visit the website at www.rs-online.com About Orange Business Services

Orange Business Services is a network-native digital services company and the global enterprise division of the Orange Group. It connects, protects and innovates for enterprises around the world to support sustainable business growth. Leveraging its connectivity and system integration expertise throughout the digital value chain, Orange Business Services is well placed to support global businesses in areas such as software-defined networks, multi-cloud services, Data and AI, smart mobility services, and cybersecurity. It securely accompanies enterprises across every stage of the data lifecycle end-to-end, from collection, transport, storage and processing to analysis and sharing. With companies thriving on innovation, Orange Business Services places its customers at the heart of an open collaborative ecosystem. This includes its 28,500 employees, the assets and expertise of the Orange Group, its technology and business partners, and a pool of finely selected start-ups. More than 3,000 multinational enterprises, as well as two million professionals, companies and local communities in France, put their trust in Orange Business Services. For more information, visit www.orange-business.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and our blogs. Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with revenues of 42.3 billion euros in 2020 and 259 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2020. Orange is listed on the Euronext Paris (ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (ORAN). In December 2019, Orange presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, guided by social and environmental accountability. While accelerating in growth areas, such as B-to-B services and placing data and AI at the heart of innovation, the entire Orange Group will be an attractive and responsible employer. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trademarks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005115/en/

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BEIJING, Apr. 13 -- Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia Huang Yazhong paid a courtesy call to Bolivia's Minister of Defense Edmundo Novillo on April 9, according to news from the Chinese Embassy in Bolivia. The two sides exchanged views on the military cooperation between China and Bolivia. The newly-appointed Chinese Military Attache Senior Colonel Yan Li also joined them.

Chinese Ambassador Huang spoke highly of the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries and said that as an important part of the relationship between China and Bolivia, the relationship between the two militaries fully reflects the level of mutual trust between the two countries.

Bolivian Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo said that China and Bolivia are friendly countries with brotherly relations. He thanked China for helping Bolivia fight the COVID-19 pandemic and thanked the Chinese military for its free assistance. The defense minister said that the Bolivian side would like to deepen further exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries. He also warmly welcomed Chinese Military Attache Yan Li to his new post.
HACC, Central Pennsylvanias Community College, is hosting its first-ever online Free College Day to answer questions from future students and parents about the schools services.

The event is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 21.

Participants can also sit in on a virtual class, watch demonstrations and attend presentations.

There are options to meet everyones schedule, from participating in a student panel discussion and learning about financial aid to attending a graphic and interactive design presentation or touring a surgical technology lab, a press release said.

With more than 65 sessions from which to choose, participants of all ages can attend as many sessions as they would like.

Attendees also could win $500 toward HACCs fall tuition and receive a free HACC T-shirt for completing the post-event survey.

ALSO READ: HACC board adopts budget that projects an enrollment decrease, raises tuition
Washington, April 13 : US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday embarked on a visit to Brussels, Belgium, to consult with NATO allies on a range of shared priorities.

Taking to Twitter, Blinken said: "Glad to be heading back to Brussels. The US is committed to rebuilding US alliances, particularly with our NATO allies.

"We remain steadfast in our support for NATO as the essential forum for trans-Atlantic security." Accompanying Blinken will be Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin for discussions with allies and partners, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Monday.

"The Secretary will take this opportunity to reaffirm the US commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals.

"Separately, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with European counterparts to discuss key priorities and shared challenges," Xinhua news agency quoted Price as saying in the statement.

The trip came amid escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and Russia's military build-up along the border.

It also came ahead of the May 1 deadline set by the US-Taliban deal for a full withdrawal of American and coalition troops from Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden said last month that it would be hard for the United States to meet the deadline.
Brooklyn Center City Manager Curt Boganey speaks during a press conference about the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright at the Brooklyn Center police headquarters in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 12, 2021. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon referred to the incident as an "accidental discharge" and that the officer who shot and killed Wright meant to grab their taser. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Minnesota City Manager Voted Out After Supporting Due Process For Officer Who Shot Daunte Wright

The city council of Brooklyn Center in Minnesota on Monday passed a motion to give the office of Mayor Mike Elliott command of the police department in the wake of the fatal officer-involved shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

Moments ago, the council passed a motion 3-2 to give command authority over our Police Department to my office, Elliott wrote on Twitter. At such a tough time, this will streamline things and establish a chain of command and leadership.

The vote to fire city manager Curt Boganey took place during an emergency council meeting.

Effective immediately, our city manager has been relieved of his duties, and the deputy city manager will be assuming his duties moving forward, Elliott wrote. I will continue to work my hardest to ensure good leadership at all levels of our city government.

Mike Elliott, Brooklyn Center mayor, speaks at the Brooklyn Center Police Station after a police officer shot and killed 20-year-old man in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Minn. on April 12, 2021. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Boganey, who had been overseeing the citys daily government operations, said during a press conference shortly before the meeting that it was too soon to discuss the termination of the officer who it was revealed accidentally shot Wright on April 11.

Employees are entitled to due process with respect to discipline, Boganey told reporters. This employee will receive due process, and thats really all I can say today.

Police earlier released body camera footage of 20-year-old Wright being fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center officer at a traffic stop where police were attempting to arrest him for an outstanding warrant. The officer has been identified as Kim Potter.

Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon said Monday that Potter meant to pull a Tasernot her handgunon Wright as he was resisting arrest on Sunday.

It appeared to me, from the video, that the individual was trying to get back into his car to leave, Gannon said. It is my belief that the officer had the intention to deploy their Taser, but instead shot Mr. Wright with a single bullet.

Gannon said that based on his experience and training, it appeared as though it was an accidental discharge that resulted in the tragic death of Mr. Wright.

Holy [expletive]. I just shot him, a female officer is heard saying on body camera footage.

Elliot told reporters that he believes the officer who shot and killed Wright should be relieved of her duties. The officer has since been placed on administrative leave, Gannon said.

The shooting occurred after officers stopped Wright shortly before 2 p.m. for a violation in Brooklyn Center, which is about 10 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Officers then determined that Wright had an outstanding warrant. According to the Brooklyn Center Police Department, Wright re-entered his vehicle when officers attempted to take him into custody.

One officer then discharged their firearm, hitting Wright. Wright and his girlfriend in the vehicle then traveled several blocks in their car before before crashing into another vehicle.

Medical personnel at the scene attempted to perform life saving measures but Wright was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been asked to conduct an independent investigation of the shooting.

According to court records, Wright was charged in March with two misdemeanors for carrying a handgun in a public place without a permit and fleeing from a police officer by a means other than a motor vehicle. He was issued a warrant after failing to appear at a hearing on April 2.

Alongside peaceful protests over Wrights death, some individuals have participated in rioting and looting, with the city experiencing some of the worst damage to the city Ive ever seen in 27 years living there, Gannon told reporters.

Peaceful, protesting, expressing yourself, we fully support that. But the ravaging our businesses, the looting of our stores, the destruction to our pharmacies, we cannot tolerate that, Gannon said.

John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference that rocks and other objects were thrown at the police department after nightfall on Sunday.

According to a Twitter post by a Minnesota-based community organizer, protesters were being directed to the Minnesota Freedom Fund for help with bail payments for any arrests during the protests, which devolved into riots Sunday night. Minnesota Freedom Fund describes itself as fighting back against #Minnesotas unjust #bail system and paying #immigrant bonds.

Vice President Kamala Harris in October last year vowed to take steps on criminal justice reform that would include establishing a national registry for police officers that break the law, and also ending the cash-bail system. She also posted on Twitter in June to help fundraise for the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

A curfew has been imposed in Ramsey, Hennepin, and Anoka countieswhich includes the cities of Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Brooklyn Centereffective April 12 at 7 p.m. and is due to end at 6 a.m on April 13.

It exempts people traveling to and from work, emergency services, law enforcement, people seeking medical care or fleeing danger, the homeless, and the media.

George Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, who has also represented the families of Breonna Taylor and Trayvon Martin, will be representing Wrights family in legal proceedings.

This article has been updated to include remarks from city manager Curt Boganey.
- 60 million (USD 70 million) raised in oversubscribed Series B round

- New investors include JMS Capital-Everglen, Viola Fintech and Assurant, with strong follow-on support from a number of existing investors

- Funding will be used to fuel next growth phase

BERLIN, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Grover, Europe's market leader in consumer tech subscriptions, today announces that it has secured 60 million in an oversubscribed Series B round. The funding will be used to increase market penetration, advance product innovation and accelerate international expansion in support of the company's ambitious goals of tripling its subscriptions by the end of the year, and driving an industry shift toward a more circular approach to consumer electronics. The funding round follows a strong year of growth in 2020, which saw the business increase by 2.5x as consumers flocked to the company's flexible rental service.

The round is made up of 45 million from equity investors and 15 million in venture debt financing. Investors in the round are a combination of existing and new investors. New investors in the round were led by Jonathan Schneider at private equity firm JMS Capital-Everglen, with participations from Viola Fintech, Assurant, as well as a number of founders and angel investors from Europe and North America. Existing investors coparion, Augmentum Fintech, Circularity Capital, Seedcamp and Samsung Next also invested in the round, amongst others. The 15 million venture debt portion of the round was issued by European growth debt provider Kreos Capital.

Grover enables people and businesses to rent technology monthly instead of buying it, giving them more flexibility than an outright purchase or financing plan, and allowing them to get the tech they want in a way that fits both their lifestyle and their wallet. By recirculating products across multiple rental cycles, Grover's subscription model also offers a more sustainable alternative to conventional linear consumption.

This customer value proposition proved especially strong during the last year of the Coronavirus pandemic, where technology gained greater significance in people's lives, consumers shopped more mindfully, and sought out flexible access options to help them stay in control of spending. Grover experienced record demand in 2020, closing out the year with 2.5x year-over-year growth, net revenues of 37 million for the fiscal year, and over 4,000 metric tons of CO2 saved thanks to device recirculation. 2020 also saw the company achieve 60 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) [1] and become profitable on EBITDA-level for the first time.

Grover will use the new capital to double down on its core purpose of giving people a flexible, sustainable and financially healthy way of accessing tech, with the aim of tripling its subscriptions to a total of 450,000 by the end of 2021 and driving an industry shift toward a more circular approach to consumer electronics.

Grover's plans for this year include:

Further scaling up its core markets - Germany , Austria and the Netherlands - and rolling out its service in new markets, including Spain and the US.

, and - and rolling out its service in new markets, including and the US. Advancing leading-edge product innovations, including the launch of a flat rate tech subscription, an embedded financial service and an enhanced business customer offering.

Expanding its product portfolio into new categories like connected health and fitness devices, consumer robots and smart appliances.

Investing in top talents and team development to drive company growth. This includes the recent addition of Michael Kostadinovich (ex Better.com) to Grover's executive team, who took up his post as Chief Technology Officer on 1 April.

Michael Cassau, CEO and Founder of Grover: "Now more than ever, consumers value convenience, flexibility and sustainability when they shop for and use products. This is especially true when it comes to technology and all of the possibilities that it has to offer - whether that's productivity, fun, or staying in touch with our loved ones. The fresh funding allows us to bring these possibilities to even more people across the world. It enables us to double down on creating an unparalleled customer experience for our subscribers, and to push the boundaries of the most innovative ways for people and businesses to access and enjoy technology. The strong support from our investors confirms not only the important value our service brings to people, but also Grover's vast growth potential. We're still just scratching the surface of a 1 trillion global market."

Grover was advised on the financing round by Osborne Clarke and Jefferies.

[1] Grover defines ARR as the annualized value of total gross contracted customer payments at a point in time.

About Grover

Grover is Europe's market leader in technology rentals, enabling people and businesses to subscribe to tech products monthly instead of buying them. With Grover, subscribers get access to a wide range of over 2,500 tech products, including smartphones, laptops, and wearables on a flexible monthly rental basis. Rentals are available in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

Grover is an advocate of the Circular Economy, contributing to the reduction of technology underutilization and e-waste through product recirculation. With a total financing volume of almost 350 million to date, and over 160 employees, Grover is one of Germany's best-funded scale-ups.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1484813/Grover_Logo.jpg
Japan to Release Treated Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Water Into the Sea

TOKYOJapans government decided Tuesday to start releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two yearsan option fiercely opposed by local fishermen and residents.

The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.

The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami damaged its reactors and their cooling water became contaminated and began leaking.

The plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., says its storage capacity will be full late next year.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the ocean release was the most realistic option and that disposing the water is unavoidable for the decommissioning of the Fukushima plant, which is expected to take decades.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, left, attends a cabinet meeting at his official residence in Tokyo, April 12, 2021. (Yoshitaka Sugawara/Kyodo News via AP)

TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other selected radionuclides can be reduced to levels allowed for release. Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

Under the basic plan adopted by the ministers, TEPCO will start releasing the water in about two years after building a facility under the regulatory authoritys safety requirements. It said the disposal of the water cannot be postponed further and is necessary to improve the environment surrounding the plant so residents can live there safely.

TEPCO says its water storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full around the fall of 2022. Also, the area now filled with storage tanks will have to be freed up for building new facilities that will be needed for removing melted fuel debris from inside the reactors, a process expected to start in coming years.

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen from Namie town, Fukushima prefecture, north of Tokyo, on April 13, 2021. (Yusuke Ogata/Kyodo News via AP)

In the decade since the tsunami disaster, water meant to cool the nuclear material has constantly escaped from the damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, more water has been pumped into the reactors to continue to cool the melted fuel. Water is also pumped out and treated, part of which is recycled as cooling water, and the remainder stored in 1,020 tanks now holding 1.25 million tons of radioactive water.

Those tanks that occupy a large space at the plant complex interfere with the safe and steady progress of the decommissioning, Economy and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said. The tanks also could be damaged and leak in case of another powerful earthquake or tsunami, the report said.

Releasing the water to the ocean was described as the most realistic method by a government panel that for nearly seven years had discussed how to dispose of the water without further harming Fukushimas image, fisheries and other businesses. The report it prepared last year mentioned evaporation as a less desirable option.

About 70 percent of the water in the tanks exceeds allowable discharge limits for contamination but will be filtered again and diluted with seawater before it is released, the report says. According to a preliminary estimate, gradual releases of water will take about 30 years but will be completed before the plant is fully decommissioned.

Japan will abide by international rules for a release, obtain support from the International Atomic Energy Agency and others, and ensure disclosure of data and transparency to gain understanding of the international community, the report said. China and South Korea have raised serious concern about the discharge of the water and its potential impact.

The government has said it will do the utmost to support local fisheries, and the report said TEPCO would compensate for damages if they occur despite those efforts.

Kajiyama is set to visit Fukushima on Tuesday afternoon to meet with local town and fisheries officials to explain the decision. He said he will continue to make efforts to gain their understanding over the next two years.

By Mari Yamaguchi
A study carried out by the University of Granada indicates that smoking cannabis significantly alters key visual functions, such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity

Yet, more than 90% of users believe that using cannabis has no effect on their vision, or only a slight effect

A group of researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada (UGR) has studied the effects of smoking cannabis on various visual parameters compared to the effect that the users themselves perceive the drug to have on their vision.

This study, led by Carolina Ortiz Herrera and Rosario Gonzalez Anera, has been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Its main author, Sonia Ortiz Peregrina, explains that cannabis use is on the rise despite being an illegal drug. According to the national Survey on Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addictions in Spain 2019-2020, cannabis use nationally has increased since 2011, with 37% of Spanish adults having used this drug at some time. Approximately 10% consumed it in the last year.

In this study, which had the approval of the Human Research Ethics Committee of the UGR (ref. 921/CCEIH/2019), an exhaustive visual trial was conducted on 31 cannabis users, both when they had not consumed any substance in advance and also when they were under the effect of the drug. The researchers also studied the participants' perception of the visual effects of having consumed this drug.

The results showed that, following consumption, visual aspects such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, three-dimensional vision (stereopsis), the ability to focus, and glare sensitivity significantly worsened. Despite this, not all subjects reported a worsening of their vision after smoking cannabis. Indeed, 30% reported that their vision had not suffered at all, while 65% responded that it had worsened only slightly. The authors note that the visual parameter that could be most strongly linked to users' perception of the visual effect is contrast sensitivity.

The study found a negative effect on all of the visual parameters evaluated, with the effect of cannabis on some of the parameters being analysed for the first time in this research. These results, together with the lack of awareness that the participants presented about the visual impairment caused by smoking cannabis, indicate the need to carry out awareness-raising campaigns, as this visual deterioration can pose a danger when performing everyday tasks.

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(Natural News) The co-founder of the polarizing Black Lives Matter movement is under fire for buying a $1.4 million home in a posh California neighborhood thats 88 percent white.

(Article by Samantha Chang republished from WesternJournal.com)

Its an interesting decision for Patrisse Cullors, a self-professed Marxist and race-baiting activist who has paid lip service to promoting black pride.

According to Dirt.com, the home is located in Topanga Canyon, an idyllic rustic neighborhood about 48 minutes outside of Los Angeles and less than 30 minutes from tony Malibu.

Cullors new home has three bedrooms and two baths and sits on one-quarter of an acre. The property also has a separate one-bedroom, one-bathroom guest house.

But what is most interesting is that the BLM co-founder chose to live in Topanga, where less than 2 percent of the population is black.

Sports journalist Jason Whitlock, whos himself black, sarcastically called out Cullors for her blatant hypocrisy.

Black Lives Matter founder buys $1.4 million home in Topanga, which has a black population of 1.4%. Shes with her people! he tweeted Friday.

Black Lives Matter founder buys $1.4 million home in Topanga, which has a black population of 1.4%. Shes with her people! https://t.co/HIGZsV7Cj4  Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) April 9, 2021

Whitlock pointed out that Cullors could have lived anywhere, and in fact, she couldve made an important political statement if she had chosen to live in a predominantly black neighborhood. But she didnt.

And that says something about whether she truly believes that black lives matter.

She had a lot of options on where to live. She chose one of the whitest places in California, Whitlock said.

Shell have her pick of white cops and white people to complain about. Thats a choice, bro.

Others on Twitter also pointed out the hypocrisy.

For somebody that claims to love Black people, it's kinda strange that she chose a place to live that's practically devoid of Black people pic.twitter.com/UluZTLfxNs  Sheikh Judd Hashisho (@glubokiy_boy) April 9, 2021

This backlash is reminiscent of when former President Barack Obama  who perfected the art of sowing racial division  purchased an $11.8 million mansion on a sprawling 29-acre property on Marthas Vineyard, which is only 3 percent black.

Some on social media said Cullors exploited the Black Lives Matter movement to enrich herself.

She capitalized on that Injustice against Black People bag. Theyve been scamming since day 1  Ryan Lee (@LTM_RBG_321) April 9, 2021

Not only that. Why is she getting rich off BLM movement? Shouldnt this money be going to black neighbourhoods and struggling black families?  FATE (@meloncollie46) April 9, 2021

https://twitter.com/blanton_quinton/status/1380359774416498690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1380359774416498690%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.westernjournal.com%2Fblm-co-founder-buys-million-dollar-home-neighborhood-black-population-less-2%2F

Black Lives Matter said it raked in a staggering $90 million in donations last year.

However, theres mounting criticism that the movement  which fomented riots across the United States  has not shared its massive haul with the black community.

Last month, the father of Michael Brown  whose 2014 shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, was the catalyst for the 2016 BLM riots  demanded that the group fork over $20 million to him.

What is Black Lives Matter doing with all the money theyre accumulating if not helping their local chapters and Black-owned businesses to advance? They seem to be fundraising for the sake of fundraising. All talk, all woke. https://t.co/8KSKvJHoq3  JD Rucker (@JDRucker) March 4, 2021

Similarly, BLM chapters nationwide have demanded more transparency from the centralized umbrella organization for the group.

In a December 2020 statement, the local chapters said: Since the establishment of [Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation], our chapters have consistently raised concerns about financial transparency, decision making, and accountability  we believe public accountability has become necessary.

The local chapters also said the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation appointed Cullors as its executive director against their wishes and without their knowledge, rendering her leadership illegitimate.

We, the undersigned chapters, believe that all of these events occurred without democracy, and assert that it was without the knowledge of the majority of Black Lives Matters chapters across the country and world, the statement read.

Patrisse Cullors  became Executive Director against the will of most chapters and without their knowledge.

Considering how much havoc BLM wreaked nationwide over the past few months, you can only imagine how ugly the groups in-fighting will get.

Conservatives, grab your popcorn.

Read more at: WesternJournal.com and BlackLiesMatter.news.
English Lithuanian

SNAIGE AB is providing the audited companys financial statements for 2020, the auditors report, the annual report and the project of distribution of profit (loss) for the ordinary general shareholders meeting of the Company which will be held on 30 April 2021.

The company's shareholders are invited to participate in the ordinary General meeting and vote on the agenda items in writing, by filling voting ballot in advance and submitting to the Company (by address Pramones str. 6, Alytus, Lithuania), because the quarantine will be continuing in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania on the meeting day and for this reason the usual meeting on meeting place will not take place. The document confirming the right to vote must also be sent together with voting ballot.

According to audited consolidated data, AB SNAIGE achieved a turnover of EUR 29 million in 2020, i.e. 9 % less than 2019.

According to Mindaugas Sologubas, CEO of AB SNAIGE, the first quarantine had the most significant sales impact. "Due to the restrictions imposed in the spring, the company's factory in Alytus was forced to work at part capacity for a couple of months, and some employees were in downtime," said M. Sologubas. "- "There was a shortage of supply, as many of our suppliers were in the countries affected by the pandemic".

However, in the third quarter, the Company's sales already reached the third quarter of 2019. And the fourth, compared to 2019. - exceeded 12%. However, this was not enough to cover the losses incurred in the spring.

According to M. Sologubas, in the context of quarantine, household refrigerators and especially freezers were in great demand. In many countries, their demand has increased by almost 50%. Understandably, people wanted to store food for a more extended period during the quarantine.

The Company's audited consolidated EBITDA in 2020 reached 2.7 million. EUR.

According to Mindaugas Sologubas, CEO of AB SNAIGE, the growth of EBITDA was determined by several factors - more profitable, albeit lower sales, internal fixed cost savings program and received state compensation downtime.

Despite the pandemic's unfavourable circumstances, AB SNAIGE implemented long-cherished plans and started serial production of professional refrigeration equipment. The Company began to produce refrigeration and cooling units developed in the Company and expanded the showcase and storage refrigerators range. In the last quarter of last year, the Company successfully adapted its showcase refrigerators for pharmacies and other medical institutions. Such refrigerators went to hospitals and polyclinics in Lithuania and other countries.

In 2020 the share of professional equipment in the total portfolio of the Company was almost 20%.

During 2020, AB SNAIGE exported its products to almost 30 European, Asian and African countries. The Company's largest foreign sales markets were Ukraine (19%), Germany (16%), the Czech Republic (8%), France (5%), and Austria (4%). Exports accounted for 89 % total turnover of the Company.

Mindaugas Sologubas

General manager SNAIGE AB

Phone +370 315 56206

Attachments
The Ministries of the Environment and Agriculture have recently launched a new campaign to raise awareness for the damage caused by plastic and glass waste.

According to Jeff Schroeder, the president of the Luxembourg Young Farmers Association, littering has increased significantly during the pandemic. Schroeder thinks that this is due to more people hiking across fields and forest paths since the start of the health crisis.

Over the upcoming weeks, 350 new signs depicting cows with waste in their stomachs are to be put up by the country's farmers. Schroeder stresses that the damage is particularly devastating for the agricultural industry.

The pollution has not yet had an effect on the quality of products made in Luxembourg, something which would have been detected by the quality checks carried out on a regular basis.
Taking to Twitter, Blinken said: "Glad to be heading back to Brussels. The US is committed to rebuilding US alliances, particularly with our NATO allies.

Washington, April 13 (IANS) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday embarked on a visit to Brussels, Belgium, to consult with NATO allies on a range of shared priorities.

"We remain steadfast in our support for NATO as the essential forum for trans-Atlantic security."

Accompanying Blinken will be Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin for discussions with allies and partners, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Monday.

"The Secretary will take this opportunity to reaffirm the US commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals.

"Separately, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with European counterparts to discuss key priorities and shared challenges," Xinhua news agency quoted Price as saying in the statement.

The trip came amid escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and Russia's military build-up along the border.

It also came ahead of the May 1 deadline set by the US-Taliban deal for a full withdrawal of American and coalition troops from Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden said last month that it would be hard for the United States to meet the deadline.

--IANS

ksk/
More behind the cutPanel discusses the accident from 26 yr veteran, head of the police union, and trainer to other officers. While it seems in bodycam that she didnt intend to grab her gun and was stunned at what she did, how did a veteran make such a mistake, and the bigger topic is why these routine stops happen more often for poc and end up in tragedy. Meghan talks Glock vs taser; the rest is her rambling. Sara says she wasnt ready for high stress situation and didnt follow her own guidelines, and didnt attempt to de-escalate. Joy wonders even if LEO use force, why not shoot in leg instead of body area that kills them. Sunny talks about different bills, one was passed by House, but stalled in Senate under former guy. Discusses differences in bills put forward.Catherine Zeta-Jones is promoting. She talks about the show, wanting to work with Michael Sheen who is from Wales like her, her Oscar fromand dancing since she was a child, her marriage to Michael Douglas, their kids.Wes Moore is an author, entrepreneur, television producer, retired United States Army officer, and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation. Hes also the founder and CEO of BridgeEdU, a social enterprise dedicated to reinventing the freshman year and creating smoother transition to higher education for students entering their freshman year of college. He is promoting his book. They talk a lot about the death of Duante Wright, systemic racism in law enforcement, and Maryland repealing the Police Bill of Rights.Source links are below each video or section
He recently relocated from Byron Bay to Sydney to film scenes for the upcoming Marvel blockbuster Thor: Love and Thunder.

But Chris Hemsworth took a break from his busy schedule on Tuesday to spend quality time with one of his seven-year-old twin sons in Double Bay.

Showcasing his giant biceps in a tight white T-shirt, the doting father, 37, carried his son in his arms while making his way to an upmarket cafe.

No dad bod here! Chris Hemsworth, 37, showed off his bulging biceps in a tight white T-shirt as he carried one of his seven-year-old twin sons to a cafe in Sydney's Double Bay on Tuesday

The hulking Hollywood star completed his low-key look with a pair of Nike shorts, black-and-white sneakers and sunglasses.

His son, meanwhile, looked adorable in a grey hoodie and powder blue trackpants.

Clutching a Rubik's cube in one hand, the youngster was seen chatting to his father as he made his way down the busy boulevard.

Casual outing: The hulking Hollywood star completed his low-key look with a pair of Nike shorts, black-and-white sneakers and sunglasses

Chris and his wife, Elsa Pataky, 44, temporarily moved from Byron Bay to Sydney last month to make their work commitments more manageable.

However, the couple - who own a $30million mega-mansion in Broken Head - have been flying back to Byron via private jet for occasional weekend trips.

Chris is busy shooting the new Thor movie, while Elsa is working on Netflix action film Interceptor.

Adorable: His son, meanwhile, looked adorable in a grey hoodie and powder blue trackpants

The Hemsworths moved to Byron with their daughter, India, eight, and twin sons, Sasha and Tristan, seven, in 2014.

They live in the suburb of Broken Head, a 20-minute drive from central Byron, in a mega-mansion estimated to be worth $30million.

The property features a 50-metre infinity pool, a large Indigenous mural, two bars and a gym complex including steam, sauna and massage rooms.

Day out with daddy! Clutching a Rubik's cube in one hand, the youngster was seen chatting to his father as he made his way down the busy boulevard
A Monroe man was charged Tuesday after authorities said he abused three girls between the ages of 11 and 12 whom he communicated with through messaging apps.

A federal criminal complaint charged 32-year-old Hector Torres with coercion and enticement of minors to engage in sexual activity, a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Connecticut said.

He was also charged with an offense alleging he produced child sex abuse imagery. The U.S. Attorneys Office said investigators believe Torres used Snapchat, FaceTime and text messaging to communicate with three minor girls to entice them into sending naked pictures.

If convicted, Torres faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to a lifetime sentence on the coercion and enticement charge, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. He faces a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence and up to 30 years on the child abuse imagery charge.

Two of the victims were 12 years old and the other was 11 years old, according to the office.

On multiple occasions this past February, Torres picked up the girls in his car and brought them to a shopping plaza parking lot in Hartford where he sexually abused them, the office said.

Torres promised the girls money, sneakers, vaping supplies and food in exchange, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Investigators reviewed three videos of the alleged abuse, one of which shows the right side of his face as well as distinctive tattoos on his hands, the office said.

After Torres arrest on Tuesday, he appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti and was held in custody.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office said Torres was taken into custody by the FBI. The case is being investigated by the FBI along with Hartford and Monroe police, and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force.

Investigators believe there may be more victims and are asking any potential witnesses, victims or people with helpful information to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.cybertipline.com.
It was early morning, when 28-year old Paul Ouaki heard the gunshots. He and his family were sleeping in their home in the Central African capital Bangui, when armed rebels attacked the city on January 13. Paul took his family, left behind their house and their fields, and ran.

I could see people falling down dead. Some of them were my friends, he said.

The family crossed the river and border into neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where they slept under palm branches in a small village on the riverbank.

When we arrived, our living condition were difficult. Finding food was very difficult, but we could not go back, because day and night, we could still hear the guns, explained Paul who is among the more than 90,000 Central African refugees  according to local authorities who have sought safety in DRC in recent months.

Violence erupted in the Central African Republic in December after the presidential elections, forcing thousands of people to flee the escalating clashes between armed groups and government forces. Its estimated that 336,000 people have fled their homes in the first three months of 2021. Approximately a total of 734,000 remain displaced inside the country. 115,000 have fled to neighboring countries since the beginning of the electoral crisis  some to Chad, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, but the vast majority to DRC. Here, conditions are dire  and the need for help is huge. Many refugees have little to no access to drinking water, food and sanitation. They sleep in makeshift shelters, while others have been welcomed by host families in the villages, that are now seeing up to three families living together in a single home.

A contribution of DKK 20 million (approximately USD 2.9 million) from Denmarks flexible Emergency Reserve Fund has now been allocated to UNHCRs response to the displacement in the Central African Republic. This timely funding will help UNHCR protect and assist the many Central African refugees.

For years, the Central African Republic has been one of the most overlooked and underfunded humanitarian crisis situations in the world. This contribution from Denmark will help UNHCR scale up critical protection activities and deliver much needed help to thousands of newly displaced children, women and men, says Henrik M. Nordentoft, UNHCRs Representative to the Nordic and Baltic Countries.

In DRC, UNHCR is supporting the Government with biometric registration of the arriving Central African refugees and asylum-seekers. Currently, 1,000 refugees are registered on a daily basis  and this allows UNHCR to identify and assist particularly vulnerable refugees, such as survivors of gender-based violence and unaccompanied minors. UNHCR is also providing refugees with basic aid such as mats to sleep on, plastics sheets, blankets, mosquito nets and jerrycans to collect water.

Additionally, UNHCR is working to relocate thousands of refugees away from the remote villages, dangerously close to the border and the fighting, and to provide them better shelters in newly developed sites. The plan is to relocate over 25,000 refugees in the coming months to three different sites, where UNHCR is repairing infrastructure, setting up water and sanitation facilities and health centres. Here, the refugees will be able to grow their own crops and become more self-reliant, and their children will be able to attend local schools.

The Central African Republic has for decades been characterized by political unrest and waves of violence, and today almost a third of the countrys population is uprooted and forcibly displaced.

For 28-year old Paul Ouaki and his family, its not the first time they have been forced to flee to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, leaving behind their home country. It happened the first time in 2014, but after spending six years in a refugee camp in DRC, the family was repatriated last year with assistance from UNHCR. Following the 2019 peace agreement, UNHCR was helping Central African refugees return home and rebuild their lives  but for Paul Ouaki and his family, and many others, they returned home only to be forced to flee again a year after.

I was glad to return to my country, when I saw that peace was restored. Now, the events are being repeated, he said.

D enmark as a donor to UNHCR

Denmark has long ranked among UNHCRs top ten donors. In 2020, Denmark provided UNHCR with USD 96.5 million. Each year, around USD 35 million of Denmarks funding is provided as completely unearmarked funding, enabling UNHCR to protect refugees in protracted and underfunded situations.

Within its overall funding, Denmark annually contributes with an Emergency Reserve Fund of DKK 50 million (around USD 7.4 million) at the start of each year, which UNHCR can allocate towards the most urgent needs. The flexibility of the fund allows UNHCR to respond to emergencies, which saves lives and assists displaced people with critical protection needs and acute basic necessities.

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(di Roberto Nardi) (ANSAmed) - VENEZIA, 13 APR - This year's Venice Architecture Biennale will open to the public on May 22 and run through November 21 at the venues of the Giardini, Arsenale and Forte Marghera.



The challenge of this year's exhibition is that of imagining "spaces in which we can generously live together" - not an easy task in the age of the pandemic, where "together" is almost hard to recall. The exhibition's title, "How Will We Live Together", was decided upon prior to Covid but now seems prophetic.



Curated by Hashim Sarkis, this year's exhibition was postponed for a year from its original 2020 date because of the virus.



Sarkis said it will face questions such as "the intensification of the climate crisis, mass population movements, political instability worldwide and growing racial, social and economic inequality".



He said the pandemic "without a doubt made the question posed by this Architecture Biennale even more relevant and appropriate, although in some way ironic, given the imposed isolation".



It is an open question, that of living together, on the role of the architect as a catalyst in the relationship with other realities as well as a "custodian" of the new spatial contract, which the events of the past year have made even more urgent and charged with new meaning.



So much so that some projects had to remain postponed, given the use of interactions with the public, while others gained strength.



The outdoor events, where architecture will dialogue with the visual arts, will perhaps be read in multiple ways.



"We put this question to the architects because we aren't satisfied with the answers given today by politics," Sarkis said.



"In the context of the Architecture Biennale we are putting this question to architects because we believe they have the ability to give more stimulating responses that those that politics has thus far offered in most of the world," he said.



Biennale President Roberto Cicutto said the year-long postponement "was not a lost year".



He said it served to put together an exhibition that is broader than ever in scope, both in terms of the number of participants as well as in connected events across more media platforms.



The international exhibition is organised in five categories, or "scales", divided between the Giardini and Arsenale venues, and includes 112 participants from 46 countries, with increased representation from Africa, Latin America and Asia, and equal representation from men and women.



One part of the exhibition is also a specific project dedicated to play, set up at Forte Marghera with the contribution of five international architects.



There are 63 national participations, with four countries participating for the first time: Grenada, Iraq, Uzbekistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan.



The Italian Pavilion, sponsored by the Italian Culture Ministry, is curated by Alessandro Melis.



There will also be a series of participants out of competition - including an installation by the artist Giuseppe Penone - a special project with the Victoria and Albert Museum of London.



In terms of "collective-community" and "do-it-yourself" projects related to three shows, a collaboration with Biennale Danza, 17 collateral events, and discussions with architects and academics from around the world.



Cicutto said even this year, the organisation of the exhibition "was surrounded by a climate of uncertainty", but it is opening "even more aware of how the work of the Biennale reflects the modern world, which here is interpreted and sometimes anticipated by the proposals of the curators and those who participate with their own work". (ANSAmed).
Amid rising coronavirus cases nationwide, a sea of saffron-clad seers and ash-smeared Nagas converged at Har ki Pairi in Haridwar for a holy dip in the Ganga during the second shahi snan of the Kumbh Mela on Monday.

Led by their mahamandaleshwaras, the sadhus from different akhadas took out shobha yatras through the main thoroughfare of the pilgrimage city to gather at Brahma Kund, Hari ki Pairi for the shahi snan  or the royal bath  on Somvati Amavasya.

Marching barefoot to their destination, the seers took a dip in the river as they were showered with flower petals from helicopters arranged by the Uttarakhand government.

Masks were not worn by a large proportion and social distancing appeared impossible in an event in which, according to the mela administration, over 17 lakh people had taken a dip in the river in the first few hours up to 10 am.

While Har ki Pairi, considered the holiest of the ghats, was reserved for the akhadas from 7 am onwards, common people took the dip at the other ghats of the Ganga, revered by millions as a goddess.

Seers from Niranjani Akhada led by their mahamandaleshwar Acharya Kailashanand Giri were the first at the ghat. Sadhus from Ananda Akhada also went to the river with them.

They were followed by the Joona Akhada seers.

Former King of Nepal Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, on his maiden visit to Haridwar, was among the devotees who took a bath in the river.

It was the second shahi snan during the ongoing Kumbh Mela, which has been limited to just one month due to rising cases of coronavirus.
As Mayor of London, Boris Johnson breezed one day into Downing Street to talk to David Cameron about his budget settlement for City Hall. He wanted a bumper payday for Londoners.

But Cameron, the Prime Minister for four years, was not well disposed to his fellow Old Etonian. He believed, with some justification, that the mayoralty was being used by Boris not to help the Government but to promote his own Tory leadership credentials.

After some stilted small talk in the No10 study, the mayor noticed a briefing note on Cameron's desk, which he demanded to see. The PM refused. When Boris tried to take it, Cameron snatched it back, and the tussle continued across the study floor, witnessed by several astonished aides.

Both men took great delight in boasting privately that they got the piece of paper, thereby asserting their authority over the other.

In the last 48 hours the rivalry has taken a more serious turn after Boris, who now clearly has the political upper hand, ordered an unprecedented inquiry into Cameron's lobbying for the collapsed company Greensill Capital.

In the last 48 hours the rivalry has taken a more serious turn after Boris, who now clearly has the political upper hand, ordered an unprecedented inquiry into Cameron's lobbying for the collapsed company Greensill Capital

Team Boris insists that the inquiry is not inspired by a wish to damage Cameron. But Cameron's allies, who it has to be said are rapidly reducing in number, are not so sure.

'This could have been swerved by No10 but instead Boris has fanned the flames with the inquiry,' said a former MP who was close to Cameron. 'No10 says it's all about transparency, but I think it's partly about Boris needling Dave.'

Others suspect a more Machiavellian motive. They believe the inquiry has been set up to divert attention from the 60,000 lavished on the Downing Street flat redecoration project  which has been paid for by a Tory donor but was not declared publicly by Boris. Reports suggest that Cameron had hoped to make 60million from share options in Greenhill, although he denies this. Boris could happily point out that, in comparison, 60,000 spent on Downing Street is nothing.

Both sides have their supporters. Only yesterday Kwasi Kwarteng, who has enjoyed a rapid rise into the Cabinet as Business Secretary under Boris, told MPs the sorts of loans Cameron was trying to persuade the Government to grant were 'very irresponsible'. Tellingly, Kwarteng  yet another Old Etonian  was mysteriously overlooked for ministerial jobs by Cameron.

The war of words between these Cameron and Boris backers is a replay of what has been going on between the two men since they first crossed swords at school. For decades now, they have been earnest rivals, constantly trying to outdo each other.

Boris was two years above Cameron at Eton and it was he who was the academic high-achiever and King's Scholar. Cleverer, more original and more popular than Cameron, he boasted that he wanted to be 'world king'. 'I dimly remember Cameron at Eton,' he said later, 'a tiny chap known as Cameron Minor.' (Younger brothers were called Minor, older ones Major, after their surnames).

But at Oxford their fortunes turned. While Boris became president of the Oxford Union debating society, Cameron secured a First in Philosophy, Politics and Economics while Johnson received a 2:1 in Greats (Classics).

Boris scoffed that those who got Firsts were 'girly swots who wasted their time at university' but privately he was embarrassed he hadn't achieved the same grade.

They both became MPs in 2001, and in the House of Commons, Cameron stretched his lead. Within two years, he was in the shadow cabinet, while Boris never made it. By 2005 he was Tory leader and conspicuously gave no big job to Boris  which seriously rankled.

Even now Boris resents how Cameron invited himself to dinner at his London home in the autumn of 2007 with George Osborne the shadow chancellor. The two younger men told Boris, a backbencher, he had to run to be London Mayor the next year as he had no future as a senior shadow cabinet player. They told him he wasn't sufficiently serious or hard-working.

David Cameron, standing second left, when he was in the Bullingdon Club at Oxford with Boris Johnson, sitting down far right

Little did Cameron realise that the mayoral job would be the making of Boris, who defied political gravity to win twice in London, a city where Labour is now dominant. 'Suddenly Boris became king across the water,' said one ally of the current PM, referring to the mayor's City Hall on the other side of the Thames from Westminster. 'Boris had an aura of the winner.' When it came to the general election in 2010, and it was Cameron's turn to face the electorate, one of Boris's most trusted media advisers Guto Harri said: 'Shouldn't you send Dave a text wishing him well?'

To which Boris said: 'Why?' 'Because you're old friends.' After some persuasion, he sent the text but couldn't resist the opportunity to turn the knife: 'Good luck Dave and don't worry, if you bog it up I'm standing by to fill the gap.'

Boris's extraordinary ambition will have meant he loathed the fact that, in that 2010 election, Cameron at 43 became the youngest Prime Minister in almost 200 years.

Which helps explain why, as mayor, he never missed a chance to outshine the PM. At the parade for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics he capped his highly successful summer by reducing Cameron to awkward bystander.

Crowds cheered, Cameron clapping awkwardly, as Boris hailed our athletes for producing 'paroxysms of tears and joy on the sofas of Britain'. Cameron complained bitterly about his showboating.

At Tory Party conferences the mayor was always given a prime speaking spot and never disappointed. The standing ovation was often longer and louder than the one enjoyed by Cameron.

In public at least they pretended to be good friends, with Cameron acknowledging that the mayor was clever, oozed self-belief and exuded charisma, a quality in short supply at Westminster. But when it came to the 2016 referendum the pretence stopped.

Having vacillated for weeks on the issue, Boris  who had returned to the Commons at the 2015 election and was standing down as mayor in the summer of 2016  sent Cameron a text message saying he was backing Leave. Nine minutes later he made his decision public.

The gloves were off. In the Commons, a few days later in February 2016, Cameron ridiculed Boris who had floated an extraordinarily complicated idea of two EU referendums: the first to reject the paltry concessions Cameron had secured in a deal from Brussels; the second to endorse a better package from the EU, which he said would be forthcoming because of the first rejection.

David Cameron in his House group photgraphs at Eton in 1984 (left) and Boris Johnson at the school in 1979

Cameron's remarks seemed to be aimed at Boris, who had experienced trouble in his second marriage which was to end in divorce: 'Sadly I have known a number of couples who have begun divorce proceedings, but I do not know any who have begun divorce proceedings in order to renew their marriage vows.'

From the backbenches, Boris shouted: 'Rubbish.'

Relations deteriorated further when Boris and Cabinet minister Michael Gove accused Cameron in an open letter of corroding public trust about immigration. There was a Trappist vow of silence from Cameron from when Boris became PM until the decision to merge the Department for International Department (DfID) into the Foreign Office.

He warned it would lead to 'less respect for the UK overseas'. In the Commons Boris retorted: 'I profoundly disagree with that.'

In a 2019 entry in the diaries of Alan Duncan, serialised in the Daily Mail, the former minister wrote: 'Breakfast with David Cameron. He has a very straightforward opinion about Boris. 'He ruined my bloody career'.'

The Greensill review could do just as much damage.

Boris was pressed yesterday on whether he was looking to 'rough up a rival' via the review. He dodged the question. Cameron might have had a more colourful answer.
The picture posted on a US Navy website showing two US military officers watching Chinas aircraft carrier Liaoning from the deck of their ship.

By Guo Yuandan

The movements of the PLA Navy Liaoning aircraft carrier task force have recently been closely watched. A photo circulated in western media on April 11 showed that the guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin was shadowing the Liaoning in the Philippine Sea, from which even the carrier-based aircraft onboard were visible. Has the US warship been in dangerous proximity? What does the US Navy aim for by releasing this photo at this time?

This photo posted on the US Navy website showed that two US military officers were monitoring surface contact from the deck of the USS Mustin on April 4, not far away from which there was Chinas aircraft carrier Liaoning.

On April 5, Chinas Liaoning aircraft carrier task force was carrying out training in waters around Taiwan, as confirmed by the PLA Navy. This photo released by the US Navy is proof that the US ship was tracking and monitoring the Liaoning at close range. The Drive, a US website,expressed on April 10 that the sailing of Chinas aircraft carrier task force was closely watched by both Japan and the US.

Retired Chinese Navy captain Tian Shichen, vice-president of the Grandview Institution and director of the Centre for International Law of Military Operations in Beijing, told reporters on April 11 that according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, military vessels and aircraft of all countries enjoy the freedom of navigation and overflight in the sea and airspace beyond their territorial waters and airspace. It is quite normal for warships and aircraft between hostile or competing countries, and even those between friendly countries, to track and monitor each other beyond the territorial waters of coastal countries, as long as they comply with international regulations for preventing collision at sea and maintain a safe distance, with a view to avoiding collisions or other accidents, he said.

In the photo released by the US military, the Chinese and US warships were close to each other. Have the two sides kept a safe distance or been in dangerous proximity? According to professionals, there is no universally accepted technical definition for the safe distance of naval warships, and the most critical factors in determining the distance are the state of the two ships and the sea conditions at the time.

According to the rules for collisions avoidance, when encountering on the high seas, the two ships are keeping the so-called safe distance in maritime navigation as long as they can take measures respectively to avoid the emergence of urgent situations under the current sea conditions. As guided by practices and experience, naval vessels from different countries will keep two nautical miles apart while passing by; however in practice, especially with military intents, the two sides will be very close, often 0.5 nautical miles or even closer, the distance will be shorter, often 0.5 nautical miles or even smaller in actual operations, and this is especially true with military intentions. Its prone to give rise tomisjudgment when the distance is less than 0.5half a nautical miles. Generally speaking, dangerous proximity means a distance of less than two chains, about two to three hundred meters away, the expert pointed out.

Professionals believed that the distance shown is within the normal range and does not come in dangerous proximity in terms of naval vessel operations, merely judging from the photo released by the US military. However, if Liaoning aircraft carrier task force had been conducting live-fire training subjects at that time, it would have been very dangerous.

Whatsoever, there are still experts who believed that the US military's intention to release this photo at this time is clear, that is, showing its determination to confront China, and aiming to rope in and embolden its allies. Li Haidong, a professor with the Institute of International Relations, China Foreign Affairs University (CDAU), pointed out on April 11 that the photo was taken in the Philippine Sea. On the occasion of the upcoming military exercises between the US and the Philippines, the US military posted photos on social media also in part to remind relevant countries of the importance of military coordination and cooperation with the US.

Editors note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.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.
Delays in the vaccine rollout will not change border controls, according to a leading West Australian physician who says it will be at least 2025 before normal travel returns.

A second case of a rare clotting disorder has occurred in a WA patient who was part of the early rollout of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Australia.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook. Credit:Peter de Kruijff

The new case was a woman in her 40s, who was in a stable condition in intensive care in Royal Darwin Hospital after being admitted 11 days ago.

Since WA Chief Health Officer Andy Robertson delivered the Commonwealths revised advice about the AstraZeneca vaccine, just four West Australians aged under 50 had received a jab in public clinics. WA currently has 18,000 doses of Pfizer and 30,000 of AstraZeneca.
President Joe Biden is planning to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, according to reports.

Quoting one person familiar with the matter, The Washington Post reported that Mr Biden will announce on Wednesday his decision to withdraw the military from the country over the coming months.

The Trump administration had set a 1 May deadline for the withdrawal in negotiations with the Taliban.

The new administration has been reviewing its options on withdrawing the remaining American soldiers, estimated to be 2,500 to 3,500. There are also about 7,000 Nato troops still in the country.

This is the immediate, practical reality that our policy review discovered, the person familiar with the deliberations told the Post.

If we break the May 1st deadline negotiated by the previous administration with no clear plan to exit, we will be back at war with the Taliban, and that was not something President Biden believed was in the national interest.

They said the US was going to zero troops by September as there are larger strategic interests to prioritise, like non-proliferation, an aggressive Russia, nuclear programmes in North Korea and Iran, as well as China.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, no longer rises to the level of threat to the American homeland as threats from Africa and parts of the Middle East like Syria and Yemen, they said.

That does not mean were turning away from Afghanistan. We are going to remain committed to the government, remain committed diplomatically.

But in terms of where we will be investing force posture, our blood and treasure, we believe that other priorities merit that investment.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Mr Biden would deliver remarks on Afghanistan on Wednesday to outline his timeline and plan to withdraw US troops from the country.

The president has been consistent in his view that there is not a military solution to Afghanistan, that we have been there for far too long, that has been his view for some time, she said.

He remains committed to supporting negotiations between the parties  which are resuming next week, and he also believes we need to focus our resources on fighting the threats we face today, almost 20 years, after the war began.

The official revealing the details anonymously to the Post said the administration would continue to participate in the peace process, provide humanitarian aid, and assist the Afghan government.

But the mission in Afghanistan to deliver justice and disrupt terrorists using the country as a safe following the September 11 terror attack in 2001, had been achieved some years ago.

For that reason the president made the determination ... that the best path forward to advance American interests is ending this war after 20 years so we can address the global threat picture as it exists today, the person said.

At his first press conference as president, Mr Biden said it would be hard to meet the 1 May deadline for tactical reasons in getting the troops out.

Asked if he saw them remaining there in 2022, Mr Biden said: I cant picture that being the case.
A camel ride through the Turia natural park in Manises (Valencia) has ended in tragedy. A 20-year-old man died and his sister was injured when the animal was spooked and ran wild.

Christian BD got caught in the double saddle and was dragged more than 200 metres. The victim was admitted to La Fe Hospital in a critical condition, where he died several days later despite medical efforts.

The incident happened at around 11am on 4 April near the headquarters of the Manises company that organised the activity. One of the camels was allegedly scared by a girl on horseback, and the animal ran wild dragging along the victim and his 22-year-old sister, causing them serious injuries.

The parents of the deceased young man, who were riding another of the animals, witnessed the event, as well as the tour guide and other people participating.

Both victims had multiple fractures. Christian also suffered serious brain injuries when he hit his head on the ground, while his sister suffered trauma and broken legs.

When the medical team arrived the young man was in critical condition. The paramedics managed to stabilise the victim and rushed him to hospital.

According to medical sources, the young man suffered irreversible brain injuries and three days later his life-support was switched off after arrangements had been made to donate his organs with the approval of the parents. The funeral took place last Saturday.

While Christian's family tries to digest the tragic accident, the company organising the excursion continues to offer various activities related to animals on its website, aimed especially at families with children, including the camel ride.

"We know it was an accident, but the companies that organise these types of activities should guarantee the safety of people with greater control of animals," said a friend of the deceased young man. "In other places the camels are tied in a row to avoid stampedes in the event of any unforeseen incident," he added.

A spokesperson for the company organising the excursion told Las Provincias on Monday that it has all the necessary permits and insurance to carry out events related to animals, such as Three Kings cavalcades, horse riding classes and camel rides and that it is collaborating with the police who are investigating the accident.

The camel ride offered lasts approximately 45 minutes with a route through the orange groves. The minimum age is six years old and participants do not wear helmets.
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Dana Balter, who twice won Democratic primary elections for Congress but failed to unseat Rep. John Katko, has decided against making a third bid for the Syracuse-area House seat next year.

Balter, 45, of Syracuse, told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that she wont seek public office in 2022, and instead will focus on a new job working for a nonprofit government reform group in New York state.

I have no intention of running for anything, Balter said when asked about campaigning for public office next year.

She didnt rule out a campaign for elected office in the future.

I know for sure, in some form or another, I will spend the rest of my life working to make our communities stronger and more prosperous, Balter said. And there are lots of ways to do that. One of them is serving in office, and I could see myself doing that at one point.

For now, Balter said, she will focus on her job providing strategic communications for Citizen Action of New York and its not-for-profit research and education affiliate, the Public Policy and Education Fund of New York.

Citizen Action of New York advocates for reforms that include affordable housing and healthcare, racial justice, reducing the influence of money in politics, and a more progressive tax system.

Balters decision leaves Katko, 58, of Camillus, without a challenger from either party as he begins raising money to campaign for a fifth term in the 2022 election.

The House campaign arm for the national Democratic Party said last week that Katko is among 21 vulnerable Republicans that the party will target next year.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington declined Monday to discuss its recruitment efforts for a candidate to oppose Katko.

Francis Conole, an Iraq war veteran from Syracuse who lost to Balter in the Democratic primary election last year, said Monday he is considering whether to run again in 2022.

Conole, 42, a commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, took over as chairman of the Syracuse Democratic Committee last year. He said his focus this year is on winning Democratic seats in local elections.

Roger Misso, a Navy veteran from Syracuse who also campaigned for the Democratic nomination in the 24th Congressional District last year, said he has no plans to seek office in the near future.

Misso started a new job this month as the Syracuse University program coordinator for the National Security Innovation Network, an office within the U.S. Department of Defense.

Balter said she has not tried to recruit any candidates to campaign against Katko next year, nor does she have a particular favorite.

Balter easily won the last two Democratic primary campaigns in the 24th District. She defeated Juanita Perez Williams by about 25 percentage points in 2018 and Conole by 26 percentage points last year.

Balter has come closer than any other Democrat to defeating Katko in his four previous campaigns for Congress.

In 2018, Balter lost by about 5 percentage points and won the Onondaga County portion of the four-county district. It was the same year that Democrats made big gains nationally, winning back the House majority.

In November, Katko (53%) defeated Balter (43%) by 10 percentage points.

Katko is among only nine House Republicans to serve in a district won by President Joe Biden in the 2020 elections. Biden defeated Republican Donald Trump by nine percentage points in the 24th Congressional District.

The 24th District spans all of Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties, and the western half of Oswego County, including the cities of Fulton and Oswego.

The districts boundaries are likely to change next year in the once-a-decade redistricting process based on new U.S. Census data. New York is expected to lose at least one, and possibly two, of its 27 House seats because of the states population loss.

The Census Bureau failed to meet its December deadline to deliver apportionment data to the states. Those state population statistics are now due to be delivered to Biden by the end of the month, with data for each census block due by Sept. 30.

The census block data will be used to draw new district boundaries.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Published on 2021/04/12 | Source

Actor Seo Ye-ji, who is embroiled in the 'Kim Jung-hyun controversy' will not attend the press preview of the movie "Recalled".

On the 12th, Seo Ye-ji decided not to participate in the press preview of the movie "Recalled" (director Seo Yoo-min) at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 13th.

Seo Ye-ji was previously pointed out as the center of controversy over her attitude that erupted when actor Kim Jung-hyun was in the MBC drama "Time - Drama" in 2018.
Voters at Lenox Town Hall fill out their ballots during the November 2020 election. Town elections will be held May 10.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of an 11-month-old girl, according to law enforcement sources.

Chavez R. Ocasio was booked on the following charges: second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and violation of parole, according to Onondaga County Justice Center records. He was booked into custody at 8 p.m. Monday, records show.

The charges stem from Ocasios alleged role in the murder of 11-month-old Dior Harris, a law enforcement source confirmed.

At a vigil Monday night, Shakema Buckmon, a cousin of Diors mother and the driver of a car Dior was in when she was shot, said police told her an arrest was made in the case Monday evening.

Its unclear what Ocasios alleged role was in the murder and whether there are other suspects.

Syracuse police did not respond Monday night for comment on the arrest.

Dior was shot three times while in a car in the 300 block of Grant Avenue and died. Two other children  a 3-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl  were also shot, but are expected to survive.

Diors mother, Desiree Seymore, and Buckmon, the mother of the other two girls, were in front seats of the car at the time of the shooting. Neither mom was hit by the gunfire.

Hasahn Bloodworth and Patrice Nedd hold large print photos at a vigil that was held for 11 month old Dior Harris on 100 block of Lincoln Ave. Harris was shot and killed Sunday evening on Grant Ave on Syracuses westside. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Buckmon, who was driving, sped to a relatives house in the 100 block of Lincoln Avenue to get away from the gunshots and get help.

At an 11 a.m. Monday news conference, Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner asked for the publics help to solve the murder. Buckner said he wasnt willing to share any leads on suspects, and had no one who was identified as a suspect.

Syracuse police officers gather at a crime scene on Lincoln Avenue in Syracuse on Sunday evening, April 11, 2021. This is the car that was shot. Charlie Miller

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standards Douglass Dowty and Charlie Miller contributed to this report.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Chris Libonati via the Signal app for encrypted messaging at 585-290-0718, by phone at the same number, by email or on Twitter.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 02:04:22|Editor: huaxia

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WINDHOEK, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Eleven people died of COVID-19 in Namibia in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total number of deaths from the pandemic to 586 by Tuesday, said an official with the Ministry of Health and Social Services.

Ben Nangombe, the executive director in the ministry, said during a daily COVID-19 update Tuesday that his country is concerned with the number of COVID-19 deaths, which has shown an upward trajectory.

This is a serious cause for concern, Nangombe said. "We extend sincere condolences to the bereaved families and indeed to the whole nation. One life lost is just too many."

According to Nangombe, Namibia on Tuesday recorded 162 new COVID-19 confirmed cases in the last 24 hours.

To date, Namibia's cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 45,949, with 43,984 recoveries. So far, 3,122 doses of vaccine have been administered since the rollout began on March 19. Enditem
[April 12, 2021] DHL Express uncovers next wave of E-commerce growth

Whitepaper predicts online B2B sales to increase of more than 70% by 2027 to US $2 0.9 trillion (2019: US $1 2.2 trillion)

0.9 trillion (2019: US 2.2 trillion) Covid-19 pandemic drives digital transformation and significantly accelerates B2C and B2B E-commerce growth

DHL Express closed FY2020 with best result in its history (EBIT: EUR 2.7bn, +34.9% yoy) HONG KONG, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, DHL Express, the world's leading international express service provider, released a new Whitepaper "The Ultimate B2B E-commerce Guide: Tradition is out. Digital is in". The study predicts strong growth for the B2B E-commerce market in the coming years: by 2025, 80% of all B2B sales interactions between suppliers and professional buyers will take place in digital channels. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the pace of digitalization and the purchasing behavior of technology-savvy millennials, who are now of an age to be the professional B2B decision-makers, are the main drivers of this global E-commerce growth. "Even in times of worldwide shutdowns, globalization has shown its resilience, fuelled by digitalization and the power of global trade", says John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. "These trends have led to an ever growing number of consumers to shift their shopping activities online. The pandemic has accelerated this development like never before, with a sharp rise in businesses selling their goods in the global marketplace. E-commerce and global logistics thus provided the key to unlock local shutdowns, keep economies running and mitigate the impact of Covid-19 for many of our customers." The Whitepaper, compiled by DHL Express, uncovers factors driving the growth of the global B2B E-commerce market: besides general trends such as globalization and digitalization, a new technology-oriented generation of millennials is starting to make its mark. Already, millennials account for 73% of all professional B2B purchasing decisions. As digital natives, their experiences in the B2C-sector translate to high expectations when making B2B transactions, pushing companies to invest in digital solutions, such as selling platforms, while offering great growth potential. Acceleration of E-commerce growth through Covid-19 "Specifically in Asia Pacific excluding China, we have witnessed a 17.3% year-on-year rise in shipment volume during the peak months of November and December 2020 driven by more active shippers and a 21% higher spend per customer. In those two months alone, there were 65% more B2C shipments of which consumer technology products and fashion apparel contributed the most," said Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific. "This unabated surge in volume further underscores the growth in online shopping and demand for cross-border shipping, making it critical that logistics providers remain agile to continuously adapt and respond to consumer needs." It was not only B2C E-commerce that was growing due to ongoing digitalization and changed shopping behavior of consumers. In 2019, before the pandemic, global sales on B2B E-commerce sites and marketplaces had already increased by 18.2% to reach USD 12.2 trillion[1], outpacing the market size of the B2C sector. Through Covid-19 and the resulting acceleration of digitalization, this global B2B E-commerce volume is estimated to reach USD 20.9 trillion by 2027[2]. "The pandemic has changed the way we live. Businesses -- whether big or small -- have embraced digitalization at different levels," Chee Choong Ng, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau said. "However, B2C commerce remains strong, while the B2B segment is recovering quickly, as a result of a convergence of online and brick-and-mortar businesses. Air traders in Hong Kong are also optimistic about the global outlook. As the world's leading express logistics service provider, we play a critical role as a global connector, helping customers become global businesses as they expand their reach to other parts of the world." What is predicted for the future of the B2B sector, has already been visible in the significant B2C E-commerce rise over the last years, where DHL Express experienced high growth rates particularly during the holiday peak seasons (e.g. Easter, Christmas) and mega shopping days (e.g. Black Friday, Cyber Monday). In total, the B2C E-commerce volumes within the DHL Express network increased in 2020 by approximately 40%, compared to 2019. This positive business development is also reflected in the FY2020 financial results of the company: With a total revenue of EUR19.1 billion (+11.9% year-on-year) and EBIT of EUR2.7 billion (+34.9%) the Express division of Deutsche Post DHL Group closed 2020 with the best result in its more than 50 years history. With its worldwide network and breadth of industries served, DHL Express was able to accommodate fast-changing trade flows. Furthermore, its presence in more than 220 countries and territories helped consumers and businesses to stay connected by enabling them to trade around the world -- also during the Covid-19 pandemic. DHL Express is investing to continue to meet high customer demands In 2020, DHL Express delivered 484 million shipments in total for its customers (B2C and B2B) around the globe, around 9% more per day than in 2019. To adapt to this significant growth of its network, DHL Express continues to invest annually more than EUR1 billion in new state-of-the-art facilities around the world to multiply its sorting capacity (+65% since 2013), hires new employees (+10,000 year-on-year) and adds new freighter aircraft to its fleet (+20 units year-on-year). In this context, DHL Express recently announced the purchase of eight more Boeing B777 wide body freighters and a partnership with Smartlynx Malta to add two Airbus A321 to its fleet. With these measures, DHL Express ensures that its worldwide customers can benefit from the global

E-commerce boom.







[1] Statista [2] Researchandmarkets

Media contact: DHL Express Hong Kong Weber Shandwick Fiona Yau Irene Fung Tel: +852 2400 2055 Tel: +852 2533 9980 Fax: +852 2573 9020 Fax: +852 2868 0224 Email: fiona.yau@dhl.com Email: ifung@webershandwick.com

DHL -- The logistics company for the world DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfilment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 400,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing & energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as "The logistics company for the world". DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 66 billion euros in 2020. With sustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment, the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to achieve zero-emissions logistics by 2050. SOURCE DHL Express Hong Kong

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Engineered Plastic Components announced today it is investing $8.05 million in a 125,000-square-foot facility in Bessemer and will add 75 new jobs.

It is the auto suppliers second facility in the Birmingham area, in addition to Leeds.

EPC is a provider of thermoplastics and thermoset products for automotive, appliances, consumer products and medical industries, including automotive instrument panels and medical products such as test tube holders. EPC acquired the second facility from INOAC in last September and plans to add 10 injection molding machines, ranging in size from 200 tons to 3,000 tons.

Reza Kargarzadeh, president and CEO of EPC, said Alabama is attractive because of the number of customers in the area, including auto manufacturers. He thanked the Birmingham Business Alliance for its help.

We are expanding to provide the most efficient injection molding and thermoset processes to all automotive OEMs in the area, he said.

EPC currently employs 100 in the Bessemer facility and plans to add 75 new jobs in the next several years. Founded in 1994 in Iowa, EPC has 17 locations across North America, predominantly in the Midwest and Southeast. The Birmingham Business Alliances Vice President of Economic Development Jeff Traywick said EPC has grown substantially in its seven years in the Birmingham region.

Since locating within our region in 2014, Engineered Plastic Components has been a key member of our business community and its growth in our area has created a large number of quality jobs, he said.

Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley said EPCs selection of Bessemer is another example of the business-friendly climate we have created here in Bessemer and the success it has yielded in recruiting quality businesses and jobs to the Marvel City.
The inaugural virtual summit will feature sessions from 20 industry leaders, in addition to the opening keynote from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

OAKLAND, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Everlaw, the cloud-based ediscovery and litigation platform, will host its first conference Everlaw Summit: Illuminate 2021 on April 27-28, 2021. The virtual event will explore the latest transformations in litigation and investigations, featuring over 20 industry pioneers including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, retired Judge Andrew Peck, EDRM CEO Mary Mack and esteemed lawyer Craig Ball.

The opening keynote from Ellison will dive into the rule of law on the path to justice, the way law is challenged in the modern day and his role as Attorney General in upholding citizens' rights. Other sessions will explore law firms of the future, the legal technology innovations that will take center stage in 2021 and how technology can make justice more equitable and accessible, in addition to how Everlaw is enabling legal teams to collaboratively discover information and act on those insights.

"On the heels of a year replete with rapid digital and cultural change, Illuminate comes during a turning point for the legal industry," said Everlaw CEO AJ Shankar. "There has been an influx of new, fresh ideas and innovation as legal professionals figure out what these changes mean for the industry as a whole. It's essential that we look to the future to arm our teams with the tools they need to succeed. Illuminate will cover these topics and more, bringing together a community of experts and visionaries on a mission to advance justice and promote the truth."

Everlaw customers such as Jesse Murray, Head of Trust and Safety at Lime, and Maeghan Ottrey, Director of Litigation Support at Fidelity Investments, will participate in a panel on how to collaboratively bring ediscovery in-house. Joining them will be experts from Am Law firms, including Danny Thankachan of Blank Rome and Lisa Fabian of Hanson Bridgett. On Day 2, attorneys can earn 1.0 CLE credit for attending the session "Light Up Your Data: How Metadata Can Inform Case Strategy."

Story continues

Illuminate is free to attend and registrants can customize their own agenda, choosing to attend any or all of the scheduled sessions. The sessions will be available as recordings after the event as well.

To learn more about Illuminate, visit www.everlaw.com/illuminate .

About Everlaw

Everlaw blends cutting-edge technology with modern design to help law firms, government entities, and corporations solve the toughest problems in the legal industry. Everlaw is used by 76 out of the AM Law 100, Fortune 100 corporate counsels, and all 50 U.S. state attorneys general. Everlaw's North American headquarters is in Oakland, Calif., and European headquarters is in London, UK. The company is funded by top-tier investors, including CapitalG, Menlo Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and K9 Ventures.

Media Contact: everlaw@missionnorth.com

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SOURCE Everlaw
Boohoo has said it bought a new office in the heart of London's West End for 72million to house more staff and products after the acquisition of a raft of Arcadia brands.

The online fashion retailer, which has its HQ in Manchester, said the new office in Soho was a necessary step as its presence in the capital has grown significantly since its acquisition of Karen Millen and Coast brands in 2019.

Boohoo has been growing rapidly over the past few years and recently bought the Debenhams brand as well as Arcadia's Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton out of administration.

London calling: Boohoo said the new office will be the 'flexible' base for 600 members of staff

It said approximately 600 members of staff will be working from the new office on a 'flexible' basis.

The new Soho office will become home for 'all London-based product, marketing, technology and central support teams', it explained.

As business grows for Boohoo, the group also announced it had bought a new giant warehouse in Daventry last week, which it said it will allow it handle 4billion of revenue, up from its current 1.7billion.

The acquisition  first mooted by The Mail on Sunday in February  saves 330 jobs and could add another 400 positions in the short term.

But news of the new Soho office comes as the company is still trying to mend its tarnished reputation after it was rocked by allegations of slave labour.

Last summer, two of its factories in the UK were accused of poor working conditions and of paying as little as 3.50 to 4 an hour to workers producing its clothes.

The group has cut ties with hundreds of its suppliers since then, but last month it faced fresh pressure from MPs, who told the company to link its bosses' bonuses to improvement in workers' rights instead of 'breakneck' growth.

It was also recently revealed that Boohoo could face a US import ban because of allegations it used forced labour at its Leicester clothing factories.

Boohoo shares were up 2.1 per cent to 359p by 11:30am on Tuesday.
Media Company Space Hero Signs a Space Act Agreement With NASA

Space Hero Partnerships LLC has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA for a feasibility study of a proposed Space Hero mission to the International Space Station. The Space Hero mission, targeted for 2023, will be provided by Axiom Space and may include a 24/7 immersive and interactive livestream.

The SAA is signed at a significant date in human history, as April 12, 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin. Since then, more than 500 professionals have risked their lives to create a path into space that is now reliable for humanity to explore.

Over the past 12 months, Space Hero has established strong relationships with 20 space agencies, among them NASA, the Japanese space agency JAXA, the Canadian space agency CSA, and the Nigerian and the Brazilian space agencies.

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Thomas Reemer, Space Hero Creator, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said: We are grateful for the work that has been done in the space industry over the past six decades since Gagarins flight. Democratizing access to space is now more important than ever.

Space Hero would be the worlds first global competition to send a civilian into space on a $55 million, 10-day trip to the ISS. The competition for this once-in-a lifetime journey will begin at the end of 2021. The call will be open to anyone who is over 18 and has a fluency in English. The flight is targeted for 2023. Space Hero is planning 15 seasons over the next 30 years, eventually flying beyond the ISS to the Moon and Mars.

Deborah Sass, Space Hero Co-Founder and Co-CEO, said: Equality is our mission. We encourage women and men from all over the world to apply to become the Space Hero. This competition is a safe environment for everyone. Dont let gender be a hurdle.

Space Hero is currently talking to potential campaign partners, such as social networks, to aid with the global roll out.
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Are voice recognition technologies like Alexa helpful in medicine or are they hogwash? For now, the short answer is a little of both.

Microsoft on Monday said that it would spend roughly $16 billion to buy Nuance Communications, whose speech transcription software is used in health care.

Microsoft as well as other tech companies like Google and Amazon have big ambitions to transform the industry with artificial intelligence technologies, including in voice recognition programs and efforts to identify signs of illness and disease.

The big hope of technology in medicine is that it can help make us healthier and improve Americas expensive and often ineffective and unjust health care system. The message that I have heard from medical experts is that theres potential there, but there is also a lot of hot air.
London, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- Unlex LTD, one of the oldest blockchain companies, announces the grand opening of its "Unlex Mining" venture, which brings historically high-profit rates offered on unlex-mining.com and one of the most efficient miner hardware offered on the market. Last year Unlex LTD successfully completed an ICO to build a new mining center in Iceland. To do this, Unlex ICO raised a significant $77 000 000 caps and burned all tokens to distribute the mining power among the investors under the SPIA contract. These modern contracts also imply that the company's investor's per-contract profit is based on dividend equal to their investment during the private sale and is calculated of approximate Unlex's net income of $79 million annually. The Deal of the Century Announced on February 27, 2020, Unlex Mining signed a contract with BITMAIN company worth at least $58 700 000, companies trading records show. This deal has been selected as one of the most significant events of the crypto mining industry, thus Unlex Mining becomes one of the first cryptocurrency mining companies to offer the Antminer S19 and S19 Pro to the global market.



The Antminer S19 series was unveiled to the world as "industry-leading technology" capable of superior performance and is highly energy efficient. According to BITMAIN's press release, "the Antminer 19 series safeguards miners for future mining."



At the time of publication, the total mining power of the SHA-256 algorithm at the Unlex Mining center is 40 P.H. with planned expansion to 80 P.H by 2023.



Also, Unlex Mining's commitment to incorporate the latest industry's technologies makes it possible to mine the cryptocurrency with Scrypt, Ethash, Cryptonight algorithms. Why Unlex Mining Is So Unique? The main advantage of Unlex Mining is that they don't chase the quick money but instead reinvest a substantial part of their net profit in equipment upgrade and mining power expansion, which displays a quality that seems to have vanished from the top of the mining business: reliability.Even the fiat-oriented economists shrugged at this amazing feature of Unlex Mining's strong economic plan. A feature, whose implementation allows Unlex Mining's clients to count on passive income with lifetime contracts. Unlex Mining in Person: David GoldsteinThe incredible pace of change in the industry, notwithstanding, an innovative company and it's unique ICO backed startup is prepping the industry for major changes. The company, Unlex Mining, is a London-born business with a vision to make cryptocurrency mining more user-friendly and less costly to join.



Meet David Goldstein, Cambridge graduated blockchain expert, a fantastic businessman, and Unlex Mining CEO, the world's largest cryptocurrency mining platform. Also, Goldstein worked for a long time at one of the top tier blockchain company's management.Notice: The company's information isn't disclosing because of the NDA agreement



Titles held by Goldstein:Head of Tradebook Futures Development at Bloomberg from 2001-2005.



Partner at Fusion Systems from November 2005 to December 2013

One of the blockchain giant management team from 2013 to 2018

CEO of Unlex Mining from July 2018 to present.



About Unlex

Unlex Mining provides the most competitive profit rates, server maintenance expertise, and unmatched transparency in the computing power-sharing market.Unlex Mining is the world's leading computing power-sharing platform, enabling global users to mine cryptocurrencies in a transparent, reliable, and convenient way. It saves users from the complicated process of purchasing, installing, and hosting mining machines. Individual miners can enjoy the service with just one click.



Media Contact



Website:

https://unlex-mining.com

Linked in:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/unlex

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/UnlexLtd

Contact:

contact@unlex-mining.com
Only when fast-charging batteries along with a nationwide system of charging stations will electric cars become popular in Vietnam.

In early 2018, a company in Hanoi went to the US to learn about a model of electric cars - Tesla Model 3 - for distributing in Vietnam. With a starting price of $35,000 per car, plus 70% import tax, 15% special consumption tax and 10% value added tax, the price for a car is estimated to be around VND2 billion (nearly $100,000).

This price was not much higher than some imported luxury cars using gasoline. However, after consideration, this distributor decided to not import this type of car because technology was limited and the infrastructure for electric cars in Vietnam was underdeveloped.

In 2017, Mai Linh Group planned to develop electric taxis in big cities. However, this plan failed because of a simple reason: there were no charging stations for electric taxis. Moreover, what would happen if the electric taxi had to stop for at least 30 minutes for charging? In general, electric cars seem to be as inconvenient as cars using gasoline

The current electric vehicle market has witnessed significant progress compared to 2-3 years ago. VinFast has received orders for its first electric car model, which is expected to be handed over in November 2021. Some other firms have imported electric cars for distribution. The prices of these cars are similar to gasoline-fueled cars in the same segment.

In some cities, there are also a few charging stations for electric vehicles, where electric cars can be quickly charged within 25 minutes to have power enough for traveling 200 km. In the near future, many fast-charging stations will be built across the country, with a charging time of 15 minutes, for traveling nearly 200 km. However, that is not enough for the development of electric vehicles.

When will gasoline-fueled cars replaced by electric vehicles?

In the world, consumers only buy electric cars with batteries useful for a distance of 400km, with fast charging times and cheap prices.

According to automotive expert Nguyen Minh Dong, one of the most important components of an electric car is the battery.

Currently, all electric vehicles use lithium battery technology, also known as liquid batteries. The power capacity of this battery has reached its limit with 150 Wh/kg. To increase the capacity, the volume of the battery will be large, resulted in high costs and poor performance.

For example, the Tesla Model S can travel 413km on a single charge, but the 85kWh battery costs up to $17,000, accounting for nearly half of the car's value.

Moreover, the risks of causing fire or explosion of liquid batteries is very high. Slow charging takes time, while fast charging is more likely to lead to the risk of fire. This poses an urgent need to develop a new battery generation.

Many people believe that the future of electric vehicles is solid-state batteries. Solid-state battery technology uses solid electrolytes, replacing liquid electrolytes. It is possible to make batteries that are smaller in size with a greater capacity. Solid state batteries are also safer for users because they do not contain toxic, flammable liquids and have a longer lifespan. In particular, this type of battery also has a faster charging speed.

However, solid-state battery technology is still under research and development and production costs are high.

Toyota (Japan) has invested $13.9 billion in research and development of solid-state batteries. Toyota tested its first model of car using solid-state battery in late 2019. Samsung (South Korea) has created a solid-state battery model, which allows an electric car to travel up to 800km for one charge and the battery a lifespan of more than 1,000 times of charging. ProLogium (Taiwan) is testing new battery technology and is expected to be put into operation in 2023. In Vietnam, VinFast has cooperated with ProLogium to manufacture solid-state batteries.

It is said that electric cars using solid state batteries will appear on the market from 2025.

However, after a good battery, an equally important requirement is the charging station. Gasoline cars can be refueled at tens of thousands of petrol stations across the country, but for electric cars, there are no viable charging system in Vietnam in the near future. Electric vehicle manufacturers have committed and endeavored to develop charging station systems. However, the establishment of tens of thousands of charging stations across the country is not easy and can be beyond the capacity of a single firm.

Tran Thuy
Senior lawyer Nikhil Nayyar reminded the Supreme Court had in Sterlite case said that green tribunal cannot strike down rules

The court had in its February 18, 2019, order said: Therefore, it would be fallacious to state that the tribunal has powers of judicial review akin to that of a high court exercising constitutional powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.  PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) was not vested with the powers to examine the validity of any law or to strike it down.

Prima facie we are of the view the National Green Tribunal cant strike down a law, said Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde, heading a bench that also comprised Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian.

The courts observation on the limits of the powers of the green tribunal came in the course of the hearing of a petition by NGO Environment Support Group.

The Environment Support Group had challenged the Karnataka high court order transferring a case to NGT and asking it to adjudicate a

challenge to Section 40 of the Biodiversity Act that empowers the Central government to exempt certain biological resources.

Staying the proceedings before the green tribunal, the court has posted the matter for further hearing next week.

Section 40 of the Biodiversity Act reads: Notwithstanding anything

contained in this act, the Central Government may, in consultation

with the National Biodiversity Authority, by notification in the official gazette, declare that the provisions of the act shall not apply to any items, including biological resources normally traded as commodities.

Appearing for the NGO Environment Support Group, senior lawyer Nikhil Nayyar told the court that earlier the Supreme Court had in the Sterlite case said that the green tribunal cannot strike down rules or regulations.

The court had in its February 18, 2019, order said: It is clear, therefore, that under the NGT Act, the tribunal exercising appellate jurisdiction cannot strike down rules or regulations  Therefore, it would be fallacious to state that the tribunal has powers of judicial review akin to that of a high court exercising constitutional powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India  We must never forget the distinction between a superior court of record and courts of limited jurisdiction.
(TNS) - Deleon Davenport lives in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood but manages a restaurant in River North, and hes seen the differences in the latest surge.Near his home, he said, people seem to wear masks and keep their distance from strangers more. But where he works, he watches hordes of unmasked pedestrians and outdoor diners acting like the COVID-19 pandemic is over.River Norths predominant ZIP code has nearly double the percentage of residents fully vaccinated than the ZIP code covering South Shore. But River North also has twice the number of new COVID-19 cases, relative to population size.Its part of what may seem like a surprising trend in Chicago: Some of the citys more vaccinated areas also are seeing higher case rates.That doesnt surprise Davenport, given the more carefree behavior he sees where he works.Seeing people without masks actually frustrates me now, Davenport said.The River North neighborhood is among the many new flashpoints of an emerging third surge of cases on Chicagos North Side. From West Town and Lincoln Park to Edison Park, these neighborhoods have some of the citys highest rates of vaccination so far, with as many as 42% of residents getting at least one shot in the period studied. And yet the third surge has affected them more than some areas that suffered greatly in previous surges.Health officials say the reasons are complex.For one, the vaccines work well, but they havent been injected into nearly enough people to stop the viruss spread, even in the more vaccinated areas. Areas previously hit hard by the virus, mostly on the South and West sides, also may have higher levels of natural immunity. While waning and not prevalent enough to stop a surge, that natural immunity perhaps can keep the virus from spreading so fast.At the same time, people in more vaccinated areas may be feeling a bit too optimistic about the end of the pandemic, even as a more contagious, and potentially more dangerous, variant is spreading in this part of the country. People who think that way may abandon the behaviors that helped keep their communities safer over the past year, health officials said.As folks in that area have started to see the people they care about getting vaccinated, even if they themselves have maybe not been vaccinated, we are seeing people just thinking like Were done,  Dr. Allison Arwady, the citys health commissioner, said in an interview.Epidemiologists are confident that vaccination will eventually win out, protecting any area where enough people are willing to get the shots. But thats expected to take until sometime this summer, at the earliest.For now, the region must brace for a third surge that may look far different than the first two. Heres what we know about it:People who study health disparities say they werent surprised at the way the pandemic initially unfolded.The hardest-hit areas were predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods whose residents typically made less money, worked jobs that put them in greater danger, had more chronic health concerns and had less access to quality health care. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that the pandemic revealed racial inequities in public health that have existed for generations.The disparities led state and Chicago health officials to come up with special measurements to characterize areas based on their perceived vulnerability to the pandemic.And to few peoples surprise, despite a well publicized push for equitable distribution of the vaccine, fewer Chicagoans generally have been vaccinated in the more vulnerable areas.Less intuitive is the surge of cases in historically less vulnerable areas where vaccination rates are also higher.The Tribune analyzed case data and vaccination data by 58 ZIP codes through the week ending April 3, looking at whether there was a statistically significant correlation. (The Loops five ZIP codes were combined for the analysis because of their generally smaller number of residents.)The analysis found that, across Chicago, ZIP codes with higher vaccination rates were more likely to have higher rates of newly reported COVID-19 cases.For example, the highest rate of cases was in the ZIP code of 60631 on the citys extreme Northwest Side  Edison Park and part of Norwood Park.During the week of March 28 through April 3  the latest data available  the ZIP code recorded 91 new cases. Because the number of people living in a ZIP code varies, researchers sometimes compare ZIP codes by calculating a rate per 100,000 residents. For 60631, that rate was 308 cases per 100,000 people, the highest of any Chicago ZIP.Entering that same week, 36% of the ZIP codes residents had at least one shot, and 23% were fully vaccinated. Both are among the highest vaccination rates in the city.The trend can be seen more clearly when grouping ZIP codes by their vulnerability to the pandemic: low, medium or high.Three months ago, all three groups had roughly the same average of new weekly cases, around 120 per 100,000 residents.But during the third surge, the low-vulnerability areas collectively began seeing their cases grow faster than the medium- and high-vulnerability areas  even as the latter two areas trailed on pace of vaccinations.The most recent data showed that low-vulnerability areas now collectively have a rate of 189 cases per 100,000 residents. Thats much higher than the collective rates seen in medium-vulnerability areas (144) and high-vulnerability areas (126).A key rule of statistics: Just because two things are happening at the same time doesnt mean one is causing the other.In other words, the higher vaccination rates are not directly to blame for higher COVID-19 case counts.Real-world studies show the most-used vaccines so far  from Pfizer and Moderna  were 90% effective after two shots. Separate research on the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine found it was about 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 and about 85% effective against the most serious illness.No vaccine is perfect, and thats true of these three. In Illinois as of Wednesday, 581 fully vaccinated people had tested positive for the virus more than two weeks after their last dose, resulting in 21 hospitalizations and 12 deaths, according to the state health department.While tragic, the fatalities statistically are rare, compared with the 2.5 million people fully vaccinated in the state.The problem isnt with the vaccine, epidemiologists have said; its that not enough vaccine has been distributed. Scientists still arent sure exactly how many people would need to get vaccinated for the country to reach so-called herd immunity. But the state has estimated Illinois would reach it after 75% to 85% of Illinoisans had been vaccinated.And thats based on people reaching full immunity, which is two weeks after the last shot. For now, the state is nowhere near that.As of Friday, just 16% of the states population was two weeks beyond the last shot  and just 13% of Chicagoans.Also helping build immunity are the natural antibodies left in people who have recovered from infections, particularly within the past six months. This type of immunity is not considered as robust, nor as long-lasting, as that obtained through vaccinations, but it does help limit the viruss spread.A University of Chicago model estimates that about 37% of Chicagoans have some natural immunity, and that would be especially common in areas previously hard-hit by the virus.Still, even when combining the vaccinations and natural immunity, epidemiologists say its not enough to extinguish the pandemic.There are still plenty of people the virus can infect.Beyond whats going on in immune systems, health officials suspect another factor behind the surprising surges in low-vulnerability areas is whats going on in peoples minds.Arwady said she thinks people are now hearing about friends and family getting vaccinated  particularly those older or considered more at risk for the viruss worst effects  and concluding the danger is past.I love the vaccine confidence, Arwady said. But we are not there yet.The situation is not lost on Ron Cardoza, whose River North neighborhood sits in a ZIP code with among the highest rates of vaccinations and new cases: 60654.When asked Tuesday why he thought his area was seeing the spike, he snorted under his two face masks and said, Heres an example right now. Cardoza was referring to a man walking past him on West Hubbard Street with his mask tucked below his chin.Its a common sight that Cardoza, 61, estimates he spots 30% to 40% of pedestrians in River North, although he isnt sure how many of them are visiting from outside the neighborhood.A lot of people have decided theyre not going to wear a mask. They dont keep social distancing, Cardoza said. People, I think, are fed up. Theyre just fed up with COVID, and they think its over. And its not over.While standing on North State Street between Ontario and Ohio, a Tribune reporter counted more than a dozen unmasked people walking past in under five minutes. (The CDC has recommended mask-wearing in public even for vaccinated people, and Illinois mask mandate remains in place.)Some pedestrians had their face covering hanging off an ear, while others did not have a mask anywhere in sight. Many groups traveling together were not consistent in wearing one. And customers of a coffee shop walked outside with their masks draped around their chins, even though indoor dining rules require a face covering except when eating or drinking.Over in Lakeview, another more vaccinated but spiking neighborhood, Jennifer Moy, 33, said she has gotten vaccinated but remains wary of taking her mask off in public.Moy works in River North and said shes seen thicker crowds over the past few weeks in both neighborhoods, and more and more people opting for a naked face.A lot more people seem more comfortable; theyre not wearing masks as much, Moy said. I walk my dog at like 6:30 in the morning and definitely noticed way more people not wearing masks.For now, public health officials say theyre not ready to impose harsher restrictions, but they continue to preach that people wear masks and socially distance. Theyre hoping increased attention to an emerging third surge will inspire more caution.It already has for Davenport.Im ready to just stay back in the house again just because of this, said Davenport, 44. I want to be out and be social, but Im too scared of those numbers right now.____2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
State Rep. Curtis Tarver is a man on a mission to reform Illinois law enforcement by eliminating a special legal protection given cops.

The Chicago Democrats Bad Apples in Law Enforcement Accountability Act passed out of committee two weeks ago and awaits a vote in the House.

The measure aims to remove the court doctrine of qualified immunity for officers, which would open them up to civil litigation if they participate in the deprivation of any individual rights guaranteed in the Illinois Constitution.

The top priority of Illinois law enforcement groups is to defeat this measure, said Ed Wojcicki, executive director at the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

Such opposition makes passage of the measure far from certain. Tarver added some of his counterparts in the legislature fail to see the urgency of the reform.

Many of my colleagues will never have to be a black male worried about whether a traffic stop becomes the end of their life. That said, some do see the immediacy of the problem. Even though they may not experience this themselves, they recognize the problem, he said.

Last year, Tarver, who is Black, was pulled over during a routine traffic stop. A Chicago cop asked if he had a gun with him. He said he did  along with a conceal carry permit.

Tarver ended up handcuffed, held for seven hours and not allowed to call his attorney. It took nine months for the charges against him to be dropped.

If police officers would treat a person who is a lawyer and a state representative this way, think how much worse it would be for an ordinary Joe.

In 2020, U.S. police officers fatally shot about 1,000 people. Black people were 2.5 times more likely to be killed than whites.

This is a national disgrace.

It is rare for police officers to face criminal charges even when they inappropriately use deadly force.

And qualified immunity makes it difficult to sue police officers even when they have violated a persons constitutional rights, said Joanna Schwartz, a University of California  Los Angles law professor.

Qualified immunity as the Supreme court has created it over the years is a really nonsensical and unjust defense, she said. It protects officers from being found liable in cases so long as, as the case law from the courts is not clearly established. What that means in practice is that there has to be a prior court decision with virtually identical facts in order for a plaintiff to get past the qualified immunity defense.

For example, in a 2014 Nashville, Tenn., case police officers sicced a dog on a man sitting on the ground with his hands up. He sued for excessive force after being bitten. His lawyers cited a similar case in which a court had ruled against law enforcement after police had ordered a dog to attack a man lying on the ground.

But a Tennessee judge ruled qualified immunity protected the officers in the more recent case because in the earlier case the person was lying down and in the more recent case the man was sitting.

This sort of bogus, protect police officers at all costs, thinking leaves some believing they can get away with murder.

Look no further than what has been in the news this week.

A former Minneapolis police officer is on trial for the murder of George Floyd after kneeling on his neck for about nine minutes. Another Black Minnesotan was killed during a routine traffic stop after a cop apparently confused her pistol and taser. And a newly released video showed a Black Army officer being needlessly tear gassed by two Virginia police officers.

Tarver said by eliminating the qualified immunity defense, municipalities will be more selective in who they hire, less likely to succumb to union pressure when greater job protections are demanded and more likely to fire bad cops.

Last year, Colorado eliminated qualified immunity for police officers. Last month, the New York City Council voted to eliminate the special protection for cops. And earlier this month New Mexico ended qualified immunity for all government workers.

These are steps in the right direction. We need greater accountability in law enforcement.

Schwartz said the biggest misconception about eliminating qualified immunity is that it leaves individual police officers vulnerable to being bankrupt by lawsuits. She noted that in more than 99 percent of cases that she has studied in which qualified immunity was found not to apply, the municipality employing the officer paid the judgement, not the officer.

In the handful of cases in which individual officers were found liable, the average judgement was only $2,000, she said.

Its time for Illinois lawmakers to protect its most vulnerable citizens by holding in check those who would misuse their authority.

Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist. Contact him at Scottreeder1965@gmail.com.
Chandigarh, April 13 : Amid exodus of migratory labourers owing to fears of a lockdown in the state again with the spike in coronavirus cases, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday ruled out imposition of any lockdown.

"Nobody has to move anywhere as lockdown will not be imposed," Vij told the media.

A day earlier, the state imposed night curfew from 9 p.m. till 5 a.m. to curb the spike in cases.

With the rising cases, migratory labourers, especially in Gurugram, have started moving to their native places in panic.
A Swedish citizen has been jailed by an Irish court for 18 months after pleading guilty to trafficking an illegal immigrant into the State.

Lawyers for Farhan Abdirizak, aged 40, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that the Swede, a native of Somalia, was trying to help his nephew get into Ireland from their war-torn native Somalia.

On November 1 last year gardai at Dublin Airport identified a young man travelling under false documentation. This male told gardai that he had travelled with Abdirizak but never said they were related.

He told gardai that he was aged 15 but asylum documentation found on him indicated he was aged 19.

Gardai questioned Abdirizak and he told them that the young man was his nephew who had left Somalia and travelled to Greece via Turkey. He said the boy contacted him and Abdirizak travelled from Sweden to Athens to assist him.

He didn't give any explanation to gardai why the boy insisted on going to Ireland and not to Sweden.

He denied he was a human trafficker and said I was only helping him as a human, he had a hard life, I didn't smuggle him or ask for money.

Detective Sergeant Patrick Whelan from the Garda National Immigration Bureau told Grainne O'Neill BL, prosecuting, that he made inquiries with Interpol and with Western Union and MoneyGram looking for any suspicious transfers of money linked to Abdirizak.

He agreed with Luigi Rea BL, defending, that there was no evidence of any large sums of money moving around and no connection with any terrorism or sexual exploitation.

Mr Rea said his client sought asylum in Sweden in 2007 and since then he has set himself up as a teacher in Sweden, helping other Somali refugees to settle in Sweden.

He did the wrong thing for the right reasons, counsel said.

Abdirizak with an address in Noorrkopling, Sweden, pleaded guilty to facilitating the entry into Ireland of a person whom he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be an illegal immigrant or a person who intends to seek asylum.

He also admitted having possession of a false instrument, a Ryanair boarding pass in a false name.

After hearing the evidence and a plea of mitigation Judge Elma Sheahan imposed a prison term of two and a half years.

She suspended the final year and backdated the sentence to last November, when Abdirizak went into custody.
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State Forest Rangers have been busy lately rescuing lost and injured hikers, along with fighting wild fires and doing prescribed burns.

The following incidents occurred between April 5-10. All information below was supplied by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Town of Pleasant Valley Dutchess County

Wilderness Rescue: On April 5 at 11:30 a.m., DECs Central Dispatch received a call from Dutchess County 911 about a 64-year-old woman from Pleasant Valley with a lower leg injury near the Mercury Trail at the Taconic Hereford Multiply Use Area. Three Forest Rangers responded and helped to package and transport the subject out of the woods to Pleasant Valley EMS. The subject was then taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Town of Groveland, Livingston County

Prescribed Fire: On April 6, Region 8 Forest Rangers and DEC Wildlife and Forestry staff worked together on a 70-acre prescribed fire of shrubs and grasses to promote the regrowth of native, warm-season grasses. This is the first time DEC initiated a prescribed fire on Sonyea State Forest. The presence of Groveland Correctional Facility to the north and Interstate 390 to the east made smoke management crucial during this burn.

Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Department Fulton

County Wildfire Prevention: On April 8, two Forest Rangers, with the assistance of DEC Operations Northville sign shop staff Bailey and Edwards, installed a new Smokey Bear fire danger rating sign at the recently constructed Caroga Lake Volunteer Fire Company firehouse. Forest Rangers work closely with many local fire companies across the state, and while installing the sign were called upon to respond to a small brush fire. The Rangers and the fire company suppressed the fire quickly and returned to the fire house to complete the installation. DEC reminds New Yorkers that the States residential brush burning ban is in effect through May 14 to reduce the number of spring brush fires. For more information, go to DECs website.

Town of Lysander Onondaga County

Prescribed Fire: On April 8, DEC Forest Rangers, Wildlife staff, and volunteers conducted a 24-acre prescribed fire on the Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area to improve grassland habitat for bird and mammal species, including Henslows sparrow. A time lapse video of the fire is available on DECs Facebook.

Town of Constantia, Oswego County

Wildland Fire: On April 8 at 2:50 p.m., two Forest Rangers responded to the town of Constantia to assist local fire departments with a 16.5-acre wildfire. The fire was put into patrol status late the evening and Ranger returned to patrol the fire for several days until it was declared out on April 11.

Town of Tioga, Tioga County

Wildland Fire: On April 8 at 5:45 p.m., Four Forest Rangers responded to a wildfire in Tioga County. The fire was in steep, wooded terrain, and containment could not be established that evening. On April 9, seven Forest Rangers returned to assist local firefighters with suppression and at 5:30 p.m. the fire was put into patrol status. Forest Rangers trained to determine wildfire origin and cause were requested by State Police and State Office of Fire Prevention and Control to provide specialized wildfire investigation assistance to help determine the exact cause. Forest Rangers patrolled the fire again on April 10 and declared the fire out. The final fire size was 77.5 acres.

Town of Indian Lake, Hamilton County

Wilderness Rescue: On April 9 at 2:30 p.m., DECs Ray Brook Dispatch received a call from New York State Police B Command advising of a lost hiker in the OK Slip Falls area. The hiker stated she became disoriented while hiking out and was standing near a river. Forest Rangers Scott and Miller responded. Ranger Scott tried to call the woman, but due to limited cell service, texted her with instructions. Not knowing if the subject received the instructions, Rangers Scott and Miller searched the trail and found the 56-year-old woman from North Creek heading back in the correct direction. She had received the text message, but could not send a reply. The Rangers and hiker proceeded back to trailhead.

Town of Fabius, Onondaga County

Wilderness Search: On April 10 at 6:40 p.m., a Forest Ranger was notified by DECs Central Dispatch of a lost hiker in the Morgan Hill State Forest. The Ranger advised Dispatch that he was on his way home from patrolling a fire in Tioga County and asked that Dispatch contact another Ranger as well, as he was likely closer to that location. Both Rangers arrived on scene on opposite sides of the same trail and hiked to cell phone coordinates given by the hikers mother. The 18-year-old subject from Earlville and her dog were found in good health within 500 feet of the coordinates provided. The subject was walked out to her vehicle and Rangers cleared the scene at 10 p.m.

City of Albany Albany County

Prescribed Fire: On April 10, a Forest Ranger assisted Albany Pine Bush staff with teaching the field portion of the S130/190 class that involved a 11.7-acre prescribed fire at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. This class is a requirement for firefighters to participate on prescribe burns held at the preserve.

Town of North Elba, Essex County

Wilderness Rescue: On April 10 at 11:50 a.m., Essex County 911 transferred a call to DECs Ray Brook Dispatch regarding a hiker who had fallen on a trail and sustained an injury while descending Cascade Mountain. A Forest Ranger responded to assist. The reporting party, an EMT, was escorting the injured party down the trail to meet up with rescuers. The Forest Ranger reached the 19-year-old woman from Penfield at 1 p.m., and determined her injuries were more serious than first reported. New York State Police Aviation performed a hoist rescue and the subject was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Town of Hunter, Greene County

Wilderness Search: On April 10 at 3:30 p.m., Greene County 911 contacted a Forest Ranger about a lost hiker at Kaaterskill Falls. The Ranger reached the subject by phone and found the 55-year-old man from Danbury, Connecticut, at the base of a 25-foot ledge. The Ranger escorted the hiker up a path through the ledge and up the steep slope until they reached the rail trail. The hiker and his dog hiked back along the trail to the subjects vehicle without assistance. The hiker reported that he came out for the day with his dog to take pictures of Kaaterskill and Bastion falls. The subject planned to hike off trail through the woods from the Kaaterskill Rail Trail to Bastion Falls, but did not realize that the terrain would involve ledges scattered along a steep slope. As he hiked down the slope, attempting to avoid a ledge, he became disoriented and concerned because he couldnt find his way back up the slope, so he yelled for help and called 911.

Town of Pomfret, Chautauqua County

Wildland Fire: On April 10 at 10:30 p.m., a Forest Ranger was contacted by Chautauqua County 911 Dispatch for wil adfire sparked by a barn fire. The fire burned 1.8 acres of land and was quickly extinguished. The Ranger assisted with suppression, mop up, and mapping the fire.

Be sure to properly prepare and plan before entering the backcountry. Visit DECs Hike Smart NY, Adirondack Backcountry Information and Catskill Backcountry Information webpages for more information.
Harvey Weinstein appears from prison during his virtual extradition hearing in Erie County Court before Judge Kenneth Case, in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 12, 2021. (New York Unified Court System via AP)

Harvey Weinstein Indicted on 11 Sexual Assault Charges, Appears at Extradition Hearing

Harvey Weinstein has been indicted in California on sexual assault charges, one of his lawyers said on Monday, as the former Hollywood movie producer appeared in a New York court proceeding over whether to extradite him.

The 69-year-old Weinstein wore a collarless rust-colored shirt as he appeared from the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo by video before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case.

Weinstein has been appealing his February 2020 conviction in Manhattan and 23-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.

Californias criminal case against Weinstein covers alleged attacks on five women from 2004 to 2013 in the Los Angeles area, and announced last year.

It includes a total of 11 charges: four counts of forcible rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, and one count of sexual penetration by use of force.

Weinstein has denied having nonconsensual sex with anyone.

Harvey Weinstein, upper left, appears via video from prison before Erie County Court before Judge Kenneth Case, top right, as his attorney, Norman Effman, lower left, speaks and Los Angeles based defense attorney Mark Werksman listens in, in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 12, 2021. (New York Unified Court System via AP)

Norman Effman, a public defender representing Weinstein, asked that his client be arraigned on the indictment virtually in New York rather than extradited so he could get necessary medical treatment, including scheduled eye and dental surgery.

Effman said Weinstein, a diabetic, is almost technically blind at this point, and also suffers from cardiac and back problems.

Were not trying to avoid what is going to happen in California, Effman said. We believe there is not only a defense to these charges, but a very good defense to these charges, which would result in an acquittal.

The Los Angeles County district attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Weinsteins indictment was reported earlier by the Los Angeles Times.

Another hearing is scheduled for April 30.

The conviction of Weinstein was seen as a watershed moment in the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment by men, including many like Weinstein who once held powerful jobs and influence.

If convicted in California, Weinstein could spend the rest of his life in prison even if his New York conviction were overturned.

These are stale, unsubstantiated, uncorroborated, uncredible allegations that arose during the hysteria of the #MeToo movement, Weinsteins criminal defense lawyer Mark Werksman said in a statement. Were confident that Mr. Weinstein will be acquitted because theres no credible evidence against him. Hes innocent.

Los Angeles district attorney first sought Weinsteins extradition last July, but it has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

By Jonathan Stempel
An elderly Australian man has died in Queensland after he contracted coronavirus during a trip to the Philippines.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday morning announced the 80-year-old died at Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside, Brisbane, overnight after battling the virus for almost three weeks.

'Sadly, a seventh person with Covid-19 has died,' she said.

'The 80-year-old returned traveller died in hospital, after contracting coronavirus overseas.'

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday morning announced the 80-year-old from the Philippines died in hospital after battling the virus for almost three weeks

The 80-year-old died at Prince Charles Hospital in Chermside (pictured), Brisbane, overnight

The man was diagnosed with Covid while he was in mandatory hotel quarantine after arriving in the Sunshine State from the Philippines.

Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young believes he contracted the virus in the Philippines despite transiting through Papua New Guinea.

The man, who touched down in Australia on March 20, was admitted into hospital on March 25.

'He had been in ICU but not when he died,' Dr Young said.

Ms Palaszczuk said she was sending her condolences to the man's loved ones.

The death is the seventh Covid-related fatality in Queensland

The death comes almost one year after Queensland's last Covid-related fatality.

Health minister Yvette D'Ath said: 'This is another reminder that this is a deadly virus and we are still seeing thousands of people around the world on a daily basis dying from COVID.'

Queensland recorded two additional coronavirus infections on Tuesday, both in hotel quarantine.

There are 55 active cases across the state.
Paul Oquist, a U.S.-born academic who became a close adviser to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and drew U.S. financial sanctions has died in the Central American nation of undisclosed causes, the president's office said on Tuesday.

Oquist, who was born in 1943, had served in a variety of administrative positions under Ortega's Sandinista governments during the 1980s and again after he returned to power in 2007. During the 1990s, he had worked in a series of U.N. posts.

Oquist most recently was a political adviser and in charge of the stalled, Chinese-financed project to build a canal across Nicaragua to rival the Panama Canal. He also published a book last year on the global environment, titled Equilibra."

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, he attended schools in the Los Angeles area and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1965. He later studied in Santiago, Chile, obtained a doctorate in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and spent time teaching in Colombia  the subject of his doctoral thesis.

His public defense of the Ortega government's crackdown on opponents earned him the hostility of the Trump administration, which last year included him on a list of more than two dozen Nicaraguan officials subject to financial sanctions.

He was married to a Nicaraguan and was naturalized in the Central American country.

Paul Oquist Kelly served the people, the families, all Nicaraguans with love, faithfulness, commitment and untiring bravery," Ortega and first lady Rosario Murillo said in a message announcing his death.
Because getting together for lunch is difficult during the school day, we meet after work for drinks and an early dinner at Van Expresso Bar, in Coogee, coincidentally the state electorate where the NSW Liberals have approached her to run for office. Its a hot day, and Turnbull is already installed in the airconditioning when I arrive, in a colourful Mr Zimi mojito print shift dress that calls for cocktails. We order cucumber coolers to match the mood; modern Vietnamese/French with jazz playing in the background as chef Anna Kelletts attentive staff direct us around the menu. Turnbull begins by explaining she was at a positive psychology conference in Melbourne when she realised, All this talk about resilience is great but where is the how-to for parents? A lot of kids at independent schools across Australia are the richest they will ever be when theyre at school, and their parents have worked really hard to get them there. But, do the children have the same hunger and how do you instil that hunger in the next generation children? she asks. Speaking of hunger our first course of seafood dumplings and papaya/prawn salad arrives on cue. Very quickly our talk turns to the culture of the Canberra bubble and the Liberal Party, which she is unafraid to criticise for its treatment of women. I feel so bad for Brittany Higgins, she says. There are a lot of cultural issues in Canberra that need to be questioned and probably the solution is getting more women involved. I think it is about calling out behaviour way earlier at the smallest actions ... people join the Liberal Party when they are around 16 or 17. Often, their views, their perspectives on the world are already set. So I do think, even as parents and educators, we need to not shy away from difficult conversations.

In her role as director of wellbeing she had invited domestic violence campaigner Jess Hill, whom shed met via Twitter, to speak at her school about how to identify abuse. She applauds Chanel Contos, the former Kambala student whose recent online petition calling for earlier sex education was signed by thousands of young women, including some from her former school and some from the one she teaches at now. Van Expresso Bar dumplings. Credit:James Brickwood. Those girls were incredibly brave but it is so sad to think some thought they were at fault or somehow to blame [for sexual abuse]. Like they said they thought rape happens in alleyways, they didnt realise it could be their best friend or the guy they met at a party ... and the guys thinking the girl was into it is not OK. Traditionally the kitchen tea was the event where you would explain to a bride what happens on the wedding night and its almost like we need to be talking in the same way to girls and boys, way earlier, about consent. Turnbull is tiny: five foot flat but with a big personality to match her smile, which resembles her mother Lucys. Father Malcolm jokes she gets her knitting skills from his side of the family, although they skipped a generation. Turnbulls grandmother, writer/academic Coral Lansbury, used to knit intricate Fair Isle patterns, while she dictated the scripts for the ABC dramas she wrote. Lansbury also wrote quite racy novels, which make for uncomfortable reading when you know your grandmother wrote them, Turnbull says. The writing gene is strong on both sides of her family. Both her parents have written books, and she wishes her great uncle, the writer/art critic Robert Hughes who wrote The Fatal Shore, had met writer Bruce Pascoe; she thinks theyd have hit it off. She and her older brother Alex used to call Hughes W.U. (short for wicked uncle) when he lived with them for a while after his near-fatal car crash in 1999.

I was always sent to tell him he couldnt have any more ice-cream because we were worried if he put on weight the rehab would be harder. Daisy Turnbull on her wicked uncle Robert Hughes I was always the one who was sent upstairs to tell him he couldnt have any more ice-cream because we were worried if he put on weight the rehab would be harder. Her political nous too has come from her family  she was 14 when she began handing out how-to-vote leaflets in the 1999 referendum on the republic, the same year her mother was first voted onto the City of Sydney council. Outgoing prime minister Malcolm Turnbull with wife Lucy, daughter Daisy, and grandchildren Jack and Alice, after the party room meeting which ousted him in 2018. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Dad went into politics with a great sense of civic duty and it was really a great introduction for me about how to meet and talk to people. I really loved that great branch stack of 2004 that got him elected. I learnt so much from Mum and Dads experiences. It was really cool to be the daughter of the Sydney lord mayor as well, though I probably didnt appreciate that as much as I should ... I think I was just a disgusting teenager at the time. Her first book is a guide to building independence in the first 10 years  a giant listicle as she calls it. It encourages children into outdoor pursuits such as climbing trees, scraping knees and a particular favourite, No.15: Order their own babyccino.

Clearly she knows the yummy mummy culture most of her readers inhabit. On the publicity circuit, everybody asked what Malcolm and Lucy were like as parents. Her stock answer is they were more free range than helicopters parents. What did risk-taking look like as a teen in the Turnbull house, I ask. Lucy, Daisy, and Malcolm Turnbull in 2004, the year of the great branch stack. Credit:Janie Barrett I remember once when we were at Woolies in Double Bay and I wanted to get the cereal Just Right, and Mum said, Its got a lot of sugar in it, and I said, You know what, Ive never taken any drugs, or smoked or drunk to excess, I just want to have Just Right, and she was like, Fair call.  She got her sweet cereal. Another time she got into bother at school when she asked her father, a former journalist, to take a look at a history essay shed written, with an introduction, paragraphs making her points and a conclusion. Loading

He ripped it to shreds and turned it into a journalistic article, with one or two sentence paragraphs, and I just did so badly. Shes since been able to return the favour by reading her fathers first draft of his book, A Bigger Picture, and gave it the history teachers essay-marking treatment before publication. This led to a conversation about resilience with her fathers editor Arwen Summers at Hardie Grant, which became the basis for her book (which she delivered along with a crocheted gift around the same time Summers delivered her third child). It wasnt until reading Turnbull seniors draft that his daughter realised how depressed her dad had been when first toppled from the Liberal leadership in 2009. To show that depression is something he went through is a very generous act, especially for a man of his generation, she said. It is also what made her undertake Lifeline counselling in 2019. Lifeline changed the way I talked to people. Early on, I used to try to be a fixer but it taught me to do the opposite of that if I want to help someone. Bill for lunch with Daisy Turnbull.

We slowly savour Vans signature John Dory curry, as she delicately talks of her split last year from her husband of 10 years, the former head of NSW RSL, explaining they are great co-parents who share the parenting 50/50. It was a very difficult thing to go through but we both know we want to be the best possible parents we can be. Jack Alexander (whose middle name is after her former father-in-law), 6, attends the local state primary school in Paddington and Alice Lucinda (middle name after her mother), 4, is still at daycare. Her parents, school and church community have been great support, too. Although christened Catholic, she first went to her Anglican church at the invitation of the chaplain at St Caths where she has now worked for eight years. In listening to some lectures about Martin Luther, she found a community of like-minded critical thinkers, and families with children the same age as hers. Although cursed with working mother guilt, she adores her children, and loves taking them to her parents property in Scone as often as she can. She shows me a video of daughter Alice, reaching a milestone that day, her first swim without her bubble in the backyard swimming pool. And she laughs at the memory of Jacks first 15 minutes of fame, when he booed the journalists who had gathered to report on her fathers final press conference as leader of Australia in August 2018. Her next book, roughly along the same lines as her first, most probably 50 Questions to Ask Your Teen, is being written the same way as the first; handwritten in dot points in snatched hours after school, then to be refined later. As for Liberal Party preselection, she confirms she has been approached, but says shes happy to stay teaching for now. There is no point making any decisions at the moment. But no one would be surprised if politics is a risk Daisy Turnbull decides to take.
The percentage of Vietnams exports to the United States against her total exports increased from 19.7% in 2010 to 23.2% in 2019, and to China from 10.7% in 2010 to 15.7% in 2019.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Vietnams imports from the United States against her total imports rose from 4.4% in 2010 to 5.7% in 2019 and from China from 23.8% in 2010 to 29.8% in 2019.

The productivity of Vietnam in terms of the value added against the gross output is the lowest among the three countries, with 29%, while the productivity of China is 32.7% and the U.S. 55.8% - Photo: SGT

In trade with the U.S., Vietnam always enjoys a surplus, which increased 4.5 fold in 2010-2019.

In trade with China and South Korea, the country always suffers a deficit. The trade deficit with China increased 2.7 fold in 2010-2019 and with South Korea 4.1 fold in 2010-2019.

In the period 2010-2019, the GDP growth in average 2010 prices of China was 7.7%, the U.S. 2.3% and Vietnam 6.3%. However, in terms of scale, in 2019, the GDP of China reached US$11,537 billion, 57 times as much as Vietnams GDP; the GDP of the U.S. reached US$18,273 billion, 91 times as much as Vietnams GDP which was a modest US$201 billion at that time.

An analysis of the input-output table shows the following results:

 The gross value added (GVA) against the gross output (GO) of Vietnam is 28%, China 32.7% and the U.S. 55.8%. This figure shows that the added value in production of Vietnam is very low, and the economy is basically sub-contracting.

 The percentage of value added in the gross value added of agriculture, forestry and fisheries (sector 1) of Vietnam is 15.9%, of construction and industry (sector 2) 47.5% and of services (sector 3) 36.6%. The respective percentages of China are 9.2%, 40.7% and 50.1%. The respective percentages of the U.S. are 1.1%, 21.1% and 77.8%.

 The percentage of value added against the gross output in sector 1 of Vietnam is 33.9%, sector 2 21.7% and sector 3 46.3%. The respective percentages of China are 58.8%, 20.8% and 53.1%. The respective percentages of the U.S. are 37.5%, 42.9% and 61.3%.

Some remarks can be withdrawn from these figures.

First, the economic structures of China and the U.S. have shifted markedly towards increasing industry and services and decreasing agriculture, especially the U.S., with the percentage of agriculture in the economy in 2018 being only 1.1%.

Second, the productivity of Vietnam in terms of the value added against the gross output is the lowest among the three countries, with 29%, while the productivity of China is 32.7% and the U.S. 55.8%.

A general comparison of the economic structure based on the input-output tables of Vietnam, China and the U.S. shows the following points:

The percentage of the intermediary cost versus the production value in Vietnam is the highest, followed by China and then the U.S. This percentage partly shows the productivity. In the U.S., every US$100 produced creates US$57 in added value; in China the added value is US$33 and in Vietnam US$28.

The Business White Book 2020 shows that the intermediary cost against the gross revenue of private enterprises is 91%, meaning that of US$100 in the production value, only US$9 is the added value. The percentage of State enterprises is 88% and foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises 75%. That said, the proprietorship sector is the sector that creates US$28 in added value out of US$100 in production value (the added value of the sector makes up 30% of the GDP). This fact shows that the economy of China and Vietnam is a sub-contracting economy. For Vietnam, it is both a sub-contracting (for the corporate sector) and piecemeal, fragmented economy.

 In terms of the elasticity of labor and capital, Vietnam needs much capital to create growth, then come China and the U.S. A surprise is that despite an unbalanced structure of labor and capital, the investment against GDP in Vietnam fell from 46% in 2007 to 28% in 2019 while the GDP growth was still high. This can only be interpreted that either the productivity in Vietnam has increased strongly or the salary has risen spontaneously with no correspondence to productivity. Statistics show that the productivity in Vietnam is essentially created by sectors which are monopolistic or heavily dominated by relationship such as mining, electricity and real estate. Still, Vietnams productivity is lower than Laos (with current figures).

 In terms of factors of final demand, the final consumption of the population against the GDP of Vietnam and the U.S. is the same (68%), while the ratio of China is only 39%. That said, to boost growth, China must have huge investments, equivalent to as much as 45% of the GDP.

A deeper look into the ripple effect of factors of final demand on the production value and the added value show that exports of the U.S. do not have a ripple effect on the production value as strong as that of China but have a very strong effect on the added value. Most factors of final demand such as final consumption (in urban and rural areas), investment and exports of the U.S. have stronger effect on the added value than those of China and Vietnam.

The effect of factors of final demand on the production value and the added value of Vietnam is lower than those of China and the U.S. Among the factors of final demand of Vietnam, exports have the lowest effect on the added value. The factor which has the strongest effect on the added value of Vietnam is final consumption in rural areas. Therefore, with the economic structure and the ripple effects described, Vietnam could not advance if the country does not really change but only looks at GDP growth.

For China, though final consumption has quite a good effect on the added value, the final consumption over the past 10 years has not increased to 50% equivalent to the GDP. So, though China has made many strong statements and some studies have forecast that China will surpass the U.S. by 2030 based on the GDP targets the country has announced, they are all propagandist rather than realistic.

Conclusion

A comparison of the economic structures of Vietnam, China and the U.S. shows that the economic structure of the U.S. is the most healthy and effective. The increase in aggregate demand really boosts the supply side such as the production value and income.

The economic structure of Vietnam shows that exports (of the FDI sector and the domestic sector) do not really have much significance to the population and the economy.

GDP is a temporary criterion for relative comparison between countries, but it does not really have much economic significance to countries which are essentially sub-contracting economies.

SGT

Vietnams economic achievements surprise the world Legendary story, Rising star, and Asias brightest economy count among the praise from international organisations in relation to Vietnams economic development over recent years.
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DENVER  Cannabis-themed license plates in Colorado are being auctioned off to the highest bidder in a fundraiser for the Colorado Disability Funding Committee.

The state is selling the rights to 14 plates with cannabis-themed phrases, including BONG, GANJA, TEGRIDY and HASH, KUSA-TV reported.

A license plate with ISIT420, a reference to slang for smoking pot, has so far garnered bids of more than $6,500, making it the highest in demand. Bids are being collected until 4:20 p.m. on April 20, a day considered the unofficial  pot holiday.

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis applauded the effort in a statement, saying the state is proud of its creativity and ingenuity.

Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera said she was looking forward to seeing which license plate makes the most money.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip



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Winning bidders will be able to use the configuration of letters and numbers they chose on a novelty plate of their choosing but must pay registration fees, personalized plate protection fees and the costs for potential designer backgrounds. The rights can be used at a later date if needed.

The Colorado Disability Funding Committee said it would use the money to support new and innovative programs for the states disability community. No further information on those initiatives was immediately available.

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This story has been corrected to say Tegridy in second paragraph.
Making capital investments is usually thought as intended for well-off people or bankers only, but Kendrick Nguyen, an American of Vietnamese origin, has launched an easy investment platform where anyone can invest amounts as small as a few hundred thousand Vietnamese dong.

Over the past several years, 39-year-old Nguyen has become a familiar face of the annual National Festival for Innovative Startups (Techfest Vietnam), hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology to support the Vietnamese startup ecosystem.

As the co-founder and CEO of Republic (Republic.co), an investment platform connecting tech startups and blockchain projects with global investors, he hopes Republic will develop into a unicorn with billions of U.S. dollars and become a leading platform for crowdfunding.

Playground for all

Nguyen co-founded Republic in 2016, after he left the position of chief attorney of the venture investment fund AngelList, which is behind five unicorn companies, including Uber.

Republic offers the lowest limit of investments compared to other crowdfunding platforms.

Accordingly, with only US$10, anyone can invest in any company on this platform.

This supplied photo shows Republic CEO Kendrick Nguyen (middle) at the 2019 Techfest in Vietnam.

It is as easy to make investments using the Republic platform as buying items at shops, he said.

When you like a certain company and believe it will be successful, you can invest $10-20 using a credit card, the entrepreneur added.

"Such investment is quite different from goods purchased in that if the investee operates successfully, the $10 you have invested may grow up to $100, $1,000 or even millions of dollars, just like in the story of Facebook or Tesla."

If the investment fails, the investor will lose the money, the young CEO added.

With such an affordable and convenient investment method, Republic could raise $36 million in Series A in the U.S. and has grown rapidly over the past year, attracting over $300 million from more than one million investors.

With his Republic platform, Nguyen asserted that deciding on choosing which company to invest in, as well as considering which industry to be useful in the future, has no longer been the prerogative of any bank or billionaire or financial empire, but of the general public.

Future of $10 investment

Crowdfunding will become an inevitable trend, the Vietnamese American said, adding that the future of society is that everyone will be investors and will own part of the services and products for which they are also customers.

When a person invests in a company like Uber, they will call an Uber car.

When they are interested in environmental issues and invest in a cafe chain using environmentally-friendly recycled products, they will become among the clients of such chains, the entrepreneur explained.

He said he is confident that the crowdfunding market will increasingly develop, even without his platform.

My aspiration is for Republic to be a leader in that market," the executive said.

"After five years, the Republic platform has more than one million registered investors with a total investment of more than $300 million into over 300 enterprises."

At this time next year, the total investment will exceed $1 billion and after 10 years, the figure will reach $1 trillion, the Republic co-founder said.

Toward Vietnam

As an American with Vietnamese ancestry, Nguyen said he finds it easy to make connections with his homeland, where he has identified what fields he should invest in.

A desire to make contributions to the homelands development is a thing of common sense, said the platform CEO, who left Vietnam when he was in elementary school.

Nguyen, who earned a PhD from Boston University in the U.S., taught at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Law in 2011-12, and has become a regular Techfest guest speaker since 2016.

The entrepreneur, who can speak Vietnamese fluently, said he is seeking opportunities to support a number of potential Vietnamese startups on the Republic platform through cooperation with VietChallenge, a non-for-profit organization.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Houston, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As Nitya Capital continues its high climb within the real estate investing world, we are happy to report that weve found continued success in the Dallas market! When it comes to meeting the highest returns for the company as well as our investors, we view our continued efforts as a win, win, WIN situation for everyone!

Sierra Park Apartments and Residence at Arlington are two prime apartment locations within the Dallas area that we have been happy to showcase for the past few years. During a 3.8-year hold and a 3.5-year hold for Residence at Arlington and Sierra Park respectively, we have exceeded our expectations in terms of our internal rate of return. For the Residence at Arlington, acquired on March 18th, 2017, we have achieved a 25% net IRR and 1.93x net equity. Likewise, for Sierra Park Apartments, acquired on July 7th, 2017, we have achieved a 27% net IRR and 1.66x net equity. Based on these results, we achieved double the investment in total returns for Residence at Arlington and we are headed in a very positive direction when it comes to Sierra Park. We pride ourselves on staying true to our business plan, exiting both properties at a great overall price.

For future investors looking for great opportunities such as these, we offer the chance to take part in our new online crowdfunding platform. This current opportunity is specifically designed to help our clients invest in multifamily and commercial office properties without third-party fees, offering an end-to-end solution to develop stronger investment options. For more information, please visit https://nityacapital.com/invest/.

Nitya Capital is committed to both our employees and our investors. We humbly thank all our investors for their attention and we strive to continue maximizing our returns in the coming years.

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SYDNEY (AP)  Manchester United is reported to be interested in joining its English Premier League city rival and become a team owner Down Under in the A-League, although the chief executive of the Australian club is calling it nothing more than speculation."

Nine newspapers reported Tuesday that Manchester United officials were in discussions with Central Coast Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth, who has been seeking a buyer for the cash-strapped club for the past year.

Nine said the English club would likely move the team now based at Gosford, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Sydney, to Sydneys northern beaches. Matches would be played at either North Sydney Oval or Brookvale Oval in harbor-side Manly, the report says.

But Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp says the Manchester United link is speculative.

The chairman has held discussions with a number of clubs and interested parties across a number of years regarding the sale of the club, Mielekamp said. And its important, like in the pre-season, none of this distracts anyone at the club. It is just noise."

The Mariners are in first place in the A-League with nine wins, four losses and three draws. They have a two-point lead over Melbourne City.

Any sale hinges on support from a majority of A-League clubs. Governing body Football Australia, which has been asked for comment, also has to ratify any deal.

Manchester City took a controlling stake in the A-Leagues then-Melbourne Heart in 2014. It changed the teams name to Melbourne City and also the A-League clubs colors.

Manchester United is owned by the American Glazer family which has owned the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers since 1995.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Introduction

Small jurisdictions often lack the resources needed to conclude large numbers of tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) quickly. Even larger jurisdictions may be unable to devote the resources necessary to negotiate TIEAs with small and geographically distant partners. Developing countries face similar resource constraints. To overcome these constraints the OECD has developed a new approach to negotiating TIEAs involving multilateral negotiations leading to the conclusion of bilateral TIEAs.

Modelled on a similar approach developed by the Nordic economies, the method uses a single negotiating team representing the interests of the OECD Member countries to reach agreement on the terms of a TIEA with a non-OECD jurisdiction or group of jurisdictions. Once agreed, each of the OECD Member countries signs a separate bilateral agreement with the non-OECD jurisdiction.





The Pilot Projects

Many non-OECD jurisdictions expressed interest in the initiative and it was launched in 2009 with the creation of three pilot projects:

the Southern Caribbean Project, coordinated by the Netherlands;

the Northern Caribbean Project, coordinated by the United Kingdom; and

the Pacific Project, coordinated by the OECD Secretariat.



The table below shows the OECD and non-OECD jurisdictions participating in the various projects.





Multilateral Negotiations Pilot Projects Project

Co-ordinator Southern Caribbean Project The Netherlands Northern Caribbean Project The United Kingdom Pacific Project

OECD Secretariat Participating Member Countries Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom Australia (for Montserrat only), Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Greece, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia. Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Korea Japan, Mexico the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden. Partner Jurisdictions Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Samoa, Vanuatu

Each of these projects has been hugely successful. More than 100 TIEAs have been or will shortly be signed as a result of the initiative. As a result, a number of the participating non-OECD jurisdictions, e.g. Anguilla, Samoa, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Turks and Caicos Islands have now moved into the substantially implemented category in the Progress Report first published in April 2009. Others have initialled or reached agreement on the text of at least twelve TIEAs and will move into this category as soon as the agreements they have concluded are signed. These include:

Cook Islands

Dominica

Grenada

Marshall Islands

St Lucia

Vanuatu



Given the number of agreements that have been negotiated and the time it takes to complete the legal formalities needed to sign them there may be delays of 3 - 4 months between the time an agreement is reached on the text of a TIEA, and its signature.





Recent Developments

As a result of the success of the pilot projects the multilateral negotiations initiative has been extended to three other jurisdictions: Belize, Costa Rica and Liberia. Belize has reached agreement on the text of TIEAs with at least 12 OECD countries. The negotiations with Liberia have only just commenced but are expected to proceed quickly. Negotiations with Costa Rica will commence shortly. These negotiations are being coordinated by the OECD Secretariat.





Next Steps

Because of its proven efficiency, the OECD is encouraging more jurisdictions to participate in the multilateral negotiations initiative. The approach may also be of great benefit to developing countries seeking to reach agreement with smaller jurisdictions and the OECD is looking into this possibility.


NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it is recommending a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine, after six women in the U.S. experienced 'a rare and severe type of blood clot' after receiving the shot.



The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a joint statement that 'we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.'



As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine, FDA said in the statement.



CDC noted that it will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates those cases.



The FDA advised that people who have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

JOHNSON & JOHNSON-Aktie komplett kostenlos handeln - auf Smartbroker.de
by Fady Noun

On April 10, the episcopal ordination in Bkerke, presided over by Patriarch Rai. A pastor, catechist, administrator and chaplain linked to the world of scouts and the Focolare movement. The prelate will have to lead one of the most populous and controversial dioceses in the country. The key is hope and strength for the future.

Beirut (AsiaNews) - He is aware that he is addressing people who are in distress, Lebanese who hesitate between attachment to their home and job security. His words are not chosen at random. He speaks to a population whose number is dwindling and young people who are leaving, out of necessity or disgust. With a strong, confident, prophetic voice, the new Maronite archbishop of Antelias, Msgr. Antoine Bou Najem, ordained last April 10 in Bkerke, launches an appeal to the assembly not to lose hope, the key to their strength and future.

His voice is listened to with attention by the apostolic nuncio, Msgr. Giuseppe Spiteri, and by a delegation from the diocese of Lyon, twinned with Antelias, headed by the auxiliary bishop Msgr. Patrick le Gal. The words of Isaiah, which he evokes forcefully, help to reinforce his appeal: Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob, little Israel, do not fear, for I myself will help you, declares the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the Lord and glory in the Holy One of Israel."

His confidence comes from being a man "surprised by grace" from a very young age. He dreamed of a contemplative retreat on the model of Saint Charbel, behind the walls of a monastery. Here, on the contrary, is what was decided by the Maronite synod which directed him towards new and more burdensome responsibilities.

Born into a modest family of policemen from Zalka (Metn-Nord coast), Antoine Bou Najem's vocation to the priesthood was revealed from an early age. He has always seen himself as a priest. Today, in a video broadcast online, we hear his mother standing before a cast iron plaque in the cemetery of Her-Hraya (Mont-Liban), announcing to her husband Fares that his son has just been elected bishop.

An exemplary path has guided him up to here. According to the testimony of the Maronite patriarch Beshara Rai, who presented him to the faithful gathered in the external chapel of the patriarchate, the priest who is about to be ordained bishop has been able to skillfully accumulate the pastoral (in six different parishes), administrative, chaplains (students of the secondary schools, scouts from Lebanon, Equipes Notre-Dame, New Families of the Focolare) and as a catechist in public and private schools.

He took it upon himself to the full, not without having known some empty passage as he himself will recognize. Disciple since the seminary of a bishop of proven faith, Msgr. Youssef Bechara, who later ordained him a priest, who at one time assumed the pastoral care of a national sovereign political movement, the Qornet Chehwan gathering, at the beginning of the civil war (1975-1990), Antoine Bou Najem he heard his mentor tell him that he "confused" some parishioners with an "indecisive spirituality".

The firmness in the faith came after a sabbatical year spent in Loppiano (in Tuscany), place of formation of the Focolare Movement, where consecrated lay people, families, religious and priests live together. The decision in favor of consecrated celibacy tempered his character, knowing that the tradition of married priests has always been recognized in the Maronite Church. His choice was then consolidated by a doctorate in pastoral theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris, crowned by a specialization in Islamic-Christian dialogue. In his speech of thanks, he explained that episcopal ring, the cross and the pastoral staff were those of the bishop who ordained him a priest, Msgr. Youssef Bechara.

A diocese full of contrasts and teeming with young people

His new flock of the Maronite diocese of Antelias, is one of the most populous and controversial in Lebanon. Rich in places, such as Rabiye, it extends to the belt of misery of Beirut, and has 93 parishes, with about 90 priests, men and women religious. In the area there are some of the most popular private schools in Lebanon, including the college of the Marist Brothers and the college of the Jesus and Mary sisters, as well as a large number of hospitals. Many deputies, ministers, former ministers and senior state officials reside there. Finally, two great apostolic movements of lay people, the Focolare and the Charismatic Renewal cast their nets in its waters.

It was in particular his ability to deal with this great diversity, as well as his skills as a pastor and administrator, which earned the bishop his election. A skill based in particular on the trust placed in him by the young people of a region whose center of gravity is represented by the diocesan school of Saint Joseph in Qornet Chehwan, a village equidistant from the coast and from the high mountains. And the new bishop himself traced this "success" to the institution of the daily mass, then to the mass for young people, to which he was able to associate the various currents of spirituality present there, each bringing its own particular charism. People say you need to arrive at mass an hour earlier to find a place.

In a word pronounced during the ceremony, Msgr. Bou Najem thanked the Focolare movement whose spirituality, he insisted, profoundly marked his formation and "is the source from which he draws inspiration" ", as well as the charismatic Renewal with which he said he had led retreats and missions and" forged concrete bonds. "Finally, the Scouts of Lebanon, of which he was chaplain, and of which he holds his" Eagle" totem. Many lay movements aroused by the Holy Spirit, in response to the need to open the institutional Church, starched by clericalism, to the entire people of God.

This is the pastor's voice of which John Paul II is the ideal and never before as today has the Christian community in Lebanon needed to listen to it. It is the voice of hope, the one that announces the end or perhaps the alleviation of suffering, and God knows how great they are. It is the warm and rough voice of the head of a nomadic Church whose spiritual wandering in search of pastures and springs is about to end, and who will settle in the shade of His pergolas, to eat the grapes of the vine He has planted and drink the wine of joy.
People should not be concerned about mild headaches and flu-like symptoms in the first few days after vaccination. Those are common, harmless side effects brought on by the immune systems production of a defense against the coronavirus.

For people who received the vaccine a month or two ago, the issue being raised about clots doesnt mean anything, Dr. Fauci said. The six cases occurred within a pretty tight window of six to 13 days after people received the shot, he said.

What is a pause?

During clinical trials and after vaccines go into wide use, experts keep track of any medical problems experienced by people who receive them. If an unusually large cluster of cases turns up, regulators may decide to pause a trial or stop the use of a vaccine to investigate further.

Pauses are common, and typically the investigations reveal that the medical problems were a matter of coincidence. If the investigation reveals that a vaccine does pose a risk, regulators may write new guidance about who should or should not receive it. The pause also gives them time to advise doctors about how to recognize and treat the condition.

In this instance, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending a pause, and states have already heeded the agencies advice. Among businesses temporarily stopping use of the vaccine are CVS Health and Walgreens.

In a news conference on Tuesday, federal officials said that the governments review would likely take only a matter of days. But a C.D.C. advisory panel on Wednesday extended the pause, by deciding to make no recommendation about the vaccine for at least a week, so they could gather more information about the clotting problem.

What is the problem that led to the pause?

Seven women in the United States who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and one man who received it in a clinical trial, developed a rare disorder involving blood clots within about two weeks of vaccination. In seven of the eight with the condition, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, clots formed in veins that drain blood from the brain. The results are stroke-like, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the C.D.C. said.
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 152 mayors, including Democrats, Republicans and Independents, sent a letter today to members of the United States Senate, urging immediate consideration of two pieces of legislation to prevent gun violence: HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and HR 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act. Both bills would strengthen our nation's gun background check system, a policy that is supported by an overwhelming bipartisan majority of Americans.

The letter comes on the heels of mass shootings in Georgia, Colorado, Texas, and South Carolina, and follows President Joe Biden's recent executive actions to address gun violence.

In their letter, the mayors write, "Americans are increasingly alarmed by mass shootings and by the steady increase in homicides and shootings plaguing too many neighborhoods. As mayors, it is our top priority to ensure public safety; protecting our residents from gun violence is at the very heart of this commitment. It is time for our federal partners in Congress to take long overdue action to reduce gun violence and the terrible toll it takes on our cities and in our nation."

The full text of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Senator:

We write to register the strong support of America's mayors for HR 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and HR 1446, the Enhanced Background Checks Act. We urge the Senate to schedule a vote on these bills as soon as possible and ask for your support for both pieces of legislation. An overwhelming majority of our constituents support these bills that can help save lives by ensuring that individuals who are prohibited from owning firearms cannot circumvent the system. We cannot afford further delay on Capitol Hill on these bills, which will help prevent violence and better protect the American public.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has had strong policy for many years in support of strengthening the background check system, which HR 8 would do. It would close serious loopholes in the background check system by requiring all firearm purchasesboth handguns and long gunsto undergo a NICS background check, help prevent dangerous individuals from circumventing the laws on the books and obtaining deadly weapons, and reduce firearms trafficking by prohibiting unlicensed transfers through unregulated secondary sales. The legislation would also help improve the ability of law enforcement to trace guns involved in crimes, a process dependent on the review of sales records from licensed gun dealers.

HR 1446 would further strengthen the background check system by helping us to ensure that background checks are completed before weapons are sold and that dangerous individuals who should not have them are unable to purchase them. If this bill had been law in June of 2015, the terrible tragedy that occurred at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston could have been avoided.

Americans are increasingly alarmed by mass shootings and by the steady increase in homicides and shootings plaguing too many neighborhoods. As mayors, it is our top priority to ensure public safety; protecting our residents from gun violence is at the very heart of this commitment. It is time for our federal partners in Congress to take long overdue action to reduce gun violence and the terrible toll it takes on our cities and in our nation.

We believe that HR 8 and HR 1446 are sensible gun safety bills that will make our cities safer and in no way compromise gun owners' rights. The nation's mayors call upon you to pass them now.

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors

Related Links

www.usmayors.org


Maharashtra' witnessed a slight decline in coronavirus cases on Monday after a weekend lockdown (Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am). The state reported 51,751 fresh coronavirus positive cases on April 12--the lowest one-day count since April 6, according to the state's health department. Previously on April 11, Maharashtra logged 63,294 COVID-19 cases, on April 10 (58,993), April 9 (58,993), April 8 (59,907), and April 7 (55,469), respectively. On April 6, Maharashtra's daily Covid count was 47,288.

New cases in Mumbai also fell to 6,893, from the previous day's 9,989 cases.

The state's cumulative case tally now stands at 34,58,996. In the past 24 hours, 258 people died from coronavirus infection in the state, taking the cumulative toll to 58,245. According to the health department of the state, Maharashtra is now left with 5,64,746 active cases. The state's recoveries have surged to 28,34,473.

Maharashtra's case recovery rate is 81.94 per cent and the fatality rate is 1.68 per cent. Currently, 32,75,224 people are in-home quarantine while 29,399 people are in institutional quarantine.

Maharashtra is the most severely hit state in the country. The state is responsible for over 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the country, as per the union health ministry data. As a result, the Maharashtra government has taken several measures to contain the spread of the virus such as night curfew, weekend lockdown, and prohibitory orders for the daytime.

The state is also considering imposing a complete lockdown after April 14. Yesterday, Maharashtra's Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed media about the latest updates on the state's coronavirus situation. "Duration of the lockdown and how to handle its economic fallout was discussed during today's meeting. The task force is of the view that the prevailing coronavirus situation in the state is such that a lockdown is required," he said.Also read: Remdesivir for COVID-19 patients: No evidence of anti-viral drug's effectiveness, says WHO

Also read: DCGI approves emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V; 3rd vaccine to get nod in India
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The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has lost one of its personnel, Ambi John, an inspector, attached to Operation Puff Adder, during a gun battle with suspected kidnappers.

The police spokesperson in the FCT, Mariam Yusuf, an assistant superintendent of police, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

She said a joint team of operatives from the command and Operation Puff Adder, in response to a distress call, had engaged the heavily armed hoodlums in a gun battle.

Ms Yusuf said that the late officer, after sustaining gunshot injuries during the operation, was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead while receiving treatment.

She said that the operatives had repelled multiple attacks by the suspected kidnappers in the wee hours of Tuesday along the Dankusa, Angwan-Zegele-Zuba axis of the territory.

The spokesperson said the command had launched a strategic operation to rescue four persons abducted from Dankusa by the hoodlums who escaped into the forest bordering the FCT and Niger.

ALSO READ: Police arrest three suspected kidnappers

According to her, operatives from the commands Anti-Kidnapping Squad have, however, made some arrests in connection with the abduction.

She said the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of FCT, Bala Ciroma, had commiserated with the family of the officer who paid the supreme price in the service to the nation.

Ms Yusuf pledged the commitment of the CP to ensure the security of lives and property within the FCT.

She, therefore, implored residents of the FCT to report all suspicious movements, emergency or distress to the command on 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883.

She said the conduct of police officers could be reported to the Public Complaint Bureau (PCB) on 09022222352.

(NAN)
[April 13, 2021] American Financial Group, Inc. Announces Its Conference Call and Webcast to Discuss 2021 First Quarter Results

American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: AFG) expects to release its 2021 first quarter results after 5:00 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The release will be available shortly thereafter on AFG's website at www.AFGinc.com. In conjunction with its release, AFG will hold a conference call to discuss 2021 first quarter results at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. There are two communication modes available to listen to the call. By Telephone Toll-free access will be available by dialing 1-877-459-8719 (international dial-in 424-276-6843). The conference ID for the live call is 7973701. Please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled start time of the call. A replay will be available approximately two hours following the completion of the call and will remain available until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on May 12, 2021. To listen to the replay, dial 1-855-859-2056 (international dial-in 404-537-3406) and provide the conference ID 7973701. Via the Internet The conference all and accompanying webcast slides will also be broadcast live over the internet. To access the event, click on the following link: https://www.AFGinc.com/news-and-events/event-calendar. Alternatively, you can choose Events from the Investor Relations page at www.AFGinc.com.



An archived webcast will be available immediately after the call via the same link on our website until May 12, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. (ET). About American Financial Group, Inc.

American Financial Group is an insurance holding company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Through the operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily in property and casualty insurance, focusing on specialized commercial products for businesses, and in the sale of traditional fixed and fixed-indexed annuities in the retail, financial institutions, broker-dealer, and registered investment advisor markets. On January 27, 2021, AFG announced that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its annuity business to Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Great American Insurance Group's roots go back to 1872 with the founding of its flagship company, Great American Insurance Company. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413006137/en/

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Violent blows or jolts to the head can cause traumatic brain injury (TBI), and there are currently about five million people in the U.S. living with some form of chronic impairment after suffering a TBI. Even in a mild form, TBI can lead to lifelong nerve cell deterioration associated with a wide array of neuropsychiatric conditions. Tragically, there are no medicines to protect nerve cells after injury. Behind aging and genetics, TBI is the third leading cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet the link between these two conditions is not understood.

In a new study, published online today in Cell, researchers have discovered a new way to prevent brain nerve cells from deteriorating after injury, which also revealed a potential mechanistic link between TBI and AD. Their discovery also yielded a new blood biomarker of nerve cell degeneration after injury, which is significant because there is an urgent need for mechanism-based blood biomarkers that can diagnose TBI and stage its severity.

Prior to this study, it had been previously reported that a small protein in nerve cells, called tau, was modified by a chemical process called acetylation in the post-mortem brains of AD patients. But how this modification came about, as well as its role in the disease process, was not understood.

"Normally, tau functions in nerve cells to maintain the appropriate structure of the axon, which is the nerve cell extension required for nerve cells to communicate with one another," said Andrew A. Pieper, MD, PhD, senior author on the study, Harrington Discovery Institute (HDI) Investigator and Director of the HDI Neurotherapeutics Center at University Hospitals (UH), Morley-Mather Chair in Neuropsychiatry at UH, Director of the Translational Therapeutics Core of the Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, and VA Geriatric Research, Educational and Clinical Care (GRECC) Investigator. "Given the relationship between AD and TBI, we wondered whether elevated acetylated-tau (ac-tau) might also occur in TBI, and if so, then whether this could provide an experimental platform to study its potential role in nerve cell deterioration."

Dr. Pieper's lab discovered that ac-tau increased rapidly in multiple forms of TBI in mice and rats, and persisted chronically when nerve cell degeneration was untreated. They also showed that the increased ac-tau in human AD brain was further exacerbated when the AD patient also had a prior history of TBI.

"Our research showed that after ac-tau rises, a specific structure at the junction of the nerve cell body and its axon, called the axon initial segment, breaks down," explained Min-Kyoo Shin, PhD, co-first author of the study. "As a result, tau is no longer appropriately sequestered in axons. This leads to axonal degeneration, followed by neurologic impairment."

The team tested therapeutic interventions after TBI at each of the three nodal points in the new signaling pathway that they identified as leading to increased nerve cell ac-tau after injury. Using known medicines or experimental drugs, they saw that all three points provided effective therapeutic opportunity.

Strikingly, they found that two FDA-approved medicines of the NSAID class (anti-inflammatory medicines commonly used as pain relievers), salsalate and diflunisal, were potently neuroprotective after TBI in mice. Relative to all other NSAIDs and distinct from their anti-inflammatory property, these two medicines inhibit the acetyltransferase enzyme in nerve cells that adds the acetyl group onto tau protein after brain injury.

Next, they examined more than seven million patient records and learned that usage of either salsalate or diflunisal was associated with decreased incidence of both AD and clinically diagnosed TBI, compared to usage of aspirin in other patients for the same time period. The protective effect was stronger in diflunisal and salsalate, which correlates with diflunisal's superior potency in inhibiting the acetyltransferase enzyme, relative to salsalate. The NSAID aspirin was used as a comparison group because it does not inhibit the acetyltransferase.

Lastly, because the tau protein freely diffuses from the brain into the blood, the researchers examined whether ac-tau might also be elevated in the blood after TBI. In mice, they found that blood levels of ac-tau correspond tightly with brain levels, and that blood levels return to normal when mice are treated with therapeutics that lower brain ac-tau and thereby protect nerve cells. Importantly, they also found that ac-tau was significantly increased in the blood of human TBI patients.

"This work has a number of potential clinical implications," explained Edwin Vazquez-Rosa, PhD, co-first author on the study. "First, it shows that the medicines salsalate and diflunisal provide previously unidentified neuroprotective activity by this new mechanism, and that in the course of being prescribed these medicine for traditional indications patients appear to also be relatively protected from developing neurodegenerative conditions. Accordingly, these medicines may also help protect TBI patients from developing AD. Finally, our work provides a new blood biomarker of neurodegeneration in the brain after TBI that could be harnessed to stage severity and progression of nerve cell deterioration after injury."

Robert A. Bonomo, MD, Associate Chief of Staff at VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System and professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine added, "Many of our patients suffer from TBI or AD. These important findings will have a tremendous, long-term impact on our Veteran population."

Next steps in the research involve further investigation of the applicability of ac-tau as a biomarker in neurodegenerative disease and the potential utility of diflunisal or salsalate as neuroprotective medicines for people, as well as deeper study of the mechanisms by which ac-tau causes nerve cell deterioration.

###

The findings from the Pieper lab represent an outgrowth of collaborative efforts from investigators across the Cleveland community at UH, HDI, Case Western Reserve, VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System, Cleveland Clinic and The MetroHealth System.

This study was also supported by the Brockman Foundation; the AHA/Allen Initiative in Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment; The Neuropathology Core of Northwestern University; Translational Therapeutics Core of the Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center; and the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery of McGovern Medical School of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Shin, M, Vazquez-Rosa, E., et al. "Reducing acetylated-tau is neuroprotective in brain injury." Cell. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.032.

About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio

Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 20 hospitals (including 5 joint ventures), more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located in Cleveland's University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, a high-volume national referral center for complex cardiovascular procedures; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute, part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 28,000 physicians and employees. Advancing the Science of Health and the Art of Compassion is UH's vision for benefitting its patients into the future, and the organization's unwavering mission is To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. Follow UH on LinkedIn, Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.






By Annalisa Primi, Senior Economist and Head of the Policy Dialogue Initiative on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development at the OECD Development Centre



Today, economic transformation is a concern in OECD and non-OECD countries alike. The Action Plan for Accelerated Industrial Development in Africa, included in Agenda 2063 or the Africa Unions vision for the continents development, states that:"No country or region in the world has achieved prosperity and a decent socio-economic life for its citizens without the development of a robust industrial sector." Similarly, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has long called for diversifying production and promoting innovation to achieve higher equality in the region. Chile, an OECD country, is aiming at raising productivity by promoting the creation of domestic innovative enterprises. The national corporation for industrial development (CORFO) is investing in improving technology transfers, start-ups and social innovation.





Sluggish growth in OECD countries, discontent about inequalities and heightened attention to protecting the environment are pushing governments to increase innovation and re-launch and re-shape manufacturing. Many emerging and developing economies are looking to make their growth job-rich, inclusive, sustainable and capable of reducing their dependency on natural resources. Countries as diverse as Brazil, Costa Rica, Chile, China, Ethiopia, France, Italy, India, Turkey and South Africa are all looking at how to strengthen their domestic industrial capacities by mobilising public and private investments. The time is over when industrial policies were considered words not to be spoken in decent circles. Such policies are back in fashion to support economic transformation and capabilities' development.





Thus, around the world, we see industrial policies at work.





Africa: South Africa intends to strengthen its industrial base, advancing technological development and mobilising finance for long-term investment. Ethiopia saw the rise of a globally connected textile industry in a rather short period of time thanks to a mix of business incentives and strategic management of foreign direct investment. Today, the very top two world cities for FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows in textiles and garments are the Ethiopian cities of Alem Gena and Addis Ababa, which account for around 10% of total global FDI inflows in the sector during 2013-15.





Asia: China is working to increase domestic innovation capacities. India launched "Make in India" to strengthen the domestic manufacturing base by creating new companies and attracting more foreign direct investment. Singapore and Malaysia are looking at ways to continue moving up value chains. Malaysia entered the electronics value chain in the 1970s as a low-cost location for assembly; now, that industry is one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas, projected to generate an incremental gross national income impact of USD 14.8 billion and 157 000 new jobs by 2020.





Latin America: Peru is pointing to increase its global positioning in higher value-added segments of production. Between 2011 and 2013, it achieved an 80% increase in exports of quinoa-based products through coordinated action between producers associations, government institutions and trade unions because of effective implementation production development programmes. Perus National Strategic Export Plan 2013-21 fosters diversification out of resource-based development by investing in innovation, mobilising clusters and centres of excellence and promoting the participation of small- and medium-enterprises in value chains.





As these examples suggest, in many countries, the emphasis is no longer if policies are needed but more often what is needed and how to proceed. Learning from other experiences and from the past can help. Moreover, governments are often looking at how to align the quest for competitiveness with the values of social inclusion and environmental sustainability. So, how do we make industrial policy work? In many cases, these policies break from the past. They take into account the interconnectedness of economies. They each try to cope with the new global context, which is more uncertain, fast-changing and complex than ever. The diffusion of new manufacturing techniques, the new geography of production shaped by evolving production networks and the rise of China and Southeast Asia and the growing consumer attention on how goods and services are produced call for bolder policies. Multi-annual planning and budgeting are essential ingredients for success. So are effective monitoring systems, adaptation capacity to change direction when policies do not work and control mechanisms to avoid rent-seeking.





Yet, many issues need to be addressed. It is difficult to identify sectors in which both the growth potential and the learning potential are high. This is true not only because data are missing, but also because the future is uncertain. How do we capitalise on investments in skills, technology, infrastructure and entrepreneurial capabilities when people, technology and firms are mobile and the universe includes national and foreign actors? How do we identify the right stakeholders to bring to the table in global economies?





The industrial policies at work today start to offer some interesting examples of new forms of transparent and participatory prioritisation processes, increased dialogue between governments and the business community and the mobilisation of local and regional governments in planning and implementation. Fewer examples exist, however, on how to make industry work for social inclusion and environment preservation. More data, new forms of partnerships and strengthened abilities to forecast and plan are needed to design and implement industrial policies that deliver now and that make sense for the future.





In the face of growing complexity and uncertainty, many governments welcome a more robust dialogue on industrial policies with diverse stakeholders. The OECD Development Centres Initiative for Policy Dialogue on Global Value Chains, Production Transformation and Development, chaired by Costa Rica, Chile, France, Uruguay and Turkey, is making just such a dialogue possible. It re-opens the debate on industrialisation and development in todays interconnected economies. As a global partnership to promote change, the initiative works hand-in-hand with governments from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe to increase evidence and to identify good lessons to design and implement production development policies that deliver the jobs, innovations, wealth and quality of life that citizens demand.





Industrial policy is not a bad word. With pragmatism and increased global dialogue, it can be a concrete way to contribute to inclusive and environmentally sustainable growth.

For comments please contact dev.contact@oecd.org This article should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD, the OECD Development Centre or of their member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed are those of the author.

 OECD All rights reserved
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/13/2021 -- The global structured cabling market was valued at US$ 7,172.5 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to register a stable CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period, according to a new report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR) titled 'Structured Cabling Market  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20182026.' Increasing demand for high bandwidth and expansion and modernization of communication infrastructure fueled by economic growth have driven the global structured cabling market. The market in North America is expanding at the maximum CAGR of 7.1%, owing to technological innovations and presence of a large number of players in the region.



Request a Sample  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=6823



Hardware segment to drive the structured cabling market



Expanding cable network fueled by rise in modernization of infrastructure in developing economies is resulting in high demand for structured cabling worldwide. Copper cable is the most common cable used in structured networking, due to its lower costs compared to optical fiber. Copper cables are employed in power generation, power transmission, power distribution, telecommunications, electronics circuitry, and numerous electric equipment. Copper has the maximum electric conductivity rating among all non-precious metals. This boosts the demand for copper cables across the globe. The hardware sector has witnessed strong growth, due to continuous installation of a large number of machines and assembly units across the world, followed by extensive channels of wiring systems. This is expected to continue to augment the demand for structured cabling during the forecast period.



Rise in modernizing of communication infrastructure in IT & telecommunication industry to drive the market



Based on end-user, the global structured cabling market has been segmented into commercial & residential, IT & telecommunication, government, industrial, and others (including mining and education). IT & telecommunication is anticipated to be the rapidly expanding end-user segment during the forecast period, followed by the industrial segment. The IT & telecommunication segment is expected to dominate the global market for structured cabling, expanding at the maximum CAGR of 7.3% throughout the forecast period. This is attributable to rising need to facilitate rapid communication and optimized energy consumption. Recently, various enterprises have taken initiatives to expand and modernize their communication infrastructure. The industrial end-user segment is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR during the forecast period, due to increasing penetration of portable computing devices and rising dependency of multiple industrial sectors on cloud applications.



Furthermore, increasing focus on IoT (Internet of Things) applications is anticipated to fuel the demand for high-bandwidth telecommunication infrastructure in the IT & telecommunication industry in the next few years. This, in turn, is anticipated to fuel the structured cabling market during the forecast period.



Economic growth in the U.S., China, India, and South Africa to create lucrative opportunities



Geographically, the global structured cabling market has been divided into five major regions. These include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa. In 2017, North America was the leading region of the global market, followed by Europe. Demand for structured cabling is the maximum in North America, due to growth of the IT & telecom industry in the region. The large number of wire and cable shipments to electric utilities in the region is boosting the structured cabling market in North America. Furthermore, the U.S. Government has commissioned several studies to explore methods for upgrading the existing infrastructure. The U.S. held a leading share of the North America market in 2017. The market in the country is estimated to expand at the maximum CAGR during the forecast period. The structured cabling market in Europe is anticipated to expand at a significant CAGR during the forecast period, due to advancements in the field of logistics & transportation in the region. The structured cabling market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the maximum CAGR of 7.9% during the forecast period. Rapid growth of the IT industry in Asia Pacific has had a significant positive impact on the demand for mechanical cable accessories in the region. In addition, rapid pace of urbanization and growth of public, private, and residential sectors in Asia Pacific are leading to increasing construction of residential and commercial buildings and new power transmission lines in the region. This, in turn, is boosting the demand for structured cabling in the region. Rapid industrialization in developing countries of the region drives the demand for structured cabling for use in industrial machinery in Asia Pacific.



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ABB Ltd., The Cabling Company Group, Belden Inc., CommScope, and Corning, Inc. likely to continue to lead the global structured cabling market



The company profiling of key players operating in the global structured cabling market includes company overview, major business strategies adopted, SWOT analysis, and revenues for years from 2015 to 2017. Key players profiled in the report on the global structured cabling market are ABB Ltd., The Cabling Company Group, Belden Inc., CommScope, Corning, Inc., Datwyler Cabling Solutions AG, Legrand, Nexans, Schneider Electric SE, and TE Connectivity Ltd. Several players are introducing technologically advanced products and entering into partnerships with other players owing to the rising need for infrastructure development.



The global structured cabling market has been segmented as follows:



Global Structured Cabling Market, by Solution



Hardware

Copper Cable

Fiber Optic Cable

Enclosure

Software

Services

Installation

Consulting

Maintenance & Support



Global Structured Cabling Market, by End-user



Commercial & Residential

IT & Telecommunication

Government

Industrial

Others (Including mining and education)



Global Structured Cabling Market, by Region



North America

U.S.

Canada

Rest of North America

Europe

U.K.

Germany

France

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East &Africa

South America

Brazil

Rest of South America



Customization of the Report: This report can be customized as per your needs for additional data or countries.  https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=CR&rep_id=6823



About Transparency Market Research

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 ad hoc 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.
A Reaper drone crashed at the end of a New York runway last year because the operators mixed up the levers on the control panel, an Air Force investigation report released last week said.

The unmanned MQ-9A Reaper quickly lost power and hit the ground about a minute after its takeoff from Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, N.Y., resulting in a loss of over $6 million in government property, the Air Force accident investigation board headed by Lt. Col. Brian E. Prichard said.

The drone was assigned to the 174th Attack Wing and operated by the 108th Attack Squadrons Launch and Recovery Element out of Hancock Field Air National Guard Base. The squadron is a training unit that produces newly qualified air crew, launch and recovery air crew, and instructor-qualified airmen for the Air National Guard and active Air Force.

The unit also launches and recovers drones that can be controlled from any other Reaper unit.

The incident happened on a clear Thursday afternoon June 25, 2020, after a crew launched the drone with plans to swap control to another crew once it reached military airspace at over 18,000 feet.

But the Reaper lost all engine power in 44 seconds, at about 150 feet, and was "significantly damaged" when it struck the end of the runway 21 seconds later, crashing into runway lights and spinning 180 degrees before stopping.

"Loss of engine power was due to the [pilot] misidentifying the Flap Lever," Prichard found. "Instead of pushing the Flap Lever forward to reduce the flaps, the [pilot] pulled the Condition Lever backwards which resulted in the fuel supply to the engine being cut off stopping the engine."

The two levers are an inch apart but have "very different functions," the report said.

The flap lever controls the orientation of the wing flaps, which are usually set at 15 degrees for takeoff, then retracted to 0 degrees by moving the lever to the middle or neutral position.

The condition lever controls the fuel shutoff valve, engine and the pitch of the propeller blades. When its fully forward, the engine operates normally, but at the midpoint, the fuel valve and engine shut off, and at fully back it stops the propeller blades.

The pilot continued to misidentify the levers after the engine lost power, mistakenly pulling the wing flaps all the way back, which pushed the aircraft down instead of letting it glide.

The pilot and the sensor operator were qualified, had logged hundreds of hours of flight time, including several recent sorties, and had the required amount of rest. But the board found that the pilot became fixated on the heads-up display during takeoff, which led to the lever mix-up.

The design of the ground control station console contributed to the crash, including the lack of a safety guard on the condition lever, the report said.

Despite being right next to each other, both have black handles and are unmarked or differentiated by color, the report said.

"These levers could easily be mistaken by an inexperienced, fatigued, or confused crewmember," Prichard wrote.
MOBILE, AL, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Deuce Drone LLC, a developer of last mile package delivery services by drone, announced today that it will launch lunch delivery service by drone for the BB&T Financial Centre office complex sourced from the Legacy Village retail center.



BB&T Financial Centre is an office complex with multiple tenants and up to 300 hundred people on site daily. Legacy Village is a multi-tenant retail center hosting local and national brand restaurants and retailers. At the launch of the service, tenants in BB&T Financial Centre may order and pay for lunch through the Deuce Drone website that will then be delivered by one of Deuce Drones fleet of small unmanned aerial systems (drones). All flights and operations will be conducted in accordance with the updated Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 rules scheduled to go into effect on 21 April 2021.

We are excited to partner with these two great centers in the Mobile, Alabama market, said Rhett Ross, CEO of Deuce Drone. Our service will establish daily and weekly lunch delivery service for revenue while allowing us to validate and improve key aspects of our business technology, he finished.

Offering this service to our tenants and their teams is a great way to welcome people back to the office and provide new value to the office experience, said Philip Burton, owner of BB&T Financial Centre.

Being one of the first retail centers in the region to offer regular food delivery service by drone demonstrates our commitment to using technology to keep local retail competitive in an online world, said Richard Inge, Managing Partner of Legacy Village.

Deuce Drone will use a 26-pound maximum takeoff weight drone operating under the Class 3 weight provisions of the new Part 107 regulations for its delivery service. The Drone will be able to carry between 5 and 10 pounds of food items on each flight.

About Deuce Drone:

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DUBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 13th Apr, 2021) The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH) announced on Tuesday a donation of AED20 million to the 100 Million Meals campaign to provide food parcels for disadvantaged individuals and families across 20 countries in the middle East, Asia, and Africa during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of the campaign on April 11th.

MBRCHs sizeable contribution to the campaign provides substantial support for the campaigns efforts to contribute to combating hunger and malnutrition, in line with the second goal of the UNs Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food security, enhance nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture throughout the world.

The campaign, organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is an open call for donations from everyone  businesspeople, companies and individuals  inside and outside the UAE to help boost global efforts to provide food support for the lowest income societies, whose economies were severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The MBRCHs contribution to the 100 Million Meals campaign, which marks a geographic and numeric expansion of last years locally-held 10 Million Meals campaign, complements the push to develop regional and international partnerships that can help secure basic foodstuffs to tens of millions of people in need across the world.

Ibrahim Boumelha, Adviser for Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs to His Highness the Ruler of Dubai, and Vice Chairman of the board of Trustees of the MBRCH, said the launch of the 100 Million Meals campaign during the Holy Month of Ramadan reflects the UAEs deeply-rooted values of giving and compassion toward those in need, in times of need.

Boumelha added that this initiative embodies the distinguished role of the UAE in driving global humanitarian efforts to improve the quality of life across the world, and swiftly responding to existential crises and emergencies.

Individuals and companies can donate to the 100 Million Meals campaign through four channels: website, SMS, bank transfer and call centre.

People inside and outside the UAE can donate online through the website www.100millionmeals.ae or through a bank transfer to the campaigns account at Dubai Islamic Bank (AE080240001520977815201). Local donations can be made by sending "Meal" by SMS on specified numbers for Du or Etisalat listed on the website. Big monetary donations can be made through reaching out to the campaigns team on the toll-free number 8004999.
Results from a further 19 aircore holes for 1,476 metres from Malone prospect and 84 RC holes for 8,372 metres from the Gordons Dam, Gordons Dam SE, Malone, Bradman, Andrews and Star of Gordon prospects are pending.

Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) has boosted the potential of Gordons Gold Project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia with the discovery of new gold zones during recent reconnaissance aircore drilling at Malone and Gordons Dam Southeast prospects.

A total of 200 aircore holes for 9,165 metres were completed at the Malone, Gordons Dam SE, Andrews, Brayshaw, Bradman, Holloways and Holloways South prospects to test early-stage gold targets beneath depleted surficial sediments.

The new zones of bedrock gold mineralisation are adjacent to shallow high-grade gold mineralisation at the Gordons Dam prospect and include several end-of-hole intercepts that are open in all directions.

New drill programs to be designed

Managing director Lorry Hughes said: Transitional and primary mineralisation has been returned from a variety of host rocks in at least two cross-cutting directions and in multiple sub-parallel zones.

Very high-grade primary mineralisation intersected thus far from earlier RC and diamond drilling programs is hosted within quartz veins and shears within and at contacts between mafic and intrusive porphyry rocks.

Once the pending RC assays results are returned in full, new RC and diamond drilling exploration programs will be designed to test for mineralisation at depths of 250-400 metres below surface.

Strike length extended to 1.6 kilometres

Around 93 vertical aircore holes for 5,650 metres were completed along strike from and in areas adjacent to known mineralisation within shallow palaeochannel sediments, porphyry, and mafic rock types.

Numerous intersections were returned, which has resulted in the interpreted strike length of primary mineralisation zones being extended to around 1.6 kilometres in the east-west direction and open to the east.

Highlights from Malone include 7 metres at 1.16 g/t gold from 80 metres, including 3 metres at 1.48 g/t gold at end-of-hole, 24 metres at 0.22 g/t gold from 56 metres, including 4 metres at 0.99 g/t gold, and 7 metres at 0.37 g/t gold from 52 metres, including 3 metres at 0.79 g/t gold at end-of-hole.

Follow-up targets to be tested

The aircore drill holes were completed to blade refusal and as has been the case with earlier aircore programs, multiple strong intercepts were returned from just above or at the end-of-hole.

A number of these intercepts occur on adjacent lines around 120 metres apart, are interpreted to represent subparallel mineralisation zones and are open in most directions.

Once results are returned from a further 19 aircore holes at Malone prospect and 84 reverse circulation (RC) holes for 8,372 metres from the Gordons Dam, Gordons Dam SE, Malone, Bradman, Andrews and Star of Gordon prospects an assessment of RC, aircore and diamond drill targets will be undertaken.

Follow-up targets are planned to be tested during the June quarter.

Gordons Dam SE highlights

At Gordons Dam SE highly encouraging intercepts were returned from an area around 600 metres southeast along strike from the Gordons Dam palaeochannel mineralisation include:

5 metres at 0.89 g/t gold from 72 metres, including 1-metre at 3.79 g/t gold at end-of-hole;

2 metres at 1.64 g/t gold from 44 metres at end-of-hole;

12 metres at 0.16 g/t gold from 32 metres, including 4 metres at 0.41 g/t gold; and

5 metres at 0.34 g/t gold from 44 metres at end-of-hole.

Next steps

Key exploration activities planned during the June quarter at the Gordons project include:
BRUSSELS - President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to de-escalate tensions" following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border in their second tense call of Biden's young presidency.

President Joe Biden participates virtually in the CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, April 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

BRUSSELS - President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to de-escalate tensions" following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border in their second tense call of Biden's young presidency.

Biden also told Putin the U.S. would act firmly in defence of its national interests regarding Russian cyber intrusions and election interference, according to the White House. Biden proposed a summit in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of U.S.-Russia issues, the White House said.

The Biden-Putin relationship has been rocky in the early going of the new U.S. administration. Biden is weighing action against Russia for the SolarWinds hacking campaign, Russian interference in the 2020 presidential election, reports of Russian bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and the poisoning and jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

There is growing concern in the West about a surge of cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-ba?ked separatists and Ukrainian forces have been locked in a conflict since Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula. Biden's call with Putin came as the top U.S. diplomat and the leader of NATO condemned the recent massing of thousands of Russian troops.

President Biden emphasized the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, the White House said in a statement. The White House added that Biden made clear that Russia must de-escalate tensions.

More than 14,000 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. Over the past week, there have been daily reports of Ukrainian military casualties and rebels also have reported losses.

Ukraine has said Russia has 41,000 troops at its border with eastern Ukraine and 42,000 more in Crimea. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday the military buildup of the past three weeks was part of readiness drills in response to what he described as threats from NATO. He added the manoeuvrs in western Russia would last for two more weeks.

The troops have shown their full readiness to fulfil tasks to ensure the countrys security, Shoigu said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Coordination Center of the Russian Government in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The centre was set up as a line of communication with the whole of Russia for analysing and collecting information, promptly using big data and solving arising problems. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The Kremlin in a statement said during an exchange of opinions on Ukraines internal political crisis, Putin told Biden about approaches to a political settlement based on the 2015 peace deal brokered by France and Germany and signed in Minsk, Belarus.

The White House provided no details on the timing or location of Biden's proposed summit.

Shortly after talking to Biden, Putin called Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, according to the Kremlin.

Finland was the venue for several meetings of Russian and U.S. leaders. It hosted a summit between Leonid Brezhnev and Gerald Ford in 1975, a meeting of Mikhail Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush in 1990, talks between Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton in 1997, and, most recently, a summit between Trump and Putin in July 2018.

Austria also is ready to serve as a summit venue, according to a spokesperson for the Austrian Foreign Ministry quoted by Russian news agencies.

Putin has repeatedly brushed off calls by U.S. officials to cease provocations on Ukraine's border and on other issues. Still, the White House said that holding talks can be useful.

When it comes to diplomacy you don't stop calling for what are the right actions and the appropriate actions and the actions the global community believes are right just because you see a hesitation, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Earlier Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Brussels for meetings with NATO allies and Ukraine's foreign minister, accused Russia of taking very provocative actions with the massing of troops.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also called the Russian movements unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning. He said the Russian deployment was the largest concentration of troops near the Ukrainian border since 2014.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Western countries to make clear to Moscow that it would pay a price for its aggression.

The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Blinken told Kuleba at the start of their meeting at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, a post once held by Blinkens uncle. Thats particularly important at a time when we're seeing, unfortunately, Russia take very provocative actions when it comes to Ukraine.

Kuleba replied that Ukraine was grateful for the support of the U.S. and NATO, an alliance that Kyiv is looking to join over fierce Russian objections.

Leonid Slutsky, a senior Russian lawmaker who chairs the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of parliament, said Bidens call marked a step away from confrontation to dialogue.

Such a position meets not only mutual interests, but also the interests of international security, Slutsky said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. The good news is that the leaders of the two largest nuclear powers have confirmed their readiness for interaction on issues of strategic stability and arms control.

Although Biden agreed to extend a major arms control deal with Russia, he has been notably cool toward Moscow and highly critical of many of its activities.

Last month in an interview with ABC News, Biden agreed with the description of Putin as a killer" and he has criticized the jailing of Navalny, the opposition figure. U.S. intelligence released a report last month finding that Putin authorized influence operations to help former President Donald Trumps reelection bid.

Putin in response to Biden's killer comment recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.

In his first call with Putin as president in late January, Biden raised concerns about the arrest of Navalny, Russias cyberespionage targeting the U.S., and thereports of Russian bounties on American troops in Afghanistan. The Kremlin, meanwhile, focused on Putins response to Bidens proposal to extend the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control treaty.

After that call, Biden said in a speech before State Department officials that the days of the U.S. rolling over to Putin were over.



Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed reporting.
A soldier the U.S. Army declined to prosecute for raping the wife of a young colleague has been sentenced to 13 years in prison, after he violated two more women - one of them his 16-year-old daughter - when his commanding officers left him walk free.

Staff Sergeant Randall S. Hughes took a series of plea deals from 2006 onward, which, under the terms of his deals, allowed him to hide his crimes.

On March 30 he pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges before a court in Fort Drum, New York, and is due to be sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to serve his time.

His crimes spanned the country and the decades, with his first attack in Colorado, then two attacks in Texas, and the fourth - on his teenage daughter - in New Jersey.

Hughes was able to get away with his crimes for years owing to a series of plea deals

Several of Hughes' victims waived their anonymity, including his daughter, to condemn the army for not acting to prevent further attacks.

Leah Ramirez, one of his victims, told Army Times that investigators found her account credible, yet decided to let Hughes go free with just a warning.

'They just told me the command said this is what it was  this is how it is,' she said.

Her ordeal began when Ramirez's husband, Staff Sgt. Arnulfo Ramirez III, invited Hughes to a Super Bowl party at their home in Texas in 2017.

Ramirez's husband, egged on by Hughes, drank shot after shot of whiskey during the evening, and by the end of the night was passed out drunk.

Ramirez put her husband to bed, the party ended and everyone else left.

She was outside alone with Hughes when he propositioned her for sex.

She said no, so Hughes grabbed her, forced himself upon her against a grill, then dragged her by the hair into her home where he raped her.

Ramirez hid in her bathroom until Hughes eventually left the house.

She said the army's Criminal Investigations Division (CID) was ineffective from the beginning - leaving her waiting, terrorized, for two days until they came to investigate.

'I waited until the morning and then I went to the hospital to get checked,' she told Army Times.

'It took CID 48 hours to get into my house for evidence, so I lived in the crime scene for 48 hours.

'And then, it took three years to do anything.'

After a year of investigating, the team concluded that Ramirez's story was credible.

Ramirez lived with her husband near Fort Bliss, Texas - in a home where Hughes attacked her

Hughes' first known attack was while stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado, in 2006

But the army declined to prosecute, and Hughes instead was given a written warning - a General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand - for his personnel file.

'I was told CID had enough evidence to believe it happened, and Fort Bliss still didn't do anything,' she said.

Ramirez and her husband moved away - first to Fort Benning, Georgia, and then back to Texas, to Fort Hood - and she did not feel there was anything more she could do.

Ramirez was unaware that, before Hughes moved to Fort Bliss, his then-wife accused him of rape in 2006, while they were stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado.

The charge was dropped as a part of Hughes' plea agreement.

As the investigators were looking into Ramirez's story, Hughes attacked a second woman - his then-girlfriend - at Fort Bliss, in the summer of 2017.

Hughes cut yet another plea deal - which saw investigators looking into Ramirez's claims left unaware of the second woman's account, and of her claims that he intentionally cut her using a broken glass bottle.

At the end of 2017, Hughes' estranged 14-year-old daughter, Lesley Madsen, moved in with him - her mother, Chayla Madsen, oblivious to the previous three allegations of rape.

'I never had any idea something like this was open,' said Madsen.

She said that, in hindsight, Hughes took the teenager in to distract investigators.

'Obviously he did this to look like an upstanding single dad,' she said.

'I didn't know he was being investigated.

'And Fort Bliss just allowed him to move a child - she was 14 - in with him and move on base.'

Lesley, now 17, said that her father behaved inappropriately toward her at Fort Bliss, offering her drugs, but his misconduct increased when they moved away, to Fort Dix, New Jersey.

On March 25, 2020, he gave her sleeping medication and raped her, according to the Army Times.

Hughes' plea agreement - under which he was eventually prosecuted - did not admit to that charge, but he did admit to sexual abuse and assault of a child.

Hughes moved to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he raped his teenage daughter, Army Times said

'He was taking a plea deal, so he wanted to plead to get the minimum amount of years,' his daughter said.

As a minor, she asked, with her mother's approval, to be named in the Army Times article, to highlight the series of missed opportunities to put him behind bars.

She agreed to the plea deal, in the interests of swift justice, Army Times said.

Hughes pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault consummated by battery, one count of sexual abuse of a child, one count of assault consummated by a battery on a child, one count of indecent language and one count of adultery, according to court records.

'If I said no, then it would have been years of court,' said Lesley.

'It was the easiest way to give everyone that closure and just put him away before he did anything to anybody else.'

She told her mother about her father's abuse, and they reported his crime.

Investigators then finally found the warning on Hughes' file, back from 2017 when he attacked Ramirez.

'I got really lucky and I had a team [of CID agents] who cared a lot, because they found everybody else and they started adding it all up,' said Lesley.

'It was just insane, because none of us even expected the extent of what he did' to others.

Lesley added: 'I'm not ashamed of what he did to me.

'I want people to know I'm a minor and I want them to know that I'm a daughter.'

Lesley, her mother and Ramirez all praised the Fort Dix investigators, but blamed the Army for not having stopped him years ago - when the first rape was reported, in 2006.

Michael Brady, the Army's principal deputy chief of public affairs, told Army Times that 'probable cause' is not always sufficient to prosecute.

'Our hearts go out to these victims, and we are thankful there was enough evidence to prosecute him, convict him of serious offenses and sentence him to a lengthy period of confinement,' he said.

'While the Privacy Act precludes us from commenting on specific cases, it's important to note that a probable cause finding is not a final determination there is sufficient evidence to prosecute.'

Yet retired Col. Don Christensen, former chief prosecutor for the Air Force and current president of Protect Our Defenders, said the current senior army officials should be 'horrified' at Hughes' story.

'Despite the persistent myth that suspected military sex offenders are prosecuted at a high rate, the reality is the chain of command rarely ever sends a suspect to court,' he said.

'Right now, I'd say the military is uniquely bad at evaluating the strength of an allegation. In the vast majority of cases, leadership decides to do nothing.'

He said suspects in the military are charged in only 49 per cent of cases, and a third of those cases never make it to court. Commanders often hand down nonjudicial punishments and administrative actions instead, he added.

'The command should be horrified their failure to hold the rapist accountable enabled a sex offender to perpetrate a crime wave against multiple victims.'
The "three-body problem," the term coined for predicting the motion of three gravitating bodies in space, is essential for understanding a variety of astrophysical processes as well as a large class of mechanical problems, and has occupied some of the world's best physicists, astronomers and mathematicians for over three centuries. Their attempts have led to the discovery of several important fields of science; yet its solution remained a mystery.

At the end of the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton succeeded in explaining the motion of the planets around the sun through a law of universal gravitation. He also sought to explain the motion of the moon. Since both the earth and the sun determine the motion of the moon, Newton became interested in the problem of predicting the motion of three bodies moving in space under the influence of their mutual gravitational attraction (see attached illustration), a problem that later became known as "the three-body problem".

However, unlike the two-body problem, Newton was unable to obtain a general mathematical solution for it. Indeed, the three-body problem proved easy to define, yet difficult to solve.

New research, led by Professor Barak Kol at Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Racah Institute of Physics, adds a step to this scientific journey that began with Newton, touching on the limits of scientific prediction and the role of chaos in it.

The theoretical study presents a novel and exact reduction of the problem, enabled by a re-examination of the basic concepts that underlie previous theories. It allows for a precise prediction of the probability for each of the three bodies to escape the system.

Following Newton and two centuries of fruitful research in the field including by Euler, Lagrange and Jacobi, by the late 19th century the mathematician Poincare discovered that the problem exhibits extreme sensitivity to the bodies' initial positions and velocities. This sensitivity, which later became known as chaos, has far-reaching implications - it indicates that there is no deterministic solution in closed-form to the three-body problem.

In the 20th century, the development of computers made it possible to re-examine the problem with the help of computerized simulations of the bodies' motion. The simulations showed that under some general assumptions, a three-body system experiences periods of chaotic, or random, motion alternating with periods of regular motion, until finally the system disintegrates into a pair of bodies orbiting their common center of mass and a third one moving away, or escaping, from them.

The chaotic nature implies that not only is a closed-form solution impossible, but also computer simulations cannot provide specific and reliable long-term predictions. However, the availability of large sets of simulations led in 1976 to the idea of seeking a statistical prediction of the system, and in particular, predicting the escape probability of each of the three bodies. In this sense, the original goal, to find a deterministic solution, was found to be wrong, and it was recognized that the right goal is to find a statistical solution.

Determining the statistical solution has proven to be no easy task due to three features of this problem: the system presents chaotic motion that alternates with regular motion; it is unbounded and susceptible to disintegration. A year ago, Racah's Dr. Nicholas Stone and his colleagues used a new method of calculation and, for the first time, achieved a closed mathematical expression for the statistical solution. However, this method, like all its predecessor statistical approaches, rests on certain assumptions. Inspired by these results, Kol initiated a re-examination of these assumptions.

The infinite unbounded range of the gravitational force suggests the appearance of infinite probabilities through the so-called infinite phase-space volume. To avoid this pathology, and for other reasons, all previous attempts postulated a somewhat arbitrary "strong interaction region", and accounted only for configurations within it in the calculation of probabilities.

The new study, recently published in the scientific journal Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, focuses on the outgoing flux of phase-volume, rather than the phase-volume itself. Since the flux is finite even when the volume is infinite, this flux-based approach avoids the artificial problem of infinite probabilities, without ever introducing the artificial strong interaction region.

The flux-based theory predicts the escape probabilities of each body, under a certain assumption. The predictions are different from all previous frameworks, and Prof. Kol emphasizes that "tests by millions of computer simulations shows strong agreement between theory and simulation." The simulations were carried out in collaboration with Viraj Manwadkar from the University of Chicago, Alessandro Trani from the Okinawa Institute in Japan, and Nathan Leigh from University of Concepcion in Chile. This agreement proves that understanding the system requires a paradigm shift and that the new conceptual basis describes the system well. It turns out, then, that even for the foundations of such an old problem, innovation is possible.

The implications of this study are wide-ranging and is expected to influence both the solution of a variety of astrophysical problems and the understanding of an entire class of problems in mechanics. In astrophysics, it may have application to the mechanism that creates pairs of compact bodies that are the source of gravitational waves, as well as to deepen the understanding of the dynamics within star clusters. In mechanics, the three-body problem is a prototype for a variety of chaotic problems, so progress in it is likely to reflect on additional problems in this important class.

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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 03:20:49|Editor: huaxia

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WASHINGTON, April 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. federal health agencies on Tuesday called for a pause in the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine after rare blood clotting cases emerged in six recipients.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets.

All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

These adverse events "appear to be extremely rare," the statement said.

Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given, according to the statement.

More than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States as of Monday, according to the CDC.

In a White House briefing Tuesday, Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said the pause will allow more investigation into the cases, including the mechanism of the reactions, and history of the recipients.

The investigation would shed light on what would happen and what should do, he said.

Noting the percentage of this rare side effect was low, Fauci said less than one in a million Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients experienced blood clots.

But he recommended people who have administered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be on lookout for symptoms including severe headaches, shortness of breath, abdominal pain and leg pain within three weeks of vaccination.

The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases and assess their potential significance.

The FDA will review that analysis as it has also launched an investigation into these cases.

"Until that process is complete, we are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution," said CDC Principal Deputy Director Anne Schuchat and Director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks in a joint statement.

Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus coordinator, said Johnson & Johnson's vaccine pause would not have a "significant impact" on U.S. vaccination efforts.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes up less than 5 percent of the more than 190 million recorded shots in arms in the United States to date, Zients said at the White House briefing.

"We have more than enough supply of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to continue the current pace of about 3 million shots per day," he said.

Zients said states would help those who have scheduled Johnson & Johnson vaccinations to reschedule Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 shots.

Several states and cities, including Washington, California, Los Angeles, New York City and New Jersey, announced they would pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it is aware of the rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets who have received its COVID-19 vaccine.

"In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe," the company said in a statement.

The severe adverse events came at a time when U.S. health officials are encouraging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as they can. Experts are concerned that the blood clots related to Johnson & Johnson's vaccine may heighten vaccine hesitancy of the public.

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United States in late February. It is the third COVID-19 vaccine that has received FDA's authorization, also the first single dose COVID-19 vaccine available in the United States. Enditem
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Today is a major milestone for kindergarteners and first graders at 61 LAUSD elementary schools, who are back in the physical classroom for the first time, after over a year of distanced at-home learning.

Also returning this morning are preschoolers at 11 of the district's 88 early education centers (we're talking 2 to 4-year-olds).

More kids will go back to their classrooms as the week progresses: Second and third graders on Wednesday, followed by older elementary students on Thursday.

Of course, school looks a lot different now -- students are all masked and spaced six feet apart. Teachers are figuring out new ways to correct papers and assignments while being mindful of their physical distance. Kids have to stay far apart from one another at recess, get their temperature checked and exit their classrooms slowly, one by one.

But human beings are nothing if not resilient.

At an elementary school in Lakeview Terrace, staff couldn't hold the hands of the youngest students to take them inside. So they used pool noodles to guide them into the classroom.

At Brainard Academy in Lakeview Terrace, staff led students in one or two at a time. (Kyle Stokes / LAist )

At Harding Elementary School in Sylmar, a first-grade teaching assistant used post-it notes to correct spelling, as a work-around to avoid writing directly on a student paper, which would mean getting closer than a few feet.

At Harding Elementary, first grade teaching assistant Cassandra Marquez spells out a word on a Post-It to help a student.



Normally shed be able to lean in and write it on his paper, except: social distancing pic.twitter.com/ZMhLWkJyBF  Kyle Stokes (@kystokes) April 13, 2021

And there were still moments of joy.

Education reporter Kyle Stokes captured a classroom of kindergartners singing a good morning song together, for the first time in 13 months.

Adding to the  https://t.co/EeKQOldyPg  Kyle Stokes (@kystokes) April 13, 2021

Here are some more photos/observations of the day from Kyle Stokes and early education reporter Mariana Dale.

And in case you missed it, here's the full reopening schedule for LAUSD:
The total cost of the project is estimated to be around US$32 million, and the debt facility will meet 62.5% of the project cost.

The company has already spent US$3.6 million on construction activities at the project.

( ) (FRA:N6D) has secured a U$20 million debt funding facility with CRDB Bank PLC, achieving a major milestone in its progress towards construction of the Lindi Jumbo Graphite Mine in Tanzania.

Lindi Jumbo Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Walkabout, and CRDB Bank PLC have signed a project finance facility letter for the construction of the mine.

CRDB is the largest, wholly owned private bank in Tanzania and is listed on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange.

The debt facility will be executed between Lindi Jumbo and CRDB with Walkabout providing necessary guarantees and equity loans to support the full funding package.

62.5% of project cost

The total cost for the Lindi Jumbo Graphite Mine is estimated to be around US$32 million and the debt facility will meet 62.5% of the project cost.

Walkabout has already spent US$3.6 million on construction activities at the site and long-lead manufacturing items.

Walkabout managing director Allan Mulligan said: We are delighted to have CRDB Bank as the Lindi Jumbo project financing partner.

We were very keen to meet not just the requirements of local content but the spirit as well and the CRDB facility accomplishes this.

Cost of funding reduced

During 2020, CRDB conducted detailed due diligence of technical, financial, market, legal and environmental elements of the Lindi Jumbo Project resulting in the provision of the offer of this debt facility.

Mulligan added: We have persisted with negotiating this funding facility for more than a year.

The relationship benefits Tanzania in growing its services sector and benefits our company, as the cost of funding reduces significantly in terms of sovereign risk premiums.

The provision of this significant debt package for Lindi unlocks the final milestone in project development and construction efforts at the mine site can commence as soon as formal documents have been executed.

Government support

The debt facility remains subject to finalisation of all finance documents and conditions precedent, and Lindi Jumbo will be the first non-Chinese graphite mine to receive debt funding.

Importantly, the government of Tanzania continues to show its full support for the commercialisation of the Lindi Jumbo Graphite Project.

Mulligan said: This will represent the first serious construction effort of a mining project in Tanzania since the 2017 Mining Act amendments.

The Project has assessed any potential Covid delays, and we have introduced suitable travel and safety systems to mitigate risk.
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - Gambia's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed shock at the spate of rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence in the country
Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, recently operated its first transcontinental lower emission flight which took off from Helsinki in Finland to Bahrain International Airport.

Operated by the airlines flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the lower emission flight used operated Sustainable Aviation Fuel provided by Neste to perform the airlines iconic flypast at the 2021 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix last month. The Civil Aviation Affairs at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) and Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) supported this historic flight and provided consultation to Gulf Air to successfully conduct the operation.

During the stop in Helsinki, Gulf Air underwent a random SAFA inspection which consisted of a safety check at the ramp of airports at European Union member states and successfully completed with no findings.

Gulf Airs fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is scheduled on its long-haul routes and are equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines which boast superior fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, consuming 20 per cent less fuel and producing around 20 per cent fewer emissions than the aircraft they replaced in Gulf Airs previous fleet. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel provides an immediate solution for reducing the carbon emissions of flying. In neat form and over the life cycle, its use results in up to 80 per cent lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil jet fuel.

Commenting on behalf of Gulf Air, Captain Waleed AlAlawi, Acting Chief Executive Officer, said: This is a major milestone for Gulf Air and an important chapter of our history. This lower emission flight marks the beginning of our journey into our future strategy to explore the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel in our aircraft and standing by our commitment to lower our carbon emissions.

He added: We worked closely with Neste, as well as the Civil Aviation Affairs and Bapco in consultation capacity, to operate this special flight from Helsinki to Bahrain. We are exploring potentials and possibilities of the use of sustainable aviation fuel for a better tomorrow for the generations to come and for our planet.

Commending Gulf Airs initiative and success in operating its first international lower emission flight, the Undersecretary for Civil Aviation Affairs Mohamed Thamir AlKaabi said: As the regulator of the aviation industry, and as Member State of the International Civil Aviation Organization - which is working on a Civil Action Plan to reduce CO2 emissions from international aviation - we are committed to adopting measures and setting policies to encourage the use of sustainable aviation fuel. We are pleased to see Gulf Air embarking on this journey and for contributing to the industrys efforts in improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.

We, in Bapco, continue to maintain our promise to stay ahead of our customers energy needs. The use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel by Gulf Air and the aviation industry will provide a solution for reducing the carbon emissions of flying and can lower greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 per cent compared to fossil jet fuel, said Khalid Buhazza, General Manager Marketing in Bapco. - TradeArabia News Service
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:17:58|Editor: huaxia

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JUBA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's health ministry said Tuesday it has vaccinated 947 health workers with the AstraZeneca vaccines against COVID-19 since last week when it launched the campaign.

"I think up to Saturday we have vaccinated 947 health workers, we didn't work on Sunday since it was off day and Monday's figures are not yet entered into the data," said George Auzenio Legge, manager for the expanded program on immunization in the ministry of health. These figures have been collected from three vaccination centers in Juba.

South Sudan on Monday registered six new COVID-19 cases bringing the cumulative number to 10,387 infections and 114 deaths. Legge disclosed that they are targeting the vaccination of more than 4,000 health workers both from private and government health facilities.

On March 25, Juba received 132,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines from the COVAX facility. The country is expected to receive a total of 732,000 doses of vaccines within the first six months of 2021.

However, Atem Riak, director general for primary health care said that the vaccination campaign had recently registered low turnout, due to health workers preferring to stay away due to allegations of side effects caused by the vaccines.

Legge denied this claim, saying he didn't receive any report or information that health workers are not turning up for vaccination due to the fear of side effects of the vaccines. "What I know is that some of the health workers stay far away like Gurei, Nyakuron among other areas and they also lack means of transport," said Legge.

Legge disclosed that the vaccination campaign for health workers has been extended for 10 days in order to cover for lost time. Enditem
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP)  A Florida woman who claimed she is Harry Potter fatally struck a federal judge visiting from New York and seriously injured a 6-year-old boy after swerving her car onto a sidewalk, officials said.

Nastasia Snape, 23, is charged with vehicular homicide and other felonies for Fridays crash that killed District Judge Sandra Feuerstein, 75, who served in the Eastern District of New York since 2003. The boy, Anthony Ovchinnikov, was taken to the hospital, but his condition Sunday could not be determined.

According to court records, witnesses told Boca Raton police the Snape was driving erratically, going around stopped traffic, on a busy road when she drove onto the sidewalk and struck Feuerstein. Snape then drove back onto the roadway, striking the boy in a crosswalk.

Police say Snape then fled into neighboring Delray Beach, where she crashed. A Delray police officer said Snape appeared to be having convulsions, but was able to get out of the car. She stared into space and would only say she was OK.

Police say that in the ambulance, Snape began screaming and fighting with medics while yelling she is Harry Potter. The medics drugged her. Police say they found in her purse the synthetic drug commonly known as bath salts, which can cause psychotic episodes.

She remained jailed Sunday on $60,000 bond. The Palm Beach County public defenders office was not open Sunday and has a policy of not speaking about its cases. In the Potter novels, there is a character named Snape.

Feuerstein was appointed to the federal bench by President George W. Bush after 16 years as a New York state judge, according to Eastern District website. The courts jurisdiction covers Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens, along with Staten Island.

She had been presiding over the case of a former New York City police officer, Valerie Cincinelli, who is accused of paying her lover to kill her husband. The lover went to authorities and she was arrested. Cincinelli had been expected to plead guilty this week, according to media reports. It is unclear how Feuersteins death will affect the case. Her late mother, Annette Elstein, was also a judge and they were believed to be the first mother-daughter duo to be judges.

In a statement, Eugene Corcoran, the Eastern Districts executive, said Feuersteins eccentric style and warm personality lit up the courtroom. She will be missed by her colleagues and litigants alike.

Feuerstein was born in New York in 1946 and worked as a schoolteacher before earning a law degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1979.

She viewed a judges role as interpreting and not creating law, Joshua Glick, who clerked for Feuerstein, told Newsday. She was focused on writing clear and concise opinions that were easily understood. She was occasionally tough on litigants who she felt were not being fully candid with her, but she was always fair.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
CHICAGO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Wind Point Partners and portfolio company A&R Logistics ("A&R"), one of North America's leading providers of supply chain services for the chemical industry, announced today that A&R has acquired Luckey Trucking ("Luckey" or the "Company"), a provider of dry bulk, liquid bulk, dry van transportation, warehousing and logistics services to the chemical industry. The acquisition of Luckey further solidifies A&R's leading market position and expands its fleet of highly specialized tractors and trailers.

Headquartered in Streator, Illinois, Luckey operates a trucking terminal, tank wash, and over 250 railcar locations on the BNSF and Union Pacific Railways. The Company also operates a warehouse providing logistics services for customers. Luckey also operates through a network of six affiliate terminals located in Iowa, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Throughout this strategically located network near key routes and ports in the North American chemical supply chain, Luckey provides over-the-road dry and liquid bulk transportation solutions to several leading North American chemical producers and diversified industrial companies. The Company also offers dry van trucking, rail transloading, and value-added warehousing and packaging services. Key members of the Luckey family and leadership team will remain with the Company and join the A&R team at the time of the transaction.

Chris Ball, President of A&R, noted, "We are excited to welcome the Luckey team to A&R and congratulate the Luckey family on building such an outstanding chemical logistics platform. The addition of Luckey expands our depth in each of our core services and enhances our ability to provide customers with end-to-end solutions."

Konrad Salaber, Managing Director at Wind Point, commented, "A core focus of A&R's value creation plan has been an emphasis on growth through acquisition, and Luckey represents yet another excellent addition to A&R's leading chemical supply chain platform. This acquisition further enhances our scale and allows our team to continue meeting the needs of our customers across the supply chain. We look forward to continuing to build upon the combined network of both companies and fostering the Luckey legacy."

"After meeting with the folks throughout the A&R organization, we were truly impressed with their vision for the future and their dedication to being the leader in the industry," said Scott Luckey, President of Luckey. "We are thrilled to become a part of the A&R family and look forward to the future growth of the combined platform."

Wind Point Partners acquired A&R in May of 2019 in partnership with CEO Mark Holden, a veteran executive in the logistics space who previously led four separate investments to a successful sale or IPO. This represents the fifth add-on acquisition for A&R under Wind Point's ownership, following the additions of Blue Water Plastic Transport in June 2019, Plantgistix in November 2019, First Choice Logistics in February 2020 and L.T. Harnett in August 2020. A&R's acquisition strategy will continue to focus on acquiring companies that provide dry and liquid bulk transportation, warehousing, and logistics services to producers and distributors of chemicals and plastics.

Wind Point is an active investor in transportation, logistics and route-based businesses, with select prior investments including Dicom Transportation, STG Logistics, Valicor Environmental Services and AIR-serv.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and KPMG provided transaction advisory services to A&R Logistics.

About A&R Logistics

A&R Logistics Holdings, Inc. is a leading supply chain services company providing dry and liquid bulk transportation services, warehousing & packaging, distribution, export, in-plant, and third-party logistics solutions to numerous multinational companies within the chemical industry. A&R provides a comprehensive suite of services including over-the-road transportation, transloading, packaging, warehousing, and end-to-end outsourced transportation management through a nationwide network of facilities, a combination of company-owned equipment and owner-operators, and a non-asset based transportation management division.

Learn more at www.ardoingitright.com.

About Wind Point Partners

Wind Point Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $3.5 billion in assets under management. Wind Point focuses on partnering with top caliber management teams to acquire well-positioned middle market businesses where it can establish a clear path to value creation. The firm targets investments in the consumer products, industrial products and business services sectors. Wind Point is currently investing out of Wind Point Partners IX, a fund that was initiated in 2019.

Learn more at www.windpointpartners.com.

SOURCE A&R Logistics

Related Links

www.ardoingitright.com


One of the most striking features of American history is its periodic waves of religious fervor. We are in the midst of another today, stripped of its references to God but filled with the same passionate desire to be reborn, absolved from past sins.

What sins need absolution now? Americas history of slavery and Jim Crow segregation. Those original sins continue, say the movements leaders, in a new (and vaguely defined) form: structural racism.

Revivals like this have been called Great Awakenings since the first one, in the 1740s. Todays acolytes use similar language, so this one might be called the The Great Awokening. Just as slavery and abolition were central to the Second Great Awakening of the 1850s, so race is central now. In both cases, the message is that white Americans must act decisively to correct historical wrongs and pay penance for them.

Todays progressive politicians also offer a measure of absolution. It is a costly one, a whole series of race-based policies, massive government spending, centralized controls (including new rules for voting), and economic redistribution, plus reimagining local law enforcement.

Who are the sinful whites in this account? In practice, they are everyone except descendants of enslaved African Americans. In this reframing, Americans of Chinese, South Asian, Korean, or Cuban ancestry are all considered privileged and, in a political sense, white.

Asian Americans are already in open revolt against this ideology and the discriminatory policies that flow from it. They are irate about proposed quotas to limit their enrollment in elite, merit-based schools. For Hispanics, the issue is more vexed. Their national leaders are closely allied with the Congressional Black Caucus and progressives. They are understandably reluctant to break with that powerful coalition. But it is already fracturing at the local level as second- and third-generation Hispanics embrace the American Dream, adopt bourgeois values, and move up economically. Their growing numbers also undermine the long-standing assumption that Black politicians would lead any coalition of color.

The most eager disciples of the Great Awokening are educated, upper-middle-class whites, from Cambridge to Cupertino and every campus in between. The New York Times has provided them with just the kind of history they crave, the 1619 Project. The date is significant. The Times is saying American history really began when African slaves arrived in Virginia. Their America is not John Winthrops Puritan vision of a City on a Hill. It is John Bunyans Slough of Despond, a sulfurous bog of slavery, racism, and exploitation.

These historic sins, like the Protestant original, can never be fully erased. Even the celebrated achievements of the mid-1960s are not enough. Gone is the optimistic message that America has made enormous strides toward racial equality, paid heavily to do it, and worked mightily (with considerable success over the past half-century) to create a society of multiracial opportunity and tolerance. Gone, too, is Martin Luther Kings dream of a color-blind society.

This imputation of collective white guilt is diametrically opposed to the most basic concepts of Western jurisprudence and moral responsibility, where each person is responsible for his own actions, not for those of his ancestors, cousins, or group. These legal principles track Western ideas about personal moral responsibility. The Woke would replace this achievement with crude ideas about communal responsibility for your race, religion, or ethnicity, for your ancestors and everyone elses, all in hopes of receiving absolution for historic sins you never committed.

It is hard to find a silver lining here, but there is one. This frenzy of self-flagellation is unsustainable. It will fade away. Whats uncertain is how long that will take and how much wreckage it will leave. How long will parents stand for teachers who indoctrinate their children to hate the hard-earned achievements of their own middle-class parents and grandparents? How long will Americans stand for policies that measure fair treatment not by unbiased procedures but by appropriate outcomes, measured solely by racial percentages?

Progressive leaders must know their time is limited because they are moving swiftly to push their anti-racism agenda through Congress. If adopted, their program would constitute the largest expansion of central government in half-a-century and complete a fundamental transformation of Americas 20th century political structure, begun under Franklin Delano Roosevelt and extended by Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Barack Obama.

The Woke have convinced themselves that backing this agenda is the road to redemption. In fact, it would lock-in racial divisions, pit group against group, and destroy hopes of a common American future. The penitents, whipping themselves raw and begging forgiveness, are seeking salvation from Washington and City Hall, from propagandists and political hustlers. They are looking in the wrong place.
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden's premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power.

FILE - People sit at the base of a transmission tower in North Arlington, N.J., Tuesday, April 6, 2021. The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability. Biden is scheduled to meet Monday, April 12, 2021 with Republican and Democratic lawmakers and can deploy the figures to show that his plan would help meet the needs of their constituents. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden's premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power.

Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not "window dressing." One of the core disputes is over what counts as infrastructure in his $2.3 trillion proposal.

"Im prepared to negotiate as to the extent of my infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it," Biden said. "Its going to get down to what we call infrastructure.'"

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi indicated after the meeting that he was willing to negotiate with Biden and called it a "good discussion." But a more fundamental disagreement also emerged about whether the United States is losing its status atop the global economy because of its deteriorating infrastructure.

"He says that were a declining superpower, the United States is no longer number one," Wicker said afterward. "I just fundamentally disagree with that."

The meeting came as the Bidens team is making a direct argument for lawmakers to put their constituents ahead of their ideologies. The White House released state-by-state breakdowns Monday that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability, among other issues. An appeal to the broader public is unlikely to resonate much with Republican lawmakers who have already blasted the plan.

Among the Republicans at the meeting were Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Reps. Garret Graves of Louisiana and Don Young of Alaska. Democrats attending were Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Sen. Alex Padilla of California and Reps. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey and David Price of North Carolina.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris meet with lawmakers to discuss the American Jobs Plan in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 12, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In the room, "nobody said we didnt need infrastructure investment," Cantwell, the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said in an interview.

The lawmakers said Biden will seek to drive a consensus by having his team revisit with them and others, as soon as Tuesday.

Graves said the president talked about how he was open to discussion and open to negotiation on the size, scope and definition of infrastructure.

"Those are all the exact words that I wanted to hear going into the meeting. And so that was really encouraging," Graves, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told The Associated Press. "Is this truly going to be a two-way discussion where we talk about better ways to deliver infrastructure, what the appropriate size and scope are, ways of funding, things like that?"

The figures in the state summaries paint a decidedly bleak outlook for the world's largest economy after years of repairs being deferred and delayed. They suggest that too much infrastructure is unsafe for vehicles at any speed, while highlighting the costs of extreme weather events that have become more frequent with climate change as well as dead spots for broadband and a dearth of child care options.

Drawn from an array of private and public data, the state reports show there are 7,300 miles (11,748 kilometres) of highway in Michigan alone that are in poor condition. Damaged streets in North Carolina impose an average yearly cost of $500 on motorists. Iowa has 4,571 bridges in need of repair. There is a roughly 4-in-10 chance that a public transit vehicle in Indiana might be ready for the scrap yard. Pennsylvania's schools are short $1.4 billion for maintenance and upgrades.

Most states received a letter grade on their infrastructure. West Virginia earned a D. So did Biden's home state of Delaware. Of the states rated, the highest grade went to Georgia and Utah, which each notched a C-plus. The lowest grade, D-minus, went to the territory of Puerto Rico.

The administration is banking that the data will confirm the everyday experiences of Americans as they bump over potholes, get trapped in traffic jams and wait for buses that almost never correspond to published schedules. There is already a receptive audience to the sales pitch, and the strategy is that public support can overcome any congressional misgivings.

"We dont have a lot of work to do to persuade the American people that U.S. infrastructure needs major improvement," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Fox News Channel's "Fox News Sunday" ahead of the reports' release. "The American people already know it."

Republican lawmakers have been quick to reject the infrastructure proposal from Biden. They say just a fraction of the spending goes to traditional infrastructure, as $400 billion would expand Medicaid support for caregivers and substantial portions would fund electric vehicle charging stations and address the racial injustice of highways that were built in ways that destroyed Black neighbourhoods.

The reports give some data to back up their argument that more money should be spent on roads and bridges. Biden's plan would modernize 20,000 miles (32,187 kilometres) worth of roadways, but California by itself has 14,220 miles (22,885 kilometres) of highway in poor condition.

Republican lawmakers also object to funding the package by increasing the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and increasing the global minimum tax, among other tax changes including stepped-up IRS enforcement being proposed by the Biden administration.

"This plan would impose the biggest tax hikes in a generation when workers need an economic recovery. It would gut right-to-work protections for blue-collar workers," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Monday floor speech. "It would throw hundreds of billions at the far-lefts green fads."

Yet the state-by-state reports make clear that many of the people in Mississippi that Wicker represents could benefit from the package, an aspect of the Biden effort to engender the backing of voters across party lines.

Mississippi needs $4.8 billion for drinking water and $289 million for schools. Nearly a quarter of households lack an internet subscription, and a similar percentage lives in areas without broadband. Mississippians who use public transportation have to devote an extra 87.7% of their time to commuting.

Mississippi's infrastructure received a grade of D-plus.

Online:

White House's state-by-state infrastructure reports: Fact sheets by state.

AP reporters Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
If we could turn back time  by even a year  the sight of Princes William and Harry walking side by side behind their beloved Grandpa's coffin at his funeral on Saturday would have been both heart-rending and heart-warming.

A nation would remember the day nearly a quarter of a century ago that these once inseparable boys followed in the wake of their mother Diana's coffin  united forever, we thought, in grief and loss and love. An unbreakable bond.

Yet break that bond has. It has been shattered by Harry's swift and unexpected departure from his royal duties to live in the US, and by the incendiary interview he and his wife gave to Oprah Winfrey in California as 'Grandpa' lay gravely ill in hospital.

There is hope now of reconciliation between William and Harry, with many believing that the duke's death will grant them the common ground to rebuild their once rock-solid relationship; that this funeral will bring Diana's once inseparable sons together again, just as she would have wished.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey last month

That as the elder, William should be the bigger man, extend the olive branch and excuse Harry and Meghan for all the pain they have caused the Royal Family by publicly branding at least one of them as racist in the interview with Oprah.

There are those who feel William should even find it in himself to forgive Harry, to move on, to forget all the wild, unfounded accusations levelled at him, his wife and the rest of the Royal Family.

As a Christian who believes in the sanctity of forgiveness as the cornerstone of our faith, I would dearly love that to happen.

Yet if I were William  who, let's not forget will one day become the Supreme Governor of the Church of England  I would have to ask myself: Can I really find it in myself to forgive Harry's betrayal? Are some wounds just too deep?

Harry knew exactly what he was doing when he and Meghan secretly plotted to leave the UK just months after their wedding, demanding a new deal from the Queen to reduce their royal duties yet keep the privileges and titles and personal protection.

All while pursuing a multi-millionaire celebrity lifestyle in California and living in the pocket of Netflix.

Yes, the same company which produced the hit TV series The Crown  a fantastic and often cruel representation of the royals, portraying the Queen as cold and out-of-touch and Prince Philip as a blundering buffoon.

Harry knew he would be badly letting down his brother William  also father to a young family  increasing not just his burden of duty but also the sheer amount of public engagements he would have to carry out in Harry's absence.

He knew he was breaking that bond with his brother, yet he did it anyway. For, as Harry said in that interview, it was his new family  not the Royal Family  that now came first.

Yet, like his grandfather and grandmother, William never complained, never explained.

Only once has he publicly defended his family from Meghan's accusations, in an uncharacteristic and clearly furious response to a journalist who asked if her claims were true.

Prince William and Prince Harry attending the European premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi at the Royal Albert Hall in 2017

Through gritted teeth he replied: The Royal Family is 'very much not racist'.

Harry must have known that what his wife was to tell the world in that interview would make the Royal Family look cold, remote and unwelcoming.

As we saw, Harry was utterly complicit in his walk-on role  especially when it came to the as yet unspecified claims of racism.

Perhaps even more unforgivable is that Harry allowed his wife to traduce his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, on more than one occasion.

Those of us who have come to love and admire our future queen were furious. Imagine how betrayed her husband must have felt! Harry had committed an unpardonable sin allowing Kate to be attacked.

For, make no mistake, there is seldom any forgiveness between brothers when the sisters-in-law fall out.

Naturally, both men are utterly protective of their wives.

One can only imagine how upset Kate would have been when Meghan claimed in front of around 50million viewers worldwide that she had not made her cry at a fitting for her bridesmaid dress in 2018  that it was Kate who had made her cry.

Meghan also claimed that she was suicidal when she was five months pregnant with son Archie and that the royals refused to make Archie a prince.

She claimed to have repeatedly asked the palace for advice, only to be ignored.

Prince Philip, Prince William, Charles Spencer, Prince Harry and Prince Charles, walk during the funeral service for Princess Diana

The Queen was characteriscally chilly in her response, stating famously that 'some recollections may vary'.

But the House of Windsor has been left reeling and there is no doubt that the interview created deep anger and anxiety at a time when the family were preparing to say their final goodbyes to Prince Philip.

What sorrow Harry and Meghan's words must have brought the Queen as her lifelong partner, her rock, was seriously ill in hospital.

And what brother could forgive another who justified his actions by saying that if Grandpa died they would postpone the interview? Not cancel. Simply delay! As it happened, the Duke did return home from hospital for a few weeks to die beside his beloved Lilibet.

Had Diana lived, perhaps she would have knocked some sense into Harry's head, befriended Meghan, smoothed the path of conciliation between her two once inseparable sons.

Would she have seen the early warning signs, as women often do, and brokered peace before this modern day War of the Waleses had even began?

I feel great sadness for William and Kate now as they plan for Prince Philip's funeral. To them he was a man they revered and loved, and they have pledged their life to serve in his honourable footsteps.

On top of all that, they will have to greet and smile at the brother who, with his wife, turned his back on that path and caused them so much pain.

Funerals are supposed to bring families together but, as many of us know, they can often rip them apart. Such sadness exacerbates pains inflicted, imagined or real.

Emotions are heightened; we cling to those we know we can trust. And for William and Kate, they are most unlikely to trust the man who allowed the contents of one of their recent conversations to be shared with America via TV anchor Gayle King.

Yet, still, I feel sorry for Harry, walking alone on that final march, knowing what damage he has inflicted  not just on his brother, but on the Queen and grandfather he adored and grieves for.

The boys may walk side by side on Saturday  just as they did with the Duke of Edinburgh, their father and uncle, all those years ago at their mother's funeral. But I fear now that their hearts might as well be a million miles apart.

Meghan's friends revealed this week that she and her husband were 'ready to forgive' the Royal Family for their treatment of her.

Sadly, I fear it will be many, many years  if ever  before William or Kate can forgive them.
The authorities said this decision was taken out of an abundance of caution while investigations are ongoing

( ) said it is delaying the European rollout of its COVID-19 vaccine after it was suspended in the US over concerns of blood clots.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said this decision was taken out of an abundance of caution while investigations are ongoing.

This is important, in part, to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan for proper recognition and management due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot, a statement read.

Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously.

As of April 12, 6.8mln people had received the single-dose jab with six people experiencing a rare and severe type of blood clot.

These were all women between the ages of 18 and 48 and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

"We have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe," the pharma giant said on Tuesday.

"We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public."

Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered, the US authorities said.

Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots but administration of heparin may be dangerous in this setting, so the patients had to receive alternative treatment.

The CDC and FDA added that people who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

Shares shed 3% to US$156.82 just before open.

--Adds J&J's statement--
According to information published by Naval Group on April 13, 2021, the second Argentinian offshore patrol vessel, OPV 87 A.R.A. Piedrabuena, was delivered to the Argentine Navy in the presence of Captain Victor Ortiz, representative of the Argentinian Navy in France.

According to information published by Naval Group on April 13, 2021, the second Argentinian offshore patrol vessel, OPV 87 A.R.A. Piedrabuena, was delivered to the Argentine Navy in the presence of Captain Victor Ortiz, representative of the Argentinian Navy in France.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Offshore Patrol Vessel ARA Piedrabuena P-52 (Picture source: Naval Group)

A.R.A. Piedrabuena has been delivered to the Argentine Navy today in the presence of Captain Victor Ortiz, representative of the Navy in France, who also recognised Commander Gaston Vega in his assumption of command.

This delivery is part of the contract signed by Naval Group with Argentina in 2018 for the delivery of four multi-mission patrol vessels. A.R.A. Bouchard (former LAdroit) was delivered last December, two months ahead of schedule. With the delivery of the A.R.A. Piedrabuena, the first of the three new patrol vessels built for Argentina, the program keeps progressing as scheduled and will continue at a pace of one delivery every six months.

The 44-people crew from the Argentinian Navy has been trained in the operation and maintenance of the vessel by teams from Naval Group and Kership, a joint-venture between Piriou and Naval Group.

This second patrol vessel of the series acquired by the Argentine Navy, which is of new construction, offers the same assets and features as those of the first one, the A.R.A. Bouchard. Some of her features have been reinforced to meet the Navy's needs. Better armed and motorised, equipped with an active stabilisation system and a bow thruster, it is also Ice proven, i.e. adapted to navigation in the cold waters of Antarctica.

OPV 87, an innovative vessel

The Argentinean offshore patrol vessels benefit from innovations developed by Naval Group and proven by the French Navy, which has operated LAdroit in several oceans for six years:

 Very high endurance and excellent sea-worthiness;

 A 360 visibility from the bridge and a unique mast for a panoramic radar coverage;

 The discrete and safe implementation in less than five minutes of fast crafts for Special

Forces thanks to an ingenious ramp system at the bow of the patroller;

This range of ships also benefits from Naval Group's expertise in information and command systems, allowing for extensive surveillance of the maritime space and the detection of suspicious behaviours. The A.R.A Piedrabuena is equipped with the POLARIS system and NiDL tactical data link system, specifically developed by Naval Group for state missions at sea and sea-proven by the French Navy.

Technical features

The Offshore Patrol Vessel is able to stay on high seas during more than three weeks, to reach a speed of 20 knots and to accommodate a helicopter. Implemented by a reduced crew of 40 members, it is also able to accommodate about twenty extra passengers.

 Length: 87 meters

 Beam: 14 meters

 Displacement: 1,650 tons

 Max. speed: over 20 knots

 Accommodation: 59 (crew and passengers)

 Endurance: > 7,000 nautical miles

 Boarding capacity: two light crafts of 9 meters and one 10 ton class helicopter
Yolanda Jameson, BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital's General Counsel and Senior Leadership Team member "I am privileged to have a true seat at the table at BluePearl and honored to be named Top Corporate Counsel Honoree 2021," said Yolanda Jameson.

BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital's General Counsel and Senior Leadership Team member, Yolanda Jameson, has been named Top Corporate Counsel Honoree 2021 by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Top Corporate Counsel honorees come from all organizational categories, including public and private companies, government, and nonprofit, and are selected based on their exemplary leadership and commitment to high ethical standards.

As BluePearls first in-house General Counsel, Yolanda built the organization's legal function from the ground up. Over the past five years, Yolanda and her team have created a variety of processes to remove significant administrative burdens from BluePearl hospitals so they can focus on what is most important: caring for sick and injured pets. As part of BluePearls Senior Leadership Team, Yolanda has been instrumental in helping the business grow, leading the execution and navigating the acquisition process of more than a dozen practices in 2020 alone.

"I am privileged to have a true seat at the table at BluePearl and honored to be named Top Corporate Counsel Honoree 2021. As a member of BluePearl's Senior Leadership Team, I contribute to overall strategies and goals for the company, as well as setting priorities for my own department," explained Yolanda. "Because the company has grown quickly, I led the way to establish foundational business processes, such as storage of our historical corporate and acquisition documents and handoffs between departments post-acquisition. My service-oriented approach colors everything I do, and I take pride in being a go-to resource for other departments."

Yolanda's role during acquisitions is much larger than wrangling documents; she is involved in every aspect of the deal, from LOI through integration. In 2020, Yolanda also led a capital structure-related project, which involved working with a number of professionals across Mars accounting, tax, and treasury teams. In addition, throughout the pandemic, she worked collaboratively with the Mars Veterinary Health legal team and BluePearl's Safety Team and served as a liaison to the Senior Leadership Team to ensure hospitals could, from a regulatory standpoint, continued to provide critical services to the public while prioritizing Associate safety.

"COVID-19 has been a huge challenge for everyone, particularly the health care and retail sectors. It has been an enormous undertaking for us at BluePearl, and one that accelerated relationships and collaboration across the Mars Veterinary Health legal team," said Yolanda. Our legal team is working with federal regulatory agencies, and reviewing orders from more than 30 state governments, and dozens of localities to ensure compliance with COVID-19 safety mandates. Our business shifted our operations entirely, implementing telemedicine capabilities and a curbside model, and I advised our leadership team throughout that process. Im incredibly proud that through those efforts, we were able to keep all of our hospitals open during the pandemic and continue to provide care for sick and injured pets."

This years' 20 Top Corporate Counsel Honorees will be recognized on the Tampa Bay Business Journal website, in print and in the Tampa Bay Business Journals Corporate Counsel special edition on May 7, 2021. The award ceremony will be held virtually on May 5, 2021, at 11 am and broadcasted to the local Tampa Bay Business community.

About BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital

Founded in 1996, BluePearl is one of the largest specialty and emergency veterinary practices in the U.S. today. BluePearl has more than 100 hospitals in 29 states that together employ +7,000 Associates, including 1,330+ veterinarians, 1,600+ veterinary technicians, and 4,100+ other professionals. Each year, our compassionate teams provide high-quality care for more than 1.1 million pets and their families. BluePearl clinicians also participate in clinical studies to discover new treatments and procedures that improve pet health. As part of the Mars Veterinary Health family of brands, BluePearl is committed to its purpose  A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS  because pets make a better world for us. Learn more at https://BluePearlVet.com.
Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Talon Metals Corp. (TSX: TLO) ("Talon" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the Tamarack Nickel-Copper-Cobalt Project ("Tamarack Nickel Project"), located in Minnesota, USA. The Tamarack Nickel Project comprises the Tamarack North Project and the Tamarack South Project.





Figure 1: Portion of Drill Hole 20TK0277 representing 39 meters (128 feet) of semi-massive sulphide mineralization grading 3.12% Ni, 1.60% Cu, 0.08% Co, 0.13 g/t Pd, 0.21 g/t Pt and 0.17 g/t Au (3.94% NiEq or 10.51% CuEq) starting at 346 meters



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/80206_884128260406fbbc_001full.jpg

HIGHLIGHTS

Drill hole 20TK0277 intersected 138.18 meters (453.35 feet) grading 1.66% Ni , 1.02% Cu (2.26% NiEq 1 or 6.03% CuEq 2 ) starting at 317.5 meters.

Within this 138.18 meter interval, the Company intersected: 82.5 meters (270.7 feet) grading 2.10% Ni , 1.16% Cu (2.7% NiEq or 7.2% CuEq) starting at 317.5 meters; Including 39 meters (128.0 feet) grading 3.12% Ni , 1.60% Cu (3.94% NiEq or 10.51% CuEq) starting at 346 meters (see Figure 1); An additional lower zone of 54.18 meters (177.8 feet) grading 1.02% Ni , 0.85% Cu (1.64% NiEq or 4.39% CuEq) starting at 401.5 meters.

This drill hole was a 25 meter step out into an undrilled area in the northern portion of the Tamarack Nickel Project's current resource area.

___________

1 Where used in this news release NiEq% = Ni%+ Cu% x $3.00/$8.00 + Co% x $12.00/$8.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$8.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$8.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$8.00/22.04

2 Where used in this news release CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $8.00/$3.00 + Co% x $12.00/$3.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$3.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$3.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$3.00/22.0

Table 1: Assay Results from Drill Hole 20TK0277

Drill Hole From To Length Results # (m) (m) (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) NiEq

(%) CuEq

(%) 20TK0277 317.5 455.68 138.18 1.66 1.02 0.04 0.21 0.36 0.21 2.26 6.03 Including 317.5 400 82.5 2.10 1.16 0.06 0.11 0.18 0.14 2.70 7.20 Including 346 385 39.0 3.12 1.60 0.08 0.13 0.21 0.17 3.94 10.51 Including 401.5 455.68 54.18 1.02 0.85 0.02 0.36 0.65 0.31 1.64 4.39

Length refers to drill hole length and not True Width.

True Width is unknown at the time of publication.

All samples were analysed by ALS Minerals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt grades were first analysed by a 4-acid digestion and ICP AES (ME-MS61). Grades reporting greater than 0.25% Ni and/or 0.1% Cu, using ME-MS61, trigger a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish (ICP81). Platinum, palladium and gold are initially analyzed by a 50g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish (PGM-MS24). Any samples reporting >1g/t Pt or Pd trigger an over-limit analysis by ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP27) and any samples reporting >1g/t Au trigger an over-limit analysis by AAS (Au-AA26).

NiEq% = Ni%+ Cu% x $3.00/$8.00 + Co% x $12.00/$8.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$8.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$8.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$8.00/22.04

CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $8.00/$3.00 + Co% x $12.00/$3.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$3.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$3.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$3.00/22.0

No adjustments were made for recovery or payability.

"The story with drill hole 20TK0277 is really about higher than expected grades and length," said Brian Goldner, Vice President of Exploration for Talon. "Based upon historical drilling, we were expecting grades of between 1.2% and 1.8% nickel, but instead intersected grades above 3% nickel in the higher grade core portion of the drill hole. Additionally, we were not expecting to hit mineralization in the lower portion of the semi-massive sulphide unit starting at about 400 meters (referred to below as the Lower SMSU)."

Brian Goldner added: "All told, this single drill hole is expected to have a significant impact on the Tamarack Nickel Project, as it is expected to increase the grade and length of the semi-massive sulphide unit, which could ultimately translate into improved economics for the Tamarack Nickel Project. Going forward, we plan to follow-up this drill hole with further drilling to the east to see just how much larger the semi-massive sulphide unit can get. A drill rig has already been mobilized to this area, as this has become another priority for us."

SUMMARY

Talon is pleased to announce the results from its recent intersection of semi-massive and disseminated sulphide mineralization in drill hole 20TK0277 at the Tamarack Nickel Project.

The initial purpose of drill hole 20TK0277 was to grow the Tamarack Nickel Project's current resource towards the north, while aiming to reduce the timeline to production (see press release from February 9, 2021) by drilling an open area (25 meters east of historical drill hole 08TK0089) within the upper portion of the semi-massive sulphide unit (the "Upper SMSU") (see Figure 3). While the Company was targeting mineralization in the Upper SMSU, the Company did not expect to intersect mineralization within the lower portion of the semi-massive sulphide unit, which starts at approximately 401.5 meters (the "Lower SMSU") (see Figure 3).

In the Company's previous press release dated February 9, 2021, the Company reported intersecting 110.65 (363 feet) meters of nickel-copper mineralization. However, as a positive development, the assays actually resulted in 27.53 meters (90.32 feet) more of nickel-copper mineralization than expected , with a total of 138.18 meters (453.35 feet) of semi-massive and disseminated sulphide mineralization grading 1.66% Ni, 1.02% Cu, 0.04% Co, 0.21 g/t Pd, 0.36 g/t Pt and 0.21 g/t Au (2.26% NiEq or 6.03% CuEq) starting at 317.5 meters. This positive differential in length of mineralization can be attributed to the Company's initial visual estimation of sulphides as compared to the actual assay results, which more precisely indicate how much metal is in the rock.

The results from this drill hole increase the length of mineralization within the Upper SMSU towards the east of the current resource, as well as the higher-grade core within the Upper SMSU. These results also expand of the Lower SMSU by approximately 30 meters to the north.

In summary, this drill hole, which was initially designed to increase confidence in the resource with the aim of advancing the project towards production, is now expected to add significant tonnage and grade to the Lower SMSU and Upper SMSU. The results from this drill hole will also necessitate follow-up drilling to the east so the Company can assess just how much larger the semi-massive sulphide unit can get.







Figure 2: Plan view of the Tamarack Nickel Project's resource area showing the location of new drill hole 20TK00277 within the SMSU

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/80206_884128260406fbbc_002full.jpg





Figure 3: Cross-section (25 meters thick) looking north showing the location of drill hole 20TK0277 relative to drill hole 08TK0089, within the Semi-Massive Sulphide Unit (SMSU)

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2443/80206_884128260406fbbc_003full.jpg





QUALITY ASSURANCE, QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALIFIED PERSONS

Please see the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) #3 of the Tamarack North Project - Tamarack, Minnesota" with an effective date of January 8, 2021 prepared by independent "Qualified Persons" (as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Leslie Correia (Pr. Eng), Andre-Francois Gravel (P. Eng.), Tim Fletcher (P. Eng.), Daniel Gagnon (P. Eng.), David Ritchie (P. Eng.), Oliver Peters (P. Eng.), Volodymyr Liskovych (P.Eng.), Andrea Martin (P. E.) and Brian Thomas (P. Geo.) for information on the QA/QC, analytical and testing procedures at the Tamarack Project. Copies are available on the Company's website (www.talonmetals.com) or on SEDAR at (www.sedar.com). The laboratory used is ALS Minerals who is independent of the Company.

Lengths are drill intersections and not necessarily true widths. True widths cannot be consistently calculated for comparison purposes between holes because of the irregular shapes of the mineralized zones. Drill intersections have been independently selected by Talon. Drill composites have been independently calculated by Talon. The geological interpretations in this news release are solely those of the Company.

The locations and distances highlighted on all maps in this news release are approximate.

Dr. Etienne Dinel, Vice President, Geology of Talon, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Dr. Dinel is satisfied that the analytical and testing procedures used are standard industry operating procedures and methodologies, and he has reviewed, approved and verified the technical information disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the technical information.

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 Company'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 Company 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 Company based on information currently available to the Company. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to the timing and results of the exploration program, including assay results, grades, geophysical results and potential, and drilling plans; statements relating to the impact of drill hole 20TK0277 on the Tamarack Project, including the expected increase to the grade, tonnage and length of the semi-massive sulphide unit and higher economics for the Tamarack Nickel Project. 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 Company.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company 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.

Table 2: Assay Results from Drill Hole 08TK0089

Drill Hole From To Length Results # (m) (m) (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pd (g/t) Pt (g/t) Au (g/t) NiEq (%) CuEq (%) 08TK0089 326.00 409.50 83.5 2.77 1.45 0.07 0.14 0.19 0.13 3.50 9.35 including 353.15 404.00 50.85 3.80 1.89 0.09 0.16 0.22 0.14 4.75 12.66 and 412.50 483.00 70.5 2.13 1.16 0.05 0.36 0.56 0.26 2.88 7.69

Length refers to drill hole length and not True Width.

True Width is unknown at the time of publication.

All samples were analysed by ALS Minerals. Nickel, copper, and cobalt grades were first analysed by a 4-acid digestion and ICP AES (ME-MS61). Grades reporting greater than 0.25% Ni and/or 0.1% Cu, using ME-MS61, trigger a sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES finish (ICP81). Platinum, palladium and gold are initially analyzed by a 50g fire assay with an ICP-MS finish (PGM-MS24). Any samples reporting >1g/t Pt or Pd trigger an over-limit analysis by ICP-AES finish (PGM-ICP27) and any samples reporting >1g/t Au trigger an over-limit analysis by AAS (Au-AA26).

NiEq% = Ni%+ Cu% x $3.00/$8.00 + Co% x $12.00/$8.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$8.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$8.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$8.00/22.04

CuEq% = Cu%+ Ni% x $8.00/$3.00 + Co% x $12.00/$3.00 + Pt [g/t]/31.103 x $1,300/$3.00/22.04 + Pd [g/t]/31.103 x $700/$3.00/22.04 + Au [g/t]/31.103 x $1,200/$3.00/22.0

No adjustments were made for recovery or payability.

Table 3: Collar Locations of Drill Holes Referred to in this Press Release

Tamarack Resource Area HOLEID Easting (m) Northing (m) Elevation (masl) Azm Dip End Depth (m) 20TK0277 490846.4 5168866.3 388.9 237.3 -75.6 603.7 08TK0089 490840.0 5168865.0 389.0 231.8 -80.9 505.7

Collar coordinates are UTM Zone 15N, NAD83.

Azimuths and dips are taken from survey record at collar unless otherwise noted

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80206
There was chaos in the garden. People started running to save their lives. Many people jumped into the well (known as Martyr Well) in the garden. More than 200 bodies were recovered from the well after the firing.
A 24-year-old South Jersey man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Tuesday for producing and sharing images showing child sexual abuse.

Andrew Nicholas, of Williamstown in Gloucester County, previously pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of sexually exploiting children and a count of distributing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey.

The investigation began in February 2019 when an undercover officer entered a public Kik Messenger social media group and began communicating with Nicholas.

Nicholas sent the officer images and videos of child sex abuse involving a prepubescent minor, prosecutors alleged. The defendant admitted to producing that material and sending it to the undercover investigator.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler ordered that Nicholas must pay $45,000 in restitution to his victims, must register as a sex offender and is subject to supervised release for the rest of his life once he leaves prison.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
A special clap was held for Ashley Cain's baby daughter Azaylia on Tuesday night.

And celebrities like Abbey Clancy, Marnie Simpson and Mrs Hinch led the stars in taking part in the clap, which celebrated the Ex On The Beach star's eight-month-old daughter amid her leukaemia battle.

Ashley, 30, and his partner Sofiyya Vorajee were moved as strangers and celebrities showed their support for their little tot in the same way the public have done for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis.

Support: Abbey Clancy, Chloe Goodman, and Mrs Hinch led the stars taking part in clap for Ashley Cain's baby daughter Azaylia (pictured with mum Safiyya) amid her leukaemia battle

Abbey was joined by her husband Peter Crouch alongside three of their children, and in her video Abbey wrote '#GoChamp'.

While the model did not show herself in the video, their children Sophia, ten, and Liberty, five, were seen excitedly clapping for Azaylia

Marnie, meanwhile, shared a video with fiance Casey Johnson and their son Rox clapping on their doorstep.

Abbey was joined by her husband Peter Crouch alongside three of their children, and in her video Abbey wrote '#GoChamp'

Sweet: Their children Sophia (L) and Liberty (R) were seen excitedly clapping for Azaylia

In a poignant caption, she wrote: 'We all love you azaylia, I feel like we all know you from following your journey since the very beginning and not a single day goes by that we as a family dont think of you and pray for a miracle, your so special and beautiful and a true warrior.

'You taught us all so much & learned us all to see what is truly important in life,Your the strongest, happiest and bravest little girl I have ever seen.

'Ive always believed in angels and you azaylia are a true angel we love you, were with you every step of the way, and tonight we clap for you and honour you for being the most amazing inspiration you are.'

Doing their part: Marnie Simpson was joined by her partner Codie and their son Rox, and the video she shared saw them clap together and she wrote: 'we all love you Azaylia'

Let's go champ: Mrs Hinch, meanwhile, posted a photo from her front door and wrote over the snap: 'Azaylia. We are all behind you'

Mrs Hinch posted a photo from her front door and wrote over the snap: 'Azaylia. We are all behind you.'

Chloe Goodman, meanwhile, shared a video which saw her clap alongside her daughter Isla outside their front door.

Stacey Solomon was unable to get home in time to take part in the clap, but she shared a picture of Ashley with Azaylia, and wrote: 'I've seen lots of you clapping for beautiful Azaylia tonight.

'It's just the most unimaginable, heartbreaking thing that I've seen and experienced with too many precious families. It's just so unfair and cruel.'

Joining in: Chloe, meanwhile, shared a video which saw her clap alongside her daughter Isla outside their front doo

Touching: Stacey Solomon was unable to get home in time to take part, but she shared a picture of Ashley with Azaylia, and wrote: 'It's just the most unimaginable, heartbreaking thing'

Safiyya took to Instagram to share a video after the clap, showing how many people had come out to clap for Azaylia.

She told her followers: 'We've just done our 7 O'clock clap and wow our street was so loud wasn't it?'

'You were singing really loud weren't ya? Wow! Everyone's come out, yea they have all for you baby girl, I love you.'

After they returned home, Safiyya went on: 'Wow here's the champ, everyone's still been singing for you, yea. Let's go champ, let's go!'

Grateful: Safiyya took to Instagram to share a video after the clap, showing how many people had come out to clap for Azaylia

'All for you': Safiyya added, 'You were singing really loud weren't ya? Wow! Everyone's come out, yea they have all for you baby girl, I love you'

Ashley also shared a post shortly before the clap was set to take place, as he gushed over being able to take his daughter for a walk outside for the first time.

In a touching post, he wrote: 'Today was the first time in the 8 months of Fatherhood that Ive had the chance to walk down the street with my baby in my arms.

'No hospital, no isolation, no pram with a protective cover... Just me, and my baby, doing what a daddy and daughter should be able to do.

'When I say this to you all I really mean it... Appreciate what you have, cherish every single moment and always be the best you that you can be for the ones you love.'

Staying positive: Ashley also shared a post shortly before the clap was set to take place, as he gushed over being able to take his daughter for a walk outside for the first time

He added: 'I have been told today, there is an official doorstep clap thats been organised for azaylia tonight at 7pm.

'To this day, I am still amazed and overwhelmed at the amount of love and support for my beautiful daughter, and I am grateful for everyone who has arranged and will be taking part in tonights clap, to show support for Azaylia and her journey.

'Despite whats going on, I truly feel blessed that I get to spend these days with the best thing that ever happened to me. They will stay with me in my heart forever!'

Moving: Ashley wrote in the caption, 'Appreciate what you have, cherish every single moment and always be the best you that you can be for the ones you love'

Earlier in the day, Ashley revealed Azaylia had been rushed back to hospital after she began crying blood and in urgent need of a transfusion.

Taking to Instagram, her mum Safiyya shared a video from within the hospital during which Ashley, 30, cradled the eight-month-old while she slept.

Proving herself to be incredibly strong, Safiyya said to the camera: 'We've just gone back into hospital to get Azaylia another platelet transfusion because last night the tears started having blood in them, so we needed more platelets'.

She also shared an image of Azaylia's leg with a deep purple bruise as a result of the disruption of the body's platelet production, which causes bleeding under the skin.

Heartache: Earlier in the day, Ashley revealed Azaylia had been rushed back to hospital after she began crying blood and in urgent need of a transfusion

People with leukaemia are more likely to bruise due to the fact their bodies don't create enough platelets to plug bleeding blood vessels.

Leukaemia bruises look like any other kind of bruise, but there are usually more of them than normal. Additionally, they may show up on unusual areas of the body.

Ashley cradled Azaylia in the heartbreaking clip, while they stood in the brightly-coloured hospital room and Safiyya held the camera and spoke.

Bleeding: Safiyya also shared an image of Azaylia's leg with a deep purple bruise as a result of the disruption of the body's platelet production, which causes bleeding under the skin

Reaching out: Proving herself to be incredibly strong, Safiyya said to the camera: 'We've just gone back into hospital to get Azaylia another platelet transfusion because last night the tears started having blood in them, so we needed more platelets'

Pain: Ashley cradled Azaylia in the heartbreaking clip, while they stood in the brightly-coloured hospital room and Safiyya held the camera and spoke

It comes after Safiyya revealed she has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukaemia.

Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the tot.

After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot.

Ashley later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'.

The couple have been chronicling Azalyia's health woes on social media since she was diagnosed with leukaemia at just two months and has garnered worldwide support, including from Dwayne Johnson.

Hold on: The group stood together in the heartbreaking scenes

Heartbreak: It comes after Safiyya revealed she has planned a tattoo tribute to her daughter Azaylia, as the tot continues her fight against leukaemia

In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe.

On her tattoo, she said: 'We did more castings yesterday to get some necklaces and some hand prints and foot prints...

'I started stressing in case I dropped it but the lady was so good and gave me a print that I can get as a tattoo so she'll always be with me and so close. So I decided to get the prints done and a tattoo of her hands and feet.'

On their trip to hospital and her transfusion the previous day, she said: 'Azaylia was experiencing loads of nosebleeds due to the platelets in the body not being able to clot the blood so we went to hospital...

Heartbreak: Taking to Instagram on Monday evening, the aesthetic practitioner, 34, shared heartbreaking videos chronicling the family's tough evening before, after they demanded doctors carry out a platelet transfusion on the eight-month-old

Let's go: Ashley later shared another post showing his daughter sleeping and wrote alongside: 'We fight and we pray for another day #letsgochamp'

'She's so beautiful': After having casts made of their daughter's feet over the weekend, Safiyya revealed they had another cast-making session, during which she was given the imprints of Azaylia's feet in preparation for a tattoo tribute to the tot

'Unfortunately over the night she's still experiencing the bleeding. Just spoken to the community nurse and they're coming to check. Anything you're experiencing with your child, you know your child best. We thought it was right to get the transfusion...

'The NHS and the service they provide is amazing. Every morning I wake up is a blessing and I just feel so lucky to hold her there and for her to smile and to sing to and all our Jungle Book themed tunes...

'The amount of times we sing you wouldn't even know. You don't know how much I love her and it's absolutely heartbreaking and this feels like torture it's so hard and the support you've given us is amazing...

Pained: In the same video in which she discussed her tattoo, Safiyya branded her daughter's pain 'torture' to look upon and then posted a video while singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's 1998 hit When You Believe

'It's so hard and painful but I'm gonna make every day as special and fun as possible for her. Make the most of everyday because tomorrow isn't promised to anyone.'

She then shared a video of Ashley's sister Alissia dancing with Azaylia and another showing them snapping selfies together.

Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body.

The couple recently raised more than 1.5m to fund a trip to Singapore for life-saving transplant, but she was being treated in the UK during the interim.

Heartache: Last week, doctors revealed there was no further treatment available amid her leukaemia battle following the discovery of multiple tumours in her body

He later revealed that Azaylia can no longer fly to Singapore for treatment after discovering the tumours, and vowed to make her final days 'as fun as they can'.

Ashley penned a detailed account of Azaylia's health battle on his GoFundMe page and said that any extra funds the couple receive will be donated to other families in a similar situation to them.

According to the NHS, it is a 'highly complex and potentially risky treatment' but has been shown in trials to cure some patients when other treatments have failed.

Sweetheart: Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer

Ashley said he has spent the first eight months of fatherhood under Covid-19 restrictions in hospital as his daughter fought the cancer.

Doctors told the TV star and his partner Safiyya that chemotherapy would not be enough to cure Azaylia.

Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body.

And as he faces up to the harrowing prognosis that his adorable child has just days to live, Ashley paid tribute to the brave youngster as he admitted: 'I don't know what I will do without you.'

Pained: Last week, Ashley shared a heartbreaking video revealing he and Safiyya were bringing their little girl home to make her comfortable after learning doctors had found tumours throughout her body

In the video, the doting dad was seen gently splashing the water around Azaylia as she looked up at her dad adoringly while sitting in a small tub on the hospital ward.

Captioning the footage, he wrote: Azaylia's last bath in hospital, before we take her home where she belongs. 

'9 days ago consultants told us my daughter had 1-2 days to live, but thought she may pass that evening. Even with a barbaric disease consuming her blood, tumours in her brain and organs and amounts of pain I cannot imagine...

'She is still battling through 9 days later, with parts of the day with nothing but smiles despite her discomfort.

'This is a testament of this little girls strength and the fight she has possessed all of the way through. She has fought a battle that not many, if any, of us could have endured and she's earned the love and respect of many on the way...

Her love: Over the weekend, Safiyya shared a heartwarming video showing the family eating together, with Azaylia tucking into strawberries while her parents looked on

'The truth is though, I hope and pray that I have earned hers! Even through the hardest and saddest time of my life, she has found a way to make it better...

'She has shined light on the darkest of days and she has opened my heart to amounts of love I couldn't believe possible!...

'The truth is, I don't know what I will do without you. But for now, I find strength in giving you the best of me, and the only me that you deserve!...

'You are in my arms, my thoughts, my prayers and my heart everyday my princess. YOU'RE MY HERO!  DADDY LOVES YOU!'
Renowned author and founder/president of the French organization "Yahad-In Unum", Roman Catholic priest Father Patrick Desbois will become Chief Strategy Officer and Chair of Scientific Council of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center (BYHMC). Dr. Andrej Umansky will become Deputy Head of Academic Council. Fr. Patrick Debois will have assistance offices in Kyiv and Paris, and will work in close cooperation with the Supervisory Board of BYHMC.

Patrick Desbois is well known for his work on the mass shootings which took place in Ukraine and other countries in the region occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. His work shaped the term Holocaust by bullets. In his first book, titled Holocaust by Bullets, published in 2008, he cites hundreds of eye-witness accounts of Nazi crimes against Jews in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, in particular the murder of 1.5 million Jews in Ukraine. The book won the National Jewish Book Award in the United States. Published ten years later, In Broad Daylight, documents the mass killings of Jews in the occupied Soviet Union, through archival material and the testimony of victims neighbors. It demonstrates how these mass-murders followed a template, or script, which included a timetable that was duplicated across numerous locations. Far from being kept secret, the killings were carried out in broad daylight and witnessed by many.

Desbois interest in the Holocaust was inspired by his grandfather, who was deported to a Nazi POW camp in Rawa Ruska in Western Ukraine as a French prisoner of war during World War II. This is where he began his research back in 2002. During this period, Father Desbois searched for the killing sites of Jews and Roma, collected eye-witness testimony to their murder and of other Nazi victims, and researched German and Soviet archival materials. In 2004, he founded Yahad-In Unum which continued his research in Eastern Europe on a much larger scale and is engaged in establishing a dialogue between the Christian and Jewish worlds.

Almost 20 years ago, my team and me began to investigate the Holocaust by Bullets in Ukraine followed by other countries, in each village occupied by the Nazi units. That is why it is a great honor to serve the memory and the dignity of the Jews killed in Kiev and Ukraine with Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center's wonderful team", Father Patrick Desbois commented.

We are happy to welcome the distinguished Holocaust researcher Patrick Debois as the head of the Academic Council of the Memorial Center. Father Debois has dedicated his life to tell the truth about the tragic death of Holocaust victims from bullets in Eastern Europe to the world. His contribution to the preservation of historical memory and the development of dialogue between the Christian and Jewish worlds has been recognized by leading institutions for the study of the Holocaust and noted by many governments and religious leaders around the world. I believe that our joint Holocaust research efforts will help us to save the memory and convey the history of this tragedy to future generations, Natan Sharansky, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center said.

Patrick Desbois was born in 1955 in France. He studied mathematics at the University of Burgundy. In 1978, Father Desbois worked as a math teacher for the French government in Africa. He later worked for Mother Teresa in Calcutta, where he helped set up homes for the dying.

He entered the Grand Seminary of Prado in 1981 and was ordained as a priest in 1986. He earned a master's degree in theology from the Catholic University of Lyon (1986) a master's degree in history from the University Lumiere Lyon 2 (1991). Between 1992 to 1999, Father Patrick Desbois was the Secretary of Jewish Relations for Cardinals Albert Decourtray, Jean Balland and Louis-Marie Bille. He was appointed to the French Conference of Bishops as director of the national service for the Relations with the Jewish community from 1999 to 2016. He serves as advisor to the Vatican on relations with Judaism.

Father Patrick Desbois has been awarded honorary doctorates by many universities in Israel, the United States and Canada. He was awarded the Medal of Valor by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Humanitarian Award by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He received the Legion d'honneur, France's highest honor, for his work documenting the Holocaust. In 2015 Desbois began to document ISIS-crimes committed against the Yazidi people with Yahad-In Unum and interviewed several hundred Yazidi survivors. As the Endowed Professor of the Practice of the Forensic Study of the Holocaust, he teaches since 2016 at the Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Barnaby Joyce has launched an extraordinary attack on Malcolm Turnbull accusing him of living in 'sooky la la land' for complaining he is being 'bullied'.

The former prime minister has repeatedly accused sections of the media of waging a 'vendetta' against him, both while he was in government and now.

Mr Turnbull was dumped as chairman of the NSW Net Zero Emissions and Clean Energy Board last week after backlash to his appointment.

In happier times? Malcolm Turnbull (left) and Barnaby Joyce (right) pictured together when they were the Coalition government's Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister

He blamed the debacle on 'News Corp are thugs and bullies' and the supposed right-wing media 'cracked the whip, as bullies do', and got him ousted.

But Mr Joyce, Turnbull's former deputy PM before he was forced to resign after impregnating his staffer Vikki Campion during an extra-martial affair, was having none of it.

'It is just sooking. It is sooky, sooky, sooky la la land,' told 2GB radio.

'If you don't like it (politics) get out of it. Which, I suppose he did on his own volition, he decided to get out of politics.

'I want to talk about miserable ghosts. He has this quote which was for people who hung around the political field.'

'Malcolm has been a continual commentator and I understand it is a thing in politics people get bitter and twisted about the fact they are no longer prime minister.'

Vikki Campion (left) and Barnaby Joyce, former workmates who now have two children together

Mr Joyce's comments were in part implying he was just as bad as how he portrayed fellow ex-PMs Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott after their defeats.

While prime minister in 2018, Turnbull referred to them as 'miserable, miserable ghosts'.

Mr Turnbull and his former deputy have a long history of bad blood dating back to when they held the top two positions in Australian politics.

The ousted Nationals leader has not forgiven him for sticking the boot in when Mr Joyce was pilloried for the Campion scandal.

Barnaby Joyce has lashed out at his former colleague Malcolm Turnbull, who were the deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister in 2017 and 2018

'Barnaby made a shocking error of judgment in having an affair with a young woman working in his office,' Mr Turnbull said at the time.

He also instituted the so-called 'bonk ban' barring ministers from starting sexual relationships with their staff.

Mr Turnbull is trying to settle old scores in a Senate inquiry into media diversity, where News Corp faced criticism from him and Mr Rudd.

The inquiry is ongoing and was extended until August.
A SAMSUNG PHONE

HELP FOR SMALLER UTILITIES

(TNS)  Wyatt Travnichek was just entering his 20s, but he had a vital job.After residents across eight central Kansas counties headed home for the night, Travnichek would keep watch  virtually  over the utility that supplied them with clean drinking water. As a worker at the Post Rock Rural Water District, headquartered in Ellsworth, he was periodically responsible for monitoring the plant after hours by remotely logging into its computer system. His duties lasted until he resigned in January 2019, the circumstances of which are unclear.Two months later, an unauthorized person gained remote access to the Post Rock system and shut down the facility's cleaning and disinfecting procedures. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors unveiled a grand jury indictment accusing Travnichek, now 22, of tampering with the Post Rock system. The indictment alleges he logged in remotely with the intent of harming the water district."By illegally tampering with a public drinking water system, the defendant threatened the safety and health of an entire community," said Lance Ehrig, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency's criminal investigation division in Kansas. But the Post Rock case isn't a bizarre fluke.In February, the Florida city of Oldsmar, population 15,000, reported a hacker attempted to poison its water supply by remotely accessing its system and changing chemical levels. An employee was able to quickly reverse the hacker's actions, but the incident triggered a new wave of national concern over water security. A growing number of high-profile electronic break-ins and attempted hacks of water systems around the country are exposing the vulnerabilities of one of our most basic services  clean water. As water and other critical infrastructure become more plugged into the Internet, their security shortcomings are drawing more attention from those who fear hackers and others will seize opportunities to wreak havoc.The Board of Public Utilities, a city-owned electric and water utility serving most of Wyandotte County, frequently faces attempted hacks from outside, often coming from Asian countries, said spokesman David Melhaff. "That's kind of widely known among electric utilities," he said.No centralized database of attacks exists, but the Department of Homeland Security responded to 25 water cybersecurity incidents in 2015, according to a 2016 report prepared for the Department of Energy. The true number of attacks is almost certainly higher and growing.Yet even as the cyber threat looms, small water systems like Post Rock face daunting challenges in securing their computers, The Star found. These small utilities often don't have the resources to hire dedicated information technology staff. Employees juggle multiple roles, with cybersecurity just one in a long list of items to check on. And any significant financial investment  including for cybersecurity  may raise the prospect of higher rates."As far as cities having an IT person, I just don't know of any our size," said Bill Shroyer, assistant city administrator in Sabetha, in northern Kansas, and president of the Kansas Rural Water Association. "And if we did have an IT person, they better know how to repair pot holes, fix water leaks, pick up snow and everything else that we do."Kansas is home to nearly 1,000 water systems, ranging from tiny multi-family setups to sprawling metropolitan utilities. Post Rock, created in 1979 by a group of farmers, has grown into one of the largest rural water districts in the state by geographic size. The district serves more than 1,500 customers and can deliver 1.1 million gallons of water a day  all of it drawn from Kanopolis Lake, an artificial lake spread across more than five square miles in Ellsworth County, just west of Salina.The district was one of only four systems in the state with chlorine dioxide and chlorite monitoring breaches in 2019, according to the latest annual report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Chlorine dioxide is used to disinfect water, and chlorite is a byproduct of that process.Travnichek worked for Post Rock for a year  from January 2018 until January 2019. His tampering allegedly took place in March 2019. Travnichek's attorney, a federal public defender, didn't respond to a request for comment."There's a lot of turnover in the people who are operating these systems," said Elmer Ronnebaum, general manager of the Kansas Rural Water Association. On March 27, 2019, Travnichek remotely logged into Post Rock's computer system and "performed activities that shut down processes at the facility which affect the facility's cleaning and disinfecting procedures," according to the indictment.The indictment indicates Travnichek used a Samsung phone "to commit or to facilitate the commission" of the offense. If convicted, he must turn over the phone.While the incident took place more than two years ago, it's become public at a time of heightened anxiety over water security. But almost no details have emerged beyond the indictment, leaving unanswered questions about how, exactly, an ex-employee was able to shut down cleaning and disinfecting at Post Rock's plant. Kayla Errebo, chair of Post Rock's board, declined to comment. None of the board's seven other members responded to requests for comment.Supervisors at the utility also didn't respond to requests for comment. According to the district's website, Post Rock is currently searching for a general manager. Security experts indicated the explanation could be as simple as Post Rock not revoking Travnichek's electronic access after he quit, but the indictment doesn't say."If this is indeed a case with an insider, of course an insider could possess the methods to use that remote access if you don't have good policies," said Marty Edwards, an expert on critical infrastructure at the cybersecurity firm Tenable. "When the individual is terminated, for example, from a job, you want to make sure you remove their credentialed access from these systems."Remote access can be a powerful tool for utility operators, allowing employees to keep an eye on systems as they go about other tasks. For departments stretched thin, the ability to check key data from a phone or laptop can prove invaluable to productivity."Of course, these days with COVID, the ability to work remotely ... is very important. You can't always send personnel to the facility," Edwards said. But remote access is also among the top five security gaps identified in water systems, according to the 2016 report for the Department of Energy. The report, produced by government officials and security consultants, also listed documented procedures and trained staff as shortfalls.The vast number of water systems and their range in size have resulted in a hodgepodge of rules and policies on cybersecurity across the industry. The largest operators may have sophisticated approaches. Melhaff said employees of the Wyandotte County BPU face restrictions for the Internet sites and utility facilities they can access."It's very limited and controlled where people badge in and out," he said. Regulators may struggle to get cybersecurity on the radar of some smaller utilities, however. A 2018 water cybersecurity briefing document from the EPA spells out the challenge, noting that many water utilities, especially small systems, lack the resources for IT and security specialists to help them start a cybersecurity program."Utility personnel may believe that cyber attacks do not present a risk to their systems or feel that they lack the technical capability to improve their cybersecurity," the document says. Mike Keegan, a regulatory analyst at the National Rural Water Association, said the federal government needs to measure what water systems are doing to secure themselves. The government doesn't have a true assessment of what steps utilities are taking, he said.Some of that is already happening. A 2018 federal law requires water systems that serve more than 3,300 people to complete a risk assessment and develop an emergency response plan. The plan must include strategies to improve cybersecurity. Keegan called the assessment a "good exercise" because it gives systems leeway to use their own standards and encourages community involvement in cybersecurity. He warned against a flat federal standard on cybersecurity, saying there are thousands of regulations covering drinking water utilities, and more are coming out all the time."So to think you can just publish a Federal Register regulation and it can be metabolized at the local level is just missing what's happening," Keegan said. "People are busy and they need to know exactly what they need to do in their community." Katie Miller, director of technical services at Kansas Municipal Utilities, a statewide association of city-owned utilities, said there's varying degrees of interest and understanding on cybersecurity issues among utilities. While smaller utilities don't typically have dedicated security staff, the association can walk them through how to get in touch with experts who can help, she said.Her group is also providing cybersecurity curriculum to its members and has held a couple training workshops with plans to hold more. "They've focused on ... like 'What is cybersecurity? What do data breaches look like?'" Miller said. The training, geared toward smaller utilities, focuses on cybersecurity basics, she said and includes a self-assessment component."Once they have that framework," Miller said, "then it allows them to start to potentially prioritize, "OK, what is something manageable we can work toward in strengthening our cybersecurity?"
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Kenzhebek Abishev, who was jailed for being linked to a political movement founded by a fugitive tycoon, has launched a hunger strike after his early release on parole was cancelled at the last moment.

Kazakhstan's International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law said on April 12 that Abishev started the hunger strike the previous day. It published a letter from the activist addressed to President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, urging him to intervene on his behalf.

In his letter, Abishev calls the cancellation of the court's decision to release him on parole in February and the case against him "illegal," adding that his medical conditions -- heart and respiratory problems -- had worsened due to the lack of proper medical treatment in prison.

"There is no sense for me to continue living, consuming food, and treat my illnesses. Do you want to kill me? Then kill me. I am tired of life," Abishev said in his letter to the president.

There have been no official statements regarding Abishev's hunger strike either by the Penitentiary Service or the Prosecutor-General's Office.

On February 1, a court in the southern city of Qapshaghai ruled that Abishev could be released on February 16, more than three years early, for good behavior while in prison, a procedure allowed by Kazakh law.

However, the Almaty regional prosecutor's office appealed the ruling at the very last moment, arguing that the 53-year-old activist's good behavior in custody was not enough for his release since he still had more than three years to serve.

The court then scrapped the move, leaving Abishev in prison.

Abishev was sentenced to seven years in prison in December 2018 after he and two other activists were found guilty of planning a "holy war" because they were spreading the ideas of the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement. His prison term was later cut by eight months.

Abishev, whom Kazakh rights groups have recognized as a political prisoner, pleaded not guilty, calling the case against him politically motivated.

The DVK was founded by Mukhtar Ablyazov, an outspoken critic of the government who has been living in France for several years.

Ablyazov has organized unsanctioned anti-government rallies in Kazakhstan via the Internet in recent years.
Canada had asked Armenia to provide any information that could help prove the use of Canadian technology in the Turkish-made Bayraktar drones, but the Armenian authorities did not provide any information, thus not assisting the Canadian authorities during their investigation of the matter, Yerkir.am reports.

This is noted in a statement issued by the Armenian National Committee, which states that through the efforts of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, this country has canceled permits for the export of military products and technologies to Turkish companies.

The Armenian National Committee has described the Armenian Foreign Ministry's aforesaid stance as very puzzling, saying that it learned about this non-assistance to Canada from an investigation published by the Canadian Foreign Ministry, which literally wrote about it.

As per Yerkir.am, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia certainly had facts that there is Canadian technology in the Bayraktar drones.

Yerkir.am sent a request to the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking to clarify why they did not provide information to assist this investigation which is so important for Armenia's security. As soon as a response is received, it will be presented.
Mumbai, April 13 : Actor Aarya Babbar, who is currently shooting for a music video, met with a bike accident while giving a shot. However, he chose not to let the shoot schedule get delayed.

The doctor suggested him to take a week off work to recover, but he returned on sets as scheduled.

"As actors we need to be extremely professional and that includes working through pain barriers. I am glad that we could shoot as we wanted. So a job well done to the team," Aarya tells IANS.

The video's director Rohit Gangurde is clearly in awe of him. "I was shocked after I saw his injuries, more than the shoot my whole team was worried about his health because it was a major accident. We decided to cancel the shoot. After that, I spoke with Aarya and he suggested waiting till 12pm the next day. The next morning I woke up with a decision of cancelling the shoot, but Aarya was all set to continue to shoot! We completed the shoot as per plan. He never complained even about retakes," said the director.

The untitled track is composed by Chandan Saxena and also stars actress Shraddha Shinde.
A new catfishing scam is targeting young Australian women by stealing their personal photos and creating fake accounts that promise illicit content.

Two young women from Western Australia were shocked to discover their name and photos had been stolen for use on a popular subscription service.

The scammers took photos from the women's Instagram accounts and uploaded them to OnlyFans, a platform in which users pay a subscription to access posts, many of them pornographic.

Perth woman Amy Jackson, 24, was first alerted to the phoney account by her friends, which had already gained a following and received 1200 likes.

Perth woman Amy Jackson, 24, (pictured) was first alerted to the fake OnlyFans accounts by her friends, which promised 'mind-blowing' videos for just $15 a month

'I will make sure my content will surely meet your satisfaction', the fake OnlyFans profile promised.

'This will be my first ever explicit content so please be good to me and support me.'

The imposters messaged Ms Jackson's followers on Instagram with the promise of illicit content, specifically her male friends.

Subscribers could access mind-blowing' videos for just $15 a month, enticed by the stolen photos of Ms Jackson in a bikini she would occasionally post online.

'I will make sure my content will surely meet your satisfaction', the fake OnlyFans profile promised its subscribers

The fake account was removed from Instagram just hours after Ms Jackson reported it, who has since privatised her personal account

The marketing officer said she would have been 'mortified' if her family and work colleagues thought she was selling sexually explicit material on the platform.

'It's unsettling. I had four people message me because, obviously, I'm not the type of person to do that', she told The West Australian.

The fake account was removed from Instagram just hours after Ms Jackson reported it, and she has since privatised her personal account and axed her following.

It was a similar experience for disability carer Sian McKenzie, who is still haunted by a scammer who stole her photos halfway through 2020.

Since then, the 25-year-old has been fighting a constant battle to manage the fake accounts who have stolen ten of her personal photos.

OnlyFans is an online pay-by-view subscription service popular with pornographic models

'I can't tell you how many have been created,' she said. 'I felt violated.'

Acting eSafety Commissioner Rebecca Razavi said prosecuting the scheming scammers is near impossible, as many conduct their business from overseas.

Identity theft scams have proliferated in the age of social media, where many victims unaware their name and images are being exploited.

'It's a sad fact of today's connected world that once you share a message, photo or video online you may not be able to control where it goes or how long it stays online,' Ms Razavi said.

'We advise restricting the amount of personal information you share and to only connect with people you know ... it really is the best way to ensure your private information and images are not misused.'
US Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican who has been a staunch critic of Big Tech, said on Monday he has introduced a bill that would ban all mergers and acquisitions by any company with a market value greater $100 billion, a category that includes the five biggest US tech companies.

Hawley, who accuses the biggest social media companies of stifling conservative voices, also criticized other sectors, like pharmaceuticals, which he said were too concentrated and held too much market power.

His new bill would effectively ban Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc's Google and Facebook Inc from any deals and would attempt to stop their platforms from favouring their own products over those of rivals.

Hawley's bill tackles some of the same problems as an antitrust bill introduced by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in February and contains some similar measures.

Asked about Klobuchar's bill, Hawley said, "I'm willing to work with her and anybody of any party and any background. I like a lot of what Senator Klobuchar has proposed."

He described his bill as "significantly tougher."

In the House of Representatives, Representative David Cicilline has said he plans to introduce a series of antitrust bills.

Hawley was also asked if he would support tech critic Lina Khan, a progressive who has been nominated to be a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission, which works with the Justice Department to enforce antitrust law. Hawley said he was "very impressed" by her but added, "I have not made a final decision."
Sales Agent/Client Manager

Remuneration: R15000 - R20000 per month Cost to company Location: Johannesburg Company: Domains.co.za

Job description

Must have a valid matric

Must have at least two years relevant work experience working in the internet/domains/web hosting environment

Must be computer literate (MS Word, Excel and Outlook)

Must have knowledge of the Internet, its protocols and terminology

Must be able to work under pressure and achieve targets and deadlines

Must have excellent English communication skills (both verbal and written)

Must have excellent telephone skills and ensure appropriate action is taken relative to each call

Must have excellent attention to detail and be able to provide excellent customer service

Must have the ability to plan, prioritise and organise their own workload, and to work comfortably within our deadlines

Must be flexible for ad-hoc duties as and when required

Must be able to build rapport with clients and think on their feet

Must respond to all email requests within the agreed time

Meeting KPIs for the department and company

Must have a minimum of two contactable references

Tertiary or additional sales/customer orientated education

Good sales track record

Domain and hosting knowledge and/or industry knowledge

Must be reliable and punctual

Must be honest and hard-working

Integrity and confidentiality are highly necessary

Must be self-motivated and self-disciplined and take their responsibilities seriously

Must want a position where their individual contribution makes an impact on the company

Must have an ability to deal with difficult clients/situations in a patient and friendly manner

Applicant must be able to work in, and with, a team of other people

All the normal personal stuff that goes without saying (neat, tidy, punctual, courteous, passionate, etc.)

Confidence to work directly with difficult clients

Company Description

Atwe give our clients the assistance they need. The sales/client manager will assist in helping new clients with their correct product choices, and after-sales service in offering the right advice for the right solutions. The Sales Team have excellent knowledge of all our products and are always available to our clients. In fact, the entire domains.co.za team, including sales, support and accounts all have excellent and professional product knowledge and work together as a cohesive team.If you dont already know about domains, website hosting, SSLs, Antivirus and other related products, this position isfor you!Please do not apply for this position if your skills and experience are not suitable as described above. All applications that are not suitable will be immediately rejected.Please note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted, if you have not heard from us within seven days of submitting your CV; please consider your application unsuccessful.To apply for this job, click here Domains.co.za is the top commercially active ICANN accredited domain name registrar in South Africa. We offer a variety of online solutions to help SME and entrepreneurial sectors of the marketplace establish their presence on the web.We are looking for a talented, well-motivated individual with a proven track record for this position. They must be able to maintain the high levels of sales and service which we currently achieve. Posted on 13 Apr 09:10
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 13, 2021) - Ridgestone Mining Inc. (TSXV: RMI) (OTCQB: RIGMF) (FSE:4U5) ("Ridgestone") is pleased to announce a phased exploration plan at it's wholly-owned Rebeico project in Mexico. Work to date has been positive and indicates that the identified copper-gold mineralization on the Rebeico claims may be part of a much larger mineralized system and is most likely related to this system.

The current exploration phase will be comprised of geologic mapping, sampling and prospecting with the aim of delineating additional targets for follow-up exploration drilling. Specifically, the program will focus on the New Year Zone, the Santa Elena outcrop, and the El Cobre mine. In addition, the program will evaluate a number of copper and gold prospects identified on the project.

"We are excited to remobilize to the Rebeico project specifically given the significant past exploration efforts which have already delineated a number of high-grade copper and gold opportunities within the expansive property package," stated Jonathan George, Ridgestone's CEO and Director. "Our focus of this next phase of exploration is to refine and prioritize the numerous copper and gold targets within the project area for a follow-up drill program and extend the areas of known mineralization."

New Year Zone

Exploration efforts at the New Year Zone will follow up on the successful 2020 exploration program, which outlined a large zone of widespread copper and gold mineralization with rock chip sampling returning up to 0.65% copper and 12.95 g/t gold. The subsequent drill program confirmed the sub-surface extension of widespread mineralization identified on surface, with highlights including 1.56% copper plus 1.8 g/t gold over 19.30 metres from surface and 0.54% copper over 29.15 metres from surface. Based on geological interpretations of past exploration data, the Company will focus follow-up exploration to the east and north-east where mineralization is expected to be more pervasive.

Elena Concession

Previous rock-chip samples from the Elena concession returned assays of 3.77% copper over 1.5 metres and 3.42% copper over 1.5 metres, where artisanal workings are observed in a stockwork/breccia zone with abundant copper oxides. The Elena concession is underlain by an intense chargeability anomaly, which may represent a potential source of the copper mineralization observed at surface. Approximately 450 meters west of Elena, three rock-chip samples collected from outcrop returned from 1.31% to 2.13% copper suggesting a possible extension of the mineralized zone. Additionally, approximately 600 metres north of Elena, channel samples collected from outcrop returned 2.42% copper and 4.35% copper over a 1.5 metre interval.

El Cobre Mine

The El Cobre mine was a high-grade underground copper mine operated by Asarco during the 1960's. Based on historical records, the mine was developed on three levels down to a depth of 130 metres with over 180 metres of lateral development on each level. Historical sampling of waste material discarded from prior operations ranged between 2.07% to 2.41% copper with notable gold, silver and molybdenum credits. The current exploration program will focus on prospecting around the El Cobre mine and surrounding area for extensions to the high-grade copper mineralization and delineating targets for follow-up drill testing.

Regional Exploration

The Company's wholly-owned 3,459-hectare land position that comprises the Rebeico property has seen little to no modern-day exploration. The exploration program will focus on following up on a number of high-grade artisanal workings documented by Mexican Government reports and the Mexican Geological Survey (Servicio Geologico Mexicano or "SGM").

The Company has engaged Prospeccion y Desarrollo Minero del Norte S.A. de C.V. or ProDeMin of Mexico to assist with the exploration efforts. ProDeMin engages primarily in project management, in addition to exploration efforts such as geological mapping and sampling, surveying, prospecting and project generation. ProDeMin's clients include senior gold companies such as Kinross Gold, Argonaut Gold, and Alio Gold, as well a number of Mexican-focused exploration companies.

Qualified Person:

Mr. Noris Del Bel Belluz, P.Geo and VP Exploration, is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Ridgestone Mining Inc.

Ridgestone is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on its Guadeloupe y Calvo (gold/silver) and Rebeico (copper/gold) projects located in Mexico.

For further information, please contact:

Rad Rajaram - Manager Corporate Relations and Business Development

Telephone: 416-732-0604

radha@ridgestonemining.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements and are not guarantees of future performance of the Company. In this news release such statements include but are not limited to any ongoing drilling programs, timing of such programs, or exploration results. 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. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those described in the Company's regulatory filings available on www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of risks, uncertainties and other factors is not exhaustive. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. The impact of any one factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as such factors are dependent on other factors, and the Company's course of action would depend on its assessment of the future considering all information then available. All forward-looking statements in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/80211
Workers continue construction last summer on a cell tower in the vicinity of Alma Street near Holmes Road in Pittsfield. Some neighbors say the now-operational tower has compromised their health. The Board of Health confirmed Monday that state health experts will get involved to help determine impacts on human health.
Federal regulators recommended a "pause" Tuesday in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine while they investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous side effects, prompting Louisiana and other states immediately to halt administering the shots.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said the pause came after reports of unusual blood clots in six women ages to 18 to 48 starting 6 to 13 days after they were vaccinated.

Regulators and public health experts stressed that the cases were only a tiny sliver of the almost 7 million jabs of the Johnson & Johnson shot that have been administered to date. Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, said the pause was expected to last only a matter of days." It was enacted in part so that the FDA could prepare the health care system to recognize and treat patients appropriately," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC.

"Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," said Schuchat in a joint statement with Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of health problems following COVID-19 vaccination very seriously."

Louisiana officials halted use of the shots Tuesday morning after release of the federal guidance, and staff at Ochsner Health System, LCMC Health and other medical providers moved quickly at vaccination sites to replace the Johnson & Johnson vaccines with those made by Pfizer and Moderna.

85,000 J&J vaccines given in Louisiana before pause to investigate 'extremely rare' blood clots More than 85,000 doses of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine were administered in Louisiana before the state told providers to pause t

State health officer Dr. Joe Kanter said the decision to stop using the one-dose vaccine temporarily won't slow the state's inoculation effort, at least in the coming weeks. The state was not expecting a large bump of Johnson & Johnson doses as production issues had already slowed their rollout. Just 8,000 of the 119,000 doses shipped to Louisiana this week were from J&J, for instance.

Numerically this is not going to be a big dent, Kanter said. He called the pause frustrating because of the ease and popularity of the Johnson & Johnson shot in Louisiana, where public health authorities are starting to face more problems finding people willing to receive the vaccine than with getting enough supply from the federal government.

Still, Kanter said, pausing is the prudent step to ensure safety. When you get a signal like this, you have to hit pause and you have to investigate," he said. "Hopefully its a short pause. But with the stakes as high as they are, the last thing you want to do is threaten your credibility.

Some health experts worried the halt, even if temporary, could have a chilling effect on vaccine enthusiasm. Already, vaccinations have slowed in Louisiana, which currently ranks in the bottom four of all 50 states for percentage of the population given at least one shot, at 30%, according to federal data.

Dr. Julio Figueroa, chief of infectious disease at LSU Health New Orleans, said he was worried "about all vaccines being painted with the same brush" even though the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which rely on a different mechanism to encourage the body to produce antibodies, have not been associated with clotting.

Figueroa said people who develop side effects such as headaches, shortness of breath and leg or abdominal pain six or more days after the shot should call their doctor. These symptoms should not be confused with initial vaccine side effects that occur one or two days after the shot, he said.

+13 Vaccine appointments in Louisiana are going unfilled - sooner than officials thought When COVID vaccines first opened to Louisiana residents over 70 in January, there was a mad scramble for appointments. Overloaded phone system

"These things don't start right away," Figueroa said of the more worrisome symptoms. "If you got the vaccine yesterday, whatever side effects you're having are not related to this issue."

He added that people should keep the handful of reported blood clot cases in perspective. "They are very rare," he said. "It's literally one in a million."

According to the FDA and CDC, the clots occurred in veins that drain blood from the brain. Simultaneously, patients experienced low platelets, the blood fragments that normally form clots. Typically, blood clots are treated with an anticoagulant such as heparin. But giving that drug to a person with low platelets can be dangerous.

Of the six clotting cases, one was fatal. It's unclear why the reactions might be happening to women more than men, but Figueroa said women tend to have more autoimmune disease in general.

At Ochsner Health's vaccination event at Tableau restaurant in the French Quarter on Tuesday, about 50 people had come in for a shot by 11 a.m. Health workers pivoted quickly after the announcement. Matthew Malachowski, Ochsners pharmacy director, carried out the Johnson & Johnson doses in a white cooler shortly before the event was supposed to open at 7:30 a.m. and returned with Pfizer doses in less than an hour.

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

"It's frankly easy to return the [Johnson & Johnson] product back to a refrigerator," Malachowski said. "We'll store it centrally where it will be safe while the Department of Health and decision-makers come up with a plan."

Trent Carlos, a Slidell resident who had signed up for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at Tableau, said he was prepared to turn it down after he saw the news about the clots. He was happy to get a Pfizer vaccine instead, though he didn't feel there was a lot of information to make a decision about which vaccine to take.

You go to a car wash, you have good, better or best, said Carlos, who owns a company that helps turn waste cooking oil into biodiesel fuel. But with the vaccines, Theres nobody really guiding you saying, Look, you should get this. Its the best choice.

Figueroa said that depending on what the FDA and CDC determine, their findings could result in recommendations that certain people use one vaccine over another.

The FDA said the cases under investigation appear similar to the clots that European authorities say are possibly linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not yet cleared for use in the U.S. European regulators have stressed that the AstraZeneca risk appears to be lower than the possibility of developing clots from birth control pills.

Speaking at a White House news conference, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top expert on infectious disease, said the J&J pause would allow the FDA and the CDC to investigate the clotting cases "to try and understand some of the mechanisms" and "to make physicians more aware of this."

The association between the clotting and the vaccine is not yet clear.

We do not yet know whether these reported cases of blood clotting were caused by the vaccine," Kanter said in a statement. "This temporary pause should give the public and providers confidence the system of monitoring and safety checks are working as intended.

A CDC committee will meet Wednesday to discuss the cases.

FDA officials emphasized that Tuesday's action was not a mandate. Doctors and patients may still use J&J's vaccine if they decide its benefits outweigh its risks for individual cases, Marks said.

J&J said it was aware of the reports of blood clots but that no link to its vaccine had been established. The company also said it would delay the rollout of its vaccine in Europe.

Asked if the government was overreacting to six cases out of more than 6 million vaccinations, Schuchat said recommendations will come quickly.

Because these unusual clots require special treatment, "it was of the utmost importance to us to get the word out," she said. "That said, the pandemic is quite severe and cases are increasing in lots of places and vaccination's critical."

The J&J vaccine received emergency use authorization from the FDA in late February but makes up a small percentage of overall vaccinations. About 85,000 of some 966,000 fully vaccinated people in Louisiana got the J&J vaccine.

But the slowdown in the dissemination of the shots could have broad implications for the global vaccination effort. The J&J vaccine held immense promise because its single-dose regimen and relatively simple storage requirements make it easier to use, especially in less affluent countries.

While Johnson & Johnson has accounted for a small portion of vaccines given in Louisiana, it has been key in vaccinating people who were not early adopters to inoculation, said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, health director in Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration.

"What it's going to do is make it harder for us to do the community events we really feel are now key," Avegno said. "I fear this is just going to lengthen the amount of time it takes us to get everybody vaccinated.

Sam Karlin, Carlie Kollath Wells, Jessica Williams and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala deploy troops to lower migration View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration has struck an agreement with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to temporarily surge security forces to their borders in an effort to reduce the tide of migration to the U.S. border.

The agreement comes as the U.S. saw a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the largest number of Border Patrol encounters overall with migrants on the southern border  just under 170,000  since March 2001.

According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Mexico will maintain a deployment of about 10,000 troops, while Guatemala has surged 1,500 police and military personnel to its southern border and Honduras deployed 7,000 police and military to its border to disperse a large contingent of migrants there. Guatemala will also set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through the country.

A White House official said Guatemala and Honduras were deploying troops temporarily in response to a large caravan of migrants that was being organized at the end of March.

Psaki said the objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey, and make crossing the borders more difficult.

She added that the agreement was the product of a series of bilateral discussions between U.S. officials and the governments of the Central American nations. While Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with leading diplomatic efforts to tamp down on the increase in migration at the U.S. border, Psaki declined to share details on her involvement with the discussions and said only that the discussions happened at several levels.

She noted that Roberta Jacobson, who will depart her role as the administrations southwest border coordinator at the end of the month, was involved in talks.

Mexico announced in March that it was deploying National Guard members and immigration agents to its southern border, and it has maintained more personnel at its southern border since Trump threatened tariffs on Mexican imports in 2019.

On Monday, Mexicos Foreign Affairs ministry said, Mexico will maintain the existing deployment of federal forces in the its border area, with the objective of enforcing its own immigration legislation, to attend to migrants, mainly unaccompanied minors, and to combat the trafficking of people.

Honduras Foreign Affairs Minister Lisandro Rosales said Monday that Honduras maintains a multinational force at its border with Guatemala that works closely with that government on not only immigration, but also organized crime and other illegal activity. But there was no commitment on the part of the Honduran delegation to put soldiers on the border, even though there is a clear commitment by the Honduran government to avoid this kind of migration that generates death and mourning for Honduran families, Rosales said.

But Honduras Defense Secretary Fredy Santiago Diaz Zelaya, who was part of a Honduran delegation that met with U.S. officials in Washington last week, said later that the military was studying the possibility of sending more troops to the border to assist in migration control. He said the military always works under a plan and that planning would determine how many troops would assist national police and immigration authorities at the border.

We need to do a correct analysis of the situation, increase troops if its necessary, Diaz Zelaya told local press. He said Honduras would do so in response to this request that comes from the great nation to the north (the United States) to be able to help on the issue of immigration.

The Guatemalan government denied there was any signed agreement with the United States to place troops at the border to stop migrants. The Guatemalan government has undertaken protection and security actions at the border since last year, on its own initiative, it is a constitutional mandate, said presidential spokeswoman Patricia Letona. In the context of the pandemic, the protection of the borders has become a fundamental aim for the containment of the virus.

Guatemalan troops have been responsible for breaking up the last several attempted migrant caravans.

The increase in migrants at the border is becoming one of the major challenges confronting Biden in the early months of his first term.

Numbers grew sharply during Trumps final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessors policies, including one that made asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S.

Mexicans represented the largest proportion of people encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, and nearly all were single adults. Arrivals of people from Honduras and Guatemala were second and third, respectively, and more than half of the people from those countries were families or children traveling alone.

___

Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Maria Verza in Mexico City, Sonny Figueroa in Guatemala City and Marlon Gonzalez in Tegucigalpa contributed reporting.

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE

Associated Press
ST. LOUIS, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Twain Financial Partners announced the successful financing of $11 million in ground lease capital to The Summit, a senior living community in Little Rock, AR. Developed by O'Reilly Development Company, The Summit represents Twain and O'Reilly's second successful ground lease transaction.

Twain's funding will aide in the ground-up construction of a 158-unit senior living community. Upon completion, The Summit will include 96 independent living units, 44 assisted living units, and 18 memory care units. On-site amenities include a bistro, pool, demonstration kitchen, salon, spa, theater, multipurpose room, shared dining room and gathering spaces, library, computer lab, wellness/fitness center, nurses' and doctors' offices, community laundry, and an outdoor courtyard.

"We are incredibly excited to bring this project to the Little Rock community," said Denise Heintz, Partner and Director of Operations at O'Reilly. "Twain's ground lease is a flexible and creative financing option that made this possible. We are confident that The Summit will be a wonderful home to many seniors in the area."

O'Reilly is a real estate investment and development firm specializing in historic preservation, senior housing, affordable housing, multifamily and student housing communities. The O'Reilly team of experts branch into all areas of development, construction, management, and ownership with properties built in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

"Twain is a partnership-focused company, and it has been a sincere pleasure to collaborate with O'Reilly," said Erik Lintvedt, Business Development Officer at Twain. "Building new residential communities for the elderly requires special sensitivities with close attention paid to hyper-local market conditions. We appreciate our partners at O'Reilly for their careful planning and professional execution and we look forward to future projects."

Twain Financial Partners is an investment management firm located in St. Louis, Missouri with over $4 billion in assets under management within the public-private partnership sector. The firm works with a wide variety of investment types, specializing in tax credit, structured debt, and real estate transactions. Twain works closely with financial institutions and corporations to structure and manage investments that offer both attractive economic return and social benefits.





SOURCE Twain Financial Partners

Related Links

http://www.twainfinancial.com


DUBLIN, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The "AC Electronically Commutated Centrifugal Fans Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Diameter Size and Application" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

According to this report the global AC electronically commutated centrifugal fans market was valued at US$ 1,300.78 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 1,687.70 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% during 2020-2027. The report highlights key driving factors and prominent market players along with their developments in the market.



The electronically commutated (EC) technology combines both AC and DC voltages, bringing the most excellent outcome. The EC runs on a DC voltage with a single-phase 230 V or three-phase 400 V AC supply. The non-rotating part of EC motors is extended to make room for an electronic printed circuit board (PCB), which includes power AC to DC transformation and controls. The EC electronics are different from frequency inverters, and they decide how the stator's motor phases are supplied with current (commutation), depending on the position, rotation direction, and default. For many years, EC motors (ECMs) needed individual DC power supply, leading to additional cost and complexity in applications. EC fans that could operate directly from AC mains incorporated with electronics became obtainable in the early 2000s. The electronics in EC fans transformed AC to DC, accomplished the commutation, and operated the fan speed by controlling the motor's power, generally with pulse-width modulation (PWM).



The COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in Wuhan (China) in December 2019. Lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdown measures implemented to mitigate the spread of infection are restricting supplies of products in electronics and semiconductor industry. This represents a significant loss for AC electronically commutated (EC) centrifugal fans players.



Delta Electronics, Rosenberg Ventilatoren GmbH, ZIEHL-ABEGG, Ebm Papst, Hidria d.o.o, Simx Limited, Oriental Motor USA Corporation, Regal Beloit Corporation, PBM Motor and Fan (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., and Continental Fan Manufacturing Inc. are among the well-established players operating in the global AC electronically commutated (EC) fans market.



Reasons to Buy

Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets

Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1 Scope of the Study

1.2 Research Report Guidance

1.3 Market Segmentation

1.3.1 AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market, by Diameter Size

1.3.2 AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market, by Application

1.3.3 AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market, by Geography



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology

3.1 Coverage

3.2 Secondary Research

3.3 Primary Research



4. AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America

4.2.2 Europe

4.2.3 Asia Pacific

4.2.4 Middle East and Africa

4.2.5 South America

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Expert Opinion



5. AC EC (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market - Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Growing Demand of Electronically Commutated Fans

5.1.2 Increasing Inclination toward Power Savings

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 Rising Use of Smart Synchronous Permanent Magnet Motors

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Rise in Sales of Consumer Goods

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Surging Technological Advancements

5.5 Impact Analysis



6. AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans- Global Market Analysis

6.1 Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Overview

6.2 Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Forecast And Analysis

6.3 Market Positioning



7. Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Analysis - By Diameter size

7.1 Overview

7.2 Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Breakdown, by Diameter size, 2019 & 2027

7.3 Below 250 mm

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Global Below 250 mm AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

7.4-400 mm

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Global 251-400 mm AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

7.5-550 mm

7.5.1 Overview

7.5.2 Global 401-550 mm AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

7.6-700 mm

7.6.1 Overview

7.6.2 Global 551-700 mm AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)



8. Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Analysis - By Application

8.1 Overview

8.2 Global AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market Breakdown, by Application, 2019 & 2027

8.3 Air Conditioners

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Global Air Conditioners Market Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

8.4 Refrigerators

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 Global Refrigerators Market, Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

8.5 Ventilation Systems

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 Global Ventilation Systems Market, Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

8.6 Electronic Cabinets

8.6.1 Overview

8.6.2 Global Electronic Cabinets Market, Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)

8.7 Others

8.7.1 Overview

8.7.2 Global Others Applications Market, Revenue Forecast to 2027 (US$ Mn)



9. AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market - Geographic Analysis

9.1 Overview

9.2 North America: AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

9.3 Europe: AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

9.4 APAC: AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

9.5 MEA: AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

9.6 SAM: AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market

10. AC Electronically Commutated (EC) Centrifugal Fans Market- COVID-19 Impact Analysis

10.1 Overview

10.2 North America

10.3 Europe

10.4 Asia-Pacific

10.5 Middle East and Africa

10.6 South America



11. Industry Landscape

11.1 Merger and Acquisition

11.2 New Development

11.3 Others



12. Company Profiles

12.1 Delta Electronics

12.1.1 Key Facts

12.1.2 Business Description

12.1.3 Products and Services

12.1.4 Financial Overview

12.1.5 SWOT Analysis

12.2 Rosenberg Ventilatoren GmbH

12.2.1 Key Facts

12.2.2 Business Description

12.2.3 Products and Services

12.2.4 Financial Overview

12.2.5 SWOT Analysis

12.2.6 Key Developments

12.3 ZIEHL-ABEGG

12.3.1 Key Facts

12.3.2 Business Description

12.3.3 Products and Services

12.3.4 Financial Overview

12.3.5 SWOT Analysis

12.4 Ebm Papst

12.4.1 Key Facts

12.4.2 Business Description

12.4.3 Products and Services

12.4.4 Financial Overview

12.4.5 SWOT Analysis

12.4.6 Key Developments

12.5 Hidria d.o.o

12.5.1 Key Facts

12.5.2 Business Description

12.5.3 Products and Services

12.5.4 Financial Overview

12.5.5 SWOT Analysis

12.5.6 Key Developments

12.6 Simx Limited

12.6.1 Key Facts

12.6.2 Business Description

12.6.3 Products and Services

12.6.4 Financial Overview

12.6.5 SWOT Analysis

12.7 Oriental Motor USA Corporation

12.7.1 Key Facts

12.7.2 Business Description

12.7.3 Products and Services

12.7.4 Financial Overview

12.7.5 SWOT Analysis

12.8 Regal Beloit Corporation

12.8.1 Key Facts

12.8.2 Business Description

12.8.3 Products and Services

12.8.4 Financial Overview

12.8.5 SWOT Analysis

12.8.6 Key Developments

12.9 PBM Motor and Fan (Suzhou) Co. Ltd.

12.9.1 Key Facts

12.9.2 Business Description

12.9.3 Products and Services

12.9.4 Financial Overview

12.9.5 SWOT Analysis

12.10 Continental Fan Manufacturing Inc.

12.10.1 Key Facts

12.10.2 Business Description

12.10.3 Products And Services

12.10.4 Financial Overview

12.10.5 SWOT Analysis



13. Appendix

13.1 About the Publisher

13.2 Glossary



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z5kfy

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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OAKLAND, Calif., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Everlaw, the cloud-based ediscovery and litigation platform, will host its first conference Everlaw Summit: Illuminate 2021 on April 27-28, 2021. The virtual event will explore the latest transformations in litigation and investigations, featuring over 20 industry pioneers including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, retired Judge Andrew Peck, EDRM CEO Mary Mack and esteemed lawyer Craig Ball.

The opening keynote from Ellison will dive into the rule of law on the path to justice, the way law is challenged in the modern day and his role as Attorney General in upholding citizens' rights. Other sessions will explore law firms of the future, the legal technology innovations that will take center stage in 2021 and how technology can make justice more equitable and accessible, in addition to how Everlaw is enabling legal teams to collaboratively discover information and act on those insights.

"On the heels of a year replete with rapid digital and cultural change, Illuminate comes during a turning point for the legal industry," said Everlaw CEO AJ Shankar. "There has been an influx of new, fresh ideas and innovation as legal professionals figure out what these changes mean for the industry as a whole. It's essential that we look to the future to arm our teams with the tools they need to succeed. Illuminate will cover these topics and more, bringing together a community of experts and visionaries on a mission to advance justice and promote the truth."

Everlaw customers such as Jesse Murray, Head of Trust and Safety at Lime, and Maeghan Ottrey, Director of Litigation Support at Fidelity Investments, will participate in a panel on how to collaboratively bring ediscovery in-house. Joining them will be experts from Am Law firms, including Danny Thankachan of Blank Rome and Lisa Fabian of Hanson Bridgett. On Day 2, attorneys can earn 1.0 CLE credit for attending the session "Light Up Your Data: How Metadata Can Inform Case Strategy."

Illuminate is free to attend and registrants can customize their own agenda, choosing to attend any or all of the scheduled sessions. The sessions will be available as recordings after the event as well.

To learn more about Illuminate, visit www.everlaw.com/illuminate .

About Everlaw

Everlaw blends cutting-edge technology with modern design to help law firms, government entities, and corporations solve the toughest problems in the legal industry. Everlaw is used by 76 out of the AM Law 100, Fortune 100 corporate counsels, and all 50 U.S. state attorneys general. Everlaw's North American headquarters is in Oakland, Calif., and European headquarters is in London, UK. The company is funded by top-tier investors, including CapitalG, Menlo Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and K9 Ventures.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Everlaw

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Brooklyn Center, Min., Police Chief Tim Gannon talks to the media on April 12, 2021. (Shari Gross/Star Tribune via AP)

Minnesota City Police Chief, Officer Who Shot Daunte Wright Resign

The Minneapolis-area police officer who shot Daunte Wright and the citys police chief resigned on Tuesday following riots and protests, according to her union.

Kim Potter, a veteran officer in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon resigned.

I have loved every minute of being a police officer and serving this community to the best of my ability, but I believe it is in the best interest of the community, the department, and my fellow officers if I resign immediately, Potter wrote in her brief letter, which was released by the Law Enforcement Labor Services, the states largest public safety labor union.

Gannon resigned after telling reporters on Monday that he did not plan to step down.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott said during a briefing on Tuesday that officials accepted Potters and Gannons resignations.

We have received a resignation letter (from) Officer Kim Potter and in addition to that, we have also received a letter of resignation from the police chief, Elliott told reporters.

Gannon previously said that Potter, a 26-year veteran of the police force, mistakenly shot Wright, 20, when she mistook her gun for a Taser during the incident.

Officer Kim Potter, part of the Brooklyn Center Police negotiation team in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on May 31, 2007. (Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via AP)

Potter, 48, can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser! before she opened fire.

Whenever, through the line of duty, someone kills another human being, there must be accountability, Eliott said Tuesday.

Protests, riots, and looting erupted after the Sunday incident, with protesters and rioters amassing near the citys police department headquarters. Live footage on Monday night and early Tuesday morning showed rioters throwing objects at officers, who were deployed behind a chain-link fence.

Portland police officers chase demonstrators after a riot was declared during civil unrest over the shooting in Minnesota of Daunte Wright, in Portland, Ore., on April 12, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

A demonstrator jumps off a police cruiser during civil unrest after an officer-involved shooting in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on April 11, 2021. (Nick Pfosi/Reuters)

Officials said that a number of businesses were broken into and looted in the midst of the demonstrations.

The city is located about 10 miles from Minneapolis where the murder trial for former officer Derek Chauvin is ongoing. Chauvin was charged in the death of George Floydan event that triggered nationwide riots and protests last summer.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the police union, issued a statement Tuesday saying no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office. Potter has experience with investigations into police shootings. Potter was one of the first officers to respond after Brooklyn Center police fatally shot a man who allegedly tried to stab an officer with a knife in August 2019, according to a report from the Hennepin County Attorneys Office.

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Highlights:



Millrock has signed an option to purchase a 100% interest in the former producing Grant Mine near Fairbanks, Alaska. The Grant Mine is a high-grade vein deposit with expansion potential. Indicated and Inferred Resources have been estimated at 340,800 ounces of gold. Strategic partner Felix Gold may elect to assume the option in exchange for a royalty interest in favour of Millrock.

Millrock signed a letter of intent to enter a lease agreement with option to purchase a 100% interest concerning the GST claim blocks with Fairbanks Exploration, Inc. The claims cover favourable geological structures adjacent to Freegolds Golden Summit project northeast of Fairbanks, near Kinross Fort Knox gold mine. Felix Gold may be assigned the lease and purchase option in exchange for a royalty interest.

Partner Felix Gold has appointed David Larimer as Vice-President of Exploration. Mr Larimer will head a joint Felix Gold  Millrock exploration team. Mr. Larimer was formerly Chief Geologist at the Pogo Mine, Principal Geologist for Teck Resources Ltd., and is a University of Alaska, Fairbanks alumnus.

Millrock and Felix Gold have amended the Strategic Alliance agreement between the two companies announced on January 12, 2021. The amendment provides a framework for share payments to Millrock in the event that Felix Gold does not become a publicly traded company in the next 18 months.

Landholdings in the Fairbanks Gold District now cover approximately 24,000 hectares of high potential ground covering numerous prospects.

Exploration plans for the 2021 field season are being finalized. Drilling is being planned with an initial focus on extensions of the Grant Mine and the Northwest Array prospect on the Treasure Creek project.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MRO, OTCQB: MLRKF) ("Millrock" or the Company) is providing an update on its partner-funded activities in the Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska with partner Felix Gold (a private Australian company).

Figure 1: Tintina Gold Province in yellow shading. Millrock projects subject to agreement with Felix Gold are shown in red text.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6c0a4a5a-09b6-4c2c-a729-976e06eb97b0

Grant Mine Option To Purchase Agreement

Millrock has entered an option to purchase agreement concerning the Grant Mine with owner Roger Burggraf. Consideration is US$2.0 million to be paid over a six-year period. The new property will form part of the larger Ester Dome exploration project, which is subject to an agreement between Millrock and partner Felix Gold. Felix has paid the costs to secure the Grant Mine claims and can, at any time in the next twelve months, elect to assume the option agreement rights. In the event that Felix Gold assumes the option rights and proceeds to make the purchase of the Grant Mine, Millrock will vest with a 1.5% Net Smelter Return royalty on gold production with an advanced minimum royalty provision. The Grant Mine is a former-producing gold mine reported to have produced approximately 25,000 ounces of gold. Production reports and estimates of unmined gold resources have been made by a third-party independent geologist in a Ni43-101 report (Bundtzen T.K., 2008, Ester Dome Mineral Resource Estimation and Eagle Creek Exploration Results, Fairbanks Mining District, Alaska, July 31st, 2008, 117 pages).

Table 17.1 of the aforementioned report is presented below and shows combined Indicated and Inferred resources of 340,800 ounces of gold.

Category Cut-off grade

(oz/ton Au) Quantity

(ton) Grade

(oz/ton Au) Metal

(oz Au) Indicated 0.08 613,600 0.21 126,700 Inferred 0.04 2,553,400 0.08 214,100

Table 17.1: Bundtzen 2008 NI43-101 report prepared for Silverado Gold Mines Ltd.

Figure 2: Photo of the decommissioned Grant Mine headframe (left) and core storage warehouse at Grant Mine (right). Drill core from Grant Mine, other parts of the Ester Dome project, and the Treasure Creek project have all been preserved here.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0ae233ef-92d9-4b57-b286-985fe9dbedfe

Plans are being made to do an initial round of drilling in Summer 2021. The longitudinal section presented in Figure 3 illustrates the historic mine workings and drill intersections obtained in the 1990s by operators American Copper & Nickel (ACNC) and Silverado Gold Mines.

No exploration work has been carried out since the 1990s. Millrock has not independently verified the drill intersections indicated on Figure 3.

Figure 3: Longitudinal section illustrating drill intersections from ACNC and Silverado exploration drilling in the 1990s. Millrock has not independently verified the historic drill intersections reported on this figure which is taken from Bundtzen 2008.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b13bd4d2-5972-4482-bb32-feab90d00849

Figure 4: Claims owned and controlled by Millrock that have been assigned to Felix Gold in exchange for equity and royalty interests are shown in blue. Note the location of Kinross Fort Knox mine and Freegolds Golden Summit project.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d906651a-97fa-4998-af12-309fbfe1fb31

Fairbanks District Exploration Team

Felix Gold and Millrock are building an outstanding exploration team that is mandated to aggressively explore the Fairbanks Mining District and make new gold deposit discoveries. Felix Gold has appointed David Larimer to Vice-President of Exploration. Mr. Larimer will lead a team of Millrock geologists and technical staff, as well as coordinate amongst local and global experts to maximize the chances of discovery success. Prior to joining Felix Gold, Mr. Larimer was Principal Geologist in charge of exploration for Tecks Red Dog zinc mine in northwestern Alaska, and Chief Geologist for the Pogo Mine during the time it was owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining. Mr. Larimer is a graduate of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is very knowledgeable on gold deposit genesis and exploration in the Tintina Gold Province.

Millrock President & CEO Gregory Beischer commented: We have known of Dave Larimer for many years and watched his career progress. Previously, Dave was very helpful in developing Millrocks understanding of gold mineralization in the Goodpaster Mining District, south of Fairbanks. We think that Dave Larimer will be able to build an outstanding team of exploration geologists composed of Millrock staff, local Fairbanks experts, Felix Gold personnel, and global experts. As major shareholders of Felix Gold, our company will be very supportive and help unravel the geological puzzle presented for gold mineralization in the Fairbanks District.

Fairbanks District Land Holdings and Agreement Structure

Felix Gold, the private Australian company with which Millrock has made a strategic alliance with, has decided to defer a go-public decision while waiting for the gold market to further strengthen. A further capital raise as a private company is planned by Felix Gold to fund 2021 summer exploration. The amendment assures that Millrock will receive the agreed 10% share of the private company Felix Gold in the event that it does not go public. Royalty provisions of the original agreement remain unchanged. The original agreement between Millrock and Felix Gold was documented in a January 12, 2020 Millrock press release.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information disclosed within this document has been prepared, reviewed, and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO, and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.

About Millrock Resources Inc.

Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages, and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is recognized as the premier generative explorer in Alaska, holds royalty interests in British Columbia, Canada, and Sonora State, Mexico, and is a significant shareholder of junior explorer ArcWest Exploration Inc. and owns a large shareholding in Resolution Minerals Limited. Funding for drilling at Millrocks exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: EMX Royalty, Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet and, Altius as well as junior explorers Resolution, Riverside, PolarX, and Felix Gold.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Gregory Beischer

Gregory Beischer, President & CEO

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Melanee Henderson, Investor Relations

Toll-Free: 877-217-8978 | Local: 604-638-3164

Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
What [worried] him was the couple's preoccupation with their own problems and their willingness to talk about them in public. [He said:]

"Remember that the attention comes because of the position you are privileged to hold, not because of who you are. [my emphasis]

"If you think it's all about you, you'll never be happy."
FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2020, file photo, state Rep. Charles Booker speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives in the State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File) PHOTO:AP Photo/Bryan Woolston

Booker Forms Exploratory Committee for Senate Run

By The Associated Press

LOUISVILLE - Democrat Charles Booker says hes forming an exploratory committee as he weighs a follow-up Senate race in 2022 against Republican incumbent Rand Paul in Kentucky.Booker's progressive campaign came up short in last year's Democratic primary.Booker is a Black ex-state lawmaker from Louisville.In his announcement Monday, he continued touting themes from his campaign last year.Those themes include racial and economic justice, universal access to health care and environmental activism.He would face an uphill challenge against Paul.Paul spokeswoman Kelsey Cooper says Kentuckians have no greater champion for the values they hold dear" than the Republican senator.
Bidar: Despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases across the country, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said that there is no question of imposing lockdown right now.

The Karnataka BJP strongman also urged the people to adhere to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour to curb the spread of the pandemic. The Lingayat leader also called an all-party meeting on April 18 to discuss the COVID situation in the state.

"I have called an all-party meeting on April 18 regarding the COVID situation here. There is no question of lockdown right now. The technical advisory committee has suggested that positive cases will increase here till May 2. Hence, people must abide by COVID appropriate behaviour," Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said.

Have called all-party meeting on April 18 regarding COVID situation here. No question of lockdown right now. Technical advisory committee has said that positive cases will increase here till May 2 hence people must abide by COVID appropriate behaviour: Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa pic.twitter.com/lH2mCguYh9  ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2021

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has imposed a corona curfew (night curfew) between 10 pm to 5 am in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Tumkuru, Udupi and Manipal till April 20 in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.

The Karnataka Chief Minister had on Monday said if the number of positive cases does not come down soon, a night curfew will be imposed in other districts in the state where it has not yet been imposed.

Karnataka reported 9,579 new COVID-19 cases, 2,767 discharges, and 52 deaths on Monday. With this, the coronavirus tally reached 10,74,869 in the state. Currently, there are 75,985 active cases in the state.

Live TV
A New York parent who wants to marry their own adult offspring is suing to overturn laws hindering the incestuous practice. The parent called it a matter of "individual autonomy."

Parent Sues to Marry Adult Child

According to court papers, the determined parent would like to remain anonymous because their request is "an action that a large segment of society views as morally, socially and biologically repugnant." The parent contends in the Manhattan federal court claim issued on April 1, "Through the enduring bond of marriage, two persons, whatever relationship they might otherwise have with one another, can find a greater level of expression, intimacy and spirituality," reported Fox News.

The papers do not expound on the parent and their adult child. It did not identify their ages, genders, hometowns, or the nature of their relationship. According to the filing, the proposed spouses are biological parent and child, the proposed spouses are adults, and the proposed spouses cannot procreate as a pair.

Incest Is a Felony in New York

Under New York laws, incest is a third-degree felony in the stated. A person guilty could be sentenced to up to four years in prison. An incestuous marriage would be void, and the parties involved will be facing fines and further prison time.

The filing refers to the pairing as Parent and Adult Child Non-Procreationable or PAACNP. It further adds that parent-and-adult-child couples for whom procreation is impossible could aspire to the transcendent purposes of marriage and find fulfillment in the highest form, reported LAD Bible.

The anonymous parent seeks a judge to declare the incest laws as unenforceable and unconstitutional to be allowed for a PAACNP couple. Meanwhile, according to Manhattan family and matrimonial law attorney Eric Wrubel, it will likely not be doable. "The closest you can come is Woody Allen, and that wasn't his daughter, it was an adopted child whom he never adopted and it still turns people's stomachs," reported Daily Caller.

Real Reason Why Kim Kardashian Finally Filed for Divorce From Kanye West

Individuals seeking to get married in five towns have to declare that there are no legal impediments to the marriage. Also, marriage licenses in the five boroughs necessitate potential spouses to list their birth parents. According to the parent behind the lawsuit, they would "sustain emotional harm" if they become hitched as a Parent and Adult Child Non-Procreationable couple imposed by the current laws.

A state appeals court in 2014 unanimously approved a case involving a woman wedded to her mother's half-brother. It noted the genetic relationship was the equivalent of first cousins. However, that ruling cited "the almost universal horror" with which a parent-child marital union is viewed.

The parent remarked they would like to propose to their adult child but cannot due to current laws. According to New York University law professor Professor Sylvia Law, she does not believe there is a big popular movement. However, she thinks so long as they have kept records, there have been previous cases. She continued it is an area where she believes the majority of people would say the government has a right to implement the rules, even if they do not apply to all situations.

Kim Kardashian's Wedding Ring, off on First Instagram Post Since Divorce Reports

@ 2021 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
"When I started this endeavor about a year and a half ago, I thought it would be a great way to communicate directly with our community and it has been exactly that," said Morse. "We have come a long way from our first episode where my mom was my very first guest. We've interviewed and shared stories with doctors, athletes, attorneys, celebrities, politicians even an MMA Fighter. We have learned a lot along this journey and have had a lot of fun as well."

In episode 32, something special happened with the show. Morse interviewed Aaron Salter, who had been exonerated after spending 15 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. In that episode, Morse was inspired to make a difference in the lives of the wrongfully convicted. Since then, Open Mike has featured dozens of experts who are trying to right the wrongs of the criminal justice system and several other exonerees like Jimmy Dennis, Jeffrey Desckovick, Lamonte McIntyre, Ken Wyniemko and Julie Baumer.

"That episode really touched me," Morse said. "My professional legal career has been as a personal injury attorney. I have devoted my career to helping the little guy fight against big insurance companies who try and hide from their obligations following accidents, but suddenly I was also fascinated with what I believe is the most unjust part of our justice system; innocent people locked away in prison trying to fight against the powerful legal system to prove their innocence. How do innocent people get arrested, charged, and convicted of crimes they did not commit? I needed to help."

A big announcement was made at the end of the show when Morse shared that his firm has taken on the case of a person who he believes didn't receive a fair trial. While the name of the person is not being released yet, Morse said the case is a shaken baby syndrome case. According to Morse, the science behind these types of cases has changed as well as the criminal laws in Michigan since the man's conviction. Morse and his team will be asking the trial judge for a new trial in the near future.

Since the launch of Open Mike in November of 2019, the podcast has reached over three million downloads and has been named a top 10 podcast by Deadline Detroit. New episodes of the show are released every Tuesday, and can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other podcast listening apps, or you can watch the show on YouTube.

Fans of Open Mike can contact Mike via email at [email protected] or send a text message to 833-TXT-MIKE to provide feedback, ask questions they would like to have answered, or become a guest on the show. Mike is also available for interviews or to be a guest on other podcasts.

About Mike Morse Law Firm

Since 1995, the Mike Morse Law Firm has been protecting the rights of Michigan auto accident and injury victims. They are Michigan's largest personal injury firm, specializing in auto, truck, pedestrian and motorcycle accidents as well as Social Security disability claims. Since opening their doors over 25 years ago, the firm has served over 25,000 clients and won over one billion dollars for them. Mike Morse Law Firm handles cases throughout the state of Michigan.

SOURCE Mike Morse Law Firm

Related Links

http://www.855mikewins.com


The Governments LGBT advisory panel has been disbanded, Downing Street confirmed.

The panel, established by Theresa Mays government, will be replaced with a new body, No 10 indicated.

Panellists terms were due to expire on March 31 but a series of members had resigned earlier in protest at Government policies.

The terms of the remaining panellists have not been renewed and details of a replacement will be set out in due course.

The move led to accusations that the Government was failing to rebuild trust with LGBT communities.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said women and equalities minister Liz Truss had written to the remaining panel members to thank them for their service.

The Prime Minister is immensely proud to live in a country that is one of the most progressive and liberal when it comes to LGBT equality, the spokesman said.

The LGBT advisory panel was created under the previous administration and the term of all panel members was always due to end on the 31st.

The minister for women and equalities has written to all panel members to thank them for their contributions and plans for a replacement to the panel will be set out in due course.

Downing Street rejected the assertion that not extending the term of the current panel until a replacement is introduced suggested the Government was not interested in issues affecting LGBT people.

I dont think thats fair, the Prime Ministers spokesman told reporters.

The Government is committed to building a country in which everyone, no matter their sexuality, is free to live as they choose.

We are committed to this important work and will continue to drive it forward.

Asked what was wrong with the groups work, the spokesman said: The panel had a term of duration which it was due to run, that term came to an end. That doesnt necessarily signify any issue with it.

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In March, panel member Jayne Ozanne quit, citing delays to a ban on so-called conversion therapy among her many complaints.

She was followed by James Morton, who had reportedly been very concerned for several months that Ms Truss and her junior ministers were not committed to LGBT equality.

Ellen Murray became the third person to quit the panel, writing on Twitter that she decided to leave due to the Governments persistent and worsening hostility towards our community in myriad areas.

Ms Ozanne said disbanding the panel does nothing to rebuild trust or reassure the LGBT community about their grave concerns.

Liberal Democrat equalities spokeswoman Wera Hobhouse said: Scrapping this advisory panel is a backwards step at a time when we badly need progress from the Government.

The Tories are still dragging their feet on banning conversion therapy, and failing to tackle the rise in anti-LGBT hate crimes.
Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

The Texas Department of Transportation will host a virtual public hearing from Thursday until May 1 on the proposed expansion of FM 1560 from two lanes to four lanes between Bandera and Culebra Roads.

That busy 5.2-mile stretch, most of which is outside San Antonio city limits, is projected to get widened rights-of-way (from 80 to 120 feet) and a combination of raised medians, bike lanes, sidewalks and a center turn lane. TxDOT says on its website that no residential or non-residential structures are anticipated to be displaced by the project.
The Estee Lauder Companies has announced that Alexandra (Alex) Trower, executive vice president, global communications, will retire effective July 1, 2021.

Trower, who has been with the company for 13 years, oversaw the launch of the companys refreshed corporate brand in 2016.



In 2018, she was recognized by New York Women in communications with a Matrix Award, presented to her by William P. Lauder in recognition of her exceptional leadership and contributions across the industry.

She served as the co-chair of the board of directors for the International Womens Media Foundation (IWMF), which supports female journalists worldwide. She received the IWMFs Corporate Leadership Award in 2014 in recognition of her more than 15 years of service and fundraising.

The successor to Trower's role will be announced at a later date.

Fabrizio Freda, president and CEO, The Estee Lauder Companies, said: "Alex has been a highly respected thought-leader, collaborative partner, and a trusted senior business adviser. Leveraging her deep expertise across financial, corporate, consumer and crisis communications, Alex has continuously evolved our strategic communications priorities to drive and support the rapid growth of our business. She built a truly outstanding, global, multi-disciplinary organization and has led her team with wisdom and grace, continuously strengthening the delicate balance of art and science that is ever-present in the world of communications."

William P. Lauder, executive chairman, said: "Against the backdrop of an increasingly complex global landscape, Alex has delivered thoughtful, effective communications to our valued stakeholders, strategically elevating our winning business narrative, rich culture, compelling heritage and distinctive ELC brand equity. She is an outstanding communicator and skilled strategist, and her incredible character, steadfast integrity and deep empathy will be greatly missed across the organization."

Trower said: "I am incredibly proud of all that my team and I have accomplished. ELCs global communications organization has consistently advanced ahead of the curve, seamlessly partnering with stakeholders across the company and the industry to drive and support the continued success of our business. While the decision to retire is of course bittersweet, I know that the talented global communications team is well positioned for its next chapter of growth. On a personal note, it has been an absolute pleasure to serve in this role alongside the Lauder Family and the exceptional ELC executive leadership team.
Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov has said he expects a batch of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be supplied to Ukraine under the COVAX scheme this week.

He announced this at a briefing on Tuesday, April 13, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The next batch of vaccines we are expecting this week is the Pfizer vaccine. It is 117,000 doses to be delivered under the COVAX initiative," Stepanov said.

He stressed that the vaccine would be used to vaccinate primarily residents of boarding houses and employees of such institutions. He also added that it was planned to vaccinate at least 50% of the adult population in Ukraine by the end of the year.

Ukraine started using Sinovac Biotech's CoronaVac vaccine on April 13.

Ukraine is to receive eight million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX scheme.

Some 10,135 people were vaccinated against coronavirus in Ukraine on April 12. A total of 388,401 people have been vaccinated in Ukraine since the beginning of the vaccination campaign, with five people receiving two doses.

Ukraine began vaccinating the population against COVID-19 on February 24. A batch of 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, arrived in Ukraine on February 23.

The first batch of a COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinovac Biotech arrived in Ukraine on March 25.

op
The EC concluded that it carefully considered the matter and is of the considered view that Ms Banerjee made highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law & order and thereby adversely affecting the election process.  PTI

Kolkata: In what seems to be major relief to the BJP, the Election Commission on Monday slapped a 24-hour campaign ban on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, following its dissatisfaction with her explanation on the recent notices over the model code of conduct violations on her two controversial remarks, from 8 pm on Monday, ahead of the fifth phase of the Assembly election in the state on Saturday.

An angry Trinamul Congress supremo, saying the ECs decision was undemocratic and unconstitutional, has also threatened to sit on a dharna in protest in Kolkata from 12 noon on Tuesday.

On her appeal to Muslims for votes, the EC said in a statement Monday evening that Ms Banerjee has selectively chosen parts of her speech in her reply and did not mention anything on the context of key parts of her speech.

On the TMC chiefs call to voters to gherao Central paramilitary forces during the polls, the EC observed that Ms Banerjee in her reply has yet again conveniently left out key parts of her speech, perhaps due to selective amnesia It concluded that it carefully considered the matter and is of the considered view that Ms Banerjee made highly insinuating and provocative remarks laden with serious potential of breakdown of law & order and thereby adversely affecting the election process.

The EC stated that it condemns such statements portent with serious law & order problems across the state(s) and sternly warns Ms Mamata Banerjee and advises her to desist from using such statements while making public utterances during the period when the model code of conduct is in force. The commission also imposes a ban of 24 hours on Ms Mamata Banerjee from campaigning in any manner from 8 pm of 12.4.2021 till 8 pm of 13.4.2021.

Later, the two-time CM tweeted: To protest against the undemocratic and unconstitutional decision of the Election Commission of India, I will sit on dharna tomorrow at Gandhi Murti, Kolkata, from 12 noon.

The poll panels move came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that the BJP had scored a century by winning seats in the first four phases of the ongoing Assembly polls. He alleged that the saffron partys lead had left Ms Banerjee in despair as she had thought to hand over her captaincy of her rule on the state to her MP nephew Abhishek Banerjee if she would have won again.

I am taken aback to see where she gets so much bitterness. The anger, bitterness, and frustration of Didi have been increasing. This is because the people have cleaned the TMC in the last four phases. The people of Bengal have hit so many fours and sixes in these phases that the BJP has already scored a century, he said in Burdwan.

The PM added: Those who wanted to play khela with you, the people have now played khela with them. Didi has been clean bowled by the people of Nandigram and Bengal. The people of Bengal foiled the plan of Didi. She was preparing to hand over the captaincy of the party to Bhaipo (nephew), but the public caught her khela in time.

Coming down heavily on Ms Banerjee over her stand against the Central paramilitary forces firing which took four lives at Shitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, Mr Modi, who addressed two more rallies during the day, also pointed out her silence on the killing of a policeman from Bihar during a raid to catch an accused of a crime in North Bengal.

He also tried to woo Matuas by showering lavish praise on the pioneers of their community, Harichand Thakur and Guruchand Thakur. The PM recalled how blessed he was in visiting the native place of the Matuas in Orakandi of Bangladesh, though Ms Banerjee was unhappy about it.

At Kalyani in Nadia, Mr Modi said: Didi did not like my visit to Orakandi, where the founder of the Matua sect and social reformer Harichand Thakur was born. She questioned my visit. I assure you today that all the refugees will get all facilities due to them, they will get justice. It also an emotional commitment for the BJP to provide justice to all the migrants -- Matua and Namasudras.

The PM also attacked Ms Banerjee over TMC candidate Sujata Mondal Khans controversial remarks about beggars, in relation to Scheduled Castes. Union home minister Amit Shah, who campaigned in the state all through Monday too, also tore into Ms Banerjee.
NEWAYGO COUNTY, MI  The father of a teen who brought a homemade bomb to school before it exploded in a classroom has been indicted on federal charges.

David Robert Daniel Saylor, 34, faces two charges of possessing an improvised-explosive device and a single charge of possessing a stolen firearm, according to an indictment unsealed Monday, April 12, in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

Saylor originally faced state charges in Newaygo County for allegedly manufacturing an explosive device, a four-year felony, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a misdemeanor.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced the federal charges which carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison upon conviction.

The government said Saylor possessed a pipe bomb as well as an improvised explosive consisting of a brass fitting wrapped in tape that contained an explosive material.

Saylor was also accused of possessing a stolen .22-caliber Beretta rifle.

His son, 16, brought an explosive material to school on March 8, intending to show friends, before it exploded in his hands, investigators say. The son lost most of both thumbs in the blast that caused minor injuries to a teacher and five classmates.

He and his father had previously made explosives at their home in Newaygo Countys Brooks Township, police said.

The father was arrested while police used search warrants at his home after the school explosion.

Child Protective Services workers had raised concerns about conditions at the home, including explosives, the teens interest in explosives, and unsecured firearms, testimony has shown.

A caseworker said police learned that the father and son had designed, constructed and detonated explosives together over the course of months.

Saylor has been held in the Newaygo County Jail, which also houses federal prisoners. His initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Berens was held via video from the jail.

She ordered him held pending arraignment and a detention hearing on Thursday.

Related:

Screaming and hollering after Newaygo High explosion, 911 caller says

Teen in school bomb blast wanted to show explosives to friends, testimony shows

Teen whose homemade bomb exploded inside school knows he messed up, grandmother says
Kenyan Bishops have appealed to their government not to close Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.

Vatican News English Africa Service

The Kenyan Bishops contend that closing Dadaab and Kakuma camps and repatriating refugees and asylum seekers against their will back to Somalia is against international law. Given the ongoing war in Somalia, insecurity, and governance challenges, Kenyas Catholic Bishops said refugees should only go back when Somalias situation improves.

Bishops applaud years of Kenyan hospitality

In a statement released over the weekend, the Bishops said that forcibly returning refugees to Somalia, where there is still insecurity, would only lead to more suffering of many vulnerable women and children.

We, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), applaud the Government of Kenya for hosting and giving refugees and asylum-seekers protection over the years. This has been a good gesture to these people who felt they are a lot safer in Kenya, said Archbishop Philip Anyolo, who chairs of KCCB.

Kenyan court temporarily halts closures

Last week, local media reported that a Kenyan court had temporarily halted the governments intentions to close the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, housing nearly 500,000 people, mostly Somali refugees.

It is highly unfortunate and regrettable that the intention by the Kenyan authorities to close Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps within a short timeframe comes at a time that these people need help. This is a time to give protection and embrace the most vulnerable in our society, said Archbishop Anyolo. He added, These brothers and sisters of ours living in the camps have become even more vulnerable due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Security concerns

It is not the first time that the Kenyan government is attempting to close the refugee camps established in 1991. In 2016 a similar plan was again only stopped by Kenyas High Court. Kenyan authorities say that the al-Shabab jihadist group uses the camps to plan and carry out attacks on Kenyan soil.

It is a complex and highly emotive crisis that inflames tempers on both sides of the argument. Kenya has, in recent years, been the target of terrorist attacks. For its part, the Somali-based al-Shabaab terrorist group has never hidden its intentions to expand operations into Kenya and possibly beyond.

Kenyan Bishops say the government should consider increased security and not closure.
When Emma Corrin, who starred as Princess Diana in The Crown announced on Instagram that she was ur fave queer bride on Thursday the world seemed, at least in that moment, born anew in a rainbow-hued wash of queer acceptance that generations of people have long hoped and fought for.

Marry me, wrote English singer Paloma Faith, echoing the sentiments of countless others among the more than 1500 people who commented beneath Corrins post. (Other comments: QUEER? word I love my life; THE holy representation weve been waiting for.)

While many people  and most of the headlines that subsequently ricocheted across the globe in papers as far flung as Ireland, New York City and Jordan  took Corrins post as statement that she has come out as queer, the Golden Globe-award winning actor has made no such confirmation. The photograph of Corrin staring defiantly from under a bridal veil is from a Pop magazine shoot. And in February Corrin was cast in My Policeman, a drama in which she will play the wife of a bisexual cop, played by Harry Styles about the criminalisation of homosexuality in the 1950s.

Still, the feverish response to Corrins post has raised an important question, especially in the light of recent headlines about homophobia in Australia (more on this later).
This time around fewer people care because of the East side locale following voter push back on The Paseo.

Still, the glacial pace of local legislation frustrates residents who want this issue resolved.

We'll talk about this a bit more before tomorrow's Parks Board meeting but for now here's a worthwhile overview . . .
There will be a desire to spend the ARP funds quickly so the new resources can be put to use as soon as possible. But its crucial that schools have thoughtful and thorough planning and selection processes  especially given the amount of money and the long-term consequences at stake.

Plan ahead for how ongoing costs will be absorbed once the ARP 2024 funding cliff is reached.

Be sure the planning process is inclusive and brings together representatives from technology, curriculum and instruction, and schools.

Think long and hard before using ARP funds to hire new staff for ed-tech initiatives (or for any ARP project, for that matter.) The money will go away all too soon, as will the people it funded.

About $130 billion allocated for K-12 education from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will provide schools with much-needed funds to help them recover from pandemic-created losses. And it will also allow them to rebuild and rethink the educational technology programs theyve leaned on so heavily this past year.But given the magnitude of these one-time monies, the stakes are raised for schools to ensure the funds allocated to ed tech are well-spent and focused on sustainability.Those who were working in district ed-tech departments 10 years ago will recall the federal Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program that allocated $650 million in stimulus funds for schools ed-tech needs. In large urban districts, we got some decent money for a couple of years. And where I worked, we did our best to spend it well, primarily through teacher professional development and in giving funds to schools ready to build innovative tech programs.But the money went away, and in my district, so did the initiatives it supported. The hard truth was that we hadnt prepared for the EETT funding cliff, and we couldnt make a good enough case for our lost money to be replaced in tight budget times.Fortunately, we didnt hire any additional staff with the EETT funds. Wed learned our lesson on that from previous grant-funded projects where we ended up scrambling for money to sustain staff once the grants ended and the work remained unfinished. But we were nonetheless shortsighted in other ways.The EETT funding pales in comparison with the level of new stimulus funds coming to districts. But the challenges remain the same  how to leverage this big one-time money to build and then maintain strong ed-tech infrastructures and programs.When the pandemic hit, schools moved heaven and earth to outfit students and teachers with the tools necessary for remote learning. Laptops, Wi-Fi hot spots and learning management systems all became hot commodities. So, too, did the training required to retool teachers for this new instructional model.As schools reopen, these tools will still be needed since theyre now an integral part of most classrooms. Chromebooks, the most popular student laptop option, have a three-year lifespan. Though cheaper than fully functional laptops, keeping Chromebooks on a replacement cycle for every student will be an expensive undertaking.Theres real money in ARP to help address the challenge of student connectivity. And E-rate, as well as support from states, will further help close this gap. But school districts will also need to continue their work at the local level to ensure their kids are able to get online, and that will have ongoing costs.Many districts will also need to build virtual school programs to accommodate those families who, for a variety of reasons, will opt not to return their students to traditional schools.And maintaining district technology infrastructures  including strong Wi-Fi access throughout schools to support the expansion of student wireless devices  will also be an ongoing necessity. As will maintaining the contracts for both administrative and instructional software applications schools have adopted, or will soon purchase with the aid of the new stimulus funds.The incoming ARP funds for ed tech will provide schools with opportunities to advance their programs and address both new and old needs. But with this one-time money come pitfalls that schools will be wise to avoid:After suffering through the trying past two years, ARP provides schools with welcome financial relief and some promising possibilities. Taking advantage of these funds to make lasting changes for how teachers teach and students learn is a generational opportunity. But this is only possible if school leaders plan well and are mindful to not repeat past mistakes.
Poorly attended riots on Sunday in Edmonton and Montreal gathered a few hundred people opposed to public-health restrictions aimed at curbing spread of COVID-19. A padlocked church west of Edmonton and the night-life district of Old Montreal were the symbolic rallying points for the protests.

Poorly attended riots on Sunday in Edmonton and Montreal gathered a few hundred people opposed to public-health restrictions aimed at curbing spread of COVID-19. A padlocked church west of Edmonton and the night-life district of Old Montreal were the symbolic rallying points for the protests.

As upwellings of public anger go, they were more like feeble fringe-group gestures. The public recognizes that the 8 p.m. curfew in Montreal and the restrictions on church services in Alberta, though unwelcome, are reasonable measures to slow the accelerating spread of the virus.

The major parties in Parliament conducted virtual gatherings  the Conservatives in March, the Liberals and New Democrats last weekend  to fire up the troops and show the Canadian public where they stand. In the upshot, they all looked pretty lame.

Hundreds of people took part in an anti-curfew protest in Montreal on Sunday. (Giuseppe Valiante / The Canadian Press)

As the damp-squib protests on the weekend showed, the Canadian public, though querulous and often discouraged, accepts the steps their governments have taken to limit the damage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with that public acceptance and a huge and sustained increased in spending, Canada is achieving only mediocre public-health results.

The ruling Liberals naturally bear more blame than anybody else for deficiencies in the pandemic response. The Conservatives might spend less and the New Democrats might spend more, but neither party has persuaded the public that they know of a better way to fight the pandemic. The Angus Reid Institutes April 6 survey, for instance, found 70 per cent of respondents saying the federal government had done a good job handling the outbreak.

The Liberals are keeping the opposition in a state of apprehension by visibly preparing for an election while saying they dont want one. Polls suggest the Liberals would win an election held today, though if they plunged the country into a virus-plagued election, the verdict might switch against them. As long as the Liberals look like winners, the opposition parties will be disinclined to call their bluff and put the present Parliament out of its misery.

The Conservatives are in no position to face the electorate until they think of something to say about climate change. Leader Erin OToole is bound and determined to abolish Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus carbon tax and he really means to come up with some other idea eventually. That other idea will have to be a real humdinger to rally support from Conservatives, who dont see climate change as a problem, and from the majority of Canadian voters, who do.

Conservative Party Leader Erin OToole is bound and determined to abolish the carbon tax. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files)

The Liberals have borrowed a spending theory from the New Democrats, leaving that party with little to complain about. The Liberals think they have the Conservatives cornered with an indefensible climate-change program. In these conditions, the country could easily blunder into the election nobody wants just because of miscalculation by the parties.

New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia last fall showed that Canadian provincial governments could call pandemic elections and win them. Newfoundland and Labrador showed in January, February and March this year how a pandemic election can turn into a low-turnout fiasco of doubtful validity.

Canadas parties have done their muscle-flexing and their pep rallies. Now they should roll up their sleeves and focus on the hard work of governing Canada. Its not even safe for the parties to meet in national convention, much less call the voters together for campaign events. The electoral showdown can wait.
Embezzlement case against lawyer Tretyakov again returned to prosecution

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

11:41 13/04/2021

MOSCOW, April 13 (RAPSI)  A court in Khimki, a town in the Moscow Region, on Tuesday again returned a case of lawyer Igor Tretyakov charged with embezzling 330 million rubles ($4.3million at the current exchange rate) from Roscosmos corporation to prosecutors, RAPSI learnt in the court.

The court returned it for the handling of errors precluding the examination of a case on its merits.

It was expected that on Tuesday the court would deliver sentence against the attorney. In late 2019, the case was returned to the prosecution because the indictment was made in violation of law.

Tretyakov is in detention now. Two other defendants, ex-CEO of the S.A. Lavochkin Scientific Union Sergey Lemeshevsky and chief of the Unions legal department Yekaterina Averyanova were also detained. Later, Averyanova admitted guilt and signed a deal with investigators in exchange for release from detention under house arrest.

According to investigators, the defendants have stolen assets of Roscosmos by signing fraudulent contracts for provision of legal services with the law firm. All the works were allegedly performed by the corporations own specialists. The overall sum of payments to the firm reached 330 million rubles.

Tretyakov pleads not guilty.




A Massachusetts woman was arrested last week over claims she used Crystals Day Spa in Revere as a front for an organized criminal enterprise that involved trafficking multiple victims for sex, authorities said.

Geralda De Matos Garland, a 57-year-old Revere woman, was taken into custody Friday without incident and charged with sex trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, money laundering and conspiracy, according to a statement Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healeys office.

The charges are the result of an investigation run by Massachusetts State Police with help from the Revere Police Department, the state Division of Professional Licensure and the Suffolk District Attorneys Office, Healeys office said.

Over the course of their investigation, authorities said they discovered evidence indicating Garland ran a profitable and organized criminal enterprise through the spa in Revere, which she owned and is accused of setting up as a front for human trafficking.

Healeys office claimed Garland recruited victims and offered sexual activity between them and buyers for a fee. The spa owner is accused of posting online advertisements offering commercial sex, scheduling appointments with buyers, collecting money from them and profiting from the activity.

At her arraignment in Chelsea District Court on Monday, Garland pleaded not guilty to the charges, and bail was set at $50,000 cash. Per her conditions of release, she must be monitored by GPS, surrender her passport, stay away from and have no contact with victims and not leave the state, according to officials. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for May 11.

The attorney generals office said its working with victim service organizations to ensure the victims in the trafficking scheme have the assistance they need. The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 17:24:33|Editor: huaxia

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An Iranian flag is pictured at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Jan. 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

Iran will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will "take revenge on" Israel for the incident in Natanz, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned.



My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability," Netanyahu said.



by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng

TEHRAN, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday accused Israel of plotting an incident at an Iranian nuclear facility to disrupt Iran's efforts to have U.S. sanctions lifted in the recent Vienna nuclear talks.

A blackout struck the Natanz enrichment facility in central Iran on Sunday morning. Media in Iran widely reported that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency was behind a cyberattack that caused the incident.

Photo taken on April 9, 2021 shows a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna, Austria. (EU Delegation in Vienna/Handout via Xinhua)

"NUCLEAR TERRORISM"

Israel "wants to take revenge on the Iranian people for their success in lifting the unjust sanctions, but we will not allow it," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by official news agency IRNA as saying on Monday.

Zarif said that the centrifuges damaged at the Natanz facility were the first generation, and will be replaced with more advanced devices, which will strengthen Iran's position in the negotiations aiming to have U.S. sanctions against Iran lifted.

Iran, Zarif warned, will not allow Israel to prevent the sanctions from being lifted, and will "take revenge on" Israel for the incident in Natanz.

Meanwhile, Sunday's incident was "a bold act of nuclear terrorism on the Iranian soil," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was quoted by Press TV as saying on Monday.

Ali Akbar Saleh, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), on Sunday also described the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism."

"Necessary measures are being taken to arrest the main element behind the disruption in the power system of Natanz complex," Iran's Nour News reported, citing a security source.

The incident at the nuclear facility came a day after 164 IR-6 semi-industrial centrifuges were injected with gas and became fully operational at a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, and 30 IR-6S centrifuges entered the first phase of gas injection at the same plant.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) addresses a joint press conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Jerusalem, on April 12, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/JINI via Xinhua)

ISRAEL-IRAN TENSIONS

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.

"We both agree that Iran must never possess nuclear weapons. My policy as prime minister of Israel is clear: I will never allow Iran to obtain the nuclear capability," Netanyahu said in joint statements with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

In November 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by an armed attack on his car. At that time, Tehran held Israel accountable for the assassination.

In July 2020, Iran said an "incident" affected a shed under construction at the Natanz complex. Later, AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi described the incident as "an act of sabotage."

A decade ago, the Stuxnet cyberattack, revealed in 2010, delivered a blow to the nuclear program of Iran. Although neither country has openly admitted responsibility, the computer worm is widely believed to be a cyberweapon built jointly by the United States and Israel.

Earlier this month, Iran confirmed an explosion in the country's commercial ship Saviz in the Red Sea. Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Friday that Israel and the United States are suspected to be behind the recent attack on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea.

The New York Times called the attack against the Iranian ship as "an escalation of the shadowy naval skirmishing" between Iran and Israel, which has gone on for two years and opened "a new maritime front in a regional shadow war that had previously played out by land and air."

People work at the construction site of the second phase of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, southern Iran, on Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo by Ahmad Halabisaz/Xinhua)

PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR DEAL

These recent developments have also complicated efforts to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as nuclear talks have been held in Vienna this month, with the lifting of sanctions on Iran and nuclear implementation measures topping the agenda.

Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its JCPOA commitments from May 2019, one year after the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran.

As the Biden administration has expressed its desire to rejoin the nuclear agreement, Israel, a staunch opponent of Iran, has repeatedly voiced against Washington returning to the JCPOA.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at Northwest University of China, told Xinhua that Israel's recent actions against Iran are aimed at exerting strategic pressure on Iran's regional influence and Vienna nuclear meetings.

"At a time when the international community hopes to put the Iran nuclear deal back on track, Israel tried to deteriorate regional relations, block the return to the Iran nuclear deal, and create a favorable regional landscape for Israel," he said.

Photo taken on April 8, 2021 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack on Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.

"The United States was not involved in any manner," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters during the daily briefing, adding that Washington is focused on discussions scheduled this Wednesday in Vienna to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

In Iran, voices asking the government to halt the Vienna talks were clear heard after the incident. In response, Zarif called on the Iranian people not to "fall in a trap" set up by Israel.

Similarly, Iranian Students News Agency on Monday published an opinion piece titled "Let us not walk into the trap set by Iran's enemies."

Their goal is "to block the normalization of Iran's relations with the world, the reduction of economic pressure and the continuation of the security-building project for Iran," it said. 
The Wisconsin police officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha last August will not be disciplined or charged with any crime and is back on active duty, cops said.

Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Blake, 29, in the back seven times on August 23 in front of his children and left him paralyzed from the waist down while officers responded to a 911 call about an alleged 'domestic incident.'

Sheskey had been placed on administrative leave after the incident but returned to work on March 31 after the shooting was investigated 'by an outside agency,' the Kenosha Police Department announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley had announced in January that is office would not charge Sheskey with a crime for the shooting.

Kenosha Officer Rusten Sheskey shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times on August 23 in front of his children

Blake, 29, was left paralyzed from the waist down and has since sued the officer in federal court

Kenosha Police Department announced on Tuesday that Sheskey returned to work on March 31 after being placed on administrative leave

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley had announced in January that is office would not charge Sheskey with a crime for the shooting

Blake answers questions during a hearing on September 4. 2020 in Kenosha

'[It] has been reviewed by an independent expert as well as the Kenosha County District Attorney. Officer Sheskey was not charged with any wrong doing. He acted within the law and was consistent with training,' Police Chief Daniel Miskinis wrote in the release.

'This incident was also reviewed internally. Officer Sheskey was found to have been acting within policy and will not be subjected to discipline.'

Miskinis added: 'Although this incident has been reviewed at multiple levels, I know that some will not be pleased with the outcome; however, given the facts, the only lawful and appropriate decision was made.'

Last month, Blake sued Sheskey in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin for excessive force, seeking an unspecified amount in compensation for the injuries he suffered and 'a substantial sum' in punitive damages.

His lawyers also demanded to be paid for costs, legal fees, 'and such other relief as is just and equitable.'

Protests erupted last summer after a viral cellphone video showed Blake walking around the front of his car with Sheskey following and opening fire after Blake opened the door.

But investigators said the video was incomplete and failed to show that Blake was armed with a knife and had resisted arrest, arguing that it would have been hard to prove Sheskey was not acting in self defense.

Blake had also admitted to holding a knife and even described 'switching it from one hand to another,' The New York Times reported.

The shooting of Jacob Blake rekindled massive protests at the end of last summer, just months after George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were shot by police officers.

Last month, Kenosha police said 55 people were facing charges related to violent demonstrations in the city.

'Large numbers of people engaged in lawful protest; however, many engaged in unlawful and dangerous activity,' Miskinis said in a statement at the time.
A 24-year-old Australian woman who has never posted an edited photo of her face of body on Instagram is leading the way for self love and more natural figures on social media.

Ariella Nyssa is going from strength-to-strength in her career as a model and influencer and has more than 570,000 followers on Instagram.

The Sydney woman has never tweaked the size or shape of her stomach, made her legs longer or removed moles or cellulite from her images before posting them.

'Your stomach is perfect. Your legs are perfect. Your arms are perfect. Your bum is perfect. Your face is perfect. YOU ARE IMPERFECTLY PERFECT JUST THE WAY YOU ARE,' she said in a recent post, showing off her amazing body in an off-the shoulder bikini.

Sydney woman Ariella Nyssa is going from strength-to-strength in her career as a model and influencer and has more than 570,000 followers on Instagram

The 24-year-old Australian woman who has never posted an edited photo of her face of body on Instagram is leading the way for self love and more natural figures on social media

The young woman is leading the way for body positivity and for women everywhere to put their real bodies on social media.

She previously said she still gets messages about her cellulite, with one person going so far as to say it looks like a plastic bag shriveled in the snow.

But the young beauty refuses to post doctored pictures online.

'Cellulite is beautiful! Its apart of me. My marks that make me, me. I would never change them for the world, no matter what anyone else says! Your cellulite rocks gal, embrace it and love it.'

Her recent post was liked by more than 17,000 of her followers who thanked her for her guidance.

'Such an amazing message,' one woman said.

'You are such a light, beautiful inside and out,' said another woman.

Others called her perfect, beautiful and amazing for continuing to fight the trend of airbrushed Instagram photos.

'Youve no REAL idea what you actually do for people like me and I thank you! You are such a beauty, never ever stop shining your light,' said another woman, helped by Ariella's confidence.

The young woman is leading the way for body positivity and for women everywhere to put their real bodies on social media

Ariella (pictured) added: 'These negative views on cellulite are still so precedent in this day and age and it makes me so friggen sad'

'Absolutely beautiful, you give me so much hope and will power to stay away from my editor and accept Im beautiful in my own way,' said another.

Other women who aren't in the spotlight have revealed they feel the they need to edit their images, removing moles and even changing the shape of their face to fit in with the 'glowing' mum community online.

This is the kind of trend Ariella is hoping to smash through with her photos.

Previous posts have had the same impact on her audience which continues to grow despite the negative comments she receives.

In August 2019, Ariella told how she believed companies had turned her down for photoshoots because her body is too 'real'.

'Your stomach is perfect. Your legs are perfect. Your arms are perfect. Your bum is perfect. Your face is perfect,' she has said

She added that she was 'so over' companies knocking her back on the basis she was too 'big' or her skin wasn't smooth enough.

Ariella claimed that while brands and modelling agencies never directly said her body was the reason for their refusal, their actions proved otherwise.

While Ariella has been able to grow an Instagram following of hundreds of thousands, she said big companies reject or simply completely ignore her requests to collaborate.

One of her friends, meanwhile, was given work with a company who rejected her.

'They'd say "oh, we're not looking at the moment" - but then I'd see that my friend who is a size six has just started working with them,' Ariella claimed.

'Every time I try to push past these beauty standards I get shut down. I'm so over trying to show people the beauty in all of us.'
Russia must understand that the West will not allow it to destroy the sovereignty of Ukraine and its democracy, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

"Strategically, Russia has to understand that Ukraine belongs to the world of democracies, to the Western world, and the West will not allow Russia to shatter Ukrainian democracy and sovereignty. This is the message, the very clear and very simple message, that our friends and partners can convey to Russia. Ukraine is not part of the Russian world and will never be considered as such," he said at a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Tuesday.

The minister said that at the operational level, Ukraine needs measures, which will deter Russia, and which will contain its aggressive intentions.

"This could be, as Secretary General mentioned, a new round of sanctions, which would raise the price of Russian aggression. This could be a direct support, aimed at strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, because we do know that Russia spares no effort to prevent third countries from cooperating with Ukraine, in the defense sector," Kuleba said.

He said that Russia is working hard to undermine Ukraine's defense capabilities.

"There is only one thing that I really would like to highlight here. The price, some measures, which we are talking about, may look costly, but the price of prevention, will still be lower than the price of stopping the war and mitigating its consequences. So it's better to act now to prevent Russia from further escalating the situation," the minister said.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in the country, the focus has shifted to vaccination. India has administered over 10.45 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines cumulatively as of Monday morning. But in the clamour against vaccine shortage, the question is what is the total vaccine production capacity and how many COVID-19 vaccines can India produce?

The Department of Biotechnology had recently informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change that the estimated manufacturing capacity of Covishield is 70-100 million doses every month, while Covaxin has a planned production capacity of 12.5 million a month (150 million doses a year). However, neither is producing to full capacity as vaccine makers say they are not earning enough to plough back into capacity enhancement. Sources say, Centre was initially procuring one dose of Covishield for Rs 210, inclusive of taxes, which has now been brought down to Rs 150 per dose, exclusive of taxes. In private hospitals, the price to consumer has been capped at Rs 250 per dose, leaving approximately Rs 100 for the hospital.

Recently in an interview, Poonawalla had sought a grant of Rs 3,000 crore from the government to ramp up Covishield production beyond 100 million doses per month, which SII will reach by the end of May. As per reports, vaccine makers, including Biological E, Gennova and SII, have sought support from the Department of Biotechnology to avail from the Rs 900-crore Covid Suraksha fund, set up by the Central government, to accelerate their vaccine programme. Besides, Bharat Biotech has also sought Rs 150 crore -- Rs 75 crore each for its facilities at Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Also read: DCGI approves emergency use of Russia's Sputnik V; 3rd vaccine to get nod in India

In January, India had given emergency use authorisation to two COVID-19 vaccines -- Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Covaxin, which is being manufactured by Bharat Biotech. Bharat Biotech has three manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad and one in Bengaluru. The company is in the process of expanding its manufacturing capacities in Hyderabad by two-fold and in Bengaluru by five-fold.

Besides, SII, the much larger producer compared to Bharat Biotech, is upscaling its total vaccine manufacturing capacity from 1.6 billion doses per year currently to over 2.3 billion doses of vaccines annually. It will also increase its Covishield manufacturing capacity to 100 million doses per month from the current 50-60 million doses, SII CEO Adar Poonawalla told BusinessToday.In earlier. Covishield is licensed from Oxford University-AstraZeneca. "Once completed, between SII and SILS (Serum Institute Life Sciences), we will have a capacity to manufacture over 2.3 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines, provided there is demand and requirement," he said.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Subject Expert Committee of the Drugs Controller General of India granted approval to Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik-V for restricted use in India, as per sources within the drug regulator's office. However, an official statement is awaited on the issue.

In September 2020, Dr Reddy's Laboratories had partnered with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V, and for its distribution rights in India. Besides Dr Reddy's, the RDIF has partnered with many Indian pharma companies, including Panacea Biotec, Stelis Biopharma, Gland Pharma and Virchow Biotech Private Limited, for production of Sputnik V. In total, plans are firmed up for producing 850 million doses of Sputnik V per year.

India also can expect to get five more COVID-19 vaccines by the end of the third quarter in 2021. However, it needs to be remembered that bringing a vaccine to the market is a long drawn process. From research to clinical trials to regulatory approvals, it might take months, if not years, to bring the vaccine to the market, even with expedited approvals. Besides, the companies will also need a few months to ramp up their manufacturing capacities.

Also read: BT Buzz: Who will fund India's mega COVID-19 vaccination?

Among the COVID-19 vaccine undergoing trials, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila's ZyCov-D is in phase 3 trials. The company has created an in-house manufacturing capacity of 100 million doses per year and has also roped in a contract manufacturer for additional capacity of about 150 million doses per year.

Besides, Hyderabad-based Biological E has signed a contract-manufacturing deal for producing 60 crore doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine per year. The single-shot vaccine has already been approved in the US and the company is reportedly preparing to start its clinical trials in India.

Bharat Biotech is also conducting trials for its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine. The company's chairman Krishna Ella had earlier said that if the government can develop a protocol for all phases of clinical trials, the company can bring the vaccine to market by June 2021. "The production is very easy. The facility is in place already. It is a vector based vaccine. If successful, I can make more than 1 billion doses," he said.

Also read: COVID-19 vaccination: At current rate, India will take 10.8 years to vaccinate 70% population

India also has additional vaccine manufacturing capabilities of other companies whose own COVID-19 vaccines are currently far away from launch. Among such companies, Aurobindo Pharma has a manufacturing capacity of 220 million doses per year and is increasing it to 480 million doses by June 2021.

Cumulatively, Indian vaccine manufacturers, including SII, Bharat Biotech, Panacea Biotech, Sanofis Shanta Biotech, Biological E, Hester Biosciences and Zydus Cadila, have an installed capacity to manufacture 8.2 billion doses of different vaccines per year. If required, this capacity can be tweaked to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. Besides vaccinating every citizen of the country, it can be used to supply vaccines to other countries of the world.

Considering the rising cases, India reported over 1.68 lakh new cases in the preceding 24 hours as on Monday morning, the country will need to quickly step up vaccination. The funding from government can go a long way in helping vaccine makers increase their production and respond to the challenge thrown by the pandemic, by not only manufacturing for India but also for the entire world.

Also read: India reports 1.61 lakh coronavirus cases in 24 hours; recovery rate drops to 89.5%
KALAMAZOO, MI  Jason Watts said days after attending a Republican Party district meeting at a restaurant in Portage, he heard that several others at the meeting contracted COVID-19 and started feeling symptoms himself.

Watts tested positive for COVID-19. Now, nearly two weeks after the meeting, he is recovering in a hospital after fighting the deadly virus. The treasurer of the 6th District Republican Committee and an Allegan County resident, Watts spoke to MLive on Tuesday, April 13.

Watts said he was required to come to the March 31 meeting at Travelers Cafe and Pub in Portage, where officials were planning to consider a petition to remove him from office because he talked to the New York Times and gave comments critical of Donald Trump, saying the party needed to move on from the former president. Some in the group wanted him out, but that did not happen at the meeting, Watts said.

He ended up in a Grand Rapids hospital soon after the meeting instead.

Watts, 44, said he was one of probably three people he saw wearing a mask during the meeting. After he left, he heard rumblings that people had COVID-19, he said.

Watts estimates there were six people he knows of who were positive for COVID-19 afterward, though he believes there are others. He spoke to some of them directly, he said. Some who tested positive later were seated at his table, he said. According to Watts, none of them knew they had the virus at the time.

Watts said he reported the incident. A Kalamazoo County health department official said the agency is aware of the event.

This has been on our radar as well as all facilities that hold meetings that may be in violation of the MDHHS Epidemic Orders, Public Information Officer Matt Johnson said.

At this time, we do not have enough information to state that this was an outbreak or super spreader event, he said on Tuesday.

The countys health department was notified through contact tracing of positive cases, Johnson said. The health department has contacted the establishment, he said.

Watts believes he contracted the virus at the Portage restaurant. He said he went to only one other restaurant in the two weeks before the meeting. He said he has been careful to avoid exposure to the virus otherwise, only going into convenience stores briefly, for example.

He felt he needed to be at the March 31 meeting because of an effort to eject him, he said.

I was required to go, Watts said. There was no Zoom option.

As he walked in wearing two cloth masks, he said he noted other people were not wearing masks.

I felt like I was going into a den of virus, he said of the setting. He estimates there were nearly 70 people there, and he thought the room he was in would have been safer if it had fewer people in it.

Michigans restaurant restrictions reduce occupancy by 50%. For Travelers Cafe, that means 80 people, according to General Manager Brandon Jeannot.

The restaurant operates under the states guidelines, Jeannot said. When a customer is seen walking around without a mask, staff will ask the person to please wear a mask, he said. They do their best to police it, he said.

Customers are permitted to take masks off when at the table while eating, he said.

Watts said some people who contracted COVID-19 dont want it known publicly. Others who were at the meeting have announced a positive test result.

Berrien County Commissioner Ezra Scott, who recently announced plans to run for congress, was one of the attendees, Watts said. Scott posted on his Facebook account on April 6, Just tested positive for the Rona virus. Scott could not be reached for comment.

Kalamazoo County Republican Chair Scott McGraw said he believes precautions were taken at the March 31 meeting. McGraw said he sat at a table with Watts and did not catch the virus.

Granted, theres a faction of the Republican Party who dont want to get the vaccine, McGraw said, though he is not among them. He recently got his second vaccine dose, encourages others to consider getting the vaccine and also encourages people to wear masks.

I would think it would probably have its roots in in our resolve for freedoms, McGraw said about the resistance, though he has a different view about the virus himself.

McGraw said he takes it seriously. He lost his father to COVID-19 in December, he said.

We had a meeting, McGraw said. Some people got COVID unfortunately after the meeting. I assume it was from the meeting but I cant really pinpoint what these people were doing before and after a meeting.

I just think you can still follow all the rules and the virus can spread easily.

The Kalamazoo County GOP also holds monthly luncheon meetings at the same restaurant, McGraw said.

A petition was submitted to remove Watts from office after his comments to the New York Times, McGraw confirmed. The petition action was delayed after Watts argued it was not the proper procedure before the March 31 meeting began, McGraw said.

Watts was still waiting to leave the hospital when he spoke to MLive on April 13. He shared his thoughts about the perception that some in his party are not taking the steps needed to fight the virus and keep people safe.

A mask shouldnt have a political party, Watts said. A vaccine shouldnt have a political party, but weve conjured these things to have these connotations. People are getting sick. And to put these connotations on these things does nobody any good.

Read more:

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Michigan man sues police for wrongful arrest based on facial recognition technology
Temporary cycleways installed in central Sydney during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic are set to remain for another two years, despite concerns from residents about safety and disruption.

While the NSW government is yet to decide whether two pop-up cycleways on its roads in Erskineville and Glebe will remain, the City of Sydney has recommended that three on council-controlled streets be kept in place for up to two years while it explores permanent options.

A temporary cycleway was installed in Erskineville last year. Credit:Nick Moir

Another temporary cycleway on Pitt Street in the CBD will become permanent under the plans to be considered by councillors next month.

The City of Sydney and Transport for NSW installed six temporary cycleways under COVID-19 public health orders in the middle of last year.
TOKYO (AP)  Nintendos late president Satoru Iwata oversaw the video-game makers global growth as Super Mario and Pokemon became household names.

Ask Iwata was published after his death from cancer in 2015 at age 55. This month, VIZ Media is publishing the English translation of the book, which came out in Japanese in 2019.

On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer, Iwata once said, one of many quotes that stand out in the book.

Throughout the book, Iwata outlines his vision for Nintendo Co., which was to offer entertainment that everyone in the family could enjoy, regardless of age, gender and game playing skills. The company culture he fostered encouraged individual game creators, showing he was one of them at heart.

Iwata was of a younger generation than the vanguard of Japanese manufacturing leaders who have grabbed global attention: Soichiro Honda, founder of the automaker that carries his name; Momofuku Ando, inventor of the instant noodle; Akio Morita, who started Sony in a repair shop amid bombed out rubble.

Kyoto-based Nintendo started out making traditional Japanese playing cards. Iwata took over in 2002, and presided over video game offerings like the Wii console and the Nintendo DS handheld, as well as games played on cell phones.

The company's performance has had ups and downs like a Super Mario roller-coaster ride, but has done well lately as people stuck at home due to the pandemic turned to games. Profits for the nine months through December doubled from a year earlier to nearly 377 billion yen ($3.4 billion).

That good fortune might not last as normal activities resume with vaccine rollouts, a change likely to crimp sales to the casual game users who make up Nintendo players, rather than the core gamers rival consoles tend to attract.

The hoped-for end to the pandemic is likely to coincide, analysts say, with a peak in the so-called life cycle, or duration of consumer appeal, of Nintendos console offerings like the Switch. Questions also remain about Nintendos ability to monetize on the growing sector of mobile games.

Story continues

Consoles could continue to evolve, such as those with virtual reality, analysts say. Nintendo also has intellectual property, driving lucrative businesses such as merchandizing and theme parks.

All those businesses thrived under Iwata's presidency.

Kenshu Kikuzawa, professor of business administration at Keio University, believes that Japanese companies' strengths come from its traditional practices like lifetime employment and pay raises by seniority, which still characterize major Japanese companies including Nintendo.

That in turns, breeds employee loyalty, which Kikuzawa believes is important in the creative work that drives Nintendo.

Japanese companies should stick to being Japanese, doing what they do best, craftsmanship-like manufacturing, Kikuzawa said, exactly as Iwata led Nintendo.

Nintendo is in many ways a very old-fashioned Japanese company, he said. Ultimately, Nintendo employees just really love Nintendo. Loyalty to the company is fierce.

That kind of emotional commitment allows a company to overcome difficulties, even during periods of financial losses, as employees hang on and work hard for a turnaround, he said.

Iwata showed talent for programming as a youngster. He was working part-time at Japan's HAL Laboratory, known for the Kirby games and collaborating with Nintendo, before he graduated from the prestigious Tokyo Institute of Technology. He first made games for Nintendo Famicom machines, which came out in the 1980s.

Iwata was promoted to head HAL before taking the helm at Nintendo. His colleagues say he was a good listener, interviewing everyone at the company twice a year, trying to be fair and respectful.

My plan was to be a sounding board and to get a sense of what was happening, but when I sat down with each person individually, I was blown away by how much I was learning, Iwata wrote.

Shigesato Itoi, a writer, actor and creator of Nintendos EarthBound game series, featured comments from Iwata's book on his personal website, and deeply admired him.

I have never seen him blame anyone or speak ill of anyone, said Itoi, who knew Iwata for 25 years, and says he loved him like a younger brother.

Instead of Hollywood-style grand battles, Japan excels at more peaceful blockbusters, like Nintendo's Animal Crossing," Itoi said. He likened the game, which simulates living in a village, to children playing house.

It wasn't exactly something that many experts in the game industry expected the world to find fun, he said. What Japan has to offer still has great potential.

Iwata sought to appeal to people whod never played games before and to those who used to play but quit, said Kensuke Yabe, professor at Chukyo Universitys School of Global Studies.

He had superbly good instincts about what was happening on the ground. To maximize their appeal, he made sure Nintendo consoles were designed for the living room, said Yabe.

When the Wii came out, Iwata insisted the controller be called a remote, a more familiar term evoking TV sets, rather than controller. He liked games for learning English, hanging out with a dog and cooking food.

A video game is interesting when you can have fun simply watching someone play, Iwata wrote.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine Gets Emergency Use Approval From India's Drug Regulator DCGI

After the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) on COVID-19 on Monday recommended granting approval to Sputnik V for restricted emergency use, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has now approved the use of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against the COVID-19 virus. Before the Sputnik V vaccine was approved, the DCGI had already granted emergency use authorization to two COVID-19 vaccines  indigenously developed Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, and Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, manufactured by Serum Institute of India.

Read full story here

Biden Wants Infrastructure Deal, But GOP Doubts Persist

President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he's sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but Republican lawmakers have deep-seated doubts about the scope of his proposed package, its tax hikes and Biden's premise that this is an inflection point for the U.S. as a world power. Biden met Monday afternoon with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and tried to assure them that the Oval Office gathering was not window dressing. One of the core disputes is over what counts as infrastructure in his $2.3 trillion proposal .

Read full story here

Raisina Dialogue: PM Modi To 'unite World's Best Strategic Thinkers' In 6th Edition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 6th edition of the Raisina Dialogue on Tuesday. President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen will also join the Inaugural Session as chief guests.. The dialogue will be held virtually from April 13 to 16.

Read full story here

PM Modi Pays Tributes To Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Victims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on Tuesday, and said their courage, heroism and sacrifice give strength to every Indian.

"Tributes to those martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Their courage, heroism and sacrifice gives strength to every Indian," PM Modi said.

Read full story here

PM Modi's 'Didi O Didi' Remark Recreated By Kids; Amused BJP Leaders Share Viral Videos

Social media platform Twitter on Monday was filled with spoofs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Didi o Didi" remark on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during poll rallies. Videos of small children imitating the Prime Minister were shared by several leaders and supporters of BJP on the internet. This came after PM Modi in one of his election campaign rallies in Bengal's Barasat, said that he fails to understand why the TMC supremo got angry when he addressed her as "Didi".

Read full story here
A young couple were forced to spend hours wearing dripping wet clothes in the cold after getting lost on a hiking adventure after the sun set.

Tallis Boerne Marcus and his girlfriend Natalie Ojeda were hiking through Macquarie Pass National Park on the afternoon of April 5, hunting for hidden waterfalls.

The couple arrived about 3pm and found the first watering hole with ease, but were determined to find two more that they'd heard about online.

Both waterfalls they were searching for were off the beaten track. They set off regardless, thinking only of the adventure they were embarking on.

After about two hours, they found what they were looking for and spent the afternoon taking loved-up selfies, swimming and enjoying the fading afternoon sun.

Tallis Boerne Marcus and his girlfriend Natalie Ojeda were hiking through Macquarie Pass National Park on the afternoon of April 5, hunting for hidden waterfalls

The couple regularly spend their time hiking and exploring their own backyard in New South Wales

What they never considered was the return trip home.

Their phones were quickly losing battery, they were running out of water and reception was scarce.

The sun disappeared rapidly and soon enough they were shrouded in complete darkness without any sense of how to get to the clearing they'd parked their car in.

'By the time 6pm hit, you couldnt have seen the entire cast and crew of Neighbours 10 metres away,' Mr Marcus wrote in Explore Travel.

'It was pitch black and our attempts to find the trail were ending only in hopelessly walking in circles, slipping on muddy rocks and tripping over tree roots.'

The couple found themselves lost and stranded after dark, and had to sit tight waiting for SES crews to rescue them

The couple arrived about 3pm and found the first watering hole with ease, but were determined to find two more that they'd heard about online

By this point, the couple were terrified. They knew any further attempts to find their way out would do little but exhaust them, and their minds were beginning to 'play tricks on them' through the shadows of darkness.

Mr Marcus stood on his tiptoes on the highest rock he could see nearby with his arm high in the sky in an attempt to get enough reception to call 000.

'They could barely decipher us through the awful signal, we gave our location as best we could,' said.

They were told SES were on their way.

'What followed was a nervous hour of shivering cold... We were cold, wet and completely alone... Scared and completely at the mercy of the dark bush surrounding us.'

The couple were terrified. They knew any further attempts to find their way out would do little but exhaust them, and their minds were beginning to 'play tricks on them' through the shadows of darkness

Mr Marcus said there were several key mistakes that he and his girlfriend made prior to arriving at the hiking trail

Mr Marcus' advice for any young people before they go hiking Download the Emergency Plus app Tell loved ones where youre going before you leave and an estimated time for your return Bring a spare set of dry clothes Bring a portable phone charger Buy a Personal Locator Beacon Figure out before the trip how long the hike should take Research what time the sun is supposed to set and plan your trip around that Take a filtered water bottle that can turn any water into safe drinking water Consider keeping a lightweight hiking blanket on hand Trust your instincts Take a whistle in case you get lost to help alert authorities on your location Take a torch so as not to drain your phone battery Advertisement

'Australia has wonderful and brave volunteers, willing to sacrifice their time for the safety of people like me. As we sat shivering in our regret, an army of these volunteers were scouting the dense bushland. It took about two hours for them to find us and Ive never been so grateful to see those uniforms.'

Mr Marcus said there were several key mistakes that he and his girlfriend made prior to arriving at the hiking trail.

While they had planned to stop at a waterfall named Rainbow Falls and then continue down an unmarked trail hoping to stumble upon Mulangong Falls and Clover Hill Trail, they never researched how long the walk itself should take.

In addition to not knowing how long they would spend walking, Mr Marcus had very little charge on his phone and didn't come prepared with any portable chargers or backups.

'But perhaps my most crucial shortcoming was not being aware daylight savings had ended the night before,' he admitted.

This mistake cost him more than an hour of sunlight. By the time they'd started the two hour walk back to the base, the sun was just 25 minutes from entirely setting.

'My girlfriend and I experimented far too long with self timer photos before eventually deciding to head back,' he added.
Beed : , April 13 (IANS) In an unusual but welcome step on the eve of the holy Ramzan month, a mosque in Maharashtra's Beed became the venue for a blood donation camp as the state grapples with a huge shortage of blood, an organiser said on Tuesday.

The blood donation camp was organised by the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) of India at the Takiya Mosque in which hundreds of people voluntarily participated, Rafid Shahad, Maharashtra South SIO Zonal Secretary, said.

From the drive conducted all day on Monday, the SIO collected around 150 units of blood which will be handed over to the authorities, said SIO member Khizer Shaikh.

SIO South Maharashtra Zonal President Salman Khan said that the organisation has carried out similar blood donation drives in the wake of the severe blood shortages experienced in Maharashtra since the past few weeks.

"We have conducted around a dozen similar camps in Mumbai, Thane, Latur, Jalna, Solapur, and Beed and collected around 500 units of blood. We have appealed to the Muslim community to come forward for the humanitarian cause on the Ramzan eve and they have responded in large numbers," he said.

Other SIO volunteers pointed out that during the holy month of fasting, Muslims around the world get into a spiritual and charitable mode and blood donation is one noble way of assisting the government in the ongoing Covid pandemic challenge with the huge scarcity of blood in the state.

They assured that all Covid and safety protocols are strictly followed for the blood donation drives and over the next few weeks, many more such camps shall be held across the state.

The state is currently in the grip of a blood shortage and appeals have gone out from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Health Minister Rajesh Tope, Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, Congress President Nana Patole and others asking people to come forward and donate blood or organise blood donation camps.
Thousands of school students walked out of classes to protest throughout New Zealand on April 9 against government inaction on climate change. They were supported by many university students and workers.

More than 1,000 people marched through Queen Street in Auckland, about 4,000 rallied outside parliament in Wellington, and thousands more attended events in Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Tauranga, Rotorua and other towns.

Student protesters gather outside parliament (Credit: WSWS)

It was the first nationwide action led by School Strike 4 Climate (SS4C) since 2019, when hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders joined international protests involving millions of people. The global movement has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic over the past year.

There are many studies warning that man-made global warming is leading to a catastrophe. In March, a report by the Australian Academy of Science stated that the planet is well on the path to devastating climate change and it was now virtually impossible to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The scientists called for a rapid transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions to keep the temperature increase well below 2C. Without such action, they predicted a global mean surface temperature increase of approximately 3C or more by mid to late century, leading to mass extinctions and large areas becoming uninhabitable.

Governments are neither willing nor capable of taking the measures needed, which would cut across the profit interests of the handful of companies responsible for most of the worlds pollution. The Biden administration is instead using the climate crisis as a justification for military spending in preparation for war against China and Russia. New Zealands Green Party, which is part of the Labour-led coalition government, has similarly used climate change as a pretext for supporting multi-billion dollar upgrades to the army, navy and air force.

The April 9 protests reflected growing anger that almost nothing has been done to stop soaring carbon emissions. Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns government declared a climate emergency last year but its Zero Carbon Act is a toothless piece of legislation, which places no actual requirements on businesses to stop polluting.

The governments Climate Change Commission (CCC) has made numerous proposals including incentives for electric vehicles, upgrades to public transport and other measures to reduce emissions by 36 percent in 2035, compared with 2018 levels. Its overriding priority, however, is to protect corporate profits.

A placard at the march through central Wellington (Credit: WSWS)

The measures adopted so far are a drop in the ocean. The day before the climate strike, Ardern announced a ban on new low- and medium-temperature coal-fired boilers. The ban excludes high-temperature boilers like those used in the steel industry. The government plans to phase out all existing boilers by 2037, in line with CCC recommendations, but the date is so far off that it is basically meaningless.

The government also announced it was distributing $22.88 million to 14 companies to help them invest in renewable energy. The recipients include meat processor AFFCO, McCain Foods and dairy processor Synlait. The meat and dairy industries, NZs major source of pollution, have not faced any serious requirements to reduce emissions.

One of the most tense protests on Friday took place outside the council building in Christchurch. A protest leader urged Labour Party Mayor Lianne Dalziel to put climate over profit and the future of generations over the fortunes of a few We both know you are not doing enough.

Dalziel flatly rejected the protesters demand for an end to construction of the Tarras International Airport, which is funded by the council and the government and aimed at boosting tourism. It would be the third international airport in the South Island, which has a population of 1.1 million.

Seeking to blame individuals for carbon emissions, Dalziel told protesters: Its the people who jump into cars on their own who are really damaging our environment and not giving us the chance to succeed the council doesnt hold all the solutions. Her brief speech was repeatedly interrupted with angry chants of: What do we want? Climate justice! When do we want it? Now!

In Wellington, several students who spoke at the rally emphasised SS4Cs demand that the government take responsibility for helping our neighbours in the Pacific, including increased immigration options for those made homeless by climate change. New Zealand currently does not accept climate refugees and has one of the lowest refugee intakes in the world.

Island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji, Nauru, Niue, Samoa and Tonga are already threatened by rising sea levels and frequent hurricanes and flooding. The crisis is compounded by deeply entrenched poverty and under-developmenta legacy of colonial rule by Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Like previous climate strikes, the April 9 events had an officially-sanctioned character, with many schools actively encouraging students to take part. The SS4C organisers, some of whom are members of the Greens and the Labour Party, promote the illusion that gains can be made through the Ardern government and without any fight against capitalism.

Green Party co-leader James Shaw, who is the minister for climate change, was invited to address protesters outside parliament. He praised the work by chief executives of some of our largest companies to address climate change, without pointing to any evidence of this.

Asked by a protest organiser how the government would help workers transition from unsustainable industries to more sustainable industries, Shaw replied that the Zero Carbon Act included a requirement for us to have a just transition plan so people on low incomes would not be disadvantaged.

Such statements are contradicted by the reality of soaring social inequality under the Ardern government. Over the past year the government has transferred tens of billions of dollars to big business, in the form of subsidies, loans and bailouts. Meanwhile, businesses have seized on the economic crisis as a pretext for ruthless restructuring, sacking tens of thousands of people.

The climate crisis only has one solution: the complete reorganisation of the worlds economy along socialist lines. Instead of getting handouts, major polluting corporations must be nationalised and placed under the democratic control of the working class. The trillions of dollars in wealth hoarded by the super-rich, and the billions wasted on militarisation, must be expropriated and used to fund sustainable social infrastructure, repair damaged ecosystems, and put an end to poverty and inequality.
The Minister of. Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been honoured by two institutions at separate ceremonies in Accra.



The honour which coincided with his birthday last Friday were by the leadership of the Dzelukpe Anlo State in the Volta region and the Constituency Secretaries of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region.



Both institutions attributed the honour to the role and impact made by Dr Adutwum during the first term of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government towards the development of education in the country.



They said the role played by the Minister towards the introduction of the Free Senior High School and the double track system of education were worth noting as it brought a lot of gains to parents, students and the nation as a whole.



Another reason the two institutions assigned to the honour was the humility, selflessness, his respect for people irrespective of political, ethnic, religion and other social affiliations.



Speaking to the two delegations at separate ceremonies, Dr Adutwum thanked them for the honour done him, as it would spur him on to do more for the development of education in the country.



He said, getting the best for the nation required a multi-sectorial approach since the collective effort of all could help get the best results for the various facets of the economy.



The Education Minister again said, although it was the responsibility of the Government to initiate development policies for the country, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government was ready to listen or receive any kind of inputs from all for the development and interest of the nation.



He appealed to parents and society in general to develop interest in the education of their children so they could monitor the progress being made to enable them give the right support or advice at the right time.



The leadership of the Dzelukpe Anlo State in the Volta region presented a Kente cloth and traditional sandals to the Minister and another cloth to the spouse of the Minister.



The delegation from the Ashanti region, on the other hand, presented a citation which was read to the Minister, congratulating him on his elevation to the Substantive Minister position.



It attributed Dr Adutwums elevation to the trust the President, Nana Akufo Addo had in him, urging him to work extra hard to deliver the Presidents vision of transforming the nations education to meet the 21st century needs.



The two delegations used the occasion (which coincided with the Ministers birthday) to wish him a happy birthday after they had presented their gift to him.



The leader of the Dzelukpe Anlo State, Togbi Gobah Tengey Seddon, pledged the support of the people of the Volta region to the Minister of Education and urged him to continue to do more towards the development of education in the country.

Source: GNA









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A rebel leader in northern Mali who was a signatory to a crucial 2015 peace accord was shot dead Tuesday in the capital Bamako, a killing quickly denounced by senior figures in the Sahel nation.

Sidi Brahim Ould Sidati, who was in his sixties, was gunned down by unknown assailants outside a mosque close to his home and died after being rushed to the Golden Life American Hospital, officials and family members said.

Mali's interim prime minister Moctar Ouane said there were two assailants.

Ould Sidati was the rotating president of the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), a mostly ethnic Tuareg alliance that rose up against the central government in 2012.

"We have just lost our president ... who was assassinated this morning in Bamako," CMA spokesman Almou Ag Mohamed said on social media.

Ouane and the UN's envoy in Mali both expressed shock at the killing and paid tribute to Ould Sidati's role in the peace process.

The CMA brought together Tuareg and nationalist Arab groups -- including a faction led by Ould Sidati -- fighting Mali's government forces in the north until they signed the 2015 peace accord.

The deal, seen as crucial to ending Mali's grinding conflict, has yet to be fully implemented in the former French colony.

The uprising began in the north when the jihadists allied with separatists.

The insurgency then spread to central Mali and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, claiming thousands of lives and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

Several anti-jihadist military operations have been launched, including the French operation Barkhane and the G5 Sahel force, which includes units from the armies of five countries in the region.

- 'Abominable act' -

Ouane said he was "stunned" over what he called "an abominable act" on the same day he was to meet with Ould Sidati to discuss reforms.

Ould Sidati "was an important actor in the peace process", Ouane said, vowing to launch an investigation into the killing.

Story continues

The United Nations' representative in Mali, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, expressed "outrage" over the killing.

Ould Sidati "was one of those Malians who believed and really worked for peace and unity in Mali," he said on social media.

The late rebel leader was "constantly seeking consensus to make the Malian peace process irreversible," he said.

The motive for his killing in the capital Bamako was not immediately clear.

But it comes as Mali remains in turmoil with transition authorities running the administration after a junta overthrew a civilian government last August.

Ould Sidati, former mayor of the town of Ber near the fabled city of Timbuktu, was one of the major figures of the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA), part of the CMA that he helped to create.

In a statement, the CMA demanded authorities launch "an independent and transparent" probe into the killing and asked that the UN mission in Mali (Minusma) be involved.

It also demanded that added security for its leaders.

Bilal ag Asherif, secretary general of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, another group that is part of the CMA, said the Malian government was responsible for Ould Sidati's security.

The killing is sure to exacerbate the turmoil Mali has faced since a 2012 uprising that led mutinous soldiers to overthrow the president.

Since then, thousands of people, mainly civilians, have died at the hands of jihadists, militias and drug traffickers. The security situation has been made worse by a political and social crisis.

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[April 12, 2021] Shareholder Alert: Robbins LLP Announces that CytoDyn Inc. (CYDY) is Being Sued for Misleading Shareholders

Shareholder rights law firm Robbins LLP announces that a purchaser of CytoDyn Inc. (OTC: CYDY) filed a class action complaint against the Company and its officers and directors for alleged violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 between March 27, 2020 and March 9, 2021. If you suffered a loss due to CytoDyn Inc.'s misconduct, click here. CytoDyn Inc. (CYDY) Misled Shareholders About the Viability of its Drug for the Treatment of COVID-19 CytoDyn is a biotech company that - prior to the COVID-19 pandemic - was focusing on the development and commercialization of the drug "Leronlimab" for the treatment of patients with HIV. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, CytoDyn has aggressively touted Leronlimab as a treatment for COVID-19, including that it had sought emergency use authorizaton ("EUA") from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and planned to move forward with Operation Warp Speed. This, in turn, caused CytoDyn's stock price to skyrocket. Having traded at less than $1 per share throughout 2019, CytoDyn's stock reached its peak on June 30, 2020, trading at over $10 per share. While the stock price was artificially inflated, insiders dumped millions of shares for almost $26 million.



Thereafter, the Company's scheme began to unravel. On August 26, 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that CytoDyn was not being considered for Operation Warp Speed. On September 16, 2020, CytoDyn's CEO admitted the Company had not actually made the request for EUA from the FDA. Beginning on March 5, 2021, the Company revealed that the primary endpoints of its Phase IIb/III data on Leronlimab were not statistically significant. On this news, CytoDyn's stock plummeted over several trading days, to close at just $2.35 on March 9. 2021. If you purchased shares of CytoDyn, Inc. (CYDY) between March 27, 2020 and March 9, 2021, you have until May 17, 2021, to ask the court to appoint you lead plaintiff for the class.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses. Contact us to learn more:

Lauren Levi

(800) 350-6003

llevi@robbinsllp.com

Shareholder Information Form Robbins LLP is a nationally recognized leader in shareholder rights law. To be notified if a class action against CytoDyn Inc. settles or to receive free alerts about companies engaged in wrongdoing, sign up for Stock Watch today. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005995/en/

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The Derry to Belfast railway line has reopened this morning after a burning car was placed on the track.

The car was set on fire on the track at Bellarena last night around 9pm.

A train travelling from Belfast to Derry was forced to make an emergency stop.

Translink said there were six passengers on the train.

Firefighters from Limavady put out the blaze.

There was some damage to the track but Translink said the railway line between Derry and Belfast has reopened this morning.

A spokesperson for the transport company said the 6.42am service from Derry operated as a normal train service.

The Translink spokesperson said the 7.38am will operate as a bus substitute service to Coleraine.

A Northern Ireland Fire Service spokesperson said the fire was deliberate.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon expressed her gratitude to the train driver who brought the train to a halt before it reached the burning wreck.

I am so relieved to hear that passengers and crew are all safe. It is unimaginable to think what could have happened this evening had it not been for the prompt action of the driver and crew.

I want to express my gratitude to them and to the emergency services.

I would urge anyone with any information about this incident to contact the PSNI.

PSNI Chief Inspector McIldowney described the incident as reckless endangerment to life and praised the heroics of our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service

"Our investigation is currently underway to establish the circumstances into this incident. We are appealing for any witnesses to contact police on quoting serial number 1945 of the 12/04/21," he added.

You can also submit a report line using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/ makeareport/ or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
Her husband Justin Bieber recently admitted that their 'first year of marriage was really tough' due to an overall 'lack of trust' between them.

But Hailey Bieber appeared unfazed by her husband's candid confession on Tuesday as she was spotted fueling up after a workout session in West Hollywood.

The 24-year-old model made a stop at Earth Bar, where she picked up a delicious green smoothie and a bottle of sparkling water.

Business as usual: Hailey Bieber was spotted fueling up after a workout session in West Hollywood on Tuesday morning

Hailey braved the uncharacteristically chilly Los Angeles temperatures in a bright red fleece pullover and a pair of formfitting black leggings.

Her golden blonde hair flowed out from under a black beanie and she appeared to be devoid of makeup.

Adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, Bieber made sure to keep the majority of her face concealed behind a face mask.

Along with her consumable items, the daughter of Stephen Baldwin had her cellphone and a bright green flyer in her hands as she made her way back to her parked vehicle.

Fueling up: The 24-year-old model made a stop at Earth Bar, where she picked up a delicious green smoothie and a bottle of sparkling water

On the morning of Hailey's workout, Justin's highly anticipated interview with GQ debuted on the magazine's official website, while also appearing in its May 2021 issue.

And during the candid discussion, the 27-year-old pop star spoke candidly about his and Hailey's two-and-a-half year marriage.

The duo famously got their marriage license in September 2018, before hosting an extravagant wedding on September 30, 2019 in South Carolina.

Justin told the outlet that their initial difficulties stemmed from 'trauma' and 'just lack of trust.'

Overcame: Her husband Justin Bieber recently admitted to GQ that their 'first year of marriage was really tough'; Justin pictured in GQ's May 2021 issue

Lack of trust: Justin told the outlet that the initial difficulties in his marriage to Hailey stemmed from 'trauma' and 'just lack of trust'; Justin and Hailey pictured in October 2018

'The first year of marriage was really tough because there was a lot, going back to the trauma stuff. There was just lack of trust,' he explained.

'There was all these things that you don't want to admit to the person that you're with, because it's scary. You don't want to scare them off by saying, "I'm scared."'

Bieber admitted that during the first year of marriage he was 'on eggshells,' but the couple eventually found their footing.

Fear: 'There was all these things that you don't want to admit to the person that you're with, because it's scary. You don't want to scare them off by saying, "I'm scared,"' he told the outlet; Justin pictured in GQ's May 2021 issue

Now, two and a half years into marriage life, Justin said that he and Hailey are busy 'just creating these moments for us as a couple, as a family, that we're building these memories.'

He gushed that it is 'beautiful that [he and Hailey] have that to look forward to' because before her he 'didn't have that to look forward to in my life.'

'My home life was unstable. I didn't have a significant other. I didn't have someone to love. I didn't have someone to pour into. But now I have that,' he explained.

Justin also told the outlet that he always felt 'compelled' to get married.

Creating memories: Now, two and a half years into marriage life, Justin said that he and Hailey are busy 'just creating these moments for us as a couple, as a family, that we're building these memories'; Hailey and Justin pictured

Stability: 'My home life was unstable. I didn't have a significant other. I didn't have someone to love. I didn't have someone to pour into. But now I have that,' he explained; Justin pictured in February

'I just felt like that was my calling. Just to get married and have babies and do that whole thing,' said the Baby hitmaker, who later noted in regards to kids, 'not this second, but we will eventually.'

Justin and Hailey met in 2009 after her dad Stephen Baldwin introduced them; They became friends and dated for a short time in early 2016 before they parted ways.

He went on to date Sofia Richie and briefly reunited with ex girlfriend Selena Gomez.

Looking forward: He gushed that it is 'beautiful that [he and Hailey] have that to look forward to' because before her he 'didn't have that to look forward to in my life'

Fatherhood? 'I just felt like [marriage] was my calling. Just to get married and have babies and do that whole thing,' said the Baby hitmaker, who later noted in regards to kids, 'not this second, but we will eventually'; Justin pictured with his niece Iris in August 2020

Justin and Hailey rekindled their romance in May 2018 and got engaged July 7, 2018.

The lovebirds got their marriage license from a New York City courthouse in September 2018.

They tied the knot in an extravagant wedding in South Carolina on September 30, 2019 at the Montage Palmetto Bluff resort in front of 154 guests that included Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
Former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate has blamed Prime Minister Scott Morrison for driving her out of the top job over the Cartier watches saga, saying he humiliated her in the Parliament and triggered a process that led to her being unlawfully stood aside.

Ms Holgate said she contemplated suicide as a result of the bullying and intimidation she endured over the watches fiasco, as she delivered a damning indictment of both the Morrison government and Australia Posts role to a Senate inquiry on Tuesday.

She used her evidence to call for chairman Lucio Di Bartolomeo to quit or be sacked, alleging he fabricated claims that she had agreed to stand aside during an investigation into the watches and lied about important matters relating to the future of Australia Post.

Thats why the chair of Australia Post must go, not because of me. Because hes lied to you all, Ms Holgate said.
A mother has donated part of her liver to save the life of her six-year-old son who only had days to live.

Claire DeStratis, 33, from Victoria, Australia, risked her own life by undergoing transplant surgery in a bid to save her child, Jake, who was on life support after catching a virus at school.

Claire, also mother to Mia, seven, and Evie, three, underwent a six-hour operation while her son was operated on for 12 hours.

Thankfully, the mother said the transplant is working 'like a miracle' for Jake, who had contracted hepatitis - which causes inflammation of the liver.

Claire DeStratis (pictured left), 33, from Victoria, Australia, risked her own life by undergoing transplant surgery in a bid to save her son, Jake (pictured right), who was on life support after catching a virus at school

Claire (pictured with her family), also mother to Mia, seven, and Evie, three, underwent a six-hour operation while her son was operated on for 12 hours

Hospitality worker Claire said: 'I didn't even have to give it a second thought. When he was ill, I wasn't in control, when I found out I was a match for Jake, I was in control again.

'They don't really want to use living donors but it was so urgent, they couldn't keep him on life support for much longer so he only had days left.'

She added: 'Everything has worked like it's a miracle. The surgeons said it was a beautiful piece of liver and it's working fantastic. They're extremely happy with how it's gone.'

Thankfully, the mother said the transplant is working 'like a miracle' for Jake (pictured recovering in hospital), who had contracted hepatitis - which causes inflammation of the liver

Hospitality worker Claire said: 'I didn't even have to give it a second thought. When he was ill, I wasn't in control, when I found out I was a match for Jake (pictured), I was in control again'

Jake (pictured with his father, right) had caught an infection at school in February and quickly contracted viral hepatitis

Jake had caught an infection at school in February and quickly contracted viral hepatitis.

What is hepatitis? Hepatitis is the term used to describe inflammation of the liver. It's usually the result of a viral infection or liver damage caused by drinking alcohol. There are several different types of hepatitis - including A, B, C, D and E. Symptoms of hepatitis include: muscle and joint pain

a high temperature

feeling and being sick

feeling unusually tired all the time

a general sense of feeling unwell

loss of appetite

tummy pain

dark urine

pale, grey-coloured poo

itchy skin

yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice) Some types will pass without any serious problems, while others cause loss of liver function. Source: NHS Advertisement

When his condition began deteriorating, Jake was rushed into intensive care and put on life support.

He was placed at the top of the transplant list after medics said he urgently needed a new liver.

Both Claire and construction worker partner, Beau, 34, stepped forward to donate part of their liver and luckily, the mother discovered she was a match and went on to donate 20 per cent of her liver in March.

'He'd only been at school 11 days when he caught the virus,' explained Claire.

'He was vomiting then his eyes started turning yellow so I took him to the hospital and the next thing we knew, he was on life support.'

'When we found out it was hepatitis, we thought he'd just get better but he deteriorated really quickly.'

The mother recalled: 'He was transferred to the big children's hospital here in Victoria where they work magic and was put on life support.

'He needed a liver transplant so the first thing I asked was whether me or my partner were a match.

'It was terrifying and it all happened within two and a half weeks. He was such a healthy, charismatic boy who was making all the doctors laugh.

'The damaged liver wasn't removing toxins from the blood and it was making him delirious.

'He was basically losing his mind and the doctors said he was behaving like a drunk person and didn't know what he was doing.

'They'd brought a Chaplain into the room to bless him and that's when I realised how serious it was.'

Both Claire and construction worker partner, Beau, 34, stepped forward to donate part of their liver to Jake (pictured) and luckily, the mother discovered she was a match and went on to donate 20 per cent of her liver in March

Thanks to his mother, Jake (pictured left, with his siblings) is recovering in hospital and Claire gives all credit to the surgeons who carried out the operation

Thanks to his mother, Jake is recovering in hospital and Claire gives all credit to the surgeons who carried out the operation.

She said: 'I'm still in some pain because recovery is six weeks. Jake has been in hospital for over seven weeks now and he'll be on medication for the rest of his life.

'People should keep their children home when they're sick. It was just a small virus and it almost cost Jake his life.

'I didn't save his life, the surgeons did. After the operation, the surgeon came over and said I'd saved his life and I told them that they had.'
PETUSHKI, Russia -- Anastasia Vasilyeva, the personal doctor of jailed Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, has been fined over her attempt to see the ailing Kremlin critic last week at the prison he is being held in outside of Moscow.

The Petushki district court in the Vladimir region late on April 12 ordered Vasilyeva, who is the chairwoman of the Alliance of Doctors union, to pay 180,000 rubles ($2,320), for what the court described as the "organization of a mass gathering near a penitentiary that led to obstacles for transport operations."

Vasilyeva's lawyer, Mikhail Arsenyev, said the court ruling will be appealed.

Vasilyeva and several others were detained by police on April 6 after they arrived at the Correctional Colony No. 2 in the town of Pokrov, some 100 kilometers from Moscow, demanding that the penitentiary's administration allow Navalny access to an independent physician to examine him amid concerns over his health condition.

Navalny has complained of back pain and numbness in his hands and legs and accused the authorities of withholding adequate medical treatment.

Prison authorities have said they were monitoring Navalny's health, which they evaluated as "satisfactory."

Vasilyeva and most of the Navalny supporters were released after several hours, but on April 8, the Pertushki district court found four of the detained supporters of Navalny guilty of illegally gathering near a penitentiary and sentenced them to several days in jail.

In February, a Moscow court ruled that while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an old embezzlement case that is widely considered as being politically motivated. Navalny's 3 1/2 year suspended sentence from the case was converted to a jail term, though the court said he will serve 2 1/2 years in prison given time he had been held in detention.

The 44-year-old politician has lost 13 kilograms since his imprisonment and continues a hunger strike aimed at forcing prison officials to allow him to be treated by his own doctor.
New Delhi, April 13 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Association of Indian Universities' (AIU) 95th Annual meet and the National Seminar of Vice Chancellors on Wednesday.

Modi will attend the event at 11 a.m. through video conferencing. He will also launch four books related to Dr B.R. Ambedkar, authored by Kishor Makwana.

The Gujarat Governor and Chief Minister and the Union Education Minister will also be present in the event being hosted by the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, Ahmedabad.

The premier apex body of higher education in the country, the AIU is conducting its 95th Annual meet on April 14 and 15 to showcase its past year's achievements, present its financial statement and delineate the scheme of activities for the forthcoming year. It is also a platform to inform the members about the recommendations of Zonal Vice-Chancellors Meets and other discussions conducted throughout the year.

The meet will also commemorate and celebrate the 96th Foundation day of the AIU, established in 1925 under the patronage of stalwarts like Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

A National Seminar of Vice Chancellors on the theme 'Implementing National Educational Policy-2020 to Transform Higher Education in India'is also being organised during the meet. It aims to work out implementation strategies for the recently launched National Education Policy 2020 with a clear-cut action plan on effectively implementing it in the interest of its primary stakeholders, the students.
FAIRFIELD  Cozy up to history in one of Fairfields most significant residences in the heart of one of its most significant neighborhoods.

The updated antique colonial Victorian house at 75 Meetinghouse Lane sits on a 1.53-acre property in the Greenfield Hill Historic District. It is behind the historic Greenfield Hill Congregational Church, giving its owners a front row seat to the annual Dogwood Festival when that resumes. Until then, they can continue to enjoy the beautiful pink and white blossoms that line the Greenfield Hill neighborhood this time of year.

This house was built in 1893, 38 years after the second iteration of the church was constructed in 1855. The 15-room house is an excellent example of the Free Classic (Colonial Revival) variation of the Queen Anne style, according to the Historic Buildings of Connecticut website. It is named the Nichols House for one of the earliest and most prominent Fairfield families.

In the case of its street name, meetinghouse could have two different meanings. A meetinghouse can be a church, and a meeting house could be a tavern, a local gathering place. A sign in front of this property says Site of Old Tavern of Greenfield 1792-1812 At the sign of the black horse here Rufus Putnam, Talleyrand, Don Juadenes, Rufus King, Joel Barlow and Tapping Reeve were guests.

So, some famous feet may have trod upon the front lawn of this house. Putnam was the first U.S. Surveyor General  General Washington appointed him as his Engineer and the rank of Colonel on 11 August 1776, according to www.surveyhistory.org. Influential European diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, the minister of affairs under Napoleon, is said to have dined in (a) Meeting House Lane residence, according to Elizabeth Rose, the Fairfield Museum and History Centers library director, on the Centers website. There were two notable men named Rufus King, one from Ridgefield and one from Massachusetts; the latter of whom signed the U.S. Constitution. Its possible both Rufus Kings bellied up to the local bar.

Its interesting to think of what there was before, said listing agent Andrew Whiteley, who described this home as the quintessence of New England elegance and charm. And it retained that elegance and charm throughout several updates including a major renovation in 2012 in which the current owners added a new foundation and constructed an addition on the back, expanding the house to 7,734 square feet. They also added the heated Gunite swimming pool, and updated the baths and gourmet kitchen.

Whiteley said this house features generously proportioned rooms and ceiling heights of 12 feet-plus, taller than what is offered with the construction of new homes today. The wrap-around covered front porch is also deep enough to accommodate seating or a ping pong table, as the current owners once had.

Attention to detail begins on the exterior with the scalloping of the facade, and continues as the front door opens into the foyer with a coffered ceiling and decorative inlaid wood floor. There are five fireplaces, including one in the formal dining room and in the master bedroom suite. The kitchen features counters of calacatta gold marble, quarried from the mountains of Italy, a massive center island/breakfast bar, high-end appliances, and a large pantry with tall, glass-front cabinetry.

There are seven bedrooms on the second and third floors. The sizable spa-like master bath features statuary marble, another classic Italian stone. There is another bedroom in the guest house over the detached four-car garage, perfect for staff, family or guests.

ABOUT THIS HOUSE TYPE: Updated antique colonial Victorian ADDRESS: 75 Meeting House Lane PRICE: $3,250,000 NUMBER OF ROOMS: 15 FEATURES: 1.53-acre level and partially fenced property, located behind Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in a historic district, heated Gunite in-ground swimming pool, patio, professionally landscaped, wrap-around porch, terrace, one-bedroom guest house above the detached four-car garage, steps from Timothy Dwight Park (also known as the historic Greenfield Hill Green), five fireplaces, attic, full partially finished basement, zoned central air conditioning, oil heat, public water connection, septic system, seven bedrooms, four full and two half baths SCHOOLS: Dwight Elementary, Roger Ludlowe Middle, Fairfield Ludlowe High ASSESSMENT: $1,631,420 TAX RATE: 26.79 mills TAXES: $43,706 See More Collapse

In the private backyard there is a stone patio.

This house is just minutes from the Post Road (Route 1), the town centers of Fairfield, Westport and Southport, and only one hour from Manhattan.

For more information or to set up an appointment to see the house contact Andrew Whiteley of Al Filippone Associates and William Raveis Real Estate at 203-258-1595 or Andrew.Whiteley@raveis.com.
NEW YORK, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Pre-Rec, the fixed income industry's first search and surveillance platform powered by recommendation technologies, is announcing the addition of securitization industry pioneer, veteran, and thought leader, Saul Sanders to their board of strategic advisors.

In this role, Sanders will advise on business development and strategy, bringing 40+ years of experience focused on MBS & ABS trading and investing, and as a leading issuer of bonds in these markets.

Pre-Rec's Founder, Isaac Cecil said, "We are very pleased to have Saul's unique perspective as a trader, issuer, investor, and most importantly as a visionary building multiple MBS & ABS businesses. It is invaluable to have the support of individuals that have overcome the challenges of pioneering ideas, products, and in Saul's case, entire markets."

Recommendation technologies have transformed the business world over the past two decades. They are the modern techniques of business analytics and web development, such as relevance ranking at Google and similar product and song recommendations at Amazon, Pandora, and Spotify, which facilitate easy access to relevant and personalized information over the web.

The multi-trillion dollar fixed income markets, which are years behind in terms of adopting modern technologies, have not experienced the full benefits of recommendation technologies implemented in a scalable way.

Pre-Rec is making the bet these technologies will soon become an essential part of the tech infrastructure in the highly competitive yet fragmented fixed income industry, enhancing bond search & selection, portfolio surveillance, bond pricing, and creating new protocols for market participants to connect and transact.

Sanders commented, "These are interesting times in the evolution of the financial industry and I remain committed to helping define new market standards and practices, and promoting technologies that will support the growth of a healthy and responsible securitization market. While I like the vision Pre-Rec has established, I'm even more enthusiastic about the unique competitive advantage Pre-Rec's product provides, helping investors, broker dealers, and issuers to be smarter and more aware of the market."

About Saul Sanders:

Saul Sanders is a retired founding Partner, Board member and Co-CEO at Shellpoint Partners, a specialty finance company focused on the U.S. residential market. Sanders is also the retired Co-CEO and Board Member at New Penn Financial, a residential mortgage loan originator and servicer. Sanders was also a Founder and Co-CEO at Credit Based Asset Servicing and Securitization (C-BASS) and was a Founder of Goldman Sachs non-agency MBS and ABS businesses. He also served as the CFO at Citicorp North American Investment Banking Division, as well as the head of Citicorp's Mortgage Finance and Commercial Real Estate Securitization business.

About Pre-Rec:

Pre-Rec, founded by former bond salesman, military veteran, and engineer Isaac Cecil, is the fixed income industry's first search and surveillance platform powered by recommendation technologies. Applying patent pending techniques of web development and data science, Pre-Rec is making fixed income markets more accessible, transparent, and better connected than ever before.



For more information, please visit www.pre-rec.com or email [email protected].

SOURCE Pre-Rec

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Nearly four years after leaving his hit CBS series Hawaii Five-0 after seven seasons, Daniel Dae Kim is opening up about his pay disparity with co-stars.

The 52-year-old Korean actor sought equal pay for him and co-star Grace Park, after learning they were paid significantly less than their white male co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan.

Kim opened up with Vulture about the disparity in a wide-ranging interview, revealing it did alter his relationships with co-stars.

Disparity: Nearly four years after leaving his hit CBS series Hawaii Five-0 after seven seasons, Daniel Dae Kim is opening up about his pay disparity with co-stars

Equal pay: The 52-year-old Korean actor sought equal pay for him and co-star Grace Park, after learning they were paid significantly less than their white male co-stars Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan

After the dispute went public in 2017, CBS said they 'tried very hard' to keep both Kim and Park, offering, 'significant salary increases' for both, though they both ultimately left the series.

'I think any time you have an ensemble of actors, everyone's objectives are unique and individual,' Kim said.

'So it's hard for me to collectively say whether they were allies in this ... I do know that the way things got spun by the end changed my relationships with them,' he added.

Tried: After the dispute went public in 2017, CBS said they 'tried very hard' to keep both Kim and Park, offering, 'significant salary increases' for both, though they both ultimately left the series

Though, when asked to add more about how his relationships changed, Kim only said, 'I've spoken more about it here than I ever have, so...'

The show would ultimately go on for three more seasons, closing out its run after Season 10 in 2020.

Kim was coming off the hit ABC series Lost when he joined Hawaii Five-0, revealing that he took a rather significant pay cut to join the CBS show.

Changed: Though, when asked to add more about how his relationships changed, Kim only said, 'I've spoken more about it here than I ever have, so...'

Three more seasons: The show would ultimately go on for three more seasons, closing out its run after Season 10 in 2020

'One thing that has never really properly been reported is the amount of pay cut I took to do Hawaii Five-O from Lost,' Kim said.

While he didn't get into specific numbers, he added the pay cut, 'was drastic, and it was never made up.'

Before he left Hawaii Five-0, he asked CBS to make all four cast members - O'Loughlin, Caan, Park and himself, 'equal' which would have got him, 'back to where I was with Lost.'

Pay cut: 'One thing that has never really properly been reported is the amount of pay cut I took to do Hawaii Five-O from Lost,' Kim said

'I didn't think that was an unreasonable position to take. It was very clear and simple,' Kim revealed.

'I was very transparent about it with my castmates, with my showrunner, with the studio from the start,' Ki said.

'It became much more dramatic because of the way that it didn't come together,' he added.

Not unreasonable: 'I didn't think that was an unreasonable position to take. It was very clear and simple,' Kim revealed

He also revealed in the same interview that he was originally supposed to be killed off after just one season on Lost.

'From what I understand, it was planned for me to be killed off in season one. I was not a very sympathetic character, so it would have been easy for me to get killed off without the show missing a beat,' Kim said.

He added that one of the show's writers, Monica Macer, who is African American and Korean American, 'lobbied for me,' adding they're still friends to this day.

'I also like to think they didnt think I was so terrible that I didnt deserve to be on the show. As an Asian actor, youre just looking to get hired. Its about working within the system to try and change it when you have the opportunity. The character grew to a place where I dont think youd call him a stereotype by the end,' he added.

Killed off: He also revealed in the same interview that he was originally supposed to be killed off after just one season on Lost
One of the most famous cases happened in 2009 in Oakland, Calif., when a white Bay Area transit officer shot and killed a Black man on New Years Day. The man, Oscar Grant III, was unarmed and lying facedown when the officer shot him. The officer was acquitted on charges of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months in prison.

Scott A. DeFoe, a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department, said most police departments require officers to wear their Taser on their nondominant side, to prevent the officer from confusing it with their pistol. Tasers are often also marked with bright colors to distinguish them from pistols, and the grips are typically different from those of firearms.

If you train enough, you should be able to tell, he said.

In most cases, Deputy Obayashi said, the confusion occurs when officers carry both weapons on the same side of their body, or holster their stun guns on the opposite side of their body in such a way that it is easier for them to reach across with a dominant hand and cross-draw without deliberating.

In six of the nine cases from the 2012 article, including the shooting in Oakland, the officers carried both weapons on the same, strong-hand side of their bodies.
Boris Johnson's Gulf envoy held talks over taking a six-figure second job with a lobbying firm with interests in the volatile region.

Lord Udny-Lister, a long-serving close aide to the Prime Minister, had discussions with Finsbury Glover Hering over combining his governmental role with a private one.

He was made the PM's 'special envoy for the Gulf and special projects' in February, with a remit to strengthen UK links with the oil-rich region.

He rejected the offer from Finsbury last night after being approached by the Times, the newspaper reported today.

It reported the firm as saying Lord Udny-Lister's role would not have involved Middle Eastern clients.

Lord Udny-Lister, a long-serving close aide to the Prime Minister, had discussions with Finsbury Glover Hering over combining his governmental role with a private one.

He was made the PM's 'special envoy for the Gulf and special projects' in February, with a remit to strengthen UK links with the oil-rich region.

He rejected the offer from Finsbury last night after being approached by the Times, the newspaper reported today .

Lord Udny-Lister was acting chief of staff in No 10 after the shock departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain last December.

Former Treasury official Dan Rosenfield relieved him of the role in February, freeing him up for his new position.

Lord Lister's reputation as 'Steady Eddie' saw him act as the calming foil to Cummings before the later was forced out of No10 in a power struggle with Carrie Symonds.

For 19 years the peer was leader of flagship Tory Wandsworth Council, consistently delivering the lowest council tax in the country.

In 2011, he became Johnson's chief of staff at City Hall and masterminded his re-election as mayor in 2012.

The revelation came as Boris Johnson faced increasing questions about the lobbying of ministers by ex-prime minister David Cameron.

Mr Cameron, who was premier from 2010 to 2015, last night welcomed an inquiry into his work for Greensill Capital, hours after Boris Johnson ordered a 'thorough' probe into the row.

The former Prime Minister, 54, said he 'will be glad' to answer questions about his work for the now collapsed finance firm.

It comes after Mr Cameron finally admitted he should not have contacted ministers for the company via text.

An official Whitehall investigation is now set to take place after Mr Cameron's actions triggered calls for an overhaul of the system.

The Cabinet Office process, headed by legal expert Nigel Boardman, will cover the way representations were made to the government and how contracts were awarded.
Former defence minister Christopher Pyne (pictured) has issued a stark warning of an impending war between Australia and China

Australia could be thrown into a military conflict with China in a matter of years, a former defence minister has warned.

War may be inevitable with the authoritarian state as it becomes more aggressive and belligerent with its neighbours, Christopher Pyne said.

Australia's relationship with its biggest trading partner began to drastically deteriorate in April last year when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus, which first appeared in Wuhan at the end of 2019.

The plea for transparency over Covid-19 infuriated the Communist Party who retaliated by imposing arbitrary bans and tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Australian goods including barley, wine, cotton, seafood, beef, copper, and coal.

Now the former defence minister has predicted that a 'loss of life' and 'military destruction' could soon be a reality in the Indo-Pacific.

Australia might get thrust into a hot war with China in the next five to 10 years as the authoritarian Asian state becomes more aggressive and belligerent with its neighbours, Chris Pyne said (pictured, Chinese soldiers in Tiananmen Square on March 9)

Australian Army soldier from the 2nd Combat Engineer Regiment in Queensland (pictured) amid warnings that Australia could 'be at war with China' within years

But while the fallout over trade has been severe, the Liberal Party stalwart, who served under Malcolm Turnbull, said things may well get a whole lot worse as Beijing looks to poke and prod its Asia Pacific neighbours.

'Five years ago, I would have said that the possibility was very unlikely - now I would have to say that the possibility is more likely than it was then,' Mr Pyne said in a speech at the University of Adelaide, News.com.au reported.

'Not a cyber war, but a real one involving loss of life, destruction of military platforms, with aggressors and defenders on different sides,' he said.

'This isn't rhetoric. This is something that you and I may well have to confront in the next five to 10 years.'

China engaged in a border scuffle with India last year where dozens of soldiers were killed on both sides.

Tensions have soared in the disputed South China Sea where Beijing has claimed control of maritime areas legally belonging to Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Brunei.

Internally President Xi Jinping has also moved to stamp out freedoms in Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang Province with brutal campaigns against religious minorities and pro-democracy advocates.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen poses for a group photo in front of the Taiwan navy's new boat - amid growing pressure from China in the South China Sea and political tension worldwide

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured) has remained staunch in the face of Chinese aggression - with many nations now at loggerheads with the communist superpower

Hong Kong Police pass a burning barricade to break up thousands of pro-democracy protesters as the movement against China rages on (pictured)

But Mr Pyne said the 'most concerning' flashpoint that could lead to all out military conflict is Chinese aggression in Taiwan.

The island nation backed by the US and Japan has endured a longstanding conflict with Beijing since the Chinese civil war in 1949 and now its residents are more on edge than ever after watching the erosion of independence in Hong Kong.

The People's Liberation Army have repeatedly invaded Taiwan's airspace and maritime borders as 'Wolf Warrior diplomats' ramp up their rhetoric about annexing the territory.

AUSTRALIA VS CHINA - MILITARY FORCE BY NUMBERS Place on global Military Strength Ranking 2021: China - 3rd globally Australia - 19th globally Military personnel: China - 3.3 million people Australia - 80,000 people Fighter jets: China - 1,200 Australia - 75 Tanks: China - 3,205 Australia - 59 Rocket projectors: China - 2,250 Australia - 0 Submarines: China - 79 Australia - 6 Fit for service population: China - 617 million people Australia - 8.7 million people Defence budget: China - $233billion Australia - $42billion Labour force: China - 775 million people Australia - 12.5 million people Population: China - 1.4 billion Australia - 25 million Source: GlobalFirePower.com Advertisement

Commander of the US-Indo Pacific forces, Admiral Philip Davidson recently told a US Congress Committee it was his opinion that China would look to invade Taiwan in the next six years.

'China's military is very capable in an asymmetric war against the US and its allies around the island chains of the western Indo-Pacific and Southeast Asia,' Mr Pyne said.

'Australia is one of those allies. For that reason and many others, avoiding any kind of war is our paramount defence and foreign policy priority as a nation.'

He called on leaders to try and engage with China and said it was in no one's interest to adopt a policy of containment of China.

A Chinese naval ship sails into Sydney Harbour in June 2019 during a secret reciprocal visit - there are now warnings of an impending war between the nations

Australian Army soldiers from the 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery gather for an inspection in August 2020. Christopher Pyne has now warned of a war with China
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Versiti Blood Center of Michigan is issuing an emergency appeal for blood donations as communities throughout the state face a potential crisis with blood supplies dropping to critically low levels.

"Versiti Blood Center of Michigan is urgently seeking help from the public. We need to do all we can to ensure that Michigan hospitals have the blood they need for their patients," said Dr. Dan Waxman, vice president of transfusion medicine and senior medical director at Versiti. "As more people are getting vaccinated and getting out of their homes, attention has shifted away from blood donation. On top of that, drives at schools and businesses, which are typically Versiti's largest source of blood donations this time of year, have been cancelled. All of this is creating a crisis situation  a shortage of much-needed blood."

In Michigan, the state's blood supply has dropped to a critically low level, with less than a day's supply of life-saving blood on shelves to supply Versiti's more than 80 hospital partners throughout the state. Ideally, Versiti strives for a three-day supply of blood available to its partner hospitals.

In the first quarter alone, compared to a typical year, Versiti Blood Centers is down more than 40 percent in donations  or nearly 20,000 units of blood  from schools and businesses.

Blood donors are needed now to help ensure life-saving blood is available for Michiganders who need it. One donation of blood, which takes less than one hour, can help save up to three lives.

O-negative and O-positive blood donors are most needed now. O-negative and O-positive blood is the universal blood type, meaning donations can be transfused to all patients, including trauma victims, cancer patients and those undergoing surgery.

Michiganders are needed to extend the generous gift of life to neighbors who need help and donate blood at a Versiti Blood Center of Michigan donor center nearest them:

GRAND RAPIDS : 1036 Fuller NE

: 1036 Fuller NE GRANDVILLE : 3140 Wilson SW

: 3140 Wilson SW ST. JOSEPH : 2710 Cleveland Ave.

: 2710 Cleveland Ave. KALAMAZOO AREA : 524 E. Milham Ave., Portage

: 524 E. Milham Ave., SAGINAW : 1771 Tittabawasee Rd.

: 1771 Tittabawasee Rd. BAY CITY : 1017 N. Johnson St.

: 1017 N. Johnson St. MIDLAND: 825 E. Main St.

TRAVERSE CITY : 2575 Aero Park Dr.

Michigan residents can also make an appointment to donate at a local community blood drive in their area. Times, dates and locations of upcoming local drives can be found online https://donate.michigan.versiti.org. Interested donors should click the "Schedule to Donate" tab to find the nearest drive to them.

To help ensure donor safety, everyone entering Versiti facilities must wear a mask and have their temperature taken. All Versiti donation locations are practicing social distancing and closely adhering to FDA and CDC cleaning and disinfecting protocols.

Donating blood takes about an hour with the actual donation taking 10-15 minutes. Anyone age 17 or older in good health who meets eligibility requirements is encouraged to give. Parental consent is required for donors age 16 to donate blood. Donors should bring a photo ID that includes their birth date.

Appointments are encouraged at any of Versiti's Michigan donor centers or at any local community blood drive. Walk-ins are always welcome. To schedule an appointment to donate blood, call 1-866-642-5663 or visit Versiti online at versiti.org/Michigan.

About Versiti Blood Center of Michigan

Versiti Blood Center of Michigan, formerly Michigan Blood, has collected blood throughout the state since 1955. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, the non-profit organization provides blood products and services to more than 80 Michigan hospitals. Versiti collects more than 114,000 units of blood each year in Michigan at eight donation centers and through the operation of more than 3,400 community blood drives throughout the state.

SOURCE Versiti Blood Center of Michigan
Needless to say, the cables theyre using arent always the best, and cheap cords available on the likes of eBay for just $1 are very prone to all kinds of problems, such as random disconnects and things like that.So given that connection problems have become such a huge nightmare in the Android Auto world, Google now plans to deal with them in a pretty easy manner. The company is reportedly developing a connection troubleshooter that will help users deal with all these problems when Android Auto doesnt run correctly.The latest version of the app, Android Auto 6.3 , comes with code for what seems to be an automatic check for USB Debugging, which can be enabled from the developer settings in the app. If the feature is on, Android Auto users might see a notification telling them the connection could be prevented.But the more important feature that Google is quietly working on is the so-called Connectivity Troubleshooter.Just like the troubleshooting tools bundled with Windows, the Android Auto Connectivity Troubleshooter can kick in when something isnt working right and assist users as theyre trying to run the app properly. One of the best features of this new tool is cable detection, as the troubleshooter would be able to determine if youre using a bad USB cord and recommend you try another one.Without a doubt, this is a welcome update that would substantially improve the reliability and stability of Android Auto, though for now, its still unknown when Google wants to bring the updates to users.Typically, it takes a while for new features to arrive in Android Auto, and given the code is hiding in the latest update, theres a chance the company needs more time to prepare it for a production rollout.
by Thanh Thuy

Along the great river, dozens of dams have been built which also stop sand and mud. According to research conducted by Dutchman Philip Minderhoud, exploitation increases the risk of saline water intrusion, serious flooding and irreversible coastal erosion ..

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - The ongoing sand extraction on the canals of the Mekong Delta is causing serious loss of a lot of agricultural land. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Mekong Delta loses about 300 hectares of land every year due to the erosion of the river banks and the coast. Thus, in ten years the Mekong Delta has lost 3,000 hectares of land.

The exploitation of sand by "cat tac" (sand thieves) or the legal exploitation of economic groups are disrupting people's lives and aquatic ecosystems. The water level of the rivers has dropped. As a result, the groundwater level also decreases, causing the risk of drought.

As in the case of Tien Giang province, the region has the Tien Giang River and the Vam Co River. According to a recent research, Tien Giang has 33 sand pits covering an area of 1,633 hectares of reserves, with over 37.8 million cubic meters of sand.

As of April 11, 2021, according to statistics from the Department of Nature, Resources and the Environment of An Giang Province, the province has 9 enterprises that exploit the sand of the Tien Giang and Hau Rivers. Total production is approximately 1.6 million cubic meters of sand. The provincial government is expected to collect approximately VND 85 billion in taxes (US $ 3,687,546.50) in the year 2021.

As for the province of Ben Tre, the area has many rivers, canals and reaches the sea. In recent years, the provincial government has claimed that the entire province had 15 areas at risk for "sand thieves" on rivers such as Co Chien, Ham Luong and Tien Giang. The exploitation of sand has affected the environment and people's lives.

However, in the past four years, the provinces downstream of the Mekong River such as Tien Giang, Hau Giang, Ben Tre etc. they have placed limits on the inauspicious exploitation of rivers. This is because local governments and people want to protect mineral resources in rivers and also as well as prevent erosion of river banks to ensure the safety of lives and property.

Tang Quoc Chinh, director of the Department of Disaster Safety Control, told the local press "the main cause of landslides, subsidence and salinity of the river are caused by water reservoirs and hydroelectric power. They are densely built along the Mekong River from China to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

In particular, 19 large artificial reservoirs have been designed and built along the main course of the Mekong. In addition, 142 water reservoirs have been built or are under construction on the tributaries of the Mekong River. "The hydroelectric power basins - added Tang Quoc Chinh - have prevented mud and sand from flowing downstream. This mud and sand have the effect of filling or preventing erosion. There is another cause, namely the exploitation of the sand in the upper part of the Mekong ".

If companies and economic groups built many reservoirs and exploited the sand as they do now, the amount of mud and sand downstream of the Mekong River would be reduced by 97% in 2040. The Mekong Delta, therefore, is now short of mud and sand. This also impacts the lives of 18 million residents.

Dr Philip Minderhoud, Dutch, is responsible for research on groundwater resources and saline intrusion in the subsidence conditions of the Mekong Delta. He proved that "the area is only 0.8 meters above sea level". The increasing rate of land subsidence in the Mekong Delta increases the risk of saltwater intrusion, flooding and coastal erosion more and more seriously. Faced with the situation, Dr Philip Minderhoud said it was time for Vietnam to have an urgent action plan and consequently, diplomatic steps to reduce impacts upstream of the Mekong River. The government of Vietnam must immediately address the root causes of the exploitation of groundwater and sand downstream of the Mekong Delta.

Elspeth Akkerman, ambassador of the kingdom of the Netherlands to Viet Nam, said that the Mekong delta is a fertile plain that is sinking, due to the increase in the flow of the tide and the lack of sedimentation. The ambassador recommended that the Vietnamese government take immediate action to avoid more serious eventualities. The Netherlands is ready to continue to cooperate with Vietnam for a systematic approach and sustainable development of the Meking Delta.
News broke on April 9, 2021, that Britains Prince Philip had died at the age of 99. A statement from Buckingham Palace read: It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty the Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.

One question that has come up following his death is: Who will inherit his Duke of Edinburgh title? Many royal fans have wondered if it will go to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridges eldest son Prince George next.

Prince Philip, Kate Middleton and her children, Princess Charlotte and Prince George, standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour parade | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Who held the title before Prince Philip?

When Philip married then-Princess Elizabeth on Nov. 20, 1947, he received the Duke of Edinburgh peerage from his father-in-law King George VI. But he wasnt the first person to have the title.

It was created in 1726 for George Is grandson Prince Frederick. Philips great-great-uncle Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, fourth child and second son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, was also a Duke of Edinburgh in the peerage of the United Kingdom.

Philip was the sixth person ever to hold the title.

RELATED: Prince Philip Was a Secret Romantic Who Showered Queen Elizabeth With Gorgeous Gifts

Who will be the next Duke of Edinburgh?

So will Prince George become the seventh person to get the Duke of Edinburgh title?

Prince Edward and Prince Philp dressed in their military uniforms as they watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace | Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

According to multiple reports, the title is actually going to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philips youngest son Prince Edward. However, he wont inherit it just yet.

Currently, Edward doesnt have a dukedom like his brothers. He was set to become the next Duke of Cambridge when he married Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, however, he declined that title and instead requested Earl of Wessex after the character Lord Wessex from the film Shakespeare In Love. Queen Elizabeth granted his request. His bride, Sophie, then received the countess title to go with her husbands peerage.

WalesOnline noted that per the Letters Patent the dukes eldest son inherits the Duke of Edinburgh title, however, on Charles accession the title will merge with the crown and can be regranted anew to Edward. The queen, Philip, and Charles had agreed that Edward would become the Duke of Edinburgh in due course, but that he would only inherit the title following the death of both [his mother and father].

Not only has Edward taken on a number of Philips duties since the duke retired in 2017, he is also a trustee as well as chairman of The Duke of Edinburghs International Award.

RELATED: Video of Queen Elizabeths Son Prince Edward Shocks Royal Fans With Strange Way He Cuts a Cake

Prince Georges future titles

"My grandfather was an extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation."



A message from The Duke of Cambridge following the death of The Duke of Edinburgh: https://t.co/lVCSPrG7uG pic.twitter.com/atiB8djxPO  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) April 12, 2021

Although Prince George will not inherit his great grandfathers title he will become a duke one day.

Today, the young prince is His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge but hell have a few title changes throughout his life. The bulk of those changes will occur once his father becomes king. When William ascends the throne, George is expected to receive the regal Prince of Wales title. At that time he will likely become the Duke of Cornwall as well because that title, along with the Prince of Wales, belongs to the male heir apparent to the British throne.

George wont ever inherit his fathers Duke of Cambridge title though because that will merge with the crown. If Prince George gets married before Prince William takes the throne, then he will be granted another dukedom.
Siemens Healthcare Private Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of global MedTech company Siemens Healthineers AG, has promoted Vivek Kanade as its Managing Director.

According to the Company, Kanade will continue to lead the business for Siemens Healthineers India including manufacturing, sales and distribution, strategy for Zone India, comprising of neighboring countries viz. Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said a company statement.

During his association with Siemens for over 27 years, he has held various positions across diverse functions in sales, service management, regional management and modality management.

Before moving into Siemens Healthineers in India, Kanade was Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for the refurbished business, based out of Forchheim, Germany.

Siemens Healthcare Limited operates as a medical equipment company. The Company provides maintenance, repair, and manufacturing services for electronic and precision medical equipment. Siemens Healthcare bases its operations in the United Kingdom.

International Monitory Fund says Indian economy is on right track

Reserve Bank of India to publish Financial Inclusion Index

Corporate will grow 15-17 percent revenue in fourth-quarter FY 21
A Pottsville resident is accused of stabbing a 38-year-old man to death Monday after the two got into a road-rage incident on Route 61 in West Brunswick Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania State Police said.

State police said Tamiir Ion Whitted, 29, is charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, aggravated assault and several related charges for the death of Orwigsburg resident George Marcincin.

Marcincin was found after 2 p.m. at the intersection Route 61 and Brick Hill Road. He had multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

According to state police, Marcincin and Whitted were both driving south on Route 61 when conflict started, leading the men to get out of their vehicles and fight. Authorities said Whitted pulled out a knife, stabbed Mancincin and drove off.

Whitted was later pulled over and arrested on Route 61 between Holly Road and Chestnut Ridge Drive, state police said. He is being held at the Schuylkill County Prison without bail because of the first-degree murder charge.

READ MORE: Warrant issued for man accused of killing pregnant girlfriend, setting car on fire in Philadelphia

Man accused of killing Hershey-area woman, setting her house on fire had fresh scratches on face, arm, detective says
(Natural News) In anticipation of its upcoming new normal fall semester, Cornell University is rolling out a whole new set of requirements for on-campus learning that include permanent mask-wearing and mandatory Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) injection for all students  including those with brown and black skin.

Lifting an earlier policy that seemed to exempt people of color from mandatory flu shots and other uncomfortable medical interventions, Cornell is now requiring all students regardless of race or skin color to get jabbed with a Chinese virus needle in order to be on campus this fall.

Cornells latest woke policy removes language that had previously offered exemptions to students with darker skin hues based on longstanding systemic racism. Because Western medicine causes some people of color to feel concerned that doctors might be trying to exterminate them with poisons disguised as medicine, Cornell had a special policy in place to exempt minority communities from its mandatory vaccination policy.

Things have changed, though, and Cornell has reneged that former policy. Now, all black, indigenous, and other colored students will be forced to either get jabbed or forego all future education at the institution.

The surreptitious revisions reveal the cultural minefield that institutions of higher education are navigating as they consider mandating COVID-19 vaccines for students, staff and faculty as a condition of on-campus learning and employment, writes Greg Piper for Just the News.

College students just need to self-identify as staff or faculty to avoid mandatory injection

It all started back in March when Rutgers University became the first institution of higher learning to announce that Chinese virus injections would be required for all students, save for those with medical or religious exemptions, wishing to attend classes on campus this fall.

Cornell and several other schools almost immediately followed suit, though some of them, including Fort Lewis College in Durango, Col., appear to not be honoring any exemptions except for faculty and staff, which for any reason they choose can decide not to be stabbed for Chinese germs.

In Texas, private institutions that receive public funding are prohibited from denying services based on refusal to show their vaccination status, this thanks to Gov. Greg Abbott who prohibited vaccine passports within the Lone Star State.

Still, colleges and universities across Texas are planning to limit vaccine objectors access to classrooms, residence halls, and other on-campus facilities as punishment for refusing the jab.

Up until this point, anyone who self-identified as black or indigenous had an escape from mandatory injection at Cornell. Being a minority at the school meant that you had access to special privileges that whites were barred from receiving, mainly forced medical interventions.

Now that this has changed, Cornell students wanting to avoid injection may have to come up with a new tactic such as self-identifying as faculty or staff in order to escape the egregious new policy. Since only students are presumably required to get jabbed at Cornell, why not live your truth by claiming to be a trans-professor who is exempt from the policy?

Americans who wish to be free moving forward are going to have to start getting creative if they want to continue living in this nightmarish hell without having their DNA permanently altered with an experimental gene therapy needle compliments of Anthony Fauci and communist China.

Another option is to perhaps start up a Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine card forgery business that manufacturers fake vaccine passports for the non-jabbed. Such an operation could be necessary to protect you and your family against this irreversible genetic and chemical assault on humanity.

More of the latest news about Chinese virus hysteria can be found at FalseFlag.news.

Sources for this article include:

JustTheNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
The traffic stop that would end Daunte Wright's life played out on a Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police officer's body camera. Officers appeared to try to handcuff him; then he slipped back into the driver's seat.

A female officer yelled, "Taser, Taser," and then fired her gun. "Holy shit, I just shot him," she said.

Once again, a Black man died during a police encounter. In an instant, the world's focus on Minnesota shifted from the trial of Derek Chauvin to a new outrage that brought street protests, promises of reform, and anguish over a relentless pattern of deadly police misconduct.

Military vehicles rumbled down city streets as businesses hastily closed to comply with a four-county 7 p.m. curfew Monday ordered by Gov. Tim Walz. While a massive police presence mobilized to prevent any repeat of the riots after the death of George Floyd, President Joe Biden called for "peace and calm."

At a 12:30 a.m. Tuesday news conference, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said that 40 people were arrested Monday night at the Brooklyn Center protest. Several law enforcement officers suffered minor injuries from thrown debris; no protester injuries were reported, he said.

In Minneapolis, 13 people were arrested, according to Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Amelia Huffman.

Heeding the demands of protesters, Brooklyn Center's leaders dismissed the longtime city manager and granted authority over police to Mayor Mike Elliott. Elliott will make a decision Tuesday about whether to fire police Chief Tim Gannon, who described the officer's use of a firearm instead of a Taser as an "accidental discharge."

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension identified the officer as Kimberly A. Potter, 48, who has been a police officer for 26 years. She has been put on leave.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput promised a "thorough yet expedited" review of the case with the hope that the office can have criminal charges drafted Tuesday or Wednesday.

The shooting happened about 2 p.m. Sunday in the area of N. 63rd and Orchard avenues. Gannon said he was told during a briefing that officers stopped Wright's car because it had an expired tag and, when they checked his name, found he had a warrant.

According to Hennepin County District Court records, a warrant was issued April 2 for Wright after he failed to make his first court appearance on a case filed in March of carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross misdemeanor, and fleeing police, a misdemeanor. It's unclear whether Wright knew he had a court hearing, as he was charged by summons.

The body camera footage shows three officers approaching a white sedan parked on the shoulder of a road. One officer approaches the driver's side window, while another approaches the passenger side. The officer on the driver's side opens the door and Wright gets out of the car. Wright's hands are then shown behind his back, and an officer pulls out handcuffs.

Someone says, "You have a warrant."

A third officer, identified as Potter, moves closer to the car and places a hand on Wright's arm. Wright evades her grasp. The video briefly shows officers moving near the car door, as Wright moves into the driver's seat. Then he's shot.

Off-screen from the video, police said the car crashed into another vehicle near Kathrene Drive. Wright died there. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest and labeled his death a homicide.

"I'm not in the mind of the officer," Gannon said during the news conference. "I can only see what you're seeing. I can couple that with much of the training that I have received, and that's why I'm believing it to be an accidental discharge."

The BCA is leading the investigation into Wright's death, as is typical for shootings involving officers. Local prosecutors made an arrangement roughly a year ago to take over such cases for each other, so they can avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Orput said late Monday afternoon that he had not received the BCA's investigative report but that he had watched the body camera footage of the fatal encounter.

"I hope to have a complaint as soon as possible," Orput said. "I'm hoping Wednesday, but I want to have the opportunity to give my condolences to his family and explain to them my decision."

Moments after seeing the body camera video of Wright's shooting, a group of community members and activists stood outside the Brooklyn Center police station in a cold rain and called for the immediate firing of the officer who shot Wright. They also asked for resignations from the police chief and city manager, whom they blamed for an overzealous response to Sunday night's protests.

"That video was very disturbing to me," said Nelima Sitati Munene, executive director of African Career Education & Resource Inc. "I am a mother. I have a son who is about the same age as Daunte who drives in these cities every day. That could have easily been my son."

Dozens of police officers holding batons and wearing riot gear stood sentry a couple dozen yards away, and police in military uniforms held lines along the street in front of the building, keeping back a growing mass of demonstrators. A "blue line" flag  a sign of law enforcement support, co-opted by extremists and viewed by many activists as a symbol of opposition to the racial justice movement  waved below the American flag on the pole in front of the police station.

"We are here today on behalf of Daunte and all the lives lost at the hands of police, and to prevent further loss of lives at the hands of police," said Matt Branch, a community member. "The injustices that took place over the last 24 hours were not only heartbreaking, but also calculated and methodical without remorse or consideration for the pain of which our community is collectively experiencing."

Branch said he shares many of the same qualities as Wright  a Black man with expired tabs and an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror  and believes, under similar circumstances of a traffic stop, he could meet the same fate as Wright.

Brooklyn Center has a population of about 31,000, roughly 60% of whom identified as people of color in the latest census. Brooklyn Center police officers have killed six civilians since 2012. Four were Black.

Branch condemned Sunday night's police response. "What I saw last night was not policing. It wasn't positive. It wasn't de-escalating.  What I witnessed was agitation, intimidation, irritation and escalation."

Gannon, the police chief, defended the department's use of gas and flash-bang grenades late Sunday. He said he authorized the use of those devices because officers were being pelted with concrete blocks and frozen cans of soda, and at least one law enforcement officer was taken to a hospital.

"We photographed the evidence. We can show that to you in the future," Gannon said during a news conference Monday. "Once we got pelted, we responded in kind."

On Monday, leaders from Brooklyn Center all the way up to the White House called for peace. In remarks Monday afternoon, the president called Wright's death "tragic." He also called for peace.

"There is absolutely no justification, none, for looting," Biden said. "No justification for violence."

Dozens of business owners in Brooklyn Center had spent the morning surveying damage and cleaning up. National Guard members blocked the entrance to the Shingle Creek Crossing shopping area, where businesses had been damaged in the unrest after Floyd's death last year.

Andre Stevenson, manager of a To New York clothing store, found everything gone  the only clothing left appeared to be a pair of jeans on a mannequin.

"I understand why people are frustrated, I do," said Stevenson, who is Black. "But this isn't going to solve anything, ultimately."

(Staff writers Liz Sawyer, Paul Walsh, Tim Harlow, Kavita Kumar and Reid Forgrave contributed to this report.)

____
French cookware brand Le Creuset is holding a huge Factory to Table sale on its popular colorful cookware, with discounts of up to 50%.

The last time the retailer held such a sale was in August. Now, Le Creuset is back at it, and you can find some massive discounts on premium products.

Retailers have been dropping new online sales since the beginning of spring. Sur La Table is another kitchenware retailer holding a 50% off sale on cookware.

Below is a roundup of some of the best deals Le Creuset is offering as part of the massive Factory to Table sale, which runs through April 19, according to Food & Wine.

Dutch Ovens and cocottes

You can find Le Creusets popular Round Wide Dutch Oven for $183 in turquoise, down from $305. It can hold up to almost four quarts. The smaller Shallow Dutch Oven is also available in red for $147.

If youre into baking small desserts or appetizers, this Heart Cookware Set is now $120, instead of $200. They are also microwave safe.

Here are other noteworthy oven-safe cookware deals:

Pots and sets

You can find Le Creusets popular soup pot in an array of colors starting at $150. You can also find its stock pots starting at $85.

Le Creusets 12-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set is pricey at $1,000, but is a pretty good deal compared to its usual $1,425 price. The Toughened Nonstick PRO 13-Piece Set is also on sale for $850.

If you need to stock up on dishes, these Dinner Plates (Set of 4) are now $40, compared to $80.

Here are other noteworthy sets on sale:

Deep skillets and pans

Le Creusets Deep Square Grill Skillet is now $111, compared to $185. The companys Toughened Nonstick PRO Small Fry Pans (Set of 2) are also on sale for $160.

Here are other noteworthy skillet and pan deals:

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BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP)  A white Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb and the city's chief of police resigned Tuesday.

Officer Kim Potter and Police Chief Tim Gannon both resigned two days after the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center. Potter, a 26-year veteran, had been on administrative leave following Sundays shooting.

Gannon has said he believed Potter mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. She can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser!

Whenever, through the line of duty, someone kills another human being, there must be accountability, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott told the Today show earlier Tuesday.

Activists and some residents say Wright was racially profiled, and his death has sparked two days of clashes between police and protesters. The shooting happened as the Minneapolis area was already on edge over the trial of the first of four police officers in George Floyds death.

Now Playing: Video: Associated Press

Wright was shot as police were trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.

Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! the officer is heard shouting on her body cam footage released Monday. She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel.

Now Playing: Video: Associated Press

After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away, and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP)  The pressure built Tuesday to fire the suburban Minneapolis police officer who killed a 20-year-old Black man during an altercation after a traffic stop, a shooting authorities said was a tragic mistake but that family members of Daunte Wright and others pointed to as yet the latest example of a broken criminal justice system.

Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott called the shooting in his city deeply tragic and said the officer should be fired. Elliott, the city's first Black mayor, announced Monday night that the City Council had fired the city manager and voted to give the mayor's office command authority over the police force.

Were going to do everything we can to ensure that justice is done and our communities are made whole, Elliott said.

The citys police chief has said he believes the officer, identified as 26-year-veteran Kim Potter, mistakenly grabbed her gun when she was going for her Taser. The officer, who is white, can be heard on her body camera video shouting Taser! Taser!

Wrights father, Aubrey Wright, told ABCs Good Morning America on Tuesday that he rejects that explanation.

I lost my son. Hes never coming back. I cant accept that. A mistake? That doesnt even sound right. This officer has been on the force for 26 years. I cant accept that, he said.

Wright's family planned to speak again Tuesday alongside the family of George Floyd at the courthouse where the trial is being held for a former Minneapolis police officer charged in his death. Protests erupted for a second night following Sunday's shooting, heightening anxiety in an area already on edge as the Derek Chauvin trial progresses. Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyds neck.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired the day after Floyd's death. Potter was placed on administrative leave while the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigates Wright's death.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the police union, issued a statement Tuesday saying no conclusions should be made until the investigation is complete.

Police Chief Tim Gannon on Monday would not say whether Potter would be fired, saying she was entitled to due process.

I think we can watch the video and ascertain whether she will be returning, the chief said.

The advent of social media and body cameras has forced police departments to move much quickly than in the past, said Alex Piquero, chairman of the University of Miamis sociology department. However, he said that before the Brooklyn Center Police Department fires the officer, it will likely review all evidence, including any other body camera footage and testimony from other officers, so that the dismissal is less vulnerable to any court challenge.

We dont know why she reached for her firearm instead of her Taser, Piquero said.

Body camera footage Gannon released less than 24 hours after the shooting shows three officers around a stopped car, which authorities said was pulled over because it had expired registration tags. When one officer attempts to handcuff Wright, a second officer tells him hes being arrested on a warrant. Thats when the struggle begins.

Potter can be heard saying: Ill Tase you! Ill Tase you! Taser! Taser! Taser! She draws her weapon after the man breaks free from police outside his car and gets back behind the wheel. After firing a single shot from her handgun, the car speeds away and the officer is heard saying, Holy (expletive)! I shot him.

The car traveled several blocks before hitting another vehicle.

Wright died of a gunshot wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiners office.

Potter has experience with investigations into police shootings. Potter was one of the first officers to respond after Brooklyn Center police fatally shot a man who allegedly allegedly tried to stab an officer with a knife in August 2019, according to a report from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

After medics arrived, she told the two officers who shot the man to get into separate squad cars, turn off their body cameras, and not to speak to each other. She was also the police union president for the department and accompanied two other officers involved in the shooting while investigators interviewed them.

Court records show Wright was being sought after failing to appear in court on charges that he fled from officers and possessed a gun without a permit during an encounter with Minneapolis police in June.

Demonstrators began to gather shortly after the shooting, with some jumping atop police cars.

On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered hours after a dusk-to-dawn curfew was announced by the governor. When protesters wouldn't disperse, police began firing gas canisters and flash-bang grenades, sending clouds wafting over the crowd and chasing some protesters away. Forty people were arrested, Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer said at a news conference early Tuesday. In Minneapolis, 13 arrests were made, including for burglaries and curfew violations, police said.

Brooklyn Center is a modest suburb just north of Minneapolis that has seen its demographics shift dramatically in recent years. In 2000, more than 70% of the city was white. Today, a majority of residents are Black, Asian or Latino.

Wright's death prompted protests in other U.S. cities, including in Portland, Oregon, where police said a demonstration turned into a riot Monday night, with some in the crowd throwing rocks and other projectiles at officers.

___

Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

___

Mohamed Ibrahim 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.
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Technology Metals Australia Ltd (ASX:TMT) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Technology Metals up as test-work confirms high-value titanium by-product from Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project

Technology Metals Australia Ltd (ASX:TMT) (FRA:TN6) is trading higher after industry experts confirmed the scope to generate additional revenue by way of a high-value titanium by-product from the Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project in Western Australia.

The company is encouraged by the results of test-work on the tails stream of the magnetic concentrate which generated a Yarrabubba Ilmenite (titanium) Product (YIP1).

Two large sample masses of fresh massive magnetite composites from the Yarrabubba Iron-Vanadium Project were tested.



Independent assessment

Simple gravity separation followed by magnetic separation (WHIMS) confirmed the opportunity to produce a titanium by-product containing 46 to 47% (YIP1) titanium dioxide.

Assessment by independent titanium industry leading consultants TZMI confirms YIP1 as an attractive blend feedstock for sulphate pigment producers due to its low levels of generally common deleterious elements, including very low iron oxide.

The YIP1 revenue is expected to contribute positively to the Yarrabubba DFS outcome, adding to the iron-vanadium revenue stream.

Shares have been as much as 11% higher to 41 cents intra-day with TMT's market capitalisation sitting at approximately $55.6 million.
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 22:54:24|Editor: huaxia

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SEOUL -- Japan's decision to dump radioactive waste water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean will continue to worsen the marine contamination in the ocean, a South Korean green activist said Tuesday.

"Japan already contaminated and did damage to the ocean with the Fukushima power plant accident," Ahn Jae-hun, energy and climate change director at the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, a green advocacy group in Seoul, told Xinhua.

- - - -

TEHRAN -- U.S. officials should understand that neither sanctions nor acts of sabotage on Iran's nuclear facility will work in their favor at the ongoing nuclear talks, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.

"We have no problem returning to nuclear deal commitments ... but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage will give them the means to negotiate, and that these actions will only make the situation more difficult for them," Zarif said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.

- - - -

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden and other White House officials on Monday met with executives from 19 major companies to discuss the global semiconductor shortage that has severely affected U.S. automakers.

"The semiconductor shortage, which is impacting American workers and families right now, is a top and immediate priority for the President and his senior most advisors on economic and national security," the White House said in a statement after hosting the virtual semiconductor summit.

- - - -

GENEVA -- Close to 40 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have already been distributed through the COVAX Facility, half of them in Africa, but vaccine supplies are still stalled due to "tremendous demand" especially in India, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.

COVAX, a WHO-led program to secure equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries, "has, as of today, distributed just over 38.7 million doses and we expect to get past 40 million doses later this week," Bruce Aylward, the WHO's senior advisor to the director general on organizational change, said at a press conference.

- - - -

LAGOS -- A UN official based in Nigeria has condemned a reported attack on civilians and several aid facilities at the weekend in Damasak town of Borno state, a state that has been troubled by the resurgence of Boko Haram for over a decade.

In a statement sent to Xinhua on Monday, Edward Kallon, the UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, said he was outraged to hear about the attacks and the setting ablaze of facilities belonging to aid organizations.

"I am deeply concerned about recurrent reports of violent attacks by non-state armed groups putting the lives of civilians under risks," he said. Enditem
Mumbai, April 13 : Marathi actor Pushkar Jog makes sure to follow all rituals associated with Gudi Padwa, which was observed on Tuesday this year.

"My wife and I strongly believe that God is our source of hope and well-being. On this auspicious festival, we follow traditional rituals and pray to God to shower his blessings on us," saus Pushkar.

The festival is even more special for their three-year-old daughter, Felisha.

"For my little one, all festivals are a break from online-school, which she looks forward to," he says.

Pushkar is currently seen on the new Marathi film "Well Done Baby". He posted a special video for his fans on Instagram, wishing them Gudi Padwa on Tuesday.

In the video, Pushkar along with co-star Amruta Khanvilkar and director Priyanka Tanwar, wish their fans a happy new year full of safety, happiness, peace and prosperity.

Directed by debutante Priyanka Tanwar, "Well Done Baby" is a family drama that follows the life of a young couple who are in a complicated marriage and find out that they are pregnant.

The film is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
5 1 of 5 Orange County Sherriff's Office / Orange County Sherriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Orange County Sheriff's Office / Orange County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Orange County Sheriff's Office / Orange County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 5 of 5









The Orange County Narcotics Unit and the Vidor Police department seized a seven kilograms of cocaine during a traffic stop Tuesday morning.

Around 6:30 a.m., police stopped a Nissan Armada that was eastbound on Interstate 10. Officers found a hidden compartment underneath the vehicle containing large amounts of cocaine, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriffs Office.
YEREVAN, APRIL 13, ARMENPRESS. Armenian lawmakers are decrying the opening of a so-called museum by the Azeri authorities in Baku which is dedicated to the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war, where exhibits include seized or destroyed Armenian military equipment, helmets of killed troops, as well as waxwork caricatures of Armenian soldiers in what appears to be a reconstructed barracks.

This is a slap not only to mankind but also universal values, because the entire world was shown the high level of the state-sanctioned anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan. Many years of this policy in Azerbaijan has reached its highest level, this is disrespect towards our victims, those missing and the captives. There shouldnt be any political approaches or opinions in this matter, we must all stand together and show the world that the Armenian peoples dignity is higher and above anything else, ruling My Step bloc lawmaker Nazeli Baghdasaryan told her colleagues in parliament during the April 13 session.

Another MP, Gor Gevorgyan, said in his speech that the museum opened in Baku is yet another manifestation of a state-sanctioned, coordinated and extreme Armenophobia.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
WASHINGTON  Facing opposition from Republicans and some centrist Democrats to parts of his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, President Biden on Monday convened a bipartisan group of lawmakers at the White House, hoping to make progress toward a deal that can pass a bitterly divided Congress.

Sitting in the Oval Office with the group, Mr. Biden said he was prepared to negotiate as to the extent of the infrastructure project, as well as how we pay for it.

The meeting was an effort by the White House to show that it was willing to at least consider proposals to scale back or reshape the package and listen to alternatives to its own plan to pay for it by raising taxes on corporations.

The president has repeatedly said that it is his preference to pass a bipartisan deal. But White House officials and other Democrats have also made clear that they would be willing, if necessary to achieve their priorities, to push through a bill on a party-line vote over the objections of Republicans.
Myleene Klass put on a brave face as she arrived at work on Tuesday after being spat at by an UBER driver while heading to her shift at Smooth FM on Friday.

The presenter, 43, looked chic in oversized grey trousers which she teamed with a striped blue and white shirt as she walked into Global headquarters in London.

Myleene smiled despite just a few days ago being left in tears after the spitting incident which is thought to have been caused when she and the driver reportedly disagreed over where to stop.

Chic: Myleene Klass put on a brave face as she arrived at work on Tuesday after being spat at by an UBER driver while heading to her shift at Smooth FM on Friday

The mother-of-three wore a cosy cream cardigan over her outfit and accessorized perfectly with a black and gold Gucci belt.

Myleene wore her honey tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and opted for a pair of huge blue-tinted sunglasses.

After the alleged spitting incident on Friday, a source told The Sun: 'Myleene was shocked that he spat on her. She panicked and felt trapped, worried that she wouldn't be able to get out.

Brave: The presenter, 43, looked chic in oversized grey trousers which she teamed with a stripped blue and white shirt as she walked into Global headquarters in London

'She was really shaken by the incident and wanted to get out of the car as quickly as possible when the driver turned nasty.

'She was relieved it happened in a public place.'

The source added that photographers outside the building checked if Myleene was okay before she headed inside and presented her two-hour show.

Moving on: Myleene smiled despite just a few days ago being left in tears after the spitting incident which is thought to have been caused when she and the driver reportedly disagreed over where to stop

MailOnline contacted Myleene's representative for further comment.

It is also understood that the alleged incident might have been captured on CCTV, which could be helpful to the police in their investigation.

The Met told MailOnline: 'Police are investigating an allegation of assault. The complainant, a 43-year-old woman, was allegedly spat at as she left a private hire vehicle in Charing Cross Road at around 09:30hrs on Friday, 9 April.

'There have been no arrests and enquiries continue.'

'She was really shaken': It is also understood that the alleged incident might have been captured on CCTV, which could be helpful to the police in their investigation (Myleene is pictured presenting her radio show last summer)

Despite the incident, Myleene was staying positive on Monday as she headed to work carrying a large box - thought to be treats for the snappers who helped her.

The mother-of-three opted for a very laidback look and donned a black hoodie with 'Super Geek' emblazoned across the chest from her own fashion range.

Myleene revealed last month that motherhood has changed the way she views her body.

Appearing on Instagram to launch Tommee Tippee's Spill The Milk digital series recently, she said: 'I was in a pop band, and everything was just so overly sexualised. I've done lingerie shoots, bikinis, the lot.

'Then you become a mum, and then suddenly you see your body in a completely different light. I want my daughters to feel body strong, body confident and be respectful to their bodies.'

Myleene became an overnight success after winning talent show Pop Stars as a member of short-lived manufactured group Hear'Say in 2001.

Saying thank you? The mother-of-three was spotted carrying a large box on Monday, thought to be filled with coffee for the photographers who witnessed the alleged incident

She continued: 'If I was doing moves in a dance video, or like slut dropping on Tik Tok, no one would bat an eyelid. When you break it down, it just doesn't make any sense!'

While she admits to feeling self-conscious when it came to breastfeeding her daughters in public, she has had a completely different attitude with her son.

'It's just been a different experience,' she said. 'I feel like I've got my confidence and I don't feel intimidated from a public perspective.'
Mumbai, April 13 : Actor Anshuman Jha is in Arunachal Pradesh to shoot for a fiction travel series titled "Sifar", and he feels grateful to drive through one of the most beautiful states in India.

The series attempts to shoot a fiction series via improvisation in a real set up. The actors have no written dialogues. They have a screenplay and character graphs, but speak their lines from experiences while on the mammoth drive through the state.

"I am just grateful to be getting an opportunity to drive through one of the most beautiful states in our country -- that is Arunachal -- and interact with motor sporting legends like Hari Singh and the current India champion Gaurav (Gill). It's a dream come true and an exciting process, for we will create something like never before," Anushman said.

The web series is being shot through the state in the middle of the 3000-kilometre Trans Arunachal Drive. The drivers will meander through the entire state from Namsai to Tawang, through the foothills of the Himalayas and camp along.

The show is directed by Victor Mukherjee and produced by Vivek Singhania.
Burma Myanmar Military Suffers Heavy Casualties in Fierce Fighting With Ethnic Armed Groups

KIA soldiers fire a machine gun at Myanmar military troop positions during fighting in January 2013. / The Irrawaddy

Fighting broke out between various ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar military at several locations in the countrys north and northeast on Monday, resulting in heavy casualties to the military, including the death of a battalion commander, as well as the reported capture of some of their soldiers.

Fierce clashes between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) took place around Dokphoneyan in Kachin States Momauk Township. Tensions have been rising since the KIA seized the Alaw Bum base on March 25 near the Chinese border, which was previously occupied by the Tatmadaw.

KIA information officer, Colonel Naw Bu told The Irrawaddy that the Tatmadaw launched several airstrikes over four days in their efforts to recapture the base from the KIA.

Col. Naw Bu said that the Tatmadaw is reinforcing its soldiers and clashes may intensify again today.

A KIA official on the ground said many soldiers, including the battalion commander of the Tatmadaws light infantry Battalion No. 387, were reportedly killed by the KIA during the fighting on Monday.

He said that the KIA also captured eight Myanmar military soldiers. However, The Irrawaddy was unable to verify the claim.

A local resident said that six bombs landed in Chinese territory during the airstrikes.

He said that no one was injured on the China side as the bombs landed on farmland.

Clashes were also reported elsewhere in Momauk Township, after the KIA occupied two police outposts and a military base at Tarpein Bridge. Three civilians died in the fighting after artillery shells landed in villages.

Following the KIAs refusal to recognize the military regime, clashes have been reported across Kachin State and northern Shan State since March 11. The KIA has attacked military and police outposts and has threatened to step up its attacks if the junta continues to shoot peaceful protesters across the country.

On Monday night, there were also reports of fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) around Myanmars ruby centre Mogoke in the Mandalay region.

We heard heavy artillery shells exploding from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. We also heard gunfire several times, a Mogoke resident said.

We saw that the military is reinforcing the troops near that area this morning, he said.

The Irrawaddy was unable to confirm details of casualties from the fighting.

The TNLA and the Shan State Progress Partys armed wing Shan State Army-North are active in areas of Mogoke Township. The TNLA is a member of the tripartite Brotherhood Alliance, which also includes the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army.

The alliance recently condemned the military regime, warning that they are ready to join forces with all ethnic people in fighting against the junta if it continues its brutal killing of anti-coup protesters.

The Brotherhood Alliance attacked a police outpost in northern Shan States Lashio Township on April 10. At least 14 policemen were killed and at least five family members of police officers were wounded in the attack.



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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-14 03:48:32|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The top UN envoy in Kosovo, Zahir Tanin, on Tuesday saw a strong desire for change in Kosovo expressed in the Feb. 14 elections.

Against the challenges of COVID-19, early legislative elections were successfully held across Kosovo on Feb. 14. The winning party, Vetevendosje, received more than half of all votes cast, said Tanin, the UN secretary-general's special representative and head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

"Prior to the elections, during less than one year and a half, three separate governments held power in Kosovo. This fact alone helps to illustrate the amount of political turbulence which prevailed, and which made the results of February's vote all the more significant for the population," he told the Security Council in a briefing.

An examination of the demographics of the vote revealed a strong desire for change across Kosovo society. The expectations expressed were for a shift in the responsiveness of a government to the real hopes and needs of its voters, for greater equality of opportunity, accountability, and the rule of law, he said.

Kosovo's new government faces great opportunities, alongside great challenges. New Prime Minister Albin Kurti leads a strong majority government. He has foreshadowed a people-centered approach to governance, stressing the advancement of justice, addressing endemic corruption, and improving the social and economic outlook of all, said Tanin.

"No less, this equates to an important opportunity to transform public narratives which have held hostage the aspirations of a new generation. Opening the door to the future, of course, requires a transformation, and changing the priorities which are reflected in both words and in deeds. Reducing tension also requires that ruling and opposition parties alike prove their capacity to cohere on wider interests," he said.

At the end of the Kosovo War in 1999, Kosovo, a Serbian province dominated by ethnic Albanians, was placed under transitional UN administration by the Security Council. It declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Kosovo's independence is partially recognized by the international community.

Tanin said both Pristina and Belgrade understand the importance of their relations.

Tanin said he spoke on Tuesday morning with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who highlighted the importance of the dialogue and reiterated the hope that this dialogue should be intensified in order to produce results beyond those previously accomplished.

"I know, from my discussions in both Pristina and Belgrade, that each side is aware how central the quality of their relations will be in advancing the aspirations of their constituencies, for progress along the European path. Only a meaningful and sincere dialogue and forward-looking policies will evolve these relations, and allow mutual interests to be met," he said.

Under the stewardship of the European Union, ample technical and political support stands ready for the continuation of the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, aiming toward a comprehensive agreement, he said.

"The dialogue with Belgrade is not a formula imposed from without. It is a building block of progress that must come from within. ... There is an opportunity at hand, and UNMIK remains committed to supporting the steadfast leadership needed to seize it. The voters in Kosovo raised their voices for breaking with the past, and I hope that the members of this (Security) Council will add their clear support for the realization of a more peaceful, more prosperous future in Kosovo and the region," he added.

Tanin said Kosovo remains under relentless pressure from the spread of the COVID-19 virus as the last six months witnessed two dramatic spikes in infections, one in November, and another which just began in March and is continuing.

Although additional containment measures were reintroduced, beginning just last week, the running average of new infections is reaching its highest point since the pandemic began. As of Tuesday, the virus is known already to have infected more than 100,000 people in Kosovo, and has caused over 2,000 deaths, one of the highest per capita, he said.

As part of the COVAX scheme, a first delivery of 24,000 doses arrived in Kosovo at the end of March, marking only the beginning of a vaccination program, he said. "It will be essential to accelerate vaccine-related support to Kosovo, given the alarming infection rates and the spread of more virulent strains of the pathogen." Enditem
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Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 09:01:19|Editor: huaxia

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TOKYO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that his government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea amid domestic and international opposition.

Suga made the announcement after convening a meeting of relevant ministers to formalize plans to release the radioactive water accumulated at the plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the No. 1-3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns.

The plant has been generating massive amount of radiation-tainted water since the accident happened as it needs water to cool the reactors. The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said it will take around two years for the release to start.

The water, according to reports, has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants. However, things like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are hard to filter out.

The plant has been struggling to store the contaminated water in tanks at the facility where more than 1.25 million tons of contaminated water are currently stored in huge tanks, and the space is expected to reach capacity next year.

Japan had considered evaporating or storing underground the tritium-laced water from the plant as an alternative. However, from the perspective of cost and technical feasibility, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea.

The plan has been facing strong opposition from the Japanese fishery industry and the public, with fishery industry representatives saying it would undo years of work to restore their reputation.

"We are dead against a release of contaminated water to the ocean as it could have a catastrophic impact on the future of Japan's fishing industry," Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives known as JF Zengyoren, told a meeting with government officials last October.

According to Kishi, the release of radioactive water could trigger other countries to tighten restrictions on imports of Japanese fishery products, reversing a recent trend toward loosening.

The plan also raised concerns from neighboring countries about possible negative impact on people's health and fishery businesses resulting from the discharge.

China has expressed its grave concerns through diplomatic channels, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying on Monday that China urged the Japanese side to take a responsible attitude and treat the issue of nuclear waste disposal with caution.

Zhao stressed that proper disposal of nuclear waste is related to international public interests and the vital interests of neighboring countries. It should be handled carefully and properly to avoid further damaging the marine environment, food safety and human health.

Meanwhile, South Korea on Monday also voiced "grave concerns", with foreign ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam saying "It will be difficult to accept if the Japanese side decides to release the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant without sufficient consultations." Enditem
New Orleans will end its administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in keeping with federal guidance issued Tuesday, and the move will complicate the city's vaccination rollout at neighborhood sites, the city's top health official said.

Health Department Director Dr. Jennifer Avegno said Tuesday that city officials would follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, agencies that recommended a halt in administration of the single-dose shot after reports of extremely rare but potentially dangerous blood clots.

Avegno urged residents to remember that the initial findings from the CDC and FDA suggest that the risk of developing a serious complication from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains very low. Still, she said residents who have received that vaccine should call their health care provider should they develop symptoms.

"Your risk of dying in a car accident is about one in 7,000. This risk of the J&J complication is one in a million," Avegno said. "It's rare, but we want to take it seriously."

Avegno's comments come hours after the CDC and FDA's recommendation, and after the Louisiana Department of Health urged all state providers to stop distributing the Johnson & Johnson shots. Ochsner Health and LCMC Health announced Tuesday that they would use only the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna brand vaccinations, which have not been associated with major side effects.

Six women in the U.S. had the clots, along with reduced platelet counts, within two weeks of receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, federal officials said Tuesday. One woman has died. The platelet counts made the usual treatment for blood clots, the blood thinner hepairin, possibly unsafe for use.

The pause on Johnson & Johnson is so the federal government can investigate the reports of clots and the death to see just what led to those complications.

More than 6.8 million people have received doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the months since its authorization, the majority with mild or no side effects.

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Avegno detailed those figures Tuesday as an indication that the Johnson & Johnson complications were not likely to affect most people, and that those who would have been affected would notice changes within a few weeks of receiving the dose.

The single-dose vaccines, which do not have to be kept at ultra-cold temperatures, have been ideal for neighborhood vaccine events aimed at residents who wouldn't otherwise go to mass sites such as the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to receive the shots, or who might be hard to track down for a second dose weeks later, she said.

Avegno has said the neighborhood events are critical to helping New Orleans realize a goal of vaccinating 75% of its population.

"What we learned at the Dragon's Den is that young people who were rolling up to hear DJ RQ Away, said, 'Oh, I'm right here. I'll get this.' They would have not otherwise made it a priority in their life," Avegno said, referencing a "Shots for Shots" event last week where revelers received a free watermelon lemon drop shot after being vaccinated.

She said the city will swap out the Johnson & Johnson vaccines with either the Pfizer or Moderna two-dose regimens at future neighborhood and mass vaccine events, until the FDA again clears the Johnson & Johnson for use.

Of the 157,920 vaccine doses distributed in New Orleans since the federal government authorized the shots, about 10% were Johnson & Johnson, Avegno said. Roughly 41% of residents have received at least one shot; 28% are fully vaccinated.
BIRMINGHAM, Mich., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Schechter Investment Advisors ("SIA"), an independent registered investment advisor firm, has announced the addition of Joseph Drozd, Jr., CFA as a senior investment advisor. This is the fourth high-level hire for SIA since Q4 2020.

Joseph Drozd, Jr., CFA joins Schechter as a senior investment advisor.

Drozd is an accomplished and entrepreneurial portfolio manager and family office professional with over 12 years of experience in the investment space. He has a successful track record in deploying capital into private companies, real estate, hedge funds, and alternative investments. At Schechter, Drozd will provide investment advice to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients and families as well as sourcing investment opportunities.

"Joe's deep passion and knowledge of the alternative investment space is a perfect fit for us. We believe a having thorough understanding of and access to alternatives is a critical differentiator in today's investment advisory landscape," said Marc Schechter, senior managing partner at Schechter. "Our clients will benefit immensely from Joe's unique private market insights and approach in building portfolios."

Drozd was the director of strategic initiatives and investor relations at Delta Capital Partners where he worked on strategic planning and enhancement of investment processes. Previously, Drozd was the director of strategy and marketing with Ziegler Capital Management, and prior to that, spent over six years as a portfolio manager and director of research at Matrix Capital Advisors, a prominent multi-family office focused on alternative investments. Drozd began his career researching hedge funds and private equity managers with Mercer Investments.

A born and raised Chicago native, Drozd earned a B.A. in Economics & Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and was an Evans Scholar recipient. Drozd has also earned a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder designation.

About Schechter:

Schechter is a boutique, third-generation wealth advisory firm. For over 80 years, we have been quietly advising wealthy families on financial matters including institutional quality investments, private capital, financial planning, income, and estate taxes, business succession, charitable planning, and advanced life insurance design. Our multi-disciplined team consists of JDs, CPAs, LLMs, CLTCs, CLUs, PFSs, CAPs, MBAs, CIMA participants, CFP practitioners, and CFA charterholders.

SOURCE Schechter

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Hong Kong: Review body composition enhanced

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam today announced that a number of community leaders will be appointed to the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee to enhance its credibility.

At a press conference this afternoon, Mrs Lam outlined the composition of the review committee which is established in accordance with the amended Annex I and Annex II to the Basic Law, to assess and validate the eligibility of candidates in the Chief Executive, Election Committee and Legislative Council elections.

She said: "As far as members of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee are concerned, you have to accept that under the current election regime, this job is already done by a public servant, actually a civil servant in the name of a Returning Officer.

"He or she, appointed during an election, has the sole discretion to decide whether a candidate fulfils the requirements for a candidate. If not, the candidate will be disqualified by the Returning Officer.

"So the current proposal - of course it also stems from Basic Law Annex I and Annex II - has elevated this whole arrangement to consider the eligibility of candidates to a committee rather than an individual, to a group of principal officials who are accountable to the people of Hong Kong for their acts, who are not unknown people.

"So the legislation will provide for a committee to be made up of a chairman and two to four members, and all of them have to be principal officials appointed by the Central People's Government under Basic Law Article 48 (5), because this is such an important job."

Mrs Lam added that the Government decided to include some non-official members in the review committee after considering feedback from the community.

"In the last two weeks, whenever we talked about this eligibility review committee, there was a school of thought, just like what you have put up, that 'Okay, they are all officials. How could you convince us that you will be very fair?'

"So I have accepted the view put to us, and so later on we will introduce a committee stage amendment to this bill to allow for the Chief Executive to appoint a number of community leaders to become members of the eligibility review committee."

This story has been published on: 2021-04-13. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ammonia (NH3) is among the most important chemicals produced by humans and has a promising future in sustainable energy applications besides being used in fertilizer production. Unfortunately, so far, the only realistic way that exists to produce ammonia at an industrial scale is through the Haber-Bosch process. This technique, discovered in the 19th century, is very energy-intensive and environmentally unfriendly; about 2% of the yearly global CO2 emissions come from Haber-Bosch processes.

"Considering the threats posed by global warming, it is high time we swap to an ammonia synthesis route with zero CO2 emissions," says Professor Sangaraju Shanmugam from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Korea. Shanmugam and colleagues at DGIST have been working on finding new ways to produce ammonia through electrochemical reactions at room temperature using the nitrogen (N2) naturally present in air, a process technically known as 'electrocatalytic fixation of atmospheric N2.'

Although various research groups have successfully developed catalysts for electrochemical cells with high ammonia production rates, many suffer from low efficiency and selectivity towards N2. Others require precious metals or complex synthesis processes, which limits their applicability on an industrial scale. In a recent study published in Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, DGIST scientists led by Prof. Shanmugam tackled all these issues with a novel catalyst for electrochemical ammonia synthesis.

Their approach is based on molybdenum nitride (Mo2N) nanoparticles, which share electrical properties with the enzyme nitrogenase that some bacteria use to produce ammonia in nature. Nanoparticles alone don't make the cut; however, because they tend to stick to each other, this agglomeration reduces the total surface area that is exposed to N2 and thus hinders the catalyst's performance. To combat this problem, the scientists produced two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) sheets and tailored them to contain defects. These defects--boron and nitrogen vacancies--provided sites for the Mo2N nanoparticles to anchor themselves without agglomerating much.

With this catalyst, the team managed to synthesize ammonia at a high rate with an efficiency of 61.5% in a stable and robust way. Most notably, the entire fabrication process of the low-cost ?-Mo2N/h-BN catalyst can be done in a single step, which makes it an attractive option in terms of industrial scalability. Furthermore, the study provided important insight into how the size of the nanoparticles affects the selectivity of the catalyst for nitrogen fixation. Prof. Shanmugam observes: "We believe our work will greatly contribute to the development of efficient catalysts. Advancing alternative technologies for the production of valuable chemicals like ammonia via electrocatalytic methods shall pave the way for a cleaner and safer environment."

Hopefully, further studies will finally allow us to abandon the methods of yesterday in favor of the sustainable alternatives of tomorrow.

###

Reference

Authors: David Kumar Yesudoss , Gayoung Lee , Sangaraju Shanmugam*

Title of original paper: Strong catalyst support interactions in defect-rich -Mo2N nanoparticles loaded 2D-h-BN hybrid for highly selective nitrogen reduction reaction

Journal: Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2021.119952

Affiliation: Department of Energy Science & Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology (DGIST)

*Corresponding author's email: sangarajus@dgist.ac.kr

About Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST)

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) is a well-known and respected research institute located in Daegu, Republic of Korea. Established in 2004 by the Korean Government, the main aim of DGIST is to promote national science and technology, as well as to boost the local economy.

With a vision of "Changing the world through convergence", DGIST has undertaken a wide range of research in various fields of science and technology. DGIST has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive studies in some of today's most vital fields. DGIST also has state-of-the-art-infrastructure to enable cutting-edge research in materials science, robotics, cognitive sciences, and communication engineering.

Website: https:/ / www. dgist. ac. kr/ en/ html/ sub01/ 010204. html

About the authors

Prof. Sangaraju Shanmugam did his PhD on heterogenous catalysis from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India in 2004. He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow in 2005 in Bar-Ilan University and as a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Waseda University in 2007. In 2011, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at DGIST, Korea, where he serves as a Professor now. Shanmugam currently has 130 refereed publications to his credit, 5 Indian Patents and has filed 8 Korean patents. Prof. Shanmugam's current research interests include development of cost-effective, durable electrode materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and their applications towards energy conversion and storage, biosensors, and biomedical applications.
New Delhi: Mumbai Indians (MI) will take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Chennai on Tuesday in the 5th match of the 14th season of the IPL. Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders, who have excelled against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), will take on arch-rivals Mumbai Indians with the intention of maintaining their rhythm. The match will begin at 7.30 pm at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

KKR beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs in the first match on Sunday. After the aggressive batting of the top order, KKR adopted a fearless tone with the help of Dinesh Karthik's 22 off 9 balls. Skipper Eoin Morgan hinted at the toss when he dropped his most trusted player Sunil Narine. The opening pair of Nitish Rana and Shubman Gill made their temper clear by attacking with the very first ball.

Batsmen like Andre Russell, Karthik, and Morgan in the middle order were expected to perform better than KKR in 2020, but this could not happen due to a lack of strategy. This time the KKR has strengthened the middle order by including Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan. Rana's wrist technique and aggression were seen on Sunday when KKR kept the pressure on the match even after Rashid Khan's double blows. Now, in the clash between KKR and MI today, it will be interesting to see if KKR can maintain its old rhythm or whether Rohit Sharma's bat derails their intentions.

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House during a virtual summit with global business leaders on the semiconductor shortage in Washington, D.C., Tuesday (KST). AFP-Yonhap



US President pledges more investment in semiconductor infrastructure



By Yi Whan-woo



U.S. President Joe Biden's pledge to support the semiconductor industry during a virtual meeting with global business leaders, Tuesday (KST), could push Samsung Electronics to walk a tricky tightrope between the United States and China.



The U.S. leader explicitly addressed a need to stay ahead of China during the meeting with the executives from 19 companies  Samsung Electronics being the only one from Korea.



Others included Google parent Alphabet, Intel, Dell, General Motors, AT&T, all from the U.S., and Taiwanese microchip maker TSM.



"China and the rest of the world are not waiting. There is no reason why America should wait. We are investing aggressively in areas like semiconductors and batteries," Biden said after unexpectedly joining the meeting hosted by National Security adviser Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese.



The gathering was to address the global semiconductor shortage that has severely affected American automakers, as part of a broader focus on rebuilding U.S. manufacturing amid speculation that the Chinese economy may overtake that of the U.S. by 2028.



The world's leading semiconductor maker, Samsung Electronics, runs plants in both the U.S. and China. The conglomerate was in the final stages of deciding on details before investing more in its semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Austin, Texas.



But this could be politically interpreted as upsetting to China while causing concern with the Korean government that wants to avoid being caught in the crossfire in the Washington-Beijing feud, according to an analyst.



"A corporation usually makes a move based on business needs, but this may not be the case for Samsung Electronics," said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.



He noted China announced that it agreed to bolster cooperation on integrated circuits, 5G and other advanced technologies with Korea during a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries, April 3.



"Samsung therefore is advised to take into account the geopolitical situation regarding its chip business expansion in the U.S. to avoid any misunderstanding," Shin added.



In a report released Tuesday, KB Securities assessed that the White House meeting may "induce" Samsung Electronics to "shift back" its investment in the foundry sector in the U.S., estimated to be worth 19 trillion won ($16 billion).



Samsung has been operating a massive semiconductor plant in Austin since 1997.



"The U.S. government is expected to offer tax incentives and other benefits to get Samsung Electronics' foundry investment," it said, adding the firm may build an extra plant in addition to the existing one.



But what make the case worse for Samsung Electronics is the absence of its chief, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is serving a jail term over corruption. Choi Si-young, Samsung's foundry business chief, attended the White House meeting on Lee's behalf.



Against this backdrop, Samsung Electronics said "nothing has been confirmed" in relation to Biden's message.



Cheong Wa Dae acknowledges the possible seriousness of the hidden implications of the U.S. president's message, with President Moon Jae-in's chief of staff You Young-min meeting with Samsung executives, Friday, in what was seen as bid to enhance communication between the semiconductor business and the government, presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok told reporters in a briefing at the presidential office.



He added that Moon will hold a meeting with economy-related ministers, Thursday, to discuss the situations faced by key industries, such as chips, electric vehicles and shipbuilding, as well as countermeasures.



The participants will be joined by business executives, including Samsung Electronics President Lee Jung-bae and others from SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor, Samsung Heavy Industries among others, Kang said during the briefing.


It has been billed as the clash between the successful former John Lewis boss and the career politician who left Labour's infamous 'I'm afraid there is no money' letter for his Tory successor.

But the contest between Andy Street and Liam Byrne is about far more than who will be mayor.

It has been claimed the next battle for Labour's 'Red Wall' will be won or lost in the West Midlands next month.

That is the prediction of the region's Tory mayor Mr Street, the softly spoken former businessman who stunned Labour by winning the inaugural contest in 2017.

The contest between the former John Lewis boss Andy Street (left) and Labour MP Liam Byrne (right) is about more than who will be mayor

Acres of coverage were given over to the collapse of Labour's heartlands at the 2019 general election.

According to many, Boris Johnson's Brexit bulldozer, ably abetted by Labour's voter-repellent leader Jeremy Corbyn, was all that was needed to succeed in the North where generations of Tories had failed.

But in an interview with the Mail, Mr Street, 57, who came to politics after a career at the helm of John Lewis, suggested the genesis of Labour's collapse started in his own region much earlier.

'The West Midlands was where the Red Wall first crumbled,' he says.

'In 2005 we had just one MP in the Black Country, we've now got ten of the 13.

'Some people on the Left like to make out this was an aberration in 2019 which occurred over the twin points of Brexit and Corbyn, and I simply reject that. This has been a much more long-term phenomenon here.

'We moved forward in 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019. My election in 2017 was the first real breakthrough point in it. What happened after is history.

'I do believe that what we will see at this next election is that the support for the Conservatives across some of those areas is much, much more deep-seated than the Labour Party would like us to believe.'

John Lewis 'wrong to close stores' John Lewis announced last month it was closing eight stores John Lewis has got it 'wrong' by closing flagship stores in cities like Birmingham, its former boss says. In his interview with the Mail, Andy Street said he didn't want to criticise the current management, but added: 'On the Birmingham shop, that was the wrong decision.' John Lewis announced last month it is closing eight stores in addition to the eight announced last year, including the flagship store in Birmingham which opened in 2015. The strategy contrasts sharply with that of Mr Street, who left the retailer in 2016 after almost a decade at the helm. After the 2008 financial crash he invested heavily in new stores and developing an online presence  not to mention launching the brand's famous Christmas TV ads. Tatler magazine claimed Boris Johnson's fiancee has purged their No 10 flat of Theresa May's 'John Lewis furniture nightmare'. But Mr Street points out that John Lewis products appeal to exactly the kind of 'aspirational' voter the Tories should be looking to attract. 'The whole point about John Lewis is that it was an aspirational brand, but also an accessible brand  it was aspirational for everybody,' he says. Advertisement

In part, he says, it is about success in securing local investment, but also about who best represents the 'values' of many who once voted Labour.

Labour is looking to start the process of rebuilding its Red Wall in next month's bumper round of local elections.

The West Midlands is among its top targets as Sir Keir Starmer tries to generate the momentum needed to show he has a serious chance of one day becoming prime minister.

Mr Street won the mayoralty by fewer than 4,000 votes  a margin of less than one per cent.

And his 2017 victory, like many other local contests being defended by the Tories next month, came at the high-water mark of Theresa May's regime. On paper, he should lose.

'It is going to be very, very close,' he concedes. 'The stakes are high for both sides. But I am confident.'

But the fact that Labour-supporting Birmingham does not have local council elections next month, while the rest of the region does, could boost his poll position by as much as four per cent, according to some analysts.

The Tories' national polling, buoyed by the vaccine rollout, isn't hurting either.

The contest is between Mr Street and the former Birmingham Labour MP Mr Byrne  or as he puts it, a choice between a former businessman who has done the job for four years and 'a career politician who is as yet untested'.

To be fair, Mr Byrne is not wholly untested, having served in several junior Cabinet positions in Gordon Brown's government.

However, he is still best known for the note he left his successor as Treasury chief secretary after Labour's 2010 election defeat, which said simply: 'Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid there is no money'  a revealing gaffe which Mr Street cheerfully notes is still raised on doorsteps in the region today.

Mr Street says the West Midlands economy was 'horribly knocked by the pandemic' at a time when it had been enjoying some of the highest employment levels in the UK.

His manifesto leans towards encouraging green growth, including building on the region's manufacturing tradition to make it a global centre for electric vehicles.

There was also a boost for Birmingham yesterday when prestigious US investment bank Goldman Sachs said it would open a new office in the city this year, its biggest in the UK outside London.
Rowan University has joined the growing list of businesses in New Jersey filing suit against insurance companies for not covering losses associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

The university claims in court papers Factory Mutual Insurance Company of Rhode Island has failed to honor an all-risk commercial property policy that ran from July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020.

The lawsuit, filed last month in state Superior Court in Gloucester County, states the policy promises coverage for business losses and extra expenses due to interruption by communicable disease.

The policy, which covered all of Rowans 24 locations in the state, should pay costs for decontamination, communicable disease response, protection and preservation of property, and claims preparation, the lawsuit states.

The university employs 2,294 faculty members, 2,425 non-faculty workers and offers bachelors through doctorate programs to nearly 20,000 students through its campuses in Glassboro, Camden and Stratford.

Rowan estimates it lost millions of dollars after Gov. Phil Murphy declared a public health emergency in March 2020.

Murphy ordered all institutions of higher education to cease in-person instruction effective on March 18, 2020, the suit states. Since that time, plaintiff, as well as all other businesses in New Jersey, have been unable to operate in the ordinary course of business.

The states emergency orders confirmed that the presence or suspected presence of COVID-19 caused damage to property by rendering such businesses too dangerous to operate, the lawsuit states.

Rowan claims in its suit that Factory Mutual had marketed its policy to the college with a focus on finding coverage instead of exclusions along with fair and prompt payment of losses.

There is no exclusion in the policy for lost business income and expenses caused by either emergency orders limiting ones business or the pandemic causing property damage and restricting plaintiffs business activities at its properties, the suit states.

Rowan says it provided students with millions in room-and-board reimbursements, reduced staff to skeletal proportions and lost revenue from tuition and on-campus events. The university says it also suffered losses when public allocations were cut.

The lawsuit accuses the insurance company of breach of contract. The university is seeking a jury trial with an award amount to be determined at trial or appraisal ordered by the court.

Steve Zenofsky, a spokesman for Factory Mutual, which is based in Johnston, Rhode Island, released this statement when contacted about the lawsuit:

FM Global values the long-term relationships we have with our policyholders and we are proud to be leading the industry for claims service. It is unfortunate when legal matters arise because we strongly believe our insurance policies are clear on the coverage provided.

Last month, RWJBarnabas, which is New Jerseys second-largest private employer, filed suit against Zurich American Insurance Company for refusing to cover $2.5 billion in the health systems pandemic-related losses.

The suit, filed in Superior Court in Essex County, stated that nine workers had died and thousands were infected with COVID-19.

In Bergen County, six restaurants and one gym filed a lawsuit against six insurance companies for breach of contract, saying financial losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic were not covered by insurance but should have been.

And in Ocean County, a car dealer sued Zurich American in federal court over the same issue but lost its case when the judge ruled their policy contained a virus exclusion.

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.
Customers can submit refund requests immediately

New policy covers customers with non-refundable fares whose flights were cancelled or who voluntarily cancelled their travel due to COVID-19 since February 2020

As of April 13, 2021 , customers who purchase non-refundable fares whose future flights are cancelled or rescheduled by more than three hours will have the option of a refund

Airline will not recall commissions for refunded tickets that travel agency partners process

MONTREAL, April 13, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada said that eligible customers who purchased a non-refundable ticket for travel on or after February 1, 2020 but did not fly can now obtain a refund from the carrier by submitting a request online or with their travel agent. The revised COVID-19 refund policy covers tickets and Air Canada Vacations packages purchased before April 13, 2021 for flights cancelled either by the airline or by the customer for any reason.

"Air Canada will be offering refunds to all eligible customers whether they cancelled their ticket or if their flight was cancelled by the airline. Customers can now submit refund requests online or through their travel agent and we are committed to processing refunds as fast as possible," said Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

"In addition, Air Canada has revised its booking policies for all future travel. Starting today, in cases where a customer's flight is cancelled or rescheduled by more than three hours, we will now offer all customers the choice of receiving a refund, an Air Canada Travel Voucher or the equivalent value in Aeroplan Points with a 65% bonus. This new policy will provide more certainty and flexibility, so customers can book their future travel with greater confidence and we look forward to welcoming you back on board."

In addition to the expanded refund policy announced today, Air Canada customers will continue to have the option of accepting a fully transferrable Air Canada Travel Voucher (ACTV) with no expiry date or converting the value of their ticket to Aeroplan points with a 65% bonus. Customers who have already accepted an ACTV or Aeroplan points will have the option to exchange these for a refund to the original form of payment, including for the unused portion of any ACTV issued or in cases where a partial refund was provided.

Since March 2020, Air Canada has refunded more than $1.2 billion to customers holding refundable tickets. With today's announcement, Air Canada is extending a refund option to all eligible customers with tickets for travel dates on or after February 1, 2020 and who purchased their ticket before April 13, 2021. Refunds are available to those customers whose flight was cancelled or who voluntarily cancelled their flight for any reason, and who wish to submit a request for a refund to their original form of payment. Customers can request a refund online at www.aircanada.com/refund until June 12, 2021. The policy also applies to Air Canada Vacations packages.

Customers who booked through a travel agency must contact their agent directly. In support of its travel agency partners, Air Canada confirmed today that it will not recall agency sales commissions on refunded tickets that they process.

New Future Travel Policy

Air Canada also announced a new policy for all tickets purchased for future travel that is effective today.

For new tickets purchased on or after April 13, 2021, Air Canada will provide customers an option for a refund to the original form of payment in instances where Air Canada cancels their flight or reschedules the departure time by more than three hours, irrespective of the reason. Air Canada customers will also have the option of accepting an ACTV or Aeroplan points with a 65% bonus.

For customers who make voluntary changes, normal fare rules will apply. Air Canada has also extended its existing goodwill policy so that customers can make a one-time change without a fee for all new or existing bookings made through May 31, 2021 for original travel until May 31, 2022.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline and, in 2020, was among the top 20 largest airlines in the world. It is Canada's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. In 2020, Air Canada was named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for the second straight year. In January 2021, Air Canada received APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+ biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in Canada to attain the highest APEX ranking. Air Canada has also committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow Air Canada on Twitter and LinkedIn, and join Air Canada on Facebook.

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Johnson and Johnson today revealed it would pause the roll-out of its single-dose Covid vaccine in Europe over blood clot fears.

The US pharmaceutical giant promised to deliver 50million doses to the continent by the end of June, with the first batch of supplies delivered yesterday.

But the firm has now taken the decision to 'proactively delay' the roll-out in Europe while experts review six cases of an extremely rare clotting disorder in the US.

American regulators today called for the jab to be temporarily suspended while they investigate the complication  also linked to AstraZeneca's similar vaccine.

Health chiefs at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both recommended the move out of 'an abundance of caution'. Around 7million Americans have already received the jab.

The six women who developed clots  representing a rate of around one in a million  were aged between 18 and 48. One of them died and another is in hospital.

British health officials have yet to approve the J&J vaccine but regulators are set to give it the green light within days, insiders claim. Health bosses today promised the safety data would be reviewed 'very carefully' and that they would keep a 'very close eye on the American situation.

No10 has ordered 30million doses of the jab, which would be enough to immunise more than half of the adult population. But deliveries aren't expected until mid-summer.

Department of Health bosses insisted J&J's European delay would not derail the UK's ambition of offering a jab to all adults by the end of July. But one of the UK's vaccine advisers admitted it may be restricted in younger age groups, as has been done with AstraZeneca's, if its link to clots is shored up.

The condition in question, known as cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT), is the development of a blood clot in a vein that carries blood away from the brain. Experts say it is occurring in combination with low levels of blood platelets.

Officials insist the disorder  the same as the one seen in AstraZeneca's vaccine  is extremely rare but seems to be happening slightly more often in young people who have been vaccinated.

The news makes Johnson & Johnson's vaccine  made by a Belgian subsidiary called Janssen  the second to become embroiled in a blood clot scare after European countries stopped using the AstraZeneca jab for the same reason

This graphic shows how different Covid vaccines being used around the world compare. The UK is already using AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, and has ordered Johnson & Johnson's

Announcing it was delaying its EU rollout, J&J said in a statement today: 'The safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority.

'We are aware of an extremely rare disorder involving people with blood clots in combination with low platelets in a small number of individuals who have received our Covid vaccine.

'The CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported US cases out of more than 6.8million doses administered.

'Out of an abundance of caution, the CDC and FDA have recommended a pause in the use of our vaccine.

'In addition, we have been reviewing these cases with European health authorities. We have made the decision to proactively delay the rollout of our vaccine in Europe.

What is the condition linked to J&Js Covid vaccine? Six women who were vaccinated with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is an extremely rare type of blood clot in the brain. It occurs when the vein that drains blood from the brain is blocked by a blood clot, resulting in potentially deadly bleeding on the brain. Symptoms can quickly deteriorate from a headache, blurred vision and faintness to complete loss of control over movement and seizures. John Hopkins University estimates it affects five in a million people in the US every year. The fact it has been diagnosed in six out of 7million Americans - a rate of slightly above 1 million - in the space of two months would suggest it is occurring at a higher rate than normal. According to the university, it can affect patients with low blood pressure, cancer, vascular diseases and those prone to blood clotting. Head injuries can also trigger the condition. CVST has also been linked to the British-made AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. The condition has been spotted in dozens of patients vaccinated with that jab in Europe and the UK, which has led to its restriction in certain age groups on the continent and in Britain.

Both AstraZeneca and the J&J vaccines are viral vector types, which use a weakened version of a different virus to deliver instructions to human cells. They tell the cells to produce a harmless piece of Covid, known as a spike protein, so the body can recognise it if the real virus infects them. Scientists are interested in whether the clotting issues are linked to the way these vaccines stimulate an immune response. A senior UK Government scientist revealed last week the issue may be to do with the body's reaction to spike proteins. This could explain why clotting conditions have been widely reported in people who catch the real coronavirus. However, the SAGE member said this would not account for why clotting issues have not been linked to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. Those vaccines use different technology to deliver the genetic instruction to the cells but they also trigger the body to make and recognise spike proteins. Advertisement

'We have been working closely with medical experts and health authorities, and we strongly support the open communication of this information to healthcare professionals and the public.'

The FDA can't force American doctors to stop using the vaccine without stripping it of official approval, which it hasn't done, so the decisions will be made by individual states.

Its decision will not affect the UK's vaccine rollout for now because the Johnson & Johnson jab has not yet been approved by regulators or put into use.

The MHRA, Britain's drug regulator, is expected to issue a decision this week on whether the vaccine should be used.

If it gives the green light, the UK Government can buy 30million doses of the jab, which would be enough to vaccinate the same number of people.

Unlike other vaccines, only one dose is needed to protect people from Covid.

Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), No10's expert vaccine advisory group, suggested the J&J vaccine could be restricted in younger Brits.

He added: 'The Jansen vaccine uses the same technology platform as the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine, albeit a different adenovirus vector.

'So although the most recent data about this rare adverse event in the US still has many uncertainties it clearly requires both the MHRA and JCVI to scrutinise any new data related to both vaccines as it emerges.

'The observation of cases of thrombosis and thrombocytopenia in those receiving the Jansen vaccine in the US will need to be carefully reviewed  depending on outcomes of any review there may be implications for the recommendation of the Janssen vaccine in the younger age groups in the UK where the risk from severe Covid is much less than in older age groups and in those with underlying illnesses.'

Both AstraZeneca and the J&J vaccines are viral vector types, which use a weakened version of a different virus to deliver instructions to human cells.

They tell the cells to produce a harmless piece of Covid, known as a spike protein, so the body can recognise it if the real virus infects them.

Scientists are interested in whether the clotting issues are related to the engineered spike protein specifically, a senior SAGE source revealed last week.

This could explain why clotting conditions have been widely reported in people who catch the real coronavirus.

However, experts say this would not account for why clotting issues have not been linked to the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Those vaccines use different technology to deliver the genetic instruction to the cells but they also trigger the body to make and recognise spike proteins.

Professor Adam Finn, of the University of Bristol and a member of JCVI, said the announcement 'echoes recent events in Europe around the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine'.

He added: 'These two vaccines are similar in the way they work, using two different adenovirus vectors to carry the coronavirus spike protein gene into the recipients arm.

'The numbers of cases are, once again, very small... Although its too soon to draw any firm conclusions, this development does raise the possibility that at least some adenovirus vectors either of themselves or in combination with the SARS CoV2 S protein gene can cause this idiosyncratic reaction in a very small proportion of individuals.

'This may help give us a clue towards understanding the mechanism or a way to prevent this problem from occurring. Given the importance of these vaccines for the timely control of the pandemic, investigation of this phenomenon is now an extremely urgent international priority.'

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) insisted J&J's decision to delay the rollout of its vaccine in Europe would not derail the UK's programme to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July.

A DHSC spokesman said: 'Our vaccination programme continues to make phenomenal progress  with over 40 million vaccines administered so far.

'We have hit our target to offer a vaccine to everyone in phase one of the vaccination programme and we are on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July.'

HEALTH CHIEF FAUCI SAYS US MAY NOT USE ASTRAZENECA JAB Dr Anthony Fauci today claimed the US may never need to use AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine. America's top infectious disease expert said his country has already bought enough alternative jabs to inoculate all 330million people in the US. He said this was not a 'negative indictment' of the Oxford University-developed jab, adding that it was 'really quite good'. But Dr Fauci told BBC Radio 4: 'It looks right now, at this point in time, that we will not need it.' Dr Anthony Fauci Officials across the Atlantic have already given at least one dose of either the Pfizer, Moderna or single-dose Johnson and Johnson jab to 120million people and have fully vaccinated 73million. The abundance of American vaccines has meant Washington will likely not need to rely on foreign jabs this year, but Dr Fauci has not ruled out turning to AstraZeneca if there are future Covid outbreaks. Dr Fauci  who has previously been critical of AstraZeneca's trial data and the British regulator for 'rushing' vaccines through approval  tried to quell the growing lack of confidence in the vaccine due to its link to extremely are blood clots. He said: 'I think the AstraZeneca vaccine, from a standpoint of efficacy, is a good vaccine. 'And if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union  which I understand is still in a bit of controversy about how to use it and when to use and what age groups to use it  the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good.' Advertisement

The 30million doses are expected to arrive in the second half of 2021 if approved by the MHRA.

The regulator's director of licensing Dr Siu Ping Lam said: 'No vaccine would be authorised for use in the UK unless the expected high standards of safety, quality and effectiveness have been met.

'Vaccine safety is of paramount importance and we will monitor and evaluate any safety reports received promptly and robustly before a decision is made, working and sharing safety data with international regulators as necessary.'

Clinical trials suggest the J&J vaccine offers 100 per cent protection from severe Covid leading to hospitalisation or death, and around 66 per cent protection from mild infection.

Although officials are still likely to approve the vaccine because the risk of a blood clot is so tiny and not proven to be caused by the jab, it is possible that the UK could complete its vaccine rollout without Johnson & Johnson's vaccine.

Using only Pfizer and Moderna's vaccines for new patients from this point onwards would allow the country to vaccinate around 48million adults out of a total 52m.

Around 20million have already been given the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab, and the combined 57m doses of Pfizer and Moderna will be enough to immunise around 28.5m people, although some will be lost to wastage.

It is likely that the UK will get through the majority of these supplies, which are already being used, by the time J&J's vaccine even starts to become available.

The company told MailOnline in February: 'If approved by the MHRA, we expect to begin delivering the UK allocation in the second half of this year.'

In addition, the first batches of 60million ordered doses of the Novavax vaccine, being made at home in England, are expected to come on-stream even sooner.

That jab is likely to be put to the MHRA for approval this month and could start to be used soon after, its developers suggested in March.

When all the Moderna and Pfizer doses are used up  and even if no more AstraZeneca vaccine is given to new patients  there will likely only be around four million people who haven't had their first jab with one of those three.

These four million could easily be mopped up with AstraZeneca's vaccine, although this is no longer recommended for under-30s, or with Novavax.

The Government is sticking to its target of offering vaccine first doses to all adults in the UK by the end of July.

Announcing its decision on Twitter, the FDA  which has the same role as the MHRA in the UK  said: 'Today FDA and CDC issued a statement regarding the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.

'We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

'As of [April 12], 6.8m+ doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the US. CDC & FDA are reviewing data involving 6 reported US cases of a rare & severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine.

'Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare.

'Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.

'CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.

'Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.'

The European Medicines Agency last week launched a review of four blood clot cases in people who had received the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine  three of which occurred in the US.

One of the people died, sparking a review from the European Medicines Authority (EMA).

The blood clotting condition officials are worried about is called cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT).

It occurs when the vein that drains blood from the brain is blocked by a blood clot, resulting in potentially deadly bleeding.

Symptoms can quickly deteriorate from a headache, blurred vision and faintness to complete loss of control over movement and seizures.

According to Britain's regulators, CSVT is so rare that experts aren't even sure how common it is in the general population.

John Hopkins University estimates CSVT affects five in a million people in the US every year, which would suggest 330 patients in Britain suffer from the condition annually.

According to the university, it can affect patients with low blood pressure, cancer, vascular diseases and those prone to blood clotting. Head injuries can also trigger the condition.

The UK Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said there still isn't any proof of a link between CSVT and Covid vaccines.

It says 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.
LOS ANGELESThis week marks the third anniversary of the FOSTA/SESTA law, which was signed by Donald Trump on April 11, 2018. The law, passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress, was supposedly designed to curb online sex trafficking, by holding internet platforms legally responsible for activity on their sites that could be seen as promoting sex trafficking.

But research has shown that the main effect of the law has not been to reduce sex trafficking crimes, but to increase the danger experienced by sex workers on their jobs. With online advertising of sexual services now much harder to come by due to the law, sex workers who already experience considerable economic uncertainty have also faced increased levels of financial distress.

On the third anniversary of the bill becoming law, one congressional rep, Rho Khanna of California, called to repeal the law.

Three years ago today, FOSTA-SESTA was signed into law, Khanna wrote on his Twitter account. While it was intended to curb sex trafficking, the bill has had devastating consequences for sex workers, who have been pushed off of online platforms and into far more unsafe conditions. We must repeal FOSTA SESTA.

Khanna was one of only 11 Democrats in the House, and one of only 25 House reps in total, to vote against the bill when it passed on February 27, 2018, by a 388-25 margin, with 17 House members not voting at all. In December of 2019, Khanna along with fellow California Democrat Barbara Lee  and in the Senate, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts  introduced the Safe Sex Workers Study Act, which would have funded the first nationwide, U.S. government study of how FOSTA/SESTA affected the safety and lives of sex workers.

But the bill languished in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and remained stuck in that committees subcommittee on health, never receiving a full debate or vote on the House floor.

The FOSTA/SESTA law has had an even broader affect than the damage it has done to sex workers. All types of online sexually-oriented material took a hit from the law and the hostile environment toward adult content that surrounded it. The social media site Tumblr, previously a haven for a wide range of sexual discussion and imagery, banned adult content altogether.

And as AVN reported, creators of LGBTQ erotic online comic books and comic strips say that the law has produced a chilling effect on their work. Those comics creators said that their work was targeted by platforms for removal if they contain references to sex work, or any sort if LGBTQ content at all.

In addition to its harmful effects on sex workers and sexual speech in general, FOSTA/SESTA was the first in what has become of flood of congressional attacks on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act  the 1996 law that protects online free speech by freeing platforms from liability for posts made by users.

That way, online sites can allow a wide range of content and topics to be published, without the overwhelming burden of monitoring every individual post. But under FOSTA/SESTA, sites lose that protection, at least for posts that can be broadly interpreted as promoting sex trafficking  leading many sites to simply ban or restrict sexual material altogether.

Photo by SG ZA / Wikimedia Commons
WESTPORT, Conn., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HMG Strategy, the World's #1 digital platform for enabling technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world, is excited to be hosting the 2021 HMG Live! St. Louis CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 20. HMG Strategys highly interactive digital events bring together the worlds most distinguished and innovative business technology leaders to discuss the most pressing leadership, strategic, cultural, technology and career challenges and opportunities that technology executives face today  and into the future.



The 2021 HMG Live! St. Louis CIO Executive Leadership Summit will focus on building an inclusive culture that works for all employees, clearly communicating the most pressing cyber risks to the CEO and the Board, and technologies that tech leaders are leaning on to spark innovation and drive success for their companies.

Successful leaders have learned how to communicate clearly and transparently, said Hunter Muller, President and CEO of HMG Strategy. Communicating with the executive team and the Board, with our immediate teams, and with our customers truly leads the way to success.

HMG Strategy is also excited to have special guest speaker and bestselling author Stephen M.R. Covey share his insights on why a high-trust culture can operate with greater efficiency and at less cost along with recommendations for CIOs and technology executives to cultivate trust with the CEO, the Board and across the organization.

Prominent technology executives speaking at the 2021 HMG Live! St. Louis CIO Executive Leadership Summit include:

Adrian Butler , CIO, Casey's General Stores

, CIO, Casey's General Stores Stephen M. R. Covey , Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice

, Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice Adam Fletcher , CISO, Blackstone

, CISO, Blackstone Paris Forest , Sr. Director IT, Boeing, The Boeing Company

, Sr. Director IT, Boeing, The Boeing Company Peter Hogan , CTO, Post Holdings

, CTO, Post Holdings Jennifer Hopper , CIO, Save A Lot

, CIO, Save A Lot Kristin Johnson , CHRO, Edward Jones

, CHRO, Edward Jones Dilip Krishna , Managing Director, Deloitte Advisory

, Managing Director, Deloitte Advisory Shavon Lindley , CEO, ion Learning

, CEO, ion Learning Matthew Modica , VP & CISO, BJC Healthcare

, VP & CISO, BJC Healthcare Karl Mudra , CIO, Delta Dental of Missouri

, CIO, Delta Dental of Missouri Lisa Nichols , CEO, Technology Partners

, CEO, Technology Partners Lamont Orange , CISO, Netskope

, CISO, Netskope Sherry Ryan , Partner, Fortium Partners

, Partner, Fortium Partners Bob Schukai , Executive Vice President, Technology Development, Fintech & New Infrastructure, Mastercard

, Executive Vice President, Technology Development, Fintech & New Infrastructure, Mastercard Jason Smith , CIO, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

, CIO, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis Kristine Swan , VP of IT Business Partnering - Digital Farming, Bayer Crop Science

, VP of IT Business Partnering - Digital Farming, Bayer Crop Science Christine Miller Way , Director, Client Experience Channel, Edward Jones

, Director, Client Experience Channel, Edward Jones Jose Zeilstra, CEO, Gender Fair



Valued partners for the 2021 HMG Live! St. Louis CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 20 will include Auth0, Darktrace, Forescout Technologies, Globant, Horizon3.ai, Illumio, IIvanti, NPower, PagerDuty, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, Sonatype, Technology Partners, and Zscaler.

To learn more about 2021 HMG Live! St. Louis CIO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here.

HMG Strategy will also be hosting its 2021 HMG Live! Bay Area CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 22. Topics to be discussed at this event will include leading authentically and maintaining a sense of organizational culture in a remote work environment, creating and executing a winning IT strategy, and recommendations from tech leaders on how to approach the topic of cyber security with the C-suite and board.

Prominent technology executives speaking at this event include:

Ashwin Ballal, Ph.D. , SVP & CIO, Medallia

, SVP & CIO, Medallia Andrew Bray , VP, Global IT, Dialog Semiconductor

, VP, Global IT, Dialog Semiconductor Stephen M. R. Covey , Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice

, Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice Tom Cullen , CIO, JUUL Labs

, CIO, JUUL Labs Beth Devin , Strategic Consultant & Advisor, HearstLab, Hearst Corporation

, Strategic Consultant & Advisor, HearstLab, Hearst Corporation Stuart Evans , Director of the Emirates, Carnegie Mellon University i-Lab

, Director of the Emirates, Carnegie Mellon University i-Lab Kostas Georgakopoulos , Global CTO & CISO, Mondelez International

, Global CTO & CISO, Mondelez International Anjana Harve , SVP & CIO, Fresenius Medical Care North America

, SVP & CIO, Fresenius Medical Care North America Sineesh Keshav , CTO, ProLogis

, CTO, ProLogis Michael LaVallee , Managing Partner, Jobplex

, Managing Partner, Jobplex Shehzad Merchant , CTO, Gigamon

, CTO, Gigamon Thomas Rodden , CIO, Varian Medical Systems

, CIO, Varian Medical Systems Trevor Schulze , SVP & CIO, RingCentral

, SVP & CIO, RingCentral Mallik Tatipamula , CTO, Group Function Technologies & Architectures, Ericsson

, CTO, Group Function Technologies & Architectures, Ericsson Sylvie Veilleux , CIO, Dropbox

, CIO, Dropbox Jennifer Wesson Greenman , Chief Information Officer, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global

, Chief Information Officer, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global Laura Whitt-Winyard, Global CISO, DLL Group



Valued partners for the 2021 HMG Live! Bay Area CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 22 will include Auth0, Darktrace, Forescout Technologies, Gigamon, Globant, Horizon3.ai, Illumio, Ivanti, Onapsis, PagerDuty, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, Sonatype, and Zscaler.

To learn more about 2021 HMG Live! Bay Area CIO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here.

Additionally, HMG Strategy will be hosting its 2021 HMG Live! Minneapolis CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 29. Topics to be discussed at this event will include how and why to apply a change management lens to new technology implementations, how to communicate cyber security risks and recommendations to the C-suite and board, and insights into how CIOs and technology leaders are working with their executive teams to advance their digital business models.

Prominent technology executives speaking at this event include:

Martin Bally , CISO, Stellantis

, CISO, Stellantis Ricardo A. Bartra , SVP & CIO, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

, SVP & CIO, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Stephen M. R. Covey , Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice

, Global Authority on Trust, Leadership and Culture, The FranklinCovey Global Speed of Trust Practice Rocco Grillo , Managing Director - Global Cyber Risk Services, Alvarez & Marsal

, Managing Director - Global Cyber Risk Services, Alvarez & Marsal Steven John , CIO at Aramark Uniform Services, AmeriPride Services, and Aramark Refreshment Services, Aramark

, CIO at Aramark Uniform Services, AmeriPride Services, and Aramark Refreshment Services, Aramark Tammylynne Jonas , Global CIO, Self Esteem Brands, LLC

, Global CIO, Self Esteem Brands, LLC Harold Knutson , Board President, SIM Minnesota

, Board President, SIM Minnesota Prakash Kota , SVP, CIO, Autodesk

, SVP, CIO, Autodesk Elwin Loomis , Head of Digital, Bremer Bank

, Head of Digital, Bremer Bank Aimee Martin , Director, Information Security, Compliance and PMO, Vista Outdoor Inc.

, Director, Information Security, Compliance and PMO, Vista Outdoor Inc. Saunya Peterson , Founder, Riveter42

, Founder, Riveter42 Greg Thayer , CISO, Comm-Works

, CISO, Comm-Works Dee Thibodeau , CEO, Charter Solutions

, CEO, Charter Solutions Jennifer Wesson Greenman , Chief Information Officer, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global

, Chief Information Officer, Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global David Whitaker, CIO, General Dynamics, OTS



Valued partners for the 2021 HMG Live! Minneapolis CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 29 will include Auth0, Darktrace, Forescout Technologies, Genesys Works, Globant, Horizon3.ai, Illumio, Ivanti, PagerDuty, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SIM Minnesota, Sonatype, and Zscaler.

To learn more about 2021 HMG Live! Minneapolis CIO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here.

To learn about HMG Strategys upcoming CIO & CISO Summits, click here.

UPCOMING WEBINARS & DIGITAL ROUNDTABLES

HMG Strategy has also received exceptional interest in its webinars through the strength of the 400,000+ technology executives in its community and the quality of the content it delivers. HMG Strategy has scheduled multiple 30-to-60-minute webinars over the next few months with an arsenal of innovative technology companies such as Azul Systems, Citrix, Code42, Darktrace, HCL Technologies, Illumio, Ivanti, Moveworks, Nutanix, Okta, OutSystems, PagerDuty, RangeForce, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, UiPath, Zoom, Zscaler, and Zylo.

HMG Strategy will host a digital roundtable powered by Zylo on April 14th entitled Are You Truly Optimizing Your Organizations SaaS Spend? In this interactive roundtable discussion, Zylo Co-Founder and CEO Eric Christopher, Dutt Kalluri, SVP of Global Technology at Broadridge, and top CIOs and technology executives will discuss effective strategies to optimize SaaS investments by improving adoption and utilization of the applications that are in use. Well also examine successful approaches to monitoring and tracking SaaS applications that employees are using along with best practices to empower employees to access approved SaaS applications.

To learn more about this roundtable and to register for the event, click here.

On April 20, HMG Strategy will be hosting a webinar powered by Illumio on Ransomware and Your Remote Workforce: Extending Zero Trust to the Endpoint. In this timely discussion, Katey Wood, Illumios Director of Security and Compliance Product Marketing will share how well businesses are protecting their remote workforces against Ryuk and other ransomware  and how companies will be positioned to address these threats once employees begin returning to the office and splitting their time between hybrid work environments.

To learn more about this webinar and to register for this event, click here.

On April 21, HMG Strategy will be hosting a digital roundtable powered by Nutanix entitled How Financially Smart is Your Hybrid Cloud Strategy? In this interactive roundtable discussion with CIOs and technology executives, Tim McCallum, Director of Customer Success Finance at Nutanix, and Dara Meath, Divisional CIO and Head of Digital at Conair, will share the business benefits that companies realize from using hybrid cloud environments, including the ability to pivot quickly to address speed-to-market requirements  along with how a hybrid cloud environment can deliver CAPEX savings.

To learn more about this roundtable and to register for the event, click here.

On April 27th, HMG Strategy will be hosting a webinar powered by Azul Systems on Rationalizing Your Organizations Java TCO. In this event, which features Simon Ritter, Deputy CTO at Azul Systems, well explore the ramifications of price hikes for Java support, techniques for organizations to dramatically lower their Java licensing and support costs along with the security requirements for transitioning to a more cost-effective approach.

To learn more about this webinar and to register for the event, click here.

To learn more about HMG Strategys distinctive executive roundtables and webinars, click here.

ABOUT HMG Strategy

HMG Strategy is the world's leading digital platform for connecting technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world. Our regional and virtual CIO and CISO Executive Leadership Series, authored books and Digital Resource Center deliver unique, peer-driven research from CIOs, CISOs, CTOs and technology executives on leadership, innovation, transformation and career ascent. HMG Strategy also produces the HMG Security Innovation Accelerator Panel, a new webinar series thats designed to connect enterprise CISOs and security leaders with the most innovative cybersecurity companies from across the world.

The HMG Strategy global network consists of over 400,000 senior IT executives, industry experts and world-class thought leaders.

To learn more about the 7 Pillars of Trust for HMG Strategy's unique business model, click here.

Tom Hoffman

203-221-2702

TomHoffman@hmgstrategy.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/676f443a-0566-459a-964d-2d28ebfe396c
Police hunting two men over a gas bottles theft branded tip-offs they could be gipsies offensive and unacceptable - then urged the travelling community to report the messages.

Kent Constabulary released an appeal for witnesses yesterday after a shop in Sutton Valence, near Maidstone was targeted on February 9.

Officers circulated a CCTV image of two men they said they wanted to speak to about the distraction theft just after 11.20am.

But the picture - which was shared on social media by the force - attracted a number of comments suggesting they could be from the travelling community.

They included posts which referenced the possibility it could have been stolen to power caravans.

Kent Police deleted as many as it could from its Facebook page but issued a warning on Twitter, telling users to think before positing.

It said: 'We are aware of a number of offensive and unacceptable comments that have been left in response to this witness appeal. Please remember to post responsibly.'

By then the Travellers Against Racism group had been alerted and challenged them as to why more had not been done.

Kent Police released this picture of two men it wanted to speak to over the gas bottles thefts

The picture sparked suggestions they could be gipsies, which were the branded 'offensive'

The police force defended itself, declaring 'Unfortunately we cannot respond to every comment or delete them like we have on our Facebook page, but we share your concerns and have just posted a reminder to people to post responsibly

'Please consider reporting any further offensive messages to Twitter.'

The force last year raised the Gipsy Roma Travelling flag  sparking hundreds of complaints from the public

Kent Police announced it was marking Gipsy Roma Traveller History Month in June and put out a picture of three members of staff with the colourful banner.

But the social media post prompted over a thousand responses, with most of them negative.

Kent has had to deal with a large number of illegal traveller sites in the past.

One web user accused the force of being out of touch, while others declared they should leave left wing woke politics behind.

The Gipsy Roma Traveller Police Association  who represent those from the travelling community  said they had hundreds of officers and the flag recognised their contribution.

Kent Police posted the flag on social media but received a hostile response from hundreds

Call the social media police! In October a top police officer was criticised for posting a 'ridiculous' video on Twitter highlighting 'International Pronouns Day'. Julie Cooke, the deputy chief constable of Cheshire police, told her 2,231 followers that the day was important to anyone who identifies as transgender or 'gender non-conforming'. In July police in London showed off an extravagant 130,000 hybrid car online, which would never be used for catching criminals. The eco-friendly BMW i8, was patrolled along the roads near the Met's headquarters just to prove it was obeying the city's new Ultra Low Emission Zone. In October 17 at least 18 officers from Humberside Police rode bumber cars at Hull Fair for photo opportunities. Chief Superintendent Darren Downs, posted a picture on Twitter and described having a 'fantastic afternoon at the fair' Advertisement

It said: We're marking Gypsy Roma Traveller History month by raising the 'GRT' flag', helping to show our continued support for diverse communities. Kents history has a rich Gypsy & Roma heritage & we'll continue to work with all communities to ensure this is a welcoming county for all.

Deputy Chief Constable Tony Blaker of Kent Police said: Kent Police employs staff from all strands of society, including people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds, and this flag was flown in response to a request from serving officers in Kent.

British policing is by consent and Kent Police seeks to positively engage with all our communities, and in doing so we regularly show our support for other national and international events and religious festivals.

But by Thursday afternoon over 1,300 had responded, most in disbelief.

Bea Johanssen simply asked When's Crime-fighting Day? while another questioned Is this a joke? We do not pay the police force to support certain groups. They should police without fear nor favour.

Kent has had problems with travellers in recent years, with communities sitting up illegal sites.

In 2019 the army turned up to turf out families who had rolled up on land in Folkstone, Kent is owned by the MoD.

Of the gas bottle thefts, the police said it had not ascertained who the two men wanted were.

Investigating officer, PC Scott Goddard, said: We have been investigating this incident and are now able to issue a CCTV image of two men we wish to speak to.

'Anybody who recognises one or both of the men is urged to call our appeal line.
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Clarity, a leading technology-focused investment bank, announced that it served as exclusive financial advisor to Skubana in the company's sale to 3PL Central.

3PL Central, a leader in cloud-based Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) built to meet the unique needs of third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses, has acquired Skubana, a leading inventory management system and ecommerce operations platform. With this acquisition, 3PL Central expands its supply chain technology offering to include intelligent order routing and inventory management to create one of the first software solutions to deliver an integrated fulfillment solution from the shopping cart to the warehouse floor.

Bringing together Skubana's intelligent order orchestration with 3PL Central's extensive network of warehouses offering ecommerce fulfillment and retail replenishment is expected to open a new chapter in software, allowing companies to have the inventory they need, where they need it, when they need it.

"There are two things that we find obvious in today's economy: first, ecommerce is the wave of the future and any company that wants to build a successful ecommerce fulfillment solution will have to do so based on the capabilities of a dynamic new class of third-party logistics companies," said Andy Lloyd, CEO of 3PL Central. "Second, we've moved beyond the world where any company can build their own fulfillment infrastructure, whether it be physical warehouse space or the software to support it. We're building the software infrastructure that enables retailers and manufacturers to serve the ever-increasing needs of their consumers by tapping into the increasingly sophisticated capabilities of the 3PLs running 3PL Warehouse Manager."

"This past year, we saw dramatic changes in buying behavior that we expect will forever change the consumer expectations and the ecommerce landscape," said Chad Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Skubana. "As a result, we're seeing a unique convergence from the ecommerce merchant to the fulfillment and distribution partner, requiring a closer understanding of consumer behaviors, shipment locations, inventory availability, and geographic centers. That's why joining Skubana and 3PL Central just makes sense."

The acquisition of Skubana significantly enhances 3PL Central's technology offering and opens up a broader market reach to organizations involved in omnichannel sales and fulfilment. The acquisition comes during a time of accelerating growth for 3PL.

The announcement comes shortly after Mainsail Partners' additional capital investment in the company and reinforces 3PL Central's aggressive growth objectives.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

About 3PL Central

3PL Central is a leader in cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) solutions built to meet the unique needs of the 3PL warehousing community. Serving as the backbone of our customers' operations, our platform aims to quickly transforms paper-based, error-prone businesses into service leaders who can focus on customer satisfaction, operate more efficiently, and grow faster. Offering a comprehensive warehouse management platform, we endeavor to make it easy for 3PLs to manage inventory, automate routine tasks, and deliver complete visibility to their customers. As an industry leader for over a decade, 3PL Central manages billions of dollars in inventory and processes more than one million orders a week from our customers' systems.

About Skubana

Skubana is a leader in ecommerce operations software for online merchants. The platform unifies backend data, orders, inventory, POs, and more in the cloud and makes it easy for organizations to analyze and automate their businesses. Founded in 2015, Skubana helps retailers, brands, and marketplace sellers to boost their margins, bottom line, and organizational efficiency.

About Capital Clarity

Capital Clarity offers a refined approach to investment banking that emphasizes long-term partnership with investors and management teams. Our leadership team has a combined experience of 80 years in financial advisory, mergers & acquisitions, corporate development and private equity. We combine advisory expertise with deep industry knowledge and long-standing buyer and investor relationships to create successful outcomes for our clients. Ecommerce is one of Capital Clarity's many areas of technology focus and expertise.

Capital Clarity Contacts:

John Cooper

Managing Partner

[email protected]

(415) 683-0339



Susan Blanco

Managing Partner

[email protected]

(415) 320-1582

SOURCE Capital Clarity, LLC

Related Links

https://www.capital-clarity.com


Red Hat and NEC Corporation Collaborate to Drive Kubernetes-based 5G Adoption

Red Hat, Inc., the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced a collaboration with NEC (News - Alert) Corporation to deliver 5G solutions built on Red Hat OpenShift, the industry's leading enterprise Kubernetes platform. With NEC's 5G core network solutions running on Red Hat (News - Alert) OpenShift, organizations will be able to capitalize on 5G across a broad set of use cases including 5G core, 5G radio access networks (RANs), edge computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning and more, helping them create new revenue opportunities.

NEC, a global leader in IT and networking solutions, and Red Hat have collaborated on joint open source software development with a focus on network functions virtualization (NFV) system integration using Red Hat OpenStack Platform for years. Now, as communication service providers (CSPs) and digital service providers (DSPs) aim to build a 5G future built on cloud-native principals, they will be able to work with Red Hat and NEC to drive local and private 5G, while adopting a more consistent, horizontal cloud platform hardened for their environments.

This new cloud-native network function (CNF) infrastructure will give service providers a common telco cloud infrastructure for multiple use cases, helping to drive down management and operational expenses. Service providers will also be able to realize the benefits of an open, horizontal platform that can lower total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 30% over silo based deployments, according to a Red Hat sponsored report from ACG Research.

A strong ecosystem drives innovation

A strong network ecosystem is a crucial component of 5G success, a need that Red Hat recognizes. Red Hat offers validation or certification of interoperability of CNFs with Red Hat OpenShift, helping partners prepare their applications for a cloud-native future and give their customers a greater competitive advantage with a faster path to 5G and cloud computing adoption at scale.

NEC has taken advantage of this opportunity by validating their 5G core CNFs on Red Hat OpenShift, with plans for comprehensive certification this year. By taking these steps, NEC can offer operators more scalability, flexibility and enhanced security as they explore new revenue streams. Additionally, Red Hat can certify that a 5G CNF created with the supportable foundation of its Universal Base Image (UBI) helps reduce risk, leading to greater stability and faster development as service providers deliver 5G solutions to their customers.

Supporting Quotes

Darrell Jordan Smith, senior vice president, Industries and Global Accounts, Red Hat "As 5G becomes central to the competitiveness and viability of service providers, it's critical that these organizations deploy on a foundation that supports a consistent, reliable and cloud-native strategy. We're pleased to work with NEC to provide this new infrastructure built on Red Hat OpenShift. NEC understands the power of open principles and through this expanded collaboration, service providers will be able to maximize the benefits of 5G use cases in the telecommunications sector and beyond."







Michio Kiuchi, senior vice president , NEC Corporation

"We are pleased to collaborate with Red Hat to help CSPs and DSPs stay competitive in this increasingly demanding global 5G market, especially on the cloud-native front. Through our long-term and continued collaboration with Red Hat, we are working to build an open industry standard which has enormous potential for expanding awareness and adoption of 5G cloud-native network functions. NEC 5G solutions will provide a more efficient and reliable network experience for our customers by integration with Red Hat's cloud-native solution."

Additional Resources

Connect with Red Hat

About Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat is the world's leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted adviser to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application vendors, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company or its parent International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM (News - Alert) ) may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Red Hat, the Red Hat logo, and OpenShift are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries. The OpenStack Word Mark is either a registered trademark/service mark or trademark/service mark of the OpenStack Foundation, in the United States and other countries, and is used with the OpenStack Foundation's permission. Red Hat is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by the OpenStack Foundation, or the OpenStack community.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210412005911/en/
The 1971 GATT study

In 1972, the UN held a Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. During the preparations in 1971, the Secretariat of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was asked to make a contribution.

The Secretariat therefore prepared a study under its own responsibility. Entitled Industrial Pollution Control and International Trade, the study focused on the implications of environmental protection policies on international trade. It reflected the concern of trade officials at the time, that such policies could become obstacles to trade as well as constitute a new form of protectionism (i.e. green protectionism).

In 1971, GATT Director-General Olivier Long presented the study to GATT members (or the CONTRACTING PARTIES  written in capital letters  as they were officially called). He urged them to examine what the implications of environmental policies might be for international trade.

In the discussions that followed, a number of GATT members suggested that a mechanism be created in GATT for the implications to be examined more thoroughly.

EMIT  GATT Group on Environmental Measures and International Trade

In November 1971, the GATT Council of Representatives agreed to set up a Group on Environmental Measures and International Trade (also known as the EMIT group), which would be open to all GATT members (i.e. GATT signatories). However, the decision also said group would only convene at the request of GATT members. Therefore, it was not until 1991 when the members of the European Free Trade Association asked for the EMIT Group to be convened. (EFTA, at the time included Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.)

Why, after 20 years of EMITs inactivity, did EFTA make the request?

EFTA referred to the upcoming 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), and said GATT should contribute. In addition, there were a few new developments in both trade and the environment in those 20 years.

Developments: 19711991

Between 1971 and 1991, environmental policies began to have an increasing impact on trade, and with increasing trade flows, the effects of trade on the environment had also become more widespread. This led to a number of discussions:

During the Tokyo Round of trade negotiations (19731979), participants took up the question of the degree to which environmental measures (in the form of technical regulations and standards) could form obstacles to trade. The Tokyo Round Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), also known as the Standards Code, was negotiated. Amongst other things, it called for non-discrimination in the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations and standards, and for them to be transparent.



During the Uruguay Round (19861994), trade-related environmental issues were once again taken up. Modifications were made to the TBT Agreement, and certain environmental issues were addressed in the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Agreements on Agriculture, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).



In 1982, a number of developing countries expressed concern that products prohibited in developed countries on the grounds of environmental hazards, health or safety reasons, continued to be exported to them. With limited information on these products, they were unable to make informed decisions regarding their import.



At the 1982 GATT ministerial meeting, members decided to examine the measures needed to bring under control the export of products prohibited domestically (on the grounds of harm to human, animal, plant life or health, or the environment). This led to the creation, in 1989, of a Working Group on the Export of Domestically Prohibited Goods and Other Hazardous Substances.



At the 1982 GATT ministerial meeting, members decided to examine the measures needed to bring under control the export of products prohibited domestically (on the grounds of harm to human, animal, plant life or health, or the environment). This led to the creation, in 1989, of a Working Group on the Export of Domestically Prohibited Goods and Other Hazardous Substances. In 1991, a dispute between Mexico and United States put the spotlight on the linkages between environmental protection policies and trade. The case concerned a US embargo on tuna imported from Mexico, caught using purse seine nets which caused the incidental killing of dolphins. Mexico appealed to GATT on the grounds that the embargo was inconsistent with the rules of international trade. The panel ruled in favour of Mexico based on a number of different arguments. Although the report of the panel was not adopted, its ruling was heavily criticised by environmental groups who felt that trade rules were an obstacle to environmental protection. (Details here)



During this period, important developments were also taking place in environmental forums. The discussion on the relationship between economic growth, social development and environment that began at the Stockholm Conference continued throughout the 1970s and 80s.



In 1987, for example, the World Commission on Environment and Development produced a report entitled Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report), in which the term sustainable development was coined. The report identified poverty as one of the most important causes of environmental degradation, and argued that greater economic growth, fuelled in part by increased international trade, could generate the necessary resources to combat what had become known as the pollution of poverty.

As a result of these developments, the EMIT groups proposal met with a positive response. Despite some countries initial reluctance to have environmental issues discussed in GATT, they agreed to have a structured debate on the subject.

In accordance with its mandate of examining the possible effects of environmental protection policies on the operation of the General Agreement, the EMIT group focused on the effects of environmental measures (such as eco-labelling schemes) on international trade, the relationship between the rules of the multilateral trading system and the trade provisions contained in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) (such as the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes), and the transparency of national environmental regulations with an impact on trade.

Rio in 1992 and after

The activation of the EMIT group was followed by further developments in environmental forums.

The 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Earth Summit, drew attention to the role of international trade in poverty alleviation and in combating environmental degradation. Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted at the conference, also addressed the importance of promoting sustainable development through, amongst other means, international trade.

The preparatory work for the summit had itself influenced developing countries approach discussing trade and environment issues in the EMIT group. The concept of sustainable development had established a link between environmental protection and development at large.

These moves were about to yield more concrete results within the trading system. The environment and trade were to be linked more explicitly in the new constitution of the multilateral trading system that was to be signed in 1994.

Trade and environment in the WTOs founding charter

Towards the end of the 198694 Uruguay Round (and two decades after the EMIT group was set up in GATT), attention was once again drawn to trade-related environmental issues, and the role of the soon-to-be-created World Trade Organization (WTO).

As a result, the preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, refers to the importance of working towards sustainable development. It states that WTO members recognize:

that their relations in the field of trade and economic endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living... , while allowing for the optimal use of the worlds resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development, seeking both to protect and preserve the environment and to enhance the means for doing so in a manner consistent with their respective needs and concerns at different levels of economic development.

The fact that the first paragraph of the preamble recognizes sustainable development as an integral part of the multilateral trading system illustrates the importance placed by WTO members on environmental protection.

1994 ministerial decision

In Marrakesh in April 1994, ministers also signed a Decision on Trade and Environment which states that:

There should not be, nor need be, any policy contradiction between upholding and safeguarding an open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system on the one hand, and acting for the protection of the environment, and the promotion of sustainable development on the other.

The decision also called for the creation of the Committee on Trade and Environment.
Netflix teased Monday Searching for Sheela, a new documentary where Ma Anand Sheela returns to India after 34 years in exile, touts role as "empress."

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The new documentary, which premieres on April 22, is a sequel to the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, which focused on Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, an Indian spiritual guru, known as Osho, who established a commune in the United States on a ranch in Wasco County, Ore., and his cult followers, especially Sheela Ambalal Patel, better known as MaAnand Sheela, devoted to him since age 16.

Ma Anand Sheela, who rose within the Rajneesh commune to spokesperson and "empress," pleaded guilty in the 1980s to immigration fraud, attempted murder, arson and poisoning 750 residents of The Dalles, Ore. by infecting restaurant salad bars with salmonella. She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, but was released in December 1988 on good behavior. After her time in prison, she moved to Switzerland where she bought two nursing homes. In 1999, she was convicted by a Swiss court of "criminal acts preparatory to the commission of murder" related to plot of kill U.S. federal prosecutor Charles Turner in 1985, but was sentenced to time served.

The Netflix sequel, Searching for Sheela, follows her as she returns to India for an interview tour in a documentary exploring who she really is.

"When I was an empress the kingdom was rosy," MaAnand Sheela says in an interview in the Netflix preview.

When someone asks her in an interview about Osho, she says, not only did she love him, but "he was also very much in love with me."
Founded in 1904 in Zwickau, ultra-luxury automaker Horch registered as Audi less than a decade later. Merged with DKW and Wanderer, the nameplate was phased out by the end of the 1950s.





Now a part of the Volkswagen Group, Audi intends to revive Horch as the ultra-luxury variant of the A8 full-size sedan. Think of the upcoming model as the four-ringed answer to the Mercedes-based Maybach S-Class , which starts at $184,900 before freight charge for the 580 4Matic.



Scheduled to arrive next year with refreshed styling from the long-wheelbase Audi A8 L, the Horch will differ in the most obvious areas from the car on which its based. Our friends at Kolesa.ru believe that the oversized front grille is one of those areas, along with the brightwork on the side windows, wheel design, and model-specific badging on the C-pillars.



Just like the A8 L, the Horch may continue to flaunt exhaust tips in the rear bumper that arent connected to the exhaust system. The Volkswagen Group is the worst offender in this regard, but faux tips can also be seen on a handful of Mercedes passenger cars and utility vehicles. Even the Toyota Corolla has been affected by this atrocious trend.

As the direct competitor for the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the Audi-Horch A8 L needs a potent engine. The 6.0-liter W12 from the Bentley Flying Spur would be perfect for this application. Still, as the Volkswagen Group pushes for electrified vehicles throughout the lineup, the 4.0-liter V8 with 48-volt electric assistance could be a contender as well. In the S8 TFSI, the latter engine develops 563 horsepower (571 PS) at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 590 pound-feet (800 Nm) of torque from 2,000 rpm.


Chennai, April 13 : The Election Commission on Tuesday ordered fresh poll/repoll in booth number 92 in the Velacherry Assembly constituency here on Saturday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Polling for all the 234 assembly constituencies was held in Tamil Nadu on April 6.

The repolling has been ordered after two workers were caught carrying two electronic voting machines and a VVPAT machine on a two-wheeler and various political parties had raised concerns.

The Election Commission said that on the basis of the report of the Returning Officer, observers and after taking all material circumstances into account, it decided that the poll that was held on April 6 at booth number 92 of Velacherry Assembly constituency is declared as void and will be conducted again on April 17.
[April 13, 2021] 4imprint's amplify magazine: Spring 2021 issue features techniques for training employees, gratitude, event promo items

The cover story of the latest issue of 4imprint's amplify magazine features an interview with OrthoTennessee, an organization that used employee training to prepare staff members to take on leadership roles as the business went through a recent change. The story also highlights other benefits and techniques for training employees to help create best-in-class learning opportunities that promote staff growth. The Spring 2021 issue of amplify magazine-published quarterly by promotional products retailer 4imprint-also includes interviews with companies and nonprofits growing their organizations in ways that range from building a volunteer roster to building morale. Stories in this issue include: A local farmers market discusses how promotional products are helping grow its volunteer roster, visibility and repeat visitors.

A food and beverage company shows how offering gratitude to employees-especially over the last year-helps morale and motivation thrive.

Gallagher's-a plumbing, heating and cooling company-shows how they grow their connction to new hires with the help of gift-laden welcome bags.



The spring issue of amplify magazine can be downloaded at info.4imprint.com.

About 4imprint 4imprint is part of 4imprint Group, Plc, a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange, which serves millions of customers with promotional items throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. 4imprint offers corporate gifts, personalized gifts, custom T-shirts, promotional pens, travel mugs, tote bags, water bottles, Post-it Notes, custom calendars, custom shirts and much more. For additional information, visit https://www.4imprint.com/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005183/en/

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In a few moments the Parks Board will approve an obligatory "solution" to years of fighting that won't really satisfy anybody.

Following a national disgrace wherein neighborhood voters REJECTED MLK BLVD ON THE PASEO the first time around . . . Here's a preview of today's decision:



"Board members will vote on renaming parts of three streets. The boulevard would run along what's now parts of Blue Parkway, Swope Parkway and Volker Boulevard. Tuesday's meeting starts at 2 p.m."

Here's what people who reside in Kansas City, MO should understand . . .

SPECIAL INTERESTS & ACTIVISTS DOMINATED THIS DISAPPOINTING COMPROMISE!!!



Moreover . . .

RESIDENTS PROPOSED MLK ON 63RD STREET THAT WOULD'VE SPANNED ACROSS KANSAS CITY AND OFFERED A MORE HOPEFUL SIGN OF UNITY!!!

The 63rd street solution earned a bit of support but a grudge match betwixt East side clerics and neighborhood leaders prevented the idea from moving forward.

Even worse, clueless suburban activists entered the discussion with absolutely no understanding of KC's geography expect for 3rd-rate college lamentations.

And so, an idea from people who own homes and work in Kansas City was overlooked in order to bow to special interests who started the debate hoping to protect their fiefdoms and now garner only measly tribute to a long gone era.

The aftermath of this episode in Kansas City's history might earn obligatory praise whilst only a few people understand that LOCALS WANTED KANSAS CITY MLK UNITY OVER POLITICS and were rejected by their leaders.



Read more . . .

Fox4: After years of debate, KC Parks board to vote on naming street after MLK Jr.

KMBC: KC Parks Board will vote Tuesday on proposed MLK Jr. Boulevard

Aftermath:

Board votes to rename stretch of local roads after Martin Luther King Jr. - "One person spoke during the public comment segment of the meeting and mentioned that the road is not in great condition."

Developing . . .
A National Assembly deputy's statement that "having three bachelors degrees but remaining unemployed is a reality in Vietnam" has stirred controversy.

National Assembly deputy Bui Sy Loi made the statement when talking about vocational education and career guidance for students.

He said the education sector needs to improve student classification after high school. Only 30 percent of students should go to university after fulfilling general education levels, while the other 70 percent should go to vocational school.

Most high school graduates in Vietnam want to continue studying at university, which is believed to be a waste of the societys resources.

Why study at university? Having three bachelors degrees but staying unemployed is a reality in Vietnam, he said.

Lois statement has raised controversy. Universities criticized the statement, saying that it denied the value of tertiary education.

Hoang Ngoc Vinh, former Director of the Department of Vocational Education, said that this is a "reckless conclusion", which could distort the national policy on developing high-quality human resources, one of three strategic breakthroughs for the next decade.

Is having three bachelors degrees but staying redundant commonly seen in society, or does this happen with just some people? Vinh said.

Which majors do the bachelors degree graduates hold? Which schools did they graduate from? More details should be clarified. One should not give such general information to prove that tertiary education is dark, and to 'polish' other education programs, he said.

Pham Thai Son from the HCM City Food Industry University said the choice of study depends on each student.

A university lecturer in the south asked to clarify which statistics and reports Loi cited when making such a statement.

He said that graduates will remain unemployed if they don't make efforts to improve or try to grab opportunities, even if they may have one or 10 bachelors degrees.

Tran Dinh Ly, rector of the HCM City University of Agriculture and Forestry, said the phenomenon does not represent Vietnams tertiary education.

According to Vinh, workers with tertiary education account for only 13 percent of the total workforce in Vietnam, which is must lower than industrial countries. He believes that Vietnam still needs to continue to develop tertiary education if it doesnt want to serve as the worlds outsourcing factory.

In related news, three Vietnamese universities have been named in Times Higher Educations (THE) list of 500 leading universities in emerging economies, including Vietnam National University Hanoi (VNU-Hanoi), Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), and Vietnam National University HCM City (VNU-HCM City).

Le Huyen

Female scientist pursues in-depth study about tertiary education Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, 43, resigned from her post as a dean to which she was appointed at aged 27 to begin a new path of research about tertiary education.
Burma Watchman Reportedly Tortured to Death by Myanmar Regime Troops

The junta's troops are seen during a crackdown against the anti-regime protest in Yangon.

A neighborhood watchman was reportedly tortured to death by the military regimes troops in Yangons Insein Township on Monday morning.

Ko Kyaw Lwin Htwe, 39, a resident of Inseins Aung San neighborhood, went missing for hours about 5 a.m. on Monday after he chased a suspicious vehicle in the ward.

According to some witnesses, Ko Kyaw Lwin Htwe was taken by the juntas troops into the compound of No. 3 Basic Education High School in Aung San ward where several dozens of soldiers have been deployed the past two weeks.

Later, he was sent to Hlaing Thayar Township Hospital by the troops via the ambulance of a social organization. The troops maintained that the man had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, according to his family members who cited the social organization.

After searching for him in the area, family members finally found his body at Hlaing Tharyar Hospital Monday morning. He had sustained serious injuries to the head and bruising.

The wife of Ko Kyaw Lwin Htwe told The Irrawaddy that she believes her husband was murdered by the juntas troops.

She said the injuries were quite different from those that would have been sustained in any alleged accident. She said the cuts and abrasions were not like those normally caused by a motorcycle accident. Instead, his both eyes were badly bruised and there were bruises under his arm.

Meanwhile, his motorcycle was largely intact.

It makes me deeply hurt that my husband died after being tortured. Now, I have no more tears to cry for him, she said.

The family had to hold a funeral for Ko Kyaw Liwn Htwe in a hurry because regime troops are searching for them in the ward.

Ko Kyaw Lwin Htwe is survived by two daughters, a 13-year-old and a 6-year-old, in addition to his wife.

As of Monday, about 710 people including National League for Democracy members, anti-regime protesters, bystanders and residents have been killed by the military regimes forces during their arrests, raids and crackdown against the protests, according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).

You may also like these stories:

Myanmar Regime Forces Kill Gurkha Couple in the Border Town of Tamu

Myanmar Military Suffers Heavy Casualties in Fierce Fighting With Ethnic Armed Groups

Myanmar Students to Hold Fundraiser for CDM in Bangkok
[April 13, 2021] Legal Industry Return to Office Outpaces Broader Commercial Office Average As Tracked by Kastle Systems Back to Work Barometer

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- With Coronavirus vaccinations expanding nationwide to all adults this month, business leaders are anticipating an acceleration in the return to the office. Kastle's Back to Work Barometer has tracked this phenomenon in ten major cities nationwide over the past year, revealing regional and industry differences in workplace occupancy rates. A fresh review of access to office buildings finds the legal industry consistently exceeds the average, while tracking overall patterns. With extensive enagagement in the legal industry, providing services to 49 firms of the AmLaw100, Kastle Systems, the country's largest managed security services provider to commercial businesses, is sharing anonymized aggregated access data from Kastle-secured businesses in the legal industry to better understand office occupancy patterns following COVID-19. Compared to the ten-city average on the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, the legal industry is returning to the office sooner than other businesses, with occupancy rates 10 percentage points higher than the average. >



"In talking with our law firm clients, we are hearing many factors that have made remote work more challenging for this sector, including paper heavy office systems and generally being slower to adopt new technologies," Kastle CEO Haniel Lynn said. "In looking at a return to the office, these and other workplace or cultural factors could also come into play for greater in person activity."

Association of Legal Administrators Executive Director, April Campbell, JD, agrees and adds "For many of our members, some firms never closed at the beginning of the pandemic. Different local government guidance on what workers were deemed essential meant that in some cities, that sometimes included law firms. There have also been concerns about the ability to onboard new employees and conduct new associate training remotely, so we're seeing law firms in the office at higher rates." Kastle has combined decades of security experience with best practices around managing the novel coronavirus to introduce KastleSafeSpaces, which helps workplaces re-open by making their spaces smarter and safer, while maintaining a level of convenience that's enabled by technology. Like the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, Kastle will be releasing updates to the legal industry data weekly on its website and LinkedIn. Through the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, Kastle has been tracking the anonymized activity of 341,000 unique office credential holders in major cities, 31,582 of which are in the legal industry and featured in this analysis. About Kastle Systems

Kastle Systems has been leading the security industry since 1972 with advanced managed security solutions and services, protecting commercial real estate, multi-family residential, global enterprises, educational institutions, and critical government facilities. Kastle's state-of-the-art security solutions include access control, video surveillance, visitor management and identity management, as well as a suite of mobile security applications, all integrated on an open, standards-based platform and supported by a team of experts 24x7x365. Headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, Kastle is on CIOViews's 2021 List of Top 10 Security Providers. For more information about KastleSafeSpaces, KastleAccess or any of the other advanced security innovations from Kastle Systems, contact Jake Heinz, Chief Marketing Officer at jheinz@kastle.com or visit https://www.kastle.com. Media Inquiries

Jake Heinz

703-247-0278

jheinz@kastle.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legal-industry-return-to-office-outpaces-broader-commercial-office-average-as-tracked-by-kastle-systems-back-to-work-barometer-301267186.html SOURCE Kastle Systems

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24 Hours in Police Custody viewers were left 'heartbroken' after a man who was left fighting for his life following a violent incident at home died from a heart attack six days later.

In last night's episode of the Channel 4 show, 42-year-old Paul Jenner, from Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, was found by police at his home with a severe brain injury on 23 October 2019. He was quickly transferred to hospital, but doctors said the chances for his survival were slim.

His partner Sherry Naidoo was seen smirking as she was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent after being accused of hospitalising her partner - who required urgent treatment for serious brain trauma after enduring two bleeds to the brain.

The incident took place just six days after Naidoo had been released following a six month prison sentence for another assault on him that required medical attention.

And police officer Alicia Lawrence, who had met Paul before, was posted to Major Crimes when his injuries proved fatal - and admitted she 'knew it would come to this'.

At court, Naidoo admitted assaulting Paul Jenner but the Judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove this was the cause of his death. Instead, she was found guilty of Actual Bodily Harm.

The Judge accepted that her life had been extremely troubled and that she had also suffered domestic violence in a previous relationship. She was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

In last night's episode of Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody, 42-year-old Paul Jenner, from Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, was found by police at his home with a severe brain injury. Pictured, in hospital

Police officer Alicia (pictured) spent the duration of the episode trying to persuade Paul to incriminate his partner Sherry Naidoo

At court, his partner Sherry Naidoo (pictured), admitted assaulting Paul Jenner but the Judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove this was the cause of his death. Instead, she was found guilty of Actual Bodily Harm

Paul suffered massive head injuries and possibly a fractured eye socket as well. Pictured, the injuries sustained

Taking to the comments section, one person penned: 'This episode is breaking my heart. RIP Paul (pictured)

'There's quite an extensive history between them - largely assault from his partner Sherry Naidoo to Paul,' Alicia explained to a colleague assisting on the case.

'Paul wouldn't engage in the first investigation but the jury found her guilty of ABH within 45 minutes. So she got a 50-week sentence and with time service she was released - so within six days she's assaulted him again.

'Paul was taken to hospital, they scanned him and he's got two bleeds on the brain. We've got minimal contact with him because he's in and out of consciousness with very severe injuries. Apparently the doctor said he's surprised he's still alive.'

She added: 'I knew it would come to this. I said it after court to prosecution and defence, "One day she will kill him".'

During the emotional episode, Paul was moved to a specialist brain tumour unit at Adenbrook's hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

'Sherry came in on the Monday to pick up her property from the last job,' explained Alicia.

'She and Paul were in the inquiry office. I didn't recognise Paul because I couldn't meet him - he wouldn't engage with us. And the only pictures I've seen on him are horrendous.

'They were sat down and Sherry made a joke of it and said, "She doesn't even recognise you". I was like, "Why would I?"

In a particularly poignant moment, Paul was asked where he wanted to go, to which he replied: 'Heaven' (pictured)

'I handed all the property over to Sherry and sent her on her way with her belongings and as Paul walking past Paul gave me a high five and did a wink at me which I almost took as a thank you.

'At that point, I couldn't see any injuries on him - he seemed fine. We've now got these massive head injuries and possibly a fractured eye socket as well.'

However, Alicia explained how Paul has always been loyal to Naidoo.

'When I've looked back through all the history, there have been so many assaults that have been reported to us that Paul refused to provide any statements and wouldn't name who assaulted him,' she said.

'But sometimes a victim literally can't take it any more and something will change, they'll come forward and speak to us.'

And an assisting officer on the case tracked down the 999 call made from the hospital - where Paul named his partner Naidoo as the culprit.

Naidoo was seen smirking when she arrived at the station and told officers: 'I didn't do f*** all' (pictured)

When taken into interviewing, Naidoo (pictured) refused to answer any questions. That was, until, she was played the 999 call where Paul named her as the person responsible for his injuries

Speaking to the dispatcher, he said: 'I've been violently attacked again by my partner. I'm in intensive care. She's been in prison for six months and she's come out and done it to me again. I've just got to get out the relationship now haven't I?'

The call handler responded: 'Yes, I would say so. People who love you don't hurt you like that.'

Police then sought independent witness testimony to bolster their case - making them realise that the incident may have started the night before.

Knocking on one door, a witness claimed: 'When he turned up, about Thursday I reckon, he was standing there. I could see he had a black eye and some cuts on his face I think.'

Another recalled: 'So literally, we were sat here watching TV, looked out my window and he's sat slumped over on the floor.

'She's come walking round here screaming at him, "Why are you on the floor? Get the f*** off the floor". And some woman's come out the alleyway here and the next minute she's gone polite... which is very much what she does.'

But after learning Paul's condition had stabilisied, Alicia was devastated to hear that his statement said that she and her officers 'had it all wrong'.

He claimed he hit his own head on the wall, Naidoo has done nothing wrong and that he loved he and wanted to know when she'd be released.

When Alicia went to visit Paul in hospital (pictured), he eventually admitted that he didn't want to go home

When taken into interviewing, Naidoo refused to answer any questions. That was until she was played the 999 call where Paul named her as the person responsible for his injuries.

When asked what she made of the call, Naidoo responded: 'It's bullsh***ing coming out of his mouth. I didn't do nothing to him, that's what's doing my f****ing head in. 'I got in a mood, having an argument...'

With a GBH charge secured against Naidoo, police visited victim Paul to offer him another chance to support the case.

'After the last job I said to prosecution and defence prosecutors, "She'll kill him one day", and they said, "Yes she will".

'I didn't actually think we'd be here this quickly. If she kills him, I don't want that on my conscience. I desperately want him to come on board. I'll do as much as I can possibly do to help him out of that situation If he won't, he won't. I think once I've tried, I'll feel better.'

But when she arrived and asked how he was feeling, Paul responded: 'Pi***ed off because Naidoo's been locked up for no reason this time.'

Alicia replied: 'We both know you didn't cause those injuries to yourself,' but Paul claimed he got drunk, fallen over and smashed his head on a shoe rail.

He added: 'It was my own stupid fault.'

After Alicia spoke to him and reiterated how it 'doesn't have to be like this', Paul admitted he 'doesn't want to return home' and accepted the offer of a call from a victim engagement officer to arrange housing.

The officers (pictured) were devastated to hear Paul had given a statement to the police saying they had it all wrong

And in a heartbreaking moment when asked where he would like to go if he was to be give a magic wand, he replied: 'Heaven.'

Six days after the visit, Alicia received the devastating news that Paul had had a heart attack, fell into a coma and died later that night - 12 days after being assaulted by Naidoo at their address.

A crown court judge ruled Naidoo had no case to answer for murder nor manslaughter.

At an inquest in Ampthill, Coroner Sean Cummings recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing and said: 'After hearing the evidence I consider that it is likely beyond the balance of probability that Sherry Naidoo did subject Paul Jenner to a violent assault and that assault put in train a sequence of events that led to his death.'

The inquest was told that during the criminal trial, a neuropathologist agreed with the defence that the bleeding on Mr Jenner's brain could have occurred over a period of time when Naidoo was in custody for the previous offence.

A pathologist also said she could not rule out the possibility he had accidentally stumbled to the floor after drinking. The cause of death was given as complications from an acute bleed and traumatic head injuries.

Mr Jenner was also suffering from chronic alcoholic disease.

Taking to the comments section, one person wrote: 'Refreshing to see a programme highlight domestic abuse against men' (pictured)

Taking to the comments section, one viewer penned: 'This hits all the harder now. RIP Paul, I hope you know peace now,' while a second commented: 'Well good old British justice again. Failed Paul, the police and all of us. His life was worth 8 months on good behavior. A f****ing travesty. RIP Paul.'

A third added: '16 months for a death - you then wonder why people don't come forward for an assault Face with symbols over mouth,' while a fourth agreed: 'Is it any wonder victims of domestic abuse don't come forward? 16 months?!'

A further penned: 'I am RAGING just watching this hateful monster. How do the police keep their professionalism in such scenarios? Hats off to them.'

Elsewhere, others praised the programme for highlighting domestic abuse against men.

'As bad as it is to see anyone go through domestic violence, I hope this programmes shows men that it's ok to speak out against it. It won't make you any less of a man,' wrote one.

A second commented: 'Refreshing to see a programme highlight domestic abuse against men. Hopefully this will shed light on it and help more victims come forward without shame/embarrassment.'

A third added: 'This episode is breaking my heart. RIP Paul, if anything good can possibly come from this it's raising awareness that men can just as much be subject to domestic violence as women. Don't be afraid to get help.'
For the past four weeks, a group of up to 40 protesters has gathered outside the Collin County Jail nearly every night around 9 p.m. They hang signs, draw on the sidewalk with chalk and decorate the chain link fence, celebrating the life of Marvin Scott III, who died while in the custody of jail staff in March.

Consistently, their memorials have been taken down by county staff. But that doesnt deter his sister, LaChay Batts, from returning every day with other community members outside the jail in McKinney.

We just do it again, Batts, 28, told the Tribune Sunday, her voice hoarse from chanting all day. They want us to stop, to go away. Were gonna remain until the officers are arrested.

READ ALSO: Abbott says state is 'very close' to herd immunity. The data tells a different story.

On March 14, Scott was arrested in Allen, nearly 15 miles from where he lived in Frisco, on a marijuana charge. Authorities said he had less than two ounces  a misdemeanor. The 26-year-old, who received a schizophrenia diagnosis two years ago, sometimes used the drug to self-medicate, according to the familys lawyer, S. Lee Merritt.

After Allen officers transported him to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital for what police called strange behavior, he was taken to the county jail. There, officers restrained Scott, used pepper spray and covered his head with a spit hood, a controversial device meant to keep a person from biting or spitting on an officer. Scott became unresponsive late that night and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Melinda Whittemore participates in a demonstration held by Next Generation Action Network at the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney to demand justice for Marvin Scott III, who died while in custody at the Collin County Jail on March 14. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Though seven of the sheriffs officers have been fired after initially being put on administrative leave and another resigned while under investigation, the family and protesters say they dont plan to stop until the officers have been charged with a crime. The officers' names have not been publicly released. The Collin County Sheriffs Office, which operates the jail, said personnel information cannot be released due to pending civil service appeals.

The Texas Rangers are investigating Scotts case. Nearly a month later, the county medical examiners office has not yet released an official cause of death.

The family hired a forensic pathologist to conduct a second, independent autopsy. During the March 23 press conference, the pathologist, Amy Gruszecki of American Forensics, said: The physical struggle of the restraint as well as the possible asphyxia from the restraint would likely be causes of his death, and a negative autopsy, meaning no injuries, no blunt force trauma, is consistent with that.

During the press conference, Merritt said the Collin County district attorney had explained that he would need a cause of death and a medical examiners report before he could decide whether to pursue criminal charges.

There has been an intense focus on police brutality during the murder and manslaughter trial for Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of killing George Floyd in late May by kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes  which sparked protests around the nation. And on Sunday, police deployed tear gas against protesters who marched after an officer fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in Minnesota.

Scotts family said they did not receive any communication about his arrest and death until the next afternoon, when they received a text message from the medical examiners office. Batts said the family has not yet seen the jail video related to his death. The footage has been provided to the Texas Rangers, said a representative from the Collin County Sheriffs Office.

Ashlyn Mitchell comforts Lachay Batts during a demonstration on March 18, 2021 to demand justice for Battss younger brother, Marvin Scott III. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Christopher A. Williams-Watkins (center) leads a chant demanding justice in the halls of the Collin County Jail on Thursday, March 18, 2021 for his friend Marvin Scott III, who died in custody in the jail in McKinney. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

First: Ashlyn Mitchell comforts LaChay Batts during a March 18 demonstration. Last: Christopher A. Williams-Watkins, friend of Marvin Scott III, leads a chant demanding justice in the halls of the Collin County Jail on March 18. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Following a March 17 vigil at Towne Lake Park in McKinney, Batts and her family have stood outside the jail almost every night in hopes of calling attention to Scotts death and to demand justice and transparency. They hand out flyers during the protests, Batts said, and post about the rallies on social media.

What started as a group of up to 40 people has since settled to about 20 consistent protesters, said Elizabeth Michel, a community activist who joined the protests soon after learning about them online. She has been there almost every day since and has addressed the McKinney City Council and the county commissioners court.

My role is to support the Scott family and to amplify their voices however I can, Michel said. The family has asked for those eight detention officers to be arrested. I will do whatever I can to expedite that.

Protesting for arrests, transparency

Batts said speakers like herself and her family share stories about her brother and list their demands during the protests.

Today marks 30 days since Marvin was murdered, and we still havent seen the tape. We still dont know the names of these officers, Batts said on Sunday. [They] could be our neighbors, and we dont know.

For the first few nights, the protesters congregated near where inmates are brought into the jail. A week later, they arrived to find a new chain link fence surrounding their former protesting grounds, Michel said.

Officers guard the driveway into the jail while demonstrators gather at the Collin County Jail on March 26. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

So they began decorating the fence with cups that spelled out Scotts name or Justice for Marvin, and placing flowers and teddy bears nearby  only to see everything removed every night. Last week, the fence was moved even further from the building to keep protesters away from the staff parking lot as well.

A spokesperson told the Tribune in an email that the sheriff's office respects the right to peacefully protest and established a zone to do so. There have been "some instances of vandalism and property destruction" though the protests have been peaceful, the spokesperson said.

In addition to physical barriers, Michel said that several sheriffs office vehicles have circled the area and flashed the high beams of their headlights on the group. At one point, sheriffs employees told protesters they were unlawfully assembled, she said.

Theres a big sign on the fence that says designated protest, Michel said. Im like, You told us to be here, and now youre telling us to move again.

They definitely didnt expect us to still be out there, she added. They expected this to die down and go away. And were not.

Marvin Scott III's mother LaSandra Scott prays at the end of a demonstration outside of the Collin County Jail. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

For Black community members, family is at stake

Kamona Nelson, one of Batts hairstyling clients, said that while she never met Scott, she knows through his sister that he had a happy spirit. The 39-year-old said she has been protesting with the family since the first day, only missing a few nights here and there.

I have two Black sons, she said. Not only am I standing for the family, but Im standing for my kids.

Nelson said her family moved to McKinney more than three years ago, and she said she was shocked to hear negative things about Collin County law enforcement after hearing that the city was one of the top places to live in the state.

A few years before, in 2015, McKinney police responded to a report of teenagers scaling a fence to enter a private pool party. An officer pointed a gun at the teens and detained a Black girl by throwing her to the ground and pressing his knee into her back. She was ultimately released back to her parents with no charge filed. The incident sparked national outrage and prompted additional protests on its five-year anniversary.

Nelson said that when they first moved to McKinney, three police officers stopped one of her sons, then 15, as he walked home because he happened to fit the description of someone tall, big and Black that they were looking for, she said, though they eventually let him go.

Renee White, left, holds up a fist in front of the barricade of eight police cars as Elijah Lyons, Marvin Scott IIIs 9-year-old nephew, leads a chant repeating Marvins name at the Collin County Jail on April 3. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Nelson has brought her sons, now 15 and 17, to the protests a few times, and said the experience has been surreal for them  she said her boys were shocked that an incident like this could happen so close to home. Nelson said she has had a very different experience standing with her friends family compared to when she marched for George Floyd last summer, where she never had any interactions with police.

It seems like there is a lot of injustice, as if we are doing something wrong, she said of the way officers have treated protesters. That, I dont understand  why the family is being treated the way that they are.

Batts said having Nelson and so many other community members stand with her family has given her family strength.

While the protests cannot bring Scott back, Batts said they will continue to protest so this doesnt have to be somebody elses brother.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
KALAMAZOO, MI  Kalamazoo community leaders and officials gathered to mourn the death of a Black man killed by police in Minnesota.

More than 25 people gathered Monday evening, in front of the Kalamazoo County Courthouse, 227 W. Michigan Ave., to remember Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, who was unarmed and fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop Sunday, April 11, in suburban Minneapolis.

Unedited police body camera footage was released Monday.

We are here tonight because of the loss of a young man in Minnesota, Daunte Wright, Mayor David Anderson said April 12. I want to recognize that and stand together and mourn the loss.

Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Chief Vernon Coakley said the body camera footage was horrific and he offered condolences to the Wright family.

We denounce that, he said. Again, something happened in Minnesota.

Community activists Quinton Bryant and Noelle Massey helped organize the protest to remember Wright. They spoke with Coakley and Anderson about how they dont want something similar to happen in Kalamazoo.

We need to know our officers are trained to not grab their gun instead of their taser, Bryant said.

Coakley and Anderson showing up Monday night without being asked to come, is a start, Massey said.

We keep working on it, Massey said. It means a lot that the mayor and chief are here. This is a big step for them to be here before anything happens in this community.

More from MLive:

Protesters should stay out of streets, Kalamazoo chief warns ahead of scheduled protest

As COVID-19 cases rise in kids, parents should watch for rare complication

Kalamazoo County Health Department expands COVID-19 vaccination clinics
British model Jodie Kidd has defended Khloe Kardashian over her Photoshop controversy but admits 'misleading images are dangerous.'

The former catwalk star says Khloe, 36, should be forgiven for attempting to remove an unfiltered bikini picture of herself from social media as the US reality favourite has been born into a culture obsessed with having the 'perfect look' in Los Angeles.

Jodie, who's a mum to son Indio, nine, told MailOnline she's 'concerned' edited pictures and Instagram filters may have a huge impact on younger generations, as she urges social media giants to 'get a real grip' on the growing problem.

'That's always been an LA thing': British model Jodie Kidd has defended Khloe Kardashian over her Photoshop controversy but admits 'misleading images are dangerous'

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Jodie, 42, said: 'That's always been an LA thing.

'Everyone's got to look perfect, with the perfect teeth and the perfect hair. It's been like that way before the Kardashians.

'It's just the mindset of someone who lives in Los Angeles. For me as a model who travelled round the world in the nineties that was one thing that really put me off Los Angeles. If you've been brought up there, that's the norm.'

Khloe tried to delete the unfiltered picture, which showed her body in its natural form, last week but her desperate attempts resulted in the snap going viral instead.

'That's the norm': Jodie says Khloe should be forgiven for trying to remove an unfiltered picture of herself from social media as she's been born into a culture obsessed with being 'perfect'

'Perfect teeth and the perfect hair': Jodie, who rose to fame in the nineties, said she was 'put off' living in Los Angeles as the expectation was you needed to 'look perfect' (pictured in 2002)

Despite receiving criticism for her efforts, notably from Piers Morgan who branded her 'tragic', the eldest Kardashian sister insists she will carry on editing her pictures for social media, saying she had the right to 'present myself to the world the way I want to be seen.'

While she's defended Khloe's actions, Jodie says tech giants such as Instagram and Facebook should do more to eliminate heavily airbrushed pictures online.

Pub landlady Jodie, who is starting a tipping movement with the Stella Tips campaign with Stella Artois which will see 1 given to bar staff tips for every pint of Stella Artois served for one month across the UK, said: 'I think changing your body shape in pictures is very negative and if you are at a point where you are having to change yourself skinny then that's a very worrying image to portray  and it is something you are not.

'As a parent of a nine-year-old, I would say I'm very concerned about misleading images that can have very serious damage on young minds.

Concerned: Jodie, pictured on the runway in 2002, told MailOnline as a mother of a nine-year-old, she worries about 'misleading images' online that cause 'serious damage' to young minds

'Very worrying': Despite defending Khloe's actions, Jodie says tech giants such as Instagram and Facebook should do more to eliminate heavily airbrushed pictures online

'It's getting very difficult to know if somebody has changed their boobs to be a little bigger or their bum.

'It's a hard thing to control, but I do think it's something that's very serious and the big social companies out there have to get a real grip on it.'

In recent years Jodie has swapped the catwalk for the boozer after becoming the owner and proprietor of the Half Moon pub in Kirkford, West Sussex.

She's had huge concerns over the pub's future following its closure doing lockdown and is hoping the hospitality industry will see a boom in trade now doors have reopened, albeit only serving outdoors for the time being.

Good cause: Jodie is starting a tipping movement with Stella Artois which will see 1 given to bar staff tips for every pint of Stella served for one month across the UK

Jodie explained: 'It's been such a struggle over the past year.

'To get our chefs and full front of house back and everything up and running to full capacity is very nerve wracking because we have to make money. If we lose money, oh god. We just can't afford it.'

Jodie is hoping her loyal bar staff, many of whom are youngsters in their late teens and early twenties, will have their income boosted by the Stella Tips campaign.

She added: 'Normally it's always about helping the pub or the industry, whereas what Stella is doing is helping the people who make the pub what it is, the team members. It's a brilliant thing and I'm all for it.'
TORONTO, April 13, 2021 /CNW/ - Club Vita, the international leader in longevity data analytics, today announced that France Panneton has joined the Canadian team as Head of Pension Strategy. Panneton will focus on developing strategy and implementing Club Vita's vision of providing best-in-class longevity analytics to the Canadian pension market. In particular, Panneton will focus on nurturing close relationships with current club members, pension plan sponsors and their advisors, while building new relationships and providing market-leading longevity innovation and thought-leadership.

Panneton has a wealth of pension consulting and insurance experience that spans more than 25 years and she brings a demonstrated track record in innovation, client relationships and thought leadership to her new role. Previously, Panneton led key client relationships at a few large international HR consulting firms before establishing her own venture to advise internationally on risk management, investment and strategic projects. Panneton also led RBC Insurance's successful entry into the pension risk transfer market. This varied experience will serve her well when continuing to grow Club Vita's community of Canadian organizations interested in better understanding, measuring and managing longevity risk. Panneton will be based in her hometown of Montreal, which helps strengthen Club Vita's presence within the Quebec pension market.

"I am joining Club Vita at a time when innovation in the longevity space is taking place at a rapid pace," commented Panneton. "Club Vita has built an incomparable industry reputation for longevity risk management. I'm excited to bring Club Vita more broadly to the Canadian pension landscape, and to collaborate with my Club Vita colleagues to continue building upon the organization's accomplishments thus far."

Club Vita Canada has had tremendous growth since its launch in 2015, and is eager for this trend to continue, providing even more robust longevity analytics and innovations to the Canadian market. "We are very excited to have France Panneton join our team and are looking forward to her continuing the success of our Canadian club," said Richard Brown, Club Vita's Canadian COO. "In this new role, we have someone dedicated to developing new relationships with pension plans, building partnerships with their advisors and ensuring our club members continue to receive leading-edge longevity insights." he added.

About Club Vita

Club Vita's mission is to drive the development and market adoption of longevity risk management tools and techniques. It does so by delivering analytics and reports that support assumption setting, pricing, valuation, capital and risk management strategies for longevity-linked liabilities. Club Vita's dataset is based on the pooled experience of its members (generally defined benefit pension plans) on which it conducts statistical analytics for the benefit of all contributors. Club Vita was established in the UK in 2008, expanded operations to Canada in 2015 and the US in 2019. In both Canada and the UK, the Club Vita data set covers approximately 1 in 4 of all retirees with defined benefit pension benefits.

For more information, please visit https://www.clubvita.net/.

SOURCE Club Vita Canada Inc.

For further information: Jenn Welch, Club Vita Canada, +1 416-696-4017, [email protected]
Guwahati, April 13 : Amid the Covid-19 surge, the people of Assam are geared up to celebrate 'Bohag Bihu' or 'Rongali Bihu', the beginning of the Assamese New Year, even as the government imposed various Covid-related restrictions.

The number of Covid-19 cases have shot up by 732 per cent since the declaration of the three-phase Assembly elections held on March 27, April 1 and April 6.

According to the Assam health department, the Covid active cases were only 287 on February 26, when the Election Commission had declared the poll schedule for the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly. The number of active cases climbed to 2,387 till Monday night, registering a 732 per cent hike.

Bihu organising committees in Assam criticised the state government after it had issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) last week to curb large gatherings in view of the rising pandemic.

Limiting the number of participants in each event, the SOPs made it mandatory for the Bihu committees to obtain prior permission for organising the events and wind them up by 11 p.m. every night.

Demanding to continue the celebrations until 1 a.m. in the night, Brihattar Guwahati Bihu Sanmilani Samannay Raksha Samiti advisor, Kailash Nath Sarma, said the government could not force the SOPs on the Bihu organisers.

"Traditionally, the Bihu celebrations start late evening and continue till the early morning hours. The Assam government must relax the SOPs," Sarma told the media.

Three Bihus are the main festivals in Assam -- 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in mid-April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in mid-October and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' in mid-January.

The 'Rongali Bihu' is the most important and colourful of the three, celebrating the spring festival. All the three Bihu festivals could not be celebrated last year due to the Covid situation and agitation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Assam's week long spring festival, 'Rongali Bihu' would start on Wednesday with the first day being dedicated to cattle. Before the actual 'Rongali' starts on Thursday, the 'Garu Bihu' would be observed on Wednesday when all the households in villages bathe their cows by the riverside, followed by songs and merry-making.

Women will make various delicacies, besides 'pithas' (rice cakes) while the markets are flooded with hundreds of traditional food items along with clothes to celebrate the festival.

Shoppers, especially women, throng the markets to buy their favourite clothes to mark the tradition of wearing new clothes on the first day of 'Bohag'. The people also exchange various gifts, including the traditional 'Gamocha' (a white piece of cloth with a red border having a customary pattern), with their near and dear ones as a mark of love.

Dance, cultural functions and songs are the main attractions of the 'Rongali Bihu'.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
China's new yuan-denominated loans totaled 2.73 trillion yuan (about 416.3 billion U.S. dollars) in March, down by 103.9 billion yuan year on year, central bank data showed on Monday.



In the first quarter of 2021, new yuan loans hit 7.67 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 574.1 billion yuan, the People's Bank of China said. Loans in the household and corporate sectors increased by 2.56 trillion yuan and 5.35 trillion yuan, respectively.

The outstanding amount of M2, a broad measure of money supply covering cash in circulation and all deposits, increased by 9.4 percent, year on year, to 227.65 trillion yuan by the end of March.

The M2 growth rate was 0.7 percentage points lower than that at the end of February and that from the same period last year.

The outstanding amount of M1, a narrow measure of the money supply covering cash in circulation plus demand deposits, stood at 61.61 trillion yuan at the end of March. It was up by 7.1 percent year on year.

The outstanding amount of M0, the amount of cash in circulation, went up by 4.2 percent from a year ago to 8.65 trillion yuan at the end of last month.

The central bank injected a total of 222.9 billion yuan of net cash into the market in Q1.

PBOC data also showed that newly added social financing, a measurement of funds that individuals and non-financial firms receive from the financial system, came in at 3.34 trillion yuan in March. It was down by 1.84 trillion yuan from the same period last year.

Total new social financing amounted to 10.24 trillion yuan in Q1, down by 873 billion yuan from the same period a year ago.

A data breakdown indicated increasing support for the real economy from the financial sector. Loans to the real economy accounted for 77.3 percent of the total social financing in Q1, up by 12 percentage points from the 2020 level.

Monday's data also showed China's new yuan deposits hit 8.35 trillion yuan in the first three months, up by 284.4 billion yuan from the same period a year earlier. By the end of March, the outstanding yuan deposits increased by 9.9 percent, year on year, to 220.92 trillion yuan.

In Q1, RMB settlements for cross-border trade totaled 1.7 trillion yuan, while RMB settlements for direct investment reached 1.17 trillion yuan, central bank data showed.
New Delhi:

A month after India and China resolved the 73-day long border standoff at Doklam near Sikkim, it has appeared that the People's Liberation Army has started constructing a road about 10 to 12 km from the site where the two armies were locked in a faceoff, Hindustan Times reported.

According to the army sources, PLA has started constructing a road in Chumbi valley but that area was already under the Chinese control and any sort of development in this area did not have strategic implications for India.

As per the sources, The same equipment and workers are being used to strengthen an existing kutcha road about 10-12 km from the last faceoff site. The area is under their control.

On August 28, both the countries had agreed to pull back troops to end the months-long Dokalam face-off. Troops of the two countries have been locked in a standoff in Dokalam since June 16 after Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the disputed area.

Also Read: Post-Doklam dispute, China issues fresh travel advisory for tourists visiting India

Indian troops intervened to stop Chinese troops from building the road close to the strategic Chicken Neck, the narrow corridor connecting Indias mainland with its North East.

India said Chinas road building also violated the 2012 agreement between the Special Representatives of India and China to resolve the boundary issue. The agreement referred to the strategic tri-junction between India, China, and Bhutan.

Developments in the Dokalam standoff came after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China to attend a summit of BRICS. After that, China pulled back its bulldozers and other road-constructing equipment.

According to the paper Looking Beyond Doklam, a think tank set up by the defence ministry a decade ago, to demonstrate strength as peace along the disputed border or Line of Actual Control (LAC) is important for India will be constantly and continuously under stress with increase in frequency, intensity, and depth of (Chinese) transgressions leading to more and more standoffs.

Also Read: Left Doklam behind, working with India to take relationship forward, says China

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Too Close

Rating:

Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change The World

Rating:

Statistics show were drinking 20 per cent more at home in lockdown, slinging back an extra half a billion litres of booze last year.

I think Ive worked out where its all going. Uptight middle-class characters in psychological TV thrillers are guzzling it all.

Every moment of melodrama in last weeks mad C5 extravaganza, Intruder, saw an actor drain a giant glass brimming with vino.

Too Close (ITV) is telly of the same vintage. If this three-part drama was a wine, it would be a 2.99 bottle of plonk with a whiff of meths  the sort you might get as a tombola prize at the school fete.

If three-part drama Too Close was a wine, it would be a 2.99 bottle of plonk with a whiff of meths

Emily Watson is Emma, a morose psychiatrist who blots out her stressful job by downing shelf loads of cheap wine.

Shes analysing a would-be child-killer dubbed the Yummy Mummy Monster, played by Denise Gough. YMM appears to be modelled on Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs. Every remark she makes is barbed, working its way under Emmas skin.

With one glance at Emmas sensible shoes, YMM sizes up her marriage to Si, the nice but dim hubby... its all such a sham, isnt it? she mocks.

Convinced that her patient can read her every emotion, Emma is going to pieces. Before seducing Si in the kitchen  no mean feat, since the chap wears his braces the whole time  she has to neck half a bottle.

But that was practically abstinence, compared with the way she knocked it back at a dinner party. One immense glass of red went down like a yard of ale.

Next day, the hangover caught up with Emma in the middle of an interrogation. While she was doubled over, the YMM tried on her jacket, went through her phone and stole her lighter.

All this takes place at a supposedly secure psychiatric facility while the patient, Connie, awaits trial for attempted murder. She drove off a bridge into a river, with her daughter and a neighbours child in the car.

Despite this, were expected to have some sympathy with Connie. She suffered a breakdown brought on by the pressures of parenting and being married to a useless drip.

Its all achingly right-on, of course, set in the kind of North London suburb where neighbours share joints and paint each others faces on picnics. I expect Ill keep watching, but itll require another trip to the off licence.

Documentary Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World offered no solutions for climate change, but it did remind us that this elfin protester is very much still a child

The pressures of parenting weighed heavily on Svante Thunberg, whose teenage daughter Greta decided she was going to change the world. All teenagers go through this phase. The difference with Greta was that the world replied: Righto, well schedule some international conferences and meetings with prime ministers.

She admitted, in Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World (BBC1), that she wasnt expecting this. For reasons I dont understand, people listen when I talk, she said.

Preparing for a speech to climate scientists and politicians in Canada, she asked her father whether he ever wished shed taken up something simpler, like ballet. I do, he sighed. I do, I do. And then, with real emphasis, he added: I do.

The documentary offered no solutions for climate change, but it did remind us that this elfin protester is very much still a child.

Because she is sincere and articulate, the eco movement has adopted her as its figurehead. But shes still simply a teenager with a conscience, and I dont blame her dad for being so concerned.
A woman who illegally imported pangolin scales and sold them to an undercover officer from her Southeast Portland store was sentenced Monday to three years of federal probation.

Agnes Yu, 53, who has owned Wing Ming Herbs on Southeast 82nd Avenue with her husband for about 20 years, said the scales are believed to have medicinal properties and used to help promote the production of breast milk in women who have just given birth.

Yu admitted to ordering the pangolin scales from an importer in San Francisco and selling 30 grams of the scales to the undercover officer for $165 in November 2017, according to a prosecutor.

Personnel at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory later confirmed the scales had been taken from a pangolin, a species of scaled anteater-like mammals endemic to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Yu pleaded guilty to the single misdemeanor charge of reckless sale of wildlife illegally imported.

All commercial trafficking in pangolins is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as CITES.

Federal prosecutors say Yu was aware of the restrictions on such restricted plants and wildlife but didnt comply. They said she also repeatedly exported the herbal remedy ginseng to customers in China in 2017 and 2018 without a required certificate.

On July 24, 2018, an undercover agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also purchased from Wing Ming Herbs giant sea horses and 14 shark fins - four of which came from scalloped hammerhead sharks protected by the Endangered Species Act, prosecutors said.

That day, the federal agency searched the store with a warrant and seized other pangolin scales, ground Asian elephant ivory and 11 penises and 15 gall bladders of red deer protected by the Endangered Species Act, according to court records.

Yu agreed to abandon all the wildlife seized in the search warrant, which included thousands of additional wildlife items, prosecutors said.

on July 24, 2018, an undercover agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased giant sea horses and 14 shark fins - four of which came from scalloped hammerhead sharks protected by the Endangered Species Act - from the couple's Wing Ming Herbs store, prosecutors said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Bounds recommended requiring Yu to complete 200 hours of community service as part of her probation. Bounds suggested the court order her to help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other experts create an instructional and culturally specific Power Point presentation that can be used to raise public awareness about the wildlife laws.

Yus defense lawyer Matthew Schindler objected to such a requirement, noting that his client is a mother who runs a business and wouldnt have that amount of time to dedicate to such an endeavor. However, he said that his client and her husband would be willing to volunteer to help advance community awareness and improve government policy.

U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown did not require Yu to do the community service but said if she does invest some time volunteering to assist the federal wildlife agency, that her efforts could help her if she wishes to reduce her probationary period in the future.

Agnes Yu declined to address the judge, but her husband Ken Yu did instead.

These fish and wildlife laws have never been really clear as to what is OK and whats not, he said.

He agreed that community education and outreach is needed, and he and his wife would volunteer to assist with that.

Its a little too late for us, he added. We were never trying to break the law. We were just never clear.

Federal officers confiscated these giant sea horses from Wing Ming Herbs, according to prosecutors.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office, along with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Protection Quarantine, and the Oregon State Police, were involved in the investigation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting Americas wildlife from poaching and illegal commercialization. It encourages anyone with information on such crimes to call 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or email fws_tips@fws.gov.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
New Delhi: Due to the night curfew, many couples have minimized their grand wedding parties and some have cancelled the programmes.

"Night curfew has affected our business. Due to restrictions on movement, we're facing issues in setting up venues", said a banquet hall owner.

This Cancelation of programmes and changes in timing is making wedding planners change their venues. Wedding planners were moving towards Gurgram to carry on with their work as there were no such night curfews and restrictions on the members attending the functions.

But now the Haryana government has also imposed a night curfew from 9 pm till 5 am, with effect from Monday (April 13). The number of active cases in Haryana has doubled in the last 11 days, from 10,300 on April 1 to over 20,000 on April 11.

The state government have also imposed restriction on the number of persons attending the programmes hence maximum wedding businesses are going to Gurgram. Some of the banquet hall owners who are not able to move their business are changing the timings of the functions.

"Due to the night curfew in place, we have decided to organize functions between 3 pm and 8:30 pm so that guests can timely leave for their homes", said a banquet hall owner.

In order to contain the COVID-19 spread in the national capital, the state government imposed night curfew, from 10 pm to 5 am, till April, 30.

It is worth noting that in Delhi the current COVID-19 wave has crossed the previous record, with over 11,000 cases being reported in a day on Monday (April 12).

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Government lawyers defending the Air Force in the Sutherland Springs mass shooting trial said Devin Kelleys supervisors could not foresee that he would open fire at the First Baptist Church and kill 26 parishioners three years after he was forced out of the service.

They also claimed Tuesday that Kelley could have gotten his guns other than through licensed gun dealers. Its a critical issue in the trial to determine whether to hold the Air Force liable for its failure to report Kelleys criminal conviction to the national firearms database, a procedure that would have prevented him from legally buying weapons from a licensed dealer.

The government is trying to convince U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez that even if he finds the Air Force liable after the trial ends next week, the Air Force shares liability with Kelley and Academy Sports and Outdoors, where he bought the assault rifle he used in the massacre.

Families of victims of the Nov. 5, 2017, shooting sued the Air Force for not reporting his 2012 domestic violence conviction. He served a year in prison before the Air Force discharged him for bad conduct. The military and government agencies long have been required to report felony convictions to the national firearms database.

Testimony in the trial last week established that the Air Force knew when Kelley was at Holloman AFB in New Mexico that he had sexually and physically abused teens when he was younger, physically abused women he had relationships with and a stepson, bought guns, threatened to kill his own leadership and had mental issues leading to violence.

On ExpressNews.com: Sutherland Springs documentary 'Miracle on 4th Street' focuses on victims, survivors of 2017 church shooting

At one point, the Air Force got a restraining order barring Kelley from Holloman. In a pretrial ruling declining to dismiss the suit, the judge wrote that the Air Force had more than 20 opportunities to correct its failure to report his conviction to the National Instant Criminal Back (NICS) background check system.

Government lawyer Paul Stern argued that many incidents involving Kelley were only allegations, or specifications (charges) that Kelley was not convicted of, and did not require the Air Force to report Kelley to NICS.

Stern has listed five points summarizing laws or legal precedent that the feds believe shield the Air Force from liability over the failure to flag Kelley. Among them, Stern argued, was that the Air force had no duty to protect the public because it was not foreseeable that Kelley would have committed the mass shooting.

Calling Sterns argument interesting, the judge noted earlier testimony from one of Kelleys supervisors who told agents investigating the massacre that when Kelley arrived at Holloman, the supervisor and coworkers were concerned Kelley might later kill us all.

You know the Air Force foresaw that he was a danger, Rodriguez said. So the Air Force potentially knew he could potentially be a mass shooter and so they foresaw this, or could have foreseen this.

Im not making any final rulings now. Theres fact issues still remaining that would cause this motion to be denied on the forseeability issue, Rodriguez added. But the Air Force was concerned enough to get a restraining order placed against him that would bar him from re-entering the facility, so apparently the Air Force was protecting themselves. Its disappointing (to hear this argument) from the government that...they had no duty to protect the rest of us.

Kelley, who was in the Air Force from 2010 to 2014, was leveled with several specifications while in the service, including pointing a gun at his first wifes head during domestic violence incidents. Some of his problems were handled at Holloman AFB with letters of reprimand.

In his court martial, he pleaded guilty to two specifications: Hitting, kicking and choking his first wife between June 24, 2011 and April 27, 2012, and assaulting her infant son with his hands between April 27, 2011 and June 16, 2011. As part of a plea deal, he was confined for one year in military jail and given a bad conduct discharge in 2014.

William Ryan, assistant chief counsel for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified Tuesday that only Kelleys guilty plea of the abuse of the child, because it was a domestic violence conviction and because of the boys young age, would have prohibited Kelley from legally buying a firearm.

Neither specification Kelley pleaded guilty to involved a gun, another way one gets flagged, Ryan said.

Because all other specifications were withdrawn or dismissed, could they be considered in determining whether Kelley was prohibited under the Gun Control Act?, Stern, the government lawyer, asked Ryan.

No, they would not have been relevant under the statutory prohibitors, Ryan replied.

Did any conduct other than these two specifications create an obligation by the Air Force to submit Devin Kelleys information to NICS? Stern asked.

No sir, not under the Gun Control Act, Ryan said.

If Devin Kelley was not adjudicated a mental defect, or involuntarily committed, could his mental health issues create an obligation by the Air Force to submit information to NICS? Stern asked.

Not as it pertains to prohibitors under the Gun Control Act, sir, Ryan replied.

Records shown Tuesday show Kelley bought all three guns recovered after the massacre at dealers: A 9mm pistol at Specialty Sports & Supply in Colorado Springs on Dec. 22, 2014; the assault rifle at Academy in San Antonio on April 7, 2016; and a .22-caliber pistol at another Academy on Oct. 10, 2017.

On ExpressNews.com: Feds blame Kelley for lying on a gun purchase form

Ryan implied that Academy shares fault over the tragedy for selling Kelley the assault rifle, which came with a 30-round magazine. Kelley used his Colorado drivers license to buy it, and Colorado banned large-capacity magazines in 2013. Ryan said the Gun Control Act makes it unlawful for a licensed gun dealer to violate the law in another state during a gun sale.

Was it a violation of federal law? Stern asked.

Yes sir, it was, Ryan answered.

Academy has denied any wrongdoing. It is not a defendant in the federal lawsuit, but the families sued it separately in state court. The case is pending at the Texas Supreme Court.

Another defense witness, retired ATF agent Steve Barberini, testified that Kelley could have gotten a similar assault rifle anywhere besides a licensed dealer.

AR-15s are the most popular gun out there, said Barberini, who trains agents under contract at the ATF academy. If he wanted the same model, he just had to search longer.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
[April 13, 2021] ADTANCE Connects with Starlink to Deliver Livestream Remote Assistance in Locations without Conventional Internet Access

DETROIT, April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ADTANCE, a leading international After-Sales Service technology platform provider for manufactures, industrial companies and mechanical engineering organizations, today announced its ADTANCE Support and Fieldstreaming solution has been optimized to work with the Starlink beta, an innovative high-speed, low-latency broadband satellite internet. The combined solution marks the first time multi-camera fieldstreaming video customer support is possible in locations where internet access is not currently available or reliable.

With Starlink, ADTANCE enables customer support technicians across the globe to provide multi-camera video assistance to users located in rural and remote areas, including the middle of the ocean, deep in a rainforest or inside an underground building where WiFi and mobile data connections are not possible. Starlink, a division of SpaceX, is a satellite internet constellation that is not bound by traditional ground infrastructure and has been designed to deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations of the globe where connectivity has typically been a challenge. Starlink satellites are over 60 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, resulting in lower latency and the ability to support services typically not possible with traditional satellite internet. The demand for live remote video customer support, testing and training in has skyrocketed globally due to COVID-19 mandates combined with the shortage of highly skilled technicians available to work on increasingly complex machines. However, live remote support can be challenging for companies that have machinery located in remote areas, underground, at sea or in other areas where internet connections are not possible. Our customers operate in almost every continent  some i very remote areas where conventional mobile connection reaches its limits, said Moritz Seger, Digital Transformation Manager at ZAHORANSKY AG and ADTANCE customer. The ability to use Starlink in combination with the ADTANCE Support and Fieldstreaming solution is very promising for our company and our customers. This solution allows us to gain independence from internationally varying conditions and poorly developed mobile networks in rural areas. We already use ADTANCE solutions on a daily basis in our global customer service and with the combination of both solutions, we are well prepared for the future.



As a supplier of airfield tankers operating around the world in the most isolated areas, we rely on reliable and fast communication for our service, said Nico Hanemann, Head of Aviation Department, for Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Esterer GmbH & Co. Fahrzeugaufbauten und Anlagen KG and ADTANCE customer. The combination of the innovative remote assistance solution we already have in place with ADTANCE Support along with Starlink provides this capability and is also unbeatable in terms of cost. With Starlink our customers will experience the best quality livestream customer support with nearly no latency anywhere in the world, said Nils Arnold, CEO and co-Founder of ADTANCE. Even in the middle of an ocean or deep in the rainforest it is possible to use our multi-camera fieldstreaming video assistance with a high speed internet connection. This means that every place can now be serviced remotely, even where there wasnt internet access in the past.

ADTANCE customers need to have Starlink installed in order to utilize it with the ADTANCE Support and Fieldstreaming solution. The Starlink beta is now available in most locales, with new regions being added on a regular basis. ADTANCE Support and Fieldstreaming The ADTANCE Fieldstreaming solution is the first live remote support software capable of connecting every type of camera to the system, including cameras within smartphones, tablets, computers, security cameras, drones and underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs). ADTANCE Support users can live stream views of machines from various angles simultaneously significantly improving live support, remote training and long distance collaboration in the field. The solution can be implemented by using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets or by wearing smartglasses. About ADTANCE ADTANCE is a leading international After-Sales Service technology platform provider for manufactures, industrial companies and mechanical engineering organizations. The ADTANCE Smart Service Platform is the only solution that digitizes the entire After Sales Service lifecycle from live remote support to predictive maintenance and resource planning. More than 500 companies in industries such as manufacturing, automotive, chemical, mechanical engineering, oil and gas rely on ADTANCE solutions. Founded in 2015, ADTANCE is privately held with headquarters in Wald-Michelbach, Germany and offices in Detroit, Michigan USA as well as Stade, Germany. For more information, visit www.adtance.com and follow @adtance. All trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners. Media Contact:

Michele Nachum

Reichert Communications, LLC

michele@reichertcom.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8cc80a97-3518-4f21-9af7-0e098c393d56



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The Russian Embassy in the United States has reproached the U.S. State Department for distorting the memory of the first Earth cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

"Regrettably, the U.S. State Department has again demonstrated memory loss regarding the history of space exploration. We wish to remind that the UN General Assembly declared April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight in memory of the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On this day 60 years ago, in 1961, he was the first in the history of mankind to complete a space flight around the Earth," the Embassy said in a comment on its Facebook page.

Earlier, the U.S. State Department posted on its Russian-language Facebook page a statement on occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight, without mentioning Gagarins name. The State Department also published a statement on its Twitter account, congratulating all U.S. astronauts and not saying a word about the first Soviet cosmonaut.

The Russian Embassy noted that Gagarins bust was at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. Sculptures of Yuri Gagarin also were erected in Cleveland, Colorado Springs, New York City, Houston and Chicago. "Thousands of Americans, including astronauts and NASA personnel, visit these sites every year to honor the memory of the Soviet cosmonaut," the statement said.

The diplomatic mission also quoted the message from the U.S. President John F. Kennedy to the Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev after Gagarins flight, which is available in the State Departments archives: "The people of the United States share with the people of the Soviet Union their satisfaction for the safe flight of the astronaut in mans first venture into space. We congratulate you and the Soviet scientists and engineers who made this feat possible."

"As early as April 9, 2021, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei went to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft named after Yuri Gagarin. Lets hope that these facts will help American diplomats in the future not to be shy to say out loud the name of the first cosmonaut on Earth," TASS cited the Embassy as saying.
Embattled Tarrant Fire Chief Jason Rickels was fired Monday by the citys mayor, a month after Rickels was arrested in Georgia on assault and other charges after he allegedly pulled a gun on an Atlanta realtor and her photographer at a property he owns there.

The city of Tarrant considers these actions absolutely irresponsible and reckless, said Mayor Wayman Newton in a statement Monday announcing Rickelss termination. This type of conduct will not be tolerated, and employees that choose to engage in such behavior will be dealt with swiftly and severely.

Rickels told AL.com that neither the mayor nor anyone else from the city told him he was fired.

This is kind of news to me. I have not been notified, he said. If Im terminated, Im hearing it from you.

Roswell, Georgia police claimed Rickels brandished a gun on the realtor and smashed her photographers camera during the March 12 incident, charging the ex-fire chief with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, and second-degree criminal damage to property.

The real estate agent, Regina Lee of PalmerHouse Properties, and the photographer, Dwayne Clifford Boddie, owner of Dope Videos unlimited, claimed to Atlanta media they were targeted because they are Black.

Roswell police officers responded at 3:33 p.m. Friday to a reported disturbance at 185 Spring Drive.

A neighbor summoned police stating there were eight to 10 people outside of the house, which is for sale, and they were about to fight, according to the police report. Dispatch advised the responding officer that property was damaged, people were attempting to break into the house and one person had brandished a gun.

When the first officer arrived on the scene, Rickels and his wife, Melody, were there, along with Lee and Boddie. They were standing about 100 feet apart from one another and arguing, according to the report.

The officer said he asked who had a gun and Rickels responded that he did, and then complied with the officers request to let him have the 9mmm Ruger.

Lee and Boddie told police that Lee had scheduled a viewing of the home through First Multiple Listing Service, which the officer verified had been scheduled to take place from 3:10 p.m. until 4:10 p.m.

Lee said she hired Boddie and six other people, including makeup artist Alexis Brown, to take photos of Lee for her marketing portfolio. The police report noted that Lee was wearing a black pantsuit with high-heel shoes and Boddie was dressed in black with a company logo on his shirt.

Lee said she received a call from the property owners realtor about 3:20 p.m. asking her and the others to leave. All of the other contractors had already left, and it was about 3:30 p.m. when Lee, Boddie and Brown prepared to leave.

They said Rickels arrived in an SUV and blocked in Boddies vehicle. Jason (Rickels) asked him, What are you doing? to which Dwayne (Boddie) stated he was doing video for a job and showed Jason his camera to prove what he was doing.'

Boddie said Rickels grabbed the camera, smashed it on the ground and said, not here, youre not.

Lee, Boddie and Brown said Rickels then pulled his gun. The officer said there were conflicting statements as to when Rickels brandished the weapon. The trio said Rickels threatened to shoot Boddie if he moved.

Rickels and his wife told police they were notified by their realtor that Lee wanted to view the home, so Melody Rickels left to go to the grocery store while the viewing took place.

Melody Rickels then saw on her Ring camera that eight to 10 people were going in the house and she interpreted the viewing as a scam and the groups intent was to burglarize the home because they were bringing bags into the home.

They said they also believed it was a scam because the group did not leave immediately when asked to do so. The officer noted a 10-to-15 minute lapse. Melody called her husband and said she was calling the police because she thought the house was being burglarized.

Rickels told police he approached a vehicle, in which Boddie was sitting, and confronted him about what he was doing at the house. The chief said Boddie grabbed a black object from the car and brought it towards him. Rickels said he feared it was a gun and grabbed it from Boddie. It turned out to be a camera, which was thrown to the ground and shattered.

The chief also told police Boddie and 3  6 other (B)lack males approached him aggressively while he was on the phone with 911. He described the aggression as yelling at him, cussing at him and one person having his hand at his pants waistband which he interpreted as him possibly having a weapon.

Rickels told police he then pulled his own gun and said if anyone approached him, he would shoot. He then went behind his vehicles passenger side door.

A neighbor told police she saw one of the contractors pull out a long automatic rifle from his vehicle. The officer noted that no one else reported seeing that, and the officer believed what the neighbor saw was actually a pole used for lighting in photography.

Both Rickels and Boddie told police they each had been in fear for their life. Nothing was reported missing from the home. Rickels said he believed the group was trespassing on his property.

Rickels was held overnight in the Fulton County Jail before he was released on bond.
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A mother today described Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi as walking with a 'swagger' moments before he murdered 22 innocent bystanders and injured hundreds of others.

Suzanne Atkins had to desperately search for her daughter on the floor of the City Room, where victims lay dead or dying after the blast in May 2017, the public inquiry into the terror attack heard.

Mrs Atkins had gone to pick up her daughter and her daughter's friend, who had been attending their first concert to see Ariana Grande perform.

The college lecturer had seen Abedi, who passed within a metre of her, carrying a large rucksack on his back, 'walking with purpose' as he crossed the foyer.

Abedi was surrounded by parents awaiting the crowds of excited youngsters emerging at the end of the gig. Mrs Atkins said in a statement to police read to the inquiry: 'He was stooped and had a bit of a swagger about him.

Salman Abedi (pictured) was described as walking with a 'swagger' moments before he murdered 22 innocent bystanders

A CCTV still image of Salman Abedi at Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, moments before he detonated his bomb

'He looked out of place in amongst a crowd of young girls and families whilst everyone else was looking around and towards the exits. He just seemed to be different and have a purpose. Knowing where he was going. I only saw him that once for a matter of seconds whilst I was crowd-watching but he stuck in my mind.'

Seconds later, Manchester-born Abedi, 22, detonated his device, sending thousands of nuts and bolts flying, the shrapnel shredding everything in its path.

Giving evidence, Mrs Atkins continued: 'I think the bang came first, I could only see orange in my field of sight so it felt like a flash. It felt like something had rolled into me but was burning into my legs.'

Mrs Atkins then 'went on 'auto-pilot' to find her daughter and her friend but amidst the chaos was told 'another one' had gone off. She added: 'I assumed that was inside the Arena, so I thought that was worst.

Scenes close to Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017 following the terror attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert

Police at the scene of the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017 which saw 22 people killed and hundreds more hurt

'I thought what had happened inside the Arena must have been bigger. I thought I might have lost my daughter and her friend, so I had to get inside. I felt the need to get in.

'I saw what had happened and realised at that point what had happened.'

She tried to get into the Arena to find her daughter but was blocked by a steward at the doors. 'And I could not get in, so I started to search where I could in the City Room. I searched the floor.'

Mrs Atkins said she also tried to make telephone contact with her daughter. 'It kept ringing out, over and over,' she said, but then felt an 'intense and almost unreal sense of relief' when she finally got through.

'Eventually she did, she answered,' she said. 'I just heard this quiet voice - she's got a very quiet voice. I think I just asked her if she was OK, then the telephone went off again.'

Charred clothing recovered after Abedi set off his bomb at Manchester Arena in the terror attack on May 22, 2017

Shrapnel that was recovered after Abedi set off his bomb after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on May 22

Also today, the inquiry heard a teenager and her best friend were injured in the terror attack as they passed just yards from the suicide bomber as he detonated his device.

Amelia 'Millie' Tomlinson was linking arms with Lucy Jarvis as the elated teenagers left the concert.

Just yards away was stood Salman Abedi, surrounded by parents, waiting for the crowds of youngsters to emerge into the City Room foyer of the venue.

Both teenagers, then aged 17, were injured as a smiling Abedi detonated his device, sending nuts and bolts shredding everything in their path and killing 22 bystanders in the terror attack.

Ms Tomlinson, now aged 21, from Wigan, told the public inquiry sitting in Manchester: 'As we came through the foyer I remember I had my phone because I was going to phone my mum.

A Greater Manchester Police graphic showing where pieces of shrapnel ended up after Abedi set off his bomb in May 2017

The kitchen-lounge in the Granby House apartment in Manchester where Abedi lived for the four days before the bombing

'All of a sudden I felt like this warm gush of air hit me and I felt really warm, like when you jump in a pool. I felt my body getting thrown around. I remember going into a ball. I had my eyes closed.

'I opened my eyes, I could see loads of smoke. I could see loads of people on the ground, like the victims, on the ground. I could see Lucy and me had been blown apart.

'We both just looked at each other and knew something really bad had happened and we managed to get up and run back through the doors. I remember feeling like I could not run, but did not know why.

'A bolt had gone through my shoe and foot. I could tell Lucy was quite severely injured. At this point Lucy sat down on the steps and said she could not walk and was going to die, and I could tell she was losing lots of blood.'

Mourners viewing tributes at St Ann's Square in Manchester on May 29, 2017, a week after the Manchester Arena attack

A woman places a candle on a stone at St Ann's Square in Manchester on May 29, 2017, a week after the attack in the city

Ms Tomlinson had also suffered injuries to her fingers and struggled to work a phone, but managed to call Ms Jarvis's mother to say there had been a bombing.

She and Ms Jarvis had grown up watching Grande on TV children's channel Nickelodeon and were excited to see her perform, listening to her albums as they spent hours choosing outfits and getting ready, she told the inquiry.

Ms Jarvis was taken from the Arena by emergency responders and Robert MacFarlane, a first aider working for the Arena, wrapped Ms Tomlinson's injured fingers up and took her outside.

The street was in 'chaos', Ms Tomlinson said, but she managed to meet up with her mother and grandmother, who had driven them to the event, and Mr MacFarlane drove them all to Manchester Royal Infirmary so the injured teenager could be treated.

Ms Jarvis is due to give evidence via videolink later today. The public inquiry, sitting in Manchester, is looking at the events surrounding the bombing by Abedi on May 22, 2017. The hearing continues.
Senator Bill Hagerty on Tuesday blamed the Biden administration "for bringing the border crisis to communities like Chattanooga."

He said, This inhumane crisis, which the Biden Administration generated by dismantling commonsense border security and immigration enforcement measures, was completely avoidable. When I urged President Biden not to end the Migrant Protection Protocols, I warned that returning to a catch-and-release policy would bring the crisis to communities across the United States.

Making every town a border town. A reality now being seen in Chattanooga.

"Drug trafficking is on the rise across Tennessee, and most disturbingly, the well-being of minor children is now jeopardized at the hands of smugglers forcing them to make the dangerous journey north. The Volunteer State is loving and welcoming, but no child should be put in this perilous position.

"The obvious way to end the crisis is to enhance border security and enforce our immigration laws, yet the Biden Administration is doubling down on ineffectual solutions. Its unconscionable that they are keeping our borders open.
The Biden administration has struck an agreement with a trio of Central American nations to temporarily surge security forces to their borders in an effort to reduce the tide of immigration to the U.S. border.

The agreement comes as the U.S. saw a record number of unaccompanied children attempting to cross the border in March, and the largest number of Border Patrol encounters overall with migrants on the southern border  just under 170,000  since March 2001.

According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Mexico will maintain a deployment of about 10,000 troops, while Guatemala has surged 1,500 police and military personnel to its southern border and Honduras deployed 7,000 police and military to its border to disperse a large contingent of migrants there. Guatemala will also set up 12 checkpoints along the migratory route through the country.

A White House official said Guatemala and Honduras were deploying troops temporarily in response to a large caravan of migrants that was being organized at the end of March. The Mexican government announced an increase in security and its troop deployment in March.

Psaki said that the objective is to make it more difficult to make the journey, and make crossing the borders more difficult.

She added that the agreement was the product of a series of bilateral discussions between U.S. officials and the governments of the Central American nations. While Vice President Kamala Harris has been tasked with leading diplomatic efforts to tamp down on the increase in migration at the U.S. border, Psaki declined to share details on her involvement with the discussions and said only that the discussions happened at several levels."

She noted that Roberta Jacobson, who will depart her role as the administration's southwest border coordinator at the end of the month, was involved in talks.

The increase in migrants at the border is becoming one of the major challenges confronting Biden in the early months of his first term.

Numbers grew sharply during Trumps final year in office but further accelerated under Biden, who quickly ended many of his predecessors policies, including one that made asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for court hearings in the U.S.

Mexicans represented the largest proportion of people encountered by the U.S. Border Patrol, and nearly all were single adults. Arrivals of people from Honduras and Guatemala were second and third, respectively, and more than half of the people from those countries were families or children traveling alone.

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image & headline may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)
Hyundai Motor Company has officially launched its new Staria multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) lineup via a digital world premiere, establishing a model for its future Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs).

Starias debut furthers Hyundai Motors transformation as a Smart Mobility Solution Provider and embodies the companys inside-out design methodology that emphasises interior spaciousness and usability. Staria is Hyundais response to shifting consumer needs by offering them purposeful, innovative features and redefining in-car travel experiences in line with the companys vision of Progress for Humanity.

Staria is available in 2- to 11-seat configurations and in two variants: Staria and Staria Premium, the latter elevating mobility to the next level with upgraded features and variant-exclusive finishes for a more luxurious look and feel.

We are thrilled to introduce Staria, which represents our latest effort to spearhead the evolution of mobility, and to address emerging lifestyle needs as we adapt to new ways of living, said Thomas Schemera, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer. Staria is a step forward in connecting us more closely with our environments so that we can get more out of our everyday lives and do more for ourselves in transit.

Staria will go on sale in select markets starting from the second half of 2021.

Evoking the streamlined form of a spaceship, Starias sleek exterior is defined by a single stroke running from front to rear  inspired by the curve of light that illuminates the Earths horizon at sunrise when viewed from space.

Starias front is embellished with horizontal daytime running lights (DRLs) and a positioning lamp, together running across the width of the vehicle, complemented by a bold, wide radiator grille with a unique pattern. Its clean silhouette is further accented by a pair of low-set headlamps. Hyundai uses the same body color for all frontal parts to maximise the vehicles modern and pure style.

Staria Premium model features a variant-exclusive tinted brass chrome treatment, applied to the Hyundai emblem, grille, headlamp bezels, front and rear bumpers, wheels, side mirrors and door handles to emphasise the vehicles premium and modern look.

Lowered beltlines and panoramic side windows improve overall visibility and create a feeling of openness. This sense of spaciousness  inspired by traditional Korean hanok architecture  allows passengers to feel as if the outside scenes are an extension of the vehicle interior.

The design theme carries over to the rear, featuring a wide window framed by elongated vertical tail lamps, with Staria Premium models receiving Hyundais unique Parametric Pixel lamp design and garnish on top. The rear bumper is lowered so passengers can easily load and unload cargo.

Staria models are available in eight exterior colours: Abyss Black Pearl, Creamy White, Graphite Gray Metallic, Moonlight Blue Pearl, Shimmering Silver Metallic, Dynamic Yellow, Olivine Gray Metallic and Gaia Brown Pearl.

Staria interior applies a simple and modest layout to highlight drivers convenience and passengers comfort, while staying faithful to its original value as an MPV. The cruise ship-inspired interior delivers an open and unique atmosphere through its innovative design architecture. The vehicles lower beltlines and panoramic windows create a spacious, stimulating environment for all passengers.

The driver and passenger seats in the first-row are designed to offer a feeling of space and comfort. Starias simple interior layout focuses only on the essentials to provide more room and flexibility to passengers. A glove compartment in the first-row passengers seat is moved forward to provide extra legroom space.

The drivers seat has a futuristic high-tech look with an advanced 10.25-inch front display screen, touch-based centre fascia and a button-type electronic shift lever. The digital cluster is located on top of the dashboard, providing an unobstructed view for the driver.

Storage space is available on top of the overhead console, bottom of the cluster, and top and bottom of the centre fascia. Both driver and passengers also have access to a centre console equipped with cup holders, USB ports and additional storage space.

Staria Premium offers a variety of additional interior features that will transform the passengers mobility experience. The 7-seat Premium model is equipped with Premium Relaxation Seats in the second row that recline electronically and also have sliding capabilities for easy reach or to maximise cargo space. The one-touch relaxation mode makes the seats recline automatically to a posture that comfortably disperses the passengers weight and improves overall body balance.

Even when the seats are reclined by this mode, there is enough room for an adult passenger to sit comfortably in the third row, thanks to Starias spacious interior layout.

The 9-seat Premium models individual seats in the second row can swivel 180 degrees to face passengers in the third row. This makes Staria Premium ideal for corporate vehicles or mobile offices as passengers can turn their seats around and conduct meetings face to face. Families will also find these swiveling seats convenient as rear-facing passengers will have easy access to those seated in the third row.

A 64-colour ambient mood lamp, available in all Staria Premium variants, provides a lush interior atmosphere. The harmonious direct and indirect lighting can selectively illuminate the cockpit, console, doors and cargo areas. The premium feeling is further enhanced by the Bose sound system.

Additionally, Starias generous legroom is among the best in its segment and can be converted into expansive additional cargo space when all seats are pushed together  made possible by the versatile long sliding seat function. Moreover, the full-flat mode applied to rear passenger seats of Staria standard model makes this vehicle the perfect choice for activities that require a lot of room and interior flexibility, such as camping and equipment-intensive sports.

Staria is not just reinterpreting spatiality, but also reimagining time spent in transit for the future. Designing for mobility isnt about vehicle design. Its about designing to accommodate a variety of lifestyles, said SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Hyundai Design.

Starias interior space and functionalities aim to transform how people experience in-car travel, optimising journeys by making the most of time in transit.

Starias interior is available in these colours: Black, Black and Beige two-tone, Black and Blue two-tone. The Premium variant offers additional options of Gray and Brown two-tone as well as Gray and Light Gray two-tone.

Starias innovative interior space utilisation is made possible by the MPVs 3,273-mm wheelbase with an overall length of 5,253 mm and width of 1,997 mm. Its overall height of 1,990 mm is optimised for passengers to conveniently enter and exit the vehicle and is high enough for an average school-aged child to stand upright and move with ease.

The cargo space availability varies depending on how the seating configurations are arranged. The 2- and 3-seater, optimised for business use, offers maximum cargo space of almost 5,000 litres.

The cargo space dimensions have also been increased to carry three Euro pallets at once. Staria offers powertrain options of a diesel-powered 2.2-liter VGT engine and a gasoline-powered Smartstream G6DIII 3.5-liter MPI engine.

The diesel engine is newly improved and mated with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, delivering an estimated power output of 177 PS and 44 kgf-m of torque. Its high-efficiency, air-cooled turbocharger has an improved compressor and turbine wheel performance for better low speed torque performance.

The gasoline-powered G6DIII 3.5-L MPI is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, delivering an estimated power output of 272 PS and 33.8 kgf-m of torque. Its integrated thermal management system provides fuel efficiency improvement by optimising control of coolant temperature according to vehicle operating conditions. An integrated roller swing arm helps to further improve fuel efficiency by reducing friction. New stainless-steel castings help improve exhaust interference for more power.

Hyundai Motor optimised each powertrain option for low noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), better shift sensation for high torque performance and improved acceleration. It also optimised the direct valve control body for increased hydraulic efficiency, the oil pump for fuel efficiency, and the multi-plate torque converter for control and fuel efficiency.

Mechanical upgrades also resulted in improved ride comfort thanks to the application of a multi-link suspension at the rear axle. Starias upright inclination angle and lever ratio of shock absorbers also contribute to improved ride comfort. Likewise, upgrades in brake calipers and discs provide stable stopping power even with the models large size.

On top of mechanical upgrades, aerodynamic upper body design and under body improvements result in improved drag coefficient for better fuel economy.

Staria has secured the highest level of vehicle safety. Staria offers an option to add as many as six airbags 4 , and all seats come with three-point seat belts and headrests. Safety is further bolstered by smart features such as Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA) and Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA).

Staria also offers other safety features. Wireless Module Seat Belt Reminder (WM-SBR), the worlds first seat belt reminder system using wireless communications technology, enables passengers to enjoy the benefits of seat belt reminder and long sliding capabilities at the same time. In a situation where a passenger attempts to open the power sliding door while a rear-side vehicle is passing by, Safe Exit Assist (SEA) prevents the door from opening. Rear Occupant Alert (ROA), available in select markets, uses a radar sensor to detect and alert the driver if a rear passenger is left in the car after exiting the vehicle.

Staria also comes with Hyundais smart infotainment system and is equipped with a wide-angle camera that enables the driver and front passenger to view rear passengers in the back seat on display screen. Families can use this feature to conveniently monitor children and pets, while business users such as ride-hailing services also will benefit from this feature. The infotainment system also enables the driver and front passenger to communicate with rear passengers using a unique speaker function that allows all occupants to clearly hear one another. The infotainment system also enables the driver and front passenger to communicate to rear passengers with a unique speaker function so that all occupants of the vehicle can clearly hear one another.

Moving forward, Hyundai plans to launch Special Vehicle lineups of Staria, such as limousines, ambulances and camping car. In addition, eco-friendly variants of Staria are scheduled to be added in upcoming years.-- Tradearabia News Service
Napa County reported 50 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, reflecting confirmed cases since Friday's report.

This was slightly higher than the previous Monday, when there were 46 cases, and the highest post-weekend total since mid-February.

Among recent cases are six residents of the South Napa Shelter, prompting the shelter to temporarily close the facility to new residents for overnight stay, said Dr. Karen Relucio, the county's public health officer.

All six who tested positive were unvaccinated. They were quarantined and residents who might have been exposed were put into isolation hotel rooms, she said.

On Tuesday, Napa County will learn whether recent case counts allow the county to remain in the more permissive orange tier which expands how many customers businesses can serve at a time and opens up some community activities.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help We're offering our best deal ever with this Editor's Special. Support local news coverage by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register.

The county said an additional 628 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to residents and people who work here. This brings the total since mid-December to 104,934 doses.

People wanting to sign up for vaccination through county channels should go to MyTurn at https://myturn.ca.gov/ Those without access to email can call the California COVID-19 Hotline at 1-833-422-4255 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

Residents who want to be tested for COVID at the free county-sponsored site should go to countyofnapa.org/test for more information. For more information on COVID-19 and actions you can take to #stopthesurge, visit countyofnapa.org/coronavirus.

Register reporter Sarah Klearman contributed to this story.

Editors note: Because of the health implications of the COVID-19 virus, this article is being made available free to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. If youd like to join us in supporting the mission of local journalism, please visit napavalleyregister.com/members/join.

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Arrival of J&J vaccine comes as US agencies "call for pause" over blood clotting concerns.

Italy received the country's first Johnson & Johnson covid-19 vaccines at the Pratica di Mare military air base south of Rome on the afternoon of 13 April, reports news agency ANSA.

The first batch contains 184,000 doses, said Italy's coronavirus emergency commissioner General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo who added that 175,000 doses of the AstraZeneca arrived at Pratica di Mare yesterday evening.

Figliuolo said that the two consignments were "part of the 4.2 million doses that will arrive in Italy in the period from 15 to 22 April," reports ANSA.

The arrival in Italy of the single-shot J&J vaccine coincides with its temporary suspension in the US pending an investigation into blood-clotting concerns, according to The New York Times.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended "a pause" in the use of the vaccine, "out of an abundance of caution," after six women developed blood clots after receiving it.

However the FDA stressed that, for the moment, "these adverse events appear to be extremely rare," with the six cases reportedly representing a rate of around one in a million.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, made by Belgian subsidiary Janssen, is the second vaccine after AstraZeneca to become embroiled in a blood clot scare.

Italy announced on 7 April that AstraZeneca would be recommended only for people aged over 60, after the European Medicines Agency (EMA) found a "possible link" between the vaccine and "very rare cases" of blood clots.

The EMA reached its conclusion after a review of 62 blood-clotting cases in Europe, 18 of which were fatal. However the regulator continues to maintain that the vaccine's benefits outweigh the risks of side-effects.
Richard Stallman: "Later in life, I discovered that some people had negative reactions to my behaviour, which I did not even know about."

The Free Software Foundation has doubled down on its support for its founder, Richard Stallman, issuing a statement on Monday backing his reinstatement to the board.

Curiously, the statement was published a minute after Stallman issued his own statement about the furore over his move back to the board on on 19 March, which he announced during the organisation's annual LibrePlanet conference.

He had stepped down from the FSF in 2019, following remarks he made about the victims of the late Jeffrey Epstein, an American financier and convicted sex offender.

The board said it had voted to bring back Stallman "after several months of thorough discussion and thoughtful deliberation".

"We decided to bring RMS back because we missed his wisdom. His historical, legal and technical acumen on free software is unrivaled," it said.

"He has a deep sensitivity to the ways that technologies can contribute to both the enhancement and the diminution of basic human rights. His global network of connections is invaluable. He remains the most articulate philosopher and an unquestionably dedicated advocate of freedom in computing."

Stallman's decision to return to the board has not gone down well with the free and open source software community, with a push to oust him beginning five days after he announced his return.

The push came through an open letter, which currently has the support of 61 organisations and 3012 individuals, apart from its 16 main signatories. Seventeen organisations have published their own statements, all calling for Stallman to go.

Supporters of Stallman have put up their own letter calling for him to stay on the board. As of this writing, there are a total of 6261 signatories.

Both Red Hat and SUSE, the two largest open source vendors, have supported the move. But while SUSE has put its name as a company to the letter calling for Stallman to be removed, Red Hat has not done so.

The FSF feels *great* about bringing back Richard Stallman. They think the problem is how they communicated it.



The Free Software Foundation cannot be redeemed. It is all done. We are now in a post-FSF world, and I think that will soon prove to be for the best. https://t.co/d4fKCqIxzI  Waldo Jaquith (@waldojaquith) April 12, 2021

The FSF board statement said: "RMS [Stallman] acknowledges that he has made mistakes. He has sincere regrets, especially at how anger toward him personally has negatively impacted the reputation and mission of FSF. While his personal style remains troubling for some, a majority of the board feel his behaviour has moderated and believe that his thinking strengthens the work of the FSF in pursuit of its mission.

"We take full responsibility for how badly we handled the news of his election to a board seat. We had planned a flow of information that was not executed in a timely manner or delivered in the proper sequence.

"FSF staff should have been informed and consulted first. The announcement by RMS at LibrePlanet was a complete surprise to staff, all those who worked so hard to organise a great event, to LibrePlanet speakers and to the exhibitors. We had hoped for a more inclusive and thoughtful process and we apologise that this did not occur."

Thank you, @fsf



Ignore the haters. You've done the right thing. I'm very happy that you're now publicly defending Richard Stallman, and I can rest easy knowing that his position is safe.



I sincerely hope all of us can move past the bitter, hateful politics of recent weeks.  Leah Rowe (@n4of7) April 12, 2021

In his own statement, Stallman said since he was a teenager, he had often felt "as if there were a filmy curtain separating me from other people my age".

"I understood the words of their conversations, but I could not grasp why they said what they did. Much later, I realised that I didn't understand the subtle cues that other people were responding to."

And he added: "Later in life, I discovered that some people had negative reactions to my behaviour, which I did not even know about. Tending to be direct and honest with my thoughts, I sometimes made others uncomfortable or even offended them  especially women.

"This was not a choice: I didn't understand the problem enough to know which choices there were.

"Sometimes I lost my temper because I didn't have the social skills to avoid it. Some people could cope with this; others were hurt. I apologise to each of them. Please direct your criticism at me, not at the Free Software Foundation."

The biggest FOSS community project, Debian GNU/Linux, is in the process of voting on a general resolution on what it should do about Stallman, with the results due on 17 April.

Well-known security practitioner Katie Moussouris, the chief executive and founder of Luta Security, was one of the first to call out Stallman, on 30 March.
Alabama senior citizen centers will be allowed to reopen for indoor activities as of Monday, Apr. 19.

Our senior citizens have looked forward to the time when we could regather at these nurturing senior centers and I am so glad the day has come when the centers can reopen for indoor programs, said Department of Senior Services Commissioner Jean Brown.

The decision to reopen for indoor activities at senior centers will be made by each municipality/senior center manager, according to the department. Youll want to contact your local senior center to learn about individual reopening plans. You can also contact your local Area Agency on Aging through the Alabama Age Line at 1-877-425-2243.

The Department of Senior Services issued guidelines for indoor activities in accordance with Gov. Kay Iveys Apr. 7 Safer Apart order. You can read them below:
The state opposition has announced its support for a royal commission into veteran suicides, taking a step beyond its federal counterparts and adding to pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Opposition Leader Michael OBrien said Mr Morrisons push for a full-time national commissioner who would investigate veteran suicides was a positive step but not enough.

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael OBrien said it was the right time for the Coalition to call for a royal commission. Credit:Justin McManus

The veteran community had overwhelmingly told his party that it wants a royal commission as a starting point, Mr OBrien said, which would lay the foundation for a nationally consistent response.

Im announcing that the Victorian Liberal Nationals are throwing our weight behind a national royal commission into the plague of veteran suicides, he said.
John wrote below about the heightened threat Russia is now posing to Ukraine. Taking an American-centric view of the matter, some news outlets characterize Russias move as testing Biden.

Russias actions will test Biden. But it doesnt follow that Vladimir Putin is taking these actions for that purpose.

I think its true, however, that our adversaries are far more likely to take aggressive action against our allies when they sense weakness in a new American president. One of Putins predecessors in the Kremlin repeatedly tested the inexperienced President Kennedy until he finally showed during the Cuban missile crisis that he was up to the challenge.

Biden is the opposite of inexperienced, but its likely that Putin smells weakness. I dont think its a coincidence that Russia never amassed troops on the Ukraine border at levels close to the current ones while Donald Trump, whom the Democrats ridiculously claimed was a stooge of Putin, was president.

Unfortunately, so far Bidens approach to Russia is the opposite of Trumps. Biden recently characterized Putin as a killer. We shouldnt assume that this statement caused Putin to move troops to the Ukraine border, but it may have made him all the more eager to test Biden.

And what purpose did Bidens name calling serve? None that I can think of other than to win praise from his supporters, especially those in the media, by sounding different than his predecessor.

Trumps approach has much more to recommend it. He eschewed the name calling, but demonstrated his intolerance of Russian misconduct through sanctions and by sending Javelin missiles to Ukraine, among other things. The Obama administration had refused to send lethal aid.

On Russia, Trump spoke softly and employed a stick. Biden blusters but the Russians doubt his willingness to use a stick.

And well they might. According to this report, Biden is withholding military aid from Ukraine that has already been approved by Congress, even in the face of Russian military maneuvers at Ukraines borders. Reportedly, Biden will provide only $125 million to Ukraine this year, although Congress has already approved a $275 million package. (Trump sent Ukraine $415 million worth of aid in 2019, including lethal weapons, according to the same report.)

White House officials say the rest of the aid appropriated by Congress but withheld by Biden  $150 million worth  wont be sent until Ukraine enacts reforms that Biden desires. Biden is fiddling with Ukraines domestic policies while Russia threatens to burn down Ukraines house.

No wonder Russia wants to test Biden. For all of his experience, he comes across as unserious  a babe in the woods.
Defence Minister Tuesday claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has realized that Trinamool Congress will lose the ongoing assembly poll to the BJP in the state and was therefore inciting people to resort to violence.

Singh said that Banerjees political strategist (Prashant Kishor) had accepted that BJP is getting the majority in Bengal and also that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most popular leader in the country.

Now Mamata Banerjee should also accept this fact, he said while addressing a rally at Madhyamgram in North 24 Parganas district.

"Perhaps, Mamata Banerjee has accepted that she too is going to lose. It is evident from her desperation and the language she is using for her political opponents. She is inciting people to resort to violence," he said.

He promised protection and development and urged TMC workers to join BJP.

Describing the ongoing state election as a "mass movement", Singh said he firmly believes that the people of will use their votes to usher in a positive change by voting TMC out of power.

Singh alleged that during the regime of Banerjees Trinamool Congress around 200 BJP workers have been killed in the past one decade and if law and order in any state deteriorates it is the prime responsibility of the chief minister.

has witnessed unprecedented crime and violence in Mamata Banerjees regime and once the saffron party is voted to power it will ensure security to everyone, he said.

Our workers were killed in daylight and their bodies were hung from trees. Today I want to assure all BJP workers that those who will try to do such a thing after May 2 (the date for counting of votes), they will face the harshest punishment.

I want to assure that we are not only committed to protecting BJP workers but each and every citizen of this state I ask the workers of TMC not to work for that party under any pressure or fear. Come and join BJP and we will protect you andl ensure your development," Singh said.

The senior BJP leader said, This is the land where Rabindra Sangeet, kirtans of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and sermons of Swami Vivekananda used to fill the air. Now this place is known for crime, violence and anarchy.

Singh said he was shocked to know that Banerjee had asked minority voters to come together and vote for TMC and accused her of doing politics of appeasement and polarisation.

This is politics of division Development of West Bengal cannot be ensured with such kind of politics, development here is possible only through politics of inclusion. Mamata Banerjee should understand this," he said.

BJP, he said, does not do politics of division and polarisation based on caste, creed and religion but of humanity and inclusion.

"We respect Mamata Banerjee because she is a woman and a chief minister, which is an institution. But we are opposing her because of her divisive policy and what she has done to the state of West Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee says she will contest election from Benares (a constituency represented by Modi himself in Parliament). I want to tell her she should surely visit Benares once and take the blessings of Lord Vishwanath. She might get some wisdom, he said.

The union minister said that the state has been plagued by underdevelopment and poverty for decades whether it was under Left Front or the TMC. On the other hand under Modi the country has progressed by leaps and bounds in the past seven years and it is being acknowledged across the world.

When entire India is living in the 21st century, West Bengal is living in the 19th century because of the decades of misrule by the Left and TMC.

Once we form the government here (Bengal) the system of tolabazi (extortion) and cut money that have been institutionalised under Mamata Banerjee government will be wiped off completely, Singh said.

He said Banerjee did not give the Centre the list of farmers in West Bengal for grant under the Pradhan Mantri Samman Nidhi. She does not allow any central scheme to be implemented here because she is afraid Modiji will get the credit. I want to tell her that we dont want any credit , we just want development of the state.

On Banerjee attacking the Election Commission alleging that it has been working at the behest of Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "I want to say at least spare a constitutional body like the EC. She was barred by it from campaigning for violation of the model code of conduct so she starting attacking it."



He referred to Banerjees expression of anger at a programme in Kolkata where the prime minister was present and there were slogans of Jai Shri Ram. It was not an insult of an individual. It was an insult of an institution. The prime minister is an institution.

...Mamata Banerjee blames Prime Minister Modi for everything. Her attitude reminds me of an old Bangla saying



Joto dosh Nando Ghosh (Nando Ghosh is responsible for all lapses), he quippedSingh said that the BJP if voted to power will ensure 33 per cent reservation for women in jobs, increase widow pension to Rs 3000 and salary of ASHA workers from Rs 450 to Rs 600, besides start a comprehensive skill development programme to train 20 lakh youths.

"We will bring back the lost glory of West Bengal. People of West Bengal contributed immensely in the freedom struggle. The nation will always be indebted for this," he added.
President Biden needs to tell the Israeli government to start acting more like a much-aided ally and less like a sneaky saboteur.

The spark to what should be a stern diplomatic conversation occurred this past weekend, when a bomb planted by Israels intelligence agency, Mossad, blew up the main and back-up electrical-power lines to Irans nuclear-fuel center at Natanz. The act occurred just as talks were underway to resume the long-dormant Iran nuclear deal, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed. It also occurred on the eve of a visit to Israel by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, thus making the U.S. seem complicit in the act.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki has denied U.S. involvement in the attack. But since the United States and Israel jointly crafted Stuxnet, the 2010 covert program that sabotaged uranium enrichment at Natanz through highly sophisticated cyber attacks (a program that U.S. officials still dont discuss openly a decade later), its not deeply paranoid for Iranian officials to assume that Washington was in on the plot.

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This isnt the first time that Netanyahus government has defied an American presidents wishes, or done so while embarrassing a senior U.S. official. In 2010, just hours after a visit to Israel by then-Vice President Biden, who pledged unyielding support for the countrys security, Israelis interior ministry announced 1,600 new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalembreaking promises of a moratorium on new housing in the occupied territories. (Netanyahu claimed the interior minister acted on his own, but he did not reverse or in any way alter the policy.)*

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Five year later, as Obama and the leaders of five other nations were about to finish negotiating the Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu fiercely spoke against the deal before a joint session of the U.S. Congressan unprecedented breach of protocol, abetted by a Republican-controlled legislature. After Donald Trump was elected presdient, Netanyahu played a major role in persuading him to withdraw from the dealagainst the unanimous advice of Trumps senior advisers at the time, and against the advice that Netanyahu had received from senior Israeli military and intelligence officers.

Now that Netanyahu has lost his charmed access to the White House, he is seeking to sabotage the deals revival by undermining Irans confidence that it is worth revivingthat the Americans, even post-Trump, are serious about settling the issue through diplomacy rather than force.

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Netanyahu is all but open about his motives. During Stuxnet, the Israeli government stayed mum about its role in the cyberattack; but just hours after this weekends explosion, U.S. and Israeli newspapers were attributing the attack to Mossada leak that, as a columnist in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote on Tuesday, could only have come from (or at least been authorized by) Netanyahu himself.

With Israel identified as the source of the attack, Iran has to respond somehow, which will allow anti-Iranian politiciansin Israel, the United States, and the Sunni-led governments of the Middle Eastto paint Tehran as an aggressive power that should not be relieved of sanctions. As a result, Netanyahu hopes, talks to revive the deal, which have been going on Vienna, might collapse.

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Netanyahu has personal reasons to sabotage the talks as well. He has been unable to create a governing coalition since last month elections. He is under criminal investigation for corruption. Sowing a climate of fear and crisis is his best hope for holding on to power.

Biden shouldnt let him. When reporters in Jerusalem asked Austin about the Natanz attack, he said nothing. The White House should send him instructions to dissociate himself from the sabotage in no uncertain terms. The president himselfnot just his press secretaryshould make a similar statement, to keep Netanyahu from destroying prospects for peace and security.

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Biden is well positioned to put the squeeze on Netanyahu. Bidens own commitment to Israel is long established. The same can be said of his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who has spoken passionately of his stepfathers escape from a Nazi concentration camp and of his devotion to Israel. It is as good a time as any for an American president to make clear that U.S. interests cannot be subordinated to the domestic political strategies of a prime minister, not even an Israeli prime minister.

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This is a pivotal moment for the nuclear deal in several ways. The essence of the deal was that Iran would dismantle its nuclear program, while the U.S. and the other signatories would lift economic sanctions, which had been levied against in Iran as punishment for its nuclear program. When Trump pulled out of the deal, he re-imposed sanctionsnot just against Iran but also against any other country that did business with Iran. Many months later, Iran responded by resuming its nuclear program. The gas centrifuges at Natanz are very close to enriching uranium at a level of 20 percent. Once this level is achieved, it takes only a slight technical effort, and not much time, to boost enrichment to 90 percentenough to build an atom bomb.

Time is running out on the talks politically as well. Iran holds presidential elections in June. Unless the deal is restored and sanctions are lifted by then, the most hardline factions are likely to winmaking the deal even harder to revive.

Correction, April 13: This piece originally stated, inaccurately, that Netanyahus office had announced the original settlement expansion in 2010.
Biden presses Putin on Ukraine, proposes summit

The proposed summit would between the first between Putin and Biden, who took office vowing a tougher line on Russia. Photo: AFP

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to ease mounting tensions with Ukraine and proposed a summit between the two leaders in a third country.



In a phone call with Putin, Biden "voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine's borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions," a White House statement said.



"President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with US interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia."



The summit would between the first between Putin and Biden, who took office vowing a tougher line on Russia including over its alleged interference in US elections and harsh treatment of ailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny.



Putin similarly held a summit in Finland in 2018 with then US president Donald Trump, who caused a furore at home by appearing to accept the Russian leader's denials of election meddling.



Tensions have soared in recent days over Russian movements at the Ukrainian border, with the United States saying that troop levels are at their highest since 2014 when war first broke out with Moscow-backed separatists.



Russia earlier on Tuesday announced additional trips in "training exercises" as it described itself as threatened by NATO actions.



It came as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met in Brussels with top officials of NATO nations including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who voiced his strong support for Kiev. (AFP)
Japan plans to release into the sea more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station, the government said on Tuesday, a decision that is likely to anger neighbours such as South Korea.

Also Read | Why Bangladesh is flying high at 50

The move, more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will deal another blow to the fishing industry in Fukushima, which has opposed such a step for years.

The work to release the water will begin in about two years, the government said.





This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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The unofficial summit of the Turkic Council attended by the Hungarian prime minister and the presidents of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, as well as current and former presidents of Kazakhstan, met on March 31. The group is scheduled to meet for its eighth formal summit in the fall of 2021 in Turkey.

The latest meeting closed with two significant developments: First, Tashkent showed unity with Azerbaijan and Turkey on the outcomes of the latest conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and the transfer of its territory to Azerbaijan. Second, several leaders remarked positively on the upcoming transformation of the Turkic Council into a political and economic organization as it plans to tie regional economic projects around the organization, The Diplomat reports.

At the summit, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev congratulated Azerbaijans president and the Azerbaijani people for regaining the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which he called the restoration of historical justice. He offered assistance in rebuilding ancient monuments and other cultural facilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. This statement was the strongest political support Mirziyoyev has offered to Baku since the ceasefire following a month-long conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in November 2020. The statement is a clear indication of which side Tashkent stands on in the conflict. The choice of platform, a meeting of Turkic leaders, to make such a statement was symbolic of unity and support to Turkic brethren.

Mirziyoyevs policy of support to Azerbaijan is a continuation of his predecessors stance toward Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Officially Tashkent has always seen Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijans territory. The cost of that position has been diplomatic representation. Armenia appointed its first ambassador to Uzbekistan in June 2019, though because there is no Armenian embassy in Tashkent, hes based in Yerevan. The last time Tashkent showed similar support for Azerbaijan was in 2010 when then-President Islam Karimov said that Nagorno-Karabakh was an indivisible territory of Azerbaijan.

The Turkic Council is developing from an informal summit, as it is called now, to an organization with several economic projects anchored around it. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both spoke about a transport corridor to connect Azerbaijan to Turkey and through that connection allow Central Asian countries to link with Europe. Erdogan specifically spoke about the Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor, which according to its current description will go through Georgia, Azerbaijan, and the Caspian Sea, and reach China by following a future Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan route.

The corridor plans to offer a more economical and quicker alternative to the current overland Asia-Europe Trans-Siberian railroad that moves freight from China to Europe. For Central Asian countries that seek a larger role in the Belt and Road Initiative, these potential projects enhance their presence and increase their significance. Such opportunities to participate in larger projects will be welcomed by Central Asia.

The presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Mirziyoyev, emphasized the need for transportation projects in the framework of the Turkic Council. Mirziyoyev stated: "It is strategically important to raise the transportation and transit potential of our region. It is crucial to ensure access via Central Asia to main global markets, including China, India and Pakistan and other Asian countries, as well as from Azerbaijan and Turkey to European nations. Development of transport corridors in these directions and joint realization of major projects to create logistical infrastructure meet our common interests entirely."

First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was named honorary president of the Turkic Council in 2019, spoke about how transportation routes will increase the role of the Caspian Sea in the project as an option for the shortest and safest route between China and Europe.

It is expected that the Turkic Council will transform into an organization with more political clout, evolving from its current informal state. Erdogan and Nazarbayev spoke in favor of the Turkic Council becoming an international organization, to be formalized in the next meeting of the council.

Several leaders indicated that the Turkic Council will be moving away from being solely a gathering point for presidents to a political organization, anchoring itself with economic projects, something the organization has lacked in the past 12 years of its existence. Regional infrastructure projects, if realized, will provide the central project for members to coalesce around.
Indias beleaguered industry has finally got some solid support to ensure its survival, with an influential industry evangelist evoking the vision of a billion smartphones acting as gateways to the brave new world of decentralized finance.

In this world, Wall Street's capabilities will be available to everyone, according to angel investor Balaji Srinivasan, formerly the chief technology officer at Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange about to go public. We could turn every phone into not just a bank account but a bonafide Bloomberg Terminal, he writes on his blog.

has indeed emerged as a way to end financial exclusion, a chronic problem in all emerging markets. In India, payments worth almost $60 billion are now taking place every month via wireless devices, three-fifths more than ATM withdrawals. A year ago, cash was ahead by 37%. At this rate of digital adoption, the lead enjoyed by checks might also soon vanish.

But because India has done exceedingly well in mobile payments, the bureaucracy has developed a phlegmatic resistance to newer ideas. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are misunderstood as instruments of money laundering that offer no real benefits. The countrys nascent industry  survivor of an attempt on its life in 2018  is growing up in fear. According to media reports, a new law might ban all tokenized representation of money  unless it is the central banks own electronic cash.



Srinivasans advocacy has thus come at a crucial time. A digital wallet that can handle both central bank-issued electronic cash and cryptocurrencies will end up giving every Indian the ability to make both domestic and international transactions of arbitrary complexity, attracting crypto capital from around the world, and leapfrogging the 20th century financial system entirely, he says in his blog post.

Paper, Plastic or Phone?

A sometime Stanford University lecturer in computational biology and statistics and cofounder of a genomics startup, Srinivasan is a recognized name in the rapidly growing field of smart contracts. Running on the Ethereum blockchain, these lines of cryptographic code can substitute for paper agreements, calculations of who owes what to whom, and enforcement of claims via courts.

Its early days, but if they live up to their hype, smart contracts could upend traditional finance.

Srinivasan is proposing to put this new-age capability within reach of Indias internet users, wholl be nearing the 1 billion mark by 2023. Whats more, iSPIRT, the think tank that has conceived much of Indias digital identity and payments architecture, is putting its weight behind his idea, which it says can help fill a $250 billion financing gap for small and midsize firms. Meritorious businesses without national profiles arent able to access the capital they need, the Bangalore-based think tanks researchers wrote in a companion paper to Srinivasans article.

The message is clear. The tech industry is picking up the cudgels on behalf of entrepreneurs, with Nandan Nilekani, a cofounder of software exporter Infosys Ltd. and the architect of Indias universal identification program, amplifying iSPIRTs case with a tweet.

The arguments should give policy makers pause before they impose some sort of an impractical, impossible-to-enforce ban on cryptocurrencies. Millennials have already embraced tokens. India is of late providing more volume than China on popular peer-to-peer platforms for transferring Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The bureaucracy will no doubt push back. The Reserve Bank of India, which tried in 2018 to cut off the digital-asset industrys links to local bank accounts, would likely see Srinivasans proposals for democratized access to international finance as an end to its capital controls. (Even students, he says, should be allowed to issue personal tokens, collateralizing the worth of their future time.) Monetary policy may then have to give up trying to manage the exchange rate altogether.

Maybe the authorities will propose a compromise: experimentation in baby steps. That will be just fine, considering that the still-modest $50 billion decentralized finance industry will need time to mature. As the Greensill Capital fiasco showed, even promising innovations in closely supervised conventional finance  such as supply-chain financing  arent without their big blowups.

At a minimum, decentralized finance offers a third option. Traditional banks are slow and expensive, while finance by large e-commerce firms could get too dominant. Big Techs can use their platforms to generate large amounts of customer data, employ it in training their artificial intelligence algorithms, and identify high-quality loans more efficiently than competitors lacking the same information, says University of California, Berkeley economist Barry Eichengreen.

China is reining in its tech titans, and may launch its official digital currency, e-CNY, next year. India, meanwhile, is still debating whether it can employ blockchain technology in social projects like land registry while barring tokens from circulating as money. With proponents like Srinivasan and Nilekani, the conversation will hopefully become more real.
Pro-life Democrats rally nationwide to save Hyde Amendment: 'The time to push back is now'

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WASHINGTON  A group of pro-life Democrats and other pro-life activists gathered on Capitol Hill and across the country Saturday to oppose the exclusion of a long-standing ban on federal tax dollars being used to fund most abortions in a recently passed spending bill.

The Democrats for Life of America hosted a Save Hyde National Day of Action." The flagship rally took place in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, with the U.S. Capitol Building in the background.

Satellite events took place in 21 different locations nationwide. Dan Green, DFLAs national communications director, estimated in an interview with The Christian Post that up to 1,000 people would likely attend the events.

The day of action comes just one month after President Joe Biden signed into law a coronavirus relief package that did not have Hyde Amendment protections guaranteeing that federal tax dollars can't be used to pay for abortions in most cases.

If [Democrats] keep going down this road, where they want to fund abortion and ignore the needs of women,  its going to be a tough 2022 for Democrats," DFLA Executive Director Kristen Day told CP.

The Hyde Amendment has existed in some form since 1976, three years after the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade. Every year, the amendment has been affirmed by Congress as part of a Department of Health and Human Services appropriations bill. The most recent version of the measure included exceptions for Medicaid funds to fund abortions in the case of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Both before and after the 2020 presidential election, top congressional Democrats vowed to do away with the Hyde Amendment. Polling has shown that restrictions on tax dollars being used to fund abortions enjoy wide support among the American public.

Between three and four dozen people gathered in front of the Supreme Court to show support for the measure.

While Democrats for Life of America hosted the event, the event featured speakers and attendees from all political persuasions and religious backgrounds.

Speakers discussed the Hyde Amendment's popularity, called on attendees to put pressure on their elected representatives to preserve Hyde and stressed the need to make the pro-life movement more bipartisan.

Terrisa Bukovinac serves as president of the DFLAs board of directors and is the founder and executive director of Pro-Life San Francisco, another group of pro-life Democrats.

Speaking with CP before the event, she declared that she hopes people understand that the "Hyde Amendment is one of the most effective resources we have as Americans to limit the number of abortions that are occurring in our nation.

Giving voice to this cause  and really magnifying our grassroots efforts will help bring attention to this issue, will help bring the attention of the senators and the members of Congress on this issue," Bukovinac said. "So, were hoping that it will moderate some of their opinions, that they will see that theres a nationwide effort to support the Hyde Amendment and that will compel them to protect it."

Bukovinac criticized the Biden administrations newly announced commission to study possible reforms to the Supreme Court, including expanding the number of Supreme Court justices and limiting the amount of time justices can serve on the bench.

We would be very, very concerned that expanding the court would be detrimental to the unborn," she said.

While Bukovinac identifies as a liberal and an atheist with no intention of changing parties, she made her discontent with the Biden administrations abortion policies quite clear.

The Biden administration is the most extreme, most radical pro-abortion administration in the history of our nation," the activist said. Repealing the Hyde Amendment and forcing the taxpayer funding of abortions would increase abortion dramatically in this country at all gestational ages, and thats absolutely terrifying."

Bukovinac described the appointment of HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra as extremely concerning, citing the possibility that he will expand fetal tissue research, which she characterized as one of the worst aspects of pro-abortion extremism in America today that is going to be expanded and funded by this administration.

The time to push back is now, she argued. Pro-life Democrats for many years have tried to play nice and have a seat at the table and try to demonstrate that there are pro-life Democrats in the party and that  we do care about other issues. And yet, that strategy has not done very well for us. It has only led us down this horrific path of abortion extremism, and I think the time has come where people are ready to be seen in public and on the streets advocating for this issue.

Bukovinac predicted that there will be "more and more pro-life Democrats rising up and resisting this pro-abortion influence" in the Democratic Party "because they have gone too far."

She argued that the Biden administrations stance on abortion might cause the president and his party to lose support in upcoming elections because Democrats "cannot rely on those votes going forward because of the dynamic of Trump in the last election."

Democrats for Life of America did not endorse Joe Biden," she assured. "I did not vote for Joe Biden. But my sense is that many pro-life Democrats did, and I think that many did it because of their reluctance to support President Trump. And I think  given  a different scenario  in the next four years, I think that the Democrats have a reason to be afraid that pro-life Democrats will rise up and hit them in the  ballot box and in the polls.

Day agreed with Bukovinac.

Theres a lot of independents and swing voters that will not vote, Day stated. In 2016, a lot of pro-life Democrats did not vote for Hillary Clinton. A lot of pro-life Democrats stayed home that year.

She suggested that in 2020, There was so much anti-Trump sentiment that I think that overshadowed the  life issue a little bit because people were just so disgusted with President Trump."

"So I think there was a shift where people did vote for Biden  within the pro-life Democrat spectrum because they wanted to see  a more compassionate government," Day contended.

I think 2022 will  kind of shift back to that 2016 era where the abortion issue is going to be the No. 1 issue that will push people to vote one way or the other.

Maria and Julia, two members of American Universitys Students for Life chapter, explained that they "wanted to come out in support to make sure that the Hyde Amendment is not repealed."

I think that theres a big fear from the Democratic Party that the court right now is extremely conservative and that they know that the court has the ability to make abortion policy that could basically take down their whole position, Maria shared.

She asserted that Democrats want to attack the court in a way that helps support their policy, but its completely unconstitutional." She believes "no president ever has done something that extreme just to push a policy.

I think its really unfortunate that [they] fear the pro-life movement advancing itself through the court, she continued. Theyre attacking the whole Constitution by doing that, and I think  its very much out of fear.

DFLA Maryland State Director Kathy Kelly expressed a desire to see Biden build on the unity that he promised by respecting our conscience rights [and] by respecting the taxpayers, since theres wide taxpayer support for maintaining the Hyde Amendment.

Noting that taxpayer-funded abortions already exist in her state, she illustrated how injuries to women that late-term abortion has caused in Bethesda and chemical abortion debacles in the state demonstrate that we dont need more abortion and more funding of abortion at the federal level.

Blayne Clegg, the president of the Catholic University College Republicans, told CP that the Hyde Amendment "has provably and verifiably saved thousands of American lives over the decades."

"Unfortunately, that bipartisan tradition has been wasted away and  degraded by political opportunists like Joe Biden despite the fact that he voted for it for the first time in 1976 and then overrode President [Gerald] Fords veto again and then voted for it again in 1978," Clegg stated.

He has kowtowed and bent the knee to the progressive wing of his party, he lamented.

Reacting to the Biden administrations creation of a commission looking at expanding the Supreme Court, which critics refer to as court-packing, Clegg said that I think its really quite remarkable how brazen the Democrat Party can be with ideas like this.

I mean, every American high school student who had half an eye open during history class understands that Franklin Delano Roosevelts court-packing scheme was an absolute disaster," Clegg added. "It was a very clear power grab. We knew it back then and we know it now.

Other speakers at the event include Michael New, a professor at the Catholic University of America and an associate scholar at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, pro-life student activists and Americans United for Life President Catherine Glenn Foster.

In between speeches, Bukovinac led the crowd in chants of Save Hyde! Save lives! Additionally, she held up a model of a 21-week-old baby when warning that babies are going to die if Hyde is repealed, and that means all gestational ages up until the moment of birth.

DFLA Vice President Xavier Bisits, a native of Australia, spoke about how Australia and America are very similar in many respects, but there is one big difference." He said that "in Australia, one in four pregnancies are aborted. And in America, that numbers actually lower, its around [18%.]

In some of the most pro-life states in this country, its 10 to 15%. That is the difference between thousands of deaths or none, he continued. A big reason for that is funding. In Australia, we have fully funded abortion by the federal and state government.

He warned that federally funding abortions in the U.S. would dramatically increase the number of abortions across the country.

Liz Matory, the vice president of government relations at the nonprofit pro-life organization And Then There Were None, warned that the absence of Hyde Amendment protections would lead to a mass genocide, particularly in reference to the black and brown community here in the United States and, quite frankly, the world.

Everyone agrees  pro-life researchers, pro-choice researchers  when you start funding abortion with taxpayer dollars, abortion rates go up. That is irrefutable," New said.

He cited research from the pro-abortion organization Guttmacher Institute, which used to serve as the research arm of Planned Parenthood, finding that when you cut off taxpayer funding for abortion, abortion rates go down, lives are saved.

New also mentioned a study from The Center for Reproductive Rights, another pro-abortion rights organization, concluding that the Hyde Amendment had saved over 1 million lives since 1976.

In his capacity as a scholar for the Charlotte Lozier Institute, New discovered that the Hyde Amendment had saved over 2.4 million lives since 1976 and continues to save over 60,000 lives every year.

Kelly said that in Maryland, the state already pays for Medicaid abortions through state taxes.

Since we Marylanders are neither stupid nor pushovers, were not going to roll over and cheerfully finance the killing of the children we seek to save and the medical violence against the women who are already suffering in Maryland from terrible injuries and chemical abortion debacles," Kelly said.

Do we want to add federal funding of abortion to this existing pro-abortion mess in Maryland?

As the event came to a close, Bukovinac pushed back on the idea that pro-life Democrats should abandon the party in favor of the Republican Party, which a handful of speakers suggested.

The answer is not to leave," Bukovinac said. "The answer is to stand up and be seen and be empowered by my voice and the voices of so many diverse people here and in America today demonstrating in over 21 locations across the country.

Democrats for Life of America reached out to former President Jimmy Carter as part of its effort to save the Hyde Amendment.

Green, the DFLA communications director, told CP that the organization's leaders took a pilgrimage to the Carters' hometown of Plains, Georgia and spoke with Carter at his church.

He is a pro-life Democrat and in 2004, he signed a letter with us to the Democratic National Convention saying that ... the Democratic Party needs to moderate its position on abortion," Green explained. "So he's helped us with things before. So, we're trying to get his help on those, and just to help us speak with leaders of the DNC, and the leaders of the party and just kind of be a voice for us.
News

DDGs under DG Azevedo

Yonov Frederick Agah

Yonov Frederick Agah began his first term as Deputy Director-General of the WTO on 1 October 2013. He was appointed for a second four-year term, starting on 1 October 2017.

Yonov Frederick Agah was appointed as Nigerias Ambassador to the WTO in 2005. In that capacity, he served as the Alternate Chief Negotiator for the Doha Round and Head of Nigeria's Trade Office to the WTO in the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations Office in Geneva. The Trade Office is responsible for Nigerias participation in Geneva-based trade-related international organizations, particularly the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the International Trade Centre and the WTO.

Mr Agah served as Chair of the WTO's General Council in 2011. He was responsible for organizing the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference, which was acknowledged to be successful despite the prevailing stalemate in the Doha Round. He has also served as Chair of the following WTO bodies: Dispute Settlement Body in 2010, the Council for Trade in Services in 2009, the Trade Policy Review Body in 2008, the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights in 2007, and the Council for Trade in Goods in 2006. He was also the Chair of the Council for TRIPS, Special Session, in 2013.

Mr Agah has previously worked as a lecturer at Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna (1979-81), senior features writer/circulation manager, Benue Printing and Publishing Corporation (1982-84), Sales Manager, Benue Bottling Company Limited (1984-87), Field Manager, UTC Nigeria PLC (1990-91), Deputy Director (multilateral) (1991-2001) and Director (external trade) (2002-05).

Mr Agah holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He obtained a Master of Business Administration and Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (International Trade) from the University of Jos, Nigeria, in 1989 and 2007 respectively. His doctoral dissertation was on Trade Policy Reform and Economic Growth in Nigeria Since 1986. Mr Agah also obtained a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Abuja, Nigeria, in 2009. He has contributed to various books and journals.

Karl Brauner

Karl Brauner began his first term as Deputy Director-General of the WTO on 1 October 2013. He was appointed for a second four-year term, starting on 1 October 2017.

Prior to joining the WTO, he held the position of Director General for external economic policy in the German Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin for 12 years. In that role he was responsible for all the instruments of export promotion and was also in charge of export controls. His area of responsibility comprised all of Germany's bilateral economic relations outside the EU.

Regarding EU issues, he served as Germanys representative in the European Unions Trade Policy Committee whose role is to determine the EU's trade policy. He has taken part in all WTO ministerial conferences since the launch of the Doha Development Agenda.

He is a lawyer by profession, with degrees from Germany and the United Kingdom (Cambridge). He started his career in the legal department of the Federal Ministry of Economics in Bonn in 1983. In 1986-87, he worked at the German Mission to the United Nations in New York. Further postings abroad were in Athens and Sydney.

Before being put in charge of trade policy in 2001, his responsibilities at the Ministry of Economics in Berlin comprised a range of issues, such as budget, human resources and general administration.

At the WTO, Karl Brauner's areas of responsibility include the two legal divisions dealing with the WTO's dispute settlement system (Rules and Legal Affairs), the division for administration and general services including budget and finance as well as the human resources division.

Alan Wm. Wolff

Alan Wolff began his four-year term as Deputy Director-General on 1 October 2017.

Ambassador Alan Wm. Wolff, formerly Senior Counsel at the global law firm Dentons, is one of the worlds leading international trade lawyers. He has been engaged to resolve some of the largest international trade disputes on record. For the last six years he has served as the Chairman of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) which was called into being by President Wilson in 1914 to support open international trade and which today represents hundreds of American companies who employ millions of workers. He is Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Trade and Commercial Diplomacy (ITCD).

Ambassador Wolff served as United States Deputy Special Representative for Trade Negotiations in the Carter Administration and was General Counsel of the Office in the Ford Administration. He was acting Head of the U.S. Delegation for the Tokyo Round, and a principal draftsman of the basic U.S. law creating a mandate for trade negotiations. As Deputy USTR he was a founder of the OECD Steel Committee and its first chairman. He has served as a senior trade negotiator in, and advisor to, both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Prior to his service at USTR, he served in the U.S. Treasury as staff attorney for the National Advisory Committee on International Monetary and Financial Policy, participating in the work of the OECD Development Assistance Committee, reviewing lending policies in the IMF and the World Bank, and participating in the drafting of the Articles of Agreement of the African Development Fund. He was director of the Treasurys Office of Multilateral Trade Negotiations.

He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), is a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies, having served several terms on the Science, Technology and Economic Policy Board of the Academies and chairing its Committee on Comparative Innovation Policies. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the E15 Initiatives Experts Group (Innovation).

He has lectured and written extensively on trade topics including the need for a strong, open rules-based multilateral trading system.

He holds a J.D. degree from Columbia University and an A.B. degree from Harvard College. He is married to the Rev. Helene N. Wolff, and has three children and six grandchildren.

Yi Xiaozhun

Yi Xiaozhun began his first term as Deputy Director-General of the WTO on 1 October 2013. He was appointed for a second four-year term, starting on 1 October 2017.

Yi Xiaozhun has extensive experience in world trade and economics, both as a senior government official and subsequently as China's ambassador to the WTO.

He represented China as a key negotiator in Chinas WTO accession process, making an important contribution to the negotiations.

Prior to becoming China's ambassador to the WTO in 2011, Mr Yi was Assistant Minister and subsequently China's Vice Minister of Commerce in charge of multilateral and regional trade negotiations and cooperation. Besides his contribution to Chinas WTO accession, he played a leading role in negotiating numerous free trade agreements (FTAs), including the China-ASEAN agreement, China's first FTA, and advanced China's involvement with Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the 10+3 East Asia Summit (EAS) and related high-level meetings. He also worked as a diplomat at the Chinese Embassy in the United States for more than four years from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

After becoming Chinas ambassador to the WTO, Mr Yi was elected as the Chair of the Working Party of the Accession of Lao PDR and showed effective leadership in the process leading to WTO membership for Laos.

Mr Yi obtained a Master's degree in economics from Nankai University in China in 1999.

He is married to Meng Xiaoling and has one daughter.

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David Shark

David Shark has had a long career in trade policy. He began in 1975 with a short stint in the US Department of Labor, working on petitions for trade adjustment assistance. In March 1976, he moved to the Office of Trade Policy in the Department of Commerce where he was deeply involved in the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and he has been actively involved in the GATT and WTO ever since.

In 1980, he joined the Office of the United States Trade Representative. He held a broad range of responsibilities, including serving as Executive Director of the US Generalized System of Preferences, Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Trade Policy Coordination, Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East and Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative for Environment and Natural Resources.

From 1988 to 1995 he served in USTRs Geneva office, working on the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations and the implementation of the resulting agreements. During that time, he was responsible for negotiations and other work on the agreement creating the WTO, the Dispute Settlement Understanding, TRIMs/investment, anti-dumping, subsidies, customs valuation, government procurement, technical barriers to trade, import licensing, trade and environment, and trade and worker rights. He returned to Geneva in June 2000 and up to September 2013 served as the US Deputy Chief of Mission and Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO. In that capacity, he had broad responsibilities covering the full gamut of issues before the WTO.

Mr Shark is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brooklyn College and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia Universitys School of International Affairs. He is married to Lidian Shark and has two children, Daniel and Melanie.

DDGs under DG Lamy

Four Deputy Directors-General served under Director-General Pascal Lamy from October 2005 to September 2013: Alejandro Jara, Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza, Harsha Vardhana Singh and Rufus H. Yerxa. David Shark served under Director-General Roberto Azevedo from September 2013 to October 2017.

Alejandro Jara

Alejandro Jara was born in 1949 in Santiago, Chile. He studied high school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Santiago, Chile. In 1973 he obtained his law degree from the Universidad de Chile. With the support of a Fulbright scholarship he pursued graduate studies at the Law School, University of California at Berkeley (1975-1976).

In 1976 he joined the Foreign Service of Chile where he has specialized in international economic relations. He served in the Delegation of Chile to the GATT in Geneva (1979-1984) and was seconded to the Economic System for Latin America (SELA) in Caracas as Coordinator for Trade Policy Affairs. He was appointed Director for Bilateral Economic Affairs (1993-1994), Director for Multilateral Economic Affairs (1994-1999). During 1996  1997 he also served as Chiles Senior Official to APEC. At the same period he was deputy Chief negotiator for the Chile  Canada Free Trade Agreement and in 1997-1998 he was Chief negotiator for the Chile  Mexico Free Trade Agreement. In July 1999 he was designated Director General for International Economic Relations.

In June 2000 he was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Chile to the World Trade Organization in Geneva. During 2001 he served as Chairperson of the Committee on Trade and Environment of the WTO. In February 2002 he was elected as Chairman of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services, which is in charge of the negotiations mandated by Ministers in Doha. He is author of numerous articles and papers on international trade.

Mr. Jara is married to Daniela Benavente and has three children, Rafael Alejandro (1986), Octavia Veronica (2003) and Matilde (2007).

Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza

Prior to becoming DDG, Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza served for three years as Ambassador of Rwanda to the United Nations in Geneva and Switzerland.

Before joining the public service, Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza had a long career in the private sector, at national and international level, where she occupied several senior management positions, including in a Swiss multinational where she worked for eight years.

Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza was a member of the economic and social Council of the President of Rwanda, a founding member of the Rwandan Women's Caucus, the association of women entrepreneurs, and the Rwandese federation of the private sector.

Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza is married to John Paulin Sendanyoye.

Harsha Vardhana Singh

Harsha Vardhana Singh completed his Masters in Economics from Delhi in 1979 and went to the University of Oxford (U.K.) as a Rhodes Scholar from India to obtain his M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Economics.

He worked as consultant with the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices (Government of India) in New Delhi, and ILO and UNCTAD in Geneva before joining the GATT Secretariat. Mr. Singh worked for 12 years in the GATT/WTO Secretariat, in various parts of the organization, including the Office of the WTO Director General (1996-97), the Trade and Environment and Technical Barriers to Trade Division (1995-96), Rules Division (1991-95), Trade Policy Review Division (1989-1991), and the Economic Research and Analysis Unit (1985-1989). The work covered diverse areas such as servicing Committees in the area of GATT Rules, secretary of dispute settlement panels, Uruguay Round negotiations, interacting with other agencies, and a range of other activities in the Director Generals office including co-ordination of in-house activities and those involving other multilateral organizations.

In June 1997, Mr. Singh joined the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as Economic Advisor, in the year when the Telecom Regulatory Body was established by the Government of India to strengthen the regulatory process and telecom policy reform in the country. Since May 2001, Mr. Singh has been the Secretary cum Principal Advisor of the TRAI. In this capacity, he was Head of the TRAI Secretariat, and was involved in all policy initiatives of TRAI, and all interactions of TRAI with national and international agencies/bodies, including multilateral agencies, regulatory bodies, the relevant bodies in the Government and the Indian Parliament. During this period, Mr. Singh was also a member of several High Level Committees to address various policy issues, and has served as Chair of dispute settlement panels of the WTO. He has also been a member of various trade advisory committees of the Indian government and has worked on the Foreign Trade Policy of India.

He has interacted with a number of research Bodies. Recently, he became an Honorary Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), and a member of the visiting faculty at the TERI School of Advanced Studies for their Masters programme in Regulatory Studies. He has authored a number of papers on trade policy and regulatory issues.



Mr. Singh is married to Veena Jha and has two children.

Rufus H. Yerxa

Mr. Yerxa has an extensive record as a trade negotiator, diplomat and lawyer. He served as a Presidential appointee in the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) during both Democratic and Republican administrations, first as the Geneva-based Ambassador to the GATT (the predecessor organization to the WTO) and subsequently as the Deputy USTR in Washington. In these two positions he played a major role in negotiating and securing Congressional approval of both the Uruguay Round/WTO agreement and the NAFTA accord. Prior to these appointments he was with the Committee on Ways and Means of the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Trade.

After leaving U.S. government service in 1995, Mr. Yerxa was engaged in private law practice. He was a resident partner in the Brussels office of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where his practice focused on international trade matters and European regulatory affairs.

Mr. Yerxa is a native of Washington State and grew up in the Seattle area. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Washington, his law degree from the University of Puget Sound School of Law and an LLB in international law from the University of Cambridge. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. Mr. Yerxa is married to Barbara J. McSweeney. They have two children, Gavin and Haley .
The return of ANZAC Day ceremonies and marches after the 2020 Covid-19 cancellations threatens to be an underwhelming one as acceptances to participate are at a very low level.

Victoria's Veterans Minister Shaun Leane said only 900 of the 5,500 entitled to march have registered to participate, with Covid fears and an on-again, off-again build-up causing many to make alternative plans.

RSL Victoria chief executive officer Jamie Twidale said some veterans were reluctant to march as they're required to register under COVIDSafe protocols.

Victoria's ANZAC Day march only has 900 veterans registered out of a possible 5,500 to participate over Covid concerns

The ANZAC Parade was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 which saw families commemorate the day by lighting candles on their driveways (pictured)

'We want to make the commemoration as meaningful as possible,' he told the Herald Sun.

'They're really heeding this call to stay home and local. But I really don't want people that want to march to think they can't because there's no spots. Don't be put off.'

The numbers come as the Shrine of Remembrance prepares to open bookings for the Dawn service on Tuesday, with only 1,400 places available on a first come, first serve basis.

The delays in the vaccine rollout and veterans groups commemorating the day locally rather than travelling to big gatherings were considered to be the key factors behind low registration numbers.

Veterans also began to reportedly boycott the day when the march was initially cancelled earlier in the year by the Victorian government over Covid-19 fears before later being re-instituted.

RSL Victoria chief executive officer Jamie Twidale said he wants to make the march as 'meaningful as possible'

Every veteran who wants to march in Sydney's Anzac Day March will be able to do so thanks to a special exemption from the NSW government (pictured: crowds at ANZAC Day march)

Mr Twidale stressed that RSL Victoria are 'not epidemiologists, we are a veteran wellbeing charity' and the safety of attendees is their first priority.

'What kind of a wellbeing charity is going to put people at risk? We have to trust the government and we're obligated by our laws to be apolitical.'

But Mr Twidale said its most elderly participants, World War II veterans, have been the most determined to march down St Kilda Road.

The 'quite good uptake from the elderly' has seen the march modified with a pedestrian ramp installed for easier access to the Shrine of Remembrance Forecourt.

RSL Victoria state president Robert Webster said there would be about 400 local events on Anzac Day - and 170 sub branches have already submitted COVIDSafe documentation.

There will be about 400 local events on Anzac Day and 170 sub branches have already submitted COVIDSafe documentation

NSW RSL Secretary Jeff O'Brien told Sky News that every veteran who wants to march in Sydney's Anzac Day March will be able to do so thanks to a special exemption from the NSW government.

'We recognise it's difficult in the current pandemic but we're very happy with the exception we've been able to secure, ' he said.

'We normally have between 10,000 and 12,000 people that march so basically we'll be able to fit everybody in.'
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 18:58:59|Editor: huaxia

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JERUSALEM, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's coronavirus cabinet decided to fully reopen the country's education system, an official statement said Tuesday.

The cabinet voted in favor of a plan proposed by the education ministry to lift most restrictions on schools by Sunday (April 18), according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office.

According to the new plan, adults and students will be monitored. If a person was diagnosed positive for coronavirus at a school, their entire age group and teachers would need to get tested before being allowed back to school.

With more than 52 percent of its 9 million population fully vaccinated, Israel has lifted most COVID-19 restrictions. Given that the vaccines cannot be administered to young people aged under 16, the education system has been reopening slowly. Enditem
C-Path's Alzheimer's Disease Consortium expands data repository

TUCSON, Ariz., April 12, 2021 -- The Critical Path Institute's (C-Path) Critical Path for Alzheimer's Disease (CPAD) Consortium today announced that it is significantly expanding its Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient-level data repository with high-quality contemporary industry clinical trial datasets, focusing on early stages of the disease.

Generous data contributions and support from the pharmaceutical industry have made it possible for the CPAD team to integrate 42 high-quality clinical trial and observational studies in AD, containing more than 21,000 patient-level records.

Since July 2019, CPAD has signed Data Contribution Agreements (DCAs) with data contributors, for five highly relevant datasets, representing over 4,000 patient-level records, which have been integrated into the CPAD repository. CPAD also expects the transfer of two additional datasets with another 4,000 patient-level records. In addition, CPAD is currently negotiating DCAs with five CPAD member pharmaceutical companies, with an expected addition of nine datasets, bringing in more than 10,000 additional patient-level records to the CPAD repository.

"Serving as a neutral third party, CPAD provides a safe harbor for individual organizations to share data in a pre-competitive environment," said Sudhir Sivakumaran, Ph.D., Vice President, Neuroscience at C-Path and Executive Director of CPAD. "By facilitating cross-functional, pre-competitive collaboration and active engagement between the regulatory agencies and drug development professionals, we can make a significant difference in the bench to bedside timeline for patients."

The expanded patient-level data will allow generation of novel drug development tools (DDTs) and solutions such as disease progression models across the entire continuum of AD, incorporating various fluid and imaging biomarkers, in addition to genotype, cognitive and functional outcome assessments and demographics. The novel tools and solutions will enable a more efficient design of clinical studies with better informed inclusion criteria, endpoint selection and patient enrichment strategies. C-Path's quantitative approach allows for a comprehensive integration of relevant patient characteristics for informed and efficient decisionmaking in drug development.

Data sharing is fundamental to enable the development of novel DDTs, which require integration and aggregation of patient-level data from multiple independent sources and studies. Successful data sharing for the purpose of seeking regulatory endorsement of a DDT relies on extensive partnerships between industry, academia, research institutes and societies, patient-advocacy groups, and governmental regulatory agencies. "CPAD's successes and accomplishments in the last decade is testimony to the extensive collaboration, partnership, and support of the industry members," Sivakumaran continued. "The consortium seeks to continue accelerating drug development by increased data sharing and ultimately, be able to successfully address the key unmet needs and unanswered questions including the voice of the patients."

"CPAD provides the AD field with a unique opportunity to transform patient-level data into actionable solutions, which can in turn transform the drug development process for Alzheimer's disease," said C-Path Chief Science Officer and Executive Director for Clinical Pharmacology Klaus Romero, M.D., M.S., F.C.P. "The unique way in which CPAD presents such solutions for formal regulatory review generates the necessary confidence for the adoption of such solutions by our industry partners."

Data acquisition and integration is a critical prerequisite for the development of novel regulatory-grade quantitative drug development solutions. For more than a decade, CPAD has led the space with regulatory successes and expertise in data aggregation and generation of novel drug development tools. The consortium continues to pursue efforts to expand its datasets, which will significantly add to the increased understanding of disease progression and pathology in AD.

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For more information, visit https:/ / c-path. org/ programs/ cpad/ . To learn more about data contribution to the repository, email info@c-path.org. To access the Critical Path Institute (C-Path) Online Data Repository (CODR) go to https:/ / codr. c-path. org/ main/ applyDatabaseSelection. html

Critical Path Institute is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is 55% funded by FDA/HHS, totaling $14,575,306, and 45% funded by non-government source(s), totaling $11,916,747. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, FDA/HHS or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit FDA.gov.

Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 2005 as a public and private partnership. C-Path's mission is to catalyze the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science, accelerating the path to a healthier world. An international leader in forming collaborations, C-Path has established numerous global consortia that currently include more than 1,600 scientists from government and regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, disease foundations, and dozens of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. C-Path US is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona and C-Path, Ltd. EU is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with additional staff in multiple other locations. For more information, visit www.c-path.org and c-path.eu.

Media Contact:

Kissy Black

C-Path

615.310.1894

kblack@c-path.org

This story has been published on: 2021-04-12. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
The rally in tech shares has taken the number of people with fortunes of more than $100 billion to eight.

co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin joined the exclusive club last week, entering a group dominated by US tech entrepreneurs, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The worlds eight richest people together hold fortunes of more than $1 trillion and have added $110 billion combined this year. In 2017, Amazon.com Incs was the first to hit the $100 billion milestone since Microsoft Corp. co-founder back in 1999.

Gatess wealth then slumped with the dot-com bubble burst, and he regained the title of centibillionaire only in 2019. Tesla Incs Elon Musk and Facebooks joined the club last year as the tech industry led a boost in wealth creation with the pandemic accelerating a switch to online.

Billionaires with wealth of at least $100 billion are mostly US-based. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and other progressive lawmakers recently revived plans to introduce a wealth tax, though the proposal is unlikely to go anywhere in a narrowly divided Congress.





The US economy is the worlds most powerful engine of wealth creation and prosperity, John Lettieri, president and chief executive officer of Washington DC-based think tank Economic Innovation Group, told US lawmakers March 17.

In spite of this, the lack of wealth at the bottom remains a troubling and persistent fact of life in this country.

Warren Buffett briefly reached the $100 billion mark in March before hitting it again last week, while Bernard Arnault of Frances luxury group LVMH has been part of the elite group on and off since 2019.
The search for life on other planets has received a major boost after scientists revealed the spectral signatures of almost 1000 atmospheric molecules that may be involved in the production or consumption of phosphine, a study led by UNSW Sydney revealed.

Scientists have long conjectured that phosphine - a chemical compound made of one phosphorous atom surrounded by three hydrogen atoms (PH3) - may indicate evidence of life if found in the atmospheres of small rocky planets like our own, where it is produced by the biological activity of bacteria.

So when an international team of scientists last year claimed to have detected phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, it raised the tantalising prospect of the first evidence of life on another planet - albeit the primitive, single-celled variety.

But not everyone was convinced, with some scientists questioning whether the phosphine in Venus's atmosphere was really produced by biological activity, or whether phosphine was detected at all.

Now an international team, led by UNSW Sydney scientists, has made a key contribution to this and any future searches for life on other planets by demonstrating how an initial detection of a potential biosignature must be followed by searches for related molecules.

In a paper published today in the journal Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, they described how the team used computer algorithms to produce a database of approximate infrared spectral barcodes for 958 molecular species containing phosphorous.

LOOK AND LEARN

As UNSW School of Chemistry's Dr Laura McKemmish explains, when scientists look for evidence of life on other planets, they don't need to go into space, they can simply point a telescope at the planet in question.

"To identify life on a planet, we need spectral data," she says.

"With the right spectral data, light from a planet can tell you what molecules are in the planet's atmosphere."

Phosphorus is an essential element for life, yet up until now, she says, astronomers could only look for one polyatomic phosphorus-containing molecule, phosphine.

"Phosphine is a very promising biosignature because it is only produced in tiny concentrations by natural processes. However, if we can't trace how it is produced or consumed, we can't answer the question of whether it is unusual chemistry or little green men who are producing phosphine on a planet," says Dr McKemmish.

To provide insight, Dr McKemmish brought together a large interdisciplinary team to understand how phosphorus behaves chemically, biologically and geologically and ask how this can be investigated remotely through atmospheric molecules alone.

"What was great about this study is that it brought together scientists from disparate fields - chemistry, biology, geology - to address these fundamental questions around the search for life elsewhere that one field alone could not answer," says astrobiologist and co-author on the study, Associate Professor Brendan Burns.

Dr McKemmish continues: "At the start, we looked for which phosphorous-bearing molecules - what we called P-molecules - are most important in atmospheres but it turns out very little is known. So we decided to look at a large number of P-molecules that could be found in the gas-phase which would otherwise go undetected by telescopes sensitive to infrared light."

Barcode data for new molecular species are normally produced for one molecule at a time, Dr McKemmish says, a process that often takes years. But the team involved in this research used what she calls "high-throughput computational quantum chemistry" to predict the spectra of 958 molecules within only a couple of weeks.

"Though this new dataset doesn't yet have the accuracy to enable new detections, it can help prevent misassignments by highlighting the potential for multiple molecular species having similar spectral barcodes - for example, at low resolution with some telescopes, water and alcohol could be indistinguishable.

"The data can also be used to rank how easy a molecule is to detect. For example, counter-intuitively, alien astronomers looking at Earth would find it much easier to detect 0.04% CO2 in our atmosphere than the 20% O2. This is because CO2 absorbs light much more strongly than O2 - this is actually what causes the greenhouse effect on Earth."

LIFE ON EXOPLANETS

Regardless of the outcomes from the debate about the existence of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere and the potential signs of life on the planet, this recent addition to the knowledge of what can be detected using telescopes will be important in the detection of potential signs of life on exoplanets - planets in other solar systems.

"The only way we're going to be able to look at exoplanets and see whether there's life there is to use spectral data collected by telescopes - that is our one and only tool," says Dr McKemmish.

"Our paper provides a novel scientific approach to following up the detection of potential biosignatures and has relevance to the study of astrochemistry within and outside the Solar System," says Dr McKemmish. "Further studies will rapidly improve the accuracy of the data and expand the range of molecules considered, paving the way for its use in future detections and identifications of molecules."

Fellow co-author and CSIRO astronomer Dr Chenoa Tremblay says the team's contribution will be beneficial as more powerful telescopes come online in the near future.

"This information has come at a critical time in astronomy," she says.

"A new infrared telescope called the James Web Space Telescope is due to launch later this year and it will be far more sensitive and cover more wavelengths than its predecessors like the Herschel Space Observatory. We will need this information at a very rapid rate to identify new molecules in the data."

She says although the team's work was focused on the vibrational motions of molecules detected with telescopes sensitive to infrared light, they are currently working to extend the technique to the radio wavelengths as well.

"This will be important for current and new telescopes like the upcoming Square Kilometre Array to be built in Western Australia."

Astrobiology,

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare, health tech and life sciences public relations and marketing firm, announced today that FDS Amplicare has selected the firm as its public agency of record. Amendola is implementing a comprehensive media and communications program that will showcase the success of FDS Amplicare's collaborative work with clients and bring greater awareness of its pharmacy software solutions, which include business intelligence, medication synchronization, claims reconciliation and medical billing.

"We are strong advocates for community pharmacists, who have so many stories to share, explains David Roth, chief growth officer, FDS Amplicare. "It has been a challenge to break through the COVID news cycle, but Amendola's broad experience and deep relationships with pharmacy and healthcare media and digital influencers is what got our attention and they have delivered since day one. They generated immediate visibility with creative storytelling in our top tier media targets and we look forward to ongoing awareness and market momentum."

FDS Amplicare has more than 30 years of experience in delivering pharmacy software solutions ranging from claims reconciliation and medical billing to business intelligence, patient communications, and Medicare plan selection. By combining proven technologies and pharmacy clinical and financial expertise, these solutions help pharmacies and their patients save time and money while delivering quality patient care.



Welcoming FDS Amplicare's industry-leading pharmacy software solutions to the agency roster, Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola said, "We value FDS' commitment to advancing financial and operational efficiencies of community-based pharmacies. It aligns perfectly with our results-oriented approach and passion for improving the healthcare system. It has been a pleasure to leverage their unique data, client successes and vision to the fast-changing market."

To learn more about Amendola, visit www.acmarketingpr.com. To learn more about FDS Amplicare, visit www.fdsrx.com or www.Amplicare.com.

About Amendola Communications

Amendola is an award-winning, insights-driven public relations and marketing firm that integrates media relations, social media, content and lead gen programs to move healthcare, life sciences/pharma and healthcare IT decision-makers to action. The agency represents some of the industry's best-known brands as well as groundbreaking startups that are disrupting the status quo. Nearly 90% of its client base represents multi-year clients and/or repeat client executives. Amendola's seasoned team of PR and marketing pros understand the ongoing complexities of the healthcare ecosystem and provide strategic guidance and creative direction to drive positive ROI, boost reputation and increase market share. Making an impact since 2003, Amendola combines traditional and digital media to fuel meaningful and measurable growth. For more information about the industry's "A-Team," visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About FDS Amplicare

FDS Amplicare strengthens the health of pharmacies and their patients. Through the delivery of innovative software products and services, we enable the evolution of the clinically focused New Era Pharmacy, empowering our clients to provide comprehensive pharmacy and clinical care services for their communities. To learn more about FDS Amplicare, visit www.fdsrx.com or www.Amplicare.com.

Media Contact:

Kim Warth

Amendola Communications

[email protected]

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President Biden has decided to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, 20 years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon launched the country into its longest war, United States officials said Tuesday.

The decision will keep more than 3,000 American troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 withdrawal deadline announced by the administration of former President Donald J. Trump.

But it signals what Mr. Biden plans to present as a definitive end to Americas Forever War.

Administration officials said that since Mr. Biden was fixing a definite date on an American troop withdrawal, he hoped to avoid an increase in violence  which the Taliban have threatened if the United States kept troops beyond May 1.

The decision was reported earlier Tuesday by The Washington Post.

A new intelligence report released Tuesday offered a grim assessment of Afghanistan and the prospects for peace. American intelligence agencies assessed that a peace deal was unlikely in the next year, and that the Taliban would make battlefield gains.
WASHINGTON  More than 300 businesses, including Google, McDonalds and Walmart, are pushing the Biden administration to nearly double the United States target for cuts to planet-warming emissions ahead of an April 22 global summit on climate change.

In a letter to President Biden released on Tuesday morning, chief executive officers from some of the nations largest companies will call on the administration to set a new Paris Agreement goal of slashing the nations carbon dioxide, methane and other planet-warming emissions at least 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

That is roughly what most major environmental groups want, and the corporate executives called the target ambitious and attainable.

Former President Donald J. Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement, eradicating emissions reduction targets set by the Obama administration that many environmentalists had seen as too weak. President Obama had pledged to cut national emissions 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.
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BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - China's exports logged a double-digit growth in March but at a slower than expected pace, while imports growth exceeded expectations amid rising commodity prices, data from the customs office revealed on Tuesday. Exports increased 30.6 percent year-on-year in March, slower than the forecast of 35.5 percent. The pace of expansion also eased sharply from 60.6 percent seen in January to February period largely lower base for comparison. Exports to the United States advanced 53.3 percent from last year. Meanwhile, imports advanced 38.1 percent annually, much faster than the expected growth of 23.3 percent. Consequently, the trade surplus fell to $13.8 billion and well below economists' expectations of $52.05 billion. Import volume growth is likely to slow as policy support is gradually withdrawn throughout this year and new restrictions to limit the flow of credit to the property sector weigh on investment, Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics, said. Meanwhile, exports may now be peaking, with vaccination rollouts starting to reverse the pandemic-induced boost to global demand for Chinese products, the economist added. According to World Trade Organization, the volume of world merchandise trade is expected to increase 8 percent in 2021, then slow to 4.0 percent in 2022. The effects of the pandemic will continue to be felt as this pace of expansion would still leave trade below its pre-pandemic trend, the WTO said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
The US is now facing the same situation Britain did in the winter as the Kent Covid variant triggers a 'disturbing' surge in cases, Dr Anthony Fauci warned today.

America's top infectious disease expert said there is an 'acceleration' in infections in the US being driven by the faster-spreading variant, which scientists say is between 35 and 50 per cent more transmissible.

Sunday marked the first time since February that America's average daily infection count rose above 70,000, with positive tests rising 11 per cent in a week.

The number of infections per 100,000 people is around five times higher than it is in the UK.

Dr Fauci said today that the extra-infectious strain of the virus, known as B117, had become 'quite dominant' in the US.

The variant already causes most Covid cases in the UK and is also sweeping through Europe, triggering third waves and forcing some countries back into lockdowns. German Chancellor Angela Merkel described it as a 'new pandemic'.

Research published last night found the variant is not more deadly than older strains of the virus but does spread faster.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US now faces the same situation with the Kent variant that Britain experienced in the winter

Sunday marked the first time since February that the US's average daily infection count rose above 70,000, with positive tests rising 11 per cent in a week

The UK announced 3,568 positive tests yesterday and the daily average is 2,744. The second wave, driven by the emergence of the Kent variant in November, peaked at an average of 60,000 cases per day in the first week of January

Dr Fauci, director of the US's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on BBC Radio 4: 'The problem is we are seeing, in several states right now, alarming increases in the number of cases per day.

'Some of the governors and mayors, and others, are pulling back on the mandates for masks, are allowing restaurants and bars to be open, which is a really risky situation.

'We have now, I would say, 70 or even the latest number 80,000 new cases.

KENT VARIANT IS NOT MORE DEADLY, STUDY FINDS The Kent coronavirus variant is not more deadly than the original strain of the virus, more research has suggested. Two studies involving more than 37,000 patients found no evidence the mutant variant was more lethal or caused more severe symptoms. Scientists agree that the variant spreads faster than its predecessor but the Government's claim that it is more deadly, made in a TV press conference in January, is being knocked down by emerging scientific evidence. The new research, published today in the Lancet and Lancet Infectious Diseases journals, adds to a study released by Public Health England in March that also found no proof the variant has a higher death rate. One study by University College London Hospitals compared the severity of illness and rates of death between people testing positive for B117 and those with other versions of the coronavirus. It found no significant difference. While 38 per cent of people infected with older variants became severely ill or died at the North Middlesex or UCL hospitals, only 36 per cent of people with B117 did so. The second study, by King's College London, analysed data from almost 37,000 people who use the Covid Symptom Study app. It found there was no statistically significant change in the effects of being diagnosed with Covid depending on which variant someone had. People reporting that they had tested positive during the time when the variant was taking over were not more likely to have more symptoms, didn't have different symptoms, didn't develop severe Covid more often and didn't have a higher rate of long Covid, the study found. It did find, however, that the virus spread faster  the relative R rate, or number of people infected by each person with the virus, was 1.35 times higher, the team said. Advertisement

'I believe that as the vaccinations keep rolling out and we get three to four million people a day vaccinated, it would blunt a real explosion of a surge, but it may not blunt a moderate increase which we dont want to see.

'This is not the time to prematurely declare victory because we have such a successful rollout of vaccines.

'The variant, the B117  I call it that rather than the UK variant  has become quite dominant in the US. We're having the same experience that the UK had; an acceleration associated with the variant.

'With regard to the South African variant, the Brazilian variant, the P1, we do have some of that in the US but it is currently at a low enough level that it is not accounting for the disturbing increases in cases that we're seeing.'

If the coronavirus surges again in the US it could trigger the country's fourth wave.

The nation has been divided in its enforcement of Covid regulations, with most rules decided on a state-by-state basis, with some taking it more seriously than others.

On Sunday, the US recorded 46,378 new infections. This took the country's daily average, calculated across the week, to 70,196, the highest figure since February 26.

In the last week alone, the average number of cases has risen by almost 11 per cent and infections are increasing in 22 states.

Although the figure is far below January's peak of about 247,000 average new cases, it is in line with a surge in late July, when daily cases were averaging about 68,000.

By comparison, the UK announced 3,568 positive tests yesterday and the daily average is 2,744.

The second wave, driven by the emergence of the Kent variant in November, peaked at an average of 60,000 cases per day in the first week of January.

Relative to population, the US is currently recording one case for every 4,675 people each day, while the UK has one case for every 24,289 people.

Although the Kent variant spreads faster than other versions of the virus, research suggests it is not any more deadly and does not make vaccines less effective.

Dr Fauci and officials in the UK, therefore, are hopeful that their rapid vaccination programmes will stop the virus even as the variant takes over.

Dr Fauci added on Today: 'Once you get people vaccinated, even though it may not be perfect, it will get the level of infection down to a dramatically lower level than it currently is.

'The best way to prevent the evolution of variants is to get the level of infection very low by vaccination, and by adhering to public health measures until you get enough people vaccinated.

'Because once you get a substantial portion of the people vaccinated, then you will have a much better control and you will be able to gradually get back to some form of normality within a reasonable period of time.'

Dr Antony Fauci claims US may not need AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine this year because it has enough domestic shots - but doesn't rule out using 'really quite good' UK jab in future outbreaks

Dr Anthony Fauci today claimed the US may never need to use AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine.

America's top infectious disease expert said his country has already bought enough alternative jabs to inoculate all 330million people in the US.

He said this was not a 'negative indictment' of the Oxford University-developed jab, adding that it was 'really quite good'. But Dr Fauci told BBC Radio 4: 'It looks right now, at this point in time, that we will not need it.'

Officials across the Atlantic have already given at least one dose of either the Pfizer, Moderna or single-dose Johnson and Johnson jab to 120million people and have fully vaccinated 73million.

The abundance of American vaccines has meant Washington will likely not need to rely on foreign jabs this year, but Dr Fauci has not ruled out turning to AstraZeneca if there are future Covid outbreaks.

Dr Fauci  who has previously been critical of AstraZeneca's trial data and the British regulator for 'rushing' vaccines through approval  tried to quell the growing lack of confidence in the vaccine due to its link to extremely are blood clots.

He said: 'I think the AstraZeneca vaccine, from a standpoint of efficacy, is a good vaccine.

'And if the safety issue gets straightened out in the European Union  which I understand is still in a bit of controversy about how to use it and when to use and what age groups to use it  the efficacy of that vaccine is really quite good.

Dr Anthony Fauci has described the AstraZeneca vaccine as a 'good' jab but revealed the US might not need to use it because it has so many domestic vaccines already

He said this was not a 'negative indictment' of the Oxford University-developed jab (shown), adding that it was 'really quite good'

How do the Chinese vaccines compare to other approved jabs? CoronaVac, made by Chinese pharma company Sinovac, was found to be just 3 per cent effective at stopping symptomatic illness after the first dose, rising to 56.5 per cent two weeks after the second. Another Chinese-made vaccine made by state-owned pharmaceutical firm Sinopharm appears slightly better than the CoronaVac, 73 per cent efficacy against symptomatic illness

US SEEING SAME 'ACCELERATION' OF KENT VARIANT AS UK DID LAST YEAR, SAYS FAUCI America's top infectious disease doctor has warned against easing restrictions in the US too soon because of the Kent coronavirus variant. Dr Anthony Fauci said the highly-infectious strain had become 'quite dominant' just as America gets set to start easing curbs. He warned the US was in the same situation as the UK last winter, when the B117 variant rapidly took off and caused a wave that surpassed the peak last spring. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: 'We're having the same experience that the UK had - an acceleration associated with the variant.' The Kent strain has been shown to be up to 30 per cent more infectious than the original Covid. But the current crop of vaccines are just as effective at neutralising the variant, which means the US' immunisation scheme should not be hampered by its rise. Advertisement

He added: 'The way the US has made contractual relationships with a number of companies, we clearly have enough vaccine  or will get enough vaccine  that does not include AstraZeneca, which would be enough quantitatively to vaccinate everybody in the United States.

'Whether or not we ever use AZ is unclear but it looks right now at this point in time that we will not need it.

'It is not a negative indictment of AZ  it just possible that, given the supply we have from other companies, that we may not need to use an AZ vaccine.'

As US states begin to loosen lockdown restrictions, Dr Fauci also said there was a 'really risky situation' when bars and restaurants were reopening in some places where the use of masks was not being enforced.

He said the vaccine rollout would blunt 'a real explosion of a surge' but it would not stop a moderate increase in cases.

'This is not a time to prematurely declare victory because we have such a successful rollout,' he said.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is currently being investigated by European and British regulators over concerns about rare cases of blood clots.

It has not yet been approved in the US.

American jab watchdogs accused the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant of cherry-picking data to make it seem more effective than it actually was.

The firm hopes it will be given the green light in the coming weeks.

European regulators have found possible links between the shot, which has been given to tens of millions of people, and blood clots but they have reaffirmed the vaccine's importance in protecting people against Covid.

More than a dozen countries have at one time suspended use of the vaccine, but most have resumed, with some, including France, the Netherlands and Germany, recommending a minimum age.

NHS COVID VACCINE BOOKING WEBSITE CRASHES AS ROLL-OUT OPENS UP TO OVER-45S The NHS website for booking Covid vaccination appointments crashed this morning, just moments after the roll-out in England was opened up to over-45s. Health chiefs today opened up the national booking system for the next phase of the inoculation drive, after No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule. But the site ran into 'technical difficulties' after over-45s desperate to get vaccinated flocked online to book an appointment. Users trying to get a jab were told: 'The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.' Other users reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.' But shortly after the site crashed, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem had been 'fixed'. Moderna's vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company's jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week. Ministers have bought 17million doses of Moderna's vaccine, which is the third to be added to the NHS' 'armoury', alongside jabs from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Advertisement

Officials in Britain, where the vaccine was first approved, have advised that those aged under 30 should be offered an alternative.

Medical watchdogs insist there is still no proof the jab causes the blood conditions and stressed the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risk.

They only suspended its use in under-30s because the threat of Covid to them is so small.

Young Britons will be offered jabs made by Moderna or Pfizer instead.

AstraZeneca's vaccine is by far the cheapest and most high-volume shot launched so far, and has none of the extreme refrigeration requirements of some others, making it the planned mainstay of many inoculation programmes.

It comes as England's Covid vaccination roll-out was expanded to over-45s today.

But the NHS website for booking appointments crashed just moments after the drive was officially opened up to younger adults.

Users trying to get a jab were told: 'The NHS site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.'

Other users reported being placed in a queue with a holding screen which read: 'You are in a queue. Lots of people [are] trying to book an appointment.'

Health chiefs have moved on to the next stage of the campaign because No10 hit its April 15 goal of offering everyone in the top nine priority groups their first dose three days ahead of schedule.

But shortly after the site crashed, Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted that the problem had been 'fixed'.

Moderna's vaccine is also being dished out in England from today. But only 20 sites will get supplies of the US company's jab this week, as supply trickles in at around 150,000 a week.

Ministers have bought 17million doses of Moderna's vaccine, which is the third to be added to the NHS' 'armoury', alongside jabs from Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Moderna's jab  as well as leftover supplies of AstraZeneca and Pfizer that haven't been reserved for second doses  will be used to move on to the next phase of the roll-out.

Boris Johnson hailed the 'hugely significant milestone' in the race to inoculate the country, as he said the Government would 'move forward' on its next goal of inviting every adult for a vaccine by the end of July.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Officials running Onondaga Countys two biggest vaccine operations say there are plenty of shots available to accommodate everyone seeking a vaccine, despite the pause on use of Johnson & Johnson doses. State and county health officials said they do not foresee any shortages in vaccine supply.

We have enough Moderna and Pfizer to stay on task,' County Executive Ryan McMahon said today. We dont see any issues at this point with supply.'

Likewise, the mass vaccination site at the New York State Fair has plenty of supply to keep up the pace of vaccinations, said Troy Waffner, fair director. The fairgrounds site had 965 people scheduled to receive J&J vaccines today and was able to shift all of them to Pfizer shots, Waffner said.

The state and county today stopped administering the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine after federal officials recommended a pause in its use. Six recipients developed a rare disorder involving blood clots, according to The New York Times. The disorder developed within about two weeks after the people had been vaccinated.

Nearly 7 million people in the United State have received the J&J vaccine.

Although overall supply is not an issue, the inability to give J&J doses might cause some inconvenience because the alternative brands require two doses instead of one. Onondaga County had targeted J&J doses for college kids and homebound seniors, for example, to avoid having to give a second shot.

The state fairs Expo Center is the second busiest vaccination center in the state. Waffner said about 6,500 people a day get a shot there. Many come from across the state.

Some people drove up from New York City today to get the Johnson & Johnson shot, and will now get the two-dose Pfizer shot. State officials are working with those people to schedule their second dose closer to home so they dont need to make the long trek back to Syracuse in three weeks, Waffner said.

The states supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine had been shrinking in recent weeks already Waffner said, so there werent any appointments scheduled beyond today.

Waffner said the state is collecting names from people who still want the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. If it is made available again, those people will be contacted for appointments.

Do you have a news tip or a story idea? Contact reporter Tim Knauss of syracuse.com/The Post-Standard: email | Twitter | | 315-470-3023.
Having cutting-edge technology -- often without anyone they're allowed to cut down with it -- big militaries will encourage their brightest minds to think outside of the combat box. Sometimes, this leads to absolute military game-changers. Other times, years of research, training, and a third of your taxes are put into insane boondoggles that get swept under the military rug before anyone notices 

4 Britain's Secret World War II Weapon: An Ice Ship

Small and isolated, World War II Britain had to find unconventional ways to beat off the Nazis from all sides. And that way was the Chicago Way. That means when the Nazis pull a knife, you pull a gun. When they put one of yours in the hospital, you put a decoy corpse with fake military intel in the morgue. And if they send a ship, you send an iceberg.

Travel Photographer, Stocksnap Is your hull Kate Winslet? Because I'm about to Titanic your ass.

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Everyone who's got their ass kicked in Age of Empires knows that a war is won not with troops but with resources. Churchill was well aware of this in 1943 as he desperately needed to build more aircraft carriers to take on the Nazi U-boats but was running out of steel. Then, one evening, he had his Eureka moment while sitting in the bath. Or, he had it thrown at him when Chief of Combined Operations Lord Mountbatten barged into his bathroom and tossed a lump of ice into his steaming tub. Except, the ice didn't melt. Because this wasn't just some frozen water, it was pykrete.

Pykrete is a combination of Pyke and concrete, and Churchill was well acquainted with both. Geoffrey Pyke was one of Mountbatten's staffers and an eccentric Willy Wonka style inventor -- if Wonka was obsessed with frost instead of frosting. The year prior, Pyke had pioneered a rapid deployment snowmobile propelled by a screw that looked like a combination between a large drill and the kind of bullet your mom hides in her nightstand. Churchill was so impressed by its flanking capacities he exclaimed: "Never in the history of human conflict will so few immobilize so many."
Patna, April 13 : The Bihar Real Estate Regulatory Authority (BRERA) has taken strong action against three private developers for violating RERA norms, an official said on Tuesday.

The action has been taken after more than one dozen home buyers filed written complaints with the BRERA. The official said that the real estate companies -- Green Vatika Homes Pvt Ltd, Arunendra Developers Pvt Ltd and Shiba Welcome Pvt Ltd -- violated RERA guidelines.

Accordingly, action has been taken against them in the last one week.

"The home buyers have filed complaints against these builders and the violation was found during the hearing. Accordingly, we have frozen the bank accounts of directors of the companies," the official said.

"Besides, we have also asked them to submit all financial transactions, investments and expenditures of the companies after the particular project launched in Bihar. Till that time, we have stopped them from selling residential units till the next order," the official said.

Home buyers have filed complaints against Green Vatika Homes, for instance. The company has projects named VIP Residency, Pusp Vatika, Kamal Complex, Urmila Vatika and other projects in Patna and other districts.

"We have paid 80% to 90% of our total cost of the residential flats but our builder has not completed the construction accordingly. We strongly believe that the builder has three to four projects underway and it has invested our money in other projects," said Ravindra Kumar Sinha, a home buyer.

Bihar RERA has frozen the bank accounts of Pankaj Kumar, Chandan Kumar and Upendra Mandal, directors of Arunendra builders. The regulatory body has also banned the sale of residential units of its projects at Phulwari Sarif, Danapur-1 enclave and other parts of Bihar.

The next hearing on Green Vatika Homes and Arunendra builders is scheduled for April 16.

Similarly, Bihar RERA has frozen the bank accounts of Khalid Rashid and Amina Rashid, the directors of Shiba Welcome builders. RERA has also banned sales of the project Rajeshwar Apartment.

The hearing of Shiba Welcome Builders is scheduled on May 10.
With summer around the corner, a project shows how implementing an evidence-based mindfulness program in a summer camp setting decreases emotional distress in school age children and empowers campers and counselors alike - enhancing camper-counselor relationships. Mindfulness - a state of consciousness that fosters awareness - has the potential to help regulate emotions and behaviors.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing implemented an eight-week program guided by the Mindful Schools curricula in a large urban summer day camp program (ages 3 to seventh grade). Mindfulness-based practices are intentional exercises that cultivate mindfulness and engage youth to help develop attention to self and surroundings, social skills and emotional skills.

Results of the program evaluation, published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (online in December 2020 ahead of final publication in issue on March 1, 2021), showed that weekly mindfulness sessions appeared to empower campers with the ability to pay attention to self and surroundings while regulating emotions and behaviors. Mindfulness sessions for counselors empowered them to intentionally role model, utilize mindful strategies when dealing with difficult behaviors of campers and reinforced mindful practices to campers between weekly Mindful Schools sessions.

According to the counselors' observations, 40 minutes of weekly mindful sessions were most influential in affecting campers' ability to self-regulate. Counselors also reported their own ability to increase classroom/cabin management and camper behavior management skills through the use of peace corners and portable mindfulness aids such as "calm down jars," stress balls and talking timers.

Campers attended an adapted 40-minute Mindful Schools session once a week as part of the camp curriculum. Weekly sessions began with a didactic teaching related to select Mindful Schools lesson topics. Then campers engaged in actual practice of mindfulness content; age-appropriate hands-on experiential activities were then implemented to reiterate and practice mindful content. To ensure learned material was retained, cabin peace corners containing material that reinforced mindfulness were designed and implemented into each cabin classroom.

All Mindful Schools sessions were delivered by a pediatric nurse practitioner and/or a master's prepared registered nurse - both of whom were certified Mindful Schools educators. The children participated in mindful breathing, daily use of peace corners and even used mindfulness tools like the calm down jars filled with water, glitter, clear glue and food coloring. For example, campers were instructed to shake their calm down jars and focus on the falling glitter while they practiced mindful breathing. Workstations that represented each mindful lesson were set up at the completion of the eight-week program and offered for campers to select their lesson of choice(s). The purpose of the workstations were to evaluate which mindfulness activities resonated most with campers for future camp program design.

"We found that mindful breathing, mindful bodies, and mindful listening assisted in bringing awareness to campers in the program and provided skills to address stressful experiences," said Andra S. Opalinski, Ph.D., APRN, co-author, an associate professor and assistant dean of graduate studies in FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. "Since calm down jars and mindful pebbles were the two most preferred activities - both of which are in sync with the top three mindful practices implemented by the campers - offering such adapted age appropriate experiential activities may indeed reinforce and reiterate didactic teaching and be pertinent for the intersection of playing and learning for mindful practices in children."

Because studies have found mindfulness-based practices as an effective approach to addressing self-regulation/ behavior concerns in school age children and adolescents, Opalinski and Laurie A. Martinez, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.B.A., co-author, a registered nurse and a project coordinator in FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, note that applying an evidence-based practice mindfulness program to summer camp programs, a setting in which large numbers of children participate, provides additional context for addressing and examining mental health promotion in pediatric populations.

"This application of an evidence-based program also showed that the use of Mindful Schools allows for sustainability of the program because a nurse can be trained in the curriculum and adapt the lessons for an alternative setting to broaden the reach of mindfulness interventions to settings such as after school and summer activity programs, Boys and Girls Clubs as well as faith community programs that provide services for children and adolescents," said Martinez. "In fact, the Mindful Schools educators are exploring the possibilities of conducting a research study to validate the effectiveness of curricula change."

###

This work was funded by FloridaBlue and the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.

About the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing:

FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is nationally and internationally known for its excellence and philosophy of caring science. The college is ranked No.1 in online graduate nursing programs in Florida and No. 23 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. In 2017, with a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN), FAU BSN graduates, first-time test takers, ranked among the highest (No.1) in Florida and the United States. FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). For more information, visit nursing.fau.edu.

About Florida Atlantic University:
Prince Philip has died last Friday, Apr. 9. Funeral arrangements are already being arranged.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only 30 guests are permitted to attend the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral at St. George's Chapel in Windsor which will take place next week.

The reported funeral will be a family affair which will be attended by close relatives.

Prince Philip Funeral Attendees

According to reports, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's children and grandchildren will be present at the ceremony to pay their respects including Prince Charles, his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, Princess Anne, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, Sophie Wessex and their kids, Lady Louise and Viscount James Severn.

Peter Phillips, Zara and Mike Tindall will also be joining the family, including Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and their husbands.

Other royal family members will also be attending the funeral which includes Queen Elizabeth II's cousins like Princess Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's great-grandchildren, including the Cambridge kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are considered to be too young to attend the funeral as they're all under 10 years old.

However, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not be in attendance as the royal family members celebrate the life of Prince Philip, one non-royal family member is reportedly going to be present.

According to reports, the Duke of Edinburgh's private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, who held the position for 11 years, will be at the funeral. He embarked on the job in 2011.

However, Jeremy Vine said on his show that it's also possible that some royal family members will swapping out their spouses in exchange of some of the members of Prince Philip's personal staff.

Vine explained, "If you wanted to bring more like this gentleman [Brigadier Bakewell] who has worked in his personal office, you might think of bringing his page, his valet, his personal protection officer."

He added, "And at that point, you need to knock people out, so you might consider removing Edoardo, Princess Beatrice's husband, or Jack Brooksbank, Eugenie's husband."

READ ALSO: Prince Philip Last Days: 'Lucid But Joyous' Final Moments with Queen Elizabeth Revealed

Why Meghan Markle Isn't Attending Prince Philip's Funeral

When the tragic news of the Duke of Edinburgh surface, many fans already started to question if Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will be flying to the UK for the funeral.

However, it was answered by a Palace spokesperson that the Duchess of Sussex was advised by her doctor not to travel.

Prince Harry was already spotted arriving at Heathrow Airport in London on Sunday.

However, a close of the 39-year-old claimed that Meghan Markle could still fly to the UK to join her husband, the Duke of Sussex, before the funeral on Saturday but she reportedly left the decision up to him.

According to the source who spoke to Daily Mail, "Meghan said her main concern right now is supporting Harry. She said she left it up to him as to whether or not she would attend the funeral."

Another source said, "Meghan said attending or not attending Prince Philip's funeral isn't going to change her relationship with the Queen. She said the Queen understands her absence and would want her to stay safe and healthy for the baby."

They added, "Meghan said this is the opportune time for Henry to mend his relationship with his brother and his dad. She doesn't need to be there for that."

READ MORE: Model Left Brain Dead by Pretzel: How A $2 Negligence Turned Into A $30 Million Awarded Lawsuit

See Now: Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles
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More than 100 passengers arriving at Vancouver International Airport have refused to go to a government-authorized accommodation upon arrival to Canada.

As of April 7, the Public Health Agency of Canada is aware of 106 tickets that have been issued to travellers for arriving in British Columbia without having booked a GAA hotel and subsequently refusing to go to one, says spokesperson Tammy Jarbeau.

The fine for refusing to go to a quarantine hotel is a whopping $3,000.

Individuals who contravene the mandatory isolation or mandatory quarantine requirements, including the instructions of a quarantine officer, may also be subject to a range of enforcement measures under the Quarantine Act. Maximum penalties include a fine of up to $750,000 and/or imprisonment for six months.

Additionally, a person who causes a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another person while willfully or recklessly contravening the Act or regulations, including submitting false information related to an individuals quarantine plan, could be liable for a fine of up to $1,000,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both.

In addition, travellers can also receive fines under contraventions regulations. The regulations provide police and other enforcement officers additional tools to enforce the Quarantine Act. Under the regulations, any traveller who refuses to comply with the Quarantine Act could face a fine of up to $3,000 (this is the most common fine) for each day of non-compliance or for each offence committed. All fines issued under the regulations are also subject to applicable surcharge fees that are determined by the province.

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 a 72-hour timeframe of their scheduled flight.
"We celebrate together CSD Mohab Mameesh, the largest in the Middle East and Africa, joining the SCA's fleet," Xinhua news agency SCA Chairman Osama Rabie as saying during a ceremony held in Ismailia province on Monday.

Cairo, April 13 (IANS) Egypt's Suez Canal Authority (SCA) celebrated the recent arrival of a cutter suction dredger (CSD), the largest in the Middle East.

The new dredger is considered "an unprecedented addition to the authority's dredgers fleet", the SCA chief added.

He stressed that "it will make a quantum leap in the SCA's capabilities in carrying out dredging works and projects inside and outside Egypt".

The 29,190-kilowatt heavy-duty rock CSD Mohab Mameesh was made by Dutch shipbuilder Royal IHC, which is working on another dredger named Hussein Tantawy that is scheduled to be delivered to Egypt in August, according to Rabie.

With an overall length of 147.4 metres and width of 23 metres, Mohab Mameesh can dredge to a depth of 35 metres, while the Suez Canal is 24 metre deep.

In March, the massive Panama-flagged container ship Ever Given was successfully refloated after being stranded in the Suez Canal for almost a week, thanks to cooperation between the SCA and Dutch firm Boskalis with and its emergency response team SMIT Salvage.

The new dredger was named after former SCA chief Mohab Mameesh, under whose chairmanship the one-year Suez Canal expansion project was carried out and "the New Suez Canal" was inaugurated in August 2015.

Mameesh, who is currently a presidential adviser, also attended Monday's ceremony that was held on a platform opposite to the giant blue dredger, at the massive workshop of the SCA's dredging department.

"I am extremely happy with the arrival of CSD Mohab Mameesh," Mameesh said, stressing that it was a necessary move to upgrade the SCA's weary fleet of dredgers.

For his part, Mostafa Kenawy, head of the dredging department at the SCA, said that the Ever Given incident draw the attention of the SCA officials to the necessity of widening the southern part of the waterway whose soil is rocky.

Linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, the Suez Canal is a major lifeline for global seaborne trade as it allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa.

The waterway was officially opened for international navigation in late 1869.

--IANS

ksk/
Port Neches new fire chief Eloy Vega is bringing more than two decades of experience with him to Southeast Texas, but  as he gets closer officially taking on the position  he is more focused on what is left to create.

Vega, who starts his role on April 27, said he is aiming to make an environment where emergency personnel have the support and training to thrive at the department and a relationship with the community that is based on trust.

As fire chief, the community has my commitment that I will be open to transparency and proactive in providing timely information, Vega said. That way, we are better prepared and more aware as a community.

The new chief was sworn in at Thursdays regular meeting of the Port Neches City Council after a months-long-interview process with multiple candidates.

Port Neches City Manager Andre Wimer said a total of 14 candidates applied for the position and were reviewed by the selection committee.

Mayor Glenn Johnson said that Vegas service experience made him stick out among the candidates, but his potential to strengthen the department and its connection to residents was vital.

His experience had a lot to do with it, and Chief Vega believes in developing fire fighters to achieve their potential, Johnson said. He believes in being involved with his community, and especially our local schools.

The position was vacated in January after former Port Neches Fire Chief Paul Nelson was arrested and charged with promotion of child pornography.

Johnson thanked Mike Stegall, who served as interim chief, for his leadership and guidance during the search.

Vega served the Laredo Fire Department for 22 years, moving up through the ranks as a public information officer position and captain before becoming a district chief in 2012. He was also interviewed as one of four candidates for the chief position in Laredo in 2020, according to the Laredo Morning Times.

He earned a masters degree in emergency management from Sam Houston State University State in emergency management and a certified emergency manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers.

As a part of his experience with the association, Vega said he was allowed to learn from and guide firefighters from across the world as a part of an international training cadre. He said this allowed him to get a wider perspective on how emergency services interact with the public and how to improve those interactions.

The needs that we have to meet are actually very similar across communities, but we still have to be in touch, he said. My priority will be to sit and listen to concerns and then deliver the services and performance that the citizens deserve.

During his tenure in Laredo, Vega helped lead the training division, fire prevention and arson divisions with the department and became a certified law enforcement officer and reserve deputy for the Webb County Sheriffs Office.

As the head of Port Neches fire department, Vega will be joining a network of emergency agencies and professionals across Jefferson County and Southeast Texas that have increasingly had to cooperate together during both natural and industrial disasters.

The latest industrial disaster, the TPC Group explosion, was directly across the street from the Port Neches Fire Department and is still front-of-mind to some residents still repairing their homes.

Vega will have more time to understand the community and its needs as he settles into his position, but he said he can only describe his experience so far with citizens and officials as impressive.

The goal is always to work together by maintaining positive relationships, and that is something I encountered through all of my meetings, he said. I think with that environment and culture, there is a significant amount of achievements we can create together.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jd_journalism
The Australian market finished session marginally higher on Tuesday, 13 April 2021, after trimming intraday gains during late afternoon. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 2.97 points, or 0.04%, to 6,976.92. The broader All Ordinaries added 5.77 points, or 0.08%, to 7,231.01.

Australian market commenced trading with firm footing, thanks to data showing China's exports grew at a strong pace during March and imports rebounded giving investors heart that China's domestic demand is improving as part of the recovery from the pandemic.

China's exports in dollar terms rose by 30.6% in March from one year earlier while imports jumped 38.1% compared to the same time last year.

Among sectors, IT led gains, up 2.2%, while consumer staples also performed strongly, up 0.8%. Utilities, energy and materials weighed down the market, declining 1.2%, 0.7% and 0.6% respectively.

Buy-now-pay-later firm Zip Co jumped 17% following the release of its March quarter update which showed revenue growth of $114.4m, an 80% increase year-on-year.

In economic news, the NAB business confidence index fell from an 11-year high of +17.8 points in February to +15.5 points in March, but the business conditions index lifted to a record high of +25.2 points in March, up from +17.0 points in February. The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 5.9% - the most in 43 weeksto a 17-month high of 114.1.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7613, lower than levels above $0.765 seen in the previous trading week.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2021-04-13 14:03:23|Editor: huaxia

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Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2012 shows destroyed No.3 reactor building of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture, Japan. (Xinhua/Pool)

-- The Japanese government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea;

-- The plan has been facing strong opposition from the Japanese fish industry and the public;

-- The plan also raised concerns from neighboring countries about possible negative impact on people's health and fishery businesses.

TOKYO, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday that his government has decided to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima Prefecture into the sea amid domestic and international opposition.

Suga made the announcement after convening a meeting of relevant ministers to formalize plans to release the radioactive water accumulated at the plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Struck by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit Japan's northeast on March 11, 2011, the No. 1-3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns.

The plant has been generating massive amount of radiation-tainted water since the accident happened as it needs water to cool the reactors. The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO) said it will take around two years for the release to start.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team members watch No.3 reactor of the crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO)'s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, in this handout photo taken and released by TEPCO on May 27, 2011. (Xinhua)

The water has been treated using an advanced liquid processing system, or ALPS, to remove most contaminants. However, things like tritium, a radioactive byproduct of nuclear reactors, are hard to filter out.

According to some marine experts, traces of ruthenium, cobalt, strontium, and plutonium isotopes in the wastewater also raise concerns.

The plant has been struggling to store the contaminated water in tanks at its facility where more than 1.25 million tons of contaminated water are currently stored in huge tanks, and the space is expected to reach capacity next year.

TEPCO claimed that the whole decommissioning process will be hampered if it needs to keep building storage tanks within the plant's premises.

Japan had considered evaporating or storing underground the tritium-laced water from the plant as an alternative. However, from the perspective of cost and technical feasibility, the Japanese government decided to dilute the contaminated water and discharge it into the sea.

The plan has been facing strong opposition from the Japanese fish industry and the public, with fishery industry representatives saying it would undo years of work to restore their reputation.

"We are dead against a release of contaminated water to the ocean as it could have a catastrophic impact on the future of Japan's fishing industry," Hiroshi Kishi, head of the national federation of fisheries cooperatives known as JF Zengyoren, told a meeting with government officials last October.

Japanese workers try to clear radioactive emissions on the roof of a house in Onami, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on Oct. 25, 2011. (Xinhua/Kenichiro Seki)

According to Kishi, the release of radioactive water could trigger other countries to tighten restrictions on imports of Japanese fishery products, reversing a recent trend toward loosening.

Currently, a number of countries and regions continue to impose restrictions on Japanese agricultural and fishery products as a result of the Fukushima crisis amid continued concerns about the safety of the produce.

During a meeting with Suga last week, Kishi reiterated his organization's ardent opposition to the idea of dumping the radioactive water into the sea.

"It is inevitable that there would be reputational damage regardless of how the water will be disposed of, whether into the sea or into the air," he said. "I want the government to clarify how it intends to respond to such reputational damage."

Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama said last Friday that while working on the concerns of the fisheries industry, the government hopes to seek cooperation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other global organizations, while maintaining transparency over the matter.

The Japanese government had initially hoped to make a decision on the release of the water last October. However, it delayed the decision due to fierce opposition from local fishermen.

According to a survey conducted by public broadcaster NHK late last year, 51 percent of respondents said they are "against" or "quite against" the idea of discharge the wastewater into the sea, while only 18 percent said they are in favor of the plan.

The sign of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is seen in the district of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, March 7, 2015. (Xinhua/Liu Tian)

Another poll conducted by Asahi Shimbun newspaper in January showed that 55 percent of respondents are against the government's plan to discharge contaminated radioactive wastewater in Fukushima into the sea, while 32 percent said they support it.

Yukio Edano, the leader of Japan's main opposition party the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) strongly condemned the plan on Saturday, saying the government's decision is unacceptable and a complete disregard for the voices of the people of Fukushima.

Some environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Japan and the Citizens' Commission on Nuclear Energy said on Monday that they have collected more than 64,000 signatures from 88 countries and regions in a petition to the government against the decision to dump Fukushima wastewater into the sea.

The environmental groups called the government's decision a "crude way of deciding" without adequate discussion and called for it to be withdrawn.

The plan also raised concerns from neighboring countries about possible negative impact on people's health and fishery businesses resulting from the discharge.

China on Tuesday once again expressed serious concerns about Japan's decision to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear station by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean.

On Monday, China expressed its grave concerns through diplomatic channels, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian saying that China urged the Japanese side to take a responsible attitude and treat the issue of nuclear waste disposal with caution.

Zhao stressed that proper disposal of nuclear waste is related to international public interests and the vital interests of neighboring countries. It should be handled carefully and properly to avoid further damaging the marine environment, food safety and human health.

Meanwhile, South Korea on Monday also voiced "grave concerns", with foreign ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam saying "It will be difficult to accept if the Japanese side decides to release the contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant without sufficient consultations."

"Our government expresses grave concerns as the decision can have direct and indirect impact on the safety of our people and the surrounding environment," he added.
The White House

President Joe Biden Friday released his fiscal year 2022 discretionary funding request, which the administration indicated outlines a strategy for reinvesting in the foundations of our countrys resilience and strength. Of note for credit unions, the proposal would boost funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund compared to the 2021 enacted levels.

CDFI Fund

The proposal provides $330 million to the Treasurys CDFI Fund  an increase of 22.2 percent from the 2021 enacted level (excluding coronavirus-related emergency funding). NAFCU had called for additional CDFI support during last years funding negotiations. The NCUAs Community Development Revolving Loan Fund (CDRLF) was not included in the budget overview.

The CDFI funding is cited as supporting opportunities for minority-owned businesses, affordable housing development, and community revitalization projects.
While New Jersey has stopped administering the one-shot Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after federal authorities announced Tuesday concerns about rare blood clots, Gov. Phil Murphy urged the more than 235,000 people in the state who have already received that vaccine not to be overly concerned.

No one who has received this vaccine should panic or worry, Murphy said during a public event in Paramus. A pause for further investigation is a precautionary and smart step.

The states Department of Health announced Tuesday it would follow the federal recommendation to suspend J&J vaccinations after six women between the ages of 18 and 48 had potentially serious blood clots six to 13 days after vaccination.

Murphy said there havent been any reports of similar adverse effects in New Jersey.

CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage

It was unclear how many doses the state has in its stockpiles but has not yet administered. Last week, the state received 131,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but it received only 15,600 this week, health officials said at Mondays coronavirus briefing. The allotment was expected to drop again next week.

Murphy has counted on the Johnson & Johnson vaccines as being critical to hit his administrations goal of vaccinating 70% of the states eligible population by the end of June. Murphy said Monday J&J was explicit over the weekend that they would still be able to achieve their 100 million dose production by the end of June.

He said the state expected to get 1 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by June 30.

But Murphy said on Tuesday he still believes meeting the original 70% vaccination goal is entirely achievable.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com.
Former Wrexham Groves School could be used as medical training facility  but plans held up by Covid travel restrictions

A derelict secondary school in Wrexham could be turned into a medical training facility, its been revealed.

However, plans to bring the Groves School on the edge of the town centre back into use are currently being hampered because of travel restrictions designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Wrexham Council signed heads of terms with an unnamed company to allow it to take on the listed building in February last year.

Its now been disclosed that international healthcare company Apollo is behind proposals to convert the boarded-up school into a training base for medical staff.





The firm already has a site in Crewe, known as the Apollo Buckingham Health Sciences Campus, which is used to recruit doctors, nurses and other professionals from India to come and work in the UK.

The plans for a new facility in Wrexham are on hold though because of the pandemic, according to a report from a group of councillors set up to examine the future use of the Groves.

It states: The Groves project is still a work in progress. The Covid-19 pandemic has not helped.

The building is also subject to agreed heads of terms with ApolloMedi.

However, the project is based on immigration of Indian medical staff and the Covid-19 pandemic has stopped much of the travel needed.

The work of the task and finish group has therefore been put on hold pending further development, but it is hoped that an update will be available for a meeting of the group sometime in May 2021.

Expressions of interest in the building were sought in early 2019 amid a long-running debate over its future.

The council previously failed in its attempts to demolish the school after it was listed by the Welsh Government following a community campaign to save it.

The local authority conducted a feasibility study to look at the possibility of reusing it as a primary school, but the estimated 11.5m refurbishment costs were judged to be too high.

The council has also agreed terms with Wrexham AFC to take on a separate part of the site to create a training facility.

However, that project has also been thrown into doubt after the club was taken over by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, who are understood to be considering alternative locations in the area.

The report adds: The council has agreed heads of terms with Wrexham FC to lease the playing fields.

We await further developments, pending the takeover.

The whole Groves site was once due to be sold to Coleg Cambria, but those plans fell through as the college chose to remodel its existing campus nearby.

Council leaders have pledged that any future proposals for the school will involve the building being retained.

The update will be presented to members of the authoritys lifelong learning scrutiny committee on Thursday (April 15, 2021).

Apollo has been contacted for comment on its plans for the site.

By Liam Randall  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
Jennifer Aniston's niece Eilish Melick is expecting a boy this summer, making the A-lister a great aunt-to-be.

Aniston, 52, is the younger half-sister of Eilish's dad John Melick III, 61, an assistant film director, as they were both born to the late Nancy Dow, who died in May 2016 at 79.

The perennial A-lister is an aunt to Eilish, Eilish's younger brother John Melick IV, as well as half-brother Alex Aniston's children Ryat and Kira.

The latest: Jennifer Aniston's niece Eilish Melick is expecting a boy this summer, making the A-lister a great aunt-to-be

Eilish Melick, 24, and her husband Sean Nebbia, 25, posted to social media about expecting their first child in December, The Sun was first to report.

The couple recently celebrated their two-year anniversary, according to the outlet, and are both Navy veterans.

In a post last month, Melick showed off her baby bump, captioning the image, 'Oooh baby, baby.'

She has past dabbled in show business, having appeared in TV films such as High School Possession, Runaway and Summoned.

Eilish Melick, 24, and her husband Sean Nebbia, 25, posted to social media about expecting their first child in December

Happy pair: The couple recently celebrated their two-year anniversary

The Morning Show star opened up on the topic of having children in July of 2016 during a time she was still married to now-ex-husband, The Leftovers star Justin Theroux.

'We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies,' she said in an op-ed for The Huffington Post. 'That decision is ours and ours alone. Let's make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples.

'We don't need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own "happily ever after" for ourselves.'

Aniston, who played Rachel Green on the 90s NBC hit Friends, said that she 'may become a mother some day,' adding, 'Since I'm laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know.

'But I'm not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way, as our celebrity news culture would lead us all to believe.'
Vivo has quietly launched a new smartphone under its Y-series. Called Y20SG, the handset is available in the Philippines for about $205 ( 15,300 approximately). The smartphone comes in Obsidian Black and Purist Blue colour options.

Vivo Y20SG measures 164.4176.328.41mm and weighs around 192.3 grams. It has a 6.51-inch HD+ display with a 1600x 720 pixels resolution and LCD (IPS) panel. The phone comes with a side-mounted fingerprint reader.

For performance, Vivo Y20SG relies on MediaTeks Helio G80 processor. It has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The phone also comes with support for a microSD card for expandable storage. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support. On the software front, it runs on Android-based Funtouch OS 11.

ALSO READ: Vivo ropes in Virat Kohli as brand ambassador

In terms of connectivity, the new handset supports a full slot (2 nano SIM + 1 microSD card), Bluetooth 5.0, micro USB and GPS among others.

Separately, Vivo is gearing up for the launch of its next flagship phone, Nex 5. According to rumours, the phone will come with a 6.78-inch quad-curve display that supports a 120Hz refresh rate. It may also have an under-display camera with a 32-megapixel sensor.

The Nex 5 could also come with a 4,500mAh battery along with 120W wired fast charging and 60W wireless fast charging. Leaks further state the handset could have an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance. The phone is likely to run on Qualcomms Snapdragon 888 processor. There is no word on when the phone will officially launch.
SINGAPORE, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- SpaceChain today introduced SpaceChain Callisto - its first open-source demo hardware board designed for developing blockchain applications that can be used and deployed in space. SpaceChain Callisto is pre-installed with and runs on Linux and SpaceChain Operating System (SPC OS), to help accelerate space technology development, and serves as the backbone for SpaceChain's payload launches and missions.

SpaceChain Callisto enables developer communities worldwide to participate in building out next-generation decentralized infrastructures for blockchain and fintech applications using space technologies. More importantly, it signifies a strategic step forward towards democratizing the space industry and fostering the commercialization of outer space.

The Callisto is configured in a way similar to the on-orbit payload currently installed in the International Space Station. Developers will have the chance to create game-changing applications that can potentially leverage blockchain-related functions, including running smart contracts and performing multi-signature transactions, and running tests through their computers to determine whether the applications they created would work in space ultimately.

"The world is entering an age of software-defined satellites that can be configured to perform different tasks by simply uploading an application or program, much akin to a mobile phone," said Zee Zheng, SpaceChain co-founder and CEO. "By opening up access to space and satellite technologies through increasing the number of players and contributors, more opportunities for collaborative work can be created and lead to new businesses and socio-economic models that were once impossible."

SpaceChain's co-founder and CTO Jeff Garzik executed the first multisignature blockchain transaction in space in August 2020. Less than a year later, SpaceChain is yet another step closer to removing barriers and allowing a global community to access and collaborate in space, all while remaining secure and immutable through proven blockchain cryptography.

"We named our product - Callisto - after the second largest moon or natural satellite of Jupiter, to represent how a mass that is millions of kilometers from Earth can be held within our grasp," said Jeff Garzik, SpaceChain co-founder and CTO. "SpaceChain's open-source demo hardware board is proof of our efforts to bring our disruptive technology to the masses as we continue to discover more commercial use cases for blockchain-based satellite networks in space. We are one step closer to making the SpaceChain OS available to anyone, anywhere in the world."

More information about getting started with SpaceChain Callisto and how to use the board can be found at https://spacechain.com/callisto/ and https://github.com/spacechain/SpaceChain-Board .

Please find the product thumbnail of the SpaceChain Callisto board here .

About SpaceChain

SpaceChain fosters decentralized infrastructure for the New Space Economy. By combining space and blockchain technologies SpaceChain is making the development of space applications easier and making space more accessible. For more information, visit spacechain.com

SOURCE SpaceChain
India's top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said one of its subsidiaries has secured a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) order for a 300MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

The contract was awarded to the renewables unit of L&Ts Power Transmission and Distribution Business by a consortium of Abu Dhabi's Masdar along with French group EDF Renewables and Saudi multinational conglomerate Nesma.

The project is coming up in Third Jeddah Industrial City, 50km south-east of the Saudi port city. This large utility scale power plant utilises key technologies including bifacial modules, single axial trackers, string inverters and robots for module cleaning.

Saudi Arabias Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo) had awarded the Jeddah power plant contract to the Masdar consortium under a design, finance, build and operate mode.

The project has now attained financial closure after the signing of the power purchase agreement and thereby the notice to Larsen & Toubro to proceed with the construction.

On the contract win, T Madhava Das, Whole-Time Director & Senior Executive Vice President (Utilities), said: "We are delighted to be a part of establishing major solar projects awarded under the umbrella of Saudi Arabias pioneering National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP), thus marking yet another milestone in our green technology path to enable clean energy transition."

Earlier L&T had announced the major EPC order win for 1.5GW Sudair project in Saudi Arabia, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Ghana is receiving support from Germany to conduct feasibility studies into the production of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, Christoph Retzlaff, the German ambassador has confirmed.



Already, some global German pharmaceutical firms have begun various projects with local firms towards realising the goal. Germany is supporting Ghana to do feasibility studies on vaccine production in Ghana. Leading Global German Pharmaceutical companies are also starting cooperation projects, Retzlaff tweeted.



Africa currently imports 99% of all its vaccines and it is hoping to reduce imports to around 40% by 2040.



The continent is also hoping to seek guidance from countries like India and Brazil on how they developed their generic pharmaceutical industries.



Dr Anthony Nsiah Asare, presidential advisor on health in February said government is looking at building local capacity for the manufacture of vaccines in the country following the outbreak of COVID-19. As the president has always been saying, we want to turn this crisis into an opportunity, Dr Asare told host of The Asaase Breakfast Show Kojo Mensah on Monday 22 February.



In fact, the president has formed a committee, which I happen to be a member, chaired by Prof Frimpong Boateng, that we have been charged to come out with the production of vaccines in this country for the sub-region. What we want to do is to position Ghana in such a way that we can be a manufacturer of vaccines not only COVID-19 but all other vaccines for the Africa region. This is what we are doing, we have started work and we believe that we will get there, he stated.



Dr Asare said government is prepared to tap into the expertise of Ghanaian scientists across the globe to make the manufacturing of vaccines a reality.



And then at least if for nothing at all we should be able to package, thats the beginning of how to make vaccine like the Indians have been doing, why cant we do it? We have the scientists all over, we will bring them back home to come and assist, with the knowledge they have acquired there, the former Ghana Health Service boss remarked.



He is optimistic Ghana will soon be less dependent on other countries for vaccines with the manufacturing of locally made ones.



There is a plan already, we have started working, we are going to work and come out to bring a good plan, that will be implemented. Who knew that in Ghana we will be making our own PPE; now we are manufacturing our own PPE which has been accepted by the Ghana Standards Authority and the Food and Drugs Authority.







Source: asaaseradio.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
Jess Wright has admitted her 14-year battle with psoriasis has worsened following her uncle Edwards's death amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In a new interview, the former TOWIE star, 35, revealed that while she's suffered from flare-ups during the last 'really rubbish few months', she's glad she opened up about her condition with her fans.

The model said: 'My psoriasis has got a lot worse because of the pandemic. With my uncle and all the stress of the past year, it's flared up. It's been a really rubbish few months with everything that's gone on.'

'It's flared-up': Jess Wright has admitted her 14-year battle with psoriasis has worsened after her uncle Edwards's death amid the coronavirus pandemic (pictured make-up free this year)

On the benefits of sharing her story, the TV star, who is currently undergoing treatment for the skin disease, added to new! magazine: 'I'm really glad I did share it. So many people appreciate my openness and it's important to keep it real.'

Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that is characterised by raised areas of skin that is typically red, dry, itchy and scaly.

In an honest video uploaded to her Instagram Stories in January, Jess told how she experienced a flare-up on her face and arms and is now having a 'light therapy' to help with it.

Tough time: In a new interview, the former TOWIE star, 35, revealed she's suffered from flare-ups during the last 'really rubbish few months' (pictured with her uncle, centre)

Candid: The model explained how she's glad she opened up about her condition with her fans on social media, and is currently undergoing treatment (pictured with a flare-up in November)

WHAT IS PSORIASIS? Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that affects the skin and sometimes the joints. Around two per cent of people in the US and UK suffer from the condition. Psoriasis occurs when a person's skin replacement process takes place within days rather than the usual 21-to-28 days. The accumulation of skin cells builds up to form raised plaques, which can be flaky, scaly and itchy. Psoriasis arthritis can occur in the joints near affected skin, causing them to become tender, swollen and stiff. Anyone can suffer, but psoriasis is more common in people in their late teens-to-early 30s or those between the ages of 50 and 60. Psoriasis' cause is unclear. Flare-ups can be triggered by stress, skin injury, hormonal changes and certain medications. It is not contagious and there is no cure. Treatment focuses on managing symptoms via topical creams, gels and medication. Source: Psoriasis Association Advertisement

The media personality said: 'It's prescribed through my doctor and you can get it on the NHS or you can do it privately.

'It's like a light therapy basically and you have to go for sessions every so often. If I get married this year, I don't want to be conscious of it all the time.'

Jess' beloved relative passed away last month following an eight-week battle with Covid.

On how she and her family are recovering from the tragedy, the businesswoman said: 'We're just sticking together as a family and supporting each other. It's soul destroying that we haven't been able to hug our loved ones for the last year.'

In the romance department, Jess has nearly rounded off wedding preparations for her nuptials to her fiance William Lee-Kemp this June.

The businessman popped the question on the snow capped peaks of Courchevel, France, last February after 13 months of dating.
A demonstrator heckles police in Brooklyn Center, Minn., last night. Photo: John Minchillo/AP

A second night of protests over the police shooting of Daunte Wright unfolded in Brooklyn Center Monday, as a large crowd defied a curfew and pleas from city leaders to go home.

Driving the news: We are going to get to the bottom of this. We are going to make sure that theres justice, that this officer is held accountable," Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott told demonstrators in an effort to calm tensions after dark.

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Law enforcement again deployed tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets amid clashes with the crowds gathered outside the police station.

Several dozen protesters were arrested, MPR News reports, as limited looting was reported in Brooklyn Center and beyond.

By 11 p.m., demonstrators had largely dispersed and the mayor tweeted that "our city is calm."

The backdrop: The overnight curfew was instituted from 7pm to 6am across the metro in hopes of quelling unrest and violence following the fatal shooting of Wright, 20, who was killed during a traffic stop just before 2pm Sunday. The number of National Guard troops on the ground doubled to about 1,000, officials said.

As the evening protests ramped up, ramifications of the shooting continued to play out across city government.

The City Council voted to fire Brooklyn Center's city manager and give more power to the mayor, The Star Tribune reports.

The mayor is expected to announce whether he will fire the police chief as soon as today.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, meanwhile, identified the officer who shot Wright as Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the force.

The Hennepin County Attorney's office referred the case to Washington County for consideration of charges. A decision is expected in the coming days.

Earlier in the night, hundreds gathered for a peaceful vigil in Wright's honor.

Story continues

"I just need everyone to know that he was my life," Wright's mother Katie Wright said. "He was my son. And I can never get that back. Because of a mistake? Because of an accident?""

The family retained Benjamin Crump, the attorney who negotiated a record misconduct settlement on behalf of George Floyd's relatives.

The big picture: Sunday's fatal shooting has reverberated not just in the metro, but across the nation, bringing even more attention to the Twin Cities as the trial of Derek Chauvin for the killing of George Floyd nears an end.

President Biden called for a "full-blown investigation," as he echoed local and state officials' statements that while peaceful protests are justified, violence and destruction won't be tolerated.

"The world is watching the Chauvin trial. The world will watch this process, and the world will ask if there's justice," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told reporters.

Worthy of your time: Brooklyn Center police chief Tim Gannon's claim that Potter likely fired her gun inadvertently while meaning to reach for a taser has renewed scrutiny of training and use of the less-lethal tool.

The Associated Press explored cases of officers drawing a gun instead of a taser in this 2015 piece and in 2016 and again today.

Go deeper: See more photos of the protests

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Monday night was the second night of protests (not Tuesday).

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Former banker, the conservative Guillermo Lasso has won the Presidency of Ecuador on his third attempt, in a second round runoff.

By James Blears

Former banker Guillermo Lasso scraped into the second round of the Presidential election runoff, barely ahead of Indigenous Candidate Yaku Perez and well behind 36 year old leftist economist Andres Arauz, who`s a protogee of former President Rafael Correra, now in exile in Belgium, having been sentenced to eight years jail in his absence on corruption charges, which he denies.

Lasso aged 65 got 52.51 percent of the vote, while Araruz who gained 47.40 percent, conceded and congratulated him. Perez, who`d unsuccessfully demanded a recount of February 7th`s round one, steadfastly refused to endorse either, calling on his supporters to spoil their ballots. Accordingly, 1.6 million votes are scuppered which is about 16 percent of the overall vote. In his victory speech Lasso said: "We will build a more just country, with more prosperity for everyone. This is a victory for the Ecuadorian people. No one will prevent the course of history."

Outgoing President Lenin Moreno, had decided not to run for re-election. Falling oil prices and the ravages of the pandemic have bit deep into the economy. More than 300,000 cases of covid, 17,000 deaths, but only one percent of the population innoculated so far, while half a million people are unemployed. A daunting challenge for Lasso, who`ll be inaugurated on May 24th. A veteran who has to come up with more than just free market economy policies, in order to pull Ecuador out of a deep slump, and reduce a whopping national debt.
Key Highlights Offered in the 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.

Request 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 Travel Management Services market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Travel Management Services 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.

Insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers.

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 6.00%-9.00%.

Identify favorable opportunities in Travel Management Services 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 Travel Management Services suppliers listed in this report:

This Travel Management Services procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

Booking Holdings Inc.

Expedia Group Inc.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd.

BCD Group

GBT Travel Services UK Ltd.

CWT Global BV

Corporate Travel Management Ltd.

Fareportal

Travel Leaders Group LLC

Capita Plc

Related Report on Professional Services Include:

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

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